Three Muslims from Melbourne were convicted in Victoria's Supreme Court on Friday, 16 December 2011, of conspiring to plan a terrorist attack. Wissam Fattal, Saney Edow Aweys, and Nayef El Sayed were sentenced to 18 years jail. Justice Betty King emphasised in her sentencing remarks the "extremist views" of the accused whilst admitting the "amateurish" nature of their alleged plans.

Headlines:

• Europe is weeks away from economic collapse
• In Islamic law, Gingrich sees a mortal threat to U.S.
• Turkey withdraws ambassador and freeze military and economic ties
• Iraq is a mess: Fruits of US democracy
• Iran prepares for war games as tensions with West increase
• Pakistani army rejects US report on airstrikes

Details:

Europe is weeks away from economic collapse:

Europe is only weeks away from economic collapse, former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Khan told the Financial Times during a conference in Beijing . "Investors' confidence in European leaders is bleeding out day after day," Strauss-Khan said. The former IMF head noted that the €640 billion bailout plan being launched would be too slow, as it requires the approval of all euro zone parliaments, a process that will take some two months. Strauss-Khan also expressed doubt about the new fiscal treaty for Europe that Germany is pushing. The treaty would require all members to meet a deficit target of 3% of the GDP and fine nations that are in violation. "What will happen if a nation that is fined refuses to pay?" Strauss-Khan asked. "The answer is - nothing."

In Islamic law, Gingrich sees a mortal threat to U.S.:

Long before he announced his presidential run this year, Newt Gingrich had become the most prominent American politician to embrace an alarming premise: that Shariah, or Islamic law, poses a threat to the United States as grave as or graver than terrorism. "I believe Shariah is a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States and in the world as we know it," Mr. Gingrich said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington in July 2010 devoted to what he suggested were the hidden dangers of Islamic radicalism. "I think it's that straightforward and that real. Stealth jihadis use political, cultural, societal, religious, intellectual tools; violent jihadis use violence," Mr. Gingrich said in the speech. "But in fact they're both engaged in jihad, and they're both seeking to impose the same end state, which is to replace Western civilization with a radical imposition of Shariah." Echoing some Republicans in Congress, Mr. Gingrich blasted the Obama administration's policy of declining to label terrorism carried out in the name of militant Islam as "Islamic" or "jihadist." Administration officials say such labels can imply religious justification for a distortion of doctrine that most Muslims abhor, thus smearing an entire faith.

Turkey withdraws ambassador and freeze military and economic ties:

Turkey's ambassador was to leave Paris Friday in a row with France over a law making it a criminal offence to deny that a massacre of Armenians by Ottoman troops in 1915 amounted to genocide. Ankara froze military and diplomatic ties with Paris on Thursday after the French parliament approved the draft law, while the Turkish embassy in Paris said its ambassador had been recalled and would leave Friday. "This is politics based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, warning of "irreparable damage" to relations and suspending political visits between the two NATO allies. "From now on we are revising our relations with France," he added. "There was no genocide committed in our history. We do not accept this." Under the draft law, people can be jailed for a year and fined 45,000 euros for denying that the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces during World War I amounted to genocide. In retaliation, Turkey's premier said the country would rule on a case-by-case basis on any French request to use Turkish airspace or military bases and would turn away French military vessels from Turkish ports. Turkey would also boycott an economic committee meeting in Paris in January, Erdogan said -- a move that will worry business leaders in both countries fearful for the fate of 12 billion euros ($16 billion) in annual trade.

Iraq is a mess: Fruits of US democracy

"Let us stipulate some ugly facts up front. Iraq remains a weak state. The political institutions are-charitably-immature. The business climate is not overly attractive and corruption is endemic. Were it not for oil, there would be no real economy. There is a serious terrorism problem. Relationships with all the neighbouring states are problematic. Sectarian divides remain tense, with some key fault lines unresolved. The country's armed forces remain incapable of defending its international borders. Given all these facts, it is still very possible that Iraq could revert to its previous state of dysfunction, or find a new variety into which to fall. The chaos of the last few days in Baghdad-in which the Shi'a Prime Minster has pursued charges against his Sunni Vice President, with the latter taking refuge among the Kurds-is likely a precursor of the sort of political drama we can expect for some time to come"( The New Republic).

Iran prepares for war games as tensions with West increase:

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari on Thursday announced the upcoming launch of ten-day massive naval exercises in the international waters, the local satellite Press TV reported. Sayyari said at a press conference on Thursday that the naval manoeuvres dubbed Velayat 90 will start on Saturday and will cover an area of 2,000 (1,250-mile) km stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden, the report said. This is the first time that Iran's Navy carries out naval drills in such a vast area, he was quoted as saying. He said that the exercises will manifest Iran's military prowess and defence capabilities in the international waters, convey a message of peace and friendship to regional countries and test the newest military equipment among other objectives, said the report.

Pakistani army rejects US report on airstrikes:

The Pakistani army on Friday rejected a U.S. investigation that concluded mistakes on both sides led to American airstrikes last month that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and severely damaged the already strained relationship between the two countries. The response indicates the report will do little to ease tensions, a worrying development for the U.S. because Pakistan's cooperation is critical for the Afghan war. The Pakistani army has said its troops did nothing wrong and claimed the attack was a deliberate act of aggression. Pakistan has retaliated by closing its Afghan border to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan and kicking the U.S. out of a base used by American drones. NATO officials have said the closure of the supply route has not affected operations so far, but it would eventually if not reversed. The army "does not agree with the findings of the US/NATO inquiry as being reported in the media," the force said in a short statement sent to reporters shortly after midnight Friday. "The inquiry report is short on facts." The army will provide a detailed response after officials receive the report, it said. Pakistan refused to cooperate in the investigation. Even though U.S. officials on Thursday accepted some of the blame for the attack on two army posts along the Afghan border, they did not apologize for the incident, as many Pakistanis have demanded. Instead, the U.S. said its forces were fired on first and acted "with appropriate force" in self-defence.

Headlines:

• American barbarians adopt new set of values not even found amongst animals
• Eurozone crisis poses military risk, warns UK defence chief
• US Senator wants India to send its troops to Afghanistan
• Pakistan tries to counter US overtures to impose financial penalties

Details:

American barbarians adopt new set of values not even found amongst animals:

The Senate on Thursday evening voted 93-7 to approve a defence authorization bill that includes a provision which not only repeals the military law on sodomy, it also repeals the military ban on sex with animals--or bestiality. The Senate Armed Services Committee had unanimously approved S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the effort to remove sodomy from military law stems from liberal Senate Democrats' and President Obama's support for removing the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. "It's all about using the military to advance this administration's radical social agenda," Perkins told CNSNews.com. "Not only did they overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell, but they had another problem, and that is, under military law sodomy is illegal, just as adultery is illegal, so they had to remove that prohibition against sodomy." Perkins said removing the bestiality provision may have been intentional--or just "collateral damage". "Well, whether it was inadvertent or not, they have also taken out the provision against bestiality," he said. "So now, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), there's nothing there to prosecute bestiality."

This is the US Army that Obama recently praised for being extraordinary in Iraq. Apart from killing, torturing, maiming and humiliating people such as the Abu Ghraib incident, America has legalised more evil for their uncivilised troops to commit against humans and animals.

Eurozone crisis poses military risk, warns UK defence chief:

Defence chiefs are drawing up plans to cope with the potential military fallout from the eurozone crisis, according to General Sir David Richards. It is understood that Armed Forces planners are looking at the possibility that a new global financial crash could undermine the defence forces of key British allies. The head of the Armed Forces warned that economic issues pose a "strategic risk" to Britain. Senior British commanders and officials are concerned that US plans to cut defence spending will be followed by other allies in Europe and elsewhere. Reductions in allied military capabilities could put a greater burden on Britain's stretched forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere, it is feared. The military planning work has come to light after The Daily Telegraph disclosed last month that British embassies in the eurozone have been told to prepare emergency plans for the demise of the euro and the possible civil disorder that could follow. Senior ministers are increasingly convinced that the break-up of the single currency is a real possibility. Economists suggest that the failure of the euro could cause EU economies, including Britain's, to shrink by up to eight per cent. Gen Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said economic issues present the biggest threat to Britain and its interests in the world. "I am clear that the single biggest strategic risk facing the UK today is economic rather than military," he told the Royal United Services Institute. When Allah (SWT) intends to grant victory to His (SWT) servants He (SWT) prepares the means that lead to the victory. The global financial crisis that started in 2008 is now causing the crusaders to reduce their military capabilities as well as to focus more on domestic riots. How true then are the words of Allah (SWT):" Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the Path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcomed." [TMQ: AlAnfal:36]

US Senator wants India to send its troops to Afghanistan:

With the gradual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, time has now come for India to send its military inside that country, a top American lawmaker has said. "It makes sense for the two largest democracies to be military allies. On Afghanistan, India, as you know, as a security establishment, is already fighting over 30 insurgencies or guerilla operations," Senator Mark Kirk said at a discussion forum organised by Washington-based think tank, Foreign Policy Initiative. "The Indian security establishment well understands this challenge. I think can correctly perceive that moving terror from North or South or general parts of Dafatan into secured bases around Kabul with the fall of the Karzai government would represent a long-term real security threat for India," he said.The US Senator said over the long term, it makes sense for India to send a key signal to Afghan politicians- "look, we know the Americans are leaving. We know the Haqqani's are bidding, but we are now stepping in here. We will bank roll you". "If you ask who the winning side is, which is the critical question in Afghanistan, it's us. We have made the decision as a country to outbid Pakistan so that this country is not a terror base against us, and the United States should encourage that," he said. Day by day, the intention of the American crusader is becoming clear. The Americans do not see any role in Afghanistan for Pakistan. Rather they want the Hindu Mushriks to play a greater role in spilling Muslim blood and subjugating them to the crusader occupation. Allah (SWT) says: "And those who disbelieve are allies to one another, (and) if you (Muslims of the whole world collectively) do not do so (i.e. become allies, as one united block with one Khalifah - chief Muslim ruler for the whole Muslim world to make victorious Allah's Religion of Islamic Monotheism), there will be Fitnah (wars, battles, polytheism, etc.) and oppression on earth, and a great mischief and corruption (appearance of polytheism)."[TMQ: Al Anfal: 73]

Pakistan tries to counter US overtures to impose financial penalties:

The diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and the US deepened on Tuesday as both sides began moves to impose financial penalties on the other in the wake of a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Congressmen pushed through a bill this week to halt $700m (£450 million) in aid to Pakistan. Whilst Islamabad considers slapping millions of dollars in tax on Nato trucks and tankers that use its roads to supply international forces in Afghanistan.

How idiotic is the leadership of Pakistan? They want to tax America, and at the same time provide the crusaders with fuel to perpetrate further attacks against Pakistan. Surely the way to hurt America is to sever all links and repel any form of aggression against Pakistan. If Iran with its much weaker army and fighting ability can disarm America's latest drone plane, what is stopping Pakistan from doing likewise?