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Showing posts from April 5, 2009

Balochistan deaths spark strikes

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There are fears violence could spread over the weekend Political groups in Pakistan's Balochistan province have called a three-day general strike in protest at the killing of three ethnic leaders. One policeman died in riots on Thursday and more trouble is feared. The United Nations expressed "serious concern" over the killings and urged an immediate investigation. Supporters say the three men went missing after being detained by security forces. An army spokesman blamed "anti-state elements". Reports from the provincial capital, Quetta, suggest the strike is being widely observed, with shops and schools closed and little traffic on the streets. The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the discovery of the bodies has torn the lid off a simmering conflict. Baloch nationalists have long campaigned for greater autonomy and control of local resources. An armed insurgency is demanding outright independence. 'Regrettable'

After busting terror plot, UK points fingers at Pakistan

April 10, 2009 17:17 IST British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has asked President Asif Ali Zardari [ Images ] to do more to root out terrorism emanating from Pakistan's territory after police in the UK arrested a dozen Al-Qaeda [ Images ] suspects, including 11 Pakistanis, over a "very big terrorist plot". "Prime Minister Brown telephoned President Zardari and the two leaders discussed matters relating to bilateral relations as well as the fight against terrorism,"  Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in Islamabad [ Images ] , without giving details. However, Dawn newspaper reported that Brown raised concerns about links between terrorists in the UK and Pakistan and demanded 'intensified efforts to crush militants'. The telephonic conversation between Brown and Zardari follow resignation of the UK's top counter-terrorism expert Bob Quick after a security blunder by the police officer, who inadvertently disclosed a covert sur

Bali Victims Memorial

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Bali Bomb Blast victims plaque Bali bombing which occurred on October 12, 2002 was the deadliest act of terrorism in Indonesia where 202 lives

Madrid Victim Memorial

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Bosque del Recuerdo en el Retiro Forest of the departed : memorial to the 191 victims of the 3/11/04 attacks. Inside the memorial Estudio FAM from Madrid where the 11-M Madrid Victim Memorial winning team. Their project resembles us a big glass sculpture, symbolizing the soul of the terrorist attack victims. In its interior we can read messages written in memory to the terrible facts. One exterior Glass brick skin, and other in ETFE, build the memorial, offering different types of reflexes and light colours, dominating the sourrounding shadows of the lower floor. The absence of structure in its construction, allows that this monument acquire weightless and an amazing simbology.' www.construmatica.com/construblog/2007/03/07/11-m-madrid The M-11 Memorial, Madrid, Spain. Under the title "Aesthetics and construction", this year’s award presented by the Detail 2009 architecture portal went to the 11-Memorial project, a monument commemorating the victims of the March

9/11 Memorials U.S.A

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National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, NY, NY There are many touching memorials to honor those who died on this day besides the new memorial being built in New York at the World Trade Center. The attack on 9/11 did not tear us apart as intended, instead it brought diverse cultures together to honor those who died: Russia donated a memorial to a small town in New Jersey, a town in Connecticut came together to build a glass tribute, Ducks Unlimited and a park commission collaborated to create a space for reflection, Staten Island created an uplifting sculpture for their hard hit community. An airport in Boston just dedicated it’s beautiful shrine and the U.S. Department of Defense dedicates their memorial on 9/11–those experts in sadness created an eloquent monument for those we lost. All honor those who sacrificed for us. All are built from the ground up. All are beautiful. National Memorial in Bayonne, New Jersey, courtesy of sister72. “Standing

London Terror Memorial

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Flower donations at Victoria Embankment Gardens for the 07/07/2005 terrorist attacks. Nikon D50. London Terror Memorial

War on Terror Memorial

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War on Terror Memorial, Washington DC 26-FEB-2005

Texas A&M student-designed Freedom from Terror Memorial

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The Texas A&M classes of ’68 and ’03 conceived of the memorial as a way to honor Aggies who gave their lives in the effort to combat terrorism, as well as those living who guard and protect the United States from terrorist attacks.

For now and forever you will always inspire us, November 26, 2008.

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Taj Hotel memorial mourns terror victims December 21, 2008 The Taj Mahal Tower hotel, when it reopened on Sunday evening, unveiled a poignant memorial to the victims of the terror attack in its lobby atrium among lit Christmas trees, candles for the victims, reindeers and fairy lights. Titled In Loving Memory, the memorial bears a list of the victims. It also says: For now and forever you will always inspire us, November 26, 2008. Next to it is posted a Tree of Life, which is part of the hotel's art collection and was on the fifth floor of its heritage wing. Designed in brass and bronze by Jaidev Baghel, it is six feet tall. There is a sign next to the statue that says: We stand united in grief at their passing away and will be forever inspired by their bravery and sacrifice. Text & Photograph: Vaihayasi P Daniel

Two bomb blasts killed seven people in Assam India

one day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's scheduled visit to Assam, Two bomb blasts killed seven people and injured many on Monday. TIMES NOW FOOTAGE

Suicide blast kills child, four Afghan policemen

Source: AFP 14 hours ago KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — A suicide bomber killed a child and four anti-drugs policemen in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, police said, as the US military reported killing 10 militants in overnight raids. The blast occurred in the town of Lashkar Gah, capital of the turbulent southern province of Helmand, the heart of Afghanistan's opium production -- a lucrative trade that helps bankroll a Taliban-led insurgency. A man walked up to a four-vehicle police convoy and detonated explosives strapped to his body, deputy provincial police chief Kamaludin Khan told AFP. Four counter-narcotics policemen and a nine-year-old child were killed, while seven policemen and two civilians were wounded, Khan said. The policemen were heading out to eradicate opium fields south of the town, he said. Khan blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan", a term often used to refer to Taliban militants who are waging a bloody insurgency that profits from the huge

Businessmen Worried Over Renewed Incidents Of Terrorism

Source: online news ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has already lost sufficient chunk of foreign/ domestic investment and business activities due to rising phenomenon of terrorism and bomb blasts forcing many investors and businessmen to look for safe destination for investment. Due to this factor businessmen have always been clamouring for improving law and order situation enabling them to promote business and economic activities smoothly but the current fresh and vigorous wave of bomb blasts, killings of innocent citizens and the security personnel and the hair-raising incident of the flogging of a teenage girl in Swat publicly have created new waves of concerns in traders and industrialists. This was observed by Mian Shaukat Masud, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a meeting of local business community at ICCI, called to discuss these matters. The businessmen said that such agonizing incidents will act as a demoralizing factor for prospective investors who will desist fro

The 28,000 victims of terrorism

July 7, 2005 Source: Timesonline New figures show dramatic increase in global attacks From Tim Reid in Washington THERE were nearly 3,200 terrorist attacks worldwide last year, the Bush Administration said yesterday, using a broader definition that increased fivefold the number of incidents that Washington had previously tallied for 2004. In figures published in April, the US State Department said that there were 651 significant international terror incidents, with more than 9,000 victims. But under the newer, less-stringent definition of terrorism, which counts domestic attacks without an international element, the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) reported 3,192 attacks worldwide, with 28,433 people killed, wounded or kidnapped. Iraq, with 866, had the most attacks against civilians and other non-combatants, according to the report. Under the April figures, Iraq was considered to have suffered 201 attacks in 2004. The new tally included attacks on Iraqis by Iraqis, a categ

Alan Krueger: Civil Liberties and Terrorism

Princeton University economist Alan Krueger finds an interesting connection between civil liberties and terrorism that undercuts the idea the economic conditions are the driving force behind terrorist acts: Murdercide, by Michael Shermer, SciAm Skeptic : ... The belief that suicide bombers [murdercide] are poor, uneducated, disaffected or disturbed is contradicted by science. Marc Sageman, a forensic psychiatrist at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, found in a study of 400 Al Qaeda members that three quarters of his sample came from the upper or middle class. Moreover, he noted, “the vast majority—90 percent— came from caring, intact families. Sixty-three percent had gone to college, as compared with the 5–6 percent that’s usual for the third world. These are the best and brightest of their societies in many ways.” Nor were they sans employment and familial duties. “Far from having no family or job responsibilities, 73 percent were married

The economics of terrorism

Source: The Hindu THE UNPRECEDENTED terrorist attacks by air in New York and Washington have opened a new phase in the history of mankind and President Bush has already declared it as the "first war of the 21st century.'' For many in India, it is a grim reminder of the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai though not comparable on any tragic scale to what happened in New York and Washington. The real significance of Black Tuesday (September 11) is that it is almost sure to shock the U.S. into treating terrorism as its overriding security concern. The U.S. might take a vow to wipe off terrorism from this planet but even a casual look at the economics of such criminal activities makes it an impossible task. Though most countries might make a mistake of believing it as a plain or politically/ideologically motivated criminal activity the actual truth comes to the surface only when we take a closer look at the econ

Jihad Economics and Islamic Banking

Source: Rightsidenews By Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen [From Armed Groups: Studies in National Security, Counterterrorism, and Counterinsurgency ; Edited by Jeff rey Norwitz; U.S. Naval War College , June 2008, chapter 28. ] The United States and the West cannot win the war against radical Islam merely with the most sophisticated military strategies. Winning requires understanding the role of sh ari'a a nd the Muslim Brotherhood in developing a global ideological and political movement supported by a parallel "Islamic" financial system to exploit and undermine Western economies and markets. This movement is the foundation and the major funding source for the political, economic, and military initiatives of the global Islamic movement.1 Sh ari'a f inance is a new weapon in the arsenal of what might be termed fifth-generation warfare (5GW).2 The perpetrators include both states and organizations, advancing a global total

Sharia Banking Conquers Europe

Source: Brussels Journal All over Europe Islamic banks are establishing branches, Western banks are offering Sharia-compliant financial services, and European governments are trying to outcompete each other in welcoming them. Proponents of banking along the lines of Sharia (Islamic law) claim that the Islamic banking system is “more ethical” than the West’s capitalist system. This is not true. Unfortunately, however, in our age of crashing financial markets, many Westerners – not just the traditional anti-capitalist European left – seem very eager to buy that argument. Early this month, even the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano voiced its approval of Sharia banking. “The ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service,” the paper said in a downright stupid and “unethical” article published on March, 4. The article, entitled “Islamic finance proposals and ideas for the