HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Robert Spencer and Michael Coren on the Conviction of Jihad Murderers in the UK and More
HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »
Father Christmas Granted a Walk-on Part in the Bible
For centuries Christians have been taught that wise men from the east brought gifts for the baby Jesus.
But, according to polling, one in 10 young adults in Britain now believe that Father Christmas also makes an appearance in the Biblical account of the nativity.
Significant numbers also think that Mary and Joseph might have brightened up the stable with a Christmas tree.
Over a third of the public think that the Bible records December 25 as the date of the Jesus’s birth.
And a quarter appear to have confused the lyrics of “Away in a Manger” with the gospels by believing that the Bible states that Jesus did not cry when he was born. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Saturday, December 21, 2013
A Law for the Rich, A Law for the Poor: Nigella Legacy: Drugs Amnesty for Middle Class?
Britain's most senior policeman risked accusations of giving his approval to middle-class cocaine use after Scotland Yard said it would not investigate Nigella Lawson’s confession to taking class A drugs.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, allowed his force to put out a bizarrely-worded statement describing Miss Lawson’s admission under oath as an “allegation” which would not be investigated “at this stage”.
Anti-drug campaigners were baffled by Scotland Yard’s lack of action, which came as two former aides to Miss Lawson were cleared of fraudulently spending £685,000 on company credit cards. Sir Bernard has previously condemned the use of drugs by the middle classes.
The trial of Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo was overshadowed by disclosures of the television cook’s cocaine and cannabis use. » | Gordon Raynor | Friday, Decemebr 20, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Britain's Ambitions in the Gulf Suffer Blow as UAE Rejects Typhoon Deal
David Cameron’s ambition to revive Britain’s ties with the Gulf, involving 230 ministerial visits to the region since 2010, was in disarray yesterday after the United Arab Emirates decided against a multi-billion pound deal to buy Typhoon fighters.
The blow came despite a sustained diplomatic effort, including two visits to the UAE by Mr Cameron, a State Visit from the Queen and an agreement to waive visas for any UAE citizens entering Britain from Jan 1.
In addition, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the president of the UAE, paid a State Visit to Britain in April.
“We put out the family silver for them and we still failed,” said Jonathan Eyal, the international director of the Royal United Services Institute.
Reviving Britain’s historic relationship with the Gulf has been a central priority for Mr Cameron. » | David Blair, Chief Foreign Correspondent | Friday, December 20, 2013
My comment:
Is this a case of BAE Systems getting its comeuppance for the sh***y way they have dealt with many of their employees over the years? They have ridden rough shod over many, I am sorry to say. – © Mark
Councillor to Have Diversity Training after Golliwog Remarks
A Conservative councillor is to undergo diversity training after she claimed that golliwogs are "nostalgic, not racist".
Dawn Barnett was found guilty of bringing Brighton and Hove City Council into disrepute with her remarks.
At a closed hearing, a panel of three councillors said the 72-year-old should have diversity training.
She was cleared of failing to treat others with respect and breaching the Equalities Act and the panel also recommended all councillors should have diversity training in future.
In August, Cllr Barnett said she thought golliwogs were "nostalgic, not racist".
She also dismissed complaints against a homestore in Brighton selling golliwog placemats as "political correctness gone too far".
Four complaints from three people were made to the council’s Black and Minority Ethnic Workers’ Forum in response to her comments. » | Claire Carter, and agencies | Friday, December 20, 2013
'If My Son Did What Michael Adebolajo Did, I Would Be Happy': Hate Preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad Says He Is Proud of Lee Rigby Killer
A hate preacher says he would be 'proud' if his son killed a man like Lee Rigby's murderer Michael Adebolajo.
Omar Bakri Muhammad said if his son, who was sitting on his father's knee during the interview, grew up and killed a soldier he would be 'happy'.
Adebolajo attended and spoke at the radical group Al-Muhajiroun's demonstrations after joining the group in 2003. He also changed his name to Mujahid, meaning ‘one who engages in jihad’.
Over the following years he cropped up again and again at Islamist events.
Channel 4 News reports Omar Bakri Muhammad, the former leader of Al-Muhajiroun, said he was proud of the killer.
He said: 'I've got a son, if he did what Michael did I would be happy.' » | Emma Thomas | Friday, December 20, 2013
New York City Puts e-Cigarettes under Smoking Ban
The New York City council has voted to add electronic cigarettes to the city's strict smoking ban, in what could be the latest of many anti-tobacco measures put in place by the outgoing mayor, Michael Bloomberg.
Only weeks after New York became the first major city to raise the legal age for buying tobacco to 21, the city council voted 43-8 to add electronic cigarettes to the city's Smoke-Free Air Act.
Bloomberg's other initiatives have included bans on trans fats and attempting to limit the sale of large sugary drinks. If the mayor signs the bill as expected, smoking e-cigarettes - or "vaping" - would be prohibited at public and private venues such as beaches, parks, restaurants and office buildings after 120 days.
The council speaker, Christine Quinn, who sponsored the bill, said at a press conference that the public use of e-cigarettes threatened to undermine enforcement of anti-smoking laws because their appearance was similar to traditional cigarettes and could "renormalise smoking in public places." » | Reuters in New York | Friday, December 20, 2013
Apollo Theatre Roof in London's West End Collapses: Scores Injured
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Accountant Who Believes He Is Secret Illegitimate Son of Princess Margaret Wins Legal Victory in Bid to See Her Will
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| Princess Margaret |
A Jersey accountant who believes he is the illegitimate son of Princess Margaret has won a High Court ruling which could aid his quest to see the contents of her will and that of the Queen Mother.
Robert Brown, 58, is seeking to prove he is Princess Margaret’s secret child and that she hid a pregnancy in 1955.
The royal wills were drawn up around the time of Margaret’s death in 2002, and were sealed to keep their contents secret.
Today Mr Brown was granted permission to seek judicial review of a refusal to allow him access under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) to documents he says show there was a 'secret judicial process' for sealing Royal wills.
Giving him leave, Mr Justice Phillips said at London’s High Court that there were 'compelling' constitutional reasons to allow Mr Brown’s legal challenge to go ahead - and that was not altered by a past Court of Appeal observation that Mr Brown’s claim to be Princess Margaret’s son was 'scandalous and irrational'.
The judge said the case gave rise 'to important points of principle and practice' regarding open justice and the public interest. » | Harriet Arkell | Thursday, December 19, 2013
Rigby Verdict: Killers 'Should Never Be Allowed to Walk Free'
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| Lee Rigby's parents |
Drummer Lee Rigby had served in Afghanistan with his regiment, the Fusiliers, who he had joined in 2006 when he was just 19. His unit was based in Cyprus.
Talking to Panorama's Peter Taylor, Lee's mother Lyn Rigby said: "I wouldn't wish anybody to go through the same pain of what they put Lee through, what they put the family through."
"I don't think they should be able to come out and walk the streets again." Read on and watch BBC video » | Thursday, December 19, 2013
Blow for Britain and BAE Systems as UAE Rules Out Eurofighter Deal
Defence group BAE's hopes of exporting its Typhoon fighter have been dealt a blow after the United Arab Emirates ended negotiations about buying the jet.
The Gulf nation had been in talks over a multi-billion pound deal to buy 60 of the twin-engine supersonic fighters as it looks to upgrade its air force.
"The UAE have advised that they have elected not to proceed with these proposals at this time," Britain's biggest defence company said in a statement as the market closed on Thursday.
BAE and the British government had been in discussion with the UAE "regarding a range of defence and security capabilities including the potential supply of Typhoon aircraft".
"We put a world-class proposal on the table but the UAE has elected not to proceed at this time," a spokesman for the company said. » | Alan Tovey | Thursday, December 19, 2013
Duck Dynasty Star Phil Robertson Likened Homosexuality to Bestiality
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| Phil Robertson |
A star of one of America's most popular television programmes has been dropped by its broadcaster after describing gay people as "homosexual offenders".
Phil Robertson, who appears on the reality show Duck Dynasty, was placed on "indefinite hiatus" by the A+E network, after his remarks were published in an interview with GQ magazine.
Describing "sin" as "not logical," he said: "Start with homosexual behaviour and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."
The lavishly-bearded 67-year-old has a leading role in the Louisiana-based programme, which is the most-watched reality show and second-most-watched show of any kind on US cable television. » | Jon Swaine, New York | Thursday, December 19, 2013
Mikhail Khodorkovsky to Be Pardoned
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| Mikhail Khodorkovsky |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed oil tycoon, is to be pardoned by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, a surprise decision that will let a major rival who was formerly Russia's richest man out of prison after more than a decade.
The move, along with an amnesty for the two jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band and the 30-member crew of a Greenpeace ship, appears designed to assuage international criticism of Russia's rights record ahead of February's Winter Olympics in Sochi, Putin's pet project.
Mr Putin waited until just after his tightly choreographed annual news conference to make the announcement, dropping the biggest news of the day after journalists had already peppered him with questions, including one about Khodorkovsky's fate, in a four-hour marathon.
He said Khodorkovsky, who still has eight months left to serve of a 10-year jail sentence, would be pardoned soon. » | Roland Oliphant, Moscow and Chris Irvine | Thursday, December 19, 2013
Lee Rigby Murder: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale Found Guilty
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| Michael Adebolajo (left) and Michael Adebowale |
Two men have been convicted of murdering a soldier in broad daylight near a military barracks in London, in the first al-Qaida-inspired attack to claim a life on British soil since 7 July 2005.
Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, murdered Lee Rigby, 25, as he returned to the Woolwich barracks in south London, in May.
They were convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in central London, which heard that the soldier was almost beheaded in the attack.
Rigby's stepfather, Ian, wiped away tears and put his arm around the soldier's mother, Lyn, who was sobbing.
Mr Justice Sweeney, who ordered that the decisions be heard in silence, said he would pass sentence after a key appeal court ruling on the use of whole life terms in January.
Adebolajo looked at the press and kissed his Qur'an as he was taken to the court cells.
Adebolajo, from Romford, Essex, and Adebowale, from Greenwich, south London, claimed they were soldiers of Allah and their violence was a reprisal against western foreign policy, which had led to the deaths of Muslims. » | Vikram Dodd and Josh Halliday | Thursday, December 19, 2013
US Federal Judge: NSA Phone Surveillance Program Likely Unconstitutional
Obama Review Panel: Strip NSA of Power to Collect Phone Data Records
The National Security Agency should be banned from attempting to undermine the security of the internet and stripped of its power to collect telephone records in bulk, a White House review panel recommended on Wednesday.
In a 300-page report prepared for President Obama, the panel made 46 recommendations, including that the authority for spying on foreign leaders should be granted at a higher level than at present.
Though far less sweeping than campaigners have urged, and yet to be ratified by Obama, the report by his Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology comes as the White House faces growing pressure over its so-called “bulk collection” programs from US courts and business interests.
Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that the bulk collection program, first revealed by the Guardian in June through a court order against Verizon, was likely to be in violation of the US constitution, describing it as “almost Orwellian” in scope.
The White House was stung into releasing the report weeks earlier than expected after meeting America’s largest internet companies on Tuesday. The firms warned that failure to rebuild public trust in communications privacy could damage the US economy. » | Dan Roberts in Washington and Spencer Ackerman in New York | Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The West Has Put Middle East At Risk by Failing to Intervene in Syria and Making Overtures to the New Iranian Regime, Says Senior Saudi Diplomat
The West’s failure to intervene in Syria, coupled with its attempts at forging a nuclear deal with Iran, “risk the security of the region,” a senior Saudi diplomat has warned, saying the Arab kingdom was willing to go it alone and had no choice but to “become more assertive in international affairs.”
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia turned down a coveted seat on the United Nations Security Council in protest at the way the West was dealing with Syria and the American overtures to the new Iranian regime led by Hassan Rouhani. Now, its ambassador to the UK has again expressed Riyadh’s anger at the lack of intervention in Syria, arguing that while efforts are being made to remove chemical weapons from President Bashar al-Assad’s arsenal, “surely the West must see that the regime itself remains the greatest weapon of mass destruction of all?”
“Chemical weapons are but a small cog in Mr Assad’s killing machine,” Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Britain, wrote in a pointed New York Times op-ed this week. » | Nikhil Kumar | New York | Wednesday, December 18, 2013
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