More persecution and oppression of the Copts in Egypt-edit. Egyptian leaders ordered the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of pigs today to help protect against swine flu, prompting angry protests from the poor Christian farmers who feed their animals with a country's food scraps. The decision was also criticised as a "real mistake" by a senior UN food expert. The Arab world's most populous nation has been been badly hit by the H5N1 bird flu virus in recent years and the move to cull up to 400,000 pigs - seen by Muslims as unclean animals - was designed to calm fears of an impending pandemic.

But it left Egypt's large Coptic Christian minority up in arms, especially the slum-dwelling "Zebaleen" rubbish collectors who rely on the hogs for their livelihood. Scores of them blocked the streets and stoned the vehicles of Health Ministry workers as they arrived to carry out the government's order at pig farms on the outskirts of Cario this afternoon. “Our pigs are healthy. They are our capital and they have no diseases,” said Adel Ishak, who feeds his pigs from the rubbish he collects in Manshiet Nasser, northeast of Cairo.

"We remind Hosni Mubarak that we are all Egyptians. Where does he want us to go?” added 46-year-old Gergis Faris, another pig farmer. “We are uneducated people, just living day by day and trying to make a living, and now if our pigs are taken from us without compensation, how are we supposed to live?” The decison to cull the pigs was announced by Hatem al-Gabali, the Health Minister, after a meeting with President Mubarak. “It has been ordered to immediately begin the slaughter of all herds of pigs in Egypt,” he told reporters.

Mr al-Gabali said slaughterhouses were to begin the culling process immediately at the fastest rate possible. Further precautionary measures such as the launch of an awareness campaign and increasing production of protective masks would also be taken, he said. Magdy Rady, a Cabinet spokesman, put the number of pigs that could be culled at between 300,000 and 400,000. “If you see the conditions of the swine farms in Egypt, they are not healthy at all. They are hazards in themselves, even without the swine flu. That’s why people are really getting afraid,” he told the Reuters news agency, even before the decision was taken.

Officials said that the farmers would be offered compensation of 1,000 Egyptian pounds (£120) per pig but there seemed to be little confidence that the money would ever materialise. Mr Ishak said that his community receives 6,000 tonnes of organic rubbish every day, but if the pigs die there will be nowhere to put the waste. “What is the use of compensation? It will feed us only for several months, what then?" he asked. Egypt has not had any confirmed cases of swine flu yet but government experts fear a pandemic flu strain could spread quickly through the country because most of its roughly 80 million people live in the densely packed Nile Valley, many in crowded slums in and around Cairo.

The World Health Organisation has repeatedly said, however, that the newly mutated H1N1 virus is not found in pigs - although the animals can be the vessels for the "genetic reassortment" that produces new strains - and that pork meat is safe to eat. Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary office with the UN Food and Agriculture Officer in Rome, said the Egyptian order was "a real mistake".

"There is no reason to do that. It’s not a swine influenza, it’s a human influenza,” he said. Times Online

Not too soon in the future the Pakis will be experiencing this Taliban haven-edit. Taliban gunmen have been filmed executing a surprised couple whom they repeatedly shot for the alleged crime of adultery. Their deaths were squalid, riddled with bullets in a field near their home by Taliban gunmen as the execution was captured on a mobile telephone. In footage which is being watched with horror by Pakistanis, the couple try to flee when they realise what is about to happen. But a gunman casually shoots the man and then the woman in the back with a burst of gunfire, leaving them bleeding in the dirt.



Moments later, when others in the execution party shout out that they are still alive, he returns to coldly finish them with a few more rounds. Their "crime" was an alleged affair in their remote mountain village controlled by militants in an area that was only recently under the government's sway. It was the kind of barbarity that has become increasingly familiar across Pakistan as the Taliban tide has spread.

But this time, with black-turbaned gunmen almost at the gates of Islamabad, the rare footage has shown urban Pakistanis what could now await them. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that Islamic extremists could take over the nation. In the past few days the footage has circulated among Pakistanis who usually show little interest in the rough ways of the distant frontier regions. Continued here....

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A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates shows a member of the country's royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.

A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim's arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man's wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV.

In a statement to ABC News, the UAE Ministry of the Interior said it had reviewed the tape and acknowledged the involvement of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, brother of the country's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed.

"The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior," the Interior Ministry's statement declared.

The Minister of the Interior is also one of Sheikh Issa's brother.

The government statement said its review found "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department." Go here to view video clip, very graphic

The factors leading up to the LTTE’s loss of military control. Former LTTE members now living in exile in the UK, analysed the factors leading up to the LTTE’s loss of military control. Nirmala, the first woman detained by the Colombo government under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, in the early 1980s, was subsequently freed from prison in a dramatic action by the LTTE. She eventually left the Tigers, however, due to what she felt was a lack of democracy within the movement, coupled with its human rights abuses. After ten years with the movement, Ragavan, a founding member of the LTTE, likewise parted ways, due to its increasingly authoritarian character and internal abuses.

Ahilan Kadirgamar: Many people now believe that the LTTE is on its last legs. If so, what were the factors that led to the collapse of an organization that enjoyed an army, a large territorial base and even an air force?

Ragavan: A major problem that the LTTE faces today comes from its authoritarian culture and militaristic structure, in which the political objective is subservient to the military goal. Initially, after 1983, when the LTTE was still a guerrilla force in need of the people’s support, it received considerable backing from the Tamil masses.

As it grew, the LTTE’s primary agenda gradually became the building of a conventional army with a repressive character and an absence of any libratory objectives. This alienated the population because it came hand in hand with harsh practices such as the forcible recruitment of children, taxation and other forms of control.

During the Norwegian peace process the LTTE, instead of using the resources and money allocated to support the people under its control, appropriated the funds and resources to build up its own infrastructure, such as its sophisticated arsenal and air-conditioned bunkers for its leaders. They became parasites who lived off the people without giving back anything to them. Ultimately, a contradiction arose between its original goal, of fighting for the rights of the Tamil people, and the reality of military control over those very people.

Nirmala Rajasingam: The LTTE proceeded to become more and more unpopular amongst the local population in areas where it garnered control. It also became less accountable to the people because of external support, initially from the Indian government and subsequently from diaspora communities in Europe and North America. Yet even within the diaspora communities that were funding its cause, the LTTE practiced intimidation through threats, physical assault and even murder.

The dissenting community has been campaigning against the absolute totalitarian command of the LTTE for quite some years now. Mahinda Rajapaksa may claim that the fall of the LTTE is due to the military powers of his armed forces, but I think that the political decline of the LTTE started some years before, in particular during the Norwegian-brokered peace talks of 2002. That is when the people decided that they were so worn out by the war that, just to live without the disruption and violence of war, they would even submit to living with the army’s presence. Continued here.....

The rapid disintegrating of the country got an extra boost right after the Pakistani government capitulated, by signing a peace deal with the Taliban. It is looking at a dark and beckoning evil abyss.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Taliban militants have extended their grip in northwestern Pakistan, pushing out from a valley where the government has agreed to impose Islamic law and patrolling villages as close as 60 miles from the capital. Police and officials appear to have fled as armed militants also broadcast radio sermons and spread fear in Buner district, just 60 miles from Islamabad, officials and witnesses said Wednesday.

Pakistan's president signed off on the peace pact last week in hopes of calming Swat, where some two years of clashes between the Taliban and security forces have killed hundreds and displaced up to a third of the one-time tourist haven's 1.5 million residents.

Critics, including in Washington, have warned that the valley could become an officially sanctioned base for allies of al-Qaida—and that it may be just the first domino in nuclear-armed Pakistan to fall to the Taliban. More...

With the Taliban becoming ever more emboldened (surprise, surprise) and demanding the hand-over of all the seven districts of Malakand division and Kohistan district (through which runs the Karakoram Highway, thank you very much), does anyone think the world will be fooled into handing out cash to a sinking entity? An aside: some villages in Haripur district of Hazara division are already infested with the Taliban. Who the hell do we think we are fooling? From the mouth of a Paki, in full....

In Kenya, they are referred to as pirates. In the US, they are skinny Somali teenagers.

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Shabbily dressed and solemn, 18 Somali men nabbed at sea and hauled ashore by European navies crowded into a Mombasa courthouse Thursday to face piracy charges that could put them behind bars for life.

Kenya appeared to be ramping up prosecutions amid talk of establishing an international piracy tribunal in the country that borders Somalia, the lawless epicenter of a flourishing pirate industry off the Horn of Africa.

The court hearings also came the same week the United States held its the first piracy trial in over a century, trying a skinny Somali teenager for the attack on the American cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama. More...

GENEVA -- As I write this, the United Nations Durban Review Conference on "racism" is still officially in session, stumbling toward the close, on Friday, of its five-day run at the U.N.'s palatial offices on the shores of Lake Geneva. But after the opening fireworks, provided Monday by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a strange torpor hangs over the proceedings. Apart from the shuffling of paper, droning of sparsely attended speeches and clack of heels on marble floors, the main action among those still in attendance seems to center on cultural diversions and U.N. snack bars.

By U.N. lights, this conference--almost two years in the planning--was supposed to be a grand affair, gathering state delegations and nongovernmental organizations from around the globe. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon flew in to deliver the keynote remarks Monday morning, celebrating the conference opening as offering vistas of "a new day, a move in a new direction, all nations together as one," etc., etc. And then, for the U.N., something went very wrong. But what?

Reality, that's what. The despot-heavy U.N. General Assembly designed this Durban Review conference from the start as a vehicle for anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and an array of other U.N. campaigns targeting free societies--such as a global gag on free speech about Islam. Ultimately, this drew two big responses. President Barack Obama's administration, to his credit, confirmed last week that the U.S.--chief sugar-daddy to the U.N.--would join Canada, Israel and a handful of other nations in boycotting the conference.

And Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad exercised his U.N.-given right to fly in from Tehran to take the stage. The U.S. decision to skip the festivities appears to have put a damper on high-level attendance. Ahmadinejad was the only head of state to show up. At the U.N., where procedure routinely trumps morality, protocol dictated that after the opening niceties, Ahmadinejad should get the first speaking slot of the main program. Thus did Ahmadinejad, top speaker in the lineup, hop aboard the U.N.'s elaborately fashioned Durban vehicle with such glee that he blew out the tires.

There are now two versions of his speech making the rounds--the written text handed out, and the transcript of his slightly more manicured remarks. But whichever one favors--and both were delivered Monday into the public domain--Ahmadinejad put on quite a show. In the name of fighting "racism," he slammed democratic Israel as "totally racist" and called for "eradicating this barbaric racism." He went on to blame most of the world's ills not only on "Zionists," but on the United States, and--in an eerie echo of such 20th century totalitarians as Lenin and comrades--he concluded with a messianic call for "a common global system" in which all humanity would be subject to "the sublime goal" of the "righteous managing of the perfect human being." Continued here....

You know why they do not want to contest in the Penanti by-election, look at the title of this post. They know that the so called Pop Star has lost his shine, he is a liability for them. In the Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau by-election, Najib had simply chosen the wrong pop star to align himself with, a has been ! Their days of buying elections, is history, they know that.

The real truth behind Najib's unwillingness to engage BN in another electoral tussle with the PR coalition is simply that he is afraid to lose another by-election to the opposition, thereby giving steam to the opposition machinery in a long-running precarious war for the hearts and minds of Malaysians. Having been nurtured in a political greenhouse, perhaps the second generation of any political family dynasty can never display the kind of iron in the soul as shown by the first generation of political leaders. That kind of fighting spirit cannot be transmitted through the biological genes.

If Najib goes along with Mahathir that Umno should indeed face down the opposition challenge in Penanti, he will just entrench the perception among many netizens that he is just a stooge PM to his puppet master. His prestige and glamour as the newly minted premier of 26 million Malaysians will be vastly diminished. In full from Malaysiakini

Geneva — The Durban II outcome document might have been adopted yesterday afternoon, but that didn’t mean that the conference was over. Countries were still scheduled to grandstand . . . er, present their views. The ostensible reason for them to speak was no longer relevant, but that, apparently, was no reason to stop the show. And quite a show it was, with Cuba and Sudan presiding over the main ring in the Durban II circus.

Cuba took the stage first, demanding that Western countries provide reparations and compensation for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism. Cuba went on to state that “Racism and racial discrimination make up a virus that develops into a cyst in the social tissue. This is a reality in every region of the world; but it is well known that this scourge has a greater impact and impunity in the countries from the rich and industrialized North . . .” After an obligatory attack on Israel as an “occupying power that does not recognize the limits of justice, moral, or the international law [sic],” the Cuban delegate reached back to the 1970s for a solution to racism and inequality, calling for a “new international economic order . . . based on equality, solidarity and social justice.”

Cuba went on to attack freedom of expression, declaring that the “Internet and the new information technologies are a useful tool in the struggle against racism. However, this space is been [sic] improperly used in the diffusion of ideas based in the superiority [sic] and racial and religious hate . . . freedom of expression through any means of information cannot imply, in any case, freedom to hate, discrimination and violence.” In a moment of (apparently) unintentional irony, Cuba claimed — while trumpeting the “merits” of its despotic and poverty-stricken political and economic system — that “all Cubans, men and women, with no exception enjoy the same rights without discrimination of any kind.” It may even be true, considering that they enjoy very few rights at all.

Sudan — the regime that has committed massive human-rights atrocities in Darfur (atrocities that, in the view of most people, rise to the level of genocide) — took the podium shortly after Cuba to add its contribution to the Durban Review Conference. The Sudanese deputy minister of justice implausibly claimed that Sudan had rejected racism and “came to adopt strategies and educational programs . . . against racism and its current forms [and] establish new relations on mutual respect and partnership for the sake of inculcating in our generations the values of acceptance of the other, solidarity, embracement of dialogue among culture and civilizations and religions, and full abandonment of extremism, bigotry, and division.”

He went on to claim that Sudan is opposed to all forms of racism and discrimination, to reject accusations that slavery is still practiced in Sudan, and to accuse Israel of conducting a racist military campaign in Gaza. For instance, the Sudanese representative stated, “The recent attack on Gaza emanated from pretensions of racial and religious superiority . . .” That’s right: “pretensions of racial and religious superiority” — not the hundreds of Hamas missile attacks on Israeli civilians.

At the end of his speech, many delegates and some NGOs applauded. Welcome to constructive dialogue on racism in the U.N. world. By [Steven Groves & Brett D. Schaefer] from the National Review

The above aptly described the grievance of a Malaysian Christian officer, residing in a predominantly Muslim community, who felt that he was being deprived of one of his religious obligation. I am not fully aware of any documented instructions from army headquarters, forbidding officers and soldiers of the Christian faith from conducting catechism classes in their private homes in the camp. If there was one, it has to be properly explained, and an alternative offered to them. I believe, the Division Commander had issued the instruction based on his own interpretation, without reference to any standing instructions. I personally think that it was wrongful for the Divisional Commander to issue the 'forbidding instruction' unilaterally.

Examples of cases like this do not go well in appealing to non bumiputra of other faith to join the army, and I believe, this could be a reason for their reluctance and poor acceptance to join. As a Muslim and a commander of troops, I constantly remind myself to be tolerant and fair to my charges, regardless of their faith and race. I only see the uniform that they wear which is similar to mine, and not the colour of their skin. The only difference between them and me is the rank that I shoulder, and with the rank comes the responsibilities; not one of self interest, but one that is suppose to care for all of them. This is where some commanders have failed, because they view the rank as being a sign of being more superior than others, and their charges are suppose to remain subservient. From mind NO EVIL in full.....

By Reena Raj Tuesday, April 14, 2009

For those unaware of this hero's plight read here about Captain Courageous and how MINDEF has responded, thus far. A nation must not forget one of it's own warrior's, it is wrong.

THERE’S light at the end of the tunnel. That best describes the case of army veteran Capt (Rtd) Mukhtiar Singh, 77, who has been denied his pension by the Defence Ministry all because he failed to attend two courses during his 30 years of service —through no fault of his. Yesterday at a meeting with the Public Services Department Post Service Division director Datuk Yeow Chin Kiong in Putrajaya, Mukhtiar presented his letter of appointment dated June 30, 1961 that showed he was appointed as a permanent staff instructor with the Armed Forces.

The letter was from the Armed Forces records office. In the meeting that lasted about an hour, Yeow said there was little progress in Mukhtiar's case and he personally would give it till June 1 to be resolved. “With this document, it is clear now that Mukthiar was appointed as a permanent instructor and was not a voluntary staff.

This will make the process easier and less complicated.” When asked why he had only now presented the appointment letter and transfer documents, Mukhtiar said he had misplaced them. Mukthiar, who was in the meeting with his good friend Lt-Kol (Rtd) Mohd Idris Hassan, appeared calm and was smiling throughout the meeting. He said he wouldl be visiting the gurdwara for the Vasakhi prayers that was taking place for three days.

Malay Mail front-paged Mukhtiar’s story on Oct 20, 2008. The veteran soldier enlisted in the army in 1948 at age 16 and fought valiantly against the communists. He had been honoured for gallantry by Queen Elizabeth II and also awarded the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian by the Sultan of Selangor. He retired in 1978 but was told by the Defence Ministry there was no pension for him because he did not attend the Platoon Weapons and the Young Officers Tactics Course, both of which were held close to the date he was due to retire.

His requirement to attend these two courses was ironic as Mukhtiar himself had already been a weapons instructor, training many others to handle weapons. It wasn’t until Malay Mail highlighted the matter that Mukhtiar’s plight caught the attention and concern of the public. The Malay Mail

The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean. The SEALs were part of a group of Special Operations forces involved in the effort, according to military officials. The SEALs set up operations on the USS Bainbridge, which had been communicating with the four pirates via radio and had used smaller boats to make deliveries of food and water to their lifeboat. Yet the pirates were growing increasingly agitated, the officials said. At one point Saturday, the pirates opened fire on one of the smaller U.S. Navy craft that approached.

As the seas grew rougher, the Bainbridge offered to tow the lifeboat to calmer waters, and the pirates agreed, linking up the lifeboat to the destroyer with a towing cable that left 75 to 80 feet between the two vessels. Phillips at the time was tied up in the lifeboat, having been bound -- and occasionally beaten -- by the pirates ever since he had attempted to escape by jumping into the water on Friday, the officials said. Meanwhile, one of the pirates, estimated to be between 16 and 20 years old, asked to come aboard the Bainbridge to make a phone call. He had been stabbed in the hand during an altercation with the crew of the Maersk Alabama and needed medical care. "He effectively gave himself up," a senior military official said. The Navy then allowed that pirate to speak with the others in hopes that he could persuade them to give up.

The three other pirates, however, showed signs of growing irritation, as the Bainbridge, 18 miles from shore, towed the lifeboat further out to sea, the senior military official said. "They had no promise of money, clearly no passage. The one ticket they had was the captain," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record. "In the last discussion, they said, 'If we don't get what we want, we will kill the captain,' " the official said. Soon afterward, two pirates moved to one of the hatches of the lifeboat and stuck their heads out. The third pirate advanced toward the captain and pointed his AK-47 straight at Phillips's back, the rifle touching it or inches away, the official said.

U.S. military observers thought that Phillips was about to be shot. SEAL snipers, who were positioned on a deck at the stern of the Bainbridge, an area known as the fantail, had the three pirates in their sights. The on-scene commander gave the snipers authority to fire. "As soon as the snipers had a clear shot at the guy who had the rifle, they shot him and the other two in the hatches," the senior military official said.

A member of the Special Operations team slid down the tow line into the water and climbed aboard the lifeboat. Phillips was then put in a small craft and taken to the Bainbridge. Washington Post

Dear Editor,
Views publicly attributed to influential personalities, including to YB Dato’Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi, prohibiting the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non- Muslims are very disturbing — including for those of us whose mother tongue is Iban.

Islam is the official religion of this country. No one questions that. Similarly, the Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom. Followers of different faiths worship in their own established ways, and there is always some sensitivity attached to religious issues. Thus, I will not touch on matters of theology or religious doctrine. Moreover, this is more a question of language.

I am told the word ‘Allah’ is a standard Arabic word for God and is also widely used in the Middle East by non- Muslims. YB Datuk Daud bin Abdul Rahman, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs) in the State Government of Sarawak, noted the word has been used by the followers of the Sidang Injil Borneo in Sarawak for more than 50 years.

Furthermore, the Majlis Islam Sarawak (MIS) does not think the Muslims in Sarawak are confused when non- Muslims use the word ‘Allah’ in their liturgy (Borneo Post, Mar 9, 2009) My parents and family members were baptized into the Catholic faith some time in 1947. As a young boy from the age of six, I was taught to pray to ‘Allah Taala’. The Creed, the acclamation of faith in the Christian prayer, when rendered in Iban begins as follows:

“Aku arap ke siko aja’ Allah Taala, Apai Ka besai Kuasa, Ke ngaga Seruga enggau dunia...”

In my own immediate family, through inter-marriage, there are Muslims, Christians and Hindus. Once a year, at Gawai Dayak, we visit the family longhouse. When the prayer leader lead prayers in Iban and reads excerpts from the Iban translation of the Bible, the words ‘Allah Taala’ are an integral part of those prayers. After the Gawai, when we return to Kuala Lumpur, the grandchildren continue to attend mengaji lessons. There is no hint of confusion among the Muslim members of the family. YB Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is no ordinary individual. He received the highest number of votes of the three newly-elected Vice Presidents of UMNO. Going by tradition, it may be expected he will be appointed to a senior and important portfolio in the new Cabinet line-up.

One hopes when he is given a wider national responsibility, as different from aspiring to a post in UMNO, he will recognize that those of us who use the ‘Allah’ or ‘Allah Taala’ in our Christian prayer and publications have no other agenda but to practise our Faith in our own language. How can that be made illegal?

Leo Moggie Anak Irok Kuala Lumpur Herald Malaysia

For years, the Western world has listened aghast to stories out of Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations of citizens being imprisoned or executed for questioning or offending Islam. Even the most seemingly minor infractions elicit draconian punishments. Late last year, two Afghan journalists were sentenced to prison for blasphemy because they translated the Koran into a Farsi dialect that Afghans can read. In Jordan, a poet was arrested for incorporating Koranic verses into his work. And last week, an Egyptian court banned a magazine for running a similar poem.

But now an equally troubling trend is developing in the West. Ever since 2006, when Muslims worldwide rioted over newspaper cartoons picturing the prophet Muhammad, Western countries, too, have been prosecuting more individuals for criticizing religion. The "Free World," it appears, may be losing faith in free speech.

Among the new blasphemers is legendary French actress Brigitte Bardot, who was convicted last June of "inciting religious hatred" for a letter she wrote in 2006 to then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, saying that Muslims were ruining France. It was her fourth criminal citation for expressing intolerant views of Muslims and homosexuals. Other Western countries, including Canada and Britain, are also cracking down on religious critics.

Emblematic of the assault is the effort to pass an international ban on religious defamation supported by United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann. Brockmann is a suspended Roman Catholic priest who served as Nicaragua's foreign minister in the 1980s under the Sandinista regime, the socialist government that had a penchant for crushing civil liberties before it was tossed out of power in 1990. Since then, Brockmann has literally embraced such free-speech-loving figures as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom he wrapped in a bear hug at the U.N. last year. Continued here....

has never recovered. By Choo Sing Chye

Ipoh has changed so much over the years since the Tin bust, nobody seems to know that Ipoh used to be synonymous with tin. The last time I met a friend who was born after the Tin-bust, I asked him in jest, “Do you know what Ipoh's famous for?” He gave me a blank look. Anyway, not wasting any time, I told him, “Tin-lah.” “If there is no tin, Ipoh wouldn’t be here. It would be just another Orang Asli settlement. He squinted his eyes and responded, “Are you sure? I thought it was Nga-Choy-Kai.”

Thanks to Barisan Nasional for single-handedly transforming Ipoh from a rich and bustling Tin-City to a Nga-Choy-Kai (Bean-Sprout Chicken) industry. Ipoh never recovered from this fatal stroke of incompetence and greed to corner the World Tin Market. As a result of this, the once vibrant Tin Industry was totally wiped out.

It all started with a shady Egyptian tin trader by the name of David Zaidner. He worked for the commodities firm Marc Rich & Co in Switzerland. Actually, he first approached the Indonesian government thinking that they were stupid enough to buy his idea of cornering the tin market. But the Indonesians smelled a con job and had him kicked out of the country. Next, he couldn’t believe his lucky stars when his idea was accepted with enthusiasm by our then brand-new Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir. A plan was quickly hatched to corner the World Tin market.

In December 1980, the state-owned Malaysian Mining Corp. Bhd. named Marc Rich as its trading agent in a move that would shock the world commodities industry. Secret large tin purchases were made on the London Metal Exchange and went unabated throughout 1981, inducing a worldwide price increase. The strategy was cheap and simple. Malaysia had to only pay a 10 percent deposit against three-month's forward purchase contracts.

When the price of tin shot up in the world market, the Malaysian government thought it had scored a huge victory. But unexpectedly, the price increase attracted many world producers to increase tin production and even the United States began selling from its strategic stockpiles to take advantage of the Malaysian-induced price rises.

Subsequently, Malaysia amassed about 50,000 tons of tin and had no other choice but to keep buying just to keep prices up. Production continued to soar and even unheard-of suppliers started to turn up to cash in on the high tin price. The world tin market went berserk and it crashed. Malaysia lost an estimated US$250 million on its failure to honour forward contracts, and another local bank lost another US$1 billion in separate losses on loans it had made covertly out of its Hong Kong subsidiary.

For five years Mahathir categorically denied that Malaysia had anything to do with the plan but as outside pressure mounted, Mahathir finally revealed the details in 1986. Marc Rich was finally indicted and arrested then extradited to the United States and convicted of massive tax fraud. Think of the billions of ringgit taken out of our economy in Perak when the tin price went bust. Had Mahathir not meddled with the tin price, we wouldn’t have lost 30 years of Tin export income. Perak wouldn’t have been relegated from one of the richest states to a poor one like today.

Another good example akin to the Perak demise is Terengganu. If all the oil royalties go to the people of Terengganu, Terengganu would be an advanced state at par with Selangor. But unfortunately, these royalties go to the pockets of BN politicians and cronies in the form of “Duit Esan”.

Researched from Steven Schlossstein’s book, Asia’s New Little Dragons. Malaysia Today and Zaidner David

This letter in Malaysiakini is well worth everyones read. Very well articulated written by someone called Political Observer. Worth every effort posting this letter for posterity. Can be whipped out anytime for a revision.

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Mahathir, wife back in Umno.

All the apple polishing aside, the world will remember Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysia’s most controversial man. With him helming Umno during the 1999 elections, Umno only won 71 Parliamentary seats, compared to March 08, 2008 elections when Umno won 79 parliamentary seats. At the state level, Umno only won 176 seats that year compared to last year’s election, when Umno won 239 seats. It is obvious that Mahathir was the cause why Umno had lost the support of the Malays since 1999. Yet in a recent interview with international media, he was thick skinned enough to claim credit for Pak Lah’s thumping success during the 2004 elections.

If anything, Mahathir is to be blamed for BN’s failure to garner support from both the Malay and non-Malay voters. His spate of venom has caused people to lose faith in him, as well as in the BN. It was during recent times when a lot of the younger generation of Malaysians, including myself, started making stand. Enough is enough. For 51 years, Umno and BN have led the country. Corruption has penetrated every level of the government machinery and Mahathir is also not spared of international criticism for being Mr Ten Percent. We decided it is time for a change.

Yet, Mahathir could turn the tables around and accuse others of being corrupted. As the proverbial saying goes, one finger pointing to others, four other fingers are pointing back. We have seen enough of such nonsense in the past three years. He is such a controversial figure because he himself suffers from a low self-esteem. Son of an Indian man by the name of Iskandar Kutty who married a local Malay woman, Mahathir is technically what is known as a mamak or an Indian Muslim. However, never once has Mahathir claimed his roots to be from Kerala, India. To the Malays, this is synonymous to kacang lupakan kulit.

As far as the Indian Muslims in this country are concerned, he has completely dissociated himself from his own community. It is as good as saying that they should not keep their identity or culture as Indian Muslims, but consider themselves ethnic Malays. We have on the one hand, Dr Chandra Muzaffar who is also proudly an Indian Muslim while never once did Mahathir talk publicly about his father being truly Indian. Why did Mahathir choose to erase his true identity? Is it because he is ashamed of his family background being the son of an Indian immigrant? Or, is it because he feels that it is expedient for him to identify himself as a Melayu tulen in order to gain for himself the political mileage which he has enjoyed for over two decades?

Whichever is the case, the leopard can never lose its spots. Mahathir has removed three deputy premiers in 22 years. First, it was Musa Hitam, followed by Ghafar Baba and finally Anwar Ibrahim. Musa and Ghafar were Umno loyalists all the way whereas Mahathir resigned, criticised and condemned Umno when it was expedient for him to do so. His grudge against his own successor, Pak Lah, and the latter’sis son-in-law, Khairy, caused Mahathir to continue spewing out venom for the past three years. On the one hand, he was supposed to have reconciled with his successor during the Umno annual general meeting; the next moment, he stabbed him further. This is a betrayal of friendship.

The country will still remember that it was Mahathir who removed immunity from the royal families, which was enshrined in the constitution. Umno and the whole BN machinery was backing him all the way through. Forget about Karpal Singh, wasn’t this act by Mahathir derhaka? Any young person who watched this whole event unfolde, having thought through it all, would eventually come to his senses that this is derhaka in its worse form.

Whereas the British did it as colonial masters, Mahathir, an ordinary rakyat, turned the whole country against the royalty and stripped them of the immunity which was once accorded to them. Our Malay brothers, I am sure, would recall the days when Mahathir openly criticised them, saying Melayu mudah lupa. Yet, he could not remember a thing when asked by the royal commission which probed into the VK. Lingam controversial tape.

The ‘champion’ of the Malays in his later days was hurting the feelings of the Malays themselves. This is probably the reason why a lot of young Malay voters swung their votes towards Pakatan Rakyat, because they realised what their parents failed to see under the leadership of the premier of 22 years. When Mahathir was premier of the country, Malaysia suffered badly in its international relations with countries like Singapore, Australia and the US. Former Australian premier, Bob Hawke called him ‘recalcitrant’ and US vice-president, Al Gore walked out on him during one meeting. Malaysia cannot, and should not continue to be arrogant as Mahathir, because both Singapore and the US are our major traders.

The moment Mahathir stepped down, relations with these countries resumed and flourished under Pak Lah. My goodness, if we were to continue with our analysis of this man and all the controversies that he represents, I am sure a whole book can be written about him – about the amount of money lavished on mega-projects and the highway and electricity concessions that were negotiated during his time.

I don’t know what went wrong in the negotiations, but revelations by people like former TNB CEO, Ani Arope show that the concession agreements were lopsided. It is enough that this letter should serve as an eye-opener for the country. In the past, there are people who would lick his toes but today, Malaysia without Mahathirism would be better equipped to face the impact of globalisation. Malaysiakini

Najib is purging Pak Lah's people and driving a knife deep to cut them off. Gollum might become our grandchildren's PM ? Would you want him to be?

With all the whining and threats by the the "Old Newspaper", I guess Najib must have caved in to the senile shit stirrer's veiled threats, after all he annointed Najib as the succesor to Pak Lah. It is you scratch my back, I scratch your back thingy. Najib is trying to show that he is grateful, after all politics in Malaysia is big business, to put it bluntly, it is payback. Initially, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad denied brokering a deal with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for the inclusion of his son Mukhriz in the cabinet. He rubbished talks that he had canvassed for Mukhriz to be named in Najib's cabinet despite his youngest son losing the Umno Youth chief post to Khairy Jamaluddin. All that denial comes to nought after today.

He told a press conference held at his office in Putrajaya that he was not the sort to campaign or ask for special treatment for his son. “Even though I am his father, I don’t make that sort of deal, nor would I speak for, campaign or ask for special treatment for him. If he loses in the (party) elections, that is his business.

Here in Malaysiakini, it screams "Khairy out, Mukhriz in". To add salt to the injury, Mukhriz Mahathir, who lost to Khairy in the contest for the Umno Youth top post, has been appointed deputy international trade and industry minister.

Driving the dagger deeper, Najib also announced that Umno Youth deputy chief Razali Ibrahim was appointed deputy youth and sports minister. Furthermore, the new premier had included the heads of the other Umno wings - Wanita and Puteri - in his cabinet. One of the biggest critics of Khairy - who was strongly opposed to the 33-year-old being given a ministerial portfolio - was Mukhriz's father and Abdullah's predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Daddy came to the rescue of Gollum! Another terrible reality is that advice will be coming a plenty via Mukhriz, that was what the "Old Newspaper" hinted at the Bukit Gantang BN rally. That is a food for thought, whenever Mukhriz opens his mouth.

By convention the UMNO Youth Chief would become a Minister. Well KJ, it will be a coup if you cross over to the other side as you are no longer relevant to UMNO, they have isulted and humiliated your daddy-in-law and you. They orchestrated this new deal. If you are not aware, you are on their shit list, start maneuvering. In full from Malaysiakini

ON the west coast of Selangor, a 16-year-old enrolled in a school nearby forgets his books in the afternoons after school and weekends. He works like other adults because he has to put food on the table of his home – a dilapidated hut in a nearby kampung. He is not exactly a caddy who has been trained but he prefers to be called one. Golfers in the nearby club know that he can’t read lines or pick the right clubs, but he like many others his age are mere bag carriers. When there’s a shortage of caddies, he offers to carry two bags. “No problem,” he says because that would mean double the money.

Not very far away is the home of yet another man – a prominent person. When he was 16, he used to cycle in his trusty old banger selling ice cream to pay for his exam fees. Now, several years later, that bicycle is an item of pride, although he has leaped from where he started. But these home is a bungalow with enough space to park six cars. Monthly rental is RM25,000 for the stately home in a posh area overlooking an even bigger golf course.

His meteoric rise to wealth and stardom was due in part to being on the right side of the political divide. Even as a university student, he had yet to step on an aeroplane. Even after graduation, the chance never came until the call of public office came, which he accepted. But he made up for lost time in making sure he gallivanted around the world in the fastest possible time. Within months of sitting on what he perceived as his throne, he was off, flying first class.

Today, he can sit back and boast of his record of sorts. He flew to almost every Disney theme park around the world – from Hongkong to Orlando. He stayed at presidential suites in posh hotels, travelled in limousines and had no qualms spending millions on other luxuries while the 16-year-old caddy lives in poverty, hoping for handouts from the state. Today, if you want someone to speak authoritatively on theme parks, he’s the man. However, he would be insulted if offered a cenderamata or cenderahati for his troubles. He’s worth much more. Continued here....

WHEN Maria J. Dass and I interviewed Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim soon after he took over the state administration last year, he made a promise to the rakyat – that he would practise full disclosure after sieving through the rot that had crusted in the state administration over the years.

So convincing was Abdul Khalid that we even headlined the interview "Unlocking the secrets".

It has been more than a year since Pakatan Rakyat had come to power and although it has fallen short on delivering on some of its promises, ie local elections, it has also exceeded expectations in several areas such as the policy of Merakyatkan ekonomi Selangor, putting people first in enjoying the economic returns from the state’s activities.

It has also outdone itself in taking to task the previous administration for vulgar excesses which have been news fodder for awhile. However, one is geared towards feeling that the Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (SelCAT) inquiry into the activities of the Selangor Representatives Wives’ Welfare Organisation (Balkis) was triggered by former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo’s accusations of Abdul Khalid’s financial impropriety regarding the purchase (then he changed it to servicing) of Abdul Khalid’s Lexus and the distribution of cows to the poor in his constituency. Continued here.....

I got this via e-mail, author unknown. I also edited it with extracts from Malaysiakini-edit

Mahathir claimed that the Malays are under threat. Under threat from whom? Can the Malays be under threat:-

•From a minority 35% of the population over the majority 65% which are made up of Malays?

•From a less than 10% minority in the Police, Army, Judiciary, Attorney General Office and MACC which are predominantly filled by Malays?

•From a minority of the Members of Parliament where Malays make up more than 60% the majority?

•From a group who doesn’t control the air, sea and land? These are controlled by UMNO and its cronies such as MAS, AirAsia, MISC, Toll Concessionaires, NAZA, Proton and Perodua.

•From a group who doesn’t control the supply of basic necessities such as food, water and utilities? These are monopolised by UMNO cronies such as Bernas (rice and flour), Water Concessionaires (SPAN, SYABAS, etc), Telekom (telephone), Tenaga (electricity) , etc

•From a group who doesn’t control the main stream media. The mass media are wholly controlled by UMNO and its cronies such as Utusan Melayu, Berita Harian, New Straits Times, The Star, The Sun, Media Prima (TV1, TV2, TV3, TV, TV8, TV9 and all the Radio Stations), ASTRO, etc? Lately even Harakah and Suara Keadilan have been banned!

•From a group whose mother tongue and religion aren’t enshrined in the Federal Constitution where Malay is the official language and Islam is the official religion? Other groups can’t even hold any interfaith dialogues and use of the word of Allah without being severely intimidated by protests, storming of conferences and warnings from UMNO!

•From a group who can’t be appointed the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Mentri Besars and a host of high positions in the Malay states as enshrined in the state constitution or decree by the Sultans where only Malays from UMNO can be appointed?

•From a group who are ever subjected to intimidation of arrest under the flimsiest excuse using the ISA, the Police, MACC, etc and a myriad of repressive laws such as the Sedition Act, Multimedia Act and treason against the Sultans, etc? Of course UMNO are spared from such actions and above such laws.

It is a blatant lie that the non-Malays can ever threaten the Malays. Who is actually threatening the Malays? From the look of things, UMNO finger prints are everywhere - UMNO Malays are actually the ones threatening and stealing from the ordinary Malays and non-Malays. Someone has to be the punching bag and scapegoat for UMNO’s cling to power and thievery – hence putting the blame on non-Malays!

UMNO is a racist party and it is very clear that they are separating the Sultans from their subjects and the Malays from the non-Malays for their own selfish ends without a thought of the consequences and our economy! His role now has turned into a shit stirrer. Aah yes, Mahathir, the old bigotted goat's efforts, got the UMNO candidate buried in Bukit Gantang, you guys still want him, this ‘date expired' person to be your advisor?

You should ask him to shove his advices up, where the sun does not shine. Here are some choice extracts about our Great Leader , a has been that is:

1. Mahathir has come to haunt you Najib; as you sow, so shall you reap.
2. Mahathir wants to be 'unofficial adviser' to gov't-It looks like Dr M is now the PM.
3. Why do you need a baggage like Mahathir with you? from Malaysiakini

Finally, Najib may be the PM for now, come the GE-13, he will probably be the opposition leader, maybe, if he survives the knives within UMNO, after this , or survives Mahathir's unwanted advice. Dr M ‘old newspaper' story does not sell at all. It is also a farewll message from the voters of Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stay retired!!!

Yesterday one of the countries Australia and its friends have long seen as a pillar of regional stability took another big step towards becoming a pariah nation. Malaysia swore in perhaps one of the most questionable current politicians in any of the world's democracies as its new prime minister, in a triumph of party machine politics over sound governance and morality.

Najib Razak, 55, is widely expected to cement his hold on power with more of the media shutdowns, national-security detentions without trial and fabricated charges against rivals that have already marked his ascent.

This comes as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lists Malaysia as one of the hold-out nations refusing to exchange information to prevent tax avoidance. On top of a trade collapse, it now risks new sanctions against tax havens agreed upon at this week's Group of 20 meeting.

Najib is far from a new broom, bringing in the reforms that his older predecessor Abdullah Badawi had promised but never delivered. Instead, he embodies all that has gone wrong in the Malaysian state over the last 30 years from its corrupted policies of addressing racial inequalities through pro-Malay policies in education, government jobs and economic opportunities. Continued here....

This report in the New Straits Times report mentions only one of Gurney's killers. Here is the guy who eliminated at least two of them. A pistol and two Tommy guns, assorted ammunition and equipment were recovered from the dead Enemy.

Image: Sergeant Choo Woh Soon PGB, click on image to enlarge

One of the enemy who was killed was Ngow Lai , who was a Branch Committee Member of the Malayan Communist Party. Ngow Lai was involved in the ambush and the killing of the High Commissioner of Malaya, Sir Henry Gurney in 1951. He was also involved in the killing of Mrs. Nora Stutchbury, wife of the District Officer of Bentong. She was killed along the Kuala Lumpur –Bentong road. in 1950. The other two dead Enemies were Mo Sze Chuan and San Cheng. All were from the 6th Assault Unit. In full about Sergeant Choo Woh Soon PGB.

IPOH: The many people who come to Gunung Lang, a famed recreational spot here, may be unaware that it was once a hideout for communist rebels because of its network of caves. It was here that Siu Mah, infamous for ambushing and killing British High Commissioner Sir Henry Gurney in Fraser's Hill in 1951, took shelter.

Image: Frank Heron (right) describing the events of Nov 10, 1958, when he was part of a mission by the British army to capture communist leader Siu Mah, the man who had assassinated Sir Henry Gurney seven years earlier. — NST picture by Ikhwan Munir

It was also here that Siu Mah's body was unceremoniously dumped from the top of a cliff after he was executed by his bodyguards.Following Gurney's death, the British administration placed a bounty of 15,000 Malayan dollars on Siu Mah's head. It was only in 1958, though, that the search for the communist leader would end.

Frank Heron, 72, remembers the time well. He arrived on Malayan shores in 1957 as a conscript in the 1st Battalion of the Loyal Regiment, based in Camp Colombo (now the Malaysian army's Second Brigade headquarters) in Ashby Road (Jalan Hospital).He was sent to the Kuala Kuang new village, about 15km from here, where he performed the duties of a bugler.

"On Nov 10, 1958, my commander, Lt-Col Thompson, instructed me and about 18 others to arm ourselves for an undisclosed mission. As we reached Gunung Lang, we we were told that we were to capture Siu Mah," he told the New Straits Times while on a trip down memory lane in Gunung Lang recently.Heron said that as the platoon was preparing to take on Siu Mah, nicknamed Little Horse, a gunshot rang out.

"Minutes later, two men came out from one of the caves and told us that they had killed the Little Horse. I offered a rope to bring down Siu Mah's body but they said it was not necessary."They went back inside the cave, came out with the body and, just like that, threw it down the cliff. The shot was right to the forehead." The event, said Heron, remained the most compelling memory of his two-year conscription in Malaya. It brought him back to the country 50 years after returning to his hometown in Lancashire, England.

Heron came to Gunung Lang to look at the spot where Siu Mah was killed, but development left the place unrecognisable to Heron and he was unable to locate the spot."But, I am not disheartened. This country has progressed so much since I left that I feel honoured to be back here now. "I can only hope that the younger generations will not forget this nation's struggle to be where it is now," he said, as he took a last look at the cliffs of Gunung Lang. The New Straits Times

Be aware and do not forget our ex Great Leader's arse was saved by the Chinese only to betray them later. You guys must be dimwits if taken in by this bigot. Do not be taken in by his speech, I guess he will talk about stability and harmony in Malaysia's multi-racial society and the nation's progress, attributing this to BN's power-sharing formula and consensus in decision making. Just say, Bah, humbug!!!

The Malaysian Chinese Organizations Election Appeals Committee "Suqiu" with more than 2,000 signatory bodies, submitted a 17-point appeal to the government before the November 1999 general elections. While the group did not question Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which stipulates the special position of Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak, they criticised special rights and privileges as well as the bumiputera/nonbumiputera distinction that is not foreseen in the constitution.

At the time, their appeals did not cause any major reaction by the Prime Minister, because it was obvious that Chinese voters were going to be the kingmakers during those elections. A massive outrage by the Prime Minister followed only much later, on National Day, 31 August 2000, when Mahathir tried to mobilize the support of the Malays. He unleashed an angry attack and made the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS) threaten mass demonstrations against Suqiu and indirectly, the Chinese. The main result was that Suqiu backed down and put aside seven most controversial sub-points of its appeals, the ruling coalition lost the support of Chinese voters during the subsequent by-elections in Lunas, and finally Malaysians of all ethnic backgrounds were angry about the move that obviously showed little respect for their intelligence.

The Indians too must not forget. Another evidence of unresolved ethnic tensions are the racial clashes in Kampung Medan between 8 and 12 March 2001. Six people, predominantly Indians, died and many more were injured in riots that followed the armed gang clashes and subsequent rumours of attacks on Malays. A group of 51 non-governmental organisations immediately drafted a memorandum, which called for the establishment of a "Race Relations Commission" that has "the power to investigate overt and institutional racism, and to recommend possible remedies". Dr. Mahathir called the clashes "isolated incidents" and threatened the press and opposition parties with charges under the Sedition Act,13 if they were to publish other information.

This article1 provides a review of the condition of Malaysian democracy after 20 years of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's rule. To this end it looks into issues that were identified as political causes of the Asian crisis in the years after 1997. These are in particular: weak democratic institutions and electoral systems, an executive that dominates parliament, the judiciary, and the media. Considering the Malaysian constitutional background and evolving political trends in recent years of the Mahathir era, the article finds these issues basically unresolved. The country thus seems unprepared for future political challenges and crisis scenarios.
www.asienkunde.de/articles/Malaysia2.pdf

Sirul Azhar Statement :

Report No : 7380/06
Station : Travers
Name : Sirul Azhar bin Haji Umar
IC No : RF125591
Race : Malay
Date/Place of Birth : 29-1-1971
Age : 35 years male
Occupation : Police officer
Address of workplace : UTK, Bukit Aman
Name of father : Haji Omar bin Haji Hassan
Address of father : Deceased
Recording Officers : Insp Nom Phot a/l Prack Dit at Office D6, 3rd Floor, Bukit Aman on 9th November 2006 at 1307 afternoon.

Image: From Mob's Crib

At the Punchak Alam forest reserve as I was bringing the jeep to a stop, I felt a pain in my stomach and got out of the jeep and relieved myself (defecated) not far away from the jeep. After I had relieved myself, I went back into the jeep and at the same time I saw Azilah outside the jeep carrying a bag containing an M5 weapon and silencer from the jeep that was located at the foot rest of the passenger seat and gave it to me ordering me to "shoot to kill" the Chinese woman who was inside the jeep.

After asking for the Chinese woman's articles, the Chinese woman surrendered her jewellery. She then asked to be allowed to urinate. Azilah brought her down from the jeep and I saw the Chinese woman urinating by the side of the jeep.

After urinating, she saw the weapon that I was holding. I saw that she was in a state of fear and she pleaded not to kill her and said she was expecting. In full from the Asian Sentinel....

Again, What Did Najib Know and When Did He Know It?

"We knew that Baginda was used by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak as an intermediary for weapons systems deals, especially the high level ones," says a regional security affairs expert.

At the end of March 2005 the couple was in Paris, where they met with Najib Razak. A picture shows the threesome in a Parisian private club. "Tuya showed me the pix. She said that one of the men was her boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and the other the "big boss", Najib Razak. I asked her if they were brothers because of the names, but she said no, and that Najib Razak was the ‘prime minister’", said Amy, Altantuya’s best friend (Najib Razak has sworn on the Koran that he has never met Altantuya). In full from the Asian Sentinel.....

This is a laugh, your stomach might burst, especially so when your weapon of choice was manufactured by the "Great Satan" -edit

Hamas smuggled a bunch of Stingers into Gaza and tried to use them against IAF's AH-64 Apache helicopters during Israel's Operation Cast Lead. "We were disappointed by them, and they were found to have been useless," a Hamas source said. [...]

"Our gunners couldn't fire the weapon," the source recalled. "A notice came up on the display saying 'friendly aircraft.'"

Industry sources said Raytheon, producer of Stinger, installed identification friend/foe capabilities more than a decade ago. The sources said this would prevent Stinger from being fired against any aircraft used by the U.S. military.

Another Hamas source said gunners deployed Stinger along with heavy machine guns in attacks on Israeli helicopters during the war in the Gaza Strip. The source said one Stinger surface-to-air missile was launched, but the projectile veered off course and struck a Hamas gunner squad.

"The Stinger was drawn by the heat of our guns rather than the engines of the Israeli helicopters," the source said. "At that point, we stopped using this weapon."

Swedish Tennis Federation is fined $25,000 and the city of Malmo is banned from hosting Davis Cup matches for five years after the city's authorities opted to hold last month's match with Israel behind closed doors.

IsraelNN.com The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced late on Thursday that it has fined the Swedish Tennis Federation $25,000 and banned the city of Malmo from hosting Davis Cup matches for five years after the city's authorities opted to hold last month's match with Israel behind closed doors. The federation also said in a statement that Sweden would have to pay an additional $15,000, which it would have received in gate receipts had the March 6-8 match been open to spectators.

The federation told Sweden it would have to provide a written guarantee that future matches would be open to the public.Sweden is planning to appeal against the decision because of the security threat that existed around the tie. Muslims comprise 32 percent of the population of Malmo, and disrupted a pro-Israeli demonstration in the city during the Cast Lead counter-terror operation. Despite the threat of anti-Israeli outbursts during the match, however, police said it would have been safe to allow spectators. Violent demonstrations did take place outside the arena.

Really, they want to live "side by side, in peace?"

(JPost) The terror attack in the Bat Ayin settlement, in the West Bank, which killed a 13-year-old and injured a 7-year-old boy, was simply a natural response to the Israeli "occupation," a Hamas spokesperson said on Thursday.

"This attack was committed in the framework of the resistance," Ayman Taha said. "This is a reaction to the continuing occupation and the continued building of settlements."

"This is a natural reaction," he said, "especially against the backdrop of Israel attacks. We are a people occupied, and it is our right to defend ourselves and to act in every way and with every means at our disposal in order to defend ourselves."

A Jewish blogger says : As horrible as Qassam rockets aimed at civilians are, and as disgusting and deadly as suicide bombers are, there is something even more viscerally reprehensible at the thought of a man taking an axe and deliberately attacking children with it. Given the history of the Arab world celebrating Samir Kuntar, who similarly murdered a four year old girl by bashing her head in after murdering her father, this depravity is considered heroic and worthy of emulation. If the murderer gets caught, there will be summer camps in Ramallah named after him next year.

At this time, only Palestine Today is reporting this story in Arabic, referring to the dead boy as a "settler." And the entire world considers "settlers" to be subhuman already.

And you thought it was bad when Bush was holding hands with him.



I am quite certain that this is not the protocol, and is most unbecoming a President of the United States.Here is a video of the unmistakable bow: (hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

See Miss Manners on the protocol. Americans do not bow to foreign monarchs because that act signified the monarch's power over his subjects.

Hamas and Fatah at each other's throats "grave accusations of politically motivated" torture.

aka Kerismuddin-edit

APRIL 2 — Umno's newly-minted vice-president and Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was unhappy with the contents of history books and wanted “better” history lessons. Hishammuddin kicked up the fuss during his winding-up speech at the Umno general assembly when he said the party and the Malay Rulers were the only parties who fought for Malaysia's independence.

Obviously it wasn’t a brilliant statement. It got Umno’s ally MCA and other groups riled up, naturally. This also doesn’t augur well for Hishammuddin who by now should be a wiser person upon his graduation from the adolescent Umno Youth wing. Hishammuddin is the one who needs history lessons. Being the son of Tun Hussein Onn and grandson of Datuk Onn Jaafar, Hishammuddin should have known better than to make ridiculous and unsubstantiated remarks. What more when his grandfather Onn was the among the first patriots to fight for a multiracial and democratic government in this country; or should that fact be hidden from our history books now?

Onn founded Umno in 1946 during the campaign against the formation of the Malayan Union. Among a rather conservative Malay population, Onn promoted a view which was already popular at the time — “Raja itu Rakyat, Rakyat itu Raja” (The king is a citizen, and the citizens are king). It was a social contract of sorts upon which Umno was formed.

Together with his son Hussein, who was then Umno's secretary-general, Onn quit Umno in August 1951 due to irreconcilable differences with others in the leadership. Onn’s idea was ahead of his time — he wanted Umno to open its membership to non-Malays in an attempt to turn Umno into a multiracial organisation. Onn went on to establish the multiracial Independent Malayan Party (IMP), and subsequently Malay-majority Parti Negara. Both parties failed to win majority support. Communal politics was strong then, as it is still prevalent now. Perhaps Hishammuddin has forgotten that his grandfather Onn was not a member of Umno at the time Malaya achieved independence in 1957. The true Malayan patriot died a sad man in 1962. Continued here....

Protecting the international criminal, the man behind the genocide in Darfur, Omar al-Bashir.

CAIRO — Arab leaders may be divided over which Palestinian faction to support and what to do about Iran’s rising influence, but they have found one cause to rally around: protecting the president of Sudan from charges that he orchestrated the rape, killing and widespread pillaging in Darfur.

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