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London - Young British Muslims are to be taught citizenship in mosque schools to prevent them from being influenced by Islamist extremism, the government announced on Friday. The new lessons will be tested in London from the start of the new term in September, and other areas with high Muslim populations, like Birmingham and Leicester in central England and Oldham, Rochdale and Bradford in northern England. The initiative is part of a package of measures, including a new board of academics, theologians and community leaders to advise on responses to tackling extremism, to show there is no conflict between being...

Protest against security fence being constructed near Na'alin turns violent as Israeli, Palestinians, foreign nationals clash with IDF troops A reported 150 people participated Sunday afternoon in a demonstration near the West Bank village of Naalin, west of Ramallah to protest the security fence being built in the area. The protestors accused IDF soldiers of using tear gas to disperse them while the latter claimed that rocks were thrown in their direction. The demonstrators - Left-wing Israeli, Palestinian and foreign nationals - have gathered on land due to be confiscated to allow for a fence to be built around the...

Berlusconi faces Muslim clash By Malcolm Moore in Rome Last Updated: 11:38PM BST 04/05/2008 Silvio Berlusconi is facing a row with the Muslim world over his plans to appoint a member of the far-Right to his cabinet. Roberto Calderoli, 52, a senior member of the Northern League, enraged Muslims two years ago during the row over a set of Danish cartoons featuring the Prophet Mohammed. He appeared on television wearing a T-shirt printed with one of the cartoons. The Italian consulate in Libya was set on fire and 11 people died in riots. Mr Calderoli has also threatened to...

It would have been unlike Samuel P. Huntington to say “I told you so” after 9/11. He is too austere and serious a man, with a legendary career as arguably the most influential and original political scientist of the last half century — always swimming against the current of prevailing opinion. In the 1990s, first in an article in the magazine Foreign Affairs, then in a book published in 1996 under the title “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,” he had come forth with a thesis that ran counter to the zeitgeist of the era and...

Fred Thompson, Huckabee Clash at Debate Friday, January 11, 2008 1:05 PM By: Newsmax Staff Article Font Size   Fred Thompson went on the attack against Mike Huckabee at Thursday’s Republican presidential debate, sharply criticizing the candidate he clearly sees as a rival for the evangelical vote in South Carolina. In the debate sponsored by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party, the heated exchange went like this: THOMPSON: “This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future. On the one hand, you have the Reagan revolution. You have the Reagan coalition of...

EXCLUSIVE: A clash of cultures between Asian and eastern European youths is leading to increasing tension and violence on Yorkshire's streets, it is claimed. Some young Britons of Asian descent are now leading a campaign of intimidation against the new economic migrants from eastern Europe, whom they claim are taking their jobs. The situation has become so bad in cities like Bradford that a leading social think-tank has begun research into how to get the two sides working together. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has commissioned Bradford-based organisation QED to identify the causes of tensions between the two groups and improve...

Recordings Show Iran-US Clash in Gulf Tuesday January 8, 2008 9:16 PM By SEBASTIAN ABBOT and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON (AP) - Video and audio recordings clearly show Iranian boats confronting U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, and a voice speaking in heavily-accented English can be heard threatening that the American vessels were going to explode, military officials said Tuesday. The incident, which President Bush denounced Tuesday as a ``provocative act,'' was videotaped by a crew member on the bridge of the destroyer USS Hopper, one of the three ships that faced down five Iranian boats...

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton clashed Sunday in the slushy New Hampshire homestretch, deriding each others' claims to be the true candidate of change. Clinton told Democratic voters they should elect "a doer, not a talker." Obama countered that his critics are stuck in the politics of the past. At a raucous rally in a high school gymnasium in Nashua, Clinton skewered Obama for several votes he has cast in the Senate, such as his vote in favor of the Patriot Act and for energy legislation she described as "Dick Cheney's energy bill." She never mentioned...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Soldiers used tear gas, plastic bullets and water cannons to scatter tens of thousands who massed Thursday to protest constitutional reforms that would permit Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely. Led by university students, protesters chanted "Freedom! Freedom!" and warned that 69 amendments drafted by the Chavista-dominated National Assembly would violate civil liberties and derail democracy. It was the biggest turnout against Chavez in months, and appeared to revive Venezuela's languid opposition at a time when the president seems as strong as ever. Students promised more street demonstrations over the weekend, but no opposition-led...

Judge Rules DNC, Florida Clash Is 'Intra-Party Dispute'By BILLY HOUSE and WILLIAM MARCH The Tampa Tribune Published: Oct 6, 2007 TAMPA - The first legal challenge to the Democratic National Committee's refusal to seat Florida's delegates to the party's national convention next year was thrown out of federal court Friday. Calling the matter "an intra-party dispute," U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara concluded the arguments made by Tampa-based Democratic voter and political consultant Victor DiMaio contained no legal basis for challenging the national party. Lazzara wrote, "The Supreme Court has consistently recognized that national political parties have a constitutionally protected right...

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. Dozens of anti-illegal immigration activists faced off against immigrant-rights backers at a rally outside a church where an illegal immigrant is being sheltered with her U.S.-born infant son. One immigrant-rights advocate was injured with a chemical spray during Sunday's confrontation at the United Church of Christ, officials said. Members of the anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State, which organized the rally that drew about 120 protesters and counter-protesters, said they had hoped to make a citizen's arrest of the woman, who has identified herself only as Liliana. Liliana is living in the church's former parsonage as part...

DURHAM, N.H. - Republican presidential contenders voiced support for the Iraq war Wednesday night despite a warning from anti-war candidate Ron Paul that they risk dragging the party down to defeat in 2008. "Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor," shot back former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, "and that is more important to the Republican Party." Huckabee was in the majority, Paul very much in the minority on the debate stage when it came to the war, a politically unpopular conflict that has emerged as the dominant issue of the 2008 race for the presidency. The...

LOS ANGELES - California Republicans are headed for a showdown over the direction of the party that could highlight national schisms over gay rights, gun control and abortion. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants the state GOP platform — the party's statement of core values — boiled down to as little as a single page focusing on lowering taxes, limiting the size of government and building a strong national defense. A centrist, the actor-governor describes himself as a "post-partisan" who wants to bridge the political divide that often leaves the state capital of Sacramento gridlocked. But some conservatives see his move as...

BAGHDAD (AP) - An Iraqi official says the al-Qaida leader in a western Baghdad neighborhood has been killed in clashes between US forces and al-Qaida gunmen. Casualty figures have not been made available and there is no immediate word from the US military about the fighting. But the official says 45 other fighters have been detained. Meanwhile, authorities say three policemen and three civilians were killed and 15 civilians were wounded after a suicide truck bomber struck a communications center on the western outskirts of Ramadi. In Fallujah, one report says at least 20 people were killed after a suicide...

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/05/15/are-you-afraid-of-backlash/

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops battled insurgents in fierce fighting that killed at least 12 people in the volatile Sunni city of Ramadi, the military said Thursday. Iraqi authorities said the dead included women and children. The six-hour firefight began after the U.S. troops were attacked by insurgents with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades Wednesday evening in eastern Ramadi, said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Shawn Mercer. The fighting ended after "precision guided munitions" damaged a number of buildings being used by the insurgents, he said. Twelve insurgents were killed and three were wounded, he said, adding that there were no...

Clash on Israel-Lebanese border Israeli troops regularly patrol the border area Israeli and Lebanese forces have exchanged fire on the international border between the two countries. Israeli officials said their troops came under fire as they searched a border area where four explosives were found on Monday. Troops returned fire but no casualties were reported, security sources said. Lebanese officials confirmed the clash. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia fought a 34-day war last year sparked by flare-ups on the tense border. Since that conflict the international border between Israel and Lebanon has been policed by a combination of Lebanese government...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The army restored order in the Lebanese capital Friday as mourners buried victims of a bloody student clash that took a dangerous sectarian tone, prompting leaders to appeal for calm in an effort to keep the country from sliding deeper into violence. A rare curfew in Beirut was lifted early Friday, imposed after factions supporting the Western-backed government and Hezbollah protesters trying to bring it down turned a university campus into a battle zone a day earlier. At least three people were killed and dozens injured after mobs faced off with homemade clubs and stones. Army officers...

Iran Prepares Public for Possible Clash Monday January 22, 2007 11:01 PM By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran conducted missile tests Monday as its leadership stepped up warnings of a possible military confrontation with the United States. In another show of defiance, Tehran said Monday it had barred 38 United Nations nuclear inspectors from entering the country, apparently in retaliation for a U.N. Security Council resolution last month imposing limited sanctions on Iran. The drum-beating suggested Iran does not intend to back down in its standoff with the West. It could also aim to...

WASHINGTON - Negotiations between the White House and a trio of powerful GOP senators snagged Wednesday over Bush administration demands that Congress reinterpret the nation's treaty obligations to allow tough CIA interrogations of terrorism suspects. Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said his panel would meet Thursday to finalize an alternative to President Bush's plan to prosecute terror suspects and redefine acts that constitute war crimes. Warner said he was aware the White House may come out in opposition of his legislation. The Supreme Court ruled in June that Bush's court system established...

Musharraf faces bitter clash over rape law reforms By Isambard Wilkinson in Peshawar (Filed: 25/08/2006) President Pervez Musharraf has opened a new and especially bitter confrontation with radical Islam by trying to rewrite Pakistan's controversial rape laws. These place an almost impossible burden of proof on women by compelling them to produce four "pious" male witnesses to prove rape or risk being convicted of adultery and face 100 lashes or death by stoning. This law, known as the Hudood Ordinance, has been regarded as untouchable since its passage 27 years ago. It also sets no minimum age for sex...

Republicans, Democrats clash over who's stronger on national security WASHINGTON Republicans and Democrats are clashing over the war on terror. Following word of the foiled airline bomb plot, each side is accusing the other of doing too little to deter the threat of attack. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said, "Freedom is never free, and we must never be complacent in defending it." Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist added: "We must be on alert so that our nation does not suffer another attack like Nine-Eleven." But Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid countered that "as a result of mismanagement and the wrong...

/begin my summary China dispatched additional troops to N. Korean border Armed clashes between N. Korea and China are on the rise (N. Korean) espionage on missile technologyHong Kong Xin-bao reported on July 27: China dispatched additional troops to its border with N. Korea due to N. Korean missile crisis. According to Information Center for Chinese Human Right and Democracy Movement in Hong Kong, PLA 16th Corps, which defends the border with N. Korea, dispatched last week 2,000 additional troops to Tumen, Long-jing, Cong-hua, Hui-chun, all adjoining the border. The units involved are from 46th motorized infantry division and 48th...

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi and U.S. troops battled Shi'ite militiamen in a village northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, and witnesses and police said U.S. helicopters bombed orchards to flush out gunmen hiding in the palm groves. Iraqi security officials said Iranian fighters had been captured in the fighting, in which the commander of an Iraqi quick reaction force and two soldiers were shot dead by a sniper. They did not say how the Iranians had been identified. The U.S. military had no immediate comment. Police said the fighting was still going on at 6 p.m. (1400 GMT) in the...

ABASSAN, Gaza Strip - Militants from the Hamas and Fatah movements clashed with assault rifles and shoulder-held missiles Monday, killing three people in the latest sign the rivals could be heading toward a large-scale confrontation. The groups fought again on Tuesday in downtown Gaza City, wounding nine people, including five children. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas called for restraint and ordered his security chief to impose order. But tensions remained high as the sides accused each other of instigating the violence. Friction has been rising since the Islamic militant group Hamas ended Fatah's four-decade control of Palestinian politics with...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Violent clashes and mass protests erupted Saturday across the West Bank and Gaza Strip between followers of the militant group Hamas and Fatah rivals, after a Hamas leader accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of treachery. The two sides traded gunfire and hurled stones and firebombs, escalating a fierce power struggle between militant and moderate factions focused on control over Palestinian security forces. Abbas said Saturday he would not allow the accusations to plunge the Palestinians into civil war. The unrest followed the president's recent moves to take control of all six security forces and Hamas's...

LONDON - You expect to have your luggage scrutinized at the airport. But how about your choice of music? Security staff at a British airport stopped a businessman from catching a flight because the songs he had asked a taxi driver to play on the car stereo made the driver suspicious, police said. Harraj Mann, who is of Indian origin, had the songs stored on an MP3 player, which the cab was equipped to play on its stereo. Mann asked the driver to play "London Calling" by the Clash as they headed for Tees Valley International Airport near Darlington in...

Nobody is above the law, says Hamas after rival groups clash By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem (Filed: 03/04/2006) Hamas yesterday faced its toughest internal challenge since being swept unexpectedly to power in the Palestinian territories when rival militant groups in Gaza took part in a series of clashes that left four dead and dozens wounded. Clashes were sparked by the murder of Abu Yussef al-Gouga Said Siam, the newly appointed Hamas interior minister, appealed for calm and warned that his government would clamp down heavily on armed groups who used their weapons against each other rather than in the struggle...

"If you want to know where the Muslim community is headed, the Shias are the canary in the coal mine," said Nazish Agha, a young Manhattan lawyer who helped found a national Shia group. "Just assume that if these groups hate Shias, then they're also anti-Christian, anti-Semite and anti-Hindu as well." While many Shia and Sunnis interact socially, they often worship in separate mosques. By and large, the national Muslim organizations are dominated by Sunnis with scant Shia representation. And while dialogue between the two sects has grown significantly since the Sept. 11 attacks, it is still informal. "At least...

There’s No Clash Here Only one civilization cares to put up a fight. By Lee Harris Does the so-called "cartoon war" represent the clash of civilizations? I wish I could answer "yes," but I can't. In order for there to be a clash of civilizations, it is necessary for there to be two civilizations, both of which are prepared to defend their deepest cultural values. Those in the Islamic world who are violently protesting the Danish cartoons clearly represent a civilization that is keen on maintaining its own deeply held traditions and convictions, as the Muslim rioters are prepared to...

Taleban clash 'leaves many dead' Some 300 army troops were said to have been involved in fighting Nearly 20 combatants have been killed in a battle between Afghan troops and Taleban fighters in the southern province of Helmand, officials say. Helmand's deputy governor told the BBC that at one point, he and 100 soldiers were surrounded by 200 Taleban. He said 16 Taleban and three soldiers had been killed, with 13 more wounded. The BBC's Paul Wood in Kandahar said it is the most serious fighting between government forces and the Taleban for two years. Taleban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf...

When Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his "wipe Israel off the map" remarks last month, many diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic rushed to explain, read between the lines and relativize what was an unambiguous statement of Teheran's long-established policy. They expressed the hope that Iran would "clarify" - meaning soften - its position. That was followed by feverish diplomatic activities, mainly by the United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to persuade Teheran to tone down Ahmadinejad's remarks. (Annan was forced to cancel a planned visit to Teheran after the Iranians told him they would not allow any conciliatory phrases...

One group wants to end illegal immigration. The other rejects what it calls the armed uprising that the first group has begun. They clashed Saturday in the shadow of the Capitol, and three people were arrested. Still, it turns out, they agree on one thing: The system is broken. "This isn't about hatred. This isn't about racism. We stand against a broken system that has failed all of us," said Tim Donnelly, leader of the Minuteman Corps of California, one branch of a group that organizes armed citizen patrols of America's border with Mexico. Donnelly's group held a rally on...

All those polling numbers about ballot initiatives got you feeling dazed and confused? You're not alone. With the conflicting numbers shown in recent public opinion polls, many voters must be wondering just what is going on. Check out one poll on Proposition 76, a state spending-cap proposal, and it appears that 58 percent of voters support the initiative while 36 percent oppose it. Check out another poll and it appears that just the opposite is true, with 19 percent saying they support the measure and 65 percent saying they oppose it. Another recent poll shows similar numbers, with 63 percent...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Miffed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will snub George W. Bush when the US president begins a visit to California amid a clash over fundraising for their Republican Party. The movie-star state governor, a moderate in Bush's conservative party, late Wednesday expressed irritation that the president apparently ignored his plea to delay the fundraising trip and said he would not take the time to meet Bush. The cash clash brings to the surface long-standing tensions between the two men as Schwarzenegger moves to raise crucial funds for himself ahead of a special election next month on which he...

US forces clash with Mahdi Army By Adrian Blomfield in Basra (Filed: 26/09/2005) American troops and the Mahdi Army militia of Moqtada al-Sadr clashed in the slums of Baghdad yesterday, raising fears for the future of a year-long US truce with the fiery Shia cleric's gunmen. The fighting came as insurgent attacks took the lives of at least 31 people, including 13 commandos from the elite Wolf Brigade, the Iraqi army's showcase anti-terrorism unit, killed when a suicide bomber rammed into their convoy in the south-east of the capital. Mahdi Army gunmen opened fire on US forces that entered their...

09:09 Arab-language newspaper: Iran-U.S forces clash in southern Iraq (Haaretz)

BATON ROUGE, La. – Chillin' on the levee by the Mississippi River on a sunny Monday morning, Nutty and Slim Nine and Doughboy, Jr., admitted that they are already homesick for New Orleans. "This ain't like the city, where everybody got a nickname that everybody knows you by," said Nutty, 18, whose tattooed nickname was spelled out in two-inch high block letters between his right shoulder and elbow. "I'm trying to get back home — back to the N.O." "I don't like the curfew here," said Doughboy, Jr., 16. "And I don't like the police. They make grown people stay...

FARMINGVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - This middle-class Long Island community an hour from New York City and 2,000 miles from the Mexican border has become an unlikely flashpoint in the national debate over illegal immigration, with Hispanics beaten, harassed and evicted in recent weeks. For more than a decade, immigrants from Mexico or Central America have been drawn to Long Island by the prospect of jobs. Many stand on street corners in Farmingville, waiting for contractors, landscapers and others to offer them a day's work at about $10 an hour. Then at night they go back to their illegally overcrowded single-family...

GURGAON: At least 700 people, including a DSP and a constable, were reportedly injured in a clash between the police and the employees of the Honda Motorcycles & Scooter India Pvt Ltd this Monday in Gurgaon. The workers were protesting against the retrenchment of 50 workers and termination of the services of four others from the Manesar factory. The clash was the culmination of a month-long standoff between employees and the company. The protestors had set fire to three police vehicles. Police say that the protestors had violated Section 144. A section of the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road has been blocked. Television...

[The Enumclaw case, for those of you who don't know, refers to a man who died from having sex with a horse; an investigation by the sheriff's office found a farm which was a haven for bestiality perverts] The Enumclaw case highlights two increasingly important ideological debates. The first, and seemingly the more minor of the two (for the time being) is within the animal rights movement, and centers around whether animals should be treated as identical to humans. On the one side, stands PETA and Peter Singer, a founder of the animal rights movement. On the other stands the...

Clashes Feared Over MacArthur Statue in Incheon Fears of a violent clash mounted Friday after progressive civic groups wanting a statue of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur in Incheon pulled down and conservative groups determined to protect it to the very end announced simultaneous Sunday demonstrations in the city’s Freedom Park. One pro-unification civic group told police it will hold a rally in front of the MacArthur statue from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. The gathering, which it expects to attract 100 people, will call for the expulsion of the U.S. military and the toppling of the statue....

Clashes between Iranian students and police are reported to have occured at the University of Tehran, following a protest by the students asking for the release of Iranian dissident and journalist Akbar Ganji, who has been in prison since 2000. Ganji's has been on a hunger strike in a Tehran jail for the past month and his health condition is deteriorating. According to the Iranian student news agency ISNA, the university students asked for the liberation of other political detainees as well. The clashes occured when a dozen policemen, in their attempt to stop the protest, clashed with the students....

Tony Blair and President Jacques Chirac of France were heading for a clash on free trade and global warming at the G8 summit tonight after flying half-way across the world in their bitter contest to host the 2012 Olympics.The Queen will hold a welcoming dinner at Gleneagles, in Perthshire, for leaders of the world's most industrialised countries. But the mood could be soured by the International Olympic Committee's choice of city to hold the Games in seven years' time: London, Paris, New York, Moscow or Madrid. Yesterday the Prime Minister flew from Singapore, where the committee was meeting, to prepare...

DAMASCUS: Syrian forces captured two "terrorists" and a security officer was killed in a dawn clash with extremists who included former bodyguards of Saddam Hussein, official media said. The gun battle on Mount Qassioun overlooking the Syrian capital was the second such fire fight with extremists in recent days and comes amid intense U.S. pressure on Syria to stop militants slipping over its border into Iraq. "The clash took place early yesterday on Mount Qassioun with a group of people wanted for terrorist crimes, some of whom were former bodyguards of Saddam Hussein," the former Iraqi president, the SANA agency...

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syrian security forces have killed an Arab extremist who was trying to illegally cross into neighboring Lebanon with other suspected militants, Syria's official news agency reported Sunday. Two Syrian soldiers also were killed in the clash that erupted after the Arab man opened fire on a Syrian border patrol, according to the news agency SANA. No details were provided on the nationality of the slain man, who was identified only by his initials M.Z. The report did not say when the clash happened or where along Syria's border with Lebanon it was. The agency said 34...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council expressed serious concern on Thursday at the flare-up of fighting between Hizbollah guerrillas and Israel in a disputed Syria-Lebanese border zone. The 15-member body called on Lebanon to extend control over the entire country by deploying its army in all areas and "to put an end to all attacks emanating from its territory." The Security Council last September demanded foreign forces withdraw from Lebanon and militia, like Hizbollah, be disarmed. "In this context, they expressed serious concerns at (Wednesday's) attack," the council said in a press statement. On Thursday, Israeli helicopters struck...

SHIRAT HAYAM, Gaza Strip - Jewish settlers holed up in an abandoned villa traded blows with Israeli troops Wednesday and then attacked Palestinians, critically wounding one before soldiers hauled them away. The clashes were the worst involving opponents of the August withdrawal since Israel announced its plans to pull out of Gaza. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called the protesters "hooligans" and vowed to fight them with an "iron fist." His tough talk reflected concern that protests could pit Israeli against Israeli and lead to bloodshed during the pullout, which marks the first time Israel will remove veteran settlements from Gaza...

Gibraltar clash over £2bn treasure Ben Sills in Madrid Monday March 28, 2005 The Guardian (UK) The Strait of Gibraltar has been the scene of numerous skirmishes between the British and Spanish navies, and now the two nations are sparring again - this time over the wreck of an English warship packed to the gunwales with treasure. HMS Sussex has lain undisturbed on the seabed for more than 300 years, but since researchers discovered the ship was carrying billions of pounds of English gold and silver, it has become the focus of a bitter dispute as the Spanish authorities try...

China website highlights early DPRK-China tensions China-NK relations by Michael Rank If you're a Great Leader it can feel a little uncomfortable having another Great Leader on your doorstep, and a very interesting report in Chinese highlights intense rivalry between Mao Zedong and Kim Il-sung in the 1950s and 60s. This short report says North Korea took part in “underground activities” against China's Korean minority after the Korean war in order to instill in them a “fatherland concept and ideology of the leader”, telling them their fatherland was the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and their leader was General Kim...