While few Republicans in Congress have backed up Senator Jim Bunning's call for Pay as you Go on an extension of federal unemployment insurance, at least one Republican running for a Senate seat has wasted no time in coming to his defense.

From WBKO.com:

Kentucky's junior senator says he's not against unemployment benefits, and he's found an unlikely ally in a man who's after his job.

U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul agrees with Senator Bunning, that the money for unemployment benefits should come from funds already allocated to the stimulus package.

"And so what he said is," says Paul, "'Take it out of the stimulus package.' And the democrats say, 'No' because they know the perception is it looks like he's against unemployment benefits, but he's already said he would support unemployment benefits. He just wants it to come out of existing allocated money."

Doctor Paul says Senator Bunning is being fiscally responsible, saying "we need to stop the deficit spending," and go back to "pay as you go," something he says Congress previously said it would do.

Meanwhile, there was a confrontation of sorts on the streets of Lexington late yesterday.

From Rand Paul 2010:

Rand Paul supporters in Lexington today dropped in on a contrived Dan Mongiardo protest of Sen. Jim Bunning’s regional office. The Rand fans overwhelmed the event with their numbers and their voices, chanting “Paygo! paygo!” to urge Mongiardo and friends to obey their own federal spending rules.

Before Rand went on CNN this afternoon to talk about why Sen. Bunning deserves support rather than the Left’s derision and anger, grassroots supporters showed why Rand’s campaign based on balanced budgets, term limits, and strong national defense is dominating the U.S. Senate race.

See the video here.

by Eric Dondero

No, we're not talking of the 1980s British New Wave band of the same name. And in actuality they're not technically Twins. But they are brothers, only two years apart.

There are increasing indications that former two-term Governor Tommy Thompson is preparing to launch a bid for the US Senate, challening ultra-progressive Democrat incumbent Russ Feingold.

A recent poll by Rasmussen showed Thompson ahead in a hypothetical match-up with Feingold, by five points. That's actually a slight increase in his margin, from a similar poll conducted a month ago.

Now CBS News quotes a top Thompson aide saying the chance that he'd run is now about 70% Yes.

From CBS:

Thompson has been the marquee Republican in the state for decades and was elected as governor four times. He also served as secretary of health and human services in the Bush administration and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

He has been rumored to be interested in a political comeback, and today's news [beginning of fundraising effort] is the clearest indication yet that he could be doing just that.

If Thompson runs [that would put] another Democratic Senate seat in play for a takeover and increasing the possibility that Republicans could win control of the Senate in the midterm elections.

Interestingly, Tommy's younger brother Ed, has already announced for the State Senate.

Ed Thompson is the Mayor of Tomah, population 8,000 in southern Wisconsin. He's also quite the local celebrity; a former professional boxer, owner/operator of the downtown Tomah tavern/keno parlor The TeePee.

And he's a Libertarian, with a capitol 'L'; longtime member of the Libertarian Party. He is now seeking the Republican nomination to run against a Democrat incumbent for the local Senate seat.

If Thompson the elder does indeed jump in, there would be an instant novelty factor no doubt benefiting both candidates, of a brother running for the US Senate, and another brother for the State Senate. Precisely the stuff, the major network morning shows and cable news networks love to carry.

Not too mention the boost in votes for both campaigns such a novelty would bring. A voter in southern Wisconsin might be more inclined to pull the lever for the "ole' Thompson Boys" just to shake things up in Madison and Washington.

Full Disclosure: I was once a patron of Ed's Tavern in Tomah. While traveling through Wisconsin I stopped by for a visit. I was fortunate enough to have met him while there. He had his signature apron on, and was tending bar. He served me up a lager, or two.

LR FOLLOW-UP

From Eric Dondero:

Three weeks ago CBN broke the story of 5 Muslim US Army troops suspected of an attempt to poison the food supply at Ft. Jackson base in South Carolina. The 5 were translators in a special division of the Army for strictly Middle Eastern recruits.

Now an update from CBN.com:

Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said the soldiers' laptops had been seized and were being analyzed. Congressional officials with knowledge of the case said cell phones and Arabic writings had been confiscated as well.

Wilson said the soldiers were discharged because of unrelated incidents of minor theft.

Four of the five have been discharged from the Army with "administrative separation," (military lingo for less-than-honorable).

Erick Stakelbeck, CBN News Terrorism Analyst advances the story, noting that the five now ex-soldiers are all from the metro-Washington DC area. His source indicates that there's reason to believe that they were allegedly in touch with another group of Washington, D.C. area Muslims "that traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad against U.S. troops in December. That group was arrested by Pakistani authorities, also just before Christmas."

As a state legislator Jeff Kottkamp had warm relations with Florida's free market community, including the libertarian-oriented James Madison Institute, and various tax fighting groups on the Space Coast. The Palm Beach Post even labeled Kottkamp a "libertarian free marketeer." In 2004 he was tapped to be Charlie Crist's running mate on the Republican ticket.

Now, a rather surprising move on his part.

From NewsMax:

He wouldn’t indicate who he supports in the Republican primary for Senate between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio.

“They’re two very dynamic people. It will be a very fun race to watch,” Kottkamp said. “They both have strengths and weaknesses.”

Kottkamp is currently seeking the Attorney General's office.

In the same interview he reiterated his support for Constitionalist principles:

"[Obama] continues to look for government solutions when we all know … that private sector free mark solutions are what’s going to work."

As for healthcare, Kottkamp agrees with current Attorney General Bill McCollum’s plan to sue if the Democrats’ reform plan passes.

"It’s clearly a violation of the 10th amendment," Kottkamp said. "If the federal government can force you to buy healthcare, they can force you to do anything."

Noted financial expert and celebrity high stakes poker player Andy Beal sees a very bleak future ahead for the US economy, this year and next.

In a recent article in Forbes, writer Nathan Vardi described him as:

a self-described libertarian kind of guy... very critical of the government’s intervention in the economy.

Beal predicts: a downturn in the market with a "drop" in stock values; and says, "Commercial real estate is headed for trouble"; finally, "failed banks," and a "credit bubble due to the Fed and easy money."

But it's in the area of employment where Beal sees the dreariest news.

From Forbes:

Unemployment will remain at current levels for several years. This, Beal reasons, is partly because the states have not even started laying people off. “I see all the governments having to tighten their belts, which is going to feed this snowball effect. I don’t think we have felt the impact yet of governmental staff reductions,” says Beal.

From Eric Dondero:

A recent poll showed entrenched Democrat incumbent Senator Barbara Mikulski with an increasing vulnerbility. By Rasmussen, against a generic Republican she only polls 54% support to 36% who would vote GOP. Mikulski has never before had favorables below the 60% mark.

She also faces a number of health concerns. The 74-year old fell last year and broke her ankle. Additionally, she's had an ongoing struggle with obesity. (There are recurring rumors that she's actually planning to step aside and not run for reelection.)

Three Republicans and one Independent have recently announced against her. One of them is being supported by libertarians in the State.

From the Baltimore Sun, "This Md Republican thinks Mikulski is vulnerable" Feb. 28:

Although Michael S. Steele, the Republican national party chairman and a former Maryland lieutenant governor, was beaten by veteran congressman Benjamin L. Cardin in the 2006 Maryland Senate election, Republicans say that was a Democratic year. Now voter sentiment has shifted, they believe, and the recent string of Republican victories in other states seem to prove it.

The leading candidate so far appears to be a Medical Doctor.

Dr. Eric S. Wargotz explained why he thinks 2010 will be so kind to Republicans that he's got a chance to replace four- term U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, arguably Maryland's most popular Democrat.

"I'm running because I believe I can do it," said Wargotz, 53, a first-term Queen Anne's County commissioner. "I see an opening here. Look at Scott Brown," he said... Wargotz said he went to Massachusetts to help in the Brown campaign's final days.

His libertarian Republican supporters include Don Murphy an outspoken leader of "Republicans for Marijuana Reform," and a twice attendee to National Conventions of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

Howard County's Republican County Councilman Greg Fox did the initial introductions at Wargotz's fundraiser last weekend at the home of Rob and Carroll Cohen, and former Howard Del. Don Murphy also attended...

"God bless Eric for putting himself out," Murphy said, noting that Wargotz is giving up his local office to run for the senate. "Eric is an incumbent elected official. He understands what it is to govern," and as a medical doctor, he has expertise on health care... Cohen, 53, who said his politics are close to libertarian, runs Alliance Benefits and Compensation, an employee-benefits firm. He said... he liked the pathologist's medical background and views.

Theme Song for the Rick Perry for Governor Campaign

From the movie soundtrack Pure Country. George Straight as Dusty.

Rick Perry's win on a strong anti-Washington message is being seen as a big victory for limited government conservatism.

From Jonathan Martin at Politico:

Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry has embraced the cause of state sovereignty, suggested his famously independent state could secede from the union, deemed the president a socialist and, last month in Houston, happily stood by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s side to receive her endorsement. Perry’s approach seems to be paying dividends...

Meanwhile, the liberal Huffington Post acknowledged, Perry's win, "highlighted the growing anti-Washington mood among voters in midterm elections."

And from the foreign press, the UK Guardian describes Perry's win as an absolute "shock" to American politics:

More moderate Republicans face being displaced by candidates backed by the Tea Party and other grassroots right-wingers... The right-wing, anti-Washington mood engulfing the US last night claimed another victim when the Republican senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was forced out of the race to become governor of Texas.

The latest upset comes only two months after grassroots activists from round the country contributed to the shock Republican victory in the battle for Ted Kennedy’s Senate place.

The result suggests a shift to the right lies ahead in the Republican party both in Congress and among governors.

Moderate Republicans face being displaced by more right-wing candidates, backed by Tea Party activists and others who complain the Republican party has betrayed its core principles. These right-wingers oppose federal government spending under Barack Obama, the proposed health care bill and immigration reform, and blame Republicans for failing to oppose the spending.

The Guardian ominously warns that Charlie Crist in Florida and even moderately conservative John McCain, could next face the wave of libertarian-conservative angst.

Stop Messin' with Texas

Governor Rick Perry graciously thanked his opponent Kay Baily-Hutchison first off in his victory speech delivered from a Texas-style BBQ & Cookoff in Driftwood late last night. But he failed to mention his Democrat rival, former Houston Mayor Bill White. Instead he made it clear, his main opponent is Obama, along with Washington liberals who want to tell Texans how to run their state.

From the Dallas Morning News:

"It is clear that the Obama administration and its allies already have Texas in their cross hairs," Perry said. People in the crowd shouted, "Bring it on!"

The governor continued, "I can probably assure you that we're going to get all kinds of special attention in the future. But until Washington gets its priorities into order, and it retreats to the proper boundaries that are detailed in the 10th Amendment, we're going to move forward in this state to sustain the economy here in Texas."

"Texas voters, they said no to Washington bureaucrats making decisions that state leaders and citizens should be making themselves," he said. "They said no to a culture of reckless spending policies that endanger our children's future." And he castigated federal legislation on carbon emissions and health care as job killers in Texas.

"Stop messing with Texas," he said. "That message resonates. It resonates across our state."

The final vote: Rick Perry 51%, Kay B. Hutchison 28.8%.

Mission truly accomplished

An astonishing admittance from liberal Newsweek magazine in the feature story in the new issue to hit stands March 8.

The headline: "The Rebirth of a Nation." And the Nation they are referring to is Iraq. Newsweek writers Babak Dehghanpisheh, John Barry and Christopher Dickey even went so far as to call Bush's Iraq War success, "a watershed event," that represents a "whole new era of history."

Excerpt:

"Iraqi democracy will succeed," President George W. Bush declared in November 2003, "and that success will send forth the news from Damascus to Tehran that freedom can be the future of every nation." The audience at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington answered with hearty applause. Bush went on: "The establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a watershed event in the global democratic revolution."

Bush's rhetoric about democracy came to sound as bitterly ironic as his pumped-up appearance on an aircraft carrier a few months earlier, in front of an enormous banner that declared MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. And yet it has to be said and it should be understood—now, almost seven hellish years later—that something that looks mighty like democracy is emerging in Iraq. And while it may not be a beacon of inspiration to the region, it most certainly is a watershed event that could come to represent a whole new era in the history of the massively undemocratic Middle East.

Bill Wilson, Americans for Limited Government

The simple reality is that the money to pay for extending unemployment benefits by $10 billion indefinitely does not exist on budget. Senator Bunning deserves credit for offering a proposal that does pay for it without steeping the nation further into debt...

Tim Daniel, Left Coast Rebel

In the most basic sense, he is holding Obama and the socialist-left in Congress to their own credo - PAYGO, passed just last month. The Democrat/Media/Industrial complex have all gotten together in a massive orgy to paint Bunning as an extremist and someone that 'wants to take the food out from the mouths of the unemployed'. This issue simply proves to me that we need smart, tough, intellectually based conservatives/libertarians in power coming up to bring this government back to fiscal sanity.

Jim Rose, Libertarian Popinjay

It's rare that you see a politician willing to take political and media abuse like what Senator Jim Bunning is taking right now...but he's doing it...and G-d bless him for it. Granted, Bunning has a reputation of being a bit of a hot-head, but damn it, that's what we need right now. He's asking the government to not spend money it doesn't have. What the hell is wrong with that?

Jack Liberty blog

government shouldn’t be involved in stealing money from some and giving it to others. If workers want benefits when they are unemployed, they should pay for some kind of market-based unemployment insurance.

Wes Messamore, Humble Libertarian

Jim Bunning's reason for blocking the extension of unemployment benefits is absolutely well-founded. He is asking the question we should ask of every appropriation: where is the money coming from to pay for it?

He doesn't oppose the unemployment extension, he is simply insisting that we pay for it with unspent money from 2008's appalling financial bailout package- money that would go to financial corporations if we don't give it to struggling Americans like Bunning suggests.

I'm tired of hearing welfare statists and warfare statists pretend to be fiscally responsible by complaining about the other's spending. I for one would like to see some fiscal sanity across the board.

New Video from Keep America Safe

AG's office now a Department of Islamic Jihad. 9 Lawyers who represented and advocated for Al Qaeda.

Amnesty Board member suspended for opposing the Taliban

by James Fryar, Australia

Amnesty International sounded like a great idea when I first heard of it. Their ideal of supporting he release and rights of political prisoners worldwide sounded like a really worthy cause way back. It still would be but unfortunately Amnesty turned out to be more driven by leftist politics and grandstanding towards that end, rather than being a crusading group determined to stand up to oppression regardless of who was carrying it out, or their ideology.

It became blindingly obvious that the organization was agenda driven when despite the horrors being committed by the communist block and its allies, it preferred to look for its villains in the West especially the US. I guess if you are going to take on governments, its safer to pick those with a strong ideal of due process.

Now, the head of Amnesty International unit for Women's Rights, Gita Sahgal, has been suspended by the group, for opposing the alliance of the group with a top Taliban supporter in the UK Moazzam Begg. Begg is the “jihadi” group, Cageprisoners based on supporting the Guantanamo prisoners, of whom he was a member until 2005 after being picked up in Pakistan in the wake of the Afghan invasion.

Amnesty turns a blind eye to brutality of the Taliban

Sahgal in an interview with NPR commented:

[Begg supports] an international caliphate, yes, and they believe in systematic discrimination. Both gender discrimination, discrimination against religious minorities, they're anti-Semitic. You know, on various counts, they would not be considered good partners for human rights organization...

I had a flourishing career. I love my job. But I don't feel safe at Amnesty International when it has thrown a protective cover around Moazzam Begg.

Treatment of women in Islamic countries varies from place to place, however the Taliban regime were deplorable and probably one of the worst.

Ms. Sahgal states that only accepted her job at AI after insisting to Widney Brown, senior director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty, that she be allowed to address their alliance with Begg and his group. It would be difficult for any serious supporter of women’s rights to accept an alliance with such a misogynistic group as the Taliban or their supporters.

Her biggest supporters are now on the libertarian and conservative Right: The Left has abandoned her

It is interesting to observe that the only real support she is receiving at present seems to be coming from human rights advocates on the right such as Libertarian Republicans in the U.S., right blogger Bob Brockley of south London who opposes the anti semites and Stalinists of the UK, and conservative columnist Mona Charen.

The left over recent years have increasingly allied themselves with radical Islam, possibly because as collectivists they share a hatred of such Western values as liberty, individualism, free market capitalism. They are also swayed by the old adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” after all anyone who burns George Bush (or Tony Blair) in effigy must, in their opinion, share their values.

Editor's Note - James Fryar is an oil field worker living in south central Australia. He's a member of the Australian Libertarian Society. His blog is Real World Libertarian.

From Eric Dondero:

The day before Primary Day here in Texas. Over the weekend, the TX Republican Liberty Caucus released their list of endorsed candidates. Many standard names of Liberty-supporting Republicans are on the list. (See list at RLC.org). But a last minute addition was made: Jessica Puente-Bradshaw. She is running for the Solomon Ortiz seat, on the Texas Gulf Coast, from Corpus Christi to Brownsville. (District immediately south of Ron Paul's CD-14).

Ms. Puente-Bradshaw is of course, a favorite of this web site. (We first covered her weeks ago here at LR.) She is a "Tea Party gal." She can be seen in these two photos at the Tea Party protest in Brownsville, (right on the Mexican border), back in July.

A sampling of her top stances:

* Free Enterprise: I believe the government has interfered enough in our economy. From the printing of money, mortgage crisis, and exploding deficit, the Obama administration will not fix a struggling economy with more and more debt. Our country's economy IS resilient and can come back to better than expected levels. Congress, get out of the way and let free markets take the lead.

* Border Security: we have been walking a fine line between the need for border control and the idea of racism. Enough! I PLEDGE to work to make REAL immigration reform. I will not allow the left guilt our country into lax border security that puts us all in danger. As a Hispanic woman who was raised in the border town of Brownsville, I have first hand knowledge of the importance of border safety. It is not about racism, it is about safety!

* Health Care: Controlling 16% of an economy by the federal government, and closed door sessions are a clear indication that the Health Care bill is nothing more than a nefarious desire by an administration to control the people. I pledge that while in congress, I will work with other conservative legislators to REPEAL, REPEAL and REPEAL!

Of particular note, immediately upon learning of the endorsement Jessica posted the RLC-backing announcement on the home page of her campaign website.

She faces two other opponents tomorrow.

All the best Jessica, y mucha suerte! from your friends in the Libertarian Republican movement.

TexansforJessica.com

"The voices of the free market are going to stand up and fight for what it takes to preserve what this Republic is all about." -- John Dennis, Republican candidate for Congress, California CD 5

From Eric Dondero:

John Dennis is the the Republican nominee for US Congress against Nancy Pelosi. In over two decades in Congress, Pelosi has not yet faced a serious challenger. But in an increasingly favorable GOP year, even Pelosi's seat is starting to look a little soft for the Democrats.

So far, Dennis has been running a largely grass-roots oriented "stealth" campaign. But his extensive precinct walking, and door knocking maybe be eginning to have an impact.

Incredibly, over the weekend this news broke, from ABC News (via Memeo):

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has much in common with the Tea Party. The speaker now says she shares views with movement she dismissed last summer as being “Astroturf” -- her suggestion that the grassroots of the Tea Party were a creation of the Republican Party.

In a “This Week” interview with ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas, Pelosi said, “We share some of the views of the Tea Partiers in terms of the role of special interest in Washington, D.C., as -- it just has to stop. And that's why I've fought the special interest, whether it's on energy, whether it's on health insurance, whether it's on pharmaceuticals and the rest.”

In a recent interview with Roger Hedgecok, Dennis said:

When we first started this I have to admit my goals and objectives were more modest than victory in a conventional sense. But back in December we all starting talking in the campaign, ya know, maybe we can do this, maybe we can pull this off. And then, then Scott Brown happened, and um, everything's changed since then.

We have a forumula as to what it's gonna take to defeat Nancy Pelosi, and we're gonna try to execute it.

From his website; Born in Jersey City, the son of a longshoreman, graduate of Fordham Univ. He is the founder of the San Francisco chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus and currently the head of the Campaign for Liberty San Francisco.

John is a board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus California, has served as an alternate on the San Francisco Republican Central Committee and is a member of the National Rifle Association.

JohnDennis2010.com

Editor's Comment - John Dennis does not share many of the foreign policy objectives of this website, nor of the Pro-Defense Libertarian movement on the whole. (We agree with him 100% on domestic matters!) However, Ms. Pelosi supports pro-defense even less. Given that this is San Francisco, we're willing to put our foreign policy differences aside and fully support Dennis for Congress!

On the Boulevard in front of the world famous Louvre'

From Eric Dondero:

Jesse Petrilla an associate of the United American Committee, filmed this while on a trip to Paris in mid-January.

3 jackbooted NeoNazi skinheads are clearly visible marching in front of the rally. A girl in a black coat joins them for a brief instant.

Hezbollah flags are seen throughout the rally. A banner is unfurled in support of Jihadists fighting against the Iraqi government. Towards the end of the video a Jewish Star of David flag is burned by the demonstrators.

Demonstrators are chanting "Khaibar Khaibar ya yahud, jaish Muhammed sa-ya'ud" translated from Arabic meaning genocide for the Jews, "slaughter and beheadings."

Headliners Libertarian & Republican

2008 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will share a stage with 2008 Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate Wayne Root at the upcoming Tea Party Express, "Showdown in Searchlight," set for March 27. Among other celebrities attending: SNL's Victoria Jackson, Joe the Plumber, and Melanie Morgan.

"You're invited to help kick Harry out of the Senate, and send him back home for an early retirment..."

From Eric Dondero:

There were rumors for years that former Saturday Night Live cast member Victoria Jackson was a closeted rightwinger. And why not? Her cast-mate was none other than libertarian Republican Dennis Miller. But it wasn't til the 2008 Presidential campaign that the rumors started to be confirmed. Jackson on the O'Reilly Report on Fox endorsed John McCain, and straight out called Obama "a Communist." She went even further, saying he reminded her of someone straight out of a George Orwell novel, with his face plastered everywhere one turned. (See video here.)

Jackson then showed up at a Tea Party rally in Van Nuys on April 15, 2009. She jumped up on a make-shift stage with mic in hand, and started quoting Jefferson. She also railed against Obama: "NObaman, No Taxes, No Bowing!" She showed up again over the summer at a similar rally held in Pasadena.

Now she's a headliner at the upcomming "Showdown in Searchlight" Nevada, billed as the "largest Tea Party event" ever for the State. (Searchlight is the hometown of Harry Reid.)

Given her appearance at what promises to be a very hardline anti-Obama/anti-Big Spending event, it's now safe to add Jackson to the growing list of Rightwing Celebs, challenging leftwing domination of Hollywood, the music industry, and television.

Photo of Dennis Miller looking up at the actress/comedienne on the set of SNL.

Emphasis on "possible!"

by Denise Clark

Towering skyscrapers, modern architecture, white sand beaches, exotic local culture. It all looks rather inspiring in the brochures to a young co-ed, straight out of college, and looking to start a new career.

Now imagine this scenario: You are a beautiful young woman from Britain, wanting to do your part to better humanity. So, you take a teaching position at an international school in a Muslim country. Your ex-boyfriend, for whatever reason, uploads provocative pictures to your Facebook account and tells a colleague of yours about them. The colleague then accuses you of prostitution in a country where Sharia Law is common. What do you do?

This is exactly what happened to 24-year-old Emma Jones (photo), a teacher in Abu Dhabi. Her former boyfriend, Jamie Blayley, allegedly stole some images of Emma from her computer and uploaded them to her Facebook page. Knowing that she could face potential jail time or death under Sharia Law, Ms. Jones (allegedly), according to the coroner, drank a corrosive liquid in a possible suicide. I say "possible" because she apparently was found with her passport in her jeans and clothes ready to be packed as if to return to Britain.

As the Brits would say, it all sounds rather fishy indeed.

Cleaning fluid down her throat finding by Abu Dhabi Coroner

From The London Telegraph:

Deputy assistant coroner Thomas Atherton said he did not believe Mr Brayley was to blame for Miss Jones’s death.

Mr Atherton said he could not be sure Miss Jones, a sociology graduate, meant to kill herself and recorded an open verdict.

He said she may have accidentally drunk cleaning fluid from an unlabelled container, mistakenly believing it was water.

He said: "For whatever reason Emma expressed concern she was about to be arrested and put in prison.

"She agreed the best course of action was to leave Abu Dhabi and return to Britain. Her clothes were out and her passport was in her pocket.

“That's not someone who is contemplating suicide."

And these further rather incriminating details from Sky News, "Naked Facebook":

The 24-year-old was frightened of being jailed in the strict Muslim country after the male co-worker accused her of being a prostitute, her mother claimed.

[Her] Mum Louise Rowlands... said Miss Jones was packing to return home to Britain before she swallowed the corrosive fluid at her home in Khalifa City.

The 41-year-old care worker from Caerphilly, South Wales, told the inquest: "She (Miss Jones) said she had to get away.

"She was crying, she was breaking her heart. I said 'Emma, whatever it is can't be that bad. Just come home'."

But her daughter exclaimed: "I can't leave the country - they will throw me in jail," Mrs Rowlands said.

An attempt to flee from Sharia Law

So here we have a young woman who just wanted to teach, killing herself (allegedly; Vince Foster, call your office) because her ex-boyfriend decided to seek revenge in a country where women are possessions and have less rights than animals. And what better way to do it than to use the barbarism that is Sharia Law against her. The man is a scumbag of epic proportions.

We constantly hear about how islam is such a peaceful religion and that women really have nothing to fear under Sharia Law. Oh really? Then maybe those who support Sharia Law could explain why so many women are killed in so-called "honor killings" because they dared to live like a respectable human being with God-given rights. In Ms. Jones's case, however, she chose to take her own life in a horrific manner rather than face the torture that she believed was to be her punishment for nothing she did. Truly a sad story to tell.

While Emma Jones is only one story of fear of Sharia Law, the question remains: How many Emmas are there whose stories we don't hear? How many women commit suicide rather than face judgment by a group of Stone Age men with higher regard for their reputation than human life? And how many of these cases happen right here in the United States (and UK)? I'd bet the numbers would amaze a rational person.

Editor's Note - Denise Clark is a working mom, loving wife and mother of 3, who lives in Western Pennsylvania. She's a staunch supporter of the US Military, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Her blog is RightStuff.

Burnings of Christian Churches mirrors 1930s burnings of Jewish Synagogues in Germany

On February 21, in a northern Nigeria town, a traffic incident not involving Christians, led to a mob attack on Christian churches and Christian-owned shops.

From the blog Islam Movements - Obama (911 - Never Forget), "Nigeria Falling to Muslims: 8 more Churches burned" Feb. 23:

Washington, D.C. (February 23, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on February 21 a Muslim mob burned down several Christian shops and eight churches in Kazaure, northern Nigeria.

Soon after, a Muslim mob attempted to attack the police station but was chased away by the police. Enraged, the mob turned their attention instead on one of this region’s most vulnerable targets-Christian churches and shops. The mob burned down the following churches: Deeper Life Bible Church, Catholic Church, Apostolic Church, ECWA Church, Redeem Christian Church, Anglican Church, Word of Faith, and Assemblies of God Church all in the city of Kazaure.

Early stages of ethnic cleansing

The Muslim mob used the trafic incident as an excuse to rage against the Christian establishments. They have been trying to remove Christians from northern Nigerian cities and towns.

According to the ICC:

Most of the residents of Kazaure are Muslims. The city is located in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa. Christian minorities in northern Nigeria regularly face discrimination and violence by the Muslim majority.

As of late similar attacks on Christians by Muslim mobs have been reported in southern Somalia, and throughout Kenya, including the large cities such as the capitol Mombassa. In southern Egypt, Christian Coptics have been persecuted including a spree of church burnings in 2006.