Sauds Block 2000 Websites

Because "Rolling Stone" magazine corrupts. It's a crap magazine, to be sure ... I ban it from my house by simply not paying for it. The Saudis have gone a step further, blocking lots of porn sites ( such as companies selling bathing suits) and also sites about women, health, drugs and pop culture.

Okay, iVillage.com is on my list of personal sites banned also. I am not a fan of censorship but I appreciate their judgment.

To the Saud's credit, at least they tell their citizens a site is banned. China simply gives the users an error message for all of their banned sites.

Article Here

Syrian Dissidents Jailed For Trying To Change The Constitution

Not surprisingly, Aref Dalila is an economist and Walid Bunni is a human rights activist. Dalila got ten years in jail and Bunni five. The two men were convicted on charges of trying to change the constitution, inciting armed rebellion and spreading false information.

Article Here

Jerusalem: Greek Orthodox Church Spokesman Replaced for Supporting Suicide Attacks

In a lecture given at the Arab League think tank The Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-Up in Abu-Dhabi on June 19, 2002, Atalla Hanna said: "The fundamental principle endorsed by all the Palestinian political factions is to continue the Intifada against the Israeli atrocities. Therefore, the Church fully supports the resistance for the sake of liberation from Israel. As you know, the political factions in Palestine agree on the continuation of the Intifada, which includes different ways of struggle. Some freedom fighters adopt martyrdom or suicide bombings, while others opt for other measures... Don't expect us to keep [a] distance and watch. We are in the struggle whether it is martyrdom or any other means... The Muslims and the Christians are one and cannot be separated from the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. We are Palestinians and Arabs."

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7 Dead In Hebrew University Bombing

A Palestinian bombing killed at least seven people and wounded more than 80 on Wednesday in a cafeteria at an international students center in Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

The military wing of the fundamentalist Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was in revenge for an air strike in Gaza last week that killed its commander and 14 other Palestinians, including nine children.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the bombing.
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Egyptian Court Convicts Islamists

A strike against terrorism or repression of free speech?
An Egyptian military court has convicted 16 men - mainly academics and professionals - of belonging to the outlawed Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned in 1954, says it wants to establish an Islamic state in Egypt through democratic means. Critics of the conviction say that the 22 men were targeted on the basis of their beliefs, and that no-one should be jailed for non-violent political activities.

The Muslim Brotherhood was banned by former President Gamal Abdel Nasser after an attempt on his life in 1954.

Article Here

Palestinian Suicide Bomber Fails To Kill Jews -- Will Not Get Dozens of Virgins

Muslim clerics said they will appeal to Allah for an exemption since the bomber did enter a felafel shop with the intention of killing Jews. "Premature explosion happens to everyone at some point," the cleric said. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Article Here

Feds Arrest Two al Qaida Suspects With Plans To Poison Water

Profiling is our friend. Surprisingly, neither of the two were Prussian Christian Fundamentalists but rather James Ujaama, brother of Mustafa Ujaama, the founder of the now-closed Dar-us-Salaam mosque in Seattle which is suspected of aiding in terrorist activities and established several websites for radical Islamic clerics worldwide. The other suspect is Semi Osman.

Sources say the Ujaama brothers and Osman are all tied to a prominent radical Muslim cleric in London named Sheikh Abu Hamza Al-Masri. Al- Masri is a one-eyed mullah who is often seen preaching at Finsbury Park's North London Central Mosque and is wanted in Yemen on terrorism charges.

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Report Says Bin Laden Alive -- Again -- In Other News, Crazy Guy On The Corner Says The Apocalypse Coming 'Real Soon'

If there was as many live bin Laden's as these reports say, George Lucas would have made a crappy movie about the army of them running around. London-based in-house al Qaida paper Ash Sharq al-Awsat says, again, that he is alive and that more attacks will happen, this time in August. We're still waiting for the July 4th ones, guys.

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Another Saudi Prince Dead

Just a coincidence. Saudi Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Saud al Kabir has been found dead in his country's searing desert, the official SPA news agency said early on Tuesday, adding that the prince apparently died of thirst.

Prince Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki al-Saud, 41, died in a road accident on July 23 as he was driving from the coastal resort of Jeddah to the capital Riyadh for the funeral of his cousin Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, 43, who had died the day before of a heart attack.

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Iraq Adds Military To Kuwait Border

Now the Kuwaitis like the US again. Funny how that works ...

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Egyptian Human Rights Activist Sentenced To 7 Years Hard Labor For Distorting Egypt's Image Abroad

I guess he's not really distorting it if you can be sentenced to hard labor for speaking out on human rights issues ...

Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who holds dual Egyptian and American citizenship, is a professor of political science at the American University of Cairo. He and 27 colleagues from his Ibn Khaldoun Center for Developmental Studies were tried by a state security court and found guilty in May 2001.

His conviction was overturned but in the new trial he was convicted again. State security agents accused Ibrahim of accepting a bribe from the European Union in exchange for information about Egypt and a videotape about general elections in 2000 that allegedly distorted Egypt's image.

Article Here

Bin Laden's Son?

al Qaida in-house newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat says Osama bin Laden's eldest son, Saad, has taken over as leader of al Qaida.

Nice work, Saad. Why not just tattoo a big bullseye on your forehead?

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Palestinian Girl Killed By Israeli Settlers

I'm fascinated by this article in Arab News ... they write "enraged Jewish settlers rampaged, guns ablaze, through this West Bank city" ... the girl was killed on her balcony, they wrote, "near a shrine."

Who puts their child out on a balcony when guns are going off?

What the article leaves out is that these 'rampaging settlers' were provoked by Palestinians throwing rocks and iron rods from roofs overlooking the procession ... a procession that was returning from a funeral that was caused by Palestinians last Thursday.

Throwing rocks from your balcony, and sticking your children out their to either help with the rock throwing or to be shot, is not exactly the way to garner international sympathy.

Arab News Version

or

UPI Version

Liberal Arab Columnist on How Palestinians Have Missed Opportunities

"Clinton presented proposals to the Palestinian leaders on a golden platter, and they answered him with an Intifada of armed struggle and suicide bombings - in an era when these are no longer appropriate. Thus, at one blow, we lost [both] the land ... and our reputation. The occupation army returned [to the territories] and in everyone's eyes our image was tarnished by egotism unprecedented in our history."

Amen.

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Iraq stops visas for Asian groups

No one seems to know why. They only get a small number of religious visitors to Karbala, Najaf, Koufa and other holy sites but even that has been halted unless special approval is received from Baghdad.

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Palestinian Gunmen Kill 4 Israelis

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Arab nations halt funding after reports Arafat embezzled aid

Among the countries that have suspended funding are Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the sources said. They said Egypt and Jordan have sent little financial help and instead have focused on the transfer of food and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

Article Here

Iran Rejects Legalized Brothel Proposal

The Ministry's Social Council was responding to the growing prostitution problem in Iran by proposing 'decency houses' but cancelled the idea when religious and women's groups protested.

Under the proposal, unmarried men and women could sign up at a registration center, get medical checks, then be paid off after the men paid a fee for a temporary marriage license. They would then be directed to a place where police would not harass them.

Welfare officials say there are at least 300,000 prostitutes working in the country. Drug abuse and crime are on the increase, and the number of girls running away from home is rising steadily. Officials say nearly two million women are without homes, and one million lack any kind of social benefits.

Article Here

Iran bans reformist newspaper

Nouruz, the leading reformist newspaper in Iran, has been banned for six months and Mohsen Mirdamadi, the paper's director and a member of the Iran Parliament, has been sentenced to jail for the same length of time.

He may not actually go to jail since he is a distinguished member of parliament and heads the Maglis foreign affairs and national security committee. He also also been prohibited from engaging in press activities for four years.

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Israeli Troops Demolish Gaza 'Rocket Workshops'

Israeli soldiers pushed into Gaza City Friday, using demolition charges to blow up buildings where they said Palestinians had been making rockets.

Palestinian security officials said four Palestinians were wounded in the three-hour raid, Israel's first in the area since an air strike there Tuesday killed a top militant and 14 others and drew international condemnation.

Article Here

Signs of Increasing Malnutrition In Palestinian Children

You never know how these things will be spun. A well-known terrorist leader is killed along with most of this family and Israel is condemned. If I were a terrorist and I was worried about my family, I would stay away from them. Terrorists are perfectly willing to sacrifice their families to make Israelis look bad ... yet somehow Israel is to blame for not wanting to be bombed any more.

Likewise, Israel is going to be condemned because they aren't giving money to Arafat, even when there is evidence he is skimming money off of the top and likely using it to help fellow terrorists. No one is going to tell the Palestinians to stop suicide bombs so that they can get all of the tax revenue they had before.

Just how is it that Arafat, with no job, has so much money to keep his wife and child in luxury in a foreign country anyway?

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Saddam Plans October Referendum

About his 'Presidency' of course, not equal rights or religious tolerance. In the last referendum of 1995, he got 99.96% of the vote ... and there was 99.47% turnout among the more than 8 million voters.

I guess there's always room for improvement.

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Musharraf promises free, fair elections

Unless you want to run on the platform of a secular government or you are non-Mulsim,that is ...

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UN Studies Show Arab Nations Lowest In Human Development

Under the joint auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development a recently published report, Arab Human Development Report 2002 (Creating Opportunities for Future Generations), diagnosed human development in 22 Arab countries in a forthcoming and even blunt manner.

To sum up ... they found that regarding political process, civil liberties, political rights and independence of the media, the Arab nations were the lowest in the world.

Regarding education, 65 out of 280 million Arabs are illiterate, and of that 65 million two thirds are women.

Other findings were that 51% of youths wanted to emigrate, they had less internet access than sub-Saharan Africa, and that R&D spending was one fourth of what Cuba spends.

You can imagine the reception this thing got ...

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4 Pakistani militants brag about massacre

I suppose that is the same as those Christian Prussian Fundamentalists bragging about shooting up Muslims and their holy sites except ... whoops ... that hasn't actually happened.

16 members of St. Dominic's Roman Catholic Church in Bahawalpur and a policeman were killed in the October 28 massacre.

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Palestinian Authority To Accuse Sharon Before ICC

Surprise!! As if anyone didn't know this would be among the first orders of business for this 'world' body. It helps to have half the countries of the world made up of tyrants, dictators and criminals ...

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White House criticizes Israeli raid

The White House took aim Tuesday at Israel's bombing of a Gaza City neighborhood, saying the action, in which at least 15 people -- including the military head of the radical Hamas group -- were killed, was "heavy-handed" and did not contribute to peace.

"The president's concern here is that there is a loss of innocent lives," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "The president has been, and will continue to be, the first to defend Israel -- in this case, the president sees it differently.

Article Here

West Bank Withdrawl Proposed

The only catch? Palestinians have to secure it themselves and that means stop the attacks.

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Lebanese Islamic Terrorists Warn Army

And they planted a bomb in a Mosque frequented by Muslim cleric Sheikh Maher Hammoud, who helped in the arrest of suspected Islam terrorist Badie Hamadeh.

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Meanwhile, Hamas Says They Will 'Consider' Halting Attacks If Israeli Withdraws

Ah, for the good old days, when the notion of Hamas 'consideration' was enough to cause a tizzy of European optimism and calls for Israel to stop being so belligerent. I think for once in this 54 year history it is finally time for the terrorists to stop first.

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Former Palestinian Apologist Calls on Hamas To Stop The Bombing

He cites the following reasons:
It serves Israel's cause
It is irrational and nihilistic
It has never worked
Unless they do something more constructive quickly, their opportunity will be lost

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Palestinians warn Israel: Don't deport

Ahmed Abdel Rahman, secretary general of the Palestinian Authority cabinet, warned Israel Friday that its plan to deport family members of recent suicide bombers would lead to more violence and bloodshed.

More bloodshed? If they weren't bombing people in the first place, they wouldn't be deported. What's the worst that will happen? I think it's a safe bet that if all of the families raising these suicide bombers are deported, the bombings will stop.

Rahman added that such punishment was a violation of international laws that protect civilians in times of war. The flaw in his reasoning is that terrorism does not count as war.

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More Muslim Intolerance

There was a whole outcry from well-meaning lefties when a few rednecks attacked Indian temples after 9/11 ... rednecks so smart they were not even aware the temples weren't Muslim. The President went out of his way to reaffirm that this was not a fight with Islam.

Where are the Muslim leaders and their outrage about all of the attacks on Christians in these Muslim countries?

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Muslims Deliver Death Sentence To Christian Blasphemer of Islam

I don't suppose it would be worthwhile to mention that civilized cultures do not kill people of other religions even if they disagree with yours. The fact that he also claimed to be Jesus Christ should have told them he was not mentally competent.

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Another Armed Baby Photo Found

It is expected this will be dismissed as another harmless Palestinian joke.

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Saleem Abu Sultan, Consul General of Palestine, Says No Muslim Involved in 9/11

He goes on to say America is using the mid-east crisis to further her own agenda. Funny, the Arab states look that way too. Then again, America isn't insisting that for there to be peace Israel has to be overrun by Arabs. America isn't paying people to strap bombs to themselves.

"Bush is not ready to even say hello to Yasser Arafat, check and discuss with him the issue. America plans things and knows what it exactly wants from a certain area. They always plan like they planned in the case of the recent September 11 attacks and blamed bin Laden and the Muslims," he said.

"But no Muslim was involved in it. They planned it. Thus for this area also they planned for years and tried to find the players to support their plan."

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Khaled Al-Sulaiman Tries To Extend Racism Beyond Jews -- To African Muslims As Well

He doesn't speak for the majority of Muslims, thankfully.

'The bomb I am speaking of, for those who want to know, is the large number of Africans in the city; they are there illegally and as they encroach on the city and its facilities, they have become a public menace. They show no respect for the law whatsoever. They make it plain that all they care about is making money ? and by whatever means is available to them. They multiply like rabbits and every one of their children becomes no more than another tool for making money. They trade in everything, buying and selling; they work in gangs with each gang having its own area where outsiders are not allowed. They are seen on every street and at every traffic light. Like weeds in the soil of rich farmland, they threaten to engulf everything and take over.'

He goes on.

An italian once said a similar thing about Muslims and it caused a lot of controversy. Mecca is closed to non-Muslims and there are some who would like to see it closed to everyone except the 'right' kind of Muslims.



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Tarek Heggy On A Reasonable Middle Solution To The Mid-East Crisis

The sticky point through the last few years has been 'right of return.' Sure, there is some dispute about control over Jerusalem but that's easily solved with an international coalition in control of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian sites in contention. Preferably with EU soldiers there -- use Norwegians.

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Salama A Salama Discusses What Focusing On Israel Is Costing the Arab States

At the Middle East Institute tin Washington I was asked by one of the researchers why Egypt, having concluded a peace agreement with Israel, was not paying more attention to its people? Why, they wanted to know, is energy being constantly expended on defending Palestinian rights when, at the same time, there are no attempts to undertake the actions necessary to improve standards of living or to formulate the kind of policies that would more effectively meet the health care and educational needs of the Egyptian population?

It is exactly such questions, and the thousands more that can be asked along similar lines, that oblige Arabs to undertake a serious, deep reading of the UN Development Programme Arab Office's report. For one thing is absolutely certain, no changes will occur without Arabs first facing the facts, however unpalatable they may be.

The rest of the Article Here

European boycott targets Israeli universities

Hundreds of European academics have called for a boycott of Israeli universities to protest treatment of the Palestinians ? a move that has led to the firing of two Israelis from British publications and prompted charges of discrimination and intellectual censorship.

Boycott supporters say they are exerting political pressure on the Israeli government. But Miriam Shlesinger says she is a victim of academic discrimination. Miss Shlesinger, a lecturer in translation studies at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, was fired from the journal Translator by an editor who supports the boycott.
"I was appointed as a scholar," Miss Shlesinger said Wednesday. "But I was dismissed as an Israeli."

Article Here

Palestinians Await Access To Jordan

This part is always confusing. Jordan and Egypt steadfastly refuse to entertain any kind of agreement that does not involve complete control of Jerusalem by Palestine, and they refused to grant a Palestine state from 1948 on ... yet they are still regarded as friends to Palestinians.

Jordan has denied it is restricting the entry of Palestinians, but it is known to be concerned about a mass influx of Palestinians escaping difficulties at home.

Doesn't this seem to be aggravating the problem? If a few thousand per day could travel last year and only a few hundred now, tensions will rise. Yet they don't seem to blame their 'friends' in Jordan.

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Khamenei Tries To Ease Tension In Iran

Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has moved to calm tensions after a prominent cleric resigned in a bitter protest against corruption in public life.

He said he agreed with some of the strong criticisms contained in Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri's letter of resignation.

Fears that the row would lead to disturbances at the prayers proved unfounded as few of Ayatollah Taheri's supporters turned up at the mosque where he usually leads the prayers.

Friday prayers passed off peacefully
Instead, the congregation was dominated by hardliners and security men in plain clothes.

So, this explains why the followers weren't there, right?

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Amnesty International Criticizes Palestinian Suicide Bombs

What's next? Norway criticizing them?
"Whatever the cause for which people are fighting, there can never be a justification...under international law...for direct attacks on civilians," their report said. Unusual criticism from an organization that has made a career of being on the Arab side of the conflict. Of course, they still conveniently lump Israel in there and found time to take them to task for last week's raid, a move the US also criticized.

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Iranian Dancer Banned, Under Country Arrest

Mohammed Khordadian left Iran 22 years ago and has taught traditional dance in California. Unfortunately for him some of his videotapes made it into Iran and when he tried to leave after his mother's funeral he was arrested.

His crime? Enticing and inciting the nation's youth to corruption. His sentence? They suspended the jail time after a few months, he can't teach dance ever again and he must stay in Iran for 10 years.

Strange land, where being forced to stay is the punishment.


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Iran Gags Press After Cleric Resignation Reported

A directive issued by the Supreme National Security Council, which has decision-making powers on key national issues, late on Wednesday evening banned newspapers from publishing comments about the matter, either favourable to or against the controversial Ayatollah.

In an indication of the sensitivities stirred by Ayatollah Taheri's blistering denunciation of the powers that be, the council said its directive was being issued "in order to preserve the calm, unity and national security of the country".

Article Here

Jordan Says US Can't Use Its Territory For Attack On Iraq

Talk about a 'straw man' victory. Like we need Jordan. Still, by publicly coming out and saying that, they keep militant radicals from turning the terrorism on them. The fact that the whole region is capable of such a thing, even among 'friends', should be cause for concern.


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Top Iranian cleric quits -- cites deception, corruption, bribery

Denouncing what he termed a chaotic situation in Iran, a prominent Iranian cleric resigned his post of Friday prayers leader in the central major city of Isfahan, media reports said Wednesday.

In an open letter, the full text of which was published in Wednesday's reformist newspapers, Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri showed disgust at the way the country is being run in an unprecedented bitter tone. He said he could not close his eyes to "tangible realities and witness the stifling pain and unbearable suffering of the people." The once associate of the late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini went on with a battery of accusations against the clerical system which he had a role in its establishment in 1979.

Okay, if turmoil is coming let's not do a Jimmy Carter and pick the worst possible side to support, thus insuring decades of animosity and hatred.

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Al Qaeda Says It Will Hit U.S., Jewish Targets Soon

Are any of these people still alive? Anyway, like prophets foretelling the end of the world, they promised terrorism on July 4th and all they got was a mentally unbalanced dead Egyptian ( reputed to be a friend of the Egyptian who downed the plane he was piloting a few years ago ... another wacko ) at LAX ... hardly a grand terrorism gesture. When that didn't happen they're now saying 'real soon.'

"Our military and intelligence networks are assessing and monitoring new U.S. targets that we will strike in a period of time which is not long," spokesman Sulaiman bu Ghaith told the Algerian Arabic daily newspaper El Youm.

This guy became a 'spokesman' for al-Qaeda somewhere around January. His last self-aggrandizement was the synagogue bombing in Tunisia, where he claimed al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.

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Arabs Say Boycott Affecting US

They say it is hurting us and we don't understand why -- Israel, of course. They cite, for example, that Arabians used to flock to Disney World and they aren't doing so now.

What they leave out of this article is that no one will give anyone from Saudi Arabia a visa to get on an international flight full of jet fuel and fly to Orlando.

They say that trade between Arabia and the US is down 25%. So what? The GDP of all 22 countries in the Mid-East combined is less than that of Spain. SPAIN!! Sheesh, what are we losing? Some pistachios? They haven't stopped selling oil, that's for sure.

The article also states "Coke and Pepsi are doing their best to overcome the boycott. Both launched aggressive marketing campaigns during the World Cup to regain their markets, and the effort is reported to be making headway."

So the 280 billion eyeballs viewing the World Cup games weren't reason enough for products to advertise at the World Cup, it was just to salvage the Arabian market? This was the team that got hammered 8-0 by Germany in the opening game, right? I don't think Arabians were watching the Cup for very long. There were certainly no Arabians playing it for very long.

It gets better. The article says, "Attempts are being made to counteract the damage. The State Department is working to change the US image in the Arab world, and has recently launched a new Arabic-language pop radio station."

I think if we start beaming MTV into your country you'll stop funding terrorism. You're worried about cultural degradation and use an iron-fisted control policy on your population and you're happy about a US music station?

See you on "American Bandstand."

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Dr. Mohamed Mosaad On the Lack Of An Arab Peace Movement

The visit of Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem in 1977 marked the beginning of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Sadat's visit gave impetus and encouragement to a mass Israeli peace movement. Since then the Israeli peace movements have started to flourish, increase and differentiate. Nevertheless, no similar movements have come into being on the Arab side. Why, then, is there no peace activism in the Arab world? In this article I will try to briefly explain this mysterious phenomenon.


Read more in the Article Here

Egypt Throws Support Behind Arafat

No surprise here. Mubarak remains a complex figure. I'm never sure whether he is manipulating the Palestinians to keep trouble in the region or just involved in a balancing act to prevent radicals in Egypt from killing him.

n remarks after Mubarak met a U.S Senate delegation and a senior Arafat envoy, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher accused Israel of ``obstructing peace and stability in the region.''

``Egypt strongly supports the democratically elected Palestinian leadership and refuses any attempt to outflank it,'' Maher told reporters.

Article Here

Arab Ban In Jewish Areas Raises Concern In the UK

Human rights groups in Israel are vowing to fight a government decision that would bar Israeli Arabs from living in Jewish communities.

Seventeen cabinet ministers voted on Sunday to support a bill brought by a right-wing MP in response to a high court ruling that would have allowed an Arab nurse to move into a Jewish village.

The BBC goes on to write "But civil rights activists and left-wing politicians have reacted with horror. " Strange reading that, since in America the left-wing loves to tell people where to live and how to act.


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Where Is Separation of Church And State When It Comes To Schools Teaching Islam?

"Become a Muslim warrior during the crusades or during an ancient jihad." Thus read the instructions for seventh graders in "Islam: A Simulation of Islamic History and Culture, 610-1100", a three-week curriculum produced by Interaction Publishers, Inc. In classrooms across the United States, students who follow its directions find themselves fighting mock battles of jihad against "Christian crusaders" and other assorted "infidels." Upon gaining victory, our mock-Muslim warriors "Praise Allah."

Last week the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest law firm based in Michigan, filed a federal lawsuit to prohibit one school district, in Byron, California, from further using the Interaction materials on Islam.

In the material, Students study the Koran, recite from it, design a title page for it, and write verses of it on a banner. They act out Islam's Five Pillars of Faith, including giving zakat (Islamic alms) and going on the pilgrimage to Mecca. They also build a replica of the "sacred Kaaba" in Mecca or another holy building.

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Farrakhan in Iraq for 'solidarity' visit

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan held a series of meetings Saturday with Iraqi officials on the second day of his visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to discuss ways to avoid a possible U.S. military campaign.

The official Iraqi News Agency, INA, said Farrakhan, on a "solidarity" visit to Iraq, held talks with Islamic Affairs Minister Abdul Munem Saleh on "ways to confront the American threats against Iraq."

INA quoted the African-American Muslim leader as saying "the Muslim American people are praying to the almighty God to grant victory to Iraq."

I would suggest Farrakhan move there ... if he actually said something so stupid. I doubt he did ... he knows he wouldn't survive the politics in Iraq for five minutes. It's one thing to live in America and make a career of complaining, it's another to risk your life practicing what you preach.

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Omar Karsou of the movement 'Democracy in Palestine'

A Palestinian speaks out on Arafat despotism, a way to achieve peace, and getting what they want by marginalizing Israeli extremists ... instead of giving extremists credibility by being terrorists.

He's not an Israeli fan by any means but he clearly loves his country more than he hates Jews ... that's the kind of leader they need.

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Authorities Say Shooting at LAX Not Terrorism

I'm having trouble distinguishing a 'racist hate crime' committed by a Muslim from terrorism. Well, there used to be a difference but I'm not sure there is now.

ARE WE TURNING FRENCH?: [Rod Dreher] Authorities are hesitant to label the LAX attack "terrorism." Let's see: the murderer was an Egyptian-born Muslim who turned up at the counter of the Israeli national airline, heavily armed, and starts shooting. Excuse me, but why is this not terrorism? I wonder if the eight children left behind by one of the Islamofascist shooter's victims have any trouble discerning whether or not this is terrorism. By this standard, all the anti-Semitic violence of late in France, which has been carried out by Arab Muslims, is not terrorism either, but random criminal acts. Come to think of it, isn't that what the French authorities have been saying?

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Shooting At El Al Terminal of LAX

What a world when we actually hope it's a rabid white supremacist ( or a misguided Berkeley student ) rather than a Muslim.

No links yet, as the news just broke ...

Former Libyan prime minister Abd Al-Hamid Al-Bakkoush On The Need For Reform In The Arab World

He makes some good points. Without free flow of information and some self-examination, no higher learning can be attained.

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Should Israel Unilaterally Withdraw?

Hassan Nafaa thinks so. Yet he proceeds from an assumption that fails the initial tests of validity. He claims that a wall will not work and that there is some international demand for unilateral withdrawal and that Palestinians will not rest until they have all of the west bank, etc.

Nafaa is a professor in Egypt ... the same Egypt that denied Palestine statehood in 1948 and never bothered to implement it in the 18 years until Israel took the west banl ... so for him to say Palestinians won't be satisfied is a little silly.

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Hamas bomb-maker Muhanad al-Taher Dead

Palestinian master bomb-maker was blamed for the deaths of more than 100 Israelis.

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told Reuters: "We condemn the assassinations of two Palestinians in Nablus. This is Sharon's plan to escalate the situation."

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West Bank Settlers Evacuate 11 Sites

West Bank settlers Sunday quietly evacuated as many as 11 settlement sites, while Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said he expected more sites to be evacuated by mid- July.

Officials spoke of possibly evacuating 10 more sites.
The entire settlement drive began in defiance of the government, and settlers have continued to move out with or without government permission.


Article Here