Headlines:
- Australia: Secret Party Vowing to Reduce Islam Soars in Popularity
- Russia Hacking Claims: Trump says No Effect on Election
- America: ‘Indus Waters Treaty Made Peaceful Cooperation Possible between India, Pakistan’
- US Congress begins Power Play against Trump
- Syrian Government Struggling to Secure Capital’s Water Supplies
- Russian Role in Syria Undiminished Despite Latest Withdrawal
- Failed Pakistani Military Courts Expire
Australia: Secret Party Vowing to Reduce Islam Soars in Popularity
A secretive organisation has promised to “reduce Islam” and encourage a “more human rights version” of the religion in the wake of terror attacks. The mysterious Q Society is now gaining ground and support for the “Islam-critical Movement” across Australia and has decided to embrace the limelight. It is a far cry from the days the group insisted members sign a nondisclosure agreement if they want to attend one of its meetings. But now the anti-Islam party is publicly promoting a $150-a-head fundraising dinner in Sydney and Melbourne, which will feature speeches from well-known local councilors. Leaders say the secretive group is gathering momentum across the pond in the wake of multiple Islamist terror attacks. Deputy President Ralf Schumann said now is the big moment to “reduce Islam” and encourage a “more human rights friendly” version of the religion. He said: “More people are aware, they see the problems in their backyard, their community. The public has picked up on it more with every bombing, stabbing, forced marriage and child bride. “If you look back 10 years, you won’t read about these issues. Everything was fantastic, everyone wanted a falafel or kebab.” “With Islam, the problem grows exponentially. We’re probably 10 years behind Britain and Europe but we’re catching up fast. “The main thing is to reduce the numbers, not let it grow any further and take the status out of it in our so-called multicultural society.” Australia’s newest political party’s manifesto states that “Islam is not merely a religion, it is a totalitarian ideology with global aspirations”. The party is affiliated with the Australian Liberty Alliance and global organisation Stop the Islamisation of Nations (SION), which brought right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders to speak in Australia. Q Society has 1,000 registered members across Australia who donate sums of anything from $5 (£3) to $5,000 (£3,000). [Source: Daily Mirror]
Islam has existed for over 1400 years and during this period many powerful states, groups and individuals have tried to put out the light of Islam, but they have all failed. Q Society’s fate will be no different.
Russia Hacking Claims: Trump says No Effect on Election
Hacking had no effect on the outcome of the US election, President-elect Donald Trump has said after a meeting with intelligence chiefs. However, Mr Trump said he would ask for a plan within 90 days of taking office on how to stop cyber-attacks. US intelligence chiefs believe Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic Party emails to damage Hillary Clinton. But hours before the briefing, Mr Trump dismissed the claims as a “political witch-hunt” by his opponents. He told the New York Times that US institutions had been the target of previous hacking attacks, but they had not received the same media attention as the alleged intrusions during the election campaign. Later, Mr Trump described the briefing at Trump Tower by National Intelligence Director Gen James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey as “constructive”. In a statement he declined to single out Russia and said he had “tremendous respect for the work and service done” by those in the US intelligence community. “While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organisations including the Democrat National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election.” He added: “Whether it is our government, organisations, associations or businesses we need to aggressively combat and stop cyber-attacks. I will appoint a team to give me a plan within 90 days of taking office.” Since winning the election, Mr Trump has repeatedly questioned intelligence on the hacking claims. In a tweet on Friday, Trump said he wanted an investigation into how “top secret intelligence” was shared with US broadcaster NBC “prior to me seeing it”. An unclassified version of the intelligence report will be made public next week, but some details have already started emerging in US media, including on NBC. Russia has denied any involvement in the hacking and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says Moscow was not the source for the site’s mass leak of emails from the Democratic Party. According to CNN, the Washington Post and NBC News, citing intelligence sources, agencies had intercepted communications following the election which showed senior Russian government officials celebrated Donald Trump’s win over rival Hillary Clinton. Republican Senator John McCain, a leading Russia critic in Congress who chaired the hearing, said it was in the interests of all Americans to confront the problem of foreign hacking. “There is no national security interest more vital to the US than the ability to hold free and fair elections without foreign interference.” Last week President Barack Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the US over the alleged hacking. Russia has said it will not reciprocate. [Source: BBC]
In the absence of incontrovertible evidence, US intelligence agencies have again manufactured conclusions akin to the pretext used justify the Iraq war. This time the evidence supports a personal vendetta between Democrats and Republicans at one level, and at a second level a dispute over the nature of future US-Russian relations.
America: ‘Indus Waters Treaty Made Peaceful Cooperation Possible between India, Pakistan’
United States said the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has served “a model for peaceful cooperation” between Pakistan and India, US Department of State reported. At a weekly briefing of the US state department, Spokesperson John Kirby said: “The Indus Waters Treaty has served… as a model for peaceful cooperation between India and Pakistan for now 50 years.” When asked whether the US has offered to mediate on the issue between the two countries, Kirby said the US “encourage[s] India and Pakistan to work together bilaterally to resolve their differences.” Without giving details whether the US government spoke to Indian officials about the water dispute, Kirby said the US was “in regular communication with the Indian and Pakistani governments on a wide range of issues”. The latest dispute between India and Pakistan concerns the two hydroelectric power plants — Kishanganga and Ratle — that India is building on the Indus Rivers system. Pakistan believes that the projects violate the design parameters of the IWT, which provides specific criteria for such plants. In conflicting reports, official sources had earlier told Dawn that the US administration has initiated the process for peacefully resolving the current water dispute between India and Pakistan without waiting for an invitation to do so. US Secretary of State John Kerry had also called Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and discussed with him different options for an amicable settlement of the dispute. The initiative stems from the fear the US administration shares with the World Bank that the dispute, if dragged, may harm the treaty that has effectively resolved water disputes between India and Pakistan for more than half a century. The IWT is a water-distribution agreement between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank and signed in Karachi on Sept 19, 1960. It recognises the bank as the main arbitrator and suggests appointing neutral experts and a court of arbitration for resolving disputes. [Source: Dawn]
Pakistan is more than capable of resolving water issues with India, and must start by rejecting the colonial substance of IWT. Outside powers have used a variety of treaties and accords to maintain their influence in the sub-continent, and this is root of the conflict between India and Pakistan.
US Congress begins Power Play against Trump
We are now seeing a live lesson in the reality of American democracy over the Russian hacking issue.
Both Democratic and Republican Party Congressional leaders, as well as President Obama’s outgoing intelligence heads, are intensifying their campaign against the alleged Russian hacking of the US Presidential elections won by Donald Trump. Congress is using this as an opportunity to establish a strong position against the incoming President. It seems that Trump has realised that Congress is merely ‘playing politics’ on this issue. According to Reuters:
President-elect Donald Trump called the controversy over Russian hacking during the 2016 presidential campaign a “political witchhunt” on Friday in an interview hours before he was to receive a U.S. intelligence briefing on the topic.
“China, relatively recently, hacked 20 million government names,” Trump told the New York Times, referring to the Office of Personnel Management breach in 2014 and 2015. “How come nobody even talks about that? This is a political witch hunt.”
He said hackers have infiltrated the White House and Congress. “We’re like the hacking capital of the world,” said Trump.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Grant McCool)
The American system particularly emphasises the concept of ‘Separation of Powers’, which they say is needed to maintain the democratic power of the people. In reality, however, the separation of powers results in a weak and divided government that ensures the continued imposition of elite interests within American politics.
Syrian government struggling to secure capital’s water supplies
The severe bombardment of Aleppo has not ended the Syrian uprising against Assad. The regime is now battling to save critical water supplies to the capital. According to Reuters:
The Syrian army and its allies pressed ahead on Friday with a two-week-long offensive to seize a strategic valley where a key spring provides supplies to four million people in the capital, Damascus, residents and rebels said.
Aerial bombing and shelling from the army as well as Hezbollah fighters stationed in the mountains that overlook the valley on the northwestern edge of the capital had intensified in the last forty-eight hours, they said.
Scores of jets pounded the area around the Ain al-Fija springs and the villages of Baseimah, Kafr Zayt and al Husseineh, which form part of a cluster of ten villages controlled by rebels in the valley that lies at the northwestern edge of the capital.
The Syrian army, aided by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi’ite group, has so far been unsuccessful in making any significant advance in the valley since they launched the drive to capture the strategic area and accused rebels of polluting the springs with diesel.
The people of Syria are not ready to accept defeat at the hands of this brutal dictator.
Russian Role in Syria Undiminished Despite Latest Withdrawal
The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad continues to depend on foreign forces in his war against his own people. According to the Associated Press:
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to cast himself as a peacemaker in Syria, after his military proved to be the difference in the battle for Aleppo. The Russian military announced Friday it was withdrawing its flagship vessels from the Syrian coast, and Putin has sent his envoys to organize the first talks between the Syrian government and opposition in nearly a year, set for later this month in Kazakhstan.
But the Syrian government’s battlefield victories have depended crucially on Russian firepower, and Moscow is likely to remain closely involved in the protracted war. Syrian President Bashar Assad has indicated he still has battles to fight around the capital, Damascus, and in rebel-held Idlib province, in the country’s northwest. These are matters that Russia still needs to resolve.
The dependence on Russian and outside forces clearly demonstrates that Assad is unable to depend fully on his own army and security forces, which are otherwise perhaps the most powerful in the region. The war in Syria can only truly be solved by the participation of the armed forces. But first they have to decide if they stand with their people, or they stand with the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Failed Pakistani Military Courts Expire
Over the past two years, Pakistan has maintained a parallel judicial system of military courts in order to try so-called ‘jet-black terrorists’. After scores of false convictions by these courts, they have become deeply unpopular with almost all segments of Pakistan society. According to the Pakistani paper, The News:
The federal government is not extending the jurisdiction, expiring on Saturday, of military courts to try civilian terrorists, Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali Khan told The News on Friday.
“The cases that were being referred to these forums would now be tried by the existing Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs),” he said in a telephonic conversation. “The number of ATCs may be increased considering the workload.”
In fact, the military courts became a convenient mechanism for the notorious military intelligence agencies to cover up their criminal excesses. The failings of Pakistan’s judicial system cannot be solved by such ad hoc measures as military courts, which end up dispensing even worse justice than the existing system. It is the British judicial system itself that needs to be uprooted and replaced with the Shari’i system of law, under the righteous Khilafah State working on the method of Prophethood.