Time To Start Another War
*********************************
Iraq War Veteran Tells Of Atrocities
********************************************
~Iraq War Veteran Seeking Asylum In Canada Tells Refugee Board Of Atrocities~
Courtesy of: Canadian Press
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Andrew Davidson
Toronto (CP)--A "trigger-happy" U.S. Army squad leader shot the foot off an unarmed Iraqi man and soldiers kicked a severed head around like a soccer ball, a U.S. war deserter told an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing Thursday.
Joshua Key, the first U.S. deserter with combat experience in Iraq to apply for refugee status in Canada, told the board he witnessed numerous atrocities committed by U.S. forces while serving eight months as a combat engineer.
Key, 27, said he was never trained on the Geneva Convention and was told in Iraq by superior officers that the International Law guiding humanitarian standards was Just a "guideline."
"It's shoot first, ask questions later," Key said of his squad's guiding principles. "Everything's Justified."
Key is one of five members of the U.S. Armed Forces asking for asylum in Canada.
But the Oklahoma native is unique in that he is the only applicant that has combat experience in Iraq, said Key's lawyer, Jeffry House. The others are seeking asylum in Canada to avoid being sent there, he said.
"He has boots-on-the-ground experience about what the actual conduct of the war in Iraq is," House said outside the hearing.
With visible bags under his eyes, Key told the hearing he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and frequently has nightmares over what he witnessed in Iraq.
He recalled participating in almost nightly raids on homes of suspected insurgents in Ramadi and Fallujah as a member of the 43rd Combat Engineer Company.
He said that while the raids seldom turned up anything of interest, he often saw soldiers ransack the homes and steal Jewelry or money, while superior officers looked the other way.
He also said several Iraqi's were shot dead, and that they were cases of soldiers "shooting out of fear and inventing reasons afterward."
In Ramadi, Key said he saw the beheaded bodies of four Iraqi's beside a shot-up truck and witnessed several members of the Florida National Guard kick a severed head "like a soccer ball."
Key also said he witnessed one of his "trigger-happy" platoon's squad sergeants shoot part of an unarmed Iraqi man's foot off in Khaldia, a village between Fallujah and Ramadi. The man was sitting on a chair outside a store and had raised his foot as a sign of disrespect, he said.
Key added he was never questioned about the incident and was not aware of any charges being laid.
Keith Brennenstuhl, the IRB member overseeing the hearing, ruled at an earlier hearing that the board would not consider the legality of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq.
Key also described seeing U.S. soldiers indiscriminately kick and scream at two hooded and naked detainees while escorting them to a grassy area to relieve themselves.
Brennenstuhl asked Key whether he received any interrogation training before dragging detainees out of their homes during raids.
"The only thing we were told was how to keep them quiet," Key said, explaining that soldiers cuffed prisoners' hands behind their backs and put hoods over their heads.
"Could they breathe?" Brennenstuhl asked.
"I guess it wasn't my concern," Key responded, adding that officers said the hoods were designed "to humiliate them."
Key, the father of four children, told the hearing he Joined the army for steady pay and medical coverage for his family. He said he initially went to Iraq as a willing participant because he believed U.S. intelligence claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
But Key became disillusioned with the war during his service and decided to abandon his contract with the army during a two-week leave from Iraq in November 2003.
He an his family lived on the run in Philadelphia before crossing the border at Niagara Falls, N.Y. on March 3, 2005.
Key works as a welder in Fort St. John, B. C. He and his wife Brandi have four children between the ages of seven months and six years.
If returned to the United States, Key said he believed the army would "make an example" of him as a way to deter other possible deserters.
Lawyers from all parties will submit their written submissions in the coming weeks before the board rules on Key's application.
Source:
http://canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=fb0ed1d5-89b5-4608-87d6-c3977372a2ba&k=62732
********************************************
~Iraq War Veteran Seeking Asylum In Canada Tells Refugee Board Of Atrocities~
Courtesy of: Canadian Press
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Andrew Davidson
Toronto (CP)--A "trigger-happy" U.S. Army squad leader shot the foot off an unarmed Iraqi man and soldiers kicked a severed head around like a soccer ball, a U.S. war deserter told an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing Thursday.
Joshua Key, the first U.S. deserter with combat experience in Iraq to apply for refugee status in Canada, told the board he witnessed numerous atrocities committed by U.S. forces while serving eight months as a combat engineer.
Key, 27, said he was never trained on the Geneva Convention and was told in Iraq by superior officers that the International Law guiding humanitarian standards was Just a "guideline."
"It's shoot first, ask questions later," Key said of his squad's guiding principles. "Everything's Justified."
Key is one of five members of the U.S. Armed Forces asking for asylum in Canada.
But the Oklahoma native is unique in that he is the only applicant that has combat experience in Iraq, said Key's lawyer, Jeffry House. The others are seeking asylum in Canada to avoid being sent there, he said.
"He has boots-on-the-ground experience about what the actual conduct of the war in Iraq is," House said outside the hearing.
With visible bags under his eyes, Key told the hearing he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and frequently has nightmares over what he witnessed in Iraq.
He recalled participating in almost nightly raids on homes of suspected insurgents in Ramadi and Fallujah as a member of the 43rd Combat Engineer Company.
He said that while the raids seldom turned up anything of interest, he often saw soldiers ransack the homes and steal Jewelry or money, while superior officers looked the other way.
He also said several Iraqi's were shot dead, and that they were cases of soldiers "shooting out of fear and inventing reasons afterward."
In Ramadi, Key said he saw the beheaded bodies of four Iraqi's beside a shot-up truck and witnessed several members of the Florida National Guard kick a severed head "like a soccer ball."
Key also said he witnessed one of his "trigger-happy" platoon's squad sergeants shoot part of an unarmed Iraqi man's foot off in Khaldia, a village between Fallujah and Ramadi. The man was sitting on a chair outside a store and had raised his foot as a sign of disrespect, he said.
Key added he was never questioned about the incident and was not aware of any charges being laid.
Keith Brennenstuhl, the IRB member overseeing the hearing, ruled at an earlier hearing that the board would not consider the legality of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq.
Key also described seeing U.S. soldiers indiscriminately kick and scream at two hooded and naked detainees while escorting them to a grassy area to relieve themselves.
Brennenstuhl asked Key whether he received any interrogation training before dragging detainees out of their homes during raids.
"The only thing we were told was how to keep them quiet," Key said, explaining that soldiers cuffed prisoners' hands behind their backs and put hoods over their heads.
"Could they breathe?" Brennenstuhl asked.
"I guess it wasn't my concern," Key responded, adding that officers said the hoods were designed "to humiliate them."
Key, the father of four children, told the hearing he Joined the army for steady pay and medical coverage for his family. He said he initially went to Iraq as a willing participant because he believed U.S. intelligence claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
But Key became disillusioned with the war during his service and decided to abandon his contract with the army during a two-week leave from Iraq in November 2003.
He an his family lived on the run in Philadelphia before crossing the border at Niagara Falls, N.Y. on March 3, 2005.
Key works as a welder in Fort St. John, B. C. He and his wife Brandi have four children between the ages of seven months and six years.
If returned to the United States, Key said he believed the army would "make an example" of him as a way to deter other possible deserters.
Lawyers from all parties will submit their written submissions in the coming weeks before the board rules on Key's application.
Source:
http://canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=fb0ed1d5-89b5-4608-87d6-c3977372a2ba&k=62732
***** Napalm Sticks To Kids! *****
*****************************************
A-10 A-10 Flying high
Drop that napalm from the sky.
See those kids over by the river
Drop some napalm an' watch them quiver.
'Cause napalm (emphasize napalm) sticks to kids!
Napalm sticks to kids!
See those kids over by the lake
Drop some napalm watch them bake.
'Cause napalm (emphasize napalm) sticks to kids!
Napalm sticks to kids!
See those kids hidin' in the grass
Shove some napalm up their ass!
'Cause napalm (emphasize napalm) sticks to kids!
Napalm sticks to kids!
University of Massachusetts Army ROTC Cadence, Circa 2006
Source:
http://umass.edu/armyrotc/pages/running.htm
*****************************************
A-10 A-10 Flying high
Drop that napalm from the sky.
See those kids over by the river
Drop some napalm an' watch them quiver.
'Cause napalm (emphasize napalm) sticks to kids!
Napalm sticks to kids!
See those kids over by the lake
Drop some napalm watch them bake.
'Cause napalm (emphasize napalm) sticks to kids!
Napalm sticks to kids!
See those kids hidin' in the grass
Shove some napalm up their ass!
'Cause napalm (emphasize napalm) sticks to kids!
Napalm sticks to kids!
University of Massachusetts Army ROTC Cadence, Circa 2006
Source:
http://umass.edu/armyrotc/pages/running.htm
*********** Allah's Forgiveness ***********
************************************************
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind.
O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you.
O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me,
I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it...
~A Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him),
As narrated by Anas (RA), As related by Al-Tirmidhi (RA)~
************************************************
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind.
O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you.
O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me,
I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it...
~A Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him),
As narrated by Anas (RA), As related by Al-Tirmidhi (RA)~
***** Various Photos Of The Kabah *****
*************************************************
These are beautiful photos of Islams holiest site in Saudi Arabia, the Kabah where Muslims perform the Hajj (pilgrimage), once in their life time, if they can afford it...
http://www.path-to-peace.net/misc/circile_pics.swf
*************************************************
These are beautiful photos of Islams holiest site in Saudi Arabia, the Kabah where Muslims perform the Hajj (pilgrimage), once in their life time, if they can afford it...
http://www.path-to-peace.net/misc/circile_pics.swf
French "Double Standards" On Racism Under Fire
***************************************************************
Courtesy of: Islamonline.net
By Hadi Yahmid,
IOL Correspondent.
March 27, 2006
Paris--The French government and media's "double standard" in tackling hate crimes has drawn a diatribe after an odious attack on a French man of Algerian origin had been met with deafening silence compared to the much publicized and denounced killing of a French Jew last month.
"We condemn the double standards of media and French institutions, especially the Elysee and the government." The Coalition for Truth said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Islamonline.net on Monday, March 27.
The rights advocacy group was formed in the wake of the killing of Shayeb Zaef, a 40-year-old French man of Algerian roots, three weeks ago in an apparent racist attack.
The assailant, identified as Jean Marie, called Zaef a "Filthy Arab" before shooting him thrice as he was stepping out of a cafe in Lyon, witnesses said.
"We waited in vain for three entire weeks for a single word of condemnation from prominent French politicians, including the head of Lyon's municipality," Mouloud Aounit, the Secretary General of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples, told IOL.
Aounit was among the signatories of the coalition's statement along with prominent figures such as Algerian-born Senator Alima Boumediene and Olivia Zemor, the head of the Euro-Palestinian group.
In stark contrast, the killing of a French Jew Ilan Halimi has been the talk of France last month and drew immediate condemnation from President Jacques Chirac, who was keen on attending a memorial service for the victim in a Paris Synagogue.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have further took to the streets in protest against racism and anti-semitism.
The March demonstration drew an array of politicians, including Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and representatives of the opposition Socialists, including Lionel Jospin, a former Prime Minister.
"PRESSURES"
------------------------
Although initial investigations have revealed that the killer had links with the radical right-wing and despite eyewitness accounts that he used foul-mouthed abuse against Zaef, police are reluctant to admit the racist nature of the crime.
This drew fire from the coalition which urged Judiciary authorities not to "bow to political pressures."
This also prompted the S.S. Racime group to organize a silent rally that drew 500 people in central Lyon. The protestors carried banners demanding nothing but the truth.
As anger mounted, Sarkozy finally decided to meet Zaef's wife and three sons to promise them a transparent inquiry into the killing of their breadwinner.
Zaef's killing is the second of its kind in less than two months.
On February 25, two brothers of Moroccan origin were harshly attacked by a group of rightists and rushed to intensive care in critical condition.
Years of government negligence and marginalization prompted thousands of French immigrants and Arabs to stage a nationwide riot in October and November of last year.
They voiced anger at racial discrimination despite being born in France, a lack of education and employment prospects and police harassment.
A Sorbonne research released in 2005 by the French Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion represent an obstacle to Job seekers.
Source:
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2006-03/27/article04.shtml
***************************************************************
Courtesy of: Islamonline.net
By Hadi Yahmid,
IOL Correspondent.
March 27, 2006
Paris--The French government and media's "double standard" in tackling hate crimes has drawn a diatribe after an odious attack on a French man of Algerian origin had been met with deafening silence compared to the much publicized and denounced killing of a French Jew last month.
"We condemn the double standards of media and French institutions, especially the Elysee and the government." The Coalition for Truth said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Islamonline.net on Monday, March 27.
The rights advocacy group was formed in the wake of the killing of Shayeb Zaef, a 40-year-old French man of Algerian roots, three weeks ago in an apparent racist attack.
The assailant, identified as Jean Marie, called Zaef a "Filthy Arab" before shooting him thrice as he was stepping out of a cafe in Lyon, witnesses said.
"We waited in vain for three entire weeks for a single word of condemnation from prominent French politicians, including the head of Lyon's municipality," Mouloud Aounit, the Secretary General of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples, told IOL.
Aounit was among the signatories of the coalition's statement along with prominent figures such as Algerian-born Senator Alima Boumediene and Olivia Zemor, the head of the Euro-Palestinian group.
In stark contrast, the killing of a French Jew Ilan Halimi has been the talk of France last month and drew immediate condemnation from President Jacques Chirac, who was keen on attending a memorial service for the victim in a Paris Synagogue.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have further took to the streets in protest against racism and anti-semitism.
The March demonstration drew an array of politicians, including Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and representatives of the opposition Socialists, including Lionel Jospin, a former Prime Minister.
"PRESSURES"
------------------------
Although initial investigations have revealed that the killer had links with the radical right-wing and despite eyewitness accounts that he used foul-mouthed abuse against Zaef, police are reluctant to admit the racist nature of the crime.
This drew fire from the coalition which urged Judiciary authorities not to "bow to political pressures."
This also prompted the S.S. Racime group to organize a silent rally that drew 500 people in central Lyon. The protestors carried banners demanding nothing but the truth.
As anger mounted, Sarkozy finally decided to meet Zaef's wife and three sons to promise them a transparent inquiry into the killing of their breadwinner.
Zaef's killing is the second of its kind in less than two months.
On February 25, two brothers of Moroccan origin were harshly attacked by a group of rightists and rushed to intensive care in critical condition.
Years of government negligence and marginalization prompted thousands of French immigrants and Arabs to stage a nationwide riot in October and November of last year.
They voiced anger at racial discrimination despite being born in France, a lack of education and employment prospects and police harassment.
A Sorbonne research released in 2005 by the French Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion represent an obstacle to Job seekers.
Source:
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2006-03/27/article04.shtml
Learn More About Islam: Straw Tells European Leaders
**********************************************************************
Courtesy of: Islamonline.com
3/30/2006
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged European leaders to learn more about the Islamic religion and "protect the rights of every citizen irrespective of their faith and creed,"
Khaleej Times reported.
Addressing the Muslim News Awards for Excellence Ceremony in London, Straw said a peaceful co-existence of religion and modernity is essential for the future of Europe, warning that the growing tendency to attack religion and religious people will lead to anachronism.
Straw also challenged the secular credentials of the West:
"It is wrong to assume that 'the West,' including Europe, is essentially secular in nature...The story of Europe, is not a simple, linear one of secular values steadily pushing out and eroding religious one. Rather the European experience is one of an accomodation between modernity. And it is the future of Europe too," he said.
Straw also suggested that Islam could be singled out as a target of attack because it is a new religion in Europe:
"There have been Muslim communities in Europe for centuries," said Straw. "But it is true that in recent decades those communities have grown in size and that Islam is now the fastest growing religion here. Another reason might be the feeling that many people seem to have that Muslims are in some way more religious than followers of other faiths. Again, I think it is probably undeniable that for most of the Muslims whom I know their faith is more obviously apparent in their daily actions and rituals than it is in the daily lives of the majority of people in Britain."
Straw also denounced the decision by some European newspapers to publish the Danish cartoons satirizing Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by claiming the right to freedom of expression:
"I said at the time that the cartoons were reported in Europe--though not here in the United Kingdom--That doing so was needlessly insensitive and disrespectful," said Straw.
"The right to freedom of expression is a broad one and something which this country has long held dear...But the existence of such a right does not mean that it is right--morally right, politically right, socially right--To exercise that freedom without regard to the feelings of others."
"A large number of Muslims in this country were upset by those cartoons being reprinted across Europe and at their deeply held beliefs being insulted. They expressed their hurt and outrage but did so in a way which epitomised the learned, peaceful religion of Islam. In doing so they were not being 'unreasonable' or 'un-European.' They were not threatening anyone's values."
Straw also hailed the contributions of Muslims to British society, especially in the field of economics, education, sport and culture.
He awarded Mustapha Shafayat, the first British batsman to score a double-century in an under-19 test cricket match against India, London Mayor Ken Livingston for building dialogue between the West and the Islamic World, and Channel Four Newsreader Jon Snow for his in-depth coverage of the Muslim World.
The British Foreign Secretary also awarded Cynthia Capey, a pensioner who has spent the last 50 years promoting understanding between Muslims, Christians and Jews in Suffolk, and Mazhar Butt, who has turned his family shop in Nottingham into a multi-million pound business supplying naan bread to supermarkets.
Other winners included human rights lawyer Muddassar Arani, Manchester Health Charity Mediconcern, and Cardiff University academic professor Saghir Akthar.
Source:
http://islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/world_full_story.asp?service_id=2190
**********************************************************************
Courtesy of: Islamonline.com
3/30/2006
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged European leaders to learn more about the Islamic religion and "protect the rights of every citizen irrespective of their faith and creed,"
Khaleej Times reported.
Addressing the Muslim News Awards for Excellence Ceremony in London, Straw said a peaceful co-existence of religion and modernity is essential for the future of Europe, warning that the growing tendency to attack religion and religious people will lead to anachronism.
Straw also challenged the secular credentials of the West:
"It is wrong to assume that 'the West,' including Europe, is essentially secular in nature...The story of Europe, is not a simple, linear one of secular values steadily pushing out and eroding religious one. Rather the European experience is one of an accomodation between modernity. And it is the future of Europe too," he said.
Straw also suggested that Islam could be singled out as a target of attack because it is a new religion in Europe:
"There have been Muslim communities in Europe for centuries," said Straw. "But it is true that in recent decades those communities have grown in size and that Islam is now the fastest growing religion here. Another reason might be the feeling that many people seem to have that Muslims are in some way more religious than followers of other faiths. Again, I think it is probably undeniable that for most of the Muslims whom I know their faith is more obviously apparent in their daily actions and rituals than it is in the daily lives of the majority of people in Britain."
Straw also denounced the decision by some European newspapers to publish the Danish cartoons satirizing Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by claiming the right to freedom of expression:
"I said at the time that the cartoons were reported in Europe--though not here in the United Kingdom--That doing so was needlessly insensitive and disrespectful," said Straw.
"The right to freedom of expression is a broad one and something which this country has long held dear...But the existence of such a right does not mean that it is right--morally right, politically right, socially right--To exercise that freedom without regard to the feelings of others."
"A large number of Muslims in this country were upset by those cartoons being reprinted across Europe and at their deeply held beliefs being insulted. They expressed their hurt and outrage but did so in a way which epitomised the learned, peaceful religion of Islam. In doing so they were not being 'unreasonable' or 'un-European.' They were not threatening anyone's values."
Straw also hailed the contributions of Muslims to British society, especially in the field of economics, education, sport and culture.
He awarded Mustapha Shafayat, the first British batsman to score a double-century in an under-19 test cricket match against India, London Mayor Ken Livingston for building dialogue between the West and the Islamic World, and Channel Four Newsreader Jon Snow for his in-depth coverage of the Muslim World.
The British Foreign Secretary also awarded Cynthia Capey, a pensioner who has spent the last 50 years promoting understanding between Muslims, Christians and Jews in Suffolk, and Mazhar Butt, who has turned his family shop in Nottingham into a multi-million pound business supplying naan bread to supermarkets.
Other winners included human rights lawyer Muddassar Arani, Manchester Health Charity Mediconcern, and Cardiff University academic professor Saghir Akthar.
Source:
http://islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/world_full_story.asp?service_id=2190
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Japan's Military To Use Space
**************************************
~Bill In Works To Officially Allow Military Use Of Space~
Courtesy of: The Japan Times
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
In a shift away from a nearly 40-year-old commitment to an exclusively nonmilitary space program, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced plans Tuesday to draft a bill that would authorize Japan's military to use space for self-defense.
The bill, which would reverse the current policy limiting space projects to civilian purposes, will allow the Defense Agency to build and operate high-resolution reconnaissance satellites. The move was endorsed in a subcommittee meeting of the Party's Special Commission on Space Development, members said.
The bill will also encourage private companies to take part in space projects linked to national security, including development of reconnaissance satellites capable of detecting the launch of ballistic missiles, they said.
The party plans to draft the bill by August and submit it to the Diet at a subsequent ordinary session, which is expected to begin in early 2007, they said.
Japan has satellites operated by the Cabinet's Satellite Intelligence Center that gather Intelligence on North Korean missile deployments, but officially, their main purpose is collection of data on natural disasters.
The current policy of limiting Japan's space program to peaceful purposes dates back to a 1969 Diet Resolution. The government has strictly interpreted the resolution to mean exclusively nonmilitary use of space, since the then chief of the now-defunct Science and Technolohy Agency presented the agency's position on the matter to the Diet.
But the LDP is now eyeing a fundamental shift in the country's space policy, saying the
current restrictions have impeded Japan's use of space for security purposes and industrial applications of space technology, the members said.
Source:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060329a1.html
**************************************
~Bill In Works To Officially Allow Military Use Of Space~
Courtesy of: The Japan Times
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
In a shift away from a nearly 40-year-old commitment to an exclusively nonmilitary space program, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced plans Tuesday to draft a bill that would authorize Japan's military to use space for self-defense.
The bill, which would reverse the current policy limiting space projects to civilian purposes, will allow the Defense Agency to build and operate high-resolution reconnaissance satellites. The move was endorsed in a subcommittee meeting of the Party's Special Commission on Space Development, members said.
The bill will also encourage private companies to take part in space projects linked to national security, including development of reconnaissance satellites capable of detecting the launch of ballistic missiles, they said.
The party plans to draft the bill by August and submit it to the Diet at a subsequent ordinary session, which is expected to begin in early 2007, they said.
Japan has satellites operated by the Cabinet's Satellite Intelligence Center that gather Intelligence on North Korean missile deployments, but officially, their main purpose is collection of data on natural disasters.
The current policy of limiting Japan's space program to peaceful purposes dates back to a 1969 Diet Resolution. The government has strictly interpreted the resolution to mean exclusively nonmilitary use of space, since the then chief of the now-defunct Science and Technolohy Agency presented the agency's position on the matter to the Diet.
But the LDP is now eyeing a fundamental shift in the country's space policy, saying the
current restrictions have impeded Japan's use of space for security purposes and industrial applications of space technology, the members said.
Source:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060329a1.html
*********** No Remorse ***********
***************************************
By Metallica
No mercy for what we are doing
No thought to even what we have done
We don't need to feel the sorrow
No remorse for the helpless one.
War without end
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
Blood feeds the war machine
As it eats its way across the land
We don't need to feel the sorrow
No remorse is the one command.
War without end
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
Only the strong survive
No one to save the weaker race
We are ready to kill all comers
Like a loaded gun right at your face.
War without end
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
Attack
Bullets are flying
People are dying
With madness surrounding, all hell's breaking loose
Soldiers are hounding
Bodies are mounting
Cannons are shouting, to take their abuse
With war machines going
No mercy given to anyone here
The furious fighting
Swords are like lightning
It all becomes frightening to you
Know death is near
No remorse.
***************************************
By Metallica
No mercy for what we are doing
No thought to even what we have done
We don't need to feel the sorrow
No remorse for the helpless one.
War without end
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
Blood feeds the war machine
As it eats its way across the land
We don't need to feel the sorrow
No remorse is the one command.
War without end
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
Only the strong survive
No one to save the weaker race
We are ready to kill all comers
Like a loaded gun right at your face.
War without end
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
No remorse, no repent
We don't care what it meant
Another day, another death
Another sorrow, another breath.
Attack
Bullets are flying
People are dying
With madness surrounding, all hell's breaking loose
Soldiers are hounding
Bodies are mounting
Cannons are shouting, to take their abuse
With war machines going
No mercy given to anyone here
The furious fighting
Swords are like lightning
It all becomes frightening to you
Know death is near
No remorse.
Children Of Abraham: Death In The Desert
*****************************************************
Courtesy of: Empire Burlesque...
With Sound Track to "The Passion" by Peter Gabriel...
This is an extremely powerful and emotionally provoking video on the massacre of women and children at the Iraqi village of "Abu Sifa" in the Isahaqi district on March 15, 2006...
WARNING: Very Disturbing and Graphic Images of Dead Children...
http://isahaqi.chris-floyd.com
*****************************************************
Courtesy of: Empire Burlesque...
With Sound Track to "The Passion" by Peter Gabriel...
This is an extremely powerful and emotionally provoking video on the massacre of women and children at the Iraqi village of "Abu Sifa" in the Isahaqi district on March 15, 2006...
WARNING: Very Disturbing and Graphic Images of Dead Children...
http://isahaqi.chris-floyd.com
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
*********** The War Memo ***********
*******************************************
MSNBC with Keith Olbermann
Via: Crooksandliars.com
Via: Propagandamatrix.com
March 29 2006
Olbermann goes over the newest released Memo from the UK on this segment:
Keith blasts the Bush line of: "No President Wants To Go To War,"
After it reveals the war plans were already drawn up five days before Colin Powell went to the UN.
Andrea Mitchell actually brings up the Downing Street Memo (she doesn't call it that) and says war was inevitable from the start, while she hits up on the "Painting of a Spy Plane"
to trick Saddam into firing at it so they could then Justify invading Iraq.
Mitchell: "It was clear that George Bush was set on going to war."
Source:
http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/march2006/290306Memo.htm
*******************************************
MSNBC with Keith Olbermann
Via: Crooksandliars.com
Via: Propagandamatrix.com
March 29 2006
Olbermann goes over the newest released Memo from the UK on this segment:
Keith blasts the Bush line of: "No President Wants To Go To War,"
After it reveals the war plans were already drawn up five days before Colin Powell went to the UN.
Andrea Mitchell actually brings up the Downing Street Memo (she doesn't call it that) and says war was inevitable from the start, while she hits up on the "Painting of a Spy Plane"
to trick Saddam into firing at it so they could then Justify invading Iraq.
Mitchell: "It was clear that George Bush was set on going to war."
Source:
http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/march2006/290306Memo.htm
Sri Lanka To Create First Muslim Battalion
*****************************************************
The Peninsula of Qatar
By Feizal Samath
Posted: 3/28/2006
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com
Colombo: Sri Lanka is setting up its first Infantry Battalion made of only Muslims, the country's third largest community, to protect Muslim residents in the east from Tamil rebels, the first ever exclusive battalion for any community, the government said.
Military spokesman Brigadir Prasad Samarsinghe said interviews for recruitment to this battalion will start tomorrow, Tuesday, and held for seven days up to April 5 at the Army's Combat Training School in Ampara.
The battalion will protect the district of Ampara which has the largest concentration of Muslims in Sri Lanka and whose residents have often been under attack from Tamil guerrillas.
The spokesman said the command structure of the battalion which is normally made up of 500 soldiers is yet to be worked out.
Sri Lanka's military does normally recruit personnel on ethnic lines--until this latest move--but the armed forces are dominated by the Sinhalese, the country's majority community.
An announcement in yesterday's Sunday Observer in the form of an advertisement said new recruits should have a minimum qualification of having passed grade 8 in schools and be a Muslim living in the eastern province. They would be entitled to a salary package totalling 15, 000 rupees (US $150) in addition to travelling, medical benefits, food and accomodation.
Spokespersons for the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan (LTTE) were unavailable for comment but the new move is certain to be vociferously condemned by the Tigers who last month charged, at the first round of peace talks in Geneva with the Sri Lanka government, that the authorities were backing Muslim militant groups in the east.
The government has rejected the accusation. Relations between the two sides have soured since the peace talks with the LTTE accusing the government of going back on its word on the disarming of militant groups and the government accusing the Tigers of violating the cease fire on many occasions.
*****************************************************
The Peninsula of Qatar
By Feizal Samath
Posted: 3/28/2006
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com
Colombo: Sri Lanka is setting up its first Infantry Battalion made of only Muslims, the country's third largest community, to protect Muslim residents in the east from Tamil rebels, the first ever exclusive battalion for any community, the government said.
Military spokesman Brigadir Prasad Samarsinghe said interviews for recruitment to this battalion will start tomorrow, Tuesday, and held for seven days up to April 5 at the Army's Combat Training School in Ampara.
The battalion will protect the district of Ampara which has the largest concentration of Muslims in Sri Lanka and whose residents have often been under attack from Tamil guerrillas.
The spokesman said the command structure of the battalion which is normally made up of 500 soldiers is yet to be worked out.
Sri Lanka's military does normally recruit personnel on ethnic lines--until this latest move--but the armed forces are dominated by the Sinhalese, the country's majority community.
An announcement in yesterday's Sunday Observer in the form of an advertisement said new recruits should have a minimum qualification of having passed grade 8 in schools and be a Muslim living in the eastern province. They would be entitled to a salary package totalling 15, 000 rupees (US $150) in addition to travelling, medical benefits, food and accomodation.
Spokespersons for the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan (LTTE) were unavailable for comment but the new move is certain to be vociferously condemned by the Tigers who last month charged, at the first round of peace talks in Geneva with the Sri Lanka government, that the authorities were backing Muslim militant groups in the east.
The government has rejected the accusation. Relations between the two sides have soured since the peace talks with the LTTE accusing the government of going back on its word on the disarming of militant groups and the government accusing the Tigers of violating the cease fire on many occasions.
******* We Are The Borg *******
*************************************
~Brain Cells Fused With Computer Chip~
Courtesy of: Livescience.com
Posted: 27 March 2006
By Ker Than
The line between living organisms and machines has Just become a whole lot blurrier. European researchers have developed "neuro-chips" in which living brain cells and silicon are coupled together.
The achievement could one day enable the creation of sophisticated neural prostheses to treat neurological disorders or the development of organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons.
To create the neuro-chip, reasearchers squeezed more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip Just 1 millimeter square in size.
They used special proteins found in the brain to glue brain cells, called neurons, onto the chip. However, the proteins acted as more than Just a simple adhesive.
"They also provided the link between ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip," said study team member Stefano Vassanelli from the University of Padua in Italy.
The proteins allowed the neuro-chips electronic components and its living cells to communicate with each other. Electrical signals from neurons were recorded using the chips transistors, while the chips capacitors were used to stimulate the neurons.
It could still be decades before the technology is advanced enough to treat neurological disorders or create living computers, the researchers say, but in the nearer term, the chips could provide an advanced method of screening drugs for the Pharmaceutical Industry.
"Pharmaceutical companies could use the chip to test the effect of drugs on neurons, to quickly discover promising avenues of research," Vassanelli said.
The researchers are now working on ways to avoid damaging the neurons during stimulation. The team is also exploring the possibility of using a neuron's genetic instructions to control the neuro-chip.
Source:
http://livescience.com/humanbiology/060327_neuro_chips.html
*************************************
~Brain Cells Fused With Computer Chip~
Courtesy of: Livescience.com
Posted: 27 March 2006
By Ker Than
The line between living organisms and machines has Just become a whole lot blurrier. European researchers have developed "neuro-chips" in which living brain cells and silicon are coupled together.
The achievement could one day enable the creation of sophisticated neural prostheses to treat neurological disorders or the development of organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons.
To create the neuro-chip, reasearchers squeezed more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip Just 1 millimeter square in size.
They used special proteins found in the brain to glue brain cells, called neurons, onto the chip. However, the proteins acted as more than Just a simple adhesive.
"They also provided the link between ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip," said study team member Stefano Vassanelli from the University of Padua in Italy.
The proteins allowed the neuro-chips electronic components and its living cells to communicate with each other. Electrical signals from neurons were recorded using the chips transistors, while the chips capacitors were used to stimulate the neurons.
It could still be decades before the technology is advanced enough to treat neurological disorders or create living computers, the researchers say, but in the nearer term, the chips could provide an advanced method of screening drugs for the Pharmaceutical Industry.
"Pharmaceutical companies could use the chip to test the effect of drugs on neurons, to quickly discover promising avenues of research," Vassanelli said.
The researchers are now working on ways to avoid damaging the neurons during stimulation. The team is also exploring the possibility of using a neuron's genetic instructions to control the neuro-chip.
Source:
http://livescience.com/humanbiology/060327_neuro_chips.html
Monday, March 27, 2006
******* Colonization and Greed *******
*********************************************
Your Greed!
Causing innocent blood to flow
An entire culture, lost in the overthrow
You came to seize and take whatever you please
Then all you gave back was death and disease
My people were left with no choice but to decide
To conform to a system, responsible for genocide
My people's culture was strong, it was pure
Were it not for your colonozation and greed
It would have endured...
My people were left with no choice but to decide
To conform to a system, responsible for genocide
Our minds enslaved
Our souls caged
Feel the rage
Your brutality can never be undone
But the sun has not yet set
The pen, the drums, and microphones a threat
That's when you investigate, the crimes from the inside
And see that you're responsible for genocide...
You ram your culture down our throat
Say we're inferior when we find that we choke
You fill our minds with revisionist history
And try to erase our identity
Well, I'll strike a match and it'll catch
And spread the insight we need
A tiny flame, burning bright
Shedding light
On your darkness and greed...
*********************************************
Your Greed!
Causing innocent blood to flow
An entire culture, lost in the overthrow
You came to seize and take whatever you please
Then all you gave back was death and disease
My people were left with no choice but to decide
To conform to a system, responsible for genocide
My people's culture was strong, it was pure
Were it not for your colonozation and greed
It would have endured...
My people were left with no choice but to decide
To conform to a system, responsible for genocide
Our minds enslaved
Our souls caged
Feel the rage
Your brutality can never be undone
But the sun has not yet set
The pen, the drums, and microphones a threat
That's when you investigate, the crimes from the inside
And see that you're responsible for genocide...
You ram your culture down our throat
Say we're inferior when we find that we choke
You fill our minds with revisionist history
And try to erase our identity
Well, I'll strike a match and it'll catch
And spread the insight we need
A tiny flame, burning bright
Shedding light
On your darkness and greed...
Kissinger Backed Argentine Junta
*******************************************
Courtesy of: Inter Press Service
By Jim Lobe
March 25, 2006
Two days after the coup d'etat that brought a brutal military Junta to power in Argentina, then U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger ordered his subordinates to "encourage" the new regime by providing financial support, according to a previously classified transcript released here by the independent National Security Archive (NSA).
The document, whose public release came on the 30th anniversary of the coup, depicts Kissinger as uninterested in warnings by his assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs, William Rogers, that the Junta would likely intensify repression against suspected dissidents in ways that could make U.S. support for the regime embarassing.
"The point I'm making is that although they have good press today, the basic line of all the interference was that they had to do it because she [ousted president Isabel Peron] couldn't run the country," Rogers told his boss. "So I think the point is that we ought not at this moment to rush out and embrace this new regime--That three-sex months later will be considerably less popular with the press."
"But we shouldn't do the opposite either," Kissinger insists, adding that "Whatever chance they have, they will need a little encouragement from us."
"I do want to encourage them," he went on asking to review the instructions to Washington's Ambassador in Buenos Aires, Robert Hill, on his first meeting with the Junta's yet-to-be-named foreign minister. "I don't want to give the sense that they're harassed by the United States."
Washington approved 50 million dollars in military aid the following month.
The Mar. 26, 1976 transcript, which was obtained by NSA analyst Carlos Osorio, was one of a batch of documents posted overnight on the NSA's website, some of which had previously been obtained and publicized by the NSA, Argentina's Clarin newspaper, and John Dinges, author of the Condor Years.
Among them are a series of chilling documents collected by Osorio from several sources about the early days of Operation Condor, a trans-border collaboration among the Intelligence Agencies of the Southern Cone military regimes directed against suspected dissidents both within the region and abroad.
The documents detail the tracking down and eventual disappearance of a Uruguayan couple, Jorge Zaffaroni and Maria Islas Zaffaroni, between May and October 1976. The couple was among 62 alleged members of the OPR-33 Guerrilla Group who were listed in an Uruguayan Intelligence memo to their Southern Cone colleagues.
The newly posted documents also include a number of State Department and Pentagon memoranda on the number of victims of the Argentine Junta's repression, including one that cited 15,000 disappearances between 1975 and late 1978. Yet another Chilean document obtained by Dinges and also posted on the NSA site, cited a total figure of 22,000 dead and disappeared in Argentina from 1975 until mid-1978.
The 1976 coup followed a year in Argentina in which political violence by pro-government death squads and left-wing guerrillas engulfed the nation. As noted by Osario, the coup was seen by many in Argentina and in the U.S. government and business community as a necessary and inevitable step to restore stability to the country.
That assumption is reflected in the Kissinger transcript, "This Junta is testing the basic proposition that Argentina is not governable...," Rogers tells Kissinger, adding that the new regime will likely make "A considerable effort to involve the United States--particularly in the financial field."
"(T)hat's in our interest," Kissinger observes, as Rogers goes on to warn that Washington must "Expect a fair amount of repression, probably a good deal of blood, in Argentina before too long. I think they're going to have to come down very hard not only on the terrorists but on the dissidents of trade unions and their parties."
Kissinger's remarks about not harassing the regime regarding human rights were consistent with Washington's policy toward a number of military dictatorships at the time, including those of Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and Gen. Suharto in Indonesia, according to transcripts that have been obtained by the NSA and other sources in recent years.
In Argentina, however, the repression after the coup was so fierce that even Amb. Hill, who initially praised the military takeover as "The most civilized coup in Argentine history," appears to have been disgusted with the regime--and Kissinger's refusal to condemn its human rights record--within Just a few months.
Hill had urged Kissinger to warn the Junta's Foreign Minister, Admiral Cesar Guzetti, at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Santiago in June 1976 that aid could be cut back if the rights situation did not immediately improve.
But Kissinger failed even to bring up the issue. When, instead, Guzetti himself raised it, Kissinger asked only how much longer the repression would continue and indicated approval when Guzetti said it would last until the end of the year, according to a previously disclosed cable.
In succeeding months, Hill repeatedly tried to convince Guzetti that Washington would not tolerate continuing atrocities by the Junta--On the eve of a two-week trip by the foreign minister to Washington, Hill sent a cable to his superiors Sep. 20 in which he recounted those efforts, stating that he had told Guzetti that "Murdering priests and dumping 47 bodies in the street in one day could not be seen in context of defeating the terrorists quickly; on the contrary, such acts were probably counter-productive."
But Guzetti's visit to Washington--Where he held separate meetings with Kissinger, then--Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and Kissinger's top Latin American aid, Harry Shlaudeman--Failed to reinforce that message, according to a subsequent cable from Hill obtained by Dunges.
Guzetti had left for the United States, he wrote, "Fully expecting to hear some strong, firm, direct warnings on his government's human-rights practices. Rather than that, he has returned in a state of Jubilation, convinced there is no real problem with the United States over the issue."
Guzetti had told him that Kissinger "Had assured him that the United States 'wants to help Argentina'." Hill, now deceased, reported, "(and), that if the terrorist problem was over by December or January (Kissinger) believed serious problems could be avoided in the United States."
"Based on what Guzetti is doubtless reporting to the [government of Argentina], it must now believe that if it has any problems with the U.S. over human rights, they are confined to certain elements of Congress and what it regards as biased and/or uninformed minor segments of public opinion," he wrote in what Shlaudeman later called a "bitter criticism" of Kissinger's role.
Kissinger's response to Guzetti was remarkably similar to a conversation he held with Chilean General Augusto Pinochet at the OAS meeting in June 1976.
According to a memorandum of that meeting obtained and released 18 months ago by the National Security Archive, Kissinger reassured Pinochet repeatedly that Washington supported his Junta and the "overthrow of the communist-inclined government here," and that human rights concerns in Washington were confined to some sectors in Congress and were not shared by the Ford administration.
When Pinochet complained about efforts by Allende's exiled Defense Minister, Orlando Letelier to persuade Congress to cut off U.S. support for the Junta, Kissinger noted the existence of a "worldwide propaganda campaign by the communits."
Letelier was assassinated in Central Washington, D.C. in a Condor Operation in late September 1976, three months after Kissinger's conversation with Pinochet and Just days before Guzetti's arrival for talks with U.S. officials.
Source:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32641
*******************************************
Courtesy of: Inter Press Service
By Jim Lobe
March 25, 2006
Two days after the coup d'etat that brought a brutal military Junta to power in Argentina, then U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger ordered his subordinates to "encourage" the new regime by providing financial support, according to a previously classified transcript released here by the independent National Security Archive (NSA).
The document, whose public release came on the 30th anniversary of the coup, depicts Kissinger as uninterested in warnings by his assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs, William Rogers, that the Junta would likely intensify repression against suspected dissidents in ways that could make U.S. support for the regime embarassing.
"The point I'm making is that although they have good press today, the basic line of all the interference was that they had to do it because she [ousted president Isabel Peron] couldn't run the country," Rogers told his boss. "So I think the point is that we ought not at this moment to rush out and embrace this new regime--That three-sex months later will be considerably less popular with the press."
"But we shouldn't do the opposite either," Kissinger insists, adding that "Whatever chance they have, they will need a little encouragement from us."
"I do want to encourage them," he went on asking to review the instructions to Washington's Ambassador in Buenos Aires, Robert Hill, on his first meeting with the Junta's yet-to-be-named foreign minister. "I don't want to give the sense that they're harassed by the United States."
Washington approved 50 million dollars in military aid the following month.
The Mar. 26, 1976 transcript, which was obtained by NSA analyst Carlos Osorio, was one of a batch of documents posted overnight on the NSA's website, some of which had previously been obtained and publicized by the NSA, Argentina's Clarin newspaper, and John Dinges, author of the Condor Years.
Among them are a series of chilling documents collected by Osorio from several sources about the early days of Operation Condor, a trans-border collaboration among the Intelligence Agencies of the Southern Cone military regimes directed against suspected dissidents both within the region and abroad.
The documents detail the tracking down and eventual disappearance of a Uruguayan couple, Jorge Zaffaroni and Maria Islas Zaffaroni, between May and October 1976. The couple was among 62 alleged members of the OPR-33 Guerrilla Group who were listed in an Uruguayan Intelligence memo to their Southern Cone colleagues.
The newly posted documents also include a number of State Department and Pentagon memoranda on the number of victims of the Argentine Junta's repression, including one that cited 15,000 disappearances between 1975 and late 1978. Yet another Chilean document obtained by Dinges and also posted on the NSA site, cited a total figure of 22,000 dead and disappeared in Argentina from 1975 until mid-1978.
The 1976 coup followed a year in Argentina in which political violence by pro-government death squads and left-wing guerrillas engulfed the nation. As noted by Osario, the coup was seen by many in Argentina and in the U.S. government and business community as a necessary and inevitable step to restore stability to the country.
That assumption is reflected in the Kissinger transcript, "This Junta is testing the basic proposition that Argentina is not governable...," Rogers tells Kissinger, adding that the new regime will likely make "A considerable effort to involve the United States--particularly in the financial field."
"(T)hat's in our interest," Kissinger observes, as Rogers goes on to warn that Washington must "Expect a fair amount of repression, probably a good deal of blood, in Argentina before too long. I think they're going to have to come down very hard not only on the terrorists but on the dissidents of trade unions and their parties."
Kissinger's remarks about not harassing the regime regarding human rights were consistent with Washington's policy toward a number of military dictatorships at the time, including those of Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and Gen. Suharto in Indonesia, according to transcripts that have been obtained by the NSA and other sources in recent years.
In Argentina, however, the repression after the coup was so fierce that even Amb. Hill, who initially praised the military takeover as "The most civilized coup in Argentine history," appears to have been disgusted with the regime--and Kissinger's refusal to condemn its human rights record--within Just a few months.
Hill had urged Kissinger to warn the Junta's Foreign Minister, Admiral Cesar Guzetti, at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Santiago in June 1976 that aid could be cut back if the rights situation did not immediately improve.
But Kissinger failed even to bring up the issue. When, instead, Guzetti himself raised it, Kissinger asked only how much longer the repression would continue and indicated approval when Guzetti said it would last until the end of the year, according to a previously disclosed cable.
In succeeding months, Hill repeatedly tried to convince Guzetti that Washington would not tolerate continuing atrocities by the Junta--On the eve of a two-week trip by the foreign minister to Washington, Hill sent a cable to his superiors Sep. 20 in which he recounted those efforts, stating that he had told Guzetti that "Murdering priests and dumping 47 bodies in the street in one day could not be seen in context of defeating the terrorists quickly; on the contrary, such acts were probably counter-productive."
But Guzetti's visit to Washington--Where he held separate meetings with Kissinger, then--Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and Kissinger's top Latin American aid, Harry Shlaudeman--Failed to reinforce that message, according to a subsequent cable from Hill obtained by Dunges.
Guzetti had left for the United States, he wrote, "Fully expecting to hear some strong, firm, direct warnings on his government's human-rights practices. Rather than that, he has returned in a state of Jubilation, convinced there is no real problem with the United States over the issue."
Guzetti had told him that Kissinger "Had assured him that the United States 'wants to help Argentina'." Hill, now deceased, reported, "(and), that if the terrorist problem was over by December or January (Kissinger) believed serious problems could be avoided in the United States."
"Based on what Guzetti is doubtless reporting to the [government of Argentina], it must now believe that if it has any problems with the U.S. over human rights, they are confined to certain elements of Congress and what it regards as biased and/or uninformed minor segments of public opinion," he wrote in what Shlaudeman later called a "bitter criticism" of Kissinger's role.
Kissinger's response to Guzetti was remarkably similar to a conversation he held with Chilean General Augusto Pinochet at the OAS meeting in June 1976.
According to a memorandum of that meeting obtained and released 18 months ago by the National Security Archive, Kissinger reassured Pinochet repeatedly that Washington supported his Junta and the "overthrow of the communist-inclined government here," and that human rights concerns in Washington were confined to some sectors in Congress and were not shared by the Ford administration.
When Pinochet complained about efforts by Allende's exiled Defense Minister, Orlando Letelier to persuade Congress to cut off U.S. support for the Junta, Kissinger noted the existence of a "worldwide propaganda campaign by the communits."
Letelier was assassinated in Central Washington, D.C. in a Condor Operation in late September 1976, three months after Kissinger's conversation with Pinochet and Just days before Guzetti's arrival for talks with U.S. officials.
Source:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32641
***** Communism and Imperialism *****
************************************************
The soul of both of them is impatient and restless,
Both of them know not God, and deceive mankind.
One lives by production, the other by taxation,
And man is a glass caught between two stones.
The one put to rout science, religion, art,
The other robs the body of soul, the hand of bread.
I have perceived both drowned in water and clay,
Both bodily burnished, but utterly dark of heart.
Life means a passionate burning, an urge to make,
To cast in the dead clay the seed of heart...
~Allama Iqbal~
************************************************
The soul of both of them is impatient and restless,
Both of them know not God, and deceive mankind.
One lives by production, the other by taxation,
And man is a glass caught between two stones.
The one put to rout science, religion, art,
The other robs the body of soul, the hand of bread.
I have perceived both drowned in water and clay,
Both bodily burnished, but utterly dark of heart.
Life means a passionate burning, an urge to make,
To cast in the dead clay the seed of heart...
~Allama Iqbal~
*** Quote of the Day ***
*****************************
The eye only sees what the mind is ready to comprehend,
The mind is ready to comprehend what the soul is ready to accept now and then...
So I throw stones at the devil even if I don't see him,
But first at the man in the mirror to chase out the venom...
~unknown~
*****************************
The eye only sees what the mind is ready to comprehend,
The mind is ready to comprehend what the soul is ready to accept now and then...
So I throw stones at the devil even if I don't see him,
But first at the man in the mirror to chase out the venom...
~unknown~
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Islam Online's Live Dialogue
************************************
IslamOnline.net will host a live dialogue regarding the following subjects:
1) Apostasy in Islam: any change in the contemporary context?
Guest: Dr. Jamal Badawi, famous Da' iyah and member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
Date: Monday, March 27, 2006
Time: Makkah: 18:00 to 19:30 and GMT: 15:00 to 16:30
2) Back from Denmark: ask the IOL delegation.
Guest: Marwa Elnaggar and Arwa Mahmoud (IOL Staff)
Date: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Time: makkah: 17:00 to 19:00 and GMT: 14:00 to 16:00
Source:
http://islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/select.asp
************************************
IslamOnline.net will host a live dialogue regarding the following subjects:
1) Apostasy in Islam: any change in the contemporary context?
Guest: Dr. Jamal Badawi, famous Da' iyah and member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
Date: Monday, March 27, 2006
Time: Makkah: 18:00 to 19:30 and GMT: 15:00 to 16:30
2) Back from Denmark: ask the IOL delegation.
Guest: Marwa Elnaggar and Arwa Mahmoud (IOL Staff)
Date: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Time: makkah: 17:00 to 19:00 and GMT: 14:00 to 16:00
Source:
http://islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/select.asp
Recitation Of Surah At-Tahreem
****************************************
Shaikh Mishary ibn Rashid Al-'Afaasy leading Muslims in prayer,
reciting Surah At-Tahreem from the Holy Qur'an...
Feb 17, 2006
2 min, 29 sec
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1269664176999271739&q=mishary+rashid
****************************************
Shaikh Mishary ibn Rashid Al-'Afaasy leading Muslims in prayer,
reciting Surah At-Tahreem from the Holy Qur'an...
Feb 17, 2006
2 min, 29 sec
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1269664176999271739&q=mishary+rashid
***** Cheney's Downtime Requirements *****
*******************************************************
From: Comedy Central's, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Via: crooksandliars.com
Via: propagandamatrix.com
March 26 2006
http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/march2006/260306Cheney.htm
*******************************************************
From: Comedy Central's, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Via: crooksandliars.com
Via: propagandamatrix.com
March 26 2006
http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/march2006/260306Cheney.htm
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Honest Debate On The Mideast
***************************************
The Capital Times,
Madison, WI.
Published: March 22, 2006
A Cap Times Editorial
Writing in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last Saturday, former President Jimmy Carter offered this opinion on the long and frequently disappointing search for peace in the Middle East:
"The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's Colonization of Palestine. There were Just a few hundred settlers in the West Bank and Gaza when I became president, but the Likud government expanded settlement activity after I left office. President Ronald Reagan condemned this policy...President George H. W. Bush even threatened to reduce American aid to Israel.
Although President Bill Clinton made strong efforts to promote peace, a massive increase of settlers occurred during his administration, to 225,000, mostly while Ehud Barak was Prime Minister. Their best official offer to the Palestinians was to withdraw 20 percent of them, leaving 180,000 in 209 settlements, covering about 5 percent of the occupied land.
The 5 percent figure is grossly misleading, with surrounding areas taken or earmarked for expansion, roadways Joining settlements with each other and to Jerusalem, and wide arterial swaths providing water, sewage, electricity and communications. The intricate honeycomb divides the entire West Bank into multiple fragments, often uninhabitable or even unreachable...
This will never be acceptable either to Palestinians or to the International Community, and will inevitably precipitate increased tension and violence within Palestine, and stronger resentment from the Arab World against America, which will be held accountable for the plight of the Palestinians."
Though Carter's skepticism about the motives of particular Israeli leaders may be more gently stated than that "Expressed In The Capital Times Staurday" (1) by Madisonian Jennifer Lowenstein, it addresses similar concerns about the seriousness of the commitment of Israel's right-wing government to the peace process.
Lowenstein has lived and worked in Jerusalem, Gaza City and Beirut and regularly writes on these pages on Middle East issues. She asserted,
"For those who haven't noticed, Israel opposes a two-state solution. It has been doing everything in its power to prevent a Palestinian State from emerging and will continue to do so as long as it can count on the complicity of its powerful friends and on abundant popular indifference."
Like Carter's article, Lowenstein's piece has drawn criticism from those who suggest that Israel really is committed to forging peace with the Palestinians. One critic, UW Professor "Daniel S. Greenspan, Takes Us To Task" (2) for publishing Lowenstein's views, writing that her piece "Is meant to misinform and to breed hatred."
We have no doubt that Greenspan and others critical of Lowenstein are sincere in their sentiments. But we worry that they are mislabeling honest skepticism as "misinformation" and "hatred."
If we are ever to have an honest debate about making peace in the Middle East, it is essential to recongnize that sincere observers of the same actions may come to different conclusions about the intents and motivations of those involved. Thus, when considering Israel's commitment to the peace process, while Lowenstein sees a glass almost entirely empty, Greenspan sees a glass reasonably filled.
The Capital Times, which has long supported a two-state solution and tends to share the views of Jimmy Carter with regard to the peace process, does not accept the narrow character of the debate about Middle East policy that is found in most U.S. media. We want to encourage a broader debate. So we will continue to welcome contributions from writers whose interpretations of what is happening in the region will differ sometimes radically from one another.
That freewheeling discourse, which the Israelis have long enjoyed, needs also to take place in the United States, a country that, because of its special relationship with Israel, wields disproportionate influence in a region where the peace process needs far more encouragement than it is currently getting.
Source:
http://madison.com/tct/opinion/editorial/index.php?ntid=77179
1) Jennifer Lowenstein: Israel plows over human decency, Palestinians:
http://madison.com/tct/opinion/column/guest/index.php?ntid=76682&ntpid=2
2) Daniel S. Greenspan: West Bank piece was full of errors West Bank column full of
non-truths:
http://madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/index.php?ntid=77172&ntpid=0
***************************************
The Capital Times,
Madison, WI.
Published: March 22, 2006
A Cap Times Editorial
Writing in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last Saturday, former President Jimmy Carter offered this opinion on the long and frequently disappointing search for peace in the Middle East:
"The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's Colonization of Palestine. There were Just a few hundred settlers in the West Bank and Gaza when I became president, but the Likud government expanded settlement activity after I left office. President Ronald Reagan condemned this policy...President George H. W. Bush even threatened to reduce American aid to Israel.
Although President Bill Clinton made strong efforts to promote peace, a massive increase of settlers occurred during his administration, to 225,000, mostly while Ehud Barak was Prime Minister. Their best official offer to the Palestinians was to withdraw 20 percent of them, leaving 180,000 in 209 settlements, covering about 5 percent of the occupied land.
The 5 percent figure is grossly misleading, with surrounding areas taken or earmarked for expansion, roadways Joining settlements with each other and to Jerusalem, and wide arterial swaths providing water, sewage, electricity and communications. The intricate honeycomb divides the entire West Bank into multiple fragments, often uninhabitable or even unreachable...
This will never be acceptable either to Palestinians or to the International Community, and will inevitably precipitate increased tension and violence within Palestine, and stronger resentment from the Arab World against America, which will be held accountable for the plight of the Palestinians."
Though Carter's skepticism about the motives of particular Israeli leaders may be more gently stated than that "Expressed In The Capital Times Staurday" (1) by Madisonian Jennifer Lowenstein, it addresses similar concerns about the seriousness of the commitment of Israel's right-wing government to the peace process.
Lowenstein has lived and worked in Jerusalem, Gaza City and Beirut and regularly writes on these pages on Middle East issues. She asserted,
"For those who haven't noticed, Israel opposes a two-state solution. It has been doing everything in its power to prevent a Palestinian State from emerging and will continue to do so as long as it can count on the complicity of its powerful friends and on abundant popular indifference."
Like Carter's article, Lowenstein's piece has drawn criticism from those who suggest that Israel really is committed to forging peace with the Palestinians. One critic, UW Professor "Daniel S. Greenspan, Takes Us To Task" (2) for publishing Lowenstein's views, writing that her piece "Is meant to misinform and to breed hatred."
We have no doubt that Greenspan and others critical of Lowenstein are sincere in their sentiments. But we worry that they are mislabeling honest skepticism as "misinformation" and "hatred."
If we are ever to have an honest debate about making peace in the Middle East, it is essential to recongnize that sincere observers of the same actions may come to different conclusions about the intents and motivations of those involved. Thus, when considering Israel's commitment to the peace process, while Lowenstein sees a glass almost entirely empty, Greenspan sees a glass reasonably filled.
The Capital Times, which has long supported a two-state solution and tends to share the views of Jimmy Carter with regard to the peace process, does not accept the narrow character of the debate about Middle East policy that is found in most U.S. media. We want to encourage a broader debate. So we will continue to welcome contributions from writers whose interpretations of what is happening in the region will differ sometimes radically from one another.
That freewheeling discourse, which the Israelis have long enjoyed, needs also to take place in the United States, a country that, because of its special relationship with Israel, wields disproportionate influence in a region where the peace process needs far more encouragement than it is currently getting.
Source:
http://madison.com/tct/opinion/editorial/index.php?ntid=77179
1) Jennifer Lowenstein: Israel plows over human decency, Palestinians:
http://madison.com/tct/opinion/column/guest/index.php?ntid=76682&ntpid=2
2) Daniel S. Greenspan: West Bank piece was full of errors West Bank column full of
non-truths:
http://madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/index.php?ntid=77172&ntpid=0
***** What Have We Done? *****
***************************************
By Beckie Clymo & Dean Trudell (my father)
Hear me, oh Red man, if you want to save your hide,
Because here you surely cannot abide.
Take your pagan customs with you, please do,
Get off the planet, I would if I were you.
Don't cherish the land in which you were born,
We already have your tobacco and corn.
Without your help, we wouldn't have survived,
But now that civilization has been revived.
A payment is do, we'll pay you in lead,
We won't sleep a moment, until you're dead.
An enemy like you, we can't understand,
We take and you give, and you hold out your hand.
A handshake with you, makes my stomach turn,
How come you're stupid, how come you don't learn?
I believe in the saying that somebody said,
The only good Indian, is one that is dead.
Our god hates a heathen, now this we all know,
If he doesn't change his ways, to hell he must go.
So, we help out our god, in all the ways we can,
We kill all the pagans, and take over their land.
The diseases we've fed them, are working too slow,
They don't hurt enugh, not nearly enough woe.
We'll make them all starve, show them how low we can go,
So, we killed and we killed to the last Buffalo,
Bison don't fight back, so we made a great show,
We cut out their tongues and we ripped off their skins.
But god will forgive us for all our sins,
If we pray every morning and also at night,
Our sins are forgiven, everything is alright.
So, the survivors were put on a reservation,
The last lost people, of a proud nation.
People shouldn't go down, with the setting sun,
America what in god's name, have you done?
America the beautiful, America the free,
You've lost something essential, as it could be.
From your highest Mountain, to your shining Sea,
There should be a part of what used to be.
Not the clutter of mankind, everywhere you look,
Why not give back a little of what you took.
Native Americans, are still here today,
But no body listens, to what they have to say.
They said it before, and they say it again,
You can't own the land, you don't own the rain.
So, why can't we learn from people who know,
They have only been here, twenty thousand years or so.
Could it be that they know this immense and great land,
Like you know your children, or the back of your hand.
Why haven't we learned from people so great,
We are here today, we leave what we take.
Be it Jungles of garbage, or polluted water,
The land still owns you, you're only a squatter.
***************************************
By Beckie Clymo & Dean Trudell (my father)
Hear me, oh Red man, if you want to save your hide,
Because here you surely cannot abide.
Take your pagan customs with you, please do,
Get off the planet, I would if I were you.
Don't cherish the land in which you were born,
We already have your tobacco and corn.
Without your help, we wouldn't have survived,
But now that civilization has been revived.
A payment is do, we'll pay you in lead,
We won't sleep a moment, until you're dead.
An enemy like you, we can't understand,
We take and you give, and you hold out your hand.
A handshake with you, makes my stomach turn,
How come you're stupid, how come you don't learn?
I believe in the saying that somebody said,
The only good Indian, is one that is dead.
Our god hates a heathen, now this we all know,
If he doesn't change his ways, to hell he must go.
So, we help out our god, in all the ways we can,
We kill all the pagans, and take over their land.
The diseases we've fed them, are working too slow,
They don't hurt enugh, not nearly enough woe.
We'll make them all starve, show them how low we can go,
So, we killed and we killed to the last Buffalo,
Bison don't fight back, so we made a great show,
We cut out their tongues and we ripped off their skins.
But god will forgive us for all our sins,
If we pray every morning and also at night,
Our sins are forgiven, everything is alright.
So, the survivors were put on a reservation,
The last lost people, of a proud nation.
People shouldn't go down, with the setting sun,
America what in god's name, have you done?
America the beautiful, America the free,
You've lost something essential, as it could be.
From your highest Mountain, to your shining Sea,
There should be a part of what used to be.
Not the clutter of mankind, everywhere you look,
Why not give back a little of what you took.
Native Americans, are still here today,
But no body listens, to what they have to say.
They said it before, and they say it again,
You can't own the land, you don't own the rain.
So, why can't we learn from people who know,
They have only been here, twenty thousand years or so.
Could it be that they know this immense and great land,
Like you know your children, or the back of your hand.
Why haven't we learned from people so great,
We are here today, we leave what we take.
Be it Jungles of garbage, or polluted water,
The land still owns you, you're only a squatter.
Bush's Vision For America
*********************************
Courtesy of: Bushflash.com
By Eric Blumrich
14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism...
http://bushflash.com/14.html
*********************************
Courtesy of: Bushflash.com
By Eric Blumrich
14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism...
http://bushflash.com/14.html
Friday, March 24, 2006
***** Various Fright Bloopers! *****
******************************************
This is a funny video compilation...
http://livedigital.com/ACYisAC00g/content/5842/p4
******************************************
This is a funny video compilation...
http://livedigital.com/ACYisAC00g/content/5842/p4
Poll: Israeli Racism Towards Arab Palestinians
***********************************************************
~Poll: 68% Of Jews Would Refuse To Live In Same Building As An Arab~
Ha'aretz Daily
By Eli Ashkenazi and Jack Khoury
Fri, March 24, 2006
Sixty-eight percent of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an Israeli Arab, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center For The Struggle Against Racism.
The "Index Of Racism Towards Arab Palestinian Citizens Of The State Of Israel," conducted by Geocartographia, revealed 26 percent of Jews In Israel would agree to live with Arab neighbors in the Same building.
Forty-six percent of Jews would refuse to allow an Arab to visit their home while 50 percent would welcome an Arab visitor. Forty-one percent of Jews support the segregation of Jews and Arabs in places of recreation and 52 percent of such Jews would oppose such a move.
The inclination toward segregation rises as the income level of the poll respondents drops and also as the level of religion observance rises. Support for segregation between Jews and Arabs is also high among Jews of Middle Eastern origin as opposed to those of European origin.
"Racism is becoming mainstream. When people talk about transfer or about Arabs as a demographic time-bomb, no one raises their voice against such statements. This is a worrisome phenomenon," Bachar Ouda, director of the Center For The Struggle Against Racism, said on Tuesday.
The report covered the year 2005 and the center will, in the future, present monthly and bi-annual polls.
The Index, edited by Ouda and attorney Ala Khaider, surveys racially-motivated incidents that took place during 2005 and examines the attitudes of Israeli Jews toward Israeli Arabs.
During the course of 2005, 225 racially-motivated incidents directed at Arab citizens were reported to the center or in the media. The center believes that less than 20 percent of attacks or other incidents are ever reported.
Seventy-five percent of the reports on racist incidents came from institutional sources such as governments, government companies or publicly-elected officials.
The poll further revealed that 63 percent of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement,
"Arabs are a security and demographic threat to the State of Israel." Thirty-one percent of Jews did not agree. Agreement with the statement was strongest among orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews and low-income earners.
Forty percent of Jews believe "the state needs to support the emigration of Arab citizens" and Just 52 percent don't agree with the statement.
Thirty-four percent also agreed with the statement that "Arab culture is inferior to Israeli culture." Fifty-seven percent did not agree with the statement.
Half of Israeli Jews express fear or discomfort when hearing people speaking Arabic.
Eighteen percent of Jews said they feel hate when hearing Arabic speakers.
Responding to the report, Hadash chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh said racism against Israeli Arabs "Is a direct result of official racist and discriminatory policies," dictated by the government.
Source:
http://haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/697458.html
***********************************************************
~Poll: 68% Of Jews Would Refuse To Live In Same Building As An Arab~
Ha'aretz Daily
By Eli Ashkenazi and Jack Khoury
Fri, March 24, 2006
Sixty-eight percent of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an Israeli Arab, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center For The Struggle Against Racism.
The "Index Of Racism Towards Arab Palestinian Citizens Of The State Of Israel," conducted by Geocartographia, revealed 26 percent of Jews In Israel would agree to live with Arab neighbors in the Same building.
Forty-six percent of Jews would refuse to allow an Arab to visit their home while 50 percent would welcome an Arab visitor. Forty-one percent of Jews support the segregation of Jews and Arabs in places of recreation and 52 percent of such Jews would oppose such a move.
The inclination toward segregation rises as the income level of the poll respondents drops and also as the level of religion observance rises. Support for segregation between Jews and Arabs is also high among Jews of Middle Eastern origin as opposed to those of European origin.
"Racism is becoming mainstream. When people talk about transfer or about Arabs as a demographic time-bomb, no one raises their voice against such statements. This is a worrisome phenomenon," Bachar Ouda, director of the Center For The Struggle Against Racism, said on Tuesday.
The report covered the year 2005 and the center will, in the future, present monthly and bi-annual polls.
The Index, edited by Ouda and attorney Ala Khaider, surveys racially-motivated incidents that took place during 2005 and examines the attitudes of Israeli Jews toward Israeli Arabs.
During the course of 2005, 225 racially-motivated incidents directed at Arab citizens were reported to the center or in the media. The center believes that less than 20 percent of attacks or other incidents are ever reported.
Seventy-five percent of the reports on racist incidents came from institutional sources such as governments, government companies or publicly-elected officials.
The poll further revealed that 63 percent of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement,
"Arabs are a security and demographic threat to the State of Israel." Thirty-one percent of Jews did not agree. Agreement with the statement was strongest among orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews and low-income earners.
Forty percent of Jews believe "the state needs to support the emigration of Arab citizens" and Just 52 percent don't agree with the statement.
Thirty-four percent also agreed with the statement that "Arab culture is inferior to Israeli culture." Fifty-seven percent did not agree with the statement.
Half of Israeli Jews express fear or discomfort when hearing people speaking Arabic.
Eighteen percent of Jews said they feel hate when hearing Arabic speakers.
Responding to the report, Hadash chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh said racism against Israeli Arabs "Is a direct result of official racist and discriminatory policies," dictated by the government.
Source:
http://haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/697458.html
Carpe Diem Memento Mori
**********************************
The Nasheed is by Ahmed Bukhatir
This is a nice video with a compilation of various Ayat's from the Holy Quran and Hadith's by the Prophet Muhammad (ASW), for the purpose of reminding us that we all must taste death...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-952803760717379037&q=nasheed+death
**********************************
The Nasheed is by Ahmed Bukhatir
This is a nice video with a compilation of various Ayat's from the Holy Quran and Hadith's by the Prophet Muhammad (ASW), for the purpose of reminding us that we all must taste death...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-952803760717379037&q=nasheed+death
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Americans View Muslims Favorably
*********************************************
The Washington Times
By Cheryl Wetzstein
March 23, 2006
Most Ameicans hold favorable views of American Muslims, and almost half say Islam doesn't encourage violence more than other religions, according to a study released yesterday at an International Interfaith Conference.
These findings offer hope that Muslims eventually will be accepted and integrated into American society as people of other faiths have been, said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which conducted the study.
However, many Americans remain wary of Muslims and Islam, Mr. Lugo said more personal friendships and education should improve chances for interreligious relations.
Nearly all of yesterday's conference speakers decried terrorism by "extremists" and "radicals."
The Pew findings were presented at the International Conference on Faith and Service in Washington, which featured conciliatory messages from leaders of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths; Indonesian scholar and special envoy Alwi Shihab,
and Karen Hughes, the State Department's Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy.
Catholics and Jews were once objects of "widespread and often institutionalized discrimination" in America, Mr. Lugo said. But by 2005, three-quarters of Americans viewed these religions favorably.
Such findings "strongly suggest that the United States has the capacity to overcome historical religious divisions and prejudices," he said.
The findings also showed that 60 percent of Americans think recent terrorist attacks represent a conflict with "a small radical group," not "the people of Islam."
Mrs. Hughes also spoke yesterday about the Afghan man who is facing death for converting to Christianity.
"This case clearly violates the universal freedom held dear by democratic people throughout the world, and we believe it violates the Afghan constitution, which guarantees the right of an individual to freedom of religion," she said.
"We are deeply concerned and have expressed those concerns to the Afghan government."
Islamic doctrine says there "shall be no compulsion in religion" and says people of all faiths should be allowed to practice their religion unmolested, said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf head of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.
"It is a travesty of Islamic Law and Islamic Thought" that these principles are violated today.
Source:
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060322-114250-4339r.htm
*********************************************
The Washington Times
By Cheryl Wetzstein
March 23, 2006
Most Ameicans hold favorable views of American Muslims, and almost half say Islam doesn't encourage violence more than other religions, according to a study released yesterday at an International Interfaith Conference.
These findings offer hope that Muslims eventually will be accepted and integrated into American society as people of other faiths have been, said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which conducted the study.
However, many Americans remain wary of Muslims and Islam, Mr. Lugo said more personal friendships and education should improve chances for interreligious relations.
Nearly all of yesterday's conference speakers decried terrorism by "extremists" and "radicals."
The Pew findings were presented at the International Conference on Faith and Service in Washington, which featured conciliatory messages from leaders of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths; Indonesian scholar and special envoy Alwi Shihab,
and Karen Hughes, the State Department's Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy.
Catholics and Jews were once objects of "widespread and often institutionalized discrimination" in America, Mr. Lugo said. But by 2005, three-quarters of Americans viewed these religions favorably.
Such findings "strongly suggest that the United States has the capacity to overcome historical religious divisions and prejudices," he said.
The findings also showed that 60 percent of Americans think recent terrorist attacks represent a conflict with "a small radical group," not "the people of Islam."
Mrs. Hughes also spoke yesterday about the Afghan man who is facing death for converting to Christianity.
"This case clearly violates the universal freedom held dear by democratic people throughout the world, and we believe it violates the Afghan constitution, which guarantees the right of an individual to freedom of religion," she said.
"We are deeply concerned and have expressed those concerns to the Afghan government."
Islamic doctrine says there "shall be no compulsion in religion" and says people of all faiths should be allowed to practice their religion unmolested, said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf head of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.
"It is a travesty of Islamic Law and Islamic Thought" that these principles are violated today.
Source:
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060322-114250-4339r.htm