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Anti-terror code 'would alienate most Muslims'

published by You on 17 February, 2009 - 13:32

The government is considering plans that would lead to thousands more British Muslims being branded as extremists, the Guardian has learned. The proposals are in a counterterrorism strategy which ministers and security officials are drawing up that is due to be unveiled next month.

Some say the plans would see views held by most Muslims in Britain being classed by the government as extreme.

According to a draft of the strategy, Contest 2 as it is known in Whitehall, people would be considered as extremists if:

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

published by You on 16 February, 2009 - 20:05

I tried this topic previously under the guise of the beards (and the veil) topic, but that went elsewhere.

The question I was trying to get at is how far should others go to try to get you to be (what they consider) a better Muslim?

Does anyone apart from parents, spouse, siblings have any right to tell you to do anything?

Even them, should hey be limited in how far they can go? (we all know that constant nagging can be a negative influence and get people to go the other way.)

So, what gives?

Terror suspects were tortured in Pakistan under UK policy

published by You on 16 February, 2009 - 20:00

Terror suspects were tortured in Pakistan under UK policy

  • Whitehall drew up interrogation policy, MI5 agent tells high court
  • Intelligence deal led to torture of Binyam Mohamed and others

A policy governing the interrogation of terrorism suspects in Pakistan that led to British citizens and residents being tortured was devised by MI5 lawyers and figures in government, according to evidence heard in court.

A number of British terrorism suspects who have been detained without trial in Pakistan say they were tortured by Pakistani intelligence agents before being questioned by MI5. In some cases their accusations are supported by medical evidence.

Beta-blocker 'erases' unpleasant memories

published by You on 16 February, 2009 - 17:32

Beta-blocker 'erases' unpleasant memories

Dutch scientists claim to have shown that the beta-blocker propranolol can "erase" unpleasant memories - a discovery which "opens up new avenues for providing a long-term cure for patients with emotional disorders".

Professor Merel Kindt and his team from the University of Amsterdam first subjected human volunteers to a "fear acquisition" process - that of causing them to associate pictures of spiders with a mild electric shock delivered to their wrists.

Guantanamo inmate 'fit to travel'

published by You on 16 February, 2009 - 02:46

Guantanamo inmate 'fit to travel'

A UK resident held at the US's Guantanamo Bay detention camp is fit enough to travel to the UK, the Foreign Office has said.

British officials, including a doctor, visited Binyam Mohamed in Cuba. The UK had expressed concerns over his health after reports he was on hunger strike.

His legal team hope he will be cleared for release by President Barack Obama and return to Britain within days.

Mr Mohamed has been held since 2002, but US charges were dropped last year.

'No medical concerns'

Mr Mohamed, who lived in west London, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. The 30-year-old says he was tortured before arriving in Cuba, but the US denies the claims...

Russians warn of Afghan parallels

published by You on 14 February, 2009 - 16:46

Russians warn of Afghan parallels

As Russia marks the 20th anniversary of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, officials in Moscow are warning that US and Nato-led forces are making exactly the same mistakes as the Soviet Union made when it invaded the country in 1979.

The BBC's Richard Galpin has been speaking to experts and veterans, who remember the withdrawal after 10 years of occupation as a traumatic and humiliating experience.

Lt Gen Ruslan Aushev, a Hero of the Soviet Union, sports a moustache that hangs over his mouth like a heavy velvet curtain.

But from the dark morass emerge words of precision and directness that befit a much-decorated commander of the Soviet military venture in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Tolerance of other religions

published by You on 14 February, 2009 - 03:06

When discussing the sabians, I came across this bit on the wikipedia page:

The Saabi`ah Mushrikun were a Yazidan group who were questioned by the caliph al-Ma'mún of Baghdad in 830 CE, according to Abú-Jusúf Abshaa'al-Qathíí, about what protected religion they belonged to. Not being Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or Magian, the caliph told them they were infidels and would have to become Muslims or adherents of one of the other religions recognized by the Qu'ran by the time he returned from his campaign against the Byzantines or he would kill them.

So... are only the "people of the book" tolerated, or was the guy in the wrong? What is the bigger picture?

Blackwater changing its name

published by You on 14 February, 2009 - 00:09

US security firm mired in Iraq controversy changes its name

Blackwater Worldwide renamed Xe as company tries to salvage its tarnished brand

Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticised work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe. The parent company's new name is pronounced like the letter z.

Blackwater Lodge & Training Centre — the subsidiary that conducts much of the company's overseas operations and domestic training — has been renamed US Training Centre Inc., the company said today.

Bad doctors. Baaad doctors.

published by You on 13 February, 2009 - 14:56

'Plaster cast better' for sprains

People with a sprained ankle recover faster if they are given a plaster cast, British researchers say.

A study of 600 patients found that a 10-day below-knee cast is more effective than standard treatment with a tubular bandage.

The findings, published in The Lancet, are at odds with general medical opinion that the best thing for a sprained ankle is to keep it moving.

Up to 1.5m people a year in the UK go to A&E with a sprained ankle.

The injury accounts for 3-5% of all UK emergency department attendances and varies from minor stretching of the ligament to a complete tear.

It is commonly treated with ice, elevation, tubular compression bandage and advice to exercise.

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