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US elections: Obama wins Democratic nomination for president

The Guardian

 4 June 2008

 Barack Obama made history tonight by beating Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination to become the first African American with a viable chance of winning the White House.

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Only a 'grave threat' would trigger 42-day detention, say ministers

 The Independent

4 June 2008 

New powers to hold terror suspects for up to 42 days without charge would be triggered only by a "grave and exceptional" threat akin to the 7 July bombings in London, ministers said yesterday as they moved to defuse a potentially devastating revolt by Labour MPs.

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 Controlling the Dictatorship
Location: BlogsYvonne Ridley    
Posted by: Yvonne Ridley 20/07/2007 10:01
While Israel holds the Palestinian people under military occupation and Americans under political occupation it seems they also have also seized occupation of the legal system in neighbouring Egypt.

There can be no other reasonable explanation for the latest insane actions of Egypt's leader Hosni Mubarak whose long distance relationship with democracy is only matched by his record on human rights and justice.

If evidence is needed then look no further at the 226 members of the Muslim Brotherhood who are awaiting military trial as I write this column, or the 792 who have been detained without charge by the security forces since last spring.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a non-violent organisation which promotes peaceful politics and, in addition, expresses solidarity with the Palestinian people including Hamas. And that is the problem; it is the Muslim Brotherhood's attitude to Israel which has induced the US to order Mubarak to eliminate "the problem".

Hamas, as we know, is regarded as a terrorist organisation by the Bush Administration and the hugely powerful Zionist lobby in Washington. Therefore in the simplistic, black and white world of the Busheys, anyone who shows solidarity with Hamas must be a terrorist.

As a direct result of the nursery school politics of the neo-cons, last Sunday, hidden away in the Egyptian desert, a black comedy was being played out in a military court which saw some of Egypt's finest academics and business elite in the dock.

Facing trumped up charges and a judicial system so warped and twisted by Mubarak, scores of senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood were crowded into courtroom cages. I was denied access as a British journalist to witness the unfolding farce but as I stood outside in the burning desert sun I was not alone - the former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark and several other leading human rights campaigners had also been refused access ... may be in the daft belief if we couldn't see the injustice we might go away quietly.

Mubarak is a desperate man, clinging on to the last vestiges of power in a white knuckle drama we have seen played out so many across the globe by American-controlled dictators who have oppressed their own people without mercy. This latest disgraceful chapter in the ruling life of Mubarak opened on January 28 in the Cairo Criminal Court when the judges ruled all charges brought by the Egyptian Government against the detained members of the Muslim Brotherhood were groundless and politically motivated.

Eager to please his US masters (America gives more dollar aid to Egypt than to any other country in the world apart from Israel) Mubarak had the whole lot re-arrested to be tried in a military court ... on exactly the same charges they had been cleared in the civilian court.

Rulings of military justice are final and can't be challenged. Well that's one way of silencing your political opponents and knocking out vocal critics of the Zionist State, isn't it?

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other concerned groups have condemned the actions, but what does Mubarak care? Well actually he should care. I can smell revolution in the air on the streets of Cairo, and not just from the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ordinary Egyptians are fed up with the tinpot dictator who has restricted their freedoms and liberties in a bid to smother any dissenting voices. By any peaceful means necessary, there is a growing resistance to bring down Mubarak and his brutal regime. The youth are turning to the internet using blogs to fuel the dissent – some have even joined the Brotherhood behind bars for their work.

Others are campaigning, petitioning, marching and protesting. I turned up at one such event in central Cairo the other night and as I stared into the eyes of the military who returned the gaze from behind their crash helmets, I could see their hearts were no longer in the job of oppressing and bullying fellow citizens.

The iron-like grip Mubarak once had on his people is fast disappearing. The fear has been replaced by anger towards the injustices against every dissenting voice. But it is Mubarak's attempt to use and abuse the courts to stop the Brotherhood advancing further into Egypt's mainstream politics which has irreparably damaged him.

The country's strongest opposition group operates openly despite being officially banned. The Brotherhood won nearly one fifth of the seats in the lower house of parliament in 2005, its members running as independents to bypass the 53-year-old ban on the group. Mubarak's latest actions to settle political scores and stifle freedom will be his undoing. He has called the actions of the Muslim Brotherhood a threat to national security, but it is the President himself who is the greatest liability.

As far as dictator's go Mubarak has much in common with America's other tyrants - he is not too bright, has psycho tendencies and is unable to tolerate any criticism. I believe he has the shelf life of many US puppets ... in other words his days are numbered. Who remembers the Shah, and of course we will not forget Saddam in a hurry either?

But when Mubarak does fall, and fall he will, then the Egyptian people must be allowed to take control of their own future and carve out their own style of democracy without outside interference. And then, and only then, will the days of the Pharoahs be truly consigned to history.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Hamid on 20/07/2007 11:45
The MB have had a rough time of it under numerous Egyptian regimes, and it has to be said Yvonne, what is going on now is nothing compared to the Nasser regime. The number of BM members that were killed in the 50's and 60's is unparralled. So while it is true that Mubarak is a stooge and a dictator, he is doing nothing that hasn't been done before.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Farook on 22/07/2007 20:51
I agree HAmid but this is different inasmuch as the accusations of money laundering and terrorism against the MB leadership is something new and is all part of attacking Hamas and their friends.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Arif on 24/07/2007 18:52
The new development is the accusation of terrorism and money laundering and the profile of those lock up. They are all top businesmen, academics, college professors and a-list people.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By . on 06/08/2007 14:59
yvonne ridely,you created a big yahoo and got your friend to write an article because islam channel stopped the 'agenda' all for good reasons,now they have been fined £30,000 because of your show

so was it the right thing to do,to stop the show?



i'mnot surprised you have been sacked from all previous jobs

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Yvonne Ridley on 08/08/2007 19:15
I do not normally respond to defamatory statements - I let my lawyers do that. But since you have chosen to hide behind your anonymity I will make an exception in your case.
Read the full 29 page report on the Ofcom website and you will realise that the regulatory body heavily criticises islam Channel management on several counts and names atleast three programmes and presenters.
In addition, a documentary on Jerusalem also appears to have attracted criticism from Ofcom.
To turn round and blame me for a £30,000 fine imposed by Ofcom can only mean you are either stupid or have not read the report ... perhaps it is both.
Furthermore I have not been sacked from all my previous jobs, as you point out. For the record I have had an award-winning career as a journalist stretching more than three decades and continue to work as a journalist.
Finally, if you want to raise this issue why don't you do it in the correct arena or contact me directly through my website www.yvonneridley.org
In the meantime I suggest you read this article, thank God you have freedom of speech (despite the fact you lack the guts and courage to exercise it by contacting me direct) and make dua for our brothers and sisters in Egypt.
Yvonne

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By . on 09/08/2007 14:27
How come you went around defaming Muhammad Ali? And got your friend naima to write an article attacking islam channel simply because Muhammad ali removed your show with good reasons.

p.s Al Jazeera channel sacked you. so thats two jobs.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Arif on 09/08/2007 14:29
so i'll take it you are going too contribute towards the £30,000 lol

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By . on 09/08/2007 21:54
pp.s i dont have your contact details so how could i possibly contact you. i dont have the time to go around asking for your contact details

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Yvonne Ridley on 10/08/2007 15:50
Salaam alaikum,
My contact details are info@yvonneridley.org
And you already have my mobile number!
And yes Arif, you are right, I will not be contributing to a fine imposed on Islam Channel and not on me ... another point over-looked by some.
Sr Yvonne

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By . on 10/08/2007 18:50
I've said everything i wanted to ssay on here. so no need to email you. All i wanted to know was why you went around defaming muhammad ali and islam channel. Ok you were part of the reason the channel has been fined. accept it and stop justifying it, on the channel it clearly said AGENDA BY YVONNE RIDLEY, are you saying the channel is lying? y

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Hamid on 13/08/2007 14:28
Not sure about '.' but sounds like a bit of an annoying fool with little knowledge and planty of arrogance.
Yvonne, you have done a great job with standing up for what you believe in. Heard your departure from Islam channel may have been because you refused to compromise an Islamic principle when meeting one of the backers of the station. Good on you.
Don't agree with all your views, but admire your courage to air them.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Maya on 15/09/2007 23:01
Sister Yvonne

I still hold in high regard your decision and dedication to embracing Islam. Being a voice for the people of Great Britain as a Female Muslim Revert as well as a fantastic Journalist and an Advocate for Human Rights is something truly inspirational to us all. I my self am a revert and remember clearly your ordeal in Afghanistan, but Allah works in wondrous ways. It saddens me that people posting negative “spin” on the internet is on the increase. Rather than celebrating passion and dedication from those like your self, they choose to anonymously condemn and irrationally criticize the good that people bring to the world. Rather than being inspired and having the courage to make the world a more tolerant place they choose to hide and bring yet more disrepute to the human race. You know already that what ever happens in this Dunya is a test from Allah and it is Allah who judges all, you have been an inspiration to me and many others and I am happy you followed the true path towards Islam. Salam Alikoum.

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By sajid on 22/12/2007 15:23
Please come back to our screens sister Yvonne..

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Re: Controlling the Dictatorship    By Hanifa on 22/09/2008 22:04
Please Forward


> Come on brothers and Sisters.....HELP US FREE LAUREN.
>
>
> Lauren Booth is stuck in Palestine following her humanitarian mission there to highlight the injustices being metered out against the Palestinian people. Now the Egyptians are obeying no doubt their American masters and are refusing to allow her to leave Gaza.
>
> Her family (not ALL) are very anxious for her safe return and Lauren has made a personal plea, for people to make phonecalls to the news channels, asking why the media silence and lobby MPs to demand action is taken to secure her release.
>
> We're not asking you to go to Palestine and witness and endure the suffering yourself, but just to support in real terms someone, a non-Muslim who has done just that, putting herself at considerable risk, in the process.
>
> When I look at our Ummah I am always reminded of the fact that in the early days of Islam when the Prophet SAW and the Muslims were being tortured and oppressed, it was non-Muslims, not Muslims, who managed to break the boycott against them by the merciless Maccans, not out of religious affiliation, but human compassion. Has anything changed? Prove you care and truly fear Allah SWT and His holding you to account on the Day of Judgment, when He will ask what action you took to protect and defend the oppressed and defenceless. How will you answer? May Allah SWT reward those who heed the call.
>


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