"A brilliant and remarkable analysis and exposé of how Western society has succumbed corruptively to intimidation and appeasement and the demands of r

"Robert Spencer has written the definitive book on radical jihadists. It's a brilliant and remarkable analysis and exposé of how Western society has succumbed corruptively to intimidation and appeasement and the demands of radical Islam. This book is a MUST READ for anyone wanting to know the truth about radical Islam's threat to the West and to moderate Muslims." -- Steven Emerson, author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living among Us.

Robert Spencer is a great author. I personally have read many of his books. "The Truth About Muhammad" and "Religion of Peace?" are two of them. Both are well written and very informative.

Somali Al-Qaeda groups threatens Denmark over Motoons

"Sleep with thoughts of our sword, which is dripping with your blood"

Muslims "will never forget the ridicule of the best human beings in the world and of the last messenger." And some of them are still aching to kill for it.

Militant groups in Africa are threatening Denmark. According to the PET [Danish Security and Intelligence Service], Danish interests abroad are the most likely targets.
Denmark and Danes abroad are again being threatened with terrorism after the reprinting of the Muhammad caricatures.
This time, the warning comes not from Pakistan or Afghanistan, but from a Sunni Muslim group in Somalia that is known to have training camps and close ties to the Al-Qa'idah terrorist network. In a video posted to the Internet, a recruit from the Al-Shabab group vows revenge against "the dirty dogs in Denmark."
"May God break their hands for what they have done," the young man prays. He is masked by a PLO scarf and is posing behind an antitank missile. In broken English, he promises that Muslims "will never forget the ridicule of the best human beings in the world and of the last messenger."
"So sleep with thoughts of our sword, which is dripping with your blood," is the message from the windblown edge of a forest.
Focus on Embassies
After Danish newspapers reprinted the Muhammad caricatures in February, following the exposure of plans to murder cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, the Danish Embassy in Pakistan was hit by a suicide attack that killed eight people. At the same time, the Afghan Al-Qa'idah warned "this is only the beginning, God willing."
Against that background, security at Danish embassies abroad has been stepped up considerably, and the Foreign Ministry is preparing to spend 100 million kroner on better surveillance of embassies in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Over the last six months, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service has raised the threat level twice. In June, the PET wrote that a terrorist attack on Danish interests abroad could take place "without warning."...

Sharia creeps in Canada target magazine for article on honor killing

Remember Aqsa Parvez, victim of an honor killing in Canada?

Assault on Free Speech Update -- but sleep on, folks. We all know it can't happen here, and that the real problem is that someone might have put on her coat in a way that made someone else think she was making the Hitler salute. There ain't no possible way that "hate speech" codes could be enacted in the United States, what with the First Amendment, right? Right?
Just remember how narrowly the Second Amendment survived a serious Supreme Court challenge not very long ago.

A group called the Urban Alliance on Race Relations has created a Facebook page, urging people to phone [Toronto Life editor Sarah] Fulford and express their concerns about Mary Rogan’s cover feature on Aqsa Parvez, the 16-year-old who was murdered last year. After Parvez was strangled, her father Muhammad Parvez phoned 911 and told the dispatcher that he had killed his daughter. Muhammad and his son Waqas will be tried sometime next year.
The Facebook group, which currently has 127 members, offers five “talking points”, which callers are encouraged to bring up in phone conversations or messages to Fulford.
Heres's one of their "talking points":
The question, "Has multiculturalism gone too far?" suggests that Muslims and immigrants are threats to Canadian society, rather than contributing members to Canadian society. The idea that "our" tolerance or respect for cultural diversity has let "them" continue their oppressive and dangerous behaviours is not only based on racist and Islamophobic stereotyping of diverse Muslim and immigrant communities, but also ignores the ongoing racism that exists in Canada despite our public commitment to multiculturalism.
Actually, belligerents like this group are the reason Muslims are "perceived as a threat to Canadian society." It's hard to see what Muslims do "contribute" to Canadian society when their most visible representatives are bullies and parasites like Mohammed Al-Sharpton. [...]

Anyway, here we go again. This group is, typically, more upset about Islam being "insulted" and "misrepresented" by the violence perpetrated by its own members (and by a mere infidel's decision to publish an article about it) than by the actual death of a young girl....

Rocket attack on Israel not to escalate into full war

"Peace" is preserved, for now. After firing nine (failed) rockets, Palestinian source feels that "retaliation...deemed adequate."

Palestinian organizations announce they have decide[d] to return to original ceasefire agreement after firing nine rockets at Israel Friday; retaliation to IDF Gaza op deemed adequate, says sourceAli Waked
Following the Qassam fire that rained down on the south of Israel Friday, Hamas' security forces announced they would begin cracking down on the fire emerging from the Gaza Strip.
The organization's internal security agents began to mobilize Friday evening towards Sejaiya district in an attempt to halt the rocket fire. According to Hamas the agents even succeeded in blocking an Islamic Jihad vehicle driving a Qassam-launching cell. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket fire on Friday.
Despite the recent escalation of violence, sources from the Gaza Strip told Ynet that due to current talks among the Palestinian organizations and pressure applied by Egypt over the Qassam fire, the Gazan groups were leaning towards ceasing the fire over the next few hours and returning to the original truce agreement with Israel.
"The organizations are currently leaning towards continuing the ceasefire," a senior Gazan official told Ynet.
But the official noted that there was still some indecision within Hamas, regarding the question of whether the organization would continue to maintain the agreement with Israel.
The source said, however, that over the next few hours the fire would in all likeliness cease, as the organizations judged that they had adequately retaliated to the IDF operation in the central Gaza Strip earlier this week.
The operation exposed a tunnel that had been intended for the kidnapping of IDF soldiers. It resulted in the deaths of seven Palestinians. The army had postulated that the operation would lead to Qassam fire on the Negev, but allowed that the ceasefire would probably be preserved.

Muslim medic in UK: Muslim men "think they have God-given right to beat wives"

Gee, where could they have gotten that idea?

"Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them." -- Qur'an 4:34

Fatima Husain, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, has told how she sees Muslim women coming for treatment with strangle marks around their necks and bruises on their pregnant bumps.
She also claimed that problems develop because many followers of Islam are fearful of discussing sex, contraception and infertility.
Dr Husain, who works at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals in Berkshire, told the Muslim News that many women ask to be referred to her specialist clinics because she is a hijab-wearing Muslim, allowing her to discover the true scale of domestic violence in her religious community.
She said: "I've seen injuries on some of my patients that I wouldn't dream would happen to pregnant women.
"I've seen strangle marks, finger marks on their necks and bruises on their pregnant abdomens.
"Domestic violence is supposedly equally divided amongst the various groups but I get the impression it is more common in Muslims.
"Some Muslim men think they have a God-given right to be physically violent to their spouses. I see the result of all this when they are admitted as my patients."...

Dutch scrap blasphemy law

A controversial anti-blasphemy law is being scrapped by the Dutch government. The move is remarkable as two of the current three members of the ruling coalition are Christian parties and they had originally wanted to maintain the ban.
In scrapping the law the cabinet is meeting the demand of parliament where a majority of parties argued that offering religious groups an extra layer of legal protection is outdated.
As an alternative the cabinet is now seeking to strengthen anti-discrimination laws against groups whatever their background, thus taking the religious component out of the equation.
Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, says the law will now offer the same protection to all.
Freedom of speech/from discrimination
There has been much discussion about the balance between freedom of speech and the right not to be discriminated against in the past few years in the Netherlands, particularly around the role of Islam in society.
Populist politicians like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has now left the Dutch political scene, and Geert Wilders, have been constant critics of what they see as the negative influence of Islam on society. [...]
Threat of prosecution
The Dutch anti-blasphemy law was much talked about - against the backdrop of the continual criticism of Fitna and of its maker Geert Wilders - as a possible means of redress for those who felt offended. Stand-up comedians and cartoonists who sought to satirise extremist Islam have also found themselves being threatened with possible prosecution under the anti-blasphemy law in the past few years.
The discussion about the use of the law, which dates back to the 1930s, made a lot of people worried that the right to freedom of speech was being eroded and that the rights of the religious not to be offended was being given the upper hand....
It appears we were a little hasty in celebrating the demise of the Dutch blasphemy laws.
Danish journalist Flemming Rose has contacted MWW, relating the concerns of a Dutch colleague about this supposed repeal. All is not as it seems.
The intention is to introduce the concept of “indirect insult” and expand an existing law which protects people on the basis of race, age, disability, and sexual orientation to include protection on the basis of religion or “conviction”. This means that remarks directed at Islam, Christianity, Buddism or - depending on your interpretation of “conviction” - even homeopathy and astrology, could be interpreted as indirect insults to people, and prosecuted as such.
According to a commenter on the original story, this law carries a maximum sentence of 12 months, whereas the original defunct blasphemy law carried a maximum 3 month sentence.
Writes Rose:
This spring the Dutch minister of justice Hirsch Ballin wrote a note to parliament asking them to consider stiffening blasphemy laws. In the aftermath of the scandal surrounding the arrest of Gregorius Nekschot parliament refused to go along, and this proposal is the compromise that the government came up with.

Sharia! 13-year old rape victim stoned to death in Somalia

The United Nations said Tuesday that a Somali stoned to death by Islamist militants after she had been accused of adultery was a 13-year-old girl who had been raped while visiting her grandmother.In the first such public killing by the militants in about two years, she was placed in a hole and stoned to death on Oct. 28 in a rebel-held port city, Kismayu, in front of a crowd, after local leaders said she was guilty under Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Koran.“Reports indicate that she had been raped by three men while traveling on foot to visit her grandmother in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu,” Unicef, the United Nations children’s agency, said in a statement.“Following the assault, she sought protection from the authorities, who then accused her of adultery and sentenced her to death,” Unicef added. “A child was victimized twice — first by the perpetrators of the rape and then by those responsible for administering justice.”The human rights group Amnesty International has identified the girl as Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow and said she was killed by 50 men who stoned her in a stadium in Kismayu in front of about 1,000 spectators.When the family tried to report the rape to the Shabab militia that controls Kismayu, the girl was accused of adultery and was detained. None of the men she accused of rape have been arrested.
Thousands of people witnessed the grotesque execution of Aisha at a football stadium in the port town of Kismayo on Monday.The 13-year old was led in and forced into a hole in the ground. The hole was then filled so that only her head was showing. About 50 men then started to throw stones at her, according to Amnesty’s information.After a while, nurses were called to check whether Aisha was still alive. The thin body was then brought out of the hold and examined. When it was established that she was still alive, she was again placed in the hole so that the stone-throwers could continue.When some of the spectators tried to storm the stadium to save Aisha, the militia opened fire on the crowd, and a young boy was killed.A spokesman for the Shabab-militia expressed regret for the boy’s death and assured that the soldiers who had opened fire would be punished.However, it would seem that the men whom13-year old Aisha tried to report for rape have little to fear. None of them have been arrested.

Muslim kills woman, can't be deported?

Illegal immigrant who killed brilliant Oxford graduate after roaring through red light can't be deported... because of his human rights.

An illegal immigrant who killed a brilliant young writer by driving into her at 60mph cannot be deported because it would breach his human rights.
Ahsan Sabri, 28, was unlicensed and not properly insured when he roared through a red light and ploughed into Oxford University graduate Sophie Warne.
The 30-year-old died instantly from a broken neck. She had published five books, was writing her first novel and was about to announce her engagement.
But the High Court overturned an immigration tribunal decision that Sabri - who had overstayed his visa - should be sent home to Pakistan.
The judge ruled that deporting him would breach his right to 'respect for family life' as he had married a British woman in 2003 and had a daughter, born last May, with her.
Lord Justice Sir Martin Moore-Bick said that if he left Britain, Sabri's wife, Laura Gleeson, 25, a graphic designer, from Essex, and their baby would probably follow and that would 'interfere with their private and family life'.
He accepted Sabri's claim that his wife may have trouble finding a job in Pakistan and could suffer ' broadly based threats and difficulties' as a result of being a Christian.

Damian Green, Tory spokesman for immigration, said: 'This is yet another reminder that Gordon Brown's claim to have brought in automatic deportation for criminals was just spin.'
Sabri came to Britain on a student visa in 1998. As he held a Pakistani driving licence, he had 12 months' grace before needing to take a new test.
But after a year, Sabri simply obtained a provisional licence. In October 2003, he was fined £150 for driving without learner plates. Eight months later, he killed Miss Warne.
She was a gifted student who started studying history at Pembroke College, Oxford, when she was just 16.
She went on to write travel books, including the highly-rated Bradt guide to the west African country of Gabon.
In her spare time, she was a Red Cross volunteer, helping refugees.
In June 2004, Miss Warne was hit by Sabri on a pelican crossing in central London as she made her way home to Brixton, South London, from a party.

In July 2005, he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed for three years.
Last year, an Immigration Tribunal ruled that he should be deported but Sabri, funded by legal aid, appealed.
Miss Warne's parents Peter and Louise Warne, both retired company directors, were unaware of his battle to stay in Britain until told by the Daily Mail. They declined to comment.
The Home Office is understood to be deciding whether to continue the fight to deport Sabri, who lives in Grays, Essex, or to admit defeat.

Taliban calls on Obama to withdraw troops, thereby ushering in a new "era of peace"

"Peace" Taliban style: that is, stoning for adulterers, amputation for thieves, execution of homosexuals and apostates, closing of girls' schools -- the works. Of course, since Sharia is the highest law of the land according to the Afghan Constitution currently in effect, the present regime is not too far from this already, and is Taliban Lite at best.

The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday called upon U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and usher in an "era of peace" in the world.
"We want him (Obama) to change the policies of President (George W.) Bush. He could end the years-long war by withdrawing U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan, " Qari Mohammad Yusuf Ahmadi, spokesman for the Taliban, told the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic press....
"Even if a soldier is tied to every stone in Afghanistan, the West would not be able to (bring into ) being a government of its choice in Afghanistan," an earlier report by the Taliban spokesman as U.S. election results were still coming in said....

Back to business for Hamas: Barrage of rockets hit southern Israel

You have to love these assholes. They are the ones building tunnels to bring in arms and to kidnap Israelis and they complain about being attacked?

Kassam attacks from Gaza continued on Wednesday afternoon with a rocket landing between Sderot and the Sha'ar Hanegev region. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.
In total, some 40 Kassam rockets and mortar shells were fired since the IDF's counter-terror tunnel operation overnight Tuesday.
In what was the worst outbreak of violence since a shaky cease-fire took effect in June, two of the rockets hit Ashkelon, one landing near a school and sending six people into shock.
Seven IDF soldiers were wounded and six gunmen were reported killed in clashes, which erupted when IDF special forces entered Gaza in order to blow up a tunnel dug by Hamas terrorists for the purpose of kidnapping IDF soldiers....
Taher Nunu, a Hamas spokesman, said the group considered the air strikes a violation of the truce.
"This is a serious breach of the truce understandings reached through Egyptian mediation," he said in an e-mail message to reporters. "We consider this the most serious in a string of breaches."
Since the cease-fire went into effect in June, Hamas has dug an unknown number of tunnels to facilitate future attacks on Israel and to smuggle large quantities of weapons from Sinai. The tunnels are seen as central to Hamas's terrorist infrastructure in the Strip.

Muslim Brotherhood ♥s Obama: "We consider this an apology from the American people"

Amman- The Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, on Wednesday expressed guarded optimism over the election of Barak Obama as the next US president and said they considered his win an "apology" from the American people to the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. "We welcome Obama's election and believe that his win represents a clear message inside as well as outside America," IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Ershaid told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"Obama's victory is also tantamount to an apology from the American people for the crimes committed by the outgoing Republican administration in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere," he added.
Bani Ershaid said that his party, the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, was "cautiously optimistic" over the change promised by Obama and believed that the "starting- point for this change should find expression in a correction of the US foreign policy on Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan."
"A real change in the US policies cannot materialize without rectifying the erroneous attitude considering Israel an ally, withdrawing troops from Iraq," he said.

Baptist church posts sign: "God loves you, Allah hates"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) -- A Baptist church in Florida is once again creating tension with its Muslim neighbors over a marquee message.
A sign posted outside First Conservative Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., reads, "God loves you, Allah hates."
A local television station interviewed a Muslim woman who said she took offense. "What have I done?" asked the woman, who is not identified. "What have I done to deserve that kind of hatred in my neighborhood?"[...]
It isn't the first time the independent Baptist church has grabbed attention with its marquee, which is updated regularly to confront passersby with messages about doctrinal, social or world-religion issues.
"We find it an integral part of communicating the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ," Pastor Gene Youngblood says on a website, Truthsthatfree.com.
In 2005 the church made news by posting a sign that read "Islam is evil and believes in murder, Surah 9-29" contrasted with, "Jesus teaches peace, Matt. 5-9."
In 2003 local Muslims were upset when the church sign read "Jesus forbade murder Matthew 26-52 Muhammad approved murder Surah 8-65."
Youngblood says on his website that he loves Muslims and would like to see many of them accept Christ, but the sign's purpose is to warn people of "false teachers" and "untruth from theologically unsound doctrine."
Since displaying the sign, he said, the church has received threats and vandalism but added, "We stand firmly on our First Amendment right: The freedom of speech is fundamental to American liberty."...

How To Go Potty the Islamic Way

The koran even tells you how to take a shit!!!

Say before entering the toilet: In the name of Allah, O Allah! I seek refuge with You from all offensive and wicked things (Al-Bukhaaree)
One should enter the toilet with the left foot and leave with the right foot.
It is not permissible to enter the toilet whilst carrying or wearing anything bearing the name of Allah, such as the Quran, or any book with the name of Allah in it, or jewelry such as bracelets or necklaces engraved with the name of Allah.
One should remain silent whilst on the toilet. Talking, answering greetings or greeting others is forbidden.[2]
One should not face nor turn your back on Al-Qiblah whilst relieving yourself.
One should be out of sight of people when going to the toilet[citation needed]
It is considered forbidden to relieve oneself whilst standing up, lying down or if you are completely nude.[citation needed]
One should avoid going to the toilet anywhere where people may take rest or gather for any purpose.[citation needed]
Do not raise clothes until you get close to the ground and do not uncover the body any more than is needed.

Defecation in squatting position:
One should sit on the feet (e.g. squat) keeping thighs wide apart with the stress on the left foot.
Do not look to the private parts of the body nor the waste matter passed from the body.
Do not sit more than needed.
Do not spit, blow nose, look hither and thither, touch the body unnecessarily nor look towards the sky but relieve oneself with the eyes downcast in modesty.[citation needed]
After relieving oneself it is essential to perform Istinjaa (washing with water) of the anus and/or genitals with the left hand and water.
Other than toilet paper, water and the left hand Istinjaa can be performed with earth, grit, stones and worn-out cloths provided they are all clean. It is forbidden to perform Istinyaa with bone, any edible item, dry dung, baked brick, potsherd, coal, fodder, writing paper and anything which has even a small value.
After this process the hands should also be washed.
When leaving the toilet one should also say a prayer, "Praise be to Allah who relieved me of the filth and gave me relief.

Islam Question and Answer

Is the marriage valid if the woman says to her fiancée “I give myself to you in marriage” in the presence of her wali?

A woman does not have the right to do the marriage contract for herself, according to the majority of scholars, whether her wali (guardian) gives her permission or not. The wali should do the marriage contract himself or delegate another man to do the marriage contract on his behalf, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no marriage except with a wali (guardian).” Narrated by Abu Dawood (2085) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (1839).
Ibn Majaah narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman can give a woman in marriage and no woman can give herself in marriage.” Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in Buloogh al-Maraam: the men (of its isnaad) are thiqaat (trustworthy).
This indicates that a woman cannot act as a wali in the case of marriage, whether for herself or for someone else. So she cannot give herself in marriage with the permission of her guardian or anyone else, and she cannot give someone else in marriage as a guardian or deputy. This is the view of the majority. End quote.
It says in Mughni al-Muhtaaj, which is a Shaafa’i book (4/239): A woman cannot give herself in marriage, i.e., she cannot do that in any circumstances, whether it is with permission or otherwise, whether she issues the proposal or accepts the proposal, because it is not appropriate for her to get involved with that, due to what is expected of her of shyness and modesty and because there is no reference to it in the sources.
And Ibn Majaah narrated: “No woman can give another woman in marriage or give herself in marriage.” It was also narrated by al-Daaraqutni with an isnaad that meets the conditions of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim). End quote.
Based on this, if the marriage contract was done in the manner asked about, then it is not valid and it must be repeated with the guardian himself or his deputy.
And Allaah knows best.

Children Married in Pakistan

A 7-year-old groom and his 4-year-old bride pose forwedding pictures in this police mug shot from Pakistan.

That poor little boy. Look at that hideous girl child. Her mother should be slapped for bearing that piece of work. Mother and father must have the ugly genes. Now that I go this off my chest. In the cult of islam marriage is just a contract. The participants have no need to be present, nor consent. What amazes me about child marriages in the muslim world, is how many girls are married off to pay gambling debts. Gambling is illegal in the muslim world. So all of these pius muslims sell their women into marriage. Can you say slavery?

“I am so disappointed to see the courtroom is filled with supporters of the terrorists’ rights, but no one is here to support the victims”

Gary Swenchonis Sr. is the father of Gary Swenchonis, Jr. who was one of 17 sailors murdered in the terror attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Swenchonis Sr. is at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, attending the trial of Ali Hamza Bahlul. The al-Qaeda operative was convicted today on multiple counts on charges of conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and providing material to support terrorism.
In a statement, Gary said, “I am so disappointed to see the courtroom is filled with supporters of the terrorists’ rights, but no one is here to support the victims ”
“Representatives from Amnesty International and several other human rights groups are here attending the trial in a show of solidarity with Bahlul. But the dead sailors have no one on their side besides the prosecution. These are American sailors who died in a sneak terror attack, and they have no one here demanding justice. Its just not right.”
Bahlul is the self proclaimed media chief of al-Qaeda and made a powerful recruiting video featuring the bombing of the USS Cole. Bahlul also scripted the video wills of two 9/11 highjackers before they lauched their mass murder plot. Prior to sentencing Gary gave a victims impact statement on the loss of his son in the bombing.
Gary is a vocal advocate of re-opening the USS Cole investigation and believes the Yemeni government’s level of complicity in the attack was never fully explored.

SaudisHold First Beauty Pageant for Sheep

You have to admit that the muslim world provides constant entertainment for us Westerners with their idiotic behavior.

BANBAN, Saudi Arabia — The contestants scampered down the runway, bleating at their admirers. Poets sang their praises in verse as the male-only audience appraised the competitors' physical beauty, right down to the length of their necks.
But instead of receiving roses and a tiara, it was off to the highest bidder for many finalists in the first Saudi beauty pageant featuring locally bred sheep.
The contest, a far cry from female beauty pageants held in some Arab countries like Lebanon, offered an opportunity for breeders to do business and a rare outlet for entertainment in a country where the few recreational activities that exist are conducted under the strict glare of the religious police.
The goal of Thursday's competition was to encourage Saudis to breed for quality. Some of those who attended the event said Saudi sheep — known as Nejdi sheep — have markedly improved over the past decade because of the attention given to breeding them.
"The Nejdi sheep of today are much more beautiful than those of 10 years ago," said Salem al-Ghannami, a 37-year-old Emirati at the event.
In the past few years, beauty pageants involving camels and goats — which, together with sheep, symbolize Bedouin lifestyle — have been held across the kingdom. But senior members of the royal family have reportedly been upset because the contests turned into rancorous competitions between tribes over who has the most beautiful breed. To avoid such conflicts the sheep pageant did not list the tribes who owned the animals.
On Thursday evening, some 4,000 men assembled on a lit-up stretch of desert just north of Riyadh covered with hundreds of carpets. The event was off-limits to women in keeping with strict Saudi rules that ban the sexes from mixing in public.
The men sat in armchairs around a tiny runway covered with red carpeting. The stench of dung filled the cool desert air as rams and ewes were put on display following a fireworks show and a competition for the best poem in praise of sheep.
The event's organizer, Faisal al-Saadoun, said connoisseurs have an eye for attractive sheep.
"Just like humans, sheep shouldn't have fat in unwanted places," said al-Saadoun. "They should also be tall."

Missile Defense Agency chief: Iran will soon be able to strike US, Europe with missiles

But if we just sit down with them and talk it out, I'm sure they will forthwith beat these missiles into plowshares. "US defense official: Iran will soon have ability to attack Europe, US," from the Jerusalem Post, November 1 (thanks to Eleutheria ´H Thanatos):
The head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said Friday that Iran was not far from attaining the means of using missiles against all of Europe and against the US in five to six years, Israel Radio reported.
Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III was speaking in Prague in an effort to convince the Czech Parliament to approve a US missile defense installation in the country's territory.

Pakistan: Police halt child wedding officiated by Muslim cleric

Police have halted a wedding between a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl in Pakistan, arresting the Muslim cleric officiating at the ceremony and the children's parents.
A police raid prevented the cleric from going ahead with the ceremony in Karachi, which was attended by 100 guests, said the deputy superintendent of police, Malik Mazhar.
Pakistani law forbids marriage below the age of 18, but some Muslim scholars deem it permissible if the bride and groom have reached puberty....

Amnesty International: "Woman" stoned to death in Somalia was 13-year-old rape victim

The jihadists insisted in earlier coverage that she had "submitted herself to be punished," in spite of the fact that she was carried, screaming and struggling, to her death. Perhaps she unwittingly "submitted" merely by alleging rape without the support of four witnesses, thus sealing her fate under sharia. "Amnesty: Rape girl, 13, killed for adultery," from the Associated Press, November 1:

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said.
Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.
Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance.
Calls to Somali government officials and the local administration in Kismayo rang unanswered Saturday.
"This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement Friday.
Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.
A quarter of Somali children die before age 5; nearly every public institution has collapsed. Fighting is a daily occurrence, with violent deaths reported nearly every day....