DECEMBER 2006

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 12/4/2006 1:13 AM
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Islam thrives as Russia's population falls
Islam thrives as Russia's population falls
CROWDED MOSQUES - Worried local authorities won't allow Muslims to build
more places of worship
MICHAEL MAINVILLE Dec. 3, 2006. 01:00 AM
SPECIAL TO THE TORONTO STAR, MOSCOW
www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1165099811123&call_page=TS_World&call_pageid=968332188854&call_pagepath=News/World&pubid=968163964505

Moscow-A steady stream of devout Muslims pours into the Sobornaya Mosque on
a cold, grey Friday afternoon. The Arabic call to prayer echoes
incongruously among Soviet-era apartment buildings and monolithic relics of
Moscow's 1980 Olympics.

As usual, the mosque's blue walls cannot contain the hundreds of people
looking to pray.

"I'm sorry, it's full," a bearded man in a white skullcap repeats again and
again to worshippers showing up at the doors.
Soon, the courtyard outside the mosque is crammed with men removing their
hats and shoes to pray. Some lay down elaborate prayer mats of finely woven
silk; others settle for tattered newspapers. When the men kneel in the
direction of Mecca, their foreheads press against hard concrete.

Attending the prayers with his 8-year-old son, Zabir Valeev can hardly hide
his frustration ...
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Putin's Russia dangerous, but mostly for Russians
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Dec 2, 2006)

There is a prickly KGB officer in the Kremlin. He suppresses dissent at home and -- if one believes allegations that he ordered the radioactive poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian agent who died in London last week -- abroad.

He obstructs America's foreign policy, sells arms to its enemies and cozies up to its rivals. He was a spectral presence at this week's NATO summit, where Russia seemed almost as pressing a concern as it was in the days of the Soviet Union. He uses his country's vast hydrocarbon reserves to bully the neighbours.

Prepare, conclude many Western commentators, for a Cold War against Vladimir Putin's Russia.

The doomsayers are half right: Putin's Russia is dangerous. However, this is as yet very far from being a new Cold War. It is mostly Russians who are endangered. And for the West, Russia's enduring weakness should be at least as troubling as its much advertised ...
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From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 12/4/2006 1:33 AM
Islam and violence

TODAY'S COLUMNIST
By Daniel Allott
December 4, 2006

Following Pope Benedict'sremarks on the relationship between faith and violence, a quiet conversation emerged. It highlighted a central question as the West increasingly attempts to engage the Muslim world: Is Islam especially prone to violence? So far, much of the conversation has focused on the violent reactions of some Muslims to the pope's previous comments. But, there's disturbing proof that a far deeper culture of violence pervades much of the Islamic world.
    In a recent survey on global conflict, Monty Marshall and Ted Burr of the Center for International Development and Conflict Management found that of the 24 major armed conflicts taking place worldwide in 2005, more than half (13) involved Muslim governments or paramilitary groups on one or both sides of the fighting. What's more, among six countries with "emerging armed conflicts," four are predominantly Muslim and another, Thailand, involves a Muslim separatist movement.
    Messrs. Marshall and Burr also ...
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From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 12/4/2006 1:43 AM
The Times                                                                                                   December 04, 2006

Never say never, but Putin is no Ernst Blofeld
Tim Hames
The real story behind those James Bond fantasies
Were it not that a man has died, the Litvinenko affair might be viewed as the most extraordinarily effective publicity campaign for the new James Bond movie. It has everything that once made 007 so successful. There are a host of shady spies, unseen masterminds in the background and a mystery poison that has led to luxury hotels, a fleet of aircraft and even an entire football stadium being checked for radioactivity. It produced reports yesterday of Alexander Litvinenko having suggested to a female Russian academic that they team up to exploit his many contacts in the Russian security services and then blackmail several prominent figures and an excited front-page headline somewhere else that read: “Revealed: how Russia is biggest spy threat to Britain.”
 
The effect has been to suggest that the Cold War is not quite ...
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From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 12/4/2006 1:59 AM
In bed with Russophobes
The Litvinenko murder is being used by neocons in their campaign against Putin's national revival

Neil Clark
Monday December 4, 2006
The Guardian

Three weeks on, we are still no closer to knowing who was responsible for the death of the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko. The use of polonium 210 as a murder weapon could point in entirely opposite directions. It might suggest that the killing was carried out on behalf of the Russian security service as a public warning to others who might think of betraying it. But it could also be read as an attempt by President Putin's rich and powerful enemies to discredit the Russian government internationally. Whatever the truth, it has been seized upon across Europe and the US to fuel a growing anti-Russian campaign.
There are certainly grounds for criticising the Russian government from a progressive perspective. Putin has introduced a flat-rate income tax, which greatly benefits the wealthy, and plans the partial ...
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