Campaigns

NOVANEWS   ALL MUSLIMS MUST BOYCOTT DUTCH GOODS   Anti-Muslim Dutch politician Geert Wilders Ed note–we can just imagine the shrieking, wailing and gnashing of teeth were ANY country around the globe to propose a law banning “kosher” or even forbidding Mohels (rabbis who perform circumcision) from sucking the blood out of a baby boy’s penis, part of the Jewish religious rite of circumcision. However, bashing Islam and Muslims is perfectly fine, because it serves Israel’s interest in fostering the clash of civilizations between Islam and Christianity. The Netherlands’ far-right Freedom Party has taken another Islamophobic measure, introducing a bill that — if passed — would effectively ban Halal meat in the country. The bill, which would make the Islamic slaugh...

NOVANEWS Tania Kepler the Alternative Information Center (AIC) Israel’s Egged bus company has won an 8-year bid to provide bus service for the city of Amsterdam.     The Israeli bus company Egged has won a tender to provide transportation services in Amsterdam The contract, which includes an optional two-year extension, is said to be worth some €500 million (about $700 million). "This win is a breakthrough for us, as this is our first chance to provide public transportation services in a Western European country," said the Egged chairman Gideon Mizrahi. Egged will begin operating suburban bus lines connecting the cities of Purmerend, Hoorn, Volendam, Eda and Wormerveer to central Amsterdam in December 2011, according to Israel’s Arutz Sheva news. The metro bus line will i...

NOVANEWS modernityblog   There is often talk about "the Lobby", and those words have a certain resonance and conjure up an unpleasant mental picture for most of us, however, I am going to argue that the real lobby in the world is hardly ever discussed, in any meaningful way. That is the extent of its power. Clearly, we hear bits about it, in a broad sense, yet it is rarely analysed for its component parts, wider geopolitical influence and negative effect on human rights. It spans the globe. Nevertheless, much of the discussion relating to it comes across in a rather crude materialistic fashion, lacking subtlety and depth There is seldom any piercing critique of the countries involved, the powerful players, the governments, the vested interests, the paid lobb...

NOVANEWS by crescentandcross France has the largest Muslim community among EU countries. France has opened a debate on the role of Islam in the French society amid criticism by Islamic groups and human rights organizations. The debate turned increasingly tense after Interior Minister Claude Gueant referred to the number of Muslims in France as “a problem.” “It’s true that an increase in the number of faithful in this religion (Islam), a certain number of behaviors, poses a problem,” Gueant, French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s closest advisor, said on Monday. Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party was scheduled to open a controversial debate on Tuesday on secularism and Islam amid criticism that it was an attempt to pander to the right. Critics say the debate is aime...

NOVANEWS   by crescentandcross by Philip Weiss http://media.vmixcore.com/core-flash/UnifiedVideoPlayer/UnifiedVideoPlayer.swf   Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells the Miami Herald editorial board that for the first year Obama was “really tough” on Israel, making many statements against the settlements, “until the American Jewish community started getting mad and getting mad at President Obama and saying Stop the pressure on Israel, why don’t we force the Palestinians to get on the negotiating table– get around the negotiating table, not on it– and negotiate with Israel and I would say that right now the pressure has subsided a lot.” Huh. Memo to Chris Matthews: Not a word about those fearsome Christian Zionists! Ros-Lehtinen makes a...

NOVANEWS   “Muslims dare not put the Bible on some despicable trial; this is beyond any Muslim’s wierdest imagination” Dr. Ashraf Ezzat   Pastor Terry Jones (left) and his son Luke walk into the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla. “We’re not big debaters. We’re not very well-educated; we’re just simple people trying to do the right thing.” Said Luke Jones, the son of the Florida pastor who finally carried out his most ignorant plan and burned a copy of the holy scripture of Muslims (Qur’an) Adding to what Luke had said, I tend to believe that he and his father, Pastor Terry Jones, along with the 30-person Christian congregation at Dove World Outreach Center are amongst the most clueless and deluded people on earth. According to this Jones and on March 20th - or w...

NOVANEWS   Shocking allegations of Islamophobia at Joseph Chamberlain College, that rocked the Muslim community in Birmingham have been followed by a series of protests by students.     As reported on this website earlier this month, serious allegations were made against the Principal of Joseph Camberlain College and her conduct towards a local Imam, Shaykh Yasin. She is alleged by the Shaykh, to have asked to interview him in order to ascertain if he was a 'terrorist'. She also sought to judge if he was capable or not of giving the 'correct teachings' of Islam, based on her ability to 'judge character' and interview skills. Understandably these allegations have caused outrage and anger amongst the Muslim community in Birmingham, but nowhere more than amongst the...

NOVANEWS   A LITTLE TALK RADIO   By Gordon Duff Just finished breakfast, on my second latte, French roast, bitter as hell.  What was I thinking.  It is grey, ugly and cold here in Toledo.  Time I visited friends and co-workers, which means road trip and airlines.  Thinking about a run from Spain to Italy, looping up and around Southern France in the process.  Its a funny thing, driving into a French town, the usual things, a Tabac, Boulangerie and Boucherie.  As long as you aren’t on an “N” road, one of the toll free two lane trucker roads that propel diesel exhaust and dirt into everything, stay on the “D” roads, France is a good place to find a new home. If you spend years doing “two lane blacktop” travel, your idea of people and the world changes dramatically.  Living throu...

NOVANEWS   By Bushra Tarrar   Flag of Jihad   Its tragic that West has mutilated the meaning of Jihad and associated it with terrorism, so have they labeled the freedom movements in Kashmir, Gaza or any other struggle by the Muslims. The basic force behind all this is the Zionist agenda supported by the Neo-Cons for obvious ulterior motives. But a greater tragedy is that the Muslim scholars have not made any committed effort to educate the people not only in the West but in their home countries too. The literal meaning of ‘Jihad’ is struggle; struggle could be for any morally and ethically acceptable goals and objectives. To eliminate poverty, illiteracy, disease or any other evil can be termed as Jihad. The normal accepted perception of Jihad is to fight in the battle fiel...

NOVANEWS 3 easy ways to take part in Right to Education Month 1.  Send an email to five students or teachers, asking them to sign the petition online 2.  Sign up to get involved in campaign organizing—bring the campaign to life in your local communities and campuses. 3. Attend the Education Tour in your area. Dear All, Watching the coverage of the Egyptian Revolution last month, I was moved and inspired by the way young leaders set up classrooms in Tahrir Square, ensuring students would not lose access to education while waging their historic struggle for freedom and democracy. It was a great reminder to me that educators and students are always at the heart of the struggle for justice, and that no such struggle is complete without access to education, for all. "We D...