Sikhs and Hindus Accuse the BBC of Pro-Muslim Bias
THE INDEPENDENT: Hindu and Sikh leaders have accused the BBC of pandering to Britain's Muslim community by making a disproportionate number of programmes on Islam at the expense of covering other Asian religions.

A breakdown of programming from the BBC's Religion and Ethics department, seen by The Independent, reveals that since 2001, the BBC made 41 faith programmes on Islam, compared with just five on Hinduism and one on Sikhism.

Critics say the disproportionate amount of programming is part of an apparent bias within the BBC towards Islam since the attacks of 11 September 2001, which has placed an often uncomfortable media spotlight on Britain's Muslims.

Ashish Joshi, the chairman of the Network of Sikh Organisation's (NSO) media monitoring group, which obtained the numbers, said many Hindu and Sikh licence-fee payers felt cheated. "People in our communities are shocked," he said. "We are licence-fee payers and we want to know why this has happened. The bias towards Islam at the expense of Hindus and particularly Sikhs is overwhelming and appears to be a part of BBC policy." Sikhs and Hindus Accuse the BBC of Pro-Muslim Bias >>> By Jerome Taylor | September 8, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
BBC Favours Muslims, Complain Hindus and Sikhs: The BBC has been accused of pandering to Britain's Muslims in its religious programming and ignoring other faiths >>> By Ben Farmer | September 8, 2008

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Muslim Immigrants Attack Three Jewish Teens in Paris
HAARETZ: Three Jewish teens were attacked by a group of Muslim African immigrants in Paris on Saturday evening, a French police spokeswoman said Sunday.

The Jewish teens, ages 17 and 18, who have been identified as Dan Nebet, Kevin Bitan and David Boaziz, are leaders of the Bnei Akiva youth group in Paris' 19th District.

Thiery Nebet, Dan's father, told Haaretz over the phone that according to what his son had said, as they were walking down the street, "Four or five Arabs of African origin started to throw walnuts at Kevin. When he went up to them to ask them why they did it, they surrounded him and knocked him down. Kevin and David moved in and very quickly more Arabs joined in and started to beat the three with their fists and with chains."

The Jewish teens were hospitalized, one with a broken nose and jaw and all three with bruises, and filed a police report after their release. Police opened an investigation and are looking for the Muslim teenagers allegedly responsible for the attacks.

According to the chairman of the Jewish Students Union in France, Raphael Haddad, barrages of stones were thrown at the three teens during the attack. Haddad also said the incident occured on Petit Street in the 19th District, not far from where a 17-yea-ar-old Jewish youth was attacked and seriously injured by immigrants on June 21.

The attack is one of a long series of racial attacks in Europe in general and in France in particular. France has Western Europe's largest population of both Jews and Muslims. Muslim Immigrants Attack Three Jewish Teens in Paris >>> By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and DPA | September 8, 2008

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Are These Just More Empty Words from the Politicians, Or Are They Really Going to Do Something at Long Last?
THE TELEGRAPH: Immigration to Britain would be dramatically scaled back under plans for a "one in, one out" policy published today.

A cross-party parliamentary group – the first to tackle such a politically divisive issue – says net immigration must be reduced to zero, with the numbers arriving balanced by those leaving.

The group hopes this will stabilise the swelling UK population and reduce pressure on public services at a time when immigrants are entering at the highest rate in recorded history.

"We strongly believe we must ease the pressures that immigration is placing on our public services, environment and, indeed, on the cohesion of our society," it says in a report, Balanced Migration.

The group is jointly chaired by former Labour and Tory Ministers Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, and includes business leaders, churchmen and a former union boss.

They hope that a clear call from key public figures will intensify pressure on the Government to set limits on immigration, or encourage the Conservatives – who are pledged to cap numbers – to adopt the policy.

A House of Lords committee has already called for a cap on numbers entering the country and said record levels of immigration are offering little or no economic benefit.

In April, the Lords' economic affairs committee labelled official statistics on migration "seriously inadequate" and concluded immigrants are not needed to fill labour shortages or help fund the state pension for retiring Britons.

Immigrants were found to have an "important economic impact'' on public services, with some schools struggling to cope with the number of children who do not speak English as a first language. Reduce Net Immigration to Zero, Say MPs >>> By Ben Farmer | September 8, 2008

DANIEL HANNAN’S BLOG:
Immigration Policy Is Beyond Our Politicians >>> By Daniel Hannan | Septermber 8, 2008

BBC:
Minister Rejects Migrant Cap Plan: The government has rejected demands for strict limits on the number of workers from outside the European Economic Area allowed to settle in Britain >>> | September 8, 2008

BBC:
New Migrant Worker Rules Outlined: A list of jobs for which there is deemed to be a shortage of skilled workers in the UK has been released.

If the government adopts the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendations firms will be able to seek workers from outside the EU in the jobs listed.

They include specialist nurses and consultants, some engineering jobs, maths and English teachers but not care home workers or nuclear energy workers.

The government claims it will cut the number of jobs open to non-EU workers. >>> | September 9, 2008

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Janet Daley: Look Across the Pond for a Lesson in Listening to the People
THE TELEGRAPH: Having spent the past two weeks immersed in American politics (spiritually, not physically), I must try to readjust my eyes for the British domestic scene.

It is not just the difference in scale that is disconcerting - this is a small island, after all, not a continental superpower. It is the sense of a wholly different conception of the relationship between government and people.

After more than 40 years as an American expatriate living in Britain, I have not got over the shock of being in a democratic country where the governing class holds the views of ordinary people in such contempt: the priorities of the public - whether they are uncontrolled immigration, lack of appropriate punishment for criminals, or the outrageous cost of the basic necessities of modern life - can be disregarded or dismissed if the governing elite decides that they are wrong-headed or benighted.

There is almost no sense at all of the principle that underpins the US Constitution: that in a democracy, the will of the majority of the people is sacred.

What prevails in Britain is the received wisdom of the professional political club. And that includes not just those elected to Parliament but their entourages, their party machines and their media hangers-on. Of course, Washington has its insider cabals and its incestuous "inside the Beltway" culture. But no member of Congress who wishes to survive can afford to become as detached and disdainful of popular opinion as members of the British political class openly (and shamelessly) declare themselves to be.

It is a positive point of pride among politicians here to say that they bravely hold out against "populist" demands - which is to say that they wilfully ignore and deride the concerns of ordinary people because they are not sufficiently enlightened to be worthy of consideration. Look across the Pond for a Lesson in Listening to the People >>> By Janet Daley September 8, 2008

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Kim Jong-Il 'Died in 2003', Says Japanese Professor
THE TEHEGRAPH: The health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is not worsening, according to South Korean official, but a Tokyo professor has meanwhile asserted that Kim died in any case in 2003.

Speculation has recently grown again that Kim, who is 66 and has not been seen in public for more than three weeks, is unwell. Some media have long thought that Kim, a former smoker and heavy drinker, was ill but Seoul intelligence officials say they believe he has diabetes and heart problems, but those are not serious enough to affect his job.

But a book by Japan's Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura at Japan's respected Waseda University says Kim died in the autumn of 2003 and a series of stand-ins have since taken his place at official state event.

Prof Shigemura says Kim was not seen in public for the 42 days after September 10, 2003, and in his book "The True Character of Kim Jong Il" claims the man that North Koreans refer to as the "Dear Leader" died of diabetes. Kim Jong-Il 'Died in 2003', Says Japanese Professor >>> By Julian Ryall in Tokyo | September 7, 2008

Watch BBC video: N Korea marks 60th anniversary >>>
BBC:
N Korea’s Kim Missing from Parade: There is growing speculation about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, 66, after he failed to attend a huge martial parade in Pyongyang.

The military ranks marking the nation's 60th anniversary were instead overseen by North Korea's second most senior figure, Kim Yong-nam.

Rumours were already rife about the well being of the North Korean leader.

Reports quoting Western intelligence sources said on Tuesday it was possible Mr Kim had suffered a stroke. >>> | September 9, 2008

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
North Korea Leader Is Seriously Ill, U.S. Official Says >>>
By Mark Mazzetti and Choe Sang-Hun | September 9, 2008

LE FIGARO:
Kim Jong-Il aurait eu une attaque cérébrale >>> C.M. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | 09.09.2008

LE MONDE:
La Corée du Nord fête ses 60 ans sans son "cher leader" >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | 09.09.08

BERLINER ZEITUNG:
Nordkorea wird 60 - Gerüchte über Kim Jong Il >>> | 09.09.2008

LE FIGARO:
Pyongyang dément 
la maladie de Kim Jong-Il >>> C.M. et C.J. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | 10.09.2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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Melanie Phillips: Contempt, Apathy and Lies - Why Britain Is Crying Out for Our Own 'Pitbull with Lipstick'
MAIL Online: Despite obvious differences between the U.S. and the UK, her triumph carries important lessons for British politics, too.

Palin's storming of the political citadel is the victory of the outsider, the little person who takes on the establishment - and wins.

In Britain and America - as in other parts of the Western world, too - an enormous gulf now yawns between leaders and led.

People have concluded that politicians of all parties seem to inhabit a world apart, governed by self-interest, cynicism, corruption, incompetence, deep contempt for the electorate and an incorrigible instinct to deceive them.

Politicians know this. Which is why they all purport to stand on a platform of 'change'.

But change from what to what, precisely?

Unless there's a clear answer, 'change' becomes a pointless soundbite which risks creating an impression of yet more political sleight of hand.

This is the trap into which Barack Obama has fallen.

Yes, he has amazing gifts of charisma and oratory; along with his youth and black ancestry, this all helps create the impression that he is an outsider and embodies a fresh start.

But, on closer inspection, he looks suspiciously like yet more of the same old same old. The way he changes his political message to fit the audience he is addressing sits ill with his pitch to represent a new politics of integrity.

And his voting record and positions on social issues place him firmly among the Left-wing elite which has waged such devastating war upon the West's moral values.

By contrast, Palin has a very strong sense of right and wrong rooted in her evangelical Christian faith. Perversely, this damns her in the eyes of the Left as the 'hard Right'.

This is clearly absurd: she is a working mother of five who has shown herself as capable of felling Big Oil and other political cartels against the public interest as shooting moose.

Moreover, her real achievement is to do what the Left assumed was utterly impossible: she makes social conservatism seem attractive. Contempt, Apathy and Lies - Why Britain Is Crying Out for Our Own 'Pitbull with Lipstick' >>> By Melanie Phillips | September 8, 2008

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Tutu: ‘God Is Weeping’
Watch BBC video: Tutu: ‘God Is Weeping’ >>>
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At Last! Obama Admits He’s a Muslim!

Hat tip: Pastorius of iBloga

ISRAEL INSIDER:
In Stunning Slip on National TV, Obama Refers to "My Muslim Faith" >>> | September 7, 2008

“That’s not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.” - Barack Hussein Obama [Source: TimesOnline]

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Rachida Dati Keeps Mum on Father
Photo of Rachida Dati courtesy of Google Images
SUNDAY HERALD: EUROPE'S PRESS HAS LAUNCHED ITSELF into a coy game of hunt-the-father after the revelation that France's justice minister Rachida Dati, a single woman and a Muslim, is expecting a baby. Dati, a petite 42-year-old who is a devoted ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy, confirmed on Wednesday what her shape was making it impossible to hide, telling journalists that the pregnancy was a source of huge personal happiness. But she quickly scotched any attempt to discover the paternity, saying only that: "I have a complicated private life. I will not be communicating further on this matter."

French newspapers and broadcast media have tied themselves in contortions trying to reconcile their legal duty not to pry into a minister's private life with the enormous public interest in so fascinating a human tale. For the most part this has meant using their internet sites to report "factually" the gossip being purveyed by more salacious non-French media - thus simultaneously stoking the story and keeping a prudent distance.

The names of several candidates have been aired, including Dominique Desseigne, head of a casino and hotel empire; Henri Proglio, CEO of Veolia Environment; and a popular French television presenter known simply as Arthur. Bizarrely, one Moroccan internet site cited the former Spanish prime ministerJose-Maria Aznar as Dati's lover. Aznar promptly issued a denial, but not before his name had been circulated around the world.

Other sites even suggested artifical insemination. The truth is, though, that no-one outside of Dati's immediate circle knows who is the baby's father, and as she seems bent on remaining unattached, the secret appears secure.

The tittle-tattle over paternity has obscured the more important aspect of the affair, which is surely Dati's determination to push back the limits on what Muslim women may or may not publicly achieve in France. Born in 1965 to a Moroccan bricklayer father and an Algerian mother, Dati was brought up in a high-immigration banlieue in the Burgundy town of Chalons-sur-Saône.

She is the second in a family of 11 children, and two of her brothers have recently been in trouble with the law. Driven by an indomitable urge to prove herself above her unpromising origins, she became an accountant and then a magistrate before being talent-spotted by Sarkozy, who saw in her the embodiment of his ideal of the striving outsider.

According to a profile in Le Point magazine this week, "Sarkozy recognised himself in the courage, the nerve, the self-assurance of this child of immigrants. As she herself has said, There's something in me that creates an echo in him, a kind of mirror effect. Like me, he cannot stand humiliation'." Defiant Muslim Minister Keeping Mum on Father: Tough privacy laws make life difficult for media fascinated by Rachida Dati’s story. >>> From Hugh Schofield in Paris | September 7, 2008

THE AGE:
In Paris, Polly's Baby Is a Private Affair >>> By William Langley, Paris | September 8. 2008

THE OBSERVER:
The mother of all intrigues: With the announcement of her pregnancy by an unnamed man, France's sharp and ambitious justice minister has given the nation what it loves best: the chance to laugh at its prurient, prudish Anglo-Saxon neighbours >>> By Jason Burke | September 7. 2008

AFRICAN PATH:
France : Sarkozy’s Former Lover Rachida Dati, Is Pregnant >>> By Elie B Smith | September 5, 2008

GALA.fr:
Au jeu du Cluedo de la paternité, l'Europe s'en donne à coeur joie! : C'est le nouveau feuilleton Harlequin de la fin d'été: qui est donc le père de l'enfant que porte Rachida Dati? Depuis que José Maria Aznar a démenti cette paternité, les médias européens se perdent en conjectures...

Il s'agit là d'une nouvelle version du Cluedo. Le but n'est pas de trouver l'assassin mais le géniteur. Qui, où et avec quelles armes de séduction? Depuis que le ventre rond de Rachida Dati a émergé de ses pantalons en flanelle, une partie de l'Europe se réveille avec la même question lancinante et aujourd'hui encore sans réponse: qui donc a fait un enfant à notre ministre de la Justice? 


Un homme du monde de la politique, des affaires, du show-biz? Toutes les spéculations sont les bienvenues. Le premier suspect dans cette affaire était l'ancien chef du gouvernement espagnol, José Maria Aznar, mais ce dernier vient de démentir la rumeur lancée par un journal marocain (José Maria Aznar nie être le père de l'enfant de Rachida Dati). Non, il n'est pas le père de Rachida Junior. Il a tout de même fallu un démenti officiel tandis que le site du journal marocain L'Observateur maintient son information. Mauvais joueur! >>> | Jeudi 4 septembre 2008

Lire sa bio >>>

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European Dhimmi Watch! David Miliband’s Ramadan Message

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Adam Gadahn Is Thought to Have Been Killed
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Western intelligence sources in Pakistan believe that al-Qa'eda's prize American recruit and propaganda chief may have been killed in a CIA-directed airstrike.

Months of attacks by unmanned US predator aircraft have caused carnage among the middle ranks of terrorist leaders in the lawless lands along the border with Afghanistan, where al-Qa'eda remains dangerous despite suffering a serious defeat in Iraq.

Their victims have included experienced Arab leaders and, it is now thought, Adam Gadahn, a former heavy-metal fan and so-called "killer computer nerd" originally from California. Nothing has been heard from him for months, leading intelligence experts to conclude that he may be dead.

Mr Gadahn has been credited with helping transform al-Qa'eda's al-Sahab propaganda wing into a slick operation which communicates in fluent English and produces professional quality DVDs, including one for Osama bin Laden last year.

But he may have fallen victim to an expanded programme of predator assassinations which in the last year has targeted and killed many of al-Qa'eda's military commanders, terrorist trainers and facilitators.

Jihadists around the world will be watching as closely as intelligence officials this week to see whether Mr Gadahn - also known as Azzam al-Ameriki - produces a new video message to mark September 11, as he has done every year since 2003.

If there is no message it will be taken as near certain confirmation that he is dead – killed either in a strike by Hellfire missiles, or perhaps by jihadi colleagues who have grown jealous of his success.

Mr Gadahn is now thought to have been killed in an attack launched from a remotely piloted aircraft in January which killed al-Qaeda's then military commander, Abu Laith al-Libi, in Mir Ali, Waziristan. Al-Qa'eda's American-born Propaganda Chief May Have Died in Predator Attack >>> By Nick Meo | September 7, 2008

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The Muslim, French Minister Rachida Dati’s Pregnancy Scandal
Watch video: High profile justice minister Rachida Dati confirmed she is expecting but refused to reveal the name of the father >>>
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Bhutto’s Widower Wins Presidency
BBC: Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has won Pakistan's presidential election, election officials say.

The election was called after Pervez Musharraf resigned rather than risk being impeached.

Mr Zardari faces an Islamist insurgency and economic problems that are threatening Pakistan's stability.

Meanwhile a bomb has killed at least 12 people near the city of Peshawar and injured many more. Bhutto’s Widower Wins Presidency >>> September 6, 2008

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Ahmadinejad: Iran to Talk with US If It Stops Hostile Policies
IRNA: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Tehran will be ready for talks with Washington if the US abandons its hostile policies towards Iran.

"If the US stops its 30-year anti-Iran policies, Tehran will be ready for dialogue with the country on the basis of mutual respect," said Ahmadinejad in an interview with Japan's nationwide NHK TV.

Ahmadinejad said the US should stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs and deal with its own problems instead.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ahmadinejad said it makes no difference for Iran who -- Barack Obama or John McCain -- will be the next US president.

He then urged promotion of relations between Iran and Japan -- two countries with common culture and values.

He said if Japan wants expansion of ties with Iran, it should decide irrespective of others' views. [Source: IRNA] September 5, 2008

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A Ticking Arab Time Bomb
YNET NEWS: Tighten your seatbelts: Anger expected to explode in Arab world following Ramadan

Soon we will see Arab world rulers boarding private jets and traveling to their colleagues’ lavish palaces for the Iftar – the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan. Mubarak will hop over to Saudi Arabia, Jordan’s King Abdullah will travel to the Emirates, Iraq’s president will also make his way to the Persian Gulf, and the Lebanese leadership will travel to Dubai. This is the source of the money; this is where high politics is being converted to dollars. Interests vis-à-vis charity.

Regular Joes in the Arab world will be able to see the hugs on the red carpet, but the lavish feasts are not to be photographed. This year, more than ever, the sight of tables packed with delicacies and servants wearing white gloves could start a fire among the hundreds of millions of hungry Arabs.

The number of hungry people in the Arab world has reached frightening proportions this year. The month of Ramadan, whose onset coincides with the opening of the school year in Israel and which will end precisely when the Hebrew New Year starts, is standing at the shadow of a deep and dangerous abyss that has emerged between the people on the street and their leaders.

The statistics warn about an overwhelming leap not only in the number of unemployed, but also in the price of food - Bread, rice, legumes, and the nuts and seeds that must be present at the fast-breaking meal. In Turkey, for example, one million “aid packages” will be handed out to struggling families. In Egypt, millionaires and public figures who grew rich via the corrupt ties between capital and government will quiet their conscience by feeding tens of thousands of deprived and unfortunate citizens. A Ticking Arab Time Bomb >>> By Smader Peri | September 4, 2008

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Can We Count on [the] US?
YNET NEWS: Yaniv Ronen says Georgia war shows that relying on America may lead to isolation, defeat

The recent war in Georgia should alarm officials in Jerusalem. Georgia, a small country entangled in an ongoing internal conflict, gambled on a military move while relying on American support. The gamble turned out to be a failure once the US support was proven to be unreliable, and the tiny Georgia found itself facing the Russian giant. The unavoidable outcome was a humiliating defeat that at this time raises doubts over the country’s sovereignty and independence.

Meanwhile, for four decades now, Israel has been exclusively relying on America’s friendship and support. The ties started with modest civilian assistance in the wake of the State’s establishment, continued in the form of arms supplies following the Six-Day War (to replace French arms,) grew stronger in the form of extensive civilian and military aid in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, and reached the point of virtually absolute coordination in the past decade and a half.

In the latter period, any Israeli policy, particularly in respect to the conflict with the Palestinians, was granted automatic support and acquiescence from the White House: Starting from the Rabin government’s Oslo process, through Netanyahu moves, Barak’s talks on a final-status agreement, Sharon’s path of siege and disengagement, and back to the current government’s attempts to secure a final-status agreement. This support and acquiescence came in addition to the international backing for Israel on the part of the American giant at global institutions. Can We Count on [the] US? >>> By Yaniv Ronen | September 5, 2008

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Why Do We Have to Put Up with This Vomit-Inducing Nonsense from Gordon Brown and David Miliband? Their Ramadan Message to Muslims: Lies, Lies, and More Damn Lies!

PAKISTAN TIMES: LONDON (UK): The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his Ramazan message has spoken of the huge contribution the Muslim community is making to Britain’s success in terms of its prosperity, society and culture. 



“Ramadan teaches patience and humility, and reminds us of our shared moral universe; our obligation to others,” he said. 


Emphasising the importance of the holy month, Brown said the message of empathy for the less fortunate is reflected in Ramazan by the daily fast. 



“Ramadan’s message of compassion and social justice spreads beyond Muslim communities; it speaks of shared values that unite us all,” he added. 



Recalling the hadith of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), he said it emphasised the duty of care we owe one another and this special month is also the occasion to celebrate the diversity that contributes to Britain ‘s strength. 



The Prime Minister pointed out Ramazan is an opportune time to consider the contribution of Islam not just to Britain , but to the world as the Islamic art, science, and philosophy have enriched our lives over many centuries. 



He said Ramazan is also a time to recall the holy Prophet’s message that “the best richness is the richness of the soul,” while stressing to look forward to continuing positive engagement with British Muslim communities across the UK. Muslims Making a Huge Contribution to Britain’s Success: Brown >>> By Raza Mumtaz 'Pakistan Times' Executive Editor/UK Bureau Chief | September 5, 2008

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Purported Bomber Warns Denmark of More Attacks
"Stern action must be taken against those who insult and belittle Islam to prevent others from doing the same[.]" - Datuk Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - Malaysia
ASSOCIATED PRESS: CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — A new al-Qaida video identifies the Saudi purportedly behind a suicide bombing at the Danish Embassy in Pakistan, and he is shown warning in a taped last testament that more attacks will punish Denmark over newspaper caricatures of Islam's founder.

In the 55-minute video posted on the Internet late Thursday, the alleged bomber is referred to both by a nom de guerre, Abu Ghareeb al-Makki, and by his real name, Kamal Saleem Atiyyah al-Fudli al-Hathli. He appears in an explosives vest as he recounts his plan for the attack.

"As for my final message to the worshippers of the cross in Denmark, I tell them, Allah permitting, this isn't the first nor the last retaliation," al-Makki says. "We will wipe you from the face of the Earth." Purported Bomber Warns Denmark of More Attacks >>> By Katarina Kratovac | September 5, 2008

THE NEW YORK TIMES:
Al Qaeda Repeats Threat to Danes: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Al Qaeda issued a new threat against Denmark in an Internet video released Friday, saying that an attack on the Danish Embassy in Pakistan in June was only the beginning of its retaliation for perceived insults to the Prophet Muhammad >>> By Reuters | September 5, 2008

TVNZ.CO.NZ:
Video vows more Denmark attacks: Al Qaeda has issued new threats against Denmark in an internet video released on Friday, saying an attack on the Danish embassy in Pakistan was the start of its retaliation for perceived insults to the Prophet Mohammad.
The internet video featured senior al Qaeda leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was reported to have been killed last month. The compilation was dated August 2008, although it was made up of segments recorded at various dates >>> | September 6, 2008

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Philippines: Muslim Unrest May Spread to Neighbours
ABS-CBN News Online: With peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels in tatters, analysts are warning violence will escalate and could spill over into neighboring countries.

President Arroyo this week scrapped the government panel handling the negotiations, a move analysts say ended any hopes of settling the four-decades-old Muslim insurgency before she leaves office in 2010.

They fear the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had been negotiating for a Muslim homeland on the revolt-hit southern Mindanao island, may now splinter into smaller and more radical groups.

The government has said any future peace talks will have to be more representative of the people of Mindanao rather than just the MILF, which will have to disarm if it is to enter any future negotiations.

"No respected revolutionary movement will even think of handing over their guns," said Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank.

He said the dissolution of the peace panel would lead the MILF rebel forces to resume their armed struggle on a larger scale, and warned the conflict could "spill over to neighboring countries like Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei." Muslim Unrest in RP May Spread to Neighbors: Analysts >>> Agence France-Presse | September 5, 2008

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US Election Neck and Neck after the ‘Sarah Palin Bounce’
TIMESONLINE: John McCain headed into the last 60 days of the US presidential campaign neck and neck with Barack Obama after a “Sarah Palin bounce” appeared to have all but cancelled out the Democrat’s lead in the polls.

With the Republican Party finishing its convention in St Paul believing that victory on November 4 is truly within its grasp, the Rasmussen tracking poll yesterday had Mr Obama on 46 per cent and Mr McCain on 45 per cent.

Mr Obama headed to the battleground state of Pennsylvania last night knowing that he has a titanic fight on his hands to realise his dream of becoming America’s first black president. His aides have said for months that the race for the White House will be close, but Republicans left their Minnesota convention knowing that the contest is now really up for grabs. US Election Neck and Neck after the ‘Sarah Palin Bounce’ >>> By Tim Reid in St Paul | September 6, 2008

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Tensions High in Caucasus
TIMESONLINE: A US Navy flagship carrying humanitarian aid yesterday steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions once again in the tinderbox Caucasus region.

A previous trip by US warships was cancelled at the last minute a week ago amid fears that an armed stand-off could intensify in the Black Sea port of Poti.

The arrival of the USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, came as Moscow accused Dick Cheney, the hawkish US Vice-President, of stoking tensions during a visit to Tbilisi this week. After meeting President Saakashvili, Mr Cheney vowed to bring Georgia into the Nato alliance. Russia sees such moves as Western encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence.

Russia’s leaders have accused previous US warships that docked at the port of Batumi, to the south, of delivering weapons to re-arm the smashed Georgian military — charges that Washington denied. US Warship Confronts Russian Military in ‘Tinderbox’ Port >>> By James Hider in Tbilisi and Tony Halpin in Moscow | September 6, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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Iran Rejects French Warning of Israeli Strike Risk
REUTERS: TEHRAN - Iran dismissed on Saturday a warning by France's president that the Islamic Republic was taking a dangerous gamble over its nuclear program because one day its arch-foe Israel could strike.

Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham accused Israel of threatening global peace but reiterated Tehran's publicly stated view that it was not in a position to attack Iran.

Western powers accuse Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, of seeking the atom bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denies the charge, saying it only wants to master atomic technology in order to generate electricity.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if the dispute cannot be settled through diplomacy.

During a visit to Damascus on Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran was "taking a major risk in continuing the process to obtain a military nuclear capacity." He added: "One day ... we could find one morning that Israel has struck."

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB quoted Elham, the government spokesman, as saying in response to Sarkozy's statement:
"These threats are because of weakness ... and it reflects the reality and the war-seeking nature of the Zionist regime." Iran Rejects French Warning of Israeli Strike Risk >>> | September 6, 2008

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Rice Is Nice to Libya’s Gaddafi; But He Is Not Nice to Her! Gaddafi’s Manners Are in His Feet!
Watch BBC video: Condoleezza Rice Meets Colonel Gaddafi >>>
BBC: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has met Libya's Muammar Gaddafi on a visit to the north African country US officials are hailing as "historic".

She is the first US secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953.

The pair met at Mr Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, which was hit in US bombing raids ordered by Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Libya was on the US state department list of sponsors of terrorism until 2003, when it abandoned weapons of mass destruction and renounced terrorism.

Before arriving, Ms Rice pointed out the "suffering" caused by Libya's long stand-off with the West.

"It demonstrates that when countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction, the United States is prepared to respond," she told reporters on the way to Tripoli.

Ms Rice's meeting with the Libyan leader began when Mr Gaddafi, wearing a white robe decorated with a broach in the shape of Africa, welcomed her and her aides.

There was no handshake between the two. As Ms Rice entered the room, Mr Gaddafi raised a hand to his chest in a traditional gesture of welcome. Rice talks with Libya's Gaddafi >>> | Septemer 5, 2008

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Iranian Women Battle the System
BBC: Four more women in Iran have been sentenced to jail - six months behind bars - for campaigning for women's rights.

They were accused of "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic system here - specifically for taking part in the Million Signatures Campaign for equal rights for women.

One of those sentenced, Parvin Ardalan, was awarded the Olof Palme Prize this year - on her way to collect the honour, her passport was seized at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Teheran, and she was unable to travel.

She had to accept the award by video-link.

An estimated 50 women have been detained since the signatures campaign began.

Restrictions

Women in Iran have severely restricted freedom of choice, and no equality with men.

A married woman must obtain her husband's permission before taking a job outside their home.

A man may have up to four wives. A woman may not have up to four husbands.

Women must observe the Islamic dress code - showing as little hair as possible, and their arms, their legs and their feet must be covered.

There is no protection against so-called honour killings for women who are raped; a husband - or a father - who kills the rape victim cannot be prosecuted and sent to jail for murder.

"This is inhuman," a law professor at Tehran University, Rosa Gharachorloo, told me.

Most of the people I have spoken to here agree: they believe rape victims should be comforted, not killed.

Women can be stopped and inspected by Gasht-e-Ershad, Ministry of Islamic Guidance patrols.

They have vehicles that look like police cars. They are often seen outside main metro stations in Teheran, checking women for hair or dress infringements.

They also go to parks, to ensure that couples sitting or walking together are married, engaged or related. Iranian Women Battle the System >>> By Hugh Sykes, BBC News, Tehran | September 5, 2008

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A Surprising Interview with Sherry Islam-Is-a-Religion of Peace Jones
ALTMUSLIM.COM: Back in April of this year, I received a phone call from University of Texas, Austin professor Denise Spellberg, an Islamic Studies expert in whose class I have guest lectured the past two years. She brought to my attention a book she had been sent to review entitled Jewel of Medina, a book she found offensive for its portrayal of Aisha, the youngest wife of the Prophet Muhammad. In a turn from most literary depictions of Aisha, this one was heavily fictionalized, with a dramatic story arc that, to Spellberg, represented a racy novel rather than an accurate depiction of her life. (Spellberg should know - her own scholarly work on Aisha is known as one of the most authoritative books on the subject.)

As I had not heard anything of the book, I sent an e-mail inquiry to a private listserv for graduate students in Islamic studies, describing the phone call I just received and asked if anyone could tell me more about it. After hearing no response for three weeks, I got an email out of the blue from the author of that book, Sherry Jones, who asked if we were interested in writing an advance review. What I didn't know at the time was that someone on the Islamic studies list passed my e-mail out of the listserv, where it ended up on the website of Husaini Youths, an overseas forum catering to young Shia Muslims. There, some offended readers voiced concern at the as-yet unpublished book, suggesting a seven point plan for pressuring Random House, the book's publisher, to cancel publication.

But they needn't have bothered. In June, Wall Street Journal reporter Asra Nomani told me she was writing an article on the reaction to the book, identifying me through her research on the issue and asking me to comment. It was then that I learned that Random House had indeed withdrawn the imminent publication of the book (set for August 12 of this year), despite having paid Jones a reported $100,000 advance. Cited in Random House's cancellation was a reference to unnamed "Islamic scholars" who advised them that the book could provoke extremist Muslims. And in some corners, I was identified as the catalyst for this chain of events.

The response to the story was explosive, with people around the world decrying perceived Muslim threats to the author and publisher - except for the fact that no Muslims were involved in the actual censorship. As the story played out, it has been revealed that there had been no violence or even threat of violence in response to the book. Hopefully, this means Muslims have learned a valuable lesson from the response to The Satanic Verses (which made Salman Rushdie a celebrity) and the Danish cartoon controversy (which did untold PR damage to Muslims worldwide). Because censoring the book - even self-censoring - was something that I abhorred, I wrote a response here supporting free speech in this case, which has incidentally been republished in Lebanon, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Yet, the entrenched notion that Muslims are antithetical to free speech continues.

And then there's Sherry Jones herself. Jones spoke out when asked about the issue, contesting the description given of her book as "pornography." But as she felt that she was being used as a wedge between Muslims and those that dislike them, she began to withdraw from commenting further. While acknowledging her book would be controversial, she maintained that she wrote the book not just with respect, but with admiration for Aisha, and felt her interpretation and dramatization of her life would accentuate her known qualities, qualities which drew her to the subject matter after 9/11.

Sherry's insistence that she intended a respectful treatment of the subject matter, in addition to her reaching out to us before the controversy grew, made us wonder - is there more to this story than some would have us believe? Below, Sherry Jones speaks to us in detail about what her book represented, how she and I have weathered the storm, and about the sequel that she's already written. ”I Did All This in the Service of a Truth” >>> By Shahed Amanullah | September 4, 2008

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McCain Pledges to Unite America

THE TELEGRAPH: John McCain vowed to transform Washington, denouncing the “partisan rancour” he said had plagued the ruling establishment for decades.

Attempting to take the sting out of rival Senator Barack Obama’s message of change, he said: "Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming.”

As he formally accepted his party's presidential nomination, the Vietnam War veteran promised to fight for his country “as long as I draw breath”.

“I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your President,” he told a packed hall in St Paul, Minnesota.

"I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not," he said

Bringing the crowd to its feet, he continued: "Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide form history. We make history."

Mr McCain made just one direct mention of the outgoing President George W Bush, thanking him for leading the country safely through the years since the September 11 attacks.

Needing to distance himself from the most unpopular US president of the modern era, he made a thinly veiled criticism of Mr Bush.

He said Republicans had lost Americans' trust "when we valued our power over our principles. We're going to change that.

"We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, [Theodore] Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics."

At 72, the four-term Arizona senator once again presented himself as a maverick capable of working across party lines, having moved to the Right during the campaign to woo the party’s activists.

He said proudly of his past disagreements with the party: "I've been called a maverick. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not.

"Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed.

"That's how I will govern as president. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. John McCain Vows to Unite America in Republican Convention Speech >>> By Alex Spillius in St Paul | September 5, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
John McCain Offered Republicans Vision Rooted in Reality, Not Barack Obama's Empty Promises >>> By Simon Heffer | September 5, 2008

NZZ Online:
Aufruf McCains zum Kampf für Amerika: Bekenntnishafte Rede des republikanischen Kandidaten >>> Von Beat Ammann, St. Paul | 5. September 2008

LE FIGARO:
John McCain promet le changement: Dans son discours d’investiture aux accents guerriers, le candidat républicain à la Maison-Blanche a invité les Américains au combat >>> J.B. (lefigaro.fr) Avec AFP et AP | 5.9.2008

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Control, Control, Control! This Meddlesome European Union!
This is one step closer to Eurabia, since using pretty women to promote perfume and clothing is banned in places like Saudi Arabia too!

Do present day politicians know how to do anything else other than ban and restrict? Why don’t they get on with the substantive issues, and solve the REAL problems facing us?

But then they are too cowardly for that, aren’t they? - ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Adverts which use sex to sell or promote gender stereotypes could be banned by the EU.

MEPs want TV regulators in the EU to set guidelines which would see the end of anything deemed to portray women as sex objects or reinforce gender stereotypes.

This could potentially mean an end to attractive women advertising perfume, housewives in the kitchen or men doing DIY.

Such classic adverts as the Diet Coke commercial featuring the bare-chested builder, or Wonderbra's "Hello Boys" featuring model Eva Herzigova would have been banned.

The new rules come in a report by the EU's women's rights committee.
Swedish MEP Eva-Britt Svensson urged Britain and other members to use existing equality, sexism and discrimination laws to control advertising.

She wants regulatory bodies set up to monitor ads and introduce a "zero-tolerance" policy against "sexist insults or degrading images". EU Wants to Ban 'Sexist' TV Commercials >>> By Chris Irvine | September 5, 2008

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Geert Wilders Agrees Compensation
POLITIKEN.DK: Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard is to receive DKK 55,000 in compensation from Dutch Geert Wilders for using Mohammed cartoon in Fitna film.

The Dutch politician Geert Wilders has agreed to pay the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard DKK 55,000 in compensation for using Westergaard’s cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in his anti-Islamic film Fitna without permission.

Agreement was reached between Wilders and the Danish Union of Journalists, which was acting for Westergaard for breach of copyright. Geert Wilders Agrees Compensation >>> Edited by Julian Isherwood | September 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Denmark) >>>

Croix gammées et injures racistes dans un collège
Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Des tags et une dizaine d'inscriptions antisémites, anti-islamiques et nazies ont été peints à la bombe sur les murs d'un collège d'Agde, dans l'Hérault. Une plainte a été déposée.

L'indignation le dispute à l'incompréhension dans le collège René-Cassin à Agde, dans l'Hérault. Des croix gammées de toutes tailles certaines de plus d'1 mètre- et des injures telles que «Mort aux arabes», «Fuck islam», «W.P.» (pour «White power», NDLR) et «White front» - ont été peintes à la bombe dans la cour de l'établissement, dans les escaliers, sur des portes et sur des murs, dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi. Croix gammées et injures racistes dans un collège >>> C.M. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | 4.9.2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
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Londres 2008! Le Muezzin de la sainte mosquée de Makkah appelle à la prière au beau milieu de Londres
eMARRAKECH: Londres - Farouk Hadraoui, dont le célebre appel à la prière du cœur de la sainte mosquée d'Al Haram Al Makki retentit à travers la planète et cette fois du cœur de la capitale britannique Londres.


Lors du festival des chants islamiques de Londres, Farouk Hadraoui a été invité par le présentateur à appelé à la prière; un moment fort, d'affections et d'émotions pour ceux qui y assistaient et ceux qui suivaient l'événement. Le Muezzin de la sainte mosquée de Makkah appelle à la prière au beau milieu de Londres >>> | Mercredi 03 Septembre 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
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Jordan: New Mosque Dedicated to Christ
AKI: Amman - A newly built mosque in the town of Madaba has been dedicated to Jesus Christ in a bid to boost dialogue with Christians, pan-Arab daily Al-Quds al-Arabi reports.

"Calling Madaba's new mosque after the son of the Virgin Mary is an important initiative to improve dialogue in our town, whose Christian and Muslim population coexists," said local moderate Osama Abu al-Walid, quoted by the paper. Jordan: New Mosque Dedicated to Christ >>> | September 4, 2008

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Syria: A Nuclear Iran May Provoke Israeli Strike, Says Sarkozy
AKI: Damascus - The Iranian nuclear programme is a dangerous security risk which may lead to a "catastrophic" Israeli military strike, French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Thursday.

"Iran is taking a great risk when it continues to arm itself with nuclear arms – of this we are certain – because we may wake up one day and find out that Israel, regardless of who its leader will be, launched an attack," he said.

"The question at hand is not whether such a strike would be legitimate or wise, but rather what we would do in such a scenario. It would be a catastrophe and must be prevented."

During a two-day visit to Damascus, Sarkozy urged Israel and Syria to hold direct talks, adding that France would be willing to sponsor direct negotiations when appropriate.

"It is very important that the time for Syria and Israel to talk directly comes soon, to build the peace that everyone needs," Sarkozy told a joint media conference with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The French president was speaking at the opening of a summit on Middle East security being held in Damascus with the leaders of Syria, Turkey and Qatar.

After arriving in Damascus on Wednesday, Sarkozy asked Al-Assad to persuade its ally Iran to cooperate with the international community and curtail its nuclear ambitions. Syria: A Nuclear Iran May Provoke Israeli Strike, Says Sarkozy >>> | September 4, 2008

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The Jewel of Medina: Prophet’s Wife Novel to Be Released in UK
THE GUARDIAN: A novel about the child bride of the prophet Muhammad is to be released in the UK next month, after its publication was cancelled by a US publisher.

The Jewel of the Medina is by first-time novelist Sherry Jones, and was published in the US last month by a division of Random House, but was pulled after scholars of Islam objected. At the time, Random House said it had received cautionary advice that it might be offensive to some Muslims and "could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment".

Yesterday, Jones' agent, Natasha Kern, said the rights had been bought in 10 countries, including by Gibson Square in the UK. In a statement, the firm's publisher, Martin Rynja, said: "I was completely bowled over by the novel and the moving love story it portrays. The Jewel of Medina has become an important barometer of our time. "

As the story of Muhammad's favourite wife, Aisha, the novel is criticised as being provocative and historically inaccurate by academics. Denise Spellberg, who teaches Islamic history at the University of Texas at Austin, described it as "soft core pornography".

But Random House's decision to pull the book sparked intense criticism from critics and literary bloggers, who compared the case to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.

Kern said that Gibson Square had been chosen because it of its past experience of controversial books - last year, it published OJ Simpson's hypothetical account of the murder of his ex-wife.

In August, a Serbian publisher quickly withdrew an edition of The Jewel of Medina from shops after protests from local Islamic leaders who said it insulted Muhammad and his family. [The Guardian] By Martin Hodgson | September 4, 2008

ZEIT ONLINE:
''Das Juwel von Medina'': Mohammed-Roman wird veröffentlicht: Ein umstrittener Mohammed-Roman, der in den USA und Serbien aus Angst vor Protesten von Muslimen zurückgezogen wurde, kommt in den britischen Buchhandel.

"Das Juwel von Medina" ("The Jewel of Medina") der US-Journalistin Sherry Jones über die junge Ehefrau des Propheten Mohammed soll im Oktober auf den Markt kommen, teilte der unabhängige Verlag Gibson Square mit. "In einer offenen Gesellschaft muss es ungeachtet der Furcht freien Zugang zu Literatur geben", sagte Verlagsmitarbeiter Martin Rynja. Andernfalls sei es ein "Rückfall ins finstere Mittelalter". Der Verlag ist für die Veröffentlichung politisch brisanter Bücher bekannt. >>> | 4. September 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Controversial Book about Mohammed and Child Bride to Be Published: A controversial novel about the prophet Mohammed and his child bride that was pulled by Random House over concerns that it would anger Muslims is to be printed by another publisher

…"that one of the biggest publishing houses in the world refuses to publish a book because of warnings is a sobering comment on the state of freedom of speech in the USA." – Sherry Jones, Washington >>> By Tom Peterkin | September 4, 2008

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EU Mideast Policy: Morality and Enlightment or Fear and Greed?
GLOBAL POLITICIAN: The Italian government, it has just come to light, let Palestinian terrorist groups operate freely in its country from the 1970s onward as long as they promised not to attack Italians. As former President Francesco Cossiga explained, the agreement with the PLO and PFLP was that if you "don't harm me... I won't harm you." Thus, these groups could move terrorists and equipment destined for use in murdering [non-Italian] civilians in and out of Italy-protected by Italian security agencies.



In 1995, after PLO terrorists took 545 passengers on the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro hostage (and killed one American passenger), U.S. Navy fighters intercepted the escaping gunmen's flight and forced it to land in Italy. The Italian government was so eager to avoid trouble with Arafat that it let their leader escape and soon freed most of the terrorists as well.



Yet this is hardly new or unique. It was long known that France followed a similar policy and so, at least at times, did Britain. In 1969 British policy, as one official put it in an internal document was "to distinguish between Fatah, which is going out of its way to emphasize its disapproval of wanton terrorism, and the PFLP, a small group which does present a threat." Another British diplomat urged London not to offend Fatah and the PLO since they were powerful and "may one day be a government." One would never guess that at the time Fatah was staging terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians; was the PFLP's close ally; openly declared it would wipe Israel off the map; was subverting Jordan's government, Britain's closest Middle East ally; and would within a little more than a year launch a massive international terrorist campaign against British targets.



It is not surprising then, that the PLO came to believe terrorism was a no-risk strategy and that it had infinite time in which to wage his revolution. No wonder, too, did terrorism become such a popular strategy in general from the 1960s down to the present day.



But there's another point to be made here as well. European countries and much of the elites there and in the United States claim that they sympathize with the Palestinians-or at least are far more critical of Israel-due to a sympathy with the underdog and a higher knowledge about how peace can be made and extremism defused. In fact they are motivated far more by fear (of being attacked themselves) and greed (for trade to the Arabic-speaking world and Iran). EU Mideast Policy: Morality and Enlightment or Fear and Greed? >>> By Prof. Barry Rubin | September 1, 2008

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Soft Europe, Hard Europe
THE TRUMPET.COM: An unseemly revelation in an Italian newspaper illustrates a side of the Continent that is about to slip into history.

In the 1970s, Italy made a blood pact with Muslim terrorists. Groups like the Palestinian Liberation Organization were allowed free movement in Italy—receiving prosecutorial immunity while they plotted terrorist murders—in exchange for pledges not to launch attacks on Italian soil.

This revelation emerged last month, when former Italian President Francesco Cossiga published a letter of confession in the newspaper Corriere della Sera. The deal—which, he says, was essentially “don’t harm me and I won’t harm you”—was approved and directed by the premier at the time, Aldo Moro.

“During my time as interior minister I learned that plo people were holding heavy artillery in their homes and protected by diplomatic immunity as representatives of the Arab league,” Cossiga wrote.

“The terms of the agreement were that the Palestinian organizations could even maintain armed bases of operation in the country,” he wrote, “and they had freedom of entry and exit without being subject to normal police controls, because they were ‘handled’ by the secret services.” Similar deals existed between these groups and the governments of France and Britain.

This ugly truth typifies a cancerous, self-preserving opportunism that infects much of Europe to this day. It masquerades in moralistic rhetoric and political correctness—respect for the religion and culture of Muslims and such. But in truth, it’s just naked fear.

“[E]very attempt is made to prevent what radical Islamists perceive as insults even at the cost of throwing away key democratic freedoms,” Barry Rubin wrote in Global Politician after Cossiga’s admission. “This is not sensitivity to perpetrating bigotry but sensitivity to violence being perpetrated on themselves.”

The idiocy of these shortsighted, terrorist-friendly policies has since proven itself in at least two predictable ways. First, these deals were an open invitation to extremists of all stripes. From the 1980s, Europe became a hive of Islamist activity. The policy of toleration made European governments abettors in creating one of the most extensive terrorist networks on the planet. Most of modern history’s most famous terrorist attacks were planned on European and British soil, including 9/11.

And this gaggle of violent extremists was embedded within a massive exodus of Muslims into Europe: some 20 million over the last 30 years—equal to the combined populations of Ireland, Belgium and Denmark. UN reports say that Muslim communities throughout Europe have grown over 100 percent in just a decade and a half. Islam has become Europe’s second-largest religion. Says Bernard Lewis: “Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century.” Soft Europe, Hard Europe >>> By Joel Hilliker | September 3, 2008

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Dick Cheney Condemns Russia
THE TELEGRAPH: US Vice President Dick Cheney has condemned Russia for what he called an "illegitimate, unilateral attempt" to change Georgia's borders by force.

Mr Cheney also assured Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili that America was "fully committed" to Georgia's efforts to join Nato.

He said it was now "the responsibility of the free world to rally to the side of Georgia".

"Georgia will be in our alliance," he said.

"Russia's actions have cast grave doubts on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner."

Mr Cheney told President Saakashvili that the US was right behind Georgia as it works "to overcome an invasion of your sovereign territory and an illegitimate, unilateral attempt to change your country's borders by force, that has been universally condemned by the free world".

"Now is the responsibility of the free world to rally to the side of Georgia," he said. Georgia Crisis: Dick Cheney Condemns Russia >>> | September 4, 2008

LE FIGARO:
Washington-Moscou, 
retour à la guerre froide: Le numéro deux américain Dick Cheney arrive jeudi en Géorgie avec une aide humanitaire de un milliard de dollars.

Jamais depuis un quart de siècle le spectre de la guerre froide n'avait autant hanté Washington et Moscou. Le vice-président américain, Dick Cheney, après une étape en Azerbaïdjan hier, vient soutenir jeudi à Tbilissi le président géorgien Mikhaïl Saakachvili. Pour rallier depuis l'aéroport la capitale de l'ancienne république soviétique devenue une protégée de la Maison-Blanche, Dick Cheney devrait emprunter l'avenue George-W. Bush. Cette tournée européenne du faucon de Washington intervient au moment où, sur fond de convention républicaine aux États-Unis, la rhétorique de confrontation entre les deux grandes puissances s'emballe. Hier soir, c'est George Bush lui-même qui a annoncé une aide humanitaire de un milliard de dollars pour la Géorgie. Cet appui sonnant et trébuchant ne fait que conforter, à Moscou, la version des événements défendue par Vladimir Poutine selon laquelle la Maison-Blanche est largement responsable de «l'agression géorgienne» contre la région séparatiste d'Ossétie du Sud. La Russie accuse les États-Unis de vouloir réarmer rapidement la Géorgie. En outre, le sentiment russe d'être encerclé par l'Otan ne pourra qu'être renforcé par la visite en Géorgie des représentants des vingt-six États de l'Alliance, annoncée le 15 septembre. La délégation de l'Otan évaluera notamment les besoins de l'armée géorgienne défaite par les chars et l'aviation russes. >>> De Fabrice Nodé-Langlois, correspondant du Figaro à Moscou | 3.9.2008

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Sarah Palin Electrifies Republican Convention and Launches a Blistering Attack on Barack Obama

THE TELEGRAPH: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, John McCain's vice-presidential running mate, has electrified the Republican convention, declaring herself an "average hockey mom" and launching a blistering attack on Barack Obama.

After three days of scorn from Democrats and relentless scrutiny from the press, Mrs Palin came out punching, mocking Mr Obama, the Democratic nominee as someone who makes "dramatic speeches before devoted followers" and has "authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate".

In the Republican convention audience in St Paul were her husband and five children, including her son Trig, four months, who has Down syndrome, and daughter Bristol, 17, who is five months pregnant and gripped the hand of her fiancé Levi Johnston, 18.

To resounding applause, Mrs Palin, 44, Alaska governor for just 20 months and a virtual unknown on the national stage, said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I would be honoured to accept your nomination for vice president."

With just over two months to election day, Mrs Palin's selection has transformed an already gripping race for the White House.

Mr Obama and his running mate Senator Joe Biden of Delaware edged narrowly ahead in the polls after last week's Democratic convention but Republicans hope for a similar boost after Mrs Palin's speech and Mr McCain's address on Thursday night.

After Mrs Palin's confidently-delivered 37-minute speech, Mr McCain made a surprise appearance and asked to cheers: "Don't you think we made the right choice?"

He added, looking at the seven Palins and Mr Johnston standing beside him: "What a beautiful family."

Mrs Palin presented herself as a reformer and outsider who reveled in the disdain of the coastal elites.

"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion; I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."

Mr McCain's senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt had earlier denounced what he called a "faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee" for vice president.

Mrs Palin emphasised her humble origins and status as an "average hockey mom", ad-libbing a joke about the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull. Answer: lipstick. Sarah Palin wins over Republican Convention with attack on Barack Obama >>> By Toby Harnden in St Paul | September 4, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
This Is Alaska's Margaret Thatcher: Oh boy. I don't know what is going to happen next in the Sarah Palin story, but one thing is now for sure: John McCain has picked an Alaskan Margaret Thatcher to be his running mate.

She spoke for 36 pugnacious, stilleto-heeled, in your face, Barack Obama is a limp-wristed cover boy minutes. She blew the roof off. Sarah Palin has now shaken up a presidential race like no other nominee in modern times.

She took to the stage to the back-drop of a breaking National Enquirer story, flatly denied in a press release by the John McCain campaign, that she had had an affair with her husband's former business partner. If I were the editor of the Enquirer tonight, I might be locking my front door. Who knows what will transpire from Alaska in coming days, but Mrs Palin delivered one of the most mesmerising vice-presidential nights in convention history. >>> By Tim Reid in St Paul | September 4, 2008

LE FIGARO:
Sarah Palin enflamme la convention républicaine >>> 4.9.2008

eMARRAKECH:
McCain promet de capturer Ben Laden de sécurité: Saint Paul : Le candidat républicain à la Maison Blanche, John McCain, s'est engagé à attraper l'ennemi public n 1 des Etats-Unis, Oussama Ben Laden, s'il est élu >>> | Jeudi 04 Septembre 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Sarah Palin Is 'the New Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan': American conservatives have reacted with near ecstasy to the Republican convention speech by Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, comparing John McCain's running mate with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan >>> By Toby Harnden in St Paul | September 4, 2008

TOWNHALL.COM:
Want Real Change? Quit Nominating Lawyers! >>> By Victor Davis Hanson | September 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US) >>>