Do the fires in Australia have a jihadi connection?

We finally got some rain here in Oklahoma. YAY for rain! I'm as happy as a puppy dog with two tails today. And then I read the news,as you might imagine I feel a certain empathy towards the people in Australia who are being affected by the wildfires. I read this story earlier this morning

WHITTLESEA, Australia – Police declared incinerated towns crime scenes Monday, and the prime minister spoke of "mass murder" after investigators said arsonists may have set some of Australia's worst wildfires in history. The death toll rose to 166.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090209/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_wildfires

As if that weren't horrifying enough, I have this article for you to consider, although I find it very interesting that it isn't showing up on any of the MSM outlets. Maybe if we have enough people to start asking questions about this article, it will get some air time...or maybe not...

"US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to "start forest fires", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands".

The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine. The posting — which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months — says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time"."

Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organisation were to claim responsibility for the forest fires," the website says. "You can hardly begin to imagine the level of fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia and in Australia."

http://www.theage.com.au/national/islam-group-urges-forest-fire-jihad-20080906-4b53.html?page=-1

h/t Infidel Blogger's Alliance http://ibloga.blogspot.com/

Now, here is a fair warning to any crazy arson inspired jihadis out there. Better think twice. Out in this neck of the woods, first of all, you are gonna stick out like a sore thumb. People out here will notice you. They aren't all into the "multiculturalism touchy feely stuff" that you all have used to exploit a fundamental weakness of democratic societies. Second, if you decide to ignore the first warning, you better pray the authorities catch you first.

Trust me, waterboarding will sound like a vacation and you will be begging for Gitmo if you are caught out here setting wildfires. I thought it only fair to give you a warning, since you all have been warning America and the world for years now of your intent. You see, out here, people don't care if the UN thinks they are mean or whatever...they will do what they need to do to protect their families and businesses. I'm not making threats by any means, I'm just trying to be fair. :)

I love country people

I'm visiting my dad in Oklahoma. He lives in the middle of acres and acres of grass. In the winter time the grass gets bone dry and it doesn't take much to start a fire. Today was that day.

Around the middle of the day I told my dad that I smelled smoke and said I was going to take a look. I slid my feet into my boots and walked to the north end of the house and I saw a thin trail of smoke coming up from the backside of the hill about 1/4 of a mile away. So, I broke into a trot with the idea of crossing the barbed wire fence that separated our land from our neighbors land, so that I could alert them too. There isn't an Oklahoman (genuine or transplanted) that doesn't feel a shiver of fear when they hear the word FIRE this time of year.

But, I stopped for just a second to do what I always do when I need help, I called my older sister. I knew she would call everyone else. The conversation lasted about 15 seconds and consisted of "Fire! Heading towards Dad's house. I need help!" or something pretty close to that. Out in rural Oklahoma, we don't have big fancy fire station full of firefighters just hanging out til a fire happens or a big shiny fire truck or fancy equipment(more on that later). But, we do have some mighty nice trucks and a whole county full of volunteers who leave their "regular" jobs at a second's notice and come a'runnin when a neighbor is in trouble.

I banged on my neighbor's door and yelled FIRE a couple of times and then stepped aside as he came flying through the door and headed towards the back of his house. I turned and ran back towards my dad's house and forgot about the barbed wire fence that I had semi- gracefully crossed a few moments prior. There was nothing graceful about the head over hip pockets dive I took when my thighs tangled with the old fence. But, I got up and managed to yank myself free, feeling the terror start to squeeze my throat closed as the fire got closer by the second. Grass fire hisses as it comes towards you, just in case you were wondering.

I managed to get back to dad's house and grabbed a shovel then started back towards the fire and by this time my brother in law and nephew were there, they were working on their land not too far away and saw the smoke and didn't hesitate. Within a few moments friends and neighbors and relatives arrived and we managed to get ahead of the flames for a few moments. Then the wind gusted and the fire started to circle around from the northwest. Somewhere in there the volunteer firefighters showed up with the water trucks and they really made a huge difference. We all turned and stared in surprise as we heard a helicopter coming over the treetops with a water bucket hanging from it's belly.

It dropped bucket after bucket of water over the fire, refilling from a nearby stock pond and we all cheered and waved after each bucket.The helicopter was from a gas and oil seismograph company and someone told me they keep waterbuckets at their worksites, just in case there is a fire in their area. I will try to find out for sure the name of the company and post it here tomorrow.

Somewhere in the fire fighting I wound up with a unique piece of fight fighting equipment and in my opinion, the most effective thing I've ever used for fighting grass fires, a plain ole household mop. Not one of those with the sponges and tiny green scrubbers across the front, but the old fashioned ones that you have to wring out, I guess they are called a string mop. I know, you are thinking...huh? Trust me, for a woman its perfect, because I have no shame in admitting that I am not as strong as a man. For some reason my sister just happened to have it in the bed of her truck...I know...she is just cool like that sometimes.

All in all it was a good afternoon. We stopped the fire about 50 feet from my dad's house, no one was seriously injured and I got to meet a few folks I didn't know, but they knew my dad or one of my sisters. This is how country people handle a crisis. We don't bitch and whine and point fingers. We just get busy and do what needs to be done. And we damned sure don't wait for FEMA to show up and rescue us...

And these are the tough, self reliant people that will be waiting for you jihadis if you ever have a "catastrophic failure in your targeting selection process"(I read that somewhere, but I can't remember where...please forgive me for not citing sources, Im tired tonight) Don't do it. Period.