Israel attacks Gaza Aid ships & Time to liberate Palestine

The Zionist occupiers of Palestine today killed up to 19 humanitarian activists when they attacked an aid flotilla trying to break the siege of Gaza. This action is the latest proof that it is only a response from the Muslim armies of the region which can put an end to the Israeli entity’s aggression and massacres. Read more>>>

The American vulture openly declares Bangladesh as its prey

Hizb-ut-Tahrir calls upon the Muslims to remove the current leaders and re-establish the Khilafah before the Americans complete their occupation of the country . The American Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently published a report detailing the U.S. designs for Bangladesh. The title of report (dated April 01, 2010 and authored by specialist in Asian Affairs, Bruce Vaughn) is, ‘Bangladesh: Political and Strategic Developments and U.S. Interests.' Besides mentioning American economic interests in the area of trade and energy sectors and the oft-repeated empty slogans of ‘strengthening democracy' and ‘promoting development' etc, Read more>>>

The Myanmar Elections

Myanmar will shortly hold its first elections in twenty years. Given the restrictive provisions of the 2010 Political Parties Registration Law that bar anyone serving a prison term from membership in a political party, many imprisoned dissidents will be excluded from the process, unless they are released in the near future. Aung San Suu Kyi – whose suspended sentence and house arrest possibly exclude her also – has condemned the legislation, and her National League for Democracy (NLD) has decided not to participate and has, therefore, lost its status as a legally-registered party. There has rightly been much international criticism of the new constitution and of the fact that the elections will not be inclusive, but the political and generational shift that they will bring about may represent the best opportunity in a generation to influence the future direction of the country. Read more>>>

Lebanon’s Politics: The Sunni Community and Hariri’s Future Current

The June 2009 swearing in as prime minister of Saad Hariri, leader of the Sunni Future Current movement, marks a turning point, the end of a period of exceptional domestic political turbulence and regional tensions that began with the 2005 murder of his father, Rafic; led to institutional paralysis; and culminated with the violent May 2008 showdown between government and opposition. It also presents the new leader with a host of novel challenges. The man who took the helm of a once deeply divided Sunni community must discard much of what enabled his rise, if he is to succeed now that he is in power. With Hizbollah, the principal Shiite movement, he must move away from the sectarianism that has become Lebanon’s political stock-and-trade. The Future Current should initiate the process of becoming a more genuine, institutionalised party, breaking from the clientelism that will otherwise inhibit the prime minister’s transition from community leader to statesman. And Hariri must continue to navigate the difficult normalisation with Syria, overcoming deep mistrust among his constituency toward Damascus. Read more>>>

Cameroon: Fragile State?

Cameroon’s apparent stability in a turbulent region cannot be taken for granted. The co-option of elites through the distribution of state largesse, and the emigration of many educated young people provide a certain safety valve for tensions, but the failure of reform and continued poor governance mean people no longer believe in the rule of law or peaceful political change. Multiple risks of conflict exist in the build-up to presidential elections in 2011 and beyond. This background report, Crisis Group’s first on Cameroon, analyses the historical roots of the current impasse.

Cameroon’s history shows a pattern of apparent stability followed by violent crisis. For long periods (early 1950s, 1970s), problems have been masked but not dealt with. In the late 1950s, widespread unrest occurred as the main party opposed to French rule was banned, leading to a bloody and protracted guerrilla war. Independence came in 1960, but in the context of extensive violence. In 1961, though the southern region of British-controlled Anglophone Cameroon voted to re-join Francophone Cameroon, the north voted to remain with Nigeria. Read more>>>

The European Debt Crisis

1. Why is Europe in another financial crisis?

Europe’s debt crisis is a continuation of the global financial crisis and also the result of how Europe attempted to solve the global financial crisis that brought an end to a decade of prosperity and unrestricted debt. European attempts at defending itself against a deep recession, has now created a new crisis of unsustainable and un-serviceable sovereign debt.

Much of this can be attributed to stimulus packages passed by European governments in order to halt the effects of the economic crisis, especially in preventing massive layoffs. Europe’s heavyweights spent massively on stimulation packages. However such attempts at defending themselves against a deep recession, has now created a sovereign debt crisis. Sovereign debt is the money governments borrow and promise to pay back over a number of years. This gives a government access to large funds instantly, which it repays in instalments over a number of years. As a government guarantee’s the debt, this type of debt is considered the most secure. This is why US treasury bonds are thought to be the most secure investment globally as the US government itself underwrites them. Read more>>>

Cultivating Muslim Women

"And among His Signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquility with them and He has put love and mercy between you. Surely in that are Signs for those who reflect” (TMQ 30:21).

With the recent flurry of flowers, cards and/or candies to commemorate 'Mother’s Day' in May and 'Father’s Day' in June, western societies attempt to recognize the important roles of parents in families. Unfortunately, these secular celebrations actually insult the sacred contributions of both mothers and fathers to the foundations of families in particular and society as a whole. Rather than being a source of annual commerce and a “one day” commemoration, a sincere, spiritual, and caring mother and father are a daily treasure that should be treated as such. The focus of this article is on our mothers and daughters, and a follow-up article on fathers will be included in a future issue, inshallah. Read more>>>

Celebration of Apartheid

This month marks the 62nd anniversary of one of the most egregious and horrendous acts ever carried out against the Muslim Ummah. It marks the continued pain, suffering, persecution and occupation of our sacred Muslim land and the pillaging of its resources.

This is a month in which Israel celebrates the slaughter of thousands and driving millions of Muslims to the surrounding and other countries. It is a month in which Israel celebrates apartheid and racism and the theft of our sacred land, Al-Quds, in creating the illegitimate state of Israel. Read more>>>

The Greek tragedy: another example of disaster capitalism

The systemic failures of capitalism are all too apparent and all to frequent to be ignored as mere blips. Elastoplasts and bandages are hastily being applied to plug gaping holes in the so-called intricate framework of modern capitalism yet as one hole is temporarily blocked another even bigger emerges.

Just as the western world came together to avert a collapse of the global financial system in 2008 within a couple of years another colossal joint effort involving the G7, G20, European Central Bank and the IMF is underway to prevent contagion in the Eurozone following the effective debt default by Greece. The Eurozone is to receive a 750 billion Euro bail-out package to prop by countries on the verge of default. Read more>>>

Facebook Crisis

We strongly condemns promotion of insults on the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) on the Facebook website, designating a ‘Draw Mohammed Day’. The provocative action invites people to upload insulting drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam).

In a statement, the California-based company defended the provocative group claiming ‘freedom of expression’ when it said "we strongly believe that Facebook users have the freedom to express their opinions, and we don't typically take down content, groups or pages that speak out against countries, religions, political entities, or ideas." Read more>>>

War Crimes in Sri Lanka

NB: ‘’3 Dimensional Information bias’’ please read in detail

Brussels, 17 May 2010: Newly revealed evidence of war crimes in Sri Lanka last year makes an international inquiry essential.

War Crimes in Sri Lanka ,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, exposes repeated violations of international law by both the Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the last five months of their 30-year civil war. That evidence suggests that the period of January to May 2009 saw tens of thousands of Tamil civilian men, women, children and the elderly killed, countless more wounded, and hundreds of thousands deprived of adequate food and medical care, resulting in more deaths.

Released on the eve of the first anniversary of the end of the fighting, the report calls for an international inquiry into alleged crimes. The government has conclusively demonstrated its unwillingness to undertake genuine investigations of security force abuses and continues to deny any responsibility for civilian casualties. A true accounting is needed to address the grievances that drive conflict in Sri Lanka, so the international community must take the lead.

“The scale of civilian deaths and suffering demands a response”, says Crisis Group President Louise Arbour. “Future generations will demand to know what happened, and future peace in Sri Lanka requires some measure of justice.”

Both sides in Sri Lanka’s civil war violated international humanitarian law throughout the decades-long conflict. However the violations became particularly frequent and deadly in the months leading to the government’s declaration of victory over the LTTE in May 2009. Evidence gathered by Crisis Group provides reasonable grounds to believe that government security forces repeatedly and intentionally violated the law by attacking civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations. The government declined to respond to Crisis Group’s request for comment on these allegations. Evidence also shows that the LTTE violated the law by killing, wounding or otherwise endangering civilians, including by shooting them and preventing them from leaving the conf lict zone even when injured and dying.

Much of the international community turned a blind eye to the violations when they were happening. Many countries welcomed the LTTE’s defeat regardless of the cost of immense civilian suffering and an acute challenge to the laws of war. The United Nations too readily complied with the government’s demands to withdraw from conflict areas.

The international community has a responsibility to uphold the rule of law, the reputation of international agencies and respect for international humanitarian law, most importantly the protection of civilians lives. Today, a number of other countries are considering “the Sri Lankan option” – unrestrained military action, refusal to negotiate, disregard for humanitarian issues, keeping out international observers including the press and humanitarian workers – as a way to deal with insurgencies and other violent groups.

“An international inquiry is necessary not only for justice and long-term peace in Sri Lanka but also to help prevent a repeat elsewhere”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “It would serve as a warning to other governments that may be considering ‘the Sri Lankan model’ to address their own internal conflicts.”

Crisis Group has also created an interactive online presentation to accompany the report, with maps, photos and video detailing the final five months of the conflict. Read more>>>

EU recommends Estonia eurozone entry on Jan 1, 2011

The European Commission on Wednesday gave Estonia the green light to become the 17th country to switch to the shared euro currency as of January 1, 2011.

"Estonia has achieved a high degree of sustainable economic convergence and is ready to adopt the euro on 1 January 2011," European Union Commissioner for Economic and Budgetary affairs Olli Rehn said. Read more>>>

UK No. 10; Coalition government details emerge

Britain has a new Prime Minister andthe first coalition government since 1974. New PM David Cameron is forming his new government today, with a historic mix of Conservative and Lib Dem MPs taking cabinet roles. Read more>>>

20th annual World Human Rights Watch Report Published

This 20th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2009 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question.

Every government is at times tempted to violate human rights, but the global human rights movement has made sure that abuse carries a price. Still, some governments cannot resist trying to minimize that price by attacking human rights defenders, organizations, and institutions. The aim is to silence the messenger, to deflect pressure, to lessen the cost of committing human rights violations. Read more>>>

Books on Democracy in Crisis

NB: Indian Democracy & Crisis

What started as an experiment in Athens over two thousand years ago eventually pervaded every continent and every land. Democracy, Democracy, Democracy is the repeated call that bellows from the four corners of the globe. It is the established order in a chaotic and unstable world, where every critic of democracy is viewed with heretical suspicion. For every political problem, we are told, lies a democratic solution. For every civilization, for every country for every tribe, for every time - goes the mantra - democracy is the claimed answer to all our ills. In the poetic words of a RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women in Afghanistan) activist, democracy will cure all wounds and bring a dawn of freedom.

O’ freedom sun, Thrust in darkness, Democracy will cure the wounds, Which emerge from your blood-stained soil. O’ saddened nation, Fight your antagonists. Take revenge for your martyrs, On the enemy of democracy and woman. We shall bring through knowledge, Through blood and smoke We shall bring the dawn of freedom, The morn of democracy. Meena’s flag on the shoulders of women Who will sing she is our pride O’ People, arise Fight the enemies of democracy In revenge for the blood of your beloved martyrs. And as a message for your fighters. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka Muslims' 1st Orchestra (MR MAC) & SCHOOL of Islamic Music (+) Art & Culture of SLTT-UK will be launched soon in Sri Lanka; Says M. R. Mohamed (Minority Political & Intellectual Islamic Thinker of Sri Lanka)

NB:



Listen to More Islamic Music>>>

‘Declaration to the People of Power’ in Pakistan

Today Pakistan is faced by unprecedented dangers, as a result of the collaboration of the agent oppressor rulers with their American masters. American intelligence and private military organizations are conducting a campaign of bombings and assassinations throughout the country, whilst through “strategic dialogue” with America, the agent rulers are supervising a war of Fitnah in the tribal areas, where Muslims face Muslims on the battlefield, so that America may maintain its failing occupation in Afghanistan. After Jamia-e-Hafsa, Swat and South Waziristan operations, government is conducting military operations in Orakzai Agency. Moreover, it has also been announced that the army will soon conduct operations in North Waziristan as well, a matter which America has been applying pressure on Pakistan for quite some time. On the other hand, the masses have been ensnared in a fake electricity crisis, so that they do not resist either America’s war of terror or Blackwater and DynCorp, who are busy bombing civilians to produce chaos. And to further push Pakistan into America’s clutches, these rulers have ruined Pakistan’s economy and thrown the masses into a quagmire of poverty, unemployment, hunger, inflation and electricity shortages. Read more>>>

The second stage of the global capitalist crisis; By Nick Beams

A recent survey of 10 major capitalist countries, including the US and the UK, conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, found that since 2000, gross debt in these countries increased by around $40 trillion, a rise of 60 percent. Total debt ratios—private and government—increased on average from around 200 percent of gross domestic product in 1990 to more than 330 percent by 2008. In the UK over the same period, the debt ratio increased from 200 percent to 450 percent. Much of the debt was incurred, not to finance industrial production, but to finance financial operations. Read more>>>

A significant contribution to an understanding of Permanent Revolution; By David North

The central aim of Witnesses to Permanent Revolution is the reconstruction of the impressive intellectual scope of the discussion out of which the theory of permanent revolution emerged. While not contesting the decisive role played by Trotsky in its elaboration and, most significantly, its strategic and practical application in the struggles of the Russian working class, Day and Gaido seek to acquaint the reader with the contributions made by other important socialist thinkers, such as Franz Mehring, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexander Helphand (Parvus), Karl Kautsky, and the much less well-known David Ryazanov. Trotsky would not have objected to a detailed account of the origins of the theory with which he had become so intensely and personally identified.

In 1923 the factional attacks on Leon Trotsky, launched by the Politburo troika of Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin, developed rapidly into a campaign against the theory of permanent revolution. All of Trotsky’s alleged personal failings and political errors, his so-called “underestimation of the peasantry” and his inveterate “anti-Bolshevism” had their source, it was proclaimed over and over, in this pernicious doctrine. Between April and October 1917, the theory of permanent revolution provided the strategic foundation of the Bolshevik Party’s struggle against the bourgeois Provisional Government and its Menshevik allies. But only six years later, it was being denounced as a heretical deviation from Marxist principles. As he witnessed not only the distortion of his own ideas but also the falsification of the history of socialist theory, Trotsky wrote with evident exasperation: Read more>>>