BUSH LIGHTS PEARL FAMILY MENORAH

Bush lights Pearl family menorah (JTA)
President Bush lit a menorah that belonged to the great-grandfather of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Bush was joined Monday in the Grand Foyer of the White House by Jewish leaders and Pearl's parents, Ruth and Judea, who lit the menorah and recited the blessings for the seventh night of Chanukah. That was followed by a performance by the Zamir Chorale of Boston.

“By honoring Daniel, we are given the opportunity to bring forth hope from the darkness of tragedy, and that is a miracle worth celebrating during the Festival of Lights,” the president said.

Bush also recognized Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and his family, who were in attendance during the speech. The president recounted the Chanukah story of the heroic struggle of the Maccabees to overcome religious oppression.

“As we light the Chanukah candles this year, we pray for those who still live under the shadow of tyranny,” Bush said. “This afternoon I met with a group of Jewish immigrants to mark International Human Rights Day. Many of these men and women fled from religious oppression in countries like Iran and Syria and the Soviet Union. They came to America because our nation is a beacon of freedom. And they see a day of hope on the horizon when people all across the world will worship in freedom. The forces of intolerance can suppress the menorah, but they can never extinguish its light.”

MORAL RELATIVISM AND THE DANIEL PEARL FILM

Moral relativism
The mother of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl is worried that the new movie about her son plays into the terrorists’ hands by comparing his murder to the detainment of suspects in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. (Ynet)

DANIEL PEARL'S FATHER BLASTS MORAL RELATIVISM OF NEW MOVIE

Moral Relativism and "A Mighty Heart" - Judea Pearl
There can be no moral equivalence between those who seek to build a more liberal, tolerant world and those who advocate the annihilation of other faiths, cultures, or states. Thanks to the release of "A Mighty Heart," the movie based on Mariane Pearl's book of the same title, the legacy of my son, Daniel Pearl, is once again receiving attention. Yet the film compares Danny's abduction with Guantanamo and compares al-Qaeda militants with CIA agents. I am concerned that aspects of the movie will play into the hands of professional obscurers of moral clarity.

Danny's tragedy demands an end to this logic. There can be no comparison between those who take pride in the killing of an unarmed journalist and those who vow to end such acts - no ifs, ands, or buts. Moral relativism died with Daniel Pearl, in Karachi, on January 31, 2002. There was a time when drawing moral symmetries between two sides of every conflict was a mark of original thinking. Today, it reflects nothing but lazy conformity. (New Republic)

9/11 MASTERMIND ADMITS TO KILLING DANIEL PEARL, OTHER PLOTS AGAINST JEWS

9/11 Mastermind Admits Killing Reporter (SF Chron)
Suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl and was central to 30 other attacks and plots in the U.S. and worldwide that killed thousands of victims, said a revised transcript released Thursday by the U.S. military.

"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," Mohammed is quoted as saying in a transcript of a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, released by the Pentagon. "For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head," he added....

"I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Mohammed said in a statement read Saturday during a Combatant Status Review Tribunal at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mohammed's confession was read by a member of the U.S. military who is serving as his personal representative....

He said he planned the 2002 bombing of a Kenya beach resort frequented by Israelis and the failed missile attack on an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya.

IRONICALLY, HE ALSO PLANNED THE ASSASSINATION OF MUSLIM TERROR APOLOGIST AND ANTI-SEMITE JIMMY CARTER.