Masih Akan Tersisa Lagi 68 Ribu Tentera Di Aghan.

Afghanistan: Obama orders withdrawal of 33,000 troops

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President Obama: "America, it is time to focus on nation-building at home"

President Barack Obama has announced the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year and another 23,000 by the end of September 2012.

Speaking from the White House, he said it was "the beginning, but not the end, of our effort to wind down this war".

Mr Obama's announcement, after a month-long strategy review, outlined the exit of the forces he sent to the country at the end of 2009 as part of a "surge".

The reductions are larger and faster than military commanders had advised.

They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013.

That would have given them another full "fighting season" - in addition to the one now under way - to attack Taliban strongholds and their leaders.

Nevertheless, about 68,000 US troops will remain in Afghanistan. All US combat troops are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to assume responsibility for security.

Adakah betul Atau Hanya Janji Kosong Obama?

Obama panggil balik 10,000 askar dari Afghanistan?

WASHINGTON: Presiden Barack Obama hari ini dijangka mengumumkan pelan mengeluarkan 10,000 anggota tentera Amerika Syarikat (AS) yang berkhidmat di Afghanistan, selepas rakyat negara itu semakin bimbang dengan ancaman peperangan.

Operasi membawa balik itu dijangka dilaksanakan berperingkat dengan kumpulan pertama membabitkan 5,000 askar menjelang musim panas ini dan baki 5,000 lagi pada musim sejuk atau musim bunga pada 2012.

Menurut pegawai kanan Pertahanan AS, Obama juga sedang menimbang masa yang sesuai untuk membawa balik 20,000 askar tambahan negara itu yang diperintahkan ke Afghanistan pada Disember 2009 lalu. -

Siapa kata Amerika Mahu Mengikut Kehendak Rakyatnya

Poll: Americans back troop withdrawal

Most Americans want the US troops to be brought back from Afghanistan swiftly.

Hours before the US president's nationwide speech on Afghanistan, a new poll shows that most Americans want a prompt drawdown of US forces from the war-ravaged country.

The Pew Research Center poll found that 56 percent of Americans now want the 100,000 US forces currently stationed in Afghanistan to be brought home as quickly as possible.

This is the first time that most Americans want a speedy withdrawal from the crisis-ridden country.

The Pew poll found that two-thirds of the Democrats and the majority of independent individuals also support pulling out soldiers.

This is while just 39 percent want US troops to stay in Afghanistan until security is restored to the state. The rate shows a sharp reduction compared with last year when 53 percent felt that way.

In December 2009, US President Barack Obama promised that the US would start to pull its troops out of Afghanistan in July 2011. The White House, however, later announced that a sizeable contingent of combat troops would remain in Afghanistan until at least 2014.

Considering the cost of the war, the death of US combat troops on an almost daily basis, and the public opinion solidly against continuing the 10-year conflict, Obama is under intense pressure to make a dramatic pullout announcement in July more because of domestic politics than military strategy.

Many political analysts say Obama knows he must make a significant gesture on Afghanistan to increase his chances for re-election in the 2012 presidential election. 

Americans frustrated with Obama?

Poll: Americans frustrated with Obama

US President Barack Obama

 

Growing frustrations with US President Barack Obama's handling of America's troubled economy will have a great impact on his 2012 re-election campaign, a recent poll suggests.

According to a survey conducted by Bloomberg National Poll, nearly 70 percent of Americans are becoming more dissatisfied with Obama and are not certain about voting for him in the 2012 presidential election.

The June 17-20 poll shows that only 30 percent of the participants are confident about supporting Obama in 2012, while 36 percent say they definitely would not support his re-election.

This is while 60 percent said that the US was moving in the wrong direction.

Among the likely independent voters, 23 percent expressed their support for the president, whereas another 36 percent said they would search for another candidate to vote for.

About 49 percent of the participants said they were worried about the Republicans gaining control of the White House and Congress and pushing forward with their plans to cut funds for benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

This is as the United States' actual unemployment rate as of May 2011 stood at 9.1 percent, a figure which is almost twice the rate it was before the onset of the recession in 2007.

Banjir di China: Berjuta Terjejas.

 

Buses are stranded in a flooded tunnel in Wuhan in Hubei province

 

More than five million people are now reported to have been affected by deadly floods in eastern China.

Torrential rain was continuing, leaving large parts of Zhejiang and Hubei provinces under water, state-run news agency Xinhua said.

It said nearly 1,000 businesses were being disrupted and crops destroyed, pushing up food prices.

This month's flooding - the worst since 1955 - has already left about 170 people dead or missing, reports say.

The government has mobilised troops to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. 

China's disaster alert has been raised to the highest level, four.

Downpours earlier this week triggered landslides that buried houses and killed at least two people in Zhejiang and another two in Hubei.

The floods come after months of crop-destroying drought in the centre and north of the country.

Some areas along the Yangtze River have suffered their worst drought in half a century.

Despite the rain, officials have warned that the crop shortages and dislocation caused by drought will remain severe.

Analysts say crop shortages in China could affect prices around the world.

PUM Gesa Dakwa Pelukis Hina Islam

Atau Ada Cadangan Lain?

Maaf Kartun Tidak Di Siarkan ... 

 

Harakahdaily
KUALA LUMPUR, 15 Jun: Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (PUM) memandang serius penyiaran kartun di dalam Utusan Malaysia disiarkan pada yang secara jelas menghina ulama dan Islam. “Perkara ini tidak harus dibiarkan,” ujar Yang Dipertua PUM, Datuk Sheikh Abdul Halim Abd Kadir dalam satu kenyataan. Sehubungan itu, PUM meminta supaya para Mufti juga turut menegur Utusan yang menyiarkan kartun yang menghina hukum hakam agama. Beliau berkata, sepatutnya akhbar menjadi alat perpaduan dan menimbulkan kesedaran, bukan menambah pergeseran dan perpecahan umat. PUM juga, katanya meminta supaya Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan membuat pendirian berhubung dengan perkara itu. Tambahnya, kartun seperti itu dilihat cuba memperlekehkan pandangan alim ulama dan memberikan tanggapan negatif kepada Islam. “Perkara sebegini sepatutnya mereka mendapatkan pandangan cerdik pandai dalam bidang agama sebelum mengeluarkan sesuatu bahan. “Kita syorkan supaya pelukis dan penerbit kartun ini didakwa atas penghinaan ke atas Islam,” katanya lagi. Beliau menambah, PUM juga menyarankan agar pihak kerajaan mengadakan lebih banyak  konvensyen nasional bagi menyelesaikan isu-isu dalam kalangan umat Islam sekarang yang kebanyakkan masyarakat Islam sekarang dilihat kurang berpengetahuan agama. Apa Pandangan Kita? Kartun itu memang Jahil. Dakwaan Rogol Sebenarnya boleh disabitkan dengan bukti-bukti lain. Umpama:  1. Kesan Calar atau gigitan di Badan Perogol kerana perlawanan mangsa saat awal. 2. Kesan Koyak di Baju Perogol Bahagian Depan (Bukan Belakang) 3. Kesan kesan koyak di pakaian mangsa. ( Bukti nombor 2 dan 3 ini sama seperti cerita Nabi Yusuf dan Zulaikha. Jadi jangan kata Islam tiada cara untuk membuktikan rogol.dan jangan hina Ugama Islam sembarangan) 4. Kelamin mangsa koyak, kesan lebam di badan mangsa kerana dipukul oleh perogol. 5. Air mazi mangsa tidak keluar. 6. Mangsa di bawah umur akil baligh. 7. Ada bukti penculikan atau penderaan atau ugutan atau paksaan atau di dalam badan mangsa terdapat kesan-kesan ubat khayal yang menjadikan mangsa tidak siuman semasa dirogol. Namun ,,, Siapa yang akan membuat dakwaan terhadap penghinaan itu? Dalam Kategori apakah kes itu nanti akan di masukkan.  Adakah ia Kes Jenayah Atau Kes Penghinaan atau Fitnah? Adakah ia Kes Jenayah Islam, Atau Kes Jenayah Sivil? Jika Kes Jenayah Adakah Pihak Kerajaan akan membuat dakwaan itu pada Surat Khabarnya atau sekurang-kurangnya Surat Khabar yang menyokongnya? Atau Sekurang-kurangnya Mahukah Pihak Kerajaan mendakwa Pelukis dan Ketua Surat Khabar itu untuk menghilangkan kesan arang dimuka sendiri? Jika Kes Penghinaan atau Fitnah, Siapakah yang paling berhak untuk membuat Dakwaan itu? NGO Islam? Dan Adakah mereka akan dibenarkan oleh undang-undang? Jika tidak dibenarkan oleh undang-undang pendakwaan itu, maka adakah Cukup dengan permohonan Maaf Sahaja? Jika perlu dibayar dengan pampasan, kepada siapakah nanti dibayar Pampasan Bayaran Penghinaan itu?  Adakah di bayar kepada pihak kerajaan semula yang menjaga Baitulmal  kerana bayaran kepada orang Islam perlu dibayar kepada Baitulmal.  Atau dibayar terus kepada Fakir Miskin atau mana-mana Asnaf yang berhak?  Atau anda mempunyai cadangan yang lebih bernas dan menarik hati semua pihak untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini. Atau anda mahu dengan adanya kes ini, anda mengambil peluang di dalam nya agar Syi'ar Islam di dalam undang-undang Negara itu dinaikkan dengan setinggi-tingginya? Ya jika kita bijak dan Allah berkenan, Insya Allah, dengan kes ini kita boleh menukar undang-undang Jenayah Sivil kepada Hudud. Siapa yang boleh melakukannya?  Bagaimana caranya? Sebenarnya dengan Video atau dengan pengakuan seseorang sahaja tanpa ada bukti sampingan yang kuat, tidak boleh membuktikan Kes samada dalam Islam atau pun Sivil. Namun jika ia boleh  di dakwa dan dibuktikan jua, bermakna perjalanan pendakwaan dan perbicaraan itu dari Awal hingga Akhir dan juga keputusannya adalah keputusan yang tidak adil. Jika Undang-undang Sivil pernah menerima dakwaan seperti itu, bermakna Mahkamah Sivil itu sendiri telah menghina dirinya hingga menyebabkan ia tidak dihormati dan tidak ada kredibiliti lagi untuk menjalankan setiap kes.  Mahkamah terlalu penting untuk mengamankan masyarakat. Namun jika mahkamah tidak lagi dapat dipercayai kerana pernah melakukan ketidakadilan. Maka negara akan hancur dibuatnya.  Darimanakah silapnya? Adakah kerana Sistem pengambilan Hakim yang tidak mengikut lunas-lunas Islam? Adakah kerana sistem prosedur Pendakwaan dan Penghakiman itu tidak mengikut undang-undang Islam?  Adakah kerana sistem pembelajaran Ilmu pihak-pihak berkuasa itu tidak mencukupi sehingga mereka jahil terhadap Islam dan keadilan sebenar?  Jadi jika semuanya tidak mencukupi, maka mereka tidak layak untuk berkuasa.

SYDNEY – Asian and African night owls were treated to a lunar eclipse, and ash in the atmosphere from a Chilean volcano turned it blood red for some viewers.

The Sydney Observatory said the eclipse was to begin at 3:25 a.m. Thursday (1:25 p.m. EDT, 5:25 p.m. GMT Wednesday) and last until after 5 a.m.

Scientists said the specific phenomenon happening Thursday — known as a "deep lunar eclipse" — often exudes a coppery color. But the intensity of the color depends on the amount of ash and dust in the atmosphere.

Luckily for moon-gazers, there was plenty of ash in the air so the moon appeared orange or red, especially in Asia. Air travelers haven't been so lucky: The ash has grounded hundreds of flights around the region.

Scientists said the eclipse could be safely observed with the naked eye.

Gempa Berulang di Christchurch

 

 PEKERJA memeriksa kerosakan yang berlaku di Gereja St John selepas gempa bumi melanda Christchurch, New Zealand semalam.

WELLINGTON: Beberapa siri gempa susulan melanda bandar Christchurch semalam, bandar yang pernah dilanda gempa bumi besar Februari lalu, meruntuhkan satu bangunan di antara beberapa lagi bangunan yang masih berdiri di kawasan bandar dan menyebabkan bekalan elektrik di beribu-ribu kediaman terputus.

Kira-kira 200 orang berada di kawasan gempa bumi semalam dan dua mangsa masih terperangkap dalam gereja, manakala 10 lagi cedera.

“Kami diselaputi debu. Ia sangat menakutkan,” kata Datuk Bandar Christchurch, Bob Parker kepada radio nasional New Zealand.

Penduduk di bandar itu keluar dari bangunan dalam keadaan panik apabila gempa berukuran 5.2 magnitud melanda ketika waktu makan tengah hari, dan sejam kemudian gegaran berukuran 6 magnitud melanda, menurut Kajian Geologikal Amerika Syarikat.

Di pusat bandar dan pinggir bandar, beberapa bangunan turut rosak.

Akhbar NZ Herald melaporkan 50 bangunan berkemungkinan runtuh dalam kejadian gempa bumi itu.
Gegaran turut dirasai sejauh Wellington dan Invercargill. Terminal lapangan terbang Christchurch kembali dibuka tetapi pemeriksaan landasan diteruskan. Penerbangan dijangka lewat.

Jambatan di Jalan Gayhurst, Avonside turut runtuh berikutan gempa itu, manakala beberapa lagi jambatan ditutup.

Stesen bersejarah Lyttelton Timeball Station yang rosak dalam gempa bumi Februari lalu turut runtuh.

“Semua kedai runtuh. Separuh daripada bumbung jatuh tetapi tidak runtuh keseluruhan,” kata pekerja Domino’s Pizza, Renee Murray.

Bandar itu digegarkan ratusan gempa susulan sejak gempa bumi berukuran 6.3 magnitud membunuh 181 orang pada 22 Februari. Seperti gegaran sebelum ini, dua gempa besar semalam terjadi dalam hanya dalam kedalaman 10 kilometer, menurut USGS.

Kira-kira 47,000 kediaman di timur bandar mengalami gangguan tenaga elektrik ketika penduduk berdepan dengan cuaca musim sejuk.

Batu bergolek menuruni bukit di kawasan paling teruk dilanda gempa pada Februari apabila mendapan menggelembung dari bumi, satu proses yang dikenali sebagai ‘liquefaction’ yang kadangkala terjadi ketika kejadian gempa.
–

AP/ Agensi

INFO: GEMPA DI CHRISTCHURCH

Selepas gempa pada Februari lalu, 300,000 tan mendapan memenuhi bandar dan mendapan memenuhi bandar dan menjadikan ribuan rumah tidak boleh didiami.

Dalam kejadian semalam, kenderaan SUV terjerumus memasuki lubang besar yang terjadi akibat gempa, manakala kereta polis tertimbun antara satu sama lain.

Dengan kerosakan di pusat bandar bermakna ada bangunan yang sudah diselamatkan kini mengalami kerosakan yang teruk. 

Mantan PM Britain baca Al-Quran setiap hari

10:00 AM DRS. KHALIL IDHAM LIM

12 Rejab 1432H. [MOD] -

LONDON - Bekas Perdana Menteri Britain, Tony Blair yang merupakan seorang penganut ajaran Katholik, mengaku membaca kitab suci umat Islam, al- Quran (yang diterjemahkan) pada setiap hari, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Pemimpin berusia 58 tahun itu berkata, beliau membaca Al-Quran untuk memastikan bahawa beliau lebih memahami tentang ajaran Islam.

Dalam satu wawancara dengan majalah Observer yang disiarkan pada Sabtu lepas, Blair berkata: "Saya percaya adalah penting untuk kita celik agama dalam dunia global masa kini."

"Saya membaca al-Quran setiap hari. Antara tujuannya adalah untuk memahami beberapa perkara yang berlaku di dunia ini, tetapi lebih penting, ia (al-Quran) banyak memberikan maklumat berguna," ujarnya.

Menurut Blair, beliau percaya kefahaman mengenai Islam dapat membantu dalam peranannya sebagai Utusan Rasmi Asia Barat untuk Kuartet Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB), Amerika Syarikat, Kesatuan Eropah dan Rusia.

Blair sebelum ini memuji agama Islam sebagai indah dan menyatakan Nabi Muhammad SAW penggerak yang kuat dalam membentuk masyarakat bertamadun.

Adik ipar pemimpin tersebut, Lauren Booth memeluk agama Islam pada Oktober tahun lalu. 

Al-Zawahri: Muslim Akan Menghancurkan Amerika

Al-Zawahri:  Muslim Akan Menghancurkan Amerika

Kaherah - wakil Osama bin Laden, Rabu, amaran bahawa Amerika menghadapi pengganas, yang tidak individu atau kumpulan, tetapi komuniti antarabangsa Muslim yang berusaha untuk menghancurkannya dan sekutunya. Dia menyampaikan pidato rakaman video 28-minit, kerana pemimpin Al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden yang telah dibunuh.
Ayman al-Zawahri,  al-Qaeda No 2 dan dianggap sebagai ketua operasi rangkaian, juga berusaha untuk melemparkan peranan bagi kumpulan keganasan dalam pemberontakan popular dunia Arab.
"Hari ini, Segala Puji bagi Allah, Amerika tidak menghadap seorang individu, kumpulan atau puak," katanya,  dengan memakai jubah putih dan serban dengan raifal tempur bersandar di dinding di belakangnya. "Ini adalah menghadapi bangsa daripada pemberontakan, setelah bangkit dari kelesuan untuk kebangkitan jihad."
Al-Zawahri juga menumpukkan pujian pada bin Laden, yang tewas dalam serangan 2 Mei oleh US Navy SEAL di bandar garrison Pakistan Abbottabad. Al-Zawahri, yang diyakini beroperasi dari suatu tempat di dekat perbatasan Pakistan-Afghanistan, juga mengecam AS kerana menanam bin Laden di laut.
"Dia pergi kepada Allah sebagai syahid, orang yang ketakutan Amerika sambil hidup dan menakutkan dalam kematian, begitu banyak sehingga mereka gementar idea ia mempunyai makamnya sendiri " katanya.
Al-Zawahri - yang dirujuk jatuhnya penguasa di Tunisia dan Mesir dan pemberontakan terus di Libya, Yemen dan Syria - cuba untuk melemparkan perkembangan terkini kerana sesuai dengan tujuan lama kumpulan-nya: untuk menghancurkan Amerika dan sekutu-sekutunya. Dia mengatakan Amerika sekarang menghadapi masyarakat Muslim antarabangsa.
"Saudara-saudara kami yang bekerja dalam Islam di segala tempat, saya katakan bahawa tangan kita yang diperluas untuk anda dan hati kita terbuka untuk anda, sehingga kami dapat bekerja sama untuk membuat Firman Allah swt yang tertinggi dan untuk melaksanakan undang-undang Islam di negeri-negeri Muslim, bukan memerintah, "katanya dalam sebuah video yang dikeluarkan di laman militan.
Al-Qaeda telah lama berupaya untuk menggulingkan banyak pemimpin Arab yang rejim telah tergoncang atau digulingkan oleh pemberontakan popular tahun ini, walaupun Islam militan telah memainkan sebelah tidak berperanan dalam salah satu daripada mereka dan aktivis yang paling mengatakan mereka mencari awam, Peraturan tidak religius .
Beberapa hari selepas serangan bin Laden, al-Qaeda telah mengeluarkan kenyataan bersumpah untuk terus berjuang melawan Amerika Syarikat, sebuah mesej yang akan direka untuk meyakinkan para pengikutnya bahawa organisasi akan tetap kuat dan utuh bahkan selepas kematian pengasasnya's.
Tapi pidato al-Zawahri adalah komentar yang pertama oleh salah satu potensi penerusnya tentang membunuh bin Laden.
Ia juga mengatakan pegawai AS ditahan keluaran foto-foto tubuh bin Laden, takut akan "kemarahan masyarakat Islam 'dan benci" untuk Amerika. Dia menyatakan bin Laden "mencapai apa yang ingin ia lakukan, yang menghasut bangsa Islam perang suci, dan mesej telah mencapai semua."
Al-Zawahri, Mesir, adalah tokoh karismatik diyakini kurang kurangnya kemampuan bin Laden menyatukan negara-negara dan kumpulan etnik yang membentuk al-Qaeda. pelantikan-Nya sebagai pemimpin Al-Qaeda berikutnya lebih lanjut boleh patah sebuah organisasi yang dianggap semakin terdesentralisasi.
pidato tersebut meliputi lima puisi pujian bagi bin Laden, menggambarkan dia bergantian sebagai sederhana, komander mulia dan cerdas dan "pelopor jihad melawan komunis dan kemudian Tentera Salib," sebuah rujukan untuk bin kempen Laden dalam perang Afghanistan melawan Soviet di 1980-an dan 11 September 2011 serangan terhadap Amerika Syarikat.
Al-Zawahri juga merasakan  kemarahan vented di pemimpin tentera Pakistan dan ahli politik, menyiratkan mereka mempunyai peranan dalam kematian bin Laden.
"Saya menyeru kepada bangsa Pakistan untuk bangkit melawan para pengkhianat tentera tentera bayaran dan ahli politik korup yang ternyata Pakistan menjadi tanah jajahan Amerika, yang membolehkan (Amerika) untuk membunuh atau menangkap siapapun yang dikehendaki," al-Zawahri berkata.
Ia menyimpulkan dengan mengatakan bin Laden akan tetap menjadi "sumber horor dan mengejar mimpi buruk Amerika, Israel dan sekutu mereka."

Undangan Untuk Sufi Sedunia 16 Julai Di Jakarta

 

Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (kanan) menerima Ketua Umum Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Said Aqil Siradj (kiri) dan Rais Aam PBNU Sahal Mahfudz (kedua kiri) di Kantor Kepresidenan, Jakarta, Senin (6/6).

Rayakan Harlah, PBNU Undang Sufi Sedunia

JAKARTA - Pengurus Besar Nahdatul Ulama akan mengundang tarekat tasawuf sedunia pada 16 Juli 2011 nanti. Dalam pertemuan tersebut akan dibahas berbagai tema termasuk kekerasan mengatasnamakan Islam.

Ketua Umum PBNU Said Agil Siradj mengungkapkan pertemuan ini merupakan rangkaian peringatan hari lahir NU ke-85 atau 88 dalam hitungan kalender Hijriyah.  "Insya Allah Harlah NU akan dilaksanakan pada tanggal 17 Juli, tapi sebelumnya tanggal 16 akan ada pertemuan tarekat-tarekat tasawuf atau sufi sedunia," jelas Said, usai bertemu dengan presiden di kantor presiden, Senin (6/6).

Mereka yang diundang dalam pertemuan sufi itu yakni dari dalam negeri sebanyak 43 tarekat, sedangkan dari luar negeri 22 tarekat. Dari luar negeri seperti Mesir, Amerika, Jepang, Maroko dan Turki. Semuanya masuk dalam aliran Sunni.

Menurutnya Said, pertemuan ini penting untuk menjelaskan bahwa Islam Indonesia adalah Islam yang mengedepankan akhlakul karimah, kebijakan, kearifan serta menjauhi kekerasan. "Bahkan anti-kekerasan. Kita akan hadapi kekerasan atas nama Islam," ujarnya.

Said berpendapat, kekerasan itu hanya akan mencoreng nama Islam itu sendiri.   "Islam Indonesia adalah moderat, toleran, dan itu kita warisan dari dai Islam Wali Songo yang telah berhasil mengislamkan Nusantara," paparnya.

Dalam pertemuan NU dengan presiden, juga disinggung mengenai kekerasan yang marak terjadi dalam beberapa waktu terakhir ini. Pihaknya dengan presiden berbagi saran mengenai upaya deradikalisasi. Selama ini NU telah melakukan kerja sama dengan berbagai pihak termasuk Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Teroris (BNPT). 

PBNU pun sepakat untuk memperkuat empat pilar bangsa yakni Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, Pancasila, Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 dan Bhineka Tunggal Ika. "Bagi kami ini sudah final," tegasnya.

Selain pertemuan para sufi, dalam hari lahir PBNU tersebut rencananya juga akan diadakan pameran ekonomi, serta pawai barikade NU yang rencananya akan dihadiri oleh 30 ribu kader NU dari berbagai daerah.

Semoga Allah Melaknat Israel Seperti Kaum Lut Di Laknat

 

Israel prepares to celebrate Gay Rights;
Syrian Regime Abducts Gay Blogger

• Blogger, a Syrian-American, seized from Damascus street
• Homosexuality illegal in Syria
• Israel is lone outpost of gay rights in Middle East

Washington, June 8 – Two events sharply contrast Israel’s open civil society with Syrian repression this week.

In Israel, activists will celebrate gay rights in Tel Aviv’s 10^th annual LGBT parade Friday. A short distance away in Damascus, a Syrian-American lesbian blogger was kidnapped from the streets of Damascus as part of President Bashar –al Assad’s brutal crackdown against protesters seeking democratic rights.

Amina Arraf, 35, an English teacher who was born in Staunton, Virginia, writes openly about her sexuality in a blog, A Gay Girl in Damascus. She was seized by unknown men who forced her into a vehicle as she walked with a friend Monday in the streets of the Syrian capital.

A day before her kidnapping, Arraf wrote, "I am complex, I am many things; I am an Arab, I am Syrian, I am a woman, I am queer, I am Muslim, I am binational, I am tall, I am too thin; my sect is Sunni, my clan is Omari, my tribe is Quraysh, my city is Damascus... And I am also a Virginian.” 

Homosexuality is illegal in Syria and other Arab nations, punishable by death in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In Syria, male homosexuality is illegal but the law is less clear for women, stating, “Any unnatural sexual intercourse shall be punished with a term of imprisonment of up to three years.”

By contrast, Israel is a lone outpost of gay rights and openness in the Middle East, with Tel Aviv known for embracing gay culture. As one Israeli blogger stated in a post about the upcoming parade, “It is a well known fact that Tel Aviv has become one of the main gay metropolitans of the world. Some even say that in certain aspects (probably the craziness and loudness), Tel Aviv is even a competitor to cities like Berlin or New York.”

Rania O. Ismail, a cousin of Arraf’s, wrote on the blog that Arraf’s family doesn’t know who abducted her, but that according to a witness, “Amina was seized by three armed men in their early 20’s,” one of whom covered the woman’s mouth as he pushed her into a car with a window sticker of Assad.

“Unfortunately, there are at least 18 different police formations in Syria as well as multiple different party militias and gangs,” Ismail wrote in a post Monday. “We do not know who took her so we do not know who to ask to get her back. 

The men are assumed to be members of one of the security services or the Baath Party militia. Amina’s present location is unknown and it is unclear if she is in a jail or being held elsewhere in Damascus.”

Lagi AS Mencabuli Kedaulatan Pakistan

US drone strike kills 23 in Pakistan

Wed Jun 8, 2011 9:45AM

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A US drone

 

The US has conducted another unauthorized drone airstrike in Pakistan's troubled northwest, leaving at least 23 people dead and several others wounded.

Officials say the US drones have fired five missiles into North Waziristan close to the Afghan border.

Meanwhile, Pakistani medics reported that the missiles fired by US drones have contaminated the environment with unknown chemicals.

They say most of those wounded by US drone airstrikes in North Waziristan are hospitalized for various skin, eye and respiratory diseases caused by chemicals.

The US often carries out such attacks on Pakistan's tribal regions, claiming that the militants are their target.

But locals say civilians are the main victims of the non-UN-sanctioned US strikes.

The issue of civilian casualties has strained the relations between Islamabad and Washington with the Pakistani government repeatedly objecting to the attacks.

Attacks by unmanned American planes have left dozens of people dead in the volatile region over the past weeks.

The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama.

Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the attacks, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty.

The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.

Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in late October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life.

Alston also said he fears that the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a "play station" mentality.

Timur As Panas Hingga Memecah Rekod

Record-breaking heat grips much of eastern US

 

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent Sanchez drinks water from a gallon jug as he patrols along the Rio …

 

By BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press Brett Zongker, Associated Press – 1 hr 2 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The mercury climbed into the 90s across half the country Wednesday in a record-breaking blast of August-like heat, forcing schools with no air conditioning to let kids go home early and cities to open cooling centers. And scientists say we had better get used to it.

A new study from Stanford University predicts that global climate change will lead permanently to unusually hot summers by the middle of the century.

Temperatures in the 90s were recorded across much of the South, the East and the Midwest. Baltimore and Washington hit 99 degrees, breaking high-temperature records for the date that were set in 1999, according to the National Weather Service. The normal high for the date is about 82.

Philadelphia hit 97 degrees, breaking a 2008 record of 95, and Atlantic City, N.J., tied a record of 98 set in 1999. Chicago reached 94 by midafternoon. The temperature hit 97 in LaGuardia, N.Y., breaking the old record of 96 set in 2008. Newark, N.J., reached 99 degrees, breaking a record of 97 set in 1999.

Forecasters said it felt even hotter because of the high humidity. The ridge of high pressure that brought the broiling weather is expected to remain parked over the region through Thursday.

"I'm staying in my house. I'm going to watch TV and have a cold beer," said 84-year-old Harvey Milliman of Manchester, N.J. "You got a better idea than that, I'd love to hear it."

Youngsters sweltered in Hartford, Conn., where school would have ended for the summer by now if not for the heavy snows last winter that led to makeup days.

"I'm not even going to go outside this summer if it's going to be like this, unless my mom makes me," said seventh-grader Kemeshon Scott, putting the final touches on a social studies paper in a Hartford school with no air conditioning.

Public schools in Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey and Maryland cut their days short. But Baltimore students were disappointed to find a public pool closed when school let out early. The mayor later ordered the pools to open.

In Oklahoma, where temperatures have reached 104 four times so far this month, the Salvation Army said more people are seeking help with high utility bills earlier in the season, and paramedics responded to more heat-related illnesses.

The deaths of five elderly people in Tennessee, Maryland and Wisconsin have been blamed on the heat in recent days.

Cooling centers were opened in cities such as Chicago, Memphis, Tenn., and Newark, N.J., as a refuge for those without air conditioning. City officials in Norfolk, Va., teamed up with nonprofit groups to deliver cold water and sunscreen to the homeless.

And this could be just the beginning.

The 6-to-10-day outlook from the federal Climate Prediction Center calls for continued above-average readings centered on the mid-South, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and extending as far as the Great Lakes and New York and New Jersey.

That is likely to continue in the coming month, with the hot weather extending west into New Mexico and Arizona. The three-month outlook shows excessive heat focused on Arizona and extending east along the Gulf Coast. Cooler-than-normal readings are forecast from Tennessee into the Great Lakes states.

At Stanford, Noah S. Diffenbaugh and Martin Scherer analyzed global climate computer models and concluded that by midcentury, large areas of the world could face unprecedented heat. They said the coolest summers will be hotter than the hottest ones of the 1900s.

Global warming in recent years has been blamed on increasing concentrations of gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The permanent shift to extreme heat would occur first in the tropics and reach North America, South America and Eurasia by 2060, the scientist report in a paper that will be published in the journal Climatic Change Letters.

At the National Zoo in Washington, visitors took breaks on benches in the shade. 

"Water!" shouted 8-year-old Amanda Squires when she spotted a misting station as she walked with her school group from Beaverdam, Va. 

Officials at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, the Army's largest training installation, let recruits adjust their uniforms to get cooler and spend time in the shade. 

One soldier who had minor heat ailments earlier in the week had to wear a string of beads to display how many quarts of water he was drinking each day. Said Pvt. Ryan Kline, 24, of Windsor, Colo.: "I had lots of pain, fatigue, but I'm fine today as long as I stay hydrated."

Var-Yag, The China Aircraft Carrier

 

 

A Chinese military official confirmed to media that China is working on its first aircraft carrier.

General Chen Bingde, the chief of China’s military staff, told the Hong Kong Commercial Daily that the Chinese regime got its hands on a refurbished former Soviet carrier that “is being built, but it has not been completed.”

Chen declined to give further details regarding the construction and progress of the vessel, originally called the “Varyag,” which was reported first purchased from Ukraine for $200 million in 1998. There have been a number of reports regarding its existence and progress since.

The Daily reported that the ship is being constructed in the northeast port of Dalian and will be ready for testing by the end of this year.

"It would have been better for us if we acted sooner in understanding the oceans and mapping out our water capabilities earlier,” Chen told the newspaper.

The paper notes that the ship weighs 67,500 tons and is 990 feet long.

The United States has expressed concerns regarding China’s growing military presence in the Pacific Ocean, noting that the regime is developing long-range ballistic missiles that are capable of penetrating the armor of its own aircraft carriers. Reports have also emerged that China is attempting to build stealth fighter jets.

And while Chinese officials—including Chen—have recently attempted to downplay its military might in recent visits with U.S. officials, some have argued otherwise.

“China has committed to developing aircraft carriers, new nuclear submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles, outer space combat capabilities, advanced stealth fighters, and anti-aircraft missiles in recent years. Are they not all targeted at the United States?” a May 22 article by Taiwan’s Central News Agency argued.

Israel Membakar Masjid Palestin

Israelis set afire Palestinian mosque

Israeli extremists have vandalized a Palestinian mosque in the occupied West Bank. (file photo)

 

Israeli extremists have vandalized a mosque in the occupied West Bank, daubing its walls with Hebrew graffiti, officials say.

The Palestinian mayor of al-Mughayer village said a tire was burning inside the village mosque, indicating an apparent attempt to set the entire building ablaze, the Associated Press reported.

Faraj al-Nassan said the villagers discovered the fire when they went to the mosque for morning prayers on Tuesday.

Israeli settlers and policemen have repeatedly attacked mosques in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli military bulldozers demolished a mosque and some structures in the Khirbet Yarza area of West Bank last November.

Israel has occupied some 60 percent of the Palestinian territory, where it has been illegally and persistently expanding what it refers to as Jewish settlements.

Jika Ada PM Baru, Mereka Pujuk Jika Tak Mau Mereka Ancam Dengan Tsunami, Lepas Tsunami Mereka Ancam Lagi.

U.S. to press Japan, South Korea on Iran sanctions

Japan PM Kan to step down by August: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Treasury Department official is set to travel to Japan and South Korea this week to encourage tough implementation of international sanctions aimed at Iran's nuclear program.

Acting Under Secretary David Cohen "will emphasize the importance of continuing robust implementation of international sanctions to prevent Iran from accessing the international financial system to facilitate its illicit nuclear and weapons program," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop the means to make a nuclear bomb. Iran rejects the accusation, saying its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity so that it can export more of its oil and gas.

Cohen, who oversees Treasury Department operations on terrorism and financial intelligence, will visit Japan and South Korea from Tuesday to Friday, the department said.

"He will also consult with our partners on next steps to increase pressure by redoubling efforts to target those entities facilitating Iran's illicit activities, especially Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard," the department said.

The head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency said in a speech on Monday that Iran seems to have carried out nuclear-related activities with possible military activities until recently.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's remarks were seen as a a warning to Iran to cooperate or face a IAEA report that could lend weight to any renewed Western push to tighten sanctions.

77% Warga Israel Membantah Untuk Kembali Kepada Sempadan 1967 Yang Ditetapkan PBB

Poll: 77% of Israelis oppose going back to pre-'67 lines

 

 Large majorities recognize importance of keeping J'lem under Israeli sovereignty, oppose transferring Temple Mount to Palestinian control.

  Seventy-seven percent of Israelis oppose returning to pre-1967 lines even if it would lead to a peace agreement and declarations by Arab states of an end to their conflict with Israel, a poll revealed Monday.

A Dahaf Institute poll of a sample 500 Israelis taken last week was commissioned by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs to coincide with Monday night's presentation of Bar-Ilan University¹s Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies' Guardian of Zion Award to JCPA's head, former ambassador to the UN Dore Gold.

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The poll found that large majorities of 85 percent and 75%, respectively, recognized the importance of maintaining a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty within the framework of any final peace deal and opposed transferring the Temple Mount to Palestinian control even if the Western Wall were to remain in Israeli hands.

Regarding the Jordan Valley, 84% believe Israel must maintain control of the strategic border with Jordan even in the framework of a final peace agreement.

The JCPA has been a major advocate of ensuring that Israel keep defensible borders as the United Nations decided after the Six Day War.

The poll found that 60% of Israelis believed that defensible borders would ensure security more than a peace agreement would, and 82% considered security concerns more important than a peace deal.

In comparison with polls sponsored by JCPA in 2005, Israelis have become less convinced the Palestinians will recognize the right of Israel to exist and give up their demand for a Palestinian right of return to within Israel's final borders.

Zionis Mahu Menyerang Masjid Al-Aqsha

Zionis Mahu Menyerang Masjid Al-Aqsha

Al-Quds-PIP: Yayasan Al-Aqsha memperingatkan langkah kelompok zionis Israel yang hendak menyerbu Masjidil Aqsha, pada hari Selasa dan Kamis pekan ini, untuk memperingati hari raya “Shavut Bawakir” yahudi, yang bertepatan dengan peringatan 44 tahun penjajahan bagian Timur kota Al-Quds.  Dalam pernyataannya, Senin (6/6) yayasan Al-Aqsha melaporkan, kelompok asosiasi yahudi menebarkan seruan untuk menyerbu Masjidil Aqsha dan menyelenggarakan ritual taurat di dalamnya untuk memperingati hari raya yahudi yang dimulai besok. Yayasan Al-Aqsha melihat rencana tersebut sebagai upaya Israel mempertahankan status quo-nya.  Yayasan menjelaskan, kelompok yahudi tersebut telah menyediakan kendaraan untuk aksi penyerbuan ini yang berasal dari sejumlah pemukiman di sekitar kota Al-Quds.  Yayasan memperbarui seruannya kepada kaum muslimin untuk berkonsentrasi di Masjidil Aqsha secara terpadu untuk menghadapi upaya serbuan yahudi seperti ini. (qm)