Unpublished Newspaper News

This interesting excerpt, taken from a counter-terrorism blog is about the late notorious Malaysian terrorist, Dr. Azahari:


"Dr. Azahari, a 48-year old Malaysian , joined JI when the group was based out of southern Malaysia in the early 1990s. He had a secular upbringing and was a university lecturer at the University of Technology of Malaya. He received his education in Adelaide, Australia, the University of Technology of Malaya and completed his PhD at the University of Reading in the UK. After joining JI, he was trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He left his wife at her bedside when she was undergoing treatment for throat cancer to commit his life to the jihad in Indonesia".

As I said before, I used to have good Arab buddies overseas and I hold no grudges against any of this race. It is just that we need to know more about them as there is a growing influx of these tourists to Malaysia.

The Arab World

Rape on Arab primetime TV

Egyptian star places rape and sexual abuse on Arab world's agenda

Smadar Peri, Ynet News.

Published:

09.20.07, 16:12 /

Yousra, the queen of the silver screen in the Arab world, is not only a beauty but also a highly opinionated actress who views her status as a springboard for conveying social messages. Every year during the Ramadan fast, the peak season for TV viewing in the Arab world, Yousra pushes urgent social issues to the forefront.

This is what happened two years ago, with a reality show about a single mother's uncompromising struggle against a conservative and chauvinist society; the same goes for "The Yacoubian Building," which has its say about the polygamy prevalent in Arab high society.

The authorities have yet to decide how to deal with this new social phenomenon. A quick glance at the headlines of criminal law sections run stories from the global media (including ours,) to find solace in the fact that they are not alone.

Every such series, 30 consecutive episodes broadcasted nightly while families get together to break the fast, turns into a heated dispute. A year ago Yousra was appointed an ambassador of goodwill by UNESCO, which was a boost of encouragement for her persistence.

"A Case of Public Opinion," the latest Ramadan series, has become the talk of the town even before being aired in 22 Arab countries. Ratings are sky high; no one dares miss the show. This time the queen of the screen from Cairo chose to focus on a topic that Arab society has insisted on burying deep underground: Violent rape and sexual abuse.

The series recounts the story of three young female doctors who work in a respectable hospital in the heart of Cairo; the three are summoned in the middle of the night to treat an urgent case. As they race to the destination from a remote neighborhood, drugged thugs pounce on them from behind the shadows. They are attacked and raped, including the doctor whose pregnancy is very obvious. They weep, cut and bruised, while three knife cuts are evident on the cheek of the department head, portrayed by Yousra.

Ahead of the broadcasts, one of the human rights organizations in Egypt held a referendum among tens of thousands of women. The findings were shocking: 40 percent of respondents admitted that they had been raped and forced to remain silent. An additional 10 percent revealed that they are forced to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace. If they open their mouths, they will lose their jobs.

In a "Case of Public Opinion", the marriage of the star doctor is falling apart. Her husband insists on ignoring the facts, and the legal authorities remove the complaint against one of the rapists, the son of a senior government minister. Even the fate of her two colleagues plays against them, when the hospital director hints that "if they don't shut up, they will be fired."

The rape scene was not aired in full on Egyptian TV. The censorship left just subtle hints, arguing that the harsh images may shock young viewers. On the other hand, Dubai TV went for lock, stock and barrel; 15 minutes that left no room for imagination. As expected a dispute was immediately aroused: Was it appropriate to share the experiences of the group rape with viewers?

Shaking up traditional family structure

This is undoubtedly a "women's year" throughout the Arab world. In Saudi Arabia they are finally being allowed to drive, with the blessing of the royal family. In Morocco and Tunisia women are now permitted to file for divorce. In the oil Emirates women's organizations are calling for equal rights, and the regime is expanding employment opportunities. In Jordan murders committed in the name of "family honor" are treated harshly.

Yet throughout this entire voyage, which is shaking up the traditional family structure, the issue of sexual harassment and rape remains within the realm of a "red rag." Women who find the courage to complain are accused of "starting it" or told they "should not have been walking around alone." Also, "those who don't wear a veil are entitled to be defiled."

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Decorated with a host of international awards as well as an impressive screen, theater and TV career behind her, Yousra pledges to keep going. Female attorneys have been hired in recent days to file cases of harassment, and internet blogs reveal chilling accounts by women who have been raped.

Is Teheran Smart?

Left: FLASHBACK: Deja vu...Sept. 20th, 2001 Borneo Post news before Afghanistan was attacked and liberated by the Americans. Click to enlarge it.

The Jihadist scumbags never learnt from the first hard-hitting lesson that the U.S. taught in 2001 after the cowardly attack on their peaceful innocent civilians, killing thousands in a single day on September 11, 2001.

This time the U.S. will be smarter and not allow itself to be victimised first with the loss of heavy lives from suicidal Iranian fanatics in power, right from the very top so-called spiritual ayatollah down to his running dog, cunning highly intelligent engineering president and his subservient followers.

True, the U.S. unfortunately got itself into this ugly mess following receipt of faulty intelligence on nuclear weapons, when they got rid of one of the world's most evil dictator, Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, with the iron-fisted ruler gone, Iraq has fallen apart. Then the Jihadist terrorists, al Quieda and other wanna-be jihadists united together to fight one hated foe through various means from suicide attacks to car and roadside bombings, aided in logistics-arms and mega bucks by oil-rich Jihadist Iran and other wanna-be Jihadist Islamic nations and individuals clandestinely in various devious ways.

Well, President Bush can be as good an actor as Reagan was. His critics scoff and laugh at the widely read and seen captured moments of his dumbness.

No one should be fooled. As someone who enjoyed acting myself in the past, I admire his skillful theatrical skills in expressions and actions which would fool many including Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama. The agency's recent pre-Malaysian Independence Day interview with Bush gave the impression to many Malaysians Bush has almost kosong (empty) knowledge about Malaysia and its Prime Minister.

Believe me, I think the guy is smart and of course he surely has the best intelligence available on everything and every political world leader in his hands. Man, I tell you, like Santa, an American president as the world's superpower leader would know who has been naughty, bad and who has been good!

So Iran has not only been naughty, it has been bad and still is bad! It craves for a new toy-the almighty nuclear bomb. Like bad old hard-line China, it aids terrorists against a foreign force and like the Nazis under Adolf Hitler, it seeks the destruction of the Jews, craves for dominion by military means of nearby territories (in the middle-east) and ultimately, the rest of the world. What a dream of Islamizing the whole world like in the ancient bloody days of using the Arab sword to covert others!

Well, the U.S. will be Hercules...mighty and strong in fighting and beating all forms of powerful monsters and armies...but the problem with al-quieda, the Taliban and a jihadist nation like Iran and other wanna-be deceptive jihadist nations is that it is like the ancient hydra, a mythical water snake that will keep growing heads after each one has been cut off and survive ... So the U.S. and the free world has to solve the persistant problem which is definitely and fortunately solvable as Hercules did ingeniously with his fire...Best of luck, Land of the Brave!