Alleged Muslim Victims of Hate Speech by Anti-Islam Politician Plead for His Conviction
THE CANADIAN PRESS: AMSTERDAM — Muslim witnesses said Monday that a Dutch lawmaker's anti-Islamic comments had led to attacks and intimidation, and they pleaded with judges to convict him and give him a symbolic fine of one euro ($1.40).

Geert Wilders is facing charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims for statements that include comparing Islam with Nazism and calling for banning the Qur’an and taxing Muslim scarves, which he calls "head rags." His trial has been seen as testing the limits of free speech.

Prosecutors last week acknowledged they have failed to prove the case against him and called for his acquittal. But the judges may disagree, and their verdict is expected Nov. 5.

"Arson. Attempted arson. Vandalism. Disturbances. Incivility to people attending mosques. Obscenities. Intimidating behaviour — they have all become everyday occurrences" as a result of Wilders' public remarks, said Mohammed Enait, speaking for an alliance of Dutch mosques that had asked to testify as victims in the case.

Wilders denies inciting hatred of Muslims, and says he criticizes Islam because it's an ideology that rejects Western values. He says it is not a crime to state what many Dutch voters believe. >>> Toby Sterling | Monday, October 18, 2010

Bravo Frau Merkel! Merkel’s ‘MultiKulti’ Speech Fires Up Immigration Debate


MAIL ONLINE: Multiculturalism in Germany has 'utterly failed', claims Chancellor Angela Merkel: 'Too little required of immigrants' says tough-talking Christian Democrat leader >>> Alan Hall in Berlin | Monday, October 18, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Chancellor Angela Merkel says multiculturalism in Germany has 'failed utterly'. She tells a conference of the youth wing of her Christian Democratic Union party that Germans and foreign workers could not 'live happily side by side'. The speech has been interpreted as a dramatic shift to the right

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Receives Hero's Welcome in Lebanon
THE TELEGRAPH: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, received a hero's welcome in Lebanon as he arrived in the country for a two-day visit designed to demonstrate Tehran's grip over the region's most perilous state.



Thousands held up flowers and Iranian flags as Mr Ahmedinejad waved through the open roof of an armoured car that carried him through the Shia Muslim strongholds of south Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Hizbollah, Iran's local ally, mobilised its followers to throw rice and slaughter camels as the motorcade passed by.

It was, however, a welcome that ran just one street deep and normal life – bereft of Iranian flags – continued yards away from the old airport road used by the Iranian leader to reach a summit with his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Sleiman.

Maura Connelly, the US ambassador, expressed misgivings about the impact of the Iranian leader's visit and newspapers reported that America had unveiled a $22 million (£13.8 million) package of military aid to strengthen the Lebanese security forces. Continue reading and comment >>> Damien McElroy in Beirut | Wednesday, October 13, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Beirut gives Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a warm welcome: Iranian president's Lebanon visit seen as a boost for Hezbollah and described by White House as provocative >>> Hugh Macleod in Beirut and Ian Black, Middle East editor | Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Salman Rushdie Still Receives Death Threats
MAIL ONLINE: Sir Salman Rushdie has revealed he receives a reminder every year from Iranian extremists that they still want to kill him.

The author said the threat comes in the form of a 'sort of Valentine's Day' card each February 14th.

Mr Rushdie said the card was a reminder from Iran that it had not given up on its 21-year-old promise to kill him.

Rushdie revealed details about the unusual card when he told the New York Times he was penning a book about his life during the years he was forced into hiding. Salman Rushdie still receives death threats from Iranian extremists 21 YEARS after fatwa >>> Paul Thompson | Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Militant Islam Gains Ground in the Balkans
GERSON LEHRMAN GROUP: A recent online music video featuring Macedonians praising Osama bin Laden has fueled fears that Southeastern Europe could be emerging as the latest breeding ground for homegrown Islamist militants. It focuses attention on Muslim charities active in The Balkans since the wars in former Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s. Many of those charities are funded by oil-rich Saudi Arabia and propagate Wahhabism - the kingdom's austere and puritan interpretation of Islam. >>> GLG Expert Contributor | Tuesday, October 12, 2010

(IN) COHERENT >>>

Ban on Openly Gay Troops in US Army Is Suspended
THE TELEGRAPH: The ban on openly homosexual troops serving in the United States military was suspended, in what is seen as a victory for gay rights campaigners.

A judge in California ordered a worldwide injunction against the enforcement of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, which forced the expulsion of homosexual troops whose sexuality was disclosed.

The judge, Virginia Phillips, ruled last month that the 17-year-old rule was unconstitutional, as it violated America's First and Fifth Amendments, which guarantee free speech and proper legal process.

On Tuesday she rejected an attempt by the Government to limit this to military personnel who were members of the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay rights group that filed the lawsuit against the rule.

Government lawyers had argued that an abrupt reversal of the rule could harm military operations at a time of war.

But Judge Phillips said the rule itself had a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed forces because it damaged recruiting efforts during wartime and forced the discharge of valuable troops.

She said that the Log Cabin group had shown that the rule "irreparably injures servicemembers by infringing their fundamental rights" and therefore must be applied to US troops everywhere.

Dan Woods, a lawyer for the group, said: "The order represents a complete and total victory for the Log Cabin Republicans and reaffirms the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians in the military who are fighting and dying for our country."

The ruling comes soon after another federal judge, in Tacoma, Washington, ruled that a flight nurse discharged from the US Air Force for being homosexual should be reinstated. Read on and comment >>> Jon Swaine, New York | Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Al-Qaeda Magazine Teaches How to Kill Americans
THE TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda has published a series of articles in its magazine giving would-be militants tips on how to kill Americans, including a section on how to mow people down with a pickup truck.

The 74-page online, English-language magazine, titled Inspire, which has a foreword by Osama bin Laden, encourages "individual jihad" to kill Americans and westerners.

It is an indication that the terrorist network is signalling a move away from terror "spectaculars", which are easier for intelligence agencies to foil, towards one-man operations.

In a graphic feature called The Ultimate Mowing Machine, it gives ideas for one-man operations, such as attaching blades to the front of a pickup truck which can then be used to "mow down" passers-by.

"To achieve maximum carnage, you need to pick up as much speed as you can while still retaining good control of your vehicle," it advises. "The ideal location is a place where there are a maximum number of pedestrians and the least number of vehicles." >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East correspondent | Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Saudi Prince Slept in Double Bed with Manservant
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi prince accused of murdering his manservant in a sexually motivated attack insisted they were “close friends” who only shared a double bed because the sofa bed was inferior, a court heard yesterday.

Prince Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir Al Saud told police he was not homosexual and that he and Bandar Abdulaziz were equals who had spent four months travelling the world.

He said the detectives did not understand the Saudi Arabian culture, where men regularly travel together as companions.

The prince’s explanation of the relationship came during his murder trial at the Old Bailey, which has heard how the Saudi royal employed gay escorts and took compromising photographs of Mr Abdulaziz on his mobile phone.

He was arrested only hours after Mr Abdulaziz’s battered body was discovered in the room they shared at the five-star Landmark Hotel in London on February 15 this year.

A post-mortem examination showed that the 32-year-old died from a combination of strangulation and neck and abdomen injuries.

When his body was discovered, Prince Saud tried to explain his wounds by saying Mr Abdulaziz was robbed on the Edgware Road, three weeks before his death, the court heard.

However, as he led detectives on a false walking tour to show them where it happened, other police officers discovered cctv footage of Prince Saud beating up Mr Abdulaziz in the hotel lift.

He was immediately arrested on suspicion of murder but refused to answer questions, instead giving the police a statement in which he explained why the pair shared a room. >>> Caroline Gammell | Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Related: Homosexual Saudi prince in ferocious attack on his manservant >>>

Republican New York Candidate Says 'Homosexuality' Is 'Not Acceptable'
THE TELEGRAPH: The Republican candidate for the governor of New York state has been condemned by both conservatives and Democrats for saying that he did not want his children "brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality" was "an acceptable option".

New York Republican candidate Carl Paladino in the Williamsburg neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Photo: The Telegraph
Carl Paladino, a property developer-turned-politician, was accused of raising the risk of attacks on homosexual men after several recent anti-gay crimes in New York, including an assault at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village and a brutal anti-gay gang attack in the Bronx.

Mr Paladino, 64, who has received strong support from conservative Tea Party activists, made his initial comments at a Brooklyn synagogue.

He was trying to strike a contrast between himself and Andrew Cuomo, his Democratic rival, who once took his young daughters to a gay pride parade.

In a television interview yesterday, Mr Paladino said that he did not discriminate against gays, and employed a gay nephew.

But he repeated his opposition to gay marriage and, referring to homosexuality, added: "That's not how God created us, and that's not the example that we should be showing our children."

He also said young children shouldn't be exposed to gay culture, and singled out pride parades. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monoday, October 11, 2010

German Politician Inflames Immigration Debate
THE GUARDIAN: Horst Seehofer calls for halt to immigration for Turks and Arabs, claiming they find it hard to integrate

Horst Seehofer has refused to apologise for saying Germany should not accept any more Turkish or Arab migrants. Photograph: The Guardian
A leading German politician has stoked a debate about foreigners and the workplace after calling for a halt to immigration for Turks and Arabs, citing the difficulties they have in integrating.

Horst Seehofer, premier of the conservative southern German state of Bavaria, stressed the urgent need to stem the flow of immigrants from Arab lands, and focus instead on cultures more similar to Germany's.

Seehofer, a member of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, told a German magazine it was time for the country to look elsewhere for qualified workers at a time when many parts of the labour market are facing grave shortfalls.

"It's clear that immigrants from other cultural circles like Turkey, and Arab countries have more difficulties. From that I draw the conclusion that we don't need any additional foreign workers from other cultures," he said.

He added that Germany should first "deal with the people who already live here" and "get tougher on those who refuse to integrate" before opening itself up to further immigration. >>> Kate Connolly, Berlin | Monday, 11. October 2010

Bettencourt, victime de "harcèlement"?
leJDD.fr: "Ma fille me désespère". Liliane Bettencourt a réagi dans un communiqué manuscrit, dimanche soir, à la saisine, mercredi, du juge des tutelles par sa fille, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers. Elle souhaite engager des poursuites judiciaires pour faire constater ce qu'elle nomme du "harcèlement". La milliardaire veut être "tranquille".

"Je ne peux plus accepter un tel harcèlement, ni qu’elle abime l’image de L’Oréal au travers de moi ou de notre famille". Liliane Bettencourt a vivement réagi dimanche soir à la révélation, par le site ParisMatch.com , de la saisine mercredi d'un juge des tutelles par sa fille. Selon le site de l'hebdomadaire, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers se serait tournée vers un magistrat de Courbevoie pour faire constater la situation de faiblesse de sa mère. C'est la troisième fois qu'elle agit ainsi et les deux premières avaient été déclarées irrecevables en l'absence d'une expertise médicale à laquelle la milliardaire refuse de se plier. "Cette fois-ci, les avocats de Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers ont mandaté le gériatre Christophe de Jaeger, un expert agréé par le Tribunal de Nanterre", ajoutait le site de Paris Match. >>> V.V (avec Reuters) - leJDD.fr | Dimanche 10 Octobre 2010

"Der Koran ist dem Teufel seine Bibel"
KRONEN ZEITUNG: Ein offensichtlich religiös motivierter Sprayer hat in der Steirmark der Basilika in Mariazell einen nächtlichen Besuch abgestattet. Auf der Nordmauer der römisch-katholischen Wallfahrtskirche stehen in schwarzen Lettern die Sprüche "Der Koran ist dem Teufel seine Bibel" und "Am Horizont taucht der Teufel auf" zu lesen. Der Sachschaden ist laut Polizei "enorm".

Die Spray- Attacke dürfte nach Angaben der Exekutive in der Zeit zwischen Samstag, 21 Uhr, und Sonntag, 7.45 Uhr, passiert sein. Die Spruchfolge auf dem Granitsockel der Basilika ist rund 30 Meter lang und einen knappen Meter hoch. Den hohen Schaden erklärt die Polizei damit, dass sich die Farbe nicht durch einfaches Abwaschen entfernen lasse. Basilika Mariazell mit Anti-Koran-Sprüchen besprüht >>>
| Sonntag, 10. Oktober 2010

Meet Gaddafi's Girl - a Chip Off the Old Block
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Aisha Gaddafi, defender of Saddam, supporter of the IRA and UN goodwill ambassador, talks to the Sunday Telegraph about life the Libyan way



To anyone in Britain who still thinks of her Dad as a tyrant, IRA quartermaster extraordinaire, and all-round Mad Dog of the Middle East, Aisha Gaddafi would like to extend a cordial invite.

"Come to Libya, you are all most welcome," she says, when asked about her father's unique talent for planting thorns in the side of successive British governments. "I know what is said in Britain about my father, and most of it is just following a political agenda. So I would give the British people this invite: find out the real facts by coming and meeting us Libyans in person."

First though, meet Aisha herself, the only girl among the eight children that Gaddafi has fathered in between his other duties as Brotherly Leader, self-appointed Saviour of Africa and Guide of the Revolution. Dubbed "The Claudia Schiffer of North Africa" in the Arab press for her striking good looks, the 33-year-old is arguably the most photogenic of Libya's First Family, yet she is still very much a chip off the old block. A lawyer by training, her father's regime is not the only contentious cause she has spoken up for over the years. In her youth, just like her Dad, she was a keen supporter of the IRA, and three years ago, she was on the legal team that defended that other controversial Arab leader, Saddam Hussein.

Her other passion, though, is promoting women's rights in Libya, which is why she agreed last week to a no-holds-barred interview at her home, a huge, high-walled villa in a Tripoli suburb. At first, it feels rather like being in a Gaddafi version of a Hello! shoot. Flawlessly turned out in peach jacket, white trousers and designer jewellery, Aisha holds court in a vast drawing room decked out with family pictures, and later poses for photos on a huge, mermaid-shaped settee worthy of her father's extravagant tastes. Meanwhile, her three young children wander in - one of whom, three-year-old Muammar, is named after Grandpa.

"People forget that as well as being a great leader, he is also my father," she smiles, as the pint-sized Gaddafis scuttle about. "We are very close as a family, and while he is always very busy, every day I insist that we have a gathering with him. My boys love being in his tent, and they enjoy drinking his camel's milk." >>> Colin Freeman in Tripoli | Sunday, October 10, 2010

US Physics Professor: 'Global Warming Is the Greatest and Most Successful Pseudoscientific Fraud I Have Seen in My Long Life'
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG – JAMES DELINGPOLE – AN EXTRACT: Dear Curt:
When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money flood (a threat against which Dwight Eisenhower warned a half-century ago). Indeed, the choice of physics as a profession was then a guarantor of a life of poverty and abstinence—it was World War II that changed all that. The prospect of worldly gain drove few physicists. As recently as thirty-five years ago, when I chaired the first APS study of a contentious social/scientific issue, The Reactor Safety Study, though there were zealots aplenty on the outside there was no hint of inordinate pressure on us as physicists. We were therefore able to produce what I believe was and is an honest appraisal of the situation at that time. We were further enabled by the presence of an oversight committee consisting of Pief Panofsky, Vicki Weisskopf, and Hans Bethe, all towering physicists beyond reproach. I was proud of what we did in a charged atmosphere. In the end the oversight committee, in its report to the APS President, noted the complete independence in which we did the job, and predicted that the report would be attacked from both sides. What greater tribute could there be?

How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d’être of much physics research, the vital sustenance of much more, and it provides the support for untold numbers of professional jobs. For reasons that will soon become clear my former pride at being an APS Fellow all these years has been turned into shame, and I am forced, with no pleasure at all, to offer you my resignation from the Society.

It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist. Anyone who has the faintest doubt that this is so should force himself to read the ClimateGate documents, which lay it bare. (Montford’s book organizes the facts very well.) I don’t believe that any real physicist, nay scientist, can read that stuff without revulsion. I would almost make that revulsion a definition of the word scientist. Read on and comment >>> James Delingpole | Saturday, October 09, 2010

Purified Genitals
Watch Telegraph news video here

Niall Ferguson: Warburg on Banks, Bonuses and Morality
Watch Telegraph video here

Niall Ferguson: Warburg's Middle East Peace Doubts
Watch Telegraph video here

Palestinians to Pledge Allegiance to 'Jewish State' to Become Israeli Citizens
THE TELEGRAPH: Palestinians who wish to become citizens of Israel are to be made to pledge allegiance to the country as a "Jewish state" under a controversial plan unveiled by Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday.

The Israeli prime minister's announcement, which threatened to sour the already hostile atmosphere blighting peace talks with the Palestinian leadership, ignited an immediate storm of protest.

Arab leaders holding Israeli citizenship denounced the proposal as "racist" and there was strong condemnation on the left of Mr Netanyahu's coalition government.

The move appeared to be a sop to Avigdor Lieberman, the hawkish foreign minister whose Israel Beiteinu party – the second largest in the coalition – has long accused the country's substantial Arab minority of being disloyal to the Jewish cause.

A fifth of Israel's 7.6 million people are Arab, the vast majority of whom were Palestinian until the creation of the state in 1948. The number does not include Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem.

Mr Lieberman has demanded that all Israel's Arab citizens, who are predominantly Muslim, be forced to swear loyalty to the state as Jewish.

The new proposal does not go that far, with only new citizens being required to recognise Israel as Jewish if the bill becomes law. At present, immigrants are merely required to be "loyal to the state of Israel". >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Thursday, October 07, 2010

Inside Story - Europe's Rising Anti-Islam Trend *


* Warning: You might find this discussion an insult to your intelligence!

PC BS from The Economist >>>

Image: Google Images
Italy to Ban the Burqah
MAIL ONLINE: Italy is set to become the next European country to ban the burka after a government report ruled in favour of the proposed legislation.

MPs from the anti-immigration Northern League party, a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling right wing coalition, have presented the proposal in a bill.

It comes just weeks after France banned the wearing of burkas and other forms of face veils - a decision which prompted al Qaeda terrorists to vow revenge.

An Interior Ministry report now being considered by the Constitutional Affairs Commission says that if introduced the law should make clear burkas and other face coverings were being banned not for 'religious reasons but for security reasons.'

As part of their investigation the Interior Ministry heard from several leading Muslims on the use of the burka and several pointed out there was no mention of its use at all in the Koran.

Ejaz Ahmed, of the Italian Islam Committee said: 'The use of the burka and the niqab does not have its origins in the Koran - in fact it is not even mentioned in the Koran.

'The burka has nothing to do with religion and was being worn even before Islam was founded - it was worn by the Romans, Byzantines and Persians and wearing it is not a religious obligation.

'There is no connection between the burka and the niqab with the Islamic religion - the burqa should be banned to respect women’s dignity and the safety of the public given that in Pakistan many suicide bombers have hidden devices under burkas.'

However others from the Islam Committee ruled that the burka was part of Muslim culture. Italy to become next European country to ban burka after government report recommends forbidding it in public >>> Nick Pisa | Thursday, October 07, 2010