Headlines:

• OECD: euro collapse would have 'highly devastating outcomes' worldwide
• UK Police insist they are justified to spy on Muslims in the masjid
• Egypt: America and the generals plan to crush the opposition
• West should embrace "Arab Spring" Islamists - Qatar
• Report: ‘US used nukes on Iraq, Afghanistan'
• America gloats and refuses to apologize for the massacre of Pakistani soldiers

Details

OECD: euro collapse would have 'highly devastating outcomes' worldwide

The collapse of the euro could send the world's advanced economies into a severe recession, dragging emerging markets with them into the mire, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned on Monday. The Paris-based thinktank slashed its forecast for growth among its 34 members from 2.3% half a year ago to 1.6%, with Europe dramatically downgraded from 2% to just 0.2% because of the unresolved sovereign debt crisis. Pier Carlo Padoan, OECD chief economist, made plain in the body's latest six-monthly economic outlook that the greatest threat to global economic health comes from the eurozone rather than from the tax-and-spend gridlock in the US Congress. In his introduction to the report he said: "Recent contagion to countries thought to have relatively solid public finances could massively escalate economic disruption if not addressed."n a devastating critique of eurozone leaders' hesitancy and dilatoriness, he said: "The scenario so far is that Europe's leaders have been behind the curve. We believe this could be very serious."

UK Police insist they are justified to spy on Muslims in the masjid

Muslim organisations in one of Britain's largest cities are warning that the use of undercover police to infiltrate mosques is destroying relations between communities and the police. "It is alarming, you've got one community that is being targeted," Yasmin Dar, a member of the Greater Manchester Police Mosques and Community Forum, told the BBC. "I've not heard of any cases of undercover officers going into churches or synagogues, so why a particular faith? "Relations with the police have hit rock bottom. It has created a lot of mistrust with the police." But a senior police said that undercover policing at mosques throughout the UK would continue and had proved invaluable in providing intelligence that had thwarted "numerous" terrorist plots in the past five years. "I promise you that, if there was a terror threat from Hindus, Jews or Christians, we would be in their temples, synagogues and churches like a shot," he said. "During the decades of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, Protestant and Catholic groups were regularly infiltrated. "The fact is that the principal terror threat in Britain at present is being posed by a very small number of young fanatics, often organised by groups operating in or around mosques. These are the people that we all want to see stopped, including the overwhelming majority of British Muslims."

Egypt: America and the generals plan to crush the opposition

A group of customs employees at the Suez seaport have revealed that the Egyptian Ministry of Interior is in the process of receiving 21 tons of tear gas from the US. The claim was supported by Medhat Eissa, an activist in the coastal city of Suez, who provided documents he says he obtained from a group of employees at the Suez Canal customs. The employees have been subjected to questioning for their refusal to allow an initial seven ton shipment of the US-made tear gas canisters enter the port. A group of employees at the Adabiya Seaport in Suez have confirmed, with the documents to prove it, that a three-stage shipment of in total 21 tons of tear gas canisters is on course for the port from the American port of Wilmington. Employees say the container ship Danica, carrying seven tons of tear-gas canisters made by the American company Combined Systems, has already arrived at the port, with two similar shipments from the same company expected to arrive within the week.

West should embrace "Arab Spring" Islamists - Qatar

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani was quoted on Thursday as saying Islamists were likely to represent the next wave of political power in the Arab world and that the West should embrace them. Thani said in an interview with the Financial Times that moderate Islamists could assist in fighting what he called extremist ideology. "We shouldn't fear them, let's cooperate with them," said Thani, whose Gulf Arab state is home to Al Jazeera television. "We should not have a problem with anyone who operates within the norms of international law, comes to power and fights terrorism," he said. In Egypt, which is holding its first free election in six decades, the Muslim Brotherhood expects to pick up two-fifths of the vote for an assembly that might limit the power of the generals. Tunisia ousted its leader in the first "Arab Spring" revolution this year, and in the country's first democratic election Tunisians elected a coalition government in October led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.

Report: ‘US used nukes on Iraq, Afghanistan'

The United States has used tactical nuclear weapons in its military campaign against Iraq and Afghanistan, a Middle East expert tells Press TV. "Tactical nuclear weapons were used, at least one in Iraq and several were used in Afghanistan -in the Tora Bora mountains," Peter Eyre, a Middle East consultant, said. Eyre pointed out that the atomic bomb dropped on Afghanistan's Tora Bora region was so powerful that it actually created an earthquake there.The analyst went on to say that the use of such lethal weapons by US military, which is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention, has been sanctioned by the US presidents; thus they should be prosecuted for war crimes.

America gloats and refuses to apologize for the massacre of Pakistani soldiers

The White House said US President Barack Obama will not issue a formal apology or condolences on the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a Nato attack on the Pak-Afghan border, said a report by The New York Times. However, the State Department officials feel that there is a need for such an apology to mend the straining relationship between the two countries, according to the report. The report stated that US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, through a video conference, told White House officials that the anti-American sentiment has reached its peak in Pakistan stressing the need for a formal apology by the US. But the White House argued that condolences offered by senior US officials and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were enough till the US completes its investigations into the matter, the report said. "The US government has offered its deepest condolences for the loss of life, from the White House and from Secretary Clinton and Secretary Panetta," said Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council, referring to Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta, "and we are conducting an investigation into the incident. We cannot offer additional comment on the circumstances of the incident until we have the results."

   Last week the barbaric crusader force NATO again violated Pakistani airspace and launched a callous attack on two Pakistani border check posts, killing 24 soldiers and wounding several others. The attack is the latest episode of NATO's flagrant violation of Pakistani sovereignty, which in conjunction with America routinely carries out vicious drone strikes that have slaughtered countless innocent civilians.
When killing Pakistani civilians is not enough to satisfy their thirst for Muslim blood, NATO and America occasionally kill Pakistani soldiers and then apportion the blame on the Pakistanis for starting the confrontation. But in all such incidents the lack of physical response from the Pakistani army only emboldens NATO and bolsters America's will to carry out further raids.

Earlier this year, America undertook a prolonged violation of Pakistani sovereignty and launched a daring raid in Abbotabad that again went unchallenged. Pakistanis to this day are angry at the army and many suspect Kayani for aiding and abetting America.

The ease at which NATO and America violate Pakistan's sovereignty to carry out drone strikes, land operations, reconnaissance missions, and other non-military activities such as interference in the judicial system to secure the release of Raymond Davis is extremely worrisome, especially as the response from both the government and the army is always tough on rhetoric but empty on concrete actions. Meek actions like the temporary closure of the Afghan-Pak border to prevent convoys laden with fuel and goods from reaching NATO are not enough. It only adds insult to injury. By choosing not to stand up to the crusaders, Kiyani and Zardari are keen to humiliate Pakistanis further. Both have spearheaded America's crusade by granting America full access to kill, maim, torture and displace Pakistanis in the tribal areas. Their foremost concern is to protect their alliance with the American crusaders. Allah says in the Quran: "O ye who believe! Choose not My enemy and your enemy for friends. Do ye give them friendship when they disbelieve in that truth which hath come unto you, driving out the messenger and you because ye believe in Allah, your Lord? "[TMQ Al Mumtahina:1]

If the reaction of Kayani and Zardari is bad enough, the reaction from Pakistan's political establishment is even worse. Some of these politicians who advocate a tough response have earlier been exposed for siding with America's war against Islam. Their stance only smacks of hypocrisy and their treachery reeks of evilness. Allah promises the hypocrites a severe punishment. He (SWT) says:"To the Hypocrites give the glad tidings that there is for them a grievous penalty."[TMQ: Al Maida:138].

It is up to the Muslims of Pakistan to press sincere officers and soldiers in the army to immediately implement the following actions:
1. Permanently sever the NATO supply line and seize all equipment and fuel.

2. Close all airbases and waterways to NATO and American personnel. All military personnel, embassy staff belonging to Western forces are to be ejected from Pakistan.

3. Terminate all western led military training programmes and military aid
4. Dismantle all American death squads that operate with impunity in Pakistan.
5. Stop all forms of intelligence sharing with NATO, CIA and other foreign agencies.
6. Press Turkey and other Muslim countries to withdraw all forms of assistance to NATO and the American crusader.
7. Shoot down any predator drone and NATO aircraft that violates Pakistani airspace.
The above actions are temporary measures to prevent the crusaders from violating Pakistan's sovereignty. A more permanent solution requires the Pakistani people to work jointly with the people of power to re-establish the Islamic state. Only then will the crusaders be vanquished and removed from Pakistan.
Abo Hashim Albanjabi

The Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, Iqbal Hameed ur Rehman has showed his loyalty to the government agencies by disposing off the writ petition of two abducted members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, without taking any legal action. A member of Hizb ut-Tahrir registered his statement before a magistrate in which he named ISI and MI as the abductors. But instead of taking action against the intelligence agencies, the Chief Justice simply disposed of the writ.

As Steve Jobs personal biography by Walter Isaacson hits bookshops around the world a fierce debate rages about his rank amongst America's greatest innovators. For some, however, Steve Jobs has earned the right to be included amongst the world's top inventors. In any case, Americans feel proud about his achievements and given America's domination of the Nobel Prize, there is strong belief that America's pre-eminence in science and technology is set to continue. Indeed, some would argue that under America's stewardship West will continue to dominate the globe for years to come. But just how true is the assertion that Western thoughts will enjoy unfettered primacy for the foreseeable future.

By scrutinizing the annals of scientific thoughts over the past four centuries it is quite apparent that scientific discoveries or technical innovations fall into two categories namely: revolutionary and evolutionary discoveries. Revolutionary discoveries are associated with a step change in the scientific thoughts of a designated discipline. In other words, the discovery of the idea radically changes the fundamental precepts of the subject, and propels innovation and discoveries to new heights. Progress in the subject is by leaps and bounds, and benefit to humanity is immense.

Evolutionary discoveries are focused on the progressive elaboration of the fundamental principles about a particular subject. The edifice of the subject remains intact, but the application of basic thoughts crosses existing thresholds, and produces a new body of secondary and tertiary concepts that push the boundaries of existing research further. Advancement is small and the benefit to mankind is of diminutive proportions. So in physics its evolutionary moments are many, but its revolutionary moments are very few. Newtonian physics dominated the subject for centuries and was eventually turned on its head by Einstein's theory of relativity. Over a hundred years later, there is yet to be a revolutionary moment. It was Einstein's theory of relativity and its views on the sub-atomic world that paved the way for the discovery of the computer chip and mobile communication technology. Steve Jobs did no more than use computer chips, 3G and WIFI technologies to produce the Apple suite of products such as the iMac, iPhone, iPod and the iPad. The same can be said for other scientific disciplines and it can be argued that in the past 100 years or so the discoveries in science and technology merely evolutionary, a sort of natural progression.

Leaving aside scientific thoughts, the same classification standard can be applied to other disciplines such as philosophy, literature, sociology, politics, economics etc. The subjects of paramount importance are politics and economics, as they have the greatest effect on human thinking and play a pivotal role in the development of science.

A close inspection of Western economic thinking reveals that two men revolutionized economic theory in the West. The first was Adam Smith, regarded by many as the father of capitalism. The second is Karl Marx who developed Communist economic theory as an alternative to capitalism. The rest of the economists hitherto have either based their economic works on these two schools of economy thought. In sum, their collective efforts to date have only produced evolutionary changes.

Although the ideas of Smith and Marx are widely studied, it can be safely said that both are discredited. Communism as an economic model is dead, and Smith's free market ideas are facing a catastrophic crisis of confidence. The aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 has exposed the erroneous nature of the free market and inspired millions to protest against these ideas.

The advancement of Western political thought was dominated by a handful of thinkers and most of them came from the age of enlightenment. In fact, in the past one hundred and thirty years, Western political thinking has stagnated, and presently the West lacks solutions to contemporary political problems. The concepts of nation state, freedom, democracy, international law etc., when applied in practice are found to be flawed and unworkable. The current economic crisis in Europe and the colonial wars in the Muslim world have exposed the fallacy of these ideas.

Hence, the demise of the West has been long in the making. Its political and economic thoughts are gradually losing legitimacy amongst the people of the world, and dying a slow death. As a countermeasure, the West is left with no other option but to employ force both at home and abroad to maintain their hegemony. Once the political and economic thoughts are discredited and abandoned, scientific progress will also come to a halt. The demise of the Soviet Union is an apt example of how when people abandon an ideology, scientific advancement comes to a standstill.

So which nation will take the helm of the leading state after America is dislodged from its perch and Europe follows suit? Some advocate China, Brazil and India as the up and coming nations to lead mankind. But this view is short sighted and lacks thorough analysis. The question is not which nation will lead mankind, but which ideology will lead mankind in the 21st century. China, Brazil and India are fast embracing the very same Western thoughts that are discredited and responsible for West's demise. Hence the problem is one of thoughts and ideology, not people.

Islam is the only ideology that can lead humanity in the 21st century. It has a proven track record of leading mankind in all walks life for a thousand years, and it produced revolutionary thinking for well over five hundred years. The Islamic ummah was blessed with an abundance of revolutionary thinkers, a feat unparalleled in the history of civilizations. And at the head of Islamic thinkers was the messenger of Allah (saw) who was the greatest thinker of all time. He brought the Quran and the Sunnah, so that generations after him would continue and implement the message of Islam. This is what Barnard Shaw said about him: "The world much needs a man with Muhammad's bright thinking. I believe that if a man like Muhammad's caliber were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today."

Abed Mostapha