In a speech today at the London School of Economics, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears confirmed the government's latest tactics in its strategy for Muslims to adopt a British version of Islam
Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh organized a seminar today at the national press club on the subject ‘Context: South Asian Taskforce, Transit, TIFA - Islam's Foreign Policy Model'. Deputy Spokesman Kazi Murshedul Haque chaired the seminar while Chief Coordinator and Official Spokesman of the party Mohiuddin Ahmed delivered the main speech.
Jakarta - About 100 Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the US embassy in Jakarta Monday to protest a planned visit this week by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The protestors from the conservative Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia waved placards denouncing Clinton as a "Zionist agent" in reference to Israel. "Hillary, you are not welcome here," read a poster held by a woman wearing a white headscarf.
"Hillary is not interested in respectful dialogue with the Muslim world," one protestor said. "She's only interested in defending Israel."
Clinton is scheduled to be in Jakarta Wednesday and Thursday as part of her Asian tour that is to also take her to Japan, China and South Korea.
Clinton's stop in Indonesia would place her in the Muslim world's most populous country on a trip that could foreshadow a visit later this year by US President Barack Obama, who as a child attended school in Jakarta while living with his mother and Indonesian stepfather.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah of Pakistan held a demonstration in protest at the visit of the US envoy Richard Holbrooke to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The demonstration reiterated the Hizb's rejection of the US occupation of the Islamic lands and called for the expulsion of the occupiers and the unification of Pakistan and Afghanistan to deter the attacks of the aggressors.
Britain one step away from the return of the Spanish Inquisition
On Feb 17 the Guardian newspaper reported that British government was considering plans that would lead to thousands more Muslims being branded as extremists. The proposals are in a counterterrorism strategy which ministers and security officials are drawing up that is due to be unveiled next month. Some say the plans would see views held by most Muslims in Britain being classed by the government as extreme.
According to a draft of the strategy, Contest 2 as it is known in Whitehall, people would be considered as extremists if:
Contest 2 would widen the definition of extremists to those who hold views that clash with what the government defines as shared British values. Contest 2 is still being finalised by officials and ministers. Those considered extreme would not be targeted by the criminal law, but would be sidelined and denied public funds.
No doubt such measures will fail to halt the tide of Islamic awareness that now encompasses the whole world. But real question is-how long before Britain and the rest of Europe resort to a modern day Spanish Inquisition in a desperate bid to purge their Muslim populations for so called "belief crimes".
Jim Rodgers on the current economic crisis: Get yourself a tractor and learn how to farm
In an interview with Sir David Frost on Al Jazeera television, veteran investor Jim Rogers attacked Obama's economic plan, blamed the Federal Reserve for the economic crisis and said that the World Bank and the IMF should be abolished, not given more power, if a recovery is to be made. Rogers strongly slammed Obama's stimulus package, pointing out that more good money was being thrown after bad, and that the bailouts were only making things worse. The veteran investor said that the U.S. was following the same disastrous policies as Japan in propping up companies that should be allowed to fail, and that the same consequences would be reaped as much as 20 years into the future.
"The way the system is supposed to work, when times like this come, the solid people, the competent people, take over the assets from the incompetent people and then you start over again from a sound base, this is what South Korea did, this is what Russia did, and they did fine. What they're doing this time is they're taking the assets away from the competent people and giving them to the incompetent people and saying now you compete with the competent people with their assets and their money - it's terrible economics and it's not going to work, it hasn't worked before and it's not going to work this time," said Rogers.
Rogers said that price had to be paid for 15 years of excess, but that the crisis could have been overcome in two or three years had zombie companies and banks been allowed to go to the wall.
"The central bank in the United States, the Federal Reserve, would not let people fail," said Rogers. Asked if he had any respect for the World Bank and the IMF, Rogers responded, "Zero....the best thing that would happen would be if we could abolish the World Bank and the IMF, they were set up in 1945 and '46 with very sound goals and very sound aspirations - they have far far left behind those aspirations and goals, they're now run by people who do little more than take care of themselves....look at their projects and you would be mortified." In response to a question about what if any sectors would be profitable amidst the crash, Rogers advised people invested in stocks to "get yourself a tractor and learn how to farm".
America reveals Pakistan's complicity in providing airbases for drone attacks
On Feb 14 the Pakistani English newspaper The Dawn revealed that Pakistan had granted permission to the US to use its airbase(s) to carry airstrikes in FATA. Expressing surprise over Pakistan's opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against targets inside the Pakistani border, Senator Feinstein said: "As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base." The CIA declined to comment, but former US intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Senator Feinstein's account was accurate. Later, Philip J. LaVelle, a spokesman for the senator, said her comment was based solely on previous news reports that Predators were operated from bases near Islamabad. Another Pakistani English newspaper The News reported that the US was secretly flying unmanned drones from the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan as early as 2006, according to an image of the base from Google Earth. It also stated that the drones were Global Hawks - which are generally used only for reconnaissance, flying for up to 36 hours, at more than 400mph and an altitude of up to 60,000ft. The existence of drone bases inside Pakistan demonstrates that the Pakistani leadership is fully involved in the slaughter of its own citizens to please America.
Indonesia wants America to ‘educate' its army officers
The cash-strapped and poorly equipped Indonesian Armed Forces, or TNI, has no plans to purchase military equipment from the United States but would welcome assistance in the area of officer training, Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said on Feb 18. Juwono told reporters that he had asked Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda to relay the message to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently in Jakarta for a two-day visit. "We want to enhance cooperation with the United States in order to give our military officers better educational and training opportunities," Juwono said, adding that an exchange program involving TNI officers would be more constructive than an equipment purchase deal. Juwono said the TNI needed its officers to undergo advanced training programs, to enable them to lead the military in a more professional manner. American military programmes are renowned for producing loyal agents through which America secures her vital interests. Calling for such programmes is dangerous and is a betrayal of the Indonesian people. Rather the defence minister should have announced a complete cessation of ties with the US and demanded that America ends its military presence in the area.
Britain to launch glossy ads to win Pakistanis over to the West
On Feb 10 2009, The English newspaper The Guardian revealed that Prominent British Muslims were being recruited to star in a UK government-backed advertising campaign aimed at preventing people in Pakistan from engaging in extremist activity, the Guardian has learned. The three-month public relations offensive, called I Am the West, consists of television commercials and high-profile events in regions such as Peshawar and Mirpur. It is being funded by the Foreign Office which is paying up to £400,000 for a pilot project. The campaign has four key aims: to ensure Pakistanis realise the west is not "anti-Islamic", that British society is not "anti-Islam", to demonstrate the extent to which Muslims are integrated into British society and to stimulate and facilitate "constructive debate" on the compatibility of liberal and Muslim values. If the West really wants to show that it is not against Islam and Pakistan , the very least it can do, is: a) stop its military campaign against FATA, b) withdraw its forces from the Afghanistan , c) permanently discontinue its interference in Pakistani politics and d) cede its support to agent rulers.
Obama's economic plans: Lifeboats for the rich and powerful
It expected that Obama's $780 billion dollar economic stimulus plan will become law by next week. The stimulus plan includes tax cuts, additional spending on infrastructure and aid to the US states, which are experiencing grave budget difficulties. Only a portion of the stimulus will be spent in 2009, the bulk of the money will be spent by the end of 2010, when supposedly the effects of recession are still likely to be lingering. However, stimulus plan does very little to address the needs of the common man. Worse still is the news that Obama's treasury secretary is looking to pump $2 trillion dollars to prop up failing banks. The American people must be wondering why almost $3 trillion of tax-payers money-their money- is in effect going to the super rich such as the banks and the big corporation who are going to rebuild America's crumbling infrastructure. What the US government is doing is nothing short of daylight robbery- a modern sort of robin hood where the poor are robbed to pay for the life-styles of the rich.
Confusion over ICC's warrant to arrest Bashir
The International Criminal Court has denied media reports the court's judges have agreed to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al Bashir. According to The New York Times newspaper and the Reuters news agency, diplomats at the United Nations have said International Criminal Court judges have approved an arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar al-Bashir. But the ICC has issued a statement saying that no warrant has been issued and the judges have not made a decision. An official announcement is expected sometime in February. The ICC chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is seeking to charge President al-Bashir with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for the Sudanese government's role in the conflict in the western region of Darfur. The reports did not say which charges the judges had agreed to. The ICC is under pressure from Europe to issue a warrant against Bashir for the alleged genocide in Darfur. But American efforts to seek a compromise with Europe over Bashir's future have so far stalled any such judgement.
Bakiyev ready to sell Kyrgyzstan to the highest bidder
Kyrgyzstan's president accused the United States on Wednesday of refusing to heed repeated calls to pay more rent for its air base in his country but did not say if he would welcome a fresh U.S. offer. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said last week he would evict U.S. forces from Manas, an important staging post for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan. He made the announcement in Moscow after securing more than $2 billion in Russian aid and credit. Speaking about the Americans, He said, "Over the last three years I have personally raised this question with (top U.S. officials). I have always said to them: 'We have to review the terms of our agreement. Prices have changed and Kyrgyzstan is in a difficult financial situation'. "And they always replied: 'Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay." They repeated that for years. But how long can one wait? We are a sovereign nation. We must have some respect for ourselves." Indeed, Bakiyev idea of national dignity is to rent out Kyrgyzstan's military assets to the highest bidder and facilitate military occupation of the country by a foreign power.
Holbrooke's visit brings no reprieve to US bombings in Pakistan
Mr. Holbrooke's trip to Pakistan, and his four-day tour of Afghanistan, which began on Thursday, was part of a top-to-bottom review of American policy in the region ordered by President Obama. However, Holbrooke's visit did not bring an end to the American bombing of FATA or an increase in bilateral aid. In fact his silence was further confirmation that there is no difference between the policies pursued by Bush and Obama.
India to make soft drink from cow urine
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India's leading Hindu cultural group, has developed Gau Jal or Cow Water, at its research centre in the Indian holy city of Haridwar on the River Ganges, and hopes it will be marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to Coke and Pepsi. "We refer to gau ark (cow urine) as gau jal (cow water) as it has immense potential to cure various diseases. We have developed a soft drink formula with gau jal as the base and it has been sent to a laboratory at Lucknow for testing," said director Om Prakash. Hindus worship cows and slaughtering them is illegal in some Indian states. Cow dung is traditionally used as a fuel and disinfectant in villages, while cow urine and dung are often consumed in rituals to "purify" those on the bottom rungs of the Hindu caste system. In some Indian states, cow dung and urine are sold in regular dairy shops alongside milk and yogurt.
Pictures of a conference organised by Köklü Değişim (Radical Change) magazine in Turkey. The conference called for a radical solution to end Israel's occupation of Palestine.
Iceland unveils world's first homosexual leader
This week Iceland announced a new government that will be headed by the modern world's first openly Lesbian leader-Johanna Sigurdardottir. Sigurdardottir, 66, is a former air stewardess who was divorced from the father of her two sons, a banker, and now lives with her British-educated girlfriend Jonina Leosdottir, a 54-year-old author, playwright and journalist. The couple signed a civil partnership agreement in 2002. "I don't think her sexual orientation matters. Our voters are pretty liberal, they don't care about any of that," Skuli Helgeson, Social Democratic Alliance's general secretary, told the BBC. In most of Western Europe politicians are openly declaring their homosexuality. Only last week, Roger Karoutchi became the first French government minister to disclose his homosexuality. Other notable European politicians who have declared their homosexuality include the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë, and the governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit.
America on the brink of a major economic catastrophe
Recently, the famous US future trend forecaster Gerald Calente was interviewed by economics writer Lew Rockwell about the American economy. This is what Calente said, "We are going from the "Panic of '08" into the "Collapse of '09", and it is unstoppable. It will be the greatest depression ever. In the middle of February or March, there will be disastrous collapses of other retail giants. There will be a collapse in commercial real estate which will dwarf the subprime problem.
There will be a revolt in this county, and the government is planning on ways of suppressing it. For example, Arizona is training police for economic calamity and riots. The military is building detention centres, and training military for riot control. There's no stopping this.
The Obama administration will take draconian measures, such as calling a bank holiday, confiscating gold, or something else dramatic which will really hurt the little people and enrich the too-big-to-fails.
Those in the know aren't trying to save the economy. The ship is sinking, and the wealthy are just scrambling to secure their own life boats."
Gaza: Value of a British life versus a Muslim life
On 1/2/2009 the BBC reported that the family of a British cameraman shot dead in Gaza in 2003 have accepted a reported £1.5m payout from Israel. James Miller, 34, from Devon, was filming a documentary when he was shot dead in the town of Rafah. His family, who have said he was shot by a soldier, said it was "probably the closest (we) will get to an admission of guilt on the part of the Israelis". An Israeli inquiry cleared a soldier of firearms misuse but a UK inquest later ruled Mr Miller was unlawfully killed. How many Palestinians have been unlawfully killed in Gaza by Israel and through the economic blockade by the western powers in collaboration with the neighbouring rulers? And yet there is no compensation or pressure from western governments on Israel to conduct an inquest. Truly, the West has turned upside down its own concept of human rights- where the blood of western citizens is worth much more than the blood of Muslims. The Messenger or Allah (saw) said, "The blood of a Muslim is worth more than the Ka'ba and all its surroundings."
Saudi fighter jets happy perform air tricks
No sooner had Israel bombed Gaza to smithereens, Saudi hawks performed complex air tricks at Al Ain air show in the UAE. Rather than deploy the fighter jets in Palestine the Saudi leadership were happy to donate 61 truckloads of food, 30 ambulances and a variety of other meagre supplies to alleviate the pain and suffering of the Palestinians. What is the point of spending billion dollars on military hardware that will never be used to defend the blood and honour of Muslims?
US rewards Musharraf for spilling Muslim blood and safeguarding American interests
On his visit to Washington, Musharraf was offered a job at the famous Middle East Institute. The institute's former head, former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlain said Musharraf should be the institute's next scholar-in-residence on Pakistan. Musharraf on his visit was unrepentant and defended his policies of sending Pakistani troops into FATA and allowing US to bomb the tribal areas with impunity. If he accepts, he will surpass America most loyal agent Gamal Abdul Nasser in designing pro-American policies for the Middle East. His track record in securing American interests in Pakistan is just a taste of things to come.
