Authorities brace for new release said to show Quran being torn up
Officials in the Netherlands, where tensions have been high since a Muslim murdered a filmmaker more than three years ago, are bracing for the release of a new movie by a controversial politician that aims to show Islam's holy book "is an inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror."
In 2004, filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim avenging his film critical of Islam. Two years later, riots protesting the publication of cartoons about Islam's prophet Muhammad left about 100 people dead.
Now, the Dutch government is warning of a 10-minute film to be released this month by parliament member Geert Wilders, who heads the right-wing Freedom Party, reports Agence France-Presse.
Yesterday, ahead of a news conference by Dutch officials, the country's media reported the government has put together a secret document on how to handle reactions to the film.
Last week, Wilders discussed banning the Quran after the head of a group of ex-Muslims compared Islam's prophet with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
One year ago, Wilders called on Muslims to "tear out half the pages of the Koran and throw them away."
Now, according to ...   more »

A fourth Russian shipment of nuclear fuel arrived in Iran on Sunday, destined for a power plant being constructed in the southern Iranian port of Bushehr, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The report said 11 tons of fuel arrived at the Bushehr power plant, just two days after Iran received its third Russian shipment on Friday.
Russia has reportedly pledged to give Iran a total of 85 tons of fuel for the plant.
The remainder of the fuel, about 40 tons, was scheduled to arrive in four separate shipments in the coming months, the report said.
Iran received its first two shipments of nuclear fuel from Russia in December - after months of disputes between the two countries, allegedly over delayed construction payments for the reactor.
Iran has said Bushehr, the country's first nuclear reactor, will begin operating in the summer of 2008, producing half of its 1,000 megawatt capacity of electricity.
Teheran heralded the first shipment as a victory, saying it proved its nuclear program was peaceful and not a cover for weapons development as the US has claimed.
The United States and Russia have said the supply of nuclear fuel meant Iran had no need to ...   more »

BY SATISH KANADY
Dogubayazit (Turkey’s Iran-Armenian Border) • For the first time in the seven decade-long history of the search for the legendary Noah’s Ark, a Turkish-Hong Kong exploration team on Tuesday came out with “material evidence”, to prove that the Ark was nestled on Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest mountain peak bordering Iran and Armenia.
A panel of experts, comprising Turkish authorities, veteran mountaineers, archaeologists, geologists and members of Hong Kong-based Noah’s Ark Ministries International, also displayed an almost one-metre-long peice of petrified wood before the media and specially invited international experts.
The experts claimed it to be a part of a long structure they had unearthed during their February-August 2007 exploration. “It is for the first time in the history of the Ark search that an exploration team is getting a material evidence and graphic documentation. This makes it not only a the significant breakthrough in the Ark-search, but one that is supported with the most substantial evidence in recent history,” the panel said.
The revelation is expected to open up a fresh chapter in the ongoing debates in the scientific community on the search for Noah’s Ark.
Narrating the genesis of their exploration on Mount Ararat, the mount ...   more »

What's the difference between art and politics?
The question occurred to me as I left the theater after seeing the surprising new hit film, "Juno."
With presidential politics taking an unfortunately predictable turn in the direction of the gutter, I took a break from it all and went to the movies.
I don't spend much time going to films, but "Juno" seduced me because of its accolades and because of the subject matter. It's about teen pregnancy, the abortion option considered and rejected and adoption.
Most of what appears in our theaters is anything but art, which is one reason why I spend so little time going. But "Juno" is different. It's a powerful film, despite being made on a low budget and having no big name stars. And it conveys important truths about realities of the American society we live in today.
But to digress to my opening question, I think the difference between the artist and the politician is that the former communicates and the latter manipulates. The artist's communication aims to make a reality which we share clearer and more evident. The politician's communication aims to get me to do what he or she wants.
There is ...   more »