"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Thursday, November 26, 2009

MORE CLIMATE FRAUD FOUND IN NZ

WUWT:

Uh, oh – raw data in New Zealand tells a different story than the “official” one.
25 11 2009

Reposted from TBR.cc Investigate magazine’s breaking news forum:

New Zealand’s NIWA accused of CRU-style temperature faking

The New Zealand Government’s chief climate advisory unit NIWA is under fire for allegedly massaging raw climate data to show a global warming trend that wasn’t there.

THE WHOLE FREAKIN AGW THING HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE EFFIN HOAX.

AGW - BS/STEALTH SOCIALISM.

THE PURVEYORS OF THESE FILTHY AGW LIES HAVE COST THE WORLD A TRILLION DOLLARS AND THEY SHOULD BE SEVERLY PUNISHED.

JAIL IS TOO GOOD FOR THEM.

RAIN FOR HAJJ

BBC:
Heavy rainstorms have hampered the start of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj, in the Saudi city of Mecca.

The authorities have warned pilgrims to take care in the rain at the event, which usually attracts about two million Muslims from around the world.

Fatal stampedes have marred the pilgrimage in the past, and many of the visitors stay in tents.

A senior Saudi official has also told the BBC that fears over swine flu may keep some 40% of local pilgrims away.
RAIN IN ARABIA? DURING HAJJ?

IS SOMEONE SENDING A MESSAGE?

DUBAI BUBBLE BURSTING?

MAYBE.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

THREE CHIMPS, BUT APPARENTLY ONLY ONE IS IN BAD TASTE

FOLKS WHO THINK ONLY ONE IS IN BAD TASTE ARE RACISTS AND CAN GO EFF THEMSELVES.



WHY CAN'T BARACK AND MICHELLE GET THE CUTE OBAMA GIRLS TO WEAR NICE CLOTHES WHEN THEY'RE APPEARING AS PART OF THE FIRST FAMILY!?!

THE CUTE OBAMA GIRLS DRESSED LIKE CRAP TODAY AT THE ANNUAL POTUS PARDONS THE TURKEY EVENT.

I DON'T GIVE A CRAP WHAT THEY WEAR IN PRIVATE -WHEN THEY'RE JUST BEING GIRLS, LIKE WHEN THEY GO TO SCHOOL AND AREN'T TAKING PART IN A PHOTO-OP AS PART OF THE FIRST FAMILY.



THEY'RE CUTE KIDS AND LIKE ALL GIRLS THEY DESERVE TO DRESS HOWEVER THEY WANT - AND THEIR PARENTS ALLOW.

BUT BUT BUT: WHEN THEY APPEAR AT AN OFFICIAL FUNCTION THEY SHOULD DRESS NICELY.

REALLY.

I MEAN THIS.

THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME.

THE ELDEST DAUGHTER DRESSED AWFULLY ON THEIR TRIP TO BRITAIN.



I KNOW I KNOW: MICHELLE'S WARDROBE SUCKS: BUT THAT'S FROM A TASTE POINT OF VIEW; AT LEAST SHE TRIES TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY; IT'S JUST THAT SHE LIKES FRUMPY DRESSES MADE OUT OF CURTAIN MATERIAL AND WIDE BELTS. (MORE HERE.)

BUT THE GIRLS SHOULD BE DRESSED NICELY AND NEATLY AND APPROPRIATELY WHEN THEY APPEAR IN PUBLIC FOR OFFICIAL REASONS.

LIKE FOR THE OFFICIAL FIRST FAMILY PORTRAIT - THEY'RE A GREAT LOOKING FAMILY:

IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT FOR THEM TO LOOK LIKE SLOBS WHEN THEY APPEAR PUBLICLY AS DAUGHTERS OF THE POTUS.

IT'S DISRESPECTFUL TO OUR PRESIDENT, HIS HIGH OFFICE AND TO US AS CITIZENS.

AHMADINEJAD GREETED LIKE A HERO IN VENEZUELA

TOL:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, received a hero’s welcome yesterday as he visited his key Latin American ally on a regional tour designed to shore up support for Tehran in its confrontation with Western powers.

Shouting “Viva Ahmadinejad!” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged his full backing for Iran against “the threat of the empire”.

“In all the continent the people are rising for President Ahmadinejad,” the socialist leader declared. Iran is trying to deepen its strategic inroads on the Latin American continent, where it has found new allies in a host of anti-American leftist leaders led by Mr Chavez.

Mr Ahmadinejad recently boasted that, while the West had been trying to isolate Iran, it had entrenched itself in America’s “backyard”. Tehran has opened five new diplomatic missions and signed hundreds of cooperation deals in the region, including some 200 with Venezuela in the areas of trade, energy and defence.
AND IT AIN'T JUST CHAVEZ:
Leftist President Evo Morales reiterated his support for an Iranian nuclear programme “with peaceful aims” and affirmed a shared “anti-imperialist” ideology with Tehran.

Regional powerhouse Brazil too has extended the hand of friendship, President Inacio Lula da Silva demanding the West drop sanctions and threats against Iran as Mr Ahmadinejad visited on Monday.

AS HE FOCUSES ON A NON-EXISTENT HEALTHCARE CRISIS AND A NON-EXISTENT CO2/AGW CRISIS, OBAMA IS LOSING SOUTH AMERICA...

AND OUR LOSS IS OUR ENEMIES' GAIN .

OBAMA'S CABINET REFLECTS OBAMA'S SOCIALIST/STATIST/LEFT-WING BIAS: FEWEST PRIVATE SECTOR PEOPLE OF ANY POTUS


CLICK GRAPH FOR FULL STORY.

Scientist in climate change 'cover-up' storm told to quit

The dam is starting to crack on Climategate. A leading environmental scientist is calling for the resignation of the Scientist at the center of the Hadly CRU email scandal.

This shows it is a smoking gun. If it were not, they would be using their usual Leftist tactics of attempting to kill the messenger.

From the Daily Mail:

The scientist at the heart of the climate change scandal was under growing pressure to quit last night.

George Monbiot, a leading environmentalist, said Phil Jones should resign from the Climatic Research Unit over leaked emails that appear to show researchers suppressed scientific data.

More emails came to light yesterday, including one in which an American climatologist admitted it was a travesty that scientists could not explain a lack of global warming in recent years.

In another note, UK researchers dismissed the work of scientists challenging global warming as 'crap'.

Another appeared to call for pressure on the BBC after a reporter suggested that evidence for rising temperatures since 2001 was thin.



Computer code shows how they manipulated the data

As the leaked messages, and especially the HARRY_READ_ME.txt file, found their way around technical circles, two things happened: first, programmers unaffiliated with East Anglia started taking a close look at the quality of the CRU’s code, and second, they began to feel sympathetic for anyone who had to spend three years (including working weekends) trying to make sense of code that appeared to be undocumented and buggy, while representing the core of CRU’s climate model.

One programmer highlighted the error of relying on computer code that, if it generates an error message, continues as if nothing untoward ever occurred. Another debugged the code by pointing out why the output of a calculation that should always generate a positive number was incorrectly generating a negative one. A third concluded: “I feel for this guy. He’s obviously spent years trying to get data from undocumented and completely messy sources.”

Programmer-written comments inserted into CRU’s Fortran code have drawn fire as well. The file briffa_sep98_d.pro says: “Apply a VERY ARTIFICAL correction for decline!!” and “APPLY ARTIFICIAL CORRECTION.” Another, quantify_tsdcal.pro, says: “Low pass filtering at century and longer time scales never gets rid of the trend – so eventually I start to scale down the 120-yr low pass time series to mimic the effect of removing/adding longer time scales!”

It’s not clear how the files were leaked. One theory says that a malicious hacker slipped into East Anglia’s network and snatched thousands of documents. Another says that the files had already been assembled in response to a Freedom of Information request and, immediately after it was denied, a whistleblower decided to disclose them. (Lending credence to that theory is the fact that no personal e-mail messages unrelated to climate change appear to have been leaked.)

Note, by the way, I wrote yesterday that I am convinced this was the work of a Whistle Blower from within the ranks of the Hadley CRU.

Looks like I was right.

US MILITARY TRAINING POTENTIAL TERRORISTS

The Philadelphia Bulletin has a report on how US Army forces in Jordan are lending themselves to training enemies of Israel:
Tel Aviv – A new report released by the Center for Near East Policy Research, a Jerusalem based think-tank, discusses the possible connection between American military aid and Palestinian terrorism, and deals with the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC), run by Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton.

[...]

Established in 2005, the USSC manages a multinational team of advisors, whose role is to restructure the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and train personnel. American tax dollars pay for advanced military and constabulary training for the Palestinian security forces at bases in Jericho in Israel and Giftlik in Jordan. The cost of training an entire battalion of National Security Forces (NSF) troops in Jordan is $11 million.

Since 2008, approximately 2,100 troops, enough to make four battalions, have been trained by Americans in Jordan. The American government utilizes advisors from the DynCorp International Corporation for training Palestinian forces. The Palestinian Authority, American intelligence and the Israel General Security Services (Shabak) ensure the soldiers enrolled in American training programs are vetted for terrorist links.

However, there is evidence that many people in the Palestinian security apparatus are also members of banned terror groups.

The report elaborates, “Salam Fayyad, PA prime minister, reached an agreement with the forces of Al-Aqsa (Martyrs) Brigades … not to arrest them as long as they maintained a low profile. Al-Aqsa people are sheltered and receive salaries from Mr. Fayyad. When PA security troops were deployed in Nablus, Al-Aqsa people who had not been trained in Jordan and were not vetted, received command positions. This included one individual who had engaged in extortion.”

Some members of the Israeli political and military establishment have expressed their support for General Dayton and his program, citing a decline in terror in Judea and Samaria. In contrast, Mr. Bedein writes that the willingness to work with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades indicates that the Palestinian Authority is not, in principal, opposed to the use of violence.

Operations mounted by PA forces are most often aimed at destroying Fatah’s rival, Hamas, rather than in reducing terrorism.

Fatah recently has been attempting to reconcile with Hamas, creating the possibility of American trained forces being merged into joint units with Hamas fighters.

There is also a risk of American trained forces turning on Israel. As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated, he “reserve(s) the right to resistance” if negotiations do not turn out the way he likes. This occurred during the second intifada when Yasser Arafat had failed to gain his demands by negotiations. During that period, American training was also used against Israeli civilian targets.
This is one more reason why it must be remembered that Fatah or PLO, whichever you call it, is still and always has been a terrorist organization. And this is how America's tax dollars are being exploited, instead of being used for more positive aspects.

JIHAD IN RUSSIA? RUSSIAN OFFICIALS FOUND BEHEADED IN NORTH CAUCAUSES-IFAX

From Reuters:

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A police investigator and a court bailiff were found beheaded in a car trunk in Russia's mainly Muslim region of Kabardino-Balkaria, Interfax said on Tuesday, underscoring spreading violence on Russia's southern flank.

The killings follow a spate of attacks on power stations and police posts in Kabardino-Balkaria, which is close to the Ingushetia region where rights group say Islamist militants and government forces are effectively at war.

The two beheaded men were discovered in a Mercedes late on Monday in the town of Chegem, about 10 km (six miles) north of the regional capital Nalchik, the news agency reported, citing law enforcement services.

Political analysts say that relatively peaceful Kabardino-Balkaria could fall victim to rising violence in Ingushetia and nearby Chechnya, where Moscow has fought two separatist wars in the last 15 years.

You can bet your gold this is Jihad.

Egypt: “Muslim Mob” of 3,000 Attack Christian Businesses, Individuals — Rioting Spreads in Upper Egypt

From Vlad Tepes Blog:

From the most excellent R.E.A.L. organization. Please click through and bookmark these hard working and courageous people.

AINA reports “Muslim Anti-Christian Riots Spread in Upper Egypt, Video Shows Looting and Burning”

– “On Monday November 23, 2009 Muslim rioters looted and burned Coptic Christian businesses in the village of Abou Shousha, which lies 25 KM from Farshoot. The terrorized Coptic inhabitants of Abou Shusha have stayed indoors, their shops are closed and their children are being kept away from school. They fear a repeat in their village of the Muslim violence which engulfed the town of Farshoot less than 36 hours earlier (AINA 11-22-2009).”

– “The Middle East Christian Association (MECA) reported that at least three large Coptic stores and a pharmacy were looted and burnt in Abou Shusha and that the fire brigade arrived one hour late, although their headquarters is only 8 KM away from the village. “They gave the pretext of being busy in Farshoot, which is untrue, as Farshoot had a quiet night,” said Wagih Yacoub of MECA. ‘Coptic and Muslim neighbors tried to put the fire out.’ A video posted by Free Copts shows the Abou Shusha fires.”

– “Bishop Kirrillos of Nag Hamady Diocese said that a mob from the neighboring village of Abu Tesht torched the businesses in Abou Shusha. MECA reported that three girls were assaulted in the street by having bricks hurled at them. No serious injuries were reported.”

– “It is estimated that over 80% of Coptic businesses have been destroyed in the 48 hours of violence in Farshoot. A video prepared by Free Copts advocacy shows Muslim mobs chanting Allah Akbar (God is Great) while looting and burning Coptic businesses and shops.”


CHRISTMAS RALLY FOR RIFQA BARY ON DECEMBER 22

Here's more about another rally in support of Rifqa Bary to take place on December 22 in Columbus, Ohio (via Tundra Tabloids). There is still no approved visitation list or pastoral guidance provided, and this is getting very angering. As I've said before, I think that Congress should be asked to address this case.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

COULD MORE INFORMATION BE FORTHCOMING ON CLIMATEGATE?

I believe so. I believe this is a whistleblower within the CRU who is releasing this information.

The information wasn't released until the person realized the folks at CRU were deleting emails in lieu of a FOIA demand.

From Power and Control:
Climategate Strategy
Oh, and while I’m at it. I’m wondering if this hacker is following the BigGovernment/ACORN model where releases are concerned. I note the message notifying about the first release said it was a “random sample”.

Perhaps whoever did this is waiting for The Team to make firm statements.

Dale
Here is exactly what it said (Dale is not far off) from the place that got the message and first responded to it. The Air Vent.
FOIA said
November 17, 2009 at 9:57 pm

We feel that climate science is, in the current situation, too important to be kept under wraps.

We hereby release a random selection of correspondence, code, and documents.

Hopefully it will give some insight into the science and the people behind it.

This is a limited time offer, download now: http://ftp.tomcity.ru/incoming/free/FOI2009.zip

SARAH PALIN AND SUSAN BOYLE

BIGGEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AND BIGGEST RECORD OF THE YEAR.

SARAH PALIN AND SUSAN BOYLE.






















WOMEN WHO CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.

AND LOST THE BIG ONE.

BUT MANAGED TO WIN A HUGE AUDIENCE ANYWAY.

BECAUSE THEY'RE REAL.

BECAUSE THEY REALLY RESONATE WITH THE REAL FOLK.

GOD BLESS THEM BOTH.

DNA ANALYSIS PROVES 4600 YEAR OLD GRAVE CONTAINS A NUCLEAR FAMLY

IT'S COMMONLY TAUGHT THAT THE NUCLEAR FAMILY IS AN ADVENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

WRONG:

THE STAR:
A Stone Age burial site in central Germany has yielded the earliest evidence of people living together as a family.

The 4,600-year-old grave contained the remains of a man, woman and two youngsters, and DNA analysis shows they were a mother, father and their children.

"Their unity in death suggests unity in life," researchers said in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

... "By establishing the genetic links between the two adults and two children buried together in one grave, we have established the presence of the classic nuclear family in a prehistoric context in Central Europe – to our knowledge the oldest authentic molecular genetic evidence so far," lead author Wolfgang Haak of the University of Adelaide, Australia, said in a statement.

THE FAMILY IS THE BUILDING BLOCK OF HUMANITY - OF CIVILIZATION.

THAT'S WHY IT'S UNDER ATTACK BY THE LEFT - WHICH WANTS TO REPLACE IT WITH THE STATE.

WE OUGHT TO PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION BEFORE ALLOWING SO-CALLED PROGRESSIVES TAMPER WITH INSTITUTIONS WHICH HAVE SERVED US WELL FOR AT LEAST 5000 YEARS.

ESPECIALLY LEFTIST TAMPERING: LEFTISM KILLED MORE PEOPLE IN THE LAST CENTURY THAN ANY IDEOLOGY IN THE PROCEEDING 20 - EXCEPT FOR ISLAM.

AND LEFTISM ALSO FAILED MISERABLY IN THE USSR AND CHINA TO MATERIALLY IMPROVE EITHER LIFE SPANS OR LIVING STANDARDS.

MUSIC VIDEO: "HIDE THE DECLINE!"

VIA PLANET GORE.


ACTUALLY, THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER: GLOBAL WARMING IS A BIGGER MORE COSTLY HOAX THAN MADOFF!

Do We Get Our Money Back?

Jeb Babbin posed a question to Sen. Inhofe yesterday which reminded me of just how much money we've sunk into the fraud that is the green movement. (H/T: Ed Morrissey.) After all, Boxer still plans to grant a bailed-out company (which we now own) a military monopoly in addition to $11 billion we already gave them for smart grid technology, which was just part of an $86 billion Porkulus earmark for the Apollo Alliance for green jobs (which nobody has yet to define) and housing.
Jed Babbin: Should somebody stop further spending on this until we get this investigation, Senator?

Senator Inhofe: Well, I don’t know how you do that, though, ‘cause we’re not the ones that are calling the shots.
Really? If Congress could block tax dollars from funding ACORN (sort of) they can block further funding for this fraud. I want my $86 billion back and I want GE cut off and liquidated.

NASA should also be defunded until they cough up all documents requested by the Competitive Enterprise Institute under FOIA, their name is cleared, and every penny spent on this fraud is repaid in full.

I also want the UN off my country's soil, since they're behind this.

Furthermore, I want Holdren fired (even more).

pay up

How much did this cost?



And this?



And this?



Was this funded by the $86 billion green fraud Porkulus earmark or did we pay for it some other way?

Idiot Lefties Using Suicidal Animals To Promote AGW

Lefties don't seem to mind when humans commit suicide, but God forbid an animal does so (as if animals could ever think so far into the future as to become worried, disconsolate, and suicidal).



In the wake of Climategate, one has to wonder if this is projection. If so, we might have to talk Al Gore off a ledge soon.

IF EMAILS WERE DISCOVERED WHICH PROVED AGW WAS A FRAUD, AND THE MSM DIDN'T REPORT IT, WOULD IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?



NEWSBUSTERS REVEALS THAT IN THE USA ONLY FOX HAS COVERED CLIMATEGATE.
  • IN THE UK, IT'S BEEN COVERED BY EVERYONE TO ON DEGREE OR ANOTHER: EVERY NEWSPAPER AND THE BBC, COLUMNISTS, TOO.
  • IN THE USA, ONLY FOX AND THE BLOGS AND THE WSJ HAVE COVERED IT.
  • MURDOCH AND THE BLOGS, (AND RUPERT IS A GREENIE HIMSELF, BUT A FAIR ONE).
  • JUST FOR KICKS, I ASKED A FEW LIBS ACQUAINTANCES OF THEY'D HEARD ABOUT IT AND NONE HAD.
  • SOMETHING'S GOTTA HAPPEN HERE FOLKS TO MAKE THIS A MAJOR STORY IN THE MSM IN THE USA, BUT WHAT!?!?!?
  • A MAJOR GREENIE HAS TO BE MADE A WARE OF THIS AND SEE THE LIGHT AND LEAD THE WAY.
  • IN THE UK GEORGE MONBIOT - A LEFTIE/GREENIE - HAS SEEN THE LIGHT.
  • WE NEED SOMEONE TO DO THAT HERE - ONLY BIGGER.
ANY SUGGESTIONS? MAYBE MCCAIN AND GRAHAM AND LIEBERMAN AND THEN.. PALIN AND PAWLENTY ET AL CAN SPEAK OUT ON THIS - THEY CAN EACH GET A LOT OF ATTENTION IN THE MSM.

SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER WE HAVE GOT TO MAKE THIS STORY #2 IN THE UPCOMING 2010 ELECTIONS.

THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE IS OBAMA.

THE THREE COUNT INDICTMENT FOR CLIMATEGATE

THE THREE COUNT INDICTMENT FOR CLIMATEGATE:
First, the scientists discuss manipulating data to get their preferred results. The most prominently featured scientists are paleoclimatologists, who reconstruct historical temperatures and who were responsible for a series of reconstructions that seemed to show a sharp rise in temperatures well above historical variation in recent decades.

... Secondly, scientists on several occasions discussed methods of subverting the scientific peer review process to ensure that skeptical papers had no access to publication.

...Finally, the scientists worked to circumvent the Freedom of Information process of the United Kingdom.
RTWT.

THEREFORE: THEIR ARGUMENTS MUST BE CONSIDERED FALSE.

WHAT THEY DID WASN'T SCIENCE; IT WAS PROPAGANDA.

REMINDER: THE NUREMBERG TRIALS WERE MILITARY TRIBUNALS

HOT AIR SCOLDS A LEFTIE MSM'ER/COLUMNIST AND PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - WHO KNEW THIS NOT.

WE'VE POSTED ON IT SEVERAL TIMES.

Esther's round up

Afghan governor asks Dutch troops not to pull out
The governor of Uruzgan pleads with the Dutch government to reverse its decision and not to leave their jobs half-finished, reports the Financial Times.

London – The governor of an Afghan province pleaded Tuesday with the Netherlands not to withdraw troops from the region next year, warning its job is "only half finished," a report said.

Asadullah Hamdam, the governor of Uruzgan, said he has been asking the Dutch government to reverse its decision, amid fears a pullout will create instability in the region undergoing critical economic development.

"The people of Uruzgan are very familiar with the Dutch - they have spent a lot of time here - and they are asking them to stay," he told the Financial Times newspaper.
German Afghan Troop Decisions Await Obama Strategy
Germany will wait for U.S. President Barack Obama's decision regarding the strategy for Afghanistan before weighing options on its troop levels, Germany's minister of defense, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, said Nov. 19 in Washington.

"We are all eagerly awaiting for the announcement the president is to make over here," Guttenberg told a packed room at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a foreign policy think tank in Washington.
Barack Obama's delay in troop decision 'hitting UK public support for Afghan mission'
Barack Obama's delay in deciding whether to send more US troops to Afghanistan has contributed to falling public support in the UK for the mission, according to Bob Ainsworth, the British Defence Secretary.

He said the ''hiatus'' caused by President Obama's lengthy consideration of the call for reinforcements and the rising death toll had made it harder to make the case for the action.

And he also called on MPs of all parties not to exploit the war for political gain in the run-up to the election - accusing the Tories of ''undermining'' the operation with false claims.

President Obama summoned his war council on Monday, with an announcement on a potential surge of fighters in the region expected after Thanksgiving in the US, probably next week.

It is more than three months since he began deliberating a call by the top US commander on the ground, General Stanley McChrystal, for an additional 40,000 troops.
Secret U.S. plan to support Afghan militias echoes Canadian general's ideas

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A secret U.S. plan to support anti-Taliban militias, which is raising concerns about further destabilizing Afghanistan, echoes similar ideas being voiced by the head of Canada's army.

Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie, chief of land staff, has been arguing in recent interviews that tribal militias should be factored into Afghanistan's security architecture.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that the U.S. is doing just that with a program dubbed the Community Defense Initiative.

Said to have the support of NATO's Afghanistan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the program aims to provide resources to encourage tribal groups to fight the Taliban.

Supporting militias is a tactic that was debated by a group of international advisers early after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, but was ruled out because warlords were considered too strong, Leslie said.

Now, it seems, things have changed.

"The Afghan National Army now is a powerful entity, and so there is no longer the same danger of arming tribal auxiliaries," Leslie said in an interview last week before news of the U.S. initiative emerged in weekend media reports.
'No intention to convert children in shelters'
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24, 2009) : Muslim welfare homes and shelters have never intended to convert children under their care, Muslim Welfare Organisation Malaysia secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Othman said today.

"It is never our intention to convert the children who come to our welfare homes. We do have shelters with multiracial children and we allow them to practice their own religions," he told a press conference at a special law briefing on amendments to the Islamic family Law at Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan here today.
Dutch anti-Islam MP unwelcome in Turkey
The government of Turkey is unwilling to meet a delegation of Dutch MPs if anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders is among them. Turkish daily Aksam reports that the Ankara government is worried that Mr Wilders will use the visit to challenge Islam.

Geert Wilders, leader of the opposition Freedom Party, has said he is determined to travel to Turkey in January. He said he wants to explain to the Turkish people why their country does not belong in the European Union.
Ethnic tensions boil over
Members of the outlawed paramilitary group, the Magyar Gárda (Hungarian Guard), are to be prosecuted for allegedly disregarding a court ban in the wake of a tense standoff with members of a local Roma community in a town in northeast Hungary.

According to evidence gathered, “persons were witnessed acting in a leadership capacity towards the civic group legally disbanded by the courts,” said Éva Novodonszki Egyed, spokeswoman for Borsod County police. As of Thursday last week, a further six people had been arrested in connection with unrest over the preceding weekend.
Japan accuses Russia of “illegal occupation”
The Japanese government has adopted a document claiming that Russia “illegally occupies the South Kuril Islands.”

It is a response to a suggestion by a Japanese parliamentarian concerning Japan’s more active involvement in economic projects in the South Kurils – even if it requires “temporarily agreeing” with Russia’s right to govern the islands.

The government’s answer was not equivocal.

“The Russian Federation illegally occupies four northern islands,” Itar-Tass quotes the document it received from Japan’s Foreign Ministry. “Under these circumstances, our citizens cannot travel to these islands, because of Russia’s territorial claims. Russia’s position does not coincide with our position on the northern territories, and there is no change in this situation.”
Swedish author awarded 2009 August Prize for Jewish ghetto tale
A novel detailing the heartache and hope of a World War II Jewish ghetto in the Polish city of Łódź has earned author Steve Sem-Sandberg Sweden’s most prestigious prize for literature.

The book, De fattiga i Łódź (‘The poor of Łódź’), received widespread critical acclaim when it was published by Albert Bonniers Förlag in mid-September.

And just over two months later, novelist and literary critic Sem-Sandberg found himself accepting the 2009 August Prize (Augustpriset) for fiction.

“I’m absolutely overwhelmed,” Sem-Sandberg said as he accepted the 100,000 kronor ($14,400) prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on Monday.
OIC Secretary General calls on Islamic world to examine Convention on the Rights of the Child to surmount hurdles impeding implementation
The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, delivered a speech before the opening session of the International Conference on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in the OIC Member States held over 23th and 25th November 2009 in Cairo, the Arab Republic of Egypt with the participation of H.E. Ms. Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's First Lady.

Ihsanoglu emphatically mentioned that the adoption of the CRC by the UN General Assembly in 1989 implies that the OIC member States commit to the CRC stipulations and turn them into concrete action by articulating proper laws and policy programs. He also emphasized that this commitment entails examination of the commitment to the CRC at the meetings scheduled to take place as part of the ongoing conference in order to pinpoint and exchange views on the hurdles that hinder adequate implementation and discuss the ways and means of surmounting existing obstacles.
Turkish Cypriots, police clash over austerity plan in breakaway state
In a rare sign of civil unrest in breakaway northern Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of protestors demanding that an economic austerity package be scrapped.

Sixteen people were arrested during the demonstration outside the Turkish Cypriot parliament, organisers said.

Demonstrators were public servants who claim that planned salary cuts will result in mass emigration.

Authorities say the measures are necessary to offset the effects of the global economic downturn and bring public sector wages more in line with those in the private sector.
Merkel expects 'thank you' as GM repays loans
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she was expecting a "thank-you letter" from General Motors after the US firm paid Berlin back for huge loans to keep its Opel unit afloat.

"I can tell you that the last funds (received by) General Motors have been paid back, which means that the Opel operation has not cost the German taxpayer a cent," Merkel said in a speech in Berlin.

She added that she expected "a comprehensive thank-you letter from General Motors in a few years" and defended her decision to offer the €1.5-billion ($2.2-billion) loan to the Detroit-based car giant, saying: "It was absolutely right ... to build a bridge."

The loan was due to be repaid by November 30.
Pilgrims flock to Nepalese temple as 200,000 animals are slaughtered to honour Hindu goddess
Animal welfare protesters have staged mass demonstrations as thousands of Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal for a ceremony involving the slaughter of more than 200,000 animals.

Thousands of buffaloes, goats, chickens and pigeons will be killed today and tomorrow at the temple in the jungles of Bara district, about 100 miles south of Katmandu, to honour the Hindu goddess Gadhimai.

Activists and other religious groups say the killings, which are carried out by slitting the animals' throats with swords, are barbaric and conducted in a cruel manner.
VIA: Islam In Europe - The premier source for news about the Muslim community in Europe.