Somalia’s governing council has voted to institute Islamic law (sharia). There are also stories tonight about the effects of Islamic law in Afghanistan and Algeria.
Despite the protests of Islam’s apologists, the Muslim world is becoming more radical, not less.
Thanks to Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, Fausta, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, KGS, RRW, TB, Tuan Jim, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –
Nuclear Energy: Spain Bets on End of Moratorium
(by Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 9 — Spain’s nuclear industry is counting on an end to the nuclear moratorium in the country in 2012 and is ready to participate in the worldwide “nuclear revival”. Spain is involved in the construction of half of the 44 reactors under construction globally. A survivor of the nuclear moratorium imposed in 1984 by the socialist government of Felipe Gonzalez, Spain’s nuclear industry, is counting on the return of nuclear energy politics in 2012, the year in which — according to sources quoted by the daily Publico — both Psoe and Pp may adopt these policies in their electoral programmes to lower CO2 emissions and avoid the import of over 100 million barrels of oil annually. The economic crisis has caused a change in Spain: 26 years after the moratorium Gonzalez himself, as president of the think tank of the future of the EU, claimed that nuclear energy “makes more sense” than other forms of energy. He asked for the debate on the issue to be resumed. Last week Antonio Garamendi, president of the Energy Commission of Ceoe, confederation of industrialists, said it is “essential” that the government “adopts nuclear energy” and doubles its power to tackle the current economic crisis. The industrialists think it’s absurd that Spain, which is opposed to nuclear energy, is forced to buy nuclear energy from France. Zapatero has always said that he is against nuclear energy. He has made the closing down of the 12 nuclear plants still operational in Spain part of his government programme. So far he hasn’t set a date to dismantle the plants though, as environmentalists point out. In the absence of a domestic market, companies in the nuclear sector, which employ 30,000 people, are participating in the construction of around half the 44 reactors in the world, most of them third generation. These third generation plants produce less nuclear waste than those of the previous generation, to which most Spanish reactors belong, like those in Almaraz, Ascó and Cofrentes. There have been several radioactive leaks in these plants. The only reactors of the new generation are Vendellos 2 and Trillo. Last month the company Iberdola, which participates in the management of the six nuclear plants in Spain, closed an alliance with the French Gdf Suez and the Scottish Sse to take part in the construction of new plants in the UK. Iberdrola is already involved in the management of the plant of Flamaville 3, Normandy, and two other plants in Rumania. The Tecnatom group takes part in the construction of 12 reactors (eight in China, one in Argentina, two in the USA and an experimental plant in South Africa). The company’s development director, Juan Ortega, is president of the Spanish Nuclear Group for China, a consortium of 4 Spanish companies formed in July last year. The consortium wants to conquer the Chinese market, and expects to build at least nine nuclear plants in the country in the coming two years. Sources in the sector say that despite rejecting nuclear energy, Zapatero was in charge of the signing of a contract on August 30, during his visit to China, between public company Equipos Nucleares (Ensa) and Chinese industry on the supply of steam generators, used in nuclear plants, for a total of 13 million euro. Ensa sells components for nuclear plants to Sweden, Germany, Slovenia and the USA. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Drug Market to Grow Further, Bayer’s Official
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 20 — The Turkish pharmaceuticals market is expected to grow as much as 12% in 2009 despite the economic crisis, the chief executive of Bayer’s Turkey, Sebastian Guth, said. According to Guth “the pharmaceuticals sector was less vulnerable to the economic crisis than the auto, white goods and construction sectors and was set to grow by between 9% and 12% this year in Turkish lira terms”. Turkey has the sixth fastest-growing drug market in Europe and expanded 24% between 2001 and 2008 to $8.9 billion. Government health coverage is boosting spending on drugs in Turkey despite a system of reference pricing which makes drug prices significantly lower than in the rest of Europe. A number of Western drug makers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Novartis compete with local companies in the Turkish market. Bayer’s own sales reached 235.9 million euro in Turkey in the first nine months of 2008 and the company expected per capita drug consumption to rise to $268 in 2012 from $165 in 2008. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Dollar Replaced by… Digital Gold?
Electronic currency could be global money of future
When the dollar collapses, digital gold as a private bank-managed currency may replace it for international transactions, Jerome Corsi’s Red Alert reports.
Digital gold is a form of electronic market backed by gold storage. Private clients deposit gold or buy gold reserves from the digital gold bank.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Catholic Church Hearing Canceled Wednesday by Judiciary Committee; Separate Hearing Will be Held by Republicans
Following the biggest political firestorm of the 2009 legislative session, a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday on the financial and administrative management of the Catholic Church has been canceled. The bill is dead for the rest of the legislative session.
As soon as word spread about the bill, the Legislative Office Building was flooded with telephone calls and e-mails on Monday. The bill, virtually overnight, became the hottest issue at the state Capitol.
The cancellation came less than 24 hours after Senate Republican John McKinney of Fairfield called for the cancellation, saying that his caucus was unanimously against the bill because they believe it is clearly unconstitutional…
| [Return to headlines] |
Catholic Church Informational Hearing at Noon Wednesday
The official hearing on a controversial bill involving the Catholic Church has been postponed for Wednesday, but an informational hearing will be held starting at 12 noon.
The House and Senate Republicans will hold the hearing on Senate Bill 1098, which has been scuttled for the remainder of the legislative session after being offered as a committee bill by the judiciary committee.
Church officials will testify first in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building, and then the hearing will be open to the general public. The hearing is being held, Republicans said, because hundreds of people had already made plans to travel to the state Capitol complex in Hartford regarding their concerns about the bill.
Senate Republican leader John McKinney of Fairfield had called for cancellation of the Democratic-controlled judiciary committee’s hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday. The official committee hearing was canceled by Rep. Michael P. Lawlor of East Haven and Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford.
Republicans and Catholics around the state were outraged by the bill, which attempted to revise the financial and administrative structure of the Catholic church. It would have allowed lay councils to control the finances of individual parishes, thus usurping authority from the pastor.
“It is in direct violation of the Constitutional right of a church to govern itself, free from government intrusion,’’ said Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican who is the ranking Senate Republican on the judiciary committee.
| [Return to headlines] |
Defenseless Against Smuggled Nukes
National irrationality is reaching some kind of pitch more fevered than Michael Jackson without access to a plastic surgeon. Besides the $900 million the Obama administration has committed to give to Hamas, the recent firing of the Bushehr (pronounced Bush Error) reactor in Iran tells us that the nuclear Islamist jihad is a short time away. American readiness? There is none.
But the Hamas stimulus and Bushehr, seen together, should give Americans and a distracted world a screeching alarm — they may be the last yellow and black warning bars observed by us crash dummies before impact.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
In Search of Moderate Islamofascists
Afghanistan: President Obama says negotiation is the key to success in the land that gave safe haven to Osama bin Laden. How would that have sounded to American ears in the weeks right after 9/11?
In an interview published in Sunday’s New York Times, the president said, “Part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of al-Qaida in Iraq.”
From that, he construed: “There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region.”
Jon Boone, Kabul correspondent for Britain’s left-leaning Guardian newspaper, noted in a story on Monday skeptical of the president’s overture, that “until recently U.S. officials worried that the American public would not stomach such overtures.”
Have Americans forgotten the images of September 11? Have we forgotten the non-negotiable demands we made of the Taliban just nine days after the al-Qaida terrorist attacks on our soil?…
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Man Who Formed Terrorist Group That Plotted Attacks on Military and Jewish Facilities Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A former inmate in a California state prison who formed a domestic terrorist group that planned to attack United States military operations, “infidels,” and Israeli and Jewish facilities in the Los Angeles area was sentenced this morning to 16 years in federal prison.
Kevin James, 32, who formed the terrorist group he dubbed Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS, while in a California state prison, was sentenced by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney. In sentencing James, Judge Carney said, “Mr. James was the architect and mastermind of a very serious, very troubling offense.”
“The JIS terrorist group reminds us of the dangers that continue to confront our nation,” said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “Both foreign enemies and socalled homegrown terrorists have the desire to stage potentially deadly attacks on American soil. As a result of the outstanding work of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, one imminent threat was identified and disabled.”
Last year, Judge Carney sentenced Levar Washington, who was recruited into JIS while in state prison and subsequently recruited others into the plot, to 22 years in prison. A third man involved in JIS, Gregory Patterson, was sentenced last year to 151 months in prison.
James, Washington and Patterson admitted in court that they conspired “to levy war against the government of the United States through terrorism, and to oppose by force the authority of the United States government.” The fourth member of JIS accused in an indictment — Hammad Samana — is scheduled to go on trial on July 14 before Judge Carney.
“Kevin James, the founder of the JIS homegrown terror cell, recruited his co-conspirators from behind prison walls to target Los Angeles for terrorism,” said Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. “This case reminds us of the evolving terror threat we face, and continues to serve as one of the finest examples of line police officers uncovering a terrorist plot and setting aside jurisdictional boundaries to work with the JTTF.”
Torrance Police Chief John J. Neu said: “This case is a prime example of front-line police officers as front-line prevention of domestic terrorism. This dangerous group was discovered by alert police officers and the teamwork between our regional law enforcement partners met this danger head-on. It is important to understand that there was nothing artificial about this group’s ability to carry-out a mass casualty attack. This case represents the effective collaboration of local, state and federal resources in the region which thwarted a tremendous threat to our citizens. We are very pleased to with today’s sentencing of Kevin James.”
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Socialist Class Warfare
Consistent with his past radical associations, President Barack Hussein Obama has proven one thing since he took office: He is a socialist. When confronting a socialist, it is important to understand what makes him tick, and to answer two questions: What is the basis of socialism; and how is socialism spread? The answers are easy: Socialism is based on hatred, and it is spread by inciting hatred in others. This hatred is for capitalism, and it is manifested in the form of class warfare.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Letter Asks PM to Muzzle Minister
Jason Kenney’s office dismissed as “pathetic” a letter circulated yesterday by the Canadian Arab Federation calling for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to slap a muzzle on his Immigration Minister.
The letter, signed by about two dozen Arab organizations across the country, urges Mr. Harper to “restrain” Mr. Kenney and “put an end to his dangerous campaign of attacking CAF with slandering and damaging accusations for which he has provided no evidence.”
It cites apprehension over Mr. Kenney’s decision to review the CAF’s public funding, a move the Immigration Minister took after the federation’s president, Khaled Mouammar, called Mr. Kenney a “professional whore” over his support for Israel.
Mr. Kenney’s office has also acknowledged in recent days that there may be legitimate concerns over Mr. Mouammar’s decade-long stint on the Immigration and Refugee Board. His acceptance rates were nearly twice the national average during his time on the board between 1995 and 2005.
In yesterday’s letter, the group cites its support for the CAF and rejects “baseless accusations” made by the National Post — which reported the story about Mr. Mouammar’s IRB statistics last week — and by the Canadian Jewish Congress, B’nai Brith and Mr. Kenney.
“We are deeply concerned that the inflammatory remarks made by Mr. Jason Kenney, both in Canada and overseas, are creating a wedge in Canadian society and have inflamed a campaign to marginalize and demonize the already targeted Arab and Muslim Canadian communities,” the letter states.
Signatories include Palestine House, Canadian Lebanese for Dialogue and the Ottawa-based Ahlul Bayt Centre, among others.
Alykhan Velshi, a spokesman for the Immigration Minister, immediately jumped on the lack of high-profile Arab organizations on the list, such as the National Council on Canadian-Arab Relations and the Islamic Society of North America.
“That these groups aren’t signatories is to me very telling,” Mr. Velshi said. “In fact, their absence underscores how unrepresentative the signatories are of the grassroots of the community. Most of them barely exist even on letterhead, some don’t have Web sites, or any ongoing operations or programs.”
Those who did sign represent a “tiny” and “quite radicalised minority” of Arab-Canadian organizations, Mr. Velshi suggested, adding the Immigration Minister’s position on the CAF remains unchanged.
“Groups that promote hatred and anti-Semitism don’t deserve a single red cent of taxpayer support. End of story,” Mr. Velshi said.
The letter contends the group of Arab organizations opposes “all forms of racism,” arguing that criticism of Israel’s military has been erroneously equated with anti-Semitism.
The Prime Minister’s Office lined up behind Mr. Kenney, saying Mr. Harper was “very supportive and proud” of the Immigration Minister’s work.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
“Cultural Autumn” in Italy
L’Espresso 20.02.2009 (Italy)
Spring is on its way in Italy, but the budget cuts and the general stagnation in the “Ministero per i Beni e Attivita Culturali” prompt L’Espresso to declared the onset of a “cultural autumn”. Culture is so low on the list of the current government’s priorities that the cultural minster and Berlusconi protege, Sandro Bondi, is rumoured to be throwing in the towel after just a year in office. In an interview, Salvatore Settis, head of the economic committee in the ministry of culture says Italy needs a Sarkozy. “Not for the ministry of culture, but for the next floor up: to defend the department. When the economy is struggling, the Italian government’s response is to cut the cultural budget. The French government does exactly the opposite: Back in September President Sarkozy emphasised the importance of cultural investment in times of crisis (…) And Sarkozy, not someone who could be accused of having communist leanings, took immediate action. He extended both museum opening hours and free admission. This is no taboo: the National Gallery and the British Museum do the same thing. Yes the state is spending more, but it’s worth it: it’s a significant contribution to human and civic education.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Republic: Klaus Best Argument Against Rotating EU Presidency — Guardian
London — Czech President Vaclav Klaus, whose country is holding the six-month EU presidency from January to June, is the best argument for the Union to discontinue the practice of its rotating presidency, British daily The Guardian writes in its editorial commentary.
The paper called Klaus “amateur” and “populist” over his statements on global warming and the economic crisis.
“The president of the Czech Republic is leading by example, but not the one he intends. The man whose country is holding the rotating presidency of the European Union is making the best possible case for discontinuing this worthy liberal practice,” the daily writes in a commentary on Klaus titled “The Dud Czech.”
“Faced with the worst financial crisis in a century, Mr Klaus lambasted the bail-out of European banks as irresponsible protectionism. Faced with growing evidence that scientists have understated climate change, Mr Klaus told a conference of climate change deniers at the weekend that Europe was being too alarmist,” writes The Guardian.
“If this is leadership, the EU’s rotating chair cannot swivel fast enough. Better still, let us have a permanent EU president,” the paper points out.
It argues that the EU cannot afford “the luxury of amateur voices, let alone of populist, Eurosceptic neoliberals like Mr Klaus.”
The paper reminds that it will be difficult to reach consensus on a replacement of the Kyoto Protocol on climate protection at the summit in Copenhagen. This is why it will be essential that the EU speaks clearly and with one voice, it adds.
“Why should it tolerate a representative, however symbolic and temporary, whose prejudices are anathema to its key policies?” the Guardian asks hinting at Klaus.
The paper recalls that the EU has faced problems to achieve a united stance lately anyway, citing the example of the eurozone rejecting the calls by non-members to relieve the entry criteria and the French-British squabbles over protectionism.
“If the EU continues like this, it is in real danger of fissuring,” the paper warns.
The crisis has deprived the countries of eastern Europe of “the growth model that they once treated with the religious fervour of the newly converted,” the paper writes.
Brussels urged them to open up their markets to trade and sell their banks to western ones, so these countries may now feel it is “payback time,” for them, the paper adds.
“But maintaining unity now is surely more important for all, particularly those in eastern Europe, than satisfying the egos of Eurosceptics. If EU leaders do not get the message to unite now, an electorate which feels increasingly disenfranchised will give it to them at the forthcoming European elections in June,” The Guardian writes in conclusion.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Rep: Czech PM Invites Obama to Beer Pub, Klaus for Dinner
[Comment from Tuan Jim: Let’s see what kind of snub Obama uses here.]
Prague — U.S. President Barack Obama has two invitations for an informal programme for an evening in April he will spend in Prague — his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus has invited him for a dinner, according to CTK diplomatic sources, and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to a beer pub.
Obama has not yet decided for what opportunity he will opt. It cannot be ruled out that he will use both invitations. The offices of the Czech president and prime minister have provided no information on Obama’s programme so far.
Everything indicates that Topolanek and Klaus are discussing the division of the host role at present.
Topolanek is expected to welcome Obama and his wife Michelle at the airport when Obama arrives in Prague on Saturday evening of April 4. Immediately after his arrival Obama will probably leave for Prague Castle to have bilateral talks with Klaus.
Topolanek is also to attend the talks.
Obama will stay in Prague until April 5 when an EU-USA summit the Czech Republic is organising as the current EU president will take place.
Klaus will probably be the main host at the Czech-U.S. part of Obama’s visit while Topolanek, as chairman of the EU Council, will be his main host on the second, “EU” day, of his visit.
Sunday’s summit and probably also a dinner of the EU representatives and Obama will take place in Prague’s Congress Centre where a meeting with journalists will be held.
Later, Obama, the 44th U.S. president, intends to deliver an address in the old Prague environment. The areas outside the Rudolfinum Hall, Old Town Square and Prague Castle are being considered as the venues for Obama’s speech.
The decision will be made by Obama’s newt preparatory team that will arrive in Prague around March 24.
The speculation that Obama will have a breakfast with former president Vaclav Havel was not confirmed to CTK by Havel’s office today.
On his Prague visit Obama will be accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while the participation of Defense Secretary Robert Gates is not certain.
Obama’s delegation will comprise 500 people, including 150 journalists who report on White House events.
The Air Force One, special presidential aircraft on board of which Obama will arrive in Prague will be one of the three U.S. planes to arrive in Prague.
The second one will bring part of Obama’s team and representatives of the U.S. media will arrive on board the third plane.
Ms Obama’s special programme is not yet known. It is clear that Klaus’s wife Livia Klausova could be her host while the situation is unclear in the case of Topolanek since he does not live with his wife Pavla.
Obama will probably come to Prague without his two daughters because they must attend school.
While the hotel in which American journalists will sleep is known (it will be Marriott as during former U.S. president George Bush’s visit to Prague in 2007), the place where the presidential couple will sleep is not known.
It could be either one of Prague’s luxury hotels or the residence of the U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic in Prague’s residential area Bubenec.
U.S. Democratic President Obama will visit the Czech Republic within his first tour of Europe.
Before coming to Prague, Obama will attend a meeting of the economic summit G20 in London on April 2 and a NATO summit in Strasbourg and Kehl on April 4.
From Prague, Obama will probably leave for home but there are also speculations that he might then visit Turkey.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Ongoing Semantics: K or L?
The Public Prosecutor has enlisted the help of an independent audio expert to determine whether a policeman used a racist remark during a Gaza demonstration.
Was it ‘perk’ or was it ‘perl’, that is the question.
Did a police officer use a derogatory and racist word to address an ethnic minority man during a demonstration against Israel’s incursion in Gaza, or did he use a word that can either be construed as derogatory or non-derogatory?
That is the question that Denmark’s Public Prosecutor Trine Højgaard is trying to determine from footage of the event taken by a local television station.
“It’s taken a bit of time to get the original footage from Kaos TV — but now we’ve sent it on to a new audio expert,” Højgaard says.
Disqualified Several audio experts have already expressed their views to the media, including one of the country’s leading specialist Eddy Bøgh Brixen who is also used by the Danish courts as an audio expert . He has previously told politiken.dk:
“There is very little doubt. I can say with a high degree of certainty that ‘perk’ is what is said.
But Højgaard says that having expressed views prior to the start of her investigation, such expressions disqualify their makers.
At issue is the difference between the Danish word ‘perker’ — a derogatory word for an immigrant, and the word ‘perle’ — which can have a derogatory or non-derogatory meaning. While the first word would be a clearly racist remark, the second could be construed as not being so.
The ongoing semantic discussion as to which term was used is now to be determined by an independent audio specialist who has not previously made his or her views public on the hard or soft letters of the Danish alphabet.
Officer questioned The officer concerned has been interviewed by the prosecutor’s office, while the target of the officer’s outburst has so far declined to answer the prosecutor’s approaches.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Despite Promises, German Birthrate Falls
A drop in the number of births in Germany during the months of October and November suggests there may have been a birth rate decline in the country during 2008, despite lavish government benefits for new parents.
For months, it looked like Germany might have put a stop to its shrinking birth rate. Indeed, in 2007, the country actually managed a bit of population growth. And, with a fast graying population that will be knocking on the door of the local pension office in the next few decades, it was high time, too.
But a reversal of Germany’s demographic fortunes has proven to be a mirage. In October 2008, the number of births in Germany suddenly dropped. And in Novemnber, as preliminary numbers released by the German Federal Statistical Office, released on Wednesday, show, the number dropped again. Compared to November in 2007, fully 11.7 fewer babies were born.
In absolute terms, 49,137 babies filled the newborn wards at German hospitals in November 2008, 6,500 fewer than the same period a year ago. The year-on-year drop in October was 11.9 percent. December figures haven’t been released yet, but in order to make up for the drop in the two previous months, the number Christmas season babies would have to be 20 percent higher than a year previous.
Preliminary figures won’t be released until April and final numbers in July, but for the months of January to November, a drop of 1.7 percent in the number of births over the previous year is expected.
At the release of her “Family Report 2009” in February, German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen heralded a rise in births for 2008 and attributed that success to her own family policies introduced in January 2007 aimed at encouraging both parents to take time off from work to have children.
Under the new benefit, introduced in January 2007, the state pays the parent who stays home with the child 67 percent of that parent’s current net income, up to a maximum of €1,800 ($2,810) a month for up to 12 months. If both parents elect to take time off, the total number of months the benefit is paid, split between both parents, goes up to 14 — a measure intended to encourage fathers to take time off work. Parents seem to be taking advantage of it, too. Figures released in February suggest that some 15 percent of fathers are taking at least two months off work under the scheme.
Von der Leyen’s report, however, was based on data for 2008 through September, before fears of the global economic downturn had gripped Germany. On Wednesday, her ministry spokesman said he would not comment on preliminary data.
Germany’s Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper is calling it “Von der Leyen’s premature birth.” And editorial in the Süddeutsche Zeitung is titled “the minister’s statistical tricks” and notes that von der Leyen has been skillful at interpreting numbers aggressively and spinning them into positive publicity. “Of course, now she has to endure critical views when the world turns out to be less rosy than promised… Now she’ll have to live with the fact that her policies will be assessed as a disappointment.”
The real test for van der Leyen will be the extent to which the drop in births affects the country’s birthrate. In 2007, the Statistical Office placed that rate at 1.37 children per woman, a slight increase over the previous year. The official birthrate for 2008 won’t be released until this summer.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Durban 2: “Draft is Anti-Semitic”. Italy Recalls Delegation
Text of UN Conference on racism document is “unacceptable”. Italy is the first EU member state officially to withdraw.
ROME — Italy has announced that it will recall its delegates from the working groups on the UN Conference on racism and xenophobia, planned for April 20-24. The government considers two points in the main conference document to be anti-Semitic, and has said it will not allow its delegates to return until changes have been made. The announcement was made yesterday by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini in Brussels, where he met his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni. The Italian “delegation will not take part in the Conference as long as it is based on a document which contains at least two unacceptable points,” the minister declared. Participation could be possible if “aggressive anti-Semitic language” was removed.
The announcement comes after the Israeli government expressed its disapproval of Frattini’s visit to Iran, planned for next week and then postponed. The minister’s decision is in line with a commitment that a large majority of the House of Deputies entrusted to the government. On 4 December 2008, with 417 votes in favour and 4 votes against, the Deputies approved a motion calling for “absolute vigilance” to avoid a repeat of what happened to Israel during the Conference on racism held in Durban in 2001. The motion was promoted, among others, by Fiamma Nirenstein (PdL) and Alessadro Maran (Pd).
Eight years ago in South Africa, a number of countries tried to have the equation “Zionism equals racism” inserted into the UN Conference’s final document. The preliminary work in preparation for the next Conference (“Durban 2”, as the experts are calling it), which is to be chaired by Muammar Gaddafi in his role as chairman of the African Union, is to be carried out by a committee coordinated by Libya. The committee also includes Iran and Cuba. Last October, the steering committee drew up a draft in which Israel was defined “an occupying foreign power with laws based on racial discrimination …. a new model of apartheid …. a crime against humanity” and in which only the Palestinian population were named as victims of discrimination.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton declared the draft to be “unacceptable” and warned that sending a delegation from the USA would be “a bad start”. Israel had already suggested it would not take part, has had Canada. France and Holland have also said they are considering not participating. Italy is the first EU member state to withdraw its delegation officially. According to the Apcom agency, Frattini also believes that Denmark, France, Canada and Belgium will follow suit. In Jerusalem, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the government was “pleased with the decision”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Italian to Direct Mediterranean Operations
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 25 — The presence of high-level Italian officials in the European Commission in Brussels has been strengthened with the appointment of 48 year-old Carla Montesi. Montesi has an entire career dedicated to development and was appointed today — according to what ANSA has learned — as new Director for Activities tied to the Mediterranean and to the General Director of European Commission’s ‘Mare’ in the Black Sea. Montesi was already a cabinet member of former European Commissioner Emma Bonino between 1997 and 1999, and the Director General for Development and currently the Head of the European Commission’s EuropeAid Cooperation Office for the Mediterranean and the Middle East: the Office of Cooperation of the European Commission which manages EU external aid programmes. The new director will be responsible for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea both for fishing and maritime activities, which are subordinate to the Director General of ‘Mare’ led by European commissioner Joe Borg. With Montesi’s appointment, a generation gap involving the presence of Italians as high officials in the European Commission is beginning to be closed. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU-Balkans: Slovenia, Enlargement Theme of Czech Presidency
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 25 — Slovenia hopes that the theme of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans will be “one of the priorities during the Czech Republic’s presidency”, said Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar, in a speech at a negotiation session in Rome organised by Unioncamere. “The informal meeting of the foreign ministers which is set to take place in May in the Czech Republic will be an occasion to discuss the strategy used until now and plan our next steps”, he added, and according to whom the global financial crisis has removed the EU’s attention from enlargement. The Western Balkan countries “are tired of the commitments and the conditions that they have to satisfy, without receiving — for their part — any positive feedback” and for this reason, Zbogar declared, “the EU has to do more and insist more” on the path of reforms that are required. In particular, Europe must “promote regional cooperation” as a prerequisite for stability in the area, help “in the hunt for war criminals” and “improve economic relations”. Even in this light, the Slovenian minister concluded, “Slovenia will continue to work for the liberalisation of visas so that it can occur beforehand”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Terror Group Suspected in Blast
Explosion at Citibank in Filothei that caused damage but no injuries bore hallmarks of Revolutionary Struggle
Police are basing their investigation into a strong explosion outside a branch of Citibank in northern Athens yesterday on the likelihood that it was carried out by the Revolutionary Struggle terrorist group, sources said.
Officers had feared that the group, or the recently emerged Sect of Revolutionaries, would strike soon.
Although yesterday’s blast caused only minor damage and no injuries, police are treating it as a possible sign of things to come.
The homemade device, which was placed outside Citibank in the suburb of Filothei in the early hours of the morning, was set off manually rather than with a timer, according to officers.
The terrorists set off the bomb by running a 35-meter cable from the explosives, which they then connected to a car battery, triggering the blast.
Officers said that Revolutionary Struggle had used a similar device in an attack against a riot police bus in October 2004.
Also, last month a 60-kilo car bomb that was left outside Citibank offices in Kifissia failed to go off. This botched attack was also attributed to Revolutionary Struggle even though nobody has claimed responsibility for it.
“After the failed attack in Kifissia, they used a simpler and safer mechanism so that they would not have a second consecutive failure on their hands,” a high-ranking police officer who wished to remain anonymous told Kathimerini. “The fact that it is an attack against what is essentially the same target and in a nearby area raises suspicions that it was the work of Revolutionary Struggle.”
Yesterday’s explosion caused damage to the windows and facade of the building as well as to two parked cars.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Cypriots Losing Hope of Cyprus Reunification
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, MARCH 10 — More than two thirds of Greek Cypriots believe UN-brokered peace negotiations to reunify the Mediterranean island are doomed to failure, according to an opinion poll published yesterday. The survey in the Phileleftheros newspaper found that some 68% of those asked said the current negotiations would not lead to a solution, against just 27% who were confident of success. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Holocaust Survivor Denied Swedish Pension
Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court (Regeringsrätten) is to consider whether damages paid to a Holocaust survivor by the German state should be deducted from her Swedish pension.
Miriam Landau, who moved to Sweden with her husband in the 1950s after having survived living in a concentration camp, has since received payments from the German state as recompense for her work while living in a ghetto.
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) has ruled that the payments should be classified as a pension and the sum deducted from Miriam Landau’s Swedish pension.
Miriam Landau argues that the agency has illegally confiscated some of the remuneration she received as indemnity for the Nazi persecution.
A decision by the Gothenburg administrative court of appeal (Kammarrätten) in November 2007 ruled that the retroactive payment of 80,000 kronor ($8,812) made under the German ZRBG law of 2002 should be considered a pension, in favour of the Social Insurance Agency.
Miriam Landau has appealed the decision and argues that the payment should be classified under the spirit of the German indemnity law and that the Social Insurance Agency had no right to confiscate 42,942 kronor of her pay out.
She argues that the ZRBG law classifies the payments as a “pension” only because it is paid out after the recipient has reached the age of 65 but should be seen as indemnity for work in the ghetto.
In court papers Miriam Landau points out the ZRBG law states that the payments should not be considered social security and stipulates that payment be made only if it directly benefits the intended recipient.
The Social Insurance Agency therefore has no right to any of the money, Miriam Landau argues.
As a result of the payment the agency recalculated the Holocaust survivor’s pension which is now based on a residency in Sweden of 35 years as opposed to the 40 years previously considered.
The Supreme Administrative Court has granted leave to appeal the court’s decision and will consider whether the payment should be classified under Council Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 of June 14th, 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community.
Miriam Landau is born in 1924 and came to Sweden in the 1950s under a help program for the victims of Nazi persecution.
She was diagnosed in 1945 with double lung tuberculosis as a consequence of her time in the ghetto and concentration camp and has therefore been unable to work since moving to Sweden.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Young Syrian Becomes New Head of Milan Mosque
Milan, 9 March (AkI) — A young Syrian, who is the former founder and leader of Italy’s Association of Young Muslims, Abdullah Kabakebji, has been appointed the head of Milan’s mosque, Kabakebji told Adnkronos International (AKI).
Kabakebji, 30, was elected the director of Milan’s House of Islamic Culture, which is known by local Muslims as the via Padova mosque. It is currently governed by a 20-member committee.
“Besides providing places of worship, we also want to be a reference point for local institutions,” he told AKI.
“From my point of view, the director must be an administrator. General policy must be decided by the committee,” Kabakebji said.
The House of Islamic Culture is part of Italy’s largest Muslim umbrella group, UCOII, and was founded in 1993. The mosque is completely self-funded.
“Since then, it has always tried to solve problems, not create them, from Muslims not having to pray on the pavement to fighting terrorism, openness to interfaith dialogue,” Kabakebji continued.
He was referring to a period last year when some Muslims worshippers at Milan’s via Jenner mosque were forced to pray on the pavement outside, because there was not enough space inside.
The conservative Italian government subsequently closed down the mosque on public order and health grounds and the city council made a disused cycle stadium available to Milan’s Muslims instead.
“We have detected a certain degree of prejudice towards us in the political pronouncements of some politicians and the tone of local media,” Kabakebji stated.
He wants to build closer ties with Milan’s city council and dialogue more closely with rightwing politicians, such as from the anti-immigrant Northern League party.
“Raising awareness among Muslims that they are citizens of this country can help achieve this,”Kabakebji stated.
“In this way we can present ourselves as problem-solvers, not external elements that make problems.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Living Wills: Franceschini to Veronesi, PDL to Split
(AGI) — Rome, 26 Feb. — A half hour meeting took place between the Secretary of the PD (Democratic Party), Dario Franceschini and the PD Senator Umberto Veronesi, following the signature from the oncologist added to a letter written by certain intellectuals on the ‘Micromega’ case, which criticised the position of the Democrats on living wills. And Franceschini explained that there was no clash with Veronesi and that if anything it would be the “barracks” of the centre-right to split on this issue. “I went to meet Professor Veronesi in his office because I respect the man greatly and following reports in the newspapers that there was a split within the PD: there is no split opinion.” “Veronesi,” Franceschini explained, spoke very clearly and directly and said he was shocked by what he had read in newspapers and in the letter, and re-confirmed his conviction that members of parliament should be totally free to express their own opinion on living wills.” The PD leader underlined that his party had decided that “these delicate issues should be respected and so everyone’s conscience should be respected, from the atheist to the catholic.” “There must be absolute freedom of conscience on ethical issues. This is the PD line and the fact that it is a fair line, shows just how much is happening in the PDL (People for Freedom party), and all the divisions that are taking place in the centre-right.
The PD Secretary in fact said, “you cannot impose a party line on issues like this, you can obey orders from on high but you have to obey your own conscience.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Lower House to Continue to Allow Hippie Clothes and ‘Wilders-Style’
THE HAGUE, 10/03/09 — MPs are free in their choice of what to wear. It is also unnecessary to take stricter steps to guarantee that they use appropriate language, the Steering Committee for Parliamentary Self-reflection claims.
The committee includes MPs from various parties. Their report is based on discussions with colleagues, researchers, representatives of trade and industry and of the world of art. Several newspapers have already laid hands on the report, which will be presented today.
De Volkskrant reported yesterday that the committee deems it unnecessary to curb the vulgarisation of language used in the Lower House. As an example, the newspaper quoted Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, who told then Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar last year that she was “absolutely nuts”. Terms like this will not be banned.
The steering committee also reportedly decided that no clothing constraints will be introduced. In this respect, De Volkskrant pointed to Labour (PvdA) MP Hans Spekman, who usually wears hippie-type shirts and sweaters that his wife makes for him. He can continue to wear these inside and outside the Lower House.
NCR Handelsblad newspaper had already reported last Saturday the committee’s conclusion that MPs are too passive. In the past, the media reported on events in the Lower House, but now MPs mostly react to what the media put on the agenda. In addition, many MPs feel that they are slaves to the agreements made between the government parties.
The controlling task of parliament is said to be negatively affected by the short term of office of politicians, incident politics and the information arrears of MPs compared to civil servants. The report brings up for discussion the rule that 30 of the 150 MPs are enough to request an unscheduled debate. This threshold should be raised in order to reduce incident politics, although the committee was not unanimous about this.
The recommendations will be discussed during a conference on 25 March. This should result in definite conclusions by mid-May.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Dutchman Acquitted of Insulting Islam
“Stop the tumour that is Islam” is not an insult to a group on the basis of its religion, the Dutch high court ruled on Tuesday. An activist from the southern town of Valkenswaard, who had hung a poster using this slogan in his window, has been acquitted of the charge, which is similar to one of the charges faced by controversial Dutch anti-Islam member of parliament Geert Wilders.
The man from Valkenswaard had hung the poster after the 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist. The poster read: “Stop the tumour that is Islam. Theo has died for us. Who will be next? Resist now! National Alliance, we will not bow down to Allah. Join now.” [The National Alliance in the Netherlands is an extreme right movement.]
The high court on Tuesday explained its ruling by saying that it is not a crime to express insults towards religion. “Not even if that happens in such a way that the devotees feel their religious feelings are hurt”, the court said.
The highest judge in the Netherlands said that only if a needlessly offensive remark is ‘explicitly’ geared towards a certain group, which is distinct from others in society based on its religion, can there be a matter of group insult as defined in article 137c of the Dutch criminal code. For an insult towards a group to be punishable, that group has to be ‘collectively’ hit in what defines that group, namely religion. Criticism towards opinions that exist within a group or the behaviour of people belonging to that group cannot be penalized, according to the ruling.
The regional court and the court of appeals had given the man a suspended sentence, but his lawyer took the case all the way to the high court pleading that the defendant only targeted a radical part of Islam that wants to disturb western society. He said the poster was at most a political opinion about a social evil.
The high court said the same criteria of group insult will apply in the prosecution of Geert Wilders. The appeals court in Amsterdam last month ordered that Wilders should be prosecuted for hate speech and inciting discrimination because of his statements about Islam and the short film Fitna.
The judge in that case will also have to determine whether Wilders’ remarks are “unmistakeably aimed at a certain group of people that are distinguished from the others in society by their religion”. Wilders, when asked to respond, called Tuesday’s ruling good news: “This could have consequences for my case”.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Dutch Police: White Males Need Not Apply
Home affairs minister Ter Horst is holding up the appointment of a chief of police because he is a white male.
Photo Bas Czerwinski The position for regional chief of police in the Dutch city of Dordrecht has been vacant for more than a year. A candidate has been found and a local festivities hall was rented for the inauguration ceremony. But home affairs minister Guusje Ter Horst (Labour) is holding up the appointment because the candidate is not a woman or an immigrant.
Ter Horst’s decision is the result of a new policy to appoint more women and immigrants to top police jobs. The minister wants 25 percent of top police jobs filled by women or immigrants by 2011. “If we don’t fight the tendency to appoint men — white — men — to police jobs we will never have a diverse police force,” Ter Horst told the TV programme Buitenhof on Sunday.
She pointed out that since the 25 percent goal was stated in 2008, seventeen men have been apppointed to top police jobs for only three women. “At this rate we will never get to 25 percent,” Ter Horst said.
The move has been criticized by the Christian Democrats who want the minister to explain to parliament why she is holding up an appointment to a position that has been vacant for more than a year. “We don’t have that luxury,” said Christian Democrat Coskun Çörüz. He said a candidate’s qualifications for the job should take precedence over gender or origin.
The Dordrecht controversy coincided with the leaking of a damaging report about diversity in the police force. The government report says little has been done to put Ter Horst’s directive into practice. Some police forces say the 25 percent target is unrealistic. Only a third of police forces have even set targets for themselves. The police are hardly interested in diversity, the report says.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Smoking: Less Widespread Among Immigrants Than Italians
(ANSAmed) — NAPLES, FEBRUARY 16 — Nicotine addition affects 28% of foreign men and 15% of foreign women between the ages of 15 and 64, compared with 31% and 28% respectively for Italians. The figures published by Istat are the result of a survey carried out in 2005 to throw light on various aspects of the lifestyle of immigrants living in Italy. The survey also revealed differences within the main groups involved: among men, 42% of Albanians, 38% of Romanians and 33% of Moroccans are smokers; among women 28% of Romanians, 4% of Albanians and 1% of Moroccans. Obese and clinically overweight foreigners are more widespread than the average, especially Albanian men and Moroccan women — with a similar total number to those found among Italians. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: War Between Toreadors Over Minister’s Award
(By Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — Madrid, MARCH 6 — Spain’s Culture Minister is in the ring and the world of bullfighting is in turmoil, after the decision by the two greatest matadors on the contemporary scene, José Tomas and Paco Camino to return their gold medals of the ‘Belle Arti’ in a gesture of protest against the awarding of the same title to Francisco Rivera Ordonez, considered a ‘commoner’ by purists in the world of tauromachy. The return of the awards, which Tomas won in 2007 and Camino in 2004, was announced in a letter sent by the two matadors to Minister Cesar Antonio Molina, as reported today in a full front-page spread by newspaper Abc. Francisco Rivera Ordonez, 35, is the son of the torero Francisco Rivera, known as ‘Paquirri’, and gradnson of the famous matador Antonio Ordonez, who was the first to receive the golden medal of the ‘Belle Arti’ in 1996. His younger brother, Cayetano, also a matador, is now known as the ‘Armeni torero’ after taking part in a fashion show for the designer as well as numerous advertising campaigns for the Italian fashion house. The grounds for Francisco Rivera Ordonez’s award in 2008, read: “After successes in many plazas, from 2000 he reduced the number of appearances and gave priority to perfecting his technique, which is now more aesthetic, deeper and mature. His latest meetings at the Fiera di Madrid in 2001 and 2002 were testament to this.” The bull fighter Morante de la Puebla was the first to make a fuss, defining the awarding of the golden medal to Rivera Ordonez “a real disgrace.” But in its culture pages, where all bullfighting news is reported in the Spanish press, in recognition of what is considered its high artistic status, Abc reports that “the groundswell of feeling amongst the world of bull fighting is unanimous.” According to the letter sent to the Culture Minister, it is because of ‘bullfighting’s shamé and ‘for the good of the art of the toreador’ that the great José Tomas and Paco Camino, both retired from the arena, have returned their golden medals to the ministry, an interpretation supported by the publication ‘Mondotoro.’ It is thought that the two matadors wrote, “they are degenerating the concept of the art of bullfighting to such an extent that it has become a complete mockery of itself.” But there are many dissident voices fanning the flames, such as that of another toreador, Cayetano Martinez de Irujo, who in an open letter to ABC, said he considers Morante de la Puebla’s attacks on Rivera Ordonez to be a sign of “a lack of solidarity” and “a regrettable example of poor judgement and lack of class”, as well as “jealousy” and “bitterness.” In other words, tensions are high, days before the beginning of the 2009 bull-fighting season in Spain next weekend, with the bullfights in Olivienza (south east) and Valencia (east). For his part, the award-winner at the centre of the debate has kept his composure, quoting his matador grandfather: “If you are victorious you will attract jealousy, so it is better to continue to be victorious.” (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Fury as Muslim Anti-War Protesters Hurl Abuse at British Soldiers During Homecoming Parade
[Comment from Tuan Jim: Pretty telling photos at the link as well.]
A homecoming march by British troops returning from Iraq was today marred by ugly scenes as Muslim anti-war protesters hurled abuse at the parading soldiers.
Around 20 men in Islamic dress yelled ‘terrorists’ and held placards denouncing the soldiers as ‘butchers of Basra’ and ‘baby killers’ as they marched through Luton in Bedfordshire.
Other signs described the 200 men and women from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment as ‘Criminals, Murderers Terrorists’. The atmosphere further deteriorated when locals waving St George’s flags turned on the protesting group chanting ‘Scum’ and ‘No surrender to the Taliban’ .
Officers and dog handlers were drafted in to keep the sides apart and five people were arrested for public order offences. A police spokesman said the arrested men were members of the crowd watching the march, rather than the protesters.
The regiment, known as The Poachers, had just returned from their second sixth-month tour in Iraq within two years.
Luton’s Mayor Councillor Lakhbir Singh said: ‘The Royal Anglian Regiment was given freedom of the town some years ago and we are proud to welcome them back.’ As the parade finished in St George’s Square in front of the Duke of Gloucester, police had to force the protesters into a small area reserved for them at the town’s Arndale Shopping Centre. Superintendent Andy Martin said: ‘Bedfordshire Police has been involved in the planning stages of this event from the beginning and were on hand to ensure members of the public who wished to watch it could do so safely while anyone wanting to exercise their right to lawful protest could also be accommodated.
‘Disappointingly a small number of people chose to cause a disturbance during the parade, which was quickly contained by officers. ‘The rest of the event concluded without further problem.’ Critics questioned why police had protected the protesters from the angry crowds in Luton rather arresting them immediately for inciting racial hatred. Tory MP and former infantry commander Patrick Mercer said: ‘Police must make a judgement at the time but it is not palatable to me.’
He added: ‘It is because of men like The Poachers that these individuals have the freedom to speak about these things. That, clearly, must be a good thing but it doesn’t make it any more acceptable.
‘I don’t believe that our soldiers have misbehaved on operations and it is a sad indictment that otherwise decent people believe this nasty piece of xenophobic rhetoric.’
The 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, recruit from throughout the counties of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. The Army’s website describes them as ‘a county based Regiment, bound together by a closely-knit family spirit’.
It adds: ‘Our approach is classless, based on mutual respect and trust, where developing and believing in our soldiers is paramount. We are a forward-looking, self-starting and welcoming team for whom the mission remains key.
‘By living this ethos, we the Royal Anglian Regiment aspire to constantly deliver excellence. We make it happen.’ Two members of the regiment — Private Adam Morris, 19, and Private Joseva Lewaicei, 25, from Fiji, were killed when their Land Rover was destroyed by a bomb outside Basra in May 2006.
Nine members of the 1st Battalion were killed during a 2007 tour of Afghanistan. Luton’s population has long been one of the most ethnically diverse in the East of England.
According to the Office of National Statistics in 2005 19.3 per cent of the population of Luton was Asian or Asian British, compared to 3.1 per cent in the East of England as a whole. The 2005 figures also reveal that town had a white population of 68 per cent, compared to an East of England average of 92.8. A Government report warned in November that Luton was one of the main centres of Islamic extremist activity in Britain, alongside London and Birmingham. The document described the kinds of people caught up in extremist activity in the UK. It said: ‘The majority of extremists are British nationals of south Asian, mainly Pakistani, origin but there are also extremists from north and east Africa, Iraq and the Middle East, and a number of converts. ‘The overwhelming majority of extremists are male, typically in the 18-30 age range. ‘The main extremist concentrations are in London, Birmingham, with significant extremist networks in the South East, notably Luton.’ The town achieved notoriety when it emerged that the four bombers who blew up 52 people on the London Underground on July 7 2005 had congregated at Luton train station before heading to King’s Cross.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Very Thin Blue Line: ‘Cardboard Coppers’ Deployed in the War Against Crime
His gaze never wavers as he stands on guard in the charity shop — the ultimate deterrent to thieves.
And he never needs to take a break for a sandwich or a call of nature.
Making his debut in the retail outlets of Redcar yesterday was the latest recruit to the war on crime — the cardboard copper.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Yeah, Sweet … the Two Sneering Words a Killer Said to the Police
If we can’t make criminals fear the law, then we will have to live in fear of criminals. It is that simple.
When I first warned of this some years back, it was still a theoretical problem for most people. Now it’s becoming a practical one.
I’m pretty sure that we’re finished as a country and a society anyway, and would advise anyone who can do so to think seriously about getting out while it’s still possible.
[…]
Our prisons, likewise, are swollen like boils ready to burst, however hard the Ministry of Injustice seeks to empty their inmates on to the streets, or the judges strive to dilute their sentences.
This is no surprise to anyone apart from the ruling elite. The more you appease criminality with weakness and offers of ‘understanding’, the more criminality you will get.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Croatia-Slovenia: Zagreb Agrees to EU Mediation on Borders
(ANSAmed) — ZAGREB, MARCH 9 — Croatia has today accepted an EU proposal to provide the mediation of a group of politicians and experts over the border dispute with Slovenia in the Gulf of Piran in the northern Adriatic, said a message released at the end of a meeting between Croatian Prime Minister Sanader, President Stipe Mesic, and representatives from all of the political parties in Parliament. Zagreb’s approval comes with two conditions however: the mediation must be used to help the two countries “formulate a proposal for an agreement to present the dispute to the International Court in the Hague”, and to not actually lay out borders. Croatian political officials asked for Ljubljana to “immediately withdraw” its veto on the continuation of Croatia’s EU adhesion negotiations, which was made halfway through December due to the dispute on marine borders. This would give Croatia the possibility of completing negotiations for EU-adhesion in 2011 by the end of this year. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kosovo: Serbs Protest Over Power Cuts
Pristina, 9 March (AKI) — Serbs from several Kosovo villages that have been without electricity for over a week vowed to continue their protests after more than twenty people were injured in clashes with police on Sunday.
Several hundred people protested in the biggest Kosovo Serb village of Silovo, demanding power be restored to their homes. At least 15 demonstrators were injured in the clashes, three of them seriously.
Police spokesman Ismet Hasani said at least five policemen were slightly wounded as they were stoned by protesters.
Local Serb leader Aleksandar Petrovic told journalists that 300 households had been left without electricity in Silovo which faced a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
Kosovo’s KEK electric power authority said it would not restore electricity to the villagers until inhabitants agreed to pay the electricity bills.
But Serbs, who oppose Kosovo’s independence declared by majority ethnic Albanians last year, are refusing to sign any documents issued by authorities in Kosovo, saying it would be tantamount to recognising its independence.
Petrovic claimed 70 per cent of Kosovo households were not paying their electricity bills, but power had only been cut off only in Serb villages.
Serbian minister for Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic, said the electricity cuts were “nothing but pressure on the remaining Serbs in Kosovo to leave”.
“Kosovo Serbs are not against paying electricity. But the problem has to be solved systematically for the whole of Kosovo, not partially, from village to village, affecting only Serb communities,” Bogdanovic said.
Several opposition parties in Serbia have criticised the government and international forces and officials stationed in Kosovo for not preventing what they called the “systematic persecution” of Serbs in Kosovo.
Kosovo declared independence in February last year with the support of western powers, but Serbia is fighting a diplomatic battle to retain their former province under its control, though it has no more authority there.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Kusturica Plans to Save Cinema From the Evils of Hollywood
Neue Zürcher Zeitung 02.03.2009
Michael Gogos visited Küstendorf, a tiny mountain village in Serbia where Serbian film director Emir Kusturica plans to save cinema from the evils of Hollywood: “Küstendorf recently staged its second film festival featuring filmmakers from around the world. Last year Peter Handke was on the jury and this year he also returned for the festival. For Kusturica, the best films today come from Asia, particularly from small nations like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which have no real film tradition of their own. He has also opened a film school where he educates these young filmmakers in the old style of European auteur films. Which explains Jim Jarmusch’s recent visit. It would seem that this Serbian backwater, what Handke called ‘Europe’s corner of shame’, is out to become a breeding ground for anti-globalization avant-garde art. Here in this ‘reconstructed home’, as Kusturica calls it, ‘Hollywood’s pure poison’ cannot infiltrate.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Slovenia: Hundreds of Corpses Found in WW2 Mine
Ljubljana, 5 March (AKI) — Slovenian authorities have found the mummified remains of several hundred people believed to date from World War II in a disused mine. State prosecutor Barbara Brezigar told Slovenian television on Thursday that up to 300 corpses were discovered in a deserted mine near Lasko, in central Slovenia.
“What I have seen is the most horrendous thing that a person can see in a lifetime,” Brezigar said.
Andrija Valic, an investigator from Slovenia’s Centre for National Reconciliation, said it would be difficult to identify the victims discovered in the mine before the investigation was completed.
But he said he was confident the massacre had been carried out by the communist partisans of late Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito.
Tito’s partisans reportedly killed thousands of Croat and Slovenian soldiers at the end of World War II who had collaborated with Nazi occupiers and were withdrawing with German forces in 1945.
Valic said a large quantity of military boots was discovered in the mine, which has been disused for the past sixty years, suggesting that the victims were soldiers.
Most Slovenian parliamentary parties ascribed the shocking discovery to the “crimes of the communist era”. The head of the Slovenian government’s military graves department, Marko Strovs, said there was no proof that the victims had been shot dead, meaning it was possible they had been gassed.
But Brezigar warned: “After sixty years, I don’t know whether it will be possible at all to identify the perpetrators and whether they are still alive.”
The massacres of several thousand Italians by Yugoslav partisans in and around the northeastern city of Trieste towards the end of World War Two, have remained a painful historical burden for Italy and a recurring source of tension between Italy and Croatia.
Italy’s president gives an annual address in February to commemorate the victims of the killings, known as the ‘foibe’ in Italian.
‘Foibe’ is the Italian word for deep chasms into which several thousand Italians — some still alive — were thrown by Croatian and Slovenian partisans loyal to General Josip Broz Tito after Italy’s capitulation in 1943.
The ‘foibe’ killings occurred in Trieste, in modern-day Slovenia and along the Istrian peninsula, which Italy lost to Croatia at the end of World War II.
The estimated number of people killed varies between 1,500 and 5,000. In addition, up to 400,000 Italians were expelled or emigrated from Dalmatia, Istria and the area bordering Slovenia.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Handcrafts: Mediterranean Emporium, Focus on Sardinia
(ANSAmed) — CAGLIARI, MARCH 5 — Sardinian carpets to furnish hotels in the United States and the Arab Emirates, wrought-iron objects to complete chests made in Tunisia, and furnishing solutions to inspire Italian and international architects. The promotion of Sardinian hand-made products has advanced from the direct selling of knives and ceramics to novel opportunities like the ‘Mediterranean Emporium’’. The international event , organized by the regional councillor for Tourism in collaboration with the trade fair body, is taking place from now until March 8 at the Cagliari trade fair. It is an innovative project which aims to bring together excellence in handicrafts with a wide audience of consumers, by creating a special showcase for the various techniques employed. 180 workshops will take part with more than 200 Sardinian crafts-workers, who have set up their workshops in the pavilions, and 230 international buyers from 24 countries (several Arab and far eastern countries are present, along with Europe and the USA). Experts in working gold, silver, ceramics, marble, cork, weaving and embroidery, basketwork, cutlery, leather and clay will take part. Craftspeople from countries such as Morocco, France, Egypt and Lebanon, as well as Palestine will also be present. During the four-day exhibition several parallel projects have been planned, including meetings (from the art of the craftsman to energy-saving for handicraft businesses) and exhibitions. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Organisation Against Women’s Violence Set Up
(by Laura De Santi) (ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, MARCH 9 — Fighting forced marriage, combatting physical, sexual and psychological abuse suffered by Algerian women in the family, at school and in the workplace. These are the main points of the new ‘Group against women’s violencéset up by six Algerian associations which aims to the promotion of “civil laws which guarantee equality in all contexts”. “The inferiority of women”, reads the Charter signed by Sos Femme en detresse, Reseau Wassila, the Women of the Algerian League for Human Rights, Djazairouna, Fatma Nsoumer, and the womens’ section of the main UGTA labour union, “is institutionalised by the Family Code which aggravates the abuse”. “Furthermore”, continues the charter, “the education system leads to the alienation of society and of women in particular”, producing “backward social patterns”. The violence “may be physical, psychological, political, sexual” and also “economic”, claims the group, which condemns the “non-paid, or badly-paid, work done by girls” which amounts to “trafficking of women”. The problem in Algeria remains the ‘Family Code’ which has regulated family life since 1984 and effectively makes women “underage for life”. Algeria’s feminist associations wonder “why, instead of thinking about constitutional clauses, has this ‘code of infamy’ not been abolished?”. The revision of the constitution, approved on November 12 and centring on the elimination of the two-mandate limit for the President of the Republic, also introduced a clause to “support greater political participation for women”. According to a survey published by Ciddef (Committee for the defence of the rights of children and women), 38% of Algerians (men and women), are against women going to work, and around 40% are opposed to women participating in politics. Around 60% of men are against the suppression of polygamy which, despite being little practiced, continues to be allowed for by the Family Code, which takes its cue from the Sharia — Islamic law. In Algeria, where mothers and sisters have the right to 50% of the inheritance which instead is guaranteed to brothers, just 9.6% of married women work and, overall, less than 15% of working-age women under take a professional activity. Ciddef shows that only 2 Algerians out of 10, have declared themselves to be “overall in favour” of a “modern Algeria built on the values of equality”. On March 8, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika underlined the progress made on the legal front, including the change in the Constitution and the Code of Nationality, which allows women to pass on their nationality as well, thereby “giving Algerian women their rights back”. He went on to say that “the biggest achievement is the realisation that the idea of equality between men and women is taking root, and is becoming ever more acceptable”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-Egypt: Flow of Manpower, Mixed Commission Set Up
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, FEBRUARY 26 — Egypt and Italy have decided to set up a mixed commission of experts from both countries to try to find the real reason for the stalemate in applying the bilateral agreement on the flow of labour, says Egyptian independent newspaper Al Alam El Yom. The paper reports that the decision was made during a meeting yesterday between Egypt’s Employment minister Mrs Aicha Abdel Hadi and the Italian Employment undersecretary Pasquale Viespoli in which health and safety in the workplace was discussed. The commission will be formed in Italy as part of the Enpi partnership promoted by the European Union. According to the agreement on manpower, Egypt has the right to around 7,000 jobs per year in Italy. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Welfare Approved, Oil Revenue to be Redistributed
(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, MARCH 4 — Maintaining a true welfare state and postponing the distribution of oil revenues is the will of the Libyan people, expressed through “direct democracy” at the General People’s Congress meeting in Sirt over the past three days. They have asked for “patience in implementing a plan to distribute revenue”, at least until a complete and precise database of all Libyan citizens is created — including family composition, financial state, and need. The decision has therefore been made, with 251 Basic People’s Congresses of the 468 Libyan Shabia (municipalities) having approved the direct distribution of oil revenue. However, they also postponed implementing the programme to a later date, or at least until “special measures” able to carry out the programme are developed. While these measures are being studied, the government must continue to provide basic services, according to what was decided upon in the 38 comments which were later passed into law in the Libyan Parliament, ensuring education, health, public safety, energy, technological development, and increases in salaries and pensions, mainly for families belonging to certain segments of society. Libyans have also asked to increase salaries to face rising prices, create employment opportunities, ensure schooling for those not currently attending and support for agriculture, create special support programmes for the healthy development of young people, develop expert councils to plan and distribute oil revenue, and begin distributing the sums of money expected this year for the 40th anniversary of Gaddafi’s Al Fateh Revolution. Libyans have also asked Parliament for new laws which will keep public funds safe from corruption as well as ensure checks on the prices of goods and services and prevent monopolies in order to protect consumers. Finally, 24 Congresses asked Parliament to find another source of revenue other than oil, and 12 Shabias proposed the beginning of a process to privatise the health and education sectors. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Smoking: Tunisia, Fight Against Tobacco Addiction Stepped Up
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, MARCH 6 — In Tunisia, where 35 percent of the adult population is given over to this habit’, 6,850 persons die each year from smoking-related causes. Recent studies confirm this figure, as well as highlighting another disconcerting one concerning school-aged children: 12.8 percent of them are smokers. Broken down by age-group, the studies show that in the 12 to 14 year age-range, the percentage of cigarette consumers stands at 5.8, while for the 15 — 17 years band, the percentage goes up to 11.2, reaching 20.3 percent in the 18 — 20 age-range. To fight tobacco addiction, Tunisia, which joined the framework convention of the World Health Organisation in 2003 and passed a law in 1998, has started on a revision to tighten up legislative restrictions even further, focussing on the problem relating to young people.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza: NGOs Accuse Israel at ICJ; Lawyer, No More Impunity
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 9 — “Gaza is an area without rights, what has happened to that population is unforgiveable. Our aim is to put an end to Israel’s impunity.” So said French lawyer Gilles Devers, who is representing 450 NGOs at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. They are accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip between December 27 2008 and January 18 2009. During a press conference in Rome, organised by the Associazione Argon — Network of Artists Against War Italia -to promote the initiative in Italy, Devers said “we are not yet at the stage of condemning those responsible, we are currently at the stage in which we must convince the ICJ prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo that there are reasonable grounds to open an inquiry. We are gathering proof and witness reports, despite the fact that Israel blocked four of our lawyers from entering Gaza.” “Any Italian citizen or association who suffered material or emotional damage or who lost a family member during the conflict in Gaza can present their case in an Italian court,” Argon president Loredan Morandi added, explaining that “any resulting compensation ruling could represent valuable documentation to bring to the ICJ.” (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza: Italian Activists Return, Strip Still Under Siege
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 9 — Sergio Carraro from the Forum Palestina reported that the Italian delegation of ‘SOS Gaza’, which returned from Egypt this morning following a humanitarian mission to the Strip, said that “the Gaza Strip remains a prison under siege, people have no rights there.” Taking part in a press conference organised by the Associazione Argon — Network of Artists Against the War Italia to present the case being brought against Israel to the International Court of Justice by 450 NGOs for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza during the recent conflict, Carraro said “the good news is that our guys came back home this morning, the bad news is that Gaza is still under siege.” Carraro added, “yesterday at the Rafah crossing while our delegation was unable to leave, an English group was unable to go in. Egyptian police prevented their entire delegation, which included an ambulance and several aid lorries from going in. This level of tension is leading to clashes.” According to the Forum Palestina, the ‘SOS Gaza’ delegation had some difficulty getting into the Strip, where it was hoping to deliver funds raised accross Italy for the Al Awda di Jabaliya hospital, and was later prevented from leaving through the Rafah crossing by the Egyptian police.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poll Shows Haniyeh Beating Abbas in West Bank Elections
Should the Palestinian Authority hold an election today, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh would beat out sitting PA President Mahmoud Abbas, a poll conducted among voters in the West Bank at the beginning of March and reported by Reuters showed on Monday.
According to the poll, Haniyeh’s popularity jumped nearly 10 percentage points since the end of Operation Cast Lead, from 38% to 47%. Abbas, on the other hand, has lost ground since the end of the fighting, falling from 48 percent to 45 percent.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
A Devastating Document is Met With Silence in Turkey
ISTANBUL: For Turkey, the number should have been a bombshell.
According to a long-hidden document that belonged to the interior minister of the Ottoman Empire, 972,000 Ottoman Armenians disappeared from official population records from 1915 through 1916.
In Turkey, any discussion of what happened to the Ottoman Armenians can bring a storm of public outrage. But since its publication in a book in January, the number — and its Ottoman source — has gone virtually unmentioned. Newspapers hardly wrote about it. Television shows have not discussed it.
“Nothing,” said Murat Bardakci, the Turkish author and columnist who compiled the book.
The silence can mean only one thing, he said: “My numbers are too high for ordinary people. Maybe people aren’t ready to talk about it yet.”
For generations, most Turks knew nothing of the details of the Armenian genocide from 1915 to 1918, when more than a million Armenians were killed as the Ottoman Turk government purged the population.
Turkey locked the ugliest parts of its past out of sight, Soviet-style, keeping any mention of the events out of schoolbooks and official narratives in an aggressive campaign of forgetting.
But in the past 10 years, as civil society has flourished here, some parts of Turkish society are now openly questioning the state’s version of events. In December, a group of intellectuals circulated a petition that apologized for the denial of the massacres. Some 29,000 people have signed it.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU and Iraq Negotiating Return of Iraqis Displaced in Recent Years
Very encouraging news from the Turkish Weekly! It seems that many Iraqis who fled to Europe in recent years are considering going home to Iraq. The Iraqi government expects many to return this summer after the school year ends in Europe.
| — Hat tip: RRW | [Return to headlines] |
Hillary Visits Middle East; Sky Still in Place
By Barry Rubin
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the Middle East and the sky didn’t cave in.
Two very large groups spun the story to the contrary: the purveyors of the conventional wisdom on the region (that is, academics, media, and other opinion-makers) who were speaking out of wishful thinking that the number-one item on the Obama Administration’s agenda is to bash Israel, and those opposed to that government who fears this outcome.
Yet the virtually identical narrative of the two rival sides paid little attention to the reality of the new administration, its situation or thinking, its priorities or direction. Here for example is how the New York Times described the visit in a March 5 editorial:
“Whatever the eventual composition of a new, and presumably more hawkish, government after Israel’s last election, Mrs. Clinton made clear that America’s compelling interest lies in a two-state solution anchored by a broad regional peace. She advanced that interest by announcing diplomatic re-engagement with Syria and strong American support for the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.”
The implication is that these were somehow anti-Israel, or at least against an Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister. In fact, these positions don’t at all phase Israel and presumably Netanyahu. Here is a brief primer on the Obama administration and the region…
| — Hat tip: Barry Rubin | [Return to headlines] |
Religion: Turkey’s First Sermon in Kurdish Language
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, MARCH 9 — A State-run mosque in southeastern Turkey held the country’s first official Kurdish-language sermon this weekend, as part of the government’s efforts to boost rights for Kurds, the World Bulletin.com website wrote. The sermon at Diyarbakir’s 12th-century Ulu Mosque, which followed Saturday’s evening prayers, called for brotherhood between Muslims and said racism has no place in Islam, and represents the latest effort of Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, to ease curbs on the Kurdish language which was completely banned until 1991. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Swedish Emirate
Malmö follows Dubai’s example and treats Israeli athletes like pariahs.
When Dubai refused an Israeli player a visa for a tournament last month, the tennis world showed little patience for the Arab emirate’s excuse of “security concerns.” The ban was seen for what it was — a political move — and triggered sanctions.
Now the tennis ball is in Sweden’s court, where the city of Malmö banned fans from attending last weekend’s Davis Cup tie against Israel. Malmö cited “security concerns” for playing the match behind closed doors. Anti-Israel demonstrators clashed with the police outside the stadium — throwing stones and fire crackers — but nothing the officers couldn’t handle.
As in Dubai, politics, not security concerns, were the real issue in Malmö. The city council vote to ban spectators split along party lines, with left-leaning parties winning 5-4. This was not a case of radicals intimidating officials into embarrassing the Israeli guests. Rather, the radicals already run the city. “My personal opinion is that one should not play a match against Israel at all in this situation [Israel’s Gaza operation],” said the mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, in January.
Like the organizers in Dubai, Mr. Reepalu was afraid the Jewish athletes could antagonize his constituency. “A large part of Malmö’s population is from the Middle East . . . I understand they are uncomfortable about this and want to demonstrate. This is not a match against just anybody. It’s a match against the state of Israel.”
Public support for the protests coupled with TV pictures of a depressingly empty stadium were meant to send the message that — in the words of the Malmö mayor — the Jewish state is not “just anybody.” Sweden presented Israel as a pariah nation that must be quarantined.
Israel’s demonization as an apartheid state and worse has become common in the Nordic country. Like Dubai, Sweden may want to reconsider its general attitude toward Israel — not just in sports. It’s unbecoming for a society that claims to rank among the most tolerant.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: People’s Card Debts Continue to Pile Up
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, MARCH 9 — Consumers in Turkey face increasing distress in repaying loans and card debts, while industries encounter more and more problems from bad checks with the impact of the global crisis, daily Hurriyet reports. The number of those that are unable to pay personal loans and credit card payments reached 138,987 in the first month of the year, doubling the figure from a year earlier. The most noteworthy rise occurred in loan debtors. The rise of the number of personal loan debtors climbed 4.5 fold compared to last year. Industry and trade have turned upside down because of bad checks. In February, the number of bad checks rose 53.1%, compared to the same month of last year. Within the last six months, during which the impacts of the crisis have increased, bad checks is said to have risen five times. Non-performing loans at banks climbed to 2.1 billion Turkish liras as of January, amounting to 2.5% of total loan debt. Non-performing credit card loans climbed 2.477 billion liras, reaching 7.5% of aggregate credit card debt. In January, 82,714 people could not pay their credit card debts, amounting to a two-fold increase, compared to the same period of last year, according to the data from the Central Bank. The figure stood at 49,719 people last year. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: Dialogue With Taliban Endangers Women’s Rights
The condition of women will be the testing ground for any dialogue with the Taliban. AsiaNews has gathered comments in the country on the U.S. president’s idea of seeking dialogue with Taliban moderates. There is widespread fear of “going backward.” The importance of Iran.
Kabul (AsiaNews) — “The evolution of this country is in the hands of women. Under the Taliban, women could not even go to school, they were forced to stay home and endure forced marriages. Conditions for women may be the main testing ground for the dialogue that the U.S. president wants to open with Taliban moderates.” This is one of the comments that AsiaNews has gathered in Afghanistan after the proposal of U.S. president Barack Obama to open a dialogue with the Taliban moderates.
On March 7, Obama said that the United States cannot win the war in Afghanistan against the Islamic extremists, and said that he is willing to “explore” the possibility of a dialogue with Taliban moderates, in order to separate them from fundamentalist groups like al Qaeda.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has commented on the news very favorably, and has said that the dialogue could be directed first of all to the “many who are afraid to return to their country, and believe that they have no other choice than to side with al Qaeda.”
But local circles are perplexed, and are asking in the first place: Who are the Taliban moderates, and what did they do during the Taliban regime? One expert comments that “a few months ago, Taliban leaders, believed to be moderate, indicated the three points that for them are nonnegotiable: that all the soldiers from other countries leave; that there be no foreign interference in Afghan politics; and that sharia (Islamic law) be applied. With the exception of the armed opposition, these are the same things that the Taliban fundamentalists want. Of course, dialogue is always positive, peace can be reached only through dialogue. But the point is how this dialogue can be realized. If tomorrow Taliban moderates again impose sharia, which was enacted during their regime, I am afraid that the Calvary of the Afghan women will resume.”
Yesterday, President Karzai, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, denounced the fact that many in the country still consider women as “property,” and said that “forced marriages, the selling of women, these are against Islam.”
On March 7, Jan Bibi, a widow, set herself on fire and died in the district of Obe (western Afghanistan) in order to escape a life of hardship. As a widow, Bibi was a pariah of society, undesirable for marriage and without any opportunity to work. Women often commit suicide in the area in order to avoid abuse and forced marriage. A recent UN report says that “threats and intimidation against women in public life or who work outside the home have seen a dramatic increase” in the country.
Fear is widespread that a new Taliban regime would mean “going backward.” Analysts observe that the only results of this long war and its immense cost in human lives and money may be the better conditions for women, and democracy. Democracy is still weak, to such an extent that Karzai has delayed until August the elections scheduled for April, because of the difficult situation.
The idea of dialogue is not new, Karzai has suggested it repeatedly. But the problem is also that of whether Karzai and democratic forces in the country are capable of opposing the Taliban.
Many observe that “if the U.S. military cannot win against the Taliban, how can the Afghan military do so? It cannot be as prepared as that of the U.S., even if billions have been spent to reorganize it. And the police are still plagued with widespread corruption. It is unlikely that the time is right to entrust the country to self-governance.” Besides, despite the extensive resources employed by the U.S. and by other countries, Karzai controls only Kabul and the surrounding area.
Other comments are more optimistic, and say that it is necessary “to involve Iran in the process of pacification. It can play an important role. Now it has been invited to participate in the conference in June in Trieste, to discuss the Afghan situation. It will be important to see if it accepts.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China and Nepal Together Against Demonstrations by Nepal’s Tibetans by Kalpit Parajuli
Samdhong Rinpoche, Tibet’s prime minister-in-exile, says that as a “sovereign and independent nation” Nepal must not submit to directives by “foreign powers.” Nepal’s Maoist government reassures Beijing that it will not tolerate anti-Chinese demonstrations, signalling instead its interest for a “peace and friendship treaty.”
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) — Tibetan leaders are calling on Nepal’s Maoist government not to sacrifice freedom of speech on the altar of a treaty with China. The request comes a day after Nepali authorities promised their counterparts in Beijing that they would crack down on any “anti-Chinese activities” in coincidence with the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising which falls tomorrow.
Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said that Nepal is a “sovereign and democratic” nation and should act in accordance with its own laws rather than in response to “directives” issued by “foreign powers.”
About 20,000 Tibetan refugees live in the Himalayan nation where, Rinpoche noted, “there have been no problems” for the Tibetan community, and where, he hopes, there will be “none in the future.”
Last week during his Nepal visit Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi gave acting Nepali Foreign Secretary Suresh Prasad Pradhan a draft copy of a new “Peace and Friendship Treaty.”
For China the new Friendship Treaty addresses Nepal’s changed political context after it abolished the monarchy.
Many Tibetan leaders in India fear however that the new treaty will be used to crack down on every anti-Chinese protest.
For its part Nepal’s Maoist government reiterated its intention to pursue a “one China” policy, stating that it does not want Nepali territory to be used to protest against its powerful neighbour.
For this purpose it has set up a more tightly controlled “peace zone” around China’s embassy in Kathmandu where all forms of protest are banned.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: Guantanamo Detainee Hambali is the Mastermind of the Bali Massacre and the Attack Against Christians
He is being accused by two former militants of Jemaah Islamiah, sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in attacks on churches in 2000. The country is facing the problem of where he should be sent: his return home would strengthen the fundamentalist wing of the country, which considers him a “hero” because of his years in Guantanamo.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Riduan “Hambali” Isamudin is the mastermind who planned the massacre in Bali in 2002, and the attacks against Christian churches and buildings in 2000. The accusation comes from Mubarok and Ali Imron, both members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), who say they are willing to testify against the operational chief of the Islamic fundamentalist movement in southeast Asia, who is being held in the detention center in Guantanamo.
Mubarok and Ali Imron are being held in the prison in Jakarta, where they are serving a life sentence for their involvement in the attack against churches in the country. In 2000, a coordinated series of bombs exploded in six different provinces, killing 19 people in the period before Christmas. They avoided the death penalty by demonstrating “remorse,” and cooperating with security forces to shed light on the attacks. “Hambali brainwashed our mind to stage a jihad war against non-Islam followers,” Imron says.
The accusations issued by the two former jihadists and the possible closing of the Guantanamo detention center raise a serious problem for Indonesian authorities: should Hambali return to the country, or is it preferable for him to remain in a foreign nation? It is not an insignificant question: on the one hand, his return would provide investigators with the possibility of interrogating him; he could also clarify his relationship with the religious fundamentalist Abu Bakar Baasyir, head of JI in southeast Asia. On the other hand, it could create a substantial security problem: the fact that he spent many years in the Cuban prison could elevate him to the status of “martyr” in the fight against the West. ““If Hambali returns back to Indonesia, he’s certainly becoming a hero,” says a police official. “He served in Guantanamo. He’ll be a rock star. That’s why, it’s preferable for us that he is kept in the United States.”
Sidney Jones, an expert on terrorism, says that “if you think Abu Bakar Baasyir was treated as a celebrity, the score for Hambali is 10 times (due to his record as Guantanamo veteran).” Chief of police Bambang Hendarso Danuri says that United States authorities should keep Hambali out of Indonesia for obvious reasons of security. He says the interrogations can be conducted abroad, and there is no need for the work to be done in Indonesia.
Anonymous police sources say that last February, a group of experts in Indonesia’s anti-terrorism department met with Hambali in Guantanamo. The terrorist, who was in good health, is said to have confessed his involvement in the bombing attacks on the churches. So far, the Indonesian foreign minister and the U.S. embassy in Jakarta have not wanted to release any statements regarding an “agreement” on who should keep the terrorist.
Although there has been no official statement, it seems evident that the Indonesian authorities prefer to leave the hot potato in other hands. At the moment, there is not sufficient proof to incriminate Hambali in the Bali massacre, and the confession of the two terrorists does not seem to be enough. Moreover, the antiterrorism law of 2002 is not retroactive, and cannot be used in procedures against him. Hambali would therefore need to answer “only” for the attack on the churches in 2000.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Mushfiq Murshed: the Deal for Introducing Sharia to the Swat Valley is Absurd
Dawn 02.03.2009 (Pakistan)
Mushfiq Murshed thinks the deal with Maulana Sufi Muhammad for introducing sharia to the Swat Valley is absurd. “This was demonstrated by the cold-blooded murder of journalist Musa Khankhel and the abduction of the Swat DCO. The latter was released shortly afterwards reportedly in exchange for some militants in government custody. The accord envisages the restoration of the qazi courts and the imposition of sharia. This precarious truce is based on logic bordering on absurdity. A democratically elected government has entered into an agreement whereby the writ of the state is being virtually handed over to a group of clerics who believe that democracy itself is un-Islamic. Sufi Muhammad is reported to have said, ‘From the very beginning, I have viewed democracy as a system imposed on us by the infidels. Islam does not allow democracy or elections’.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Singapore: I Wanted to Spread Gospel
Woman who mailed tracts did not know they were objectionable
AN ASSOCIATE director of a bank who is accused of distributing seditious and objectionable materials to three Muslims said she did not know or had reason to believe that an evangelistic tract she sent out was objectionable. Testifying in her defence on Monday, Dorothy Chan Hien Leng, 45, said neither did she know that The Little Bride had a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between Christians and Muslims in Singapore.
She said she did not know that the American-published booklet dealt with religion in such a manner that was likely to cause feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility between the two religious groups.
From 2004, she said she had not read the contents of the tracts she had mailed out to recipients from the phone directory randomly.
Neither did she show them to her husband, Ong Kian Cheong, 48, a SingTel technical officer.
Chan said at first, the tracts were put into the letter boxes of residents at Housing Board blocks.
Subsequently in the late 1990s, she started mailing them out in envelopes.
She wrote the names and addresses on the envelopes and put the tracts in before mailing them.
Her aim was to sow the Gospel seed and let recipients come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, she said.
She and Ong are accused of distributing the seditious publication, The Little Bride, to Mr Irwan Ariffin in October 2007, and the same objectionable booklet to Ms Farhati Ahmad seven months earlier in March.
They are also said to have distributed another seditious publication, Who is Allah?, to Mr Isa Raffee in December that year.
The last charge accuses them of having 11 titles of seditious publications totalling 439 copies at their Maplewoods condominium on the day of their arrest on Jan 30 last year.
The hearing continues.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
For Wu Bangguo China Will Never Adopt a Western-Style Democracy
A loyalist of former leader Jiang Zemin and now ranked two in the Communist Party hierarchy, Wu speaks out against greater democracy and respect for human rights in China. He reasserts the essential and inalienable role of the party in the country’s life.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — China will never adopt a Western-style democracy and discussions about democracy and liberalisation should not weaken the Chinese Communist Party, this according to Wu Bangguo, ranked number two in the Communist Party hierarchy, who spoke today at the national People’s Congress, striking an uncompromising stance against demands for greater democracy and respect for human rights that are coming from even within the ranks of the Communist Party.
In a long speech Wu stressed that China will never “introduce a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation,” nor will it accept the separation of power between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, currently under the single thumb of the government.
He reiterated the view that the Communist Party will continue to lay down guidelines and that judges, prosecutors and every public office will have to “adhere to the line, principles and policies of the party.” The ‘“path of socialism with Chinese characteristics” will remain paramount.
In what seemed an answer to all those who believe that injustice leads to social tensions. Wu, a member of the Shanghai gang and a loyalist of former Jiang Zemin, quoted former leader Deng Xiaoping who said that “without the leadership of the party a big country like China would be torn by strife”.
The country has recently seen an upsurge of demands for greater democracy and respect for human rights as way, among other things, to quell mass protest.
An appeal in that direction entitled Charter 08 has been circulating around the country, gathering support even within the party, reflecting pro-democracy reforms proposed in the 1980s by then party secretary Zhao Ziyang whereby state and party and party and army would be separate, proposals that were nipped in the bud with Zhao’s removal from office just before the Tiananmen Square massacre.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Philippines: Communist Rebels Deplore Killing of Commander’s Daughter
Manila, 6 March (AKI) — The outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines said on Friday it deplored the murder on southern Mindanao island of the daughter of a commander of its armed wing, saying her slaying was part of “Manila’s dirty war.”
Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of the New People’s Army commander Leoncio Pitao, was found dead on Thursday night, a day after she was abducted by armed men while on her way home in the outskirts of Davao City, the largest city on Mindanao.
“The army has no justification at all for abducting, molesting and murdering Ka Parago’s (Leoncio Pitao)’s daughter Rebelyn.
“By killing Rebelyn, the army has committed a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the rules of war, which gives foremost protection to those not taking part in the armed conflict,” the CPP said in a statement on Friday.
“Rebelyn’s murder and the barbarities committed against her are undoubtedly part of the dirty war being carried out by the Army under Oplan Bantay Laya 2.”
Oplan Bantay Laya 2 is the operation launched in 2002 against Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf and other rebels Muslim-majority south. It began to target the CPP and the NPA in 2003.
The victim had recently passed the national teacher’s examination and was set to teach at the St. Peter’s School in Toril, Davao City.
Her body, clad only in underwear, bore several stab wounds. Her hands were tied and her mouth was bound with masking tape, fuelling speculation she was tortured and sexually assaulted.
In June last year, Pitao’s brother, Danilo, was also abducted and killed.
Major General Raymundo Ferrer, a regional military commander of the Philippines army, denied its soldiers were involved in the kidnapping and killing of Pitao’s daughter.
“It is not the policy of the military to involve the family or children of the rebels into our fight,’ he said, adding that the army was open to investigation of alleged crimes.
Since 2001, hundreds of members of left-wing political parties, human rights activists, journalists, and outspoken clergy have been killed in the Philippines. The number increased sharply after President Arroyo’s June 2006 declaration of an “all-out war” against the NPA.
The latest peace talks between Manila and the CPP were suspended in 2004, after Manila refused to pressure the United States and the European Union to remove the NPA from their lists of foreign terrorist organisations.
The aim of the CPP and the NAP, both founded in the late 1960s, is to turn the Philippines into a Maoist State.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Australia: Victorian Firefighter John Willis Sacked for Swearing
A FIREFIGHTER with 40 years experience has been axed for swearing during the Black Saturday bushfire crisis.
John Willis lost his job as captain of a Gippsland brigade for swearing on emergency radio when his crew allegedly ignored instructions and put their lives at risk, the Herald Sun reports.
The CFA said the fireman was stripped of his rank after at least two outbursts during last month’s tragic inferno.
But Mr Willis said he was singled out because he said “f—-” out of frustration when his crew tackled a fire against orders.
At the time, the dairy farmer was battling a blaze on his property that threatened a house and burnt out 50ha of pasture.
“If I did swear, it was out of frustration, not anger. When it (a fire) is on your own dunghill, it’s a different story,” he said.
“I did have a bit on my plate.”
The row follows a TV slip by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who described the economic crisis as a “political s—-storm”.
Mr Willis said he was forced out as captain of the Carrajung brigade, by local operations manager Greg Flynn.
“He virtually demanded I resign because I swore at my guys. These blokes had gone the wrong way and put themselves in danger,” he said.
Mr Willis said he reapplied for the captain’s job at a recent meeting but was not accepted because of the swearing incident.
He said his neighbours didn’t take offence when they heard him swear on a citizen’s band UHF.
They took cakes to his property the next day, he said.
Mr Willis, who has been demoted to the rank of firefighter, has been a CFA member since his mid-teens.
He has travelled on his own time to hundreds of fires — in Victoria and interstate — and worked at car accidents, storms and other emergencies, saving countless lives.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
New Zealand: Kiwi Still in Pakistan
New Zealand authorities have yet to meet Kiwi Mark Taylor face-to-face, a month after his capture in Pakistan.
Mr Taylor, 35, was detained by Pakistani security forces on February 11 after trying to enter a tribal region on the Afghan border, identified as a Taleban and al Qaeda stronghold, without permission.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Murray McCully said New Zealand’s embassy in Tehran had established that Mr Taylor was in good health but had not yet been allowed to meet him.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Somalia: Government Votes in Favor of Islamic Law
The council of ministers has approved, tonight, a plan to introduce Islamic law (sharia) in the country. The minister of information, Farhan Ali Mohamoud said: “the council has discussed in detail the issue approving in a unanimous manner (though only 20 of the 36 ministers in cabinet were in attendance) a provision that would provide for the application of Islamic Law, considered to be the sole valid option to confront the many problems of Somalia”. The proposal can only become law after a parliamentary vote, because it does not fall into the accord reached in Djibouti that brought part of the former opposition of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia to the government. The Somali political situation in the past two months was deeply modified with the arrival of president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the nomination of prime minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. Both, on many occasions, have supported the introduction of sharia to address the requests of an important part of Somali society to offer a set of norms to a country marked by anarchy and war for the past 20 years. [AB]
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sudan: Charges Against President: Au Renews Support to Khartoum
The arrest warrant issued against Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al Bashir by the ICC (International Criminal Court) has already “undermined peace and reconciliation” in the Darfur region, African Union (AU) Commissioner Jean Ping said after meeting yesterday with the Sudanese President in Khartoum. The talks came just days after the ICC charged al Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region. Ping also denounced the political meaning of the decision of the ICC, accused of ignoring crimes committed in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Territories. The visit to Khartoum of the AU commissioner follows that of the Arab League secretary general, engaged with AU in an effort to obtain a one-year suspension of the case against Bashir from the UN Security Council.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
West Africans Dominate Cocaine Trade
A number of major recent drug busts in Switzerland have underlined the growing influence of West Africans in the cocaine trafficking trade and the methods used.
In February, a Lausanne court jailed two Nigerian asylum seekers working for a Togolese criminal group for smuggling cocaine into Switzerland and money laundering following a Europe-wide investigation known as “Inox”.
In all, some 35 people have been arrested as part of the investigation, accused of smuggling 15 kilograms of cocaine from West Africa between 2005 and 2008.
The Inox case is just one of a handful of major cocaine busts announced by Swiss police in recent months. On Wednesday, Neuchâtel cantonal police reported it had broken up a West African cocaine ring following the arrests of 30 people across Europe…
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Argentina: Berlusconi, Total Distortion of Reality
(AGI) — Rome, 19 Feb. — “A total distortion of reality’“ is Silvio Berlusconi’s comment on the ‘Argentina case’. He reaction: “It’s something crazy, I only said that I can’t really be compared to Videla and it explained it to someone who was laughing, I told him there was no reason to laugh because this is serious stuff”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Argentina: Menem Refuses to Testify in Corruption Cases
Prosecutors brought former Argentine President Carlos Menem into court for the first time Monday to probe a possible coverup in the country’s biggest terror attack.
But the 78-year old former president refused to answer any questions about the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center and instead presented written testimony that prosecutor Alberto Nisman said was “plagued with generalities,” the Telam news agency reported.
A spokesman for Judge Ariel Lijo who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak confirmed that Menem presented the written testimony, which has not been made public.
Prosecutors say Menem and his brother Munir tried to cover up the role of Syrian-Argentine businessman Alberto Jacinto Kanoore Edul in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association that killed 85 people and wounded 200. But judges have not yet approved charges against either of the Menems or Kanoore.
Menem, who governed from 1989-1999, has denied the allegations and accused President Cristina Fernandez and her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, of persecuting him politically.
Argentine prosecutors accuse Iranian officials of orchestrating the bombing and Interpol agreed in 2007 to put seven Iranians and a Lebanese terror suspect on its most-wanted list in connection with the attack.
But they also say that Kanoor’s phone records and address book show he was in contact with people allegedly involved in the attack and say the Menem brothers used their influence to prevent prosecutors from looking more closely at Kanoor, whose family migrated from the same Syrian town from which the Menem family came.
The former president also presented a written statement in another investigation Monday before Federal Judge Sergio Torres, according to Telam. Prosecutors allege Menem sold a government-owned property for millions of dollars below its market value, which he denies.
Menem, currently a senator from his native La Rioja province, is also on trial for illegally trafficking arms during the 1990s.
| — Hat tip: Fausta | [Return to headlines] |
Bolivia: Two Deputy Ministers of Culture to “Decolonize Country”
“We are all obliged to change mentality: to change the notion of superiority with that of equality and exchange among Bolivians, among the original cultures and those imposed by the West”. President Evo Morales has chosen the Quechua economist Maria Estela Vargas and the Ayamra historian Roberto Choque Canqui as deputy ministers of the newly established ministry of Cultures, giving them the objective of ‘decolonizing’ Bolivia, recovering the essence of the Bolivian cultural identity. “It is not possible that in the new millennium some of our brothers claim to have studied to learn to control, to dominate indigenous peoples. This shall change and it shall depend from the orientation, education and conscience of each one of us, both in the rural areas and in the cities” said president Evo Morales, speaking to the installation ceremony for the new ministers; “You have a great responsibility toward the Bolivian people — said Morales, paraphrasing ‘subcomandante’ Marcos, leader of the Mexican Zapatistas — and it is better to command by following the orders of the people”. [AB]
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
CNN Correspondent Now the Communist Candidate in El Salvador
The presidential candidate [1] of the Farabundo Martà National Liberation Front (FMLN), the communist revolutionaries in El Salvador the Reagan administration battled in the 1980s, is, a Monday Washington Post story noted, “a former correspondent for CNN en Espanol [2].”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Pope Urges Romans to Tolerate Immigrants
Rome, 9 March (AKI) — As the city of Rome deals with an increasingly diverse cultural and ethnic community Pope Benedict XVI on Monday urged the people of the city to reject discrimination and treat immigrants fairly. The pope made his remarks on an historic visit to the city’s town hall on Capitoline Hill where he met the mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno.
It was the first visit by the German-born pope to the city’s seat of government since a visit by the late John Paul II in 1998 and cultural as well as Muslim leaders turned out to greet him on Monday.
“Rome has always been a welcoming city,” Benedict said in a speech to the city council. “ Rome has come to be inhabited by people from other nations who belong to different cultures and religious traditions; as a consequence it now has the aspect of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious metropolis in which integration is at times demanding and complex” said the pontiff.
Benedict referred specifically to recent episodes of violence linked to immigrants that have provoked fierce debate in the Italian capital and criticism from city officials.
“Recent episodes of violence, which we all deplore, are an expression of a deeper malaise. They are, I would say, a sign of the real spiritual poverty afflicting the heart of modern man,” the pope said.
Benedict said Italy finds itself facing “unprecedented” cultural, social and economic challenges.
During Benedict’s visit, Alemanno made a speech in which he announced the construction of a help-centre dedicated to the pontiff. The centre, for disadvantaged young people, is to be built on a plot of land belonging to the city of Rome.
Members of Rome’s Muslim community attended the pope’s visit to the Capitoline Hill, and said it was signficant.
“The presence of representatives of Rome’s Grand Mosque on the Capitoline Hill during the pontiff’s visit is of particular significance,” said Abdellah Radouane, secretary-general of Italy’s Cultural Islamic Centre in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).
“It represents not only an expression of Rome’s pluralism, but also the great institutional importance that the mosque has, both at a local and national level, without forgetting that the mosque can act as a bridge between Italy and the Islamic world,” Radouane said.
According to 2008 figures released by Catholic charity Caritas, there are about 269,600 foreign residents in Rome, nearly 10 percent of the city’s total population of 2.8 million.
Only three other popes have visited Rome’s Town Hall — Pope Pius IX in 1870, Paul VI in 1966 and John Paul II in January 1998.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Stem Cells: Consulta Bioetica, Great Obama Says Yes to Research
(AGI) — Rome, 9 Mar. — “Great Obama, well done for saying yes to stem cell research, all types of research, including embryonic” reads a note by the Consulta di Bioetica charity in which they applaud “the decision with which President Obama opened up research on stem cells of all types, whether they are adult or embryonic. The dispute about the presumed lack of use of research on embryonic stem cells has nothing to do with science but is conditioned by age-old prejudices supported by several religious lobbies which supported the ex-President t Bush in his terrible policies, both in the field of science and in military expansion”. According to the charity run by Maurizio Mori, Obama “is finally restoring the situation to more reasonable terms and in this most welcome line he has decided to remove the old prohibitions and open up the whole field of research. As we have always maintained, anyone who criticises the choice made accusing it of being dictated by secret powers which have supported his election, we reply with the wisdom of a traditional [Italian] proverb,” warns Mori, “he who suspects is in defect. The people who are putting forward similar fantastical hypotheses are in fact the very home-grown pseudo-researchers who are used to earning popularity and receiving financing from religious lobbies on the basis of promises of miraculous experiments, the results of which subsequently sink into the oblivion”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Superstar Julia Roberts, Who Returns to the Big Screen This Week in the Movie “Duplicity, “ Will Produce a Comedy About a Boy Who Follows Messages to Find His Father, the Hollywood Press Reported Monday.
“Christ” is about a brilliant boy created in a petri-dish, raised by a left-wing feminist woman and who goes to a prestigious Catholic school.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Agenda of Deliberate Destruction
Author [of book “United in Hate”] in a Q&A interview.
Q: You reveal how misogynistic the Islamic culture can be. How can the trademark “believer,” who ostensibly would be an adamant voice for women’s rights, really support Islamofascist regimes?
A: The key is that the believer pretends that he is for social justice and women’s rights and gay rights etc., but in fact he doesn’t care about any of these things. They are just weapons for him to wage war on his own society. If “women’s rights” is an issue that he can use to bash capitalism and democracy then he will do it, but if the issue is honor killings and female genital mutilation, then he has to ignore it. It makes the believer have to face the possibility that his society is actually a good one and that adversarial cultures and societies are bad. So, when it comes to Islam, he has to drop his interest in women’s rights. Because destroying his own society is the priority, he must constantly portray it as evil. The evil committed by enemies therefore has to be ignored. And if it means ignoring millions of women who are barbarically oppressed by Islamic gender apartheid, then that is the way it has to be.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
We Are Friendlier to People Who Resemble Us, Scientists Find
The more someone looks like us the more likely we are to help them, scientist find.
We feel more altruistic to those who resemble us because in the past our early ancestors assumed that they were related, according to the study.
The instinct dates back to when there were no mirrors and people could learn what their kin looked like only by inspecting the faces of household members.
Looking on the bright side of life is in the genes, claim scientistsThe study, published in Biology Letters, even found that we were more naturally drawn to people who looked like us than our own relatives, if the resemblance was strong enough.
The researchers came to the conclusion after a study of 70 identical adult twins who, although genetically the same, had over the years grown to look different from each other.
Then they manipulated the photographs of the participants by digitally mixing them with a model’s face so that the images would either resemble them or their co-twin.
Then they asked each one who they would prefer to rescue from danger and which one they would prefer a different sex sibling to marry.
In each case, the person most resembling themselves was preferred almost two thirds of the time — significantly higher than being down to chance alone.
Dr Paola Bressan, of the University of Padova, Italy, said: “Our work shows a stranger who resembles us elicits pro-social regard more than a stranger who resembles a close family member — even one as close as our identical twin, who is, incidentally, genetically identical.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Twice in two years they have fought in Iraq. Twelve of their regimental comrades paid the ultimate price there and in Afghanistan.
Careful conversation with locals at Marston’s and Red House Market revealed that the compound residents use a lot of food stamps and frequent the county health department. They also are very aggressive with strangers asking questions about them. I am told they mostly shop at the Lynchburg Wal-Mart.
This weekend, I had the misfortune to watch the film adaptation of the famous graphic novel The Watchmen. It was a movie I had every intention of enjoying — the trailers looked fantastic and everything pointed to it being a thrilling, if gruesome, ride through yet another untapped franchise. Sadly, it proved to be nothing more than a pretentiously dark and high-mindedly nihilistic piece that would be more forgettable if its images weren’t so pervasively disturbing.
Those who claim that the West owes much to the East are right in many cases, but also exaggerate this debt in others. Space travel was not so much a “mutual exchange of ideas” as an overwhelmingly European and Western creation based on science and technology that did not exist nor develop anywhere else in the world. It is true that the concept of a “rocket” was invented in Asia. The Chinese used rockets for military purposes for centuries, and they were known in other regions such as the Indian subcontinent, where Europeans encountered them.
According to Arnold Pacey in his book 
Space travel depended upon a host of scientific and technological innovations and in many ways represented the culmination of centuries of Western advances in these fields. It is unthinkable that you could have had space travel without the European Scientific and Industrial Revolutions. The chemical revolution which facilitated the discovery or invention of the materials and fuels needed for space technology started in the eighteenth century or earlier. The first device for generating an electrical current was created by the Italian Alessandro Volta in 1800. Electromagnetism was discovered by a Dane, Hans Christian Ørsted, and developed by people from Germany, Britain, France and other European nations.
While the materials and electrical equipment needed to launch human beings into space, communicate with them and bring them safely back home could not have been made without prior advances in electricity, electromagnetism, chemistry and other fields, we must not forget the importance of mathematical tools as well. Without modern branches of mathematics such as calculus it would have been more or less impossible to bring people to the Moon and back, or to send robotic probes to Mars and other planets. Indeed, the very concept of “gravity” was only developed in Europe during the Scientific Revolution, by Sir Isaac Newton in England.
The developments which would lead to space travel began in the late nineteenth century. Writers such as the Englishman H. G. Wells (1866-1946) and the Frenchman Jules Verne (1828-1905), the fathers of the science fiction genre, inspired many people, including scientists who would develop practical rockets, to envision visits to the Moon and elsewhere. Rocket technology developed so much that space travel went from science fiction to fact.
When the Soviet Union with Korolyov launched the Sputnik 1 into orbit in October 1957, they ignited the Space Race between the two superpowers within the Cold War. The Americans responded quickly and established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. There was a large military component to this as rockets and missiles could be equipped with nuclear warheads, but the Space Race was also a competition for global prestige which generated peaceful benefits such as weather and communications satellites, too. Above all, it opened up the possibility of placing observatories outside of the Earth’s atmosphere and of sending probes to explore other bodies in our Solar System.