THE OTHER COLUMN: Confessions of a boor — Ejaz Haider

I am told that magical realism is a big thing nowadays, courtesy Latin America (primarily), a continent which produces rebels, juntas, anti-Americanism, civil wars, drug cartels and fantasists, not necessarily in the same order

Pure coincidence it is but shows how uneducated I am.

In Islamabad, on an impulse, I pick up a book by Italo Calvino called “Why Read the Classics?” even though this is not the stuff I read — at least not anymore. A compilation of 36 essays translated for the first time in English, I start reading randomly and come across the one on Jorge Luis Borges, the Latin American writer who is supposed to be the doyen of magical realists — including Marquez’ — but who I have never read.

I am told that not having read Borges only shows that I have not had the need to strike a good conversation for quite some time. I agree. By the way, not that I knew about Calvino, just in case, dear reader, you get the wrong idea.

I read Calvino on Borges and he talks about Borges’ familiarity with, among other classical texts, The Arabian Nights.

The scene changes.

I walk into office and Khaled Ahmed shows me a book he is reading. “The Arabian Nights and Orientalism” is a compilation of papers read at a 2002 conference on Arabian Nights in Osaka, Japan. Arabian Nights? Japan?

While it is for K to inform the readers on this matter, which he shall whenever he reviews the book for these pages, I have my own confessions to make. Apparently, the tales came to Japan in 1875, eight years after the Meiji Revolution. Never knew that. Also, UNESCO sponsored Arabian Nights year in 2004. Had no idea.

I definitely need to change present company; or at least move away from the din of politics. But this is not all.

Robert Irwin, the Middle East editor of Times Literary Supplement, in the preface to the book, refers to the chapter in his 1994 “The Arabian Nights: A Companion” and says he (Irwin) discussed therein “the influence of the Nights on European and American literature and suggested at the risk of hyperbole, that that influence was so all-pervasive that ‘it might have been an easier, shorter chapter if I had discussed those writers who were not influenced by the Nights’”. No kidding!

Irwin then goes on to say: “A discussion of the lack of influence on, say, William Blake, Evelyn Waugh and Vladimir Nabokov might have been just as rewarding.” Only, when Irwin went to St Petersburg in 2001 and went to the Nabokov family home which they had abandoned before fleeing to Germany, what does he find in the now-Nabokov Museum among the few volumes of the original family library: “...there in a glass case I spotted a copy of the fin de siècle translation by Mardus of the Nights.”

Surprising as this was for me, a few lines further down Irwin mentions the essay Borges wrote on the “Translators of the Thousand and One Nights” which reaffirms Calvino’s discussion in the essay of a Borges poem that refers to the Nights. So Borges knew about the Nights. And if I didn’t know until a few days ago that he did, that only shows, again, that I need a break from hackwork and must acquire some education.

In any case, I am told that magical realism is a big thing, courtesy Latin America (primarily), a continent which regularly produces rebels, juntas, anti-Americanism, civil wars, drug cartels and fantastic fantasists, not necessarily in the same order. It seems to me that most of these magical realists were and are familiar with the Nights, the ultimate narration and reading in fantasy, but one that may be described in terms of the Borgesian conception of the interactive dynamic between fantasy and reality, art and life.

But the worst confession on my part, one that certifies my philistinism, is that I have not read Nabokov’s Ada. Because if I had, I wouldn’t need Irwin’s preface to find out that Nabokov knew about the Nights. This is how Irwin describes it:

“The sight of the Nabokovs’ copy of Mardus’s version of the Nights made me think again. I returned to England and my library and found my copy of Ada (1969), which is Nabokov’s most luxuriant novel... Its eroticism and its fantasy parallel that of the Nights and the contribution of the Arab story collection to the manner in which Nabokov chose to relate his love story is perhaps covertly acknowledged in the novel when Ada goes questing in the family library for erotica and finds a copy of the Arabian Nights.”

Irwin caps the passage by saying: “So perhaps it is now time to reconsider the possible influence of the Arabian Nights on the poetry of William Blake and the fiction of Evelyn Waugh...”. Apparently, the influence is traceable to writers placed as far and wide in time and space as Dickens, Andre Brink and Mishima Yukio — of course, I haven’t read the last two.

(There is another great Islamic sage too who plagiarised from the Nights but that is for K to narrate!)

From these recent discoveries I have learnt two things: one, that I urgently need to get an education; two, that we may do well — and I speak here not of boors like myself but those who I have heard discuss literature rather passionately — to perhaps read Alif layla wa layla, apply our critical faculties to it and trace its influence, which now seems to me to be immense, on non-Arab literatures and, more specifically, on magical realism, the sexy in-thing.

And while these educated souls are at it, could someone pass me that glass of lassi, please.

Ejaz Haider is Consulting Editor of The Friday Times and Op-Ed Editor of Daily Times. He can be reached at sapper@dailytimes.com.pk
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C28%5Cstory_28-10-2007_pg3_6

Islamophobia and the Islamist Scarecrow

The wave of terror that was unleashed on the world in the past few decades is widely referred to as "Islamic terrorism" (or Islamist terrorism); the term is an apt description of the facts, and has a strong credibility among academicians, in the international media and with the ordinary citizen all over the world, with the exception of the Muslim countries.

In return, The Muslim world, and specifically the Muslims of the West, introduced defensive terms such as "Islamophobia", which has become the current favorite for dozens of Islamic organizations in the West. The term "phobia" denotes an unreasonable, perhaps imaginary fear, one that is a mental disorder. The new term "Islamolphobia" has served those organizations well in their fervent promotion of two false concepts:

• First, that the legitimate fear that Islam is being misused by Terrorists is in fact a prejudice against Islam itself and a kind of phobia; and

• Second, that Terrorists do not represent Islam.

If Terrorists do not indeed represent Islam, then why do religious authorities in Muslim countries refrain from voicing an absolute condemnation of the Terrorists, why aren't they called infidels and renegades, and why allow them to remain part of the Islamic Body?

After all, in Muslim countries, all sorts of things have become subject to religious edicts (fatwas), from the most trivial to the most bizarre: the camel's urine, the Prophet's urine, adult suckling, the ant's backside which may excite a person fasting in Ramadan, the ban on flowers in special occasions, and the significance of the fly which carries sickness in one wing and healing in the other!! Yet, virtually none of the Islamic scholars (sheikhs) were inclined to condemn Bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, Al-Zawahiri, Mohammed Atta, and others who follow the same path. I have yet to find a single fatwa that renounces their actions, and plainly state that they are considered infidels and should not be counted as Muslims.

To the contrary, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Negeimy -- member of the Saudi Fiqh assembly -- has furiously denied that Mohammed Atta and his companions have been sent to Hell! Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi, the most popular preacher in the Arab countries, has tackled an extremely wide range of subjects in his speeches, and in his Al-Jazeera TV program Al-sharia wal hayat. He had no problem devoting an entire episode of that program to discussing the intimate relationship between a man and his wife in a level of detail that is suitable for a porno movie and not a religious program; however, he didn't find it convenient to address the issue of Bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, Al-Zawahiri, and others.

A considerable number of individuals and organizations endorse the concept of "Islamophobia", the most notable being Tariq Ramadan in Europe and the Islamic organization CAIR in the States, and none of those has ever explicitly rejected the Terrorists as infidels who have renounced Muslim faith. Instead, the statements issued by those individuals and organizations carry a vague and general condemnation of terrorism, while their actions serve to stir up Muslims' indignation. By persistently pushing the concept of Islamophobia, they are adding to the feelings of resentment and anger among the Muslim communities in the West and making it easier for terrorist organizations to recruit their members of those communities.

The U.S. Department of State's report on the global patterns of terrorism for the year 2006 deduced as much:

"The radicalization of immigrant populations, youth and alienated minorities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa continued. It became increasingly clear, however, that such radicalization does not occur by accident, or because such populations are innately prone to extremism. Rather, there was increasing evidence of terrorists and extremists manipulating the grievances of alienated youth or immigrant populations and then cynically exploiting those grievances to subvert legitimate authority, create unrest and convert them to extremist viewpoints."

The report called this devious machination "the terrorist conveyor belt."

Despite the fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, and that there are millions of open-minded, peace-loving Muslim individuals, the truth is that most contemporary terrorists happen to be Muslims, and the majority of terrorist operations are carried out by Muslims -- a fact that is acknowledged by Muslim intellectuals such as Abdel Rahman Al Rashed. Furthermore, all Muslim terrorists draw on religious scriptures to justify their actions, recruit new cells and motivate Muslims to provide funds for terrorist organizations. Keeping in mind that the majority of terrorists are Muslims, and that all of them use the religious scriptures as a sound basis for their actions and to receive supporting funds from Muslim countries, then how can anyone have the gall to interpret acknowledging this situation as Islamophobia?

According to the "Global Patterns of Terrorism" report, the incidents of terrorism in 2006 highlight the extremely serious nature of the current situation. As most of these incidents have been carried out by extremist Islamist factions and Muslim terrorists, we can clearly deduce that the deliberate promotion of the concept of "Islamophobia" was a supporting factor in stirring up the feelings of resentment and anger against the West, thus adding more fuel to the fire of terrorism. The term itself can also be perceived as some form of blackmail that has had an intimidating effect on Western societies, with the intent of dissuading those societies from hunting Muslim extremists and terrorists, and putting them in a situation where they are required to coddle the Islamic organizations instead of subjecting most of those to lawful trials.

According to the report, 14,352 terrorist operations took place across the world in 2006, and as a result 74545 military persons and 20,570 civilians were killed; 1800 children were wounded and killed, 430 students, 215 teachers and 129 reporters lost their lives; 8,200 policemen were wounded and killed, in addition to 1300 public leaders and guards. The number of individuals abducted during 2006 is estimated to be around 15,855; and the number of buildings, schools and governmental institutions targeted amounted to 19,500; 300 terrorist groups took responsibility for these operations, in addition to the individual incidents of terrorism.

The report indicates that at least 50% of those operations targeted Muslims and were carried out by Muslims as well, and during that same period, 350 mosques were subject to terrorist attacks. When so much death and destruction takes place during a single year, and given that 90% of that horror was unleashed by Muslim terrorists, it is highly absurd to talk about Islamophobia in relation to the current state of affairs. Fear and misgivings are completely warranted in this situation. People are entitled to react in fear when they face a lethal situation, otherwise they would be lacking sensibility and good judgement.

The term "Islamophobia" is a tool of deception that serves to mislead the world, blackmail the West, terrorize whoever dares to criticize Islam, fuel the anger of Muslim youth, and minimize the danger of Islamic terrorism, in addition to being a threat to the freedoms of thought, creativity and criticism in the West, ultimately the term can serve the interests of the terrorists.

While Tariq Ramadan holds the first place among the promoters of the concept of "Islamophobia", Saad Eddin Ibrahim takes the lead in using the term "Islamist scarecrow". The term is meant for the ears of the West as well, and suggests that the autocratic governments play on the fear of the West that an Islamist rule will be the alternative if those regimes fall, so that by waving this "scarecrow" around, and alluding to the ominous repercussions of reform for Western interests, for non-Muslim minorities, and the Middle East as a whole, they have managed to scare off the West and stall the reform project. Though I agree with my dear friend Prof. Ibrahim that the autocratic regimes in the Middle East have skillfully used this scare tactic to alarm not only the West, but also the non-Muslim minorities in the East, the liberals and women, nonetheless the term itself is inappropriate if not misleading, and plays right into the hands of Islamists and their plans to establish a religious state.

The Islamists should not be compared to a scary looking but harmless scarecrow; they are by no means an empty threat, but rather a genuine menace that alarms the advocates of civil society, who realize that if Political Islam gets its chance to take control of the Middle East, the region will plunge into total darkness. The Islamists would not let go of their detrimental vision of a religious state, and there are two recent cases that support this view: the way Hamas renounced the terms of democracy and went back on its agreement, shattering the Palestinian experience; and the way the Muslim Brotherhood have affected life in Egypt, even though they have no part in the government. Considering that the Muslim Brotherhood's proposed reform project is for a religious state that is governed by scholars concerned with camel urine, where the law submits to shari'a and science to superstition, where national belonging is discarded in favor of religious belonging, and political posts turn into religious assignments, where political power bows down to religious power, and to the instatement of welayat al-faqih (guardianship of the Islamic jurists) that mirrors Iran -- considering that this is only a proposal, one has to wonder how much worse reality will be if they gain the power to implement their vision?

The Islamists are certainly no scarecrows; basically, they are a major obstruction standing in the way of real democracy, citizenship and civil state. They do not endorse the supremacy of the law and a civil constitution that separates state and religion. They do not sanction laws that protect and expand freedoms. They reject genuine equality between Muslims and non-Muslims, and they are engrossed with religious interpretations to the point of complete obsession. Hence, it is reasonable to say that any attempts to defend or bolster their image can only lead to the obliteration of whatever little is left of the civil state to the advantage of an extremely dark religious state.

Yes, the Middle East regimes are autocratic, corrupt and do use the Islamists' card in a dangerous game inside and outside their countries. Nevertheless, to stand by the Islamists is a reckless and extremely risky gamble, and much like "Samson choice", the whole region may not survive its outcome.

Magdi Khalil is a Middle East Freedom Forum Director.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/10/islamophobia_and_the_islamist.html

CAIR Attack On Dr. Daniel Pipes Ludicrous, Given Its Own Refusal To Condemn Hamas

October 27, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - In a major public relation's move, part of its campaign of slander, branding critics of radical Islam as "Islamophobes," and designed to provide counterpoint to Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, a weeklong national college movement to crystallize opinion on Islamic terrorism, the faux civil rights, Hamas mouthpiece CAIR, mounted an attack on Middle East Forum Director, Dr. Daniel Pipes, an advisor to the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign.

The move came in the form of a press release in which CAIR alleges that Pipes supports the Iranian dissident group, MEK, the Mujahedeen E-Khalq.

In order to substantiate such a charge, CAIR deceptively paraphrases content from a Pipes' op-ed which was published by the New York Post op-ed on May 20, 2003, and entitled "Mujahedeen-e Khalq: A Terrorist U.S. Ally?"

CAIR claims:

"A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani to drop a campaign advisor who offers rhetorical support to a group designated as "terrorist" by the U.S. government. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Daniel Pipes, who recently signed on to Giuliani's campaign as a foreign policy advisor, is a vocal supporter of the terror group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK)"

What Pipes actually said, in context however is far from a blanket endorsement of the group. His piece takes the form of an intellectual discussion probing the group's nature and possible use as a lever against the Iranian mullocracy. The article also casts the U.S. Department of State in a less-than-appealing light, demonstrating its continuing obtuseness in dealing with the Middle East.

What Dr. Pipes actually said is:

The MEK is not your typical anti-Western group, but an organization with a strong political presence in Western capitals and over 3,000 soldiers stationed in Iraq, singularly dedicated to one goal: overthrowing its "archenemy," the Islamic Republic of Iran. Is the MEK a terrorist group?

No. It used terrorism decades ago, when its members attacked Americans. For the last 15 years, however, the MEK has been organized as an army, and its only violent actions have been directed against the Iranian regime. Unlike Hezbollah (which targets Jewish community centers and shoots rockets into civilian areas), the MEK attacks specific regime targets. Unlike the PLO (whose leaders were terrorists more recently and arguably still are), the MEK really has foresworn this barbaric tactic.

...Policy toward the MEK has long been quietly but intensely and bitterly debated in Washington. To curry favor with Iranian "moderates," the State Department in 1997 designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Although 150 members of Congress publicly opposed this designation, a U.S. court of appeals recently upheld it.

This stark difference of views helps explain Washington's erratic policies of late. On April 15, the U.S. Army signed a cease-fire permitting the MEK to keep its weapons and use them against Iranian regime infiltrators into Iraq. This deal infuriated the State Department, which then convinced the president to undo it, leading to the strange sight of U.S. troops surrounding MEK camps on May 9, disarming its fighters and taking up positions to protect them.

That's a bad idea. Coalition forces are urgently needed to restore order elsewhere in Iraq. And State is dreaming if it thinks the sight of U.S. troops guarding the MEK will mollify Iran's mullahs" [source, http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1100.

In mounting an attack against Pipes, CAIR has three main goals:

1. Since he is such an effective communicator regarding the civilizational threat represented by radical Islam, they seek to demean him and limit his influence via a constant stream of lies, which then are picked up and reverberate within the Islamist/lefty blogosphere. Additionally, since Giuliani has long been keenly aware of the radical Muslim threat, having rejected Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin-Talal's blood money attempted donation to New York post 9/11, the effort to damage Pipes was probably also intended to tar New York's former Mayor with the same brush.

2. CAIR is desperate in seeking to deflect the intense bad publicity that has come from it having been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the ongoing Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror prosecution and having the founder of its Texas chapter, Ghassan Elashi, already found guilty in the related Infocom terror case.

3. CAIR is trying to create a facade, that it stands against Islamic terror, when its entire history, including its relationship with the American Hamas PR organization, the Islamic Association for Palestine as well as its irrefutable ties to the Holy Land Foundation - having accepted a $5,000 donation from it in 1994 as seed money to found its DC office [see photocopy of wire transfer, image below] - suggests otherwise.

Given the group's attempt to link Pipes with support of the MEK [something which clearly is not indicated by his public statements which simply set forth how the MEK might be employed, specifically as intelligence assets, feet on the ground as to better understand what is going on in Iran, about which Pipes observes, "Western spy agencies are short on "human intelligence" - meaning spies on the ground in Iran...MEK can also supply key information on developments in Iran - where, despite a tendency toward exaggeration, it has had some major scoops. Its information in mid-2002 about Iran's nuclear program, for example, was better than what the International Atomic Energy Agency knew?"] we wondered if this somehow signaled an historic change of mind, a rejection of CAIR's previous policy of refusing to condemn Hamas, specifically and by name as a terrorist organization.

Towards that end on Thursday, October 25, 2007, we attempted to contact several CAIR offices by telephone.

We were unsuccessful in directly reaching any of CAIR's DC office spokespeople, including Ibrahim Hooper and Amina Rubin, and did not leave a message, since numerous previous messages have never been returned. When contacted, the Sacramento, California CAIR office suggested that we call the Sunnyvale/Santa Clara branch, which we did.

When that office's spokesman was placed on the line, we asked him if CAIR was now willing to "condemn Hamas, specifically and by name as a terrorist organization" he repeatedly refused, though we gave him numerous opportunities to answer in the affirmative. All that he would say is that CAIR condemns "all terrorism," a familiar and specious ploy, since the group has traditionally alleged that Israel's campaign to suppress the Intifada, is terrorism:

"Israel is killing civilians and inflicting massive humanitarian suffering on both the Palestinian and Lebanese populations in order to achieve a political goal, which clearly fits the definition of state terrorism," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Awad said that more Americans are realizing that Israel is a strategic liability, not an asset to the United States, as outlined in a recent Harvard University report." [source, http://www.cairchicago.org/actionalerts.php?file=aa_israeli_attacks07132006]

It seems clear that CAIR's game plan vis-a-vis its groundless attack on Dr. Pipes is cut from the same cloth as is its attack on Robert Spencer, a noted authority on radical Islam and a key speaker during Islamo Fascism Awareness Week.

CAIR's vicious campaign of character assassination against Pipes, alleging he supports terror, inelegantly attempting to link him to the MEK while the organization itself repeatedly and steadfastly refuses to condemn Hamas, is just another demonstration of the danger the group poses via its bully-boy policy of intimidation. Rather than serving - as CAIR's leaders mistakenly believe - to blunt the increasing criticism the group is receiving, such Gestapo-like tactics abundantly demonstrate the group's Islamo Fascistic agenda, even to the degree of employing Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels' technique of the "big-lie."

The group's MO in this and related matters is morally reprehensible and has no place in reasonable public debate...but since when has CAIR been interested in anything aside from being in the vanguard of radical Islam's stealth jihad in America?

©1999-2007 PipeLineNews.org LLC, all rights reserved.

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=cairpipes10.26.07.htm

Belly dancing for elderly residents

Publisher: Pam Caulfield
Published: 23/10/2007 - 10:13:48 AM

Edenbridge residents were treated to some belly dancing

A group of older Edenbridge residents experienced some middle eastern delights recently when an expert belly dancer visited them to give them a demonstration of the ancient dance.

The belly dancing session led by experienced belly dancer Lea Smith, took place on Wednesday 3 October at the Edenbridge Centre, and the group enjoyed it so much that they booked a further six sessions in 2008!

Belly dancing is a Middle-Eastern form of dance which can have many benefits such as easing back aches and building self-confidence.

Cllr Felicity Broomby, Sevenoaks District Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for community development, said: "I know the Older Lifestyles Group thoroughly enjoyed this, as it is not everyday you get the chance to take part in something as exciting and different as a belly dancing workshop!

"The group has benefitted from all kinds of activities in the past, such as yoga, drumming and regular exercise classes, but I think this must have been just about the most unusual of the lot, and it goes to prove it is never to late to learn something new!"

The Edenbridge Older Lifestyles Group aims to provide healthy lifestyle information, activities and advice for anyone living in the Edenbridge area over the age of 65.

Due to the success of the group, they have set up their own management committee and have recently gained much needed funds from West Kent Extra and Comic Relief enabling them to continue to enjoy and benefit from sessions such as dancing, craft and the occasional day trip.

The group is totally free and meets every Wednesday at 11.30am in the Edenbridge Centre, Four Elms Road, there is no need to book, you can just turn up on the day.

The group, which has approximately 36 regular members, was set up by Sevenoaks District Council and West Kent Primary Care Trust in partnership with Age Concern in March 2005 following recommendations from the Edenbridge Health Needs Assessment.

Don\'t miss the 24dash.com audio bulletins for the latest news and information - http://www.24dash.com/podcasts

Diallo teaches belly dancing

By JANICE AUSTIN
For The Salinas Californian

Belly dance has been a form of expression for Mariama Diallo for the past 17 years. She loves the way the dance form communicates a woman's life.

"When a woman belly dances, she's expressing her life story through the movement," Diallo said. "I've never met a woman who isn't a beautiful belly dancer."

She teaches belly dance at Gold's Gym on Constitution Boulevard on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. The Saturday morning class is open to community residents whether they have a gym membership or not.

A student of West African drum and dance, Diallo was given her performance name, Mariama, by drummers she worked with during a drum and dance workshop in Senegal. She has formed a dance troupe, Amies Dorée, with her students.

An adventure-seeker, Diallo was a rock climber when she took her first belly dance class.

"I was looking for a dance form that would increase my balance," she said. "A friend told me that in belly dance you dance barefoot and are always relying on the edges of your feet. I stopped climbing and kept dancing."

She trained in Oregon. While living in Switzerland, Diallo taught belly dance.

"In the region I was living, there wasn't another dance teacher," she said. "I started to teach because I needed to dance and I needed to dance with other women. I enjoy the interaction with other women. Belly dance is healthy and empowering for women."

Diallo, 44, shares her home with her husband - an African drummer - mother and cat. She has lived in Salinas for 10 years. She also teaches a muscle-toning class and a spinning class at Gold's Gym.

from
http://thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071024/LIFESTYLE07/710240316/1031

Egypt to host 11th Pan-Arab Games in November

CAIRO, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Egypt is busy preparing for the 11th Pan-Arab Games slated for Nov. 11 to 25, an official of the organizing committee said Thursday.

The venues of the Pan-Arab Games will be in eight governorates in Egypt, namely Cairo, Giza, Port Said, Ismailia, Alexandria, Assiut, Aswan and North Sinai, said the official on condition of anonymity.

According to earlier reports by local media, it's estimated that some 7,000 athletes and officials from 22 Arab countries and regions will participate in the upcoming Games, but the exact number of athletes and the agenda have not been fixed.

The Egyptian State Information Service will establish a media center during the event, the official MENA news agency reported.

The Pan-Arab Games are one of the most important regional multi-sport event held in the Arab world, with the first Games being held in 1953 in Alexandria, Egypt.

Due to political turmoil and instability in the region, the Games have failed to be held every four years as originally planned since 1965.

from

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/26/content_6949155.htm

Showcomedy The Destination For The Worlds Funniest Comedians And Hit Series

Dubai, UAE - October 28, 2007: SHOWCOMEDY just got a whole lot funnier with a line up of stand up comedians and much more that will have you in hysterics throughout November.

Axis of Evil a trio of Middle Eastern comics made up of Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader and Maz Jobrani specialise in telling it as it is from an Arab-American perspective. They kick off the comedy slot on Friday, November 2nd at 22:30KSA with a one off special of their hilarious original comedy tour that has become one of the hottest tickets by blasting stereotypes with outrageous humor.

Comedy fans can tune into Premium Blend from Saturday, November 3rd. The show is a breeding ground for up-and-coming stars. Every Friday and Saturday at 22:30 KSA rising comics take the stage for five minutes each to prove how funny they are. Following on at 23:00 KSA with the laughter is Comedy Central Presents. The show provides every comedy fan's fantasy - a half hour alone with the best stand-ups on the scene. Featuring performances from comics like Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Mike Birbiglia, Lewis Black, Dane Cook and Wanda Sykes, Comedy Central Presents provides season after season of mind-blowing specials that you'll be quoting for years.

Hit show Weeds is back with a potent concoction of comedy and drama returning for its third season as events in the affluent suburb of Agrestic take a turn to the dark side. Funnier, darker and more daring, the acclaimed series reaches a higher ground. Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker stars as Nancy Botwin, the soccer mum who had to learn how to deal with life after the death of her husband. Now, her business is a hit. But keeping up with the neighbours in this suburban utopia isn't easy. She's joined up with a few of her closest friends, and together they're facing life's highs and lows - because even in paradise, nobody's perfect. So gear up for more mind-expanding edgy humour as Weeds rolls back onto our screens from 18th November every Sunday and Monday at 23:00 KSA.

Plus the 16th series of Simpsons, the longest-running comedy series in television history is back on our screens every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 23:00 KSA from the 21st November. Over the years we have come to learn life is never simple when Homer Simpson is involved. 400 episodes in and he's still getting the family into all kinds of scrapes. And we love him for it! Get yourself some doughnuts and settle down to enjoy more great comedy from SHOWCOMEDY exclusively on the SHOWTIME network.

from
http://www.middleeastevents.com/site/pres_dtls.asp?pid=2193

Lahoud Invited to a Sports Event in Cairo

President Emile Lahoud on Thursday received an invitation from his Egyptian counterpart Husni Mubarak to visit Cairo just 13 days before his extended term in office expires. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Egypt's ambassador to Lebanon Ahmed Fouad Bidewi delivered Mubarak's invitation to Lahoud to take part in the opening of the 11th Arab games, scheduled for Nov. 11. Lahoud's extended term in office expires on Nov. 24, just one day before the Arab Games –in which Lebanon participates- conclude competitions in Egypt. The text of the invitation stated that Mubarak "looks forwards to President Lahoud's participation in this important pan-Arab gathering." The NNA report said Lahoud Thanked Mubarak for the invitation, but failed to disclose whether the Lebanese Head of state would actually leave for Cairo at such a critical time for the presidential race to elect the first head of state after withdrawal of Syria's troops from Lebanon. Lahoud's term was extended for three years by a controversial constitutional amendment in Sept. 2004, when the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad was the sole power broker in Lebanon. The extension was a direct challenge to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 of Sept. 2004, which called for the election of a successor to Lahoud without foreign intervention and in line with the nation's constitution.

Beirut, 18 Oct 07, 18:17 from http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/0/66165EAA46E58C3AC22573780059468D?OpenDocument

The ‘Middle Eastern’ Kings of Comedy: Overcoming Evil Stereotypes Through Laughter

October 16, 2007 10:16 AM

The ‘Middle Eastern’ Kings of Comedy: Overcoming Evil Stereotypes Through Laughter Photos and Story By Rima Abdelkader NEW YORK, 16 October 2007 (Arabisto.com): Who would have envisioned a comedy group of Middle Eastern descent with a focus on dismantling stereotypes of Middle Easterners to be gaining ground in the United States, post-9/11? While already having been showcased in a one hour special on Comedy Central this year, the “Axis of Evil” comedy troupe is now embarking on their 15-City tour. In less than two years, this group has been featured on CNN, in The Wall Street Journal, Hustler, and in a host of other American popular news media. With sold-out shows throughout the U.S. since it began in November 2005, this comedy group is already rapidly accruing a large fan base in the United States and around the world. (Picture courtesy of Dean Obeidallah) This time, the “Axis of Evil” is not comprised of North Korea, Iraq and Iran as outlined in President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address. The show features well-known American comics of Middle Eastern background—Egyptian-American Ahmed Ahmed (ahmed-ahmed.com), Palestinian-American Aron Kader (aronkader.com) and Iranian-American Maz Jobrani (“Knights of Prosperity” and “Friday After Next”). Guest comics include Palestinian-Americans, Dean Obeidallah (deanofcomedy.com) and Maysoon Zayid (maysoon.com), Egyptian-American Joe DeRosa (joederosacomedy.com), Armenian-American Sam Tripoli (samtripoli.com), and others. Just this past weekend, the “Axis of Evil” comedy group kicked off its tour in New York to a sold-out crowd at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. According to one of the featured comics, Dean Obeidallah, they sold out the first show to 1,200 people and to almost 1,000 people in the second show. In their comedic sketches, these comics touch on family, politics and ethnicity and use comedy as a medium in bringing together all races and faiths. Dean, in his sketch at the New York show, focused on Middle Eastern politics as well as on his childhood growing up with a Sicilian mother and an Arab father. In one joke, he pokes fun at Iranian President Ahmedinejad’s recent controversial “stardom” in relation to Osama Bin Laden’s overdone, media-saturated Al Qaeda role. “Ahmedinejad is like the Britney Spears of the Middle East right now. Bin Laden should be jealous. He is like the Backstreet Boys coming out with another album right now (pause) we don’t care anymore.” (Explosive laughter follows from the audience) In his famous note-taking segment, Dean advises his audience on how to make their flight on time, highly recommending that they not use the Arabic phrase, “insha’allah,” (God Willing) before boarding a plane. One benefit to having a Muslim name, Dean tells his audience, “at least you’re immune to identity theft”. (Laughter follows) In another comedic sketch, Maz Jabroni, who has appeared in the movies “The Interpreter” and “Friday After Next” and on ABC’s Knights of Prosperity, provides some pointers for U.S. police and security officials who “profile” Middle Easteners at airports. “Don’t look for the Muslim who is praying right before he is about to board the plane,” he advises instead, “Focus on the guy who is trying to blend in (pause) the one asking the question, ‘So, how were the Yankees at the Superbowl?’” (Laughter erupts from the audience) Maz then went on to provide the audience with a helpful hint on how to pronounce the Iranian President’s last name, Ahmadinejad. “Say it with me!” he says, "'I’m going to need a job' with an attitude." (Laughter follows) Maz Jobrani’s presence alone motivated many Iranian-Americans to attend the two New York shows, one at 7pm and one at 12am. With respect to Maz’s fan base, Dean says, “It’s great as we are building a broader coalition of Middle Eastern-Americans, and hopefully our communities can work together collectively on other events and political issues.” Maysoon Zayid, who is the co-Founder of the Arab-American Comedy Festival in New York along with Dean, and who was the only comedienne on stage at their New York gig, poked fun at her life growing up as an Arab-American girl in a strict Arab family with an over-protective father. She referenced her “prom story” as an embarrassing time for her as a teenager. “I went alone and had to sit with the faculty at the faculty table. I was 222 lbs. and had to take a picture with a statue,” an inanimate object who she refers to as her prom date. (Laughter follows) Ahmed Ahmed, who has appeared in popular American films and television shows, Executive Decision, Roseanne, JAG, MTV's PUNK'D and others, entertained the audience with some of his material in between each comedic segment. In one story, he pokes fun at his name which is listed on America’s “most wanted” list. “That guy who also has my name is probably googling me right now asking the same question: Why is his website coming up first (inquisitive facial expression)? (Laughter follows) Ahmed tells his audience, “It’s a bad time and a sad time to be from the Middle East.” In his comedy skit at the New York show, he focused on his “Flying While Muslim” experiences. In one, he discusses how airport security checks his bags. “They’re taking out my clothes like it’s a (expletive) yard sale.” Joe DeRosa from Comedy Central's Premium Blend spoke of his “Teen Wolf” experience growing up with an Egyptian father and an American mother. “My father didn’t tell me that I was Egyptian until I was a teenager. He told me, son, your mother was bitten by an Egyptian.” (Laughter follows) Aron Kader who has appeared in the American television cop drama, “The Shield,” as well as on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, discussed his family’s favorite television show growing up, “The Price is Right”. “In my family,” he says, “it was “The Price is not Right”.” “My father would always challenge the prices on the show. He would say, ‘I could have gotten that golf club for $7!’” Aron also poked fun at U.S. President George W. Bush. “Bush and words (pause) don’t get along.” In his own dramatization of President Bush giving a speech, Aron says, in President Bush’s voice, “If Sunnis and Shias get together, we’ll have sushi. I don’t like sushi, but that’s fine.” (Laughter follows) In discussing President Bush’s Iraq war strategy, Aron said the U.S. should be dropping computers and ipods instead of bombs. “The Iraqis will have an even tougher time trying to get Windows XP to work.” Aron Kader also jibed at country singer Alan Jackson for his lyrics from “Where were you (When The World Stopped Turning),” focusing on his lines: “I'm not a real political man. I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran”. Aron answers, “Can’t he google that (expletive)?” (Laughter follows) Reflecting back on the group’s efforts in transforming this troupe idea into a reality, Dean says, “The shows have come a long way over the last few years since it first started with the NAAP Arab comedy show at the NY Comedy Club.” The “Axis of Evil” comedy troupe is starting where Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, the Kings of Comedy and other notable comedic visionaries had left off, with a more nuanced take on the post 9/11 political landscape in humanizing as well as in educating broad audiences on Middle Easterners. It is comedy with a cause. To learn more about the “Axis of Evil” comedy tour, check out axisofevilcomedy.com. Rima Abdelkader is a NY-based journalist and a graduate of Pace University in NY.

Iraq’s national football team invited to participate in Arab Round

Friday, October 12, 2007 10:03 GMT

The executive committee for the 11th Arab sports round called on Iraq’s national team, Asia Cup winner, to participate in the round held mid next month after Kuwaiti and Yemeni national teams failed to participate. It is to be mentioned that Football Egyptian Federation has called on Iraq’s national team to participate in the Arab round on the federation’s expenses in respect to Asia Cup winner. However, Iraq’s national and Olympic teams’ commitment to World Cup qualifications and the Olympic Games have cone in the way of their participation. from http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Sports-News-Iraq/4-8794-Iraq%E2%80%99s-national-football-team-invited-to-participate-in-Arab-Round.html

United Nations of Palestine

By Chris Wang in Doha

Palestine's players donate their services and travel long distances for their team[Chris Wang] "It's not the winning but the taking part that counts" may be one of the oldest clichés in sport but for Palestine's footballers it could not be more appropriate. Palestine is one of 43 teams from Asia beginning the long road to the football World Cup in South Africa in three years time. Unlike most countries, the Palestinian football term have a number of hurdles to overcome before they can even begin their campaign to qualify for the tournament. Security and travel issues made it impossible for this month's first round match to be held in Gaza so Doha's Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar became the "home" venue for their match against Singapore. Passport control There was an air of expectation as players, officials, and supporters close to the squad milled around the Palestine dressing room before the match. But there was also confusion as Fifa officials checked each of the Palestine players' passports for any irregularities. The 18-man squad for the match was made up of players from Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Chile and the USA, all of whom were born in Palestine or have Palestinian heritage. "The players have confidence and the love of their country" Majid Balawi, Palestinian team scout Even after scouring their diaspora for the highest quality players available, Palestine were still without some key members due to issues in Gaza, as Majid Balawi, a scout and recruiter for the national team, explains. "Three of our players from Gaza didn't show up with the team," Balawi, a Palestinian who lives in the USA, says. "Israel wouldn't allow them to go, and actually they were given no reason why. "The situation is made worse because we have lost a very important part of the team, our captain Saeb Jendeya, who is an important central defender. "It's all about what's going on in Palestine. It's the players who are suffering, the players who are paying the price, nobody else." Globetrotting With close to half of all Palestinians displaced in countries across the globe, Balawi spends a lot of his time tracking down talented footballers who are eligible to play for the national team. "We've been working hard for the past six months," Balawi told Al Jazeera. "We have players who speak Spanish, Arabic and English, but we have to put a team together and it's hard right now with the situation in Palestine. "The players have confidence and the love of their country. They are doing it for free, they don't get any money. They want to put a smile on Palestinian faces, and win for the kids at least." Palestine's Mohamad Al Chiri tries to find a way out [Chris Wang] When asked about how the team had prepared for the first of a possible 18 matches on their World Cup qualifying campaign, Balawi explains it had been difficult to get the squad assembled. "We had two players who just arrived late last night after a long flight from Chile to Frankfurt, and then on to Doha," he says. "They went straight to sleep and they're going to play the game today and then leave early in the morning." Not ideal preparation, but the team are proud that they are having a go, and that in doing so they are further promoting Palestine in one of the few areas it is granted full recognition. Lack of preparation Qualification for South Africa would promote that recognition massively but even the players realise that is an almost impossible dream. Ranked 157th in the world, they begin sharply enough against a team ranked 19 places higher, spurred on by adrenaline and the pride of pulling on the green jersey. But the well-drilled and better prepared Singaporeans soon found their rhythm and after leading 1-0 at half time, the Lions went on to record an easy 4-0 victory. Nelson Dekmak, Palestine's Chilean manager, highlighted his team's lack of preparation as the reason for the first-leg failure. The issue of communication problems in the Palestinian team was further emphasised when the South American's words were translated from Spanish to Arabic, and then in to English. "As soon as it came up it was no option, it's in my blood" Omar Jarun, Palestinian footballer "This result we weren't really expecting at all. We started well, our biggest problem was the physical fitness. We did not have enough time to get fit for the game," Dekmak said. Dekmak, who was born and raised in Chile but is of Palestinian decent, is donating his time to coach the Palestine national team. "He coached the Chilean national under-21 side and he took the time and volunteered to coach the Palestine team for these two games for free because the Palestine Football Association couldn't afford to pay for a coach," Balawi says. 'In the blood' Omar Jarun, a relatively new face in the team, was playing football for the Atlanta Silverbacks in the US when he was approached by Balawi with a view to play for Palestine. "My dad is Palestinian, and Majid contacted me and asked me if I would like to play for the national team," he says. "As soon as it came up it was no option, it's in my blood. I thought it would definitely be a good choice to come to the team, and I'm glad I got the opportunity." The powerful central defender, who began his career as a forward, tried his best to marshal the Palestine players from the back, but there was much to overcome. "Fitness was a problem, not creating anything going forward was a problem, lack of communication was another problem. There are a lot of things we need to work on," Jarun said. "I was speaking in English, and they weren't understanding what I was saying. The others need to be speaking in their language and lifting each other up." But the 24-year-old, who hopes to move a new club, possibly in the Gulf region, was impressive in his first outing for Palestine and could be a regular fixture in a squad that struggles for continuity. With less than a month to prepare, and with a long trip to Singapore at the end of October, Jarun and his team have a tough task ahead of them, not only in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, but in building their country's football future. from http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/83369E8D-2B44-4DD5-99EA-BC59B1266579.htm

'Dark Web' Project Takes On Cyber-Terrorism

here are currently over a billion Internet users in the world, but not all of them are friendly.

In recent years, the anonymous nature of the Web has turned it into a boomtown for all sorts of radicalized hate.

"Since the events of 9/11, terrorist presence online has multiplied tenfold," says Hsinchun Chen, director of the University of Arizona's Artificial Intelligence Lab. "Around the year 2000, there were 70 to 80 core terrorist sites online; now there are at least 7000 to 8000."

Those sites are doing everything from spreading militant propaganda to offering insurgency advice to plotting the next wave of attacks, making the net, as Chen also points out: "arguably the most powerful tool for spreading extremist violence around the world."

But thanks to Chen, that tide may be turning. He's the architect behind the newest weapon in the war on terror — a giant, searchable database on extremists known as Dark Web.

Using a bevy of advanced technologies, Dark Web is an attempt to uncover, cross-reference, catalogue and analyze all online terrorist-generated content.

This is a vast amount of material, posted in dozens of languages and often hidden behind the blandest of portals.

The more radical of these forums can host as many as 20,000 members and half a million postings, making the Web an increasing nightmare for the intelligence community, but a perfect prowling ground for a data-mining expert like Chen.

In fact, Dark Web is Chen's second foray into online crime-fighting. The first began in 1997, when he — already an expert at tracking social change online (crime and terrorisms being extreme examples of social change) — teamed up with the Tucson Police Department and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help develop Coplink, a way for law enforcement forces around the country to link files and consolidate data.

It was Coplink that helped build the case against the Washington, D.C., Beltway snipers, John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. Because of this and other successes, in early 2002 the NSF asked Chen to try to build a similar system against terrorism.

He began with a modified version of Web-spidering. Typically, Web spiders are keyword-based followers of the hyperlinks between Web pages. This is essentially how search engines like Google and Yahoo do their work.

Unfortunately, a study done by the NEC Research Institute, the research arm of Japan's consumer-electronics giant NEC Corporation, found that existing engines cannot keep up with the Web's growth rate. Each one can only mine 16 percent of the available material.

The recent arrival of meta-search engines, capable of triangulating between several engines at once with a much higher success rate, solved this problem, but unearthed another.

"Information analysis was our goal," says Chen, "and information overload was the biggest hurdle."

To clear this hurdle, Dark Web relies on all sorts of analytical tools. It utilizes existing technologies such as statistical analysis, cluster analysis, content analysis and link analysis, as well as brand new technologies like sentiment analysis, which is capable of scanning documents for emotionally charged keywords such as "that sucks."

This form of analysis has proven effective in gauging the success of new consumer products. But instead of judging the fate of the latest movie, Chen uses sentiment analysis to look for emotions like rage and hate in an attempt to tease apart the social activists from the suicide bombers.

That's merely the beginning. Dark Web also employs social-network analysis to map extremist networks, determining the importance of each member and establishing the organizations' hierarchies.

To do this, Chen uses centrality and structural-equivalence measures to examine social-network components, such as the prestige allotted to any given poster by other members and the "closeness" — a given poster's access to information on the network coupled with his independence from others — among subjects in an attempt to further separate an organization's leaders from its outliers.

Researchers then explore things such as cohesiveness and group density — using a form of pattern analysis called blockmodeling — to help determine the stability of any given organization and, perhaps more importantly, the nodes most vulnerable to attack.

These methods were already in use before Dark Web. Chen and his cohorts also developed a few novel ideas of their own, including a technique called Writeprint which examines structural and semiotic content from anonymous postings in an attempt to determine authorship.

"The Web is a gargantuan series of diffused networks," says NSF spokesman Dana Cruikshank. "Dark Web finds the patterns that make it much less decentralized."

Chen says that if Dark Web had been online before the Iraq war, it could have determined whether the purported links between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein were fact or fiction.

Moreover, the database also offers a terrorism knowledge portal, essentially a search engine for extremism, and a terrorism expert finder, a database of the world's best anti-terrorism minds — two things that have been sorely missing in the war against extremism.

Despite all of this tantalizing potential, not everyone is convinced Dark Web is actually a tool for freedom.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an online civil-liberties group, says "the very same tools that can be used to track terrorists can also be used to track political opponents."

To make sure that doesn't happen, Rotenberg maintains that Dark Web must be used within the confines of our existing privacy laws — an idea that may be better in theory than in practice.

Though Chen strenuously denies it, there are a number of similarities between Dark Web and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's controversial Total Information Awareness (TIA) initiative, for which funding was cut off by Congress in 2003 over civil-liberties concerns.

"Just because someone posts something we don't like on the Internet, doesn't mean they also suspend their First Amendment rights," says Mike German, the ACLU's policy counsel on national security, immigration and privacy. "Things like authorship analysis are particularly tricky. How could you know that someone was really intent on violence before that act of violence was committed?"

German, who spent years on the domestic-terrorism beat for the FBI before coming to work for the ACLU, feels that Dark Web is a great waste of critical resources.

"I know this from my time spent undercover, infiltrating exactly these kinds of organizations: Every terrorist training manual makes it clear that a huge separation should be kept between the bomb-makers and the propagandists. Between the action wing and the political wing. This means, by design, Dark Web is chasing the wrong people."

Chen disagrees.

"By design, we really only look into the contents of the propagandists of the jihadist movement," he says. "I think this is the bigger danger — the ability of the Web to attract and 'infect' young disgruntled men in the world.

"We do not get into the actual operational wings of their groups, as most of the secret operational communications are encrypted and moved off-line," Chen explains. "Tracking those secret member communications is the domain of NSA, not us."

Civil-liberties concerns may continue to dog the technological front of the war on terror, but Dark Web is already producing results.

A recent study by Chen's group of training manuals and methods to build and use improvised explosive devices posted online — including where in the world such manuals have been downloaded — has led to countermeasures that are currently keeping soldiers and civilians alike safer. Which is, after all, the point.

from

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300956,00.html

Battle against terrorism in Fata is lost, US Congress told

By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Oct 10: The US pressure on President Pervez Musharraf to do more in the war against terror has been counter-productive and the battle against extremists in the tribal areas has been lost, a key congressional panel was told on Wednesday.

Witnesses appearing before the House Armed Services Committee also noted that the United States has been publicly involved in arranging a power-sharing deal in Pakistan, which may hurt its image if the arrangement fails.

“I’m concerned that our policy toward Pakistan has not been as comprehensive as it should be,” said the committee’s chairman, Congressman Ike Skelton. “We may be unprepared to handle the repercussions if events in Pakistan continue to move as rapidly as they have in recent years.”

The powerful committee, which oversees US military policies, invited a host of witnesses to speak on “security challenges involving Pakistan and policy implications for the US Department of Defence.”

“We’ve put additional pressure on President Musharraf,” Dr Marvin Weinbaum of Washington’s Middle East institute told the committee. “Let me suggest, however, that increasingly this pressure has been counter-productive.”

He said that the actions President Musharraf took under pressure had not only fallen short “but have had the double-barrelled effect of intensifying opposition within the frontier region and also eroding his political support in the country.”

Mr Weinbaum, a veteran South Asian scholar who has authored several books on Pakistan, warned: “Most of us who look at Pakistan believe at this point in time (believe) that Pakistan has in the northwest frontier area lost the battle against extremism and terrorism.

“And the consequences … are quite considerable for the United States, for our success in dealing with the insurgency in Afghanistan, stabilizing that country, and of course uprooting the Al Qaeda network and the spread of Islamic extremism in Pakistan,” he said.

“And … the consequences … for Pakistan, its stability, its integrity are really tied up with what happens in that tribal region.”

Congressman Duncan Hunter, the ranking Republican member of the committee, however, noted that Pakistan is committed to the war against terror, has deployed nearly 100,000 troops in the tribal belt, some of them coming off the Indian border, and hundreds of Pakistani troops also have died while fighting the terrorists.

But “there’s been information that I’ve seen to the effect that most of that corps resides in garrison and is not undertaking what one might call aggressive operations,” he added.

Teresita Schaffer, a former US ambassador and now director of the South Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told the committee that in the past six months, President Musharraf has been seriously weakened.

And “the major non-religious political figures, in my view, have been diminished; and the US has been publicly involved in the deal-making leading to Pakistan’s next government,” she observed.

“I expect that Musharraf’s election last weekend will eventually be confirmed by the Supreme Court and that legislative elections will be held in January,” she added.

Ambassador Schaffer warned that the government that follows these elections is likely to be an uneasy one. “Musharraf will be one power centre. He believes in unity of command … and is not particularly interested in power-sharing. Both his political party and perhaps the army will be strongly tempted to manipulate the elections to minimise Ms Bhutto’s claim on power,” she said.

“If Bhutto does participate in government, she will strongly defend her turf. And assuming that Musharraf retires from the army, that institution will be under new leadership and will be a distinct power centre, no matter how careful Musharraf has been to promote officers loyal to himself,” she said.

from
http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/11/top5.htm

Belly dancers in a tribe of their own

Thursday, October 11, 2007

By Kathleen Ganster

When Maria Hamer's sister took up belly dancing, Ms. Hamer wasn't interested in joining her.

"I was a punk rock chick. I thought it was kind of hootchy-kootchy," said Ms. Hamer, 31, of Bellevue.

Now, Ms. Hamer, her sister and three other dancers in a troupe called Zafira have been named Troupe of the Year 2007 in the annual Golden Belly Awards.

The awards are given by a magazine called Zaghareet, a Middle Eastern arts and culture publication. Another Pittsburgh group, Khafif Music and Dance, won the Best Kept Secret Award.

The members of Zafira include Ms. Hamer; her sister, Christine Andrews, of the South Side; Olivia Kissel, of Highland Park; and Ms. Hamer's other sister, Jen Imashev, of Neville Island, who performs periodically. Tamara Nelson lives in Santa Cruz, Calif., but is still involved with the group.

"We call her our honorary member because she lives so far away. But she performs with us when she can and through her, we have been able to book events in California," Ms. Hamer said.

Ms. Hamer started dancing in the early '90s after she learned that her sister's teacher had a tribal influence to her dancing, combining, as the troupe's Web site describes, "contemporary and ethnic dance that blurs the boundary between old and new."

"I started dancing and really got into it," Ms. Hamer said. "I was kind of like this tribal goddess from another planet. I drew facial tattoos and everything."

Ms. Kissel got involved after she met Mrs. Andrews.

"I thought it would be like 'I dream of Jeannie' when I first heard of belly dancing," Ms. Kissel said, but Christine said, 'No, it is much different.' I really trusted her, so I gave it a try."

When the women decided to dance as a group around 1996, they initially belonged to a troupe called Ghawazee. They formed their own troupe, Zafira, and began doing performances in 2000.

"Zafira means victorious," Ms. Hamer said.

Now, the troupe is so busy that it is booked all but one weekend through the end of the year.

Members of Zafira and Khafif belong to the Society for Creative Anachronism Inc., an international organization that preserves and re-creates life in pre-17th century Europe.

"They wear clothing of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era and our dancing fits right in," Ms. Hamer said of the society.

Her husband, Angus Douglass, is a fighter in a medieval group in the society.

Ms. Kissel and Ms. Hamer teach belly dancing, and Ms. Kissel also has started performing with her 16-year-old daughter, Fawn, who attends the High School for Creative and Performing Arts and won an award through Scholastic Books for an article she wrote about belly dancing. Ms. Hamer has a 3-year-old son, Kai Douglass.

The troupe just returned from performing last weekend in Arizona, and Ms. Hamer and Ms. Kissel are planning an event called Fusion on Saturday.

"It is a daylong event with dance workshops and then an evening performance," Ms. Hamer said.

Both women describe their belly dancing as still maintaining the "tribal" influence.

"We love dancing together," Ms. Hamer said. "For us, it is less about being sexy and performing but more about enjoying the company of other dancers and dancing with them."

For more information about Zafira and its events, visit www.zafiradance.com.

First published on October 11, 2007 at 8:51 am

Kathleen Ganster is a freelance writer.
from
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07284/824470-57.stm

Israel to seize Arab land near Jerusalem

Poll says majority of Israelis oppose Jerusalem sharing plan

JERUSALEM: Israel has ordered the confiscation of Arab land outside east Jerusalem, a newspaper and Palestinian officials said on Tuesday, reviving fears that the occupied West Bank could be split in two.

Issued late September, the order covers 110 hectares (272 acres) in four Palestinian villages between east Jerusalem and the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, said Hassan Abed Rabbo, a senior official at the Palestinian local government ministry.

The land could create a bloc of settlements incorporating Maale Adumim and nearby Mishor Adumim and Kedar, and “prevent Palestinian territorial continuity” between the West Bank and Jordan Valley, he said.

The army orders given to landowners, a copy of which was seen by AFP, justified the expropriation on “military grounds” and for “measures designed to stop terrorist acts”. Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said the land was earmarked for a new road that would connect east Jerusalem with the West Bank town of Jericho.

“That in turn would ‘free up’ the E-1 area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, through which the current Jerusalem-Jericho road runs, for a long-planned Jewish development consisting of 3,500 apartments and an industrial park,” Haaretz wrote.

The Palestinians heavily criticise the project because it would effectively split the West Bank and separate the territory from east Jerusalem.

“We condemn this Israeli decision to confiscate Palestinian land at a time in which we are trying to revive the peace process,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

Israelis oppose Jerusalem sharing: More than 60 percent of Israelis oppose sharing sovereignty over Jerusalem with the Palestinians as part of a final peace deal, in a poll published on Tuesday.

Asked if Israel should agree to “any sort of compromise on Jerusalem” as part of a final deal, 63 percent said no, compared with 21 who said yes, according to the poll published in the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily.

Sixty-eight percent oppose transferring Arab neighbourhoods in occupied east Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty, compared with 20 percent who are in favour.

Asked who should have sovereignty over the holy places in the Old City, 61 percent said Israel alone, 21 percent favoured international sovereignty, and 16 percent supported joint Israeli-Palestinian sovereignty.

On whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government has a mandate from the public to reach a permanent status arrangement on Jerusalem, 52 percent said yes on condition that 80 MPs in the 120-seat parliament supported such a move. afp

from
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C10%5Cstory_10-10-2007_pg4_3

Home Office: Cost of fighting terrorism triples to £3.5bn by 2010

By Andy McSmith

Published: 10 October 2007

Fighting terrorism continues to be one of the fastest-growing items in the Government's budget. By the end of this financial year, the whole cost of anti-terrorist initiatives, taking in everything from education programmes to undercover police work, will have risen to £2.5bn a year. By 2010-11, that figure will be up to £3.5bn – more than three times what it was at the start of the decade.

The size of the anti-terror budget is one sign of how government priorities have changed since the 11 September and 7 July attacks. Another is yesterday's announcement about who will control the money.

In a break with Whitehall tradition, anti-funds will not be allocated to individual government departments in the usual way, but will be disbursed by a Cabinet committee headed by Gordon Brown. The budget covers money for the police, the intelligence services, and programmes designed to persuade young Muslims not to be drawn into in violent extremism. It includes an extra £220m a year for the Home Office's counter-terrorism and security budget. The security services have been told their budget will continue growing by 9.6 per cent a year.

"The funding will improve our ability to tackle the immediate threat to the UK, strengthen our security measures to protect the UK from attack, allow the development of new technology which will enable us to keep ahead of the terrorists, and put in place longer-term programmes to counter radicalisation," the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said.

Another £37m a year from the same budget will go to the Foreign Office, for programmes to discourage radicalism in the Middle East. The Foreign Office funds the BBC World Service, which is to get £15m to launch a Farsi language television channel, broadcasting to Iran. Its 12-hour-a-day Arabic language television station is to expand to a 24 hour service. The overall Home Office budget will rise by the equivalent of 1.1 per cent a year from £9.2bn now to £10.3b in 2010-11, which means that Mrs Smith did slightly better than expected out of yesterday's announcement. It includes money for 9,500 new prison places, 8,500 of which will be ready by 2012, and over £11m a year to establish a National Fraud Strategic Authority and National Fraud Reporting Centre.

According to the Howard League for Penal reform, the UK holds a higher percentage of its population in prison than any other western European country, and 12,000 prisoners are being held two to a cell designed for one. The numbers of prisoners has risen from 42,000 in 1993 to 80,000 today. The Home Office insists that the increase is a sign of the government's "robust approach to serious and violent offenders".

The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, added that yesterday's announcement "demonstrates the priority the government gives to tackling fraud, an issue that has had too low a priority in the past".

from

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3043768.ece

Home Office: Cost of fighting terrorism triples to £3.5bn by 2010

By Andy McSmith

Published: 10 October 2007

Fighting terrorism continues to be one of the fastest-growing items in the Government's budget. By the end of this financial year, the whole cost of anti-terrorist initiatives, taking in everything from education programmes to undercover police work, will have risen to £2.5bn a year. By 2010-11, that figure will be up to £3.5bn – more than three times what it was at the start of the decade.

The size of the anti-terror budget is one sign of how government priorities have changed since the 11 September and 7 July attacks. Another is yesterday's announcement about who will control the money.

In a break with Whitehall tradition, anti-funds will not be allocated to individual government departments in the usual way, but will be disbursed by a Cabinet committee headed by Gordon Brown. The budget covers money for the police, the intelligence services, and programmes designed to persuade young Muslims not to be drawn into in violent extremism. It includes an extra £220m a year for the Home Office's counter-terrorism and security budget. The security services have been told their budget will continue growing by 9.6 per cent a year.

"The funding will improve our ability to tackle the immediate threat to the UK, strengthen our security measures to protect the UK from attack, allow the development of new technology which will enable us to keep ahead of the terrorists, and put in place longer-term programmes to counter radicalisation," the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said.

Another £37m a year from the same budget will go to the Foreign Office, for programmes to discourage radicalism in the Middle East. The Foreign Office funds the BBC World Service, which is to get £15m to launch a Farsi language television channel, broadcasting to Iran. Its 12-hour-a-day Arabic language television station is to expand to a 24 hour service. The overall Home Office budget will rise by the equivalent of 1.1 per cent a year from £9.2bn now to £10.3b in 2010-11, which means that Mrs Smith did slightly better than expected out of yesterday's announcement. It includes money for 9,500 new prison places, 8,500 of which will be ready by 2012, and over £11m a year to establish a National Fraud Strategic Authority and National Fraud Reporting Centre.

According to the Howard League for Penal reform, the UK holds a higher percentage of its population in prison than any other western European country, and 12,000 prisoners are being held two to a cell designed for one. The numbers of prisoners has risen from 42,000 in 1993 to 80,000 today. The Home Office insists that the increase is a sign of the government's "robust approach to serious and violent offenders".

The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, added that yesterday's announcement "demonstrates the priority the government gives to tackling fraud, an issue that has had too low a priority in the past".