The Kuwaiti parliament discussed the incident and castigated the ministers of Trade, Information and Interior, according to al-Qabas. Islamist MPs criticized the live broadcast of the concert and the slow response from security.  >>>>>

Music and other stimuli are very enticing.  It slowly, sometimes quickly, causes us to lose control of ourselves.  Other times, the performers are perceived as something greater than that what is normal.  Would this not be the road to 'minor shirk?'  While many Westerners understand this to be incorrect, they do so until they find out that it was their wives or girlfriend(s) are throwing their undergarments to someone like Tom Jones or Elvis Presley. Look at the reaction of the people who follow(ed) Michael Jackson or the Beatles.  Sometimes un-#$%*-believable.  Yet if their own prophet, whom many take as a god, were to walk in front of them, he would not be given the time of day.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, October 1 (Compass Direct News) – Police have submitted a charge sheet to a district court accusing two persons of raping a pastor’s daughter in the village of Laksmipur, said a state prosecutor.

Sayed Tariqul Islam told Compass that police submitted the charge sheet on Sept. 7 based on an extensive investigation following a DNA test that turned out positive. Pastor Motilal Das, who has long received threats from villagers upset with his success as an evangelist, said that local residents gang-raped his 13-year-old daughter in an attempt to drive him from the area.

State prosecutor Islam said Shakil Ahmed Shebul and Dulal Miah are charged with raping Elina Das at 3 a.m. on May 2. If convicted, they will receive life terms in prison, he said.

“The DNA report is everything to prove them guilty, and I expect that they will be punished with life-term imprisonment,” said Islam.

Previously a medical college had submitted a false forensic test report indicating no evidence of sexual assault. Villagers in Laksmipur, in Fulbaria sub-district 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Dhaka, believe relatives of the accused men paid off the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital Forensic Department to fabricate the false test results.

Pastor Das has said relatives of the alleged rapists have offered him a large sum of money to withdraw the case or settle out of court – while continuing to threaten him. He had found his daughter lying unconscious in front of his house early in the morning of May 2, he said, after five men from Mymensingh district raped her.

The charge sheet submitted by police and the positive DNA report state that the girl’s clothes were torn and marked with the semen of Shebul. A close neighbor of Pastor Das, Shebul applied for bail on Tuesday (Sept. 29), but the court refused to grant it, said Islam.

Miah remains at large. Local police inspector Tarapod Shikder told Compass that assiduous efforts were underway to arrest him.

Pastor Das told Compass that he was dismayed that the charge sheet did not require Shebul to be taken on remand by police for interrogation.

“If the arrested person was held on remand for interrogation, police would get more information regarding other rapists,” Pastor Das.

Inspector Shikder told him that police had already taken Shebul on remand for interrogation and obtained little information, Pastor Das said.

“Nonetheless,” Pastor Das said, “the charge sheet will help to heal the scars of my grief-stricken daughter if proper justice is done.”

Upset Neighbors

Defending the initial false DNA report, Forensic Department head Akhteruzzaman Talukder of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital had told Compass that he did not find any gang-rape injury or trace of forced sexual activity.

Pastor Das’s daughter “might have had a love affair with someone in the village,” Talukder said. “Her lover might have been guarded there by his several friends. When the family members came to know the incident, they cooked it up as gang rape.”

Pastor Das and Muslim villagers were extremely upset by the initial forensic report. He subsequently had his daughter’s clothes tested for DNA profiling at the National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

His Muslim neighbors, he said, consider the positive DNA test a ray of hope for proper judgment. Pastor Das acknowledged his gratitude to some of the village neighbors who gave him moral support during that time.

“I cannot express my gratitude in words to some of my Muslim neighbors in the village who gave me courage and moral support to go forward when I got the false forensic report from Mymensingh Medical College,” he said.

When Pastor Das initially went to police to file charges, he said, police were reluctant to register the case.

“Police told me that it was a false case,” he said. “They also said that it was a fabricated drama. Police spoke with my daughter in filthy language and showed prurient interest in the details of the incident in front of us rather than filing the case quickly.”

The U.S. Department of State’s 2008 International Religious Freedom Report, released in Sept. 19, notes that Bangladeshi government officials, “including the police, were often ineffective in upholding law and order and were sometimes slow to assist religious minority victims of harassment and violence.”

The day of the alleged rape, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced annual recommendations for countries to be designated “Countries of Particular Concern,” but it did not include Bangladesh.

Rather, the commission put Bangladesh on its “Watch List” due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government. Other countries on the Watch List are Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria.

According to USCIRF, Islamist radicalism and violence, the threat of serious violence and continued discrimination against members of religious minority communities remain significant concerns in Bangladesh.

Story from Compass Direct News

Recently, Naomi Wolf(e?) shared her discovery that under the cloth 'protecting' Muslim women from the gaze of the easily titillated (i.e. all males & 15% of females) at the sight of  female persons clad in business attire,

" ... women were as interested in allure, seduction and pleasure as women anywhere in the world."

Wow, Naomi.  In the first place, I'm stunned to learn that you believed in the power of magic Muslim veils to lessen the libido of the human beings hidden underneath. Libidinous urges and thoughts are not altered by clothing, whether it be Mormon underwear or Muslim veils or whatever.

Secondly, your fifteen minutes playing  burqua tourist dress-up made me feel embarrassed for you.  I mean, what the hell are you doing behaving like a 16 year old exchange student - futzing around in a Moroccan market wearing a veil? Oh please! Don't be so camp!

Naomi - your experience wearing a veil does not mean that women who say they choose to wear it are telling the truth about how wonderful it makes them feel.  More than likely, they are filling your ears with cultural bravado. God knows what would happen to them if you printed the truth about how the veil REALLY makes them feel.

Jesus Naomi! Were you born yesterday?

There is something fundamentally immoral in the conclusions you draw from your shallow experience with Islam.

Holy Shit You Are Stupid!

Behind the veil lives a thriving Muslim sexuality

Naomi Wolfe

August 30, 2008

A woman swathed in black to her ankles, wearing a headscarf or a full chador, walks down a European or North American street, surrounded by other women in halter tops, miniskirts and short shorts. She passes under immense billboards on which other women swoon in sexual ecstasy, cavort in lingerie or simply stretch out languorously, almost fully naked. Could this image be any more iconic of the discomfort the West has with the social mores of Islam, and vice versa?

Ideological battles are often waged with women's bodies as their emblems, and Western Islamophobia is no exception. When France banned headscarves in schools, it used the hijab as a proxy for Western values in general, including the appropriate status of women. When Americans were being prepared for the invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban were demonised for denying cosmetics and hair colour to women; when the Taliban were overthrown, Western writers often noted that women had taken off their scarves.

But are we in the West radically misinterpreting Muslim sexual mores, particularly the meaning to many Muslim women of being veiled or wearing the chador? And are we blind to our own markers of the oppression and control of women?

The West interprets veiling as repression of women and suppression of their sexuality. But when I travelled in Muslim countries and was invited to join a discussion in women-only settings within Muslim homes, I learned that Muslim attitudes toward women's appearance and sexuality are not rooted in repression, but in a strong sense of public versus private, of what is due to God and what is due to one's husband. It is not that Islam suppresses sexuality, but that it embodies a strongly developed sense of its appropriate channelling - toward marriage, the bonds that sustain family life, and the attachment that secures a home.

Outside the walls of the typical Muslim households that I visited in Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt, all was demureness and propriety. But inside, women were as interested in allure, seduction and pleasure as women anywhere in the world.

At home, in the context of marital intimacy, Victoria's Secret, elegant fashion and skin care lotions abounded. The bridal videos that I was shown, with the sensuous dancing that the bride learns as part of what makes her a wonderful wife, and which she proudly displays for her bridegroom, suggested that sensuality was not alien to Muslim women. Rather, pleasure and sexuality, both male and female, should not be displayed promiscuously - and possibly destructively - for all to see.

Indeed, many Muslim women I spoke with did not feel at all subjugated by the chador or the headscarf. On the contrary, they felt liberated from what they experienced as the intrusive, commodifying, basely sexualising Western gaze. Many women said something like this: "When I wear Western clothes, men stare at me, objectify me, or I am always measuring myself against the standards of models in magazines, which are hard to live up to - and even harder as you get older, not to mention how tiring it can be to be on display all the time. When I wear my headscarf or chador, people relate to me as an individual, not an object; I feel respected." This may not be expressed in a traditional Western feminist set of images, but it is a recognisably Western feminist set of feelings.

I experienced it myself. I put on a shalwar kameez and a headscarf in Morocco for a trip to the bazaar. Yes, some of the warmth I encountered was probably from the novelty of seeing a Westerner so clothed; but, as I moved about the market - the curve of my breasts covered, the shape of my legs obscured, my long hair not flying about me - I felt a novel sense of calm and serenity. I felt, yes, in certain ways, free.

Nor are Muslim women alone. The Western Christian tradition portrays all sexuality, even married sexuality, as sinful. Islam and Judaism never had that same kind of mind-body split. So, in both cultures, sexuality channeled into marriage and family life is seen as a source of great blessing, sanctioned by God.

This may explain why both Muslim and Orthodox Jewish women not only describe a sense of being liberated by their modest clothing and covered hair, but also express much higher levels of sensual joy in their married lives than is common in the West. When sexuality is kept private and directed in ways seen as sacred - and when one's husband isn't seeing his wife (or other women) half-naked all day long - one can feel great power and intensity when the headscarf or the chador comes off in the the home.

Among healthy young men in the West, who grow up on pornography and sexual imagery on every street corner, reduced libido is a growing epidemic, so it is easy to imagine the power that sexuality can carry in a more modest culture. And it is worth understanding the positive experiences that women - and men - can have in cultures where sexuality is more conservatively directed.

I do not mean to dismiss the many women leaders in the Muslim world who regard veiling as a means of controlling women. Choice is everything. But Westerners should recognise that when a woman in France or Britain chooses a veil, it is not necessarily a sign of her repression. And, more importantly, when you choose your own miniskirt and halter top - in a Western culture in which women are not so free to age, to be respected as mothers, workers or spiritual beings, and to disregard Madison Avenue - it's worth thinking in a more nuanced way about what female freedom really means.

Or perhaps the vocal Muslim liberals are out there, but just can't be heard over the noise of our own CNN.

Not that I don't appreciate CNN. In fact, they actually did this surprisingly reasonable report on one compelling wakeup call Muslims would do well to heed. Take a look.

I believe Glenn Beck may be right when he calls Obsession the absolute most important movie of our generation. Jess and I watched it recently, and I'd advise you all to do the same.

If you don't want to buy or download it, watch it here on my Google videos. Or you can come watch it at our house. However you prefer, I highly recommend watching it.

Thousands of Iranians have been converting to Christianity, and the underground church is thriving, according to reports. But other Iranians are returning to Zoroastrianism, which was the dominant religion in Iran at one time. Jonathan Rocho, with International Christian Concern (ICC), explains.

"We, as a Christian organization, are very much concerned about this because this means many Christians who converted from Islam are going to face death, simply because of their decision to follow Jesus Christ," Rocho laments.

He says Iranians are questioning the Muslim faith after living under the regime, which has been dominated by the religion since the revolution in the 1970s. "They have not seen any change in their lives," Rocho adds. "There is even more repression, more problems going on in the country, so they are very much confused about the Islamic faith."

Already, two Christian converts accused of apostasy have been given the death penalty. Since Iran does not easily succumb to international pressure, Rocho urges people to pray.

For those who think this way, I have two questions:

First, at what percentage do you think the Muslim population should be before Sharia becomes an issue that’s worth paying attention to? 5? 10? 25? 40? Pick one or name your own.

Second, what’s one example of a country in the world today that has the percentage Muslim population you’ve named (or higher), which includes a substantial Islamic orthodoxy, in which the Sharia issue shows signs of being resolved in favor of individual rights and freedoms? Here are some indications the country you choose will likely reach a favorable resolution:

• There is a free and open discussion on the subject of Sharia involving all parties: Islamist Muslims, secular Muslims, non-Muslims, and ex-Muslims.
• There is an absence of violent intimidation, and an absence of calls for censorship of the discussion of any aspect of Sharia.
• The Islamist Muslims show signs of being swayed by the arguments against Sharia made by secular Muslims, non-Muslims, and ex-Muslims.
• There is no sign of existing accommodations for Sharia that have already been implemented even though the Islamists are in the minority.

I’d love to see answers to those two questions by any Sharia procrastinators. Please ask your friends and family and leave a comment.

I don’t know of any country in the world with a substantial Muslim minority that fits the description above. Even in the US, with its tiny Muslim population, we have publishing decisions effected by violent intimidation, calls for censorship, exclusion of secular Muslim voices, fearful ex-Muslims, and accommodations for Sharia. The percentage of Muslims in this country, while small, shows no sign of becoming smaller, so the easiest time to deal with the issue of Sharia is right now. If we don’t deal with it now, how would waiting make it any easier?

In a December 28, 2005 article, the Associated Press reported that, at that time in Pakistan, "more than 260 such honor killings" had been "documented by the rights commission, mostly from media reports, during the first 11 months of 2005." And that's just Pakistan. In this Associated Press article, "Nazir Ahmed appears calm and unrepentant as he recounts how he slit the throats of his three young daughters and their 25-year old stepsister to salvage his family's "honor" — a crime that shocked Pakistan."

But the tradition spans the globe, and has recently become a major concern in the United States and Canada. Just this year, in Dallas, Texas, "Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, were found shot multiple times in a cab outside a suburban Dallas hotel. Police found them after one of the girls called 911 from a cell phone and said she was dying. A capital murder warrant has been issued for Yaser Said, 50, who" at the time the article was published had "not been seen since the Lewisville High School students were found dead." The article went on to say, "According to a police report released (the following) Tuesday, a family member told investigators that Yaser Said threatened 'bodily harm' against Sarah for going on a date with a non-Muslim."

Now, Sophie Borland of the Daily Mail has revealed that "the daughter of firebrand cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed" ... "has ditched not only his extreme interpretation of Islam - but also much of her clothing."

The full article, which is definitely worth a read, goes on to say that this lovely young mother has been dancing in London's West End clubs, "touring as a 'podium' dancer with a troupe called Ibiza Untouched."

She says she doesn't agree with her father's extreme views, nor, by implication, his radical Islamist message.

The cleric, himself, however claims this is all a "fabrication" he calls an "attack on him and Islam." He claims not to have seen his daughter for nine years, so this author wonders how he can be so sure she's not the "topless, tattooed pole-dancer" she certainly appears to be?

The radical cleric went on to say, "The more you put pressure on me, the stronger I become. Islam will conquer Britain." He went on to rant, "You are going to pay a heavy price ... You can read it any way you like. The time is now."

The article also said of Yasmin that she "grew up a devout Muslim and in her teens wore a veil. She left school in Enfield at 16 after her parents fixed an arranged marriage to a Turkish man but the couple separated."

Apparently her, "exotic life as a pole dancer was discovered when she was contacted by a tabloid journalist posing as an agent booking acts for a gentleman's club."

What I am wondering is: Will Islamic extremists in Britain stand for this sort of behavior from the daughter of banned hate cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad, or will she be the victim of an "honor" killing - murdered by one of her father's radical followers still living in London?

According to a September 11, 2008 article on mirror.co.uk, "Bakri, 59, was kicked out of Britain after the July 7, 2005 London bombings because of his activities," but he is, apparently, still in contact with his fanatical devotees, because details that emerged the evening of September 10th indicated that he was planning to "use a live video link from Lebanon to address radicals meeting in London" to "to praise the 9/11 killers in a sick speech to British radicals... the seventh anniversary of the terror outrage."

Will Yasmin Fostok survive the Religion of Peace?

This was his first speech to MPs since he replaced Pervez Musharraf in August. It was also the first by a president in almost six years.

Ahead of his first meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York, Zardari also said that ties with India need to be “creatively re-invented.”

Zardari said that he would like to move ahead with India based on three pointers which were, as espoused by former PM Benazir Bhutto, to come up with new ideas, to make bold committments and to be honest in the relationship.

Zardari called for a parliamentary committee to investigate abolishing his powers to dissolve the assembly and dismiss the government.

“In the history of Pakistan this is the first president who is giving away his powers, he commented.”

And today there is this esthetics of being Muslim which is disliked and complained by the most. Number one reason is that the culture of being Muslim originates from the rural. It is today partly provincial and partly urban, mimicking something that it doesn't belong to. >>>>>

The Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan recently published an article [1] by its columnist Sheikh Nabil Al-'Awadhi, who is a government-appointed preacher at a Kuwaiti mosque and in the past had a television show called "An Hour of Sincerity" on Kuwaiti Al-Rai TV. In the article, titled "The Qualities of the European," Al-'Awadhi states that Europeans are disciplined and law-abiding only because they fear punishment; that they are unclean, since they "only wash when absolutely necessary"; and that they are selfish, cowardly and miserly. It should be noted that in August 2006, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowments suspended Al-'Awadhi from his post as preacher for three months, after he gave a Friday sermon inciting to jihad and calling for harming Jews. [2]

Reformist Kuwaiti writer Ahmad Al-Sarraf responded to Al-'Awadhi's article with one of his own, in which he condemned and refuted Al-'Awadhi's statements about Europeans. [3]

Following are excerpts from the two articles:

The Europeans' "Bad Qualities Are Innumberable!"

Al-'Awadhi's article, titled "The Qualities of the European," appeared in his regular "A Word of Sincerity" column in Al-Watan. In it, he wrote:

"In a previous piece, called 'The Arab Qualities,' I mentioned some of the bad qualities which distinguish many Arabs, and which Islam calls on us to reject. Some [people], who are dazzled by Western civilization, thought that the examples [I presented in the article] were intended as a comprehensive comparison between the Arabs and the West. But the truth is that I mentioned only a few [Arab] qualities, comparing them with Western characteristics.

"However, as for the West and its characteristics, especially the Europeans - their bad qualities are innumerable! This article does not mean to [discuss] all the European qualities, [but] only some of them - in particular those having to do with their relations with one another.

"Europeans Today Are Disciplined, Law-Abiding, and Punctual... Because They Are Afraid of Penalties"

"As for the Europeans' relations with the Creator, animals are better than they are... for they do not permit what is permissible, and do not forbid what is forbidden. Moreover, whenever they find a way to please the Devil, they pursue it. I do not believe that Satan [ever] imagined that his temptation of humanity would [yield] such an extent of heresy as well as moral depravity and decay.

"Most Europeans today are disciplined, law-abiding, and punctual. But they behave in this manner not because they believe in [these virtues], but because they are afraid of penalties and fines. Just imagine, dear reader, a civilized city like London, New York, Paris or Frankfurt with the electricity cut off for even one day. What do you think the European man, in his elegant suit, and the European woman, with her elegant figure, would do?

"[Imagine] just one day without electricity, during which the surveillance cameras and the alarm systems fail. In this situation, these civilized people would turn into wild animals that would devour everything!!

"Yes, that is the truth about the West. It is not restrained by religion, values or virtue, but only by fear of punishment and fines. Furthermore, without surveillance, even the police would take part in the thievery."

"Had Allah Not Given [the Europeans] a Cold Climate, Their Stench Would Have... Driven Away the Birds and Withered the Vegetation"

"Europeans [also] usually smell bad, because they do not wash until it is absolutely necessary. They do not clean themselves properly after urinating, nor do they wipe the filth off [themselves]. Whoever mingles with them notices this characteristic. If Allah had not given them a cold climate, the stench would have been overwhelming, driving away the birds and withering the vegetation. For real cleanliness means nothing to them.

"Other bad qualities which characterize the Europeans like no others are cowardice and stinginess. You encounter a European of impressive appearance, and you believe him to be brave and strong. But as soon as you put him to the test, you find him to be a craven coward. On many occasions, I have seen them make a big racket, like barking dogs, but once confronted, they run away like rats...

"Usually, they do not aid those who are wronged or help those in distress, except seldom. Many a time have I seen people being beaten and old people lying injured on the ground, with no one lifting a finger to help them. They pay no attention to others and think only of themselves."

"The European is Miserly Even Towards His Own Wife and Children"

"As for stinginess, the Europeans are the very model of it. The European is miserly even towards his own wife and children. He may dine with his wife in a restaurant, and then each of them pays their own bill!! And when his son or daughter turns 18, he asks them to pay rent for living under his roof!

"Just as generosity and courage are man's finest qualities, so are stinginess and cowardice his worst, and the latter are especially characteristic of the European. He lives for his material interests only, and does not recognize social ties. Father and mother usually mean nothing to him, and even his children - his only interest in them is materialistic.

"Most of the Europeans today are racist, especially the Germans and the French. They despise one another, and [also] despise others. They believe that they deserve a good life, while others have only the right to serve them. Those compelled to live among them experience this racism. Given an opportunity to crush the others, [the Europeans] would grab it without hesitation. In fact, their history [provides] proof of this evil quality.

"I do not write this article out of hate or resentment, though, by Allah, I do hate the infidels among them. I have written this article in fairness, so that those who are impressed with the West will not be deluded and will not think that I am dazzled by the Europeans. For, as I have said, their bad qualities are innumerable. By Allah, even one Muslim who worships Allah is better than all the infidels in the world, even if their appearance impresses some people."

Reformist Al-Sarraf: Looking At the Europeans' Achievements, "We Are Shocked - Not Only by the Extent of Their Progress, But Also By the Extent of Our Own Backwardness"

In his rebuttal to Al-'Awadhi, reformist Kuwaiti writer Ahmad Al-Sarraf wrote: "A simple and quick comparison between the societies in the Gulf and those of Europe reveals enormous differences in education, agriculture and economics, not to mention space exploration, trade, tourism, archeology, hotels, roads, and basic utilities like electricity, water and alternative energy sources. If we examine their scientific institutes, [their] progress in medicine, and the standard of [care in] their hospitals, we will be shocked - not only by the extent of their progress, but also by the extent of our own backwardness, lack of productivity, and scanty participation in human enterprises.

"A quick glance at the moral differences between the two societies will [also] shock us... In Europe, [punctuality] is sacred and the work [ethic] is honored, while dishonesty is rare. In our societies, [on the other hand], the opposite is true.

"[When we consider] their cultural and humanitarian role, and their contribution in all areas to humanity as a whole over the last three centuries or more, we are astonished - not only at how little we have contributed, but [also] at the amazing number of calamities and woes that shameless fools from amongst us have inflicted upon the world, especially upon the West.

"Space does not permit [me] to enumerate the reasons for [the difference between the two societies]. However, there is no better proof of the greatness of Western culture, and of its values and ethics, than [the testimony] of the Saudi preacher 'Aaidh Al-Qarni, whose affiliation with a strict Islamic school did not prevent him from writing [the following words] during his first visit to Europe last March. [He wrote:] 'I am [currently] in Paris for medical treatment. I have been consulting doctors, visiting libraries, observing people, and looking at the way they behave towards each other. I have found polite and friendly people of refined culture, good qualities, and fine sensibilities. I have also found punctuality and a well-ordered way of life. [As for] us Arabs, Ibn Khaldun has preceded me in describing us as wild and uncouth. Some of my fellow clerics are coarse of character and have a desert mentality. We need an institution to train us in good manners, and another to produce high officials who are gentle, compassionate and humble... [and who] treat people decently.' This is what Saudi preacher Al-Qarni thinks of the Europeans."

"Kuwaiti preacher Nabil Al-'Awadhi, who writes for Al-Watan and belongs to the very same religious school as Al-Qarni, has a completely different view of [the Europeans]... [He thinks that] 'their bad qualities are innumerable.' His lengthy article contains much censure, invective and abuse, and I have quoted from [it] only in order to expose... the attitude towards others held by some of us - especially towards those who are most advanced, cultured and respectful [of others] and who have contributed the most to other nations.

"I should note that I do not read Nabil Al-'Awadhi's column, but that someone who read it told me that he had translated it and intends to distribute it to the European embassies in Kuwait... so that, if [Al-'Awadhi] ever applies for a visa to receive medical treatment in one of their countries, they can confront him with what he wrote."

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has said closures across the UK are running at five a day, up a third on last year, with close to 1,900 of the country's 57,000 pubs set to shut this year if the current rate continues.

The tax move has led to a wave of unemployment, with brewers, barmaids, publicans and drunks desperately looking for a beneficial past time.

"There's a country's culture heritage in these pubs. Churchill took a whizz in the bushes behind this one ... not many people know that. But it's all going to be lost, isn't it," said one patron.

"These bloody Muslims think they can come to this country and stop us drinking alcohol. Why shouldn't I be able to puke up in public on Saturday nights if I want to, I was born here first?", added a distraught teenage mother.

"I expect they are going to start chopping off heads and hands for anyone that murders or steals, rather than giving them a comfy prison cell and giving them paroll."

But Judge Ali Akbar was unrepentent. "I think Britons have to understand that Sharia implemented properly will improve their health, wealth and wisdom."

Nevertheless, the industry is angry with the Sharia Courts for upholding local tax rises when it is facing the toughest trading conditions for years with pressure on household budgets.

"British pubs want to serve the community. What with last year's smoking ban, cheap alcohol offers abroad, and the miserable summer weather encouraging drinkers to stay at home - how can we now deal with Islamic law that says we shouldn't be smoking or drinking at all?", said Mr John Smith, managing director of John Smith's.

Investor concern over the health of Britain's two biggest pubs groups, Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns - the liver and kidney of UK industry - gained momentum over the summer and shares in both have now lost more than half of their value since the start of the year.

And there are some people who say: We believe in Allah and the last day; and they are not at all believers.

They desire to deceive Allah and those who believe, and they deceive only themselves and they do not perceive.

There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease and they shall have a painful chastisement because they lied.

And when it is said to them, Do not make mischief in the land, they say: We are but peace-makers.

Now surely they themselves are the mischief makers, but they do not perceive.” -Qur'an 2: 8-12

The caricatured terrorist: he looks vaguely uncivilized with his thick black eyebrows and unkempt beard. From under his white turban, his angry eyes stare through us, unblinking. What do we know about him? We know he is Arab. We know he is Muslim. We know he is violent. But we are wrong on at least one count. He is not a Muslim.

Islam teaches that the highest fulfillment of religion lies in holy war and dying as a martyr for the spread of one's faith,” writes Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in Judaism for Everyone. The American rabbi echoes a false collective belief----that Islam is inherently violent and bent on political domination. Holy war and martyrdom should not be construed as the culmination of Islam, and the Qur'an does not teach that Muslims should wage war or suffer martyrdom for the spread of their religion.

Islam teaches that religion is fulfilled through five central precepts:

1. Shahadah- The creed of Islam, “I testify that there is no G-d (ilah) but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
2. Salah- Muslims must pray at five fixed times each day, facing Mecca
3. Zakah (Hebrew Tzedakah)- Muslims must give a fixed portion of their wealth to the poor and needy, and commonly believe that giving additional voluntary charity favors one before G-d.
4. Sawm- Muslims must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan. War is prohibited during the month of Ramadan.
5. Hajj- A pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah is required of all able-bodied Muslims at least once in a lifetime.

Terrorists who engage in jihad or “holy war” by murdering civilians are unworthy of being named Muslims. They do not understand what G-d has revealed to them. The broad meaning of jihad is “struggle,” but in its truest sense it is the struggle to submit to the will of G-d, the striving to resist disbelief. “Therefore heed not the Unbelievers, But resist them (jihad) with the utmost strenuousness, with the [Revelation of the Qur'an].” (Qur'an 25:52)

There is no glory in waging war and causing human suffering. The only war which is permitted to Muslims is war which is fought in defense of life or religious freedom, under strict rules issued by Muhammed and his successors. Women, children, and non-combatants may not be killed. Trees should not be cut. War may never be waged to gain religious control. The Qu'ran declares, “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error.” (2: 256)

A suicide bomber who kills innocents in the name of G-d can not be considered a martyr. A martyr dies while striving in the cause of G-d. A terrorist killing civilians dies in his own fear and wickedness.

We must not equate the world's vilest people with the doctrines of the religion they purport to follow. The implication that “Islamist” terrorists are representative of Muslims is an atrocity that must be purged from our culture. We do not think “the highest fulfillment of Christianity” is the murder of doctors for the spread of their faith, despite the fact that a handful of doctors have been killed by Pro-life Christians. We do not think that sexual exploitation of women is the pinnacle of Judaism simply because pornographer Seymour Butts is Jewish. We must struggle against the fables that tear our world apart. Terrorists do not practice Islam.

Islamist, betyder i virkeligheden muslim. Islamist er bare et andet ord for muslim. Ved at sige islamist så er man sikker på at der er tale om noget dårligt.

Jihadist, er der ikke noget galt i at være. Alle er vel jihadister, for vi stræber alle sammen for at være et godt menneske. Hvis man undersøger det nærmere så dækker Jihad både over den fredelige krig og den indre kamp om at være et godt menneske. Jihad=struggle.

Islamofob, er ikke en der ikke bryder sig om islam. En islamofob er en, der ikke har læst koranen og intet ved om religionen islam, men som alligevel har et enormt had og frygt til islam (og dens tilhængere). Islamkritikere bliver tit forvekslet med islamofobere.

Islamkritiker, er en som kritiserer islam og som stiller kritiske spørgsmål om islam. En islamkritiker kritiserer garanteret også andre religioner og ikke kun islam. En islamkritiker kan derfor godt være muslim.

Media Misleading ya...

Makhmalbaf on the other hand tried to assassinate a policeman and was a religious fundamentalist. Like Kiarostami his films have been iranian (depicting the iranian society). Makhmalbafs more warmblooded behaviour and islamism that made him famous due to the regimes support has also made the regime unease, and has lost the support from the regime he himself once was a strong supporter of. He has left the country now. Not being in Iran where he told his great stories from, he has made mostly mediocre films in his exile years. Recently a bomb exploded in Afghanistan on his set killing a horse and wounding people. Makhmalbaf is now fearing for his families life.

Well look whos laughing now, its certainly not the bazari revolutionary islamist. Not only has his talent dried but now his own family is in danger.

Now Kiarostamis latest experimental film Shirin has been shown at the Venice Film Festival where he also received another award. Next year Kiarostamis feature Certified Copy starring Juliette Binoche will be premiered. We are eagerly waiting.

For years, al-Qaida and other terror groups have set up shop in the Internet. Those who track them have covertly followed. The companies SITE Intelligence Group and IntelCenter have penetrated even deeper into the terror Web than most inlelligence agencies.

When al-Qaida was founded, Josh Devon was nine years old. Ben Venzke was 15. The year was 1988, and Devon and Venzke were as uninterested in the terrorist network as its leader, Osama bin Laden, was in the two young Americans.

Now, two decades later, things have changed. Venzke and Devon have both become fascinated in terrorism and have turned that interest into careers. And al-Qaida now takes careful note of their work.

Venzke and Devon are two of the most prominent "terror trackers" worldwide. In the United States, and increasingly in other countries, the term refers to a community of people who spend their days analyzing traces that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations leave behind, especially on the Internet. The two Americans are essentially digital trackers in the age of globalized terrorism.

IntelCenter and SITE Intelgroup are the companies that Venzke and Devon, respectively, have founded. They enjoy a strong reputation within the relatively small community of terrorism experts. Beyond that, though, they are virtually unknown - but wrongly so.

Bin Laden's Words

The two companies exert tremendous influence, worldwide and around the clock. News agencies, intelligence services and law enforcement organizations from the entire Western world are among Devon's and Venzke's clients. SITE and IntelCenter deliver their product - information - via e-mail, telephone or fax, or directly to clients' PDAs or mobile phones.

Almost every statement by Osama bin Laden published on the Internet, to name only one example, is first made public by SITE and IntelCenter. They find the statements in the confusion of Web sites associated with al-Qaida, and within seconds they have sent the first screen shots to their subscribers. It takes the companies only minutes to summarize bin Laden's speeches and within hours, they will have provided full translations, analysis included.

Because hardly any news agencies, newspapers or magazines are in a position to obtain or examine this information themselves, the translations often end up being quoted verbatim in the media. They also land on the desks of intelligence analysts in the United States and Europe, providing them with special delivery, albeit secondhand, of bin Laden's words.

It is a hot day in June on the East Coast of the United States. The location of SITE Intelgroup's headquarters cannot be disclosed. The company is housed in an inconspicuous office building -- there is no company sign.

The interior - neutral carpeting and light-colored desks, a humming air-conditioning system and a gurgling water cooler - offers little hint of the company's delicate field of business. Josh Devon, holding a cup of ice tea from Starbucks, invites his visitor into a conference room where the walls are draped with maps. This is where Devon briefs FBI agents. The 29-year-old is wearing a white shirt and sporting three-day growth. When he founded SITE, together with Rita Katz, he was all of 23.

'We Simply Followed'

"We simply followed the jihadists," he says, describing the idea behind SITE. "We went where they went." He means online.

When he and Katz joined forces, Devon was still a student of Middle Eastern Studies, but his business partner was already a legend. Beginning in the late 1990s, Katz almost single-handedly uncovered a number of funding sources of Islamists. Katz, a Jew born in Iraq who speaks Arabic, infiltrated Islamist organizations disguised as a Muslim woman -- and wearing recording equipment. She passed her findings on to the authorities. There were court cases, and some organizations were banned.

Then came Sept. 11, 2001.

A short time later, Rita Katz and Josh Devon were among the first to notice that al-Qaida and its ilk were creating an online presence. They established SITE, an acronym for "Search for International Terrorist Entities," and began surfing their way in pursuit of radical Islamic terrorist organizations. A US magazine was one of their first subscribers. Government agencies in Switzerland and the families of Sept. 11 victims soon followed. SITE was in business.

Today this former non-profit organization has been turned into a business enterprise. But Devon and Katz see their work as more of an avocation than running a business. They are only offline when commuting between their offices and homes. In a later e-mail interview Katz, who was not at the SITE offices during the June visit, wrote: "I believe what I do is very important. It's a mission." Devon says: Terror tracking "is very addictive, especially when you experience a major success."

And SITE has certainly been successful. There is a reason Katz has a letter of appreciation from FBI Director Robert S. Muller III hanging on the wall in her office. The company's work has also led to arrests abroad, including those of would-be suicide bombers who had left farewell letters in chat rooms that SITE managed to penetrate.

'Could Blow Your Cover'

SITE doesn't like to discuss methods. But even without such information, it is not hard to figure out where its expertise lies. Katz and her employees surf the Net as if they were cyber jihadists. "In a sense it's similiar," she says, alluding to her previous undercover mission, "because in both cases you have to be very careful not to disclose your true identity and not make mistakes that could blow your cover."

In the past few years, al-Qaida volunteers have created a stable online infrastructure. Its mainstays are a handful of Arab-language discussion forums, where supporters of terrorism hold their debates. Most of all, however, the administrators of these sites allow terrorist organizations to post their speeches, videos and claims of responsibility for attacks and other acts of terror.

The forums are password-protected, but this is only the first hurdle. Anyone who wants more information than can be gleaned by reading the posts has to work up through the informal hierarchy. He or she must be able to credibly convey, using suitable language and the right tone, that he is a true jihadist. Gaining the confidence of the key users and, eventually, of the administrators is vital. Only then can one becomes a part of cyber networks with close ties to al-Qaida and other affiliated terrorist organizations, networks that posses the raw footage of terrorist videos, coordinate the flow of funds and know the real e-mail addresses of forum users.

SITE's competitive edge is that it got into the game earlier than government agencies. According to a European intelligence official, SITE has a head start of four to five years.

SITE's work for government agencies is always confidential and, in some cases, based on concrete assignments. Its public products include newsletters about Taliban activities, the situation in Iraq and the latest news from the jihadist chat rooms. Aside from official information from terrorist organizations, SITE also provides accounts of the "atmosphere" in the terrorist community.

SITE is frequently quoted by such papers as the New York Times and Washington Post. More often, though, SITE appears indirectly and without attribution in newspaper stories worldwide, although the company is now seeking less public profile than in recent years.

Of course, every intelligence service worth its salt also pursues cyber jihadists on its own. But SITE and IntelCenter are often faster, and their products are also sent to departments that lack these capabilities.

Ranstorp sees other problems as well. He believes that SITE and companies like it are commercializing intelligence and influencing analysts with their reports. Most of all, however, Ranstorp wishes there were more companies like SITE. "Then there would be more competition."

In fact, SITE has only one serious competitor: Ben Venzke.

He scored one of his most recent scoops in late July, when IntelCenter employees were the first to find a video on the Internet in which the Turkestan Islamic Party threatened to commit acts of terror during the Olympics.

Never Trusted the News

At 9:07 p.m., IntelCenter reported the discovery to its subscribers using the Flash Messaging System. Translated key passages followed at 9:46 p.m., and freeze images at 10:39. At the same time, the first news agency took up the report. The next day, Venzke analyzed the group's credibility and later send out information from an earlier video.

Although Ben Venzke doesn't look quite as young as Josh Devon, he still doesn't look like someone who routinely provides US special units with intelligence material. "This here," says Venzke cheerfully, wearing a casual black shirt, "is my second living room." The waitress in the café at the Four Seasons Hotel recognizes him immediately and brings him a cup of tea.

Venzke was even younger than Devon when he founded IntelCenter 19 years ago: 16, to be exact. He later studied journalism in college and eventually wrote for the Boston Globe and Jane's Intelligence Review.

"I never trusted the news to give the full picture," says Venzke. He says that he wanted to understand "how things really worked."

His motto goes something like this: "In order for a society to function, people have to be able to know they are safe. Life should be about film and music, not about worrying about buildings collapsing."

IntelCenter has a lot in common with SITE, but there are also some important differences. Both are capable of finding every important al-Qaida communiqué, sometimes even before it is published. Both can quickly send out relatively accurate translations of terrorist material, including videos, speeches and claims or responsibility. Both work for similar clients.

But IntelCenter, which also keeps its location a secret, provides more customized preliminary work for the intelligence services and the military - at least based on what we are able to see and hear.

Involved in almost every Hostage Crisis

Venzke's catalog illustrates this approach. It contains services that he offers to government agencies only, such as the 24/7 "Hostage/Kidnapping Profiling and Incident Monitor" -- at a cost running up to more than $500,000 (€323,000) a year. According to Venzke, IntelCenter is involved in almost every hostage crisis.

IntelCenter seems to act more like a subcontractor to government agencies than SITE. "Much of what we do, they could probably do themselves, but we often have more experience in our specialty areas and can do it faster and cheaper," says Venzke. He explains that he invested heavily in infrastructure to meet the requirements of the intelligence community, including, for example, redundant power, cooling and other systems. Some clients want raw data, while others prefer finished analyses. IntelCenter offers both and can format the information using the standard "Analyst's Notebook" software.

Venzke prides himself on his professionalism. There is gossip about how Rita Katz once took it upon herself to call foreign officials, because she was convinced that somebody was planning something and US officials were unwilling to help her. Sometimes she acts as a private terrorist hunter, sometimes as an expert and sometimes as a business partner. Venzke, for his part, would never talk to strangers about this sort of potentially critical information.

Perhaps for this reason, Venzke has little praise for SITE. "What SITE does, is not even remotely in our class." Rita Katz disagrees: "Our information is of the highest quality and of unparalleled accuracy." She declined to comment on the work of others.

The Secret, Hidden Part

The competition between these two companies is probably healthy. Criticism exposes more of what SITE and IntelCenter do, but not, of course, the secret, hidden part. In the end, both companies earn more working for government agencies and businesses than for the media.

Still, compared to other private-sector companies that are contractors with the CIA, the Pentagon and the like, SITE and IntelCenter are transparent, tiny and laughably insignificant. "I've never thought about our influence," says Josh Devon with complete innocence. "We try to do the best job we can."

Nevertheless, both companies are part of an information oligarchy that hardly anyone in the Western hemisphere can monitor or assess. And the conspiracy theories pontificating that SITE and IntelCenter shoot the bin Laden videos themselves will continue to exist in the future.

And Katz, Venzke and Devon will continue to see the humor in such theories: Yep, this is Mossad Headquarters. Exactly!

But then something beeps, or a pager starts humming to indicate that a jihadist is sending a message. And they will keep on digging through information. And the hunt will begin all over again.

*Yassin Musharbash is a staff writer and terror experte with Spiegel online, Germany's biggest news website. He studied Arab History and Political Sciences at the Universities of Goettingen (Germany) and Bir Zeit (West Bank). He is the son of a Jordanian father and a German mother. In 2006, his first book was published in Germany: "Die neue al-Qaida. Innenansichten eines lernenden Terrornetzwerks" (The new al-Qaida. Insights into a learning terrorist network).

Source

1. Spiegel - Germany

Notes

1.Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

The book at hand now, however, is by no means crap. In fact, I'd highly commend it to the attention of anyone, liberal or conservative, who's interested in politics or history. Again, that doesn't mean I don't take issue with some parts of it.

The book is America Alone by Canadian journalist Mark Steyn. Without spoiling it, I have to credit this little non-politically correct book for injecting a heavy dose of sobriety and urgency into my political thinking. I won't say whether it's pushed me to the right or left, but it's certainly pushed me. I hope the suspense makes you read it.

At the end of the Cold War, Russia was clearly weak. The economic collapse that helped bring about the demise of the Soviet Union left former member states feeling crippled. Russia, the country which retained control over the vast nuclear arsenal and the UN Security Council seat, was reduced from being the heart of a great power to a nation barely able to sustain itself without significant outside aid. So naturally, its influence in the world dropped, and it took fewer opportunities to advance an anti-Western agenda. But now, with dramatic economic growth driven by oil, and restored military confidence after successfully crushing the Islamist insurgency of Chechnya and Ingushtia, Russia has shattered its image as a diminished power, and has made clear that it is a force to be reckoned with.

While the United States cannot directly confront Russia using military means, our lack of response to their invasion of Georgia is outrageous. A number of options to contain the Russian threat, and indeed help push Russia back on to an acceptable path, are available to us. For instance, returning to a G7 configuration over the recently created G8 model, or permanently ending all NATO-Russia dialog would be worthwhile first steps. By isolating them from the West, we send the unequivocal message that the reckless disregard for internationally recognized borders and the unjustified slaughter of civilians to advance a radical political agenda is unacceptable. If Russia's economic and diplomatic opportunities are limited, and it is not allowed to advance in the direction it presently wishes, they will be more inclined to moderate their behavior. They may never be a reliable ally in the same way that Israel or Poland are, but they can cease to become a disruptive force that creates chaos in the surrounding region.

So I've been thinking lately about some random stuff, like what Kuwait is like right now? I don't mean like the weather, I mean the people! Have they changed ? or are they still the same? I've heard that the number of restaurants that are on gulf road have increased since I left! Which is something I didn't like when I heard of course, because they could use that land to do something better than making us fatter! They can always build something interesting for the people! I mean how about this... A indoor Zoo which has different tropical animals plus a sort of lounge thing in the middle of a man made jungle! Don't forget to add a mini hotel which is placed on the beach front! But its not like a huge building! I mean they can make mini apartment like rooms on the beach which people can enjoy! Why wouldn't anyone do that? I know it would be freaking expensive! But COME ON! I read in the newspaper 2 days ago that our government has a surplus! guess how much ?

14.6 BILLION DOLLARS

So where is all that money going huh? I wanna fucking know! I mean that 14 billion has to go some where useful if not for us, for improving our shitty health care system, or lets say our education system, at least the road system to make them more efficient and well less time consuming and frustrating.

Well I don't think that money is going there! I'm pretty sure that money is going in to the pockets of those who are on the top of the country. I'm pretty sure you guys know what I'm talking about! Great! And the rest of that money will be stolen like everything that's happening in Kuwait!

I'm fucking tired and sick of this! I'm not kidding, I'm not only complaining. I'm confused and disappointed with my nation.

I'll start off with the confusion thing, ok so we have the money to spend on the country to improve it in many many many ways, but it never happens! So if they are putting those huge budgets to work on the country and you see the news reporting about that and you don't see any development! So whats happening exactly?

The Islamists in the Parliament (which I hope they burn them selves to death then take them selves and fly off to a remote island somewhere in the world where they will govern them selves and live like cavemen because they don't have the proper IQ to act like human beings) are claiming that they are "Muslims" and a Muslim should work for the better of the community and his nation, but I see them making things worst!

Our ruling family are confused! We don't know who exactly is ruling us right now! Yes we have an Amir etc etc... but come on who is running the country? the ruling family with the help of the people? or the business men and their money? I don't want to mention any name. I don't want to go there since I'm already planning my evil plan to take over the world using my spoon and fork! *that would be eating every human alive*

I'm serious, but not about taking over the world. We need to do something, either we the people of Kuwait work together to fix this country or we all fail together and become another failed nation like many other nations in the world.

Corruption, Islamists, Idiots, naked dolls, GTA (nudity games eg: Tony Hawk 3), blogs, and pot heads are all to blame for our messed up country! Well there are many other things, but still we are part of the blame because we didn't do anything about it.

We should do something people, there isn't much time left. In 5 to 10 years Kuwait is going to be mini Saudia Arabia if We the people don't do anything about it. Its our choice, its our discion.

For me, I'd love to stay in Kuwait as much as possible. But if those Bastards *you know who you are* don't get the hell out of the Parliament. I'm done! I'll be visiting every summer and thats it.

Ok now to the other side which is disappointment.

Well look at the country! Yes we are better than a lot of the country in the world, but be realistic would you! Kuwait, this 17k KM^2 country has 10% of the worlds oil reserves with a population of 1,100,00 ONLY!

Our country, our land deserves better. From its people to the rulers of our country. We have abused it, yes we did! We made our country that was "Pearl of the Gulf" to the "Knock off of the Gulf" I'm not kidding nor exaggerating. Go to any country that has the budget and the capabilities that our country has and I'm 1000% sure that it would be a million times better in most service to its people and those who visit. Our country is messed up, its fucked. These things make me hurt. I can expect lots of things from my country, but anything else than becoming a country a land that has no reason to exist else than because it has oil etc. you know what guys fuck it, I'm closing this post! I can't say anything else than what I've said, plus I'm sick of typing.

* I DIDN'T PROOF READ THIS SO DON'T GIVE ME SHIT PLEASE THANKS *

Sign of the times

Courtesy BBC

As Russia and the West warn of a new Cold War after the Georgian conflict, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley in Moscow tries to imagine what it would look like.

A complex network of narrow tunnels broke out into vast, high-ceilinged chambers with the sides curved cylindrically like the hull of a ship

Evgenia Evlenteva strode past a row of old radiation suits hanging on pegs like raincoats.

With a bounce in her step and a torch stuck into her jeans back pocket, she asked: "Right, it's more than 60 metres (200ft) deep so do you want to take the stairs or the lift?

"Oh and by the way, the door weighs three tonnes. It's made of lead and metal, and it still works."

She jabbed a button and, with a groan and a creak, a huge slab slid back and let us into one of Moscow's key Cold War nuclear bunkers.

It was decked out with its own air, water and food supplies for 2,500 people, should the city have come under nuclear attack.

With Russia and the West now exchanging accusations about starting a new Cold War, it seemed a good place to go, once hidden in a leafy street near the Moscow River and just off Taganskaya Square, where it linked up to the Metro station so the top brass and supplies could get in there.

International crisis

I found out later that, at the same time as our small tour group was taking the stairs down, Russia was testing an intercontinental ballistic missile from its recently modernized Topol system, more than capable of reaching Washington.

Topol missiles during rehearsals for Russia's annual Victory Day parade

Over the past couple of weeks, each day it has seemed either Russia or the West was ratcheting up the stakes, as if both sides were relieved to get away from the insoluble nihilism of Islamist terror and work on something that they could get their teeth into.

Russia spoke of tensions resembling the eve of World War I. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that this international crisis marked a clear end to the relative calm enjoyed by Europe since the Cold War finished.

But it has been difficult to reconcile this exchange of apprehensions with snapshots here, where the bus stops are decorated with posters for the new Batman movie, hoardings advertise global brand-name products and you sweep out of a ring-road tunnel towards a skyline of cranes putting up new high-rise office blocks to keep up with Russia's high economic growth.

No longer isolated

From the mobile phones, to the makes of cars, to the news-stand Russian editions of the celebrity magazine Hello!, it is pretty impossible to envisage how a new Cold War would actually work.

It's no longer safe down here from a nuclear attack... The bombs are too big now. It's not deep enough Evgenia Evlenteva, Moscow bunker guide

Boeing, for example, has a huge factory outside Moscow. Russia's Gazprom, the conglomerate much feared for its ability to turn on and off Europe's gas supplies, is one of the biggest companies listed on international stock exchanges.

And would some Western package of punitive sanctions mean that the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich would have to sell Chelsea Football Club?

In the last Cold War, Russians were seen as isolated behind their Iron Curtain, with their own ropey technology and a grim-faced population oppressed by secretive monosyllabic leaders.

Now you can barely stop them talking, as they ferry between 24-hour news channel chat shows.

As we finished our climb down the stairs, Evgenia snapped on the lights to the bunker.

It was a complex network of narrow tunnels that broke out into vast, high-ceilinged chambers with the sides curved cylindrically like the hull of a ship, made of reinforced lead and concrete.

The museum had put in telex machines, old telephones, maps and wooden desks to show what it had looked like.

Present-day thinking

Evgenia ushered us into a lecture hall for a video briefing, where I got perhaps a glimpse of Russia's present-day thinking.

Black and white film drawn from once-classified Soviet archives began by naming America as the only nation that had ever used a nuclear weapon in conflict, and telling how the Soviet Union was forced to catch up to protect what it called its "sphere of influence".

The 1962 Cuban missile conflict was a brilliant piece of brinkmanship that re-defined Russia's global power.

The collapse of the Soviet Union was a tragedy. The motif of the film was nuclear tests, exploding into bigger and bigger mushroom clouds, both Russian and American.

New bunkers

"So," I asked Evgenia, when it is finished, "will you be re-opening this bunker for the new Cold War?"

She pushed back her dark hair and creased her brow in confusion. She would have only been a child when the last one ended.

"No, why?" she said. "Who wants that? What family wants that - that you could be blown up at any moment? Why would anyone want to go there again?"

Then, as we set off towards the next tunnel, Evgenia came up to me and said:

"But it's no longer safe down here from a nuclear attack, you know. The bombs are too big now. It's not deep enough.

"We have new bunkers in Moscow, though. Maybe 100 metres deep, I don't know.

They're still secret and I'm not allowed to go there."