Afghanistan: Taliban is a London cab driver

We were asked to wait for the district chief in the house of a burly, bearded man who spoke passable English with a hint of a London accent. For most of the time he lived in east London, he said, but he came to Afghanistan for three months of the year to fight. He was a mullah and had the rank of a mid-level Taliban commander.

“I work as a minicab driver there,” he said. “I make good money, you know. But these people are my friends and my family and it’s my duty to come to fight the jihad with them.

“There are many people like me in London,” he added. “We collect money for the jihad all year and come and fight if we can.”

via The Taliban troop with an east London cab driver in its ranks | World news | The Guardian.

Solution? If we discover you’re jihading with your colleagues, better buy a one-way ticket, because you’re not going to enter this country again. Yes it’s difficult to prove that, but I’m sure there are patterns to discover the “covered” life these guys are having… You know, who would have allowed someone living in the US going to Germany to fight for the Nazis three months a year and then coming back to send them some money for their fight?

Spanish debt problems

Two very interesting articles about the problems which Spain is facing now, after our Dear Leader the Allianzator of Civilizations has been leading us into disaster for 6 years now . The first in English:

Spain’s debt to GDP ratio is expected to climb from 53.2 percent last year to 64.9 percent this year and 72.5 percent next year. But investors are particularly concerned about Spain’s gaping budget deficit, which at 11.3 percent of GDP is the third-largest in the euro zone, and which may exceed that of Greece this year, according to the European Commission.

In late May, the Spanish Parliament narrowly approved a €15 billion austerity plan to rein in the public deficit and ease fears of a Greek-style debt crisis. The measure, which is intended to reduce the deficit to 6 percent by 2011, includes cutting the pay of public sector employees by 5 percent and freezing that pay next year. The plan also calls for suspending automatic inflation-adjusted pensions and scrapping a payout parents get for the birth of new children.

Although these measures won Zapatero some respite from the markets, they also left his political future hanging in the balance. In the face of public strikes organized by Spain’s largest labor unions, as well as a more than 10-point decline in support for his Socialist Party, Zapatero put off other reforms. Now, with the crises in Ireland and Portugal, nervous investors are once again focusing on Spain’s public finances.

via Pajamas Media » Europe’s Future Lies, Ominously, with Spain.

The second one is in Spanish (though translated partially):

The rescue and even “reestructuration” of the Spanish public debt will be inevitable if the Government continues not doing anything about it. According to the U.S. entity in its “forecast about euro zone growth” report  issued on Tuesday, “Spain can still get by without external assistance” provided that no major negative surprises in the banking sector and whether it makes fiscal adjustment additional. And, at the end of 2011 the deficit will be 7.5% of GDP, well above the 6% target set by the Government, a target that, according to Citi, will be difficult to meet in 2012.

Egypt: Security Used Live Ammunition on Christian Coptic Protesters, 4 Killed

Egyptian police surroungs Talbiya Coptic church

Christian Copts worldwide were shocked and enraged at the use of live ammunition by Egyptian state security forces against unarmed Coptic protesters, causing the death of three Coptic young men. A four-year old child suffocated from tear gas thrown inside the chapel. Rights groups inside and outside of Egypt have condemned the use of excessive violence by security forces and the use of live ammunition against Coptic demonstrators.

Efforts by State Security to hide the use of firearms on unarmed protesters were in vain, as the rising death toll, hospital reports on those admitted, and video footage and eyewitness testimony have revealed the details of the incident. Coptic activists Sherif Ramzy and Ramy Kamel have conducted interviews with witnesses.

CSW Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston blamed the violence on “excessive” police tactics and expressed his sadness at the “unnecessary” loss of life and injuries.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said that the events are a serious escalation in the State’s treatment of its Christian citizens. “We’re not talking about social violence occasioned by the construction of a church, but rather security forces opening fire on protesters demanding their constitutional right to worship without arbitrary interference or discrimination,” said Hossam Bahgat, EIPR’s Executive Director. “Even assuming Copts in the area wanted to convert a services building into a church for worship, that does not justify this degree of police violence. Demonstrators should not be shot at for violating building codes“. EIPR called on the Public Prosecutor to prosecute the security personnel responsible for the deaths and injury of Christians.

Hany el Gezeyri, head of Copts for Egypt, denounced the use of live ammunition, adding that he is concerned “whether the discrimination of the state against the Copts became an official persecution or is this a way to terrorize Copts so that they keep silent?“

Attorney Maged Hanna said that apart from the Copts, he is not aware of any incident in Egypt where live ammunition was fired against unarmed protesters, adding “this is a State terrorizing its citizens.”

via Egyptian Security Used Live Ammunition on Christian Coptic Protesters, 4 Killed.

Background: Egypt: Islamists lay siege against Coptic church in Giza, 1 Christian killed.

Pakistan: Christian sentenced to 25 years in prison for blasphemy released

This could be good news, if he is not harrassed from now on (or killed…)

Munir Masih, a Pakistani Christian sentenced to 25 years in prison for blasphemy, has been released on bail by order of the Lahore High Court, which is expected to overturn the verdict. Masih was accused by his neighbor of touching the Qur’an with dirty hands– a charge he denies. Masih’s wife, also sentenced to 25 years in prison, is expected to be released soon as well.

Let’s hope he is not killed after being released.

Saudi Arabia: Spanish train will transport Muslims in their yearly peregrination

The mediation of King Juan Carlos I in his travel throughout Arab Emirates some days ago has been fruitful, because the Spanish Consortium, formed by RENFE, Adif and Talgo and most of the more important Spanish building firms, will have an active role in the construction of the so-called Mecca train. This train will transport Muslim believers from Mina’s Valley, in Western Saudi Arabia, to Mecca in the yearly peregrination, called Hajj. Mina is situated near Mecca (10 kilometers), the place, where, according to Islam, prophet Abraham got to fulfill God’s commandment to kill his own son before He sent him a ram.

The macro project of high-speed train linking Medina, Jeddah and Mecca is scheduled for commissioning by 2013. For now, these cities will be joined this year by a kind of light rail, which will be capable of moving only 175,000 people. It is estimated that when the construction of the Spanish Consortium’s train is finished, it will be able to carry up to half a million faithful every six hours. It is expected that this year about 3 million people comply with the so-called “hajj”, one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim must perform at least once in their life. With this influx of travelers, the economic success of the project seems almost assured.

via La mediación del Rey Juan Carlos logra que el tren de La Meca vaya a manos españolas – Extraconfidencial.com.

(Translated by T&P).