Here is a crazy story. Britain doesn't want you if you point out passages of the Quran. What's next? Are they going to keep out people who point out Biblical passages? I cannot image whose remaining on the six unannounced names on that list.
If there was a smilie giving the finger, I would insert it here. News story follows:
UK bars 22 alleged extremists, including (American Talk) show host
(link to story)
UK bars 22 alleged extremists, including show hostBy RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer – Tue May 5, 7:27 pm ET
LONDON – Britain on Tuesday published its first list of people barred from entering the country for allegedly fostering extremism or hatred, including Muslim extremists, a right-wing American radio host, an Israeli settler and jailed Russian gang members.
The U.K.'s law and order chief, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, said she decided to publish the names of 16 of 22 people who have been banned by the government since October so others could better understand what sort of behavior Britain was not prepared to tolerate.
She cited unidentified "public interest" reasons for not disclosing the other six names.
"I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and sorts of standards that we have here, the fact that it's a privilege to come and the sort of things that mean you won't be welcome in this country," Smith told GMTV.
But some of the people on the list criticized it, and one analyst said it contains a wide variety of people to avoid giving Britain's Muslims the impression that it singles them out.
Popular American talk-radio host, Michael Savage, who broadcasts from San Francisco and has called the Muslim holy book, the Quran, a "book of hate," is on the list. Savage also has enraged parents of children with autism by saying in most cases it's "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."
Savage told the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com that he was considering legal action against Smith for defamation.
"She's linking me with mass murderers who are in prison for killing Jewish children on buses? For my speech? The country where the Magna Carta was created?" the site quoted him as saying Tuesday.
A phone call to his home station, KNEW in San Francisco, wasn't immediately returned.
The list includes Americans Stephen "Don" Black, founder of a Florida-based white supremacist Web site, and anti-gay preacher Fred Phelps Sr., who leads a church in Topeka, Kansas.
Black was criticized as the "Godfather of hate on the Internet" in a 2000 HBO documentary. The British government previously acknowledged that Phelps was banned.
His daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, also has been barred from the U.K. The pair have picketed the funerals of AIDS victims and claimed the deaths of U.S. soldiers are a punishment for tolerance of homosexuality.
Phelps-Roper, a spokeswoman for Phelps' anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, claimed on Tuesday that Smith was helping to spread her group's message.
"She caused the words to just flow all over the world," Phelps-Roper said in a telephone interview. "They're publishing that story about (Smith) in every country in the world in languages I can't even read."
The list also includes Yunis Al-Astal, a Hamas lawmaker in Gaza; Samir Kantar, a Lebanese man once jailed for murdering four Israelis; Egyptian cleric Safwat Hijazi; and Israeli settler Mike Guzovsky, who Britain's Home Office said was involved with military training camps.
Also banned from entering Britain are Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky, two leaders of a Russian gang. They were imprisoned for 10 years in Russia last year for their role in racially motivated killings of 19 people.
Alan Mendoza, head of The Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy think-tank in London, said Tuesday that he supports the idea of a public list of the unwanted, but that many of the names were "just here for padding."
He said the British immigration officials' real focus was keeping Islamic extremists out of Britain and indoctrinating elements of the U.K.'s sizable Muslim minority.
But Mendoza said that "if the government proposed a list purely of those figures, you can imagine the reaction within the Muslim community."
Muhammad Abdul Bari, leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella group for U.K. Islamic groups, said Britain's government appears to be "creating a sort of 'pre-crime.'"
"We have more than sufficient legislation on the statute books to deal with the very situations they claim trying to protect us against," he said.
Earlier this year Britain's government was criticized for its decision to bar far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders from the country because of his anti-Islam views.
But the spectacle of seeing the elected European lawmaker detained at London's Heathrow Airport drew protests from the Dutch government, sparked debate in Britain over the whether officials were muzzling free expression, and raised questions about who the U.K. should ban.
Smith's list does not include Wilders, but Mendoza said the British government was trying to compensate for its embarrassment over the Wilders affair by banning people who were so widely disliked that nearly everyone would agree they should be kept away.
___
Associated Press Writers Nancy Zuckerbrod in London; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco contributed to this report.
*******************
Jacqui Smith, the British Home Secretary
To voice your opinion to Jacqui Smith, you can email her at public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
[SIZE=-1]Posted: May 05, 2009
12:56 pm Eastern
[/SIZE] [FONT=Palatino, Times New Roman, Georgia, Times, serif]By Aaron Klein[/FONT]
[SIZE=-1] 2009 WorldNetDaily
[/SIZE]She led a charge to restrict the word "terrorism," instead urging government employees to refer to the phenomenon as "anti-Islamic activity."
She had been labeled a "pocket dictator," with some of her practices referred to by media critics as "truly Big Brother stuff."
She attempted to introduce a giant government database to track all citizen e-mails, phone calls and Internet activity.
Meet Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary who today made public a list of individuals banned from the U.K. since October, including radio superstar Michael Savage. She announced she decided to release the list so others could better understand what sort of behavior Britain was not prepared to tolerate.
In January, Smith oversaw a government program to adopt a new language for declarations on Islamic terrorism, urging all top government workers to refer to Islamic terrorists as pursuing "anti-Islamic activity." There was no official ban on the word "terrorism," but the new wording was an initiative Smith pressed for strongly.
"As so many Muslims in the U.K. and across the world have pointed out, there is nothing Islamic about the wish to terrorize, nothing Islamic about plotting murder, pain and grief," Smith said at the time.
"Indeed, if anything, these actions are anti-Islamic,'" she claimed.
London's Daily Mail referred to Smith's strategy as attempting to portray Islamic terrorists as nothing more than cold-blooded murderers who are not fighting for any religious cause.
Two weeks ago, following strong public outcry over her proposal, Smith dropped a plan to allow the police to monitor and store on government databases information on citizens' Internet use and e-mail messaging. Instead, however, she has asked private companies to store the information for the government.
In a January speech, Smith pointed out that communications data was used to help convict a local killer but that such information was not being routinely stored. She argued Internet and e-mail information should be saved and accessible to law enforcement agencies if terrorists and serious criminals were to be prevented from striking.
"It is essential that the police and other crime-fighting agencies have the tools they need to do their job," she said during a speech to a London think tank.
"We recognize that there is a delicate balance between privacy and security, but to do nothing is not an option as we would be failing in our duty to protect the public." (this is scary)
On April 27, she nixed plans for a giant government database but said she planned to ensure records of electronic communications made by Britons will instead be held by private companies at a cost of around $4 billion.
Internet firms will be asked to collect and store vast amounts of data, including from social networking sites such as Facebook, she said. ...
Under her new plan, every U.K. Internet user will be given a unique ID code and all their data stored by private agencies. Government agencies such as the police and security services will have the ability to access the data to investigate suspected criminals and terrorists.
Smith's plan was heavily criticized by privacy advocates and pundits.
(continue reading story by clicking here)
If there was a smilie giving the finger, I would insert it here. News story follows:
UK bars 22 alleged extremists, including (American Talk) show host
(link to story)
UK bars 22 alleged extremists, including show hostBy RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer – Tue May 5, 7:27 pm ET
LONDON – Britain on Tuesday published its first list of people barred from entering the country for allegedly fostering extremism or hatred, including Muslim extremists, a right-wing American radio host, an Israeli settler and jailed Russian gang members.
The U.K.'s law and order chief, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, said she decided to publish the names of 16 of 22 people who have been banned by the government since October so others could better understand what sort of behavior Britain was not prepared to tolerate.
She cited unidentified "public interest" reasons for not disclosing the other six names.
"I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and sorts of standards that we have here, the fact that it's a privilege to come and the sort of things that mean you won't be welcome in this country," Smith told GMTV.
But some of the people on the list criticized it, and one analyst said it contains a wide variety of people to avoid giving Britain's Muslims the impression that it singles them out.
Popular American talk-radio host, Michael Savage, who broadcasts from San Francisco and has called the Muslim holy book, the Quran, a "book of hate," is on the list. Savage also has enraged parents of children with autism by saying in most cases it's "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."
Savage told the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com that he was considering legal action against Smith for defamation.
"She's linking me with mass murderers who are in prison for killing Jewish children on buses? For my speech? The country where the Magna Carta was created?" the site quoted him as saying Tuesday.
A phone call to his home station, KNEW in San Francisco, wasn't immediately returned.
The list includes Americans Stephen "Don" Black, founder of a Florida-based white supremacist Web site, and anti-gay preacher Fred Phelps Sr., who leads a church in Topeka, Kansas.
Black was criticized as the "Godfather of hate on the Internet" in a 2000 HBO documentary. The British government previously acknowledged that Phelps was banned.
His daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, also has been barred from the U.K. The pair have picketed the funerals of AIDS victims and claimed the deaths of U.S. soldiers are a punishment for tolerance of homosexuality.
Phelps-Roper, a spokeswoman for Phelps' anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, claimed on Tuesday that Smith was helping to spread her group's message.
"She caused the words to just flow all over the world," Phelps-Roper said in a telephone interview. "They're publishing that story about (Smith) in every country in the world in languages I can't even read."
The list also includes Yunis Al-Astal, a Hamas lawmaker in Gaza; Samir Kantar, a Lebanese man once jailed for murdering four Israelis; Egyptian cleric Safwat Hijazi; and Israeli settler Mike Guzovsky, who Britain's Home Office said was involved with military training camps.
Also banned from entering Britain are Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky, two leaders of a Russian gang. They were imprisoned for 10 years in Russia last year for their role in racially motivated killings of 19 people.
Alan Mendoza, head of The Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy think-tank in London, said Tuesday that he supports the idea of a public list of the unwanted, but that many of the names were "just here for padding."
He said the British immigration officials' real focus was keeping Islamic extremists out of Britain and indoctrinating elements of the U.K.'s sizable Muslim minority.
But Mendoza said that "if the government proposed a list purely of those figures, you can imagine the reaction within the Muslim community."
Muhammad Abdul Bari, leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella group for U.K. Islamic groups, said Britain's government appears to be "creating a sort of 'pre-crime.'"
"We have more than sufficient legislation on the statute books to deal with the very situations they claim trying to protect us against," he said.
Earlier this year Britain's government was criticized for its decision to bar far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders from the country because of his anti-Islam views.
But the spectacle of seeing the elected European lawmaker detained at London's Heathrow Airport drew protests from the Dutch government, sparked debate in Britain over the whether officials were muzzling free expression, and raised questions about who the U.K. should ban.
Smith's list does not include Wilders, but Mendoza said the British government was trying to compensate for its embarrassment over the Wilders affair by banning people who were so widely disliked that nearly everyone would agree they should be kept away.
___
Associated Press Writers Nancy Zuckerbrod in London; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco contributed to this report.
*******************
Jacqui Smith, the British Home Secretary
To voice your opinion to Jacqui Smith, you can email her at public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
[SIZE=-1]Posted: May 05, 2009
12:56 pm Eastern
[/SIZE] [FONT=Palatino, Times New Roman, Georgia, Times, serif]By Aaron Klein[/FONT]
[SIZE=-1] 2009 WorldNetDaily
[/SIZE]She led a charge to restrict the word "terrorism," instead urging government employees to refer to the phenomenon as "anti-Islamic activity."
She had been labeled a "pocket dictator," with some of her practices referred to by media critics as "truly Big Brother stuff."
She attempted to introduce a giant government database to track all citizen e-mails, phone calls and Internet activity.
Meet Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary who today made public a list of individuals banned from the U.K. since October, including radio superstar Michael Savage. She announced she decided to release the list so others could better understand what sort of behavior Britain was not prepared to tolerate.
In January, Smith oversaw a government program to adopt a new language for declarations on Islamic terrorism, urging all top government workers to refer to Islamic terrorists as pursuing "anti-Islamic activity." There was no official ban on the word "terrorism," but the new wording was an initiative Smith pressed for strongly.
"As so many Muslims in the U.K. and across the world have pointed out, there is nothing Islamic about the wish to terrorize, nothing Islamic about plotting murder, pain and grief," Smith said at the time.
"Indeed, if anything, these actions are anti-Islamic,'" she claimed.
London's Daily Mail referred to Smith's strategy as attempting to portray Islamic terrorists as nothing more than cold-blooded murderers who are not fighting for any religious cause.
Two weeks ago, following strong public outcry over her proposal, Smith dropped a plan to allow the police to monitor and store on government databases information on citizens' Internet use and e-mail messaging. Instead, however, she has asked private companies to store the information for the government.
In a January speech, Smith pointed out that communications data was used to help convict a local killer but that such information was not being routinely stored. She argued Internet and e-mail information should be saved and accessible to law enforcement agencies if terrorists and serious criminals were to be prevented from striking.
"It is essential that the police and other crime-fighting agencies have the tools they need to do their job," she said during a speech to a London think tank.
"We recognize that there is a delicate balance between privacy and security, but to do nothing is not an option as we would be failing in our duty to protect the public." (this is scary)
On April 27, she nixed plans for a giant government database but said she planned to ensure records of electronic communications made by Britons will instead be held by private companies at a cost of around $4 billion.
Internet firms will be asked to collect and store vast amounts of data, including from social networking sites such as Facebook, she said. ...
Under her new plan, every U.K. Internet user will be given a unique ID code and all their data stored by private agencies. Government agencies such as the police and security services will have the ability to access the data to investigate suspected criminals and terrorists.
Smith's plan was heavily criticized by privacy advocates and pundits.
(continue reading story by clicking here)
