Religion of Perpetual Violence

While all the big minds of the West were in a state over some guy burning a Koran the usual suspects were looking for more excuses to continue doing what they have been doing for years; persecuting Christians.

Extremist arrested over Indonesia church attack

JAKARTA: Indonesian police detained an Islamic extremist leader on Wednesday over an armed assault on Christian elders which shocked moderates and raised fears for pluralism in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Police said well-known Islamic radical Murhali Barda could face up to 12 years in prison for inciting violence and assault, after a group of men stabbed a Christian elder and bashed a priest on Sunday.

The elder was hospitalised with abdominal injuries and the priest, Luspida Simandjuntak, received minor head wounds when she was beaten with a piece of wood as she tried to help her friend.

The attack came as Simandjuntak was about to hold a service in Bekasi outside Jakarta, where a Protestant church group has faced months of violence and hostility from Muslim vigilantes.


Barda is the Bekasi area chief of a violent vigilante group called the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which is known for its cosy relations with government officials and its armed attacks on moderates and minorities.

"The FPI's chief is accused of inciting people to do violence against others," Jakarta police spokesman Boy Rafli told AFP, adding that Barda had also been charged under the criminal code related to premeditated assault.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday ordered police to arrest and prosecute the attackers.

The leader of the most populous Muslim-majority nation strongly condemned a US pastor's plans to burn the Koran last week but has been criticised at home for failing to protect minority rights in his own country.

Eighty percent of Indonesia's 240 million people are Muslims.

So 48 MILLION PEOPLE have to put up with this bullshit because they AREN'T Muslim?

This has been going on through out the world for years with out a single word of comdenation from world leaders. Instead we get speach after speach about the religion of peace. If it is a Religion of Peace please it isn't showing many examples. When the minority they demand special treatment, when they are the majority they stiffle anyone else from doing anything counter to Islamic prececpts.

They Who Can't be Named

Some more thoughts on the current battle between Islam and everyone else. Since the mid 1990s violent extremist Islam has popped up everywhere in the world. Looking to seek Islamic law through both legal and violent means a number of nations have slid into that sphere of influence.

Now the retarded Hippies running Washington are clamping their little hands at the victory of democracy in Turkey. A change in the constitution that empowers the Islamist President to stack the courts in his favor. You can guess what will follow.

So this is how its sits. We invade two countries to remove the evil bastards running them just to end up replacing them with people who either believe the same bullshit that the 9/11 terrorists did or who will make deals with those who do just to save their own skins. Now we've also lost Turkey, and are in the process of losing Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia to the Islamists. And let's not forget about Lebanon. What part of this should we be happy about? None of it.

This will just keep coming at us until someone somewhere stands up and points out the obvious. Unfortunately, like Harry Potter, those with their wits intact are doomed to run around in circles trying to get the "grown ups" to speak the name of the enemy.

9/11 Thoughts

Today of course is the day everyone remembers, as well they should. Islamic Terrorists killed over 3000 people in the name of their imaginary friend Allah. What I am still amazed by all these years later is how completely surprised people in North America were by this attack. No one in South East Asia was surprised by it and no one had any doubt "who" was behind it. The reason being was most of the world, from Africa to Asia had been under attack by Bin Laden's pals since the mid 1990s.

On New Years Eve 2000 the Islamics set off bombs through out Metro Manila's elevated train system killing and wounding many. The entire previous year had been one terror attack after another. But who in the west cared? They were only killing Philippinos. Nothing worth the evening news unless a western tourist or expat gets killed.

The threat of radical Islam was off the radar somehow. Even after the bombings in Africa and the USS Cole. I remember thinking while watching the news coverage of the USS Cole bombing that it was just a matter of time before they'd blow up something IN AMERICA.

Many pundits talk about "pre-9/11 thinking" and the dangers there in. That same thinking seems to be back in effect.

As for Koran burning, I agree that reading it makes more sense than burning it so that you know what you are really up against, however as far as those who burn it. Who cares? I don't. For the last decade I've had to hear about Islamics blowing up ancient Budhas, burning down churchs (often with people inside), killing priests, nuns, monks, teachers, local muslims who won't sign up, and so on. Never mind their endless flag burning. Why the hell should I worry about offending THEM? The ones who are jumping around protesting are the same ones who want to impose their bullshit beliefs on everyone. The same fellows who throw acid in the faces of unveiled women in Bangledesh. Or kill their daughters for some silly infranction.

You want to burn a Koran, knock yourself out.

More Bombings In Russia

The Islamaholics have bombed another Russian city killing 9 so far. The Russians were warned a wave of attacks were coming. The West should remember that lessons learned by these crazies in far off places like Russia or the Philippines can be (have been and will be) applied to attacks in the West. This is why no one in the Philippines was surprised on September 11th, 2001.

Pre 9/11 Thinking?

The last line of defense; heroes like Jasper Schuringa

One thing that many good bloggers have pointed out is that the current US Administration is living in a pre-9/11 land of make believe. This has been demonstrated very clearly by their abandonment of the term "War on Terror". Not that it was the best term, but it was better than nothing. Which is exactly what we have now.

By going back to the Clinton years of not admitting there was a problem, or taking actions to prevent problems and the foolish notion that it is some thing for the police and courts Obama and friends are setting up the west for another big attack.

Fortunately it is not Pre-9/11. The Administration can live in that land of make believe all they want but majority of the public in the West is well aware of who is a threat. So while airport security is wasting time treating everyone equally except those who should be watched the average person is aware. Thank God for that. Because the second some kook starts to try to set his ginch on fire or light his shoes he will find himself in a rugby scrum of heroes.

I think it is highly doubtful that without actual firearms a gang of 9/11 types could take control of an airline. Certainly they couldn't do it without being challenged and fought by those who are not willing to go like cattle to the butcher. The old thinking that when terrorists strike we are to sit quietly and do what we're told until the 'authorities' can take care of it will never be heeded again. People know now who the threat is, what they want and what the result of doing nothing is.

Unclear?

NWA passenger was trying to blow up flight into Detroit

A man suspected of planning to blow up a Delta Air Lines flight in Detroit could face charges as soon as Saturday according to an official familiar with the case.

The suspect is a Nigerian national who claims to have ties to al-Qaida.

It was unclear today why the man wanted to attack the flight arriving from Amsterdam.

Unclear????? Did the person who wrote this type that sentence in all seriousness? Unclear. If some bomb happy Islamic Nutter's motivations are unclear to you, Mr. Reporter perhaps you should get another job. Like pumping gas.

Arms Bust in Bangkok

More of the usual from the usual suspects...

From the BBC

Thailand seizes 'arms plane flying from North Korea'

Thailand has seized a cargo plane refuelling in Bangkok airport, which it says was carrying weapons from North Korea to an unknown destination.

The five crew members were also detained.

Rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other weapons were found aboard, military investigators said.

It is believed that the plane had made an emergency request to refuel. It had taken off from the North Korean capital Pyongyang, the Thai Air Force said.

According to local media reports, four members of the crew are from Kazakhstan, and one from Belarus.

Thai officials said they had acted on a tip-off from foreign intelligence, with one official telling Reuters news agency, on condition of anonymity, that the US had supplied the information.

"It [the plane] came from North Korea and was heading for somewhere in South Asia, probably Pakistan," the same official added.

Another unconfirmed report suggested Sri Lanka as the destination.

Raja Petra Kamaruddin Freed

This is good news out of the increasingly over-Islamic Malaysia.

Malaysia's top blogger released from detention

Malaysia's leading blogger, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, was Friday released from detention under controversial internal security laws after a court ruled the government had no right to hold him.

Raja Petra, a vocal government critic who had been held at a notorious detention camp since September, wept and embraced his family after being freed by the Shah Alam High Court.

"I'm realy glad it's over. I'm really tired. The judge's decision proves that there was no justification for my detention," he said, calling for an end to the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for detention without trial.

"We have to fight all-out and get the ISA abolished," he told reporters.

Looking haggard and dressed in a brown T-shirt and jeans, Raja Petra was garlanded by dozens of supporters outside the court before stepping into a maroon Rolls Royce provided by a supporter to ferry him home.

"It's a great day for human rights and fundamental liberties," said Malaysian human rights commissioner Denison Jayasooria.

"The executive must use the ISA only in situations where there is a real threat to national security," he told AFP.

Raja Petra, founder of the popular Malaysia Today website which has outraged top leaders with its stream of critical stories, was detained in September for writing articles that allegedly insulted Islam.

His lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said the High Court ruled earlier Friday that Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had acted outside his powers by ordering Raja Petra to serve two years in detention without trial.

"The judge ruled that the circumstances which existed at the time that Raja Petra was detained did not satisfy the threshold conditions under the ISA," he told AFP.

Malik said it was the first time a court has ordered the release of an ISA detainee since 1989, when courts were barred from interfering once a detention order has been signed by the home minister.

"It is certainly an historic ruling and a profound moment for civil liberties in this country," he said, while adding that the government can appeal the decision.

Opposition parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang said the ruling "sustains hope that basic judicial decency, independence and integrity have not been completely destroyed, despite two decades of judicial darkness."

He called on the government to "fully respect" the verdict and "slap down any trickery or stratagem to frustrate the judicial decision, such as a re-arrest."

Raja Petra is best known for his articles on politics, and had already been charged with sedition and defamation for linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife to the sensational murder of a Mongolian woman.

But he was also accused of threatening public security and causing racial tension by inciting hate in his articles on Islam -- a serious offence in predominantly Muslim Malaysia.

There has been a rash of detentions in recent months under the ISA, which allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial.

Raja Petra was detained on the same day as opposition lawmaker Teresa Kok and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, both of whom have since been freed.

Tan's arrest in particular caused a furore as she had merely reported on racist comments from a ruling party member who was subsequently suspended by the United Malays National Organisation.

Bombs in Thailand

In case you've forgotten Thailand is under attack in the South from Islamic Nutbars...

Triple blast

Three bombs apparently set on motorcycles by southern insurgents killed a woman and wounded at least 71 passersby in Sukhirin district of Narathiwat on Tuesday, police said.

Police said the first two bombs went off almost together around 11:15am on the edge of a parking lot near the entrance to the district office, where village leaders from the area were holding an outdoor meeting.

The third went off a few minutes later near a tea shop.

Wounded people were rushed to Sukhirin and Sungai Kolok hospitals. Mobile phone access to the area was cut to try to prevent more explosions, adding to the chaos.

Initial reports by hospital officials said a woman was killed in one of the blasts. At least 30 of the 71 wounded were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Military officials said they had received reports of a bomb and explosives disposal teams tried to rush to the scene.

"But as they were closing the area, the bomb exploded and many bystanders were also injured," said an officer.

The bombs were the latest incidents in a sudden upsurge of violence as students returned to school after the autumn harvest break.

An army spokesman said security personnel also found a 5kg bomb in next-door Rueso district, also in Narathiwat, but it did not explode. On Monday, a roadside bomb targeting soldiers escorting teachers exploded but there was no casualty.

Last week, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat visited the South and commented that troubles in the region appeared to have eased.

On Monday night a 47-year-old religious teacher was shot dead in Narathiwat province, while a 41-year-old man was killed laterthe same night in a similar attack in nearby Pattani province, police said.

James Bond: Hook Member

Wouldn't this nutter make an awsome James Bond Villian? I think so. In fact if the James Bond francise had any sense they'd have a Bond movie that actually delt with some one LIKE him doing bad stuff like trying to blow up a Nuke in London or some such. But unfortunately that will never happen. Only corporate executives are allowed to be bad guys in movies. Because you know its the corporations that do stuff like hijack planes, set off bombs on public transit and chop the heads off of Catholic Nuns or Buddhist Monks. NOT folk like old Hook Member here.

What's going on with his eyeball by the way?

Anyways that would be a great Bond film. You'd need Sean Connery in it though. He was the only real Bond. As for Hook Member I can understand why folk see him as a pirate but they forget this guy could never make it as a pirate. First of all he'd be all against rum. And singing bawdy sea-shanties I believe would also be a no no. No he's far too serious and pious to be a pirate. But... A sourball like this would be a great Bond Villian. Wants to rule the world, wants to kill innocent people...

Bond: "Do you expect me to talk?"

Hook Member: "No, Mr. Bond... I expect you to convert!"

Aussies Not Amused

Australia should do more than complain.

Diplomatic fury over bombers

AUSTRALIA will complain to Indonesia after the nation's counter-terrorism chief hosted a party attended by one of the Bali bombers.

The anti-terror chief, Brigadier-General Surya Dharma, said the party was in line with a new "gentle" approach to fighting terrorism, which aims to build a web of informants and former militants to help persuade hard-liners to reject terrorism.

The news was greeted with fury and disgust by Australian bombing victims, with one labelling Indonesia a "laughing stock".

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday said he would ensure a formal complaint was lodged with Indonesia.

"I will certainly see that there is an objection communicated," Mr Howard said.

When asked for his reaction, Mr Howard said he was "absolutely disgusted".

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said the news was a "terrible blow" for victims.

Although the function was held last month, it was only made public on Wednesday.

"It's inappropriate and grossly insensitive and I think for those who are grieving today, it's doubly insensitive," Mr Rudd said.

In Sydney, Coogee Dolphins president Patrick Byrne, who lost six teammates in the bombings, said he continued to be disappointed "at the ongoing injustice" and hypocrisy in Indonesia.

He said Australia had donated a million dollars to tsunami relief "and then to see them purchase a billion dollars in military munitions from Russia during APEC, the continual reductions in sentencing and the constant threat of terrorism - hypocrisy running riot".

Gold Coast man Glenn Forster, who was injured in the blasts, said the Indonesian legal system had made the country look "ridiculous".

Bali Bombers Party?

Nothing speaks more clearly about how screwed up Indonesia is than this. Westerners take note.

Bali bomber's party outrages victims

BALI bombing survivors are outraged that the man who planned the attacks five years ago was temporarily released from prison to party with Indonesia's anti-terror chief.

Indonesia's Brig-Gen Surya Dharma hosted an unguarded party for 20 hard-liners and former terrorists at his house last month.

Among them was Mubarok who is serving a life sentence for his involvement in the planning and carrying out of the 2002 Bali bombings.

Brig-Gen Dharma put on a feast of kebabs for those who had displayed a commitment to help authorities and shown "regret" for their actions.

The feast was timed to break the fast Muslims impose upon themselves during the holy month of Ramadan.

The party is in line with the Indonesian Government's new "soft" approach of building up a web of paid informants and former militants working to persuade hard-liners to change sides and reject terrorism.

"We approach the terrorists with a pure heart," Brig-Gen Dharma said.

"We are all Muslims. We make them our brothers, not our enemy."

But Melbourne survivor Shelley Campbell, 30, who lost friends Belinda Allen and Amber O'Donnell in the Sari club blast said it was "insane". "I find it offensive," Ms Campbell said.

"I just don't understand how they can be let out to have a party with food and laughs when half the world will be mourning today for the 202 people who died. But that's OK to let these guys party. Are they insane?"

Ms Campbell said the outing was a disgrace and a feeble excuse for reformation.

"So they think if they treat the Bali bombers nicely they're going to turn into nice people do they?" she said.

"It's highly unlikely that those people are going to turn into nice people and work for the greater good.

"I find it ridiculous.

"They let them out without being guarded . . . you may as well let them go then. It's appalling."

Former AFL hardman Mick Martyn, who was injured in the Bali bombings, said discovering former terrorists were at a party was a slap in the face for survivors and victims' families.

"It's sending an example that it's fine to go and kill people," he said.

The dual Kangaroos premiership player said he was unhappy with the way Indonesia handled its criminals, but accepted things worked differently over there.

"The way the judicial system works over there and the way they're all being pardoned from the death sentence is typical of the Indonesian Government," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities say their fresh approach is working, yielding intelligence from reformed militants and helping them convert others headed down the path towards extremism.

Ali Imron -- another former militant serving life for the Bali bombings who says he's turned his back on terrorism -- believes he is doing the right thing.

Indonesia Crack Down

What a happy place.

Islamic sect crackdown criticized

Activists in West Sumatra have protested against a raid on the Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah Islamic sect by police acting on the orders of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

The sect has found itself under attack in several parts of the country, including West Sumatra and West Java, since the council declared it blasphemous on Thursday and demanded the government ban it.

The Pusaka Inter-Community Study Center, a non-governmental organization promoting pluralism in West Sumatra, has called for the public to respect individual's rights to perform their religions and beliefs according to human rights.

"Labeling a group's teachings as blasphemous and then attacking them is against the Constitution.

"The police and the Indonesian Ulema Council should refrain (from doing so) and solve the matter wisely," Pusaka director Sudarto told The Jakarta Post.

Members of several large organizations, including the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, visited last week the shop-house in Padang where the sect, led by 44-year-old Dedi Priadi, operates.

They ordered the worshipers to stop their activities before raiding and sealing the building.

Police detained 11 Al-Qiyadah members, including Dedi, in order to prevent "clashes". The sect members were eventually releases, although Dedi has been ordered to report to the police every day and the building has been secured with a police line.

In Bogor regency, West Java, police sealed off two villas belonging to Al-Qiyadah's founder Ahmad Moshaddeq or Haji Salam on Friday to prevent any attacks on the property.

Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council Ma'ruf Amin said people needed to be wary of Ahmad Moshaddeq's teachings because he said he was the next prophet after Muhammad.

Ma'ruf said that the sect did not regard daily prayers, fasting or the pilgrimage to Mecca as compulsory.

The MUI has said that any followers of the sect would be considered apostates.

Sudarto, who is also a member of the West Sumatra chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights, said the government should stay neutral.

He said sealing off the sect's building and requiring its leader in West Sumatra to report to the police over a personal issue was against human rights.

"The state has again used the Criminal Code against the sect for tarnishing a mainstream religion.

"The Criminal Code should not be placed above the Constitution, which guarantees people the freedom to perform their own religions and beliefs ... ," he said.

He said the accusations against the sect should be solved through dialog.

In West Sumatra, Dedi Priadi claimed to have 4,000 followers, mostly students.

In his teachings, he says praying once a day at night, instead of five times, is enough, but denies the sect is blasphemous.

Gusrizal Gazahar of the West Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council said they have monitored the sect for some time and had even sent two people inside the organization.

"The sect is misleading and not Islam. But it claims to be Islam so we ask the government to ban it and call the people involved to get back on the right track," Gusrizal said.

The West Sumatra Provincial Prosecutor's Office released a decision banning Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah on Friday.

Islamic Super Heroes?

Islamic superheroes invade Indonesia

An apparent explosion has levelled high-rise buildings in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, triggering a security alert. It's the work of an Islamic superhero, a giant, confused teenager who sneezed.

Jabbar the Powerful, the alter-ego of teenager Nawaf Al-Bilali, is the first of 99 superhero characters in an Islamic culture-based comic book series called "The 99" just launched in Indonesia.

The comic seeks to act as a metaphor for what's happening in the Islamic world, its creator, Kuwaiti-born Naif Al-Mutawa, told AFP during a recent visit to Jakarta to launch the colourful, action-packed comic.

"Islam or the Koran can be used for good or for bad," Al-Mutawa said, adding that when either are misused, people blame the Koran, "when in fact they should be blaming the person interpreting the Koran".

Each of the superheroes personifies one of the 99 attributes of God in Islam, with their individual powers derived from mystical gemstones originating from 13th-century Baghdad, and infused with lost ancient knowledge.

Jabbar, for instance, has extraordinary strength that gives him "near-invulnerability and durability". Indonesia's own character, Fatah the Opener, can create a portal dimension used to travel anywhere on Earth.

The main struggle in the story happens between two characters representing the classic good-evil dichotomy, with each competing for the allegiance of "The 99". Even the superheroes themselves are sometimes deceived into crossing to the side of evil, Al-Mutawa explained.

But while the comic is based on Islamic archetypes and culture, there's nothing overtly Islamic in them, he said.

"They are as religious as Spiderman," Al-Mutawa quipped. "There's no mention of prayers or prophets, none of that."

The characters, who work in threes, do not carry weapons and are evenly split between males and females.

In a bid to represent Islam's spread around the world, characters frequently hail from two nations, which also helps to "make sense of the Islamic diaspora".

"For example, Bari is from Sudan but grew up in France, Hadya is from Pakistan but grew up in the UK," he said.

Al-Mutawa worked as a clinical psychologist for more than a decade before he started his own media company. He had treated former prisoners of war in Kuwait and worked with survivors of political torture in New York.

"The Iraqis that I treated were tortured by Saddam or his people. These are people who grew up with Saddam as their hero and yet they were tortured by (his people)," he said.

"What kind of message are we sending our children? Is this what heroes do?"

This disillusionment drove him to write several successful children's books and then to create and co-write "The 99," with former Marvel and DC comic artists helping out, hoping to fill a gap in the global market.

The comic, co-written with Fabian Nicieza, who has worked on hit Marvel titles such as X-Men, is now published across the Middle East in Arabic.

"'The 99' is selling as well in Kuwait and the Emirates as Spiderman is. I know because I sell Spiderman," he said.

The comic will debut in the United States in October, followed by Malaysia next year, while Al-Mutawa is in talks with publishers in Turkey and France.

Yudha Kartohadiprodjo, general manager of "The 99's" Indonesian license holder Femina Group, said he believed the comics would find a receptive audience in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"In the market today there are no contemporary comics based on Islamic values," he said. "The creator understands Islamic history, and that's important for this Islamic-based story."

Indonesian Muslims can be sensitive when it comes to religious-based stories, with any criticism from Islamic groups potentially risking a nationwide boycott.

A poem recently published in a newspaper in West Java, for instance, sparked outrage from a local religious group for its "un-Islamic" depiction of angels, forcing the writer and the newspaper to print a public apology.

Kartohadiprodjo said he was confident in Al-Mutawa's Islamic credentials.

The 68-page, full-colour first issue of "The 99" had a print run of 25,000 copies and is selling at bookstores for 18,000 rupiah (two dollars). A few national newspapers are considering printing extracts, Kartohadiprodjo said.

And of course, merchandising is to follow soon, with the Islamic superheroes preparing to infiltrate homes via notebooks, T-shirts and mobile phone paraphernalia.

Good luck with that. Isn't it against some silly Islamic law to depict the human form? I can't keep track. I can only guess that they'll be battling against their arch-rival "Dr. Jew" or "Infidel Man" or some such nonsense.

Personally I'll take our 300 over their 99.

Four Killed, Press Needs History Classes

Four shot dead in Thai south

Four men, including a school principal, have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand's insurgency-torn south, police said on Tuesday.

Three of the victims, including the principal, were killed in drive-by shootings in Pattani province, while the fourth was shot dead in nearby Yala, police said.

The shootings were the latest in a series of near-daily attacks in the Muslim-majority south, where more than 2,600 people have been killed since a separatist insurgency broke out in January 2004.

The Muslim region was annexed by mainly Buddhist Thailand a century ago and separatist tensions have simmered since.

Aaarrrgh!!! The Siamese conquered the region BACK in the 1700's during their war of indepence from Burma whom the Sultandom had Allied itself.

Jihad's Sickest Home Videos

Restive my ass. WHO coined that annoying phrase and why aren't they forced to shave their heads and collect alms with the Buddhist Monks in the region. Or teach school. Or work as a tree sapper. Then they might see how "restive" it is.

Mobile phones seized in restive southern Thailand depict gruesome videos

Police in insurgency-wracked southern Thailand said Tuesday that mobile phones seized from an attack site contain video clips showing suspected insurgents beheading their victims and in one case, cutting off a soldier's sex organ.

Investigators found two mobile phones in a bag left behind in an area of Yala province where suspected insurgents killed a police officer over the weekend, said police Col.Sompien Eksomya from Yala's Bannang Star district, where the attack occurred.

"We sent the SIM cards to be checked out and found gruesome video clips", he said by telephone.

One video clip taken Jan. 2, 2006 showed a suspected insurgent beheading a soldier, then severing his penis and laughing with the person taking the video, Sompien said.
The second clip was made on May 14 of this year, showing the beheading of a Buddhist man after he and his wife were shot. A third video clip filmed June 15 shows the bullet-ridden bodies of seven soldiers.

Sompien said that police were searching for the men seen in the videos.
More than 2,400 people have been killed in the Muslim-majority southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since a long-simmering Islamic separatist insurgency flared up in January 2004. At least 29 Buddhists have been beheaded in the past three years.

And what the hell is a SUSPECTED INSURGENT? Either it was done by insurgents or not. A person might be SUSPECTED to be an insurgent but the other phrase makes no sense. Then the ommission of the actual nature of these "insurgents" makes no sense either.

Bali Bombers Get Even Shorter Sentences

Again I'm shocked they aren't already free. Didn't they just have their sentences reduced for Independence Day? The only "short sentence" they truly deserve to receive is "Meet these Australians"


Bali bombers handed shorter sentences

The 10 men convicted of involvement in the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings will have their sentences reduced at the end of Ramadan.

The news comes only a day after the second anniversary of the bombings in which 20 people were killed, including four Australians.

Four of the men convicted in connection with those attacks learnt that they are likely to have their sentences cut by 30 days when Indonesia celebrates the end of Ramadan.

The sentence reduction recommendation came from the Governor of Bali's Kerobokan prison, where Australian drug smugglers Schapelle Corby and the 'Bali nine' are being held.

It was also recommended that six men convicted of robberies to raise money for the 2002 Bali bombings and for sheltering those involved have their sentences reduced by six weeks.

Is there a reason why the death toll from the 2002 bombing is omitted in this report?

Bali Bombers Update

This is a switch.

Indonesia rejects remaining two Bali bombers' appeals

Indonesia's Supreme Court has rejected final appeals from all three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings, meaning they face execution by firing squad.

A request by one of the bombers, Amrozi, for a case review - the final legal avenue for appeal under Indonesian law - was rejected earlier this month. Now his two accomplices have also had their requests rejected, Supreme Court spokesman Nurhadi told the online Detikcom news agency.

"Their appeals have all been rejected," he said, referring as well to Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron.

The court spokesman could not immediately be reached to confirm the rejections.

The horrific 2002 Bali bombings killed 202 people, mostly foreign holidaymakers, and dragged the south-east Asian region into the so-called global "war on terror".

The attacks were blamed on the regional extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah, which was then linked to Al Qaeda.

The three bombers had been appealing on the grounds of a constitutional court ruling that anti-terrorism laws used to convict them introduced after the bombings could not be applied retroactively.

None of the trio has expressed remorse over the attacks.

A lawyer for the men said earlier this month that they were ready to die after signing a last statement reportedly vowing their deaths would lead to "hell for infidels."

"If we are executed, then the jets and drops of our blood will, God willing, become a ray of light for Muslims and become hell for infidels and hypocrites," reported the Koran Tempo, which obtained the statement.

Besides the three death sentences, Indonesian courts have issued two life sentences and more than 30 other long jail terms for people involved in the Bali attacks or for helping hide the key players when they went on the run.

Happy Ramadam, You're Under Arrest...

Malaysia might be free from colonial rule... But they seem to have traded British rule of law for backwards nonsense from the dark ages. And how long before the Religious Police start cracking down on non-Muslims breaking the Ramadan rules?

Crackdown in Malaysia on those violating Ramadan fasting norms

An undercover team has been set up in Malaysia's Kelantan state to nab Muslims who eat, drink and smoke in public places during the Ramadan fasting hours.

Kota Baru Municipal Council public relations director Azman Mohd Daham said, 10 men in plain clothes from the council's religious unit would keep an eye on food outlets. "This is the first time the council is taking this action as we have received numerous complaints about those who eat openly during the fasting period," he was quoted as saying by the local media.

In Kelantan, Muslim food outlets are allowed to operate only after 3 pm. Those caught not fasting will be fined 20 ringgit (about 140 rupees) while errant outlets can be fined up to 500 ringgit. Besides the municipal council, the Kelantan Religious Department's enforcement unit is also on the prowl for the same purpose, media reports added.

Moderate Indonesia

The dark ages advance in Indonesia.

Catholic students forced to wear the Islamic veil

The increasing numbers of local laws inspired by Sharia (perda syariat) , are threatening the religious freedom of non Muslims, forced to wear Islamic clothes. Political and religious leaders have long highlighted the problem, but so far, no concrete steps have been taken to resolve the issue.

The latest episode reported by a Catholic family in Padang north Sumatra is worrying: Stefanus Prayog Ismu Rahardi has 3 children, 2 of whom attend state school; recently the teachers asked them to wear the Islamic veil or in Indonesian; jilbab. “It’s the first time that it has happened – says the father – and my daughters are scared, I tried to make them see the veil as a simple accessory, but they clearly understand that the problem goes well beyond aesthetics, they feel they are now in an environment that is hostile to their religion”.

The case is not an isolated one in the majority Muslim state. Since 2002 over 19 states have implemented the so-called perda syariat, norms which should however only apply to Muslim citizens. A Catholics student at a public school SMU Negeri II - Pesisir Selatan district – tells that this institute introduced the veil in 2005 and she herself has been forced to wear it. “Teachers pressured me into conforming – she says – now people see me on the streets and think that I have converted to Islam”.

Boniface Bakti Siregar, from Padang-based Catholic Affairs in the Ministry for Religious Affairs says that such perda has caused serious psychological impact to non-Muslim students. “They have no choice to stay at this state-run schools, since there are no both catholic and protestant schools in those districts which are located very far from the provincial capital of Padang”.

Following the move to regional autonomy, 22 regencies and municipalities in Indonesia have adopted laws inspired by Sharia: some have criminalized behaviour forbidden by Islamic law, such as adultery, prostitution, gambling, alcoholism and they restrict women’s freedom. Over 55 members of parliament sought to highlight the non-constitutional aspects of this problem last year, but the Minister for the Interior placed all responsibilities at the door of regional governors. In the country the strong intellectual influence of Muslim religious leaders are concentrated on trying to contains fanaticism and Islamic extremism.