We received an email a few days ago asking that we read a letter to the editor in the Irish Independent written by members of the American Trade Union movement to their colleagues in Ireland. Our correspondent noted that the attorneys among the signatories are prominent US labor lawyers.

Here is the letter from March 1st:

Sir — We, members of the American Trade Union movement, have heard and read with disappointment and sadness that some of our Irish colleagues continue to lead a campaign in Ireland for a boycott of Israeli goods and services. It would seem that the appeal we made to them, during our visit to Ireland last November, to reconsider their boycott call has fallen on deaf ears.

We believe that such a campaign amounts to a form of prejudice and discrimination. In unfairly singling out one party to the conflict, it aims to punish and delegitimise Israel while ignoring the decades-long attacks against it by Palestinian terrorist organisations. Such a campaign can only serve to embolden these extreme elements and disempower moderates.

We believe that the boycott campaign is misguided and runs counter to efforts to promote dialogue and understanding. It contradicts the insistence, based on the experience of the Irish peace process, on the value of dialogue as a means of solving conflict.

We suggest that, rather than embracing the politics of rejectionism, trade unionists and other non-governmental organisations seeking a just and fair resolution should help to bridge the gaps between the two sides. In particular, the encouragement of trade and academic links has the potential to bring employment and prosperity, significant factors in the achievement of peace.

Jack Ahern, President,
New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
Atty Mike Carroll,
Robert Haynes, President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO,
Atty Cody McCone,
Atty Brian O’Dwyer,
Tom Wilkinson, President,
Fairfield County Labor Council, AFL-CIO

The letter intrigued me. I know there is anti-Semitism in Ireland, but I needed more detail about the boycott issue.
– – – – – – – – –
It’s worse than I thought.

The first site I found, The Institute for Global Jewish Affairs, had a fairly recent (December 2008) summary of Trade Union and Other Boycotts of Israel in Great Britain and Ireland. It’s a dismal account:

• The United Kingdom more than any other country in the world has embraced the Palestinian call for academic, trade union, media, medical, architectural, and cultural boycotts of Israel. The driving force for this campaign is Britain’s trade union movement and its anti-Zionist activists on the far Left, such as the Socialist Workers Party (SWP).
• The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) actively works for a general boycott of Israeli goods as well as a cultural and sports boycott of Israel and has forged links with the far Left and the unions to publicize their cause. All the major UK trade unions are affiliated with the PSC and several of them actively promote PSC policies and literature.
• In Ireland as in Britain, the most prominent supporters of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) are the academics and the trade union movement. The call for a boycott of Israel has been endorsed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU); IMPACT, the largest public-sector union in the Republic of Ireland; and the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA), the largest public-sector union in Northern Ireland. Israel is a soft target in Ireland as there is very little organized opposition to the boycott calls.
• An agreement between the Histadrut and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) may help ease the tension. It aims to protect the rights of Palestinians working for Israeli employers and to base future relations on negotiations and dialogue.

It goes on from there with a detailed history of the anti-Israel movement in Britain, including the fact that the main group, The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, “employ[s] a fulltime trade union organizer to forge links with the unions and publicize their cause”…

There is a section on Ireland specifically, and unfortunately, it does not include just Northern Ireland, but the Republic of Ireland to the south:

Irish attitudes toward Israel are not straightforward.

In Irish politics sympathies are very much with the Palestinians…. Yet Irish politicians are pragmatic. Many believe that Israel has much to offer their country in the economic field and thus think Ireland should not burn its bridges with it. Moreover, Irish politicians would not be willing to break ranks with the EU and adopt a tougher position on Israel than its European partners.

The Irish gave the English language the word boycott when in 1880 the Irish Land League successfully called on the Irish farmers to ostracize Captain Charles Boycott, an English land agent. Since that time boycotts have been used as a strategy to try and force change, and the British trade union movement was one of the main supporters of the boycott movement against South Africa in the 1980s.

In Ireland as in Britain, the most prominent supporters of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) are the academics and the trade union movement. The similarity does not end there; many of the activists in both the Republic and Northern Ireland are on the far Left with several involved with both the unions and the IPSC. The call to boycott Israel has been endorsed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ITUC); IMPACT, the largest public-sector union in the Republic of Ireland; and the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA), the largest public-sector union in Northern Ireland.

I asked our correspondent, Murphy, if there were any other sites that might have information on Ireland’s anti-Israel activities. Mark Humphrys’ name came up and I smiled: Humphrys is a pro-American, libertarian blogger with a wealth of information not just on Ireland but on the rest of the world, too. Besides, Mark Humphrys is my cousin, so he’s got to be brilliant, right?

All the information I needed was there on Mark’s blog, and it makes for sad reading. Here’s one example:

Letter calling for Israeli ambassador to be expelled

12-18 January 2009

We, the undersigned, are united in seeking the immediate expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dr Zion Evrony. We believe the ambassador must leave Ireland until such time as there is a complete end to Israel’s war on Gaza and its continued slaughter of the Palestinian people.

Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace Laureate)
Kathy Sinnott MEP
Margaret Conlon TD
Maggie Ronayne (NUI Galway)
Gerry Grehan (Chairman, Peace People)
Dr. Raymond Deane
Kieran Allen (Socialist Workers Party)

etc., ad nauseam, the signatures go on and on and on, down the page…

As Mark says: [all emphases in original]

Nobody defends Israel.

When you read these awful Israel-condemning debates in the Irish Senate, remember that Ireland is a country that was neutral during the Holocaust, that sent condolences to Germany on the death of Hitler, and that refused to allow almost any Jewish refugees in, either before, during or after the war. I don’t at all think the Irish politicians are anti-semitic. Rather, they have a range of trendy reasons for their views. But I think Ireland – like most of Europe – should shut up about Jews for a few hundred years.

Fortunately, there were many Irishmen who disagreed with the Irish President’s openly pro-Nazi stance in World War II. They voted with their feet, 39,000 of them enlisting in the Allied forces to fight Nazi Germany.

Mark quotes Churchill:

• I agree with Churchill on Ireland’s treachery. Ireland was a democracy, one of the only democracies in a world full of genocidal communist and fascist totalitarianism. And it should have stood with the other democracies in World War Two. As Churchill said:

  “The sense of envelopment, which might at any moment turn to strangulation, lay heavy upon us. We had only the northwestern approach between Ulster and Scotland through which to bring in the means of life and to send out the forces of war. Owing to the action of Mr. de Valera, so much at variance with the temper and instinct of thousands of southern Irishmen, who hastened to the battlefront to prove their ancient valor, the approaches which the southern Irish ports and airfields could so easily have guarded were closed by the hostile aircraft and U-boats.

  This was indeed a deadly moment in our life, and if it had not been for the loyalty and friendship of Northern Ireland we should have been forced to come to close quarters with Mr. de Valera or perish forever from the earth. However, with a restraint and poise to which, I say, history will find few parallels, we never laid a violent hand upon them, which at times would have been quite easy and quite natural, and left the de Valera Government to frolic with the German and later with the Japanese representatives to their heart’s content.

  When I think of these days I think also of other episodes and personalities. I do not forget Lieutenant-Commander Esmonde, V.C., D.S.O., Lance-Corporal Keneally, V.C., Captain Fegen, V.C., and other Irish heroes that I could easily recite, and all bitterness by Britain for the Irish race dies in my heart. I can only pray that in years which I shall not see, the shame will be forgotten and the glories will endure, and that the peoples of the British Isles and of the British Commonwealth of Nations will walk together in mutual comprehension and forgiveness.”

• Britain would certainly have been entitled to invade my country, Ireland, if the alternative was losing the war. It was Ireland’s most shameful moment in all of its history.
• If Irish Catholicism could not stand unambiguously against Nazism, then WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD DID IT STAND FOR?

So what chance do you think the American Trade Union’s letter to the editor has in an atmosphere like Ireland’s?

Mark is right that the Irish have acted shamefully and continue to do so. In keeping with his fighting Irish spirit, though, he has a link to a wiki which lists Israeli businesses you can support.

If you know of other companies in Israel, he asks that you contact him here.
Here’s a good place to start looking around.

Obviously Ireland is on its way to hell in a handbasket. Anyone who supports Hamas needs an IQ exam at the very least.

I reported yesterday on the Swat Valley hudna, which had predictably evaporated as soon as the Taliban found it expedient to attack Pakistani army forces.

However, the ceasefire agreement broken by the Taliban applied only to violence between the insurgents and the military. It said nothing about Taliban violence directed at the citizens of the Swat Valley, which is now unfolding in time-honored fashion: the subjugation of women and girls is proceeding apace, churches have been attacked, and businesses that sell music are being bombed.

It’s business as usual under sharia, and people are fleeing the region by the thousands. According to Asia News:

Muslims Attack Christian Community in Punjab

One woman has been killed, and 28 people have been injured at the Presbyterian church in Songo. Violence is on the rise in the Swat Valley and in the northern regions. Thousands of people are fleeing after the introduction of sharia, including many teachers and entire families. In Takhtbhai, in the district of Mardan, there have been bomb attacks on 16 music stores.

Peshawar (AsiaNews/Agencies) — One woman has died and 28 people have been injured in an attack on the Presbyterian Christian community in the village of Songo, in the district of Gujranwala, province of Punjab. The attack took place on the evening of March 2: at 8 p.m., a group of Muslim inhabitants opened fire on the faithful who had gathered in the church for prayer. The woman, named Shakeela, died on the spot, while other members of the faithful suffered injuries of various kinds while they were seeking to flee from the bullets or to protect the pastor. The attackers broke the windows of the church, destroyed the Bibles and the other prayer books, and removed the cross from the roof of the building.

– – – – – – – – –

[…]

The attack in Songo is added to a long list of violent events that are now being seen more or less everywhere in Punjab and in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The attacks are carried out by the Taliban, but also by ordinary people, and they are not coming to an end in the Swat Valley, where a fragile ceasefire has been attained by the government, thanks to the concession of introducing sharia in that district and in the district of Malakand.

During the night of March 5, the Taliban blew up 16 CD and DVD stores in Takhtbhai, in the district of Mardan northeast of Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP. It is one of the many places in the province that in recent months have come under the grip of the Taliban. In February, it was the theater of attacks against girls’ schools, carried out by Islamic fundamentalists, and in spite of the fact that the agreement between the Taliban and the government provides for the reopening of schools to girls, many are afraid of fresh violence.

Since the beginning of the year, people have been abandoning the Swat Valley by the thousands. These include many families and a number of teachers, who have formally stated that they are going on vacation. One mother who left the district recounts: “All the best teachers from my children’s schools have left. I do not think they will go back. According to my relatives there, many children have gone back to school, but there are now too few teachers.”

Hat tip: C. Cantoni.

The most important news story of the day concerns another terrorist bulldozer attack in Jerusalem, the third in a series of such incidents. In this case no one was seriously injured — except for the terrorist, who ended up with a toe tag for his trouble.

A security camera recorded the entire event, and someone taped it off the Israeli TV news and put it up at Liveleak. Don’t miss it — it’s in Hebrew, but that doesn’t matter, because the action is clearly visible: the bulldozer rolls a police car over and over into a bus full of children, and is then stymied by a fallen lamppost from doing any real damage to the bus.

The bulldozer driver backs off for another go at the bus, and at that point armed Israeli civilians (one of them an off-duty policeman) spring into action. The scattering of bullet holes in the windshield and windows of the bulldozer tell the rest of the story.

According to Ynet, an open Koran was found in the cab of the bulldozer.

An armed society is not only a polite society, it’s a safer one.

Thanks to Abu Elvis, C. Cantoni, Diana West, DK, Insubria, Islam in Action, islam o’phobe, JD, Paul Green, Steen, TB, Tuan Jim, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Bair Says FDIC Could be Insolvent This Year
	‘Stimulating’ Scientists Into Proving Global Warming
	Waging War on Prosperity
	USA
	Churchill, Obama and Bush
	Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part I
	It’s Not the Economy, Stupid — It’s Limbaugh
	Obama Intel-Chief Pick Violating Iran Sanctions?
	Possible Military Blueprints Found in Minneapolis Apartment
	Rahm Emanuel’s Brother Advising Obama on Health Care
	Senator: Eligibility is Up to the Voters
	Canada
	Canada: Internal Dissent: the Question of Vince Li
	Canada: Editorial: Subsidizing Hatred
	Canada: RCMP Link B.C. Gang Violence to Mexican Drug Wars
	Canada: Michael Ignatieff: Israel Apartheid Week and Cupe Ontario’s Anti-Israel Posturing Should be Condemned
	Europe and the EU
	“What Has Happened to the Council for Italian Islam?”
	AIDS: First Aids Sample Bio-Bank in Spain for Research
	Denmark: Gang Numbers Increasing
	Denmark: Fighters + Lovers in Court Again
	Denmark: Large Police Raid Nets Drugs and Guns
	Europe Concerned About Freedom of Speech — Czech EU Presidency
	Irish Race From Bust to Boom and Back Again Leaves Germans Feeling Confused and Resentful
	Italy Pulls Out of UN Racism Conference
	Libertas in Fresh Controversy Over Bid to Recruit Swedish Group
	Racist Play Lands UK’s National Theatre in Trouble
	Spain: Madrid, Harsh New Laws Against Rubbish Rummaging
	Sweden: Crews Remove Davis Cup Paving Stone Threat
	Tourism: BIT, Italy-France-Spain, Protocol Agreement
	UK: Council Admits Knowing That Teenager Who Raped Foster Parents’ 2-Year-Old Son Had History of Sex Attacks
	UK: Former Minister Slams ‘National Catastrophe’ of Teenage Mothers Addicted to Benefits
	UK: Murders, Rapes… Shocking Crimes of the 65 Killers Released Under Labour to Strike Again
	UK: Schools Put ‘Big Brother’ CCTV Cameras in Classrooms to Monitor Teachers’ Performance
	Wind Turbine Owners Charged ‘Excess Production’ Tax
	Balkans
	Serbia: Top Milosevic Aide ‘Worked for CIA’
	Serbia: War Crimes Sentences Spark Outcry
	Serbia-Algeria: Cooperation in Military Education
	Serbia: Talks on Free Trade With Turkey, Ukraine, Iran
	Serbia: Iranians Interested in Partnership With Petrohemija
	Mediterranean Union
	EU-Morocco: First Talks on Services and Companies Concluded
	Italy-Tunisia: OK for Tunisia From Rating Agencies
	Italy-Libya: Berlusconi to Gaddafi, Pardon for Colonialism
	Italy-Syria: Italian Exports Up 13% in First 11 Months 2008
	Jordan: EU Award Projects for Democracy and Human Rights
	Libya-France: New French School Opens in Tripoli
	Mediterranean Games: CIJM, Israel and Palestine Not Affiliated
	Mediterranean: EU, South Must Adhere to World Trade
	Morocco: First Conference on Citizens Living Abroad in Rabat
	Rai TV: ‘Riva Sud’ Poettering and ‘Mediterraneo’ Beirut Youth
	University: EMUNI and Med Polytechnic to Work in Dialogue
	North Africa
	Food: Tunisia, Fruit Export Doubles
	University: Morocco, Study in English on Atlas Mountains
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Clinton Criticises Israeli House Demolitions
	Gaza: Ken Loach Wants Accountability From Russell Tribunal
	Israel: Press Reports That Judges Want Barak in Govt
	Israel: ‘Intimidation Forces’ Try to Divide Jerusalem
	Jerusalem: 2 Cops Lightly Hurt, Terrorist Shot Dead in Attack
	Middle East
	Iran: Israeli Nuclear Sites Within Missile Range
	Islamic Countries Reject Al Qaeda, But Also American Policy
	Lebanon: Trade Position Strengthened in Middle East
	Middle East: Evidence Mounts of Syrian Nuclear Cover-Up
	Oil: Syria; Study, Reserves of 24.3 Bln Barrels
	Saudi Minister Calls for Joint Strategy to Confront “Iranian Challenge”
	South Asia
	India: Intelligence Agencies Blame ‘Incompetent’ Pakistani Govt
	Indonesia: Men May be Jailed for Multiple Marriages
	Malaysia: Dispute Over Baby’s Conversion
	Pakistan: Was Lahore Terror Attack a Conspiracy? England Cricket Star’s Shock Claims Over Test Match Massacre
	Singapore: Man Admits to Airport Plot
	Australia — Pacific
	Australia: Human Smuggler Jailed 3 Yrs
	Latin America
	Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez Tightens State Control of Food Amid Rocketing Inflation and Food Shortages
	Immigration
	650 Immigrants in Lampedusa, 80 Leaving
	Algeria: Al-Qaeda ‘Recruiting’ Illegal Migrants for Attacks
	Greece: Government-EU Programme for Integration
	Roma Question in Hungary
	Spain: Young People Do Not Feel Spanish
	Culture Wars
	Prof Calls Cops When Student Mentions Guns in Speech
	General
	U.N. to Make Ban on Criticizing Islam Mandatory?

Bair Says FDIC Could be Insolvent This Year

March 4 (Bloomberg) — Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the fund it uses to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency.

“Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year,” Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group.

“A large number” of bank failures may occur through 2010 because of “rapidly deteriorating economic conditions,” Bair said in the letter. “Without substantial amounts of additional assessment revenue in the near future, current projections indicate that the fund balance will approach zero or even become negative.”

The FDIC last week approved a one-time “emergency” fee and other assessment increases on the industry to rebuild a fund to repay customers for deposits of as much as $250,000 when a bank fails. The fees, opposed by the industry, may generate $27 billion this year after the fund fell to $18.9 billion in the fourth quarter from $34.6 billion in the previous period, the FDIC said.

The fund, which lost $33.5 billion in 2008, was drained by 25 bank failures last year. Sixteen banks have failed so far this year, further straining the fund.

Angry Bankers

Smaller banks are outraged over the one-time fee, which could wipe out 50 percent to 100 percent of a bank’s 2009 earnings, Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

“I’ve never seen emotions like this,” said Fine, adding that he’s received more than 1,000 e-mails and telephone messages from angry bankers.

“The FDIC realizes that these assessments are a significant expense, particularly during a financial crisis and recession when bank earnings are under pressure,” Bair wrote. “We did not want to impose large assessments when the industry and economy are struggling. We searched for alternatives but found none better.”

The agency, which has released the change for 30 days of public comment, could modify the assessment to shift the burden to the large banks “that caused this train wreck,” Fine said. “Community bankers are feeling like they are paying for the incompetence and greed of Wall Street,” he said.

Legal Constraints

Bair dismissed that suggestion.

“For risk-based assessments, our statute restricts us from discriminating against an institution because of size,” Bair wrote.

The deposit insurance fund won’t dry up because the government can get funds from the industry and congressional appropriations, and borrow from the Treasury, Chip MacDonald, a partner specializing in financial services at law firm Jones Day, said today in a telephone interview.

“As a depositor, I am not worried in the least,” MacDonald said. “No one is going to let the FDIC go without any money.”

Consumers should watch this issue closely, said Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director at U.S. PIRG, a Boston- based consumer-watchdog group.

“I wouldn’t take their money out of the bank yet,” Mierzwinski said. “If the FDIC is saying that there is this serious problem, then we should all be concerned. I think there is a chance the FDIC is going to have to ask taxpayers for money in the future.”

No Taxpayer Funds

Bair rejected arguments that the agency should use government aid to rebuild the fund. The FDIC has authority to tap a $30 billion line of credit at the Treasury Department and legislation pending in Congress would boost the amount to $100 billion…

— Hat tip: Paul Green

[Return to headlines]

‘Stimulating’ Scientists Into Proving Global Warming

The new bill will spend billions to adjust data to “prove” the fallacy that humans are responsible for global warming.

The trillion-dollar plus porkapalooza Wreak-America Bill just passed by Congress will throw a huge amount of money into scientific research. This will be a good thing for certain scientists, but a very, very bad thing for science.

Young scientists do most of the great science. Einstein was 26 when he published his relativity theory. In 1980, when I got my first government research grant at the age of 33, some 22 percent of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants were given to scientists under the age of 35. In 2005, only three percent of NIH grants went to those under 35, while the percentage given to those over 45 increased from 22 to 77.

Increasingly, government grants are used to defend dogma, not discover new truth: 28 percent of the scientists supported by NIH admitted recently to cooking data to support establishment theory, and 66 percent admitted to cutting corners to achieve the same end. I myself no longer trust the data claims appearing in the leading science journals.

[…]

Universities have essentially been nationalized, like the banks. For years, government research grants have been pork grants: between 30 and 50 percent of all grant money is for “overhead,” which is spent at the discretion of university administrators. Surprise, surprise: administrators always decide that more administrators are needed, and administrator salaries increase. Over the last 50 years — the period of increasing government grant money — the administrator-student [2] ratio at universities has increased more than 100 percent, while the faculty-student ratio has stayed the same or decreased. Today, a science professor cannot get tenure unless he has a government grant. A scientist’s teaching skills, her contributions to scientific knowledge, are irrelevant.

The hallmark of a nationalized industry is degraded production, and we can already see this happening in physics. In his book The Trouble with Physics, the physicist Lee Smolin divided up the past two centuries into 25-year intervals, and listed the great breakthroughs in physics that occurred in each. Rather, in all intervals but one: the past 25 years, within which there have been no physics breakthroughs.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Waging War on Prosperity

President Lyndon Johnson’s administration was known for his War on Poverty. President Obama’s will become notable for his War on Prosperity.

We’re speaking, of course, of Obama’s plans to hike income taxes on the most wealthy 2 or 3 percent of the nation. He’s not just raising the top rate to 39.6 percent; he’s also disallowing about one-third of top earner’s deductions, whether for state and local taxes, charitable contributions or mortgage interest. This is an effective hike in their taxes by an average of about 20 percent.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Churchill, Obama and Bush

by Diana West

Even before Barack Obama was inaugurated, the question of what to do with the bust of Winston Churchill on display in the Oval Office arose. The valuable bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein had been loaned by the British government to George W. Bush in mid-2001 — before Sept. 11, contrary to recent reports — and had gazed with weary wisdom over the Oval Office ever since. Not that Winnie was alone. Busts of Lincoln and Eisenhower rounded out the trio of wartime leaders President Bush had chosen to watch over him at work even when the nation was at peace.

The Lincoln bust remains in the Obama Oval Office. I haven’t received definitive word on the fate of the Eisenhower bust, but I strongly suspect it’s gone. So, definitely, is the Churchill bust, its unceremonial crating and return to the British Embassy generating a diplomatic flap and many mainly British news stories wondering, whither the “special relationship”?

There is some pathos to this reflexive plaint given that what makes this relationship special of late is the fact that the CIA considers the likeliest source of a terrorist atrocity against the United States to be British citizens traveling on the visa-waiver program — British citizens of Pakistani descent, that is. Either way, the relationship is necessarily different when some potentially lethal percentage of the British citizenry is no longer what you could call on our side. Or should I say “our” side to denote the postmodern shambles of conceiving of sides, “ours” or “theirs”?

I don’t mean to go abstruse on anyone, but there is a muddle here onto which the fate of the Churchill bronze shines a welcome if cauterizing beam. Indeed, packing up and returning Churchill to the British reveals more than the current state of U.S. ties with Britain…

— Hat tip: Diana West

[Return to headlines]

Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part I

Back in January I posted about a Michigan bank which had implemented Islamic banking. The bank also went way beyond that and banned alcohol at after work gatherings and they have also banned their annual Christmas party.

To read this excluslive Q&A with the banks president.…

— Hat tip: Islam in Action

[Return to headlines]

It’s Not the Economy, Stupid — It’s Limbaugh

As the tax-and-spend policies of the Obama administration extend and deepen the recession, the new administration’s strategy to deal with the fallout becomes more and more clear.

Blame Rush Limbaugh.

The Democrats, according to Politico.com, took a poll and discovered that Limbaugh polled higher “negatives” than those of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and radical “reform educator” William Ayers. Given the departure of their reliable piñatas — former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney — Democrats believe they’ve found a new Darth Vader.

Blame Rush Limbaugh.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Obama Intel-Chief Pick Violating Iran Sanctions?

Board member of company owned by China in major deal with Tehran

President Obama’s nominee for a top intelligence post sits on the board of a major oil company owned by the Chinese government that is in the midst of a multibillion dollar deal with Iran which may violate U.S. sanctions, WND has learned.

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Possible Military Blueprints Found in Minneapolis Apartment

When tenants move out of a certain south Minneapolis apartment on Park Avenue, Ramone moves in “I do the cleaning and maintenance,” says Ramone.

Ramone and the rest of the crew pick up what tenants leave behind, getting the apartment ready for the next tenants to move in. Sometimes he finds hidden treasures.

“We have found old historic things,” says Ramone. But this time, he found something very different, which is why Ramone asked KARE 11 to conceal his identity.

“We started emptying a small closet out and there was a roll of blueprints…pretty heavy and it rolled right open,” says Ramone.

Ramone says these were not ordinary blueprints, but rather detailed drawings depicting the layout and security plan of a local military facility.

On the documents, he saw the words, “Property of the U.S. Army.”

Ramone says he also found several diagrams depicting government power structures and anti-government stickers. Ramone was suspicious so he called police.

“They started looking around right away and they called for backup,” says Ramone.

Minneapolis police won’t say what they found in the apartment.

The call was described in a police report as a ‘homeland security offense’.

Police say the investigation is now in hands of the FBI. At this point, it’s not clear whether the blueprints are authentic, who they belong to or how that person got them.

KARE 11 spoke with someone who once lived in the apartment. He says the drawings had been there a long time.

His roommate saw them but didn’t know what they were.

To Ramone, his find had potential security implications, important to report to authorities.

“Better safe than sorry,” he says.

KARE 11 spoke with an agent from the local office of the FBI and he says the case was indeed referred to the FBI by Minneapolis police.

The FBI is conducting an assessment of the items and information provided by investigators.

Ramone says several people lived in the apartment, as many as ten at a time.

They didn’t pay rent and were evicted.

— Hat tip: DK

[Return to headlines]

Rahm Emanuel’s Brother Advising Obama on Health Care

Sibling has proposed value-added tax to fund nationalized medicine costs.

To advocate the president’s plan, Emanuel, a physician who treated patients at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and shaped policy at the National Institutes of Health, will have to keep some of his own ideas — notably a value-added tax to fund national health care — in check.

“I’m a very practical guy,” Emanuel, 51, said in an interview. “There are lots of ways you can achieve the same goal.”

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Senator: Eligibility is Up to the Voters

Implies constitutional demands for presidency can be bypassed

A U.S. senator has suggested that voters have made Barack Obama eligible to occupy the Oval Office, whether or not he meets the constitutional mandate of being a “natural born” citizen.

The comments from Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., came in an e-mail sent to a constituent shortly after the election, which just now was forwarded to WND..

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Canada: Internal Dissent: the Question of Vince Li

Yesterday, during their daily e-mail discussion of news topics for editorial commentary, members of the National Post editorial board discussed the recommendation by psychiatrists that Vince Li, who murdered Tim McLean aboard a Greyhound bus in July, 2008, be considered “not criminally responsible” for his actions. What follows is a partial transcript of their exchange.

Lorne Gunter Dr. Stanley Yaren, the psychiatrist for Vincent Li, the Greyhound beheader, said yesterday that Li might someday be rehabilitated enough to be back on the street. Just once I like to hear someone in the same position say, “Nope, never gonna happen. Keep this guy in jail until he dies because there is no chance he will ever get better.”

David Asper What Dr. Yaren said was very hypothetical in terms of future prospects. He also said that Li needs to be locked up in a secure ward at a psychiatric institution. Another point: Even if we wanted him locked up forever, the corrections system is very lacking in facilities for not criminally responsible (NCR) patients who are responding to treatment but require ongoing supervision. These folks don’t need prison as such — they need a living environment that is humane, secure and supervised for continued medication. When possible, these people can also be reconnected with family and support systems, even if its within the confines of an institution. Think of it as a kind of assisted living. I know that doesn’t satisfy victim’s bloodlust but it’s the practical reality.

Jonathan Kay That would be fine with me — as long as he never ever gets out.

Colby Cosh I note that providing for Li’s mental well-being is defined as a “need” here, while the desire for retribution that the criminal justice system exists to serve is disparaged as “bloodlust.” But it seems overwhelmingly likely to me that Li will never go free anyway. Granted that given the premise of the insanity defence it should be possible for him to be “cured” and released, but in practice it doesn’t generally happen with crimes this monstrous and high-profile. What doctor would take the risk of freeing him?

David Asper There are people who get out under the current system as the result of parole, including dangerous offenders sentenced to indeterminate incarceration and those under warrants of committal following NCR verdicts. No one is absolutely locked up for life. The theoretical risk of re-offending is the same for non-psychiatric and criminally insane offenders. In fact, empirical evidence suggests that the latter are actually less recidivist than others. It’s too simplistic to say “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” within the current system. And, worse, it’s unjust given where NCR offenders get housed.

Colby Cosh “It’s unjust given where the NCR offenders get housed” is effectively an argument against all psychiatric detainment. No one is in favour of “Victorian-era gulags,” but that can’t serve as a pretext for letting people out if they still present a danger to society — it’s a pretext for improving the conditions. It’s never suggested, but the evidence says that a perfectly workable policy would be just to let every violent criminal go free on his 50th birthday (perhaps with a “congratulations, you have no more testosterone” cake). No one is much of a danger to anybody after that, even if they are clinically insane.

David Asper I’m not arguing against psychiatric detention, per se. Rather, I am lamenting the fact that we have not gotten enlightened enough to put long-term detainees in places other than a cuckoo’s nest. I’d be happy keeping them for longer — even for their whole lives — but detaining them in the current facilities is cruel and unjust. Punishment, retribution and denunciation are all appropriate factors for sentencing, but according to the law, so is rehabilitation. My point is that in a civilized world, even where the criminally insane are locked up for life and their rehab is to occur not within society at large but under supervision, it is cruel and unjust to keep them in “Victorian-era gulags.” National Post

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: Editorial: Subsidizing Hatred

There was plenty of justification for the federal government to cut public funding to the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), even before its president, Khaled Mouammar, called federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney a “professional whore” over Mr. Kenney’s support of Israel. Under Mr. Mouammar in recent years, the CAF has become a mouthpiece for radicals. Rather than serving as a voice for Arabs of all nationalities and ideologies within Canada, the CAF instead has become a defender of such terrorist groups as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Mr. Mouammar and his organization should feel free to advance whatever causes they wish — within the law —but they have no right to expect taxpayers to subsidize their venomous views.

After Mr. Kenney called on Arab and Muslim organizations to denounce violent chants and placards that were prominent at anti-Israel rallies across Canada during the recent Gaza conflict, Mr. Mouammar levelled his intemperate accusation against the Calgary MP. Mr. Kenney fired back that perhaps it was time to reconsider Ottawa’s funding — nearly half a million dollars a year —for the CAF. Now Torontoarea Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis has asked the parliamentary ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, to investigate whether the Minister is abusing his position to exact revenge on a critic.

Mr. Karygiannis’s complaint is, of course, vexatious. He is not interested in parliamentary ethics, but rather in trying to blacken Mr. Kenney’s eye while also scoring political points with the many Arab and other ethnic voters in his riding. His complaint against Mr. Kenney is what we would expect from someone who has done his best in the past to ingratiate himself with supporters of the Tamil Tigers, another terrorist group that — like Hamas and Hezbollah — has been banned by the federal government.

It’s true that Cabinet ministers must not only avoid abusing their offices, but also the appearance that they are. And Mr. Kenney’s promise to look into the CAF’s funding so soon after Mr. Mouammar’s outrageous personal remarks against him might lead some to conclude that Mr. Kenney is hoping to silence the CAF by attacking its public grants.

Another interpretation, however, is that Mr. Mouammar’s over-the-top outburst simply drew Mr. Kenney’s attention to the CAF’s track record.

A once-active Liberal supporter and donor, Mr. Mouammar has lobbied Ottawa to remove Hamas and Hezbollah from its list of banned terror organizations and replace them with the Israel Defense Forces. He calls Hamas and Hezbollah “legitimate political parties,” has accused Israel of genocide and insisted publicly it is guilty of “war crimes.”

During Israel’s recent conflict with Hamas, the CAF, under Mr. Mouammar’s leadership, circulated cartoons showing Israeli politicians bathing in and drinking the blood of Gazans. During the 2006 Liberal party leadership campaign, the CAF president repeatedly reminded Muslim delegates that candidate Bob Rae’s wife was a Jew. The CAF joined a complaint last year that former Ontario minister Monte Kwinter was “a de facto agent of a foreign country” because he asked Ontario police chiefs to join him on a trip to Israel. The organization’s Ontario head has referred to members of the moderate Muslim Canada Congress as “house negroes” and accused former Liberal human rights critic Irwin Cotler of being a front man for Jewish arms-makers.

The CAF also wants Ottawa to reverse its decision to not send a delegation to the UN’s Durban II conference, a human rights gathering that, like Durban I in 2001, is shaping up to be an international festival of anti-Semitism.

Aside from promoting hatred of Israel and defending terrorist groups, the CAF also operates settlement programs, mostly in and around Toronto, for newly arrived Arab immigrants, helping them learn languages and find jobs. These programs may well do some good. But with its president so determined to smear politicians and use his platform to propagandize for one side in the Middle East conflict, Canadians— including Mr. Kenney — are right to wonder why taxpayer money is being used to subsidize the group.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: Judge Finds Li Not Criminally Responsible in Bus Beheading

WINNIPEG — A man who believed he was following God’s orders when he stabbed and beheaded a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba has been found not criminally responsible.

Justice John Scurfield said Vince Li’s attack on Tim McLean last summer was “grotesque” and “barbaric” but “strongly suggestive of a mental disorder.”

“He did not appreciate the actions he committed were morally wrong. He believed he was acting in self-defence,” Judge Scurfield said Thursday.

Both Crown and defence psychiatrists had testified at Mr. Li’s trial that he was suffering from schizophrenia and believed God wanted him to kill Mr. McLean because the young man was a force of evil.

Mr. Li was charged with second-degree murder but pleaded not guilty.

He will be institutionalized without a criminal record and will be reassessed every year by a mental health review board to determine if he is fit for release into the community.

The decision brings an end to a trial that barely lasted two days and only heard from two witnesses — both psychiatrists — who testified Mr. Li is mentally ill and didn’t realize that killing Mr. McLean was wrong.

Mr. McLean’s family has dismissed the trial as a “rubber stamp” that is allowing Mr. Li to get away with murder. They are vowing to now turn their attention to fighting the law that allows people who are found not criminally responsible to be released into the community once they are deemed well without serving a minimum sentence in jail.

Carol deDelley, Mr. McLean’s mother, said her son didn’t die in vain. His death highlights concerns about the justice system, she said.

“Now people are aware that there is a problem.”

That Mr. Li killed the 22-year-old carnival worker — brutally stabbing him dozens of times, beheading him and then mutilating his body — was never in question at the trial.

An agreed statement of facts read out in court detailed how Mr. Li sat next to Mr. McLean after he gave him a smile and asked how he was doing. It was after Mr. McLean closed his eyes to listen to music on his headphones that Mr. Li said he heard the voice of God.

“Suddenly the sunshine came in the bus and the voice said, ‘Quick. Hurry up. Kill him and then you’ll be safe,”‘ Mr. Li told one of his psychiatrists. “It was so quick, such an angry voice, and I had to do what it said. I was told that if I didn’t listen to the voice, I would die immediately.”

Mr. Li ignored other horrified passengers as he repeatedly stabbed the young man, who unsuccessfully fought for his life.

When the bus pulled over near Portage la Prairie, Man., Mr. Li was engrossed with stabbing and mutilating Mr. McLean’s body. Passengers fled the bus and stood outside.

Mr. Li tried numerous times to leave the bus but he was locked inside and continued methodically carving up Mr. McLean’s body. Police said Mr. McLean’s body parts were found throughout the bus in plastic bags, although part of his heart and both eyes were never found and were presumed eaten by Mr. Li.

The victim’s ear, nose and tongue were found in his pocket.

God told him to cut up Mr. McLean and scatter his body parts around the bus, Mr. Li said.

“God told me to do it. Otherwise it would come back to life very quick and kill me. So I cut it up to make sure he couldn’t come back to life … God told me to cut off his head, so I did.”

Mr. Li tried to escape from the bus through a window and was taken into custody.

After that, blood smeared on his face from the attack, he politely apologized to police and pleaded with officers to take his life.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: RCMP Link B.C. Gang Violence to Mexican Drug Wars

VANCOUVER and TORONTO — It’s a long way from the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez to a Delta, B.C., golf course where a 32-year-old man on Monday night was found dead near his grey Cadillac, shot multiple times and left to die.

But police say the two locations, roughly 3,000 kilometres apart, are linked by a drug war that has turned towns such as Ciudad Juarez into war zones, has sent the price of cocaine soaring and is reflected in a rash of deadly gang shootings that have rocked Metro Vancouver in recent weeks.

Violence between competing Mexican cartels is squeezing the flow of drugs from source countries such as Mexico and Colombia through cities such as Los Angeles, one of the major sources for Vancouver-based groups that buy and sell illegal drugs, says Pat Fogarty, RCMP superintendent with the combined forces special enforcement unit. Gangs in the Lower Mainland are now fighting over the dwindling supply.

“The distribution lines have been disrupted,” Supt. Fogarty said yesterday in an interview. “It’s like in any marketplace — the demand stays high, but there’s not as many distributors out there because the little guys get knocked off.

“The bigger ones survive, the other ones don’t. And these guys don’t resolve things through a court process. It’s ‘I want my piece of the pie’ — well, there’s none left for you.”

The Mexican gang violence is a major element of Lower Mainland gang shootings that have killed at least nine people since the beginning of the year, Supt. Fogarty said.

Yesterday, embattled B.C. police were able to trumpet a rare piece of good news when they announced five arrests, including that of a leader of the UN Gang, one of the major gangs operating in the province, and promising more to come.

Those arrested include Barzan Tilli-Choli, 26, of Vancouver, described by police as a UN Gang leader, who was charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with a targeted hit outside a Surrey bar last month.

In that incident, shooters in an SUV pulled up beside a Range Rover stopped at an intersection, raking the vehicle with bullets as four people — two men and two women — sat inside.

One man was wounded in that shooting, which had targeted an associate of the three Bacon brothers, who have been linked to gang activity and who have been the subject of rare warnings to the public about the danger of associating or doing business with them.

Also arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder were Aram Ali, 23, and Nicola Cottrell, 26, of New Westminster, B.C.

Sarah Trebble, 28, of West Vancouver, was charged with one count of occupying a vehicle knowing there was a firearm inside, and Karwan Saed, 32, of Burnaby, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

The arrests followed an investigation that involved multiple agencies including the Vancouver Police Department and the RCMP. The recent rash of gang killings has resulted in calls by some for a unified police force for Metro Vancouver, which is served by a patchwork of different forces.

Last month, the federal government named a deputy solicitor-general to act as a gangs czar.

RCMP said yesterday that all Lower Mainland police agencies are working together to tackle gangs. Those efforts extend to neighbouring Alberta, where forces in Calgary and Edmonton pitched in on the investigation.

In Delta, a suburban community in the Metro Vancouver area, police are trying to piece together a homicide from Monday night in which a man was shot, possibly several times, and killed.

Police called about 6:40 p.m. on Monday to Ladner Trunk Road, a highway near the Delta Golf Course, found Abbotsford resident Sukhwinder Dhaliwal, 32, slumped over next to his grey Cadillac. He’d been shot, apparently several times, and left for dead.

Delta police described it as a targeted, gang-style shooting.

Delta Police Chief Constable Jim Cessford has been a vocal opponent of a metro force, saying community police services can better meet community needs.

But the Monday night murder shows that Delta is not immune to gang violence, which would be best tackled by a single regional police force, argues Robert Gordon, director of the school of criminology at Simon Fraser University.

“Even bucolic Delta is going to be visited by crime, serious crime, because the actions of organized crime groups have no respect for municipal boundaries, and they will roam anywhere in the area,” he said. “They don’t care whether it’s Delta or where the hell else, they will do their business. And so you can expect more of that to happen.”

On a visit last month to Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with regional police chiefs and families of victims of gang violence, including relatives of two innocent bystanders who were among six men killed in a gangland slaying at a Surrey high-rise in 2007 that remains unsolved.

Ottawa last month announced proposed legislation to toughen penalties for gang-related crime.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: Michael Ignatieff: Israel Apartheid Week and Cupe Ontario’s Anti-Israel Posturing Should be Condemned

Throughout our history, Canadians have strived to understand each other across the solitudes that have broken other countries to pieces. Our common national purpose has been built on our diversity.

We respect differences — of opinion, nationality, race and creed. We abandon that respect at our peril. “Israel Apartheid Week” (IAW), now underway on university campuses across Canada, betrays the values of mutual respect that Canada has always promoted.

International law defines “apartheid” as a crime against humanity. Labelling Israel as an “apartheid” state is a deliberate attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Jewish state itself.

Criticism of Israel is legitimate. Attempting to describe its very existence as a crime against humanity is not. IAW is part of a global campaign of proclamations, boycotts and calls for divestment, which originated in the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Like “Durban I,” IAW singles out one state, its citizens and its supporters for condemnation and exclusion, and it targets institutions and individuals because of what and who they are — Israeli and Jewish.

IAW goes beyond reasonable criticism into demonization. It leaves Jewish and Israeli students wary of expressing their opinions, for fear of intimidation.

No Canadian should ever have to fear for their safety in a public space because of who they are or what they believe. All Canadians should condemn any attempt to intimidate anyone in the legitimate affirmation of their beliefs and identity. The Ontario wing of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has joined the chorus of denunciations of Israel on our campuses. The CUPE Ontario resolution passed last week to boycott Israeli academics is an unacceptable violation of academic freedom.

Canada enjoys strong academic, economic and cultural ties with Israel and Israeli institutions, and these relationships benefit both our countries. Collaborative research between Canadian and Israeli academics is mutually rewarding, and should be encouraged. The CUPE resolution is an attack on the free exchange that is at the heart of our university system.

The Liberal Party of Canada condemns the CUPE resolution in the strongest possible terms. I salute the others who have spoken out against the resolution, including my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House of Commons, and CUPE’s national president, Paul Moist, who has refused to support the resolution. I encourage all CUPE members, and all Canadians, to follow their example.

Israel Apartheid Week and CUPE Ontario’s anti-Israel posturing exploit academic freedom, and they should be condemned by all who value civil and respectful debate about the tragic conflict in the Middle East.

Political leaders should also take care not to deepen the distrust between Canadian communities over the Middle East. Politicians who use the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a wedge to divide Canadians for their own political gain can succeed only in accentuating acrimony and deepening tensions.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict evokes passionate disagreement. It should not damage academic freedom and it should not divide Canadian communities. We can move forward if we work together to promote the common objective of Canadian policy ever since 1948 — a secure Israel living side-by-side in peace with an independent Palestine. National Post Michael Ignatieff is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and MP for the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in Toronto.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: Vancouver ‘Losing Battle’ With Gangs, Mayor Says

VANCOUVER — Canada’s Olympic city is losing the fight against gang violence, its mayor admitted on Wednesday.

“I know the police have been working very hard and trying to get ahead of it, but we can’t underestimate the scale of what’s going on right now,” Gregor Robertson said. “We need more support, frankly, to turn the tide on this.”

He called anti-gang efforts so far “a losing battle,” commenting on a series of shootings across Metro Vancouver Tuesday night and Wednesday that left two people dead and five injured.

The shootings included a hit in East Vancouver that left Sunil Mall, 27, slumped dead at the wheel of his SUV and added to the perception of tit-for-tat violence in what’s been described as the national capital of gang activity. In Surrey, there were three shootings within hours of each other, with two men going to hospital with bullet wounds. In Burnaby, a shooting in a high-rise left a woman dead and a man seriously injured.

“It shows how huge this battle really is,” said Mr. Robertson, an outspoken supporter of a regional police force for Metro Vancouver, which is served by a mix of municipal and RCMP forces.

Around 7 p.m. Wednesday night, RCMP were called to a shooting at a Surrey Chevron gas station, near the Strawberry Hill Mall at 72 Avenue and 122 Street. They found one man who had been shot in the leg, and another who had been shot in the face. The latter man fled into a nearby Tim Hortons for help.

Mr. Tilli-Choli has been charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with a targeted shooting last month in Surrey.

The UN Gang — whose former boss, Clayton Roueche, is in jail in Seattle awaiting trial on drug charges — is part of a gang scene driven by a multibillion-dollar drug trade that features British Columbia-grown marijuana and imported cocaine and that reaches into neighbouring Alberta, across the border into Washington and even down to Mexico.

With Mexico racked by drug wars that have killed thousands and disrupted supplies, the ripple effects are being felt in the United States and Canada.

Crime agency estimates say there are more than 120 criminal organizations at work in B.C.

The number and the sophistication of the groups involved makes Vancouver the centre of organized crime in Canada, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said last month during a trip to the city.

An RCMP spokesman on Wednesday described the Tuesday shootings as “coincidence” and said it was not yet clear that all of them were linked to gangs.

“We need to put this in perspective,” said Corporal Peter Thiessen, while repeating police promises that more arrests are to come.

Nine people have been killed in recent weeks in shootings that have taken place at supermarkets, shopping malls and on quiet streets next to parks and golf courses.

One woman was gunned down as she drove with her four-year-old son in the car. The child survived.

Constable Lindsey Houghton of the Vancouver Police Department said the force shares community concerns about brazen violence.

“These acts of violence do frustrate us. We share the concerns of the public. We want, more than anyone, to arrest those responsible for this so we can have press conferences giving people good news,” Constable Houghton said.

Asked about the police failure to arrest suspects in major shootings in recent years, he said “these investigations are extremely complex and take a lot of time and efforts and resources to have a successful conclusion.”

For example, police have yet to make any arrests in the August, 2007, shooting of eight people dining in an all-night Chinese eatery in East Vancouver, the Fortune Happiness Restaurant. Two men died, and the others suffered injuries.

The latest shootings are about “power and territory” among gang members, Cpl. Thiessen said.

“It’s all about getting control of a larger share of the [drug] market,” he said. “They’re carrying out business, but not in a way that a normal business carries out business.

“It’s about control of territory, the power. When there’s a lack of co-operation around that, they kill each other.”

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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“What Has Happened to the Council for Italian Islam?”

Rachid Amaidia, the Imam for Salerno, talks to Sara Colantonio

“I ask this government to reinstate the organisation of the Council for Italian Islam, which is one of the fundamental means for establishing a dialogue between the State and the Muslim community.” Rachid Amaidia, the Imam for Salerno and Battipaglia, has always played an active role in interreligious dialogue. Of Algerian origin and a former member of the Council, in this interview he warns against xenophobia that is spreading in Italy (“If one sees a continuous demonization of immigrants on television one incites people against foreigners”), and on the subject of the proposal of the Italian language being used in mosques, he said “This will not make immigrants feel they are Italian citizens. When Muslims will feel totally integrated, they themselves will speak in Italian.”

In your opinion, how is Islam seen in Italy?

Italians previously only vaguely knew of the existence of the Islamic religion; however, during the Nineties they experienced it first hand through immigration. The Council has the duty to make heard the voice of Islam, to make known how Muslims think and live so as to encourage Italian politicians to pass laws better suited also to the Muslim population…

— Hat tip: Insubria

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AIDS: First Aids Sample Bio-Bank in Spain for Research

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 3 — The first bio-bank for AIDS samples in Spain is a reality and will be entrusted with analysing samples of the AIDS vaccine practiced by Barcelona’s Clinco hospital, by the superior centre of scientific research (Csic) and by Madrid’s Gregorio Marañon hospital. The bio-bank is located in this last hospital and it is active as of last January, stocking samples according to the various open lines of research: adults infected with HIV, sick people who have recently contracted the disease, and children with HIV. The bio-bank will benefit all patients, but most of all it will play a decisive role in prevention. Coordinator Maria Angeles Muñoz, speaking to El Pais, says that ‘It is capable of storing more than 50,000 biological samples of the most diverse characteristics and origins. This will further help the development of base and clinical research and will positively affect assistance in the future’’. She adds that ‘whatever study arises from a new discovery, be it in a clinical context or that of molecular technology, it will benefit from the existence of suitable samples’’. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Denmark: Gang Numbers Increasing

There are some 1,500 members of biker and immigrant groups according to the police.

The influx of new members to biker and immigrant groups is currently so great that police authorities are having difficulty in keeping tabs on the environment surrounding the current gang warfare, according to Berlingske Tidende.

Police are currently holding some 700 bikers and 300 immigrant group members under observation, but recruitment to the two sides in the conflict is so great that the two sides are now more or less equal in size, according to National Commissioner Jens Henrik Højberg.

In real terms there are now probably some 1,500 individuals in the groups.

New members

“The numbers are growing unfortunately, and we can see that people are continuously joining. There is a sort of mobilisation and we continue to see young people who we haven’t seen before,” Højberg says.

In 2008, police authorities counted some 140 members in the groups.

Sentences

Some 40 shootings, three murders, innocent victims and the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen almost in a state of emergency has prompted the government to put forward proposals to stop the violence. The package includes proposals to double sentences on gang-related crime, as well as the ability to extradite foreigners for firearms possession.

“The situation is untenable and unacceptable and people are shooting at random. We need extraordinary steps — and that is what we are now taking,” says Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen.

Immigration minister

But Immigration Minister Birther Rønn Hornbech says that at least one part of the proposals — to extradite foreigners for weapons possession — is unlikely to be able to be put into force.

In an e-mail that Politiken has acquired, Hornbech tells Danish People’s Party Justice Spokesman Peter Skaarup that the new laws are unlikely to result in an increased number of extraditions.

“I hope you realize that it’s not going to have that much of an effect,” Hornbech writes.

According to Hornbech, the international Human Right Convention ensures that punishment must fit the crime that leads to an extradition, as well as being proportional to the length of a person’s stay in a country.

— Hat tip: TB

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Denmark: Fighters + Lovers in Court Again

The Danish Supreme Court has started its hearing in the final appeal case of Fighters+Lovers who are charged with supporting terrorist organizations.

Denmark’s highest court has begun hearings in the appeal case of the Fighters+Lovers group, which is charged with providing financial support for two armed terrorist organisations — the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

If found guilty, group members face up to 10 years in pridson.

Defence rejects claims While the prosecution maintains that the two organisations are terrorist organisations, the defence says that human rights organisations do not see the two as such.

“Neither Human Rights Watch nor Amnesty label the two as terrorist organisations but blame both parties in the conflicts,” says Defence Attorney Throkild Høyer.

The defence also claims that civilian deaths attributed to the organisations are not part of a conscious strategy.

T-shirts At the centre of the case is the sale by the organisation of T-shirts with PFLP and FARC logos at DKK 170 each, DKK 37 of which was sent on to the two movements.

In 2007, the lower courts found Fighters+Lovers not guilty as magistrates did not find reason to label PFLP or FARC as terrorist organizations.

The decision was appealed to the High Court which sentenced two of the Fighters+Lovers group to six months in prison, while the rest of the group was either found not guilty or given a suspended sentence of 2 to 4 months.

The group was given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The PFLP and FARC are listed as a terrorist organization by the EU, Canada and the United States.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark: Large Police Raid Nets Drugs and Guns

Police searched dozens of addresses in North Zealand today in a crack down against weapons and drugs violators

Police raided 44 addresses across North Zealand this morning, arresting seven people and confiscating drugs and weapons.

The raids were carried out by more than 180 police officers and included visits to addresses belonging to drug pushers and members of the Bandidos biker gang.

Police found a kilo of amphetamine, more than five kilos of hash, a pistol and shotgun, and 881,000 kroner in cash. A statement from the North Zealand Police said that they expect up to four of those arrested to appear in court on weapons and drugs violations.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark: Police Raid Bandidos Bikers

There has been a police raid on 44 addresses belonging to Bandidos bikers in a search for weapons and drugs that were sold in public schools and technical colleges.

Police officers confiscated a large amount of cash, hash, cocaine and speed during a morning raid on members of the Bandidos biker gang in North Zealand.

Nearly 180 police officers were involved in the sting operation against 44 mostly private homes. Seven people were detained in the raid, which was not connected to the biker-immigrant group gang-war currently under way in Copenhagen, Deputy Chief Superintendant Lau Thygesen told politiken.dk.

Drugs for sale at schools The police raid took place following persistent information in recent months about the group’s drug trading and weapons possession. Police investigations had strengthened suspicions that Bandidos members were engaged in crime.

Thygesen said that drugs had been sold at ordinary schools and technical colleges.

Found drugs and cash “We planned the raid for a couple of months. It was a good operation intended to send a signal that we will not accept this sort of thing.” Thygesen explained.

Arrests in connection with the raid took place peacefully. Police officers found five kilos of hash, 1.1 kgs of amphetamine, 100 grams of cocaine and some DKK 800,000 in cash as well as a pistol, shotgun and stolen goods.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark: Government to Double Prison Terms for Gang Members

The government presented its proposals to prevent and deter criminal gangs that will see maximum sentences being doubled for gang-related crime

The government presented its so-called ‘gang package’ yesterday evening, outlining its plans to crack down on criminal gangs engaging in open street violence and shootings.

Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen announced the government’s intention to double the prison terms handed down to offenders connected to the gang environment. The necessary law change proposals will come before parliament in the coming weeks.

Those found in possession of a loaded weapon now face a one year sentence for their first offence, while serious violence will in future be met with a three-year jail term. The prison term for intimidation of witnesses to gang violence will also be doubled under the new measures.

‘This is a tough package and the bikers and immigrant gangs will not have a moment’s peace. The police will be constantly nipping at their heels,’ said Mikkelsen.

The government also wants to introduce better measures for emergency personnel. Those who prevent the emergency services from carrying out their work will face a jail term of 18 months. If violence or threats are involved, the maximum penalty will be eight years imprisonment.

New measures to deport gang members who are not Danish citizens and who are found in possession of illegal weapons are also being considered.

The new package also outlined preventative and investigate measures that will be introduced to prevent gang crime. Advisory councils to help prevent the recruitment of young people into gangs will be established in affected areas, while police will be allowed to use wire tapping in their investigations of weapons smuggling and dealing.

The plan has received backing from both the Social Democrats and the Socialist People’s Party (SF) — a party which is traditionally against elevating maximum penalties.

SF party chairman Villy Søvndal said that the government’s plan is necessary if the gangs are to be prevented from taking over the streets.

The plan comes on top of recent announcements that the number of police on the streets of Copenhagen will be increased.

Last weekend saw a spate of three shootings linked to the ongoing conflict between the Hells Angels bikers and immigrant gangs, which left two dead and another four injured.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Europe Concerned About Freedom of Speech — Czech EU Presidency

Geneva — The Czech Republic, as the EU presiding country, and other European countries today expressed fears that the freedom of speech would be at risk if Islamic countries pushed for a ban on “defamation of religion” at the conference on racism in April, Reuters has reported.

Representatives of the EU countries also warned in their speeches to the U.N.’s Human Rights Council today that they could not accept any pillorying of Israel as “racist” and any promotion of anti-Semitism at the April conference in Geneva.

Reuters reported that the same opinions were expressed in the U.N. Human Rights Council this week by the delegations of the Czech Republic, holding the EU presidency in the first half of 2009, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.

“The freedom of expression must be the cornerstone of our fight against racism,” Reuters quotes Sweden’s delegate Frank Belfrage as saying in the U.N.

The draft declaration for the Geneva conference has also been criticised by Israel, which, along with Canada previously decided to boycott the event. The United States and France are considering this step.

The World Conference Against Racism, also called Durban II, will be held at the UN headquarters in Geneva on April 20-24, as the continuation of the conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

[Return to headlines]

Irish Race From Bust to Boom and Back Again Leaves Germans Feeling Confused and Resentful

[…]

A newspaper headline over a recent interview with writer Anne Enright summed it up nicely: “The Irish drink, the Irish fight, the Irish are funny”. In the last decade and a half, though, this consensus view of Ireland has been sorely tested by the march of modernity in the Grüne Insel or Green Isle.

First Ireland’s economy took off, then emigrants returned, immigrants arrived and something resembling modern infrastructure began to stretch its tentacles across the country.

Older Germans with fixed notions of the country would return from holidays and complain to the first Irish person they encountered that the place had finally succumbed to the curse of motorways.

It was doubly galling for many of these Germans — truly, madly, deeply in love with “the nature” in Ireland — to hear that it was probably their tax money that had built the motorways.

Modern Dublin was a mystery — in particular the IFSC, a mysterious place of smoked glass and mirrors that seemed to be beating Frankfurt at its own game, generating vast sums of money after luring over big banks with low corporate tax rates.

As German economic growth hovered near zero, the Irish economy appeared to roar ahead. The beige-wearing Germans with their 12- year-old Mercedes had been overtaken by the sharp-suited Irish in their new BMWs.

Irish economists decided that the German economic model of slow, steady growth had had its day.

They had no qualms in telling Germany that Ireland had seen the future and it was all leverage and Louis Vuitton.

The peak of this Irish confidence-cum-cockiness came with the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

No one here really cares for complicated explanations when a simple one will do: the “No” vote was Ireland thumbing its nose at the rest of the EU after pocketing its billions.

The final drop of goodwill towards the Irish evaporated last September when Berlin, through gritted teeth, signed loans and guarantees to prop up the Dublin-based Depfa bank, a subsidiary of Munich property investor Hypo Real Estate. Today that bill has reached €102 billion and counting.

[…]

— Hat tip: islam o’phobe

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Italy Pulls Out of UN Racism Conference

ROME: Italy said Thursday it is pulling out of a U.N. conference on racism — the latest blow to a meeting seen by many Western governments as marred by Muslim attempts to attack Israel and shield Islam from criticism.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Italy has withdrawn its delegation from the preparatory negotiations ahead of the so-called Durban II conference due to “aggressive and anti-Semitic statements” in the draft of the event’s final document.

Frattini’s comments, made on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels, were reported by Italian news agencies. Ministry Spokesman Maurizio Massari confirmed Frattini’s statements and said Rome would not participate in the conference unless the document was changed.

“There are expressions of anti-Semitism,” Massari said by telephone. “Until the document is modified we will not have a part in it.”

The United States has imposed similar conditions. Israel and Canada have already announced a boycott.

Italy is the first EU country to officially withdraw from the conference, though other nations have threatened not to attend.

Islamic countries, still angry over cartoons and films attacking Muslims, have been campaigning for wording that would equate criticism of a religious faith with a violation of human rights.

The informal negotiations have proven difficult, with many issues that marked the first U.N. conference on racism in 2001 re-emerging — such as criticism of Israel.

The April 20-25 meeting in Geneva is designed to review progress in fighting racism since the previous summit in South Africa. That meeting was marred by attacks on Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations at a parallel conference of non-governmental organizations.

The U.S. and Israel walked out midway through the conference over a draft resolution that singled Israel out for criticism and likened Zionism — the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state — to racism.

Last week, the Obama administration said the United States will stay away from this year’s meeting unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion.

European nations have expressed hope the summit can go ahead with a final text that is acceptable to all sides.

But they, too, have red lines they say cannot be crossed.

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said in December that his country would walk out unless anti-Israel statements were scrapped. French diplomat Daniel Vosgien said then that his country opposed the idea of banning criticism of religion.

— Hat tip: Steen

[Return to headlines]

Italy Pulls Out of UN Racism Summit

Antisemitic phrases in draft document ‘totally unacceptable’

(ANSA) — Brussels, March 5 — Italy has decided to withdraw from an upcoming United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday.

Frattini said ‘‘aggressive phrases of an antisemitic nature’’ in a draft declaration were behind the decision to withdraw from the conference, known as the Durban Review Conference, which is a follow-up to the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

The minister said the phrases in the draft declaration were ‘‘totally unacceptable’’ and stressed that they would have to be removed before Italy considered participating in the summit.

Israel, Canada and the United States have also pulled out of the conference, which is due to take place in Geneva on April 20-24.

Critics say both the original 2001 conference in Durban and preparatory meetings for the 2009 meeting undermined UN principles because of open anti-Israel sentiment.

Both the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the European Jewish Congress renewed calls for countries to boycott the conference earlier this week.

WJC President Ronald Lauder said in a statement that the conference ‘‘was not about combating racism, but about promoting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda within the framework of the United Nations’’.

He said that ‘‘no good’’ could result from a conference where countries ‘‘such as Libya, Iran, Pakistan and Syria are dictating the agenda’’, claiming they were ‘‘attempting to protect their extremist ideologies under the disguise of banning the ‘defamation of religion’ while at the same time refusing to condemn Holocaust denial’’.

The United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands are also considering withdrawing from the meeting.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Libertas in Fresh Controversy Over Bid to Recruit Swedish Group

LIBERTAS BECAME embroiled in fresh controversy yesterday following its attempts to persuade a Swedish Eurosceptic party to merge with the organisation in Sweden.

Sören Wibe, leader of Junilistan (The June List), claims that representatives from anti-Lisbon Treaty party Libertas offered considerable sums of money, including almost €1 million on one occasion, if his party agreed to change its name to Junilistan-Libertas.

After the story appeared in the Swedish media earlier this week, Anita Kelly, a spokeswoman for Libertas, told Sweden’s state-funded radio station P1 that no such offer had been made. “We did not make any offer to any party to run with Libertas or anything like that. We have discussed budgets as we would with anyone, but money was not offered,” she said.

Libertas was registered as a political party by the Swedish Election Authority on Tuesday after the organisation gathered the 1,500 signatures required for registration.

Mr Wibe, whose party was formed the year after Swedish voters rejected the adoption of the euro in a 2003 referendum, told The Irish Times he had met with Libertas founder Declan Ganley in Sweden in January. The offers of financial assistance had come from Libertas representatives of Scandinavian origin on other occasions, and not from Mr Ganley, he added.

“One of my colleagues was offered 10 million kronor [about €900,000] for the party and, in other discussions, it was clear that sums of that size were available,” Mr Wibe said.

“I have at least a dozen witnesses who can verify that these approaches were made.”

Junilistan garnered 14 per cent of the vote in Sweden’s 2004 European elections and won three seats in the European Parliament out of the country’s allocation of 19. The party is a member of the Independence and Democracy grouping in Brussels.

Libertas intends to run candidates in all 27 member states in the European Parliament elections in June in an attempt to transform the ballot into a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Mr Wibe said he was shocked by the nature of Libertas’s overtures to his party. “I believe [Libertas’s] behaviour was extremely unethical,” he said yesterday. “I was insulted. It would be extremely unethical for our party to be funded by a millionaire from another country. It goes against everything we stand for.”

Of Mr Ganley, he said: “I do believe that he means well, but I also believe he is not a politician. He doesn’t understand that doing politics is not the same as doing business.”

In a statement posted on its website, Junilistan said: “Politics is not money. Politics is credibility and being true to the message you deliver to your voters.”

Libertas did not return calls yesterday for comment.

— Hat tip: islam o’phobe

[Return to headlines]

Racist Play Lands UK’s National Theatre in Trouble

London, Mar.4 : A controversial play about immigration has landed Britain’s National Theatre in the midst of an anti-racism row.

If the body continues to show “England People Very Nice, a new play by Richard Bean,” anti-racism campaigners are now planning to picket audiences arriving at the theatre and Travelex, one of the National’s main sponsors.

Last Friday, two protesters clambered on to the stage at the National’s Olivier Theatre and condemned Bean as racist.

For 10 minutes, playwright Hussain Ismail and teacher Keith Kinsella interrupted a talk that Bean was giving prior to a performance of the play, before being ejected by security guards.

Bean’s play charts the settling of the French Huguenot, Irish, Jewish and Bengali communities in Bethnal Green since the 17th century.

The National has billed it as “a riotous journey through four waves of immigration” in the East End of London.

But the protesters have failed to find anything humorous about its themes.

“Richard Bean is making it seem like all Bangladeshis are drug dealers or users, muggers and marry their cousins,”Ismail, 43, said.

— Hat tip: Steen

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Spain: Madrid, Harsh New Laws Against Rubbish Rummaging

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 2 — Rummaging in rubbish or even chucking a single cigarette butt on the ground in Madrid could now cost you a great deal. With one eye on the old slogan of “Clean Madrid is the Capital”, the Environment Council (led by Ana Botella, wife of former premier Aznar) has decided to bolster sanctions for those that do not properly observe “civil coexistence” rules. Dropping a fag-end or piece of paper or the peel of dried seeds (much eaten in Spain) could now cost between 60 and 750 euros. The same sanction is expected for those feeding pigeons in the street or public parks, but also for watering its plants. As for graffiti, the eternal albatross around the capital’s neck, Assessor Botella has outlined much heavier fines of between 3,000 and 6,000 euros, whilst those who do not pick up after their pets or allow it to urinate near a tree also risk having to pay up to 1,500 euros. However, the aspect of the new plans to attract serious complaints from the opposition in the regional council (which is led by the Pp), is the introduction of a max. 750-euro fine for those who rummage through rubbish — often beggars looking for something to eat to keep themselves alive. Socialists and leaders of Izquierda Unida (IU — the United Left) have complained about the “cash fever” of the local government, which treats Madrid’s people “like tax payers and not like citizens”. “I refuse to live in a society in which I have to accept that there are people that look in the rubbish for something to eat”, replied Ms. Botella, noting that the local authority “has a wide network of care and social services” for the poorest of people. Ms. Botella urged the opposition to distinguish between people in need and “rubbish pirates”, even if she did not clarify how such a distinction might be made by police forces. Finally, the abandonment in the street of an old car can now be punished by a fine of 3,000 euros. All of which is intended to make the capital shine with cleanliness and that “the rights of most citizens not be broken”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Sweden: Crews Remove Davis Cup Paving Stone Threat

Road crews in Malmö have succeeded in removing piles of paving stones which police said would stop them from providing security for Sweden’s upcoming Davis Cup tennis match against Israel in Malmö.

“I’ve been out there this morning and am satisfied with what I’ve seen. The stones are more or less gone and during the day some other things which have concerned me will also be taken away,” said Skåne police safety representative Kaj Svensson to the TT news agency.

According to the city’s roads department, the office had planned to remove the stones before police voiced concerns to the press on Wednesday, but wanted to allow work on the site to continue as long as possible before taking the stones away.

The Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reported on Thursday that police would refuse to provide security for the tennis match against if the city didn’t remove the stones from near the arena.

Hundreds of police officers have been called to help maintain order during the match, which is being played behind closed doors due to security concerns.

Authorities expect roughly 10,000 demonstrators to fill the streets of Malmö near the Baltiska Hallen arena.

“There is a significant risk for violent disruptions in Malmö from Friday to Sunday,” police commander Håkan Jarborg Eriksson told the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.

Outside the venue, however, several large piles of paving stones sit waiting to be placed in a nearby road construction site, causing concern for officers’ safety.

“The piles of stones which are now sitting outside Baltiska Hallen are ammunition for some of the activists,” Svensson told the Polistidningen newspaper earlier in the week, according to DN.

“My demand is unconditional. The stones must be gone by today, Thursday, at the latest. Otherwise I’m going issue a stop due to safety concerns and then there won’t be a single police officer on the scene.”

Svensson said that the city had already managed to remove 170 truckloads of broken asphalt from the same construction site, but that he couldn’t “risk the lives of his colleagues” and let the pavings stones remain.

Ever since Israel’s offensive in Gaza erupted last December, a “Stop the Match” campaign has been underway in Sweden calling for a boycott of the Davis Cup match as a way to protest Israel’s actions.

Police say they’ve had a healthy dialogue with “Stop the Match” activists, who expect 10,000 supporters to gather on Saturday for what they characterize as a “peaceful rally”.

But authorities remain concerned that up to 1,000 other groups, some of which have indicated they plan to take a more hard line stance, may cause trouble.

While police plan on taking a cautious, non-confrontational approach, they are ready for action if necessary.

“If a vehicle with players or the Baltiska Hallen were to be attacked, we’d naturally use full force,” Jarborg Eriksson told DN.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Tourism: BIT, Italy-France-Spain, Protocol Agreement

(ANSAmed) — RHO-PERO (MILAN), FEBRUARY 19 — Italy, France, and Spain have signed an agreement protocol today at the International Tourism Bourse (BIT) ongoing at the Milan Exposition Centre until February 22, to offer themselves as a single tourist package, a European destination par-excellence to attract visitors from other continents. ‘‘The reasons that brought us to this agreement can by summarised in a single concept, far-sightedness’’, said Vittoria Brambilla, the Italian Undersecretary of State for Tourism, presenting the agreement. ‘‘Unlike what occurred up until a few years ago, enormous volumes of tourist flows are increasingly affected by centrifugal forces that favour other markets and distance them from Europe’’, she explained. For this reason, Italy, France, and Spain, under the framework of shared historical roots intend to concentrate their efforts to develop demand with specific united international promotional projects including tourist products for all three countries. The goal is to attract tourists from the rest of the world offering them the best of Europe in a single trip. The protocol agreement was signed Brambilla, French Secretary of State for Commerce, Handcrafts and Tourism, Herve’ Novelli, and Spanish Secretary of Tourism, Juan Mesquida Ferrando. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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UK: Council Admits Knowing That Teenager Who Raped Foster Parents’ 2-Year-Old Son Had History of Sex Attacks

A council today admitted knowing that a teenager who raped his foster parents’ infant son and molested their daughter had a history of sexual behaviour.

The youth was placed with a South Wales family who were not told about his past offences, even though Vale of Glamorgan Council knew about them.

He went on to rape and sexually abuse the couple’s children, and was given an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting the crimes.

The confirmation that social services knew of the teenager’s background came as council leader Gordon Kemp issued an unreserved apology to the family.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Former Minister Slams ‘National Catastrophe’ of Teenage Mothers Addicted to Benefits

Britain’s army of teenage mothers living off the state was branded a ‘national catastrophe’ by a former minister in the Labour government yesterday.

Tom Harris broke one of the party’s remaining taboos with an attack on teenage girls who deliberately become pregnant to secure a life on benefits.

The MP, a transport minister until last year, said getting pregnant was seen as a way for those who ‘have absolutely no ambition for themselves’ to gain independence by being given a flat and an income.

His outburst will alarm those on the Left who have historically blamed what they see as in-built deprivation and poverty for social problems.

However, the comments will be welcomed by family campaigners who believe that the state encourages single parenthood with handouts, while refusing to challenge the motives, morals and behaviour of others.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Murders, Rapes… Shocking Crimes of the 65 Killers Released Under Labour to Strike Again

Murderers freed from life sentences under Labour have committed a string of rapes and killings.

Ministers last night admitted the full scale of reoffending by so-called lifers. After their release, the 65 killers committed at least three further murders, one attempted murder and three rapes.

They were also responsible for crimes such as a paedophile attack, two woundings causing grievous bodily harm and three offences of kidnapping, false imprisonment or abduction.

[…]

The Human Rights Act, reinforced by a European court ruling in 2002, means convicts are now entitled to a barrister — paid for by legal aid — to represent them at their hearing.

Critics have suggested the board, not wishing to have its decisions overturned, is paying more attention to the rights of the criminal than the public.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Schools Put ‘Big Brother’ CCTV Cameras in Classrooms to Monitor Teachers’ Performance

[Comments from JD: Perhaps they will be used to ensure teachers comply with the propaganda lesson plans imposed by government…]

Schools are installing CCTV cameras and microphones in classrooms to spy on teachers.

The surveillance technology is being used to check that pupils are being taught well and to expose poor teachers.

But the approach has provoked fury among teaching unions, who say the tactics smack of Big Brother.

— Hat tip: JD

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Wind Turbine Owners Charged ‘Excess Production’ Tax

Must stop producing too much energy at times when there is enough electricity

[Comments from JD: Done in order to artificially keep electricity prices high.]

Danish wind turbines are now producing so much energy that they may have to be stopped at night in order to avoid excess production duties.

In October, turbine owners will have to pay an excess production duty of DKK 1.70 for each kilowatt of energy produced during evenings and nights when there is too much electricity on the market.

“The last thing that we want to do is to stop a wind turbine. But we may have to. No-one wants to produce at a loss,” says Wind Energy Denmark Director Niels Dupont who administers a third of the wind energy production in Denmark.

— Hat tip: JD

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Serbia: Top Milosevic Aide ‘Worked for CIA’

Belgrade, 2 March (AKI) — Sensational disclosures that late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic’s head of state security, Jovica Stanisic, was a top American spy, have provoked shock and disbelief.

Claims that Stanisic was for nearly a decade the CIA’s main man in Belgrade made headlines in most Belgrade newspapers on Monday after it was published in the Los Angeles Times.

The story broke as Serbs were still reeling from news of the lengthy prison sentences handed last week to five former top Serb officials by the Hague-based United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Stanisic is facing trial at The Hague for allegedly setting up ‘genocidal’ Serb death squads accused of atrocities against Bosnians and Croats.

The LA Times said on Sunday Stanisic had asked the CIA to intervene on his behalf at The Hague. Stanisic’s trial was adjourned in mid-2008 and he was granted provisional release to seek medical treatment in Serbia. He is currently in Belgrade.

“In an exceedingly rare move, the CIA has submitted a classified document to the court that lists Stanisic’s contributions and attests to his helpful role,” said the LA Times report.

The paper said the contents of the sealed document had been disclosed by unnamed sources.

But Srdja Trifkovic, editor of US monthly Chronicle, said that Stanisic had really been betrayed by the CIA’s revelation of their secret ties.

The CIA document sent to The Hague “could help Stanisic to get 33, instead of 40 years in jail”, Trifkovic said.

“But he will die in a cell, bitter, lonely and depressed, and scorned in Serbia as a traitor,” Trifkovic added. “His real problems are just beginning.”

Stanisic, 58, became the head of Serbian state security and Milosevic’s right-hand man in 1992, at the height of the civil war in Croatia and Bosnia, following the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.

But a former CIA agent, William Lofgren, told the LA Times that he met Stanisic for the first time one night in 1992 in Belgrade Topcider park, which he described as a “perfect meeting place for spies.”

Milosevic was seen as a menace to European security, and the CIA was desperate to get intelligence from inside the turmoil, the paper claimed. The two spies carved out a clandestine relationship that remained undisclosed for eight years, the paper said.

Lofgren said Stanisic supplied him with valuable information from Milosevic’s insider circle, but never took money.

“He never took payment from the CIA, worked with the agency on operations or took steps that he would have considered a blatant betrayal of his boss,” the LA Times quoted Lofgren as saying.

Stanisic was instrumental in freeing NATO hostages held by Bosnian Serbs and later helped the CIA to set up a spy network in Bosnia to oversee implementation of the peace deal signed in Dayton, Ohio in 1996, according to Lofgren.

Meetings between the two men later became less clandestine and Milosevic was informed of the contacts, the paper said.

But Milosevic sacked Stanisic in 1998, fearing that his chief spy was working against him. After the assassination of former prime minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003, Stanisic was arrested and handed over for trial to the Hague tribunal.

Milosevic himself was extradited to The Hague in 2001 by Djindjic, on charges of war crimes. He died in his prison cell in March 2006 just months before he was due to be sentenced.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Serbia: War Crimes Sentences Spark Outcry

Belgrade, 27 Feb. (AKI) — Harsh prison sentences handed down by the Hague-based United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia against four Serbian generals and another senior official have provoked anger and resentment in Serbia.

The tribunal on Thursday sentenced former Yugoslav vice-premier Nikola Sainovic and generals Nebojsa Pavkovic, Dragoljub Ojdanic, Sreten Lukic and Vladimir Lazarevic to a total of 96 years in jail for crimes committed during Serbia’s 1998-1999 war in Kosovo against ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

The court acquitted former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic on the grounds that he had no direct control over the Yugoslav army and did not knowingly participate in “a joint criminal undertaking”.

The verdict was front page news in Belgrade newspapers on Friday. Media reports said the verdicts were “shameful” and further proof that the tribunal was a political and “anti-Serb institution” which practised “double standards”.

Since it was founded by the UN Security Council in 1993, the tribunal has indicted 161 individuals, mostly Serbs, and close to sixty have been sentenced to over 1,000 years in jail.

Most newspapers and commentators drew a parallel between the latest verdicts and the acquittal of former Kosovo prime minister Ramus Haradinaj and Bosnian Muslim military commander Naser Oric, accused of crimes against Serb civilians but cleared by The Hague tribunal last year.

Serbian prime minister Mirko Cvetkovic said the prison sentences issued by the tribunal on Thursday were “unbecomingly high” in the light of earlier acquittals.

“But regardless of our disagreements, we in principle support the Hague tribunal and believe that every criminal has a name,” Cvetkovic said.

Serbia has over the past few years extradited to The Hague over 40 war crimes suspects. But two top suspects remain at large: former Bosnian Serb general and wartime military commander Ratko Mladic and a leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia, Goran Hadzic.

Some commentators warned that Hague tribunal sentences confirmed the existence of an ‘ethnic cleansing’ policy by the wartime Serbian leadership to expel majority ethnic Albanians from Kosovo in order to alter its ethnic balance and establish Serbian control.

Natasa Kandic, head of Belgrade non-governmental organisation The Fund for Humanitarian Rights, said the tribunal has confirmed the existence of a “joint criminal undertaking.”

“These are legal facts which could be interpreted to mean that Kosovo can in no way remain to be a part of Serbia,” Kandic said, adding that the country had “practically no chance” of success in its bid to have the International Court of Justice declare Kosovo’s independence illegal.

Memli Krasnici, a spokesman for the Kosovo government, said Pristina highly appreciated the Hague tribunal’s ruling on Thursday.

“I think that the verdict has shown once again that terrible crimes were committed in Kosovo and that the highest officials of Serbia and Yugoslavia were involved in these crimes,” Krasnici said.

Ethnic Albanians declared independence with the support of western powers last year, but Serbia is continuing to wage a diplomatic battle to retain the province.

The United Nations general assembly last October approved a resolution submitted by Serbia demanding the IJC examine Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Serbia-Algeria: Cooperation in Military Education

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 4 — Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Algerian Ambassador in Belgrade Abdelkader Mesdoua said that there were possibilities for promoting cooperation in the field of military education, reports Tanjug news agency. After a visit to the Military and Technical Institute, where 20 Algerian officers were at post-graduate studies, Sutanovac and Mesdoua in a statement to reporters pointed at the need for military education cooperation in order to promote bilateral relations. Sutanovac said that about 140 foreign students had studied at the Military Academy and Military and Technical Institute last year and added that the goal was to increase this number every year. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Serbia: Talks on Free Trade With Turkey, Ukraine, Iran

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 2 — State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Regional development Vesna Arsic stated that a second round of talks on free trade agreement between Serbia and Turkey are under way and that talks with Iran and Ukraine are started to begin this year, reports Tanjug news agency. She recalled that an extended agreement on free trade is expected to be signed with the Russian Federation in March. According to Arsic, lists of commodities that will be on a liberal regime and lists of commodities that will have a certain degree of protection are being defined in the talks with Turkey. “Our stand is to get from the Turkish side what we have got from the European Union, which is a duty free access of our industrial products to the Turkish market and to abolish duties on Turkish products gradually over a period of six months,” Arsic said at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. According to her, in regards to agricultural products, quotas for duty free entrance for both countries are being established. Arsic underscored that during the recent visit by a Serbian delegation to Iran, it was agreed to start negotiations on free trade with Iran in April, while the beginning of talks with Ukraine is expected in the second half of this year, after the Ukraine elections.(ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Serbia: Iranians Interested in Partnership With Petrohemija

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 2 — One of Serbian largest exporters Petrohemija might get soon a long time wanted strategic partner. Iran expressed great interest in business cooperation with that factory as daily Blic was confirmed by members of Serbian delegation that visited Teheran last week. Such strategic partnership, a privatization model increasingly preferred by Serbia, would mean for Petrohemija end of crisis and keeping of 3,000 jobs. A delegation led by Iranian Foreign Minister is to come to Belgrade as early as this Wednesday for talks with experts on naphtha and energy. Milos Bugarin, president of Serbian Chamber of Commerce who led Serbian economic delegation points out big interest expressed in Teheran by Iranian Ministry of naphtha for strategic partnership with Petrohemija, having in mind the energy position of Serbia in Europe. Petrohemija produces approximately eight hundred thousand tons of petrochemicals per year. The basic product plants provide raw materials for domestic polymer plants, as well as for various industries (ethylene, propylene, C4-fraction, pyrolytic oil, pyrolytic gasoline, methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether and 1,3 butadiene). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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EU-Morocco: First Talks on Services and Companies Concluded

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, MARCH 2 — The first phase of negotiations between the European Union and Morocco on the liberalisation of services and company settling rights, which started in March 2008, has been concluded. According to a statement issued by the European Commission, much progress has been made in the negotiations on a free trade zone between the EU and Morocco (one of the goals of the Association Agreement) for industrial products as well as farm products. The service sector makes up more than half of Morocco’s GDP and three quarters of GDP of the European Union. Most foreign investments in Morocco are made in this sector. The first stage of negotiations brings Morocco closer to integration with the European economic area, which is one of the objectives of the statute passed by the Association Council on October 13th 2008. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy-Tunisia: OK for Tunisia From Rating Agencies

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 20 — According to the most well-respected international rating agencies, Tunisia has become reliable in recent years, due to reform policies laid out across the economy, and the country is therefore potentially able to attract further foreign investment to nestle amongst its already significant current portfolio. The statement comes, for example, from the Italian group which guarantees credit to the companies who work abroad (SACE) (which puts Tunisia in the highest category of its so-called “country risk” scale of evaluation), as well as from Standard & Poor’s, according to whom, Tunisia’s label of a “stable outlook” was awarded after its adoption of “a prudent monetary policy and an increasingly flexible trade policy, making Tunisian produce highly competitive.” Positive reports also come from Fitch and Moody’s, as well as, the French insurance company (COFACE), according to whom, “Tunisia represents a fairly good risk in the medium term”. Dun&Bradstreet report a valuation of “a low level of trade uncertainty associated with investment return, even if external factors could lead to a higher level of volatility on returns from investment made in the near future.” The most recent report from World Bank and from the International Economics and Finance Society also certify that Tunisia offers a good investment climate, putting Tunisia 73rd in its list of 188 countries which were studied for their investment suitability on the grounds of reforms adopted to improve business conditions, stimulate investments and establish the best conditions for the creation of new companies. Tunisia has moved up from 81st place in the last report. This ranking puts Tunisia in a leading position amongst other North African countries and ahead of those from the MENA region, whilst behind Gulf countries and, on the same continent, South Africa and the Mauritius isles. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy-Libya: Berlusconi to Gaddafi, Pardon for Colonialism

(ANSAmed)- SIRT (LYBIA), MARCH 2 — With a heartfelt appeal for Libya to pardon “our history of abuses against your people”, in the presence of colonel Gaddafi and the General Congress of the Libyan people, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi this evening repeated his apology for Italy’s colonial past on the very day that the Libyan congress authorised the friendship and cooperation agreement between Rome and Tripoli that was signed last August in Bengasi. Joined by Muammar Gaddafi, Berlusconi spoke to congress on the occasion of its ratification of the agreement (the Italian parliament recently ratified the agreement as well). Greeted by applause, Berlusconi said that “The past that we hope to put behind us with this agreement is a past which we, sons of sons, feel guilty for and beg your forgiveness”. He added that “No population has the right to subjugate and govern another population, depriving it of its culture and traditions”. During his speech, the Italian premier officially invited Gaddafi to visit Italy for the first time as part of the G8 meeting in Maddalena. Colonel Gaddafi replied that Italian companies that intend to work in Libya will from now on be granted priority over all others. In his speech the colonel also explained that as of this moment Italians who resided in Libya before being thrown out in 1970 will be free to return to the country for either work or tourism. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy-Syria: Italian Exports Up 13% in First 11 Months 2008

(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, MARCH 2 — In the first 11 months of 2008, Italy confirmed its positive trend in trade with Syria, exporting products worth 961.6 million euro — a 12.6% increase compared to the corresponding period in 2007. Italian imports from Syria, on the other hand, totalled 728.4 million euro — a drop of 14.3%. The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) in Damascus reports that the total value of trade between the two countries was therefore at 1,690 million euro (-8.6%), with the balance (which has traditionally seen Italy in the red) showing Italy up by 233.2 million euro. This reversal in fortunes was brought about not only by the excellent performance of Italian exports, but also by the downturn in the purchase of refined oil (-54% compared to the same period of 2007) which totalled 58.3 million euro. Particular sources of improvement included Italian supplies of: machines and appliances for the production and use of mechanical energy (+144.7%) and 80.3 million; basic chemical products (+109.9%) with 59.7 million euro; automobile (+66.8%) with 37.0 million euro; metallurgy products (+17.5%); plastic items (+20.0%); medical apparatus (+91.7%); and cutlery items (+20.6%). Finally, the improvement in the food and drinks sector is to be noted (12 million euro of exports, +168.4%), as well as clothing (8.4 million euro, +42.0%), leather and related products (3.8 million euro, +166.9%), and furniture (1.7 million euro, +115.3%). In terms of Italian imports from Syria, the lion’s share is attributable to crude and refined oil, which accounted for 87.6% (638.2 million euro, -8.8%). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Jordan: EU Award Projects for Democracy and Human Rights

(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, MARCH 3 — The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) today awarded a group of local NGOs a grant worth 1.7 million euros for projects to consolidate the democratic process and human rights in the kingdom, EU officials in Amman said. To be implemented as of this year, the initiatives will seek to strengthen the parliamentary work, women’s political participation, dissemination of a human rights education among youth, said Patrick Renauld, ambassador of the EC in Amman. “My key message to the Jordanian public is that the civil society does not represent a political opposition; it represents a great source of creativity and dynamism that can contribute to the development of your country from all perspectives,” said Renauld during a ceremony to announce the projects. “We, the European Commission, trust that Civil Society Organizations in Jordan are capable to identify challenges and propose innovative solutions to them,” he added. The 10 projects were selected by the EC upon quality criteria of financial and operational capacity, Relevance, Methodology, Sustainability and Cost-effectiveness, said an official statement from the EC. “The European Commission (EC) shares the Jordanian Government’s belief that sustainable development and stability cannot be achieved without a strong and responsible civil society with more involvement into the Jordanian political and social life,” said the statement. Awarded organizations are: Arab Woman Organization, Al Hayat Center for Civil Society Organization, Italian Consortium of Solidarity, Women for Cultural Development, Jordanian Women Union, CDFJ, Community Media Centre, Information and Research Center/King Hussein Foundation, Noor Al Hussein Foundation/Institute for Family Health, Adaleh. Some of the key projects include: changing attitudes towards human rights and democracy for the students of the vocational training institution, strengthening women’s professional capacities to realise Jordan’s compliance with international conventions for gender equality, removing ‘honour’ from crimes of ‘honour’, a project to change the Jordanian mindset, strengthening the capacity of local societies to better understand human rights issues and others. EIDHR was created by the European Parliament in 1994, in recognition of the vital contribution by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and particularly NGOs, in the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Jordan started benefiting from the EIDHR Programme in 2005: so far, 34 Civil Society Organizations have been supported, for an overall amount of 5.4 million euros. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Libya-France: New French School Opens in Tripoli

(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, FEBRUARY 17 — A new school of the Mission Laique Francaise was opened yesterday in Tripoli. The school is attended by the French community in Libya but also by many Libyans who are interested in learning the French language and culture. This is the second school to be opened, to cater for levels ranging from secondary to high school. France’s ambassador to Libya, Froncois Gouyette, presided at the opening and reminded his audience that “the French school has been setting the example of French education in Libya for over fifty years without interruption”. The first French school was opened in the country in 1956 and has never closed since, not even during the embargo, though the number of pupils enrolled fell from 750 in 1975 to 220 in 2002. Today the school can boast 600 students and the success of the French lay Mission, according to Dominique Aimon, is down to the school and “the very good price/quality ratio we offer”. One year costs 2,200 dinars for a Libyan student, 4,000 for a French student, half the price of other international schools in Tripoli. To Libyans, the Libyan language and the Koran is taught as well, in line with practice in local schools. Half of the cost of renovation of the building that houses the school has been financed by French and international companies active in Libya, such as Halliburton, Total, Dassault, Vinci, Alcatel-Lucent, BNP-Paribas, Nexans, Thales, Ponticelli, Schlumberger and Siemens. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Mediterranean Games: CIJM, Israel and Palestine Not Affiliated

(ANSAmed) — MONTESILVANO (PESCARA), 3 MARCH — Amar Addadi, President of the International Mediterranean Games Committee (CIJM) has told ANSA that “there is no exclusion of Palestine and Israel from the Mediterranean Games, but in order to participate in them a country must be registered with the CIJM. Palestine and Israel are not registered and to this day we have not received any application for affiliation”. In the past, he added, “a proposal for Israel’s admission had been started, but following the approval of the Executive Committee, no further action was taken. The rules state that there must be the approval of the Committee followed by that of the General Assembly which has the task of endorsing and officialising an application for CIJM affiliation. We have nothing against the participation of these two states, but there are rules and a statute that must be respected”. Finally Addadi hoped that “the entire Mediterranean family, including Israel and Palestine, for whom admission would be concurrent, could be united as soon as possible under the flag of sport, a messenger for peace and a bridge that can unite differences and bring together different people”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Mediterranean: EU, South Must Adhere to World Trade

(ANSAmed) — RABAT, MARCH 4 — The countries of the Middle East and the southern coast of the Mediterranean must accelerate procedures for their entrance into world trade. This is the European Union appeal launched in Rabat during the second ‘Investment Forum’’ organised by the World Bank, the first of which took place in Cairo in 2005. ‘The surest way to meet the challenge of long term employment possibilities is to accelerate the integration of all of the countries of the region into world trade and investments’’ declared Bruno Dethomas, a European Union representative in Morocco, emphasising that in 2008 the region registered 770 economic projects worth a mere 40.6 billion euros compared to 61 in 2007 and 68 in 2006. ‘In spite of the current financial crisis, the countries of the region must offer work to a growing population’’, Dethomas added citing an estimated 35 million jobs necessary from now to 2015 in Northern Africa alone. Mohmoud Mojeddine, the Egyptian Minister for Investment, stressed the necessity for inter-regional commerce. ‘I know that Arab countries buy our products, but in ports far from the region’’, he said, ‘the integration of inter-regional trade is blocked by the modesty of the infrastructure, the deficit of information and the lack of air, sea and land connections between our countries’’. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Morocco: First Conference on Citizens Living Abroad in Rabat

(ANSAmed) — RABAT, MARCH 2 — Political participation, representation of citizens living abroad and public policies adopted by the countries these citizens come from: these are the main topics of the first International Conference of National Councils and Institutions on citizens living abroad. The conference will start tomorrow in Rabat. Sixteen delegations from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Portugal, Italy, Spain, France, Croatia, Belgium, Lithuania, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Mexico and Ecuador will participate in the event which was organised by the Consultative Council of Moroccans living Abroad (Ccme). The organisers explain that “there is no single way to allow emigrants to participate in the democratic life of the country of origin”. Therefore the participants will exchange information and opinions during the event — which will end on March 4 — presenting the best practices adopted by the participating countries. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Rai TV: ‘Riva Sud’ Poettering and ‘Mediterraneo’ Beirut Youth

(ANSAmed) — PALERMO (ITALY), MARCH 5 — Italian public broadcaster RAI MED’s “Riva Sud’ (Southern Shore) programme, being screened at 9.15 pm tomorrow, will feature the mission to Egypt and the Middle East by the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering. Talks focussed on Egypt’s management of the Gaza cease-fire. There is an interview with Italy’s Undersecretary for foreign affairs, Stefania Craxi. The programme is also to go out in an Arab version at 11.15 pm on RAIMed’s satellite channel, (804 — Sky platform) and can also be seen at www.tgr.rai.it and www.rivasud.blog.rai.it. The programme also features an interview with the Tunisian Consulate in Sicily, Ben Mansour, who speaks of how his country is preparing to diversify its tourist presences. And, again, there is fisheries: the impoverishment of the Sicilian Channel due to over-fishing and a short film entitled ‘Lipari’, by Dutch director Frank van der Engel. On ‘Mediterraneo’, the weekly news feature produced by RAI, France 3 and Spain’s RTVE, broadcast on Saturdays at 13.20 on Rai Tre and at 9 pm on Rai Med, the stars of the show are the youth of Beirut. Those who protested against the grip of Syria and the spread of the Hezbollah, who mourned the killing of Rafik Hariri and are today disillusioned, without prospects of work and looking to emigrate abroad.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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University: EMUNI and Med Polytechnic to Work in Dialogue

(ANSAmed) — PALERMO, FEBRUARY 27 — “The Region is interested in investing 150 million in the Polytechnic of the Mediterranean in higher education and the realisation of an official headquarters that could coordinate all of the institute’s activities”. The words are those of Sicily’s regional councillor for Culture, Antonello Antinori, speaking in Palermo today at the first session of the academic senate of EMUNI University, the Euro-Mediterranean University, inaugurated last June and due to collaborate with the Polytechnic of the Mediterranean. “We are proceeding today towards a new cultural movement,” Antinoro continued, “one that intends to invest in higher education and not just in the creation of new degree courses. From 2009 onwards, the first payments to fund research will be allocated from these funds”. According to the councillor, “the jitters affecting us a few months ago are now over, with visions of EMUNI as an institution that was going to ‘hoodwink’ the Polytechnic from Sicily. The presence of delegates from this university in Palermo,” he concluded, “means that we enjoy their trust and their willingness to collaborate with us”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Food: Tunisia, Fruit Export Doubles

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 23 — In 2008, 42,781 metric tonnes of summer-ripe fruit were exported from Tunisia, as against 21,347 the previous year. According to El Fellah’, the most-exported products were watermelons (42%), pears (23%), peaches (11%), pomegranates (10%) followed by prunes, melons, grapes, prickly pears and strawberries. Libya was the main market, importing 18,895 metric tonnes, followed by France (16,472). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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University: Morocco, Study in English on Atlas Mountains

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, FEBRUARY 26 — In the Moroccan Middle Atlas mountains, at 1,600 metres, lectures are in English. Around 1,300 students, half of them girls and half boys, including around a hundred foreigners, are studying courses at the Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, which was opened in 1995 by the then King of Morocco, Hassan II and crown Prince Abdallah (future King of Saudi Arabia) in the presence of numerous dignitaries, including Yasser Arafat. On a 75 hectare campus with ultra modern equipment the spotless buildings with their red roofs are home to the local administration, classes, libraries, amphitheatres, restaurants and housing for the students. A mosque, a scale copy of the Koutoubia in Marrakesh, a sports complex, tennis courts, and an Olympic size swimming pool are available for religious and sporting activities respectively. There are some differences between this university and western. First of all, the complete absence of graffiti: security personnel and cleaners in white overalls are on hand to pick up cigarette butts and chewing gum. Secondly, alcohol and drugs are obviously banned from the campus and the rooms are regularly checked. Boys and girls live in separate buildings, with a total ban on visits. ‘‘This is a Moroccan university which has chosen the American model’’ explains Driss Ouaouicha, the Vice Chancellor of the university where courses are taught in English, but where Arabic and French, the two languages spoken in Morocco, are compulsory. There are three faculties: commerce and finance, engineering and social sciences, international relations. The teachers are mainly English speaking, but there are also many Moroccans, and the diplomas, which include Masters, are recognised by several North American universities (including Georgetown in Washington and Laval in Quebec), as well as Japanese and European universities, including Sciences Politiques in Paris. Al Akhawayn is a university for children from rich families though, considering that other Moroccan universities are free: the annual fee including housing is around 10,000 euro, although 30% of students have scholarships or have taken out loans. However, the sacrifice is repaid in results: 95% of graduates find work within one year, not bad for a country where unemployment among 15 to 24 year-olds was 17.2% in 2007, according to official statistics. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Clinton Criticises Israeli House Demolitions

Ramallah, 4 March (AKI) — United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Wednesday criticised Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, saying it does not help the situation.

“Clearly this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the ‘road map’,” said Clinton during a joint media conference with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The media conference was held in the Palestinian National Authority’s headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israel has recently issued orders for the demolition of 100 Palestinian homes it claims were built illegally in the neighbourhood of Silwan, located in East Jerusalem.

Palestinian news agency Maan said more than 1,000 Palestinians will be displaced if the demolitions proceed.

“It is an issue that we intend to raise with the government of Israel and the government at the municipal level in Jerusalem,” said Clinton.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Clinton, who is on her first trip to the Palestinian territories as secretary of state, on Tuesday also held talks with prime minister Salaam Fayyad, who warned that negotiations with the Israeli government would be suspended if the Jerusalem demolitions went ahead.

However, when Clinton was asked about her position regarding the two-state solution for the establishment of a Palestinian state existing side by side with Israel, she said “I have told everyone, we are committed.”

Abbas, meanwhile, warned Iran by saying it was working to deepen the divisions between Palestinian factions.

“Since the Iranians got involved in Palestinian matters, they have only worked towards deepening the rift, we urge them to stop interfering in our business because they are only deepening the dispute,” he said.

Abbas made the remarks the same day that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for Muslims to join the Palestinian resistance against Israel.

Clinton arrived in Israel late on Monday after attending a donors’ conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where some 75 countries pledged more than 5.2 billion dollars to help rebuild the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, the Israeli group Peace Now claimed that the Israeli housing ministry was planning to build at least 73,000 housing units in West Bank settlements.

The organisation said 15,000 units had already been approved and another 58,000 were awaiting approval.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Gaza: Ken Loach Wants Accountability From Russell Tribunal

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, MARCH 4 — At the launching of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in Brussels, British film director Ken Loach said that “we are all complicit in the cold-blooded massacre which took place in Gaza if we do nothing to establish the responsibility of the international community.” Loach argued that “we need to find out who is guilty — not the smaller criminals but the larger ones behind them, meaning the states.” The director of ‘Land and Freedom’ said it was crucial to determine who was responsible for the war in Gaza, the “massacre of civilians” and the use of prohibited weaponry, because “no one is doing so at the moment.” And the work of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who is now special envoy for the Middle Eastern Quartet, is certainly not enough. “Blair, one of the accomplices of the war in Iraq, has been sent to judge the situation in Gaza. But how can he do so when he too should be standing in front of an international tribunal?” he concluded. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Israel: Press Reports That Judges Want Barak in Govt

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 3 — According to reports in the Israeli press today, former judges of the Israeli Supreme Court are behind Labour Party leader Ehud Barak’s willingness to enter the government of Premier-designate Benyamin Netanyahu (Likud). The press has also stated that the position assumed by the judges is due to a request made by Israel Beitenu (Avigdor Lieberman) to confirm current Minister Daniel Friedman (independent) as Justice Minister. In recent months, Friedman has been the focus of repeated disputes with the Supreme Court, asserting that the latter has acquired excessive power over the years. According to daily newspaper Maariv, Ehud Barak reportedly received a pressing request to enter into Netanyahu’s government “to prevent Friedman’s confirmation” during a recent meeting with former Supreme Court President, Judge Aharon Barak. Today Aharon Barak denied these reports, as did his predecessor Yitzhak Zamir. Following the elections on February 10 in which the Labour party obtained poor results, Barak announced his willingness to be part of the opposition. However, on Sunday night in a meeting with Netanyahu, he surprisingly hinted that he is ready, under certain conditions, to consider entering into his government. The sharp turn of events has created strong tension within the Labour party, to the point that, yesterday, Secretary Eitan Cabel warned that there could be a possible schism in the party. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Israel: ‘Intimidation Forces’ Try to Divide Jerusalem

Palestinian intel apparatus caught thwarting property sales to Jews

JERUSALEM — The Israeli court system this week filed an indictment against two Israeli Arabs suspected of working in Jerusalem in senior positions for the Palestinian Authority intelligence, officials revealed for publication.

The charges against the two include setting up an intelligence system in Jerusalem to clamp down on Israeli Arabs selling property to Jews in strategic areas of the city.

WND exclusively reported last year the PA had established an intelligence apparatus in Jerusalem in part to stop Israeli Arabs from selling their homes to Jews in strategic areas of the city, according to informed security sources.

— Hat tip: JD

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Jerusalem: 2 Cops Lightly Hurt, Terrorist Shot Dead in Attack

A Palestinian driver rammed a bulldozer into a bus and a police car on a Jerusalem highway Thursday, lightly wounding two officers before he was shot dead — the latest in a string of attacks by Palestinian terrorists using heavy machinery against Israeli civilian targets. (Click here for security camera footage of the attack)

Witnesses described a harrowing sight of the towering yellow front loader speeding along the highway, dragging the police car, flipping it into the air and trying to crush it with its front shovel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or details of the man’s identity.

Policeman Elded Bin-Nun, who helped neutralize the terrorist, gave Channel 10 his account of the incident.

“We were in the area by chance and were waiting at a red light when we noticed the tractor in the opposite lane, to our left, trying to slam the police car into the bus,” he said.

“We stopped the police car and I ran toward the tractor, firing several shots at the driver from the vehicle’s left side until he slumped to the right. I then ran to the bulldozer’s other side and noticed he [the terrorist] was trying to sit up, so I fired at him again. Several moments later another policeman arrived, and he fired three more shots at the driver from an M-16 rifle,” Bin-Nun told the television channel.

One witness, a taxi driver identified as “Dor,” told Israel Radio that he chased the driver as he witnessed the attack.

“I saw the police car fly into the air. He flipped it over twice, then continued dragging it toward a bus that was stuck in traffic,” he said.

He told the station that he had fired four shots at the man, wounding him. “Then a policeman came with his M-16 and finally finished him off,” he added.

Police, MDA and ZAKA forces streamed to the scene minutes later, after police received emergency calls telling them that a bulldozer was trying to run over a police vehicle.

— Hat tip: Abu Elvis

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Jerusalem: Bulldozer Plows Into Police Vehicle; Terrorist Killed

A tractor plowed into a police squad car on Menachem Begin Boulevard in Jerusalem on Thursday. The driver was apparently also trying to hit a nearby bus, but missed.

Two police officers were in the car when it was hit and both sustained mild injuries. Other police officers patrolling nearby shot the terrorist.

Magen David Adom emergency services were immediately dispatched to the area. The paramedics treated both the injured officers and the tractor driver, who reportedly sustained severe injuries.

One of the police officers and the terrorist were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. The other police officer was taken to the capital’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The tractor driver, later identified as Mir’i Radeideh, 26, from the Beit Hanina neighborhood in east Jerusalem, died of his wounds.

Jerusalem District Police Commander Nissan Shaham recapped the event: “At approximately 1:10 pm we received a report of a terror attack taking place at Menachem Begin Boulevard. A Jerusalem Highway Patrol car was first to arrive at the scene and saw the bulldozer attempt to crush the police car and then lift it up.

“The officers shot the terrorist and neutralized him. Seconds later, a cab driver who pulled over fired as well, as did another police officer who arrived at the scene, and a force volunteer. The driver was critically injured, taken off the tractor and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died of his wounds. We found an open Quran book in the driver’s compartment.”

Shaham also said that following the event, the police have compiled a list of all bulldozer owners and licensed drivers in the capital’s area, adding that “this is not the kind of attack we can anticipate to thwart in advance,” he said.

Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen later added that “this event ended as well as it could have, with only two injured officers. In the next few hours we will be able to say where the terrorist came from.”

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas rulers praised Thursday’s bulldozer attack in Jerusalem as a “natural response” to Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in Arab east Jerusalem and to the Jewish state’s offensive in the Gaza Strip: “The operation in Jerusalem was a natural response to aggression against our people. The Zionist enemy should realize that they alone bear the responsibility for displacing our people in Jerusalem and for the killings in Gaza and the West Bank,” said Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas official.

Third of its kind

Three schoolgirls who witnessed the events were treated for shock. “This was nothing short of a miracle,” Haim Weingarten of Zaka (Disaster Victim Identification), told Ynet. “The terrorist was apparently aiming for the bus, but a power pole that had fallen on the road stopped it.”

“I was about 100 yard away from (the attack) and I could see this tractor run amuck. It looked like it would also hit a bus that was in the intersection. Then it seemed to turn and go after the police car,” eyewitness Sunny Benyamini told Ynet.

“I saw the (police) car go backwards and forwards and then the policemen shot at the tractor. It came to a stop and many people around it jumped on it and overpowered the driver,” he said.

MDA Director-General Eli Bin confirmed that two police officers were treated at the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital. “The security forces and the emergency teams operated in an exemplary fashion,” he added.

— Hat tip: Abu Elvis

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Terror Attack in Jerusalem Caught on Traffic Camera

[Video]

Quick reaction of the armed taxi driver and 2 cops saved a bus full of girls on a school trip. He was driving back to get some speed to turn over the bus, but he was shot with some 30-40 bullets before he could do it.

— Hat tip: Abu Elvis

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Iran: Israeli Nuclear Sites Within Missile Range

Iran’s military chief warned Israel Wednesday that its nuclear facilities are within range of Iranian missiles, the latest message from Tehran that it will strike back if attacked.

Israel, which is itself believed to possess atomic arsenal, has warned that it could attack Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. suspect is a cover for weapons production. Israel’s prime minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, is among those taking a tough line and considered likely to keep open the option of a military strike.

— Hat tip: JD

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Islamic Countries Reject Al Qaeda, But Also American Policy

A survey has been published by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, on the occasion of Secretary Clinton’s visit to the West Bank. Approval of Osama bin Laden is down; attacks against civilians are rejected, and American policy is seen as being too close to Israel.

Beit Sahour (AsiaNews) — A survey conducted on Muslim majority countries demonstrates that support for the terrorism of al Qaeda and attacks on civilians is low, but there is still significant support for the aims of al Qaeda, like the revival of Islam and opposition to American policy in the Middle East.

The survey was carried out through direct interviews of more than 6,000 people in Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, Turkey, and Morocco.

It was conducted between July and September of 2008 by WorldPublicOpinion.org, in collaboration with the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, which published the results today, on the occasion of Hillary Clinton’s visit to the West Bank (today) and Israel (concluded yesterday).

The results demonstrate that a very large majority, between 67 and 89%, condemn the use of bombs and killing for political and religious purposes; more than 70% are against attacks on civilians (specifically Americans).

At the same time, a large majority supports al Qaeda’s goal to “push the US to remove its bases and its military forces from all Islamic countries.” These include 87% of Egyptians; 64% of Indonesians; 60% of Pakistanis.

Other al Qaeda goals also have wide approval. Among these, “strict application of Shari’a Law in every Islamic country, and in the long run to unify all Islamic countries into a single Islamic state or Caliphate” received the support of 65% of Egyptians; 40% of Indonesians; and 76% of Pakistanis and Moroccans. “To keep Western values out of Islamic countries,” one of the other goals of the terrorist organization, received support of 80% in Egypt; 76% in Indonesia; 60% in Pakistan; and 64% in Morocco.

The figure of Osama bin Laden has a controversial following. If Egypt (44%) and the Palestinian Territories (56%) are left out, the “positive feelings” toward him come to 14% in Indonesia; 25% in Pakistan; 27% in Morocco; 27% in Jordan; 9% in Turkey; 4% in Azerbaijan.

The “negative feelings” toward the head of al Qaeda are distributed as follows: 17% in Egypt; 20% in the Palestinian Territories; 26% in Indonesia; 15% in Pakistan; 21% in Morocco; 20% in Jordan; 68% in Turkey; 82% in Azerbaijan.

Finally, concerning the American position on the Israeli-Palestinian question, the results are very unusual: a large majority maintains that U.S. policy favors the expansion of Israel. Among these are Egypt (86%); Indonesia (47%); Pakistan (52%); Morocco (64%); Turkey (78%); Azerbaijian (43%). In the Palestinian Territories, the figure reaches 90%, and 84% in Jordan.

And yet, to the question of whether the U.S. intends to create an independent and economically viable Palestinian state, Palestinians voted “yes” by 59%. Of the others, only about 30% agreed.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Lebanon: Trade Position Strengthened in Middle East

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 19 — Lebanon is becoming ever more the centre of the Middle Eastern economy. On the basis of figures released by Lebanese customs agencies, as reported by Italian Foreign Trade Commission (ICE) offices in Beirut, the role of Lebanon as platform for trade in the Middle East is growing at a steady rate. In the period taken into consideration, ‘transit’ activities rose by 103% to 339 million dollars (equal to 9.7% of Lebanese exports, 3.5 billion dollars). In the words of ICE, if to these data we add those of ‘re-export’ (185 million dollars with a slight drop of 1.6% in 2008) we get the figure of 524 million dollars, 15.1% of total Lebanese export (+47.6% compared with 2007). Most of the activity in Lebanon in these sectors occurs with countries in the area: the United Arab Emirates (+42% of Lebanese export), Iraq (+81.8%), Syria (+6.7%), Saudi Arabia (+11.7%) and Turkey (+88.2%). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Middle East: Evidence Mounts of Syrian Nuclear Cover-Up

The United States said on Wednesday that United Nations inspectors had found growing evidence of covert nuclear activity in Syria, and European allies said a lack of Syrian transparency demanded utmost scrutiny.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is looking into U.S. intelligence reports that Syria had almost built a North Korean-designed, nuclear reactor meant to yield bomb-grade plutonium before Israel bombed it in 2007.

— Hat tip: JD

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Oil: Syria; Study, Reserves of 24.3 Bln Barrels

(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, MARCH 2 — According to a recent study carried out by a strategic study centre in Damascus and reported by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), Syria has oil reserves totaling about 24.3 billion barrels. The study also reports that demand for oil products will remain high until 2015, and that between 2007 and 2010, the growth is due to increased reliance on vehicles and diesel fuel. Between 2011 and 2015, demand will tend to stabilise due to the progressive liberalisation of fuel prices and a growingly important role occupied by natural gas in energy production. The energy sector contributes directly or indirectly to about 18% of the country’s GDP. Starting in 2005, demand for oil products started to increase in Syria due a sudden increase in fuel prices, particularly for diesel and petrol, and due to increased electricity demand. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Saudi Minister Calls for Joint Strategy to Confront “Iranian Challenge”

Iran’s nuclear program is a threat for the entire Middle East. The concerns of the Arab League over the possible openness of the U.S. government to talks with Tehran. Secretary Clinton reassures Arab partners and promises in-depth consultations.

Cairo (AsiaNews/Agencies) — A joint strategy on the part of Arab countries to confront the “Iranian challenge,” and a nuclear program that threatens the entire area of the Gulf. Prince Saud Al Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, made the request yesterday in Cairo, during a summit that gathered the heads of diplomacy in the Arab League.

“In order to cement Arab reconciliation,” the Saudi minister said, “we need a common vision for issues that concern Arab security and deal with the Iranian challenge,” including its “nuclear drive.”

Tehran’s nuclear program is at the origin of the tension between the Arab countries of the Gulf — with Sunni majorities — and Shiite Iran. During a UN summit in 2008, the Saudi prince urged Iran to adhere to the guidelines of the international community, and spare the Middle East from “devastating conflicts, futile arms races and serious environmental hazards.”

The Arab League is also expressing concern about the possible “openness” of the American government to direct talks with Iran. On the sidelines of the donor summit for the reconstruction of Palestine, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton reassured Arab ministers: Washington is “carefully” considering the steps to take, and will “fully” consult with allies in the Gulf on questions concerning Iran.

Clinton’s reassurance follows a warning issued by Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League, who asked that Arab countries be kept informed. “I demand that no foreign (power) talks to Iran without Arabs being aware of it and having a role in the process.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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India: Intelligence Agencies Blame ‘Incompetent’ Pakistani Govt

New Delhi, 4 March (AKI/Asian Age) — Indian intelligence agencies termed Tuesday’s terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team as “complete incompetency of the Pakistani government” and said it is the military-intelligence complex (or the Inter-Services Intelligence headquarters) which is calling the shots in Islamabad.

Senior officials of the Indian Central intelligence agencies believe that neither the Inter-Services Intelligence nor the terror outfits are under the control of the civilian government of Pakistan.

“It’s quite clear that the ISI is in touch with terror outfits. The civilian government is incompetent and helpless,” said a high-ranking Indian official of the Intelligence Bureau in an interview with Indian daily The Asian Age.

The official also blasted Pakistan’s inadequate security arrangements, after the attack, which killed six policemen and a driver during the ambush.

“There was no adequate security arrangements. It was an international match not a district-level cricket match. Security arrangements which were made outside and inside the stadium were not up to the mark.

The official also claims that it is highly unlikely that the ISI did not have any information previous to the attack.

“It’s difficult to believe that terrorists were planning such a massive attack and the Inter-Services Intelligence did not have any information in a country like Pakistan. Was there an intelligence failure or was there suppression of intelligence?,” he said.

He also made a comparison between the cricket team attack and the Mumbai bombings last November.

“Islamabad cannot even think about questioning ISI officials. Even after repeated denial by the civilian government, the ISI is providing all support to the militant outfits operating from Pakistan. Terror attack on the cricket team was similar to the 26/11 attack. Initial reports indicate that militants wanted to take players hostage,” said the official.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Indonesia: Polygamy Bill Gets Mixed Reactions

Jakarta, 3 March (AKI/Jakarta Post) — The Indonesian government’s plans to tighten procedures for polygamous marriages and ban unregistered and contractual marriages has sparked controversy across the country.

Some Indonesians believe the government should not interfere in the private lives of its citizens, while others said the plan should be supplemented with a revision of Indonesia’s 1974 marriage law.

“Marriage is an individual right. Marriage is not only between two single people, but can also be between people who have problems [with their marriage],” restaurant owner Puspo Wardoyo, a polygamist with four wives and 11 children, told The Jakarta Post.

He said Islamic law allowed for unregistered marriages, locally known as nikah siri, and this matter should be accommodated in the law.

The current marriage law stipulates that all marriages are legal if conducted according to the requirements of one’s religion or beliefs.

“I believe nikah siri is the best way to avoid adultery, and that it’s a [legal] way before a couple marries under the state law,” Puspo said.

He added his first wife had approved of his marrying other women. “Besides, I’m capable financially and spiritually to engage in polygamy, so why not share it with other women?”

Controversial singer Dewi Persik, who came under the spotlight after publicly revealing her unregistered marriage to her boyfriend and film actor Aldiansyah Taher, said she decided to make the move for the happiness of her lover.

“Many people consider unregistered marriages unfavourable for women, but I’d rather do it for the sake of another person’s happiness,” she said.

The Indonesian religious affairs ministry’s marriage bill is aimed at curbing such practices and protecting women.

It threatens couples, who tie the knot without either the proper documents or the presence of an authorised religious official, with up to three months in jail and up to 5 million rupees (414 dollars) in fines.

Under the bill, public officials who help administer illegal marriages would also face a maximum jail sentence of one year and/or fines of up to 6 million (497 dollars) rupees.

The bill also tightens the prerequisites for polygamous marriages.

Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama’s deputy chairman Masdar Farid Mas’udi refrained from commenting on the bill.

“It’s better to listen to the comments from conservatives, liberals and moderates on this issue first ,” he said.

“I will only comment after that.”

Indonesia’s second largest Islamic organisation, Muhammadiyah’s chairman Din Syamsuddin called for caution in passing such a bill into law.

“What needs to be regulated is the social dimension [of unregistered marriages],” he said as quoted by Antara news agency. “Don’t try to meddle in the religious realm.”

Women’s rights activist Lis Markus said she supported the government’s effort to protect women’s rights through the bill.

“Unregistered marriages are really detrimental to women, especially if they have children, because then they can’t get birth certificates because legally there is no father,” she argued.

She added the move should also be followed up by amending the 1974 marriage law, which she deemed “unfavourable” to women.

Unregistered marriages are widespread in the predominantly Muslim nation because they are recognised under Islam.

A recent survey also found polygamy was a significant factor behind the country’s rising divorce rate.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Indonesia: Men May be Jailed for Multiple Marriages

Jakarta, 2 Mar. (AKI/Jakarta Post) — Indonesian Muslims could face fines and imprisonment if they marry more than one wife in polygamous marriages. Under new regulations being considered by the country’s religion ministry, Muslim men wanting extra wives would need written consent from their existing spouse or spouses, and need to prove they have the financial means to support them.

The religious court on marriage bill threatens to jail couples for up to three months and fine them up to Rp 5 million (415 dollars), for seeking additional wives without proper documentation or the presence of an authorised religious official.

State officials who help to administer illegal marriages would also face a jail sentence of up to one year and fines.

Nasaruddin Umar, director general of Islamic guidance at the religious affairs ministry, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the bill was aimed at curbing unregistered marriages and protecting women.

“Unregistered and contractual marriages are detrimental to women. Many women have been made to suffer, because in the absence of regulations concerning those matters, their husbands can easily marry other women,” he said.

Unregistered marriages, known locally as nikah siri, are widely practised in Indonesia.

The house of representatives’ disciplinary council recently questioned an MP after reports surfaced that he had married a woman without registering it with the state.

Contractual marriages are reportedly rampant among young women living in the resort area of Puncak in the West Java town of Bogor, who opt to marry Middle Eastern tourists for a certain period of time.

The bill also aims to tighten the prerequisites for polygamous marriages, including adequate financial means for men who seek a second wife. A letter of consent would also be required from the first wife.

“We’re trying to cut back on instances of men committing polygamy,” Nasaruddin said.

A recent survey found polygamy was a significant factor behind the country’s rising divorce rate.

Nasaruddin said the bill, drafted by the religious affairs ministry, had been submitted for the president’s perusal.

He added it would complement the 1971 marriage law, which has long been criticised by women’s activists.

Muslim intellectual Siti Musdah Mulia said the new bill, despite its progressive contents, would be unable to protect women and children.

She added the bill was not enough to fulfil the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which the country adopted several years ago.

“The government is still hesitant about curbing discrimination against women,” she claimed.

She suggested the religious affairs ministry revise the bill before it was submitted to the House for deliberation.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Malaysia: Dispute Over Baby’s Conversion

KUALA LUMPUR — AN ETHNIC Chinese man is challenging the conversion of his baby daughter to Islam by his estranged wife, a lawyer said on Thursday, the latest interreligious dispute to rock mainly Muslim Malaysia. Hoo Ying Soon, a 28-year-old carpenter, was shocked when he received a notice two days ago from the Islamic Shariah court granting temporary custody of their 15-month-old daughter to his wife, said his lawyer Tang Jay Son.

He was told that his wife, Chew Yin Yin, 23, embraced Islam on Jan. 28 while his daughter was converted on Feb. 3, Tang said. The couple, both Buddhists, wedded February 2007 in southern Negeri Sembilan state but their marriage broke down in September, he said.

‘Mr Hoo will challenge the conversion of his daughter in the High Court because it was done unilaterally by the mother without the consent of the father. They are not divorced yet,’ Mr Tang told The Associated Press.

Religious issues are extremely sensitive in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the 27 million people are Muslims. Buddhist, Christian and Hindu minorities have accepted Islam’s dominance but in recent years voiced fears that courts are unfairly asserting the supremacy of Islam, which is Malaysia’s official religion.

Malaysia has a dual court system. Muslims are governed by the Islamic Shariah courts and non-Muslims, civil courts. But interreligious disputes almost always end up in Shariah courts, and end in favor of Muslims.

Mr Tang said Mr Hoo’s wife, who has adopted the name Siti Zubaidah Chew Abdullah, has filed for divorce in the Islamic court with a hearing due later Thursday.

Mr Hoo will seek an injunction in the Shariah court to prevent his wife from taking custody of their child, he said. He has filed a suit in the High Court to question his daughter’s conversion and to seek guardianship over their child, and wants the Islamic court to wait for the civil court’s decision, he said. The high court has set March 10 for hearing.

‘He has no problems with his wife converting to Islam but he feels it is unfair to convert their daughter,’ Mr Tang said.

Mr Hoo also is concerned that their child, Hoo Joey, has been renamed Nurul Syuhada Chew Abdullah, which doesn’t carry his surname, he added.

In a high profile case in 2007, an ethnic Hindu woman failed to persuade the civil court to ban her husband, who had embraced Islam, from converting their sons. — AP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Pakistan: Was Lahore Terror Attack a Conspiracy? England Cricket Star’s Shock Claims Over Test Match Massacre

‘They were not well coordinated. On the first two days (of the Test), both buses left at the same time, with escorts. On this particular day, the Pakistan bus left five minutes after the Sri Lankan bus. Why?

‘It went through my mind as we were leaving the hotel, “Where is the Pakistan bus?”.

‘There were times in the Karachi Test when the Sri Lankans went first and the Pakistanis went afterwards. But after this happened you think “My God, did someone know something and they held the Pakistan bus back?”‘

His shock allegation came as it was revealed the hero driver of the Sri Lanka cricketeers’ bus had a jihadist brother.

— Hat tip: JD

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Singapore: Man Admits to Airport Plot

JAKARTA — A SINGAPORE terror suspect admitted in court on Thursday to helping plot a 2001 attack on the city-state’s airport, saying members of his al-Qaeda-linked militant network wanted to plow a hijacked Russian Aeroflot into the terminal. Mohammad Hassan bin Saynudin, 36, did not say why the Changi Airport strike was canceled.

But prosecutors told the South Jakarta District Court that he and other Jemaah Islamiyah members backed out at the last minute — they already had tickets in hand — because the media had uncovered details about their plot.

It is not the first time bin Saynudin has made such claims of responsibility.

Last month, he told Singapore’s newspaper, The Straits Times, he and fugitive JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari came up with the plan because they wanted to punish the city-state for supporting the US-led war in Afghanistan.

Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks on Western targets since Sept 11, 2001, including the nightclub bombings on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali in 2002 that left 202 people dead, many of them foreign tourists.

They’ve also been linked to several foiled plots in the region — including the Singapore airport strike.

Bin Saynudin and nine other alleged members of his group were arrested in July for allegedly planning an attack on a bar on Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra.

The Singaporean was speaking on Thursday at the trial of two of those men. — AP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Australia: Human Smuggler Jailed 3 Yrs

PERTH — AN INDONESIAN man was sentenced to at least three years in jail on Thursday for trying to bring 12 asylum seekers to Australia. Abdul Hamid, 35, was convicted in Perth District Court of illegally bringing non-citizens into Australia and sentenced to six years in jail, with a non-parole period of three years. He faced up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Hamid was the captain of a boat intercepted by Australian Border Protection Command near Australia’s northwest shore on Sept. 29, 2008. The boat was carrying 12 people believed to be from the Middle East. None of them were charged with any offenses.

Australian Federal Police said Hamid was part of an attempted people smuggling venture that originated in Indonesia.

Australia has long been a destination for people from poor, often war-ravaged countries hoping to start a new life. Most of the refugees who come to Australia travel on cramped, barely seaworthy boats from Indonesia. Many come from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. — AP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez Tightens State Control of Food Amid Rocketing Inflation and Food Shortages

President Hugo Chavez is tightening state control over Venezuela’s food supply, setting quotas for food staples which are to be sold at government-imposed prices.

Venezuela’s public finances are unravelling, with oil prices at $40 a barrel, while the national budget is calculated at $60 a barrel. Inflation is running at over 30 per cent, yet with the new measures Mr Chavez is seeking to ensure that his core support, the poor, can still fill their shopping baskets with food.

“If any industry wants to ride roughshod over the consumers, with a view to getting better dividends, we are going to act,” said Carlos Osorio, the national superintendent of silos and storage. “For the government, access to food is a matter of national security.”

Production quotas and prices have now been set for cooking oil, white rice, sugar, coffee, flour, margarine, pasta, cheeses and tomato sauce.

White rice, the staple for many Venezuelans, can now only be sold at a price of 2.15 bolivares (71p) per kilo. Private companies insist that production of that kilo costs 4.41 bolivares (£1.46) and that government regulations are impossible to fulfil and companies will quickly go broke. Companies that are dedicated to rice production must ensure that 80 per cent of their efforts are dedicated to white rice. The new regulations set production percentages, as companies were rebranding their products to avoid the government controls, like flavouring the rice, as the price restrictions apply only to white rice.

“Forcing companies to produce rice at a loss will not resolve the situation, simply make it worse,” said Luis Carmona of Polar, a rice company that has been singled out by the government for trying to sidestep restrictions.

— Hat tip: JD

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650 Immigrants in Lampedusa, 80 Leaving

(ANSAmed) — PALERMO, MARCH 4 — There is a total of around 650 immigrants in Lampedusa, spread out between the Centre for Identification and Deportation (CIE) in the Imbriacola area and the former LORAN base in Capo Ponente. Included amongst them are 86 north Africans who arrived last night on the Navy’s Sirio patrol-boat and the 171 non-Europeans (including 26 women and a newborn baby) which arrived this morning on a raft. A group of 80 immigrants should be transferred by plan in the next two hours to the temporary immigration centre in Crotone. Minors and people in the advanced stages of requesting asylum cannot, in fact, be accommodated in the Lampedusa (CIE). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Algeria: Al-Qaeda ‘Recruiting’ Illegal Migrants for Attacks

Algiers, 4 March (AKI) — Al-Qaeda was seeking to recruit illegal immigrants in Europe for potential suicide attacks in Italy, Spain and France, an Algerian daily has claimed. A report in the daily Ennahar on Tuesday said Al-Qaeda had begun trying to recruit illegal immigrants in Europe, because it had not been able to find new recruits in Arab countries following elections in the United States and Israel.

“Two men, a Pakistani and a Bosnian offered me a proposal. They asked me to collaborate with Al-Qaeda in exchange for money,” said Ahmad al-Shalafi, an Algerian immigrant who spoke to the daily by telephone after being approached by alleged Al-Qaeda officials.

“I would have had to recruit people from the local Islamic and African communities to carry out a suicide attack,” he said.

Shalafi is an illegal Algerian immigrant who lives in Spain and works as a security official at a nightclub using fake documents and presenting himself as a Moroccan immigrant. He said he migrated illegally to Spain in 2001 after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in a makeshift boat.

The daily said Algerians and Moroccans, who had illegally entered Italy, France and Spain by boat from North Africa, were then being asked to join the terror network, due to their precarious living conditions, lack of identification documents and poor integration in their host country.

The news report said that Al-Qaeda also exploits the immigrants’ resentment towards their new country as well as their home country, as they cannot renew their passport to legally return home.

The newspaper, citing outside sources, claimed to know that Al-Qaeda is targeting illegal immigrants — but particularly Moroccan and Algerian immigrants — in order to infiltrate Europe.

The daily also said that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan had delegated this recruitment task to its North African branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb organisation, also present in Algeria.

Ennahar also referred to European intelligence reports warning about possible attacks against the Israeli and US embassies in European countries.

One report to which the daily referred, does not exclude Al-Qaeda attacks on Eastern Europe due to security crackdowns which have prevented new militant recruitment in Spain, Italy and France.

There are at least 365,000 Moroccan and 22,000 Algerian immigrants in Italy, according to the latest figures by Italy’s central statistics agency ISTAT.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Greece: Government-EU Programme for Integration

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, MARCH 4 — Around 550,000 immigrants living in Greece will take advantage from the Estia Programme 2007-2013, which was presented by Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos. The 26.2 million euros of the programme, funded for 75% by the EU, will be used to facilitate the integration of immigrants into the Greek society. The programme focuses on education of the Greek language, support for socially vulnerable groups like children, women and people with a handicap, and wants to inform immigrants on their rights and responsibilities. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Roma Question in Hungary

HVG 21.02.2009 (Hungary)

On February 8th, the Romanian national handball player Marian Cozma (until recently under contract with “MKB Veszprem”) was stabbed to death and two of his team mates badly injured in the Hungarian city of Veszprem. Initial reports suggest that the perpetrators are Roma members of a mafia-like organisation. “The gypsy has killed again,” the right-wing press immediately barked. And so the Roma are outlawed again, says philosopher Janos Kis, who points to the racist crimes against Roma that generally go ignored. Kis warns: “Anyone who tries to boost grass-roots support in this country using cheap ethnic propaganda, is playing with fire. When emotions break loose, the first victims are often the most needy and vulnerable — and this is certainly the case in Hungary. But the price will be high for the majority society. The past two decades have shown what happens if we fail to take on the burden of Roma integration. The road ends in catastrophe.”

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Spain: Young People Do Not Feel Spanish

(by Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 3 — 2 out of every 3 adolescent immigrants, although born in Spain, or who have come to live in the country when they were very young, do not feel Spanish according to “The second generation in Madrid”, a study performed by the universities of Comillas, Princeton, and Clemson, based on interviews carried out on 4,000 adolescents who are the children of immigrants between the ages of 12 and 17, performed in public schools and private schools in Madrid, and cited today by El Pais. Over 65% of the children interviewed said that they did not feel Spanish, and 40% said that they are not interested in staying in Spain, and prefer to move to the United States or another nation in the “developed world”. The same percentage, 1 out of every 4, said that they want to remain in Spain. According to Aljandro Portes, one of the authors of the study, who in the past led a similar study in the U.S., “in Spain value is not given to the state of well-being, while on the other side of the Atlantic, where everything costs more, it is more appreciated”. The framework that has emerged is complex. The majority of those interviewed said that they do not feel “a great refusal” from natives in Madrid. Over half admitted that they have never felt that they were discriminated against, while only 5% said that they have suffered discrimination many times. 70% of the adolescents are convinced that the Spanish feel superior, which influences their choice of friends, since many second generation immigrants say that less than half of their friends are Spanish, while most of their friends are from their own country of origin. An overwhelming majority of adolescents at public schools — about 85% — recognise that “there are frequent clashes between groups of children who are divided into different nationalities” and that for one-third of kids, these inter-ethnic arguments “interfere with their studies”. However, different skin-colour, ethnic origin, and language do not represent an insurmountable barrier for their integration. 4 out of 5 in the study said that they are in agreement or very much in agreement with the fact that “people of colour have as many opportunities to advance in Spain as white people”. The authors of the study underlined the importance of the level of education and employment aspects in the discontent expressed by the European immigrant population, like in the events which took place in the Parisian suburbs in 2006. The investigation highlights that only 53% of immigrant adolescents aspire to attend university and that only 32% believe that they will truly be able to attend, revealing a low level of self-confidence. Only 39% aspired to have a high-level job, even if — underlined the authors of the study — this is the same percentage found among Spanish adolescents. The report differed, instead, for the 500 adolescents in private schools in the study: 7 out of 10 aspire to attend university, compared to 5 out of 10 of those who attend public schools. The study also showed that about half of the immigrant adolescents consider religion “very important”, although only 1 out of 5 said that they go to church at least once a week, while 1 out of 4 said that they never go. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Prof Calls Cops When Student Mentions Guns in Speech

‘If you can’t talk about the 2nd Amendment, what happened to the 1st Amendment?’

The student was fulfilling an assignment for his Communications 140 class that required him to discuss a “relevant issue in the media” when he and two other students on a team chose to talk about school violence, including recent events such as the 2007 shootings that left nearly three dozen people dead at Virginia Tech University.

Wahlberg made the point during his Oct. 3, 2008, class presentation that if students were allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus, the violence could have been stopped earlier. He discussed the concept of college campus gun-free zones.

That evening, the Recorder said, Wahlberg got a call from campus police officers who “requested” his presence at their station. When he arrived, officers listed firearms that were registered to him and asked him where they were.

Apparently his professor, Paula Anderson, had filed a campus police department complaint about his speech. Police officers reported she said students were “scared and uncomfortable” during his presention.

— Hat tip: JD

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U.N. to Make Ban on Criticizing Islam Mandatory?

Expected proposal would criminalize such comments in U.S.

According to a report by CNN’s Lou Dobbs posted on YouTube, the proposal that has been repeatedly brought in recent years by the Organization of Islamic Conference states is expected to resurface as early as this spring.

This time, however, the resolution wouldn’t allow nations to opt out.

“The United Nations has adopted what it calls a Resolution to Combat Defamation of Religion,” Dobbs said in the report. “The U.N. now wants to make that anti-blasphemy resolution binding on member nations, including, of course, our own. That would make it a crime in the United States … to criticize religion, in particular, Islam.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Russkiy is a regular reader and occasional commenter here at Gates of Vienna. After my recent post about Russian demography, he sent me an email with additional first-hand information about indigenous Russian Muslims. He has given me his kind permission to publish the entire text:

Dear Baron,

This is regarding your recent post about the Russian Muslim population. Although I have been living away from Russia for a while, I believe I can shed some light on this issue.

As people mentioned in the comments, a majority of Muslims in Russia are Tatars. I will try to give you some idea of who these people are.

First of all, I believe that a very big proportion of the Russian population that describe themselves as ethnic Russians are actually Tatars. These people are fully Russian now, and are Christians. The rest of the Tatars can be split into three categories.

1.		Tatars that have a confused identity. I have met many of this type. When you meet them in a foreign country, they say that they are Russians, but then when you query them further because of the difference in their appearance they admit that they are ethnic Tatars. Therefore in my opinion these people are fully integrated into mainstream society, with the same mentality as Russians. I think proportionally these people make up half of the Tatar population in Russia.
2.		Tatars that identify themselves as Tatars. In general this group is very similar to the first group, with the exception that they realize and affirm their ethnicity. They are not really religious and they do drink alcohol and eat pork, but at the same time they call themselves Tatars. This group makes up one quarter of the Tatar population in Russia.
3.		Tatars that identify themselves as Tatars, but also celebrate some of the traditional Tatar (Islamic) holidays. They would probably drink alcohol, but would not eat pork (not pork chops, but may be as sausage). They don’t otherwise follow a halal diet. These people make up a quarter of the Tatar population.

The first group normally have Russian names, but Tatar surnames. These people are normally indistinguishable from Russians, and rates of intermarriage are very high. However, this group when queried (in statistical surveys) may identify themselves as Tatars.

The second group normally would have a Tatar first name as well as the second. They would definitely identify themselves as Tatars in a statistical survey, and rates of intermarriage with Russians are still high but less than in the first group. These people live closer to traditional Tatar homelands and therefore they have greater ability to preserve their identity.

The third group would in many respects be similar to Kazakhs, whom I will discuss in detail. These people may or may not know their native language. They pay lip service to religion; however, the majority of these people wouldn’t know much about Islamic doctrines. They wouldn’t normally pray, but may attend the mosque occasionally during some festivals.

– – – – – – – – –

One thing to note here is that the only real thing that separates Tatars from Russians is religion, so if Tatars become nationalistic I think they will become more religious. The Russian government must play a game to get these people to become fully Russian without alienating them and pushing them back towards religion.

And I am sure there are some very religious people amongst them, but a very small minority.

As for Kazakhs, I believe I can shad some light on them as I am married to one, and have been to Kazakhstan.

The first time I met my wife (about five years ago) she appeared very liberal, pro-Western, and very modern. However she still referred to herself as a Muslim. She would cringe when I would start criticizing Islam and making fun of Arabs. It took me a while to get her to eat pork. As time passed, and I studied more about Islam (partially because I thought that our marriage wouldn’t be accepted by her family because I wasn’t a Muslim, and I had to do a fake conversion) I managed to prove to her that Islam is all bollocks, and now she is a bigger Islamophobe than I am.

When we visited her family in Kazakhstan, I observed that life there is very much like in Russia. The urban people on the surface appear the same. The main difference is that in the family there is an obvious hierarchy, where the head of the family is really the boss, and the lowest members are the daughters-in-law. They are supposed to serve food and sit at the side of the table closer to the door (less prestigious), while the best seats at the table are reserved for the head and the guests (me and my wife in that case).

The conversation was much more formal than I was used to. I really had to listen to the elders, never interrupt them and never argue. You can’t really have a discussion in that environment. For example, in my family I can have a discussion with my grandparents, and if they are wrong I will argue with them until either they convince me that I am wrong or vice versa.

People in her family speak Russian; their knowledge of the Kazakh language is poor, and non-existent amongst the younger generation. This is the case with urban Kazakhs; the people who live in the country speak Kazakh, and Russian not so well, with an accent. There is a division between the two types of Kazakhs. Each type looks down on the other. The city-dwellers think that the other type are unsophisticated, uneducated barbarians, and the other type thinks that the city-dwellers are not true Kazakhs anymore.

The relationship between Kazakhs and Russians is fairly good. A lot of intermarriage, however, normally it’s a Kazakh man and Russian woman. But on a positive note their children are very Russified and non-religious or Christians. I have met many of them.

And in my case, although to start with there were some objections to our marriage, they have accepted it in the end, and I have a very good relationship with them.

As for their religious observance, it is very low; the mosques are only visited during holidays and to say a prayer for the dead on the anniversaries of their passing. They don’t pray, they drink, and they don’t observe halal except for not eating pork openly (although everyone eats pork sausages).

Kazakhs really hate Turks for some reason (probably because Turks look down on them as their smaller siblings and bad Muslims). Also, if you have the appearance of a Wahhabi you can get your butt kicked over there. They do differentiate between Muslims and Muslims, meaning that they actually refer to real practicing Muslims like in Uzbekistan as Muslims (kind of ambiguous).

I hope this helps to define the type of “Muslims that live in and around Russia”.

Regards,
Russkiy

P.S. Another thing I want to mention is that I have seen fewer women wearing hijab in Kazakhstan than in New Zealand, a Western non-Islamic country. In fact, the type of dress for women in Kazakhstan is very “Western” — by that I mean slutty. Girls wear short skirts, lots of makeup, etc. I am sure men from Western countries like the US or New Zealand wouldn’t be able to stop staring at them, as the clothes worn over there by girls are much more revealing than in the West for some reason. Women in general pay much more attention to their appearance. I guess that’s a feature of a more chauvinist society, but I kind of like it.

Mark Steyn and other writers who describe the civilized world’s looming demographic crisis are right — there is a serious problem. Russia, Japan, Italy, Spain, and a number of other countries are facing a choice between drastic depopulation and being overrun by Third World immigrants.

But the overall situation is complex, and our slide into disaster is not yet irreversible. I’m grateful to Russkiy for providing us with a more nuanced view of the current demographic makeup of his country.

As most readers already know, we’re in the run-up to “Durban II”, the anti-racism UN extravaganza to be held in Geneva next month under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) now pulls the strings of the UN human rights puppet, so Durban II is effectively an OIC operation. The language of the draft Declaration — which has been under construction now for months — is, not surprisingly, full of anti-Zionist invective.

For that reason, Israel, Canada, and Italy have announced that they will not participate in the Geneva set piece. Last week the Obama administration surprised the world by announcing that the anti-Semitic language of the declaration was too much, and that it was withdrawing from the preparatory process.

However, as sharp-eyed observers soon noticed, the administration has left itself a lot of room to opt back into Durban 2 if the UNHRC pastes a few flimsy fig leaves over the superstructure. So next month we may well be subjected to a Jew-bashing spectacle boycotted by Canada and Italy but attended by the United States of America.

The OIC’s latest pronouncement expresses gratitude for the flexibility and accommodation displayed by the Obama administration. The taqiyya from the White House has not passed unnoticed.

Before I get down to the nitty-gritty of the what the OIC said, readers are invited to ponder the following phrases, which I have bolded in the text of the statement:

• The worldwide efforts to counter discrimination, racism and xenophobia
• The global community’s growing concern over acts of discrimination, intolerance and incitement to hatred
• Stereotypical images are increasingly becoming source of grave concern
• These practices tend to incite hatred, discrimination and intolerance

This is the framework under which the Islamic countries intend to push anti-free speech resolutions through the UN. Criticism of Islam is racist, hateful, and defamatory, and — based on existing human rights covenants — must be suppressed.

And now here’s the statement issued last week by the Secretary General of the OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, interspersed with my comments:
– – – – – – – – –

OIC Secretary General Welcomes the US Administration’s Decision to Participate in the Preparatory Meeting of the Durban II Review Conference

Date: 21/02/2009

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference welcomed the US Government’s decision to send a delegation to the preparatory meeting of the Durban II Review Conference which is to be held in Geneva on 20-24 April 2009. Terming it as a positive development, the OIC Secretary General emphasized the importance of the Durban II Review Conference in stepping up the worldwide efforts to counter discrimination, racism and xenophobia.

This is the crux of the matter: criticism of Islam is racist and Islamophobic. If you are a Bosnian Serb, and you criticize a Bosnian Muslim, you are a racist, even though the two of you are genetically indistinguishable. It doesn’t matter; it’s still racism.

And it’s xenophobic, too, even though both groups have shared the same mountainous turf in the Balkans for half a millennium.

He further added that the decision to enable the United States’ representation in the conference would be a move in the right direction. He also expressed that the decision would be widely perceived by the Muslim world as a credible signal of the new US Administration’s goodwill and desire to introduce a fresh, fair and objective approach to the issues related to human rights and Middle East peace process as well as to rejuvenate the United States’ positive image throughout the Muslim nations.

This puts Obama in the spotlight. If he doesn’t come through and join the Israel-bashing, he will be consigned permanently to the “Tool of the Zionists” category, just as were Bush, Clinton, and all their predecessors.

The administration has its work cut out for it finessing this one.

The OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu further emphasized that “the Durban II Review Conference should not be perceived as a gathering of the UN member states to criticize specifically Israel. The Review Conference should rather be perceived as an expression of the global community’s growing concern over acts of discrimination, intolerance and incitement to hatred.

Regarding the allegation that the Durban II Review would be exploited by some of the OIC member states to make anti-Israel and anti-Semitic diatribes, Secretary General Ihsanoglu noted that anti-Semitism is a practice which neither originates within, nor belongs to the Muslim communities. Therefore, anti-Semitism should not be associated either with the religion of Islam, or with the OIC member states. Secondly, it should be every individual’s right and freedom to criticize the policies and practices considered to be in breach of human rights. In the same vein, criticizing Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are in contravention of the universal human rights principles and specifically relevant articles of the Geneva Conventions should neither be perceived nor portrayed as anti-Semitism. The very fact that a number of OIC member states have sizeable Jewish populations and that the Jews enjoy living in these countries as integral parts of the societies, is a testimony that anti-Semitism is not the right word to describe Muslim’s discontent with the Israeli practices.

“Jews enjoy living in these countries”??

Do you have any documentation for that statement, Prof. Ihsanoglu?

From the very beginning the OIC has made it clear that the Durban Review process should not be a politically motivated process or an anti-Semitic exercise. It should be, on the contrary an inclusive process, where all stakeholders should be free to address the real and serious challenges of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.

The OIC Secretary General stated that stereotypical images are increasingly becoming source of grave concern to all peace-loving circles in the world as these practices tend to incite hatred, discrimination and intolerance and clarified that while the OIC draws attention to the increasing trend of discrimination and intolerance against Muslims, at the same time, it offers its cooperation to address anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and anti-Western misperceptions as well.

“Stereotypical images”, eh?

Do you think he means ones like this?

No, unfortunately not. The above cartoon just a realistic depiction, a graphic display of essential allegorical truth.

In contrast, this is an example of an offensive “stereotypical image”, one that tends to incite hatred, discrimination and intolerance:

Vicious anti-Semitic cartoons appear in the Arab press every day, year in and year out. Israelis do not take to the streets because of them. Jews don’t riot. They don’t burn flags and torch embassies. It’s just business as usual.

No, the second image is the one that’s racist and Islamophobic. Cartoonists who draw such discriminatory stereotypes already live in hiding. But from now on, if the OIC has its way, they can also expect to feel the hot breath of the law down their necks, even in Denmark.

He emphasized the OIC’s firm commitment to freedom of expression which is a fundamental human right and stated that the OIC is not looking for limitation or restrictions of this freedom beyond those that already have been set by Articles 19 and 20of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966.

OK, the OIC is in favor of free expression… except for the restrictions imposed.

In case you’re interested , Articles 19 and 20 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 stipulate the following (with my emphasis added):

Article 19

1.		Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2.		Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3.		The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
		(a)   For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b)   For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.

Article 20

1.		Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
2.		Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

These three exceptions — respect for the rights or reputations of others, the maintenance of public order, and the incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence — are the heart of the problem.

When we publish derogatory cartoons of Mohammed, make jokes at Muslims’ expense, or criticize Islam, we are being disrespectful of the reputation of entire Muslim world. Even quoting certain verses of the Koran is disrespectful of Islam — if infidels do it. And dissing the Ummah is the one thing we must never, ever do.

When we disrespect Muslims it makes them very, very angry, and their natural response is to take to the streets, break windows, burn flags, and set fire to synagogues. Therefore our disrespect is a threat to public order, and must not be allowed.

Every word that we speak, every sentence we publish, every foot of video we record, is an incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence if it is not positive, respectful, and fair in its depiction of Islam.

And if you’re in any doubt about what is positive, respectful, and fair in its depiction of Islam, just ask the OIC. They’ll give you the guidelines.

That’s what they’re there for.

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

These loopholes in the UN’s guarantees of free speech — concerning respect for reputation, public order, and incitement to discrimination — are big enough to drive a truck through. The OIC is packing up the truck right now, and it will be coming our way next month.

This time they intend to leverage a binding resolution out of the UN — that is, one that compels all signatories of the United Nations Treaty to pass legislation in their countries implementing its provisions. The Swedes and the Spaniards may sit still for this kind of thing, but what about the Danes, the Italians, and the Swiss?

And, God help me, what about the United States of America?

Take stock of the political climate in your country: will it renounce its membership in the United Nations rather than pass a law restricting speech that “defames religion”?

This could well be the civil liberties question of the year.

Previous posts about Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and the OIC:

2007		Aug		31		The OIC is Barking Now
		Sep		7		OIC: Insulting Islam is an Illness
				12		Sweden Apologizes Again… Or Not
		Dec		10		Countering Islamophobia
2008		Feb		17		Nice Little Civilization You Have Here…
		Mar		6		Our Man in the OIC
				13		An American Dhimmi in Dakar
		Apr		30		Is Europe a “Christian-Muslim” Continent?
		Jun		10		OIC: Time to Crack Down on Provocative Speech
				17		The OIC’s Plan for Fighting Islamophobia
				22		The OIC’s Crusade Against Islamophobia
		Aug		3		The Islam-Aligned Movement
		Sep		25		The OIC Fights Islamophobia at Columbia University
		Oct		11		Confronting Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
		Nov		1		Fisking Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

Hat tip: Paul Green.

Remember the Swat Valley hudna peace agreement?

The terrorist-ridden district of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan was to be pacified under a deal in which control of the area would be ceded to the Taliban — forcing the residents to live under sharia — in return for “peace”.

As was reported on February 17, it was to be a permanent peace:

“This is a major step that’s been coming for a long time, and will ensure peace in the North West Frontier Province,” [Maulana Sami ul-Haq, the “father of Taliban”] told AKI.

Two days later it was being called a “a temporary cease-fire”. Then by February 21st the temporary truce had been re-branded as a deal which would lead to a “permanent ceasefire”.

The next day it was officially sealed:

Syed Mohammad Javed, Commissioner of Malakand, said after a meeting with Swat elders: ‘They have made a commitment that they will observe a permanent ceasefire and we’ll do the same.’

On February 25th the Pakistani government paid a substantial “compensation” to the Taliban, and announced the end of army operations in the Swat Valley:

On Monday, the director-general of Inter- Services-Public Relations major general Athar Abbas officially announced the end of military operations in the province’s volatile Swat Valley on Monday. He was talking to journalists in Islamabad.

So the deal was done. The Taliban had been paid off and given full control of the Swat Valley, and the army ceased operations there. In return the Taliban agreed to stop attacking government forces.

Well, that was then, and this is now. It seems that in Urdu the word “permanent” also means “for eight days”. According to AKI:

Pakistan: Swat Peace Deal Suffers Setback

The peace agreement between the militant group Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi and the government in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province received another setback when militants ambushed an army team, killing two security personnel and a civilian in Ronyal village of the restive Swat valley.

This is starting to sound like the “ceasefires” between Israel and Hamas. When the terrorists ambush and kill soldiers, it’s a “setback” and “threatens the peace process”. But when the soldiers retaliate, it’s a “violation of the ceasefire”.

The incredible thing is that this is happening in Pakistan, and not in Gaza or the West Bank.

The article continues:
– – – – – – – – –

The military described the attack on security personnel a violation of the peace agreement, but the head of TNSM, Maulana Sufi Mohammad blamed the army for moving around without prior information.

The military said a captain was wounded in an ambush while two soldiers were killed when they were carrying water from a water channel.

“There absolutely was no violation of the agreement on our part. Our team was engaged by militants and we did not retaliate”, army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told Pakistani daily Dawn.

Once again, it sounds as if the Pakistani army has been taking lessons from the Israelis: when militants attack and kill them, in order preserve “peace” they don’t retaliate.

Abbas also told Pakistani daily Dawn that his forces are still being attacked, despite the army’s restraint.

“Our security forces are threatened, their ration supplies are disrupted and forces are attacked without any provocations. We have been exercising restraint in the larger interest of the people in Swat”, he said.

A government spokesman condemned the incident and said that such negative activities could create hurdles for the restoration of peace and enforcement of sharia or Islamic law in the valley.

I’ve got news for Pakistan: the biggest hurdle for the restoration of peace is allowing the enemy to attack and kill your people with impunity. This isn’t rocket science — what’s the matter with these people?

And what does the government demand that the Taliban to do to the over-zealous insurgents? Reprimand them!

“We do hope that Maulana Sufi Mohammad will take notice of such activities and reprimand those involved,” said the provincial minister for information in NWFP, Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

Unlike the jihad operations in Israel, Europe, Australia, the USA, and Canada, this debacle is a Muslim-on-Muslim affair.

The “permanent ceasefire” was obviously a hudna in the classic Arab tradition, a deal made out of expedience to suit the interests of the mujahideen. It would be kept only until the Taliban could regroup and gain a new position of strength. Then, on the slightest pretext, the truce would be broken as soon as practicable.

Which is exactly what happened. The Taliban felt themselves to have the advantage, so the deal was off.

It’s amazing that the Pakistani government was suckered into it in the first place. They’re Muslims, too: they’re supposed to know this stuff.

Hat tip: C. Cantoni.

It worked so well for Robert Mugabe; why not try it here?

Just think how nice all those zeroes will look on the new Federal Reserve notes!

Hat tip: Henrik Ræder Clausen.

[Post ends here]

It’s official: the Brits are going to print money.

They’re not calling it that — they’ve found a nice shiny euphemism for it: “quantitative easing”.

First the Bank of England will cut interest rates yet again, trying to force more liquidity into the system. When that doesn’t work, the money supply will be expanded.

According to the Beeb:

UK Rates Expected to Fall Further

The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates to a fresh all-time low and start increasing the money supply in an attempt to revive the economy.

Most analysts believe the Bank will cut rates to 0.5% from 1%. An announcement is due at 1200 GMT.

As rates get closer to zero, the Bank runs out of room to cut the cost of borrowing to stimulate the economy.

As a result, the Bank is expected to try a new method of pumping extra money into the system.

Economists suggest that it could opt to expand the money supply by up to £150bn ($212bn).

Britain fell into recession last year, for the first time in nearly two decades, after the global financial and economic crisis intensified.

This saw the UK economy contract 0.6% between July and September, and then by 1.5% from October to December.

The latest set of jobless figures showed that UK unemployment rose to 1.97 million between October and December, the highest level since 1997.

Quantitative easing

The Bank is expected to try and boost the money supply by a new measure — so far untried in the UK — called quantitative easing.

– – – – – – – – –

It is sometimes referred to as printing money, but it will not expand the supply of money by making new banknotes.

Instead, it would buy assets — such as government securities (gilts) and corporate bonds. But as it will not borrow to fund the purchases, it is creating new money.

Similar measures were implemented in Japan at the beginning of the decade and are considered to have had limited success.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said that if the Bank decided to try quantitative easing, it “should in principle encourage the banks to lend to private sector agents such as households and businesses, stocking monetary growth and stimulating activity”.

However, many analysts are uncertain about whether boosting the domestic money supply would be effective.

I’ve been predicting that as the depression kicks in, sterling will be the first major currency to be degraded, and this looks to be the first sign of it.

Hat tip: Henrik.

The big story of the day comes from Canada. It concerns a prominent Muslim named Khaled Mouammar, the president of the Canadian Arab Federation, who supports Hamas and Hezbollah and believes they should be removed from the list of terrorist organizations.

It turns out that Mr. Mouammar also sat for years on the Immigration and Refugee Board, and was responsible for clearing Muslim refugee-claimants for admittance into the country.

So tell me, Canadians: how secure do you feel now?

Thanks to Aeneas, C. Cantoni, CBN, Fjordman, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, Islam in Action, JD, MZ, PKM, REP, Steen, Tuan Jim, TV, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
– – – – – – – – –

	Financial Crisis
	Congressman: Audit the Fed’s Books
	Ex-Leaders of Countrywide Profit From Bad Loans
	It’s the Europhiles Versus Reality, and Reality is Going to Win
	MI5 Alert on Bank Riots
	Playing Ball With Government
	Russian Scholar Says US Will Collapse — Next Year
	Senator to Bernanke: Who Got the 2.2 Trillion?
	Spain: Crisis Hits Bullfights, Fiestas at Risk
	The Impact of the Global Crisis on Gulf Countries
	USA
	Barack Obama: Speaking Softly, But Without the Big Stick
	Campaign Aide Tapped to Head FCC
	Justice for Victims of the Weather Underground
	Newsweek: Radical Islam is a Fact of Life — We Must Live With it
	Obama’s Swift Change on Security, Israel
	Obama Welcomes His Militant Muslim Brother Abongo to White House
	Radio Talk Host Scinto Says Station Fired Him
	Stupid is as Stupid Does
	The Supreme Court’s 1-2 Punch
	U.S. Soldier Gagged on Prez’s Eligibility
	US State Senator Becomes the Chairman of CAIR
	Whites Told to Go Home
	You and I Can’t Buy the Guns Mexican Cartels Own
	Canada
	Canada: Beheader ‘Decent, ‘ His Doctor Testifies
	Canada: Jonathan Kay on the Lesson From Israel Apartheid Week: Anti-Semitism is Now a Creature of the Left
	Canada: the CAF Has a Friend in the Liberal Party
	Canada: Teaching Hate at Toronto’s Alternative School Puppy Mill
	Sympathizer of Terror Groups Was Immigration Board Member
	Europe and the EU
	Belgium: Dewinter, ‘Islam is a Predator’
	Berlin: Concern About Increase in Anti-Police Violence
	Czech Rep: Czech President Meets Meps From Eurosceptical Group
	Denmark: ‘Jewel’ Author to Debate Freedom of Speech
	Europeans Criticize Racism Conference, But No Word Yet on Attendance
	Gibraltar: Princess Anne Visit, Spanish Gov Protests
	Italy and France in Nuclear Deal
	Italy: Anti-Stress Fencing Classes Slammed
	Mediterranean Games: Committee, Israel Excluded 4 Years Ago
	Netherlands: Dutch Unemployed Told to Find a Job — Any Job
	Netherlands: MP Rita Verdonk Accused of Embezzlement
	Nuclear: Press, Enel to Take 12.5% Share in Second French Epr
	Stakelbeck Sits Down With Geert Wilders
	Sweden’s Government Health Care
	Sweden: School Violence Sends Teacher to Hospital
	UK: Abuse of Science
	UK: MPs’ Fury as U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy Gets Honorary Knighthood for Northern Ireland Role
	UK: Protests at Israeli Science Event
	Balkans
	Serbia: Police Issue Arrest Warrants for 19 Bosnian War Crimes Suspects
	Mediterranean Union
	Italy-Tunisia: Forum on Free Trade and Barriers
	North Africa
	Libya: Gheddafi Plan in Congress, Rome Accord to be Ratified
	Morocco: New Cities, First Arrivals to Tamesna in March
	Western Sahara: 1st Visit From New UN Emissary
	Israel and the Palestinians
	Amnesty Accuses Israel and Hamas of “War Crimes”
	Boycotting Israel Won’t Solve Crisis
	Gaza: Hamas Criticises Donor’s Conference
	Gaza: Press, Letter From Shalit, Family Unaware
	Gaza; Another Border Incident; Schools Closed in Ashqelon
	Hamas and Fatah Release Prisoners, Hope to Rebuild Gaza
	Israel: $10 Mln Donation to Catholic Schools for Pope Visit
	Israel: Palestinians Pay Off Terrorists After Summit Donations Bonanza
	Middle East
	Defence: Turkey-Israel Joint Projects Well Armored
	Education: Syria, Sunday Sees EU Orientation Day on Tempus
	Finmeccanica: UAE Orders 48 Aermacchi Trainer Planes
	Israeli Army Chief Apologizes to Turkish Counterpart
	Israel: Press, Yes to Limited USA-Iran Dialogue
	Kuwait: Security Stepped Up at Saudi Embassy Amid Attack Fears
	Lingerie as a Weapon in the Fight for Saudi Reforms
	Middle East: Syria’s Clenched Fist
	Rains Falls on Drought-Stricken Syria
	Saudi Arabia: Differences With Syria Matter of Past, Minister
	Suleiman Says Syrian-Saudi Relations Good Sign
	Syria-USA: Assad, Send Ambassador Soon
	USA-Syria: Press, Feltman and Shapiro to be Envoys
	Yemen: New Terror Camps as a City Falls to Jihadists
	Russia
	Barack Obama Offers to Scrap US Missile Defence System in Secret Letter to Russia
	South Asia
	Bangladesh: Sewing School Provides Tribal Families With Livelihood
	Bangladeshi Army Pursuing Fugitive Paramilitaries
	Orissa: Christian Beaten and Abducted by Hindu Extremists, But is a Wanted Man for Police
	Questions Norwegian Operations in Afghanistan
	Far East
	Anyone Protesting Against China in Kathmandu to be Arrested
	S. Korea: Two Examples of Labor Peace
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	Sudan: Bashir Will ‘Not Cooperate’ With Court, Says Diplomat
	Latin America
	Guatemalan Inmates Tear Prison Teacher’s Heart Out
	Immigration
	Italy: 171 Illegal Immigrants Land on Lampedusa
	King Critical of Spending for “Pro-Amnesty Organization”
	UK: Immigration Minister Attacks Statistics Chiefs for Publishing ‘Sinister’ Race Numbers
	Culture Wars
	Bible Club Bullied for Faith Statement
	Elementary Blots Out ‘in God We Trust’
	Obama Wanted ‘Diversity of Voices’
	General
	Book Review: United in Hate: the Left’s Romance With Tyranny and Terror
	Israel-Vatican: ‘Progress’ on Church Property
	Leftist Jews Who Worship at Altar of Anti-Semitism

Congressman: Audit the Fed’s Books

Plan calls for complete review of private money policy bosses

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who is seeking to abolish the Federal Reserve, has stepped up his attack, introducing an interim plan that would require the private agency to open all of its books for examination.

Paul has pursued his plan to eliminate the Fed for years, arguing Congress should “reassert its constitutional authority over monetary policy.”

The Constitution, he said, gives Congress, not the private Federal Reserve, “the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency.”

Now he’s introduced another new plan, to “reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported.”

— Hat tip: JD

[Return to headlines]

Ex-Leaders of Countrywide Profit From Bad Loans

By Eric Lipton

…Countrywide Financial and its top executives…made risky loans to tens of thousands of Americans, helping set off a chain of events that has the economy staggering.

So it may come as a surprise that a dozen former top Countrywide executives now stand to make millions from the home mortgage mess.

Stanford L. Kurland, Countrywide’s former president, and his team have been buying up delinquent home mortgages that the government took over from other failed banks, sometimes for pennies on the dollar. They get a piece of what they can collect.

[…]

As hundreds of billions of dollars flow from Washington to jump-start the nation’s staggering banks, automakers and other industries, a new economy is emerging of businesses that hope to make money from the various government programs that make up the largest economic rescue in history.

They include big investors who are buying up failed banks taken over by the federal government and lobbyists. And there is PennyMac, led by Mr. Kurland, 56, once the soft-spoken No. 2 to Angelo R. Mozilo, the perpetually tanned former chief executive of Countrywide and its public face.

Mr. Kurland has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from big players like BlackRock, the investment manager, to finance his start-up. Having sold off close to $200 million in stock before leaving Countrywide, he has also put up some of his own cash.

While some critics are distressed that Mr. Kurland and his team are back in business, the executives say that PennyMac’s operations serve as a model for how the government, working with banks, can help stabilize the housing market and lead the nation out of the recession.

[…]

It is quite evident that their efforts are, in fact, helping many distressed homeowners.

“Literally, their assistance saved my family’s home,” said Robert Robinson, of Felton, Pa., whose interest rate was cut by more than half, making his mortgage affordable again.

But to some, it is disturbing to see former Countrywide executives in the industry again. “It is sort of like the arsonist who sets fire to the house and then buys up the charred remains and resells it,” said Margot Saunders, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center, which for years has sought to place limits on what it calls abusive lending practices by Countrywide and other companies.

[…].

“Kurland is seeking to capitalize on a situation that was a product of his own creation,” said Blair A. Nicholas, a lawyer representing retired Arkansas teachers who are also suing Mr. Kurland and other former Countrywide executives. “It is tragic and ironic. But then again, greed is a growth industry.”

[…]

PennyMac, whose full legal name is the Private National Mortgage Acceptance Company,…makes its money by buying loans from struggling or failed financial institutions at such a huge discount that it stands to profit enormously even if it offers to slash interest rates or make other loan modifications to entice borrowers into resuming payments.

Its biggest deal has been with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which it paid $43.2 million for $560 million worth of mostly delinquent residential loans left over after the failure last year of the First National Bank of Nevada. Many of these loans resemble the kind that Countrywide once offered, with interest rates that can suddenly balloon. PennyMac’s payment was the equivalent of 38 cents on the dollar, according to the full terms of the agreement.

Under the initial terms of the F.D.I.C. deal, PennyMac is entitled to keep 20 cents on every dollar it can collect, with the government receiving the rest. Eventually that will rise to 40 cents…

[click the URL to see the rest of this chicanery]

— Hat tip: REP

[Return to headlines]

It’s the Europhiles Versus Reality, and Reality is Going to Win

During the current crisis we have several times heard invoked the wisdom of Milton Friedman about the unfeasibility of the euro as a currency surviving a recession. In an interview not long before his death three years ago, Friedman said: “The euro is going to be a big source of problems, not a source of help. The euro has no precedent. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a monetary union, putting out a fiat currency, composed of independent states. There have been unions based on gold or silver, but not on fiat money — money tempted to inflate — put out by politically independent entities.”

It is what lies below the surface of this observation that is putting not just the euro, but the entire confection of the European Union, under such intense pressure. Any recession would bring into play tensions between idealism and nationalism: the desire by those who pilot the European project to maintain the confection for as long as possible and as intact as possible, that it might come out on the other side of this economic horror bloodied but unbowed; and the inevitable identification of hundreds of millions who stand outside the fantasy world of the political class with their own nation state, their own nationals and their own national interest. Without a degree of coercion beyond what even this undemocratic, Sovietised swindle has attempted in the recent past, the national interest will in the end prevail.

There have been auguries of this for some months, while we have waited for the breakdown of the condition of denial in which Europe’s political class finds itself. We recall last September’s banking summit, at which the Germans decided to go freelance to shore up their own banking system, not least because it appeared that theirs was in far better shape than that of almost any other European country. Then about a month ago one of the most pro-European newspapers in the EU, Le Figaro, carried an article by one of its economics experts that for the first time took the paper’s readership into its confidence about the gravity of the situation: it admitted that a country could drop out of the euro.

Last week Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank (ECB), said much the same; and Joschka Fischer, the former German foreign minister, followed that with a hint of Germany’s unwillingness to continue to bankroll the more economically delinquent nations of the 27 and implying, for good measure, that Franco-German relations had probably not been so bad as this since Monty and Eisenhower chased the Wehrmacht over the Rhine in 1944.

The truth is that Europe has never had so dire a crisis since the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957. Sauve qui peut is the watchword. President Sarkozy has entered a familiarly Gaullist phase, ignoring EU competition policy and pushing through a €6 billion support for the French car industry; other manufacturers, notably in eastern Europe, have protested to no avail.

Mr Sarkozy’s assertion that he is not a protectionist is purely rhetorical. When a German minister says that “now is not the time” to let workers from the EU’s former eastern bloc countries have full immigration rights in Germany, he is saying the same thing. Gordon Brown may not be able to ensure British jobs for British workers, but the Germans are determined to keep their jobs for German ones.

This bending of the rules — or rather this wholesale disregard of them — is the surest sign of a currency, and quite possibly an empire, in terminal decline. Mr Trichet went to Dublin last Friday to try to calm the Irish, whose own crisis brought 100,000 protesters on to the city’s streets 10 days ago. He said the usual stuff about Ireland’s being able to come out “well placed” to take economic opportunities after the slump. He was less able to square the political point about how Brian Cowen, the Irish prime minister, will win an election if he swallows the medicine the ECB is forcing down his throat: spending cuts, public sector wage cuts and eye-watering tax rises to bring Ireland’s deficit down to the levels demanded of a member of the eurozone.

But the dishonesty with which all this is being addressed is breathtaking. Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s economy commissioner, has initiated “disciplinary action” against France, Spain, Malta, Greece, Latvia and Ireland for breaking the fiscal rules by running excessive deficits. The offenders could be fined. It would be pointless. Both Greece and Portugal have been fined in recent years and have never paid a penny.

There have already been riots in Greece. The government in Latvia has been thrown out, and the Latvian people are now aware that whatever replaces it will have no scope to pursue anything other than an even more unpleasant economic policy. The danger of civil disorder is already spooking Mr Sarkozy, whose intelligence services have told him that it is not just the banlieues that are at risk of going up in smoke. Imposition of the strict rules on these six countries could lead to revolutions in some of them, Ireland not excluded. How would any fines be paid? With a loan from the Germans? Forget it.

Tomorrow the ECB is meeting to discuss the interest rate, and it is predicted that it will be cut from two to 1.5 per cent. That would make little odds in countries that, like Latvia, have literally run out of money. The IMF is trying to build up a special new fund to bail out countries in distress. It may soon become apparent that this attempt at a currency for disparate nations is about to disappear under the weight of reality — nationalist reality — and the big boys are going to have to come in and sort some nations out. For some countries there will be only three means of staying in the euro. One is to impose the discipline, and risk rioting and the fall of governments. The second is to persuade the ECB to bend the rules to such an extent that the illusion of the euro’s strength (it is still, as I write, at an incomprehensible 90p against sterling) is forcibly broken and the speculators have their own field day with it, at last. The third is to get the lender of last resort — the Germans — to bail out countries in trouble.

The Germans have, quite commendably, refused already to do that. When Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Hungarian prime minister, asked them for a €190 billion handout last weekend to prevent a new economic Iron Curtain from going up across the continent, Angela Merkel told him to get lost. She has the German people and, more to the point, German business behind her: why should they pay for the unregenerate behaviour of others? Why should they worry about the collapse of the zloty and the forint? Why should it bother them that Latvia’s debt now has junk rating, or that the Irish are almost broke? If Mrs Merkel wants to stay in power, and German workers wish to keep the fruits of their own labours, they must harden their hearts.

As for the rest of Europe, it must choose either to devalue and end the pretence of economic strength, or persist and risk the breakdown of individual governments. Either way, it is never glad confident morning again for the EU and its bastard currency. Milton was right.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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MI5 Alert on Bank Riots

TOP secret contingency plans have been drawn up to counter the threat posed by a “summer of discontent” in Britain. The “double-whammy” of the worst economic crisis in living memory and a motley crew of political extremists determined to stir up civil disorder has led to the ­extraordinary step of the Army being put on ­standby.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Playing Ball With Government

This is the story of a bank. It wasn’t one of those irresponsible banks that rode the subprime boom until the bottom fell out. It was a bank that hedged its risks, a bank that made sure its balance sheets added up.

That bank was called Bank of America. And certain government officials are now talking about nationalizing it.

What happened? Bank of America got in bed with the government.

— Hat tip: JD

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Russian Scholar Says US Will Collapse — Next Year

MOSCOW (AP) — If you’re inclined to believe Igor Panarin, and the Kremlin wouldn’t mind if you did, then President Barack Obama will order martial law this year, the U.S. will split into six rump-states before 2011, and Russia and China will become the backbones of a new world order.

Panarin might be easy to ignore but for the fact that he is a dean at the Foreign Ministry’s school for future diplomats and a regular on Russia’s state-guided TV channels. And his predictions fit into the anti-American story line of the Kremlin leadership.

“There is a high probability that the collapse of the United States will occur by 2010,” Panarin told dozens of students, professors and diplomats Tuesday at the Diplomatic Academy — a lecture the ministry pointedly invited The Associated Press and other foreign media to attend.

The prediction from Panarin, a former spokesman for Russia’s Federal Space Agency and reportedly an ex-KGB analyst, meshes with the negative view of the U.S. that has been flowing from the Kremlin in recent years, in particular from Vladimir Putin.

Putin, the former president who is now prime minister, has likened the United States to Nazi Germany’s Third Reich and blames Washington for the global financial crisis that has pounded the Russian economy.

Panarin didn’t give many specifics on what underlies his analysis, mostly citing newspapers, magazines and other open sources.

He also noted he had been predicting the demise of the world’s wealthiest country for more than a decade now.

But he said the recent economic turmoil in the U.S. and other “social and cultural phenomena” led him to nail down a specific timeframe for “The End” — when the United States will break up into six autonomous regions and Alaska will revert to Russian control.

Panarin argued that Americans are in moral decline, saying their great psychological stress is evident from school shootings, the size of the prison population and the number of gay men.

Turning to economic woes, he cited the slide in major stock indexes, the decline in U.S. gross domestic product and Washington’s bailout of banking giant Citigroup as evidence that American dominance of global markets has collapsed.

“I was there recently and things are far from good,” he said. “What’s happened is the collapse of the American dream.”

Panarin insisted he didn’t wish for a U.S. collapse, but he predicted Russia and China would emerge from the economic turmoil stronger and said the two nations should work together, even to create a new currency to replace the U.S. dollar.

Asked for comment on how the Foreign Ministry views Panarin’s theories, a spokesman said all questions had to be submitted in writing and no answers were likely before Wednesday.

It wasn’t clear how persuasive the 20-minute lecture was. One instructor asked Panarin whether his predictions more accurately describe Russia, which is undergoing its worst economic crisis in a decade as well as a demographic collapse that has led some scholars to predict the country’s demise.

Panarin dismissed that idea: “The collapse of Russia will not occur.”

But Alexei Malashenko, a scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center who did not attend the lecture, sided with the skeptical instructor, saying Russia is the country that is on the verge of disintegration.

“I can’t imagine at all how the United States could ever fall apart,” Malashenko told the AP.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Senator to Bernanke: Who Got the 2.2 Trillion?

‘They took the money but they don’t want to be public … that they received it’

A U.S. senator berated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday for refusing to name banks that borrow from the central bank and introduced legislation that would require public disclosure.

In a testy exchange at a hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who usually votes with the Democrats, said he found it “unacceptable” that the central bank risked taxpayer money without detailing where the funds went.

“My question to you is, will you tell the American people to whom you lent $2.2 trillion of their dollars?” Sanders asked, referring to the size of the Fed’s balance sheet.

Bernanke responded that the Fed explains the various lending programs on its website, and details the terms and collateral requirements.

When Sanders pressed on whether Bernanke would name the firms that borrowed from the Fed, the central bank chairman replied, “No,” and started to say that doing so risked stigmatizing banks and discouraging them from borrowing from the central bank.

— Hat tip: JD

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Spain: Crisis Hits Bullfights, Fiestas at Risk

(by Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 2 — The economic crisis has not spared bullfights, which risk being heavily reduced and cancelled in some places over mass defection by audiences, on the eve of the Spanish bullfighting season. Organisers and bullfighters’ representatives are trying to take measures by reducing the number of fights and concentrating on top-quality programmes. But it seems highly unlikely that they will be able to cushion the effects of the recession and close the season with a positive balance-sheet. Where the anti-bullfighting protests couldn’t manage it, the current lean times succeeded in reducing the number of fights by almost 300 in 2008, according to sources in the industry. It could be even worse in 2009. Top quality matadors like Morante, El Cid and Miguel Angel Perera are missing from the billboards at the Valencia ‘festas’’; the historic square in Seville will not host the legendary José Tomas, Cayetano or Perera; and El Juli, Ponce and Castella will be missing from the plaza de La Magdalena in Castellon. All this because the organisers can no longer guarantee the fees demanded. The withdrawal of the sponsors is a crucial element of the problem, say experts, as well as financial supprt by local administrations. The 200 bullfighters in Spain were ‘absorbed’’ into around 1,000 organised fights until a year ago. This year however a large slice will be left out. The hardest hit are the ‘novilleros’’, aspirinig matadors who must face at least 25 young bulls or calves to become bullfighters. Pablo Chopera, member of the National association of Bullfight Organisers is not hiding his concerns: ‘at this time of recession people are extremely worried about the economy, and shows such as bullfights, which are expensive, will definitely be very hard hit’’. Chopera believes that the crisis will not only hit the second category arenas, but also the historic arenas. ‘In recent economically calm periods even the top category arenas inflated their offers to satisfy the public’s demand and now they are going to have to reduce them”. Only the traditional shows, which have kept up the number of shows, will suffer less from the effects of the recession. The entrepreneur notes that from 500 shows in 1985 the number rose to around 1,000 two years ago. Associations in the industry are asking for a reduction in VAT (at 16-17%) to cover the risks of uncertainty, or support such as what is provided to cinemas, theatre and sport. The hope is that they will gain sponsorship from the Culture Ministry, which seems most unlikely given that bullfighting is so controversial, and often results in a refusal by anti-bullfighting groups and young people. Who consider it a barbaric hangover from the past. Without a rescue plan, the current trend is also set to hit the bullfighting greats, who according to experts in the sector, will earn ‘according to the audiences they attract’’. But entrepreneurs such as Roberto Dominguez, who represents such masters in bullfighting as Julian Lopez, alias El Juli, do not think like this: ‘some entrepreneurs are used to organising two or three big names in their shows and then fill them up with a series of mediocre, low cost displays. In my opinion we need to offer fewer shows and focus on quality. You only have to think about the last Champions League match between Madrid and Liverpool at Bernabeu, where there seemed to be no sign of the crisis in the air’’. (ANSAmed).

2009-03-02 17:05

— Hat tip: Insubria

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The Impact of the Global Crisis on Gulf Countries

Ibrahim Oweiss (Georgetown University) interviewed by Celeste Lo Turco

“One of the evident relapses of the crisis on the G.C.C Countries ( Gulf Cooperation Council ), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is that the price of oil will constantly drop as the demand decreases with the slowing down of the ‘industrial wheel’. Furthermore, the coming depression and its impending harsh times will definitely cause a rise in unemployment.” Prof. Ibrahim Oweiss is an Egyptian-born American economist and international economic advisor; he teaches as Associate Emeritus Professor of Economics at Georgetown University and lives between Washington DC and Doha, Qatar. Leading expert in G.C.C economies, he coined the definition of “petrodollar” in 1973, in order to describe the US dollar-denominated incomes of many oil-rich countries, particularly the Opec States of the Persian Gulf region.

Prof. Oweiss, which considerations can be done in regard the current economic crisis?

The present situation is the result of various different crises, not just a single one. The current crisis has global ramifications since local economies are interlinked in the globalization context. In order to have a more comprehensive point of view, we should start from the United States case to move farther into a wider global scenario.

Where should we identify the causes of this situation?

I believe that the main cause lies in the U.S. fiscal and monetary policy…

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Barack Obama: Speaking Softly, But Without the Big Stick

So much attention has been paid to Barack Obama’s stimulus package and to his borrow-and-spend budget, that his emerging foreign policy has been largely ignored. Not a good thing: the recession will end, and America will survive. But a foreign policy error can be fatal.

The most noticeable feature, at least according to the President’s critics, is his failure to respond to provocation — to the testing that now-Vice-President Joe Biden correctly predicted would come early in the Obama reign. Iran put a satellite in orbit and developed enough uranium to fuel a nuclear bomb. Russia threatened to deploy weapons against the nations it formerly enslaved, and cut natural gas supplies to Europe.

Obama responded by offering to stop plans to deploy anti-missile systems in the Czech Republic and Poland in return for a bit of Russian help with Iran, and by having his vice-president tell the Munich Security Conference that “it is time to press the reset button” and end “the dangerous drift in relations between Russia” and Nato countries. Hardly robust responses to provocations.

But perhaps designed to show our allies that a kinder, softer America is in their future if they do more to share the burden of re-establishing a workable world order. Obama has specialised in studied ambiguity, to use a kind word, or in saying one thing and doing another, to use his critics’ preferred formulation.

What Biden called “the new tone” of American policy includes a refusal to torture (but see footnote for authorised exceptions to deviate from Geneva Convention rules), a promise to close Guantánamo Bay (when homes can be found for detainees), and a commitment to draw down our forces in Iraq (but not right away, and leaving 50,000 troops there, to the consternation of Obama’s Left).

In short, it is no easy task to predict which way the President will move as the world’s problems beat their way to the White House door, as Gordon Brown will no doubt find in Washington this week. But some things are clear.

One is the extraordinarily important role Obama ascribes to Asia. He has assigned Richard Holbrooke to be special envoy to the region’s trouble spots in Pakistan and Afghanistan, presumably reporting to secretary of state Hillary Clinton — “presumably”, because Holbrooke, a former ambassador to the UN, is known to lust after Clinton’s job and is the sort who will not hesitate to go over her head to the President when he deems it necessary.

Then there are Japan and India, nations that George W. Bush successfully wooed and who now stand as stalwart counterforces to an expansionist-minded China. Their continued goodwill is high on the Obama list of priorities.

Even more important is China. The President knows that the US Treasury will be selling increasing amounts of notes and bonds to fund deficits that will be in the trillions for the next few years, and then into the mere hundreds of billions for as far ahead as the eye can see.

So far, China has decided it must buy these IOUs, lest the value of those it already holds declines, and lest the dollar weakens to a point where Chinese goods are so expensive in America that imports from China decline even more sharply. In return, Clinton declined to make much of an issue of the Chinese regime’s human rights violations when she visited that country, and Pentagon officials reacted with enthusiasm to China’s decision to reopen high-level meetings on military issues.

Of necessity, Obama will have to respond to international pressure on him to defuse the Arab-Israeli dispute. There is still talk of a two-state solution, but no one in the administration really believes that that can be achieved, so long as the Palestinians remain divided between the Hamas and Fatah factions. Here, American and European views are certain to conflict, as the Europeans require ever more concessions from Israel in an effort to cater to the demands of their increasing Muslim populations, and special envoy George Mitchell, reunited with Tony Blair in a new peace-finding mission, seeks a more balanced solution.

This attention to Asian affairs does not necessarily mean that Britain and Europe will be ignored. Co-operation on global warming is likely, although the failure of Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark and other countries to meet their Kyoto targets — not to mention Japan — suggests that some scaling down of ambitions is called for.

The litmus test so far as Obama is concerned is Afghanistan. Europeans who always disliked George Bush’s “you are either with us or against us” attitude might just find that when it comes to Afghanistan that is exactly what Obama thinks.

The underlying reality of all of this can be read in the numbers cascading across the pages of Obama’s budget. Soft power is cheap, hard power is expensive. The President is proposing not only to turn down his security advisers’ request that he replace the presidential helicopter fleet with craft less vulnerable to missile attacks, at a cost of $11 billion, but to cut out expensive weapons systems.

His budget reduces military spending to three per cent of GDP, the level it was at the time of the September 11 attacks, before we became aware of the threat posed by radical Islamists. The Taliban, North Koreans, Iranians, Russians and assorted bad guys must find it comforting that Obama plans to speak softly, but do without Teddy Roosevelt’s big stick.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Campaign Aide Tapped to Head FCC

President Obama said yesterday that he will nominate Julius Genachowski, a technology adviser during the presidential campaign and law school friend, to head the Federal Communications Commission.

The announcement came after months of speculation that Genachowski would be tapped for the job and an inadvertent confirmation of his nomination several weeks ago by an administration official during a Sunday morning talk show.

If confirmed, Genachowski will take over a higher-profile FCC charged with devising a strategy to bring new high-speed Internet networks into every home in the nation. But he also will inherit several challenges.

— Hat tip: JD

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Justice for Victims of the Weather Underground

A live version of “Forensic Files” hits Washington, D.C. on March 12, as pressure mounts for an expanded probe of Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, and their alleged roles in the 1970 bombing murder of a San Francisco policeman. Ayers and Dohrn, now university professors, were members of a communist terrorist gang called the Weather Underground during the 1960s and 1970s whose aim was to support communist regimes and anti-American movements around the world and destroy the United States. The group received terrorist training in Communist Cuba and was advised by Soviet and Cuban intelligence agents.

— Hat tip: JD

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Newsweek: Radical Islam is a Fact of Life — We Must Live With it

Barack Obama’s favorite foreign policy author Fareed Zakaria says its time we lived with radical Islam…

“Radical Islam is A Fact of Life. How To Live With it” Fareed Zakaria makes the controversial case for why the West needs to adopt a more “sophisticated strategy” toward Radical Islam.

This is the same guy who Obama looks to for guidance.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama’s Shady Numbers

I was not fooled for one moment when President Obama announced that his agenda will save or create 2 and 1/2 million jobs. I know how to quantify the creation of jobs, but how can anyone possibly document the number of jobs saved? News flash — they can’t. Statements like these guarantee his success. If Obama’s spending programs create jobs, he can claim success. If his programs fail to create a single job, he can claim success; and if there is an overall job reduction, he can still claim success. Even if 1 million jobs are lost, he can claim 2 and 1/2 million jobs were saved.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama’s Swift Change on Security, Israel

Prior to the November 2008 presidential elections, there were specific concerns expressed about Barack Obama in pro-Israel circles, and in Jewish vote debates and by U.S. national security advocates, more generally.

Obama was suspect based on his long-time pastor’s hostility to Israel, his political and military affairs advisers views and comments about the Jewish state and its supporters, and his own executive inexperience and far-left foreign policy ideology.

[…]

Well, the early evidence is in: President Obama’s concerned pro-Israel critics were right, and his defenders, who denied all the warnings and Jackson’s promise, were wrong.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama Welcomes His Militant Muslim Brother Abongo to White House

Barak Obama’s older brother Abongo “Roy” Obama is a Luo activist and a militant Muslim who argues that the black man must “liberate himself from the poisoning influences of European culture.”

Recently, Barack Obama welcomed his militant Muslim brother Roy Obama to the White House.

— Hat tip: JD

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Probe Urged Over Chas Freeman, Obama’s Anti-Israel Intel Pick

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(IsraelNN.com) The two leading Republican Congressmen, backed by at least one Democrat, have demanded an investigation into United States President Barack Obama’s choice of Saudi Arabia-linked and longtime anti-Israeli Charles “Chas” Freeman as Obama’s top intelligence official.

Minority Leader John Boehner and party whip Eric Cantor, six other Republicans and one Democrat, Congresswomen Shelley Berkley, wrote a letter questioning Freeman’s financial ties. President Obama has named him as the chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC).

Freeman is a former American ambassador to Saudi Arabia and past president of the Middle East Policy Council, and Arab lobby formerly known as the American-Arab Affairs Council. Two years ago, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah donated $1 million to the Council, whose quarterly Middle East Policy journal routinely includes anti-Israel messages.

“Given his close ties to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we request a comprehensive review of Amb. Freeman’s past and current commercial, financial and contractual ties to the Kingdom to ensure no conflict of interest exists in his new position,” the Congressmen wrote in a letter to the inspector general for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence…

— Hat tip: MZ

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Radio Talk Host Scinto Says Station Fired Him

Mike Scinto, a local conservative talk radio host who has spent the past 10 years of his longtime radio career at WDAO-AM (1210), said he was terminated Monday, March 2.

Scinto, in an interview by phone Monday night, said station President and General Manager Jim Johnson called him Monday morning to say advertisers were not supporting his show, “Expressions II,” which aired noon to 2 p.m.

Scinto, 56, thinks his criticism of President Barack Obama and the recently signed $787 billion economic stimulus package also played a role.

— Hat tip: JD

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Stupid is as Stupid Does

Jefferson quoted Cesare Beccaria’s 1767 words, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”

However, once again, an elitist band of sycophant liberals seems intent on compelling you to accept the gospel according to them. Notwithstanding the huge statistical data of empirical evidence offered (see Dr. John Lott’s blogspot) to refute their quest they seek to return to the well.

Only a myopic fool incapable of learning form past scars would presume to package something as insidious as H.R. 45, Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009. Sponsored by Illinois Democrat Rep. Bobby Rush this omnibus gun grab seeks to “bring gun ownership in America to an end.”

— Hat tip: JD

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The Supreme Court’s 1-2 Punch

Last week, the one-two punch of Roberts and Alito scored points, and two more big cases loom on the horizon. By the end of June, Roberts and Alito could deliver knockout punches to liberal foolishness on key issues ranging from affirmative action to non-English education.

In the first of these cases last week, the Supreme Court reviewed a Ninth Circuit decision that had ruled in favor of “checkoffs” for public employees to contribute to political activities. Idaho law prohibited government employers such as cities and school districts from facilitating political contributions through employee “checkoffs,” which automatically funnel a portion of taxpayer-funded salaries to leftist causes.

— Hat tip: JD

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U.S. Soldier Gagged on Prez’s Eligibility

Military member seeking documentation silenced

A member of the U.S. military whose suspicions about Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president prompted him to sign onto a legal demand being sent to Attorney General Eric Holder has now been silenced.

Attorney Orly Taitz, the California activist who through her DefendOurFreedoms.us foundation is assembling the case, told WND today she’s been informed one of the members of the military has been ordered by commanding officers not to speak with media.

— Hat tip: JD

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US State Senator Becomes the Chairman of CAIR

Approximately one month ago the FBI had sent out a memo stated that they had cut off all ties with the terrorist supporting Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Apparently none of that matters to North Carolina Muslim Senator Larry Shaw…

— Hat tip: Islam in Action

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Whites Told to Go Home

Nowhere is Michigan’s brain drain on greater display than in the Detroit City Council chambers.

My hopes for Detroit’s future faded as I watched the tape of last Tuesday’s council meeting, the one that considered the Cobo Center expansion deal.

It was a tragic circus, a festival of ignorance that confirmed the No. 1 obstacle to Detroit’s progress is the bargain basement leaders that city voters elect. The black nationalism that is now the dominant ideology of the council was on proud display, both at the table and in the audience.

— Hat tip: JD

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You and I Can’t Buy the Guns Mexican Cartels Own

The Administration is Not Dealing Straight With Us on Mexico’s Gun Problem

Now, I know you want to know and are dying to ask; Did I see any U.S. military-issue weapons stolen from the U.S. military? Not a single one was marked with U.S. military markings. Everything was marked with additional foreign markings on the receiver, including M16 rifles, or they had nothing at all. I saw firearms manufactured in Europe, China, Russia and South America along with U.S. manufactured weapons. I saw rifles that looked familiar with no place of manufacture, no serial number or manufacturer’s logo. The information was not removed, it was never there to begin with. I can only assume they came from illegal arms manufacturers in India or Pakistan that produce copies of weapons. It was obvious that none of these firearms came from a U.S. gun shop in Tucson or San Diego. You couldn’t buy them from a gun shop in the states if you tried.

— Hat tip: JD

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Canada: Beheader ‘Decent, ‘ His Doctor Testifies

Vincent Li could be rehabilitated one day, he says

He claims voices in his head from God caused him to single out a perfect stranger, stab him multiple times and then decapitate, defile and cannibalize the body in front of dozens of horrified witnesses.

But despite committing one of the most gruesome crimes in Canadian history, Vincent Li could be rehabilitated enough to return to the streets one day, according to his doctor.

It’s an assessment that’s frustrating members of Tim McLean’s family, who were in court Tuesday to see the man accused of brutally killing their 22-year-old son.

Psychiatrist Stanley Yaren told Li’s second-degree murder trial the admitted killer has a very strong chance to recover from the major mental illness and extreme psychosis that triggered last summer’s slaying of McLean on board a Greyhound bus.

He said he could make a significant recovery in the next few years under rigorous treatment and medication.

The brutal incident took place on a bus travelling near Portage la Prairie, Man., about 80 kilometres west of Winnipeg, on July 30, 2008.

Li boarded the Greyhound in Edmonton, with a ticket that would take him to Thunder Bay, Ont. But his trip ended two days later when he attacked McLean.

RCMP arrived on scene and watched from outside the bus, alongside dozens of passengers, for several hours as Li continued to stab and defile McLean’s body.

Yaren said Tuesday that Li is slowly beginning to realize what he’s done but still doesn’t accept the fact he consumed some of McLean’s body parts.

“It may be he’s blocked it from his consciousness . . . that it’s just too awful for him to contemplate,” he said.

Li admits he killed McLean but began his case Tuesday by pleading not guilty by reason of a mental disorder.

Yaren, a witness on behalf of the Crown who is the director of forensic psychiatry for both Manitoba and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, has concluded Li should be found not criminally responsible for his actions based on his mental state at the time.

Such a ruling would send him to a hospital, instead of a prison, for an indefinite period.

Yaren described Li as an otherwise “decent person” who was suffering from untreated schizophrenia and clearly out of his mind when he believed he was acting on God’s commands to eliminate “the force of evil” by attacking the sleeping McLean.

“He was being tormented by auditory hallucinations,” said Yaren, who has worked closely with Li at the Health Sciences Centre psychiatric ward in Winnipeg since he arrived last August.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: Jonathan Kay on the Lesson From Israel Apartheid Week: Anti-Semitism is Now a Creature of the Left

People speak of anti-Semitism as if it were a monolithic evil. But it’s not. There are two distinct strains of Jew hatred. Unfortunately, our society is still fixated on fighting the one that went out of style four decades ago.

The difference between the two begins with the way Jews are depicted. Look at the images on this page. The one on the left, a poster published in German-occupied Poland in 1941, exemplifies the Jew-hatred spouted by the Nazis. (The caption reads: “Jews and Lice: They cause typhus.”) The image on the right, a poster circulated on Canadian campuses this week to mark “Israel Apartheid Week,” typifies the more recent variant.

Aside from the obvious — the language and style of illustration — what crucial difference do you notice?

In the Nazi poster, the Jew is a piece of filth — a rogue pathogen within gentile society. The image perfectly captures Hitler’s view of Jews as a “bacillus infecting the life of peoples.”

Now look at the image on the right. Aside from retaining the general sense that the Jew (or, to give the fig leaf its due, “the Jewish state”) is a scourge upon the world, everything has changed. The Jew is no longer diseased and wretched. Just the opposite: He is an omnipotent, teched up superman, murdering a defenseless Palestinian child from above.

In this latter detail — the use of a child victim to communicate the extent of the Jew’s evil — the anti-Israeli propaganda of today is similar to the posters and textbooks of the Nazi era, which often showed shadowy Hebrews menacing German children. But the Nazis usually took care to personalize the Jew as a craggy, hook-nosed ghoul — an image meant to further the idea that Jews were so genetically inferior as to be literally inhuman. Aside from editorial cartoonists in the Arab world (many of whom faithfully copy Nazi-era stereotypes to this day), anti-Semitic propagandists of our own age typically omit the Jew’s features altogether in favour of a faceless, Star-of-Zion-emblazoned tank or helicopter. As in the Nazi era, the Jew isn’t fully human — but now he’s an all-powerful Nazgûl instead of a pitiful Gollum.

What explains this radical transition in the presentation of anti-Semitic propaganda? Three factors.

The first is ideology: When the Nazis went down to defeat, they took with them the intellectual basis of “germ-theory” anti-Semitism — the toxic notion that certain races or groups are genetically inferior or parasitical. In our era, to compare Jews to leeches is to announce oneself as a bigoted creature from society’s discredited fringe.

The second reason is tied up with the history of Israel itself: After the Jews established their own state in 1948, it became impossible to typecast them as mere parasites contaminating foreign hosts. This was especially true after the Six-Day War of 1967, in which Israel scored a crushing military victory against Egypt, Jordan and Syria — not the sort of maneuver you’d expect from typhus-stricken old men.

The third reason is political: The leaders who find anti-Semitism useful today aren’t extreme nationalists such as Hitler, Stalin or Mussolini (though Hugo Chavez admittedly has been wandering into that territory). Instead, they are radical Muslims — and their allies in Western activist groups, who speak the tropes of anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, anti-Americanism, anti-racism and all the other fashionable antis. In this left-wing intellectual climate, disparaging any race or religion per se is off limits. The preferred tactic is to disparage the allegedly colonial, imperialist, racist etc. nature of their actions.

In keeping with our society’s obsession with victimhood, the propaganda strategy against Israel now is entirely passive aggressive. While the Nazis loved to dwell on the virility and superhuman indomitability of Aryans, the Jews’ enemies now are represented in propaganda by 5-year-olds carrying teddy bears. (For more in this vein, watch the 60-second promotional movie on the Israel Apartheid Week web site, in which you will see a cartoon mock-up of Gaza’s population that contains no men of military age — just a bunch of sorrowful kids, mommies and granddads.) The moral dimension of the conflict — terrorism versus counter-terrorism, a society seeking peace versus one that seems addicted to war — has been replaced by a sentimental Marxist-inspired tale of the virtuous oppressed rising up against an evil oppressor.

Broadly speaking, in other words, the locus of anti-Semitism has moved from the right side of the political spectrum to the left. Here in Canada, you still do see a few isolated anti-Semites of the Nazi persuasion here and there — David Ahenakew is one rare example. But for the most part, the neo-Nazi movement is confined to a few self-parodic Internet chat rooms (many of whose members, we’ve learned in recent years, are actually bored human-rights bureaucrats looking to stir up hate-speech charges). These days, the hatemongers targeting Jews’ right to live peacefully spout the mantras of “social justice” and “peace studies,” not racial purity. Their movement is dominated by the sort of leftists and minority activists whom the Nazis (neo or otherwise) would have up against the wall in a heartbeat if they had the chance. (Running down through the published list of 11 speakers at the University of Toronto’s Israel Apartheid Week, for instance, you will find no fewer than three Canadian aboriginal activists. Who knew these people were such experts on the Middle East?)

It also must be admitted that the anti-Semitism of today is a lot more subtle than the old-fashioned variety: Except in clear cases of blood libel such as the IAH poster, it’s often hard to tell where legitimate criticism of Israel ends and Jew-hatred begins. As a result, Jews themselves — middle-aged university professors and career feminists, most typically — are often drawn into radicalized campaigns against Israel, and sometimes even can be seen marching gullibly arm-in-arm with Kafiyeh-clad protestors chanting for Jewish blood in Arabic.

It’s a disgusting spectacle, especially when you hear their maudlin rhetoric — “massacre,” “crime against humanity,” “genocide,” “holocaust,” etc. If these words may be applied to the unintentional killing of several hundred Gazans during a counterterrorist operation, how does one describe the wholesale slaughter of tens or hundreds of thousands in places such as Chechnya and Darfur? (“Mega-massacre”? “Giga-genocide”?)

You don’t have to be anti-Semitic to pervert language or logic in this way, but it certainly helps. And I can see why many of my correspondents want universities to ban Israel Apartheid Week, or at least the most vicious IAW propaganda.

Though I personally don’t care much for censorship, one might even think that this is the sort of issue in which our country’s human rights commissions (last seen defending a Muslim woman’s right to appear masked in court) might take an interest. But you’d be wrong.

Our entire human-rights establishment was built in the 1960s and 1970s on the assumption that anti-Semitism would always be a creature of the extreme right. And to this day, the dinosaurs who run the nation’s HRCs — along with their allies in the identity-politics industry — persist in the ridiculous notion that the main threat to Jews emanates from drunken old fossils like Ahenakew, or the eight unemployed hamburger-flippers who get together in Calgary every year to exchange badly rehearsed Hitler salutes.

They treasure this conceit for an obvious self-serving reason: Vilifying Nazis is easy. Taking on politically correct Muslims and campus lefties on parade is hard. Anti-Semitism thrives when lazy people look the other way. That much, at least, hasn’t changed.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: the CAF Has a Friend in the Liberal Party

Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis is standing up for the Canadian Arab Federation’s right to call the Immigration Minister a “professional whore” and to denounce organizations that support Israel or are just friendly towards Jews. Here’s an item reported by Canwest News:

Ottawa: Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is facing a possible investigation by Parliament’s ethics commissioner in the wake of his threat to axe funding to a group whose president called him a “professional whore.”

Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis has filed a complaint against Kenney with Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, saying he believes the minister violated the parliamentary ethics code.

“I believe for the Minister to use his position and exert undue influence and or in this case instruct his officials to hold funding from such an NGO; this sets a bad precedent which clearly should not be allowed to stand,” says a copy of the complaint obtained by Sun Media.

“With this move the Minister sends out a signal to community-based NGOs to toe the line or risk losing their funding.”

‘RIDICULOUS’

Karygiannis, whose Toronto riding is served by the federation’s settlement program, said funding for groups should be decided by civil servants based on the group’s performance — not on the basis of partisan politics.

Alykhan Velshi, spokesman for Kenney, described the complaint as “ridiculous” and said it was “disturbing” to see a Liberal MP standing up for a group that has made anti-semitic comments.

The controversy centres on a dispute between Kenney and the Canadian Arab Federation. Earlier this year, federation president Khaled Mouammar called Kenney a “professional whore” for supporting Israel.

Kenney shot back, saying groups whose leaders say intolerant or hateful things shouldn’t get taxpayer money. Kenney said he has asked his department to weigh public comments made by groups when assessing their funding applications.

The Canadian Arab Federation has received $447,297 over two years to operate a settlement program in Toronto, teaching new immigrants language and job searching skills. Yesterday, department officials told MPs the group’s grant is up for renewal and is being evaluated.

Catherine MacQuarrie, assistant ethics commissioner, said the ethics office will assess Karygiannis’ complaint.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Canada: Teaching Hate at Toronto’s Alternative School Puppy Mill

In George Orwell’s dystopian allegory, Animal Farm, the pigs assume governance of a farm the animals have seized from their oppressive human owner. Not content with contingent power, the pigs appropriate the farm dogs’ newborn puppies. Trained in secret, knowing no other way of life, the puppies grow up to be fearsome, loyal guard dogs. From then on, the pigs’ power to dictate “politically correct” thinking amongst the animals is absolute.

Last year, a February session of Israel Apartheid Week at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) campus of the University of Ontario featured the founding conference of High Schools Against Israeli Apartheid (HAIA), sponsored by the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA). Appended to advertisements for the event were the words: “Note: this conference is for high school students only.” The organizers — not themselves high school students, but the “pigs” in this neo-Orwellian story — only allowed “puppies” — high school students with identifying student cards — to attend a five-hour session of anti-Israel propaganda. No teachers, parents or media were permitted to attend, so we really have no idea of what went down there. The Student School (TSS) is an alternative high school in downtown Toronto with a specialty in “social issues.” Its 185 students and eight staff are a tight-knit group. Decisions about which issues will be promoted are taken in weekly council meetings, where students and faculty are equally represented.

TTS welcomed CAIA recruiters to its classrooms two years ago. Under its aegis, HAIA took official form in 2008 and the school, guided by university activists, became a hotbed of political agitation. Last year, a newly arrived Israeli student at TTS felt too frightened by the hostile atmospherics to remain at the school.

Thankfully, an investigation by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is underway. According to Trustee James Pasternak, “Spreading this insidious anti-Israel ideology by recruiting teenagers in public schools is repugnant. We will use every legal means possible to stop intolerance in public schools.”

The TDSB might begin by explaining the role of an educational institution to TTS administrator John Morton, who is fiercely proud of his school’s partisan involvement with HAIA. Morton recently defended the school’s promotion of anti-Israel propaganda and affirmed his determination to flout any attempts to curtail their activism: “We’re holding our own, and have relayed to the board (through the principal) that we will continue our social justice activities on this and other issues.” I left three messages for John Morton at TSS, but received no response. If he had granted me an interview, I would have asked him if — since his students have watched the incendiary film, Occupation 101, standard Palestinian-friendly fare — he would be willing to have his students watch law professor and pro-Israel polemicist Alan Dershowitz’s excellent new film, The Case for Israel, which will have its official Canadian premiere in Ottawa on April 13.

I would have suggested that his students might benefit from the mind-expanding exercise of seeing — here’s an apparently radical concept — both sides of the story, and then engaging in debate. I would have warned him that Dershowitz persuades according to classically liberal precepts of argumentation — using reason, not emotion; history, not sentimental “narratives;” civility, not aggression; to argue Israel’s case. I fear that my suggestion would have fallen on deaf ears.

TTS is committing an intellectual crime against its students. As Stefan Braun, civil liberties lawyer and hate/censorship expert put it in an interview: “We’re dealing with a captive audience of impressionable school children. Those pushing HAIA are not interested in promoting critical independent thinking but in shutting it down. Preaching is not teaching. No one has the right to turn our schools into safe havens for indoctrination … To speak out against HAIA is not censorship. It is to uphold freedom of speech against those who would smother it in its infancy.”

Just so. George Orwell said it with puppies and pigs, but the message was the same: HAIA, whose reach is extending into other high schools as I write, is dangerous to democracy and must be stopped.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Sympathizer of Terror Groups Was Immigration Board Member

It’s well known that Khaled Mouammar wants Ottawa to remove Hamas and Hezbollah from a list of banned organizations and replace them with the Israel Defence Forces.

It’s well known that the president of the Canadian Arab Federation recently called Jason Kenney, the Minister of Immigration, a “professional whore” for supporting Israel and criticizing the presence of Hamas and Hezbollah flags at a recent protest, prompting Mr. Kenney to say he would review the CAF’s federal funding.

But it is less well known that Mr. Mouammar spent the 11 years prior to February, 2005, sitting as a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, deciding whether refugee claimants from such North African countries as Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Somalia should be allowed to stay in Canada.

No details are available on how many refugees Mr. Mouammar waved through the Canadian system, although one immigration lawyer who remembers him from his IRB days says he was known to have a “very high” acceptance rate. Board members typically have sole discretion over whether to admit a refugee claimant.

But his public advocacy of terror groups should raise questions about how a known partisan could possibly pass the IRB’s screening process. How did someone who has long been sympathetic to terror groups come to hold a crucial position in the body designed to protect Canadians from terrorists? Phrases about foxes and chicken coops spring to mind.

The IRB has a code of conduct that requires members to conserve and enhance the organization’s “integrity, objectivity and impartiality.” Mr. Mouammar did not return calls seeking comment but readers can make up their own mind about his impartiality.

Since becoming president, the CAF head has shown a Robert Mugabe-like paranoia for blaming others, while ignoring the shortcomings of the side he supports.

Hamas and Hezbollah are “legitimate political parties”; Israel is a genocidal regime, guilty of “war crimes.” “One day the nightmare brought about by Zionism and colonialism will come to an end,” he wrote in a piece entitled Impressions of Palestine: 1948 and Today — a clear rejection of a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Mr. Mouammar, a 68-year-old orthodox Christian who was born in Palestine and emigrated to Canada in 1965, has become a magnet for controversy.

In 2006, he was accused of circulating a flyer at the Liberal leadership convention denouncing candidate Bob Rae because his wife was vice-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, “a lobby group which supports Israeli apartheid.”

Last year, the CAF sponsored an essay-writing contest that encouraged Canadian high school students to consider “the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.”

An organization that used to work on behalf of all Arabs in Canada, promoting civil liberties and human rights, while combating racism and hate, has been transformed into a single-issue distiller of venom.

In the past, the CAF has documented anti-Arab incidents during the Gulf War; debated the pros and cons of the Oslo Peace Accord; and argued at the Arar commission that there is no contradiction between security and “the fundamental values we share as Canadians.” Now, it has been radicalized by its president and others…

— Hat tip: Vlad Tepes

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Belgium: Dewinter, ‘Islam is a Predator’

Dewinter’s TV interview is available online (in Dutch)

“Islamophobia is an obligation,” says Filip Dewinter in his book “Insha’Allah? The Islamization of Europe” which will be out Monday. The Antwerp head of Vlaams Belang thinks Islam is a predator which is attacking weak Europe. He asks for cutting back on the structures of Islam which are forming in Flanders, stopping Islamization and stopping immigration from Muslim countries.

Is his book Filip Dewinter aims not at Muslims, but at Islam as an ideology. “The moderate Muslims are many but they are not relevant. The radical Muslims who have the mosques in their power are,” he said tonight on Terzake (Canvas). He also spoke on Nieuws of VTM.

Dewinter wants to cut off the Muslims by pursing a strict police concerning antenna dishes, internet and other digital communications. The Flemish and local governments should conduct a stricter study of mosques for recognition and subsidies. They must be subjected to permanent security supervision. The structures that Islam is expanding in Flanders and Europe should be cut back.

Filip Dewinter wrote his book under his own name, but had his party administration read it. It seems that the points of view correspond to a large degree with those of Vlaams Belang. Dewinter thinks that the debate about Islam should be conducted during the upcoming elections campaign.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

— Hat tip: TV

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Berlin: Concern About Increase in Anti-Police Violence

Last year the number of cases where policemen were resisted increased by three percent to 3,371 cases. The number of injured police officer went up by almost seven percent to 924, said police chief Dieter Glietsch yesterday. Glietsch told a parliamentary committee that this year Berlin sadly got to first place.

Comparing to a decade ago, though, Berlin has seen a significant improvement. There were improvements in both statistics: 4112 cases of ‘resisting the authorities’ were registered in 1999. The number of injured police agents in 1999 was 1787. Through the years there has been a continuous decline and this year was the first time it went up.

The police is concerned about ‘spontaneous solidarity’ at emergencies. In the last three years there were ten cases a year of sudden group violence against police agents.

Glietsch said yesterday these were mostly youth and young men of immigration background. In these cases there was a ‘fundamental repudiation of state power and our values’.. Since 2006, the police has been recording these riotous gatherings in its own statistics.

The incidents were only in Wedding, Neukölln and Kreuzberg. In Schillerpark 15 members of an Arab family attacked several policemen who requested they extinguish the grill. On the Badstraße, 70 people obstructed the police who wanted to protect a deranged young man from further self-harm. According to Glietsch, the police has a unit of 60 people which can be quickly called in for such riots and this has repeatedly proven itself.

Firefighters on duty were also attacked, mostly by drunks. In 2008 there were 17 attacks. By the firefighters there’s a high number of estimated unreported cases, as many officers waived reporting it.

Many firefighters feel that subjectively, the attacks increased. A few weeks ago a Chilean family attacked paramedics who wanted to bring a wounded young man to the hospital. Eberhard Schönberg of the police union GdP says that the attacks are becoming more brutal. He says that anybody wearing a uniform attracts hatred.

— Hat tip: Steen

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Czech Rep: Czech President Meets Meps From Eurosceptical Group

Prague — Czech President Vaclav Klaus today discussed European integration and the Lisbon treaty with representatives of the Independence/Democracy EP group whose members are called Eurosceptics, Czech MEP Vladimir Zelezny, member of this EP group, has said.

He, however, calls the group members “Eurorealists.” Klaus also calls his stance “Eurorealistic.”

One of the main topics discussed at today’s meeting with Klaus was his speech in the EP on February 19, Zelezny said.

The Independence/Democracy group comprises 22 MEPs out of the total of 785 MEPs.

Two weeks ago, the group members applauded Klaus’s controversial speech in the EP in which he criticised not only the Lisbon treaty to reform the EU institutions, but also the current course of the European economy and the alleged alienation of the EU politicians from ordinary citizens.

Some MEPs were leaving the session hall during the speech, while others were booing to express disagreement.

“This was for the first time that a call for open thinking was pronounced on the EP soil,” Zelezny said.

“We consider it (Klaus’s speech) the most qualified and the most fundamental contribution to the criticism of the development in the EU in the past few years,” Zelezny told CTK.

Klaus and the MEPs from the Independence/Democracy group agreed that possible scenarios of a different development of European integration must not be blocked beforehand, Zelezny said.

Today’s visit of some MEPs to Prague Castle, the Czech presidential seat, took place in a completely different atmosphere than a meeting of Klaus with EP President Hans-Gert Poettering and his colleagues last December. It was accompanied by sharp verbal clashes between Klaus and European Greens EP group head Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Irish MEP Brian Crowley who challenged Klaus’s critical views of the EU and the Lisbon treaty.

The Czech Republic has been the last EU member state to take position on the Lisbon treaty. The Chamber of Deputies passed the treaty in February and the Senate might vote on it in May.

Twenty-five other EU countries have ratified the treaty in parliament. Ireland rejected it in a referendum last June. However, the Irish referendum is to be repeated this year.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark: ‘Jewel’ Author to Debate Freedom of Speech

‘Jewel of Medina’ author Sherry Jones will join a debate with Danish imam Abdul Wahid Petersen in Århus next week

The author of the controversial ‘Jewel of Medina’ novel will be visiting Denmark from 11 to 15 March, when she will take part in a debate with well-known Danish imam Abdul Wahid Petersen.

Bjarke Larsen from the Pressto publishing company, which released the book in Denmark, said there was likely to be a lot of interest in the author, Sherry Jones.

‘Considering how much debate there has been about the freedom of speech, religious fundamentalism and the relationship between religion and politics here in Denmark, I think there will be great interest in her visit,’ said Larsen. ‘Jewel of Medina’ charts the life of the prophet Mohammed’s first wife Aisha, whom he married when she was nine year’s old. The book raised concerns that the Islamic world would be offended by its publication, prompting the original publishing company, Random House, to drop the planned publication deal. A UK publisher who announced his intention to publish it late last year had his house firebombed.

The book was first published in Serbia and later other European countries, including Germany and Denmark.

Jones will appear at the Ridehuset cultural centre in Århus on 15 March as part of the city’s literary festival.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Europeans Criticize Racism Conference, But No Word Yet on Attendance

European governments are using the current session of the U.N. Human Rights Council to voice concern about next month’s international racism conference, although none has announced plans to join Israel, Canada and possibly the United States in boycotting the event.

Western democracies in general appear to be biding their time, in the hope it may yet be possible to change the direction of the Durban Review Conference (“Durban II”) in the coming weeks. The foreign ministries of Australia and New Zealand both said this week no decision had been made.

Although the conference is still seven weeks away, there are currently only two scheduled planning meetings between now and the day it opens in Geneva — an intergovernmental working group session from April 6-10 and the final session of a preparatory committee from April 15-17.

The State Department announced last Friday that the U.S. would not take part in further preparations or attend the conference unless the draft outcome document was radically amended. It cited references to Israel, religious “defamation” and reparations for slavery. Although it called the text “unsalvageable,” it did leave the door ajar for re-engaging in the event organizers come up with an acceptable document.

Preparations for Durban II are being supervised by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. On Monday, the 47-member body kicked off a month-long session with a three-day “high-level segment,” in which government ministers make statements before the council gets down to agenda business.

A number of E.U. member states’ representatives used the opportunity to raise concerns about Durban II, with the most forceful statement coming Tuesday from Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, who said he was “deeply disturbed by the turn this event is taking.”

The draft document was being “used by some to try to force their concept of defamation of religion and their focus on one regional conflict on all of us.”

Verhagen said he fully understood why some countries had decided to withdraw. The Netherlands wanted to work to achieve a useful outcome, “but not at any price.” It would not accept a text that singled out Israel, placed religion above individuals, or did not condemn discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Free speech advocacy groups say the religious defamation drive, led by Islamic states, aims to shield Islam and practices associated with it from criticism or close examination.

Earlier, Verhagen spokesman Bart Rijs said in response to queries that the Netherlands “will withdraw if the draft resolution does not change in the shortest possible term.”

In his speech in Geneva, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, speaking on behalf of the E.U., said the 27-member bloc was “committed” to the conference but could not subscribe to an outcome that “would limit or undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The Czech Republic holds the rotating presidency of the E.U. until June. Spokeswoman Emma Smetanova said from Prague that the Czech E.U. presidency “so far does not plan to attend the conference.”

‘Ideological agendas’

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said in Geneva the Durban II preparations “give rise to serious concerns” and it seemed unlikely that there could be consensus based on the draft document.

“We cannot accept that the conference is being diverted from combating racism and racial discrimination to restricting freedom of expression or any other human right or fundamental freedom.”

“We cannot allow ourselves to let this opportunity fall prey to other political or ideological agendas,” said his Italian counterpart, Vincenzo Scotti.

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht took issue with the question of “religious defamation,” saying it was undermining the international system for protecting human rights.

“Human rights must protect individuals and freedoms of individuals, and not religions as such,” he told the gathering.

Portuguese and Slovakian delegates both appealed to all countries to adopt a “constructive approach” in the weeks ahead, while the Cypriot representative said his country strongly believed that all countries should remain engaged, even if it was by being constructively critical.

Representatives of the countries which Durban II critics blame for the controversies — Islamic states and their allies in the developing world — in general had little to say about the conference in their speeches on Monday and Tuesday.

An exception was Egyptian Legal Minister Mufid Shehab, who said Durban II would act as a test to determine whether or not the international community wished to counter religious discrimination. Opinions could not be expressed freely if doing so affected the religious freedoms of others, he argued.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Nezar Sadeq Al Baharna made a passing reference to Durban II, encouraging the international community to participate in the conference.

Shehab, Al Baharna and delegates from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen and Indonesia used their speeches to attack Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki described the recent military operation in Gaza as “the latest round of … habitual brutalities” by “the illegitimate Zionist regime,” and called for Israeli leaders to be indicted for crimes against humanity.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Gibraltar: Princess Anne Visit, Spanish Gov Protests

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 3 — Princess Anne’s three-day visit to Gibraltar, due to start tomorrow, has aroused a formal protest from Madrid, which accused the British government of organising an “untimely” visit, which would be “hurtful to Spanish feelings.” According to diplomatic sources as quoted by the Europa Press agency, the reasons behind the Spanish government’s expressed discontent, is that the Princess is due to open a military clinic which bears her name, the ‘Princess Royal Medical Centre’, on the strait which unites the Rock with the Iberian peninsula, a territory which Spain did not cede to the British Crown in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Gibraltar thus returns to its familiar position as a point of diplomatic tension between Madrid and London. On January 16, on the same day in which the official visit of Queen Elizabeth’s daughter to Gibraltar was announced, the Spanish secretary for Foreign Affairs, Angel Lossada, phoned the British ambassador to Spain, Denise Holt, to express the “unease” that the government felt towards the initiative, which was described as “untimely”, since it “could hurt the feelings of the Spanish population” which lives in Gibraltar. And sources are not ruling out further reactions from the Spanish government to coincide with the Princesses’ visit. Princess Anne will arrive at Gibraltar airport tomorrow afternoon, where she will be met by the British Governer of the Rock. On Thursday she is to open the military clinic and in the afternoon will visit the Free Time Centre in Bastion de Reyes. The visit is to end on Friday, with a visit to the Special School in Saint Martin. The last time Princess Anne visited the Rock was in June 2004, when she took part in celebrations for the third centenary of British presence in Gibraltar, as a guest of the authorities of the Rock. At the time, the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratimos, said that her visit was not good news, since it could not help to ease Spanish-British dialogue over the situation in Gibraltar. Months later both governments came together to create a tri-lateral forum for talks which included the authorities in Gibraltar. Spain lays claims to the sovereignity of the territory which defers to the United Kingdom, and has a specific status in the EU, since in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 the British crown was granted the city, the castle and the port in Gibraltar, but not the strait, nor the territorial waters or the air space. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy and France in Nuclear Deal

Cooperation accord follows ENEL’s expansion Spain’s Endesa

(ANSA) — Rome, February 23 — Italy and France will sign an important accord on Tuesday for cooperation in the production of nuclear energy, Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said on Monday.

The agreement will be signed during a meeting in the Italian capital between Premier Silvio Berlusconi and visiting French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

The accord, Scajola explained, ‘‘will regard all aspects of nuclear energy, from collaboration on a European level to questions of security, from technical cooperation to the training of experts, from dismantling old plants to industrial collaboration in third countries’’.

The industry minister added that with this accord, together with measures set to be approved by parliament in March, ‘‘Italy has taken a major step forward towards a new energy strategy for the country’’.

‘‘This involves greater security in regard to obtaining supply, through the diversification of sources and their geographic location, and greater environmental protection,’’ he added.

‘‘Our national energy policy will get a further boost through (power utility) ENEL’s international expansion, which already includes active collaboration with (French power giant) EdF. Together with the acquisition of 25% of Spain’s Endesa. ENEL has become the second European electricity group,’’ Scajola said.

ENEL at the weekend agreed to buy the 25% stake Spanish builder Acciona held in Endesa, Spain’s largest hydropower generator and the number one electricity utility in Latin American.

The Italian utility acquired two thirds of Endesa in October 2007, when Acciona bought its 25% stake with an option to sell it ENEL by 2010. According to the French press, the accord between Rome and Paris will include ENEL acquiring a 12.5% share in France’s second European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), in addition to the 12.5% quota it already has in the country’s first modern EPR nuclear reactor.

The British daily The Times reported earlier this month that EdF, which is 85% owned by the French state, would sell some of its production capacity to fund its acquisition of Britain’s nuclear industry.

EdF is the world’s biggest operator of nuclear power plants.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Anti-Stress Fencing Classes Slammed

Manager courses a ‘slap in the face’ for crisis- hit workers

(ANSA) — Naples, March 4 — A plan to use fencing lessons to ease stress among Naples public administrators came under fire Wednesday.

The lessons are part of a 40,000-euro scheme approved by Naples’ provincial government to ease stress levels with ‘bonding’ courses and psychological training.

The provincial councillor for human resources, Giuseppe Capasso, said he was ‘‘amazed’’ such a ‘‘comical’’ initiative had been greenlit, apparently behind his back.

‘‘I’d like to pass it off as a joke but in fact it’s a slap in the face of every provincial worker at a time when we’re struggling with pay and job cuts,’’ Capasso said.

Another civil service councillor, Francesco Emilio Borrelli, urged the unidentified official who approved the courses to ‘‘withdraw this disgraceful initiative’’.

‘‘In a period of financial crisis, one simply cannot fathom how such a decision could have been taken’’. The fencing flap is not the first time Naples administrators have been accused of wasting public money on frivolous initiatives.

In another case, a firm in a rundown area outside near Naples used taxpayers’ money to swell the ranks of the sexy but semi-mute girls, so-called ‘veline’, on Italian TV.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Mediterranean Games: Committee, Israel Excluded 4 Years Ago

(ANSAmed) — PESCARA, 3 MARCH — Israel’s exclusion from the upcoming Mediterranean Games (which is currently the object of parliamentary initiatives in Italy) is “news that is 4 years old, because in 2005 the vote decided that Israeli athletes would not be admitted”, just like Palestinian athletes. Sources within the organising committee told ANSA that “obviously the current organisation of Pescara 2009 is in no way responsible for this”. In any event the matter will be dealt with during next Thursday’s press conference by Amar Addadi, the president of Cijm, the international committee for the Mediterranean Games. It has been explained that on such occasions the “problem” of Israel will be debated along with the official position adopted by the Pescara 2009 Committee. Yesterday various political and cultural exponents expressed their position in favour of bringing back Israel (something that is impossible with only 3 months to go before the Games begin). The issue was raised, amongst others, by Pdl deputy Fiamma Nirenstein who submitted an urgent question for the admission of Israel to Pescara 2009. Today Pri secretary Francesco Nucara returned to the matter by suggesting a possible connection to the friendship treaty between Italy and Libya. He asked whether “by chance, does the Libya treaty signed by Berlusconi and Gaddafi include the exclusion of Israel from the Mediterranean Games?” Because “if that is not the case, we have to ask, once again, for the government to act immediately to make up for a situation that is embarrassing Italy’s international politics”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Netherlands: Dutch Unemployed Told to Find a Job — Any Job

Under the new rules, anyone who has been on unemployment benefits for more than a year will have to take any job he or she is offered, even if they are overqualified for the job or if the job pays less than the unemployment benefits.

Dutch unemployment benefits entitle people to 70 percent of their last salary. Provided they have worked for at least four out of the past five years, job seekers are entitled to one month of benefits for every year they have worked, up to a maximum of 38 months.

But the system has come under increasing pressure because of budget concerns. Next year, the Dutch government is expected to spend an additional three billion euros on unemployment benefits.

The two largest parties in the ruling coalition, the Christian Democrats and the Labour Party, along with the right-wing opposition Party for Freedom, backed social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner’s plan on Tuesday.

However, the junior partner in the coalition, the Christian Union, was critical. Christian Union member of parliament Cynthia Ortega proposed that claimants should be offered a choice of at least three jobs before they lose their benefits.

College graduates to pick tomatoes?

Meanwhile, the largest party in the coalition, the Christian Democrats, would actually like to see the regulations tightened even further, with claimants losing their benefits after six months if they refuse a job offer.

Social affairs minister Donner rejected the proposal by the Christian Democrats. But he also shot down Ortega’s alternative. In the light of the economic crisis, he said, it is already hard enough for the benefits agency to find even one job offer.

Opposition Socialist Party member of parliament Paul Ulenbelt accused Donner of throwing knowledge down the drain by “forcing college graduates to pick tomatoes in greenhouses”. Donner replied that the Socialist Party seemed to have “a certain disdain for work in greenhouses”. He added that it could be “very good for reflection at a certain point for a college graduate to work in a greenhouse”.

Other opposition parties, the right-wing liberal VVD and the left-wing liberal D66, expressed concern that the plan will actually cost more than it saves. They pointed fear it will lead to extra spending on wage cost subsidies for employers, and because people who earn less than their unemployment benefits can ask the government to make up the difference.

In reality, some of the changes in Donner’s plan are less dramatic than they appear. College graduates already have to accept any type of job after eighteen months; this grace period is now reduced to twelve months. Less-educated job seekers are already under the obligation to accept any job after six months.

The government’s economic policy bureau CPB forecasts that the unemployment rate will rise to 5.5 percent in 2009 and 8.75 percent in 2010. In absolute numbers, that means 425,000 Dutch people will be out of work this year and 675,000 next year.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Netherlands: MP Rita Verdonk Accused of Embezzlement

Ed Sinke, a former advisor of MP Rita Verdonk, has filed a report with the police in which he accuses Ms Verdonk of embezzling money from a foundation he administers for her party Proud of the Netherlands.

From 2003 until 2007, Rita Verdonk served as integration minister in two successive cabinets led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. She was highly controversial because of her strict interpretation of immigration laws.

Ms Verdonk was a member of the conservative VVD until 2007, when she lost a power struggle for the leadership and decided to form her own party. Mr Sinke says about 4,000 euros were taken from the account of the Vote Rita Verdonk foundation, which was created in 2006 ahead of the VVD party leadership elections.

Ms Verdonk allegedly changed the foundation’s address and registered the account in her own name, even though she was not a member of the executive committee. Mr Sinke says his report has nothing to do with a long-lasting dispute between him and Ms Verdonk.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Nuclear: Press, Enel to Take 12.5% Share in Second French Epr

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, FEBRUARY 23 — Enel will take a 12.5% share in the second largest EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) third generation nuclear reactor, which will be built in Penly, France, according to ‘La Tribune’, which wrote that an agreement will be signed tomorrow for the Italian-French summit in Rome. Enel already has a 12.5% share in the EPR that EDF is building in Flamanville, in Normandy. The agreement to be signed tomorrow also includes a strategic agreement of collaboration in civilian nuclear power sector, which will open up the Italian market to French businesses (EDF, Areva, GDF Suez) in the nuclear power sector. The Italian market, wrote ‘Le Tribune’ is valued by French businesses at 40 billion euros. EDF and ENEL signed a partnership agreement in 2007. In particular, the agreement includes participation in the Flamanville project as well as five other EDF projects that are underway. The partnership also includes an Italian-French cooperation to export nuclear technology to non-EU countries. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Stakelbeck Sits Down With Geert Wilders

Dear friends,

He’s been banned from Britain and is facing trial in his own country. But Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders received a warm reception here in America last week.

I sat down with Wilders in Washington, D.C., where we discussed a variety of issues, including his legal battles in the Netherlands and his push for an International First Amendment that would repeal all hate speech laws.

We also spoke in detail about Wilders’ dual mission: sounding the alarm about the Islamic threat to Europe and preserving the continent’s Western values and heritage.

You can watch my story for CBN News featuring Wilders’ appearance at the National Press Club and clips from our interview at the link above:

— Hat tip: CBN

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Sweden’s Government Health Care

Government health care advocates used to sing the praises of Britain’s National Health Service, or NHS. That’s until its poor delivery of health care services became known. A recent study by David Green and Laura Casper, “Delay, Denial and Dilution,” written for the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs, concludes that the NHS health care services are just about the worst in the developed world. The head of the World Health Organization calculated that Britain has as many as 25,000 unnecessary cancer deaths a year because of under-provision of care. Twelve percent of specialists surveyed admitted refusing kidney dialysis to patients suffering from kidney failure because of limits on cash. Waiting lists for medical treatment have become so long that there are now “waiting lists” for the waiting list.

— Hat tip: JD

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Sweden: School Violence Sends Teacher to Hospital

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Another troubled neighborhood?]

A female teacher has been taken to hospital after a vicious fight broke out between rival factions at a high school (gymnasium) in Vimmerby in southern Sweden on Wednesday afternoon.

Six police units were sent to the school’s ancillary premises on Kungsgatan in central Vimmerby and all pupils involved in the fighting were ordered to remain in their classrooms until police arrived.

One female teacher has been taken to hospital in Västervik to be treated for facial injuries, Sveriges Radio reports.

“There was a fight between some students, in connection with which a chair was thrown that hit the teacher,” police officer Göran Wester told Sveriges Radio.

School principal Agneta Kling said the violence was the culmination of a lengthy feud between rival groups from the school’s remedial classes. She described the mood in the school’s Kungsgatan premises as “scary and hateful”.

“There was a lot of bloodshed up there,” she told Sveriges Radio.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: Abuse of Science

Protests against Israeli universities are the voice of anti-intellectualism

The Science Museum in London is holding workshops this week that will expound scientific achievements to schoolchildren. More than 400 academics and a Nobel laureate are protesting and organising pickets.

It will appear extraordinary that the educational efforts of a great public institution should provoke anger among those who nominally uphold intellectual inquiry. But the scientists and universities whose work is being introduced are Israeli, and the event is billed as an Israeli Day of Science. All will now fall into place. Israel, its independence and its security policies in the West Bank and Gaza stir passions among the politically committed. In a reversal of the normal pattern of prejudice, anti-Israeli sentiment finds traction among the highly educated. Yet in its animus and malignancy, this protest is a model of anti-intellectualism.

The late Conor Cruise O’Brien, Irish statesman and polymath, once aptly denounced a boycott of academics of a particular nationality as “an intellectually disreputable attempt to isolate what I know to be an honest, open and creative intellectual community”. The scholars’ offence was that they were from South African universities during the apartheid era. Apartheid was an evil system against which it was right to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions. But scholarship is independent of politics; the academics were private citizens who neither served the regime nor had the capacity to change its policies.

Retribution against the life of the mind in order to make a political point is the approach of movements for whom inquiry is a frivolity rather than a way of life. That is why academic boycotts are iniquitous even when the cause is right. Yet the protest outside the Science Museum is not even in an obvious moral cause. It is hysterical and, in its analysis, plainly unscientific.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict comprises competing and equally legitimate national claims, both of which must be accommodated in an eventual territorial compromise. The notion that this will be advanced by sanctions against Israeli institutes of learning, whose scholars have no political role and may have no sympathy with their Government’s policies, is risible.

The protesters are not an identifiable scholarly current, but a group of political activists who happen to work in the academy. Many were associated in an earlier campaign to persuade the Association of University Teachers to boycott Israeli universities. The expansiveness of their campaign betrayed its motivation. It was not a disinterested desire for the rectification of historic injustices against the Palestinian people, but an insistence that Israel was illegitimate by virtue of being a Jewish state.

It is ironic that the academics are joined in an inflammatory cause by a Nobel peace laureate, Mairead Maguire, of the Irish Peace People. It stands higher still on the scale of intellectual disrepute that the boycott is supported by Ian Gibson, a former chairman of the Commons Science Select Committee. Dr Gibson declares: “Science is not neutral. It is part of the political process.” It is a fantastic non sequitur to confuse science’s institutional setting with its intellectual content, but it might be taken as symbolic of the protests. This is an arbitrary and vindictive campaign, but above all it is a stupid one.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: MPs’ Fury as U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy Gets Honorary Knighthood for Northern Ireland Role

Veteran U.S. senator Edward Kennedy is to be awarded an honorary knighthood in a move which drew immediate condemnation from Conservative MPs. The Queen has agreed to the honour for the 77-year-old Democrat — brother of assassinated U.S. president John F Kennedy — for services to the British-American relationship and to Northern Ireland, Downing Street said. Gordon Brown will announce the award formally during his address to both houses of Congress today. But the decision to honour a man closely linked to the Irish Republican movement astonished Tory MPs. One frontbencher said: ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate. He hardly had the British interests at heart.’ Former Home Office Minister Ann Widdecombe said: ‘It seems to me a bit of an odd choice, but diplomacy has no bounds.’ The senator was an influential figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, capable of swinging Irish-American opinion as head of the Kennedy family — descended from an emigré from County Wexford. Ted Kennedy was pilloried by Loyalists after he compared the British presence in Ulster to America’s involvement in Vietnam in 1971. That year he called for Britain’s immediate withdrawal from Ireland, declaring that Protestants who could not accept a united Ireland ‘should be given a decent opportunity to go back to Britain’. [related] Two years later he continued to insist that the unification of Ireland under Dublin’s jurisdiction was the only sensible option — though he was by then affirming that Catholics and Protestants must have equal roles.

Ten years later Mr Kennedy established the Congressional Friends of Ireland, dedicated to pursuing peace. In the late 1990s he met not only with Tony Blair, his Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern, but also with Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams.

In 2005, he snubbed Adams when he visited Washington, over the IRA murder of Catholic Robert McCartney in a Belfast pub. In 2007 the Senator was at Stormont when sworn enemies Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness took their oaths of office as power-sharing was restored….

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: Protests at Israeli Science Event

Israeli Day of Science events taking place at museums in London and Manchester have been hit by protests.

More than 400 people have signed a British Committee for the Universities of Palestine letter attacking the Zionist Federation event.

Universities whose academics are attending were “complicit” in the policies and weaponry used during the Gaza offensive, the letter claimed.

Organisers insist the events, aimed at secondary schools, are non-political.

They say the events are aimed at igniting young people’s interest in science. Senior Israeli academics are lecturing on topics from medical research to energy and water technologies.

However, the letter’s author, Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, said: “This is a dubious venture at the best of times but at this particular moment, after the offensive in Gaza, it’s particularly insensitive.”

It is estimated that 1,300 people were killed, including more than 400 children, during an Israeli offensive in December and January.

Critics accused Israel of being disproportionate in its response to militant rocket attacks launched from within Gaza.

Supporters of the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (Bricup) letter protested against the day of science outside Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry on Tuesday.

A similar protest is planned to coincide with Thursday’s event at the Science Museum in London.

Prof Rosenhead, from the London School of Economics, said around 150 academics had signed the letter, which had been backed by people from all walks of life.

He said the seven institutions involved were “up to their necks” in Israel’s actions in Gaza, citing Tel Aviv University as an example.

Its annual review stated that Israel’s defence ministry was funding 55 of its projects and that it was helping to enhance the country’s “military edge”, the professor claimed.

“But they aren’t putting up people who design policies for the government and saying look how good we are at killing people,” he added.

Zionist Federation vice-chairman Jonathan Hoffman accused Bricup of trying to “prevent schoolchildren from being inspired by scientific discovery and innovation”.

He said he was “saddened” the protesters wished “not only to prevent the provision of scientific lectures to sixth formers but also to urge the Science Museum to discriminate against Israeli academics”.

‘No politics’

“Science transcends borders,” he added, referring to a collaboration between Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian researchers to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly.

Bricup has also hit out at the venues for agreeing to host the events, which focus on subjects such as stem cell, cancer and brain research, nanotechnology and solar energy.

The Science Museum insisted in a statement that it was an “apolitical organisation” and was not co-hosting or sponsoring the event, which had been booked for almost a year.

“The event has no political theme. Not to proceed with the event would mean taking a political stand, which would be wholly inappropriate,” it said.

“Scientists speaking at the event include a marine biologist, a physicist who works on experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern, a nanotechnology expert, a water scientist and a geneticist.”

Nobody at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester was available for comment.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Serbia: Police Issue Arrest Warrants for 19 Bosnian War Crimes Suspects

Belgrade, 26 Feb. (AKI) — Serbian police have issued a warrant for the arrest of 19 Bosnian officials, including two members of the wartime state presidency, over crimes allegedly committed in May 1992, Belgrade newspapers reported on Thursday.

Charges will be pressed against wartime members of the Bosnian state presidency Ejup Ganic and Stjepan Kljujic and 17 others, a Serbian court spokeswoman, Ivana Ramic, told national news agency Tanjug.

The suspects allegedly ordered an attack on the former Yugoslav Army column withdrawing from Sarajevo on 3 May 1992 at the beginning of Bosnian war that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

Ramic said that Ganic and Kljujic were believed to have issued orders for the attack in which “banned means of fighting” were used. No one has so far been prosecuted over the massacre on Sarajevo’s central Dobrovoljacka street.

The Yugoslav Army had negotiated with Bosnian officials a peaceful withdrawal from Sarajevo. But the withdrawing army column was ambushed by Bosnian forces in the city centre. Forty-two soldiers were killed, 73 wounded and 215 taken prisoners in the attack.

Speaking from Sarajevo, Ganic said that the charges were “silly” and had targeted those “who defended Bosnia.”

“Serbian politicians have tried to engage the Hague tribunal in this case, but all accusations against me were rejected,” he said

Apart from issuing an international warrant, Serbia practically has no means of apprehending the individuals charged. But the move is certain to further strain the relations between the two neighbouring countries which have remained tense even 13 years after the war.

The United Nations’ Hague-based war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is planning to end its work next year, and has been turning over the remaining cases to local courts in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.

But Bosnian Serbs, the second biggest ethnic group in Bosnia after majority Muslims, have complained that Bosnian courts are concentrating on prosecuting Serbs, while sparing Muslims accused of war crimes.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Italy-Tunisia: Forum on Free Trade and Barriers

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 20 — Tunisia is the first country on the southern shores of the Mediterranean to introduce a free trade zone with European as concerns industrial products, which allows it to enjoy a somewhat privileged position. This innovation in the relationship with other potential markets for expansion of its products has clearly spurred Tunisian companies to gear up for its new competition, in part thanks to a transitory system which over the years has allowed them to approach the entering into force of the free trade zone in the best of all possible conditions. Tunisia is also trying to speed up its economic growth by way of bilateral free trade agreements (Morocco, Jordan, Turkey), at the regional and multilateral level (the larger Arab free trade zone), and with those in the Agadir Agreement (Morocco, Egypt, Jordan). However, the picture is not entirely rose-coloured for imports to Tunisia, since there are still many non-tariff-related barriers, such as the difficulty in getting hold of import licenses (Tunisian authorities can refuse to grant them without any justification, and sometimes the Tunisian importer must make do with quotas), benchmark prices (which Tunisian authorities use to set taxes and duties and which often are not in reference to international prices), technical checks (the list of products which must be submitted has recently been increased fourfold, with authorisation only be granting four months later at times), the quality of agro-food products (certification required by Tunisian authorities is often more complex than that of EU countries), and customs procedures (often very long due to the various steps involved, such as those for security reasons). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Libya: Gheddafi Plan in Congress, Rome Accord to be Ratified

(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI — Libya’s General People’s Congress is in session in Sirte, with around 800 people taking part including all government ministers and all heads of Libya’s regional governments, the Shabiyats. The General People’s Congress functions as a parliament in Libya and has the power to declare war, ratify treaties with other countries and decide on political schemes and their implementation, but ‘‘does not debate, it chooses solutions already chosen by the people under the leader’s guidance’’, says the Head Office for the Foreign Press. During its meeting over the next two days, the Congress will acknowledge the opinions expressed by the peoples’ committees which met on February 22. The committees talked over Muammar Gheddafi’s reform plans which concentrate on two central themes: the direct redistribution of oil proceeds (the country’s main source of income) to the people, and the progressive dismantling of bureaucratic apparatus, as a means to combating corruption. Tomorrow, the Congress will also acknowledge the definitive ratification of the ‘Treaty of Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation’ with Italy, which was signed on August 30 2008 by Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and Colonel Gheddafi and has already been ratified by the peoples’ committees. Mr Berlusconi is expected to stop by this afternoon from Sharm el-Sheik for the occasion, in order to meet leaders and exchange ratifications. There has been no indication, however, that a draft constitution for the country will be presented to the Libyan |parliament’ this session. The rumoured constitution would be the first since the advent of Gheddafi’s rule, and the signing of the Green Book, which summarises his thought and Third Way to assure the people of real popular government. Before today a further series of ordinary meetings were called by the General-Secretariat of the General People’s Congress to dissect ‘‘guidelines’’ issued in recent months by Gheddafi and find a way to implement them. In the most recent meeting, preparations were decided for the festivities to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the declaration of popular power and the proclamation of the Great Jamahiriya. The Libyan regime was born as far back as March 2 1977, when Gheddafi the ‘Jamahiriya’ (‘the government of the masses’, as opposed to ‘Jumhuriya’ which means ‘Republic’). With this word, which was coined by Colonel Gheddafi for the occasion, the system of central government was abolished, the population was grouped into base Popular Congresses and Gheddafi became ‘‘Guide of the Revolution’’ — who does not govern, but leads by making recommendations. The Libyan ‘Parliament’ will therefore do nothing else but approve the decisions taken by the 468 base committees, the true voice of the people. Afterwards, they will have to look at ways to apply such decisions and it is on this aspect that Libyans will focus their attention. How, for example, do you go about dividing up amongst the population the 20 billion dollars generated by Libyan oil and gas? And how do you begin dismantling bureaucratic apparatus without risking removing the minimum national health assistance necessary to the people?.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Morocco: New Cities, First Arrivals to Tamesna in March

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS — In March there will be the first arrivals to Tamesna, the new city under construction in the Rabat region, which aims to alleviate the demographic pressure experienced in the capital. Tamesna is to be the home town of 250,000, and already has its main infrastructure connected with Rabat, a little over 20 kilometres away. The city, which was originally to have been called Nour Zaer, now has streets and a railway, and is connected to the country’s power grid, water mains and telephone line relay stations. ‘‘We are expecting the first inhabitants in the next few weeks,’’ said Mohamed Najib Benyahya, general director of the construction firm Al Omrane Tamesna. ‘‘The city is already a reality, with many areas ready to be lived in and numerous complexes in an advanced state, as well as 16,000 apartments which have already found a buyer.’’ In Tamesna there will be two industrial zones, a university, nine secondary schools , two sports centres and three mosques. ‘‘At the current rate,’’ added Benyahya, ‘‘we expect to have the completed city up and running in 2012.’’ The creation of new cities is one of the large-scale projects set in motion in 2005 by the Moroccan government to foster balanced development in the country and eliminate the shantytowns which have sprung up over the last few years around large cities, with an urban population going from 3 million in 1960 to a current 18 million. According to experts at the Housing Ministry, large centres such as Casablanca, Rabat, Tangiers and Marrakech are experiencing excessive demographic pressure with the resultant logistical and social consequences. In the first few days of January King Mohammed VI set in motion works for the construction of the city of Ch’Rafate (which means ‘Beauty’), to rise in the Tangiers hinterland, as part of an attempt to contain the seaside urbanisation. Ch’Rafate will also be a sort of residential centre for offshore industrial zones and the Med port in Tangiers, destined to become the largest of its kind in the Mediterranean. On completion — scheduled for 2020 — the project will provide housing for 150,000 people on a 13-square-mile surface area. Another city soon to be completed is Tamansourt, near Marrakech. The first apartments were already assigned in March 2007 and thousands, especially young couples, have moved into their new homes. When the project is completed the city will see a potential 300,000 inhabitants.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Western Sahara: UN Envoy Gives Hope to Saharawi

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS — After the storm unleashed by his predecessor Peter van Walsum, accused of one-sidedness, the new UN envoy for the Western Sahara Christopher Ross seems to have given new hope to the Saharawi people and to Algeria, ever on the side of the Polisario Front. The Algerian press today focuses on Ross’s first visit to Algiers, after visiting Rabat and Saharawi refugee camps in southern Algeria. ‘‘Christopher Ross’s optimism’’ runs the headline of El Watan, which underlines the importance of the mission ‘‘to re-launch negotiations between the Polisario Front and Morocco on a solution that guarantees the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination’’. ‘‘Ross concludes a promising mission to the Maghreb’’, writes Liberte’ on its front page, and ‘‘backs the referendum on self-determination of the Western Sahara’’. ‘‘During my stay’’, said Ross after his visit to the Algerian capital, ‘‘I found people to be sincere, respectful, mature and optimistic.’’ ‘‘It is with these basic elements of diplomacy that I leave Algeria,’’ he added, announcing ‘‘a visit to Mauritania as well, as soon as possible’’. Today Ross will be in Madrid, to then go on to Paris. The last direct negotiations, which started in 2007 in Manhasset (near New York) under UN protection, came to a standstill in March 2008. The two parties are unable to come to an agreement and the issue of the former Spanish colony occupied by Morocco in 1975 has continued to divide the Maghreb for more than 30 years. Rabat proposes wide-ranging autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, while the Polisario Front wants a referendum on self-determination.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Western Sahara: Guarantee Auto-Determination, UN Envoy Says

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, FEBRUARY 23 — The new UN emissary for the western Sahara, Christopher Ross, expected today in Algiers after his visit to the Saharawi refugee camps in Tindouf (in southern Algeria), expressed the desire to “continue with negotiations” and reach a solution that is “mutually acceptable” which “addresses the right of auto-determination to the Saharawi people”. “I am in Tindouf to familiarise myself with the Polisario Front”, Ross said after a meeting with the president of RASD (the auto-proclaimed Saharaoui Arab Democratic Republic), Mohamed Abdelaziz, “and to continue with the negotiations requested by the Security Council, in a series of decisions, for a mutually acceptable solution”. “A solution”, he added, according to what APS reported, ‘that addresses Saharaoui people’s right to auto-determination”. “The mission that was given to me is very important for the future of North Africa”, added the new UN emissary, who replaced Holland’s Peter Van Walsum, accused of partiality by the Saharawi. After arriving on Saturday in the camps of the Algerian Sahara and a first stop in Rabat, where he met with King Mohamed VI, Ross will go on to Madrid and Paris in the coming days. The last direct negotiations which began in 2007 in Manhasset, near New York, under the UN aegis, have been blocked since March 2008. The positions held by the two parts involved remain irreconcilable and for the last 30 years the issue of the ex-Spanish colony which has been occupied by Morocco since 1975 continues to divide the Maghreb. Rabat proposes extended autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, while Polisario is asking the organisation for a referendum for auto-determination. Algeria, still scared from the long and painful battle for independence from French colonialism, supports the right for the Saharawi people to choose their destiny as a part of their anti-colonial spirit but, according to some observers, for economic reasons as well. The western Sahara, in addition to being in a geographic position able to provide Algeria with an Atlantic port, is also a region rich in phosphates and, according to some speculation, could also be hiding oil fields. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Western Sahara: 1st Visit From New UN Emissary

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, FEBRUARY 18 — The new United Nations Emissary to the Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, visited the region today to relaunch dialogue between the Moroccan government and independence supporters of the Polisario Front, which have stalled on the same issue for years. Rabat refuses to grant independence to the ancient Spanish colony, rich in phosphates, which was annexed in 1975 and has proposed a statute of autonomy under Moroccan rule. In the meantime, the Polisario Front has continued to demand a referendum. Ross, who was Ambassador to Algeria, a country that supports the Polisario Front, was nominated in January to replace Holland’s Peter van Walsum, whose mandate was not renewed at the end of August due to accusations that he favoured Morocco after saying that independence in Western Sahara “is unrealistic”. In this first visit, Ross will try to evaluate the possibility of resuming the negotiation process that started in Manhasset, near New York, in June of 2007 under the guidance of the UN. Four rounds of negotiations have not yielded any results. Polisario Front representative to the United Nations, Ahmed Boukhari, said that he insisted upon the self-determination issue with Ross “because it is up to the people of the western Sahara to choose their own destiny”. Rabat will be Ross’ first stop followed by a trip to Tindouf, in southeastern Algeria, where for over 30 years the Saharawi people have been living in refugee camps. He will be received by Polisario Front secretary general Mohamed Abdelaziz and will visit the camps. On February 25, after stopping in Algiers, he will depart for Madrid and Paris, the capitals of the two countries of the Friends of the Sahara group including Russia, Great Britain, and the United States. For France, which favours the Moroccan position, the U.N Emissary’s visit to Paris is very important, according to the French Ambassador to the United Nations: “Morocco’s proposals are interesting, and we have asked to two sides to take part in a dialogue”, he said. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Amnesty Accuses Israel and Hamas of “War Crimes”

London, 23 Feb. (AKI) — Rights group Amnesty International has called for the United Nations to impose a global freeze on arms sales to Israel and the Gaza-ruling Hamas movement, claiming that both sides used foreign-made weapons to attack civilians. In a report released on Monday, Amnesty also claimed that the Jewish state and Hamas had both committed “war crimes”.

“We urge the UN Security Council to impose an immediate and comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until effective mechanisms are found to ensure that munitions and other military equipment are not used to commit serious violations of international law,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty’s Middle East director in a statement published on Monday.

Amnesty research claimed that Israel committed war crimes by using white phosphorous munitions, which killed hundreds of children.

“Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes. Their attacks resulted in the death of hundreds of children and other civilians and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty researcher on Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Smart called for the US administration led by president Barack Obama to suspend weapons supplies to Israel.

“As the major supplier of weapons to Israel, the USA has a particular obligation to stop any supply that contributes to gross violations of the laws of war and of human rights. The Obama administration should immediately suspend US military aid to Israel,” Smart said.

He added that American taxpayers were funding Israel’s munitions, some of which have been used to commit alleged war crimes.

“To a large extent, Israel’s military offensive in Gaza was carried out with weapons, munitions and military equipment supplied by the USA and paid for with US taxpayers’ money,” said Smart.

According to Amnesty the United States is the major supplier of conventional arms to Israel and under a 10-year agreement, the US is expected to provide 30 billion dollars in military aid to Israel to the year 2017.

However, the report attacked the Islamist Hamas movement, saying its rocket attacks also constituted a war crime.

“At the same time, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets that had been smuggled in or made of components from abroad at civilian areas in Israel. Though far less lethal than the weaponry used by Israel, such rocket firing also constitutes a war crime and caused several civilian deaths,” said Rovera.

Amnesty said that “unsophisticated” rockets are smuggled into Gaza clandestinely or built in Gaza from components secretly brought in from abroad, but did not name the countries.

From November 2001 until June 2008, Qassam rockets have killed 23 Israelis and wounded hundreds, according to The Israel Project, a non-government, non-profit organisation

Israel’s foreign ministry immediately attacked the Amnesty report as “biased and unprofessional”.

“Initial study of the report indicates that it presents a biased version of the events, and does not adhere to professional criteria and objectivity. A detailed response will be given at a later stage,” said a statement in Israel’s foreign ministry website posted on Monday.

The foreign ministry instead accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields, failing to recognise the existence of Israel and said that it was merely protecting its citizens against terror.

Israel began its military operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on 27 December. More than 1,330 Palestinians were killed and another 5,400 were injured in the three week-offensive that ended when Israel and Hamas unilaterally declared ceasefires on 18 January.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Boycotting Israel Won’t Solve Crisis

Letters to the Editor, Irish Independent — 3 March 09

Sir — We, members of the American Trade Union movement, have heard and read with disappointment and sadness that some of our Irish colleagues continue to lead a campaign in Ireland for a boycott of Israeli goods and services. It would seem that the appeal we made to them, during our visit to Ireland last November, to reconsider their boycott call has fallen on deaf ears.

We believe that such a campaign amounts to a form of prejudice and discrimination. In unfairly singling out one party to the conflict, it aims to punish and delegitimise Israel while ignoring the decades-long attacks against it by Palestinian terrorist organisations. Such a campaign can only serve to embolden these extreme elements and disempower moderates.

We believe that the boycott campaign is misguided and runs counter to efforts to promote dialogue and understanding. It contradicts the insistence, based on the experience of the Irish peace process, on the value of dialogue as a means of solving conflict.

We suggest that, rather than embracing the politics of rejectionism, trade unionists and other non-governmental organisations seeking a just and fair resolution should help to bridge the gaps between the two sides. In particular, the encouragement of trade and academic links has the potential to bring employment and prosperity, significant factors in the achievement of peace.

Jack Ahern, President,

New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO,

Atty Mike Carroll,

Robert Haynes, President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO,

Atty Cody McCone,

Atty Brian O’Dwyer,

Tom Wilkinson, President,

Fairfield County Labor Council, AFL-CIO

— Hat tip: PKM

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Gaza: Hamas Criticises Donor’s Conference

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, MARCH 3 — The Islamic movement in power in the Gaza Strip, Hamas, criticised today the Donor’s Conference for the reconstruction of Gaza which took place yesterday in Sharm El-Sheikh by accusing it of having exploited Gaza’s enormous need for aid for political reasons in order to strengthen Mahmud Abbas’s (Abu Mazen) Palestinian Authority. In a statement released in Gaza, Hamas affirms that ‘the participants in the Sharm El-Sheikh conference, led by the American administration, used the enormous need for reconstruction in Gaza to the political end of putting pressure on and black-mailing Hamas’’. According to Hamas, in trying to strengthen Abu Mazen, the conference ‘interfered in Palestinian internal affairs by imposing deplorable conditions for reconciliatory dialogue in Gaza’’ between the Islamic movement and Al-Fatah, the Palestinian organisation led by Abu Mazen. Hamas wants the approximately 4.5 billion dollars promised by the donors to be channelled through its institutions, and not through the Palestinian National Authority’s, forcedly removed from power in Gaza by the Islamic group in June 2007, or through a Palestinian National Unity government or a high committee with representatives from all Palestinian movements. Most of the international community recognises the Palestinian National Authority and not Hamas, at least not until this movement recognises Israel and renounces violence. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Gaza: Press, Letter From Shalit, Family Unaware

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 3 — The news published today in the Arab daily, Al-Jarida (Kuwait), according to which Hamas reportedly has sent in recent days a letter written by Gilad Shalit, the Israeli corporal held hostage in Gaza since 2006, has not yet been confirmed by Israel. According to al-Jarida, the letter was delivered in person by Hamas military leader Ahmed Jaabri, to the political leader of the organisation, Mussa Abu Marzuk, during a brief visit to Rafah (Gaza) in recent days. Abu Marzuk resides in Damascus and his entrance into Rafah — although not confirmed officially — has raised attention about the means of communication. According to al-Jarida, Abu Marzuk will deliver the letter to the Syrian Foreign Minister. Shalit’s family has said that for the moment they are completely unaware of the matter. “We are still verifying the issue” said Hezi Meshita, a spokesperson for the family. In the past, the Shalit family has already received a letter and an audio tape from the prisoner. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Gaza; Another Border Incident; Schools Closed in Ashqelon

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 3 — Tensions remain high on the borders of the Gaza Strip where another incident was reported today. According to Israeli military sources, a patrol spotted Palestinian militiamen near the border fence, apparently planning to plant a bomb. The troops used light arms to move them away, as well as some mortar salvos. There are no reports of casualties. Yesterday a rocket was launched from Gaza on the Israeli city of Ashqelon. Today, for the second day in succession, schools in the city remained closed since the students’ parents claim that the necessary protection from the rockets launched in the past weeks by Hamas cannot be guaranteed. Despite these tensions the transit of humanitarian aid through the border crossings to Gaza continues. Israeli military sources point out that today 200 lorries will pass, carrying aid to the Palestinian population. A supply of diesel oil will be brought in to Gaza through another border crossing. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Hamas and Fatah Release Prisoners, Hope to Rebuild Gaza

A national dialogue should lead to a caretaker government able to gain international recognition and 3 billion dollars in aid for Gaza. The population remains by and large cautious since both groups have been plagued by corruption.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, have agreed on a release of prisoners, a few days before a meeting in Egypt that should lead to more aid for Gaza. Hamas has lifted house arrest on some Fatah members in the Gaza Strip whilst Fatah has released about 80—out of a total 380 held—Hamas members.

The two sides also promised to stop media attacks against each other.

The reconciliatory gestures come a few days before an international donor’s conference is set to open in Egypt next Monday.

The Palestinians hope to raise almost US$ 3 billion to rebuild Gaza after last month’s Israeli offensive. But determining how to send aid to Gaza’s people is tricky because much of the international community shuns Hamas, which is viewed as a terrorist organisation.

Fatah is led by Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), who is also head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the only internationally recognised Palestinian body.

The two groups approach Israel differently. Hamas wants to destroy Israel, by means that include suicide bombers; Fatah is seeking a “two states” solution for the two peoples.

The gap between Hamas and Fatah has widened in the last three years. In 2007 the militant Islamist group took over Gaza, leaving the West Bank in the hands of Fatah.

Hamas has even accused its rival of running a Gaza spy ring for Israel during the last offensive. Fatah has charged Hamas of persecuting Fatah activists in Gaza.

Hamas-Fatah talks are also urgent because presidential elections are looming.

A caretaker national unity government is likely to be on the table in Cairo. It would run things until presidential and parliamentary elections are held in the two Palestinian territories. In the meantime, international aid could pour in to rebuild Gaza.

Most Palestinians remain cautious, not fully trusting either side.

In the past both Hamas and Fatah have been involved in corruption.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Israel: $10 Mln Donation to Catholic Schools for Pope Visit

(ANSAmed) -VATICAN CITY, MARCH 3 — The Israeli government has set aside 10 million dollars for Catholic schools in the Holy land to prepare students (Christians and Muslims) for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in May. The parish priest of Jerusalem Father Ibrahim Faltas made the announcement to SIR, the religious information service promoted by the CEI. The news was also confirmed by Father Elias Daw, President of the appeal court of the Greek Catholic Church, Melkita, the largest in Israel, with 60,000 members: “this initiative shows the expectation in Israel over the papal visit. It comes at a very delicate time, following the tragedy in Gaza, recent insults to the symbols of our faith on Israeli television, denial declarations by bishop Williamson. Never have the Christians in the Holy Land needed the Pope’s visit and his voice of truth and justice more.” There are 44 Catholic schools in Israel, with 24,000 Muslim and Catholic students. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Israel: Palestinians Pay Off Terrorists After Summit Donations Bonanza

Of course. The Egyptian Summit yesterday raised $5.2 billion dollars for the Palestinians to rebuild Gaza. In the first press release following the summit the Palestinian news service announced that the terrorists and their families would get a bonus.

— Hat tip: JD

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Defence: Turkey-Israel Joint Projects Well Armored

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 24 — There are no problems in Turkish and Israeli relations or ongoing joint defense projects, according to the Turkish Undersecretary for Defense Industry, Murad Bayar. Recent reports in the media suggested some military projects between Turkey and Israel could be canceled after tension escalated between the two countries over the latest Gaza operation and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s outburst in Davos and subsequent departure. “It is not the right approach to expect problems. These are long-term projects and no last-minute changes can be made for any of them. It takes time. Besides, Turkey and Israel mutually benefit from these projects,” Bayar said, responding to the questions from journalists yesterday at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference, or IDEX-2009, in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The projects were carried out in line with the government’s policies. Turkey and Israel are conducting joint military exercises and have a strong partnership in terms of military equipment and arms. Trade volume between Turkey and Israel was $2.6 billion in 2007 and some suggest at least $1.8 billion of this can be attributed to military equipment trade, according to daily Hürriyet’s website. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Education: Syria, Sunday Sees EU Orientation Day on Tempus

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 27 — The delegation from the EU Commission currently in Syria has organised a day of orientation on the Tempus programme, the EU-funded project to support and modernise higher education in the country, to take place on March 1. The project has been organised together with Syria’s Education ministry, with the objective of presenting how the European programme is to function with the illustration of several examples ranging from shared projects on teaching methods and the modernisation of higher education institutions to measures aimed at contributing to the development and reform of the systems and bodies affected. Tempus has a budget of around 51 million euro, with the possibility for individual projects to receive funding of between 0.5 and 1.5 million euro. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Finmeccanica: UAE Orders 48 Aermacchi Trainer Planes

(ANSAmed) — ROME — The United Arab Emirates have ordered 48 advanced training planes from Italian company Alenia Aermacchi (a subsidiary of Finmeccanica). This is the first ever order for the M-346 Master trainer plane. The announcement was made by the United Arab Emirates government during the Idex 2009 Fair (International Defence Exhibition and Conference) which is under way in Abu Dhabi, and was confirmed by the Finmeccanica group. The agreement, which also includes the setting up of a joint-venture in the UAE between Alenia Aermacchi and Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) to develop a final assembly-line for the M-346, is the result of close collaboration between the Italian government and the defence industry, which worked together to promote Italian excellence in the high-technology aeronautics industry. Italy also plans to buy 15 M-346 jets for its air-force using funds from the Ministry for Economic Development. ‘‘The choice of the M-346 by the United Arab Emirates government represents an enormously valuable success for the Italian high-tech industry’’, said President and managing director of Finmeccanica Pier Francesco Guarguaglini. It is an affirmation of notable strategic value for Finmeccanica, because it confirms the superiority of this new generation advanced training aircraft at an international level and opens the way to further successes in other markets worldwide, where other major campaigns are already under way. The preference given to the M-346 by the United Arab Emirates government is part of a wider industrial cooperation agreement recently signed by Finmeccanica and Mubadala which includes the manufacture of aircraft in composite materials for the civil aviation industry in Abu Dhabi’’. The M-346 Master is the only new generation advanced training aircraft currently in production in Europe. The twin-engine M346 is capable of training pilots to fly fighter planes such as the Eurofighter, the Rafale, the F-16 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; in fact it will be used in all stages of advanced and pre-operational training, thus reducing flight hours in more expensive aircraft.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Israeli Army Chief Apologizes to Turkish Counterpart

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 20 — Israeli army chief phoned his Turkish counterpart to apologize for harsh remarks made last week by his country’s Ground Forces Commander, Avi Mizrahi, Hurriyet Daily reported today, quoting The Jerusalem Post. Israel’s Chief of General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, spoke with Turkish military chief, Gen. Ilker Basbug, in an effort to prevent a deterioration in military relations with Turkey, the newspaper said. Mizrahi said last week Erdogan, who severely criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, “should first look in the mirror”, and accused Turkey of “committing a massacre of Armenians, as well as suppression of the Kurds”. After Mizrahi’s remarks, Turkey called the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign Ministry and handed a note of protest demanding clarification, while the military denounced them as “excessive, unfortunate and unacceptable”. “Israel’s army Chief of General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, spoke with his Turkish counterpart this week and said that the remarks attributed to Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi were not the official IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) position and that IDF generals and commanders were permitted to only express opinions on military and security issues”, the Israeli paper quoted a statement released by the IDF Spokesman’s Office. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Israel: Press, Yes to Limited USA-Iran Dialogue

(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, MARCH 3 — Israel has decided to adopt a favourable line to the opening of talks between the United States and Iran but stresses the risks involved. According to Israel these talks must be limited in time and must be preceded by severe international sanctions against Iran. Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reports that a document on this issue has been prepared by Israel’s ministries of foreign affairs and defence. The document will be presented to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who today will be in Jerusalem for intense political talks with Israeli leaders. According to the daily, Israel wants to stress the importance of imposing time limits to the dialogue with Iran. The talks are aimed at inducing Iran to give up on its nuclear programme which is suspected to have military purposes, to prevent Iran from prolonging the length of talks, with the sole objective of gaining time. The newspaper writes that premier-designate Benyamin Netanyahu has been informed about the document’s content and that he reportedly made no objections to its content. Netanyahu will have a meeting with Clinton today. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Kuwait: Security Stepped Up at Saudi Embassy Amid Attack Fears

Kuwait City, 3 March (AKI) — Kuwait’s interior ministry has urged its security forces to remain on high alert and increase protection for the Saudi Arabian embassy and the country’s ambassador amid fears of terror attacks. According to the Kuwaiti daily, al-Rai, authorities received a tip-off about threats to Saudi interests in the country and security forces were reportedly on a heightened state of alert.

Police have strengthened checkpoints and the number of security officials around the Saudi embassy and in front of the Saudi Arabian Airlines’ head office as well the airport.

It is not clear which militant group or individuals may have made the threats and there are few details about them, but Kuwaiti authorities have been fighting Al-Qaeda cells in the country for some time.

The security concerns follow an attack in the Iranian capital Tehran in December last year in which a militant group called Brothers of Heaven attacked the office of the Saudi state-owned airline, reportedly over a Saudi-backed peace initiative with Israel.

There are fears that elements close to the terrorist network may have decided to take revenge against Riyadh.

The Saudi authorities compiled a list of 85 individuals believed to be Al-Qaeda inspired militants, many of whom have joined new jihadist cells on the border with Yemen.

A former detainee in the US military prison camp in Guantanamo who became an Al-Qaeda commander recently surrendered to Saudi authorities.

Mohammed al-Awfi was on the wanted list of 85 Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants issued by Saudi Arabia in February.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Lingerie as a Weapon in the Fight for Saudi Reforms

A campaign underway to lift ban on women working in lingerie stores puts the spotlight on reforms in the kingdom. In February Saudi king made major changes to powerful institutions, replacing ultra-conservative figures. Some people dubbed the changes as a “bold reform”; others see them instead as a way to reassert the central role of the state. Ultraconservatives are mobilising against TV stations owned by members of the ruling family.

Beirut (AsiaNews) — Lingerie is becoming a reason for talking about reforms in Saudi Arabia. In fact covered from head to toes, unable to drive a car or going out without a male “guardian” (father, husband, brother, etc.), Saudi women even have to rely on men to buy their underwear because under Saudi law they cannot work in stores that sell lingerie. The situation is such that Saudi academic Reem As’ad is leading a Facebook campaign to boycott lingerie shops that employ men.

In today’s edition Arab News also highlighted the absurdity of the situation in which typically female apparel like lingerie can only be sold by men. The problem is that such stores are the only places where that happens because men and women can buy any other item in any other store and be served by male or female employees.

“As’ad’s campaign might end without a result,” said the paper, “as she is not fighting a concrete law or body. She and her supporters are up against a way of thinking that insists that women stay at home. But that way of thinking is being challenged every day, and the appointment of a woman as a deputy minister a few days ago gives us hope that change is on its way.”

The paper, which is closely aligned with Saudi King Abdullah, also focused on the king’s Valentine’s Day reform, dubbed the Saudi Spring in the West, which includes a shake-up of the kingdom’s cabinet and key religious institutions with the replacement of ultraconservative figures with more open-minded members.

Similarly, the appointment of education expert Noura al-Fayez as deputy minister of girls’ education is significant step in the same direction. She now holds the highest post ever occupied by a woman in Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah’s changes are profound: four new ministers, new top judiciary chiefs and new members of the Ulema Council, as well as a new chief of the religious police (the feared and infamous Muttawa). Gone is Supreme Judicial Council head Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan who blocked reforms for years.

And for the first time ever the Ulema Council will include representatives of all four Sunni schools of religious law. Previously only the ultra-conservative Hanbali School was represented on the council.

‘Bold reform,’ Al-Hayat newspaper said in its headline, while the Saudi Gazette heralded the shake-up as a ‘boost for reform.’

“It is a clear sign of a major transformation in the kingdom,” wrote Arab News in an editorial article.

“Everything is fantastic,” said Ibrahim Mugaiteeb, head of Human Rights First Society.

But not everyone agrees.

For Toby Jones, assistant professor of history at Rutgers University and a Persian Gulf analyst, King Abdullah’s “reforms” are not designed to modernise the kingdom but rather to build up the power of the state at the expense of religious leaders who had acquired substantial autonomy over the years.

Even on women’s rights things have not really changed, considering that 2009 was supposed to be the year when Saudi women received the right to vote in the next round of elections for the country’s municipal councils. Instead, the kingdom has apparently scrapped the elections altogether.

Whatever the case may be, religious traditionalists are not giving up easily.

Just yesterday a Saudi religious scholar accused a royal tycoon and another Saudi businessman of being “as dangerous as drug dealers” because the TV channels they own broadcast movies.

Youssef al-Ahmed, a professor in the Islamic law department at the ultraconservative al-Imam University, issued an edict in Saturday chastising Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, nephew of King Abdullah, and Waleed al-Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of the late King Fahd.

The edict comes about six months after the former head of the kingdom’s highest tribunal said it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show content deemed “immoral.”

Reform, it would seem, has still a long way to go. (PD)

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Middle East: Syria’s Clenched Fist

Syria is building a new chemical weapons factory next to a long-range missile base, hiding evidence of its mushrooming nuclear weapons program and radically increasing military spending on conventional systems. These activities which are primarily funded by Iran suggest Damascus is preparing for war and not — in President Obama’s unhappy terminology — unclenching its fist.

President Obama promised “If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.” Why then has the president “extended” his hand when Damascus is obviously on the war path?

— Hat tip: JD

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Rains Falls on Drought-Stricken Syria

(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, FEBRUARY 11 — Less than 24 hours after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s had called for a “prayer to ask for rain” to be said on Saturday, “abundant rain has fallen across most of Syria”, bringing at least momentary respite from the country’s dry spell, as reported by the Syrian official press agency Sana. “Following a long period of drought, it has rained abundantly and for many hours on Damascus and the surrounding areas, instilling hope in citizens that the dry spell has come to an end,” wrote Sana. Over the night it rained “heavily” even in other parts of the country. Yesterday, Assad had asked the Ministry for Religious Affairs to make a call for a prayer to be said on Saturday to ask God for rain in all the country’s mosques. For the occasion, the ministry had also recommended that the faithful fast for three days beginning tomorrow. According to UN sources, this year Syria has suffered its worst drought in the past 40 years. Last year the Syrian Agriculture Ministry and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signed a document to send urgent aid to the country to help farmers suffering greatly from the phenomenon. Due to the lack of rain, last year wheat yields in Syria totaled less than two million tonnes, three million less than 2007. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Saudi Arabia: Differences With Syria Matter of Past, Minister

(ANSAmed) — ROMA, 27 FEB — Differences with Syria are a matter of the past, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said as reported by Arab News. Quoting Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s statement, Saud said yesterday in Paris, “We have dug a deep pit and buried our differences and will not return to past disputes but will look forward for future.” Saud also affirmed that any Israeli government should, if it seeks peace, to interact with Palestinians as human beings, and not as a people to be humiliated and killed. “If Israel wants real peace, it should coexist with Palestinians in peace. Or else, things would just worsen for all,” he said. On Afghanistan, Saud said, “What Afghanistan requires is peace, development, stability and not military action.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Suleiman Says Syrian-Saudi Relations Good Sign

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, FEBRUARY — Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, as quoted in the newspaper Beirut as-Safir this morning, has said that the potential normalization of relations between Syria and Saudia Arabia resulting from a meeting in Damascus between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the head of the Saudi secret services “is a sign of stability for the whole region”. “It is obvious that positive efforts are being made in the region to ensure stability,” Suleiman said, adding that for Lebanon, “there is no stability without normal relations with Syria.” Since 2005, relations between Damascus and Riyadh have been marked by high tension, as reflected in the fierce political outbursts taking place in Lebanon in the past four years between western sympathisers, as supported by Saudi Arabia, and Iranian sympathisers, supported by Syria. In a clear sign that tensions had diminished, last Sunday in Damascus the Saudi prince Muqrin bin Abd al-Aziz sent a message to Assad from King Abdallah in which he talked of ‘bilateral relations’’, and underlined the ‘importance for consultation and coordination between the two sides’’. Suleiman stated that the re-kindling of relations between Damascus and Riyadh had been made possible ‘thanks to diplomatic efforts’’ made by Qatar and Kuwait. In the broader context of Arab nations, reconciliation has yet to be made between Syria and Egypt. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Syria-USA: Assad, Send Ambassador Soon

(ANSAmed) — LONDON, FEBRUARY 18 — Syrian president Hafez el Assad has said that the USA should send an ambassador to Syria as soon as possible to follow up the ‘positive’’ start made by President Barack Obama, who plans to have talks with countries which the previous Bush administration considered to be sworn enemies. Mr el Assad was speaking in an exclusive interview The Guardian. In a rare interview the Syrian leader explained: ‘We have the impression that this administration will be different, and we have seen positive signs from Obama, Clinton and others, but we are still in the period of gestures and signals, there is nothing real yet the visit by a high-level delegation from Congress is important and is a step in the right direction. An ambassador would be important’’. The USA has been represented by a chargé d’affaires in Damascus since February 2005, when the Washington ambassador was recalled following the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, for which Syria was blamed — although they have always denied it. Referring to Obama’s offer to speak with anyone who decides to ‘unclench their fist’’, the Syrian President said: ‘We have never clenched our fist. We talked about peace even during the Israeli aggression in Gaza’’. Assad believes that the USA should become ‘chief arbiter in the Middle East peace process — a process which is he is pessimistic about given that the new Israeli government will be made up of a centre-right coalition. He explained to the USA that ‘Syria is a player in the region, if you want to talk about peace, you cannot advance without Syria. To count on the next Israeli government is a waste of time” said the Syrian leader, who believes that the war in Gaza has complicated prospects for peace negotiations with Syria too: ‘It will make it harder, but in the end we will return to talks’’. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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USA-Syria: Press, Feltman and Shapiro to be Envoys

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT — Jeffrey Feltman (in the photo) and Daniel Shapiro, respectively President Barack Obama’s Vice-Secretary of State for the Middle East and his Political Advisor for the Middle East, will be the two U.S. representatives on their way to Damascus to set in motion dialogue with Syrian authorities, as reported the press in Beirut today in reference to statements made yesterday in Jerusalem by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Citing official American sources, Lebanese daily An-Nahar said that the date for Shapiro’s and Feltman’s mission to the Middle East had not yet been set. Feltman is the former US Ambassador to Lebanon. The daily continued by saying that they would both make a visit to Beirut to meet with Lebanese government officials before going to Damascus. ‘‘We will send a State Department and a White House representative to examine bilateral issues with Syria,’’ Clinton had announced yesterday during her official visit to Israel. After about 6 years of high-level tension, relations between Damascus and Washington in recent weeks have gradually thawed, coinciding with the Barack Obama’s entrance into the White House.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Yemen: New Terror Camps as a City Falls to Jihadists

In January, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh asked his network of loyalist jihadists to prepare for offensive operations against domestic “enemies of the state.” In return, Saleh has ceded authority to fundamentalist fanatics who seek to impose a neo-Salafi theocracy in the religiously pluralistic country. It is unclear if this is the full extent of the quid pro quo.

For nearly a decade, Yemen’s counter terror strategy has hinged on deal-making with Yemen’s jihadists. Counter terror operations are sporadic and often driven by US or Saudi intelligence. President Saleh has negotiated agreements whereby hundreds of militants’ jail terms were suspended in exchange for a loyalty pledge. Convicted and suspected al Qaeda operatives were given state jobs, cash payments, cars, and land.

High-profile terrorists have repeatedly broken out of jail and then were pardoned for their original crime as well as the escape. This is Yemen’s terrorist rehabilitation program, and these appeasements are staunchly defended by Yemeni officials as necessary to gain intelligence and ensure security. Recently, however, Saleh began to activate this army of militants to target his political foes.

Saleh faces crises on two fronts. A southern populist uprising in the six governorates of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen has taken on separatist overtones. At the same time, the northern Saada war with Zaidi Shiite rebels may erupt for the sixth time since 2004. Saleh has deployed jihadists as a paramilitary against the northern rebels since 2005.

Facing threats in the north and south, and an increasingly poverty stricken and desperate nation, Saleh has embarked on a strategy of empowering Islamic militants who, in exchange, have been given a free hand over some local populations…

— Hat tip: Gaia

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Barack Obama Offers to Scrap US Missile Defence System in Secret Letter to Russia

President Barack Obama has written a secret letter to his Russian counterpart suggesting that he would scrap the proposed US missile defence system in eastern Europe in exchange for Russia’s assistance in pressuring Iran to stop building a nuclear weapon, according to reports.

— Hat tip: Aeneas

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Bangladesh: Sewing School Provides Tribal Families With Livelihood

The center was created in the 1980’s. The idea came from a missionary of French origin, who during the 1960’s began to create employment opportunities for women of the Garo tribe. Today, more than 100 families are able to support themselves thanks to income obtained through work at the center.

Mymensingh (AsiaNews/UCAN) — Thanks to the work of the Salesian sisters, the women of the Garo tribe are learning an occupation, and their families are even able to build homes. Northeast of Dhaka, in the parish of Bhalukapara, the Salesian Sisters of Mary Immaculate opened a center in 1986 to teach the women to sew.

Over more than 20 years of activity, the center, adjacent to the parish, has helped young women and mothers to learn an occupation, and participate in a little joint venture thanks to which 100 families are today able to support themselves independently.

Sr. Mary Rani Rozario, the director of the center, explains that the idea of a place to teach women an occupation came about in 1967. Sr. Genevi, a French missionary who at the time was the mother superior of the convent of St. Joseph in Bhalukapara, thought it was indispensable to create employment opportunities for the Garo women. In the matriarchal society of the tribals, the development of nuclear families and their ability to support themselves is based precisely on the initiative of women.

In Bangladesh, one of the Asian countries with the lowest level of human development, the subsistence economy is a reality of life for many families. More than 45% of the population, about 65 million people out of a total of 150 million, suffer from hunger. And it is mainly tribal minorities who are affected by this situation.

Twenty years ago, Sujata Chicham didn’t have any land where she could build a house for her family. Thanks to the work she learned in the courses she took at the center of the Salesian sisters, today she has a house and three hectares of land to cultivate. The same thing happened for Uzzala Rema, a 50-year-old mother of a family. Fifteen years ago, she was unable to support her five children, but today she says that thanks to her income from sewing she is able to support her family without problems.

The women at the center in Bhalukapara earn between 1,000 and 2,000 taka (12-24 euros) per month, on the basis of the orders received by the center, and this allows individual families a dignified standard of living, and permits them to send their children to school and to professional and occupational courses.

The presence of the Salesian sisters in the area of the parish and their efforts on behalf of the women have also led to the emergence of vocations among various young people, the children of the women who work at the center in Bhalukapara, who over the years have become priests, sisters, or catechists.

There are about 9,000 Catholics in the parish of St. Joseph, part of a community with just over 400,000 faithful in the entire country, a small minority immersed in a population that is 90% Muslim.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Bangladeshi Army Pursuing Fugitive Paramilitaries

The mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifle troops caused 160 deaths, 140 army officers and 20 civilians. The government has asked Scotland Yard and the FBI for help finding the fugitives. Tens of thousands of people attended the state funeral for some of the victims.

Dhaka (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The army of Bangladesh has begun a manhunt to flush out 1,000 rebels belonging to the Bangladesh Rifle, the border guards who carried out a mutiny that caused more than 160 deaths in the country. Today in Dhaka, a funeral was held for some of the victims, attended by tens of thousands of people.

The government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina has issued arrest warrants for “1,000 guardsmen and accomplices.” In order to flush out and punish those responsible for the violence, the prime minister has asked for the help of Scotland Yard and the FBI. The accusations against the rebel paramilitaries include “conspiracy to kill officers and civilians, using weapons and explosives, creating panic, looting and trying to hide bodies.”

Last February 25, the Bangladesh Rifle unleashed a revolt over the failure to settle back pay. At first, the government had promised general amnesty for those who surrendered. The discovery of mass graves inside the general headquarters of the border guards and the murder of dozens of army officers convinced the government of Prime Minister Harina to take a hard line against the rebels. Initial reports say that 160 have been killed, 140 army officers and 20 civilians. The military has stressed that those responsible for murder “will be executed.”

This morning in Dhaka, tens of thousands of people attended the state funeral for a first group of officers assassinated by the rebels during the mutiny. The coffins, covered with the flag of Bangladesh, were taken to the military stadium in the capital and placed on a red carpet; army officers and soldiers recited prayers for their slain comrades.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Orissa: Christian Beaten and Abducted by Hindu Extremists, But is a Wanted Man for Police

Golyat Pradhan, 22, was abducted on 11 February and has not been heard ever since. His mother filed a statement of disappearance, but for police he is wanted man after fundamentalists accused him of being a “Maoist” and a rapist. Meanwhile anti-Christian violence continues.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) — A young man has been abducted and tortured by Hindu fundamentalists without police lifting a finger. If anything when his mother tried to file a complain about his disappearance, police issued him a summons to come to the police station, this according to Sajan K. George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), an NGO that monitors the ill-treatment of Christians in the Indian State of Orissa.

The activist confirmed that the “situation is still bad” for Christians, and that extremists are “freely roaming villages”, involved in criminal acts and attacking people without much as hiccup from police.

In Daringabadi, a village in Kandhamal district (Orissa) police refused to register the statement of disappearance involving the young man; instead, it issued a summons for the abducted Christian to come to the police station.

“At 4 pm on 11 February a Hindu mob surrounded Golyat Pradhan’s house, demanding that the 22-year-old and his widowed mother Pusra convert to Hinduism,” said Sajan K. George.

“When the two Christians soundly refused, the mob became enraged. Hindu fanatics then “dragged the man out of the house” and “began beating him mercilessly. Helpless the mother watched, pleading with her son’s assailants to have mercy on him.” Instead, “her cries spurred the fanatics who then shoved her inside the house, bolting the door.”

The Hindu extremists took Golyat to the neighbouring village of Galabadi, dragging and beating him mercilessly. Armed with sticks they tied him to a post, standing guard near the entrance to the village, to prevent any attempt to rescue him.

The mob beat the young man till he lost consciousness. Two fires were lit near the post where he was tied. The torture continued until 10 pm when the extremists called Daringabadi police, informing them that they had arrested a “Maoist” who had come into the village to rape.

“Police arrived in the morning around 10 am,” said Sajan K. George, “and freed the young man’s mother, who took the agents to where her son had been taken. But there was no trace of him. He has not been heard ever since.”

The activist said that instead of starting an investigation into the young man’s disappearance the police issued a summons for him to appear before police to answer charges filed against him.

Since August of last year, when anti-Christian violence broke out in Orissa, the Pradhan family has been the victim of threats by Hindu fundamentalists.

Local sources told AsiaNews that this was due to the fact that “they are close friends of a Catholic priest, a situation that has made them a prime target for fundamentalists who want to reconvert them to Hinduism.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Questions Norwegian Operations in Afghanistan

NRK reports that Norwegian troops have on several occassions participated in operations in Afghanistan together with Afghan troops and with soldiers from Operation Enduring Freedom, officially not supported by Norway.

The present Norwegian red-green coalition government decided in 2005 to participate only in ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), a force which is backed by the UN with the aim to strengthen the Afghan government and the reconstruction of the country.

The aim of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom is to destroy Al Qaida and Taliban, an operation supported by Norway until 2005, when the Norwegian government withdrew the Norwegian troops, in line with its declared policy.

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) has been criticised for operations which has resulted in major civilian losses.

However, despite the withdrawal from OEF, Norwegian troops have on several occassions supported their units when they have asked for assistance. This is confirmed by Defence Chief Sverre Diesen to NRK. He says he sees no problems with this: The OEF units were involved in operatons which they could not handle and asked for Norwegian support, which thy got.

Senior researcher at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), Kristian Berg Harpviken, on the other hand, finds it unfortunate that Norway participates in operations we officially have distanced us from.

This makes Norwegian policy appear inconsistent, Harpviken says, fearing that if the present trend continues, it will end up that there will be even closer cooperation between Norwegian military unts and the US-led OEF.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Anyone Protesting Against China in Kathmandu to be Arrested

Protests in front Chinese diplomatic offices are banned for an indefinite period to prevent tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees from marking the March 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Nepal has banned for an indefinite period all protests around the Chinese Embassy and Visa Office in Kathmandu because of the “sensitivity of the situation.”

According to Navin Ghimire, spokesman for Nepal’s Home Affairs Ministry, anyone found protesting near the two sites will be arrested as a precaution against rallies meant to mark the 50th anniversary of Tibet’s uprising against Chinese rule. The revolt broke out on 10 March 1959 and was crushed in blood.

More than 20,000 Tibetans live in Nepal. Last year Kathmandu saw almost daily protests, including by monks and nuns, against China’s crackdown of protests in March.

Police cracked down violently arresting protesters (pictured), eliciting a strong protest by United Nations officials operating in the capital. The government imposed a similar ban at that time as well.

Recently Nepal’s Maoist-led government has sought closer ties to China than to its other big neighbour, India.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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S. Korea: Two Examples of Labor Peace

The union leader of the leading Korean textile company Kolon visited a Japanese corporate customer Monday and delivered a letter guaranteeing the quality of Kolon-made products. He had earlier sent letters to some 130 clients with the union’s pledge to meet product delivery dates. Last year, Kolon saw sales revenue grow 30 percent and operating profit rise 43 percent year-on-year. The company attributes the good performance to its business restructuring based on labor peace, though a stronger U.S. dollar has padded revenues through foreign exchange gains. Hyundai Heavy Industries signed an agreement with its union Monday on guaranteeing job security over the next three years. The measure was the Hyundai president’s response to the union’s decision to leave this year’s wage adjustment to management.

The Kolon and Hyundai unions were once very militant when under the Korea Confederation of Labor Unions, one of Korea’s two largest umbrella unions. In 2006, 95 percent of Kolon union members voted to secede from the confederation after two years of strikes. The Hyundai union, also known for its extreme militancy before, was forced out of the umbrella union in 2004 after opposing the confederation’s “political struggle.” Free from the confederation’s militant guidelines, the two unions achieved labor peace to secure more profits or jobs.

Even at a time of economic depression and a shrinking job market, the confederation is blocking efforts to protect job security through labor peace. Unlike the less militant Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the confederation did not join a compromise made by labor, management and the government. When the union of Yungjin Pharmaceutical decided last month to freeze wages and postpone collective bargaining until the company returns to financial stability, the confederation meddled by threatening to take disciplinary action against the Yungjin union.

The Korean Metal Workers Union under the confederation distributed to unions under it posters blasting the Hyundai union as a conveyer of management’s demands to its members. The confederation had the metal workers union do this to prevent the atmosphere of labor peace from spreading to other workplaces. Wage cuts aimed at creating more jobs are spreading nationwide, but the confederation wants wage hikes of 5.9 percent for regular workers and 20.8 percent for non-regular workers, while banning all layoffs. This demand is so anachronistic. The labor peace achieved by the Kolon and Hyundai unions needs to serve as a lesson for the confederation.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Sudan: Bashir Will ‘Not Cooperate’ With Court, Says Diplomat

Rome, 4 March (AKI) — Sudan’s ambassador to Italy, Alier Deng Ruai Deng, said his country would not cooperate with the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for president Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur on Wednesday. Al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the court, faces five counts of crimes against humanity, including responsibility for murder, rape and torture, and two counts of war crimes.

“The view of Sudan is very clear. We will not accept such a decision from the ICC. We think it is a politically based decision, not based on legality,” said Deng in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).

Deng said Sudan rejected the ICC’s decision based on legal terms, as his country is not a party to the ICC’s founding Rome statute. It is the first time that the court has issued an arrest order against a sitting head of state since it began work in 2002.

The court in The Hague fell short of accusing al-Bashir (photo) of genocide, but the president immediately rejected the charges against him and dismissed any ICC ruling as worthless.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after the warrant was announced and there were fears of widespread unrest.

“We will absolutely not cooperate with the ICC, nor will we accept their decision. First of all because we are not party to the ICC and thus it has no jurisdiction over Sudan. This is the main and legal point of view and the main reason why we do not cooperate with them,” said Deng.

However, the ambassador stressed that Sudan’s rejection of the court’s jurisdiction did not mean it condoned the atrocities committed in Darfur and told AKI that the 65 year-old al-Bashir was the victim of political persecution.

“(We will not cooperate) Not because we want to condone the atrocities that have taken place in Darfur. It is a principle position that we are not a member, we are not a party. Maybe the ICC has been influenced by certain circuits.”

Deng also claimed that evidence provided to the court was not reliable.

“We see no strong evidence from the witness. Sources used were not reliable, and we have a problem in that sense. How do we know if this evidence is reliable?”

However, Deng told AKI that he did not expect any negative repercussions in the short term with western countries.

“Up to now, we do not think there are going to be any immediate repercussions after the decision. It could happen later, but up to now we don’t think there will be any.”

Deng said Sudan ruled out the possibility of handing over al-Bashir to any tribunal, because he was still president and had immunity under international law.

“He is enjoying his immunity as president of Sudan,” concluded Deng.

Al-Bashir will face five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes, however, he will not face charges of genocide. The charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, were announced at a media conference in The Hague by court spokeswoman Laurence Blairon.

Blairon said Bashir was suspected of being criminally responsible for “intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians and pillaging their property”

Sudan’s ruling party the National Congress, announced plans for a march in the capital Khartoum on Thursday to protest against the decision.

The United Nations estimates at least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others displaced from their homes in fighting across Darfur over the past six years between rebels, government forces and allied militiamen known as the Janjaweed.

The militiamen are accused of widespread human rights abuses in their attacks against civilians.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Guatemalan Inmates Tear Prison Teacher’s Heart Out

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Old habits die hard — note that this is a *juvenile* prison.]

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Police say inmates at a Guatemalan juvenile prison killed one of their teachers during a riot and ripped his heart out.

Police spokesman Donald Gonzalez says the prisoners took three of their teachers hostage to protest the transfer of several of their fellow inmates to another detention center.

He says they killed one of the teachers, Winter Vidaurre, and tore out his heart before police regained control of the prison using tear gas.

The violence erupted Tuesday at the Stage 2 detention center. It was unclear how old the rioters were. Of the 62 prisoners, 32 reached adulthood while incarcerated.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Italy: 171 Illegal Immigrants Land on Lampedusa

Lampedusa, 4 March (AKI) — A people smuggling boat carrying 171 illegal immigrants evaded the Italian coastguard and arrived on the southernmost island of Lampedusa early on Wednesday. Among those on board was a newborn baby and 26 women.

Another boat with 34 other illegal immigrants, including two pregnant women, were reportedly heading for Porto Empedocle on the southern Sicilian coast.

A further 84 illegal migrants reached Lampedusa overnight and were transferred to the island’s overcrowded expulsion centre which is designed to hold a maximum 800 people.

The centre is currently under severe strain due to the conservative government’s hardline policy of deporting illegal immigrants directly from Lampedusa instead of transferring them to other centres elsewhere in Italy.

Some illegal immigrants have been detained for over two months on Lampedusa and immigrants in February rioted at the centre and burned down several buildings that included dormitories.

Italian opposition politicians, the United Nations and rights groups have deplored the severe overcrowding at the centre where as many as 1,800 people have been held in recent months.

The government’s mass expulsions of illegal immigrants from Lampedusa has also been criticised by rights groups who fear some immigrants could face persecution in their countries of origin.

A growing number of illegal immigrants to Italy are claiming and obtaining refugee status — 31,097 people in 2008 compared with 14,053 in 2007. Over 9,000 others obtained protection.

Lampedusa, which lies around 113 kilometres from Tunisia and 205 kilometres south of Sicily, has become the main landing point for rapidly growing numbers of illegal immigrants arriving in Italy by sea from North Africa.

A total of 31,000 arrived on Lampedusa last year, out of 36,900 who reached Italy by boat. Locals claimed the island was being turned into a Mediterranean ‘Alcatraz’.

Despite calls for the Lampedusa expulsion centre to be closed down, Italy’s interior ministry said on Tuesday it planned to keep the centre open and to rebuild the sections destroyed in last month’s fire.

The government is also seeking repatriation agreements with various African countries from which most of the illegal migrants come. It claims these accords will in future stem the tide of illegal immigrants arriving in Italy from Africa as it did with Albania during the 1990s.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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King Critical of Spending for “Pro-Amnesty Organization”

A $950,000 earmark for a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the omnibus spending bill that passed the U.S. House Wednesday has drawn the ire of U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron. The Iowa Republican called the National Council of La Raza a “pro-amnesty organization” and said “the last thing Congress should be doing is handing out cash to apologists for immigration law breakers.”

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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UK: Immigration Minister Attacks Statistics Chiefs for Publishing ‘Sinister’ Race Numbers

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was today urged to sack a minister who accused Britain’s statistics body of ‘sinister’ motives over immigration.

Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, claimed that the independent Office for National Statistics had been ‘playing politics’ by releasing figures showing that one in nine UK residents was born overseas during a dispute over the use of foreign workers.

The immigration minister revealed that he had tried to prevent the organisation publishing the data and accused it of ‘playing politics’. Ministers appear to be going on the offensive against the ONS and its chief statistician, Karen Dunnell, after a series of rows over official data.

But Mr Woolas’s broadside triggered backlash from MPs, who say the body must be able to collect information and provide impartial analysis free from Government interference.

Senior Tory Michael Fallon, a former chairman of the Commons statistics panel, said: ‘It’s disgraceful, undermining the ONS. You can’t have ministers attacking its independence. He should withdraw the comments or be sacked.’

Ministers were said to be ‘fizzing’ with anger last month after the ONS published figures showing the growing numbers of immigrants getting jobs while the British workforce declines. It revealed that the number of foreign workers increased by 175,000 to 2.4million last year while the number of British fell by 234,000 to 27million. Labour sources suggested the timing of the release was a political act designed to embarrass Gordon Brown over his controversial ‘British jobs for British workers’ slogan. It came as construction workers took part in wildcat strikes in Lincolnshire and Kent, angry about jobs going to foreigners. Then last week, the ONS published statistics showing foreign-born people make up one in nine of the population of the UK.

In a letter to Sunder Katwala, head of the Left-wing Fabian Society, Mr Woolas said most people believed it was the Government that had released the data. ‘In fact, it was the ONS with no ministerial involvement and indeed despite my objections,’ he added. ‘What’s worse is that the press release highlighted the one in nine figure as the main finding. ‘So, Government gets the blame by some for whipping up anti-foreign sentiment when it is the independent ONS who are playing politics. ‘The justification from the ONS who had, out of schedule, highlighted the figure two weeks earlier because it was “topical” is, at best, naive or, at worst, sinister.’

Mr Woolas insisted the fact that one in nine people who are in Britain were born overseas was ‘neither new nor informative’. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘The way ministers are behaving over crime and immigration figures is little short of a disgrace. ‘When they can, they manipulate the figures for their own political purposes and when they can’t they launch hysterical rants at the independent statistics office.’ Sir Andrew Green, head of the MigrationWatch think tank, said: ‘It’s extremely unfortunate if a minister gives an impression of bullying the official statisticians for doing no more than setting out the facts, however inconvenient they may be for the Government of the day. ‘To imply that there is some sinister motive in simply telling the truth is astonishing.’ Last night, Mr Woolas was unrepentant saying: ‘The ONS need to be aware that they are entering shark-infested waters. It’s not the role of the ONS to dictate the debate.’ A spokesman for the ONS said: ‘We will not be responding to this letter.’

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: Immigration Minister Urged to Withdraw ‘Smear’ Against Statistics Chief or Resign

Experts from Britain’s statistics watchdog hit back at immigration minister Phil Woolas yesterday as controversy mounted over his attack on the ‘sinister’ release of population figures.

Sir Michael Scholar warned they were being ‘pilloried’ for publishing objective information and insisted immigration statistics had been released as they were clearly ‘in the public interest’.

Mr Woolas was embroiled in a row with official statisticians after questioning their motives in publishing figures showing one in nine UK residents was born overseas.

He was last night urged to withdraw his ‘smear’ against the independent statistics body or resign.

Jacqui Smith has been urged to sack Phil Woolas for his attack on the ONS

And as critics said the minister had effectively accused the Office of National Statistics of racism, Downing Street gave him only lukewarm support.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was forced to insist that the Government believed in the independence of the body, which collects and publishes impartial data.

The Daily Mail revealed yesterday that the minister had tried to prevent the organisation publishing the immigration data and accused it of ‘playing politics’.

Sir Michael, head of the UK Statistics Authority, made public a letter rejecting Mr Woolas’s claim that the release of immigration statistics has been ‘naive and politically motivated’.

‘Whether you call it naivety or openness, statisticians must be encouraged to publish independent and objective statistics, not pilloried for doing so,’ he said.

Sir Michael said data on trends in the country of birth and nationality of workers in the UK had been released because the ONS had ‘judged that it was in the public interest to publish neutral and objective statistics on this subject as soon as possible’.

Senior Tory MP Michael Fallon, a former chairman of the Commons statistics panel, said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith should fire Mr Woolas if he would not withdraw his attack. ‘It’s disgraceful, undermining the ONS. You can’t have ministers attacking its independence,’ he said.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: ‘Ministers cannot lay into independent statisticians simply because they do not like the figures they produce or dislike the timing of when they are ready.’

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘This whole row is becoming extremely unedifying.

‘When ministers appear more concerned about making sure the figures tell a good story than actually tackling the problems in our immigration system, this is a clear sign of a Government that is out of touch.’

But Mr Woolas said he was right to be concerned that in publishing the figures outside its normal release schedule, the ONS had been seeking to influence the political debate.

He said he was ‘appalled’ at the way the body had highlighted figures showing one in nine British residents was born abroad.

He accused the ONS of trying to ‘grab headlines’ in order to show it was a ‘newly liberated and independent body’.

‘The ONS said they released the figures because they were topical,’ the minister said. ‘They have got to be very careful, in my view, that they don’t enter what is the most inflamed debate in British politics.’

Asked whether the Prime Minister endorsed Mr Woolas’s views, Mr Brown’s spokesman replied: ‘Phil Woolas chooses his own words and it is right that he does so.’

— Hat tip: heroyalwhyness

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Bible Club Bullied for Faith Statement

University threatens group for requiring leaders be Christian

A university in Ohio has threatened the future of a campus Bible organization for requiring voting members and office holders be Christian.

According to Campus Bible Fellowship representative Gary Holtz, his group had been a registered student organization at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, for more than 30 years. Upon seeking re-registration for 2009, however, the university denied the Bible group’s access to facilities, student club fairs, advertising venues and recruiting opportunities — essentially blacklisting the club — because of CBF’s requirement that voting members adhere to a doctrinal statement and “accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Elementary Blots Out ‘in God We Trust’

Student-made posters censored for using words of faith

An elementary school in Tennessee, after successfully rebuffing an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit over religious expression on campus, has nonetheless ordered the words “God Bless the USA” and “In God We Trust” covered up on student-made posters in the hallway.

Administrators at Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., told parents that the posters, promoting the See You at the Pole student prayer event, mentioned “God” and are therefore precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the hallways as inappropriate.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama Wanted ‘Diversity of Voices’

‘I’m committed to having the FCC review what our current policies are’

Multiple members of Congress have said they think the so-called Fairness Doctrine, a long-abandoned Federal Communications Commission policy that regulated speech on radio, should be returned to the U.S., and now a statement by President Obama has been revealed that could give them hope.

The video posted on YouTube and embedded here, shows Obama set a goal for “diversification” long before he became president.

— Hat tip: JD

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Book Review: United in Hate: the Left’s Romance With Tyranny and Terror

Glazov discusses both the philosophical underpinnings of the leftist world-view and the current form it’s taking in the U.S. Starting from the premise that existing reality in democratic America has to be destroyed and that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” large segments of the left today seek to forge an alliance with America’s enemies, once the Communist world, now the forces of radical Islam. Glazov traces and seeks to analyze the causes of this movement from the left’s support of “the red flag of proletarian revolution” to that of the “black flag of Islamic jihad.”

In many cases, Glazov shows how the same people who once sang the praises of Stalin as an anti-fascist leader now praise Islamic terrorists who seek to attack the West. While many learned from 9/11 that the West had real and very dangerous enemies, major figures of the once pro-Soviet Left apparently felt rejuvenated, viewing the attack on the twin towers as the revenge of the masses for American oppression of the Third World. For these people, Glazov writes, 9/11 was a “personal vindication,” since they saw “only poetic justice in American commercial airplanes plunging into American buildings packed with people.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Israel-Vatican: ‘Progress’ on Church Property

(ANSAmed) — VATICAN CITY, FEBRUARY 19 — Israel and the Holy See are making “important progress” in negotiations aimed at establishing rules on Catholic Church property in Israel, according to a joint statement issued Thursday. The bilateral works commission met in Jerusalem Wednesday to discuss the long-standing question of taxation for Church property, for which the Holy See wants an exemption. “Important progress was made and the delegations have renewed their commitment to reaching an accord as soon as possible,” the statement said. The two sides have been conducting negotiations on Church property in Israel since Israel and the Holy See established relations in 1993 But until now the talks have stuttered and negotiators have reported little progress on any of the key questions. In addition to the tax exemption, another issue is how to deal with cases of Catholic properties which have ended up in Israeli hands and which the Vatican wants dealt with in local courts. Under Israeli law such issues must be resolved on a political level. The Vatican is also asking that custody of certain symbolic cites in Israel — such as the room of the Last Supper and an ancient church in Caesaria connected to St Peter — be returned to the Catholic Church. The commission is due to meet again on April 7. Observers say the commission is keen to reach solid ground in the negotiations before Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Holy Land, which unofficial Vatican sources say will take place May 8-15. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Leftist Jews Who Worship at Altar of Anti-Semitism

A particularly interesting and telling debate has broken out over New York Times columnist Roger Cohen’s recent opinion piece about how well (allegedly) Iran’s Jew-hating regime treats its remaining Jews.

Cohen trying to explain the humanity showed to Jews by a regime bent on another Jewish Holocaust is yet another disturbing reminder of the liberal-Left’s traditional romance with tyranny and terror. It is a subject tackled by my new book, “United in Hate,” which gives a historical background to, and analysis of, the Left’s dalliance with the greatest monsters of our time.

The controversy sparked by Cohen’s column provides a fitting occasion to highlight a continuing and most-troubling phenomenon: Why so many left-leaning Jews in the West make excuses for — and even support — regimes and ideologies that seek to annihilate Jews.

— Hat tip: JD

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President Obama’s speech about the troop withdrawal plan in Iraq has been getting lots of attention, but the withdrawal in one tough spot hasn’t gotten much coverage:

National Guard troops will be assisting local police and patrolling the city’s blighted neighborhoods for the last time this weekend. [they ended their tour on March 1st at 3:00 a.m.]

Their pullout marks the end of a 3 1/2-year stint in the city that began in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And it comes at a time in which the New Orleans Police Department has boosted its ranks to 1,500 officers, a level that Police Superintendent Warren Riley has said is enough to protect the city.

The National Guardsmen were welcomed as liberators when they arrived in a big convoy more than four days after Katrina struck the city. The force was eventually 15,000 strong.

Their numbers dwindled as civil authority returned in the months after the storm. But then, after a surge of bloodshed in June 2006, 360 troops were dispatched to help the depleted police department.

– – – – – – – – –

Fewer than 100 troops were working this month in the city’s most sparsely populated sections.

With Louisiana facing a $341 million budget deficit, state lawmakers were reluctant to keep the Guard in New Orleans any longer. Some lawmakers, especially those outside the metropolitan area, bristled at the city’s repeated requests for continued aid.

Their patrols — in camouflage uniforms and Humvees — became a routine and often welcome sight.

“We don’t have enough cops. It’s not that they’re bad, it’s just that there’s not enough of them. These guys are Johnny-on-the-spot when you need them,” said 57-year-old Tom Hightower, who is still trying to get the mold out of his house. He added: “This is still a spooky place after dark.”

The Guardsmen answered lots of calls involving domestic violence, which reportedly has increased since the hurricane, and handled car wrecks, house and business alarms and other problems.

“One of the biggest things we did was keep those places safe so people could rebuild,” said Sgt. Wayne Lewis, a New Orleans native who has been patrolling the streets since January 2007. “People would put the things to rebuild in their houses and thieves would come along and take them right out again. We stopped a lot of that.”

The troops had full arrest powers but were required to call New Orleans police on serious matters. In their time on the streets, Guard troops were involved in only one shooting, and the district attorney ruled it justified.

[…]

“I don’t think the city is ready for us to leave,” said Lt. Ronald Brown, who has been part of Task Force Gator since April 2007. “I’d like to see us stay. I think we make a difference, but I guess it’s a money thing.”

Just another example of cutting back because of the sliding economy. I feel sorry for New Orleans residents for three reasons: first that they needed a National Guard presence at all, and second, that the National Guard is leaving, because my third reason for feeling sorry for New Orleans is the murder rate in the Big Easy:

One recent analysis, done by Tulane University demographer Mark VanLandingham and University of New Orleans criminologist Peter Scharf, puts the city’s 2008 murder rate at 64.7 per 100,000 residents. That’s down from an alarming spike in violence in 2006 and 2007, when the city posted rates of 77.1 and 87.8, respectively, per 100,000 residents, the researchers reported.

Those rates were calculated based on U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. City Hall has challenged those census figures, saying they underestimate the city’s population and thus overestimate its per-capita violence. The Census Bureau is still reviewing the city’s challenge.

[…]

While the numbers are hotly contested, they don’t matter a great deal in the final analysis. Even using the most optimistic population estimate, New Orleans would rank among the country’s most murderous cities per-capita.

The “Big Easy” indeed. More like the Humongously Horrid.

Hat tip: Acre of Independence

Dymphna and I were out for a large part of the day at a family birthday event, so I’ve been unable to do much more than try to keep my head above the email flood. In other words: light posting.

I’m researching a post on the latest news from the OIC, but it won’t be finished tonight. However, I found a couple of illustrations that I’ll use for a preview.

First, the Arab world’s view of George W. Bush:

And just to show they’re bipartisan smear-merchants, a cartoon view of Obama and Hillary:
– – – – – – – – –


Remember, these were two examples plucked at random from hundreds and hundreds of similar cartoons — the Arabic-language press is full of them, every day.

Needless to say, the iconography on display here has been adapted virtually unchanged from illustrations in Völkischer Beobachter in the 1930s.

Next up: the news feed.

As a change of pace, our Swedish correspondent CB has prepared a report on the postmodern gender-normed absurdities that pass for learned academic discourse in 21st-century Sweden.

Fiddling While Rome Burns
by CB

Gates of Vienna readers will be familiar with the plight of Sweden, the country that — together with the UK and the Netherlands — leads the way into dissolution, chaos, widespread breakdown, and dhimmitude. Only last week, four malls in Södertälje — famous as the town that has accepted more Iraqi refugees than all of North America — burned down as local jihadis, aided and abetted by the extreme left wing organization “Global Intifada” — made good on their threats against shops stocking “Zionist produce”.

You’d think Swedes have some serious issues to ponder. As it turns out, this is what preoccupies the academic elite of the country: the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet reports on the latest round of project grants from the Swedish Research Council in an opinion piece entitled “Science or madness?” by Tanja Bergkvist, PhD in mathematics.

A translated excerpt:

The Swedish Research Council has granted over USD 100,000 to a three year project in musical sciences, “The trumpet as symbol of gender”, which intends to seek suspected gender-specific vocalities of the instrument. The gender insanity reaches new heights, writes Tanja Bergkvist.

The Swedish Science Council is the largest public finance institution for non-applied research at Swedish universities and science institutes. I recently criticized the influence of gender ideology at the preschool and primary school levels, but it doesn’t end there.

A small clique of experts in this county that has established a position of disproportional influence has a public agenda consisting of foisting the “gender perspective” on all public and private works in the country, including the sciences.

The Swedish Research Council employs a special dedicated “gender committee” tasked with “safeguarding that the gender perspective permeates all scientific research”.

Council’s grant data base reveals how far the gender insanity has gone

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The Council has granted over 100,000 USD to a three-year project in musical sciences, which, among other things, seeks to “problematize the notions of male and female and examine in detail the concepts that are at work and create the trumpet as a marker of manliness.”

The project abstract speaks for itself; I will quote some passages:

“The overarching question is to determine what mechanism and social and cultural connections in time and space form, create, and are re-created through the trumpet as a gender symbol. In order to discern these, it becomes necessary to problematize the notions of male and female and to examine closely the notions that are at work and create the trumpet as a marker of manliness.

“Which norms are behind this? How are they expressed and what force do them seem to exert? The questions that guide me are: Which vocalities in the broad spectrum of trumpet vocalities are the norm and which vocalities are considered to be deviations and called female and male, respectively? What happens to the vocality when the trumpeter plays with a “female vocality”?

“To be able to uncover the construction of the image of the trumpet, I will also analyze trumpet debate in the academic tradition and in popular context. A similar study has never been done. The gender perspective has not been examined in trumpet research. In that way, the planned project will add an important new body of knowledge to the field.

“The gender science interested is satisfied in that the project will examine how gender is constructed in the musical context, as related to the instrument of the trumpet.”

Science or madness? You be the judge. I’m well beyond even amazement at this point. While I would like to make a quip about tooting your own horn — or trumpet, as it were — the instrumental simile that springs to mind immediately is fiddling while Rome burns.

Islamic terrorists in Pakistan attacked a bus carrying a Sri Lankan cricket team, killing eight people and wounding some of the team members. Three news stories about the incident are below.

Concerning the Apocalypse financial crisis, see Niall Ferguson’s prediction that “there will be civil violence and governments will be toppled” before the nightmare is over.

Thanks to Amil Imani, C. Cantoni, CSP, DK, Fjordman, Gaia, Holger Danske, Insubria, JD, KGS, Paul Green, TB, Tuan Jim, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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	Financial Crisis
	Crisis: 2,000 Unemployed Turks Blocked in Russia
	Energy: Galsi Methane Pipeline Put on EU Projects List
	‘There Will be Blood!’
	To Catch a Thief
	UK: the Choice is Clear on Defence Funding
	USA
	America Votes for Death
	BHO’s ‘Dog-Whistle’ Politics
	More Military Officers Demand Eligibility Proof
	Obama ‘Ready to Drop Shield Plans for Russian Help on Iran’
	Obama’s Plans for Gun Control
	Video: Penn’s Co-Star Says He’s an Imbecile on Politics
	Will Obama Revive the ICC Threat to the Military?
	Europe and the EU
	“You See? We Are Not Xenophobes or Isolationists”
	Banks: Greece, Dividends to be Paid Only in Shares
	Brown Visit Unravels
	Bulgaria: Forced Conversions to Islam
	Czech Town Moving Rent-Dodgers to Tin Containers for Years
	Danish Hells Angels: Immigrants Must Clean Up Their Act
	Danish Gang War Spills Over Into Malmö
	Denmark: British Travellers Warned of Nørrebro Violence
	Denmark — Greenland: EU Will Vote Against Increased Whaling Quotas
	Explosive Growth for Swedish Arms Exports in 2008
	Finland: Local Politician Charged With Inciting Racial Hatred
	Italy to Launch Campaign Against FGM
	Italy: Fiat CEO Confident on Chrysler Deal
	Lombardy Ready for ‘Bank for Poor’
	Netherlands: Woman Receives Year in Jail for E-Mail Threats
	Rape: Eures, in 10 Years Cases Rise From 1500 to 4500
	‘Taxes Still Too High in Sweden’
	UK: Betrayal of the Foster Parents: Social Workers Hid Teen’s ‘Sex Attacks’ From Carers… Then He Raped Their Son, Two
	UK: Eric Hobsbawm, Useful Idiot of the Chattering Classes
	Wilders Now a Celebrity in US and Prime Minister in Poll
	Balkans
	Bosnian Serbs Sue UN, Holland Over Srebrenica
	Organ Harvesting: More Than One Organ Snatching Location?
	Serbia-Tunisia: Trade Cooperation to be Improved
	Serbia-Spain: Constitutional Courts Agree on Cooperation
	Serbia: Court Clears Former President of War Crimes
	Mediterranean Union
	Fishery: Mazara Del Vallo on a Mission in Lebanon
	Italy-Libya: 5-Bln-Dollar Deal to Leave the Past Behind
	North Africa
	Algeria: RSF Concerned Over Sentencing of Journalists
	Egypt: Chinese Grant for Demining, Delevoping N. West Coast
	Egypt: Khan El Khalili the Day After the Attack in Cairo
	Egypt: Cairo Bombs; Al Azhar, Not Muslim Acts
	Egypt: Fini, Terrorism Hits Those Who Want Peace
	Libya, Children and the Elderly, “All Inclusive” Care
	Libya: Gaddafi, Teleconferencing to Communicate With Youth
	Tourism: Tunisia Pins Hopes on ‘Star Wars’ Old Set
	Israel and the Palestinians
	EU: Commission to Announce 436 Mln Euros in Gaza Aid
	Gaza: Sharm Summit: 900 Mln USD in U.S. Aid, Only 300 to Gaza
	Hamas-Fatah Agree on Eve of Donors’ Conference
	Hillary: U.S. Funds Won’t Reach Hamas
	Israel Has Already Forfeited Jerusalem
	Israel: Labour Party Clashes With Barak, Split Possible
	Where’s the Next Ben Gurion?
	Middle East
	A “Fatwa” Against Yemeni Law Setting Minimum Age for Marriage
	International Churches Council in Jordan Declares Conspiracy Between the Vatican and Zionist State
	Islam: GCC Criticises Israel for Offending Mohammed on TV
	Navigation: Tuscany, Yacht Assistance Centre in UAE
	Saudi Arabia: Shiite Protest Over Video of Women in Medina
	Trade: Tax Exemption for Turkish Trucks Entering Syria
	Turkey: Number of Turkish Workers Going Abroad Down
	Turkish Weekly: Geert Wilders on Islam: Selections
	Who Orchestrated Israel’s Surrender?
	Yemen: Ex-Pilot Fined for Jew’s Murder
	South Asia
	“Islamic Peace” in the Swat is a Defeat for the Rule of Law
	Bangladesh: Dhaka, End of Mutiny by Border Guards
	Don’t Say a Word
	Indonesia: Bali Yoga Fest Goes Ahead
	Pakistan Says Lahore Cricket Attack Copycat of Mumbai
	Far East
	Japan Would Shoot Rogue Rocket
	Philippines: Top Communist Rebel Arrested
	Toyota in Desperate Plea for $2 Billion in Emergency Loans
	Australia — Pacific
	Australia: Don’t Let Criminals Win, Says Warren Mundine
	Sub-Saharan Africa
	German Navy Detains 9 Pirate Suspects
	Human Trafficking on the Rise
	Piracy: [S. Korea] Unit to Fight Somali Pirates Launched
	Latin America
	100,000 Foot Soldiers in Drug Cartels
	Immigration
	A Salute to Champions of Liberty
	Greece: Police Clash With Illegal Immigrants in Greek Port

Crisis: 2,000 Unemployed Turks Blocked in Russia

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 23 — The global economic crisis has hit Turkish construction companies in Russia hard, where many building sites have been closed and 2,000 workers, due to lack of payment, cannot return to their country because they don’t have enough money for the airfare, reported the newspaper Today’s Zaman. According to the paper, the Turkish workers, fired by the construction companies, are experiencing a series of economic difficulties and are unable to meet their daily needs and above all don’t have the money to renew their stay permits. The newspaper also reported that the Turkish embassy in Moscow is in constant contact with the Turkish citizens to help them find a solution to their problems. According to the president of the Euro-Asian Council for Economic Affairs, Tugrul Erkin, “most of the Turkish construction companies in Russia are closing their building sites and have no alternative but to sack their employees. Their lack of payment is not the only problem for the workers as many of them work illegally, and are in serious difficulty trying to renew their stay permits. Many of the workers live in hotels or in residences on the building sites, while others wander the airport departure area waiting to get a flight home”, Erkin added. Last December a group of Turkish workers demonstrated to protest against the construction companies, accusing them of not paying salaries for months. The workers also protested against the decision made by the Turkish companies’ management to pay Russian workers and not Turkish ones. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Energy: Galsi Methane Pipeline Put on EU Projects List

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 18 — The Galsi methane pipeline, which will bring Algerian gas to Italy, via Sardinia, has been added to the EU Commission’s list of projects to be undertaken in the energy sector, as part of a wider plan to deal with the economic crisis. The news was announced by EMPs Mario Mauro (Forza Italia), Gianni Pittella (PD — Democratic Party) and Gianluca Susta (also Democratic Party ), in a brief meeting with journalists during which they explained that they received notice of the decision from the EU Commission, but are waiting for official confirmation. According to the European Parliament members, a second Italian project has also been added to the EU’s list: the Enel CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage facilty) in Porto Tolle, the Veneto. The politicians commented that ‘the decision shows that our observations were well-founded” because ‘they concentrated on the fact that geographical balance was not respectedin the drawing up of the list of projects admissable to the Commission”.(ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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‘There Will be Blood!’

Top economist warns of civil violence, government overthrow

Before the crisis ends, there will be civil violence and governments will be toppled, noted Harvard economist and best-selling author Niall Ferguson said.

Disagreeing with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Bernanke’s testimony to Congress last week that the economic recovery could begin yet in 2009, Ferguson warned, “There will be blood.”

— Hat tip: JD

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To Catch a Thief

Americans who are watching, learned this week that the American people were lied to back in September when George Bush told the people that the $700 billion bailout bill, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), just had to happen to save the banks and Wall Street. And when Americans learned that banks who received TARP money were paying CEO’s big bonuses, taking executives to lavish spas, ordering jets, vacationing in the Caribbean, and going on hunts in England after “taking” TARP money, they were understandably upset, hammering Congress with angry e-mails.

The first lie was that banks would go under if TARP didn’t pass; the second lie was the self-righteous anger of Congress when they learned that banks “taking” TARP funds were “spending extravagantly.”

Recently, snatches that point to the truth have come out. On February 18, 2009, an article appeared on the TwinCity.com website, entitled, “U..S. Bancorp CEO Davis rips TARP.” That article states, in part:

[…]

“We were told to take it so that we could help Darwin synthesize the weaker banks and acquire those and put them under different leadership,” he said. “We are not even allowed to mention that. … We were supposed to say the TARP money was used for lending.”

But Davis is talking about it now, he says, because he and others oppose current and future strings attached to the program. Davis didn’t detail those strings, but he said he and some peers intend to voice their opinions to Washington, D.C., soon.

“Now they’re punishing you for having the capital,” he said, adding that he refuses to stand by and let his company become “collateral damage” in an attempt to nationalize the banks.

Read that last sentence again: “Now they’re punishing you for having the capital,” he said, adding that he refuses to stand by and let his company become “collateral damage” in an attempt to nationalize the banks.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: the Choice is Clear on Defence Funding

Britain must either continue with interventionist foreign and defence policies and fund them properly, or retrench to a purely reactive position.

This Government has committed the country’s Armed Forces to more conflicts than any other in recent history, but without willing the means to fight them properly. Since the last Strategic Defence Review in 1998, Britain has been left with a cumulative defence deficit of up to £20 billion and a capital equipment spending gap of at least £15 billion. The Armed Forces are so severely under-funded and over-stretched that within five years, for the first time since the 1930s, they will no longer be in the front rank of military capability. Only the Foreign and Commonwealth Office among Whitehall departments has had a lower funding priority, according to a report from the UK National Defence Association (UKNDA). It tells us a lot about the way this Government behaves.

It does not have the courage to argue before the “court of public opinion”, as Harriet Harman called it, a case for reducing Britain’s overseas military and diplomatic commitments, because it knows what the reaction of voters will be. So it seeks to retain this country’s influence on the cheap, increasing the burden on our Armed Forces, while siphoning off money to unproductive corners of the public sector that continue to burgeon despite the recession. In order to fund its spending splurge, Labour needs to protect at all costs the financial services that provide a lot of the taxes.

This policy was apparently expressed, albeit in private, by one of the Government’s “more influential” economic advisers, whom the UKNDA reports as having said that “defence, aerospace, manufacturing and engineering have no value to us”. The unnamed adviser allegedly added that only high-quality professional and financial services had “any real value” and that the rest of the country could be “handed over to tourism”. Since this individual was speaking under Chatham House rules, the comment can be denied; but it sounds like an authentic, if flippant, exposition of government policy.

Gordon Brown is currently in America meeting Barack Obama in the White House for the first time. He wishes to be influential on American foreign policy and to be afforded access to the top table of international diplomacy. Yet, unless there is a significant increase in defence funding, he will have no right to sit there. As the UKNDA paper observes, the choice facing Britain is clear: either continue with interventionist foreign and defence policies and fund them properly, or retrench to a purely reactive position and accept the second-class global status that comes with doing so. What is not acceptable is to grandstand in public while in private making clear that it is all a sham.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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America Votes for Death

[Warning: Contains graphic descriptions.]

As I have written in the last two weeks, those who voted for Obama got change, all right. Socialism is change. Government takeover of health care is change. Criminalizing Christianity through “thought crime” legislation (HR 256 and HR 262) is change. And putting Christians out of business through the so-called “Employment Non-Discrimination Act,” or ENDA, is change.

But the attack on democracy and the attack on our freedoms is only the start. The attack on life is first on Obama’s list. It wasn’t on his desk yet, so he didn’t get to sign the radical Freedom of Choice Act, or FOCA, though he promised Planned Parenthood he would as his first act as president. So he decided to spend more of our hard-earned tax dollars and send more than $1 billion to promote abortion in countries where citizens want to protect their children. By reversing the Mexico City policy, Obama is pushing for child killing in countries like Guatemala where people don’t want it.

I received an e-mail from a woman in Guatemala who wrote:

“Your country’s president, Obama, is looking to fund abortions internationally, and I am very frightened they will want to make abortions legal in Guatemala. Guttmacher Institute has been working here for years, getting people together to convince legislators and public opinion that abortions are the way to help women. “

— Hat tip: JD

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BHO’s ‘Dog-Whistle’ Politics

On matters of racial identity, many observers in the African-American community say [Obama] benefits from what’s known as ‘dog-whistle politics.’ His language, mannerisms and symbols resonate deeply with his black supporters, even as the references largely sail over the heads of white audiences.

— Hat tip: Paul Green

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More Military Officers Demand Eligibility Proof

Plaintiff: ‘In the worst case … it’s going to be revolution in the streets’

Military officers from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are working with California attorney Orly Taitz and her Defend Our Freedoms Foundation, citing a legal right established in British common law nearly 800 years ago and recognized by the U.S. Founding Fathers to demand documentation that may prove — or disprove — Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president.

Taitz told WND today she has mailed to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder a request that he “relate Quo Warranto on Barack Hussein Obama II to test his title to president before the Supreme Court.”

The lengthy legal phrase essentially means an explanation is being demanded for what authority Obama is using to act as president. An online constitutional resource says Quo Warranto “affords the only judicial remedy for violations of the Constitution by public officials and agents.”

Requesting the action are Maj. Gen. Carroll Childers; Lt. Col. Dr. David Earl-Graef; police officer Clinton Grimes, formerly of the U.S. Navy; Lt. Scott Easterling, now serving on active duty in Iraq; New Hampshire state Rep. Timothy Comerford; Tennessee state Rep. Frank Nicely and others.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama ‘Ready to Drop Shield Plans for Russian Help on Iran’

Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran’s nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.

U.S. President Barack Obama made the proposal on Iran in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Kommersant said, referring to unidentified U.S. officials.

— Hat tip: JD

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Obama’s Plans for Gun Control

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama deliberately and repeatedly lied to America’s 90 million gun owners across the country when he insisted that he would not try to take away anyone’s firearms, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said during a press teleconference on Friday.

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, reacting to Thursday’s remarks by Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder that the president will seek to reinstate the ban on semi-automatic firearms, said Obama “knew he was lying to the nation because his own web site touted his plan to revive the gun ban and make it permanent.”

“We warned America that Obama’s ‘support’ for the Second Amendment was empty rhetoric,” he stated, “and now Holder’s disclosure has confirmed it. Obama was lying, and now gun rights may be dying.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Video: Penn’s Co-Star Says He’s an Imbecile on Politics

Maria Conchita Alonso, who co-starred with Sean Penn way back in 1988’s “Colors,” went off on Penn in a way we’ve rarely seen — basically saying he’s a moron when it comes to politics — especially his support of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The Cuban born actress was raised in Venezuela and says Chavez is a “killer.”

— Hat tip: JD

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Will Obama Revive the ICC Threat to the Military?

By Adm. James “Ace” Lyons (Ret.)

In one of his last official acts as President, Bill Clinton signed the so-called “Rome Statute” creating an International Criminal Court (ICC). A supposed instrument of “international justice” for perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the ICC is instead a massive power grab by an unaccountable pseudo-judicial body lacking the most elementary protections found in the U.S. Constitution.

President George W. Bush’s wise decision to withdraw the Clinton signature from the ICC prompted howls of protest from the usual quarters, notably proponents of world government and, not surprisingly, many Democrats in Congress. Unfortunately, with a Democrat now in the White House — and Mr. Clinton’s wife in charge at the State Department — there is a danger that President Obama will sign the Rome Statute and railroad it through the Senate.

The ICC’s kangaroo-court claim of power and jurisdiction is almost beyond belief. Defenders of the ICC say that it would have jurisdiction only when a given country’s judicial process — the U.S. court system, for example — has failed. But who decides when such a failure has occurred? That’s right, the ICC itself, in violation of American sovereignty and overruling the U.S. Constitution.

An American soldier hauled before the ICC would be subject to a “judicial process” featuring no right to a jury trial; retrials allowed for errors of fact (i.e., double jeopardy); admission of hearsay evidence; no right to a public trial (effectively providing for inquisition-like proceedings); and no right to a speedy trial or reasonable bail, amounting to unlimited detention. These features already are standardized in United Nations Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia, which advocates for the ICC point to as precedents…

— Hat tip: CSP

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“You See? We Are Not Xenophobes or Isolationists”

Giancarlo Dillena (Corriere del Ticino) talks to Matteo Tacconi

Switzerland has said yes to the free movement of labour coming from countries who have recently joined the EU. This issue, which the Swiss were asked express an opinion on in a recent referendum, resulted in a lively debate both within and outside the Confederation. In fact, had the Swiss approved the position of the right — in favour of closing the frontiers to avoid social dumping — all bilateral agreements between Bern and Brussels would have become obsolete. These are agreements that in the course of the last few years have proved advantageous to both, as explains Giancarlo Dillena, editor of the Corriere del Ticino.

Hence the choice made by the Swiss is a positive one. There remain however a number of unsolved issues — says Dillena, in this interview with Resetdoc — and myths to be debunked. First, the referendum confirmed that security issues (not concerning the labour sector) are extremely important in the Ticino, which, due to a more unstable economic situation compared to the rest of the country, voted against the trend when compared to the great majority of the Confederation’s Cantons. Second, it is not true that Switzerland is a country periodically tending towards isolationism and xenophobia. More simply, it is a country in which these issues are identical to those experienced by other European countries such as Germany, Great Britain and even Italy. Generalisations should be avoided.

With the recent referendum, Switzerland has said yes to the free movement of Romanian and Bulgarian workers in the country. Initially the result seemed uncertain. However, 59.6% is a significant percentage. What is your opinion on this referendum?…

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Banks: Greece, Dividends to be Paid Only in Shares

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, February 20 — The Greek government will issue new and stricter norms for banks taking part in the 28 billion euro liquidity support plan, Finance and Economy Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou said. In an address to the Finance Committee of the Greek Parliament, the minister said he planned to introduce an amendment Friday under which banks won’t be allowed to pay cash dividends to their shareholders and will be able to pay dividends only in shares. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Brown Visit Unravels

Oh dear. Gordon Brown has landed in Washington to discover that there is to be no joint press conference with Barack Obama, no lunch, none of the treatment that Bush, Clinton and Bush routinely gave visiting British Prime Ministers. Just a 30-minute chat and a couple of questions probably sitting on some chairs. To the frustration of No10, it seems that the Obama White House has its own protocol. When doomed leaders come to visit, such as Taro Aso of Japan and Gordon Brown of Britain, all they will get is a quick photocall. So what does this mean? When Aso was given the low-key treatment (which seems identical to what Brown is being given) the Japan Times had this to say:

“Some analysts said the hidden message from Washington was that, while it recognizes the importance of maintaining the strong alliance with Japan to rebuild the global economy and deal with Afghanistan and North Korea, it is also fully aware that mounting pressures may force Aso out of power soon. The meeting “sent an implicit signal that Washington supports the Liberal Democratic Party, if not Prime Minister Taro Aso himself,” said Weston Konishi, a Japan-U.S. relations expert and adjunct fellow at the Mansfield Foundation.”

The dispatches from Ben Brogan and Toby Harnden give us, in real time, the unraveling of this visit. Hilariously, No10 is claiming the press conference was planned but was cancelled “because of snow” — as if Obama had made podiums out of snow in the rose garden, but visibility wasn’t so good. There is more comedy. Brogan observes that the gift that Brown has chosen for Obama is a relic from a ship that used to shell rebels in Sudan. Nice touch. No10 say they are “still negotiating” and still hope for a press conference. That’s what I call the audacity of hope.

UPDATE: No.10 is in a tiz. It says there will be a “media event” rather than a press conference, and adds it is still “in talks with the White House on the format” of said event. Why admit to the wrangling behind the scenes? Better to pretend it’s all going as planned. If the White House never offered the press conference, why allow journalists to think otherwise? Basic error of expectations management here, it sounds almost as if no one had the nerve to tell to Brown that he will not get the Blair treatment. Just half an hour, no more. It makes it all the worse that Obama’s diary includes a meeting with the Boy Scouts of America. If they hear a Scottish voice saying “Dib dib dib” then things will be getting really desperate.

— Hat tip: Gaia

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Bulgaria: Forced Conversions to Islam

Despite Bulgaria’s European Union membership, some regions of the country need a second liberation from Ottoman yoke, the Bulgarian Member of the Parliament (MP), Yane Yanev, stated, cited by the Bulgarian news agency, BGNES. Yanev, who is the leader of the opposition “Order, Law, Justice” Party (RZS) spoke Monday in Blagoevgrad as reported by the local BGNES correspondent. The leaders of RZS visited Monday several villages in Southern Bulgaria to meet with alarmed teachers and parents, who have presented concrete evidence of the imposed conversion to fundamentalist Islam in the region.

— Hat tip: Fjordman

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Czech Town Moving Rent-Dodgers to Tin Containers for Years

Chomutov — The Chomutov Town Hall has been evicting notorious rent-dodgers from their municipal flats and moving them to special tin container-like flats on the outskirts of the town since 2005 year already, Mayor Ivana Rapkova (senior ruling Civic democrats, ODS) said today.

Rapkova told journalists that the re-settlement had been implemented within the Safety Belt action as a measure aimed against rent-defaulters and unadaptable citizens, mainly drug addicts and prostitutes.

At present, two of the four container houses are officially occupied but no one stays in them. Their previous tenants did not pay even a very low rent and later moved no one knows where and their container flats are vacant, Rapkova said.

Chomutov Town Hall spokesman Tomas Branda said the town authorities had also moved the first family who had failed to pay rent for a long time from their municipal flat.

The family owes 163,000 crowns in rent and in addition, it has been disturbing neighbours by its behaviour, Branda said.

Four years ago, the town bought four older container houses and a new one which serves as a sanitary room for all the tenants where toilets and showers, separate for men and women, have been installed.

The town has invested 965,000 crowns to repair the houses, connect them to the electricity grid and the water network.

Tenants pay a 400-crown monthly rent for one container flat plus the electricity and service charges.

The Chomutov Town Hall has recently started seizing part of welfare allowances from rent-defaulters via a distraint officer for which it has been sharply criticised.

However, Rapkova said the Town Hall could continue money distraints as well as the eviction of rent-dodgers from municipal flats as no other measures are effective.

She criticised Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities Minister Michael Kocab (for the junior government Greens, SZ) for his approach to the problem.

She said she expected Kocab to come up with a meaningful solution to the problem of unadaptable citizens till the end of March.

“And I don’t mean round table discussions. If he fails to propose a solution I will advocate among deputies and senators the closure of his ministry. The money the government would save could be given to town halls so that they face the problem and take radical measures to protect decent citizens,” Rapkova said.

She said that on Kocab’s request the Town Hall would provide two flats in the locality populated by unadaptable people where he wants to stay with his aides for one week.

Previously, Kocab criticised the seizure of debtors’ money immediately after they receive their social benefits as unlawful.

Ombudsman Otakar Motejl voiced a similarly negative stand.

Chomutov registers some 4000 debtors owing over 240 million crowns in total. Distraint proceedings have so far afflicted 46 defaulters receiving social allowances, and the town has 300 valid distraint decisions to be applied, Rapkova said today.

She said that apart from repressive measures the town is offering people who found themselves in a difficult situation housing in asylum centres, social flats and various training courses.

“The local social services centre teaches people how to stand up against money-lenders or how to live on social benefits,” she said.

($1=22.470 Czech crowns)

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Danish Hells Angels: Immigrants Must Clean Up Their Act

The Hells Angels biker group says that the only ones who can stop the current gang war are immigrants themselves.

Shootings close library and sports hall (3. mar.) Minister calls for urgent anti-gang measures (2. mar.) The bloody conflict between immigrant gangs and bikers can only be stopped if responsible immigrants take responsibility and ‘clean up in their own ranks,” according to the Hells Angels biker group on its website.

The recipe for a solution to the ongoing gang warfare in Denmark comes in answer to a contribution on the Hells Angels website from an anonymous immigrant.

My home too

“I don’t understand why the Hells Angels has become a club dedicated to wiping out immigrants (Ed: see endnote) like me,” the contributor says, adding: “Wake up — it’s not all immigrants who don’t wish Denmark well. This is my home too.”

But the Hells Angels webmaster rejects the notion that the organization is trying to kindle racial hatred.

“HAMC Denmark doesn’t want to wipe out anyone. We have immigrants, as you nicely put it, (Ed: see endnote) in our own club. But just as so many other Danes and new Danes, we are tired of the mentality that some immigrants (Ed: see endnote) have,” the webmaster writes, calling on well-integrated immigrants to help solve the conflict.

“HAMC is made up of proud men with their honour intact, which is why we have the current situation. If what is going on is to be stopped, responsible immigrants and their descendants must clean up in their own ranks,” the webmaster says.

The gang warfare between immigrant and biker groups broke out in earnest in August 2008. Since then, Politiken has registered 53 shootings in Copenhagen of which most are thought to have a direct connection to the gang conflict.

Endnote: The word actually used in the texts was the Danish word for ‘pearl’ (perle) which has both a derogatory and a non-derogatory meaning in Danish.

— Hat tip: TB

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Danish Gang War Spills Over Into Malmö

A Danish gangster has been remanded into custody on suspicion of blackmail by a Malmö court as police fear that a Copenhagen gang war is spilling over onto the southern Swedish city’s streets.

A 22-year-old member of the Denmark-based immigrant motorcycle gang the Black Cobras was remanded into custody by Malmö district court on Tuesday on suspicion of trying to extort 200,000 kronor ($22,000) from a local car retailer.

Two other men are also in custody for the same offence.

Police in Malmö fear that a gang war in the Danish capital of Copenhagen has spilled over into the streets of the city and that the Black Cobras are busy establishing themselves on the Swedish side of the Öresund straight.

According to the car retailer, the three men approached him demanding the money or he would run into trouble. The men are reported to have displayed their Black Cobras logo in order to “shake up” the businessman.

The man refused to pay and instead contacted the police. A trap was set for the trio who, according to the prosecutor, were captured on police video threatening the retailer.

The Black Cobras are sworn enemies of the Hells Angels and are, according to a report in local newspaper Sydsvenskan, one of the largest criminal gangs in Denmark, after the Hells Angels and Bandidos.

A gang war has broken out between rival gangs in Copenhagen recently with arson attacks, shootings and several murders linked to the conflict.

The scale of the Black Cobras’ presence in Sweden is as yet unknown and police confirm that open conflict with the Hells Angels in Sweden has not yet occurred.

“This is in a early phase. We are collecting information on them,” a police source told the newspaper.

— Hat tip: TB

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Denmark: Gang Conflict Halts Meals on Wheels Service

Food deliveries to elderly people in the Nørrebro district of the city have been disrupted by threats from local gangs

The escalating conflict between the biker and immigrant gangs in the inner city has caused a Meals on Wheels company to stop delivering to elderly people in affected areas.

The Multi Trans food delivery company said yesterday that it had been threatened by local gang members not to visit the streets around the Nørrebro district.

Drivers for the company had already been accosted and threatened by youths carrying knives and guns last Thursday and Friday. After contacting the police, the company was advised to keep away from the area.

The City Council said that 19 elderly people had been affected by the withdrawal of the company and now the police are offering to help make sure the deliveries can go ahead.

‘If the gang elements in Nørrebro are trying to prevent food delivery companies from carrying out their work, then we will put a stop to it,’ said Per Larsen of the Copenhagen Police.

Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen also backed the police involvement in the case.

‘This case completely oversteps all the boundaries of decency and shows that we have to do something with these completely unscrupulous gang members who have no consideration for elderly people who need their food,’ said Mikkelsen to public broadcaster DR.

The council said the police had reassured them about the safety of other workers in the area such as home helpers and visiting nurses.

— Hat tip: TB

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Denmark: British Travellers Warned of Nørrebro Violence

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office has advised travellers to be cautious when visiting areas affected by recent gang violence

The open street gang violence in Nørrebro has been highlighted in the latest travel warning from the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The update on the FCO website, dated January, maintains that British citizens should ‘exercise extra caution’ when in the Nørrebro area as a result of the gang conflict. The site also maintained that there continues to be a general terrorist threat level against Denmark, as there is in many European countries.

The FCO warned that the recent spate of violence between the Hells Angels and minority gangs included shootings, but said they were localised to the criminal elements involved. Since last summer there have been more than 60 street shootings in the Greater Copenhagen area, many of which have been linked to an on-going turf battle between the Hells Angels bikers and a number of different immigrant gangs.

The latest shooting occurred on Amager on Sunday evening when 30-year-old Anders Wehage was gunned down in Café Våren by two men of immigrant background. Three others were injured in the attack which was linked to the gang disputes, but it has emerged that neither the dead man nor the injured had any connections to the biker group.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark — Greenland: EU Will Vote Against Increased Whaling Quotas

The EU will begin negotiations to reach a unified stance for the upcoming negotiations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)

Denmark will be voting against the EU official line on whaling, due to concerns over the effect of rejecting Greenland’s increased whale quota amendment.

However, the Danish government has made it clear that a block vote against whaling in general, let alone increased quota requests, will very probably be the outcome from other EU member states votes.

But as much as the European Commission is working towards a common EU policy on whaling and a continuation of the current EU ban on whaling for member states, the EU itself is not a member of the IWC, and therefore can not directly negotiate for EU countries. The IWC allow non-parties and intergovernmental organisations to attend its meetings and to be represented by observers, as well as non governmental organisations that maintain offices in more than three countries.

It is the IWC who ultimately decide how many whales and of what species, if any, may be hunted in Greenlandic waters.

Greenland currently has permission form the IWC to catch 212 minke whales, 19 fin whales and 2 bowhead whales annually under IWC indigenous whaling provisions.

Greenland had an amendment thrown out last year as well, when the IWC refused its request to allow hunting of humpback whales.

Amalie Jessen, the head of the department for hunting and fisheries spoke out against current political influence within the IWC.

‘There has been a change in the balance of power within the IWC which looks like it could remain until 2012. This means that Greenlandic interests have no chance of becoming a reality,’ said Jessen, adding that what this shows is that the organisation does not work in the way it should.

‘our quota requests for last year were upheld by a scientific committee yet denied by the IWC’ said Jessen

The fact that Greenland seems unable to make its voice heard within the IWC has led Finn Karlsen, minister for hunting and fisheries, to ask the foreign minister to look into the possibility of Greenland withdrawing its membership of the international whaling group.

Whaling is currently banned in all EU territorial waters, but over its border, in the waters of non EU countries Norway and Iceland, it has no legal authority and Whaling continues.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Denmark: Shootings Close Library and Sports Hall

The library, culture centre and sports hall on Blågårdsgade street in Copenhagen are to close at night and weekends until further notice.

Employees of public institutions in the area of Copenhagen hardest hit by gangwar shootings are afraid of going to work and their facilities are to have new opening times.

“Due to the extensive use of firearms and insecurity of employees we will be closed from 6 p.m. on weekdays and all weekend,” says a sign on the doors of Blågårdens library and the sports hall 100 metres away. The Støberiet cultural centre is also to be closed at the same times.

“This was a difficult decision,” said Støberiet Leader Bent Erik Krøyer adding: “But we had to do it. We can’t take any chances and I have a responsibility to my employees who feel insecure going home at night.”

Krøyer says that a shooting episode on Saturday in particular brought about the decision.

“It is frightening that the victims were people who were going to a concert at Stengade 30. These could just as well have been people coming to a concert here,” he says.

Food for the elderly In other developments in the ongoing crisis in the Nørrebro district, elderly residents have had to have their council-prepared meals-on-wheels delivered secretly and with police security due to threats issued against the company responsible for deliveries.

The council decided to stop delivering meals-on-wheels on Monday night after a driver of the Multitrans company which delivers the food was warned out of the area by armed gang members who see the Nørrebro district as their exclusive turf.

According to reports, the reason for the gang’s action was that last week, police arrested a Multitrans driver. DR News says that the driver was a member of the Hells Angels support group AK81, was wearing a bullet-proof vest and had a gun in the cabin.

The current gang warfare in Copenhagen is between immigrant gangs and the Hells Angels and its support group AK81.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Explosive Growth for Swedish Arms Exports in 2008

Swedish arms exports jumped up 32 percent in 2008, with large purchases by five countries accounting for nearly 60 percent of total.

According to an annual report by the Swedish Inspectorate for Strategic Products (ISP) released on Tuesday, Swedish defence companies sold 12.7 billion kronor ($1.4 billion) worth of weapons in 2008.

The upswing in military sales last year more than wiped out a 7 percent decline in arms exports from 2007.

“As in previous years, several large deals had a real effect on statistics, like the sale of the JAS Gripen to South Africa and CV90 combat vehicles to the Netherlands and Denmark,” said ISP director general Andreas Ekman in a statement.

Other notable export deals included purchases by Greece and Pakistan of the Erieye airborne radar systems.

Swedish arms manufacturers sold goods totaling 1.9 billion kronor to South Africa in 2008, making it the single largest purchaser of Swedish defence equipment last year.

Exports to the Netherlands and Denmark each totaled 1.8 billion kronor, while sales to Greece came to 1.1 billion.

Pakistan meanwhile purchased 846.4 million kronor worth of Swedish military equipment, while Swedish arms exports to India totaled 506.2 million kronor in 2008.

The ISP reports that 59 percent of Sweden’s arms exports went to other countries in the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland, while 28 percent of sales were made to “established partners” such as the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.

— Hat tip: TB

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Finland: Local Politician Charged With Inciting Racial Hatred

On Tuesday hearings opened at the Helsinki District Court in the case of Olavi Mäenpää, a Turku city council member, who faces charges of inciting racial hatred in a public election debate.

The prosecutor accuses Mäenpää of using slanderous and abusive language when speaking of African and Middle Eastern refugees and immigrants at YLE’s parliament election debate two years ago.

The prosecution maintains that in his remarks Mäenpää, a candidate for public office, vastly generalised the characteristics of people belonging to certain ethnic groups. Mäenpäää referred to members of specific ethnic groups as criminals, welfare system abusers and generally less worthy people.

The prosecutor asserts that Mäenpää believes it to be acceptable for people to take justice into their own hands when immigrants commit crimes.

Mäenpää: “Regular Election Debate”

Mäenpää, who denies the charges, chalks his election debate remarks up to normal political banter.

“This trial is absurd and preposterous. I voiced my personal opinions during the election debate, and I was not inciting hate agianst any specific group. You can’t be judged on your opinions,” told Mäenpää to YLE ahead of the hearing on Tuesday.

In 2007 Mäenpää stood for election on the ticket of the far-right Finnish People’s Blue-Whites.

Eight years ago the Turku District Court found him guilty of inciting racial hatred because of a web column he had authored. At the time the Turku District Court handed down a fine as punishment.

“The fine was converted into jail time. I served 41 days at the prison of south-western Finland,” said Mäenpää.

The Helsinki District Court will hand down a ruling in the case in two weeks.

— Hat tip: KGS

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Italy to Launch Campaign Against FGM

(ANSA) — Rome, February 4 — Italy plans to launch a campaign to focus attention on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in a bid to stem its practice in the country, Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna said on Wednesday. Some 150 million women are victims of the practice world-wide, with an estimated 35-40 thousand cases in Italy by foreigners living in the country, said Carfagna who called FGM “torture, a barbaric action”. The government plans to run a series of ads on state-run television in a bid to convince parents to end the practice.It is also setting up a committee to deal with the problem, which Carfagna said is “an underestimated phenomenon”. “I plan to use my ministry’s funds to combat and prevent a practice which violates human rights,” she told a news conference. The government has already earmarked some 3.5 million euros and plans to add another four million to back 21 projects set up to deal with FGM. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced last month that Italy is strongly committed to promoting a declaration by the United Nations which would ban the practice throughout the world. Addressing a conference celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Frattini said FMG was “one of the worst and most common violations of the Declaration”. Frattini said the commitment to ban the practice was one of the key issues addressed by the government’s foreign policies along with promoting UN moratoriums on capital punishment and against religious intolerance. FGM, which is also known as female circumcision, covers a number of different practices, usually involving either removing the clitoris or sewing up the vagina. The most severe form, infibulation, entails both, and accounts for around 15% of all procedures. An estimated 150 million women around the world have undergone genital mutilation, while some 6,000 girls are mutilated every day, according to the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International. It is practiced in at least 28 African countries, and is also common in some Middle Eastern states, including Egypt, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. Italy passed a law in January 2006 outlawing FGM. IT lays down jail terms of up to 12 years for those who carry out the procedure on adult women and up to 16 years if it is carried out on a minor or in exchange for money. Doctors caught carrying out FGM are banned from their profession for up to ten years. The law is applicable even if the woman is operated on abroad. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy: Fiat CEO Confident on Chrysler Deal

Marchionne to speak with US government officials

(ANSA) — Geneva, March 3 — Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Tuesday that he was confident the Turin automaker and Detroit Number Three Chrysler would be able to forge their alliance.

Speaking at the 79th Geneva International Motor Show, Marchionne said he would be in the United States this week for talks with American officials “to understand at what point the situation is”.

“It has always been our full intention to reassure the US government that loans given to Chrysler will stay with Chrysler,” Marchionne explained. “We have no intention of going to America to take their taxpayers money to help Fiat in Italy. What we want to do is to create something which has value in the medium-long term,” he added.

The American automaker is currently seeking a $5 billion government loan and has made its proposed alliance with Fiat a keystone of its recovery plan.

The loan is also considered pivotal for the Fiat-Chrysler alliance which is designed to help the American automaker develop fuel efficient cars and give the Italians a springboard to bring the Alfa Romeo marque and new Fiat 500 city car to the American market.

In regard to the loan, Marchionne said it was up to Chrysler “to come up with a solution to move forward. In our talks with US officials we will explain Fiat’s position and what we intend to do”.

Although Fiat is not getting any loans from the Italian government, it will benefit from new incentives to trade in older, less fuel efficient cars for new, low-emission ones.

According to Marchionne, the Italian incentives “are a structurally necessary measure to renew the national fleet of vehicles and it is my hope they will become permanent”.

The Fiat CEO criticised France for exclusively helping French automakers and spoke out against the hypothesis of the German government buying into Opel because both actions distorted competition on the market.

“Aid has to be made available to everyone or it should go to no one. The field is not level when one producer can count on three billion euros in aid while Fiat has to do everything on its own,” Marchionne said.

“Fiat is doing what it has to do without asking anyone for anything and is financing itself in an extremely difficult period. I hope the situation does not arise where everyone else has state aid and we don’t,” he added.

Turning his attention to Fiat’s strategy of forging alliances with other automakers, Marchionne explained that “we are talking to everyone because this is the moment to develop alliances. As I have said before, in the not-too-distant future our industry will have five or six producers with a minimum market of five million cars”.

Aside from Chrysler, Fiat is also currently engaged in talks with Germany’s BMW to develop common platforms and components for Alfa Romeo and Mini models. CHRYSLER SAYS ALLIANCE WITH FIAT WOULD BE “PEFECT”.

Also on hand at the Geneva car show was Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Jim Press who said that an alliance between the Detroit automaker and Fiat “would be prefect”.

“Fiat has a very strong line of products and great technology in regard to low emissions, as well as a full range of vehicles and a major distribution network in Europe,” Press observed.

Chrysler, on the other hand, “has a strong presence in North America and wants to reinforce its position on other markets,” he added.

Fiat in January signed a preliminary non-binding agreement with the struggling American carmaker to create a global partnership in the production and distribution of automobiles and other motor vehicles.

The non-cash accord calls for Fiat to take a 35% stake in the US carmaker in exchange for Fiat’s platforms for its fuel-efficient, small and medium-sized compact cars, which will fill a gap in Chrysler’s range of models.

The accord is slated to be formalised sometime in April and would give Fiat access to Chrysler’s assembly plants as well as its sales and service networks.

These are all necessary for the Italian automaker’s goal of bringing Alfa Romeo back to the US market and introduce the Fiat 500 there, both of which need to be produced in the US to be profitable.

Fiat is also reported to have an option to acquire a further 20% in Chrysler should the partnership prove successful.

Insiders say the alliance between Fiat and Chrysler will initially involve the production of seven models for the North American market, four vehicles will be produced under the Chrysler marque and three as Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Lombardy Ready for ‘Bank for Poor’

Region wants to host offshoot of Yunus’ Grameen bank

(ANSA) — Milan, March 3 — Lombardy would be happy to host a “bank for the poor” proposed by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, the Regional President Roberto Formigoni said on Tuesday.

Speaking a day after Yunus unveiled his proposal to open an Italian offshoot of his Grameen Bank, which offers unguaranteed loans to the poor, Formigoni said Lombardy was keen to get involved in the initiative. “It’s just an invitation but I believe Yunus is already thinking about it,” said the regional president. “In many ways, Lombardy would be the ideal location. I have great respect for the Nobel laureate and Lombardy has always kept a close eye on initiatives such as these”. Yunus, who was jointly awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize along with the bank that he founded, revealed his plans during a visit to Italy on Monday. He said he hoped to get the project off the ground within the year, with assistance from Bologna University and Italian bank Unicredit, with the specific goal of helping Italian women unable to obtain loans by conventional means.

The focus on assisting women has played a crucial role in the development of the bank, which was founded in 1976 in Bangladesh, where women struggled to access the services of large commercial banks. According to the Grameen website, 97% of Grameen’s borrowers are women.

The Grameen initiative now operates in developing countries around the world, with 7.71 million borrowers and 2,541 branches.

The US and Australia are home to Grameen microfinance projects and the Italian offshoot will also function as a non-governmental organization, rather than seeking to operate as an official bank. The Grameen system works on a trust basis, lending money to those without collateral in order to help individuals start small businesses and raise themselves out of poverty. Although Yunus’s claim that the bank has a 98% repayment rate has been questioned, the positive impact of the Grameen model has been praised by many external bodies, including the World Bank. Yunus has also underscored the Grameen principle’s resilience in the face of the current financial crisis. “This has had no impact on us,” he said. “The crisis affects those financial systems that build castles from air. When we make a loan, it is for concrete reasons, like buying a cow”.

ITALIAN FILM DIRECTOR PLANS TO SHOOT BIOPIC ON YUNUS.

Meanwhile, award-winning Italian film director Marco Amenta has announced plans to start work on Yunus’s life story. “It is a story that touched me deeply,” explained Amenta, whose other films have focused on real life stories of the Italian mafia and justice system. “Yunus is a person who made a choice and refused to stand by and accept things as they were. It will be an epic film, recounting a universal story”.

The film, based on Yunus’s autobiography, Banker To The Poor, will be an international co-production shot in English. Filming is expected to start later this year.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Netherlands: Woman Receives Year in Jail for E-Mail Threats

A woman who sent the leader of the populist Freedom Party, Geert Wilders more than 100 threatening e-mails has been sentenced to a year in jail and conditional psychiatric treatment. She had previously been sentenced to a year in jail and unconditional treatment. Psychiatrists said she suffered from delusional disorders and locking her in an institution would be detrimental to her psychological well-being.

In January the woman (Selima I.), a librarian from Tilburg, was arrested at the computer from which she sent death threats. Three boys received 50 hours of community service in February for sending death threats to the anti-Muslim leader.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Rape: Eures, in 10 Years Cases Rise From 1500 to 4500

(AGI) — Rome, 16 Feb. — The president of EURES (Economic and Social research), Fabio Piacenti, has said “I believe that the situation in 2008 was the same as in 2007, whilst in 2009 we are seeing cases of ‘gang’ or ‘street’ rape by strangers, a new issue which must neither be overlooked or allowed to foster xenophobia.” Piacenti added that one case was enough to draw attention to the issue of ‘gang’ or ‘street’ rape by strangers: in ten years, from 1997 to 2007, reported cases of sexual violence on women tripled from 1582 to 4500 cases per year, and even in Lazio these incidents tripled, from 159 to 438 cases per year. Therefore, “rather than focusing on the numbers, I would look at the seriousness of the issue,” he said, “of cases of gang or street rape”. Whilst this new issue must absolutely not be overlooked, it remains within the context of the sad reality that ISTAT has shown us: of the 6 million and 743 thousand women aged between 16 and 70 who are victims of physical or sexual violence at some point during their lives, 69.7% of rapes are committed by partners, 17.4% by someone known by the victim whilst only 6.2% are perpetrated by strangers. “The family undoubtedly remains the most likely place where the overwhelming majority of cases of sexual violence occur”, Piacenti recognized. And he added, “cases of ‘gang’ or ‘street’ rape, perhaps because they are different, are what create strong feelings of fear and insecurity that institutional conflict, he warned, between the government and the opposition certainly does not diminish, rather it generates confusion amongst public opinion.” And the suggestions for ‘surgical or chemical castration’? “It is important to use these terms carefully and to distinguish between criminal acts perpetrated by repeat offenders who might need special medication as happens in countries in northern Europe, and violent acts carried out by troubled, marginalized figures, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Piacenti concluded, for whom it seems to me that a medical operation would be excessive: but these issues should be left to the experts and not improvised.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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‘Taxes Still Too High in Sweden’

Sweden’s government needs to continue lowering taxes if the country is to get to grips with excessive public spending and an eroding work ethic, argues Nima Sanandaji.

The Swedish government has implemented ambitious tax reforms. However, the average taxpayer still pays three out of five earned kronor in taxes. And the public is still unaware of the extent of taxation.

In a survey conducted a few years ago it was shown that the majority of Swedes vastly underestimate the amount of taxes they pay. Half of those questioned for the survey believed that they paid 36 percent or less in taxes. Many do not know that the so-called hidden taxes are approximately as high as the visible taxes.

In Denmark political parties to the left and the right have agreed on implementing a tax reform that means the highest marginal rate of tax on labour will be reduced to below 50 percent next year. The same tax rate is 57 percent in Sweden. If hidden taxes are also included, the total highest marginal tax rate on labour is a full 74 percent in Sweden.

But won’t tax cuts undermine the so-called Swedish model? It is important to remember that Sweden was a country with even distribution of income, relatively few social problems — such as crime — and high life expectancy back in 1950. At that time Sweden had a lower tax rate than the United States. Low taxes and ample opportunities for entrepreneurial activity brought about Sweden’s high standard of living.

It was when politics radicalized during the 1960s and onwards that Swedish taxes began to rise to the high levels we know today. When taxes reach a high enough level they tend to be spent on things other than crime reduction, qualitative health care and education. It is no coincidence that Sweden has several hundred public agencies that, among other things, are occupied with “supplying Swedish sailors with a meaningful cultural life”.

As taxes have risen, so has welfare dependency. In 1970, around 11 percent of the adult population of Sweden was living off various forms of public handouts rather than work. In the summer of 2006 this figure had doubled to 22-23 percent. It is of course important to have public safety nets, but the high dependency on handouts is draining public resources. This is why Sweden has higher taxes than other modern nations but cannot offer higher pensions.

In fact, a comparison with other industrialised countries shows that Swedish senior citizens receive an average level of pensions. The average pension income is 14,000 kronor ($1,500) per month in Sweden, compared to 18,500 kronor per month in Austria and 17,700 kronor per month in the Netherlands.

Another problem arising from high welfare dependency is that norms associated with work and responsibility have deteriorated in Sweden. It has today become socially acceptable for people to receive government sick leave payments despite being capable of working. And norms are deteriorating most among young people.

The number of Swedes on sick leave is astonishingly high in international comparisons. Swedes eat right, exercise and are amongst the healthiest people in the world. When we see people in their twenties going into early retirement it is part of a phenomenon whereby society attempts to hide true unemployment and many people don’t mind living off social benefits.

There are many reasons to cut Sweden’s taxes: to encourage entrepreneurship and work, to reduce welfare dependency and to create a system more focused on the core functions of the welfare state. The government has already reduced the tax burden, but the reforms must continue. The taxes should at least be cut to a level where the average income earner “only” pays 50 percent in taxes.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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UK: Betrayal of the Foster Parents: Social Workers Hid Teen’s ‘Sex Attacks’ From Carers… Then He Raped Their Son, Two

A foster couple took in a homeless teenager in the hope that he would be a ‘big brother’ to their two children.

But social workers failed to tell them that the 18-year-old had a history of alleged sex attacks on youngsters.

He went on to rape their two-year-old son and molest their daughter aged nine.

As the rapist, now 19, began an indefinite sentence last night, there were suspicions that the local authority might have used aspects of the Human Rights Act to prevent the couple from knowing about the teenager’s past.

Only last week it emerged that a couple who adopted a child with a high risk of HIV had not been told about the child’s potential condition to protect the rights of its natural mother.

MPs and children’s charities demanded an inquiry into the astonishing betrayal of the foster parents.

Cardiff Crown Court was told that the teenager:

• Faced a youth court for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 2008 while she was asleep.
• Was accused of exposing himself and touching another young boy sexually while living at a care hostel in 2005.
• Was forced out of a job in a bowling alley in 2007 after parents discovered he was trying to get young girls’ telephone numbers
• Faced allegations five years ago of ‘sexually inappropriate behaviour’ with a young boy.

The foster parents, from the Vale of Glamorgan, took in the teenager as an emergency case last year because he was homeless as part of a scheme called the Adult Placement Service.

— Hat tip: JD

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UK: Eric Hobsbawm, Useful Idiot of the Chattering Classes

The Marxist historian who’s crowing about the crash of capitalism and says Stalin was right to murder millions is demanding to see his MI5 files. Imagine how the KGB would have treated him! Eric Hobsbawm

The voice, though old and crackly, trembled with self-justification. ‘Globalisation, which is implicit in capitalism,’ it declared, ‘not only destroys the heritage and tradition but is incredibly unstable…’

Imagine the pomposity and satisfaction with which Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm, who lives in a large house in the fashionable North London suburb of Hampstead Heath, regurgitated his old argument to listeners of Radio 4’s flagship Today programme.

[…]

In recent times, starry-eyed admirers have been hanging on to his observations on a new topic: that ‘fundamentalist Islam isn’t a danger, if only because it can’t win any wars’. He has decided that fundamentalist bomb-throwers are ‘nothing’ compared to the IRA. Well, that is comforting.

— Hat tip: JD

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Wilders Now a Celebrity in US and Prime Minister in Poll

THE HAGUE, 03/03/09 — Controversial MP Geert Wilders has reacted with pleasure to a poll according to which his Party for Freedom (PVV) would be the Netherlands’ biggest party. “As far as I am concerned elections can be held tomorrow; then I will be the next premier.”

The PVV would according to prominent pollster Maurice de Hond win 27 seats in the 150-member Lower House if elections were held now. This is one more than the Christian democrats (CDA). This is the first time the PVV has emerged as the biggest party in a poll.

The PVV has risen in recent weeks thanks to apparent setbacks. First, the Amsterdam appeal court ruled that Wilders must be prosecuted for incitement to hatred and insulting of Muslims as a group. And subsequently, the UK refused him entry to the country.

In the US on the other hand, Wilders was greeted by neo-conservatives — as by a growing portion of the Dutch population — as a martyr for freedom of speech. The contrasts with Europe are great. A conservative philosopher said of his impact in the American media: “He is more than a hero. He is a celebrity”.

Wilders says his criticism of Islam is dealt with much less frenetically in America. “In the Netherlands, the elite consider that you may not speak as I do, but here (in the US) freedom is in the genes. (…) I notice that in this country, at least arguments are exchanged. The Netherlands and Europe could adopt this as an example.”

According to Wilders, the Pentagon shares his fears of a ‘Eurabia’. “I have spoken with Pentagon staff, and they fear for the stability of Europe if the influence of Islam grows further.”

Last week, the PVV leader showed Fitna, his short film against Islam, five times in the US, including in the Lyndon B. Johnson auditorium in the Capitol building at the invitation of Republican Senator Jon Kyl. “Can you imagine: in the Netherlands, you go to prison if you show the film, and here you are welcome in the parliament.” Fitna was also shown in the National Press Club.

Wilders predicted in the US that his PVV would one day become the biggest party in the Netherlands. According to De Hond, this would already happen now if there were elections, which did somewhat surprise Wilders. “Really? Are we the biggest? How happy I am about this! These are of course just polls, but it is an enormous sign of confidence from the Dutch voter. (…) As far as I am concerned, elections can be held tomorrow, then I am the next premier.”

After PVV and CDA, Labour (PvdA) comes third in De Hond’s new poll with 21 seats. Next come centre-left D66 with 19, the Socialist Party (SP) with 18 and the conservatives (VVD) with 17. Rita Verdonk’s Proud of the Netherlands (TON) wins only two seats. The government parties CDA, PvdA and small Christian party ChristenUnie together achieve only 52 seats, the lowest score since the government took office.

De Hond also polled how the supporters of Wilders are composed according to media preferences. Among readers of De Telegraaf newspaper, 37 percent would vote for him, while readers of NRC Handelsblad are least inclined to do so (7 percent). Among public broadcasters, TROS has the most members in the Wilders camp (42 percent) and VARA (7 percent) and EO (5 percent) the least. VARA incidentally is the broadcaster that makes the most opinion programmes of all broadcasters.

— Hat tip: TB

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Bosnian Serbs Sue UN, Holland Over Srebrenica

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnian Serbs have filed a lawsuit at The Hague claiming the United Nations and the Netherlands failed to protect them in the area around Srebrenica during the 1992-1995 war, an association said Monday.

The Srebrenica Historical Project and six Bosnian Serb families filed the lawsuit at The Hague District Court last week, the association’s director Stefan Karganovic told The Associated Press.

Dutch U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to guard the east Bosnian town of Srebrenica during the war. The lawsuit argues that the peacekeepers failed to prevent Muslim Bosniaks from attacking Serb villages around Srebrenica, Karganovic said.

Bosnian Serbs kept the eastern town of Srebrenica under siege for most of the war, shelling the eastern town and preventing food convoys from entering. In return, Bosniaks conducted overnight raids of Serb villages in search for food. Serbs says those raids claimed around 3,500 Serb lives.

Eventually, Serb forces stormed Srebrenica in 1995 and slaughtered around 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in Europe’s worst civilian massacre since World War II.

Bosniak survivors of the Srebrenica massacre have also filed a civil suit at The Hague District Court, seeking compensation from the U.N. and the Dutch state. The court began hearing the case in June 2008. Victims’ lawyers cited a figure of $4 billion as a starting point for compensation negotiations.

The Serbs filed their lawsuit at the same court, saying the same Dutch U.N. troops failed to prevent the attacks on the Serb villages around Srebrenica.

“All we want to achieve is that the Serb victims from around Srebrenica get the same attention as the Muslim victims in Srebrenica,” Karganovic said

— Hat tip: TB

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Organ Harvesting: More Than One Organ Snatching Location?

BELGRADE — In Albania, in addition to the “yellow house”, there could be at least three more similar locations.

They are suspected to be sites where vital organs were taken from kidnapped Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanians.

A B92 TV investigative team traveled to Albania on the basis of new evidence and information revealing that in, in addition to the “yellow house” described in former Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte’s book, there were at least three similar locations.

Hundreds of Kosovo’s Serbs went missing during and after the 1999 war in the province. The Serbian War Crimes Prosecution is investigating claims that Kosovo Albanian KLA had taken them to northern Albania in order to remove their vital organs, later sold in the black market.

A broadcast based on the team’s investigation airs tonight, containing exclusive footage taken in Albania and interviews with doctors from the transplant division at Mother Theresa University Hospital in Tirana, where 75 patients were transferred in 1999 due to failed kidneys.

Looking at Del Ponte’s claims, the investigative team attempted to verify information from the War Crimes Prosecution that just as NATO was attacking Serbia several kidney transplants were conducted for Kosovo patients, with organs taken out of the kidnapped Serbs.

The team spoke with doctors from the Skopje University Hospital in Macedonia, where 70 patients were transferred from Kosovo during the same period.

Officials in Skopje say transplants did not take place at that time.

Nevertheless, in contrast to his Albanian colleagues, a Skopje nephrologists who spoke with the team said he believes Del Ponte’s claims.

The Serbian prosecution is also investigating whether the Hague Tribunal had destroyed material evidence found in the Albanian town of Burrel during a probe conducted in 2004.

In an exclusive interview, one of UNMIK’s investigators in Burrel said he was “taken aback” by such information.

The investigator will discuss the importance of this evidence, found in 2004 in the “yellow house”.

In addition to exclusive interviews and footage from Albania, the show contains information about 11 people suspected of having been murdered in the vicinity of the “yellow house” in central Albania after being kidnapped.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Serbia-Tunisia: Trade Cooperation to be Improved

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 2 — Politicians and business people from Serbia and Tunisia stated in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce that economic cooperation and trade must be increased between the two countries, reports BETA news agency. Tunisian Secretary for Foreign Trade Sokri Mamogli said at a business forum that trade between Serbia and Tunisia is not developed enough and that it is not on the same par as the political relations between the two countries. “Experience has shown that cooperation needs to begin with trade, which helps people get to know each other, after which investments ensue,” he said. Mamogli said that Tunisia has a free trade agreement with the European Union and all Arab countries, adding that exports from Tunisia last year reached USD22 million. He told journalists that currently, there are no talks of a free trade agreement with Serbia, but that Tunisia is working on improving trade. Tunisia has about 10 million residents and a gross domestic product of about USD 40 million per year, which is roughly USD 4,000 per resident, Mamogli said. Serbia imported products worth USD 6.6 million from Tunisia last year and exported USD 4.2 million, according to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.(ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Serbia-Spain: Constitutional Courts Agree on Cooperation

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 2 — A delegation of the Constitutional Court of Spain, headed by Constitutional Court President Maria Emilia Casas Baamonde, and judges of Serbia’s Constitutional Court reached an agreement on regular cooperation, reports Tanjug news agency. A special agreement will be signed in this area, President of the Serbian Constitutional Court Bosa Nenadic told Tanjug news agency, adding that this is the first visit by her colleagues from Spain. According to Nenadic, they discussed the status of constitutional courts of the two countries, their competencies and outstanding issues they are faced with, and work experience on constitutional appeals was exchanged. “We agreed to cooperate regularly on all issues regarding protection of constitutionality and legality and human rights and freedoms,’ said Nenadic. Serbian President Boris Tadic also received the visitors from Spain. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Serbia: Court Clears Former President of War Crimes

The Hague, 26 Feb. (AKI) — The United Nations war crimes crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on Thursday acquitted former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic of crimes against humanity and other war crimes charges. The court ordered Milutinovic’s release from prison after five years of detention at The Hague.

However, the court found five former top Serbian officials guilty of some or all of the charges they faced in relation to Serbia’s 1998-1999 war in Kosovo against ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

Former Yugoslav vice-premier Nikola Sainovic, former Yugoslav army chief of staff, defence minister Dragoljub Ojdanic and three generals were sentenced to a total of 96 years in jail. The sentences ranged from 15 to 22 years.

Milutinovic, Sainovic, Ojdanic and fellow generals Nebojsa Pavkovic, Sreten Lukic and Vladimir Lazarevic were charged with “joint criminal undertaking: aimed at expelling majority ethnic Albanians from Kosovo” and at “changing the ethnic balance” and “establishing lasting Serbian control” over the province, which declared independence a year ago.

The charges included murder, persecution, forced resettlement, deportations and destruction of property allegedly committed by Serbian forces.

Up to 800,000 ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo amid the Serb ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaign and NATO bombing in 1999, which drove out Serbian forces.

All six defendants, some of whom have spent up to seven years in detention at The Hague pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying they had only defended their country from ethnic Albanian insurgents.

Explaining the verdict, Ian Bonomy, who chaired the panel of judges, said the court could not prove beyond reasonable doubt Milutinovic’s guilt, because he did not have direct control over Serbian forces in Kosovo where they were under control of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.

Milosevic was charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide over alleged atrocities in Bosnia, Kosovo and Croatia during the 1990s Balkan wars. He died in his jail cell at The Hague in March 2006, just months before he was due to be sentenced.

In the biggest Hague trial since Milosevic’s death, the prosecutors presented 112 witnesses against Milutinovic and others, while the defence presented 120 witnesses.

In closing statements, the defence requested the acquittal of all six suspects, while prosecutors demanded sentences ranging from twenty years to life.

Bonomy said Sainovic had been Milosevic’s key man in Kosovo, who planned, directed and controlled operations there. He was sentenced to 22 years.

Former commander of Serbian military forces in Kosovo, Pavkovic, and Serb police commander, Lukic, each received terms of 22 years. Ojdanic, and Lazarevic, who commanded army units in western Kosovo, were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Bonomy said the degree of responsibility of the defendants varied, depending on their position, authority and ability to prevent the crimes that had occurred.

Prosecution witnesses testified that Serb forces shelled towns and villages during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, and murdered civilians and raped women as they were driven from their homes.

Explaining Milutinovic’s acquittal and lesser sentences for Ojdanic and Lazarevic, Bonomy said they did not participate knowingly in the “joint criminal undertaking” and had been powerless to influence events in Kosovo.

Although Milutinovic was indicted during the conflict, he served out his full five-year term as president until the end of 2002. The court found that the 66-year-old, who led Serbia from December 1997 to December 2002, had no direct control over the Yugoslav army.

It was only after he lost his immunity as president that he surrendered.

The Hague tribunal (photo) has indicted nine of the most senior Serb and Yugoslav officials for crimes alleged to have been carried out in Kosovo by Serb forces in 1999.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Fishery: Mazara Del Vallo on a Mission in Lebanon

(ANSAmed) — MAZARA DEL VALLO (TRAPANI), FEBRUARY 19 — The president of the Pesca-Cosvap production district of Mazara del Vallo, Giovanni Tumbiolo, has participated in an exploratory mission in Lebanon organised by Sudgest Aid (a consortium of companies of the Link Campus University and of Formez). The mission took place on February 16-17 in the presence of a delegation of UN officials, and is part of a coordinated development programme of UN agency UNDP. The initiative aims to bring in a cooperation project together with the Palestinian-Lebanese fishing associations in the area of Al Bared, a refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The delegation has had several meetings in Beirut and Tripoli, thanks to the support of Italian ambassador to Lebanon Gabriele Checchia. President Tumbiolo delivered a letter from the president of the Sicily Region, Raffaele Lombardo, to Lebanese Agriculture Minister Elias Skaff, with an invitation to the next regional conference on fishery on March 28-29 in Sciacca (Agrigento). (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Italy-Libya: 5-Bln-Dollar Deal to Leave the Past Behind

(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 2 — Tomorrow an event to go down in history books will occur in Sirte: the Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation Treaty, which puts an end to the dispute over Italy’s past as colonial power in Tripoli and Cyrenaica, and paves the way for cooperation in the economic sector — especially in energy and infrastructure — as well as measures to stop illegal immigration, will finally become official. The agreement, signed on August 30 2008 in Bengasi, was approved by the Italian parliament at the beginning of February and will also be approved by the Libyan Congress tomorrow before a ceremony in Sirte in which the two countries’ leaders — premier Silvio Berlusconi and Colonel Gaddafi — will exchange ratifications. Italy will be putting up the funds for infrastructure projects on Libyan soil for a total of 5 billion dollars (about 4 billion euros) over a time span of 20 years. The works, which are to be decided on by a joint committee, will be entrusted to Italian enterprises. HIGHER TAXES (IRES) FOR ENI, AGREEMENT FINANCER — Eni, as main operator in the sector of the research and cultivation of liquid and gas hydrocarbons, will have to pay additional taxes on company revenue (IRES), amounting to 4% of before tax profits. This additional amount will be applied to the period from December 31 2008 to December 31 2028, thereby covering the twenty-year period of the 5-billion-dollar reimbursement. IMMIGRATION, ITALIAN SURVEILLANCE ALONG LIBYAN GROUND BORDERS — There will be 5 billion dollars set aside for investment in exchange for a renewed Libyan pledge to collaborate in the fight against terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking and illegal immigration — all goals set down in the 200 agreement, in force since December 22 2002. In order to fight illegal immigration, there is to be a surveillance system set up by Italy along Libyan ground borders. Italy will be footing half the bill for the operation, and the European Union the other half. ITALY TO BUILD 200 HOUSES AND HAND OVER ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS — Italy has pledged to carry out a number of special initiatives, including the construction of 200 homes, the granting of 100 scholarships for the undergraduate and postgraduate studies of Libyan students, care of mine victims in Libya at Italian healthcare facilities, the reinstatement of war pensions to Libyans with a right to them, and the restitution of manuscripts and archaeological finds transferred to Italy in colonial times. 150 MLN TO ITALIAN EXILES AND VISAS TO RETURN TO LIBYA — The Italians expelled from Libya in 1971 — when Colonel Gaddafi took power from King Idriss with a coup d’etat — will be able to go back with a tourist visa, or even one for work or other reasons. Those expelled from Libya will be paid an overall 150 million, 50 million per year from 2009 to 2011. JOINT MILITARY MANOEUVRES AND DEFENCE MINISTRY AGREEMENTS — Regulations to be brought in at a later date will decide on the timeline and ways in which joint manoeuvres will be carried out, as well as the exchange of experts and technicians. Collaboration in this sector also concerns military industries. In addition, Italy and Libya have pledged to work together for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and disarmament. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Algeria: RSF Concerned Over Sentencing of Journalists

(ANSAmed)- ALGIERS, FEBRUARY 19 — Reporter Sans Frontieres (RSF) have expressed their concerns over the recent sentencing to a year in prison of an Algerian journalist, Carrefour d’Algerie correspondent Layadi El Amine Yahia, on charges of libel. “For many years,” reads the statement released by RSF, “Algerian journalists have had to live with the permanent threat of imprisonment. Too often authorities multiply judicial proceedings in order to govern in a general climate of intimidation and self-censorship. They have not understood that jail is not an appropriate response to the crime of libel.” On February 11 the Mascara Court sentenced Layadi El Amine Yahia in absentia. The journalist allegedly libeled the city’s director of commerce in an article in which she spoke out against a number of cases of corruption. Initially acquitted, Layadi was then sentenced in the appeal but in a trial which she did not attend, since, as pointed out by RSF, she had not received a summons to appear. Also in Mascara, another trial is being held against a journalist of El Watan, charged with libelling an imam of a mosque in the area. Algeria is in 121st place out of a total of 173 countries in the world ranking of freedom of expression carried out every year by RSF. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Chinese Grant for Demining, Delevoping N. West Coast

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, FEBRUARY 17 — Egypt received the first Chinese grant of landmines detection and removal apparatus along with five Chinese experts to train Egyptian staff on using the equipment. The Chinese grant is meant to buttress the Egyptian national plan for removing mines and developing the northwestern coast and its hinterland which could accommodate up to 1.5 million people by 2022. The hinterland, which covers 22 percent of Egypt’s area, abounds with oil, natural gas and water resources. The Chinese assistance is also part of an agreement signed between the two countries in December 2008 on promoting bilateral cooperation. The International Cooperation Ministry seeks through enhancing ties with Egypt’s partners to secure needed demining equipment for the 60 billion EGP development projects enacted by the cabinet in 2005 to see the light of day. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Khan El Khalili the Day After the Attack in Cairo

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — There are very few people in the lanes of Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili today, the most famous souk of the Middle East, and most of those few are undercover police. This is the scene in front of the Al Hussein mosque and the market streets the day after the attack in which a 17-year-old French girl, who had been part of a group of students on a field trip, was killed and other 14 were injured. The news of 24 injured has been confirmed, including four Egyptians, a German and three Saudi citizens. The bomb, stuffed with nails and other metallic objects, most likely exploded after being left under a stone bench in front of a much-frequented and crowed cafe’, and must have been very powerful. “There is nothing left where the bench once was, it’s just an empty space,” commented Jacques Goditiabois, a Belgian journalist on the scene, “and there are very few tourists around. In half an hour I have not seen more than about a dozen.” “We hesitated at length to come to the scene,” said an elderly couple on holiday. “Then we thought that it was very unlikely that there would be two attacks in the same place, one after the other, and so we decided to take the risk.” There has been no official report released yet by the authorities, who are questioning hundreds as witnesses, and the police are still holding two women and a man who were arrested on the scene immediately after the attack. “They are also witnesses,” said a security source, “we have no evidence against them, even though it seems they were likely to have been close to those who carried out the attack.” Egyptian authorities continue to express their utter condemnation of the incident — with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Sayyed Mohamed Tantaui, having spoken of the matter with the President of the Italian deputies Chambers, Gianfranco Fini, who is in Cairo on a visit — as do foreign authorities. Especially Saudi Arabia, which counts three of its citizens among the victims, and Syria and Iran. Teheran has said that “Iran condemns the act of terrorism”, calling it “a suspicious act, which only serves the interests of the Zionist regime.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Cairo Bombs; Al Azhar, Not Muslim Acts

(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 23 — “These explosions are not a widespread phenomenon, and they are condemned by the entire Islamic world, since the people who carry out these kind of attacks cannot consider themselves true Muslims.” These were the words of the president of the Al Azhar University in Cairo, the highest theological authority for Sunni Islam, Ahmad Al Tayyeb, commenting on yesterday’s attacks in the Egyptian capital. Al Tayyeb was speaking at the end of a conference on churches in the Middle East, organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio. “In Egypt,” the president went on, “Muslims have no mentality of violence, and so you can only talk about an ‘Islamic jihad’ when there is a war and there are identified enemies.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Egypt: Fini, Terrorism Hits Those Who Want Peace

(AGI) — Cairo, 23 Feb. — “Terrorism hits those who want peace and it’s no coincidence that it has hit Egypt again” said Speaker of the House Gianfranco Fini during his visit to Cairo, regarding the bomb attack in Cairo. After his meeting with the president of the Egyptian parliament, Ahmed Fathi Sorour, Fini said: “Egypt is an important country for peace in the Middle East, it is trying to come to an agreement between Palestinian factions. In March there will be a conference in Sharm on the reconstruction of Gaza and a future without terrorism. The international community greatly appreciates these efforts”.

According to Fini “the battle against terrorism is won by creating wellbeing for the people and through politics of mutual respect and reason. The road to peace depends also from Israel. You can wage war on your own, but it always takes two to have peace”. Regarding his Egyptian interlocutors who called Israel’s acts in the recent Gaza war “criminal”, Fini said: “Anyone must respond for its own acts”. He invited people to wait “before assuming that the new Israeli government will give less attention to peace efforts.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Libya, Children and the Elderly, “All Inclusive” Care

(by Fausto Gasparroni) (ANSAmed) — MISURATA (LIBYA), FEBRUARY 23 — To provide total care for those with nothing, to care for those most in need and not make them feel like second rate citizens, to be both father and mother for children without parents; in Gaddafi’s Libya the State, through its social services network, is particularly generous to the most defenceless, whether they’re orphans, old people, or children on their own. The system is a real feather in the cap for Jamahiriya, whose health care facilities shower attention on the recipients, respect the individual, and have the funds needed to face every personal need. “Here it’s the government that thinks about those that don’t have any family, like children that have become orphans, or poor kids and the old people”, said Fathia El-Darrath, director general of social security agency for the Misurata district. In Misurata, 210 kilometres east of the capital, the third largest city in Libya after Tripoli and Bengasi with close to half a million inhabitants, the ‘Children’s Homé is an important facility and one of the country’s model orphanages. “The government looks out for the children from the day they’re born, during infancy and adolescence until the day they marry”, explains El-Darrath. Apart from housing and feeding, health care, clothing, support for studying, the government also furnishes each one with a personal allowance of 130 dinars a month that no one else can touch; the money is deposited in the bank and only the young person can use it as he thinks best”. Currently there are 158 children housed in the Misurata facility (the city where Gaddafi finished his higher education) ranging in age from a few days to twelve years old. Some of the children have been abandoned, others have lost their parents in car accidents. The children live in cosy surroundings, sparkling clean rooms boast teddy bears and stuffed animals, study areas and recreation areas that even include Playstations. There is no school in the orphanage, the children go to the city schools, “with all the other children, so they can integrate better into society”. Each newborn, and there is one just three days old, is cared for by a nurse who concentrates exclusively on that baby. The babies are at the centre of attention. “When the girls arrive here every day”, underlined El-Darrath , “we take their cell phones, so they don’t have distractions and only think about the baby”. There is also the House of the Elderly in Misurata, located in the countryside nestled in an olive grove, a structure that not a few Italian rest homes would envy. The old people pass their days in dignified conditions. Additionally, the structure, directed by Jamal, Fathia’s husband, also takes care of people with handicaps, the deaf, and people will muscular disabilities. “These people also receive a stipend of from 130 to 300 dinars a month, explained the head of the Misurata social welfare agency, “free housing or a contribution for it, and funding for their education. The elderly get an additional amount if they live at home. Health care of course is free, both at home and in the hospital”. The State also provides for the needs of those who are divorced. Posters of the “Leader of the Revolution” are on display everywhere in the structures but among the occupants there is a palpable sense of gratitude. However, among the managers, there is some worry about what will remain of the social security system if the “distribution of the oil riches” scheme goes ahead which includes the dismantling of part of the State administration. “We still don’t know whether or not the money will be there any more”, said El-Darrath, “because the proposal has been under discussion these days in the local people’s councils and we don’t know what will happen”. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Libya: Gaddafi, Teleconferencing to Communicate With Youth

(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, FEBRUARY 27 — Colonel Gaddafi turns ever more technological and from his tent he has chosen videoconferences with Universities all over the world as a safe and fast tool to reach out to young people and spread his message. On January 24 he held a videoconference with the Georgetown University and the day before yesterday one with the University of Niamey. “It’s up to you, University teachers and students, to champion a stronger Africa and its development”: this was the latest media appeal, launched on February 25, by the man who is now described every day by JANA as “the Leader of the Revolution and the Leader of African Unity, to those taking part in an international seminar underway at the “Abdu MùMani” University of Niamey, Niger, on “Africa: present and future prospects”. In his long speech, the Leader repeatedly called on the intellectual class, researchers and students to take upon themselves the task of overcoming the conflicts that “have split Africa into 53 States” and also referred to those “responsible” for the damages suffered by the continent: Europeans, Americans and Israelis. On January 24 Muammar Gaddafi addressed students of the Georgetown University of Washington in a videoconfefence from Tripoli and told them “America today is a diffrent America” hailing the election of Barack Obama and going as far as suggesting to start a “dialogue” with Osama Bin Laden. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Tourism: Tunisia Pins Hopes on ‘Star Wars’ Old Set

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 17 — At Ong El Jemel, a forgotten post lost among the rocks and sand of the Tunisian Sahara, has over recent years become a hot destination for thousands of SUV-bourne tourists. The reason for stirring up all that sand? It is the place where the set was constructed for the legendary film ‘Star Wars’. And now officials of the governorate of Tozeur have decided to carry out a series of works in the area aimed both at preserving the balance of the local Saharan ecosystem which has been threatened by the sudden influx of so many vehicles, especially during the high season (October-March), but also to improve the spaces dedicated to traditional trading activities. And improvements have also been planned for the tracks connecting Ong El Jemel with Nefta and on to Tozeur, respectively 14 and 27 kilometres away. But another location at the gateway to the Sahara Desert is still popular for its ‘Star Wars’ associations: this is Matmata, a village of Barber origins, 600 metres up on a rocky hillside. It was here that director George Lucas built his set for most of the shooting of the fourth episode, and where Luke Skywalker’s home was located. And more than a few tourists (Matmata is easily accessed via a metalled road) soon realise why the director’s choice fell on this village of cave-dwellers. The traditional habitations are dug out of the rock itself, into the hillside, facing courtyards open to the sky above and dug around seven metres deep. This type of construction has the function, apart from gathering the increasingly rare rainfall, of regulating the temperatures in the burrow constructions, as local temperatures often soar to 45 degrees. But to get back to ‘Star Wars’, the production team bought several of these constructions for its uses (accommodation for actors and technicians, storage space) as well as for shooting locations. The whole structure has today been transformed into a single hotel, where you really do get the feeling that yoùre living in a science-fiction film. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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EU: Commission to Announce 436 Mln Euros in Gaza Aid

Brussels, 27 Feb. (AKI) — The European Commission is to announce 436 million euros in aid for the Palestinian people at a conference in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday. The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinians and the EU executive announced the donation on Friday.

The ‘Conference in support of the Palestinian economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza’ will be co-chaired by Egypt and Norway and representatives of all international donors to the Palestinians will attend it, the European Commission said.

Other members of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators: United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg will also attend the donor meeting.

EU funds earmarked for the Palestinians in 2009 will be spent on humanitarian aid and the rapid reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which was devastated by Israel’s three-week military offensive which ended on 18 January.

The commission says rubble and and unexploded ordinances urgently need to be removed from the coastal strip, while further assistance is needed for children left traumatised by the conflict.

More than 1,330 Palestinans died and 5,400 others were injured during the offensive, Operation Cast Lead.

The commission said the EU will also support a “cash for work” scheme, as well as small repairs of shelters that were damaged during the military attack.

It will also continue supporting the Palestinian Authority in implementing overall Palestinian Reform and Development Plan as well as programmes carried out by the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency.

“Our priority today is to adequately respond to the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza,” said EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

“By offering a substantial aid package we confirm our generosity and commitment towards the Palestinians.”

She stressed that the ending of Israel’s crippling blockade of the aid-dependent Gaza Strip was a major priority.

“In the aftermath of the crisis, a clear priority remains the immediate and unconditional reopening of all Gaza crossings on a regular and predictable basis, for the flow of humanitarian and commercial goods as well as people,”Ferrero-Waldner stated.

She said she would urge donors at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference to use the EU’s PEGASE financial mechanism to transfer aid rapidly to Palestinians in Gaza.

PEGASE is currently used to provide fuel for electricity generation, for the payment of social allowances to 24,000 vulnerable families and the salaries of over 28,000 civil servants and pensioners.

The mechanism has enabled aid worth 421 million euros from the EU and 130 million euros from other donors to reach the Palestinians since it was set up in January 2007.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Gaza: Sharm Summit: 900 Mln USD in U.S. Aid, Only 300 to Gaza

(ANSAmed) — SHARM EL-SHEIKH — US State Department spokesman Robert Wood has said that of the 900 million dollars the United States pledged in aid to Palestinians — to be announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Donors Conference in Sharm El-Sheik — just 300 will be earmarked for the Gaza Strip, with the rest going into the hands of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). “We will be supporting the Palestinian National Authority and reconstruction in Gaza with a total of 900 million dollars at the Donors Conference,” reiterated Wood, who then went on to say that out of this figure 300 would be going towards meeting “urgent humanitarian needs” in the Gaza Strip under Hamas control by way of the UN and NGOs. An additional 200 will be donated to help out PNA finances under President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), who has announced a shortfall of 1.5 billion dollars for the 2009 budget. The remaining 400 million dollars will then go towards bolstering the PNA’s economic programme in the West Bank, according to the US State department spokesman. The US decision has come after the PNA and Israel asked that aid not be given directly to Hamas. The Palestinian National Authority believes that it alone should receive all aid, and is supported in the matter by Israel, which urged a show of “caution” so as to prevent the donated funds from strengthening Hamas. The latter, on the other hand, has asked that Mahmoud Abbas and his PNA be excluded from the process since, in its words, it “does not represent the Palestinian populace”. (ANSAmed)

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Gaza: Sharm Summit; 4.5-5 Bln Dollars From Donors

(ANSAmed) — SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), MARCH 2 — The amount of money already promised by participants at today’s Donors Conference for the reconstruction of Gaza has reached 4.5 billion dollars. The figure could rise even further, to 5.2 billion, explained Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, thanks to further contributions which have not yet been confirmed, which we heard about during the Donors Conference for Gaza. The budget for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip and the relaunch of the economy is much higher than what Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Salam Fayyad asked for: he was hoping for 2.8 billion in aid, 1.3 to rebuild the Strip in 2009-2010 and 1.5 billion to make up the PNA’s budget deficit. Here are some of the amounts promised by the principal donors: — USA: US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton announced aid of 900 million dollars, conditional on the peace process and an answer from the Palestinians on the conditions set by the ‘Quartet’ (UN, EU, USA and Russia): renouncing violence, recognition of the State of Israel, respect for previous agreements with Israel. Of the 900 million announced, 300 will go towards “urgent humanitarian needs” in the Gaza Strip, 200 to the PNA’s budget and 400 to economic programmes in the West Bank. EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The European Commission has committed to giving 554 million dollars in 2009 (436 million euros). European Commissioner for External Affairs, Benita Ferrero Waldner made the announcement, pointing out that the European Commission’s commitment “has as a priority an appropriate response to the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza. But the crucial problem not connected to the funds and access, is the reopening of the crossings”. ITALY: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced to the Sharm el Sheikh conference that Italy’s contribution will be 100 million dollars, with around 25 million per year for four years (2008-2011). He said that one of the Italian Presidency of the G8’s priorities is a ‘Marshal Plan’ to revive the Palestinian economy, in particular the relaunch of tourism in the Holy Land. FRANCE AND GB: The two countries announced aid of 31.5 and 45 million dollars respectively. ARAB COUNTRIES: Saudi Arabia has promised one billion dollars. Qatar 260 million, Algeria 200 million and a further 100 million from a charitable foundation in Qatar. OTHER COUNTRIES: Morocco and South Korea will each donate 16 million dollars, Australia 12.9 million, and Ireland 2.6 million dollars. Russia also announced general food and medical aid, 50 transport vehicles and two civil helicopters for the Palestinian Authority. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Hamas-Fatah Agree on Eve of Donors’ Conference

Palestinian factions agree to process that should lead to a national unity government. Thus aid for Gaza reconstruction should start flowing in. Israeli daily Haaretz writes that recent war benefited Hamas.

Cairo (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Hamas and Fatah as well as smaller Palestinian factions have agreed to form five committees to address security issues and the formation of an election commission. This should lead to the formation of a national unity government (negotiators pictured). The committees are set to begin work 10 March and complete their work at the end of the month.

As a first sign of reconciliation, on the eve of the talks both sides have agreed to free their respective prisoners.

In November of last year Egypt had originally tried to promote intra-Palestinian reconciliation but failed when Hamas withdrew at the last minute, accusing Fatah of arresting its members in the West Bank.

The breakthrough came ahead of an international donor conference in Egypt that hopes to raise money for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip by Israel’s 22-day war on the territory.

Western countries are among the donors but they have resisted helping Hamas, a movement deemed terrorist by the United States and Europe.

Hamas had however benefited from the war with Israel, this according to opinion polls in the territories reported by Israeli daily Haaretz. A probable exchange of abducted Israeli solider Gilad Shalit for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners should further boost its prestige.

In the Israeli army’s current review of its performance during the war, an encouraging picture is emerging in terms of its professionalism, control over units, aerial assistance to ground forces, quality of intelligence and logistics compared to war against Hizbollah.

However, at the diplomatic level the major damage Cast Lead did was in legitimising Hamas as the ruler of the Gaza Strip.

The paper notes that on the eve of a visit by the new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instead of “coming to talk to Israel about the Iranian threat,” she “will focus on the problems of the Palestinians in Gaza. That might be the greatest damage of all.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Hillary: U.S. Funds Won’t Reach Hamas

But aid slated for agency that openly employs terrorist group

ERUSALEM — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today that a $900 million U.S. aid package for the Palestinians was meant to foster regional peace and would not fall into the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization.

But the aid is slated to be received both by a U.N. agency that openly employs Hamas as well as by the Palestinian Authority, which is in talks to create a unity government with Hamas.

— Hat tip: JD

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Israel Has Already Forfeited Jerusalem

Jews barred as U.S. helps Arabs fortify their presence in holy city

JERUSALEM — Sections of Jerusalem have essentially been forfeited on the ground to the Palestinian Authority, while Jews, including local landowners, are barred from entering parts of Israel’s capital, a WND investigation has found.

The probe further determined the U.S. has been aiding the Palestinians in developing infrastructure in Jerusalem.

Also, it has emerged, the Israeli government has failed to stop Arabs from illegally building thousands of housing projects on Jerusalem land purchased and owned by a U.S. Jewish group for the express purpose of Jewish settlement, culminating in an Arab majority in the neighborhoods.

— Hat tip: JD

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Israel: Labour Party Clashes With Barak, Split Possible

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 2 — Last night’s meeting between premier-designate Benyamin Netanyahu (Likud) and Defence Minister Ehud Barak (Labour) has given rise to an air of foreboding in the upper levels of Israeli Labour party leaderships. At the end of the talks, the Labour leader announced that he would be meeting with Netanyahu again and — despite undergoing pressing questions by journalists — did not rule out his possible inclusion in the new Israeli government. “If Barak acts as defence minister in the Netanyahu government, the party may split in two,” warned Labour party secretary Eitan Cabel. Similar views were also expressed by some of the more leftist representatives of the Labour party. Barak has recently been the target of harsh criticism, after the party suffered a disappointment in the general elections and came in fourth for the first time in its history, behind Kadima, Likud and Avigdor Lieberman’s Israel Beitenu. A few days ago, a meeting of the party’s upper echelons ended with a heated exchange between the Barak’s supporters and those of his predecessor Amir Peretz, who blame each other for the disastrous election results. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Where’s the Next Ben Gurion?

Die Welt 14.02.2009

“Where’s the next Ben Gurion?” asks Israeli historian Benny Morris. The Israeli politicians of the first decades embodied the sort of Zionist ethos which you could never dream of seeing in today’s politicians. “Today’s bunch are made of a very different stuff: Olmert, Netanyahu and Barack spent years accumulating fortunes, aided of course by their contacts and years in office. (Livni is an exception here: she is known for her clean hands and modesty). But in general the wealthy self-serving politicians reflect the development and the character of Israeli society in the last two or three decades: The shift from the collective to individualism, from socialism to capitalism from the slimness of youth to the middle-aged spread. This seems to be the case for all national and nationalist-socialist revolutions, among which Zionism undoubtedly numbers (even if in certain countries — see Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe — the shift over generation is embodied in a single head of state.)”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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A “Fatwa” Against Yemeni Law Setting Minimum Age for Marriage

The norm sets the limit at the age of 17, but according to Islamic figures, this goes against Sharia, and therefore Parliament cannot legislate on the matter. Meanwhile, lawmakers have decided to delay by two years the political elections scheduled for April.

Sana’a (AsiaNews) — Some Yemeni religious figures have launched a “fatwa” against the law recently approved by Parliament that sets the minimum age for marriage at 17. The statement, signed by the rector of Al-Eman University, Sheikh Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, and by representatives of the party Islamic Islah, is aimed at eliminating the minimum age limit.

The question of the minimum age for marriage in Yemen was brought to the attention of world public opinion last April, following the case of Nojud Mohammed Ali, an 8-year-old girl who requested and obtained a divorce after being forced to marry a 30-year-old man.

News Yemen reports that the 17 signers of the “fatwa” claim that the law has no Islamic foundation and violates Sharia, the Islamic law, which the Constitution of the country affirms as the basis of all of its laws. “The marriage age,” says the assistant secretary general of the Islah party, Mohammad Assadi, “is an Islamic rule, and political parties cannot intervene in such affairs.”

But there are also some who are asking that the minimum age be raised to 18. One researcher on Islamic questions, AbdulAziz alAsali, also a member of Islah, maintains that girls need to be given time to complete high school, and that “at 18 years they are mentally and physically ready for marriage.”

For its part, the National Women’s Committee has asked Parliament not to respond to the lawmakers who are asking for the marriage age limit to be lowered to 12.

In any case, it is unlikely that the issue will be examined immediately. Yesterday, the Yemeni Parliament decided in practice to delay by two years the political elections scheduled for next April. Members of Parliament, in fact, approved a document initiating the procedures necessary to modify the articles of the Constitution establishing the duration of the parliamentary mandate. The decision was made to allow the introduction of the amendments necessary “for political and electoral development,” including the proportional system.

The decision was made following threats by the opposition to boycott the vote if the electoral law were not modified.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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International Churches Council in Jordan Declares Conspiracy Between the Vatican and Zionist State

Dr. Audeh Qawwas, Member of the Central Committee in the International Churches Council in Jordan, accused the Vatican for being directed by a Zionist Lobby, which succeeded in penetrating the highest Christian Authority.

The former Christian Member in the Jordanian Parliament said that the Pope is fully responsible regarding the political bargain between the Vatican and the Jews, concerning acquitting the Messenger’s murderers from blood of the Christ, after crucifying him (as mentioned in the Christianity). He pointed out that this is against the Christianity and the Bible.

Qawwas, Member of “The Messenger of God Unites Us” Campaign emphasized that international Zionism had penetrated into the decision making centers of the Vatican, with the result of establishing a group of the Zionist Christian. He did not know the reasons for this penetration. Qawwas rejected the idea which says that Jews are not guilty of crucifying the Christ, according to the Christianity belief.

He asked the Pope to cancel his visit to the Zionist State, because it is a Terrorist Entity which was responsible for killing the Christ and disregarding Palestine as a holy place for all Christian Groups. He encouraged the studying of the Talmud religion, and realizing its secrets, so as not to mistake this religion for the arrogance of the Zionists, and to discover the truth of considering Judaism as the religion of Ibrahim.

Regarding the final solution of Jerusalem, Qawwas said the Vatican has no right to interfere, as it is a Palestinian matter. Churches of Jerusalem are charged with cooperating with Muslims of the City. They are Islamic and Christian places; no one has the authority on them.

Qawwas declared these statements on FACT International Radio during the “Mukashafat” program, which is presented by Ziyad Al Ghuweri and Yousef Sulayman, as well as on the FACT website. A conference was held, convened by the FACT International Media Group that sponsors “The Messenger of God Unites Us” Campaign. The Israeli Television Channel 10 recently denigrated the Prophets of God, Muhammad Son of Abdullah, the Christ Son of Mary, accusing his pure Mother of being a teenager.

Dr. Qawwas blamed all Churches, Eastern and Western, for not doing their duties. He also criticised Presidents of these Churches, especially in the Middle East, where there are a lot of religious Christians.

He criticised the Christian World for not adopting procedures against the Zionist Channel that insulted the Christ and his pure Mother. There was only condemnation, which was issued by the Sacred Complex of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem. Patriarchs of Antioch (Orthodox and Catholic) and the Syrian met in Damascus and issued only a condemning statement. Presidents of the Churches in Homs sent a message to the Pope urging him to cancel his visit to the Zionist Entity.

Qawwas criticized the reaction against that insult. This is due to tough laws of the Church that do not grant Clergymen freedom. He expressed his concern about reacting to the coming events with only condemnation. He called for revolting against these fierce attacks, which targeted the Muslims and Christians.

Finally, he wondered, Could the Catholic Church or some of its Leaders be penetrated with faith that contradicts Christianity, meaning the Jewish Faith?

— Hat tip: TB

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Islam: GCC Criticises Israel for Offending Mohammed on TV

(ANSAmed) — DUBAI, MARCH 2 — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has harshly criticised offensive statements about Islamic prophet Mohammed made during a TV show broadcast on Israeli Channel 10. “These statements are a narrow-minded campaign launched by the Israeli state against Muslims,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, the Secretary of the GCC, pointing out that offensive remarks were also recently made regarding Christians. During a reality show, one of the protagonists offended Mohammed with remarks that were “offensive, and are part of a series of ferocious attacks perpetrated by Israeli television against the Muslim system of values and teachings”, confirmed the secretary of the GCC (the Council is made up of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman). Two weeks ago, Mary and Jesus were the target of comments in a satirical TV programme which provoked outrage from the Vatican and were followed by apologies from the TV station, and Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Navigation: Tuscany, Yacht Assistance Centre in UAE

(ANSAmed) — ABU DHABI, MARCH 2 — It is possible that in coming months the Region of Tuscany may present a plan to build an assistance centre and a post-sales boatyard in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, one of the areas in the world with the largest number of mega yachts. The plans were discussed by the president of the Region of Tuscany, Claudio Martini and the Counsellor for Productive Activities, Ambrogio Brenna, during a meeting with the UAE Economics Minister Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, during an official economic visit by the Tuscan authorities. Around 900 mega yachts are built worldwide each year, and around 450 of these are built in Italy: in turn around 60% of these are built in shipyards in Viareggio, Livorno and Massa Carrara. During the meeting at which the Italian Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Paolo Dionisi, was also present, it became clear that the UAE were interested in forming economic relations with Tuscany, particularly in highly specialised industries such as nanotechnologies and their possible uses in medicine, creativity in small and medium sized businesses and in fashion. Martini and Brenna added that “they are interested in all the sectors in which Tuscany is at the forefront, with the exception of the wine sector”, including an assistance centre for extraction technologies as developed by many companies in the Nuovo Pignone network of inter-connected suppliers. “Martini added that “the Emirates may represent a great platform for trade in the entire gulf area, but also for India or Pakistan. The important thing is to be there and to make our presence felt.” (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Saudi Arabia: Shiite Protest Over Video of Women in Medina

(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 25 — There has been a Shiite revolt in Saudi Arabia over footage which the Sunni religious police took of several Shiite women on a pilgrimage to Medina. Middle East Online reported the news today, quoting the accusation of an activist for Shiite human rights. According to Ibrahim Mugaiteeb of the Human Rights First Society, hundreds of people took part in two protest meetings yesterday evening in the city of Qatif in the eastern province. The cause of the protests was a violent clash between Shiite pilgrims and police on Monday in the holy city of Medina. A group of Shiites (the religious minority in the country) apparently exploded in anger over the fact that Sunni religious police had videoed several female Shiite pilgrims last week. Nine people were arrested during clashes at the Al-Baqi cemetery, next to the mosque of the Prophet, but there are no casualties, said the Ministry for the Interior. According to the Shiite activist, few Saudi Muslims of any persuasion would accept women being photographed or filmed without permission. His organisation has asked the government to launch an enquiry into the clashes in Medina and to find those responsible. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Trade: Tax Exemption for Turkish Trucks Entering Syria

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 18 — Syria will not take taxes from Turkish vehicles carrying goods, Turkey’s State Minister, Kursad Tuzmen, said. Tax exemption of Turkish vehicles carrying goods to Syria is the first positive outcome of Tuzmen’s visit to Syria. “This will reduce the negative effect of the global economic crisis on trade”, Tuzmen said during his meeting with Syrian Minister of Finance al-Husayn, adding that “this tax exemption would mean 25-30% reduction in transportation costs which was equal to about $250”. Tuzmen said vehicles carrying transit goods should also be tax-exempt, which would contribute to Turkey’s transportation to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. The current trade volume between Turkey and Syria stands at $1.7 billion. Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, Turkish exports to Syria increased by 50%, as Anatolia agency reports. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkey: Number of Turkish Workers Going Abroad Down

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 16 — The number of Turkish workers sent abroad by Turkey’s Employment Agency (ISKUR) went down by 23.4% in 2008 when compared to the previous year and was recorded as 57,652. The number of Turkish workers sent abroad in January went down by 66.8% when compared to the same month last year and was recorded as 2,775. In 2008, the majority of Turkish workers went to Russia, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Since 1961, the number of Turkish workers going abroad for work is more than 2,200,000. (ANSAmed).

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Turkish Weekly: Geert Wilders on Islam: Selections

FASCHISM [sic] and RACISM IN THE NETHERLANDS SELECTIONS:

According to a recent opinion poll, if the Dutch parliamentary elections were held today, the Freedom Party (PVV) headed by right-wing racist leader Geert Wilders would become the largest party in the Netherlands. It would win 27 seats in the 150-seat parliament, as opposed to the nine it currently has. The Christian Democrats — the largest party in the governing coalition — would win only 26 seats.

It is clearly understood that we should more concentrate on Mr. Wilders’ opinions on immigrants and Islam to understand the Ducth politics, because now nobody can claim that Mr. Wilders is a marginal man in the Netherlands politis. [sic]…

— Hat tip: Holger Danske

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Who Orchestrated Israel’s Surrender?

Find out in Q&A with author of new book that explains it

Editor’s note: WND asked Nicholas Butterfield to interview bests-selling author Mike Evans about his latest book, “Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos.”

Q: Is the jury really still out on Jimmy Carter, or was he the worst president in modern American history?

A: In my opinion, Jimmy Carter was the worst president in modern American history, contrary to what the polls currently say. Under Jimmy Carter’s watch, the most loyal U.S. ally in the Middle East was deposed; Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviets; Iran was invaded by Iraq (the consequences of which are documented in an earlier chapter); an Islamic revolution seized Iran and sent it crashing backward, unleashing a societal collapse which still grips the country.

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein, fearing no U.S. involvement or intervention, targeted the northern Kurdish people in a horrific experiment to determine the effectiveness of his chemical weapons program. Carter signed the Algiers Accords assuring Iran that the U.S. would not intervene politically or militarily in its affairs. This provided an open door for Iran’s leaders to thumb their collective noses at its detractors and pursue paths that continue to endanger the rest of the world. It allowed Iran the freedom to fund terror activities that threaten the West.

[…]

Q: You describe how Jimmy Carter campaigned on the “human rights” platform. However, his foreign policy leadership seemed to only hurt the “human rights” cause. He plunged Iran into a new dark age, and allowed Afghanistan to be infiltrated by the USSR. Did he really do anything during his presidency to help “human rights”?

A: Mr. Carter’s term in office did, in my opinion, absolutely nothing to advance the cause of human rights. Perhaps the most telling quote in my book came from former Empress Farah Pahlavi: “What happened to those who cared so much for human rights? How come when the shah left, the Iranian people didn’t have any rights anymore? What happened to the women? … Flogging, stoning, amputations, insults, all the killing of not only women, children, workers, intellectuals, and whoever even comes outside to demonstrate peacefully for their salaries. … the head of the bus drivers, they took him and they cut his palms. … They took his family to jail, his wife and his children of three or four in the jail. There is oppression, which exists in the name of religion in Iran. What happened to those who cared?” What, indeed? Mr. Carter’s human rights policies left a bloody trail of innocent victims … from Iran to Nicaragua to Afghanistan, and beyond.

— Hat tip: JD

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Yemen: Ex-Pilot Fined for Jew’s Murder

Sanaa, 2 March (AKI) — A Yemeni court on Monday convicted a former pilot of killing a local Jewish man and ordered him to pay a 250,000 dollar fine to the victim’s family in blood money. But Abdul Aziz Yahya al-Abdi, a 39-nine-year-old Muslim Yemeni, escaped the death penalty after pleading he was “mentally unstable”.

Al-Abdi has been in custody since December, after admitting to shooting dead Masha Yaish al-Nahari in the town of Raida in the country’s Omran province.

Al-Nahari’s widow and father both said they will appeal the sentence and called for the death penalty.

Abdi, a former air force pilot, told the court during his trial that he murdered al-Nahari after warning Yemeni Jews that he would kill them unless they converted to Islam.

Late last year witnesses said the gunman approached al-Nahari and told him “Jew, accept Islam’s message” and then shot him five times with an AK-47 assault rifle.

Al-Abdi is alleged to have murdered his wife two years ago but was not jailed because he agreed to pay compensation to the wife’s family, said Pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat, at the time of his arrest.

During the trial the prosecution had called for a death sentence to be imposed.

“We will appeal the ruling. Even if you give me the whole Sana’a (the capital city) in blood money, I would not accept,” Moshe’s father, Yaish al-Nahari, is reported to have told the judge who pronounced the verdict.

Prosecutors asked the court to sentence the defendant to death, but the court said medical tests concluded that he was “mentally unstable.”

The crime provoked widespread anger among the Jewish minority which numbers a few hundred in Yemen.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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“Islamic Peace” in the Swat is a Defeat for the Rule of Law

The end of conflict could mark new persecutions of religious minorities and women. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expresses “serious concern” and emphasizes that the agreement will have repercussions in the whole country.

Islamabad (AsiaNews) -The controversial peace agreement between the government of the North-West Frontier Province and the Taliban militia group Tahrik-e-Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi could mark the end of the armed conflict, at the cost of new suffering and persecution. Those who will pay the consequences would especially be the women and religious minorities. This is what is feared by human rights activists, according to whom the introduction of sharia — Islamic law — in exchange for the ceasefire in the district of Malakan is a “defeat for democracy and the rule of law.”

The government has fought the Taliban in the area for two years, without success. Much of the valley has long been under the control of Islamic militias; it was once a popular tourist area, but in recent months has become the theater of hundreds of attacks on schools — above all on those for girls — and on video and DVD stores, because they are contrary to Islamic morality. In order to escape persecution, thousands of people have abandoned their homes. Now there is a superficial calm in Swat, but it is accompanied by renewed fears for the future of the valley.

Mehboob Sada, director of the Christian Studies Center in Rawalpindi, recalls the “persecution and threats” against Christians in various areas of the NWFP, and is afraid that the application of sharia “will make the situation even more difficult,” because the Taliban will govern “according to the principles of Islamic law.”

I. A. Rehman, a human rights activist, stresses in an article published in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn that now the militias “have complete freedom of action in the area,” and accuses the signers of the agreement of being shortsighted, because they did not keep in mind “the long-term consequences.” “The fact that the signers,” he writes, “have condemned democracy and elections as un-Islamic implies that democratic institutions are at the mercy of the militias,” and predicts “a dark future for the population of the area.”

“Serious concern” is also being expressed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which complains of “the lack of any kind of guarantee against possible violations of the constitution and citizens’ human rights.” “The introduction of sharia,” the activists explain, “without precise reassurances of impartiality on the part of the judges established to enforce respect of the law, could mark the condemnation of certain categories at risk, including women, non-Muslims, and Muslim minority sects.”

The HRCP recalls that it is in favor of dialogue, but that it is essential that “the other side also observe the principle of good faith, credibility, and the capacity to respect its commitments.” “It is the duty of the provincial government to protect democratic principles, the constitution, and human rights. Success or failure will determine the future not only of the Swat, but of all Pakistan.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Bangladesh: Dhaka, End of Mutiny by Border Guards

A government spokesman says that “the crisis is over.” This morning, tanks entered Dhaka, and there were fears of an escalation of the violence. Sources for AsiaNews speak of a situation of “discontent” among the troops of Bangladesh Rifle. Eyewitnesses say there was gunfire in the hospital of the capital.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) — The mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifle has ended. The border guard units that revolted — leading to an exchange of gunfire with the army in Dhaka — have given up, lain down their arms, and freed the hostages being held inside the general headquarters.

This afternoon, a government spokesman said that “the crisis is over,” but just a few hours earlier the situation of tension seemed about to erupt into a genuine civil war. Tanks had entered the capital; Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had promised to make whatever decision “necessary to put an end to the violence.”

The mutiny by the border guards, who were infuriated over the failure of an agreement on pay, claimed at least 10 victims, but the number of dead could be higher than 50. At the moment, it is not known whether there are victims among the hostages who had been held in the general headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifle, in the hands of the rebels for more than 24 hours. Yesterday, two corpses were found near a drainage ditch in the area.

Sources for AsiaNews in Bangladesh confirm the “situation of discontent” among the border guards, who “have often been used by the army and by officials as cannon fodder: they are assigned guerrilla maneuvers, or high risk operations. It is a problem that has been dragging on for more than 20 years.” Believed to be at the origin of the mutiny, in fact, is the “failure to give raises or benefits to the paramilitaries. The proposals advanced on the occasion of the holiday [celebrated last Tuesday, the day before the beginning of the mutiny] were not believed to be satisfactory.” The Bangladesh Rifle are “more numerous than the regular army,” but they are equipped “only with light weapons like rifles,” and this, according to the source, prevented the “further escalation of the conflict. The military has more substantial resources, like the tanks used today.”

AsiaNews has also gathered the testimony of a person trapped in a Bangladesh Medical College, one of the places involved in the gunfire between the army and the paramilitaries. “The battle,” the source says, “came into the hospital itself. I saw one person fall to the ground, hit by a bullet in the head. The ground floor was a genuine battleground. We tried to take refuge on the upper floors, but then an army patrol blocked us at the fourth and fifth floors, until the situation calmed down.” Witnesses talk about “deserted streets,” the area around the general headquarters of the border guards “is isolated” and “a widespread sense of fear remains.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni

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Don’t Say a Word

A U.N. resolution seeks to criminalize opinions that differ with the Islamic faith.

You see how the trick is pulled? In the same weeks that this resolution comes up for its annual renewal at the United Nations, its chief sponsor-government (Pakistan) makes an agreement with the local Taliban to close girls’ schools in the Swat Valley region (a mere 100 miles or so from the capital in Islamabad) and subject the inhabitants to Sharia law. This capitulation comes in direct response to a campaign of horrific violence and intimidation, including public beheadings. Yet the religion of those who carry out this campaign is not to be mentioned, lest it “associate” the faith with human rights violations or terrorism. In Paragraph 6, an obvious attempt is being made to confuse ethnicity with confessional allegiance. Indeed this insinuation (incidentally dismissing the faith-based criminality of 9/11 as merely “tragic”) is in fact essential to the entire scheme. If religion and race can be run together, then the condemnations that racism axiomatically attracts can be surreptitiously extended to religion, too. This is clumsy, but it works: The useless and meaningless term Islamophobia, now widely used as a bludgeon of moral blackmail, is testimony to its success.

[…]

Rather than attempt to put its own house in order or to confront such other grave questions as the mass murder of Shiite Muslims by Sunni Muslims (and vice versa), or the desecration of Muslim holy sites by Muslim gangsters, or the discrimination against Ahmadi Muslims by other Muslims, the U.N. resolution seeks to extend the whole area of denial from its existing homeland in the Islamic world into the heartland of post-Enlightenment democracy where it is still individuals who have rights, not religions.

— Hat tip: JD

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Indonesia: Bali Yoga Fest Goes Ahead

JAKARTA — AN EIGHT-DAY international yoga festival opened on Tuesday on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali despite a fatwa against the exercise from the country’s top Muslim body. Organisers said seminars and workshops would help introduce yoga to a wider audience and rejected the clerics’ concerns that some forms of the popular exercise were a threat to Islam.

‘The festival has a universal value. It doesn’t belong to any religious teachings,’ International Bali-India Yoga Festival spokeswoman Susi Andrini told AFP.

Yoga, an ancient Indian aid to meditation dating back thousands of years, is a popular form of physical exercise and stress relief in Indonesia.

But the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, the top religious body in the mainly Muslim country, issued a fatwa in January banning Indonesian Muslims from all forms of yoga that involve Hindu religious rituals such as chanting mantras.

It said performing yoga purely for the physical benefits was however acceptable.

The move raised the hackles of religious moderates and civil libertarian groups who accused the council of meddling in affairs over which it had no authority.

Religious edicts issued by the ulemas are not legally binding on Muslims but it is considered sinful to ignore them.

Andrini said organisers were not afraid to hold the festival at the Bajrasandi Bali Monument in Denpasar — the capital of the Hindu-majority island of Bali — despite the fatwa.

‘I’m a Muslim myself. Our kind of yoga, which is called Patanjali, involves movement and breathing. People may recite their own mantra or prayer according to their faith,’ she said.

‘We want to make Bali a place for spiritual tourism. Visitors will seek the spiritual aspect first rather than leisure.’ Andrini expected about 500 people from around the world, including the United States, Germany, Sweden, Japan and China, would participate in the festival. — AFP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Pakistan Says Lahore Cricket Attack Copycat of Mumbai

LAHORE, Pakistan, March 3 (Reuters) — The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan on Tuesday bore the hallmarks of the same militants that carried out the attack on Mumbai in November, a senior Pakistan official said on Tuesday.

Around dozen heavily armed assailants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus and a police escort as they drove to a stadium in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

He said the police had surrounded the area where the attackers were believed to be now holed up.

“I want to say it’s the same pattern, the same terrorists who attacked Mumbai,” Salman Taseer, governor of central Punjab province, told reporters at the site of the attack.

“They are trained criminals. They were not common people. The kind of weaponry they had, the kind of arms they had, the way they attacked … they were not common citizens, they were obviously trained.”

Ten gunmen killed 179 people in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai between Nov. 26-28 last year.

India has maintained the plot was hatched in Pakistan and backed by people with links to Pakistani intelligence agencies.

New Delhi has pressed for forceful action by Pakistani authorities against militants belonging to Laskhar-e-Taiba, a jihadi group it says was responsible. The group comes from Pakistan’s Punjab province, whose capital is Lahore.

— Hat tip: DK

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Police Dead, Players Shot in Sri Lankan Cricket Ambush

MASKED gunmen have opened fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, killing at least eight people and wounding six players.

Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said 12 gunmen today attacked the convoy near Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons and were involved in a 25-minute shootout with the security forces.

“They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws,” he said.

A police official said two civilians and six police officers who were guarding the players were killed in the attack which happened as the team was heading for the third day’s play in the second Test against Pakistan.

Television footage of several gunmen creeping through the trees, crouching to aim their Kalashnikovs then running onto the next target were aired by Pakistan’s private channel Geo.

Broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge and an empty rocket-propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was shown crashed sideways into the road at the Liberty Chowk (roundabout) in Lahore.

Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a white car was shown smashed headlong into the roundabout as nervous security officers guarded the site.

Sri Lankan authorities said six players were believed to have been wounded though earlier reports said eight had been injured.

Local police officer Mohammad Suhail said two players had bullet injuries but were “in a stable condition”.

— Hat tip: DK

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Terror at the Test Match: Seven Die as Sri Lankan Cricket Team is Attacked by Gunmen in Pakistan

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Masked terrorists staged a commando-style attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team today as they were being bussed to a Test match in Pakistan.

Seven players and a British coach were injured and six policemen killed when they were ambushed by 12 gunmen. A bus driver also died.

Another Briton, Chris Broad, the match referee and father of England player Stuart, was hailed a hero after lying on top of a critically injured Pakistani official to shield him.

— Hat tip: JD

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Japan Would Shoot Rogue Rocket

TOKYO — JAPAN is ready to shoot down any North Korean rocket headed toward its territory, Japan’s defence minister warned on Tuesday, weeks after Pyongyang announced it would launch a satellite. North Korea has said it is ready to launch what it calls an experimental communications satellite despite growing appeals from countries that suspect Pyongyang is planning a missile test to call off its plans.

The United States and its Asian allies see such a launch as a pretext to test the Taepodong-2 missile, which could theoretically reach Alaska.

‘If there’s a possibility that an object could lose control and drop on Japan, the object becomes our target, including a satellite,’ said Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada. ‘It’s only natural for us to deal with it.’

The Kyodo news agency, quoting an unnamed defence source, reported that Japan is considering deploying two Aegis-equipped destroyers carrying the Standard Missile-3 interceptor to the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

‘We would have no other choice but to intercept,’ a senior Maritime Self-Defence Force officer was quoted as saying, referring to a scenario in which a missile or a rocket was launched and believed headed for Japan.

Defence ministry spokesman Katashi Toyota declined to confirm the report.

‘I am aware of the reports. However I wouldn’t comment on the movement of the Self-Defence Forces in specific cases, particularly what action the forces will take or are taking, due to the nature of this issue,’ he said. — AFP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Philippines: Top Communist Rebel Arrested

MANILA — A TOP communist rebel leader blamed for extorting ‘revolutionary taxes’ from businessmen in the Philippines has been arrested, the army said on Tuesday. Eduardo Sarmiento headed the regional party committee in the central Visayas region for the Communist Party of the Philippines New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and had standing arrest warrants for various crimes, the army said.

‘Mr Sarmiento was arrested alone and in possession of high explosives and fake identification cards,’ the army said in a statement.

It said that Sarmiento was arrested on February 24 following a tip off by former cadres.

It added that Sarmiento headed a ‘nationwide extortion syndicate’ operated by the CPP-NPA, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969 in one of Asia’s longest-running communist insurgencies.

‘We expect more arrests soon, in our unrelenting campaign to crush this criminal organisation,’ the army said.

The group frequently targets power and telecoms infrastructure owned by firms that refuse to pay illegal ‘revolutionary taxes’ demanded by the rebels. — AFP

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Toyota in Desperate Plea for $2 Billion in Emergency Loans

Before the slowdown, Toyota’s level of profitability in its US market arose chiefly from its relatively limited use of incentives to persuade Americans to buy Toyota vehicles. People liked the cars and bought them without needing excessive enticement by favorable financing terms that would otherwise eat into Toyota’s bottom line.

However, the Japanese carmaker is now forced to battle with its Detroit rivals to secure any customers at all, resulting in its financial unit needing more supplies of capital than it was previously used to.

The company’s once seemingly inexorable march into the American car market has been dealt a catastrophic blow by the downturn in consumer spending.

Last week, it emerged that Japanese exports — of which cars represent about 20 per cent — had plunged by nearly half in the month of January. It was the third consecutive month where the pace of export decline broke records last set in the 1970s.

— Hat tip: JD

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Australia: Don’t Let Criminals Win, Says Warren Mundine

ALP powerbroker and Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine yesterday warned the Rudd Government to keep funding the Australian Crime Commission’s Alice Springs-based indigenous taskforce.

Mr Mundine begged the Government not to backtrack on the Northern Territory intervention following its refusal to commit to funding the ACC taskforce investigating indigenous child abuse, drug trafficking and alcohol crime.

“My message to the minister and the Prime Minister is you need to continue this drive forward and not let your resolve weaken in this battle. Too many lives depend on the Government to be strong,” he said.

Mr Mundine said the Government was being lobbied strongly by people who opposed the intervention.

“We’ve been sitting back because we thought things were going in the right direction, but the other side has been working very hard at turning this over, and letting the criminals and the dysfunctionality continue in Aboriginal Australia,” he said.

The warning from the former ALP national president followed Howard government indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough accusing Kevin Rudd of destroying the intervention he launched in July 2007 into 73 Territory communities.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said on Monday the Government would decide while framing the May budget whether it would fund beyond June the ACC’s National Indigenous Violence and Child Abuse Intelligence Unit.

Mr Mundine said the entire operation was justified on the basis of stamping out child abuse, and it made no sense to downgrade that task.

“If you get back to the original reasons the intervention happened, it was about child abuse, so you would think if there is going to be a national response, that would be the first national response, investigations, the collection of data and dealing with these issues of criminality,” Mr Mundine said.

“That’s what the intervention is about, it’s the core of it.

“I think they seriously have to address the issue of breaking the cycle of child abuse … most abusers have been abused as a child.”

Mr Mundine, who has been a strong advocate for radical reforms to improve Aboriginal living standards, said the ACC taskforce was needed to track down perpetrators.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin defended the Government’s commitment to the intervention, citing the Prime Minister’s appointment of a co-ordinator-general to cut through red tape in remote communities as a clear example.

Ms Macklin denied the Government was phasing out the intervention, saying families in remote communities reported feeling safer because of the increased police presence, the reduction in alcohol consumption and additional night patrols and safe houses.

The AAC taskforce believes it is making breakthroughs and wants to continue its work.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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German Navy Detains 9 Pirate Suspects

In a dramatic deployment at the Horn of Africa, a German navy frigate has stopped a pirate attack and taken nine suspects into custody. The success marks the first time Germany has made arrests during pirate patrols off the coast of Somalia.

A German naval patrol detained nine suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday after successfully stopping an attack on a freighter ship operated by a company based in Germany.

Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, reported that the crew on board the Rheinland-Pfalz received an emergency call from the freighter MV Courier at 7:12 a.m, a ship flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. The ship’s crew reported the Courier had been shot at with rocket-propelled grenades and firearms.

The crew of the German naval vessel, which was located about 50 sea miles from the scene, quickly dispatched a helicopter and rushed to the freighter. Once it arrived at the Courier, military personnel reportedly fired warning shots and stopped the attack. The Bundeswehr reported that a US military helicopter, based on the USS Monterey, had also participated in the deployment.

A few hours later, the German navy vessel intercepted the pirates’ boat, secured evidence of the attack and took nine suspected pirates into custody on the Rheinland-Pfalz. Tuesday’s intervention marked the first arrests made by Germany’s Bundeswehr since it began its anti-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden as part of the European Union’s Atalanta mission on Dec. 25, 2008. The area off the coast of Somalia has been the site of numerous pirate attacks against commercial vessels in recent months.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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Human Trafficking on the Rise

Italian interior minister’s warning at Interpol meeting

(ANSA) — Lyons, March 3 — Human trafficking is on the rise and one in five victims are children, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said on Tuesday. Addressing a meeting of Interpol chiefs in Lyons, the minister described human trafficking as “an odious crime and a violation of human rights”. “Unfortunately, statistics suggest it is a growing problem,” he added. “The most alarming figure is probably that almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children, a percentage that rises to 100% in certain parts of West Africa”. The minister said sexual exploitation underpinned the vast majority of human trafficking cases, around 75%. Slave labour was to blame in a further 20% of cases.

Maroni also underscored the highly organized nature of the human trafficking trade and the vast sums of money changing hands. “Trafficking is the third largest illegal business in the world, after drugs and arms smuggling, and generates several billions of dollars each year for the criminal networks involved,” he said. “The groups involved in trafficking are highly organized. They are genuine transnational enterprises that operate using flexible cells, often divided on the lines of ethnic groups,” he continued. “Furthermore, we know there is collaboration between Italian and foreign organized crime groups because they have divided up different segments of the market between them, for example focusing on prostitution or illegal labour or organized begging”.

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS PLAY KEY ROLE IN TACKLING PROBLEM.

The minister highlighted the crucial role played by international agreements that encourage cross-border cooperation in tackling the problem.

He gave the example of a pact signed a few days ago between Italy, Nigeria and Interpol, which will see Nigerian police officers deployed to Italy, where they will work with local border police to help identify potential problems. Maroni stressed that addressing human trafficking would be an important issue for Rome in its capacity as duty president of the Group of Eight (G8) this year.

Looking ahead to an end-of-May meeting of interior and justice ministers from the world’s eight richest nations, Maroni said human trafficking and how to bolster international cooperation on the issue would be discussed in depth.

— Hat tip: Insubria

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Piracy: [S. Korea] Unit to Fight Somali Pirates Launched

South Korea’s Navy yesterday launched a 300-member task force to be deployed to the pirate-infested waters off Somalia.

The cabinet approved a plan to dispatch the 4,500-ton destroyer Great King Munmu and Navy sailors to the Gulf of Aden to protect Korean commercial ships. The National Assembly had approved the country’s first deployment of a naval combat unit for an overseas mission.

A launching ceremony of the Cheonghae Unit took place at a port in Busan. In addition to the destroyer, the unit includes a crew of 270, a helicopter and 30 special forces, the Navy said. The team will leave as early as mid-March.

In past years, Korean ships and crew have increasingly become the target of Somali pirates. About 460 Korean vessels use the route every year, the South Korean government said. In a recent incident, five Korean crewmen were freed last month after being held captive by Somali pirates for nearly three months.

Of the sailors to be deployed, five are female naval officers — petty officers second class Shim Hwa-yeong, Ahn Yeon-jin, Kim Hyeon-ji, Park A-yeong and Park Ji-yeon.

Kim, Ahn and Park A-yeong will work in the destroyer’s combat intelligence office where they will be responsible for detecting suspected pirate boats using radar. They will also support combat missions by providing target information.

Shim will operate the ship’s sonar detection system, and Park will be in charge of procurement.

The unit has completed a three-week training program, which started on Feb. 1.

A three-step education program to train the sailors on the rules of engagement, operational guidelines, team work checking and counter-terrorism missions was provided, the Navy said. Officers also received intense instruction on Islamic culture and psychological management skills in the battlefield, the Navy said.

Upon their arrival in Bahrain, the Korean sailors will work with the U.S. military stationed there to learn about inspection protocols, local culture and tips on collecting evidence.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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100,000 Foot Soldiers in Drug Cartels

Numbers rival Mexican army

The U.S. Defense Department thinks Mexico’s two most deadly drug cartels together have fielded more than 100,000 foot soldiers — an army that rivals Mexico’s armed forces and threatens to turn the country into a narco-state.

“It’s moving to crisis proportions,” a senior U.S. defense official told The Washington Times. The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitive nature of his work, said the cartels’ “foot soldiers” are on a par with Mexico’s army of about 130,000.

The disclosure underlines the enormity of the challenge Mexico and the United States face as they struggle to contain what is increasingly looking like a civil war or an insurgency along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the past year, about 7,000 people have died — more than 1,000 in January alone. The conflict has become increasingly brutal, with victims beheaded and bodies dissolved in vats of acid.

The death toll dwarfs that in Afghanistan, where about 200 fatalities, including 29 U.S. troops, were reported in the first two months of 2009. About 400 people, including 31 U.S. military personnel, died in Iraq during the same period.

The biggest and most violent combatants are the Sinaloa cartel, known by U.S. and Mexican federal law enforcement officials as the “Federation” or “Golden Triangle,” and its main rival, “Los Zetas” or the Gulf Cartel, whose territory runs along the Laredo,Texas, borderlands.

The two cartels appear to be negotiating a truce or merger to defeat rivals and better withstand government pressure. U.S. officials say the consequences of such a pact would be grave.

“I think if they merge or decide to cooperate in a greater way, Mexico could potentially have a national security crisis,” the defense official said. He said the two have amassed so many people and weapons that Mexican President Felipe Calderon is “fighting for his life” and “for the life of Mexico right now.”

As a result, Mexico is behind only Pakistan and Iran as a top U.S. national security concern, ranking above Afghanistan and Iraq, the defense official added…

— Hat tip: Paul Green

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A Salute to Champions of Liberty

Geert Wilders, an outspoken politician and chairman of the Freedom Party (PVV) in the Netherlands who produced a 16 minute-long movie “FITNA,” has been accused of Islamophobia and refused entry to the UK by immigration authorities after arriving at Heathrow airport in London. UK Independence party peer, Lord Pearson, had invited him to show his controversial film “Fitna,” which links Quran to terrorism, at the House of Lords.

The 16-minute documentary which juxtaposes passages of the Quran with the mass murder of 9/11 and other acts by radical Muslims was released to the Internet on March 27, 2008. It immediately sparked Muslims’ condemnation. They argued he is twisting selected passages from the Quran to suit his argument in the same way that extremists do to promote terrorism. In his short film, he presented the following passages from the Quran. You be the judge:

Al-Anfal 8.60 “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom Allah doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of Allah, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly.”

An-Nisa 4.56 “Those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast them in fire. Whenever their skins are cooked to a turn, we shall substitute new skins for them, that they may feel the punishment; Verily Allah is sublime and wise.”

Muhammad 47.4 “Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been Allah’s Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in the Way of Allah, — He will never let their deeds be lost.”…

— Hat tip: Amil Imani

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Greece: Police Clash With Illegal Immigrants in Greek Port

Patras. Clandestine immigrants protested in the Greek port of Patras after an Afghan man seriously injured himself trying to jump onto a lorry heading for Italy, police said Monday, AFP reported. Police dispelled hundreds of immigrants with tear gas as they demonstrated in the streets and set fire to garbage cans, causing traffic jams for several hours.

The man, who has not been named, tried to hide inside the vehicle as it boarded a ferry for the Italian peninsula, but fell and got trapped under the wheels.

He was later transferred to hospital in a serious condition. A large number of clandestine immigrants in Patras hail from Afghanistan and are aged between 15 and 25 years.

Many have lived in makeshift camps without proper water or hygiene facilities. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and several non-governmental organisations have described the situation as an “emergency” and called on Greece to improve its procedures for claiming asylum and upgrade immigrant reception centres.

— Hat tip: Tuan Jim

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