UAE OIC condemn killing of British soldier

May 24th, 2013 No comments

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have strongly condemned the killing of a British soldier in Woolwich, London. “This brutal act is rejected by all religions and deserves every condemnation and denunciation,” UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said. Sheikh Abdullah also expressed the UAE’s solidarity with Britain in combating …
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Weekend Nostalgia Video: King Farouq’s Succession, Two Weddings

May 24th, 2013 No comments

We’re going into the three-day Memorial Day weekend here in the US; I
may have a post or two later, but let’s do a weekend nostalgia post in
case I don’t. Here are some videos of key moments in King Farouq of Egypt’s life, in brief clips (apparently previews) of British newsreels (not responsible for the narrator’;s commentary):

Farouq’s return to Egypt from the UK after the death of his father, Fuad I, in 1936:

Farouq’s marriage to Queen Farida (Safinaz Zulfiqar), January 20, 1938 (Farouq divorced Farida in 1948:

Farouq’s second marriage, to Queen Narriman (Narriman Sadek,a commoner), May 6, 1951:

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Hezbollah: EU making big mistake

May 24th, 2013 No comments

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah’s deputy chief says the European Union would be making a “big mistake” to label the Lebanese Shiite militant group “terrorist.”
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Syrian regime OKs peace talks amid skepticism

May 24th, 2013 No comments

Head of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Mouaz al-Khatib reacts as he arrives for the group's meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 23, 2013. A spokesman said Syria's main opposition bloc welcomes renewed calls by its foreign supporters that Syrian President Bashar Assad give up power at the start of any political transition aimed at ending the country's civil war. The three-day meeting started in Istanbul to lay out conditions for possible talks with regime representatives in Geneva next month.(AP Photo/Bulent Kilic, Pool)BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's government has agreed to attend a U.S.-Russian-brokered peace conference, according to Moscow. While this development might seem at first glance to be a step toward ending the civil war, strong skepticism persists on both sides.

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My Visit to the Iraqi National Museum (Photo Gallery)

May 24th, 2013 No comments

Here is a photo gallery from my visit on May 9, 2013, to the Iraqi National Museum, courtesy the Ministry of Culture. Ancient Iraq or Mesopotamia was, of course, the cradle of civilization, and the treasures on display are breathtaking.

Donald Rumsfeld allowed thousands of items to be looted from the museum in 2003. (US soldiers watched the looting happen but were ordered not to intervene). Many artifacts have been recovered but 3000 – 7000 are still missing. Most of the really important and striking pieces are back on display. Some things, including precious cuneiform tablets chronicling the dawn of civilization, were forever destroyed. The damage to the museum and its collection is yet another black mark against the Bush administration and, sorry, the United States of America, which by its illegal and brutal invasion and occupation diminished our store of knowledge about a crucial period of world history.

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Tunisia’s Crackdown on Ansar al-Shari‘a

May 24th, 2013 No comments

Over the past week the Tunisian government has pursued a active campaign against the Salafi Ansar al-Shari‘a movement, having moved to break up the movement’s attempt to hold its annual conference in Kairouan, Tunisia’s historic religious center. After clashes between the movement and security forces, the government arrested hundreds, though some of these were subsequently released.

Kairouan

The government, dominated by  the Al-Nahda (Annahda) Party, itself moderate Islamist, has in the past been accused of being soft on some radical Salafi movements, but that is clearly no longer the case. The government has declared Ansar al-Shari‘a an illegal organization, blocked its meeting in Kairouan, and claimed that some plotters arrested for planning terrorist attacks had links to the movement.

The clashes in Kairouan between authorities and followers of the movement appear to mark a new determination on the part of the government to check the growing assertiveness of Ansar al-Shari‘a, a Salafi movement sometimes described as a jihadi movement.

Adding to the explosiveness of the situation last week in Kairouan, during the confrontation Femen activist Amina Tyler was arrested in Kairouan, allegedly for planning to disrobe in front of the Ansar al-Shari‘a.

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“If you Eat a 2000 Hamburgers in the Name of Vegetarianism, You aren’t an Extremist Vegetarian”; Nabil responds to Woolwich Murder

May 24th, 2013 No comments

Nabil goes in: A British Muslim responds to the Woolwich murder in which Lee Rigby, 25, of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was butchered by clearly unbalanced persons. Our hearts go out to the Rigbys.

h/t reddit.com, where it went to the top today.

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When Politicians promise ‘Lower Taxes’ they are promising Collapsed Bridges

May 24th, 2013 No comments

The next time you hear politicians campaigning on “lower taxes,” you should realize two things.

First, they don’t intend to lower your taxes, which are probably mostly social security. In fact, they might like effectively to raise those taxes by extending the retirement age. They mean they intend to lower taxes for rich people and corporations.

Second, what they really mean is that they intend to deny you basic social services of the sort government provides through your taxes, such as upkeep of roads and bridges. They want to allow the trucking and other corporations who use those resources to escape paying for them (most road degradation is caused by trucks), and pass the cost on to you, either in the form of tolls or of deteriorating infrastructure. I.e., when they campaign on lower taxes they are actually promising you that your bridges will collapse. Like the one in Washington state.

12% of bridges –i.e. thousands and thousands of them– in the United States are “structurally deficient.”

“An I-5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon[, Washington,] collapsed Thursday evening, sending cars and people into the water. Three people were rescued from the water and taken to hospitals.”

AP interviews a survivor:

The implications for other states:

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Scowcroft: " If (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) left tomorrow, it would not be all peace and quiet.”

May 24th, 2013 No comments

“… Americans think “instinctively” they ought help put an end to the civil war, Mr. Scowcroft said in a video interview on WSJ.com. But, he added, “I don’t see how we can help. If we actively participate, as many say, in Syria, then we’re going to own Syria. And we don’t know how to solve the Syrian problem.”Asked whether he is advocating arming rebels or setting up a no-fly zone, Mr. Scowcroft replied, “No, I’m not. This is a very difficult situation. If (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) left tomorrow, it would not be all peace and quiet.”
Instead, he endorsed an effort by Secretary of State John Kerry to work with Moscow, an ally of and arms supplier to the Syrian government, to work out an end to the violence…”


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Austria Wants EU Arms Embargo to Syria Extended

May 24th, 2013 No comments

“… He also said a flow of weapons into the country could exacerbate the conflict, threaten a U.S.-Russian initiative to end it, and further split the U.N. Security Council on how to work together on the issue.“We believe there are enough weapons in Syria,” Spindelegger said. “We support a cease-fire, not weapons deliveries.”…”


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