9 June - Night Links

Mark Curtis On His New Book- Secret Affairs: Britain’s Collusion with Radical IslamThe book tells the story of the long history of British collaboration with radical Islam, including terrorist groups. 7/7 and the present broader terrorist threat to Britain is to some degree a product of British foreign policy – the bombings derived from a terrorism infrastructure established by a Pakistani state long backed by Whitehall and involving Pakistani terrorist groups which had benefitted from past British covert action. Throughout the postwar period Britain has covertly supported radical Islamic groups in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, the Balkans, Syria, Indonesia and Egypt, and the book aims to documents this drawing on the declassified British files.The roots of all this are in the ‘divide of rule’ policies of empire when Britain used Islamic forces to promote imperial interests in various countries such as India, Palestine, Jordan and Yemen. The book tries to show how British collusion with radical Islam is intimately related to its postwar imperial decline – policy-makers have been expedient and pragmatic, lacking any moral compass, and have aimed to counter nationalist forces in a desperate attempt to uphold their power in a changing world.Given the mainstream “war on terror” narrative the idea that Britain colludes with radical Islam will seem counterintuitive to many. How do you justify such claims?The reality is often the exact opposite of mainstream discourse – in fact, this is not far off being a general rule, on major issues. The ‘war on terror’ has clearly been a war on targets specially designated by London and Washington, not a war on terrorism. 

Security company hired by RCMP for G20 not licensed in Ontario

Contemporary Security Canada, a subsidiary of a U.S.-based company that did private security for the Vancouver Olympic Games, was selected by the RCMP to provide about 1,100 workers to screen pedestrians throughout the summits in Huntsville and Toronto.

According to CSC advertisements in Toronto newspapers, private security guards at the G8 and G20 summits will be paid $20-$24 an hour.This is double the average wage for security guards in Ontario,

CPAP Therapy Restores Brain Tissue in Adults With Sleep Apnea, Study FindsSignificant grey-matter volume increases were observed after three months of continuous positive airway pressure therapy in hippocampal and frontal structures.

Scientists Uncover Protein That Thwarts Tumor Invasion

cancer cells lacking a key protein are more invasive and more likely to metastasize, providing a possible drug target to combat certain tumor types.

At U.S. Bases In Iraq, The Fire Sale Is On

"The Americans turn over every base to the Iraqi army and police — and they are all thieves"

Rethinking Islamism II

Misconceptions and fears about Sharia

"In the West," writes Ramadan, currently Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford, "the idea of Sharia calls up all the darkest images of Islam...It has reached the extent that many Muslim intellectuals do not dare even to refer to the concept for fear of frightening people or arousing suspicion of all their work by the mere mention of the word". The punishments that cause the greatest outcry are the exception, not the rule, in most Muslim countries.

They are, in fact, an embarrassment to the many Muslims who consider them barbaric.

A resilient Iran shields itself from pressure by building alliances

Tehran is demonstrating remarkable resilience, insulating some of its most crucial industries from U.S.-backed financial restrictions and building a formidable diplomatic network that should help it withstand some of the pressure from the West. Iranian leaders are meeting politicians in world capitals from Tokyo to Brussels. They are also signing game-changing energy deals, increasing their economic self-sufficiency and even gaining seats on international bodies.

Nuclear Physicist Describes Vast UFO Cover-Up

In the Name of Love

How to achieve emotional connection. Getting to that thing called love—from distance and alienation to contact and caring.

Does Averting Cyberwar Mean Giving Up Web Privacy?

Robert Knake focuses on Internet governance at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Related NPR Stories

U.S. Seeks To Define Rules On CyberwarJune 3, 2010

Countries Try To Tame The Wild Territory Of The NetApril 8, 2010

Cyberattack: U.S. Unready For Future Face Of WarApril 7, 2010

Cyber Insecurity: U.S. Struggles To Confront ThreatApril 6, 2010

Timeline: Major Cybersecurity Incidents Since 2007April 5, 2010

"If what you want is an Internet where you can freely discuss human rights in a country in which doing so is not allowed, you don't want to see attribution improve," Knake says.

He has found that the Internet "attribution problem" prompts disagreement between privacy and human rights advocates on one side and cybersecurity experts on the other.

"In many ways, it's the crime fighters versus the freedom fighters," he says.

Some experts, such as Rebecca MacKinnon of Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy, argue that improving the attribution of Internet transactions may not produce sufficient security benefits to justify the cost to privacy.

"Criminals and militaries are most likely going to figure out ways to do what they need to do on the Internet and minimize their traceability," says MacKinnon. "The people who are really going to be hurt are dissidents in countries like China or Iran."