Lord Carey Calls on Brown to Apologise for Recession
CHRISTIAN TODAY: Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has called on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to apologise for his role in the current economic crisis to boost his standing among the general public.

Lord Carey said that Brown needed to accept responsibility for the recession, but added that the Prime Minister would only “bounce back stronger” if he admitted his role in the current crisis.

The former Archbishop, writing in the News of the World, said, "I am puzzled and frankly saddened by Gordon Brown’s inability to acknowledge that he played a part in the awful events that brought about the current economic turmoil.

"All he needs to do is to say simply: ‘Yes, during my time as Chancellor I got it wrong. I apologise to the British people that, without knowing, I weakened the UK economy. I regret that I failed to take the steps that other leaders saw coming.’

"A church minister’s son, Gordon would know that ‘confession’ is but the prelude to the restoration of relationships with Almighty God; it works similarly in politics as it does in all walks of life." >>> By Jennifer Gold | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Bulgarian Mayor Questioned Over Radical Islam Issues
THE SOFIA ECHO: The mayor of Gurmen municipality in southwestern Bulgaria, Ahmed Bashev, has been detained for questioning by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) as a result of a prosecutor's probe into allegations of causing religious and national hatred, Bulgarian news agency BTA said on March 16 2009. >>> By Petar Kostadinov | Monday, March 16, 2009

THE SOFIA ECHO: New ‘Radical Islam in Bulgaria’ Claims

Just days after Sofia hosted a forum on how teaching at schools could be used to forestall radical Islam, a researcher gave an interview alleging that extremist Islamic sects were operating in eastern Bulgaria.

In an interview with Bulgarian news agency Focus, associate professor Tatyana Dronzina - described as an expert on conflict and terrorism research - was quoted as saying that Turkish-linked radical sects Nurju, Suleymandj and Miligurush were believed to be active in the eastern part of the country.

There were some grounds for believing that people linked to these sects were trying to make contact with pupils in Muslim religious schools in Shoumen, Rousse, Momchilgrad and in the Islamic Institute in Sofia as well, Focus quoted Dronzina as saying

While several intelligence and media reports have highlighted the rise of radical Islam in the former Yugoslavia and especially in Bosnia, earlier in 2008 US journalist Christopher Deliso said in his book The Coming Balkan Caliphate: Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West that Bulgaria was among Balkan countries where radical Islam activists were present.

Most intelligence reports have suggested that any such activity in Bulgaria is on a small scale.

After the forum in Sofia, Bulgarian National Radio interviewed Kamen Velichkov of the Foreign Ministry, who is in charge of the country's participation in the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations Initiative.

"The prevention of radicalisation in all creeds from an early school age is paramount, if we wish to have a dialogue among the various religions and cultures not only within the European Union," Velichkov told BNR.

"The issue of Islam's radicalisation is a complex one. It is above all within the competence of the state administration. Bulgaria has been trying to draw on the European experience, and in particular that of Spain, as well as non-European countries by participating in various formats, such as the Mediterranean Co-operation. >>> By Clive Leviev-Sawyer | Sunday, October 8, 2008

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David Littman: The UN in the Last Year

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Bishop Orders Episcopal Priest to Renounce Islamic Faith
USA TODAY: PROVIDENCE — An Episcopal priest in Seattle is fighting attempts by Rhode Island Episcopal Bishop Geralyn Wolf to defrock her for practicing Islam and Christianity at the same time.

Ann Holmes Redding, who marks the 25th anniversary of her ordination on March 25, says she believes she can practice both faiths and should not have to recant her Muslim beliefs.

Redding, a former Brown University student and parishioner at St. Stephen's Church in Providence, was ordained by Wolf's predecessor. Wolf is her canonical superior because Redding never shifted her canonical residence to Seattle.

Wolf has told Redding that her conversion to Islam constitutes an abandonment of the Christian faith and she must recant by March 30 or lose her status as a priest. [Source: USA Today] AP | Monday, 16, 2009

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Science and Faith: The Conflict
THE TELEGRAPH: A new film opening at the Cambridge Science Festival this evening attempts to demonstrate that the divide between religion and science is not as great as it has been portrayed.

Charles Darwin. Photo courtesy of Google Images
Brain-scanning experiments carried out by scientists last week revealed that religious faith is embedded deep within key parts of the brain. This suggests that belief in a higher power evolved at some early point in human history.

Scientists argued that it explained the widespread nature of religion among human cultures, but the findings also highlighted a growing tendency for science to be used as a way of attacking religion.

It comes at a time when the gulf between science and religion could not seem any wider.

As the scientific community celebrates 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin in 2009, and 150 years since the publication of his famous work that explained how life evolved on Earth, the conflict between religion and science seems to be escalating.

Darwin's own life could be seen as almost synonymous with the battle that is now raging between faith and science. As a student he joined Cambridge University with the intention of studying to become a clergyman, but found himself distracted by an interest in collecting beetles.

His hobby led him to become the greatest naturalist of all time. But throughout his life he struggled to reconcile his religious views with his theories on evolution through natural selection.

Today, many leading scientists who hold religious beliefs now face a similar internal struggle as they wrestle with mounting scientific evidence that forces them continually to reassess their view of the Bible.

The mounting debate over evolution and creationism has now left many people asking whether science and religion can ever coexist, or even if scientific research will eventually bring an end to religious belief entirely.

This week, however, leading scientists will debate the issue at the Cambridge Science Festival at the premiere of a new film that attempts to demonstrate that the divide between religion and science is not as great as it has been portrayed.

A growing number of scientists who also hold religious beliefs are now speaking out against the growing antagonism that is emerging between scientists and members of the religious community in many parts of the world. >>> By Richard Gray | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Britain Showing Signs of Heading Towards 1930s-style Depression, Says Bank
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is showing signs of sliding towards a 1930s-style depression, the Bank of England says today for the first time.

The country is displaying early symptoms of being trapped in a so-called “debt deflation trap” where families find themselves pushed further and further into the red every month, according to a Bank report published today.

The stark warning will cause serious concerns, since it was this combination of falling prices and soaring debt burdens that plagued the US in the 1930s.

The Bank is using its Quarterly Bulletin to highlight the threat posed to the economy by deflation – where prices fall each year rather than rise.

Although inflation is currently in positive territory, it is expected to become negative in the coming months.

The Bank is worried that this may combine with high levels of indebtedness to squeeze families further.

It says that families with high debts could fall prey to the debt deflation trap. This means that the cost of their debts, which are fixed, would rise compared to average prices throughout the economy. While inflation erodes debts, deflation makes them relatively higher.

The Bank’s paper suggests that Britain is particularly at risk because there is a high proportion of families with significant levels of debt, and many of them are on fixed mortgage rate, which means they will not benefit from rate cuts.

Britons’ total personal debt – the amount owed on mortgages, loans and credit cards – is, at £1.46 trillion, more than the value of what the country produces in a year.

Total personal debt has risen by 165 per cent since 1997 and each household now owes an average of about £60,000.

The Conservatives claim this is the highest personal debt level in the world. >>> By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Paulina Neuding*: Welcome to Ramallmö
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: How a tennis match sparked riots in Sweden.

"This is how it was last time too," said a Holocaust survivor, when she was escorted from Malmö's main square by the police. "We had to leave the square, while they got to stay."

On January 27th, it had been almost a month since the Israeli military operation Cast Lead was launched in Gaza. A couple of hundred people, mostly Jews, had gathered in Sweden's third largest city, Malmö, to show their support for Israel. Their slogans--"Israel's right to self defense" and "Compassion with all civilian victims"--were met with shouts of "Sieg Heil" and "Damn Jews" by a group of mainly Arab and left-wing counter protesters. Stones, eggs, and bottles were thrown, and when a home-made bomb was fired at the Jewish group police finally decided to evacuate. The pro-Israeli protesters fled, while children ran after them with cell phones to report back into the crowd where the Jews were heading.

One protester I spoke with was among those who refused to run. "I already left Poland forty years ago," she said. "They will not chase me away this time."

Last Saturday, roughly a month after the mob met Jews off Malmö's main square, the city was again shaken by riots. Seven thousand activists gathered to stop a Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel, and the demonstration march was also a manifestation of the ideological confusion that has become the trademark of the Swedish pro-Palestinian movement. Hamas flags and headbands could be spotted next to banners supporting communist groups and feminist causes.

The protesters were met by the largest Swedish riot squad since the anti-globalization riots convulsed the city of Gothenburg in 2001. In order to take on radical Islamists, left-wing extremists, and a small group of neo-Nazis that had announced that they too wanted to show their resentment toward Israel, the Swedish police prepared with 1,000 officers, helicopters, police vehicles on loan from neighboring Denmark, and a platoon of "dialogue officers." Dressed in yellow vests, the specially educated dialogue police officers were on hand to sooth the violent extremists. But despite the preparation, the police could not prevent rioting.

On their end, left-wing Swedish politicians worked to grant legitimacy to the protests. After war broke out in Gaza, a majority in the local Malmö council decided that no audience would be allowed at the Davis Cup games between Sweden and Israel. The representative of the Left Party (as the Communist Party was rechristened in 1990) made it clear that the decision was due to Israel's "genocide" against the people of Gaza.

The popular mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu, who is often referred to by the nickname "Malmö's strong man," is one of the most influential figures of the Social Democratic Party. He told the assembled media before the match that, were it up to him, Israel wouldn't be allowed to participate at all. "This is not a match against just anyone," he explained. "It is a match against the state of Israel." >>> By Paulina Neuding | Friday, March 13, 2009

*Paulina Neuding is an editorial page contributor to the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.

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Janet Daley: The Republicans Can Take Heart as Barack Obama Staggers to the Left
THE TELEGRAPH: The President's recent display of liberalism – and confusion – can only help the opposition, says Janet Daley.

Very odd things are happening under Obama’s administration, says Janet Daley. Photo of Presdient Obama courtesy of The Telegraph
The Republicans now believe they have a grip on what Barack Obama is about. At least for this week. The grip is subject to reappraisal because Mr Obama has developed a gift for reinventing himself with remarkable alacrity. One very senior commentator on the Right said to me, "First we had Candidate Obama, who was a liberal [ie Left wing]. Then we had President-Elect Obama, who was post-partisan and centrist. Now we have President Obama, who has reverted to being ultraliberal."

The question of who Mr Obama really is, and what he truly believes, underlies the growing list of Very Odd Things that seem to be happening under his administration. Among the most perplexing of these mysteries is why, when he went to such pains to assemble a huge and widely experienced team of White House economic advisers (even going to the lengths of parading them at a press conference before he took office) he then handed over the actual drafting of his economic policy to the old Democratic fixers in Congress. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, are now, for all intents and purposes, running the Obama recovery plan.

Even if you do not regard the former as a monster and the latter as pretty hopeless, one thing is for sure: bipartisan they are not. So there is nothing very centrist about the budget which they are hoping to push through under the banner of Obama's "change we can believe in". The result: this is a $3.6 trillion Pelosi budget, embodying most of the wish-list of liberal projects that the Left of the Democratic Party has been dreaming of for more than 20 years. Should we assume, then, that this is what Mr Obama always wanted? Or that he is simply out of his depth and being steamrollered by the formidable Democratic machine in Congress? >>> Janet Daley | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Marxist Muricio Funes Is New President of El Salvador
Mauricio Funes and wife Vanda Pignato as he declares victory. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A party of former Marxist guerillas has gained power in El Salvador, bringing an end to 20 years of conservative rule.

Mauricio Funes, leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), declared himself President late on Sunday night as early counting gave him 51.2 per cent of the vote with more than 90 percent of ballots counted. Shortly afterwards his rival, the right-wing candidate Rodrigo Avila, conceded defeat

"I'm the president-elect of the Salvadorans," Mr Funes told a news conference as jubilant supporters, dressed in red, poured on to the streets of San Salvador cheering and waving FMLN flags. "This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador's greatest hope."

The FMLN and the military government fought a bloody 12-year civil war between 1980 and 1992 in which 75,000 people died. The FMLN's victory will place El Salvador firmly on the Latin American left-of-centre axis led by President Chávez of Venezuela.

Although Mr Funes, 49, has promised unity, the rise to power of the FMLN will be watched closely by Washington, already unnerved by the "pink tide" sweeping Central America. >>> Anne Barrowclough | Monday, March 16, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Linkskandidat wird neuer Präsident in El Salvador

Mauricio Funes hat die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador aller Voraussicht nach gewonnen. Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN erklärte sich zum Sieger der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl. Funes versprach Frieden für das Land, andere warnen vor Kommunismus und dem Einfluss Kubas.

Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN, Mauricio Funes hat nach Auszählung von mehr als 90 Prozent der Stimmen die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador gewonnen. Der 49-Jährige erreichte bei der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl 51 Prozent der Stimmen. Sein Gegner von der Regierungspartei Arena, Rodrigo Ávila (44) brachte es auf 48 Prozent.

Damit muss die rechte Arena-Partei zum ersten Mal seit rund 20 Jahren in die Opposition. Mehr als 4000 nationale und internationale Beobachter waren im Einsatz, darunter mehrere Dutzend aus Europa. Schwerwiegende Zwischenfälle wurden nicht gemeldet.

Funes erklärte sich am Abend zum Wahlsieger, noch ehe die Oberste Wahlbehörde das offizielle Ergebnis mitgeteilte hatte. Er wandte sich an die Nation und versprach, er wolle dem von Bürgerkrieg und sozialen Gegensätzen gespaltenen Land endlich den Frieden bringen. „Ich möchte zum Präsidenten des Friedens und des Wiederaufbaus werden“, rief er den jubelnden Anhängern zu. „El Salvador gehört uns allen.“ >>> dpa/lk | Montag, 16. März 2009

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More Than Three-quarters of Britons Want to See Jobless Immigrants Forced to Leave UK
MAIL Online: More than three-quarters of Britons believe jobless immigrants should be asked to leave the UK, according to a new poll.

The finding will raise fears that the far-Right BNP could prosper in the recession as unemployment rises.

In addition, more than half of the adults in Britain who took part in the FT/Harris survey opposed the right for citizens from other European Union countries to work here.

Outspoken immigration minister Phil Woolas admitted that the Government, despite years of tough talking on immigration, had yet to convince many voters that it had properly tightened Britain's borders. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Pauline Hanson Red-faced Over Raunchy Photos
Photo of Pauline Hanson courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A set of risque photographs taken 30 years ago has threatened to derail the latest attempt at a comeback by Australian far right politician Pauline Hanson.

Ms Hanson, who briefly achieved international infamy with a campaign against Asian immigration in the 1990s, was aged around 19 when the pictures were taken by her then boyfriend, former army commando Jack Johnson.

They showed the former leader of the One Nation party partially naked and dressed in lingerie after a drunken night at a luxury Queensland resort.

Mr Johnson, who sold the pictures to Australia's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, said he was digitising his old photographs when a friend saw the images of Ms Hanson and suggested he could make some money out of them.

"Sorry it's come to this, sweetheart - that's the way it is," Mr Johnson told the newspaper. >>> Anne Barrowclough in Sydney | Sunday, March 15, 2009

TIMESONLINE: Pauline Hanson Denies Nude Photographs Are of Her

Mystery surrounds a set of nude pictures allegedly taken 30 years ago of the Australian far-right politician Pauline Hanson.

The photographs, published across Australian media at the weekend, purport to show the former One Nation leader partially naked and in skimpy lingerie.

But Ms Hanson says the photographs are not her, and has threatened to bare her belly button to prove it.

Jack Johnson, the "former boyfriend" who sold the pictures to the Sunday Telegraph for A$15,000 (£7,000), admitted today that he could not remember when or where the pictures were taken.

The former army commando also said that he could not remember the surname of the girl he photographed after a drunken night out in Queensland in th 1970s.

He told Australia's Seven Network that he knew "in my heart of hearts" that the girl in the photographs was Ms Hanson.

"But what if I'm wrong?" he asked in an apparent admission that he may have misidentified the woman in the pictures. "I was never the smartest cookie in the barrel." >>> Anne Barrowclough in Sydney | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Fury as Islamic Extremist Who Abused British Troops Is Given 24-hour Police Protection
MAIL Online: An Islamic extremist who abused British soldiers during a homecoming parade has sparked further outrage after he was given 24-hour police protection.

Yousaf Bashir was part of a gang that hurled abuse at 200 members of the Royal Anglian Regiment as they marched through Luton last Tuesday after a second tour of duty in Iraq.

The moves comes after the semi-detached home Bashir shares with his parents was attacked on Friday.

Two downstairs windows and the glass in the front door were smashed, and the rear windows of two cars parked in the driveway were shattered.

Two police officers have been stationed in a marked car outside the property since the attacks and a CCTV camera has also been installed. >>> By Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Far-right Party in Israel Coalition
DAILY EXPRESS: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party has signed a coalition agreement with a far-right party.

The deal means that Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, would become Israel's foreign minister.



He has drawn accusations of racism for proposing that Israel's Arab citizens sign loyalty oaths or lose their citizenship. 



Although that plan is not likely to be implemented, his designation as foreign minister could harm Israel's international ties. 



The European Union urged Netanyahu to craft a government that embraces the long-standing goal of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.

 Lieberman as foreign minister could be seen in Europe as a setback to Middle East peace efforts. 



"Let me say very clearly that the way the European Union will relate to an (Israeli) government that is not committed to a two-state solution will be very, very different," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security affairs chief, said. >>> | Monday, March 16, 2009

leJDD.fr: Netanyahou serre à droite

Le Likoud est parvenu à un accord avec le parti d'extrême-droite Israël Beitenou, en vue de la formation d'un gouvernement d'union en Israël. Benjamin Netanyahou devrait confier le portefeuille des Affaires étrangères à Avigdor Lieberman. Même s'il faudra d'autres alliés pour s'assurer d'une majorité stable à la Knesset, le prochain gouvernement israélien penchera fortement à droite.

C'était écrit. Le prochain gouvernement israélien serait à droite ou ne serait pas. L'accord conclu dimanche à minuit entre le Likoud de Benjamin Netanyahou et Israël Beitenou, le parti d'extrême droite dirigé par Avigdor Lieberman, signe le virage à droite du paysage politique israélien même s'il faudra d'autres alliances pour s'assurer d'une majorité à la Knesset où siègent les députés. Avec 42 sièges sur 120, la coalition Likoud-Beitenou est en effet encore loin de la majorité absolue des 61 sièges. Mais cet accord signé à l'arraché dimanche soir, après des heures d'âpres négociations, est une première étape d'importance pour Benjamin Netanyahou qui ne dispose plus que de quelques jours pour présenter son gouvernement au président Shimon Pérès. La porte reste ouverte à Kadima... >>> Par Jérôme GUILLAS, leJDD.fr | Lundi 16 Mars 2009

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La guerre de l'«or bleu» menace la planète
LE FIGARO: La seule véritable «guerre de l'eau» a eu lieu il y a 4 000 ans. Mais l'ONU presse les gouvernements d'intégrer la politique hydrique à leur agenda prioritaire.

La guerre de l'eau menace la planète - même si les experts s'accordent à penser qu'elle peut être évitée. L'ONU n'en dresse pas moins un constat alarmant, dans un rapport publié la semaine dernière, qui lance à la communauté internationale un appel pressant à l'action.

Selon ce document, si la gestion actuelle, «non durable et inéquitable» de l'eau se poursuit, les conséquences seront «graves» pour le développement et la sécurité des hommes dans plusieurs régions du monde.

En Afrique et en Asie notamment, l'eau se raréfie, sous la double influence de la croissance démographique et du changement climatique, exacerbant les tensions économiques et politiques, en particulier dans les zones transfrontalières. La situation est particulièrement critique en Afrique subsaharienne, où la gestion des ressources en eau est notablement dégradée.

L'Égypte, le Soudan et l'Éthiopie sont virtuellement en état d'«hydroconflictualité» pour le contrôle du Nil dont les eaux n'atteignent plus la mer. Au Zimbabwe, l'épidémie de choléra, qui a fait plus de 4 000 morts depuis août dernier, est due à la déliquescence des structures hydriques du pays. Sur le continent, les experts n'excluent pas qu'éclatent des «émeutes de l'eau», comme il y a eu, il y a quelques mois, des émeutes de la faim. Quant au conflit israélo-arabe, les enjeux représentés par la maîtrise des approvisionnements en eau ne sont plus à démontrer. Le Tibet, «château d'eau» de l'Asie >>> Alain Barluet | Lundi 16 Mars 2009

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Obama bin White House Goes Upbeat on the Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has launched an upbeat strategy over the economy in the face of approval ratings that have dipped below those of George W Bush at the same stage of his presidency.

President Brack Hussein Obama realizes that being downbeat on the economy doesn’t pay. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Obama is changing his rhetorical course after criticism from fellow Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, that he has sounded too negative in the first weeks of his presidency.

This week he will speak forcefully to Congress and the public about the need to pass his $3.6 trillion budget, which will double the national deficit, while stressing his belief that there is hope ahead.

Mr Obama's sky-high approval ratings have fallen in the past couple of weeks amid widespread gloom over the economy. His approval rating is between 56 and 60 per cent, lower than George W Bush's at a similar stage of his presidency. Barack Obama Goes Upbeat on Economy After Popularity Declines >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, March 15, 2009

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Anjem Choudary Investigated by Police Over Mujahideen Fundraising
THE TELEGRAPH: Police are investigating whether a radical Muslim who has called for money to be collected for Islamic fighters has committed a criminal act.

Photo of Anjem Choudary courtesy of The Telegraph
Anjem Choudary, whose supporters hurled abuse at soldiers from the Royal Anglian regiment returning from Afghanistan last week, can be heard on a website calling for other Muslims not to save money for their families but to give it to "mujahideen" - holy warriors - instead.

The term is usually used to refer to fighters "defending Muslim lands" such as Afghanistan and Iraq, who are prepared to die as martyrs.

In the recording, posted on the site Islam4UK, Choudary said: "People looking for a place for their money to go so they can go to the front line and they can't find it.

"You have opportunity to carry dawah [spreading the word] to society . . . and you have money that can go towards the dawah, you have money that can go towards the mujahideen."

Choudary added: "When you are working collectively . . . people supporting the mujahideen, people collecting money for the dawah or giving money to the mujahideen, he [the devil] will come to you then. He will divert you, he will say to you, 'This money is needed for your family'." >>> By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Sunday, March 15, 2009

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I Want to See Flag of Allah Flying Over Downing St
Anjem Choudary wants the ‘flag of Jihad’, or the ‘flag of Allah’, flying over Downing Street. Photo of the preacher of hate courtesy of the Evening Standard
EVENING STANDARD: A Muslim fundamentalist leader today told of his vision of Britain under Sharia law.

Anjem Choudary said he wanted the “flag of Allah” flying over Downing Street, all women wearing burkas and caning for drunkenness.

He is the leader of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, founded as a successor to the banned fundamentalist sect al-Muhajiroun, which was led by now-exiled preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad.

The self-proclaimed Sharia judge admitted his followers had organised protests against British soldiers in Luton this week, waving placards which called them “murderers” for their conduct in Iraq.

Mr Choudary, a 41-year-old lawyer, said he was proud to be reviled. “It's inevitable that when you offer an alternative morality and way of life many people will hate you for it.”

He said this “alternative morality” would mean “a pure Islamic state with Sharia law in Britain” and added: “Every woman, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, would have to wear a traditional burka and cover everything apart from her face and hands in public.”

“In matters to do with the judicial system and the penal code, one male witness is sufficient to counter the testimony of two females. People who commit adultery would be stoned to death.”

Mr Choudary, a father of three, admitted he lived off benefits despite objecting to the British state. He rejected suggestions of hypocrisy, saying: “I don't think it's of any importance.” [Source: Evening Standard] Friday, March 13, 2009

Hat tip: Jihad Watch

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Man Accused of Beheading Wife Arraigned
Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan, the founder of Bridges TV, the man who beheaded his wife in Buffalo, USA, pleaded “not guilty” on Friday. Photo of the Pakistani who wanted to bring his barbaraian ways to civilization courtesy of Newsday
NEWSDAY: BUFFALO - The founder of a Muslim-American television station pleaded not guilty Friday to beheading his estranged wife.



Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan, 44, is charged with one count of second-degree murder for the Feb. 12 death of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan at the offices of Bridges TV in the suburb of Orchard Park.



The Pakistani-born businessman, who has been in custody since reporting his wife's death soon after it happened, remained held without bail.



"The proof of guilt in this case is strong," prosecutor Colleen Curtin Gable told Erie County Judge Thomas Franczyk. She cited alleged admissions, forensic evidence and "strong motive evidence." Aasiya Hassan was stabbed multiple times and decapitated less than a week after having her husband served with divorce papers.

"We believe he would and could flee the jurisdiction if released," Gable said in arguing against bail.



Defense attorney James Harrington did not oppose the position.



Hassan did not speak during his brief arraignment, except to tell the judge he understood the proceedings.



Harrington declined to comment afterward.



The case against Hassan is striking in its irony. Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan launched the Bridges TV network in 2004, saying they wanted to counter negative stereotypes and media portrayals of Muslims.



Harrington has dismissed suggestions by some that the beheading was a so-called "honor killing," rooted in cultural notions about women's subordination to men.



District Attorney Frank Sedita said Muzzammil Hassan's two teenagers by a previous marriage and the two young children he had with the victim are living with relatives.



Bridges TV was off the air in the days following the killing, but has since resumed broadcasting. [Source: Newsday] The Associated Press | Friday, March 13, 2009

Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>>

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Govt to Slash Immigration Intake
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: CANBERRA – Cuts to the nation's skilled migration intake will help protect local jobs, Immigration Minister Chris Evans says.

The federal government will slash the skilled migration program by 14 per cent, or 18,500 jobs, over the next three years.

The cuts will be coupled with deletions to the critical skills list, which specifies which jobs are open to migrants.

All building and manufacturing trades will be removed, forcing companies to find bricklayers, plumbers, welders and carpenters domestically.

Employers can bring in foreign workers only if they cannot source the labour locally.

Mr Evans says the government wants to ensure migrant workers are not competing with Australians for jobs during the economic downturn. >>> ©2009 AAP | Monday, March 16, 2009

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My Imam Father Came After Me with an Axe*
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Hannah Shah had been raped by her father and faced a forced marriage. She fled, became a Christian and now fears for her life

Hannah Shah, the daughter of an imam, has had to flee the clutches of a tight-knit Deobandi Muslim community here in the UK. She now fears for her life. Photo courtesy of Times Online
We are all too familiar with the persecution of Christians in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet sitting in front of me is a British woman whose life has been threatened in this country solely because she is a Christian. Indeed, so real is the threat that the book she has written about her experiences has had to appear under an assumed name.

The book is called The Imam’s Daughter because “Hannah Shah” is just that: the daughter of an imam in one of the tight-knit Deobandi Muslim Pakistani communities in the north of England. Her father emigrated to this country from rural Pakistan some time in the 1960s and is, apparently, a highly respected local figure.

He is also an incestuous child abuser, repeatedly raping his daughter from the age of five until she was 15, ostensibly as part of her punishment for being “disobedient”. At the age of 16 she fled her family to avoid the forced marriage they had planned for her in Pakistan. A much, much greater affront to “honour” in her family’s eyes, however, was the fact that she then became a Christian – an apostate. The Koran is explicit that apostasy is punishable by death; thus it was that her father the imam led a 40-strong gang – in the middle of a British city – to find and kill her.

Hannah Shah says her story is not unique – that there are many other girls in British Muslim families who are oppressed and married off against their will, or who have secretly become Christians but are too afraid to speak out. She wants their voices to be heard and for Britain, the land of her birth, to realise the hidden misery of these women.

Hannah’s own voice is quiet and emerges from a tiny frame. She is clearly nervous about talking to a journalist and the stress she has been under is betrayed by a bald patch on the left side of her head. Yet she has a lovely natural smile, especially when she reveals that she got married a year ago; her husband works in the Church of England, “though not as a vicar”.

I tell Hannah that the passages in her memoir about her sexual abuse are almost impossible to read – but I also found it hard to understand why, now that she is in her early thirties, independent and married, she has not reported her father’s horrific assaults on her to the police.

“What has stopped me is that if my dad went to prison, the shame that would be brought upon the rest of the family would be horrific. My mum would not be able to . . . I mean, it’s bad enough having a daughter who’s left, is not agreeing to her marriage and is now a Christian. Then to have my dad in prison would be the end for her.”

I tell Hannah, perhaps a little cruelly, that in her use of the word “shame” she is echoing the sort of arguments that her own family had used against her. >>> Dominic Lawson | Sunday, March 15, 2009

*So what is this weak, ineffectual, marshmallow, appeasing government going to do about this sad state of affairs? Sweet words just will not do. They won't cut the mustard. We need ACTION!

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