TaP has moved

As TaP hasn't many readers now and I wanted the blog to be moved to wordpress.com, I have decided to change it. People who have subscribed in it with Feedburner.com or who follow the blog on Twitter, don't need to do anything as the feed has been updated already. But if you have subscribed with Blogger's adress you need to update your link to Feedburner feed. Thanks and sorry for the inconveniences.

Germany: stabbed for wearing the veil

As I said before: you consider that using violence is based on desperation because of "injustice", and you can see that used by anyone with any motive:

Sherbini, 32, was killed in a court in the northern German city of Dresden on Wednesday shortly before she was to give evidence in an appeal lodged by her attacker.
The 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W. had been convicted and fined after calling her a "terrorist" for wearing the Islamic headscarf.
According to the Egyptian press, Sherbini was three months pregnant when she was killed. She was laid to rest in her hometown of Alexandria in northern Egypt on Monday.

via AFP: Egypt cleric seeks stiff penalty as 'veil martyr' buried.

Just read Esther's post on the subject. I think the most important think of it is this paragraph:

So far this year, one hijab-wearing Muslim girl was killed in Germany for not being Muslim enough.  Another 20-year old was killed for not being a virgin.  This follows up on dozens of cases in the past few years were Muslim women were killed by their Muslim family for not being Muslim enough.  As far as I know Sherbini's case is the first one in Germany (possibly in  Europe), where a woman is killed for being Muslim.

A lot of outrage when one woman is killed supposedly because she was a Muslim. None if they are killed daily because of "Islamic culture". Fair?

UK: Bomb seizures spark far-right terror plot fear

This is the consequence of not stopping terror ideologues (or even fraternizing with them, because they were "speaking freely"): the extremists of the other side just appear to kill too:

A network of suspected far-right extremists with access to 300 weapons and 80 bombs has been uncovered by counter-terrorism detectives.
Thirty-two people have been questioned in a police operation that raises the prospect of a right-wing bombing campaign against mosques. Police are said to have recovered a British National party membership card and other right-wing literature during a raid on the home of one suspect charged under the Terrorism Act.
In England’s largest seizure of a suspected terrorist arsenal since the IRA mainland bombings of the early 1990s, rocket launchers, grenades, pipe bombs and dozens of firearms have been recovered in the past six weeks during raids on more than 20 properties. Several people have been charged and more arrests are imminent. Current police activity is linked to arrests in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

via Bomb seizures spark far-right terror plot fear - Times Online.

I don't think that BNP (a hateful party a it is) can be blamed because some of this would-be bombers had a membership of the party. But it is worrying that this kind of possible attacks are appearing.

The internet gives it reach and scope,” said Bettison. “The big bad wolf is still the Al- Qaeda threat. But my people are knocking over right-wing extremists quite regularly. We are interdicting it so that it doesn’t first emerge into the public eye out of a critical incident like an explosion.”

So, what would happen if an attack is succesful?
Other worrysome thing is that there were no arrests made in NZ or Australia connected to this.

AUSTRALIAN police have made no arrests despite reported connections here with a plot by far-right extremists to blow up British mosques.
New Zealand authorities have confirmed they were asked to investigate links there to a terrorist network, but Australian authorities will not confirm that there is any links here. . . the Australian Federal Police rejected suggestions any arrests had been made.

I don't believe the solution against Islamism is to blow up mosques...

h/t The Iconoclast.

More here:

There are fears that ex BNP members are turning to US-style violent white supremacism which could wreck efforts to win Muslim hearts and minds. One official said: ""They are not the cleverest people but they are capable of putting together viable devices after sharing information on the internet. "Say they were successful and blow up a mosque and kill some Muslims. Not only would that be a horrific crime, it could well provoke a catastrophic response. "It would re-energise radicals and extremists and could give them a flood of new recruits just when we're starting to make progress in isolating them.

What a fair prospect! I think the solution would be to get all extremists together and let them fight each other!

Anyway, I don't think that giving money to people to support Jihad or attacks against Israel is winning Muslim hearts and minds, neither. I believe UK Government is failing to really go against Islamic extremism AND so to stop the excuses of the far-right extremists to do thinks like that. Yes, I know Islamic radicals have killed more than far-right people but a) the mass-killings made by ones justifies mass killings done by the antagonistic groups? and b) Violence is NOT the solution, specially when you attack indiscriminately against all the people in a group.

The Telegraph has more.

Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command has stepped up the number of officers in special unit dedicated to monitoring right wing extremists because of the threat.
Muslims, Jews and other minority groups have all been urged to be extra vigilant after an internal police report found that the danger has significantly increased since the onset of recession.

As I was saying, this is not a solution and really goes against anti-jihadism in general, as it strenghens the already strong, although not really factually based, feeling, of "victims" Islamists have in Europe.

Gaza: women suffer from die-hard custom of "honor killing"

M.M., a 34-year-old male resident of Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza City never regretted the killing of his sister, who he believed had slept with a stranger.
"I protected the honor and dignity of my clan, and now I can walk down the street holding my head high," said the man, who spoke on condition of only using the abbreviation of his name.
Having served three years in prison for the murder, M.M. thought it was a proper price to pay to keep his family's reputation.
His case was ruled as passion killing by the local court and was given a much lighter penalty than first class murders, because it was categorized as "honor killing", in which a woman was murdered by her male relatives, often her father or brothers, for sex outside marriage.
Honor killing is not entirely rare and insular in the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip of 1.5 million population, where Israel's blockage since June 2007 has increased people's poverty as well as ideological isolation.
Seven women were killed by their family members in the name of "honor" in Gaza since the beginning of 2009, while two were killed in 2008, and eight in 2007, according to a report by the Gaza-based Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR).

via Gaza women suffer from die-hard custom of "honor killing"_English_Xinhua.

So for the Chinese agency honor killlings happen thanks to the "Israeli blockage". Even when it's clear that Hamas has been stealing aid supplies to sell them to residents. Even UN halted aid to Gaza after the theft of thousands of tonnes.

The UN Relief and Works agency said it made the decision after Hamas personnel intercepted an aid shipment for the second time this week.
In a statement, the agency said 10 truckloads of flour and rice delivered into Gaza yesterday were taken away by trucks affiliated with the Hamas-run social affairs ministry. Earlier this week, Hamas police took away thousands of blankets and food parcels meant for needy residents.

The blockage has done nothing to the reasons why these girls are savagely killed. That happens throughout the world, whether the interested are rich or poor.

NOTE: The Stop Honor Killings' web is down. Don't know why.

Honduras: after coup, instability grows

CBS:

Honduras' interim government closed its main airport to all flights on Monday after blocking the runway to prevent the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Clashes with his supporters caused the first death in a week of protests.

Police and soldiers blanketed the streets of the capital early Monday, enforcing a sunset-to-sunrise curfew with batons and metal poles. Civil aviation authorities announced a 24-hour ban on all flights at the country's main airport starting Monday morning.

Soldiers clashed Sunday with thousands of Zelaya backers massed at the airport in hopes of welcoming home the deposed leader removed a week earlier.

But military vehicles and soldiers blocked the runway. Pilots of the plane loaned by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez circled the airport and decided not to risk a crash.

Zelaya instead headed for El Salvador, and vowed to try again Monday or Tuesday in his high-stakes effort to return to power in a country where all branches of government have lined up against him.

Zelaya is banking on the confrontation keeping the pressure on the new Honduran government, reported CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.

"I call on the Armed Forces of Honduras to lower their rifles," he said late Sunday at a news conference, flanked by the presidents of El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador, and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, who flew there from Washington.

"I am risking myself personally to resolve the problems without violence," said Zelaya,

If he was really interested in resolving the problems without violence, he would never return there. He just wants power back.

Meanwhile it looks like that shots which hurt several demonstrators, were fired by other demonstrators who were supporting Zelaya.

Maria Anastasia O'Grady has written a very good piece in WSJ titled: "Honduras defends its democracy".



There is a very interesting connection in drug trade: FARC-Venezuela-Honduras. Actually, 40% of the drug which enters in Europe comes from Venezuela.From this blog we have more interesting data:

Honduras and other Central American nations have become major transshipment points in recent years for Colombian cocaine, particularly as Mexico’s government cracks down on cartels.

The drugs arrive in Honduras on non-commercial aircraft from Venezuela and increasingly in speedboats from Colombia, according to the Key West, Florida-based Joint Interagency Task Force-South, which coordinates drug interdiction in region.

To combat that, Zelaya wanted to legalise drug consumption. I believe that would have been a major movement: everyone could take drugs freely. Yes, the rise on the offered drug would low the price, but the lower price and the freedom to take drugs would surely produce a rise in the people who take drugs. Regarding the rise in insecurity as a result of the drug cartels using the country to transport the drugs, I am not sure that would be ended just because of a legalization. Firstly, drug cartels are not only onto drugs, but diversify their business. So it's probable that, if a legalization arrived, they would smuggle tobacco or other things. Secondly, the legalization of drugs (as happens with tobacco) can't be done to allow any type of drug as there are some who are lethal. So, no one tells the supporters of legalization that there wouldn't be people who would take those drugs to proof their effects.

Last news: US diplomacy will not have even a meeting with an Honduran delegation who has arrived in Washington but will speak with Mel Zelaya. The reason? They haven't recognised that Government, because it wasn't elected democratically. Ja!

Obama: "We have resolved to reset US-Russian relations"

BBC NEWS | Europe | US and Russia agree nuclear cuts - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Just watch Medvedev's faces throughout Obama's speech. It's a sign of more or less, this:

Obama, Medvedev Sign Nuclear Understanding: Russia to remain nuclear; Obama to remain understanding.

WaPo has more.

Question: what has US given in return of Russia letting US planes travelling to Afghanistan through Russian air space?

Read also this post from Heritage.org.

Venezuela: "The Law will give Chávez full control over MSM"

Un update on this story. From La Prensa:

“Every one of these  legislative or administrative measures are used to stop freedom of expression, while the worldwide trend is precisely to erase every limit to freedom of expression, as happens in the region with the abrogation of the crimes of insulting authorities or the elimination of censorship”, Abreu, ex president of the Interamerican Human Rights Court.

Tomás Terán, a member of the executive committee of the Movement to Socialism, denounced just yesterday that the announcement made by the Minister of Education, Héctor Navarro, related to the control of the MSM by the new Education Act, "only wants to control all the MSM's schedule to let Hugo Chávez achieve a total control of the information given to Venezuelan society".
He also added this Govt. action is not surprising nor improvised, but that "this law to control all the independent media is passed at the same time as the Criminal Procedure Organic Code to reach the real MSM censorship so much wanted by Chávez".

Some days ago, CONATEL (MSM authority) has revoked the concessions to 240 radios because they didn't give their information on time, but in the same press conference Venezuelan Minister Cabello added they wanted to "make a more democratic use of the MSM", as "27 families controlled 31% of the radios". And??

Recently International Press Society critisized the harrasment some MSM han in Venezuela. As the blog K-Minos says:

"No one can say there are no freedom of expression in Venezuela, but we can safely say that the freedom of expression is menaced and at risk, because of the hateful statements and speeches, because of the menaces expressed against journalists and MSM nearly daily, because of shutting radio channels just because they are denouncing regional leaders, because they consider internet as a luxury so as to stop the public from using it to "save", because of expelling from the country anyone who speaks uncomfortable ideas to the Government, whether they are HRW's director or a Spanish MP. Because of recording journalists' private conversations in a clear violation of the terms of our constitution and because of a lot of other cases that any of you can have knowledge of, just visiting any of the published dailies".

Pakistan: Taliban leader buys children to use them as suicide bombers

Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, is buying children as young as 7 to serve as suicide bombers in the growing spate of attacks against Pakistani, Afghan and U.S. targets, U.S. Defense Department and Pakistani officials say.

A Pakistani official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitive nature of the topic, said the going price for child bombers was $7,000 to $14,000 - huge sums in Pakistan, where per-capita income is about $2,600 a year.

"[Mehsud] has turned suicide bombing into a production output, not unlike [the way] Toyota outputs cars," a U.S. Defense Department official told reporters recently. He spoke on the condition that he not be named because of ongoing intelligence efforts to catch Mehsud, a prime target for a U.S. and Pakistani anti-Taliban campaign.

via EXCLUSIVE: Taliban buying children for suicide bombers - Washington Times.

Don't think this needs a comment...

China: 140 Uighurs dead in revolt against Central Govt

Reuters:

URUMQI, China (Reuters) - At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in China's northwestern Xinjiang region, with the government blaming exiled separatists for the traditionally Muslim area's worst case of unrest in years.
Hundreds of people have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency said, after protestors from the Uighur minority took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, burning and smashing vehicles and shops, and clashing with anti-riot police.

More in Yahoo.

Tensions between Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese are never far from the surface in Xinjiang, a sprawling region rich in minerals and oil that borders eight Central Asian nations. Many Uighurs (pronounced WEE-gers) yearn for independence and some militants have waged a sporadic, violent separatist campaign.
Uighurs make up the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, but not in the capital of Urumqi, which has attracted large numbers of Han Chinese migrants. The city of 2.3 million is now overwhelmingly Chinese — a source of frustration for native Uighurs who say they are being squeezed out.
Kakharman Khozamberdi — leader of a Uighur political movement in Kazakhstan, where the Uighur minority has its largest presence outside China — said machine gun fire was heard all night long. One witness told Khozamberdi 10 bodies were seen near a bazaar, including those of women and children.
In Geneva, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged China and any country with violent protests to use extreme care. He urged all government to "protect the life and safety of civilians."

Not even a mention to the another part of the problem: Uighurs are Muslims.

WSJ:

Xinhua quoted Liu Yaohua, a senior police official in Xinjiang, as saying that rioters had burned 261 vehicles, including 190 buses and two police cars, several of which were still ablaze as of Monday morning. Mr. Liu said the death toll of 140 "would still be climbing."

NYT:

The casualty toll, if confirmed, would make this the deadliest outbreak of violence in China in many years.
(...)
At least 1,000 rioters took to the streets, throwing stones at the police and setting vehicles on fire. Plumes of smoke billowed into the sky, while police officers used fire hoses and batons to beat back rioters and detained Uighurs who appeared to be leading the protest, witnesses said.
The Associated Press reported Monday that protests had also spread to a second city, Kashgar, citing eyewitness accounts.

 BBC:

Scores killed in China protests - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Last news: 156 killed in the riots.

Netanyahu: Israel will held Lebanon responsible for Hizbullah's attacks

PM: Lebanon held responsible for Hizbullah | Israel | Jerusalem Post

"The government of Lebanon is making preparations to legitimize Hizbullah," Netanyahu said in reference to the coalition negotiations in Lebanon, "and that will not happen without them facing the consequences."

"The government in Beirut is a sovereign entity, and any attack launched from Lebanese territory is by the government and at its approval," the prime minister warned at the weekly cabinet meeting, according to Army Radio.

Tags Technorati: Netanyahu, Lebanon, islamism, Hizbullah, Beirut,

Iranian Revolution: humour

 

From Steynian.

Egypt: curfew imposed after religious violence

AINA:

Clashes between Muslims and Christian Copts recently spurred Egyptian security forces to impose curfews on two towns in the governorates of Bani Swaif and Dakahlia.
In Kafr El Barbari in Dakahlia, mayhem broke out Tuesday after 18-year-old Mohamed Ramadan Ezzat, a Muslim, was apparently stabbed to death by John Emile Gerges, a Christian grocer, in a dispute over the price of a carbonated drink. (the Muslim was opposed to pay all that to a filthy Christian pig, wasn't he?).
After Ezzat's burial later that same day, 25 people were injured as hundreds of angry Muslims attacked Gerges' and other Coptic residents' houses, throwing stones and trying to set the homes on fire. The violence spurred many to flee the town, which is inhabited by about 1,000 Copts and 3,000 Muslims.
Most Copts are staying at home in fear of other possible attacks. After the incident, dozens of security vehicles, firefighters and ambulance personnel formed a security barrier around the town as police forces tried to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the village. Security forces attempted to intervene to bring peace between the town's Muslim and Coptic leaders, and financially compensating Ezzat's family was being suggested as a possible resolution to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, six people were injured and 15 others were detained by police in the wake of similar confrontations between Muslims and Copts in the Bani Swaif village of Ezbet Gerges on Friday.

Another case of intra-religious violence in "moderate" Egypt. What about some "dialogue" from the Alliance of Civilizations?

DISCLAIMER: I don't like what the Christian guy did (stabbing someone to death, although there is not much to judge on the case: self defense? abusive prices?...). But why on earth all the community has to pay because one of them stabbed other guy?.

Philippines: JI behind bombing outside Cathedral?

This is an update on this story: Philippines probes foreign angle in church blast - Yahoo! Singapore News

Major Randolph Cabangbang said investigators were probing whether Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the group behind the Bali bombings, may have been involved in the blast outside the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic cathedral.

He told reporters a number of JI militants are "here in the country."

Known members of the group Dulmatin, Umar Patek, and Zulkifli bin Hir are thought to be operating in the southern Philippines, he said, but added that there was no proof as yet they were involved.

If they didn't have enough with the MILF now they have also terrorists belonging to JI. This is not the first time a Cathedral is bombed in the Philippines and JI the main suspect. Last year, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral from Zamboanga was also bombed, with no casualties though:

Police have been placed on the highest level of security following the dawn explosions in Zamboanga city, regional police Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal said. Government troops and police had already tightened security in the town for a weeklong national sports festival and a medical conference, he said.

Zamboanga, about 860 kilometers (530 miles) south of Manila, is home to U.S. troops providing counterterrorism training to Filipino soldiers. The military says the region is home to more than 300 armed members of the al-Qada-linked Abu Sayyaf (aka JI) terror group.

Tags Technorati: Philippines, MILF, JI, Jemaah Islamiyah, Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Cathedral, Dulmatin,

Indian Police: Pakistan terror group attacked village?

Hindu.net:

The possibility of Pakistan-based terror groups being behind a 'rocket' attack on Saturday night near an Indian village is not being ruled out by Indian security officials.
The Border Security Force (BSF), India's para-military force that guards the 553-km fenced border between India and Pakistan in Punjab, is today investigating two blasts that occurred near Dande village Saturday night. BSF officials said one shell landed on the Indian side of the border in paddy fields of Dande village near the Attari-Wagah land border joint check post, 30 km from Amritsar city.

Meanwhile videos of the attacks from last year in Mumbay have been posted in Youtube:

Pakistan: British branch of HuT prepares coup

to create Caliphate:

Followers of the fundamentalist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir have called for a “bloodless military coup” in Islamabad and the creation of a caliphate in which strict Islamic laws would be rigorously enforced, The Sunday Times reported.

The group is believed to have been set up in Pakistan in the early 1990s by Imtiaz Malik, a British-born Pakistani who may still be secretly operating as its leader in the country.

Members of the group, which is banned in Pakistan and calls itself the Liberation party in Britain, said last week that it planned to make Pakistan a base to spread Islamic rule across the world.

“Pakistan was neglected and ignored until it had a nuclear bomb and then the global leaders realised it would be a good strategic base for the caliphate,” said Maajid Nawaz, one of the organisation's pioneers in Pakistan, who has since renounced the group.

Liberation Party to enter in the Islamic Caliphate and Sharia Law. What a liberation...

Spain: Summer course about Islam in Zaragoza

Europa Press:

A summer course in Zaragoza's University in the city of Jaca (Huesca) will have as main subject Islam's situation in the present time, from a social, juridical and political point of view. One of the teachers who has organised the event, Zoila Combalía, explained in some statements to Europa Press that the main objective of this course is to "make the people understand which are the main questions regarding Islam's presence in Spain to "give solutions". "We also want to give  correct image of Islam, because nowadays people have a lot of topics, but no real knowledge of it", she continued. The main problems have to do with polygamy, disowing, Islamic dowry, inheritances and relationships between parents and sons.

(...) Other conflictive questions are women's rights, freedom of expression and religious freedom. SHe added that "we have to know very well the Islamic concept of Human Rights to be able to open a dialogue".

Jihadi terror and its diference with Islam will be another of the subjects of this course.

Chechenya: police blocks terrorists believed to have killed 9 policemen

Police block militants in special operation in southern Russia | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

Police in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia have blocked up to 20 militants believed to be behind Saturday's attack that killed nine and wounded ten Chechen police, the republican security council said on Sunday.

"About 22 hours [18:00 GMT] on Saturday, police of the Ingush and Chechen interior ministries blocked up to 20 militants in the village of Datykh during a special operation. Artillery and mortar fire was opened on them at night and search measures were launched in that area on Sunday morning," said Alexei Vorobyov, secretary of the Ingush Security Council.

Even after Putin's policy of appeasement (i.e. support for Kadirov), the situation in North Caucasus continues to be very worrying.

Tags Technorati: Russia, Putin, Chechenya, terrorism, Ingushetia, North Caucasus.

UK: Islamic courts' decisions "advise illegal actions, transgress HR standards"

Islamic Courts in UK “Seriously Out of Step” | Radical Islam.org

Dozens of Islamic courts operating in the United Kingdom are “seriously out of step with trends in Western legislation,” according to a report published by London think tank Civitas on Monday.

Denis MacEoin, author of the Civitas report “Shari’a Law or One Law For All?” wrote that Shari’a rulings contained great potential for controversy and could involve acts contrary to UK legal norms and human rights legislation.

“Among the rulings, we find some that advise illegal actions and others that transgress human rights standards as applied by British courts,” MacEoin wrote.

It also mentions British Government will co-sponsor two events late this year, which will promote "Islamic banking" (aka Sharia banking).

Meleagrou-Hitchens said that in October the government's UK Trade and Investment Organization is co-sponsoring the Islamic Finance and Trade Conference with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

The MCB has strong connections with the Jamaat e-Islami, an Islamist political party which created the first detailed argument for the creation of an alternative, Islamist financial system. The government recently distanced itself from the MCB because Daud Abdullah, MCB's deputy-secretary general, put his name to a statement supporting violent jihad in Israel. The statement also explicitly rejects all peace initiatives in the region and makes indirect threats to British naval vessels involved in stopping the smuggling of weapons to Hamas.

He also said that the Scottish government is co-sponsoring 'Etisal 2009: Scottish-Islamic Investment Expo' with the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF), also in October. The chief executive of the SIF is Osama Saeed, who has written that he would welcome the return of an Islamic Caliphate and refers to Hamas suicide bombings as martyrdom operations.

What peaceful guys! Just underlining: these guys' organizations are receiving money from the State...

Zip has some photos from the inside of a British Sharia Court.

Tags Technorati: Islamism, Uk, Sharia Courts, Sharia Law, Denis MacEoin, Civitas, Shari'a Law or One Law for All?, OIC, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Muslim Council of Britain, Jamaat e-Islami, Daud Abdullah, Jihad, Israel, Hamas, Scottish Islamic Foundation, Osama Saeed, Islamic Caliphate

Greece: Leftist extremists blamed for attacks on Judge, immigration organisation, tax office

Top Greek judge's car, tax office hit in bomb attacks < German news | Expatica Germany

An immigration organisation was targeted in a separate arson attack also blamed on leftist extremists, who have stepped up their strikes on government and business targets since the police killing of a teenager in December.

A Greek tax office was hit by a bomb blast Friday one day after a judge's car was blown up in a series of attacks in Athens blamed on far-left militants, police said.

At least they begin considering far-leftists not as peaceful demonstrators, even when they burned shops and attacked other pedestrians.

Tags Technorati: Greece, violence, far-left

GITMO: Spain probably will shelter 4 Tunisians and a Yemeni

Spanish Ministry of Interior want to be sure that they are not dangerous, before allowing the transportation of these three ex-GITMO. If it's doubtful whether they are or not dangerous, Spain will ask for a change in the sheltered ones.
Basically, the Yemeni prisoner is not dangerous. But for the most part, the Yemeni detained in GITMO are going to be transferred to Saudi Arabia, so maintaining him in Europe is going to be somewhat unusual.
The problem has to do more with the Tunisians, who were a group of 5 troopers from Al-Qaeda, who have travelled from their countries to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where they were doing auxiliary works for the terrorist network and fighting against the Anti-Taliban forces. They did not belong to AQ's hard core. "So it's probable they are now even less important for AQ's structure, as they have been isolated all those years, with no training and no knowledge of what's going on in the world", explains Parag Kanna, author of the book Second World and ex-counsellor of US Special Forces in Afghanistan. "But that doesn't mean they are not dangerous: one thing is to be an unimportant member of the organization and one another not being a hard guy inside the organization".

So everyone was shouting "shut GITMO", but then no one wants the people who were there... Interesting how hypocrites react, eh?

Tags Technorati: Afghanistan, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Al-Qaeda, GITMO, Parag Kanna, terrorism, Spain, Spanish Ministry of Interior

US: In Dearborn's Annual Islamic summit, it's not allowed to ask questions

From Astute Bloggers and Vlad Teples Blog. Really astonishing...

AOW has posted more things in IBA.

Tags Technorati: Dearborn, Islam, Islamism, violence

Sudan: UN Move on Bashir dismissed

BBC:

Mr Bashir was indicted over alleged atrocities in Darfur in March.
But on Friday an AU meeting in Libya agreed a resolution saying they would not co-operate in his arrest.
In a statement, the AU pointed out that its request to the UN Security Council to delay Mr Bashir's indictment had been ignored.
Mr Ocampo told the BBC that the AU decision was no victory for Sudan or Mr Bashir. "No-one is saying he's innocent," he said.

Solidarity between HR abusers. If it's not the African Union, is China.

Pakistan: Islamic extremism arrives in Lahore

ABC News:

The stranger approached Khan and told him, "You should cut off your hair and grow your beard if you know what's good for you."

Those who've been living in Lahore – a city of 10 million – for many years find the idea of extremism arriving on these streets baffling. But its presence is growing, and musicians, artists, and performers are among those most affected.

Zardari says that the offensive against the Taliban will only be concluded when the region is "sanitized". If that would have been said by any Western leader, the least he would have been called was "racist".

Philippines: bomb blast outside Cathedral kills at least 5 people

Islamist militants have been blamed for a bomb blast in the Philippines today which killed at least five people and wounded dozens more.
The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city, 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, as church-goers celebrated Mass.
A woman selling roast pork was killed on the spot while four others, including a soldier and three-year-old boy, died in a nearby hospital. Among the wounded were five soldiers who were passing the cathedral in an army van when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded said army spokesman Colonel Jonathan Ponce.
"This is the handiwork of the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)," Colonel Ponce told reporters, referring to the Muslim organisation which has waged a decades long battle for self rule in the southern island of Mindanao.

Times.

BBC doubts about the authors of the blast:

The military immediately blamed the attack in the town of Cotabato, Mindanao, on a militant group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The group has been fighting to establish a separate Islamic state.
One of its leaders denied any involvement in the attack, saying there was no religious conflict in the south.

Well, there is no other terrorist conflict in Philippines. Specially there are no other people (to my knowledge) who could set off a bomb in the entrance of a cathedral when the mass has finished and the people are just going out. It shows a real interest on killing believers in other religions.

AJ reports there are 45 people wounded. And that:

Nearly 600 people have been killed since then (end of talks with MILF), many of whom were civilians.
Fighting around the marshlands on central Mindanao has escalated in the last eight weeks, forcing more than 350,000 people to flee their homes and farms, pushing back any chance of resuming the peace talks.

US-Vatican: Obama will be meeting the Pope

Spero News:

Obama, in an evident "lead-up" to the meeting, met on Thursday in Washington with several Catholic journalists, answering their questions and making clear his own positions. One revealing thing that he said at that July 2 meeting: that Obama has been profoundly influenced by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, whom he came to know when he was a community organizer in a project partially funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
(...) But despite all of the possible areas in which Obama and the Pope can agree, there is at least one area where their disagreement is profound.
Abortion. Obama believes it should be kept legal; the Pope feels it is a violation of the human right to life, and so should not be legal. Obama knows he and the Pope differ on this.
He told the eight reporters that he sees "an irreducible difference... on the abortion issue... The best we can do is suggest that people of good will can be on either side, but you can't wish those differences away."

Reuters.com has more, pointing also to another difference: stem cell research.

Iran-US: Ahmadinejad wants to speak publicly with Obama

Well, Obama must be absolutely happy for Ahmadinejad wanting public, not private talks. No, seriously:

Speaking at a meeting of medical school deans, Ahmadinejad said Iran "will soon pursue a new round of diplomatic activity" amid a new position of strength for the Iranian government, the Iranian Student News Agency quotes him as saying.
"I will go to the United Nations and will invite Obama to negotiations," Ahmadinejad said, adding that such talks would be "in front of the international media, not a sit-down behind closed doors in order to talk about matters." 

See? Imagine a "sit-down behind close doors" with Ahmadinejad.

Venezuela: Chávez against MSM and private property

It's not the first time. Recently he was menacing Globovisión, because he does not like what the channel says, the latter in an important campaign against the TV station:

The government has raided the property of Guillerma Zuloaga, Globovisión's president, whom it accuses of usury and "environmental crimes". It has also fined the channel $4.2m (€3m, £2.5m) for allegedly failing to pay taxes six years ago. Such action has provoked widespread criticism that the government is harassing a powerful opponent.
Mr Chávez has made his feelings abundantly clear. "I can assure you, this network will not remain on the airwaves much longer" if it does not change its ways soon, he warned this week.

But now the General Prosecutor has had another idea: passing as a law the "MSM crimes": they pretend to punish as such, "every individual who, using false informations by any mean, would cause panic or maintain the citizenry in a state of anxiety", with 2-5 years in prison.

Of course, this is just another part of the same reality: the agression against the private property. Some days ago, they have forbidden some ads praising private property and against the law dubbed as "the Cuban Law".

Somalia: clashes between Islamists and the Government continue

Al-Jazeera:

At least 23 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Somalia in the lastest clash between government troops and armed rebels in Mogadishu, the capital, medics have said.
The clash on Saturday brings the death toll to more than 70 this week as government troops attempt to drive Somali rebels out of their bases in the capital.
"As of now, I can tell you that 23 died and more than 50 injuries were dropped at the hospital," Ali Muse, a paramedic, told the Reuters news agency.
The government and rebels who want to install an Islamic state in the east African country blame each other for instigating the violence.
"They (the government) started the new offensive and they were defeated and remain in an area of only 2km. They have suffered a major setback," Sheikh Muse Abdi Arale, a spokesman for the rebel Hizbul Islam group, told Reuters.

This is going to makes things even more complex in the area. These Somali Islamists have also threatened to attack Ethiopia, even if the latter has not really being alarmed by that, as they think this is "not a present and clear danger for Ethiopia".

In the latter days, Al-Shabaab has also beheaded two sons of a Christian leader.

Saudi Arabia: AQ terrorist arrested

Saudi security authorities arrested a member of the Al-Qaeda organization whose name was not on the list of 85 wanted persons recently announced by the Saudi Interior Ministry. The security forces faced armed resistance when they arrested the individual and believe that he had an active relationship with the terrorist organization's cadres abroad.
(...) Unofficial information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday indicates that the detainee is in his thirties and was active in recruiting Saudis, among them returnees from Guantanamo, and members of Al-Qaeda organization who are active in a neighboring country. The information also indicated that the security organs sources have been pursuing him for several months and he was monitored inside a low-income house in Al-Sadah neighborhood, Buraydah city, Al-Qasim region. Maj. Gen. Al-Turki said "the interest of the investigations requires that no information about his activities is given."

"Among them returnees from Guantanamo": interesting "marketing" sector for terrorism, eh?(But this people weren't so peaceful?)

Afghanistan: defying the warlords

Times:

For the 31 years I’ve been alive, my country has suffered from constant war. After September 11, 2001, many of us thought that — with the overthrow of the Taliban — we might finally see some light. But we’re still faced with a foreign occupation and a government filled with warlords who are just as bad as the Taliban.
Afghan women like me, who vote and run for office, have been held up as proof that we enjoy democracy and women’s rights. It’s a lie. In Afghanistan, killing a woman is like killing a bird. We remain caged, without access to justice, and still ruled by women-hating criminals.
(...) Fundamentalists preach that “a woman should be in her house or in the grave”. In most places it’s not safe for a woman to walk on the street uncovered or without a male relative. Girls are still sold into marriage and hundreds of women have burnt themselves to death to escape their miseries.
(...) All the stops had been pulled out in Kabul for a big show of democracy, with much talk of the “new Afghanistan”. It was clear to me, however, that the old Afghanistan hadn’t gone away. Some of the warlord delegates to the loya jirga were among the worst abusers of human rights that our country had ever known. And they were seated in the first row. Nor did anyone seem to mind the presence of Abdul Rab al-Rasul Sayyaf, the man who had invited Osama Bin Laden to Afghanistan and trained Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. 

Malalai Joya, 31-years-old, the youngest MP in Afghan Parliament, speaks about her life with the Islamic fundamentalists.

UK: Government worried about "forced marriages" s

BBC:

The government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) says it has received 770 calls for help this year - up 16% on 2008.
Experts say the coming month will be critical because there is growing evidence that abusive families use the school summer holidays to coerce daughters and sons to marry abroad.
The new guidance published by the FMU urges teachers to be aware of signs of a possible forced marriage because school or college is often the only place where the potential victim can speak freely.

Via Bivouac.

Honduras: Chávez stops sending oil

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said his country is suspending oil supplies to Honduras over the recent coup in the Central American country, Spain's EFE news agency said on Friday.(...)  "We have suspended shipments of oil" produced by Petrocaribe to the country, Chavez said in his television program on Thursday night.
The Venezuelan president said Petrocaribe energy supplies to Honduras had been planned for next week.
Petrocaribe is an oil alliance between Venezuela and Caribbean nations that allows certain countries to buy oil at preferential rates.
Chavez denied claims that Venezuelan energy supplies to Honduras on preferential terms had constituted "financial assistance" to Zelaya.

And now, Chávez stops sending oil because he is really concerned about democracy and civil liberties in Honduras. How impressive!

Related: Who cares about Honduras.

Northern Caucasus: 9 policemen killed, AQ operative tried to kill Kadirov

In two separate attacks in less than two days, nine policemen have been killed and other 10 wounded in an ambush in Ingushetia and an AQ operative, named Muhannad, has been accused of organising a plot to try to kill the Chechen Prez, Ramzam Kadirov.

Spain: II Islamic Congress finishes in Melilla

The II Islamic Congress organised by the Association Badr Melilla ended yesterday after three days in which a good deal of conferences have taken place in Room 400 of the Congress and Exposicions Palace, with the common motto of "knowledge through Islam". Yesterday the expert on Islamic matters, Alí Mesnaoui, who explained, in his conference "Science' basis in Islam", that this religious confession "socialised science". In fact, he informed that science, who had always been a priviledge for artistocrats and priests, transformed into something common for all people [thanks to Islam] (?). Islam reached everyone after the contact with civilizations such as Greek, Indian or Chinese ones.

From "the digital newspaper of Melilla".

Yeah, sure, Islam transformed science into something common for all people. Just because they conquered a lot and spread the knowledge of the places they conquered, it doesn't mean they actually transformed science into something common for all people.

Israel or Palestinians: which side is to blame?

According to the Globe and Mail readers, 39% consider both of them are responsible, 33% "Palestinian militants linked to Hamas" and 28% the state of Israel.

Tip BCF.

The report from AI actually accuses Israel of using children as human shields, instead of accusing Palestinians who boast normally of doing so.

The report, as with the United Nations' inquiry that is currently gathering evidence on the conflict, sought to dispel the myths and rumors that have added to already high tensions in the region, particularly the assertion that Hamas used Palestinian civilians as human shields (a claim the report said had no basis in fact). Instead, the report said Israeli soldiers effectively turned Palestinians into human shields by forcing them to stay in the homes that soldiers used as makeshift military bases.

 They must have not seen these videos:


Anyway, there is no word from AI about this:

A survey conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development among 1,200 Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, found that many felt Jerusalem should not be shared with Jews and Christians.

About the many, in fact, are 80%:

When asked to what extent they agreed with a statement made by United States President Barack Obama that Jerusalem should be “a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims,” less than 17 percent said they agree, while 20 percent said they “somewhat agree.” More than 42 percent said they disagree with the statement, while 17 percent “somewhat disagree.”

Gaza has just converted a main traffic artery into an "Arab-only" road.

So, are we insane? How on earth Israelis are going to be joyful upon the perspective of the two-State solution? Blame on both sides? Really?

NKorea fires the 7th missile

SKorea has announced it today. Danger Room asks if they are prepping 4th of July fireworks.

Fifth minaret aproved in Switzerland

From Swissinfo.

Controversial plans for a minaret in Langenthal in canton Bern have been given the go-ahead by the town authorities.

Building permission was granted for the minaret to be placed on the roof of the local Islamic centre, the authorities announced on Thursday.

For a background on the subject, look here.

Venezuela assumes control over the Bank of Venezuela

President Hugo Chavez's government assumed control of Venezuela's third-largest bank on Friday — making the state the largest player in the nation's banking system.
The purchase of the Spanish-owned Banco de Venezuela gives Chavez's socialist government control over more than one-fifth of bank deposits as he tightens his grip over the economy.

More here.

“[The Santander Group] wanted to sell the bank to a Venezuelan businessperson who asked for permission, like the law requires. But now I say no... We are going to recuperate the Bank of Venezuela for all the people, since this is a country that is recuperating its wealth in order to put it at the service of the people,” Chávez announced. 

At the service of the people: that's why he has gained control over more than one-fifth of bank deposits.

Ecclestone endorses tyrannies

The billionaire and Formula I Chief has recognised in an interview his devotion for "strong leaders" and that Hitler was good at getting things done:

apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done.
“In the end he got lost, so he wasn’t a very good dictator because either he had all these things and knew what was going on and insisted, or he just went along with it . . . so either way he wasn’t a dictator.” He also rounded on democracy, claiming that “it hasn’t done a lot of good for many countries — including this one [Britain]”.

And in a proof of his cultivated mind he stated:

Napoleon or Stalin? I didn’t know either of those guys, to be honest 

 Impressive!

Islamist radicalisation in Sweden denied

A report speaking about the growing radicalisation of youths in Sweden is considered as "not correct" by the Islamologists' stablishment. Its author, Dr. Magnus Ranstorp from the Swedish National Defence College, said about it in a panel discussion:

“I am very sad with the debate following the publication of the report. There were to much focus on the form and not the content. (...) Some said in the interviews that they had lived a freer life in their home country”.

The existence of a "thought police" and the harrassment, the obligation of wearing a veil and forced marriage in Sweden were also discussed.

Khilafah conference is back!

Now, it will be held at the Hilton Hotel.

The promotional video for this event was this one:

Hizbullah in good health

to the disgrace of the rest of the world...

According to Israeli estimates, Hizbullah today has somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 rockets of various ranges that could reach from Kiryat Shmona in the North to Dimona in the South and the sensitive nuclear reactor nearby. 
(...) The IDF was surprised by Hizbullah's possession of the Chinese-made radar-guided C-802 that hit the Hanit missile ship in the beginning of the war, killing four sailors, so the current assessment in Military Intelligence is that "whatever Iran and Syria have, Hizbullah could have." 

 Well, what a fairly perspective...

John Bolton speaks on NK

Fox News has the interview.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, you know, that's what I don't understand about China because I know you've told me before that China doesn't want -- they don't want North Korea to fall apart and have all those North Korean refugees pour into China. But the alternative is, is to let North Korea to continue what it does, build up its nuclear program, for Japan to go into a full-scale panic and do its own nuclear program. And now -- now China's got one of its -- you know, its not so friendly neighbors with nuclear weapons. And that seems to me worse than having the refugees.
BOLTON: I don't think there's any question about it. China's policy is internally contradictory. There's no way of escaping it. The refugee problem would be intense in the short term, but frankly, compared to the threat of a nuclear North Korea and the implications for China of a nuclear Japan and the other threats to its own stability, I would think there's a way to get through to their top decision makers. I think that's something the U.S. could do with vigorous diplomacy focused on China, but neither the Obama nor the Bush administrations chose to do that.

Meanwhile NK people are in a grave danger of suffering another famine, not as grave as the one in the 90's, but grave altogether.

Islamic dress needed for examining your teeth

Apparently that happened in UK. The dentist is able to continue practising, as it happened a long time ago.

The GDC concluded he sought to impose a dress code on Muslim patients between April 2005 and June 2007. Butt "discriminated" against people and "did not act in the best interests of his patients" but it said the events took place "a considerable time ago" and he had not repeated the conduct since.

Well, no sanctions even. Worrying.

Facebook humour

Sarah Palin resigns

So Palin has resigned. What will happen next? Is she giving up her political career, or on the contrary. Is she going to fight for the presidency?
What I really don't like is the answer the rest of the republican Governors have given to her resignation:

“While we regret the news announced by Governor Palin today, Alaska will continue to have a Republican governor through 2010 and we are confident the state will elect a Republican in next year’s election.

It's like heyyy, we just don't give a damm about your resignation...

Looks like that she is sick of politics, something I really understand.