*Some of this video is in untranslated Arabic. Despite this, it is still well worth watching.
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Saturday, February 28, 2009
*Some of this video is in untranslated Arabic. Despite this, it is still well worth watching.
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
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The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
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NRC HANDELSBLAD: The wealthy Gulf state of Dubai has been hit hard by the global economic crisis. Tens of thousands of workers have been laid off and forced to return to their homelands. The Dutch community in Dubai is also feeling the pinch.
Jan Demmink has lived in Dubai for 28 years. It's the pleasant atmosphere, the entrepreneurial spirit and the climate that keep him in the Gulf state. He witnessed the transformation of what was once a tranquil and prosperous town into the vast collection of skyscrapers that makes up modern-day Dubai.
Under the leadership of Sheik Mohammed and his father Maktoum III, the emirate invested in the financial sector, tourism and real estate. The bigger, more expensive and more luxurious the better. Yet these are the very sectors that have been shaken to their foundations by the crisis and meanwhile Dubai has no major oil reserves to fall back on.
Financial nosedive
Jan Demmink works in the electronic security of complexes such as refineries, palaces and roads. His position is safe for the time being. "I work on long-running projects, so I have yet to feel the effects of the crisis," he explains. "But in construction you can see the signs already. A halt has been called to projects that were only started recently, or which have yet to get under way."
Dutch dredging company Van Oord is one of those in the firing line. The company hit the headlines worldwide with the construction of Palm Jumeirah, the first of Dubai's famous Palm islands and the construction of The World archipelago. Van Oord was all set to embark on a third island project, Palm Deira, an order worth 2.5 billion euros, the largest in the company's history. Part of the order has already been realised but the rest is on the back burner for the foreseeable future. The funding simply isn't there. Spokesman Bert Groothuizen says no one saw the rapid changes coming. "It was a nosedive. Especially in the fourth quarter of 2008. And I don't think these problems will be solved in six months' time." Expats Feeling the Economic Nosedive in Dubai >>> By Willemien Groot for Radio Netherlands Worldwide | Friday, February 27, 2009
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Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>
*Please excuse the profanity at the bottom of the screen. I have no control over that message. Because this video is too important to ignore, I am overlooking it. I hope you will too.
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Drama charting Margaret Thatcher's astonishing fall from power, one of the most extraordinary stories of political assassination the world has seen. It took only eleven days for Thatcher to go from being the most powerful woman in the world to the tearful figure in the back of the car. A major tragedy in the true Shakespearean sense, in Margaret we watch a woman lose the one thing she really cares about - power - changing from leader to victim before our eyes.
12th November 1990: As Thatcher prepares for her speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet at the Guildhall, Geoffrey Howe, her quietly-spoken former foreign secretary and chancellor, pens the resignation speech that will stun the country and seal her fate. The next day Howe makes his lethal speech in the Houses of Parliament and the final ten days of Margaret Thatcher's reign begin. >>> Broadcast, February 26, 2009
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Friday, February 27, 2009
THE LOCAL (SWEDEN): Three supermarkets were destroyed and a fourth damaged as a wave of arson attacks hit Södertälje in central Sweden in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Security police (Säpo) have been called in to investigate a connection between the attacks and an anti-US extreme left wing group.
"We have classified them all as arson and are working on the theory that they were started deliberately," said Kia Samrell at Södertälje police.
Police have not ruled out a connection to fires in the town in December which destroyed the Coop Forum and Ica Maxi supermarkets.
An extreme left wing group calling itself Global Intifada claimed responsibility for the December fires and according to reports in the Expressen newspaper, the two Willys stores destroyed on Thursday morning also received warnings from the group.
"We have not been able to confirm that the group were behind the December fires. But the investigation is not yet completed," underlined Kia Samrell.
Global Intifada, according to a Sveriges Radio report, has been responsible for dealing out leaflets in Södertälje encouraging the public to make Molotov Cocktails and use them on shops selling American products.
This threat, as yet unverified, has been communicated to the US Embassy in Sweden which considered it of sufficient importance to issue a statement confirming that it had been in contact with Södertälje police. The US authorities advised "caution while shopping and be attentive to suspicious behaviour".
The US Embassy was refusing to comment on Wednesday's attacks.
"As far as we're concerned it's a police matter," a spokesperson told The Local.
Commanding officer Lennart Sjöstrand is taking the events very seriously.
"Property worth millions has gone up in smoke," he concluded. >>> TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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LE FIGARO: Cette fois, c'est un non définitif : la chef du parti centriste Kadima a officiellement refusé de participer au gouvernement, laissant Benjamin Nétanyahou isolé pour former un nouveau cabinet.
Un non ferme et définitif. La chef du parti centriste Kadima, Tzipi Livni, a annoncé vendredi qu'elle refusait de participer au gouvernement dirigé par le premier ministre israélien de droite Benjamin Nétanyahou, à l'issue d'une rencontre organisée dans un grand hôtel de Tel Aviv. Un refus qui fait écho à celui du chef du parti travailliste et ministre sortant de la Défense, Ehoud Barak, exprimé le 23 février dernier.
La ministre sortante des Affaires étrangères Tzipi Livni avait déjà refusé une première fois, mais en laissant la porte ouverte et en acceptant une nouvelle rencontre avec Nétanyahou. Vendredi, elle a finalement décidé de couper court aux discussions en rejetant de façon ferme l'offre du chef du Likoud. >>> Flore Galaud (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Vendredi 27 Février 2009
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SUEDEUTSCHE.DE: Der Vatikan hat die Entschuldigung des erzkonservativen Bischofs und Holocaust-Leugners Richard Williamson als unzureichend bezeichnet.
Der Vatikan hat die Entschuldigung des erzkonservativen Bischofs und Holocaust-Leugners Richard Williamson als unzureichend bezeichnet. Der Geistliche der Pius-Bruderschaft hatte am Donnerstag laut der katholischen Nachrichtenagentur Zenit erklärt: "Ich entschuldige mich vor Gott bei allen Seelen, die sich ehrlich über das empört haben, was ich gesagt habe."
"So, wie es aussieht, erfüllt (der Brief) nicht die Bedingungen, die das vatikanische Staatssekretariat gestellt hat", erklärte Vatikan-Sprecher Pater Federico Lombardi am Freitag in Rom.
Außerdem sei das Schreiben des britischen Traditionalisten weder an Papst Benedikt XVI. noch an die zuständige Päpstliche Kommission Ecclesia Dei gerichtet gewesen. Die mit den Traditionalisten befasste Kommission soll das Schreiben an eine Agentur weitergeleitet haben. Der Vatikan hatte von Williamson vor Wochen einen "absolut unmissverständlichen und öffentlichen Widerruf" seiner Holocaust-Leugnung verlangt. Dies bekräftigte er am heutigen Freitag noch einmal. >>> | Freitag, 27. Februar 2009
SUEDDEUTSCHE.DE: EU-Justizminister gegen Williamson
Der Holocaust-Leugner Williamson muss in Europa mit juristischer Verfolgung rechnen. Justizminister der EU suchen derzeit entsprechende Hebel.
Der europäische Rahmenbeschluss gegen Rassismus und Fremdenfeindlichkeit könnte eine Handhabe gegen den Priester der katholischen Pius-Bruderschaft bieten, meinte der EU-Ratsvorsitzende und tschechische Justizminister Jiri Pospisil vor Beratungen mit seinen Amtskollegen am Freitag in Brüssel. "Persönlich halte ich das für möglich, aber darüber muss diskutiert werden", sagte Pospisil. >>> dpa/sekr | Freitag, 27. Februar 2009
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COMMONDREAMS.ORG: Takes Issue with sponsorship of film by Senator Kyl
WASHINGTON - Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) took issue with the screening of a film by the controversial Dutch Parliamentarian, Geert Wilders, in the United States Capitol. The film being screened, "Fitna", is said to compare Islamic terrorism to Nazism. The screening is sponsored by Senator John Kyl (R-AZ).
"I am a strong an advocate of First Amendment free speech. However, this is not about free speech, but rather an issue of propriety, timing and venue," Ellison said. "Senator Kyl has every right to host anyone he chooses, however it becomes a question of propriety to use the United States Capitol as a venue for the condemnation of an entire religion," Ellison said.
Mr. Wilders was denied entry by the British government because of his extremist views. A British Home Office spokesman stated: "The government opposes extremism in all its forms." The Dutch government has disavowed Mr. Wilders visit to this country and believes the release of this film "serves no purpose other than to cause offence." According to the London Telegraph, Wilders has stated that the Qu'ran should be banned.
Ellison further stated, "At a time when President Obama has said to the Muslim world, ‘We are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest,' the showing of a film that denigrates the faith of 1.4 billion of the world's citizens does not foster mutual respect or mutual interest.
At a time when the US should be providing renewed leadership for peace and more understanding between the west and the Muslim world, one has to question the wisdom and judgment of promoting a film that erroneously condemns an entire religion-especially in the US Capitol," Ellison concluded. [Source: CommonDreams.org] Rick Jauert | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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WELT ONLINE: Bischof Williamson sorgt mit seiner Holocaust-Leugnung weltweit für Kritik. Dabei war seine Äußerung nur die Spitze des Eisbergs. Denn die Pius-Brüder sind nicht nur ein religiöser Bund, sondern hochpolitisch: Der Deutschland-Chef des Ordens wettert gegen Demokratie und Wirtschaft und will die Todesstrafe.
Darf sich ein weltanschaulich neutraler Staat, darf sich eine Bundeskanzlerin in die inneren Angelegenheiten der katholischen Kirche oder auch anderer Glaubensgemeinschaften einmischen? Ja, der Staat muss es sogar tun, wenn es extremistische Tendenzen gibt – im Falle der Anhänger der Pius-Bruderschaft sind es trotz wortreicher theologischer Argumentationen rechtsradikale Positionen.
Auch wenn die katholische Kirche selbst gefordert ist – und unbestreitbar distanzieren sich alle deutschen Bischöfe von den Pius-Brüdern –, so handelt es sich nicht nur um ein theologisches, sondern vor allem um ein weltlich-politisches Problem. In der Auseinandersetzung mit dieser religiösen Gruppe stand bislang die Holocaust-Leugnung des Bischofs Williamson im Vordergrund.
Doch wer sich die politischen Thesen von Franz Schmidberger, Chef der deutschen Pius-Bruderschaft, anschaut, wird erkennen, dass die judenfeindlichen Aussagen von Bischof Williamson nur die Spitze eines Eisberges darstellen. Die von Schmidberger in einer „Zeitschrift für das christliche Gemeinwesen“ niedergelegten „Grundsätze einer christlichen Gesellschaftsordnung“ offenbaren ein eindeutig antiplurales und antifreiheitliches Verständnis dieser katholischen Sekte.
Die Schmidberger-Grundsätze zeugen von einer bedenklichen politischen Gesinnung: Besonders problematisch ist die abstruse These von Schmidberger, dass es „legitime Regierungen“ gibt, „die nicht aus Wahlen hervorgegangen sind“. Demnach könnte eine Alleinherrschaft eine legitime Regierung sein, da es nicht auf die Zustimmung der Bevölkerung, sondern auf eine Anerkennung durch Gott selber ankomme. >>> Von Gerd Langguth* | Freitag, 27. Februar 2009
*Der Autor unterrichtet Politische Wissenschaft an der Universität Bonn
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L’EXPRESS.fr: Pour le tourisme ou les affaires, les Qataris adorent Paris. Immobilier de luxe, opérations financières, sponsoring sportif... ils investissent la capitale.
Un petit vent frisquet balaie les Champs-Elysées, cet après-midi de février. Emmitouflé dans une doudoune de marque, Fadi, 25 ans, fait quelques emplettes avec sa mère. Manteau long, foulard rehaussé de perles sur les cheveux, madame s'engouffre dans une boutique de luxe. "Nous sommes ici pour quelques jours, avec mes frères et soeurs, glisse le jeune homme. Nous descendons toujours au même hôtel, tout près d'ici." La conversation est rapidement interrompue par l'intervention d'un garde du corps, aux bras chargés de paquets. Une scène presque coutumière dans ce quartier chic: depuis quelques années, de nombreux ressortissants qataris, comme Fadi et sa famille, ont fait de Paris l'une de leurs destinations favorites. La Ville Lumière attire aussi bien les touristes fortunés que la famille de l'émir et les principaux groupes financiers du pays - ce qui revient parfois au même. Ces visiteurs, qui disposent de l'un des revenus par habitant les plus élevés au monde (48 900 euros par an), viennent goûter aux plaisirs de la culture, du luxe et du fameux "romantisme" made in France. Les hommes d'affaires, eux, investissent dans l'immobilier, l'hôtellerie quatre étoiles, le parrainage sportif, quand ils n'entrent pas dans le capital de grandes sociétés françaises. Alors que la Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) doit ouvrir une succursale à Paris, l'année prochaine, quelques lieux privilégiés de l'Ouest parisien prennent déjà de faux airs de Doha-sur-Seine.
"Chez nous, les gens appellent les Champs-Elysées la ''route des Arabes du Golfe'", raconte, dans un français alerte, Talal, 21 ans, étudiant qatari en droit. L'été, les touristes de l'émirat prennent leurs quartiers dans les palaces voisins: George V, Fouquet's, Marriott, Crillon, etc. Dans ces établissements somptueux, où le prix d'une nuit peut atteindre 2500 euros, les clients bénéficient d'un confort et d'une confidentialité appréciables. "Ils se lèvent très tard, voire en début d'après-midi, car beaucoup d'entre eux sortent toute la nuit dans les cafés, restaurants et cabarets des alentours", confie l'employé d'un hôtel. >>> Par Boris Thiolay, Henri Haget, Olivier Saretta | Vendredi 27 Février 2009
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TIMES ONLINE: Shares across the UK, America and Europe tumbled today after it emerged that the US economy shrank at the fastest rate since 1982 in the final three months of last year, far worse than the US Government had initially estimated.
Gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annual rate of 6.2 per cent between October and December, above initial estimates of a 3.8 per cent decline during the fourth quarter of 2008.
In response, London's FTSE 100 index plunged further below the 4,000 level today, losing 127.35 points to 3,788.29 and America's Dow Jones industrial average fell 132.45 points to 7,049.63.
Investors in Germany and France also took fright - Frankfurt's Dax fell 4.1 per cent while French-listed stocks dropped 3.3 per cent to 2,654.52.
With President Obama's fiscal stimulus packages not expected to become effective until the second quarter of this year, Wall Street is expecting growth numbers for the current quarter of 2009 to be as bad as the last three months of 2008.
According to the new GDP numbers, the US economy actually contracted by 6.2 per cent - the worst showing in 27 years - at the end of last year because American exports plunged by more than expected and the US consumer stopped spending.
The worse than expected numbers show that the US economy is struggling to cope on two fronts - on one side, foreign markets have applied the brakes to buying US goods as their own economies plunge deeper into recession.
On the other front, Americans have become so anxious that they may also join the soaring numbers of unemployed that they have stopped spending on all but essential items such as food and petrol. >>> Grainne Gilmore | Friday, February 27, 2009
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DAILY TIMES: OSLO: Norway’s leading opposition Progress Party slammed on Thursday what it termed the ‘gradual Islamisation’ of the country after an order allowing policewomen to wear the Islamic headscarf if they wished.
“We’ve hit bottom. Once again, we see an example of Norway and Norwegian society caving to the special demands of Muslims,” the populist party’s spokesman on immigration issues, Per Willy Amundsen, told news channel TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
“Sector by sector, Norway is adapting to Muslims instead of Muslims adapting to a country in which they, after all, have chosen to live of their own free will. I call that a gradual Islamisation of Norway,” he said. On Wednesday, Norway’s centre-left government announced that it would allow female police officers to wear the hijab if they wish. Several other European countries, including Sweden and Britain, have already allowed the wearing of religious headgear by their police officers. [Source: Dail Times (Pakistan)] afp | Friday, February 6, 2009
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TIME Photo Gallery: The Fed's doing it. The Bank of England says it plans to do it, too. With printing money back in fashion, TIME reflects on Germany's efforts in the 1920s — and the crisis that followed >>> | Friday, February 27, 2009
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COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: In case on whether he can legally change religion, Christian is accused of ‘apostasy.’
ISTANBUL – In the latest hearing of a Muslim-born Egyptian’s effort to officially convert to Christianity, opposing lawyers advocated he be convicted of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, and sentenced to death.
More than 20 Islamic lawyers attended the hearing on Sunday (Feb. 22) in Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary’s case to obtain identification papers with Christianity designated as his religious affiliation. Two lawyers led the charge, Ahmed Dia El-Din and Abdel Al-Migid El-Anani.
“[El-Din] started to talk about the Quran being in a higher position than the Bible,” one of El-Gohary’s lawyers, Said Fayez, told Compass. “[El-Din said] people can move to a higher religion but not down, so people cannot move away from Islam because it is highest in rank.”
Memos submitted by opposing lawyers asserted that cases such as El-Gohary’s form part of a U.S. Zionist attack on Islam in
Egypt, that Christianity is an inferior religion to Islam and that Copts protect and defend converts from Islam at their own peril.
“We received 150 pages from them that talked about religion,” said Fayez. “We are not in a position to talk about religion, we are only talking about the law.”
El-Gohary Beaten
El-Gohary was not present at the hearing, as attendance would put him at extreme personal risk. He had planned to obtain papers authorizing attorney Nabil Ghobreyal to act as his proxy representation in court, but staff members at the registry office swore at and beat him, lawyers said.
Judge Hamdy Yasin was forced to adjourn the case until March 28 because El-Gohary did not obtain the necessary proxy representation documents.
“I am now in a position where I can’t do anything else,” El-Gohary, who has been in hiding, told Compass. “I have to go [to court] despite the danger. I believe God will protect me. It’s a very hard decision, but I have to go.”
Copts and Christian converts have to face such systemic prejudice daily in the battle for their rights, he said.
“Our rights in Egypt, as Christians or converts, are less than the rights of animals,” El-Gohary said. “We are deprived of social and civil rights, deprived of our inheritance and left to the fundamentalists to be killed. Nobody bothers to investigate or care about us.”
El-Gohary, 56, has been attacked in the street, spat at and knocked down in his effort to win the right to officially convert. He said he and his 14-year-old daughter continue to receive death threats by text message and phone call.
But he also has received text messages, he said, of encouragement from other Muslim-born converts too fearful to take a similar stand.
“Everyday I get calls from people who have converted but are secret,” said El-Gohary. “They ask me every day about what is happening, because it affects their future.”
The danger to himself and his daughter has led El-Gohary to suggest that he will most likely leave Egypt, but not until the case is over. >>> | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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THE SPECTATOR: James Delingpole talks to Jonah Goldberg about his book on the affinities between the modern Left and the totalitarian movements of the 20th century
Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism is a conservative’s wet dream. No, it’s better than that. The moment you read it — presuming you’re right-wing, that is — you will experience not only a rush of ecstasy, but also a surge of revolutionary fervour and evangelical zeal. You’ll want to email all your friends and tell them the wonderful news: ‘I’m not an evil bastard, after all!’
What Goldberg very effectively does is to remove from the charge sheet the one possible reason any thinking person could have for not wanting to be right-wing: viz, that being on the right automatically makes you a closet fascist/Nazi scumbag. By accumulating a mass of historical evidence so extensive it borders on the wearisome, Goldberg comprehensively demonstrates that both Nazism and fascism were phenomena of the Left, not of the Right.
The book, a New York Times No. 1 bestseller has, needless to say, enraged lefties (‘liberals’ as they’re more usually known in the States) everywhere. ‘In the first week I had half a dozen emails from total strangers saying, “How dare you accuse us caring liberals of being fascists!” and then going on to say what a shame it was that my family hadn’t been sorted out once and for all a few years back in the concentration camps,’ he says.
Goldberg is a New York Jew and growing up as a conservative in Manhattan’s impeccably liberal, Jewish Upper West Side, he said he often felt like a Christian in Ancient Rome. At school and university, whenever he spoke in favour of tax cuts or a free market economy, the response was invariably the same. ‘Nazi’, he was called. Or ‘fascist’. By the time he was established as a contributing editor to National Review, he’d had quite enough of this. He spent four years researching and writing the book which would put the record straight.
What he found astonished him. Nazism and fascism, it turned out, were closer kindred spirits of Soviet communism than he could ever have imagined. The first expressed itself through ideas about racial purity and Jew-hatred, the second with ideas about the primacy of the nation, but in most other respects they were all remarkably similar: seizing the means of production; empowering the masses; rule by experts; the elevation of youth and brute emotion over wisdom, tradition and intellect; the submission of the individual to the will of the state. As Goldberg wryly puts it, ‘The Nazis were not big on property rights and tax cuts.’ >>> James Delingpole | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
”Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains.” – Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, French political philosopher (1712 - 1778)
Politicians today are craven! They do NOT deserve our respect!
Politicians, at least in the United Kingdom, are career politicians who only rarely have pursued other careers before entering Parliament.
In years gone by, this was very different: Men, and I mean men, used to go into politics when they had achieved a great deal in the real world, and when they felt that they had enough money to spend the rest of their working lives in the pursuit of improving the lot of the people. They were beholden unto no one, because they had made their money before entering politics, and were thus prepared to work for a relatively modest remuneration in order to try and improve the lot of the masses. Because they were men of independent means, they could speak their minds.
What we have today is but a mere pathetic shadow of the politicians of yore. What we have today are ‘company men’, party men, if you will. They toe the party line; and are terrified of losing their positions. How many politicians have you heard of recently who have been prepared to resign on a point of principle? Few, I would wager.
We, at least in the UK, are all the poorer for this sad development. It means that our politicians are far more concerned about their next pay packet than they are about the real concerns of politics.
Recent events have shown us, and very, very clearly, that our politicians are craven, unprincipled, and weak. Weak beyond measure!
The Houses of Parliament are peopled not only by men, but they are peopled by women also. To a great extent, British politics has become feminized. Bringing women into the political arena is, in many ways, a great thing; but it can only be a great thing if the women coming into politics can take the tough decisions necessary to ensure that our Judeo-Christian civilization can survive and thrive. Of late, this has clearly NOT been happening. On the contrary, our Judeo-Christian civilization, a civilization which has given us so, so much, has been dangerously weakened.
Just observe what has been happening in the United Kingdom! Just observe the pathetically weak and craven way that this NuLabour government has dealt with the threat that Islam has posed this nation! The ministers and politicians, all of whom are running scared, have placated these Muslims, even to the point of banning Geert Wilders from entering the country to show his film, Fitna, in the House of Lords.
It is abhorrent, to say nothing of being craven, to say nothing of being unworthy, to have banned this courageous man from this country. The decision was as disgusting as it was undemocratic. We in the United Kingdom were raised to expect our freedom of speech, we were raised to expect liberty. Yet, what has this awful government given us? Nothing but surrender to the forces of evil, surrender to the forces of darkness, surrender to the Jihad being waged against us. How can our politicians expect us willingly to embrace Muslims when we can see so plainly – it is as plain as the nose on your face – that Muslims are the cause of our loss of freedoms? How can this bring harmony in the community? Of course, it cannot!
The war on Islamic terror over the past years has been fought by politicians hell-bent on taking away the freedoms of the innocent people upon whom the ‘war on terror’ has been waged – the victims. Instead of targeting the perpetrators of the crimes, our ‘leaders’ have chosen to bring hurt upon the innocent. Why? Because they lack the courage necessary to punish the people who are perpetrating the crimes. Why? Because they know that if they were to punish the perpetrators of the crimes, they would meet with fierce opposition, whilst they know that by punishing the innocent, they will meet with nothing but meek and mild opposition, if indeed they meet with opposition at all.
Our so-called leaders, craven leaders almost all, decided that the ‘war on terror’ would be waged by taking your freedoms away, and mine. They decided that they would take our freedom away to criticize religion in general, and Islam in particular. (Oh, for the love of Allah, don’t criticize Islam!) As a result of this, and other stupidities, we now find ourselves with our hands tied firmly behind our backs, we find ourselves with a pitifully weakened voice. That’s how stupid and craven the politicians are that now lead us.
But can I tell you this: It is our birthright to be able to criticize Islam; it is our birthright to be able to criticize the Prophet Muhammad.
This is why it is IMPERATIVE that we be given an ‘international first amendment’, which Geert Wilders has called for, and which the International Free Press Society has called for, too. No constitution that the EU will write will be worth a damn if there is within it no ‘first amendment’. The people need to be free to speak their minds; they need to be free to criticize religion, any religion, and they need to be free to criticize any prophets considered to be – at least by some – the expounders of those faiths. No prophet, no god, must be above criticism, for any god worthy of being worshipped will accept such criticism. A god which cannot accept such criticism, a prophet who cannot accept such criticism, cannot be worthy of being worshipped at all! NO religion worthy of its salt is above criticism!
But our politicians are weak and craven and lacking in spunk: they cannot find it within themselves to criticize those who perpetrate crimes in the name of their pathetic religions, still less to criticize the religions themselves.
This is why our politicians are not worthy of being followed. This is why our politicians are not worthy of the title of ‘leaders’. This is why there is need of change at the top, this is why we are in need of change in the establishment.
We need leaders of spunk, but all I see around me are leaders of custard!
©Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved
THE TELEGRAPH: A defector from Germany's hard-core neo-Nazi party the NPD has painted a chilling picture of the rise of new Hitler worshippers and their plans to build the "Fourth Reich".
Uwe Luthardt was a senior member of the NPD but quit to inform on the party which Germany tried unsuccessfully to ban several years ago.
He told of weapons stores and how members greet each other with "Heil Hitler" salutes, sing the banned songs of the Third Reich and relish the idea of a new Holocaust against the Jews.
Last year neo-Nazi attacks in Germany reached an all-time high and authorities are battling to stop youngsters from being attracted to the politics of the right – particularly now that Germany is in a deep recession and jobs are being lost by the thousands every day.
Luthardt, a former board member of the party, said he was threatened that he could "disappear" if he informed on its inner workings.
"Someone who just quits usually gets a lot of problems, and can find himself waking up in intensive care," he said.
"It wasn't really my world. When you went along to evening meetings, you saw all the shaven heads, and a black sun or other Nazi symbols tattooed on arms. They usually just boozed or were abusive. If there's no opponent around, they just fight among themselves.
"Many have an IQ close to my shoe size. Most of them are simply failures: failed pupils, people who dropped out of school or their apprenticeships, alcoholics that can't find a foothold anywhere else, thugs. But every local organisation has three to five men who don't have criminal records. They're the ones sent to face the press or man information stands.
"I joined because I wanted to do something for Germany, I wasn't interest in a Greater Germany. And suddenly everyone was saying we'll take back Silesia in Poland and then we'll give the communists a thrashing."
He said old Nazis living in South America still donate to the party and other funds come from the staging of skinhead-music concerts.
He went on: "The simple aim is the restoration of the Reich in which a new storm trooper organisation takes revenge on anyone who disagrees with them. >>> By Allan Hall in Berlin | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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BBC: It would be bizarre in any country to find that its lingerie shops are staffed entirely by men.
But in Saudi Arabia - an ultra-conservative nation where unmarried men and women cannot even be alone in a room together if they are not related - it is strange in the extreme.
Women, forced to negotiate their most intimate of purchases with male strangers, call the situation appalling and are demanding the system be changed.
"The way that underwear is being sold in Saudi Arabia is simply not acceptable to any population living anywhere in the modern world," says Reem Asaad, a finance lecturer at Dar al-Hikma Women's College in Jeddah, who is leading a campaign to get women working in lingerie shops rather than men.
"This is a sensitive part of women's bodies," adds Ms Asaad. "You need to have some discussions regarding size, colour and attractive choices and you definitely don't want to get into such a discussion with a stranger, let alone a male stranger. I mean this is something I wouldn't even talk to my friends about."
In theory, it should be easy enough to get women to staff lingerie shops, but parts of Saudi society are still very traditional and don't like the idea of women working - even if it's just to sell underwear to each other. >>> By Stephanie Hancock, BBC News, Jeddah | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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TIMES ONLINE: President Obama set up a long and bloody battle with Republicans today when he unveiled an almost $4 trillion budget that raises taxes, slashes military spending and increases the national deficit to its highest level since World War II.
Mr Obama's first budget included a series of contentious provisions that produced howls of protest from Republicans, triggering what will be a major fight on Capitol Hill where the president has to get it passed by both the House and Senate.
The 140-page budget outlines forecasts an enormous $1.75 trillion deficit for this fiscal year, which ends in October, in part because it makes clear that Mr Obama is anticipating yet another massive bailout for the banking sector, on top of the $700 billion package passed last October.
Such a move would be unpopular with the American public and strongly opposed by Republicans and some Democrats on Capital Hill, because the banking sector is widely blamed for the economic crisis. The document includes a $750 billion set-aside in case more rescue funds for Wall Street are needed. President Barack Obama Unveils $4 trillion Budget >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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THE INDEPENDENT: It started with a switch from hijabs to Hermès headscarves. Now, after 30 years of Sharia law, the fight for women’s rights is gathering pace. Katherine Butler meets the Iranian rally drivers, bloggers and film-makers demanding change
Zohreh Vatankhah slides into the driving seat of her BMW X3, flicks a switch to some pulsating Persian pop and we're soon zipping along the narrow lanes near her home in northern Tehran, almost in the foothills of the snow-capped Alborz mountains. Most Iranians behave in traffic as if they are in charge of dodgems, not potentially lethal vehicles: the traffic is heart-stoppingly dangerous, but with this woman I can relax. A professional racing driver, she's used to competing, and winning, at speeds of up to 180mph.
She's glamorous, too, wearing high-heeled boots over her jeans (a controversial look in the eyes of the Iranian morality police) and a Rolex on her wrist. When she's not confounding stereotypes of Iranian women by beating men on the rally circuits, she's climbing mountains (she recently conquered Mount Damavand, the highest peak in the Middle East), or, here, in the axis of evil, sworn enemy of the United States, watching US (banned but tolerated) satellite TV channels; 24 is one of her favourite shows.
"I LOVE Barack Obama," she says, "and Michelle, she's so stylish and so smart."
At 31, Vatankhah was born a year before Iran's Islamic revolution. In February 1978, Tehran had nightclubs and dancing and girls-about-town who dressed as fashionably as their counterparts in Europe. A year later, the Shah had fled from his Peacock Throne; Iran was reborn as an Islamic Republic and women, many of whom supported the overthrow, were waking up to find their lives drastically changed. Not only obliged to cover up from head to toe, and banned from singing or performing in public to conform with Ayatollah Khomeini's narrow interpretation of Sharia law, they were also, as Shirin Ebadi, Nobel prize winner and Iran's first woman judge, found to her cost, sidelined from senior jobs. Women, "too emotional", were no longer employed as judges.
The woman in the driving seat next to me looks anything but downtrodden. Yet, the tension between modernity and tradition that weighs heavily on women's lives in Iran is never far away. At one point she leans over to say: "Please, your scarf," when the bothersome piece of cloth on my head slips down.
But then something happens that could be a metaphor for the revolution that may be quietly taking place in contemporary Iran. Our drive stalls when an irate male motorist, assuming she's trying to enter a one-way road, hogs the intersection and waves at her to go back. Vatankhah doesn't budge – she knows she's in the right. She holds her ground, presses on, but when he passes he shouts an obscenity. She rolls down her window calmly and tells him whatever the Farsi equivalent is of shut up and get a life.
Iranian women, and not just the sporting queens or Nobel prize winners, are standing up to the mullahs. And some of them are experiencing a frightening political backlash. >>> | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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CNSNEWS.COM: Troubled by attacks on free expression by groups wanting to shield Islam from criticism or scrutiny, free speech advocates are preparing to unveil a campaign for an “international First Amendment.”
The initiative will be launched by the International Free Press Society (IFPS) at an event in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Attending will be Geert Wilders, the Dutch lawmaker whose views on Islam have stoked controversy worldwide.
The event will incorporate a screening of Wilders’ short documentary, Fitna, which features passages from the Koran along with footage of terror attacks and jihadists extolling violence while quoting from Islam’s revered text.
The film has been viewed by millions online, but recent attempts to show it at the European Parliament ran into difficulties, and Wilders was refused entry into Britain earlier this month to attend a screening at the House of Lords. The British government said he “would threaten community security and therefore public security.”
A closed screening for U.S. lawmakers has been arranged at the Capitol building on Thursday, hosted by Republican Senator Jon Kyl.
Recent years have seen an escalating drive by Islamic countries, working through the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to counter what they regard as blasphemy – anything calling into question the assertion that Islam is a peaceful and tolerant religion.
Seeking to make it more difficult for people to challenge or criticize Islam, the OIC is promoting resolutions at the U.N. against “religious defamation,” based in part on the argument that anti-Islamic sentiment is a “contemporary form of racism.”
In a number of Islamic countries, blasphemy laws are enforced, often targeting Muslims who convert to another faith and are considered apostates under Islamic law (shari’a), but also anyone who questions Islamic teaching or practices associated with Islam.
In non-Muslim countries, especially in the West, “hate speech” regulations are sometimes used to similar effect, and Wilders himself is due to stand trial in the Netherlands soon on charges of “inciting hatred and discrimination.” >>> By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor | Thursday, February 26, 2009
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THE SUN: BRITAIN recently disgraced itself by banning democratically elected Dutch MP Geert Wilders from entering the country.
His planned “crime” was to screen a short documentary at a private viewing in the House of Lords.
It’s worth raising today after the £2,500 hand-out to sinister Jordanian Abu Qatada and the imminent arrival of Ethiopian terror suspect Binyam Mohamed.
Wilders’ film links horrific acts of terror with verses from the Koran recorded in taped rants by terrorists before their slaughter of the innocents.
I haven’t seen the film because it has been blocked* on the internet.
But neither had Labour MP Keith Vaz when he went on TV to justify the veto.
Vaz said he didn’t need to. Nor did he need any precedent for such draconian censorship. Every decision should be considered on its “merits” — by people like himself, of course.
Our cringing surrender to this authoritarian, book-burning mentality was ordered by mealy-mouthed Home Secretary Jacqui Smith under pressure from Labour peer Lord Ahmed.
Lord Ahmed, who warned of mob demos, is the Pakistani-born Labour donor who once ignored protests and invited rabid anti-Semite Israel Shamir into the Lords.
Some extreme interpretations of the Koran teach that Jews and homosexuals are fit only for extermination — which is why Hitler was so popular in parts of the Arab world.
Wilders’ visit would have gone unnoticed but for Jackboot Jacqui, whose Government has prostrated itself to accommodate Islam’s nastier fringes.
She famously tried to detoxify events like 7/7 by describing them as “anti-Islamic activities” — as if the killers were shooting THEMSELVES in the foot!
Labour’s refusal to act against extremism allowed such vile religious perverts as Abu “Hookie” Hamza to flourish.
It gave oxygen to rabble-rousing imams who brainwashed thousands of young British-born Muslims, not least the 7/7 murderers.
It turned a blind eye to migrants who refuse to assimilate and instead colonise whole suburbs and cities where welfare has become a way of life.
It encouraged multi-culturalism which, far from spreading tolerance, has entrenched primitive tribal customs, including forced marriages and honour killings.
As a result, our security services are at breaking point keeping tabs on an army of shadowy troublemakers who flit back and forth to Pakistan — many to be trained in OUR mass murder.
Of course, Islam extremism is rife in all EU countries.
In Geert Wilders’ Holland, the penalty for criticising Islam is death — as filmmaker Theo van Gogh shockingly learned. >>> By Trevor Kavanagh | Monday, February 23, 2009
Hat tip: Winds of Jihad >>>
*You can view Fitna here:
VIDDLER: Fitna
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TAGES ANZEIGER: Lange Zeit war unklar, ob einzelne der fünf Kinder von Nikolaus II. und seiner Frau Alexandra das Massaker in Jekaterinburg am Ural überlebt haben könnten. >>> sam/ap | Donnerstag, 26. Februar 2009
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TIMES ONLINE: Sir Fred Goodwin may be forced to give up some of his massive £650,000 pension if he refuses pleas to "do the decent thing" and surrender it voluntarily.
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, today denied a suggestion from Sir Fred's successor at the Royal Bank of Scotland that the Government had known about the deal to top up the banker's pension pot when he left the ailing bank last year.
He also revealed that he had instructed a Treasury minister, Lord Myners, to contact Sir Fred and ask him voluntarily to give up some of his pension.
“I think people will find it very difficult to understand how you can get paid £650,000 a year for the rest of your life when just look at the state that RBS is in at the moment,” Mr Darling told BBC Radio 4. “You cannot justify these excesses, especially when you’ve got such a failure of this magnitude.” >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor, and Philippe Naughton | Thursday, February 26, 2009
BBC: RBS Reports Record Corporate Loss
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.
RBS, which had to be bailed out by the government last year, said that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn ($34.2bn).
It also said it would put £325bn of toxic assets into a scheme that offers insurance for any further losses.
RBS is under fire over the pension of former boss Sir Fred Goodwin and the chancellor said the government had asked him to forego some of it.
Speaking at a news conference, RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said the bank was "under no illusions" about the scale of the losses.
He added that it was important "to think about the past, to know what went wrong, to disclose it and to address those issues". >>> | Thursday, February 26, 2009
Watch BBC video: Gordon Brown has said 'nobody can support very extensive pension arangements' at this time. >>>
Watch BBC video: Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable has launched a scathing attack on the government's scheme to insure banks against big losses. >>>
Watch BBC video: Chancellor Alistair Darling has spoken about the huge pension awarded to former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Sir Fred Goodwin.
RBS has come under fire, after it emerged Sir Fred, who retired at 50, is drawing a £650,000 a year pension.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Darling said the government had no part in negotiating the agreement otherwise it would not have been approved. >>>
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THE TELEGRAPH: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecilia Attias is moving to the US to campaign against domestic violence.
Mrs Attias, who once complained to police about "brutal exchanges" with Mr Sarkozy before he was president, has set up a foundation with her new husband Richard Attias to promote women's rights.
But she revealed that she will not expect to see much of Mr Attias as he will continue to work largely in Dubai.
The couple lived together in New York when Cecilia, 51, was briefly separated from Mr Sarkozy before they finally divorced.
Mrs Attias told Gala magazine that she was leaving Dubai, where Mr Attias runs a successful public relations agency, because she wanted to "give everything" to her foundation.
She also said that her young son with Mr Sarkozy, Louis, 11, had always "dreamed of living" in New York, where "he has his friends".
Referring to her third husband, Cecilia said: "Richard will continue to work in Dubai, in the United States and elsewhere, but his little family will be based in New York."
At the time of her police complaint the glamorous former model was conducting an on-off affaire with the multi-millionaire businessman she finally married last March.
Mrs Attias plans to work an independent lobbyist, devoting herself to the newly formed Cecilia Attias Foundation for Woman.
Setting out its aims, the foundation's publicity reads: "In 2009, the cause chosen by Cecilia Attias is the fight against domestic violence, a terrible plague that is unfortunately increasing rapidly." >>> By Peter Allen in Paris | Thursday, February 26, 2009
GALA.fr: Cécilia Attias – Je quitte Dubaï avec mon fils: Elle s'installe à New York, son mari poursuit ses activités à Dubaï
Cécilia Attias surprend encore. La voilà qui abandonne Dubaï pour New York. L'épouse de Richard Attias souhaite s'investir totalement dans sa fondation et permettre à son fils de vivre dans cette ville américaine qu'il aime tant...
Richard ne l'accompagnera pas. Cécilia Attias a décidé de quitter Dubaï pour la Grosse Pomme avec son fils Louis. Des rumeurs évoquent une crise de couple, Cécilia Attias nous précise simplement que "Richard continuera à travailler à Dubaï, aux Etats Unis et ailleurs comme toujours; mais sa petite famille sera basée à New York."
Selon d'autres, il s'agirait plutôt d'une crise économique. Soulignant un problème financier, Richard Attias patron d'une société d'événementiels aurait perdu des marchés suite à la fragilité de l'économie à Dubaï. Selon Cécilia Attias encore, "les difficultés financières ne touchent à mon sens que ceux qui colportent de mauvaises rumeurs sur les autres. Personnellement nous, nous allons plutôt très bien..." >>> Valérie Domain | Mardi 24 Février 2009
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WELT ONLINE: Die Finanzmärkte müssen sich ändern, und zwar schnell und drastisch: US-Präsident Barack Obama forderte bei einem Treffen mit Wirtschaftsexperten des US-Kongresses eine stärkere Regulierung der Märkte. Bis zum G-20-Gipfel am 2. April in London soll ein Regelwerk ausgearbeitet werden.
US-Präsident Barack Obama dringt auf eine zügige Reform der Finanzmarkt-Regularien. „Wir können die Märkte des 21. Jahrhunderts nicht mit den Bestimmungen aus dem 20. Jahrhundert aufrecht erhalten“, sagte er im Anschluss an ein Treffen mit Finanzminister Timothy Geithner und Wirtschaftsexperten des US-Kongresses.
Die aktuelle Finanzkrise sei nicht unvermeidbar gewesen, sagte Obama. Die gesetzlichen Regeln für den Banken- und Finanzsektor seien nicht den Änderungen der Branche angepasst worden.
Der US-Präsident kündigte strenge staatliche Aufsicht für Unternehmen an, deren Geschäfte die Sicherheit des Marktes beeinträchtigten. >>> Quelle: AFP | Donnerstag, 26. Februar 2009
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WELT ONLINE: Die Russen sind zunehmend unzufrieden mit ihrer politischen Spitze. In Zeiten der Finanzkrise schwindet das Vertrauen in Wladimir Putin und Dmitri Medwedjew. In dem Maße, wie sich die Krise in Russland verschärft, wächst die Nervosität in der Führung – und mündet in eine Militarisierung.
Das russische Macht-Tandem muss in diesen Tagen Popularitätsverluste hinnehmen, die es bislang so nicht gegeben hat.
Der jüngsten Umfrage zufolge sank die Rate derer, die Präsident Dmitri Medwedjew vertrauen, innerhalb einer Woche von 55 auf 50 Prozent. Die Zustimmung für Premierminister Wladimir Putin ging um drei Prozent auf 66 Prozent zurück, seine Partei Geeintes Russland würden gegenwärtig noch 51 Prozent der Russen wählen. So niedrig war die Zustimmung das letzte Mal vor über zwei Jahren. >>> Von Manfred Quiring | Donnerstag, 26. Februar 2009
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LE FIGARO: Les tentatives de réformes ont maintes fois échoué. Obama propose de donner le choix à la population entre couverture publique et assurance privée.
Barack Obama veut que le Congrès adopte une réforme du système d'assurance-maladie dès cette année. «La réforme de la santé ne peut pas attendre et elle n'attendra pas encore un an», a-t-il martelé mardi soir sous les applaudissements des deux Chambres du Congrès.
L'objectif est très ambitieux car la réforme sera coûteuse : Obama prévoit la création d'un fonds de réserve de 634 milliards de dollars sur dix ans, a-t-il annoncé mercredi. Or, les finances fédérales sont gravement mises à mal par la récession et le plan massif de relance juste voté.
La semaine prochaine, à l'occasion d'un «sommet sur la santé», le président des États-Unis va réunir à la Maison-Blanche des experts du secteur privé et les élus les plus impliqués dans ce débat. Max Baucus, sénateur démocrate du Montana, un modéré qui préside la commission des finances, ainsi que Ted Kennedy, sénateur démocrate du Massachusetts, devraient jouer un rôle clé dans l'élaboration, d'ici à l'été, d'une proposition de loi. C'est en effet au Sénat, plus qu'à la Chambre, que le travail législatif délicat de compromis doit se faire.
Aucune loi ne peut être adoptée au Sénat sans que la majorité démocrate ne rallie à sa cause une poignée de voix républicaines. Les républicains partagent certains objectifs de leurs collègues démocrates. Ils veulent ainsi soulager les petites entreprises et les travailleurs indépendants du coût exorbitant des primes d'assurance privées. Ils souhaitent en outre promouvoir la concurrence entre assureurs privés. Entreprises asphyxiées >>> Pierre-Yves Dugua | Jeudi 26 Février 2009
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PRESS TV: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on Islamic countries across the world to build a united barrier against the 'enemy plots'.
"Unity and cooperation between Muslim states will thwart the enemy plot to sow discord between Muslims and spread hegemony over them," President Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh on Tuesday.
President Ahmadinejad added that the tyranny of superpowers is at the root of regional conflicts, urging close relations among Muslim countries in face of foreign efforts to break their spirit of solidarity.
Ismail Omar Guelleh, for his part, hailed Iran's huge leap forward in scientific achievements and called the country 'self-sufficient' in modern technology. >>> SF/AR/DT | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>
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MAIL Online: He cut a smart figure in his grey suit and crisply ironed shirt. The 6ft tall Somalian bowed to the judge, calling him 'Sir', before begging for his wife, Fatima, and their teenage son to be allowed to stay in Britain.
Fatima, with a black khimar veil covering her hair and shoulders, sat quietly next to her husband.
In her late 30s and wearing open sandals, she lowered her dark eyes as the details of the unconventional life she and her husband, Abdi, led in the West London suburb of Shepherd's Bush unfolded at a busy immigration court.
The judge listened in silence. Perhaps he knew from past experience what was coming next. Abdi went on to reveal that Fatima was not his only wife.
Indeed, he was a self-confessed bigamist who had a second, much younger wife and a 13-year-old daughter by her. They both lived nearby.
'I visit them regularly,' said Abdi, 51, who arrived in Britain in the 1990s and works in an old people's home. 'I have done nothing wrong. In Somalia, it is normal to have two wives - even three or four. Fatima is still my wife and she should not be deported.'
He was unable to produce wedding certificates or valid official documents to prove where, or when, he had married both women, therefore raising questions over the validity of the unions, under either Somali or British law.
Yet his story, unravelling at an ordinary weekday hearing at Taylor House, an asylum appeals' centre in North London, is just one example of the growing phenomenon of multiple marriage in Britain.
Officially, such unions are punishable by up to seven years in prison. They were first declared illegal in England and Wales in 1604, when the Parliament of James I took action to restrain 'evil persons' marrying more than one wife. Parliament ruled that anyone found guilty of the crime would be sentenced to death.
In the four centuries since, bigamy (having two wives) and polygamy (more than two) has been frowned on by the state, the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.
Yet it is clear that officialdom is turning a blind eye to such marriages.
A recent review by four Government departments - the Treasury, the Work and Pensions Department, the Inland Revenue and the Home Office - has concluded that 1,000 men in the United Kingdom are now polygamists, although some say the figure is higher.
What is more, the review found, a Muslim man can claim state support of more than £10,000 a year to keep his wives, if the wedding took place in one of those countries where polygamy is commonplace, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia and across huge tracts of Africa.
For example, a man can receive &£92.80 a week in income support for wife number one, and a further £33.65p for each of his subsequent spouses.
Therefore, if he has four wives - the maximum permitted under Islamic teachings - he can claim nearly £800 a month from the British taxpayer.
Controversially, a polygamist is also entitled to more generous housing benefits and bigger council houses to reflect the large size of his family. He is also able to claim £1,000 a year in child benefit for each of his growing brood.
The Government insists that polygamy has declined in Britain since the 1988 Immigration Act, which made it harder for men to bring second, third or fourth wives to the UK.
However, it's little wonder that critics claim our generosity simply encourages more Muslim men to keep several spouses.
Supporters of polygamy claim the Koran states unequivocally that a Muslim man can marry up to four women so long as he treats them equally.
But the Taxpayers' Alliance, a lobby group, has complained: 'Polygamy is not officially condoned here, so why should British taxpayers have to pay for extra benefits for men to have two, three or four wives?' >>> Sue Reid | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>
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CAPITAL J | JTA: Daniel Pipes doesn't agree with Dutch politician Geert Wilders' view that the Koran should be banned. But he does believe Wilders should be able to publicly present that view. That's why the Middle East Forum's Legal Project is helping Wilders raise money for his legal defense and sponsored his appearance Wednesday evening at Ahavath Torah Congregation in a Boston suburb.
“I don't need to agree with him to see the importance of him making his arguments,” said Pipes, the director of MEF, about Wilders, who heads the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands and serves in the country's Parliament. Earlier this month, Wilder was not allowed to enter the United Kingdom due to his criticism of Islam, which included comparing it to Nazism, and last month a Dutch court ruled he could be prosecuted for hate speech.
Pipes said Wilders is an important figure who is part of the discussion about confronting and fighting radical Islam. “If our collective voice is impeded from speaking” or “shut down,” said Pipes, then “the way is paved for radical Islam to move ahead.”
Pipes said he felt hate speech laws, which have also been used to prosecute Holocaust deniers in Europe, are a bad idea.
“I believe in the First Amendment,” he said. Read on & comment >>> Eric Fingerhut | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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WELT ONLINE: Christen werden in Indien seit Monaten blutig verfolgt. Ihre Kirchen angezündet, die Gottesdienste gewaltsam gestört. In einigen Regionen herrscht eine Pogrom-Stimmung, die mit polizeilichen oder militärischen Mitteln kaum mehr einzudämmen ist. Einer der Gründe ist die Fürsorge der Christen um die "Unberührbaren". >>> Von Till-R Stoldt || Dienstag, 24. Februar 2009
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MAIL Online: Jacqui Smith was tonight warned against exercising 'double standards' as an Islamic extremist prepared to travel to the UK.
Ibrahim Moussawi, a known hardliner with links to Hezbollah, has been invited to speak at a London university.
But the Home Secretary is under pressure to refuse an entry visa to Moussawi, who has allegedly described Jews as 'a lesion on the forehead of history'.
Earlier this month, she banned the far-Right Dutch MP Geert Wilders from coming to Britain to show his film about Islam as it would threaten 'community harmony'.
But the Conservatives warned that to ban those who threaten community harmony, while letting in those who glorify terrorism or are part of terrorist groups, would send out the 'wrong message'.
There must be 'no double standards on extremists', warned Tory security spokesman Baroness Neville-Jones.
Moussawi, who has already made at least two trips to the UK, has been invited to speak on political Islam at the School of Oriental and African Studies next month.
Editor for the newspaper of Lebanon-based terrorist organisation Hezbollah, he is a former political editor of the Iranian-backed group's TV station, which is banned in many countries including France, Spain and the U.S, as its output is seen as anti-Semitic.
Despite his background he has twice been allowed to speak publicly in Britain by the Home Office, once in December 2007 and again in February 2008. Will Labour Allow THIS Muslim Hardliner with Links to Hezbollah into Britain? >>> By James Slack | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
SPIEGELONLINE INTERANATIONAL: Radical Muslim imams and nationalist politicians from all camps are threatening Sarajevo's multicultural legacy. With the help of Arab benefactors, the deeply devout are acquiring new recruits. In the "Jerusalem of the Balkans," Islamists are on the rise.
The obliteration of Israel is heralded in a torrent of words. "Zionist terrorists," the imam thunders from the glass-enclosed pulpit at the end of the mosque. "Animals in human form" have transformed the Gaza Strip into a "concentration camp," and this marks "the beginning of the end" for the Jewish pseudo-state.
Over 4,000 faithful are listening to the religious service in the King Fahd Mosque, named after the late Saudi Arabian monarch King Fahd Bin Abd al-Asis Al Saud. The women sit separately, screened off in the left wing of the building. It is the day of the Khutbah, the great Friday sermon, and the city where the imam has predicted Israel's demise lies some 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) northwest of Gaza.
It is a city in the heart of Europe: Sarajevo. >>> By Walter Mayr in Sarajevo | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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STERN: Der Rechtsextremist Horst Mahler muss wegen Volksverhetzung für sechs Jahre ins Gefängnis. Das entschied das Landgericht München. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hatte Mahler vorgeworfen, in einem Internet-Video und auf CD den Holocaust geleugnet und zu Hass und Gewalt gegen Juden aufgestachelt zu haben.
Der Rechtsextremist Horst Mahler ist am Mittwoch in München wegen Volksverhetzung zu sechs Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Vor dem Landgericht München II musste sich der 70 Jahre alte frühere RAF-Anwalt wegen antisemitischer Hetzreden und der Verbreitung eines Buches des rechtskräftig verurteilten Holocaust-Leugners Germar Rudolf verantworten. Noch im Gerichtssaal wurde er verhaftet und vor den Augen seiner Anhänger abgeführt, die den Prozess im Publikum verfolgt hatten. >>> DPA/AP | Mittwoch, 25. Februar 2009
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SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Uwe Luthardt was a senior member of the right-extremist NPD. But he quit after three months. In an interview, he describes the NPD as a deeply radical party where Hitler salutes and financial irregularities are common -- and which is bent on restoring the German Reich. >>> | Mittwoch, 25, Februar 2009
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TIMES ONLINE: The voters loved it. The pundits gushed. Even the pollsters were impressed.
But economic reality soon intruded to burst the bubble around Barack Obama's address to Congress last night in which he promised America that it would emerge "stronger than before" from the economic slump.
Wall Street stocks plunged again at the opening bell this morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing almost 2 per cent in value as investors ignored Mr Obama's soaring rhetoric and lamented a lack of detail in his economic recover plans. Official data showing an unexpected drop in the number of home sales did nothing to reassure them. >>> Philippe Naughton, and Tim Reid in Washington | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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IRAN VISUAL NEWS CORPS: Washington—The United States today criticized Iran for what it said was a worsening human rights record, accusing Tehran of “severely” restricting civil liberties, freedom of religion and workers rights.
In its annual examination of human rights in more than 190 countries during 2008, the State Department also noted a crackdown on freedom of speech and of the press in the Islamic Republic.
“The government’s poor human rights record worsened, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses,” the report stated. “The government severely limited citizens’ right to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections. The government executed numerous persons for criminal convictions as juveniles and after unfair trials.”
According to the report, violence and discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities, and homosexuals continued to remain problems in Iran, as did human trafficking and incitement to anti-Semitism.
In addition to holding political prisoners and cracking down on supporters of women’s right, the Iranian government “severely restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, expression, assembly, association.”
The report also noted numerous credible reports of prisoners being tortured or exposed to other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
“There were numerous reports of arbitrary and false arrests during the year,” the report said, highlighting the arrests of seven members of the Baha’i national leadership body in March and May, as well as the detention of brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei, two renowned AIDS researchers.
The State Department said Iranian authorities arrested, tried and even executed individuals “on questionable criminal charges, including drug trafficking, when their actual ‘offenses’ were political.”
“The government charged members of religious minorities with crimes, such as ‘confronting the regime’ and apostasy, and conducted trials in these cases in the same manner as it would treat threats to national security,” the report stated.
The U.S. also condemned Iran for what it called “officially sanctioned discrimination” against all religious minorities, particularly in employment, education and housing. >>> ©Iran VNC 2009 | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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