Our Flemish correspondent VH has compiled a report on the cone of silence that has been placed over Vlaams Belang in Belgium, in this particular case the increasingly blatant censorship of any writers who happen to be members of the Flemish separatist party.

First, this introductory note from VH:

Two books have recently been banned from the shelves of bookshops in Flanders. Not because of their content, certainly not because any of them calls for violence, or is discriminatory or racist. At least one of these books might have been a top bestseller by now, and the other one should definitely have been a top bestseller by now. The only thing these books have in common is that hey have been written by members of… Vlaams Belang!

In an open letter, Koen Dillen (Vlaams Belang) made a point that strikes at the heart of politically correct hypocrisy: “Self-declared Flemish intellectuals speak with full disgust of the book-burnings in National Socialist Germany, but in practice they prove themselves to be good students of that system. In the year 2009 the books of political opponents are not even burnt anymore; they are simply not published.”

Below are three articles that were published in response to the contemporary book-burnings.

1.		Benno Barnard (poet and writer): “A few words on behalf of Voltaire”
2.		Koen Dillen (politician and writer): “Censorship in Flanders” (open letter)
3.		“It rustles again under the counter…” (open letter by various opponents to these book-burnings, from various political streams)

Translation #1:

A few words on behalf of Voltaire

By Benno Barnard

Politically correct thinking weighs like lead on the nervous system of the Flemish intelligentsia, who should finally get themselves together right now, scrape their throats and expressly take a stand against the actual censorship that Koen Dillen and Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang have to endure in the form of the refusal to sell their books.

Those who declare —while calling upon Voltaire— to defend freedom of the press with a drawn pen in their hands resemble a man who sets his own house on fire. And yet that is exactly what I will do here, however. Defend Dillen and Dewinter. I never would have dreamt that I would find this necessary.

To my knowledge, the only intellectual who at least defends one of the two is Johan Sanctorum. On the blog Visionary Belgium, the philosopher rushes to the aid of Koen Dillen, who under the pseudonym Vincent Gounod, published a biography of [the French Socialist President] François Mitterrand.

“It is a fateful sign on the wall in our democracy that pseudonyms appear again, not as “Spielerei” but out of bitter necessity. It points out that the media, socio-cultural and social dissemination of the cordon sanitaire, originally a party political entente with a strategic purpose, means a loss for the cultural climate in Flanders,” Sanctorum writes.

One of the literary critics who praised Dillen’s work to the sky (“A magnificent story that reads like a novel”) was Claude Blondeel of the radio program “Ramblas”, and probably rightly so, because according to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad [1], it is an excellent book. Blondeel now stays nicely silent, which he probably would have done anyway if he had known in advance that the son of the founder of the Vlaams Blok was the erudite author of the writing.

When the Gounod’s mask fell off, the bookseller Groene Waterman [2] in Antwerp responded by immediately taking the book from the shelves in a shocking act of Stalinism, which made me deeply disappointed with the bookstore where I have been a regular customer for many years. They do not refrain from selling extreme leftist writings, for the content of which I would not like to be responsible, such as those of the anti-Semite Lucas Cathérine. But that never hindered me from buying at the Groene Waterman, because I defend the right of Cathérine to proclaim lies — it is up to me to rebut them when they disturb me.

– – – – – – – – –

This tolerance may, in the spirit of Karl Popper, not tolerate intolerance, however; in other words: writings that expressly incite to violence should be prohibited. (However, as far as I am concerned, in the case of historical texts, such as Mein Kampf, a scientifically-framed edition should be acceptable.)

It is clear that Dillen’s book does not call for violence. The fact that the author is a member of Vlaams Belang is also completely irrelevant. But I suppose that there is still will be even more brave booksellers who still returned the biography of Mitterrand to the publisher. In any case, with the Standaardketen it is only obtainable by ordering the book.

That brings me to Filip Dewinter, whose book Inch’Allah, published by the controversial publishing house Egmont (which dares to publish books written by VB members and is therefore “controversial”), has been refused by almost all Flemish booksellers, including all those of the Standaardketen. The result is that a damp basement smell came to spread over it: this has become an “underground” book, something of a an out-of-place samizdat, a samizdat under liberal state rule… I therefore have up to now been unable to read it. But a kind friend of mine, an old Dutch social democrat who is absolutely without even the tiniest little stain, has managed to obtain one in some dark alley. After having read it he sent me an email in which he expressed his astonishment about the alleged “radicalism” of Dewinter. There was absolutely nothing improper in his work, in which the volkstribuun obviously quoted from all kinds of sources, nothing that might infringe against any legislation, let alone that it would contain calls to violence. For Dewinter would never do that.

Naturally it does contain views that to the ears of many politically-correct thinking person are indecent. But such is the game of democracy. A boycott — de facto censorship — opposes everything we should hold dear. I am an opponent of the Vlaams Belang. I have studied the old and the new party program. I do not believe in state corporatism. I do not believe in a two-state solution to Belgium. I do believe in multiculturalism, however, when it is between Flemish and French speakers.

I further believe that Islam is only compatible with liberal democracy when it is, so to speak, prepared to add water to its wine. Dewinter probably proclaims the same position in his book, and therefore we will objectively agree on that, even though many emotionally-correct souls will faint at such idea. But I will never vote for him.

Let me quote Sanctorum again: “It does says a lot about the mental condition of the Flemish booksellers world (controlled via boek.be [335 booksellers] by the green Stalinist Jos Geysels [3], one of the masterminds of the cordon sanitaire against the VB) and it most of all shows how deep the mechanisms of censorship and self-censorship actually are doing their work in our so called democracy. (…) I want the VB on the tribunes, without being taken for a VB’er.”

Calling Jos Geysels a Stalinist might be a sizable blunder, as well as the claim by Sanctorum that the cordon sanitaire emerged from a Belgicistic reflex. I have yet to observe the first Belgicistic reflex in the nervous system of Jos Geysels. But for the rest, Sanctorum is right.

Les alliances se renversent.

Translation #2:

Censorship in Flanders

By Koen Dillen

Open letter to “De Groene Waterman” bookstore

Dear —,

In the [magazine] Knack recently — I assume that it was not an April Fools’ joke — I read that you have taken my book on the French President François Mitterrand from your shelves because the undersigned was behind the pseudonym Vincent Gounod and Maarten van der Roest. In the “Standard Bookstores” the book is available, however, but only when ordered. In the Netherlands the book is in all bookshop windows. Please allow me to make a few observations herein.

• “De Groene Waterman” [bookstore in Antwerp] does not censor me because of the contents of my book, otherwise you would not have put it on display those many months ago and sold it for all that time. No, you do not censor on the content, as you state yourself, but on identity. Vlaams Belangers are not allowed in, period. Not that what is written in a book disturbs the censor, but the one who writes it. I can not imagine a more infallible example of essentialistic thinking.
• In the Netherlands, the leftist VPRO radio in its Sunday book program on March 29, after an undoubtedly much too positive review of my book, responded, intrigued by the fact that a Flemish Vlaams Belanger has to publish a book in Flanders under a pseudonym. “We actually should talk with that man,” the presiding journalist said at the end of the discussion. But Flanders is not the Netherlands. In Flanders today an omertà applies to the publications of Vlaams Belang members, even if it is about writings that have nothing to do with “party politics”.
• Aspect Publishers is a publishing house that does not commit the sin of thinking inside the box. The CIDI (Center for Information and Documentation Israel) publishes with them, just like [Dutch PM] Jan Peter Balkenende who published his book Different and Better there. They published Leon Trotsky’s biography of Stalin in a reissue; the Dutch Socialist Party leader Jan Marijnissen had his book New Optimism and Ronald van Raak his The Rich and Red Life, with a foreword by the same Marijnissen, published there. The left-wing Flemish writer Piet de Moor published a smoothly written anti-Vlaams Belang pamphlet under the title “Letters to my postman”. Will Tura and Peter Vandermeersch [but also the experts on leftist politics Carel Brendel and leftist terrorism Peter Siebelt] are on its list of writers. Both leftist and rightist authors are welcome.
• When a few years ago, the Stalinist hagiography Another View of Stalin by the Maoist Ludo Martens was offered for sale and triggered many pages of reviews in the Flemish press, you made no objection, and that is the way it should be. The book by my colleague Karim van Overmeire on the battle of the golden spurs, could not be sold anywhere, because he is a Vlaams Belang member. That is the way things are in Flanders today.
• The Netherlands evolved since the Fortuyn revolt [2002]. But the leftists’ church in Flanders today still has a problem with intellectual diversity. In this I am not lumping all leftist intellectuals together. Whoever opens the book François Mitterrand, will see that I have dedicated my book to the late Georges Adé (1936-1992), who after his death in October 1992 was honored in an obituary on the front page of De Morgen [leftist newspaper]. He also belonged to that Flemish leftists’ church and even wrote — under the pseudonym Laurent Veydt — “Nouveaux Romans”, a flaming pamphlet against the “New Right”. But he was also an inspiring professor on French literature at the Katholieke Vlaamse Hogeschool [Catholic Flemish University] who taught generations of students, including myself, a love for French language and literature. Open-minded and certainly not someone who would censor books because of the identity of the author. He was also in those days a wildly enthusiastic promoter of my dissertation on the French writer and collaborator Robert Brasillach.
• And then Mitterrand. Does “De Groene Waterman” bookstore know that the Socialist President idolized the writer Drieu la Rochelle, a Don Juan just like himself, fascist, anti-Semite, collaborator, friend of Aragon and Malraux, and during the German occupation head of the Nouvelle Revue Française of Gallimard? Or that he idolized Jacques Chardonne [pseudonym for Jacques Boutelleau], who was from his native region, “wrong” during the war and visited Goebbels in 1942? [All writers whose books are available in “De Groene Waterman”, and quite a few of those books, as well as many others of the publishing house Gallimard, are on the shelves]

The self-declared Flemish intellectuals speak with full disgust of the book-burnings in National Socialist Germany, but in practice they prove themselves to be the good students of that system. In the year 2009 the books of political opponents are not even burnt anymore, they are simply not published.

I would like to call on the real free intellectuals in Flanders: please take this opportunity to denounce the foolish censorship and contemporary book-burnings.

Translation #3:

It rustles again under the counter…

Open letter

Introduction

Note: This open letter on political correct censorship in Flanders was published in the newspaper “De Standard”. The fact that 36 Flemish “opinion makers” (now renamed the dirty three dozen, thanks to querulous Piet De Moor [a writer and leftist appeaser]) signed the letter, including heavyweights such as Etienne Vermeersch (philosopher) and Hugo Coveliers (former VLD [Flemish Liberals] senator and founder of the party VLOTT that cooperates with Vlaams Belang in Antwerp), did not prevent this “quality” newspaper from censoring themselves and deleting a few lines [here in red, and in the text below stripped out] without any consultation with the initiators. The URL to Dewinter’s blog that the “opinion makers” had added to the text also mysteriously disappeared.

Open letter

The “Gounod/Dillen affair” shows that we find ourselves in an actual state of censorship.

The story may be known: an outstanding biography on Mitterrand, hailed by many, including “Klara” [radio program] and NRC Handelsblad [1], and signed by Vincent Gounod, was actually written by the VB politician Koen Dillen. Whereupon sensible-minded Flanders completely went out of its mind and made sure that the book can hardly be obtained anymore in the normal outlets. In the Netherlands, however, the book is displayed in the open in the shop windows. Are we back in the days of the Adult Merchandise?

The incident unveils the deeper malaise within the exposed cultural and academic universe in our region. The famous “cordon” around a particular party, which name we will leave you to guess here for strategic reasons, has apparently ensured that books no longer need to be read to form an opinion on their content. We do not want to lose ourselves in a yes-no debate about whether the Antwerp “leftist bookstore with a clear profile,” removed the book from its shelves or not (there are different views on this). The fact remains that the biography of Mitterrand, as written by Koen Dillen, is not a racist nor xenophobic or negationist book, but simply caused a lot of fuss because the author walks around with the label “wrong” stuck to his forehead, because of which he felt forced to use a pseudonym.

Flanders seems to be divided in a politically-correct half with access to the media, that quickly finds a publisher, that is manning the obligatory BV bevy; and on the other side a shadowy continent of undiscussable, forbidden, banned from the public sphere politisch-unfähige people, as it was called under Nazi rule. That the book sector here is showing its most cowardly side is also clear. In most bookstores and large booksellers the famous Mitterrand biography is, since Gounod’s identity has been revealed as Koen Dillen, only available “on request”. This is a de facto state of censorship, under which even the sacred cow of commerce is slaughtered (Dillen’s book would have been a blockbuster by now) to safeguard our souls from slurs. It is well-known that boek.be, the organizer of the Antwerp Book Fair, still makes use of a list of undesirable authors and forbidden publishers.

“The leftists’ church in Flanders today still has a problem with intellectual diversity,” Dillen rightly concludes. Indeed. The term “controversy”, that is absolutely necessary in a mature democracy, complete evaporates here. And even if his book were not consistent with politically sensible thinking, even if it were as “wrong” as possible, even then, and precisely then, the book world should embrace it, because it would call for counter-arguments and provoke responses. This is know “polemic”, a hazardous enterprise in Flanders.

For this reason we wish to stand up for the free sale of Filip Dewinter’s pamphlet Inch’Allah. This does not mean a position on the book, the author, or his party. But as long as a publication does not call for violence — as the book by Filip Dewinter certainly does not do — any factual censorship is a ridiculous display of political immaturity.

We, from the left to right, want to distance ourselves formally from that censorship. It is about time that Flanders woke up from its politically correct snooze to finally get acquainted with the art of the dialectic.

Ludo Abicht, lecturer philosophy
Vital Baeken (“Vitalski”), writer
Benno Barnard, writer
Geert Beullens, writer-performer
Gerard Bodifee, author
Mimount Bousakla, politician
Hugo Coveliers, lawyer
Thierry Debels, author-publicist
Saskia De Coster, writer
Eric Defoort, historian
Leo de Haes, publisher
Gust De Meyer, professor KUL
Peter De Roover, publicist
Willem Elias, professor VUB
Derk Jan Eppink, publicist-politician
Valerie Lempereur, publisher
Bart Maddens, politicoloog
Marc Platel, journalist
André Posman, artistic director “De Rode Pomp”, Gent
Godfried-Willem Raes, music maker — philosopher
Jean-Pierre Rondas, producer VRT Radio Klara
Johan Sanctorum, philosopher-author
Matthias Storme, attorney
Johan Swinnen, professor VUB & Artesis Hogeschool
Frank Thevissen, communication-expert
Jef Turf, ex-journalist, publicist
Luc Van Braekel, blogger
Jan Van de Casteele, chief editor “Doorbraak”
Gie van den Berghe, ethic
Luc van Doorslaer, academic-journalist
Marc Vanfraechem, blogger
Geert van Istendael, writer
Wim van Rooy, publicist
Jan Verheyen, filmmaker
Jos Verhulst, publicist
Etienne Vermeersch, moral philosopher
Jurgen Verstrepen, politician
Julien Weverbergh, publisher

Notes:

[1]		NRC Handelsblad, once a conservative “quality newspaper (nowadays unfortunately politically correct and controversial) which has had for decades a still highly respected — and very critical — book review section, judged [few quotes]: “Vincent Gounod’s interpretation [of the facts in Miterrand’s life] is critical but in balance. […] Gounod convinces because the analysis is very precise, with much feeling for the historic context and political environment […] Intrigues, betrayal, revenge and — incidentally —, mercy in Mitterrand’s dance for political power exchange with each other in a breathtaking speed in the two sections ‘ambition’ and ‘power’ of which the book is made. […] A biography that exceeds the common political portrait of a president. This is therefore also a “handbook on politics” because of the stunning insight it offers in the kitchen of the phenomenon of power-politics.” The NRC Handelsblad has selected the book to be offered in their online bookstore.
[2]		Groene Waterman booksellers: A search on the author name Dewinter produces only two books by Filip Dewinter. But none of them as it shows are in the shop, and seemingly the publisher is “out of stock”. Also a search on “Gounod” shows that his book on Mitterrand in not in the shop and gives no information on the availability with the publisher. They do have books by Abu Jahjah on the shelves, however, the Lebanese/Belgian anti-Semite Hizbollah terrorist and founder of the AEL who only recently threatened to invade the Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp, to which threat only Filip Dewinter responded furiously.
[3]		Jos Geysels is chairman aft 11.11.11, a Belgian anti-Semite “development aid” organization. In 2008 Geysels was given a tour in Gaza by the UNRWA in connection with his campaign “60 years homeless”. In 2006 the 11.11.11 organization demanded on behalf of the “Action Platform Palestine” a conviction of Israel (embargos, scrapping treaties, the works) for “violating the rule of war” (in their defense against the rocket attacks by Hamas, by arresting Hamas leaders and destroying a number of rocket launch sites). Only recently, Diophantes reported in a review in the Belgian magazine “Joods Actueel” [“Jewish Actuality”] on the book How Good is the Good Purpose, a critical book on development aid, that out of every 100 euros in donations to 11.11.11, only 1 euro was spent on aid.

Here is another guest post from Jorge Banner in South America.

Since this week was the anniversary of the death of Alexis de Tocqueville in Cannes (in 1859), Señor Banner’s essay is a timely riff on some of the themes that de Tocqueville developed during his travels through America in the 1830s.

There is an new version of “Democracy in America” by Everyman’s Library. It is a sewn binding in hardcover with its own page marker. However, it doesn’t credit the translator and one critic says it is abridged. Thus, I am still looking for the definitive work.

If anyone is aware of a hardbound,unabridged edition, please let me know. For now, despite its other flaws, the Everyman version is durable.

As you can see, Señor Banner finds American exceptionalism quite to his taste. Like many who are on the outside looking it at the situation, he suffers for this country in its current crisis.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Confronting the current economic crisis affecting America (and the rest of the world as a consequence) there are two very different camps.

One of those that would want no government intervention in the economy, letting the chips fall where they may. And then there are those, unfortunately currently in power in America, that are implementing their life long dream of a socialist takeover of all aspects of American life by the government.

What are the benefits of letting the chips fall where they may? They are two fold:

First, the problem is limited in time. It starts. It ends. It’s over.

Then, the problem is limited to a finite number of victims. Those who made mistakes, fall and pay for their errors. Those that didn’t, move on without a scratch by comparison. All the healthy participants end up better off for it. A crisis makes Capitalism stronger. Capitalism is self-cleansing. Capitalism works as the immune system of a society. Diseases are cured and the corpses expelled from a Capitalist society.

What does socialist government intervention do instead?
– – – – – – – – –
First, the problem is postponed indefinitely leaving it to many future generations to continue to suffer for other people’s mistakes.

Then, the suffering is distributed amongst the biggest possible number of people making all of them victims, independently of whether they made a mistake or not.

With socialism, you pay for your mistakes and you pay for the mistakes of others.

In the meantime, socialist government intervention delays and impedes the cure of the illnesses that a country suffers.

Socialism is a guarantee that society’s diseases will be spread by government mandate to all members of the population.

And then, socialism works as a ratcheting system against Freedom. Each socialist measure, like the coils of a python around its victim, leaves the individual a little less Free until all Freedom is gone and you are inside the red hammer and scythe, the python’s stomach.

The only democracy socialism brings about is the spread of suffering to everyone.

Socialists do not benefit from improving the lot of the population. On the contrary, a healthy, happy and prosperous population would have no use and no need for socialist government intervention.

Socialists are like maggots, they feed on sores. They thrive on human disgrace. They need a permanent supply of hurting victims of “injustice”, a permanent supply of “underprivileged”, an inexhaustible supply of “hungry and needy children”. Otherwise, what’s their purpose in life?

Going back to the fact that a healthy, happy and prosperous population would have no use and no need for socialist government intervention it should be noted that the current crisis was brought about by socialist government intervention. Small wonder this crisis occurred under a socialist congress.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are not Capitalist, free market institutions. They are explosive mines put in the path of the American economy to make it blow up sky high and they have fulfilled their purpose far better than their creators ever dreamed.

Is it a coincidence that this happened in the middle of the presidential elections? Yeah, sure it is. All this was and is part of a strategy.

Soros, Alinsky, Cloward and Piven are names that mean little to most Americans. [google is your friend here, Dear Reader – D] Many have probably never heard of them. They are, though, amongst the architects of the current situation that has nothing at all to do with chance.

The current crisis happened by design. It was planned, carefully conceived, begun to be put in practice many decades ago and its parts have each clicked into place with a precision that would be envied by a Swiss watch maker.

Making a watch is easy.

Making the most extraordinary, the biggest, the brightest, the most glorious experiment in Freedom and respect for the Rights of the Individual fail miserably and have its members scramble for tyranny to replace their devalued Freedoms is such an achievement in the field of moral fraud, deception and betrayal of moral values as to surpass and eclipse any other similar previous attempt.

To have Americans vote for a socialist tyrant and be grateful to him for taking America away from them is an achievement that can’t be compared to any other known to man.

Never in the known history of our species has humanity’s continuous striving for Freedom experienced a setback, a betrayal or a moral default of comparative magnitude.

The mythical war for the city of Troy has nothing whatsoever over the defeat of American Capitalism at the hands of the socialists who were allowed to develop, grow and fester under the protection of the very Freedoms they plotted for decades to overthrow and destroy.

The concept of the Trojan horse has been implemented to the utmost by the socialist America haters that have invaded and perverted American academia and mainstream media making them turn against America and everything America represents.

There’s only one pervasive theme in the current American cultural scene: “I hate America”.

The moral poison of socialism makes the worst that animals have to offer pale in comparison. No snake, no scorpion, no spider could ever concoct the juice to destroy America. Socialism could.

If you want to put it in the words of the current first lady: “America is a mean country”. She is quite in tune with the “minister” who married her. He is known to yell “God damn America” at the top of his voice. The current President sat at the feet of such a “man” for twenty years.

That America is a “mean” country surely is news to the many millions of individuals, who, since America’s birth have so much benefited from America’s virtues – and amongst them from America’s generosity.

America has been the epitome of inventiveness, of industriousness, of commerce, of men dealing with each other by mutual consent and for mutual benefit and in peace.

America has been the epitome of the generosity of the man who fights tyranny for Freedom itself and then doesn’t claim for himself the territory or the lives or the wealth of those freed by his efforts. Instead, Americans salute like a friend and brother and then they go home to continue with their own lives.

America is not nor has ever been a “mean” country!

America is the kindest country in the history of man!

America has been a country of creators, of lovers of Freedom, of Freedom givers.

America has made the lives of others better, safer, longer and more enjoyable.

American efforts have added so much goodness to the lives of so many people on this planet that there is no way to repay them.

See the “Timeline of United States Inventions and Discoveries” on the net. America has contributed more to the well being of mankind that all the rest of the nations put together.

No country in history has been so inventive and so industrious as America.

No country in history has sent more food to the hungry than America.

No country in history has sent more medicine to the sick than America.

No country in history has sent her children into battle to depose tyrants and then said “there’s your Freedom back, we are going home now”.

Who is so base and so immoral as not to shed tears of admiration and of gratitude in front of this level of decency?

Who created as much? Who shared so much with others with a generosity that knows no comparisons?

The Stars and Stripes is the only flag in history that universally means Freedom.

Can any other country make the same claim? None.

How many oppressed around the planet have seen the Stars and Stripes come across a field and have said to themselves and each other “Tyranny is over, Freedom’s coming”?

How do you say “thank you” for all this? What kind of “thank you” would suffice?

In the presence of such greatness, what abysmal level of moral corruption would make a person associate “mean” with “America”?

Only by having every human concept reversed in her soul can a person call America “mean”.

Only by having “good” turned into “bad”, “kind” into “mean”, “correct” into “wrong”, “day” into “night”, “health” into “sickness” and so on to the end of human knowledge can such a moral reversal be accomplished.

You have to willingly and wantonly choose evil to get to that point. It doesn’t happen by chance. You don’t stumble upon such moral state by accident. You have to choose evil and nurture it and develop it and tend to it for most of your life.

And that, and no less, is the moral state of the socialists currently in government in America.

And it is such state of moral decay that guides their plans for the future of America and for the world.

So what can you give America in return for so much greatness and so much generosity in sharing it?

For me, most of what I have to give goes into saying this:

Americans, you are the best people on Earth.

You have made a humongous, horrendous moral mistake in choosing a pack of socialist cannibals to govern America.

But you ARE the best people on Earth.

So you CAN take America back.

Back for Freedom.

Back for Truth.

Back for Justice.

Back for the American Way.

You are more than them both morally and in numbers.

You have defeated countless tyrants. The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany fell to your Freedom giving efforts. What are a few socialist wannabes if you decide to take your Freedom back?

All they have in their utter depravity is your acquiescence.

Take it away.

Do not let them get away with this.

Yes, you have made a mistake. Yes, it is the biggest mistake in your whole history. A horrendous mistake that threatens your whole future and any possibility of Freedom on this planet.

Correct it.

It is not too late, yet.

It will be too late if you wait too long.

This won’t correct itself.

Do the American thing: act!

America is a nation of doers: do!

This is a war. A war for the future of America and of mankind.

There’s only one thing you can’t do in a war: lose.

Happening upon this interminable list, I couldn’t resist providing you a copy for your reading pleasure.

Since the Member Associations for the present Congress are not yet available — I doubt they’ve gotten them all together for this term — the one for the 110th Congress will have to do. What do you want to bet that the 111th Congressional Member Associations is even larger?

Obviously the creation of these special interest groups associations — not to mention staffing them and rolling out position papers on every favorite topic — is not done for free so one ought at least to be aware of some of the nooks and crannies into which tax dollars are stuffed.

Besides, these make-work groups are fascinating reading in a schadenfreude kind of way. Some people are spellbound when they happen upon the scene of a traffic accident. Happening upon this list produces a similar effect.

The link above is provided so you can go to the site and get some idea of which Congressmen are involved in which groups. I left the list in the order it appears on the site so that sifting through it will be an easier task in case you want to contact anyone for further information. Removing the particulars of the contact information makes the listing shorter. That enables you to better comprehend the breadth of Congress’ overreach.

You will find a perusal through this list most informative. No doubt you will have your favorites. Mine are, to name a few, the Potato Caucus; the Americans Abroad Caucus (A.A.s definitely need protection); the Cement Caucus; the Bike, Black, and Boating Caucuses, respectively (just because they’re next to one another on the list and roll off the tongue so alliteratively. If you’re a black biker and you have a boat — well, there you go).

There are separate caucuses on Israel, divided by party. Presumably the goals for Israel in each group differ somewhat?.

There’s a caucus for Sugar Reform and another one for Sweeteners. One of those ( I forget which) actually has a contact person whose last name is Sweet.

And there are caucuses for lots of diseases and disorders. It would seem easier to make one umbrella group: The Disorders and Diseases Caucus, but perhaps there would be turf wars and hair-pulling, so maybe not. How come there’s not a Fibromyalgia Caucus? Probably because we’re too tired or in too much of a fog to pester them for a group of our very own. Besides, there’s not any money to be made in looking for a “cure” for such a protean disorder.

Enjoy…see if you can find your favorite cause. Or maybe adopt one. Or demand one of your Congressman. Yeah, I know: it’s supposed to be Congressperson… okay, okay, if you insist: your Congressbabe. So report me to the Caucus on Political Correctness. They don’t appear on the list, though. Maybe they meet in secret but no doubt Barney Frank, et al, could let you in.

Come to think of it, p.c. speech and thinking is so pervasive now that we no longer need a group to foster its ends. We’ve all been programmed to perform our own self-censorship. Who would dare say “mick”, or “dago” or even — heaven forbid — “lady”. Oops, “heaven” is bound to be on the don’t-go-there list, too. Well, landsakes, what can a body say these days? [for the irony-impaired: the immediately preceding comments were intended as sarcasm. You know, jokes]

Most of the list is below the fold. Our more imaginative readers may be able to come up with some groups the Congressional Members Association overlooked. Like where is the Viking Caucus (never mind, they have Denmark listed), or the Erstwhile Friends of Eire Caucus? I know: the Christmas Tree Growers’ Caucus! We need one of them. I was told that a Wine Growers’ Caucus existed, but maybe that’s reserved for the Senate since the Beer people are listed over here on the Congressional side.

Note: I shortened some of the longer titles, used T.F. for Task Force, got rid of the word “Congressional” since it was redundant. In some places, I did the same with Caucus. “Methamphetamine” was shortened to meth, since our readers are cool and sure to know all that jargon.

Happy reading!

• 21st Century Health Care Caucus
• 9/11 Health Caucus
• Addiction, Treatment & Recovery Caucus
• Afghanistan Working Group
• Afterschool Caucus
• Appalachian Caucus
• Albanian Issues Caucus
• Americans Abroad Caucus
• America Supports You Caucus
• Bicameral Caucus on Parkinson’s
• Biomedical Research Caucus
• Bipartisan Bicameral T.F. on Alzheimer’s
• Bipartisan Cerebral Palsy Caucus
• Bipartisan Pro-Choice Caucus
• Bipartisan Pro-Life Caucus
• Bipartisan T. F. on Nonproliferation
• Bipartisan School Health & Safety Caucus
• Bi-Partisan Sugar Reform Caucus
• Cement Caucus

– – – – – – – – –

• Chesapeake Bay Watershed T.F.
• Children’s Environmental Health
• Class of 2006 Caucus
• Coalition on Autism Research
• Coalition of American Investors & Retirees
• Commission on Divided Families
• Community College Caucus
• Air Medical Caucus
• Arts Caucus
• Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Automotive Caucus
• Azerbaijan Caucus
• Battlefield Caucus
• Bike Caucus
• Black Caucus
• Boating Caucus
• Book Club: National Security
• Border Caucus
• Brain Injury T. F.
• Brazil Caucus
• Cancer Action Caucus
• Career & Technical Education Caucus
• Caribbean Caucus
• Caucus for Freedom of the Press
• Caucus for Women’s Issues
• Caucus on Algeria
• Caucus on Armenian Issues
• Caucus on Bosnia
• Caucus on Central & Eastern Europe
• Caucus on Community Health Centers
• Caucus on Drug Policy
• Caucus on the European Union
• Caucus on Hellenic Issues
• Caucus on Human Trafficking
• Caucus on India & Indian Americans
• Caucus on Indonesia
• Caucus on Infant Health & Safety
• Caucus on Intellectual Property & Piracy
• Caucus on the Judicial Branch
• Caucus on Korea
• Caucus on the Netherlands
• Caucus on Religious Minorities in the M.E.
• Caucus on Swaziland
• Caucus on Turkey
• Caucus on Vietnam
• Caucus on Youth Sports
• Caucus to Fight & Control Meth
• Children’s Caucus
• Children’s Health Care Caucus
• Children’s Study Working Group
• China Caucus
• Climate Change Caucus
• Coalition on Adoption
• Coastal Caucus
• Coast Guard Caucus
• Community Pharmacy Coalition
• Correctional Officers Caucus
• Cuba Democracy Caucus
• Cystic Fibrosis Caucus
• Czech Caucus
• Dairy Farmers Caucus
• Dialogue Caucus
• Dietary Supplement Caucus
• Documentary Film & Book Caucus
• Down Syndrome Caucus
• DTV Caucus
• E-911 Caucus
• Entertainment T. F.
• Entertainment Industries Caucus
• Ethiopia & Ethiopian American Caucus
• Everglades Caucus
• Fire Services Caucus
• Fitness Caucus
• Former Mayors Caucus
• French Caucus
• Friends of Animals Caucus
• Friends of Canada Caucus
• Friends of Denmark
• Friends of Jordan Caucus
• Friends of Liechtenstein Caucus
• Friends of Spain Caucus
• Gaming Caucus
• Georgia Caucus
• Glaucoma Caucus
• Global Health Caucus
• Hazards Caucus
• Hearing Health Caucus
• Heart & Stroke Coalition
• High-Performance Buildings
• High Technology Caucus
• Hispanic Caucus
• Hispanic Conference
• Horse Caucus
• Humanities Caucus
• H.R. 676 Caucus
• Human Rights Caucus
• Hydropower Caucus
• Insurance Caucus
• International Anti-Piracy Caucus
• Internet Caucus
• Israel Allies Caucus
• Kidney Caucus
• Labor & Working Families Caucus
• Life Insurance Caucus
• Long Island Sound Caucus
• Malaria Caucus
• Manufacturing Caucus
• Manufacturing T. F.
• Men’s Health Caucus
• Mental Health Caucus
• Mining Caucus
• Missing & Exploited Children Caucus
• Motorcycle Safety Caucus
• Multiple Sclerosis Caucus
• Nanotechnology Caucus
• Native American Caucus
• Navy-Marine Corps Caucus
• Nuclear Cleanup Caucus
• Oral Health Caucus
• Organ & Tissue Donation
• Organic Caucus
• Osteoporosis Caucus
• Pakistan Caucus
• Peanut Caucus
• Philanthropy Caucus
• Poland Caucus
• Port Security Caucus
• Prayer Caucus
• Pro-Life Women’s Caucus
• Progressive Caucus
• Real Estate Caucus
• Romania Caucus
• Rural Housing Caucus
• Savings & Ownership Caucus
• Science Caucus
• Scouting Caucus
• Second Amendment Caucus
• Serbian Caucus
• Shellfish Caucus
• Shipbuilding Caucus
• Singapore Caucus
• Soccer Caucus
• Soils Caucus
• Songwriters Caucus
• Sports Caucus
• Sportsmen’s Caucus
• Steel Caucus
• Stop DUI Caucus
• Study Group on Public Health
• Submarine Caucus
• Taiwan Caucus
• T. F. on Illegal Guns
• T. F. on Tobacco & Health
• T. F. on U.S.-India Trade
• Tibet Caucus
• Travel & Tourism Caucus
• Ukrainian Caucus
• United Kingdom Caucus
• Urban Caucus
• Victims’ Rights Caucus
• Vision Caucus
• Water Ways Caucus
• Western Caucus
• Wildlife Refuge Caucus
• Wireless Caucus
• Zoo & Aquarium Caucus
• Croatian Caucus
• Delaware River Basin T. F.
• Democratic Budget Group
• Democratic Israel Working Group
• Distributed Energy Caucus
• Diversity & Innovation Caucus
• Electronic Warfare Working Group
• E-Waste Working Group
• Financial & Economic Literacy Caucus
• Fragile X Caucus
• Free File Caucus
• Friends of Job Corps Caucus
• Friends of Kazakhstan
• Friends of New Zealand Caucus
• Friends of Scotland Caucus
• Future of American Media Caucus
• Friends of Paraguay Caucus
• Generic Drug Equity Caucus
• Global Family Day Caucus
• Great Lakes T. F.
• Green Schools Caucus
• Gulf Coast Recovery Caucus
• Historic Preservation Caucus
• Aerospace Caucus
• Air Force Caucus
• Anti Terrorism Caucus
• Army Caucus
• Baltic Caucus
• Cancer Caucus
• Biotechnology Caucus
• Center Aisle Caucus
• Hunger Caucus
• Impact Aid Coalition
• Mentoring Caucus
• Mississippi River Delta Caucus
• Naval Mine Warfare Caucus
• Nursing Caucus
• Oceans Caucus
• Potato Caucus
• Refugee Caucus
• Republican Israel Caucus
• Rural Health Care Caucus
• Science, Engineering & Math Ed.
• Small Brewers Caucus
• Sweetener Caucus
• Trails Caucus
• Veterans’ Mental Health Caucus
• HUBZone Caucus
• Hungarian American Caucus
• Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Caucus
• I-73/74 Corridor Caucus
• Immigration Reform Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• International Workers Rights Caucus
• Iran Human Rights & Democracy Caucus
• Iran Working Group
• Kurdish-American Caucus
• Land Conservation Caucus
• Law Enforcement Caucus
• LGBT Equality Caucus
• Lyme Disease Caucus
• Middle Class Caucus
• Malaysia Trade, Security & Economic Co-op
• Manufactured Housing Caucus
• Medical Technology Caucus
• Metropolitan Mobility Caucus
• Military Veterans Caucus
• Missile Defense Caucus
• Modeling & Simulation Caucus
• National Guard & Reserve Caucus
• National Landscape Conservation Caucus
• National Marine Sanctuary Caucus
• National Parks Caucus
• National Service Caucus
• National Security Interagency Reform
• New Democrat Coalition
• Northeast Agriculture Caucus
• Northeast Midwest Coalition
• Northern Border Caucus
• Northwest Energy Caucus
• Nuclear Issues Working Group
• Nuclear Security Caucus
• Oil & National Security Caucus
• Out of Poverty Caucus
• Panama Trade, Security & Econ. Co-op
• Passenger Rail Caucus
• Patriot Act Reform Caucus
• Prisoners of War/M.I.A. Action Caucus
• Pro-Choice Caucus
• Professional Military Education Caucus
• Professional Sports Caucus
• Protecting Our Private Property
• Public Broadcasting Caucus
• Recording Arts & Sciences Caucus
• Reliable Energy Caucus
• Renewable Energy & Efficiency
• Republican Study Committee
• Research & Development Caucus
• Rural Veterans Caucus
• Salton Sea T. F.
• Silk Road Caucus
• Smart Contracting Caucus
• Sovereignty Caucus
• Space Power Caucus
• Spina Bifida Caucus
• Suburban Agenda Caucus
• Suburban Transportation Comm.
• Sudan Caucus
• T. F. on Terrorism & Proliferation Finance
• T. F. on Terrorism & Unconventional Wars
• Tennessee Valley Authority Caucus
• Tunisia Caucus
• Unexploded Ordinance Caucus
• US-Afghan Caucus
• US-China Working Group
• US-Kazakhstan Interparliamentary Friendship
• US-Mongolia Friendship Caucus
• US-Philippines Friendship Caucus
• Victory in Iraq Caucus
• Water Caucus
• Zero AMT Caucus

Labor relations in France continue to deteriorate. Hostage taking of factory management by angry workers has been going on for weeks, and now a group of workers did substantial damage to their employer’s offices. The incident was serious enough that French prosecutors are actually considering taking legal action on this one.

In other news, voters in Iceland have elected a left-wing government to clean up the country’s fiscal mess, and university students in Croatia are demanding that their education be entirely free of charge.

Also, Japan has chalked up its first trade deficit for any fiscal year since 1980.

Thanks to Andy Bostom, Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, CB, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, islam o’phobe, JD, TB, Tuan Jim, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Election Will Move Iceland to the Left
	France: Prime Minister Condemns Workers’ Rampage
	Obama Must Persuade Congress on IMF Funds — Pelosi
	Turkey: Businessman Lashes Out Against the IMF
	UK: Budget 2009: A Savage and Pointless Attack on Middle England
	UK: The Avoidance Budget
	USA
	Congress Knew About the Interrogations
	Fiat- Chrysler, ‘Unions Say OK’
	Janet Napolitano Needs to Check Her Facts
	Obama’s Foreign Policy: Bambi Versus the Sharks
	Obama Publication Targets Freedom-Loving Americans
	The Wrenching Transformation of America
	Canada
	‘A Well-Mobilized, Orchestrated Campaign’
	Canada: Editorial: Send DART to Sri Lanka
	Number of Homegrown Suspected Terrorists Higher Than Ever: RCMP
	Europe and the EU
	1st Danish Veiled Politician Attends Council Meet
	Absentee MEPs — Half of Twenty Worst Strasbourg Attenders Are Italians
	Artist to Remove EU Mosaic After Czech Cabinet Fall
	Britain May Cut Arms to Israel; Hamas to Address Lords
	Czech Rep: Romany Protective Patrols to Monitor Demonstrations Without Arms
	Denmark: Victim Known to Police
	Denmark: Muslims Walk Out of Terrorism Conference
	EU-Croatia: Membership Talks Put Back, Slovenia Veto
	Far-Right Crimes Up Sharply in Germany
	Finland: Fundamentalists, Immigrants Spur Higher Birth Rate
	Finland: Organised Human Smuggling Across Russian Border?
	France Out of Love With Champagne, Sales -30%
	Germany: Judge Disciplines Accused in Terror Trial
	Google Street View Wins UK Battle
	Hamas Leader Fails to Address British Lawmakers
	Italy: Senate Approves Anti-Rape Law
	Italy: Naked Ambition: Politics in the Raw
	Netherlands: Ramadan Fallout Leads to Political Crisis in Rotterdam
	Netherlands: AIVD: Extreme Left More Dangerous Than Extreme Right
	Netherlands: Iranian Family Gets Residence After Suicide Threat
	Netherlands: Study Reveals Primary School Segregation
	Netherlands: Minister Urges Public to Take Evidence Photos
	Netherlands: Parliament Approves Imam as Army Chaplain
	Paris and Rome Mayors in Salute Row
	Slovenia: Ljubljana Street to be Renamed After Tito
	Spain: Authorities Investigate Sale of Kidneys Online
	Spain Approves Embryo Selection to Avoid Cancer
	Spanish Princess and Family Moving to Washington
	Sweden: Protesters Arrested at Malmö Anti-Iran Demo
	Sweden: Prison for Prosecutor Bomb Attack
	Swedish Terror Suspect Worked for Al-Qaeda: Prosecutors
	Switzerland: Puzzle Over Sick Woman Abandoned in Bushes
	Switzerland: Anti-Racism Meeting a “Foreseeable Disgrace”
	Terrorism: Islamists Threaten Terror Attacks in Germany
	UK: BNP Leader Defends Policy on Race
	UK: It’s Cat Stevens at the Mike But It’s Islam Holding Court
	UK: No 10’s Venezuelan ‘Workie’ Could Write Next Budget
	Balkans
	4 Serbs Found Guilty of Kosovo Massacre
	Amnesty: NATO Bombing of Serbian TV ‘War Crime’
	New Appointment in Euromediterranean Assembly
	Universities: Croatia, Students Demand Free Education
	Mediterranean Union
	Energy: French PM in Tunis to Discuss Nuclear Power
	Med Union: Ambassadors in Brussels to Try Relaunch
	Tomorrow Meeting in Brussels
	Transport: UN, Mediterranean Development Model Worrying
	North Africa
	Durban 2: Libya; Ex-Colonialists Should Apologise Like Italy
	ICT: Tunisia-India, Cooperation Agreement Signed
	Morocco’s “Mourchidates” and Contradictions
	Mubarak Evasive on Lieberman’s Egypt Visit
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Gaza: UN Task Force to Check Environmental Damage
	Human Rights Groups Criticise Inquiry Into Gaza
	Israelis Feel Chill as US Sets Out New Ground Rules
	Lieberman: Arab Peace Initiative Threat to Israel
	Mid-East: Survey, Israelis and Palestinians Favour Two States
	Middle East
	Turkey: Direct Investment Falls, But Not From Italy
	Turkey Calls Back Ambassador to Canada
	Turkey-Armenia Agree on Roadmap to Normalize Ties, US Welcomes Move
	Turks, Italians Debate EU Issues, Renew Friendship
	South Asia
	Bangladesh: Islamic Fundamentalists Threaten UN Agencies and Red Crescent
	India: Hindu Fanatics Attack Protestant Church in Maharashtra to Stop Conversions
	Malaysian PM Dodges Questions About Missing Model
	Malaysia Bans Forced Conversion of Minors to Islam
	Pakistan: Taliban Militants Extend Reach in North
	Sultans of Swat — Muhammad’s Angels… and More Timeless Wisdom From Lal and Burckhardt
	Far East
	China in Tensions Rising Over Unpaid Wages
	Filipino Court Overturns US Marine Rape Conviction
	First Trade Deficit for Japan Since 1980
	Australia — Pacific
	Coal Burning Must End, Says Scientist
	NZ: Runaway Pilgrims Believed Lying Low and ‘Well Settled’
	NZ: Rapist Taxi Driver Jailed for Nine Years
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	Japan Launches New Bid to Tackle Pirates
	Latin America
	Finnish Connection Found on Computer of Colombian Guerrillas
	Regift, Please!
	Immigration
	Finland: Young Afghan Asylum-Seekers Heading for Nordic Countries Through Paris
	France Gets Tough Over Calais Migrants
	Greece: New Prevention Measures Decided
	Japan Pays Foreign Workers to Go Home
	NZ: Language a Massive Barrier for New NZ Immigrants: Report
	Pinar: Italian Dossier in Brussels
	Tunisia: 159 Illegal Migrants Apprehended
	Culture Wars
	Gene Technology Threatens New Racism: Vatican
	General
	Durban II: The Outrage Continues
	Row Over Anti-Racism Observer
	UN Kicks Jews, Iranians Out of Racism Meeting

Election Will Move Iceland to the Left

On Saturday, Icelanders are likely to do something they haven’t done in more than two decades: Vote a left-wing government into power.

The new government will face the enormous task of cleaning up the wreckage of the country’s collapsed financial system. It will also need to resolve internal divides over a touchstone issue: whether Iceland — long proud of its go-it-alone spirit — should join the European Union.

The parliamentary elections are the North Atlantic nation’s first since the credit crunch in October felled its entire banking system, turning Iceland from a prosperous and happy Nordic country riding high on the riches of finance to a land of swelling unemployment and economic gloom.

Icelandic politics since 1991 has been dominated by the Independence Party, a right-leaning party with a free-market bent influenced by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Under longtime Independence Party Prime Minister David Oddsson, Iceland privatized swathes of state-owned businesses, remaking a sclerotic economy and spurring huge growth.

The privatization spree included the state-owned banks, which under private owners grew massively by borrowing and lending overseas — delivering wealth and jobs back home. All that came apart when the credit crunch cut off funding, a fatal blow because the tiny Icelandic government didn’t have the means to bail out the banks.

The bank collapse shattered the standing of the Independence Party. Its leader, Geir Haarde, resigned as prime minister, and Mr. Oddsson, who had moved to become the head of the central bank, was forced out of that post.

Many observers — and opinion polls — predict the left-leaning Social Democratic Alliance will garner the most votes Saturday, taking about a third of the seats in parliament. The Left-Green Movement, further to the left, is polling roughly the same as the Independence Party. Party leaders have said the Social Democrats and the Left-Greens would seek to form a coalition government; the two parties have been in coalition on an interim basis since Mr. Haarde stepped down in February. The current interim prime minister, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of the Social Democrats, is widely expected to retain that role.

“The problem of the Independence Party is that they’ve been in government since 1991,” says Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, a political-science professor at the University of Iceland. “To escape some kind of responsibility for the crash in October is very difficult. They’ve been there the whole time. Their policies have been followed.”

Mr. Kristinsson said the new government will likely raise taxes on the wealthy — undoing Independence Party changes — and be forced to make public-sector cutbacks, probably by lowering wages instead of laying off state workers. At 7.1% in the first quarter, unemployment is already high by Icelandic standards.

The possible coalition is split on the EU, which the Independence Party has long opposed. The Left-Greens, who tend to view the EU as a manifestation of globalization, are opposed to membership. The Social Democrats strongly favor it.

Complicating matters is the question of fish. With the collapse of banking, fishing is again rising in relative importance to Iceland’s economy. Joining the EU would mean signing up to the bloc’s common fishing policies, under which quotas are worked out in Brussels.

“We would fit very badly into that system,” says Eggert Gudmundsson, chief executive of HB Grandi hf, a major Icelandic fisher. “It is very important as a fishing nation to have full control over our fishing grounds.”

Meantime, Iceland has been trying to sweep up the remains of its banking sector. Shortly after the collapse, Iceland split each of the three big banks into a “new” bank with the small but functioning domestic operations, and an “old” bank for the moribund international operations.

Gylfi Magnússon, an academic who was appointed minister of business affairs by the interim coalition, said in the next several weeks Iceland would formalize the split, handing over equity or debt in the new banks to the old banks’ creditors — who aren’t likely to get much.

“It is quite clear that creditors of the old banks will not by a long shot be paid in full,” says Mr. Magnússon.

Iceland — as the owner of the now-nationalized banks — has also stepped in to restructure mortgages for homeowners. Many Icelanders took out loans in foreign currency to pay for houses; those deals are disasters amid the collapse of Iceland’s currency, the krona.

“A lot of people are in financial distress,” Mr. Magnússon says. “That is not going to go away anytime soon.”

Also persistent is a deep hostility toward the class of bankers and financiers who precipitated the downfall.

“You can say there’s kind of an ongoing mental civil war,” says Andri Snaer Magnason, a popular Icelandic writer. There’s a “huge anger against the people who are responsible,” and the country is amid “a huge healing process.”

Mr. Magnason’s 2006 best seller, “Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation” critiqued the government’s pro-business policies.

Mr. Magnason says Icelanders are trying to make the best of bad times. He tells of a banker friend who took regular ski trips to the Rocky Mountain peaks of Aspen, Colo. The friend called recently to talk up a great ski run he found in north Iceland — a slope with a single T-bar lift. “Small is beautiful again,” Mr. Magnason says.

In the past few months, Iceland has calmed considerably. Protests that once drew thousands of seething Icelanders to Reykjavik’s main square to pitch eggs, toilet paper and vegetables at the parliament building, and hang political figures in effigy, have dissipated.

Protesters banging on pots no longer greet central-bank officials in front of their offices each morning. “The pots-and-pans revolution,” says Mr. Kristinsson, “more or less achieved its goals.” The government was brought down, the central-bank chief ejected.

Now, says Mr. Magnússon, the business-affairs minister, “People are feeling that they can vent their frustrations at the ballot box, which is of course how things should go.”

— Hat tip: islam o’phobe

[Return to headlines]

France: Prime Minister Condemns Workers’ Rampage

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, APRIL 22 — The destruction carried out by Continental employees is “unacceptable” and “legal action” will be taken. So said French Prime Minister, Francois Fillon commenting the sack committed by workers in the German tyre manufacturer’s administrative offices in Compiegne, eastern France after a tribunal had rejected their request to cancel or suspend the closure of the business. In an interview with a journalist from radio France Inter, Fillon said that the “sacks” were the work of “small minority of employees”. Yesterday several dozen Continental workers serious damaged the company’s offices in Compiegne, eastern France, Continental announced on March 11 that the company’s Clairoix site, where 1,120 used to work, was to close down. Several weeks ago, the director of Continental was whistled at and had eggs thrown at him during a meeting with staff. The director was forced to run out of the factory. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

Obama Must Persuade Congress on IMF Funds — Pelosi

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) — President Barack Obama will have some persuading to do to get the U.S. Congress to approve more money for the International Monetary Fund, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday.

Pelosi suggested part of the challenge was uncertainty about how to count the cost of the additional resources for the IMF, at a time when U.S. bailout fatigue and concern about mounting U.S. debt are widespread on Capitol Hill.

“The president has requested from us $100 billion for the IMF and that’s going to take its level of persuasion as well,” Pelosi said during a roundtable for reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

Obama wrote to Pelosi and other congressional leaders on Monday, urging Congress to quickly pass legislation to allow the United States to keep promises he made at the Group of 20 nations meeting in London this month.

Those promises included a U.S. pledge of $100 billion for the IMF to help it combat the global economic crisis. The funding would boost the IMF’s “New Arrangements to Borrow,” under which countries like the United States provide credit to the fund to deal with severe crises that threaten the global financial system.

Obama’s letter said the U.S. contribution would essentially be a loan to the IMF and would not cost U.S. taxpayers anything, apparently reflecting the judgment of the administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

But Pelosi said some congressional scorekeepers who weigh the cost of proposals see it differently.

“I’m certain we will be able to achieve it, but just there, for example, the OMB is saying there’s no scoring because there are no outlays and the CBO is saying it’s $105 billion,” Pelosi said, referring to the Congressional Budget Office.

“So everyone has a version of the story,” said the speaker, who like Obama is a Democrat.

The Obama administration recently sent up a “supplemental” request for more money for the Iraq and Afghan wars without including any requests for more expenditures to help the IMF.

U.S. lawmakers could still add more money for the IMF to the supplemental bill. In any case, if they want to help the IMF they will have to pass legislation authorizing the move.

More pressure on Congress to act quickly to approve the funding for the IMF could come this weekend when world finance chiefs from around the globe meet in Washington to discuss the global economic outlook.

Minority Republicans are likely to oppose more money for the IMF because of the risk to U.S. taxpayers that the cash will not be paid back, said Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican on the House International Monetary Policy and Trade subcommittee.

“You cannot extend these loans to an organization like the IMF and claim there is no cost,” Royce told Reuters in a phone interview. “These governments will not be returning these funds,” he said of those that borrow from the IMF. “They will be using them to cover the losses that exist in their countries.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

[Return to headlines]

Turkey: Businessman Lashes Out Against the IMF

Businessman lashes out against the IMF

BURSA — The majority of countries that have signed loan deals with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, and obeyed their programs have not been able to get back on their feet again, according to Bülent Parlamis, chairman of Parlamis Holding.

“Since its foundation in 1946, the IMF has been launching programs for many countries and not many of them have been successful,”Parlamis said. To make his case further convincing, Parlamis counted some of the countries the IMF had deals with, including Argentina, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, Brazil, Indonesia, Romania and Pakistan.

“Research conducted among countries that have implemented the IMF’s Structural Accession Programs revealed that none of them have managed to display economic growth. On the contrary they fell into crises,” Parlamis said. In a written statement, Parlamis said the economic crisis has caused a 23.5 percent contraction in private industry investments during the last quarter of the year.

“It is hard to turn a blind eye to the changes that are taking effect in the world’s economic structure,” Parlamis said. “Even the United States, the fortress of capitalism, has been nationalizing its banks. Such an unexpected move from the U.S. sets an example of a more statist economic structure. In such a situation, efforts to revive the economy by increasing public spending should be praised.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

[Return to headlines]

UK: Budget 2009: A Savage and Pointless Attack on Middle England

The idiocy, bigotry, tribalism and sheer class hatred of the Budget at least clears up a lingering doubt some seem to have had about the Labour Party. We now know for sure that it not only has no interest in what can be characterised as “middle England”, it seeks positively to persecute that constituency for its own political advantage. Our country is in the worst economic mess that anyone under the age of 80 can remember. That mess has been exacerbated by wanton and ignorant policies pursued by this Government. The tax rises announced on Wednesday on the so-called rich show that Labour has no regard for the creation of wealth, and no understanding that its creation is what makes everybody (and not just the “rich”) more prosperous. This Budget was a Budget for poverty.

Labour is not interested in improving the country it purports to govern. It is interested only in retaining power. Its policies are shaped increasingly, if not exclusively, by considerations of how it advances the cause of its own people. Those who are not in that category — such as most of you reading this column — get what is coming to them.

Labour’s client base is broad. It starts with its own MPs, to whom it only the day before the Budget offered an expenses deal that will look after most of them very well. It extends through an enormous state bureaucracy and salariat to a generous welfare state. This ever-expanding and ever more propitiated group has to be supported by a shrinking number of those in work, and a shrinking number of those who have saved to provide a decent standard of living. The Budget was inadequate because it sought to deal only with the needs of the clientele, not with the needs of the country.

An election is no more than a year away. The starting gun for its campaign was fired yesterday. At least there is — or should be — clarity in the battle lines. The middle classes are there to be bled white. Labour is now quite open about that. The question only remains of whether the Opposition will choose to defend the interests of its supporters as robustly as Labour is defending the interests of the clientele.

For be in no doubt about two things. First, the mess in this country — which Mr Darling, in keeping with Government policy, chose to depict as having happened almost by accident and as a result of global forces outside his control — has been aggravated by the practice of reckless economics. The few of us who saw this debacle coming required no genius to do so: it happened because the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, chose between about 2000 and 2007 to allow the money supply to grow by between two and three times the rate of inflation plus growth. This imitation of Alan Greenspan — who did the same in America to fulfil Bill Clinton’s desire to make as many people as possible feel well off — fed our present catastrophe. Money was there to make everyone feel good — whether bankers or first-time buyers with silly mortgages. It seemed as though prosperity no longer had to be earned. The printing presses rolled: quantitative easing was happening long before we knew it. And even the Conservative Party, to its shame, was taken in, with its ludicrous line about “sharing the proceeds of growth”.

Second, the desire to keep power means continuing to keep the clientele in the style to which it is now accustomed. This means generous benefits that do not become reined in as earnings in the private sector are. It means continuing to create jobs for the clientele in entirely socially unproductive areas. Jobs advertised in yesterday’s Guardian for, among others, a “democratic services officer” in Hackney, or a “customer experience manager” for the Department of Work and Pensions give an indication of the care, and the ease, with which public money is spent. It is the Government’s determination to continue to bribe its voters that causes not just the wealth-destroying taxes, and a further raid on pension funds, but also the insane levels of borrowing: £175 billion this year and £173 billion next. It was instructive, too, that when the Leader of the Opposition quite correctly attacked the Government for this atrocious profligacy, Mr Brown was pictured sitting on the bench opposite him laughing. It is moments like that that make some think either of strangulation, or emigration.

Wednesday’s events were definitive. They showed that Labour has reverted to being a class-based party, and like all such parties is determined to rob the class in which it is not based. Those tens of millions of Britons who work hard, save hard, take responsibility for themselves and make no claim on the state are to be targeted to provide the resources to help Labour secure re-election. The Budget was the most naked attack on the middle classes since the 1970s. By this act of bigotry, Labour has repatriated us to the land of flared trousers, British Leyland and the Bay City Rollers.

Yet it has also, as was intended, put the Conservative Party on the spot. Foolishly, Mr Cameron chose not to reject last November’s proposal to raise taxes to 45 per cent for those on more than £150,000 a year in 2011. He now finds Labour is intending to raise them to 50 per cent, and a year earlier; and the same group to be affected by this will also lose tax relief on pension contributions, in another assault on savers. So what does Mr Cameron do? Does he say that the “rich” must be punished for the failings of the Labour government that he hopes to replace? Or does he say that this partisan policy, which will raise relatively little money, is unfair and counter-productive, and will not be persisted with should he come to power after April next year?

The argument seems straightforward. The Conservative Party should not be class based, so it should not favour a tax that hits one section of society so disproportionately hard: after all, we are all supposed to be in this together. It can also argue that the revenue to be raised is minimal — indeed, it may turn out to be nothing. The Laffer Curve suggests that if you wish to get more revenue, taxes should be cut, not raised. Also, as we saw in the 1970s, high taxation of the most successful in our society drives not just them, but their businesses, abroad. Of course the books have to be balanced: but there are ways that are not merely fairer but also more effective. Labour’s way of doing it is sheer vindictiveness, and with a political purpose: it will do only harm to the country, to the stimulation of demand, to growth and to employment.

It was hard to believe a word Mr Darling said. His forecasts have proved to be worthless, and Wednesday’s smelt fictional. His growth forecasts were particularly absurd. Labour’s record should speak for itself: destroying wealth, raising unemployment, presiding over waste. Now, though, it seeks to pursue a policy to retain power that puts in the party’s sights the very productive and self-reliant people on whom the country must depend for a recovery. It represents a savage and pointless attack on those without whom Britain is sunk.

Mr Darling’s failure, like that of the Government he serves, is abject. This is Mr Cameron’s moment. And it is not just victory that awaits him if he seizes it, but success.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: The Avoidance Budget

It was, unquestionably, a terrific Budget for Switzerland. The decision to raise the top rate of tax to 50 per cent will punish some bankers, but will simply send others scurrying to Geneva.

The vast majority of the 350,000 people earning more than £150,000 will, of course, stay in the UK. They will not complain. They will call their accountants. A higher rate of tax is likely to generate much less revenue than the Treasury hopes, and much more avoidance. But Mr Darling is also guilty of tax avoidance. His Budget sidestepped the central issue of the public finances: it answered the problem of future spending with a commitment to future borrowing but no clear or plausible route map to reducing debt.

As Chancellor, Gordon Brown said that public sector net debt would not rise above 40 per cent of GDP. Now that figure is projected to be 79 per cent in 2013-14. Such an extraordinary departure from its own rules surely required from the Government a sober account of the consequences.

What were we presented with instead? First, an entirely optimistic forecast of future economic growth. In years to come the best-remembered feature of this Budget may be its reliance on implausibly hopeful assumptions about future tax revenues. When these assumptions are revised, as they will surely have to be, they will reveal the need for far more strenuous efforts to curb public spending.

Second, there was an attempt to suggest that some relatively minor efficiency savings could do a job that needs to be done by serious reform of public service provision. Indeed, many new state schemes managed to be both expensive and footling at the same time, and seemed a greater preoccupation for the Chancellor than serious measures to reduce debt. There will be an extra £260 million for training in sectors that will have strong future demand, and a £750 million fund to support emerging technologies — as if the Treasury knows what these are. These schemes alone match the £1 billion in extra revenues assumed from the closing of tax avoidance loopholes.

Mr Darling did not explain how the Government will ultimately reduce borrowing, on the ground that only when the economy is growing will the Treasury be able to see how best to expand its revenues. He felt no such compunction about telling the well-off where they will hurt.

The political centrepiece of the Budget was a series of measures that sharply increase taxes on high earners. That this had a frivolous aim — to discomfort the Conservatives — does not rob it of a serious impact. It is a declaration of economic and political war on the country’s entrepreneurial class.

In successive elections Tony Blair appeared to understand that social justice and prosperity for all were possible without penalising the better- off. Before the 1997 election he promised not to increase the top rate of tax. This solemn pledge, plastered on billboards all over the country, was renewed before the 2001 and 2005 elections.

Now it has been broken. The Chancellor has not simply increased the top rate to 50 per cent, he also moved the starting date to within this Parliament in direct breach of a central manifesto pledge. As the birth of this pledge was symbolic, so is its death. With it dies Mr Blair’s political project. Labour is once again the party of massive public debt, inadequately controlled public spending and taxes on the wealthy.

In the past year we tumbled into recession, bailed out the banks and funded a fiscal stimulus. Yesterday we looked to the Chancellor to say how it would be paid for. The orchestra assembled. The audience settled expectantly. The conductor tapped his baton on his music stand. A hush fell. And from the stage came the shrill, thin sound of a penny whistle.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Congress Knew About the Interrogations

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair got it right last week when he noted how easy it is to condemn the enhanced interrogation program “on a bright sunny day in April 2009.” Reactions to this former CIA program, which was used against senior al Qaeda suspects in 2002 and 2003, are demonstrating how little President Barack Obama and some Democratic members of Congress understand the dire threats to our nation.

George Tenet, who served as CIA director under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, believes the enhanced interrogations program saved lives. He told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in April 2007: “I know this program alone is worth more than the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency put together have been able to tell us.”

Last week, Mr. Blair made a similar statement in an internal memo to his staff when he wrote that “[h]igh value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qa’ida organization that was attacking this country.”

Yet last week Mr. Obama overruled the advice of his CIA director, Leon Panetta, and four prior CIA directors by releasing the details of the enhanced interrogation program. Former CIA director Michael Hayden has stated clearly that declassifying the memos will make it more difficult for the CIA to defend the nation.

It was not necessary to release details of the enhanced interrogation techniques, because members of Congress from both parties have been fully aware of them since the program began in 2002. We believed it was something that had to be done in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to keep our nation safe. After many long and contentious debates, Congress repeatedly approved and funded this program on a bipartisan basis in both Republican and Democratic Congresses.

Last week, Mr. Obama argued that those who implemented this program should not be prosecuted — even though the release of the memos still places many individuals at other forms of unfair legal risk. It appeared that Mr. Obama understood it would be unfair to prosecute U.S. government employees for carrying out a policy that had been fully vetted and approved by the executive branch and Congress. The president explained this decision with these gracious words: “nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past.” I agreed.

Unfortunately, on April 21, Mr. Obama backtracked and opened the door to possible prosecution of Justice Department attorneys who provided legal advice with respect to the enhanced interrogations program. The president also signaled that he may support some kind of independent inquiry into the program. It seems that he has capitulated to left-wing groups and some in Congress who are demanding show trials over this program.

Members of Congress calling for an investigation of the enhanced interrogation program should remember that such an investigation can’t be a selective review of information, or solely focus on the lawyers who wrote the memos, or the low-level employees who carried out this program. I have asked Mr. Blair to provide me with a list of the dates, locations and names of all members of Congress who attended briefings on enhanced interrogation techniques.

Any investigation must include this information as part of a review of those in Congress and the Bush administration who reviewed and supported this program. To get a complete picture of the enhanced interrogation program, a fair investigation will also require that the Obama administration release the memos requested by former Vice President Dick Cheney on the successes of this program.

An honest and thorough review of the enhanced interrogation program must also assess the likely damage done to U.S. national security by Mr. Obama’s decision to release the memos over the objections of Mr. Panetta and four of his predecessors. Such a review should assess what this decision communicated to our enemies, and also whether it will discourage intelligence professionals from offering their frank opinions in sensitive counterterrorist cases for fear that they will be prosecuted by a future administration.

Perhaps we need an investigation not of the enhanced interrogation program, but of what the Obama administration may be doing to endanger the security our nation has enjoyed because of interrogations and other antiterrorism measures implemented since Sept. 12, 2001.

Mr. Hoekstra, a congressman from Michigan, is ranking Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Fiat- Chrysler, ‘Unions Say OK’

Deal ‘90% done’ says Italian union leader

(ANSA) — Rome, April 22 — American and Canadian car unions have approved a deal between Chrysler and Fiat, paving the way for the deal to go through, an Italian car union leader told ANSA Wednesday.

“The accord with the US and Canadian unions has been reached…and with the federal government which has pledged, given everyone’s readiness, to persuade the creditor banks to accept the deal,” said Bruno Vitali of Fim-CISL.

He said the deal was “90% ready” and might even be announced by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne later Wednesday.

Vitali said he had had a long talk in Detroit earlier Wednesday with United Auto Workers leader Ron Gettelfienger.

President Barack Obama has given Chrysler until May 1 to strike a deal with Fiat in order to have access to further federal bail-out funds and avoid bankruptcy.

The deal in part hinges on unions and lenders accepting stock in Chrysler in exchange for the debt owed to them.

An accord draft leaked to the press indicated that unions would take a 20% stake in Chrysler, the same as Fiat’s initial stake, as payment for half their pension fund.

Marchionne is also asking unions to accept wage cuts to bring labor costs in line with those in other plants in the US producing foreign cars, in states where the unions have less power.

The leaked draft also indicated that Marchionne would serve as CEO for both Fiat and Chrysler, while the US automaker would have an American chairman of the board.

In this case, it is not clear what would happen to Chrysler’s current CEO, Bob Nardelli.

Marchionne has been credited for what Obama has described as Fiat’s “impressive” turnaround in the last few years and the authoritative daily Financial Times last week likened him to a “superhero” in a “Chrysler cliffhanger”.

According to the draft accord, if a partnership is created then Fiat, unions and a federally appointed trust would name a future seven-man Chrysler board.

The federal trust would initially hold a significant stake in Chrysler, in exchange for the bail-out funds, including a 15% share which Fiat would receive in 5% instalments as it meets production milestones.

Fiat is offering its cutting-edge green technology and platforms for small cars in exchange for as much as 35% of Chrysler but it is likely to be also given an option to acquire up to 49% or more, once the bail-out loans have been repaid.

The Italian automaker is keen to strike a deal with Chrysler because it would have access to its plants and dealerships in order to allow it to return to the American market, initially with Alfa Romeo and the trendy Fiat 500 city car.

Chrysler, in turn, would have access to Fiat’s facilities in Europe and Latin America.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Janet Napolitano Needs to Check Her Facts

What is Bush throwback Janet Napolitano doing in Barack Obama’s cabinet? One of the promises made by the new President, who is making one liberal breakthrough after another, was to end the politics of fear. But as Homeland Security Secretary, Ms. Napolitano is acting like fear personified — it’s as if she’s in the claws of Dick Cheney.

She was still suggesting this week that the 9/11 terrorists made their way across the Canadian border, despite the contrary having been publicly acknowledged dozens of times. This has even aroused our quiet man in Washington, Ambassador Michael Wilson, to arrange a private meeting with her to set the record straight.

Mr. Wilson and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have the right to be adamant on this file. The endless U.S. angst over security has led to a ramping-up of the border, which has cut into Can-Am commerce. It has led to the introduction of passport requirements, even though we’re now almost eight years beyond 9/11. Canadians still have to take off their shoes for inspections at airports because — no telling what damage a pair of wingtips might do — there might be bombs hidden away in the leather.

Ms. Napolitano and others have repeatedly cited the case of the so-called millennium bomber, Ahmed Ressam, who had a trunkload of bomb-making materials when he tried to cross over from British Columbia. That was a decade ago. Mr. Ressam was caught — at the border. The system worked, as it has when other suspected terrorists have tried that route.

Ms. Napolitano’s words in a CBC interview have triggered a rare unanimity of opposition in Canada. RCMP Commissioner William Elliott has spoken out, as has business leader Thomas d’Aquino. Mr. Harper raised the border issue with former president George W. Bush in blunt terms, but to no avail. He raised it in more mild terminology with Mr. Obama during his visit to Ottawa two months ago. The message, it seems, hasn’t gotten through.

Ms. Napolitano, who also raised hackles in the interview by saying there should be some parity in border security measures for Mexico and Canada, was a highly regarded governor in Arizona. It may be that in being named as a woman to such a sensitive security post, she has felt an extra need to show toughness. We recall Hillary Clinton berating Mr. Obama before the presidential primaries over his idea of negotiating with enemies of the United States.

Mr. Obama has gone ahead with that policy, which has become an approach that even a Conservative such as Mr. Harper can appreciate. He lauded the President at the Summit of the Americas on the weekend for opening a new era in which confrontation is replaced by dialogue. Mr. Harper has carved out a good relationship with Mr. Obama and he should see to it that there is some very direct dialogue on the border issue. Progress has already been made with this administration on the NAFTA file. While campaigning, Mr. Obama vowed to renegotiate the trade agreement, but appears to have dropped the idea.

On the border question, Ms. Napolitano did issue a corrective to her 9/11 comments, saying she was misunderstood. But she went on to indicate that there will be no easing of restrictions, saying other terrorists have attempted to get into the United States by way of Canada.

That is probably true and there will probably always be such attempts. But where’s the statute of limitations? Instead of easing border barriers as we get further from 9/11, the opposite has taken place. To some, like Ms. Napolitano, this seems to make sense.

But if we are to extend her line of thinking, there will never be a debarricaded border because there is always a chance of a successful attempt from the Canadian side, it being impossible to track down and incarcerate every would-be terrorist in the galaxy.

The other line of thinking is that, as the President has said, you don’t let fear trump freedom. If you do, you just play into the hands, as the Prime Minister has said, of those you are trying to defeat.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Obama’s Foreign Policy: Bambi Versus the Sharks

by Barry Rubin

It is not such a big deal to disagree with a president and his policies. But it is shocking to realize that the leader of the world’s most powerful country doesn’t appear to understand the most basic principles of international relations.

This isn’t surprising since Barrack Obama has no—zero, nada—previous experience in this area. It shows. There are two distinct ways other countries respond to this combination of his ignorance at realpolitik, urgent desire to be liked, and pride in projecting U.S. weakness:

—Friends, especially in Europe, are pleased, applaud, but then add that they don’t have to give this guy anything because he is all apologies and no toughness. They like the fact that he is all carrots and not sticks. If, however, they are states more at risk—Israel, relatively moderate Arab states, perhaps Asian and Latin American allies—worry that they cannot rely on the United States to help and defend them.

—Enemies or potential rivals, a category including Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, and many—mostly Islamist—revolutionary movements, say that this guy is weak and defeated. He apologizes, offers unconditional engagements, and promises concessions because all previous U.S. policies have failed. Obama says so himself. They’ll eat the carrots and, of possible, their neighbors as well.

Obama, the supposed liberal, also offers some considerable, bizarre reversals in the meaning of that word. A couple of years ago when a brilliant conservative Middle East analyst asked me if I, too, was a conservative now, I said that I remained a liberal. In my view, the problem is not liberalism itself but the way that the far left has taken over liberalism, as Communism tried—but failed—to do in the 1930s…

— Hat tip: Barry Rubin

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Obama Publication Targets Freedom-Loving Americans

The Department of Homeland Security, headed by Also Known As (AKA) Obama appointee, Janet Napolitano, has released a report that targets every freedom-loving American. No greater indictment of the truth about the Marxist AKA Administration can be found than this just released report, following hard on the heels of the MIAC report out of Missouri that stated, emphatically, that right-wing extremists are “usually supporters of former Presidential Candidate: Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr” and display “pictures, cartoons, bumper stickers that contain anti-government rhetoric.” This report, it was determined, had connections to Morris (the Sleaze) Dees and his Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that has made no bones about its pro-Marxist, anti-American stance.

[…]

A footnote on the same page contains these warnings:

“LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION NOTICE: This product contains Law Enforcement Sensitive (LES) information. No portion of the LES information should be released to the media, the general public, or over non-secure Internet servers. Release of this information could adversely affect or jeopardize investigative activities.

Warning: This document is UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U//FOUO). It contains information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with DHS policy relating to FOUO information and is not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know without prior approval of an authorized DHS official. State and local homeland security officials may share this document with authorized security personnel without further approval from DHS.”

Oh, golly, gee whiz … now why would that be?

— Hat tip: JD

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The Wrenching Transformation of America

[Comments from JD: All American must read this speech; the contents are that important.]

[Ed note: this speech was delivered in Kalispell, Montana and Spokane, Washington to County Republican Lincoln Day dinners in late March. The speech caused a firestorm in Spokane, resulting in a battle with the local city council over it’s partnership with ICLEI and radical environmental policy. One elected official said I had exposed too much — as he walked out on my presentation. The battle goes on today.]

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve come a long way to get here and I have such a short time to be with you. So, let’s just get everything out on the table right now, shall we?

I believe the American people, and their every action, are being ruled, regulated, restricted, licensed, registered, directed, checked, inspected, measured, numbered, counted, rated, stamped, censured, authorized, admonished, refused, prevented, drilled, indoctrinated, monopolized, extorted, robbed, hoaxed, fined, harassed, disarmed, dishonored, fleeced, exploited, assessed, and taxed to the point of suffocation and desperation.

America is drowning in a sea of rules and regulations, particularly under the guise of “saving the environment.”

[…]

Sustainable Development is the process by which America is being reorganized around a central principle of state collectivism using the environment as bait.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

‘A Well-Mobilized, Orchestrated Campaign’

Ottawa • This week, Ottawa commuters were thrust into a conflict half a world away, one that’s claimed more than 70,000 lives over the past quarter century.

Starting on Tuesday, Sri Lankan Tamils, numbering in the thousands at their peak, occupied part of Wellington Street near Parliament Hill, snarling traffic in the capital’s core.

The Ottawa protest was no isolated event. Similar demonstrations have taken place this week in London, Australia, the United States and Norway. Last month, tens of thousands of Tamils formed a human chain around Toronto’s downtown. Others showed up at United Nations offices in Geneva and European Union headquarters in Brussels.

“This is a well-mobilized, orchestrated campaign,” says Fen Hampson, director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

The worldwide protests are, in part, a last-gasp effort by the Tamil diaspora to save the apparently doomed military campaign by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelem (LTTE) — better known as the Tamil Tigers — to carve out a separate homeland in Sri Lanka.

The country’s 25-year civil war between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils is almost certainly in its final weeks, says John Rogers, United States director of the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies.

With the remnants of the Tiger army pinned down by government troops, “it’s hard to see the Tigers continuing as a credible military force,” Rogers says. “Certainly they won’t control any territory.”

A low-level guerrilla war is possible, he says, but “the war as it has been for the past 20-plus years looks like it’s coming to an end.”

Hampson’s not so sure. “This is a conflict that’s ebbed and flowed before,” he points out. “The government has the upper hand for now, but the question is, how long will it last?”

He counsels caution because the Sri Lankan government has kept foreign journalists and aid workers out of the territories it has captured from the Tigers.

“Everything we’re hearing is coming from the Sinhalese government,” he says. “That’s been part of the problem. We’re just getting one side of the story.”

At the very least, guerrilla war and terrorism will continue, he says, “because there are going to be even more unhappy Tamils inside Sri Lanka and elsewhere. As we’re seeing in downtown Ottawa, there are a lot of very unhappy Tamil-Canadians.”

Canada is home to the world’s largest expatriate community of Sri Lankan Tamils. Estimates of their numbers vary. According to the 2006 census, 142,000 Canadians identified themselves as being ethnic Sri Lankans or Tamils. But unofficial estimates run as high as 400,000.

The vast majority are concentrated in and around Toronto. According to the census, fewer than 2,000 Tamils live in the national capital region.

The Tigers’ possible military defeat has come as a shock to many in the diaspora, Rogers says. “Most people did not anticipate that this could happen.”

One result has been to bring previously clandestine diaspora support for the LTTE, which has been banned as a terrorist organization in Canada and 31 other countries, out into the open.

Expatriate groups sympathetic to the Tigers are likely co-ordinating the protests. While there’s no direct evidence they’re taking direction from beleaguered Tiger leaders in Sri Lanka’s north, “it’s certainly plausible,” Rogers says.

But that doesn’t mean every protester is a hard-core Tiger sympathizer.

“There are lots of very decent and legitimate Tamil Canadians,” Hampson says. “What’s motivating some of them is that they’re worried about what’s happening to their friends and families.”

It’s a legitimate concern, he says. “We don’t know what’s happening, but there are obviously human rights violations going on.”

That concern is being registered internationally. On Thursday Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon called on Sri Lanka to halt its military offensive against Tamil rebels to allow civilians an escape.

“We’ve asked for an immediate ceasefire,” Cannon told reporters.

“We’re very worried, of course, of the hostilities that are taking place, but particularly worried for the civilians that are in the combat zone.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered a similar message to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speaking by telephone, Ban expressed concern about the 250,000 Tamil civilians trapped in the country’s war-torn northeast.

Rajapaksa reportedly assured Ban that “Sri Lanka was aware of and observes all international obligations to protect civilians,” a statement from the president’s office said.

The nations leading Sri Lanka’s peace process on Friday urged the Tamil Tigers to free 100,000 civilians they are holding and the military to stop shelling the no-fire zone where the separatists are making their last stand.

The statement from the U.S., Britain, Japan and Norway came as Sri Lanka’s military said it had begun what it called “the largest hostage rescue operation in the world” by identifying the best routes for people to get out.

The four-nation group, dubbed the Tokyo Co-Chairs, discussed on a conference call “how to best end the futile fighting without further bloodshed,” a U.S. State Department statement said.

“They call on the Tamil Tigers to permit freedom of movement for the civilians in the area,” it said. “They reaffirmed the need to stop shelling into the ‘no fire zone’ to prevent further civilian casualties.”

Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped inside a 17-square kilometre army-declared no-fire zone on the northeastern coast, held there by the LTTE and being killed in shelling, the co-chairs’ statement said.

It is on that piece of land where the final act of Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war is expected to play out, and diplomats have been working furiously to negotiate an exit for the people stuck there but have been repeatedly rebuffed by the LTTE.

The government has vowed no ceasefire, but pledged to stop fighting briefly to let people out as it has done in the past. At least 64,000 people have fled since January.

According to the UN, 100,000 civilians are trapped in the war zone. Many expatriate Tamils fear thousands will die as the Sri Lankan army tries to finish off the Tamil Tigers. Cries of “stop the genocide” erupt regularly from protesters.

There’s little doubt many civilians are dying, says Rogers. The question is, who’s to blame? Both sides appear to be putting their own military and political interests ahead of the lives of civilians, he says.

“It’s clear that the Tigers themselves are not letting civilians out, because that protects them militarily. On the other hand, it’s also clear that if these were Sinhalese civilians, government forces would be approaching the situation differently. They would be taking more care to try to avoid civilian casualties.”

Hampson echoes the point. “This is a conflict in which there is lots of blame on both sides,” he says.

The Tigers have always had support among expatriate Tamils, many of whom left their homeland to escape discrimination and violence directed against them by the Sinhalese majority.

Sinhalese make up nearly three-quarters of Sri Lanka’s population. Tamils, concentrated in the north and east of the country, make up just nine per cent.

After civil war broke out in 1983, many Tamils embraced the LTTE for standing up to the Sinhalese after the civilian leadership was seen to have failed to protect them. “So it’s not surprising that there would be sympathy for the Tigers in the diaspora,” Rogers says.

Hampson says Tamils inside and outside Sri Lanka are “pretty radicalized,” noting that many diaspora communities have a “hardened sense of identity and willingness to support revolutionary goals.”

Since declaring the Tigers a terrorist group in 2006, the federal government has been targeting Tamil Canadian financial networks that had been helping to fund the insurgency.

Canadian Tamils have chafed under those restrictions, Hampson says. “They don’t see themselves as terrorists. They see themselves as freedom fighters.”

But Rogers thinks support for the Tigers among Tamils generally has declined in the past 10 to 15 years, in part because they have systematically targeted and eliminated moderate Tamil leaders.

“The Tigers have always claimed to be the sole representative of the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka, and they’ve interpreted that to give them licence to kill other Tamil politicians,” he says.

Is there anything countries like Canada can meaningfully do to respond to the demands of the Tamil protesters filling the streets?

The scope for action is limited, experts agree. Canada could try to persuade the Sri Lankan government to handle the humanitarian situation in a “more flexible manner” to minimize civilian casualties, Rogers says.

Hampson agrees. “There’s something to be said for ratcheting up the pressure on the Sri Lankan government, and I suspect we’re doing it quietly. Whether they’re receptive to it is another matter. They haven’t been all that receptive to entreaties before.”

Hampson believes a military solution is unlikely to be a permanent answer. “At the end of the day, these kinds of wars have to end in some kind of negotiated accommodation.”

[Return to headlines]

Canada: Editorial: Send DART to Sri Lanka

This week saw the end of a large-scale demonstration by Canadian Tamils on Parliament Hill. The protest’s final days featured an interesting development: After weeks of fruitless efforts to gain the attention of MPs, many of the protesters — who were trying to raise awareness of a Sri Lankan military campaign that, they claim, is recklessly slaughtering civilians — were no longer flying the flag of the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist group outlawed in this country three years ago. Instead, they flew a plain black flag, which they describe as a symbol of mourning.

This is a welcome development. For months, the National Post editorial board has been lecturing Canadian Tamils to distance themselves from the Tigers, a military insurgency that uses barbaric tactics such as suicide bombings, child abduction, and human shields: Whatever sympathy Canadians feel for the plight of Tamil civilians caught in Sri Lanka’s civil war will only be dissipated if the humanitarian campaign waged on their behalf appears to be led by terror cheerleaders. True, many of the protesters on Parliament Hill still privately sympathize with the Tigers, and indeed have said as much to reporters. But public symbols count for something in this sort of event, and the change in the protesters’ stance deserves to be applauded.

Now that Parliamentarians have the green light to engage with Tamil activists, the question is:What should they do?

As Sri Lanka’s army mops up the final remnants of the Tamil Tigers in the northeast corner of Sri Lanka, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding: Tens of thousands of innocent Tamil civilians, who had been held by the Tigers as human shields, are now streaming into government-controlled territory. Most are destitute, and some are suffering from wounds inflicted during weeks of bombardment by government troops.

Sri Lanka is placing these refugees in government-run camps. But reports from the fields suggest that food, water and proper medical care are scarce. The Sri Lankan government — never especially competent, even when providing services to its own Sinhalese majority in the south — appears to have badly underestimated the resources necessary to deal with this crisis.

Canada can help by providing long-term aid aimed at settling Tamil refugees in safe new homes. And in the short term, our government should deploy our military’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), a quick-response, Trenton, Ont.-based medical and engineering unit that can provide life-saving health care and water purification to crisis victims.

This would not be the first time DART went to Sri Lanka: When the country was struck by tsunamis on Dec. 26, 2004, prime minister Paul Martin sent 200 DART members to the country, where they treated thousands of patients, produced millions of litres of purified water, repaired infrastructure and cleared rubble.

It is time for another deployment. Canada must pressure Sri Lanka’s government to permit a DART deployment immediately. If Stephen Harper acts now, our soldiers might be helping wounded Tamils by the end of the month.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Number of Homegrown Suspected Terrorists Higher Than Ever: RCMP

OTTAWA — Canadians should be concerned but shouldn’t overreact to news that more homegrown extremists and suspected terrorists are believed operating here than ever before, says the RCMP’s top national security officer.

In his first in-depth interview since assuming command of the nascent National Security Criminal Investigations unit, Assistant Commissioner Bob Paulson said more terrorism arrests are expected in coming months.

“The threat we’re facing today is as threatening as it’s ever been,” he said during a hour-long talk in his headquarter’s office this week. “We’re as busy as we’ve ever been and a little busier, frankly,” but he added that the sky is not falling.

“You want Canadians and people who have a role to play to be engaged and you want them to understand the nature of the threat, but you have to balance that against the Chicken Little criticism.

“Even discussing national security investigations publicly and openly runs the risk of being misunderstood of saying, ‘the sky is falling.’ The threat is a significant threat (and) we and other agencies of the government are actively managing that threat.”

He said the increase in national security criminal cases — from 848 last May to an undisclosed but larger number now — is “marginal” and “nothing that people ought to be excessively worried about. That’s what we get paid to do.”

More concerning is the evolving origin of the threat.

“Historically, it’s always been the threat from somewhere else in the world coming over here. But it’s no secret to anyone that a larger part of the threat is the so-called homegrown threat and that’s certainly the lion’s share of the threat that we’re dealing with.”

Homegrown radicalization is now at the top of the government’s national security agenda. Several of the biggest terror attacks and threats in the West in recent years, from the transit attacks in Madrid and London to the foiled “liquid bomb” airline plotters, have come from previously unremarkable, law-abiding citizens largely unknown to authorities.

The official concern is also partly a reflection of concerns about potential blowback from Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan and the terrorism prosecutions of Ottawa’s Momin Khawaja and the pending “Toronto 18” cases.

NSCI has laid charges in two other terrorism cases — the continuing trial of a Quebec man charged with supporting the Global Islamic Media Front, the propaganda arm of al-Qaida, and last year’s arrest of an Ontario man for allegedly collecting money for the outlawed Tamil Tigers, the only person ever charged with terrorist financing in Canada.

The stinging 2006 report and recommendations of the O’Connor Commission into the Maher Arar affair led to a fundamental re-organization of NSCI, with a priority on centralized oversight of national security investigations, including targeting, evidence-based decision-making, information collection and sharing and quality control.

“My desire (is) to re-establish a trust with people,” said the assistant commissioner, whose police career ranges from general patrol duties in British Columbia to senior positions fighting the Hells Angels and organized crime. Now 50, the Lachute, Que., native joined the Mounties in 1986 after a stint as a Canadian Forces pilot.

Since taking over NSCI in May, “I’m very satisfied that we have the business processes and systems that permit me to defend the criticism that we’re loosey-goosey sharing information all the time. The RCMP has pulled out all the stops in terms of implementing O’Connor’s recommendations and there were considerable costs associated to that.”

— Hat tip: TB

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1st Danish Veiled Politician Attends Council Meet

A Danish politician of Palestinian origin on Wednesday became the first woman to attend a local council meeting wearing a hijab, the Muslim veil.

Asmaa Abdul Hamid, 27, took part in a meeting in the city of Odense as a substitute for a member of the Unity List, a left-wing grouping.

Abdul Hamid has attracted attention because of the fact that she chooses to wear the hijab and refuses to shake hands with men. She led the voting list for her party at the 2005 local elections.

“I would like to be judge on what I have in my head, not on it, for the politics that I defend, my opinions and not what I wear or how I greet (people),” she told the large media pack that had turned out for the occasion.

Abdul Hamid is also on her party’s parliamentary list and is already down as a stand-in for their existing deputy, Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen.

The possibility that she might appear on his behalf in the parliament building has, since the November 2007 election, created a political stir, particularly among the far-right.

Peter Seeberg, an academic at the University of Odense, said her participation in the council meeting was a landmark event in Danish politics.

“She will influence the debate (of recent years) on Islamic veils, because we have now an example of a veiled Muslim woman taking part in an elected assembly, showing that things are evolving in Danish society,” he told the online edition of the regional daily Fyens Stifstidende.

Earlier this week, Dalia Mogahed, an Egyptian-born American who heads the Gallup American Center for Muslim Studies, became the first Muslim veiled woman to be appointed to a position in the White House. Mogahed has been appointed as an interfaith advisory in the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.

— Hat tip: TB

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Absentee MEPs — Half of Twenty Worst Strasbourg Attenders Are Italians

Parliamentary assistant’s informal survey. Poor attendance extends to committees

Italy’s honour in Europe is safe, thanks to a German. Sepp Kusstatscher is his name. He’s from Alto Adige, he belongs to the Green group and he has missed only two of 270 plenary sessions. Hooray. But perhaps we should draw a discreet veil over many of the others. Let’s just say that of Strasbourg’s top 100 attenders, only three are Italian, fewer than a third of the Germans or British and a fifth of the Poles. On the other hand, ten of the 20 worst attenders are from Italy. Blush-making. The figures were compiled by Flavien Deltort, a young parliamentary assistant who, after working for Marco Pannella, set out doggedly to collate all the official documents available. His goal was to put them on line.

This never-ending, painstaking task was undertaken get round the Europarliament’s reluctance to provide EU voters with an opportunity to see how hard their representatives work in Brussels and Strasbourg. There was confirmation of that reluctance last October, when radical Europarliamentarian Marco Cappato officially requested the attendance figures for all MEPs. The application was rejected by the secretary general, Harald Rømer, who explained that, as an MEP, Cappato could ask to see only his own figures, not other people’s. The secretary general revealed that there was no consolidated document with the total number of attendances by each MEP at the various official meetings, nor did the institutions have any duty to create documents to reply to requests. This response was greeted with protests on all sides and three months later, it was corrected by the vote on a resolution presented by Cappato himself, which was approved by a large majority: 355 in favour, 18 abstentions and 195 against, including almost all the MEPs from the People of Freedom. It was only a declaration of intent but it was explicit. It committed the European parliament to launching “an extraordinary action plan, for instance within the framework of the e-Parliament initiative, to ensure that more and easily accessible information is made available on its website”.

Will this happen? It’s unlikely, or rather with the legislature nearing its end, it looks practically impossible…

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Artist to Remove EU Mosaic After Czech Cabinet Fall

PRAGUE (Reuters) — The artist of the “Entropa” piece mocking EU member states will take the huge mosaic off an EU council building in Brussels in protest against the fall of the Czech government, he said Thursday.

The 16-meter (52 feet) puzzle won front-page coverage in newspapers around the world in January for poking fun at all 27 EU member states. It portrays Bulgaria as a squat toilet, Italy as a football ground with players making gestures that resemble masturbation, and the Netherlands as a flooded country with only a few minarets sticking out. The piece, in line with an EU custom, was due to hang over the entrance of the main EU Council building until the Czech Republic’s EU presidency ends in June, despite protests from some countries at their image.

However, artist David Cerny said he no longer wanted to be publicly associated with the Czech Republic after the leftist opposition and defectors from the government camp toppled the cabinet of Mirek Topolanek in late March, undermining its EU presidency.

“We look like a bunch of idiots,” Cerny told Reuters.

“We will be taking it down from May 10. I do not agree with the way the old government was thrown out,” he said.

Cerny added he did not back a new interim cabinet being formed because it involved former communists, including the incoming Prime Minister Jan Fischer.

“The old government was my partner, not an autopilot cabinet or a government of former communists,” Cerny said.

Cerny originally deceived the government by pretending

individual pieces of the mosaic were created by artists from each of the 27 EU member states, but later admitted he and two friends had created the entire installation.

Entropa — with Romania as a Dracula theme park, France on strike and Britain, perceived as one of the bloc’s most eurosceptic members, missing altogether — is expected to be displayed in a Prague gallery and later offered for sale.

The installation has lured thousands of visitors to the Brussels EU building, normally ignored on the tourist circuit.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Britain May Cut Arms to Israel; Hamas to Address Lords

Britain is warming up to Hamas and blowing chilly winds towards Israel. Its government is considering a ban on arms exports to the Jewish state after legislators had demanded that British weapons parts not be used against Arab terrorists.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is to address the House of Lords via video despite objections by the British government. In a separate development, the Bloomsbury theatre acceded to demands from pro-Arab groups that it cancel an appearance by an IDF choir scheduled for Israeli Independence Day celebrations next week.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Parliament Tuesday that it will review weapons export licenses “in light of recent events in Gaza,” meaning the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign three months ago.

The statement came a day before Hamas’s top leader Khaled Mashaal was to address members of the House of Lords and Members of Parliament via video from Damascus. The address comes shortly after four British parliamentarians, led by British Labor party member Roger Godsiff, met with Mashaal in Damascus.

Independent MP Clare Short invited dozens of colleagues to attend a video conference in a Parliament office despite objections by both the British Foreign Office and Israeli ambassador to Britain Ron Prosor. He pointed out that the Hamas charter calls for jihad, but “Clare Short and Lord Alderdice offer no attempt to persuade Hamas to change its policies of missiles and murder.”

The Foreign office comments, “We are aware that some MPs are planning to talk to members of Hamas in a private capacity on Wednesday…. Hamas is a terrorist organization. We believe that to talk to Hamas directly at this time would simply undermine those Palestinians who are committed to peace.”

The European Union officially has defined Hamas as a terrorist organization, but Hamas has succeeded in breaking the boycott, working through constant international pressure on a country-by-country basis.

Short has promoted the idea that Hamas must be included in a Middle East peace agreement. She previously has been harshly critical of Israel, writing two years ago that Israel carried out a “bloody, brutal and systematic annexation of land, destruction of homes and the deliberate creation of an apartheid system.”

— Hat tip: CB

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Czech Rep: Romany Protective Patrols to Monitor Demonstrations Without Arms

Prague — The Romany protective patrols which signatures of the call Enough! call for in reaction to the growing activities of rightist radicals should only monitor demonstrations and other actions of extremists, Cyril Koky, member of the Government Romany Affairs Council, said today.

“In no way do we want that Romany patrols to be armed,” said Koky, who is also Romany coordinator for Central Bohemia.

He said the patrols’members should be visibily marked and they should only be equipped with mobile telephones and digital photographic cameras.

The patrols should cooperate with the municipal and state police and possibly with the anti-conflict team and help calm down tension.

The creation of Romany protective patrols has been prompted by mounting activities of exrtremists, and mainly the weekend arson attack on a house in Vitkov, north Moravia, inhabted by a Romany family.

The fire that broke out when unkonwn perpetrators threw Molotov cocktails at the house burnt three people. A two-year-old girl suffered severe burns to more than 85 percent of the body surface and is in a critical condition.

“We do not want the situation to escalate,” Koky said.

He mentioned as an example worth following the behaviour of political tops in Hungary and Slovakia where prime ministes and government members arrive on the spot of conflicts.

“We have police manoevres here and it seems as if politicians of the this country were not here. Where are the Interior Minister, deputies, legislators form the regions,” Koky asked.

“I think that they should have the moral authority to denounce this and say: Not this way,” Koky said.

Outgoing Human Rights and Minorities Minister Kichael Kocab (for the Greens) will arrive in Vitkov today to meet the afflicted family members and the town’s representatives, his spolesowman Lejla Abbasova has told CTK.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark: Victim Known to Police

The victim of the shooting episode in Nørrebro was known to the police.

The man who was shot in the Nørrebro disctrict of Copenhagen yesterday was known to the police but the Head of the Copenhagen Police Anti-Gang Squad Henrik Svindt, while confirming the fact that he was known, has declined to elaborate.

“I cannot comment on how we know him,” Svindt told politiken.dk, but said further information would be available later in the day.

Police spokesmen previously said that the man who was shot was not part of the gang environment, but that he knew people in criminal circles.

Out of danger

The 29-year old man was shot on the corner of Baggesensgade and Blågårdsgade streets in the inner part of Nørrebro early yesterday afternoon. He was hit in his hip, leg and arm. He is said to be of Egyptian origin but was born and raised in Denmark. He works as a teacher and has previously been a teaching assistant at Copenhagen Business School.

According to eye witnesses, the shots were fired from a passing red Yamaha motorbike. The gunman fired a salvo of 10-14 shots, hitting his victim in the hip and legs. The man is said to be in a stable condition.

Commotion at crime scene

Immediately after the shooting episode violent erupted as the victim’s brother began quarrelling with the police. This prompted a group of local residents to break the police cordon and video recordings show how several of them attacked the police who drew their batons and used dogs to keep people at bay.

Svindt says that several witnesses have photos of policemen being hit.

“We have witnesses who are willing to tell about it so that is really positive. But that is an entirely different case,” he says.

Six people were arrested in connection with the commotion. They have been released again.

— Hat tip: TB

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Denmark: Muslims Walk Out of Terrorism Conference

Comments from a member of the Danish People’s Party resulted in Muslim guests walking out in protest from an intelligence agency conference

A number of Muslim attendees walked out of a ‘Terrorism and Communication’ conference hosted by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) today.

Public broadcaster DR reports that the Muslim guests, including an imam, decided to leave the event after Søren Espersen from the Danish People’s Party stood up and said that Islam is one of the world’s problems.

Espersen’s comments came after the head of PET, Jakob Scharf, opened the conference by maintaining that Islam cannot be equated with terrorism. Scharf argued that doing so is almost like running errands for al-Qaeda, because the terror organisation justifies its actions by saying Islam is under attack.

Speakers at the two-day conference include the counterterrorism coordinator from the Egyptian foreign ministry, Ashraf Mohsen; senior advisor from the US Department of Homeland Security, Irfan A. Saeed and former Danish foreign minister, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen.

— Hat tip: TB

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EU-Croatia: Membership Talks Put Back, Slovenia Veto

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, APRIL 23 — The EU presidency has decided to put back Croatia’s membership conference (the meeting where the membership talks take place), which was due to take place tomorrow, since Slovenia is maintaining its right to veto Zagreb’s entry, due to border disputes between the two countries. A statement from the Czech Republic’s presidency of the European Union reports that, “the dispute over the border between Slovenia and Croatia has not yet been resolved and the EU will set a new date for the accession conference as soon as progress has been made on this front.” The government in Ljubljana has used its right to veto the progress for Croatia’s membership negotiations, since it is worried that Zagreb’s possible entry into the EU could affect the resolution of the border conflict which has been unresolved since 1991, when the two countries gained independence. The EU presidency announced that “the three presidencies, the Czech Republic, France and Switzerland, alongside the Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, met with the Slovenian and Croatian authorities yesterday.” The EU went on to renew its support for Rehn’s mediation, and said that it is convinced that “a solution is close at hand.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Far-Right Crimes Up Sharply in Germany

Political crime is on the rise in Germany, and far-right crimes in particular rose 16 percent in 2008, according to new government figures. Part of the increase is a result of new statistical standards, but the numbers on the right include two murders.

The number of far-right crimes recorded in Germany increased by around 16 percent last year to 20,422, with violent crimes up 5.6 percent at 1,113 cases, including two killings, according to figures released by the German government this week.

Far-right crimes accounted for two thirds of all “politically motivated” crimes last year, which reached 31,801 — an increase of 11.4 percent and the highest level since 2001.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said the rise in politically motivated crime was disturbing and swore the government would counter it with a variety of measures against extremism, racism and intolerance.

The two deaths were in eastern Germany — the murder of a 55-year-old homeless man by two men from the far-right scene, and the murder of a 20-year-old art student who was kicked to death after a political argument in a disco.

Part of the increase in far-right crimes is explained by a statistical change that took effect on Jan 1, 2008 when all police forces adopted common standards for recording so-called “propaganda offenses” which include displaying banned symbols such as the Nazi swastika.

But the rise was also driven by a growing far-right youth scene whose members dress like left-wing anarchists, in black-hooded jackets. “They are attracting young people to a greater extent than the conventional far-right scene has been able to so far,” Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said in a statement.

Left-wing politically motivated crimes rose 14.6 percent to 6,724.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Finland: Fundamentalists, Immigrants Spur Higher Birth Rate

The number of births in Finland increased last year, reaching a 15-year high. The birth rate has been slowly rising in Finland over the past few years.

In 2008, nearly 60,000 children were born, which is an increase of 800 births over the previous year, reports Statistics Finland.

Statistics data revealed women are having 1.85 children on average-a figure last seen in 1994. In order for the population to renew itself in the long term, the total fertility rate should be approximately 2.1, according to the agency.

Figures also show that mothers are choosing to have children later in life. On average, the women who gave birth in 2008 were little older than in the previous year. The mean age of all women giving birth rose by one tenth to 30.1 years. The average age of first-time mothers was 28.2 years in 2008.

Finland’s highest birth rate is among members of the Laestadian Lutheran religious sect in Ostrobothnia, western Finland, where one tenth of all the country’s children are born. Immigrant families also tend to have higher birth rates — at least until they fully integrate into Finnish society, reports YLE Radio News.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Finland: Organised Human Smuggling Across Russian Border?

Illegal entry into Finland across the Russian border has increased dramatically in the south-east of the country this year.

At least 18 people have crossed into Finland so far this year, up from 16 unauthorised crossings during all of last year. In addition, the Russian border guard service has reportedly stopped at least 40 attempts to enter Finland from Russia.

“This is a new phenomenon that began this year. Especially men with an Afghan background have tried to get into Finland from Russia. On the basis of interrogations, organised smuggling of people into Finland seems to be involved,” says Lieutenant-Colonel Erkki Matilainen of the Finnish Border Guard.

Those being interrogated have suggested that there are helpers on the other side of the border who take care of matters related to crossing the border — even the equipment.

The Finnish Border Guard has intensified its surveillance of the border in response to the surge.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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France Out of Love With Champagne, Sales -30%

(ANSAmed) — PARIS — Champagne sales crashed by 30% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. A sizeable reduction in stocks and a fall in consumption in Europe explain the decline, unequalled in the last 15 years. According to Daniel Lorson, spokesperson for the inter-professional committee for champagne, “there is a double phenomenon of reduced stocks, together with a fall in consumption in France and abroad”. In fact, sales fell in January and February by 23% in France, 47% in the European Union, and 42% in the rest of the world. Patrick Lebrun, president of the union of wine-growers, put the fall in sales of champagne into context: “These results appear to be very negative because they are being compared with the extremely high levels of 2008. Of course I am concerned, but for the moment, sales are equivalent to those of 2005-2006”.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Germany: Judge Disciplines Suspect for Contempt of Court in Trial of 4 Over German Terror Plot

DUESSELDORF, Germany — A judge ordered disciplinary measures for contempt of court against an Islamic terrorist suspect who went on trial Thursday with three co-defendants on charges of plotting attacks on American targets in Germany.

Adem Yilmaz, 30, refused to stand up during the swearing-in of a translator as the trial opened Wednesday, telling the court: “I only stand up for Allah.” He also refused to stand when the judges entered the courtroom on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Judge Ottmar Breidling ordered two weeks’ detention for Yilmaz that will be added to any possible sentence, calling his actions “provocative disrespect” of the court.

Yilmaz, a Turkish citizen, is being tried along with another Turk and two Germans on charges of plotting to attack U.S. and other targets in Germany ahead of an October 2007 vote by the German parliament on extending German troops’ stay in Afghanistan.

German authorities arrested Yilmaz, 30, along with alleged ringleader Fritz Gelowicz, 29, and Daniel Schneider, 23, at a rented cottage in central Germany on Sept. 4, 2007.

The fourth suspect, 24-year-old Attila Selek, was picked up in Turkey in November 2007 and later extradited to Germany. Selek is a Turkish citizen, while Gelowicz and Schneider are both Germans who converted to Islam.

Prosecutors allege that the group planned car bomb attacks on sites such as pubs, discos and airports, and considered targets in cities including Frankfurt, Dortmund, Duesseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich and Ramstein — where the U.S. military has a large air base — with the aim of killing “as many people as possible.”

All the suspects are accused of being members of the radical Islamic Jihad Union, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. They face charges including membership in a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder.

The charges together carry a 10-year maximum.

Seventeen of the suspects’ relatives were asked to serve as character witnesses, but all declined in protest at the proceedings.

The trial, being held in a high-security courtroom, is scheduled to last at least until the end of August.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Germany: Judge Disciplines Accused in Terror Trial

DUESSELDORF, Germany — A judge ordered disciplinary measures for contempt of court against an Islamic terrorist suspect who went on trial Thursday with three co-defendants on charges of plotting attacks on American targets in Germany.

Adem Yilmaz, 30, refused to stand up during the swearing-in of a translator as the trial opened Wednesday, telling the court: “I only stand up for Allah.” He also refused to stand when the judges entered the courtroom on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Judge Ottmar Breidling ordered two weeks’ detention for Yilmaz that will be added to any possible sentence, calling his actions “provocative disrespect” of the court.

Yilmaz, a Turkish citizen, is being tried along with another Turk and two Germans on charges of plotting to attack U.S. and other targets in Germany ahead of an October 2007 vote by the German parliament on extending German troops’ stay in Afghanistan.

German authorities arrested Yilmaz, 30, along with alleged ringleader Fritz Gelowicz, 29, and Daniel Schneider, 23, at a rented cottage in central Germany on Sept. 4, 2007.

The fourth suspect, 24-year-old Attila Selek, was picked up in Turkey in November 2007 and later extradited to Germany. Selek is a Turkish citizen, while Gelowicz and Schneider are both Germans who converted to Islam.

Prosecutors allege that the group planned car bomb attacks on sites such as pubs, discos and airports, and considered targets in cities including Frankfurt, Dortmund, Duesseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich and Ramstein — where the U.S. military has a large air base — with the aim of killing “as many people as possible.”

All the suspects are accused of being members of the radical Islamic Jihad Union, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. They face charges including membership in a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder.

The charges together carry a 10-year maximum.

Seventeen of the suspects’ relatives were asked to serve as character witnesses, but all declined in protest at the proceedings.

The trial, being held in a high-security courtroom, is scheduled to last at least until the end of August.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Google Street View Wins UK Battle

Britain’s privacy watchdog says Google Street View should not be removed or shut down.

The Information Commissioner’s Office on Thursday rejected a complaint by London-based human rights group Privacy International which had argued that Google’s high-quality photos of houses and streets breached people’s privacy.

The ICO says it would not be in the public interest to remove the service in a world “where many people Tweet, Facebook and blog”.

The agency says it received 74 complaints and inquiries about Street View but argued it caused little privacy intrusion.

Google obscures individuals’ faces and car licence plates by pixilation and removes images on request

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Hamas Leader Fails to Address British Lawmakers

LONDON — An attempt by the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas to make an unprecedented video link address to British lawmakers failed Wednesday following a technical glitch.

Khaled Mashaal, who is living in exile in Syria, had hoped to address a group of parliamentarians as part of a campaign to persuade the West to talk to his party as it seeks peace in the Middle East.

Event organizers had hoped the session could help persuade the U.S. and European governments to review their policy toward Hamas, but were unable to speak to Mashaal when a video link failed.

Claire Short, an independent lawmaker and former Labour Cabinet minister who had tried to arrange the feed, said she would invite Mashaal to address a future meeting in the same way.

About 25 members of the House of Commons and House of Lords had gathered for the session, which was criticized by Britain’s Foreign Office and Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Britain, along with the United States and the European Union, regards Hamas as a terrorist organization and refuses to hold talks with the group. Hamas has held power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it violently seized control and expelled forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who still governs the West Bank.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization. They fire rockets at innocent civilians. They put ordinary Palestinians in harm’s way,” Britain’s Middle East minister, Bill Rammell, said in a statement. “We believe that to talk to Hamas directly at this time would simply undermine those Palestinians who are committed to peace.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said it was “regrettably ironic that a man who could never receive an entry visa to Britain because he is considered a terrorist would have the privilege to address MPs in Parliament, thanks to new technologies.”

British officials said Mashaal would almost certainly be refused entry if he attempted to visit in person.

Responding to Mashaal’s plan to appeal for a new dialogue, several European governments said Tuesday they had no plans to open contacts with Hamas. The U.K., Germany and Italy said there would be no change in policy until Hamas renounced violence and recognized Israel’s right to exist.

But a group of six British lawmakers who met with Mashaal last month in Syria said talks with Hamas could be crucial to winning a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Anyone who genuinely wants to see peace in the Middle East ought to listen to what he has to say, and engage with him — he is a powerful figure” said Lynne Jones, a lawmaker with Britain’s governing Labour Party who traveled to Syria.

British lawmakers have stepped up pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government after it opted last month to reach out to the political wing of the militant group Hezbollah.

London cut contact with the group in 2005 and listed its military arm as a terrorist organization. But British officials have begun meetings with Hezbollah lawmakers aimed at encouraging the group to shun violence.

A channel of the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite channel that is reserved for live satellite broadcasts from various countries carried a broadcast that appeared to be the one Mashaal had intended to give British lawmakers. Addressing his comments to British parliamentarians, Mashaal thanked Short and asked for Europe to play a key role in the peace process.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Italy: Senate Approves Anti-Rape Law

Rome, 22 April (AKI) — The Italian Senate on Wednesday approved a law that introduces tough penalties for rape and makes stalking a crime. A total of 262 senators from the ruling conservative coalition and from opposition parties backed the law, while one senator voted against it and three senators from the libertarian Radical party abstained.

The new law makes murder committed after sexual violence, sexual assault and lewd sexual acts against minors, gang rape and stalking all punishable with life in jail.

Stalking is categorised as a ‘persecutory act’ under the law. It imposes a jailterm of between six and 36 months when the stalking occurred repeatedly and caused the victim anxiety or to fear for their personal safety, or forced them to change their usual habits.

If the stalker’s victim is a child, a pregnant women or is disabled, the penalty is a jailterm of one to six years.

The law also imposes mandatory prison sentences for the crime of reducing individuals to slavery, abducting individuals, prostituting minors, child pornography and paedophile tourism.

Individuals convicted of sexual crimes will also find it harder to get work outside prison or prison leave and be sentenced to community service as an alternative to a jailterm.

Local authorities are also authorised by the law to introduce video-surveillance of public places.

The law gained the backing of senators from the anti-immigrant Northern League party after the government pledged to include several controversial security measures in a separate security bill currently being debated in the lower house of parliament.

These measures include local security patrols in Italian towns and cities by ‘concerned citizens’ and the detention of illegal immigrants in identification centres for up to six months.

Another controversial measure seeks to make illegal immigration a crime, and to oblige doctors and other national health service staff to report to police illegal immigrants who seek medical treatment.

The bill has already been approved by the Senate but ran into difficulty in the lower house of parliament after over 100 MPs from the ruling conservative People of Freedom party opposed the move to oblige health service workers to report illegal immigrants. They claimed it breached basic human rights.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy: Naked Ambition: Politics in the Raw

[Video report]

A new work of art is causing a sensation in Italy — not least because it features the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi as he’s never been painted before. Sky’s Enda Brady explains..

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Netherlands: Ramadan Fallout Leads to Political Crisis in Rotterdam

The right-wing liberal party VVD has quit the Rotterdam local authority over its refusal to sack theologist Tariq Ramadan as adviser.

Swiss-born Tariq Ramadan (46) was hired by Rotterdam in 2007 to help bridge the divide between the city’s Muslim and non-Muslim communities. He is also a guest lecturer at Rotterdam’s Erasmus university.

Last month, the Gay Krant, a newspaper for the homosexual community, accused Ramadan of making homophobic and mysogynistic statements in taped speeches. The VVD promptly demanded that Ramadan be dismissed as city adviser, but it backed down after consultations with coalition party GroenLinks (the Green party). The local authority meanwhile carried out its own investigation of Ramadan’s past statements and concluded that the Gay Krant’s accusations were baseless.

Now, the VVD has decided to quit the Rotterdam city authority over the Ramadan affair. Its two aldermen, Mark Harbers (economy) and Jeannette Baljeu (transportation) gave their resignations on Wednesday evening. Harbers said Ramandan’s views are at odds with “the freedom of its individual to choose his or her own lifestyle”.

— Hat tip: TB

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Netherlands: AIVD: Extreme Left More Dangerous Than Extreme Right

THE HAGUE, 23/04/09 — The AIVD secret service is concerned about far left and Islamic extremism. Conversely, there is scarcely any threat from the extreme right, according to the AIVD annual report on 2008.

The AIVD warns that radical Muslims often wear a mask. The service “has observed in the past year that the well-known Salafist centres (…) express themselves more moderately in public than in closed circles. Outwardly, they try to create the impression of fostering integration of Muslims into Dutch society, while behind closed doors, polarising statements are made that could have a negative effect on society in the longer term.”

In 2008, it also “emerged that Moroccan Muslim youths are radicalising further,” though this is happening “only on a limited scale,” according to AIVD. This is mainly a matter of youngsters who, in a “radical Islamic youth culture,” see a way “of finding a connection with a group that gives them their own identity in Dutch society and a way of acquiring recognition and a positive self-image.”

In the Turkish community as well, “the number of individuals that (…) radicalise to Jihadism is growing.” But “the resistance within the Turkish community to radical Islamic ideologies in general remains great.” All in all, “no danger exists in the short and medium term of large-scale susceptibility to radical religious ideas” within the Turkish community, partly due to “a number of traditional resistance factors (such as Turkish nationalism)” and because of “a lack of a coherent ideology, inadequate organisational capacity and a shortage of leadership” among Turkish Muslim radicals.

For the Somali, Iraqi and Afghan communities in the Netherlands, the discordant situation in their country of origin is “no primary reason for radicalisation in the Diaspora.” In the Iraqi and Afghan communities, “there is practically no question of a breeding-ground for radicalisation,” and they appear to “avoid mutual controversies and confrontations with Dutch society.” Within the Somali community on the other hand, a greater breeding-ground for radicalisation appears to be present. “Noteworthy is that along with this, their marginalised position in Dutch society is of greater importance than the unstable situation in Somalia.”

The AIVD is also concerned about extreme left activism. The service sees an increase in intimidation by animal rights activists in ‘home visits’ to scientists and staff of companies directly or indirectly involved with animal testing. This trend will continue in 2009. AIVD also sees an increase in violent actions against deportations of illegal migrants, increasingly operating in small cells.

Remarkable is the AIVD’s assessment of the Anti-Fascist and Capitalist Archive Collective (KAFKA). KAFKA is regularly cited by Dutch ‘quality media’ as a research institute into rightwing extremism, but its Antifascist Action (AFA) arm is in reality a movement that uses violence to achieve its goals.

“The picture is often evoked of antifascists defending themselves against aggressive rightwing extremists, while the roles are generally reversed.” Especially at extreme-right Netherlands People’s Union (NVU) demonstrations, AFA organises violent counter-demonstrations. They have these “carried out by third parties, such as local antifascists, riot-loving youths and football hooligans.”

AFA has branches throughout the country and the support of a national secretariat. As well as through violence, AFA tries to combat rightwing extremism “by influencing local authorities”. AFA has contacts with foreign kindred spirits, particularly in Germany.

The extreme right remains a pretty powerless movement. “As in previous years, the extreme right environment in the Netherlands remains characterised by fragmentation and splits” and “there is no question of a trend towards extreme right terrorism”.

— Hat tip: TB

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Netherlands: Iranian Family Gets Residence After Suicide Threat

An Iranian man who climbed onto the bridge over the River Waal in Nijmegen last year in protest at his possible deportation has been granted a residence permit after all. His wife and children have also been given permission to stay in the Netherlands.

The man threatened to throw himself off the bridge unless Deputy Justice Minister Nebahat Albayrak was prepared to talk to him about his rejected asylum application. Eventually the man was persuaded to climb down.

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service has now ruled the family can stay in the Netherlands after an investigation into whether they have really converted to Christianity. In Iran, Muslims who convert to another religion can face the death penalty. The man fled Iran with his wife two years ago.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Netherlands: Study Reveals Primary School Segregation

The Knowledge Centre for Mixed Schools says one third of primary schools do not reflect the ethnic backgrounds of their local communities. The observation is based on a survey of over 2,000 primary schools in nearly 40 municipal districts. The centre will present its report to Deputy Education Minister Sharon Dijksma on Wednesday.

The centre, which promotes desegregation in education and is subsidised by the education ministry, believes that schools should reflect the ethnic and social make-up of their areas. It says research shows that this is not the case in one third of all primary schools. They have mostly either immigrant or Dutch-background pupils, while their local areas are much more diverse.

The centre describes the results of its research as shocking, pointing out that the children are not learning to get along with people from other nationalities and religions. The cities with the worst results according to the survey were Lelystad, Leiden and Almelo.

The study reflects ongoing concerns about the degree of ethnic segregation in Dutch schools, caused by ethnically Dutch parent’s opting to send their children to schools where the pupils have a similar background to their own, even if the school is outside their neighbourhood. This has led to the intake at schools in some neighbourhoods becoming dominated by pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds. Such schools are officially termed “black schools”.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Netherlands: Minister Urges Public to Take Evidence Photos

Dutch Interior Minister Guusje ter Horst is calling on people who witness violence against public employees to take photos of the incident on their mobile phones. She hopes the pictures could serve as prosecution evidence. Research shows that at least 20 percent of the public have witnessed aggression or violence against police officers, ambulance staff or other public servants.

The minister made the appeal during a debate in parliament on the issue on Tuesday. She stressed that public employees, such as social benefits staff, were within their rights to refuse to deal with members of the public who behave aggressively towards them.

Ms ter Horst says it is important that people do something if they witness incidents of violence. She was echoing comments made by Amsterdam police chief Bernard Welten, who said that members of the public could do more to protect officers doing their duty.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Netherlands: Parliament Approves Imam as Army Chaplain

The Dutch parliament has approved the appointment of a controversial imam as a chaplain to the armed forces. A motion calling for his appointment to be cancelled was defeated by 70 votes to 69. Voting in favour of the motion were the Christian Democrats, the conservative VVD, the small rightwing SGP, Geert Wilders’ PVV and Rita Verdonk’s party.

Imam Ali Eddaoudi is regarded as controversial because of his remark about Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende being “less worthy than a doormat” and his claim that Christians are still at war with Islam. Many MPs argued that someone with views like this should not be working for the armed forces. Mr Eddaoudi, who has now distanced himself from his earlier remarks, has in the past also been critical of Muslims.

The position of the Christian Democrats MPs was unusual, since they were opposing the stance taken by their own deputy defence minister Jack de Vries, who has consistently backed the imam. Questioned about his disagreement with his own party, Mr De Vries said that, “after a double check,” he still considered Mr Eddaoudi the right man for the job.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Paris and Rome Mayors in Salute Row

Italy demands immediate apology for Fascism accusation

(ANSA) — Rome, April 23 — Italy on Thursday demanded an immediate apology from Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe after he accused Rome’s right-wing mayor Gianni Alemanno of taking part in a Fascist salute.

The spat between the two mayors, whose cities have been twinned since 1957, broke when socialist Delanoe addressed an audience of young members of Italy’s opposition Democratic Party (PD) in Paris.

“It will be difficult for me to have the same relationship I used to have with (Rome’s former left-wing mayors Francesco) Rutelli and (Walter) Veltroni with a mayor who made his debut… with a Fascist salute,” Delanoe told an audience that included PD leader Dario Franceschini.

Delanoe was apparently referring to an incident last April when extremists hailed Alemanno as ‘Duce’ and gave him the Roman Fascist salute of Benito Mussolini following his election as mayor.

Alemanno, who was quick to distance himself from the extremists at the time, hit back at Delanoe’s remarks, describing them as “false, offensive and intolerable”.

“He offends not only me but also the city of Rome,” said the mayor, who came to power last year in a surprise victory over PD candidate and former mayor Rutelli.

Alemanno called on the Italian ambassador in France to clarify the matter, and said he hoped “the entire Italian political world” would condemn Delanoe’s comments.

GOVT MINISTERS CALL FOR APOLOGY.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and European Union Affairs Minister Andrea Ronchi responded to Alemanno’s appeal in a joint note calling for an immediate apology.

“The mayor of Rome has never made a Roman salute or other gestures or acts that celebrate Fascism. The mayor of Paris has spoken falsely,” they said.

Alemanno was formerly a leader of the neofascist Italian Social Movement (MSI) youth federation, which later became the more moderate National Alliance and moved into the political mainstream.

The party disbanded in March to merge with Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party.

House Speaker and former National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini, who was responsible for steering the party away from its neofascist roots, described Delanoe’s remarks as an “outrageous mistake deriving either from bad information or, worse still, political exploitation”.

While the Paris mayor’s press office said the twinning of the two capitals would remain in place, Delanoe in January said he was “in no hurry” to organise his first meeting with Rome’s mayor.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Slovenia: Ljubljana Street to be Renamed After Tito

(ANSAmed) — LJUBLJANA, APRIL 21 — Local authorities in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, have decided to rename one of the main streets in the city after Tito, the former leader of communist Yugoslavia who is still popular in Slovenia and other countries of the former Federation. The decision to rename the road was made last night with 24 votes in favour and four against, with the Democratic Party (SDS — centre-right) abstaining out of protest against the ballot. The leader of the SDS, Dimitri Kovacic, emphasised that such a decision ignores the views of many Slovenians who are against the measure and say that it is an affront to the memory of the victims of the communist regime. The mayor of Ljubljana, Zoran Jankovic, has defended the decision saying that in a recent survey, 60% of the capital’s population said they are in favour of the commemoration. “Historical facts can be interpreted in different ways, but that should not stand in the way of naming streets after historically significant people”, he noted. The centre-right opposition has, however, presented the mayor with a list of 5,094 signatures from citizens who say that neither Ljubljana nor Slovenia need a street named after Tito. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Authorities Investigate Sale of Kidneys Online

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 20 — The public prosecutor’s office in Seville has opened an investigation into a man who put one of his kidneys on sale on the Internet for 100,000 euros to verify if the ad is hiding possible organ trafficking, reported legal sources cited today by Europa Press. In the ad, published on an online sales site, the alleged seller identifies himself as a 40-year old man, living in Seville, 1.62 metres tall, 65kg, non-smoker, and also posted his blood type. He announced that he was selling one of his kidneys for 100,000 euros, although he did not specify if he was planning to sell his organ for a transplant. Although the ad does not constitute a crime, legal authorities have opened an investigation to verify if organ trafficking could somehow be linked to the ad. For new Health Minister, Trinidad Jimenez, this is an “isolated case” of a practice that is “absolutely prohibited” in Spain, which he confirmed in statements to a national radio station. But there are many Internet sites in various Spanish cities, which, according to Spanish daily, Publico, announce kidneys for sale, due mostly to people who need to collect money to pay mortgages. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain Approves Embryo Selection to Avoid Cancer

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 22 — The National Commission for Assisted Reproduction has, for the first time in Spain, approved genetic selection in embryos to avoid cancer. Specifically, sources in the Healthcare Ministry told Ansamed that the genetic selection for embryos that do not have genes that are linked to two types of cancer (breast and thyroid) has been authorised. Until now, this technique was only authorised for hereditary illnesses with a 100% certainty of developing, or in the recent case of little Javier, a child born after a genetic selection to cure his 7-year old brother Andres, who had thalassemia major, with a bone marrow transplant. Now genetic selection is being extended to diseases like cancer, which may or may not be inherited. The only previous cases until now, have taken place in the United Kingdom. Embryonic selection was authorised for a Catalonian couple so they could have a child without the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which can lead to a very aggressive form of breast cancer, which affects 16,000 in Spain every year, with 10% of the cases being inherited, and 90% occurring by chance. The decision of the commission also regards a couple that wants to prevent their child from developing genetically-induced thyroid cancer. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spanish Princess and Family Moving to Washington

MADRID — Spain’s Royal Palace says Princess Cristina and her family are moving to Washington, D.C., because her husband has accepted a job there with telecommunications company Telefonica.

The 43-year-old princess is the second of King Juan Carlos’ and Queen Sofia’s three children.

Telefonica said Thursday that her husband 41-year-old Inaki Urdangarin has been a board member at its Telefonica Internacional unit since 2006 and accepted a job with the company in Washington.

The couple have three sons and a daughter ranging in age from 3 to 9 and live in Barcelona.

Telefonica says they are expected to move to Washington this summer and stay for at least two years.

Princess Cristina is third in line to the throne after her younger brother Crown Prince Felipe and elder sister Princess Elena.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Sweden: Protesters Arrested at Malmö Anti-Iran Demo

Several people were arrested by police at a demonstration against the Iranian regime held in Malmö on Thursday morning.

A group of demonstrators began to gather outside Katrinelunds Folkets Hus in Malmö at around 8am this morning and around 20 police officers were deployed to monitor the situation.

The protest was directed against the Iranian regime and against embassy staff visiting the city to give “consular assistance” to an Iranian citizen.

The demonstrators argued however that the embassy staff were in Malmö to spy on Iranian refugees and their families in Sweden and to develop an “Iranian spy network” in the country.

The demonstrators called on Sweden to take a tougher official stance on Iran and the alleged activities of the embassy staff.

When the embassy personnel arrived at the address chaos broke out, according to news agency TT. Several demonstrators attempted to prevent the staff from entering the building.

When several of the demonstrators broke through the police cordon they were arrested.

The visit from the Iranian embassy is planned to continue into Friday. A similar visit in Gothenburg last month was met with similar, although somewhat calmer, demonstrations.

— Hat tip: CB

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Sweden: Prison for Prosecutor Bomb Attack

Two men suspected of planting a bomb which exploded on the front steps of prosecutor Barbro Jönsson’s home were found guilty on Wednesday and each sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

The two men from Malmö, Arabzadeh Mohammad Abadi, 25, and Moayed Abedi, 24, were convicted of devastation endangering the public as well as threatening a public servant.

The two men were also ordered to pay 158,000 kronor ($18,800) in damages and interest to Jönsson, who has since moved and transferred to a new job that also involves prosecuting gang crime.

Prosecutor Urban Svenkvist argued that the two placed the bomb on orders from the Brödraskapet Wolfpack (‘Wolfpack Brotherhood’) criminal gang.

Jönsson had been involved in several cases tied to the gang prior to the bombing.

When the bomb ripped apart her front door if her home in Trollhättan in western Sweden in November 2007, she was set to charge six men, all of whom had ties to Brödraskapet Wolfpack.

On her way to work at the time of the blast, Jönsson was not injured in the attack.

The charges were being filed in connection with a shooting at the apartment of a witness who had dared to testify against the gang.

The primary suspect in the witness shooting was eventually sentenced to five and a half years in prison.

The bombing of Jönsson’s home received a great deal of media attention in Sweden, where it is seen as an attack against democratic values and a sign of the rise in organized crime in the country.

The prosecutor in the case withdrew the charge of attemped murder after it was proven that Ahad and Ashkan had ensured that Jönsson had left her home before they set off the bomb.

He had called for eight years in prison for the accused.

Defence lawyers for the two men said they planned to appeal the verdict.

Gang crimes are on the rise in southern Sweden and neighbouring Denmark.

According to media, there are around 1,000 active gang members in Sweden.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Swedish Terror Suspect Worked for Al-Qaeda: Prosecutors

As the trial of a Swedish citizen facing terror charges began in New York on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that the man planned to set up an Al-Qaeda terrorist training camp in the United States.

Ousama Kassir was extradited to the United States in September 2007 from Prague, where he was jailed after his arrest in 2005 during a stopover while flying from Sweden to Lebanon.

“This case concerns a global conspiracy that takes place down here in the United States,” assistant US attorney Michael Farbiarz told judge John Keenan in the US district court in Manhattan.

Kassir, 43, is charged with conspiring with others to set up a “jihad” (holy war) camp in Oregon, in the northwest United States, that would offer military weapons training for Muslims interested in fighting in Afghanistan.

Kassir declared his innocence when he was charged last year, and his lawyer on Tuesday said his client had “a big mouth,” but was not a criminal.

Kassir arrived in the United States in 1999 and spent a year at an Oregon ranch, imparting religious teachings at a Seattle mosque before returning to Europe, according to the prosecution.

“You are going to see a knife that he used for training at the ranch,” Farbiarz told the jury as Kassir, in a red tunic, listened through an interpreter.

“You will see the bomb making manuals and the poison making manuals,” he added.

Farbiarz said next week he would call James Ujaama, a former activist from Seattle who has admitted supporting the Al-Qaeda network and is now a witness for the prosecution.

Kassir allegedly admitted before witnesses he supported Al-Qaeda and its boss Osama bin Laden.

The US government also accused Kassir of being a follower of Egyptian Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, currently jailed in Britain for inciting to violence.

“He did it for Abu Hamza, he did it for Al-Qaeda, he did it for Jihad,” Farbiarz said.

Defense lawyer Mark DeMarco denied the charges, and said his client was not a terrorist.

“He is certainly not a terrorist, he is certainly not a member of Al-Qaeda,” said DeMarco.

He asked the jury for “a fair trial.”

The trial is expected to last at least four weeks. Kassir could face life in prison if found guilty.

Kassir was born in Lebanon and has Swedish citizenship.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Switzerland: Puzzle Over Sick Woman Abandoned in Bushes

A seriously ill woman is being cared for after being found abandoned in bushes outside a hospital in northeastern Switzerland. The identity of the woman is unknown and police have launched an appeal for information.

Münsterlingen hospital said the woman, who is aged between 40 and 55, is believed to have been left in its car park on Monday night.

The hospital’s personnel manager discovered the woman rolled up inside a blanket, with a bag of women’s clothes beside her.

It is believed she could be suffering from cancer or a chronic infection and would have been incapable of making it to the hospital on her own.

The emaciated woman has been too weak to communicate with the authorities and her identity and nationality are not known.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Switzerland: Anti-Racism Meeting a “Foreseeable Disgrace”

The Swiss press has condemned anti-Israel comments by Iran’s president at a meeting in Geneva, while showing little patience with Switzerland’s position. On Monday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted Israel as “a totally racist” regime on the opening day of the contentious United Nations racism summit in Geneva, prompting a walkout. The Swiss representative stayed seated.

The incident brought the Geneva conference closer to repeating the controversy of the UN’s first anti-racism meeting in Durban, South Africa, eight years ago.

Several European states, as well as Canada, Israel and New Zealand, had pulled out of the conference before it began.

“The anti-Semitic speech of Iranian President Ahmadinejad is an open appeal to racial hatred, a mockery of the values as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, wrote Jürg Müller in the Bern paper, Der Bund.

“He is the most prominent representative of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes… The Geneva conference will provide representatives of those countries with a platform to fight for rights that they themselves oppress.”

The Blick tabloid, Switzerland’s largest circulation daily, lambasted what it called “the foreseeable disgrace of Geneva”.

“Picture of hatred” was its caption to a picture of Ahmadinejad. “The agitator of Tehran rages against Israel. The anti-racism conference was over before it started.”

Ahmadinejad’s speech had sparked protests from pro-Israeli students in the audience, who donned coloured wigs and red noses, prompting diplomats from several European governments to walk out. Switzerland’s representative, Dante Martinelli, stayed.

“Martinelli could have actually stood up,” the Blick wrote. “Or should have.”

The Berner Zeitung ran a headline reading “Hate speech: Swiss delegates stay in the hall”.

“He did not move” La Tribune de Genève also had critical words for the Swiss ambassador over his decision to hear out Ahmadinejad’s address.

“Last night, the disillusionment was clear on diplomats’ faces,” commented the newspaper.

“What can be retained from the day is the blow by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the powerlessness of the European Union in finding a common position on human rights and Switzerland’s indecision.”

Other newspapers found the entire affair regrettable, including the days leading up to the conference.

“Again, official Switzerland stands in the rain,” wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in reference to a meeting on Sunday evening between Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz and Ahmadinejad.

“The unabated unspeakable comments by the Iranian president at the conference seem to have proven its critics right,” it added, but said the Swiss government had “quite a few good arguments” for hosting the conference. It said it was better for “sinners” to be represented in Geneva, so that they could be addressed.

“No choirboy” Berner Zeitung commentator Stefan Geissbühler argued, albeit with a lengthy caveat, that the meeting was justified.

“Of course Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is no choirboy. Of course it is absolutely unacceptable that he denies the Holocaust and Israel’s right to exist,” he wrote.

Switzerland has been representing Washington’s interests in Tehran since 1980 and plays a diplomatic role, Geissbühler reminded readers. “Only with dialogue can hardened conflicts like the one between Iran and the US be solved. This also applies for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

The French-language daily, Le Temps, agreed that despite the conference’s rough start, channels of dialogue needed to remain open.

“By pulling out, these various western states have mistaken the mission of multilateral organisations. As imperfect as they are, the UN remains a necessary multilateral fortress for dialogue. That was the place to respond to Ahmadinejad,” ran its editorial.

But commentator Luciano Ferrari in the Tages-Anzeiger wrote that the invitation granted for Ahmadinejad to speak was a mistake. His headline read: “Naïve and preposterous”.

“Will be remembered” “Two scenes from the Geneva UN conference against racism will be remembered,” Ferrari wrote. “The welcome of the Iranian president by the frivolous friendly smiling Swiss president, Hans-Rudolf Merz, and on the other hand, the appearance of Tehran at the UN lectern not 24 hours later, in which he unleashed hate speech against Israel and Zionism.”

“Swiss diplomacy has learned nothing from the last disgrace,” Ferrari wrote, referring to the last high profile encounter between the two countries. In 2008, Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey donned a headscarf for a meeting with Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

The Fribourg-based La Liberté was not ready to write off the conference just yet. It asked: “How will the rest of the Geneva conference evolve?”

“Western countries have succeeded in erasing all references to Israel from the final declaration. Last Friday, some of them were even saying that Iran had lost the battle. After Monday, nothing is certain anymore.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Terrorism: Islamists Threaten Terror Attacks in Germany

Berlin, 22 April (AKI) — The Al-Qaeda linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan on Wednesday released a video threatening the “criminal” German government and citizens of the Jewish faith, according to German media.

In the video, the third released this year, shows a man identified as “Commander Mohammad”, who criticises the presence of German troops in Afghanistan.

The man accuses “the sons of Germany of being in the service of the Jews” unlike “Granddad Hitler”.

Investigators believe the video’s release may be linked to a major Islamist terrorism trial which opened on Wednesday at a high-security court in the northwestern German city of Duesseldorf .

In the trial, three Germans and one Turkish national are accused of planning a series of simultaneous bomb attacks against discos and pubs and the United States airbase in Ramstein and against Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

Two of the German suspects are converts to Islam while the third is a German citizen of Turkish descent. They face charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation, plotting murder, and conspiracy to conduct a bomb attack.

The trial is expected to last one to two years. If the defendants are found guilty, they could face prison terms of up to 15 years.

Prosecutors claimed the men were planning to use about 10 times as much explosives as were used in the deadly July 2005 attacks on London transport that killed 56 people and injured thousands.

The plot was at an advanced stage and the attacks could have killed over 50 people, according to police.

Around 300 German federal agents were involved in monitoring the cell for several months, before police swooped in on the group in what was one of Germany’s biggest anti-terror operations to date.

Three of the defendants were arrested in the Germany’s western Sauerland region and the fourth was arrested in Turkey and extradited to Germany in November last year.

Prosecutors say the four men belong to a little-known group called the Islamic Jihad Union with roots in Uzbekistan and ties to Al-Qaeda.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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UK: BNP Leader Defends Policy on Race

British National Party (BNP) chairman Nick Griffin has defended a party leaflet which says that black Britons and Asian Britons “do not exist”.

The BNP’s “Language and Concepts Discipline Manual” says the term used should be “racial foreigners”.

In a BBC interview, Mr Griffin said to call such people British was a sort of “bloodless genocide” because it denied indigenous people their own identity.

Mr Griffin is standing in the European Parliament elections in June.

‘Politically correct fiction’

The BNP manual, leaked to the anti-fascist group Searchlight and seen by the BBC, says that “BNP activists and writers should never refer to ‘black Britons’ or ‘Asian Britons’ etc, for the simple reason that such persons do not exist”.

“These people are ‘black residents’ of the UK etc, and are no more British than an Englishman living in Hong Kong is Chinese.

“Collectively, foreign residents of other races should be referred to as ‘racial foreigners’, a non-pejorative term… The key in such matters is above all to maintain necessary distinctions while avoiding provocation and insult.”

The manual describes the BNP’s “ultimate aim” as the “lawful, humane and voluntary repatriation of the resident foreigners of the UK”.

Commenting on the leaflet’s content, Mr Griffin told The Report on Radio 4 that although “in civic terms they are British, British also has a meaning as an ethnic description”.

“We don’t subscribe to the politically correct fiction that just because they happen to be born in Britain, a Pakistani is a Briton. They’re not; they remain of Pakistani stock.

“You can’t say that especially large numbers of people can come from the rest of the world and assume an English identity without denying the English their own identity, and I would say that’s wrong,” he added.

“In a very subtle way, it’s a sort of bloodless genocide.”

‘Delighted’

Mr Griffin was also candid about the significance the BNP places on the slogan “British jobs for British workers”.

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown famously used the phrase in a speech about skills training.

Mr Griffin claimed the prime minister borrowed the rhetoric from his party.

“When I heard Gordon Brown use our slogan — British jobs for British workers — I was delighted,” he said.

“What Mr Brown actually meant when he said British jobs for British workers is of course down to Mr Brown.

“But there’s no doubt that it was perceived — and was intended to be perceived — by millions of ordinary Brits as meaning that they would be at the front of the queue in front of economic migrants from anywhere else in the world.”

“So having raised our slogan, promised it, we feel that he’s legitimised our message.”

‘Pernicious’

Hazel Blears, secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, said she rejected Mr Griffin’s charge that the prime minister’s use of the phrase represents an endorsement of BNP policy.

“I certainly regret the fact that the BNP could be using language we’ve used in order to legitimise what I regard as divisive, pernicious policies which will actually do working class people no good at all,” she said.

“What I don’t regret is the fact that we need to have a proper discussion in this country about making sure that British people have a chance to get the skills, the education, to be able to get the jobs of the future.”

The “British jobs for British workers” slogan was widely repeated during the BNP’s recent council by-election campaign in Moston in Manchester, where the party’s candidate, local publican Derek Adams, came second.

Moston is in the North West region, where the BNP hopes its supporters will elect Mr Griffin as the party’s first MEP in the European Parliamentary elections on 4 June. Nominations close on 7 May.

Under the proportional representation system used in European elections, the BNP would need around 9% of the vote; in the last elections the party won 6.4%.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: It’s Cat Stevens at the Mike But It’s Islam Holding Court

Yusuf Islam jokingly complains that the building he grew up in, on Shaftesbury Avenue in Soho, has not yet been awarded a distinctive blue plaque by English Heritage — unlike the former homes of hundreds of other British luminaries.

“I think they’re trying to decide what name it should go under. They’re waiting for me to change it again,” he says. It’s a fair point: should a plaque celebrate the life of Yusuf Islam? Or Cat Stevens? Should it also include Steven Demetre Georgiou, as this singer and songwriter was named at birth?

Fortunately for Islam, the plaques are commemorative; the figure in question must have been dead 20 years. But his music did die — for 28 years until the release of An Other Cup in 2006. That was his first album as Yusuf Islam, the name he assumed in 1977 when he converted to Islam and turned his back on his music career — auctioning off his guitars and mostly devoting himself to Islamic philanthropy. But An Other Cup was not a one-off: next month, Islam will release Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night). In this the acoustic guitar plays a much greater role and while many of the lyrics belie the sensitivities of a religious man wary of public judgment, Cat Stevens is definitely sharing the microphone.

Islam is holding sway in the “Red Room” in his offices in West London. A quilted canopy is strung from the ceiling and the walls are painted cherry red in a nod to the room in the flat in Soho, where he wrote many of his biggest hits — Father And Son, Wild World and Lady D’Arbanville among them. Islam carries his 61 years well — 30 years of clean living compare him favourably with haggard contemporaries such as Ronnie Wood.

Islam is a living dichotomy: the beard is long and grey and the suit is comfy-looking brown corduroy but the hairstyle, with a Liam Gallagher-esque short fringe, is too funky not to hail from an expensive salon. He is deeply religious, talking humbly of the power of God, but there are traces of the ego that comes with selling 60 million records.

While he looks like a spiritual teacher, he is still an old hippie who mangles his metaphors and has a tendency to waffle — much better as singer than orator.

Islam’s 23-year-old son, Mohammed, triggered his return to music. He had had no urge to play until he picked up a guitar brought home by Islam junior, an aspiring musician.

“He’s been a great source of inspiration and support,” Islam says. “It was his great creative idea [behind] the [track] listing. I couldn’t put the songs together; I was driving myself mad. He’s amazing, he really advises me.”

Islam was so encouraged by the response to An Other Cup that he decided to do another album. “It was really fantastic to return to doing what I do best: communication and writing and speaking from my heart, rather than having people interpret or misread or dilute what I’m saying. I can go straight through the record to reach people, which is what I wanted to do.”

How his words are interpreted is a sore point, evident in the lyrics of at least two songs on Roadsong. He has twice successfully sued for libel — once last year for an accusation that he did not speak to unveiled women, and once relating to claims that he supported terrorism. There was the storm in 1989 that followed his alleged support for the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. He has since alternated between admitting that he made comments in “bad taste” relating to putting Rushdie to death, and claiming innocence in the affair. But the ultimate indignity, which at least “gives me something to write about”, was his highly publicised deportation from the US in 2004. He says he was never given a reason.

The album’s title track, Roadsong, brings together the best of Islam’s whimsical lyricism, with rich acoustic guitar and orchestral layers. It speaks of isolation. In Everytime I Dream, the music is soulful and bluesy, with a thwanging double bass, and the theme of truth-seeking creeps in; he depicts himself as “running from a wild pack of lies”. Islam’s attempt at worldly depth falls flat, however, in one of his self-described favourites, All Kinds Of Roses. It starts: “All kinds of roses grown in my garden/All kinds of creatures run on my land/All kinds of children run in my yard” and continues thus without let-up. It is a grating and surprisingly amateur-sounding anomaly from this master.

Three of the tracks came out of the development for Islam’s other upcoming project: a musical of his work, titled Moonshadow. Though the gentle, earnest voice is still there — perhaps a semitone lower with age — they tackle dark issues. The Rain, which Islam wrote in 1968 but never recorded, is based on Noah and the great flood. Was he thinking of modern events when he decided to include it? “The flood can be the overwhelming material view of existence which you’ve got to drown. You’ve got to survive this and the only way is through a divine vehicle.”

He is a little nervous about performing again, but hopes to tour internationally. “It’s my dream to go back to Australia and to New Zealand [where] I’ve never visited. I want that to happen.”

So Islam is back, talking of his great loves: a benevolent God, family and, most importantly, his music. If he sticks to these messages, a blue plaque may be just one of many positive legacies.

Yusuf Islam’s album Roadsinger will be released on May 8 by Universal.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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UK: No 10’s Venezuelan ‘Workie’ Could Write Next Budget

Start tightening your belts. The woman Gordon Brown has lined up to write the next Budget is not at all happy about projected public sector borrowing.

Daniela Oliveros, a 23-year-old from Venezuela, was one of a number of young people called to question the Prime Minister about his £1.2 billion youth jobs package when he kicked off his post-Budget roadshow at the Prince’s Trust London offices this morning.

Still holding the microphone after Mr Brown’s reply, Ms Oliveros decided to sneak in an extra question. She explained to the Prime Minister that she had a real interest in British politics and needed to arrange a two-week work placement. “I was wondering if your office would be willing to offer me the opportunity?”

“How can I refuse!” replied Mr Brown. “Let’s sort it out.”

After a series of earnest questions to the Prime Minister and James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, the cheekiness of the request prompted a round of laughter. As Ms Oliveros sat down in her front-row seat, Mr Brown leant towards her and added: “I look forward to that. You can write the next Budget.”

After the meeting, Ms Oliveros told The Times that she came to Britain four years ago to learn English and stayed after getting married to a UK citizen. This month she started a 12-week personal development course in Newham, East London, run for the Prince’s Trust, a charity which tries to develop young people’s confidence.

Without it, she admitted, she might never have had the confidence in her heavily-accented English to ask the Prime Minister for a job. “I would have let the opportunity pass,” she said.

Ms Oliveros said the Prime Minister approached her after this morning’s Q&A and promised to set her placement up, although she has been warned that she might not be able to work at No 10.

But Mr Brown might want to reconsider his offer to let her write the next Budget speech after the Chancellor’s announcement yesterday that public sector borrowing would balloon to £175 billion in the current financial year and national debt hit £1.4 trillion over the next five years — as long as growth forecasts are realised.

Ms Oliveros said she did not see how Mr Brown was going to be able to restore confidence in the economy and was worried that the levels of government borrowing over the next few years would leave Britain facing the kind of problems Japan faced during its “Lost Decade” in the 1990s.

“If you keep borrowing, you’re giving the wrong example to people. You’ve got to come out with alternatives. Some people might have to suffer but it will actually benefit our future grandchildren,” she said.

“I’m very worried about the national debt. I’m worried that the Government is being over-optimistic when we really are in trouble.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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4 Serbs Found Guilty of Kosovo Massacre

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer Dusan Stojanovic, Associated Press Writer — Thu Apr 23, 12:10 pm ET

BELGRADE, Serbia — A war crimes court on Thursday found four Serbian former policemen guilty of the massacre of 48 Kosovo Albanians and sentenced them to up to 20 years in prison.

The Serbian court’s judges said the victims of the worst single massacre of civilians during the 1998-99 Kosovo war included 14 children, two infants, a pregnant woman and a 100-year-old woman.

After a three-year trial, two of the men were sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in jail, one to 15 years and another to 13 years. All the defendants had denied the charges. Three other men also charged with the killings were found not guilty.

In Serbia, the very fact that the trial was held marked a shift in public policy, as Serbs who fought separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are still revered by many here as war heroes.

The Serb war crimes prosecutors, however, said they would appeal the verdicts, especially because the prime suspect — the commander of the special police unit that carried out the massacre — was acquitted Thursday.

“We cannot be satisfied with the verdict,” said Bruno Vekaric, the spokesman for the prosecution. “Justice has not been carried out.”

The verdict said the defendants rounded up members of one Kosovo Albanian family in their village of Suva Reka in March 1999, killing several men with machine-gun fire before forcing the rest into a pizza restaurant and throwing hand-grenades at them.

Those showing any signs of life were shot in the head and the bodies were transported to a mass grave in Kosovo, where they were initially dumped. One woman lived to tell the story as she played dead before jumping from a truck packed with corpses.

The victims were later reburied in mass graves near a high security police facility outside Belgrade, the Serbian capital, as former President Slobodan Milosevic apparently tried to hide atrocities committed by his troops in Kosovo. Autopsies showed the victims were executed.

Pressure from human rights groups prompted Belgrade to launch an investigation to determine who was to blame for the Suva Reka massacre. More than 100 witnesses, including Kosovo Albanians, were questioned during the trial.

War crimes trials became possible in Serbia after Milosevic was ousted in 2000. The ex-president died in 2006 while on trial for genocide at a U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Kosovo declared independence last year, something Serbia refuses to recognize.

Kosovo’s government welcomed the verdict, but urged Serbia’s authorities to pursue justice in other cases of crimes committed against ethnic Albanians during the Kosovo war.

“We welcome every court and justice decision that will shed light to the atrocities committed in Kosovo during the war,” said Memli Krasniqi, spokesman for Kosovo’s government. “Nevertheless, we feel that this should not cease with one case. We believe that justice need to be done in more than a dozen other cases that remain.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Amnesty: NATO Bombing of Serbian TV ‘War Crime’

BELGRADE, Serbia — An international human rights group demanded Thursday that NATO be held accountable for civilian casualties in the bombing of Serbia’s state television headquarters a decade ago, calling the attack a “war crime.”

Sixteen civilians were killed and 16 others injured during the attack on April 23, 1999, on the headquarters and studios of Radio Television Serbia in central Belgrade.

Amnesty International called on NATO and its member states to ensure independent investigations, full accountability and redress for victims and their families.

A NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with standing regulations, said the U.N.’s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had already assessed those allegations and found the alliance had no case to answer.

“The ICTY has looked into this. They did not accept Amnesty’s arguments at the time,” the official said. “The accusations have been dealt with.”

At the time of the bombing, NATO officials said the TV headquarters was a legitimate target because of the station’s relentless war propaganda that contributed to the ethnically-inspired bloodshed in the Balkans.

The bombing was a part of a 78-day air-raid campaign against then-President Slobodan Milosevic to halt his onslaught against Kosovo Albanian separatists in the former Serbian province.

“The bombing of the headquarters of Serbian state radio and television was a deliberate attack on a civilian object and as such constitutes a war crime,” Sian Jones, Amnesty International’s Balkans expert, said in a statement.

“Even if NATO genuinely believed RTS was a legitimate target, the attack was disproportionate and hence a war crime,” Jones said.

The families of the victims gathered in front of the bombed TV headquarters early Thursday to demand why there was no advance warning that the attack would occur.

They believe top Serbian TV officials deliberately sacrificed their staff for propaganda purposes, even though they knew the building would be attacked.

Amnesty International said in the statement that NATO officials confirmed that no specific warning of the attack was given, even though they knew many civilians would be in the RTS building.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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New Appointment in Euromediterranean Assembly

(ANSAmed) — ANCONA, APRIL 22 — President of the Marches Region, Gian Mario Spacca, was appointed a member of ARLEM, the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, last night during a meeting of the EU Regional Committee. The appointment will be made official tomorrow during an ambassador’s meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean. Spacca’s appointment follows that of Marialuisa Coppola, councilwoman for international relations and cooperation for development of the Veneto, chosen last week as a member of the group that will hold its inaugural session on May 14 at the EU Regional Committee headquarters in Brussels. With the addition of ARLEM, explained a statement from the Marches, a particularly large macro-region, which goes from Morocco to Turkey, passing through the Balkans and the UE countries has been created. “This is another tangible step in the direction of the Mediterranean, which we have requested for some time,” said Spacca, “a changing awareness of European policy that cannot have its centre of gravity in the Baltic, considering the current composition of the EU.” The president underlined the interest that the Marches has always demonstrated regarding these issues, especially the development of relations between the two coasts facing the Adriatic Sea. The secretary of the Adriatic-Ionic initiative, not by chance, is located in the Marches in Ancona. “A role,” he added, “that is destined to become a priority since starting in June the presidency of the Adriatic-Ionic initiative will be handed over from Greece to Italy.” Created on the request of the Regional Committee as a permanent platform for dialogue, exchange, and cooperation, ARLEM, the official agency of the Union for the Mediterranean, was strongly desired by Nicholas Sarkozy during the French presidency of the EU. In July of 2008 in Paris, the heads of state and government set the objective of re-founding the Barcelona Process, aiming at roles for regional and local groups, and not only on a purely intergovernmental model of cooperation. The countries are now committed to identifying concrete cooperation projects in the Mediterranean on diverse issues, to build a shared space for peace, stability, prosperity, and human rights. Therefore, regional projects can embrace all fields, from the economy to culture. ARELM consists of 30 members of the Regional Committee, from the 17 partner countries of the Mediterranean: Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, the PNA, Monaco, and Montenegro. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Universities: Croatia, Students Demand Free Education

(ANSAmed) — ZAGREB, APRIL 22 — For the third day in a row, around a thousand students are occupying the Literature and Philosophy faculty buildings at the university in Zagreb. The students are demanding that university education in the country be completely free of charge. The occupation of the faculties, carried out by a group of students calling themselves the ‘Initiative for the Right to Free Education’, has become a subject of great interest to the public, since it is the first example of student activism ever in the country. Unions, many lecturers and student associations have backed the peaceful protest. Another occupation was organised yesterday in Zara, Dalmatia. In Croatia around half of the c. 150,000 students pay university fees which range between 500 and 1200 euros. A request for the abolition of the fees has been forwarded to the Education Ministry, which has so far not made a comment on the issue. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Energy: French PM in Tunis to Discuss Nuclear Power

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, APRIL 23 — “France is helping Tunisia to build an electro-nuclear power plant,” which should be active by between 2020 and 2025, said French ambassador to Tunisia, Serge De Gallaix, during a press conference called to mark the visit from the French Prime Minister, François Fillon, which began today and will come to an end tomorrow. The diplomat announced that a 40-million-euro credit line would be made available to Tunisia’s small and medium-sized businesses, as part of an economic and financial partnership between the two countries. De Gallaix went on to remark that, despite the financial crisis, trade between Tunisia and France was continually growing (+2%). In 2008, trade between the two countries was worth 7.2 billion euros. (ANSAMed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Med Union: Ambassadors in Brussels to Try Relaunch

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, APRIL 23 — There has been an attempt to relaunch the Mediterranean Union (UPM) in Brussels, whose work was blocked by the outbreak of the war in Gaza. Today was the first informal meeting by ambassadors from the 43 member states, invited by the EU High representative for foreign policy and security, Javier Solana. “We are concerned about this stall situation” he said today at the opening meeting. Solana believes that the Euro-Mediterranean partnership is an essential policy for the Middle East and the European Union’s foreign policy. Today’s meeting represents ‘ a positive sign” for Benita Ferrero Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, and is an opportunity for the ambassadors to speak one-to-one ‘frankly” . “I always said that we could not avoid the impact of political crises, but we created this Union because we wanted to get beyond the difficulties with concrete projects which all the countries can benefit from”.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Tomorrow Meeting in Brussels

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, APRIL 22 — An informal meeting between the ambassadors of the Mediterranean Union (UPM) has been scheduled tomorrow in Brussels in an attempt to reanimate a process which essentially stopped the moment the war in Gaza broke out. According to sources in Brussels, the initiative was taken by Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Tomorrow’s informal meeting will be the first of UPM diplomats after the work was stopped. Since January it had been unsuccessfully attempted to establish a date for a formal meeting of the representatives of the 43 member States. If tomorrow’s meeting turns out to be a success, a first official meeting could be scheduled in May, so the Euro-Mediterranean partnership can start taking some of its concrete projects off ice. Without secretariat and funds, the UPM found itself in a position of stalemate due to the refusal of the Arab countries to sit around the table with Israel after the war.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Transport: UN, Mediterranean Development Model Worrying

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, APRIL 17 — Transport in the Mediterranean area remains a worrying question, linked to the type of development involved. The alarm was raised by Philippe Vallouis, head of transport division at the United Nations Environment and Development in the Mediterranean research centre, the Blue Plan, in an article in the organisation’s monthly report. According to Vallouis, the rise in traffic levels is due to strong growth in individual motorization, often unregulated growth in urban centres and the lack of competent authorities in various countries “rules out any hope of progress in terms of cargo and passenger transport, in particular where fuel subsidies continue or where people are encouraged to buy cars”. Vallouis maintains that another factor to consider is the high cost of public services that block initiatives in countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. According to data from the Blue Plan, between 1990 and 2007 air transport increased 70% in the countries on the northern shore of the Mediterranean and 103% in those on the southern and eastern shores. Road transport still dominates and railway travel is decreasing. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Durban 2: Libya; Ex-Colonialists Should Apologise Like Italy

(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, APRIL 22 — Libya’s representative in Geneva for the UN conference on racism and xenophobia has urged former colonial powers to “do as the Italians did, follow Silvio Berlusconi and apologise for your colonial past and the racist marks that it has left”, reports Jana. “The courage shown by the Italian people and their government represented by the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is an example to follow”, said the general secretary of the Libyan people for European affairs and cooperation. “We would like to request that the final declaration of this conference include a paragraph on this important recognition of guilt”. Libya then underlined the necessity that the Durban 2 Final Declaration contain a paragraph on slavery and the slave trade between the two sides of the Atlantic, as well as sufficient compensation for what he called a “human tragedy”. Furthermore, he asked for the condemnation of religious defamation and the role of some of the media in propagating racist and xenophobic practices. Above all, however, Tripoli asked that the document contain a clear passage on the “condemnation of Israeli practices in occupied Palestine and particularly in the Gaza Strip”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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ICT: Tunisia-India, Cooperation Agreement Signed

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, APRIL 20 — A cooperation agreement has been signed in Tunis by the Tunisian technology centre in El Ghazala and Indian technology society STPI (Software Technology Park of India). The agreement aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the information and communications technology sector (ICT) with the adoption of a common programme as well as a training programme. A training cycle in the field of computer and network security will be organised in Tunisia. Technical and developmental meetings have also been scheduled between Tunisian and Indian businesses in order to share experience. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Morocco’s “Mourchidates” and Contradictions

Souad Eddouada

Within the new context of the Family Code reform and the State’s position on the compatibility between the universal truth of women’s rights and Islam, women have been given a symbolic role in the religious sphere so as to promote Islamic arguments for gender equality. In the aftermath of the Casablanca terrorist attacks and under the supervision of the King, the Ministry of Islamic affairs embarked upon a widespread project for reforming the religious field, in which women were involved in the State’s attempt to lay foundations and revive a “Moroccan Islam.” However, this new responsibility in no case establishes that access for men and women to holy places, such as mosques, should take place on a totally equal basis.

To react to the rise of radical Islam, the King of Morocco proposes to support women’s greater involvement within the religious sphere. “We wish to see women who are experts in the religious studies participate in these Councils (of ulemas or theologians), because we hope to achieve greater equality for them as well as equality between men and women.” In 2003 King Mohammed VI invited Rajae Najji Mekaoui, a university law professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat, to be the first woman to give a lecture in Dorous Hassania (a series of lectures) at the Royal Palace mosque. The Hassania lectures are a series of lectures presided over by the King every Ramadan, and attended by the highest civil and military officials and religious authorities from all over the Muslim world. Since then, other women have been giving lectures in the same series.

Within the new context of the Family Code reform and the State position on the compatibility between universal truths of women’s right and Islam, women are given a symbolic role to play (1) in religious affairs to promote Islamic arguments for gender equality. In his role of the Amir al moumimine (Commander of the Faithful) the king is involving female religious scholars and directing their interest to women’s issues. In the aftermath of the Casablanca terrorist attacks, under the supervision of the King, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs embarked upon a widespread project for the reform of the religious sphere, in which women were involved in the State’s attempt to lay the foundations for and the revival a “Moroccan Islam.”

After the terrorist attacks, Morocco implemented a religious reorganisation programme. According to observers this reorganisation is a reaction to the rise of “radical” Islam promoted in particular by Middle Eastern satellite channels as well as those broadcasting from the Gulf area, which promote a form of Islam considered to be extremist. This propaganda appears to have been one of the main causes of the development of religious fundamentalism. The Kingdom of Morocco believes that its own religious integrity, guaranteed by unity and the nation’s adherence to the Malikite rite, a “tolerant and moderate Moroccan Islam,” is threatened to the extent of being in great danger. The national project for reorganisation of the religious sphere is also a reform following the same egalitarian spirit of Family Law that was changed in 1993, and attributes new civil and religious responsibilities to Moroccan women.

These new responsibilities, however, do not provide men and women with totally equal rights to access holy places such as mosques. The annual training of fifty mourchidates (female preachers) is only addressed at preparing them to play a role in religious organisation, information and sensitisation. In fact, when the training programme for mourchidates was presented, the High Council of Ulemas (theologians of Islam) pronounced a fatwa (a legal opinion) forbidding women from leading prayers. According to the Council, these appointments appear to go against general religious rules, according to which women must pray in silence, while Imams preach out loud. The fatwa was pronounced following a request from the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, which specified how the role of a mourchidate is restricted to the organisation of debates and readings addressed at teaching believers the values of Islam and providing them with information capable of answering some of their questions…

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Mubarak Evasive on Lieberman’s Egypt Visit

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, APRIL 23 — It is not thought that the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, will be taking part in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Egypt. This was the sense of a statement made by the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today, following the news announced in recent days that the head of the Egyptian Security Services, Omar Suleiman, had invited the Israeli leaders to Cairo. Speaking at a military ceremony in Ismailiya, Mubarak said “the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to Egypt will take place in May. To those who say that he will bring his Foreign Minister with him, I say that it is normal for the heads of Israeli governments to come alone or to travel with the directors of their cabinet, as has always happened when heads of the Israeli government have come to Egypt in the past.” Mubarak went on, “but first of all, the Palestinians must find some cohesion, because their internal division will never bring about the creation of two states. If the Palestinians are happy with their current situation, then they must present themselves to the international community and say that they want two Palestinian states, one in the West Bank and one in Gaza, and Israel will certainly be happier with this outcome.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Gaza: UN Task Force to Check Environmental Damage

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, APRIL 22 — Following the war in Gaza, the damage must be assessed, including harm caused to the environment. It is to this end that the executive director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), Achim Steiner, who is currently visiting the Gaza Strip, has announced that specialists in disaster and post-conflict situation management will be sent into the field in mid-May. “I await to receive rapid and clear advice in mid-May,” Steiner said, “which can be used for local planning and the reconstruction projects planned by the international community.” The conclusions reached by the UN task force “will be based on systematic field research, independent laboratory analysis and scientific rigour,” the UNEP director went on. Those chosen for the mission, he added, “are greatly experienced in evaluating the environmental impact in conflicts in the Balkans, Sudan and in the Middle East, and in formulating useful strategic advice.” The task force will look at areas such as water and waste management, asbestos and hazardous waste disposal and issues related to marine and coastal environments. The report produced, following a ten-day site visit in May, is expected to be released at the beginning of July. Once the physical damage has been assessed and the requested measures for reconstruction decided upon, an assessment of economic damage suffered in Gaza will be put together. The environmental effects of the war could create a public health risk to the Palestinians, but potentially also to the Israelis. In fact, according to the UN, the heavy bombing and fighting at the end of 2008 have left buildings and other infrastructure in ruins. During his visit to Palestinian workers and UN staff, Steiner expressed concerns over the environmental challenges posed and the priorities for the reconstruction works, beginning with the removal of sewage from the same land where water is drawn from, as well as its removal from the Mediterranean sea. The work of the experts from the task force follows a series of controls which have already taken place as part of the reconstruction plans from the UN Development Program, as well as other assessments made by other UN and international agencies following the conflict, which have already established the areas in which further investigation is necessary. This is the framework for the investigation: — REFUSE: One of the problems raised relates to the presence of hazardous waste, such as asbestos, in the ruins of buildings that were destroyed. Furthermore, even before the conflict, Gaza did not have an adequate system to manage and dispose of waste. The accumulation of a large quantity of solid waste in a short period of time has overburdened the inadequate extant structures. — SEWAGE WATER: The Gaza strip is lacking a sufficient drainage system and the damage caused by the conflict has led to further deterioration of an already precarious public health conditions. The impact on under-ground waterways must be assessed. — CONTAMINATED LAND: small industries, such as factories, cement works and garages were hit during the conflict, creating various potential contaminated sites within the urban environment. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Human Rights Groups Criticise Inquiry Into Gaza

A COALITION of Jewish and Arab human rights groups have criticised as inadequate an Israel Defence Forces investigation into its activities during the battle in Gaza in January.

The IDF’s internal investigation found that no Palestinian civilians were harmed intentionally by its soldiers during the 23-day invasion that killed more than 1300 Palestinians and wounded more than 4000.

Israel’s Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, hailed the report as proof once again “that the IDF is one of the most moral armies in the world”. Mr Barak said: “The IDF is not afraid to investigate itself and in that, proves that its operations are ethical.”

When civilians were killed by IDF fire, the report found that the deaths were regrettable, but had resulted from operational mistakes that were “bound to happen during intensive fighting”.

But a coalition of Israeli human rights groups, which includes B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights, Yesh Din, The Public Committee Against Torture and Rabbis for Human Rights, described the IDF report as problematic and said the only way to truly investigate alleged war crimes was through an independent external inquiry.

“Military investigation results published today refer to tens of innocent Palestinian civilians killed by ‘rare mishaps’ in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead,” the groups said in a joint statement.

“However, data collected by Israeli human rights organisations shows that many civilians were killed in Gaza not due to ‘mishaps’ but as a direct result of the military’s chosen policy implemented throughout the fighting.

“If the military claims that there were no major deficiencies in its conduct in Gaza, it is not clear why Israel refuses to co-operate with the UN investigation team, led by the South African judge Richard Goldstone, which requests an investigation of alleged violations of international law by both Israel and Hamas.”

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza also called on Israel to co-operate with the UN investigation team.

The IDF inquiry was conducted by five senior officers who were not involved in Operation Cast Lead and focused on reports of civilians who been targeted intentionally, and also attacks on civilian infrastructure, UN facilities and the use of white phosphorous.

The chemical is used to create a smoke screen but can cause serious burns and death.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Israelis Feel Chill as US Sets Out New Ground Rules

CAN Israel still call the United States its best friend? Not if you believe the media in Israel.

The increasingly tense dialogue between the US President, Barack Obama, and the new Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has taken on all the trappings of a duel here.

Almost every day brings news of another sore point, blighting the once warm relationship between the two countries.

Anyone could be forgiven for thinking the most immediate threat to national security in Israel lay across the Atlantic. That Mr Obama uses almost every opportunity he gets to set the parameters of a final peace agreement between Israel and Palestine is bad enough.

But now officials in his administration are openly using Israeli anxiety at Iran’s nuclear program as a bargaining chip to force its hand on giving up control of the West Bank Palestinian territory.

No less a figure than the White House chief-of-staff, Rahm Emanuel, was quoted this week laying down the law: if Israel wants US help to defuse the Iranian threat, then get ready to start evacuating settlements in the West Bank, he was reported to have told Jewish leaders in Washington.

This from a man whose father fought with a militant Zionist group, the Irgun, and whose appointment had provided such reassurance to Israeli officials.

Talkback radio blazed with fury across the country the same day as Israelis protested that no American official had the right to tell them where they could live. Then on Thursday came the news that Mr Netanyahu’s planned first meeting with Mr Obama in Washington next month had been called off.

Mr Netanyahu had hoped to capitalise on his attendance at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington to visit the White House, but Administration officials informed his office that the President would not be “in town”.

Sources in Washington added that the Administration would not be continuing the tradition that had developed during the Bush years of hosting Israeli prime ministers whenever they showed up in town, sometimes with just a phone call’s notice.

Contrary to initial expectations, Mr Obama has wasted no time becoming fully engaged in the Middle East peace process, despite the magnitude of his domestic political agenda.

While Mr Netanyahu has refused to endorse the principle of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict agreed to by his predecessor, Mr Obama has made it abundantly clear that the US will accept nothing less than Israel living side by side with a sovereign Palestinian state.

Mr Obama is also demanding a freeze on all Jewish settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has dropped the Bush administration’s opposition to Hamas serving in a future Palestinian Authority government.

A prominent Israeli political commentator, Maya Bengal, who writes for the country’s second largest selling newspaper Maariv, believes the holiday is over.

“As Passover comes to an end, so comes to an end, it seems, the days of grace granted to the Netanyahu Government by the American Administration,” Bengal said.

A Tel Aviv barman, Meir Avraham, 30, recently returned after a trip to Australia, said he could feel the tensions being played out between the US and Israel on the street.

“If we lose America, then we are alone. So we must listen to what America wants,” he said. “But really I think this is more about the little brother testing the limits of the big brother than a real conflict between Israel and the US.”

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “We know Obama wants to change the relationship, make it seem less cosy but they also want to protect its special nature. We’ll all still be friends.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Lieberman: Arab Peace Initiative Threat to Israel

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, APRIL 22 — The Arab Peace Initiative, which includes a total withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories in exchange for recognition of the Jewish state from Arab countries, represents a danger to the future of Israel. According to the newspaper Maariv, these were the words of the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Israel Beitenu, far right). This would mean that the Israeli government is in opposition to the US President Barack Obama’s favourable opinion of the initiative. Sources close to Lieberman explained that in particular the Minister is opposed to the so-called Right to Return for Palestinian refugees, which he argues represents a threat to Israel. In an interview given two weeks ago to the Russian newspaper Moskowsky Komsomoltz, quoted today by the newspaper Haaretz, Lieberman also confirmed that it would be necessary to give Russia more involvement in research into a future recipe for peace in the Middle East. Israel’s task, he added, will be to represent the bridge between Russia and the United States. Two weeks ago, Lieberman caused a stir when he said that he no longer felt constrained by the Annapolis agreement, which was the result of a conference held in the US city in November 2007, and led to the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) committing to the “Two states for two peoples” formula in the presence of the then head of the White House, George W. Bush.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Mid-East: Survey, Israelis and Palestinians Favour Two States

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, APRIL 22 — A large majority of Israelis and Palestinians are in favour of the ‘two states for two peoples “solution, and are against two-nation state. These were the results that came out of an opinion poll conducted by an Irish researcher, Collin Irwin, together with two local public opinion institutes: Israel’s Dahaf and the Palestinian Award. The survey, organised by the ‘One Voice” organisation to favour dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, was conducted simultaneously in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Israel last February after Operation Cast Lead. Strong divergences also emerged on the future of Jerusalem’s political bent and on the question of Palestinian refugees. According to ‘One Voice”, the research work represents a significant base for the political leaders of the two peoples. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey: Direct Investment Falls, But Not From Italy

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, APRIL 20 — In the first two months of the year, direct foreign investments in Turkey fell 18.6% compared to the same period in 2008. The figure emerged from a study carried out by the Undersecretary to the Turkish Treasury (Foreign Investments Department), and the results were put together by the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) office in Istanbul. Figures also showed that the total amount of foreign investment was 1.48 billion dollars, against the 1.82 billion dollars of the previous year. >From the total of 1.48 billion dollars, 400 million dollars derived from real estate acquisition, whilst more than one billion came in the form of shareholder investment. Despite the current serious crisis, Italy acted against the trend, as it has been doing in recent months, investing 23 million dollars compared to the 15 million dollars invested in January-February 2008, thereby representing 1.53% of the total overall investment in Turkey in the first two months of the year. Holland is the largest foreign investor with 126 million dollars, although it should be remembered that investments that are made from Holland are often from other countries. Germany is in second place with 89 million dollars, whilst the UK has invested 30 million dollars and the US represents 17 million dollars. The current role of the Gulf countries has decreased significantly, representing only four million dollars of investment compared to 194 in the same period in 2008.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey Calls Back Ambassador to Canada

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey recalled its ambassador to Canada, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, after government ministers there reportedly took part in an event that labeled the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide.

Ambassador Rafet Akgunay was called back for “thorough evaluations and consultations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said, without saying why Akgunay was recalled or for how long.

Another government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said the ambassador was being withdrawn temporarily to protest an event earlier this week in Canada commemorating the deaths of Armenians at the end of World War I as genocide.

The official said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a message to the ceremony, which angered Turkey. Turkish news reports said Canadian government officials took part in the event.

A spokeswoman for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon defended the country’s position.

“Canada’s position on the Armenian genocide is not an indictment of modern Turkey, nor is Turkish Ambassador Rafet Akgunay’s temporary return to Ankara for consultations, a break in our diplomatic relations,” Natalie Sarafian said in an e-mailed statement.

It is the second time that Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Canada over the genocide dispute. In 2006, Turkey criticized Harper for remarks he made in support of recognizing the mass killings as genocide and briefly withdrew its ambassador. It also pulled out of a military exercise in Canada in protest.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks — an event widely viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, contending the toll has been inflated and the casualties were victims of civil war and unrest.

Lawmakers in the United States have also introduced a resolution that would call the death genocide. If passed, the resolution could undermine efforts by President Barack Obama’s administration to win NATO ally Turkey’s help on key foreign policy goals.

U.S. legislators almost passed a similar resolution two years ago, but congressional leaders did not bring it up for a vote after intense pressure from the Bush administration.

Obama avoided the term “genocide” when he addressed Turkish lawmakers during his visit a month ago. But he said, in response to a question, that he had not changed his views. As a presidential candidate, Obama said the killings amounted to genocide..

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Turkey-Armenia Agree on Roadmap to Normalize Ties, US Welcomes Move

ISTANBUL — Turkey and Armenia under Switzerland’s mediation have agreed on a comprehensive framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations, a move welcomed by the Washington administration.

“the two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual understanding in this process and they have agreed on a comprehensive framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a mutually satisfactory manner. In this context, a road-map has been identified,” the statement posted on the foreign ministry’s Web site late on Wednesday.

This agreed basis provides a positive prospect for the on-going process, the statement added.

The announcement of the agreement on a road map comes just a day before the Armenian commemoration day of the 1915 incidents.

Turkey and Armenia, together with Switzerland as mediator, have been working intensively with a view to normalizing their bilateral relations and “developing them in a spirit of good-neighborliness, and mutual respect, and thus to promoting peace, security and stability in the whole region,” according to the statement.

Ankara and Yerevan have no diplomatic relations. Their border was closed in 1993 over Armenia’s invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and over pressure exerted on the international community, with the backing of the diaspora, to recognize their claims regarding the 1915 incidents instead of accepting Turkey’s call to investigate the allegations.

The Washington administration welcomed the move in a statement and urged the normalization should take place without preconditions as well as within a reasonable timeframe.

“We urge Armenia and Turkey to proceed according to the agreed framework and roadmap. We look forward to working with both governments in support of normalization, and thus promote peace, security and stability in the whole region,” Robert Wood, the spokesman of the U.S.. State Department said in statement.

Wood also said that it has long been and remains the position of the United States that normalization should take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Turks, Italians Debate EU Issues, Renew Friendship

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, APRIL 20 — Turkish and Italian businesspeople, politicians and media representatives came together in Istanbul on Friday and Saturday to discuss Turkey’s accession to the European Union, giving the Italian side an opportunity to renew its commitment to Turkey’s EU membership and allowing both sides to highlight problems and opportunities. Carlo Marsili, who has been Italy’s ambassador to Turkey for the last six years, said the expansion of the European Union aimed at rewarding the formerly communist states of Europe, but that the EU was ignoring Turkey. “The European Union punished Turkey for not being a communist state. Turkey’s role as a NATO member has been ignored,” Marsili said on Friday afternoon at a media forum titled “Turkey: A Strategic Crossroads,” as daily Zaman reported. Giorgio Zappa, president of the Turkey-Italy Friendship Association, said they are optimistic about Turkey’s prospects for entering the EU, but that this is not enough. “We want to overcome all obstacles in that regard. We want to open our arms to people who cannot get rid of their skepticism. They act that way sometimes because they don’t have enough knowledge about the issue. We want to open their eyes,” Zappa said, adding that they work both to improve Turkish-Italian bilateral relations and to spread this relationship throughout the EU. Speakers at the forum emphasized that Italy is Turkey’s number-three trading partner after Russia and Germany and that, in the Mediterranean basin, Turkey is Italy’s top market. Trading volume between the two countries has increased by 118% over the last four years to $11 billion. Turkish exports to Italy rose to $7.8 billion in 2008 from $3.1 billion 2003. For Italian exports to Turkey, the figure rose to $11 billion from $5.4 billion over the same period. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Bangladesh: Islamic Fundamentalists Threaten UN Agencies and Red Crescent

Three intimidating letters have been sent to UNICEF, the World Food Program, and the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross. Some observers see this as a response to the UN’s promise to help the government set up a court to try Islamic fundamentalists for war crimes.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) -The Islamic extremists of the group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMP) are threatening attacks against UNICEF, the World Food Program, and the Red Crescent, telling the three organizations to leave the district of Barisal in southern Bangladesh.

Three letters signed by the Islamic organization, which is prohibited by the government of Dhaka, were sent to the local headquarters of the international humanitarian agencies. The militants of the JMP are announcing reprisals if the recipients of their threats do not leave the area.

Mohammed Mahabur Rahman, a police official in Barisal, confirms the report for AsiaNews and says that the threats are to be taken seriously. Security has already been stepped up for the three humanitarian organizations, but Rahman explains that “the police by itself is not capable of combating Islamic terrorism,” and says that for this reason he is convinced that “the police and the population must work together against Muslim fundamentalism.”

For Rashid Khan Menon, a member of parliament from the Workers’ Party, the threats against the three organizations “are connected to the UN’s recent promise to help Bangladesh in proceedings against war crimes perpetrated in the country.”

Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor of international relations at the University of Dhaka, sees the intimidating letters as the sign of “a special agenda” on the part of fundamentalists against the presence of international organizations.

Recent security operations by the Rapid Action Battalion have led to the arrest of a number of militants of the JMP, and about a hundred people suspected of connections to the fundamentalist group. For professor Ahmed, the threats against the UN agencies have a twofold purpose: on the one hand, they send a signal to the authorities who want to take Islamic extremists to court for war crimes, on the other hand they seek to internationalize domestic affairs.

During the arrests of the mujahideen of the JMP, weapons, materials for making bombs, and computers were found, in addition to propaganda documents supporting jihad. In one flyer, the fundamentalists charge that “the media controlled by the Christians are making a false representation of the noble campaign of the mujahideen to liberate the country from the infidels”; they promise “to destroy all of the enemies of Allah,” and “corrupt political leaders,” and to “establish an Islamic state.”

Islamic fundamentalism has been on the rise in Bangladesh for years, and has included coordinated violent actions in multiple places in the country. Islamic extremist groups also have significant political influence.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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India: Hindu Fanatics Attack Protestant Church in Maharashtra to Stop Conversions

The group destroyed prayer books, bibles, furniture and the altar. Some members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal arrested. Police accused of delayed intervention.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) — A group of Hindu fanatics have attacked and damaged a Church in Saoner village, 40 km from Nagpur, in Maharashtra. The attack on Douglas Memorial Church took place Sunday morning while a religious service was being conducted. Two women were injured in their attempts to stop the gang vandalizing the church.

The two main Hidu groups, the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) and Bajrang Dal denied any role in the attack, claiming instead that it was done by “Hindus angry over religious conversions” in the area. The police however arrested three persons on Sunday: Uddhav Choudhary, an office porter from VHP, Vinod Bagde and Umesh Athavankar. Four other persons had been arrested on Monday belonging to VHP and Bajrang Dal. The vandals tore up several holy books including the Bible, ransacked furniture, broke musical instruments and damaged the altar.

Ten minutes before the attack, some persons claiming to belong to the VHP, had gone to the police station handing over a letter demanding action against conversion in Saoner. They threatened “vigorous action” against the church for allegedly targeting poorer sections of society for conversion. According to the records available with Nagpur police’s special branch, there have been100 conversions to Christianity at a church in Dattawadi since 2005. According to Abraham Mathai, vice-chairman state Minority Commission, there should have been prompt action by the police: “It was the duty of the police to ensure that the group did not reach the church”.

The Christians of Mumbai have joined their voices to the protest on hearing of the attack. The Catholic Archbishop of Nagpur, Msgr. V. Abraham, who was in Mumbai on Monday, said: “There was peace between all communities in Nagpur for years. This feeling of amity is being eroded by acts of violence. The attacks display a total disregard for the rule of law.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Malaysian PM Dodges Questions About Missing Model

JAKARTA, April 23, 2009 (AFP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak dodged questions about the alleged abduction of a young model by a Malaysian prince as he met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Thursday.

Reporters covering the press conference after the leaders met at the presidential palace were refused permission to ask about the case of 17-year-old Indonesian-American model Manohara Odelia Pinot.

As they fielded approved questions about closer bilateral relations and economic cooperation, Manohara’s mother held an emotional press conference of her own to plead with Najib for help in finding her socialite daughter.

Manohara last year married Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, the prince of Malaysia’s Kelantan state.

Her mother, Daisy Fajarina, said Manohara had suffered “emotional and physical abuse” at the hands of her husband, who was holding her against her will in Malaysia.

“As the new prime minister of Malaysia I urge Najib to investigate to defend our rights and the truth,” Fajarina told reporters at the offices of the national human rights commission.

“I just want my daughter to be set free… As a mother I have a right to see my daughter.”

She said she had been refused entry to Malaysia to see Manohara, who was crying and distraught when she last spoke to her Indonesian family by phone on March 21.

“I was already in the airport but immigration officials told me that I was strictly forbidden to enter Malaysian territory,” she said, referring to an incident on March 19.

Fajarina said the last time she saw Manohara was when she accompanied the couple on a pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia in late February. The teen bride was already unhappy with her new husband and the trip was supposed to be a fence-mending exercise for the family, she said.

But it ended in anger and confusion when the prince abandoned Fajarina at an airport in Jeddah and whisked her daughter away in his private jet.

“My daughter was taken away forcibly in a private jet from Jeddah … I was on the passenger list and my personal stuff was already in the plane, but the jet took off without me and left me on the runaway,” she said.

She also accused the royal family of trying to bribe her to forget about Manohara with a million-dollar apartment in Malaysia.

“I cannot accept that. Even if they give me the world, I cannot sell my beloved daughter,” she said.

Fajarina fainted when she was mobbed by journalists from Indonesia’s celebrity press, who have written extensively about Manohara’s plight.

Indonesia’s ambassador to Malaysia, Da’i Bachtiar, said he had spoken to the royal household in Kelantan and received word that Manohara was fine.

But they refuse to allow her mother to visit and the Malaysian foreign ministry has not replied to further inquiries, he told AFP.

“I have communicated with the Kelantan sultanate. They said Manohara is healthy and fine. We asked about the wishes of her mother but there was a rejection of her visit to Malaysia,” Bachtiar said.

“We’ve addressed questions officially to the Malaysian foreign affairs ministry, but there’s been no answer yet. We’ve addressed the questions in order to give protection to an Indonesian citizen.”

Najib was sworn in earlier this month after his predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was forced to stand down.

He has repeatedly denied involvement in the gruesome murder in 2006 of 28-year-old Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, the lover of his close aide.

The aide was acquitted of abetting her murder but two police officers have been sentenced to hang for the slaying of the young woman, whose remains were blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Malaysia Bans Forced Conversion of Minors to Islam

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) — Malaysia has banned the forced conversion of children to Islam to quell unease among religious minorities in the mainly Muslim nation, the country’s Legal Affairs Minister said on Thursday.

The decision follows the highly publicized case of Indira Gandhi, a 34-year-old ethnic Indian Hindu woman whose estranged husband embraced Islam and then converted their children to the religion as well.

Minister Nazri Aziz said minors were to be bound by the common religion of their parents while they were married even if one parent later becomes a Muslim.

Islamic law will also apply only from the point of a person’s conversion to the religion and is not retrospective, he told a press conference.

“We have to resolve this once and for all. I don’t think we should be deciding on a piecemeal basis every time a conversion issue crops up,” Nazri said.

“We have decided on a long-term solution because we expect more cases will occur, being a multiracial country,” he added.

Islam is the official religion in Malaysia, but non-Muslims are allowed to practice their faiths.

Muslims, who make up around 65 percent of the Southeast country’s 27 million population, are bound by Islamic family laws, while civil laws apply to non-Muslims.

Nazri said the Attorney-General had been instructed to look at the relevant legislation that would need to be amended to effect the decision.

The Attorney-General would also be asked approach the Malay rulers — titular heads in nine of Malaysia’s 13 states who are in charge of Islamic affairs in their respective states — to seek consent for amendments to related state Islamic laws, added Nazri.

There has been growing unease among Malaysia’s mainly Chinese and Indian ethnic minorities who are mostly Buddhists, Christians and Hindus over numerous complaints of discrimination and unfair treatment by the authorities when seeking legal redress following cases of divorce and religious conversions.

The disquiet built up during the case of Lina Joy, a Malay Muslim who converted to Christianity at the age of 26 but was forced to endure a long legal battle to have her conversion legally recognized by the Malaysian courts.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Pakistan: Taliban Militants Extend Reach in North

Buner, 22 April (AKI/Dawn) — Taliban militants in Pakistan’s Swat region who endorsed a peace deal with the government have extended their control of the nearby Buner district. Dozens of militants moved into Buner in North West Frontier Province on Tuesday and began patrolling bazaars, villages and towns in the district.

Buner is part of the Malakand region, which has just seen the implementation of Sharia law under the peace deal.

The militants, who moved into the Gokand valley of Buner two weeks ago, were reported to have been on a looting spree for the past five days.

Pakistani daily Dawn reported that they have stolen vehicles, computers, printers, generators, edible oil containers, and food and nutrition packets from government offices and NGOs.

Sources said that leading political figures, businessmen, aid officials and others who sought to stop the Taliban from entering Buner, had been forced to move to other areas.

The Taliban have extended their control to almost all areas of the district and law enforcement personnel were confined to police stations and camps.

The Taliban, equipped with advanced weapons, were reported to be advancing towards border areas of Swabi, Malakand and Mardan, where NWFP chief minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti is based.

According to reports reaching Dawn, the militants have set up checkposts and camp bases in Kangar Gali village, along the Malakand border, and other locations.

The militants have started digging trenches and setting up bunkers on heights in strategic towns of Gadezi, Salarzai, Osherai and others.

Led by Fateh Mohammad, the militants were asking local people, particularly young people, to join them in their campaign to enforce Sharia law.

Meanwhile the United Nations refugee agency has begun a registration drive for thousands of Pakistanis who are seeking shelter in the capital, Islamabad, and other cities after fleeing in the South Asian nation’s rugged north.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has begun a registration drive at the request of the Pakistani Government and seeks to ascertain the number of people who have moved to urban areas after escaping clashes between the army and militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Swat district.

According to a preliminary survey last month, over 82,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are living in key cities, with nearly 8,000 in Islamabad.

Most of the uprooted live in rented accommodation or with host families, while some are sheltering in camps.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Sultans of Swat — Muhammad’s Angels… and More Timeless Wisdom From Lal and Burckhardt

by Andrew Bostom

Pakistan’s much ballyhooed moderate Muslim President Zadari, as recently as December 8. 2008, in the wake of the Mumbai massacre [2], wrote a New York Times Op-Ed entitled, “The Terrorists Want to Destroy Pakistan, Too [3].” Zardari acknowledged the significant presence of Al Qaeda/Taliban in his country, but claimed, piously, to be committed to the fight against these jihad terrorists—perhaps even more so than NATO—and sought worldwide support for his efforts. He stated:

The challenge of confronting terrorists who have a vast support network is huge; Pakistan’s fledgling democracy needs help from the rest of the world. We are on the frontlines of the war on terrorism. We have 150,000 soldiers fighting Al Qaeda, the Taliban and their extremist allies along the border with Afghanistan — far more troops than NATO has in Afghanistan.

But as I suggested on December 14, 2008 [4]:

Ignoring serious concerns about the dubious use of some $5 billion in US military aid [5] to Pakistan (via Coalition Support Funds) since 2002 — ostensibly to combat Al Qaeda and its allies in the tribal areas—I maintain that Zardari’s plaintive appeal for assistance—military and financial—be heeded exclusively by Muslim nations from the now 57 member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). …the OIC — currently headed by its Turkish representative Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu — is uniquely suited to marshall the military and economic might to “enact the utmost severe punishment” for Al Qaeda and Taliban “perpetrators” of “anti-Islamic” acts of terrorism. Turkey and Egypt — key OIC member states — have large, modern, well-equipped armed forces (here [6]; here [7]; here [8]), including air forces (here [9]; here [10]), and both nations are believed to have been victimized by Al Qaeda attacks (here [11]; here [12]; here [13]; and here [14]). These Muslim nations — with formal, enthusiastic sanctioning by the OIC-should send large military contingents to reinforce the “150,000? of their Pakistani Muslim brethren under President Zadari [15] already doggedly engaged in combating the “anti-Islamic” terrorists of Al Qaeda and the Taliban on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Despite Zadari’s bravado (duplicity/taqiya?), he has in fact now capitulated to the Talibanization of Pakistan’s own SWAT valley—with all its accompanying traditional Islamic brutality…

— Hat tip: Andy Bostom

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China in Tensions Rising Over Unpaid Wages

Thousands of plants are closing down without paying workers. At least 30 million migrant workers are now jobless. The danger of social unrest is high because of the lack of respect for workers’ rights.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The number of labour disputes over unpaid wages has gone up by 59 per cent over last year. In the first quarter of this year they were 98,568. The increase follows a 93 per cent surge in such cases last year. Plants that close often fail to pay salaries and severance pay to their now out-of-work employees.

As a result of the global crisis “the number of businesses going into the red or going bankrupt continues to grow, leading to more disputes over salary claims,” Du Wanhua, a top official with the court, said.

Unemployment is also rising. Cheng Guoqiang, deputy head of the Chinese State Council’s Development and Research Center, said that “earlier reports put the estimate at 20 million people. According to our estimate, about 30 million farmers have lost their jobs.”

With a migrant population of some 225 million people, or 28 percent of China’s rural population according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics in March, the country’s growth rate must be at least 8 per cent if it wants to avoid unemployment and social unrest, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said last Saturday. This rate has not been met in the last six months.

The China Labour Bulletin, a well-known Hong Kong- based workers’ rights advocacy journal, has warned China’s local governments that workers are not going to lose their job after decades of work without putting up a fight for their rights.

For example 5,000 workers at the Golden Emperor Group textile plant in Chongqing’s Fuling district went on strike on 13 and 14 April, after management announced its reorganisation and the start of bankruptcy proceedings; their demands: three-month back pay and a fair severance pay.

Also this month thousands of workers demonstrated for three days in Baoding (Hebei) in front of the Yimian textile factory for wage arrears and their pensions. The workers threatened to block the railway line to Beijing, and were only stopped after the mayor said he would mediate the dispute.

According to the China Labour Bulletin, more than 30 million people lost their job in the early 1990s when state-owned plants were privatised. After that the lack of specific rules led to countless labour disputes, some not yet solved.

Now the situation is worse because migrant workers will “not simply lie down and accept their fate without a fight,” the journal wrote.

If the authorities really want to avoid social unrest they must not sweep under the carpet the rights and interests of workers.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Filipino Court Overturns US Marine Rape Conviction

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine appeals court overturned the 2006 rape conviction of a U.S. Marine and ordered his immediate release Thursday, setting off protests from activists.

A suburban Manila court convicted Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith of raping a Filipino woman in the company of fellow Marines at the former U.S. Subic Bay Naval base three years ago and sentenced him to life in prison. The case has become a rallying point for anti-American protests in the country.

The Philippine Court of Appeals overturned the ruling, indicating the sexual act was consensual.

“No evidence was introduced to show force, threat and intimidation applied by the accused,” the court said in its 71-page decision, which is final.

It ordered the immediate release of Smith, 23, of St. Louis, Missouri, from his detention at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus said Smith could be released within days, as soon as the process of notifying him and the embassy of the court’s decision is complete.

After Smith was convicted, he was initially taken to a Philippine jail, but the U.S. argued he should be kept in American custody, citing the Visiting Forces Agreement, a 1999 accord that allows U.S. forces to conduct war exercises in the Philippines.

Washington said the accord entitles any accused U.S. service member to remain in American hands until all judicial proceedings are exhausted.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo backed the U.S. position, but the Philippine Supreme Court ruled in February he should be serving his sentence in a Philippine prison and asked the government to negotiate his transfer with Washington. The negotiations were under way when the appeals court ruled Thursday.

Smith’s lawyer Jose Justiniano said his client “got the justice that he deserved,” but leftist groups condemned it, saying it was proof of Arroyo’s subservience to America.

“We are outraged,” said Renato Reyes of the prominent group Bayan.

“This denial of justice can only be blamed on Mrs. Arroyo, whose subservience to the U.S. and veneration of the VFA knows no bounds,” Reyes said.

About 30 activists marched to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy late Thursday but were stopped nearby by riot police. They held up posters that read, “Smith’s acquittal, a Philippine-U.S. government connivance,” then peacefully dispersed after an hour.

In March, the woman who accused Smith of rape altered her testimony and emigrated to the United States in a dramatic twist in the case, saying she was no longer certain that a crime took place.

But the court said its decision was not influenced by her action.

The woman initially said she and Smith were drinking, kissing and dancing at a Subic bar before moving to a van, where she originally told the court she was raped while she fell in and out of consciousness. Smith had insisted the sex was consensual.

The court said what happened “was the unfolding of a spontaneous, unplanned romantic episode with both parties carried away by their passions.”

The woman’s turnabout shocked her supporters. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said she could be charged with perjury.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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First Trade Deficit for Japan Since 1980

Tokyo reports a deficit of 725.3 billion yen. Exports towards US and EU drop significantly; those towards in Asia decline as well. Central bank expects economy to shrink by 3 to 5 per cent. Recovery is tied to government stimulus package.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Japan reported its first annual trade deficit in 28 years. The deficit for the fiscal year that ended in March was 725.3 billion yen (US$ 7.4 billion), the Finance Ministry said. Total exports fell by 16.4 per cent, whilst imports dipped 4.1 per cent.

Japan’s exports fell 45.6 per cent in March, producing an 11.0 billion yen (US$ 110 million) trade surplus in March. But analysts remain cautious. They observe that the trend is largely due to a drop in imports which fell by 36.7 per cent, a sign that output and consumption are both down.

The result was worse than the surplus of 82.1 billion yen in February, but better than previous four months which were in the red, posting a deficit of 952.6 billion yen (US$ 9.7 billion) in January.

The Bank of Japan will likely lower its projections and say it expects the economy to shrink by between 3 and 5 per cent in the fiscal year ending in March next year.

Plunging demand has saddled companies with too many employees, with unemployment likely to rise from 4.4 per cent.

Manufacturing remains in a difficult situation as well because of its dependency on exports.

Exports to the United States have dropped in fact by 51.4 per cent in March from a year earlier; those to the European Union were down 56.1 per cent.

Exports to Asia, which had previously offset falling exports to the United States and Europe, fell 39.5 per cent. But a slowing pace of decline in shipments to mainland China is a sign that China’s huge stimulus package is starting to benefit Japanese exports.

The better-than-expected export figures are raising optimism that markets and output have at least stabilised.

According to economist Richard Jerram, the stage is set for a strong rebound in industrial production and exports in the second quarter of 2009.

Many are also waiting for the government stimulus plan to kick in. Announced this month by Prime Minister Taro Aso, it is worth 15.4 trillion yen (US$ 156 billion).

However, since it will be done by issuing government bonds for 10.8 trillion yen (US$ 110 billion) this fiscal year, some are concerned that it will push up the national debt with dangerous consequences on the long run.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Coal Burning Must End, Says Scientist

A CSIRO scientist has told a Senate inquiry it is imperative to begin phasing out coal burning in order to avoid dangerous climate change.

No coal-fired power plants should be built, and existing plants must shut within 20 years, if the world is to keep atmospheric carbon dioxide at a less dangerous level, the climatologist James Risbey said.

Yesterday Dr Risbey joined other CSIRO scientists who have spoken out personally to the Senate committee on climate policy’s inquiry after the CSIRO decided against making a submission.

He said the Rudd Government’s targets of reducing carbon dioxide levels by at least 5 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050 were not tough enough to avoid dangerous climate change.

“In fact, they yield a high likelihood of triggering irreversible changes in the climate system,” he said at the committee’s hearings in Hobart. “Such likelihoods can be greatly reduced with far more stringent emissions reductions. However, further delay makes safer concentration targets unattainable and begins to lock in dangerous climate change.”

The committee was told that at current levels of greenhouse gas growth, the world risked an irreversible collapse in the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, contributing roughly seven and five metres each to global sea level rise.

Acidification of the oceans, release of stored methane and breakdown of snowmelt would also affect food webs and the global population.

“While we cannot give a precise temperature at which each of these processes would occur, the threshold is thought to be in the vicinity of about two degrees in each case,” Dr Risbey said.

But Australia’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, if applied by all countries, would mean a 50 to 90 per cent chance of exceeding the threshold. “In other words, this is Russian roulette with the climate system, with most of the chambers loaded,” he said.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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NZ: Runaway Pilgrims Believed Lying Low and ‘Well Settled’

A third of a group of Indian pilgrims who vanished in New Zealand on their way to see the Pope in Sydney last year are still at large, and believed to have become “well-settled overstayers”.

New Zealand Sikh Society spokesman Daljit Singh, who was in contact with some of the missing men last year, says they have gone to ground in the Nelson and Bay of Plenty areas, have probably found work and have no intention of coming out from hiding.

“When they came here it was with the intention to stay in New Zealand forever, and that is what they will try to do,” said Mr Singh.

The men were with a group of 40 pilgrims who said they had paid up to $17,000 each for visas that would allow them to stay in New Zealand forever.

They were issued one-month visitor visas. When these expired in August, some tried to apply for students’ permits but were rejected by Immigration New Zealand.

“At the start, we worked closely with the immigration department to help track the men down, but we are volunteers and there is only so much we can do,” Mr Singh said.

The Labour Department, which oversees Immigration NZ, says it does not know the whereabouts of 14 of the 33 Indians. A spokeswoman said it was working with the Indian High Commission to find them.

The other 19 have been expelled.

She said about two people a month travelled to New Zealand by air and arrived without travel documents.

“These people will have checked in for the flight using a passport which allows visa-free travel for New Zealand, but they do not have the passport when they arrive.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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NZ: Rapist Taxi Driver Jailed for Nine Years

A HIV-positive taxi driver twice found guilty of raping a teenaged female passenger was jailed for nine years today.

Abdirazak Yussuf Mussa, 56, was originally found guilty in November 2007 of rape and abduction with intent to sexually violate and jailed for seven years.

The Court of Appeal last year quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.

Last month he was again found guilty of raping the woman but not guilty of abduction.

Passing sentence in Wellington District Court today, Judge Bruce Davidson commented on the long-term effects of the rape, saying the victim still suffered depression, low self-esteem and was uncomfortable in the presence of men.

He said the breach of trust was significant, as people relied on taxis, especially when they had been drinking or otherwise vulnerable.

“Her guard was down, and undoubtedly she was under the influence of alcohol.”

In last month’s retrial, crown prosecutor Kristy McDonald QC said Mussa after picking up the 18-year-old woman, took her to his house and raped her twice.

Ms McDonald said Mussa restrained the woman with one hand while he removed both their clothes and put on condoms with the other.

Ms McDonald said the incident represented a huge breach of trust — many in the community relied on taxi drivers, especially women and people who have been drinking.

“There was premeditation in this case. The offender picked up the victim and took her to his house with this in mind,” she said, requesting Mussa be jailed for 12 years.

Mussa’s lawyer, Donald Stevens QC, asked for a starting point of eight years.

Disputing the Crown’s allegations of premeditation, he said the woman could have left the situation many times before the rape took place.

He said Mussa already had a shorter life-span than other people, so the jail sentence represented more of his life than those not infected.

Mussa did not know how he contracted the HIV virus, but suspected he picked it up from an infected needle while undergoing a medical procedure overseas, Dr Stevens said.

Throughout both trials, Mussa has denied the charges, saying the teenager willingly went to his house and the sex was consensual. He cried throughout the sentencing.

Since coming to New Zealand from Somalia, he had been hard-working, honest and had no previous convictions, Dr Stevens said.

As well as starting his own business, he contributed greatly to the Somali community, finding jobs for people, helping with shopping, bills, welfare, arranging prison visits, as well as looking after war-widows and their families who had come to New Zealand.

He also had a daughter with Down Syndrome, who was so close to her father “she was like his shadow”.

Judge Davidson set a sentencing starting point of 11 years but took off two years for mitigating circumstances.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Japan Launches New Bid to Tackle Pirates

Japan is hoping to get an anti-piracy bill passed into law to allow the country’s two destroyers off Somalia wider scope to use force.

Families wave goodbye to sailors aboard a Japanese destroyer bound for Somalia

The Japanese government last month joined the US, China and other countries in the maritime operation against pirates who have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route leading to the Suez Canal.

Because of limits on Japan’s military — imposed under the post-World War II pacifist constitution — the destroyers cannot use force, except in self-defence or to protect the country’s interests.

The new government-sponsored bill widens the destroyers’ rules of engagement to allow them to fire at the hulls of pirate vessels — but not at the pirates themselves — as a last resort after issuing repeated warnings.

If passed, the new bill will also allow the Maritime Self-Defence Force to protect any commercial ships, not just those under a Japanese flag or carrying Japanese nationals or cargo.

The opposition-controlled upper house may reject the bill after politicians voiced concern about expanding Japan’s military reach — but the lower house could then override the veto and turn the bill into law.

Conservative Prime Minister Taro Aso, who faces an election this year, is strongly in favour of the bill.

“Public safety and maintaining security and order are very important for Japan,” he told a parliamentary committee. “The world expects Japan to make a further contribution and we have a duty to respond.

“Japan is an island nation surrounded by sea, a resource-poor trading nation which relies on imports of resources from abroad. Consequently, security of marine transport is one of our high priorities,” he said.

Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said earlier the destroyers had on three occasions helped foreign ships by scaring off suspicious vessels with the use of loudspeakers and by deploying their helicopters.

He urged MPs to “pass the bill as soon as possible, because I think allowing the navy also to protect foreign vessels is desirable for continuing our mission in an appropriate manner.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Finnish Connection Found on Computer of Colombian Guerrillas

Colombian police say FARC recruiter visited Finland in 2001

A computer found in the jungle in Ecuador, which once belonged to the leader of Colombia’s leftist guerrillas has indicated that the FARC rebels have had a contact with Finland. According to the documents on the computer’s hard disc, a contact person in Finland has apparently offered a hiding place in Finland for FARC guerrillas who might need one.

A Finnish person is also believed to have taken part in a meeting in Panama in which monetary assistance for the guerrillas was discussed. FARC recruiter Ovidio Salinas Pérez is believed to have visited Finland in 2001. According to Colombian police, the visit suggests that Finland and the other Nordic countries were seen as an important area in FARC’s search for political and financial support.

The computer which revealed the Finnish connections, was found in a FARC jungle camp just over a year ago, in connection with a raid in which FARC leader Raul Reyes was killed. Colombian police are still going through tens of thousands of pages of documents and e-mails. Helsingin Sanomat has learned that the computer holds information about a person who lives, or has lived in Finland, who would have offered to arrange safe accommodation for guerrillas in flight, or their family members. One of the fighters referred to the person as “our friend in Finland” in an e-mail to Reyes, says a journalistic source familiar with the e-mail correspondence. It is unclear exactly when these messages were written, and if any of the plans were ever implemented.

Colombian police are not confirming or denying the information. “So far we have not confirmed the names of the people, or the offer of a hiding place”, says Colombia’s top police official, General Oscar Naranjo in an e-mail message to Helsingin Sanomat from the capital Bogota. Reyes was considered the ideological leader of FARC. His goal was to oersyade the international community to recognise the organisation as a “warring party” in the eyes of international law, which is in a legitimate state of war with Colombia. The United States and the European Union see FARC as a terrorist organisation. Reyes sought to establish an international support and lobbying network for FARC. His representatives in Europe and Latin America solicited support for “the struggle of the people of Colombia” by establishing relations with leftist parties, student organisations, and radical groups.

One person close to Reyes was Ovidio Salinas Pérez, alias Juan Antonio Rojas, who had visited Finland. This former labour union activist is known within the organisation as El Embajador, or “The Ambassador”. He sought funding from abroad, mapped out places of exile, and sought help in the establishment of pro-FARC websites abroad. The United States froze his assets in 2008 and considers him a drug trafficker and terrorist on the basis of the information gleaned from the computer. Naranjo says that soon after the death of Reyes, FARC was in a hurry to send its leaders abroad and to make use of its network of partners.

“A large number of social and human rights organisations operate in the northern part of Europe. With their clandestine political work they make it easier to get asylum for leaders of the terrorist organisation, appealing to the lack of security in Colombia”, he says. Certain European organisations with ties to FARC have said that they work on behalf of peace in Colombia, and against human rights abuses committed by the country’s right-wing government. The hard disc on Reyes’ computer also contained information on a Finnish NGO worker who is believed to have met Salinas-Pérez in Panama in 2004. Also taking part in the secret meeting were activists from Sweden, Denmark, and Italy. They say that they collected 500,000 US dollars for the guerrillas. Helsingin Sanomat has learned that at least two NGOs were involved, one of which also operates in Finland.

The meeting had been arranged by a Swedish woman. According to an article appearing in the Panamanian newspaper La Prensa in October last year, Salinas Péres said in a message to Reyes that the Swede had worked extensively to bring European groups together to support the goals of FARC.

Colombian police have given contradictory assessments of the event. Luis Gilberto Ramirez Calle, the head of intelligence at the police, confirmed to Helsingin Sanomat that Salinas Pérez had met with various organisations in Panama. Meanwhile, General Naranjo says that there were no indications on the hard disk of any meeting in Panama.

Neither the Finnish Security Police nor the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have received requests from Colombia for investigative assistance, nor have they taken part in the investigations by Colombian officials.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Regift, Please!

WASHINGTON—Hugo Chavez’s gift to President Obama at the recent Summit of the Americas—a copy of Eduardo Galeano’s “Open Veins of Latin America”—has many people wondering what the fuss is about.

A decade ago, I and the other two co-authors of the “Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot” devoted a chapter to refuting the historical and ideological fallacies contained in Galeano’s tract, which we called the “idiot’s bible.” Everything that has happened in the Western Hemisphere since the book appeared in 1971 has belied Galeano’s arguments and predictions. But I guess Chavez has given it the kiss of life and, since people are asking, here I go again.

The author claims that relations between Latin America and rich countries have been so pernicious that “everything … has always been transmuted into European—and later United States—capital.” Actually, for years that relationship has transmuted into the exact opposite: Latin American capital. In the last seven years alone, Latin America has benefited from $300 billion in net capital flows. In other words, a lot more capital came in than went out.

The book rails against the international division of labor, in which “some countries specialize in winning and others in losing.” That division of labor in the Western Hemisphere has not changed—Latin American countries still export commodities—and yet in the last six years, poverty in the region has been reduced to about one-third of the population, from just under half. This means that 40 million were lifted out of that hideous condition. Not to mention the 400 million pulled out of poverty in other “losing” nations worldwide in the last couple of decades.

The author pontificates that “raw materials and food are destined for rich countries that benefit more from consuming them more than Latin America does from producing them.” Sorry, amigo, but the story of this decade is that Latin America has made a killing sending exports abroad—the region has had a current account surplus for many years. Rich countries are so annoyed with all the things poor countries are exporting to them that they are asking their governments to “protect” them in the name of fair trade. The “buy American” clause in the fiscal stimulus package approved by Congress a few weeks ago is a case in point.. The U.S. had a trade deficit of more than $800 billion last year. The poor, if I may echo Galeano’s hemophilic language, are sucking the veins of the rich.

The book claims that for years “the endless chain of dependency has been endlessly extended.” The story now is that the rich depend on the poor. That is why the Chinese have $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds! The book’s jeremiad goes on to say that “the well-being of our dominant classes … is the curse of our multitudes condemned to exist as beasts of burden.” One of the few countries that exemplifies that curse is the author’s beloved Cuba, where a worker cannot be paid directly by a foreign company employing him or her; the money goes to the government, which in turn pays the worker one-tenth of the salary—in nonconvertible local currency.

Galeano’s mathematics are hugely entertaining. He states that the average income of U.S. citizens is “seven times that of a Latin American and grows 10 times faster.” The gap has actually shrank, dear comrade. Many “poor” countries in modern times have seen their income gap with the Unites States narrow dramatically. Thailand and Indonesia have seen theirs cut almost by half in three decades.

The book’s Malthusian predictions invite no less compassion than its economic forecasts. Overpopulation, Galeano maintains, will mean that “in the year 2000 there will be 650 million Latin Americans,” the implication being that the region will starve. In 2000, the region’s population was 30 percent smaller than the author predicted.

To top it all, Chavez’s literary muse states that “the more freedom is extended to business, the more prisons have to be built for those who suffer from business.” Actually, the greater (though still insufficient)

freedom given to business in the era of globalization has resulted in increasing prosperity in developing nations. This decade, the pace of economic growth per person has been four times higher in developing nations than in rich nations.

I would pay anything to be a fly on the wall when President Obama opens the first page of the idiot’s bible.

— Hat tip: islam o’phobe

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Finland: Young Afghan Asylum-Seekers Heading for Nordic Countries Through Paris

Afghan boys line up to get a roof over their heads for the night

Afghani teenager Asif, aged 15, intends to travel to Norway, Britain, or Finland. The plan is no adolescent’s daydreaming, as the boy has already made his way from Pakistan to Paris through Turkey, Greece, and Italy. A year on the road has not managed to snuff out his persistence. “In Afghanistan, our future means war. I would like to learn and work”, the boy says. Nazrullah, 26, next to him, intends to travel to Finland. “I have heard from my relatives that Finland is better than France. That once I am granted asylum, I can get my family there, too”, he says. In Afghanistan, Nazrullah supported his wife and three-and-a-half-year-old daughter by importing chocolate and biscuits, but he had to leave the country, as his support for the now-exiled Abdul Rahman, a converted Christian, made his life dangerous.

The war in Afghanistan has continued for seven yearsand more, continuously pushing refugees to neighbouring countries and even to Europe. In Paris, unaccompanied adolescent asylum-seekers gather in the parks and squares in the north of the city. People have began to call the district “Little Kabul”. According to the 2007 statistics, the 3.1 million Afghans are the largest refugee group in the world. Only a fraction of them are officially seeking asylum status. However, the fact that the worldwide number of Afghan asylum-seekers increased in 2008 by 85 % from the previous year — rising to 18,500 — tells its own tale. Pierre Henry, the director general of France Terre D’Asile, an organisation promoting asylum and migrants’ rights in France and Europe, says that Europeans have abandoned Afghans. “The war in Afghanistan and the European soldiers who have been sent there to fight have certain repercussions. They are bound to increase immigrants flowing in. Europe should acknowledge this fact”, Henry says.

Around 40 fellow Afghans are standing around Asif and Nazrulla on the banks of the Saint-Martin Canal. At sunset, buses pick up those who need accommodation for the night, taking them to dormitories. Blankets and sleeping bags given by aid organisations are carried along in worn-out plastic bags. 16-year-old Ali does not catch the bus tonight. The adolescent, who intends to end up in Norway, takes it coolly. “I will sleep in the park — again. It is not dangerous there — just cold”, he says.

The number of illegal asylum-seekers in Paris has increased, particularly after France closed down the Sangatte refugee camp in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France in 2002. Allegedly, the camp was used as a base for the flow of immigrants crossing the English Channel into the UK. The aid organisations in Paris have noticed that increasing numbers of unaccompanied minor boys are arriving from Afghanistan. At present the organisations are facing an overwhelming task. “The state does not assume any responsibility for the boys. According to French legislation, minors should be provided with education, food, and health care”, says Jean-Michel Centres, an active member of the neighbourhood organisation. “Offering them harsh conditions, the state wants to encourage the Afghans to leave France, to continue their journey”, Centres notes.

It is true that finding help for some Afghans is not easy, as they tend to avoid the authorities like the plague, hoping that they could continue their journey from Paris northwards. The most popular destination is Norway, and Finland comes second, when young Afghans wandering in Paris are asked about their plans. Only few of them speak good English, and most of them do not have any exact information about the immigration policy of European states — just rumours and hearsay. The Finnish journalist’s questions are soon replaced by the curiosity expressed by the interviewees. Are the circumstances in Finland good? Is it easier to find a job in Finland than in Sweden? Is an asylum-seeker allowed to bring his wife and children to Finland?

According to the Dublin Convention, the member-state through which an asylum-seeker first entered the EU is responsible for his or her application. Most of the Afghans have entered the EU through Greece, and for example the human rights organisation Amnesty International has reprimanded Greece for deficient procedures relating to refugee applications. According to Pierre Henry, the number of asylum applications approved in Greece is negligible. “In any case, the Dublin Convention is unreasonable, as it puts the burden of responsibility for refugees or asylum-seekers squarely on the member-state through which they first enter the EU”, Henry adds.

When it comes to Finland, many Afghans have heard that the country does not send minors back to Greece. The fact is confirmed by manager Juha Similä from the Finnish Immigration Service. According to Similä, the conditions for receiving underage asylum-seekers in Greece are inadequate. Nazrullah says that the Greek police are chasing illegal immigrants with truncheons. In Greece and Italy refugees have to stay overnight in the street. “In Finland we could sleep in a house, couldn’t we?” he asks. “I myself can manage in the street, but my wife and daughter cannot sleep there”, Nazrullah adds.

According to Finnish statistics, the number of asylum-seekers of Afghan origin increased sharply in 2008 and at the beginning of 2009. Last year, a total of 254 Afghans applied for asylum in Finland, while in the course of the first three months of the current year a total of 105 Afghan-born asylum-seekers filed their applications in the country. In 2006 and 2007, the number of asylum-seekers was just below 100 for the entire year. In 2008, the Afghans were the third-largest group of asylum-seekers in Finland, right after the Iraqis and Somalis. A total of 72 Afghans were granted asylum in 2008, while 19 applicants received a negative decision.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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France: 150 Migrants Stopped at Calais

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, APRIL 21 — Around 150 illegal immigrants were stopped this morning in Calais, in northern France, during a police-led operation. The news comes from the local prefecture. The operation involved 300 police and military police officers and took place two days before the Immigration Minister Eric Besson’s visit to Calais, where for some years hundreds of illegal immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, have gathered to try and reach Great Britain. Besson previously visited Calais on January 27. On that occasion he committed himself to finding concrete solutions by May. On Thursday, the Immigration Minister will deliver his proposals. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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France to Send Army in as Mayor of Calais Demands UK Open Its Doors to Migrants

The French government today vowed to clear Calais of the shanty town of illegal immigrants waiting to cross to the UK. Immigration minister Eric Besson told the town’s business leaders he would order the removal of a squatter camp which evolved after the closure of a French Red Cross reception centre at nearby Sangatte more than six years ago. And he challenged the UK authorities to share responsibility for solving the problem. Mr Besson urged the UK to sign up to an agreement making Calais a passport free zone — so they can get rid of thousands of illegal migrants.

It would mean that all could get straight across the Channel without official papers to the welfare benefits available in their British ‘Eldorado’.

Exasperated by the sight of the migrants sleeping rough as they try and board Dover-bound trains and lorries illegally, Calais mayor Natacha Bouchard outlined the scheme to Immigration Minister Eric Besson. ‘It’s necessary to speed up negotiations with the British because at the moment we’re ready to charter a boat to dump them over there,’ said Mrs Bouchard.

She said all that Britain had to do was sign up to the Schengen agreement, which allows anybody to travel between designated European Union states — including France — without passports or visas.

Mrs Bouchard also welcomed a scheme to bring in the Army to destroy a notorious shanty town next to Calais port called ‘The Jungle’ where a London journalism student was raped last year. Both politicians — who are tough talking members of the ruling UMP party — were taking part in a crunch meeting aimed at ‘cleaning up’ a problem firmly blamed on Britain’s benefits culture.

The French believe it encourages foreigners from all over the world to use their country as a base to get to the UK, where they will receive generous welfare payments as asylum seekers or else disappear into the black economy.

While Mr Besson favours the use of military force to tear down the squatter camps, he knows that removing passport controls from Calais would cause outrage on the other side of the Channel.

Instead he would prefer to see a series of ‘mini’ welcome centres set up along the French coast, offering food, showers, and information about how to claim asylum.

The Minister denies emphatically that they will be like the Red Cross Centre at Sangatte which acted as a magnet to thousands of migrants to the UK before being shut down as part of an Anglo-French agreement in 2002.

If the UK did sign up to Schengen, then all of the Calais migrants could flock to Dover unchallenged — meaning France’s problem would immediately become a British one.

Earlier this week Mrs Bouchard said: ‘Today, with some 800 migrants in the town, the situation is becoming unmanageable. Calais is hostage to Britain, which refuses to ratify Schengen.’

There are some 2000 migrants sleeping rough in the entire Pas de Calais area, with most playing a nightly game of cat and mouse with frontier police as they try to board lorries and trains to Britain.

Referring to ‘The Jungle’, Mrs Bouchart said: ‘It’s not a camp, it’s a village. The municipal workers cannot clean it up, they’re not up to it.

‘I’ve told the Prefect and I’ve asked him to look at a measure to wipe out this organised village. It needs an intervention by the Army.

‘There are more than 80 shelters, with a transport stop, a mosque, and a shop.

‘Migrants know exactly how to go about taking water, electricity, and stolen building material from local businesses.’ She said thousands of pounds worth of equipment had been stolen to build makeshift homes, with some of it recovered during a series of police raids on Tuesday.

Almost 200 men were arrested at the same time, in an attempt to break up people smuggling gangs who charge up to £1000-a-time for illegal passages to the south coast of England.

While almost all have since been released, Mr Besson said the operation was a success, and that his ‘target’ was the people smugglers.

On the new welcome centres Mr Besson insisted they will not become ‘a new, or a mini Sangatte.’

British Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said: ‘The UK policy is to not sign up to the Schengen Agreement.

‘Free movement is only rightly available to legal entrants. Weakening our controls will only play into the hands of the traffickers who profit from human misery and suffering.’

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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France Gets Tough Over Calais Migrants

France’s Immigration Minister Eric Besson is being urged to remove passport controls at Calais and to bring in the Army to destroy shanty towns full of UK-bound migrants.

The radical measures will be put to him by the port’s mayor Natacha Bouchart at a crunch meeting aimed at “cleaning up” a problem she blames exclusively on Britain.

Both politicians are tough-talking members of the ruling UMP party who have pledged to make the Calais area ‘watertight’ to illegal migrants.

While Mr Besson favours the use of military force to tear down the squatter camps, he knows that making Calais a passport free zone would cause outrage on the other side of the Channel.

Instead he would prefer to see a series of ‘mini’ welcome centres set up along the French coast, offering food, showers, and information about how to claim asylum.

The Minister denies emphatically that they will be like the Red Cross Centre at Sangatte which acted as a magnet to thousands of migrants to the UK before being shut down as part of an Anglo-French agreement in 2002.

Unlike France, Britain has never signed up to the Schengen agreement, which allows anybody to travel between designated European Union states without papers.

If the UK did sign up, then all of the Calais migrants could flock to Dover unchallenged — meaning France’s problem would immediately become a British one.

“Today, with some 800 migrants in the town, the situation is becoming unmanageable. Calais is hostage to Britain, which refuses to ratify Schengen,” Mrs Bouchart said.

“On Thursday I will ask the Minister to restart negotiations with Great Britain over international agreements.”

Mrs Bouchart said that if Britain signed up to Schengen, then the migrants could make their way direct to the UK to claim asylum, rather than using France as a platform to get there illegally.

There are some 2000 migrants sleeping rough in the entire Pas de Calais area, with most playing a nightly game of cat and mouse with frontier police as they try to board lorries and trains to Britain.

Many have been staying in a notorious Calais squat called “The Jungle”, where a London journalism student was raped last summer.

“It’s not a camp, it’s a village. The municipal workers cannot clean it up, they’re not up to it,” Mrs Bouchart said.

“I’ve told the Prefect and I’ve asked him to look at a measure to wipe out this organised village. It needs an intervention by the army.

“There are more than 80 shelters, with a transport stop, a mosque, and a shop. Migrants know exactly how to go about taking water, electricity, and stolen building material from local businesses.”

Thousands of pounds worth of equipment had been stolen to build makeshift homes, with some of it recovered during a series of police raids on Tuesday, she said.

Almost 200 men were arrested at the same time, in an attempt to break up people smuggling gangs who charge up to £1000-a-time for illegal passages to the south coast of England.

While almost all have since been released, Mr Besson said the operation was a success, and that his “target” was the people smugglers.

“The migrants themselves will not be abandoned as humanitarian measures will be put in place,” Mr Besson explained.

Mr Besson will meet local charities to discuss the new welcome centres, insisting they will not become “a new, or a mini Sangatte”.

Responding to French calls to make Calais a passport free zone, British Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said: “The UK policy is to not sign up to the Schengen Agreement.

“Free movement is only rightly available to legal entrants. Weakening our controls will only play into the hands of the traffickers who profit from human misery and suffering.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Greece: New Prevention Measures Decided

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, APRIL 22 — “Illegal immigration is one of the major problems affecting Greece,” said Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis after a meeting held in the Foreign Ministry with Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Vice-Minister of the Interior for Public Safety, Christos Markoyannakis, and Healthcare Undersecretary, Marios Malmas, called in order to discuss the illegal immigration problem and its consequences in view of the upcoming summer season. “Basically,” added Bakoyannis, “the decisions that were made in today’s meeting call for a greater presence of Greece in the EU regarding the immigration problem, which will be discussed shortly by the ministers and EU member state leaders, to intensify Frontex activity.” The minister added that the repatriation of immigrants to their countries of origin was also discussed. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Japan Pays Foreign Workers to Go Home

By HIROKO TABUCHI Published: April 22, 2009 HAMAMATSU, Japan — Rita Yamaoka, a mother of three who immigrated from Brazil, recently lost her factory job here. Now, Japan has made her an offer she might not be able to refuse.

The government will pay thousands of dollars to fly Mrs. Yamaoka; her husband, who is a Brazilian citizen of Japanese descent; and their family back to Brazil. But in exchange, Mrs. Yamaoka and her husband must agree never to seek to work in Japan again.

“I feel immense stress. I’ve been crying very often,” Mrs. Yamaoka, 38, said after a meeting where local officials detailed the offer in this industrial town in central Japan.

“I tell my husband that we should take the money and go back,” she said, her eyes teary. “We can’t afford to stay here much longer.”

Japan’s offer, extended to hundreds of thousands of blue-collar Latin American immigrants, is part of a new drive to encourage them to leave this recession-racked country. So far, at least 100 workers and their families have agreed to leave, Japanese officials said.

But critics denounce the program as shortsighted, inhumane and a threat to what little progress Japan has made in opening its economy to foreign workers.

“It’s a disgrace. It’s cold-hearted,” said Hidenori Sakanaka, director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, an independent research organization.

“And Japan is kicking itself in the foot,” he added. “We might be in a recession now, but it’s clear it doesn’t have a future without workers from overseas.”

The program is limited to the country’s Latin American guest workers, whose Japanese parents and grandparents emigrated to Brazil and neighboring countries a century ago to work on coffee plantations.

In 1990, Japan — facing a growing industrial labor shortage — started issuing thousands of special work visas to descendants of these emigrants. An estimated 366,000 Brazilians and Peruvians now live in Japan.

The guest workers quickly became the largest group of foreign blue-collar workers in an otherwise immigration-averse country, filling the so-called three-K jobs (kitsui, kitanai, kiken — hard, dirty and dangerous).

But the nation’s manufacturing sector has slumped as demand for Japanese goods evaporated, pushing unemployment to a three-year high of 4.4 percent. Japan’s exports plunged 45.6 percent in March from a year earlier, and industrial production is at its lowest level in 25 years.

New data from the Japanese trade ministry suggested manufacturing output could rise in March and April, as manufacturers start to ease production cuts. But the numbers could have more to do with inventories falling so low that they need to be replenished than with any increase in demand.

While Japan waits for that to happen, it has been keen to help foreign workers leave, which could ease pressure on domestic labor markets and the unemployment rolls.

“There won’t be good employment opportunities for a while, so that’s why we’re suggesting that the Nikkei Brazilians go home,” said Jiro Kawasaki, a former health minister and senior lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

“Nikkei” visas are special visas granted because of Japanese ancestry or association.

Mr. Kawasaki led the ruling party task force that devised the repatriation plan, part of a wider emergency strategy to combat rising unemployment.

Under the emergency program, introduced this month, the country’s Brazilian and other Latin American guest workers are offered $3,000 toward air fare, plus $2,000 for each dependent — attractive lump sums for many immigrants here. Workers who leave have been told they can pocket any amount left over.

But those who travel home on Japan’s dime will not be allowed to reapply for a work visa. Stripped of that status, most would find it all but impossible to return. They could come back on three-month tourist visas. Or, if they became doctors or bankers or held certain other positions, and had a company sponsor, they could apply for professional visas.

Spain, with a unemployment rate of 15.5 percent, has adopted a similar program, but immigrants are allowed to reclaim their residency and work visas after three years.

Japan is under pressure to allow returns. Officials have said they will consider such a modification, but have not committed to it.

“Naturally, we don’t want those same people back in Japan after a couple of months,” Mr. Kawasaki said. “Japanese taxpayers would ask, ‘What kind of ridiculous policy is this?’ “

The plan came as a shock to many, especially after the government introduced a number of measures in recent months to help jobless foreigners, including free Japanese-language courses, vocational training and job counseling. Guest workers are eligible for limited cash unemployment benefits, provided they have paid monthly premiums.

“It’s baffling,” said Angelo Ishi, an associate professor in sociology at Musashi University in Tokyo. “The Japanese government has previously made it clear that they welcome Japanese-Brazilians, but this is an insult to the community.”

It could also hurt Japan in the long run. The aging country faces an impending labor shortage. The population has been falling since 2005, and its working-age population could fall by a third by 2050. Though manufacturers have been laying off workers, sectors like farming and care for the elderly still face shortages.

But Mr. Kawasaki said the economic slump was a good opportunity to overhaul Japan’s immigration policy as a whole.

“We should stop letting unskilled laborers into Japan. We should make sure that even the three-K jobs are paid well, and that they are filled by Japanese,” he said. “I do not think that Japan should ever become a multiethnic society.”

He said the United States had been “a failure on the immigration front,” and cited extreme income inequalities between rich Americans and poor immigrants.

At the packed town hall meeting in Hamamatsu, immigrants voiced disbelief that they would be barred from returning. Angry members of the audience converged on officials. Others walked out of the meeting room.

“Are you saying even our children will not be able to come back?” one man shouted.

“That is correct, they will not be able to come back,” a local labor official, Masahiro Watai, answered calmly.

Claudio Nishimori, 30, said he was considering returning to Brazil because his shifts at a electronics parts factory were recently reduced. But he felt anxious about going back to a country he had left so long ago.

“I’ve lived in Japan for 13 years. I’m not sure what job I can find when I return to Brazil,” he said. But his wife has been unemployed since being laid off last year and he can no longer afford to support his family.

Mrs. Yamaoka and her husband, Sergio, who settled here three years ago at the height of the export boom, are undecided. But they have both lost jobs at auto factories. Others have made up their minds to leave. About 1,000 of Hamamatsu’s Brazilian inhabitants left the city before the aid was even announced. The city’s Brazilian elementary school closed last month.

“They put up with us as long as they needed the labor,” said Wellington Shibuya, who came six years ago and lost his job at a stove factory in October. “But now that the economy is bad, they throw us a bit of cash and say goodbye.”

He recently applied for the government repatriation aid and is set to leave in June.

“We worked hard; we tried to fit in. Yet they’re so quick to kick us out,” he said. “I’m happy to leave a country like this.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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NZ: Language a Massive Barrier for New NZ Immigrants: Report

Language difficulties have been identified as one of the main issues preventing non-Western families adjusting to culture and getting ahead in New Zealand.

Research released today by the Families Commission, in collaboration with the NZ Federation of Ethnic Councils , found many conflicts identified among the 39 immigrant parents and children interviewed were about trust and differing opinions.

Findings suggested inter-generational conflicts which occurred when young people reached adolescence could be worsened by the process of cultural transition.

However, outside the family it was found that personal wellbeing in New Zealand was improved and the increased opportunities were noted.

On the negative side, language barriers were found to be a one of the biggest challenges, and some talked about cultural discrimination and a lack of work opportunities.

Many said they were struggling to find work, despite qualifications, and that the situation led to income issues and distress.

“I came here thinking that my life would change for the better, I will get a job, but this hasn’t happened,” an African father said.

An African mother said she found it difficult having to do shift work to pay the bills, and at the same time the situation was keeping her separated from her son.

A young Muslim woman said she felt alienated because people couldn’t get used to her veil, while a young man talked about his family being treated like “terrorists” in their neighbourhood.

“We have not been accepted by the people here, so I have nothing else but to stay the same … if the way they talk and treat us is the New Zealand way then I don’t want to be part of it”.

Despite the comments, the report said most participants didn’t discuss discrimination and ignorance, but a lack of acceptance was seen as barrier for integration into New Zealand society.

While many participants saw themselves as actively trying to fit in to New Zealand society, maintaining ethnic traditions was also important.

The report said despite some difficulties, relationships between parents and children were generally healthy, and members felt well adjusted and supported.

Families coming to New Zealand generally had a grounding foundation for their home culture’s beliefs, values and language, and that needed to be maintained.

The report said policy should be directed towards supporting pre-existing strengths of immigrant families, while seeking to address problems in acculturation.

Findings suggested there was possibility for a greater role for local government to facilitate the enhancement of the strengths in migrant families.

That included providing information in migrant communities for social services, groups and organisations.

“Strengths-based family training programmes as well as interventions would be well placed at this level,” it said.

Encouragement for participation in the wider society also needed to be facilitated.

Policy changes permitting the entry of overseas family members to New Zealand with temporary or long-term visas would also be welcomed by families here, the report said.

It said a more comprehensive survey was needed to identify how families could be further assisted once here.

The research involved families from African, Middle Eastern and Asian backgrounds.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Pinar: Italian Dossier in Brussels

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS — More funds to monitor foreign borders outside the EU, greater support from all European partners and the definition, on an EU level too, of responsibility for search and rescue missions in international waters. As understood in Brussels, these are three requests put forward by Italy in the Pinar dossier regarding the cargo ship that rescued a boat of African migrants off the south coast of Sicily, and delivered today to European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Jacques Barrot. The dossier states that Italy cannot be left alone to face the influx of illegal immigration from the African coasts and sailing towards Sicily in search of a foothold in Europe. According to the document, the EU cannot put all the weight of managing the phenomenon on the bordering countries. A circumstance that in the case of Sicily translates into a burden taken on almost entirely by Italy. The dossier also makes reference to rescue activities undertaken by Italy in international waters under Malta’s responsibility. In two years there have been 670 operations. The document states that the Pinar, when it gave the first alarm was in Maltese search and rescue waters, which is why Italy invited authorities in Valletta to intervene after giving the first assistance for humanitarian reasons. Malta rejects the arguments in the Italian dossier and maintains that it coordinated the rescue and directed the Pinar where it had been directed initially, Lampedusa, being “the nearest safe port”. An attempt to mediate the dispute between Italy and Malta will take place on Thursday in Brussels when a meeting is scheduled between Barrot and the Italian and Maltese Foreign Ministers, Roberto Maroni, and Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Sicily Region, Pinar Immigrants Not Assisted

(ANSAmed) — PALERMO, APRIL 20 — “I want to ask that the unfortunate people who have reached the coast of Sicily be guaranteed treatment which respects the basic parameters of humanity and civilisation.” The governor of the Sicily Region, Raffaele Lombardo, made his plea upon learning of “the 84 immigrants who were moved from the vessel, Pinamar, and taken to Porto Empedocle by the Italian naval ship, Danaide, had not stopped in tent set up in the port area by the regional Civil Defence department where immigrants receive initial assistance”. A statement from the Region’s presidency specified that “when the Danaide arrived, for some inexplicable reason, the State Police authorities, despite the availability of men and equipment from the Region, decided to send the immigrants directly to the reception centres set up by the Ministry of the Interior”. The first group of 20 immigrants, who arrived during the morning in a Financial Police patrol boat, had stopped at the tent. “There, thanks to Civil Defence operators and volunteers,” the statement continued, “it was possible to give the immigrants food and drink, allow them to put on clean clothes, to use the bathroom and to wash, after their terrible experience along the Maltese coast. It was only after they had been seen by doctors and the police had made their first investigations that the immigrants were taken to the centre set up by the Ministry of the Interior”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Tunisia: 159 Illegal Migrants Apprehended

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, APRIL 21 — One hundred and fifty-nine Tunisian youths have been halted by police in their attempt to illegally cross the border with Libya to head to Italy by boat. The would-be immigrants, who are mostly from Tunis, were apprehended in several dwellings around Medenine (southern Tunisia), where they were staying before heading to the Libyan coast to catch a boat. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Gene Technology Threatens New Racism: Vatican

GENEVA (Reuters) — Technology allowing parents to choose the genetic characteristics of their babies threatens to breed new forms of racism, the Vatican told a United Nations race conference on Wednesday.

Pope Benedict earlier this week said the heated U.N. forum, which several Western powers are boycotting to avoid giving legitimacy to criticism of Israel, was an important initiative to confront all forms of modern discrimination.

“The Holy See is also alarmed by the still latent temptation of eugenics that can be fueled by techniques of artificial procreation and the use of ‘superfluous embryos’,” Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Vatican observer to the U.N. in Geneva said.

“The possibility of choosing the color of the eyes or other physical characteristic of a child could lead to the creation of a ‘subcategory of human beings’ or the elimination of human beings that do not fulfill the characteristics predetermined by a given society.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has cast a long shadow over the Geneva meeting that formally wraps up on Friday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made international headlines on its opening day on Monday when he denounced Israel as a racist state, prompting dozens of delegates to stream out.

Pro-Israeli and Jewish groups had urged the Vatican to boycott the meeting alongside Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Canada, and Israel.

But Tomasi said it was important for religious voices to be heard at such forums.

“In the fight against racism, faith communities play a major part,” he said.

He also cited concerns that “an increased fragmentation of social relations in our multicultural societies” and the world’s economic crisis has made vulnerable people even more so.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Durban II: The Outrage Continues

By Anne Bayefsky

The UN’s racist anti-racism conference “Durban II” rammed through a final declaration three days before its scheduled conclusion. On Monday Iranian President Ahamadinejad had opened the substantive program by denying the Holocaust and spewing antisemitism. A day later UN members rewarded Iran by electing it one of three Vice-Chairs of the committee which adopted the final declaration.

The committee meeting was chaired by Libya and lasted fifteen minutes. No discussion of the merits of the Durban II declaration was tolerated.

The document reaffirms the 2001 Durban Declaration which alleges Palestinians are victims of Israeli racism and mentions only Israel among all 192 UN member states. It also multiplies the anti-Israel provisions, using the usual UN code, by adding yet another rant about racist foreign occupation.

Not surprisingly, such a manifesto encouraged the racists and antisemites which had pressed for its adoption. Speaking on Tuesday the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faysal Mekdad, alleged “the right of return” of Jews to Israel — Jewish self-determination — was “a form of racial discrimination”. He also objected to the “Judaization of Israel” and to the “ethnic cleansing…of 1948.”

Palestinian Riyad Al-Maliki claimed that “for over 60 years the Palestinian people has been suffering under…the ugliest face of racism and racial discrimination…” and said an Israeli government “declaration…regarding the Jewish nature of the state is a form of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.” Al-Maliki was delighted with the result of the conference and gloated by reading excerpts from the 2001 Durban Declaration that he was pleased to see had been reaffirmed.

The remnants of the European Union which remained inside the conference — in particular France and the United Kingdom — entirely ignored their many promises not to accept anything which singled out the Jewish state. Though these Europeans undoubtedly enabled the hatemongering, their excuses in the coming days are predictable.

The rest of the week has been set aside for speechifying. Europeans can be expected to point to the miniscule mentions of antisemitism and the Holocaust and pretend antisemitism is unrelated to the demonization of Israel in the very same text.

Their behavior is as chilling as the behavior of the UN itself.

— Hat tip: Vlad Tepes

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Row Over Anti-Racism Observer

THE Australian Human Rights Commission has defended its decision to send the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Tom Calma, to take part in a Geneva conference where delegates walked out after the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, attacked Israel as a racist regime.

Mr Calma had attended the Durban Review Conference as observer even though the Rudd Government had boycotted the conference, fearing it would become an anti-Israel talkfest.

Australian Jewish leaders were reportedly critical of Mr Calma’s decision to go to Geneva to attend the United Nations conference which was reviewing a world code for what constitutes racism.

But the commission issued a statement reiterating it was an independent body with a legislative mandate, under the Racial Discrimination Act, to combat racial discrimination and prejudices that lead to racial discrimination.

“The decision of the commission for the Race Discrimination Commissioner to attend the Durban Review Conference 2009 in Geneva was taken in consideration of the commission’s functions under the Racial Discrimination Act,” the statement said.

“The commission was satisfied that the conference would provide a valuable opportunity for common experiences of racism to be shared.”

The Rudd Government boycotted the conference after it, the US, Israel and other nations were unsuccessful in having the words changed of a draft document upholding anti-Semitic remarks in the 2001 Durban Declaration. The conference ends today.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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UN Kicks Jews, Iranians Out of Racism Meeting

GENEVA — The United Nations expelled three groups from its conference on global racism Thursday for unacceptable behavior related to the opening speech that Iran’s president gave denouncing Israel.

The disciplinary action was the latest sign of the rancor at the weeklong conference caused by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad’s claim that the West used the Holocaust as a “pretext” to harm the Palestinians. But it did not prevent officials from around the world from achieving their main goal on Tuesday: a consensus document calling for action against racism and xenophobia.

The groups whose passes were withdrawn are the French Union of Jewish Students; Coexist, a related French-based organization that fights racism and anti-Semitism; and the Tehran-based Neda Institute for Political and Scientific Research, said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He told reporters that members of the first group had been involved Monday in disrupting Ahmadinejad’s speech.

He did not elaborate, but a pair of rainbow-wigged protesters threw clown noses at Ahmadinajad, while others shouted, “You are a racist!” and “Shame! shame!” from the gallery. Iranian spectators also cheered loudly. Later about 100 members of pro-Israel and Jewish groups tried to block Ahmadinejad’s entrance to a news conference.

The Neda Institute from Iran distributed inflammatory material to meeting participants, Colville said.

Altogether, 64 badges of representatives of the three non-governmental organizations were revoked, he said.

On Tuesday, U.N. officials announced that the badges of some members of these groups were withdrawn. But “After examining the types of conduct, and patterns of conduct, as well as the risk of possible disruptive behavior during the remainder of the conference, the High Commissioner has issued an instruction that the badges of all the participants of three NGOs be removed,” Colville said. That ends the groups participation in the conference.

Meanwhile, the controversy of the opening speech, which caused many European officials to walk out of the conference room, continued.

On Wednesday, Iran sent a letter of protest to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for criticizing Ahmadinejad’s speech. The Iranian president “was subjected to unfair and unwarranted harsh criticism,” Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. in New York, Mohammad Khazaee, said in the letter.

The U.N. Office in Geneva was unable to comment on the letter early Thursday because it had not received it.

Ban said Monday he deplored “the use of this platform by the Iranian president to accuse, divide and even incite. This is the opposite of what this conference seeks to achieve.”

“It is deeply regrettable that my plea to look to the future of unity was not heeded by the Iranian president,” Ban said in a statement, adding that he met with Ahmadinejad before the U.N. conference stressing the importance of uniting in the fight against racism.

Ban’s comment was a response to Ahmadinejad’s denunciation of Israel on the first day of the conference in Geneva, calling it the most “cruel, and repressive, racist regime.” That sparked and strong condemnations from the U.N.; the U.S., which had boycotted the conference; and several other Western countries.

Iran’s ambassador noted that tolerance and freedom of expression were among the basic principles of the world racism conference..

“It is unacceptable, and indeed regrettable, that these very principles were utterly disregarded in the same conference where we witnessed a manifestation of intolerance by some,” he said.

Khazaee said the U.N. secretary general should be impartial and fair, adding that the majority of U.N. member states were concerned about the plight of the Palestinians caused by Israel’s policies and practices.

Some campaigners say the conference’s focus on the Middle East occurred at the expense of other urgent cases of racism, such as plight of “untouchables,” the social outcasts at the bottom of India’s complex caste system.

“Caste discrimination is one of the most important issues being left out of this conference and because of the predominant attention to one specific issue, all other concerns within the field of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and racial intolerance, are being excluded,” said Peter Prove of the Lutheran World Federation.

The International Dalit Solidarity Network, which campaigns on behalf of untouchables in India and elsewhere, says some 260 million people in Asia and Africa suffer discrimination because they are deemed to belong to inferior castes.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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This is a disturbing news story. The videos are fairly graphic, so I haven’t embedded them here. Even though the most horrible segments have been edited out, sensitive readers may want to avoid following the links to them.

The tape of these events was smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates, and was posted on the ABC News site yesterday (it may also have been on TV, but we don’t have one, so I don’t know).

Here’s a brief summary of it, taken from The Mad Hatters:

A videotape smuggled out of the UAE shows Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan — brother of the country’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed — torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.

The torture victim, Mohammed Shah Poor, was accused by the Sheikh of short changing him on a grain delivery to his royal ranch on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

The final scene on the tape shows the Sheikh positioning his victim on the desert sand and then driving over him repeatedly. A sound of breaking bones can be heard on the tape.

A somewhat different version of the same tape may be seen here, and the original source is probably from the UAE Torture site.

Here are more details from the ABC News site:
– – – – – – – – –

A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates shows a member of the country’s royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.

A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim’s arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man’s wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV.

In a statement to ABC News, the UAE Ministry of the Interior said it had reviewed the tape and acknowledged the involvement of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, brother of the country’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed.

“The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior,” the Interior Ministry’s statement declared.

The Minister of the Interior is also one of Sheikh Issa’s brother. [sic]

The government statement said its review found “all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department.”

This is not a new story — MSNBC reported on it last summer, when the man who smuggled out the tape filed suit against Sheikh Issa:

As a trusted adviser to a member of United Arab Emirates royal family, Texas businessman Bassam Nabulsi says he safeguarded the sheik’s most important documents: financial records, investment documents, and videotapes showing the sheik torturing people with a cattle prod and a spiked plank.

Now that Mr. Nabulsi has made the tape public, the issue of torture in the UAE will be that much harder to ignore.

Presumably the ABC network is seizing this opportunity to make former President Bush look bad. But it’s important to remember that cozying up to the despots of the Persian Gulf is a thoroughly bipartisan affair, and continues under the current administration.

Hat tip: VH.

I wrote last night about the riots and fires have become a routine nightly occurrence in the Rosengård district of Malmö in southern Sweden. The Swedish authorities seem to be impotent in the face of rampaging immigrant gangs.

On Monday night the Islamic nature of these nightly events became clear: on a video taken by a Swedish blogger, the rioters can be plainly heard shouting “Jihad!” and “Allahu Akhbar!”:

– – – – – – – – –
During Monday evening’s riots, “youths” set fires in dumpsters and threw stones at the police. A rental trailer from a nearby gas station had to be hauled out of range of the flames.

In other words, business as usual, as noted in the Politiskt Inkorrekt blog.

The persistent denial by political leaders and the media that Islamic belief is an element in Swedish immigrant violence is belied by the “youths” themselves. They obviously think they’re engaging in jihad against the hated kuffar. Why don’t we take their word for it?

Young Muslims in Sweden are now stating their motives and intentions loud and clear.

There’s no longer any excuse for abject cowardice in the face of a danger that has become so blatantly obvious.

Hat tip: Steen.

The website for the International Free Press Society website is up and running again after being brought down by a cyber-attack earlier this month.

The sale of signed and numbered prints of Kurt Westergaard’s “Turban Bomb” cartoon — which coincidentally was widely publicized just before the attack began — continued unabated during the site’s downtime. A limited stock of them is still available, but they are being snapped up rapidly.

The editors have some catching up to do, but they have resumed tracking the free-speech news stories, and new material is now being posted there. Go on over to IFPS and see how content-rich the site has become.

[Post ends here]

The International Free Press Society will be well-represented at Pro-Köln’s Anti-Islamization Congress on May 9th: Pamela Geller, Paul Belien, and Lars Hedegaard have confirmed their attendance.

Our Flemish correspondent VH has translated the announcement on Pro-Köln’s website:

Wilders confidant Pamela Geller, Paul Belien, and Lars Hedegaard will be present at the Anti-Islamization Congress in Cologne!

Photo caption: “The well-known New York journalist and Islam critic Pamela Geller, pictured here with the Dutch right-wing MP Geert Wilders, will speak at the press conference of the Anti-Islamization Congress 2009 in Cologne.”

The Wilders confidant and journalist Pamela Geller from New York and the well known Islam critic, publicist and Internet blogger Paul Belien from Flanders, and Lars Hedegaard from Denmark have confirmed their visit to the 2009 Anti-Islamization Congress. In addition, a religious blessing for the main rally will be given on Saturday by a Protestant pastor in four different languages.

A good two weeks before the start of the Anti-Islamization Congress of 2009 in Cologne and surroundings, the range of participating organizations and individuals is ever widening. In addition to the keynote speakers from Vlaams Belang, the FPÖ, the Pro-movement, and the German Parliamentarians Henry Nitzsche and politicians from France, Italy, and the Czech Republic as well as delegations from Spain, Norway, and Switzerland, there are now three more firm commitments by prominent individuals from America, Denmark, and Flanders.

First of all, the well-known New York journalist and Islam critic Pamela Geller, who is a close confidant in America of the Dutch right-wing MP Geert Wilders. As early as last year, many American newspapers and television stations, including CNN, became aware of the Anti-Islamization Congress, and there was a lively political debate on the “scandalous” events in Cologne. Now Pamela Geller, an active participant [in the anti-Islamization movement] in the USA will appear in Cologne, where she also will explain the motivations for her support of the Pro-movement at the international press conference on Friday.

– – – – – – – – –

Paul Belien and Lars Hedegaard, two highly dedicated and globally networked activists for democracy and freedom of speech and against the dangers of Islamization, will participate in the proceedings in Cologne. With their well-known Internet blogs they daily reach tens of thousands of readers in Europe, where already many debates on the new Cologne Congress take place.

“We are also very pleased with the commitment of a Protestant Pastor, who at the beginning of the main public rally on Saturday will conduct a Christian reflection, and then a blessing for all congress participants in German. English, French, and Italian,” the pro-NRW General Secretary Markus Wiener added in a response to the new developments.

“The Pro-movement of 8 through 10 May 2009 will light a beacon that will be watched from beyond Germany’s borders. We will peacefully and with an ecclesiastical blessing exercise our legitimate and democratic rights. In addition, we will clearly demonstrate that patriotism and criticism of Islam have nothing to do with racism or anti-Semitism. This is also shown by our impressive list of speakers and participants.”

Other prominent confirmations of parties and individuals to the Anti-Islamization Congress are expected in the next few days.

Fjordman’s latest essay has been posted at Jihad Watch. Some excerpts are below:

This text is written in response to the book The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons, which was published early in 2009. I have made a brief, early review of this book at the Gates of Vienna blog and will expand upon this here. Thematically related to this is John Freely’s Aladdin’s Lamp, which I have also evaluated. I don’t recommend buying either of these books, but Freely’s work is the least bad of the two because he has a better grasp of the history of science than Mr. Lyons does.

Lyons’ work is 200 pages long, Freely’s 255 pages. Neither of them mentions the terms “Jihad” or “dhimmi” even once in their accounts of Islamic culture. This says a great deal about the current intellectual climate. I didn’t notice these words while reading the books and they are not listed in the indexes. The authors certainly don’t devote much time to debating the violent aspects of Islamic expansionism through the Islamically unique institution of Jihad or the fates of the conquered peoples, as documented by Bat Ye’or and others. Is it a coincidence that whatever useful scholarly work that was done in the Middle East happened during the first centuries of the Islamic era, while there were still many non-Muslims living in the region? The question is never debated by these authors, but in my view it deserves to be.

Stephen O’Shea of The Los Angeles Times in a very positive review claims that “Dust will never gather on Jonathan Lyons’ lively new book of medieval history.” I disagree. I consider The House of Wisdom to be a bad case of poor scholarship. The best thing I can say about it is that it is not as bad as God’s Crucible by the American historian David Levering Lewis, which I have written about previously. Lewis says in more or less plain words that it would have been better if Islam had conquered all of Europe and wiped out Western civilization. Incidentally, another person who believed this was Adolf Hitler, who lamented the fact that he had to deal with Christianity, with its nonsense about compassion and love, rather than Islam, which would have been a better match for his Nazism. The feeling was apparently mutual, as Adolf Hitler is still a bestselling author in the Islamic world, including in “moderate” Turkey.

– – – – – – – – –

Practically nothing of what Shakespeare used as a literary inspiration was available in the Islamic world at any point, despite the fact that much of North Africa and the Middle East had for centuries been a part of the Roman Empire. Latin writers were completely ignored by Muslims whereas the Roman writer Cicero had a huge impact on Western political thought, from Machiavelli and Montesquieu to the American Founding Fathers (see my essay The Importance of Cicero in Western Thought). While many Greek works on science and philosophy were translated into Arabic, often by non-Muslims, works on history, drama, art or politics held no interest for Muslims at all. Many central works of Greek or other literature are still not available in Arabic, Persian or Turkish translations to this day, yet can be read in the languages of European nations that were never a part of the Roman Empire, for instance Norwegian, Finnish or Polish. So much for our “shared Classical heritage.”

The great Spanish novelist, playwright and poet Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) was a contemporary of Shakespeare, and his novel Don Quixote or Don Quijote from the early 1600s pioneered that genre in Europe. Tradition has them dying within a day of each other, Cervantes on April 22 in Madrid and Shakespeare on April 23 in 1616. They both created a fascinating and expansive literary world of morally and psychologically complex characters. Cervantes affected the development of the Spanish language almost as much as Shakespeare influenced the English one. He personally participated in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 to prevent the Ottoman Turks from advancing further into Europe. He fought bravely and due to wounds he received lost his left arm to amputation, but nevertheless proceeded to write his greatest works after that. He survived years of Islamic captivity as a slave after having been captured by Algerian Muslim corsairs. I am fairly certain that Cervantes would have challenged Mr. Lyons to a duel had he been alive and heard that Lyons used his name to praise Islamic culture. I feel equally certain that Cervantes would have won that duel.

Read the rest at Jihad Watch.

Check out the news stories tonight about recent events in Sri Lanka, and also related news about the attack on the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo.

In other news, the CFO of Freddie Mac has allegedly hanged himself in the basement of his home. This is beginning to look like 1929 all over again, only more so.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, EK, Fjordman, Henrik, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, islam o’phobe, JCPA, JD, KGS, MB, moderntemplar, Paul Green, Reinhard, Steen, Tuan Jim, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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	Financial Crisis
	Alleged: CFO of Freddie Mac Hanged Himself
	France: Violent Workers Warned
	IMF Says Recession Will be Deeper, Recovery Slower
	UN Conference: Economic Crisis Could Fuel Hatred
	USA
	Are You an ‘Extremist’?
	Are You Licensed to Reload That Ammo?
	California EPA to Rule Against Ethanol
	CIA Confirms: Waterboarding 9/11 Mastermind Led to Info That Aborted 9/11-Style Attack on Los Angeles
	Court to Weigh State’s Duty to English Learners
	Ginsburg’s Judicial Globalism
	High Court Hears Reverse Discrimination Arguments
	House Votes on ‘Hate Crimes’ Bill
	Killer ‘Green’ Bill to Slaughter U.S. Economy
	Napolitano Regrets Anger Over Intelligence Report
	New Law to ‘Manage’ 8 Million ‘Volunteers’
	Obama Continues Assault on the Second Amendment
	Obama Opens Door to Prosecutions on Interrogations
	Pentagon Pick: Bush ‘Mindlessly’ Supported Israel
	Promises, Promises: Obama and Black Farmers
	Twin Crises: Immigration & Electricity Infrastructure
	Canada
	Canada Chides U.S. for Remarks on 9/11 Plotters
	Europe and the EU
	Briton John Irving Admits Iraq Kickbacks
	Bruce Bawer: Heirs to Fortuyn?
	Brussels Quietly Trains a Foreign Service
	Denmark: Muslims Walk Out of Terrorism Conference
	Dutch Parliament Agrees to Block All Dialogue With Hamas
	Earthquake: Arab-Israeli Students, Co-mai Thanks Government
	France Criticizes U.S. for Shunning U.N. Racism Talks
	Fury at £121k to Fly Detainee Back to Britain
	German Trial Begins for Four Accused in Terror Plot Against US Targets
	Italian Judge to Rule in May on CIA Trial
	Italy: Roma Gypsy Wins Big Brother
	Italy: Milan Reports Illegal Immigrant Surge
	Norway: “the Reality is That a Kind of Sneak-Islamisation of This Society is Being Allowed”
	Norwegian Lawyers to Accuse Israeli Leaders of War Crimes
	On Work and Freedom: For Holocaust Remembrance Day and Durban II
	Spain: Condominiums to Appoint Energy Monitors for Savings
	Spain: Genetic Proof, Hapsburgs Killed by Inbreeding
	Spain: Minister, Safety for the Retired
	UK: 9 Held Over Bomb Plot Fear Are to be Deported
	UK: Government Attempts to Deport Nine Pakistani Students Held in Terror Raid Fiasco Then Released Without Charge
	Balkans
	Kosovo: Saudi Arabia Recognises Independence
	Kosovo: Unesco, Serbia Protests Church Appropriations
	North Africa
	Algeria: Al-Qaeda Leader ‘Resumes’ Terrorist Activity
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Gaza Aid Could be ‘Blocked’ Without a Palestinian Accord
	Gaza: New Bank Supported by Hamas Opens
	Palestinian Land Owner to be Tried for Treason for Selling Land to Jews
	Middle East
	McDonald’s Happy About Growth in Turkey, Eyes More
	Outrage Reserved for Israel
	Terrorism: Turkey; Heavy Blow for Al-Qaeda, 37 Arrests
	The Iranian Dream…
	The Russian Handicap to U.S. Iran Policy
	Turkey: Sales of Alcoholic Beverages Untouched by Crisis
	Turkey: Police Arrest Al-Qaeda Suspects in Raids
	Turkey: History Texts Draw Set of Blank Pages
	Russia
	Russian Church Asks WCAR to Introduce Christianophobia Notion in Intl Law
	Caucasus
	Over a Dozen Wahabi Groups “Neutralized” in North Caucasus — Russian Ministry
	South Asia
	Afghan Women March, America Turns Away
	Archbishop of Lahore: Sharia in the Swat Valley is Contrary to Pakistan’s Founding Principles
	Elections in Orissa Rigged as Extremists Force Christians to Vote for Hindu Parties
	Pakistan: Men Jailed 10 Weeks for Pamphlet
	Sri Lanka Hails Surrender of Rebel Pair
	Sri Lankan War in Endgame, 100,000 Escape Rebel Zone
	Sri Lanka Will Not Accept Compensation for Damage to Mission in Oslo
	Sri Lanka: Twists in Norwegian Peace Efforts
	Uzbekistan Sentences Hizb Ut-Tahrir Leader, Accomplices to Lengthy Prison Terms
	Far East
	China: Jackie Chan’s China Comments Prompt Backlash
	S. Korea: “Mini-Pig” a Promising Sign for Transplants
	Australia — Pacific
	Islamic School Would Breed Terrorists: Resident
	Religious Leaders Unite to Fight Vilification Laws
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	24 Killed as Kenya Town Battles Violent Gang
	A Teddy Bear Nightmare in Sudan
	When Kindness Kills
	Latin America
	Hugo Chavez Says Venezuelan Socialism Has Begun to Reach U.S. Under Obama
	Venezuelan Opposition Leader Formally Seeks Asylum in Peru
	Immigration
	Colleges Push Tuition Aid for Illegal Immigrants
	EC Deals With Conflict Between Italy and Malta
	France: 200 Illegal Migrants Found in Id Check
	Immigration: Obama Seeks Amnesty for Illegal Aliens
	Malta: Ban Ki-moon to Arrive Tomorrow
	Maroni Accuses Malta of Diverting 40,000 Refugees to Italy
	Pinar. EU: Thanks Italy But Alarm Remains
	General
	Interview With Flemming Rose: an Islamist ‘New World Order’
	Vatican: UN Racism Forum Should Not Promote ‘Extremist’ Views

Alleged: CFO of Freddie Mac Hanged Himself

WASHINGTON (AP) — WASHINGTON (AP)—David Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of money-losing mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead at his home early Wednesday in what police said was an apparent suicide.

The Fairfax County police responded to a 911-call at 4:48 a.m. at the suburban Virginia home Kellermann shared with his wife Donna and five-year-old daughter Grace. The police would not release the exact cause of death, but spokesman Eddy Azcarate said Kellermann’s body was found in the basement.

Kellermann, 41, lived in Hunter Mill Estates, a well-off neighborhood of large single-family homes with manicured lawns. County records show Kellermann’s home is worth about $900,000.

Paul Unger, who lives across the street from the Kellermanns, called the family a “solid, salt-of-the-earth kind of family” that hosted the neighborhood’s Halloween party. “He was just a nice guy … You cannot imagine what kind of pressures he must have been under,” Unger said.

Some neighbors said Kellermann had lost a noticeable amount of weight under the strain of the job, and some said they suggested to him he should quit to avoid the stress. The neighbors did not want to be quoted by name because they didn’t want to upset the family.

Kellermann, a University of Michigan graduate who went to business school at George Washington University, worked for Freddie Mac for the past 16 years and was named acting chief financial officer last September when the government seized control of the company and ousted top executives. Freddie Mac lost more than $50 billion last year, and the government has pumped in $45 billion to keep the company afloat.

Kellermann’s death is the latest in a string of blows to Freddie Mac, which owns or guarantees about 13 million mortgages and us the No. 2 mortgage finance company after sibling Fannie Mae. The company has been criticized for financing risky mortgage loans that fueled the real estate bubble, and its first government-appointed CEO, David Moffett, resigned last month after six months on the job.

As the company’s financial chief, Kellermann was working on the company’s first quarter financial report, due at the end of May, with federal regulators closely overseeing the company’s books and signing off on major decisions.

That relationship has been tense at times. Freddie Mac executives recently battled with federal regulators over whether to disclose potential losses on mortgage securities tied to the Obama administration’s housing plan, said a person familiar with the deliberations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have been investigating Freddie Mac’s business practices. But two U.S. law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the Freddie Mac investigation, said Kellermann was neither a target nor a subject of the investigation and had not been under law enforcement scrutiny.

News of Kellermann’s death came as a shock to employees of the McLean, Va.-based company, with those who knew Kellermann tearing up on Wednesday morning and a quiet mood prevailing. Senior executives at the company heard the news on local radio before going to work.

John Koskinen, the company’s interim chief executive, said in a statement that Kellermann, “was a man of great talents …. His extraordinary work ethic and integrity inspired all who worked with him.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement that “our deepest sympathies are with his family and his colleagues at Freddie Mac during this difficult time.”

Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae have both come under fire from lawmakers as they plan to pay more than $210 million in bonuses through next year to give workers the incentive to stay in their jobs. Kellermann was in line to receive retention awards totaling $850,000 over the next year.

— Hat tip: KGS

[Return to headlines]

France: Violent Workers Warned

PARIS — FRENCH Prime Minister Francois Fillon called on Wednesday for charges against laid-off workers who vented their anger by trashing a government building as fears grew of labour unrest turning violent. Workers from a plant owned by German tyre company Continental ransacked the offices on Tuesday in the latest flareup of labour anger that has also seen employees take managers captive at factories hit by the economic crisis.

‘These are violent acts that are unacceptable,’ Mr Fillon said after Continental workers smashed windows and wrecked computers at the offices of the regional administration in Compiegne, northeast of Paris.

He said they should face legal action for the rampage triggered by a court’s refusal to block the company’s decision to shut down the factory and scrap 1,200 jobs.

‘But at the same time, these are violent acts carried out by a minority of workers and they should not be the focus of all of our attention, which should instead be directed at the future of Continental,’ he told France Inter radio.

Continental announced the closure of its factory in Clairoix, north of Paris in March, the biggest single closure announced so far in France, and workers have been been waging a vocal campaign to save their jobs.

The plight of the Continental workers and the wave of ‘boss-nappings’ have raised alarm over spiralling social unrest in France, which looks set to sink deeper into recession in the coming months.

Mr Fillon said the economy would shrink by 2.5 per cent in 2009, revising the government’s previous forecast of a 1.5 per cent fall, which had been viewed by independent economists as optimistic.

‘It’s unacceptable to target a government building because you’re angry, even if this anger is justified,’ budget minister Eric Woerth said separately.

‘At Continental and elsewhere, managers cannot be sequestered, government buildings cannot be ransacked. The people who do such things must be held responsible,’ he told Europe 1 radio. — AFP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

[Return to headlines]

IMF Says Recession Will be Deeper, Recovery Slower

April 22 (Bloomberg) — The International Monetary Fund said the global recession will be deeper and the recovery slower than previously thought as financial markets take longer to stabilize.

The Washington-based IMF said in a forecast released today that the world economy will shrink 1.3 percent this year, compared with its January projection of 0.5 percent growth. The lender predicted expansion of 1.9 percent next year instead of its earlier 3 percent projection.

The fund’s latest outlook highlights the precarious state in which the world economy remains, even amid signs the worst slump since World War II may be easing. Recovery isn’t assured and will depend on policy efforts to cleanse banks’ balance sheets and craft measures that spur demand, the IMF said.

“The key factor determining the course of the downturn and recovery will be the rate of progress toward returning the financial sector to health,” the fund said in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook. At a briefing in Washington, IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard said while a recovery will start early next year, a “return to normal” will take much longer.

Having said this time last year that the world economy would grow 3.8 percent in 2009, the IMF tied its more pessimistic assessment to a “recognition that financial stabilization will take longer than previously envisaged.” Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn foreshadowed the prediction of a contraction a month ago.

Credit Losses

The revised outlook comes a day after the fund calculated worldwide losses from distressed loans and securitized assets may reach $4.1 trillion by the end of 2010 as the recession and credit crunch exact a higher toll on financial institutions.

“Financial strains in the mature markets will remain heavy well into 2010,” that report said.

U.S. regulators are putting some of the largest U.S. banks through so-called stress tests to determine the amount of capital each needs to withstand a further economic slide. Morgan Stanley reported a bigger-than-estimated $177 million loss and slashed its dividend to 5 cents as real estate and debt-related writedowns overwhelmed trading gains.

Even as the IMF acknowledged “tentative indications” that the rate of contraction is moderating around the world, the fund said output per capita would decline this year in countries representing about 75 percent of the global economy.

Output Gap

The rebound will be slower than usual because the slump was caused by a financial crisis and is synchronized around the world, the fund said. The report included a table which showed the so-called output gap, the excess of world supply over demand, will remain negative for the foreseeable future.

Advanced economies will continue to lead the slump by shrinking 3.8 percent this year and failing to grow in 2010, the IMF said. The fund cut its forecasts for this year and next for all the Group of Seven economies and said Germany, Italy and the U.K. will still be shrinking in 2010.

The U.S. economy will slide 2.8 percent this year before stalling next year and the euro area will contract 4.2 percent in 2009 and 0.4 percent in 2010, the report said. While Japanese gross domestic product will fall 6.2 percent this year, it will then rise 0.5 percent next year.

Speaking ahead of the April 24 meeting of G-7 finance ministers and central bankers in Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today cited the IMF data as reason for officials “to strengthen the basis for recovery.”

‘Major Role’

Blanchard said in a Bloomberg Television interview today that the U.S. will play a “major role” in determining when the global economy and key nations start turning around. “The rest of the world is not going to recover unless the U.S. recovers.”

Emerging and developing economies will grow 1.6 percent this year and 4 percent next year, reductions of 1.7 percentage point and 1 percentage point respectively from previous forecasts, the IMF said. They will suffer net capital outflows of more than 1 percent of GDP this year and only the highest- grade borrowers will be able to tap new funding.

The risk of corporate defaults in such economies is also “rising to dangerous levels,” the IMF said.

Growth in China, where the IMF said there is scope for further easing of monetary and fiscal policy, is forecast to slow to 6.5 percent this year before climbing to 7.5 percent in 2010. India’s economy will grow 4.5 percent in 2009 and 5.6 percent in 2010, compared with 7.3 percent last year.

Deflation Risk

While stopping short of predicting deflation, the fund said the risk was greater than during the last such scare earlier this decade. Consumer prices will drop 0.2 percent in advanced economies this year before rising 0.3 percent next year and there is a risk of a steeper initial decline, the IMF said.

Policy makers were urged to “act decisively” and not delay their responses to the financial crisis. Balance sheets should be revived by removing bad assets and injecting new capital, the IMF said.

Monetary and fiscal policies should be “geared as far as possible” to bolstering demand and where flexibility remains for more monetary stimulus, such as at the European Central Bank, it “should be used quickly,” the fund said.

“In advanced economies, scope for easing monetary policy further should be used aggressively to counter deflation risks,” the fund said, forecasting interest rates will remain near zero in major economies. Governments should not prematurely withdraw stimulus measures, it said.

Fiscal Impact

At the briefing after the report was released, Blanchard said “strong” fiscal policies thus far have made a “gigantic difference,” while urging governments to resist complacency.

“Things are not great, they could have been extremely bad,” Blanchard said. “To the extent that more can be done, it should be done.”

Exit strategies also should be outlined for when recovery takes hold, the fund said. “Acting too quickly would risk undercutting what is likely to be a fragile recovery, but acting too slowly could risk a return to overheating and new asset- price bubbles,” it said.

Risks to the outlook remain skewed to the downside and include the possibility that policies will fail to stop weakening economies and financial conditions from feeding on each other. “In a highly uncertain context, fiscal and monetary policies may fail to gain traction,” the report said. Meanwhile, the fund said confidence and spending could be revived faster than expected should investors endorse policy steps by authorities.

Global Trade

Global trade is forecast to plunge 11 percent this year after expanding 3.3 percent in 2008, undermining economies that rely on exports such as those of Germany and China, according to the report. The crisis has prompted a “flight to safety” which boosted the major currencies.

The slowdown is hurting companies such as Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, which yesterday posted its first quarterly net loss in 16 years as a result of the global recession.

Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar said it expects the world economy to decline about 1.3 percent this year. Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens has already cut more than 24,000 jobs since December.

Such cutbacks will propel unemployment to 9.2 percent next year in the advanced economies from 8.1 percent this year, while in the U.S. the jobless rate will jump to 10.1 percent in 2010, the IMF said. The Labor Department said this month that unemployment in the U.S. climbed to a 25-year high of 8.5 percent in March.

Yahoo! Inc., owner of the second-most popular U.S. Internet search engine, announced payroll cuts yesterday, citing a slowdown in online-advertisement sales. The company, based in Sunnyvale, California, said it will cut 5 percent of its workforce or 700 jobs.

“It’s going to be a while before a report is going to say there’s clear signs of an economic recovery,” said Colin Bradford, an economist at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

— Hat tip: Reinhard

[Return to headlines]

UN Conference: Economic Crisis Could Fuel Hatred

By ELIANE ENGELER, Associated Press Writer Eliane Engeler, Associated Press Writer — 18 mins ago GENEVA — The world racism conference looked beyond the Middle East on Wednesday to concerns over the economic crisis, with speakers warning that increased joblessness could lead to greater intolerance of foreigners if governments fail to act.

A day after more than 100 countries passed a declaration of solidarity, speakers focused on the economic plight affecting the whole world and how nations should put into practice their pledges to fight racism.

“It would be naive to expect that our efforts will succeed in putting a quick and irreversible end to prejudice and hate,” said Terry Davis, head of the Council of Europe, the continent’s human rights watchdog.

He said countries cannot force people to be tolerant, but can promote dialogue among people of different races, religions and ethnicities. In the battle against hatred, “there are no easy fixes and no quick wins,” he said.

Haiti, which relies heavily on money sent back by its citizens working abroad, said it could be hurt significantly by xenophobia linked to the crisis, which it claimed is already “increasing the hate against foreigners and especially against migrant workers.”

Haitian Vice Foreign Minister Jacques Nixon Myrthil said “racism and discrimination are far from being reduced and are even taking worse forms,” echoing a statement at the conference’s opening by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban said Monday it was important that nations address new technologies that were spreading hate messages more rapidly. He predicted “social unrest, weakened government and angry publics” contributing to increased intolerance, if countries failed to address the economic problems facing them.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the global economic crisis meant many countries were cutting back on government programs.

But “efforts to diminish racism and xenophobia need not be among them,” he said, adding that much of the effort to combat racism costs little money.

The discussions were more thematic on Wednesday after the tensions of the Middle East dominated proceedings at the start of the weeklong event.

On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — the first government speaker to take the podium — launched into an angry diatribe against Israel, calling it the most “cruel and repressive racist regime.” That sparked a walkout by European delegates, and strong condemnations from the United Nations, U.S. and several other Western countries.

That row continued Wednesday with fierce words from Tehran and the Iranian ambassador in Geneva, Ali Reza Moaiyeri, condemning the “unwarranted” criticism by Western nations.

Iran protested at the “deplorable, irresponsible and unwarranted statements of certain high-ranking officials of the United Nations in relation with my president’s statement,” Moaiyeri told the meeting.

Ban said Monday he deplored “the use of this platform by the Iranian president to accuse, divide and even incite. This is the opposite of what this conference seeks to achieve.”

The U.S. decided to skip the conference before it started out of concern it would focus largely on Israel at the expense of other issues.

Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand and Poland also boycotted. The Czech Republic delegation also walked out during Ahmadinejad’s speech and did not return to the conference.

Disruption by mainly pro-Israel, Jewish and Iranian groups throughout the conference has prompted the United Nations to withdraw 46 access passes, spokesman Rupert Colville said.

On Monday, a pair of rainbow-wigged protesters threw clown noses at Iran’s president and later about 100 members of pro-Israel and Jewish groups tried to block Ahmadinejad’s entrance to a scheduled news conference.

The anti-racism conference, including preparatory meetings, is estimated to cost around $5.3 million, Colville said.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

[Return to headlines]

Are You an ‘Extremist’?

While the rest of us may be worried about violent Mexican drug gangs on our border, or about terrorists who are going to be released from Guantanmo, the director of homeland security is worried about “right-wing extremists.”

Just who are these right-wing extremists?

According to an official document of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, right-wing extremists include “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.” It also includes those “rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority.”

If you fit into any of these categories, you may not have realized that you are considered a threat to national security. But apparently the Obama administration has its eye on you.

[…]

All this activity takes on a more sinister aspect against the background of one of the statements of Barack Obama during last year’s election campaign that got remarkably little attention in the media. He suggested the creation of a federal police force, comparable in size to the military.

Why such an organization? For what purpose?

Since there are state and local police forces all across the country, an FBI to investigate federal crimes and a Department of Justice to prosecute those who commit them, as well as a Defense Department with military forces, just what role would a federal police force play?

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Are You Licensed to Reload That Ammo?

Alarm raised over treaty provision to ban activity

President Obama, who supported the handgun ban in Washington, D.C., before it was tossed by the Supreme Court, since his election has watched various proposals to ban “assault” weapons, require handgun owners to submit to mental health evaluations, and sparked a rush on ammunition purchases that caused some retailers to name him their salesman of the year. Now he apparently is going after those to reload their ammunition.

It was during an official visit earlier this month to Mexico that he affirmed his support for a proposed international treaty that addresses “firearms trafficking.”

According to a blogger who follows such issues, the treaty was adopted by President Clinton years ago, but never ratified by the U.S. Senate, a goal Obama now has adopted.

The answer is finally here to the real reason why guns and church must mix!

The writer, B.A. Lawson, says, “If you reload your own ammo you may find yourself engaged in ‘Illicit Manufacturing’ of ammunition under an arms control treaty that President Obama started pushing last week in Mexico.”

[…]

So how are the cartels armed if firearms are not pouring across the U.S. border? Keeping in mind that the cartels control BILLIONS of dollars, La Jeunesse and Lott shed some light on how they obtain the overwhelming majority of their guns:

— The Black Market. Mexico is a virtual arms bazaar, with fragmentation grenades from South Korea, AK-47s from China, and shoulder-fired rocket launchers from Spain, Israel and former Soviet bloc manufacturers.

[Comments from JD: long list of non US sources follows.]

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

California EPA to Rule Against Ethanol

Regulators conclude biofuel can’t help state reduce ‘global warming’

In a decision anticipated as a major setback for proponents of renewable biofuels, California regulators appear ready to conclude that corn ethanol cannot help the state reduce “global warming.”

In a hearing scheduled tomorrow in Sacramento, the California Environmental Protection Agency has evidently concluded that corn ethanol will not help the state implement Executive Order S-1-07, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Jan. 18, 2007, mandating a 10 percent reduction in the carbon intensity of the state’s fuels by 2020.

“Ethanol is a good fuel, but how it is produced is problematic,” Dimitri Stanich, public information oOfficer for the California Environmental Protection Agency, told WND. “The corn ethanol industry has to figure out another way to process corn into ethanol that is not so coal intensive.”

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

CIA Confirms: Waterboarding 9/11 Mastermind Led to Info That Aborted 9/11-Style Attack on Los Angeles

The Central Intelligence Agency told CNSNews.com today that it stands by the assertion made in a May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo that the use of “enhanced techniques” of interrogation on al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) — including the use of waterboarding — caused KSM to reveal information that allowed the U.S. government to thwart a planned attack on Los Angeles.

Before he was waterboarded, when KSM was asked about planned attacks on the United States, he ominously told his CIA interrogators, “Soon, you will know.”

According to the previously classified May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo that was released by President Barack Obama last week, the thwarted attack — which KSM called the “Second Wave”— planned “ ‘to use East Asian operatives to crash a hijacked airliner into’ a building in Los Angeles.”

KSM was the mastermind of the first “hijacked-airliner” attacks on the United States, which struck the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Northern Virginia on Sept. 11, 2001.

After KSM was captured by the United States, he was not initially cooperative with CIA interrogators. Nor was another top al Qaeda leader named Zubaydah. KSM, Zubaydah, and a third terrorist named Nashiri were the only three persons ever subjected to waterboarding by the CIA.. (Additional terrorist detainees were subjected to other “enhanced techniques” that included slapping, sleep deprivation, dietary limitations, and temporary confinement to small spaces — but not to water-boarding.)

This was because the CIA imposed very tight restrictions on the use of waterboarding. “The ‘waterboard,’ which is the most intense of the CIA interrogation techniques, is subject to additional limits,” explained the May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo. “It may be used on a High Value Detainee only if the CIA has ‘credible intelligence that a terrorist attack is imminent’; ‘substantial and credible indicators that the subject has actionable intelligence that can prevent, disrupt or deny this attack’; and ‘[o]ther interrogation methods have failed to elicit this information within the perceived time limit for preventing the attack.’“

The quotations in this part of the Justice memo were taken from an Aug. 2, 2004 letter that CIA Acting General Counsel John A. Rizzo sent to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

Before they were subjected to “enhanced techniques” of interrogation that included waterboarding, KSM and Zubaydah were not only uncooperative but also appeared contemptuous of the will of the American people to defend themselves.

“In particular, the CIA believes that it would have been unable to obtain critical information from numerous detainees, including KSM and Abu Zubaydah, without these enhanced techniques,” says the Justice Department memo. “Both KSM and Zubaydah had ‘expressed their belief that the general US population was ‘weak,’ lacked resilience, and would be unable to ‘do what was necessary’ to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in their goals.’ Indeed, before the CIA used enhanced techniques in its interrogation of KSM, KSM resisted giving any answers to questions about future attacks, simply noting, ‘Soon you will know.’“

After he was subjected to the “waterboard” technique, KSM became cooperative, providing intelligence that led to the capture of key al Qaeda allies and, eventually, the closing down of an East Asian terrorist cell that had been tasked with carrying out the 9/11-style attack on Los Angeles.

The May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo that details what happened in this regard was written by then-Principal Deputy Attorney General Steven G. Bradbury to John A. Rizzo, the senior deputy general counsel for the CIA.

“You have informed us that the interrogation of KSM-once enhanced techniques were employed-led to the discovery of a KSM plot, the ‘Second Wave,’ ‘to use East Asian operatives to crash a hijacked airliner into’ a building in Los Angeles,” says the memo.

“You have informed us that information obtained from KSM also led to the capture of Riduan bin Isomuddin, better known as Hambali, and the discover of the Guraba Cell, a 17-member Jemaah Islamiyah cell tasked with executing the ‘Second Wave,’“ reads the memo. “More specifically, we understand that KSM admitted that he had [redaction] large sum of money to an al Qaeda associate [redaction] … Khan subsequently identified the associate (Zubair), who was then captured. Zubair, in turn, provided information that led to the arrest of Hambali. The information acquired from these captures allowed CIA interrogators to pose more specific questions to KSM, which led the CIA to Hambali’s brother, al Hadi. Using information obtained from multiple sources, al-Hadi was captured, and he subsequently identified the Garuba cell. With the aid of this additional information, interrogations of Hambali confirmed much of what was learned from KSM.”

A CIA spokesman confirmed to CNSNews.com today that the CIA stands by the factual assertions made here.

In the memo itself, the Justice Department’s Bradbury told the CIA’s Rossi: “Your office has informed us that the CIA believes that ‘the intelligence acquired from these interrogations has been a key reason why al Qa’ida has failed to launch a spectacular attack in the West since 11 September 2001.”

— Hat tip: moderntemplar

[Return to headlines]

Court to Weigh State’s Duty to English Learners

The Supreme Court seemed to divide into liberal and conservatives camps Monday during arguments in a case that could limit the power of federal courts to tell states to spend more money to educate students who aren’t proficient in English.

Some of the court’s more liberal justices — David Souter and Stephen Breyer — repeatedly challenged assertions by attorney Kenneth Starr that court oversight of Arizona’s English learners program was no longer needed because the Nogales Unified School District, located near the state’s border with Mexico, had made progress educating students learning to speak English.

Souter pelted Starr, who as special counsel investigated President Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, with a series of statistics showing a vast gap in academic test scores between Nogales students learning to speak English and native English-speaking students in Nogales and elsewhere in the state.

“I’m sure progress has been made,” Souter said, “but it doesn’t seem to me that … you could say the objectives are achieved.”

Starr is representing Arizona state legislators and the state superintendent of public instruction, who want to be freed from a lower court order that the state come up with a new program to teach English learners and provide enough money for that program that it can reasonably be expected to achieve its goal. The state could be forced to spend potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to comply.

Starr said the amount of money being spent shouldn’t be the issue, but rather that the “sea change” that has taken place in state’s efforts to address the problem in the nine years since voters passed a ballot measure requiring intense English immersion for students learning the language. He called the court’s continued oversight an intrusion into state government.

A key issue in the case, now called Horne v Flores, is the power of federal courts to take over functions of state or local governments when trying to remedy civil rights violations.

Parents of students attending Nogales schools sued the state in 1992, contending programs for English-language learners were deficient and received inadequate funding from the state.

In 2000, a federal judge found that the state had violated the Equal Educational Opportunities Act’s requirements for appropriate instruction for English-language learners. A year later he expanded his ruling statewide and placed the state’s programs for non-English speaking students under court oversight.

Since then, the two sides have fought over what constitutes compliance with the order. Arizona has more than doubled the amount that schools receive per non-English speaking student and taken several other steps prescribed by the No Child Left Behind Act, a broader education accountability law passed by Congress in 2002.

Breyer said the state’s increased spending still only amounts to $300 to $400 extra per pupil when estimates suggest it cost from $1,570 to $3,300 extra per student to get the job done.

Justice Ruth Ginsburg said the district court was careful not to tell the state what methods of instruction it should use or how much it should spend, only that it come up with a plan to address the problems of English learners and sufficient funding that could be reasonably expected to meet the plan’s goals.

But Justice Antonin Scalia, part of the court’s conservative wing, said he finds “it bizarre that we are sitting here talking about what the whole state has to do on the basis of one (school) district, which concededly is the one that has the most non-native English speakers.”

The case has attracted a flurry of legal briefs from school boards, teachers and civil rights groups in support of the Nogales parents and students. An array of conservative legal foundations have filed briefs in support of the legislators and the superintendent of schools.

The lead plaintiff in the case was Miriam Flores, a Nogales mother. She said her daughter had two years of instruction in her native Spanish, then was put into a class with a teacher who did not speak Spanish, the language the daughter — also named Miriam Flores — spoke at home. She began to fall behind and there were complaints she was talking in class. It turned out she was asking other students to tell her what the teacher was telling the class.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Ginsburg’s Judicial Globalism

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wasn’t dozing off when she appeared recently at a symposium at Ohio State University’s School of Law. Credited with writing several feminist precepts into U.S. constitutional law based on the spurious notion that our Constitution is a “living” (i.e., re-interpretable) document, she now wants to expand that process to welcome foreign law.

[…]

Ginsburg’s views may not seem so far out when we are confronted with Barack Obama’s appointments. His choice of Harold Koh, former dean of the Yale Law School, to be the State Department’s legal adviser may be a harbinger of things to come.

Koh has been quoted by other lawyers as telling a 2007 audience that “in an appropriate case, he didn’t see any reason why Shariah law would not be applied to govern a case in the United States.” Shariah is the Muslim law that, among other extreme punishments, allows stoning women to death for the “crime” of being raped.

[…]

Shortly after Obama was sworn in as president, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice praised the ICC as “an important and credible instrument for trying to hold accountable the senior leadership responsible for atrocities committed in the Congo, Uganda and Darfur.” This olive branch extended to the ICC raised foreign “expectations” that the United States will accept the authority of the ICC.

Some even argue that the ICC can grab and try U.S. political and military leaders even though the United States is not a party to the treaty. Just this year, an impudent Spanish court tried to assert jurisdiction over six Bush administration officials.

— Hat tip: JD

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High Court Hears Reverse Discrimination Arguments

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is weighing whether a Connecticut city’s decision to scrap a promotion exam for firefighters because too few minorities passed violates the civil rights of top-scoring white applicants.

The justices are hearing arguments Wednesday in a case from New Haven, Conn., that has the potential to change hiring practices nationwide. The court also was expected to issue opinions in cases argued earlier this term.

The firefighters’ dispute is one of two major civil rights cases on the court’s calendar in the next two weeks. The other deals with a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

Underlying both cases are broader questions about racial progress and the ongoing need for legal protections from discrimination for minorities, especially after the election of President Barack Obama.

The discrimination lawsuit brought by 20 white firefighters — one also is Hispanic — challenges New Haven’s decision to throw out promotion exams for lieutenants and captains in its fire department.

The city argues that if it had gone ahead with the promotions based on the test results, it would have risked a lawsuit claiming that the exams had a “disparate impact” on minorities in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The federal appeals court in New York upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the lawsuit.

The case has drawn input from interest groups across the ideological spectrum. The Obama administration has weighed in mainly on the city’s side, although it recommends allowing the lawsuit to proceed on a limited basis.

Business interests also have lined up behind New Haven, worrying that a decision in favor of the white firefighters would place employers in an untenable position of having to choose whether to face lawsuits from disgruntled white or minority workers.

The consolidated cases are Ricci v. DeStefano, 07-1428, and Ricci v. DeStefano, 08-328.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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House Votes on ‘Hate Crimes’ Bill

Will Christians face prosecution for speaking out against homosexuality?

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee will vote tomorrow on a “hate crimes” bill that some say might allow federal officials to prosecute Christians who speak out against homosexual behavior.

[…]

Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, warned that the bill could allow federal prosecutors to target Christians who teach that homosexual behavior is sinful and that Islam is a false religion.

[…]

But King noted that pastors in Europe and Canada have already been arrested for preaching against homosexuality based on similar legislation.

As WND reported, Julio Severo, a prominent Brazilian pro-family activist, has been forced into exile because of the “hate crimes” laws that are being implemented in his native land.

— Hat tip: JD

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Killer ‘Green’ Bill to Slaughter U.S. Economy

Obama drains lifeblood from financial system with climate legislation

James Hackett, chairman and chief executive officer of Anadarko, one of the nation’s largest independent oil and gas companies, told the Financial Times, “The histrionic and maniacal focus on carbon dioxide” risks plunging the United States into an economic tailspin that could turn the United States into “the world’s cleanest third world country.”

Hackett attacked the Obama administration’s cap-and-trade proposal that will be included in the bill to be before the House committee next week, calling the plan an indirect tax on individuals that would be as open to manipulation as the European model.

— Hat tip: JD

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Napolitano Regrets Anger Over Intelligence Report

Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano says she regrets that some people took offense over a report warning that right-wing extremist groups were trying to recruit disgruntled troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But she says “a number of groups far too numerous to mention” were targeting returning veterans to carry out domestic terrorism attacks.

[Comment from Tuan Jim: And she can’t list even one of them?]

She said the warning report that went out American law enforcement agencies was consistent with reports that were issued before.

Napolitano spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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New Law to ‘Manage’ 8 Million ‘Volunteers’

Obama signs huge expansion of youth brigades legislation

President Obama today signed into law the “GIVE Act,” H.R. 1388, which expands massively the National Service Corporation and allocates to it billions of dollars, and one executive for the program now says it will allow for the “managing” of up to eight or nine million people.

WND has reported on the plans to assemble such a corps ever since Obama told a campaign stop in Colorado Springs in 2008 that he wants a “Civilian National Security Force” as big and as well-funded as the U.S. military.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama Continues Assault on the Second Amendment

President Obama is determined to eradicate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens.

In recent meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, the American President promised to urge the U.S. Senate to pass an international arms control treaty.

The treaty, cumbersomely titled the “Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials” (known by the acronym CIFTA), was signed by President Bill Clinton, but never ratified by the Senate.

President Obama is hoping to capitalize on an increased Democrat majority and push its quick ratification. The U.S. is one of four nations that have not ratified the treaty.

If ratified and the U.S. is found not to be in compliance with any provisions of the treaty — such as a provision that would outlaw reloading ammunition without a government license — President Obama would be empowered to implement regulations without Congressional approval.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama Opens Door to Prosecutions on Interrogations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Barack Obama opened the door on Tuesday to possible prosecutions of U.S. officials who laid the legal groundwork for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects during the Bush administration.

Obama also said he would not necessarily oppose an effort to pursue a “further accounting” or investigation into the Bush-era interrogation program that included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, shoving people into walls and other methods.

That marked a shift for the Obama administration, which has emphasized it does not want to dwell on the past with lengthy probes into policies put in place by President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But pressure in the U.S. Congress is growing for a full-blown investigation of the CIA interrogation program.

Controversy has erupted across the political spectrum over last week’s release by the Obama administration of classified memos detailing the program to question al Qaeda suspects.

Human rights groups say tactics such as waterboarding — a form of simulated drowning — constituted torture and violated U.S. and international laws. Conservative critics contend Obama has endangered the country by releasing CIA secrets.

The New York Times reported that Dennis Blair, Obama’s national intelligence director, told colleagues in a private memo last week that the harsh interrogation techniques yielded “high-value information” that “provided a deeper understanding” of the al Qaeda organization.

The newspaper reported that Blair sent his memo on the same day the Obama administration publicly released the Bush-era memos. It said Blair’s assessment that the interrogation methods produced important information was deleted from a condensed version of his memo released to the news media.

REPORT SAYS TACTICS SPREAD TO IRAQ

A congressional report released late on Tuesday traced how a Bush-era policy on interrogation at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, helped set the stage for detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The report may add impetus to calls for a wider probe.

The report, released by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, laid blame for the abuses on former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other top Bush administration officials.

“The report represents a condemnation of both the Bush administration’s interrogation policies and of senior administration officials who attempted to shift the blame for abuse — such as that seen at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan — to low-ranking soldiers,” Levin said.

“It was senior civilian leaders who set the tone.”

Earlier, in an Oval Office question-and-answer session with reporters, Obama reiterated his vow not to prosecute CIA interrogators who relied in good faith on legal opinions from the Bush administration condoning the harsh methods.

However, Obama did not rule out charges against those who wrote the opinions justifying the methods used on captured terrorism suspects.

“With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws, and I don’t want to prejudge that,” Obama said after meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah.

“I think that there are a host of very complicated issues involved there,” Obama said.

The comment seemed at odds with the position offered on Sunday by Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who told ABC that the president did not believe the authors of the legal opinions should be prosecuted.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs brushed aside questions about the contradiction. “Instead of referring to what anybody might have said … it’s important to refer to what the president said,” he said.

While human rights advocates have urged prosecutions for those involved in the interrogation program, Obama has received scathing criticism from some conservatives over the release of the memos detailing the harsh methods.

Among the most outspoken critics has been Cheney, who contends the questioning yielded valuable information about terrorist activities and has accused Obama of endangering the country by releasing the CIA memos.

But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, welcomed Obama’s comments about a possible inquiry as a “step forward.”

Feinstein has urged Obama to withhold judgment on possible prosecutions pending a closed-door review by her committee of the interrogation program.

Obama said he would not necessarily oppose a U.S. panel to investigate the interrogation program. But he said he would prefer to see such an inquiry take place outside of the “typical hearing process” of Congress, where the issue could become politicized.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Pentagon Pick: Bush ‘Mindlessly’ Supported Israel

New top adviser warns Obama may not give Jewish state ‘blank checks’

While President Bush was “blindly” and “mindlessly” supportive of Israel, President Obama may be less willing to give the Jewish state “blank checks,” says Rosa Brooks, the Obama administration’s new adviser to one of the most influential Pentagon officials.

Brooks will advise Michelle Fluornoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, a position that wields enormous power over drafting U.S. military doctrine in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Until accepting her position earlier this month, Brooks, who did work on behalf of George Soros’ philanthropic foundation, also served as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. A WND review of her opinion pieces in the newspaper finds trends that defenders of the Jewish state may view as anti-Israel, including distorting history to seemingly whitewash Palestinian terrorism.

— Hat tip: JD

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Promises, Promises: Obama and Black Farmers

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a senator, Barack Obama led the charge last year to pass a bill allowing black farmers to seek new discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department. Now that he is president, his administration so far is acting like it wants the potentially budget-busting lawsuits to go away.

The change isn’t sitting well with black farmers who thought they’d get a friendlier reception from Obama after years of resistance from President George W. Bush.

“You can’t blame it on the Bush administration anymore,” said John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association, which has organized the lawsuits. “I can’t figure out for the life of me why the president wouldn’t want to implement a bill that he fought for as a U.S. senator.”

At issue is a class-action lawsuit known as the Pigford case. Thousands of farmers sued USDA claiming they had for years been denied government loans and other assistance that routinely went to whites. The government settled in 1999 and has paid out nearly $1 billion in damages on almost 16,000 claims.

Farmers, lawyers and activists like Boyd have worked for years to reopen the case because thousands of farmers missed the deadlines for participating. Many said the filing period was too short and they were unaware of the settlement until it was too late.

The cause gained momentum in August 2007 when Obama, then an Illinois senator, introduced Pigford legislation about six months into his presidential campaign.

Although the case was hardly a hot-button political issue, it had drawn intense interest among African-Americans in the rural South. It was seen as a way for Obama to reach out in those areas where he was not well-known and where he would need strong support to win the Democratic primary.

The proposal won passage in May as sponsors rounded up enough support to incorporate it into the 2008 farm bill. The potential budget implications were huge: It could easily cost $2 billion or $3 billion given an estimated 65,000 pending claims.

With pressure to hold down costs, lawmakers set an artificially low $100 million budget. They called it a first step and said more money could be approved later.

But with 25,000 new claims and counting, the Obama administration is now arguing that the $100 million budget should be considered a cap to be split among the successful cases.

The position — spelled out in a legal motion filed in February and reiterated in recent settlement talks — would leave payments as low as $2,000 or $3,000 per farmer. Boyd called that “insulting.”

Boyd noted that Obama’s legislation specifically called for the new claimants to be eligible for the same awards as the initial lawsuit, including expedited payments of $50,000 plus $12,500 in tax breaks that the vast majority of the earlier farmers received.

“I’m really disappointed,” Boyd said. “This is the president’s bill.”

“They did discriminate against these farmers, maybe not all of them, but a lot of these people would prevail if they could go to court,” he said.

Boyd, whose organization is planning a rally in Washington next week, estimated that 40 percent to 45 percent of the farmers filing claims will be successful.

The administration wouldn’t discuss specific budget plans or commit to fully funding the claims.

But in a statement to The Associated Press, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the department agrees that more must be done and is working with the Justice Department to “ensure that people are treated fairly.”

Kenneth Baer, a budget spokesman for the White House, also suggested that the administration plans to do more.

“The president has been a leader on this issue since his days as a U.S. senator and is deeply committed to closing this painful chapter in our history,” Baer said in a statement.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Twin Crises: Immigration & Electricity Infrastructure

In 1970, the United States featured the finest nationwide electrical grid known to any civilization. In a short 39 years: “It’s not the best anymore,” said Otto Lynch, chair of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“The Twin Crises: Immigration and Infrastructure” by www.thesocialcontract.com, Volume XIX, No.2, pages 24-28, Winter 2009, by Edwin S. Rubenstein—addresses electrical infrastructure.

Lynch said, “The nation’s electric power grid is aging. Power lines with an expected life of 50 years are still in use 80 years after installation, and wooden poles that should have been replaced after 30 years are rendering as much as 20 additional years of service. The system faces new challenges as the population grows, industrial activity increases, and demand for power rises.”

Rubenstein reported, “The need for more generating capacity was starkly demonstrated by an electricity shortage in California in the first half of 2000—the most severe energy crisis in the U.S. for many years. This was followed in August 2003 by the most extensive blackout in U.S. history, affecting 50 million people across a wide swath of the northeastern U.S. and southern Canada.”

Since 2000, the U.S. added 26-29 million people driven primarily by legal and illegal immigration. Within the next 10 years, another 30 million people expect to call the USA home—again driven by unrelenting immigration.

The problem: too many people

“Why haven’t electric utilities built sufficient supply?” said Rubenstein. “Many factors can be cited as explanations, but a good place to start is at the source of all power: electric generators. They are costly and must be sized according to the population served. If a million people are added to the U.S. population, then utilities must come up with another $1 billion for a billion watts of new electric generators. If 142 million are added, the expected population growth between now and 2050, utilities must come up with an added $142 billion just to keep generator capacity at recommended per-capita levels.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Canada Chides U.S. for Remarks on 9/11 Plotters

OTTAWA (Reuters) — The Canadian government moved on Tuesday to correct U.S. homeland security chief Janet Napolitano after she wrongly said some of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks had crossed into the United States from Canada.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan — who met with Napolitano in March — said his aides had contacted her office on Tuesday after she made the remarks to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

“She was well aware at that time (in March) and understood clearly that none of the 9/11 terrorists came across the Canadian border into the United States … We confirmed with her office this morning that she continues to be well aware of that,” Van Loan told reporters.

Napolitano raised concerns in Canada with remarks indicating she wants to clamp down on border security, which businesses fear could throttle vital trade flows.

She told the CBC on Monday that “to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it’s been across the Canadian border”.

Asked if she was referring to the 9/11 plotters, she replied: “Not just those but others as well.”

Van Loan said Napolitano had been speaking about Algerian-born Ahmed Ressam, who was arrested in December 1999 as he crossed into the United States from Canada with a car carrying explosives.

Ressam was sentenced to 22 years in jail in July 2005 for plotting to set off a bomb at Los Angeles airport on December 31, 1999.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Briton John Irving Admits Iraq Kickbacks

A British man has admitted paying kickbacks to the Iraqi government under the UN oil-for-food program to facilitate the importation of a cargo of crude oil into the United States.

In a deal reached with prosecutors in return for a leninent sentence, John Irving, a Hampshire-based businessman, pleaded guilty to one charge of aiding and abetting illegal oil imports.

Mr Irving admitted in Manhattan District Court that he knew Bayoil Supply and Trading Limited, with whom he was working as a trader at the time of the offences, had paid a kickback to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s government for the oil cargo.

He could get up to 20 years in prison, however the prosecution is expected to seek a maximum six-month sentence.

Mr Iriving’s lawyer Andrew Preston told the BBC he was not “anticipating” any jail time for his client.

Mr Preston added: “The sentencing is within the discretion of the court”.

“But our discussions with prosecutors have been very cordial and we would expect a sentence on the lenient side.”

Mr Irving was released on bail of $US100,000.

Mr Irving was charged by US authorities in April 2005 and later extradited from Britain following an investigation into the $67 billion oil-for-food program, which allowed Saddam Hussein’s government to sell oil to finance purchases of civilian goods for its people living under UN sanctions.

When the investigation was revealed in 2005, Mr Irving insisted the claims were “entirely without foundation”.

Last year Bayoil owner, David Chalmers, was sentenced in 2008 to two years in prison after he admitted paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Iraq.

The UN oil-for-food program ran from December 1996 until after the US-led invasion in 2003.

From mid-2000 to March 2003, Iraq required recipients of allocations of oil to pay a secret surcharge, or kickback, to front companies and bank accounts controlled by the Iraqi regime. The requirement violated UN sanctions and US criminal law.

Mr Irving is expected to travel to the UK later this week before returning to America in June for sentencing.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Bruce Bawer: Heirs to Fortuyn?

Europe’s turn to the right.

When the New Left emerged in the 1960s, something else was born that would mark American elites for decades thereafter: the notion that social-democratic Western Europe was far superior to the capitalist United States. Pity the poor American professor whose every junket to a European academic conference was marred by his continental colleagues’ sneering over cocktails about his nation’s shame du jour—Vietnam, Watergate, Iraq—or about American racism, capital punishment or health care. For much of the American left, Western Europe was nothing less than an abstract symbol of progressive utopia.

This rosy view was never accurate, of course. Europe’s socialized health care was blighted by outrageous (and sometimes deadly) waiting lists and rationing, to name just one example. To name another: Timbro, a Swedish think tank, found in 2004 that Sweden was poorer than all but five U.S. states and Denmark poorer than all but nine. But in recent years, something has happened to complicate the left’s fanciful picture even further: Western European voters’ widespread reaction against social democracy.

The shift has two principal, and related, causes. The more significant one is that over the past three decades, social-democratic Europe’s political, cultural, academic and media elites have presided over, and vigorously defended, a vast wave of immigration from the Muslim world—the largest such influx in human history. According to Foreign Affairs, Muslims in Western Europe numbered between 15 million and 20 million in 2005. One source estimates that Britain’s Muslim population rose from about 82,000 in 1961 to 553,000 in 1981 to two million in 2000—a demographic change roughly representative of Western Europe as a whole during that period. According to the London Times, the number of Muslims in the U.K. climbed by half a million between 2004 and 2008 alone—a rate of growth 10 times that of the rest of the country’s population.

Yet instead of encouraging these immigrants to integrate and become part of their new societies, Western Europe’s governments have allowed them to form self-segregating parallel societies run more or less according to Shariah. Many of the residents of these patriarchal enclaves subsist on government benefits, speak the language of their adopted country poorly or not at all, despise pluralistic democracy, look forward to Europe’s incorporation into the House of Islam, and support—at least in spirit—terrorism against the West. A 2006 Sunday Telegraph poll, for example, showed that 40% of British Muslims wanted Shariah in Britain, 14% approved of attacks on Danish embassies in retribution for the famous Mohammed cartoons, 13% supported violence against those who insulted Islam, and 20% sympathized with the July 2005 London bombers.

Too often, such attitudes find their way into practice. Ubiquitous youth gangs, contemptuous of infidels, have made European cities increasingly dangerous for non-Muslims—especially women, Jews and gays. In 2001, 65% of rapes in Norway were committed by what the country’s police call “non-Western” men—a category consisting overwhelmingly of Muslims, who make up just 2% of that country’s population. In 2005, 82% of crimes in Copenhagen were committed by members of immigrant groups, the majority of them Muslims.

Non-Muslims aren’t the only targets of Muslim violence. A mountain of evidence suggests that the rates of domestic abuse in these enclaves are astronomical. In Germany, reports Der Spiegel, “a disproportionately high percentage of women who flee to women’s shelters are Muslim”; in 2006, 56% of the women at Norwegian shelters were of foreign origin; Deborah Scroggins wrote in The Nation in 2005 that “Muslims make up only 5.5 percent of the Dutch population, but they account for more than half the women in battered women’s shelters.” Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-Dutch advocate for democracy and women’s rights, would no doubt say far more than half: When she was working with women in Dutch shelters, she writes, “there were hardly any white women” in them, “only women from Morocco, from Turkey, from Afghanistan—Muslim countries—alongside some Hindu women from Surinam.” When she and filmmaker Theo van Gogh tried to highlight the mistreatment of women under Islam in the 2004 film “Submission: Part I,” he was killed by a young Muslim extremist.

More and more Western Europeans, recognizing the threat to their safety and way of life, have turned their backs on the establishment, which has done little or nothing to address these problems, and begun voting for parties—some relatively new, and all considered right-wing—that have dared to speak up about them. One measure of the dimensions of this shift: Owing to the rise in gay-bashings by Muslim youths, Dutch gays—who 10 years ago constituted a reliable left-wing voting bloc—now support conservative parties by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

The other major reason for the turn against the left is economic. Western Europeans have long paid sky-high taxes for a social safety net that seems increasingly not worth the price. These taxes have slowed economic growth. Timbro’s Johnny Munkhammar noted in 2005 that Sweden, for instance, which in the first half of the 20th century had the world’s second-highest growth rate, had since fallen to No. 14, owing to enormous tax hikes.

Government revenues in Western Europe go largely to support the unemployed, thus discouraging work. Over the last decade or so, the overall unemployment rate in the EU 15—that is, Western Europe—has hovered at about 2.5 to 3 points higher than in the United States. In France and Germany, it has ascended into the double digits (and that was before the global financial crisis that began in 2008). Western Europe’s rate of long-term unemployment has consistently been several times higher than America’s, denoting the presence of a sizable minority either permanently jobless or working off the books, often for family businesses, while collecting unemployment benefits.

These two factors—immigration and the economy—are intimately connected.

— Hat tip: Steen

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Brussels Quietly Trains a Foreign Service

A number of eurocrats will soon form part of an EU diplomatic corps, if European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso has anything to say about it. He’s looking forward to the day when the Lisbon Treaty comes into effect — and the EU has to build embassies.

The European Union, for now, lacks most trappings of central government because it has no constitution. Most “EU diplomats” are in fact diplomats from EU member nations, not from Brussels itself. Even Javier Solana, the EU’s high representative for the common foreign and security policy, can’t technically call himself a “foreign minister.” Instead, he is generally referred to in the media as the EU’s foreign policy chief. But European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is quietly working for the day when he can.

Hundreds of bureaucrats at Barroso’s European Commission, the EU’s executive body, are being educated in the diplomatic arts, taking courses at universities and international academies on “Political Analysis” and “Handling the Media” to prepare for a new role that would be created under the imperilled Lisbon Treaty. Among the key provisions of the treaty is the creation of a European External Action Service and the appointment of a “foreign minister,” though the title has been renamed as the “high representative of the Union,” as well as an EU president. The idea is to groom an EU diplomatic service so it can start its work the day the treaty — once known, and rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands, as the “EU constitution” — goes into effect.

The Lisbon Treaty, of course, may never be ratified. It could easily lose an upcoming vote in the Czech Senate or fail (again) in a new Irish referendum this fall. But Jose Manuel Barroso has ambitions to serve another term, so he’s busy creating facts on the ground.

If Lisbon is ratified, it would elevate the more than 150 EU representative offices around the world to the level of embassies and consulates. The EU is also moving in advance to insure it has the space it needs. In London, EU emissaries are moving into office building on Smith Square purchased for €27 million.

This purchase is something of a coup. The building once housed the headquarters of Britain’s Conservative Party, the Tories. Margaret Thatcher, an archcritic of the European Union, once celebrated an election victory in one of its open windows. Now — assuming the Lisbon Treaty is ratified — the EU’s blue flag is meant to wave in the same spot, in what is expected to become a “super embassy” for Brussels.

— Hat tip: Henrik

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Denmark: Muslims Walk Out of Terrorism Conference

Comments from a member of the Danish People’s Party resulted in Muslim guests walking out in protest from an intelligence agency conference A number of Muslim attendees walked out of a ‘Terrorism and Communication’ conference hosted by the Danish Security…

A number of Muslim attendees walked out of a ‘Terrorism and Communication’ conference hosted by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) today.

Public broadcaster DR reports that the Muslim guests, including an imam, decided to leave the event after Søren Espersen from the Danish People’s Party stood up and said that Islam is one of the world’s problems.

Espersen’s comments came after the head of PET, Jakob Scharf, opened the conference by maintaining that Islam cannot be equated with terrorism. Scharf argued that doing so is almost like running errands for al-Qaeda, because the terror organisation justifies its actions by saying Islam is under attack.

Speakers at the two-day conference include the counterterrorism coordinator from the Egyptian foreign ministry, Ashraf Mohsen; senior advisor from the US Department of Homeland Security, Irfan A. Saeed and former Danish foreign minister, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen.

The Copenhagen Post

— Hat tip: Steen

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Dutch Parliament Agrees to Block All Dialogue With Hamas

The Dutch parliament on Tuesday approved a motion seeking to block any dialogue between government officials and Hamas, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom announced.

The motion — made in effort to counter growing calls in Europe to engage the Islamist group in dialogue — was put forward by MP Raymond de Roon, third on Wilders’ list.

“We should never even talk to an organization that seeks the downfall of Israel. I am therefore glad that my resolution was accepted,? de Roon said. In the motion, de Roon requested the government “ensure the terrorist organization Hamas is excluded from any international debate or governance forum,” a party spokesperson told Haaretz.

“Hamas is not only anti-Zionist,” de Roon previously wrote about Hamas. “It is anti-Jewish and a racist organization. If the West speaks to Hamas, it will foment Jew-hatred.” He added this hatred “flows directly from the pages of the Koran.”

The controversial and publicly pro-Zionist Party for Freedom seeks to “protect the Netherlands from Islamization” by halting and minimizing the effects of immigration from non-Western countries. Recent polls predict the party, which in 2006 won nine seats out of 150 in parliament, would nab 32 seats if elections were held now.

Though in 2007 the party was described as a “pariah” movement, a rapprochement with other parties now seems closer. Last week former prime minister Dries Van Agt from the ruling party, the CDA, was quoted as warning his party members needed to “resist the temptation” of cooperating with Wilders’ party.

— Hat tip: MB

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Earthquake: Arab-Israeli Students, Co-mai Thanks Government

(ANSAmed) — ROME, APRIL 16 — The President of the Arab community in Italy (Co-mai) Foad Aodi has thanked Foreign minister Franco Frattini, undersecretary Gianni Letta and the director of Crisis Unity at the Foreign Office for what they have done for the many Arab-Israeli students at the University of L’Aquila following the earthquake, ‘and for our deceased student Hussain who died in the Student House”. Hussain, or Hussein Hamade was the only victim among the several dozen Israeli students, mainly from the Arab community, who were in L’Aquila when the tragedy struck. His funeral was on April 10 in his village in Galilee. ‘I hosted his family here in Rome” said Aodi, who is also president of the Association of doctors of foreign origin in Italy (Amsi) ‘and we went back to Israel together for the funeral”. The ceremony was watched by thousands of people, he added, and Davide Cecilia from the Italian embassy was also present. After repeating his condolences towards the people of Abruzzo and Italy, Aodi ended the written statement by saying that he hoped that positive news would soon be given to the Arab-Israeli student community in L’Aquila, who could be transferred to other Italian universities. ‘The earthquake in L’Aquila has been closely followed by the Israeli media, and many Arab-Israeli students are watching Italy. Hussain’s father found great solidarity there among the Italian students when his son was being looked for and when he was found”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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France Criticizes U.S. for Shunning U.N. Racism Talks

PARIS (Reuters) — France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner criticized the United States Tuesday for boycotting a United Nations conference where Iran’s president launched a verbal attack on Israel.

France, which has strong diplomatic and business ties with the Middle East, had joined a walk-out of delegates in Geneva after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel cruel and racist in a speech Monday, but then returned to the meeting.

Kouchner said it was wrong of the United States to shun the conference after announcing it was open for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

“It’s paradoxical — they don’t want to listen to Iran in Geneva but they are ready to talk to them,” Kouchner told French radio Europe 1. “More than a paradox, that could really be a mistake.”

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy has worked hard to mend ties with the United States after a rift over the war in Iraq, and was eager to show off his good relations with U.S. President Barack Obama at this month’s NATO summit in Strasbourg.

But France has also been keen to maintain close relations with Arab governments, who have supported the conference.

Kouchner said France would continue to work on the draft text prepared for the Geneva meeting and expected a result later Tuesday, adding that the declaration would condemn anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.

“It will be a defeat for Ahmadinejad because there will be, I hope by tonight, this declaration. But the politics of the empty chair is easy. You leave and you shout at the others,” Kouchner said.

The United States, Canada, Australia and a number of European governments stayed away from the conference on fears it would be hijacked by critics of Israel.

Ahmadinejad has in the past cast doubt on the Nazi Holocaust, and in his speech Monday accused Israel of establishing a “cruel and racist regime.”

“Following World War Two they resorted to military aggressions to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering,” Ahmadinejad told the conference, on the day that Jewish communities commemorate the Holocaust.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Fury at £121k to Fly Detainee Back to Britain

THE cost of bringing former Al Qaeda suspect Binyam Mohamed back from Guantanamo Bay to live in the UK was condemned yesterday.

It had just been confirmed that the taxpayers’ travel bill for the operation which returned him in February on a private jet was £121,269 — as the Daily Express revealed at the time.

But Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown didn’t give details in a Parliamentary written answer of how much Mr Mohamed will cost the public purse while he remains in the UK.

He was replying to a question from Lord Kilclooney — former long-serving Ulster Unionist MP John Taylor.

Lord Kilclooney said last night: “The cost is outrageous.”

The taxpayer could have saved thousands of pounds, he claimed, if charter and scheduled flights been used and if fewer people had been in the party which included Foreign Office officials and seven British police officers. “I note also the Government has avoided giving a figure for the daily cost of keeping him in the UK.

“Clearly the Government has thousands of pounds to waste!”

The peer added: “I think the public will be shocked. It is not even as if he is a citizen of the UK. He only happened to be staying here.”

Ethiopian-born Mr Mohamed, 30, arrived in Britain in 1994 as a teenage refugee and in 2000 was given leave to remain for four years. In 2001 he travelled to Afghanistan, supposedly to kick a drug habit and not to fight with the Taliban, as his accusers claim.

He was arrested in Pakistan in April 2002 as he went to board a flight back to the UK. He claims he was tortured in Pakistan and Morocco with the knowledge of British officials before being transferred to the Guantanamo camp in Cuba for terror suspects.

After all charges were dropped last year, he was flown back to Britain and is expected to be granted indefinite leave to remain. That entitles him to up to £21,600 a year in benefits if he does not work and he could also sue the Government for damages.

Whitehall says he couldn’t have been flown from Guantanamo to the US because Britain had promised Washington not to give him a chance to claim asylum there.

The Home Office yesterday declined to comment on Mr Mohamed’s living arrangements.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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German Trial Begins for Four Accused in Terror Plot Against US Targets

DUESSELDORF- Four men charged over a foiled plot to attack American and other targets in Germany were motivated by hatred of the U.S. and aspired to emulate the scale of Sept. 11, prosecutors said as their trial opened Wednesday.

The suspects — two Germans and two Turkish nationals — were all arrested in 2007. They face charges including membership in a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder.

“The defendants were driven by the will to destroy the enemies of Islam — particularly U.S. citizens — in Germany and to reach the scale of the Sept. 11 attacks,” prosecutor Volker Brinkmann said as he presented the charges at the Duesseldorf state court.

The four were moved by “profound hatred of the U.S.A. as the greatest enemy of Islam,” said another prosecutor, Ralf Setton, adding that German victims also would have been “welcome” to them. He said they aimed to kill “as many people as possible.”

Prosecutors allege that the group planned car bomb attacks on sites such as pubs, discos and airports, and considered targets in cities including Frankfurt, Dortmund, Duesseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich and Ramstein — where the U.S. military has a large air base.

They maintain the attacks were to be carried out before an October 2007 vote by the German parliament on extending German troops stay in Afghanistan.

German authorities arrested three of the men, alleged ringleader Fritz Gelowicz, 29; Daniel Schneider, 23; and Adem Yilmaz, 30, at a rented cottage in central Germany on Sept. 4, 2007.

Turkey picked up the fourth, 24-year-old Attila Selek, in Turkey in November 2007 and later extradited to Germany.

Gelowicz and Schneider are both Germans who converted to Islam.

All the suspects are accused of being members of the radical Islamic Jihad Union, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

According to the U.S. State Department, the Islamic Jihad Union was responsible for coordinated bombings outside the U.S. and Israeli embassies in July 2004 in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. Members have been trained in explosives by al-Qaida instructors, and the group has ties to Osama bin Laden and fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, according to the State Department.

The German cell had stockpiled 1,600 pounds (730 kilograms) of highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, purchased from a chemical supplier, and could have mixed the peroxide with other substances to make explosives equivalent to 1,200 pounds (550 kilograms) of dynamite, German officials say.

But German authorities — acting partly on intelligence from the U.S. — had been watching them and covertly replaced all of the hydrogen peroxide with a diluted substitute that could not have been used to produce a bomb.

Lawyers for Gelowicz and Schneider said in a statement that they would question whether some of the evidence could be used in court. Lawyers for Selek and Yilmaz raised similar questions, arguing that the role of informants for intelligence services in the case was unclear.

No formal pleas are entered under the German system.

Prosecutors maintain that during Schneiders arrest, the suspect grabbed a police officers handgun and managed to squeeze off a shot. The officer was uninjured, but Schneider faces an additional charge of attempted murder, which carries a possible sentence of life in prison.

The other charges together carry a 10-year maximum.

The trial, being held in a high-security courtroom, is scheduled to last at least until the end of August.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Italian Judge to Rule in May on CIA Trial

By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Write Colleen Barry, Associated Press Write — 59 mins ago MILAN — A judge will decide next month whether to continue with the politically sensitive trial of 26 Americans and seven Italians accused in the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian terror suspect after the high court threw out key evidence deemed classified.

Defense lawyers for the Americans — mostly CIA agents — and Italians argued Wednesday the exclusion of the evidence made it impossible to continue with the trial. The prosecution argued the indictments were still valid and the trial should go on.

Judge Oscar Magi said he would announce his decision May 20.

The viability of the two-year-old trial has been hanging on the Italian Constitutional Court’s ruling, issued in full earlier this month, on which evidence pertaining to the alleged CIA-run kidnapping as part of its renditions program is considered classified, and therefore inadmissible.

The high court’s ruling threw out key testimony from Luciano Peroni, an intelligence agent who acknowledged being present on Feb. 17, 2003 when Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was taken from a Milan street in broad daylight.

Prosecutors say he was then transported in a van to the Aviano Air Force base, from where he was flown to the Ramstein Air Base in southern Germany, then onward to Egypt, where he was held and allegedly tortured. He has since been released.

The Constitutional Court also threw out any evidence that would reveal the workings between the CIA and Italian intelligence agents, who are among the defendants.

Defense lawyers for both the American and Italian defendants requested their clients be cleared — something not technically possible at this stage.

In one case, the defense for Nicolo Pollari, the former head of the military intelligence, said he needed access to classified information to prove his client had no involvement in the kidnapping.

Prosecutor Armando Spataro argued the indictments “maintained their integrity,” even without the excluded evidence. He noted that the case against the Americans began at least a year before the Italians were investigated, meaning that any evidence pertaining to the Italian secret services that is seen as classified was not used to build the case against the Americans.. Prosecutors have also said that state secrets cannot apply to illegal operations, such as kidnapping.

“Just at the moment in which the United State is lifting the veil on its secrets regarding illegal practices in the fight against terrorism with statements from President Barack Obama, here information protected as classified is being expanded excessively,” Spataro told the court.

Magi could decide to continue the case, throw out the indictments — which would send the case back to the preliminary hearing stage — or rule the trial can’t go on if he views the remaining evidence as insufficient.

Defense lawyer Alessia Sorgato, who is defending three American clients, said he could also decide to continue the trial for the American defendants while stopping it for the Italians, on the basis that classified information applied only to the Italian secret services.

Sorgato said a decision to simply end the trial “would be the worst decision possible. It would mean not guilty and not innocent. Simply, ‘I don’t have enough evidence.’ “

The CIA has refused to comment on the trial, and the Americans are being tried in absentia. The defense lawyers for the Americans have acted without any contact with their clients.

Italy’s government has denied any involvement in the kidnapping.

The trial has proved an embarrassment to both conservative and left-leaning Italian governments, with both Premier Silvio Berlusconi and his predecessor Romano Prodi having warned that testimony in the case could compromise operations between Italian spy services and the CIA.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Italy: Roma Gypsy Wins Big Brother

Cook arrived in Italy by boat as an illegal immigrant

(ANSA) — Rome, April 21 — A 22-year-old Roma gypsy from Montenegro who arrived in Italy as an illegal immigrant won the ninth edition of reality show Big Brother here on Monday evening.

Ferdi Berisa, who works as a cook in Italy’s central Marche region, beat off three other Italian finalists in the public vote to scoop the 300,000-euro prize money, winning over audiences with a tragic back story and touted by the media as a model of immigrant integration.

Abandoned by his mother and separated from his sister, Berisa arrived in Italy aged 9 on board a rubber boat with his father, who forced him to steal and participate in illegal fights between minors.

After the Italian authorities stepped in to separate the pair, Berisa grew up in an institution before finding work as a cook.

Berisa’s popularity was aided in the run-up to the final by an unlikely house romance with a 23-year-old Neapolitan student and model which other housemates believed to be less than genuine on the part of the student.

Altercations over the romance led to an incident in which Berisa was shoved to the floor during an argument with fellow finalist, self-proclaimed playboy entrepreneur Gianluca, who was subsequently the first finalist to be voted out.

Berisa also beat Cristina, a student with large breast implants, and runner-up Marcello, a baker, to the title in the final show, which was watched by eight million people, or 36% of the audience share.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Milan Reports Illegal Immigrant Surge

Milan, 21 April (AKI) — Police in the northern Italian city of Milan recorded 376 illegal immigrants during the first three months of 2009, around four per day, compared with an average three per day in 2008. Milan’s deputy mayor and city councillor for security, Riccardo De Corato, said on Tuesday the figures showed a “worrying” increase in the number of Milan’s illegal immigrants.

“These figures are especially worrying, given the continuing crime incidents involving illegal immigrants who have frequently already been served with expulsion orders,” said De Corato.

He gave the example of a jeweller’s savage pistol-whipping last week in Cinisello Balsamo on the outskirts of Milan by three suspected robbers. Two young Albanian men have since been arrested over the attack.

“The two men who were arrested were already due to be deported, but were still here, making trouble,” he said.

The greatest number of robberies against Italian shops are carried out by Romanians, Albanians and Moroccans, according to Italy’s interior ministry.

Africans currently make up almost half of Milan’s 38,000 illegal immigrants and their numbers will surge this year, according to Italy’s ISMU migration research institute, De Corato said.

Resentment towards immigrants has increased in recent years as the country has become a target for mass immigration, a change that has brought severe political and social strains.

Perceptions that immigrants are responsible for rising crime in Italy has sparked a backlash against immigration, especially among many conservative voters.

Northern Italy is one of the areas of the country with the highest number of immigrants and is the heartland of the conservative government’s anti-immigrant coalition partner, the Northern League party.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Norway: “the Reality is That a Kind of Sneak-Islamisation of This Society is Being Allowed”

Robert Spencer: “Six million Jews were murdered in Europe. No one is calling for any Muslim to be murdered, or anything close to that, and to frame the debate in those terms is simply an attempt to divert attention away from real concerns about Sharia supremacism. Jews had never proclaimed they were going to conquer Europe and subjugate non-Jews under the rule of Jewish law. Many, many Muslims have proclaimed that the Islamic conquest of Europe is imminent. To speak out against that, and in favor of freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, the equality of rights of all people before the law, and the non-establishment of religion in society is not to call for anyone to be killed.”

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Norwegian Lawyers to Accuse Israeli Leaders of War Crimes

OSLO (AFP) — Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials could face legal action in Norway over the Gaza offensive after six Norwegian lawyers said Tuesday they would accuse them of war crimes.

The lawyers, who plan to file their complaint with Norway’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday, said they will call for the arrest and extradition of Olmert as well as former foreign affairs minister Tzipi Livni, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and seven senior Israeli army officers.

Under the Norwegian penal code, courts may hear cases involving war crimes and other major violations of human rights.

The lawyers released a statement accusing Israel of “massive terrorist attacks” in the Gaza Strip from December 27 last year to January 25, killing civilians, illegally using weapons against civilian targets and deliberately attacking hospitals and medical staff.

“There can be no doubt that these subjects knew about, ordered or approved the actions in Gaza and that they had considered the consequences of these actions,” the lawyers’ statement said.

It also said the lawyers were representing a number of people living in Norway.

“It involves three people of Palestinian origin living in Norway and 20 families who lost loved ones or property during the attack,” one of the lawyers, Kjell Brygfjeld, told AFP.

When questioned on the chances of the case reaching court, fellow lawyer Harald Stabell said: “If we do nothing, it is more likely that a similar attack will happen again in the future.”

“In our eyes, the political aspect is less important than the preventive aspect,” he added when asked if the move could hinder Norwegian diplomacy in the region.

Israel’s embassy in Oslo said they were unaware of the lawyers’ attempt to bring the war crimes charges and could not immediately comment.

Israel said the aim of the Gaza offensive was to stop Islamist militants there from firing rockets into their territory.

Gaza medics said 1,300 Palestinians died during the attacks.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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On Work and Freedom: For Holocaust Remembrance Day and Durban II

[…]

I don’t know of any Holocaust survivors who entered a café in Germany or Poland circa 1946 or 1996 or 2006 and blew themselves up to liberate their family’s land or business stolen by the Nazis. Nor do I know of any Holocaust remembrance conferences where the chief subject is hating Hitler and his SS and the German and Polish and Hungarian people who kept quiet. The subject is remembering the dead and the lost. And how we’ve moved on. Grown, beyond survival. Celebrating the fact that Hitler ultimately failed miserably, precisely because he did not manage to infect his victims with the thing that drove him: Hate.

— Hat tip: EK

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Spain: Condominiums to Appoint Energy Monitors for Savings

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 17 — An ‘energy monitor’ will have to be appointed in each condominium in buildings larger than 1,000 square metres to check the building’s rate of power consumption on a monthly basis. This is one of the measures provided in the Efficiency and Renewables bill that is being examined by the Spanish government, featured in today’s ‘El Pais’. The energy monitor will have to issue a yearly report on the building’s rate of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in order to “identify anomalies” and suggest measures to save power an enhance the building’s power efficiency. The law is implementing an EU objective which sets a minimum level of 20% of renewable sources for the power consumed by Member countries by the year 2020. In 2007 Spain only had barely 7% of renewable sources. The EU set another objective which entails that within the same period at least 10% of used fuel must be of green origin. In 2008 in Spain this percentage only amounted to 1.8%. Aside from condominium savings, the bill also provides that new buildings must be built exploiting natural light as much as possible. Larger companies and industrial areas will have the duty of setting up collective transportation plans for their employees. The establishment of “power service companies” will be promoted by offering State assistance to improve energy savings in companies and buildings and to boost the use of renewable power sources. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Genetic Proof, Hapsburgs Killed by Inbreeding

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 15 — Up to today it has been no more than guesswork, but now it has been proved by genetic evidence. Spain’s Hapsburg dynasty was wiped out by a process of “endogamy” after being one of Europe’s most important and influential royal families for a period of 500 years, up to 1700 when king Charles died without leaving an heir. The proof comes from research carried out by investigators with the Santiago de Compostela University that has been published in the Public Library of Science PLoS One and which is based on genetic evidence that the ongoing inter-breeding between family members led to the demise of the Hapsburg dynasty. The team of investigators led by professor Gonzalo Alvarez used genealogical information on Charles II and 3,000 relatives and predecessors spanning 16 generations. Starting from this data, the scientists calculated the coefficient of consanguinity for each individual, establishing a value indicating the level of probability that the individual received two identical genes by descent because of the similarity of the parents’ genetic traits. Researchers were able to prove that consanguine ratios grew higher with each passing generation, and thus the team was able to prove that, from a genetic point of view, the end of the Hapsburg dynasty in Spain was caused by frequent interbreeding between family members. Gonzalo Alvarez explains that “At the time political alliances were sealed by marriage and this led to high rates of blood-relatedness that were the result of unions between cousins, uncles and nephews, cousins in the second degree and so on”. Charles II, “the hexed”, died heirless after being married twice. He was of feeble constitution, rather short, suffered from frequent bouts of vomit and diarrhoea, and when he died at the age of 39 he looked like an old man. In the Hapsburg family tree it is Charles II that turned out to have the highest ratio of endogamy, but he is closely followed by his father’s father, Philip II. Alvarez notes that ‘he king had a 25% ratio, which we would expect to see in a person born out of incest between brothers and sisters or between parents and their children”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Minister, Safety for the Retired

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 16 — There is heated debate in Spain over the Governor of the Central Bank’s request for an amendment to the country’s pension plan as well as an extension of the minimum age of retirement to 67 years. “There is no reason to throw doubt upon a system which is fully functional, nor is there reason to panic the eight million pensioners in this country”. This was the response of the Minister for Work and Immigration, Celestino Corbacho, as quoted by Europa Press. Corbacho said he “was in severe disagreement” with the prediction made by Miguel Angel Fernando Ordoñez, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, who claims that in 2009 the country’s social security funds will enter negative balances. It is a situation which the Minister has claimed is “impossible”. Secretaries for the country’s major unions such as Candido Mendez of the General Union of Workers of Spain (UGT) and Ignacio Fernandez Toxo of the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) have criticised the statements made by the country’s Central Bank. The president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers Organisations (CEOE), Jose Maria Lacasas, and the Jesus Barcena, head of Spain’s Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises were quoted saying Ordoñez was overly “alarmist” and suffered an “excess of loquacity”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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UK: 9 Held Over Bomb Plot Fear Are to be Deported

NINE suspected terrorists arrested over an alleged Easter bomb plot have been released without charge.

The men are expected to be deported on the grounds of national security after being released into the custody of the Border Agency, Greater Manchester Police said last night.

The two remaining suspects are still being questioned by anti-terror officers. One man had already been released to the Border Agency.

Twelve men, 11 Pakistani nationals and one British man of Pakistani descent were seized in raids in the North-west earlier this month.

The 11 had come to Britain on student visas approved by the Home Office.

Despite extensive searches, police have found no bomb-making equipment at homes they have searched so far, although they are still looking at one property in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. The raids were brought forward after Met Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick accidentally revealed operational details when his briefing notes were photographed outside Number 10.

Last night a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “These arrests were carried out after a number of UK agencies gathered information that indicated a potential risk to public safety.

“Officers are continuing to review a large amount of information gathered as part of this investigation.”

The Home Office said: “We are seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security.

“The Government’s highest priority is to protect public safety.

“Where a foreign national poses a threat to this country we will seek to exclude or to deport, where this is appropriate.”

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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UK: Government Attempts to Deport Nine Pakistani Students Held in Terror Raid Fiasco Then Released Without Charge

The fiasco over the botched north west terror raids threatened to spiral out of control today after nine men arrested over an alleged bomb plot in the north west were released without charge.

Instead the suspects — among 12 men originally detained over the alleged plot to blow up a nightclub or shopping centre — were released into the custody of the UK Borders Agency, in a humiliating set back for police.

The Pakistani men, most of them on British student visas, are now set to be thrown out for breaching the terms of their entry.

The final two men being questioned by police were released without charge this morning.

However, the lawyer acting for three of nine men said this would only add “insult to injury” and vowed to fight their deportation.

Mohammed Ayub said: “Our clients have no criminal history, they were here lawfully on student visas and all were pursuing their studies and working part-time. Our clients are neither extremists nor terrorists.

“Their arrest and detention has been a very serious breach of their human rights.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Kosovo: Saudi Arabia Recognises Independence

(ANSAmed) — PRISTINA, APRIL 20 — Saudi Arabia today recognised the independence of Kosovo, announced the Kosovar Foreign Ministry, underlining that the decision taken by Riyadh is a very important one due to the impact it may have on the other countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Saudi Arabia is the second Arab country to recognise Kosovo’s independence after the United Arab Emirates did the same on October 14 2008. A total of 59 countries now recognise the independence Kosovo proclaimed unilaterally on February 17 2008, including the US and 22 of the 27 EU countries, including Italy. Serbia — backed by Russia, its historic ally — opposes Kosovo’s independence and continues to consider Kosovo its southern province. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Kosovo: Unesco, Serbia Protests Church Appropriations

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE — Serbian Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, has protested against the attempt he defined as “scandalous” and “outrageous”, to register, as belonging to the Kosovo medieval culture, the monasteries and Orthodox churches and other examples of Serb cultural heritage in Kosovo with UNESCO. “This scandalous and outrageous attempt to mystify the cultural identity never happened before with this organisation, and we will not allow it to happen now”, said Jeremic to journalists in Paris, where he was speaking at the 181st plenary session of the UNESCO managing committee. Several countries, including Albania, proposed defining Serbian monasteries and other works of art from Serb culture located in the province with an Albanian majority which declared independence from Belgrade as Kosovo cultural heritage. The proposal will be presented at a meeting of the UNESCO committee meeting for cultural heritage scheduled for June 22-30 in Seville, Spain. These are works of art and sacred objects and don’t belong to Kosovo but to the Serbian Orthodox Church”, Foreign Minister Jeremic said in Paris, as reported by the Tanjug news agency. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Algeria: Al-Qaeda Leader ‘Resumes’ Terrorist Activity

Algiers, 21 April (AKI) — A North African Al-Qaeda leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has resumed his armed struggle in Algeria after two years of inactivity, security officials said on Tuesday, quoted by Algerian daily el-Khabar.

Belmokhtar, also known as Khaled Abu Al-Abbas, is considered is considered one of the key leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and one of the most wanted terrorists in the Sahara desert region.

Authorities said he marked his comeback by kidnapping Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler and his assistant, Louis Guay, on their way to a United Nations mission in Niger last December.

He has also been implicated in the kidnapping of four tourists from Britain, Switzerland and Germany.

Belmokhtar (photo) reportedly suspended his terrorist activities in late 2006 because of differences between him, as leader of the so-called Mulatahamoun faction and militant leader Abdel Hamid Abu Zaid of the Tarik Ibn Ziyad group.

There was also a rift between Belmokhtar and Abdel Malik Droukedel, the current leader of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), one of the main components of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

However, Algerian media reports said Droukedel sent a representative and military advisor Yahia Djouadi, alias Yahoia Abu Amar, to reconcile the parties in 2007.

Belmokhtar is wanted by the international police organisation, Interpol, and is the subject of sanctions imposed against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda by United Nations resolution 1267 which includes an asset freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo.

Fowler, UN special envoy to Niger, and Guay, deputy director of the Sudan task force in Ottawa, and their Niger-based driver were kidnapped on 14 December 2008 about 45 kilometres northwest of Niamey.

While the militant Front des Forces de Redressement initially claimed that its members had kidnapped Fowler and three others, a spokesman for the group later denied the claim.

In January four tourists, a Swiss couple, a German woman in her 70s and a Briton, were seized in the border zone between Mali and Niger as they were returning from a Tuareg cultural festival.

The North African branch of Al-Qaeda has claimed the kidnappings in an audio tape broadcast by the Arabic channel Al-Jazeera

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Gaza Aid Could be ‘Blocked’ Without a Palestinian Accord

Damascus, 21 April (AKI) — European Union aid for the reconstruction of the strife-torn Gaza Strip would remain blocked until the secular Fatah party reaches an agreement with the Islamist Gaza-ruling Hamas movement, a senior French diplomat has told Adnkronos International (AKI).

“Funds that were set aside for the reconstruction of Gaza will remain frozen if Europe is not convinced that this money will be used for humanitarian, social and development projects for all the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

The international community has pledged 4.5 billion dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza and the revamping of the Palestinian economy, which has been shattered by the recent Israeli military offensive in December and January.

The source added that the EU is afraid that reconstruction aid could flow to Hamas and be used for their own purposes.

“We do not want the aid to end up in Hamas’ hands, since we have no guarantee that they will not use it to carry out military operations or to buy weapons,” he said.

Responding to reports about a possible confederation with two separate governments representing the rival parties in Gaza and the West Bank, the source said that such a move would entrench divisions between the two entities and there would be no more elections.

“If the Palestinians approve the idea of two interim governments, we are convinced that the temporary solution will become a permanent one, entrenching the divisions between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. After that, there would be no more general elections in the Palestinian territories,” he said.

Reports emerged last week of a proposed confederation that would create two governments: one in the West Bank led by Fatah and the Palestinian National Authority and the other in the Gaza Strip led by Hamas, sources told AKI.

Fatah and Hamas have been divided by a serious rift since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip by force in mid-2007 after it won a surprise victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections the previous year.

After the elections Hamas faced widespread political opposition and an economic boycott from western powers including the European Union due to its refusal to comply with three conditions: recognition of Israel, rejection of violence and respect for previous accords between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel meanwhile is refusing to lift its blockade of the aid-dependent territory and allow building and other materials into Gaza for reconstruction.

Around 1,330 Palestinians, of whom 412 were children, were killed during Israel’s recent military offensive which ended in January.

Thousands of homes and hundreds of schools and businesses were destroyed in the operation entitled Operation Cast Lead.

The stated aim of the Israeli offensive was to end cross-border rocket attacks by militants from Hamas and other Palestinian factions.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Gaza: New Bank Supported by Hamas Opens

(ANSAmed) — GAZA, APRIL 21 — The offices of a new bank supported by Hamas, the National Islamic Bank, have opened in the centre of Gaza city. It will operate according to Islamic financial criteria, which forbid any form of usury. Local sources state that the opening of the bank was made necessary as other local credit institutes are unwilling to maintain relations with the Hamas executive in order to avoid exposing themselves to the risk of being labelled by the outside world as “financing terrorism”. The new bank, which has no legal ties with Hamas, has already announced that it will accept payments of salaries for several thousands of employees of Ismail Haniyeh’s government ministries. The bank will be open to clients from the beginning of May. Several other credit institutes operate in Gaza, including the ‘Falastin Bank’, ‘Arab Bank’, ‘Jordan Bank’ and ‘Cairo Amman Bank’. Unlike the others, the National Islamic Bank has not received a licence from the Palestinian National Authority and its opening represents a further cause of friction between Gaza and Ramallah. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Palestinian Land Owner to be Tried for Treason for Selling Land to Jews

A special Palestinian tribunal on Tuesday discussed for the first time the sale of lands to Jews by Palestinians, which has made waves in the West since it was first reported by Ynet.

The first person put on trial was a Hebron resident suspected of selling lands to Israelis. The prosecution demanded that he be convicted of treason.

The court hearing lasted more than six hours and included a reading of the indictment filed against the man. The prosecution presented documents including the locations of the lands the suspect allegedly sold to Israelis in the Hebron area.

Sources in the Palestinian Authority said that if the man were to be convicted of treason, he would most likely be sentenced to death.

Ynet reported recently that many Palestinians suspected of selling lands to Jews — including Israeli Arabs living in east Jerusalem — were released following Israeli pressure, and that the investigations against them were closed.

Following the report, members of the Fatah faction in the Jewish area began looking for the person who issued the order to end the investigation against those suspect. At the same time, the Palestinians are conducting a media and political war aimed at preventing Israeli associations from purchasing lands and houses in Jerusalem.

Senior Fatah member Hatem Abdel Kader, who serves as Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s advisor on Jerusalem affairs, clarified Monday that the Palestinian prosecution was continuing its investigations into dozens of land sale affairs.

He added, however, that “there are difficulties in the interrogation of some of the Jerusalemite suspects due to Israeli pressures, and because the prosecution is finding it difficult to prepare indictments against them..”

Abdel Kader added that the investigations focused on the sale of some 13,000 dunam (3,212 acres) in Jerusalem and its surroundings. He stressed that the PA was working firmly in to combat the sale of land to Israelis, adding that those who are found guilty of selling land to Jews should be executed.

— Hat tip: moderntemplar

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McDonald’s Happy About Growth in Turkey, Eyes More

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, APRIL 21 — McDonald’s Turkey maintained a good run of expansion in 2008 and is planning to grow further in 2009, despite the gloom the global economic crisis has added to the domestic economy. Revenue from McDonald’s sales in Turkey increased 30% last year to TL 250 million, and the company aims to earn TL 290 million by the end of this year. McDonald’s Turkey opened its latest restaurant in Gaziantep last week. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency after the opening ceremony, McDonald’s Turkey General Manager Hakan Serim said the company currently has 120 restaurants in Turkey and plans to increase this number by nearly 15% this year. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Outrage Reserved for Israel

FEW places on earth have been as systematically brutalised over the past decade as Chechnya. So you might have thought that the Russian Government’s decision last week to declare an end to its “counter-terrorism” operations in the territory would have been an occasion for sombre reflection in the Western media. Forget it. It’s a 600-word news item at best.

Here’s a contrast to ponder. Since the beginning of the second intifada in the autumn of 2000, about 6000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. That figure includes combatants as well as those killed in January’s fighting in Gaza.

As for Chechnya, there are no solid figures for the number of civilians killed since the second war began in late 1999; estimates range from 25,000 to 200,000. Chechnya’s population, at a little more than one million, is about one third or one fourth that of the Palestinians. That works out to between 25 and 200 Chechen deaths per 1000 as against 1.5 to two Palestinian deaths per 1000.

Now type the words Palestine and genocide into Google. When I did so on Monday, I got 1,630,000 results. Next, substitute Chechnya for Palestine. The number is 245,000.

Taking the Google results as a crude measure of global outrage, that means the outrage over the Palestinian situation was 6.6 times greater than over the Chechen one. Yet Chechen fatalities were between 13 to 133 times greater.

Final calculation: With an outrage ratio of 6.6 to one, but a proportional kill ratio of one to 13 (at the very low end), it turns out that every Palestinian death receives somewhere in the order of 28 times the attention of every Chechen death. Remember that in both cases we’re mainly talking about Muslims being killed by non-Muslims.

I’ll admit this math exercise is a bit of a gimmick. But it raises a worthwhile question: Why is Palestinian life so dear in the eyes of the world, and Chechen life so cheap?

Maybe the answer is that the Palestinian cause is morally worthier than that of Chechnya. But that can’t be right. Yes, Chechen terrorists have committed spectacular atrocities, notably the 2004 Beslan school massacre. Yet modern terrorism is a genre Palestinians practically invented. As it is, Chechnya has been suffering grievously under Russia’s thumb since the 1800s. (Just read Tolstoy’s Hadji Murad.) If colonialism is your beef, the case for Chechen independence is inarguable.

Maybe, then, the answer is that there is no shortage of imagery of Palestinian death, and thus it engages more of the world’s attention. By contrast, the Russians imposed a virtual media blockade on Chechnya, and journalists who covered the story, such as Anna Politkovskaya, had a way of ending up dead.

But imagery need not be televised to be vivid, nor does the world lack for testimonials of Russian brutality. “I remember a Chechen female sniper,” a Russian soldier told Los Angeles Times reporter Maura Reynolds. “We just tore her apart with two armoured personnel carriers, having tied her ankles with steel cables. There was a lot of blood, but the boys needed it.”

Maybe it’s that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is simply more important strategically than Russia’s war against Chechnya, in the same way that the attacks of 9/11 mattered more in the scheme of things than, say, atrocities by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

Yet even before 9/11, there was evidence that al-Qa’ida was feeding money and arms to Chechen fighters, putting Chechnya squarely into the context of what became the global war on terror. Evidence of al-Qa’ida involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is sparser and only came to light in 2007.

Of course, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict inflames the Muslim world in a way the Chechen one does not. But why is that, when so many more Muslims are being victimised by Russia?

Then too, why does the wider world participate in the Muslim world’s moral priorities? Why, for instance, do high-profile Western writers such as Portuguese Nobel laureate Jose Saramago make “solidarity” pilgrimages to Ramallah but not to the Chechen capital of Grozny? Why do British academics organise boycotts of their Israeli counterparts but not their Russian ones?

Why is Palestinian statehood considered a global moral imperative, but statehood for Chechnya is not?

Why does every Israeli prime minister invariably become a global pariah, when not one person in 1000 knows the name of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, a man who, by many accounts, keeps a dungeon near his house in order to personally torture his political opponents? And why does the fact that Kadyrov is Vladimir Putin’s handpicked enforcer in Chechnya not cause a shudder of revulsion as the Obama administration reaches for the reset button with Russia?

I have a hypothesis. Maybe the world attends to Palestinian grievances but not Chechen ones for the sole reason that Palestinians are, uniquely, the perceived victims of the Jewish state. That is when they are not being victimised by other Palestinians. Or being expelled en masse from Kuwait. Or being excluded from the labour force in Lebanon. Things you probably didn’t know about, either.

As for the Chechens, too bad for their cause that no Jew is ever likely to become president of Russia.

— Hat tip: Vlad Tepes

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Terrorism: Turkey; Heavy Blow for Al-Qaeda, 37 Arrests

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, APRIL 21 — A heavy blow was struck by Turkish anti-terrorist police against Al Qaeda terrorism; 37 people were arrested today in various regions of Turkey on suspicion of belonging to the terrorist organisation led by Osama bin Laden. According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, the operation leading to the arrests was conducted simultaneously in five provinces in central and southern areas of the country, including the provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa, as well as Konya. The officers, according to the sources, also confiscated an undisclosed number of computers and weapons. Three more people are being sought by police. At the beginning of the month seven suspected members of Al Qaeda accused of “belonging to a terrorist gang and spreading propaganda” were arrested in the eastern province of Ekisehir. Al Qaeda is very active in Turkey, as shown by the number of operations to stop their activities. On July 9 last year in Istanbul, three terrorists and three policemen were killed during a shootout that started after an attack on a police checkpoint outside the US consulate. The following August 29, also in Istanbul, special anti-terrorism teams prevented an attack by arresting 21 people who had attended military and ideological training camps in Afghanistan. The previous April, in a similar operation in Istanbul, 45 people were arrested and accused of having Al Qaeda connections. Another dozen presumed members of the same group were arrested in January after 18 houses were searched at the same time in Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras, in south western Turkey. There is also a violent precedent, an Al Qaeda cell was responsible for attacks in Istanbul in November 2002 against two synagogues and two British targets (the consulate and the HSBC bank) that left 63 people dead and hundreds wounded. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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The Iranian Dream…

(The Iranian Dream, The Dutch Iran Commitee, The Press Centre in the Hague, 3/30-2009. The Iran committee will try to raise awareness in the Netherlands about the threats of the nuclear program of the mullah regime and the severity of their human rights violations.)

My name is Farshad Kholghi. I am a free citizen of the world. I believe in freedom. I believe in the freedom of speech.

I believe God is wiser than we imagine. I believe that God has humor, and that God created humor in order to keep out the devil. She is not a god who would waste her time making millions of rules. My God is not vain and has nothing against being depicted and even ridiculed.

I love my freedom, the freedom that was granted to me by my parents when they bravely defied gravity and fled from an Iran ruled by religious fanatics. They saw us as heretics and infidels, because my parents belong to the Bahâ’î religion which is not tolerated by the otherwise “so very tolerant” Islamic state. But we escaped and came to Denmark, .

I shall never forget the fear and terror we felt after the birth of the Islamic state in 1979 in Iran…

— Hat tip: Steen

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The Russian Handicap to U.S. Iran Policy

by Ariel Cohen

• There are voices in the Obama Administration who believe that the Kremlin is able and willing to exert pressure on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, perceived geopolitical and economic benefits in the unstable Persian Gulf, in which American influence is on the wane, outweigh Russia’s concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran. The Kremlin sees Iran not as a threat but as a partner or an ad-hoc ally to challenge U.S. influence.
• Today, both Russia and Iran favor a strategy of “multipolarity,” both in the Middle East and worldwide. This strategy seeks to dilute American power, revise current international financial institutions, and weaken or neuter NATO and the OSCE, while forging a counterbalance to the Euro-Atlantic alliance.
• Russian technological aid is evident throughout the Iranian missile and space programs. Russian scientists and expertise have played a direct and indirect role in these programs for years. According to some reports, Russian specialists are helping to develop the longer-range Shahab-5, and Russia has exported missile production facilities to Iran.
• Moscow has signed a contract to sell advanced long-range S-300 air-defense systems to Iran. Once Iran has air defenses to repel Israeli or American air strikes and nuclear warheads for its ballistic missiles, it will possess the capacity to destroy Israel (an openly stated goal of the regime) and strike targets throughout the Middle East, in Europe, and the Indian subcontinent. Beyond that, if and when an ICBM capability is achieved, Tehran will be able to threaten the U.S. homeland directly.
• Given the substantial Russian interests and ambitions, any grand bargain would almost certainly require an excessively high price paid by the United States to the detriment of its friends and allies. Russia simply does not view the situation through the same lens as the U.S…

— Hat tip: JCPA

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Turkey: Sales of Alcoholic Beverages Untouched by Crisis

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, APRIL 21 — Sales of alcoholic beverages in Turkey rose 19.96% last year compared to a year earlier, Anatolia news agency reported, citing data from the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Agency, or TAPDK. According to the TAPDK, the volume of alcoholic beverage sales last year surpassed 1.1 billion liters in the country, which has a population of 71.4 million and was visited by 26.5 million tourists last year, while the volume of alcoholic beverages sold in 2006 was 880.97 million liters. The figure includes both import and local brands and rose to 921.24 million in 2007. Then in 2008, alcohol consumption in the country increased another 180,34 million liters to reach nearly 1.1 billion liters. Some 5.96 million liters of the booze sold in the country in 2008 was import, while 1.96 billion was domestic. Turkey exported 78.91 million liters of alcoholic beverages last year. There was a significant increase in raki sales last year, according to TAPDK data. The sales of raki, the “national drink,” displayed a fall of 3.8 million liters in 2007 compared to 2006. But that changed last year with some 44.6 million liters of raki consumed. That was 1.89 million liters more than a year earlier. Nearly 122.2 liters of raki per day was sold in the country last year. The highest increase in sales volume was seen in wine. Wine consumption in the country increased 66% in 2008 compared to a year earlier. Some 37.91 million liters of wine was sold last year. That was an increase of 15.66 million from 2007’s 22.84 million liters. Champagne sales increased to 460,547 liters last year from just under 400,000 liters a year earlier. Whisky sales also rose to 1.67 million liters in 2008. Total whisky sales were 1.43 million liters a year earlier. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey: Police Arrest Al-Qaeda Suspects in Raids

Istanbul, 21 April (AKI) — Turkish police on Tuesday arrested at least a dozen suspected members of Al-Qaeda in simultaneous raids across four provinces, Turkish media reported.

While the exact number of suspects was still to be confirmed, at least 12 suspects were arrested in raids in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa, the central province of Konya and southern city of Adana, said Turkish daily Hurriyet.

Earlier this month, seven people were arrested on charges of links to the extremist network following simultaneous operations in the western province of Eskisehir.

A Turkish newspaper reported in March that Ankara had received US intelligence that Al-Qaeda militants could be plotting attacks on foreign targets in Turkey.

A Turkish Al-Qaeda cell was held responsible for truck bomb attacks against two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul in 2003.

A total of 63 people, including the British consul, were killed and hundreds of others were injured.

Seven men were jailed for life in 2007 over the bombings, among them a Syrian national who organised and financed the attacks.

In January, a suspected Al-Qaeda militant was killed and three others captured in a shootout with the police in Istanbul after the group attempted to rob a post office.

Reports also said that anti-terror raids had been carried out in Gaziantep in 2008 and four suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Turkey: History Texts Draw Set of Blank Pages

ISTANBUL — The Ministry of Education has published a revised chapter for Year 8 history books and asked instructors to teach from the new text. Changes include removing the names of influential politicians and a shifted definition of fundamentalism. The ministry’s move has sparked a lively debate over whether the chapter alters or updates the history of the Republic

Changes made to textbooks for Republic history classes have left significant gaps in the country’s past 40 years, revealing that Turkey’s recent history is still considered a difficult issue to tackle.

“Turkey after Atatürk: The Second World War and afterwards,” the seventh chapter of the book, was criticized for mentioning the 1999 capture of the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and significant alterations made by the department of the Education Ministry have raised eyebrows.

The ministry has published the altered, 27-page chapter on its Web site, asking instructors who teach Year 8 Republic history to use the revised version rather than the one in the book.

The chapter focuses on the history of the country after 1939, which includes Turkey’s role in World War II; the start of multi-party democracy; the 1960, 1971 and 1980 military coups; the 1970s, dominated by left-wing and right-wing terrorism; Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union; the start of PKK attacks in the 1980s and the capture of its leader in 1999; both Gulf Wars; and the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Historians believe that recent history should be held in an objective way. Toktamış AteÅŸ, an academic from Istanbul University, said the Board of Education and Discipline prepared the textbooks in line with their political views and opinions. “Recent history should be mentioned without any reference to values and opinions. Those people who experienced those days are still alive and praising [the coups] may hurt them,” he told the NTV news channel yesterday.

But Zübeyde Kılıç, head of the Education Personnel Union, or EÄŸitim-Sen, said the history textbooks do not meet their expectations, especially on the issues of the military coups. “The military coup of Sept. 12, 1980, was a major intervention into democracy and it should not be mentioned in such a shallow way,” she said.

Daily Milliyet focused on the changes, mainly on the section about fundamentalist threats to the country.

While the original version defined fundamentalist acts as efforts to create chaos through religious differences and accusing secularism of being anti-religion through propaganda against the state and Turkey’s founder Atatürk, the new version does not refer to secularism and instead accuses fundamentalists of trying to “perpetrate anti-scientific actions by rejecting the progressive values of the society in order to bring back a medieval system..”

Yunus Ã-ztürk, head of EÄŸitim-Sen’s Bahçelievler branch, said the changes reveal the intervention of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to the curriculum as a way to defend political Islamic views. “The fundamentals define Alevism as the same as atheism, and they condemn Atatürk for introducing a secular system to Turkey,” Ã-ztürk said. “But those details were removed, which makes it difficult to teach children about fundamentalism in Turkey in a concrete way.” The new version also cites Atatürk’s statement warning that the republic faced threats from people and groups that wanted to turn back time. The chapter also argued that fundamentalists had been a threat since the establishment of the Republic.

Military coups The new chapter refers to the 1960, 1971 and 1980 military coups as suspending the country’s democratization process and adds that their negative consequences were overcome by constitutional changes, new political parties laws and broader reforms.

Two pages dedicated to the coups in the original chapter were removed and were replaced with two sentences. The section about the Feb. 28, 1996, statement released by the military that led to the toppling of the coalition government, referred to as the post-modern coup, was simply removed.

Mustafa Kovanlık, head of EÄŸitim-Sen’s Taksim branch, said the removal of the coups from the curriculum is a positive development because the former version depicted the coups as reasonable or legitimate things.

Among the sections that were not included in the new chapter were those that mentioned former Presidents Turgut Ã-zal and Süleyman Demirel and former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit. Demirel and Ecevit were key political leaders starting from the 1960s until after 2000. Ã-zal, credited with opening the economy overseas, dominated Turkish politics from 1983 until his death in 1993.

Missionaries Missionary activities were included in a section on threats to the country and fundamentalist threats.

The chapter said: “Missionary activities are not simple religious proliferation efforts. It cannot be protected by freedom of thought and freedom of expression. It is an organized and systematic movement that forces individuals to change their religion. Missionary activities also carry a political, economic and cultural perspective and are supported by nongovernmental organizations and foreign forces. Missionaries exploit individuals’ economic problems and constitute a threat to national unity and sovereignty.”

The section called “Why are Armenians the problem?” in the original was replaced with a new section called, “Turkish-Armenian Relations.”

The new section lists the Armenian terrorist activities in the 1970s and 1980s directed at Turkish diplomats and notes that Turkey opened its archives concerning the 1915 incidents.

Daily AkÅŸam noted that the changes came as Turkey and Armenia were trying to improve bilateral relations.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Russian Church Asks WCAR to Introduce Christianophobia Notion in Intl Law

[Comment from Tuan Jim: not to say that I agree with this line of thought in principle (particularly with the continued worthless parallel of religion and race) — but it is rather clever.]

Moscow, April 21, Interfax — The Russian Orthodox Church has asked the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), which started in Geneva on Monday, to introduce into international law the notion of Christianophobia.

“It is very important to the Russian Orthodox Church to raise the issue of introducing to the list of threats the notion of Christianophobia in addition to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Georgy Ryabykh told Interfax-Religion.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon mentioned anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in his speech at the opening ceremony of the conference, the priest said, regretting that the UN secretary general did not “say a single word about Christianophobia.”

Today there are a lot of “examples of violations of Christians’ rights, insults of their feelings, public distortion of the Christian teaching to make the notion of Christianophobia enter the international circulation.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Over a Dozen Wahabi Groups “Neutralized” in North Caucasus — Russian Ministry

Moscow, April 22, Interfax — The Russian authorities dismantled the activities of more than a dozen radical Wahabi groups at the end of 2008 and at the beginning of 2009, said Yury Kokov, head of the Interior Ministry’s department for the fight against extremism.

“A large amount of work was carried out in the North Caucasus region, where we dismantled the operations of more than a dozen militant units involving supporters of radical Wahhabism, which has nothing in common with the fundamentals of traditional Islam, at the end of last year and this year,” Kokov told the Public Chamber’s forum for civil accord and against intolerance and extremism.

Several militant group leaders and emissaries of international extremist and terrorist organizations have been “neutralized”, he said.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Afghan Women March, America Turns Away

LAST November, extremists on motorbikes opposed to education for women sprayed acid on a group of students from the Mirwais School for Girls in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Several young women were severely burned. Yet it did not take more than a few weeks for even the most cruelly disfigured girls to return to school. Like the crowds of women in Kabul this week who protested a new law that restricts their rights, the Mirwais students demonstrate unbending courage and resolve for progress. They don’t fear much — except that the world might abandon them.

That is why President Obama’s Afghanistan-Pakistan policy speech last month and his administration’s related white paper are worrisome: both avoided any reference to democracy in Afghanistan, while pointedly pushing democratic reforms in Pakistan. The new policy represents critical shifts — such as a new emphasis on civilian work, and recognizing the regional nature of the problem and the inadequacy and abuse of resources. But a faltering commitment to the democratization of Afghanistan and ambiguous statements from Washington on an exit strategy have left us Afghans scratching our heads.

The Obama administration’s bold declaration of what is to be defeated (Al Qaeda) and absence of equal zest for what is to be built (democracy) inspires a sense of déjà vu. The last time the United States was seriously involved in Afghanistan, its goal was the defeat of the Soviet Union. But after that “success,” extremist militias greedy for power brought our society to its knees. In the absence of the rule of law and legitimate and democratic institutions, the militias’ atrocities allowed the Taliban to rise to power and harbor those behind the 9/11 attacks.

To defeat the forces of oppression, Washington must promote and protect the ideals of democracy and human rights. It is true that Afghanistan has miles to go before it will be a real democracy. But why won’t the new administration state a commitment to helping us get there?

First, with the economic crisis and other domestic priorities, there is a sense in Washington that helping Afghanistan democratize is either a luxury American taxpayers cannot afford or a charitable cause they can delay. This shows a misunderstanding of both what is needed to help Afghans build a real democracy and the lasting interest of the United States.

Second, there is a temptation among some in Washington to believe that if the zeal for democratic reform or women’s and minority rights in Afghanistan were relaxed, Taliban insurgents would find “reconciliation” more attractive and the war would end more quickly.

This belief is encouraged by the radically conservative forces that have increased their influence since 2005 over the Kabul government, which has been backtracking on its commitment to rights like freedom of the press and equality under the law. This was exemplified by two events last month: the upholding of a 20-year jail sentence given to a young journalist for printing a controversial article from the Internet that was critical of the role traditionally assigned to women in Islam; and President Hamid Karzai’s signing of a law affecting the country’s Shiite minority that places restrictions on when a woman can leave her house and states the circumstances in which she is obliged to have sex with her husband. That law prompted the protests this week in Kabul.

It would seem that the escalating violence the country has suffered since 2005 would be a pretty convincing demonstration that giving up ground on democracy and human rights is not helping end this war. Rather, the Taliban has interpreted it as a sign of the weakness of the Afghan government and its international allies. The Afghan public, even as it faces an unpopular and brutal insurgency, is no longer sure if a government that is reluctant to stand up for human rights deserves support. Afghans are also aware that if their government does not honestly commit to judicial and legislative reforms, it will lose American and European public support.

Third, and perhaps most important, many Westerners still cling to incorrect assumptions about Afghans, which they use as excuses for abandoning democratization. One such belief is that Afghans are a “tribal people” who probably do not want a say in choosing their leaders. Others claim that because Afghanistan is a traditional Islamic society, any promotion of democracy and women’s rights will be resented as an imposition of Western values. Another much-heard statement is that Afghans are “fierce independent fighters” who mercilessly defy external influence, so the United States better not get bogged down in this “graveyard of empires.”

These assumptions are wrong. In our first democratic elections, in October 2004, 11 million Afghans — 41 percent of them women — registered to vote. In a 2008 survey by the Asia Foundation, 76 percent of Afghans responded that democracy was the best form of government. An estimated 10 million people, one-third of the population, live in cities. Almost 65 percent of Afghans are under the age of 25. This dominant generation came of age not under the old tribal structures but in an Afghanistan whose traditional fabrics were torn apart by Soviet tanks and our long civil war.

As for women’s rights, the troubles that brewed in Afghanistan during the 1990s — civil war, followed by the Taliban’s totalitarianism and harboring of Al Qaeda — were in great part the result of the female half of our population being deprived of social and political participation. Like everyone else, Afghans crave security, justice, accountability, educational and employment opportunities, and a promise of a future.

Democracy and progress are not products to be packaged and exported to Afghanistan. Afghans have to fight for them. Last month, the two of us helped organize “Afghanistan: Ensuring Success,” a conference led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born former United States ambassador to the United Nations. Speakers included Afghans from all walks of life and there was broad agreement that, in the words of President Obama, it was time to “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off” and strive for genuine democratic progress and self-reliance.

But as we approach Afghanistan’s second democratic elections, in August, we cannot afford to have our allies falter — through rhetoric or policy — in supporting our nascent democratic forces. Those brave and burned young women of Kandahar did not give up. How could we?

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Archbishop of Lahore: Sharia in the Swat Valley is Contrary to Pakistan’s Founding Principles

Archbishop Saldanha denounces the violation of minority and women’s rights. The archbishop expresses his concern “in matters concerning criminal justice,” and denounces abuses and violence by the Taliban toward Christian, Sikh, and Hindu places of worship and schools. The Catholic Church supports the Muttahida Quami Movement, the only party that has opposed the “forces of darkness.”

Lahore (AsiaNews) — Sharia law in the Swat Valley demonstrates a “total neglect” of minorities and their rights, sanctioned by the founding father of the country in 1947, at the Constituent Assembly. This is the position of Lawrence John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore and president of the Pakistani bishops’ conference, who expresses special concern “in matters concerning criminal justice.”

The prelate has sent an open letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raza Gilani, and the Justice Minister of the government of the North-West Frontier Province, in which he stresses his “sorrow that your government has failed to take stock of the concerns of civil society” about the introduction of Islamic law into the Swat Valley. This, in fact, “jeopardizes the socio-economic and cultural growth” in the region, legitimizes the claims of the Taliban, who are destroying “the constitutional protections for minorities and women.”

The letter was also signed by Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace. The Catholic leaders explain that the climate of “impunity” surrounding the Taliban’s “killing machine of terror” perpetrates crimes and violence against “the small communities of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians.” The Christian minorities of the NWFP are forced to endure “unemployment, intimidation and migration” because of the imposition of the Jizya, the tax levied by Muslims on the faithful of the religions of the Book (Christians and Jews). The Islamic extremists have defaced the “statues of the Buddha” and razed to the ground “St. Mary’s School, Convent, and Chapel at Sangota (Swat).” The fundamentalists have also targeted the school of Don Bosco, in Bannu. Archbishop Saldanha says that “several of our institutions have received threats.”

Special concern has been prompted by the creation of “a parallel legal system,” based on Islamic law. “This decision,” the archbishop says, “must be put to a vote by the judges and the people.” Another significant aspect is the “ ideological extremism” that seems to be gaining a foothold in the country. In the open letter, there is a reference to the inaugural address — in 1947 — of the founder of the country to the Constituent Assembly: Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah recalled that religion is a “personal matter” and has nothing to do with “the affairs of state.”

In a second letter, addressed to the head of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), Archbishop Saldanha and Peter Jacob express their “appreciation” for the only party in parliament that has “opposed the introduction of Sharia in the Swat.” “This contribution,” the letter reads, “aimed to save the nation from falling into darkness, will always be remembered.”

Catholics “share” the concerns of the members of the MQM over the “tacit approval” of the actions of the terrorists, and their plans, aimed at overturning “the social and political order” of the country. Peter Jacob and Archbishop Saldanha invite the Muttahida Quami Movement to “continue its efforts” to create a “tolerant and pluralist” Pakistani society.

The Taliban, meanwhile, are continuing their battle to extend Islamic law to the entire country, and say they have no intention of “giving up weapons: we are Pashtun, and every Pashtun has a weapon,” says Muslim Khan, spokesman of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Last Sunday, Sufi Muhammad, the spiritual leader of the movement Tahrik-e-Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi, recalled that “only Islamic law is valid” in the Swat Valley, and the entire judicial system of Pakistan must be regulated “according to the dictates of Sharia.” The fundamentalist leader emphasized that “there is no room for democracy” in Islam, and called Western governments “a system of infidels” that has divided the country thanks to the support of the Supreme Court and the local high courts.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Elections in Orissa Rigged as Extremists Force Christians to Vote for Hindu Parties

In Kandhamal villages BJP supporters kept an eye on polling stations, threatening Christian voters. Global Council of Indian Christians Chairman Sajan George says no violence took place but “these elections cannot be said to have been peaceful and calm.”

Bhubaneshwar (AsiaNews) — “Mark the lotus!” Christians in the village of Gujapanga, northern Kandhamal District, were repeatedly told on 16 April, first day of India’s election, or else. The lotus is the symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters have kept villages in this Orissa district under a watchful eye in order to intimidate Dalits and Christians.

Global Council of Indian Christians (GCII) Chairman Sajan George told AsiaNews that he received reports from villages like Gujapanga with similar stories of intimidation.

“Extremists standing outside polling stations told Christians to vote for the ‘lotus’ if they wanted to avoid threats to their life.” Although no incident was recorded, “these elections cannot be said to have been peaceful and calm.”

Fr Ajay Singh, who heads Jan Vikas, a social organisation in the diocese of Bubhaneswar, visited several polling stations to “see the situation in person.”

“I left Gajapati District early morning for Kandhamal. Along the road trees had been uprooted to block the road. No one was around. When I got the polling station in my village I found out that I was the first voter to show up. Two hours after it had opened no one had come to cast a ballot. Only later, when villagers heard that someone had actually gone to vote, did a few others come out to vote.”

In light of the tense situation Father Singh decided to travel around some villages in the district.

“In the villages of Kattingia and Lingagada, anyone who dared to vote got threats. In Nulungia where a tribal Christian was killed a few months ago, people told me that at least 40 Christians (who fled last year’s violence) did not vote for fear of being beaten,” the clergyman said.

Many displaced people dared not go back to their villages. “All you have to do is visit Phirigada, Gunjibadi, Badabanga, Dodingia, Raikola, Chanchedi. In the area near the market at G Udayagiri 43 families (who abandoned their homes) are living in pitiful conditions, but do not dare go home,” he added.

The same is true for thousands of displaced people who left for the States of Maharastra and Gujarat.

Another case the clergyman cites is that of Betticola, a village where Hindu extremists want to build a temple on the ruins of a church that was destroyed in last August’s pogrom.

“Not one of the 38 families from the village is living in its own home,” Father Singh said.

“Not one of the seven Christians who went to vote was allowed to cast a ballot because they did not have the right papers,” he said. “Their explanations were of no avail even when they told election officials that their identity papers and certificates were lost to fire during the violence.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Pakistan: Men Jailed 10 Weeks for Pamphlet

Advocates worry even police will be unable to protect Christians

Two brothers have been released after spending more than two months in jail and their advocates worry that even police won’t be able to protect them after they were accused of blasphemy, a charge local Muslims believe is sufficient for the death penalty, according to an international Christian ministry.

Officials with International Christian Concern say the brothers only recently were released from police custody in Pakistan, and there are high levels of concern for their future.

“These two brothers will face intense social pressure from Muslims who see even the accusation of blasphemy as reason enough for execution,” said Jeremy Sewall, ICC’s advocacy director.

— Hat tip: JD

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Sri Lanka Hails Surrender of Rebel Pair

Reporting from New Delhi — The ethos of the Tamil Tigers rebel group in Sri Lanka has always been to fight and die for the cause, namely, a homeland for the minority Tamils. So it wasn’t surprising that the government treated the surrender today of two rebel officials as a significant coup — and further evidence of its imminent military victory.

The army quickly moved to score propaganda points after announcing it was holding Tiger media coordinator Velayuthan Thayanithi, who employed the alias Daya Master, and Velupillai Kumaru Pancharatnam, alias George Master, in custody after they approached government lines this morning with members of their families.

Their surrender came as “a rude shock to the outfit and its expatriates who have been pumping hard currency into the LTTE coffers,” the army said in a statement, using the initials of the rebel group.

The report, as with many aspects of the South Asia island’s protracted civil war, could not be confirmed. The military rarely allows media or international observers into the conflict zone, citing security concerns.

In recent months, the army has made significant advances in its quarter-century battle with the Tigers, known formally as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Most of the remaining militants are reportedly trapped in a sliver of land along the northern coast roughly the size of New York’s Central Park.

The army also said today it killed 43 guerrillas, suffered an undisclosed number of casualties itself and that 81,423 civilians have fled the war zone within the previous 72 hours. The United Nations, civic groups and foreign governments have repeatedly expressed their strong concerns for the welfare of the remaining trapped citizens.

As more people emerge, the government and aid organizations are struggling to ramp up relief efforts.

“The people are all absolutely exhausted and had a tedious journey and came out with little or nothing, many wading through waist-deep water, bringing their children,” said Suresh Bartlett, Sri Lanka director for the humanitarian group World Vision, in a telephone interview from the town of Vavuniya today after visiting a camp for displaced persons.

Bartlett said the camp he saw is housing 25,000 people, with another camp of roughly equal size under construction. In addition, many schools and playgrounds near the conflict area are being used as temporary quarters.

Once most of the displaced have the basics of food, water and shelter, the focus will shift to addressing some of the counseling and emotional needs of the stressed population, he added.

Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, the capital, said the government had ample warning that tens of thousands of fleeing civilians would need help — especially given its repeated calls for noncombatants to vacate Tiger-held areas. As a result, it should have focused more on humanitarian issues earlier.

“The facilities made available for people coming out is woefully inadequate,” he said. “They were still woefully unprepared.”

The fact that rebel leaders are starting to give themselves up suggests the organization is conceding defeat, he added.

Among the highest-profile Tiger defection in recent years was Karuna Amman, a former eastern commander who joined the government side in 2004. In general, however, the Tigers have been known for their tight discipline and use of innovative technology and methods, some of which has been copied by other militant groups globally.

One example is the Tigers’ development of a suicide vest that detonates when its wearer lifts his or her hands in a sign of surrender, helping to ensure that far fewer Tiger suicide bombers were taken alive than Palestinians bombers, for instance.

According to local reports, Daya Master was a private English tutor before he joined the Tigers. Initially, his main job was to meet dignitaries from the south as part of the group’s bid to bolster political support. Eventually he caught the eye of Tiger leader and founder Velupillai Prabhakaran and was asked to head the group’s media and propaganda operation before being replaced.

George Master started out as a government postmaster before switching sides, serving as a translator and interpreter for senior rebel officials, including trips abroad as part of delegations taking part in ultimately unsuccessful peace talks.

The alleged capture of the two officials today has fueled further speculation on the whereabouts and ultimate fate of Prabhakaran. “You hear a lot of speculation,” Bartlett said, “but nothing can be confirmed.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Sri Lankan War in Endgame, 100,000 Escape Rebel Zone

COLOMBO (Reuters) — Thousands more civilians surged out of Sri Lanka’s war zone on Wednesday, while soldiers and Tamil Tiger rebels fought the apparent endgame of Asia’s longest-running war despite calls to protect those still trapped.

In the third day since troops blasted through a massive earthen wall built by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and unleashed the exodus, the military said at least 100,000 people had been registered for onward transit to refugee camps.

Among those who came out was the LTTE’s ex-spokesman Daya Master, a former schoolteacher who was the Tigers’ voice to the English-speaking world for years and arranged media visits to the self-declared state the separatists had fought to create.

The military said he was the most senior rebel to surrender, an act that is in contravention of LTTE founder-leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran’s dictate that followers wear cyanide vials to be taken in case of capture.

He surrendered along with the translator for the late LTTE political head S.P. Thamilselvan as troops thrust deeper into a former army-declared no-fire zone that is now the last battleground in a war that erupted in 1983.

For a third straight day, the military progress drove the Colombo Stock Exchange higher, traders said. It closed up 1.4 percent, near a three-month high.

The military says troops now control all but 13 square km (5 sq miles) of the Indian Ocean island, where the remnants of the LTTE and Prabhakaran are fighting a final stand in their war to create a separate state for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority.

“Confrontations are taking place. Whenever we come across LTTE cadres, we are fighting them. The rescue operation is continuing,” military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The number of people who have fled this year is now around 173,439 according to the military tally.

UN CONFIRMS EXODUS

The United Nations confirmed this week’s outflow.

“It is 60,000 plus and counting, and we have heard various reports of up to 110,000 coming out,” said the U.N. spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss. He cautioned the reports were preliminary and not confirmed.

The LTTE has accused the military of fabricating the numbers and of capturing people it says are staying by choice. It has ignored all calls to free civilians while urging a truce, and on Tuesday vowed no surrender despite facing overwhelming firepower.

Independent confirmation of battlefield accounts is difficult because outsiders are generally restricted from it.

Dashing the LTTE’s hope India would step in to help a group it trained in the 1980s, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday told reporters: “We have no sympathy for the terrorists, but every sympathy for the civilians.”

Meanwhile, France and other countries raised alarm about those still trapped. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday warned the situation was “catastrophic” for the 50,000 or more still there with little, food, water or medicine.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in a statement said Paris wanted a U.N. Security Council meeting to “reiterate the absolute necessity of protecting civilian populations and enabling their evacuation.

China and Russia so far have opposed attempts to bring up Sri Lanka at the council. Earlier, Kouchner said France and Britain would try to send ships to Sri Lanka to evacuate the people.

The European Union said civilian protection was “now paramount” and urged both sides to work out an orderly surrender, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.

The massive civilian presence in the no-fire zone had been the last crucial defense for the Tigers, who refused repeated calls from the United Nations, Western governments and neighboring India to release them.

They ignored a two-day pause by the government last week.

Sri Lanka’s government has rejected LTTE and international calls for a new truce, saying it cannot allow a group designated as a terrorist organization by more than 30 countries to use the time to rearm as it has done before.

Aid agencies have warned refugee camp conditions could quickly turn poor with the anticipated population doubling, but Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered extra food and relief supplies to be sent.

After the conventional end of the war, Sri Lanka will face the challenges of healing divisions between the Tamil minority and Sinhalese majority, and boosting a $40 billion economy suffering on many fronts including a weakening rupee.

Sri Lanka is seeking a $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund loan to ease a balance of payments crisis and boost flagging foreign exchange reserves.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Sri Lanka Will Not Accept Compensation for Damage to Mission in Oslo

The Sri Lanka government will not accept the Norwegian offer of compensating the government for damage caused by an attack on Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo last Sunday by a group of pro-LTTE demonstrators.

“We will not be accepting the offer of compensation made by Norway,” a senior foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “We can meet the cost ourselves.”

Officials in Colombo are also unhappy that the Norwegian Foreign Minister had not directly contacted his counterpart in Colombo to express regret over this attack.

In a news release last week, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo said that Norway’s Foreign Minister “has personally conveyed his regrets through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo.”

“Given the fact that a Norwegian minister could talk to the chief of the LTTE’s political wing and police, Nadesan, on the telephone, what is the difficulty for Norway’s foreign minister to talk to our minister about this attack?” an official of the Colombo foreign office asked.

The Norwegian news release said that “Norway will compensate the Sri Lankan government for the damages done to the property of the Sri Lankan Embassy.”

Diplomats in Colombo said that this was an indication of Norway accepting culpability for the attack by not providing the required security.

Norway has taken up the position that there was tight surveillance of LTTE groups and the only foreign diplomatic mission in Oslo provided a static police guard was the Israeli Embassy.

There has been extensive comment here that the fact that the attack was videoed by somebody who seem to have accompanied the group responsible for the outrage, it would be easy for investigators in Oslo to identify those who were present and take necessary action.

“Was it because those responsible are now Norwegians?” one source asked.

Information available suggested that only one person had been questioned and that he had not been detained.

“The Norwegian police are giving the investigation of the attack the highest priority, and the police are doing everything they can to bring the culprits to justice,” the Norwegian statement said.

Norway claimed a longstanding friendship with Sri Lanka with the Royal Norwegian Government saying that all their efforts have been to work for peace within a united Sri Lanka.

“All attention was now directed towards the precarious situation for the civilians trapped in the conflict zone, and to end the fight without further bloodshed,” a Norwegian statement said.

Earlier last week Mr. Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Norway’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka, said that Norway had not been able to play a mediation role in Sri Lanka’s civil war since the peace process broke down three years ago.

“We cannot be facilitators in a peace process which has in effect been suspended since 2006,” Hanssen Bauer said.

He made this comment after the Sri Lankan government had announced that it “perceives that it is no longer feasible for Norway to act as facilitator in its engagement with Sri Lanka in the current context.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Sri Lanka: Twists in Norwegian Peace Efforts

Norwegian officials appear to have thrown overboard international obligations which they have undertaken to uphold in their haste to meddle in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs.

Though the most recent incident of turning a Nelsonian eye to the attack by suspected Tiger terrorist sympathisers on the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo and a deaf ear to its earlier repeated requests for security resulted in ‘pie in the face for Norway’ in the form of it being kicked out of its ‘facilitator’ role between the Government and the LTTE, a previous ‘indiscretion’ against Sri Lankan and Indian interests almost went un-noticed.

Clandestine visit It is the disregard of its obligations to the world’s largest international police organization, INTERPOL by Tore Hattrem, the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka when he undertook a recent clandestine visit to Malaysia. The visit was to meet an international criminal, wanted for the murder of a former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Ghandi and a violator of the Indian terrorist Act and the Indian Explosives Act. Perhaps to this descendent of the ancient Vikings, who plundered the countries they invaded with scarce respect for the inhabitants, it may not appear to be an act of insulting and disrespecting the Government or the people of India.

The man, identified as Tharmalingam, Shanmugam Kumaran alias Kumaran Pathmanathan or KP was placed on INTERPOL red notice, which seeks the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition, at India’s request following the murder of Rajiv Ghandi by the Tigers.

KP Operating the Tiger’s procurement network clandestinely from Thailand and Malaysia, KP has managed to evade arrest so far and was recently appointed as the LTTE Head of International Relations. Some analysts believe that this move is aimed at providing KP some ‘respectability’ which may enable him freedom of movement among western countries and would also lead to the INTERPOL red notice being observed in the breach by some well intentioned but ignorant officials sympathetic to the Tigers.

Whereas it beggars belief that the Norwegian envoy would have met KP without being briefed of his antecedents by the Norwegian authorities, one wonders (now that he has met a man on INTERPOL’s wanted list) whether he is willing to abide by the organization’s request to its members and the public to contact National or local police and provide information.

It is said that the meeting between the envoy and KP was to facilitate contact between the conspirator in the murder of a former Indian Prime Minister and UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Sir John Holmes. Did the Norwegian envoy inform the UN top official about the antecedent of KP or was Sir Holmes an innocent party to an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka which paid scant regard to the obligations towards a friendly country like India and an organization such as INTERPOL?

Distrust According to a former senior official of INTERPOL, such brash actions by short sighted officials of member countries not only tends to undermine the integrity of the organization but builds distrust between the Police Forces of member countries. Formed in 1923, INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization and comprises 187 member countries which include Norway, India and Sri Lanka. It facilitates cross border police co-operation and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime. One of its key functions is to help police in member countries share critical crime-related information using the organizations system of international notices. The notices are in different colours and have different objectives. Topping the list is the Red notice which seeks the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition.

While on the subject of KP and Norway it would not be amiss to recall an incident which occurred in June 2000 in Phuket , Thailand from where KP was directing LTTE procurement operations.

Unmasked Thai police conducting operations against oil smugglers stumbled upon a shipyard making submersibles for the LTTE and the key man behind the operation was a Norwegian national named Christy Reginald Lawrence. Originally from Sri Lanka, Christy Lawrence, who was married to a Thai woman, was arrested along with several others. Sonar and Radar equipment, satellite telephones as well as other sophisticated equipment were recovered along with military fatigues and other equipment meant for the LTTE.

Credibility questioned Investigations by the Thais revealed that the a so called tourist operation engaged in by Lawrence was a cover up for smuggling arms and other items from the Thai Cambodian border via the Andaman Islands to the LTTE. The Norwegian was convicted by the Thai authorities but mysteriously disappeared from Thailand. This followed a visit by a woman posing as a representative of Amnesty International who had apparently got the Thai authorities to deport him to Norway.

In light of these events, where its dabbling had perturbed the authorities of several countries one wonders at the credibility of the Norwegian Government and its agents and their ability to mediate in world affairs. As a wag pointed out following the attack on the Sri Lankan Embassy, these people try to mediate peace in Sri Lanka but cannot do so in their own backyard and also fail to meet their international obligations to boot.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Uzbekistan Sentences Hizb Ut-Tahrir Leader, Accomplices to Lengthy Prison Terms

Tashkent, April 22, Interfax — Uzbekistan has sentenced a Hizb ut-Tahrir leader acting in the Ferghana Valley to 14 years in prison.

The Andijan Regional Court sentenced Mahmud Karimov, born in 1959, to 14 years in prison, a law enforcement source told Interfax.

“A group of his five accomplices were sentenced to lengthy prison terms along with Karimov,” the source said.

All the defendants had been charged with an attempt to violently change the constitutional system, the establishment of a banned religious extremist or fundamentalist organization, and circulation of documents threatening public security, he said.

Karimov had been first sentenced to 14 years in prison for his activities as a Hizb ut-Tahrir member in 1999 but was amnestied in 2003.

Karimov said during his trial that, soon after his release, he was approached by one Abdurahim Tukhtasinov, a man responsible for Hizb ut-Tahrir activities in Uzbekistan, who had been on the wanted list on suspicion of committing a number of serious crimes.

“After I was released, Abdurahim Tukhtasinov approached me and said that he would send me $500 monthly from the money coming from abroad. I was instructed to propagate Hizb ut-Tahrir ideas throughout the Ferghana Valley and recruit new supporters. This was an instruction from one of the organization’s leaders, Abu Rashta,” Karimov said at the court.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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China: Jackie Chan’s China Comments Prompt Backlash

HONG KONG (AP) — Action star Jackie Chan’s comments wondering whether Chinese people “need to be controlled” have drawn sharp rebuke in his native Hong Kong and in Taiwan.

Chan told a business forum in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that a free society may not be beneficial for China’s authoritarian mainland.

“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” Chan said Saturday. “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.”

He went on to say that freedoms in Hong Kong and Taiwan made those societies “chaotic.”

Chan’s comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders, but did not sit well with lawmakers in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

“He’s insulted the Chinese people. Chinese people aren’t pets,” Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Leung Kwok-hung told The Associated Press. “Chinese society needs a democratic system to protect human rights and rule of law.”

Another lawmaker, Albert Ho, called the comments “racist,” adding: “People around the world are running their own countries. Why can’t Chinese do the same?”

Former British colony Hong Kong enjoys Western-style civil liberties and some democratic elections under Chinese rule. Half of its 60-member legislature is elected, with the other half picked by special interest groups. But Hong Kong’s leader is chosen by a panel stacked with Beijing loyalists.

In democratically self-ruled Taiwan, which split from mainland China during a civil war in 1949, legislator Huang Wei-che said Chan himself “has enjoyed freedom and democracy and has reaped the economic benefits of capitalism. But he has yet to grasp the true meaning of freedom and democracy.”

Chan’s comments were reported by news outlets in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but were ignored by the mainland Chinese press.

Although Chan was a fierce critic of the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in June 1989, which killed at least hundreds, he has not publicly criticized China’s government in recent years and is immensely popular on the mainland.

He performed during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and took part in the Olympic torch relay.

Chan also is vice chairman of the China Film Association, a key industry group.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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S. Korea: “Mini-Pig” a Promising Sign for Transplants

A team of Korean scientists has successfully produced a genetically engineered and cloned piglet that is partially deprived of the genes that cause the human body to reject pig organ transplants, the Science Ministry said yesterday.

The world’s second birth of a so-called ¡°mini-pig¡± is expected to pave the way for more successful pig-to-human transplants.

According to Korea Biotech R&D, a state-run research group composed of scientists from different universities nationwide, the piglet was born healthy on April 3 and is now being cared for at the National Institute of Animal Science in Suwon, on the outskirts of Seoul.

When pig organs are transplanted into humans, a type of immune reaction called hyperacute graft rejection occurs within minutes to hours, rendering the organ non-functional.

By removing one of two genes involved in the hostile immune response, the Korean scientists overcame a major obstacle in transplants between pigs and humans. A research team at the University of Missouri-Columbia, led by Randall Prather, initially succeeded in doing the same in 2002. Four such piglets were born at the time.

When human organs deteriorate to a certain stage, transplantation from other humans is the only real solution available now.

But huge demand and little supply has prompted scientists to come up with an alternative source — organs from animals. According to the Science Ministry, an average of around 6,000 people in the United States have died due to human organ shortage in recent years. The ministry estimates that there will be 1.58 million people on the waiting list for organ transplantation by 2015.

“Commercialization of mini-pig organ transplantation into humans may be possible around 2017,” said Lim Kyo-bin, a team member and professor at the University of Suwon.

The ministry said Korea Biotech R&D will conduct a joint study with the Welfare Ministry on commercializing pancreas islet cells, heart valves and hearts from mini-pigs for transplantation. With the National Institute of Animal Science, the research center will work on mass production of cloned piglets without the immune rejection genes.

Pigs are species deemed to be more acceptable donors for humans. The type of pigs used in the study comes from a unique line of miniature swine.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Islamic School Would Breed Terrorists: Resident

AN Islamic school in Camden would be “a breeding ground for terrorists”, says a resident who gave evidence in support of Camden Council at an appeal against its decision to block the school.

Judith Bond said the school would teach war and how to kill.

“Values of violence will be emphasised. It will be a breeding ground for terrorists … There will be a surge of gang rapes, looting and attacking infidels,” Ms Bond said..

Camden residents presented evidence via DVD at the second day of a hearing to decide whether the $19 million Islamic school should be built on the outskirts of the town south-west of Sydney..

The area’s Christian values were threatened by the proposal, said another resident, John Waterhouse, who warned Christmas decorations and nativity scenes would be “pulled down or withdrawn on some sort of process of religious nit-picking”.

Describing Camden as “the mouse that dared to roar”, he said he did not want prayer mats unrolled in shops or “[our] teenage daughters subjected to demeaning taunts wearing jeans, shorts or T-shirts”.

Another resident, Kate McCullogh, who was compared with Pauline Hanson when she addressed a meeting last year wearing an Akubra hat decorated with Australian flags, said she was “no redneck xenophobic racist like the media have put to me”.

“Let’s start making people understand that the Western way of life is the best way of life,” she said.

Other residents’ objections were based on urban planning matters, including traffic flow and proximity to working farms.

Until now, Camden Council has largely distanced itself from ideological justifications for blocking the development application for a 900-student school. When it voted unanimously to reject the project last May, it did so “on planning grounds alone”.

But on the opening day of the appeal to the Land and Environment Court on Tuesday, council’s barrister, Craig Leggat, SC, opened his evidence with a letter signed by a group of the region’s Christian leaders, who said Islam was an ideology with a plan for world domination.

The Reverend Fred Nile, leader of the Christian Democratic Party and an outspoken critic of the school, said the signatories had his full support.

None of the church leaders responded to the Herald’s calls yesterday. The hearing continues today.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Religious Leaders Unite to Fight Vilification Laws

POWERFUL and morally conservative religious leaders and laymen, including Christians, Jews and Muslims, have united to form a lobby group to fight what they say is the growing threat to religious freedom in Australia.

The Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty will be launched at NSW Parliament House tonight and formally brings together for the first time the leaders of several religious groups.

The centre’s chairman, the Sydney lawyer Rocco Mimmo, said the leaders were increasingly worried that religious vilification laws — such as the ones used in Victoria to prosecute a Pentacostal pastor for inflammatory comments about Islam — would be introduced nationally.

“All of us have concerns, for different reasons, that religious liberty is in danger,” Mr Mimmo told the Herald.

“Anti-vilification laws have a superficial appeal to people but, however inappropriate those comments made by the Victorian pastor, I doubt very much whether they actually incited people to violence.”

The centre’s heavyweight board includes the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, and the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen. While the men are friends, and have lobbied the state and federal governments on issues such as stem cell research and funding for church schools, they remain deeply divided by church doctrine — so much so that Sydney’s Anglican leaders will not attend ecumenical services if they involve a Catholic mass.

The board also includes the former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister John Anderson; the senior rabbi of Sydney’s Great Synagogue, Jeremy Lawrence; Haset Sali, a Brisbane lawyer and member of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils; the Adelaide academic My-Van Tran, a prominent Buddhist leader; and the Hindu leader Gambhir Watts.

Mr Sali said that as a Muslim, he was worried anti-vilification laws could be used against his faith. He also said the religious leaders were united by a common view on the “sanctity of life”, on issues such as abortion and stem cell research.

While a senior member of the Anglican Church’s Sydney diocese insisted the Ambrose Centre was not an organisation designed to encourage “interfaith dialogue”, and therefore not a break with the diocese’s tradition, other prominent Anglicans disagreed.

Stephen Judd, the author of the diocese’s official history, described Dr Jensen’s involvement as “a very significant step”. “This group is incredibly diverse,” Dr Judd said.. “I cannot recall other multifaith involvements of this stature.”

The Ambrose Centre has links with a prominent right-wing foundation in the US, the Action Institute, which describes itself as “an ecumenical think tank dedicated to the study of free-market economics informed by religious faith and moral absolutes”.

Mr Mimmo said the centre did not share the American institute’s embrace of free-market capitalism.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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24 Killed as Kenya Town Battles Violent Gang

NAIROBI (AFP) — At least 24 people were stoned and hacked to death when local residents in the central Kenyan town of Karatina formed posses to flush out the outlawed Mungiki gang, police said Tuesday.

The clashes started late Monday when residents organised in small groups armed with crude weapons decided to fight back against the Mungiki, a violent mafia-like extortionist group famous for beheading and skinning its victims.

“A total of 24 people are dead as we speak but we are not able to tell who is Mungiki and who is not,” Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told AFP. “It’s a very bad scene.”

“At night, the groups of locals started attacking some of the youths they suspected to be Mungiki members and slashed some of them to death,” he said.

Police sources said at least three people were wounded and 37 suspected were arrested.

Kiraithe said the town and its surrounding turned into a battlefield as Mungiki regrouped and fought back.

“We understand that the Mungiki also regrouped and engaged the locals in an all-out war in the villages,” he said.

“All of those killed were hacked or stoned to death. Our officers tried to restore order, otherwise the situation could have degenerated into something much worse than it is,” the police spokesman added.

At dawn, police forces were attempting to impose order in Karatina. Kiraithe said they had collected machetes and other crude weapons from the scene.

“Some suspects have been arrested and we are hunting for more,” he added.

At least 15 suspected Mungiki members were hacked, stoned or burned to death by mobs in the area over the past 10 days.

“Residents of the two divisions in Kirinyaga and Karatina appear to be tired of these illegal groupings and their activities,” Kiraithe explained.

“Last week, they killed about 15 of them, but we are urging the locals to refrain from lynching suspects. They should hand them over to the police.”

Karatina is north of Nairobi, one the road to the city of Nyeri, in the heartland of Kenya’s dominant Kikuyu tribe.

The Mungiki, which means “multitude” in Kikuyu, claim to be a sect founded by Mau Mau fighters who fought British colonial rule.

Once a quasi-religious group of dreadlocked youths who embraced traditional rituals, the Mungiki were banned in 2002 after evolving into a powerful extortionist gang with ultra-violent methods.

After a drive by police and security forces to dismantle the gang in early 2007, human rights activists say the Mungiki were enlisted as a pro-government militia during the post-election tribal clashes that erupted in early 2008.

Police was also accused in a UN report on extrajudicial killings of executing dozens of Mungiki suspects and intimidating rights groups investigating the deaths.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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A Teddy Bear Nightmare in Sudan

Recently divorced, and her children having left home, Gillian Gibbons took the opportunity to travel and teach at the same time — but she got a little more than she bargained for.

She told John Humphrys for the BBC’s On the Ropes programme how a teddy bear in a primary school in Khartoum led to her arrest and riots in the streets.

Anyone who is a teacher or had a child in Year Two [in the UK] would recognise Barnaby Bear as being part of the curriculum.

He goes to different places and sends postcards back, and we use this as a way of introducing the world and geography.

What tends to happen in most schools is the children take Barnaby Bear home with them. They take photographs and write in his diary and stick in the photos, especially if they are going somewhere for the weekend.

One of the children [at the primary school in Khartoum] brought one in but some of the boys in the class thought this was a bit babyish, so to make them feel more part of it I let them choose his name.

They actually named it Mohammed after a little boy in the class who is very popular. Schoolchildren borrowed him and took him home; none of the parents complained.

Then there a discussion in the school with certain people about whether it was appropriate [to name a teddy Mohammed].

When I realised I had caused offence I was extremely upset. I apologised and that seemed to be the end of it.

But four weeks later the headmaster came to me and said some of the Muslim teachers had complained about it and said I had to stop the [bear] project. So I told the class that the little girl who had brought in the bear was missing him and would take him home.

I never really found out who it was who actually went to the Ministry of Education to complain about it. On Sunday I went to the local hotel to use the swimming pool like I did every Sunday and when I came back the head teacher and deputy head teacher were there waiting for me. They said the police were coming to interview me.

When the police arrived they came with soldiers with machine guns and a warrant for my arrest. For the first time I realised the situation had got very serious.

It was confusing — terrifying — surreal, really. They put me in a police cell and they said they were going to organise bail for me. I waited for three hours then finally I asked for some water and they brought me in a plastic bag that the school had sent for me and it was then that I realised that I wouldn’t be going back home.

The problem with Sudanese jails is they don’t have any furniture in the cell — no chairs or beds — so basically if your relatives don’t send you any bedding you sleep on the floor. I actually stood up all night because the floor was filthy.

Eventually people [arrived] from the British embassy and they got in touch with my next of kin. That was when I realised my whole world had caved in.

They told me it had been in the Sudanese press, there had been demonstrations and that the police said they were holding me for my own safety.

I was never actually charged. But they kept telling me that it would never go to court and that if it did it would be thrown out so all the time I had the expectation that the nightmare would end.

I wasn’t treated badly in the police station. It wasn’t a three-star hotel, but after a while they realised I wasn’t this evil person, just a middle-aged woman who’d been caught up in this.

On the third day I was told I was going to the airport and I was bundled into a jeep with an armed escort. When we crossed the river I knew we were not going to the airport because we were going the wrong way — and then we arrived at another jail.

I was the only prisoner — it was brand new jail. It was worse in some ways sitting there with your own imagination.

In the middle of the night, I was lying on the floor when suddenly the door of my cell opened. I thought, oh well, this is when something horrible is going to happen to me.

The next minute they march in with a bed — a present from the Ministry of the Interior — and proceeded to make it up and sweep out my cell.

That bed changed my life because I could sit on it during the day and sleep on it during the night so it really was the best present anyone has given me.

Eventually the school found me a lawyer but I did not see him until the day of the trial; I saw his assistants the night before after they had been waiting all day.

I arrived in the courthouse and it was full of people and it was really noisy. Soldiers everywhere with guns, the press shouting at me.

As the trial proceeded they produced this teddy bear out of a plastic bag and sat him in front of the judge.

They pointed and said “Was this the bear?” as if the poor bear was on trial — you could almost see him shivering! Even in all that stress I could see the funny side.

They gave me a chance to speak. It caused an eerie silence in the court..

I think it was the sincerity with which I spoke — I think even the prosecution lawyers realised I was just just a middle-aged woman. The demonstrators outside had been told I was part of a conspiracy — Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoonist and me.

When the judge gave his guilty verdict I was whisked off back to the cell. They gave me 15 days and I had already served five but they had to give me more because the prosecution had 10 days to appeal against the leniency of my sentence.

One more bizarre thing in the string of many was [the appearance, totally unexpectedly, of the UK peers] Lord Ahmed and Lady Varsi. And they said they were going to appeal to the president on my behalf. Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed meet President Omar al-Bashir On the third day of their visit, Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir

By this stage I was being really well treated by the guards, they’d even put bottled water in the fridge, didn’t even lock me in any more. But there was always the possibility that [the good treatment] could end in a moment.

[The two peers had arranged my freedom but] it was only when the plane took off that I believed it was happening.

I’ve always taken responsibility for what happened. The fact that it turned into an international incident was not my fault, others used it.

The most touching thing of all were the messages I received from Muslims because I had said I still had respect for the religion. I was very concerned when I got back that I would be perceived as a racist. But if I could turn back time to the day when we chose the name I would change it all.

At the time being in that situation was so stressful, I carry around the guilt — the school was damaged by it and my family and friends could not even sleep.

I was very happy in Sudan and would be more than happy to be working there now.

On the Ropes was broadcast on Tuesday 21 April on BBC Radio 4

— Hat tip: islam o’phobe

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When Kindness Kills

Aid to Africa is stifling enterprise, feeding corruption and keeping oppressive governments in power.

Visitors to big cities in Africa notice that people live in the streets, partly because of the climate, partly because of the gregarious nature of the people, partly because of the poverty of their homes, and partly because outside is where things happen, especially where people earn their daily bread.

Such is Kibera in Nairobi, one of Africa’s largest slum settlements, made of shacks, some of baked mud, others of zinc sheets and cardboard. The informal sector, “jua kali” (in Swahili means “hot sun”) operates outdoors: food, clothes and all household items are on inviting display, and for sale. You can watch men making simple stoves, grills for your windows, hub caps for your car; you watch, you buy and you take home. Without the informal sector, the close to one million inhabitants of Kibera would either be unable to survive, or would rush down into the city centre, about two or three kilometres away, and start a riot.

On the outskirts of Kibera, safely close to a major urban highway, stands the headquarters of the United Nations agency for human settlements, whose mission is “to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all”. It has an annual budget of millions of dollars to carry this out. Yet its headquarters is just close enough to catch the acrid smell of open sewage that permeates the slum. Its inhabitants live with it every hour of every day.

Foreign aid, especially to backward, suffering Africa has become one of the favourite activities of the last 30 years especially. It really kicked off with the Ethiopian famine in 1984, which was caused by drought, Marxist politics and mismanagement. Kenya is an NGO haven; yet local people see these organizations as mixed blessings. The day before the US elections last year, I was in Kibera, driving behind a van filled with white NGO staff. A local youth saw them and shouted: “Obama no win, we kill you!” A case of biting the hand that feeds, or something different?

Perhaps an intuition that, despite all the money that is pouring in, somehow life is no better. Young people are still unemployed and unemployable; there are no proper roads, no proper sewage, no money for school uniforms and textbooks; people are still surviving on less than a dollar a day; the rulers are taking everything; and the only improvements to be seen are the ones initiated by Kibera residents. So, what are the NGO bureaucrats doing with their expensive four-wheel drives, generous salaries and two-year service stints? To say this is the whole reality would be unfair, but it is the perception of many impoverished slum-dwellers.

On the same occasion I met with a youth group that needed ideas, encouragement — and money to get started. It was the first time I met them. One strong young man asked me: “Have you come to bring us money?” No, I told him, so he got up and left. Reliance on foreign aid has left much of Africa poorer and growth slower, more sunk in debt, more exposed to the vagaries of the currency markets, and less attractive to overseas investors. Zambian economist Dambiso Moyo recently claimed in the Wall Street Journal that “aid (to Africa) is an unmitigated political, economic and humanitarian disaster.”

Sometimes aid is needed in Africa, as anywhere else, to deal with the aftermath of tsunamis, earthquakes and famines. But these are one-off events. Aid can alleviate immediate suffering, but treating it as the launching-pad for long-term growth is problematic.

Over the past 60 years, at least US$1 trillion of development-related aid has reached Africa from the wealthy countries, yet real per-capita income today is lower than it was 30 years ago, and still more than half of Africans live on less than a dollar a day. Even after the debt-relief campaign of the 1990s, African countries still pay close to $20 billion in debt repayments per annum, as if to remind us there is no such thing as a free lunch! To keep the system going, debt is repaid at the expense of education, health care and infrastructure.

Moreover, aid is linked with rampant corruption. Aid for poor Africans supports obese bureaucracies instead. In 2002, the African Union, an organization of African nations, estimated that corruption was costing the continent $150 billion a year, as many international donors were apparently looking the other way if aid money went into graft. The political and business elites get richer, while more and more poor people slip down even further to the level of bare subsistence.

Often with no strings attached — or when there are strings, they are the wrong ones, such as an aggressive birth control policy, complete with equipment and lavishly-paid local staff — it is easy for funds to be used for anything except real development, such as getting people started in business.

Examples of graft abound: Congo’s Mobutu Sese Seko is reputed to have stolen at least $5 billion during his 32-year reign. Zambia’s former president, Frederick Chiluba is in court to answer for millions of dollars taken from healthcare, education and infrastructure to his own private account. Kenya goes from one major scam to the next, with no one called to account, no one put in prison; rather, the suspects are shuffled around in ministerial posts.

Young economies need transparent, accountable governments and an efficient civil service, that is, civil servants who serve the interests of their people, not their own interests. Yet doing business in Africa puts off the average businessman. In Cameroon it takes a potential investor 426 days to perform 15 procedures to get a business license; in Angola, 119 days; in South Korea, only 17. No surprise few investors come to Africa. Ordinary citizens need employment or self-employment. Endless flows of aid do not achieve these goals. In fact, a continuous stream of “free” money — presently 70 percent of public funding comes from foreign aid — only manages to keep inefficient governments in power. A government like this is accountable to no one, and merely needs to pay its army to keep dissatisfied citizens in their place.

Some types of aid should be prohibited in order to develop local economies. For example, when a foreign government supplies 100,000 free mosquito nets, it immediately puts out of work a local mosquito-net maker who perhaps employs ten people to manufacture 500 nets a week. Each of these ten employees supports fifteen relatives each. When the nets tear and are useless, there’s no longer a local manufacturer to go to — he will have moved to an urban slum or given up on life — and so more aid will be needed from outside, keeping foreigners employed and local people deeper in poverty.

Aid and politics are intertwined. In Africa civil clashes (often called tribal clashes, ethnicity being the convenient conflictive factor) are invariably motivated by the thirst for power. The winner will have unlimited access to the aid package that comes with power. Aid-financed efforts to force-feed democracy to precarious African economies generally do not work. Long-term political stability can only be achieved on a solid economic base. Africa needs fair trading partners, not an endless cycle of aid, especially from the West, that keeps it dependent and oppressed.

Martyn Drakard writes from Kampala, in Uganda.

— Hat tip: islam o’phobe

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Hugo Chavez Says Venezuelan Socialism Has Begun to Reach U.S. Under Obama

Inspired by his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Americas Summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared on Sunday that Venezuelan socialism has begun to reach the United States under the Obama administration. “I am coming back from Trinidad and Tobago, from the Americas Summit where, without a doubt, the position that Venezuela and its government has always defended, especially starting 10 years ago, of resistance, dignity, sovereignty and independence has obtained in Port of Spain, one of the biggest victories of our history,” Chavez said. “It would seem that the changes that started in Venezuela in the last decade of the 20th century have begun to reach North America,” he added.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Venezuelan Opposition Leader Formally Seeks Asylum in Peru

The mayor of Maracaibo and top Venezuelan opposition leader, Manuel Rosales (Un Nuevo Tiempo, UNT), has formally applied for political asylum in Peru on Tuesday to avoid what he calls an unfair trial in Venezuela. Javier Valle Riestra, a lawmaker who is member of Alan García’s ruling APRA party and former prime minister of the government of Alberto Fujimori, identified himself as the attorney of Rosales. Valle Riestra said that the “request of territorial asylum” was filed at noon, a day after the Venezuelan politician entered Lima as a foreign tourist.

In Lima, Rosales has the legal advise of Peruvian pro-government lawmaker Jorge del Castillo, a former prime minister of Peru and a leader who has been considered a close ally of President García, told Reuters a source close to the mayor of Maracaibo, the second largest city of Venezuela.

“The territorial asylum application was filed on Tuesday at 12:15 (local time in Peru),” Valle Riestra said to RPP, a Peruvian radio station.

A source close to Rosales in Lima told Reuters that Rosales is in Peru with three of his sons and with a group of other 20 opposition activists.

Valle Riestra said that the reply of the Peruvian government to the asylum request could take up to two months. The incumbent mayor is receiving protection from the Peruvian government from the time he submitted the request. Valle Riestra warned that the fact that asylum is granted to Rosales cannot be viewed as a move of the Peruvian government against Chávez. “If asylum is granted, and this is logical, this does not mean that Chávez is being considered as a thug, a scoundrel or a despot. It just means that there are the conditions for asylum were met.”

Timoteo Zambrano, a vice president for International Affairs of UNT, confirmed at a press conference in Lima that Rosales had applied for political asylum. He mentioned the steps Venezuelan opposition groups have taken before international organizations in the hemisphere as well as in Europe to denounce the violation of the justice system in Venezuela and the weakening of the democratic system. He said that there is greater awareness in the international community about the situation in Venezuela.

“Today, the Venezuelan democratic society is under suspicion,” Zambrano said. The UNT leader admitted that Chávez has legitimacy when he was elected by popular vote. He said, however, that Chávez has been delegitimized during his tenure.

“Rosales is in Peru as a tourist” Peru’s foreign minister, José Antonio García Belaunde, had confirmed on Tuesday morning that the mayor of Maracaibo entered Lima on a tourist visa. “He is in Peru as a tourist,” he said.

“Relations between Venezuela and Peru are heading along a good path, and they will continue that way,” the Minister said.

Peruvian lawmaker Rolando Sousa, who is the coordinator of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Congress of Peru, said that if Manuel Rosales asks for asylum in Peru, the government must evaluate the application and determine whether he is a victim of political persecution and whether there are sufficient guarantees to make a fair trial in Venezuela, website Peru.com said. “The government is able to decide whether the asylum is granted or not and to do that, it has to evaluate the situation,” Sousa said.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Colleges Push Tuition Aid for Illegal Immigrants

[Comment from Tuan Jim: I’m trying to figure out how this would work at all — since on all my applications for financial aid, it always required a SS# — and since I would think the fact of declaring yourself to be illegal would be a red flag — that could/would get you arrested/deported.]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wading into the politically charged immigration debate, a group of colleges and universities is urging Congress to give illegal immigrants tuition aid and a path to citizenship in light of efforts in several states to block them.

The College Board, made up of 5,000 schools and best known for its SAT college admission tests, released a report Tuesday that cites a need for federal legislation that would open up in-state college tuition, financial aid and legal status to many illegal immigrants in the U.S.

Speaking publicly on the issue for the first time, the board is making its push after states in recent years have moved to bar illegal immigrants from paying in-state tuition and, in some cases, enrolling in their public colleges. It also comes as opponents are warning that immigration reform now could reduce already-scarce jobs and college enrollment slots in the ailing economy.

“This is a new area for us, but it was an easy call,” said Thomas W. Rudin, a senior vice president for the College Board.

He noted the contradiction in which illegal immigrants who are legally entitled to a K-12 public education suddenly hit barriers when applying to college, even when many are “honor roll students, athletes, class presidents and valedictorians.”

“We absolutely believe it’s important for opening up economic opportunities,” Rudin said.

Under House and Senate bills known as the Dream Act, illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children — defined as age 15 and under — and have lived here for five years could apply to the Homeland Security Department for conditional legal status after graduating from high school.

Such legal status would make the immigrants eligible for in-state college tuition rates and some forms of federal financial aid. Then, if they attend college or participate in military service for at least two years, the immigrants would qualify for permanent legal residency and ultimately citizenship.

The legislation, which has been introduced in various forms since 2001, comes as President Barack Obama is preparing to address the contentious issue of immigration reform later this year. The Dream Act has previously passed the Senate but failed to become law as it was folded into proposals for more comprehensive reform.

“It’s a straightforward test of what America is about: Do we punish children for the actions of their parents?” said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. “If, as we try to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, we can’t get this simple element done, I don’t know what we can get done.”

Opponents disagree.

“It’s a massive amnesty effort being laid for this fall,” said Bob Dane, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks to restrict immigration. “Since many of these illegal aliens and their families are overwhelmingly on the lower end of the economic scale, they’re going to take the lion’s share of need-based financial aid.”

Among the College Board’s findings:

_About 360,000 illegal immigrants who have a high school degree could qualify for the tuition aid. Another 715,000 immigrants between the ages of 5 and 17 would also benefit if they are motivated to finish high school and pursue a college degree.

_States that offer tuition aid to illegal immigrants generally saw increased college revenue by enrolling these additional students, rather than financial burdens caused by an influx of immigrants paying cheaper tuition.

_An estimated 5 percent to 10 percent of the 65,000 illegal immigrants who graduate from high school each year go to college. Their ability to receive a higher education and move into better-paying jobs would help the U.S. economy in the form of increased tax revenue and consumer spending.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that illegal immigrants are entitled to a K-12 public education, but federal law is silent as to their college rights. As a result, states have been divided over providing benefits, and in many cases leave it up to individual colleges to decide.

South Carolina bans illegal immigrants from enrolling at any of its public colleges, and Alabama blocks them from its two-year colleges. Missouri and Virginia are also considering laws that deny enrollment.

At least four states — Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona — generally prohibit illegal immigrants from paying in-state tuition rates.

The nine states that offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants are California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah and Washington. New Jersey is now reviewing whether to offer in-state tuition, while California is considering whether to let immigrants compete for financial aid.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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EC Deals With Conflict Between Italy and Malta

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, APRIL 21 — The conflict between Italy and Malta over rescue operations for immigrants on the Pinar ship have reached the European Commission. Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot will present the case to his colleagues. Italy has asked the EC to intervene. Italy’s Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, has prepared a file for the Commission, which the EC will examine together with those sent by the Maltese authorities. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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France: 200 Illegal Migrants Found in Id Check

CALAIS, France — French police raided tent camps for a mass identity check Tuesday and detained nearly 200 people found without residency papers around Calais, an English Channel port that is a magnet for illegal migrants trying to reach Britain.

France is being pressed by Britain to do more to keep migrants from crossing the channel. Immigration Minister Eric Besson is scheduled to visit Calais on Thursday to lay out proposals for stopping illegal migration as well as deal with the growing humanitarian problem in the city.

Police in full riot gear joined regular officers in a sweep of sites where migrants have set up camp, including one area dubbed “the jungle” where tents and even a makeshift mosque have been set up in a field in an industrial zone.

As home to ferry terminals and an entrance to the English Channel train tunnel, Calais is a leading jumping off point for migrants who try to sneak into Britain, often hiding in trucks. Britian’s asylum rules are seen as more lax than those in France.

Migrant numbers, many of them Iraqis, Iranians, Afghanis and Pakistanis, had diminished after a Red Cross-administered shelter in nearby Sangatte was torn down in 2002 but recently began growing again.

Tuesday’s sweep, in which 194 migrants were detained, was aimed at weakening networks of smugglers, local authorities said in a statement.

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Immigration: Obama Seeks Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

President Barack Obama is determined to succeed where G.W. Bush failed. According to many published reports, he fully intends to grant amnesty to tens of millions of illegal aliens. In fact, granting amnesty to illegal aliens is on Obama’s short list of priorities. That short list includes the nationalization of America’s financial systems, the nationalization of America’s healthcare and energy systems, expanding the wars in the Middle East, strengthening and increasing global agreements and associations, gun control (perhaps using international treaties where congressional legislation has failed), and amnesty to illegal aliens.

Watch for Obama to make a full-court press for an amnesty proposal next month. He has already appointed working groups to study strategies. Administration sources have said Obama wants amnesty legislation on his desk by this fall at the latest.

— Hat tip: JD

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Malta: Ban Ki-moon to Arrive Tomorrow

(ANSAmed) — VALLETTA (MALTA), APRIL 20 — The phenomenon of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and the responsibility of the international community to stop this humanitarian tragedy will be discussed tomorrow by the Maltese government and the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, on his official visit to Valletta. Ban Ki-moon, who is to receive an honorary degree from the University of Malta, will have meetings with President George Abela, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the Foreign Affairs minister, Tonio Borg. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Maroni Accuses Malta of Diverting 40,000 Refugees to Italy

Interior minister sends report to EU of 600 cases of failure to assist by Maltese authorities

ROME — The moment of greatest tension came one month ago, when the Italian navy’s Minerva was denied entry to the port of La Valletta. On board, were 76 illegal migrants rescued in Maltese waters. Despite this, the Minerva’s commander was refused permission to dock and had to sail for Porto Empedocle. It wasn’t the first time.

Italy has repeatedly accused Malta of redirecting towards Sicily ramshackle boats from Libya bearing refugees to Europe. It happened in 2004, when 13 Kurds hidden in an empty container on a merchant ship from Turkey were turned away at Gioia Tauro, denied permission to land at La Valletta and finally disembarked at Augusta in the province of Siracusa. On that occasion, too, the government of the day allowed humanitarian consideration to prevail. The report that Italy’s interior minister, Roberto Maroni, is set to deliver to the European commissioner for justice, Jacques Barrot, lists the dates and circumstances. It also makes a specific accusation: on 600 occasions, Malta’s failures to intervene have forced Italy to assist 40,000 individuals who should have been given shelter in Maltese centres. According to figures supplied to the interior ministry by the Italian coastguard, whose patrol boats are coordinated by Admiral Vincenzo Melone, in 2008 Italian vessels carried out 186 operations in the Maltese SAR (Search and Rescue) region, recovering 12,900 migrants. Things were a little better in 2007, when 148 boardings were effected and 6,255 non-Italians given shelter.

The decision by chief of police Antonio Manganelli to delegate the task of drafting the report to Prefect Rodolfo Ronconi, the central director of immigration, was carefully calculated. Mr Ronconi is an expert in international affairs. He has a thorough knowledge of maritime law treaties and is therefore competent to draft a precise list of the alleged violations. The report makes specific reference to the 1982 Montego Bay convention and above all to the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty, which obliges signatories to guarantee safety in navigation.

Italy alleges that the Maltese authorities agreed to monitor too large an area for their available resources simply to obtain more European funds…

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Pinar. EU: Thanks Italy But Alarm Remains

(by Chiara De Felice) (ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS — Now that the 140 migrants from the Turkish ship Pinar are safe on Italian territory, the EU Commission has thanked the government in Rome, is not getting into the matter of responsibility, but considers the subject far from closed, in that tomorrow the Italy-Malta case will be on the agenda of the Commissioners meeting in Strasbourg. Minister for the Interior, Roberto Maroni will send the Pinar dossier to the Commission for examination tomorrow along with the dossier from the Maltese authorities. “A solution has been found for the Turkish cargo, but the problem remains over what other dramas could happen in future” said EU Commissioner for Justice Jacques Barrot today. He thanked Italy for accepting the migrants and the help given to the Africans who had spent days waiting for a solution. While Italy calls loudly for EU intervention, Barrot is not budging: “The European Union must express a more concrete and efficient solidarity, and so I will take up the discussion on the immigration emergency again during the next Council of Ministers”, he explained. In particular, the Commissioner expressed his hopes that unanimous support will be given by the 27 nations for the policy of cooperation with transit countries such as Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Furthermore, the member States which are not exposed to flows of migrants could take on some of the burden, at least that of immigrants who have already been declared refugees. For the moment intervention by Brussels is only taking the form of “mediation between Malta and Italy”, Barrot pointed out, and legal intervention to regulate traffic in the Mediterranean has been ruled out. “There is no specific directive under scrutiny” said the Commissioner’s spokesman today, explaining that marine policy remains regulated by international maritime law. Brussels also notes, without pointing the finger at anyone, that “international maritime law is not easy to interpret” said Barrot. It is not easy then for the Commissioner to ascertain responsibility for the Pinar case: “The law states that persons at risk of shipwreck must be taken to the closest port, but where reception conditions are acceptable”. He added that “evidently Malta and Italy both had objections” over this point. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Interview With Flemming Rose: an Islamist ‘New World Order’

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member-states at the Durban II gathering in Geneva is pushing for “a new world order” that would expand and impose “nondemocratic and illiberal values on the West,” says the Danish editor who in 2005 commissioned and published a series of cartoons, one of which depicted the prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban that led to worldwide Muslim rioting.

Flemming Rose, editor of Jyllands-Posten, Denmark’s largest-circulation newspaper, is visiting Israel under the auspices of the Hebrew University’s Shasha Center for Strategic Studies, headed by former Mossad director Efraim Halevy. He’s here to lecture on how nations need to find the right balance between religious sensitivities and freedom of expression.

Rose says the OIC is trying to use Durban II to rewrite the rules of human rights and international law in a way that undermines the values of liberty enshrined in the Western canon — including the US Bill of Rights, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It’s all part of an ongoing Muslim campaign that has been making significant strides, says Rose.

European liberal values, which dominated United Nations voting following the fall of the Soviet Union, are now in retreat. Muslim states attending Durban II are pushing the conference to say that criticizing Islam is a form of incitement.

“We’re seeing an erosion of support in the West for freedom of expression in the guise of preventing incitement against Islam,” says Rose.

He wants the West to stop being so defensive, pointing out that “Muslims in Demark enjoy far more civil and political rights than they would have in their home countries.”

Rose would distinguish between criticizing Islam as a theological and political idea and insulting its adherents…

— Hat tip: Paul Green

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Vatican: UN Racism Forum Should Not Promote ‘Extremist’ Views

Vatican City, 21 April (AKI) — The Vatican on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of the United Nations racism conference and said it deplored the use of the forum for “extremist and offensive” political views. In a statement released through its press office head Federico Lombardi, the Vatican attacked the controversial speech by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he described Israel as “the most cruel and racist regime”.

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday asked delegates to the UN conference to support dialogue and put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance. On Monday the Vatican, which has a delegation at the conference being held in the Swiss city of Geneva, said Ahmadinejad’s comments about Israel were “extremist and unacceptable”.

“The Holy See deplores the use of this United Nations forum for the adoption of political positions, of an extremist and offensive nature, against any state,” the Vatican said on Tuesday.

“This does not contribute to dialogue and it provokes an unacceptable atmosphere of conflict. What is needed, instead, is to make good use of this important opportunity to engage in dialogue together.”

The Vatican reaffirmed the pope’s earlier appeal and reiterated the commitment of its own delegation to the conference to work in a spirit of cooperation and tolerance.

Pope Benedict XVI has urged countries to join forces to eliminate intolerance, even though the Vatican appeared to distance itself from a boycott of the meeting by the US and other countries.

The conference which began in the Swiss city of Geneva on Monday was an important initiative, the pope said.

Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United States and Israel, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have boycotted the conference.

At a media conference on Monday, Ahmadinejad said countries have decided to boycott the UN racism conference out of “arrogance and selfishness.”

The first UN conference on racism in the South African city of Durban eight years ago was marred by anti-Semitic comments from non-governmental organisations.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Our Flemish correspondent VH has compiled a report on the dangers of the traditional openness of society in the Netherlands. This national characteristic has been exploited by foreign spies, particularly from Morocco.

VH begins with this translation from Elsevier:

Dutch secret service: A transparent government is a threat to the state

By Arne Hankel

The transparency of the Dutch government brings with it risks to national security. Terrorists, animal rights extremists, foreign powers, and companies abuse Dutch openness.

[caption: Morocco also recruited spies in the Netherlands]

This is the conclusion of the Dutch Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) in its annual report released Tuesday [download Dutch version here (pdf)]. The Netherlands, according to the AIVD, is insufficiently aware of the risks.

Collusive activities

The number of reports by the AIVD on collusive activities from abroad in the Netherlands has considerably increased recent years. From 819 reports in 2007 to 1,303 in 2008. Some of the reports led to arrests or aliens being expelled.[1]

The Netherlands is interesting for foreign powers because of its established high-technology industry and the presence of large groups of migrants. “Much of the high tech in the Netherlands is useful,” the intelligence service reports. [and because of its naïveté easy to obtain, they might add: Pakistan was able to develop a nuclear bomb thanks to information stolen in the Netherlands]

Weapons of mass destruction

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“It is therefore important that companies and scientific institutions are aware of the risks involved in contacts with organizations and agencies from countries suspected of developing weapons of mass destruction,” the report states.

The annual report also mentions cyber-attacks on computer networks in the Netherlands that originate in China. Russia, according to the AIVD, is very active in the field of espionage. The interest of this country focuses on information about NATO, the defense industry, and the energy sector.

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Note:

[1] Two Moroccan brothers, both criminals and living in the Netherlands since around 1994 without a residence permit and not quite unknown in Moroccan circles (a Moroccan Green Left PM knows them well*), suddenly have to be expelled according to Ahmed Marcouch. Though they should have been expelled fifteen years ago, and certainly after their first arrests (the brothers are gang members and must have been known to the police for much longer) Marcouch, the Brotherhood man of the PvdA (Socialists, Labour) who like all good Muslims wants to Islamize the Netherlands, only comes up with this now. While the PvdA is descending in the polls.

Green Left MP Tofik Dibi (Wilders-hater and effectively a Nazi) grew up in the same neighborhood as the two gang members and is strongly against the expulsion procedure for the brothers. “I find it a proof of incapacity that these guys must be kicked over the border,” he said in the newspaper Trouw. Even more so, Dibi says, because Marcouch here obstructs the attempts to get one of the brothers on the straight path again.

Gregorius Nekschot portrayed Dibi in a pastiche of an anti-Wilders poster. The text reads “A son of a whore / with a bad haircut”.

VH supplies this additional information:

Moroccan spies

Last September a Moroccan police officer, Ré Lemhaouli, was discovered to have had spied for the Moroccan secret service. He also had set up a (subsidized) project for unemployed immigrants in which princess Maxima handed out the diplomas. Two Moroccan diplomats were expelled in the aftermath of the news. The Moroccan police officer and spy had already been transferred to a job at Rotterdam Airport (!) and after the discovery and protests was put on leave. He “might” lose his passport.

The Rotterdam PvdA-city council member Fouad El Haji also stated he had been asked to spy for Morocco and said that Morocco does this on a massive scale.

Dutch Moroccans with an “advisory role”

PvdA MP Khadija Arib came again into focus during the spy-scandal because she is working for a Moroccan advisory commission for the Moroccan king. “A secondary object of the Council is the spread of ‘Arab language and Moroccan culture’, particularly in the EU,” Klein Verzet wrote on this “double spy” issue.

However, Ahmed Aboutaleb, the PvdA Mayor of Rotterdam, is still a member of a “High Council” to the Moroccan King, and this was not discussed anywhere at all when he became Mayor of Rotterdam in 2008. In 2007 he stated that he is only able to say something in that Council “twice every five years, on things like infrastructure, education and human rights.”

Jihadi fighters in an impoverished Islamic backwater take stage directions from a cameraman, and their simulated actions are filmed and retailed in the West as an authentic video of events.

Am I talking about the Gaza strip? Is this “Pallywood”?

No, I’m talking about the Finnish Somali pirates. Maybe we should call it “Somaliwood”.

Most people have heard about young Somalis in Minneapolis who left Minnesota to return to their ancestral homeland and wage jihad and/or commit piracy.

But Minnesotans aren’t the only ones getting a piece of the action: young ethnic Somalis from Finland have returned to Somalia to join the trendy pirate scene.

KGS at Tundra Tabloids has posted an exposé of a stage-managed documentary that was snapped up by the gullible folks at ABC’s “20/20”. They don’t understand Finnish any better than I do, but Gates of Vienna employs better fact-checkers than ABC does.

It seems ABC got scammed. Here’s the story from Tundra Tabloids:

So that’s where all our Finnish Somali refugee males are going, to rake in the big dough for the jihad!

At 20 seconds into the two and a half minute film clip, the Finnish director shouts to the jogging jihadi: “ja takaisin samalla lailla, se näytti hyvältä.” (And come back the same way, it looks good).

What makes the already juicy story of Somali refugees from Finland going back to Somalia to wage jihad and earn a wad of money, while a Finnish documentary crew directs them in Finnish, even juicier, is that the cameraman, Jussi Arhinmäki (click for a video of him), is brother to a member of the Finnish parliament, Paavo Arhinmäki, for the Leftist party (Vasemmisto).

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He also goes on to ask the all important question of why didn’t the Finnish film crew ask about how many other Somali refugees from Finland are currently in the area, plying the seas for the jihad? But then again, since they’re directing the subjects they are interviewing…well, I don’t think that the thought would have ever occurred to them.

Kullervo Kalervonpoika also asks: “On the other hand, it would be also nice to hear what the Member of Parliament, Paavo Arhinmäki thinks of his little brother’s tinkering, and if he is somehow involved in the matter?”

BIG QUESTION IS, does ABC 20/20 know about what the Finns did? Has anybody out there seen the documentary in question?

Go over to Tundra Tabloids for more translations and a summary of Kullervo Kalervonpoika’s account of how John Hakalax and Jussi Arhinmäki got the pirate gig.

This story, like so many others, is a reminder of how much of today’s MSM reporting is faked and manufactured and stage-managed to fit the agenda of the corporate behemoths that peddle the news to us.

If the story aligns with the conventional wisdom, then it doesn’t have to be literally true. The people who organize it, record it, and report on it probably believe that they are doing the right thing, even when they stage events and produce faux documentaries.

But the case of Mohammed al-Dura and France 2 shows how far media reporting can diverge from what is commonly known as “the truth”.

And now we can add the ABC news and the Finnish Somali Pirates to the list of faux-reporting.

Let’s hear it for Somaliwood!

Note: The term “Somaliwood” is already in use, and refers to the Somali expatriate film industry in Ohio.

Steen just sent me the link to this video, which records tonight’s “riots and disturbances” in the Rosengård neighborhood of Malmö in southern Sweden:

As Steen said in his email, there are fires every night now in Rosengård — so there’s no point in blogging it anymore.
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Another video of the same events appears in Sydsvenskan.

The notes accompanying the YouTube video say that the fires started at 9:30pm, when the “usual dumpsters” were set ablaze. The “youths” kept at it for a while, burning tires in the middle of the street, until eventually the police with their dog patrols showed up to try to disperse the gangs. Eventually the fire brigade was called in.

While all this was going on, cars were driving by, with people presumably going about their usual business. Apocalyptic events have been routinized. This is the normal course of events in Rosengård.

If “persons of Swedish background” were doing these things — burning tires and rubbish in the street! — they would surely be arrested for violating environmental regulations governing atmospheric pollutants.

But Muslim youths seem to be exempt from such laws…

Below is a video of Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), and former Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) commenting yesterday (April 21, 2009) on the Department of Homeland Security’s “Rightwing Extremism Report”. The interviews took place outside a Senate hearing room, following a meeting of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

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As most of you already know, outrage has been focused on DHS recently because of a report that labeled those opposed to abortion, illegal immigration, and a metastasized federal government as “Right Wing Extremists” who need to be kept under surveillance.

Thanks to The Washington News Observer for the tip and the original videos; the paper does not seem to have a working website. Thanks to Vlad Tepes for combining the three original videos.