Malaysian court fined 12 Muslims on Tuesday and sentenced one of them to a week in prison for illegally protesting the construction of a Hindu temple

KUALA LUMPUR, A Malaysian court fined 12 Muslims on Tuesday and sentenced one of them to a week in prison for illegally protesting the construction of a Hindu temple and parading a severed cow’s head.The protest last August stoked tensions among Malaysia’s three main ethnic groups – the Malay Muslim majority and Chinese and Indian minorities, most of them Buddhists, Christians or Hindus who have complained that their religious rights are often sidelined in favor of Islam.

The 12 men were among scores of Muslims who marched with a bloodied cow’s head from a mosque to the central Selangor state chief minister’s office on Aug. 28, 2009 to denounce the state government’s plan to build a Hindu temple in their largely Muslim neighborhood.Some of the protesters also stomped and spat on the head and made fiery speeches that deeply offended Hindus. The cow is the most sacred animal in Hinduism.

All 12 pleaded guilty in a Selangor district court Tuesday to a charge of illegal assembly and were fined 1,000 ringgit ($320) each, said defense lawyer Afifuddin Hafifi. They faced up to a year in prison and a fine for the charge.Two of them who brought and stepped on the cow’s head also pleaded guilty to sedition. Both were fined an additional 3,000 ringgit ($960), and one was sentenced to a week in prison, Afifuddin said.

Sedition, defined as promoting hostility between races, is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine.The conflict highlighted frustrations among minorities about strict government guidelines that restrict the number of non-Muslim places of worship, partly based on whether enough non-Muslims live where a church or temple is to be built.Authorities in Selangor eventually found a new site to build the controversial temple.

A. Vaithilingam, a Malaysian Hindu religious leader, raised concerns that the penalties imposed by the court Tuesday might appear inadequate to some Hindus.”The sentences seem to be very light after the huge commotion and the insult,” he said. The men’s actions “stirred up the emotions throughout the country. This could have caused a riot.”

The protest was among the most high-profile in a string of interfaith disputes in recent years that threatened decades of harmonious ties between Malays, who make up nearly two-thirds of Malaysia’s 28 million people, and ethnic minorities.Early this year, a string of firebomb attacks and vandalism hit mostly non-Muslim places of worship following a court verdict that allowed Christians to use “Allah” in Malay-language publications.Some Muslim Malaysians insist the non-Muslim use of “Allah” would confuse Muslims and tempt them into converting. Minorities say this is an example of institutionalized religious discrimination, but the government denies any bias. (AP)

Mexico now is safe from the outbreak of H1N1 influenza

Mexico is now safe from the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, often called the flu Pig. Nevertheless, despite the alert status had been revoked about two weeks ago, the State government was determined not to Sombrero negligent in anticipating the re-emergence of the H1N1 outbreak, which last year killed many residents.Thus said the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Minister) of Mexico, Patricia Espinosa. “Enabling alert in Mexico to take specific measures to prevent H1N1 recently revoked by the Health Ministry two weeks ago,” Espinosa said in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, Thursday, July 8, 2010.

“However, we continue to make efforts to prepare the health sector because (H1N1) can occur anytime,” added Espinosa.He continued, the mortality rate due to the H1N1 virus was not as high as previously feared. The Mexican government also set up institutions to deal with better people who contracted the virus.According to Espinosa, compared with previous years, cases of pneumonia or respiratory problems in Mexico, which is one of the symptoms of swine flu, the numbers have declined. “This means that the awareness of citizens to immediately went to the doctor are rising,” said Espinosa.According to the Associated Press news agency, swine flu could spread in over 200 countries with 17 800 claimed the lives of sufferers. In Mexico, where the first cases of H1N1 outbreaks, the disease infected 72 546 people and killing 1289 people.

Mexico is now safe from the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, often called the flu Pig. Nevertheless, despite the alert status had been revoked about two weeks ago, the State government was determined not to Sombrero negligent in anticipating the re-emergence of the H1N1 outbreak, which last year killed many residents.Thus said the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Minister) of Mexico, Patricia Espinosa. “Enabling alert in Mexico to take specific measures to prevent H1N1 recently revoked by the Health Ministry two weeks ago,” Espinosa said in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, Thursday, July 8, 2010.

“However, we continue to make efforts to prepare the health sector because (H1N1) can occur anytime,” added Espinosa.He continued, the mortality rate due to the H1N1 virus was not as high as previously feared. The Mexican government also set up institutions to deal with better people who contracted the virus.

According to Espinosa, compared with previous years, cases of pneumonia or respiratory problems in Mexico, which is one of the symptoms of swine flu, the numbers have declined. “This means that the awareness of citizens to immediately went to the doctor are rising,” said Espinosa.According to the Associated Press news agency, swine flu could spread in over 200 countries with 17 800 claimed the lives of sufferers. In Mexico, where the first cases of H1N1 outbreaks, the disease infected 72 546 people and killing 1289 people.

Hurricane Alex gained strength early Wednesday as the storm began to take aim on the western Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Alex gained strength early Wednesday as the storm began to take aim on the western Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center reported.The Category 1 storm, which became the first June hurricane on the Atlantic side of the United States since 1995, is expected to make landfall in northeastern Mexico or southern Texas by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

The hurricane center’s advisory issued at 2 a.m. ET said Alex was moving erratically, but generally westward, at 5 mph. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was about 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas.President Barack Obama issued a federal emergency declaration for Texas ahead of the expected arrival of Alex, the White House said Tuesday night.A hurricane warning was issued for the Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay, Texas, to La Cruz, Mexico. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions and tropical storm-force winds are expected in the forecast area within 36 hours.

A tropical storm warning was in place along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to Port O’Connor.The storm continued to move away from the massive BP oil catastrophe near the Louisiana coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico, but it already was complicating cleanup efforts. The storm created 12-foot waves on Tuesday and oil skimming ships were sent back to shore, from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

The rough seas may force crews to replace and reorganize booms meant to deter the oil from reaching shore, reported CNN’s Ed Lavandera.Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said that even though Florida may dodge a bullet with this storm, the Atlantic hurricane season is just beginning.”In Florida, we’ve had a lot of hurricanes a number of years ago, but we handled them very well,” he told CNN’s Campbell Brown. “The difference and the distinction that we face now is that we have a Gulf of Mexico that’s full of oil. So our hope and our prayer is that we don’t have a mixture of hurricanes with oil that could potentially damage the beautiful beaches of Florida. But if we do, we’re prepared for it.”

Brownsville, Texas, Mayor Pat Ahumada said his city was expecting to distribute 60,000 sandbags and provide shelter for roughly 2,000 families. Utility crews were put on standby to handle outages. At the same time, 90 buses had been provided by the state government in case an evacuation is required.”I expect about 10 percent of residents to evacuate voluntarily, which already started yesterday,” Ahumada said. “I see a steady flow of people going out, but no bottlenecks — which is good.””We’re not taking it lightly,” he said. “We’re ready for a worst-case scenario.”

On Monday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster proclamation for 19 counties and ordered the pre-deployment of state resources. The governor’s declaration allows the state to initiate necessary preparedness efforts, such as pre-deploying resources to ensure local communities are ready to respond to disasters.The governor’s order puts up to 2,500 National Guard personnel, eight UH-60 helicopters and three C-130 aircraft on standby for rapid deployment as needed, Perry’s office said in a statement.(CNN)

to watch

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/30/hurricane.alex/?hpt=T1&fbid=d3drOUu-5r2

Gulf residents prepare for Alex

Arizona to be Sued by US Government

Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 Text 2010 Update  Arizona to be Sued by US Government. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been quoted as saying that the Department of Justice could be planning to sue the state government over their controversial immigration law, citing that it is unconstitutional.Arizona’s law makes it a criminal offense to be present in the state without proper immigration or resident status.  It requires law enforcement to inquire about immigration status if probable cause to believe that someone is in the country illegally exists.

It also requires that everyone – citizens and immigrants alike, have proof of their status on their person at all times.  This can be accomplished with something as simple as a driver’s license.Many fear that the law will cause racial profiling at massive levels. Even the President has hinted that the law could cause issues for some immigrants.

Governor Jan Brewer plans on fighting hard against any lawsuit.  She found out about a potential lawsuit through a June 8 interview between Clinton and a TV station in Ecuador.  Brewer was outraged, and the AP reports that the governor said “If our own government intends to sue our state to prevent illegal immigration enforcement, the least it can do is inform us before it informs the citizens of another nation.Whether or not a lawsuit will be successful is something that will likely take months – if not a year or more – to determine.  This fight would go all the way to the Supreme Court and set important precedent over what will happen with immigration law.  This is definitely an issue that will polarize natural born citizens and immigrants alike. (AP)