Thursday 09-16-10

Ramifications of 9-11 protestI guess that Pastor in Flordia was right, and showed them for what they are:

Iran Ayatollahs Issue Fatwas Calling for Killing Those Who Burn the Koran

Two Iranian grand ayatollahs issued fatwas calling for the killing of those who insult the Koran, including anyone who burns the Islamic holy book, the state-run Fars news agency reported.

No one was specified in the decrees, which were issued by Nasser Makarem-Shirazi and Hossein Nouri-Hamedani in response to questions asked by student groups from universities in Tehran, Fars said. Such an action against any individual could only be carried out with the authorization of an Islamic religious judge, they said.

“Undoubtedly, the blood of a person who burns the Koran should be shed,” Makarem-Shirazi was cited by Fars as saying. Everybody should “strongly condemn” such an act.

A pastor from Florida planned to hold a Koran-burning event on Sept. 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on the U.S. Cleric Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, suspended and then canceled the act after an appeal by President Barack Obama.

“We feel that God is telling us to stop,” Jones said Sept. 11 in an interview with NBC’s “Today Show.” The move may open the way for talks with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who plans to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site, Jones said.

Death to Democracy

Students who protested outside the Swiss Embassy in Tehran today set fire to the U.S. flag, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The Swiss Embassy represents U.S. interests in Iran. They also destroyed a coffin that had the phrase “Liberal Democracy” written on it.

Jones, who has acknowledged receiving more than 100 death threats, said he “wasn’t scared into calling off the burning.”

Ceremonies, as well as protests for and against the Islamic center in New York, were held on Sept. 11 at the three sites where terrorists crashed the hijacked planes in 2001, killing almost 3,000 people.

A man was escorted by police from one of the protests after ripping pages from a copy of the Koran and setting them on fire, the New York Daily News reported. The man, who wasn’t identified by the newspaper, didn’t appear to have been arrested, the Daily News said.

Iran has been led by Shiite clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy. The publication of “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie in 1988 prompted Iran’s then- supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to issue a fatwa condemning him to death for alleged blasphemy. The Indian-born writer spent nine years in hiding, living with guards in various locations in the U.K.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-13/iran-ayatollahs-issue-fatwa-calling-for-killing-those-who-burn-the-koran.html

This won't last long, he will sue and get his job back.

Koran burner Derek Fenton booted from his job at NJ Transit

The protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday.

Derek Fenton's 11-year career at the agency came to an abrupt halt Monday after photographs of him ripping pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them ablaze appeared in newspapers.

Fenton, 39, of Bloomingdale, N.J., burned the book during a protest on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 outside Park51, the controversial mosque slated to be built near Ground Zero.

He was apparently inspired by Pastor Terry Jones, the Florida clergyman who threatened to burn the Koran that day but later changed his mind.

NJ Transit said Fenton was fired but wouldn't give specifics.

"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said.

"NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."

Fenton was ushered from the protests by police on Saturday and questioned, but he was released without charges.

"He said, 'This is America,' and he wanted to stand up for it, in a Tea Party kind of way," a police source said.

Another police source said Fenton described himself as a "loyal American" exercising his "right to protest."

But the source said Fenton looked like he was having second thoughts as he was released.

"He looked nervous, like he was starting to think it wasn't such a good idea," the police source said.

Described by neighbors as a likable family guy with two children, Fenton was an assistant train-consist coordinator, sources said - a job that entails ensuring there are enough train cars positioned to be put into service. He previously worked as an NJ Transit conductor.

Several neighbors in Fenton's town stood up for his right to express himself with flames.

"Good for him for burning the Koran," neighbor Jacqui Marquez, 40, said.

"Everybody's entitled to their opinion ... by firing him, they're sending a message that there's no freedom of speech. They're completely wrong for doing this."

"He's a family man," neighbor Randy McConnell, 43, said.

"He loves his kids and he loves trains. I don't agree with what he did, but he shouldn't lose his job over it. That's his right."

If Fenton was fired for burning the Koran while off-duty, his First Amendment rights probably were violated, Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union said.

"The Supreme Court has recognized a constitutional right to burn the flag. As reprehensible as it may be, burning the Koran would be protected as well."

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/14/2010-09-14_koran_burner_derek_fenton_fired_from_his_job_at_nj_transit.html#ixzz0zbN74Mjc

Police respond in force to SE Portland gun store -- confusing customer and staff

Police responded in force to reports of a man with a gun in Southeast Portland late Monday -- only to find a confused customer and staff at a gun store.

A passerby outside the Gun Room Inc., 5537 S.E. Foster Rd., called 9-1-1 about 6 p.m. to report that a man standing outside was holding a gun and looked "nervous and sweaty," said Sgt. Pete Simpson, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman.

Area residents reported seeing officers surround the shop and set up a perimeter with assault rifles drawn. But police quickly realized the "suspicious" man was there to sell a gun. They left without issuing any citations, Simpson said.

"The police response was appropriate," Simpson said. "If you thought someone was robbing a gun shop, you're going to show up with guns."

A man who answered the phone at the Gun Room called the incident "just a case of mistaken identity," but declined to comment further.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/09/post_38.html

Police continue to harass citizens who record them

A number of cases show how police continue to misunderstand citizens’ rights to record their behavior, and they’re now neatly compiled into a video from the Cato Institute.

The Examiner editorialized on the subject in June, noting that those who record police frequently are “more of a threat to the jobs of public safety officers than to public safety itself. One is not the same as the other.” State legislatures should start addressing this issue to prevent more misunderstandings and wrongful arrests.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/police-continue-to-harass-citizens-who-record-them-102826639.html