43 Nations, 800,000 Million Inhabitants Form “Historic” Mediterranean Union

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
Will Sarkozy’s Mediterranean Union Be More Than a Big Photo-op? >>> By Katrin Bennhold | July 14, 2008

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French Minister Denounces Burqah
"It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that advocates inequality between the sexes and which is totally devoid of democracy." - Fadela Amara, French Urban Affairs Minister

BBC: A Muslim member of the French government has backed a court's decision to deny citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears the burqa.

Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara said she hoped last month's ruling would "dissuade certain fanatics from imposing the burqa on their wives".

She told the newspaper, Le Parisien, the head-to-toe garment was a "prison".

The Moroccan woman, Faiza M, was told that her practice of "radical" Islam was not compatible with French values.

The 32-year-old, who has lived in France since 2000 with her husband - a French national - and their three French-born children, said she had never challenged the country's fundamental values.

Social services reports said the burqa-wearing Faiza M lived in "total submission to her male relatives". French Minister Denounces Burqa >>> | July 16, 2008

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Diplomas Won’t Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack
TOWNHALL.COM: In all the brouhaha over the New Yorker's satirical cover cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama, a truly "tasteless and offensive" passage in the magazine's feature article got lost. The magazine piece quotes Obama's recommendations for how to stop jihad, which he had previously published in a local Chicago newspaper eight days after 9/11. It's a self-parody of blind, deaf and dumb Kumbaya liberalism:

"We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."

Is this man for real? Osama bin Laden's murderous legions are plenty able to "imagine" the "suffering of others." Go watch an al-Qaida beheading snuff video. Just Google it or surf YouTube. Imagining the suffering of infidels is covered amply in basic Jihadi Training 101. Diplomas Won’t Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack >>> By Michelle Malkin | July 16, 2008

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Now We Have Got the Archbishop of Canterbury Worrying about Elements of the Christian Doctrine Being “Offensive” to Muslims! So What! Get on with Your Job, Archbishop! Start Filling the Churches!
Photo of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Key elements of Christian doctrine are offensive to Muslims, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said in a letter to Islamic scholars.

Dr Rowan Williams also spoke critically of the violent past of both religions and Christianity's abandonment of its peaceful origins.

His comments came in a published letter to Islamic leaders, intended to promote closer dialogue and understanding between the two faiths.

However they come just months after Dr Williams was forced to clarify comments in which he said some parts of Islamic law will "unavoidably" be adopted in Britain.

The comments are also made as the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference begins in Canterbury. Up to a quarter of bishops are boycotting the event, as the Anglican Church faces continuing division over the issues of women bishops and homosexual clergy.

The wide-ranging letter, which covers difficult issues including religious freedom and religiously-inspired violence is in response to a document written last year by Muslim scholars from 43 countries.

Discussing differences between the religions, Dr Williams acknowledges that Christian belief in the Trinity is "difficult, sometimes offensive, to Muslims".

The Trinity is the Christian doctrine stating God exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and conflicts with Islamic teaching that there is one all-powerful God. Christian Doctrine Offensive to Muslims, Says Archbishop of Canterbury >>> By Ben Framer | July 15, 2008

MAILONLINE:
Archbishop of Canterbury: ‘Christian Doctrine Is Offensive to Muslims’ >>> By Steve Doughty | July 15, 2008

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Obama Vows to End US Rôle in Iraq
BBC: Barack Obama, the Democratic contender for the US presidency, has said his main priority as US president will be to end the US involvement in Iraq.

In a foreign policy speech, Senator Obama said "our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe".

His second priority would be to take the war to al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

His Republican rival accused Mr Obama of contradicting himself over Iraq. Obama Vows to End US Role in Iraq >>> | July 15, 2008

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UK: Taxpayers to Foot Bill for New Panel of Islamic Scholars to Give Advice on Modern Living to British Muslims
THE TELEGRAPH: A panel of Islamic scholars to give advice on modern living is to be introduced as part of a Government scheme to counter extremism.

The Muslim clerics will give advice, particularly to women and young people, on how the Koran should be interpreted for life in the 21st century.

The board is bound to be controversial among young Muslims partly because of its state backing but also because only certain scholars are qualified to give Islamic rulings or "fatwas" which normally emanate from Saudi Arabia.

While imams regularly give advice about what is "halal" [permitted] or "haram" [forbidden] their authority is secondary to the sheikhs of the Middle East.

The board is designed to discourage rulings which allow the beating of wives, or compel women to cover their faces.

They would also help young people with issues such as when they can mix with the opposite sex and whether it is permissible to serve in the armed forces.

While technically independent, the panel will receive support from the civil service and will have their expenses paid. Islamic Preachers to Give Moderate Advice >>> By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | July 13, 2008

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Tony Blair Abandons Gaza Vist after ‘Specific Security Threat’
TIMESONLINE: Tony Blair hastily cancelled his visit to the Gaza Strip today and headed back to Jerusalem after receiving what his aides described as a "specific security threat" minutes before crossing the border.

With his advanced security party having already gone through the Erez passenger crossing into the territory at 9.45am local time, the international peace envoy's motorcade was ordered to turn around and abort its journey.

The Israel Security Agency said it had received “pinpoint information that Palestinians were planning to attack Blair in Gaza, so the relevant services alerted him to the fact.” Tony Blair Abandons Gaza Visit after ‘Specific Security Threat’ >>> | July 15, 2008

MAILONLINE:
Blair Pulls Out of Gaza Visit because of ‘Feared Assassination Attempt’ >>> | July 15, 2008

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Obama Team Decry Satirical Image

BBC: Barack Obama's team has decried The New Yorker magazine for a cartoon cover depicting him in traditional Muslim garb and his wife as a terrorist.

The magazine says the cartoon is intended as a satirical comment about some of the distorted right-wing attacks on the Democratic senator.

An Obama campaign spokesman said the cartoon was "tasteless and offensive".

A spokesman for John McCain, Mr Obama's Republican rival in the presidential election, also criticised the cartoon.

The image, drawn by Barry Blitt and featured on the front cover of this week's New Yorker, shows Mr Obama wearing traditional Muslim dress, while his wife, Michelle, is dressed in combat trousers and carrying a machine-gun.

The couple are shown standing in the Oval Office, greeting one another with a "fist bump", with an American flag burning in the fireplace, and a portrait of Osama Bin Laden on the wall. Obama Team Decry Satirical Image >>> | July 14, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
US Election: Barack Obama Campaign Attacks ‘Offensive’ New Yorker Cartoon >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | July 15, 2008

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The Netherlands: Radical Imam Claims Damages for Fitna
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Amsterdam - The radical Muslim cleric Sheikh Imam Fawaz Jneid is claiming 55,000 euros in damages from far-right Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders for allegedly damaging his reputation in a controversial anti-Koran film.

The cleric was shown in Wilders' film 'Fitna'. The 17-minute film features verses of the Koran against images of terrorist attacks.

Wilders, quoted by Radio Netherlands says Jneid's claim "is the world upside down."

His film sparked protests in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia and has led to calls in some countries for a boycott of Dutch products.

Wilders says the imam "has cursed" Somali feminist and author, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and late Dutch filmmaker,Theo van Gogh.

Hirsi Ali received death threats after writing the script for van Gogh's short film 'Submission' criticising women's treatment in Muslim society.

A Muslim extremist murdered van Gogh in an Amsterdam street soon after the film aired on Dutch TV in 2004. [Source: Netherlands: Radical Imam Claims Damages for Anti-Koran Film]

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As the Church Destroys Itself from Within…
Photo of Dr Barry Morgan and Gene Robinson courtesy of the BBC
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A senior church leader says he would be willing to consecrate Britain’s first openly gay bishop, despite fears that such a move would further split the Anglican communion.

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, told The Sunday Telegraph that practising homosexuals should not be barred from becoming bishops.

He accused conservative Anglicans of being “exclusive” and narrow-minded in their opposition to gay clerics.

His comments, which come on the eve of the Lambeth Conference - the Anglican communion’s ten-yearly gathering of bishops - are set to inflame the bitter controversy over homosexuality.

Dr Morgan said that he was in agreement with the decision of the American church five years ago to consecrate the homosexual cleric Gene Robinson as a bishop - the move which has pushed the Anglican church to the brink of schism.

He said that if his fellow bishops in the church in Wales voted for a practising homosexual priest to be consecrated, he would back their decision and approve it. Church of England Should Appoint Britain’s First Gay Bishop, Says Archbishop of Wales >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones | July 13, 2008

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France Rejects Muslim Woman over Radical Practice of Islam
Photo of Faiza M courtesy of the BBC
THE GUARDIAN: France has denied citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears a burqa on the grounds that her "radical" practice of Islam is incompatible with basic French values such as equality of the sexes.

The case yesterday reopened the debate about Islam in France, and how the secular republic reconciles itself with the freedom of religion guaranteed by the French constitution.

The woman, known as Faiza M, is 32, married to a French national and lives east of Paris. She has lived in France since 2000, speaks good French and has three children born in France. Social services reports said she lived in "total submission" to her husband. Her application for French nationality was rejected in 2005 on the grounds of "insufficient assimilation" into France. She appealed, invoking the French constitutional right to religious freedom and saying that she had never sought to challenge the fundamental values of France. But last month the Council of State, France's highest administrative body, upheld the ruling.

"She has adopted a radical practice of her religion, incompatible with essential values of the French community, particularly the principle of equality of the sexes," it said. France Rejects Muslim Woman over Radical Practice of Islam >>> By Angelique Chrisafis | July 12, 2008

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Former Radical Extremist: Radical Islam Similar to Marxism, Soviet Union
TOWNHALL.COM: A former leader of a radical Islamic organization told Congress extreme Muslims are motivated by an ideology similar to Marxism and that Islamism has much in common with the former Soviet Union.

Maajid Nawaz, a native of England and once prominent figure in the London-based extremist group Hizb ut-Tharir, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the root cause of Islamic terrorism was its fanatical ideology, not poverty or discrimination.

“There is a common misconception on the left in the UK that only grievances can lead to Islamism,” he said.

Nawaz drew parallels between socialist Marxism and Islamism, contending that both movements see everything as a global ideological power struggle. He said Islamists wished for the world to be ruled under a single caliphate state, “like the Soviet bloc.”

“There will always be a conflict between Islamism and capitalism, just as there was once conflict between communism and capitalism,” he said. Former Radical Extremist: Radical Islam Similar to Marxism, Soviet Union >>> By Matt Purple | July 11, 2008

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The Great Bat Ye'or in Interview
Photo of Bat Ye'or courtesy of The Jerusalem Post
”The whole Muslim world is becoming more and more radicalized - more rooted in Shari'a, and less open to anything outside the religion.” - Bat Yeor

THE JERUSALEM POST: 'I always thought I'd be writing novels," says Bat Ye'or, her wistfulness somehow adding an extra touch of class to her thick French accent. "Not such serious work."

Given the gravity of her subject matter, and what some might consider her alarmist way with words, this is hard to believe. But then, so is the historian's life story, which is the stuff that sagas are made of.

Hers began in Egypt during World War II. The daughter of a middle-class Jewish family named Orebi, Bat Ye'or (her trademark pseudonym, which in Hebrew means "daughter of the Nile") fled with her parents to England in 1957 - after suffering the brunt of the anti-Semitism she claims characterized the entire Arab world.

In 1959, she married a Briton - also a historian - whom she prefers not to name, to protect his and her privacy. The couple then moved to and settled in Switzerland in 1960, where they raised their children and continue to reside.

She is the author of eight books, including The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam (1985); The Decline of Eastern Christianity: From Jihad to Dhimmitude (1996); Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide (2001); and - the one which captured international attention and catapulted her into the center of controversy - Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (2005). Saying that Europe is basically finished, due to its kissing up to the Arabs, will do that.

Here recently to promote the release of her best-selling "cautionary tale" in Hebrew (EuroArabia, Schocken Publishers; translation by Arie Hashavia), Bat Ye'or explains why she believes the West in general, and Europe in particular, is in state of denial at best, and dhimmitude at worst. To make matters more complicated, she asserts, though the citizens of European countries long to preserve their individual and collective cultures of freedom and democracy - which they have been exhibiting at the polls - the European Union, influenced by the UN-backed Islamic leadership, advocates appeasement and passivism.

In an hour-long interview on the terrace of her Mishkenot Sha'ananim digs overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, Bat Ye'or expounds on her bleak prognosis in an articulate tirade, raising her voice now and then for emphasis, pausing occasionally to laugh. What she has to say about the state of the world, however, is more likely to make one cry. One on One: A Dhimmi View of Europe >>> By Ruthie Blum | July 9, 2008

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US Warns Iran on Missile Threat
Watch BBC video: Iran test-fires missiles in the Gulf - footage from Iranian state TV >>>
BBC: The US has said it will not hesitate to defend its interests and those of its allies as Iran continues missile tests.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be "confused" about US capabilities.

Iran tested missiles on Wednesday that could reach Israel, and on Thursday carried out further tests.

Meanwhile French energy giant Total has said it will not invest in Iran because it is too politically risky.

New tests

Condoleezza Rice was speaking during a visit to Georgia.

She said: "We take very strongly our obligation to defend our allies and we intend to do that. US Warns Iran on Missile Threat >>> | July 10, 2008

BBC:
Israel ‘Ready to Act’ over Iran >>> | July 10, 2008

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Denmark Drops Cartoon Murder Plot Charges
REUTERS: COPENHAGEN - Danish prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges against a Moroccan-born man accused of plotting to murder one of 12 cartoonists whose drawings of the Prophet Mohammad caused worldwide uproar in 2006.

"Even though there is information of a connection between the 40-year-old and the planners of the plot to murder Kurt Westergaard, it is not possible to submit sufficient evidence in court that he took part in the planning," prosecutor Elsemette Casoe said, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.

Westergaard, 73, drew the cartoon that caused most controversy, depicting the founder of Islam with a bomb in his turban. He told Ritzau he accepted the prosecutor's decision but wanted Denmark to deport two other suspects still in detention who are fighting deportation to their native Tunisia. Denmark Drops Cartoon Murder Plot Charges >>> | July 9, 2008

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The Craven Verhagen Lets Down Wilders, and Lets Down Europe, too
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE - MP Geert Wilders, who is facing prosecution in Jordan, is getting no moral support from Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. The Dutch government considers that the MP has insulted the Jordanian population, it appears from a statement by Verhagen's ministry.

In the Netherlands, the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) concluded last week that Wilders' anti-Islam film Fitna, published on 27 March, does not break the law in any way. But in Jordan, a prosecutor has launched criminal proceedings against the MP for Fitna. This follows a complaint by 30 organisations calling themselves The Messenger of Allah Unites Us.

According to Wilders, "little or nothing happens without the King's approval" in Jordan, such as "the fact that the Jordanian Public Prosecutor has decided to treat me to five charges including insulting the Prophet Mohammed."

But Verhagen sees it differently. "A judicial procedure was started against Wilders after a complaint by a private person," the statement by his ministry reads. Wilders Prosecution: Dutch Government Defends Jordan >>> | July 8, 2008

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Iran: Missile Test Case ‘Provocative’
Watch BBC video: Footage of Iran missile test >>>
BBC: The US and Israel have condemned Iran after it test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Iran state media said nine missiles had been fired in total, including a new Shahab-3, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles).

Tehran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country's nuclear programme.

A senior US state department official said the launch was "provocative".

Wednesday's early morning test at a remote desert site sent oil prices climbing.

Brig Gen Hoseyn Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' air force, said: "Our missiles are ready for shooting at any place and any time, quickly and with accuracy." Iran Missile Test ‘Provocative’ >>> | July 9, 2008

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More Terrorism from the ‘Religion of Peace’. This Time in Turkey
Watch BBC video: Aftermath of attack at US consulate >>>
BBC: Six people have died in a gun battle outside the US consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The city's Governor, Muammer Guler, said three policemen and three attacking gunmen were killed.

No injuries were reported to staff inside the consulate. The US ambassador to Turkey condemned it as "an obvious act of terrorism" aimed at the US.

A fourth gunman and the driver of a vehicle that dropped off the attackers at the consulate reportedly escaped.

Reports quoted police sources as saying the suspects belonged to a Turkish Sunni Islamic fundamentalist group, says David O'Byrne in Istanbul.

The Great Eastern Islamic Raiders Front is thought to have links to al-Qaeda, says our correspondent. US Consulate in Turkey Attacked >>> | July 9, 2008

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Western Society’s War Within
THE AUSTRALIAN: IT may begin with a chuckle, but it could easily end in tears. At least, if we are not careful. One may be tempted to scoff at the demand to legalise polygamy made recently by Khalil Chami of Sydney's Islamic Welfare Centre. But with the recent announcement by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams that the adoption of sharia law in Britain seems unavoidable, the joke may turn out to be on us.

Britain provides an instructive lesson on the interaction between increasingly radicalised sections of the Muslim diaspora community and its Western host society.

From Dundee to Dover, traditional British values, already weakened to the point of collapse by a decades-long elite infatuation with mushy multiculturalism and cultural relativism, cannot provide resistance against the growing tide of extreme demands by radical self-styled community spokesmen.

The same way that the claim of racism has been used to shut down any debate on cultural identity, immigration and social cohesion, so is Islamophobia increasingly used to silence dissent. To merely raise certain issues is to give offence, and offending sensibilities is a hanging offence in our postmodern times.

While radicals agitate, a politically correct establishment, at pains to prove how enlightened and tolerant it is, even if it means tolerating the intolerance of others, usually stands on the sidelines, if not actively cheering on another challenge to the ostensibly oppressive, hegemonic Western culture and polity. Western Society’s War Within >>> By Brett Mason | July 8, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia)
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Radical Web of Islam’s Terror
NATIONAL POST: A new generation of Islamist terrorists is connecting through the Internet, not al-Qaeda. Their lack of central organization makes them even more terrifying than their forebears

The world's most dangerous jihadists no longer answer to al-Qaeda. The terrorists we should fear most are self-recruited wannabes who find purpose in terror and comrades on the Web. This new generation is even more frightening and unpredictable than its predecessors, but its evolution just may reveal the key to its demise.

When British police broke down Younis Tsouli's door in a leafy west London neighbourhood in October, 2005, they suspected the 22-year-old son of a Moroccan diplomat of little more than having traded e-mails with men planning a bombing in Bosnia. It was only after they began examining the hard drive on Tsouli's computer that they realized they had stumbled upon one of the most infamous --and unlikely --cyberjihadists in the world. Radical Web of Islam’s Terror >>> By Marc Sageman | July 8, 2008

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British Woman Faces Jail for Sex on Dubai Beach
THE TELEGRAPH: A British businesswoman is facing six years in a foreign jail after she was allegedly caught having drunken sex on a beach in Dubai.

Michelle Palmer, manager of a publishing firm, was arrested after a police officer reportedly found her and a British holidaymaker in a compromising position on Jumeirah Beach in the Arab state.

The 30-year-old is thought to have been charged with having sex outside marriage - considered an offence in Dubai - as well as indecent behaviour in public, being drunk in public, and assaulting a police officer.

Miss Palmer told the Sun that she fears she will be 'made an example of' under the strict laws of a country where even mild public displays of affection are frowned upon. British Woman Faces Jail for Sex on Dubai Beach >>> By Laura Clout | July 9, 2008

MAILONLINE:
A Fine Pickle! >>> | July 10, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
British Woman Faces Six Years for Sex on Dubai Beach >>> By Nico Hines | July 10, 2008

GULF NEWS:
Expat Woman Caught on Beach Fired from Work >>> By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter | July 10, 2008

GULF NEWS:
UAE Law against Indecency in Public >>>

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Swiss People’s Party Force Referendum on Minarets
THE GUARDIAN: Far right groups in Switzerland have collected enough signatures to force a nationwide referendum on banning minarets, the distinctive towers of Islamic architecture.

In what is being seen as a sign of growing Islamophobia in Europe, more than 100,000 Swiss citizens signed a petition to halt the construction of minarets.



Under Switzerland's direct democracy rules, that level of support is enough to trigger a referendum. The Swiss interior ministry today confirmed a vote would take place, without setting a date. Swiss Far Right Forces Vote on Minaret Ban >>> By Matthew Weaver and agencies | July 8, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Racism Row in Switzerland over Minaret Ban Referendum >>> By David Charter, Europe Correspondent | July 9, 2008

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Italy: Proposed Fines for Muslims Sparks Controversy
ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Milan - The President of the northern Italian city of Milan, Filippo Penati, has triggered widespread debate with a controversial proposal to fine Muslims who pray on the streets outside the city's mosque.

According to authorities, the number of people praying on the sidewalk creates traffic and obstacles for pedestrians in the area surrounding the Viale Jenner mosque, a converted garage.

"Article 190 of the law regarding the obstruction of streets should be applied immediately," said Penati. Italy: Proposed Fines for Muslims Sparks Controversy >>> | July 7, 2008

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Who Is Obama Trying to Kid?
Photo of Barack Hussein Obama courtesy of The Times
THE TELEGRAPH: Senator Barack Obama will get a presidential welcome in Berlin this month when he makes a speech at the Brandenburg Gate.

Only US presidents have been given the honour of speaking in front of the 18th Century gate, whose chariot of victory overlooked the Berlin Wall and the ecstatic party that followed its destruction in 1989.

But Mr Obama could prove the exception on a whistle-stop tour to London, Paris and Berlin in three weeks time, with July 24th announced as the date for his visit to Germany.

The trip will address concerns that Mr Obama is something of a foreign-policy lightweight, and will include a major speech spelling out his vision of a new relationship between Washington and Europe. Barack Obama to Be Granted JFK Moment with Brandenburg Speech >>> By Harry de Quetteville in Berlin | July 8, 2008

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Turkey: Political Stability Hangs in the Balance
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Generals arrested as coup conspirators, a court on the verge of banning the ruling party: The power struggle in Turkey between Prime Minister Erdogan's Islamic-rooted AKP and the secular, old-guard Kemalists is intensifying -- at the cost of political stablity.

Ali Ercan’s world swarms with enemies. The gray-haired professor of nuclear physics and deputy chairman of the Kemalist Thought Association (ADD) has to worry about reactionary Islamists, separatist Kurds, suspicious Armenians and Greeks, capitalist Americans and of course the European Union, with its constant pressures to reform. A bodyguard stands in front of Ercan’s small office on Gazi Mustafa Kemal Boulevard, round the clock.

Inside, a brass plaque greets visitors: “Turkey will never belong to Europe! She will never give up her sacred sovereignty!” Ercan, 55, came up with the slogan himself. Now he wants the words etched on his gravestone, he says. The Europeans come in for particular blame in this “dark and dangerous time which our country is living through.” Who else have encouraged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Islamicize Turkey through “reactionary religious forces,” he says. Who else have pushed Erdogan to sell off Turkey economically and erode its national sovereignty?

Many Turks think the same way. It was Ercan’s association that drummed up massive demonstrations last year against Erdogan’s conservative Islamic-rooted government. Hundreds of thousands gathered in front of the Atatürk Mausoleum in Ankara to demonstrate against the election of Abdullah Gül, a onetime fundamentalist, as president and to rail against the foreign “neo-colonial powers” that backed him. The ADD is a sort of think tank for Turkey’s patriotic conservatives -- and a refuge, above all, for retired military leaders. Coup Plot Intensifies Ankara’s Power Struggle >>> By Daniel Steinvorth in Ankara | July 7, 2008

THE INDEPENDENT:
The Big Question: Why Is Tension Rising in Turkey, and Is the Country Turning Islamist? >>> By Nicholas Birch in Istanbul | July 8, 2008

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The Netherlands Distances Itself from Wilders’ Statements about Jordan
DUTCH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: In a letter to the House of Representatives, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen explicitly distances the Dutch government from comments made by MP Geert Wilders about the people of Jordan and the Jordanian Royal House. Wilders called King Abdullah II a despot and said that, politically and democratically speaking, Jordan had not progressed beyond the level of Neanderthals.

Last week it emerged that legal proceedings had been initiated against Wilders in Jordan after a private citizen registered a complaint. An official notification of these proceedings is expected to be sent to the Netherlands through diplomatic channels, along with a request to inform Mr Wilders. There are no indications that Jordan intends to issue an arrest warrant. The Netherlands Distances Itself from Statements about Jordan >>> | July 7, 2008

Hat tip: ISRIA >>>

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Saudi Arabia Just Cannot Pass Muster When It Comes to Human Rights, Can It?
BBC: The New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch has called on Saudi Arabia to do more to protect Asian domestic workers from mistreatment.

It says some cases amount to slavery, with employers going unpunished for withholding wages, forced confinement, or physical and sexual violence.

HRW says some workers are imprisoned or lashed on spurious charges such as theft, adultery or witchcraft.

Thousands take shelter with the Social Affairs ministry or foreign embassies. Saudis Urged to Curb Maid Abuse >>> | July 8, 2008

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Ahmadinejad Plays Down War Talk
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has played down the threat of an armed conflict between his country and the United States or Israel.

"I assure you... there won't be any war in the future," he said in Malaysia.

Earlier, an aide to Iran's supreme leader said Tehran would strike Israel or the US navy in the Gulf if it was attacked over its nuclear programme.

The comments come amid reports of possible Israeli or US plans to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran Leader Plays Down War Talk >>> | July 8, 2008

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Bush and His White House Team Show No Evidence of Having Silver Tongues When It Comes to Silvio
BBC: The White House has apologised to Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi for a briefing describing him as a political "amateur" who is "hated by many".

The "insulting" biography was included in a press kit distributed to reporters travelling with President George W Bush to a meeting of world leaders in Japan.

He was "one of the most controversial leaders" of a country "known for governmental corruption and vice".

Only last month, Mr Bush visited his old ally, calling him a "good friend".

The four-page description of Mr Berlusconi had been taken from the Encyclopedia of World Biography.

It refers to the Italian prime minister as a man "hated by many but respected by all at least for his bella figura (personal style) and the sheer force of his will".

It says Mr Berlusconi was said to be "regarded by many as a political dilettante (amateur) who gained his high office only through use of his considerable influence on the national media".

Acknowledging the error, White House spokesman Tony Fratto issued an apology. Bush Sorry over Berlusconi Insult >>> | July 8, 2008

SUN TIMES:
White House Sorry about Berlusconi Bio Gaffe >>> AP | July 8, 2008

NZZ Online:
Berlusconi als Dilettanten hingestellt: Die USA entschuldigen sich beim italienischen Ministerpräsidenten >>> | 8. Juli 2008

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Surrender!
TOWNHALL.COM: So this is how it ends: not with a bang, but a whimper.

The most senior judge in England has declared that Islamic legal principles in Sharia law may be used within Muslim communities in Britain to settle marital arguments and regulate finance. Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said, "Those entering into a contractual agreement can agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law."

In his speech at an East London mosque, Lord Phillips said Muslims in Britain could use Islamic legal principles as long as punishments - and divorce rulings - comply with English law. Sharia law does not comply with English law. It is a law unto itself.

And so the English who gave us the Magna Carta in 1215, William Blackstone and the foundation of American law are slowly succumbing to the dictates of intolerant Islam and sowing seeds of their own destruction. Surrender! >>> By Cal Thomas | July 8, 2008

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Niall Ferguson: Without American Hegemony, the World Would Likely Return to the Dark Ages
The following article appeared in The Wall Street Journal in June 2004; but it is so relevant to the deteriorating situation in the world in the face of Islamic extremism, a seriously deteriorating world economy, powerless and clueless world leaders, and a weakened America that I feel it is well worth revisiting what Niall Ferguson had to say. Don’t forget that I have been warning of another “Dark Age” in my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, since 2003. - ©Mark

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: We tend to assume that power, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the history of world politics, it seems, someone is always bidding for hegemony. Today it is the United States; a century ago it was Britain. Before that, it was the French, the Spaniards and so on. The 19th-century German historian Leopold von Ranke, doyen of the study of statecraft, portrayed modern European history as an incessant struggle for mastery, in which a balance of power was possible only through recurrent conflict.

Power, in other words, is not a natural monopoly; the struggle for mastery is both perennial and universal. The "unipolarity" identified by commentators following the Soviet collapse cannot last much longer, for the simple reason that history hates a hyperpower. Sooner or later, challengers will arise, and back we must go to a multipolar, multipower world.

But what if this view is wrong? What if the world is heading for a period when there is no hegemon? What if, instead of a balance of power, there is an absence of power? Such a situation is not unknown in history. Though the chroniclers of the past have long been preoccupied with the achievements of great powers--whether civilizations, empires or nation states--they have not wholly overlooked eras when power has receded. Unfortunately, the world's experience with power vacuums is hardly encouraging. Anyone who dislikes U.S. hegemony should bear in mind that, instead of a multipolar world of competing great powers, a world with no hegemon at all may be the real alternative to it. This could turn out to mean a new Dark Age of waning empires and religious fanaticism; of endemic rapine in the world's no-go zones; of economic stagnation and a retreat by civilization into a few fortified enclaves. Without American Hegemony, the World Would Likely Return to the Dark Ages >>> By Niall Ferguson

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Melanie Phillips: The UK Is Giving Succour to the Extremists Who Would Destroy Us
”… While the ordinary people of Britain are increasingly aghast at the way their country is being transformed by Islamism, the political, judicial, security and intellectual elites are busy denying the nature of the danger and making it far, far worse through a combination of extreme ignorance, arrogance and sheer funk.

The Islamists launched their jihad against the West because they perceived it was so weak and confused it would not possess the wherewithal to defend itself. When it comes to Britain, they never spoke a truer word.” - Melanie Phillips

MAILONLINE: Three years after the London Tube and bus bombings, it is alarming beyond measure to record that Britain is even now sleepwalking into Islamisation. Some people will think this is mere hyperbole. However, that's the problem. Britain still doesn't grasp that it is facing a pincer attack from both terrorism and cultural infiltration and usurpation.

The former is understood; the latter is generally not acknowledged or is even denied, and those who call attention to it are pilloried as either ' Islamophobes' or alarmists who have taken up residence on Planet Paranoia.

Certainly, the police and security service have been foiling plot after plot and are bringing to court a steady stream of Islamist radicals - an improvement without doubt from two years ago. And so, particularly within the British elite, people think that things are broadly under control.

They fail to realise that the attempt to take over our culture is even more deadly to this society than terrorism. They are simply blind to the ruthless way in which the Islamists are exploiting our chronic muddle of well-meaning tolerance and political correctness (backed up by the threat of more violence) to put Islam on a special - indeed, unique - footing within Britain.

As a result, the steady Islamisation of British public life is either being ignored or even tacitly encouraged by a political, security and judicial establishment that is failing to identify the stealthy and mind-bending game that is being played. Melanie Phillips: The UK Is Giving Succour to the Extremists Who Would Destroy Us >>> | July 8, 2008

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Church of England Set to Split over Women Bishops
THE TELEGRAPH: The Anglican Church is to press ahead with the introduction of women bishops without any compromise measures for opponents of the controversial move.

Hundreds of traditionalists, including several bishops, may leave the church after an epic four-hour debate ended with proposals to create new "men only" dioceses or "super bishops" narrowly thrown out by members of the General Synod in York.

It came despite the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the two most senior figures in the church, calling for safeguards to stop an exodus of Anglo-Catholics and evangelicals.

The church's drafting group is now likely to draw up legislation which will bring in women bishops, by 2014 at the earliest, with only an as yet unwritten national code of practice to cater for those who firmly believe the Bible teaches that bishops must be male, as Jesus and his apostles were. Church of England Set to Split over Women Bishops >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | July 7, 2008

BBC:
Christ Chose Men >>> | July 8, 2008

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Oppose Shari’ah
TOWNHALL.COM: Try a little thought experiment. What would have happened in this country during the Cold War if the Soviet Union successfully neutralized anti-communists opposed to the Kremlin’s plans for world domination?

Of course, Moscow strove to discredit those in America and elsewhere who opposed its totalitarian agenda – especially after Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s excesses made it fashionable to vilify patriots by accusing them of believing communists were “under every bed.”

But what if the USSR and its ideological soul-mates in places like China, North Korea, Cuba, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa had been able to criminalize efforts to oppose their quest for the triumph of world communism? What if it had been an internationally prosecutable offense even to talk about the dangers inherent in communist rule and the need to resist it?

The short answer is that history might very well have come out differently. Had courageous anti-communists been unable accurately and forcefully to describe the nature of that time’s enemy – and to work against the danger posed by its repressive, seditious program, the Cold War might well have been lost.

Flash forward to today. At the moment, another totalitarian ideology characterized by techniques and global ambitions strikingly similar to those of yesteryear’s communists is on the march. It goes by varying names: “Islamofascism,” “Islamism,” “jihadism” or “radical,” “extremist” or “political Islam.” Unlike the communists, however, adherents to this ideology are making extraordinary strides in Western societies toward criminalizing those who dare oppose the Islamist end-state – the imposition of brutal Shariah Law on Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Islamists’ Catch-22 >>> By Frank J Gaffney Jr | July 7, 2008

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Anglican Bishops in Secret Vatican Summit
" … There can be no future for Christianity in Europe without Rome." - Anonymous Bishop of the Church of England
THE TELEGRAPH: Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops.

They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will be a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in the Church of England.

In highly confidential discussions, a group of conservative bishops expressed their dismay at the liberal direction of the Church of England and their fear for its future.

They met members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful of the Vatican's departments, the successor to the medieval Inquisition, which enforces doctrine and was headed by Pope Benedict XVI before his election. Anglican Bishops in Secret Vatican Summit >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | July 5, 2008

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The Utterly, Extremely, Astoundingly STUPID Lord Phillips! The Sharia Debate: We Can’t All Be Equal under Different Laws
TIMESONLINE: Allowing British Muslims recourse to Islamic law would be a charter for male dominance and peer-group bullying

Sneakily, Britain's first Muslim Minister, Shahid Malik, has ducked the critics that he will enrage in an interview to be broadcast on Channel 4's Dispatches programme on Monday.

Knowing that the phrase he uses to describe the situation of British Muslims - “the Jews of Europe” - will make the headlines, he has put it in the mouths of others. “If you ask Muslims today what do they feel like,” he says, “they feel like the Jews of Europe.” He does not say if he thinks that they are right.

I'll respond in the Malik method. If you asked most non-Muslims what they feel about the suggestion, they would say that it was disgraceful, outrageous and insulting.

Mr Malik's assessment of how some British Muslims feel may be accurate; but they are wrong. Race is not the issue. Unless we face up honestly to the incompatibilities between aspects of the ways of life of some (not all) Muslim groups in Britain, and the British mainstream culture, we shall find ourselves babbling about racism when the issue has less to do with race than with culture.

That is why I thought the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, in a careful speech at the East London Muslim Centre on Thursday, slid too quickly over the trickiest parts of his argument. He was discussing the application of Sharia in England and Wales.

The speech has been variously reported as anything from a gentle warning to cultural separatists within Islam, to a craven endorsement of the compromising speech about Sharia made by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, last year. Lord Phillips took as his theme and title Equality Before the Law. This was shrewder than it was brave.

“Equality” is a dummy concept in the philosophy of law. Here it allowed both speaker and audience to overlook real differences between them, because everyone is in favour of equality. But Lord Phillips was wrong to say that only recently has English law developed a respect for equality. Common Law and Statute have always regarded everyone as “equal before the law”, but depending on who and what you are and what you've done, your rights may differ. A cat burglar and a householder are not equal before the law. An under-age teenager and an adult, a British citizen and an illegal immigrant, are not equal. An in-catchment-area and out-of-catchment-area parent are not (in their children's access to a local school) equal. It's all a question of category; the categories of citizen that our laws create do and must create differences - inequalities - in the rights of individuals. We Can’t All Be Equal under Different Laws >>> By Matthew Parris | July 5. 2008

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Pat Condell: A Secular World Is a Sane World

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Shades of Theocracy
FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS: The modus operandi for the political empowerment of Islamists in America is in full public display during every election cycle. The sad part is few realize how central "Islamic politics" is to the driving force of transnational Islamism and its threat to American security. The incessant attempts by American Islamist groups (like the MAS, CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, ICNA to name a few) to collectivize Muslims in the body politic - from voter registrations to their ideological grievance mill - point to their goals.

What better way to push forth a quasi-theocratic political agenda than to deceive the Muslim faithful into believing that their political survival as a minority in America depends upon the mixture of their faith identity with their political identity? These same Islamists spread the ideology of victimization and identity politics among any Muslims who will listen while they internally promote political Islam and Islamist statecraft within the ummah (Muslim community). They use their efforts at Muslim electoral involvement to exploit the spiritual ummah for political purposes. Most importantly, many in the mainstream media (MSM) and government turn to them to purportedly speak for the American Muslim population, even though they have no mandate or significant membership to do so. Exclusive: Islamism and the So-called ‘Muslim Voting Bloc’: Shades of Theocracy >>> By M Zuhdi Jasser | July 4, 2008

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That STUPID Judge, Lord Phillips!
Photo of Lord Phillips courtesy of The Telegraph
Is this man senile, or what? What's more, isn’t this man treasonous? What should happen to such a man who is willing to sell his country and its values and legal system down the river? If this is an example of the people at the top of British society, isn’t it time something changed? This man is a liability to the Crown. The people of the United Kingdom deserve better than this!

If this judge doesn't realize it, he certainly should: ALL British people need to live under ONE law. – ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Muslims in Britain should be able to live according to Sharia law, the country's most senior judge has said.

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his suggestion earlier this year that aspects of Sharia law should be adopted in Britain.

The archbishop's remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls for his resignation.

Risking inflaming that controversy again, Lord Phillips has said that Muslims in Britain should be able to use Sharia to decide financial and marital disputes.

The judge did add that only the criminal courts should have the power to decide when a crime has been committed and when to impose punishment.

But his suggestion that different religious groups should run their affairs according to different rules sparked warnings that community cohesion could be undermined. Muslims in Britain Should Be Able to Live under Sharia Law, Says Lord Phillips >>> By Christopher Hope and James Kirkup | July 3, 2008

THE GUARDIAN:
Sharia Law Could Have UK Rôle, Says Lord Chief Justice: Britain's most senior judge reopened one of the most highly charged debates in Britain last night when he said he was willing to see sharia law operate in the country, so long as it did not conflict with the laws of England and Wales, or lead to the imposition of severe physical punishments >>> | July 4, 2008

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Netherlands Okays Jordan Prosecuting MP Wilders
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE - Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has declined to complain to Jordan about Dutch MP Geert Wilders awaiting prosecution in that country.

Wilders had asked Verhagen to summon the Jordanian ambassador in The Hague to protest against the possible court case against the Party for Freedom (PVV) leader for insulting Islam. The minister however refuses. The Netherlands cannot interfere with the judicial process of another country. "This is for courts, not politics," said the minister during a House debate on the Middle East.

"Conversely, a country also cannot influence the independent judicial process in the Netherlands," according to Verhagen. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) however thinks differently about this; it does condemn the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) decision not to prosecute Wilders domestically. Netherlands Okays Jordan Prosecuting MP Wilders >>> | July 3, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands)

Geert Wilders: Prisoner of Islam
TOWNHALL.COM: THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- Having run the polite-but-grim gauntlet of Dutch government security to gain access to Geert Wilders, I finally understood what the 24-hour security requirements of the man's continued existence really mean: To make the survival of Western-style liberty in the Netherlands his political cause, this Dutch parliamentarian has to live under high-tech lock and key.

This stunning paradox, with no end in sight, illustrates how far political freedom in the West has already eroded. Think of it: For writing about the repressive ideology of Islam, for arguing against the inequities of Sharia (Islamic law), for making a video ("Fitna") to warn about Islamic jihad, Wilders lives in his own non-Islamic country under a specifically Islamic death threat.

If it is politically incorrect to notice this, it is also indisputably true. True, too, is that, sans state security, this death threat could conceivably be carried out anytime, anywhere -- from the picturesque streets outside the Dutch parliament, to the house Wilders hasn't slept in since 2004. That, of course, was when, on an Amsterdam street, a Muslim assassin plunged a knife into Theo van Gogh's corpse, thus attaching the Islamic manifesto threatening both Wilders and his then-parliamentary colleague, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, with death. Geert Wilders: Prisoner of Islam >>> By Diana West | July 3, 2008

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Algeria: Christians Get Suspended Jail Terms
REUTERS: TISSEMSILT, Algeria - A court in Algeria handed suspended jail terms and fines to two Christians on Wednesday for trying to convert Muslims, a defence lawyer said, in the latest in a series of trials stirring accusations of religious repression.

Rachid Seghir and Djallal Dahmani each received suspended six month jail terms and 100,000 dinar fines in the hearing at Tissemsilt town 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Algiers for "distributing documents in order to disrupt the Muslim faith", defence lawyer Khelloudja Khalfoun said.

Contacted by telephone after the hearing, Seghir said in brief remarks that he would appeal, adding: "We are disappointed by the verdict but we are not ashamed of our religion." Algeria Christians Get Suspended Jail Terms >>> By Hamid Ould Ahmed | July 2, 2008

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Does Germany Have a Problem with Gay Hate Crime?
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Migration to Germany from countries including Turkey and Russia, where homosexuality is taboo, has led to a rise in crime against gays. Gay-bashing hip hop music isn't helping, either. So how should liberal-minded Germans deal with less-tolerant immigrants? Does Germany Have a Problem with Gay Hate Crime? >>> By Michael Scott Moore in Berlin | July 3, 2008

RELATED - SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Amsterdam to Study Gay Bashers >>> | November 30, 2008

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Turkish Party Rejects Anti-Secularism Charges
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's deputy prime minister defended the ruling party in the country's top court Thursday against charges that it is steering the country toward Islamic rule.

The chief prosecutor is demanding the Islamic-rooted party be disbanded for anti-secular activity and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and 70 other party members be barred from joining a political party for five years.

The court will deliver a verdict in the coming months. Some observers say a decision to disband the party could throw the country into political and economic instability.

The case is being heard as police rounded up two retired senior generals and some of the government's fiercest critics as part of a widening, year long investigation into allegations of a coup plot against the Islamic-leaning government by secularists.

The court case and the arrests have heightened tensions in Turkey. Erdogan's party is locked in a power struggle with secular groups supported by the military and other state institutions, including the judiciary. Turkish Party Rejects Anti-Secularism Charges >>> | July 3, 2008

DIE PRESSE:
Psychologischer Krieg der Armee gegen Erdogan: Die kemalistische Elite zieht alle Register, um den gemäßigt islamischen Premier Erdogan von der Macht zu drängen. Sehr geschickt geht sie dabei jedoch nicht vor, außer beim Verbotsverfahren gegen die Regierungspartei >>> Von Jan Keetman | 1. Juli 2008

DIE PRESSE:
Held und Hassfigur – Ein Porträt >>>

DIE PRESSE:
Türkei: Von Atatürk bis heute >>>

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Muslims Turn to Christ in Algeria

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Another Setback to Freedom in the West: YouTube Must Divulge People’s Viewing Habits!
That “New Dark Age” is “Dawning” faster than anyone could ever have imagined! - ©Mark

BBC: Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube, a US court has ruled.

The ruling comes as part of Google's legal battle with Viacom over allegations of copyright infringement.

Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the ruling a "set-back to privacy rights".

The viewing log, which will be handed to Viacom, contains the log-in ID of users, the computer IP address (online identifier) and video clip details.

While the legal battle between the two firms is being contested in the US, it is thought the ruling will apply to YouTube users and their viewing habits everywhere. Google Must Divulge YouTube Log >>> | July 3, 2008

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Christopher Hitchens on Islam

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