Author: Kevin Duewel

“Iran accused the US of human rights violations today over plans by the state of Virginia to execute a woman for the first time in nearly 100 years, despite claims that she has severe learning difficulties”: Iran Accuses US Of Double Standards Over Woman’s Execution (Guardian) A poll “by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies…

In the face of what her sister calls the judge’s bias, Aafia Siqqiqui’s advice to supporters is: “Don’t get angry…. Forgive Judge Berman”: Pakistani Woman Gets 86 Yrs for U.S. Agent Clash (AP / CBS) Religious studies in public primary and secondary education would increase cultural literacy, and may have a dampening effect on xenophobia from ignorance … Schools…

Woodward reports that U.S. intelligence diagnosed Karzai as a manic depressive” and Pakistan as a “dishonest partner,” and despite Obama’s insistence, the military never did come up with an exit plan: Bob Woodward Book Details Obama Battles with Advisers over Exit Plan for Afghan War (Washington Post) “Hamas refuses to say who has been arrested,…

The absence of an Islamic contract, which should be evidence the women were forced into marriage is instead used as an excuse to disqualify the victims’ children from Iraqi citizenship: Children of al-Qaeda in Iraq Pay for Sins of Their Fathers (Washington Post) “If society inhibits women from whatever they want to wear, that is…

The quandary, even violence, that may be provoked by the ruling in the Babri mosque controversy underlines the difficulty of defending property rights in areas of emotionally charged communal conflict: Ghost of Communal Riots Haunts India Mosque Verdict (Reuters) “We have to realize that God’s law is not an alternative to the human mind, nor…

The Guardian speculates that the sale of “84 new F-15 fighter jets, 70 upgraded F-15s, 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 ‘Little Birds,’” to Saudi  is a prelude to big arms sale to Israel: Saudi Splurges On Weapons … For What? (Al-Jazeera) A brand-new shopping center, financed by Hamas, opens in the Gaza Strip,…

In a perverse move to fight fraud, officials sacrifice democracy to security by closing hundreds of polling places: Afghan Officials Promise Security for Elections (AP / Washington Post) “May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every…

Supreme Court Justice Breyer equates the burning of the Qur’an with shouting fire in a crowded theater, although it seems to us a comparison to shouting “fighting words” is more appropriate … Somalia’s Shebab Stage Demo Over Koran Burning (AFP) … but the New York Civil Liberties Union says Derek Fenton’s “First Amendment rights probably were…

As Indian Muslims show they understand Islam’s respect for the sacred scriptures of others … Indian Muslim Leaders Condemn Attacks on Christian Properties in Kashmir (The American Muslim) …  Ayatollah Khamenei’s call for the US to punish desecration of the Quran, shows how little he understands of the American system of impartial justice, religious liberty, and constitutional…

Constitutional amendments that move power from the military to the civilian government pass handily: Turkish Voters Approve Amendments in Referendum that Indicated Confidence in Nation’s Leader (Washington Post) Turkey: Nation on a Dual Course (AP / Washington Post)) As MFI’s president explains to students that while “America is unique in allowing any religion and any…