Scotland: State funded Madrassas?

Och. If you can't beat them, join them?


Recent remarks by a spokesman for Scottish education secretary Fiona Hyslop supporting state-funded Muslim schools has sparked a fresh debate in Scotland over the question. Islamic schools raise a series of issues relating to equal opportunities, integration and school autonomy, the Youth Counselling Services Agency (YCSA)'s chief executive Anwari Din told Adnkronos International (AKI).


"It certainly is an issue of granting equal opportunities for all, but we must also be aware of the risk of such schools becoming divisive,” Din told AKI.“However, if people want these schools, then the provision of public funding might constitute an important form of check on their curriculums,” she added.


More at the link.

Dinah is just spinning with this news - she better put up a kilt photo STAT!

CAIR Helps OH hijab wearing women to get license.

Ooh boy, this got my blood boiling. CAIR Helps OH Muslims Obtain Driver Photos with Hijab

The Cincinnati office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Ohio chapter (CAIR-Ohio) announced today that two Muslim women in that city were able to have driver's license photographs retaken with their Islamic headscarves, or hijab, after initially being asked to remove the scarves.

CAIR says Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) employees had insisted that the women remove their headscarves for their driver's license photographs despite regulations requiring an exemption for religious head coverings.

According to a 2004 CAIR study of such policies nationwide, Ohio grants exemptions for 1) wigs or hairpieces if customarily worn by the applicant, 2) a head covering worn for recognized religious purposes, or 3) a head covering worn in conjunction with recognized medical treatments.

Most States Allow Muslim Scarves in Driver Photos

CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati office contacted the BMV and arranged for the photographs of the two women to be retaken free of charge. BMV authorities also sent a reminder to all deputy registrar offices about the exemption for religious head coverings.

"We thank BMV officials for handling this issue in a timely and professional manner," said Karen Dabdoub, executive director of CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati office.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

We are doomed.

UK: Juror held in contempt for music under hajib (sic)

Hey, It's The Sun, what do you expect?

ANOTHER indication of the respect the average Muslim has for the United Kingdom and it's laws.

A MUSLIM woman juror could be facing jail after she was arrested in court for apparently listening to music during a murder trial.

She is said to have used a traditional hijab headscarf to hide earphones to her MP3 player while ignoring vital evidence from a retired businessman who brutally bludgeoned his disabled wife to death.

She has been accused of contempt, an offence which can carry an unlimited fine and indefinite imprisonment.

More about this "unidentified due to legal reasons" piece of work at the link - and she is definitely a piece of work. It did my heart good to at least see that they used the word "Muslim" in the piece - even if they did spell hijab wrong.

UK's Brown: 'I now propose to surrender..."

This guy is even worse than I thought.

Hat tip Free Republic... Brown surrenders war powers to Parliament.

In his first statement to the House of Commons since assuming power last week, Brown said he would surrender to Parliament 12 powers traditionally reserved for the prime minister under the "Royal prerogative," including the power to declare war, along with the power to dissolve the House, and the right to appoint judges and bishops.

"I now propose to surrender or limit these powers to make for a more open 21st century British democracy which better serves the British people," he told MPs, to loud Labour cheers.

Flying Imams trying to pull another fast one

The flying Imams secretly try to get the public barred from having access to the case.

They were DENIED.

Bwa-ha-ha.

A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by six Muslim men who were removed from a US Airways flight last fall has declined to limit public access to the case.

Omar T. Mohammedi, a New York attorney for the six Muslim scholars, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he sought limited media access because he felt some of the coverage of the case has been biased against his clients.

"When you think of the media, and the way they have been portraying this case, it has not been very helpful. It has been biased," Mohammedi said. "That has caused a lot of stress, a lot of stress on our clients, as well as made it difficult for us to handle this case ... in a manner that it should be handled."

In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Mohammedi, U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery noted that Mohammedi had requested that the court remove members of the media from an electronic distribution list, bar members of the media from attending hearings, and hold proceedings in closed session.

"The Court declines to treat this case in the extraordinary manner that you request," the judge wrote. She added that the public and press have an interest in full access to judicial proceedings under the First Amendment. You have provided no legal authority supporting your request to limit public access to this case," Montgomery wrote. "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure."

The judge's letter was entered in the case file, and it noted that further communications on the matter should also be filed through the court's electronic database.

The letters previously submitted on the issue were filed off the record and were not made public. Judge Montgomery said through a law clerk that she would have no comment beyond her letter.

Flying Imams and their car bomb chasing attorney = pwned.

Another country heard from: Germany protests huge mosque.

Something stinks in Cologne: Huge Mosque stirs protest.

The construction of one of Europe's biggest mosques near to a globally famous Christian landmark has sparked a furious row in Germany.

Immigration and integration are hugely sensitive questions in Germany, which is home to a Turkish community of several million. But almost within the shadow of Cologne Cathedral, political correctness has now been replaced by bitter confrontation as the city's Muslims begin to build a 2,000-capacity mosque with twin minarets that will reach 170ft.

"Muslims have been here for 40 years, yet people are praying in back rooms," said Seyda Can, an Islamic theologian at the Turkish Islamic Union in Cologne. "There are 120,000 Muslims in Cologne, that's 12 per cent of the population. We should not hide."

Work will begin in the autumn on the £15 million mosque, which will include huge glass and stone cupolas and two six-storey minarets.

And in a case of the lion laying down with the lamb:

"It's not a popular plan," said Joerg Uckermann, the district's deputy mayor. "We don't want to build a Turkish ghetto in Ehrenfeld. I know about Londonistan and I don't want that here."

Mr Uckermann is part of a curious coalition of protest that has united Jewish intellectuals and neo-Nazis. Leading the charge is Ralph Giordano, a prominent Jewish author, who wrote recently that Germany was witnessing a "clash of two completely different cultures" and questioned whether they could ever be reconciled.

Stating that he had received death threats for his opinions, he added: "What kind of a state are we in that I can face a fatwa in Germany?"

Indeed.

Hamid passes pipe to Canadian Public Safety Minister.

He takes a big hit and then calls the report of a wave of AQ suicide bombers heading to Canada and the US a "PR move". All in the interest of public safety, I guess. Can't get the sheeple spooked. Day downplays warning 300 suicide bombers to target West, including Canada.

US Homeland Security takes a quick toke and then chimes in with a pr move of their own: Homeland Security Official: No imminent threat - that we know of.

The reporters in the room must have gotten a contact high over at alJazeera magazine. It sounds like they forgot to write the rest of the story in their report. And it's like they had too much fun then crashed and burned in the Western media. They pretty much ignored the whole thing!

Who know's what John Edwards was thinking smoking when he came out with that American "bumper sticker' theory deal about the War on Terror. Good luck with that one, John. I don't think its working out so well for you. Just sayin'. That and consorting with Danny Glover on the campaign trail. The same Danny Glover who is making movies with Hugo Chavez (he got paid $18 mil for the first one) and is on the board of Hugo's tv station. The same station who has hooked up with al Jazeera to beam out anti-democracy messages across Latin America.

Note to John Edwards: Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas...

Scotland: Young Muslims to air their "concerns"

Glasgow: Another Muslim whinefest Great.

Young Muslims from all over Scotland will on Monday voice their concerns over a range of issues, including harrassment experienced since since al-Qaeda's 11 September 2001 attacks on US cities, growing Muslim disaffection with British society, stereotyped media portrayals of Muslims as terrorists, as well as employment, education, training, religion and way of life.

The venue is the first ever Young Scottish Muslims Conference, taking place in Scotland's largest city, Glasgow."This is exactly the type of forum we need to provide to the Muslim youth to address the issues of identity, belonging, faith, culture and integration," conference keynote speaker Farooq Murad told Adnkronos International (AKI).

Murad is chairman of the charity Muslim Aid (click on the link for a message from JERMAINE JACKSON!!!!) and founder president of the Young Muslims UK (click on this link to get an idea of their youth recruiting strategy) and the Islamic Society of Britain. (click here to read how they urged 11 year olds to take up the jihad.)

The Gov't Dhimmis are going to be in attendance preaching their multi-culti jumbo....there's more at the link. Read til your eyes glaze over. Looks like Scotland is lost too...

My reply:

Okay, you bunch of Islamowhingers - what about the isolation and disenchantment that Christians experience in your Muslim countries???? You know, the beheadings, torture, killings and raping?

Day by Day

You gotta love Chris Muir.

Hijab: The 'Flag of Islam'

Veil may be your culture but it's not mine.

Long time readers of Dinah Lord know that Dinah has long inveighed against the hijab as the middle finger of Muslim culture and a political symbol of radical Islam. Imagine her dismay at finding this article, A return to tradition in the Detroit Free Press trumpeting the increase in the number of hijabettes in the Motor City.

Return to tradition? More like a return to the dark ages, if you ask me.

The article profiles a 19 yo Muslima who opted to take the veil and who then convinced her mother to start wearing one, too.

The two are part of the growing number of Muslim women in Michigan choosing to wear the head scarves, known as hijab, with many donning them at increasingly younger ages. The upswing is driven by increased attendance at local mosques and Islamic schools, where clerics often describe hijab as the flag of Islam. And the local trend mirrors an increased use of hijab among women in the Middle East and Europe, where Islamic beliefs in Muslim communities have intensified.

The article goes on to assert how this magnificent act of Muslim piety often comes with a price:

Some "look at us, smirk, stick out their tongues or shout out the window, 'Why do you have that on?' " said Arrwa Mogalli, 29, of Dearborn, who has worn hijab since she was 11. "You have nuns totally covered ... and no one questions it. But when a Muslim does it, we're from outer space."

Putting aside the fact that few nuns wear a traditional habit these days, let's examine the price that Christians pay for being a Christian in Islamic countries, shall we? (and this is by no means a complete list.)

Indonesia: In the eastern islands of this largest Muslim nation in the world, white-uniformed militiamen of Laskar Jihad are forcibly converting Christians to Islam.
This campaign has so far cost the lives of 5,000 to 6,000 people.

Bangladesh: Small radical groups supporting Osama bin Laden have bombed or burned down churches.

Pakistan: Christians depend on the protection of the government as several Muslim leaders have issued fatwas (religious decrees) to kill two Pakistani Christians for every Afghan Muslim who dies in the Anglo-American air raids.

Saudi-Arabia: In the last two months, 15 Christian expatriates have been jailed for worshiping in private homes, and three have been tortured.

Sudan: Some 2 million people, chiefly Christians, have been killed in a civil war fought by the radical Islamic regime in the north of the country against non-Arab population in the south.

Somalia: Anybody found out to be a Christian will quickly be beheaded by Muslim vigilantes.

Nigeria: In 12 states, versions of Shari'a law, the Islamic penal code, have been imposed. After the imposition of Islamic law, riots ensued killing 5,000 in the city of Kaduna alone

Egypt: The government discriminates against Christianity by financing the construction of mosques, while denying permits for the reconstruction of Christian sanctuaries.

But back to Detroit and the disturbing trend of those American Muslims who dishonor this country by swearing allegiance to (and wearing) the flag of Islam:

Flip through Fordson High School yearbooks and you'll see a marked change. In 1990, only seven seniors at the Dearborn school wore hijab in their class photos. That's less than 5% of the female students in the senior class of a public school with a student body that's at least 85% of Arab descent. In the class of 2006, 78 are wearing hijab -- 40% of the women in the class.

And then there's this from the infamous Pew poll:

A generation ago, hijabis, or those who wear hijab, were a distinct minority among Muslims in metro Detroit. But a national survey found that 43% of Muslim women in the United States usually wear hijab or head coverings in public, with an additional 8% wearing them sometimes. The poll of 1,050 Muslim Americans was done by the Pew Research Center from January to April and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The reporter goes on to tell us why. They're getting them young and warping their minds with their cultish gobbledy gook.
The increase in hijab use comes as local mosques are offering more programs aimed at youth. There are lectures and gatherings aimed at American-raised Muslims every weekend. Jawad, the 19-year-old from Dearborn, made her decision to wear hijab after attending a youth retreat with the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.

Pay attention, people.

Mohammed likely to top British boys' names list by years end.

I kid you not.

Mohammed will likely become the most popular name for baby boys in Britain by the end of the year, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing government data.

Though official records from the Office for National Statistics list the spelling Mohammed 23rd in its yearly analysis of the top 3,000 names given to children, when all the different spellings of the name are taken into account, it ranks second, only behind Jack, according to The Times.

There are various different spellings of the name because when it is transliterated into English from Arabic, families spell it as closely to their own pronunciations as possible.

From the Hague: Muslims don't have to shake hands with Christians.

For real. (h/t Religion of Peace)

Appease, accommodate, bend over backwards... all 'respectful ways' in which the dhimmi should greet his new Muslim master.

The Equal Treatment Commission (CGB) has ruled that a Christian school may not require Muslim pupils to shake the teacher's hand. Pupils can however be required to attend school camp, newspaper Nederlands Dagblad reports.

De Rank primary school in Schoonhoven wanted to specify in its code of behaviour that pupils and their parents were required to shake hands with the teacher on arrival at and departure from information evenings. This cannot however be required of Muslims, even by a school like De Rank which is statutorily recognised as Protestant.

The CGB advises the school to specify in its code of behaviour that "mutual respect will be indicated with a handshake on arrival and departure or - if a handshake is objectionable for religious reasons - in another respectful way."

Around 25 percent of the pupils at the Christian school are reportedly of Muslim origin.
The school can require pupils to participate in school camp. The CGB could not discover religious objections to travel. The school already allows pupils to bring their own halal food to camps.

Additionally, they do not have to stay overnight, providing their parents collect them and bring them back, according to CGB. Its rulings are non binding but most survive if tested in real courts.

Muslim soldier survives catering incident

Call the waaaa-mbulance! Muslim soldier was fed pork sandwich!!!!!

Colchester’s Military Corrective Training Centre has been accused of trying to feed a Muslim with a pork sandwich. Saeed Akhtar is claiming that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) breached his rights under legislation covering discrimination because of religious beliefs while serving as a soldier.

On April 30, employment tribunal Chairman at Bury St Edmunds permitted Akhtar to take his case to a full tribunal hearing. Akhtar is claiming the MoD had failed to provide him on a regular basis with suitable meat. He told tribunal Chairman, Brian Mitchell, that officials had not provided Halal meat. That had forced him to adopt a largely vegetarian diet, said Akhtar. On one occasion he was given a pork sandwich.

He is, of course, crying discrimination all the way to the sharia bank.

Lord deliver us!

The lessons we can all learn from British Muslims

(Gag alert) Tory leader David Cameron writes of "the benefits of integration" after staying in Birmingham.

The challenges of cohesion and integration are among the greatest we face. I wrote in these pages in January that we cannot bully people into feeling British: we have to inspire them. Last week, I spent two days staying with Abdullah and Shahida Rehman and their family in Birmingham. The experience has strengthened my conviction about the right way to build a more cohesive Britain.

(A more cohesive Britain. Translation: A more dhimmi Britain. )

See what I mean?

We do need greater understanding of the true nature of the terrorist threat. There's too much complacency about it among non-Muslims, and too much denial of it in the Muslim community. But our efforts are not helped by lazy use of language. Indeed, by using the word 'Islamist' to describe the threat, we actually help do the terrorist ideologues' work for them, confirming to many impressionable young Muslim men that to be a 'good Muslim', you have to support their evil campaign.

Read it and weep.

Frito Lay and the Muslim's Special Treatment Brigade

From Arabisto: Frito-Lay Products Containing Pork Seasoning ‘Chip’ off Muslim Consumers Worldwide

In the wake of corporate scandals, the “War on Terror” and increasing globalization in this post-9/11 world, most multinational corporations are finding it increasingly difficult to compete worldwide in marketing their products and services to potential buyers and sellers with America’s tarnished image abroad.

(Oh really? Sez who? Typical leftie ploy - not wanting to confuse things with the facts.)

One American company, Frito-Lay, a United States company that markets a variety of chips and snack foods internationally, has recently drawn much criticism and concern from its Muslim consumers and non-consumers—not for “anti-American feeling,” but for not informing them of pork enzymes contained in some of its products they consume. (oh, and for not kissing their a$$ in Macy's window.)

(FYI - PepsiCo International (PI) - Frito's parent reported their 1st qtr profits increased 29% on strong snacks and beverage growth. Their division covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa showed a 12 % growth rate in their profit from snacks. Tarnished image and all.)

From around the world, Muslims have been calling up Frito-Lay, inquiring about their products after learning of possible pork enzymes in their cheese seasonings. Muslim students and professionals, in response, started email campaigns, wrote on their blogs, and some even created groups on the popular college-networking website, Facebook. One group on Facebook, “Fight Against Pork in Frito-Lay Products,” has already accumulated over 1,810 students globally. Its moderator urged its members to “call whether [they] are for or against the change” and for them to inform Frito-Lay of their concerns.

Some Muslims, however, have opted out of the “contact Frito-Lay” bandwagon and have instead questioned their fellow Muslims’ concerns and actions. On one blog, one Muslim woman wrote on April 3, 2007, “I wonder how many of those people who called Doritos called their local congressman about their opinion of the war? Or to have a fair trial for Dr. Sami Al-Arian? How many of these thought to affect change on more important matters? I mean, if the food is not permissible to eat, I would like to know. But the reaction and the larger context really irks me.”

One Muslim man responded back to her on that same blog, “The reason people are worked up…number of us have been eating Frito-lay products since we were little kids.” (It hasn't hurt you yet, has it?)

Muslim American Hussam Kubtan, an Industrial and Systems Engineer, who admitted he does not consume Frito-Lay products, told me, he is not sure if this process is “not halal.” Kubtan added that “unless those enzymes are coming from meat (versus bones or some other non-meat part), and unless they are retaining their properties as a substance, even after the cooking / preparation process is complete, there is inconclusive evidence to suggest that it is haram.”

I spoke to Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez to get the record straight. She informed me that Frito-Lay has been aware of this discussion and are “respectful” of those who do not consume pork enzymes. She told me, “Most cheeses are made using enzymes as part of the process to develop unique flavors, and depending on the flavor, enzyme sources may include vegetable, microbial and/or animal. Pork enzymes may be used in the milk that makes the real cheese for some of our cheese seasonings. However,” she said, by the time the cheese seasoning arrives at Frito-Lay, the animal enzymes have been physically changed by heat to be inactive long before being added to our snacks.”

According to Princeton University’s Muslim Chaplain Khalid Latif, he told me, it really depends. For some Muslims, he said, whether or not the pork enzymes have evaporated, they still view it as “problematic.” Latif explained that his students at Princeton have also called Frito-Lay inquiring about its seasonings.

Gonzales from Frito-Lay told me, “While some snacks do contain enzymes from porcine sources, many do not.” She was kind enough to supply me with a list for U.S. citizens of Frito-Lay products that do not contain pork-related ingredients.

Dhimmitude or Gimme-tude?
Now that it is clear that Frito-Lay does contain pork enzymes in the cheese seasoning of some of its products, the bigger question is whether or not Frito-Lay will cater to its Muslim consumers given this public outcry. Could there be a new market for Muslims in the near future? Will Frito-Lay’s manufacturers and importers consider placing a halal logo on its snack foods that do not contain pork enzymes for its Muslim consumers? If its products contain animal substances, will Frito-Lay consider becoming halal certified by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (or JAKIM)?

According to some young Muslim students and professionals I spoke to, they feel, Frito-Lay is neglecting a large market of Muslim consumers who do not consume any of its products that contain animal enzymes (let alone its pork-enzyme-containing products).

Muslim-American Seton Hall University student, Ibrahim Khaddash, in New Jersey, told me he feels “paranoid” ever since he heard about Frito-Lay’s pork-enzyme-containing products and said, “Muslims need to somehow let these big organizations know that if they want our business then they must obey our dietary laws.”

THEY MUST OBEY OUR LAWS...

makes me want a Frito Pie.

Berlin angry at Muslim segregation demand.
The dialogue between the German government and the country's Muslim community is heating up shortly before the second leg of an integration conference. Maria Boehmer, Germany's envoy for integration matters and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, has harshly criticized a demand made by the German Muslim community to separate girls and boys in the physical education classroom.

"We will not allow that a small minority of backward people wants to install (in Germany) the rules of their grandfathers," she told the Neue Osnarbruecker Zeitung newspaper.

...a small minority of backward people. That's one way to look at it. She's got the backward part right. There are an estimated 3.2 million Muslims in Germany. Most are guest workers from Turkey.

Get out the airsickness bags: Pelosi's planning more junkets?

From The Washington Prowler (at The American Spectator) This can't be true, can it?

FREQUENT FLYER
Word out of the House Democrat leadership is that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is not only having her staff make plans for a trip to Venezuela to meet there with dictator Hugo Chavez, she has also asked staff to apply for a visa to travel to Tehran. "She is getting bad advice from people back home in San Francisco," says a leadership aide, who is working for one of Pelosi's colleagues. "She is not getting it from members of her leadership team. That's all anyone here is willing to say."

Keep that bag handy. You need it when you read Melissa Block' of NPR's interview with John Okinawa Murtha. He continues to mention the I word. ( And it ain't "I'm a moron. I'm sorry.):
Democrats Prepare Contingency Plans for Bush Veto.

Haven't had enough yet?
Read Al Jazeera's take on it here.
Bush Impeachment Calls Grow Louder.
Murtha is liberally quoted.

Disgusting.

Turkey: Markets react to Gul and the Islamists

And it's not in a good way: Crisis pinches Turkey's pocket.

Turkey's financial markets tumbled amid political instability triggered by a court challenge to the presidential election process and a mass demonstration against the ruling party. Fears of military intervention, prompted by an army warning to the Islamist-rooted AK Party government that it would protect the secular state, added to the woes Monday.

The main share index fell as much as 8 percent, while bond yields rose a percentage point and the lira currency slid four percent. Markets had staged a partial recovery by the close of trade in what was the biggest sell-off in nearly a year.

Business Week breaks it down for you here: Turkish Turmoil Slams Markets.

Their currency got hammered too. The Deputy Prime Minister attempted to reassure the jittery markets and tonight the Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, will be conducting his regular weekly television address. It will be interesting to see what happens...Stay tuned.

Update: Turkish PM appeals for unity.
Turkey's prime minister appealed for calm Monday after the stock market dropped amid a deepening conflict between his Islamic-oriented government and pro-secular forces backed by the military....

Analysts said the markets will likely recover if the government defuses tension by agreeing to early parliamentary elections, a move that could appease opponents who hope to make electoral gains at the expense of the ruling party. But sustained political uncertainty would likely take a toll. In his speech, Erdogan made no direct reference to the stock market slide (!!!!!) or the challenges to his mandate, instead issuing a broadly worded appeal to Turks to safeguard the economic advances and social stability that they have gained after decades of uneven development and, at times, all-out political conflict.

Reactions range from the hilarious to well, the downright criminal. First, the hilarious:

The head of Europe's top human rights organization expressed shock at the stance taken by Turkey's military, which threatened to intervene in the selection of the new president - which is by parliamentary vote rather than direct election - and urged the government to curb Islamic influences. `This statement looks like a deliberate attempt by the armed forces to influence the election of a new president,'' Terry Davis, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, said in a statement. `They should stay in their barracks and keep out of politics.''

Now the criminal:
The United States stayed away from criticizing any of the players in the crisis. `We have confidence in Turkey's democratic institutions and Turkey's constitutional processes to work out any questions that may surround the election of the next Turkish president,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

There was no mention of early elections. Not good for the markets. Praise Allah for the market in Muslim prayer beads.

One of the residents of the central Anatolian province of Kayseri, known in Turkey for their practicality, has realized a first and set up a unique store for prayer beads, in use among Muslims for centuries. Fans of beads come from all over Turkey to Tesbih Dünyası (prayer bead world) to see the valuable beads there, many of them even ready to pay as much as $5,000 for a set. The man behind the project is Kenan Paydak, who described their store as being “like a market” where sellers and purchasers can meet. Stating that those who come to the store have a chance to display their beads while being provided with food and drink, Paydak says they are very busy on weekdays. “People from all over Turkey come here, especially on Monday. Some come to sell their beads, others to add new beads to their collection. Sales are made here all day long. We act as an agent between them,” Paydak said.

Lost in all the shuffle: Erdogan hosts Musharraf and Karzai: They agree to combine intel and fight terror together.

CIA HELD SUSPECT IN SECRET PRISONS!

Call the waahmbulance full of ACLU lawyers and the Human Rights Watch! Remember the big fish the CIA just reeled in? Well, the International Herald Tribune has talked to all the usual suspects and they are outraged, outraged I tell ya, at his treatment.

Human rights advocates expressed anger that the United States continued a program of secret detention, and some wondered why the CIA claimed it needed harsh interrogation methods to extract information from detainees when it appeared that Iraqi had given up information using Pentagon-approved interrogation practices.

Whine and cheese anyone?

"The CIA can't seem to get its story straight," said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch. "If they can get good intelligence without using abusive techniques, why do they so desperately need to use the abusive techniques?" But he said that there was no way to know whether Iraqi had been mistreated, because "no independent monitors have been able to see him since his arrest."

Iranian Olympians invited to hold camps in US...

Okay, let me see if I have this right. The US is going to pay the freight for these enemies of the state, buying the airline tickets and ponying up for their accommodations. (your taxpayer dollars at work?) Iran says - okay, but only if you don't fingerprint team members. Gee, I wonder why that could be a problem? Could there be terrorists amongst them???

Words fail me. Read it all from IRNA.

Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee Ali Kaffashian said here Wednesday that his committee has received three letters of invitations from the US National Olympic Committee. He told IRNA that the US National Olympic Committee has invited three Iranian teams, including weightlifters, cyclists and boatmen to hold warm-up camps in the US.

"The American committee has said that it will provide two-way tickets and pay for the accommodations of the Iranian athletes during their stay in the country," he added.

Kaffashian said that the agreement on invitation of Iranian and American teams to each other's countries, holding sport camps and participation in competitions was recently reached at a meeting between the representatives of the national olympic committee of the two countries in Kuwait. "The American officials have expressed their interest in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran and expansion of mutual sports relations," he said.

"Iran's Physical Education Organization has agreed to dispatch Iranian teams to the American camps and competitions if the Iranian athletes are not fingerprinted while entering the country," he added. Concerning the proposed MoU, he said that the proposal is now being examined. He noted that meanwhile, the US is expected to dispatch its wrestling and taekwondo teams to Iran to attend warm-up camps.