World News(Stuff to Discuss) Free For All

[Striker]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

hahaha I'm right behind you... in 3 years.

[maxbailey]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

I believe that this is a very tricky situation developing here. We seem to have a strange case of 'fucked if we do, fucked if we don't'. While i'm sure that most practicing Muslims are of the peaceful persuasion there are always some who are fucking mental and want the whole world to kowtow to their beliefs (sorry Muhammad, ain't gonna happen).

Now, if they are allowed to build their minarets are they going to start believing they can go on and on until Switzerland is fully Islamified? But, on the other hand, if they are denied the right to build them are they going to go all jihad on them because they deem themselves to be discriminated against?

This is what pisses me off. If Pobs and I decided to go over to Iraqistan and build a Christian Church (not that i'm religious in any way, shape or form) we would probably get our heads kicked in at the very least. Yet, if they are refused permission to build a Mosque in a Christian country it's the end of the fucking world and we're all going to pay heavily for it. You can't have it both ways.

I'm a pretty easy going guy and religion generally doesn't bother me, but I don't force my beliefs down your throat, so why should I sit back and let you ram your beliefs down mine. And what's the deal with with the 72 teenage virgins for martyrs? I'd rather have someone who knows what the fuck they're doing.

Scores of albinos in hiding after attacks

(CNN) -- As many as 10,000 albinos are in hiding in east Africa over fears that they will be dismembered and their body parts sold to witchdoctors, the Red Cross said in a recent report.

The killings of albinos in Burundi and Tanzania, who are targeted because their body parts are believed to have special powers, have sparked fears among the population in the two countries, the report said.

Body parts of albinos are sought in some regions of Africa because they are believed to bring wealth and good luck. Attackers chop off limbs and pluck out organs to sell to dealers, who in turn sell them to witchdoctors.

Scores of albinos have fled to Tanzanian schools for the disabled or in emergency shelters set up by police in Burundi to avoid attacks, according to the report.

"Thousands more albinos across a huge swathe of countryside ... are unable to move freely to trade, study or cultivate fields for fear of albino hunters," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Tanzanian government officials have said they are mobilizing police to help the embattled population, but admit it is hard to quell the attacks.

Most happen in rural areas, where there is not enough police presence, according to Lucca Haule, assistant commissioner of police.

"We don't have the resources in those places ... it is not easy, but we are trying to map out locations where albinos live so that we can better protect them," he told CNN earlier this month.

In early November, a court sentenced four people to death in northern Tanzania for killing an albino man and selling his body parts. So far, seven people have been sentenced to death for the killing of more than 50 Tanzanian albinos, including children, in the past two years, Haule said. Dozens more are awaiting trial.

Albinism is a genetic condition that leads to little or no pigment in the eyes, skin and hair.

African albinos are discriminated against and face segregation most of their lives. They also battle a high risk of skin cancer.

The aid agency said it is helping albinos find indoor employment by teaching them skin care tips, including using protective hats and long-sleeved shirts.

"Even before the killings began two years ago, albino people in tropical Africa suffered an array of afflictions that made physical survival a desperate struggle," said Salif Keita, a Malian albino singer and human rights activist.

The Red Cross societies in both countries said they need support to respond to the humanitarian crisis.

Since 2007, at least 44 Tanzanian albinos have been killed and 14 in Burundi. Some organizations have put the number at more than 50 in Tanzania.

[maxbailey]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

Maybe they've been watching Powder...

[maxbailey]

Pakistan must help break al-Qaeda, says Brown

Gordon Brown has told the BBC that Pakistan must do more to "break" al-Qaeda and find Osama Bin Laden.

Questions must be asked about why nobody had been able "to spot or detain or get close to" the al-Qaeda leader, the prime minister said.

He said he wanted to see "more progress in taking out" Bin Laden and his second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri.

Meanwhile, a Senate report claims US forces had Bin Laden "within their grasp" in Afghanistan in late 2001.

BBC World Affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge said this was not a new claim.

However, he said, staff working for the Democratic majority on the Foreign Relations Committee now claimed to have evidence that in December 2001 US military power was kept on the sidelines while Bin Laden escaped "unmolested" into Pakistan's unregulated tribal areas.

Air strikes

The report comes days before US President Barack Obama is due to announce additional US troops for Afghanistan - Mr Brown is to announce whether conditions have been met to send an extra 500 British troops.

Speaking in a BBC interview, the prime minister said that if so much effort was going into building up security in Afghanistan, Pakistan had "to be able to show that it can take on al-Qaeda".

The prime minister said Pakistan had made progress against the Taliban in south Waziristan.

But he told the BBC: "We've got to ask ourselves why, eight years after September the 11th, nobody has been able to spot or detain or get close to Osama bin Laden, nobody's been able to get close to Zawahiri, the number two in al-Qaeda.

"And we've got to ask the Pakistan authorities, security services, army and politicians to join us in the major effort that the world is committing resources to, and that is not only to isolate al-Qaeda, but to break them in Pakistan."

Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, will meet Mr Brown at Downing Street on Thursday. Mr Brown informed Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari by telephone that he intended to speak out about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

The prime minister said: "I believe that after eight years, we should have been able to do more, with all the Pakistani forces working together with the rest of the world, to get to the bottom of where al-Qaeda is operating from."

'Political surge'

Progress had been made he said, but Pakistan had to make sure that "in South Waziristan we are taking on al-Qaeda directly".

"We want, after eight years, to see more progress in taking out these two people at the top of al Qaeda, who have done so much damage and are clearly the brains behind many of the operations that have hit Britain," said Mr Brown.

In a separate interview with Sky News, he said Britain was prepared to help "rebuild the education system in Pakistan" where, he said, propaganda in madrassas - Islamic schools or colleges - and ordinary schools was "supportive of extremist action".

He said other issues concerning education and unemployment made up a climate which "feeds dissent" and the Pakistani authorities had to deal with these.

On Saturday the prime minister said Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai would be expected to make commitments on training up Afghan troops and tackling corruption, at a conference in London in January.

Meanwhile, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said it was "vital ... to match this military surge with a political surge" - and that was the thinking behind the London conference.

He played down reports that British troops could be home by Christmas 2010: "The speed at which British troops can come home, is dictated by the speed at which Afghan forces can step up."

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I think the right attitude is not to have an end date, but an end state, in mind - we want Afghan forces to be able to protect their own country."

If Afghan forces were increased from 90,000 to 134,000 - as they hope to achieve in the next year - that would be a "significant step on the road to Afghanistan being able to provide its own security for its own people," he went on.

[Pobs]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

That is so true and I agree 100%. I am also not religious, but Max is totally right. If we were to try and build Christian Churchs in "Muslim" countries, the LEAST we would receive would be a good kicking, and much more likely we would be convicted and murdered in the name of Islam.

They want to have it all their own way in their own countries, and they want rights in ours....... fuck off!!!!

4 police officers shot dead in coffee shop

Lakewood, Washington (CNN) -- Four Lakewood police officers were fatally shot Sunday in what police said was an ambush in a coffee shop.

The officers were sitting in the coffee shop before the start of their shifts, reading on their computers, when the shooting occurred, Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer said. Authorities believe the officers were meeting and going over cases or doing paperwork, he said.

A gunman came inside and shot all four officers, Troyer said. Two coffee shop employees and other customers inside the shop were unharmed, said Troyer, who said the shooting "was a targeted, selected ambush."

"As you can imagine, they are traumatized," he said of those inside the coffee shop. "Some are in shock."

Families of the officers have been notified, Troyer said. All of the officers -- three males and a female -- were in uniform, wearing vests and had marked patrol cars parked outside, he said.

A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest, Troyer said.

Police are looking for one man in connection with the attack, which happened at about 8 a.m., Troyer said. The suspect is described as an African-American man, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a black coat and blue jeans, with a "scruffy" appearance, he said. The man is believed to have fled the coffee shop on foot, he said.

Authorities are not ruling out the possibility that a second person was involved in the attack, Troyer said.


"We're doing everything we can," Troyer said. Authorities were conducting searches in numerous locations, he said, and dogs had been brought in to attempt to track the suspect.

A couple of blocks surrounding the coffee shop were cordoned off. Several other police agencies were on scene to assist.

There were no known threats against police before the incident, Troyer said.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, in a statement, said she was "shocked and horrified" at the shootings.

"I offer whatever support is needed to the Pierce County Sheriff in their search for the perpetrator," Gregoire said.

Lakewood is about 40 miles south of Seattle and 10 miles southwest of Tacoma.


Bystanders gathered outside the Forza Coffee Company, some of them in tears as they spoke to CNN affiliate KING.

The coffee shop is on the edge of McChord Air Force Base. Spokesman Bud McKay said the base was not shut down, but security was ramped up around the perimeter as a precaution.

The military has offered assistance to police, he said, but it has not been requested.

[Fever]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

Mike Huckabee Granted Clemency To Maurice Clemmons, Man Wanted For Questioning In Parkland Ambush That Killed 4 Cops

PARKLAND, Wash. (AP)? A convicted felon granted clemency nine years ago by former Arkansas Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, is wanted for questioning in the shooting deaths of four police officers in Washington state.
Maurice Clemmons, the man wanted for questioning, has been convicted of five felonies in Arkansas and has been charged with eight felonies in Washington state.
The Seattle Times spoke to the prosecuting attorney in Arkansas who opposed Huckabee's clemency for Clemmons:
"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said Sunday night when informed that Clemmons was being sought in connection to the killings...
Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child.

[maxbailey]

Seattle police killer suspect 'shot and possibly dead'

Police in Seattle say they have shot and possibly killed a man suspected of shooting dead four officers in a cafe in Washington State.

The Seattle home of Maurice Clemmons had been surrounded by police hunting the suspected killer.

Acting on a tip-off, they sealed off part of the Leschi area of the city, while armed Swat team members ringed the property.

Mr Clemmons, 37, has not been named as a formal suspect.

Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff, confirmed that Mr Clemmons had been shot by police.

"He may be deceased from his gunshot wound," Mr Troyer told the Associated Press news agency.

News of the siege broke in the early hours of Monday, local time. Washington State is eight hours behind GMT.

Police used a loud-hailer to call on Mr Clemmons to come out of the house but there was initially no confirmation that he was inside.

Jeff Kappel of the Seattle Police Department told local people to stay in their homes with the doors locked.

"Just allow us to get this subject identified and verify his identity and go from there," he said.

Just before the police began shooting, they shone lights on the house and called out to Mr Clemmons by name.

"Mr Clemmons, I'd like to get you out of there safely," a negotiator said through a loud-hailer.

"I can tell you this, we are not going away."

According to an Associated Press photographer, no response was audible from inside the house.

'Deliberate'

Shortly afterwards, police began using sirens outside the house and several loud bangs rang out before the negotiator resumed speaking.

"This is one of the toughest decisions you'll make in your life but you need to man up," the negotiator said.

Minutes later, more bangs were followed by the sound of breaking glass and then a louder explosion.

Later still, gunshots rang out in the darkness. AP reports that the gunfire was deliberate and widely spaced, appearing to be aimed at the house by surrounding police.

A helicopter was circling above the area.

Police then confirmed that Mr Clemmons had been shot.

The four police officers - Sgt Mark Renninger and officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards - were shot dead in a single attack at a coffee shop in Parkland, 40 miles (65km) south of Seattle on Sunday morning.

The officers had been working on their laptops in the coffee shop when at least one gunman entered.

Mr Troyer said police would be "surprised if there is a motive worth mentioning", behind the attack, but that the gunman had been "well versed" with the weapon.

"This wasn't something where the windows were shot up and there were bullets sprayed around the place. The bullets hit their targets," he said.

Other people in the cafe at the time were not injured.

Melanie Burwell, the sister-in-law of Mr Richards, 42, said he "didn't have a mean bone in his body".

"If there were more people in the world like Greg, things like this wouldn't happen," she told reporters.

[troup]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

Iraq isn't the only Muslim country in the world, and it is a warzone - so yeah I imagine they would be a little pissed if after being invaded everyone was building churches left, right and centre.

There are lots of churches in places like Turkey, obviously there are more mosques but that goes without saying. Perhaps muslims have a fucked if we do, fucked if we dont attitude - go about practicing your religion while most of the world hates you because of a few (or a relative few) psychos, or drop the religion and be ostracised by your family and peers.

I have to say, I would much rather be where I am than where they are, Islam isn't a far stretch from other religions, and every religion has a tonne of crazy, ridiculous holes in it.

We are driven to believe that they are hostile savages as it makes it a lot easier to deal with our rich, comfortable all-too-easy lifestyles while they are all trying to live in the middle of a complete shit-storm. I would be interested to hear about anyone trying to start up a church in any of the 'extremist' countries in conflict just now and see what has happened.

Fucking hell I do drone on