Indo-UK: News & Discussion

surinder · Post by **surinder** » 20 Aug 2009 23:04

It is not UK which released the man. It was not England which did it. It was Scotland. So US-Scotland relations might suffer, if they do. Scotland is practically becoming an independent country ... it has its own parliament, laws etc. The decision to release the gentleman was made by Scotland.

Bhima · Post by **Bhima** » 21 Aug 2009 03:45

From my understanding of the British political system, as part of devolution, Scotland has its own government that administers internal affairs of little concern to Whitehall. This decision is not an entirely internal affair as many of the victims of this convicted criminal were Americans. Although it was the Scottish government that has decided Megrahi's fate (against the wishes of Unkil) it would not be possible without consent in London. If Russians are attacked in Goa the Russian government will take the matter up with Delhi not Goa! The buck stops where authority lies.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 21 Aug 2009 04:50

Blair, 'blood money' and a Lockerbie deal: Talks with Gaddafi hours before BP agreement

Tony Blair has been accused of agreeing a 'blood money' deal involving the Lockerbie bomber with Colonel Gaddafi just hours before BP unveiled a £500million oil contract.

The then Prime Minister laid the foundations for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi during a meeting with the Libyan leader in a desert tent two years ago.

The pair thrashed out a controversial prisoner transfer deal just before BP chairman Peter Sutherland announced the firm was investing $900million - about £545million - to search for oil in Libya. If the firm strikes rich, it could be worth £13billion.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 21 Aug 2009 04:53

BBC race row as Sikh listeners threaten Muslim radio presenter who 'denigrated holy symbol'

The BBC's Asian Network has become embroiled in a race row after Sikh listeners accused the flagship digital radio station of being insensitive towards their religion.

AnimeshP · Post by **AnimeshP** » 21 Aug 2009 04:57

Gerard wrote:Blair, 'blood money' and a Lockerbie deal: Talks with Gaddafi hours before BP agreement
Tony Blair has been accused of agreeing a 'blood money' deal involving the Lockerbie bomber with Colonel Gaddafi just hours before BP unveiled a £500million oil contract.

The then Prime Minister laid the foundations for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi during a meeting with the Libyan leader in a desert tent two years ago.

The pair thrashed out a controversial prisoner transfer deal just before BP chairman Peter Sutherland announced the firm was investing $900million - about £545million - to search for oil in Libya. If the firm strikes rich, it could be worth £13billion.

Damnit ... daily mail beat me to it ... when I heard the news I too wondered if all this is part of the pre-scripted deal which included Libya giving up its nuke ambitions along with granting the west with access to its oil ... send the guy to prison for some time and then get him pardoned after some time ...
Man .. i'm either getting really good at seeing the connections or am slowly turning into a conspiracy nut ...

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 21 Aug 2009 05:04

Getting best mileage out of the situation. The guy is diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and expected to live few months. It is chance for him to spend his last few days in peace while the moral high ground and accompanying psy-ops value is exploited to the hilt.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 21 Aug 2009 18:13

if i remember correctly, scottish law was chosen originally in order to facilitate the prosecution within the political constraints at the time. it was particularly to avoid US law and it was some sort of compromise deal with gadaffi. from what i understand, these guys were both intelligence agents, and therefore they were not so much terrorists but 'soldiers' acting for their leaders and following orders. they were jailed to save face for the US. one day the real truth will come out.

the scottish parliament does not determine foreign or defense policy, where scotland follows the UK and westminster. also, gordon brown is a scott. there is a scottish independence party, but its tiny and most scotts don't care for it, although they like a degree of autonomy for local affairs.

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 21 Aug 2009 22:36

durgesh wrote:The 100 Most Powerful Women

3. Indra Nooyi
21. Sonia Gandhi
.
..
..
..
..
..
..
58. Queen Elizabeth II
59. Mayawati

Finally, the Queen is in good company.

What a load of unadulterated English pompous cr@p.
From the description of the lady:

Having reigned for 56 years and counseled a dozen prime ministers, Queen Elizabeth has managed to keep the loyalty of her subjects with her trademark combination of quiet fortitude and discipline. Despite her age, 82, she has no plans to quit and maintains a vigorous schedule of official duties, such as this year's state visit to Turkey. Famous for her love of corgi dogs and taking photos. Forbes estimates her net worth at $650 million.

"managed to keep the loyalty of her subjects"

- so has she struggled with it?

"maintains a vigorous schedule of official duties"

- So she makes a visit to Turkey and that makes it vigorous? Agreed, she is 80+, but to me it looks like she is doing minimum service just to keep the title going.

net worth at $650 million

So a bunch of 40 million suckers pay for this absolute circus( including their security, which apparently runs into millions) and somehow this should find a mention in this description?
And how does all this translate into power and why is she even in the list.

Forbes has better uses in my bathroom.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 21 Aug 2009 23:15

Neela wrote:
durgesh wrote:The 100 Most Powerful Women

3. Indra Nooyi
21. Sonia Gandhi
.
..
..
..
..
..
..
58. Queen Elizabeth II
59. Mayawati

Finally, the Queen is in good company.

What a load of unadulterated English pompous cr@p.
From the description of the lady:

Having reigned for 56 years and counseled a dozen prime ministers, Queen Elizabeth has managed to keep the loyalty of her subjects with her trademark combination of quiet fortitude and discipline. Despite her age, 82, she has no plans to quit and maintains a vigorous schedule of official duties, such as this year's state visit to Turkey. Famous for her love of corgi dogs and taking photos. Forbes estimates her net worth at $650 million.

"managed to keep the loyalty of her subjects"
- so has she struggled with it?

"maintains a vigorous schedule of official duties"
- So she makes a visit to Turkey and that makes it vigorous? Agreed, she is 80+, but to me it looks like she is doing minimum service just to keep the title going.
net worth at $650 million
So a bunch of 40 million suckers pay for this absolute circus( including their security, which apparently runs into millions) and somehow this should find a mention in this description?
And how does all this translate into power and why is she even in the list.

Forbes has better uses in my bathroom.

I don't know. I don't find the above named women that beautiful!

Bhima · Post by **Bhima** » 22 Aug 2009 20:03

Lockerbie fury grows as Gaddafi meets bomber Megrahi

British embarassment over jubilant return of freed man to Libya, while Washington expresses 'disgust'

He continued: "And I say to my friend Brown, the prime minister of Britain, his government, the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to take this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles."

Unkil turns from omnipotent to impotent.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 22 Aug 2009 20:34

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/co ... 75092.html

For conspiracy theorists, the legal and diplomatic convolutions that have climaxed with the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, are reducible to sneering simple mindedness. It is all about oil. Libya has it and British companies are determined to sell the expertise to extract it.

According to this version the evidence is stark. Only a quarter of Libya's huge territory has been tapped for hydrocarbons and it has the most bountiful reserves in Africa. Proven deposits amount to 42 million barrels of crude and 1.3 trillion cubic metres of gas.

Can the Albion be anything but perfidious, can a leopard change its spots? When Mahathir Mohammed of Indonesia threatned to cancel all the contracts, the Albion went on bent knees with a begging cap to reverse the decision. No surprises there..

In the MacAskill version Albion has been perfidious again but Caledonia is blameless. Scotland was not party to any such promise and Scots law allows prisoner release on compassionate grounds alone.

archan · Post by **archan** » 22 Aug 2009 20:35

UK to block Indian professionals’ migration

UK government has recommended stopping migration of Indian IT and other professionals to UK.

Indian IT and other professionals who are transferred to Britain by their companies may not be able to apply for citizenship if a recommendation made by government appointed Migration Advisory Committee is accepted.

They deserve their pakis I guess. Try and stop their immigration.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 22 Aug 2009 20:58

The policy of ukstanis is worse for many other native inhabitants who were forcibly removed from their homes. Just a historical rejoinder that the policies of queendom is never in doubt, as to how they treat other people, as recently as in 2004.
http://www.world-crisis.com/analysis_co ... _0_15_0_C/

Then it got rid of the Chagotians. Some were tricked into leaving for medical treatment or on other false pretences and then forbidden to return; the last hold-outs were evicted by force and simply dumped on the docks of Mauritius. Years later, Britain grudgingly gave them a paltry amount of cash as compensation: the equivalent in today’s money of about $15,000 per person for the loss of their homes and a lifetime of exile. Most never really settled in elsewhere, and live in poverty today.

When Berenger flew to London last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw could not even find the time to see him. Don McKinnon, secretary general of the Commonwealth, did see him, and was clearly incensed. After meeting Berenger, the usually mild-mannered New Zealander said: “People do not like being lifted up and taken away from their homes. It is not the kind of thing you could get away with today.” But the British government is getting away with it today.
Britain may not be powerful any more, but it still knows how to be perfidious.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 23 Aug 2009 01:48

Bhima wrote:Lockerbie fury grows as Gaddafi meets bomber Megrahi

Looks like the Brit-society is getting into mercantile mentality. Good going. Ripe for Arabisation.

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 23 Aug 2009 04:43

Libya bomber release part of a tradeoff

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 23 Aug 2009 04:46

UK Sikhs accuse BBC of racism

A race row has erupted at BBC's flagship Asian station, which has been accused of being insensitive towards Sikhs and encouraging a Muslim presenter to mock Sikhism.

"We should not be paying a licence fee for promoting the ignorance-based ramblings of those bent on self-promotion who sneer at Asian religion and culture," said Hardeep Singh, a spokesman of the Sikh Media Monitoring Group, which accused BBC's Asian Network of being insensitive towards listeners from the minority community.

The Sikh Group has written to the BBC asking for a full transcript of Adil Ray's show, which was removed from their website after threats from angry Sikh listeners who accused the popular Muslim presenter of denigrating the "kirpan" dagger - an important religious symbol and one of five ceremonial symbols that baptised Sikhs are expected to wear at all times, The Independent newspaper said today.

Members of the Sikh community complained that Ray, in the show broadcast by the Birmingham-based network on Thursday August 6, had been disparaging about whether Sikhs really needed to carry kirpans. The complaint was based on Ray's discussion of the cancellation of a Punjabi music concert in Canada where police had banned Sikhs who refused to remove their "kirpan", the British daily reported.

BBC's Asian Network had courted controversy last year when the Lord Ahmed of the Labour Party had accused the network of being biased against Muslims.

Indarjit Singh, veteran Sikh journalist and chief of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said Britain's Asian communities should move away from stations aimed at a small demographic.

"Stations like BBC Asian Network do little to encourage integration and social cohesion because they allow communities to ghettoise themselves," he said.

Supporters of the Asian Network, however, believe the radio station is a vital voice for Britain's Asians in the otherwise white-dominated industries of media and broadcasting.

The network, which was set up eight years ago after the BBC's then director general Greg Dyke described his own organisation as "hideously white", has denied the accusations or any suggestion that Ray meant to mock Sikhism.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 23 Aug 2009 23:48

Deal befitting the nation of shopkeepers.

' Suspected oil deal taints bomber's release ’

Suspected oil deal taints bomber's release
John Burns, London
August 22, 2009

In the wake of the Lockerbie bomber's return to a hero's welcome in Tripoli, questions intensified in Britain as to whether lucrative Libyan oil contracts were as much a factor in his release as compassion for a dying man.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, suffering from terminal prostate cancer, was freed from a Scottish prison on Thursday and flown home to scenes of jubilation in Libya that angered many in Britain and the US, including President Barack Obama.

Libyan television yesterday showed images of al-Megrahi being embraced by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who praised Scottish authorities for their ''courage'' in releasing the bomber.

On Friday, Lord Trefgarne, chairman of the Libyan British Business Council, said al-Megrahi's release had opened the way for Britain's oil companies to pursue multibillion-dollar oil contracts with Libya, which had demanded al-Megrahi's return in talks with British officials and business executives.

Lord Trefgarne told the BBC talks on oil contracts had ''not moved as fast as we would have hoped and expected'' since five years ago when then prime minister Tony Blair met Mr Gaddafi and set the terms for the ''deal in the desert'' that sketched a reconciliation between Mr Gaddafi's pariah government and the West.

British executives had made no secret of their intense lobbying for a prisoner transfer treaty ratified by Britain and Libya in April.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 24 Aug 2009 02:38

chetak wrote:Deal befitting the nation of shopkeepers.

' Suspected oil deal taints bomber's release ’
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, suffering from terminal prostate cancer, was freed from a Scottish prison on Thursday

Maybe the terminal prostrate cancer is also only on paper. Let's us see, when the terminally ill really dies.

Bhima · Post by **Bhima** » 24 Aug 2009 04:30

Cry me a river: Unkil's heartache over the release of convicted terrorist Megrahi

Mullen joins US Lockerbie fury

Letter from FBI's Robert S. Mueller

This is the content of a letter from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, sent to Scottish Minister Kenny MacAskill regarding the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

Dear Mr. Secretary:

Over the years I have been a prosecutor, and recently as the Director of the FBI, I have made it a practice not to comment on the actions of other prosecutors, since only the prosecutor handling the case has all the facts and the law before him in reaching the appropriate decision.

Your decision to release Megrahi causes me to abandon that practice in this case. I do so because I am familiar with the facts, and the law, having been the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the investigation and indictment of Megrahi in 1991.

And I do so because I am outraged at your decision, blithely defended on the grounds of "compassion."

Your action in releasing Megrahi is as inexplicable as it is detrimental to the cause of justice. Indeed your action makes a mockery of the rule of law.

Your action gives comfort to terrorists around the world who now believe that regardless of the quality of the investigation, the conviction by jury after the defendant is given all due process, and sentence appropriate to the crime, the terrorist will be freed by one man's exercise of "compassion."

Your action rewards a terrorist even though he never admitted to his role in this act of mass murder and even though neither he nor the government of Libya ever disclosed the names and roles of others who were responsible.

Your action makes a mockery of the emotions, passions and pathos of all those affected by the Lockerbie tragedy: the medical personnel who first faced the horror of 270 bodies strewn in the fields around Lockerbie, and in the town of Lockerbie itself; the hundreds of volunteers who walked the fields of Lockerbie to retrieve any piece of debris related to the breakup of the plane; the hundreds of FBI agents and Scottish police who undertook an unprecedented global investigation to identify those responsible; the prosecutors who worked for years - in some cases a full career - to see justice done.

But most importantly, your action makes a mockery of the grief of the families who lost their own on December 21, 1988.

You could not have spent much time with the families, certainly not as much time as others involved in the investigation and prosecution.

You could not have visited the small wooden warehouse where the personal items of those who perished were gathered for identification - the single sneaker belonging to a teenager; the Syracuse sweatshirt never again to be worn by a college student returning home for the holidays; the toys in a suitcase of a businessman looking forward to spending Christmas with his wife and children.

You apparently made this decision without regard to the views of your partners in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the Lockerbie tragedy.

Although the FBI and Scottish police, and prosecutors in both countries, worked exceptionally closely to hold those responsible accountable, you never once sought our opinion, preferring to keep your own counsel and hiding behind opaque references to "the need for compassion."

You have given the family members of those who died continued grief and frustration. You have given those who sought to assure that the persons responsible would be held accountable the back of your hand.

You have given Megrahi a "jubilant welcome" in Tripoli, according to the reporting. Where, I ask, is the justice?

Sincerely yours,

Robert S. Mueller, III

Director

Where is the justice indeed! This letter is what GoI should be asking Unkil in regards to Pakistan.

The sheer hypocrisy is sickening. Whilst having no qualms about being in bed with TSP for their own strategic requirements they take the moral high ground by taking the unprecedented steps of writing letters and sending messages (which cannot change jackshit either way) to key allies who are busy making their own morally bankrupt strategic calculations. As ever it is innocent civilians and brave soldiers sacrificed at the altar of this dirty, dirty politics.

sunnyP · Post by **sunnyP** » 24 Aug 2009 04:33

Re the Lockerbie bomber.

All the medical reports state he has less than 3 months to live.

Prostate cancer does not simply go away so if it means the UK wont have to pay for his continuing medical care then why shouldnt he be released. The BP, Shell contracts etc will bring in hundreds of millions if not billions into Britain. It may not be ethical but which nation can claim to have a truly ethical home and foeign policy.

Finally, this man's trial was a disgrace. Much of the defence's evidence wasn't even allowed to be admitted in court (like the US intellligence reports which stated they had proof the Iranians did this) and the one and only witness was paid TWO MILLION dollars to testify. Conveniently he is now is Australia somewhere enjoying his money.

It's ironic that the families of the Scottish victims of this atrocity actually think his release is a good thing as they don't beleive he is guilty. Maybe if the Americans actually bothered to read into the details of this case and his trial instead of simply shouting from the rooftops then they would come to the same conclusion.

This whole 'oh we can't go soft on terrorists' rhetoric is getting a bit boring given they did nothing to stop IRA funding from within America for all those years. Yes 'we are against terrorism' when it suits us.

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Aug 2009 14:38

durgesh wrote:India slams English pullout from World Badminton Championship

The Home Ministry on Sunday rued England's last-minute pullout from the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad, terming it "over-reaction".

"This is unfortunate and an over-reaction," Union Home Secretary GK Pillai said.

"The security arrangements in Hyderabad are good and the Government of India is committed to ensure the complete security of all competitors and the championship," he added.

Barely 24 hours before the elite tournament gets underway in Hyderabad, England withdrew its eight-member contingent citing a "specific Lashkar-e-Toiba" threat.

England's eleventh hour withdrawal came a day after Home Minister P Chidambaram had assured all that there was no specific threat to the event and a foolproof security system had been put in place for the purpose.

Indian shuttlers on Sunday flayed England for its last-minute pullout from the World Badminton Championships with Saina Nehwal calling it an "immature" decision.

"It's an immature decision but I don't think it makes much of a difference to the tournament because there are no English top players in the singles event," Saina said. {Snipped} .................

Wisdom belatedly dawns for the English.

England sees the error of its ways and apologises to India for pulling out of the world badminton championships at Hyderabad:

Reports: England regrets world badminton pullout

(AP) – 53 minutes ago

NEW DELHI — Britain's sports minister and a leading badminton official have expressed regret to India for the England team's sudden withdrawal from the world championships in Hyderabad earlier this month.

Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy and British Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe apologized for England pulling out on the eve of the tournament due to security concerns, Indian media reported Tuesday.

Indian badminton organizers and the government criticized England's decision, saying adequate security arrangements had been made for the event.

The Indian Express newspaper reported that Christy wrote a letter of apology to the Badminton Association of India, which organized the Aug. 10-16 tournament.

Press Trust of India said Sutcliffe had telephoned his Indian counterpart, Manohar Singh Gill, last Friday and assured support when New Delhi hosts next year's Commonwealth Games.

"On behalf of everyone connected with Badminton England, I want to convey my apologies that the England team felt it necessary to withdraw from such an event and to reassure you that our decision was in no way a slight to the organizing committee or the people of India," Christy was quoted as saying in his letter to V.K. Verma, president of the Badminton Association of India. ............................

AP via Google

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Aug 2009 15:01

Bhima wrote:Cry me a river: Unkil's heartache over the release of convicted terrorist Megrahi

Mullen joins US Lockerbie fury

Letter from FBI's Robert S. Mueller

This is the content of a letter from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, sent to Scottish Minister Kenny MacAskill regarding the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. {Snipped} ......................

Where is the justice indeed! This letter is what GoI should be asking Unkil in regards to Pakistan.

The sheer hypocrisy is sickening. Whilst having no qualms about being in bed with TSP for their own strategic requirements they take the moral high ground by taking the unprecedented steps of writing letters and sending messages (which cannot change jackshit either way) to key allies who are busy making their own morally bankrupt strategic calculations. As ever it is innocent civilians and brave soldiers sacrificed at the altar of this dirty, dirty politics.

Let not indignation at US quiescence over terrorist abetting actions of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan targeting India, blind us to the fact that Indian citizens were also murdered on Pan Am 103.

The Indian citizens who were murdered on Pan Am 103 included Om Dixit, Shanti Dixit and Mridula Shastri. May their souls find ever lasting peace and may the loved ones they left behind find comfort.

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Aug 2009 15:56

The British are living dangerously

.

This has all the makings of getting the entire Pakistani immigrant population out rioting on the streets on a greater scale than the Salman Rushdie “Satanic Verses” and the Jyllands Posten “Mohammed Cartoons” controversies combined:

Author Sebastian Faulks risks Muslim fury by describing the Koran as the 'depressing rantings of a schizophrenic'

By Sophie Freeman

Best-selling novelist Sebastian Faulks has risked incurring the wrath of Muslims by dismissing the Koran as just 'the depressive rantings of a schizophrenic' with 'no ethical dimension'.

The author of Birdsong and Engleby also claimed that, compared to the Bible, the Islamic holy scripture is 'barren'.

Faulks, who turned to the Koran while researching his latest novel, said: 'It’s a depressing book. It really is. It’s just the rantings of a schizophrenic. ......................

Daily Mail

The comment describing the Koran as “the depressive rantings of a schizophrenic” was originally made to the Sunday Times of UK:

Times Online

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 25 Aug 2009 17:27

Here we go again!

On second thoughts -

Perfect opportunity for brihaspati ji, to throw the issue right back at the Muslims and pose to the question to them, "How can they demand respect from others, when they themselves do not give the other religions any respect?"

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Aug 2009 20:07

The guests subjected to the penny pinching hospitality of the head of the British Armed forces included our COAS Gen. Deepak Kapoor and our High Commissioner to the UK, Shiv Mukherjee :

August 24, 2009

General Sir Richard Dannatt gave guests cheap wine to reduce expenses

Steve Bird

General Sir Richard Dannatt, the outgoing head of the Army, is reported to have claimed less than £20,000 in expenses, and even bought cheap wine and sausages from Lidl to feed military top brass.

Details of his expenses are said to show that he spent as little as £5 a head when hosting dinners for foreign dignitaries, Armed Services chiefs and politicians. ……………….

In August last year he entertained General Deepak Kapoor, chief of the Indian Army, Shiv Mukherjee, the Indian High Commissioner, and 21 other guests at a reception at Kensington Palace costing £123.58. The food was purchased from Tesco and came to £5.15 per head……………

Times Online

Meanwhile the gracious reaction of our High Commissioner Shiv Mukherjee to the penny pinching British hospitality:

Former Indian envoy praises British general’s cut-price meal

August 25th, 2009 - 7:17 pm ICT by IANS

By Dipankar De Sarkar
London, Aug 25 (IANS) India’s former envoy to Britain Tuesday defended Richard Dannatt as a “gracious host” after the British chief of the general staff was revealed as having served his Indian and other guests with a fiver-a-head cut-price meal a year ago.

Sir Richard Dannatt, who is soon to retire, hosted then high commissioner Shiv Mukherjee, visiting Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor and 21 others for a reception in August last year at his plush Kensington Palace residence. ………………

Ruling Labour MPs had apparently planned to discredit Dannatt after he criticised the government for failing to provide proper kits for troops in British Afghanistan, by portraying him as a champagne-guzzling member of the military elite.

But Mukherjee sprang to the Dannatt’s defence Tuesday, saying the party last August was “elegant and very, very enjoyable”.

“It was a wonderful party - exactly as expected from the chief of a professional army,” Mukherjee told IANS.

“Mrs Dannatt and the chief of army staff made us personally welcome at and the food was wonderful. We didn’t feel it was cut-price at all.” ...................

The Indian

arun · Post by **arun** » 26 Aug 2009 07:33

The Guradian in an article predicts no violent British Muslim reaction to Sebastian Faulks comment which termed the Quran / Koran as "the rantings of a schizophrenic" among others due to the fear of a backlash. I am not so sure that a violent reaction will be absent:

Sebastian Faulks and the Quran

Sebastian Faulks has insulted the Quran and the prophet. But I predict there will be very little outrage, real or otherwise, this time round

Sebastian Faulks has insulted the Quran and the prophet. But I predict there will be very little outrage, real or otherwise, this time round.

The most interesting thing about the row over Sebastian Faulks's views on the Quran is that it hasn't happened. Faulks told an interviewer that the Quran was "the rantings of a schizophrenic" ………………….

But there is one element missing almost entirely, and that is widespread, or almost any Muslim outrage. The whole story is played out against the backdrop of the Rushdie affair. Yet where is the comparable fury against Faulks? My guess is that there won't be any, and this represents some real progress – and one thing less attractive. The real progress comes from the fact that British Muslims have grown more tolerant of the ordinary rough and tumble of public life. This is partly a growth in self-confidence; partly, perhaps, a fear of backlash. But in any case, it is a real and positive development. The other element, of course, is that Faulks is not himself a Muslim, and never has been. Rushdie was an apostate, and that was both the judicial basis of the fatwa against him, and the emotional basis of the hatred directed at him. He was a traitor. Faulks is just an outsider. He will be largely ignored. ...................

The Guardian

shyam · Post by **shyam** » 26 Aug 2009 12:17

arun wrote:The British are living dangerously .

This has all the makings of getting the entire Pakistani immigrant population out rioting on the streets on a greater scale than the Salman Rushdie “Satanic Verses” and the Jyllands Posten “Mohammed Cartoons” controversies combined:

Author Sebastian Faulks risks Muslim fury by describing the Koran as the 'depressing rantings of a schizophrenic'

I suspect these are some deliberate attempts by some people to create retaliation from muslims and there by cause a right turn by British population.

arun · Post by **arun** » 26 Aug 2009 14:59

X Posted.

:

Council blames computer glitch for “Paki” blunder

Ross Lydall
26.08.09

A London council has apologised after the term "Paki" appeared several times in an official document describing the nationalities of schoolchildren.

Conservative-run Redbridge council initially tried to blame a technical error, saying Pakistani had been automatically abbreviated by computer software.

But investigations found there was plenty of space on the spreadsheet for Pakistani to appear in full, and Asian pupils were elsewhere referred to on the document as "Pankistani", "Pak" and on three occasions "Pakis". ……………

This Is London

Haresh · Post by **Haresh** » 03 Sep 2009 14:58

The most disgusting thing about the Guardian newspaper is that it constantly and as a matter of policy defends islam.

In the story about Sebastian Faulks and the Quran
the Guardian writer refers to "the prophet"
surely it should be "the moslem prophet"

And so what if he "has insulted the Quran and the prophet" ??
It is only sacred to moslems, non moslems have to respect the right of moslems to have their faith, we don't actually have to respect their faith.

But this is typicall Guardian rubbish.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 05 Sep 2009 16:59

What about the CIA's 1955 bombing of the Air India "Kashmir Princess" which was to have carried Chou-En-Lai to Bandung? Those perpetrators have never been brought to book,despite the truth coming out over a decade ago.The bomb was sent from the US embassy in New Delhi to Taiwanese intel agents in Hong Kong,the British provided the "Nelsonian eye" while the bomb was planted.Chou got wind of the plot through Chinese double agents in Taiwan and changed plans at the last minute.Disgracefully,no Indian govt. has ever taken up the issue with the US while we lamely are still trying to bring to justice the Khalistanis responsible for the 1985 Kanishka bombing.

Excerpt from Wik:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_Princess

CIA involvement

In addition to the KMT, there were rumours of CIA involvement in this incident as well. Aside from the fact that Chow escaped to Taiwan aboard a CIA-owned aircraft, there was no evidence that the CIA was involved until a decade later, when several Americans claimed they were involved.[4]

Zhou Enlai was an influential figure in Communist China and the United States saw him as an obstacle in the Cold War. At the time, the West viewed the Bandung Conference as a gathering of communists and pro-communists that would boost the expansion of communism in Asia. The CIA believed that China planned to use the conference to boost its image as a world power. Although the CIA sent several agents posing as journalists to cover the conference, evidence suggests that some CIA officers might have taken further action.

In 1966, a U.S. Senate committee investigating CIA operations heard testimony that gave murky details of a CIA plot to assassinate an "East Asian leader" attending a 1955 Asian conference. That leader's identity would remain unknown until 1977, when William Corson, a retired U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in Asia, published Armies of Ignorance identifying that leader as Zhou Enlai.[4]

On 24 October 1967, a CIA agent John Discoe Smith defected to the Soviet Union. There, Smith accounted many of his operations in his memoirs, entitled I Was an Agent of the CIA, including his delivery of a mysterious bag to a KMT agent. He says that in 1955, Jack Curran, a CIA officer attached to the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, asked him to deliver a bag to a Wang Feng at the Maidens Hotel in the Indian capital. Smith claimed that the bag contained the bomb used to sabotage Kashmir Princess.[4]

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 06 Sep 2009 00:19

Boris Johnson: 'fast during Ramadan to understand Muslims'

''That's why I urge people, particularly during Ramadan, to find out more about Islam, increase your understanding and learning, even fast for a day with your Muslim neighbour and break your fast at the local mosque. I would be very surprised if you didn't find that you share more in common than you thought.

=====

London Mayor blasted for asking Brits to fast like Muslims during Ramadan

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 06 Sep 2009 00:29

I think Democracy and Popllism go hand in hand. Gordern Brown has to learn it from recent elections in India. I mean he may be right in terms of manager and administrator of this country and may be correct in terms of foriegn relations but the British public is not happy at all. NExt election he and the whole group is getting ready to loose unless he goes popular way. It means to reduce drastically the prices and giving jobs at least one million people in Britain at least until next election and so there is a need for popular action to meet popular needs. Do not wait until the whole party looses under this leadership.
Even the demand by the public not to loose many British soldiers should be kept. There should be jobs that can be created in terms of education, social service and other activities which needs investments immediatly and support.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 06 Sep 2009 01:25

Scotland mulls over separation from UK

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 06 Sep 2009 14:13

A nation of shopkeepers they were and continue to remain to this day.

' Straw admits: Oil was big part of Lockerbie deal ’

Straw admits: Oil was big part of Lockerbie deal
5th September 2009

Justice Secretary Jack Straw admitted that oil played a big role in releasing the Lockerbie terrorist.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has admitted for the first time that trade and oil deals with Libya played “a very big part” in the handling of the Lockerbie terrorist’s case, the Daily Mail reports.

Straw said that trade was a major influence on his decision to include Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi in a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya signed two years ago, just as BP was seeking a multi-billion pound deal there. The admission casts grave doubt on Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s claim this week that there had been “no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil”.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 06 Sep 2009 21:54

And the lockerbie deal gets messier by the day!

'Scotland denies Libya paid Lockerbie bomber doctors’

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 07 Sep 2009 01:58

Riots in the Islamic Emirate of Rump England, Held Wales, Occupied Scotland and English-Administered-Ireland

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/ ... 34x348.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/ ... 34x356.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/ ... 34x413.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/ ... 34x481.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/ ... 34x458.jpg

About 200 people were involved in the violence yesterday afternoon when members of the English Defence League (EDL) fought with anti-fascists and youths of South Asian descent.

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 07 Sep 2009 02:21

^^^^^^
religious freedom and minorities under attack under queendom ... where is that US religious freedom watch group...hope they get visa to queendom ....

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 07 Sep 2009 02:39

^^^ the minority under attack being pure blooded english youths with political sympathies to certain mid 20th century austrian corporals who rose to prominence before meeting an untimely end. they are under attack by godless communist thugs and dark skinned muslim fanatics... surely they need saving?

sunnyP · Post by **sunnyP** » 07 Sep 2009 03:14

A couple of other pics from the 'protest' -

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6154 ... nflags.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/ ... 36x525.jpg

But lets not make any mistake here - these hooligans may be protesting against muslims today but tomorrow these will be the same racists beating up other south asians in the UK. Likewise the 'united against fascism' thugs are simply left wing loonies who have jumped into bed with several nefarious muslim groups.

We should stick all parties involved into a stadium, arm them and let them go at each other

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 07 Sep 2009 07:56

Very clever - displaying the Israeli flag so as to pre-emptively ward off smear attacks by the mainstream press of them being some 'neo-nazi' group.

Moi also noticed the desi tricolor on that bus.

Interesting to see how UQstan's labor gubmint handles a labor pained populace, esp yob fury. No doubt the tories will snipe from the sidelines counting chickens yet to hatch. BNP might again pulloff a shocka dutifully buried by the media.

The game goes on. AoA AoA.