Woody Fields and Anna Ianniciello, who call themselves Abdulhaa Muhammad and Aabidah Ann, say they've made a down payment on a vacant house east of tiny Goodrich, North Dakota and will use a basement room as a place where area Muslims can gather for daily prayers. But some are telling them to leave before they've even arrived.
For now, the couple lives in Zeeland, where their religious beliefs have not been the issue that their starving horses and cat-infested home have been, according to Zeeland Fire Chief Dean Schumacher.
Fields, 71, and Ianniciello, 65, say they have only the best intentions for their property in Goodrich. But their website has a place for guestbook comments and several have made it crystal clear that they are unwelcome in "100 percent Christian" Goodrich. Ianniciello says the obstacles and comments on the website make them more determined, not less, to carry out their plans for the Goodrich house as a gathering place for Muslims like themselves.
Muslims have more trials than others, she said. "This is a trial, but it's not the first one I've had," she said, "I think this is the right place. This is shaytan's (Satan's) influence trying to prevent this. It's not going to deter us and neither is someone not liking us."
[An Nahar] Egypt on Saturday appointed a new information minister, We know someone who's available...
a controversial post that had been abolished after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... Osama Heikal, former editor-in-chief of the liberal Wafd party's newspaper, was sworn in on Saturday in front of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military council that took power when Mubarak was ousted.
Tantawi urged Heikal to "reorganize the Egyptian media and draw up a plan that addresses all the shortcomings that came from abolishing the post of minister of information," a military source said.
The position was removed during a government reshuffle on February 22, just days after Mubarak stepped down after 18 days of anti-regime protests demanding political change.
Under Mubarak, the ministry was little more than a regime mouthpiece, and its abolition was one of the demands of protesters who ended the former president's 30-year rule.
Tens of thousands of protesters erupted into the streets on Friday to press the military rulers to fulfill the goals of the revolution, which include ridding the media institutions of remnants of the old regime.
The last minister of information, Anas al-Fiqqi, is currently in jail suspected of corruption. He was recently acquitted on one charge, but is being investigated in other cases of fraud.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2011 00:00 ||
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South Korea's Marine Corps will dismiss two commanding officers for failing to prevent a shooting rampage last week that killed four marines at a front-line base.
An anonymous marine official said Sunday that a colonel and a lieutenant colonel at the Ganghwa Island base will be dismissed soon and may face further penalties when the investigation into the July 4 shooting has been completed.
Officials say they are interrogating a corporal who allegedly shot his colleagues at the base in the Yellow Sea. Claims of abuse among marines have come forth following the shooting. Officials say the corporal had shown symptoms of mental illness.
#2
I met a young South Korean who had been a Lieutenant in the South Korean military. Here in the States he worked as a manager for a convenience store. He always studied technical materials in his spare time. Left to learn the art of a sushi chief at his in laws. He is a Korean opera singer also. Where he is headed I don't know. His people skills stink so I guess he is better off distant from others. He has an air of elite in his manner.
#1
Aussie pol sacked after anti-Islam inconvenient but truthful Facebook posts concerning Islam.
"What I did was a mistake, I did not think it would be used for political purposes. In my mind I was living in a free society where we value free speech. Why should religion be a taboo subject?"
Welcome to the post 9/11 world Mr Adams, where the 'Free World' has turned itself into a finlandized joke!
#2
One look at the guy's photo and I thought he looked vaguely Middle Eastern. Yup - he's Assyrian, meaning he's probably from Iraq. Middle Easterners, even abroad, have always been divided by faith. I suspect 9/11 broadened that rift, especially between Christians and Muslims of the region.
#3
I hate to say it, but the guy's a dope. Someone working in politics needs to refrain from making divisive statements (i.e. say things that could lose votes) to the public. Situations like his are why anonymous accounts exist.
#5
ZF, I agree. This guy must be pretty dim to not realize the political ramifications of spouting off like that, regardless of whether he's correct and regardless of how unfair it is that he can't speak freely. Makes me wonder if a lot of his coworkers feel the same way, and that's why he felt comfortable saying it publicly.
Monday should be fun interesting.
Once again Europe's debt crisis has metastasized, and once again the financial authorities face systemic contagion unless they take immediate and dramatic action.
#1
The calamitous US jobs data released last Friday leave no doubt that the US remains trapped in depression. Broad U6 unemployment rose from 15.8 to 16.2pc in June; the numbers in work fell by a quarter million to 153.4m; the average time without a job reached a fresh record of 39.8 weeks; hourly pay fell; hours worked fell; the employment/population ratio crashed to new lows of 58.2pc.
Posted by: Glomotle Oppressor of the Sith5786 ||
07/10/2011 18:51 Comments ||
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#2
The calamitous US jobs data released last Friday leave no doubt that the US remains trapped in depression economy is heading over the cliff in accordance with the Ogabe Administration's deliberate plans.
There. Fixed it for you.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/10/2011 21:34 Comments ||
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Finally, financiers seem to be getting what they always wanted...supremacy over the people of Europe. For the last 400 years they tried lending to royalty only to find getting their money back was often problematic. Then they tried "Democracy", but that was also problematic as they tended to get into too many wars. But now they've solved the problem, simply turn all the taxpayers into to dhimmies. Banks can no longer go broke and profits will go to those ordained by God to receive them, the financial oligopoly. I suppose this is only fair as they are now our new overlords.
European governments are set to provide a taxpayer backstop to banks that fail the results of tougher stress tests to be announced on July 15. UK Treasury officials will join European ministers at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, or ECOFIN, on Tuesday to agree plans it hopes will calm markets ahead of the test results from the European Banking Authority.
Lenders that fail the test, and cannot raise capital from investors within six months, look set to receive government support, according to a leaked EU document seen by Reuters.
The move will come as a shock to taxpayers after G20 policymakers promised that in the aftermath of the financial crisis they would never again have to bail out banks.
Europe's top 91 lenders have been tested to ensure they can withstand any further shocks and maintain a core capital level of 5pc.
Robert Law, banking analyst at Nomura, thought UK banks would pass the tests "relatively comfortably" but small German and Spanish lenders could struggle
A small Albanian village visited by President George W. Bush in 2007 has unveiled a statue of him, in a square named after him.
The 9.3 ft tall statue of the former president, raising his left hand in greeting, was unveiled on Wednesday in the square adorned with Albanian and American flags for the event.
#3
It's a double for W this week. Statue in Albanian Village and the new president of South Sudan wears his gift from W, a black cowboy hat, to the reading of their new Declaration of Independence, a result of W's work in 2005.
#4
It's a double for W this week. Statue in Albanian Village and the new president of South Sudan wears his gift from W, a black cowboy hat, to the reading of their new Declaration of Independence, a result of W's work in 2005.
Holey shoooo!
Times do change no?
All Dead or all Red morphed into:
All Dead, all Red or all NATO which morphed into:
All Dead or all Houston, pull up a chair and get a plate. Tell 'em Barb sent 'ya.
Posted by: S ||
07/10/2011 18:12 Comments ||
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#5
Albania gets a statue of Bush. Here in Seattle we have a statue of Lenin.
#4
Darth, Obama hasn't done anything we know of (yet) in Gunwalker to warrant impeachment.
Whereas, Holder has.
If I were a Pub Congressman I'd be drafting articles of impeachment for Holder.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/10/2011 16:52 Comments ||
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#5
word of caution. "Gunwalker" is the name that the folks who broke the story called ATF's "Fast & Furious" f-up. The program in the budget paid for by stimulus $ was called "Gunrunner". They may not be the same program, just similar names. If so, jumping hard on it may give the admin a defense point by showing we got our facts screwed up.
#6
Did I miss a reference to another paper's article, or a wire service?
Did this little nowhere paper do this report by itself?
Wow.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
07/10/2011 18:36 Comments ||
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#7
Umm...dunno if I'd call this "making the MSM" yet, folks. Where I live (the Peoples' Republic of Pugetopolis, otherwise known as the Seattle area), the New York Times is regarded as sacred scripture, and if my "sensitive, progressive intellectual" neighbors didn't read about it on the NYT's front page, to them that's the same as "it never happened."
Posted by: RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/10/2011 19:09 Comments ||
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[Dawn] The intensive six-year campaign by India and three other aspirants for permanent seats on the UN Security Council, Brazil, Germany and Japan has fizzled out for lack of support among member states, and even led to divisions within the so-called Group of Four.
The collapse of the G-4 drive for permanent membership on the world body's high table becomes obvious from it's recent letter to General Assembly President Joseph Deiss requesting him to resume the inter-governmental negotiations on reforming the 15-nation Council, a process they had abandoned and went on to circulate a resolution seeking expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories.
But the resolution, which the G-4 thought would be a short-cut to their goals, won--in their own words, 80 pledges of the support--not even a simply majority in the 192-member Assembly when 128 votes, or two-thirds majority, is required.
Critics of G-4 pointed out that since the resolution has not been tested on the floor of the Assembly, even their claim of 80 member states, as mentioned in the G-4 letter, could be a bit of exaggeration.
"This (the claim of 80) is an admission of defeat, to say the very least ... a shattering blow to their ambitions," a European diplomat said.
"Obviously, the reform model advocated by G-4 is not acceptable to the member states." Four months ago, the G-4 opted out of the inter-governmental negotiations, saying that the talks were not making any progress.
The G-4 underscored the need for the Council's reform, which they had virtually reduced to mere enlargement and categories--ignoring other important issues like working methods, question of veto, regional representation and relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council.
During that period, representatives of the G-4 countries, especially India, went virtually door-to-door to lobby support for their resolution that would open the door to permanent and non-permanent categories.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Meh, make the Security Council a Standing Committee of the Whole, then allow teevee.
All vetoes all the time.
Posted by: S ||
07/10/2011 11:45 Comments ||
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#2
Actually, everyone should have permanent UN Security Council seats. And baseball bats within easy reach.
#3
"India abandons quest for permanent UN Security Council seat"
If they were smart, they'd abandon the whole Useless Nitwits.
As would we.
Posted by: Barbara ||
07/10/2011 12:06 Comments ||
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#4
I still think the US should have championed all of them getting permanent seats. Dilute the UN's power if it works, or more likely force the Chinese, French and Russians to veto the idea and be the bad guys.
> Its all-but-useless for Indjuh to be on the UNSC iff it doesn't have a permanent seat.
India did NOT consider China to be on the same geopol level as the US or USSR during the Cold War - China should not a permanent seat in the UNSC iff India doesn't.
> UNSC permament membership, or lack of same, will not stop India from expanding its econ andor improving its strategic nuclear arsenals, etc. NOR STOP IT FROM ULTIMATELY BECOM A GLOBAL COMPETITOR OR PARTNET OF EITHER THE US OR [post-US]CHINA.
> India had a long-standing, post-WW2 policy during the Cold War of remaining neutral between the US-NATO + Soviet Bloc, hence does not fear any major loss to its credibility or prestige by not having a permanent seat on the UNSC.
MANY INDIAN BLOGGERS ALSO LABEL THE UN AS THE "USELESS NITWITS" + OTHER, + BELIEVE THAT A NON-ALIGNED/INDEPEND NUCLEAR SUPERPOWER INDIA WILL BE FAR BETTER FOR INDIA'S INTERESTS.
#6
DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > HUJI THREATENS TO ATTACK PAKISTAN'S HIGH COMMISSION IN INDIA, + the Pak Foreign Office-Secretary + top diplomats iff Islamabad refuses to stop sharing Intel on the Group [Ilyas Kasmiri]wid New Delhi.
[Al Jazeera] Police in Malaysia have fired tear gas and tossed in the calaboose hundreds of protesters in the biggest opposition-backed rally in years.
More than 20,000 demonstrators massed across Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, demanding electoral reforms, activists said.
The federal police force tossed in the calaboose 1,400 people in a clampdown called Operation Erase Bersih, referring to the Bersih coalition, the group that organised the rally.
Those tossed in the calaboose included several senior opposition officials.
Ambiga Sreenavasan, head of the Bersih coalition, said that the suppression of the protests had "stirred a sense of outrage against the exhibition of raw power by our government".
"What is the necessity for a show of might against right? No matter what, right will always prevail," she said.
Prime Minister Najib Razak's government had declared the demonstration illegal, and police had sealed off parts of the capital in advance, warning those who took part in demonstrations that they would face "stern action".
Witnesses said riot police armed with batons charged at some protesters and dragged them into trucks.
Strict security measures
Authorities took extraordinary security measures to deter the rally by closing train stations and deploying lorries mounted with water cannons near the Independence Stadium in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, where activists sought to gather.
Nevertheless, thousands tried to reach the stadium from various parts of the capital, chanting "Long live the people" and carrying yellow balloons and flowers as they marched.
Police fired numerous rounds of tear gas and chemical-laced water in repeated attempts to disperse the crowds, causing demonstrators to scatter into nearby buildings.
Helicopters flew overhead as a brief downpour failed to deter the protesters.
Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, said he had sustained a "minor injury" when his group was hit by tear gas.
"We were attacked from both corners but what was horrifying is that the police shot directly at the protesters, some of them clearly aimed at me personally, so my security assistants had to cover me and one was badly injured because the canister was shot direct, he is badly injured," Anwar told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency.
"This is a simple portrayal of the extent of desperation of brutal action approved by the Prime Minister Najib."
Government officials accuse Anwar's three-party alliance of endorsing the rally to cause chaos on the streets and undermine the National Front, the federal ruling coalition.
Electoral reforms
The rally organisers called for reforms following accusations that the Malaysian election commission is biased towards the ruling coalition, which has been in power since independence from Britannia in 1957. The commission denies the charge.
The government insists the current electoral policies are evenhanded.
Over the past two weeks, more than 200 other activists have been tossed in the calaboose nationwide for trying to promote the rally.
Earlier, speaking to Al Jizz over phone from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Edmund Bon, a human-rights lawyer, said: "It's an extraordinary clampdown on the whole [city] and we are not allowed to go anywhere.
"People are getting tossed in the calaboose on the streets and about 250 to 300 people have been tossed in the calaboose so far in connection with the rally."
The activists' demands include an overhaul of voter registration lists, tougher measures to curb fraud and fairer opportunities for opposition politicians to campaign in government-linked media.
A general election is not due until 2013 but Najib has not ruled out early polls, after economic growth accelerated to a 10-year high in 2010.
Major street demonstrations are rare in this Southeast Asian country, but the rise of alternative media channels and a growing opposition voice are gradually creating a more vocal Malaysian public.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm surprised the Arab Spring reached this far.
#2
Food prices have gone up everywhere, phil_b, and the Internet reaches into the farthest corners of the world, carrying news of what the cool kids are doing elsewhere.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Woody Fields and Anna Ianniciello, who call themselves Abdulhaa Muhammad and Aabidah Ann, say they've made a down payment on a vacant house east of tiny Goodrich, North Dakota and will use a basement room as a place where area Muslims can gather for daily prayers. But some are telling them to leave before they've even arrived.
[An Nahar] Egypt on Saturday appointed a new information minister, 
A small Albanian village visited by President George W. Bush in 2007 has unveiled a statue of him, in a square named after him.
[Dawn] The intensive six-year campaign by India and three other aspirants for permanent seats on the UN Security Council, Brazil, Germany and Japan has fizzled out for lack of support among member states, and even led to divisions within the so-called Group of Four.
