We’re having a spell of climate change again here in the Central Virginia Tundra. Finely powdered climate change has been falling since last night, and is expected to continue into this evening. As of this writing we have about 11 inches (28 cm) of the stuff.

For a while it was a complete whiteout. Then the blizzard eased off, and I went out during the lull and took a few photos. It’s very cold now, about 17°F (-8°C), so the snow is completely dry, and drifting a bit.

This morning I had a brief skype discussion with KGS at Tundra Tabloids about the weather. He lives in Finland, so what we’re experiencing here in the balmy subtropical zones is trivial compared with normal conditions up there in the Frozen North. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation:

Baron:		Hey we’re have having major climate change here right now, about 25 cm of it and supposed to come down all day.
		The temp is low, too.
KGS:		Hahaha! Join the club.
Baron:		About -8 today, then -12 or so tonight.
KGS:		log on the fire
KGS:		-18C here.
Baron:		But you have an excuse: you live at the north pole.
		We’re at 38 degrees north, fer crissake!
KGS:		bwahahahah
Baron:		I’ll bet it’s warmer in Yorkshire and Copenhagen than it is here.
KGS:		They’re predicting -40C for us in the next 4-5 days. I hope they’re wrong.
Baron:		That’s my favorite temperature, because -40C = -40F. No conversion issues!
KGS:		Yes it equals out.
Baron:		It’s brass monkeys cold though. Take a leak and you create a golden crystal pillar & freeze your manly equipment.
KGS:		No licking the fence post!
Baron:		Did you ever read the accounts of the winter the Germans spent outside of Moscow? 1941-42 I think it was.
KGS:		Yes…it was just as bad when they attacked the Finns in the Winter War.
		-35 to -40C
Baron:		Froze the diesel fuel.
KGS:		Wrong oil for the weapons…clothing…Ukrainian soldiers froze their rear off.
		Standing next to roaring fires of fallen trees at nighttime…easily picked off by the Finns.

This blizzard looks to be not quite as threatening as the last one. The total accumulation predicted is less, and this is very, very dry snow, which means that it will pack down into an even smaller amount as soon as soon as the warmer sunny weather comes in next week.

So we’ll just enjoy the visual wonder of it for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow I’ll call the man who scrapes the road and try to dig out the car…

The photo below was taken from the eyrie under the cupola here at Schloss Bodissey, looking out across the gables from my window, which is next to the desk and keyboard where I write my deathless prose:

I’ll leave you with these lyrics by Al Stewart from the album Last Days of the Century:
– – – – – – – – –

Antarctica

by Al Stewart and Peter White

Long before I ever saw
The frost upon your face
I was haunted by your beauty
And it drew me to this place
I felt the chill of mystery
With one foot on your shore
And then and there resolved to go
Where no man had before

Maybe I was snowblind
But it seemed the wind spoke true
And I believed its stories then
As dreamers sometimes do
In Antarctica
In Antarctica

Who knows what the powers may be
That cause a man to go
Mindless of the dangers
Out across the virgin snow
Seduced by this ambition
I easily forgot
The hopeless quest of Shackleton
The dreamlike death of Scott

Maybe I was snowblind
Perhaps it sapped my will
But something of my innocence
Is wandering there still
In Antarctica
In Antarctica

The city of Austin, Texas has passed its own municipal law limiting CO2 emissions and instituting a carbon-trading scheme which is even more extensive than that proposed under the federal “Cap and Trade” bill — which has not yet passed Congress.

In other news, a ninth person has died of anthrax in Scotland, apparently from injecting contaminated heroin. Meanwhile, for the first time ever China has passed a law forbidding the eating of dog and cat meat.

Thanks to 4symbols, Amil Imani, C. Cantoni, Diana West, Gaia, GEC, Insubria, JD, JH, KGS, Lurker from Tulsa, Sean O’Brian, TB, TT, Winds of Jihad, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Oklahoma High-Speed Rail Grant Rejected
	Paulson Says Russia Urged China to Dump Fannie, Freddie Bonds
	Ron Paul Bill Seeks Coin and Bullion Tax Ban
	USA
	Airports Could Get Mind-Reading Scanners
	Authorities Seek Deal With Detroit Suspect on Cooperation, Guilty Plea
	Brown Tells AP He’ll Sometimes Side With Democrats
	D.C. Court Case Demands Obama Explain Eligibility
	Gang Wonderland — “The Unhappiest Place on Earth!”
	NY Pols Stunned to Learn Obama Administration Opposes Funding for 9/11 Health Bill
	Texas: Austin’s Carbon Reduction Plan More Than “Cap and Trade” Bill Proposal
	U.S. Embraces Copenhagen Pact, Senators Rework Bill
	U.S. Democrats Vow to Move Ahead on Healthcare
	Canada
	Andrew Weaver, IPCC Computer Modeler and Political Chameleon
	Europe and the EU
	Bin Laden ‘Apostles’ To Preach in U.K
	Church of England Bishops Say EU is ‘Place for Elites’ That Needs to ‘Reduce Bureaucracy’
	Denmark: Romanian Traffickers Picked Up
	EU-Funded Think Tanks Defend Their Credibility
	French Justice is EU Justice is Bent Justice
	Italy Launches New Anti-Mafia Plan
	Italy: Fiat Confirms Shutdown of Sicilian Plant
	Italy: Downloading Il Duce
	Italy: New Mosque ‘Attacked by Vandals ‘ in Tuscany
	Netherlands: Illegals Escorted to Four-Star Hotel
	Pope and Antipope. The Strange Case of the Administrative Elections in Rome and the Region
	Scotland: Anthrax Drug Deaths Rise to Nine
	UK: Siddique Terror Conviction Quashed on Appeal
	Mediterranean Union
	Human Rights: Freedom of Association Worsens in Med, NGO
	North Africa
	Algeria: In 10 Years, 29,000 Children Without Families
	Egyptian Christian Framed in Sexual Assault Case
	Hamas Military Commander ‘Assassinated in Dubai’
	Human Rights: HRW Calls Situation in Algeria ‘Very Serious’
	Libya: Appeal Trial Today for One of the Two Swiss Nationals
	Niqab is Not a Religious Obligation, Al Azhar Confirms
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Dershowitz Critiques Goldstone Report
	Middle East
	Amil Imani: The Islamic Republic of Torture, Rape & Murder
	Diana West: is Iraq the “New Iran”?
	Saudis to Regulate ‘Chaotic Fatwas’
	Sharia’s Dominion
	South Asia
	Afghan Men Struggle With Sexual Identity, Study Finds
	Beijing Fetes 16th-Century Missionary
	Malaysia Charges 3 Muslims for Church Firebombing
	Malaysia Court Rejects Anwar Ibrahim Evidence Appeal
	Pakistan: Zardari Sacrifices Goats to ‘Ward Off Evil’
	Ten Aussies Killed in India, Families Claim
	Far East
	Cats and Dogs to be Taken Off Menu in China
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	China’s Anti-Piracy Role Off Somalia Expands
	Immigration
	Fifth of Swedish Population Foreign
	Italy: Gov’t Approves Plan Against Illegal Market Work
	Culture Wars
	Muslim Student Adviser: Death Penalty for ‘Gays’
	The Myth of Nazi Persecution of Gays
	General
	Bill Gates Makes World’s Biggest Ever Single Charitable Donation With £6.2bn for Vaccines for Children
	Muslim Inventions That Shaped the Modern World

Oklahoma High-Speed Rail Grant Rejected

OKLAHOMA CITY — President Barack Obama announced the recipients of $8 billion in stimulus grants for high-speed rail projects Thursday, and the Oklahoma Impact Team has learned Oklahoma will not be getting any of the funding.

Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation confirmed the news Thursday afternoon expressing disappointment that the state will not get any of the funding. ODOT submitted an application last October 1 for $2 billion of the federal grant money to create a high-speed rail corridor between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and to make improvements to the existing Heartland Flyer route.

According to news reports, the big winners of the grant money are California, Florida and Illinois. Specifically, California will receive $2.3 billion to begin work on an 800-mile-long, high-speed rail line tying Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area to Los Angeles and San Diego. Florida is getting $1.25 billion to build a rail line connecting Tampa on the West Coast with Orlando in the middle of the state, eventually going south to Miami. Illinois and Missouri are getting $1.1 billion to improve a rail line between Chicago and St. Louis so that trains can travel up to 110 mph.

ODOT was hoping to use the money to, first and foremost, provide high-speed rail service between downtown Tulsa and downtown Oklahoma City along the I-44 Turner Turnpike corridor. The project would have included the construction of new overpasses, new signaling and the acquisition of new equipment. Money would also have been used to make improvements along the Heartland Flyer route: rail crossing upgrades, switch improvements, and double track between Oklahoma City and Norman.

State transportation officials said the application was worth the effort and they continue to look at opportunities to improve and expand rail service in the state. ODOT has committed up to $125,000 to assist Kansas with a study looking at the possibility of extending passenger rail service from Oklahoma City north to Wichita and Kansas City, allowing riders to connect more easily with Amtrak’s northern routes.

— Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa

[Return to headlines]

Paulson Says Russia Urged China to Dump Fannie, Freddie Bonds

Russia urged China to dump its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds in 2008 in a bid to force a bailout of the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.

Paulson learned of the “disruptive scheme” while attending the Beijing Summer Olympics, according to his memoir, “On The Brink.”

The Russians made a “top-level approach” to the Chinese “that together they might sell big chunks of their GSE holdings to force the U.S. to use its emergency authorities to prop up these companies,” Paulson said, referring to the acronym for government sponsored entities. The Chinese declined, he said.

[Return to headlines]

Ron Paul Bill Seeks Coin and Bullion Tax Ban

Congressman Ron Paul [R-TX] on Wednesday introduced legislation that would, if signed into law, end taxes on coins and bullion and repeal legal tender laws. The bill’s lofty goal is to reintroduce a system of competing currencies.

“At this country’s founding, there was no government controlled national currency. While the Constitution established the Congressional power of minting coins, it was not until 1792 that the US Mint was formally established,” Rep. Ron Paul said.

“In the meantime, Americans made do with foreign silver and gold coins. Even after the Mint’s operations got underway, foreign coins continued to circulate within the United States, and did so for several decades.

[Return to headlines]

Airports Could Get Mind-Reading Scanners

WeCU Technologies is building a mind-reading scanner that can tell if a given traveler is a potential danger — without the subject’s knowledge. WeCU Technologies (pronounced “we see you”) is creating a system that would essentially turn the public spaces in airports into vast screening grounds:.

“The system … projects images onto airport screens, such as symbols associated with a certain terrorist group or some other image only a would-be terrorist would recognize, company CEO Ehud Givon said.

“The logic is that people can’t help reacting, even if only subtly, to familiar images that suddenly appear in unfamiliar places. If you strolled through an airport and saw a picture of your mother, Givon explained, you couldn’t help but respond.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Authorities Seek Deal With Detroit Suspect on Cooperation, Guilty Plea

Authorities are inching toward an agreement that would secure cooperation from the suspect in the failed Detroit airliner attack, according to two sources familiar with the case, even as fresh details emerged about the intense and chaotic response to the Christmas Day incident.

Seizing on the near miss, GOP lawmakers have mounted a sustained attack on President Obama and the Justice Department, saying they may have lost out on valuable intelligence by charging Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in a federal court rather than under the military justice system.

But new details complicate that narrative, suggesting that Abdulmutallab, 23, clammed up even before he was informed of his right to remain silent — a warning that could have come later had he been placed in military custody. He continued to speak to authorities before undergoing treatment for second- and third-degree burns below the waist that occurred during a bid to detonate explosives on Northwest Flight 253.

The incident has provoked criticism that federal agencies missed intelligence signals that might have prevented the attack, and has reignited a fierce debate about the adequacy of traditional law enforcement tools to combat terrorist threats.

Public defenders for the Nigerian student are engaged in negotiations that could result in an agreement to share more information and eventually a guilty plea, the sources said.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

Brown Tells AP He’ll Sometimes Side With Democrats

Scott Brown says he has already told Senate Republican leaders they won’t always be able to count on his vote. The man who staged an upset in last week’s Massachusetts Senate special election, in part by pledging to be the 41st GOP vote against President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that he staked his claim in early conversations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip Jon Kyl.

— Hat tip: JD

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D.C. Court Case Demands Obama Explain Eligibility

Contends president’s allegiance is to Britain, Kenya, Indonesia

A prominent attorney who has shepherded a number of high-profile legal cases challenging Barack Obama’seligibility to be president has brought a “Quo Warranto” case to district court in Washington, D.C., alleging his allegiances have included Britain, Kenya and Indonesia.

A Quo Warranto action, first recorded some 800 years ago, essentially is a demand to know by what authority a public figure is acting. The case, brought by California attorney Orly Taitz on behalf of herself, was assigned to Chief Judge Royce Lamberth.

[…]

John Eidsmoe, an expert on the U.S. Constitution now working with the Foundation on Moral Law, an organization founded by former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, previously told WND the demand was a legitimate course of action.

“She basically is asking, ‘By what authority’ is Obama president,” he told WND when the issue first arose. “In other words, ‘I want you to tell me by what authority. I don’t really think you should hold the office.’“

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Gang Wonderland — “The Unhappiest Place on Earth!”

A Los Angeles tour company is offering a “Gang Tour” (http://www.lagangtours.com) You just can’t make this stuff up. Can you imagine the tour guide telling about the gang lifestyle? It might go like this…

“And here we have the drama and tragedy of South Central, vividly brought to you by LA Gang Tours—notice this historic intersection, Florence and Normandy, site of the famous Reginald Denny incident, where the White truck driver was beaten to an inch of his life.”

“Over there, notice the same spot where Rodney King was beaten by White, racist Simi Valley cops—evoking the 1991 riots.”

Only in America! White suburbanites, bored with TV reruns and hyped up with a jaded sense of self-importance, mixed with a quixotic measure of “hope and change,” would pay some scamming gang punks $65 to “tour” the hood and gawk at a segment of humanity that has been forgotten by the world. When did we become so insane as to pay modern-day marauders, rapists of our women, assailants of our liberty, and those trashers of all that is good in our society? How have we come to legitimize the felons and violent destroyers of our neighborhoods, gracing them with a status conveyed upon hard-working, civic-minded citizens?

The story in the LA Times reads like some Kafkaesque visage, where the elites have the once-in-lifetime opportunity to hob-nob with those faceless killers and defacers of our landscape. Of course, once the bus “tour” pulls to a stop at a corner plagued by graffiti, the bereft passengers have concluded that only an “insensitive” society could have wrought such social mayhem. One passenger from Germany points out the “class” warfare angle, and guilt is heaped upon more guilt.

What the “tour” won’t show you is the lives destroyed by the gangs. The murdered, maimed, the intimidation, racketeering and protection rackets, the thousands of young boys and girls that on good days, walk to school in utter trepidation, on bad days, stay home for fear of their lives.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

NY Pols Stunned to Learn Obama Administration Opposes Funding for 9/11 Health Bill

The Obama administration stunned New York’s delegation Thursday, dropping the bombshell news that it does not support funding the 9/11 health bill.

The state’s two senators and 14 House members met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius just hours before President Obama implored in his speech to the nation for Congress to come together and deliver a government that delivers on its promises to the American people.

So the legislators were floored to learn the Democratic administration does not want to deliver for the tens of thousands of people who sacrificed after 9/11, and the untold numbers now getting sick.

— Hat tip: JD

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Texas: Austin’s Carbon Reduction Plan More Than “Cap and Trade” Bill Proposal

Austin Energy’s Carbon Reduction Plan calls for Austin’s CO2 emissions to be reduced by a greater amount than what the the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 calls for.

Also known as the “cap and trade” bill, the act was passed by the US House of Representatives in June and calls for emissions to be reduced by 17% by 2020, compared to the recorded levels in 2005. Austin Energy head Roger Duncan says the local utility’s plan calls for a 20% reduction.

To see the presentation Duncan presented to the Austin City Council yesterday, click here.

Duncan says putting the plan in place could potentially cost the city around $2.6 billion. He says Austin Energy customers should expect to see a slight rate increase in three years, stemming from some of the changes that have already been made.

— Hat tip: JH

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U.S. Embraces Copenhagen Pact, Senators Rework Bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Obama Administration formally embraced the Copenhagen Accord on global warming on Thursday, a day after the president urged a fractious U.S. Congress to get to work on comprehensive legislation to stem the nation’s emissions.

U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern gave notice to the United Nations that the country will aim for a 17 percent emissions cut in carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming by 2020, from 2005 levels.

The move, which confirmed the goal set by the White House late last year, was conditional on other countries also submitting their pollution-cutting targets to the accord, Stern said.

The condition was likely aimed at fence-sitters in Congress who do not want to see the United States commit to steps on fighting global warming unless other major polluters like China and India go along.

— Hat tip: JD

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U.S. Democrats Vow to Move Ahead on Healthcare

Democratic congressional leaders said on Thursday they would keep pushing for a stalled healthcare overhaul and would explore all options to pass it, but acknowledged the process would not move quickly.

The day after President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress, leaders in the Senate and the House of Representatives said they would not abandon the bill despite sharp Democratic divisions on how to proceed.

“We will move on many fronts — any front we can,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of the overhaul, mired in legislative gridlock since last week’s Republican win in Massachusetts cost Democrats their crucial 60th vote in the Senate.

“We must take whatever time it takes to do it,” she told reporters. “But we are going to get healthcare reform passed for the American people.”

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Andrew Weaver, IPCC Computer Modeler and Political Chameleon

Andrew Weaver, professor at the University of Victoria Canada, is now deserting the sinking Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ship. This comes after being among the most duplicitous and disingenuous members of the IPCC as Lead author and participant in the chapter on computer models. He tells us “its approach to science should be overhauled.” He claims, “the (IPCC) process has taken on a life of its own” and become “tainted by advocacy.”

Few defended the approach more vigorously and personally than Weaver. He built up his role in the IPCC and pushed his receipt of the Nobel Prize to further his political agenda in Canada and the Province of British Columbia, Canada. He was instrumental in making the Province the first North American jurisdiction with a carbon tax. An achievement many of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and IPCC people must envy, but one other countries must avoid.

The Magical Mystical Manipulated Models

For thirty years I’ve watched and protested as climate science was hijacked and perverted for political purposes. Disclosure of the participants their methods and objectives are gradually being exposed because of the leaked e-mails. There is a great deal more to come on deliberate falsification of records, manipulation of data, and control of the flow of information. But the most significant is yet to explode and involves Weaver among others and the computer models.

Computer codes were also released with the e-mails. Undoubtedly this occurred because the person who disclosed the extent and degree of malfeasance knew their significance. The real rot began in climate when the computer modelers moved into the discipline. I watched as at meeting after meeting they became the keynote speakers and dominated the agenda and other participants. Weaver was in the forefront as well as Wigley, Mann, Schneider, Schlesinger and Boer. Of course, they all ignored the lack of data or inadequate understanding of mechanisms as the basis being blinded by their political agendas. Weaver ran for the NDP (socialists) in a School Board election in Victoria.

Computer models are still a waste of time in climate studies and in particular forecasting of future weather and climate. However, they provide the mystique and apparent public unassailability because they don’t understand them. As Pierre Gallois explained, “If you put tomfoolery into a computer, nothing comes out of it but tomfoolery. But this tomfoolery, having passed through a very expensive machine, is somehow ennobled and no-one dares criticize it.” I use an effective challenge, which resonated with the public. When talking with farmers I would urge them to phone Environment Canada and ask for the forecast for the following summer knowing the reply would be we don’t do long term forecasts. I then suggest they phone the next day and ask what it was going to be like in 50 years knowing the answer would be warmer. The IPCC tried to partly cover this by saying they were scenarios not forecasts. RealClimate the bullyboy protectors of CRU then claimed short-term forecasts were for weather but long term were for climate. This seemed to work but I knew it was nonsense because the climate is the average of the weather and therefore completely dependent upon the data and understanding of the mechanisms of weather.

[Return to headlines]

Bin Laden ‘Apostles’ To Preach in U.K

Intel agents warn Britain ‘main attraction for extremist Islamics’

While Britain’s threat level remains at “severe” — the second highest alert that a terror attack is “highly likely” — hardline Muslim extremists who have been labeled by the intelligence services as “the apostles of bin Laden” are due to speak at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff next month and at Birmingham University in March, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Jonathan Evans, the director of MI5, in a recent lecture at Bristol University, warned that Britain now is “the main attraction for extremist Islamic preachers.”

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Church of England Bishops Say EU is ‘Place for Elites’ That Needs to ‘Reduce Bureaucracy’

Senior Church of England bishops have made an unprecedented attack on the European Union, calling it an undemocratic and secretive bureaucracy that fails to understand the challenges facing the continent.

The prelates accuse officials in Brussels of seeing all problems in terms of the economy and ignoring the threats to society posed by immigration and the changing environment.

And they say that millions of pounds of public funds risk being wasted on redevelopment projects unless local people and religious groups are also involved to bring about “spiritual regeneration” of deprived areas.

It is the first time the Church’s leaders — by no means Eurosceptics — have made public such detailed criticism of the European institutions that govern much of life in Britain today.

The submission by the House of Bishops Europe Panel was published on Thursday in response to a document called EU 2020, a strategy to make the 27-state union a “smarter, greener social market” following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.

That policy, published in draft form by the European Commission in November, set out how the EU can recover from the financial crisis as well as improve education, low-carbon technology and the role of the European Parliament.

In reply the bishops, led by the Rt Rev Christopher Hill, the Bishop of Guildford, make a series of highly critical points about the EU itself and its remoteness from ordinary people.

They say: “The European institutional public sphere is largely a public discourse for elites, it is a sphere in which citizens remain uninvolved. This has in turn contributed to the EU’s democratic deficit.

[…]

The bishops say it is “disconcerting” that EU 2020 focuses on “exclusively economic” terms, even though recent upheaval has shown that the entire “fabric of our societies and economy was not sustainable”.

They claim “real and pressing” challenges facing Europe need to be considered, including “sustainable immigration policy” including its “impact on social cohesion”.

Although the bishops welcome the emphasis on preserving the environment in EU 2020, they point out that “just attaching greed words to new developments” is not good enough.

They agree that improving the skills of Europe’s workforce is important but claim a “fundamentally materialist” approach that ignores cultural and philosophical knowledge “cannot be sensible”.

The lesson of urban regeneration in Britain has been that “unless there is some ‘spiritual regeneration’ that is to say animation of the spirit of the local Community, the money will be wasted or fail to deliver the desired outcomes”.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Denmark: Romanian Traffickers Picked Up

Danish police have picked up suspected traffickers in Romania.

Four Romanian nationals suspected of trafficking women have been picked up by Danish police in Romania and are to be presented at a remand hearing in Copenhagen today.

The four have been under an Interpol warrant since November in connection with a human trafficking case in the Copenhagen neighbourhood of Vesterbro in which three other Romanians have already been detained.

According to the charges, at least eight women have been trafficked and forced into prostitution in Denmark. A Turkish man has also been remanded, charged with receiving the women in Denmark and forcing them onto the streets.

— Hat tip: TB

[Return to headlines]

EU-Funded Think Tanks Defend Their Credibility

UOBSERVER / BRUSSELS — The European Commission will in 2010 pay €6.7 million in subsidies to a group of think tanks and NGOs.

The grants cover 58 organisations, ranging from some of Brussels’ best known talking shops, such as Cafe Babel and the European Policy Centre (EPC), to niche bodies such as the European Paralympic Committee.

The top 10 recipients are: the Platform of European Social NGOs on €700,000; Notre Europe €605,000; the European Council on Refugees and Exiles €500,000; the European Movement International €430,000; Association Jean Monnet €250,000; the Council of European Municipalities and Regions €240,000; the Association of Local Democracy Agencies €209,000; the Lisbon Council €200,000; the Fundacion Academia Europea de Yuste €195,000 and Friends of Europe €192,000.

The money is part of a larger €30 million a year pot in the commission’s education and culture department, which pays for a scheme to promote “common values” and to get ordinary people interested in politics.

“I think it’s fair that an EU citizen should learn about the European Union of which he or she is a part. We make no apologies for explaining what the EU is about,” commission spokesman John Macdonald told EUobserver.

But for some, Brussels’ generosity is not so innocent.

“They are setting up their own committees claiming that these are independent think tanks when, in fact, they are cheerleaders for the EU,” Pieter Cleppe, from the British eurosceptic think tank, Open Europe, said.

“They do not question the EU to the extent they would if they were not being funded by it. That’s the whole point of the grants.”

Several of the beneficiaries, such as the European Movement International, Friends of Europe and the Union of European Federalists, have an openly pro-integration position. Just one, Statewatch, which gets 39 percent of its budget from the commission, is a devoted critic of the EU institutions.

Mr Cleppe’s allegations are potentially the most damaging for policy analysts, such as the EPC, the Centre for European Policy Studies (Ceps) or Notre Europe, whose reputation for objectivity is central to their work.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

French Justice is EU Justice is Bent Justice

Yesterday Dominique de Villepin, the former French Prime Minister and current political rival to Nicholas Sarkozy, was cleared by three French judges of a conspiracy in 2004 to destroy Sarkozy’s career by linking him to illegal arms dealing. De Villepin walked out of court ‘not guilty.’

Within hours, Jean-Claude Marin, the state prosecutor, announced he intends to appeal the ‘not guilty’ verdict. He rejects the acquittal and intends to force de Villepin to undergo a second trial.

As de Villepin has already pointed out, the prosecutor is under ‘the hierarchical authority’ of the justice minister and the president: in other words, Sarkozy has engineered the appeal by the prosecutor. ‘The decision in a political decision,’ he says, motivated by Sarkozy’s hatred of him.

The hatred is certain. Just days after the month-long trial opened, the president went on television and referred to de Villepin and the other defendants as ‘guilty.’ In Britain, that sort of political interference could result in a mistrial — not to mention a prosecution for contempt of court.

Any decision to force a second trial — what then, with another ‘not guilty’ verdict, a third trial? — would clearly be unjust. But for us it is a handy decision. It illuminates just what passes for justice in France, the model for the ‘euro-justice’ under whose power the Lisbon Treaty has put us all.

Cut your way through the thickets of the treaty and you will see that, among many other things, the EU’s ‘Judicial Cooperation Unit,’ Eurojust — yes, I know, you’ve never heard of it — will gain the power to initiate investigations of British subjects and order arrests. All British vetoes in all areas of police and judicial cooperation are to be abolished. The treaty allows for the creation of a European Public Prosecutor — Monsieur Marin, perhaps — who could prosecute British subjects, indeed, prosecute them again and again. And more, and worse.

Go through de Villepin’s complaints against the second prosecution and you will note that there is no complaint against double jeopardy. Prosecutor Marin’s rejection of de Villepin’s acquittal shows that the system of what passes for justice on the Continent does not include a prohibition against double jeopardy: a man who has walked from a court with a ‘not guilty’ verdict can be tried straight away again on the same charge.

Of course, the ghastly Tony Blair did introduce double jeopardy in murder prosecutions in Britain (and he was wrong to do so). But even then, a second trial must depend on new evidence. Not in France, it seems. A man who is cleared of a charge by the courts can be taken straight back in on the same charge, with the same evidence, and be tried again, even if the charges are, as they seem to be in the de Villepin case, being manipulated by the servants of the President (or, The Dwarf, the name by which the willowy and well-bred Villepin dismisses the 5 feet 5 inch immigrant-offspring Sarkozy).

Any Briton can find himself in danger of being extradited to France and face just such double jeopardy, such serial prosecution, because the European law embraced by the Government gives virtually no protection against extradition to any EU jurisdiction.One can guess that British businessmen may be in particular danger of facing such charges as de Villepin did, linked as they were to names on a bank account.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

Italy Launches New Anti-Mafia Plan

Code to gather laws, confiscation agency in Reggio

(ANSA) — Reggio Calabria, January 28 — Italy on Thursday unveiled a new anti-mafia plan putting together all current laws against organised crime and setting up a national agency to oversee seizures of assets from the Mob.

The cabinet met in Reggio Calabria, where the new agency is to be located, shrugging off recent threats from the Calabrian crime syndicate ‘Ndrangheta.

The plan, drafted by Interior Minister Roberto Maroni and Justice Minister Angelino Alfano, will collect and streamline all existing anti-mafia legislation.

“This new code can be used by all law enforcement groups to fight the mafia,” Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi told a press conference.

The plan will draw a national map of mafia assets, set up a new data base and stop organised crime infiltrating public tenders, he said.

“Firms will have a black list of companies so they know who not to sub-contract work to,” the premier said.

Maroni said the plan would also target illegal waste disposal, one of the mafia’s biggest earners, while Alfano said a state insurance net would be created for extortion victims.

But the cornerstone of the plan, Berlusconi stressed, will be the agency to control the seizure of assets from ‘Ndrangheta, as well as the Camorra in Naples and Cosa Nostra in Sicily.

Unlike the other measures, which were put into bills to be presented to parliament, the agency was established by decree, effective immediately.

It will be ready to start work “in two weeks”, Maroni said, stressing the importance of asset confiscation as “a fundamental tool” in the anti-mafia battle.

Asked about the possible danger of the mafia buying back assets at auction, Berlusconi replied: “We’ll seize them again”.

Berlusconi also stressed the importance of keeping the number of illegal immigrants in Italy down because “they swell the ranks of criminals”.

This prompted a sharp reaction from the opposition Democratic Party (PD), with PD Senate whip Anna Finocchiaro, among others, accusing the premier of criminalising migrants.

The premier also repeated his conviction that TV shows about the mafia were “hurting Italy’s image” and “this bad habit should be stopped”, prompting a Catholic TV viewers group, Aiart, to note that the premier’s Mediaset group had produced and broadcast two of the highest-rating recent shows including one on jailed ex-Cosa Nostra chief Toto’ ‘the Beast’ Riina.

In other reactions, National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Pietro Grasso said he would discuss the merits of the plan when he had examined it, while the small opposition Communist Party accused the government of staging “a publicity stunt”. After the cabinet meeting, the premier met with Reggio prosecutors and said they “did not seem at all worried” about the recent ‘Ndrangheta threats.

‘Ndrangheta, now reckoned to be Italy’s strongest mafia, has sent three apparent warnings to the government ahead of the cabinet meeting.

The fire bombing of the entrance to the main courthouse in Reggio on January 3 was followed a week ago by the discovery of a car containing rudimentary explosives a few hundred metres from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano’s route to the airport after a visit to the city.

Then, on Monday, a bullet was sent to a Reggio prosecutor involved in key probes and trials against ‘Ndrangheta.

On his visit last Thursday, Napolitano said ‘Ndrangheta, which dominates Europe’s cocaine trade, was now “Italy’s most insidious breed of mafia”.

The government has cracked down hard on ‘Ndrangheta since the murder of a leading regional official in 2005, a vendetta massacre in Duisburg, Germany in 2007, recent race riots in the town of Rosarno and a stream of episodes of extortion and murder which have highlighted the mafia’s continuing local dominance.

ASSET AGENCY ‘KEY’.

Maroni said Thursday the new confiscation agency will be a “key in dismantling the economic power” of the mafia, which according to a survey Wednesday generates business equivalent to almost 10% of GDP, making it “Italy’s biggest private enterprise”.

Homes, farms and other assets confiscated from Italy’s mafias have been turned to public use in recent years including a Riina villa which has become the Corleone tax HQ.

On Wednesday police made the third of three recent massive assets seizures, totalling some 1.4 billion euros ($2 billion), against businessmen linked to Cosa Nostra head Matteo Messina Denaro, who took over command of the Sicilian mafia in the wake of the 2006 arrest of boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano.

Asset seizures have also played a key role in the state’s fight against ‘Ndrangheta, including a Dolce Vita landmark cafe in Rome, and the Camorra, including numerous construction and waste management firms.

Italy has caught many mafiosi on the most-wanted list in the last two years.

Those arrested have included most of Provenzano’s would-be heirs and most of the remaining leaders of the Casalesi clan, exposed in Roberto Saviano’s book Gomorrah, whose jailed chieftains recently saw their life sentences upheld.

Several ‘Ndrangheta figures have also been caught including those responsible for the Duisburg massacre.

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

Italy: Fiat Confirms Shutdown of Sicilian Plant

Cheaper to pay workers not to produce, CEO says

(ANSA) — Rome, January 28 — Fiat’s chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that the automaker intends to leave its plant in Sicily and denied that he was seeking to ‘blackmail’ the government and unions by suspending production at all Italian plants for two weeks later this winter.

In an interview published by the Rome daily La Repubblica, Marchionne said that “in the future Fiat does not intend to use the Sicilian plant for any of its activities”.

Fiat announced in its latest restructuring plan that it intended to stop production at Termini Imerese and boost output at its other four plants in Italy.

Workers and unions have been protesting against the decision and the factory is currently at a standstill because employees will not allow supply trucks to enter the facility.

Fiat is shutting down the plant because of its excessive costs, said to add an additional 1,200 euros per vehicle, and Marchionne observed that “were we to pay our employees their full salaries until they reached retirement age and not produce a single car, we would come out ahead in the end. It’s a ridiculous situation”.

In regard to Fiat’s decision to suspend production in all its Italian plants the last week in February and first week in March, temporarily laying off some 30,000 workers, Marchionne said that “there should be no surprise about this. We have been saying for some time that without (government) incentives there would be consequences at the factories”.

When Fait announced the suspension on Tuesday, it added that should the government delay extending last year’s green ‘cash-for-clunkers’ trade-in initiatives, “production levels will continue to be adjusted to demand”. The automaker added that the suspension was needed because “after a positive period in the latter part of 2009, orders were drastically down in January, lower even than in the same month last year when the market crisis was acute”.

Unions, which are engaged in government-sponsored talks with Fiat on its restructuring plan, accused the automaker of trying to blackmail them, while the government said Fiat was “not helping matters” by taking such action.

Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said on Wednesday that the incentives the government was considering for the automobile sector would be reduced in terms of value and limited in regard to time, compared to those granted in 2009. Incentives, Scajola explained, “are a drug and in the long-term destabilise the market. This why we intend to offer less and for a shorter period of time. Their aim should be not just to renew the fleet of vehicles in the country but also to encourage safer and more fuel-efficient cars”. The minister also said that the government wanted to extend the incentive system to other sectors of the economy other than automobiles “which continue to suffer from the economic downturn”. According to Marchionne, without adequate incentives Fiat sales in Italy would fall from two million last year to 1.7 million in 2010.

The government has hinged its support for Fiat’s restructuring plan on the automaker’s pledge to boost domestic production from some 650,00 vehicles last year to upwards of 900,000.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Downloading Il Duce

Mussolini iPhone App Stirs Passions in Italy

The iMussolini app has become a top seller in Italy.

An iPhone application offering the speeches of the World War II dictator Benito Mussolini has become a bestseller in Italy. While the app’s creator defends it as a valuable historical tool, others claim it is glorifying fascism.

It’s just a simple iPhone application. But it has proven enough to trigger a raging debate in Italy. After all, the app happens to offer the full text of over 100 speeches by the country’s Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

After having been released on Jan. 21, the application, known as iMussolini, has rocketed to the second-place spot — behind a wallpaper application — on the Italian version of iTunes.

“This is really a flabbergasting phenomenon,” wrote one commentator Wednesday on the online version of the daily La Reppublica, “especially when you consider the fact that the iPhone has gained cult status for the Facebook and Web 2.0 generation. These aren’t nostalgic old people and historians of the fascist era but kids and young adults that spend time and money on the Internet and get their information from it.”

The application was created by Luigi Marino, a 25-year-old programmer from Naples. “It’s a delicate page in our history that should never be forgotten,” Marino told Bloomberg News, adding that he was “stunned by the success” of the application, which now gets more than 1,000 downloads a day at 79 euro cents ($1.11) a pop.

Marino is careful to point out that he did not intend for his creation to be used as a tool for glorifying Mussolini, who ruled as Italy’s “Duce” (leader) from 1922 until his death in 1945. But, he adds: “It’s not like you can’t find the materials I used online, at the newsstand or in the library.” To drive home the point, on Marino’s advertisement for the application, he writes: “I would like to make it clear that this history-related application does not celebrate fascism.”

‘Are We Insane?’

But whatever Marino’s intentions might have been, the application has taken on a life of its own. Users on the Web site Iphoneitalia.com, a blog dedicated to discussing related Apple products and applications, have written effusive comments such as “Sainthood now!” “Thanks for making an application on one of the greatest statesman in our history” and “Whoever doesn’t like this application can always go live in China.” Those that oppose the application respond with comments like “I’m going to puke,” “This is just unadulterated masturbation for fascist egos” and “Are we insane? Collecting the speeches of a dictator who ruined Italy?”

Marino is not thrilled about such pro-Mussolini comments, many of which can also be found in the comments section attached to the application’s iTunes store page. On his advertisement for the application, he asks “all users to avoid making inappropriate comments that glorify fascism and advocate crimes” and urges people to “avoid turning a history-related application into an opportunity for useless ideological clashes that are completely out of place.”

He adds that he has asked Apple to remove such remarks from the comments page, but that it has yet to act. The Corriera della Sera newspaper notes that the Italian version of Apple’s application store says that comments are blocked using an automatic keyword-identification system, adding that “obviously none of the words used on the iMussolini program are on the black list.”

For now, though, Marino can be happy that he gets 70 percent of sales revenues. “In the meantime, I’d like to make some improvements to iMussolini suggested by users,” Marino told La Repubblica, “and I’m thinking of making similar applications. But to avoid any scandals, perhaps they will be about people like Gandhi.”

jtw

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy: New Mosque ‘Attacked by Vandals ‘ in Tuscany

Siena, 28 Jan. (AKI) — Italy’s second biggest mosque being built in the picturesque region of central Tuscany has been attacked by vandals, a local imam has claimed. Construction of the mosque at Colle Val d’Elsa in the province of Siena is almost complete except for the mosque’s decorations, local imam Ezzedin El-Zir, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

El-Zir told AKI that he and other local Muslim leaders had pressed ahead with building of the mosque and Islamic centre despite attacks by vandals.

But police told local media that thieves not vandals had entered the building site and stolen the mosque’s electrical wiring system and drainpipes.

The thieves took advantage of poor security at the site, police said.

“We are waiting for new permits to resume building work and by the middle of this year the mosque will be completed,” said El-Zir.

He disputed police claims that thieves had entered the building site.

“We are convinced that vandals did attack the mosque because they broke a lamp post and guttering,” he said.

“But this episode does not discourage us from taking forward dialogue with all groups in the province of Siena,” he said.

At the same time he called for more security at the new mosque.

Mosque building has proved a contentious issue in Italy, especially in high-immigrant northern regions such as Veneto and Milan and its surrounding areas.

There is only one official mosque in Italy, the Rome Mosque and Islamic Centre.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Netherlands: Illegals Escorted to Four-Star Hotel

VLAARDINGEN, 29/01/10 — A group of foreign workers has been brought to a four-star hotel after being removed by the police in Vlaardingen from illegal accommodation, De Telegraaf reported yesterday.

The 10 men, who are working in the port of Rotterdam as welders, painters and cleaners, have for some time been living in empty business premises on De Vergulde Hand industrial estate. By order of Mayor Tjerk Bruinsma, the police raided the premises after a tipoff on their illegal habitation. The men turned out to have Greek and Turkish nationality.

Bruinsma considered that replacement accommodation must be found immediately. They were booked into a four-star hotel in Spijkenisse.

Who is to pay the hotel bill is not yet clear. Whether it is possible to claw back the costs from the owner of the premises where the men were sleeping is under investigation, because he is considered responsible for allowing the illegal habitation.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Pope and Antipope. The Strange Case of the Administrative Elections in Rome and the Region

Running for governor of Lazio is Emma Bonino, who has always been an unflagging adversary of the Church. Many of the Catholic clergy and laity support her, and the hierarchy is giving her free rein. One secular intellectual is rebelling, and making accusations

ROME, January 28, 2010 — More than half a century after that long ago 1952, and in both cases with administrative elections around the corner, the diocese of the pope is today presented with the same threat: that its civil government may fall into enemy hands.

But the Church’s reactions today appear much different than they did then.

In 1952, the pope and the Vatican authorities, in a state of high alarm, swung into action in person. Fearing the electoral victory, right under the Vatican walls, of communists and socialists who at the time were closely connected to the empire of Moscow, Pius XII ordered the Catholic party — Democrazia Cristiana, led by Alcide De Gasperi, whose beatification cause is underway — to enter an alliance with the parties of the far right in a civic list headed by the elderly priest Luigi Sturzo — also on his way to the glory of the altar — and actively supported by Catholic Action and its civic committees.

De Gasperi refused. In the administrative elections in Rome, he held firm the alliance with the secular centrist parties, the same alliance he was in as prime minister of Italy. And the numbers proved him right. The communists and socialists were defeated in Rome.

Nonetheless, Pius XII punished De Gasperi for disobedience, refusing to receive him in audience with his wife and daughter Lucia, on the occasion of their thirtieth wedding anniversary and their daughter’s religious vows.

THE EMMA BONINO SURPRISE

Today the political landscape is dramatically different in Italy. Democrazia Cristiana is gone. The Catholics have been dispersed through all the parties. The national government is headed by Silvio Berlusconi, the leader who on life, the family, and education is the leader closest to the Church’s expectations. The government of the Lazio region, and therefore of the pope’s diocese, is held by a leftist administration, the distant and faded heir of the defunct communist party.

In recent months, this administration has suffered a heavy blow from the resignation of its president, Giuseppe Marrazzo, undone by sordid indiscretions involving transsexuals and cocaine. Without an alternative candidate of their own, in order to retake the government of Lazio in the regional elections that will be held in two months the leftist parties have agreed to support an external and independent presidential candidate, a symbol of the most extreme anti-Catholic radicalism, Emma Bonino (in the photo).

Emma Bonino is a veteran of “human rights.” But among these “rights” — which she defended as a member of the European Commission — she has always included abortion, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, drug decriminalization, in short the entire panoply of what John Paul II called the “culture of death.” Since the 1970’s, a video has been circulated showing her proudly performing an abortion on a woman using a tin can and a bicycle pump.

So how is the Church reacting to this challenge represented by the Bonino candidacy? Certainly not as it did in 1952. In part because today it is unthinkable that the pope should personally dictate to Catholics a specific political “mechanism” for confronting the danger.

In the Church as well, in fact, as in the political realm, many things have changed since then. The Italian Church no longer has a Catholic party of reference. It moves freely across the whole political landscape. Its battle is for a “culture guided by Christianity.” And thanks to this freedom and enterprise, it is sometimes able to be more influential in the public sphere than it was in the past. This is the Ruini model, from the name of the cardinal who led the bishops’ conference for sixteen years, until 2007.

If and how this model is working today, in the Bonino case, is a matter of heated discussion.

“A SLAP IN THE FACE TO THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY”

The discussion was ignited by an intellectual who does not belong to the Church, but for years has been a vigorous apologist for the vision of Karol Wojtyla, Joseph Ratzinger, and Camillo Ruini: Giuliano Ferrara, director of the opinion newspaper “il Foglio.”

For him, the spark came from an article — harshly critical of Bonino — published on January 20 in “Avvenire,” the newspaper of the Catholic bishops’ conference. Domenico Delle Foglie, the author of the article, is a prominent Catholic who organized the “Family Day” for the bishops two years ago, and directs the website “Più voce. Cattolici in rete.” He is a former deputy director of “Avvenire,” and last autumn was nearly at the point of being asked to direct the paper, in the place of the outgoing Dino Boffo and in continuity with him, as a dyed-in-the-wool Ruini follower.

But even before Delle Foglie wrote his article, in the main party of the Italian left, the Partito Democratico, Bonino’s candidacy had divided the Catholics who are part of it. Two of them, Renzo Lusetti and Enzo Carra, had abandoned the party, judging it no longer inhabitable. But others, like Franco Marini and Maria Pia Garavaglia, had hailed the Bonino candidacy, even recommending her as “capable of issues and initiatives that are at the heart of Catholic voters.”

Against these “submissive” and “deluded” Catholics, Delle Foglie wrote that Bonino instead embodies at least three serious dangers.

The first is symbolic: a “slap in the face to the Christian community” on the part of “a representative of militant animosity toward the Christian vision of man and the world.”

The second danger is that, if she should win, newly elected president Bonino would go to work making Lazio “a laboratory for all the zapaterisms,” from the name of the ultra-secularist Spanish prime minister.

The third is the “ultimate hypocrisy” that Bonino has already demonstrated during the electoral campaign, when she has promised to work “with and for Catholics,” although she has spent her entire life fighting against the Church.

So, the day after the publication of this article in “Avvenire,” on the front page of “il Foglio” Ferrara completely endorsed what Delle Foglie had written. But at the same time, he lashed out against the bishops’ newspaper for burying the article on page 11, for downplaying it as the personal opinion of the writer, essentially for showing timidity in addressing a question that has nothing to do with urban planning or other debatable business, but those supreme principles defined by the pope himself as “non-negotiable.”

In short, Ferrara concluded, alluding to what the Church did in 1952 and before: “Better the Civic Committees of the past than the timid ‘Avvenire’ of today.”

VITERBO. BUT WASN’T THAT THE CITY OF THE POPES?

The following day, Ferrara got a reply from “Avvenire” director Marco Tarquinio. And Ferrara responded back twenty-four hours later, confirming his criticisms. Meanwhile, however, “il Foglio” had done something else. It had sent one of its top journalists, Marianna Rizzini, to explore the dioceses of the Lazio region in order to hear what its priests and faithful think about the Bonino candidacy.

The response of the first diocese surveyed, Viterbo, was unrelenting. The title: “Grassroots Church with Emma. Survey in Viterbo. Catholic opinion firmly, sometimes fervently, in favor of the pro-abortion, pro-divorce, pro-euthanasia candidate, who has called the embryo ‘an inert lump’. Objections rare, and timid.”

In effect, in Marianna Rizzini’s report from Viterbo, the only ones who opposed Bonino were the “missionaries” of the Movement for Life, who dedicate their lives to seeing that children are born, not aborted.

The second report, from the diocese of Frosinone, was hardly more encouraging.

THE BISHOPS’ TURN TO SPEAK: BAGNASCO AND NEGRI

At this point, the bishops entered the fray. The first, Angelo Bagnasco, is the cardinal who replaced Ruini as president of the bishops’ conference. In his introductory address for the winter session of the CEI on January 25, Bagnasco said he had this “dream”:

“I would like this session to contribute to the emergence of a new generation of Italians and of Catholics who, while being part of the struggle of today’s culture and equipping themselves to inhabit it sensibly, feel that the republic is something important and exalted, since it is capable of marking the destiny of all, and who for its sake are willing to give the best of their thoughts, their plans, their days. Italians and believers who feel their responsibility before God as decisive in political activity.”

And again…

English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Scotland: Anthrax Drug Deaths Rise to Nine

The number of drug addicts who have died in Scotland after being infected with anthrax has risen to nine.

Health Protection Scotland said tests had confirmed the infection in a heroin user who had died in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area on 12 December.

This would make it the earliest death connected to anthrax although it is the latest to be diagnosed.

Investigations continue into whether contaminated heroin or a contaminated cutting agent may be to blame.

The outbreak began with the identification of cases in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in December.

So far, the total number of confirmed cases is 18, across six Scottish health boards.

Health Protection Scotland said this represented the first known outbreak of anthrax to have occurred in the country in conjunction with drug use.

The head of the outbreak control team, Dr Colin Ramsay, said: “No drug samples tested to date have shown anthrax contamination, although a number of other types of potentially harmful bacteria have been found.

“It must therefore be assumed that all heroin in Scotland carries the risk of anthrax contamination and users are advised to cease taking heroin by any route if at all possible.

“While we appreciate that this may be extremely difficult advice for users to follow, it remains the only public health protection advice possible based on current evidence.”

Dr Ramsay said filters would not make heroin safe for drug users.

Symptoms of infection include swelling, redness, abscesses or ulcers on skin where the needle has entered, often with septicaemia.

Anthrax is a deadly bacterial infection which occurs mostly in animals in Asia and Africa.

Humans are seldom infected and it is extremely rare for anthrax to be spread from person to person.

— Hat tip: 4symbols

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UK: Siddique Terror Conviction Quashed on Appeal

Appeal Court judges have overturned the conviction of a man branded a “wannabe suicide bomber” by prosecutors.

Mohammed Atif Siddique, 24, a student from Alva, Clackmannanshire, was convicted of terrorism charges in 2007.

But Lord Osborne said some directions given to the jury by the trial judge were a “material misdirection” and amounted to a “miscarriage of justice”.

Siddique will remain in custody until 9 February, when the Crown will say if it wants to seek a fresh prosecution.

The shopkeeper’s son was convicted in October 2007 after a four-week trial in Glasgow.

He was found guilty of two charges under the Terrorism Act 2000, one under the Terrorism Act 2006 and a breach of the peace.

The most serious charge related to the possession of articles that gave rise to “reasonable suspicion” they were connected to terrorism.

The jury found Siddique had amassed and distributed terrorist propaganda via websites and provided instructional material about guns and explosives over the internet.

His conviction on that allegation resulted in a six-year prison term.

The Crown Office will indicate at the next hearing in February if it wants to seek a fresh prosecution in relation to the terror charge.

A spokeswoman said: “We note the decision of the appeal court and will be considering the judgement.”

Giving the appeal judges’ decision, Lord Osborne criticised the way the trial judge explained the main Terrorist Act charge to the jury.

The judge, sitting with Lords Reed and Clarke in Edinburgh, said the misdirection amounted to “a miscarriage of justice”.

His family has always insisted he was not a terrorist and was made a scapegoat by the legal system.

Siddique also protested his innocence throughout, claiming that when he downloaded material from the internet he was motivated only by curiosity. He denied he was planning a terrorist attack.

During his appeal hearing last summer, defence lawyers argued that much of the material in his possession was widely available on the internet.

Defence QC Donald Findlay described the Terrorism Acts as “draconian” and advocate depute Derek Ogg QC, for the Crown, admitted that the legislation was “controversial”.

The charges followed Siddique’s arrest in April 2006 as he waited to board a plane to Pakistan.

Siddique’s lawyer Aamer Anwar said he would be making no comment until after the conclusion of the proceedings on 9 February.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Human Rights: Freedom of Association Worsens in Med, NGO

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JANUARY 28 — These are dark times for the freedom to associate in the south shore countries of the Mediterranean. National legislative bodies continue, in reality, to impose limits and human rights activists are strictly controlled. The situation was outlined in 10 countries on the south shore, Turkey and the EU in the most recent report of the Euro-Mediterranean Human rights Network (EMHRN), which joins 80 NGOs, and which presented its publication today in Brussels. “Since the first report in 2007,” explained Wahid Al Asmar, EMHRN vice-president, “we have only been able to ascertain that the freedom of association has taken steps backward in the Euro-Mediterranean region, with a few exceptions. The worsening of this situation is backed up by the facts, except in Lebanon, where progress needs to be institutionalised, and in Morocco, where unfortunately the progress made does not involve the organisations that are openly for Berber people or the Western Sahara. According to the report, the worst situation on the south shore is in Libya, the country with the most strict rules: in fact, in Libya groups that have ideas that are contrary to the revolution are banned. Examples of violent political repression are not lacking, with aggressions and intimidation. This is also the case in Tunisia in the months leading up to the October 2009 election, or in Syria, with the arrest in July of Mohanad Al-Hassani, the President of the Syrian Organization for Human rights (Sawasiah), which monitors the prison conditions in the country. Worrying human rights NGOs in the region are also announcements of modifications to laws in Algeria and Egypt, which are moving in an even more restrictive direction with respect to the current situation, which is already severe. In Jordan, new legislation is considered disappointing because it imposes to many limits on the right to associate: it does not only call for authorisation for associations to be created, but also for all possible activities, which is contrary to all international standards. A separate case, explained the report, is The Palestinian Territories, where, despite a modern legislative framework, political issues and security override public freedom. In Israel, NGOs are worried about an increase in attacks against the rights and civil liberties of Palestinians and Israelis, in particular by the war in Gaza in December of 2008. Moving further east, Turkey still must overcome problems with its minority populations, especially the Kurds, while in the EU, in general, the situation is widely considered positive. Today in Brussels another appeal will be made for EU institutions to establish a Euro-Mediterranean network human rights delegation, requested to “closely follow the evolution of laws in Mediterranean countries,” said the EMHRN vice-president, “so that they put the issue of intimidating and violating the rights of human rights defenders at the centre of bilateral and multilateral relations between the EU and Mediterranean countries.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Algeria: In 10 Years, 29,000 Children Without Families

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, JANUARY 28 — Some 29,000 Algerian children have been left without a family over the last ten years. So said the minister of National Solidarity and the Family, Djamel Ould Abbes, to journalists on the sidelines of a session in Parliament. Out of the 29,000 children without a family or who were born out of wedlock, said Abbes, quoted by APS, some 21,000 have been put in the care of families in Algeria or Algerians abroad. He added that a further 3,000 children, most of whom have mental or physical handicaps, were placed into specialist centres. According to the minister, some 3,000 children are born out as a result of extra-marital affairs every year. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egyptian Christian Framed in Sexual Assault Case

by Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) — The drive-by shooting of Coptic Christians by extremist Muslims after celebrating the Orthodox Christmas Eve midnight Mass in the southern town of Nagaa Hammadi on January 6, causing the killing of 6 and wounding of 9, (AINA 1-7-2010) was condemned by public opinion worldwide.

To contain the damage of tarnishing the “image” of Egypt and to minimize the repercussions of the massacre, government spin doctors tried to condition public opinion into believing and accepting the scenario set out by State Security that the killing was “criminal and individual” rather than a “sectarian” affair.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said the Nag Hammadi attack was a retaliation for the sexual assault of a Muslim girl by the Christian man Girgis Baroumi Girgis in the town of Farshout last November. This alleged rape crime was used by security officials, politicians, and the media to justify attacks against Copts in Farshout last November and in Nag Hammadi .

Surprisingly, Prosecutor-general Adbel Meguid Mahmoud, also came out linking the killing to the rape.

Egyptian police arrested three suspects responsible for the Christmas Eve shootings, Mohamed el-Kamony, Korshy Aly and Hendawy Hassan, who are registered criminals. Habib el-Adly, Minister of Interior, said on January 24, in an interview on the Egyptian TV programme “City Talk” that el-Kamony is a hired killer, but “he got so upset about the rape and the videos of nude Muslim girls with Christian men, that it triggered the shooting urge in him.”

Mustafaal-Sayyed, professor of political science at Cairo, University believes that the theory of a revenge killing does not hold because the three men charged with the killings are not relatives of the raped girl. “Why would they choose to shoot at Copts on their Christmas eve?” he asked.

Renowned activist Fathi Farid told Coptic News in an aired interview on January 19 the authorities are trying to make a scapegoat out of Baroumi to justify the violations against the Copts in Egypt. “If they can prove that Girgis is guilty then they can say that what happened on Christmas Eve is a reaction to what he did.”

On November 18, 2009, the 21-year-old Girgis Baroumi Girgis, a poultry vendor from Kom al-Ahmar village, near Farshout, was accused by the 12-year-old Muslim girl Yusra Abdelwahab from the neighboring village of al-Shukeifi , of sexually assaulting her. Claims of the assault led to several days of unrest in the area caused by hundreds of Muslim protesters looting and burning Christian property. State Securiy also forced the eviction of 160 Christians from Baroumi’s village (AINA 11-22-2009, 11-23-2009).

Girgis has been detained since last November but not charged and the forensic report of the assault was never published, which some observers say means no evidence could be found against him.

At very short notice Girgis Baroumi’s trial began on January 17, at the Qena Criminal Court, nearly 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Cairo. Shocked and crying incessantly during the whole session, Girgis kept on pleading “Sir, I need a lawyer.” He denied committing the crime. His Muslim defense lawyer had to withdraw at the very last minute, and no other lawyer agreed to defend him, when the presiding judge asked the lawyers present. The case had to be postponed until January 19 to find a lawyer.

As a result, the Egyptian Organization for Anti- Discrimination and Defense of Children’s Rights (EGHR) issued a statement that together with the American Coptic Friendship Association, it will be taking over the defense of Girgis Baroumi Girgis to counteract the “interference of State Security in the role of the judiciary and their efforts to influence it.” It also condemned the biased media and the intervention of some security heads to pressure any lawyer considering defending Baroumi.

Two of the EGHR members, Ashraf Edward and Saeed Abdelmassih, volunteered to defend Baroumi and attended the court session on January 19.

Ashraf Edward said they traveled from Cairo “under great secrecy for safety reasons and because they feared that State Security might delay them from appearing in court.”

“The Lawyers’ Syndicate in Qena refused to assign a lawyer, and Coptic lawyers are under great pressure and are terrorized by the State Security,” said Saeed Abdelmassih. “If Ashraf Edward had not volunteered to defend him, the situation would have been critical.”

The judge adjourned the trial until 17 February.

“The State Security is telling us lawyers that whatever your religion or inclinations are, you are not able to defend one defendant, to the extent that not one lawyer had the courage to attend, so we had to get a lawyer from Cairo,” commented Abdelmassih bitterly.

News media reported that a defense team of 25 lawyers, headed by Islamist lawyer Mohamed el Wahsh, have volunteered to defend the killer el-Kamony.

Talaat Sadat, MP and a vehement critic of the government said on the Cairo Today talk show that the allegedly raped Yousra was never a virgin, but was previously “used”. He was voicing rumors that Yusra has previously been raped by one of her relatives, and that is the reason behind the case remaining unresolved since November. Many activists believe that State Security manufactured evidence against Baroumi to make their case against him stick to justify their interpretation of the massacre of Nag Hammadi.

According to Abdelmassih forensics only examined the girl and said she was not virgin, but said nothing of when she had lost her virginity. They omitted examining Baroumi altogether. A difference existed between the police and the prosecution reports. In the preliminary police report the girl and her father said there was ‘an attempt’ on the part of Girgis to take her clothes off. “All this changed went it went to the prosecution; instead of the matter being ‘taking off clothes’ it changed to sexual intercourse.”

He said that what was more surprising was that the investigating officer validated the incident based on what a 12-year-old said, without even one witness.

Girgis Baroumi’s lawyers requested a forensic specialist to examine 12-year-old girl Yusra and conduct a new interview with the officer who filed the police report.

“We have Inconsistencies in statements, not one single evidence, and no lawyer was present during investigations of the prosecution, because lawyers were afraid to attend to defend a citizen,” said Abdelmassih.

Public opinion in Egypt became so conditioned that Baroumi is guilty before being tried, and the majority are calling for the death penalty to be applied in his case, said most of those interviewed.

EGHR called upon the Egyptian Lawyers’ Syndicate to form a committee to monitor the conduct of the investigations in the Baroumi case, as it did previously during the case of the Veil Martyr Marwa El-Sherbini.

“Girgis Baroumi is a victim of circumstances which has led him to stand trial before the court and the community at the same time,” said his defense attorney Ashraf Edward.

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Hamas Military Commander ‘Assassinated in Dubai’

A senior Hamas military commander has been assassinated by Israel in Dubai, the Palestinian Islamist group claims.

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 50, a founder of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, “died a martyr on 20 January in suspicious circumstances”, a statement said.

Hamas gave no further details, but vowed to “retaliate for this Zionist crime at the appropriate moment”.

An Israeli government spokesman would not comment, in line with Israel’s usual policy on similar allegations.

The AFP news agency reports that the authorities in Dubai have identified several European passport holders as suspects.

Thousands of people attended Mr Mabhouh’s funeral at the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, on the outskirts of Damascus, on Friday.

His coffin was wrapped in a Hamas flag and a large portrait was placed at the entrance to the mosque with the words: “Your fingerprints are everywhere. We promise to continue in your path.”

‘Close to leader’

A Hamas political bureau member in Damascus, Izzat al-Rishq, told the BBC that Mr Mabhouh, who had been living in Syria since 1989, had been very close to its exiled political leader, Khaled Meshaal.

“Mabhouh died a martyr in Dubai on 20 January 2010 in suspicious circumstances that require an inquiry in co-operation with the United Arab Emirates authorities,” Hamas said in a statement.

“We in Hamas hold the Zionist enemy responsible for the criminal assassination of our brother, and we pledge to God and to the blood of the martyrs and to our people to continue his path of jihad and martyrdom,” it added.

Hamas has not given details of how he was killed, but Mr Mabhouh’s family said medical teams that examined him determined that he had died in his hotel room after receiving a massive electric shock to the head. They also found evidence that he had been strangled.

Blood samples sent to a French laboratory confirmed he was killed by electric shock, after which the body was sent to Damascus, they added.

Abductions

Hamas said Mahmoud al-Mabhouh had been responsible for the abduction in 1989 of two Israeli soldiers, who were both later killed.

Sgt Avi Sasportas and Sgt Ilan Sa’adon were seized a few months apart as they hitchhiked from military bases to their homes during the first Palestinian Intifada.

Sgt Sasportas’s body was discovered a year later, close to where he was picked up as he went home to Ashdod. Sgt Sa’adon’s body was not recovered for seven years.

Mr Mabhouh also masterminded a number of other attacks, for which the Israeli authorities demolished his home in Gaza, Hamas said.

He spent several periods in Israeli custody. After his last release, “he spent his life being hounded by the Zionist occupier until he succeeded in leaving the Gaza Strip,” it said.

“Our brother had been a target for the occupier ever since his participation in the kidnapping operation against the two Zionist soldiers, and for his role and support for the resistance.”

History of assassinations

The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades have carried out hundreds of attacks and suicide bombings targeting Israeli troops and civilians.

These include launching rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, the main reason the Israeli military gave for launching a 22-day offensive on Gaza in December 2008, which left about 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

Hamas’s charter effectively calls for the destruction of Israel, although its leaders have more recently said they would consider a long-term ceasefire in exchange for a state on the land Israel occupied in 1967.

Israel has a long history of assassination operations targeting militants. Most famously, in 1987 in Tunisia, agents killed Abu Jihad, the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s military leader.

But in 1997, one mission went wrong, when two agents were arrested in Jordan after attempting to poison Mr Meshaal and Israel was forced to hand over an antidote by the US government.

More recently, Israel denied that it was behind the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, the military commander of the Lebanese Shia militant group, Hezbollah, in Damascus in 2008.

— Hat tip: Gaia

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Human Rights: HRW Calls Situation in Algeria ‘Very Serious’

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, JANUARY 28 — Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called the human rights situation in Algeria “very serious”, where for 18 years a state of emergency has been in force and harsh restrictions remain on civil society and the press. Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW chief for the Middle East and North Africa, said that “in Algeria political violence has decreased since 1999, when President Bouteflika took power. Though today Algerians enjoy greater physical security, they are instead less free to criticise and speak out against government policies.” “The authorities prohibit demonstrations and even seminars organised by human rights organisations,” on the basis of the state of emergency in place since 1992, according to the association’s 2010 Report published on its website. “The families of the thousands of Algerians ‘disappeared’ by those acting on the state’s behalf during the political conflict of the 1990s,” continued HRW, “have received little or no information on what has happened to their relatives.” Harshly criticised is also the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation drawn up on the request of President Bouteflika in 2006 in the attempt to leave the period of terrorism in the country behind. It is a law “which supplied a judicial framework to grant de facto impunity to those behind ‘disappearances’ and other atrocities committed in the 1990s” and made into a criminal act “criticism of the state over the way in which it handled the violence of the period”. Moreover, concluded the association, “like in the case of Morocco and Tunisia, journalists have risked jail sentences due to laws hindering freedom of expression and providing for penal sanctions for defamation.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Libya: Appeal Trial Today for One of the Two Swiss Nationals

(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, JANUARY 28 — Max Goeldi, one of the two Swiss business men sentenced to 16 months in jail for “illegally residing” in Libya, has been summoned to appear before the Court of Appeals today, while on January 31 the tribunal will be examining the position of the other Swiss national sentenced alongside him, Rachid Hamdani, who appeared in the Court of Appeals on Sunday. In a statement to the press, the lawyer of the two men, Salah Zahaf, said that his clients had decided to go to court “because they had received guarantees from the Gaddafi Foundation” under Seif Al Islam, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son. The two Swiss nationals in Tripoli are also making use of German mediation. Diplomatic sources in Libya have confirmed that Max Goeldi will also be escorted to the court today by diplomats from the German embassy in Tripoli. The two, who sought refuge in the Swiss embassy, have been in Libya since July 19 and received their first sentence — to 16 months — on November 30. Goeldi and Hamdani were arrested in Libya after the arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi, one of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, and his wife Aline in a Geneva hotel on July 15 after one of their maids accused them of maltreatment. The two were released shortly thereafter. Since then, relations between Tripoli and Bern have been strained despite the apology to the Libyan government on August 20 by the President of the Swiss Confederation Hans-Rudolf Merz.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Niqab is Not a Religious Obligation, Al Azhar Confirms

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JANUARY 27 — Today the Islamic research council of Al Azhar confirmed that wearing the niqab is not obligatory and has nothing to do with the Islamic precepts for women’s dress, according to internal sources at the highest level of the Sunni academy at the end of a meeting of the council, which lasted for about two hours. The university pointed to a sentence of the Constitutional Court in 1996, which confirmed the ban on niqabs in schools by the Minister of Education, and stressed that Islam prescribes for women to preserve their decency. In 2004, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, said that the veil covering only the hair (hijab) should be considered a religious obligation for Muslim women, who still must adapt to the laws of the foreign country in which they live. The case of the niqab is different, since the same authority at Al Azhar said in October that it has nothing to do with religion and was banned in schools associated with the institution, but solely in the presence of only women. A ban that was suspended yesterday by the administrative court of Cairo, a sentence to which an appeal has already been announced. However, the appeal of the administrative court in Cairo already definitively overturned the niqab ban in universities issued by the Superior Education Ministry, also in the presence of men. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Dershowitz Critiques Goldstone Report

Just as Israel prepares to rebut a report condemning its military offensive in Gaza last winter, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz is charging the authors of the Goldstone Report with basing their conclusions on biased evidence and flawed analyses.

In a 49-page critique, “The Case Against the Goldstone Report: A Study in Evidentiary Bias,” Dershowitz accuses the Goldstone Commission of employing different criteria in assessing evidence against Israel and Hamas.

“They skew it one way against Israel and another way against Hamas,” Dershowitz told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Wednesday.

— Hat tip: JD

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Amil Imani: The Islamic Republic of Torture, Rape & Murder

Rape in prison is a cruel invasion of the helpless victim. In addition to its physical torment and transmission of sexual diseases, rape reduces the victim to a subhuman status—an object for the use of others to be discarded when no longer desired. Most civilized countries sternly guard against rapes and sexual assaults in prison, although with less than complete success. Under the barbaric rule of the Mullahcracy in Iran, sexual assaults have become instruments of policy for extracting false confessions, satisfying the boundless sadisms and sexual perversities of the jailers, punishing the helpless victim and leaving him with the sense of dehumanization.

— Hat tip: Amil Imani

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Diana West: is Iraq the “New Iran”?

“The real danger in Iraq is Iran. It controls Iraq with a firm fist.” So said Iraqi parliamentarian Ayad Jamal Aldin to Bloomberg.com last month in London. “It was through (Grand Ayatollah Ali) al-Sistani that Iran was able to invade Iraq.”

“Could you please elaborate on that?” I asked Aldin this week in Washington, D.C., where the leader of the new anti-corruption Ahrar Party was making the rounds. This point — that post-Saddam, post-surge Iraq (initial thanks to top cleric and Iranian citizen al-Sistani) is effectively a satellite of Iran — goes against the victory-narrative of the policymakers and pundits who have urged the Obama administration to repeat mistakes the United States made in Iraq again in Afghanistan.

The answer (through an interpreter) was a chilling geopolitical lesson taught from the perspective of an Iraqi Shiite cleric from Najaf, who, from the beginning, as I reported in 2003, has called for the separation of religion and state in Iraq. An amalgam of apparent contradictions difficult to unravel in one interview — Aldin is considered pro-Western but would support the anti-Western objectives of the Arab League (including the boycott of pro-Western Israel); says “people need nightclubs” even as he believes alcohol consumption “undoubtedly leads one to Hell;” wears the black turban of those who claim descent from Muhammad and penny loafers — Aldin is nonetheless an insightful, implacable opponent of Iranian influence in Iraq, which, as he describes it, is in full and malevolent ascendance.

First things first: Aldin is grateful to the United States for removing Saddam Hussein. This was a boon, he says, not just for Iraq but for humanity. But due to the U.S. backing “the Iranian men,” the net American effect has been to create “a new Iran — Iraq — with its capital in Baghdad.”

For example, think back to the big Iraqi oil auction last year — a bust for U.S. oil companies. Aldin explains their being empty-handed with a question: “Is there any U.S. oil business in Iran? No.” He continues: “Iraq is the second Iran. The difference between the two is that the new Iran is supported and defended by the U.S. The old Iran is boycotted and sanctioned by the U.S.” But there’s “no meaning” to such measures because more than the notorious Iranian terror-bank Bank Melli operates in Iraq. A multitude of Iranian banking concerns, he says, operate freely in Iraq under Iraqi names.

Do they laugh at us over things like this? I asked. “No,” he replied. “People think the U.S. must be in some big conspiracy.” In other words, we just couldn’t be as dumb as we really are.

What about China and Russia, the big winners in the oil auction?…

— Hat tip: Diana West

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Saudis to Regulate ‘Chaotic Fatwas’

Saudi authorities are planning to regulate the issuance of Islamic rulings by limiting the number of people allowed to formulate religious decrees.

The plan is currently being discussed by the Higher Council of Religious Scholars and could be implemented as early as next month.

“If the Saudi authorities regulate the fatwa industry, it will reduce the amount of extreme fatwas and it will send a positive message to those who are irresponsible and unaccountable with their fatwas,” Dr. Khalil Al-Khalil, a former Saudi member of parliament and an expert on Islamic trends, told The Media Line. “It will send them a message that they are not doing the right thing.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Sharia’s Dominion

[Two books argue that repression, cruelty, and fear are central to Islam]

A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam, by Wafa Sultan (St. Martin’s, 256 pp., $24.99)

Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, by Nonie Darwish (Thomas Nelson, 288 pp., $24.99)

As American citizens and officials engage in a muddled public debate about how to deal with indicted Fort Hood murderer Malik Hasan and his ilk, they would do well to consult these two books, which examine the Islamic system in practice.”A God Who Hates” explores the nature of Islam, viewed through Wafa Sultan’s personal experiences growing up in Syria, working there as a doctor, and then immigrating to the United States, where she became a psychiatrist.

“Cruel and Usual Punishment” published early last year, is the second book by Nonie Darwish, the daughter of an Egyptian officer killed by the Israelis in the 1950s. Her first, “Now They Call Me Infidel”, offered extensive autobiographical detail; the more recent book is an in-depth probe of what she sees as key problematic aspects of Islam.

Both Sultan and Darwish document how traditional Islamic law, or sharia, underpins Islamic life. Darwish argues that under Islam’s golden period of conquest and imperial rule, sharia’s most important aspect was “total control of the large and diverse Muslim empire-everyone’s behavior, loyalty, mind and even soul.” The system was all-encompassing and punishments were strict, but the caliphs, or rulers, were exempt from penalty for theft, adultery, killing, or drinking; in addition, they alone could have an unlimited number of wives. Their subjects were not allowed to revolt against them unless the caliphs acted in an “un-Islamic” way. Indeed, the fate of the learned imams who had written the sharia law demonstrated the extent of the caliphs’ immunity: they all wound up imprisoned, punished, exiled, or poisoned.

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Afghan Men Struggle With Sexual Identity, Study Finds

An unclassified study from a military research unit in southern Afghanistan details how homosexual behavior is unusually common among men in the large ethnic group known as Pashtuns — though they seem to be in complete denial about it.

As if U.S. troops and diplomats didn’t have enough to worry about in trying to understand Afghan culture, a new report suggests an entire region in the country is coping with a sexual identity crisis.

An unclassified study from a military research unit in southern Afghanistan details how homosexual behavior is unusually common among men in the large ethnic group known as Pashtuns — though they seem to be in complete denial about it.

The study, obtained by Fox News, found that Pashtun men commonly have sex with other men, admire other men physically, have sexual relationships with boys and shun women both socially and sexually — yet they completely reject the label of “homosexual.” The research was conducted as part of a longstanding effort to better understand Afghan culture and improve Western interaction with the local people.

The research unit, which was attached to a Marine battalion in southern Afghanistan, acknowledged that the behavior of some Afghan men has left Western forces “frequently confused.”

The report details the bizarre interactions a U.S. Army medic and her colleagues had with Afghan men in the southern province of Kandahar.

In one instance, a group of local male interpreters had contracted gonorrhea anally but refused to believe they could have contracted it sexually — “because they were not homosexuals.”

Apparently, according to the report, Pashtun men interpret the Islamic prohibition on homosexuality to mean they cannot “love” another man — but that doesn’t mean they can’t use men for “sexual gratification.”

The group of interpreters who had contracted gonorrhea joked in the camp that they actually got the disease by “mixing green and black tea.” But since they refused to heed the medics’ warnings, many of them re-contracted the disease after receiving treatment.

The U.S. army medic also told members of the research unit that she and her colleagues had to explain to a local man how to get his wife pregnant.

The report said: “When it was explained to him what was necessary, he reacted with disgust and asked, ‘How could one feel desire to be with a woman, who God has made unclean, when one could be with a man, who is clean? Surely this must be wrong.’“

The Pashtun populations are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The Human Terrain Team that conducted the research is part of a military effort to learn more about local populations.

The report also detailed a disturbing practice in which older “men of status” keep young boys on hand for sexual relationships. One of the country’s favorite sayings, the report said, is “women are for children, boys are for pleasure.”

The report concluded that the widespread homosexual behavior stems from several factors, including the “severe segregation” of women in the society and the “prohibitive” cost of marriage.

Though U.S. troops are commonly taught in training for Afghanistan that the “effeminate characteristics” of Pashtun men are “normal” and not an indicator of homosexuality, the report said U.S. forces should not “dismiss” the unique version of homosexuality that is actually practiced in the region “out of desire to avoid western discomfort.”

Otherwise, the report said, Westerners could “risk failing to comprehend an essential social force underlying Pashtun culture.”

— Hat tip: TT

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Beijing Fetes 16th-Century Missionary

Exhibition explores life of Italy’s Matteo Ricci

(ANSA) — Ancona, January 28 — An exhibition opening in Beijing next month pays tribute to a 16th-century Italian mathematician and missionary who settled in China, officials from his native Marche region have announced. The exhibition will explore the extraordinary life of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), a Jesuit priest and academic born in Macerata, who spent most of his adult years in China and eventually became a member of the court of Ming Emperor Wanli.

Speaking at a press conference presenting the exhibition, Marche Governor Gian Mario Spacca described it as “an extremely important cultural event”. “This exhibition will not only honour our illustrious ‘son’, it will also strengthen ties with China,” he said. The event’s curator, Filippo Mignini said the exhibition, marking 400 years since Ricci’s death, would open in Beijing on February 6, before moving on to Shanghai and later Nanjing. The show will feature around 200 pieces, including a core collection of 60 artefacts.

The remaining items will be tailored to highlight Ricci’s ties with the host city, with loans from leading Italian and Chinese institutes.

These additional works will include several Renaissance Italian masterpieces by stars such as Raphael and Titian, on display in China for the first time, as well as priceless documents and artworks from the Ming Dynasty. Ricci studied mathematics and astronomy for several years in Rome, where he entered the Jesuit order, before setting out for the Far East in 1578 at the age of 26. He spent four years in Goa on the west coast of India before travelling to China where he settled in the southernmost Guangdong Province and began studying Chinese.

It was during this period that the Jesuit priest produced his first global Great Map of Ten Thousand Countries, which revolutionized Chinese understanding of the rest of the world.

In 1589 he moved to Zhao Zhou and began sharing European mathematical ideas with Chinese scholars, winning renown for his extraordinary memory and knowledge of astronomy. The reputation of Li Madou — as he was known in China — spread, and in 1601 he was finally allowed into the Forbidden City of Beijing, where he worked until his death in 1610.

During his life, the Jesuit sought to bridge the gap between Chinese and Italian cultures more by discussion of ethical and philosophical questions than by focusing on religion.

Ricci’s work is today familiar to Chinese schoolchildren of all ages but he has only recently become a familiar name in Italy.

Despite his reputation in China, the Catholic Church condemned him for heresy 100 years after his death and he was only rehabilitated by Pope Pius XII in 1939.

His memory has largely been neglected since then but two successful exhibitions, coupled with a TV film, have sparked a revival of popular interest in his extraordinary life. The fourth centenary of Ricci’s death falls this year and several initiatives have been organized to mark the event. The largest of these is the travelling exhibition in China, but the Catholic Church is also planning to commemorate the anniversary.

The exhibition in Beijing, which runs until March 20, will be followed by stints in Shanghai from April 2 until May 23, and in Nanjing from June 4 until July 25.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Malaysia Charges 3 Muslims for Church Firebombing

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian government prosecutors have charged three Muslim men with allegedly attacking a church with a firebomb.

They are the first suspects to be taken to court in connection to a string of assaults on places of worship amid a dispute over whether non-Muslims can use the word “Allah” to refer to God.

Government lawyer Anselm Charles Fernandis says the three suspects pleaded innocent in a Kuala Lumpur district court Friday to starting a fire that partially gutted a Protestant church on Jan. 8.

The suspects, in their 20s, face a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted. The court did not immediately schedule a trial date.

Eleven churches were attacked in the past three weeks, mainly involving firebombs that caused minor damage.

— Hat tip: KGS

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Malaysia Court Rejects Anwar Ibrahim Evidence Appeal

A Malaysian court has rejected a bid by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to be granted access to evidence against him in a pending sodomy trial.

Mr Anwar has accused the government of interfering in the case and trying to rush it through court.

The former deputy prime minister was charged with sodomy, a criminal offence in Malaysia, in 2008.

He denies the charge and says it is politically motivated, but faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

Mr Anwar spent six years in prison following a similar accusation in the late 1990s, but was freed after an appeal.

On Friday, the Federal Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that Mr Anwar could not have access to medical evidence held by prosecutors.

“The court ruled that the evidence that we were seeking did not fall within the ‘necessary and desirable’ category and turned down the appeal,” lawyer Sankara Nair told the AFP news agency.

‘Quick conviction’

Mr Anwar told AFP he was “shocked with the [government’s] impunity to go on with such a case despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary”.

He said he believed he could win the case if the court looks at the “facts and the law”.

But he said he believed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was “quite directly involved” in the legal process, which made him “not too confident of the system”.

Mr Anwar said the court “seems they want to rush” his trial and that their “political masters want a quick conviction”.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but Mr Sankara said he would ask for it to be postponed while an appeal seeking to have the case thrown out completely went through another court .

Mr Anwar was arrested by armed police in a dramatic raid in August 2008, after a 23-year-old man who used to work in his office said he had sex with him.

Mr Anwar says his accuser is lying and the evidence has been fabricated.

He claims that the charge is part of a government conspiracy to undermine his opposition alliance, following its big gains in the March 2008 elections.

Government officials deny any plot against him.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Pakistan: Zardari Sacrifices Goats to ‘Ward Off Evil’

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has a black goat slaughtered at his house almost every day to ward off “evil eyes” and protect him from “black magic”, it emerged yesterday.

A spokesman for the President told the Dawn newspaper the goats were slaughtered as an act of Sadaqah — meaning “voluntary charity” in Islam, whereby one gives out money or the meat of a slaughtered animal to the poor to win Allah’s blessing and stave off misfortune.

“It has been an old practice of Mr Zardari to offer Sadaqah. He has been doing this for a long time,” the spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, told the paper.

Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country where many of the well-off offer Sadaqah. Though Muslim, many people also follow certain superstitious practices.

Hundreds of goats had been sacrificed at Mr Zardari’s house since he was sworn in in September 2008, it is reported.

The President is also believed to have introduced the neem tree at his official residence for its antiseptic qualities. The Dawn newspaper reported that the President’s detractors would see in his “new-found religiosity” a sign of nervousness in the face of growing woes. President Zardari, who rose to power after the assassination of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in late 2007, faces a range of problems from Islamist militancy to a stagnant economy and political rivalry.

A Supreme Court ruling last month throwing out an amnesty for the President, several top aides and thousands of political activists triggered a political storm and expectation that Mr Zardari was on his way out.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Ten Aussies Killed in India, Families Claim

At least 10 Australians have been murdered or feared murdered in violent attacks in India since 1999, with claims that up to 200 westerners have been killed. In what is expected to further heighten tension between India and Australia, the families of dead Australians say the subcontinent nation is hypocritical in attacking Victorian authorities and are calling for an investigation by the Rudd Government.

They are also issuing their own travel warning to Australians planning to visit India, saying they are “taking their lives into their own hands”.

Melbourne disability pensioner Michael Osborne was found dead in a guest house near the city of Patna with his bank account empty and most of his belongings gone less than three weeks into a dream visit to India last June.

Indian police initially said the death was due to a drug overdose but when pushed for detail twice changed their story, saying he died from injuries sustained from a fall and finally that the death was caused by zinc phosphate poisoning.

Patna police told the Australian High Commission in New Delhi the death was not suspicious and that there were “no apparent external injuries to Michael’s body”.

But a post mortem report reveals the body had a catalogue of injuries, including brain haemorrhaging, an abdomen cavity “full of blood”, scratches and abrasions on his left arm, elbow, wrist and leg and right side of his chest and hip.

It said: “All abrasions caused by hand and blunt object.”

Osborne’s brother Laurie believes he was beaten to death and has not ruled out a racial motive. But Indian and Australian authorities appeared to have closed the book on the case, he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will not say how many Australians had been killed in India. But the Tourist Justice and Safety in India group, set up by families of murder victims, have listed 10.

The Indian media has recently painted Melbourne as a racist city and condemned a string of violent attacks against Indian students.

But Laurie Osborne said his brother’s death was the latest in a line of attacks against Australians being swept under the carpet by Indian authorities.

“We want to warn Australians going over to India that they are in danger,” he said.

“Especially if they are going by themselves. Indians jump up and down and say that Australians are attacking Indians but look at what they are doing to Australians.”

— Hat tip: Winds of Jihad

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Cats and Dogs to be Taken Off Menu in China

In what would be China’s first law against animal abuse, anyone caught eating cat or dog meat would face a fine of as much as 5,000 yuan (£450) and up to 15 days in jail. Organisations involved in the sale of either meat could be fined between 10,000 and 500,000 yuan. A draft law is expected to be sent to parliament, the National People’s Congress, in April, according to state media.

Dog meat — known euphemistically as “fragrant meat” — is an age-old delicacy, believed to have warming properties that make it particularly favoured as a winter dish. Consumption is most widespread in the northeast, where temperatures plunge in the winter. Practitioners of Chinese medicine say that dog meat is high in protein and fat, good for the kidneys, and boosts energy levels and male virility. Some parts of China have large numbers of dog farms, particularly Peixian county in southeastern Jiangsu province, home 2,000 years ago of an emperor known for his love of stewed dog with soft-shell turtle. The animals are also raised for their fur.

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China’s Anti-Piracy Role Off Somalia Expands

China has agreed to join an international naval operation to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia.

China has been focusing on protecting its own shipping in the area, but it will now join the naval forces of the US, Nato and the European Union.

This grouping, the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (Shade), protects a shipping corridor in the western Indian Ocean.

This is the area where pirate attacks are most frequent.

Members of the international naval task force say that although attacks there have increased, fewer have been successful.

Ransoms

The BBC’s United Nations correspondent Barbara Plett says officials believe having China on board will allow more ships to be diverted to the Somali Basin, a vast expanse of water in the western part of the Indian Ocean, where attacks are at an all time high.

The agreement also allows China to take on the rotating chairmanship of the naval task force that coordinates patrols.

China is believed to be interested in raising its participation in the anti-piracy drive partly because one of its ships was hijacked last October.

The De Xin Hai bulk carrier was reportedly freed in late December amid reports of a possible ransom payment.

Analysts say China is also eager to extend its naval reach beyond its shores.

Chinese media have reported the stepping up of China’s role in anti-piracy patrols as the moment when China takes on a “central” and “leadership” role in an important international operation.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper reported that China had been lobbying for the expanded role for months.

The newspaper editorialised that China would “show its worth as a global player”.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

Fifth of Swedish Population Foreign

Latest figures from Statistics Sweden reveal that in the last 50 years the number of foreigners living in Sweden or those with two foreign-born parents has risen from four to nearly 20 percent.

A new report from Statistics Sweden (Statistiska Centralbyrån, SCB) reveals there are around 1.6 million foreigners currently residing in the country from a total population of 9.3 million.

Annika Klinterfeldt, SCB population analyst told The Local the numbers are not surprising.

“If we look at the trend over the last 50 years we can see growth in number of between 0.1-0.2 percent every year.

“Back in 1960, foreigners or those with two foreign-born parents made up four percent of the population. It’s been quite high for the last few years and we expect it to continue,” she added.

Those included in the figures are defined by having lived in Sweden for one year or more, although they do not have to be Swedish citizens.

Statistics Sweden does not differentiate between immigrants who have come to Sweden for asylum reasons and others who have moved here for love or work.

Finland has historically dominated the number of foreign settlers in Sweden and tops the table with 256,975 Finns residing across the border today.

Within Europe, Poland’s accession to the EU prompted a highly-publicised exodus from the country and a total of 78,522 Poles currently live in Sweden, the most represented country among the 27 EU nations.

There are 59,852 Germans who have adopted Sweden as home along with 22,416 from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Included in the Asian category, but not subdivided in the yearly report, are 142,053 Iraqis, 75,175 Iranians, 44,415 Lebanese, 35,886 Syrians, 27,552 Thais, 21,322 Chinese, 20,111 Vietnamese, 18 534 Indians, 14,292 Afghans, 9,818 Filipinos, 10,831 Koreans (North and South), and 10,823 Pakistanis.

Africans make up 48,710 of the total, with South Americans accounting for 29,689.

North America is represented by 33,222 people, with 17,540 of those coming from the US.

Australia and New Zealand are combined in the Oceania category of the report, represented by 4,214 people who have presently swapped sunnier climes for the Swedish winter.

— Hat tip: TB

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Italy: Gov’t Approves Plan Against Illegal Market Work

(ANSAmed) — REGGIO CALABRIA, JANUARY 28 — The Italian government, meeting in Reggio Calabria to adopt an extraordinary anti-mafia plan, also approved Minister Sacconi’s extraordinary plan against black market work in Calabria, Campania, Apulia and Sicily. A “blanket operation” that was made necessary after the incidents in Rosarno, the site of clashes between the local population and illegally employed clandestine immigrants. The plan involves the use of 550 inspectors who will carry out inspections on 20,000 companies, mainly in the agriculture and construction sectors. Overall, 10,000 agricultural businesses (2,000 in Calabria, 2,500 in Campania, 3,000 in Apulia and 2,500 in Sicily) will be inspected. The checks will focus on the use of seasonal labour, the practice of illegally hiring farm labourers through an agent at very low wages and fraud against the national welfare institute INPS through imaginary employment, a business mainly managed by organised crime groups. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

Muslim Student Adviser: Death Penalty for ‘Gays’

Vanderbilt religious ‘staff’ says, ‘I go with what Islam teaches’

Vanderbilt University is distancing itself from a Muslim chaplain after he told a gathering of students homosexuality is punishable by death under Islam.

“I don’t have a choice as a Muslim to accept or reject teachings. I go with what Islam teaches,” said Awadh A. Binhazim, who is listed on the Vanderbilt website as “Adjunct Professor of Islam at the Divinity School” and an adviser to the Muslim Student Association. His comments came earlier this week at a diversity event for students.

He was asked directly, “Under Islamic law is it punishable by death if you are a homosexual?”

Binhazim said, “Yes. It is punishable by death.”

[…]

The questions, at a student event held by the Muslim Students Association and the Army ROTC, were asked by Devin Saucier, president of Vanderbilt’s chapter of Youth for Western Civilization.

He told WND it was a “30-minute, roses and butterflies overview of Islam.”

Saucier said in a blog he wondered about the “unholy alliance between Muslims and leftists — how could the latter, who fervently support multiculturalism, gay marriage, and gender equality, ally with the former, who support religious and cultural supremacy, traditional marriage, and the oppression of women?”

[Comments from JD: See URL for video.]

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

The Myth of Nazi Persecution of Gays

The authors tackle the politically-charged question of the homoerotic and homosexual nature of the Third Reich leadership. It is a serious scholarly work exposing a wealth of information on the following basic points:

1) While Hitler’s Mein Kampf degraded Jews, Marxists, Negroes, Chinese, Arabs, women, and Eastern Europeans, he had no negative remarks for homosexuality. Instead, Hitler chose actively homosexual men as influential Nazi party and youth leaders.

2) The top and central most Nazi personalities and groups (SA, SS) which constructed the Third Reich were predominantly macho-types of male homosexuals or bi-sexuals.

3) Rohm and the SA “brownshirt” leaders were all homosexuals, and were killed by Hitler (Night of the Long Knives) and Nazi laws were passed against homosexuality only after their own outrageous open street sex-orgy parties and pedophilia behavior was being roundly criticized in the German press, thereby threatening Hitler’s support base among heterosexuals. Policies of concealment thereafter prevailed.

4) Beyond the suppression of the SA, these laws were rarely enforced, and then only when politically helpful to the Nazi cause.

5) Only a few thousand authentically homosexual men (and no lesbians) were condemned to the death-camps by the Nazis. These were nearly always either political enemies of the Third Reich against whom such charges were a convenient excuse to dispose of them, or passive-receptive homosexual “femmes” — homosexual men of softer feminine qualities — and whom the macho leather-clad homosexuals always viewed (along with women) with terrible contempt.

6) The attacks against the Sex-Research Institute of the openly-homosexual and flamboyant pedophile Magnus Hirschfeld, was made to seize and burn his extensive files on the homosexual movement and personalities in Wiemar Germany, which included details on the homosexual and pedophile conduct of top Nazi officials.

7) The swaggering macho muscular nature of the SS and SA units, their overt pedophilia, sadist-masochistic sexual predelictions, their sadistc cruelty against heterosexuals, women, and other cultures not sharing their pathology, is detailed.

GAY ACTIVISM

The authors also chastise modern homosexual activist groups, and homo-sympathetic historians, for widespread distortion of these facts, which are abused to create the false image of homosexuals as “victims” of the Third Reich, comparable to the genocidal attacks against Jews, Gypsies, or Slavs. Their role inside the Third Reich, as partial architects of the Final Solution and other reprehensible Nazi policies, is nearly always never mentioned. Out of this comes a brand of aggressive if not fascist “political correctness” which labels any criticism of organized homosexual or bi-sexual conduct — even as outrageously pathological as in the “gay” bath-houses, or as seen in things like the Fulsom Street Festival in San Francisco, or the various “Gay Pride” parades, or as advocated by criminal groups like NAMBLA — as “hate speech”, or even “hate crimes”.

[Return to headlines]

Bill Gates Makes World’s Biggest Ever Single Charitable Donation With £6.2bn for Vaccines for Children

Bill Gates has pledged £6.2billion to fund research into new vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.

The sum will be spent over 10 years and will aim to help more than eight million children.

It is thought the cash — from Gates and his wife’s charity The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — is the largest donation ever made by a charity.

It will aim to make sure that 90 per cent of youths are immunised against dangerous diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia in poorer nations.

Calling upon governments and business to also contribute, billionaire Mr Gates said in a statement today: ‘We must make this the decade of vaccines.

‘Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before.’

Gates said the commitment more than doubles the £2.8billion the foundation has given to vaccine research over the years.

The foundation said up to 7.6 million children under five could be saved through 2019 as a result of the donation.

It also estimates that an additional 1.1 million kids would be saved if a malaria vaccine can be introduced by 2014. A tuberculosis vaccine would prevent even more deaths.

‘Vaccines are a miracle,’ said Melinda Gates.’With just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime.’

The pledge is the biggest single donation to be made for one cause in one go.

Ten years ago the couple also pledged £6billion, to be split between health and education causes, with £3billion going on vaccines.

The world’s biggest philanthropist is financier Warren Buffett.

He has donated £18billion of his £30billion fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but that is to be paid in instalments and used for a variety of charity work.

Mr Buffett has given away 80 per cent of his net worth.

Mr Gates’ total donations now add up to £24billion, some 66 per cent of his £36billion fortune.

It comes as Mr Gates launched a scathing attack on Silvio Berlusconi, accusing the Italian Prime Minister of spending more on his thinning hair than he does on foreign aid.

Mr Gates hit out at Mr Berlusconi’s ‘stinginess’ and said the controversial politician was the main figure on his ‘list of shame’.

And, in a clear reference to Mr Berlusconi’s hair transplant, he told German daily Sueddeutche Zeitung that ‘rich people spend a lot more on personal problems like baldness than they do to combat malaria’.

Mr Gates’ attack came as Italians were scratching their heads over the mystery of Mr Berlusconi’s moving hairline.

Photographs taken recently of the 73-year-old prime minister seem to show him with a good head of hair one day but then visibly thinner a couple of days later.

A further two days on and his thatch has mysteriously reappeared.

The media tycoon had a hair transplant in 2004 — days before he was pictured with Tony and Cherie Blair when they holidayed at his Sardinian villa.

Much to the embarrassment of the Blairs, Mr Berlusconi appeared with them wearing a black and white bandanna to protect his scalp from the sun.

Yesterday Italian newspapers printed a series of photos showing Mr Berlusconi’s changing hairline. La Repubblica said his hair had ‘undergone an amazing mutation’.

It added that after appearing at a wedding ‘with his traditional head of hair’, two days later his hairline ‘appeared inexplicably higher and thinner. But have no fear: At a ceremony on Wednesday it was back to its luxuriant thick foliage.’

Last night Dr Piero Rosati, who performed Mr Berlusconi’s eight-hour hair transplant, said: ‘It’s possible that hair can fall out due to stress but more hair or less hair what is important is what he is doing politically.’

However Professor Franco Buttafaro, a specialist in plastic surgery, said the problem was down to a far simpler set of circumstances — Mr Berlusconi had forgotten to put his make up on.

Professor Buttafaro told Italian glossy magazine Novella 2000: ‘In two days he would not have lost his hair to stress — looking at the photos, what has happened is that one day he applied the make up correctly the next day he didn’t.’

Last night his spokesman refused to comment on the stories about his hair.

[Return to headlines]

Muslim Inventions That Shaped the Modern World

From coffee to cranks, items we couldn’t live without today are Muslim inventions

Modern hospitals and universities both began in 9th century North Africa

London, England (CNN) — Think of the origins of that staple of modern life, the cup of coffee, and Italy often springs to mind.

But in fact, Yemen is where the ubiquitous brew has its true origins.

Along with the first university, and even the toothbrush, it is among surprising Muslim inventions that have shaped the world we live in today.

The origins of these fundamental ideas and objects — the basis of everything from the bicycle to musical scales — are the focus of “1001 Inventions,” a book celebrating “the forgotten” history of 1,000 years of Muslim heritage.

“There’s a hole in our knowledge, we leap frog from the Renaissance to the Greeks,” professor Salim al-Hassani, Chairman of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, and editor of the book told CNN.

“1001 Inventions” is now an exhibition at London’s Science Museum. Hassani hopes the exhibition will highlight the contributions of non-Western cultures — like the Muslim empire that once covered Spain and Portugal, Southern Italy and stretched as far as parts of China — to present day civilization.

1. Surgery

Around the year 1,000, the celebrated doctor Al Zahrawi published a 1,500 page illustrated encyclopedia of surgery that was used in Europe as a medical reference for the next 500 years. Among his many inventions, Zahrawi discovered the use of dissolving cat gut to stitch wounds — beforehand a second surgery had to be performed to remove sutures. He also reportedly performed the first caesarean operation and created the first pair of forceps.

2. Coffee

Now the Western world’s drink du jour, coffee was first brewed in Yemen around the 9th century. In its earliest days, coffee helped Sufis stay up during late nights of devotion. Later brought to Cairo by a group of students, the coffee buzz soon caught on around the empire. By the 13th century it reached Turkey, but not until the 16th century did the beans start boiling in Europe, brought to Italy by a Venetian trader.

3. Flying machine

“Abbas ibn Firnas was the first person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and fly,” said Hassani. In the 9th century he designed a winged apparatus, roughly resembling a bird costume. In his most famous trial near Cordoba in Spain, Firnas flew upward for a few moments, before falling to the ground and partially breaking his back. His designs would undoubtedly have been an inspiration for famed Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci’s hundreds of years later, said Hassani.

4. University

In 859 a young princess named Fatima al-Firhi founded the first degree-granting university in Fez, Morocco. Her sister Miriam founded an adjacent mosque and together the complex became the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University. Still operating almost 1,200 years later, Hassani says he hopes the center will remind people that learning is at the core of the Islamic tradition and that the story of the al-Firhi sisters will inspire young Muslim women around the world today.

5. Algebra

The word algebra comes from the title of a Persian mathematician’s famous 9th century treatise “Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala” which translates roughly as “The Book of Reasoning and Balancing.” Built on the roots of Greek and Hindu systems, the new algebraic order was a unifying system for rational numbers, irrational numbers and geometrical magnitudes. The same mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, was also the first to introduce the concept of raising a number to a power.

6. Optics

“Many of the most important advances in the study of optics come from the Muslim world,” says Hassani. Around the year 1000 Ibn al-Haitham proved that humans see objects by light reflecting off of them and entering the eye, dismissing Euclid and Ptolemy’s theories that light was emitted from the eye itself. This great Muslim physicist also discovered the camera obscura phenomenon, which explains how the eye sees images upright due to the connection between the optic nerve and the brain.

7. Music

Muslim musicians have had a profound impact on Europe, dating back to Charlemagne tried to compete with the music of Baghdad and Cordoba, according to Hassani. Among many instruments that arrived in Europe through the Middle East are the lute and the rahab, an ancestor of the violin. Modern musical scales are also said to derive from the Arabic alphabet.

8. Toothbrush

According to Hassani, the Prophet Mohammed popularized the use of the first toothbrush in around 600. Using a twig from the Meswak tree, he cleaned his teeth and freshened his breath. Substances similar to Meswak are used in modern toothpaste.

9. The crank

Many of the basics of modern automatics were first put to use in the Muslim world, including the revolutionary crank-connecting rod system. By converting rotary motion to linear motion, the crank enables the lifting of heavy objects with relative ease. This technology, discovered by Al-Jazari in the 12th century, exploded across the globe, leading to everything from the bicycle to the internal combustion engine.

10. Hospitals

“Hospitals as we know them today, with wards and teaching centers, come from 9th century Egypt,” explained Hassani. The first such medical center was the Ahmad ibn Tulun Hospital, founded in 872 in Cairo. Tulun hospital provided free care for anyone who needed it — a policy based on the Muslim tradition of caring for all who are sick. From Cairo, such hospitals spread around the Muslim world.

For more information on muslim inventions go to: muslimheritage.com. For more information about the exhibition at London’s Science Museum go to: science museum.org.uk

— Hat tip: GEC

[Return to headlines]

At City Journal, Michael Knox Beran calls Obama’s State of the Union address “deeply incoherent” and says he has “the most riven presidential mind since Nixon’s.”

Let’s leave Nixon out of it, though Mr. Beran’s comparison (found at the link) is most revealing. Here, we’ll just limit our focus to the end of his essay, concerning ourselves with what he terms “Obama’s Schizophrenic Politics”:

[…]

Obama converted his racial bitterness into an ideal of social justice that would right social wrongs. It was evidently this fetish that he cherished inwardly as he climbed ever higher in politics, even if he could never afford to be wholly candid about it in public. The Jeremiah Wright controversy showed him how politically dangerous the social-justice conceit could be; yet even after he reached the top of the political greasy pole, he could not bring himself to discard it. When he took office, the electorate was clamoring for jobs and economic growth; yet like some latter-day Count of Monte Cristo bent on getting even with the system, Obama spent extravagant amounts of political capital on the social-justice imponderables of a universal health-care program to be paid for by “the rich.”

[…]

Some have argued that Obama has irretrievably wrecked his presidency by surrendering it to the demands of his social ideal. But the president who appeared on the rostrum on Wednesday seemed as confident as ever of his destiny as an epochal Fourth Eclogue figure. His party is likely to suffer painful defeats in the midterm elections, but he himself is preternaturally at ease. Perhaps with good reason: if, in 2012, he relegates the social prophet in him to the psychological cellar, he may once again use a modest and conciliatory demeanor to convince voters that he is not, at heart, a wild man and a social utopist.

That Fourth Eclogue of Virgil’s has some uncanny imagery that brings our President to mind (at least one can deduce that Obama is given to seeing himself this way):
– – – – – – – – –

….Now the Virgin returns, and Saturn’s reign returns;
now a new generation is sent down from high heaven.
Only, chaste Lucina, favour the child at his birth,
by whom, first of all, the iron age will end
and a golden race arise in all the world;
now your Apollo reigns.

And indeed, Pollio, during your consulship
this glory of the age will enter in,
and the great months will begin to advance;
while you lead, if any stains of our sins still linger,
their negation will free the lands from endless fear.
He will take up the gods’ life, and he will see
heroes and gods intermingled;
and he himself will be seen by them,
and with his father’s virtues will rule a world at peace.

That could’ve been written by the author of “Dreams of My Father”, could it not? Who knew that Obama was cribbing Virgil all this time?

And for yourself, little boy, the uncultivated earth
will scatter its first small gifts:
wandering ivy and cyclamens everywhere,
Egyptian beans mixed with laughing acanthus.
By themselves, she-goats will come home
with udders swollen with milk;
cattle no longer will fear mighty lions.
For you, your own cradle will bear delightful flowers;
the serpent will die, and the plant that hides its venom;
Assyrian spices will spring forth all over.
But as soon as you are able to read
the praise of heroes and your father’s works
and come to understand what virtue is,
fields will slowly turn golden with soft ears of grain,
red grapes will hang down from uncultivated briars
and stubborn oaks will exude dewlike honey.

Or, as Obama put it in 2008, before they stuffed the wild-eyed prophet back into a suit:

the “moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless,” a golden age “when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”

If only it were a cynical pose. But it’s the lawyer who is the poseur. The Messiah is lurking underneath, praying to be back in office after 2012. Then will come the Apocalypse They’ve Been Waiting For.

Mercy me. What is to become of our country if this man continues beyond one term?

As most readers already know, the Dutch politician Geert Wilders has gone on trial in Amsterdam for “inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims” with his film Fitna and other criticism of the Islamization of his country. The move against him is plainly political, and is an attempt by the existing power structure in the Netherlands to stem the rapid depletion of its own popularity and legitimacy.

Along with the person of Mr. Wilders, the sitting Dutch government has attempted to demonize his party, the Partij Voor de Vrijheid (PVV) by commissioning a blatantly fixed “scientific” study of the PVV, whose release was timed to coincide with the Wilders trial.

Our Flemish correspondent VH has translated two articles about the report, and follows them with his own notes.

First, from De Telegraaf:

PVV is the “new radical right”

The PVV does not derive from the traditional extreme right. Nothing but right-wing elements may be found in the views of the party of Geert Wilders. The concepts of the PVV about Islamization and non-Western immigrants seem to have a discriminatory character. The organization of the party is not democratic, but authoritarian.

That is what is stated in a report by the IVA Research and Consultancy on radicalization and polarization in the Netherlands. The report was written by four researchers: Hans Moors [see also “Jammin’ the Jahiliyya”], Lenke Balogh, Jaap van Donselaar and Bob de Graaff.^[1]

They describe the PVV as being the “new radical right”: a party with a “national democratic” ideology, but without roots in the traditional extreme right.

A preference for “one’s own” [a term invented by the extreme leftwing researcher Donselaar], a dislike of the “foreign”, and a tendency for the authoritarian [because the PVV has no membership], which comes forth from the views of the PVV, belong to national-democratic ideas, the researchers write. As an example of the aversion for the “foreign”, the researchers mention alleged [sic] Islamization and non-Western immigrants.

They assert that “hard statements on these issues” come close to discrimination. Those are about “the exclusion of rights, criminalization, and social divisiveness”. The researchers thereby note that the court must still rule on allegations of discrimination.

On the internet the PVV seems to function as a magnet for the extreme right, the researchers conclude on the basis of extreme right wing web forums. But this is less true of neo-Nazi websites.

In a comment Wilders speaks of “a scandalous report, in which is much nonsense is said, such as equating defending national interests with the radical right”. But most of all he is not amused by the statement that under criminal law the statements of the PVV, according to the researchers, might have “a discriminatory character”. Wilders designates this as a “downright and extremely harmful” way of influencing the court case that is still pending against him.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Guusje ter Horst (PvdA, Socialists), the sponsor of the study, has also made herself guilty by sending the report to parliament without distancing herself from it in the accompanying letter. Wilders calls this “vicious”. Ter Horst said earlier that she has not interfered the content of the research, and also that it was not a study that was focused solely on the PVV.

Het Vrije Volk responded to the same report in with the following article:
– – – – – – – – –

The PVV is the “new radical right”!

by Filantroop

They finally came out with it: the PVV, according to researchers, is the “new radical right”, and has a “national-democratic ideology, but without roots in traditional extreme right”.

There is only one problem: choosing words for a political party is not at all scientific, but only an opinion-based way of defining it. And, in this particular case, the researchers did not find connections in history, because the PVV does not have any similarities with former fascist or National Socialist parties, despite being repeatedly smeared with them. No NSB, no National Front, no NSNAP nor NSDAP whatsoever.

But, because historic links between the PVV and those parties simply do not exist, the desperate researchers grabbed for a different terminology to outline the essence of the PVV in a negative way: the new radical right.

Yes, that the party is relatively new and is predominantly right-wing seems obvious. One does not need months of research to discover that. That the party is national-democratic might well be true. The PVV is a democratic party. And the past has never shown that the PVV rejects parliamentary democracy.

The PVV is a Dutch party, thus a national party. A party that is supposed to promote the interests of the country where said party is based. Usually we call that serving the national interest. National-democratic should therefore be considered an honorable mention. This in contrast with parties that represent the interests of many foreign countries and people from elsewhere.

The salient is word is “radical”. Because when is something or someone radical? To oblige every Dutch citizen to place a taximeter in his own car [to pay a tax per kilometer to the government] one might call radical. To commit the Dutch people to handing over their country to the EU juggernaut one might designate treasonous radicalism. And to have ten policemen seize a cartoonist from his bed [Nekschot] is something found only under radical regimes.

It therefore is only a semantic excuse to stick a label on the PVV so as to impute to that party a malicious striving.

But a bit further on a not entirely unknown word arises. It was once devised by Jaap van Donselaar of “Monitoring Racism and Extremism”, and concerns the term “one’s own”. One who is a little familiar with the jargon will immediately think of the word “ethnic character” [or völkisch] that was in common use with the old and new National Socialists. But apparently the researchers have not been able to catch the PVV on a “Blut und Boden” theory, and therefore, out of lack of ideas, came up with the word “one’s own”. Thanks to expertologist Jaap van Donselaar.

In conclusion, it is not scientific to invent designations for a party when there are no historical links that might justify them scientifically. It is merely an arbitrary conjunction of terms which together must arouse dissuasion.

But there is something else entirely that demands attention. A minister (Ter Horst) and member of a party (PvdA, Socialists) — who, as may well prove true in the polls, stands to lose substantial political influence, and is also under constant criticism by the PVV — has commissioned this “scientific” study of the PVV. Since when do authorities order investigations, at the taxpayers’ expense, into political competitors?

Well, such is the actual “authoritarian” the researchers mistakenly referred to in trying to taint the PVV with some dictatorial taint. For indeed the PVV has no power other than words, both inside and outside parliament, and also cannot just order an investigation into its competition, at the expense of the taxpayers.

We have partisan interests and political profit lying in wait for the research, which makes initiating this paper at least suspicious. But with this there is no question of a lack of historical roots. Historically seen, there is a lot in it to associate with authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, where the rulers disabled political competitors by means of “scientific” research, certificates of insanity, show trials, repression, and murder. […] Those leaders were fervent supporters of an overarching, controlling government and radical opponents of any political competition.

But for Minister Guusje ter Horst there looms an insurmountable problem, because it is impossible for her to simply ban the PVV as a political party. […] The probability of successfully forbidding the PVV can be ruled out. So, nothing but demonization remains. With the ongoing legal case against Wilders there at best may be a few sentences that can be put to a criminal judgment, but it will be impossible to ban the PVV along with it. Moreover, the number of followers of the PVV has grown significantly, while the PvdA is helplessly watching its own electorate drain away. Thus a ban could lead to a prohibitive popular anger.

What else can Minister Guusje ter Horst in all her desperation do, but command a few researchers to call the PVV the “new radical right”?

VH adds these notes:

More information about the report continues to emerge, such as the fact that the pdf of the final report was saved on December 16, 2009, at 2:58 pm, while the minister still maintained to the parliament and the press that the researchers were working on the final version, which would be ready in early January. That she obviously postponed sending the report to parliament, and only now published it — in between the first and second court sessions of the Wilders Trial — makes it all the more peculiar.

The researcher Hans Moors^[1] stated to the newspaper NRC Handelsblad that “new radical right” is synonymous with “extreme right-wing”.

[1]

Moors also wrote, “The debate on ‘the multicultural drama’ has continued as a still uneasy argument about the relationship between integration, participation, equality and multicultural policies, strengthening of the discourse and [on the other hand] the neo-nationalist [sic], or rather populist reflex for tackling it the hard way,” and “All the publicity about troublemakers and radical Muslims leads to prejudice and discrimination.”

GeenStijl is one of the largest news sites in the Netherlands. It is immensely popular, and up until now I had always assumed it was a freedom-friendly site like so many others in the right-of-center European blogosphere.

Our expatriate Dutch correspondent H. Numan disabused me of this notion today with his report on the latest journalistic behavior on display at GeenStijl:

A few days ago a fellow writer noticed GeenStijl or PowNed or both aren’t rightwing at all.

Rutger Castricum was present at Wilders’ trial. He produced a piece of TV journalism that wouldn’t be out of place in North Korea. Only supporters of Wilders fitting the stereotype were shown. Especially if they would behave accordingly. The stereotypical PVV supporter is supposed to be white trailer trash. Anything not fitting the politically correct picture was not shown.

A truly nasty piece of journalism, and utterly unexpected.

Botte Hond wrote an article about it on Het Vrije Volk: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

He was banned from GeenStijl and related sites immediately.

– – – – – – – – –

The ban was officially lifted, but it still seems to be in place. Others who supported him were and are banned. No reason given.

I occasionally post a comment on GeenStijl, too. This morning I posted a link to an offending article about GeenStijl at HVV. Three hours later it was gone. No reason given.

Read the articles. You can rest assured GeenStijl is there for the money. Nothing else. The money comes from the government. The government doesn’t want Wilders.

GeenStijl acts as if it is conservative right, but I am almost certain it is at best a mercenary.

Mark Steyn has often observed that whenever mass murder, terrorism, or violent mayhem are committed, the chances are better than even that at least one of the perpetrators will bear the name “Mohammed”.

In a recent court case in Yorkshire, four young men proved Mr. Steyn to be more than correct: each of the convicted felons is named Mohammed. The four Mos are on their way to prison for assault with knives, cricket, bats, and other weapons, as well as more prosaic crimes such as theft and money laundering.

According to The Telegraph and Argus:

Judge Jails Keighley Men for Total of 12 Years

A gang of men involved in “atrocious” violent disorder with weapons on the streets of Keighley have been locked up for a total of more than 12 years.

The violence involved baseball bats, metal bars and cricket bats, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

Mohammed Shabir, 26, of Clarendon Street, Knowle Park, Keighley, who admitted wounding with intent and violent disorder, was jailed for a total of four years and nine months.

Mohammed Junaid Miah, 21, of Acres Street, Knowle Park, received a three years and nine months sentence after admitting violent disorder, conspiracy to steal and money laundering.

Mohammed Habib Ullah, 22, of Malsis Road, Keighley, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and money laundering and was jailed for two and a half years, while Mohammed Kabir Bashir, 24, of Clarendon Street, who admitted violent disorder, was given 21 months in jail.

Judge Peter Benson said the disorder, which happened on March 24, 2008, in Queen’s Road, Keighley, occurred when at least 13 men travelled in vehicles to confront two other men.

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The judge said the background to the incident was unclear. He said: “What is clear is that a number of these people were armed with weapons like baseball bats, bars and a cricket bat.

“A scene of atrocious disorder ensued, to such a level that passers-by were frightened to stop and intervene.”

Shabir had also been involved in a separate incident of disorder the previous month at the offices of a taxi firm at Keighley railway station. Again a group of men armed with bats and bars attacked the occupants, two of whom were treated for minor injuries. Shabir had thrown a wooden board at someone and £1,000 damage was caused.

Miah had been a participant in the “dreadful” disorder in March. He was also the “guiding hand” in a conspiracy to steal which led to his bank worker girlfriend being jailed.

Ullah drove some of the participants to and from the Queen’s Road violence as well as being involved in the money laundering offence, while Bashir “took part in a very serious piece of violent disorder in the streets of Keighley that resulted in other residents being fearful and injuries to two other people.”

Prosecutor Chris Smith said the gang of 13 went to the home of Mohammed Tariq, 34, “armed with various weapons” and carried out a mob-handed attack on him and his brother, Mohammed Jamil, in the street. The brothers were unable to defend themselves and were left wounded and bleeding.

Emma Downing, for Shabir, said he was due to become a father for the first time and had brought great shame on his family. They were ugly offences but he had pleaded guilty.

Shufqat Khan, for Miah, said he was in gainful employment and had been making efforts to keep away from previous associates.

* Mohammed Junjun Miah, 24, of Acres Street, Knowle Park, Keighley, was jailed for three months after he was convicted of conspiracy to steal.

Miah, who worked at HML in Skipton, handed on a £3,000 cheque stolen from Bracken Bank Community Centre in Keighley.

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

Hat tip: TB.

Takuan Seiyo has published the latest installment of his magnum opus “From Meccania to Atlantis” at the Brussels Journal. The current chapter, “Freiheit 451”, focuses on the persecution of Vlaams Belang and Geert Wilders. Some excepts are below:

Hiding behind “the law” is an old and odious trick. In a country in which such hiding had such terrible consequences twice in recent memory, the promise of “never again” ought to include not hiding behind tyrannical laws to smash loyal patriots deemed undesirable by the regime. Let alone when such patriots struggle to contain the ideology that wants to complete the job Hitler and the Dutch NSB left unfinished.

Alas, inconceivably, the persecution of Geert Wilders is more obscene even that that. Two additional participants in the symposium, the Canadian lawyer David B. Harris, and Mark Steyn, pointed out that despite the manifest risks to Wilders’s life, the Dutch government is refusing to hold the trial in a secure courtroom, even though it provided one for the trial of the Dutch-born Muslim murderer of Theo van Gogh. Steyn remarked further that in the Low Countries politicians who challenge the Eurabian arrangement are either banned (Belgium’s Vlaams Blok), forced into exile (Aayan Hirsi Ali) or killed (Pym Fortuyn) — and that the authorities are indifferent as to which of these fates befalls Geert Wilders [ibid.].

But that too does not exhaust the depth of the obscenity. The two prosecutors in the Wilders trial, Paul Velleman and Birgit van Roessel, also work for the Dutch National Discrimination Expertise Center [LECD]. Velleman is the head of LECD. As Gates of Vienna has reported, “Paul Velleman was the prosecutor who had the [offensive to Muslims and anonymous] cartoonist Nekschot picked up in a raid by ten police officers in the middle of the night, and kept him locked up for more than two days. Quote from H. Numan: ‘After release, he was told: You can forget about anonymity now. They know who you are.‘“

– – – – – – – – –

Alias Gregorius Nekschot is a regular citizen. He cannot afford the security arrangements that the Dutch state must provide for Geert Wilders — one surmises, reluctantly — due to his parliamentary status. So the declared purpose of Nekschot’s arrest and “outing” was, first, to silence him or get him killed, and second, to send a message to all dhimmitude resisters: Mütze ab! Ve know vho you are, and ve know vere you are too. Therefore, they know it too. Shut up or be killed. Mütze auf!

The Dutch National Discrimination “Expertise” Center has finally bagged the big fish. Everyone knows who he is. But now everyone also knows where he is. And once he is jailed, his parliamentary immunity and security detail stripped, they can finally do the work the dhimmofascist regime would like to do itself.

The Road to Castrated Serfdom

Socialism is a road to serfdom, as F.A. Hayek has famously diagnosed. It is only the arrogance and greed for power of the socialist elites ruling the West — excepting only a Liechtenstein here and there, or a Thatcher/Reagan once in a half century — that the serfs themselves don’t know it. That’s because their state-fashioned schooling and mental laundry by mass media enforce an omertà on the brilliant Austrian and his ideas.

But neosocialism, of which dhimmisocialism is a sub-category, does the original concept one better. It’s the road to castrated serfdom.

Read the rest at the Brussels Journal.

Hat tip: Fjordman.

We don’t get many mujahideen commenters here at Gates of Vienna, so the comment by Bilal Ahmed on last night’s post stood out:

Go to hell with your fanaticism, Islam would rule Europe again, and this time conquest would be not only of region but hearts. Europe would be Eurabia one day. We are the religion, mankind is embracing most fast. When fanatics like you open blogs like this, Jesus (pbuh) laughs on them.

Mr. Ahmed is from the city of Lahore in Pakistan. I took a look at his profile, and this is what he says about himself:

I am a poet and fiction writer in my national language Urdu. My education is LL.B. and i am a Lawyer. I love to share my thoughts and ideas through discussion forums and blogs.

He has two blogs listed on his profile, “America’s War Crimes”, and “American War Crimes After 9/11”. The former has no posts, and the latter has several, but they are all from the same day in November of last year. His longest post seems to be an attempt to discredit that the famous video in which Osama Bin Laden praises the 9-11 attack and describes with glee how the results exceeded his highest expectations.
– – – – – – – – –
While I was poking around through various material related to Islam in Pakistan, I came across the poster shown at the left. It reminded me that the region known as Balochistan (or Baluchistan) boasts a vigorous independence movement.

Balochistan represents a distinct ethnicity which is spread over southwestern Pakistan, southeastern Iran, and southern Afghanistan. The Balochs have long agitated for their own state, and Balochistan separatist movements have been suppressed in both Iran and Pakistan. The flag displayed here represents one variant of the Balochistan national flag.

As you can see from the poster, traditional revolutionary iconography remains much the same, no matter the cause or the ethnicity. In this particular case, however, it’s notable that the female freedom fighter is veiled, indicating that the Balochi independence movement has not abandoned its adherence to Islamic law.

This is yet another instance of the successful adaptation by modern Islamist movements of the revolutionary ideologies and techniques of the 20th century. The mujahideen have learned well the lessons of Trotsky and Lenin and Che and Hitler without ever having to abandon their core doctrines, which are still firmly lodged in the 7th century. The methods of the Comrades have proved quite attractive and practical for the 21st-century jihad.

Welcome, readers from Pakistan! May you find much to ponder here at Gates of Vienna.

The United States and Britain are reportedly leading an effort to buy off the Taliban and end the conflict in Afghanistan. The alleged amount of the buy-off varies — from $500 million to $1 billion — and the details will be ironed out at an upcoming international conference. In return for the fund, Hamid Karzai will allow international observers to monitor his anti-corruption campaign. To put it slightly differently, we are bribing the Afghan government to fight corruption.

In other news, because the “Cap and Trade” greenhouse emissions control bill is unlikely to pass Congress, the EPA is working on an alternative scheme to accomplish the same ends, but without needing congressional approval. Opponents expect the initiative to be a real job-killer.

Thanks to Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, ICLA, Insubria, JD, KGS, Sean O’Brian, Steen, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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	Financial Crisis
	Crony Capitalism: Obama’s Example of Stimulus Success — $100 Million for 15 Jobs Created at Dem Donor’s Company
	Here’s What the U.S. Can Cut
	Zero Private-Sector Jobs Created In Past 11 Years
	One Day After Obama Promises to Curb Spending — Dems Pass Largest Debt Increase in US History
	Stimulus Price Tag Soars; Jobless Rate Rises
	Why the Government Wants to Hijack Your 401(K)
	Will the Euro Survive the Greek Crisis?
	USA
	Anti-Muslim Cartoons Spark Meeting in St. Cloud
	Catholic Bishops Lobby for Obamacare, Amnesty for Illegals
	EPA’s Threat to Jobs
	Kerry: Climate Change Supporters Must Match Tea Party Intensity
	Obama Using Indians for His Dirty Work
	Obama’s State of the Union Message Tells US Far More About the State of Obama
	Women Bombers Create New Security Challenge
	Canada
	Canada to Offer Shariah-Compliant Mortgages?
	Hijacker Deported to India
	Suspected Tamil Tiger Extradited
	Europe and the EU
	Denmark: Caseworker Named Killer
	Denmark: Scandinavian Roots Robbed Blixen of Nobel Prize
	Europe Must End the Mutilation of Its Women
	French Mosque Raided by Islamic Radicals
	Germany: Sex Abuse Revelations Rock Elite Catholic School in Berlin
	Germany: Politicians Consider French-Style Burka Ban
	Italy: Italian Parliament Mulling Burqa Ban
	Italy Remembers the Holocaust
	Italy: Frattini, Fight Against Anti-Semitism Not Negotiable
	Italy: First Transgender Cellblock Almost Ready
	Spain: Imam on Trial for Threatening Woman With No Veil
	Swiss Court Upholds Basketball Headscarf Ban
	UK: £25bn in Employment Law Red Tape Will ‘Stifle Recovery’
	UK: Driver Fined for Blowing His Nose… By Same PC Who Ticketed Man for Dropping £10
	UK: Just One in 135 Criminal Cases Ends in Prison
	UK: Postman Who Signed for a Parcel on Behalf of Frail Customer Lost His Job After Royal Mail Took Disciplinary Action
	UK: Scientists Broke the Law by Hiding Climate Change Data: But Legal Loophole Means They Won’t be Prosecuted
	UK: Vulnerable Woman Called 999 Twice Before Being Bludgeoned to Death by Neighbour… But Police Didn’t Bother to Turn Up
	UK: Violence Among Women Soars as Record 250 Are Arrested Every Day
	Balkans
	Montenegro: Chinese to Help Build Merchant Fleet
	Serbia: Rubin Starts Exporting Brandy to Iraq
	North Africa
	Algeria: Law on Colonialism Crimes, Compensation to Victims
	Libya: Italian Businesses Optimistic, Climate Has Changed
	Niqab: Al Azhar Ban Thrown Out Again by Court
	Niqab: Al Azhar Re-Opens Discussion Over Fatwa
	Terrorism: USA Ready to Collaborate With Algeria in Fight
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Memorial Day: Israel, for Young People Warning to Defend State
	Middle East
	Italy Helps Palestinian Refugees in Jordan
	Obama on Horns of a Dilemma in the Muslim World
	Philippines — Saudi Arabia: Christian Filipino Migrants Forced to Convert to Islam
	UAE: DNA Test to Determine Gender of Foetus
	South Asia
	Afghanistan: Buying Off the Taliban
	India: The Hindu Nationalist VHP Threatens Protests to Defend Their Privileges
	Plan Considered to Buy Off Taliban
	Taleban Fighters to be ‘Bought Off’ With $500m
	Far East
	China: Xinjiang Like Tibet: More Money and Police Controls
	Latin America
	Colombia Protest Over Venezuela ‘Airspace Violation’
	Immigration
	Britain, A United Nations of Crime: Offenders From 160 Countries Are in Our Crowded Prisons…
	Number of North Africans in Lombardy Growing
	UK: Row Over MP’s Rape Case Comments
	US Running Huge Deficits While Giving Billions to Illegals
	General
	Can Climate Forecasts Still be Trusted?
	Killer Way to Slay the Google Beast!

Crony Capitalism: Obama’s Example of Stimulus Success — $100 Million for 15 Jobs Created at Dem Donor’s Company

When I heard Obama praising the stimulus bill, when he told us to ask the small business in Phoenix that is tripling its work force, I thought I’d do a little research into who that company is.

Easy enough. It’s called Ecotality, based out of Scottsdale, and it was the lead receiver of a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy through the stimulus bill. (Ecotality, which used to be called Alchemy Enterpreises, has MANY subsidiaries, so much of this money is actually going to those subsidiaries rather than directly to Ecotality. One such example is Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., a division of Ecotality, which will be putting in electric vehicle infrastructure as far away as Oregon).

President Honors ECOtality/eTec in State of the Union Address Total jobs added? According to them, 15 in 2009 and 27 in 2010. For $100 million. Am I supposed to cheer for that?

[Return to headlines]

Here’s What the U.S. Can Cut

Estimated $1.2 trillion unused federal property

The government owns and leases 3.87 billion square feet of property, and 55.7 million acres of land-meaning, one out of every forty acres. Real property asset value for all these holdings is estimated to be $1.2 trillion, says Citizens Against Government Waste, based on data from the Federal Real Property Profile created by the Bush administration, which helps federal agencies manage and dispose of their excess property.

One alarming example of the government’s wasteful holdings is Chicago’s Old Main Post Office, a 2.5 million-square-foot abandoned structure that has been vacant since 1997 and costs $2 million to maintain annually.

And don’t forget the John Murtha airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the first project in the country to get stimulus money, an airport that cost $200 million in taxpayer money over the last decade but has more security officials than passengers on any given day.

Democrat Rep. John Murtha got the funds for the airport, and his portrait hangs in the entrance. He uses the airport often during campaign season; it has a new restaurant, and a new $8 million radar system that rivals international airports. The passenger count has dropped by more than half in the last decade. Just three commercial flights depart on any given day, all headed for Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC.

The $1.2 trillion unused property figure doesn’t include the $29 billion in assets picked up from the Federal Reserve’s bailout of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns.

For example, the central bank now owns the Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, a shopping complex abandoned after anchor stores Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Montgomery Ward and Dillard’s all pulled stakes. It has an oil well pumping crude in the car park — except the Fed does not own the mineral rights.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) says there are more than 21,802 abandoned federal property assets littering the country that could be sold, worth a notional $17.7 billion. Tough to do in a downturn, as the property market is priced for the Ice Age.

Still, “it is obscene that the value of our government’s vacant or unused properties exceeds the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of half of the nations on earth…something is wrong when Congress asks taxpayers to sacrifice more but does nothing to eliminate an area of waste that is double the size of Afghanistan’s GDP,” said Dr. Thomas Coburn (R-Okla).

$123.5 billion on government programs that have consistently failed

The OMB has something called the Program Assessment Rating Tool. It found 218 government programs that were either inadequate or ineffective virtually throughout the entire government—programs run by the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, HHS, Homeland Security, HUD, Interior, Justice, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, the VA, Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, the CFTC, EEOC, and the FCC.

$98 billion in annual agency overpayments

• Health and Human Services: $55.1 billion, or 9.4%. Includes overpayment rates of 7.8% and 15.4% in the Medicare fee for service and Advantage programs, respectively.
• Labor: $12.3 billion, or 9.9%. Almost all of the overpayments were in the unemployment insurance program.
• Treasury: $12.3 billion, or 25.5%. All of it was attributed to overpayments in the earned income tax credit.
• Social Security Administration: $8 billion, or 1.2%, in overpayments.
• Agriculture: $4.3 billion in overpayments, or 5.9% of total department spending. Much of it was in the food stamp, federal crop insurance and school meals programs.
• Transportation: $1.5 billion, or 3%. Much of it was in the Federal Highway Administration planning and construction program.
• Veterans Affairs: $1.2 billion, or 2.7%. That included overpayments in the pension and other compensation programs.
• Housing and Urban Development: $1 billion, or 3.5%. All attributed to public housing and rental assistance.
• Defense: $849 million, or 0.5%.
• Homeland Security: $644.5 million, or 3.7%. Much of it was in the Homeland Security grant program as well as Disaster Relief Fund Vendor Payments.
• Education: $599 million, or 2.1%.

“It goes without saying that these results would be completely unacceptable in the private sector, as they should be in government, especially at a time of record deficits,” says Sen. Tom Carper, (D-Del.), who chairs a Senate panel on federal financial management.

$92 billion in corporate welfare

The US taxpayer has been very good to businesses, and this even before the TARP and the Federal Reserve’s massive intervention into the U.S. economy. Companies like Boeing IBM, General Electric, Xerox, Motorola, Honeywell, Xerox, and Dow Chemical have benefited.

The Cato Institute’s $91 billion figure doesn’t include tax breaks or trade protections. The figure includes direct cash payments, to farmers and research funds to high-tech companies, as well as indirect subsidies, such as funding for overseas promotion of specific U.S. products and industries. The cash payments come from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, HUD, and State.

$19.6 billion on 10,160 earmarks

Congress managed to jam 10,160 earmarks worth a whopping $19.6 billion into 12 appropriations bills last year, a 14% spike from 2008. Despite promises, the 2010 budget [also] contained over 10,000 earmarks,” Heritage’s Riedl notes. Of the 10,160 projects, Citizens Against Government Waste identified 221 earmarks worth $7.8 billion that were passed in violation of Congress’s own transparency rules.

Alaska leads the country with $221 million in earmarks — which comes out to be $322 per capita. Hawaii ranks second at $302 million in earmarks, or $235 per capita. Some of the more absurd calls for taxpayer funds:

$1.49 million for Mormon Crickets in Utah

$75,000 for Wayne Gomes Youth Baseball Diversity Foundation

$381,000 for Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, NY

$254,000 for Wool Research, Montana Sheep Institute

$2.2 million for Center for Grape Genetics, Geneva, NY

$1.8 million for swine odor and manure management research in Ames, Iowa

$4.4 million for the Army Center of Excellence in Acoustics

Also worth noting, the Montana Sheep Institute, backed by Senate appropriators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has received since 2002 seven earmarks worth $3 million, says Citizens Against Government Waste.

Massive program redundancies

Wasteful duplication in government is rampant, and it’s an issue that’s been out there for more than a decade-one hand of the government doesn’t know what the other is doing. The list includes 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs.

[Return to headlines]

Zero Private-Sector Jobs Created In Past 11 Years

By Jed Graham

It’s been pretty widely discussed that the past decade was a lost one for job creation. But focusing on private payrolls alone would also wipe out nearly all of the employment gains from 1999, among the better years on record.

Next Friday’s employment report comes with an annual benchmark revision that the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated would erase 855,000 private jobs (and add 31,000 government jobs).

Subtract that from the seasonally adjusted December payroll number of 108.44 million and that would leave just 107.59 million private payroll jobs. That’s the least since January 1999, when there were 107.40 million.

That’s prior to payroll changes in the current month, but an increase in private payrolls could be optimistic given that the 448,250 average level of initial jobless claims over the past four weeks is still pretty high.

If you then consider the jobs that don’t factor into the BLS payroll survey — farm jobs and the self-employed — the absence of private-sector job creation might stretch back a couple of additional months. According to the BLS household survey, farm jobs have been on a steady decline while the size of the self-employed population has budged very little.

[Return to headlines]

One Day After Obama Promises to Curb Spending — Dems Pass Largest Debt Increase in US History

Senate Democrats passed a $1.9 trillion increase in the federal debt limit Thursday, seeking to push off another politically painful debt vote until after the midterm elections.

All 60 Democrats and no Republicans voted for the debt limit increase. The measure, which the House has yet to vote on, would put the debt ceiling at roughly $14.3 trillion.

[Return to headlines]

Stimulus Price Tag Soars; Jobless Rate Rises

The economic stimulus bill’s price tag has risen to $862 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday — a $75 billion jump that’s a result in part to the fact that, despite the spending, joblessness has risen and the government is paying out more than expected on unemployment benefits.

The CBO, in a new report, also said spending in fiscal 2010 will push the deficit to more than $1.3 trillion, or nearly the record $1.4 trillion deficit recorded in 2009.

The dire warnings fueled spending hysteria, which hit Washington in full force this week after Democrats’ health care overhaul got shelved last week.

President Obama plans to call for a freeze on non-security spending in Wednesday’s State of the Union address — but advisers said it wouldn’t take effect until 2011.

“In 2010, we are focused on making sure we can get people back to work. In 2011, when we believe the economy will be back on stronger footing, we’re going to be looking to make sure the footing we are putting them on is a more sustainable discretionary footing,” said White House deputy budget director Rob Nabors.

[Return to headlines]

Why the Government Wants to Hijack Your 401(K)

It’s bad enough that we’ve been forced to bail out Wall Street. But now the Obama administration is hatching plans to raid our retirement savings, too.

To say that I’m “outraged” doesn’t come close to describing the emotions I experience every time I think about the government’s latest hare-brained scheme.

According to widespread media reports, both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Labor plan are planning to stage a public-comment period before implementing regulations that would require U.S. savers to invest portions of their 401(k) savings plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) into annuities or other “steady” payment streams backed by U.S. government bonds.

Folks, there’s only one reason these agencies would do such a thing — the nation’s creditors think that U.S. government bonds are a bad bet and don’t want to buy them anymore. So like a grifter who’s down to his last dollar, the administration is hoping to get its hands on our hard-earned savings before the American people realize they’ve had the wool pulled over their eyes … once again.

It’s easy to understand why.

Facing a $14 trillion fiscal hangover, the Treasury can no longer count countries such as Japan and China to be dependable buyers of U.S. government debt. Not only have those nations dramatically reduced their purchasing of U.S. bonds, most of our largest creditors are now actively diversifying their reserves away from greenback-based investments in favor of other reliable stores of value — like oil, gold and other commodities.

This growing reluctance couldn’t come at a worse time. Just yesterday (Tuesday), in fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the U.S. budget deficit would hit $1.35 trillion this year. And that’s not the only shortfall the Treasury has to address. The U.S. Federal Reserve is supposed to stop buying Treasury bonds for its asset portfolio, a program the central bank put in place last year.

The upshot: The Obama administration has to find other ways sell government debt — without raising interest rates, a move that would almost certainly jeopardize the country’s super-weak economic recovery.

Facing an uphill battle and increasingly skeptical buyers, the government is changing tactics and targeting the biggest pile of money available as a means of dealing with its fiscal follies — the $3.6 trillion sitting in U.S. retirement plans, including 401(k) plans.

The way I see it, the Obama administration can see the financial train wreck that’s going to occur. So it’s rushing to crack open the safe that holds our retirement money before anyone realizes that they’ve been robbed.

And if this plan becomes reality, that’s just what it will be — robbery. American retail investors didn’t sign up for the financial-crisis roller-coaster ride we’ve been on since 2008. We didn’t approve the nation’s five-fold increase in lending capacity. And we certainly didn’t volunteer to help pay down a national debt that’s doubled.

Few people realize that the federal government spent an estimated $17,000 to $25,000 per U.S. household in 2009 (the final figures haven’t been calculated, yet). But that’s no surprise: “We the people” didn’t approve it.

At a point where it’s spending money like a drunken sailor, Washington seems more interested in appropriating and redistributing our retirement savings than it is in fixing a system that’s badly broken. If you add in all the stimulus spending that the taxpayers must now repay, the average government-agency-spending tab has zoomed more than 50% in the last couple of years. That’s right — 50%.

So it’s only logical that the administration would go after our 401(k) and IRA savings plans.

Disgusting, but logical.

Here’s how the argument is likely to be framed…

[Return to headlines]

Will the Euro Survive the Greek Crisis?

by Paul Belien

A decade ago, the introduction of the euro, the common currency of 16 of the 27 EU member states, was a political decision — not a monetary one. When the euro was introduced in 1999, Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman wrote to his friend, the Italian economist Antonio Martino: “As you know, I am very negative about the euro and I am very doubtful about how it will work out. However, I am less pessimistic about it now than I was earlier simply because I never expected that the various countries would display the kind of discipline that was required in order to qualify for the euro.”

One decade later, the euro is in serious trouble. The problems result from the recent economic crisis which have badly affected the economy of Greece, one of the countries of the eurozone. Analysts doubt whether the government in Athens is able or willing to address Greece’s financial problems. If not, the other 15 nations using the euro will suffer the consequences, which is something they are not likely to accept.

Thomas Mayer, the chief economist of Deutsche Bank, warned last week: “The situation is more serious than it has ever been since the introduction of the euro. […] If the Greece situation is handled badly, the Eurozone could break down, or face major inflation.”

The problems of the euro affect the entire world. The EU currency was not introduced because of economic considerations, but because the European Union is pretending to be a genuine state and states are expected to have single national currencies. Hoping to become a powerful political force in its own right, the EU adopted the euro as the common currency of some 327 million Europeans, so that the currency’s economic power would prefigure the political power to be. The eurozone represents the second largest economy in the world. During the past decade, the euro became the second largest reserve currency after the U.S. dollar. With banknotes and coins in circulation for more than €790 billion, the euro has surpassed the U.S. dollar’s circulation. The euro appeared to be very strong, with the value of the U.S. dollar, the British pound, and other currencies dramatically falling in comparison to it — one of the causes of Greece’s problems. Tourism is a major economic sector in Greece. For tourists from outside the eurozone, such as the Americans and British, the country became too expensive as a holiday destination. Last year, when the world economic crisis also affected Europe, with a huge drop in the numbers of EU-citizens, such as Italians, that headed for Greece, the Greek economy collapsed and the Greek government was no longer able to pay the country’s public debts.

With Greece facing bankruptcy, the fears about Greece’s financial situation has led to a drop in value for the euro. Last week, the finance ministers of Germany and the Netherlands — the two eurozone countries which in pre-euro days had the strongest currencies in the EU: the German mark and the Dutch guilder — announced that they will not help Greece solve its problems. Polls indicate that 70% of the Germans oppose using their taxes to bail out other countries. Despite the EU propaganda line that EU citizens share a common European national identity, this is simply not true. As a leader in the Financial Times Deutschland noted earlier this month: “Spain believes in ‘more Europe’. Whether that’s the case for Germany as well one cannot be so sure any more.”

Moreover, the German economy has also been badly affected by the crisis. Last year, Germany’s GDP fell by 5%, the biggest drop since the war, with a drop of 15% in exports and 20% in sales of German manufacturers. The German people are not prepared to lift countries such as Greece, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Ireland out of the recession at its own expense.

There is also a lot of anger towards the Greeks in the other EU countries: for some years Greece seems to have covered up its bad economic performance by officially presenting better economic figures than was the case. The promise of the Greek government to reduce Greece’s budget deficit from 12.7% of GDP in 2009 to 2.8% in 2012, is being met with scepticism. Many doubt whether the government in Athens will be strong enough to resist the domestic pressure from the powerful trade unions against the radical deficit-cutting efforts which are needed, while others doubt that the Greeks will refrain from manipulating the economic data again.

Unwillingness to help the Greeks is huge within a eurozone currently facing an unemployment rate of 10% of the workforce, the highest figure since the single currency was introduced eleven years ago. Under EU rules, however, all the 27 member states of the EU, not just the 16 member states of the eurozone, are obliged to help the Greeks if the EU decides to bail them out. Article 122 of the EU Treaty, which went into force last December, states: “Where a member state is in difficulties or is seriously threatened with severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control, the council of ministers, on a proposal from the European Commission, may grant, under certain conditions, Union financial assistance.”

This decision is taken on a majority vote. Consequently Britain, which always refused to join the eurozone, might be forced to help save the euro.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Anti-Muslim Cartoons Spark Meeting in St. Cloud

Tuesday town hall aims to bring people together for open discussion.

A St. Cloud town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday invites people of all faiths and backgrounds to discuss a recent anti-Muslim incident in the city.

The meeting will give citizens a chance to talk with community leaders about concerns they may have, said Taneeza Islam, the civil rights director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), one of more than a dozen organizations sponsoring the event.

“There’s a lot of interest,” said Lori Saroya, chairwoman of CAIR-MN, who said the meeting was moved to the St. Cloud City Council chambers where there is more seating. “People are really looking for the opportunity to address the whole picture,” she said, referring to hate crimes in general, not only against Muslims.

The incident involved cartoons, discovered Dec. 8 by a St. Cloud Muslim shopkeeper. They included vulgar depictions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, as well as an Islamic crescent with a swastika inside it, and were posted outside the store and in front of a mosque. Sidney Allen Elyea, 41, admitted to posting the cartoons and was cited with violating a city ordinance that prohibits posting materials on utility poles. Prosecutors in Stearns and Benton counties declined to press criminal charges, saying that the cartoons should be considered free speech.

Saroya said that one of the goals of the meeting will be to educate the community on the legalities of the crime and clear up any confusion about the prosecution.

In general, she said, the Muslim population of St. Cloud has been impressed with the greater community’s reaction to the incident. “There’s been a lot of support,” Saroya said.

Minnesota ranked ninth in the number of reported civil rights complaints in 2008, accounting for 3 percent of all incidents in the United States, according to CAIR’s annual report on the status of American Muslim civil rights.

Carolyn Mann is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.

— Hat tip: KGS

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Catholic Bishops Lobby for Obamacare, Amnesty for Illegals

Calling health care a “right” to be guaranteed by the federal government, America’s Catholic Bishops are trying to save ObamaCare at a time when the legislation has been pronounced in limbo, dying or dead by most of the media.

The evidence of intensive Catholic Bishop lobbying activity suggests that liberal Congressional leaders are going to give the legislation a temporary respite so that liberal Catholics can be persuaded to pressure Congress to pass both national health care legislation and “comprehensive immigration reform” in the form of H.R. 4321, the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity” Act.

[…]

As AIM has documented, lobbying by the Catholic Bishops and their representatives, who worked closely with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, guaranteed passage of the health care bill in the House.

In a January 13 conference call and briefing, Kevin Appleby, a representative of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, explained in frank language why the Bishops are so desperate to pass the health care and immigration bills. He said that the Bishops want a federal health plan to absorb the costs being borne by the nation’s 600 Catholic hospitals to cover illegal aliens.

Appleby said, “We have Catholic hospitals throughout the country that experience the same things that Alan was describing and we serve undocumented immigrants in our emergency rooms and community clinics, etc. So we have a stake in this in that the burden will fall not just on our providers but as Alan described, taxpayers throughout the country.”

This was one of the clearest indications yet that support for national health care legislation is a means by which the Bishops can dump some of the costs of operating Catholic hospitals on the American taxpayers.

— Hat tip: JD

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EPA’s Threat to Jobs

With ‘Cap and Trade’ and other energy legislation unlikely of passing in both houses of the U.S. Congress, the Obama Administration and its supporters are seeking the means to once again bypass the legislative branch. In other words, failing to sign an energy bill, President Barack Obama will give us Cap and Trade by fiat.

In order to have an impact on U.S. energy consumption, carbon emissions and climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to spearhead policies that would never pass mustard with a majority of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

In a landmark decision in 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA possessed the legal authority to regulate so-called greenhouse gases.

As a result of the court bestowing such power on that agency — and the likelihood that Cap and Trade and similar legislation will not reach President Obama’s desk for signing — EPA officials have declared carbon dioxide and other gases to be a threat to the environment and to the health of Americans. They are currently formulating regulations to restrict emissions from automobiles and trucks, power plants and other sources.

— Hat tip: JD

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Kerry: Climate Change Supporters Must Match Tea Party Intensity

Climate change advocates must match the intensity of conservative “tea party” activists, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Wednesday.

“I want you to go out there and to start knocking on doors, and talking to people and telling people, ‘This has to happen,’ “ Kerry said in a speech at a climate and energy forum hosted by labor, farm and environmental groups.

“If tea party folks can go out there and get angry because they think their taxes are too high, for God’s sakes a lot of citizens ought to get angry about the fact that they are being killed and our planet is being injured on a daily basis by the way that we provide our power and our fuel and the old practices,” Kerry added.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama Using Indians for His Dirty Work

Idaho pro-Obama bosses are trying to muscle-through ‘Custer Legislation’, so that the (Red) Indians can at last get their own back on white men — cowboys and Indians all over again!

The idea is to give Indians total legal control over any non-Indian who even passes through their territory. They would be tried under separate tribal laws, and even if the accused comes from outside the reservation, they cannot call in outside help or legal counsel! And only Indians would be allowed to sit on the jury. Watch out for revenge from Indians who are filled with leftist revisionist history!

The bright-sparks who are trying to bring this in are Idaho Attorney General Wasden and US Attorney Thomas Moss. They have been working out the details for the past six months… and everyone in the USA should ask “Why?” What is the point of making parts of the USA free from state and national laws?

[…]

If the bill passes through it will create another precedent, one so huge as to threaten national security and society. There are now so many dots to join we cannot keep up! There will be the inevitable cronies who say there is no plot — but this is not what Idaho’s legal folks and sheriffs say!

The Central Idaho Post is bravely opposing the proposed bill and is asking for all state citizens to write in opposition to the AG of the state. I believe the issue is far bigger, as Attorney Payne tells us, and should involve everyone in the USA. Interpol already has immunity from US laws. Separate tribal laws will only serve to feed this external UN force, and support it. It could mean that the UN will be able to riddle the US with its policies and laws, through Interpol, who can operate via tribal laws, weakening the US from within.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama’s State of the Union Message Tells US Far More About the State of Obama

by Barry Rubin

Significantly, President Barack Obama’s discussion of foreign policy came only at the end of his State of the Union message. Obviously, domestic matters and especially the economy come first. Yet international affairs are not only vital but often have been the issues on which administrations are judged, no matter how unlikely that seemed at the time.

It is apparently considered impolite to point out that Obama has no previous experience and little knowledge of international affairs. And yet that fact affects the fate of the globe every day. The really interesting question is whether the State of the Union message showed any growth in his ability after one year in office.

Sadly, the answer is “no.”

Here are the themes he expressed…

— Hat tip: Barry Rubin

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Women Bombers Create New Security Challenge

‘These may not look like al-Qaida, and may not be men’

Security officials are expressing concern over how to detect non-Arab speaking women with Western appearances who may now be used as suicide bombers, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The U.K. terror threat level was raised from “substantial” to “severe” this week — the second highest rating, meaning a threat is “highly likely.” Former White House adviser Richard Clarke said the move followed intelligence that al-Qaida has trained women to bring down planes.

— Hat tip: JD

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Canada to Offer Shariah-Compliant Mortgages?

(IsraelNN.com) Shariah-compliant mortgage banking, in accordance with Islamic religious law, may soon become a reality in Canada, according to a report published Wednesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The law firm Gowling, Lafleur Henderson LLP, which prepared the report, said it found no legal obstacle to the practice. It added that “given the growth of Islamic financing internationally, it can be expected that international harmonization of IF accounting and reporting… will occur in due course.”

CMHC prefaced its report by saying that it does not plan to offer the shariah-compliant mortgages, nor does it plan to advocate for a change in current legislation. It did, however, recommend that private institutions consider providing the Islamic banking option to those Muslim customers who wish to take advantage of such a service.

According to the 88-page report, Canada’s Muslim community is beginning to offer shariah-compliant “mortgage-like products” based on the principle that charging interest on loans is forbidden. A similar principle exists in Jewish Law.

In order to make money, shariah-compliant mortgage firms instead become equity partners in the purchase of a home or building, with monthly “rent” or “profit” being paid to the lender along with the principal.

Canada’s Muslim community currently numbers approximately 700,000; at least 5,000 of those who were customers at UM Financial bank in Toronto expressed interest in transferring their existing mortgages once a shariah-compliant mortgage becomes available.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Hijacker Deported to India

After being sentenced to death in Pakistan, then released after 10 years in prison, Saini entered Canada on a false passport using a false name and gave false answers to questions posed by immigration officers.

He was granted refugee status, but after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service learned his real identity, he was arrested and ordered deported. He has been fighting his deportation ever since in the Federal Court of Canada.

In the meantime, he earned a law degree and worked for Singh & Associates in Mississauga. Earlier this month, the Law Society of Upper Canada rejected Saini’s bid to practice law in Ontario.

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Suspected Tamil Tiger Extradited

A Malton man has been extradited to the U.S. for his alleged connection to a North American network that provided weapons to a terrorist group in Sri Lanka.

Justice Canada confirmed today that Ramanan Mylvaganam, 31, was taken to New York by the U.S. Marshals Office without incident recently.

Mylvaganam remains in custody in Brooklyn, New York awaiting trial, which could start as early as this summer.

U.S. prosecutors also filed a new indictment against Mylvaganam two weeks ago alleging he and another man had conspired to provide weapons to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers.

Monday (Jan. 25), two Canadians arrested along with Mylvaganam as part of a joint FBI-RCMP probe back in 2006 were sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempting to buy heat-seeking missiles and military assault rifles for the rebel organization.

Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam and Sahilal Sabaratnam were sentenced in U.S. District Court in New York. They pleaded guilty last year.

A third Canadian, Satha Sarachandran, 30, the group’s administrator, was sentenced to 26 years on Friday, while Nadarasa Yogarasa, a Sri Lankan living in the U.S., got 14 years.

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Denmark: Caseworker Named Killer

Police still looking for murder weapon.

Police are searching for a the knife used yesterday to kill a 56-year-old Caseworker and Local Counsellor Birthe Christiansen outside a job center in Holstebro.

A 28-year-old man has been detained and remanded in custody in connection with the murder. The man denies all charges.

“We would urge people to look for items on the route from Brogaardsvej 1, where the killing took place and up to the activity centre on Haralds Lethvej where the 28-year-old was detained an hour after the attack,” says Western Jutland Police Spokesman Michael Kjeldgaard.

“We would also like to hear from people who may have seen the man cycling in the area, which depending on the route taken is a stretch of about three kilometres,” Kjeldgaard says.

The 28-year-old was remanded in custody at a hearing yesterday, but has denied the charges.

“I can just say that I have not done this,” the man said.

A police officer has said that the caseworker suggested the name of her alleged attacker before she died.

— Hat tip: TB

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Denmark: Scandinavian Roots Robbed Blixen of Nobel Prize

Recently released documents suggest award voters were afraid of showing favouritism to Scandinavian writers so they turned down Karen Blixen as first choice in 1959

Recently declassified documents shown to Politiken newspaper indicate that Danish author Karen Blixen was pipped at the post for a Nobel Literature Prize in 1959 because she was Scandinavian.

The author best known for her work ‘Out of Africa’ was in the final four for the 1957 prize, but was the favourite two years later in 1959. However, according to documents from the Nobel Archive in Stockholm, Blixen was not awarded the prize in 1959 — despite having the committee’s majority support.

The Nobel Committee is comprised of four or five members of the Swedish Academy, which later votes on a winner taken from a short list drawn up by the committee after soliciting choices of experts within the international literary field.

Current Academy member Kjell Espmark was only first allowed to speak on the matter this year, as the documents were classified until the end of 2009. He told Politiken newspaper that it was rare the Academy did not follow the recommendation of the Committee.

In 1959, Blixen was in the running against 55 other authors from around the world, including Graham Greene, André Malraux and John Steinbeck. When the Committee whittled down the list to just four, Blixen’s name was the top choice.

‘I would stress, that if the prize should go to the now 74-year-old author, it should happen without delay,’ wrote then Committee member Anders Österling, nominating Blixen as his first choice.

Other Committee members Sigfrid Siwertz and Hermann Gullberg followed suit.

But the Committee’s final member, Eyvind Johnson, lobbied for Italian candidate and eventual winner Salvatore Quasimodo to take the prize, saying that Scandinavian authors had won the literature award four times as many times as those of other nationalities.

The pitch hit home with members of the voting Academy and Quasimodo was chosen as the recipient. According to Espmark, Johnson’s proposal played on the guilty conscience of members.

This view is backed up by Johannes Riis, literary heavyweight and director at Gyldendals publishing house.

‘The Academy was apparently scared to appear provincial. They were going to go out in the great wide world and show that the horizon stretches further than the Nordics. And a mistake was made, because of course Karen Blixen should have received the Nobel Prize,’ Riis said.

Blixen never received a Nobel Prize and died in 1962.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Europe Must End the Mutilation of Its Women

National efforts to end the practice of female genital mutilation need support at the European level.

In a Europe where most have access to the technological marvels of modern healthcare, it seems outlandish that people without a medical background operate on one of the most sensitive parts of the body using instruments that are not sterile.

But that is what is happening, because of a practice that has spread from Africa into Europe’s immigrant communities: female genital mutilation.

It may make for painful reading, but we all need reminding what exactly genital mutilation entails for women and girls. The external female genitalia are partially or totally removed, the clitoris is (frequently) cut away, and (frequently) the entrance of the vagina is partially sewn up, all without any anaesthesia.

The consequences of female genital mutilation — combined with the use by people with little or no medical training of instruments that, often, have not been disinfected — are dire and irreversible. Apart from severe pain, shock and the great risk of haemorrhages and infections, it can lead to complications during childbirth, cause infertility and even death.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 100 to 140 million girls and women are at risk worldwide. According to other estimates, about a half a million women living in Europe have already been subjected to this practice and that every year approximately 180,000 female immigrants in Europe undergo female genital mutilation or are in danger of being subjected to it.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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French Mosque Raided by Islamic Radicals

(IsraelNN.com) The head of a mosque in Drancy, a northeastern suburb of Paris, was targeted Monday by a gang of Islamic radicals who interrupted the services and threatened to “liquidate him, this imam of the Jews.”

The mob, about 80-strong, burst into the French mosque, halting a meeting of some 200 other imams led by Hassen Chalghoumi, who has consistently spoken out against Islamic extremism.

The extremists called the Muslim spiritual leader an “infidel” (heathen) and a “renegade.”

At the time, Chalghoumi was chairing a meeting of the Conference of Imams, an organization established just last year to promote better relations between the various faiths in France, especially Jews and Muslims.

“They started to cry Allahu Akbar’,” Chalghouri told reporters after the incident. “Then they insulted me, my mosque, the Jewish community and the [French] Republic. They left after an hour and a half.”

Despite the anti-Semitic epithets, however, the attack apparently also stemmed from Chalghoumi’s liberal positions on the status of women in Islam. At age 36, he is known in France for his interfaith work with Jewish leaders and his activism with Muslim youth, but is also an especially controversial figure on the issue of women’s dress in Islam.

Last week he told the French newspaper Le Parisien, “Having French nationality means wanting to take part in society, at school, at work. But with a bit of cloth over their faces, what can these women share with us? If they want to wear the veil, they can go to a country where it’s the tradition, like Saudi Arabia.”

He is known for his support for “a legal ban of the burka, which has no place in France, a country where women have been voting since 1945.” The burka, an all-encompassing robe that covers a woman literally from head to foot, hiding her completely from the eyes of all, is “a prison for women, a tool of sexist domination and Islamist indoctrination,” Chalghoumi told Le Parisien.

One of the younger and most liberal imams in France, the Tunisian-born Chalghoumi, is a naturalized French citizen. He has been repeatedly attacked by Islamic radicals, and has also received death threats in the past in response to his statements against anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, the imam told an interviewer Tuesday on Radio Orient that he would continue to work against extremism and towards improving Muslim-Jewish relations in France. “It is our future that is at stake,” he said.

The imam confirmed that he would file a formal complaint with police against the gang that burst into his mosque on Monday.

The regional Jewish community organization issued a statement supporting Chalghoumi and expressing concern about the attack, calling the incident “serious and worrisome.” According to Sammy Ghozlan, head of the organization, “a real harmony has reigned between the Jewish and Muslim communities” since the arrival of Chalghoumi. Christian organizations were similarly supportive. However, the Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (UOIF) was less positive. The group’s president said he was not surprised by the attack, adding, “We’ve warned him several times to moderate his words because he risks attracting these sort of reactions.”

The imam and his mosque are currently under police protection.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Germany: Sex Abuse Revelations Rock Elite Catholic School in Berlin

The headmaster of an elite Jesuit high school in Berlin has sent a letter to former students asking them to come forward about systematic sexual abuse by priests there in the 1970s and 1980s.

His letter was sent to some 600 former students at Canisius College who may have been victims of at least two priests on staff, Father Klaus Mertes told daily Berliner Morgenpost on Thursday.

“With deep shock and shame, I have learned of these horrific, not only isolated, but systematic violations that went on for years,” wrote Mertes, who has been headmaster of the central Berlin school for 10 years.

The headmaster said he did not know how many children might have been abused by the priests, who he said left the school in the 1980s.

“The weight of the incidents overwhelmed me,” he told the paper. “I have promised the victims full discretion. They are free to go to the public or the police.”

But so far no criminal complaints have been filed, the paper reported.

The Canisius College is one of just three private Jesuit schools in the country and has educated well-known economic and political leaders.

In recent years isolated reports of abuse surfaced, Mertes said. But after an internal document about the abuse was recently sent out, more former students came forward. Their stories convinced him that the abuse had taken place systematically over several years.

“I feel obligated to the students above all, and not as much to the reputation of the school or myself,” Mertes told the paper.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Germany: Politicians Consider French-Style Burka Ban

As their neighbours in France edged closer to a ban on burkas, German politicians on Thursday debated whether such a measure was necessary in their own country.

After a French parliamentary commission ruled this week that the enveloping garment worn by some Islamic women is unacceptable and recommended a ban in schools and public offices, former Social Democratic parliamentarian, Turkish-German Lale Akgün made as case for a similar ban in Germany.

“The burka is a full-body prison that deeply threatens human rights,”she told daily Frankfurter Rundschau. “It would be an important signal for Germany to ban the burka.”

A burka ban in German should include schools, universities, and high-security zones such as banks and airports, she said.

But fellow party member and speaker for interior issues Dieter Wiefelspütz rejected the suggestion.

“We have a different understanding of freedom than the French,” he told the paper, adding that an enlightened Islam could not be forced.

Head of the parliamentary interior committee, conservative Christian Democrat Wolfgang Bosbach, told the paper that when the choice to wear a burka collides with other legally protected interests such as mandatory school attendance or Germany’s current ban on religious symbols in schools, then something must be done.

His party colleague Norbert Geis said politicians would have to review whether a burka ban in schools and universities would be constitutional.

Meanwhile the Free Democrats’ integration expert Hartfrid Wolff called the burka a particular form of discrimination that courts should not tolerate.

But environmentalist Green party leader Cemozdemir said the debate overlooked the real conflict of integration, stressing that the number of women who wear burkas in Germany is low.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Italy: Italian Parliament Mulling Burqa Ban

Bill gains support as France moves to block Muslim garment

(ANSA) — Rome, January 27 — The Italian parliament is considering a ban on veils that mask Muslim women’s faces similar to the one proposed this week in France, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Wednesday.

He said members of his own devolutionist Northern League party had actually beaten France to the bunch when they put their own bill banning burqas in public last fall.

The question arose as a report to the French General Assembly on Tuesday concluded that wearing face-masking veils should be illegal in public buildings like hospital and schools, as well as public transport.

Their inquiry was launched after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that burqas debased women and “aren’t welcome in France”.

While the argument across the Alps for banning burqas centered largely on a perceived affront to secular French values, politicians say the issue in Italy is primarily one of security.

The bill before parliament harkens back to a 1975 anti-terrorism law, which forbids any mask or clothing that makes it impossible to identify the wearer. In fact, European Affairs Minister Andrea Ronchi said that “a new law shouldn’t even be necessary. It should be enough to enforce the one we have”.

The issue has also proven less divisive in Italy than it has in France, finding tentative support among center-left opposition members as well.

Former Radical Emma Bonino, now the Democratic Party’s (PD) candidate for president of the Lazio region around Rome, said she supported the ban “for the same reason you can’t walk into post office wearing a ski mask”.

“Religion has nothing to do with it, this is a question of public safety. Everyone has to be identifiable” she said.

She was later echoed by the PD’s pointwoman on culture, MP Giovanna Melandri, who has often decried welling racism in Italy, but said that wearing burqas is, for all intensive purposes, already against the law.

Ironically, most criticism for the bill on Thursday came from the right with Alessandra Mussolini, grandaughter of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who warned the law would “unleash a religious war and that’s the last thing Italy needs right now”.

Lombardy region President Roberto Formigoni, a member of Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, also said he thought the bill was ““impracticable” in Italy and that a better solution would emerge from dialogue with the country’s Muslim community.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy Remembers the Holocaust

Nobel winner addresses parliament in main remembrance day event

(ANSA) — Rome, January 27 — Italians remembered the Holocaust on Wednesday with a series of events and ceremonies around the country commemorating the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

One of the signature moments of Holocaust Remembrance Day this year was a parliamentary address by Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel, only the fourth non-MP ever to take the podium before the Italian lower house.

A survivor of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz and perhaps one of the greatest living witnesses to the atrocities committed there, the Romanian-born writer and scholar was greeted with a standing ovation from a full house of MPs, diplomats and holocaust survivors present to hear him speak.

During his speech, Wiesel, now a professor at Boston University, urged the Italian government to take a tougher line on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an adamant Holocaust denier who has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction.

“How can you have relations with a head of state who first denies the Holocaust and then says he wants to destroy a member of the United Nations,” he asked.

Wiesel also asked the government to adopt a new law classifying suicide terrorist attacks as crimes against humanity.

“We not be able to stop the attackers themselves, but there are ways we can stop their cohorts”. He went on to extol the importance of hope to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“Peace in the region may be a dream for now, but we must believe that someday it will come true”.

He also took the opportunity to launch an appeal for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held prisoner by Palestinian militants since 2006.

“You have the credibility to make this appeal heard,” Wiesel said while facing the top government officials seated at his side.

Observers said Wiesel had to break for applause five times over the course of his speech, after which he was greeted by President Giorgio Napolitano, Premier Silvio Berlusconi and opposition leaders Pier Luigi Bersani of the Democratic Party and Pier Ferdinando Casini of the Catholic-centrist UDC.

Before his address, Wiesel met with Napolitano during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Rome together with a delegation of holocaust survivors and their families.

Napolitano gave out over 80 metals of honour during the ceremony, including one for Emilia Marinelli Valori, a woman from a town near Venice who “risked her life to save many Jews from deportation and death” between 1938 and 1945.

In his own address to parliament, Berlusconi said the day offered an opportunity to reflect on “discrimination and deficits of democracy in our own, globalized society”.

He also encouraged Italian young people to see some of the special events held around the country, such as an exhibition of photos, original documents and personal affects of deportees at the Vittoriano complex in Rome.

ANTI-SEMITIC VANDALISM.

Despite the general feeling of solemnity in Italy on Wednesday, a few minor acts of vandalism served as a reminder that anti-semitism has not been totally eradicated.

During the night, a thoroughfare in Rome was covered with spray painted swastikas, Celtic crosses and anti-Jewish slogans.

One of the buildings defaced is home to the local Jewish Community President, Riccardo Pacifici, who played down the graffiti down as a “sad stunt by puerile youngsters”.

“This is a sign of weakness, because it’s plain to see from the amount of attention today’s events have drawn that Italy is a changed country”.

“Anyone who thinks they can recreate a climate like the one that led up to the Holocaust is sorely mistaken,” he said.

But Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said it would be a mistake to underestimate the extent of anti-semitism in Italian society.

Frattini pointed to a recent study estimating that over 44% of Italians feel ambivalently about Jews.

Carried out by the Italian Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation, the report said that up to 12% of the population had a outright anti-semitic feelings towards Jews and Israel.

“We assume that Italy is not an anti-semitic country, yet we find hatred rearing its head again out of a climate of religious intolerance”.

“This shows why it’s so important to make people understand the full extent of the Jewish tragedy,” he said.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Frattini, Fight Against Anti-Semitism Not Negotiable

(ANSAmed) — ROME, JANUARY 27 — “The fight against anti-Semitism is a value that is not negotiable”. So said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to the Senate joint Constitutional and Foreign Affairs commissions. The commissions, on Holocaust memorial day, have opened an inquiry into anti-Semitism. The Minister continued: “We want an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, we want peace in the Middle East and we want to see a reconciliation between Israel and the Arab world. But some sort of indirect tolerance of anti-Semitism is not negotiable”. He added: “We shouldn’t make the mistake to put something that is not negotiable on the negotiation agenda. Israel’s right of existence and security is no object of negotiation and the fact that the Holocaust has been the worst tragedy in the history of mankind is not under discussion”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: First Transgender Cellblock Almost Ready

A ‘brilliant’ idea, activists say

(ANSA) — Empoli, January 27 — Italy’s first cellblock exclusively for transgender inmates will be ready in a matter of days and the transfer of prisoners there should begin by the end of March, the head of Tuscany’s prisons department said on Wednesday.

The cellblock at the Pozzale penitentiary here was previously a low-security facility for women and Maria Pia Giuffrida said “we had to modernise the plumbing and electrical system as well as boost security measures”.

She said she recently illustrated the project to the some 30 inmates who will be sent to the new facility, who are currently together in a cellblock at the Sollicciano prison in Florence, “and they all seemed happy with the idea”.

Because of the particular nature of the inmates, Giuffrida said guards, both men and women, would get special training.

Creating a separate cellblock for transgender inmates is a “brilliant idea” which will end their isolation, according to the head of Italy’s national transgender movement (MIT). The cellblock, Regina Satariano observed, “will not be a ghetto but an opportunity for these people and motivate them to follow programs aimed at integrating them into society once they have served their sentences”. “This initiative offers great possibilities. Things could not continue the way they were before, with transgenders being kept in permanent isolation,” Satariano added. “Women inmates don’t want them and, to avoid problems, transgenders are kept away from male prisoners. Thus special areas have been created in prisons, amounting to isolated confinement,” the MIT chief said. ‘AN ACT OF CIVILITY’, GAY ACTIVIST MP SAYS. According to former MP and transgender activist Vladimir Luxuria, the creation of a separate cellblock for transgenders, among the first in the world, “is a good thing which gives the inmates dignity”.

“As an MP I visited many penitentiaries and in every one, with the exception of the one in Belluno, transgenders were discriminated against and punished not only for the crimes they committed but also their sexual identity”. Gay activist Paola Concia, an MP for the opposition Democratic Party (PD), said the Tuscan initiative “is an act of civility towards transgenders, who often have great problems in prison”. “It would have been wrong if this was an attempt to place them in a ghetto. But I think the aim is to protect them and should the initiative prove successful it should be copied in many other prisons,” she added. The number of transgender inmates currently in Italian prisons is believed to be in the neighborhood of 60. At the Pozzale prison the transgender inmates will have access to a garden and a library. Most of the inmates are serving sentences for prostitution or drug-related convictions.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Imam on Trial for Threatening Woman With No Veil

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 28 — Threats, intimidation and slander used against a Moroccan university professor residing in the small town of Cunit (Tarragona), “guilty” of not wearing a Muslim veil. On these charges, the preliminary investigations section of the Vendrell (Tarragona) court has ordered that the imam of the Cunit mosque, Mohamed Benbraim, stand trial. The public prosecutor has requested five years in prison for the imam and four for his second-in-command, the president of the Cunit Islamic Association, Abderraman El Osti, as well as two for the imam’s wife and son, Zohra Ahmaddach and Haffsa Ben Brahim, accused of intimidation. According to judicial sources quoted today by the media, the individuals had made a normal life impossible for Fatima Ghailan, a 31-year-old Muslim born in Morocco but cultural mediation teacher in the Cunit Town Council, since she did not wear a Muslim veil and both she and her children were friends with Spanish inhabitants and not Muslim ones, in this way — according to the imam — cutting herself off from the Muslim community. Fatima suffered threats, pressure and intimidation to the point of having to ask for police protection. Due to the threats and defamatory campaign she suffered, Ghailan became deeply depressed and was assigned a police escort, which has since been withdrawn. While awaiting the trial, the woman avoids leaving her house alone. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Swiss Court Upholds Basketball Headscarf Ban

A Muslim woman has failed to overturn a ban stopping her from wearing a headscarf during league basketball matches in Switzerland.

Sura al-Shawk, 19, was told she could not wear a headscarf by the basketball association (ProBasket) in August 2009.

A local court in Lucerne has upheld the ruling on safety grounds. ProBasket also argued the sport needed to stay religiously neutral.

Ms al-Shawk can appeal again within 10 days.

Ms al-Shawk is a Swiss citizen with an Iraqi background and plays for STV Luzern.

The court ruled that the overall safety regulations set by the association took precedence over her desire to wear a headscarf for religious reasons, says the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Switzerland.

But the court did admit that, in upholding the ban, it was placing limits on the young woman’s personal freedom, our correspondent says.

The headscarf is not especially common in Switzerland, whose Muslim community comes primarily from former Yugoslavia. However, wearing it in public is largely accepted, she adds.

ProBasket said it followed the rules of FIBA, basketball’s world governing body, in enforcing its ban.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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UK: £25bn in Employment Law Red Tape Will ‘Stifle Recovery’

A new tide of employment legislation, taxes and red tape will cost firms £25billion over the next four years and hold back recovery, business leaders are warning.

The British Chambers of Commerce has written to ministers to protest that companies struggling to survive in difficult trading conditions can ill afford the major changes planned by the Government and the EU.

It issued its warning in the wake of Labour’s decision to press ahead with plans to allow new fathers to share maternity leave with their partners, taking up to six months off.

[…]

Director-general David Frost said: ‘The cost of employing people must be reduced if future governments are serious about giving businesses the freedom to create jobs and drive our economic recovery.

‘What must not happen after a general election is that a new government — from whatever party — decides to add to this already sizeable burden.

‘From what employers tell me, they will get on with creating jobs and wealth, but they need government to get off their backs.’

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Driver Fined for Blowing His Nose… By Same PC Who Ticketed Man for Dropping £10

When motorist Michael Mancini found himself stuck in a queue of traffic with a runny nose, he instinctively reached for his hankie.

However, the simple act of pulling out a tissue and blowing his nose earned him a £60 on-the-spot fine because he was ‘not in proper control of his vehicle’.

Policeman Stuart Gray, nicknamed PC Shiny Buttons for his zealous approach to the job, also handed out three points — even though Mr Mancini had his handbrake on.

Now Mr Mancini, a 39-year-old father-of-two, faces a potentially expensive legal battle to clear his name after vowing not to pay the fine.

He is the latest victim of PC Gray, who is no stranger to controversy.

A few months ago, the officer issued a £50 fixed penalty for littering to unemployed Stewart Smith, who accidentally dropped a £10 note in the street as he left a shop.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Just One in 135 Criminal Cases Ends in Prison

Only one in every 135 crimes ends with the offender being sent to jail, according to Government figures.

The overwhelming majority of those responsible for the 10.7million crimes committed last year were never even caught.

But, in the 1.3million offences where police did manage to catch the burglar, yob or sex attacker, only 53 per cent were taken to court.

The rest escaped with a caution, fixed penalty notice or other ‘slap on the wrist’, or their case collapsed.

Of those who did make it before a magistrate or judge only 79,100 received immediate custody, according to the annual Criminal Statistics report, released yesterday.

The average sentence handed down by magistrates was 2.7 months — the lowest figure in the past decade.

Tory justice spokesman Dominic Grieve said: ‘Too often serious offending is let off with a slap on the wrist or a glorified parking ticket.’

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

UK: Postman Who Signed for a Parcel on Behalf of Frail Customer Lost His Job After Royal Mail Took Disciplinary Action

A postman who signed for a parcel on behalf of a frail pensioner lost his job after she rang Royal Mail bosses to say thank you.

The father of two, who had around ten years of unblemished service, is thought to have put his signature to the recorded delivery when a parcel firm arrived on the doorstep as he made his own rounds.

Concerned that the elderly householder would have to trek to the sorting office to collect the parcel when she got home, he signed for her.

But when she called his managers to thank him for his kindness they began disciplinary action against him.

The postman was signed off work with stress and subsequently retired on the grounds of ill health.

The case was one of several cited during a parliamentary debate by Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh, who is campaigning on behalf of 46 postmen that have been suspended, dismissed or have gone off work with stress from Royal Mail in his Southport constituency over the past three years.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Scientists Broke the Law by Hiding Climate Change Data: But Legal Loophole Means They Won’t be Prosecuted

Scientist at the heart of the ‘Climategate’ email scandal broke the law when they refused to give raw data to the public, the privacy watchdog has ruled.

The Information Commissioner’s office said University of East Anglia researchers breached the Freedom of Information Act when handling requests from climate change sceptics.

But the scientists will escape prosecution because the offences took place more than six months ago.

The revelation comes after a string of embarrassing blunders and gaffes for climate scientists and will fuel concerns that key researchers are too secretive and too arrogant.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

UK: Vulnerable Woman Called 999 Twice Before Being Bludgeoned to Death by Neighbour… But Police Didn’t Bother to Turn Up

A terrified woman made two 999 calls before she was battered to death, but police were too busy to respond, a damning report said yesterday.

Joanne Butler, who had mental problems, was attacked by her neighbour Sean Wilson and his 13-year-old son, who described her as the ‘psycho woman’ in the flat above.

They used a sock filled with rocks to beat her about the head before butchering her with an axe.

Miss Butler’s call was graded top priority as possible domestic violence after an operator heard somebody scream ‘you b******’ in the background, the report found.

Ten minutes later, she called again but the line went dead after the BT operator heard ‘noises and a scream’.

The body of Miss Butler, 38, was discovered in her burnt out flat hours later.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

UK: Violence Among Women Soars as Record 250 Are Arrested Every Day

Ten ‘ladettes’ were detained every hour for a violent crime last year — an all-time record.

Where a women is arrested she is now more likely than a man to be a suspect in cases of wounding or other assaults.

Some 88,139 women were arrested for violence over 12 months — nearly 250 every day. That is an increase of nearly 1,000 on a year earlier.

The number of men arrested for violence fell by 10,000.

— Hat tip: JD

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Montenegro: Chinese to Help Build Merchant Fleet

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, JANUARY 27 — Chinese Exim Bank will allocate USD 47.7 million loan to the Montenegrin state sailing company to help the country build a new merchant fleet. The agreement is for Montenegro to pay back the loan in 15 years, with a five-year grace period and a fixed interest rate of 3%, officials said. Montenegrin Transport Minister, Andrija Lompar, said that the money will be used to buy two ships, each with the capacity to carry 35,000 tonnes of merchandise. The ships will be made in China and delivered to Montenegro within 24 months, he said. Montenegro has no merchant ships currently. It once had a fleet of 27 ships, but those have decayed or were sold over the years due to neglect and the economic crisis that has persisted in the Balkans since the wars of the 1990s’.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Serbia: Rubin Starts Exporting Brandy to Iraq

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, JANUARY 27 — Krusevac-based spirit and wine maker Rubin has delivered the first quantities of brandy, vodka and wine to Iraq, thus launching the implementation of a EUR2.5 million contract, Rubin’s owner Invej announced, reports BETA news agency. The news release says the deal with the Iraqis was signed for one year and that a container holding 20 tons of beverages has been delivered so far. “It turned out the Iraqis prefer our Don Rossi vodka, as well as wine, especially Car Lazar and Carica Milica,” Invej General Manager Stanko Tomovic said. According to the news release, Rubin annually produces 10 million liters of wine and about six million liters of various spirits, which it exports to the U.S., Germany, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Algeria: Law on Colonialism Crimes, Compensation to Victims

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, JANUARY 27 — A discussion is in progress in Algeria about “a draft bill on the indictment of colonialism” in the North African country. Presented by Algeria’s main political party National Liberation Front (FLN, former single party ), the bill is currently examined in Parliament (APN, People’s National Assembly) and is backed by almost all parties. In a first meeting, a statement issued by the APN and quoted by APS reads, it was decided to modify “some articles to complete the text, before presenting it again in Parliament”. The around 20 proposed articles ask for France to show repentance for the crimes it committed during the period of colonisation (1830-1962). They claim compensation for the victims of colonialism, particularly of the nuclear tests carried out in the south of Algeria. The bill includes the formation of special courts to judge the war crimes that were committed during that period. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Libya: Italian Businesses Optimistic, Climate Has Changed

(ANSAmed) — ROME, JANUARY 27 — Seven days to prepare what perhaps was the most important mission of Italian entrepreneurs and investors to Libya: one week was the amount of time that elapsed between the official communication of the mission and the delegation’s departure, after the government in Tripoli asked the Italian Foreign Ministry and Assafrica & Mediterranean (the operative branch of the Confindustria in the region) to organise a visit on January 23 of top-level business representatives from the country, ranging from giants in the infrastructure sector to small and medium enterprises. Relations between Italy and Libya, reports Assafrica, have never been so positive economically and even the issues of the credit owed to 110 Italian companies seems to have been resolved, even if the distance between what is being offered by Tripoli (450 milion euros) and the money owed to Italian businesses (650 million euros) appears far apart; a gap can be closed because now the difference is the Italian government’s “problem”. The mission did confirm that the Libyan market is not at all impermeable for Italian companies, which are actually welcomed, and downright needed. This approval seems to mainly be focussed on SMEs, which Tripoli has pinpointed to create joint companies in key areas in the food and agriculture, tourism and training sectors. In the food and agriculture industry Italian businesses are needed in the processing and conservation sector (the Libyan Sea is among the most abundant in fish); in tourism there is a double need for Libya: increased tourism flow from Italy and to begin investment programmes from Italian players in the industry; in the training sector Libya needs to make use of an excellent school system, which now needs to be capitalised on to prepare a new generation in the technical and management sector. Italian companies will find a highly receptive situation “with a climate that appears to have certainly improved since I started to go to Libya in 1998,” said Pier Luigi D’Agata, the director general of Assafrica & Mediterraneo, who led the delegation together with the president of the Italian-Libyan joint Chamber of Commerce, Antonio De Capoa. A climate that is different and better, which D’Agata translated with one phrase: “you can detect a new willingness”, which can be seen in the receptiveness shown by Prime Minister Baghdadi al Mahmudi, who said that he will work to eliminate obstacles when he heard about the difficulties of Italian businesspeople obtaining visas, speculating that they could be granted in the airport. All this while Libya is cracking down on visas requested by European citizens. (ANSAmed).

2010-01-27 17:23

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Niqab: Al Azhar Ban Thrown Out Again by Court

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JANUARY 27 — After the ban in university lecture halls, another battle has commenced over the niqab in Egypt’s law courts. In fact today, the Cairo administrative court suspended the decision made in October by the Al Azhar Supreme Council to ban it from schools linked to the institution, when only women are present. According to a legal source quoted by Afp, the court ruled on the appeal of a high school student which found it had to impose the ban last October. Now Al Azhar’s legal advisor will present an appeal against the sentence to the second degree court, whose ruling will be decisive. The same High Administrative Court had previously ruled against the ban on the niqab for universities by the Minister for Higher Education, which however is valid also in cases where there are men in the university buildings. One of the motives for the sentence is the reference to the right to dress in accordance with ones own convictions and one’s own social environment. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Niqab: Al Azhar Re-Opens Discussion Over Fatwa

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — While the discussion continues in Europe over whether to ban the niqab, and in the wake of the debate in France and recommendations by the parliamentary mission into the issue, the Al Azhar Academy for Islamic Research is proposing to return to the issue of the integral veil tomorrow. The discussion concerns a request by several sides, including experts in Islamic law, for a clear and definitive “fatwa” on the matter from the religious point of view. The Academy for Islamic Research has already made two pronouncements on the matter, in October, when the Grand Imam of Al Azhar banned the veil in schools belonging to the highest Sunni academic authority, but only when there were only women in the premises. In an interview on Al Ahram today, Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi himself pointed this out. The Upper Council of Al Azhar, he said, stated that it was not against the niqab on the street, or in workplaces, but that it was against “the bad use of the niqab in places where there are only women”. Tantawi also pointed out that, according to the majority of Muslim scholars, it is not forbidden for women to show their face and hands. But the issue, said Tantawi “needs further clarification”, hence the decision to include it on tomorrow’s agenda. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Terrorism: USA Ready to Collaborate With Algeria in Fight

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, JANUARY 27 — The United States are prepared to collaborate with Algeria in the fight against terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel. This statement was made by commander of US Air Forces Africa General Ronald Ladnier, quoted by APS, during his official 3-day visit to Algiers. The US “appreciates Algeria’s leading role in security issues and the fight against terrorism in many countries in North Africa and the Sahel”, Ladnier said. He underlined that his country “is prepared to work together with Algeria to guarantee stability and to deal with these threats”. Cooperation between the military forces of these two countries is currently based on “training, the exchange of technical information regarding aircrafts and assistance in case of natural disasters”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Memorial Day: Israel, for Young People Warning to Defend State

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — A commemoration straddling the past and the present, animated by a commitment not to let the horror of the Nazi massacre be forgotten, and by the conviction that the Shoah represents an element of awareness of the common destiny of the Jewish people united in the Zionist State. This is the meaning attributed to the remembrance and the study of the Holocaust by Israeli heads, teachers, and students, according to a survey — the first carried out in schools and research institutes — published by Yediot Ahronot, the country’s most popular newspaper, on the International Holocaust Memorial Day. An event which Israel actually associates with a different date (not the Russian liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, but the eve of the proclamation of the Jewish State, in spring). In any case this year Israel’s leaders have been visiting a number of the sites symbolic of absolute evil around the world. President Shimon Peres is the guest of the Bundestag in Berlin, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is in Poland at the fences of Auschwitz, both of them the protagonists of speeches marked — apart from remembrance — by warnings over todays new threats: from anti-Zionism and Holocaust denial, curses made against Israel by Iranian ayatollahs to the nightmares of Tehrans weapons of mass destruction and nuclear programme. The schools and universities confirm how much the theme of the Holocaust remains central and unifying in Israeli education. Not just in historical terms. Data from the survey reported by Yediot Ahronot — analysed by one of the editors of the initiative, Professor Erik Cohen of the Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv — gives clear evidence. From the responses of 307 heads, 519 teachers and more than 2,500 students, comes a largely shared attitude, notes Cohen, which is not affected by social differences, background, culture, or residence in small or large areas. 94% of students say that they are committed to preserving the memory of the Shoah and 84% to deepening their study of it, while 77% — including the younger — say that the tragedy affects their view of the world. 99% have taken part in educational visits to Auschwitz or other concentration camps, and welcomed the accounts of survivors as the best method for education on the subject. Apart from the duty to safeguard the memory of it, the effects of the Holocaust on the new generations view of the present are strong and shared. Views that the study of the Shoah must contribute towards the strengthening of the commitment towards the defence of the existence of the State of Israel, according to 92% of teachers and 100% of heads. And for almost all educators (93% of teachers, 99% of heads) the need to instil (among the young) the sense of a common destiny for the Jewish people) cannot be disregarded. Today as well as tomorrow. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy Helps Palestinian Refugees in Jordan

(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, JANUARY 27 — Italy joined efforts to help Palestinian refugees in poor camps cope with difficult economic condition by offering kind assistance and food items to 104 needy families in a crowded camp, according to the Italian embassy in Amman. The donations, which come as part of a project implemented by the Italian government to support Palestinian refugees in the Kingdom, granted through the embassy’s cooperation for development office handed the aid in Talbieh refugee camp in Madaba. The packets contained heaters, blankets, winter coats and food items, according to a statement released by The Jordan Times. The distribution of these items is the last phase of the Italian intervention in Talbieh camp, said a statement from the embassy. Previously Italy reconstructed 18 houses and organised computer, self-employment, perfume manufacturing and other training courses for 80 people in the camp, one of 13 housing nearly 1.8 million Palestinian refugees. A similar initiative was also implemented in Sukhneh camp in Zarqa, where 83 houses were renovated, said the statement.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Obama on Horns of a Dilemma in the Muslim World

by Amin Saikal, ANUThe battleground for President Barack Obama to fight al-Qaeda and its supporters in the Muslim world is wider than that his predecessor faced. Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq are no longer the only main fronts. Added to them are Somalia and Yemen, where al-Qaeda has gained unprecedented strength. The President says he will use all elements of American power to deal with the situation, but what are the implications of this for his desire to improve relations with the Muslim world?…

— Hat tip: ICLA

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Philippines — Saudi Arabia: Christian Filipino Migrants Forced to Convert to Islam

A Filipino nurse with ten years in Saudi Arabia talks about the dramatic situation of Christian workers, forced to embrace Islam just to keep their job. Despite abuses and violence, migrants still choose the Middle East because of the availability of work.

Manila (AsiaNews) — “In my tens in Saudi Arabia, I have witnessed several Catholic or Christian Filipino migrants accept Islam under duress,” said Joselyn Cabrera, a Filipino Catholic nurse working at Riyadh hospital. Because of high unemployment levels in the Philippines, more than ten million Filipinos have left to seek jobs abroad. Every day, about 3,000 leave the country. Recently, a majority has gone to Arab countries—some 600,000 in all, 200,000 in Saudi Arabia alone.

“After some months, employers give you an ultimatum, telling you to become Muslim to keep your job,” she said. “For us, it is hard to make such a choice, but if we don’t, we become the victims of abuse.”

In her years in the kingdom, she said she saw at least 50 forced conversions at work.

“Even I have been subjected to pressures from my Muslim co-workers, but I have always refused saying that I’d rather remain Catholic. Until now, nothing has happened to me, yet.”

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Filipino emigration towards the Middle East has grown by 29.5 per cent between 2007 and 2008, a destination of choice for many migrants, and this despite horrible working conditions that include the possibility of forced conversion and sexual abuse in the case of women.

The most recent case involves a woman who was raped at work. Because of the incident, Saudi authorities accused her of unlawful extramarital sex and on 11 September jailed her in the capital.

As a result of the rape, she became pregnant, but miscarried because of harsh conditions in the prison.

Next month, she is scheduled to appear before a court, which could sentenced her to 100 lashes (see “Riyadh: rape victim might be lashed 100 times,” in AsiaNews, 22 January 2010).

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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UAE: DNA Test to Determine Gender of Foetus

(ANSAmed ) — DUBAI, JANUARY 27 — In the United Arab Emirates it is now possible to determine whether the baby is a boy or girl as early as the seventh week of pregnancy, thanks to the so-called ‘pink or blue’ test, introduced for the first time in the region, the local press reports. The test, a DNA analysis of a drop of the mother’s blood, is 95% accurate. The tests are banned in several countries, including China and India, because the parents could use the result to have an abortion carried out. The news was presented during the Health conference that is underway in Dubai. Some people fear an “inappropriate use” of the tests, because of parents preferring boys over girls. Others see it as an instrument for an early celebration of the arrival of a new life, whatever its gender.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Afghanistan: Buying Off the Taliban

The United States and Britain are mulling a plan to buy off Taliban fighters in Afghanistan with as much as $1 billion over five years, according to a report Wednesday from Al-Jazeera.

Coalition partners plan to meet Thursday in London to discuss the stragety of the U.S.-led NATO effort in Afghanistan, where a roused insurgency has complicated efforts to forge a lasting peace.

According to Al-Jazeera, which reported that the U.S. and Britain were leading the charge for the buyoff plan, “the scheme would offer cash, jobs and other incentives to the Taliban and fighters in other armed groups,” including community development projects in the fighters’ villages, and could cost from $500 million to $1 billion over five years.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

India: The Hindu Nationalist VHP Threatens Protests to Defend Their Privileges

In Kerala, the VHP is opposed to granting the Muslim minority more jobs and schools. Father Thelakat: The VHP is promoting a campaign of hate, but the caste system of privilege must be overcome to help those who really need it.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) — The ultra-nationalist Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on January 25 announced a state of agitation against any proposal to ensure a share of jobs and educational institutions for Muslims and other minority groups. A priest tells AsiaNews of the distortions of the system of privileges and launches a revolutionary proposal for the country: help those who really need it.

In Kerala, Praveen Togadia, VHP leader said that any initiative in favour of these minorities, in work and education, goes against the interests of the Hindu community. He threatened to mobilize students and young people if it will change the current quota as called for in the report of the National Commission on Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by former Chief Justice Ranganath Mishra (which, for example, for years has recommended that no less than 15% of jobs and places in educational institutions be reserved for Muslims ).

Father Paul Thelakat, spokesman for the Syromalabar Synod, comments bitterly to AsiaNews: “Even in this period of globalization, there are still these instances of neo-fascism which ultimately mean a return to paganism, denial of love for their rivals, identifying only with [the interests of] their ethnicity. They only reason according to [interests of] their caste or ethnic community, considering the other groups and castes as rivals. Policies are no longer pursued in the name of the people but to ensure the best for their caste or community. “

“In Kerala, the Ezhavas [majority Hindu community of the State of Kerala] state openly that they want to pursue common goals. Each group works to get a share better. The constitutional provision on reservation of seats, intended to improve the position of those who were discriminated against in employment and education. But it was intended [to provide for reservation quota of seats] only for a limited time. Instead this appears to have been prolonged without end. Meanwhile there are people [in the lower castes] who are now educated and have good jobs. And there are people of higher castes and groups that are considered very poor and in need of help. I remember the case of a woman … [considered superior caste] who is a maid in the home of wealthy people who belong to lower castes. When the son of the maid and her employer to go to school or seek employment, the wealthy son has advantages over that of the maid, because it belongs to a higher caste. These inequalities must be corrected. I’m not saying that the quota system of reserved seats on the basis of caste should be eliminated. But we must also consider whether the person is rich or poor, beyond caste”.

“The VHP is only promoting a campaign of hatred against Muslims who, at least in Kerala, in general have a lower position. But there are also rich Muslims. It ‘sad that in India everything is considered only in terms of castes and religions, and not according to actual need”.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Plan Considered to Buy Off Taliban

Al Jazeera has learnt that a plan is being considered to pay up to $1bn to Taliban fighters to persuade them to lay down their arms.

In advance of an international conference in London to discuss Afghanistan’s future on Thursday, Japan, the United States and Britain are said to be leading the proposal.

The scheme would offer cash, jobs and other incentives to the Taliban and fighters in other armed groups.

“The sum could be as much as between $500m and $1bn over the next five years”, Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from London, said.

He said the money would be used to persuade individual Taliban fighters that they are better off on the government’s side rather than fighting on the side of the Taliban.

Parts of the funds would be spent on projects to develop the fighters’ villages and building roads to their communities, he said.

[…]

In a move leading up to the London conference, the UN Security Council panel has removed five senior Taliban officials from its sanctions list.

A statement on Tuesday said the panel had “approved the deletion of the five entries” from its blacklist of individuals subjected to a travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo.

Karzai had been pushing for Taliban names to be removed from the list and was planning to raise the issue at a conference on Afghanistan in London on Thursday.

A Western diplomat said those removed from the list were now believed to be “moderate Taliban officials” with whom Karzai could start a dialogue.

The five were all members of the ousted Taliban government.

Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the former Taliban foreign minister now taken off the list, called on the UN and the US to remove all the names on their blacklists.

“[Not only] the UN list, but the US blacklist should also be reconsidered, as the names are not specified and the number is unknown. We can say that the number of those wanted by the US is between 100 and 1000,” Muttawakil said.

Other beneficiaries

The other four former Taliban ministers removed from the UN list are Faiz Mohammad Faizan, Shams-US-Safa, Mohammad Musa, and Abdul Hakim.

The UN blacklist was established under UN Security Council Resolution in 1999 for the purpose of overseeing implementation of sanctions imposed on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan for its support of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.

Under the resolution, UN member states are required to impose sanctions on any individual or entity associated with al-Qaeda, bin Laden and/or the Taliban.

The list contains about 500 names, including 142 linked to the Taliban.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

Taleban Fighters to be ‘Bought Off’ With $500m

Britain is ready to contribute millions of pounds to a fund to buy off Taleban gunmen who are fighting British troops in southern Afghanistan.

More than 60 delegations, from Colombia to Australia, will gather in Lancaster House this morning to draw up an exit strategy from Afghanistan. Much of it is based on reintegrating the Taleban rank and file, wooing the Taleban leadership and gradually handing security to the Afghan Army and police.

The conference is expected to agree a $500 million (£310 million), five-year fund for President Karzai to “buy off” insurgents who are not ideologically committed to destroying the West.

Downing Street confirmed that Britain will make a contribution of a “few million”. Germany has agreed to $70 million over five years and the bulk of the money will come from the Japanese aid budget to Afghanistan, diplomats suggested.

In return, the Afghan leader will have to agree to international monitors to strengthen an anti-corruption campaign in his Government.

President Karzai, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State and Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, flew in yesterday for the talks, which will be chaired by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary.

Before he arrived, Mr Karzai insisted that Afghanistan wanted to take responsibility for its affairs as soon as possible. “Afghanistan does not want to be a burden on the shoulder of our allies and friends,” he said.

Nevertheless, foreign money and experience will be needed for the delicate reintegration programme, which is being co-ordinated by American and British officers.

Officials believe that many young Afghan men in the south and east of the country join the Taleban because they have little else to do. They hope that the fund, which will be managed by President Karzai, will be used to offer them jobs as guards and in agriculture. They do not expect the money to be used for cash payments.

“The overwhelming majority of these people are not ideological supporters of Mullah Omar [the fugitive Taleban leader] and al-Qaeda,” Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said. “Based on interviews with prisoners, returnees, experts, there must be at least 70 per cent of these people who are not fighting for anything to do with those causes.”

The Taleban, who are monitoring the conference, predicted that the approach would fail and described the move as a trick. In a statement on their website, the group said that offers of economic incentives would not draw away fighters because the militants were not fighting for “money, property and position; but for Islam and to end the foreign military presence”.

A separate reconciliation effort will be made to bring the Taleban leadership into the political process. The Karzai Government has been reaching to Taleban leaders for some time and yesterday the UN announced the removal of five former senior Taleban officials from a sanctions list.

The officials delisted on Monday included the present governor of Uruzgan province and a member of the Afghan Parliament.

Western officials want the entire blacklist, which contains 137 alleged Taleban members, reviewed.

“That list … should be re-examined and scrubbed down,” Mr Holbrooke said. “There are people on it who are dead, there are people on it who should not be on it.”

Shaida Mohammed Abdali, the Afghanistan deputy national security adviser, told The New York Times: “There’s an ideological motive for an insurgency like this and the trouble will not be resolved unless you reach out to the leadership, they are the food of the foot soldiers and where they are getting ideological and political incentives. If we only concentrate on the foot soldiers it will not be a sustainable programme.”

British officials said that the plan was to split the Taleban between an ideologically driven hardcore and the rest.

President Karzai is understood to be keen to embrace the plan, although other members of the Afghan Parliament expressed reservations to a delegation of MPs last week.

Senior Pakistan figures expressed scepticism, suggesting that if the strategy excluded Omar it was doomed to fail. Sultan Amir Tarar, a retired brigadier and former senior member of Pakistan’s main Inter Services Intelligence agency, said that the Taleban fighters would not break with their leader Omar.

Brigadier Tarar said that Omar was a “symbol of resistance” against the foreign forces in Afghanistan.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

[Return to headlines]

China: Xinjiang Like Tibet: More Money and Police Controls

Five more people, probably all Uyghurs, have been sentenced to death for their involvement in last July’s riots. The authorities also announce more investments in the province. Experts say the money will likely benefit ruling groups whilst ethnic Uyghurs will be further dispossessed of their natural riches.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Four more Uyghurs have been sentenced to death for their involvement in last July’s riots in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi. The Chinese government has also announced plans to increase investments in the region. Experts however expect the surge in money to benefit ethnic Han Chinese settlers at the expense of indigenous Uyghurs.

On Tuesday, a court in Urumqi sentenced four more people to death for “extremely serious crimes”, said Ma Xinchun, director of the Urumqi government’s press office, who did not elaborate more on the issue. A fifth defendant was also sentenced to death but was given a two-year reprieve—a penalty usually commuted to life in prison. Based on their names, all those given death sentences appeared to be Uyghurs.

This verdict brings to 26 the number of death penalties imposed following the July riots; some have already been carried out.

Uyghurs have become a minority in their own land (46 per cent of 21 million residents) after China adopted a policy of mass immigration of ethnic Han Chinese into the region. By and large, newcomers get special treatment in business and government employment.

On 5 July 2009, some Uyghurs attacked ethnic Han Chinese, rioting and burning cars. In the next two days, Han Chinese struck back, targeting Uyghurs. At least 197 people were killed in the clashes with many thousands more injured, partly as a result of police repression. Based on the available evidence, almost all of those arrested or sentenced to death are ethnic Uyghurs.

Meanwhile, senior Communist Party leader Zhou Yongkang said the party’s Politburo would hold a conference later this year “to make a plan to support the development of Xinjiang and promote the long-term stability and prosperity of Xinjiang.”

In Beijing, Chinese leaders discussed the Xinjiang problem for two days. Developing the region’s oil and gas reserves was one of the issues on the table. Xinxiang’s economy grew by 8 per cent last year.

Like a recent meeting on troubled Tibet, which lies next to Xinjiang, this meeting underscored Beijing’s belief that the cure to ethnic strife lies in faster economic development, rather than a rethink of strict, top-down political controls, said Nicholas Bequelin , a researcher on China with Human Rights Watch.

Tibet and Xinjiang have many things in common. In both regions, Chinese policy is one of persecution of the indigenous population through repression and discrimination as well as large-scale investments designed to encourage settlers (see Willy Wo-lap Lam, “New policy on Tibet: repression and modernization,” in AsiaNews, 26 January 2010).

In Xinjiang, indigenous Uyghurs have long complained that economic development has disproportionately benefited ethnic Han Chinese who hold all the key positions in government and business. What is more, the region is being stripped of its natural riches to the benefit of China’s coastal provinces.

“Xinjiang is much more important than Tibet in high politics in Beijing, because of its oil and gas and strategic importance,” said Bequelin. It is in fact a key transit point for pipelines coming from Iran and Central Asia.

In early January, funding for public security in Xinjiang was nearly doubled—from 1.54 billion yuan to 2.89 billion yuan (from US$ 225 million to US$ 425 million)—for 2010.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Colombia Protest Over Venezuela ‘Airspace Violation’

Colombia has made a formal diplomatic protest to Venezuela after what it says was a violation of its airspace by a Venezuelan military helicopter.

Colombia’s foreign ministry said the helicopter had spent 20 minutes above the city of Arauca, near the border, where a big military base is situated.

The defence minister said his forces had shown restraint in not responding.

The two neighbours have been involved in a row over Colombia’s decision to grant the US access to military bases.

The Colombian foreign ministry issued a statement calling the alleged incursion “unacceptable”.

Colombian Defence Minister Gabriel Silva also condemned it and praised his forces for not responding.

The BBC’s Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says relations between Colombia and Venezuela are at a historic low.

‘Prepare for war’

Last year, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez broke off diplomatic relations after Colombia decided to sign a pact with Washington, allowing the US military access to several Colombian bases.

He also blocked a wide variety of Colombian imports, with bilateral trade suffering a 70% drop.

Mr Chavez also moved troops to the border, blew up two bridges linking the two nations and, in November, urged his armed forces to “prepare for war” with Colombia.

He says Colombia’s deal with the US is a threat to Venezuela.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

Britain, A United Nations of Crime: Offenders From 160 Countries Are in Our Crowded Prisons…

…One in seven inmates

Labour’s open door immigration policy has turned Britain’s jails into a ‘United Nations of crime’ — holding inmates from 160 countries.

The foreign criminals represent one in every seven inmates in our prisons — which are so packed that British convicts are being released early to make space.

They range from murderers and rapists to burglars, paedophiles and drug dealers.

There are only 192 member countries of the United Nations, meaning all bar 32 are represented in the British prison system.

The top ten nationalities of the inmates are Jamaica, Nigeria, the Irish Republic, Vietnam, Poland, China, Somalia, Pakistan, India and Romania.

There is no evidence to suggest that foreign nationals are more likely to commit crime. Rather, the huge number of overseas convicts — 11,546 out of 84,000 people in jail — reflects the large number of immigrants living in the UK.

Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green, who uncovered the figures, said: ‘Britain has been reduced to the United Nations of crime.

‘The fact that criminals from eight in ten countries in the world are plying their trade in Britain shows something is very wrong with both our immigration and security policy.’

‘This is a continuing crisis both for the immigration system and the prison system. There are obvious dangers in overloaded prisons, as well as a burden on British taxpayers who have to pay for this.’

The huge number of foreign nations has been blamed for the current prison overcrowding crisis, which has led to the early release of tens of thousands of inmates.

In total, 75,000 convicts have benefited from Labour’s End of Custody Licence — under which they walk free 18 days before their sentence reaches the halfway point.

They include 15,000 violent offenders, 6,795 criminals serving sentences for burglary, 16,402 for theft, 3,322 for drug offences and 1,898 for robbery.

The Ministry of Justice is aware of 1,512 offences committed by offenders during their period of early release. This includes three murders.

Critics say that if there had been fewer foreign national prisoners, early release of British criminals may not have been required.

Ministers have tried a number of desperate tactics to reduce the number of overseas inmates.

Last month, it emerged that foreign rapists, murderers and other offenders were being offered credit cards pre-loaded with more than £450 of taxpayers’ cash if they agreed to return home.

The perk is part of a package worth up to £5,000 designed to ‘bribe’ them to leave the UK.

The credit cards are loaded with money which the convict can spend as soon as they leave British soil. The remainder of the windfall is payable ‘in kind’ when they return home, and can include cash to set up a business.

One in four of the foreign criminals who was deported last year only went home after being offered one of the special payments.

Recent recipients include an immigrant convicted of the horrific killing of a 17-month- old baby.

Malaysian Agnes Wong, 29, was jailed for five years in 2008 for the manslaughter of a toddler she was supposed to be child-minding. The Tories have vowed to end the End of Custody Licence scheme. Controversially, they are considering using prison ships to provide extra space.

— Hat tip: Steen

[Return to headlines]

Number of North Africans in Lombardy Growing

(ANSAmed) — MILAN, JANUARY 27 — The presence in Lombardy of immigrants from North Africa continues to grow by more than 10%. Moroccans form the second-largest community in the region, after the Romanian community, with a total of 127.5 thousand. According to the figures that were updated on July 1 2009, a 10.2% increase was recorded in 12 months. The presence of Moroccans in the region more than doubled over the past nine years (58.4 thousand in 2001). These results emerge from the report that was presented today in Milan by the Regional integration and multi-ethnicity board, created ten years ago by the Lombardy Region. The number of Egyptians has also increased sharply, to 77.2 thousand (+10.4% in one year and +142% compared with 2001), making it the fourth-largest community of immigrants in Lombardy. The presence of Tunisians has also increased though more slowly: to 27.5 thousand in July 2009 (+6.7% in 12 months). According to the governor of Lombardy, Roberto Formigoni, the immigrants “have faith in our community, our social structure and our institutions. The typical immigrant is a person who works, makes use of our hospitals and schools, and forms associations”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

UK: Row Over MP’s Rape Case Comments

A Conservative MP’s comments suggesting a possible link between “imported” views and rape have been criticised.

Monmouth MP David Davies said the upbringing should be investigated of Balal Khan, 14, of Stoke-on-Trent, who raped and robbed a woman.

Politicians in other parties and an academic attacked the MP’s comments, although he stressed that they were not related to Islamic or racial issues.

The Tory party said his comments did not reflect its views “in any way”.

After Khan admitted the offences and was sent to a young offenders institution for three years, Mr Davies said some communities had “imported backward, medieval and barbaric” views about women.

The MP said the sentence was inadequate, adding: “I think there is a wider question here — what is it about this young man’s upbringing, what about his community or his parental upbringing that led him to think that women are second-class people whose rights can be trampled over like this?”

The Monmouth MP added: “There are some sensitive issues here, but there do seem to be some people in some communities who don’t respect women’s rights at all, and who, if I may say, without necessarily saying that this is the case on this occasion, who have imported into this country barbaric and medieval views about women, and that is something that needs to be addressed.”

Heaven Crawley, director of the Centre for Migration Policy Research at Swansea University, told BBC Radio Wales: “I think it’s very dangerous for a politician to make that kind of connection between rape and clearly totally unacceptable behaviour and the use of the words ‘imported, backward and barbaric attitudes’ because of the implication that comes with that.”

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

[Return to headlines]

US Running Huge Deficits While Giving Billions to Illegals

Take a look at these figures: NBC reported 26 million Americans unemployed or working half time because they cannot obtain a full time job. Countless millions lost their homes to foreclosures in the past three years. At the same time, 35 million Americans subsist on food stamps. Yes, you may check Google for that figure. Our national debt spirals upward at $12 trillion.

In the same breath, last month, our U.S. Congress injected around 200,000 to 238,000 legal and illegal immigrants into this country. Month in and month out! Year in and year out! They injected 2.4 million last year and they will inject another 2.4 million in 2010. Most go on welfare and many stay on the public dole.

[…]

California, loaded with five million illegal aliens and their children, presents a model of this human tragedy. California adds 1,700 legal and illegal immigrants daily! (Source: www.capsweb.org)

Last year, “San Bernardino County spent $64 million on welfare for illegal immigrants’ American children” by Stephan Wall.

Why? Because Governor Schwarzenegger would not enforce immigration laws, because ICE would not arrest illegal employers, because all those elected to uphold the U.S. Constitution would not follow their sworn oaths. Therefore, California taxpayers spent not just $64 million, but a total of over $10 billion on illegal aliens. Senators Boxer and Feinstein sat on their butts watching it happen as well as 37 California House members. Amazing!

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Can Climate Forecasts Still be Trusted?

First, it was a series of e-mails that led many to begin doubting the veracity of climate scientists. Then, the United Nations climate body itself had to reverse dire predictions about the melting of glaciers in the Himalayan Mountains. Other claims have raised doubts as well.

The Siachen Glacier is home to the world’s highest crisis region. Here, at 6,000 meters (19,680 feet) above sea level, Indian and Pakistani soldiers face off, ensconced in heavily armed positions.

The ongoing border dispute between the two nuclear powers has already claimed the lives of 4,000 men — most of them having died of exposure to the cold.

Now the Himalayan glacier is also at the center of a scientific dispute. In its current report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the glacier, which is 71 kilometers (44 miles) long, could disappear by 2035. It also predicts that the other 45,000 glaciers in the world’s highest mountain range will be virtually gone by then, with drastic consequences for billions of people in Asia, whose life depends on water that originates in the Himalayas. The IPCC report led environmental activists to sound the alarm about a drama that could be unfolding at the “world’s third pole.”

“This prognosis is, of course, complete nonsense,” says John Shroder, a geologist and expert on glaciers at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. The results of his research tell a completely different story.

For the past three decades, the US glaciologist has been traversing the majestic mountains of the Himalayan region, particularly the Karakorum Range, with his measuring instruments. The discoveries he has made along the way are not consistent with the assessment long held by the IPCC. “While many glaciers are shrinking, others are stable and some are even growing,” says Shroder…

— Hat tip: TB

[Return to headlines]

Killer Way to Slay the Google Beast!

‘They’re telling us they will turn data over to the feds’

Who in the world knows as much about you and your private thoughts as Google?

That’s the question Katherine Albrecht, radio talk-show host and spokeswoman for Startpage, a search engine that protects user privacy, is posing to American Internet surfers.

“It would blow people’s minds if they knew how much information the big search engines have on the American public,” she told WND. “In fact, their dossiers are so detailed they would probably be the envy of the KGB.”

[…]

Albrecht said the government may also subpoena citizens’ private information after it has been stored by Google, Yahoo and Bing. In a December 2009 interview with CNBC, Google CEO Eric Schmidt divulged that search engines may turn over citizens’ private information to the government.

“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place,” Schmidt said. “But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines, including Google, do retain this information for some time. And it’s important, for example, that we are all subject to the United States Patriot Act. It is possible that information could be made available to the authorities.”

[…]

The search-engine giants uses its search records for marketing purposes, Albrecht explained.

She said some people wonder why Google would give them all this “free cool stuff” like Google Maps, Google Calendar, Google Groups, Google Spreadsheets, Google Earth and Gmail.

“When was the last time a company making billions of dollars gave you every single thing they offered for free?” she asked. “They’re not giving you those products for free. You’re the product, and that’s the bait.”

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Our Flemish correspondent VH has translated an article from Reformatorisch Dagblad about the failure of the city of Amsterdam — which is so eager to prosecute Geert Wilders for insulting Islam — to apply the law to illegal immigrants who commit multiple crimes:

Criminal Moroccan brothers may stay in Amsterdam

Two criminal Moroccan brothers from the Slotervaart district of Amsterdam do not need to be afraid anymore that they will be deported to their homeland. State Secretary of Justice Nebahat Albayrak [PvdA, Socialists] last month withdrew an appeal on the case, said her spokeswoman this Wednesday.

The brothers are part of the “Piet Mondrian Group“, a criminal group of 30 to 35 Moroccan street-youngsters between 12 and 17 years of age (in 2008), who are all well-known to the police and the “neighborhood fathers” [called by some “sharia police” — translator], and of whom 80 percent do not have a Dutch passport. The group mostly hangs around Piet Mondrian Street [map] in Amsterdam-Slotervaart. They commit burglaries, robberies and car arsons. They are regularly sentenced for their crimes, but start all over again every time. Elsewhere in the district other groups like this one are also active.

Last year quite a bit of commotion arose about this case. Amsterdam wanted to expel the brothers, because they were part of a criminal group. The men had been living in the Netherlands for over fifteen years, but had no Dutch passports. Moreover, their residence permits had also expired (in 2006).

Still, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) stated that they did not have enough evidence against at least [sic] one of the brothers to designate him as an undesirable alien. Usually the IND only deports criminals who hold a residence permit and have resided in the Netherlands for less than five years. Because the brothers had forgotten to renew their residence permits in time, the police from that moment on were of the opinion they could be counted again, and after further breaches of the law they were subsequently declared undesirable aliens.

“Nothing will help these guys anymore,” the municipality and police believe. “In Slotervaart all kinds of activities are organized for youngsters, precisely to keep them from misbehaving out on the streets. But for this group: no more projects, trips to Morocco, and other pampering,” said Marcouch. “These creeps can only be dealt with by means of criminal law”.

– – – – – – – – –

GreenLeft parliamentarian Tofik Dibi [himself a Moroccan and sympathizer of the International Socialists] who grew up in the same neighborhood in Amsterdam, was totally against the deportation plans for the brothers. “That these guys are just thrown over the border, I find to be an admission of failure,” On top of that, according to Dibi, Marcouch is interfering in the efforts to get the brothers to go straight. “We know that they are no sweeties, but they are not only perpetrators but also victims of family tragedy and the failure of government bodies […] It is understandable that the police seek radical measures as youth repeatedly break the law, but these guys grew up in the Netherlands, their problems emerged here, and they have violated Dutch law. So now you must fight that here, and not by throwing them over the fence into another country.”

One of the brothers was arrested for deportation in April 2009, the other “was not at home,” the police spokesman Rob van der Veen stated. The police were also not actively looking for him. He was registered as an undesirable alien and was arrested when the police “encountered him somewhere” by a fluke.

Following this, Nebahat Albayrak announced [in April 2009] a proposed bill in which foreign nationals who are serving sentences and must be deported may be released earlier when they indicate [sic] that they will return to their country of origin [nothing heard of since —translator]. A few days after her announcement, it became known that one of the Moroccan brothers in the meantime had already received a new residence permit. This was the result of a lawsuit against the IND.

One of the two Moroccan brothers [still unclear which one of the two, but most likely the one that was not in hiding] had also started a legal proceeding against his stay in custody to await deportation to Morocco. The court in The Hague then ruled that both brothers should not be deported because the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) could not prove the consistency of the data that had been used for the “undesirable alien declaration”.

The IND, for instance, had declared that one of the brothers would have already have been eligible for an undesirable alien declaration when he committed a crime in 1999, and according to the IND at that time he had a residency status of just one year and three months.

The State Secretary of Justice, Nebahat Albayrak [Turkish and Dutch national] has now withdrawn the appeal against the ruling, because according to her the case has no chance of success. The lawyer for the two Moroccans, Martijn Strooij, refused to comment on the issue. He has agreed with the brothers not to talk with the media.

Chairman Ahmed Marcouch [PvdA, Socialists] of Amsterdam-Slotervaart called the failure to expel the two “a disappointment for society”. In the past he had argued for their deportation. The PvdA member said he was pleased that his appeal has contributed to Albayrak and Minister of justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin being willing to make it easier to reject the residence permit of multiple offenders.

“All over Amsterdam, but also in the rest of the country, neighborhoods are plagued by these kinds of criminals,” Marcouch said. “So I find it unacceptable that one conducts a raid on a cigar shop in the morning and in the evening receives a stamp with ‘welcome’ on it.”

One in five illegal immigrants who should be deported from the Netherlands are not deported because they [manage to] frustrate the process. This emerged by April 2009, in the Annual Report of the Commission on Integrated Monitoring of Returning (CITT).

According to the chairman of the of the CITT, Hans Gualthérie van Weezel [former VVD parliamentarian, center-right]), the authorities lack a sense of urgency. He noticed that too many flights [with deportees] have had to be canceled. Too often the paperwork was not in order or the deportee arrived too late at the gate. Over one hundred illegals in a year’s time applied again for asylum at the last minute, after the flight was already booked. He also stated that the Balkenende government does not make very much of an effort to remove unwanted aliens from the Netherlands.

Below is a news report from German TV about the extent of Muslim anti-Semitism in Germany and elsewhere, with a particular focus on the Palestinian issue. Many thanks to ESW for the translation and Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Below the jump is a full transcript:
– – – – – – – – –

0:00:06.2:		A look at a very sensitive topic: It’s about Israel.
0:00:11.4:		It’s about anti-Israeli emotions, and about the Gaza conflict, which is the cause for anti-Semitic sentiments among Muslims living here in Germany.
0:00:19.3:		Since the beginning of this year, there have been weekly demonstrations which condemned Israel
0:00:26.4:		without any differentiation and without looking at the injustice that Israel is subjected to with the rocket attacks launched by Hamas.
0:00:36.2:		Many pro-Palestine demonstrations, like the one here in Munich, have revealed blanket judgments against Israel.
0:00:43.3:		A fundamental anti-Jewish attitude was laid bare, according to a new study presented by the Amadeo Antonio Foundation.
0:00:50.2:		Even the Turkish-born Green politician, Cem Özdemir, warns of a growing anti-Semitism among young Muslims.
0:00:58.7:		The undifferentiated condemnation of Israel culminates in strong emotions.
0:01:03.1:		Equating the swastika with the Star of David is instrumental in fomenting anti-Israeli propaganda on (German) streets.
0:01:17.0:		Israel’s right to statehood is disavowed, and
0:01:19.8:		Israel’s defense against attacks since the foundation of the state in 1948 is absurdly compared to genocide.
0:01:27.1:		The protest against the war in Gaza turned into downright hate with rallying cries like: “Israel is the killer of women and children.”
0:01:33.5:		As a result, counter-demonstrators who were standing on the “Square for the victims of National-Socialism” and holding up a flag of Israel were attacked.
0:01:42.0:		Only the police who quickly intervened were able to prevent an escalation.
0:01:46.1:		In other cities too, pro-Israel demonstrators had to be protected by police
0:01:51.3:		A study commissioned by the ministry of interior in 2007 warned of the increasing disposition to violence among the Muslim youth who are anti-Semitic.
0:02:00.5:		“Where is Hitler, where is he?”
0:02:01.8:		“He didn’t quite finish…”
0:02:05.6:		“Murder of children — Israel”
0:02:07.2:		“Many say ‘Anti-Semitism, yes and no, and Germany is indebted to the Jews, but I think what Hitler did back then… well, I also don’t think everything he did was OK…
0:02:16.7:		they (the Israelis) are also human beings, but they also have the right to live and to be free…”
0:02:22.8:		but what is happening in Gaza… it is nothing but a huge concentration camp, where people can’t get out, where they are exterminated.”
0:02:32.4:		In order to find out more about the causes behind all this, the “Volkshochschule” (community college) Munich hosted a seminar titled “Israel and the Media”
0:02:39.5:		which took a closer look at the Israel’s role in the Palestinian conflict.
0:02:43.2:		Journalist and film maker Esther Shapira showed the massive propaganda against Israel.
0:02:50.5:		For instance, with the help of media forgery like this funeral
0:02:55.2:		where the would-be corpse fell of the stretcher and is suddenly alive.
0:03:00.4:		Stagings such as this one are now called “Pallywood”.
0:03:01.6:		I know about these manipulations, I myself have seen them. From the perspective of the Palestinians, who feel they cannot win the war, it is of utmost importance to win over the public
0:03:12.6:		in order to generate pressure on a moral and political level.
0:03:15.2:		Here the media are the crucial and decisive weapon.
0:03:18.3:		One has to be ware of that, both when sitting in front of the television set and journalist who are working with these pictures, which have taken by Palestinians.
0:03:28.2:		Pallywood is carefully prepared and set up.
0:03:30.3:		After the cameraman has positioned himself, the Palestinians start their provocations
0:03:34.5:		in the hope that the other side will react at some point so that there might be victims.
0:03:39.0:		Consequently, there are about 20 photographers and camera people present in this situation in order to capture suitable pictures.
0:03:45.4:		When the camera rolls, a Palestinian civilian simulates a shot in the leg.
0:03:50.3:		No blood is seen. Shortly thereafter, an ambulance arrives.
0:03:55.1:		The purported victim is dragged across the asphalted street and hoisted onto the stretcher.
0:03:59.3:		But on the wrong side! On the purportedly hurt right leg. An obvious fake from Pallywood.
0:04:05.7:		One of the worst fake was the alleged death of the Palestinian boy Mohamed al-Dura,
0:04:11.8:		who was allegedly shot to death by Israeli snipers.
0:04:14.5:		In the meantime, a court has ruled that it was Palestinians who shot father and son.
0:04:21.3:		Even the death of the boy is now seriously doubted.
0:04:22.7:		For many years, Mohamed al-Dura has been considered a symbol for Israeli brutality who motivated, and inspired thousands to become fanatics and to join the jihad.
0:04:31.0:		“This is an ideology, a fanatic ideology. These people are driven. There is this totally crazy belief that ‘we love death, while the Jews love life.’
0:04:48.9:		This is something I was told by some Palestinians.
0:04:53.6:		A society with suicidal thoughts, (with shahids who are then) admired as heroes,
0:04:59.5:		schools that are named after these heroes who are forced to become suicide bombers.
0:05:07.2:		Hamas consequently uses civilians as human shields for their battle positions.
0:05:12.2:		When Israel announced their targets, Hamas dragged civilian, especially children, to the points of impact
0:05:21.0:		in order to raise the number of victims.
0:05:23.1:		“This is an education that I have seen there with my own eyes, with the aim to use these children as an instrument.
0:05:35.9:		I was once told in a bazaar in Jerusalem:’ I have five children, I will all send them into holy war, and if they’re dead, I’ll make another five.
0:05:46.0:		There is a reality that we as Europeans refuse to accept.”
0:05:52.9:		The Hamas government drills children into jihad.
0:05:56.4:		During this performance, children are furnished with weapons, explosives belts and bloody hands to prepare them for the fight against Israel.
0:06:04.6:		The aim: death as a martyr.
0:06:05.9:		And the resulting dead children are used years later as a moral weapon against Israel to keep the picture of the child-murder Jew alive.
0:06:16.2:		“Israel is a killer of children and a killer of women. (They are doing this) on purpose.
0:06:21.9:		They have no right to do this with our people. With our Muslim brother.”
0:06:28.2:		Many time leftist radical groups take part in these demonstrations against Israel
0:06:32.1:		like the German communist party. Also taking part is the right-wing radicalism, which is spread out in the Arab world.
0:06:39.5:		The Jew-hating national socialism is openly seen as a example.
0:06:44.4:		Even in 2003, Hitler’s openly anti-Semitic hate propaganda pamphlet reached number 3 on the book rankings before its sale was banned on the initiative of Bavaria.
0:06:54.5:		“I believe history is repeating itself. I find extremely problematic that radical Palestinian groups are teaming up with radical right-wing and radical left-wing groups, and this alliance is extremely dangerous.”
0:07:06.9:		Justice in the Middle East definitely also includes a separate state for the Palestinians.
0:07:12.2:		But this right to exist must also be granted to Israel.
0:07:16.3:		It is alarming, though, that demonstrations like this one for Israel’s right to exist are quite rare here in Germany.

Michelle Malkin had a post yesterday about the Oregon vote to raise taxes. As much as I’d like to use her title, it won’t fit with the limits of our PG 13 blog. Let’s just say she wasn’t impressed with their decision and its long-term effect on Oregon’s prosperity:

Big Labor poured millions of rank-and-file members’ dues into a tax hike campaign in Oregon. It worked. The “wealthy” and the “evil corporations” will now be forced to bail out government schools and social services. Look for affected business owners to start Going Galt en masse.

Blogger PatriotUSA has his own essay on the subject. He’s not a happy camper. The poor guy lives in Oregon and now has to co-exist with this job-killing, union-saving, short-sighted decision by the Oregon Blues, i.e., the liberals who live in the urban areas and get their salaries paid by those taxes they just dumped on their fellow citizens:

The use of ‘scare tactics’ worked wonders here in my home state as once again, Oregonians proved how stupid they really are. The shame of this event is that these new taxes are no different than Oregon’s tax on tobacco to fund health care for children. Who are the majority of smokers? Not the wealthy or financially secure. Nothing more than a well disguised sales tax.

If one looks at a map of Oregon and how people voted, one notes that the large population areas carried these two measures to victory. Only 11 counties out of 36 passed 66 and 67. All on the Westside of the state where the liberal majority lives.

[Patriot says: The green areas are the counties that passed these measures, the rest of the state did not.]

Facebook is building a huge data center here just 20 miles away from I live. This is a positive in many ways, 35 full time, well paying jobs but at the cost of 45 million dollars in tax breaks and that is just the tip of the iceberg. The people who will be qualified for these high tech computer jobs will almost come from out of this area. Central Oregon is an intellectual wasteland for the most part. Now with 66 and 67 passing, new businesses will think twice if at all, if they even consider Oregon to start a business or relocating one here. Many businesses will leave now that these have passed.

Immediate Impact

I know of five small business owners who were waiting to see how the vote went. Now all five are leaving Oregon adding about 80 people to the unemployment rolls. They notified their employees today that their jobs are gone and the companies are all closing to relocate out of Oregon.

Of these five companies, three had been here in Oregon since 1971 and all are family owned, that paid their employees very well and provided excellent benefits. The owners are offering relocation assistance to those who may be interested

Patriot is a small government, low-tax kind of guy. Oregon, however, has been flooded in the last few years by California refugees fleeing a failed state. Unfortunately, many of them bring their California Big Tax ideas with them and now, as Michelle Malkin said, “Oregon is ummm…how do I put it?….Oregon is Pregnant with Possibilities, all of them bad.”

Patriot says:

The same people who were dumb enough to elect the Obama into White House proved they have not learned a damn thing. All five companies asked me to not mention the company names to protect their employees and the companies during this most stressful time. I have honored their request. These are people I know and do some business with. It is just a shame. If I was in a position to leave Oregon, I most definitely would.

I wrote Patriot and asked for a few details. He sent me the map you see above, along with further information:
– – – – – – – – –

The liberals in Salem [Oregon’s capitol – D] haven’t had a balanced state budget in years. Any crisis comes up, heap on more taxes. So the rocket scientists in Salem (a Democrat governor and legislature and so is the house, they have complete control) passed the bills on 66 and 67 into law without the peoples’ approval.

Oregon has something called “the initiative process”. If enough valid signatures from registered voters are collected, then these measures (in this case, numbers 66 and 67) are put into a referendum, which will then have to be put to a vote by the people of Oregon.

That is what happened on January 26th. The people of Oregon voted to keep these two measures and now make them permanent laws.

Here is a juicy bit for you; the taxes do not start this year, 2010. They are RETROACTIVE back to January, 2009. Nice, huh? A double redacted punch in the gut from the Liberal trolls in Salem.

Those in favor of passing these two referenda got most of the money for their campaign – $6.9ml – from the unions. This means teachers, education [administrative bureaucrats – D], and state employees’ unions. What does that tell you? They constantly pushed ads in all media saying how schools would have to close, teachers laid off, and social services cut if these referenda, 66 and 67, didn’t pass. They used scare tactics for months.

They also made it sound as though only the so-called wealthy Oregonians would pay more in personal income taxes. If you make over $125,000 and you’re single or over $250,000 for married couples, they bite you for more money.[Evil rich people – D]

Businesses will be taxed on their gross total income. Even if a company posts a loss for that year, they still owe taxes on what they took in. The voters refused to see what will happen when corporations or companies have to pay more to do business. It’s the consumers who will pay more as companies raise prices to make up for the losses incurred by these new, higher corporate taxes.

You asked about the businesses I personally knew who are relocating as a result of this voter insanity. Three are small manufacturing firms, one is a car repair garage, and the last is a construction company. I promised not give any details about them so I won’t. This situation is hard enough for these people to live through as it is. Many of these people are my friends and losing them will be Oregon’s loss as well as my own.

The Oregonian has the full story. It says, in part:

…Campaign ads by supporters highlighted banks and credit card companies and showed images of well-dressed people stepping off private jets. They also hammered on the $10 minimum tax that most corporations have paid since its inception in 1931.

Those messages helped counter warnings by opponents that the taxes would lead to job losses, worsening the state’s 11 percent unemployment rate, and prompt wealthy residents to move elsewhere.

It sounds as though Oregon is ramping up to become a California mini-me. I’ll bet a lot of ‘yes’ voters were California transplants. You can take the liberal out of California but unfortunately he brings his California state of mind with him.

By the way, Ms. Malkin made a prediction and I’d like to explain it for our non-American readers:

…Look for affected business owners to start Going Galt en masse.

So what is “Going Galt” you ask (you ask if you haven’t read Ayn Rand’s “objectivist’ novels, that is). Here is a good explanation, reworked for the 21st century from Ayn Rand’s ideas:

There are reports from across the country from young and old, of middle class wage earners cutting back hours or passing on career advancement to avoid paying higher taxes. They have no incentive to achieve greater earnings, only to watch a greater portion of their pie be consumed by others.

Many individuals, resentful of state tax and spend policies, along with economic difficulties, are turning to bartering or second hand purchasing to avoid paying cumbersome sales taxes, vehicle excise taxes, permits and licensing on home improvement projects and state and federal income taxes. The net result, over the course of the next few years, will be even less revenue than the already downwardly revised projections already being cited by the Obama administration and used as a reason to further increase taxes.

Unfortunately, it seems as if the only recourse the American public has to reclaim its country and foil the growth of government in scale and scope, is to “Go Galt” in its own way. By refusing to allow any more tax revenue than is absolutely possible to be taken and spent on government growth and dependence- creating government programs, the American individual, regardless of career status or creative ability now has the power to “Go Galt” in their own way.

For many Americans, long before the advent of Rand’s “objectivist philosophy” getting around the IRS (known fondly in some circles as the KGB) is a patriotic duty. The Jacksonian thread in our culture doesn’t trust “gummint” to do anything wisely. In their view, the more money you can hide from the “revenoors”, i.e., the villains who worked for the Internal Revenue Service, the more patriotic you were.

It was a man’s job to evade those tax collectors who roamed the hills and hollers (hollows) looking for moonshine stills. In the eyes of their descendants, it is still a honorable duty to hide as much of your income as possible from the prying eyes of the IRS. As the appetite of government grows, so does the underground economy. There is probably even a correlation between the level of unemployment and the increase in the amount of work done “off the books”.

It was true in Rome and it’s true today. Kill the middle class with taxes and you kill the larger economy. This appears to be a very difficult lesson to learn. The grasping unions of bureaucrats who will not make the necessary sacrifices now will be forced to make more draconian choices later.

Meanwhile the Galts among us will continue to flout the rules of the tax man. For many, it’s what any red-blooded American man (and woman) must do. The blues, i.e., the liberals, will continue to vote the rich into bankruptcy. In their eyes, these referenda were about “sticking it to the wealthy”. Unfortunately in our gummint schools, they don’t teach the basics of economic theory so we raise generation after generation of innumerate citizens who wouldn’t know compound interest if it bit them in the butt.

I don’t know how the underground economy works in Europe, but in America it thrives and it’s not an underclass phenomenon.

A German reader named maggieth sends us a translation accompanied by this note:

The following article from Die Welt shows the grade of dhimmitude the Netherlands has reached.

The court in the Netherlands now allows a (female) Muslim bus driver to wear a scarf, but a Christian may not wear a cross. I was so shocked that I had to translate the first half of it and send it to you.

And maggieth’s translation:

Shortly before Christmas, the Haagse Hogeschool wanted to do something good for their students. The university in the Dutch city of The Hague, Government decided, in a break from the past, not to set up a Christmas tree this year. The 19,000 students of non-Western origin, such was the reasoning, might be disturbed at the effect of a Christian symbol decorating the tree — which in turn could negatively affect future enrollment. Communications director Annelies van Rosmalen puts it in a nutshell: “The tree does not match the international character of the university.”

Many wonder since the “Christmas war at The Hague” whether the Dutchman just wants to be nice to the immigrants or — out of fear or a misguided sense of tolerance — to voluntarily throw their own culture over the side.

The case of the Christmas tree is in fact not an exception. Born in Egypt, Ezzat Aziz has had his own experiences.

– – – – – – – – –

Since 1998 he has worked as a ticket inspector at the public transport company in Amsterdam. The 56-year-old in his work always bears a cross on his chest, because he is a Christian, a member of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority. But then the company forbade its employees to wear Christian symbols. “For reasons of professionalism” no jewelry should be worn over clothing, said company spokeswoman Petra Faber.

Aziz emigrated to Holland in 1984 and no longer understands the world: “I’m living in a democratic country where one has the right to profess his faith.” It did not help; Aziz was suspended from duty. He complained but the judge upheld the view of the employer. Jacqueline Koops, an attorney for Aziz, sees his fundamental rights as violated. “Amsterdam is a multicultural city. My client is being discriminated against. There are tram conductors and bus drivers in service allowed to wear a head scarf.” Aziz maintains silence on the instructions of his psychological superiors now — he has been banned from speaking.

Needless to say, the big news of the day is President Barack Hussein Obama’s State of the Union Address. I didn’t listen to it, although I did read some of the live-blogging about it. It sounded like I didn’t miss much.

The future Baron sent us his own response to the State of the Union Address:

Vote for me in 2012! I oppose what you’re against, support what you’re for, and will give you one annual year every three hundred and sixty-five days. Furthermore, I’ll put an ax through every television in this country so you won’t be able to listen to me even if you wanted to, which is doubtful.

Check out the news story about the double balcony “suicide” in Turkey. If it had taken place in a European immigrant enclave, I would have filed it under “cultural enrichment”.

In other news, young James O’Keefe, who became famous as the “pimp” in the ACORN stings, was arrested by the FBI along with three other young men for attempting to interfere with the phones in Senator Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, CSP, Henrik, Insubria, JD, KGS, Logan’s Warning, Sean O’Brian, Steen, TB, TV, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	ECB and Rating Agencies Issue Warnings on EU Debt
	Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan: War Among the Poor as Uzbek Migrant Workers Seek Jobs in Kyrgyzstan
	Real Estate: Spain, 325bln Debt, Banks Have Had Enough
	Spain: Only Developed Country in Recession in 2010
	UK: Don’t Invest in Britain: The UK Economy Sits ‘On a Bed of Nitroglycerine’, Investors Warned
	USA
	After Three Months, Only 35 Subscriptions for Newsday’s Web Site
	Anti-ACORN Filmmaker Arrested
	CBS Interview With Tea Party Leaders
	Corruption by the Chicago Democrat Machine
	Dems Vow to Resurrect Health Care Bill
	Former Top Military Commander Warns Obama Against Linking Climate Change and National Security
	Revealed! Meet the Real ‘Ellie Light’
	States’ Rights Rebellion Over National Guard
	Top Democrats at War — With Each Other
	Europe and the EU
	Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Amsterdam
	Bad Weather: Spain; Arctic Cold, Madrid Under Blanket of Snow
	Britain Ignores Anti-Muslim Hatred: MCB
	Danes Not Good to Minorities
	Denmark: Killed Caseworker Was Counsellor
	Finland: Romanian Beggars Prepare to Go Home
	France: Anti-Veil Imam Targeted; Group Storms Mosque
	France: Islam: Law on Secularism
	France: Islam: Veil, Does Not Always Cover Face
	Geert Wilders: On Trial for Telling the Truth
	How One Government Justifies Taking Children From Their Parents
	Italy Wants Cross Ruling Cancelled
	Italy: Berlusconi Praises US Job in Haiti
	Italy: Berlusconi-Linked Teen Seeks Glitzy TV Career
	Italy: New Book Promotes ‘Political Unity’
	Italy: Berlusconi Moves to Defuse US Diplomatic Row
	Milan Station Marks Holocaust
	Revelations About John Paul II
	Sarkozy Calls for Tolerance With Muslims
	Should the UK Ban the Muslim Face Veil?
	Soccer: Materazzi Rapped for Berlusconi Mask
	Spain: Cinema Protest Lockout Against Films in Catalan
	Swiss Minaret Ban Was a “Symbolic Gesture”
	UK: ‘Nazi’ Remark Presenter Wins Right to Challenge Ofcom
	UK: Children of Better-Off Parents Banned From Attending School Trips at Half-Term
	UK: Munir Hussain ‘Wrongly Targeted by Burglars for Affair With Jealous Man’s Wife’
	UK: Scientists Exaggerated Impact of Climate Change, Says Government’s Chief Adviser
	Voters Used Minaret Ban to Halt Spread of Islam
	North Africa
	Fisheries: Tunisia Conforms to EU Regulations
	Football: African Cup, Egypt-Algeria, Tension Skyrockets
	Tunisia: UN Criticises Use of Torture
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Gaza: Egyptian Minister Admits That Steel is Used
	Israel: New Al-Qaida ‘Center of Activity’
	Knesset Rejects Bill to Outlaw Islamic Movement
	Middle East
	Iranian Forces Clash With Kurdish Separatist Group
	Iraq: Young Man Wounded in New Anti-Christian Attack in Mosul
	Israel-Turkey: Report, Erdogan Encourages Anti-Semitism
	Italians Attach Great Interest in Turkish Defense Industry
	Jordan Hit by Bad Weather, Water Supply Increases
	Turkey: Twins Commit Suicide Together
	Turkey: Kurds: Teen Sentenced to 8 Yrs for Chanting Slogans
	Russia
	Russia: Teaching Religion in School Distances Russians From Orthodoxy
	South Asia
	Afghanistan: Italian Expert Warns Kabul Cannot ‘Sustain Stability’
	Afghanistan: Germany to Send 850 Extra Troops
	Bangladesh: Netrokona: Armed Gang Attacks Catholic Activist and His Wife
	India: Two Churches Attacked in the State of Karnataka
	India Announces First Manned Space Mission
	Indonesia: Police Hunt for Sumatra Church Attackers
	Malaysia Arrests Foreigners on Terror Charges
	Pakistan: Zardari Slaughters Goats to Ward Off Evil: Report
	Far East
	China — Hong Kong: Matteo Ricci Maps Did Not Put China at Centre of the World
	EU Presidency Reconsidering China Arms Embargo
	Latin America
	One Laptop Per Child in Haiti
	Immigration
	Ethiopia to Benefit From U.S. H-2A and H-2B Visas — DHS
	Flight School Operator in Norfolk, Virgina Charged as Illegal Immigrant
	German Homeschoolers Granted Political Asylum
	Homeschoolers on Run Win U.S. Asylum
	Homeschooling German Family Granted US Asylum
	Ireland: It Wasn’t Our TDs’ Plan to Make Deportation Almost Impossible
	Netherlands: Immigration Drives Up Tuberculosis Figures
	General
	Drug Firms ‘Drove Swine Flu Pandemic Warning to Recoup Billions Spent on Research’
	IE Windows Vuln Coughs Up Local Files
	The Terrorism Quiz

ECB and Rating Agencies Issue Warnings on EU Debt

A collection of prominent voices warned EU member states on Tuesday (26 January) about the risks of rising indebtedness hampering economic recovery and spooking financial markets.

European Central Bank chief economist Juergen Stark said the shocking state of public finances could lead to further credit rating downgrades of government bonds and ensuing market turmoil.

“We are seriously concerned about forecasts of strong rises in government deficits and the indebtedness of countries in the eurozone,” he said in a speech.

Credit rating agency Fitch pointed to the expected heavy toll of the rising debt levels. On average, nearly one fifth of national output will be absorbed by debt costs this year, but in some countries such as Italy, France and Ireland, it will be about one quarter, said the agency.

“The increase in the stock of short-term debt is a source of concern to Fitch as it increases market risk faced by governments, notably exposure to interest rate shocks,” said associate director for sovereign debt, Douglas Renwick.

Following a study of 15 EU countries and Switzerland, the agency found that gross borrowing this year “in absolute terms is projected to be largest in France (€454 billion), Italy (€393 billion), Germany (€386 billion euros), and the UK (€279 billion).”

However, Italy, Belgium, France and Ireland are forecast to have the highest borrowing as a percentage of GDP, all at about 25 percent.

Separately on Tuesday, Spain’s finance minister Elena Salgado told the European Parliament’s economic committee that she wants to see “rigorous and consistent” enforcement of EU budget rules that limit budget deficits to three percent of GDP.

Spain, currently holders of the EU’s rotating presidency, is estimated to have run up a deficit of around 11 percent last year.

Action

The warnings come amid concerns the ongoing Greek debt crisis and strains in other eurozone countries, notably Portugal and Ireland, are threatening the cohesion of the 16-member euro area.

On Tuesday night, Portugal’s Socialist government outlined proposals to bring down the government’s deficit over the course of 2010, without hampering nascent signs of recovery.

The country has seen considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund and credit rating agencies to start implementing measures rapidly, with latest figures suggesting the peripheral state’s deficit reached 9.3 percent of GDP in 2009, far higher than previously expected.

Portuguese finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said the government would cut the budget deficit by one per cent of GDP this year. “By 2013, we will reduce the deficit to below three per cent of GDP,” he added.

The European Commission is expected to give its assessment of deficit cutting measures in four EU member states — Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta, on Wednesday.

A draft copy of the report, seen by Reuters, says Hungary and Latvia are on track with their fiscal cutback programmes, which require the two states to bring their deficits below three percent by 2011.

— Hat tip: Henrik

[Return to headlines]

Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan: War Among the Poor as Uzbek Migrant Workers Seek Jobs in Kyrgyzstan

Uzbeks seek seasonal work from March to November. They take whatever job they can find at the lowest wage they can get, and sometimes are not even paid. Since they are illegal, they cannot complain. Still, there is not much work to go around, and Kyrgyz workers complain that their presence is pushing down wages. Inter-ethnic tensions are a real possibility.

Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The world’s financial woes are devastating the economies of Central Asia. In Uzbekistan, unemployment is high and legions of unskilled Uzbek workers are emigrating to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan where they are competing for jobs with unemployed Kyrgyz.

Every spring, Uzbek day labourers (mardikerlar in Uzbek) cross into Kyrgyzstan, especially the south, looking for low-paid seasonal work. They compete with local workers because they accept lower wages in a war of survival among the poor. They work illegally on farmland, in construction or making bricks because an agreement between the two countries that allows their respective citizens to freely cross into the other and stay for up to 60 days without a visa does not allow them to work in the other country.

However, many Kyrgyz employers prefer Uzbeks because they accept low wages, seasonal employment and do not complain. One of them, interviewed by Eurasianet, said that Uzbek migrants accept one Kyrgyz som for two bricks (2 cents US) whilst Kyrgyz workers get twice as much.

In winter, there is little work and Uzbeks have to make the trek home, to wait for the next spring.

Some migrants complain that sometimes they do not get all the money they are owed but cannot complain because they are illegal and could be expelled by police at any time.

“Uzbek labourers do the hardest work,” said Azimjan Askarov, the head of Vozdukh (Air), a human rights and legal services NGO. “Few Kyrgyz citizens are interested in working on fields under the hot sun.”

Kyrgyz migrants prefer to go to Russia, where salaries are better. They tend to know Russian, which they studied at school, whilst many Uzbeks do not know the language as well.

In any event, there is not much work and the presence of migrants tends to keep the cost of unskilled labour very low. Experts are concerned that his might lead to interethnic tensions with unemployed Kyrgyz.

In the 1990s, the Osh region was the scene of clashes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Recently, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said that the country’s economy was recovering, but many experts are not convinced, saying that GDP and figures unemployment rates are manipulated.

At the end of 2009, Standard & Poor downgraded Uzbekistan to the ultra-high-risk category. The Heritage Foundation in the United States ranked Uzbekistan 158th out of a 179-country survey, which earned the country the designation of “repressed” economy.

Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, ranked 80th in the Heritage Foundation survey, good enough for a “moderately free” designation.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

[Return to headlines]

Real Estate: Spain, 325bln Debt, Banks Have Had Enough

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 26 — More than an impossible-to-fill abyss than a hole: the debts of real estate companies and promoters with Spanish banks and savings institutions amounted to 325 billion euros in the third quarter of 2009, according to data from the Bank of Spain. “The real estate sector is bankrupt”, said Santo Gonzalez Sanche, the president of the Asociacion Hipotecaria Espanola (AHE), which gathers the financial institutions. “Real estate promoters cannot pay and the system cannot take on real estate debt”, explained Sanchez, cited by the media. The billions in debt has been accumulated since 2007 by a sector that has gone from being the principal motor of the Spanish economic miracle, to a thorn in its side, with the end of a boom that lasted for 10 years, the bursting of the real estate bubble and the crisis of a speculative development model. What remains is akin to the ruins of a battlefield, with over 50% of the debt in the sector associated with building sites that have been purchased and that now have no market. Since this land has no de facto value , the banks are not willing to grant more credit to real estate companies for new promotions, explained Gonzalez Sanchez. A black hole that generates 15 billion euros of debt per year just in interest, and which has led to a very complicated refinancing process. For the banks it is increasingly difficult to grant real estate loans, since property values are plummeting. This is why financial institutes are calling on the government, the official credit institute or the Bank of Spain to take control of the situation. They must study together how to guarantee the future of the real estate sector, “which cannot disappear like the industrial sector,” stressed Gonzalez Sanchez. A difficult task since debt in the construction sector represents almost 30% of Spain’s GDP, making it unrealistic it to be underwritten by the state. The crisis in the real estate sector has lead to a current stock of 750,000 unsold homes that have no market, which real estate promoters will take ten years to sell off. The Spanish mortgage association hopes that some of the resources provided for by the government fund for the restructuring and mergers of banks and savings institutions will be earmarked to ease the pressure created by real estate debt, which is also causing difficulties associated with the credit ratings of Spanish financial institutions by the international agencies. According to Gonzalez Sanchez, of the overall 325 billion euros of debt, 166 billion has been loaned by the savings banks and 134 billion by the banks, and 25 billion by credit unions. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

Spain: Only Developed Country in Recession in 2010

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 26 — Spain will be the only developed country in 2010 that will still be in a recession, with -0.6% economic growth, compared to 1% growth on average for the rest of the euro zone. The most recent forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, cited today by news agency EFE, confirm the group’s figures in October, meaning that Spain will exit from the crisis in 2011, with GDP growth of 0.9%, while the rest of the global economy will already be recovering this year. Advanced economies, in particular, will grow by 2.1% in 2010 thanks to the boost given by developing nations, whose GDP will increase, according to the IMF’s estimates, by 6% by the end of the year. The expected growth for countries in the euro zone in 2011 will be 1.6%. Differently than the IMF’s forecasts, the Spanish government expects the country’s economy to grow already in 2010. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

[Return to headlines]

UK: Don’t Invest in Britain: The UK Economy Sits ‘On a Bed of Nitroglycerine’, Investors Warned

Gordon Brown’s election strategy was dealt a further blow today after the boss of the world’s biggest bond house warned investors to avoid the UK economy.

Bill Gross, who runs Pacific Investment Management Co mutual fund, said the British economy was lying on ‘a bed of nitroglycerine’.

In his monthly newsletter, Mr Gross said: ‘The UK is a must to avoid. Its gilts are resting on a bed of nitroglycerine.

‘High debt with the potential to devalue its currency present high risks for bond investors.

‘In addition, its interest rates are already artificially influenced by accounting standards that at one point last year produced long-term real interest rates of 0.5 per cent and lower.’

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

After Three Months, Only 35 Subscriptions for Newsday’s Web Site

In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall. The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect?

So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com?

The answer: 35 people. As in fewer than three dozen. As in a decent-sized elementary-school class.

That astoundingly low figure was revealed in a newsroom-wide meeting last week by publisher Terry Jimenez when a reporter asked how many people had signed up for the site. Mr. Jimenez didn’t know the number off the top of his head, so he asked a deputy sitting near him. He replied 35.

Michael Amon, a social services reporter, asked for clarification.

“I heard you say 35 people,” he said, from Newsday’s auditorium in Melville. “Is that number correct?”

Mr. Jimenez nodded.

Hellville, indeed.

The web site redesign and relaunch cost the Dolans $4 million, according to Mr. Jimenez. With those 35 people, they’ve grossed about $9,000.

In that time, without question, web traffic has begun to plummet, and, certainly, advertising will follow as well.

[Return to headlines]

Anti-ACORN Filmmaker Arrested

Federal authorities have arrested four men on felony charges for attempting to infiltrate Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office, including one filmmaker who targeted the community group ACORN last year in damaging undercover videos.

Among those arrested was 25-year-old James O’Keefe, the conservative filmmaker, along with Joseph Basel, Robert Flanagan and Stan Dai, all 24. They were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses and attempting to gain access to the Democrat’s office by posing as telephone repairmen, according to a copy of an FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

CBS Interview With Tea Party Leaders

News Anchor Katie Couric spoke to Tea Party leaders Michael Johns and Kellen Guida about their movement and the frustrations of those who identify with it.

The Tea Party movement, Johns said, was a “visceral reaction” to the idea that “our federal government was growing too large, that too much power was being centralized, and government bureaucracies that the American people were over-taxed, in some ways over-regulated.”

“And that the genius of the American dream, the genius of American liberty as enunciated by our founders was always a belief in individual liberty and individual freedoms,” he continued.

Johns, a health care executive and former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, added that “it’s a hugely patriotic movement.” He said the direction of the Obama administration is “an antithesis in many respects of what our founding fathers envisioned.”

Guida, an unemployed architect who organized a New York City tea party, said his activism grew out of the bank bailouts. He said that while he didn’t believe the government should have let the banks fail completely, he was bothered that midlevel banks and small businesses were allowed to fail while big banks were given a bailout.

Small businesses are “not seeing any lending,” he said. “They’re the ones that do the actual hiring for the economy. So when you have the government saying, ‘We need to get lending again so we can create jobs, and we’re also gonna give the government some money to create jobs,’ at the end of the day, the real economic driver of this country, the small businesses, are standing there with nothing still.”

[…]

He also slammed health care legislation, complaining of a “lavishly expanded” government role, and called for the proposed “Enumerated Powers Act,” which would require Congress to show where each new piece of legislation is justified in the Constitution.

[Return to headlines]

Corruption by the Chicago Democrat Machine

The credit cards of 89 Chicago Board of Education employees have been yanked in the midst of an investigation into questionable spending by the last two Chicago School Board presidents and their staff, officials revealed Monday.

If employees at board headquarters want their credit cards back, they will have to justify their expenses dating back to June 30, explain why they need a credit card, and receive training on how to use it, Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said. She said Schools CEO Ron Huberman canceled all credit cards on Jan. 19.

The disclosure of the action comes after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that an internal report by Schools Inspector General James Sullivan details what sources said was thousands of dollars in artwork, limousine rides, high-priced meals and liquor charged by former board presidents Michael Scott, Rufus Williams or their staff to the board’s tab.

At the time, both board presidents were receiving stipends — $3,000 a month for Scott, who committed suicide in November, and $1,600 a month for his predecessor, Williams. Those stipends have since been canceled.

Mayor Daley said Monday he was awaiting two internal reports on the matter — from Sullivan and from former federal prosecutor Williams Jones Jr., who is expected to be hired by board members Wednesday at a cost of up to $100,000.

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin http://michellemalkin.com/

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Dems Vow to Resurrect Health Care Bill

Giving up on overhauling the nation’s health care system is not an option, the top House Democrat said Wednesday as lawmakers looked to President Barack Obama for guidance in his State of the Union address on how to revive the stalled legislation.

Asked if Congress might abandon a health care initiative beset with political and policy problems, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., responded: “I don’t see that as a possibility. We will have something.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Former Top Military Commander Warns Obama Against Linking Climate Change and National Security

Calls for independent review

Washington, DC (Jan. 27) — Ahead of the State of the Union address and in the wake of recent and ongoing climate science scandals, President Obama should appoint an independent panel of experts to evaluate the purported climate change-national security link, urged Adm. James A. Lyons, Jr., USN (Ret.), former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Chairman of the Center for Security Policy’s Military Committee.

The supposed relationship between climate change and national security “is too important an issue to be driven by unsubstantiated claims, tainted by scandal, and to result in counterproductive policies,” Adm. Lyons stated in the open letter.

Adm. Lyons’ letter points out that both the ongoing Climategate scandal involving senior United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists and the IPCC’s recent admission-of-error and retraction of the claim that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 have rocked confidence in often-repeated assertions that capping emissions of greenhouse gases will improve national security.

“Before we adopt policies that affect military-preparedness and national security, it is imperative that we act on honest assessments of the best available information,” Adm. Lyons said. “When it comes to the climate change-national security link and the cap-and-trade legislation now being considered by Congress, any confidence in scientific pronouncements that may have existed in 2009 does not exist in 2010,” Adm. Lyons added.

“In light of media reports that President Obama plans to emphasize the climate change-national security link in his State of the Union address, I am asking the President to acknowledge recent developments and to appoint an expert panel whose independence is beyond reproach to sort out fact from fiction,” Adm. Lyons concluded.

— Hat tip: CSP

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Revealed! Meet the Real ‘Ellie Light’

Letter writer is male health-care worker tied to Daily Kos, Obama-Ayers machine

A male health-care worker who appears to be Ellie Light — the letter writer whose name appeared in dozens of newspapers nationwide praising President Obama — also is a diarist for the far-left Daily Kos website and an online friend of an individual tied to a radical pro-Obama group associated with William Ayers’ Weathermen terrorist organization.

Winston Steward, 51, of Frazier Park, Calif., told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer he made up the name “Ellie Light” to protect himself from criticism and possible physical attacks from “conservatives.” He said he used fake addresses across the country to get local newspapers to publish his letters.

— Hat tip: JD

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States’ Rights Rebellion Over National Guard

Lawmakers fight to keep governors, not president, in control of troops

Responding to an executive order by President Obama, a new push is under way for states to adopt laws limiting the use of their National Guard units unless there is an invasion, insurrection or other limited circumstance.

As WND reported, Obama’s order establishes a new “Council of Governors” designated to advise on the “synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities in the United States.”

The recent order, posted on the White House website, was accompanied by the explanation that the group is to work “to protect our nation against all types of hazards.” It comes just weeks after the president issued a similarly obscure order vastly expanding INTERPOL’s privileges in the U.S.

— Hat tip: JD

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Top Democrats at War — With Each Other

In a display of contempt unfathomable in the feel-good days after Obama’s Inauguration, freshman Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) stood up at a meeting with Pelosi last week to declare: “Reid is done; he’s going to lose” in November, according to three people who were in the room.

Titus denied Tuesday evening that she had singled out Reid, but she acknowledged that she said Democrats would be “f—-ed” if they failed to heed the lessons of Massachusetts, where Republican Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat last week.

— Hat tip: JD

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Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Amsterdam

In 2009, the number of anti-Semite incidents in Amsterdam doubled compared to the year before. The Jewish community fiels under siege.

On an evening during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Ber van Halem (22) crossed a street in Amsterdam’s affluent Zuid neigbourhood, only to hear a group of boys invoke a Dutch ethnic slur (“Kankerjood”) involving both a deadly disease and his Jewish heritage. Not once, but several times.

Van Halem confronted the boys and continued on his way. Suddenly, he heard the sound of bicycles behind him. He turned around and an argument developed. Out of nowhere, he felt somebody hit him. He fell to the ground. “I was kicked in my stomach and on my shoulder while prone,” Van Halem recounted.

Van Halem’s beating, which took place in October 2008, remains one of the most infamous manifestations of anti-Semitism in the Netherlands in recent years. The incident led to public outcry, when local police failed to find time to register Van Halem’s formal complaint days later. “We were very busy working a robbery,” a spokesperson for the Amsterdam- police force explained. The Van Halem case has since been closed. Not one perpetrator was caught.

Anti-Semitist incidents doubled

In 2008, 14 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the Dutch capital, making for relatively calm year in the city that is home to most of the country’s approximately 40,000 Jews. New — as yet unpublished — data collected by a semi-governmental agency that reports on discrimination, have shows that the number of reported incidents grew to 30 in 2009. This development is in line with national trends, said Elise Friedmann of the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel, a pro-Israel lobby group in the Netherlands. “We estimate the total number of reported incidents doubled in 2009,” she said.

Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza strip in January of that year was the driving force behind the explosive growth, according to Friedmann. “In that month alone we had a hundred or so reports come in, almost the same amount we did over the entire year before,” she said.

When an Israeli military operation dominates the headline, Van Halem is one of the first to notice it on the streets. “The verbal abuse hurled at me on the streets is becoming more severe and more regular,” he said. Experience has taught him that the boys taunting him are almost always of Moroccan descent.

“Their reasoning goes something like this: Israelis are Jews, Palestinians are Arabs, so we Moroccan ‘Arabs’ in the Netherlands are going to take on Dutch Jews,” said Menno ten Brink, a rabbi for the liberal Jewish community in Amsterdam.

More and more under siege

At the time when Van Halem was beaten, Israel was relatively quiet however. “They spotted my skullcap and started swearing at me,” he recounted. Van Halem has been wearing the traditional headgear, proscribed by the Jewish faith, since he was six. “Ever since, I have been cursed regularly. When I was 8 I hurt myself after I was pushed against a bicycle stand. My leg needed stitches,” he said.

Many people witnessed his 2008 beating and were able to give the police good descriptions of the assailants. Van Halem was surprised when the police sent him a letter, letting him know that the perpetrators had never been found. Rabbi Ten Brink wonders whether the police had really tried its best. “All these witnesses and the police can’t find the guy who did it. Telling,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Amsterdam police force assured they had done everything within their power. We had plainclothes cops staking out the area for days, looking for the boys. But we couldn’t find anyone,” the spokesperson said. The case was finally closed in May of last year.

Ten Brink’s sceptical attitude towards the police illustrates of the Amsterdam Jewish community at large. Jews here feel more and more under siege as they are exposed to a growing barrage of name-calling, hate mail, firecrackers in their mailboxes, graffiti and — occasionally — physical abuse. They feel the government should do more about it, by coming down harder on perpetrators, for one, but also by investing more in their security financially.

‘Hilter let one get away’

The liberal Jewish community in Amsterdam is building a new synagogue. “Security is costing us hundreds of thousands of euros,” Ten Brink said. “In Antwerp and Paris, synagogues were attacked. The same could happen here.” On the shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, security officers guard the synagogues. “Fear has taken hold,” said Max Engelander, chairman of the Amsterdam police force’s Jewish network, which was founded last year. “That is why we do not take lightly to anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination,” he said.

How big is anti-Semitism really in Amsterdam? “It is a serious problem, but it doesn’t occur on a daily basis,” Ten Brink said. Rabbi Raphaël Evers a rabbi serving Amsterdam’s orthodox community, felt the problem was more serious. “I do not get out much, but when I do I am almost always insulted along the lines of ‘Hitler let one get away’. My mother says it is worse now than it was before the second world war,” he said.

Bloeme Evers-Emden, a 83-year old survivor of the concentration camps, lost most of her family during the Holocaust. “In 1939 I was 13. The NSB [The Dutch fascist party] disseminated a lot of anti-Jewish propaganda back then, but I do not remember Jews getting beaten as they are now.”

Evers-Emden lives in a part of Amsterdam home to a lot of Moroccans. “I saw a kid about 8 years old yelling something about ‘killing Jews’. I asked him ‘do you know what you’re saying?’ He said ‘yes’, and went on repeating himself.”

Van Halem feels uncertain whether anti-Semitism is on the rise. “It goes up and down, mostly following events in Israel,” he said. He and his friends do feel an urge to strike back. “A lot of my friends have been trained in the Israeli army. I have years of martial arts training myself. Occasionally we’ll say: ‘come on, let go get them back’. But in the end, we don’t want to form a militia or anything.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Bad Weather: Spain; Arctic Cold, Madrid Under Blanket of Snow

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 26 — Due to a new wave of arctic temperatures and strong winds from the north east, the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has today put the weather alert at its highest level (orange) in some thirty provinces in the south east of the Spanish peninsula and at high (yellow) in other provinces in the north and central part of the country, including Aragon, Catalonia and Madrid. The passing of the bad weather from northern Europe, across France and the Pyrenees, and which is set to hit Morocco and Algeria tomorrow, has produced substantial precipitation. Madrid, both the capital and the whole metropolitan area, was once again covered in 3cm of snow overnight. One of the autonomous communities worst hit by snow is Castilla-La Mancha, with precipitations exceeding 5cm at over 700m; whilst in Murcia the wind alert remains at its highest, with gusts measuring 90km per hour and snowfall. The lowest overnight temperatures hit -8C in most of the country, whilst the highest temperatures, according to weather forecasts, will not exceed 10C. The director general of traffic control has reported difficulties on the roads, caused by snow and wind, in the provinces of Teruel, Castellon, Cuenca, Toledo, in the Community of Madrid and in the Community of Valencia. The cold weather is expected to peak at dawn tomorrow. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Britain Ignores Anti-Muslim Hatred: MCB

CAIRO — Many of Britain’s sizable two-million-strong Muslim minority are dispirited by their government’s failure to tackle surging anti-Islam hostilities in the European country and want to see divisive action being taken to address that.

“Amongst many British Muslim communities, there is a growing disenchantment at the lacklustre response from our political leaders to speak out against anti-Muslim hatred,” Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), wrote in a letter to the Home Secretary and posted on the group’s website.

He accused politicians of either keeping their silence or riding the bandwagon of the anti-Islam trend.

“Whether this exists in explicit form through the actions of far-right groups, or implicitly with hysterical headlines in our media, the policy response to any of these has been far from satisfactory.”

Anti-Muslim march by the far-right English Defence League (EDL) last Saturday in Stoke-on-Trent city, Staffordshire, turned violent.

Over 17 people were arrested and at least four police officers injured after scuffles between the protesters and police.

The protest coincided with a meeting by hundreds of British Muslim leaders in Birmingham to discuss the growing anti-Muslim hatred trend.

The meeting urged fellow British Muslims, estimated at nearly two million, to cooperate with authorities to help tackle this issue.

It urged them to join coalitions with people of all faiths and none to seek strong law enforcement measures against those who indulge in violence and intimidation and in spreading the poison of hatred on faith or racial grounds.

Surging

The umbrella MCB, which groups around 500 affiliated national, regional and local organizations, mosques, charities and schools, said the past year witnessed a growing trend of anti-Muslim hysteria and hatred.

“In 2009 alone, scores of Muslim institutions, centers and persons have been targeted in violent attacks.”

Scotland Yard warned last July that far-right extremists were plotting terrorist attacks to stoke racial tensions in the European country.

In August, a Scottish racist threatened to kill Muslims until all mosques in the country are demolished.

Abdul Bari, the Muslim community leader, urged the Home Secretary to take divisive action to face this trend ahead of the coming elections.

“We ask you to take leadership in this matter, especially in a year where divisive elements may well flourish in the run-up to the next general election.”

Last November, local councils across Britain raised the alarm that the government was too much focused on combating radicalization among Muslims while ignoring the growing threat of far-right extremism.

“Their inaction is facilitated by the insatiable appetite of a hysterical media, keen to paint a picture of a British Muslim community that is somehow foreign, suspect and disloyal,” said the MCB.

“British Muslims are none of these.”

— Hat tip: TB

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Danes Not Good to Minorities

A third of Somalis in Denmark have experienced personal discrimination according to an EU report.

Denmark comes towards the top of a list of countries in which hate crimes take place, with only Roma in the Czech Republic and Somalis in Finland worse off than Somalis in Denmark, according to an EU report.

In the report on selected minority groups in all of the member countries, a third of Somalis in Denmark say they have experienced serious racist assault, serious harassment or threats. The survey was based on 27,000 interviews across the European Union.

“Denmark has a major problem in relation to discrimination,” says Morten Kjaerum, head of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights which carried out the survey.

“We see that the figures that we have previously worked with (…) were only the top, in fact only the very top of the iceberg,” he says.

Researcher not surprised

Mandana Zarrehparvar, who is head of the Department of Equality and Diversity is not surprised that Somalis are particular targets — and not only for ethnic Danes.

“Somalis are particularly vulnerable simply because of their very dark skin colour. They are lowest in the hierarchy, including among other ethnic groups,” says Zarrehparvar who undertook a survey of hate crime for Copenhagen Council.

Often heard

The Chairman of Somali Development Denmark is not surprised at the results either.

“This is something we often hear from people. Most have experienced verbal harassment, but many also experience physical aspects,” says Muhammed Maxamed Abshir.

Maxamed tells of women who are pushed in the street; a boy who was held around the neck and many who are shouted or spat at in buses or in the street. He says that racist harassment and threats are part of everyday life several places in Jutland.

Only some 80 percent of attacks on Somalis are reported to the police.

“They are afraid that the authorities won’t do anything and that things will just get worse. Many have complained without anything being done and that spreads from family to family. At the end of the day you learn to live with it,” says Maxamed.

Hate crime

“Denmark focuses too little on hate crime. The police should be trained to handle situations and investigate when hate crimes are reported,” says Zarrehparvar adding that minorities themselves must be aware of their rights and where they can seek help.

Others also harassed

Other minority groups also appear to be harassed. The National Association of Gays, Lesbians and Transgender people says that there are attacks each weekend. Also the Documentation and Advice Centre on Racial Discrimination says that Jews and Turks are affected.

The Socialist People’s Party has proposed a task force to inform and train police officers so that they are better able to register and solve hate crimes. The proposal is currently on its way through Parliament.

— Hat tip: TB

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Denmark: Killed Caseworker Was Counsellor

A 56-year-old caseworker who was killed close to work was a newly elected counsellor at Struer Council.

The 56-year-old woman caseworker who was knifed to death close to the Holstebro Job Center this morning was a recently-elected Social Democratic counsellor for Struer Council, according to the Struer Council Communications Consultant.

Birthe Christiansen died following multiple knife wounds she suffered at the hands of an attacker at around 8 a.m. near the Holstebro Job Centre.

In last November’s local elections she was elected as a counsellor in Struer and appointed to both the Culture and Leisure Committee and the Technical and Environment Committee.

“I am deeply shaken and shocked that something like this can happen,” says Mayor Niels Viggo Lynghoej in a message.

The flag at Struer Town Hall is at half mast.

— Hat tip: TB

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Finland: Romanian Beggars Prepare to Go Home

Some Romanian beggars who were recently given temporary housing in Finland due to the cold are returning to their home country.

Two families are currently meeting with officials to arrange flights back to Romania. Another family is planning to drive back home. Only one of the five families currently living in the emergency shelter does not want to return home.

The City of Helsinki and the Helsinki Deaconess Institute, who provided the accommodations, had intended for the families to leave by the end of this month. However authorities say they don’t plan to drive anyone out into the cold.

Officials from the city and the institute are to discuss the situation next Monday.

Late last year, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) became suspicious of the beggars, saying they could be part of an organised crime gang. They also feared some of the beggars could be victims of human trafficking.

Twelve persons suspected of systematically bringing the Romanian beggars to Finland have been taken into custody in Romania. By some estimates, about 30 people are involved in the gang.

The NBI began working with Romanian officials on the case last summer. Over the past few years, several Finnish cities have seen an influx of Romanian Roma who come to Finland to beg.

— Hat tip: KGS

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France: Anti-Veil Imam Targeted; Group Storms Mosque

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, JANUARY 26 — Tension is high in France where Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam at the Drancy mosque, who in recent days sided in favour of a law that bans the use of the full veil has been hit by serious threats. A group of some 80 people stormed the Drancy mosque yesterday evening, making threats against Chalgoumi, a great supporter of interreligious dialogue (above all between Jews and Muslims), who recently declared that he was against the use of the full veil in France. A group of 80 people, with their faces covered, stormed the mosque where some 200 worshippers were present, a council member of the Conference of Imams, chaired by Chalgoumi himself, told the France Presse agency, asking to remain anonymous. They forced their way in and grabbed the microphones after a scuffle. At this point, they directed threats and curses against Imam, treating him as an unbeliever and an apostate and stating: we will trash his case, this Imam of the Jews… Launched in 2009, the Conference of Imams is a collective that promotes an interreligious dialogue and the promotion of open Islam. In recent days, Hassen Chalghoumi has said that he is in favour of a law that bans the use of the full veil in France, describing it as a prison for women, an instrument used for sexist domination and Muslim recruitment. The parliamentary mission, which has been studying the measures to be adopted against the full veil, has today recommended that France should solemnly declare itself in favour of the ban and has asked for the adoption of a series of measures to ban it from administration offices and public transport. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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France: Islam: Law on Secularism

(ANSAmed) — ROME, JANUARY 26 — The controversial law on secularism, which came into effect on September 2 2004 in France, is the legal instrument currently in force in France to regulate the use of the Islamic veil, but not only the veil. The text forbids the ostentatious display of any religious symbol in general (therefore including large crucifixes, the Jewish kippah and the turban) in schools and public buildings. Approved on March 15 2004 by the National Assembly, the provision — now commonly known as the anti-veil law — underwent a number of modifications, before arriving at the formula endorsed by the then Minister for Public Education, Francois Fillon. Over time the numerous requests, above all from the Uoif, the Union of Islamic Organisations in France, for a “more flexible application” of the law led the Government to cancel the term “head covering” from the decree, replacing it with the word “clothing”. In this way, without saying so explicitly, the text does not exclude the option of young Muslim women from wearing a “discreet” headscarf. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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France: Islam: Veil, Does Not Always Cover Face

(ANSAmed) — ROME, JANUARY 26 — Chador, burqa, niqab, scarf. The Islamic garment (hijab in Arabic) which many women use to cover the head and the whole body traditionally expresses a religious and cultural affiliation, but it has now assumed a strong political significance, both in Islamic countries and the West. The following are some of the types of garment worn by women and compulsory by law in countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. — HIJAB: this is the generic Arabic term, used in all Islamic countries to describe the veil which covers the head and body of a woman. The word means to veil, cover, separate, remove from view. — SCARF: Covers the head but leaves the face visible. Many Islamic women who live in the West wear this, but it is also a common word in Iran and other Islamic countries. — CHADOR: A Persian word which means curtain. This is a large, semicircular piece of fabric which reaches the ground, and is usually black. It is closed up to the chin, leaving only the face and hands uncovered. It is traditionally used by Shiite women and is especially widespread in Iran. — NIQAB: Typical of the Sunni Muslim countries, this type of veil covers the face, leaving only the eyes visible. There are several types. In Egypt, for example, it is heavy and black. In Yemen and the United Arab Emirates is comes in the special form of a tunic slipped on over the head, which completely covers the head, face and body. — BURQA: A veil which completely covers the body. There is a piece of cotton gauze at eye-level, the only window to the outside world for women who wear it. It is worn, in a variety of colours, mainly in Afghanistan. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Geert Wilders: On Trial for Telling the Truth

by Douglas Murray

There is nothing hyperbolic in stating that a trial which has just started in Holland will have unparalleled significance for the future of Europe. It is not just about whether our culture will survive, but whether we are even allowed to state the fact that it is being threatened.

The trial of Geert Wilders has garnered hardly any attention in the mainstream press here. Fortunately the blogosphere can correct some of this.

Wilders is a Dutch MP and leader of Holland’s fastest-growing party, the Party for Freedom. Just a few years ago he was the sole MP for his party. The latest polls show that his party could win the biggest number of seats of any party in Holland when the voters next go to the polls.

His stances have clearly chimed with the Dutch people. They include an end to the era of mass immigration, an end to cultural relativism, and an end to the perceived suborning of European values to Islamic ones. For saying this, and more, he has for many years had to live under round-the-clock security protection. Which you would have thought proves the point to some extent.

Now the latest attempt of the Dutch ruling class to keep Wilders from office has begun. Last week, apparently because of the number of complaints they have received (trial by vote anyone?) the trial of Wilders began…

— Hat tip: Steen

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How One Government Justifies Taking Children From Their Parents

Inside the Issues with Alan Sears

ADF protecting religious liberty internationally, assisting defense of pastor in Sweden

A tragic example comes from Sweden, where Alliance Defense Fund lawyers are working diligently alongside attorneys for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) to help a couple regain custody of their young son from the Swedish government.

In June, 2009, Swedish authorities forcibly removed seven-year-old Dominic Johansson from his parents, Christer and Annie Johansson, on a plane they had boarded to move to Annie’s home country of India. (The family had decided to head to India to do missionary work with orphanages there.) The officials did not have a warrant nor have they charged the Johanssons with any crime. Their only stated motive for seizing the boy is that they believe his parents home-schooled him … and in Sweden, home schooling is deemed inappropriate. Inappropriate enough, it seems, that government officials feel they can do a better job of raising Dominic than his parents can.

“It’s one of the most disgraceful abuses of power we have ever witnessed,” said HSLDA attorney Mike Donnelly. “The Swedish government says it is exercising its authority under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (a document that many would like to adopt here in the United States) in their unnecessary break up of this family. In addition, the Swedish Parliament is considering [what is] essentially a ban on home schooling. We have heard that other home-schooling families in Sweden are having more difficulty with local officials. We fear that all home-schooling families in that country are at risk.”

“Parents have the right and authority to make decisions regarding their children’s education without government interference,” said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, who is based in Europe. “This is about a government trying to create a cookie-cutter child in its own image. Without help, the parents in these cases are really powerless since the system is so one sided.”

Swedish social services, for instance, initially limited visitation to the child to two hours per week but now have curtailed that to one hour every fifth week — and no visit at all for Christmas, because the social workers were on vacation.

Please be in particular prayer for Dominic and his family, that the Lord will intercede in these circumstances and that our attorneys and those of HSLDA will find a legal means of restoring this boy to his parents. And pray, too, for those here in the U.S. who are battling similar prejudices against Christian home-schoolers.

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Italy Wants Cross Ruling Cancelled

Support from ‘many’ European countries, Frattini says

(ANSA) — Strasbourg, January 26 — Italy is determined to get a recent European ruling against crosses in Italian classrooms cancelled, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Tuesday.

November’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sparked a storm in this heavily Catholic country and strong criticism from the centre-right government.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with French judge Jean-Paul Costa, who chairs the ECHR, Frattini said he hoped Italy’s appeal would be declared admissible.

“We are going to the court to defend a very deep sentiment of the Italian people, a fundamental principle which affects the identity of our country”.

Frattini said it was even more important to safeguard Italy’s “Christian identity” after Italy and other Catholic countries failed to have a reference to Europe’s Christian roots included in the European Union’s Constitution.

Italy and several other Catholic countries fought a long and hard battle for the insertion of such a reference but in the end the Lisbon Treaty, drafted in 2004, contained only a generic reference to “religious” influences as having shaped the continent’s values.

“We lost that battle, for the moment, but now we must defend that identity”.

Italy had garnered support from “many European countries” for its appeal, he said, without naming them.

However, he said they had agreed to speak up against the ruling and cited an “important” declaration adopted by the Polish parliament.

Before his meeting with Costa, Frattini addressed the parliamentary assembly of the 47-member Council of Europe, which the court represents. He reiterated to the assembly the Italian government’s view that Europe needs to do more to uphold its Christian heritage.

Frattini noted that the Lisbon Treaty protected religious minorities like Muslims but did not cite Europe’s “Christian roots”.

This, he said, was a form of “reverse racism” in which Europe was “mute on religious feelings”.

If Italy’s appeal against the cross verdict is admitted, the Council’s ruling panel will have six months to decide what action the Italian government should take to avoid future suits.

The Strasbourg court, which is not an EU body, ruled on November 3 in favour of a petition filed nine years ago by a Finnish-born mother of two who argued crosses in classrooms infringed on pupils’ religious freedom.

The Italian government said last week its appeal was ready. Cabinet Secretary Gianni Letta said the appeal would be supported by “an abundance of documentation and arguments”.

He too said it had been “easy” to garner the support of “several other European countries” in Italy’s favour.

The head of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, hailed the appeal, saying “the sentence goes against European history and religious sentiment”.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Berlusconi Praises US Job in Haiti

Premier in bid to sooth anger over criticism by Italian envoy

(ANSA) — Rome, January 26 — Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday praised the United States’ leadership of the relief effort in quake-hit Haiti in an attempt to soothe anger over riticism levelled by the Italian special envoy this weekend.

“In critical situations like the one in Haiti, organizational difficulties are inevitable,” Berlusconi warranted.

“But without the US’s intervention, managing the situation would have been much more difficult”.

“Everyone is doing their best in Haiti and right now, we need to stop being critical and focus our energies on the enormous task at hand,” he said.

Regarding remarks by Civil Protection Chief Guido Bertolaso who, during a Sunday telecast direct from Haiti, bemoaned a lack of central coordination, Berlusconi said that “at times like these, it’s best to avoid making statements that could lead to misunderstandings”.

He added that Foreign Minister Franco Frattini had clarified the government’s position on Monday during talks in Washington with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Despite playing down criticism as “armchair quarterbacking” during a joint press conference with Frattini, Clinton said Tuesday that she “deeply resented” insinuations that the US had done less than it could.

“We have scrambled as quick as we could to do everything needed in the past two weeks,” she said.

While Clinton did not single out any detractors in particular, she did point out that the troops sent to Haiti were there to distribute food and medicine, a possible response to a remark by Bertolaso who accused the US of sending “too many soldiers and not enough aid personnel”.

The Secretary of State added that she had nothing against “constructive criticism”, but that the US had been judged unfairly by many voices abroad.

The United Nations’ job in Haiti was also cast in an unfavourable light during Bertolaso’s interview, particularly former US President Bill Clinton as the UN’s special envoy.

But a spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday denied that the remark had caused any friction, saying that Berlusconi had “cleared the matter up”.

Frattini later said the same thing when asked during an online newspaper interview if Bertolaso, who rose to national fame for guiding the relief efforts after the April 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, had fallen out of favour with the government.

“Berlusconi has said everything there is to say on the matter. The case is closed,” he said.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Berlusconi-Linked Teen Seeks Glitzy TV Career

Rome, 26 Jan. (AKI) — Noemi Letizia, the teenage lingerie model linked to Italy’s flamboyant prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, has reaffirmed her dream to build a career in television. In an interview with Adnkronos, Letizia said her dream was to appear on celebrity talent shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

“To be honest, I have always dreamed of this, since I was a child — it’s not a recent decision,” Letizia told Adnkronos.

“I want to get into television and want to succeed. I feel that my time has really come. I have an objective and want to achieve it.”

The 18-year-old gained notoriety last year when Berlusconi attended her birthday party in Naples and gave her an expensive gold and pearl necklace as a gift.

Days after Berlusconi attended Letizia’s birthday party, his estranged wife Veronica Lario announced their marriage was over. Lario said he was “unwell” and claimed he dated “underage girls”.

At the time the young blonde told the media she called the prime minister ‘papi’ or daddy and went to meet him in Rome and Milan whenever he telephoned her.

But Berlusconi repeatedly denied ever having an improper relationship with Letizia, after Berlusconi’s wife Veronica Lario accused him of “frequenting minors”.

Letizia said her dream is to appear in shows produced by Italian TV mogul Bibi Ballandi, who produces the Italian version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and other popular shows featuring Italian singers and other celebrities.

“I will ask him if I can do an audition, so he can decide if I have what it takes,” she said.

“I need people and environments that can guide me in the TV world, serious, experienced professionals. Ballandi is my top choice,” Letizia added. “It would be an honour to work with him.”

Letizia cited as her role models TV presenter and showgirl Barbara D’Urso, and TV presenters, singers and actresses Milly and Michelle Hunziker.

But Italian movie star Sophia Loren gets her top vote. “She is my biggest heroine,” Letizia said.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy: New Book Promotes ‘Political Unity’

Rome, 27 Jan.(AKI) — A new book released in Italy this week is designed to counter political divisions between the north and the south of the country. The book entitled, “Dialogue with the Northeast, on the Future of Italy between Europe and the Mediterranean”, is written by labour minister Maurizio Sacconi and former foreign minister Gianni De Michelis.

“I am convinced that Italy does not need a ‘party from the north’, but a national party predominantly led by northerners, that is capable of moving a locomotive and at the same time putting the brakes on the slowest carriages,” Sacconi (photo) said in an interview with Italian daily, Corriere della Sera.

Sacconi, who comes from the northeastern Veneto region, is a member of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party.

He said that there was an opportunity for the northeast and the south to carry out a key strategic role in the region.

Sacconi said there were two cultures that dominated the northeast of the country — on the one hand there were cosmopolitan residents who travelled beyond the local community and others who knew only their own backyard.

“So in this country, these two groups that belong to the same ruling class of the community have separated from each other,” said Sacconi.

He said it was up to politicians to find a way to bridge the two groups to avoid a “paralysing conflict”.

De Michelis said the traditional position of Italy as an exporter of manufactured goods to Germany and the United States had changed and the country had to create a new framework that included the south.

“The majority of resources have not been exploited,” De Michelis said.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy: Berlusconi Moves to Defuse US Diplomatic Row

Rome, 27 Jan. (AKI) — Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has moved to defuse a damaging diplomatic row with the United States over Washington’s aid efforts in Haiti. Berlusconi met the head of Italy’s civil protection authority Guido Bertolaso late Tuesday in Rome to discuss critical comments he made about the US response on a visit to the quake-stricken country at the weekend.

The Italian daily, La Repubblica, reported that the US ambassador to Rome, David Thorne, had taken the unusual step of telephoning Berlusconi’s top aide, Gianna Letta, on Monday to demand Bertolaso’s removal.

The civil protection chief reportedly offered the prime minister his resignation but was convinced it was “a row about nothing”.

In a statement released after the meeting, Berlusconi said: “In critical situations like this it’s inevitable that serious difficulties will arise in providing the efficient co-ordination of aid.

“However, I am convinced that in these situations it’s appropriate to avoid statements that may unintentionally provoke controversy, assuming that everyone involved is acting in good faith to help the people of Haiti.”

On Tuesday the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton staunchly defended the American response to Haiti’s earthquake, attacking foreign critics and calling the US military vital to the relief effort.

Clinton said she “deeply resented” the criticism.

“As is often the case, some of the international press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued what was a civilian and military response — both of them necessary to be able to deliver aid to the Haitians who desperately needed it,” she said.

Berlusconi quickly issued a statement praising American efforts, hoping to defuse a row after Bertolaso, his civil protection chief accused the US of weak leadership in the tragedy that claimed more than 150,000 lives.

During a visit to Haiti on Sunday, Bertolaso said that US efforts in the western hemisphere’s poorest country were more focused on military intervention than emergency relief.

He also described the rush by international aid agencies to the Caribbean country as a “vanity fair” and a “parade of international flags.”

On Monday Bertolaso sought to play down his previous comments after provoking the diplomatic row with the US.

“I didn’t attack the US, which is doing important work, but I criticised the lack of organisation, with thousands of Haitians left to their own devices,” Bertolaso said.

Bertolaso, who won praise for his handling of last year’s earthquake in the Italian town of L’Aquila, said that the United States could have been more effective if it had “a will and capacity for coordination and leadership.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Milan Station Marks Holocaust

Commemoration ceremony ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day

(ANSA) — January 26 — The first stone in a new memorial commemorating Italian victims of the Holocaust was laid at Milan’s central station on Tuesday.

The memorial will stand at Platform 21 in the station, the departure point for trains carrying thousands of Italian Jews to concentration camps over the course of two years during World War II.

“This highly important site will bear witness to a tragic event that should always act as a warning for future generations,” said Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in a message read out at the ceremony.

The president said Italians had a duty “never to forget what happened in this dark period of our history”.

The complex, which will include a library and prayer room, will stand next to two train wagons made of wood, accurate reproductions of those that carried thousands to their deaths. “This memorial centre will be a place to study and exchange ideas, to debate, learn and meditate,” said the memorial foundation’s director, Ferruccio De Bortoli, during a ceremony attended by the region’s top political figures. Italian Holocaust survivors also spoke at the event, describing painful memories of being taken away and life in the camps, including the final days before liberation. The ceremony comes ahead of international Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday, which commemorates the Soviet Army’s liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, on January 27, 1945.

Piero Terracina, who now lives in Rome, was one of those freed by the arrival of the Russians. He recalled that the Germans had fled five days previously, taking all food and water with them, leaving their starving captives in subzero temperatures, surrounded by dead bodies. Terracina, who had just turned 16 at the time and had seen all his family members die, recalled that his fellow survivors were so numbed by desperation they had no response when the Russian arrived.

“I told them, ‘Look, the Russians have arrived, we are free’. But there was no reaction. Only silence,” said the survivor, who weighed just 38 kilos when he left the camp. Among his clearest memories was the response of the Russian soldiers who opened the camp.

“Even they, who had fought a war, had never seen men and women reduced to our condition, and many of them started crying when they saw us,” he said.

A prominent Jewish spokesman, Amnesty International and the Italian gay rights organization Arcigay also released statements ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, which this year comes a month after the theft and recovery of the infamous Auschwitz entry sign, ‘Arbeit macht frei’.

Amos Luzzatto, the former president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, recalled his own memories of deportation and compared the tragedies of the past with today’s suffering, citing “those persecuted for reasons of race and those abused by political powers”. “It is a sad fact that the motto ‘never again’ is ignored on a daily basis,” he added.

The Italian head of Amnesty International Christine Weise said it was critical to remember the “horrendous crime that was the Holocaust” in order “to build a better world, one that permanently rejects discrimination, torture and every form of slavery”. EVENTS ACROSS ITALY TO COMMEMORATE VICTIMS. Arcigay President Aurelio Mancuso said his organization had planned dozens of events across Italy for Wednesday in order to commemorate the gay and lesbian victims of Nazi Germany, “tortured and killed because they did not meet the norms of the regime”. The planned events will include the distribution of 10,000 pink triangles outside schools, recalling the badge that gay concentration camps prisoners were forced to wear. In Rome, the National Union of Young Lawyers have a similar initiative planned outside the city’s main courthouse, where they will appear wearing yellow Stars of David, recalling the badges worn by Jewish camp prisoners. Union President Gaetano Romano recalled that Jewish lawyers had been struck off the roll en masse as a result of Fascist race laws. “The Supreme Legal Council rejected their desperate appeal out of hand, adhering bureaucratically to the principles behind the racial laws,” he said. In Italy, many Jews initially supported Mussolini and some even took part in his grab for power, the March on Rome, in 1922. But in 1929 he passed laws limiting freedom of religion and in 1938 produced his Manifesto of Italian Racism. This declared that Italians were part of the “pure race” along with the Aryans. Jews were expelled from all public services, such as the army and also public schools. Many Jews decided to leave Italy in hope of finding better lives for themselves. In 1940 Mussolini joined the war alongside Hitler and ordered the Fascist army to ransack the ghettos. Confinements and deportations began in 1943. More Jews fled hoping to find shelter in the Alps, convents, and monasteries.

Others joined the partisans.

An estimated 7-8,000 Italian Jews died in the Holocaust and there were 48 concentration camps on Italian soil.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Revelations About John Paul II

New book about pope claims kidnap plots & resignation plans

(ANSA) — Vatican City, January 26 — Pope John Paul II used to whip himself regularly in an act of penance, according to the church official heading the Vatican’s cause for the late pontiff’s canonization, Slawomir Oder.

A new book by Oder, which appears in Italian bookshops on Wednesday, reveals that John Paul subjected himself to regular self-mortification as part of his devotional practices. “Members of his closest entourage, both in Poland and the Vatican, heard with their own ears how Karol Wojtyla used to whip himself,” writes Oder.

“There used to be a particular belt, intended for trousers, hanging from a hook in his wardrobe among all his robes.

“He used this as a whip and always brought it with him when he went to [the papal summer residence] Castel Gandolfo”. Oder’s book confirms claims made late last year by a nun that cared for the pope, Sister Tobiana Sobodka, while giving evidence to the Vatican body considering John Paul’s canonization. Sobodka, who was in the room next to the pontiff at his summer residence, told the body: “We would hear the sound of the blows”.

According to Oder, self-flagellation was one of many ways in which the elderly pope sought to control his body. He not only fasted on prescribed days and throughout Lent, when he ate only one meal a day, he also abstained from food before carrying out any ordinations. He would frequently sleep on a cold, hard floor rather than in a bed, a practice he engaged in since at least the 1960s — although he would apparently rumple the blankets to make it appear he had slept in them, said Oder. While self-flagellation is no longer common in the Catholic Church, Vatican observers say the revelations about John Paul will provide the committee considering his canonization with further evidence of his religious commitment. The book, ‘Perche’ e’ santo’ (Why He Is A Saint), also reveals that the late pope had left instructions for his resignation in the event of an incurable illness. In two handwritten documents, made public for the first time in the new book, the ailing pope also spelled out his determination to continue his duties for as long as his health would permit. In the first document, dated 1989, he declared his intention to renounce his apostolic duties “in the case of a lengthy illness, thought to be incurable that prevents me from carrying out my duties sufficiently”.

However, the document leaves the final decision in the hands of the Church cardinals, who chose not to take any action during the pontiff’s final months of 2005.

In another letter, dated 1994, John Paul again said he felt it right to step down in the face of incurable disease but said unless this occurred, “I feel it is a serious conscientious obligation to continue carrying out the task given to me [by God]”.

Another section of the book reveals that shortly before the 1981 assassination attempt on the pope’s life, John Paul had learned that the Italian militant group the Red Brigades were planning to kidnap him. “Shortly before the attack, the Italian secret services warned that the Red Brigade terrorists had a plan to kidnap John Paul,” the book reported. According to Oder, this was why, when travelling to hospital in an ambulance after the attack, the pope remarked to his secretary, “Just like Bachelet,” in reference to the previous Red Brigades assassination of a Catholic judge Vittorio Bachelet.

Speaking at the presentation of his book, co-authored with journalist Saverio Gaeta, Oder said there was no certainty over when John Paul would be beatified.

He said the process was “well under way” but warned that the Congregation of the Saints, in charge of the canonization process, still needed to recognize a miracle by John Paul. “There are still various stages to undergo and we don’t yet know when the process will conclude,” he said.

Last month, Benedict announced that John Paul had been proclaimed ‘Venerable’, the second in the four-stage process towards canonization.

Beatification is the final stage on the way to being declared a saint. It means someone can be called ‘Blessed’ and can be venerated by Catholics in the place where he or she lived. A saint is venerated by the entire Church.

During John Paul’s funeral in 2005, crowds held up placards saying ‘Santo Subito!’, calling for the Polish pope to be declared a saint without going through the normal procedures.

Pope Benedict XVI has already accelerated procedures for his predecessor, waiving a rule that says the process cannot begin until at least five years have passed after the candidate’s death.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Sarkozy Calls for Tolerance With Muslims

France: French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Tuesday for tolerance with French Muslims and highlighted the need to remain aloof from fratricidal fights due to old state anti-clericalism.

In a speech at the national cemetery Notre Dame de Lorette in Pas-de-Calais, in northern France, Sarkozy also expressed his opposition to the the burqa, the piece of clothing that covers a woman from head to foot.

“We could not bear practices that insult the French converted to the Islam”, pointed out the President in the cemetery, where the graves of Muslim soldiers were outraged three times in 2007.

He stressed that the principle of laicism in France does not mean rejecting religious beliefs and practices, but the opposite, it means tolerance and respect in concordance with civic-mindedness and peace. Sarkozy paid tribute to French Muslims soldiers dead in military missions, among them Marshal Harouna Dio, who died in Afghanistan last January 13.

— Hat tip: Logan’s Warning

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Should the UK Ban the Muslim Face Veil?

A French parliamentary committee has recommended a partial ban on women wearing Islamic face veils. So should there be a similar ban in the UK — and would it work?

Just across the English Channel, allowing a woman to veil her face in public places such as hospitals, government offices and on public transport could soon be called into question.

In a country where the separation of state and religion is enshrined in law, a parliamentary committee report ruled the veil was “contrary to the values of the republic” and called on parliament to adopt a formal resolution proclaiming “all of France is saying ‘no’ to the full veil”.

France — which is home to five million Muslims — has a history of debating the full veil, with President Nicolas Sarkozy declaring it “not welcome” in 2010.

The country banned Muslim headscarves and other “conspicuous” religious symbols at state schools in 2004.

Despite calls from some groups for a full or partial ban on veils, there is currently no ban on Islamic dress in the UK — although schools were allowed to set out their own dress code in 2007 after several high-profile court cases.

‘Not British’

But could a ban by Britain’s nearest continental neighbours influence policy back home?

In January 2010, Schools Secretary Ed Balls said it was “not British” to tell people what to wear in the street.

But writing in the Independent, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who chairs the group British Muslims for Secular Democracy, said she supported restrictions on wearing the face veil in key public spaces.

“This covering makes women invisible, invalidates their participatory rights and confirms them as evil temptresses.

“I feel the same fury when I see Orthodox Jewish women in wigs, with their many children, living tightly proscribed lives,” she writes.

She said progressive Muslims came out “daily” against the burka, which was an “un-Islamic custom”.

“During the Hajj pilgrimage no woman covers her face. The burka makes women more, not less, conspicuous, and communication is unequal because one party hides all expression,” she claimed.

‘Mutual respect’

However, Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist who converted to Islam after she was captured by the Taleban in Afghanistan in 2001, said the French decision was “driven by Islamophobia — not the freedom or liberties of women”.

She said she did not know anyone who had been forced to wear the niqab (which covers the face apart from the eyes) or the body-covering burka.

Some Muslims chose to wear the niqab for religious reasons — because they believed it brought them closer to their faith — she said.

She said the UK “would not tolerate” a move like the one in France.

“Muslim women in Britain are more empowered than their sisters on the continent, largely because of the amazing anti-war movement which brought secular women alongside Muslim women.”

She said she understood why some people found the veil “unnerving”, but insisted “everyone should have a choice”.

Only a “tiny minority” of Muslims — a couple of thousand — wore the niqab in the UK, and “most of them were white Western converts who you could not say were quiet, suppressed women,” she said.

“We can’t allow legislation against the niqab. If we let it go the hijab will be next. Everyone should have choice. Where would it stop, hair dye, face piercing?”, she said.

‘Election tool’

Muslims are obviously in the spotlight. The BNP and UKIP are playing on an anti-Muslim sentiment; there is a real concern the face veil and other issues will be used as an election tool

Shaista Gohir, executive director at Muslim Women’s Network UK, agreed the face veil should not be banned in the UK, but said there needed to be a “internal debate amongst the Muslim community”.

“There needs to be more research on why some women choose to wear the veil and how they think they are perceived. Muslim communities need to instigate, be proactive, rather than wait for politicians like Jack Straw to say something and respond,” she said.

In 2006, Jack Straw angered Muslim groups after he said face veils were a “visible statement of separation and of difference” and suggested they could make community relations harder.

Ms Gohir said she could understand people might have reservations about the impact the veil had on integration — and it might prevent women from gaining employment — but a minority of Muslims felt the interpretation of Islam meant wearing a veil was part of their religion.

She said veils needed to be looked at “properly” in a “non-racist way”.

But she expressed concern that politicians might use “issues like this” in the lead-up to the elections.

Last week ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who leads UKIP’s 13 MEPs in Brussels, said the veils were a symbol of an “increasingly divided Britain”, that they “oppressed” women, and were a potential security threat — and called for a total ban.

The BNP has already called for the veil to be banned in schools.

“Muslims are obviously in the spotlight. The BNP and UKIP are playing on an anti-Muslim sentiment; there is a real concern the face veil and issues like it will be used as an election tool”, said Ms Gohir.

“Just because France are doing something, Britain does not have to follow suit.”

— Hat tip: TV

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Soccer: Materazzi Rapped for Berlusconi Mask

Defender escapes fine for ‘Carnival gag’

(ANSA) — Milan, January 26 — Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi was rapped Tuesday for wearing a Carnival mask of Italian Premier and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi in an on-field celebration of Inter’s 2-0 win against Milan Sunday.

Materazzi escaped a fine or a ban but was given a formal warning not to repeat such pranks.

On Monday the defender said there was “no political meaning” in his jape and “no intention of offending anyone”.

He said he was sure Berlusconi, noted for his sense of humour, hadn’t taken offence.

“Berlusconi is a person who loves making fun of himself and I’m certain he smiled when he saw me”.

“I reckon he liked the gag,” said the defender, who stressed he had celebrated under the Inter stand and not where Milan players and fans were.

Interior Minister and AC fan Roberto Maroni, who has led a crackdown on hooliganism, made light of the stunt Monday but Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa, an Inter fan, said Materazzi should apologise to Berlusconi.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Cinema Protest Lockout Against Films in Catalan

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 26 — A lockout has been scheduled for February 1 in 74 cinemas in Catalonia, in protest against a new regional law which calls for dubbing or subtitles in Catalan for 50% of films being shown. According to the Association of Cinema Producers and Managers in Catalan, if the new law is passed, it will mean the death of cinema in Catalan: “There will be no cinema in Catalan because there will be no cinemas”, say the managers, who consider the measure provided by the Generalitat anti-economic. They have already complained about losses of 25 million euros due to piracy and changes in the habits of cinema-goers. 528 big screens will be in the dark on February 1, to coincide with the awarding of the Gaudì prize. There are 175 cinemas in Catalonia in total, 74 of them belong to the Association of Cinema Producers and Managers.(ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Swiss Minaret Ban Was a “Symbolic Gesture”

Voters who supported a people’s initiative to ban minarets last November wanted to make a symbolic gesture against the spread of Islam in Switzerland.

A survey of voters carried out by Swiss universities found, however, that the majority in favour of a ban was not equivalent to overall rejection of Muslims in Switzerland.

On November 29, 57.5% of votes cast were in favour of the people’s initiative, much to general surprise. Switzerland is the first European country to forbid the construction of minarets.

According to the Vox Analysis survey of more than 1,000 voters, released on Monday, the initiative was marked by a strong political Left-Right divide — the Left rejected the ban by more than 80 per cent, and the Right was in favour by almost as much. The political midway held the balance, voting two to one for the ban.

The most common reason for voting in favour of the initiative was to make a gesture against the spread of Islam and its model for society. Around one in six voters said their decision was a reaction against the discrimination of Christian churches in countries where Islam is strong.

Only 15 per cent were critical of Muslims living in Switzerland, leading the study’s authors to conclude that the vote could not be seen as a general rejection of Muslims in the country. Almost two thirds of those polled said that Swiss and Islamic ways of life were compatible.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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UK: ‘Nazi’ Remark Presenter Wins Right to Challenge Ofcom

Radio host Jon Gaunt has won permission to take High Court action against Ofcom for its decision to uphold complaints against him.

Mr Gaunt called a councillor “a Nazi” live on his Talksport radio show in November 2008, and was later sacked.

Ofcom censured the presenter under its rules on offensive material, after receiving complaints from the public.

Mr Gaunt’s lawyers argued that his fundamental right to free speech had been infringed by the decision.

After a high court hearing lasting over two hours, Mr Justice Stadlen said the case had sufficient merit to go to judicial review.

In a statement, Mr Gaunt said protecting the right to speak your mind was “a right that we must all protect and preserve”.

His lawyers described the case as “ground breaking”.

Ofcom received 53 complaints over Mr Gaunt’s interview with Redbridge councillor Michael Stark about foster care, which took place in November 2008.

The presenter apologised on-air following the exchange, but Talksport sacked the presenter after its own investigation.

Ofcom said it found the language used and overall conduct of the interview had the potential to cause offence to many listeners and that there was insufficient editorial justification for the offensive material.

The pair had been debating Redbridge Council’s decision to ban smokers from fostering children when Mr Gaunt called Mr Stark a “health Nazi” and an “ignorant pig”.

Mr Gaunt is a former BBC radio presenter, winning three Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2001 while at BBC Three Counties Radio. He now hosts SunTalk, the Sun’s online radio show.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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UK: Children of Better-Off Parents Banned From Attending School Trips at Half-Term

Children from better-off families have been banned from school trips with their less privileged classmates.

Only pupils eligible for free school meals because their parents are on benefits are able to take part in the holiday activities.

The government-funded scheme, operating in 22 schools in Trafford, Greater Manchester, pays for ‘economically disadvantaged’ school children only.

Parents of pupils unable to take part are outraged after being told their children cannot take part, even if they offer to pay.

The activities, due to take place in the February half-term, include a trip to Knowsley Safari Park, football sessions with Manchester United Foundation and a day at the indoor snow centre, Chill Factore.

Sarah Rumney, whose five-year-old son goes to Partington Primary, in Trafford, said some children had been left in tears because they did not understand why they could not go on the trips with their friends.

‘I’m really angry,’ she said.

‘I’m being penalised for working and wanting to do better for myself and my children.’ Rumney, 29, a self-employed cleaner from Partington, added she would be willing to pay for her son to take part but has been told she was not allowed to do so due to restricted places.

She said: ‘It’s a nightmare. What sort of incentive does it give to these kids to want to go out and work if all their friends are allowed to go on fantastic trips but they aren’t?

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Munir Hussain ‘Wrongly Targeted by Burglars for Affair With Jealous Man’s Wife’

The knifemen who attacked Munir Hussain were hired by a jealous man who wrongly suspected the millionaire was having an affair with his wife, it was claimed today.

The innocent wife of the businessman who allegedly hired the burglars said her husband had accused her of having an affair.

The information sheds new light on the case, which sparked a nationwide debate about a householder’s right to defend himself against intruders.

This could suggest the motive for the attack in High Wycombe was for personal reasons and not a burglary, as was originally thought.

She said he was convinced she had ‘dishonoured’ him by having a relationship with Mr Hussain and had threatened her.

The unnamed businessman then apparently hired the three knifemen who tied up and terrorised Mr Hussain, 53, and his family.

Police have now taken the woman to a safehouse as they fear for her safety.

Speaking to the Sun yesterday, the wife, who has not been named, said today: ‘I do know Mr Hussain, but I have no relationship with him, no affair, nothing.

‘My husband used to threaten me, saying he has got people who can do things for him.’

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Scientists Exaggerated Impact of Climate Change, Says Government’s Chief Adviser

Scientists have exaggerated the impact of climate change and need to be more honest about how difficult it is to predict, the Government’s chief scientific adviser said today.

Professor John Beddington added that experts should be less hostile to sceptics who question man-made global warming.

And he condemned those who refuse to publish full report data, adding that public confidence in climate science would be boosted by greater honesty about its uncertainties.

Professor Beddington was speaking in the wake of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) admission that it had made a mistake by claiming that Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035.

That followed the ‘Climategate’ row over whether researchers at East Anglia University manipulated evidence to support a theory of man-made global warming.

— Hat tip: JD

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Voters Used Minaret Ban to Halt Spread of Islam

November’s vote against minaret construction in Switzerland can be seen as a signal by voters against the spread of Islam, according to analysis of the result.

Vox Analysis, a study regularly done after nationwide referendums to understand voter choices, found that the vote was not against Muslims or foreigners in principle.

The authors said Swiss xenophobia was not the main reason why the ban on the construction of minarets was passed by 57.5 per cent of voters on November 29. About 40 per cent of citizens who favoured equal opportunities between Swiss and foreigners also backed the minaret ban.

“For many voters it wasn’t against Muslims in Switzerland,” said political scientist Hans Hirter from Bern University at a presentation of the results on Monday.

He said the survey showed that about two-thirds of voters considered Swiss and Muslim lifestyles to be compatible.

This might appear contradictory but it becomes clearer when those who voted “yes” were asked about their motives.

“The minaret is a symbol of Islamic supremacy,” was by far the most popular argument (24 per cent) for backing a ban on future minarets. For the ban’s supporters, it was about making a “symbolic gesture” against the spread of Islam in Switzerland. A closer look by the vote analysis showed that even people who voted against the initiative agreed with this stance.

The argument that the initiative violated human rights — often heard before the vote — did not convince, the survey found. Even those who turned down the minaret ban did not agree with the argument.

Around one in six voters said their decision was a reaction against the discrimination of Christian churches in countries where Islam is strong.

Switzerland was heavily criticised abroad for the vote, with many observers saying that minority rights weren’t an appropriate subject for such a ballot.

Unequal treatment of minorities

In a separate analysis of Swiss voting patterns over the past 50 years, political scientist Adrian Vatter from Bern University said the foreigners and religious minorities suffered at the ballot box.

A study of 300 national and cantonal votes since 1960 found that foreigners and religious minorities were disadvantaged more than any other minority as issues aimed at improving their position were rejected.

Issues concerning a minority were more likely to be rejected when that minority is publicly perceived to be badly integrated and supportive of different moral concepts.

Vatter said Muslims were affected in two ways — firstly because they are a religious minority and secondly because 90 per cent of Muslims are foreigners.

Swiss voters are more tolerant when it comes to language minorities and disabled people. Issues affecting them were often approved at the ballot box over the past 50 years, the study found.

Eva Hermann, swissinfo.ch (Adapted from German by Robert Brookes)

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Fisheries: Tunisia Conforms to EU Regulations

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JANUARY 26 — Tunisia has developed a new system, in keeping with EU regulations on seafood products coming from non-EU countries. The “catch certificate” required by the European Union regards the producer, exporter and the sector’s protection agency. The annual value of Tunisian exports of seafood products has risen from 150 million dinars (around 77.4 million euros) in 2004 to 250 million dinars (around 129 million euros) in 2008. The global economic crisis last year caused revenues to fall to 205 million dinars (around 105.8 million euros). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Football: African Cup, Egypt-Algeria, Tension Skyrockets

ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, JANUARY 25 — Excitement has been assured at least for this semi-final match African Cup: after tension and violence surrounding their football World Cup qualifier, Algeria and Egypt will meet again on the field on Thursday in what is shaping up to be an explosive match. A highly anticipated and desired match — at least that is what they are saying — by millions of Algerians who cannot wait to “confirm the superiority of les fennecs (desert foxes)” and to stress “their deserved qualification for the World Cup”, but certainly also desired even more so by Egypt, which hopes to “rectify the offence” suffered in November in Khartoum, in the tie-breaker to qualify for the World Cup. A decisive encounter, stressed the Algerian press, to “put an end to the tension, which went beyond sports, resulting in an all-out diplomatic crisis” which has been ongoing for two months. After the Algerian National Team’s bus was attacked in Cairo, resulting in the injury of three players, violent clashes exploded in both countries. With media hype sky high, various Egyptian businesses in Algeria were attacked. Even today the ambassadors of both countries, who were called back during the ‘crisis’, have not returned to their post. In Algeria anticipation for the match is high, and as expected, the government announced a plan to send fans to Benguela, in Angola, to watch the semi-final match. “There is a plan,” announced Foreign Minister Mouard Medelci just after last night’s 3-1 win by Egypt over Cameroon, “to allow hundreds of fans to go to the match”. However, “Angola is not hostile terrain like Khartoum, there is no need to send a massive group of supporters,” said the general manager of Air Algerie Abdelwahid Bouabdallah to national radio, specifying that “1000 fans, 1500 at the most and no more, can be transported”. “Tickets will cost 60,000 dinars (about 600 euros), instead of 250,000 dinars. The difference will be paid for by the state” and “given the minimal capacity of the Benguela airport, small aircrafts will be used”. In November for the decisive qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup, Algiers organised flights also with military aircrafts that brought over 20,000 fans to Sudan. After their surprising victory over the Ivory Coast, Algeria now dreams of conquering its second African Cup (its first since 1990) before leaving for South Africa after a 24-year absence for a new adventure. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Tunisia: UN Criticises Use of Torture

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JANUARY 26 — Every state has the obligation of protecting life and the integrity of its citizens, but the rights of individuals suspected of terrorism must also be respected. Today, Martin Scheinin, the UN Human Rights envoy in Tunisia, began his report at the end of a 5-day mission to Tunisia with this critical statement. Scheinin, a Finnish professor of international law at the European University Institute in Florence and the UN envoy since 2005, stressed Tunisia’s formal commitment in the ratification of most of the international terrorism and human rights conventions. However, he expressed numerous reservations about legal loopholes and the conduct of Tunisian officials. Starting with the lack of a definition for terrorist crimes, which can be interpreted very broadly, said Scheinin during a press conference held today in Tunis, several people have been accused of terrorism for sending documents over the internet, while others were accused based on a simple intention. Scheinin expressed reservations also about several penal procedures, such as the frequent use of confessions as an element of proof in court in the absence of investigations into torture accusations against which there are no appropriate guarantees such as independent medical examinations or the presence of lawyers on the day when arrests take place, rather than after an initial court appearance. He also stressed the excessively scarce number of penal proceedings against torture compared to the frequency of the complaints. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Gaza: Egyptian Minister Admits That Steel is Used

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JANUARY 27 — Egypt is not building a separation wall on its border with Gaza, but is installing “underground steel barriers” to close the tunnels spread over a large area inside the Egyptian territories. Some of these tunnels “are highly sophisticated and big enough to pass motor vehicles”, said Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly in a television interview, reported today by the pro-government newspaper Al Akhbar. It is the first time that an Egyptian official makes an explicit statement on the nature of the border project. The fact that work was in progress on the Egyptian border had already been recognised, and three days ago President Mubarak underlined the sovereign right of Egypt to defend its borders and its national security. El Adly said that he does not believe that the people of Gaza possess the technology needed to dig such tunnels adding that the technology applied is definitely alien to the strip’s people and that its objectives “are well known to us”. The Egyptian Minister continued that the few people that cast doubt on Egypt’s historic role in defending the Palestinians and the Palestinian cause “are being paid by certain powers”, pointing out that Egypt is playing a “vital role to solve the Palestinian problem” because this will have a positive impact on Egypt’s national security. Meanwhile the Rafah border crossing will stay open today and tomorrow to let in humanitarian aid from Egypt.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Israel: New Al-Qaida ‘Center of Activity’

Intel official says Iran coordinating with group in Holy Land

Iranian Revolutionary Guard units are actively working to train Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip, a senior Egyptian intelligence official told WND.

The official also said Egypt is concerned that neighboring Gaza could become a major center of al-Qaida activity in the region.

The Egyptian official said those factors were central in his country’s decision to build a steel wall under the Egypt-Gaza border as part of efforts to isolate Hamas and stem weapons smuggling into Gaza.

— Hat tip: JD

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Knesset Rejects Bill to Outlaw Islamic Movement

(IsraelNN.com) The Knesset plenum rejected Wednesday a bill to outlaw the Islamic Movement which operates inside Israel. The bill was proposed by MKs Aryeh Eldad and Michael Ben-Ari of the National Union, who said that the Islamic Movement works openly for the destruction of Israel.

“It is no coincidence that the bill comes up on International Holocaust Day,” MK Ben-Ari said in presenting the bill. “As part of the process of drawing lessons from the Holocaust, we have realized that it is imperative that we stop the Holocaust in its initial stages — at the stage of incitement and anti-Semitic ideology which is the foundation upon which the industry of death is built.”

Ben-Ari quoted incendiary statements made by leaders of the Islamic Movement and told the Knesset that they called Jews “bugs, lice, parasites and used other imagery that reminds one of Goebbels’ propaganda.”

Ben Ari reminded the MKs of Israel Our Home and the Likud that they promised, before the elections, to outlaw the Islamic Movement.

Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman opposed the bill, however, saying that it was too far-reaching. Coalition MKs, including some from Israel Our Home, opposed the bill and it was voted down.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Iranian Forces Clash With Kurdish Separatist Group

Iranian forces have clashed with Kurdish fighters in Iran’s north eastern border region and arrested a suspect in the killing of a prosecutor.

Vali Hajgholizadeh, state prosecutor for Khoy city in west Iran was shot dead outside his home on 18 January.

Regional officials said the The Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) claimed to have carried out the attack.

Several PJAK fighters were killed in the clashes and one man was arrested, semi-official news agency Mehr said.

Local officials have lauded Mr Hajgholizadeh as tough prosecutor.

Mehr quoted the province’s governor as saying “the person behind the assassination was arrested”.

Four men had already been arrested last week in connection with the attack.

The region has been the scene of frequent clashes with Kurdish groups who want to establish their own state.

PJAK was formed in 2004 and is affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Iraq: Young Man Wounded in New Anti-Christian Attack in Mosul

Sources tell AsiaNews that the anti-Christian “persecution continues amid general indifference”. They say, “Christians live in panic” and want to leave the city, convinced that the attackers “are not ordinary criminals”. For them, the attacks hide “clear political plans”.

Mosul (AsiaNews) — Christians continue to be the target of attacks in Mosul. This afternoon, two stores, one owned by a Christian, the other by a Yazidi, were attacked. Raghid Sabah Tobia, the young Christian storeowner, was badly wounded and is now in hospital.

Raghid’s shop is not far from a Chaldean church, in the Dawassa neighbourhood. The other shop is in the same neighbourhood, but near the Syro-Catholic chapel of Qasr al Mutran.

Sources that wanted their identity protected for security reasons told AsiaNews that the anti-Christian “persecution continues amid general indifference.”

They noted that “Christians live in panic” and want to leave the city, and are convinced that the attackers “are not ordinary criminals”.

In their view, the attacks hide “clear political plans” that the government is not countering.

In Baghdad, no one is saying, “who might be behind the attacks against churches and Christians.”

One source is actually certain that the central government, the Mosul Governatorate and Kurdish leaders are aware of a plan against the Christian community.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Israel-Turkey: Report, Erdogan Encourages Anti-Semitism

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, JANUARY 26 — Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan “indirectly incites and encourages anti-Semitism” in his country, according to a report drafted by the research department of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and published today by Israeli Haaretz daily. According to the report, which has been sent to the country’s main ministers, “ever since his party took power, Erdogan has conducted an ongoing process of fashioning a negative view of Israel in Turkish public opinion.” Moreover, “for Erdogan and some of those around him there is no distinction between ‘Israeli’ and ‘Jewish’“. The Turkish Premier Erdogan also “turns a blind eye” and “grants legitimacy” to anti-Israeli television programs of an inflammatory, anti-Semitic nature. The recent humiliation of the Turkish ambassador to Israel, for which Deputy Foreign Minister was forced to apologise in public, has made it clear to the Turkish government that the country has crossed lines in its attacks on Israel and in the limits of the Israeli government’s patience. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his deputy Ayalon, both of the ultra-nationalist Beitenu party, are the leaders of the hard line against Turkey. Defence Minister and leader of the Labour party, Ehud Barak, on the other hand favours a softer approach. He wants to continue to have friendly relations with the country, which he believes to be of strategic importance. The report ends with the pessimistic conclusion that “Turkey today, under the leadership of the AKP (Erdogan’s party), is different from the Turkey with which Israel forged a strategic relationship in the early 1990s.”(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italians Attach Great Interest in Turkish Defense Industry

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, JANUARY 26 — An Italian defense industry company’s chairman has said Turkey had an advanced defense industry, as Anatolia news agency reports. Italy’s Finmeccanica, a leading defense and security company, considers Turkey a strategic business partner. Speaking to magazine Defence Turkey, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica, said Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) Foundation had a sound and advanced defense industry system. Italian defense companies have been working with Turkish companies for a long time, Guarguaglini said. Guarguaglini said Finmeccanica would search for new opportunities in Turkey which had excellent political and economic relations with Italy. Finmeccanica was ready to contribute to programs of TSK and to establish partnership with Turkish defense industry, he said. Finmeccanica is the main Italian industrial group operating globally in the aerospace, defence and security sectors, and is one of the world’s leading groups in the fields of helicopters and defence electronics. It is also the European leader for satellite and space services as well as having considerable know-how and production capacity in the energy and transport fields. Headquartered in Italy and with a vast industrial base in the UK as well as important production facilities in the rest of Europe and in the USA, Finmeccanica has a workforce of more than 74,239 people. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Jordan Hit by Bad Weather, Water Supply Increases

(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, JANUARY 26 — The wave of bad weather that has hit Jordan over recent days is easing. The weather has caused flooding and serious damage to agriculture. For now, reports the press agency Petra, no-one has been injured, but the country’s main road networks have been blocked, whilst many homes in the capital have been flooded. 27 citizens were evacuated in the area of Tafileh, in the south of the country, due to strong winds. According to the authorities, the extraordinary wave of rain has allowed an increase in the capacity of rainwater storage in the kingdom, which has risen to 48%. To satisfy the increasing water demand of its 5.6 million inhabitants, Jordan has mainly relied on precipitation. Meteorologists have forecast another wave of bad weather over the coming days.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey: Twins Commit Suicide Together

Hediye and Kadriye Demirel, 21-year-old twin sisters, apparently jumped together from their brother’s seventh-floor apartment Sunday morning at 5:00 a.m.

Neighbors who realized what had happened called for an ambulance, but Hediye died at the scene and Kadriye lost her life after being rushed to the hospital.

Hediye Demirel was to marry the son of the sisters’ uncle Sunday evening at a ceremony to be held among family members. Though police are suspicious that young girl was being forced to marry her cousin, and are investigating that possibility, relatives claim that the cousins were in love with each other.

Another possibility being looked at is that Hediye was going to jump from the window and Kadriye fell while trying to save her twin.

Zinnur Demirel, the twins’ brother, and his wife, Helime Demirel, said they were asleep when the incident happened and there was no reason for the twins to commit suicide. The police are investigating all possibilities related to the incident.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Turkey: Kurds: Teen Sentenced to 8 Yrs for Chanting Slogans

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, JANUARY 27 — A court in southeast Turkey has ruled to put a fifteen-year-old girl behind bars for chanting slogans and hurling stones at police, as daily Sabah reports today. The criminal court in Diyarbakir passed the verdict in the first hearing and sentenced the teenager to eight years for committing crime “in the name of a terrorist organization”. Berivan S. has been under arrest for three months for throwing stones and chanting slogans in illegal pro-kurdish protests in Batman. In the first hearing the girl has been given 13.5 years in jail. Taking into account the age of the girl, the court reduced her penalty to seven years and nine months in jail. Berivan says that she did not participate in the protests and that she was caught in the middle of a skirmish between the police and the demonstrators while she was going to the house of her aunt. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Russia: Teaching Religion in School Distances Russians From Orthodoxy

A poll published by the Ministry of Education shows that more than 58% of parents chose secular ethics for their children, while only 19.1% opt for the foundations of Orthodox culture. Unprepared teachers and unsuitable texts root cause of problem.

Moscow (AsiaNews) — The compulsory teaching of religion in Russian schools is not bringing the results expected from the Patriarchate of Moscow. Many, instead of choosing a course of “Fundamentals of Orthodox culture” have chosen the more generic “religious cultures” and “secular ethics”. Orthodox courses are also assigned to novice teachers and textbooks written too fast to be valid, thus, Russian observers note, instead of bringing children and their families to religion, the effect is to distance them.

According to a poll made public by the Ministry of Education of the Krasnoyarsk region, 14,646 households, that is 58.2% of the total included in the experimental program of religious instruction, chose secular ethic lessons for their children. However, 5,417 (27%) parents chose the foundations of religious culture and a little less opted for the foundations of Orthodox culture (4,804, 19.1%). Only 1% of respondents instead spoke in favour of the remaining three modules: 231 families (0.9%) for the foundations of Islamic culture, 26 families (0.1%) for the foundations of Buddhist culture and 22 families (0 , 08%) for the foundations of Jewish culture.

Krasnoyarsk is the third territory of the Federation, after Stavropol and Sverdlovsk, to confirm this trend in society. Analysts note that while maintaining a stable position, the Orthodox religion (which the Moscow Patriarchate claims to be the faith of about 80% of the Russian population) is still viewed with distrust after 70 years of state atheism.

According to observers interviewed by the internet site portal-credo.ru,, these figures are proof that “instead of attracting people to religion, teaching at school pushes them away.” For Lyudmila Aleksey, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, “There’s no better way to turn people off than classes taught by unprepared teachers and unfit to texts”.

While both the Orthodox faith and the others that are considered “traditional” in Russia (Judaism, Buddhism and Islam) had a basis of texts written in the past on which to structure the new school textbooks, “religious cultures” and “secular ethics” started from zero and the books were written in a quick and summary way by unprepared people, complains Svetlana Solodovnik on Ezhednevniy Zhurnal. In a recent article she speaks of the “intrusion” of the Russian Orthodox Church in the drafting of these texts. “The Patriarchate of Moscow — she recalls — has always argued that the foundations of secular ethics reflect the value system of religious ethics” (ie, Christian Orthodox values).

Andrei Sebentsov, who has long worked in the government committee for religious affairs, explains the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church was the only promoter of teaching religion in school, it claimed to lead”. And there are now those who complain that the secular nature of this type of lesson is being lost in favour of a real catechism in schools. “It seems — says Marianna Shakhovic, head of the department of philosophy and religion at the University of St. Petersburg — that instead of teaching fundamentals of religion, religion itself is being taught: it is one thing to explain who Christ was or what his Gospel was, it is another thing to make children learn prayers which is what has already been suggested by the Patriarchate of Moscow to do. “ (MA)

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Afghanistan: Italian Expert Warns Kabul Cannot ‘Sustain Stability’

Rome, 26 Jan. (AKI) — On the eve of a crucial international conference on the future of Afghanistan, a leading Italian military analyst has warned that the country’s social structure is not strong enough to sustain stability. Carlo Jean, a former army general and presidential adviser, is now a lecturer in strategic studies at Luiss University in Rome.

In an article published in Italy’s ‘Military Magazine’, Jean said that Afghanistan was not like Iraq and did not have a solid ‘borghesia’ or professional class to support security.

“In Iraq the technical executives and foreign administrators who came from abroad were able to be employed once minimal security conditions were created,” said Jean (photo).

“Those conditions do not exist in Afghanistan. The army and the national Afghan police are not in position to take the place of western forces, because of both their weakness and the hatred that exists in Afghanistan between various ethnic groups and clans.”

The military expert said that the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is the most challenging in the history of the alliance.

He also warned that the entire exercise in Afghanistan had been characterised by “increasing confusion” accentuated by a lack of unity between various contingents and coherent political objectives.

The security situation could become “explosive” in Afghanistan after US president Barack Obama’s decision to increase the number of US troops by 30,000 and plans to intensify attacks in Pakistani tribal areas.

Jean warned that bombing suspected bases of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Pakistani tribal areas also risked increasing the “Talibanisation” of Pakistan.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Afghanistan: Germany to Send 850 Extra Troops

Lashkargah, 26 Jan. (AKI) — Germany will send an extra 850 extra troops to help stabilise war-wracked Afghanistan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that 500 troops would be deployed in Afghanistan to join the around 4,300 already stationed there.

A further 350 troop would be deployed as a “flexible reserve” to provide extra security for elections and other events.

Merkel said the troop increase was part of a “completely new” approach to cooperating with the Afghan government which aimed to see Kabul take responsibility for the country’s security.

Germany is the third largest supplier of troops in the country, with some 4,500 of the 110,000 troops currently deployed there.

The extra deployment which comes ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan in London later this week will need parliamentary approval.

German MPs were due to debate the issue on Wednesday.

An extra 37,000 US and NATO troops are to be deployed in Afghanistan by June in a bid to ease the transfer of responsibility for security to Afghan forces.

In a sign of escalating violence, five policemen and a civilian were shot dead in two separate attacks in the restive southern province of Helmand on Tuesday, according to officials.

At Thursday’s London conference, Afghan president Hamid Karzai is expected to seek international support for a new initiative to bring Taliban-led insurgents in to the political mainstream.

Karzai has also proposed removing the names of some Taliban leaders from the terrorist blacklist.

Last year was the deadliest in the nearly-nine-year-long conflict for foreign troops and Afghan civilians.

The Red Cross has voiced concern over the rising civilian casualties and urged Afghan and international military forces as well as insurgents to prevent them.

At Mirwais Hospital in the volatile southern province of Kandahar, between 500 and 700 war-related operations are now being performed each month by Red Cross and local surgeons, it said.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Bangladesh: Netrokona: Armed Gang Attacks Catholic Activist and His Wife

Sanjeeb Drong, an advocate for the rights of indigenous communities, and his wife Mitali Chisim have been injured. The attack is linked to the centennial celebrations of Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church. Human rights organisations and Christian leader slam the violence and demand security.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) — A group of thugs attacked a Catholic activist who heads an association that defends the rights of indigenous communities. The incident occurred on 22 January in Netrokona, a district in central Bangladesh, some 173 kilometres from the capital Dhaka. Sanjeeb Drong and his wife Mitali Chisim were coming home when eight people attacked them. Only the intervention of the bishop and other worshippers stopped the attack, which appears linked to the centennial celebrations of the local Catholic community.

“Our Lady saved my life,” Sanjeeb Drong (pictured) said, “but my wife and I have been badly injured. I am scared.”

Originally from the north, the Catholic activist is the secretary general of the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, a national organisation that includes 45 indigenous communities.

“A group of seven or eight hoodlums attacked us when we were on our way home after taking part in a meeting in Birishiri, where we discussed preparations for the 100 years of Saint Joseph’s Church.” Celebrations are planned for 12-14 February.

He still remembers vividly the dramatic moments of the attack, the group causing them to fall from their motorcycle, starting to beat them wildly, with sticks and bare hands.

“They beat me like a dog, but my wife and I were able to escape, finding refuge in a nearby house,” he said.

The thugs followed the couple but fled after a group of residents accompanied by the bishop and a local priest got involved.

Mgr Paul Ponen Kubi, bishop of Mymensingh, said that he intervened to help the Catholic activist, but did not comment the incident.

Fr Simon Hacha, parish priest at Saint Joseph’s, said he saw the man “bleeding” and “brought him to the parish church to have his wounds tended.”

“Worshipers are shocked,” the priest said, that such an attack could come right on the eve of the centennial celebrations of the local Catholic community. “We are very much confused,” he added, “and fear more attacks during the celebrations. We want security.”

Sanjeeb Drong has filed charges and police has begun an investigation. However, nothing is known about the attackers.

In the meantime, human rights organisations, student activists and Christian leaders have condemned in no uncertain terms the attack and have called for exemplary punishment of the culprits. Above all, they have called for “security ahead of the jubilee of Saint Joseph’s Church.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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India: Two Churches Attacked in the State of Karnataka

Hindu extremists are blamed for this morning’s attacks in the dioceses of Mysore and Karwar. The Holy Family Parish Church was attacked in Inkal (Mysore diocese); it had been also attacked by a group of 70 Hindus in 2002. Christians are increasingly worried.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) — The Indian State of Karnataka was the scene of new anti-Christian attacks when two churches were desecrated and damaged. The first incident occurred after midnight in the village of Thernamakki (diocese of Karwar). Unidentified people vandalised the grotto of the local church, and broke its windows. The second incident took place in Inkal, a village in Mysore diocese, where someone desecrated the statue of the Virgin located in the compound attached to the Holy Family Parish Church. Another attack occurred on 22 January when members of the Sri Rama Sene, a rightwing Hindu party, tried to desecrate the cross of a church in Mundalli (diocese of Karwar), but were chased away by members of the congregation. Police arrested eight of them the next day.

According to Mgr Derek Fernandes, bishop of Karwart, this morning’s attack was the work of Hindu activists. Recently, a local Hindu leader made threats against Christian buildings in retaliation for the mistreatment of Indians in Australia.

“Attacks against religious minorities are up,” said Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christian (GCIC). “We are very concerned about the continued attacks against Christian communities in Karnataka.”

“The greatest tragedy caused by such attacks against innocent Christians is the lack of justice,” he said. “This happens in Orissa, Karnataka and other Indian States.”

So far, no Hindu leader has ever been jailed for the violence. In both Orissa and Karnataka, local authorities have refused to stop Hindu groups that continue to incite violence against Christians, George said.

The Holy Family Parish Church had suffered another attack, on 27 February 2002.

At that time, some 70 Hindu activists armed with blades, knives and iron rods stormed the building during Mass and attacked women and children. They accused the local Christian community of forcibly converting local people.

Police arrested the attackers but later released them on bail. (N.C.)

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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India Announces First Manned Space Mission

India’s space agency has said it will launch its first manned mission to space in 2016.

A senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in Bangalore said that two astronauts would take part.

“We are preparing for the manned space flight,” Isro Chairman K Radhakrishnan told reporters.

“We will design and develop the space module for the manned mission in the next four years,” he said.

Observers say India is emerging as a major player in the multi-billion dollar space market.

In September it launched seven satellites in a single mission, nearly a month after the country’s inaugural Moon mission was aborted.

Key architect

Isro says that it will soon shortlist two astronauts to train for the space flight.

The manned mission will cost 124 billion rupees ($2,676,740,597).

Delhi has given its approval for the mission, space officials told the BBC.

India’s space agency is also setting up a full-fledged training facility in Bangalore to train the astronauts.

The country’s first unmanned Moon mission, Chandrayaan, was launched last year.

The second unmanned project, Chandrayaan-II, will be launched in the first quarter of 2013 — a prelude to the manned space mission.

India’s first Moon mission had to be terminated because of a failure of critical communication components, but Isro officials termed the mission a success because 95% of the scientific objectives were completed.

India also plans a mission to Mars in 2030.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Indonesia: Police Hunt for Sumatra Church Attackers

Medan, 26 Jan. (AKI/Jakarta Post ) — Police are stepping up their hunt for suspects following attacks against two Protestant churches and a pastor’s home in North Sumatra three days ago. Hundreds of Christians have fled the area since the attacks.

But South Tapanuli police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Subandriya said police needed to proceed carefully and avoid action that could further stoke tensions between Muslims and Christians in the area.

“Police want to deal with this matter properly to ensure it does not get out of hand,” he said.

“Our job is to ensure this case does not develop into a serious racial or religious conflict,” Subandriya told The Jakarta Post.

About 1,000 Muslims set fire to the two churches in Sibuhuan, in North Sumatra’s Padang Lawas district late last Friday night in an incident that was blamed as a culmination of tension between Muslims and Christians over the presence of unregistered churches in the area.

The Friday attack, the first in the history of North Sumatra where both Muslim and Christian communities live together, caused no serious injury or fatalities, but forced hundreds of Christians to flee the scene.

According to the police, the churches were built in Sibuhuan in 1982. The construction was reportedly opposed by Muslim residents because they were constructed without building permits.

In 1992, the Muslim and Christian communities reached an agreement to stop construction, but the agreement was violated. The churches maintained activity and worship.

The churches’ management said it had stopped church construction in December last year following a meeting with local officials, Christians and the Indonesian Ulema Council. It had also begun dismantling the church on 13 January.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Malaysia Arrests Foreigners on Terror Charges

The authorities in Malaysia say 10 people, including nine foreigners, have been arrested on terror charges.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the group, thought to be linked to international terror organisations, posed “a very serious threat”.

International intelligence services had co-operated over the arrests, he added.

The suspects are being held under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

The government has faced calls for the ISA to be repealed, from groups who say there is too much potential for it be abused.

The act has previously been used to detain opponents of the government and members of the regional militant Islamist terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Pakistan: Zardari Slaughters Goats to Ward Off Evil: Report

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has a black goat slaughtered at his house almost every day to ward off “evil eyes” and protect him from “black magic”, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the president told the Dawn newspaper the goats were slaughtered as an act of Sadaqah — meaning “voluntary charity” in Islam whereby one gives out money or the meat of a slaughtered animal to the poor to win Allah’s blessing and stave off misfortune.

“It has been an old practice of Zardari to offer Sadaqah. He has been doing this for a long time,” the spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, told the paper.

Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country where many of the well-off offer Sadaqah. Though Muslim, many people also follow certain superstitious practices.

Hundreds of goats had been sacrificed at Zardari’s house since he was sworn in September 2008, the Dawn newspaper reported.

It said Zardari’s detractors would see in his “new-found religiosity” a sign of nervousness in the face of growing woes.

Zardari, who rose to power after the assassination of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in late 2007, has become increasingly unpopular and faces a range of problems from Islamist militancy to a stagnant economy and political rivalry.

A Supreme Court ruling last month throwing out an amnesty for Zardari, several top aides and thousands of political activists and government figures triggered a political storm and expectation that Zardari was on his way out.

— Hat tip: TB

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China — Hong Kong: Matteo Ricci Maps Did Not Put China at Centre of the World

Father Ricci drew many maps. Well-known scholar Father Criveller speaks to AsiaNews about the incorrect but widespread belief that the Jesuit put China’s at the centre, making it larger to please the Chinese. Cartography as an instrument of mission and to learn about God’s creation

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) — “It is not correct” to say that the map made by the Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci in the late 16th early-17th century puts China at the centre of the world, the noted scholar Gianni Criveller of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions tells AsiaNews, , an expert on the work of Ricci in China.

“It’s an undying legend — observes the scholar — that Ricci placed China at the centre of his map and also that he represented it as being larger than the rest of the world.” In contrast, the centre of the map is the Pacific Ocean and the central meridian falls with Japan to the east, leaving Europe, Africa and Asia to the left (of the observer), and the Americas on the right.

Fr. Criveller stresses that “you only need to look at Ricci’s map to understand that this is not true” and he illustrates the reproduction of various editions of the map, taken from the “ Ricciane Sources” of the Jesuit Father Pasquale D’Elia. He refers people to what Father Ricci himself wrote in his diary: “On the entrance in China of the Society of Jesus and Christianity,” which notes that some “scholars” were unhappy to see that China was not placed in the centre of the world and that it seemed small”.

“But we continue to read, even in prestigious publications edited by trained people, that Ricci has put China at the centre of the world, to please the Chinese, as sign of respect to China and compliance with its customs.” The priest recalled that, during a symposium held in November 2009 in the Macau Ricci Institute, the cartographer Angelo Cattaneo rejected once and for all this inaccurate view.

Even the Fr. D’ Elia, in his book, expressed the hope that this “tenacious legend will finally die out and he recalled the origin found in the writings of the Jesuit Giovanni Battista Riccioli, who in 1651 wrote that, indeed, Father Ricci put China at the centre of the world and made it larger than other countries, not to offend the Chinese. Riccioli misinterpreted a Latin translation of the story by the same Ricci on his mission in China. Father Criveller insists that in Ricci’s original diary, written in 1609 and 1610, there is no trace of this version.

Also the report written by the Jesuit Daniello Bartoli in the late 17th century appears to confirm this legend, even if Bartoli only wrote that Ricci placed China “towards” the centre of the map. Other scholars, such as Cordier, Gemini-Carelli and Latourette, speak of the “tenacious legend” that father D’Elia has tried unsuccessfully to deny. Certainly none of them could see the current map. “This legend is tenacious, and I do not know if, after these honest explanations, it will now be abandoned permanently” (D’Elia, Fonti Ricciane, I, 1211).

The first edition of Ricci’s map of the world, titled Yudi Shanhai quantu (full map of mountains and seas of the world), was published in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, in 1584. Ricci himself supervised the subsequent revised editions of Nanjing in 1600 and Beijing in 1602, 1603, 1608 and 1609. In all, the map has had 16 editions. Two authentic copies of the 3rd edition (1602) still exist and are the source of the maps reproduced today. This edition was compiled with Li Zhizao, entitled Kunyu Quantu Wangui (full map of the myriad of countries in the world).

Fr. Criveller adds that, according to Ricci, the map was “the best and most useful work that could then be done, to persuade China to give confidence to what we stated in our faith.” “Making the maps was not only an instrument of missionary strategy, but it involved a religious worldview.” He says that, in general, for the Jesuit cartographer maps are not just a visual representation of geography, but a way to know and understand the work of Creation. Understanding the universe precisely scientifically means to know God and Creation. For the Jesuits astronomy was a science that speaks of heaven, the road that leads to knowledge of God Similarly, knowing the earth and illustrating it on a map, is to participate in the work of Creation. Ricci — concludes the academic — made the maps not for political purposes, but to fulfil a religious experience”.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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EU Presidency Reconsidering China Arms Embargo

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS — The Spanish EU presidency has indicated it is willing to reconsider the bloc’s arms embargo with China, implemented over 20 years ago following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on Chinese pro-democracy protesters.

Following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday (26 January), Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country was “weighing the pros and cons” of lifting the ban.

“We are all aware of the new role which China is assuming in the world,” he added.

China considers an end to the ban to be long overdue. “The embargo is outdated, it does not go along with the partnership between China and the EU,” Wang Xining, spokesman for the Chinese mission to the EU, told EUobserver.

“Its a political principle on the definition of the relationship,” he added, indicating that China was not necessarily going to place a large military order should the embargo be lifted.

France has been a vocal supporter of ending the ban, a line Moratinos said Spain would now follow, but other member states have traditionally indicated China’s human rights record did not merit an end to the EU restriction.

Last October saw the EU lift an arms embargo against Uzbekistan however, despite continuing concerns about human rights in the central Asian nation, suggesting a reluctance to allow full Chinese access to EU military capabilities is also a factor.

European diplomats also queried whether the Spanish decision to visit the perennial issue would win the backing of all 27 member states this time round, with any decision requiring unanimity for a change of position.

The United States, which also maintains an arms embargo on China, is a further complicating factor, with the country likely to be reticent towards a unilateral European move.

The European Parliament has shown its support for the ban, voting in 2008 to maintain it as long as Beijing supports armed forces and groups involved in African conflicts in general.

News that Spain would revisit the thorny issue first hit the headlines last week following a China Daily interview with Spain’s ambassador in Beijing.

The issue has subsequently attracted considerable media attention in the Asian powerhouse.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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One Laptop Per Child in Haiti

At his blog, M Simon has a video for a program to help school children in Haiti, once the initial clean-up phase is finished.

We are doing what we can for the 60 schools that we have been working with in Haiti — primarily planning for the spring after the first phase of rebuilding is underway. We will be sending a group of OLPCorps volunteers to Haiti later this year, and are organizing a used XO drive to recover XOs in the US that can be refurbished and sent to Haiti. Luckily, our Haitian team (technical and in the government) was not hurt in the earthquake, and they are planning to help displaced students get back to school as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, around the US, people (including our own Adam Holt and Tim Falconer) have been gathering in CrisisCamps to brainstorm ways to better use collaborative technology to help groups on the ground. If you are technically-minded, there is a real demand for programmers and interface designers to help some of these projects thrive.

See website for links to information about CrisisCamps and donations.

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Ethiopia to Benefit From U.S. H-2A and H-2B Visas — DHS

Secretary Napolitano Designates 11 New Countries as Eligible for H-2a and H-2b Nonimmigrant Visa Programs

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano this week designated 11 new countries as eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant visa programs, which allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary or seasonal jobs for which U.S. workers are not available.

The 11 newly designated countries—Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia and Uruguay—join 28 countries previously designated as eligible to participate in these programs.

The initial lists of participating countries for the H-2A and H-2B programs—published in December 2008—expired on Jan. 17 and 18, respectively. After consulting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary Napolitano determined that the 11 newly designated countries meet the standards required for participation in the H-2A and H-2B programs. The new combined list was published Monday in the Federal Register.

On a case-by-case basis, DHS may allow a worker from a country not on the participating country list to be eligible for the H-2A or H-2B program if such participation is in the interest of the United States.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Flight School Operator in Norfolk, Virgina Charged as Illegal Immigrant

An Eastern European man operating a flight school at Norfolk International Airport was arrested this morning on a federal charge of lying about his citizenship.

Peter Surina, 29, has been in the country illegally for 20 years yet managed to obtain a pilot’s license and open his school, called Norfolk Flight Center, based on airport grounds, according to court records and other public documents.

Surina, who lives in an Ocean View bayfront condominium and drives a Hummer, was arrested this morning, according to court records. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court at 2:30 p.m.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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German Homeschoolers Granted Political Asylum

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A German couple who fled to Tennessee so they could homeschool their children was granted political asylum Tuesday by a U.S. immigration judge, according to the legal group that represented them.

The decision clears the way for Uwe Romeike (roh-MY-kee), his wife and five children to stay in Morristown, Tenn., where they have been living since 2008. Romeike says his family was persecuted for their evangelical Christian beliefs and for homeschooling their children in Germany, where school attendance is compulsory.

When the Romeikes wouldn’t comply with repeated orders to send the children to school, police came to their home one October morning in 2006 and took the children to school. German state constitutions require children to attend public or private schools and parents can face fines or prison time if they don’t comply.

In November 2007, Germany’s highest appellate court ruled that, in severe cases, social services officials could remove children from their parents.

After that decision, Romeike said, “We knew we had to leave the country.”

“During the last 10-20 years the curriculum in public schools has been more and more against Christian values,” he said of his decision to teach his children at home.

The U.S. government can appeal the asylum ruling. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment in an e-mail.

The ruling was issued by Immigration Judge Lawrence Burman in Memphis, said Mike Donnelly, an attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association. The judge’s opinion was not immediately available.

Lutz Gorgens, German consul general for the Southeast U.S., did not directly address the ruling in a statement e-mailed after the ruling Tuesday, but said German parents have a wide range of educational options for their children. Gorgens said the mandatory school attendance policy ensures a high standard of learning for all children.

“Parents may choose between public, private and religious schools, including those with alternative curricula like Waldorf or Montessori schools,” said Gorgens, who’s based in Atlanta.

Donnelly said he hopes the ruling will influence public opinion in Germany, and that is part of the reason his group offered to represent the Romeikes.

Romeike said in an interview that when his oldest children were in public schools they had problems with violence, bullying and peer pressure.

“I think it’s important for parents to have the freedom to chose the way their children can be taught,” Romeike said.

The Romeikes took their three oldest children out of school in Bietigheim-Bissingen in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2006. Romeike said the couple was fined the equivalent of about $10,000 over a two-year period.

“We didn’t pay it all because we couldn’t,” he said. “We went to court and tried to fight against it — without success.”

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Homeschoolers on Run Win U.S. Asylum

Judge: Teaching children ‘basic right no country has right to violate’

In a decision bound to send a shock wave through the European Union, a federal immigration judge today granted political asylum in the United States to a German family whose members feared persecution if returned to their home country because of their decision to homeschool.

“We can’t expect every country to follow our Constitution,” said the opinion by Judge Lawrence O. Burman. “The world might be a better place if it did.

“However, the rights being violated here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate,” he said.

The decision in the Memphis, Tenn., hearing grants permission to Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their five children to remain in the U.S., according to the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association, which has been working on the family’s case.

“This decision finally recognizes that German homeschoolers are a specific social group that is being persecuted by a Western democracy,” said Mike Donnelly, staff attorney and director of international relations for HSLDA.

“It is embarrassing for Germany since a Western nation should uphold basic human rights, which include allowing parents to raise and educate their own children. This judge understood the case perfectly and he called Germany out. We hope this decision will cause Germany to stop persecuting homeschoolers,” he said.

— Hat tip: JD

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Homeschooling German Family Granted US Asylum

A US court has granted asylum to an evangelical Christian family who fled Germany because they were not allowed to homeschool their children.

An immigration judge in Nashville, Tennessee ruled that parents Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, and their five children, are free to stay in the US, where they have been since 2008, news agency AP reported late on Tuesday.

The parents, who came from the state of Baden-Württemberg, allege they were persecuted for their faith and defiance of Germany’s compulsory school attendance since those who do not comply face fines and jail time.

According to Uwe Romeike, his family was fined the equivalent of some $10,000 over two years, but could not afford to make payments after their court appeals failed.

“I think it’s important for parents to have the freedom to choose the way their children can be taught,” Romeike told AP, later adding that German curriculum was increasingly “against Christian values.”

In October 2006, police forcefully took the family’s children to school in their home town of Bietigheim-Bissingen when they refused to do so themselves. One year later, the country’s high court ruled that in some similar cases the state could take children from their parents.

“We knew we had to leave the country,” Romeike, whose case was represented by the Home School Legal Defense Association, told the news agency.

The US government could appeal the court’s decision to allow the family to remain in Morristown, Tennessee. But advocates for the Romeikes on Wednesday celebrated their victory.

“This decision finally recognises that German homeschoolers are a specific social group that is being persecuted by a Western democracy,” Mike Donnelly, a lawyer for the Home School Legal Defense Association, said in a statement.

“It is embarrassing for Germany, since a Western nation should uphold basic human rights, which include allowing parents to raise and educate their own children,” he said. “We hope this decision will cause Germany to stop persecuting homeschoolers.”

But German consul general for the southeastern US states Lutz Gorgens told AP in an email that German parents have a variety of choices, among them religious schools, which helps to maintain the country’s educational standards.

However, proponents of homeschooling have not been placated by the chance to have their children attend religious educational institutions.

In November 2009, another Christian couple was fined by a Kassel court for refusing to send their children to school.

The couple from the Hessian village of Archfeld bei Herleshausen has seven children between the ages of two and 17, who they told the court they had hoped to “give the Bible their unlimited trust” through lessons at home.

But after the trial concluded, the parents did not say whether they would obey the court’s orders.

— Hat tip: TB

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Ireland: It Wasn’t Our TDs’ Plan to Make Deportation Almost Impossible

There’s a basic distinction in any democratic society between the legislature and the judiciary, and it’s all too often forgotten — especially by lawyers — as to which should prevail.

The lawmakers come first. As kings or barons or elected politicians, they establish the laws and they then give the judiciary the task of interpreting and applying them. The judiciary is not some entity sent down from heaven to co-govern. It is an employee of the state; and just as it can define laws in such a manner as to confound the intentions of the law-makers, so the law-makers can confound those definitions with fresh laws.

And if a supreme court consistently interprets the law in such a way as to obstruct the will of government, then it is properly within the power of modern government to appoint such judges to ensure that the will of the people remains paramount.

…But is it unreasonable to want the will of the Irish people to be allowed to decide upon the inward movement of migrants into this state?

This question is made all the more acute by the recent decision of the Supreme Court to elevate judicial consideration of deportation cases above our existing administrative processes. The issue was brought to the Supreme Court by a Nigerian “asylum seeker”, whose attempts to remain in this State had been rejected in two separate independent hearings. She maintained that were she to return to Nigeria she would be at risk of genital mutilation. Hokum, my dear, pure hokum.

In a majority ruling, the Supreme Court backed her legal contention that the administrative processes of deportation did not vindicate her constitutional rights. Two members of the Supreme Court dissented. Mr Justice Hardiman described the imposition of judicial proceedings on the administration of our immigration laws as a “major revolution in our immigration arrangements”. He said that courts were already “swamped with such cases”. Mr Justice Kearns said that the Supreme Court’s decision would render our courts “virtually inoperable”.

The actual law is for the wigged ones to ruminate upon. However, I can reasonably say that it was never the intention of the lawmakers of this State to create a system in which it would be almost impossible to expel an illegal immigrant — not because we wanted it that way, but because the deportation process had become paralysed by a rights-obsessed legal system.

[…]

The consequence of the Supreme Court ruling is very possibly that almost any illegally resident African woman can stay in Ireland by claiming — no matter how spuriously — that she will be genitally mutilated if she returns home. The legal obstacles to her being deported will probably be too complex and time-consuming for the State to undertake.

— Hat tip: Sean O’Brian

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Netherlands: Immigration Drives Up Tuberculosis Figures

The number of people with tuberculosis in the Netherlands went up for the first time in years in 2009, due almost entirely to the increase in immigration from countries where TB is prevalent.

In total, over 1160 were diagnosed with the disease, two-thirds of whom were born abroad. For example, resistant strains of TB are common in Eastern Europe, the national TB foundation said.

But the number of infectious cases of TB was stable at around 210 cases and the death rate was also constant at around 20 cases a year, the foundation said.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Drug Firms ‘Drove Swine Flu Pandemic Warning to Recoup Billions Spent on Research’

Drug companies manipulated the World Health Organisation into downgrading its definition of a pandemic so they could cash in on a swine flu outbreak, it is claimed.

An inquiry heard yesterday that the WHO allegedly softened its criteria for declaring a H1N1 flu pandemic last spring — just weeks before announcing there was a worldwide outbreak.

Critics said the decision was driven by pharmaceutical companies desperate to recoup the billions of pounds they had invested in researching and developing pandemic vaccines after the bird flu scares in 2006 and 2007.

— Hat tip: JD

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IE Windows Vuln Coughs Up Local Files

One click bares entire C drive

If you use any version of Internet Explorer to surf Twitter or other Web 2.0 sites, Jorge Luis Alvarez Medina can probably read the entire contents of your primary hard drive.

The security consultant at Core Security said his attack works by clicking on a single link that exploits a chain of weaknesses in IE and Windows. Once an IE user visits the booby-trapped site, the webmaster has complete access to the machine’s C drive, including files, authentication cookies — even empty hashes of passwords.

This isn’t the first time security researchers at Core have identified security weaknesses in IE. The company issued this advisory in 2008 and this one in 2009, each identifying specific links in the chain that could potentially be abused by an attacker.

“Every time we reported this to Microsoft, they were fixing just one of the features,” Medina said in a telephone interview from Bueno Aires. “Every time they [fixed] it, we managed another way to build the attack again.”

— Hat tip: JD

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The Terrorism Quiz

Who, really, is behind the epidemic of global terrorism against civilians? Whom should airport security personnel view carefully-respectfully-but very, very carefully?

One hopes that the folks screening us at airports are given this quiz and are guided accordingly. Perhaps passengers should carry it with them; as they say: “Don’t leave home without it.”

1. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, young Israeli athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:

a. Darth Vader

b. Sitting Bull

c. Arnold Schwarzenegger

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:

a. Lost Norwegians

b. Elvis

c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. During the 1980’s, about 96 Americans and Europeans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:

a. Michael Jackson

b. The King of Sweden

c. The Boy Scouts

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut were blown up by…

and there are ten more questions. Take the test and figure out your Jihad IQ…[ hint: #2 is a., “lost Norwegians”]

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