What's under the veil

Are smart girls and women who dream of a better life.

The fungus among us...

Why does the far right seem to ooze out from under the rocks when the economy is shaky and politics are polarized? Easier to blame others and reach for guns rather than work together to fix things?:

The far right is on the rise across Europe as a new generation of young, web-based supporters embrace hardline nationalist and anti-immigrant groups, a study has revealed ahead of a meeting of politicians and academics in Brussels to examine the phenomenon.

Research by the British thinktank Demos for the first time examines attitudes among supporters of the far right online. Using advertisements on Facebook group pages, they persuaded more than 10,000 followers of 14 parties and street organisations in 11 countries to fill in detailed questionnaires.

The study reveals a continent-wide spread of hardline nationalist sentiment among the young, mainly men. Deeply cynical about their own governments and the EU, their generalised fear about the future is focused on cultural identity, with immigration – particularly a perceived spread of Islamic influence – a concern.

"We're at a crossroads in European history," said Emine Bozkurt, a Dutch MEP who heads the anti-racism lobby at the European parliament. "In five years' time we will either see an increase in the forces of hatred and division in society, including ultra-nationalism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, or we will be able to fight this horrific tendency."

I have to admit I was shocked at the rabid savagery aimed at protesters of the Iraq invasion during Bush's reign of terror. The delight at going to war.. any war... after 9/11. The belittling of the humanity of the citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, etc etc. The bizarre embrace of torture with assurances it wasn't really torture and besides the detainees were islamofascists and Jesus would have approved. The suggestion that using nukes really wouldn't be so horrible. We have our own American Taliban and Nazis right here, despite our best efforts in education and exposure to other cultures.

They must hatch like toadstools, surrounded by bullshit and darkness. Sunlight is the only cure.

Blog sprinkles

• Tengrain shows that newspapers began to tank only AFTER the Telecommunications Act of 1996. A rather notable fact....
  

• Number 12 of the 25 Censored stories: Mysterious Death of Mike Connell—Karl Rove’s Election Thief.

• A bundle of hope from Phila of Bouphonia... here, here, here and here.

• Amazing series of photos from this last year.

• Palindrome: Harass Sarah.

• Because Obama decided to stop the Eternal War on a Noun, we're letting the terrorists win!! Even though he's done more against terrorism in this last year than in the two terms of Pinky and the Brain.

And Steve Benen educates us on why is it good to be a Republican:

• ...this is probably a good time to review the Media/Political Establishment's Rules for Understanding the Political Implications of Terrorism (or MPERUPIT):

  * If terrorists successfully attack during a Democratic president's first year in office (first attack on World Trade Center), it's the Democrats' fault, and the attack is good news for Republicans.

  * If terrorists unsuccessfully attack during a Democratic president's second term, it's the Democrats' fault the terrorists even tried, and the attack is good news for Republicans.

  * If terrorists successfully attack during a Republican president's first year in office (9/11), it's the Democrats' fault, and the attack is good news for Republicans.

  * If terrorists unsuccessfully attack during a Republican president's second term, it's only because the Republican is "taking the fight to the enemy," and the attack is good news for Republicans.

  * If terrorists unsuccessfully attack during a Democratic president's first year in office, it's the Democrats' fault the terrorists even tried, and the attack is good news for Republicans.

  If you don't have the handy dandy MPERUPIT list readily available, remember this shortcut: bad news is good for Republicans; good news is good for Republicans; Democrats are to blame for Republican failures; and Republicans deserve credit for Democratic successes.

  As long as you filter all terrorism-related news through this convenient prism, domestic coverage of current events will always make sense, even when it doesn't.

• Apparently a good site to keep track of Yemen.

And for all those very irritating hateful people you are forced to deal with... a very pretty song:


(if you want the words)

I read the news today, Oh boy...

Just today.

Iraq:

Karbala, Iraq (AHN) - At least 40 people were killed and 65 others were injured when a female suicide bomber struck Shiite worshipers in the holy city of Karbala on Monday, the Interior Ministry official said Tuesday.

According to military officials, the incident happened on the street leading to the Imam Hussein shrine of Karbala, one of Islam's holiest sites. The shrine is where Hussein bin Ali was buried, Prophet Mohammed's grandson.

No further details were available in the suicide attack as authorities were still investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded Monday killing two U.S. troopers, it was reported

Ministry official said another bomb exploded a few minutes later near an Iraqi police vehicle on eastern Baghdad, capital city, injuring four people.

Afghanistan:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber attacked a group of international troops at a bazaar in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing three NATO soldiers and four Afghans, officials said.

Two Danish troops, a Czech Special Forces soldier, and an Afghan translator were killed in the attack in the Gereshk district of Helmand Province.

Provincial police Chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said the suicide car bomb killed three Afghan civilians and wounded seven others.

Four soldiers also were wounded in the attack, a NATO spokesman said.

The Philippines:

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The number of people injured in an explosion near the Philippine Presidential Palace Tuesday afternoon, climbs to 18, authorities said as more victims were rushed to nearby hospitals for various injuries.

Reports said that 13 victims were rushed to the Mary Chiles Hospital while another two were brought to the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Early reports said four victims were injured when a grenade was said to have exploded in front of the gate of the Presidential Security Group's sentry gate.

The PSG is responsible for providing security to the Philippine president and key government officials. The site of the explosion is also between two exclusive schools in the capital Manila.

Authorities said most of the victims were students. Some of those injured were taken to nearby hospitals, including the University of Santo Tomas and the Manila Doctors Hospital.

Yemen:

A Yemeni guard has been killed in an explosion near the US embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, an official has said, quoted by AP news agency.

A mortar was fired at a school next to the embassy in the central district of Sawan, reports say.

Other guards and some children were said to be wounded. It is not clear whether the embassy was the target.

Gaza:

Israeli aircraft have attacked the northern Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel.

The violence follows several days of relative calm in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli air force said it was targeting a rocket-firing team. There is no word on casualties.

crossposted at American Street

I presume you named your dog Shredder?

Because as the loyal Bushies realize that the Bush administration's power to protect them is waning, papers, information, memories are being shredded, and mislaid, and forgotten. Odd, that homework-eating dog sure gets around....

GANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - The U.S. military has lost a year's worth of records describing the Guantanamo confinement of Osama bin Laden's driver, a prosecutor said at the Yemeni captive's war court hearing on Thursday.

Lawyers for the driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, asked for the records to support their argument that prolonged isolation and harassment at the Guantanamo prison have mentally impaired him and could affect his ability to aid in his defense against war crimes charges.

"All known records have been produced with the exception of the 2002 Gitmo records," one of the prosecutors, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Stone, told the court. "They can't find it."

I'm sure you guys looked everywhere. Maybe it's with the interrogation tapes?

Explosive island, humanitarian gesture

SAN'A, Yemen (AHN) - A volcano erupted Sunday in a tiny Yemeni island in the Red Sea, spewing lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air forcing local Yemeni authorities to evacuate a military base.

Local authorities said that joint NATO and Yemeni ships were searching for eight soldiers reported missing.

Reports from the Yemeni news agency SABA said that the eruption caused a landslide collapsing the western part of Jabal al-Tair island, reported.

The oval island, about two miles wide, lacks a settled population although it houses military installations used for naval control and observation for large cargo ships passing nearby.

The report, however, was not clear how many people were stationed on the island, although it confirmed that Yemeni ships had evacuated all personnel and were searching for eight missing military personnel.

Ken Allan, a Navy Public Affairs with the Canadian Armed Forces said a NATO fleet passing nearby reported seeing a "catastrophic volcanic eruption" at 7 p.m. local time Sunday on the island, about 70 miles off the Yemeni coast.

With the fleet was sailing toward the Suez Canal when it spotted the eruption, the government of Yemen asked NATO to assist in searching for survivors.

The closest ship in the vicinity, the HMCS Toronto, immediately headed toward the island.

Thank goodness there are some who remember we are all on this earth together.

Yemen totters on the brink of sectarian war

Perhaps the first in the area to be sucked into the black hole of Iraq's civil war:

To isolate the rebels, explained Faqih, Yemeni authorities have blocked communications, including mobile-phone services, in the restive northern province. "But this has not necessarily helped the government as much as it is impossible for the rebels to overthrow the government and install their Islamic law," he said.

Observers are also concerned that hundreds of anti-Western insurgents could strike out at foreigners and Western interests in the country. This month the Interior Ministry temporarily tightened security around foreign embassies against possible terrorist attacks.

"Here in Yemen, tribe, religion and weapons are the most dangerous things in the hands of tribesmen against the government," said Abdul-Elah Haidar, a researcher on terrorism affairs at the Saba News Agency and regular columnist for London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi. "And when a group combines the three, it can easily become a substantial political force."

This escalation of violence has been a frightening setback for the Yemeni government, which had rigidly controlled the threats from al-Qaeda and was beginning to benefit from the cautious return of tourists and foreign investors.