Officers stripped of stop and search terror powers over fears of angering Muslims

Scotland Yard is scaling down its use of controversial powers which allow officers to stop and search people without reasonable grounds for suspicion.

Stung by criticism that the practice has alienated ethnic minorities, the Metropolitan Police is changing its policy on when Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 can be employed.

In future its use will be restricted to policing 'iconic' or strategically important sites, such as Buckingham Palace and Parliament, and to specific operations.

In other cases officers will be told to use Section 43 of the Act, which requires them to have reasonable suspicion that the person they are stopping is a terrorist.

The Met increased its use of the Section 44 powers following the car bomb attacks on a nightclub in Haymarket, Central London, and Glasgow Airport in June 2007.

Since October of that year the force has carried out 154,293 stop and searches.

But Government figures released last week showed that black and Asian people were targeted disproportionately.

Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who took over as the force's anti-terror chief last month, highlighted the concerns in a recent report to the Met Police Authority.

He wrote: 'The power is seen as controversial and has the potential to have a negative impact, particularly on minority communities.'

Racial profiling is bad why? It is asian and black muslims that are committing acts of terrorism. Why not stop and search these people?

Taliban fighters use civilians as 'human shields' as battle for Pakistan tears Swat Valley apart

Taliban fighters are reportedly using terrified civilians as human shields today as fierce fighting tore through Pakistan's north-west frontier.

Militants blocked roads with rocks and trees as the the army stepped up a ferocious ground and air assault.

The military had relaxed a blanket curfew in the area, which should have allowed many thousands to escape the Swat Valley, the frontline in a bloody conflict between extremists and the government.

But witnesses said civilians were forced to dodge blockades as well as bullets as the Taliban resorted to increasingly desperate tactics.

Ayaz Khan, 39, from the Kanju area of Swat, said he had attempted to flee with his family by car but found that the road was blocked by rocks, boulders and tree trunks.He was forced to turn back. 'I am helpless, frustrated and worried for my family,' he said in a phone call.

On the streets of Mingora, Swat's capital, witnesses reported seeing heavily armed Taliban fighters roaming the streets as residents cowered in their homes.

One health worker said she had been warned to stay inside by militants.

'During the whole of last night, I heard firing, and again this morning,' said the woman, who would only give her first name, Maryam.

'I don't know when some weapon will hit our home and kill us.'

Wow, muslims using their own people as human shields? Noooo, say it ain't so. No one at the UN is going to say anything about this because it is muslims killing other muslims. Unlike with hamas and hezbullah being killed by Israel.

British Muslims have more faith in UK than Britons, study finds

British Muslims identify with Britain far more than the general public and have more confidence in the country’s institutions, according to research published today.

The results of the survey, which showed that 77 per cent of British Muslims were loyal to Britain compared with 36 per cent of the general public, challenge a perception that the community is less patriotic than the country at large. It also recorded that the community had more confidence in British courts, elections, financial bodies and the media than the general public. The survey showed that more than eight out of ten thought that their fellow British Muslims were loyal to the country, but only 36 per cent of the general public did.

The report, by Gallup and the Coexist Foundation , a charity dedicated to promoting understanding between Jews, Christians and Muslims, re- ported that confidence in the military was the only area where British Muslims scored less than the general public. The authors said:

“Since 9/11 and the terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, mistrust towards European Muslims has become palpable. Significant segments of European societies openly express doubt that Muslim fellow nationals are loyal citizens.

“The general construct of this premise rests on an oversimplified and erroneous understanding of Islam and terrorism.”

There is no oversimplified or erroneous understanding of islam and terrorism. The death cult of Old Mo and his pagan god allah has been at war with non-muslims since it was made up by Old Mo. All muslims believe that the world should submit to allah. I think not.

Gates: Send Yemenis through the Saudi rehab program

Jake Tapper reports that the Obama administration continues to flail on its stated policy of closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Defense Secretary Robert Gates tried offering a solution to the most intractable problem, figuring out what to do with 97 Yemenis who represent the worst of the worst in terrorism. His solution, though, won’t instill much confidence:

This morning in Riyadh, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he spoke to Saudi Assistant Minister of the Interior Muhammed bin Nayaf about sending the roughly 100 Yemeni detainees currently in the detainee center at Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia to the Saudi government’s rehabilitation program for jihadis.

Gates said he spoke to Nayaf last night about “our positive impression of the repatriation program, the rehabilitation, repatriation program in Saudi Arabia. I think they’ve probably done as good if not better job of that than almost anybody and explored the possibility of some of the Yemeni detainees coming through that system. I think the notion would be if it worked at all it would be those with strong Saudi family connections or strong connections to Saudi Arabia.”

It’s like deprogramming, conducted by Wahhabists. What could go wrong? Er, this:

Earlier this year the Saudi government published a list of 85 wanted terrorism suspects. Eleven of them had been prisoners at Guantanamo put through the Saudi rehabilitation program.
Said Ali al-Shihri, transferred to Saudi Arabia from Guantanamo during the Bush administration in 2007, currently deputy leader of al Qaeda’s Yemen branch.

The Bush administration also released Gitmo detainee Ghulam Rasoul into the Saudi rehabilitation program. Now known as Mullah Abdullah Zakir, he’s a leader against U.S. forces in southern Afghanistan, according to military and intelligence officials.

Since Obama wants to destroy this country from within and without, this is just about right. Remember the last time this was tried?