CONDOLENCE TO THE FAMILY OF THE DEAD

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This is a sad news as acknowledged by the The US President. One important lesson that Barack Obama must remember is he won the election because the people of US want the entire US army to be pulled out from Afganistan and Iraq. Barack did not honour his pleadge as promised. Can you imagine a President with his broken promise!. It is pity for the family of the dead victims. Condolence to all victim family especilly to the family of the deceased.

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US - BREAKING NEWS

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Sekurang-kurangnya tujuh orang mati dan 20 orang cedera apabila berlaku tembak-menembak di pangkalan tentera US di Texas, demikian menurut pegawai tentera. Seorang jurucakap tentera di Washington, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks, menyatakan dua insiden tembakan berlaku di pangkalan. Pertama, berlaku di pejabat memproses ubatan dan kedua di 'theatre'.

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Komen: Al-Jazeera tidak pula menyatakan punca insiden itu berlaku. Apakah kerana terlalu tertekan dengan suasana kerja ataub balas dendam... masih tidak diketahui. Yang pastinya...inilah salah satu balasan Allah kepada manusia yang menyerang negara lain tanpa perikemanusiaan. Rakyat sendiri berbunuhan sesama sendiri!.

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"Oh ye who believe!, remain steadfast for Allah, bearing witness to justice. Donot allow your hatred for others make you swerve to wrongdoing and turn you away from justice. Be just..that is closer to true piety. (Quran Al-Maidah 5:8)

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PHOTO TERKINI MEKAH

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Ini adalah photo terkini Mekah yang sedang diperbesarkan. Keadaan di Mekah sekarang sedikit berhabuk kerana kepesatan pengubah-suaian terutamanya pembesaran. Moga-moga rezki bertambah dapat juga berkunjung Mekah.

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SULTAN MIZAN

- DYMM Sultan Mizan, People at heart

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Born :

22 January 1962 (1962-01-22) (age 47)

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Reign:

13 December 2006 – present

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Spouse :

Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah

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Father:

Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah

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Mother :

Sharifa Nong Fatima binti Sayyid Abdullah, Tengku Besar Terengganu

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LAGU GAZA

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WE WILL NOT GO DOWN

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(Song for Gaza)

(Composed by Michael Heart) Copyright 2009

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A blinding flash of white light

Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight

People running for cover

Not knowing whether they're dead or alive

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They came with their tanks and their planes

With ravaging fiery flames

And nothing remains

Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

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We will not go down

In the night, without a fight

You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools

But our spirit will never die

We will not go down

In Gaza tonight

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Women and children alike

Murdered and massacred night after night

While the so-called leaders of countries afar

Debated on who's wrong or right

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But their powerless words were in vain

And the bombs fell down like acid rain

But through the tears and the blood and the pain

You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

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We will not go down

In the night, without a fight

You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools

But our spirit will never die

We will not go down

In Gaza tonight

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BIN LADEN - PART 3

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After being forced into exile in Sudan because of his vocal opposition to US troop deployments in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden would later take pride in growing sunflowers as he dodged assassination plots and built the Al-Qaeda network.

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"Osama's favorite undertaking was working the land, growing the best corn and the biggest sunflowers," Najwa said.

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But his love of nature was also colored by growing political fervor. He forced the family to spend nights in the desert, with only dirt as cover from the cold. He also forced his sons to climb desert mountains without water to toughen them ahead of more difficult times. But there were more lighthearted moments with bin Laden, whom his sons admired as a good horseman, a fluent English speaker -- thanks to his school days -- and a mathematics whiz.

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"My father was so well known for the skill that there were times when men would come to our home and ask him to match his wits against a calculator," Omar said, adding his father usually won. They also spoke about a man who loved eating fruit, particularly mangoes, took two sugars in his tea, whose favorite meal was marrow-stuffed zucchini and who liked to listen to BBC radio.
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Spooks will no doubt pour over the book for new clues to bin Laden's habits or whereabouts. They will learn he may be able to pilot a helicopter, but also suffers from bouts of malaria and is partially blind in his right eye thanks to a boyhood metalwork injury for which he received treatment in London.

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(End)

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BIN LADEN - PART 2

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Soon after, bin Laden began to travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet occupation, returning to tell his sons tales of battles in Afghan caves and mountains under Soviet fire. He eventually returned to Saudi Arabia a hero, but at home was increasingly disciplinarian, punishing his children -- who eventually numbered more than a dozen -- for transgressions such as "showing too many teeth" while laughing.

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Meanwhile, Najwa was kept in seclusion with Osama's new wives, one of whom she picked, in a spartan home without the mod-cons that make life in the stifling desert lands of Saudi Arabia and Sudan more comfortable.

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"My father would not allow my mother to turn on the air conditioning that the contractor had built into the apartment building," Omar relayed.

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"Neither would he allow her to use the refrigerator that was standing in the kitchen."

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Despite this aversion to modern appliances, bin Laden indulged in his penchant for fast cars, including at least one gold-colored Mercedes. He once even bought a speed boat.

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"Nothing gave him more satisfaction than having a full day to take a speedy drive to the desert, where he would leave his automobile while he took long walks," said Najwa.

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(.....to be continued)
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BIN LADEN - PART 1

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Osama bin Laden was an austere father who banned toys and modern appliances at home, but also a flower-growing nature lover who spoke fluent English and adored fast cars, according to his wife and son.

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In a book to be published at the end of this month, the Al-Qaeda boss's first wife Najwa and fourth son Omar give a rare glimpse into bin Laden's personal life up to the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States he is believed to have masterminded.

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They chart bin Laden's transformation from a pious teenage newly-wed to the global face of Islamic extremism, a role that took the family from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan and at one point, Najwa revealed, to the United States.

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Shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, bin Laden and his wife, whom he married aged 17, visited Indianapolis and Los Angeles for a meeting with his mentor, Palestinian cleric Abdullah Azzam.

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"We were only there for only two weeks, and for one of those weeks, Osama was away in Los Angeles to meet with some men in that city," Najwa told the book's co-author Jean Sasson, later recalling the gathering was with Azzam.

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(...... to be continued)

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HOW MUCH DOES IT COSTS TO FUND IRAQ AND AFGAN WAR

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Based on new Department of Defence (DOD) estimates, the cumulative total for funds already appropriated since the 9/11 attacks to DOD, State/USAID and VA for medical costs for the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and enhanced security is $864 billion including:

• $642 billion for Iraq;
• $189 billion for Afghanistan;
• $28 billion for enhanced security; and
• $5 billion unallocated.

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Of this total, 74% for Iraq, 22% for Afghanistan, 3% for enhanced security and 1% unallocated. Almost all of the funding for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) is for Afghanistan.

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source: CRS, by: Amy Belasco, Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget, May 15, 2009

US BUDGET HIT RECORD 1.4 TRILLION DLRS

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US FINANCIAL TSUNAMI

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - – The US government closed its 2009 fiscal year with a record 1.417 trillion dollar budget deficit as it poured resources to contain a serious financial crisis that plunged the nation into recession.
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The deficit was some 962 billion dollars higher than the prior year and amounted to 10 percent of US gross domestic product (GDP), the highest since 1945, officials said Friday. The huge jump in the budget shortfall stemmed from both declining revenues and a massive ramping up of spending especially facing the two current wars in Afganistan and Iraq.

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Receipts for the fiscal year that ended in September totaled 2.105 trillion dollars while outlays were 3.522 trillion dollars, the Treasury said. The deficit (red ink) was inherited from his predecessor George W. Bush. It was largely the product of the spending and tax policies inherited from Georga Bush", Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House budget chief Peter Orszag said in a joint statement.

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JUST COMPARISON (ISLAM & CHRISTIANITY)

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For the purpose of academic discussion, here are some of the major difference between Islam and Christianity. Visitors of this blog are reminded not to over-react on this subject for the purpose of religious harmony.

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P/S: Need translation in Malay?

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1/4 of world population are muslims

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Report: 1/4 of Human Beings Are Muslim
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A new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reveals that one in four human beings is a Muslim. The report, "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims among the current world's population of 6.8 billion.

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As a CNN report on the survey summarizes, Indonesia and Pakistan remain the most populous Muslim countries. Surprisingly, researchers found that non-Muslim countries such as Russia, China, and India round out a list of countries with the largest Muslim populations. Only 1/5 of Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa.

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FRIDAY PRAYER AT CAPITOL HILL

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Thousands of Muslims gathered Friday on Capitol Hill for a day of prayer that organizers said was intended to inspire American Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

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"America is not perfect," Abdul Malik, an organizer of the event called Islam on Capitol Hill, told the crowd.

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"But I will say something it took me my whole adult life to come to: America is not perfect, but I want to tell the truth: It is one of the best places in the world to live."
Organizers had hoped that 50,000 people would show up for the Friday afternoon prayer session, which took place at the foot of the U.S. Capitol.

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Earlier, Malik said, "This is not a protest, it is a day of prayer, of devotion, hoping that we can work ... for the betterment of the world community."
He added, "We can come together and work together for the common good." He said that Muslims in the United States have a "unique responsibility" and that the event seeks to inspire Muslims and all Americans.

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"America represents, still, a beacon of hope," he said. Malik said conversations about the event began only a few months ago.
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"It's amazing," he said. "The Web site has gotten more than 3 million hits already."

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Friday's event was focused on a 1 p.m. prayer, and a reception and banquet were planned afterward. Malik said attendees were traveling from all over the United States -- including Texas, Florida and Georgia -- as well as from other countries, such as Britain and Canada.
"The beautiful thing ... about this, is that we have a good representation of the uniqueness and beauty of what Islam stands for," he said.

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P/S. Congratulation to US muslims for starting the prayer on the field recently. Other muslims countries started long time ago ie. >30 years ago. Muslims not only pray on the football field or open space on friday but also during Aidil Fitri (end of Ramadhan) and Aidil Adha (marking Haj in Mecca). The Quran says "Laa iqraha fid-diin" meaning 'there is no compulsion in religion' (Al Baqarah 2:256). The Quran further stressed "Lakum diinukum waliyadiin" meaning 'your religion is yours, my religion is mine' (Al-Kaafirun 109:6).

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It is an obligation for muslims to pray in mass (Jemaah) or in big group. What seems to be the factors for muslims to pray in a group? Answer: Praying in group get 27 marks (award by God in the hereafter) while praying alone gets only 1 mark. This is the most motivating factor. The second reason is that no halls can accomodate large crowd of prayer. The third and most important is, the best position to be humble in the eyes of God is to prostrate /sujud (forehead touching the lowest ground) and the lowest is on the field ground itself. Only God know best (wallahu a'lam).

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TOP 10 MUSLIM COUNTRIES

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Report: Top 10 Muslim countries, by population:

1. Indonesia: 202,867,000 (country is 88.2 percent Muslim)
2. Pakistan: 174,082,000 (country is 96.3 percent Muslim)
3. India: 160,945,000 (country is 13.4 percent Muslim)
4. Bangladesh: 145,312,000 (country is 89.6 percent Muslim)
5. Egypt: 78,513,000 (country is 94.6 percent Muslim)
6. Nigeria: 78,056,000 (country is 50.4 percent Muslim)
7. Iran: 73,777,000 (country is 99.4 percent Muslim)
8. Turkey: 73,619,000 (country is about 98 percent Muslim)
9. Algeria: 34,199,000 (country is 98 percent Muslim)
10. Morocco: 31,993,000 (country is about 99 percent Muslim)
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Source: "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
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