Hurricane Irene: Barack Obama Warns Americans 'To Prepare for the Worst'
President Barack Obama has warned people on the east coast of America to "be prepared for the worst", as what promises to be a "historic hurricane" is poised to wreak havoc throughout the weekend

Read article here | Friday, August 26, 2011

New Book Review: The Dawning of a New Dark Age
I have just received a great review of my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, written by Michael Arch. Naturally, I am very grateful to Michael both for writing it and sending it to me, and it goes without saying that I want to share it with you.

I recently read ‘The Dawning of a New Dark Age’ by Mark Alexander…

There have been a number of books published on the rise of Islam and the threat it poses to the West, especially to Europe and the U.K. I have read a number of these books as this is a subject that interests me greatly. Mark’s book debunks a number of myths surrounding Islam, in particular the much-parroted concept that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’. Mark’s work is well thought-out and clearly laid-out. I found it a very informative read. It compared very well with the other books I have read; indeed, it was better than many of them. My favourite chapter was “Islam – Time to End the Myths”. In fact, in my opinion, pretty much all of the chapters were spot on. I highly recommend ‘The Dawning of a New Dark Age’ if you want to know about Islam and the threat it poses to the West. Read it! Islam is the elephant in the room. Mark is pointing at it with this book. Observe! – Michael Arch, August 2011

Inside Story – Challenges for Libya’s New Leaders
What does the immediate future hold for the new leaders of Libya?

People and Power - Germany's Records of Repression
Fifty years after the Berlin Wall was erected, the spectre of the Stasi continues to loom over Germany

China Rises: US Warns Beijing Is Expanding Its Military Power

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

N. Korea Pledges Return to Nuke Talks

Gaddafi’s Last Stronghold Under Fire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gaddafi Pleads for Support

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports.


Related

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related here and here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pat Condell: An Illiberal Consensus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ahmadinejad to RT: Europe & US Need Freedom Most of All (Exclusive Interview)

Les néo-nazis font campagne face au Musée juif de Berlin
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: RACISME | Le parti néo-nazi allemand NPD a placardé en face du Musée juif de Berlin une affiche en vue des élections dans la capitale allemande sur laquelle s’inscrit ce slogan: "Plein gaz!".

Le parti néo-nazi allemand NPD, formation ouvertement raciste, antisémite et révisionniste présente son dirigeant Udo Voigt grimpé sur une moto avec ces mots: "Plein gaz!" ("Gas geben!" en allemand). L'affiche, accrochée à un lampadaire face à l’entrée principale du Musée juif, était également visible dans d’autres endroits de la ville.

Selon le quotidien berlinois Tagesspiegel, elle aurait également été placardée en face de la villa où fut décidée, le 20 janvier 1942, la solution finale et l’organisation administrative et technique de l’extermination des Juifs lors de la conférence de Wannsee. » | AFP | Jeudi 18 Août 2011

Christine O’Donnell Walks Off Interview with Piers Morgan

David Letterman Threatened by Jihadist Website

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Letterman, the US talk-show host, has been threatened by a contributor to a jihadist website because a joke he apparently made on his show.

The Site Monitoring Service, a private intelligence organisation that watches online activity, said Wednesday that the threat was posted a day earlier on the Shumuka al-Islam forum, a popular internet destination for radical Muslims.

The contributor, who identified himself as Umar al-Basrawi, was reacting to what he said Letterman did after the US military announced on June 5 that a drone strike in Pakistan had killed al-Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri.

Al-Basrawi wrote that Letterman had made reference to both Osama bin Laden and Kashmiri and said that Letterman had "put his hand on his neck and demonstrated the way of slaughter."

"Is there not among you a Sayyid Nosair al-Mairi ... to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever?" Al-Basrawi wrote, referring to El Sayyid Nosair, who was convicted of the 1990 killing of Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane. Letterman is not Jewish. » | Thursday, August 18, 2011

Challenge to Burqa Ban as First Women Prosecuted in Belgium
THE GUARDIAN: Businessman who paid women's fines to launch legal challenge against France and Belgium for 'violating individual liberties'

A businessman has said he will take France and Belgium to court after paying the fines of the first two women in Belgium prosecuted for wearing full-face veils in public.

French property dealer Rachid Nekkaz set up a €1m (£870,000) fund to cover fines given to women wearing niqabs and burqas, after the veils were banned in the two countries. The two women had been fined €50 for wearing the niqab in Brussels. » | Reuters in Brussels | Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Liberal Intellectuals Are Frightened of Confronting Islam's Honour-shame Culture
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – Richard Landes: Politeness is not saying certain things lest there be violence; civility is being able to say those certain things and there won’t be violence.

A recent series of polls indicate that European public opinion is substantially concerned by the increasingly aggressive Islam that their substantial immigrant populations have taken to expressing. To quote Soeren Kern, Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations at the Madrid-based Strategic Studies Group:

The findings – which come as Europeans are waking up to the consequences of decades of mass immigration from Muslim countries – point to a growing disconnect between European voters and their political masters regarding multicultural policies that encourage Muslim immigrants to remain segregated rather than become integrated into their host nations.

The survey results mirror the findings of dozens of other recent polls. Taken together, they provide ample empirical evidence that scepticism about Muslim immigration is not limited to a “right-wing” political fringe, as proponents of multiculturalism often assert. Mainstream voters across the entire political spectrum are now expressing concerns about the role of Islam in Europe.

The disconnect referred to in the article constitutes one of the most worrying developments in Western culture over the last decade: between a elite that controls much of the discussion in the public sphere (journalists, academics, talking heads, mainstream politicians) and who fear being called Islamophobes and racists more than they fear Islamist racists, and a population of people who, whenever they voice concern about the behavior of the Muslim neighbors, are told not to be Islamophobic racists. The problems are knotty and painful to disentangle. Here’s my outline of an approach. (For a longer version of the following essay, see my blog, The Augean Stables.) Read on and comment » | Richard Landes | Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Richard Landes is an American writer and medieval historian specialising in millennialism. He is associate professor of history at Boston University and the author of several books including Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of the Millennial Experience (Oxford University Press).

Dutch Converts to Islam - Ahmed Nasir

Paris et Berlin veulent une règle d'or pour la zone euro
LE FIGARO: Nicolas Sarkozy et Angela Merkel ont proposé trois mesures pour renforcer l'intégration économique européenne.

Montrer qu'en pleine tempête estivale, il y a un capitaine à la barre de la zone euro. Et même deux ! À l'issue d'une réunion de travail, mardi à l'Élysée avec la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy - qui a interrompu ses vacances pour l'occasion - a remis en avant le rôle moteur du couple franco-allemand pour sortir la monnaie unique de l'ornière. Les deux dirigeants ont réaffirmé leur «volonté absolue de défendre l'euro ». Avec, à la clef, une proposition choc: «Nous allons proposer que les 17 pays membres de la zone euro adoptent, avant la mi-2012, une règle d'or budgétaire.» Concrètement, Paris et Berlin veulent que chaque pays membre s'engage sur une trajectoire de réduction de ses déficits et la fasse graver dans le marbre de sa Constitution. Une ¬telle mesure permettrait de rassurer les marchés financiers en leur démontrant la volonté absolue des pays de la zone de réduire leurs déficits et leur endettement. Pour assurer la croissance à moyen terme de la zone euro, il est essentiel, selon Nicolas Sarkozy, « de ramener la confiance avec des programmes de soutenabilité de la dette». » | Par Cyrille Lachèvre | Mardi 16 Août 2011

Lebanese Editor Comments on Syria
Rami Khouri, editor of the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star, talks to Al Jazeera about events in Syria

Gaddafi Urges Libyans to Rise Up against NATO

'Islamization' of Paris a Warning to the West

Police Water Cannon and Plastic bullets? After 50 Years of the Most Lavish Welfare State on Earth? What an Abject Failure
Bitter laughter is my main response to the events of the past week. You are surprised by what has happened? Why? I have been saying for years that it was coming, and why it was coming, and what could be done to stop it.

I have said it in books, in articles, over lunch and dinner tables with politicians whose lips curled with lofty contempt.

So yes, I am deeply sorry for the innocent and gentle people who have lost lives, homes, businesses and security. Heaven knows I have argued for years for the measures that might have saved them.

But I am not really very sorry for the elite liberal Londoners who have suddenly discovered what millions of others have lived with for decades.

The mass criminality in the big cities is merely a speeded-up and concentrated version of life on most large estates – fear, intimidation, cruelty, injustice, savagery towards the vulnerable and the different, a cold sneer turned towards any plea for pity, the awful realisation that when you call for help from the authorities, none will come.

Just look and see how many shops are protected with steel shutters, how many homes have bars on their windows. This is not new.

As the polluted flood (it is not a tide; it will not go back down again) of spite, greed and violence washes on to their very doorsteps, well-off and influential Left-wingers at last meet the filthy thing they have created, and which they ignored when it did not affect them personally. » | Peter Hitchens | Sunday, August 14, 2011

David Starkey, the Historian, on the English Riots on Newsnight

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: 'White chavs have become black': David Starkey TV outburst provokes race row as he claims Enoch Powell was right » | Chris Hastings | Sunday, August 14, 2011

Obama Celebrates Ramadan, Honors Muslims
ON ISLAM: CAIRO – Hosting an iftar to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan, US President Barack Obama has used the occasion to honor American Muslims and their contributions to their country.

“Like so many faiths, Islam has always been part of our American family, and Muslim Americans have long contributed to the strength and character of our country, in all walks of life,” Obama told members of the diplomatic corps and prominent Muslim figures at a Ramadan iftar the White House on Wednesday, August 10, The Time reported.

“This has been especially true over the past 10 years.”

Obama said many Muslims lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda movement.
"They were taken from us much too soon,” Obama said.

“And today, they live on in the love of their families and a nation that will never forget.”
Obama said many Muslims raced to offer help to those injured in the attacks.

“Muslim Americans were first responders…the EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) who evacuated so many to safety; the nurse who tended to so many victims; the naval officer at the Pentagon who rushed into the flames and pulled the injured to safety.

“On this 10th anniversary, we honor these men and women for what they are — American heroes.”
Obama has hosted an Iftar each year since he assumed office in 2009. » | Thursday, August 11, 2011

Kadhafi et Ahmadinejad dénoncent la répression des émeutes en Grande-Bretagne
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La Libye et l'Iran dénoncent mercredi l'attitude des forces de l'ordre à l'égard des émeutiers en Grande-Bretagne. Mouammar Kadhafi affirme même que David Cameron doit quitter le gouvernement.

Considérés comme des parias par Londres et la communauté internationale, la Libye et l’Iran n’ont pas raté l’occasion pour dénoncer la "répression" des émeutiers en Grande-Bretagne, Tripoli allant jusqu’à affirmer que le Premier ministre britannique a "perdu sa légitimité".

"Cameron et son gouvernement doivent partir après les manifestations populaires contre eux et la violente répression exercée par sa police contre ceux qui ont participé à ces manifestations pacifiques", a déclaré le vice-ministre libyen aux Affaires étrangères, Khaled Kaaim, cité mercredi par l’agence officielle Jana.

"Cameron et son gouvernement ont perdu toute légitimité", a-t-il ajouté, au moment où Londres et ses alliés au sein de l’Otan s’efforcent de déloger le régime du colonel Mouammar Kadhafi accusé de réprimer dans le sang une insurrection qui s’est déclenchée en février.

Selon lui, "ces manifestations montrent que le peuple britannique rejette ce gouvernement, qui tente de s’imposer par la force". » | AFP | Mercredi 10 Août 2011

Watch Al Jazeera English Live

Quantitative Easing Explained

Inside Story – London’s Burning
Just what are Londoners rioting about?

Bahrain Expats Launch Opposition TV Channel
Bahrain's government stamped down anti-government protests in February, and since then hardly any news has filtered out of the island nation due to strict control over the media.

Bahraini expatriates have set up a TV channel in London, with the aim of giving viewers around the world an unbiased account of what is currently happening in Bahrain.

Despite having been plagued with obstacles since their launch last month, the small team behind the channel is determined to continue, but for now it can be watched only on the internet.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from London.

Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson
Charles Hill and Fouad Ajami

Telegraph View: We Are Edging Towards the Partition of Libya

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Western recognition of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) looks like the start of a process that Nato has been desperate to avoid – the partition of the country.

Yesterday’s decision by the British Government to recognise Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) as the “sole governmental authority” of that country has limited practical but considerable symbolic significance.

It follows the decision a fortnight ago by the Libya Contact Group, meeting in Istanbul, to accept the rebels as the legitimate governing authority in Libya. A total of 30 countries, including the US and France, have now taken similar action.

In practical terms it means the expulsion from London of the Gaddafi regime’s remaining diplomats and the transfer of the embassy building and £91 million in frozen assets to the NTC.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said it would also enable the UK and its allies to offer greater practical assistance to the NTC on the ground. But it is the underlying symbolism of the measure that matters most.

This looks like the start of a process that the Nato alliance has been desperate to avoid – the effective partition of the country. » | Telegraph View | Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Unbelievable Nonsense from the Muslim Militants in Somalia!

MAIL ONLINE: Militants believe triangular snack 'resembles Christian Holy Trinity'

Somalia's al-Shabaab group has banned samosas after ruling the popular snacks are 'offensive' and too Christian.

Militant Islamist fighters last week used vehicles mounted with loudspeakers to announce the bizarre ruling across the regions of the war-torn country it controls.

The extremist group has offered no official explanation for the ban on the triangular snacks, which are commonly cooked up and served across the Horn of Africa. Islamist group in Somalia bans samosas after deciding they're too Western » | Stewart MacClean | Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Massacre Suspect Wanted to Save Europe from Islam