“We are only waiting for the supreme leader's green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War III … we welcome it.”By Chris Carter A Middle East terrorism expert has warned that Iran may use a terrorist group to strike the United States if it becomes threatened. “If Iran's regime is in trouble, either from the outside or even from a democratic uprising, it may order Hezbollah to attack the U.S.” said Dr. Walid Phares during a recent appearance on FOX News. This reiterates what Hezbollah themselves have said. “We have 2,000 volunteers who have registered since last year,” Hezbollah spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli told Reuters in a 2006 interview. “They have been trained and they can become fully armed. We are ready to dispatch them to every corner of the world to jeopardize Israel and America's interests. We are only waiting for the supreme leader's green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War III … we welcome it.” Read more ... Source: FSM
 Lucy MashuaBy Jamie Glazov Frontpage Interview’s guest is Ines Laufer, founder of the Task Force for Effective Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation, a network of Human-Rights-organisations and activists that is committed to measurable, broad prevention of genital mutilation (FGM) among migrant girls in the EU. Together with Lucy Mashua, a Kenyan victim of FGM, she now leads a new campaign, sponsoredgirl.com, to protect girls from this barbarity. FP: Ines Laufer, welcome back to Frontpage Interview. In our last discussion, we focused on how Germany has exposed a young girl to female genital mutilation and how Germany, and Europe in general, is not protecting young girls from this barbaric crime. Today I would like to talk to you about a new campaign you have started. Tell us about it. Read more ...Source: FPM
 Dear Free Speech Supporter, Radical Muslims are using our court system to try to silence those who expose their terrorist connections. They've done it in Europe and Canada - and now they're trying it here in America. In the case of investigative reporter Joe Kaufman, they're not giving up - even though their case is completely bogus. After two years of defending Joe, we are now facing yet another challenge. I'm writing to you as a member of the Freedom Center to ask you to help pay for Joe's defense. Seven Muslim groups claim that Joe is a threat. They convinced a court that Joe "intends to threaten to take unlawful action...cause bodily injury...or threaten Plaintiffs or their members with immediate bodily injury." On those grounds the court imposed a restraining order on him. And they sued Joe for defamation to stop him from writing about Muslims in the future and to close down his websites. Joe reports and writes for my website FrontPage Magazine and for his own websites. He has never threatened a Muslim in his life. But he has exposed facts they want to hide. The reason Joe Kaufman is being targeted by these Muslim groups is that he monitors web sites run by Muslim charitable organizations, and he has identified money trails leading from some of these groups to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. We have been defending Joe from this lawsuit since 2007 - thanks to the financial support we've received from our members. And we thought we'd won when in June the Texas Court of Appeals finally threw out the lawsuit, ruling that the case had no merit to continue. But our victory celebration didn't last long. The Islamic groups involved have petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to review the case! Why do they keep this absurd case going? For one reason: If they can defeat Joe Kaufman in court, radical Muslims will know they can stop anyone from investigating and writing about any Muslim groups and individuals. This is a case of national importance. Radical Muslims are watching it carefully. They have seemingly unlimited funds to keep fighting as long as they have a hope. We need to keep fighting back. We cannot let these groups succeed. This is why I am urgently asking you to help the Freedom Center pay for the legal bills incurred in Joe's defense and to cover this latest development. Joe Kaufman has no money to spend on his defense. He has made a career of investigative journalism focusing on terrorism - something the mainstream media doesn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole, and therefore not a high-paying profession. He needs our help. A victory by the Islamist groups would be the first step in silencing all of us. This is a free speech issue and nothing more: Joe has not lied about, threatened, or touched any of the Muslims who are suing him, or any other Muslims for that matter. He simply reported the truth, and for that these groups are doing their best to silence him - and to intimidate the rest of us. The lawsuit against Joe Kaufman is part of a strategy by these radical Muslim groups to bully us into silence. That's why we cannot let them win. I am asking you to make a contribution of $25, $50, $100 or even more if you can, to help us raise the $25,000 we need right away to pay for Joe Kaufman's defense. Any amount you can send will help. Just click here to give. It's urgent! Thanks in advance for your help. Sincerely, David Horowitz President & Founder P.S. Our lawyers believe we have a strong case, but the outcome of this case is by no means predictable. Too many judges have shown themselves to care more about not offending Muslims than about free speech. We must raise the money to fight this case to the end! Please help us fight back. Source: David Horowitz FREEDOM CENTERJoe Kaufman
Latest recipient of The MASH Award
 Three Jordanian men were charged on Tuesday with premeditated murder after allegedly stabbing to death their divorced sister as well as burning her body and house over her "bad reputation," police said.
"The three brothers all under 30, agreed to kill their 40-year-old sister on Sunday because she allegedly had a bad reputation," in Abu Alanda, in southeast Amman, a police spokesman told AFP.
"She was stabbed 15 times.
One of the three told police that the mother of five had a love affair with a man and that he found pictures of the woman sitting with her alleged lover."
The spokesperson said the suspects "burned the victim's body and set ablaze her house to cover the crime."
"They were arrested at hospital after being treated for burns. They confessed to the murder," he added.
Murder is punishable by the death penalty in Jordan but in the case of so-called "honour killings" a court usually commutes or reduces sentences, particularly if the victim's family urges leniency.
The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Jordan earlier this month to reform its penal code, which it says condones the murder of women as "honour crimes."
In the past, parliament has refused to institute harsher penalties.
Around 15-20 women are murdered each year in Jordan in the name of honour, despite government efforts to fight such crimes. So far this year, there have been 16 reported. 
 By LYDIA POLGREEN and SOUAD MEKHENNET KARACHI, Pakistan — Ten months after the devastating attacks in Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants, the group behind the assault remains largely intact and determined to strike India again, according to current and former members of the group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and intelligence officials. Despite pledges from Pakistan to dismantle militant groups operating on its soil, and the arrest of a handful of operatives, Lashkar has persisted, even flourished, since 10 recruits killed 163 people in a rampage through Mumbai, India’s financial capital, last November. Indian and Pakistani dossiers on the Mumbai investigations, copies of which were obtained by The New York Times, offer a detailed picture of the operations of a Lashkar network that spans Pakistan.
It included four houses and two training camps here in this sprawling southern port city that were used to prepare the attacks. Among the organizers, the Pakistani document says, was Hammad Amin Sadiq, a homeopathic pharmacist, who arranged bank accounts and secured supplies. He and six others begin their formal trial on Saturday in Pakistan, though Indian authorities say the prosecution stops well short of top Lashkar leaders. Indeed, Lashkar’s broader network endures, and can be mobilized quickly for elaborate attacks with relatively few resources, according to a dozen current and former Lashkar militants and intelligence officials from the United States, Europe, India and Pakistan. In interviews with The Times, they presented a troubling portrait of Lashkar’s capabilities, its popularity in Pakistan and the support it has received from former officials of Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment. Pakistan’s chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, helped create Lashkar two decades ago to challenge Indian control in Kashmir, the disputed territory that lies at the heart of the conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Read more here,,,, Source: NYT H/T: GH
 Seyran Ates Have we forgotten to protect women in our bid to accommodate practices carried out in the name of Islam? Worldwide, women and children are among those most affected by human rights abuses; women and children make up the majority of victims of domestic violence; it is mainly women and girls who are deprived of an education, or even denied an appropriate position in the labour market despite a good education; political opportunities for women are still minimal, despite active and passive suffrage. This is the case regardless of culture or religion. In this sense, achieving gender equality is one of the greatest political challenges of our century. This standardised picture requires one qualification. Without wishing to relativise violence and human rights abuses or create a hierarchy, there are grave differences between what has already been reached in some countries and a standard that can be denoted as stable. While women and girls in western countries generally no longer, for instance, have to worry about whether or not they are allowed to work or go to school, or whether they will soon be married off to a cousin or a much older man, this is still a reality for countless women in most Islamic countries and in South America, Asia and Africa. This global perspective is necessary to understand the particular situation for many Muslim women and girls in European countries, especially those who live in parallel societies. In a plural, open and liberal society such as Germany, different cultures and religions jostle together so closely that conflicts are unavoidable and solutions supposedly hard to find. The fear of ostracising foreign cultures and religions and stoking xenophobia has led to a politically precarious situation, in which every criticism of Islamically justified misogyny can make you a racist, an enemy of Islam or even a Nazi. Such labels are thrown around with abandon. Read more here,,,, Source: The Guardian H/T:GH
 These events have been reported to World Threats. Students at Tehran University continued their protests into the night after the 3000 strong gathering that met Kamran Daneshjoo for the reopening ceremony at the university.
The students gathered in front of their dormitories and chanted “God will help us and the victory is close. Death to this deceptive administration. you nuclear dictator, go to sleep. You are tired. Seyyed Ali Pinochet (Khamenei) Iran will not be another Chile.” The students at Sanati Sahrif University are planning to protest Daneshjoo at their opening ceremonies. Taxi drivers in Tehran gathered on Saturday in Resalat Square to chant ant-regime slogans. They have been promised new taxis but have not received them. The protest lasted from 1600 to 1800. Sheikh Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the Society of the Lecturers of Qom’s Assembly of Religious Science and the Secretary of the Assembly of Experts resigned from the Assambly of Experts. (Yazdi is the reputed head of the faction that wants to expedite the return of the Hidden Imam by causing the supposedly necessary worldwide chaos.) Ali Mohammad Dastghaib, a member of the Assembly of experts from Shiraz, has written about the crimes of the current regime and the failure of the Assembly of experts to investigate these crimes. Al Arabieh (Al Arabia)TV reported, ” A close source to Ahmadinejad announced that an Especial Court for Government’s Employees is established to receive complaints against Mousavi. This court will investigate the events of uneasiness that Iran was witnessing after the announcement of the results of presidential election.” The Communications Company announced that their might be a 72 hour interruption in communications. The people believe that the communications disruptions are a government reaction to the continued unrest. That also appears top be the reason for a 48 hour disruption in Internet service as the fiber optic trunks will be down. There is a report that a member of the Iran wrestling Team has taken refuge in Germany. The team was in Denmark for the 2009 World Championships. The students at Sanati Sharif University protested Kamran Danshjoo, the Science Minister, when he arrived for the open ceremony. They chanted “cannon, tank and Basiji have no effect any more” and “you bastard get lost”. The students then marched around the campus chanting “death to this administration. Death to Russia. You bastard get lost” and “cannon tank and Basiji have no effect any more.” Check the World Threats YouTube page for films of the unrest. Source: World Threats
 TRAVELLERS on the metro in the US capital risk coming facing to face with al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, smiling and wearing an "I Love Guantanamo" T-shirt. The irreverent billboard image of America's No.1 enemy, just a short distance from the White House, is part of an activist campaign aimed at highlighting that al-Qaeda uses the US detention centre as a recruiting tool. The metro billboard is "to remind policymakers that torture is illegal, unethical and a top recruiting tool for the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network", creators from the Avaaz activist group said. Avaaz believes Guantanamo is a potent symbol for the "war on terror" torture excesses of former president George W. Bush and that al-Qaeda plays on this fact to pull in new members. Another poster presents former vice-president Dick Cheney, who has ardently defended the controversial interrogation techniques of the Bush-era, begging the question: "Could this be al-Qaeda's best recruiter?" The advertisement campaign aimed at shutting the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is being run at Farragut North metro station, one of the closest to the White House, and in the Washington Post daily newspaper. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday that the complexities of trying to re-house the 223 inmates still at Guantanamo meant it was "going to be tough" to meet Mr Obama's January 22 deadline for the camp's closure. Source: News.com.au
 Amir Taheri Mullah Muhammad Omar must be wondering what is going on in Washington. The reclusive Taliban leader, presumed to be hiding near the Pakistani city of Quetta, this month issued an end-of-Ramadan message in which he all but admitted that things aren't going well for his movement and its terrorist allies.
For the first time in eight years, he also indicated his readiness to consider negotiations as a means of ending the insurgency.
A careful reading of Omar's message shows three things. * He and his close advisers are now convinced that they can't win on the battlefield. * A growing number of Taliban allies, especially among the Pushtun tribes, are wary of endless war and anxious to reach some accommodation with whoever controls Kabul. * The mullah is prepared to abandon some of his most retrograde positions, especially with regard to the status of women, in the hope of securing a share of power in Kabul. Omar isn't alone in concluding that NATO forces can't be driven out of Afghanistan through terror and insurgency. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the ultraradical Hizb Islami (Islamic Party) is also trying to wave an olive branch. In an interview faxed to regional and international media this month, Hekmatyar echoes Mullah Omar's indirect plea for negotiations and power sharing. As the second-largest force in the insurgency after the Taliban, Hekmatyar's group has played a crucial role in spreading the fight to northern Afghanistan -- notably Kunduz, where Omar never managed to win a foothold. The third major insurgent group is led by the Haqqani brothers, who have been responsible for much of the mischief done in the southeastern provinces. They, too, appear to have concluded that their side can't win this war. Last month, the Haqqanis dispatched their womenfolk and children to Abu Dhabi , where they have extensive business interests -- a sign that they're preparing for an eventual retreat. They've also revived contacts with Saudi Arabia in the hope of joining Riyadh's efforts to promote dialogue between President Hamid Karzai's administration and the insurgents. The three insurgent groups control only 11 of the nation's 362 districts, accounting for less than 1 percent of the country's population. Most of their chief bases are in Pakistan or, in Hekmatyar's case, Iran. Yet Washington is all abuzz with the "f" word -- for what many see as looming failure in Afghanistan.
Three years ago, the "defeat industry" tried but failed to manufacture an historic defeat in Iraq. Now it's trying again in Afghanistan.
 by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu London court Tuesday evening rejected a petition by 16 Arabs who demanded that authorities arrest Defene Minister Ehud Barak for war crimes he allegedly committed during the three-week Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign in Gaza that concluded last January.
The judge ruled that the Defense Minister enjoys diplomatic immunity because he is Britain on an official visit. Earlier in the day, the court said it was postponing the hearing on the petition. Barak, chairman of the Labor party, attended a British Labor party conference on Tuesday and met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. His appearance at the conference rubbed salt in the wounds of pro-Arab supporters. "As a high contracting party to the Geneva Convention, the British government should be arresting Barak for war crimes, not treating him to dinner," said Palestine Solidarity Campaign official Becky Hunter. Acting on the advice of Israeli legal authorities, Barak decided to remain in Britain despite the petition for a decision ordering his arrests. He is to meet with Foreign Minister David Miliband on Wednesday. The petition requested that Britain take the Defense Minister into custody under a British law that gives the country's courts jurisdiction in cases of war crimes. The court case followed last week's United Nations Human Rights Commission report issued by retired South African Judge Richard Goldstone, who accused Israel of war crimes in the Cast Lead campaign. Goldstone also concluded that Hamas may be guilty of war crimes. Previous threats to arrest Israeli political leaders and military officers have been taken seriously. Senior IDF officer Doron Almog remained on a plane after landing in Britain after learning that he might be arrested for alleged crimes. Source: INN
 Nato troops will remain in Afghanistan for as long as is necessary to complete its mission, the secretary-general of the organisation has told the US president. Anders Fogh Rasmussen assured Barack Obama on Tuesday that soldiers from the military alliance will continue to support US forces in Afghanistan. "Our operation in Afghanistan is not America's responsibility or burden alone: it is and it will remain a team effort," Rasmussen said during a visit to Obama at the White House. Rasmussen said that he supported Obama's approach of "strategy first, then resources". "This alliance will stand united and we will stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish our job," he said. Obama is due to hold talks on the strategy in Afghanistan with senior US military and government officials on Tuesday and Wednesday. The US president has said that he is yet to make a decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal, the senior US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, has said that the military effort risks failure unless more troops are sent to the country as part of a revised strategy. McChrystal is expected to ask for an additional 30,000 to 40,000 troops for combat operations and training of Afghan forces. Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute's Saban Centre for Middle East Policy, told Al Jazeera that Obama is considering the current strategy in place before committing to any increase in troops. "I think what the president is doing is the mature and correct thing – to take a hard look at this. The US embarked on a new strategy earlier this year; it has been six months … [but] I think at the end of the day, the president will decide to send in more troops."
Kai Eide, the United Nations' special representative to Afghanistan, on Tuesday called for more troops to help train Afghan security forces. "Decisions concerning procurement of equipment or weapons will have to be taken soon – more international troops for training and for mentoring will be required," he said. Eide said that 2009 had been the deadliest year for Afghan civilians in the eight-year war between the US-Nato alliance and fighters loyal to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The apparent move by McChrystal to get more US troops sent to Afghanistan comes amid a dramatic rise in the number of US military deaths in the country. Support among the US public for the mission has dropped in recent weeks, while some Democrats say they are reluctant to support the sending of more soldiers. Some senior Democrats, including Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, have said that having too large a US military force in Afghanistan runs the risk of it being seen as an occupation force by Afghan civilians. Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 ON the eve of talks with the international community about its nuclear aspirations, and only hours after a "provocative" missile test, Iran has issued a warning to Israel that it would face destruction if it attacked the Islamist nation. "If this (an Israeli attack) happens, which, of course, we do not foresee, its ultimate result would be to expedite the last breath of the Zionist regime," Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on state television. His comments came after Western leaders called a second day of rocket launches by Iran a "reprehensible" distraction from talks this week that will determine whether Tehran is ready to negotiate over its nuclear program, or face biting new sanctions. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the missile tests "provocative". He added: "This is an important day and an important week for Iran." Mr Gibbs demanded unfettered access to a new nuclear facility that Iran admitted to last week. Meanwhile, in the lead-up to tomorrow's talks in Geneva, the administration of US President Barack Obama and its Western allies were working up new ways to impose sanctions on Iran if it does not comply with demands to come clean about its nuclear program. American officials said the US would expand its own penalties against Iranian companies and press for greater international sanctions against foreign firms, largely European, that do business in the country unless Iran can prove that its nuclear activities are not aimed at developing an atomic weapon. Among the ideas being considered were asset freezes and travel bans. The proposed sanctions would largely focus on investment in Iran's energy infrastructure and development, the officials said. But some economic giants are less enthusiastic about sanctions. China and Russia are still seen as only half-hearted partners in any effort to push penalties through the UN Security Council. And France and Germany are skittish about targeting Iran's oil imports. European officials stressed yesterday that they were likely to seriously consider new sanctions on Tehran only at year-end, citing a December deadline - replacing Mr Obama's September deadline - that has been set to see whether diplomacy with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad works. While Iran is a major oil exporter, its lack of refining capacity requires it to import about 40 per cent of its petrol and other petroleum-based fuels. A total embargo on Iranian oil - which Israeli officials have suggested - seems unlikely. US law already forbids American firms from buying Iranian oil, but Europe, Japan and China are big customers. Source: The Australian
Young girl kills militant in Jammu and Kashmir (Lead)
September 28th, 2009 - 8:54 pm ICT by IANS - Jammu, Sep 28 (IANS) In what may be the first ever such act of resistance against militants in Jammu and Kashmir, a young woman in Rajouri district killed one militant and injured and drove away two others who had barged into her house and tried to abduct her, police said Monday.Rukhsana, who gave up her studies two years ago after failing class tenth, was in her house in Shadhara village in Thana Mandi area of the district, about 190 km north-east of Jammu, when three militants barged in late Sunday night, police in Rajouri said. The militants demanded Rukhsana be handed over to them, which her father Noor Hussain, mother Rashida and brother Ejaz tried to resist. At this, the militants started hitting the family members with rifle butts. This angered Rukhsana and she picked up an axe and hit one of the militants, killing him. He was later identified as Abu Osama of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). A violent scuffle ensued, in which another militant was injured and he and the third soon fled. Police officials have commended Rukhsana’s courage, while state Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda has sent a special message for Rukhsana and said she would soon be rewarded. “We have also provided police protection to the family,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajouri-Poonch range S.D.S. Jamwal told reporters. Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/young-girl-kills-militant-in-jammu-and-kashmir-lead_100253419.html
H/T: PosteDeVeille.ca
by Grace Four years ago on September 30, 2005, Jyllands-Posten published twelve drawings of Islam’s prophet Muhammed. To demonstrate that prohibition of any depiction of the prophet, as stipulated by sharia law would not trump Denmark’s freedom of the press, twelve cartoonists had their entries published. Here they are: 
Muslims around the world rioted in response. At least one hundred deaths were reported. The Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran were torched. European buildings were stormed and the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and German flags were desecrated in Gaza City.
Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas issued death threats. Critics of the cartoons described them as Islamophobic and racist, arguing they were blasphemous to Muslims and a manifestation of western imperialism. In 2008, slightly after two years of the initial publication, the cartoons were re-published. More riots ensued, complete with shouts of ” death to the cartoonist!”. Meanwhile, thousands of illustrations of Muhammed have appeared in books by and for Muslims. 
Persian or central Asian illustration showing Muhammed teaching.
| | | | Fourteenth-century Persian miniature
showing the Angel Gabriel speaking
to Muhammed.
| Muhammed at Medina, from an
Arab or central Asian medieval-era
manuscript. | The Prophet Muhammed in a Mosque. Turkish, 16th Century, painting on paper. The artist depicted Muhammed in very long sleeves so as to avoid showing his hands, though his neck and hints of his features are visible. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Newly born Muhammad in his mother’s arms being shown to his grandfather and citizens of Mecca. From Turkish book painting (date unknown). University of California, San Diego.
James Cohen, vice president of the Canadian desk, IFPS writes thoughtfully and succinctly on the declaration of September 30 as International Free Press Day: “To further advance the cause of freedom of the press, the International Free Press Society takes the occasion of this first International Free Press Day to salute Kurt Westergaard, and to call, once again, for the repeal all blasphemy and hate speech laws that currently inhibit and restrict vital exchange and debate”. Source: Vlad Tepes H/T: Gramfan
 By Adam Gartrell The video, recorded less than three weeks before the attacks that killed seven, including three Australians, was recovered from a laptop seized in the police raid that killed terrorist mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top earlier this month.
The video, believed to be shot by Noordin henchman Saifuddin Jaelani, shows suicide bombers Nana Ikhwan Maulana and Dani Dwi Permana picnicking in a park across the road from the the Ritz-Carlton.
"This is our target," Nana tells the camera.
"Destroy America, destroy Australia, destroy Indonesia," Jaelani says.
Dani, just 18 years old, says: "This is not suicide. This is what our enemies fear.
"It is an obligation for all. Those who do not execute this obligation are sinners."
Police believe Jaelani, who is still on the run, recruited Nana and Dani for the attacks.
There is speculation he may replace Noordin as head of Noordin's hardline Jemaah Islamiah splinter group.
Other videos taken from the laptop show the Nana and Dani exercising in the park and surveying their target.
Police also seized a letter, allegedly written by Jaelani to his family in July, in which he accuses America and Australia of "slaughtering our brothers".
Jaelani also claims in the letter that Noordin's group is extremely well organised.
"There are those who manage the funds, there are those who recruit, there are ulema who are giving fatwas (holy decree) and directions.
"There are those who guard the mujahid (holy warrior) families, there are those who source cars, source explosives, source weapons.
There are also political minds, filmmakers and couriers, he wrote.
"And there are those who become volunteers for matrydom."
Indonesian police detective Tito Karnavian said the laptop also contained evidence that Noordin's group had re-established links with Middle East terrorist groups like al-Qaeda.
It also revealed how Noordin's group wanted to target the Indonesian government because of its efforts to promote democracy, Karnavian said.
 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, (AP) – A Muslim woman sentenced to caning for drinking beer wants to get the punishment over with now that it has been confirmed by an Islamic appeals court judge, her father said Tuesday. If the punishment is carried out, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, would become the first Muslim woman to be caned in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the 28 million people are Muslims. The case has ignited a debate in this moderate Muslim-majority country whether conservative Islamists, who advocate harsh punishments, are gaining influence over the justice system and whether Islamic laws should intrude into people's private lives. According to local media reports Monday, chief Judge Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman of Pahang state's Shariah courts decided to uphold the sentence passed by the state high court on Kartika after a one-month review of the case. No date was immediately set for the caning. Kartika's father, Shukarno Abdul Muttlib, 60, told The Associated Press that while the family had yet to be informed of the judge's latest decision, his daughter "accepts the punishment" and would like it to be carried out sooner rather than later. "We obey the law," he said, adding that "it's a challenge ... (but) it's the way of my life." Pahang court and religious department officials declined to talk about the case Tuesday. Others could not immediately be reached. Kartika, a former model and nurse, was sentenced in July to six strokes of the cane and a fine of 5,000 ringgit ($1,400) for drinking beer in December 2007 at a beach resort in violation of Islamic laws. Islam prohibits Muslims from drinking alcohol. Kartika, who pleaded guilty, refused to appeal her sentence and was on the verge of being caned on Aug. 24. But the punishment was halted at the last minute following an uproar in the media and among rights activists. Instead, the government asked the Shariah High Court Appeals Panel in Kuantan, the capital of Pahang, to review the verdict. Judge Abdul Hamid, who headed the panel, ruled that the sentence was correct and should go forward. The caning would be done with a thin stick on the back and would be largely symbolic rather than aimed at causing pain, unlike the caning of rapists and drug smugglers with a thick rattan stick on bare buttocks that causes the skin to break and leave scars. Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop said the prisons department has trained personnel who can carry out the caning in accordance with Islamic rules. The date and time for the whipping will have to be decided by the court first, he said. Malaysia follows a dual-track justice system. Shariah laws apply to Muslims in all personal matters. Non-Muslims — Chinese, Indians, Sikhs and other minorities — are covered by civil laws, and are free to drink. Only three states in Malaysia — Pahang, Perlis and Kelantan — impose caning for drinking alcohol. In the other 10 states it is punishable by a fine. Source: Asharq Alawsat
 Lawmakers and scholars are demanding death penalty for anyone trying to import Chinese-made contraption into country
Egyptian lawmakers and scholars are furious over an attempt to import a device allowing women to fake virginity, and are demanding death penalty for anyone trying to bring such a device into the country, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported Monday. Professor Abdul Mouti Bayoumi of the al-Azhar University said supplying the item was akin to spreading vice in society, a crime punishable by death in Islamic Sharia law. According to the report, the device is said to release liquid imitating blood, allowing a female to fake virginity on her wedding night.
In some conservative Arab societies, the BBC says, there is a stigma about pre-marital sex. The contraption is seen as a cheap and simple alternative to hymen repair surgery, which is carried out in secret by some clinics in the Middle East, the report adds. The device is produced in China and has already become available in other parts of the Arab world. It is reported to be on sale in Syria for $15. According to Prof. Bayoumi, it undermines the moral deterrent of fornication, which he described as a crime and one of the cardinal sins in Islam. The BBC says members of parliament in Egypt have also called for banning import of the item. Source: YNet
 AP: 3 New Yorkers Linked to Zazi Investigators believe they know possible accomplices of Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi, who is accused of plotting a terrorist attack against New York City, according to an Associated Press report, which cites a law enforcement source. A federal indictment mentions at least three people helping Zazi buy peroxide and acetone in suburban Denver from beauty supply stores. According to security experts, those chemicals can be used to make explosives. Federal agents and NYPD detectives working the case know the identities of three New Yorkers they believe are involved in some way, the AP reports. Authorities arrested Zazi and his father in Denver last week. His father was released on bail. Zazi was transported to New York to face a federal judge in connection with an alleged plot to set off explosives on commuter trains to coincide with the Sept. 11 anniversary. He has denied any involvement in terrorism. The Joint Terrorism Task Force also arrested an imam from Queens for allegedly lying to investigators. Last Thursday, a federal magistrate freed Ahmad Afzali on $1.5 million bail. "This is my land, this is my country, I love this place," Afzali said Thursday after his release. He has been an NYPD informant.
"Zazi used to come to the mosque, then he would disappear from the mosque and the last time I saw him was many years ago," he said. Source: Fox
 By: Michael van der Galien If this report is correct, calling it an interesting development would be the understatement of the century: INTELLIGENCE chief Sir John Scarlett has been told that Saudi Arabia is ready to allow Israel to bomb Iran’s new nuclear site. The head of MI6 discussed the issue in London with Mossad chief Meir Dagan and Saudi officials after British intelligence officers helped to uncover the plant, in the side of a mountain near the ancient city of Qom. The site is seen as a major threat by Tel Aviv and Riyadh.
Details of the talks emerged after John Bolton, America’s former UN ambassador, told a meeting of intelligence analysts that “Riyadh certainly approves” of Israel’s use of Saudi airspace. Perceptive readers have undoubtedly noticed I called the report “important” but not “shocking.” The reason? It’s not. Although Saudi Arabia pretends Israel to be its main enemy for domestic purposes, the royal family knows full well that the real danger for its rule comes from Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia are archenemies. Iran is ruled by Shiite extremists, Saudi Arabia by Sunni extremists. They consider each other ‘traitors.’ Both want to replace each others ideology – Saudi Arabia wants to spread its Wahabbi extremism, Iran its Shiite extremism through the region and eventually the world. They basically have the same radical agenda and consider themselves to be the only ‘real muslims’ in the world. It isn’t exactly surprising therefore that the Saudis want Israel to do its dirty work. It can give quiet, secret permission for an Israeli strike yet publicly condemn Jerusalem for its “aggression.” It’s a game the Saudis have played for years, if not decades. The West and Israel are wise to get Sunni countries that support / tolerate strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities to voice their support in public. If they do not, the latter will continue to do what they have done for years now, thereby radicalizing their peoples and turning them even more against the West than they already are. Source: PoliGazette
 Stratfor has an interesting dual analysis of the administration's foreign policy at a crossroads vis-a-vis both Iran and Afghanistan. It's worth reading in its entirety; here are some excerpts: Obama has three choices in this regard [i.e., to respond to the revelation of Iran's secret nuclear facility]. First, he can impose crippling sanctions against Iran. But that is possible only if the Russians cooperate. Moscow has the rolling stock and reserves to supply all of Iran's fuel needs if it so chooses, and Beijing can also remedy any Iranian fuel shortages. Both Russia and China have said they don't want sanctions; without them on board, sanctions are meaningless. Second, Obama can take military action against Iran, something easier politically and diplomatically for the United States to do itself rather than rely on Israel. By itself, Israel cannot achieve air superiority, suppress air defenses, attack the necessary number of sites and attempt to neutralize Iranian mine-laying and anti-ship capability all along the Persian Gulf.
Moreover, if Israel struck on its own and Iran responded by mining the Strait of Hormuz, the United States would be drawn into at least a naval war with Iran -- and probably would have to complete the Israeli airstrikes, too. And third, Obama could choose to do nothing (or engage in sanctions that would be the equivalent of doing nothing). Washington could see future Iranian nuclear weapons as an acceptable risk. But the Israelis don't, meaning they would likely trigger the second scenario. It is possible that the United States could try to compel Israel not to strike -- though it's not clear whether Israel would comply -- something that would leave Obama publicly accepting Iran's nuclear program. And this, of course, would jeopardize Obama's credibility. Read more here,,,, Source: Power Line
 by Valentina ColomboResearch Fellow, IMT Lucca Last September 15th Sanaa Dafani, an 18 year old girl of Moroccan origin, was killed by her father because she loved a 31 years old Italian.
The father was immediately arrested while the mother tried to find a reason for his act: “My husband loved Sanaa. Maybe she was wrong. I could forgive my husband. Yes, I could. He is my husband, my sons’ father. Sanaa dressed and ate in a proper way, but he did not want her to go out in the evening with bad boys or friends. My husband loved Sanaa. Maybe she was wrong. He always sent her messages: come back home. He wanted her beside him.” Almost the same words were pronounced by Hina Saleem’s mother three years ago. On August 11th 2006 Hina, a 21 year old girl of Pakistani origin, was slain by her father because she wanted to live like a Westerner and had decided to go and live with a non-Muslim man. On April 7th 2007, Du’a al-Aswad, a 17 year old Kurdish girl of Yazidi faith, was stoned by a raging crowd in Iraq because apparently she had offended her family’s honor.
In Turkey, almost 200 honor killings are committed every year, in Syria, between 200 and 300. In Pakistan there are between 800 and 1000 honor killings every year. These numbers are sad and worrisome. The problem of honor killings is known;
 The United States wants Iran to provide international inspectors with full access to a newly disclosed underground uranium enrichment plant that Obama administration officials say is both illegal and probably intended for developing weapons. However, an Iranian official called U.S. accusations about the planned facility -- which Iran disclosed to the International Atomic Energy Agency last week -- a propaganda effort to discredit his country before crucial talks with the international community on its nuclear energy program. Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, called the new facility at the Qom site "very small" and "a back-up installation," the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported Sunday. Salehi repeated earlier assertions that Iran complied with all international regulations in reporting the existence of the planned site, according to the IRNA report. Two U.S. administration officials told CNN on Sunday that the United States plans to tell Iran this week it must provide "unfettered access" to the Qom site, the people involved in its construction and the timeline of its construction "within weeks." The latest dispute comes ahead of planned talks Thursday involving Iran and the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and China about international concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions. In interviews broadcast Sunday, top U.S. officials said Iran's newly revealed underground nuclear facility violates international requirements for reporting such operations, reinforcing the perception that Iran is trying to hide a weapons program. "I think that, certainly, the intelligence people have no doubt that ... this is an illicit nuclear facility, if only ... because the Iranians kept it a secret," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. "If they wanted it for peaceful nuclear purposes, there's no reason to put it so deep underground, no reason to be deceptive about it, keep it a ... secret for a protracted period of time," Gates said in the interview recorded Friday. In a separate interview on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the strongest possible sanctions if Iran can't prove a peaceful intent for the newly disclosed facility and its entire nuclear program. "It would have been disclosed if it were for peaceful purposes," said Clinton, who also was interviewed Friday. She added that Iran must do more than provide assurances at the meeting on Thursday, because past assurances proved false. "They can open up their entire system to the kind of extensive investigation that the facts call for," Clinton said. Later, she said: "The Iranians keep insisting no, no, that's for peaceful purposes. That's fine. Prove it. Don't assert it. Prove it." Clinton acknowledged that the United States knew of the previously undisclosed Iranian enrichment plant before Iran reported its existence to the IAEA. After the interview with Clinton took place on Friday, Iran announced it would allow international inspection of the plant and said it met international guidelines for disclosing such a facility. Iran also repeated its insistence that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy production. Read more here,,,, Source: CNN
 DECATUR, Ill. — The day before he was arrested Thursday on charges of plotting to blow up the federal building in Springfield, Michael C. Finton was working as a fry cook at Seals Fish & Chicken in this old factory town deep in the Illinois cornfields. Federal prosecutors say the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield. Ill., was a target of a bombing plot uncovered by F.B.I. agents posing as low-level operatives for Al Qaeda. Michael C. Finton said the bombing would be a “historic occasion,” court papers say. Tall and red-haired, Mr. Finton, 29, was known among co-workers as cheerful and polite, but unwavering when it came to religion and politics. He was especially critical of what he regarded as permissive society. “He didn’t like America very much,” said Mariam Fadel, 18, who works the counter at Seals. “He didn’t think it was strict enough. He thought we needed more rules, so that people would behave.” She recalled him talking about a troubled childhood that included running away from foster care. He also spoke of hopes to leave the United States someday, she said, and settle in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Finton went by the nickname Talib Islam (student of Islam). The authorities say he had converted to the Islamic faith while in an Illinois prison from 2001 to 2006, serving a sentence for aggravated robbery and aggravated battery. Acquaintances say he had been living in Decatur, about 40 miles east of Springfield, for perhaps three years. On a MySpace entry, Mr. Finton listed his hometown as Visalia, Calif., in the Central Valley, and claimed he attended high school in Warren, Mich. In the entry, he wrote of self-loathing before he found Islam.
“Everybody liked me, yet I hated myself,” he wrote. “People thought I was smart, and reasonably good-looking, but to me, I was a moron, and a freak.” Read more here,,,, Source: NYTimes
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