So what great lesson did the military and the President take from the experience of the massacre at Fort Hood? Why, the most obvious one, of course: we need more Muslims in the military:

Army recruiter Sgt. Chris McGarity is on the front lines of the military’s effort to add troops who speak Arabic and understand Middle Eastern culture – a battle that grew more challenging after the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

McGarity says he recently signed up an Arab-American high school student who lacked only her parents’ approval to enlist. Then came the Nov. 5 rampage at Fort Hood. The Army has charged Maj. Nidal Hasan, 39, a Muslim and Arab American, with killing 13 people and wounding 32.

The high school student’s mother “made her withdraw her application,” McGarity says.

Such experiences illustrate heightened fears of discrimination and harassment aimed at Arab-American and Muslim troops since the Fort Hood shooting, says Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force lawyer who founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates for separation between church and state in the military.

Muslims in the military experience “horrible” discrimination, he says.

Before the shooting at Fort Hood, the foundation had 80 Muslim clients who had reported instances of discrimination and harassment, Weinstein says. Complaints jumped 20% to 103 in the weeks after the shooting. “We had people almost immediately … being told ‘you people’ should not be in the military,” he says.

This news article is so studded with stupidities and down-right dangerous ideas that it makes me want to…what?

Well, here are a few ideas:

• Encourage young men and women to stay away completely from the stupendously ignorant and blind bureaucracy of our present-day military.
• Explain to parents that having their children chose a military career is as good as signing their death warrant.
• Encourage colleges to refuse ROTC groups, but not for their usual Leftish loony reasons. Rather, we want to keep our best and our brightest alive. That psycho killer, Hasan, got his way paid through ROTC. If that doesn’t bring shame on the organization, what does? Is the ROTC even capable of self-exanimation?
• Let the Muslims out of the military ASAP. That obviates any need for more Muslim chaplains, interpreters, etc. The military is not an equal opportunity employer for jihadists but you’d never know that by listening to what the bureaucrats say.

I support our military men and women. However, I reject totally the current system; it is killing them. This latest example of wanton and brutal murders was shoved under the carpet of psychobabble by those in charge, from our feckless President all the way down. Senior military officers callously sacrifice our young as they mindlessly follow Muslim Brotherhood instructions about how to integrate Muslims into our services.
– – – – – – – – –
The Muslim Brotherhood are the ones running this campaign and it’s time for our young men and women to refuse to go through this charade any longer. They put their lives on the line and they risk courts-martial for doing so. They are not even on the level of cannon fodder anymore. At least being cannon fodder gave you the luck of the draw and the rules of engagement were fair. The way things are now, you can die anytime some high ranking American Muslim jihadist takes it into his head to open fire. Anywhere, anytime, and for one reason: because YOU are an infidel.

This is beyond disgusting. It is immoral and it will destroy the fabric of our country if we permit the Pentagon and its Muslim Brotherhood infiltrators to keep cutting up the cloth of our military culture. This is a fixed game with a marked deck, guys. Get out while you can.

Here is more tripe:

Weinstein says he regularly gets complaints from troops who report name-calling, extra duty on holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, anti-Muslim graffiti scrawled on prayer centers, and officers who encourage their troops to kill Muslims or demand Christian prayer.

Waahh…mommy, he called me a name. Grow up or get out, you thin-skinned child.

Here’s more bright planning for recruitment:

As the U.S. fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mission to recruit troops who have language and cultural skills useful there has become so critical that the Army created two programs to achieve that goal.

Last year, the Army sought 270 recruits who speak Arabic, Pashto, Dari and Farsi – the languages of Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan – to serve as military interpreters, says Douglas Smith, spokesman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky.

A second recruiting program began in February in New York and has expanded to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. That program targets non-citizens who have been in the U.S. at least two years and have special language and cultural skills from the Middle East, China and Korea, he said.

“Non-citizens have stepped forward to serve this country in previous wars since the American Revolution,” the military says in its briefing papers on the program.

Just what we need. More infiltration. And these people are going to trust translators like this? How about we either bring our troops home or we train them in the needed language skills? This is so lazy and incompetent that it defies explanation. Or at least any explanation that says much for the success of our eventual survival.

You can read the rest of the p.c. molasses mush here. It’s simply too creepy and suicidal to repeat any more of that MSM cant.

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

Meanwhile, what about Fort Hood? I avoided the subject for a long time because it was too painful to think about something so deliberate and so unnecessary. Our military leaders should be found guilty of failure to protect their troops, of dereliction of duty, of gross negligence. Anyone in a position of authority who knew about this killer and did nothing but wring his or her hands should be dishonorably discharged. Instead, they’re going to court martial just the murderer, while all those career-minded criminals who let him go on his rampage face no consequences for their malfeasance.

I was looking at the pictures of the dead and wounded today. That’s hard to do in the best of circumstances, but when you gaze on those faces and realize that their “superiors” set them up for death it is even more painful. Think of all the lives shattered by those lazy time-servers: children who grow up without parents, parents left childless, a baby left unborn in its mother’s womb. In fact, all the children of the massacred who won’t be born. Think of the boy from Mexico who managed to earn a PhD in Arizona. A kid who survived the boat trip from Laos only to be killed in this “haven” of America. The dead grandparents, the brothers and sisters.

Our nation ought to be in mourning for these families. Instead, the White House is lit up like nothing happened. They have a big gingerbread house and lots of decorations. “Fort Where?” Oh, yeah, right, someone suffering from PTSD killed a few people. Unfortunate.

Here are the names. Look at them. These were real people with real lives who bled and died at the hands of a parasitic opportunist. Think of their families this Christmas and all the Christmases to come. A calculus of loss that eats at the innards of America while our leaders carry on with their posing and posturing.

These men and women died in the cause of someone else’s paranoid hatred:

• Mike Cahill
• Major L. Eduardo Caraveo
• Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow
• Capt. John Gaffaney
• Specialist Frederick Greene
• Spc. Jason Dean Hunt
• Sgt. Amy Krueger
• Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka
• Pfc. Michael Pearson
• Pvt. Francheska Velez (& baby)
• Lt. Col. Juanita Warman
• Pfc. Kham Xiong

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

These men and women were injured: Spc. Grant Moxon, Joey Foster, Sgt. Kimberly Munley, Spc. Keara Bono, Ray Saucedo, Cpl. Nathan Hewitt, Amber Bahr, George Stratton III, Staff Sgt. Alonzo (Mac) Lunsford, and Staff Sgt. Joy Clark.

The breadth and depth of America was represented here, some places more than once: North Carolina., Iowa, Idaho, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota (by way of Laos), Chicago, California, Tennessee, Arizona (via Mexico), Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Attention must be paid to the memory or honor of each of these soldier-citizens or we will not survive the parasites who are killing us. Protect our military — encourage them not to serve in a project designed to kill or undermine them.

Hat tip: Fjordman

Ignoring for a moment all the brouhaha about the Climate Summit in Copenhagen…

Israeli settlers — angry about the moratorium on new settlements — have allegedly desecrated a mosque in the West Bank. Among their reported actions was the burning of a Koran, and the OIC has already lodged a protest.

In other news, the Thai authorities confiscated an Eastern European cargo plane and detained five people after the plane was found to be filled with heavy weapons originating in North Korea.

Thanks to Esther, Fausta, Fjordman, Gaia, JD, RRW, Srdja Trifkovic, Steen, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Europe Urges ‘Social’ Tax on Banks Worldwide
	How Can Gold be a Bubble?
	USA
	7 of 10 American Colleges Censor Speech
	Fort Hood Ups Challenge to Recruit Muslim, Arab Troops
	Islamic Terror Wannabes Turned in by Their Own Mosque.
	Canada
	Did Five Torontonians Join Jihad in Somalia?
	Europe and the EU
	Finland: Räsänen: Spread of Islam “Cause for Concern”
	Netherlands: Islamic Hat Allowed for Lawyer in Courtroom
	Sweden: Father Prosecuted for Scolding Son’s Bully
	UK: Middle-Rank Civil Servant Was Paid £310,000 in Just a Year… Double the PM’s Salary
	UK: Manchester Terror Suspects Cleared to Work as Guards
	Will Church Bells Toll for the Climate?
	Balkans
	The “Serbian Lobby” In the United States Does Not Exist at All
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Islamic Conference Condemns Mosque Desecration
	Israeli Settlers Burn Quran in Attack on Mosque
	Middle East
	Iran Men Don Veil in Protest Against Government
	Israel Blasts Lobby Group Touted by U.S.
	Yemen Rebels Claim Capture of Saudi Border Post
	Russia
	Russian ‘Security’ Plan to ‘Disorganize’ NATO
	South Asia
	Pakistan: Senior Al-Qaeda Leader Killed in US Predator Drone Strike
	Thailand Detains Plane With Weapons Cache From N. Korea
	Far East
	Asia Populated by Immigration From Southeast Asia: Study
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	Eritrea Arrests 30 Praying Women, Relatives Say
	Immigration
	Ceuta’s Scream
	Culture Wars
	Christian Fathers Put in Jail for Shunning Explicit Sex Ed
	Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Decry Internet’s ‘Terrible Impurity’
	General
	Hurricane Expert Rips Climate Fears

Europe Urges ‘Social’ Tax on Banks Worldwide

The idea is among proposals being considered to ensure that trillions of dollars of taxpayers’ support during last year’s financial crisis is repaid with a slice of boom-time profits.

Brussels — Europe on Friday backed Anglo-French moves to introduce a “social” tax on banks, insurers and markets, but Germany resisted calls for a levy on bankers’ past bonuses as well.

European Union leaders endorsed a fresh call by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, supported by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for the International Monetary Fund to examine a global so-called ‘Tobin’ tax.

— Hat tip: Esther

[Return to headlines]

How Can Gold be a Bubble?

At a speech in Prague Rogers surveyed about 300 people, including big money managers, and 76 percent had never owned gold, he said. “So when you say it’s a bubble … nobody owns gold yet,” Rogers said. Still, silver is preferable, with silver 70 percent off its all-time high and gold near it’s all-time high, he said.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

[Return to headlines]

7 of 10 American Colleges Censor Speech

Report says continued flouting of Constitution ‘an ongoing scandal’

Seven out of every 10 American colleges and universities censor speech with rules that violate the U.S Constitution, according to a new report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

The organization’s 2010 report on campus speech codes reveals, despite the U.S. Constitution’s assurance of freedom of speech and a multitude of court precedents establishing that includes offensive speech, that:

• At State University of New York at Brockport, e-mail with “offensive language or graphics” is banned “whether or not the receiver objects, since others may come in contact with it.” Also banned is e-mail that might “inconvenience others.”
• New York University bans “inappropriate jokes” as well as “insulting” or “teasing” when they are based on a legally protected status such as race or religion.
• At San Jose State, officials have banned “any form of activity, whether covert or overt, that creates a significantly uncomfortable … environment” for dorms. Included are “verbal remarks” and “publicly telling offensive jokes.”

“It is an ongoing scandal that so many public and private colleges and universities maintain rules that so blatantly flout our Constitution and our national traditions of freedom of speech and academic freedom,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Fort Hood Ups Challenge to Recruit Muslim, Arab Troops

DEARBORN, Mich. — Army recruiter Sgt. Chris McGarity is on the front lines of the military’s effort to add troops who speak Arabic and understand Middle Eastern culture — a battle that grew more challenging after the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

McGarity says he recently signed up an Arab-American high school student who lacked only her parents’ approval to enlist. Then came the Nov. 5 rampage at Fort Hood. The Army has charged Maj. Nidal Hasan, 39, a Muslim and Arab American, with killing 13 people and wounding 32.

The high school student’s mother “made her withdraw her application,” McGarity says.

Such experiences illustrate heightened fears of discrimination and harassment aimed at Arab-American and Muslim troops since the Fort Hood shooting, says Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force lawyer who founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates for separation between church and state in the military.

Muslims in the military experience “horrible” discrimination, he says.

Before the shooting at Fort Hood, the foundation had 80 Muslim clients who had reported instances of discrimination and harassment, Weinstein says. Complaints jumped 20% to 103 in the weeks after the shooting. “We had people almost immediately … being told ‘you people’ should not be in the military,” he says.

Weinstein says he regularly gets complaints from troops who report name-calling, extra duty on holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, anti-Muslim graffiti scrawled on prayer centers, and officers who encourage their troops to kill Muslims or demand Christian prayer.

Language as a powerful weapon

As the U.S. fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mission to recruit troops who have language and cultural skills useful there has become so critical that the Army created two programs to achieve that goal.

Last year, the Army sought 270 recruits who speak Arabic, Pashto, Dari and Farsi — the languages of Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan — to serve as military interpreters, says Douglas Smith, spokesman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky.

The Army exceeded its goal, recruiting 321, he says. In 2010, the Army is seeking 165 recruits.

A second recruiting program began in February in New York and has expanded to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. That program targets non-citizens who have been in the U.S. at least two years and have special language and cultural skills from the Middle East, China and Korea, he said. The Army has recruited 455 people under that program, which expires Dec. 31.

“Non-citizens have stepped forward to serve this country in previous wars since the American Revolution,” the military says in its briefing papers on the program.

Making the cut in Dearborn, Mich.

Dearborn, where Arab Americans account for nearly a third of the population, is fertile ground, yet just one Arab-American recruit in 20 makes it through the vetting process, about half the success rate of other recruits.

“If you don’t have a valid green card, you’re out. If you can’t pass the aptitude test or can’t physically qualify, you’re out,” says McGarity, 31, who served in Iraq early in the war and has recruited in Dearborn for four years. “Then there are the guys who are willing, but their families aren’t.”

The recruiters recognize that Arab-American enlistees may worry about fitting in with fellow troops or having to fight in Arab or Muslim countries. They work with Arab organizations in the community and attend job fairs to meet potential recruits. They hire Arabic linguists to work in their office, learning about the Middle Eastern cultures themselves.

Sgt. Ian Parker, 27, starts conversations with potential soldiers by asking how they feel about going to Iraq or Afghanistan. “Once you hit an objection to that, you’re just wasting your time,” Parker says.

Arab Americans and Muslims in the military remain a tiny minority. Of nearly 1.5 million active-duty military, about 3,500 are Arab Americans. The military does not keep full data on the number of Muslim troops.

Jamal Baadani, 45, a Marine reservist living in Virginia, is one of them. He founded the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in Military and often walked around Arab-American communities in uniform. People would ask why he wanted to serve a government “that’s going to kill your own kind,” he says.

“The U.S. military did not go over there to ‘kill your kind.’ They went over there to attack a threat that came to this country to attack us,” Baadani would respond. “The U.S. Army really respects our community and goes above and beyond to understand our community.”

— Hat tip: Fjordman

[Return to headlines]

Islamic Terror Wannabes Turned in by Their Own Mosque.

Have you heard this one? Five young American Muslim men in Alexandria, Virginia, disappeared suddenly December 1, 2009. The five guys, all of whom were college students, had left their families and taken a plane to Pakistan. One of them had left a video behind, described as a “disturbing farewell message.”

The good news here is that the Mosque promptly contacted the FBI and told them, we are worried about these five young men. The five were picked up in Pakistan, apparently en route to a terror squad training camp, and have been questioned by the FBI. It is not clear if they have broken any US or Pakistani laws, but it is fairly clear that they had fallen prey to Al Qaeda internet propaganda. They were headed for Waziristan, the Taliban stronghold in Pakistan on the Afghan border.

— Hat tip: Esther

[Return to headlines]

Did Five Torontonians Join Jihad in Somalia?

They hung out at a Somali restaurant in “Little Mogadishu” in the northwest corner of the city, played basketball together, and worshipped at a North York mosque.

The five friends, in their early to mid-20s, grew up and attended schools in Toronto. They spoke English and Somali. At least two of them were university students.

That is, until all five disappeared.

No one recalls them ever causing trouble. But the Star has learned Canadian intelligence officials were watching at least one of the young men several months before he mysteriously left home.

Mahad Dhorre, Mustafa Mohamed, Mohamed Abscir and a fourth we know only as Ahmed vanished the first week of November. A fifth, Ahmed Elmi, left his home in Scarborough about three months ago. A sixth man, an Afghan, who worshipped at the same mosque, is also reportedly missing.

Their passports are missing and they haven’t called home. The overwhelming fear is that — like at least 20 young Somali-American men in Minneapolis who have disappeared in the past two years, and others from Australia, Sweden and Britain — the young men are en route to Somalia to fight alongside al Shabaab, an Islamist youth militia aligned with Al Qaeda.

The Shabaab, which is fighting the government, is often called Somalia’s Taliban. Its increasingly savvy online presence is being blamed as a possible reason for the disappearance of the five Canadians. And Somali community leaders fear other young people will be targeted as long as they feel alienated in this country, and embraced by another.

“These people can speak in their language and lure them from right under our nose,” said Ahmed Hussen, the Ottawa-based president of the Canadian Somali Congress, adding people in the community have told him chat rooms were also used to lure the missing men. “We won’t even know what’s going on.”

THE FIRST Somali-Canadian to leave the country was Ahmed Elmi. The 22-year-old vanished in early September. A month later, friends say, he called his parents and told them he was in Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia where the Shabaab has ruled for more than a year.

Those who knew Elmi wonder how a boy who grew up in a quiet Scarborough community would flee to a city plagued by violence.

Elmi’s soft-spoken father said the family is still in shock and trying to understand what happened. He declined to be interviewed.

RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers are investigating the disappearances, canvassing areas in Little Mogadishu and questioning families.

But six months ago, CSIS agents paid a visit to the Scarborough condominium complex where another of the missing men, Mustafa Mohamed, lived with his family, says the building’s property manager.

“They said there was some kind of suspicious Internet activity and the family was under surveillance,” said Raees Akhtar.

On the second floor of the building, Mohamed’s mother, Shukri, was too distraught to talk. “I’m not ready …,” she said from behind the closed door of her apartment.

A friend said the family hadn’t heard from Mohamed. “(Shukri) is very upset,” she said. “She doesn’t know what to do … She has other younger children, too, and she’s worried about them.”

During questioning, RCMP officers have shown photographs to the families and queried them about their sons’ activities.

“(The families) are just as bewildered … they are also looking for answers,” said Abdurahman Hosh Jibril, president of the Somali Canadian National Council.

MAHAD DHORRE was only about 6 when he left Somalia. He and his adoptive mother spent about four years in a refugee camp before they arrived in Canada in the mid-1990s, friends say.

His father died in Somalia; his biological mother still lives there.

The gangly, bearded youth from Markham grew up playing basketball, watching baseball and dreamed of going to university.

“He liked going to the mosque but there was nothing radical about him,” said Yusuf Arshame, a friend who has known Dhorre for years.

Dhorre was studying math and history at York University when he decided to take a break this summer. He started working at the bookstore at Abu Huraira Islamic Centre, the mosque in North York where the five hung out.

Arshame says Dhorre began socializing less and spending more time at the mosque. In October, Dhorre flew to Nairobi with his mother. Days later, he disappeared.

Abdul Warsame, a youth leader in the community, first met Dhorre at a conference this summer. “He was smart and funny,” recalls Warsame. “One of the first things he said was ‘I know most of you think we (from the city’s east end) are uptight. But we are not different.’ That’s the kind of a guy he was — always speaking his mind.”

They quickly became friends. He last saw Dhorre during Ramadan, then weeks later he went missing.

OF THE 20 or so Somali-Americans who have gone missing, at least five have been killed in Somalia. One died in a suicide bombing in October 2008, part of coordinated attacks that killed 20 people.

Osman Ahmed’s nephew, Bashir Hasan, vanished more than a year ago, resurfacing in southern Somalia. He died three months ago.

“He was 17 … he was naive,” said

Ahmed, a Minneapolis-based businessman. Three months before Hasan disappeared in November 2008, he was filling out university applications, planning his future as a lawyer. “And suddenly, he was gone,” said Ahmed, who believes his nephew was enticed by the Shabaab over the Internet.

Days before he died, Hasan called his mother and told her he wanted to come home. “And then, we got a call saying he was dead,” said Ahmed, who believes Shabaab executed him. “You only leave as a martyr … there’s no other way out.”

His is one of the few Minneapolis families to speak publicly about their loss. “We’ve lost as a family, we didn’t want to lose more as a community,” said Ahmed.

But it hasn’t stopped other young Somali-Americans from trying to join the Shabaab. About two weeks ago, four young men, two under the age of 16, were stopped while trying to fly to Kenya through Chicago.

Two days earlier, U.S. federal officials announced terrorism charges against eight men, seven of whom are still at large. It brought to 14 the total from Minneapolis who have been indicted or pleaded guilty for allegedly indoctrinating, recruiting or training local youths to join militia-waged war in Somalia.

Omar Jamal, a well-known advocate for the Somali diaspora in the U.S., said Toronto community leaders must ensure mosques play no role in radicalization. “We have to do everything to keep our kids safe. … We can’t let them go to a place we left years ago.”

In Minneapolis, some families of missing men have accused certain mosques of radicalizing their sons.

In Toronto, the North York mosque where the five Toronto men worshipped has come under scrutiny since they disappeared.

The Abu Huraira mosque, located in a nondescript building in an industrial area near Sheppard Ave. and Highway 404, was the first to alert police that the men were missing. “The parents came to us and we immediately told (police),” said administrator Omar Kireh.

He stressed the men only “occasionally worshipped at the mosque over the years,” adding the mosque has no hardline agenda. The mosque, with a congregation of about 1,000 mostly Somali-Canadians, holds classes for youth, he said, where they are encouraged to stay out of gangs and guns.

It became the subject of controversy a couple of months ago when Saed Rageah, the mosque’s charismatic young imam, gave a controversial sermon interpreted by some as an attack on those calling for a ban on the niqab and burqa.

Rageah later said he had been misinterpreted. The Star could not reach him for comment.

Members of the congregation, however, describe Rageah as traditional, but not radical. And the Somali community believes the mosque had nothing to do with the disappearance of the men, although some suspect they may have been targeted there.

“It’s not a coincidence that all worshipped here and disappeared at almost the same time,” said Ahmed Yusuf, a Somali-Canadian social worker. “The question is how, and can it be done again.”

THAT BOTHERS many Somali-Canadians in Toronto.

There are stories of how mothers have hidden their grown-up sons’ passports while other family members keep an eye on them. Some mothers are even trying to monitor their sons’ Internet activities.

It sounds over-the-top but Jibril said, “It’s an extraordinary situation.” There’s a fear there may be an exodus of more young men from Toronto as happened in Minneapolis, he said. Toronto is now home to almost 50,000 Somali-Canadians, he points out.

In Little Mogadishu, an area bounded by highrises along Dixon Rd. and between Kipling and Islington Aves., families run thriving restaurants and grocery stores. Yet Somalis remain one of the GTA’s most disadvantaged, scoring near the bottom in household income, employment and education.

Mohamed Gilao, executive director of Dejinta Beesha, a settlement agency, said young people find it difficult to integrate; some drop out of school and fall prey to crime, drugs and gangs. And now, it seems, radicals, too.

But the five missing men were raised in middle-class families and none had a run-in with police, say community leaders.

Warsame, the youth leader, talks of the crisis of “belonging” that plagues all young people from war-torn countries, especially if they still have relatives there.

Most Somali-Canadians still have families in that country and faithfully keep track of events there. Many send money back, ensuring the bond never severs.

“I’m not making any excuses (for Mahad Dhorre) and others,” said Warsame. “But these kids wonder about equality and justice when they see war, hunger and violence in their native country. Is that what drives them? I don’t know.”

— Hat tip: RRW

[Return to headlines]

Finland: Räsänen: Spread of Islam “Cause for Concern”

Speaking on YLE’s Ykkösaamu discussion programme on Saturday, Päivi Räsänen, chairwoman of the Christian Democrats, said the spread of Islam in Europe is a “real cause for concern.”

Räsänen says Islamisation should be taken seriously because the religion seems to include expansionist aspirations and demands for adopting Sharia law.

She points out that a religious vacuum is the most dangerous thing for society, as the void can be filled with the negative effects of radical Islam. Räsänen says that for this reason Finns should hold on to their values and Christian cultural heritage—also in schools.

“Traditions, such as the Nativity story are a part of Finnish culture. These traditions are for everyone. Children from Muslim families and kids of atheist parents should also have the right to learn about these traditions. This doesn’t mean that parents have to give special permission for their kids to see the Christmas manger,” says Räsänen.

Commenting on Switzerland’s ban on minarets, Räsänen said the Finnish Parliament doesn’t have to take a stand on the building of minarets.

— Hat tip: Steen

[Return to headlines]

Netherlands: Islamic Hat Allowed for Lawyer in Courtroom

THE HAGUE, 12/12/09 — The appeals chamber of the Bar Association’s disciplinary council has acquitted lawyer Mohammed Enait of contempt of court. He has the right not to rise when the judge enters the courtroom and can wear a Muslim hat during sessions, it ruled Friday.

It is customary for lawyers to stand up during court cases when the judge enters the courtroom. Enait deliberately refuses to do so. His argument is that his religion maintains that everyone is equal and as a Muslim, he therefore does not want to behave subserviently.

The disciplinary council of the Bar Association reprimanded the Islamic lawyer in May. On three points, he showed contempt of court, it ruled; he refuses to rise, wears an Islamic head-covering during sessions and showed contempt of a judge in a TV talkshow.

But the appeal chamber acquitted the lawyer on all three counts Friday. His refusal to rise and his headgear are not meant to show contempt of court, I its view. And in the TV programme his relative lack of experience as a lawyer played a role.

Enait appears regularly in talk-shows on TV. He is known for his complicated vocabulary, preferably using at least one difficult word in every sentence.

The lawyer earlier became the focus of satire after it emerged that the secretaries portrayed on the website of his office were porn actresses. Enait refuses to shake hands with women.

— Hat tip: TB

[Return to headlines]

Sweden: Father Prosecuted for Scolding Son’s Bully

A Lund man has been charged with trespassing after going to the home of a boy who had been bullying his son and verbally scolding him.

“The bullying stopped the same day, so it was worth it,” the man, known as Michael, told the Skånskan newspaper.

Michael is a highly educated university lecturer, and reportedly has a quiet and friendly demeanour. Moreover, he had never, until now, had contact with the justice system or the police.

“It feels upsetting, and strange. But what should I have done otherwise?” he asks.

The matter began on April 3rd last year, when his son Christoffer was being subjected to intense bullying. But with a culture of silence that existed at he school his son attended, Michael and his wife had been unaware of their son’s plight.

“Christoffer was often sick and had a stomach ache. He didn’t want to go to school. But one day, the truth seeped out,” Michael said.

When Michael and his wife took up the matter with their son’s school and the class teacher, they made it clear that Christoffer was vulnerable. The school had a special group that handled such matters, but in this case the group decided to take no action, as the parents of the accused bullies believed that their children were innocent, according to Michael.

“It was so frustrating. You must experience it yourself, how upsetting it is when your children are being bullied.”

Michael reached the final straw when his son came home one day saying that one of the bullies had hit him, and another had threatened that Christoffer would “die over Easter”.

Michael decided that something had to be done, so he went over to the lead bully’s home to confront his parents. However, while the parents were not home, the 12-year-old bully was.

“He understood immediately what I was there for. I was so angry, and I scolded him,” Michael said.

The prosecution turns on how far inside the house Michael was. According to the bully and his sister, Michael was several metres inside the house, which would mean that a charge of trespassing might be sustained. However, according to Michael, he was just beside the door frame, or just inside.

“And was I threatening? Yes I was, I said that if it happens again you will have a problem with me. That could perhaps be seen as a threat,” Michael said.

“But what should I have done? I couldn’t see my son feel so awful. And the fact is that after that day the bullying stopped,” he added. He is irked that the bully has received the support of the school, while he is pilloried.

The court proceedings to consider the trespassing charge will commence shortly.

— Hat tip: TB

[Return to headlines]

UK: Middle-Rank Civil Servant Was Paid £310,000 in Just a Year… Double the PM’s Salary

Smiling cheerfully, this is Azad Ootam, a mid-ranking civil servant working for the border security force.

He has every reason to look pleased after being paid more than £310,000 of public money last year — more than double the pay of Gordon Brown.

Mr Ootam joined the UK Border Agency in June 2006. He was supposed to stay as an interim consultant for only five weeks, but ended up working at the Government agency in charge of enforcing immigration rules for three years.

Mr Ootam was given various roles until he was appointed senior commercial director in the agency’s resource management department. During this time he was paid £750 a day, giving him an annual salary of £180,000.

He also received an extra £128,000 for four months ‘consultant services’ work last year, and successfully claimed £13,856 in expenses for five months between 2007 and2008.

But when he left the agency in April this year, his post was advertised offering a salary of £80,000.

Details of Mr Ootam’s pay come after MPs slammed the UKBA this week for handing out bonuses of £295,000 to 29 senior managers while still ‘under-performing’.

He drives a Porsche sports car and now runs his own consultancy from his £1.3million house in Ealing, West London, which he shares with his wife Jane, 42, who works as a lawyer and director of his company, and their two young daughters.

Lib Dem shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne said: ‘Even for the UKBA, which has been a byword for mismanagement, this is an extreme waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash.

‘Given that the agency has just paid bonuses for senior staff, this carelessness with public money should make them ashamed.’

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Parliamentary Counter Terrorism sub- committee, said: ‘This is yet another example of the Government squandering money out of the all-important security budget.

‘I shall be writing to the Home Secretary about this.’

Matthew Elliot of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘This is a massive bill to pay for one middle manager.

All too often consultants are able to secure obscenely high rates for their work from quangos like the UKBA, and it is time the rules were tightened up to stop us getting ripped off.

‘This consultant is walking away with a fortune, leaving taxpayers with a massive bill and that is unfair.’

Mr Ootam declined to comment. A UK Border Agency spokesman said: ‘The employment of contractors is undertaken in accordance with stringent cross-Government guidelines.’

— Hat tip: Gaia

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UK: Manchester Terror Suspects Cleared to Work as Guards

Ten members of a suspected Islamist terror cell, said by MI5 to be plotting to blow up a shopping centre and a nightclub in Manchester, had been granted permission by the Home Office to work as security guards in Britain.

The Pakistani students — who were never charged for lack of evidence — were arrested over an alleged plot to bomb Britain last Easter. Police believed they had conducted “hostile reconnaissance” of the Arndale and Trafford shopping centres and the Birdcage nightclub.

It has now emerged that in the months before the alleged plot, the men were given licences to work as security guards by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), a Home Office body that regulates the private security industry.

They all passed a vetting programme designed to bar criminals and undesirables from taking up sensitive security posts protecting airports, ports and Whitehall buildings from terrorist attack. When arrested, two of the students were working for a cargo firm which had access to secure areas at Manchester airport.

Critics said the case highlights serious flaws in the system for vetting overseas applicants for the permits. Foreign migrants do not need to have their applications counter-signed by a British referee. Officials privately admit they do not even attempt to make checks on applicants’ address histories in Pakistan.

The blunder occurred despite ministers’ promises to tighten up the system two years ago after it emerged that the SIA had allowed more than 7,000 illegal immigrants to work as security guards. One had even been allowed to guard the prime minister’s car.

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, is writing to Alan Johnson, his Labour counterpart, to demand an explanation. “The fact that security checks on overseas nationals seeking clearance for the security industry are much more lax than for British people just beggars belief. This is clearly a huge hole in our security system,” he said.

“We’re spending huge amounts to protect us from the very real threat of terrorism yet parts of the system … appear to be creating an open door for abuse and worse.”

Details of the case emerged after a post-mortem into Operation Pathway, a five month-long police inquiry into the suspected Easter bomb plot.

The suspects, aged 22 to 38, are thought to have arrived in Britain on student visas in 2007 and 2008. Their visas allowed them to work in paid employment for up to 20 hours a week. Because they had successfully applied for SIA permits, they were all able to get work as security guards.

Patrick Mercer, chairman of parliament’s counter-terrorism committee, said that without proper address checks and a UK referee, there was no way of knowing whether or not an applicant had spent the past five years in a terrorist training camp.

“Every element of the security industry must be trained properly by the government to be suspicious of all applications for jobs like this,” he said.

It is not known if the men were under MI5 surveillance at the time they applied for SIA permits. But critics say the SIA needs to be far more vigilant, especially about applications from Pakistan. Gordon Brown has repeatedly said that two out of three UK terror plots have been hatched in that country.

The SIA initially said in a statement this weekend that all applicants “must” have a UK passport holder to act as a referee. But its own guidance notes state that in “exceptional cases” this is not required.

Although applicants must list their addresses for the past five years, officials admit privately that it is impossible for UK-based officials to check.

MI5 was investigating the terror suspects for five months before the arrests. Police swooped in April, arresting 12 men in Manchester, Liverpool and Clitheroe, Lancashire. One was released almost immediately but the remaining 11 — all Pakistanis — were held under the government’s controversial 28-day terrorism laws. Brown said at the time that the arrest had thwarted “a major terrorist plot”. But police uncovered no explosives or indeed any hard evidence and the Crown Prosecution Service said they could not be charged.

The men have always insisted they were innocent. They were freed but rearrested and held in immigration detention. MI5 said they must be deported because they represented a threat to national security.

Most of the men have now returned to Pakistan, while two others remain in custody to fight their case.

The SIA said: “We conduct robust identity, criminality and right-to-work checks on all applicants. We cannot act on hearsay, but do refuse, revoke and suspend licences on the basis of information given by partners such as the police.”

— Hat tip: Gaia

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Will Church Bells Toll for the Climate?

The bells of world’s churches are set to toll on Sunday afternoon in a bid to raise awareness about climate change but in Switzerland, many will stay silent.

The Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC) calls climate change an ethical and spiritual issue but the mass bell ringing, endorsed by Switzerland’s national church federations, has been rejected by the largest Protestant groups over questions of politicking.

— Hat tip: Esther

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The “Serbian Lobby” In the United States Does Not Exist at All

Interview: Srdja Trifkovic

At a hearing before the Helsinki Committee of the House of Representatives last spring, at which Ivo Banac, Paddy Ashdown and others opened fire from all weapons on the Republika Srpska and [its prime minister Milorad] Dodik, demanding the abolition of the entities and the appointment of an American envoy to the Balkans, they were not countered by a single Congressman, or a representative of the [Serbian] Diaspora, or a lobbyist, or a visitor from the Republika Srpska, although they would not have been denied the platform had they asked for it.

For the past two decades the Bosnian Serbs and Serbia have been subjected to a hostile treatment by the Western power centers. In Serbia and the Republika Srpska alike, the attempts to correct or even reverse such trends in the U.S. and the European Union have often relied on the impact of the Serbian diaspora in the United States and in the leading countries of the EU. Such expectations and the reality are in a chronic discord, however. […]

Dr. Srdja Trifkovic debunks many flawed assumptions in the Old Country about the political potential of our kin in America… He points out the remarkable inertness of the official Belgrade and Banja Luka vis-a-vis the Serbian diaspora and also regarding attempts to convince the influential Western interlocutors of the validity of arguments advanced by Serbia and by the Republika Srpska in the ongoing Balkan unravellings:

“The Serbian diaspora has no influence on the formulation of the U.S. policy. It is the least well organized among all ethnic groups of comparable size. A concrete example: when an appeal went out, some ten years ago, for the survival of Serbian studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago, barely $30,000 was collected and the chair was extinguished. On the other hand, the Lithuanian community in Chicago — far smaller than the Serbian one — threw a benefit dinner for a similar purpose and collected a million dollars in a few hours. The Serbian community has no excuse for this state of affairs. The diaspora has neither the money nor the will to work for the defense and promotion of the Serbian-American community’s interests — and money as the precondition of all activity. As Mark Twain pointed out 150 years ago, America has “the best Congress money can buy!” It is naive to assume that Bob Dole, Joe Biden, the late Tom Lantos, Joe Lieberman and other Serb-haters have acted for so many years in the manner well known to us out of purely moral principles and deepest conviction. Someone had to approach them, to present the specific views to them, to motivate them to accept those views — which means money — and to promt them to act accordingly — again money! Those four steps represent the essence of lobbying. The principle is the same, regardless of whether you are advocating a centralized Bosnia-Herzegovina or Federal subsidies to dairy farmers in Wisconsin.

Novi Reporter: How do you explain the fact that, nevertheless, encouraging news has reached Serbia and the Republika Srpska of certain successes of the “lobbying” in the US?

Trifkovic: There are people in the Diaspora who are sparing no effort to project, on the Serbian public scene, an image of themselves as very influential players closely connected with various Congressmen and Senators. Having paid a few hundred dollars to their journalist contacts to write suitably intoned fairytales in some Belgrade tabloids, they flaunt those cuttings back home to prove that they are influential in Serbia’s public and political life and that they should be taken into due account in some future combinations. This reflects the infantile vanity of some diaspora leaders with bombastic-sounding titles and negligible influence, and the syndrome is well known to the American Serbs. It is noteworthy, however, that the U.S. Administration is not interested in nurturing the ambitions of any potential Serbian B-Team, because the Americans find the present government in Belgrade perfectly suited to their interests.

To this very day there is no “Serbian Lobby” in the U.S. — it simply does not exist. The “Serbian Congressional Caucus” is a Potemkin’s Village, which is in any event in the state of deep hibernation. The members of the Caucus merely express some interest in the Balkans, but they do not necessarily support Serbian positions on The Hague, Kosovo, Dayton… To give you but one example, at a hearing before the Helsinki Committee of the House of Representatives last spring, at which Ivo Banac, Paddy Ashdown and others opened fire from all weapons on the Republika Srpska and [its prime minister Milorad] Dodik, demanding the abolition of [the Dayton-provided] entities and the appointment of an American envoy to the Balkans, they were not countered by a single Congressman, or a representative of the [Serbian] Diaspora, or a lobbyist, or a visitor from the Republika Srpska, although they would not have been denied the platform had they asked for it.

Are there within the Serbian diaspora in the U.S. persons and institutions which do not act under the patronage of the well known organizations, but which nevertheless make a respectable contribution and are worthy of attention?

There are, but the less they act under the “Serbian” banner, the more effective they are. The ability to act independently is the precondition of success.

How would you define the key common objectives which could unite the Serbs in North America? What are the realistic, and what are the optimal potential results of their work?

The key objective is to articulate the interests of the Serbian community and to present it competently through the prism of American interests. The theme of the Balkans as the weak link in the war against terrorism is essential, as it may be related to American concerns. However, more than eight years after September 11, there is no “White Book” which would contain a consolidated dossier of the Sarajevan political establishment’s Jihadist connections. All kinds of terrorist attacks since that time, from Riyadh to Casablanca to Madrid or Bali, indicate that there is a “Bosnian Connection.” This remains an unused capital.

How do you see the relations of the Serbian diaspora in the U.S. with the political instances in Serbia and the Republika Srpska?

The biggest problem of the Serbian diaspora in the U.S. is the absence of legitimate authority and hierarchy. The split within the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1963 undermined its role of the moral pillar, and there is no leadership from the old country. On the other hand, it is unrealistic to expect the diaspora to achieve that which neither Belgrade nor Banja Luka are doing. Let us face the facts: official Serbian guests often come to Washington, not in order to make a serious impact on the political decision-making process relevant to the Serbian people and its interests, but to create back home a convincing illusion of the alleged results of their visit. A textbook example of this we have seen recently, in early November, with a frankly futile Republika Srpska mission to the capital of the United States. The visit was effectively a fiasco, yet it was presented in the Republika Srpska media as a success.

How do you evaluate the results of that visit?

Who are those people trying to hoodwink, or are they deluded themselves, and cherish ungrounded illusions about such visits? Who is “enriching” their scant itineraries with the meetings with political lightweights, or else with antagonists who only receive them in order to give them a stern dressing-down? Is the goal simply to fill in the slots, to justify expenses? Why do they deceive themselves, and others, talking of a successful mission crowned with a half-hour’s visit to the deputy under-secretary’s aide in a windowless office? Or visits with those few members of Congress who are already known as friendly to the Serbs, but who have no influence on the formulation of policy? I am inclined to think that they are simply not up to the task, rather than mendacious. They do not defend Serbian national interests adequately, because they are not attuned to the Washingtonian discourse and therefore unable to articulate those interests in the manner that may have some operational value in the perception of their U.S. interlocutors.

With the current setup of the Serbian diplomacy and lobbying structure in Washington, things will not get any better. The same applies to Serbia’s foreign and every other policy. Almost two decades since the beginning of Yugoslavia’s disintegration nothing has been learned, things merely change in order to remain the same. There is an old Jewish proverb, to the effect that if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you are currently getting. What the Serbs have “got” over all these years we know very well, and there should be no illusions that the slicing of the Serbian salami is by any means over. Quite the contrary!

What are the main causes for the lack of adequate response of the diaspora to the anti-Serb trend which is still largely present in the Western political, media, and academic elite?

There are three key elements of failure. The first is in the lack of strategy for defending the image and identity of the community, based on a clear methodology for the attainment of such goals. The second is the short-sighted focus of many Serbs on the reactive critique of the Western policy and its media presentation, without any strategic elaboration of alternative positions and constant advancement of new concrete solutions as an alternative to the current flawed policy.

And finally, the attempts to influence foreign media and political circles are characterized by complete amateurism of the leadership of organizations with impressive names which nevertheless lack true legitimacy within the Serbian diaspora community. This undermines their credibility among the policy makers and public opinion creators. The consequence is clear: the views and decisions detrimental to the Serbs could be advocated in the Western media, approved in legislative bodies, applied by governments, and verified by the academic and analytical institutions. There was a visible change of tone after October 5, 2000, but it was short lived. […]

— Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic

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Islamic Conference Condemns Mosque Desecration

RIYADH — The Organisation of the Islamic Conference on Saturday strongly condemned the desecration of a West Bank mosque allegedly carried about by hardline Jewish settlers.

“The profanation of the mosque and the torching of Koran copies found in it, and the spraying of racist graffiti slogans on the mosque’s walls against Islam and Muslims represent a blatant aggression against the sanctity of sacred places,” OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Israeli Settlers Burn Quran in Attack on Mosque

Hundreds of Jewish settlers angry at reduced settlement building burned pages of Islam’s holy book in an attack on a West Bank mosque as Palestinian Christians called for sanctions on “evil” Israel and rejected Christian Zionism, press reports said Saturday.

Burned pages of the Quran lay scattered on the mosque’s torched carpet as Israelis from the settlement of Tappuah spray painted in large Hebrew letters “Get ready to pay the price,” a statement referring to a recent government decision to curb settlement building, only in the West Bank and for only 10 months.

Security forces used teargas to disperse hundreds of furious settlers in the West Bank city of Yasuf, where hardline settlers call for a “price tag” policy under which they target Palestinians in retaliation for any Israeli government measure they see as threatening Jewish settlements.

Settler attacks on Palestinians is a common occurrence and last week a house and three vehicles were set on fire in another northern West Bank village. The owner of the house told police he saw three Jewish settlers start the fires.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak sharply denounced the attack.

“This is an extreme act meant to harm the government’s attempts to advance the process for Israel’s future,” his office quoted him as saying.

“Evil” Israel

Meanwhile in the West Bank city of Bethlehem Christians from all denominations called for international sanctions on Israel for its “evil” occupation and urged Western Christians to reject Zionism.

“The aggression against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli occupation, is an evil that must be resisted. It is an evil and a sin that must be resisted and removed,” the Palestinains Ma’an news agency quoted a released document as stating.

“Primary responsibility for this rests with the Palestinians themselves suffering occupation. Christian love invites us to resist it,” the document added.

The group, who call themselves the Palestine Kairos Initiative, modeled after black South Africa’s 1985 Kairos Document, called on the international community to begin “a system of economic sanctions and boycott to be applied against Israel,” and to “engage in divestment and in an economic and commercial boycott of everything produced by the occupation.”

“These advocacy campaigns must be carried out with courage, openly sincerely proclaiming that their object is not revenge but rather to put an end to the existing evil, liberating both the perpetrators and the victims of injustice.”

Faith in God

The group also specifically addressed Chrisitians living in the west who support Zionism and slammed them for “trying to attach a biblical and theological legitimacy to the infringement of our rights.” Their interpretation of scripture has “become a menace to our very existence. … The ‘good news’ in the Gospel itself has become ‘a harbinger of death’ for us.”

The group said misinterpretations of the holy scriptures was threatening the Palestinian people’s existence.

“Those who use the Bible to threaten our existence as Christian and Muslim Palestinians, we renew our faith in God because we know that the word of God can not be the source of our destruction.”

“We call on these theologians to deepen their reflection on the Word of God and to rectify their interpretations so that they might see in the Word of God a source of life for all peoples.”

According to Ma’an the Palestine Kairos Initiative was first proposed in Jordan leading religious figures from all denominations, including Lutherians, Greek Orthodox and Baptists.

“After sitting and theologically reflecting on the situation, the injustice of the situation, we came up with this document,” Kairos spokesman Ranjan Solomon told Ma’an. “Palestinians perceive this as a moment of truth.”

— Hat tip: TB

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Iran Men Don Veil in Protest Against Government

Five days after renewed student protests across Iran showed that the dispute over the country’s presidential elections is from over, hundreds of Iranian men posted pictures of themselves wearing the Islamic headscarf on social networking website Facebook in solidarity with a detained student leader.

Majid Tavakoli of Tehran’s prestigious Amir Kabir University was arrested on Dec. 7 during anti-government demonstrations and pictures of him wearing the chador, the women’s full-length black wrap, were published on the semi-official Fars news agency, which reported that Tavakoli attempted to flee Iran dressed as a woman.

The pictures provoked a furious response from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s opponents who claim the government faked the photographs, which were also deemed derogatory to women, to embarrass him.

A “Free Majid Tavakoli” group was created on Facebook, calling the student leader “a symbol of integrity and courage,” and more than 380 Iranian men have showed solidarity with him and posted pictures of themselves wearing a veil or chador with captions such as “I am Majid Tavakoli” or “It is not shame to be a woman, it is shame to be a man like you.”

Tavakoli has spent two previous stints in jail and was among a group of students arrested and allegedly tortured in 2007 following a demonstration that disrupted a visit by Ahmadinejad to Amir Kabir University the previous year.

Human Rights Activists in Iran reported that government “agents severely beat and injured Majid during the arrest. The amount of violence and brutality used in the arrest shocked passer[s]-by.”

One witness told the human rights group: “All the pictures published by the state media are false and a clear use of immoral means against student and civil activists in Iran.”

Fabricated images of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wearing a female head cover have been posted on the website, gordab.com, a seemingly daring mockery of the government.

Tavakoli’s last post on Facebook reads: “Looking at my mother’s tearful eyes and father’s anxious glances and despite all the difficulties, only the true wish for freedom can maintain my drive and steadfastness. And so once again I welcome and accept all the dangers, standing next to my friends, with whom I am honored and proud to be on 16 Azar (last 7th of December) shoulder to shoulder shouting against tyranny. For freedom.”

On Monday, anti-Ahmadinejad protesters used an annual Students Day ceremony on and around Tehran campuses to stage new demonstrations against his controversial second term.

Tehran police chief Azizollah Rajabzadeh said 204 demonstrators — 165 men and 39 women — were arrested in those protests for “disrupting public order.”

— Hat tip: TB

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Israel Blasts Lobby Group Touted by U.S.

Warns organization ‘fooling around with the lives of 7 million people’

The Israeli government blasted a lobby group the Obama administration regularly meets with and promotes, charging the group is “fooling around with the lives of 7 million people.”

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Michael Oren, called J Street “a unique problem in that it not only opposes one policy of one Israeli government, it opposes all policies of all Israeli governments. It’s significantly out of the mainstream.”

[…]

J Street is a lobby group mostly led by left-leaning Israelis that receives funds from Arab and Muslim Americans.

The group brands itself as pro-Israel. It states on its website it seeks to “promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically.”

J Street, however, also supports talks with Hamas, a terrorist group whose charter seeks the destruction of Israel. The group opposes sanctions against Iran and is harshly critical of Israeli offensive anti-terror military actions.

— Hat tip: JD

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Yemen Rebels Claim Capture of Saudi Border Post

Yemen’s Shiite rebels said on Friday they have seized control of a Saudi military post along the border between the two countries where Saudi and Yemeni forces are waging a campaign to uproot them.

The claim, which could not be immediately confirmed by Yemeni and Saudi officials, came as a Saudi newspaper reported that Saudi forces had detained 1,805 people so far this month on the border with Yemen.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Russian ‘Security’ Plan to ‘Disorganize’ NATO

New treaty proposal would supersede prior commitments

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed a pan-European security treaty to countries throughout Europe that appears to undermine the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at a time while he’s pursuing his nation’s own military initiatives which would be in violation of his plan, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The Moscow proposal would intimidate countries that have expressed concern over Moscow’s military assertiveness against Georgia last year but still are dependent on Russia for vital energy resources.

— Hat tip: JD

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Pakistan: Senior Al-Qaeda Leader Killed in US Predator Drone Strike

A senior al-Qaeda leader has been killed in a Predator drone missile strike in north-west Pakistan, US officials said.

The officials told NBC News that the attack using Hellfire missiles had taken place in the last few days.

They said the target was not the network’s Saudi leader Osama bin Laden or his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri.

— Hat tip: JD

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Thailand Detains Plane With Weapons Cache From N. Korea

BANGKOK — Thai authorities have detained five people who landed in Bangkok in an east European cargo plane full of heavy weapons that originated in North Korea, officials told AFP Saturday.

The plane’s pilot requested to land at Bangkok’s domestic Don Mueang airport Saturday morning, said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn, and on inspecting the aircraft Thai officials found the cache.

“An eastern European airline asked to land this morning at Don Mueang airport to refuel its tank. When Thai authorities examined the aircraft they found a lot of weapons and detained up to five people,” Panitan said.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Asia Populated by Immigration From Southeast Asia: Study

Pan-Asian research on genetic data suggested that ancestors of modern-day Asians probably migrated from Southeast Asia into East and North Asia, according to researchers.

The new study confirmed that Asia was populated primarily through a single migration from Southeast Asia, dismissing the theory that there were two major immigration waves including one through Central Asia.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Eritrea Arrests 30 Praying Women, Relatives Say

Thirty elderly women have been arrested in Eritrea while praying together, one of their relatives living in the United States has told the BBC.

Requesting anonymity, she said she only found out about her mother when she phoned to speak to her this week.

Most of the women belonged to an outlawed evangelical group.

The government only recognises four religions — Islam and Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran Churches — and bans gatherings of more than five.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Ceuta’s Scream

Alvaro Vargas Llosa

CEUTA, Spain—On the surface, this Spanish enclave on the North African end of the Strait of Gibraltar has integrated Muslims and Christians within a liberal democracy. The fact that Jewish and Hindu communities are part of the peaceful mix makes this place all the more intriguing.

Ceuta’s population mosaic reflects its history. It played a strategic role under Carthage and Rome, was the springboard of the Muslim conquest of Spain and was governed by the Saracens of Andalusia for centuries. The Portuguese took possession for a while, but it has been in Spanish hands since the end of the 16th century. Morocco has claimed it since the 1950s.

Things seem so smooth that one is tempted to evoke the great moments of religious and cultural coexistence in medieval Cordoba and Toledo. Muslims comprise 40 of the population and mostly see themselves as Spanish. They send their children to schools run by Christians, and they vote and compete in elections to the local Assembly, where the mainland Spanish parties control the majority. There are sporadic signs of fundamentalism, but no violence. The largest Muslim neighborhood is called Prince Philip, after the heir to the Spanish crown. Many residents are descendents of Muslims who fought against Morocco under Francisco Franco’s Spanish Legion and were later rewarded with Spanish citizenship. Most of the people I talked with in this city, in which the veil and the chilaba, a Moroccan tunic, are a potent presence, expressed few religious complaints.

That includes Sephardic Jews, who have been a part of Ceuta since the days of Saracen rule, and Hindus, who came in the late 20th century for commercial reasons. The church, the mosque, the synagogue and the temple are civil neighbors.

The immigration issue, a sensitive one in a border-fence city that many Africans see as a gateway to Europe, feels less of a time bomb today than it did a few years ago. Thousands of Moroccans work in Ceuta during the day and cross back in the evening. Illegal immigrants from other countries are detained for a few weeks in a center on Mount Hacho, but many are then quietly allowed to travel to the mainland.

One senses, however, that under the surface, things are potentially more troublesome. One big reason is that membership in the European Union, which Spain joined in 1986, has created serious economic limitations. Ceuta was a free port until Europe imposed its statist laws. Taxes are only a bit lower than in mainland Spain, and the regulations are overbearing. As one container operator put it to me, “We are a port city, but we really live off the military barracks and the stuff we smuggle into Morocco.” In the absence of free trade across the border, many Ceutans deal in illegal drugs, which come in through Benzu, in the northern area of Ceuta, under the peaceful gaze of the “Dead Woman,” a gorgeous rock formation on the Moroccan side.

The limitations placed on this city that could be a North African version of Hong Kong are creating a resentment that, if left to simmer, could stoke cultural and religious resentments.

The risk is compounded by the political football that Ceuta is fast becoming in Madrid. The Socialist government, keen to avoid hurting Morocco’s feelings, is making unpopular concessions, including the decision not to press the European Union to give the enclave a status comparable to that of the Canary Islands. In response, part of the Spanish right is succumbing to the temptation to use Ceuta as a nationalist symbol.

None of this is lost on Ceutans. In my conversations, they tended to take sides angrily—mostly for the nationalist faction. If we take into account Morocco’s persistent claim on Ceuta and the economic frustration mentioned earlier, the politicization of the enclave could spill over into the cultural and religious domains.

I asked a small-businesswoman what Ceuta would be like in 30 years. “If we continue to be simply a place of containment for immigration and a military barracks, we will eventually succumb to Moroccan pressure. The Muslim population is growing, and eventually religious leaders are bound to vie for influence over ordinary Muslims. If we don’t have much to show for ourselves, they will act on fertile ground.”

She might be right. Ceutans are screaming for a chance to prosper and for as little politicking as possible. Madrid and Brussels should take notice.

— Hat tip: Fausta

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Christian Fathers Put in Jail for Shunning Explicit Sex Ed

International organization fighting for parents protecting their children

Sex education classes in Germany are explicit, and the issue is one of the major reasons why families — and not just Christian families — choose to homeschool their children even though the government has maintained its illegality since the days of Hitler.

The students who are being held out of sex education classes also are not being allowed by their parents to participate in a play-acting program called “My Body Belongs to Me,” which essentially teaches children how to engage in sex, the report said.

Guenther reported that one father already has served his week in jail and is scheduled to be released this weekend, while the fathers of seven more families still are facing a similar fate.

The government already has imposed fines on the families, which continue to accrue. Thornton said the families are being targeted with a “Bussgeld,” a fine described as “repentance money” designed to show contrition for wrong behavior.

The families so far have refused to pay because that would be admitting guilt.

Thornton said the cases being brought against the families — whose names are being withheld for the protection of the children — reveal the dedication among German officials to punish parents who refuse to hand over their children to the state for education purposes.

[…]

Michael Farris, who heads the U.S.-based Parental Rights website, said it’s not surprising that the German government is reacting the way it is.

“They basically believe that the government knows best in every sector of life,” he said.

[…]

There’s also no assurance that the U.S. is immune to such draconian measures, officials said.

— Hat tip: JD

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Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Decry Internet’s ‘Terrible Impurity’

Leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis on Friday told their flock to shun the Internet, claiming that even sites meant for the arch-conservative religious community contained “lies and terrible impurity.”

Those who enter the world of the Internet “will never return,” they warned ominously in a letter published by three ultra-Orthodox newspapers.

“Many Jewish souls have already fallen into its trap.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Hurricane Expert Rips Climate Fears

‘There has been an unrelenting quarter century of one-sided indoctrination’

Climategate Revelations ‘are but the tip of a giant iceberg’

The following commentary is from Atmospheric Scientist and Hurricane forecasting specialist Dr. William Gray. Gray is the renowned hurricane forecaster and Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU).

Puncturing the Climate Balloon

by Bill Gray December 8, 2009

Had I not devoted my entire career of over half-a-century to the study and forecasting of meteorological and climate events I would have likely been concerned over the possibility of humans causing serious global climate degradation.

There has been an unrelenting quarter century of one-sided indoctrination of the western world by the media and by various scientists and governments concerning a coming carbon dioxide (CO_2 ) induced global warming disaster. These warming scenarios have been orchestrated by a combination of environmentalists, vested interest scientists wanting larger federal grants and publicity, the media which profits from doomsday scenario reporting, governmental bureaucrats who want more power over our lives, and socialists who want to level-out global living standards.

These many alarmist groups appear to have little concern over whether their global warming prognostications are accurate, however. And they most certainly are not. The alarmists believe they will be able to scare enough of our citizens into believing their propaganda that the public will be willing to follow their advice on future energy usage and agree to a lowering of their standard of living in the name of climate salvation.

Rising levels of CO_2 are not near the threat these alarmists have portrayed them to be. There has yet to be a honest and broad scientific debate on the basic science of CO_2 ‘s influence on global temperature. The global climate models predicting large amounts of global warming for a doubling of CO_2 are badly flawed. They should never have been used to establish government climate policy.

The last century’s global warming of about 1 degree F is not a consequence of human activities. This warming is primarily the result of a multi-century changes in the globe’s deep ocean circulation. These ocean current changes have lead to a small and gradual increase in the globe’s temperature. We are coming out of the Little Ice Age and into a generally warmer climate state. This is akin to the warmer global climate of the Medieval Period. We can do nothing but adapt to such long period natural temperature changes.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

“Youths” are at it again, this time with knives. Our Austrian correspondent ESW has translated an article from Österreich, December 12, 2009, page 14 (unavailable online):

Boy attacks sister with scissors

Unbelievable scenes took place Friday afternoon in the Pantucekgasse [a small street in Vienna]. Eyewitnesses excitedly called the police: “A boy is hitting a girl, attacking her with a scissors. The girl is bleeding!”

The police and the ambulance arrived at the scene quickly. The girl was taken to the hospital right away, the boy was taken into police custody. “The fourteen-year-old attacker, Mohamed H., started a fight with his fifteen-year-old sister, Sawda, after the end of school,” reports a police spokesperson. The children, originally from Somalia, were on their way home from school. According to witnesses, the boy freaked out suddenly, and kicked his sister while attacking her with a pair of scissors. The girl was already bleeding from her mouth.

– – – – – – – – –

“According to preliminary reports, the boy knifed his sister twice: once in her throat below the left ear, and once below her rib cage, near her kidney. Thank God her injuries are not life-threatening.”

The reasons for the brawl between brother and sister were not clear. “However, preliminary investigations show that both have a history of fighting. The sister apparently provoked her younger brother. On the other hand, interrogations have not yet concluded.”

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.

Mohammed Bouyeri is a Dutch-born Muslim of Moroccan descent who murdered Theo Van Gogh on the streets of Amsterdam just over five years ago.

Bouyeri, as you may recall, was less than repentant about his crime after he was caught and charged, and was unabashed in his insistence that he did it for the sake of Islam. Here are some quotes from the defendant at his trial:

• “I don’t feel your pain. I don’t have any sympathy for you. I can’t feel for you because I think you’re a non-believer.”
• “I did what I did purely out of my beliefs. I want you to know that I acted out of conviction and not that I took his life because he was Dutch or because I was Moroccan and felt insulted.”
• “If I ever get free, I would do it again.”
• “I shot to kill and be killed. You cannot understand.”

Mohammed Bouyeri shot Van Gogh eight times.

After shooting the victim and nearly decapitating him, Bouyeri used a knife to impale five pages of text on the chest of the corpse. One of the pages contained verse written by the killer himself, entitled “Drenched in Blood”:

So this is my final word…
Riddled with bullets…
Baptized in blood…
As I had hoped.
I am leaving a message…
For you…the fighter…
The tree of Tawheed is waiting…
Yearning for your blood…
[…]
For the hypocrites I have one final word…
Wish DEATH or hold your tongue and …sit.
Dear brothers and sisters, my end is nigh…
But this certainly does not end the story.

This same Mohammed Bouyeri — unrepentant, forthright in his insistence that it is a moral duty for Muslims to kill infidels — will be called by Geert Wilders as a defense witness when he goes on trial next month for defaming Islam.

As our expatriate Dutch correspondent H. Numan points out, this is a brilliant move on Wilders’ part — the Dutch government is hardly likely to welcome additional polemics from Mohammed Bouyeri, which can only remind the Dutch people of why Mr. Wilders is right about the Islamic danger.

Here’s H. Numan’s report:

Dear Baron,

On the 20th of next month Geert Wilders will have to defend himself in (a kangaroo) court. Today Wilders came up with a brilliant defense: he’ll have the murderer of Theo van Gogh appear as witness.

Mohammed Bouyeri must appear if summoned as a witness. If necessary he can be transported under force to the (kangaroo) courtroom. By law he is required to answer questions, unless those questions would incriminate him. To remain silent is punishable by law.

– – – – – – – – –

“I doubt if this will impress him very much (he is doing life — and life in Holland means life), however, I don’t think it unlikely he wants to talk,” according Mr. Moszkowicz, Wilders’ defense counsel.

He is just one of the many witnesses the defense will call to the stand. “He is living evidence that Islam is the inspiration for violence,” according to Wilders.

For more on this story, see this article in De Telegraaf (in Dutch).

Best regards,
H. Numan

Many of our European readers — especially those in Germany and Austria — will be familiar with Milli Görüs, the large Islamic organization based among Germany’s ethnic Turks.

Milli Görüs is known to be affiliated with various radical Islamic groups in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East, but until recently this has been an inconvenient truth that the German government and the EU were reluctant to acknowledge.

Now the wind seems to be shifting. In a surprising move, the German authorities have raided Milli Görüs and confiscated some of the group’s assets. Needless to say, Milli Görüs sees the action as a move to stigmatize all Muslims — who have been victimized yet again by the perfidious infidel.

Here’s the story from Hamburger Abendblatt, as translated by JLH:

Raid at Milli Görüs — It’s A Matter Of 10 Million Euros

Investigators nationwide seized material in 26 offices and residences. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, 12 properties were searched.

Hamburg. Yesterday morning, following investigations by the State’s Attorney of Cologne, the offices and other properties of Milli Görüs — according to the Intelligence Service, the largest Islamic organization in Germany — were searched. Investigators in Hamburg knocked on the doors of the Centrum-Mosque in St. Georg and impounded extensive evidentiary material.

According to Chief State’s Attorney, Günther Feld, the spokesman for the office of the Cologne State’s Attorney, the basis of the action against the Islamic Society Milli Görüs (IGMG), which has been under observation by the Intelligence Service for years, was the suspicion of misuse of donations. The leadership of the society is accused of extensive, inappropriate use of members’ donations. Further, it is claimed that that they have withheld employer’s contributions to social insurance (social security). Investigators searched twelve properties in North Rhine-Westphalia and another fourteen in the rest of the country: besides Hamburg, also in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, and Munich. Referring to the ongoing investigation, the Cologne State Attorney withheld further details.

– – – – – – – – –

On its website, the society criticized the searches. “Desperate attempts to criminalize the IGMG,” according to General Secretary Oðuz Üçüncü, “this recent operation will not alter the fact that the accusations against the Islamic religious society IGMG will prove to be unfounded.” Üçüncü said that this operation with its attendant media coverage encouraged the stigmatizing of Muslims in general and Milli Görüs in particular.

The IGMG was founded in Cologne in 1985 and has about 27,500 members, according to latest estimates. That makes it the largest Islamic organization in Germany. The European and German headquarters is in Kerpen (North Rhine-Westphalia). In Hamburg, Milli Görüs is represented by the Alliance of Islamic Societies (BIG) in North Germany, which comprises 17 northern German mosque associations. According to the Intelligence Service, BIG in Hamburg has about 1700 members.

The organization has its ideological roots in the ideas of the Milli Görüs movement, begun by a former Turkish prime minister. In Turkey, the organization works to overcome the separation between religion and state. The goal is a world-wide Islamic social and governmental order.

It’s a sign of how much things have changed that the above article — with its painfully acknowledged truths about radical Islam in Germany — was published in the German MSM. Until recently the nature of Milli Görüs had been shoved clumsily into the PC closet, in the vain hope that the danger it represents would somehow go away.

But the truth is out, and change is in the air. First the Swiss minaret ban, and now Milli Görüs.

What’s next?

China has announced a prescription to solve the world’s climate change problem: the West needs to emulate the Chinese and implement a one-child policy. But Beijing may want to reconsider — if the West shows the same preferences as the Chinese, and aborts girl babies while keeping boy babies, in a generation the Chinese will be facing a Western cohort of unattached and potentially aggressive young men, just as the Chinese have now.

In other news, a Muslim spiritual leader in Malaysia says that Islamic clerics need to set a good example and practice polygamy.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Esther, Gaia, Insubria, JD, Lurker from Tulsa, Paul Green, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Food Prices to Skyrocket as Supplies Plunge
	Obama Reducing the Debt? Dream on
	Treasury Pay Czar Limits Pay at Automakers, Banks
	USA
	Another Flight Disrupted by a Group of Muslims
	Anti-Muslim Fliers Surface in St. Cloud
	Black Pastor: Reid’s ‘Slavery’ Reference ‘Deplorable’
	Mosque Site Plan Approved With Conditions
	Mosques Blocked in US
	Muslim Radicalization Gains Momentum in US: Analysts
	Muslim’s Building Islamic Military Training Camps in America
	Saul, Barack and Me, Part 1
	Canada
	Bomb-Sniffing Dogs on Vancouver Transit Worry Muslim Leader
	Europe and the EU
	Berlusconi Joke: In Panama, Without ‘Repubblica’ Or Prosecutors
	Italy: Clooney in ‘Heaven’ Ad Row
	Italy: Justice Minister Claims Mafia ‘On Its Knees’
	Italy: Premier Says Judiciary ‘Political’
	Italy: Police Find More Art Hidden by Tanzi
	Italy: Hotel Pursues Gaddafi’s Son Over Unpaid Hotel Bill
	Italy: O.J.-Like Evidence Convicts Noxious Knox
	Norway: American Protest Against Obama
	Pope ‘Shock’ At Irish Sex Abuse
	Spread of Islam Feared by 3 Out of 4 Germans
	Switzerland: Muslim Preacher Banned From Public Rally
	UK: Nursery School Children Should be Monitored for Signs of Islamic Extremist Brainwashing, Say Police
	UK: Terror Police to Monitor Nurseries for Islamic Radicalisation
	Balkans
	Silencing Bosnia’s Minarets
	Mediterranean Union
	France: Museum of European and Med Civilizations Set Up
	North Africa
	Egypt Blocks Muslim Brotherhood Hospital for the Poor
	Egypt: ‘Missing’ Editor Abducted
	Egypt Says it Will Not Abolish Death Penalty
	Morocco: Haidar, Minister Says Must Apologise
	Israel and the Palestinians
	10 Mln Contribution From Italy for PNA, Frattini
	Knesset: Poll on Golan Withdrawal
	PNA: EU Commits to Helping Improve Justice for Juveniles
	U.K. To Shun Israeli Settlement Products?
	Vatican-Israeli Press, Meeting in Stalemate
	West Bank Wall: Protest Leader Arrested in Bilin
	Middle East
	Circassians Latest to Demand Rights in Turkey
	Iran: Men in Black Hijab
	Iranian Raelian May Strain Ankara’s Ties With Tehran
	New Lebanon Cabinet Allows Hezbollah to Keep Arms
	Report: Blackwater Guards Linked to CIA Raids
	Syrian Women Are World’s Smartest and Respectable, Study
	Turkey Prepares to Join EU in a Building Confiscated From the Orthodox
	Turkish Parliamentarian Submits Motion to Condemn Switzerland
	South Asia
	In Bangladesh: Climate Change is Not All Bad
	Malaysian Islamic Scholars Urged to be Polygamists
	Malaysia: Ulama Urged to Practise Polygamy
	New Delhi Back at the Centre of the International Nuclear Power Business
	Pakistan: Fear of New Attacks Means “Silent” Christmas for Christians
	Pakistan: Fear of New Attacks Means “Silent” Christmas for Christians
	Far East
	Beijing Tells World to Fight Climate Change Through One-Child Policy
	Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China
	US Envoy Has ‘Very Useful’ Nuclear Talks in N Korea
	Immigration
	Italy: -70% Illegal Immigrants Rescued at Sea
	Culture Wars
	Italy: Abortion Pill Now Available in Hospitals
	General
	Knife-Wielding Crook Attacks Hot Dog Vendor … Former Marine
	U.N. Wants to Curtail 400-Year-Old ‘Freedom of the Seas’
	U.N. Climate Chief Cashes in on Carbon
	When Will Climateers Give Up?

Food Prices to Skyrocket as Supplies Plunge

Low inventories, lack of farmers brings on ‘perfect storm’

In a recent report on the state of the economy, the New York Times said food stamps are being used by a record number — one in eight — Americans and one in four children.

At the same time, food banks run by churches are being overrun with requests for help.

And if that isn’t troubling enough, other data point to a much darker future.

According to the National Inflation Association, food costs are about to skyrocket. Officials cite agricultural commodities which have remained at historically low levels despite a worldwide shortage of farmers and record low food inventories. They equate this to a “perfect storm” that could bring about a dramatic rise in food prices.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Obama Reducing the Debt? Dream on

Two recent news stories illustrate, more clearly than ever, the Obama Democrats’ contempt for the free market and individual economic liberty. If given the chance, they will expand government and spend as much of our money as they can get away with.

First we learn that Obama and his party simply will not agree to keep their grubby government hands off the estimated $200 billion the banks are going to repay under TARP. Just when we finally receive this glimmer of good news to ameliorate our reasonable panic over the ever-increasing national debt, Obama announces that he intends to intercept a good portion of the debt repayments and spend it on job creation and assistance to certain debtors.

I assume we’re supposed to be too dense to remember that his stimulus spending to date hasn’t created jobs and that most of it hasn’t even been used for that purpose. So when this administration says its first priority is reducing debt, understand we are being played — by consummate cynics.

— Hat tip: JD

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Treasury Pay Czar Limits Pay at Automakers, Banks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration’s pay czar is limiting the cash compensation for executives at companies that received the largest taxpayer bailouts to $500,000.

The 25th through the 100th top earners at Citigroup, GMAC, American International Group and General Motors also must take more than half their compensation in stock, and at least half must be delayed for three or more years, said Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department’s Special Master for Executive Compensation.

About 12 executives were granted exemptions to the $500,000 cash cap because they were necessary for the companies to “thrive, be able to compete, and not lose key people,” he said Friday.

The new rules will only apply to the second half of December, and will not affect what the employees already have been paid this year.

The rules will affect many workers’ year-end bonuses and stock grants, Feinberg said. They also will serve as a starting point for negotiations next year over pay packages for 2010.

Feinberg already announced specific pay packages for the top 25 earners at firms he oversees. His rulings don’t apply to Bank of America because its bailouts were repaid this week. Chrysler and Chrysler Financial also were exempt because executives there made less than $500,000.

Under the new rules, cash can make up only 45 percent of a person’s pay. At least half of total compensation must be “long-term,” and cannot be redeemed for at least three years. And all incentive pay must come from a pool whose size is based on earnings or another performance measure.

Fringe benefits like the use of private jets will be limited to a value of $25,000 per year.

Unlike the pay packages for the top 25 earners, Friday’s rules mostly will be implemented by the companies. But Feinberg said he did review all the requests for cash salaries in excess of $500,000 per year.

He reviewed dozens of requests but only granted about 12. Of those, all but one will earn between $500,000 and $950,000. The remaining person will earn about $1.5 million. He did not identify the individuals or say what companies they work for.

Feinberg did say that some of the exemptions were granted for AIG, which received government support worth up to $182 billion. Large bonuses at the firm sparked outrage earlier this year.

“It was not only AIG” that wanted the employees to earn more than the $500,000 cap, Feinberg said. “It was the Federal Reserve, it was the Treasury Department.”

Going forward, the independent directors on the companies’ compensation committees will have to approve such exemptions. Feinberg will continue to oversee them.

— Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa

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Another Flight Disrupted by a Group of Muslims

It happened again on Wednesday, December 9, 2009, less than a month after the incident aboard AirTran Flight 297.

United Airlines Flight 227, scheduled to depart Denver International Airport at 1:50 pm Wednesday for Los Angeles was disrupted when several passengers who were described as Middle Eastern in appearance, confirmed by this investigator to be a group of Muslims traveling together, were removed from that aircraft due to suspicious behavior that originated in the terminal and continued to the airplane. Their behavior was consistent in some respects to the behavior of the Muslim passengers aboard AirTran Flight 297 on November 17, 2009 that caused a flurry of controversy over its legitimacy, and the now infamous case of the “Flying Imams” of 2006.

— Hat tip: JD

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Anti-Muslim Fliers Surface in St. Cloud

St. CloudAt least two fliers mocking Islam have been found near Somali-oriented businesses in St. Cloud, the St. Cloud Times reported Thursday. The images included swastikas and the Muslim prophet Mohammed in sexualized situations.

Local police are investigating whether the incidents constituted a crime and, if so, whether they could be classified as hate crime.

Deko Farah, who manages the Mandeeq Shop outside of which a flier appeared, told the Times, “Right now we’re not feeling safe.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Black Pastor: Reid’s ‘Slavery’ Reference ‘Deplorable’

‘Remarks are a diversion tactic by a despot leader of a desperate Democrat party’

The black pastor who leads Bond Action Inc. in support of “family, traditional moral values and positive, honest race relations” says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., should be ashamed of comparing opposition to President Obama’s plans to socialize medicine in the U.S. to support for slavery.

“Reid’s comparison of legitimate Republican opposition towards the Democrats $2.5 trillion health care plan to segregationists is deplorable,” Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson said today. “This was an attempt to smear Republicans as racists in order to take the focus off the details of this awful socialist health care bill. Reid’s remarks are a diversion tactic by a despot leader of a desperate Democrat party. “

— Hat tip: JD

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Mosque Site Plan Approved With Conditions

The site plan for a mosque just north of the city of Madison was approved by the Madison County Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday with conditions.

The Mississippi Muslim Association is seeking approval of the site plan for the mosque on a 5-acre site west of U.S. 51. A site plan depicts the architectural design of a building along with landscaping.

The Board of Supervisors in August approved a special zoning exemption for the mosque..

The land was zoned R-1 residential and under county zoning regulations a special exception was necessary to build a place of worship.

The proposed mosque has met resistance from some residents.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Mosques Blocked in US

When Switzerland recently voted to ban the construction of minaret towers at mosques, some observers interpreted it as an expression of European xenophobia that would never find a home in multicultural America.

But to say it couldn’t happen here would be wrong, or at least premature.

In hundreds of communities across the U.S. where Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other religious minorities have sought to build or expand their houses of worship, private citizens have gone to great lengths to block their construction. Tactics range from using eminent domain and citing traffic concerns to running pig races and stirring up fears of terrorism.

There are currently at least five such cases, including one in suburban Chicago, where the DuPage County zoning board of appeals voted unanimously Monday to deny the Irshad Learning Center a permit to build a mosque in tony Naperville, Ill.

Decisions on permits are also pending for mosques in Piscataway, N.J., and Northville, Mich. A Muslim group in Lilburn, Ga., is threatening legal action after city officials rejected their proposal to expand their mosque, while neighbors in Morada, Calif., have filed suit to stop the construction of a 13,820-square-foot mosque.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Muslim Radicalization Gains Momentum in US: Analysts

WASHINGTON — Long-feared by US intelligence, Muslim radicalization is gaining momentum in the United States, hit by a spate of recent cases featuring youths recruited and trained overseas for jihad, analysts say.

The latest case — five US nationals arrested in Pakistan Wednesday on suspicion of plotting an attack — deepened concern that militant Islamist groups are successfully enlisting potential attackers inside the United States, much as they have in Britain.

“We also as a community realize there is a problem,” Nihad Awad told reporters in announcing that his organization, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), had steered worried parents of the five to the FBI.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Muslim’s Building Islamic Military Training Camps in America

The spread of Islamic enclaves across the globe has landed in America with a vengeance.

There are known to be 19 Islamist camps spread out across the US. Additionally, there are over 1,000 Mosques-some of whom have been at the forefront of radicalizing their followers, as was the case of the Fort Hood shooter.

One of the better known “camps” is located in Buffalo New York. Coincidentally, it describes as a “Boy Scout Camp” by it’s owners. Local residents of the area have complained to the city council about the camp’s activities

— Hat tip: Esther

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Saul, Barack and Me, Part 1

If you read his autobiographies (two in print before he even made it to the White House!), along with some of the other books written about him, you see a very troubled young man. I, for one, have a great deal of compassion for anyone who has experienced a difficult childhood.

And, clearly, Obama had a dysfunctional life growing up — a white Marxist mother, a black African Muslim father who was a drunk and a philanderer, then, of all things, an Indonesian Muslim stepfather. And, of course, there were the years he spent in a Wahabbi Muslim school in Indonesia (Wahabbi schools being most famous for teaching students hatred of Western countries).

Given all this, it’s not hard to understand why a youngster would become vulnerable to a “down—with-the-rich” proselytizer. And in BHO’s life, it seems clear that that proselytizer came in the form of American communist Frank Marshall Davis, whom he refers to in his memoirs simply as “Frank.”

Ironically, BHO attended Punahou High School in Honolulu, which is the most upper-crust school in Hawaii. Like so many other things about BHO’s life, where he got the money to attend such an expensive school, not to mention Columbia and Harvard, has never been revealed.

— Hat tip: JD

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Bomb-Sniffing Dogs on Vancouver Transit Worry Muslim Leader

Specially trained bomb-sniffing dogs might soon be patrolling Metro Vancouver’s buses and SkyTrains just in time for the Olympics, but that has some Muslims concerned.

The Metro Vancouver Transit Police Service is in the process of selecting the handlers and dogs that will be part of the two-year pilot project, said deputy chief George Beattie.

Once the teams are trained, the dogs will work on the entire transit system, including buses, SkyTrains and SeaBus ferries.

But the idea of being sniffed up and down by a slobbery pooch — no matter how well trained — has already raised concerns among some members of Metro Vancouver’s Muslim community.

Some devout Muslims consider dogs to be unclean animals and try to avoid any contact with them. Some Muslim cab drivers in Vancouver have even refused to take guide dogs in their vehicles and will call for a second vehicle to take the fare instead.

Shawket Hassan, the vice-president of the B.C. Muslim Association, says he wants to make sure the dogs will not touch passengers during searches, which could lead to problems, particularly for Muslims heading to a mosque to pray.

“If they touch the body, then there is a probability they will leave some saliva on the clothes,” said Hassan.

“If I am going to the mosque and pray, or doing something that way, and I have this saliva on my body … I have to go and change or clean,” said Hassan.

He pointed out that devout Muslims pray five times a day, no matter where they are.

Hassan said he wants to work with the transit police to develop guidelines that would keep the dogs at least 30 centimetres away from passengers.

But Hassan stressed that Muslims have respect for all animals, including dogs, and they have no objections to using the dogs for security.

“This is a step we would support, but … we would like to be informed,” he said.

Tight deadline for program

For their part, transit police say they are still in the early stages and have not yet had time to consult with the Muslim community, but plans are in the works.

“We are at the very, very beginning stages of the project,” said Beattie. “We had some very good feedback from BC Civil Liberties [Association] that we may wish to speak to the Muslim community. That hasn’t happened yet. We are just in the process of rolling it out.”

The transit police are hoping to have two dog patrols working in time for the Olympics in February, but Beattie admits the deadline is tight.

There are a number of police officers on the force that are already trained as dog handlers and if they can get pre-trained dogs, they could be on the job within two months.

The move to bring in the specialized dogs is part of the normal expansion of the scope of the 170-member force and not a response to any specific security threats, he said.

“This is part and parcel … [of] the growth of our police service,” said Beattie.

The dogs will only be trained to sniff out explosives, not drugs, he also said.

“Our whole purpose is the safety and security of the transit system,” said Beattie. “They are not dual trained for the detection of narcotics.”

It is important that there is no confusion for the handler when a dog has detected something.

“It would be tough if the dog gave an indication for a package, and you did not know what you are dealing with,” said Beattie.

— Hat tip: Paul Green

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Berlusconi Joke: In Panama, Without ‘Repubblica’ Or Prosecutors

(AGI) — Milan, 2 Dec. — “I’m in a hurry, because I have to go home, and pack my luggage to move to Panama”. Silvio Berlusconi opened his speech at the Italy-Latin America conference with a joke. The prime minister spoke after the president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, and added: “Of course, I will miss papers la Repubblica, l’Unita’ and the public prosecutors, but I will try to survive anyways. So, dear Ricardo, prepare my welcome”.

Berlusconi, always ironic, stated that he is sure that he will find many attractions and added that “the, in private, ready those which I really have at heart”.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Clooney in ‘Heaven’ Ad Row

Lavazza to appeal to watchdog over Nespresso spot

(ANSA) — Turin, December 10 — George Clooney is at the centre of a coffee advertising row in Italy over a new campaign where he visits heaven.

Italian firm Lavazza, which has been running award-winning heaven-set commercials for 15 years, is threatening to report Nespresso, the Swiss-based firm whose coffeemakers have been popularised by the Hollywood star.

In the new ad, Clooney is hit by a piano and goes to heaven only to be sent back to earth after John Malkovich, as God, takes a shine to the Nespresso machine Clooney is carrying.

One scene with the two stars sitting on a sofa amid swirling white smoke appears to echo the Lavazza ads fronted by Italian TV personality Paolo Bonolis.

“It’s weird, I’ve never seen anything like it in my 40 years in the industry,” Lavazza CEO Gaetano Mele said Thursday.

“It’s hard to believe they haven’t copied us. It’s all the same, the setting is identical and the idea of coffee in Paradise”.

Mele said he was confident Nespresso would realise its “mistake” and pull the ad but if it didn’t Lavazza would appeal to Italy’s advertising watchdog.

“Let’s hope it won’t get that far,” he said.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Justice Minister Claims Mafia ‘On Its Knees’

Rome, 9 Dec. (AKI) — The conservative Italian government has brought the mafia “to its knees,” Italy’s justice minister Angelino said on Wednesday, urging prosecutors to work even harder to defeat it. His comments followed the arrest last Saturday of the Sicilian mafia’s alleged second-in-command, Giovanni Nicchi and and another top mafia boss, Gaetano Fidanzati.

“The mafia is now on its knees, its historic leaders are all in high-security prisons, its rising stars have already fizzled out. Now we want to deal the killing blow and free ourselves from the mafia as soon as possible,” Alfano told journalists in the the Italian capital, Rome.

“Thanks to the anti-mafia laws passed under this government, we are living in one of the most glorious seasons since the Italian state’s open fight against the mafia began,” he said.

Alfano was presenting the results of the government’s anti-mafia activities at the Italian Senate or upper house of parliament together with interior minister Roberto Maroni.

Nicchi’s arrest last Saturday made world headlines. Hooded members of the Palermo police department’s elite squad were seen leading a handcuffed Nicchi away from an apartment building close to Palermo’s law courts amid cheering crowds.

But Alfano urged anti-mafia magistrates to work harder.

“Do more work — organised crime can be beaten without basking in coverage from all the national TV networks,” he said. “That’s the way to arrest more fugitives.”

In the government’s first 18 months in office, it has seen 21 out of the 30 most dangerous mafia fugitives arrested, twice as many as during the centre-left government, Maroni told journalists.

A total 299 mafia fugitives have been arrested — 83 percent more than during the previous government, Maroni said.

Suspected mafia assets worth 6.2 billion euros were seized and 1.8 billion euros of mafia assets were expropriated — a 328 percent increase compared with the previous government, Maroni noted.

Fidanzati on Wednesday appeared in court in Palermo but availed himself of the right to silence. He was arrested in the northern city of Milan last Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, Palermo public prosecutors confirmed the arrests of Alessandro Presiti, 19, and Giusy Amato, 27, who are both suspected of aiding and abetting Nicchi. Both were arrested with Nicchi at his Palermo hideout last Saturday.

Nicchi is due to appear before prosecutors on Friday at Palermo’s appeals court where hearings are taking place in one of two trials in which he was sentenced in absentia to a total 18 years in jail for extortion and mafia links.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy: Premier Says Judiciary ‘Political’

President voices concern over Berlusconi’s attack

(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — Premier Silvio Berlusconi used a foreign forum on Thursday to renew his attacks against Italian magistrates, saying they have turned into a political force which has taken over parliamentary sovereignty.

Addressing the European People’s Party convention in Bonn, the premier said the country’s judiciary, including the Constitutional Court, has become a political party which rejects legislation approved by Parliament.

“A strange thing is happening in Italy which we’ll have to deal with: according to the Constitution, sovereignty belongs to the voters and Parliament approves laws. But if the ‘leftist magistrates’ party’ doesn’t like these laws, it asks the 15 members of the Constitutional Court — 11 of whom are leftists — to abrogate them”.

The premier told the assembly, which included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that his People of Freedom (PdL) party “was working to remedy the situation through a Constitutional reform”.

He particularly singled out the Constitutional Court, saying that it had turned “into a political organ”, attributing the trend to the appointments made by the last three Italian presidents, whom he claimed were all “leftists’.

“Consequently, sovereignty in Italy no longer belongs to Parliament but to the magistrates’ party,” said the premier who has stepped up his attacks since the Constitutional Court in October struck down a controversial immunity law which shielded him from several trials while in office.

The court argued that the Berlusconi government should have used a special Constitutional law to give the premier immunity.

The so-called Alfano law, despite being modified compared to a previous version quashed in 2004, was also overturned because it denied the fundamental principle that everyone is equal before the law, the court said.

“After the Alfano law was struck down…the prosecutors resumed their manhunt,” said the premier, referring to two trials which have resumed in Milan.

Berlusconi is charged by prosecutors with bribing English lawyer David Mills — sentenced to four and a half years — to perjure himself in two other trials and for tax fraud in the sale of film rights by his TV group Mediaset. The premier said that “despite the hundreds of proceedings and thousands of hearings” which ensured him a “world record” for involvement in trials he had always been cleared.

Berlusconi, who has been in power for almost eight of the last 15 years, has been convicted in several corruption cases relating to his business empire but the sentences have always been overturned on appeal or annulled by a new shortened statute of limitations.

He has always denied wrongdoing, insisting he is the victim of a politically motivated judiciary.

“Fortunately, only a portion of judges side with the left and judges sitting in second and third appeal trials (in Italy’s three-tiered judicial system) are fair, similar to those in other countries,” said the premier, accusing the centre left opposition of trying to “get him” through the judiciary.

“Allow me to talk about my country for a moment: Italy is the third ranking economy in Europe, the government has a solid and united majority, a hard-working government and a super premier …someone who had a 60% popularity rating after solving the Naples garbage problem and a 68% popularity rating after (dealing with) the quake in L’Aquila”.

Referring to a spate of scandals over his private life, Berlusconi said the centre-left opposition had whipped these up in a bid to dent his appeal.

“Instead, these attempts have further strengthened me because people say to themselves: mamma mia, who else would be as strong and tough as he is, who else would have Berlusconi’s balls?” Reactions in Italy against the speech were strong and immediate, with President Giorgio Napolitano voicing concern about “the violent attack against the institutions”.

A statement released by Napolitano said the president was “deeply saddened and worried” over Berlusconi’s speech, and called for “a spirit of cooperation” among political parties and the judiciary. House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, who though one of the founders of the PdL has distanced himself from Berlusconi with his recent liberal-minded stances, also took issue with the speech.

Fini told reporters in Rome he did not “share” the premier’s statements and urged him “not to generate confusion about what is taking place in Italy and the government’s real intentions” while abroad.

Berlusconi’s reply to both was immediate and brief: “I’m fed up by the hypocrisy, I’ve got nothing to clear up”.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Police Find More Art Hidden by Tanzi

Most works were in ex-Parmalat chief’s basement

(ANSA) — Parma, December 11 — Police on Friday said they had found another 16 works of art believed to belong to disgraced Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi which were allegedly hidden from creditors of the dairy multinational.

Last week police seized 19 paintings and drawings, including works by Van Gogh and Monet, which Tanzi is believed to have stashed with friends and relatives just before Parmalat collapsed at the end of 2003 in Europe’s biggest case of corporate fraud.

“The success of last week’s operation and reports that many other works were in circulation broke down a wall of silence and a flood of information came in on where the art could be,” Parma prosecutor Gerardo Laguardia said in a press conference on Friday.

“Anyone who has any information or is in possession of similar Tanzi assets should come forward before we find about them,” he added.

Friday’s discovery included paintings by such artists as Bocconi, Segantini, Kandinsky and Chagall.

Police began looking for the hidden art work, said to be worth over 100 million euros, after an investigative TV news program on national broadcaster RAI reported on November 29 that it had discovered that negotiations were in the final stages for the sale of Tanzi’s trove of art to an anonymous buyer, believed to be a Russian billionaire.

The former Parmalat boss immediately denied any knowledge of the collection, some of which was found in the home of his son-in-law Stefano Strini, but has since refused to make any statements.

Strini is said to be under investigation for attempting to arrange the illegal sale, which also included paintings by Picasso, Manet, Gauguin and Ligabue and drawings by Degas, Grosz and Modigliani. Twelve of the 16 works found on Friday were hidden in the basement of Tanzi’s villa just outside Parma, while the others were in the possession of people close to the disgraced Parmalat founder.

Tanzi is currently appealing a 10-year sentence handed down a year ago by a court in Milan for market rigging, while a second trial continues here where he stands accused of fraudulent bankruptcy, accounting fraud, issuing false financial statements and criminal conspiracy. Parmalat was declared bankrupt in December 2003 after it emerged that four billion euros it supposedly held in an offshore Bank of America account did not in fact exist.

The case escalated, eventually leading to Parmalat’s collapse amid debts of some 14.5 billion euros and a fraud scandal which rocked the Italian financial world.

Parmalat has since been put back on its feet by corporate turnaround expert Enrico Bondi who, first as government-appointed administrator and later as official CEO, shed the group’s non-core activities, cut foreign activities and reduced staff.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Hotel Pursues Gaddafi’s Son Over Unpaid Hotel Bill

Genoa, 11 Dec. (AKI) — A hotel in the northern Italian port city of Genoa is taking legal action against Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s footballer son Al-Saadi, for leaving an upaid bill of 300,000 euros.

Italian media reports said the hotel has asked a local court to order Al-Saadi to settle his bill, which he allegedly ran up during a month-long stay at the hotel’s luxury suite in 2007.

Al-Saadi, 35, is currently a striker for Genoa’s Sampdoria and is the first Libyan footballer to play in Italy’s Serie A.

He joined Sampdoria during season 2006-2007, without playing a single match.

He joined UEFA Champions League qualifiers Udinese Calcio in 2005-2006, playing only ten minutes in an end of season league match against Cagliari Calcio.

He signed for then-Italian Serie A team Perugia in 2003, playing only one match before failing a drug test.

Al-Saadi was formerly on the board of the Italian team Juventus, in which a Libyan consortium has a 7.5 percent share but he stepped down to join Perugia.

He was also captain of the Libyan national football team, captain of his home club in Tripoli, and president of the Libyan Football Federation.

Al-Saadi is a businessman and is married to the daughter of a military commander.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy: O.J.-Like Evidence Convicts Noxious Knox

“Some time during the night,” by the Times of London’s telling, “the couple had returned to the cottage and faked a burglary in the room of another housemate. But as the police picked through the broken glass they were told that nothing had been stolen. They would have left it at that had not the housemate asked insistently why the door to Kercher’s room was locked shut. Eventually, it was knocked down. Kercher lay virtually naked on the floor, her two cotton tops rolled up above her chest. Oddly, her body was partly covered by a beige quilt” [the telltale signature of a female perpetrator, as a behavioral analyst would subsequently explain].

Knox, Sollecito and Rudy Guede, a local drifter born in the Ivory Coast and known to Knox, were convicted of the murder and sexual assault of Kercher.

CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, the New York Times, Vanity Fair and on and on — all have united in advocating for Amanda, “An Innocent Abroad.”

Going against the grain of American-style boosterism, Barbie Nadeau of Newsweek stuck with “journalism” to detail the ample evidence against the pair, downplayed or downright suppressed in the American media.

— Hat tip: JD

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Norway: American Protest Against Obama

OSLO, NORWAY — Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan called President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech appalling, while demonstrating against his new war strategy for Afghanistan from the streets of Oslo, Norway today.

“I was appalled by the speech of Obama and the speech of the chairman of the Nobel Peace Committee because the speeches were telling us that the only way to peace is through war, and we have to reject that,” Sheehan said to NRK.

Sheehan traveled to Oslo, the city of President Obama’s acceptance speech, to take part in a Peace Coalition rally against “the Nobel Peace Prize Committee that gave the award to somebody who actually is escalating the violence in the Middle East.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Pope ‘Shock’ At Irish Sex Abuse

‘Effective strategies’ for future, Benedict tells bishops

(ANSA) — Vatican City, December 11 — Pope Benedict XVI on Friday vowed to get to the bottom of the latest child sex abuse scandal to hit the Irish Catholic Church and make sure abuse can never happen again.

Speaking out for the first time in the wake of November’s Murphy Report, the pope said he was “shocked and anguished” by the cover-up of decades of abuse in Dublin.

The Church will assess this “grave issue” with “the utmost attention” to try to establish how “these disgraceful events” occurred, a Vatican statement said after Benedict met with Irish bishops.

Benedict, the statement said, “desires once more to express his deep regret for the actions committed by some members of the clergy who betrayed their solemn promises to God as well as the trust placed in them by the victims, their families, and society in general”.

“The Holy Father shares the sense of outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland and joins them in prayer at this difficult time for the life of the Church”.

The pope asked Catholics in Ireland and around the world to pray for all those affected by these “hateful crimes”.

He vowed “to find the best way to develop effective and sure strategies to prevent (such events) recurring”.

The pope discussed the Murphy Report with Cardinal Sean Brady, head of the Irish Church, and the archbishop of Dublin, Msgr Diarmuid Martin.

The papal nuncio (ambassador) in Ireland, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, and the heads of the relevant departments of the Roman Curia were also present, the Vatican statement confirmed.

There was no immediate indication that any bishops might be asked to tender their resignations, as the Irish media has speculated over the past week.

But the Vatican statement noted that one of the crucial aspects of the report was the role played by the leaders of the Irish church, “who bear the ultimate responsibility for the pastoral care of children”.

The Murphy report, released November 26, found that four former archbishops of Dublin — three now dead and one retired — failed to report child sex abuse to the police from the 1960 to the 1980s.

It listed 320 people who complained of abuse between 1974 and 2004 and said a further 130 complaints against priests in Dublin had been made since May 2004.

The archdiocese only started notifying civil authorities in 1995, it found.

In the wake of the report, the head of the Irish Survivors of Child Abuse group urged Benedict to go to Ireland and apologise for his clergy’s behaviour.

The Murphy report is the second of two detailing abuse this year. In May the Ryan report published records of 70 years of abuse at orphanages and industrial schools run by Catholic religious orders across Ireland.

In June Benedict asked Irish bishops to make every effort to “establish the truth” and ensure “justice for everyone”.

He also stressed that measures put in place to prevent abuse from happening again must be “fully applied” and all efforts made to help “bring healing to the survivors of abuse”.

Ireland, a nation that once looked to the Church for leadership, has seen increasing numbers turn from it.

Calls for criminal cases against priests have been made by the country’s top politicians including President Mary McAleese.

YEARS OF SCANDAL IN FOUR COUNTRIES.

Since the mid-1990s the Catholic Church has been hit by child abuse scandals in the United States, Australia and Canada as well as Ireland.

The Church says some 80% of the estimated 5,000 priests involved acted in the US, where huge settlements have been made to victims.

In April 2008 Pope Benedict made a six-day tour of the US, visiting Washington and New York but not Boston, the epicentre of America’s clergy sex abuse scandal.

However, he met and prayed with six Boston victims in Washington, saying “no words” could convey his shock and regret about the abuse.

During the visit, victims’ groups reiterated their criticism of the Church’s treatment of former Boston archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law who resigned in December 2002 when unsealed court records revealed he had moved paedophile priests among church assignments without notifying parishioners.

After his resignation, he was transferred to Rome where he now holds several authoritative posts including archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome.

The abuse scandal led to the bankruptcy of several US dioceses including Washington, Arizona and California.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spread of Islam Feared by 3 Out of 4 Germans

Nearly three quarters of Germans fear the spread of Islam, according to a survey released on Friday.

A poll by Infratest dimap for public broadcaster ARD showed a third of those asked expressed great concern that Islam was growing too quickly in Germany. Thirty-nine percent were still worried about Islam’s impact on society, but to a lesser degree. Only 22 percent said they had no problem with the religion.

A separate survey for daily Berliner Morgenpost and broadcaster RBB showed, however, that a majority in the German capital did not support banning the construction of mosques with minarets as Switzerland did following a recent referendum on the issue.

Fifty-three percent of those Berliners surveyed rejected slapping such restrictions on Muslim houses of worship, whereas 40 percent supported such a move. Seven percent had no opinion on the matter.

Both surveys polled 1,000 people each.

— Hat tip: Steen

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Switzerland: Muslim Preacher Banned From Public Rally

The authorities have barred a controversial Islamic preacher from Germany from attending a planned demonstration in Bern on Saturday.

Pierre Vogel is not allowed to travel to Switzerland because his presence is considered a danger for public law and order, according to the Federal Migration Office.

He wanted to encourage Muslims in Switzerland to come out of their social isolation and help reduce mistrust, he told Swiss newspapers.

The demonstration by a group, the Central Council of Muslims, comes in the wake of a nationwide vote to ban the construction of minarets.

The main Muslim organisations in Switzerland have not been invited to the public protest.

Muslims make up about 4.5 per cent of the Swiss population. Most of them are moderate Sunnis, notably immigrants from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey.

A previous demonstration in Bern in 2006 was attended by about 1,000 people.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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UK: Nursery School Children Should be Monitored for Signs of Islamic Extremist Brainwashing, Say Police

Children as young as four should be monitored for signs of brainwashing by Islamic extremists, a leaked police memo states.

In an email to community group leaders, an officer in the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit wrote: ‘I do hope that you will tell me about persons, of whatever age, you think may have been radicalised or be vulnerable to radicalisation.

‘Evidence suggests that radicalisation can take place from the age of four.’

The email was written by a police sergeant trying to allay Muslim community concerns.

It was leaked to The Times.

However, the policy was last night condemned by the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said the policy runs the risk of ‘alienating even more people’, while Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said it was an ‘absurd waste of money’.

There have been concerns about the radicalisation of children in the West Midlands since a terrorist was caught on a surveillance tape indoctrinating his five-year-old son.

Parviz Khan was jailed for plotting to kidnap and behead a British soldier in 2008. He was recorded threatening to beat his own son if he did not swear allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and encouraged him to ‘kill’ America, George W Bush and Tony Blair.

Instead of easing concerns in the Muslim community, the email has instead inflamed tensions.

The sergeant wrote: ‘I am a police officer and therefore it will always be part of my role to gather intelligence and I will report back any information or intelligence which may suggest someone is a terrorist, or is planning to be one or to support others.

‘However, my role is to raise the level of awareness of the threat of terrorism and radicalisation and support and work with partners to try to prevent it.’

The sergeant’s West Midlands police unit last night confirmed that counter-terrorist officers specially trained in identifying children and young people vulnerable to radicalisation had visited nursery schools.

Sir Norman Bettison, who speaks for the Association of Chief Police Officers on the anti-terror strategy Prevent, said the email was a ‘clumsy’ attempt by the officer to explain the strategy.

Chief Constable Sir Norman said: ‘There is absolutely no example, nationally, of the police engaging with nursery-age kids specifically on this issue.

‘That is the age for learning about stranger-danger and the Tufty Club.’

But he added that the policy ‘is no different to addressing the harm of drugs or sexual exploitation’.

‘Prevent is a way of addressing those most vulnerable in an attempt to protect them,’ he said.

‘It is easy to give Prevent initiatives a kicking because it is viewed as intrusive but, the next time there is a terrorist outrage involving young people who have been radicalised, there will be a wringing of hands and people will say, “What more could we have done?”‘

Arun Kundnani, of the Institute of Race Relations, contacted the officer who sent the email and asked for an explanation as to why counter-terrorism officers had visited nursery schools.

Mr Kundnani said: ‘He did seem to think it was standard. He said it wasn’t just him or his unit that was doing it.

‘He said the indicators were that [children] might draw pictures of bombs and say things like “all Christians are bad” or that they believe in an Islamic state.

‘It seems that nursery teachers in the West Midlands area are being asked to look out for radicalisation.

‘He also said that targeting young children was important because they would be left aware of what was inappropriate to say at school.’

The West Midlands counter-terrorism unit confirmed that an officer had visited a nursery school attached to a primary school and had spoken to staff.

A spokesman said: ‘We have been trying to bring counter-terrorism work out of the shadows. It can cause consternation at first when a policeman introduces himself as a counter-terrorism officer.

‘But we are actually trying to get over the accusation that Prevent is about spying by being more open and we are reaping the benefits now with better engagement.

— Hat tip: Gaia

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UK: Terror Police to Monitor Nurseries for Islamic Radicalisation

Nursery-age children should be monitored for signs of brainwashing by Islamist extremists, according to a leaked police memo obtained by The Times.

In an e-mail to community groups, an officer in the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit wrote: “I do hope that you will tell me about persons, of whatever age, you think may have been radicalised or be vulnerable to radicalisation … Evidence suggests that radicalisation can take place from the age of 4.”

The police unit confirmed that counter-terrorist officers specially trained in identifying children and young people vulnerable to radicalisation had visited nursery schools.

The policy was condemned last night. Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that it ran the risk of “alienating even more people”. Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said that it was an “absurd waste of police time”.

— Hat tip: JD

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Silencing Bosnia’s Minarets

Just a week after Switzerland’s much talked about referendum that will effectively ban further construction of minarets in this ostensibly tolerant country, the xenophobic move seems to have reverberated in all corners of Europe.

In the eastern Bosnian town of Bjeljina, one of the many Bosnian towns where Serb troops and paramilitaries slaughtered and raped Bosnian men and women during the 1992-1995 Serbian onslaught against the independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one of the many town whose Muslim population has been successfully “ethnically cleansed,” a new move following a citizens’ petition demonstrates that Switzerland’s referendum has more far-reaching implications than seemed obvious.

The petition, signed by 1,200 Serb residents of Bjeljina, calls for the reduction of the volume of the ezan (call to prayer) as it apparently creates a disruptive “noise” for the local Serb population. Yet the same move, claiming to be in conformity with a 1989 law on the acceptable levels of noise pollution in urban settings, did not take into consideration the ringing of church bells in the same city. The reason for it being that, simply said, it doesn’t seem to bother the town’s (Serb) population.

This move, which will most probably go unnoticed in most parts of the world, shows that the Swiss referendum and growing Islamophobia in Europe will have more serious consequences for Europe’s autochthonous Muslims than for the largely North African, Turkish and South Asian Muslim immigrants of Western Europe.

Firstly, it shows that an increasingly Islamophobic Europe will encourage Bosnian Serbs in Bosnia’s autonomous entity known as Republika Srpska to increase their pressure on the little that remains of its largely annihilated Muslim population, thereby leaving behind an ethnically pure Serb entity.

Secondly, growing Islamophobia in the aftermath of Sept. 11 has enabled and will continue to enable the Serbs to retroactively portray their onslaught against Bosnian Muslims as an almost “war on terror” and thus to justify their genocide of Bosnian Muslims by putting forward claims that they were fighting Islamist extremists.

Thirdly, in the wake of an ever more unstable Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnia’s Republika Srpska led by Milorad Dodik continues to block state reforms, EU and NATO accession talks and which more often than not inflames the political scene by threatening to secede, an ever more Islamophobic Europe and their representatives in Bosnia might grow increasingly sympathetic towards Bosnian Serbs and at worst give them the green light to secede, while at best be indifferent to their secession.

Thus, all of Europe’s Muslims will nevertheless be affected by the growing intolerance towards Islam, but put in comparison, Western European Muslims — while remaining eternally Europe’s “other” — will still continue to have access to functioning institutions for safeguarding their rights and will not face direct threats to their lives and property.

As for Bosnian Muslims, especially the returnees in Republika Srpska, who have been terrorized and some even killed for daring to return to their pre-war homes, their lives will continue to be in jeopardy, their basic rights will continue to be violated and they will continue to face pressure to leave.

So as shocking as the Swiss banning of minarets may be, what’s more shocking is that the Serbs, who committed the first genocide in Europe since the Holocaust and who were treated as pariahs during the early ‘90s, have just discovered that the Europe that once criticized them for their killings and persecution of Bosnian Muslims is turning out to have more and more in common with them. And that’s not good news.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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France: Museum of European and Med Civilizations Set Up

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, DECEMBER 9 — After ten years of stalemate, it took Marseilles being designated as the 2013 European Capital of Culture in order for the Museum of Civilisations from Europe and the Mediterranean in Marseilles to finally take off. Commissioned by the French president at the time, Francois Mitterand, it was his nephew, Federic, the current minister for Culture, who laid the foundation stone of the new institution on which two appeals by the residents of the quarter of Fort Saint-Jean — the area where it is to be built — are hanging. The residents are opposed to the project, the budget of which has doubled in ten years. Today the budget stands at 175 million euros, financed 60% by the State and the culture relaunch plan, and 40% by local collectives (city council of Marseilles, the region and the Bouches-du-Rhone general council). In 2008, six months after launching the Mediterranean Union with great pomp in Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy finally gave the go ahead to the museum, describing it as a symbol of France’s willingness to get closer to the Mediterranean peoples, and of the Union between the two shores. The appointment of Marseilles as the 2013 European Capital of Culture, of which the Museum represented one of the fundamental chapters in the application, was the trigger, and the funds from the State seem to have been unfrozen and the Museum should open its doors for 2013 after 30 months of works. A real race against time for the architect Rudy Ricciotti who, with Roland Carta, has designed the square futuristic building, surrounded by a net which filters the sun, with an accessible terrace on the roof that looks onto the fort, the sea and the port. Ricciotti has planned the Centre for the conservation of the collections, in the quarter of Belle-de-Mai. Collections from the former museum of popular arts and traditions of Marseilles, which was closed in 2005, will find a home in the museum. These comprise over 350,000 objects and 450,000 photographs, films and recordings from European and Mediterranean cultures. But in reality, there is still no clarity on the content of the new museum in a city with a very strong representation of immigrants from the Maghreb and the minister for Culture hopes that it will have a more Mediterranean and less European form. This museum, he said during the ceremony, must be a true home to a fully reconciled Mediterranean, with large space given over to the social realities of the Mediterranean without any elitism. It will be a museum of culture of everyone, and new cultures from the street such as hip hop will also find a place. The museum, the first decentralised national museum, will be inaugurated by two exhibitions, ‘The black and the blue, the Mediterranean dream, and Female’ — ‘Male, gender in question’. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt Blocks Muslim Brotherhood Hospital for the Poor

Egypt is knocking down a new hospital built by the Muslim Brotherhood to serve poor residents of Cairo because officials claim it “violates building regulations”.

Government opponents say the decision to tear down the hospital, which the Brotherhood says has cost about 40 million Egyptian pounds ($7.30 million) so far, is politically motivated.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Egypt: ‘Missing’ Editor Abducted

From Dutch: Pim Faber, an editor for the Dutch program ‘missing’, came ot Egypt to do a show on children who’ve been abducted by their fathers. When he tried approaching one father, he was abducted by the family and threatened. They wanted to exchange Faber for the mother, but she escaped the village. He was later freed by the police (who interrogated him for several hours).

— Hat tip: Esther

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Egypt Says it Will Not Abolish Death Penalty

Egypt said on Thursday that it will not abolish the death penalty because it is a deterrent, even though human rights groups say that fair trials are not guaranteed.

“Egypt will not abolish the death penalty. It is a deterrent especially in murder crimes,” state minister for legal and parliamentary affairs Mufid Shehab told a human rights session in parliament.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Morocco: Haidar, Minister Says Must Apologise

(ANSA) — RABAT, DECEMBER 10 — Saharawi militant Aminatou Haidar, who has been on a hunger strike for 25 days in Lanzarote (Spain), must acknowledge her mistake and apologise for having offended the symbols of the Nation. The statement was made today in Rabat by Morocco’s minister of Communication Khalid Naciri during a press conference which followed the cabinet meeting. In recent days exponents of the Moroccan government stated that the woman would have been allowed to return only after apologising to the king. The minister accused Aminatou Haidar of having given up her nationality and of having returned her passport to Moroccan authorities. The minister mentioned Algeria which openly supports the Polisario front in its battle for independence from Morocco. According to the minister, the international community must not forget that Algiers prevents tens of thousands of Moroccans “locked up in camps in Tindouf” (southern Algeria) from “reaching their country”. The minister added that the whole world must report the suffering of people segregated in Tindouf where human rights are violated on a systematic and daily basis. A Spanish colony up to 1975, the western Sahara is considered by Morocco as part of its national territory and Rabat stated that it is ready to allow a marked form of independence to the Saharawi population. On the contrary, the Polisario front, which is supported by Algeria, is asking for a referendum which also includes the idea of independence. Since 2007 four rounds of negotiations held under the aegis of the UN in Manhasset, close to New York, led to nothing with the two sides deadlocked in their respective positions. Nor was any progress achieved during the informal meeting in Austria last August which had been set up by UN envoy Christopher Ross. Some 160,000 people live in the refugee camps in Tindouf, and a UN mission counting some 500 people including soldiers and civilians has been on location since 1991, the year of the ceasefire which to date has been observed by both sides. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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10 Mln Contribution From Italy for PNA, Frattini

(ANSAmed) — RAMALLAH — “Italy is ready to contribute additionally to the PNA budget”, as part of the European Pegase aid project”, said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini during a press conference in Ramallah with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The new Italian contribution, according to diplomatic sources, is 10 million euros, added to the 220 million given over the last decade (80 million just in the 2008-2010 three year period), of which 273 have already been spent or earmarked. The foreign minister explained that the contribution are need to support economic growth in the territories and strengthen security conditions and praised the “efforts and results reached” in this sense by Fayyad and PNA president Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Europe, concluded Frattini, “has confidence and believes” in the Palestinian government. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Knesset: Poll on Golan Withdrawal

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, DECEMBER 9 — The Israeli parliament, the Knesset is to vote on the first reading today of a bill introducing the necessity to call a referendum if a future government should decide to withdraw from the Golan Heights within the framework of a peace accord with Syria. According to the draft, the referendum would not, however, be necessary if such an accord were to get a two-thirds majority in Parliament: that is 80 MPs out of 120. The bill refers to any possible withdrawal from zones “over which Israeli law has been extended”: including therefore, beyond Golan also east Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Speaking on forces radio, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman today explained that the debate in the Knesset has no connection to any particular diplomatic developments between Israel and Syria. In his opinion, the statements made by Syrian president Bashar Assad in favour of re-starting indirect talks with Israel “are no more than rhetoric”. It would appear that the Likud will approve the bill, with the Labour party abstaining from the vote.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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PNA: EU Commits to Helping Improve Justice for Juveniles

(ANSAmed) — BRUXELLES, 3 DIC — The European Commission and EUPOL COPPS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Palestinian ministry of Social affairs to pave the way for the implementation of a project consisting in the elaboration of a technical assessment report on juvenile justice, followed by a national Plan for juvenile justice. According to the Enpi site (www.enpi-info.eu) — the technical assessment report on juvenile justice, funded by the European Union, aims to identify the gaps in all Palestinian Authority institutions that deal with juveniles and the law, including training and equipment needs. The Ministry of Social Affairs will invite in the near future all relevant institutions, ngos and governmental bodies to participate in the elaboration of a national plan for juvenile justice. Based on the assessment and the national Plan, future projects will be designed to improve compliance with national and international standards on the rights of the child. “Many young palestinians said Christoph Lukits, of EUPOL COPPS — come into contact with the police and justice institutions, either as victims, witnesses or perpetrators of a crime. There are many deficiencies in the current criminal justice system with respect to minors that need to be addressed.(ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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U.K. To Shun Israeli Settlement Products?

The British government advised all food chains in the UK to clearly mark any imported products made in Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights, Ynet learned Thursday.

The decision prompted deep dissatisfaction at the Foreign Ministry, which characterized the step as “capitulation to Palestinian organizations.” However, British officials insist that the decision does not constitute a boycott against Israel

— Hat tip: JD

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Vatican-Israeli Press, Meeting in Stalemate

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, DECEMBER 10 — A significant change is not expected in negotiations between the Holy See and Israel over the unresolved controversy regarding the legal ownership and the fiscal and financial regime of the holy places, say informed sources in Israel, quoted today by the website of newspaper Yediot Ahronot in Tel Aviv, after todays plenary meeting of the Holy See-Israel Permanent Bilateral Commission at the Vatican (which has been working for sixteen years on defining the fiscal regime and legal protection of institutions and property belonging to the Catholic Church in Israel). According to the sources, the stalemate is due to Israels refusal to give up control of what Christians believe to be the site of the Last Supper of Jesus in Jerusalem, whose ownership is claimed by the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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West Bank Wall: Protest Leader Arrested in Bilin

(ANSAmed) — RAMALLAH, DECEMBER 10 — Israeli security forces today arrested one of the Palestinian leaders of the protests against the separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel. There are weekly protests in the villages of Bilin and Naalin, which have been cut in two by the wall. The news was reported by the MAAN agency, which specified that Abdullah Abu Rahma was arrested last night in his house close to Ramallah. Rahma has been the heart and soul of the Bilin people’s committee in the past months together with Iyad Burnat, who was also arrested recently. According to the Palestinian authorities, there was no reason to arrest the two, because the committee officially uses a strategy of “peaceful protests”. According to Israel, the two arrested leaders are responsible for the episodic clashes between security forces and protesters. Since June, Israel has arrested 31 Palestinians who had participated in protests against the wall. Sixteen of them, MAAN reports, are still being held.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Circassians Latest to Demand Rights in Turkey

The Circassians, a small section of Turkish citizens, have granted support to the government’s recent democratic initiative, saying that rights should be granted to all communities in Turkey without having to resort to violence or racism. They say the Constitution should be amended to better ensure individual rights and to remove any mention of ethnicity

Although the recent Kurdish initiative in Turkey is focused on Kurds’ rights, there are others who say they are in the game, too. Approximately 1,600 Circassians launched the “Circassian Initiative for Democracy” to voice the demands of Circassians living in Turkey.

“We came together to voice democratic rights for everyone in Turkey. These rights should not be dependant on any kind of ethnicity but on the grounds of citizenship,” said Yalçin Karadas, spokesperson of the initiative, at a press conference in Istanbul on Wednesday.

At the conference, Hulusi Üstün, another spokesperson, listed the Circassians’ requests, saying that first the Circassian language should be offered as an elective course in areas in Turkey with high Circassian populations. “The Circassian language has several dialects and some of these have already died from not being used by the young generation,” he said.

Üstün said the group’s second request was to have a center established to collect and research the Circassians’ cultural and historical assets that have been dispersed to different geographies.

He said the group’s official history had to be “repaired” and all the discourses that falsely accuse communities including Circassians should be removed from history textbooks and official history.

Members of the Circassian initiative complained that Circassians have been depicted in textbooks as a rebellious community, which has undermined their contribution to history and culture. “Circassians published the first magazine with the Latin alphabet and launched the first sports club in Turkey, but these are unknown truths,” said Karadas, who is also an architect.

Another request was for the Constitution to be amended with civil society and individual rights in mind and it should not have any mention of ethnic identities, said Karadas. “Any emphasis on ethnicity in the Constitution as well as in the democratic initiativewill harm the country and the communities living in it,” said Karadas.

Refraining from being associated with separatist groups or ideologies, the Circassian initiative members underlined the importance of calling for democracy through peaceful measures. “Among the Circassian community in Turkey, some might accuse us of being separatist. To the contrary, if this democratic initiative is stopped, then Turkey will deteriorate,” said Karadas.

The Circassian Initiative for Democracy was launched to voice all the people’s rights, not only Circassians, in a peaceful way by using dialog, said Karadas, adding that the initiative is focused on voicing demands through peaceful channels. “No one deserves to die for the right to education in their mother tongue,” said Karadas, recalling Serap Eser, 17, who recently killed in a bus by a Molotov cocktail thrown by alleged members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. “We are not planning to go to the streets to voice our demands because the streets are open to provocation,” he said.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Iran: Men in Black Hijab

Iranian-style protest: Members of Iran’s reformist opposition came up with an original way to protest the arrest of their comrade — posting online photos of themselves and of Iran’s top leaders dressed up as women.

Following reports that student leader Majid Tavakoli was detained while he was dressed up as a woman, his friends posted online photos, mostly on Facebook, where they are seen dressed up as women as well.

Other activists went further and pasted the faces of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a Tavakoli’s hijab-wearing figure.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Iranian Raelian May Strain Ankara’s Ties With Tehran

The future of Negar Azizmoradi, leader of the Raelian movement in Iran, is at the mercy of the Turkish government, which will decide whether to deport her or recognize her as an asylum seeker. Others deported in the past by Turkey to Iran were later executed

A diplomatic skirmish over an Iranian asylum seeker claiming religious persecution for her belief in unidentified flying objects has exposed potential fault lines in relations between Turkey and Iran with asylum seekers becoming bargaining chips.

The future of Negar Azizmoradi, leader of the Raelian movement in Iran, is at the mercy of the Turkish government, which will decide whether to deport the woman or recognize her as an asylum seeker. In the past, the two countries have been known to use refugees as bargaining chips as they traded for fugitives, and some of them who were deported to Iran were later executed.

“It is a very complicated situation because Turkey now has a very good relationship with the Iranian government. [Azizmoradi’s] fate depends on the Turkish situation. Everyone is watching the position of the Turkish government,” Hazhir Saeedi of the London-based International Organization of Iranian Refugees told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in a telephone interview.

If the government decides to deport her to Iran, Azizmoradi, given her background, could face the death penalty for acting against the Islamic regime.

“I am sure that Turkish policymakers are now trying to calculate what the result will be if [she] is deported,” Saeedi said.

Opposition questions in Parliament

The Turkish opposition recently took the issue to Parliament when Republican People’s Party, or CHP, deputy Necla Arat asked Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a written inquiry to answer questions about the possibility of Azizmoradi being deported to avoid harming Turkish-Iranian ties.

“As is known, the right to life is the leading fundamental right and freedom. What initiative has been taken by the ministry to safeguard [Azizmoradi’s] right to life?” Arat asked.

Azizmoradi was arrested and placed in a detention center by Turkish police after being apprehended at an Istanbul airport attempting to leave the country on false documents.

Now released, she is required to apply to the Interior Ministry and the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, to start asylum proceedings.

Risk of execution

Saeedi said other Iranians deported by Turkish authorities have faced severe penalties upon arrival in Iran, with some even executed.

In the past, international human rights organizations have raised concerns with the Turkish government regarding cases in which individuals were returned to countries where they may have faced serious human rights violations.

In 2003, Turkey returned Hojjat Zamani to Iran where he was sentenced to death. Another Iranian Karim Tuzhali, who was deported by Turkey in 1998, was executed in Iran in January 2002 despite being recognized as a refugee by UNHCR, according to Amnesty International records.

Deportation versus extradition

Saeedi said the deportations came as a result of bargaining between Turkish and Iranian authorities, arguing that the Iranian government extradited members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, to Turkey in return for Turkish officials deporting Iranians.

“The Turkish government is a signatory to many international conventions and we are urging Turkey and the UNHCR to stop [Azizmoradi’s] deportation,” he said.

Asked about the woman’s current situation, he said, “She is safe now and will be busy with starting her asylum process with the UNHCR and the Interior Ministry.”

Resettlement in a third country

UNHCR Turkey spokesman Metin Çorabatir declined to comment on the individual case on the principle of confidentiality when contacted by the Daily News.

He said his office, however, examines asylum claims and determines whether a person would qualify for refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Turkey maintains a geographical limitation on its definition of refugees; meaning non-European refugees are only eligible for temporary status as asylum seekers.

Due to the temporary nature of asylum, the UNHCR typically resettles asylum seekers in third countries such as Canada or New Zealand.

Some 8,000 Iranians are estimated to be in Turkey. Many come for work but others also flee political or religious persecution.

Because of their libertarian attitude to sex and their belief that humans were created by extra-terrestrials, Raelians have regularly become targets of Iran’s religious authorities.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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New Lebanon Cabinet Allows Hezbollah to Keep Arms

BEIRUT — The Lebanese parliament overwhelmingly approved a national unity government Thursday that will allow Hezbollah to keep its weapons, despite strong criticism from pro-Western lawmakers angry at the militant group’s refusal to disarm.

The vote in parliament was a further indication that Hezbollah will continue to defy a U.N. resolution calling for it to give up its weapons, which include rockets that can reach deep into Israel.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Report: Blackwater Guards Linked to CIA Raids

WASHINGTON — Private security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids against suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Blackwater’s role points to a much deeper connection between the company and the spy agency than has been previously disclosed and raises concerns over the legalities of involving contractors in the most sensitive operations conducted by the U.S. government.

The “snatch and grab” raids took place regularly between 2004 and 2006, the Times reported, when the insurgency in Iraq was escalating and security throughout the country was deteriorating.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Syrian Women Are World’s Smartest and Respectable, Study

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, DECEMBER 10 — “The Syrian women are the most intelligent and respectable among the world’s women,” said the state-run Syrian news agency SANA, quoting American and British studies. SANA quoted Professor Katie Bradford, head of a research team at the American Michigan University, as attributing the Syrian women’s superior intelligence to the “healthy food they consume, such as olive oil which nourishes the brains and walnuts which preserve blood circulation.” According to SANA, Bradford said that “among the most important factors that increased the level of intelligence and awareness of Syrian women is their studies at Syrian universities; the social openness and gender equality in Syria.” SANA also said that a study by the British Starch Center for international researches “concluded that Syrian women are the most respectable on world level.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey Prepares to Join EU in a Building Confiscated From the Orthodox

The new headquarters of the Secretariat for entry into the European Union is an old school of the minority Orthodox in Ortakoy, seized in ‘90. Embarrassment of Erdogan government and Europe.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) — Unbelievable but true: the headquarters of the Secretariat for the entry of Turkey into the European Union is a building confiscated from the Orthodox Christian community in the 90s. The building is located in Istanbul, in the well-known area of Ortakoy, under the first bridge over the Bosphorus.

Before the seizure, the building was used as a primary school for children of the minority Orthodox in Ortakoy. Here, once lived a thriving Orthodox community, now non-existent because of past purges against minorities, executed by the “secular” Turkish State.

Thanks to the policy of purging, the building and many other schools, at one point found themselves without students, unused and then confiscated. The forfeiture rule however prevented foundations — owners of buildings — from allocating them to different uses. The community of Ortakoy appealed to the administrative courts in Istanbul, which have yet to rule on the issue. In case of a ruling to the contrary, the Orthodox intend to apply to the court in Strasbourg. The inauguration of the Secretariat took place in the presence of Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by Minister for European Affairs Bajis and by various authorities and European representation.

The event has aroused unease in diplomatic circles in Brussels, so much so that on the eve of the inauguration, a senior government official visited Patriarch Bartholomew I to let them know that the courts decision will be respected. The question also arises whether the current Turkish government aware of the building’s history.

Meanwhile in Brussels some discomfort is spreading towards politicians who are champions of Turkey’s entry into the EU. Ankara has not yet shown a convincing European orientation, it is believed that the “champions” are tied to the country by economic and financial interests.

One suggestion for resolving the issue comes from Lakis Vigas, representative of minorities in Turkey in the General Directorate of Foundations. Interviewed by the newspaper Milliyet on the case of Ortakoy, he says a possible solution would be if the Ortakoy foundation were granted the possibility to lease the building to the Turkish nation. This gesture would have a noble purpose: the entry of Turkey into the EU the “source of our hopes.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Turkish Parliamentarian Submits Motion to Condemn Switzerland

A Turkish parliamentarian submitted a motion Thursday to the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, or APA, to condemn Switzerland for the minaret ban.

Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Malatya deputy Mehmet Sahin said he submitted the motion to a meeting of the APA in the Indonesian city of Bandung, and that the motion had been adopted by the 41-member assembly.

The decision was also supported by non-Muslim members of the APA, including China, Russia, Vietnam, South Korea and North Korea.

The APA harshly criticized Switzerland for banning minarets in the country during a Nov. 29 referendum.

Sahin said the country was violating human rights by restricting religious freedoms, adding that the assembly had made a very important decision on the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In adopting the motion to condemn Switzerland, the APA member states had demonstrated that the subject did not only concern Muslims but human rights in general, Sahin said.

“I hope the United Nations will consider this issue, as the referendum decision is against Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights,” Sahin said.

Founded in 2006, the APA is comprised by 40 member and 18 observer parliaments. Each member parliament has a specific number of seats at the assembly based on the size of its population.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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In Bangladesh: Climate Change is Not All Bad

The predictable rhythm of Bangladesh’s six seasons has been sliced in half; everybody says there are now only three in some places, two in others.

The effects can be seen a 45-minute flight and two-hour drive north of the capital Dhaka, where a shorter monsoon and longer dry season have affected the crops people in Sunamganj district are growing.

The stories do not follow the doom-and-gloom narrative of rising water levels and washed-out villages. Overall, they like how things have turned out; there has been a bit less rain over the decade and more time to grow crops.

“Maybe this is the positive aspect of climate change,” said Moniruzzaman, regional coordinator with Intercooperation, a non-governmental organisation funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The people have also been proactive, using traditional techniques to protect against rising waters, making floating vegetable gardens and using solar panels.

In the village of Jotindropur, programmes supported by the SDC are bringing variety to the dinner table and market stall.

Instead of growing only rice, people are growing different varieties of rice, vegetables and sweet potatoes. They are also improving the quality of their drinking water and looking at new ways to earn money.

Rainfall is still a problem. Villagers spend one-third of their roughly 20,000-Taka (SFr300) annual income raising the ground under their villages and reinforcing it with chyla grass. Further out, coross and hazel trees protect against storm surges.

Villagers say the work and the expenses are necessary.

Reducing risk

They are trying to reduce their exposure to future disasters. It is a central element of Switzerland’s development strategy in Bangladesh, says Urs Herren, Bern’s ambassador to Dhaka and the SDC’s Bangladesh director.

“With our programme, we are smack-on on important issues — agricultural diversification and access of rural people to markets, skills development, improved local service delivery — which will remain relevant for at least the next ten years if not more,” Herren told swissinfo.ch.

“ Maybe this is the positive aspect of climate change. “

Moniruzzaman, Intercooperation

The primary objective for the Swiss remains poverty reduction; many experts say that although climate change poses a challenge to people in developing countries, most face a host of more pressing problems.

In many cases, the effects of climate change exacerbate existing difficulties or exploit weaknesses. In Bangladesh, those weaknesses are geography and demography.

There are people everywhere, some in the northern hills, some living only a couple of metres above sea level, a stone’s throw from the water. Bangladesh has the highest rural population density in the world.

The director of one non-governmental organisation calls Bangladeshis “a nation of ants”. In nearly all places at any given time, cities, towns, country roads and paths teem with people coming and going, hustling and bustling on rickety buses, rickshaws, bicycles and on foot.

As villages expand, they push people out onto territory less suitable for growing food and more vulnerable to flooding. In Sunamganj, if they’re not on land, people are on, or in, the water.

After monsoon, boats of all sizes ply ribbons of rivers and canals and workers spend their days in waist-deep water, using buckets to scoop sand with into small wooden boats.

The cargo is transferred through a series of increasingly larger boats until it ends in the holds of rusty ships heading for brick factories around the country. Once the sand makes the factories, it bakes under dirty smokestacks.

Low carbon footprint

Bangladeshis are nevertheless responsible for some of the world’s lowest per capita carbon emissions. Chandergong, a village of 181 households, is hoping to keep it that way.

Some 21 families have each borrowed 1,200 Taka, around 45 Swiss francs, to put down deposits on rooftop solar panels and batteries. The renewable energy is cheaper, which allows them to make fish traps at night.

“Earlier, when they used diesel for lighting, the big household owner expended around 1,200 Taka per month,” says Ataur Rahman, a social development advisor with Intercooperation. “But now it’s 200 Taka.”

In another village, farmers are testing crops to see which will provide them with the best yields. A man is supplementing his income by vaccinating ducks against cholera. He vaccinates himself too.

In the village, they have funnelled runoff into a small pond and are raising catfish. They are trying to protect themselves against natural disasters but are unsure what the future will bring.

“It’s problematic to generalise,” says Herren of the perception that Bangladesh is just a waterlogged place. He says the incidence of drought can be equally problematic. Runoff from Himalayan glaciers and the saline content of groundwater in coastal belts pose threats too.

One of the problems confronting scientists and policymakers in Bangladesh is that although there are many stories about climate change, hard data are more difficult to come by.

Said Herren: “The message is basically that the effects of climate change will be complex, and different areas will be affected in different ways. And maybe some effects will balance each other out or mutually reinforce each other in ways we don’t fully know yet.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Malaysian Islamic Scholars Urged to be Polygamists

AFP — The spiritual leader of Malaysia’s Islamic party has urged religious scholars to practice polygamy, saying they could rid the practice of its bad reputation, a report said Thursday.

Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who leads the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) which is part of the opposition alliance, said that ulamas could be model polygamous husbands.

“Normally, when a man likes a beautiful woman, he will take her as his second wife,” he said according to the New Straits Times.

“But after they have children, he will divorce the woman. This is the bad image that I meant which should be cleaned up,” he said. “Ulama can play an important role in clearing this image.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Malaysia: Ulama Urged to Practise Polygamy

By Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah

KOTA BARU: In another remark that is set to spark controversy, Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said he encouraged ulama to practise polygamy because they are model polygamous husbands.

The 76-year-old Pas spiritual leader said they would set good examples on what a true polygamous marriage was all about in Islam.

This, he said, would also clear the misunderstanding among certain people about polygamous marriages.

“The image of polygamy as a way for men to make use of women should be cleaned up. Ulama can play an important role in clearing this image.

“In Kelantan, the people like polygamous marriages. Normally, when a man likes a beautiful woman, he will take her as his second wife,” Nik Aziz said after launching the 20th anniversary of ulama leadership in the state at the Kelantan Trade Centre here.

“But after they have children, he will divorce the woman. This is the bad image that I meant which should be cleaned up.”

Nik Aziz said ulama should practise polygamy as they could demonstrate to the community what real polygamous marriages entailed.

He said it was the ulama’s duty to correct misunderstanding and help create better understanding among Muslims.

“The clean image must be highlighted to the world, especially in the era of information and communication technology, so that Islamic practices can be emulated by all communities.”

— Hat tip: Gaia

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New Delhi Back at the Centre of the International Nuclear Power Business

India reaches deal with Russia for the construction of nuclear power plants and possible cooperation in space and diamonds. “Reactor diplomacy” takes off, tying India to Russia, United States and France.

Moscow (AsiaNews/Agencies) — India is planning to be a serious “friend” of Russia. In the last six months, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travelled to Moscow on three official visits. The last one on Monday saw the two countries sign an important agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The head of Russia’s atomic agency Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said that the deal would allow Russia to build a number of nuclear power plants in India.

The deal with Russia is the first (except that with the United States) after a long struggle by Washington and Delhi to exempt India from international rules on non-proliferation, which had prevented sales of nuclear fuel and technology to India. These rules had been adopted after India used nuclear technology sold for “peaceful purposes” to develop nuclear weapons.

Following India’s first nuclear test in 1974, a 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was set up (including Italy). Last year, the same group repealed the ban on Indian imports of nuclear technology.

After three years of discussions in Washington, Delhi and Vienna, in October 2008 the US Senate approved a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with India. This will allow Washington to supply New Delhi with technologies and fuel for 20 civilian nuclear plants. In exchange, India will guarantee trade with US firms worth US$ 70 billion.

Russia did not stand by the sidelines for long. At the moment, few details have emerged of the cooperation agreement signed on Monday, but under its terms, Rosatom will build four reactors for the nuclear plant in Kundankulam in Tamil Nadu, an established symbol of Indo-Russian cooperation (which should be operational at the start of next year). Work will start on a new plant in West Bengal where Rosatom is expected to build four to six more reactors over the next 10 to 15 years.

The agreement, which will be in place between 2011 and 2020, should generate tens of billions of dollars in business. In addition to nuclear energy, it includes the sale of Russian military hardware to India.

It is probable that the symbiotic relationship between the two countries will extend to other fields that interest New Delhi like space research, telecommunications, uncut diamonds and pharmaceuticals.

At present, nuclear power provides 3 per cent of India’s electricity. This should rise to 25 per cent in 2050.

Despite criticism from environmentalists and pacifists against what analysts call India’s ‘reactor diplomacy’, Singh has put India right in the middle of the international scene. The oil crisis has made nuclear power very appealing.

Now France, Russia’s real competitor for India’s nuclear power business, is waiting for its turn.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Pakistan: Fear of New Attacks Means “Silent” Christmas for Christians

Outdoor recitals, carols and decorations are cancelled. Liturgical services and Midnight Mass will go ahead as usual. Bishops talk about an “atmosphere of fear;” yet the faith of Christian believers is stronger than the violence. The commission of inquiry investigating last summer’s violence in Gojra calls on the government to change the blasphemy laws.

Lahore (AsiaNews) — Pakistani Christians are preparing for a silent and low key Christmas without much public pomp and display. The community is still reeling from last summer’s attacks against the villages of Koriyan and Gojra. The army’s offensive against Islamic extremists and the latter’s wave of attacks are not helping either. Indeed, fear of more violence remains high.

Mgr Lawrence John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore and president of the Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, told AsiaNews that 2009 is going to end in a “silent Christmas” because the country’s situation is very bad.

In previous years, schools and parishes used to organise outdoor recitals, carols and other events associated with the festivities. This year, many people “have already cancelled events” and “outdoor decorations will not be put up on homes and buildings.”

“This year, the atmosphere and mood are not happy because people are fearful and upset by the country’s current situation,” the archbishop said. Still, liturgical functions and Midnight Mass will go ahead as in the past, and “the number of people will not be less because their faith is firm.”

Attacks against villages and extrajudicial killings carried out in the name of the blasphemy laws have fuelled fears and concerns in the Christian community. However, there are some small signs of hope for change.

A commission of inquiry chaired by a judge from the High Court in Lahore into events in Gojra, a village that was attacked last summer with homes set on fire and eight people killed, called on the government to take a number of steps, including bring changes to the blasphemy laws.

Adopted in 1986 under the rule of then Pakistan dictator Zia-ul-Haq, these laws impose life in prison or the death penalty on anyone who desecrates the Qur’an or defiles the name of Muhammad.

Christmas has already produced a small miracle by reviving Pakistan’s garment industry.

In an interview published on IslamOnline, Mohsin Mirza, president of the Pakistan Readymade Garments Association, said, “The industry was going down until we received Christmas orders this year.” Overall, “We have received 20 per cent more orders this year,” mostly from the United States and Europe, worth “US$ 1.5 billion in Christmas apparel”.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Pakistan: Fear of New Attacks Means “Silent” Christmas for Christians

Outdoor recitals, carols and decorations are cancelled. Liturgical services and Midnight Mass will go ahead as usual. Bishops talk about an “atmosphere of fear;” yet the faith of Christian believers is stronger than the violence. The commission of inquiry investigating last summer’s violence in Gojra calls on the government to change the blasphemy laws.

Lahore (AsiaNews) — Pakistani Christians are preparing for a silent and low key Christmas without much public pomp and display. The community is still reeling from last summer’s attacks against the villages of Koriyan and Gojra. The army’s offensive against Islamic extremists and the latter’s wave of attacks are not helping either. Indeed, fear of more violence remains high.

Mgr Lawrence John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore and president of the Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, told AsiaNews that 2009 is going to end in a “silent Christmas” because the country’s situation is very bad.

In previous years, schools and parishes used to organise outdoor recitals, carols and other events associated with the festivities. This year, many people “have already cancelled events” and “outdoor decorations will not be put up on homes and buildings.”

“This year, the atmosphere and mood are not happy because people are fearful and upset by the country’s current situation,” the archbishop said. Still, liturgical functions and Midnight Mass will go ahead as in the past, and “the number of people will not be less because their faith is firm.”

Attacks against villages and extrajudicial killings carried out in the name of the blasphemy laws have fuelled fears and concerns in the Christian community. However, there are some small signs of hope for change.

A commission of inquiry chaired by a judge from the High Court in Lahore into events in Gojra, a village that was attacked last summer with homes set on fire and eight people killed, called on the government to take a number of steps, including bring changes to the blasphemy laws.

Adopted in 1986 under the rule of then Pakistan dictator Zia-ul-Haq, these laws impose life in prison or the death penalty on anyone who desecrates the Qur’an or defiles the name of Muhammad.

Christmas has already produced a small miracle by reviving Pakistan’s garment industry.

In an interview published on IslamOnline, Mohsin Mirza, president of the Pakistan Readymade Garments Association, said, “The industry was going down until we received Christmas orders this year.” Overall, “We have received 20 per cent more orders this year,” mostly from the United States and Europe, worth “US$ 1.5 billion in Christmas apparel”.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Beijing Tells World to Fight Climate Change Through One-Child Policy

The Chinese government proposes population controls as global weapon to fight climate change problems. The head of the Chinese delegation calls on the United States to make deeper cuts in carbon emissions. European leaders adopt a three-year € 6 billion plan to help developing countries. UN summit participants accept first draft proposal.

Copenhagen (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Population controls can save the environment and the international community should adopt China’s one-child policy with that objective in mind, Chinese government sources said. The head of China’s delegation to the UN Conference on Climate in Danish capital urged US President Barack Obama to cut greenhouse gases. European leaders pulled an all-nighter to reach a deal on helping developing countries fight global warming. The € 6 billion (US$ 9 billion) aid package would be spread over three years.

China defended its family planning policy as a way to reduce global warming. According to Beijing, its one-child and birth control policies, which include forced abortions and sterilisations on unwilling women, are part of its global strategy to fight climate problems and should be adopted by the international community.

In spite of the gross violation of human rights, the strategy has been a “great success” according to Chinese authorities. “I’m not saying that what we have done is 100 per cent right, but I’m sure we are going in the right direction,” said Zhao Baige, vice-minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China.

China’s top climate envoy Xie Zhenhua called on US President Barack Obama to increase a U.S. offer to cut greenhouse gases. He said China would discuss a 2050 emissions goal only if rich nations offered more cash and carbon cuts, adding that emissions cuts should be “at least 40 per cent” over 1990 levels by 2020.

A successful outcome for the summit largely depends on agreement between the United States and China, which together generate 40 per cent of global carbon emissions.

The Chinese delegate said that poor or developing countries must be guaranteed “sufficient, additional and sustainable” financial and technology.

In the meantime, the European Union said it was ready to allocate € 6 billion (US$ 8.8 billion) to developing countries to promote clean energy technologies.

Meeting in Brussels, the 27 assembled heads of state and government hammered out a deal, but doubts remain over the capacity of the Union’s eastern members to provide funds.

In a joint press conference, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged € 1.7 billion (US$ 2.5 billion) in fast start money.

In the morning, participants reached an agreement on a first official draft, which would set the ceiling for higher temperatures at 1.5-2 degrees Celsius. This would be the starting point for further negotiations in the coming days, which would include all world leaders.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China

LINFEN, China — Towering eight stories over wheat fields, the Golden Lamp Church was built to serve nearly 50,000 worshippers in the gritty heart of China’s coal country.

But that was before hundreds of police and hired thugs descended on the mega-church, smashing doors and windows, seizing Bibles and sending dozens of worshippers to hospitals with serious injuries, members and activists say

Today, the church’s co-pastors are in jail. The gates to the church complex in the northern province of Shanxi are locked and a police armored personnel vehicle sits outside.

The closure of what may be China’s first mega-church is the most visible sign that the communist government is determined to rein in the rapid spread of Christianity, with a crackdown in recent months that church leaders call the harshest in years.

Authorities describe the actions against churches as stemming from land disputes, but the congregations under attack are among the most successful in China’s growing “house church” movement, which rejects the state-controlled church in favor of liturgical independence and a more passionate, evangelical outlook.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

US Envoy Has ‘Very Useful’ Nuclear Talks in N Korea

Seoul: US envoy Stephen Bosworth ended a three-day visit to North Korea on Thursday, reportedly saying he had “very useful” contacts aimed at bringing the communist state back to nuclear disarmament talks. His trip was the first official contact between Washington and Pyongyang since Barack Obama took office in January, pledging direct diplomacy with America’s adversaries. “It’s a very useful meeting,” Xinhua news agency quoted Bosworth as saying at Pyongyang’s Sunan Airport before he returned to South Korea.

— Hat tip: Esther

[Return to headlines]

Italy: -70% Illegal Immigrants Rescued at Sea

(ANSAmed) — MILAN, DECEMBER 10 — This year the Italian coast guard rescued less than 10,000 illegal aliens, less than a third of those it rescued last year. Admiral Raimondo Pollastrini, the commander in chief of the coast guard, spoke during a conference held in Milans Cattolica university and explained that in 2009 illegal aliens rescued at sea amounted to 9,108, compared to 34,827 in 2008 (-73%). The same drop was recorded for number of intercepted vessels (from 473 to 94) and seized vessels (from 228 to 52). Inter alia, this is the result of the agreement signed with Libya which provides for the mixed patrolling of shores. He explained that “following the cooperation agreement signed in May between the Italian and Libyan governments, the flow slowed down to a few dozen units, with a drop which today we can place at approximately 85 to 90%”. Of course, “contrast in the sea, though having a highly deterrent effect, is apparently not a decisive measure when we look at the vast sea areas that need to be kept under control, at available means and the intrinsic dangers of saving the lives of illegal immigrants”. Access routes, for example, change over time. In the 90s most landings occurred in the Adriatic, later they moved south, towards Sicily, Calabria and partly to Sardinia. The chief Admiral stated that now other flows have opened up, for example those of Curds who land in Italy after passing trough Turkey and Greece”. The Poseidon operation which saw the involvement of Italy, Turkey and Greece under the direction of European agency Frontex managed to arrest 160 people smugglers in 2009. Since 1992 the Coast Guard has been making a major effort, as show by certain figures: 169,228 illegal aliens have been rescued since 1992, 2,592 units have been intercepted, 1,600 have been seized, and 455 people have been placed under arrest.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

Italy: Abortion Pill Now Available in Hospitals

Rome, 10 Dec. (AKI) — The controversial RU486 abortion pill is now available in Italian hospitals despite protests from the Vatican and the conservative government in the overwhelmingly Catholic country. Unlike in other European countries, RU486, also known as mifepristone, will be administered solely in hospitals.

Italy was is one of the last European states to make it available. It has been available in France since 1988.

Under the rules issued by Italy’s pharmaceuticals agency, the pill can be administered up to the seventh week of pregnancy.

But the woman must remain in hospital from when she takes the pill until the embryo is expelled and the entire process must take place under medical supervision.

Women’s rights activists have vowed to fight these rules, arguing that they restrict women’s freedom.

The Italian pharmaceutical authority AIFA had initially authorised the sale of RU486 on 31 July but a committee of the Italian Senate or upper house of parliament last month asked it to reconsider its decision amid opposition from Catholics.

Italian Senate health committee suspended its use and asked the health ministry for “a second opinion” on the grounds that the pill could endanger women’s health or violate Italy’s anti-abortion laws.

AIFA last week upheld its earlier decision which it published on Wednesday in the online edition of the Italian government’s official journal on Wednesday, clearing the way for the pill’s sale.

The abortion pill is different from the morning-after pill Norlevo, which has been available in Italy since 2000.

RU486 has been available experimentally in some Italian regions, notably the northern Piedmont region.

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, had warned women who use the pill, doctors who prescribed it and those who encouraged its use with excommunication.

Italian law permits surgical abortion on demand in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and then until the 24th week only if the foetus has a genetic deficiency or to preserve the mother’s health.

According to the Italian health ministry, 70 per cent of Italian doctors are “conscientious objectors” who exercise their right under the law to refuse to carry out abortions.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Knife-Wielding Crook Attacks Hot Dog Vendor … Former Marine

Would-be robber hospitalized after being slammed face-first onto street

When doctors released the swollen-eyed, scraped-up Garmany, officers booked him with one count of attempted armed robbery, according to the report. He remained behind bars Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Police officials routinely discourage citizens from resisting armed robbers because of the risk. But Gant said he reacted “instinctively.” He learned the basics of hand-to-hand combat while at Camp Pendleton, Calif., with his Marine battalion.

“My reaction was just to defend myself,” Gant said.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

U.N. Wants to Curtail 400-Year-Old ‘Freedom of the Seas’

‘It is a question of keeping track of what ships are up to’

The 400-year-old freedom of the high seas would be lost under United Nations plans to limit environmental damage.

Military forces of several nations are in discussions with conservationists over pooling surveillance resources to enforce the changes.

The “freedom of the seas” has given mariners legal rights to roam the high seas — a boundary that usually occurs 200 nautical miles from shore — at will. Specialists gathered at a London conference are saying that fishermen have been pushing the concept too far.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into force in 1983 and enshrined the 17th-century concept of the freedom of the seas. But while being on the high seas puts ships outside the jurisdiction of any one country, the small print of the law dictates that nations ensure that no undue damage is caused.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

U.N. Climate Chief Cashes in on Carbon

Tied to conglomerate that stands to make hundreds of millions in emissions scheme

NEW YORK — A story emerging out of Britain suggests “follow the money” may explain the enthusiasm of the United Nations to pursue caps on carbon emissions, despite doubts surfacing in the scientific community about the validity of the underlying global warming hypothesis.

A Mumbai-based Indian multinational conglomerate with business ties to Rajendra K. Pachauri, the chairman since 2002 of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, stands to make several hundred million dollars in European Union carbon credits simply by closing a steel production facility in Britain with the loss of 1,700 jobs.

The Tata Group headquartered in Mumbai anticipates receiving windfall profits of up to nearly $2 billion from closing the Corus Redcar steelmaking plant in Britain, with about half of the savings expected to result from cashing in on carbon credits granted the steelmaker by the European Union under the EU’s emissions trading scheme, or ETS.

Corus has accumulated 7.5 million European Union surplus carbon allowances, or EUAs, given the company free by the EU, after corporate officials lobbied EU officials aggressively in Brussels.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

When Will Climateers Give Up?

While climateers grandly assert that all skeptics are mentally unbalanced, and they try their best to dismiss claims of fraud, reality has a way of coming to the fore. It is now about time those who cling to the Copenhagen Summit realised the ship is sinking. And you know what rats do when that happens…

Dr Petr Chylek is a prominent Atmospheric Physicist. He calls for the IPCC to be discontinued. Hear, hear! He says “We cannot blame Climategate on a few irresponsible individuals. The entire esteemed research community has to take responsibility.” (Climate Depot, 9th Dec). He is right, because they allowed it to happen.

Dr Chylek is a highly experienced and respected scientist who has published well over 100 peer-reviewed papers. To read his full letter, go to the Climate Depot site. Climate Claims — a Betrayal of Science

To summarise, Dr Chylek believes the climate research community has “betrayed that mighty goal in science. They have substituted the search for truth with an attempt at proving one point of view. Yes, there have been cases of misbehaviour and direct fraud committed by scientists in other fields… However, it was misbehaviour of individuals, not of a considerable part of the scientific community.” This is a very damning statement, but it is true.

He continues: “The damage has been done. The public trust in climate science has been eroded… The entire… climate research community has to take responsibility.”

Furthermore, “Let us stop making unjustified claims and exaggerated projections about the future, even if editors of some eminent journals are just waiting to publish them… Let us drastically modify or temporarily discontinue the IPCC.” Excellent call. Indeed, now is the time for all genuine scientists to stand and be counted, before they, too, are branded frauds and liars. They must publicly denounce what is happening and accuse where accusations are necessary.

[…]

Criminals have already stolen £4.5 BILLION so far… more fool those who subscribe to carbon trading in the first place. On the other hand, carbon trading is a fast-growing financial sector, and all the big boys are falling over themselves for a piece of the action. What they are doing is pushing up the costs, which eventuate as higher costs for ordinary folks, who do not get a share of their rising fortunes. Indeed, currently, all green ventures are being heavily invested in by big-time investors.

[…]

The sneaky UK government, socialist to the core, has imposed a sudden green tax levy on industries. Where once they allowed a tax advantage for turning to green forms of energy use, now industries have done so, the tax discount has been slashed without warning, so industries now face a massive 75% increase in their energy bills! This is how the UK government works. It drew companies along their fake road until they were hooked, and then they hit hard with their true intentions. This is a picture of what is going to happen everywhere in the world once greens and politicians get their way, perhaps at the Summit.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

The following story is beginning to appear in a few places, but the account here, which seems to be local news, has the most details. It is also more measured in its tone. In other words, while the news is bad, maybe it’s not as bad as it seems? We’ll see.

First, though, a little background: The Quad-City Times, which ran this report, assumes we have some context here, which we don’t, of course, unless we live near the Quad Cities.

In fact, I had great trouble ascertaining which four cities take in this “quad”. Iowa is mentioned, as is Illinois. For sure, Davenport is one of the cities.

Finally, I turned to Wiki for these Quad Cities. Turns out that the four are Bettendorf, Iowa; Moline, Illinois; Rock Island, Illinois; and East Moline, Illinois. However, the reality is that they are the Quint Cities, since Davenport, Iowa is the biggest urban area. Go here to see the map. It’s worth a look.

Now for the story, in much greater detail here than elsewhere:

A leaked memorandum posted to a Web site* Friday says the Obama administration has chosen to move detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the Thomson Correctional Center, but the administration says it is only a draft and is “predecisional.”

*[see Big Government, which has a copy of this most interesting “directive”]

The one-page memo, dated Thursday, directs acquisition of the Thomson facility and relocation of the detainees there. It was posted on www.biggovernment.com.

An administration official cautioned Friday afternoon that it is not unusual for drafts to be prepared for multiple possibilities.

Notice the “official” isn’t named. And notice that the “draft” seems to have been posted on Friday evening…again. Whenever this administration has bad news, it waits until the regular media are putting things to bed for the weekend. This most untransparent habit of theirs is getting old. Watch what they do, not what they say. And always, always, watch your back.

Here’s some choice bureaucratese in an email regarding the controversial Gitmo move:

“This is a draft, predecisional document that lawyers at various agencies were drafting in preparation for a potential future announcement about where to house GTMO detainees,” the administration official said in an e-mail. “Drafts of official documents are often prepared for any and all possibilities, regardless of whether a decision has been made about the policy or if the document will be used.”

The Q.C. Times continues:

Administration officials have previously said Thomson [IL] is a leading contender to house the Guantanamo Bay detainees, and recently Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said he expects a decision to be made soon.

Boy, that really made the headlines of all the papers, didn’t it? Hmmm….I didn’t look back very far. Maybe Q.C. had a lede and I missed it. Which “administration officials” have named Thomson previously as a contender? The last I heard, it was a reluctant town in Michigan being dragooned into this.
– – – – – – – – –

After the memo was leaked, Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., issued a statement saying they’ve been told no decision has been made yet.

“Even though the final decision has not been made, we are encouraged by this development,” Quinn and Durbin said in the statement.

In other words, nobody told them anything, which is par for the course in this administration. Amazing behavior when you consider that Obama was the Senator from Illinois. I realize protocol is not our President’s strong point, but surely he could have let the Senators and Governor of his state in on this development?

The administration has said moving the detainees to Thomson, along with 1,600 to 2,000 federal prisoners would be an economic boon to the ailing region. Thomson, Ill., is about 50 miles northeast of the Quad-Cities.

A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 22 for state officials to gather public comments about selling the prison to the federal government. The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Sterling High School, 1608 4th Ave., Sterling.

Excellent date choice: three days before Christmas, and the same date as the Rifqa Bary hearing, which will be using up a lot of the newsroom oxygen.

Do you think this state property sale (a fire sale at reduced rates) to the federal government is a sop for the failure to get the Olympics to Illinois?

Do you think it is humane to move all those people from tropical Cuba in freaking December when the Quad Cities are constantly digging out from snow falls? Or is it a plan to increase the death rate among the prisoners – who, by the way, are begging not to be moved to the U.S.?

Do you think any locals have false hopes that they’ll be hired at this prison? The news report doesn’t say, but surely someone will tell them the real story real soon.

If that document at Big Government is for real, then the prison is to be purchased at the behest of the President by Attorney General Holder. That will make Thomson a federal prison, not a state-owned facility. Thomson, Illinois is in for some hard times ahead if they think this is going to bring them anything but Lone Ranger terrorists out to “help” their buddies. It will also mean federal prison employees who cycle in and out, providing little in the way of income for the locals.

And don’t forget, federal pens don’t pay local taxes. They cost local municipalities money whenever they show up.

The document bears close examination. It is directed to the Secretary of Defense, letting him know it’s his job to get these terrorists up to Illinois and settled in those cells.

Merry Christmas, Secretary Gates. I am amazed you’re still here.

‘Tis the season, but the CAIR attorney for Ms. Bary’s parents (who claim to “respect” her choice in religion) has decided that Christmas cards to Rifqa are propaganda.

Barbarossa from My Pet Jawa appears to have a mole inside CAIR. I’ll bet they’re turning the place upside down by now looking for the leak.

Said mole reported:

the parents’ attorney, Omar Tarazi, filed a motion with the Franklin County courts last week moving to ban all Christmas cards being sent to Rifqa through her attorneys, and demanding the seizure from her of all Christmas cards that she might have already received. And yet her parents still make representations to the media that they intend to honor and respect her Christian faith, while their attorney files sealed motions stating that Christmas cards are “dangerous to her health and safety”.

This news and a copy of the motion were provided to me from a source inside CAIR, who noted that CAIR has raised funds for the Bary’s legal jihad to have the courts return the 17 year-old to her allegedly abusive Muslim family. According to affidavits filed in the case, Rifqa states that her father threatened to kill her for leaving Islam, which prompted her to flee her Ohio home and take refuge with a pastor and his family in Florida. In an interview with Florida investigators, her father admitted to the incident, but denies threatening her life. The family also attends the terror-tied Noor Islamic Cultural Center in the Columbus area. Both she and the ongoing legal case have since been transferred from Florida back to Ohio.

Since posting this information, the blogger has been accused of making this story up. So he has posted Attorney Tarazi’s motion:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, FRANKLIN COUNTRY, OHIO DIVISION OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS AND JUVENILE BRANCH

IN THE MATTER OF:

FATHIMA RIFQA BARY,

AN ALLEGED DEPENDENT CHILD

Case No. 09 JU 11 14895

Judge: GILL

Magistrate: GOODRICH

MOTION TO ENJOIN COUNSEL FROM PASSING MESSAGES OF THIRD PARTIES DIRECTLY TO THE MINOR CHILD

Wherefore, now come Mohamed Bary and Aysha Risana Bary, the parents of Fathima Rifqa Bary, by and through counsel, Omar Tarazi, and move the Court to enjoin Fathima Rifqa Bary’s attorneys from passing messages of third parties directly to the minor child without the approval and supervision of Franklin County Children Services; Petitioner moves the court to order Fathima Rifqa Bary and her attorneys to turn over all such communications in their possession or control to FCCS; that third party adults are not to be allowed to communicate with Fathima Rifqa Bary until an approved list is determined by FCCS after consultation with all parties. This motion is supported by the attached memorandum of law.

Omar Tarazi (0084165)
[Address and phone numbers removed]

If you scroll down that post you’ll see this attorney’s “MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT” of his filing.

By the way, he’s a local Columbus Ohio attorney, this Tarazi. He wouldn’t be on the case except for CAIR’s deep pockets.

I believe he also belongs to the same Noor “Cultural Center” as do this girl’s parents, though the Google search information was tenuous.

What’s the problem with Christmas cards? If Dad is so willing to let this “child” practice her religion why are the attorneys threatened by Christmas cards? But that’s CAIR for you. No end of double-talk and double-dealing. The fact that they’re involved speaks volumes for this farce, this potential death sentence on a seventeen year-old girl.

You want to send a Christmas card anyway?
– – – – – – – – –
You can. Until December 22nd, when the next court hearing begins, no ruling will be made on this motion. Meanwhile, Ms. Bary remains unable to speak to or receive any communication from those not on her approved list. As far as I can tell, it’s a very short list: Mummy, Daddy, maybe Brother? I hope the guardian ad litem talks to her.

Here’s the address, with zip code corrected:

Rifqa Bary
c/o Angela Lloyd
255C Drinko Hall
55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210

Ms. Lloyd appears to be Ms. Bary’s guardian ad litem and will be the one receiving the cards. I’d suggest a return address so you’ll know if Ms. Bary ever gets her greeting.

I reported last week on the case of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, the Austrian anti-jihad activist who is facing a “hate speech” charge for one of her recent presentations on Islam.

Two days ago, on December 9th, Elisabeth was conducting another presentation in the same series of seminars. On this occasion she was interrupted and verbally attacked by Muslims in the audience who objected to what she had to say. Below is her report:

On Wednesday night I gave my presentation on Islam at another seminar, part 2 of the series in the province of Burgenland. The meeting was held in Pinkafeld, a small town about 90 minutes south of Vienna.

In November there were approximately 50 attendees at Seminar 1. This time the number was a bit lower; however, among them was a group of young Bosnian girls who appeared fully integrated, and would not even have been recognizable as Muslims if they hadn’t acted up they way they eventually did.

I began with a preamble of sorts, explaining the nature and goals of these seminars, focusing on the right to freedom of speech. In addition I emphasized that this seminar does not focus on Muslims themselves, but rather on political Islam and its manifestations. Furthermore, I stated that this seminar concentrates on criticism of Islam; if someone wants to hear the positive side of Islam, he or she is free to ask the Islamic faith community for a seminar.

Alas, these words — and my frequent repetitions that Muslims per se were not being addressed — did not deter the group of Bosnians from interrupting me to tell the audience that they felt victimized and feared that they too would one day be sent back to Bosnia (alluding to their thinking that I advocated the expulsion of Muslims from Austria) to face the wrath of the evil Serbs.

They simply did not want to listen nor understand that this seminar’s intention is to explain the nature of political Islam. Instead, they attacked me personally.

There’s no need to go into detail, since it followed the usual pattern. Cell phones were used to call in an Austrian lady who rudely interrupted me and confronted me verbally, saying that Christmas is celebrated in Egypt and that she would report me to the authorities for racism and xenophobia. (I had been showing pictures of last year’s Christmas displays in a German shopping center which had featured Islamic and Arabic scenes instead of Christian ones).

– – – – – – – – –

In any case, the rest of the audience started to complain about the rudeness of these women. A verbal brawl ensued while I remained completely silent, waiting for everyone to calm down. Thank goodness the FPÖ had sent a security expert who managed to calm these women down, so that I was able to finish and take a break. The audience was visibly annoyed and rallied by my side.

During the break the Bosnian women continued the discussion outside the seminar room. They calmed down enough to continue listening to the remainder of my presentation — until, that is, I presented Eurabia, which caused them to get up collectively and leave the room (once more interrupting me).

One more observation: it was interesting to note that it was both the Muslim women who felt victimized as well as the “fundamentalist” Christians who were the ones causing the commotion, though the Christians to a lesser degree. They frequently interrupted saying that “all this can also be found in Christianity”.

I used the following two arguments that effectively “killed” unqualified dissent:

1.		When the Bosnians and others complained that all I talked about were the negative aspects, I replied that I have not so far seen them or any other Muslim groups protesting FGM or other non-Muslim or Muslim behavior unacceptable in the West.
2.		When members of the audience complained that my seminar was polemic or one-sided or should include this or that, I replied that they were free to hold their own seminars.

Both of these arguments were met with silence.

All in all, I was able to keep my composure, since by now I am able to deal with these people. Of course it is unnerving, but I will not be intimidated.

Their actions provided ample evidence of what my seminar was all about: freedom of speech, and these groups’ understanding of what this freedom means.

Photo © Snaphanen.

As I mentioned last night, for several years the Christian Action Network has conducted a lengthy investigation of Jamaat ul-Fuqra and its front organization, the Muslims of America. Their efforts culminated earlier this year in their movie Homegrown Jihad, which included excerpts from a secret jihad video featuring Sheikh Gilani and JuF mujahideen training with automatic weapons and explosives.

Christian Action Network has recently uncovered another JuF training video. This one features talking-head appearances by two of the American leaders of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, and some previously unreleased footage of live-fire weapons training at the Muslims of America national headquarters at Islamberg, near Hancock, New York:

– – – – – – – – –
The Muslims of America have concluded — by some statistical method unknown to everyone else — that Muslims actually form a majority in the United States, and that they are under threat from their domestic and foreign enemies.

Thus they are not waging jihad per se, but simply defending themselves.

Violent jihad is always justified in this manner, because Muslims always feel under threat, and thus always have to defend themselves.

The very existence of non-Muslims constitutes a threat to Islam, and jihad is therefore an act of self-defense in the face of an existential menace.

This is a reminder of why the non-Muslim world is known as Dar al-Harb, the House of War.

Jamaat ul-Fuqra is a domestic Islamic jihad organization whose national headquarters is located in a rural area near Hancock, New York.

Scroll down our sidebar and pick from the list of selected posts about JuF, or read The Charlotte County Files, which contains the most comprehensive roundup of the available data on JuF and its front organization, the Muslims of America.

CP is another invaluable resource for investigative reporting on MOA and Sheikh Gilani, the Pakistani founder and leader of Jamaat ul-Fuqra.

The Christian Action Network has been especially tenacious in tracking down and publishing information about Jamaat ul-Fuqra, based on site visits and flyovers of some of its training compounds scattered throughout the USA. CAN’s work culminated with the release early this year of the excellent movie Homegrown Jihad, which documented the activities of the Muslims of America, and featured a jihad training video put out by Sheikh Gilani himself.

Now the group has evidently gotten under the skin of the Muslims of America. The MOA Legal Defense Team has initiated legal action against CAN — but, strangely enough, their minatory letter concerns a video posted by ACT For America, and not CAN.

Brigitte Gabrielle and Martin Mawyer do not resemble each other closely, so this is very strange. But here’s what MOA has to say:

Muslims of the Americas Puts Christian Action Network on Legal Notice

Friday, 27 November 2009

Regarding the Defamatory Video Segment Entitled: “ACT! Interviews Disciple of Islamist Terrorist Sheikh Gilani,” hosted on www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL-pF9cEgX4, MOA attorney Tahirah H. Clark addresses the producers as follows in a letter dated November 19, 2009:

Gentlemen:

This law office represents the Muslims of the Americas, Inc. (hereinafter “MOA”). The purpose of this letter is to place you on formal notice that the above referenced article and video footage contains false and defamatory claims against my client. You are further notified that unless you remove all published versions of the video and immediately publish a full and fair retraction and apology for the matters assigned herein, we will seek injunctive relief against your organization.

First, the aforesaid article is wrought with inaccuracies and flagrant lies. The false accusations and obsessive distortion of the truth inherent in the aforesaid article and program serve one purpose only, to encourage religious bias and hatred. Furthermore, such negligent misstatements of fact place the lives of innocent American men, women, and children at risk and are a form of terrorism itself. This “Media Terrorism” will no longer be tolerated.

While we take umbrage with the entire publication, we specifically address the following:

– – – – – – – – –

1.		The video is entitled “Act! Interviews disciple of Islamist terrorist Sheikh Gilani.” Your video takes a private citizen and presents him to the world as the student of a “terrorist.” Not only is the assertion that Sheikh Gilani is a terrorist blatantly false, but it is also paints the gentleman in a misleading light to the public. This man in your video has legitimate common law claims against your organization for your having presented him to the world in a false and defamatory way.
2.		Next, the footage references the murder of Daniel Pearl as if El Sheikh Gilani was involved. In fact, on June 25, 2007, Randall Bennett of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that El Sheikh Gilani and MOA was absolved of any connection to the disappearance and murder of Mr. Pearl. There has never been any finding or even criminal charges brought against MOA or Sheikh Gilani for Mr. Pearl’s disappearance. In fact, FBI Special Agent Kathy Diskin, of the Karachi Bureau stated that “I had an opportunity to sit [in] an interview with Sheikh Gilani …within 15 minutes of the interview our feelings were that Sheikh Gilani was not involved with this…” Thus, your reference is false, defamatory and misleading.
3.		Your video then segues into a blurb about counterfeit trade. The text states that Sheikh Gilani was purportedly linked to it. MOA has emphatically and repeatedly voiced opposition and condemnation to criminal activity. It is contrary to the tenets of Islam to engage in such unlawful acts.
4.		Continuing, the producers begin to question the gentleman regarding MOA “compounds” and “training camps.” This loaded and inflammatory use of these words have a military connotation that brings to mind anti-social, extremist militia groups. This statement has no basis in fact and relies solely on conjecture. MOA communities where villages have no physical barriers such as fences surrounding its borders. MOA members are homeowners living in villages and contributing to society by virtue of their husbandry and skill. To state that these neighborhoods are “terrorists training camps” is reprehensible. Yet again, your allegations are false and defamatory.
5.		Your video strings together footage of Sheikh Gilani and attributes controversial statements to him. To be clear, it is our position that the materials upon which you rely are manufactured beyond recognition. To that end, it should come as no surprise that Sheikh Gilani would indeed voice opinions regarding self defense. This is particularly so because Mr. Gilani has been a vocal supporter of the Kashmiri people who are in the middle of a civil war. Many of them are his blood relatives and he has not been shy about offering his support for the fight against their oppression. Similarly, Mr. Gilani has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, which fully backed by Ronald Reagan and the Pakistani government, as far back as 1979. There is nothing threatening about his voicing this opinion when on this very same issue the most affluent American politicians and law makers continue to debate the role of America in the region. It is a legitimate debate and the expression of an opinion of same does not render one a “terrorist.”
6.		Part of one of the videos shown belongs entirely to the Kashmir Liberation Front. It presents as though Sheikh Gilani is inviting people to come for training. That is all false. These words have been computer generated. Sheikh Gilani is shown with two American security guards belonging to 786 Security Company, who were his personal bodyguards. Beyond that, the viewer will notice that all the people on this film of the KLF are all Kashmiri people and no Americans. The Kashmiri fight against their oppressors has nothing to do with America or American people. Their battle for independence from their aggressors is restricted to that part of the world. In the video Sheikh Gilani gives them words of encouragement and condoles with those who lost family members in the conflict.

If there is such overwhelming evidence against MOA, then it stands to reason that law enforcement authorities would have taken corrective action. Your irresponsible “broadcasts” strive to achieve vigilante justice against innocent people.

The clear motivation behind your publication is to incite contempt, ridicule, public hatred, and violence toward El Sheikh Gilani and Muslims, particularly members of MOA. Furthermore, it has impaired the reputation and standing in the communities of members of MOA. The impact of this your publication has been evident; within a matter of hours the video received dozens of online “comments” on www.youtube.com exhibiting bigotry and hatred for Muslims.

Please be advised that by spreading the false and defamatory information in the video production, you each shall be held liable for any damages that may arise from the publication of these defamatory and harmful comments. Demand is hereby made that you immediately retract, correct and remove this video footage from all websites where it was published. Further, we fully expect that you will apologize for making same. In the absence of such corrective action, my client will initiate a civil action against you.

Please govern yourself accordingly.
Sincerely,
Tahirah H. Clark, Attorney at Law,
2732 B-13 Roods Creek Road
Hancock, New York 13783

This notice was addressed to:
Christian Action Network
PO Box 606 Forest VA 24551
Toll Free Phone: 888-499-4226

Can Christian Action Network be legally liable for the actions of a totally different organization?

It will be interesting to see how far this one goes.

The big news of the day concerns five D.C.-area terrorists who were arrested in Pakistan for jihad-related activities. President Obama has already advised Americans not to rush to judgment or think ill of their fellow citizens who happen to be Muslims, and who also have made such important contributions to American society.

In other news, the first sharia law tribunal has been proposed for Wales.

Thanks to Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, Diana West, Esther, Fjordman, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, JD, JP, KGS, LN, Lurker from Tulsa, Sean O’Brian, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Coburn, McCain Say Billions in Stimulus Dollars Wasted
	Faculty, Staff Cuts Likely for Tulsa Public Schools
	Neiman Marcus’ 1Q Profit Falls 34% as Luxury Demand Remains Weak
	Obama Still Hopes for Bipartisan Support on Jobs
	U.S. Debt to Fall to Junk Bond Status?
	USA
	Airport Manual Posted Online in Massive Security Breach
	Group Sues for Obama White House Visitor List
	Jimmy Carter’s Grandson Running for Office
	Reid Plays the ‘Hate Card’
	TSA Hands Al-Qaeda Its Playbook
	Europe and the EU
	Architect of Swiss Minaret Ban is a Turk
	Copenhagen Climate Summit: Carbon Trading Fraudsters in Europe Pocket €5bn
	Cyprus: Dozens of Gambling Grannies Arrested
	Denmark: Most Churches Rebuff Climate Bells
	EU: Bildt: Enlargement Continues After Croatia and Iceland
	Ireland: Saudis to Establish School in Dublin
	Italy: Naples Pizza Gets EU Laurel
	Italy: Facebook Users Urge Mafia Boss to be an Informant
	Just Whose Idea Was Swiss Minaret Ban Anyhow?
	Netherlands: Necklace With Cross Banned for Amsterdam Tram-Drivers
	Norway: Obama Snubs the King
	Portugal: Lack of Forests, Sawmills in Crisis
	Roma Ethnic Group: Strasbourg Condemns Spain Discrimination
	Sarkozy Wades Into Swiss Minaret Ban Debate
	Spain: Gibraltar, EU Plan for Waters Unacceptable
	Spain: Brussels Looks at Public TV Financing
	Spain: C02 Storage Plant With EU Funds
	Spain: Mediterranean Marine Algae Prairie in the Atlantic
	Spain: 3 Women Out of 4 Have Job Problems Over Maternity
	UK: 1,700 Scientists Against Climategate
	UK: 90ft Steel Tower Next to Mosque Going Up in Brick Lane
	UK: An Inconvenient Truth: Andrew Roberts Addresses the Anglo-Israel Association’s Annual Dinner
	UK: Al-Fox in Dar Al-Henhouse?
	UK: Britain is Failing on Strokes, Dentistry and Hospital Beds… While Paying Gps More Than Any Other Developed Country
	UK: British Taxpayers to Pay £1 Billion a Year to Help Poor Countries Fight Global Warming in New Deal Backed by Brown
	UK: Christian Hoteliers Cleared in Muslim Woman Abuse Row
	Wales: Sharia Law Tribunal is Proposed
	Balkans
	EU: Balkan Membership Realistic Between 2010-2020, Djukanovic
	Greece Blocks Macedonian Talks
	North Africa
	Agriculture: Sicilian Grain and Legumes in Tunisia
	Egypt: Women Students Sue Over Niqab Ban
	Egypt: Luxor Like a Large Open Museum, New Governorate
	Egypt: Niqab Ban From Classrooms to Court
	Egypt Starts Building Steel Wall on Gaza Strip Border
	Gaza: Egypt Plans Steel Barrier Under Border
	Morocco: Haidar is Incoherent, She Denied Her Nationality, Minister
	Spain: Haidar: Audiencia Nacional Declines Jurisdiction
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Begin: ‘US Administration Not Even Like Carter’s’
	Big Brother Prevails Over Shalit Case on TV
	EU Ministers Agree on Compromise Proposal on Jerusalem
	Frattini in Israel and Territories, But Peace Far Off
	Frattini: Palestinian State ‘A Moral Duty’
	Hillary’s Bombshell: Obama Administration Subtly Launches Dramatic Policy Change on Peace Process
	Man Arrested With Daughter for Allegedly Praying on Temple Mount
	Netanyahu: State Funds for Settlement
	Obama Administration ‘Assures Jewish Evacuation’
	On Israel’s Construction Freeze: U.S. Fails to Deliver: Instead of Praising, Europe Demands More
	Video and Photos: Tens of Thousands Protested Against Freeze
	Middle East
	Cyprus Adds Obstacles to Turkish EU Accession Path
	Diplomat, Scientist Among 11 Iranians ‘Held by US’
	Explaining Russian and Chinese Policy: From Communists to Super-Capitalist Merchants
	Iraq Bombers Backed by Foreign Groups: Police
	Jordan: School: No More Canteen for Schoolchildren
	Lebanon-Spain: General Asarta Nominated UNIFIL Commander
	Syria: Damascus, Orient Trade Tower to Rise by 2010
	Turkey Warns IAF Against Using Airspace
	When it Comes to Iran, President Obama Won’t Hear “No” For an Answer
	Russia
	Investigative Journalist in Belarus Faces Threats
	South Asia
	16 Missing After Bangladesh Pirate Attack
	Breaking News: Pakistan Reportedly Detains Five D.C.-Area Muslims on Suspicion of Terror
	Erick Stakelbeck: Thoughts on the 5 American Muslims Arrested in Pakistan
	India to Split Andhra Pradesh After Protests
	Indian Hotels, Eateries Serving Halal Without Mentioning Fact
	Indonesia to Erect Statue of President Obama as a Boy
	Indonesia: Obama Statue
	Italy: Frattini Reports on Afghan Mission
	Pakistan: Obama Declines to Comment on Terror Arrests
	Swede Held in Pakistan on Terror Suspicions
	Far East
	Philippines: Massacre in Maguindanao: The Ampatuan Clan Suspected of 200 More Murders
	Australia — Pacific
	Australia Denies North Korean Artists Visas
	Australia Hands Back Sacred Land to Aborigines
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	Police Illegally Execute Hundreds in Nigeria: Amnesty
	Somalia Suicide Bomber ‘Was From Denmark’
	Immigration
	England: Immigrant Workers Found ‘Living in Sheds’ Across Slough
	Greece to Open Screening Center for Immigrants
	Libya Says ‘No Exceptions’ In Migrant Expulsions
	UK: Immigration Officers Detain 12 in Last Month in Bradford
	Culture Wars
	Ireland’s Abortion Law Challenged in European Court
	Ireland’s Abortion Ban Faces EU Fight, As Three Women Take Case to Court of Human Rights
	Planned Parenthood Advises: ‘That’s Not a Baby’
	Spain: Agreement Requires Minors to Inform Parents About Abortion
	Teachers Forced to ‘Hide in Closets’ To Pray
	Three Women Challenge Ireland’s Ban on Abortion at European Court
	UK: PC Controller Gets Steamed Up Over Thomas ‘The Sexist’ Tank Engine
	General
	AP Global Warming Fauxtography?
	Global Warming — or Global Stealth Socialism?
	Has War Really Changed?
	Obama’s Jekyll and Hyde Nobel Speech

Coburn, McCain Say Billions in Stimulus Dollars Wasted

WASHINGTON — Seven billion taxpayer dollars wasted, that is what Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn said he’s outlined in another list of 100 wasteful stimulus projects.

In fact, a couple of the projects on the senator’s list were first investigated by the Oklahoma Impact Team.

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn questioned the Obama administration’s use of stimulus money on specific projects.

Coburn and Senator McCain claimed the stimulus is doing little to create jobs or prioritize worthwhile projects.

The Oklahoma Impact Team delved into a list of continuing coverage following stimulus tax dollars.

From one to 100, it lists stimulus projects that are important to those receiving the money, but Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain said those people do not represent most Americans.

“The question is, is when we run $1.4 trillion deficits, the money we spend ought to be a high priority for the American people as a whole,” Coburn said.

Coburn said this list is full of projects that are not a priority and do not create jobs. Three Oklahoma projects are highlighted in the list.

Including a $90,000 grant for OU researchers to study how birds parent their offspring and compare that to human behavior.

The Oklahoma Impact Team was cited as the senators questioned the use of stimulus funds to study grandparents in Alaska. A story the Impact Team discussed months ago.

Coburn used it as an example to show the lack of federal priorities, trickling down to his own state.

“Most of the money’s going to be spent on travel back and forth between Stillwater and Alaska rather than giving that grant to somebody in Alaska or Washington state or somewhere else that are also qualified to do that which is not a priority right now,” Coburn said.

Also on the list, a story by the Impact Team discussed the Oklahoma River Cruises in Oklahoma City getting $1.8 million in transportation-related funding.

The senators called the project wasteful because the money came from the same stimulus budget that could have paid to repair Oklahoma’s deficient bridges.

“We didn’t list the projects when we passed the stimulus bill. We just passed it and gave them a blank check and that’s how you end up with this kind of stuff,” McCain said.

McCain’s state was no different, Arizona also made the list with two scientific studies totaling close to $1 million on ants.

“I had no idea that so much expertise concerning ants resided in the universities of my state. And I must say, I say that with an element of pride, but I’m not sure that it is deserving of these taxpayer dollars,” McCain said.

Finally, the senators cited Reuters research that claimed for every one job the stimulus has created, the government has spent an average of $246,000.

“I think it’s pretty clear that billions and billions and billions, as much as fifty already, have been spent on projects that don’t create jobs. That’s really really bad news for Americas taxpayers,” McCain said.

The Oklahoma Impact Team is continuing to follow stimulus dollars in Oklahoma.

— Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa

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Faculty, Staff Cuts Likely for Tulsa Public Schools

TULSA, OK — Tulsa Public Schools report more budget cuts are inevitable, and they will affect the classroom.

The board of education approved three furlough days for all non-classroom employees Monday night. The move is expected to save the district $325,000, but school leaders say that is just the tip of the iceberg.

TPS has already lost millions in funding in 2009. It could lose millions more by the end of the school year and millions more next year.

Officials say they’re running out of options. TPS is cutting its budget left and right, but there is no end in sight.

TPS Superintendent Dr. Keith Ballard enacted a hiring freeze and eliminated paid substitute teachers. Monday night he announced furloughs for all non-classroom employees. He will also eliminate more than 100 non-teaching jobs.

Teachers and administrators are holding their breath.

“It is absolutely a relief to the classroom teacher and to the parents that the classroom is being protected right now,” Stacey Vernon, Edison Middle School Principal.

But for how long? Doctor Ballard’s struggling to cut $5 million and says he could have to cut millions more by next fall.

“For every 100 teaching positions we get about $4.5, $5 million. I think next year we will see an impact on the classroom, and it will be through classroom size. There will be an impact, and that’s what the impact will be,” Ballard said.

Eighty-five percent of TPS’s budget is for personnel, which means salaries.

“Within in a district where you have so much of its budget taken by salaries and compensation, it’s hard to find enough cuts that don’t affect that,” Vernon said.

Ballard says more furloughs will happen, but teachers are at risk.

“If we do have to reduce the teaching force next year, it is my hope, and my intention, that it will be through attrition. That we will not have an involuntary reduction in force,” Ballard said.

Ballard says when there is no money, there is no money and in the classroom, teachers are nervous about how education will be affected.

To eliminate positions through attrition, Dr. Ballard is offering a one-time, $5,000 bonus for teachers to retire and is working on a proposal that will pay teachers half a year’s salary if they retire.

— Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa

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Neiman Marcus’ 1Q Profit Falls 34% as Luxury Demand Remains Weak

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus says it hasn’t hit the bottom yet.

Its affluent core shopper is still buying, but less-heeled aspirational customers who depended on credit to move up into luxury brands remain largely absent from its stores.

As a result, the Dallas-based retailer reported a 34 percent decline in fiscal first-quarter profit Wednesday. Chief executive Burt Tansky said the customer is “very measured and deliberate in her purchasing.”

“Improvements are slow in coming,” Tansky said. “We’re seeing more enthusiasm from our customers in the month of November and early December than we certainly have all year.”

There are a few bright spots.

It’s asking some vendors of women’s shoes and contemporary apparel to ship more merchandise because it underestimated consumer demand, Tansky said.

Returning international tourists are helping boost business at its Bergdorf Goodman store in New York.

Neiman Marcus is also scoping out new ways to grow. The company is considering opening up its Web shopping to the world. Last month, Seattle-based Nordstrom introduced international shopping on its Web site, extending its reach to 30 countries.

And it’s evaluating how it can expand its Last Call clearance division.

Tom Lind, Last Call’s senior vice president and managing director, has been leading a team studying the outlet store business and evaluating ways to increase its share of the off-price market. It just opened its 28th Last Call store in Orange County, Calif.

While Neiman Marcus sees opportunities in Last Call stores and online, it’s slowing its full-line store expansions. It just opened its 41st Neiman Marcus store in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash. New stores in smaller markets such as Charlotte, N.C., have had a tougher time during the recession than mature stores.

It takes time for stores to develop in new markets, said Jim Skinner, chief financial officer.

Overall, first-quarter results came in better than analysts expected but were still weak, said Moody’s analyst Maggie Taylor.

“That aspirational customer was shopping on credit, and we don’t see those customers coming back,” Taylor said. “Their credit limits have been cut, and they aren’t feeling as good about life.”

Total sales declined 11.9 percent to $868.9 million from $985.8 million a year ago, when stores took huge markdowns to move merchandise.

Same-store sales dropped 13.7 percent in the quarter. Profit fell to $8.5 million in the period ended Oct. 31, down from $12.9 million last year. Sales per square foot declined to $454 from $605 a year ago. This fall, stores were also stocked with more merchandise in its middle price ranges.

While markdowns are much lower than last year’s 40 percent to 75 percent off, sales are expected to remain weak because shoppers still can’t afford most luxury brands, according to a report by Retail Eye Partners analysts Sapna Shah and Lisa Waters. Neiman Marcus stores have 20 percent less inventory to match up with the new realities.

At the company’s NorthPark Center store in Dallas, historically one of the top three in the chain, parking spaces were in big demand over the lunch hour Wednesday.

“I’ve cut down,” said Suzanne Moran of Dallas. When she couldn’t find something on sale, she headed to the cosmetics department, where she found a few gifts Wednesday.

Sandra Redmond of Dallas said she came in for her annual St. John knits fix.

“I got it for 60 percent off. That’s the only way I can afford it,” she said, adding that she paid full price for fur ear muffs at $125 and stockings at $26 each.

— Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa

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Obama Still Hopes for Bipartisan Support on Jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite Republican opposition on Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he’s still hoping for bipartisan support for his efforts to use financial bailout money to help small businesses and bring down double-digit unemployment.

“I am absolutely committed to working with anybody who is willing to do the job to make sure we rebuild our economy,” Obama said after emerging from a White House meeting with a group of Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.

Obama repeated his proposals for more infrastructure spending, tax breaks for small businesses, and incentives for Americans to make their homes more energy efficient. He also wants to extend economic stimulus programs to keep unemployment insurance from expiring for millions of out-of-work Americans and to help laid-off workers keep their health insurance.

Obama hasn’t given a price tag for the new package but said he would work with Congress on deciding how to pay for it. Some lawmakers put the total cost of the new proposals at $200 billion or more.

Republican lawmakers have ridiculed both the president’s proposals and his parallel call for doing more to hold down government deficits. During Wednesday’s meeting, GOP leaders presented the president with their alternative “no-cost” jobs plan that calls for a freeze in federal spending and no tax increases until the unemployment rate comes down.

“We can’t keep spending money we don’t have,” Rep. Eric Cantor, the second-ranking House Republican, said after the meeting.

Despite the president’s call for bipartisanship, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday’s discussion “was not without politics.”

A House Republican aide aware of details about the meeting said the president accused the GOP of rooting against a recovery because of next year’s midterm elections. The aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

— Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa

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U.S. Debt to Fall to Junk Bond Status?

Moody’s signals concern U.K. also could lose AAA rating

Is U.S. government debt about to be lowered to junk bond status?

While that risk is not imminent, the Obama administration is now officially on notice that downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating is not out of the question.

On Tuesday, credit-rating agency Moody’s Investor Services warned the U.S. and Britain may lose their AAA sovereign credit ratings due to deteriorating finances, according to a report by Dow Jones Market Watch.

Moody’s has decided that for now the U.S. and Britain will retain AAA ratings, however, both nations are being moved to the “resilient” category.

— Hat tip: JD

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Airport Manual Posted Online in Massive Security Breach

In an alarming security breach in the United States, an airport security manual has been posted on the internet.

The confidential airport passenger screening procedures offer insight into how to sidestep security.

The 90-page Transportation Security Administration (TSA) manual was marked “sensitive security information”.

It had been sitting on the internet since March but the blunder has only just been made public by a blogger.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Group Sues for Obama White House Visitor List

Secret Service has denied requests from Judicial Watch, msnbc.com

The nonprofit conservative group Judicial Watch has sued the U.S. Secret Service after the Obama administration again denied a request for copies of the list of visitors to the White House.

The records are being sought by journalists and public interest groups to help determine who is influencing White House policy on health care, the economy and a host of other issues.

Under the Obama policy, most of the names of visitors from Inauguration Day in January through the end of September will never be released. After the Secret Service and the White House denied a request for those records, Judicial Watch filed suit on Monday in federal court in Washington.

[…]

The White House has set up a Web page where members of the public can request the release of names of visitors, but that system gives results only for the names of visitors that the public can guess. If the public can’t guess who may have visited the White House between January and September, it can’t find out the names.

In addition, although the White House system requires requesters to submit their e-mail address, requests are not acknowledged by the White House, and no reply is sent to the requesters. The names sought, if they correspond to actual visitors, just show up in the next batch of names released by the White House. So far, each release of names by the White House has happened on the evening before a holiday, the classic Washington tactic for burying uncomfortable news.

— Hat tip: JD

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Jimmy Carter’s Grandson Running for Office

Jason Carter Announces Campaign for Georgia State Senate

A grandson of Jimmy Carter is following the former president into politics with a run for the Georgia state Senate.

Democrat Jason Carter says he will run for an Atlanta-area seat that’s being vacated by President Barack Obama’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore.

[…]

The 34-year-old said his grandfather, once the governor of Georgia, encouraged him to take the plunge. But he said he doesn’t feel much pressure to live up to his family’s famous last name.

“To the extent that there’s pressure, it is pressure to do the right thing, to maintain integrity that comes with the name,” he said.

— Hat tip: JD

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Reid Plays the ‘Hate Card’

I find it suspiciously opportune that the political left has habituated Americans into the belief that one of the worst things one can be is a big, fat hater. As I see it, the methods by which they have accomplished this are identical to those they employed in creating hypersensitivity around racism and issues of race. This, of course, has proved invaluable to them in the area of securing capitulation on the part of their political opponents. In the case of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., it is difficult for me to assess this man’s comportment over the last year without resorting to personal attack, so heady are the emotions his actions arouse. Then again, I honestly can’t think of anything worse to call him than what he already is. While “craven, purulent slime” and “desperate old whore” come to mind, these really don’t say anything definitive about his exploits or why one might appraise them as untoward or evil.

On Dec. 7, Reid likened congressional Republicans who oppose the current radically socialist health care “reform” proposals to those who opposed the abolition of slavery. His questionable stratagem highlighted another of the left’s key machinations, one which has proven eminently effective in securing their objectives: the implementation of a communist-inspired model for our educational system that is nothing more than a vehicle for indoctrination and social engineering. It has effectuated the existing level of ignorance on the part of Americans; consequently, millions have no idea whatsoever that it was Democrats who were in nearly unanimous support of slavery and later, segregation.

— Hat tip: JD

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TSA Hands Al-Qaeda Its Playbook

Terrorists were surely rejoicing when the Transportation Security Administration posted one of its most sensitive documents online.

Terrorists love details. Al-Qaeda’s U.S. embassy bombers knew the thickness of the embassy walls — a key detail in figuring out how much explosives were necessary to take the buildings down. The Mumbai terrorists had copies of the floor plans to the Taj Mahal Hotel before beginning their three-day siege. The 9/11 hijackers took no less than 33 test runs in the months leading up to America’s worst terrorist attack; they cased airports and watched how flight attendants did their jobs. Terrorists do homework. They conduct intense reconnaissance missions so as to maximize the death toll on the day of their actual attacks. Practice makes perfect, so the saying goes.

This week the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) — the agency tasked with keeping you and your family safe on airplanes — literally handed al-Qaeda its playbook. In a blunder of astonishingly poor judgment, the TSA allowed one of its most sensitive documents, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual, to be posted online. And then, instead of admitting the seriousness of its security breach, the TSA tried to take the position that the information wasn’t that important. Only after Congress got involved did TSA take any action. “Some” TSA employees were placed on administrative leave, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary David Heyman told senators on Wednesday.

One of the more troublesome exposures that must be addressed is the publication of undercover agents’ ID cards — including those for CIA officers and federal air marshals. The TSA claims the information is outdated, yet I confirmed with an air marshal and a CIA officer than their ID cards have not changed in the past 18 months. Sadly, I doubt anyone reading this is surprised. America long ago lost confidence in the TSA. Despite billions of taxpayer dollars, the agency consistently proves incapable of doing its job. And yet one question remains: will it take another terrorist attack using airplanes to reform the TSA?

The largest group of federal law enforcement officers in the country wants action, not backpedaling. John Adler, spokesman for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), told the House Homeland Security Committee, “Both TSA’s posting of sensitive security information and their unwillingness to grasp the seriousness of this are unacceptable.” Adler asked for closed-door congressional investigations, including a “meaningful damage-control assessment.”

Senator Susan Collins, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also saw through the TSA’s attempt to downplay the incident. “On the day before the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s hearing on terrorist travel, it is alarming to learn that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inadvertently posted its own security manual on the Internet,” Collins said.

Here are a few highlights from the TSA’s SOP manual, which unfortunately reads like a how-to-breach-airport-security manual for terrorists…

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

[Return to headlines]

Architect of Swiss Minaret Ban is a Turk

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 9 — One of the architects of the controversial Swiss referendum that resulted in a ban on the construction of minarets has a Turkish heritage, daily Milliyet reported on Wednesday. Born in the Aegean province of Izmir to a Turkish father and a Swiss mother, Soli Pardos family moved to Switzerland when he was 5 years old, the daily said. Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets on November 29, barring construction of the iconic mosque towers in a surprise vote that put Switzerland at the forefront of a European backlash against a growing Muslim population. Muslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic. The referendum by the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, or SVP, labeled minarets as symbols of rising Muslim political power that could one day transform Switzerland into an Islamic nation. Pardo also said minarets are used as symbols in Europe, but added: I do not have any reactions against Muslims, and I do not accept that there is Islamaphobia in Switzerland. Pardo, who is the leader of the Geneva Canton for the SVP, said his father was a small-scale industrialist and passed away in 1976 when Pardo was 21. Regarding the referendum, he said: We do not believe that the minarets are linked to worship because no calls to prayer are made from the minarets. We are not against building mosques but against 5- to 6-meter-tall minarets. The initiative was approved 57.5 to 42.5% by some 2.67 million voters. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Copenhagen Climate Summit: Carbon Trading Fraudsters in Europe Pocket €5bn

Carbon trading fraudsters may have accounted for up to 90pc of all market activity in some European countries, with criminals pocketing an estimated €5bn (£4.5bn) mainly in Britain, France, Spain, Denmark and Holland, according to Europol, the European law enforcement agency.

The revelation caused embarrassment for European Union negotiators at the Copenhagen climate change summit yesterday, where they have been pushing for an expansion of their system across the globe to penalise heavy emitters of carbon dioxide.

Rob Wainwright, the director of serious crime squad, said large-scale organised criminal activity had “endangered the credibility” of the current carbon trading system.

“We have been talking to Europol over the last weeks,” said one EU senior delegate, after she was asked whether the European Union-run scheme was still viable. “We are making some fixes.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Cyprus: Dozens of Gambling Grannies Arrested

(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, NOVEMBER 25 — Fortytwo women aged between 75 and 85, including a 95-year-old from Limassol, were shocked on Sunday when police raided their card game and confiscated their 100 in betting money. The women, as the Cyprus Mail reports, were charged for illegal gambling after the police raid in an Ayios Ioannis house on Sunday evening. Officers found the 42 women at the club run by two women aged 79 and 70. The oldest person arrested was a 95-year-old. The raid took place on Sunday after a series of complaints by neighbours about noise in the evenings when the women were coming and going from the house. Officers found that one of the rooms in the house had been set up with several tables covered in green felt. The 42 women were caught seated around the tables playing poker and gin rummy for cash in a similar fashion to a gambling club. Playing cards for money is illegal in Cyprus and police regularly carry out raids around the island at betting shops, clubs and associations particularly coming up to Christmas, and through New Year, when more people go out to play cards and socialise over the holiday period. Following a search police confiscated 546 chips, 530 playing cards and approximately 100 euro in cash. All of the women were charged in writing at the police station and then released. The incident, however, does not appear to be and isolated one as card playing is the hobby of many elderly ladies in Cyprus. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Denmark: Most Churches Rebuff Climate Bells

Low support for collective church bell tolling to greet world leaders arriving in Copenhagen

Almost 70 percent of churches have decided not to participate in the collective clanging of church bells arranged by Grøn Kirke (Green Church), a climate group attached to the National Council of Churches in Denmark.

Grøn Kirke has encouraged the country’s churches to toll their bells 350 times on Sunday at their 3pm services in connection with the COP15 conference.

— Hat tip: Esther

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EU: Bildt: Enlargement Continues After Croatia and Iceland

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 9 — There is no tacit consensus between the EU member States over a break in the enlargement process after the entry of Croatia and Iceland, said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, current president of the Union, answering journalists questions today in Brussels during a conference of the western Balkans. This tacit agreement over a stop to EU enlargement does not exist, but time is needed, explained Bildt which is another matter. There are reform procedures to be carried out in various countries, which could be slower or quicker. The EU started with six members and now there are 27, it has not been a linear process, but it has gone ahead. Regarding European integration Turkey has made enormous progress, it is one of the most dynamic economies, although it must still work on other areas, while among the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia is further ahead than others. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

Ireland: Saudis to Establish School in Dublin

THE GOVERNMENT of Saudi Arabia is planning to establish a school with an Islamic ethos in Dublin.

The plans have been announced in Arabic on the website of the Saudi embassy in Dublin which opened in September.

According to the notice, the decision to set up a school was taken at a meeting in Dublin late last month. The meeting was attended by members of the education committee of the Saudi Shura Council, an unelected body whose members advise the Kingdom’s government, and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Ireland, Abdulaziz Aldriss.

“It was decided in the meeting to establish a Saudi school to teach the children of Saudi citizens and students residing in Ireland,” the website says.

The Saudi embassy insists the plans are at a very early stage, and a spokesperson yesterday declined to give further details. In a statement, the Department of Education said the Saudi government had not been in contact with the department regarding the matter.

Speculation has mounted within Ireland’s 40,000-strong Muslim community over how big the school might be, and whether it will cater for non-Saudi Muslims.

According to the embassy, less than 15 Saudi families live and work in Ireland, and more than 400 Saudi nationals study here, though the latter number is expected to rise in coming years following the Saudi ministry for education’s recognition of more Irish third-level institutions.

Ali Selim, a theologian based at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin, welcomed the plans. Asked about speculation within the Muslim community that the school may incorporate secondary education, he said that if this proved correct it would “achieve a long cherished Muslim ambition” in Ireland.

The State already has a number of Muslim primary schools.

“I highly recommend them to establish such a progressive step on the basis of a thorough understanding of the Irish context and the profound experience gained by Muslims living in Ireland,” Mr Selim said.

The plans were also welcomed by the parents of Shekinah Egan, the teenage girl whose request to wear the hijab at her school in Gorey, Co Wexford, last year prompted the principal to call for official guidelines to be issued on the wearing of the hijab in State schools.

Ms Egan’s father, Liam, who lived with his family for several years in Saudi Arabia, praised what he described as the Kingdom’s “strong commitment” to education both domestically and overseas.”An Islamic secondary school is vital and should be a priority for the community,” he said.

Saudi government-funded schools in cities including London and Bonn, and in Virginia state in the US, have drawn controversy in recent years following complaints that textbooks and other curricular material sourced from the Saudi education ministry and used in the schools contained language intolerant of other religions as well as passages that could be construed as advocating violence.

The Islamic Saudi Academy in Virginia, which is funded by the Saudi embassy in nearby Washington DC, was forced to revise its curriculum last year after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government agency, raised concerns about material it considered inflammatory.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Italy: Naples Pizza Gets EU Laurel

Accolade will protect it from inferior clones

(ANSA) — Brussels, December 9 — Real Naples-style pizza on Wednesday received a European Union quality seal protecting it from imitations.

The EU’s quality food board awarded a long-sought TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) label to Naples’ gift to food lovers.

“By protecting pizza we have safeguarded the history, culture and tradition of the Neapolitan people,” said Rosario Lopa, president of a committee that has lobbied for the laurel. “This is a historic result for the Naples economy,” Lopa added.

Antonio Pace, President of the Real Neapolitan Pizza Association, called the TSG laurel “a milestone and, above all, a way to stop stuff that isn’t really pizza being touted as such,” he said.

He stressed the importance of making sure that the accolade only covers ‘Pizza napoletana prodotta secondo la tradizione napoletana’ (Neapolitan Pizza Made According to Neapolitan Tradition).

“The produce that goes into it, the ways of making and baking it, the whole process of assembling the finished package must be rigorously verified,” he said.

“We’ll have to be very careful about that”.

The recognition will be valid in all EU countries and “anyone who claims to be producing real Neapolitan pizza will be subject to strict inspections,” he said.

“Too many people have been setting themselves up as pizzaiuoli (pizza-makers) without the proper training. That’s caused huge market problems,” Pace added.

Neapolitan pizza-makers have been fighting for 25 years to have their unique product put on the EU’s list of protected foods.

“Europe has finally rewarded the tenacity of the Naples producers,” said Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia.

“It is a symbol of Neapolitan tradition that has, for far too long, been the subject of dreadful imitations”.

Italian farming association Coldiretti stressed the importance of the laurel in helping fight pizzas produced with “cheese from Eastern Europe instead of traditional mozzarella, Chinese tomatoes, Tunisian or Spanish olive oil and Canadian or Ukrainian flour”.

It noted that pizza was the best-known Italian word abroad followed by cappuccino, spaghetti and espresso. The pizza from the southern Italian city is universally recognised as the benchmark for pizza everywhere.

The leader of the Neapolitan association of pizzaiuoli, Sergio Miccu, said in the run-up to the award: “Ours is a job that takes a year or a year and a half to learn and only by sticking close to people who can hand down all the secrets of this art,” he said.

The lobbies and city authorities said there would be a “huge” pizza party to celebrate Wednesday’s long-awaited news.

Miccu said: “It’s going to be unforgettable”.

The campaign to give Neapolitan pizza a seal worthy of its renown began in 2000 with then farm minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio who set up a committee of experts to lay down what should go into the world-famous dish and how it should be made.

THE RIGHT STUFF.

True pizza, they concluded, must be made only of durum wheat flour, fresh yeast, water and sea salt, with a topping of olive oil, San Marzano tomatoes (in slices no thicker than 8mm) and mozzarella di bufala, the fresh cheese made of buffalo milk.

The tough specifications obviously rule out a vast array of foods that pass for pizza around the world.

Pizza is one of the few foods composed almost exclusively of the region’s three PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) products as already recognized by the EU: San Marzano tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil from Campania, and mozzarella di bufala.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Facebook Users Urge Mafia Boss to be an Informant

Palermo, 8 Dec. (AKI) — Users of the popular internet social networking site Facebook have urged Giovanni Nicchi, the Sicilian mafia fugitive boss captured at the weekend, to become an informant.

Since Nicchi was arrested in the southern city of Palermo on Saturday, more than 5,000 people have registered on the Facebook page of the Palermo police department’s elite squad that hunts down the most-wanted mafia suspects.

“Gianni Nicchi, you’re a mafia boss. But you’re still young and according to your criminal record you haven’t killed anyone. You have two small children and a young partner. You can give them and yourself a chance. You can still do good by renouncing evil,” wrote one user on the Facebook page.

“Teach everybody a lesson by turning your back on Cosa Nostra and collaborating with the Italian justice system. Your life will be easier. But above all that of your children and will be happier and more peaceful,” the user added.

Costra Nostra is the Italian name for the Sicilian mafia.

Police will on Wednesday hand to public prosecutors in Palermo items including a laptop computer and mobile phones seized during the raid on the small flat where 28-year-old Nicchi was arrested.

Nicchi was on the run for three years, and reportedly communicated via ‘pizzini’ — or messages written on scraps of paper hidden in cigarette packets.

He is now due to appear before prosecutors on Friday at Palermo’s appeals court where hearings are taking place in one of two trials in which he was sentenced in absentia to a total 18 years in jail for extortion and mafia links.

Prosecutors have sent a request to Italy’s national anti-mafia directorate to severely limit Nicchi’s contact with other prisoners and the outside world while he is in prison.

Palermo prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Milan on Wednesday will question another top suspected Sicilian mafia leader, Gaetano Fidanzati. The 74-year-old was arrested in Milan on Saturday.

Prosecutors will also question Alessandro Presiti , 19, and Giusy Amato, 27, who are both suspected of aiding and abetting Nicchi in Palermo.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Just Whose Idea Was Swiss Minaret Ban Anyhow?

[Pardo’s Father is a Turkish Citizen of Italian Ancestry]

The architect of the controversial Swiss referendum that resulted in a ban on the construction of minarets has a Turkish heritage, daily Milliyet reported on Wednesday.

Born in the Aegean province of Izmir to a Turkish father and a Swiss mother, Soli Pardo’s family moved to Switzerland when he was 5 years old, the daily said.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Netherlands: Necklace With Cross Banned for Amsterdam Tram-Drivers

THE HAGUE, 10/12/09 — Amsterdam’s municipal public transport company GVB is not allowing its drivers to wear a necklace with a cross, but it does allow its staff to wear headscarves, De Telegraaf reported yesterday.

Amsterdam tram conductor Ezzat Aziz has been suspended twice because as a Christian, he wore a necklace with a cross on top of his uniform. The GVB forbids the man to display his faith in this way, but does allow Islamic staff to wear a headscarf has symbol of their faith.

Aziz, who came to the Netherlands from Egypt in 1984, is seeking a summary injunction against GVB. “I am being discriminated against. “The GVB does allow female staff members to wear a headscarf as symbol of their faith. On top of this, I have only been forbidden to wear the cross visibly since the beginning of this year, even though I have already been doing this during my work since 1998.”

GVB spokesman Petra Faber defends the move: “The GVB has had a new uniform for a year. To ensure a professional image, jewellery may not be worn visibly over the uniform. This applies to all necklaces, regardless of what they look like, or what symbolism or religion they represent.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Norway: Obama Snubs the King

Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his Nobel. Katarina Andersson on the president’s decision to decline lunch with King Harald and skip his own Nobel exhibit.

A day before President Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the president’s treatment of his Norwegian hosts has become hot news across Scandinavia.

News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would snub his own exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center. “A bit arrogant—a bit bad,” proclaimed another Aftenposten headline.

“It’s very sad,” said Nobel Peace Center Director Bente Erichsen of the news that Obama would skip the peace center exhibit. Prize winners traditionally open the exhibitions about their work that accompany the Nobel festivities. “I totally understand why the Norwegian public is upset. If I could get a few minutes with the president, I’d say, ‘To walk through the exhibition wouldn’t take long, and I’m sure you would love the show. You have no idea what you are missing.’“

Meanwhile, the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet is reporting that the president has declined an invitation to lunch with King Harald V, an event every prize winner from the Dalai Lama to Al Gore has attended. (The newspaper’s headline: “Obama disses lunch with King Harald.”)

Also among the dissed, according to news reports: a concert in Oslo on Friday that was arranged in his honor, and a group of Norwegian children who had planned to meet Obama in front of City Hall.

“The American president is acting like an elephant in a porcelain shop,” said Norwegian public-relations expert Rune Morck-Wergeland. “In Norwegian culture, it’s very important to keep an agreement. We’re religious about that, and Obama’s actions have been clumsy. You just don’t say no to an invitation from a European king. Maybe Obama’s advisers are not very educated about European culture, but he is coming off as rude, even if he doesn’t mean to.”

Indeed, judging by statements surrounding the president’s trip to Europe this week, it is beginning to appear as if the European love affair with Obama—which culminated in giving him the Nobel Prize—is over.

But some news outlets are cutting him a bit of slack, noting that he is dealing with two wars and soaring unemployment back home and a new war, and that his main focus this week should rightly be on the climate-change summit in Copenhagen. Taking part in all the activities surrounding his Nobel Prize could send the wrong message.

That may have something to do with Obama’s uncharacteristic shunning of the press. Whereas other prize winners have viewed the standard Nobel Peace Prize CNN interview as an opportunity to address the world for a full hour, Obama seems unwilling to answer any questions at all. There will be no press conference, just a statement from the president.

“It’s very strange that he is unwilling to meet the press,” said Marie Simonsen, political editor at Dagbladet, one of Norway’s biggest daily newspapers. “I’m very disappointed. You get the impression he is not proud of the prize.”

Obama is the second sitting American president to visit Norway. Ten years ago, President Clinton traveled to the country at the invitation of King Harald. “When Clinton was here he was walking into cafes in downtown Oslo, shaking hands with Norwegians on the street,” said Simonsen. “It doesn’t seem as if we are going to experience something similar with President Obama.”

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Portugal: Lack of Forests, Sawmills in Crisis

(ANSAmed) — LISBON, NOVEMBER 26 — According to the president of the national association of wood and furniture industries, Fernando Rolin, Portuguese forests are not able to supply pinewood and these industries are in danger of collapsing. Some 250 sawmills with a total of 4,500 workers are at risk. Over the last ten years, the sawmill industry has lost over 300 firms (6,200 jobs). And, considering that the sawmills are the departure point as they provide wooden panels to industries, carpenters and furniture makers, the risk is extremely great. The forest processing industry is responsible for 9% of national industrial employment, 14% of industrial GDP and 12% of national exports. Some 2.5 billion euros of annual turnover is involved, 1.3 billion of which obtained on overseas markets. These are the worrying conclusion of a Strategic Study for the Restructuring and Modernisation of the Industry of Wood Processing in Portugal. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Roma Ethnic Group: Strasbourg Condemns Spain Discrimination

(ANSAmed) — STRASBOURG, DECEMBER 8 — The Spanish authorities should have paid out the survivorship pension to M.D.’s widow, even if the couple was married only according to the traditional rites of the Roma ethnic group. The European Court of Human Rights established this today, with a decision that will become definitive in three months, save for an appeal to the Grand Chamber (European second instance) by the Spanish government or the plaintiff. Mrs. Maria Luisa Munoz Diaz was married in 1971 by the Roma ethnic community ceremony. She and her husband, both Spanish citizens, have six children that are all documented in the family register provided by Spanish authorities. In 1986 the couple also obtained recognition of “large family” status. The husband, a mason that had paid national insurance contributions for 19 years, passed away on December 24, 2000. Mrs. Munoz Diaz asked the National Insurance Institute for the survivorship pension, but was refused because the couple had not been married according to Spanish civil law. The woman brought her case as far as the Constitutional Court, but the verdict didn’t change. With the decision handed down today, the judges in Strasbourg have established that the Spanish authorities should give Mrs. Munoz Diaz 70,000 euros. The reasoning is that that they had violated her right to not be discriminated against, given that the Spanish government had recognized the couple as being married, through various documents over time. For example, they guaranteed “large family” status and the right to private property, which in this case includes the right to receive her husband’s survivorship pension.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Sarkozy Wades Into Swiss Minaret Ban Debate

Nicolas Sarkozy has deplored the “excessive” French media and political reaction to the Swiss minaret ban, in an opinion piece for Le Monde newspaper.

The French president said he was “stupefied” by the response and wrote that instead of condemning the Swiss for the vote outcome, it was important to understand “what it intended to express and what so many people in Europe feel, including the French”.

Sarkozy said he was convinced a yes or no response to such issues could only lead to “painful misunderstandings, a feeling of injustice” over a problem that could be resolved on a “case by case basis with respect for the convictions and beliefs of everyone”.

The yes vote was not a barrier to freedom of religion or conscience, he argued, while paying tribute to the Swiss system of direct democracy.

“No one — and no more so than Switzerland — would dream of questioning these fundamental freedoms,” wrote Sarkozy in the piece published on Tuesday.

He said he would not say no to minarets in France but cautioned that in such a secular country religious adherents should “refrain from all ostentation or provocation” of religious practices.

Muslims should recognise France’s Christian tradition, he said, adding that anything that resembled a challenge to this heritage “would condemn to failure the very necessary establishment of Islam in France”.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Spain: Gibraltar, EU Plan for Waters Unacceptable

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 7 — The joint Spanish-UK plan for the waters around Gibraltar has been judged “unacceptable, inappropriate and legally impossible” by the Rock’s leading minister, Peter Caruana in a communiqué issued by Caruana to Spanish media today. The waters around Gibraltar were declared a place of Spanish community interest, which would imply that Spain has management of them, especially as concerns ecological questions. The European Environment Commission last week proposed a joint management by Spain and the United Kingdom in line with community directives. But Caruana is insisting on the fact that the colony’s laws apply in the British territorial waters around Gibraltar, thus excluding any other member of the European Union. Caruana has warned that some of the Spanish statements give the impression that the waters are free of the Gibraltar’s authorities and the jurisdiction of its laws. On the contrary, Caruana stresses, non-observation of the Rock’s laws in Gibraltar’s waters will lead to the arrest and trial of those guilt of infringements, at the discretion of Gibraltar’s police and other authorities. In stirring up this eternal controversy with Spain over the management of the waters, Caruana stresses that Madrid did not seek to undermine the exclusive jurisdiction of Gibraltar, accepting the status quo, up until June this year, when Spanish authorities embarked on physical actions in British and Gibraltar’s territorial waters. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Brussels Looks at Public TV Financing

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 3 — The European Commission opened an investigation into the new financing system of public television (RTVE) to ascertain whether it is compliant with EU rules on networks and electronic communication systems or if it is an opening to unfair competition. The reform issued by the Zapatero government provides that private TV networks that broadcast without encryption contribute 3% of their yearly revenues (1.5% for pay-TVs) to finance RTVE which, in exchange, will no longer air commercials. Telecoms operators will also contribute to cover 24% of the cost of public TV by handing over 0.9% of their revenues, while another 20% will by covered by the tax on airwaves. EC Commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes explained that the Commission has no objection to the removal of commercials from public TV in a statement that was reported today by El Pais, but at the same time must assess the method through which to finance the reform. Consequently Brussels investigators will find out whether the tax system introduced by the reform represents excessive compensation, which alters competition, with the risk of allowing discrimination between operators. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: C02 Storage Plant With EU Funds

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 10 — The building of a plant for carbon dioxide (C02) capture and storage, presented by the Leon Community, is one of the 15 projects in the field of energy which will be financed with 15 billion euros from the European Commission. It is the only Spanish project included in the financing programme, according to reports in today’s El Pais. The 15 projects are for the building of windmills in the middle of the sea and six plants for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. The Spanish project was planned by the public consortium Energy City (Ciuden) with the collaboration of Endesa in Ponferrada (Leon), and will receive 180 million euros. In the first phase of implementation, Ciuden will build a 30 megawatt pilot plant for C02 capture in Compostela (Leon), an underground storage depot in Ontomin (Burgos) and a 3-kilometre pipeline to develop the technology. The overall cost is 156 million, 70 of which will be covered by European funds. If the pilot project works, in the second phase Endesa will apply it on a large-scale in a 300 megawatt coal-fired thermal plant, which would be the first in Spain to store C02 and which would be kept in storage for centuries in order to mitigate global warming. The second phase will be financed with 110 million euros from the European Commission and the rest by Endesa. Carbon dioxide capture in Leon is a personal challenge for Premier José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who is originally from the area and who has long held that support for energy from national coal is not incompatible with environmental protection. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Mediterranean Marine Algae Prairie in the Atlantic

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 7 — A marine algae native to the Mediterranean, the caulerpa prolifera, has been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean by researchers from the Andalusia Council’s department of the environment in the Cristina Island (Huelva) Marasma nature reserve. The finding, according to council sources, is a large prairie of more than two hectares of green caulerpa prolifera alga which has an important ecological function as it improves shore waters and encourages development of maritime flora and fauna. The discovery took place during an ongoing two year inspection of the Andalusian marine floor by the office of the councillor for the environment. This is the first time a Mediterranean algae has been found west of Algesiras in the Gulf of Cadiz on the Atlantic. The finding accounting to the environmental researchers testifies to the healthy state of the marine habitant in the Atlantic waters off the region’s coastline. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: 3 Women Out of 4 Have Job Problems Over Maternity

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 10 — In the egalitarian Spain of Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which issues a cheque of 2,500 euros for every child born or adopted, 3 out of 4 women have problems at work because of maternity. For this reason they are delaying the decision to have children until they have found a stable job, leading to an ageing population which risks compromising the countrys pension system. A study called Fertility and the working trajectory of women in Spain by the Upper Council for Scientific Research (Csic), and commissioned by the Womens Institute at the Equal Opportunities Ministry, was presented today in Madrid. According to the report, which was written in collaboration with the La Sapienza University in Rome and the Complutense in Madrid, Spain has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, along with Italy: the figure of 2.8 children per woman of 1975 has fallen to 1.4 currently, not enough to ensure the replacement of the generation, and is contributing to an ageing population and an inversion in the demographic pyramid. According to research, based on a poll of 10,000 women between the ages of 15 and 75, carried out by the Centre for Sociological Research in 2006, over 75% of women between the age of 35 and 49 with a fixed job had their first child on average 3.7 years after the start of cohabitation, rising to 4.1 years among women who work in the public sector. The new generation reports problems reconciling working life with family life, rather than discrimination: 30% of women between 35 and 49 have had to reduce their working hours; 25% have had to leave work; 9% have suffered discrimination and 3.7% have had to give up their studies. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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UK: 1,700 Scientists Against Climategate

From French: More than 1,700 British scientists signed a declaration of support of human-made climate change.

— Hat tip: Esther

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UK: 90ft Steel Tower Next to Mosque Going Up in Brick Lane

WORK begins this week on erecting a giant 90ft ‘iconic’ steel tower next to a mosque in the middle of the Brick Lane conservation area in London’s East End.

The structure which will resemble the shape of a minaret is being erected inches from the wall of the Jamme Masjid mosque, a converted former synagogue founded originally as an 18th century Huguenot church, after planning permission was given by Tower Hamlets council.

Council Leader Lutfur Rahman visited the site last week when the base was completed, where he met Muslim community leaders.

The steel structure will dominate the skyline of the Georgian conservation area around Spitalfields, the historic Huguenot weaving district, and is being billed by the Town Hall as “a new iconic East End landmark.”

The seven sections of the tower are being fitted together and erected during the week.

The local authority also intends to erect new arches along Brick Lane, all paid for by £8.6 million ‘planning gain’ cash from the nearby Bishops Square development on the ‘City Fringe’ near Liverpool Street station.

“It’s important developers give something back to the community,” said Cllr Rahman. “The council planning team makes sure their contributions offset the disruption and additional pressures their developments place on our services.”

The cash from Bishops Square, one of the largest single payments from a developer ever received by a local authority, is also paying for open spaces on the nearby Chicksand and Holland housing estates and a new building for Osmani youth centre.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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UK: An Inconvenient Truth: Andrew Roberts Addresses the Anglo-Israel Association’s Annual Dinner

My Lords, Ladies & Gentlemen,

It’s a great honour to be invited to address you, especially on this the 60th anniversary of AIA [Anglo-Israel Association], and I’d like to take the opportunity of this anniversary to look at the overall story of the relationship between Britain and Israel, and to try to strip away some of the myths.

Because it seems to me that for all the undoubted statesmanship implicit in Arthur Balfour’s Declaration of November 1917, promising ‘a National Home for the Jewish People’, it doesn’t mean that Britain has ever been much more than a fair-weather friend to Jewish national aspirations. The Declaration itself was at least in part conceived to keep Eastern European and Russian Jews supporting the Great War after the Bolshevik Revolution, and Chaim Weizmann’s preferred wording of ‘a Jewish State’ was turned down by the British Foreign Office. As David Ben-Gurion wrote at the time: ‘Britain has made a magnificent gesture … But only the Hebrew people can transform this right into tangible fact: only they, with body and soul, with their strength and capital, must build their National Home and bring about their national redemption.’

Sure enough, at the Versailles Conference and its ancillary meetings up to 1922, although Britain was given the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, the Jewish National Home was not established. During the Mandate period there was an observable tension between the CO, which was responsible for administering Palestine and wanted to do so within the terms of the (admittedly self-contradictory) Balfour Declaration, and the FO, which feared that allowing the de facto creation of a Jewish State would alienate Arabs. In 1937 the Peel Commission recommended ending the Mandate and partitioning Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with population transfers of 225,000 Arabs from Galilee, an outcome Ben-Gurion said [quote] ‘could give us something which we have never had, even when we stood on our own during the days of the First and Second Temples’. Nonetheless, both the Arabs and the 20th Zionist Congress rejected Peel’s recommendations, to the palpable relief of the Foreign Office, which concentrated its own opposition to it on the basis of its supposed impracticality.

Instead there was the notorious 1939 White Paper, which severely limited Jewish immigration into Palestine at precisely the period of their greatest need, during the Final Solution. A total upper limit of 75,000 Jewish immigrants was set for the fateful years 1940-44, a figure that was also intended to cover refugee emergencies. The White Paper was published on 9 November 1938 — the very same day as the Kristallnacht atrocities in Germany — and was approved by Parliament in May 1939, a full two months after Hitler’s occupation of the rump of Czechoslovakia. The Manchester Guardian described it as ‘a death sentence on tens of thousands of Central European Jews’, which in sheer numerical terms was probably an underestimation. Although the Labour Party Conference voted to repeal the White Paper in 1945, the Labour Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin — a bitter enemy of Israel — persisted in it, and it was not to be repealed until the day after the State of Israel was proclaimed.

In late April 1948, Bevin ordered that Arab positions in Jaffa needed to be protected from the Jews [quote] ‘at all costs’, and when Israeli independence came the next month, the departing British sometimes handed over vital military and strategic strongpoints to the five invading Arab armies, the most efficient of which, Transjordan’s Arab Legion, was actually commanded by a Briton, Sir John Glubb. And then on New Year’s Eve 1948 the British Government actually issued an ultimatum to Israel threatening war if Israel did not halt its counter-attacks on Egyptian forces in the Gaza Strip and Sinai. Britain was the only country in the UN that came to Egypt’s aid in this regard.

One can easily see, therefore, why when Brig-Gen Sir Wyndham Deedes set up the Anglo-Israeli Association only weeks after Israel was finally recognized by Britain in 1949 — months after America, Russia and several other states had already done so — it was much-needed. There was still massive resentment over the War of Independence; Israel was considered at best a headache by the FO; and worst of all, unlike her neighbours, she had no oil. Nor did the Suez Crisis much help matters seven years later: the way in which Israel fitted in neatly with British plans to crush Nasser ought to have endeared her to the Foreign Office, but of course it didn’t.

When in May 1967 Nasser announced the blockading of the Straits of Tiran, closing Israel’s commercial lifeline to the east, the guarantors of this international waterway — including Britain — failed to act quickly or decisively, and although Harold Wilson was proud of his pro-Israeli sentiments, his foreign secretary George Brown and the FO certainly did not reciprocate them. Britain compounded its generally lukewarm attitude during the Six Day War by sponsoring Resolution 242 at the end of it, which called on Israel to withdraw [quote] ‘from territories occupied’, in a resolution that was so badly worded by the FO that Arabs and Israelis have been able to argue over its proper meaning ever since.

The Yom Kippur War of October 1973 saw even worse bias by the FO in favour of the Arabs and against the Jews. Announcing an arms embargo ‘equally’ between the belligerents, the Heath Government effectively stopped Israel buying spare parts for the IDF’s Centurion tanks, whilst allowing them to be bought by Jordan, the only other country affected, because it was not (officially at least) a belligerent. Egyptian helicopter pilots continued to be trained in Britain, with the foreign secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home lamely telling the Israeli Ambassador that it was better for the pilots to be training in Britain than fighting at the front. Heath even refused to allow American cargo planes taking supplies to Israel to land and refuel at our bases on Cyprus. In the 1980s Margaret Thatcher seemed to offer a new warmth to Anglo-Israeli relations. She sat for Finchley, her Methodism chimed well with Jewish values, and she was the most philo-Semitic PM since Churchill, yet even she was stymied by the FO, especially over Intelligence cooperation with Mossad. It’s true that John Major sent a special SAS unit to seek and destroy Iraqi Scud missile batteries targeting Israel during the First Gulf War, but that was largely to remove the danger of Israel retaliating, and thereby perhaps destroying the Arab coalition against Saddam.

After 9/11 Tony Blair seemed to appreciate how Israel was in the very front line in the War against Terror, and he thus bravely refused to condemn Israel’s acts of self-defence in Lebanon, but since then Britain’s contribution to the EU’s strand of negotiating over Iran’s nuclear ambitions has been, frankly, pathetic.

One area of policy over which the FO has traditionally held great sway is in the question of Royal Visits. It is no therefore coincidence that although HMQ has made over 250 official overseas visits to 129 different countries during her reign, neither she nor one single member of the British royal family has ever been to Israel on an official visit. Even though Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Greece, who was recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” for sheltering a Jewish family in her Athens home during the Holocaust, was buried on the Mount of Olives, the Duke of Edinburgh was not allowed by the FO to visit her grave until 1994, and then only on a private visit.

“Official visits are organized and taken on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth office,” a press officer for the royal family explained when Prince Edward visited Israel recently privately — and a spokesman for the Foreign Office replied that [quote] ‘Israel is not unique” in not having received an official royal visit, because [quote] ‘Many countries have not had an official visit.’ That might be true for Burkino Faso and Chad, but the FO has somehow managed to find the time over the years to send the Queen on State visits to Libya, Iran, Sudan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan & Turkey. So it can’t have been that she wasn’t in the area.

Perhaps Her Majesty hasn’t been on the throne long enough, at 57 years, for the Foreign Office to get round to allowing her to visit one of the only democracies in the Middle East. At least she could be certain of a warm welcome in Israel, unlike in Morocco where she was kept waiting by the King for three hours in 90 degree heat, or at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda the time before last, where they hadn’t even finished building her hotel.

The true reason of course, is that the Foreign Office has a ban on official Royal visits to Israel, which is even more powerful for its being unwritten and unacknowledged. As an act of delegitimization of Israel, this effective boycott is quite as serious as other similar acts, such as the academic boycott, and is the direct fault of the FO Arabists. Which brings us on to Mr Oliver Miles. One of the reasons I’m proud to be an historian is that there are scholars of the integrity and erudition of Prof Sir Martin Gilbert and Prof Sir Lawrence Freedman who also write history. If people as intelligent, wise and incorruptible as they choose to be historians, then it must be an honourable profession. Let me quote to you, therefore, word-for-word, what a former British Ambassador to Libya and Greece, Mr Oliver Miles, wrote in The Independent newspaper less than a fortnight ago, commenting on the composition of the present Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War:

‘Both Gilbert and Freedman are Jewish, and Gilbert at least has a record of active support for Zionism. Such facts are not usually mentioned in the mainstream British and American media. … All five members have outstanding reputations and records, but it is a pity that, if and when the inquiry is accused of a whitewash, such handy ammunition will be available. Membership should not only be balanced; it should be seen to be balanced.’

Ladies and gentlemen, if that’s the way that FO Arabists are prepared to express themselves in public, can you imagine the way that they refer to such people as Professors Gilbert and Freedman in private? For the balance that Mr Miles is talking about here is clearly a racial balance, that only a certain quota of Jews should have been allowed on to the Inquiry.

Of course there’s a reason why ‘Such facts are not usually mentioned in the mainstream media’, of course, and that is because it is a disgraceful and disgusting concept even to notice the racial background of such distinguished public servants, and one that wouldn’t have even occurred to most people had not Mr Miles made such a point of it.

Because there are 22 ambassadors to Arab countries, and only one to Israel, it is perhaps natural that the FO should tend to be more pro-Arab than pro-Israeli. On occasion there are remarkably good British Ambassadors to Israel — your president, Sir Andrew Burns, was one such in the early 1990s — just as there are on occasion remarkably good Israeli Ambassadors to Britain, indeed we are fortunate to have one at the Embassy today in Ron Prosor. Overall, however, such men are swimming against the tide of an FO assumption that Britain’s relations with Israel ought constantly to be subordinated to her relations with other Middle Eastern states, especially the oil-rich ones, however badly those states behave in terms of human rights abuses, the persecution of Christians, the oppression of women, medieval practices of punishment, and so on.

It seems to me that there is an implicit racism going on here. Jews are expected to behave better, goes the FO thinking, because they are like us. Arabs must not be chastised because they are not. So in warfare, we constantly expect Israel to behave far better than her neighbours, and chastise her quite hypocritically when occasionally under the exigencies of national struggle, she cannot. The problem crosses political parties today, just as it always has. William Hague called for Israel to adopt a proportionate response in its struggle with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2007, as though proportionate responses ever won any victories against fascists. In the Second World War, the Luftwaffe killed 50,000 Britons in the Blitz, and the Allied response was to kill 600,000 Germans — twelve times the number and hardly a proportionate response, but one that contributed mightily to victory. Who are we therefore to lecture the Israelis on how proportionate their responses should be?

Very often in Britain, especially when faced with the overwhelmingly anti-Israeli bias that is endemic in our liberal media and the BBC, we fail to ask ourselves what we would not do placed in the same position? The population of the United Kingdom of 63 millions is nine times that of Israel. In July 2006, to take one example entirely at random, Hezbollah crossed the border of Lebanon into Israel and killed 8 patrolmen and kidnapped 2 others, and that summer fired 4,000 Katyusha rockets into Israel which killed a further 43 civilians. Now, if we multiply those numbers by nine to get the British equivalent, just imagine what we would not do if a terrorist organization based as close as Calais were to fire 36,000 rockets into Sussex and Kent, killing 387 British civilians, after killing 72 British servicemen in an ambush and capturing a further eighteen? I put it to you that there is absolutely no lengths to which our Government would not go to protect British subjects under those circumstances, and quite right too. So why should Israel be expected to behave any differently?

There has hardly been a single year since Brigadier-General Deedes established AIA in 1949 when a speaker has not been able to say that Israel faced a crisis, and on some occasions — in 1956, 1967, 1973 and especially in the face of the present Iranian nuclear programme today — these were existential. At a time when Barrack Obama appears to be least pro-Israeli president since Eisenhower, the dangers are even more obvious. For there is simply no way that Obama will prevent Ahmadinejad, perhaps Jewry’s most viciously outspoken and dangerous foe since the death of Adolf Hitler, to acquire a nuclear Bomb.

None of us can pretend to know what lies ahead for Israel, but if she decides pre-emptively to strike against such a threat — in the same way that Nelson pre-emptively sank the Danish Fleet at Copenhagen and Churchill pre-emptively sank the Vichy Fleet at Oran — then she can expect nothing but condemnation from the British Foreign Office. She should ignore such criticism, because for all the fine work done by this Association over the past six decades — work that’s clearly needed as much now as ever before — Britain has only ever really been at best a fairweather friend to Israel.

Although History does not repeat itself, it’s cadences do occasionally rhyme, and if the witness of History is testament to anything it is testament to this:

That in her hopes of averting the threat of a Second Holocaust, only Israel can be relied upon to act decisively in the best interests of the Jews.

— Hat tip: JP

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UK: Al-Fox in Dar Al-Henhouse?

Behold Asim Hafeez, the new British Home Office official charged with identifying British jihadists and mobilzing them — no, sorry, diverting them — from the path to jihad. Or something.

According to Martin Bright, who reported on the appointment last month at the Jewish Chronicle, there is “serious concern among more moderate Muslim advisers across Whitehall” about their new colleague, whom one fellow advisor described as a “hardcore Salafi.”

Only among “more moderate Muslim advisors”? How about the suicidal non-Muslims who likely hired him? Of course, if they were concerned they wouldn’t have picked him in the first place. The Islamization of England continues apace.

A guest post at Harry’s Place quite instructively elaborates on Hafeez’s belief in an Islamic state…

— Hat tip: Diana West

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UK: Britain is Failing on Strokes, Dentistry and Hospital Beds… While Paying Gps More Than Any Other Developed Country

Family doctors in Britain are the most highly paid in the developed world even though this country languishes well below the average in international healthcare league tables.

GPs have an average salary of £106,000, earning 60 per cent more than those in France where the health system performs better than the NHS on most criteria.

Their high pay emerged in a second day of revelations from a damning report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

[…]

A summary of its findings, reported by the Daily Mail yesterday, revealed that British healthcare is little better than that of former Communist countries such as the Czech Republic.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: British Taxpayers to Pay £1 Billion a Year to Help Poor Countries Fight Global Warming in New Deal Backed by Brown

British taxpayers will have to fork out at least £1 billion a year to help poor countries cope with global warming, under an international deal being backed by Gordon Brown.

The cash — raised from a slew of new taxes and higher fuel bills — will also help developing countries in Asia, South America and Africa build wind farms and solar power plants.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Christian Hoteliers Cleared in Muslim Woman Abuse Row

A devout Christian couple have been cleared of insulting a Muslim guest because of her faith.

Benjamin and Sharon Vogelenzang were accused of launching a tirade against Ericka Tazi at the Bounty House Hotel in Aintree, Liverpool, in March.

The couple had denied using threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated.

The Crown Prosecution System said it was satisfied there had been sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution.

District judge Richard Clancy dismissed the case at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Mrs Tazi, who converted to Islam 18 months ago, spent a month at the hotel in Church Avenue while attending a course at Aintree Hospital.

Business affected

She claimed the couple became enraged when she wore a hijab on her last day and accused Mr Vogelenzang, 53, of asking her if she was a murderer and a terrorist.

She also told the court Mr Vogelenzang called the Prophet Muhammad a murderer and a warlord and likened him to Saddam Hussein and Hitler.

But the couple denied her version of events and claimed Mrs Tazi told them Jesus was a minor prophet and that the Bible was untrue.

Mr Vogelenzang admitted that his wife may have referred to the hijab as a form of bondage, but said he only listed historical figures such as Hitler, Nero and Mao to make light of the situation.

Earlier on Wednesday the court heard that takings at the couple’s hotel were down by 80% since they were prosecuted for the public order offence.

Speaking from the witness box, Mr Vogelenzang accused 60-year-old Mrs Tazi of “trying to ruin his business” during heated scenes…

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Wales: Sharia Law Tribunal is Proposed

Wales could get its first court based on Islamic law under proposals from a Muslim body, BBC Wales has learned.

A Sharia law tribunal in Cardiff will help community relations and give some Muslims services they want, supporters have told the Dragon’s Eye programme.

But some commentators, such the think-tank Civitas, say a Muslim arbitration tribunal undermines the concept of one law for UK citizens.

A women’s group said it was not needed and women may not be treated fairly.

A Tribunal has been proposed for the middle of next year, and its backers say it will bring the law and Muslim faith together.

There are already seven such tribunals in England when two parties facing marital, financial and other disputes come before experts in Islamic and UK law.

Both parties must agree to allow the tribunal to sit in judgement and the final decision is legally binding.

Shaykh Siddiqi, of the tribunal, said: “What we are trying to do is help the third or fourth generation British Muslims who are growing up to give them the services necessary to make Britain their homeland, rather than saying we actually want to ghettoise ourselves.”

‘Shoved to one side’

A recent report by Civitas was critical of Sharia courts, saying they were not in keeping with UK legal principles.

Denis MacEoin, of Civitas, said: “It is Sharia law that is given the prominent position and this effectively means that British law is shoved to one side.

“All citizens have the right to be judged under a single legal system, and that we didn’t bring in the legal system by the back door and that is effectively what is happening at the moment.”

Some fear that Muslim women may become isolated from their communities if they do not choose the tribunal system.

Marya Shabir, of the Welsh Women’s National Coalition, said: “It’s being advertised as this opt-in system when it actually isn’t.

“If a Muslim woman is given the option of using a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal over going through the courts system using the law of England and Wales; there’s no question as to which system she’s going to use.

“If she doesn’t go with the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, she is going to face stigmatisation, she will be ostracised by her community, her peers, her family who believe she is turning her back on the community.”

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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EU: Balkan Membership Realistic Between 2010-2020, Djukanovic

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 8 — The possibility of EU membership for the Balkan countries in the 2010-2010 decade is “realistic”, according to Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, speaking in Brussels at a conference on the Balkans organised by Friends of Europe. According to Djukanovic, “there are strong signs of commitment” in this direction by both sides. “Today, all of the countries in the region say that their future is in the EU,” added the prime minister, underlining the security issue, a two way street for Europe and the Western Balkans. For Djukanovic “the European Union is a guarantee of stability for the region” and vice versa. “If the security of the Balkans is threatened,” he said, “so is that of Europe.” Therefore, “if the EU wants to be competitive,” concluded Djukanovic, “it cannot do so if it is not stable and united,” including the Western Balkans. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Greece Blocks Macedonian Talks

EU delays a decision on opening membership talks with Macedonia after Greek objections.

The foreign ministers of the European Union’s 27 member states today delayed a decision on opening accession talks with Macedonia, which has been a candidate for membership since 2005.

Greece was the only EU state that did not want to set a date for the start of talks.

In October, the European Commission said that Macedonia had met all preconditions for opening membership negotiations, but they remain blocked because Greece objects to the country’s name, which it shares with a Greek province. The foreign ministers now decided to revisit the issue in the first half of next year.

Pierre Lellouche, France’s minister for Europe, said yesterday that France agreed with the Greek position, as a sign of support for a fellow EU member.

Greece and Macedonia, which was part of Yugoslavia until the early 1990s, have been negotiating with United Nations mediation on a possible compromise name for many years. Despite reported improvements in the atmosphere at the talks, no tangible progress has been made. A new, centre-left government in Greece has raised hopes that a solution might be within reach.

In the absence of an agreement, Macedonia is referred to as the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, or FYROM, in official EU and UN business.

Nikola Gruevski, Macedonia’s prime minister, told a conference in Brussels on Tuesday that Greece was “monopolising history” and that it wanted to “change our identity” by refusing it the use of the name ‘Macedonia’.

“We cannot delete ourselves as a nation,” he said.

“This attitude of Greece is not European,” Gruevski said, adding that it had caused “big political damage”.

Carl Bildt, foreign minister of Sweden, the current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, told reporters today that the foreign ministers’ decision was balanced because it left both Greece and Macedonia somewhat unhappy.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Agriculture: Sicilian Grain and Legumes in Tunisia

(ANSAmed) — MAZARA DEL VALLO (TRAPANI), DECEMBER 4 — By midway through December, in Tunisia several experiments will be underway with a variety of Sicilian grains and legumes. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between the two countries, whose foundations were laid today in Mazara del Vallo in the province of Trapani as part of the 4th Fishing Forum, which included delegates from the Mediterranean region. “We have to use history as a point of departure,” said the President of the Sicily Grain District, Biagio Percorino, “to build relations between the two shores of the Mediterranean in the agricultural sector.” The President of the grain association of the Tunisian city of Beja, Baraket Youssef, took part in the conference. “Tunisia,” he said, “intends to increase its grain production to become a platform for other Mediterranean countries for grain exports. We are ready to development your grain varieties in our country.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Women Students Sue Over Niqab Ban

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, DECEMBER 9 — By now about a dozen women university students intend to sue Iman Al Azhar, Egypt’s Grand Mufti and the religious affairs minister over the ban on wearing the niqab, the veil that covers the face as well as hair, in school halls and ministerial offices. The initiative, similar to that announced recently by another student, comes after Ain Shams University, Cairo’s state university, yesterday stopped a group of women students wearing the niqab from entering the halls for exams. A legal case that “not based on religion or sharia”, the students told ANSA, “but on constitutional principals and statements on human rights”. The niqab, explained the students, is part of their constitutional rights which include the right to wear what they want. In the recent months Iman of Al Azhar, the main Sunni institution, banned the niqab in places where there were only women in all the teaching institutions linked to the university. The move was based on the fact that for sheik, Sayyed Tantawi, the niqab has no foundation in religion but only in tradition. A position supported as well by Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq the Mufti Ali Gomaa. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Luxor Like a Large Open Museum, New Governorate

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, DECEMBER 8 — It will take 2.2 billion Egyptian lira, equal to about 273 million euros, to transform Luxor into a world renowned open museum. These resources were allocated for the city’s global development plan launched at the end of 2006 and whose management will be handled now by the new governorate of Luxor, announced by President Hosni Mubarak in a visit yesterday to the city. It will be the country’s 29th governorate, and will be equipped with a special statute. During his visit, the president inaugurated several projects while speaking to the local press, including a tourism movement, activating new investments, and creating jobs. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Niqab Ban From Classrooms to Court

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — The ban on wearing the niqab, the veil that leaves only a woman’s eyes uncovered, supported by the leading Egyptian religious authorities — the Imam of Al Azhar Sayyed Al Tantawi, the Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa and the minister for religious affairs Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq — is moving from university lecture halls to the halls of justice. Announcing the legal case there are now a dozen women students at Ain Shams University, the second largest public university in Cairo, banned from entering the school to take their exams because they were wearing the niqab. The same happened at the University of Cairo and there was a protest demonstration and some girls, according to the local press, preferred giving up taking their exams. The question of the niqab exploded in October when the Imam of Al Azhar ordered a young woman student to remove her niqab because “it had nothing to do with religion”. Al Azhar students, repeated university’s high council based on an Egyptian law, must not wear the covering in courses held and attended by women, during exams — only when men are absent — and in the dormitories. The next step was taken by Education Minister Yustri El Gamal, citing a 1995 ministerial directive that prohibits the niqab in public schools. Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said the niqab is not only not a religious obligations but also an outfit blatantly in contrast with the Prophet’s teaching, and can be banned in places of work like banks and hospitals. The minister for religious affairs banned it from ministerial offices and published a book called “Niqab: a tradition, not a religious act”. The legal initiative, explained lawyer Nizar Ghorab who is representing some of the students, is not based on religion but the principals of the Constitution and human rights. Wearing the niqab is a constitutional freedom said Ghorab, “becasue the woman who does not wear it has the right to wear what she wants while she who wears the niqab has no right”. Additionally, his intent is to show that Egypt “which pretends to be an Islamic state”, and whose laws are based on the principals of sharia, “does not apply Islamic law”. As to the ban at the Al Azhar schools which has to do with places where only women are present, Tantawi said in an interview, according to the lawyer, “that next year the niqub could be banned also in the presence of men”. “It has to be understood that Sheik of Al Azhar, who depends on the state is involved in a war against the niqab, he presents his offering to keep his position”, said the lawyer and that, “the mufti published a fatwa in 2006 before taking office, which said the niqab was a duty for all women”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt Starts Building Steel Wall on Gaza Strip Border

Egypt has begun constructing a huge metal wall along its border with the Gaza Strip as it attempts to cut smuggling tunnels, the BBC has learned.

When it is finished the wall will be 10-11km (6-7 miles) long and will extend 18 metres below the surface.

The Egyptians are being helped by American army engineers, who the BBC understands have designed the wall.

The plan has been shrouded in secrecy, with no comment or confirmation from the Egyptian government.

The wall will take 18 months to complete.

— Hat tip: JD

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Gaza: Egypt Plans Steel Barrier Under Border

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, DECEMBER 9 — To put an end to the continuous smuggling from the Sinai to the Gaza Strip, Egypt is planning to build a barrier under the border of heavy steel panels, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The newspaper says the Egyptian decision is linked to energetic pressure from the United States to stop arms smuggling to the Hamas regime in Gaza. The project includes a nine kilometre barrier between the Egyptian sector of the city of Rafah in the north to the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the south along the so-called Philadelphia Axis that runs along the border. The newspaper reports that work has already started around Rafah and a 20 to 30 metre trench is being dug for the giant steel panels. According to Israeli estimates there are hundreds of smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the project, once completed, will only be able to reduce the phenomena in part. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Morocco: Haidar is Incoherent, She Denied Her Nationality, Minister

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 7 — Morocco does not intend to allow the human rights activist on behalf of the Saharawi people, Amanatou Haidar, back into the country because it was herself who denied her Moroccan nationality and handed back her passport. Haidar has been on hunger strike in Lanzarote Airport since November 16. The position expressed by Morocco’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Tayeb Fassi Fihri, comes after days of diplomatic tension between Madrid and Rabat and a meeting of the EU-Moroccan Council of Association in Brussels. According to Fassi Fihri, Haidar had stated that she was not Moroccan like her parents and handed back her passport. For the Foreign Minister, “Haidar was rejected in line with the norms of international law. Morocco’s position has not changed: we cannot receive in the country somebody who says they want admission without recognising their nationality and documentation at the same time”. In this particular case “the pact of civil and political rights extends to all of Morocco’s citizens, but not to those who sometimes say that they are Moroccan and sometimes say that they are not”, the foreign minister said. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Haidar: Audiencia Nacional Declines Jurisdiction

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 4 — Spain’s Audiencia Nacional has recognised that crime against humanity has been committed against the Saharawi human rights activist, Amanatou Haidar, who has been on hunger strike for the past 19 days, but has declared the crime lies outside its jurisdiction. The judgement comes in light of Spain’s recent criminal procedure reforms affecting universal law. This is the nub of the act, cited in today’s edition of El Pais, with which Judge Eloy Velasco stated that he was not able to pronounce in cognizance of the accusations levelled by Haidar against the Moroccan authorities regarding her enforce expulsion from El Aaiun. The reported crimes had been referred to the Madrid court by the Arrecife district court in Lanzarote precisely because the alleged events occurred abroad. The judge reasoned that recent reforms to universal jurisprudence prevented the prosecution by a Spanish court, its jurisdiction limited only to accused parties present in Spain, in cases where the petitioners are Spanish citizens, or if there is a connection linking the affair to Spain. According to Velasco, none of these preconditions is fulfilled in the Haidar case. She accused Morocco of illegally expelling her from El Aaiun, the capital of Western Sahara on November 14, accusing Spain along with the captain and crew of the aircraft which took her to Lanzarote, of kidnapping and mistreatment. And while tensions increase between Madrid and Rabat following the refusal of the Moroccan government to grant the activist permission to return to El Aaiun, Spain’s deputy premier Maria Teresa de la Vega today reaffirmed that the government is doing all in its power to persuade Morocco to return Haidar her passport. During the press conference following today’s cabinet meeting, de la Vega assured reporters that Spain was committed to finding a solution within the United Nations that would recognise the Western Sahara’s right to self-determination. We shall never close relationships with a country in order to find a solution, the deputy premier said, appealing to Aminatou Haidar to call off her hunger strike. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Begin: ‘US Administration Not Even Like Carter’s’

US President Barack Obama’s views on the issue of West Bank settlements are more challenging for Israel than those of former president Jimmy Carter, Minister-without-Portfolio Bennie Begin said in a meeting with Likud activists from Judea and Samaria at the Knesset Tuesday. Likud minister Bennie Begin.

Begin, whose father, former prime minister Menachem Begin, made peace with Egypt during Carter’s presidency, made the comments just two weeks after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu censured Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat for calling the Obama administration “horrible.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Big Brother Prevails Over Shalit Case on TV

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, DECEMBER 8 — The Shalit case has no hold on the television viewing public: the local version of reality show ‘Big Brother’ continues to reign supreme in the ratings. This was confirmed by the most recent audience data provided today by the media, according to whom the latest episode of the reality show — aired on Channel 2 (one of the major Israeli networks) — showed a ratings share of over 26%, beating the touching documentary dedicated to Ghilad Shalit, the soldier held prisoner in the Gaza Strip by Hamas Radical Islamic Palestinians for over three years, which aired exclusively on rival network, Channel 10. The documentary covering the odyssey of Shalit and his family (called ‘A Family in Captivity’ and aired at a possible turning point in the case) ended up with 10% of the ratings, says the online issue of Haaretz. The network executives still consider this a significant result (“double what we may have feared”, they said) though it remains far from the heights of ‘Big Brother’. For Channel 10, challenging the most popular reality show on the small screen, even at the cost of losing a few ratings points, seems to have been a well thought out choice, writes Haaretz. They also mentioned that the network has recently tried to differentiate itself from concurrent Channel 2 programming, with more documentaries and investigations in a schedule that also counts various entertainment shows among its biggest ratings successes. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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EU Ministers Agree on Compromise Proposal on Jerusalem

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 8 — European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have found a “balanced” compromise proposal for the long-standing dispute over the status of Jerusalem, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Tuesday. The ministers said negotiations were needed to find a way of making Jerusalem the capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state “if there is to be a genuine peace”. The issue is one of the thorniest in the stalled Middle East peace negotiations. Frattini said he would discuss the EU proposal during talks in Tel Aviv on Wednesday with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Afterwards, he will head to Ramallah to review the issue with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad. Frattini said he had been tasked with conveying the EU’s support for Fayyad’s economic policies to relaunch the West Bank “which seem to be working quite well”. Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally. It has insisted that Jerusalem be its undivided capital and is totally opposed to the idea of an international mandate or an international status for the city. The Palestinians, meanwhile, want East Jerusalem as their future capital. Jerusalem is a holy city to three religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Earlier this year, the Vatican reiterated a request that the city be given a “special status” so that all the faithful of the three main monotheistic religions would have access to their holy sites. Frattini said the EU ministers’ proposal was reached “after lengthy and complex discussion on the Middle East” and “took account of the stances of countries, including Italy, which were concerned about European interference on (peace) talks which we hope will resume soon”. “Deciding here in Brussels on the status of Jerusalem would frustrate the aim of the negotiations,” he added. Frattini said the EU statement stressed that “the European Union will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties”.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Frattini in Israel and Territories, But Peace Far Off

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 8 — Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, enters into a very tense environment dominated by reciprocal mistrust and serious objections when he arrives to Israel and the Palestinian Territories tomorrow, for a quick visit of just a few hours, during which he will meeting in Ramallah with Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, and then in Jerusalem with Israeli Premier, Benyamin Netanyahu, and head of diplomacy Avigdor Lieberman. Frattini, said the ministry, will try to encourage both sides to resume negotiations, stalled for months due to the issue of new Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. However, his visit is coming the day after a stance was taken by the EU foreign ministers on the status of Jerusalem (it should be negotiated as capital of both states, urged Brussels today, citing the 1967 borders), which made neither side happy. Too weak a position according to Palestinians, who hoped that the Swedish draft in which East Jerusalem was explicitly mentioned as “the capital of the future Palestinian state” was included. Too strong for Israel, which considers the eastern part of the city (occupied in 1967 and formally annexed in 1981 despite international protests) part of its “eternal and indivisible capital”. Italy, together with a group of European countries closer to Israel’s needs, worked to undermine the draft presented by the Swedish presidency, which angered Israel, reaching what Frattini called a “balanced” compromise, avoiding inopportune “European interference” on the outcome of negotiations: “Deciding here in Brussels what the status of East Jerusalem should be would spoil the purpose of negotiations,” commented the head of Italian diplomacy. However, the margins for Europe’s mediation (and that of other countries) in the region are meagre to the point that the U.S. State Department is waiting for more favourable conditions for a new mission to the area by U.S. special envoy to the region, George Mitchell. The openings left by the previous government of Ehud Olmert on East Jerusalem have been closed by the new Netanyahu administration, taking a rigid position on key topics such as borders, the settlements, and water resources. The recent announcement of a 10month moratorium on the development of settlements in the West Bank (which excludes settlements in East Jerusalem, natural growth, and public buildings) was greeted by some as a step forward, but, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry, it does not seem to set forth sufficient conditions to return to the negotiating table. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Frattini: Palestinian State ‘A Moral Duty’

(ANSAmed) — RAMALLAH, DECEMBER 9 — The European Union and the United States have a moral duty to try to set up a Palestinian state, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Wednesday. Addressing a press conference with Palestinian National Authority Premier Salam Fayyad, Frattini urged Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table “as soon as possible”. He called a US proposal for forming a Palestinian state in two years “ambitious” but said “we have the moral duty to work towards this goal”. Frattini also urged Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu to hold out against protests from settlers angry at his decision to freeze new settlements on the West Bank for ten months. “I hope the new positions taken by the European Union yesterday will help Netanyahu resist then pressure from the settlers,” he said. After his talks with Fayyad in Ramallah, Frattini will see Netanyahu later Wednesday in Jerusalem. Frattini is the first European Union diplomatic chief to visit Israel and the West Bank since EU foreign ministers on Tuesday issued a fresh call for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories as part of a “balanced” solution that would see Jerusalem becoming the capital of both states. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Hillary’s Bombshell: Obama Administration Subtly Launches Dramatic Policy Change on Peace Process

by Barry Rubin

In a one-paragraph statement welcoming Israel’s ten-month-long freeze on building apartments in existing West Bank settlements, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a major statement. The dramatic new U.S. stance on Israel-Palestinian Authority peace agreement is camouflaged by brevity and subtle wording. But make no mistake: this is one of the most important foreign policy steps the Obama Administration has taken.

Here is the statement in full:

“Today’s announcement by the Government of Israel helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that through good-faith negotiations the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements.”

Clearly, this approach builds on the 2000 Camp David meeting and the December 2000 plan of President Bill Clinton. Ironically, the latter is called the Clinton plan, so the name need not change since now it is renewed and extended by another Clinton.

These 77 words are worth analyzing in great detail. First, there is what the United States is offering the Palestinian side:

“The Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps…”

One should first ask, which Palestinians? Hamas and Islamic Jihad don’t favor this approach and Hamas still runs the Gaza Strip. To pretend that Israel can or should make a peace treaty with the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority (PA) which has no authority over the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is ludicrous. Whatever deal Israel makes with the PA, it could—indeed, probably would—be attacked by Palestinians from Gaza the next day. The conflict cannot be ended by anything the PA does by itself. Without a real commitment to overthrow Hamas the United States can never make peace…

— Hat tip: Barry Rubin

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Man Arrested With Daughter for Allegedly Praying on Temple Mount

Police on Wednesday detained an Israeli man and his daughter for a few hours after they ascended the Temple Mount and began to pray at the contested holy site, the Jerusalem police spokesperson reported.

David Kirschenbaum told The Jerusalem Post he went up to the mount with his daughter on the day before her wedding, in order to take in the holiest site in Judaism.

Kirschenbaum denied he prayed at the site, but said that he was pointing at sites on the horizon and police mistook his daughter’s nodding for Jewish prayer. Kirschenbaum said he was then led away from the Mount by police and taken for an investigation at a Jerusalem police station. He said police told them he was being provocative and when he disputed the arrest, they told him they “don’t want to get into a discussion over politics.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Netanyahu: State Funds for Settlement

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM — Israeli premier Benyamin Netanyahu intends to submit to the government’s approval a plan for state allocation of funds which includes a number of isolated settlements in the West Bank (with an overall population of 110,000 settlers) among the national priorities of the state, along with other areas inside Israel. According to reports, the settlements are not found in colony clusters in the West Bank which Israel has said it would not give up. The news, reported in the paper Haaretz, has been confirmed in its overall content by the premier’s spokesman Mark Regev, who said that the plan is a list drawn up along with the Defence Ministry which takes into account most especially the threats to the security of the settlements included on the list. The settlements will benefit from 28 million dollars in state funds to improve the school system, infrastructure, and transport, as well as housing aid. Regev said that the choices made did not have anything to do with the government’s recent decision of a 10-month freeze on new constructions for housing reasons in West Bank settlements, which excludes those already being built and public building projects. According to the Israeli movement Peace Now, the 3,492 housing units that will continue to be built as an exception to the freeze are more than those under construction in Israel. About 1,167 units will be added for every 100,000 settlers in the West Bank (overall about 300,000), while in Israel there will be an additional 836 units for every 100,000 inhabitants. According to Regev the plan provides state funds to improve the lives of two million Israelis, 40% of whom belong to the Arab minority group (20% of the population) in several areas in Israel. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Obama Administration ‘Assures Jewish Evacuation’

PA official says U.S. won’t counter proposal giving Temple Mount to Palestinians

JERUSALEM — Members of the Obama administration recently assured the Palestinian Authority that most Jewish communities in the strategic West Bank will be evacuated, a top PA official told WND yesterday.

The official also said Obama will soon offer the Palestinians a public pledge that a Palestinian state will encompass most of the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem with the exception of what is known as the three main settlement blocs — Ariel, Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim. The pledge will likely be oral and not in the form of a letter, said the PA official.

Further, both the PA official and a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told WND the Obama administration refused to counter a European Union draft document that supports the division of Jerusalem, with the Temple Mount going to the Palestinians.

— Hat tip: JD

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On Israel’s Construction Freeze: U.S. Fails to Deliver: Instead of Praising, Europe Demands More

by Barry Rubin

Israel acceded to a U.S. request to freeze construction on existing Jewish settlements; the Palestinian Authority (PA) refuses even to negotiate or to give anything in exchange for this concession. Who did Europe reward and was the United States able to mobilize praise for the former or criticism for the latter?

Need you ask?

It is now confirmed that my analysis of the State Department statement on the construction freeze was correct. It was intended as a statement supporting key Israeli demands — recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and changes in the 1967 borders-while also meeting major Palestinian demands, an independent state based on those borders.

Equally unnoticed, however, is the fact that the United States did not even get its European allies to endorse its new position. Once again, despite all the Obama Administration’s apologies, flattery, and concessions, it could not even obtain the smallest things in exchange from those given such rewards.

The main U.S. effort was to get the Quartet of mediators (U.S., Europe Union, Russia, and UN) to endorse the new U.S. stance. The proposed statement would have urged resumed negotiations without preconditions to seek an agreement which…

— Hat tip: Barry Rubin

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Video and Photos: Tens of Thousands Protested Against Freeze

Tens of thousands of people participated Wednesday evening in a demonstration in a large and lively Jerusalem organized by the Yesha Council (the local government councils of Judea and Samaria). The head of the Yesha Council, Danny Dayan, told the gathered crowd: “We have not come to ask for a crooked compromise. We have come to demand a full thawing of the construction in Judea and Samaria.”

[…]

MK Danny Danon, Head of the World Likud, read out the telephone number of the White House and told the audience to call the number “and tell Obama: ‘take your hands off the Land of Israel!’“

— Hat tip: JD

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Cyprus Adds Obstacles to Turkish EU Accession Path

The Greek Cypriot-led government of Cyprus yesterday placed new obstacles in the way of Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union, declaring that it would not permit the start of accession talks in five policy areas unless Turkey changed its stance on the Cyprus dispute.

Although no other EU country supported them, the Greek Cypriots exercised their right under EU rules to announce that they would block talks over free movement of workers; the judiciary and fundamental rights; justice, freedom and security; education and culture; and foreign, security and defence policy.

Markos Kyprianou, foreign minister of Cyprus, described the measures as a “targeted response, not a complete freeze” to Turkey’s membership talks.

However, Turkey warned last week that its accession process could suffer irreparable damage if EU leaders introduced fresh sanctions in retaliation for Ankara’s refusal to open Turkish ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.

After a two-day meeting that ended yesterday, EU foreign ministers decided against such sanctions after a majority concluded that discussions on a settlement among Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders were at a delicate stage.

The foreign ministers said they would maintain a freeze on negotiations in eight of the 35 policy areas that Turkey, an official candidate for EU membership since 2004, must complete before it can join the bloc.

Cyprus’s announcement went further, because the policy areas it listed are in addition to the eight where all EU countries agree talks should not proceed.

Turkey opened EU accession talks in 2005 in return for a promise to permit direct transport links with the Greek Cypriots. Turkey has refused to honour the accord, saying the EU has failed to fulfil its commitment to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriot-controlled northern Cyprus.

Suat Kiniklioglu, deputy chair of foreign relations of Turkey’s ruling AK party, said that if Cypriot threats were true, it would indicate “that the Greek Cypriot government’s position is continuing to poison Turkey’s relations with the European Union”.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Diplomat, Scientist Among 11 Iranians ‘Held by US’

TEHRAN — Iranian media published a list on Wednesday of 11 Iranians, including a truck driver, a former diplomat and a nuclear scientist, who it claims are being held in the United States or other countries.

The Mehr news agency said the foreign ministry is “vigorously” pursuing diplomatic means to obtain the release of the Iranians, three of whom have allegedly been detained in countries outside the United States on Washington’s request.

Among those mentioned in the report are nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri and Alireza Asgari, a former deputy defence minister who disappeared in Turkey three years ago and has been transferred to the United States, according to Mehr, which cited unspecified documentary evidence.

The report came out on the same day Saudi Arabia strongly rebuffed claims it was involved in the disappearance of Amiri, who the Iranians claim was kidnapped in June while on pilgrimage to Mecca, and is now being held in the United States.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Explaining Russian and Chinese Policy: From Communists to Super-Capitalist Merchants

by Barry Rubin

China is very much motivated toward development rather than ideology or geopolitical ambition. It wants to get along with everyone as much as possible and make lots of money. (Quite a change from the days of the Little Red Book and the Cultural Revolution!). So they are ready to sell arms to everyone. They are all over Africa especially doing deals with anyone who can pay.

To get cash, the Chinese will do anything. For example, they have allowed secret flights from North Korea to Iran carrying weapons and nuclear technology. When U.S. forces arrived in Iraq, they found that China had sold Saddam advanced anti-aircraft guns.

They believe they have two big vulnerabilities. One is fear of being isolated, as happened during much of the Cold War. Whenever anyone speaks of sanctions and pressures, the Chinese think: What if this would be used against us some day. So they tend to be against such things everywhere (Yugoslavia, Iran). Since they want to make money selling to these countries that’s another reason to reject sanctions (and cheat when possible on them).

The even bigger vulnerability is China’s vast need for oil and gas. They don’ want to alienate any of the suppliers and they don’t like the idea of a crisis disrupting the supply. So they like trading with Israel because it has useful hi-tech and other such products and with the Arabs to buy oil and gas, and sell items to them.

Finally, they are very much against all the climate control proposals because these would hurt them and slow down their development. (And they can, after all, say: you in the West became rich through pollution and now you want to force us to give up advancing as fast as we can?)

Russia is quite different in political terms but also is desperate for money…

— Hat tip: Barry Rubin

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Iraq Bombers Backed by Foreign Groups: Police

The attackers who carried out a series of co-ordinated bombings in Baghdad that killed 127 people were backed by groups based in Syria or Saudi Arabia, a senior Iraqi policeman said on Wednesday.

“This material could not have been manufactured in Baghdad, it came from abroad,” Major General Jihad al-Jaabiri, the head of Iraq’s explosives unit, told reporters.

“Neighbouring countries helped them. The operation required lots of funding, which came from Syria or Saudi Arabia.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Jordan: School: No More Canteen for Schoolchildren

(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, 8 DIC — Thousands of school children could be left without canteen service next year, beacause the government decided to cut the state budget, an official said today. The Ministry of Education’s funds, providing the meals for nearly half a million of schoolchildren, will undergo cuts for an overall USD 70 millions in 2010, thus following the government guidelines. Walid Maani, Minister of Education and Scientific Research, explained today that “we must cut down the number of schoolchildren taking advantage of the canteen service” Jordan is suffering from growing poverty and a lot of children come to school precisely because of the canteen. Last year, the service has been provided for about 460.000 pupils, at a cost of USD 35 millions. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Lebanon-Spain: General Asarta Nominated UNIFIL Commander

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 10 — Spanish General Alberto Asarta, 58 years old, was yesterday designated head of United Nations Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, and will be taking the place of Italian general Claudio Graziano on December 28. Asarta, according to official sources quoted by the media, will be meeting with Spanish president Zapatero and Defence Minister Carme Chacon today at the Moncloa Palace. UNIFIL includes a contingent of 12,000 UN soldiers, to which Italy contributes with 2,500, followed by France with 1,480 and Spain with 1,100. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Syria: Damascus, Orient Trade Tower to Rise by 2010

(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, DECEMBER 10 — An 11-storey tower with offices and commercial spaces to be built south of Damascus by the Syrian group Abou Arab Haidar Group will be called the Orient Trade Tower. Located on a highway leading to Daraa on the edge of the capital, the new construction will occupy a surface area of 22,500 square metres. According to the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) office in Damascus, the first four storeys will include a shopping centre for furniture and items for homes while the other 7 will be for offices. The works will be completed by the end of 2010. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey Warns IAF Against Using Airspace

If Israel were to violate Turkish airspace in order to conduct reconnaissance operations on Iran, Ankara’s reaction would resemble an “earthquake,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Egyptian journalist Fahmi Huwaidi published Thursday morning.

Responding to a question concerning rumors that Israel had entered Turkey’s airspace for espionage purposes, Erdogan said that such a thing had never happened, but that the consequences would be dire if it did.

“[Israel] will receive a response equal to that of an earthquake,” he cautioned, urging Israel’s leaders to refrain from “using the relationship they have with [Turkey] as a card to wage aggression on a third party.”

Ankara would not be a neutral party and stand aside with its arms folded, he said.

Erdogan also alluded during the interview to last winter’s Operation Cast Lead, saying that Israel could not reasonably have expected to participate in a joint military drill with Turkey after “sweeping” the people of Gaza.

He stressed that the Turkish government’s policy on Israel was both derived from and backed by the country’s voting public.

“We cannot challenge the feelings of the Turkish people, who were greatly affected by what happened during the aggression on Gaza,” he said.

— Hat tip: KGS

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When it Comes to Iran, President Obama Won’t Hear “No” For an Answer

by Barry Rubin

Question: What does Iran have to do to get across the fact that it isn’t making a deal on its nuclear program?

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says she doesn’t consider the Iranian foreign minister’s statement that they aren’t making the deal to be “the final word.” The Obama Administration will give Tehran a few more chances—and probably a few more months—to stall in order to race ahead in their atom bomb program and to build up ways of overcoming any sanctions that are some day applied.

Indeed, the United States and five other powers are holding still another meeting to, in the words of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana’s spokeswoman “review the latest developments on the Iran nuclear issue.” But since no one is concluding Iran is saying no, they won’t take one step toward higher sanctions.

Higher sanctions, you might remember, were supposed to come about in September 2009 under the Obama Administration’s own original time table. You know when the deadline was for the multi-year European negotiations with Iran was? September 2007.

Now at the earliest sanctions probably wouldn’t come before, what, March 2010? Victory for the Iran regime.

Another great power statement says that Iran has “not responded positively” to the plan, “We are disappointed by the lack of follow-up,” and “Iran has not engaged in an intensified dialogue and in particular has not accepted to have a new meeting.”

I think Iran is trying to tell you something, guys. But since it isn’t in writing yet, well, they claim they can’t do anything. And of course the Iranian regime will—with U.S. government cooperation—draw this out as long as possible.

Memo to world leaders: Do you think they might be stalling for time?…

— Hat tip: Barry Rubin

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Investigative Journalist in Belarus Faces Threats

An investigative journalist in Belarus says she has received anonymous threats linked to her publication.

Irina Khalip says she has received the threats by e-mail, telephone and in a telegram. She said Wednesday that the believes the security agency still going under its Soviet name KGB was involved in the threats.

The agency refused to comment on her claim.

Khalip said the threats were related to her article in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta about the disputed legacy of late Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili.

— Hat tip: Esther

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16 Missing After Bangladesh Pirate Attack

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Sixteen fishermen remained missing Tuesday off Bangladesh’s southern coast after pirates attacked their vessel last week, survivors and the boat’s owner said.

Eighteen fishermen were assaulted in the Bay of Bengal by a band of 25-30 pirates Friday, said fishermen Shahidullah and Abdur Rahim. Shahidullah like many Bangladeshis uses only one name.

The survivors said the pirates severely beat them and slashed some of the fishermen with knives before throwing them all overboard.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Breaking News: Pakistan Reportedly Detains Five D.C.-Area Muslims on Suspicion of Terror

A Pakistani newspaper reports the arrest of five foreign nationals after a raid in a town called Sargodha. The raid took place at the home of a member of the Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistani movement designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2001.

According to the report, “The DPO told that these people had been living in Sargodha since Nov 30 and it was quite a possibility that they were engaged in acts of terrorism.” It names the five as Ahmed Abdullah, Waqar Hassan Khan, Eman Hassan, Yasir and Rami Zamzam and describes them as two Yemenis, an Egyptian, a Swede and a U.S.-born Pakistani.

December 8: Federal investigators are searching for a Howard University dental student and four other missing Muslim men reported missing from the Washington, D.C. area, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has learned. There is concern they may have been sent abroad to train for jihad. The five were last seen November 29.

The identities of two of the missing men, Howard student Ramy Zamzam and Waqar Khan, have been mentioned in online postings, including a Facebook page that was set up Monday for friends to offer their support. Some of those pages, however, appear restricted to friends and associates.

It is not clear where the men are believed to have gone, but an informed source told the IPT that at least one left behind a farewell video.

According to the Facebook and Twitter postings, Zamzam is among the missing. He has been active in the Muslim Students Association, serving as president of the MSA DC Council. A Howard University spokeswoman has not responded to questions from the IPT.

The disappearance comes as U.S. officials are increasingly concerned about the threat of homegrown Islamist extremism. This concern is prompted by a spike in attacks like the Fort Hood massacre, and conspiracies broken up by law enforcement before any attacks took place.

President Obama noted the increase during his speech last week at West Point explaining the Afghanistan surge…

— Hat tip: LN

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Erick Stakelbeck: Thoughts on the 5 American Muslims Arrested in Pakistan

One thing to consider here: what if these men would have returned to their Washington, D.C. home base as battle-hardened jihadists after a few months of tutelage from the terror masters in Pakistan? With the White House, Capitol Hill and Pentagon in striking distance? From the cases I’ve studied of homegrowns who have trained overseas, that hunger for jihad never leaves. It’s not like you can just go from killing infidels on the battlefield to settling into a quiet life as a short order cook in Virginia. Witness the case of alleged North Carolina terror cell leader Daniel Boyd, who trained in Afghanistan in 1989 as a 19 year old, then was indicted on terrorism charges 20 years later.

But perhaps these five Americans planned to never return.. A source with knowledge of the investigation told me today that one of them made a “martyrdom tape” that featured graphic footage of Coalition forces being killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as vicious anti-Semitic rhetoric. No surprise on either count. In literally every single homegrown case I have covered, the two common themes are hatred of Jews and Israel and hatred of the U.S. military, which the jihadists see as the symbol of “imperialist, Crusader aggression” against the Muslim world.

Also noteworthy is that one of the men arrested is a middle-class, dental student at Howard University. Yet another example that Islamic ideology, not poverty or lack of opportunities (as some have suggested), fuels Islamic terrorism.

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India to Split Andhra Pradesh After Protests

India’s southern IT hub Hyderabad, paralysed by a week of violent protests, looks set for a major battle over its future after New Delhi agreed to split the southern state of Andhra Pradesh into two separate states, leaving the fate of the state capital uncertain.

P. Chidambaram, the interior minister, said on Thursday that New Delhi would begin the process of forming the new state of Telangana, after the virtual shutdown of Hyderabad, a base for multinational companies such as Google, Microsoft and Mahindra Satyam.

“People in the region feel they have been neglected — despite speaking the same language by the governments that have ruled that stated for many years,” Mr Chidambaram said, defending the move.

New Delhi’s capitulation — which follows an 11-day fast by a leader of the movement for the creation of separate state of Telangana — is likely to fuel agitation by several other Indian ethnic and regional groups for their own separate states, including demands by Gorkhas for a new state in the tea-growing mountain region of Darjeeling.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Indian Hotels, Eateries Serving Halal Without Mentioning Fact

CHANDIGARH: In a scathing expose and a revelation that will shock ordinary Sikhs, the Sikh organisations and anyone connected with sensitivities involved in the domain of religion, scores of hotels, restaurants and eateries in India have been found to be serving halal meat and poultry to patrons without informing them about the fact.

Sections of the Indian media have brought to the fore how five star hotels and mid-level restaurants have admitted that they have bene serving halal meat all these years as few ask before digging into the food at an eatery about the way in which chicken or mutton served there was slaughtered?

Hotels and restaurants are also aware that customers don’t always try to know if the non-vegetarian food there is of the halal or jhatka variety..

While this may be a non-issue for those who may proudly call themselves “liberal minded”, for people who are stricter about their religious beliefs, the distinction is a matter of faith and its violation amounts to sacrilege.

The Times of India in Chandigarh quoted a Sikh girl who asked the staff at a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet about the variety of non-vegetarian food there. She was shocked to hear that it was halal. She said, “I don’t want a ban on halal. But why don?t they tell customers about what they are serving?”

An official spokesperson at KFC admitted, “Yes, we serve halal because that is our global mandate.”

— Hat tip: Esther

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Indonesia to Erect Statue of President Obama as a Boy

A six-and-a-half foot statue of President Obama as a 10-year-old boy has been commissioned in Jakarta, Xinhua reports.

The president spent some of his formative years there as a boy, where he was educated at a school that was decidedly not a madrassa, despite some false reports pushed by conservative news outlets two years ago.

A group called “Friends of Obama” made the announcement today, saying the statue will be inaugurated on December 10 in a playground in the Jakarta suburb Menteng Dalam, where Obama lived from 1967 until 1971 with his mother and stepfather.

“The statue is designed to inspire Indonesian children that they can be anyone they want to be,” said Friends of Obama chairman Ron Muller

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Indonesia: Obama Statue

A bronze statue depicting a ten-year-old Barack Obama clad in shorts and a t-shirt has been erected in a park in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Mr. Obama lived in Indonesia from 1967 to 1971, when he was a boy. He lived and attended elementary school not far from where the statue now stands.

The statue, at left, shows the child version of the president smiling as he looks at a butterfly poised on his thumb.

It was erected with the goal of inspiring Indonesian children.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Italy: Frattini Reports on Afghan Mission

Stabilization needs political solution, foreign minister says

(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — The planned military surge in Afghanistan will not be enough to stabilise that country because what is needed there is a political solution, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday.

Speaking before a joint session of the lower house foreign and defense committees, Frattini added that the final aim of the allied effort in Afghanistan “is to hand over to the Afghan people the control and destiny of their own country”.

The increase in forces decided last month by the United States, NATO and other countries present in Afghanistan, the foreign minister observed, “is not an end in itself. There is no such thing as a military solution for stabilization. the only solution possible there is a political one”.

According to Frattini, a political solution may will involve dialogue and accords with the Taliban “but only those who are not linked with al Qaeda and who are ready to renounce violence and accept the new Afghan constitution”.

Italy, the foreign minister said, “fully supports any political initiative which leads to full national reconciliation in Afghanistan”.

In order for such an initiative to have success, he added, “the insurgents must be guaranteed employment in return for returning to the rule of law”.

Frattini confirmed that allied forces in Afghanistan will initiate their disengagement in July 2011, a date set by US President Barack Obama, but added that “what we need now a clear road map with a timetable and benchmarks which must achieved”. Aside from participating in the military surge, Italy also intends to bolster its civil commitments in Afghanistan “which will continue even after the military effort is over,” the foreign minister told the MPs.

These include aid and assistance to agriculture, in order to offer Afghan farmers an alternative to opium production, and training programs run by Italy’s Finance Guard for Afghan border and customs police.

DEFENSE MINISTER LA RUSSA PUTS 4,000-MAN CEILING ON CONTINGENT. Also appearing before the committee joint session on Thursday was Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa who said that Italy’s increased military presence in Afghanistan will never be more than 4,000 men and should average out at 3,700 soldiers by the second half of next year.

Last month Italy agreed to boost its troop strength in Afghanistan by some 1,000 soldiers plus 200 members of the Carabinieri police corps, from its current level of 2,795.

According to the defense minister, NATO had initially asked Italy to send an additional 1,600 men to Afghanistan.

La Russa confirmed that the additional forces will be found by reducing Italy’s role in international missions in Lebanon and Kosovo. By October of next year, the defense minister told the MPs, Italy will cut its presence in Kosovo by some 1,300 men while 200 soldiers will be withdrawn from Lebanon.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Pakistan: Obama Declines to Comment on Terror Arrests

Oslo, 10 Dec. (AKI) — United States president Barack Obama on Thursday declined to comment on the arrests of five Americans in Pakistan over possible terrorism links. Addressing journalists in the Norwegian capital Oslo where he received the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama said the “twisted ideologies” of terrorists could affect young people in the US.

But he said it was “remarkable” how the United States had reaffirmed the “extraordinary contributions” of the Muslim community in the country since the 9/11 attacks.

Obama was speaking after the five men were arrested in Pakistan after being reported missing from the north east American state of Virginia. Police have alleged they were planning terrorist acts.

Pakistani police told The New York Times the men were on their way to the Taliban’s strongholds in the country’s tribal areas with the intention of training to fight against American troops in Afghanistan.

It is alleged that the men, aged in their late teens and their 20s came from the suburbs around Washington, and had been in contact through YouTube with a militant with links to Al-Qaeda before arriving in Pakistan on 30 November.

After arriving in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, the men tried to join an Islamist school near Karachi and approached another banned Islamist charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, in the eastern city of Lahore.

They include two Pakistani-Americans, two Yemeni-Americans and an Egyptian-American.

Earlier on Thursday Obama said he expected “a series of investigations” following the arrests.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Swede Held in Pakistan on Terror Suspicions

A Swedish national is reportedly among five terror suspects arrested in Pakistan on suspicions of plotting a militant attack, Pakistani authorities said on Wednesday.

The five were arrested in Sargodha, south of Islamabad, at the home of a member of the banned militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, Pakistani district police chief Usman Anwar told AFP Wednesday.

Pakistani officials said the men were two Yemenis, one Egyptian, one Swede and a Pakistani-American. Muslim leaders in Washington said the men had been living in northern Virginia, close to the US capital, with their families until they disappeared last month.

An official at the Pakistani embassy in Washington said they are “all of US origin,” but Federal Bureau of Investigations officials gave no confirmation of their nationalities.

The Swedish foreign ministry had no information about the arrests as of Wednesday night.

“The embassy is working to check out the information to see if it’s true,” foreign ministry spokesperson André Mkandawire told the TT news agency.

Nor did Swedish security service Säpo have any details about the Swede’s reported arrest.

“We’re trying to figure out if it’s true and what it could be about,” Säpo spokesperson Patrik Peter said to TT.

Sweden’s ambassador in Islamabad, Ulrika Sundberg, told TT shortly after midnight local time that she also planned to investigate the matter.

The FBI said it was probing the case, in which one of the suspects made an extremist-style “farewell” video before leaving his home in the United States.

Officials from Washington, DC-based the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) told reporters that the men’s families contacted the organization after they went missing.

Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director, did not give the men’s names, ages or nationalities, but said he met on December 1 with their relatives.

Awad said the families brought along a video showing one of the five men delivering a “final statement,” and which included war images and Koranic verses.

“It’s like a farewell,” he said of the 11-minute, English-language video that one of the families reportedly found in their home.

After viewing the video, CAIR contacted the FBI and turned over the footage and information about the missing men.

“The circumstances were so suspicious that we felt we had to bring it to the attention of the FBI,” said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s national communications director.

That tip appears to be the first time authorities had been alerted to the men’s activities, he added.

The FBI said it was working with families and local law enforcement to investigate the missing students.

“We are working with Pakistan authorities to determine their identities and the nature of their business there, if indeed these are the students who had gone missing,” said Lindsey Godwin, an FBI spokeswoman.

Godwin said she could give no further details because “this is an ongoing investigation.”

The official at the Pakistani embassy told AFP that the men entered the country through the southern city of Karachi on November 30 and went within days to the central province of Punjab.

They first went to the Punjabi capital, Lahore, before heading to Sargodha.

“We are still investigating the exact details,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

US embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said in Islamabad that he was aware of reports of the arrests, but had not received any information from Pakistani officials.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said he was unable to provide more details on any American connection in the arrests.

Asked more broadly about domestic radicalization, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN: “It’s always been a concern.”

“We have been well aware of the threats that we continue to face, along with friends and allies around the world. We know that much of the training and the direction for the terrorists comes from Pakistan and the border area with Afghanistan,” Clinton added.

CAIR’s Awad said the video referred to wars between the West and various Muslim nations.

“There were… images of conflict,” he added, describing the video as “similar to videos we see on the Internet.”

“It was generic, but you can draw your own conclusions.”

The arrests came as a Pakistani-American, David Coleman Headley, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Chicago court to helping plan the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Headley, who changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006, is accused of making trips to Mumbai over almost two years, even taking boat tours around the city’s harbor to scope out landing sites for the attackers, who killed 166 people including six Americans.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Philippines: Massacre in Maguindanao: The Ampatuan Clan Suspected of 200 More Murders

Reported by the National Commission on Human Rights. The bodies were buried in mass graves scattered in different areas of the province. Witnesses have not reported crimes for “fear of retaliation.” Those arrested will have to respond to charges of rebellion and murder.

Manila (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Muslim clan accused of the massacre of 23 November in the province of Maguindanao in the southern Philippines, are believed to be responsible for 200 other homicides. This according to the National Commission for Human Rights, which has denounced that the discovery of several mass graves in areas controlled by Ampatuan.

Leila de Lima, President of the Commission confirms “at least 200” politically motivated assassinations linked to the Ampatuan clan, a political ally of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and power in the province since 2001.

The bodies are buried in several mass graves, scattered in the province of Maguindanao. The cases have emerged only now, following the arrest of Andalo Ampatuan Jr. — son of the powerful local governor — because witnesses did not report them “for fear of retaliation.”

Among the 57 civilians killed in the attack on 23 November were relatives and supporters of Ishmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, vice-mayor of Buluan and candidate for governor of Maguindanao, of which 26 are women and 32 journalists. The police reports that “161 people are suspected of having taken part in the massacre.

Under the martial law in force in the province, the police have arrested 62 people, including clan leader Andalo Ampatuan Sr. Those arrested will have to answer to charges of rebellion and murder.

The Ampatuan family, with the government approval, set up its own army and ruled unchallenged for years in the province. It was a decision made by Manila in an attempt to contain the rebellions of Muslim separatists.

Following the massacre, Arroyo has removed all agreement with the clan: the Maguindanao province is under martial law and the Ampatuan face charges of rebellion.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Australia Denies North Korean Artists Visas

The Australian government has been accused of censoring five artists from North Korea by refusing them visas.

But the government says the art is a product of the North Korean propaganda machine and so is not welcome.

Promoters of the art show have argued the visa denial means an opportunity to help one of the world’s most closed societies has been lost.

North Korea’s Stalinist regime bans access to the internet, outside phone networks, radio, TV, and most travel.

The US special envoy Stephen Bosworth is currently visiting Pyongyang, trying to bring the North back to the negotiating table over ending its nuclear programme.

Art arguments

Some countries have pursued cultural links as a type of “soft diplomacy” — such as the visit by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra to North Korea last year.

The art show in Australia features five artists from the Mansudae Art Studio, who were invited to participate in the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Queensland.

But Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith rejected the artists’ bid for an exception to the long-stranding ban on visas for people from North Korea, which is part of United Nations sanctions imposed on the North for its defiance of efforts to end its nuclear programmes.

“The studio reportedly produces almost all of the official artworks in North Korea, including works that clearly constitute propaganda aimed at glorifying and supporting the North Korean regime,” the foreign ministry’s statement said.

Nick Bonner, a Beijing-based British businessman and art dealer who helped curate the exhibition, said all art studios in North Korea — like most other things in the hard-line state — were government organisations, but that did not mean every work was political.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Australia Hands Back Sacred Land to Aborigines

The government of Australia’s Northern Territory has handed back sacred land to a local Aborigine tribe.

The Emily and Jessie Gaps Nature Park, near Alice Springs, is significant for the Eastern Arrernte people as they have a strong attachment to the land.

The park contains totems of a race of ancient giant caterpillars, to which the people traces its origins.

The park will still be open to the public. The authorities have reached over 30 similar land use deals.

The BBC’s Phil Mercer in Sydney says the park has great spiritual and cultural significance because it tells the story of how the caterpillars once shaped the land.

There are economic benefits to the handover too, our correspondent says.

Under a joint management plan, the land will be leased back to the authorities and will continue to be a nature park.

The park is already a popular tourist site and some Aborigines work there as tour guides or rangers.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Police Illegally Execute Hundreds in Nigeria: Amnesty

Police in Nigeria carry out hundreds of extra-judicial killings every year and only those who can afford to pay bribes can guarantee their safety from execution or torture, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

“The Nigeria Police Force is responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial executions, other unlawful killings and enforced disappearances every year,” the London-based rights group said in a damning report.

“The majority of cases go uninvestigated and unpunished,” it said.

The national police service rejected the findings.

— Hat tip: Esther

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Somalia Suicide Bomber ‘Was From Denmark’

A suicide bomber who killed at least 22 people at a graduation in Somalia was brought up in Denmark, officials say.

Somali Information Minister Dahir Gelle told the BBC that the bomber’s parents, who live in Copenhagen, identified their son’s body from photographs.

Reports say he left Somalia when he was a child and spent 20 years in Denmark, before returning to Somalia last year.

He reportedly joined the hard-line Islamist group al-Shabab — although they have previously denied the attack.

Al-Shabab and other radical Islamist groups control much of the country.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) also says the bomber was from Denmark, according to local media.

The Copenhagen Post quoted PET as saying the man was in his 20s and was “a Somali citizen who had residence in Denmark”.

“As PET has indicated numerous times in the past, there are people with ties to Denmark who have gone through militant Islamic training and radicalisation and who are involved in terror-related activities in several countries, including in Somalia,” a PET statement said, according to the newspaper.

The bombing took place at a graduation for medical students on 3 December in one of the few parts of the capital, Mogadishu, which is controlled by the government.

The students had been graduating from Benadir University, which was set up in 2002 to train doctors to replace those who had fled overseas or been killed in the civil war.

Three ministers were among the dead.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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England: Immigrant Workers Found ‘Living in Sheds’ Across Slough

More than 1,000 migrant workers across Slough are thought to be living in sheds in people’s back gardens.

Slough Borough Council believes the problem has become so great, it is working with the UK Border Agency and police to ensure tenants’ well-being.

Many of the shed-dwellers are living in an estimated 1,000 sheds, especially in Upton, Baylis, Central and Chalvey.

The council said it was clamping down on landlords and reminding them of the planning rules for outhouses.

Many of the buildings are legal and within the size permitted for the gardens they are within, however the majority should not be inhabited.

Housing standards manager, Keith Ford, said the council would fine or prosecute landlords breaking the law.

He said his team would try to re-home the immigrants, many of whom were living in the sheds without proper sanitation and were “being exploited”.

“Although in many cases, Slough Borough Council doesn’t have a statutory obligation to re-house these people — but we do have a moral obligation,” he said.

“We will make temporary housing available for those who aren’t eligible for re-housing.

“Ultimately though, it is the responsibility of the landlords themselves to find these people alternative accommodation.”

He added the situation was also having a negative impact on the area.

“It causes problems with anti-social behaviour, it obviously puts a strain on the services provided by Slough Borough Council, and it just doesn’t look very nice,” Mr Ford said.

Slough has a large immigrant population, and at the time of the 2001 census the borough was the most ethnically diverse outside of London.

Christine Hulme, from the Action4Chalvey residents’ group, said the problem was causing overcrowding.

She said extra rubbish was becoming an environmental health issue “because of rats”.

“There’s also congestion in terms of sheer space that people have got, things like parking, traffic,” said Ms Hulme.

“And it must also have a burden in terms of local services.”

Thames Valley Police said the force dealt regularly with incidents involving the outbuildings, and was “well aware” of people living in them.

“There was a fire in a shed the other day that had someone living in it,” a spokeswoman said.

“Luckily, they were pulled to safety.

“It’s a council housing issue really, we only deal with such incidents.”

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Greece to Open Screening Center for Immigrants

(AP) — ATHENS, Greece — Greece says it will open a screening center for illegal migrants to review asylum claims, as part of an overhaul of human rights procedures promised by the country’s new Socialist government.

Spyros Vougias, a deputy minister in charge of public order, says the new center will open on the island of Lesvos next year. He made the comments Thursday.

The new site will replace a detention facility that the government admits subjected illegal immigrants to “inhumane conditions.” The United Nations refugee agency has repeatedly criticized Greece for ignoring legitimate asylum claims.

About half of the European Union’s illegal immigrants are detected at Greece’s frontiers, according to the EU border protection agency Frontex.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Libya Says ‘No Exceptions’ In Migrant Expulsions

Libya will make no exceptions in its drive to expel illegal immigrants and any recruitment of foreign labour in future must be done through legal channels, an official said on Sunday.

The oil-rich North African country said on Wednesday it had started deporting illegal immigrants, a community of up to two million, mostly men from poor African states who are trying to reach Europe.

Tripoli is under pressure at home to tackle the problem of illegal immigrants whom officials and locals blame for spreading crime and taking jobs from unemployed young Libyans.

Mohamed El-Lamoushi, head of the Information Department at the prime minister’s office, told Reuters the move was an internal Libyan matter, adding that future recruitment of foreign workers would be carried out under accords Libya had recently signed with labour-exporting countries.

“All the procedures [of expulsion] must be finished in one month and there will be no exceptions. Foreigners who want to enter Libya must have legal papers and documents,” he said.

Lamoushi said the Ministry of Manpower was ready to supply different economic sectors in Libya with needed labour. “The ministry has signed agreements with African, Arab and Asian countries to make the labour available on demand,” he said.

Homes to be destroyed Libya welcomed people from across Africa in the 1990s as it sought cheap labour to help repair an economy hit by sanctions.

Some have menial jobs such as washing cars while many work in construction, a sector booming because of a big programme of public works fuelled by high oil revenues.

Libya has instructed housing authorities to destroy migrants’ makeshift homes on the outskirts of Tripoli and other coastal cities.

Human rights group Amnesty International said Libya’s plan was forbidden under international law and some of those expelled risked torture and abuse back home.

But Lamoushi said expulsions were being carried out “in a civilised way”. He added: “Only 60 000 of them are here with legal papers and work permission.”

“The decision to deport the illegal immigrants is an internal issue and is in line with Libya’s intention to organise its internal affairs.

“Libya faces problems of health, crimes related to drugs and alcohol and economic problems. Therefore the decision is not against any country or people. It is intended only to organise the entry and exit of the foreigners.” — Reuters

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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UK: Immigration Officers Detain 12 in Last Month in Bradford

Immigration officers have arrested a dozen illegal workers in the last month alone in raids across Bradford, the Home Secretary said yesterday.

In total, 31 foreign nationals have been detained following raids in West Yorkshire, with employers facing fines of more than £300,000.

The figures were revealed yesterday by Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, as he announced three new immigration teams would be unveiled in Yorkshire early next year in a bid to crack down on illegal workers.

Mr Johnson said: “Their work will continue to focus on illegal working and removing those with no right to be in the UK, as well as tackling more organised immigration crime.”

Arrests by the UK Border Agency in Bradford have included a man who immigration officers detained in a swoop last month in Manningham.

In July, officials arrested seven brides and grooms from Nigeria and Eastern Europe, who were on their way to churches in Scholes and Cleckheaton in a marriage scam.

Since April, more than 338 people who were in Britain illegally have been removed from West Yorkshire back home.

Entry for non-EU low-skilled workers is now suspended and the Prime Minister has announced a review of student visas to toughen up entry rules, the Home Secretary said.

Electronic border controls count people in and out of the country, and visas and ID cards for foreign nationals, which contain fingerprint data, have also been introduced to cut the risk of identity fraud.

Shipley MP Philip Davies said: “I think the UK Border Agency would be much better trying to deal with a huge backlog of immigration cases and less time blowing their own trumpets when they’ve not got much of a tune.

“It strikes me that the first thing they should be doing is getting some proper controls on our borders.

“Only when they have done that should they think about employing more people to remove illegal immigrants from the country.”

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Ireland’s Abortion Law Challenged in European Court

The Irish Republic’s strict abortion law is being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The legal action has been brought by three Irish women who say the effective ban on abortion in Ireland violates the European Convention on Human Rights.

All three have travelled to Britain to have abortions.

The Irish government has engaged two leading lawyers to argue its case that the country has a sovereign right to protect the life of the unborn.

The three Irish women will be identified only as A, B, and C during the Strasbourg court hearings.

They argue that being forced to travel abroad for abortions endangered their “health and well-being” as safeguarded by the European Convention on Human Rights.

The two constitutional lawyers representing the government of Ireland argue that the convention’s safeguards cannot be interpreted as endorsing the right to abortion.

‘Draconian’

Abortion is illegal in Ireland, a deeply Catholic country, unless the life of the woman is in danger.

The Irish constitution was amended in 1983 to include the “Pro-Life Amendment”, which asserted that the unborn child had an explicit right to life from conception.

The case is the first challenge to Ireland’s abortion laws in more than 15 years, the BBC’s Europe correspondent Jonny Dymond says.

Almost 140,000 Irish women have travelled to Britain over the past 30 years to have abortions, our correspondent adds.

The Irish Family Planning Association welcomed the challenge to the laws, which it described as “draconian”.

It said they violated international human rights norms “because they inflict such grievous harm to women’s health and well-being”.

But Johanna Higgins, co-founder of the Association of Catholic Lawyers of Ireland, told the BBC’s World Today programme that a ruling against Ireland would be an infringement of its ability to decide its own laws.

“Whatever the human rights aspects are of this, abortion is illegal in Ireland because it is a criminal offence,” she said.

“If I were in any country and this were to go against Ireland, I would be very concerned that the Europeans feel they can step into domestic law.”

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Ireland’s Abortion Ban Faces EU Fight, As Three Women Take Case to Court of Human Rights

Three women filed a lawsuit today challenging Ireland’s abortion ban, claiming that it violates their human rights.

They told the European Court of Human Rights that the policy forces women to travel abroad for abortions and denies them appropriate medical care at home.

If they win, the women could force Ireland — one of only a few European countries that outlaws abortion — to liberalise a system that leads to 7,000 Irish women travelling abroad each year for terminations.

The Irish government denied that they could not receive proper medical care in Ireland.

[…]

The significance of the case has been highlighted by a decision to hear it before a 17-judge ‘Grand Chamber’ of the Human Rights court, instead of the usual seven-judge hearing.

Abortion was outlawed in Ireland by a 1861 rule which still sets life imprisonment as an option for women convicted of ‘unlawfully procuring a miscarriage’.

Ireland’s constitution ‘acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.’

The ban was reinforced by public backing in a 1983 referendum.

— Hat tip: JD

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Planned Parenthood Advises: ‘That’s Not a Baby’

Undercover video shows workers ‘giving misinformation to women’

A team of activists whose undercover videos revealed Planned Parenthood employees advising patients to lie to a judge and ignoring apparent cases of statutory rape has launched a project to uncover lies told to the patients.

The new Rosa Acuna Project led by Lila Rose at Live Action.org unveiled today its first undercover video revealing counselors and an abortionist in Wisconsin apparently misleading a potential patient.

— Hat tip: JD

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Spain: Agreement Requires Minors to Inform Parents About Abortion

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 10 — The parliamentary PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) group will support the abortion reform, which according to the text would require those under seventeen years of age to inform at least one parent, legal guardian, or holder of parental rights, as agreed upon by the PNV and the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers Party). PNV sources gave the news today. The two parties further agreed to include an exception in the text of the law, in the case of minors for whom voluntary termination of pregnancy may result in family violence, threats, coercion, abuse, or could lead to a situation of abandonment. Yesterday the PSOE agreed with parliamentary groups for the United Left and the Republican Left of Catalonia on limiting conscientious objection to only the medical personnel directly involved in the termination of pregnancy, and creating a register where objection will be on an individual basis, in writing and justified. The three left parties also agreed on instituting sex education in all state-recognized public schools, and the inclusion of practical training for performing the termination procedure in university courses for doctors and nurses. All amendments to the abortion reform will be approved today by the Equality Commission, and next week in the plenary session of Congress. The PNV vote isnt necessary for majority approval of the law, but the government has repeatedly reiterated a desire to reach a large consensus to reform the 1985 law that is currently in force. The opposing Peoples Party presented amendments to the entire reform, which were rejected by the majority in Congress. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Teachers Forced to ‘Hide in Closets’ To Pray

School employees ordered to stop others from ‘communicating with a deity’

Florida school teachers say they are being forced to hide in closets to pray after a controversial court ruling.

Under an order crafted by the ACLU, school employees in Santa Rosa School District must act in an “official capacity” whenever they are at a “school event” — including breaks, after-school events on or off campus and private events held on campus.

Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm, alongside Christian Educators Association International, is seeking to overturn the court order, which has resulted in three school officials being charged with contempt.

According to the group, school officials are strictly prohibited from showing agreement with anyone “communicating with a deity,” such as “bowing the head” or “folding hands.” “School officials” must also prohibit “third-parties” from praying, Liberty Counsel said.

During testimony that ended last week, Christian employees said the order has literally driven them to hide in closets to pray to avoid contempt charges.

[…]

Denise Gibson, an elementary teacher for 20 years, testified that the order requires her to inform parents that she cannot respond if they mention church or their faith. She said she is prohibited from replying to e-mails from parents if they contain Bible verses or even “God bless you.” Instead, she said, the district has instructed her to open a separate e-mail to answer the parents rather than hit “reply.” The district calls for the action to eliminate any trace of religious language in school communication.

— Hat tip: JD

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Three Women Challenge Ireland’s Ban on Abortion at European Court

Three women living in the Irish Republic challenged the country’s strict abortion law at the European Court of Human Rights yesterday, claiming that their rights had been violated.

The three — two Irish nationals and a Lithuanian — all left their homes in Ireland to have abortions in Britain. Identified only by the letters A, B and C because of the risk of imprisonment in Ireland, they are supported in their case by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and the Irish Family Planning Association. Ireland’s abortion law dates from 1861, and bans the procedure except where there is a risk to the life of the mother, including that of suicide. An estimated 140,000 women have crossed the Irish Sea for abortions in the past 30 years, with the number presently running at an average of 6,000 a year.

— Hat tip: Esther

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UK: PC Controller Gets Steamed Up Over Thomas ‘The Sexist’ Tank Engine

If you thought the television tales about Thomas the Tank Engine were merely light-hearted fun, think again.

In fact, they portray a world blighted by a ‘conservative political ideology’ and a rigid class system which stifles self-expression. And they are sexist.

That, at least, is the view of a female academic who took the trouble to analyse 23 episodes of the programme inspired by the books of the Rev W V Awdry.

[…]

Laura Midgley, of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, described the research as ‘ unbelievable nonsense’.

She said: ‘I cannot believe anyone has the time and energy to do such a study. I’m surprised she hasn’t singled out the Fat Controller as an example of fattism too.

‘Children should just be left to enjoy the innocent fun of Thomas without the politically- correct brigade stoking the fires and ruining their enjoyment.’

— Hat tip: JD

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AP Global Warming Fauxtography?

Is the Associated Press distributing a doctored photo that news organizations are now running in their Copenhagen coverage?

Founding Bloggers’ very own, Allan Sluis, is calling attention to an image that just might be the latest example of what has come to be know as “Fauxtography” — or — passing doctored images off as good faith representations of reality.

[…]

Oh those poor geese flying right through those rust colored smoke plumes! They might start dropping out of the sky at any moment!

But what if the truth is not as apocalyptic as the AP image appears to depict?

A number of things about this image look unusual to Allan, who is a professional photo retoucher and graphic illustrator with nearly 20 years experience pushing pixels.

[…]

C1, C2 & C3: These three arrows surround an area of sloppy retouching where the color tint was painted in too intense and abrupt to be convincing. Note how this color area pops substantially and quite suspiciously. This is also direct evidence that the retoucher is likely deliberately trying to blur the distinction between the actual smoke rising from the smokestack and the BACKGROUND CLOUDS deceptively conveying the impression that the entire area is choked with nasty orange pollution. This deceptive color continues right across the top of the smokestack and to the right going right over the background clouds.

— Hat tip: JD

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Global Warming — or Global Stealth Socialism?

SPIEGEL ONLINE: So industrialized nations would have to pay massive sums of money?

Schellnhuber: Yes. Up to €100 billion ($142 billion) annually. If the richest sixth of the world’s population were to pay this amount, each person would have to pay €100 per year. The West would give back part of the wealth it has taken from the South in the past centuries and be indebted to countries that are now amongst the poorest in the world. It would, however, have to be ensured that the poorer nations use the money for the proposes it is intended — namely to help them to develop a greener economy. This would help them to adapt to the more eco-conscious world of the future and would also save the industrialized nations from running into even bigger problems.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Has War Really Changed?

War always involves “a military solution.”

By Victor Davis Hanson

Has war been reinvented in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Sometimes it seems so, with the confusion that has come with the instant communication offered by the Internet, YouTube, and satellite television — along with the new arts of precision destruction via high-tech weapons like drones and GPS-guided weapons.

In Afghanistan and Iraq, soldiers don’t quite disappear into distant theaters abroad. Instead, they can e-mail or call their spouses from halfway across the world — often minutes before and after battle.

A phony Internet rumor, like the supposed flushing of a Koran at Guantanamo Bay, can incite thousands in mere minutes.

As those in the West become ever more affluent and leisured, it is harder for us to ask our children to risk the good life in often distant, controversial wars. Who wants to leave our comfy suburbs to fight in godforsaken places like the Hindu Kush or Fallujah — against those for whom violence and poverty are accustomed experiences?

The West still has the technological edge in warfare. But thanks to globalization, the Internet, and billions of petrodollars, terrorists can get their hands on weapons (or the instructions on how to build them) that often prove as lethal as those used by American or NATO troops.

That Osama bin Laden did not have anything like the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz did not prevent him from taking down the World Trade Center.

Nonetheless, many of the old rules still apply amid the modern fog of war. Human nature, after all, does not change. And since the beginning of civilization the point of war has always been for one side through the use of force to make the other accept its political will.

We should remember that and get back to basics in Afghanistan. Our leaders must remind us that war always offers only two choices — bad and worse.

We certainly could leave Afghanistan. That would allow the Taliban to return to power and host more radical Islamic terrorists.

Or we can persist in a dirty business of trying to stabilize a consensual government that will fight terrorism. Both are dangerous enterprises: Withdrawal has long-term risks; staying may become hellish in the short-term.

We should also carefully define the enemy. Who exactly are we ultimately fighting in Afghanistan? Afghans? Arabs? Radical Muslims? Terrorists? Most of the public is still unsure after eight years of war.

There are certainly plenty of horrific thugs like those in the Taliban throughout the world whom we often ignore. But what made radical Afghans of vital interest to the United States was their willingness to help radical Arab Muslims kill Americans on a wide scale.

What unites al-Qaeda and the Taliban is a shared murderous radical Islamic ideology, one antithetical to our own. Americans should hear that without politically correct euphemisms.

The president must explain what victory in Afghanistan means. Are we there until we destroy the viability of the Taliban and their terrorist allies — by fostering an elected government that will eventually secure the country? If so, we need to hear exactly that.

If not, the president can instead talk of deadlines, troop withdrawals, cruise-missile attacks, and Predator-drone bombings — all efforts to now and then bother, but not end, the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

War typically concludes when one side cannot fulfill its political objectives. Sometimes both sides quit, as in the Korean War. But usually, as in Vietnam or the Balkans, violence ceases when one side is tired of losing more than it hopes to gain — and admits defeat.

If our leaders today could consult great generals like the Roman Scipio Africanus or William Tecumseh Sherman — who won what were once near-hopeless wars — they might receive the following advice:

Prepare the public to shoulder human and financial costs.

Be candid about why enduring the horrors of war now is preferable to risking even costlier violence later.

Talk always of winning, never leaving or quitting a war.

Have no apologies for crushing the enemy. The quicker the enemy loses, the fewer get killed on both sides.

Inform the public of the other side’s losses just as you do your own.

And be magnanimous to the defeated — after the war, not during the fighting.

Nation building may be fine and even necessary. But war always involves “a military solution.” How can there be economic prosperity or political stability if civilians are afraid of getting killed by enemy terrorists?

President Obama talked of many things in his recent Afghanistan speech. But he never once mentioned the words “victory” and “win.” All that may seem like an out-of-date idea to postmodern Americans. But it is still a very real one to the premodern Taliban, who seem to understand the ageless nature of war far better than we do.

— Hat tip: JP

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Obama’s Jekyll and Hyde Nobel Speech

In his speech Obama wavered between a peaceful Dr. Jekyll and a rapacious Mr. Hyde: He called for “international standards” for the use of force but in the same sentence cancelled that out with a “unilateral right” for a country to defend herself.

Just prior to President Obama’s arrival in Oslo to accept the Nobel Prize, millions of Norwegians were captivated by an unexplained spiraling halo in the sky. While the president’s most fanatical supporters will herald the light as a messianic celestial event comparable to the star of Bethlehem, his detractors will be equally sure that it is the beginning of the apocalyptic black hole the next three years of Obama’s presidency are sure to bring.

Some scientists are beginning to assure us that the light was generated by a wayward Russian missile — as if wayward Russian missiles are reassuring.

President Obama did not have time for sky-watching. As a wartime President receiving a Peace Prize, The president had, as Ricky used to say to Lucy, “some ‘splainin’ to do.”

He began his speech by admitting his award was not for any achievement toward peace, but his “aspiration” to obtain peace. Upon hearing that, my 12-year-old asked me if he could receive an A on his math test not because he passed it, but because he aspired to pass it.

Having better sense than a Nobel committee member, I told him no.

The Peace Prize winner then launched into a commercial for war, albeit a “just war.” He wavered between a peaceful Dr. Jekyll and a rapacious Mr. Hyde: He called for “international standards” for the use of force but in the same sentence cancelled that out with a “unilateral right” for a country to defend herself.

It has been noted by some that over the last decade the Peace Prize is lately been given to people for “not being George Bush” (see Carter, Gore and El-Baradei). Yet on the issue of war, the Nobel Committee was hoping for “Bush minus” not “Bush squared.”

Obama has proved to be “Bush on steroids” when it comes to war. Since winning the Peace Prize he has not created any peace but he’s tripled the amount of troops in Afghanistan that Bush left him with. In his speech today Obama noted that those soldiers will both “kill and be killed.” One has to wonder if Gandhi, mentioned by Obama in his speech (who never won the Peace Prize himself) would disagree about killing being in any way “peaceful.”

Obama then went all in as Mr. Hyde, and adopted “The Bush Doctrine” in his speech. He noted that sometimes “the purpose of military action extends beyond self defense.” The president sees it as moral to protect people from their own governments, even if America is not at risk (as in the Balkans). That thinking creates a moral groundwork to rescue the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, weapons of mass destruction or no.

It appeared Obama was just about to praise military men like or Patton or MacArthur, but then he slipped back into Dr. Jekyll mode and honored Dr. King.

That this award can even be given to a man who thus far has created no peace but governs two wars confirms that the Nobel Peace Prize is now nothing more than the “Norwegian People’s Choice Award” and carries the same gravitas as having a Hollywood Star in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

[Return to headlines]

This isn’t Mr. Crowder’s best effort, but then he’s a Canadian…what can I say?

Nonetheless, it has a certain fittingness for the occasion. That “occasion” is not Mr. Obama’s reception of his award, but the realization of how meaningless this whole tawdry thing has been from start to finish.

Then there is our deep relief that the silly charade is almost over and now we can get back to ruining the American economy with the Stimulus for Thieves and Grafters grab-bag. Which, if I can bear to look at the details, I shall report on shortly, maybe beginning with the millions that Hill Clinton’s pals got in an effort to boost the economy and create jobs.

Meanwhile, here is Mr. Crowder and his version of the Peace Train Prize song. Come to think of it, someone ought to do a parody using that old “Peace Train” song by that old Religion of Peace adherent, Cat Stevens.

The nice details in this – e.g., Mr. Crowder’s bling – make for a few moments diversion from the boorish reality of “Obama Takes Norway for a Ride”:

No, I can’t understand much of it either, but fortunately this video comes with a set of lyrics:
– – – – – – – – –
I heard it today, Barack got a prize

Seams theyre dishin peace prizes left and right
If you wanna prize, you can do it too
There’s just a few things that you gotta do…

I’m mowing the lawn
You get a peace prize
Doing the laundry
That’s a peace prize
I’m grooming my dog
Peace prize

He seems to like it
That’s a peace prize
You, get a peace prize
He, gets a peace prize
I, get a peace prize
Everybody, gets a peace prize

They gave a peace prize to our president
Hed only been prez, for two weeks by then
The same time he takes to dust his smokes
Some people call this nobel prize a joke
But remember yall, Big O gives us hope
More hope for all man, even for the pope
This award aint for anything he did
But for things he promises that he will
The first man to win a peace prize for hope

Bankrupt America, The man is dope
Obama wants change see it in his eyes
If you do to, youve earned yourself a prize
Im in the hot tub
Peace prize
Im doing some dips
Peace prize

Showing potential
Peace prize
Being a black guy
Gets a peace prize
Im making a sandwich
Thats a peace prize
Shes eating the sandwich
Peace prize
Its delicious
Heres a peace prize

Uh, yeah peace prize
The Nobel prize aint given to fools
The whole committee went to greater schools
They thought Barack Was Nobel worthy
they decided to look at his story
He was voted to be our president
Then they closed the books. The man is in.
His name’ll go down with other cool cats
Al Gore, Carter, Yasser Araffat
The prize aint always given to the best
Its got to be politically correct

Thats why it’s not everybody wins
For what not to do Take a look at him.
Liberate Iraq
You get no peace prize
Curb AIDS in Africa
No peace prize
Your last name is Bush
You get no peace prize
Ha, no peace prize

Obama gets a peace prize
Automatic, Peace Prize
Huh, peace prize
Everybody, peace prize …

You’d have thought that experience would be the teacher for the man. But evidently not.

Obama learned little or nothing with his lick-and-a-promise visit to Copenhagen to boost Chicago for the Olympics. One short speech about ME and he was gone, much to the disgust of the Olympic Committee and the other contenders. As I said at the time, the hubris of his appearance did more harm than good to his cause.

Well, here we go again. Norway, silly boys, gave Obama a premature Peace Prize and now they’re miffed because he’s picking it up and leaving…more or less.

Barack Obama’s trip to Oslo to pick up his Nobel peace award is in danger of being overshadowed by a row over the cancellation of a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner.

Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit.

The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates traditionally submit to, including a dinner with the Norwegian Nobel committee, a press conference, a television interview, appearances at a children’s event promoting peace and a music concert, as well as a visit to an exhibition in his honour at the Nobel peace centre.

He has also turned down a lunch invitation from the King of Norway.

According to a poll published by the daily tabloid VG, 44% of Norwegians believe it was rude of Obama to cancel his scheduled lunch with King Harald, with only 34% saying they believe it was acceptable.

“Of all the things he is cancelling, I think the worst is cancelling the lunch with the king,” said Siv Jensen, the leader of the largest party in opposition, the populist Progress party. “This is a central part of our government system. He should respect the monarchy,” she told VG.

Shabby? It’s tacky, rude, insensitive, and boorish. It’s embarrassing for Americans. But unfortunately, the Norwegians brought this on themselves. In their unseemly haste to kick George Bush in the leg again, they picked a recipient who does this kind of thing on a regular basis. At least when he’s not being inappropriate in the other direction, bowing to emperors, etc.

Americans don’t think much of Norway’s choice for this year’s Peace Prize either. CNN ran a poll:
– – – – – – – – –

Hours before Barack Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a new national poll indicates that fewer Americans than ever think the president deserves the award. But according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, a majority of the public believes the president will eventually accomplish enough to merit the honor.

Nineteen percent of people questioned in the poll released Wednesday afternoon say Obama currently deserves the prize, with another 35 percent saying that it’s likely he will eventually accomplish enough in office to deserve the award. Still, greater than four in 10 believe the president will never deserve the prize.

The 19 percent who believe Obama deserves the award is down 13 points from a CNN poll conducted in October, soon after the award was announced.

[…]

But although most people do not think the president currently deserves the peace prize, seven in 10 questioned – including a majority of Republicans – say he should go to Oslo, Norway Thursday to accept the award.

It’s not like Obama doesn’t have the time to do this trip and accept this honor correctly and with all due humility. He sure has had the time for basketball and golf. Why not give the Norwegians their due respect and stay a little longer than twenty-six hours?

What am I saying? This is the man who gave his general for Afghanistan a fifteen-minute interview on the tarmac in Copenhagen.

Hamlet definitely doesn’t have the timing right during this run, as is shown by the buyer’s remorse that seems to be driving the polls of late.

Ben Smith says:

Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama’s declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they’d rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that’s somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country’s difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections. Using the Bush card may not be particularly effective for Democrats anymore, which is good news generally for Republicans.

Somewhat of a surprise?? Obama has been in office less than a year and only 6% of Americans now prefer him to George “Hitler” Bush? Remember the blood-for-oil villain?

This “closeness” in the numbers has more than mere “implications” for the 2010 elections. It means that few, or none of his Democrat Congressional pack is going to want him around during the elections.

Maybe that would be the right time to mosey on back to Norway and beg a lunch off King Harald? He could bring a peace gift: say a few CDs of his better speeches.