Has al-Jazeera changed its style? A row over female presenters’ clothing indicates that the channel may be getting mired in ideological conflict Nesrine Malik guardian.co.uk Al-Jazeera’s Arabic channel takes pride of place among Middle East’s satellite news outlets. It was the first of its kind, broadcasting – ostensibly with an unprecedented level of editorial independence – to a pan-Arab audience. It broke taboos and shocked audiences by hosting guests on debate shows who attacked the hitherto unassailable: the Saudi royal family, the Palestinian Authority and the Muslim clergy. In 2006, the channel even helped launch the infamous Wafa Sultan’s career … Continue reading al-Jazeera – is it dying?

How I secretly filmed the For Neda documentary The Iranian regime is trying to neutralise the impact of protest victim Neda Agha-Soltan’s death. The real story has to be told Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk For Neda, Mentorn Media for HBO Last November I went to Iran to film the family of Neda Agha-Soltan in secret for a documentary, which is now circulating virally in Iran even before its public release on 14 June. Neda was killed in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election in Iran last June and a video of her death was circulated around the world in … Continue reading Neda Agha-Soltans martyrdom and the role of Saeed Kamali Dehghan

Quickly and with overwhelming force … or not at all. BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JUNE 2, 2010 The Israeli military has admitted that failures of both planning and execution led to the botched raid on a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists last weekend, which left nine dead and has erupted into an international scandal. With two more activist ships on the way, a top Israeli Navy commander has promised to use more aggressive force next time and prepare “as if it was a war.” So what’s the right way to seize a ship? COMMENTS (39) <!–RSS FEED–> SHARE: Twitter Reddit … Continue reading What’s the Right Way to Board a Hostile Ship?

Bruce B. Lawrence: The Polite Islamophobia of the Intellectual loonwatch.com Worn Proudly by Some Just yesterday there was an excellent book review in ReligionDispatches by Bruce B. Lawrence, a Humanities professor and director of the Islamic studies program at Duke University. In it he reviews two books, one is Paul Berman’s, Flight of the Intellectual and the other is Andrew Shyrocks, Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend. His review is thoughtful, insightful and a must read for those truly interested in the topic of contemporary Islam and Muslims. It obliterates the shallow discourse that many pseudo-Intellectuals and their … Continue reading The Polite Islamophobia of the Intellectual

Religious Extremism and Islamophobia in the Military a Major Concern loonwatch.com The Bible in one hand and a gun in the other The Quran in one hand and a gun in the other The most common manifestation of Islamophobia is to call a person a “terrorist” simple because he/she is Muslim.  Currently, a U.S. soldier is being investigated for posting a video on his Facebook page in which he taunted Iraqi children calling them “gay terrorists” and used racial slurs against them.  ABC News reports: Spc. Robert A. Rodgriquez posted the video, titled “future gay terrorists!,” earlier this month. It … Continue reading Extremism and Islamophobia in the US Military

loonwatch.com Hey Loonwatchers, there are Spencer’s out there who aren’t loons when it comes to Islam! Spencer Dew reviews Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s most recent book and sheds some much need light on her agenda driven Islamophobia. A real eye opening review. An Atheist’s Idealized Christianity: The Dangerous Theological Fantasies of Ayaan Hirsi Ali By Spencer Dew Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born former Dutch politician based now at the American Enterprise Institute, draws on her own harrowing childhood and journey from Islam to atheism (or, as she calls it in the subtitle of her most recent book, Nomad: From Islam to … Continue reading Spencer Dew: An Atheist’s Idealized Christianity

Those irrational, misled, conspiratorial Muslims loonwatch.com by Glenn Greenwald (updated below – Update II) The New York Times this morning has a particularly lush installment of one of the American media’s most favored, reliable, and self-affirming rituals — it’s time to mock and pity Those Crazy, Primitive, Irrational, Propagandized Muslims and their Wild Conspiracy Theories, which their reckless media and extremists maliciously disseminate in order to generate unfair and unfounded hostility toward the U.S.: Conspiracy theory is a national sport in Pakistan, where the main players — the United States, India and Israel — change positions depending on the ebb and flow … Continue reading Those irrational, misled, conspiratorial Muslims!

Mother fined £60 after stopping for one minute to read parking sign A mother was fined £60 after stopping her car for one minute to read a parking sign. telegraph uk The Transport for London website states that fines are normally issued after a five minute ‘observation period’ in a loading bay Photo: PA Claire Hallam, 45, pulled into the parking bay in Lewisham, south London, so that she could look at a sign telling her when she was allowed to park in the area. But as soon as she got out to read the sign – which has a … Continue reading Bastards of the week – Transport for London!