[ Such a nice peaceful thing to say, being that Islam is of course the religion of peace, right? ]
[h=1]Palestinian Foreign Minister: We Will ‘Never’ Accept Israel as the Jewish State[/h] Jan. 21, 2014 8:53am Sharona Schwartz
The foreign minister for the Palestinian Authority says Palestinians will “never accept under any circumstances” the idea that Israel is a Jewish state, negating the 3,000 year Jewish connection with the Holy Land.
Foreign Minister Riad Malki, in an interview with the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat characterized the Israeli government demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as the most intractable issue facing the current round of peace talks sponsored by Secretary of State John Kerry.
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki (File Photo: United Nations)
“This is a sharply contentious issue. It would be dangerous to recognize this because this would mean our acceptance of the dissolution of our own history and ties and our historic right to Palestine,” Malki said.
“This is something that we will never accept under any circumstances. Acceptance of this would also raise fears about the fate of the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Israel. They are already second-class citizens, so how will they be affected by the Judaization of the state? This also raises questions about the [Palestinian] refugees and the right of return. So this is something that we absolutely cannot accept,” he added.
A key cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative, one accepted at face value in most diplomatic circles, is that they were present in the Holy Land before the Jews, and therefore have a greater moral right to the territory as part of a future independent state. Supporters of the Palestinian position often compare the Palestinians to “indigenous” peoples like Native Americans and call Israel a “colonizer.”
The pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon (EOZ) wrote of Malki’s interview, “Isn’t that interesting? The Palestinian position is that if there is any Jewish history in Israel, then Palestinian Arab history goes *poof*. So they must deny history in order to maintain their bogus claims!”
EOZ frequently posts documents, newspaper clippings, stamps and coins to provide historical testimony about the continuous Jewish presence in the Holy Land over millennia.
“Now, it is true – there is no particularly Palestinian Arab history to speak of before the 20th century. No one identified themselves as Palestinian, there was no particularly Palestinian cuisine or dress or culture (although some towns did have their own specific costumes and crafts.) But this answer betrays how flimsy Palestinian Arab ties to the land are (as a people),” EOZ wrote.
“Imagine if a US official said that he or she could not recognize Native Americans as being their own peoples – because to do that would be to deny American history,” EOZ added in response to the Palestinian foreign minister’s comments.
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), which monitors the official Palestinian media, also addressed the zero sum game over land ownership.
PMW wrote in a fact sheet, “Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel’s right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the PA terror campaign (the “Intifada,” 2000-2005), the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history.”
“This rewriting has two central goals: 1- Erase the Jewish nation’s 3,000 year history in the Land of Israel; 2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land,” PMW added.
Another revelation in Foreign Minister Malki’s interview hints that Kerry may also accept the narrative that the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) belongs to the Palestinians.
“What we have explicitly and clearly heard from the Americans is that the territory of the West Bank will be returned to the Palestinians, as it was before, and the Palestinians will not receive less than this,” Malki said. “We will have the entire territory of the West Bank: that is the principle. As for how it will be implemented, we have yet to study this.”
Despite the alleged American guarantee regarding the land handover, Malki remains deeply pessimistic about the outcome of the negotiations.
“I cannot say that we have achieved any progress whatsoever,” he said.
[h=1]Palestinian Foreign Minister: We Will ‘Never’ Accept Israel as the Jewish State[/h] Jan. 21, 2014 8:53am Sharona Schwartz
- 40
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- [h=3]Related:[/h]
- Israel,
- Palestinians
The foreign minister for the Palestinian Authority says Palestinians will “never accept under any circumstances” the idea that Israel is a Jewish state, negating the 3,000 year Jewish connection with the Holy Land.
Foreign Minister Riad Malki, in an interview with the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat characterized the Israeli government demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as the most intractable issue facing the current round of peace talks sponsored by Secretary of State John Kerry.
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki (File Photo: United Nations)“This is a sharply contentious issue. It would be dangerous to recognize this because this would mean our acceptance of the dissolution of our own history and ties and our historic right to Palestine,” Malki said.
“This is something that we will never accept under any circumstances. Acceptance of this would also raise fears about the fate of the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Israel. They are already second-class citizens, so how will they be affected by the Judaization of the state? This also raises questions about the [Palestinian] refugees and the right of return. So this is something that we absolutely cannot accept,” he added.
A key cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative, one accepted at face value in most diplomatic circles, is that they were present in the Holy Land before the Jews, and therefore have a greater moral right to the territory as part of a future independent state. Supporters of the Palestinian position often compare the Palestinians to “indigenous” peoples like Native Americans and call Israel a “colonizer.”
The pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon (EOZ) wrote of Malki’s interview, “Isn’t that interesting? The Palestinian position is that if there is any Jewish history in Israel, then Palestinian Arab history goes *poof*. So they must deny history in order to maintain their bogus claims!”
EOZ frequently posts documents, newspaper clippings, stamps and coins to provide historical testimony about the continuous Jewish presence in the Holy Land over millennia.
“Now, it is true – there is no particularly Palestinian Arab history to speak of before the 20th century. No one identified themselves as Palestinian, there was no particularly Palestinian cuisine or dress or culture (although some towns did have their own specific costumes and crafts.) But this answer betrays how flimsy Palestinian Arab ties to the land are (as a people),” EOZ wrote.
“Imagine if a US official said that he or she could not recognize Native Americans as being their own peoples – because to do that would be to deny American history,” EOZ added in response to the Palestinian foreign minister’s comments.
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), which monitors the official Palestinian media, also addressed the zero sum game over land ownership.
PMW wrote in a fact sheet, “Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel’s right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the PA terror campaign (the “Intifada,” 2000-2005), the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history.”
“This rewriting has two central goals: 1- Erase the Jewish nation’s 3,000 year history in the Land of Israel; 2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land,” PMW added.
Another revelation in Foreign Minister Malki’s interview hints that Kerry may also accept the narrative that the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) belongs to the Palestinians.
“What we have explicitly and clearly heard from the Americans is that the territory of the West Bank will be returned to the Palestinians, as it was before, and the Palestinians will not receive less than this,” Malki said. “We will have the entire territory of the West Bank: that is the principle. As for how it will be implemented, we have yet to study this.”
Despite the alleged American guarantee regarding the land handover, Malki remains deeply pessimistic about the outcome of the negotiations.
“I cannot say that we have achieved any progress whatsoever,” he said.
Modern day terrorism would not even exist if the world didn't hate the Jews so much that it had to twist itself into the mindset that the Palestinians had a legitimate case. By murdering people because they are Jews, after failing to steal the Jewish State and finish what hitler started, Palestinians mainstreamed terrorism. Now 'The World' still refuses to accept that this is not about land, and that Palestinians are no different from other Arabs. The World condemns Israel for its response to these atrocities, and other Muslim radicals heard these condemnations, got the message and decided mass murdering innocents was the path to political blackmail.
Meanwhile as I type Palestinians are starving to death IN SYRIA, and 'The World' doesn't give a Fuck, let alone a box of MREs. And while I'm on my soapbox, why do CNN and Reuters refer to terrorists who blow up innocent people because they are Jews, as 'militants'? But these news outlets have no problem using the word terrorist for those they think may be targeting the Olympics in Russia?
Meanwhile as I type Palestinians are starving to death IN SYRIA, and 'The World' doesn't give a Fuck, let alone a box of MREs. And while I'm on my soapbox, why do CNN and Reuters refer to terrorists who blow up innocent people because they are Jews, as 'militants'? But these news outlets have no problem using the word terrorist for those they think may be targeting the Olympics in Russia?
[h=1]Muslim woman ordered by judge to remove her veil if she wanted to give evidence[/h]
A judge told a court today that a Muslim defendant must remove her veil when she gives evidence in a witness intimidation case.
The 22-year-old woman has so far refused to show her face during the proceedings at Blackfriars Crown Court in London - but judge Peter Murphy ruled that if she wants to testify in her defence she must let jurors see her clearly.
However, he warned that the jury should not be prejudiced against her because of her Islamic clothing, saying she is 'fully entitled' to dress as she chooses.
On trial: A Muslim woman has been told she will have to lift her veil if she wants to give evidence while on trial for witness intimidation
Accused: The woman pictured arriving at Blackfriars Crown Court in central London today
- The 22-year-old from London is on trial charged with witness intimidation
- Judge says she will have to reveal her face while giving evidence
- But he warns jurors not to be prejudiced against her Islamic dress
A judge told a court today that a Muslim defendant must remove her veil when she gives evidence in a witness intimidation case.
The 22-year-old woman has so far refused to show her face during the proceedings at Blackfriars Crown Court in London - but judge Peter Murphy ruled that if she wants to testify in her defence she must let jurors see her clearly.
However, he warned that the jury should not be prejudiced against her because of her Islamic clothing, saying she is 'fully entitled' to dress as she chooses.
On trial: A Muslim woman has been told she will have to lift her veil if she wants to give evidence while on trial for witness intimidation
Accused: The woman pictured arriving at Blackfriars Crown Court in central London today
Muslim loving UK is so nice and friendly to Muslims that at the local cinema, they can see their own movies..........how sweet.
Cineworld Sheffield.
[h=1]Jai Ho (Bollywood) (15)[/h] [h=3]Release date:[/h] 24th January 2014
[h=3]Running time:[/h] 135 mins
[h=3]Synopsis:[/h] Salman Khan stars as a honest man waging war on corruption and injustice in this explosive Bollywood action-drama.
[h=3]Available screening types[/h]
Select a showtime and book to save 10% on your tickets with mycineworld
[h=3]Thursday 30th Jan[/h]
[h=3]Saturday 1st Feb[/h]
[h=3]Monday 3rd Feb[/h]
View all dates
[h=1]Waar (Pakistani) (15)[/h] [h=3]Release date:[/h] 17th January 2014
[h=3]Running time:[/h] 130 mins
[h=3]Synopsis:[/h] A retired army officer returns to save Pakistan from a massive terrorist attack in this slick, box office record-breaking action movie.
[h=3]Available screening types[/h]
Select a showtime and book to save 10% on your tickets with mycineworld
[h=3]Thursday 30th Jan[/h]
[h=3]Friday 31st Jan[/h]
[h=3]Monday 3rd Feb[/h]
[h=3]Tuesday 4th Feb[/h]
[h=3]Wednesday 5th Feb[/h]
[h=3]Thursday 6th Feb[/h]
View all dates
Cineworld Sheffield.
[h=1]Jai Ho (Bollywood) (15)[/h] [h=3]Release date:[/h] 24th January 2014
[h=3]Running time:[/h] 135 mins
[h=3]Synopsis:[/h] Salman Khan stars as a honest man waging war on corruption and injustice in this explosive Bollywood action-drama.
[h=3]Available screening types[/h]
Select a showtime and book to save 10% on your tickets with mycineworld
[h=3]Thursday 30th Jan[/h]
[h=3]Saturday 1st Feb[/h]
[h=3]Monday 3rd Feb[/h]
View all dates
[h=1]Waar (Pakistani) (15)[/h] [h=3]Release date:[/h] 17th January 2014
[h=3]Running time:[/h] 130 mins
[h=3]Synopsis:[/h] A retired army officer returns to save Pakistan from a massive terrorist attack in this slick, box office record-breaking action movie.
[h=3]Available screening types[/h]
Select a showtime and book to save 10% on your tickets with mycineworld
[h=3]Thursday 30th Jan[/h]
[h=3]Friday 31st Jan[/h]
[h=3]Monday 3rd Feb[/h]
[h=3]Tuesday 4th Feb[/h]
[h=3]Wednesday 5th Feb[/h]
[h=3]Thursday 6th Feb[/h]
View all dates
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
Davos to Detention: Why I Hate Coming Home to America
Posted: 01/28/2014 4:36 pm
It's not easy coming back home to America when your name is Ahmed.
I want to look forward to returning home from a trip abroad, but thanks to my name or as the TSA officer put it -- my "profile" -- I've come to dread it.
The last four times I've traveled abroad (to Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon and Switzerland), Homeland Security has detained me upon arrival. It's as frustrating as it is ironic, because although in Arabic my name, Ahmed, means, "blessed," each time I land at JFK airport, I can't help but feel somewhat cursed.
On Sunday night, after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos for the first time, I was detained for two hours upon arrival. In October, I was held for almost four, returning home after a 14-hour trip to Turkey where I moderated a UN conference on peace in the Middle East. For what it's worth, I breezed through security in Istanbul.
In Davos -- where I interviewed some of the world's wealthiest, most powerful and highest-profile people -- the running joke among our production team, and many of the other participants was how unusually friendly and hospitable the thousands of police officers, special forces, and security guards were. My team passed through security checkpoint after checkpoint at each of the various venues with respect and dignity.
Why then, you might be wondering, am I detained every time I set foot on U.S. soil? As it is always abstractly and bluntly explained to me: My "name" and "my profile" are simply a "match."
Like all Americans (and every human being for that matter), I want to be safe. But I can't help but question the efficacy of our national security policy, including the practice of detaining U.S. citizens because something (never specifically explained) about a name or person's identity is said to match that of someone somewhere in the world who is deemed to pose a threat to America. How close is the match? What aspects of one's "profile" are searched for a match? None of that is ever explained.
The first time it happened, I asked the Department of Homeland Security officer for specifics. But all he told me was "there is somebody out there who was involved in an incident and your profile... is a match." He would end our 10-minute conversation by discouragingly adding, "This is likely to keep happening." And It has.
Just one month later, the second time I was detained, I was returning from a four-day trip to Kuwait to see my family during Thanksgiving. I was especially excited to see my 91-year-old grandmother, whom I hadn't seen since I last visited Kuwait to both bury and celebrate the life of my 93-year-old grandfather (who is also my namesake -- as is often the case in the Arab world, I was named after him).
It is already nerve-wracking enough to head straight to JFK after work, traveling 12 hours to Kuwait, only to travel back 96 hours later and head straight back to work. But seeing her, for me, made the trip worth it. But to the DHS officer, it was "highly suspicious".
This time the whole process took 3 hours.
“Why did you fly to Kuwait and back for just 3 days?” she asked me.
I explained that other people at work had taken time off to spend Thanksgiving with their families – I had to get back for work. I also told her I was a journalist.
"So, then you should know why this is suspicious,” she answered.
She went on to ask a few other questions that a basic Google search would quickly reveal the answers to in the summaries of the first page of results.
At the end of our back-and-forth, I asked her how I might get off this weird DHS list. She said I could write to Homeland Security, they would review it, and send me a redress number. So I did that. Months later, I have still yet to hear back. This third recent time, I went to Lebanon to spend New Years with friends.
As it would turn out, in the eight days I was there, two car bombs exploded, killing nearly a dozen people including the former Ambassador to the U.S.In fact, on the day I boarded my flight back from Beirut, the U.S. had issued a travel advisory warning citizens against travel to Lebanon.
When I got to the security line this time, the so-called threat I posed was communicated as clearly as it ever had. I placed my passport into the new automated immigration machines and it spit out a document with a big X over my face. I was swiftly ushered into another customs line. The officer reluctantly highlighted my boarding pass, seemed empathetic to my story and walked me to the second clearance room where a woman in line in front of me was wearing a beautiful green Shalwar Kameez that dragged on the floor behind her.
At the door, an Egyptian-American woman greeted me, "Al Salaam Aleykum," she said. I reluctantly responded "Wa Aleykum Al Salam," though I was hardly feeling at peace. The room was filled with rows of seats and several DHS officers with colorful folders (red, yellow, green, blue) lined up in front of them with passports and travel documents. The juxtaposition of the colorful folders with the rows of mostly brown people filling the seats was suspect in itself.
"Omar Mubarak... Juan Diaz... Sayed Hussain," the officers called us one by one.
I couldn't help but feel as though JFK itself was a bit racist.
After a 14-hour trip, I wanted to stretch my legs. So I stood up, anxious to find myself back in the room, especially after having written to the DHS. "Take a seat," the officer at the door sternly said to me. I told him I wanted to stretch my legs after the long flight. He told me I wasn't allowed to stand up. You are also not allowed to use your phone or electronic equipment. I was also slightly surprised to find as many children in the room as there were cameras.
"Sir, I'm a U.S. citizen who wants to stand while being detained. Am I not allowed to stand?" I said, pointing to the Asian man and Pakistani woman standing with their toddler strapped to the man's chest. Anyway, there were only two empty seats in the room with a capacity of 60.
"Sit down!" he repeated for the sixth time, and came and confiscated my phone, which I was using to try to text my coworkers who were waiting to share a car home.
I looked around, unsure as to whether I should seek solace or serious concern in the fact that I was certainly not alone. I wondered if being asked to step aside was really making anyone of us safer. According to this piece written by Rifat Malik, whose husband also had his passport withheld for further "security checks," it's not. Like mine, "His name is similar to one on an American terrorist watch list."
As Malik points out, "in the early years post 9/11, immigration officials used to pretend these anti-terrorism checks were random." In fact in 2005, 30,000 airline passengers discovered they were mistakenly placed on federal "Terrorist" watch lists, Jim Kennedy, director of the Transportation Security Administration's redress office revealed. I was frustrated, but did not pity myself, though I found the fact that so many children were in the room with me to be pitiful.
Even if one applies the better-safe-than-sorry mentality, it doesn't justify the fact that Najila Hicks' 8-year-old son Mikey found himself on the list. That, one would imagine would be easy to correct, but as she told the New York Times,"it should not take seven years to correct the problem."
Thirteen years ago, 19 men armed with knives hijacked four airplanes and within a few hours killed almost 3,000 people. Since then, the U.S. has spent more than 7.6 trillion on the military and homeland security. The government claims that the NSA surveillance program and FBI wiretapping has thwarted terrorist attacks and helped foiled plots even as these claims have been repeatedly challenged.
The U.S. has spent trillions expanding its massive national security state. The Department of Homeland Security has morphed into a monster conglomeration of agencies that serves as a its own defense department. Whether drone wars, surveillance programs, kill lists, or prosecuting investigative journalism, our government's approach to counter-terrorism has undermined the long-standing American principle of "innocent until proven guilty." The efficacy of the new doctrine is as neglected as the need for accountability and transparency in order to preserve and grow our democracy. A thorough review of ineffective U.S. counter-terrorism and immigration policies is long overdue.
Anyone can find themselves on "the list." Children, elderly people and even the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts found himself on the list in 2004. But unlike Senator Kennedy, I couldn't enlist the help of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to help me get off it.
Just today, Alec Baldwin's 5-month-old daughter was "randomly selected." He tweeted about his own experience, adding the hashtag #travelinginUSisadisgrace
In the last five years, The Transportation Security Administration spent about $900 million for behavior detection officers to identify high-risk passengers, but, as of today, only 0.59 percent of those flagged were arrested and zero were charged with terrorism, according to the General Accountability Office.
There is, at least for me, some irony in the fact that The Department Of Homeland Security is detaining me from getting home when I land.
Having had the good fortune of growing up moving from city to city (including Cairo, Kuwait, Vienna, and Berkeley) I've always struggled to identify with the concept of home. But that's why I love living in New York. It's easy to feel at home here in the big apple, which is why that big X mark on my face is all the more demoralizing.
If there is anything I learned at the World Economic Forum, it is that there is a crisis in leadership in the world. After interviewing more than 65 global leaders, I was reminded that for better or worse, we live in a globalized world. So whether it comes to tackling youth unemployment, income inequality, or climate change -- we must work together to promote tolerance, and encourage a candid conversation that interrogates both our own polices and practices and those of other governments and corporations. We must hold each other and ourselves to account for this world we all share.
It's time we fix the bureaucracy of the DHS to ensure people who aren't threats (and if I may add are rather passionate advocates of peace and tolerance) are able to return back home without detainment and interrogation.
At the very least, I am somewhat encouraged the TSA has a program to allow me to remove my name from the watch list, but as Mikey's case proves, it is problematic to say the least. After being detained on December 1, the officer told me my name had been taken off the list. But yesterday when I found myself in the same room the officer explained that apparently "some incident happened between December 1 and today that has put you back on it".
Around the world, the threat of terrorism is as real as ever. But through my work and personal experiences and those of my friends, I'm convinced the system is broken. I know all too well, the prejudices that come with growing up Arab or Muslim in America post 9/11 and the polarization that can have on society. But if we let prejudice and racism win, we will have lost to the extremists -- both here and there.
Follow Ahmed Shihab-Eldin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ase
idiotic UK
Rebekah Dawson, 22 - whose refusal to remove the full face covering has caused controversy - is pictured here for the first time. The image can finally be revealed after she dramatically admitted witness intimidation. Her guilty plea followed a six-day trial during which a judge controversially allowed her to wear the niqab after ruling that the court should recognise 'freedom of religious expression'.
+5
Dawson claimed her religion prevented her removing the veil in the presence of men
Dawson refused to give evidence during a four-day trial with her brother Matthias, 32, after being ordered by the judge to remove her veil if she went into the witness box
She changed her plea to guilty today after a jury of six men and six women failed to reach a verdict against her and her brother
[h=3]FEMALE OFFICER HAD TO CHECK HER IDENTITY[/h] During the extraordinary case, Rebekah Dawson’s identity had to be verified by police officers throughout her trial.
She was allowed to wear the veil, which showed just her eyes, after her barrister Susan Meek argued in a pre-trial hearing last September that she had a right to do so under the European Convention on Human Rights.
It meant that a female police officer, who had been present when Dawson had her photograph taken after she was arrested last June, repeatedly had to go to a private room at Blackfriars Crown Court with the defendant – who would lift her veil to confirm her identity.
Judge Peter Murphy originally said last September that Dawson would have to remove the veil before she even entered a plea to the single charge of witness intimidation.
But he relented after Miss Meek cited human rights laws and said forcing Dawson to remove the niqab would be counter to UK’s ‘tolerant’ approach to Islamic dress.
Judge Murphy ruled Dawson could wear the veil while sitting in the dock, however he claimed it was crucial for jurors to be able to see the defendant’s face if they gave evidence at trial. He said Dawson would have to remove the veil if she took to the witness box.
But she waived that right during the trial, which meant that the jury did not see her face at all during the six-day hearing.
During his summing up, the judge told the jury to put aside any prejudices that they may have about the niqab. He said: ‘This is not a ruling about religion. It is about the ability of the court to hear a fair trial.’
Rebekah Dawson, 22 - whose refusal to remove the full face covering has caused controversy - is pictured here for the first time. The image can finally be revealed after she dramatically admitted witness intimidation. Her guilty plea followed a six-day trial during which a judge controversially allowed her to wear the niqab after ruling that the court should recognise 'freedom of religious expression'.
Dawson claimed her religion prevented her removing the veil in the presence of men
Dawson refused to give evidence during a four-day trial with her brother Matthias, 32, after being ordered by the judge to remove her veil if she went into the witness box
She changed her plea to guilty today after a jury of six men and six women failed to reach a verdict against her and her brother
[h=3]FEMALE OFFICER HAD TO CHECK HER IDENTITY[/h] During the extraordinary case, Rebekah Dawson’s identity had to be verified by police officers throughout her trial.
She was allowed to wear the veil, which showed just her eyes, after her barrister Susan Meek argued in a pre-trial hearing last September that she had a right to do so under the European Convention on Human Rights.
It meant that a female police officer, who had been present when Dawson had her photograph taken after she was arrested last June, repeatedly had to go to a private room at Blackfriars Crown Court with the defendant – who would lift her veil to confirm her identity.
Judge Peter Murphy originally said last September that Dawson would have to remove the veil before she even entered a plea to the single charge of witness intimidation.
But he relented after Miss Meek cited human rights laws and said forcing Dawson to remove the niqab would be counter to UK’s ‘tolerant’ approach to Islamic dress.
Judge Murphy ruled Dawson could wear the veil while sitting in the dock, however he claimed it was crucial for jurors to be able to see the defendant’s face if they gave evidence at trial. He said Dawson would have to remove the veil if she took to the witness box.
But she waived that right during the trial, which meant that the jury did not see her face at all during the six-day hearing.
During his summing up, the judge told the jury to put aside any prejudices that they may have about the niqab. He said: ‘This is not a ruling about religion. It is about the ability of the court to hear a fair trial.’
Page two??? Zit, you need to get one of those robo thingies Roadreeler has that alerts your cellphone when your thread is at the bottom of page one.
Berkeley prof forces students to tweet pro-Islam views
http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/06/b...dents-to-tweet-pro-islam-views/#ixzz2sezBzUn2
Berkeley prof forces students to tweet pro-Islam views
http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/06/b...dents-to-tweet-pro-islam-views/#ixzz2sezBzUn2
[h=1]Muslim leaders issue a fatwa against anyone living on MARS as there is 'no righteous reason' to be there[/h]
A Fatwa has been issued against living on Mars by clerics who say that trying to set up home there would be un-Islamic.
The fatwa – or ruling – was issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the UAE after the Mars One organisation announced that it would try and establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.
The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam.
+2
Forbidden: A Fatwa has been issued against travelling to Mars (above is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the Red Planet)
According to Khaleejtimes.com it said: ‘Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam. There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death.’
The astronauts, the committee said, would end up dying for no ‘righteous reason’ and would face the same punishment in the afterlife as someone who’d committed suicide.
The committee, led by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: ‘Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.’
The GAIAE has issued around two million Fatwas through its Official Fatwa Centre since its inception in 2008.
+2
Colony: Mars One hopes to establish a human colony on the Red Planet by 2025
The multi-billion pound Mars One mission hopes to establish a human colony on Mars in 2025.
Its website says: ‘The Mars One mission plan consists of cargo missions and unmanned preparation of a habitable settlement, followed by human landings.
‘In the coming years, a demonstration mission, communication satellites, two rovers and several cargo missions will be sent to Mars. These missions will set up the outpost where the human crew will live and work.’
Over 200,000 people, including 500 Saudis and Arabs, have applied to take part in the missions so far.
In December Mars One short-listed 1,058 people to take part in trials for the ambitious project.
Co-founder Bas Lansdorp said: ‘We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications.
'However, the challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously. We even had a couple of applicants submit their videos in the nude!’
Mars lies on average 141.6million miles from the Sun and has an average temperature of -85F (-65C). Its atmosphere is desperately thin - one per cent of Earth's pressure - and is 95 per cent carbon dioxide.
- Clerics in the UAE have deemed a colony on Mars as being un-Islamic
- They argue that trying to live there would be akin to committing suicide
- Killing oneself is strictly forbidden in Islam, according to the Quran
- The ruling came after Mars One announced a 2025 mission to Mars
- So far around 500 Saudis and Arabs have volunteered to take part in it
A Fatwa has been issued against living on Mars by clerics who say that trying to set up home there would be un-Islamic.
The fatwa – or ruling – was issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the UAE after the Mars One organisation announced that it would try and establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.
The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam.
Forbidden: A Fatwa has been issued against travelling to Mars (above is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the Red Planet)
According to Khaleejtimes.com it said: ‘Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam. There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death.’
The astronauts, the committee said, would end up dying for no ‘righteous reason’ and would face the same punishment in the afterlife as someone who’d committed suicide.
The committee, led by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: ‘Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.’
The GAIAE has issued around two million Fatwas through its Official Fatwa Centre since its inception in 2008.
Colony: Mars One hopes to establish a human colony on the Red Planet by 2025
The multi-billion pound Mars One mission hopes to establish a human colony on Mars in 2025.
Its website says: ‘The Mars One mission plan consists of cargo missions and unmanned preparation of a habitable settlement, followed by human landings.
‘In the coming years, a demonstration mission, communication satellites, two rovers and several cargo missions will be sent to Mars. These missions will set up the outpost where the human crew will live and work.’
Over 200,000 people, including 500 Saudis and Arabs, have applied to take part in the missions so far.
In December Mars One short-listed 1,058 people to take part in trials for the ambitious project.
Co-founder Bas Lansdorp said: ‘We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications.
'However, the challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously. We even had a couple of applicants submit their videos in the nude!’
Mars lies on average 141.6million miles from the Sun and has an average temperature of -85F (-65C). Its atmosphere is desperately thin - one per cent of Earth's pressure - and is 95 per cent carbon dioxide.
Subject: FW: You and Islam
Dear Senator Hansen – Young , I have read this and agree I could not have expressed my feelings any more truthfully. Doug Waters
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Dear Senator Hansen – Young , I have read this and agree I could not have expressed my feelings any more truthfully. Doug Waters
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I am thoroughly sick of this crazy nutter Hanson-Young carrying on about how Abbott has stopped these illegal immigrants coming here so I thought I would send her a message!
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Jacobsen
To: senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 5:05 PM
Subject: You and Islam
Like most normal people in the community I have trouble in establishing just what planet it is you live on!
Your strident outpouring of crap on illegal immigrants is incredibly offensive to the vast majority of Australians which is why you and your nutter mates, Milne, Bandt, Brown, Rhiannon and co, attract only 8% of the national vote, and they are the extreme looney left in our community to whom you obviously relate.
The majority of illegal immigrants come from Muslim countries from, which in case you haven't noticed, 99% of all terrorists emanate. Every muslim country in the middle east is in total turmoil, and with notably few exceptions are poor, violent, and have not been able to govern themselves for centuries. Their vile islamic religion with it's jihad and fatwah's spew forth hatred and terror across the world, and anybody who does not follow their crazy doctrine is considered an infidel and should be executed and Allah is obviously quite OK with that yet you are in the forefront in assisting more of them to come here?
Muslim immigration into civilized western societies is a huge drain on the welfare systems of those countries, siphoning off much needed funds for our own disadvantaged people. The majority of muslims in western countries are unemployed and unemployable, they create unrest, squalor and dependence on welfare.
In Denmark the muslim population is around 5% yet they account for around 75% of that country's welfare payments.
Muslims refuse to recognize the elected governments of democratic countries and have allegience only to their despicable Allah and their vile sharia law, yet they are all happy to live on the public tit in any western country they can infiltrate.
Last time I looked, the muslim community is the only ethnic group to have it's own dedicated police task force, (Sydney's middle east crime squad) to deal with the anti social criminality that is rife among all muslim ghettos in western countries.
Witness the two muslim maniacs that hacked a decorated soldier to death in the UK last year, I suppose you would let them out on probation to be rehabilitated.
And what about the subjugation of women who are treated as mere chattels by muslim men with children being dragooned into forced marriages, in many instances with men they have never met, are you OK with that?
The European migrants that came here from Europe after the second world war assimilated into Australian society and made this country what it is today, and I as a 6th generation Australian of 71 and married to a Dutch woman I greatly admire those people.
You keep harping on about discrimination and on that subject we can agree with one point of difference, there is not enough of it. The regular executions and drive by shootings in Sydney's western suburbs, the drug dealing and organized crime that necessitated a special police task force, the draining our welfare system, are all due to muslim immigrants.
And there you are with your bleeding heart all over our television screens castigating Tony Abbott for protecting Australia's sovereignty and preventing the massive drain that unemployed muslims place on our scarce welfare resources that can certainly be used for much more deserving causes.
Get this through your dumb green skull! The vast majority of Australians do not want muslim immigration into this country, and if a referendum on this issue were held tomorrow you and your scaly mates know damn well what the result would be.
So give us all a break and refrain from your pathetic outpouring in support of illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom are muslim, we could give a rat's arse, and you and your nutter associates in the greens are a disgrace to this country!
Peter Jacobsen
27/98 Thorn St Kangaroo Point
Australia 4619
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Jacobsen
To: senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 5:05 PM
Subject: You and Islam
Like most normal people in the community I have trouble in establishing just what planet it is you live on!
Your strident outpouring of crap on illegal immigrants is incredibly offensive to the vast majority of Australians which is why you and your nutter mates, Milne, Bandt, Brown, Rhiannon and co, attract only 8% of the national vote, and they are the extreme looney left in our community to whom you obviously relate.
The majority of illegal immigrants come from Muslim countries from, which in case you haven't noticed, 99% of all terrorists emanate. Every muslim country in the middle east is in total turmoil, and with notably few exceptions are poor, violent, and have not been able to govern themselves for centuries. Their vile islamic religion with it's jihad and fatwah's spew forth hatred and terror across the world, and anybody who does not follow their crazy doctrine is considered an infidel and should be executed and Allah is obviously quite OK with that yet you are in the forefront in assisting more of them to come here?
Muslim immigration into civilized western societies is a huge drain on the welfare systems of those countries, siphoning off much needed funds for our own disadvantaged people. The majority of muslims in western countries are unemployed and unemployable, they create unrest, squalor and dependence on welfare.
In Denmark the muslim population is around 5% yet they account for around 75% of that country's welfare payments.
Muslims refuse to recognize the elected governments of democratic countries and have allegience only to their despicable Allah and their vile sharia law, yet they are all happy to live on the public tit in any western country they can infiltrate.
Last time I looked, the muslim community is the only ethnic group to have it's own dedicated police task force, (Sydney's middle east crime squad) to deal with the anti social criminality that is rife among all muslim ghettos in western countries.
Witness the two muslim maniacs that hacked a decorated soldier to death in the UK last year, I suppose you would let them out on probation to be rehabilitated.
And what about the subjugation of women who are treated as mere chattels by muslim men with children being dragooned into forced marriages, in many instances with men they have never met, are you OK with that?
The European migrants that came here from Europe after the second world war assimilated into Australian society and made this country what it is today, and I as a 6th generation Australian of 71 and married to a Dutch woman I greatly admire those people.
You keep harping on about discrimination and on that subject we can agree with one point of difference, there is not enough of it. The regular executions and drive by shootings in Sydney's western suburbs, the drug dealing and organized crime that necessitated a special police task force, the draining our welfare system, are all due to muslim immigrants.
And there you are with your bleeding heart all over our television screens castigating Tony Abbott for protecting Australia's sovereignty and preventing the massive drain that unemployed muslims place on our scarce welfare resources that can certainly be used for much more deserving causes.
Get this through your dumb green skull! The vast majority of Australians do not want muslim immigration into this country, and if a referendum on this issue were held tomorrow you and your scaly mates know damn well what the result would be.
So give us all a break and refrain from your pathetic outpouring in support of illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom are muslim, we could give a rat's arse, and you and your nutter associates in the greens are a disgrace to this country!
Peter Jacobsen
27/98 Thorn St Kangaroo Point
Australia 4619
[ Nice friendly Muslims slaughter students, some burned alive. Though, they were nice and friendly to the females, telling them
" go home, get married and abandon the Western education they said is anathema to Islam" ]
[h=1]Suspected Islamist militants kill dozens of students in Nigeria[/h] Published February 25, 2014Associated Press
DAMATURU, Nigeria – Islamic militants killed 29 students in a pre-dawn attack Tuesday on a northeast Nigerian school, survivors said, setting ablaze a locked dormitory and shooting and slitting the throats of those who escaped through windows. Some were burned alive.
Soldiers guarding a checkpoint near the government school were mysteriously withdrawn hours before the attack, said the spokesman for the governor of Yobe state.
Female students were spared in the attack, said spokesman Abdullahi Bego. The attackers went to the female dormitories and told the young women to go home, get married and abandon the Western education they said is anathema to Islam, he said. He was relating to The Associated Press what survivors and community leaders told Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam when he visited the now-deserted and destroyed Federal Government College at Buni Yadi, a secondary school 45 miles south of the state capital, Damaturu.
The militants locked the door of one dormitory where male students were sleeping and then set it ablaze, slitting the throats of those who tried to clamber out of windows and gunning down those who ran away, said teacher Adamu Garba.
Some students were burned alive in the attack that began around 2 a.m., he said.
Bego said the entire complex of the relatively new school had been burned out by firebombs -- six dormitories, the administrative building, staff quarters, classrooms, a clinic and the kitchen.
The governor would be asking questions about why the school apparently was left unprotected, he said.
"The community complained to the governor that yesterday the military were withdrawn and then the attack happened," he said. A group of about eight soldiers manned the checkpoint when an AP reporter visited recently, and the nearest military base was a unit of about 30 soldiers in Buni Gari town, 1.2 miles away.
But soldiers from Damaturu did not arrive until noon, hours after the attackers had finished their work and taken off, according to community leaders who said they buried the bodies of 29 victims. Most appeared to be between 15 and 20 years old, Bego said.
Military spokesman Eli Lazarus had confirmed the attack but said he could not give an exact death toll because soldiers still were gathering corpses. He could not immediately be reached to comment on charges about the abandoned roadblock.
Nigeria's military has reported arresting several soldiers accused of aiding and passing information to extremists of the terrorist network of Boko Haram -- the nickname means "Western education is forbidden." A senator also has been accused of similar charges.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday night dismissed charges the military is losing the war to halt the 4-year-old Islamic uprising in the northeast of Africa's biggest oil producer.
He suggested he could withdraw the military from Borno state and see how long its governor, Yashim Shettima, could remain in his official residence. Shettima had flown to Abuja, the capital, last week to tell Jonathan that Boko Haram are "better motivated and better armed."
Jonathan said the Boko Haram attacks are "quite worrisome" but that he is sure "We will get over it."
Tens of thousands of Nigerians have lost family members, houses, businesses, their belongings and livelihoods to the rebellion and the fallout from a military state of emergency by soldiers accused of gross human rights violations including setting ablaze entire villages and summary executions of suspects.
Tuesday's attack is the latest in a string of deadly attacks -- more than 300 civilians killed this month alone.
Jonathan said the military has enjoyed "some successes." Entire towns and villages were under the sway of Boko Haram when Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May. The military quickly forced the insurgents out of urban areas, only to have them regroup in forests and mountain caves where it has proved difficult to flush them out.
The military said recent attacks are perpetrated by militants who escaped a sustained aerial bombardment and ground assaults on their forest hideouts along the border with Cameroon, an offensive begun after Jonathan last month fired and replaced his entire military command. On Saturday, the military announced it had closed hundreds of miles of the border with Cameroon to prevent militants using it as an escape hatch and launch pad for attacks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday condemned the "unspeakable violence and acts of terror" and said the United States is helping Nigerian authorities "to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram while protecting civilians and ensuring respect for human rights."
But survivors and local officials charge they get no protection.
"Everybody is living in fear," local government chairman Maina Ularamu told the AP after Izghe village was attacked twice in a week this month -- with militants killing 109 people and burning hundreds of thatched huts in neighboring Adamawa state.
"There is no protection. We cannot predict where and when they are going to attack. People can't sleep with their eyes closed," Ularamu said.
" go home, get married and abandon the Western education they said is anathema to Islam" ]
[h=1]Suspected Islamist militants kill dozens of students in Nigeria[/h] Published February 25, 2014Associated Press
DAMATURU, Nigeria – Islamic militants killed 29 students in a pre-dawn attack Tuesday on a northeast Nigerian school, survivors said, setting ablaze a locked dormitory and shooting and slitting the throats of those who escaped through windows. Some were burned alive.
Soldiers guarding a checkpoint near the government school were mysteriously withdrawn hours before the attack, said the spokesman for the governor of Yobe state.
Female students were spared in the attack, said spokesman Abdullahi Bego. The attackers went to the female dormitories and told the young women to go home, get married and abandon the Western education they said is anathema to Islam, he said. He was relating to The Associated Press what survivors and community leaders told Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam when he visited the now-deserted and destroyed Federal Government College at Buni Yadi, a secondary school 45 miles south of the state capital, Damaturu.
The militants locked the door of one dormitory where male students were sleeping and then set it ablaze, slitting the throats of those who tried to clamber out of windows and gunning down those who ran away, said teacher Adamu Garba.
Some students were burned alive in the attack that began around 2 a.m., he said.
Bego said the entire complex of the relatively new school had been burned out by firebombs -- six dormitories, the administrative building, staff quarters, classrooms, a clinic and the kitchen.
The governor would be asking questions about why the school apparently was left unprotected, he said.
"The community complained to the governor that yesterday the military were withdrawn and then the attack happened," he said. A group of about eight soldiers manned the checkpoint when an AP reporter visited recently, and the nearest military base was a unit of about 30 soldiers in Buni Gari town, 1.2 miles away.
But soldiers from Damaturu did not arrive until noon, hours after the attackers had finished their work and taken off, according to community leaders who said they buried the bodies of 29 victims. Most appeared to be between 15 and 20 years old, Bego said.
Military spokesman Eli Lazarus had confirmed the attack but said he could not give an exact death toll because soldiers still were gathering corpses. He could not immediately be reached to comment on charges about the abandoned roadblock.
Nigeria's military has reported arresting several soldiers accused of aiding and passing information to extremists of the terrorist network of Boko Haram -- the nickname means "Western education is forbidden." A senator also has been accused of similar charges.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday night dismissed charges the military is losing the war to halt the 4-year-old Islamic uprising in the northeast of Africa's biggest oil producer.
He suggested he could withdraw the military from Borno state and see how long its governor, Yashim Shettima, could remain in his official residence. Shettima had flown to Abuja, the capital, last week to tell Jonathan that Boko Haram are "better motivated and better armed."
Jonathan said the Boko Haram attacks are "quite worrisome" but that he is sure "We will get over it."
Tens of thousands of Nigerians have lost family members, houses, businesses, their belongings and livelihoods to the rebellion and the fallout from a military state of emergency by soldiers accused of gross human rights violations including setting ablaze entire villages and summary executions of suspects.
Tuesday's attack is the latest in a string of deadly attacks -- more than 300 civilians killed this month alone.
Jonathan said the military has enjoyed "some successes." Entire towns and villages were under the sway of Boko Haram when Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May. The military quickly forced the insurgents out of urban areas, only to have them regroup in forests and mountain caves where it has proved difficult to flush them out.
The military said recent attacks are perpetrated by militants who escaped a sustained aerial bombardment and ground assaults on their forest hideouts along the border with Cameroon, an offensive begun after Jonathan last month fired and replaced his entire military command. On Saturday, the military announced it had closed hundreds of miles of the border with Cameroon to prevent militants using it as an escape hatch and launch pad for attacks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday condemned the "unspeakable violence and acts of terror" and said the United States is helping Nigerian authorities "to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram while protecting civilians and ensuring respect for human rights."
But survivors and local officials charge they get no protection.
"Everybody is living in fear," local government chairman Maina Ularamu told the AP after Izghe village was attacked twice in a week this month -- with militants killing 109 people and burning hundreds of thatched huts in neighboring Adamawa state.
"There is no protection. We cannot predict where and when they are going to attack. People can't sleep with their eyes closed," Ularamu said.
[h=1]Former Guantanamo inmate Moazzam Begg among four arrested as homes are searched in Birmingham over Syria terror offences[/h]
Arrest: Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, 45, was one of four people held in Syria-related terrorism raids across Birmingham today
- Moazzam Begg was held at Guantanamo Bay for two years before release
- He has been campaigning for those who are 'unfairly targeted' by the war on terror in recent years and is director of Cageprisoners
- Police say Begg was arrested but add naming him 'does not imply any guilt'
- A man aged 45, a 44-year-old woman and her son, 20, were also held today
- Officers say the early morning raids were 'pre-planned and intelligence led
Arrest: Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, 45, was one of four people held in Syria-related terrorism raids across Birmingham today
