tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55612222011-08-17T04:08:15.907+01:00<strong>"Hello, I must be going..." -- Marx (Groucho)</strong>beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comBlogger4481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-47017920730460538682007-03-18T11:23:00.000Z2007-03-18T11:32:01.681Z

Is this the end of the USA as a superpower?"Please ignore all references to the USA" appears on all Tilda "Original America" rice packs in shops in L’Angleterre. Rumours that the company will soon stick "Please dump American dollar" on all rice packs sold outside the USA is unfounded though. "This has to do with GMO," says the shopkeeper, "not USD". Here’s the label at close quarter: Related

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-83541960889383599912007-02-13T12:02:00.000Z2007-02-13T13:26:15.306Z

"America has guided missiles and misguided leaders."—Ghazwan Al Mukhtar, electrical engineer, quoted hereThey say that when a bomb so powerful pounds human flesh and blood, the shadows of dead souls are embedded in the walls around the place where the human flesh and blood are so mightily incinerated. Such shadows exist in the aftermath of Hiroshima, and shadows of women and children are

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-52580608037935905072007-02-12T00:32:00.000Z2007-02-12T00:34:30.045Z

"Tel Rumeida is a small Palestinian neighborhood deep in the West Bank city of Hebron. Palestinian families from whom these settlers occupied lands, live directly next to these settlers and are often virtual prisoners in their homes, subject to the settlers' violent attacks and destruction of property."ß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1170779174550896932007-02-06T16:25:00.000Z2007-02-07T15:02:12.186Z

"Are YOU an anti-Semite? Do you know someone who is? Take this simple test and find out. Don't be surprised if you discover some painful truths about yourself and your country.1. Abraham was the Biblical ancestor of Arabs and Jews. Thus, logically, each group should be treated equally and with respect. True or false? If you answered True, you are anti-Semitic because you hate the Jews.2. The US

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1169126971983474322007-01-18T13:28:00.000Z2007-01-18T13:43:29.163Z

It is a wonder of our age that the moment the US or its allies or proxies start bombarding dissident troublemakers, up fly an array of passports and identity papers to show that these are the terrorists that they've been looking for in connection with this or that. And then out comes a video with some bearded loon declaring Jihad against all manner of isms. But then we mustn't underestimate the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1166704015510630232006-12-21T12:25:00.000Z2006-12-21T12:30:29.166Z

We shall not name names but the alliance of the steadfast is slowly crumbling but no, not to fizzle out but to come out again to wage new wars in a new cocked hat. So hands up now those who thought it right to invade Iraq? Even now Kofi Annan is now saying that life was much better under Saddam. But to be fair, they didn't attack Iraq because the standard of living there was harsh. They attacked

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1165952934531958432006-12-12T19:39:00.000Z2006-12-12T19:57:00.786Z

Pinochet riding an interesting horse by Steve Bell.General Pinochet at the BookstoreThe general's limo parked at the corner of San Diego streetand his bodyguards escorted him to the bookstorecalled La Oportunidad, so he could browsefor rare works of history. There were no bloody fingerprints left on the pages.No books turned to ash at his touch.He did not track the soil of mass graves on his

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1165875441230267372006-12-11T22:16:00.000Z2006-12-11T23:41:23.426Z

The only consolation in the 'London Evening Standard', that most bigoted of newspapers in the Reverend Blair's benighted capital nowadays is its hilarious television reviewer Victor Lewis-Smith who once made the all too plausible claim that television sets in the land's lunatic asylums are permenantly locked to the ITV channel. It's the channel that's least likely to upset the delicate minds of

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1164282109226035492006-11-23T11:40:00.000Z2006-11-23T11:41:49.246Z

Visit this page.ß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1164202786021773312006-11-22T13:38:00.000Z2006-11-22T15:38:31.890Z

Lebanon looks set for turmoil once again. First Hariri went in an explosion so massive that it blew a huge crater in the road. Fingers were pointed at Syria. Now it's Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, shot in a Christian neighbourhood in North Beirut. Once again, before anything has been established, fingers are pointing at Syria.Why are fingers so eager to point?This is the simple equation in

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1163935154685707882006-11-19T11:18:00.000Z2006-11-19T13:07:09.990Z

This is a campaign that I totally support, so I shall reproduce the logo below coming as it does frm a totally unexpected part of the world:I shall go along with anyone who wants to switch off because television is the most subversive, distracting, corrupting device to have been born to this world. In the part of the world where I come from, the lure of television is such that it flickers

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1163521181044600342006-11-14T16:18:00.000Z2006-11-14T17:03:03.836Z

Have the Arab leaders finally woken up or are they just not feeling very well?In Cairo last Sunday they decided to break from their shackles and agreed to start cash flowing again to the Palestinian Auhority, something which Arab banks have refused to do in deference to US's and Europe's disappointment that it was Hamas that was chosen by the Palestinian people in a fair and free election.

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1163332487842728532006-11-12T11:53:00.000Z2006-11-13T11:30:53.406Z

The Neocons are on the run? Don't you believe it. They're all just scampering from a sinking ship and then when they're all dry and regroomed, they'll all come back wearing a new shirt.The watch should now be on the Democrats who're cock-a-hooping it to the Senate and wherever they get to now that they've got the votes. So what will they do now that they're on the Hill and the Republicans seem to

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1161170373056796982006-10-18T12:14:00.000+01:002006-10-18T12:29:20.523+01:00

"Israel and Australia are like sisters in Asia. We are in Asia without the characteristics of Asians. We don't have yellow skin and slanted eyes. Asia is basically the yellow race. Australia and Israel are not - we are basically the white race. We are on the western side of Asia and they are on the southeastern side." — Naftali Tamir, Israel's ambassador to Australia.ß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1159681871737396472006-10-01T06:39:00.000+01:002006-10-01T12:41:05.590+01:00

Arab Prisoner: "To My Dear Family, Happy Ramadan!"This cartoon depicting Ramadan is by Omayya Joha, a Palestinian woman cartoonist living in Gaza. I came across this cartoon at Bint Jbeil an excellent website that speaks volumes about life under an occupying power. While the world sleeps:1. UN says Gaza crisis 'intolerable'2. West Bank Wall: cause of displacement and worsening humanitarian

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1158831330150767282006-09-21T10:33:00.000+01:002006-09-21T10:37:15.373+01:00

As the Pope is too busy elsewhere brewing up something else, we shall have to turn to another to hear about the Devil —"And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the devil came here. Right here." [crosses himself] "And it smells of sulfur still today."Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here,

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1158344146246532752006-09-15T19:15:00.000+01:002006-09-16T14:42:31.940+01:00

The German Pope Benedict XVI, ecstatic from the visit to his native Bavaria, took a swipe at Islam by borrowing from the pages of a dusty book, "Twenty Six Dialogues With a Persian", written in 1399 by the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II in in 1399. What the Pope quoted, and what the Emperor allegedly said (in his argument with a Muslim Persian) is worth repeating to put matters in perspective: "Show

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1157960151225375662006-09-11T08:35:00.000+01:002006-09-11T09:22:56.176+01:00

REMEMBERING 911Watch video hereThen go hereß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1155900668121683252006-08-18T12:30:00.000+01:002006-08-18T16:00:59.583+01:00

QUOTE 1: Israel's assault on Lebanon was planned even before Hizbullah attacked and was aimed at driving a wedge between the different faiths that have been living in harmony in the country, a delegation from the World Council of Churches said on their return from a visit to Beirut and Jerusalem."We came back from Lebanon sharing the impression that this destruction was planned. And if the action

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1154715992301098732006-08-04T19:25:00.000+01:002006-08-05T23:49:03.766+01:00

"The Yesha Rabbinical Council announced in response to an IDF attack in Kfar Qanna that 'according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the enemy.' "All of the discussions on Christian morality are weakening the spirit of the army and the nation and are costing us in the blood of our soldiers and civilians," the statement said." (Efrat Weiss)* *

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1154314874842329662006-07-31T04:00:00.000+01:002006-07-31T04:29:16.373+01:00

Tony Blair, explaining his reluctance to call for a stop to the exchange of bombs between the Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel uses the interesting concept of "moral equivalence". What this means in effect is that because Israel is, as Blair sees it, morally superior to the 'terrorist' Hezbollah, it is free to do as it wills, and some of the results of this moral superiority (and I must warn you

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1153571329867562652006-07-22T13:27:00.000+01:002006-07-22T13:32:16.063+01:00

"Interesting strategy, isn't it? But Israel must know what they are doing....." — Sky News correspondent in Haifa, on Israeli bombing of Lebanese TV communication towers.ß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1153568333223608502006-07-22T12:35:00.000+01:002006-07-23T12:52:43.983+01:00

You need only look at the map of Palestine from 1947 till now to see which 'country' has been benefitting most from the Middle East crisis. Simplistic you might think? Well, it's difficult to scoff at that when your lands have been held hostage, your Heights are occupied, and your hearth and home ever in the threat of rockets and gunfire.There's spin and propaganda, otherwise, how could the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1152983390880084242006-07-15T18:09:00.000+01:002006-07-15T18:15:30.803+01:00

Why is the Middle East burning? Take a quote:"If I was an Arab leader I would never make [peace] with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country."— First Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion.For more interesting quotes, go to Mona Baker's informative site.ß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1146646058273864902006-05-03T09:46:00.000+01:002006-05-03T10:12:22.020+01:00

Politics is serious business, maybe too serious to be left to politicians; but I rue the day when politicians take themselves too seriously and become a menace to our cherished freedoms. In the days of Michael Foot and Denis Healey, when the British Labour party still had a shred of principle in them, heckling was looked upon as a necessary nuisance. Why, the two stalwarts made their names by

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1144799513157177072006-04-12T00:50:00.000+01:002006-04-12T19:48:14.700+01:00

If you believe in democracy, look at Palestine now.Hamas was victorious in a free and fair election. Never mind what you think or read in the press about Hamas, but the people have spoken: they're sick to their spotted kefiyyehs about the self-seeking, power grabbing, compromising PLO - so out with the corrupt them and their fellow travellers. They've been told that democracy was the best way to

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1140003047228324462006-02-15T11:29:00.000Z2006-02-15T11:30:47.243Z

What's the difference between 'encourage' and 'glorify'?The ruling Labour party in the British Parliament is adamant that those who 'glorify' terrorism' ought to be prosecuted, while the House of Lords prefer the more legalistic word 'encourage'. All this in the light of those clowns who carried makeshift, handwritten placards in the first demonstration against the Muhammad cartoons in London.

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1139740178605238282006-02-12T10:20:00.000Z2006-02-12T10:31:22.826Z

The Muslim Council of Britain deserves praise for their very well-organised rally for Muhammad in Trafalgar Square London, 11th Fabruary. Not only was the rally peaceful and exemplary, but it was also attended by people of other faiths and no faith who carried placards and spoke against the racism and provocation that's been at the root of the publication of those cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1139053525410461672006-02-04T11:44:00.000Z2006-02-05T14:00:05.376Z

Abusing the Prophet isn't something new. It happened during his own time, by both men and women. And the Prophet did not call for retaliations but merely ignored and forgave. The traditions of the Prophet give beautiful instances of this. One day a neighbour who habitually deposited excrement on his door step stopped doing it, so he became worried and knocked on his door to ask if he was unwell.

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1138698011310770612006-01-31T08:59:00.000Z2006-01-31T09:01:49.983Z

The BBC's former political editor Andrew Marr said the following, as quoted in The Guardian, 30th January, 2006::"So long as we consume information through words, the public will still have some purchase. I fear a culture where we only hear and see things and it all sweeps past us too fast."The Times reported this on the same day:"Michael Moore and Diane Bell from West Yorkshire booked a holiday

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1138664333157935922006-01-30T23:35:00.000Z2006-01-31T08:32:40.413Z

Iran on the brink, cannons facing Syria, and Hamas in Palestine. On Hamas, Jack Straw in his shock statement from Davos said: democracy cannot go with violence. Nice sentiment from a leading member of the coalition for the New World Disorder, and a frontline state in the battle against terrorism, led by the man who wanted to bomb al-Jazeera into submission.How nice if all states abided by the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1137414055432927032006-01-16T12:19:00.000Z2006-01-16T14:55:32.620Z

Questions about Iran that you've always dared to ask but never got straight answers to:* Why is Iran singled out for nuclear weapons prohibition when its enemy and neighbour has several?* Why is Iran that has never attacked any neighbour (but was attacked by Saddam, who was aided and encouraged by his Western handlers) seen as a threat to its neighbours?* A country with nuclear weapons has

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1137153678676054152006-01-13T11:59:00.000Z2006-01-14T00:30:16.636Z

Shrill voices have called for Blair's impeachment for taking the country into Iraq under false pretences. A cross party group of 23 MPs have put their names down in a call for an impeachment debate in Parliament. Now, a powerful voice outside Parliament too has joined in,. He is General Sir Michael Rose, fromer commander of UN's forces in Bosnia, and this is what he said in the Guardian on

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1136982685721848872006-01-11T12:30:00.000Z2006-01-11T12:44:47.463Z

I've met Harrods owner al-Fayed only once, and when we did, he said: "My name's Mohamed. I've been to Mecca 7 times."He may have said 8 or 4 or ten, but in these inflationary days, who can keep count?I saw him again in front of Harrods the weekend after his son Dodi and Diana died. He was distributing sweets, and many, many people were around him. I did not ask him if he'd been to Mecca another

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1136842265251813162006-01-09T21:28:00.000Z2006-01-10T08:42:22.230Z

"It's good," I remember a friend saying about the tantrums and the name-calling and the deep trauma of Jewish settlers dragged hand and foot from Gaza settlements. "That'll show the world what raving looney fascists those settlers are."I told him exactly as I said in my blog yesterday: if only this world weren't a place of mirrors and magic, if only we could all know what's happening there and

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1136771342056904282006-01-09T01:47:00.000Z2006-01-09T09:55:18.886Z

Now that Ariel Sharon is dying or dead in the head, it's worth looking again at this New York Post humour when Arafat died. When Sharon does finally die, what will those deft subs at the New York Post be honing their wits on? How about "Farewell Fatso" for a start? Fat hope.Not long ago, when speaking to a Palestinian septuagenarian about the death of Abba Eban, I heard him mutter quietly that a

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1135464241887350342005-12-24T22:41:00.000Z2005-12-25T00:33:00.936Z

As Bethlehelm lies under siege and the world half submerged in the hothouse of New World Orderism, what more can you expect for the new year?We're just five years into the millennium and already planes are busy transporting sensory-deprived men in ghost planes for extraordinary-rendition. Extraordinary-rendition, whatever will they think of next. Here, dictator so-and-so, extreme renderer and

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1132619783074848532005-11-22T00:34:00.000Z2005-11-22T00:40:00.176Z

Now, behind all the news about al-Zarqawi's new death in a gun-battle in Mosul is a lone voice of sanity. Stand up Trent Duffy, White House spokesman, now travelling with George Bush in Asia. Said Mr Duffy, it is "highly unlikely and not credible" that Mr al-Zarqawi's body is among the dead. Some news reports are still talking about a possible DNA test, his family members &mdash, in Zarqa in

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1131805419810678182005-11-12T14:22:00.000Z2005-11-12T14:26:42.756Z

We mourn the passing of Mustapha Akkad, as we mourn the death of all those who died in the Jordanian hotel blasts last Wednesday in which Mustapha's 33-year old daughter Rima also died. Akkad was the man from Aleppo who went to Hollywood to make The Message (about the Prophet) and Lion of the Desert (Umar al-Mukhtar), and was also executive producer of Halloween. Mustapha said he made The Message

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1131799157113262812005-11-12T12:35:00.000Z2005-11-12T12:56:50.390Z

Jurisprudence takes on a piece of cloth, and what spiel! Just listen to this latest rhetoric of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), savour it well, and frame it up:"When examining the question of the Islamic headscarf in the Turkish context, there had to be borne in mind the impact which wearing such a symbol, which was presented or perceived as a compulsory religious duty, may have on

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1130407301336811182005-10-27T10:59:00.000+01:002005-10-27T11:03:06.366+01:00

In the last couple of months I've made the acquaintance of more cab drivers than I've had hot crumpets. They were only brief encounters, a short hop from the LRT station to work, short hop again from the LRT station in the journey home. Some mornings when the sun wasn't too harsh, I did the outward journey to the station on foot, some balmy evenings I sauntered through a maze of food stalls and

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1128072161916638152005-09-30T10:18:00.000+01:002005-09-30T10:27:31.146+01:00

You write brutal blogs for a mild bod, I heard a voice.We were lunching in an exclusive club, and not for the first time I was feeling out of place. The waiters waited and the atmosphere cooled, and the drinks chilled, and outside more trees were left untouched than in the rest of this very hot town, this unshaded place. Jean Cocteau, for whatever reason, once called it Kouala L'Impure; David

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1125675755721592022005-09-02T16:33:00.000+01:002005-09-02T16:42:35.730+01:00

I'm away from base at the moment, chasing the wind, keeping the wolves at bay. These coming weeks I will find very little time to blog, and even then if I find an internet cafe. To those who've been coming here regularly (the both of you), my apologies, my kitty's nearly empty and I have to do some work. But I shall come back to blog whenever I can, but that will be very, very irregular.God

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1124643178424494262005-08-21T17:45:00.000+01:002005-08-21T18:44:52.383+01:00

Anyone wanting to know how the Blair government works should read the transcript of a recent High Court case taken up by shareholders of the now defunct Railtrack against the former Transport Secretary for misfeasance while in public office. In one exchange with counsel for the shareholders, Keith Rowley QC, the former Transport Secretary Stephen Byers was asked if what he'd told a House of

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1123628720615642352005-08-10T00:03:00.000+01:002005-08-10T00:10:19.756+01:00

It is with amazing rapidity that the mood has changed about the terrorist attacks in London. An alim for all seasons, Dr 'Sir' Zaki Badawi has come out with a useful fatwa, that Muslim women can de-hijab if they feel insecure, and as Dr Badawi is very much the darling of the establishment and the media (never mind that minor hiccup at the US immigration) the Daily Mail, among other papers have

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1122486225340479062005-07-27T18:41:00.000+01:002005-07-27T23:22:52.163+01:00

There's a palpable climate of fear in Britain right now, unsurprising after more than fifty deaths in recent terrorist attacks and after one innocent man was shot by a police hit squad before terrified passengers in the London underground. Why is terrorism bad? Because it causes fear, death, destruction. It is also bad because of the reaction to it draws out from governments, and public order

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1122246718250182462005-07-25T00:10:00.000+01:002005-07-25T00:20:55.020+01:00

This woman was among a group of Muslims from Colchester, Luton and Leicester who gathered at Marble Arch in Central London Sunday 24th July to show solidarity with Londoners against the recent bomb attacks. Many passing vehicles sounded their horns in support.The demonstration was privately organised by a group of British Muslims to dissociate themselves from the recent spate of bombings in

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1122203806941926102005-07-24T12:15:00.000+01:002005-07-24T12:19:12.066+01:00

This is the man they shot five times in the head in the Stockwell tube station last Friday.Jean Charles de Menezes who'd lived in the slum district of Sao Paolo, Brazil, came to London three years ago to work as an electrician. Friends say he spoke excellent English.He was pursued by an armed plainclothes surveillance team (some say as many as 20) as soon as he emerged from an address that police

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1122136152543147012005-07-23T17:28:00.000+01:002005-07-23T17:38:20.513+01:00

The situation in Britain now is so bizarre that the average Muslim person who lives daily as a law-abiding citizen cannot not think that he or she is fair game. The reminder has come in a brutal and tragic incident yesterday at Stockwell, when a man, presumably Muslim and presumably a terrorist (I say this advisedly, even though the press and police have all been absolutely sure that he was part

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1121957638457431572005-07-21T15:51:00.000+01:002005-07-21T18:56:45.066+01:00

As you may have read, central London is in chaos again today after three explosions, and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has asked Londoners to "stay where you are."The explosions occurred in the Shepherd's Bush Underground Station in the West, Warren Street in the North central, Oval in the South, and another one on the 26 bus in Hackney in the East End of the City. From

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1121642153835055262005-07-18T00:13:00.000+01:002005-07-18T00:53:05.256+01:00

All those who are convinced that the 7-7 bombs in London were done by those lads who posed in front of the CCTV camera are also convinced that they did it to destroy our democracy, capitalism, apple pie, and way of life. A government spokesman said that the Muslims were in semi-denial (they are guilty?), and then Blair said he knew that those who did this did so in the name of Islam. Oh to be

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1121359559957903382005-07-14T17:43:00.000+01:002005-07-14T17:48:33.446+01:00

He was a very nice man,A regular kinda guy. Played cricket on the green,He wouldn't hurt a fly,Helped in his dad's shopBut always with a smile.Then he met the local beardwith the sinister eye...His clothes came from Top ShopHe preferred jeans to salwar.He taught in a primary schoolAnd drove the family carLast year he made the tripTo the town of PeshawarThen he started going to the MosqueFrom the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1121119531105537052005-07-11T23:04:00.000+01:002005-07-11T23:07:27.460+01:00

Pak Agus is a man of charismaric charm. He was on the 30 bus that morning of 7/7, he sat near where the device went off, then had to push past the bodies of victims to get down to firmer earth. In his daily life Pak Agus was deputy General Manager of an Indonesian Bank in the metropolis. I say was because he is now on his way home to Indonesia after having done his stint. On the morning of that

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1120988994708900562005-07-10T10:43:00.000+01:002005-07-11T22:02:38.676+01:00

There are dangers for Muslims in Britain from the recent bombings in the Underground and on a London Bus. The danger is that in tryng to 'protect' them, the media seem to be massing to draw attention to them. "You are a Muslim," asked an interviewer earnestly, how do you feel about the bombings? Only one young Muslim interviewee seemed to have caught on to the semiotics that were bandied around

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1120770398573037622005-07-07T22:05:00.000+01:002005-07-07T22:52:39.133+01:00

"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." — Sherlock HolmesThis is a sad, mad day for London. Suddenly it's 9-11 all over again, and this time it's across the pond. People went out to work, some came back dead. Any death diminishes everyone, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu or people of unbelief.It is in the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1120071598166309432005-06-29T19:58:00.000+01:002005-06-29T20:00:43.896+01:00

"My dream is that there be a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with Iraq."— George Bush, during a press conference with the PM of Iraq.And here's a story from Marina Hyde, in today's Guardian Diary:As students of McCarthyism will agree, there is nothing quite so impressive as a government that devotes proper time to fussing about the activities of those in the entertainment industry,

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1119310780032765342005-06-21T00:37:00.000+01:002005-06-21T00:39:40.040+01:00

There's a move afoot to make the incitement of religious hatred an offence against the law, and who's standing in its way? A bunch of jokers.Everyone knows who this law is aimed to protect, and in the present climate for them life's becoming very difficult, because hatred of people on the grounds of their religion sucks, desecration of Jewish cemeteries is an evil, pulling Sikhs by their turbans

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1119089742166818182005-06-18T11:12:00.000+01:002005-06-18T11:29:38.200+01:00

Sometimes news tickles your sense of the absurd and makes you want to smile. Mine has been this: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to help Saddam Hussain get a fair trial.Now, that's rich, I'll have it in small doses, and slowly. Mahathir is to join the Emergency Committee for Iraq to help ensure that a fair and lawful trial is accorded to Saddam Hussain, now languishing

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1118480033054048472005-06-11T09:52:00.000+01:002005-06-11T12:30:58.383+01:00

The Euro is funny business; it's an aspiration and a threat. And yet, what makes greater sense than having the same set of coins in your pocket as you travel across many lands? So where will the Euro go now that both the French and the Dutch have shown the red card to the European Constitution?It's a God-send to the US of course. The Euro has been hanging over their heads like the sword of

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1117747726603580532005-06-02T22:27:00.000+01:002005-06-02T22:49:48.456+01:00

Twelve-year old Kamad al-Nairab is a great football fan. Recently, hearing that the great footballer Ronaldo was to visit Palestine as goodwill ambassador for the UN, he wrote him the following letter. He did not meet Ronaldo because of Israeli-imposed travel restrictions. "Dear Ronaldo,My name is Hamad al-Nairab, I am 12-year-old, live in the Refugee Camp of al-Shabboura in the southern Gaza

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1117017659405251932005-05-25T11:38:00.000+01:002005-05-25T11:42:31.523+01:00

All together now: Israel is a bastion of social democracy in a sea of hostile hand-chopping, women-beating desert dwellers of Araby.Now we've got that cleared, let's look at Bar-Ilan University.Bar-Ilan was one of the universities mentioned in a boycott motion passed by the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) last month. The motion, proposed by the Birmingham University and Open

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1116316815247168172005-05-17T08:59:00.000+01:002005-05-17T09:03:10.813+01:00

"Contrary to White House spin, the allegations of religious desecration at Guantanamo published by Newsweek on May 9, 2005, are common among ex-prisoners and have been widely reported outside the United States. Several former detainees at the Guantanamo and Bagram prisons have reported instances of their handlers sitting or standing on the Koran, throwing or kicking it in toilets, and urinating

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1116249216785998382005-05-16T14:11:00.000+01:002005-05-17T09:13:40.166+01:00

There's a wide gulf between official figures and stories from eye-witnesses on the number of dead in the recent Uzbekistan demonstration. The President, a man with the most unsuitable name of Islam Karimov, said that 30 died in Andizhan, including 10 policemen, while a spokesperson for the Uzbek Appelation Human Rights group said that he saw about 300 bodies taken away in lorries, about a third

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1116084069530021032005-05-14T16:18:00.000+01:002005-05-14T16:27:13.603+01:00

My cab driver that night was a Hazara, so I asked him what he thought of the anti-American riots that were taking place in Afghanistan. There have been reports of anger among the Afghan populace after reports began to appear that the Guantanamo interrogators had adopted a technique for humiliating their Muslim prisoners: they flush down copies of the Qur'an down the pan. My Hazara driver paused

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1115809566415465592005-05-11T12:05:00.000+01:002005-05-11T13:00:56.310+01:00

The above picture of Caucasian Sandy Mitchell, British citizen, was captured from Saudi TV and reproduced on the cover of the Guardian supplement G2 on Tuesday 10th May, 2005. G2's blurb read:"In February 2001, Sandy Mitchell confessed on Saudi TV to planting a car bomb that killed a fellow Briton. What he didn't say was that for seven weeks he had been brutally tortured..." Should you be

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1115503554211008102005-05-07T23:04:00.000+01:002005-05-07T23:19:29.060+01:00

Do you have proof, KK asked me in an email, that Blair ever batted an eyelid when accused of telling a lie?Pity our poor Blair, having to attend the announcement of his own victory in his constituency of Sedgefield, glum faced, and sandwiched by wife Cherie on his right, and a fellow candidate with BLIAR wrapped around her head. All this while another fellow-candidate, Reg Keys, whose soldier son

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1115255129017129242005-05-05T02:03:00.000+01:002005-05-05T02:07:19.030+01:00

Michael Howard the Conservative party leader calls him a liar, and the marvel is he doesn't bat an eye-lid anymore. Being called a liar used to be the cause of actions in law but nowadays it stiffens the 'moral' uprightness of a Prime Minister, whose name was paraded in placards in those anti-war demos as BLIAR.Today, in polling stations throughout Blighty, voters will make their cross in secret

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1113672439559577622005-04-16T18:25:00.000+01:002005-04-16T18:30:08.726+01:00

On January 5, 2003 they raided a flat in North London and found 'ricin' and a formula for making the poison. Last week, at the Old Bailey, Britain's Central Criminal Court, one man named Kamel Bourgass, of Algerian origin, was jailed for 17 years. Others arrested with him were acquitted or not brought to trial.What emerged from the trial was that no 'ricin' was found in the raid, and there wasn't

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1113525283222711872005-04-15T01:26:00.000+01:002005-04-16T00:24:07.286+01:00

I've just learned from fellow-blogger Dynamic City that Jalan-Jalan is blocked in China. So, to those 600 million or so potential readers of this blog in that broad and marvellous land, my regrets. I was trying to make arrangements in Trafalgar Square today to have my thoughts relayed to you by carrier pigeons. But alas, the thrusting Labour Mayor of this unfair city, the erstwhile "Red" Ken

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1113524021015731572005-04-15T01:13:00.000+01:002005-04-15T01:20:36.880+01:00

Elections are such wonderful times until you see the shape of Robert Kilroy-Silk entering the fray. These are British elections I'm talking about, this 5th May, and this is the Robert Kilroy-Silk I'm talking about, who used to host a chat show of sorts that revelled in making Muslims look idiotic by first screening his guests to take only Muslims who looked and sounded just like him, i.e.

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1113088156445085722005-04-10T00:06:00.000+01:002005-04-10T00:24:41.176+01:00

I've never waved at the Pope nor he at me from his balcony in the Vatican. But he was a remarkable man in these faithless times, and once, he even kissed the Qur'an, or perhaps he was just taking a close look at the small print, I couldn't be certain.There are opinions about John Paul II: some want him beatified, others want him condemned. Some say he was responsible for the collapse of Communism

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1112571037230572382005-04-04T00:28:00.000+01:002005-04-04T00:32:34.413+01:00

In The Kite Runner, a moving book by Khalid Husseini on Afghanistan and turmoil on many levels, one line brought home to me how our lives have changed. In America, the Muslim character in the book was asked to define his identity in today's world. You a Muslim? Are you a practising Muslim? What is a practising Muslim? It strikes me as odd because it defines at once the two situations that a

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1112217185590730992005-03-30T22:10:00.000+01:002005-03-30T22:13:05.593+01:00

The big day's coming now for the government, the opposition, and all the people of Blighty. So that explains all the noise coming to our ears. What is it about the war in Iraq? Well, I have made a mistake, maybe, Blair seemed to have said. I'm not clear now what he said because whatever comes out of his mouth is almost always a load pof topsy turvy nowadays, spin de la spin. The party, the Labour

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1111682885045699342005-03-24T16:47:00.000Z2005-03-24T16:49:43.140Z

Ok, it's gaining momentum, this redemption for the faint-hearted. I've seen pockets of doubt, perhaps it was all worthwhile, this gunning and strafing and collaterally damaging of civilians and all those DU (depleted uranium) dust flying about. Perhaps it was all very worthwhile now that some Middle Eastern states are now clamouring for democracy, women gaining a foothold in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1111454529835376732005-03-22T01:20:00.000Z2005-03-22T01:24:26.066Z

We're living in an age when practicability is overwhelmed by dogma, and good sense by business acumen. From Konakry to Kangar the battle cry has been of the corporate marauder, even governments now no longer hanker after the welfare of their own people, but fuss to no end about the well-being of the business community.Have you noticed how laisser-faireism has become the pervading truth? But it

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1111244554842602722005-03-19T14:56:00.000Z2005-03-20T00:18:47.293Z

As the Malaysian Prime Minister has hinted that those who blog on Malaysia are being watched, let me take this opportunity to say I'm pleased. A friend who lives in Blighty — who's a Malaysian — tells me that of the strange 'airs' adopted by Malaysian bureaucrats, from the Chief Clerk upwards, the one he finds most annoying is the conviction they're never obliged to respond to people who're

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1110733359865723892005-03-13T17:01:00.000Z2005-03-13T17:06:22.340Z

How topsy turvy the world's become now. The decent, former people's party was the one that pushed through a legislation that's rolling back everything decent ever achieved in Blighty since the Magna Carta — right to a fair trial, right to know what charges you're facing, habeas corpus and whatever else they can get away with now. And who's resisted? Why the decrepit, anachronistic Lords on the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1110310794075903702005-03-08T19:34:00.000Z2005-03-09T06:11:52.963Z

Which is a greater affront to decency, an army that moved in to stabilise a country that had been destabilised by a powerful neighbour, or a country that dunks prisoners in boiling water to extract confessions?We've all forgotten about the so-called Lebanese civil war, or the daily bombardments of the beautiful city of Beirut by a neighbouring power, or the cold-blooded murders in Sabra and

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1109894831122957892005-03-04T00:05:00.000Z2005-03-04T00:16:29.576Z

Last Wednesday Shabina Begum won her right in the Court of Appeal to wear the jilbab at school. This overturned an earlier High Court rejection of her plea for the right to wear the jilbab because the permitted shalwar khameez (Pakistani style trousers and tunic) school-uniform didn't fulfill her strict interpretaion of the Islamic law. This issue of a Muslim fighting for her 'right' to wear her

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1109641352785249362005-03-01T01:41:00.000Z2005-03-01T01:57:41.580Z

Today, the conference in support of the Palestinian authority takes place in London. This is not an attempt to make the two sides come to the negotiating table, but, in the words of Tony Blair, "to rehabilitate the Palestinians for negotiations." As usual, just when a negotiation is imminent, the Israeli propaganda machine will go into overdrive, and they will be joined in by the massed media in

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1109553019009655902005-02-28T01:07:00.000Z2005-02-28T08:19:19.690Z

If there's no such things as bad publicity, then Islam's the most high profile religion in the world today. But even then, Muslims, in the main do not want to be in this kind of limelight nor wish to be identified with desperados who detonate themselves among Jews or Muslims, though the imperatives that drive them to such acts have been looked at by some brave and honest people, including Cherie

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1109166915291788072005-02-23T13:53:00.000Z2005-02-23T14:02:58.966Z

It is an irony that a nation that's based on a 2000 year old claim that is in turn based on the fiction of an unoccupied land that's been waiting for the 'return' the last 2000 years, is making noises about Syria in Lebanon. Just as Kuwait was carved out of Iraq in recent times, Lebanon was carved out of Syria by France in 1926.Poor Syria is now pilloried, accused of having a hand in the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1109094702078063122005-02-22T17:51:00.000Z2005-02-22T17:56:37.420Z

The audacity of it, but this one's got everything: fame, money, death, Middle Eastern snakepit, Islamophobia...Everyday in my mailbox I receive at least two offers from erection and demolition experts, two more with nudity or c**t in the subject line, and many, many more with gibberish unfurled. I delete them all without even taking a peek. But today, somehow, I thought I'd open one, and lo, it's

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1108515546726016002005-02-16T00:53:00.000Z2005-02-16T01:31:41.386Z

The death of Rafiq Hariri in Lebanon is a blow to Syria, no matter how much they're linking them now to the dirty deed. Syria's presence in Lebanon has been a stabilising factor, and Hariri, Lebanon's builder after the troubles. So who stands to gain from the brutal death, whose purpose does it serve?Al-Jazeera reports Rime Allaf of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London as saying

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1108250469379377872005-02-12T23:19:00.000Z2005-02-13T00:10:44.030Z

What has privatisation done except enrich a handful?I was thinking this today when travelling on what used to be public transport to a place just outside Londra. What used to be British Rail is now a mass of discordant tracks, ungoverned by time-tables, unregulated by any central authority that we can see. The tracks are maintained by a separate body from the one that runs the trains. In fact,

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1108081260474982302005-02-11T01:16:00.000Z2005-02-11T01:14:41.433Z

In my post yesterday I stated that Blair stood in Parliament to apologise for the injustice to the people who were wrongly imprisoned for bombing offences years ago, only to discover later that it wasn't in the Commons that the apology was made, but in another room elsewhere. It was an easy mistake to make, especially as the Prime Minister's spinmeisters had put word out in the morning that the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107995299893764582005-02-10T01:25:00.000Z2005-02-10T00:51:54.636Z

Thirty years ago when the world was still innocent, bombs in Northern Ireland and British towns killed many civilians, and armed men in balaclavas fought gun battles with the British army, and sometimes you heard the word terrorism. And these were days when Americans were cheering the terrorists and raised funds for Irish Catholics whose IRA planted bombs in British streets. Yesterday Tony

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107945125570821162005-02-09T10:29:00.000Z2005-02-09T10:32:05.570Z

Happy New Year to my Chinese readers, this year of the Yiyou 4702. Kong Hee Fatt Choy! Gung Xi Fa Chai! ß

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107729938366619812005-02-06T22:44:00.000Z2005-02-07T23:21:33.716Z

Martin Mubanga was one of the British Muslims freed from Guantanamo. There's no doubt that he was wrongly accused and kept imprisoned for 33 months. He's now planning to sue the British government. Martin, a convert to Islam, said that his arrest in Zambia was aided by the British MI6. He spoke to the London Observer today, telling about his life of hardship in Guantanamo, where he was

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107708470433492582005-02-06T16:46:00.000Z2005-02-06T17:15:54.306Z

Malaysian politics is now imbued by ennui after over a decade of rises and turns under Doctor Feelgood. When the physician had to go to heal himself, a safe pair of hands was found to replace the man who was previously chosen to succeed, only that at the last moment, the heir anointed was charged with all manner of misdemeanour and worse that in the end it did the Malaysian judiciary no credit,

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107379069477575342005-02-02T21:17:00.000Z2005-02-02T21:23:36.013Z

How do we know that we know? Truth is we don't know. Most of the grub served to us comes from the mainstream media, and I've chosen the word grub advisedly. Take the Iraqi elections, and I make no apologies for going on about this and on and on. For the moment I think that's where our eyes should be because it's going to define many more elections that will take place in other parts of the world

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107277799583099702005-02-01T17:08:00.000Z2005-02-01T17:15:24.746Z

Just a couple of days ago a letter appeared in the Evening Standard here in Londra from an anonymous Iranian, urging Bush to invade his country to restore justice and democracy. There's a substantial Iranian community here in Londra, many of whom are Shah-adulators who now adore his exiled son, the pretender to the title of King of Kings, the Shanshah. I am not a great admirer of the present lot

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107182990954204092005-01-31T14:48:00.000Z2005-01-31T16:17:40.676Z

First they rigged elections in their own country, then they went out to Afghanistan and then, Iraq, to teach them how to vote. To keep well out of the way of disgruntled customers they're now building a new Embassy in Babylon, to cost a mere US$1 billion. Then they took their pick from all the despotic practises that they've been nurturing all over the globe: detention without trial (pace Chile

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1107045099563866302005-01-30T01:30:00.000Z2005-01-30T00:44:23.846Z

Alas, poor bloody battered Iraq, so it goes out to vote on Sunday. And one hell of a way for democracy to come about: bombed out citizens, kith and kin buggered and tortured in Abu Ghreib prison, Falluja the city of Mosques turned into a city of dust and disarray. Now, with the carrot of election out on a stick, the full force of submission comes full circle. Damned if you vote and damned if you

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1106729517561789832005-01-26T08:49:00.000Z2005-01-26T09:09:42.116Z

Take it easy, sit back, let's all relax now. Sing a song maybe. Here's a good one for you to sing along with, to catch the mood of the here and now:"And all at once, You could hear the screaming chinks, And no one was safe from the wave, There are Africans drowning, Little Chinamen swept away, You could hear God laughing, 'Swim, you bi****es, swim.'"No raving, loony Baptists this time, but

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1106581568852224572005-01-24T15:41:00.000Z2005-01-24T15:56:25.383Z

It was once said that the rabid Islamists were behaving that way because they don't like to see the freedom that they have in the West and the opulence. So they bombed them all to keep themselves reassured, maybe, because their fathers aren't liberty seekers, and their Mums don't bake apple pie. And then they invaded Afghanistan, all in pursuit of rabid Islamists. Yet they were, before that,

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1106012811669140532005-01-18T01:45:00.000Z2005-01-18T02:08:44.983Z

Indonesia has backtracked, so foreign troops and aid workers will be allowed to stay after all to see the sunrise of 26 March in Acheh, the Indonesian province devastated by the Christmastide tsunami. Indonesia's defence minister Juwono Sudarsono said this after a meeting with America's defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz-in-sheep's-clothing. Funny thing this, it reminds me of the Eid day attack on

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1105753269346196112005-01-15T01:40:00.000Z2005-01-15T14:19:34.296Z

Poor Dr Yusuf al-Qardawi has shot into notoriety in the tabloid newspapers in Britain, and even in some supposedly saner broadsheets, particularly The Telegraph. A year ago, if you'd asked any of the hacks now baying for Qardawi's blood who this man with the wrapped up hat was, they'd probably give you a shrug, but now they've all become experts on Qardawiism. And this extends even to gay rights

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1105443331915549892005-01-11T11:31:00.000Z2005-01-11T23:54:20.536Z

I am humbled. My grateful thanks to all those good people who voted this site Best Political Blog in the Asia Blog Awards 2004 (2nd Place:Asian Labour News; 3rd Place:China Digital News). Thanks to you too, Jalan-Jalan was among finalists in the Best Foreign (non Asian) Blog category (winner: Peking Duck). You may see how the votes went here in all the categories. Thanks also to Simonworld, the

beta-bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999619301943744393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561222.post-1105440916702289172005-01-11T10:51:00.000Z2005-01-11T11:38:09.113Z

News just out says that three British prisoners in Guantanamo are to be released. They are Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga, and Richard Belmar. Of these, Moazzam shot to fame with the release of his letters, which spoke of isolation and suffering. All these men were arrested in Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the flimsiest of evidence — most with no evidence whatsoever. It was

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