Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • The Dream’s Charity Nightmare

    I’ll happily argue with anyone that he is the greatest center basketball has seen to date.

    I’ll staunchly defend the man for his dedication, both to his team and his religion, after watching him play at the professional level while fasting for Ramadan.

    I’ll have to sit aside meekly, however, if anybody wants to question the wisdom of the charitable contributions of Hakeem Olajuwon.

    A mosque established and funded by Hakeem Olajuwon gave more than $80,000 to charities the government later determined to be fronts for the terror groups al-Qaida and Hamas, according to financial records obtained by The Associated Press.

    Olajuwon told AP he had not known of any links to terrorism when the donations were made, before the government’s crackdown on the groups, and would not have given the money if he had known.

    “There is no way you can go back in time,” Olajuwon said by telephone from Jordan, where he is studying Arabic. “After the fact, now they have the list of organizations that are banned by the government.”

    A U.S. Treasury Department spokeswoman, Molly Millerwise, declined to discuss Olajuwon’s contributions but said, “In many cases, donors are being unwittingly misled by the charities.”

    Federal law enforcement officials said they were not probing Olajuwon, a 7-foot center born in Nigeria who played 17 seasons for the Houston Rockets before retiring in 2002. Olajuwon became a U.S. citizen in 1993.

    The Olajuwon-founded Islamic Da’Wah Center in Houston gave more than $60,000 in 2000 and $20,000 in 2002 to the Islamic African Relief Agency, the center’s tax records show. The government shut down the relief agency in October, saying it gave money and other support to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.

    But the agency and its possible ties to terrorism had been in news stories years earlier, before Olajuwon’s contributions

    Olajuwon also participated in a 1999 celebrity bowling tournament for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which the U.S. government shut down in 2001, accusing it of sending money to Hamas.

    Call me biased because I lived in the Houston area for the bulk of the Dream’s NBA career and the loving local press that entailed, but I have no doubt about Olajuwon’s innocence in this matter. That said, he should look more carefully into the causes where his time and money go. He also should’ve blocked out better in the closing moments against the Wolfpack.

  • Bush to Seek $100 Million in Military Aid for Poland

    I’ve stated before that Poland, steadfast ally that they have been in our efforts against radical Islamic terror, needed to be rewarded. It seems that is about to come to pass.

    President Bush told President Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland on Wednesday that he would ask Congress for $100 million to modernize the Polish military, part of a program of support for a new NATO ally that has more than 2,000 soldiers in Iraq.

    In an interview shortly after his meeting with Mr. Bush, the Polish president said he had no intention of withdrawing Poland’s troops from Iraq this year, unless the new government asked them to leave. “I’m almost sure that if it will be necessary, they will be there,” said Mr. Kwasniewski, who has been under pressure at home to bring the troops back. “The question is how to organize it.”

    That indication of support is critical to Mr. Bush, who is struggling to maintain a broad international presence in Iraq, where the United States and to a lesser extent Britain have provided the great majority of the troops.

    Mr. Kwasniewski has been among the strongest supporters of Mr. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, and there are 2,400 Polish soldiers in Iraq, leading a 5,000-strong multinational division in the central and southern parts of the country. About 800 Polish soldiers are to leave this month.

    […]

    The $100 million for military modernization was hinted at by the new secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, during a brief stopover in Warsaw a week ago. “I don’t get to write the checks in the American system,” Mr. Bush cautioned. “The government – the Congress does that. But I get to put out requests.”

    […]

    Mr. Bush also announced that he would ask Congress for $400 million in additional funds “to strengthen the capabilities of our partners to advance democracy and stability around the world.” Poland would receive a significant portion of those funds as well, officials said.

    Mr. Kwasniewski said the money was not a quid pro quo for Poland’s troop presence in Iraq. But clearly, returning home with financial commitments from Mr. Bush will help him in a parliamentary debate about how long to remain in Iraq, at a time when opinion polls show that a clear majority of Poles want an end to the troops presence.

    Military assistance is entirely appropriate for a country with a backbone and a willingness to stand along side its allies. Certainly, Poland and other coalition nations, particularly those whose militaries were shaped and equipped during the days of the Warsaw Pact, could stand to have some martial modernization.

    I entirely endorse this move, though I’m certain that some will deride it as a payoff, as little more than a twenty left on the dresser on the way out the door. I hope those who take this view, those who sided with Sen. John Kerry when he derided our allies as the “coalition of the bribed and coerced,” will recall that Kerry himself called for rewarding Poland after he essentially insulted our staunch ally.

  • At Last!

    A chance to blog. Let’s see if I can remember how.

  • Badass Tank Video

    Courtesy of an Israeli friend, I give you this video of the Merkava 4 (broadband recommended).

    As an old DAT (dumbass tanker), I find the looks inside the turret most interesting because I can quickly compare them to the M1. No other major tank can match the Merkava’s rear exit, but those dismounting infantry will be useful for the maintenance required on the tanks in some of the shots in this clip.

  • My Apologies

    Sorry about the poor posting output of late. Still a little under the weather. Briefly went into work today and found that, as is so typical in the IT world, an imagined crisis has called for some tricky, around-the-clock scheduling for my group the next couple of days. Funny thing is that this may actually play into my blogging hands, not to mention my nocturnal tendencies. More later, y’all.

  • Rafsanjani: Iran, U.S. Share Interests in Iraq

    It’s difficult to tell whether this is meant to smooth over American-Iranian relations or just serve as a little diplomatic trash talk.

    Iran and the United States have a common enemy in the al-Qaida terrorist network and shared interests in Iraq, former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in an interview published Monday.

    Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most powerful leaders, said in the interview with USA Today in Tehran on Sunday that Iraq’s Jan 30 national elections went “well” and that al-Qaida terrorists “are our enemies, too. You are aware of what al-Qaida has done to our fellow Shiites in Iraq.”

    He characterized as “nonsense” statements by U.S. President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iran’s “cleric-run government” and human rights record. “We say the United States wouldn’t dare to attack us, and they have tested it once (the failed hostage rescue in 1980),” he added.

    “The United States is a big country, but unfortunately it seems it has the brain of a little bird not befitting the greatness of the country,” Rafsanjani said.

    I especially enjoy the bluster about the abortion that was the Operation Eagle Claw rescue attempt. I assure you that Rafsanjani understands that today’s American military is not the charlie foxtrot of the post-Viet Nam hangover.

  • Post-Weekend Getaway Blogging

    … to commence tomorrow, hopefully. My weekend retreat turned into a rout, as I spent the bulk of it sick in a cabin in Oklahoma. No hiking, little reading, some TheraFlu. Not at all what I was hoping for on Thursday.

    See y’all soon.

  • Dropping off the Net

    I’d hoped to get more blogging in today but you know what they say about the best-laid plans.

    Anyway, I’m out of here in the morning for a weekend retreat with my girlfriend and her family. I will not have internet access, so if you must find out my opinion on something, track me down in a cabin at Beavers Bend State Park in Middle-of-Freakin’-Nowhere, Oklahoma.

    Meanwhile, I’ll be doing some light hiking, keeping an eye out for bald eagles and probably a large amount of napping and reading. For reading materials, I’m taking Victor Davis Hanson’s Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (the latter with a small sense of obligation to Eric at Eric’s Random Musings and John at TexasBestGrok).

    Hopefully, I’ll also give a little thought to some ideas for this blog in hopes of making it a more enlightening, or at least entertaining, experience for both you and me. Blogging will resume probably Sunday or Monday, depending on the Super Bowl and my work pager (Alas! I go oncall on Monday). ‘Til then …

    Out.

  • A Get-to-know-me Meme

    Carrying on a meme found by Phil at Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum), here’s a chance for y’all to both entertain and get to know me, your humble blogger.

    It’s simple, and if anyone participates by leaving a comment, I will respond early next week.

    A. First, recommend to me:
    1. A movie:
    2. A book:
    3. A musical artist, song, or album:

    B. Ask me three questions, no more, no less. You may ask me anything you want (however, I reserve the right to weasel out of answering if I feel it’s necessary!).

    C. Copy and paste this in your blog. (Well, only if you feel like it!)

  • Nothing Tonight

    Sorry, folks, long day at the office and now I’m getting ready for a weekend away from the world. Hopefully something the next two days, but expect a quiet weekend.