China Rises: US Warns Beijing Is Expanding Its Military Power

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: China is pouring money into aircraft carriers, missiles, cyber warfare and "space dominance", a US Pentagon report has claimed.

China will have a modern military capable of force-projection and sustained high-intensity combat as early as the end of this decade, an annual Pentagon report into the state of China's armed forces has claimed.

New aircraft carriers, a stealth fighter program, carrier-killing ballistic missiles, improved cyberwarfare techniques and a doctrine of "space dominance" would all contribute to China's ambitious plans to modernise its 2.3million-strong People's Liberation Army.

The annual report comes as the US, Japan and several of China's smaller neighbours in the South China Sea voice concerns both about China's investment in offensive weapons technologies and Beijing's belligerent and bullying attitude towards regional disputes.

China rebuffed the 94-page report, accusing the Pentagon of "overlooking the country's peaceful defence policy" and "interfering" over Taiwan, the island that split from China in 1949 but that Beijing yearns to see re-united with mainland.

China's embassy in Washington described the report as "a reflection of Cold War mentality" that would needlessly be used to depict China as a threat and urged the US to "to work with China" to create healthy military ties between the two powers. Read on and comment » | Peter Foster, Beijing | Thursday, August 25, 2011

Gaddafi Rap Catches Mood in Arab World
Alooshe, known in Israel for his witty musical remixes of pompous statements by political figures, posted this video in February. The Zenga Zenga rap has become a viral hit, with more than 4m hits

Renata Tebaldi Jussi Bjoerling Sing La Bohème (vaimusic.com)
Listen here

N. Korea Pledges Return to Nuke Talks

Gaddafi’s Last Stronghold Under Fire

NZZ ONLINE: Moskau schreibt Ghadhafi noch nicht ab: Medwedew hält den bisherigen libyschen Machthaber weiterhin für einflussreich » | dpa | Mittwoch 24. August 2011

Gaddafi: A Vicious, Sinister Despot Driven Out on Tidal Wave of Hatred

THE GUARDIAN: Despite his absurd, buffoonish persona, the Libya leader clung to power for four brutal decades

Muammar Gaddafi, who seized power in Libya in a 1969 coup and whose Tripoli stronghold has been violently seized , was a leader with many guises. He was a Bedouin tribesman, a colonel and a self-styled revolutionary. He was an Arab and an African, a nationalist and a socialist, a Muslim, a poet and a would-be "philosopher king".

For the Libyan "masses", he was, in his own words, their Brother Leader, Supreme Guide, mentor, patriarch and uncle. But for his domestic opponents and for much of the western world, Gaddafi was something else entirely: a hubristic oil sheikh, a buffoon, a braggart, and a heartless killer.

With his overthrow as Libya's paramount chief, the international stage has lost one of its most colourful and disturbing personalities. Gaddafi had the ability to amaze and appal, to shock and amuse, simultaneously and in equal measure. This Janus-like quality, of looking both ways while maintaining contradictory views, made him both a foolish and a formidable adversary.

The Bedouin tent he insisted on pitching when visiting foreign capitals, his infamous entourage of heavily armed female bodyguards, grandiose projects (such as his $20bn Great Man-Made River through the Libyan desert) and his absurdist, finger-wagging homilies to world leaders often rendered him a figure of fun and derision.

But the darker side of his character and leadership also made him, at various times during his 42-year reign, an object of fear and hatred – a vicious, duplicitous and pitiless enemy who would seemingly stop at nothing to maintain his dominance at home and advance his eccentric, bizarrely warped view of the world.

Writing in the Times in 2009, author Amir Taheri recounted how he first met Gaddafi in 1970 during the funeral of the Egyptian president, Gamal Abel Nasser – and how, typically, all was not how it seemed. "In a room in the Qubbah palace in Cairo I found Gaddafi squatting on the floor with a number of other Libyan officers, beating their chests and weeping uncontrollably while the television cameras rolled. Once the cameras stopped, however, it became clear that there had been no tears. The colonel and his entourage rose to shake our hands, all smiles." » | Simon Tisdall | Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Inside Story - Libya's Crumbling Régime
What role will the West have in post-Gaddafi Libya? What about the Libyans themselves, do they have a common future vision? Can the National Transitional Council handle the task on its own?

Gaddafi Pleads for Support

Ban Christian Churches on Streets with Islamic Names, Says Indonesian Mayor
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Critics say the decree, proposed by Bogor mayor Diani Budiarto, is another example of growing religious intolerance in the world's most populous Muslim country.

The move is the latest attempt to block construction of a new church in Indonesia[.]

The Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church was supposed to open in Bogor in 2008, but residents protested, claiming its permit was illegal.

Though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parishioners in December, Mayor Budiarto has so far refused to comply.

He argued he was pushing for a decree to make it illegal to open churches on streets with Islamic names.

Indonesia, a secular nation of 240 million, has a long history of religious tolerance, but an extremist fringe has become more vocal - and violent - in recent years. Continue reading and comment » | Tuesday, August 24, 2011

Where Is Muammar Gaddafi?
Speculation is rife about the whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi[.] The US believes he is still in Libya, according to the Pentagon. Some suggest he could be in neighbouring Algeria, or in remote southern Libya. He may also be talking to regional allies in Africa. Al Jazeera's Nazanin Sadri reports.

Gaddafi's Son Makes Defiant Stand
Libya's opposition is facing serious questions after the startling appearance in Tripoli of one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Islam, his chosen heir.

Only hours earlier, as rebel fighters celebrated their advances in Tripoli, the National Transitional Council in Benghazi reported that Saif al-Islam was in custody.

His defiant gesture shows that the conflict could still full of surprises.

Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports.


Related

Libya: Saif al-Islam and Mohammed Gaddafi, the Dictator's Sons, Escape Capture

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saif al-Islam, Colonel Gaddafi's heir apparent, emerged defiant at his father's Tripoli compound last night, hours after reports of his arrest by rebel forces.

A defiant Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who acted as de-facto prime minister to his father, appeared early this morning in a carpark at his father's Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli before taking reporters on a tour of the parts of the capital still controlled by the regime.

"Tripoli is under our control. Everyone should rest assured. All is well in Tripoli," he boasted as gunfire rattled around the port city.

Yesterday the rebels announced Saif was under arrest and negotiations were underway to hand him to the International Criminal Court.

His older brother, Mohammed Gaddafi, was also reported to have broken free of house arrest last night.

"You have seen how the Libyan people rose up," Saif al-Islam said, referring to the loyalists' fierce fighting with rebel forces. » | Matthew Holehouse | Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Related here and here

Muslims Demand Sharia Student Loans Because Paying Interest Goes Against Islamic Law
MAIL ONLINE: Muslim groups are calling for a separate student loan system because the interest due to be charged will conflict with rules of Sharia law.

The changes to tuition fees, which come into force next year, will see students charged higher rates of interest on the loans they take out to pay for university.

Until now they have paid the market rate of inflation but the reforms mean students who go on to earn more than £21,000 will have to pay interest of up to 3 per cent.

But in some interpretations of Sharia law, which is Islam's legal system and governs every aspect of Muslim life, loans are forbidden.

The National Union of Students has said it could be two years before an alternative system is worked out, leaving some Muslims fearing they cannot go on to further education.

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies told The Independent that the rate increase was a 'pressing issue'.

A spokesman said: 'Because the rate of interest is above the rate of inflation, it is quite blatant usury.' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, January 22, 2011

Pat Condell: An Illiberal Consensus

Anjem Choudary: Jihad Milkshakes
Anjem Choudary is the unnervingly calm voice of the extreme Islamic sect Al-Muhajiroun. VBS met up with him in an East London park in the UK, where Choudary shared his views on promoting al-Qaeda’s just-right-of-center ideology over milkshakes. Most of the major news outlets have branded Choudary as a “hate preacher” who wants to kill all non-Muslims. He didn’t help matters much when he recently called for the assassination of the Pope. But Choudary, a British citizen, claimed between sips that he’s mostly interested in sharing the religion of peace with the West by bringing Sharia Law to the United Kingdom—and by turning Buckingham Palace into a beautiful mosque.

Gaddafi Son in Libyan Rebel Custody
Two of Muammar Gaddafi's sons are now in the custody of Libyan rebels.

Earlier Al Jazeera spoke to Mohammad Gaddafi, after he had surrendered. There was the sound of gunfire before the phone line went down.

But the head of the opposition National Transitional Council told Al Jazeera he was not hurt.

Inside Story – The Fall of Tripoli
Libyan rebels claim victory in the capital after months of battling for political control but what is the real story inside Tripoli?

ICC Confirms that Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Has Been Arrested in Libya
THE HAGUE JUSTICE PORTAL: The International Criminal Court and the Libyan transitional government are currently discussing the transfer of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi to the Hague following his capture by Libyan rebels.

The ICC’s Spokesperson, Fadi El-Abdallah, has confirmed that the ICC and the Libyan transitional government are discussing the surrender of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi (right) following his arrest, but as of yet does not have any clear information on when he would be transferred. Mr El-Abdallah added that this was an important step for international justice in the interest of the victims in Libya. The ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo also confirmed that Saif had been detained by "rebel special forces". He made it clear there is an obligation to surrender Saif to the ICC in accordance with Security Council resolution 1970. » | Monday, August 22, 2011

The Café - Young and Disillusioned in Sarajevo
Young Bosnians gather in the Café to discuss the challenges they face in their fragmented country

Big Tobacco Is Smoking Hot at the FDA
COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE: WASHINGTON (CN) - The nation's biggest tobacco companies are smoking hot at a new FDA rule that will force them to put graphic images - such as a dead body on an autopsy table and diseased body parts - on cigarette boxes and ads. Big Tobacco says such forced speech is unconstitutional.

"Such 'warnings' are unprecedented," the companies say in their federal complaint. "Never before in the United States have producers of a lawful product been required to use their own packaging and advertising to convey an emotionally charged government message urging adult consumers to shun their products."

The five plaintiffs include R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, and the Liggett Group. They sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The rule, which falls under the Tobacco Control Act, will take effect Oct. 22, 2012. It will require all cigarette packages made, starting a month before the deadline, to display the new text and graphic warnings, which must take up 50 percent of the front and back panels of a cigarette box and the top 20 percent of cigarette ads, according to the complaint.

The warnings must contain messages, such as "cigarettes cause cancer" and "smoking can kill you," as well as "color graphics depicting the negative health consequences of smoking."

The tobacco companies say the proposed images are not based upon facts. » | Ryan Abbott | Friday, August 19, 2011