 AT least 150 bodies have been recovered from wells following Muslim-Christian clashes in central Nigeria. The estimated death toll from the clashes already stands at more than 300, a village head and volunteers say. "So far we have picked 150 bodies from the wells. But 60 more people are still missing,'' Umar Baza, head of Kuru Karama village near the city of Jos, said today. "We took an inventory of the displaced people from this village, sheltering in three camps, and we realise that 60 people can still not be accounted for,'' he added. Head of the Muslim volunteer team in the village, Mohammed Shittu, said further searches would be carried out today. "Now we have 150 bodies in all, taken from the wells as from Thursday. We are still going back there today to comb the bush around the village to search for more bodies,'' he also said. "We believe there are more bodies in the wells but the degree of their decomposition makes it difficult to continue the retrieval operation. We have therefore decided to sand-fill all the wells,'' Baza said. The state government has given no official death toll for the violence, which broke out last Sunday in Jos, capital of Plateau State and later spread to nearby towns and villages. Religious leaders and medical workers said they had counted about 300 bodies by Wednesday. Global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) today urged Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to order "an immediate criminal investigation into credible reports of a massacre of at least 150 Muslim residents of a town in central Nigeria''. HRW said in a statement received in Lagos that witnesses said groups of armed men - believed to be Christians - attacked the largely Muslim population of Kuru Karama on Tuesday morning. "After surrounding the town, they hunted down and attacked Muslim residents, some of whom had sought refuge in homes and a local mosque, killing many as they tried to flee and burning many others alive,'' the statement said. The Australian
 Sporadic violence has countinued around the central Nigerian city of Jos after four days of fighting between groups of Christians and Muslims. A 24-hour curfew was in place in the city on Wednesday but gunfire could be heard in neighbouring areas in Plateau state. "The fighting has stopped in Jos, but we can hear gunshots in other communities in the outskirts of the city," Muhammad Tanko Shittu, a senior mosque official organising mass burials, said. More than 150 citizens have died in the fighting, according to a mosque official, and streets have been left deserted and businesses closed. "We are expecting more corpses to be brought in from surrounding communities later today," Shittu said. The government said that only 20 people had been killed in the fighting, with 40 more injured, while leaders of both sides said nearly 300 people have died. Human Rights Watch (HRW), the international rights watchdog, called for the Nigerian military to show restraint as the government ordered additional soldiers onto the streets of Jos, the state capital, to keep control. "Nigeria should ensure that its security forces use restraint and comply with international standards on the use of force in responding to the latest deadly outbreak of inter-communal violence," HRW said. Charles Dokubo, from the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, told Al Jazeera: "There is more than the religious aspect of it. There are two communities - one that call themselves settlers and one that call themselves indigenous communities. "The crisis in the north started with the creation a local government." Dokubo said that Muslim settlers were to manage the government, which was unacceptable to the indigenous Christian community who consider them non-citizens. "The main cause of the crisis is about administration and the place where people belong." Dokubo said that disputes over jobs may also be contributing to tensions between the two groups, with indigenous peoples' fears that settlers in government would give jobs only to other settlers. The fighting erupted on Sunday in a Christian area due to a dispute over the building of a mosque, residents said. Jos, which is home to 500,000 people, along with other central and northern areas in Nigeria have been plagued by religious violence in recent years. In November 2008, hundreds of people were killed in Jos in two days of fighting triggered by a rumour that the mainly Muslim All Nigerian Peoples Party had lost a local election to the Christian dominated Peoples Democratic Party. Nigeria has roughly equal numbers of Christians and Muslims, although traditional animist beliefs underpin many people's faiths. More than 200 ethnic groups generally live peacefully side by side in the West African country, although one million people were killed in a civil war between 1967 and 1970 and there have been outbreaks of religious unrest since then. Al Jazeera 
 Analysis: There is a full fledged revolution going on In Iran. Either the “mainstream media” doesn’t recognize this or they are willfully ignoring it. There is no better way to end a major part of the unrest in the Middle East than to support this popular revolution in Iran. Yet we in the West choose to ignore what may be the solution to many of our biggest problems. What a waste. These events have been reported to World Threats. All events occurred in Tehran unless otherwise noted. All times are Tehran local time 24 hour clock. Shiraz 1600 - Eyewitness report: from about 1100 on Ashura a large number of people came to eh Namazi Intersection with a number of red flags with the words “Heyhat Menazela” written on them which means “we will not bow down to tyranny” in Arabic. About 300 people were standing in groups of 20 from Shahcheragh Road to Namazi Square holding pictures of those killed in the post election events. Security forces and plainclothes agents violently attacked these people and several clashes broke out. Protesters chanted “Heyhat Menazela” and “Ya Hojay Bin Hassan (referring to the last Imam of shiite Islam) uproot the tyranny”. Plainclothes agents arrested a large number of protesters. Qazvin 1730 - In a ceremony held for Ashura in Qazvin, protesters chanted “death to the dictator”. Riot police attacked them and tried to disperse them. A famous religious singer named M. Q. protested this act and shouted at the riot police through his microphone. The commander of the SSF ordered tear gas fired into the crowds. A commander of the plainclothes agents named Hassan Bashi fell into the hands of the protesters. 1820 - There were severe clashes at the Dolat Gateway and security forces beat protesters with poniards. The protesters chanted “death to Khamenei”, “idiot Khamenei death to you” and “death to the dictator”. Protesters set fire to a Land Cruiser and about 15 motorcycles on the way to the College Intersection. Security forces threw tear gas in all the alleys and side streets leading to Engelab Square. The protesters set all the trash cans in the area on fire to fight the tear gas. In the Valiasr Intersection there is a group of first aid personnel who bandage injured protesters and then arrest them and take them away. Protesters pulled out all the railings on the way from Azadi street to Yadegar Street and threw them on the streets. Security forces opened direct fire on the protesters. Crowds are huge all over Tehran. About 1600 people broke the stones on balconies and threw them at the heads of the Bassiji. the Bassiji became terrified and took cover behind the State Security Forces and the Special Guards Forces. Isfehan, 2130 - There were clashes between security forces and protesters in the Bagh Meli. The protesters were attacked with stones and knives. There is a de facto curfew in Isfehan. Babol , 1530 - About 800 people were protesting next to the Imam Zadeh building. Plainclothes arrested five or six people and the security forces dispersed the rest. Kermanshah, 1900 - At about noon one of the mourning groups for Ashura suddenly started chanting, “this is the month of blood, Yazid (referring to Khamenei) will be uprooted” and the atmosphere became volatile after that. The Internet was cut off until 1900. Tabriz, 2030 - There were clashes from about noon and there were also mourning ceremonies for Ayatollah Montazeri. About 300 people to 400 people were protesting around Valiasr Square chanting “victory is near”. World Threats
 These events have been reported to World Threats. All events occurred in Tehran unless noted otherwise. All times are Tehran local time 24 hour clock. 1340 - In Valiasr Street on the Zartosht intersection Special Guards Forces are attempting to disperse the protesters. Bassij forces threaten the protesters. the Bassij forces are very afraid. A number of Bassiji got stuck among the protesters and they ran away. When the people attack the security forces run away. 1410 - An eyewitness said that crowds are very large in western Tehran in teh area of Somayeh - Quarani street and they are chanting anti-government slogans. In other locations including near Azadi Square, the crowds are also very large. the security forces closed all of the streets leading to this square but the people resisted. The fire and smoke in Azadi Square can be seen from far away. Arak 1330 - Protesters in this city clashed with security forces. 1500 - There are still clashes under the Hafez Bridge. People from other areas are coming to the bridge. Special Guards forces and Bassiji severely beat the people but the protesters resist them. Several highways including the Chamran Highway have been shut down. Ashoura- tearing Khamenei’s picture and sayings- Dec.27, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEhCNmZZ7s Ashoura- Tehran Baharestan St. Dec.27, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqZkfm07XfI Ashoura-In Baharestan people chant against Khamenei- Dec.27, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlHXteieveQ Isfehan 1500 - A demonstration started outside the house of Ayatollah Taheri at about 1200 and is still going on. About 2000 people have gathered there. Bassij forces have shut down the streets near his home but the people are standing their ground and are chanting “death to the dictator” and Allah O Akbar”. A number of people were injured and several were arrested. Plainclothes agents are filming the faces of the protesters but the people are not leaving. 1600 - according to two eyewitnesses, security forces ran over a young man twice with their car. the forces would go back and forth in the crowds with their cars and suddenly speed over people. All events occurred in Tehran unless otherwise noted. All times are Tehran local time 24 hour clock. 1440 - There were clashes in Shamiran. Bassij forces arrested people and took them away. Motorists honked their horns and displayed the V sign. 1430- Those who were shot were taken to Sasan Hospital. Protester torched a motorcycle near Laleh Park. About 26 motorcycles were burned. 1520 - Security forces opened fire on the protesters in Azadi square and Imam Hossein Square. they threw grenades at people that contained small stones. Ambulances were constantly going and coming in Imam Hossein Square. 1540 - A number of State Security Forces refused to shoot directly at protesters. According to an eyewitness in Engelab-Azadi Street the regime evacuated a number of State Security Forces and Bassij bases in Tehran to prevent the people from seizing the weapons stored there. This occurred about 1400. Reports are that teh security forces are very tired and exasperated. they were beaten by the people in many places. Eyewitness report: In Enqelab the crowds were moving towards Firdosi Square. Wherever we chanted, the crowds became more unified. The best slogan was ‘this is the month of blood, Yazid (referring to Khamenei) will be toppled’. Special Guards Forces attacked us and forced us to retreat back to the Vahdat Hall. But we booed them back. We suddenly saw Bassij forces on motorcycles on the bridge coming towards us with guns and shooting. One of the Bassij forces lost his balance when he saw the large crowds and fell from his bike. We torched his motorcycle and beat him as well. We chanted addressing the Bassij forces as ‘the leader’s puppies’. A person said that in the Valiasr Intersection protesters had taken the batons and other equipment from security forces and said that protesters outnumbered Bassij forces in that area. Suddenly, the Bassij forces on bikes went aside to open the way for Special Forces who were sitting two on a motorcycle and they charged us. While I was running away in the alleys I turned back for a second and saw that a Special Guards agent had a middle aged man on the ground. There was only one thing to do so I shouted ‘leave him alone!’ and the agent ran away. I raised my hand and made the V sign with my fingers… 1700 - the security forces have lost control of the situation. Tehran resembled a war zone today. Protester set fire to a riot police installation in College street. They also burned several cars resembling buses and several people were arrested. In Taleqani there were reports that police from the local stations opened fire on the people. The nightly mourning ceremony, Shame Ghariban, will be held in Mirdamad and Mohseni. 1730 - Security forces have shut down Ferdosi Street up to Tehran University. Amir Kabir University and Sharif University. Helicopters are patrolling in the air. The regime is afraid otf the Shame Ghariban (nightly mourning ceremony). World Threats
 The number of murders, rapes and assaults on people who dare to break strict religious or cultural rules is doubling every year, police figures show, with up to two violent “honour crimes” being committed every day. But charities which help victims of honour crimes say the true extent of the problem is far worse than the statistics show, as every year hundreds of vicitms - normally women - are too frightened to report attacks or to give evidence in court. The escalating problem was highlighted yesterday as an Old Bailey jury convicted Mehmet Goren, 49, of the cold-blooded and premeditated murder of his 15-year-old daughter Tulay after she fell in love with someone from the “wrong” branch of Islam. Miss Goren disappeared 10 years ago after telling a friend she might be pregnant but justice caught up with her father after his wife “courageously” testified against him and lifted what was described as the “cloak of secrecy” which surrounds honour crimes. A prosecutor said the case was a “wake-up call” to the authorities over the extent of the problem in this country, which campaigners say is growing because of the rise of religious fundamentalism. Miss Goren and her family had nine contacts with police in the days before her death, during which they complained of violence by Goren, but officers had little understanding at the time of the concept of honour crimes and she was left at the mercy of her father. The court heard that Miss Goren, whose Turkish Kurd family are Alevi Muslims, was drugged, tortured and then killed by her father after she fell in love with a Sunni Muslim twice her age. Her body has never been found. Goren, who adhered to what one police officer described as “outdated feudal beliefs”, was sentenced to serve a minimum of 22 years in jail as the trial judge condemned the “hideous practice” of so-called honour killings. Miss Goren’s sister Nuray Guler told the court, the teenager had been “caught in the middle of two clashing worlds” and pleaded with police to stop other women falling victim to “this primitive custom”. She expressed fears for the safety of her mother Hanim, whose evidence against Goren had put her own life in danger. “No one should fail to realise what this means within our culture,” she said. “These people do not forget.” Figures released by the Metropolitan Police show that in London alone there have been 129 honour-based crimes between April and October this year, compared with 132 in the whole of 2008/09, which in turn was double the number of the previous year. The Home Office has estimated that there are an average of 12 honour killings each year in England and Wales. More at the Telegraph
 The presidential council on Tuesday postponed Iraq's parliamentary elections by seven weeks and set March 7 as the date for the vote, Reuters reported. The delay has raised concerns about an increase in violence in the country. The decision on the election date came as a series of coordinated attacks killed at least 102 people and wounded 197 in Baghdad. It was the worst day of violence in the Iraqi capital in more than two months. Three car bombs struck near government sites in the Iraqi capital, the third time since August that government buildings were targeted by multiple blasts that brought massive casualties. U.S. and Iraqi military officials had warned of the chance of increased pre-election violence aimed at destabilizing the government. Iraq was able to set the election date only after parliament approved a new law on balloting guidelines during an emergency session convened just before a midnight deadline Sunday. Failure to pass the new law would have forced Iraqi authorities to revert to rules used in its last parliamentary election in Dec. 2005 — a move that would have likely thrown the political process into a tailspin. The council's March 7 election date is a week later than what election officials initially recommended, said Faraj al-Haidari, the head of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission. "We needed more time to organize voting abroad and time to complete preparations for the elections in general," al-Haidari said. The commission requested the Jan. 16 elections be postponed after the elections law was vetoed by Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who wanted a greater political voice for minority Sunni Arabs and changes in the distribution of seats in Iraq's expanded 325-seat parliament. On Monday, the electoral commission recommended a 45-day delay in the elections that would have pushed it to the end of February. But al-Haidari said the council decided to delay the elections a bit longer because of a series of religious holidays that could interfere with the planning. The U.S. military plans to withdraw all but 50,000 of its roughly 120,000 troops from Iraq after the elections. But the delay could complicate the timetable on that withdrawal, which American commanders have said will occur 60 days after the election. FoxNews
 The current and former United Nations experts responsible for human rights in Somalia have condemned a series of stonings in the war-torn country. Dr Shamsul Bari, an independent expert appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council to report on Somalia, expressed concern over a rise in stonings and targeted assassinations of women's rights advocates, journalists and U.N. staff in a meeting with Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. Citing the "deteriorating" human rights situation in the country, Dr Bari called on the interim Somali government to work to end the "cruel, inhuman and degrading" practices. "I strongly condemn these recent executions by stoning," Dr Bari said in a statement. The statement was released after Halima Ibrahim Abdirahman, a 29-year-old married woman, was stoned to death after she allegedly confessed to having had sex with a 20-year-old unmarried man in Eelboon, southern Somalia. The young man, who has not been identified, was sentenced to 100 lashes. That came after a 20-year-old divorced woman accused of sleeping with an older, unmarried man was put in a public square, buried up to her waist and stoned to death in front of a crowd of 200 earlier this month in the town of Wajid, Somalia. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes. Abdirahman Hussein Abbas, a 33-year-old man accused of adultery, was stoned to death earlier this month in Merka, a port town south of Mogadishu. His girlfriend is set to face the same fate after giving birth to their child. Large parts of Somalia are controlled by a group of Islamic militants loosely working together to overthrow the country's Transitional Federal Government under the banner of the 'Al Shabaab' movement. Under Al Shabaab's interpretation of Sharia, Islamic law, crimes such as theft and adultery are punishable by floggings, amputation, torture or death. Al Shabaab considers any person to have ever been married - including a divorcee - to be forbidden from having further relations. The punishment is often death by public stoning. Al Shabaab executions first made international news a year ago when Amnesty International accused the Islamist group of stoning a 13-year-old rape victim to death in the southern city of Kismayo after she was accused of adultery. Al Shabaab claimed the girl was older and had been married. Bashir Goth, a Somali analyst and the former editor of Awdal News, said Somalis are shocked by the lack of international interest in the actions of Al-Shabaab. More at All Headline News
 Giving out the wrong message. Absurd Britannia Alert: "Spared jail, the forced marriage case father who told wife: 'I'll cut out your tongue,'" by James Tozer in the Daily Mail, November 19 A muslim who threatened to kill his wife and cut out her tongue after she blocked an arranged marriage for their daughter has been banned from seeing his family. In the first prosecution of its kind, Aurang Zeb has been convicted of breaching a Forced Marriage Protection Order taken out to stop him taking Rozina Akhtar out of Britain to marry. But despite his chilling threats he escaped imprisonment and was given community service. Last night campaigners condemned the sentence, saying it sent out the wrong message. 'There's clear evidence that this man threatened to kill his wife, so how can he be given community service?' said Shazia Qayum of Karma Nirvana, a group which helps victims of forced marriage. 'He should have been locked up. The law just isn't strong enough at the moment, and it's time the Government made forced marriage a criminal offence.'... Yes, and there is much more to be done as well. With thanks to JihadWatch
 From CAN: The Human Rights Service organization of Norway writes that a town of 6500 in Denmark called Tingbjerg is dramatically changing due to high Muslim immigration and birthrate.
The report says that residents are complaining that many Muslims are not assimilating and are changing Danish society. “As the neighborhood has become increasingly Muslim, it’s also been increasingly plagued by gang violence, burglaries, car-burnings, vandalism, and other offenses,” the report says. “Over the years, the members of Tingbjerg’s non-Muslim minority have come to feel increasingly vulnerable and ill at ease in their community.”
The homosexual pastor of a church in Tingjerg fled the town this month due to persecution from Muslim youth.
His church has been repeatedly vandalized and broken into, and his personal property has been stolen. The church is now for sale. Two journalists from Denmark’s TV-2 station tried to do a story on the church and were threatened by two Muslims who demanded that they delete the tape because they did not want to be seen on TV. The two then smashed the windows of the station’s van. The TV station also ran a letter from one resident describing how they had seen Muslim youth set a dumpsters and buildings on fire and carried wagons of stones to attack those who tried to stop them.
The resident claimed that the local police initially failed to stop their crimes because of the stones and had to come back “dressed for combat.” World Threats
 What does it take to make Islam bashers mend their ways? Why don’t these folks come to their senses and see Islam as a religion of peace and praise the God of Abraham for continuing his beneficence on humanity by sending Muhammad to guide and humanize us? Why is it that some people keep criticizing a religion that has nearly 1.5 billion followers throughout the world? Now, if this faith was indeed what its detractors claim it is, wouldn’t these masses of people see through it and dump it? Didn’t our very own President go around the Muslim heartland and sing the praises of Islam at every stop? Didn’t he bow with great deference to the King of Islam in Saudi Arabia? Didn’t he proudly proclaim Islam as the faith of his dear and near kindred?
Didn’t he, time and again, tell us that Islam is indeed the religion of peace? Didn’t he with his captivating oratory skills cite passages from the Quran to show how reverent he was toward this religion? Didn’t he appoint a raft of “devoted” Muslims to sensitive and high posts in government?
Even ignoring the President’s behavior and pronouncements, we have numberless others in the know such as politicians, media experts, academics and what nots who keep preaching to us that Islam is indeed a sanctified religion wrongly vilified by a bunch of hatemongers.
After all, its very name means peace. How could anyone possibly have anything but praise for a religion called peace? What is more precious than peace?
Exacerbated, the champions of the religion of peace bemoan: what does it take to convince the detractors of Islam to stop their unceasing effort to present a distorted image of this wonderful world-encircling religion?
Well, just a few problems that makes taking the President’s remarks and actions, as well as all the other Islamic apologists and know-it-alls, difficult.
* Claiming “Islam” means “peace” is fraudulent to begin with. Islam is an Arabic word. And the word for peace in Arabic is “solh,” and not Islam. Islam is derived from the root word “taslim,” which means submission or surrender. Hence, Islam’s true name, surrender, is in fact most descriptive of what it is: total, unconditional submission and surrender of the individual and the community to the will and dictates of Allah as revealed by his “rasool,” messenger, Muhammad.
* Further proof of the fraudulent nature of billing Islam as a religion of peace is the irrefutable fact that Muhammad himself led his followers during his lifetime in 78 battles, only one of which was defensive in nature
* Perusing the religion of peace’s holy book, the Quran, taken by Muslims as the literal revelation of Allah, reads more like a manual of intolerance and war than a divinely-revealed prescription from a benevolent God for a life of brotherhood and peace.
Quran 2:216 "Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you knew not."
Quran 8:65 "O Prophet exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you 20 steadfast, they will overcome 200 and if there be of you a 100, they shall overcome a 1000, because the disbelievers are a folk without intelligence"
* Deeds speak louder than words. From its very inception, Islam was a movement of violence.
Violence both within its ranks as well as against the non-Muslims has been the unceasing practice. The minute Muhammad died, jockeying for power among his disciples led to numberless murders and battles. The faith of peace never saw peace even within its own ranks and never allowed the rest of the world any peace at all by lashing out to other lands near and far.
* A quick scan of the daily news shows the adherent of the religion of peace engaged in unspeakable acts of mayhem and murder in much of the world.
There is hardly any need to allude to them here. But the Islamists have an answer for that too.
Islam is not responsible, they say. It is only a bunch of opportunists who commit these acts for their own political and economic objectives.
We are to believe that those daily suicide bombers explode their vests in the midst of marketplaces, funeral processions, and even mosques are doing so to further their own personal agenda. More at Amil Imani
 At least 47 people have been killed in tribal clashes that followed an attempted cattle raid in South Sudan. Armed men from the Mundari ethnic group launched attacks on Monday on two villages that belong to the Dinka Aliap tribe, part of the south's largest ethnic group, an army spokesman said on Wednesday. "On the side of the Dinka 10 were killed and 16 wounded. From the side of the Mundari 37 bodies were found on the ground," Kuol Deim Kuol, a southern army spokesman, said. "They [the Mundari] did not manage to take any cattle." The two groups have a long and bloody history of tit-for-tat cattle raiding.
Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for South Sudan, said that she was hearing reports that up to 10,000 people could have been displaced by the latest violence.
"This particular raid comes on top of five other raids, the most recent in September. In that raid about 5,000 people were displaced and at least 10 were killed," she told Al Jazeera.
"What you have is a spiralling attack and counter-attack, this being the most recent unfortunate incident."
The sharp rise in tribal violence in recent months has killed more than 2,000 people, including many women and children, and displaced another 250,000 people, the United Nations has said.
The website of the UN-funded Miraya FM radio station confirmed Monday's incident, reporting that it disrupted voter registration for national and presidential elections due to be held in April next year.
The process, which the south's leading party has said has been slow and underfunded by Sudan's National Electoral Commission, has already been hindered by tribal fighting this month.
The Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has also blamed at least some of the inter-tribal fighting on interference by Khartoum, which they say is arming civilians and militias to cause unrest ahead of the elections and a 2011 referendum on southern independence. Others have said the blame should be partly put on rivalry between southern leaders, complicated by the 20-year war that often pitched southern ethnic groups against each other. Al Jazeera (English)
 KABUL – Most Afghans see not Taliban militants but poverty, unemployment and government corruption as the main causes of war in their country, according to a report by a leading aid group released on Wednesday. After three decades of war, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. It is also one of the most corrupt. Unemployment stands at 40 percent and more than half the country live below the poverty line. On top of that, violence is at its highest levels since U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001. The report, based on a survey of more than 700 ordinary Afghans by British charity Oxfam and several local aid groups, found that 70 percent of people questioned viewed poverty and unemployment as the main drivers of the conflict. Nearly half of those surveyed said corruption and the ineffectiveness of their government were the main reasons for the continued fighting, while 36 percent said the Taliban insurgency was to blame. The 704 respondents from around the country were allowed to give multiple answers on reasons for the conflict. "The people of Afghanistan have suffered 30 years of unrelenting horror. Afghan society has been devastated," said Grace Ommer, Oxfam Country Director for Afghanistan. "Repairing this damage can't be done overnight. It will take a long time for the economic, social and psychological scars to heal ... Afghanistan needs more than military solutions," she said in statement. There are some 110,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, 68,000 of them American, trying to quell a strengthening Taliban insurgency that has spread to previously peaceful areas. U.S. President Barack Obama is in the final stages of deciding whether to send up to 40,000 more U.S. troops. But ordinary Afghans are frustrated at the slow pace of development, endemic corruption and the inability of Afghan and international security forces to stop the violence. Despite the billions of dollars in aid poured into the country, most Afghans have seen few changes to their lives. Afghanistan relies on aid for around 90 percent of its spending. "Many individuals felt that though much had been promised to the Afghan people, little had actually been delivered -- creating frustration and disillusionment and ultimately undermining stability," Oxfam said in its report. "Individuals called for better measures to ensure that economic development and aid reach those who need it the most," it said. After the Taliban, the reason most people gave for the continued fighting in their country was foreign interference, 25 percent of respondents saying other countries were to blame. Yahoo News
 There is a division of the house. On one side are the politically correct in government, the leftist mainstream media, and a raft of Islamist apologists. One and all are tripping over each other in reassuring us the mass murderers such as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and suicide-bombers who detonate their explosive vests in crowded marketplaces and even mosques are individual anomalies and Islam is not responsible for what they do. On the other side are those fed up with the innumerable daily horrific acts throughout the world that are clearly committed under the banner of Islam.
In all fairness, there needs to be a distinction.
Numerous criminal acts are also committed on a daily basis by non-Muslims. The critical difference is that non-Muslim criminals do not hoist a religious banner to justify their misdeeds, while the Muslims proudly claim that they commit their heinous acts in obedience to the dictates of their religious faith. Would someone please explain what motivated Nidal Hasan, who at taxpayers' expense was educated from college all the way through medical school and post medical-school training, to turn his deadly weapons against the nation that gave him everything he had? If Islam had nothing to do with what Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did, then why: * did he repeatedly preach the ascendancy of Islam over the U.S. Constitution? * did he publicly support Islamic suicide-bombing? * did he proclaim his highest loyalty to Islam? * was he in contact with violent anti-U.S. Islamists and a virulent Yemeni Imam? * did he distribute copies of the Quran to people the morning of his bloody attack? * did he keep screaming "Allahu akbar" as he heartlessly sprayed over a hundred bullets, killing thirteen and injuring some thirty innocent men and women? Here is the truth, as bitter as it may be: Islam is the culprit. Islam is anything but a religion of peace. Violence is at the very core of Islam. Violence is institutionalized in the Muslims' holy book, the Quran, in many suras: Quran 9:5 "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war." 9:112 "The Believers fight in Allah's cause; they slay and are slain, kill and are killed." 8:39 "So fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief [non-Muslims]) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone (in the whole world)." 8:65 "O Prophet, urge the faithful to fight. If there are twenty among you with determination they will vanquish two hundred; if there are a hundred then they will slaughter a thousand unbelievers, for the infidels are a people devoid of understanding." 9:38 "Believers, what is the matter with you, that when you are asked to go forth and fight in Allah's Cause you cling to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? Unless you go forth, He will afflict and punish you with a painful doom, and put others in your place." 47:4 "When you clash with the unbelieving Infidels in battle (fighting Jihad in Allah's Cause), smite their necks until you overpower them, killing and wounding many of them. At length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, making (them) captives. Thereafter either generosity or ransom (them based upon what benefits Islam) until the war lays down its burdens. Thus are you commanded by Allah to continue carrying out Jihad against the unbelieving infidels until they submit to Islam." And the Quran is considered by Muslims to be the word-for-word literal edicts of their god, Allah. Right from the start, violence served as the engine of Islam under the command and supervision of Muhammad himself. For one, the Prophet's son-in-law cousin, Ali, was titled the Commander of the Faithful for his unsurpassed feats of butchery.
With the assistance of one or two of his thugs, Ali beheaded some seven hundred captives, most of them Jews, in only one day.
This man, highly esteemed by the prophet of Allah, carried a sword that had its own name -- Zolfaghar. Ali's portrait, holding the menacing sword, adorns the homes and shops throughout Shiite lands. And Ali is revered by the Shiites at the same level as Muhammad.
 There is a division of the house. On one side are the politically correct in government, the leftist mainstream media, and a raft of Islamist apologists. One and all are tripping over each other in reassuring us the mass murderers such as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and suicide-bombers who detonate their explosive vests in crowded marketplaces and even mosques are individual anomalies and Islam is not responsible for what they do. On the other side are those fed up with the innumerable daily horrific acts throughout the world that are clearly committed under the banner of Islam. In all fairness, there needs to be a distinction.
Numerous criminal acts are also committed on a daily basis by non-Muslims. The critical difference is that non-Muslim criminals do not hoist a religious banner to justify their misdeeds, while the Muslims proudly claim that they commit their heinous acts in obedience to the dictates of their religious faith. Would someone please explain what motivated Nidal Hasan, who at taxpayers' expense was educated from college all the way through medical school and post medical-school training, to turn his deadly weapons against the nation that gave him everything he had? If Islam had nothing to do with what Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did, then why: * did he repeatedly preach the ascendancy of Islam over the U.S. Constitution? * did he publicly support Islamic suicide-bombing? * did he proclaim his highest loyalty to Islam? * was he in contact with violent anti-U.S. Islamists and a virulent Yemeni Imam? * did he distribute copies of the Quran to people the morning of his bloody attack? * did he keep screaming "Allahu akbar" as he heartlessly sprayed over a hundred bullets, killing thirteen and injuring some thirty innocent men and women? Here is the truth, as bitter as it may be: Islam is the culprit. Islam is anything but a religion of peace. Violence is at the very core of Islam. Violence is institutionalized in the Muslims' holy book, the Quran, in many suras: Quran 9:5 "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war." 9:112 "The Believers fight in Allah's cause; they slay and are slain, kill and are killed." 8:39 "So fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief [non-Muslims]) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone (in the whole world)." 8:65 "O Prophet, urge the faithful to fight. If there are twenty among you with determination they will vanquish two hundred; if there are a hundred then they will slaughter a thousand unbelievers, for the infidels are a people devoid of understanding." 9:38 "Believers, what is the matter with you, that when you are asked to go forth and fight in Allah's Cause you cling to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? Unless you go forth, He will afflict and punish you with a painful doom, and put others in your place." 47:4 "When you clash with the unbelieving Infidels in battle (fighting Jihad in Allah's Cause), smite their necks until you overpower them, killing and wounding many of them. At length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, making (them) captives. Thereafter either generosity or ransom (them based upon what benefits Islam) until the war lays down its burdens. Thus are you commanded by Allah to continue carrying out Jihad against the unbelieving infidels until they submit to Islam." And the Quran is considered by Muslims to be the word-for-word literal edicts of their god, Allah. Right from the start, violence served as the engine of Islam under the command and supervision of Muhammad himself. For one, the Prophet's son-in-law cousin, Ali, was titled the Commander of the Faithful for his unsurpassed feats of butchery. With the assistance of one or two of his thugs, Ali beheaded some seven hundred captives, most of them Jews, in only one day.
This man, highly esteemed by the prophet of Allah, carried a sword that had its own name -- Zolfaghar. Ali's portrait, holding the menacing sword, adorns the homes and shops throughout Shiite lands. And Ali is revered by the Shiites at the same level as Muhammad
 By Tawfik Hamid Since 9/11, the possibility of a clash of civilizations has become an unavoidable area of discussion among intellectuals as well as the general public. The inaction of Islamic scholars around the world to those who incorrectly interpret the religion's sacred texts to further the influence of extremism undoubtedly increases the likelihood of such a clash. The war declared by jihadists on the free world has resulted in the killing and torturing of thousands of people. This has ranged from terror attacks and the murder of innocent victims in the name of Islam to paralyzing vital cities such as Mumbai. All such events share the common involvement of Islamic groups that are fueled by ideologies of hatred and violence. The passive attitude of many Muslims and Islamic scholars has aggravated the problem because this passivity is interpreted by the jihadists — correctly or incorrectly — as a permission for terrorist activity. What message do these scholars convey when they issue a fatwa of apostasy against Salman Rushdie for writing a novel or when they issue other fatwas against many modern Islamic reformers without issuing a similar one against Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists? As an ex-jihadist, I believe that such a fatwa labeling terrorists as apostates can prevent many young Muslims from pursuing the path of terror. Read more ...Source: NewsMax
 Security was tight after the Taliban threatened
to attack voters and polling stationsVote counting in Afghanistan's second-ever direct presidential election is under way after polls closed following an hour-long extension, officials have said. The vote on Thursday was marred by a series of attacks across the country that left at least 26 people killed. Hanif Atmar, the Afghan interior minister, and Abdul Rahim Wardak, the defence minister, told a news conference that nine civilians, nine policemen and eight soldiers were killed in 135 incidents on Thursday. Atmar said that 28 other soldiers had been wounded and that security forces thwarted five suicide attacks. Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, said the election was conducted "successfully" throughout the country despite Taliban attacks that resulted in deaths of Afghan security forces and civilians. "The Afghan people defied rockets, bombs and intimidation and came out to vote, that is great," Karzai - the frontrunner of the 30 candidates - told a news conference in his fortified palace. "Despite problems and intimidation, the elections ended successfully," the president said, adding that armed groups conducted attacks in 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. Read more here ... Source: Al Jazeera(English)
 By Tawfik Hamid One of the greatest lessons we can learn from nature is the wisdom of our immune system. This fascinating collection of defense mechanisms has the ability to show tolerance to benign human cells so that we can survive. It also has the ability to not tolerate harmful cancer cells. Failure to express this natural intolerance to cancer cells or to distinguish between malignant and benign cells can prove to be fatal. What we learn from this “wise” system is that showing tolerance to destructive and violent agents can have devastating consequences. Those who adopt cultural relativism need to be able distinguish between the benign features of cultures such as food, dancing, or art, and between the potentially fatal. Relativism and tolerance work well with the benign features but not with those that could be malignant. More specifically, tolerating the food, music, and art of Islamic culture is not harmful; however, tolerating the inhumane Shariah laws such as the Redda law, which enforces the killing of converts from Islam, is quite toxic. Failure to distinguish between these features can be destructive to any free society. Read more ...Source: NewsMax
 Rebiya Kadeer has campaigned for the rights
of China's Uighur communityAugust 03 RELATIVES of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer have blamed her for the deaths of innocent people in ethnic unrest early last month.
Kadeer's son Khahar, daughter Roxingul and younger brother Memet wrote an open letter to her, expressing "their moral indignation at the riot" in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang region, the Xinhua news agency said.
"Because of you, many innocent people of all ethnic groups lost their lives in Urumqi on July 5, with huge damage to property, shops and vehicles," they wrote, according to Xinhua.
"The harmony and unity among ethnic groups were damaged," the letter allegedly said.
The Chinese government says Kadeer was behind the July 5 violence, which left 197 people dead, most of them Han Chinese killed by angry mobs from China's Uighur minority.
Kadeer, a former businesswoman who spent several years in Chinese jail before leaving for US exile earlier this decade, has denied the charges.
Among those of Kadeer's children who remain in China, her son Ablikim Abdiriyim was sentenced in April 2007 to nine years in prison for what Beijing called "secessionist" activities.
Two other sons, Khahar and Alim, were fined in 2006 for alleged tax evasion while Alim was also sentenced to seven years in jail, according to Amnesty International.
It was not possible to immediately ascertain the authenticity of the letter, which was widely reported in the Chinese-language media.
Chinese state television showed footage from the alleged letter, written in the Arabic script of the Uighur language.
The relatives held Kadeer and the World Uighur Congress (WUC), which she heads, responsible for the unrest, Xinhua said.
"Evidence proved the riot was organised by the WUC, led by Rebiya Kadeer, and implemented by a group of separatists within the Chinese borders," the letter reportedly said. "Those who committed crimes should take responsibility."
 | | Zhou Yongkang (2nd R), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), visits a supermarket in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. | URUMQI, July 12 The violence-torn Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is plodding on the road to recovery amid vigilance one week after the violence in its capital city of Urumqi that left 184 people dead and 1,680 injured. Police with riot gears were inspecting checkpoints, combing coaches for runaway suspects involved in the deadly violence. Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, said in his tour to the autonomous region on Sunday that to maintain social stability is the top concern of the livelihood of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang for the time being. The regional government chairman Nur Berkri said in a televised speech Sunday afternoon that the number of people injured in violence on July 5 had risen to 1,680. Altogether 216 of the 939 hospitalized are seriously injured and 74 injured fatally, he said. An oil tank explosion occurred at a chemical plant in Urumqi Sunday morning. Police ruled out the possibility of intentional sabotage after on-the-spot investigation but said the reason of the explosion needs further investigation. At the suburb of Aksu City, people who flocked into the Uygur bazaar, Toksun, as the local residents called it, said they had felt something different. "There are much fewer people compared with what it was before the violence," said Tunxunjiang Tuohuniyazi, a local Uygur who were visiting the bazaar with his wife. "On my way here, I saw a lot of policemen," he said. "But I understand it. The heavy security helps ensure our safety." The bazaar, which boasts 3,000 stands, only saw a little more than 500 of them in business on Sunday. Tuniyazi Yiming, a vender busy baking dumplings, said his turnover halved with number of the bazaar visitors on such a sharp decline. The same bleak business picture could be seen in the border city of Kashgar in southern Xinjiang, where markets and bazaars reported only a few visitors. Also hurt is the the region's tourism. Sources with the Urumqi Municipal government told Xinhua that because of the riot, 1,184 tour groups had cancelled their plans to visit the city as of Sunday. They involved 74,218 travelers, including 10,731 tourists from overseas. Railway authorities said Sunday that situation in the Urumqi's train terminal is normal. The passenger volume was reported at 21,000 persons at the station on Sunday, 4,000 fewer than Saturday. "There are no so-called 'waves of refugees' and ticket scalpers reported by some overseas journalists in the train terminal," said Chen Kai, vice chief of the South Train Station of Urumqi. In Urumqi, thousands of youngsters have expressed their willingness to serve the city by signing up to be volunteers. "Two days after the hotline was launched, we have received more than 1,600 calls," said Yu Yinglong, head of the Volunteer Association in Urumqi. "They volunteered to serve in hospitals and to give psychological help to those who were traumatized in the violence." "The Koran teaches us that Muslims should be united. It teaches us to live in harmony with non-Muslims as well. Muslims and Non-Muslims should help and get along with each other on equal footing," said Xiahabuding Aihaiti, a teacher with the Xinjiang Academy of Islamic Scriptural. Source: Xinhua
 HARDLINE incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared a "great victory" in Iran's hotly disputed presidential vote, amid rioting by opposition supporters and furious complaints of cheating from his defeated rivals. Ahmadinejad's triumphant television address came as baton-wielding police were clashing with protesters in the streets of the capital Tehran in unrest not seen since student riots a decade ago. Thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi swept through Tehran shouting “Down with the Dictator” after final results showed Ahmadinejad winning almost 63 percent of the vote. The moderate ex-premier, who earlier in the day had cried foul over election irregularities and warned the outcome of the vote could lead to “tyranny”, has issued a call for calm. “The violations in the election are very serious and you are right to be deeply hurt,” he told his supporters in a statement posted on his campaign website. “But I firmly call on you not to subject any individual or groups to hurt. Do not lose your calm and restraint. Everybody should draw a line between themselves and any violent behaviour.” Ahmadinejad rejected allegations the vote was rigged. “The election was completely free... and it is a great victory,” he said, calling on his supporters to gather later today in the capital's Vali Asr Square, where many of Saturday's clashes occurred. Even as he was speaking, Iran's main cellular phone network was cut while social networking site Facebook was also blocked. The interior minister said Mousavi had won less than 34 percent of the vote, giving Ahmadinejad another four-year term in a result that dashed Western hopes of change and set the scene for a possible domestic power struggle. Iran's all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed Ahmadinejad's victory and urged the country to unite behind him after the most heated election campaign since the Islamic revolution in 1979. The vote outcome appears to have galvanised a grass-roots movement for change after 30 years of restrictive clerical rule in a country where 60 per cent of the population was born after the revolution. The international community had also been keenly watching the election for any signs of a shift in policy after four years of hardline rhetoric from the 52-year-old Ahmadinejad and a standoff over Iran's nuclear drive. Mousavi protested at what he described as “numerous and blatant irregularities” in the vote which officials said attracted a record turnout of about 85 per cent of the 46 million electorate. “No one can imagine such rigging, with the world watching, from a government who holds commitment to shariah-based justice as one of its basic pillars,” said Mousavi said in a letter posted on his campaign website. “What we have seen from dishonest (election) officials will result in shaking the pillars of the Islamic republic system, and a dominance of lying and tyranny,” he said in a separate statement. In the heart of Tehran, Mousavi's supporters voiced their disbelief and frustration at the results, with some throwing stones at police who struck back with batons. Angry crowds first emerged near Mousavi's campaign office in central Tehran, where protesters, including women, were hit with sticks as riot police on motorbikes moved in to break up the gathering, an AFP correspondent said. Late Saturday police further beefed up their presence in main streets and squares, especially in the area housing Mousavi's office, while dozens of men were seen handcuffed and detained in an interior ministry compound. Members of Iran's volunteer Basij militia were also being deployed in some parts of the city while several smouldering garbage cans were seen lying on the sidewalks after being set ablaze by rioters. The White House said it was monitoring the reports of irregularities, while British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said London “will continue to follow developments” in Iran. In Moscow, the chairman of the Duma (parliament) Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev hoped for more “understanding and wisdom” from Ahmadinejad in the new term. “The results of the election show, now more than ever, how much stronger the Iranian threat has become,” said arch-foe Israel's deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon. The election highlighted deep divisions in Iran after four years under Ahmadinejad, who had massive support in the rural heartland, while in the big cities young men and women threw their weight behind Mousavi. Source: The Australian
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AT least 150 bodies have been recovered from wells following Muslim-Christian clashes in central Nigeria. 
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