President Obama's Half-brother Denied Entry to Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: One of President Obama's half-brothers was denied entry to Britain because he had been accused of sexual assault on a previous visit.

Barack Obama with his half-brother Samson. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Samson Obama was travelling from Kenya to his half-brother's presidential inauguration ceremony in January when he tried to enter the country at East Midlands Airport for a short break but he was stopped by immigration officers.

Using biometric tests, they discovered that he was linked to a serious crime in Britain last November, according to the News of the World.

At the time Samson, who runs a mobile phone shop outside Nairobi, was arrested by Thames Valley Police in Berkshire for an alleged attempted sexual assault on a group of teenage girls. He was not charged.

However, his details were stored on the Home Office's new biometric database.

The White House was informed, according to the News of the World.

A Home Office source told the newspaper: "This was obviously an extremely sensitive issue when it was flashed up by the database.

"But the system is designed to flag up people who have come to the attention of the police in the UK and are then trying to return."

He was refused a visa and flew on to the United States on a connecting flight.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We consider all visa applications based on their merits.

"We will oppose the entry of individuals to the UK where we believe their presence is not conducive to the public good. >>> | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Right’s Rage at Overbearing Obama
TIMESONLINE: The torrent of ideas flowing out of the White House is raising hackles across the US

Photo of Barack Hussein Obama courtesy of The Telegraph
A CONSERVATIVE talk show host claims Barack Obama’s policies amount to dousing the American public with petrol and lighting a match. A top adviser to George W Bush calls the vice-president a liar. And a congressman says there are 17 “socialists” in the House of Representatives.

The political invective is turning ugly after the promise of hope and change. Some say it is Obama’s fault for his hyperactivist style of government. Others say it is time the Republicans realised they lost.

The meaning of “Obamaism” – yes, he already has his own “ism” – is being hotly debated. Is it style or substance? The hype about his cool has been overtaken by the realisation on both sides of the divide that Obama meant what he said on the campaign trail about being a transformational president.

In his first three months in office, his administration has put forward a $3.5 trillion budget, produced a rescue plan for banks and bailed out the car industry and is promising a green energy “revolution”, universal healthcare, school reform and an overhaul of immigration.

That’s not counting foreign policy after a week of European summits, dubbed the Obama “apology tour” after he called America “arrogant”, and topped off with a row over whether the president bowed ingratiatingly to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at the G20 meeting in London.

There have been diplomatic overtures to Iran, the announcement of a “surge” in Afghani-stan and a demand for $83 billion in supplementary funding for the two wars, including Iraq, which will no longer be known as the “war on terror” but still upsets the left.

On top of it all, Obama turned salesman last week, urging homeowners to refinance their mortgages at the favourable new low interest rates. >>> Sarah Baxter in Washington | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Vatican Blocks Caroline Kennedy Appointment as US Ambassador
THE TELEGRAPH: The Vatican has blocked the appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador, according to reports.

Caroline Kennedy blocked by the Vatican. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

Mr Obama was reportedly seeking to reward John F Kennedy's daughter, who publicly gave her support to his election bid. She had been poised to replace Hillary Clinton as New York senator, but dropped out amid criticism that she lacked enough experience for the job. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Saturday, April 11, 2009

Muslim to Run BBC’s Religion and Ethics Department
THE TELEGRAPH: I’m sure Mr Ahmed is a good and devout man - but he is not up to the job, argues George Pitcher.

Aaqil Ahmed is apparently telling friends that the BBC job is his for the taking. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
We’ll soon know whether the BBC takes religion seriously, when it appoints a new head of commissioning for its re-structured Religion & Ethics Department. Director-general Mark Thompson, a Roman Catholic, claims that religion is important to him and to the corporation, but it’s difficult to guess in what state of mind he left his meeting with Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth Palace last month. Evidently, Dr Williams had expressed concern that the BBC, our state broadcaster, should not downplay or marginalise Christianity, our state religion.

Mr Thompson is a thoughtful man, so one hopes he took the Archbishop’s admonitions to heart. Or he may have taken the view that no prelate was going to dictate the BBC’s religious policy to him and the silly old fool needed to be taught a lesson.

If his state of mind tended towards the latter, then what better way to achieve that objective than to make sure that a Muslim was appointed, in the name of “diversity”, to the new role? The post may not directly be within his gift, but the director-general could surely pull a few strings.

Aaqil Ahmed, a Muslim and commissioning editor for religion at Channel 4, is apparently telling friends that the BBC job is his for the taking. He is tipped as a favourite, though whether the tipping is coming from him or other people is unclear. The appointment should have been wrapped up by now, but the interviews have been delayed a couple of weeks, such perhaps are the sensitivities attached to this issue. Why Aaqil Ahmed Shouldn't Run the BBC's Religion & Ethics Department >>> George Pitcher | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Warning that Pakistan Is in Danger of Collapse within Months
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: PAKISTAN could collapse within months, one of the more influential counter-insurgency voices in Washington says.

The warning comes as the US scrambles to redeploy its military forces and diplomats in an attempt to stem rising violence and anarchy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We have to face the fact that if Pakistan collapses it will dwarf anything we have seen so far in whatever we're calling the war on terror now," said David Kilcullen, a former Australian Army officer who was a specialist adviser for the Bush administration and is now a consultant to the Obama White House.

"You just can't say that you're not going to worry about al-Qaeda taking control of Pakistan and its nukes," he said. >>> Paul McGeough | Monday, April 13, 2009

Iran Recognized as a Threat to Religious Freedom
MISSION NETWORK NEWS: Iran ― As of January, the U.S. State Department declared eight countries to be seriously violating religious freedoms. According to USA Today, the list includes Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and Sudan.

The list looks similar to the Open Doors World Watch List for 2009, which lists countries where Christianity is most threatened.

This list also includes North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran in its top three for Christian persecutors.

The situation for Iranians is growing particularly disconcerting. The country has strict laws about the fate of those who convert from Islam. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran "has said that he will eliminate Christianity from Iran," says Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs. "That's a promise that he has made, so he's doing everything in his power to act against the church."

Threats to religious freedom include a provisional law passed last year to make a mandatory death penalty law for any male who converts from Islam. Females found guilty of apostasy can look forward to a life sentence in prison.

This is the current fate of two women who were arrested in March for being "anti government activists;" but the highest criminal behavior these women have been engaged in is following after Jesus Christ. They are now being held in a prison known for its poor treatment of women, and they are both very ill. >>> MNN | Monday, April 13, 2009

Fitna

Hijab, Niqab, Nothing

YOUTUBE: Take Off Your Hijab

US $ Ads Mushroom in British Newspapers
Recently, I have noticed many ads for products and services in British newspapers priced in US dollars. Has anyone else noticed them? And is anyone else as perplexed as I am over this phenomenon? Is there a covert operation underway to undermine the pound sterling and for the UK to adopt the US currency?

Just some of the advertisements I have noticed in recent days are from such companies as Netflix, Maytag, TimeLife, HR Bloc, RateMarketplace, Domino’s Pizza, and Hewlett Packard.

Your insights would be greatly appreciated.

Our World: Iran's Western Enablers
THE JERUSALEM POST: Egypt's recent actions against Hizbullah operatives are a watershed event for understanding the nature of the threat that Iran constitutes for both regional and global security. For many Israelis, Egypt's actions came as a surprise. For years this country has been appealing to Egypt to take action against Hizbullah operatives in its territory. With minor exceptions, it has refused. Believing that its operatives threatened only us, the Mubarak regime preferred to turn a blind eye.

Then too, now seems a strange time for Egypt to be proving Israel correct. Senior ministers in the new Netanyahu government have for years been outspoken critics of Egypt for its refusal to act against Hizbullah and for its support for the Hizbullah/Iran-sponsored Hamas terror group. By going after Hizbullah now, Egypt is legitimizing both their criticism and the Netanyahu government itself. This in turn seems to go against Egypt's basic interest of weakening Israel politically in general, and weakening rightist Israeli governments in particular.

But none of this seemed to interest Egyptian officials last week when they announced the arrest of 49 Hizbullah operatives and pointed a finger at Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah and his bosses in Teheran, openly accusing them of seeking to undermine Egypt's national security.

The question is what caused Egypt to suddenly act? It appears that two things are motivating the Mubarak regime. First, there is the nature of the Hizbullah network it uncovered. According to the Egyptian Justice Ministry's statements, the arrested operatives were not confining their operations to weapons smuggling to Gaza. They were also targeting Egypt.

The Egyptian state prosecution alleges that while operating as Iranian agents, they were scouting targets along the Suez Canal. That is, they were planning strategic strikes against Egypt's economic lifeline.

The second aspect of the network that clearly concerned Egyptian authorities was what it showed about the breadth of cooperation between the regime's primary opponent - the Muslim Brotherhood - and the Iranian regime. Forty-one of the suspects arrested are Egyptian citizens, apparently aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. This alignment is signaled by two things. First, many of them have hired Muslim Brotherhood activist Muntaser al-Zayat as their defense attorney. And second, Muslim Brotherhood spokesmen have decried the arrests.

For instance, in an interview with Gulf News last Thursday, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Issam el-Erian defended Hizbullah (and Iran) against his own government, claiming that Nasrallah and the Iranian ayatollahs are right to accuse President Hosni Mubarak of being little more than an Israeli stooge.

In his words, "The Egyptian government must redraw its national security policies to include Israeli threats against Arab counties like Syria and Lebanon and to consider threats against Palestinians by Israelis as a threat against its national security."

In a nutshell then, both the Hizbullah network's targets and its relationship to Egypt's Sunni Islamist opposition expose clearly the danger the Iranian regime constitutes to Egypt. Iran seeks to undermine and defeat opponents throughout the world through both direct military/terrorist/sabotage operations and through ideological subversion. It is the confluence of both of these aspects of Iran's revolutionary ambitions that forced Egypt to act now, regardless of the impact of its actions on the political fortunes of the Netanyahu government. And it is not a bit surprising that Egypt was forced to act at such a politically inopportune time. >>> By Caroline Glick | Monday, April 13, 2009

Pakistan Deal Enshrines Sharia Law
Women wearing burqas in North West Frontier Province. Photo courtesy of CNN
CNN: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law Monday a peace deal for the nation's violence-plagued Swat Valley, according to a presidential spokesman.

The deal implements Islamic law, or sharia, in the Swat Valley region of North West Frontier Province.

Last week, pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Mohammad announced he was pulling out of a peace deal for Swat Valley, saying the government was not serious about implementing Islamic law, or sharia, in the region.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Saturday the peace deal remained intact.

Mohammad brokered a cease-fire in February between the Pakistani government and his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, who commands the Taliban in Swat Valley.

Although details of the deal were not immediately available, it was understood that the area will come under the Taliban's strict interpretation of sharia. >>> | Monday, April 13, 2009

Organization of Islamic Conference Upholds Sharia and Human Rights: Largest Muslim Organisation Aims for New Human Rights Commission
AL ARIBIYA NEWS CHANNEL: CAIRO – A bloc of Islamic states accused of undermining human rights standards set by the United Nations have taken matters into their own hands and set out to establish their own independent human rights commission Sunday
The Organization of Islamic Conference, a 57-nation bloc of Muslim nations and the largest organization after the U.N., met yesterday at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to establish an independent OIC human rights commission.



Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu, the OIC Secretary-General, stressed in a statement Monday that "human rights and man’s dignity are an integral part of Islam and core components of Islamic culture and heritage.” >>> | Monday, April 13, 2009

Iran: Two Christian Women Imprisoned
COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: Held with no legal counsel for over a month, they suffer illness in notorious prison.

LOS ANGELES – Accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings,” two Iranian Christian women have been held in a Tehran prison for over a month in a crowded cell with no access to legal representation.

Amnesty International, in an appeal for urgent action last week, reported that authorities have made the accusations known but have imprisoned the women without filing official charges. The organization called on Iranian authorities to release them and expressed concern for their health.

Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, who were active in church activities and distributing Bibles according to Amnesty’s appeal, were arrested on March 5. They are being held in the detention center of Evin Prison, a facility that has drawn criticism for its human rights violations and executions in recent years. Amnesty’s appeal included a call to urge Iranian officials to ensure that the women are not being tortured.

Based on a telephone conversation between Esmaeilabad and a third party on March 28, Amnesty reported that Esmaeilabad said both are suffering from infection and high fever and had not received adequate medical care. The women continue to be detained in an overcrowded cell with 27 other women. Amnesty said they “may be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their religious beliefs.”

The women are allowed a one-minute call each day and a weekly visit from family. Authorities have informed their family members that the women are accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings,” according to the report, and that they would be released after payment of a $400,000 bail. The families have presented the title deeds of their homes as bail but are still waiting for approval from the judge.

Initially the Ministry of Intelligence summoned one of the women, and then took her to the apartment the two shared. There they were officially arrested, and authorities confiscated computers, books and Bibles. The two women were interrogated and held at different police stations.

On March 18 they appeared before Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran and subsequently transferred to Evin Prison, said the report.

Even if the women are released on bail, they still have to stand trial. Accusations have not included “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, though investigations are ongoing. It is not known whether the women are converts from Islam.

Last September the Iranian Parliament approved review of a new penal code calling for a mandatory death sentence for “apostates.” Under current law death sentences for apostasy have been issued only under judicial interpretations of sharia (Islamic law).

Under the new penal code, male “apostates” would be executed, while females would receive life sentences. The new code was sent to Iran’s most influential body, the Guardian Council, which is expected to rule on it. The council is made up of six conservative theologians appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader and six jurists nominated by the judiciary and approved by Parliament. This council has the power to veto any bill it deems inconsistent with the constitution and Islamic law.

Converts to Christianity in Iran risk harassment, arrest and attack from authorities even though Article 23 of the Iranian Constitution grants that individual beliefs are private and no one can be “molested or taken to task” for holding them. Iran has also signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

“This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching,” the covenant states.

The last Iranian Christian convert from Islam executed by the Iranian government was Hossein Soodmand in 1990. He was accused of working as “an American spy.” Since then at least six Protestant pastors have been assassinated by unknown killers. [Source: Compass Direct News] | Copyright © 2009 Compass Direct News | Monday, April 13, 2009

CAIR: Fla. House GOP Leader Linked to Anti-Islam Hate Fest
PR NEWSWIRE: Rep. Hasner asked to disassociate himself from 'Islamophobes and Muslim-bashers'

WASHINGTON: The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the leader of that state's House Republicans to disassociate himself from an upcoming anti-Islam conference backed by a "motley collection of Islamophobes and Muslim-bashers."

CAIR said Rep. Adam Hasner is on the "host committee" for the April 27 conference in Delray Beach, Fla., featuring Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders. Wilders was recently denied entry to Britain because of his extreme anti-Muslim views, including urging that the Quran, Islam's revealed text, be banned. >>> | Monday, April 13, 2009

German Bishop Links Nazi Crimes to Atheism
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In an Easter sermon that has drawn widespread criticism, the Catholic bishop of Augsburg has linked the crimes committed under Nazi and Communist regimes to atheism. Atheist groups have reacted with fury and accuse the cleric of rewriting history.

Bishop Walter Mixa: "A society without God is hell on earth." Photo courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
A Catholic German bishop has come under fire for his remarks condemning atheists. In a sermon given on Easter Sunday, the bishop of Augsburg, Walter Mixa, warned of rising atheism in Germany. "Wherever God is denied or fought against, there people and their dignity will soon be denied and held in disregard," he said in the sermon. He also said that "a society without God is hell on earth" and quoted the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky: "If God does not exist, everything is permitted."

Most controversially, he linked the Nazi and Communist crimes to atheism. "In the last century, the godless regimes of Nazism and Communism, with their penal camps, their secret police and their mass murder, proved in a terrible way the inhumanity of atheism in practice." Christians and the Church were always the subject of "special persecution" under these systems, he said.

However, critics accuse Mixa of rewriting history. The bishop's claim that humanity automatically arises from religious faith is "totally untenable," Rudolf Ladwig, president of the Germany-based International League of Non-Religious and Atheists (IBKA), told SPIEGEL ONLINE. Mixa's words are part of a "long-term strategy by the Church to exculpate, in a historically inaccurate way, the history of its own institution as relates to fascism." >>> By Markus Becker | Monday, April 13, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Shariah Bankers: West Ready for Faith-based Alternative
THE WASHINGTON POST: SINGAPORE | Backers of Shariah-compliant finance see an opportunity for expansion amid the global economic downturn, and some Western banks are welcoming this growing source of new business.

"Islamic bankers should do some missionary work in the Western world to promote the concept of Shariah banking, for which many in the West are more than ready now," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the World Islamic Economic Forum last month in Jakarta.

Such statements have given rise to fears that Shariah finance is a stalking horse for hidden political or religious aims. Shariah finance is an extension of Islamic law, pushing a faith-based alternative to Western banking.

Key Islamists who advise Shariah financial houses have called for full Shariah law to be adopted in Western countries and, in some cases, have made statements supporting terrorist groups.

Shariah finance means institutions and norms that fit with Islamic law. Fully compliant Islamic financial institutions are prohibited from interest payments and require transactions to be backed by tangible assets.

Speculation and hedge funds are off limits — ditto for anything connected to porn, gambling, alcohol or pork. Shariah finance targets Muslims who want to avoid what are deemed "un-Islamic" Western banks or financial practices, and appeals to clients' faith as well as their bottom line. >>> By Simon Roughneen | Monday, April 13, 2009

U.S. Leaning toward Taking Part in Durban 2 Summit
HAARETZ: Senior U.S. officials in Washington and New York are leaning in favor of participating in the "Durban 2" UN-sponsored anti-racism conference scheduled to take place on April 20 in Geneva, diplomatic sources said on Sunday.

The diplomats, who share a close working relationship with the American delegation to the United Nations, informed leading Jewish officials in New York that Washington has increasingly become convinced of the need to dispatch representatives to the conference.

Israel plans on boycotting the conference for fear that it will turn into a platform for singling out Jerusalem for criticism over its policies in the Palestinian territories.

Leading figures in the organized American Jewish community have been lobbying Western ambassadors and European diplomats in the UN to dissuade their governments from participating in the Geneva summit.

A senior Jewish activist who took part in some of the discussions with Western diplomats told Haaretz that he would not be the least surprised if the U.S. indeed decides to send an official delegation. The official said that while the U.S. pledged it would not participate, it was not an adamant opposition.

Dozens of human rights groups and activists in the United States have petitioned President Barack Obama to rethink his decision to boycott the conference, expected by many countries to be used as a forum for criticizing Israel. >>> By Shlomo Shamir and Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondents Sunday, April 12, 2009

Pakistani Taliban Begin Imposing Rule in New Area
REUTERS: ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban are imposing their rule in a Pakistani mountain valley they took over last week, spreading fear in the area only 100 km (60 miles) from the capital, police and residents said on Monday.

Surging militant violence across Pakistan and the spread of Taliban influence through the northwest are reviving concerns about the stability of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally.

Pakistan is crucial to U.S. efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan but the government has been unable to check militant attacks in its cities let alone stop insurgents crossing into Afghanistan from border strongholds to battle Western forces. >>> By Zeeshan Haider | Monday, April 13, 2009

Piraten drohen mit Vergeltung: "Werden US-Bürger verfolgen"
DIE PRESSE: Fortan hätten Amerikaner "kein Mitleid zu erwarten", sagt ein somalischer Piratenchef. Bei der gewaltsamen Befreiung des Kapitäns Richard Phillips hatten die USA drei Piraten erschossen.

Die Befreiung des von Piraten vor Somalia entführten US-Kapitäns könnte nach Einschätzung von US-Vizeadmiral Bill Gortney zu einer Eskalation der Gewalt in der Region führen. Bei der Befreiungsaktion wurden drei Piraten von Scharfschützen getötet, ein vierter wurde gefangen genommen.

Die Seeräuber hielten Kapitän Richard Phillips in einem Rettungsboot fest. Der Tod der Piraten werde vermutlich Folgen haben, sagte der Befehlshaber des Zentralkommandos der US-Marine am Sonntag bei einer Pressekonferenz in Washington. >>> Ag/Red | Montag, 13. April 2009

Scènes de violence à Bangkok
leJDD.fr: La situation s'est encore un peu plus tendue ce lundi à Bangkok, capitale de la Thaïlande. Pour avoir bravé l'état d'urgence décrété la veille, les manifestants anti-gouvernementaux ont été chargés par les forces de l'ordre. Près de 80 personnes ont été blessées, dont quatre par balles. Le Premier ministre du pays, Abhisit Vejjajiva, a démenti toute rumeur de coup d'Etat.

"Nous ne partirons pas. Nous voulons une vraie démocratie." A Bangkok, 20 000 "chemises rouges" bravent les interdits. Malgré le couvre-feu instauré la veille par le gouvernement de coalition, en place depuis le mois de décembre dernier à l'issue, déjà, d'une séquence insurrectionnelle dans le pays, les manifestants thaïlandais sont bien décidés à poursuivre leur occupation du pavé. Quitte à se heurter aux forces de l'ordre, comme ce fut le cas ce lundi. En fin de matinée, le bilan de cette charge, dressé par le directeur du centre médical de la ville, faisait état d'au moins 77 blessés, dont 19 pris en charge par les hôpitaux. Plus inquiétant, quatre personnes auraient été touchées par des balles - deux civils et deux militaires - donnant une idée de l'extrême tension qui règne toujours dans la capitale thaïlandaise. >>> Par N.M (avec Reuters), leJDD.fr | Lundi 13 Avril 2009

leJDD.fr:
Bangkok en état d'urgence >>> Par Marie-Lys LUBRANO (avec Reuters), leJDD.fr | Dimanche 12 Avril 2009