Month: October 2012

The depleted-uranium-doped armor-piercing bullets the US used in the first Gulf War is only one of the factors suspected to  lie behind the “tales of inexplicable sickness and deformities have abounded in Iraq….” A new study suggests that “in 2011, a child born in Basra was 27 times more likely to suffer from a birth defect than 16 years…

EID MUBARAK! The NATO-created power vacuum in Libya is being filled by extremists, and “militants are free to come and go from the city and surrounding areas as they please. ‘There’s no police, no army and no militias. Nothing. It’s an open city from east and west[,]’ according to “the head of the largely toothless…

After “a string of minor marijuana arrests” the young Bangladeshi-American “who has now denounced his work as an informant, said police told him to embrace a strategy called ‘create and capture’” in which he would create “a conversation about jihad or terrorism” and send “the response … to the NYPD” and be paid $1000 per month:…

NOTES FROM THE IIIT CONFERENCE ON GOOD GOVERNANCE IN ISLAM: CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES #2 [This is the second in a series of my notes on the International Institute of Islamic Thought conference on Good Governance in Islam: Classical and Contemporary Approaches held in Herndon, VA. These notes have only been lightly edited and represent…

“[T]he Catholic Church’s fraught relation with Islam has emerged as one of the main themes at a major gathering of the world’s bishops in Rome”: Vatican Hosts Serious Discussion On Islam After Controversial Video (Huffington Post) “A ban on girls wearing the Islamic headscarf to a school in southern Russia has angered Muslims and forced President Vladimir…

“Sponsor Charles Mainor, an assemblyman who is also a Jersey City police officer, says New York police targeted many innocent Muslims during their surveillance. His legislation allows prosecutors to get an injunction blocking an agency from conducting surveillance if it hasn’t complied with the notification requirements”: Bill Responding to NYPD Spying on Muslims Advances in NJ;…

The Israeli “government research detailing the number of calories Palestinians in Gaza need to consume to avoid malnutrition”gives credence to the UN’s concern that “if the research reflected a policy intended to cap food imports, it went against humanitarian principles”: Israel Forced to Release Study on Gaza Blockade (BBC) “The clip, which has been viewed…

Myanmar says it will welch on its promise “the opening of the OIC office will not be allowed as it is contradictory to the aspirations of the people,” aspirations ,it appears, for genocide of the Muslim population: Myanmar Won’t Allow OIC to Open Liaison Office (AP / abc News) “The Pakistani government is bearing the…

Release of a draft constitution and dissatisfaction over the acquittal of Mubarak’s shock troops are ingredients in a mix of emerging turmoil: Egypt Releases Draft of Constitution for Debate (AP / abc News) In Egypt’s Draft Constitution, Little Sign of Revolutionary Ideals (Christian Science Monitor) Egypt’s Prosecutor General Refuses to Resign (AP / abc News) Egypt Judges Attack Mursi…

In a shocking interview with the Hebrew press an Israeli police chief admits to knowing who is behind the mosque arson, but declares his intentions to deport “leftists and anarchists” (i.e., international human rights activists) instead: Police Chief: We Have DNA of Mosque Arsonist, but He Won’t Be Charged (Alternative Information Center) “The BBC’s Jon…