What a good idea! It sounds strange given the geopolitical tension around the world. But embracing Islam would be a whole lot more productive than condemning it. Now, being atheist, I’m not advocating religion. Rather, I’m suggesting that a positive attitude that embraces people would have better results than a divisive and condemning one that …
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Category:9 Regions
Iraqis want end to occupation more than ever
A survey for the BBC, ABC News and NHK of more than 2,000 people across Iraq shows that about 70% of Iraqis believe security has deteriorated in the area covered by the US military “surge” of the past six months. The relative optimism registered in November 2005 has deteriorated to the gloom of this year’s …
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Baghdad dividing wall counters peace
Construction of another dividing wall in Baghdad between Shula and Ghazaliya districts causes more division than unity. It is another sign of the primitive knee-jerk thinking of an administration resorting to primitive policy. The wall is an attempt to separate Sunni and Shia districts. But of course it also separates families, neighbours and communities, it …
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US August data modest
Retail sales and industrial output both slowed in the US in August. Shop sales grew 0.3% in August, below market expectations of a 0.5% rise and below July’s 0.5% increase, but excluding car sales, which are at their strongest in two years, retail spending actually declined 0.4% in August. Industrial output rose 0.2%, the slowest …
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China also turning away from the death penalty
China’s Supreme Court has ordered judges to be more sparing in the imposition of the death penalty, ordering that execution should be reserved for “an extremely small number of serious offenders”. The Supreme Court said murders triggered by family disputes should not always result in the death penalty and the death penalty should be withheld …
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US changing policy; will reduce troops in Iraq
Over the past month there has been a definite change in the US administration policy of troop levels in Iraq. The surge is over and political pragmatism underpins troop reductions. On September 13 Bush said that about 30,000 troops might return home by summer 2008 (pre-surge level), starting with 5,700 by Christmas. Then on 14 …
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US waking up to the reality of Palestine …?
It is surprising to hear US Secretary of State publicly announcing that Palestine must be recognised if peace talks are to make progress. Surprising partly because it is the same person that provided much of the authority for invading Iraq and partly because it is against the wishes of the Israeli propaganda machine which has …
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EU rates held at 4%
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at 4% on 7 September, but it is not clear that they will not be increased to 4.25% soon. The ECB is reacting to the increase in perceived risk in financial markets, catalysed by the sub-prime meltdown. At the same time as the hold on rates increase, …
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US executive tends to secularism
Religion can be a useful guide to morality, but history has shown that it should be separate from politics. This is more so today than ever before because there is such diversity of belief and there is no majority view, even on a nominal basis, let alone a practising one. The current US president has …
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Self-inflicted terror in America
While we have come around to the notion that peace is an appropriate minimum standard of behaviour for developed countries it has never been an easy argument to make in our world today. The difficulty of fighting minds with armaments George Friedman, eminent strategic analyst, offers a sobering perspective on the fall-out from the American …
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