News Feed 20120102

Financial Crisis
» 2012 to be Worse Than 2011: German Finance Minister
» Corruption is Rising in the Crisis-Hit Eurozone, Study Says
» Denmark: Prime Minister Tells Nation That Tough Times Are Ahead
» EU Slams Hungary for Power-Grab on Central Bank
» Finance: EIB Grants Over 2 Bln Euro Loan to Turkey
» German Central Bank Official: ‘Britain Must be Aware of Its Importance in the EU’
» Italian Stores Open as Long as They Want
» Italy: Cash-Strapped Church Closes Until Easter
» New Year’s Speeches Voice Fears on Future of Europe
» Sarkozy Kicks Off Election Year With Warning
» Spain: It’s Official: Purchasing Power Has Taken a Big Euro-Era Hit
» Tunisia: Job Offers Down by 62%
» Van Rompuy: EU Could Avoid Full Treaty Change Via Legal Trick
 
USA
» Anonymous Strikes Again: Hackers Publish Email Addresses and Passwords of 860,000 Clients of Shadowy U.S. Security Firm
» L.A. Arson Suspect is 24-Year-Old Hollywood Man
» Mount Rainier Body Confirmed as Suspected Gunman
 
Europe and the EU
» France: Karachi: Sarkozy Involved in Kickbacks Scandal, Press
» Germany: “Anonymous” Declares “Blitzkrieg” On Neo-Nazis
» Germany: Art Listing Hitler as ‘Freely Elected’ Attacked”
» Germany: Teachers ‘Need Help to Fight Youth Extremism’
» Italy: Sharp Fall in Working-Age Population Seen
» Spain: New Year Brings End to Bullfighting in Catalonia
» ‘Star Wars’ And ‘LOTR’ Sword Master Bob Anderson Dies at 89
» Sweden: Rise in Shootings Puts Strain on Malmö Police
» Syrian Man ‘Assassinated’ In Germany… Sparking Fears Damascus is ‘Hunting Down Its Critics in Europe’
» UK: ‘Show Them Love’: Archbishop of Canterbury Defends Summer Rioters (Again) In New Year’s Message
» UK: ‘Why Can’t I Skype My Friends and Relatives Abroad From Prison?’ Whine of Bangladeshi Terrorist Jailed for Plotting to Blow Up Passenger Jet
» UK: The Criminals in Uniform: More Than 900 Police Officers and Pcsos Have Convictions From Burglary to Domestic Violence
 
North Africa
» Protest Sit-in by Police Officers in Tunis
 
Middle East
» Gulf: Defence: Oil Monarchies Spend 35 Billion Dollars
 
South Asia
» India: Google and Facebook Ordered to Remove Anti Religious Content
» Luxury Maldives Resorts Set to Close Their Health Spas Because Islamists Say They’re ‘Offensive’
» Territorial Army Solider Faces Murder Charge for Shooting Suspected Taliban Bomber
 
Latin America
» Activists Say Washington Holds Key to Ending Drug War in Mexico
» Mexican Cartels Seek Recruits Among California Latinos
» Mexicans Confront Racism With White, Black Doll Video
 
Immigration
» UK: Migration Will Fall Sharply This Year ‘But it Won’t Hit PM’s Target’
 
Culture Wars
» Spain: Abortion a Bigger Problem Than Joblessness, Says Catholic Church
 
General
» Deep-Voiced Men Don’t Have ‘Macho’ Sperm

Financial Crisis


2012 to be Worse Than 2011: German Finance Minister

(BERLIN) — The new year will probably be worse than the last, but Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, should be able to withstand it, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview Monday. “2012 will probably be more difficult than 2011, but the German economy is in good shape,” Schaeuble told the mass-circulation daily Bild.

The minister urged eurozone countries to “do their homework… consolidate their budgets and push through the necessary reforms” to resolve the long-running debt crisis. The bail-out mechanisms put in place by member states “can only buy time for states to take the necessary measures and win back confidence,” Schaeuble added.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Corruption is Rising in the Crisis-Hit Eurozone, Study Says

Italy and Greece haven’t been generating many positive headlines recently. Add to these their disturbing score — the lowest among eurozone members — in a newly published global corruption ranking. Finland tops the group. In addition to their widening financial woes, Italy and Greece appear to have some growing corruption issues.

In its 2011 Corruptions Perceptions Index, which measures perceived levels of corruption in the public sector, Transparency International ranked Italy 69 and Greece 80, compared with their 67 and 78 rankings in 2010. Those are the lowest scores among the 17-member eurozone.

The Berlin-based corruption watchdog believes the rising debt problems of these and other members of the common currency zone are partly to blame for the creeping corruption. Among the lowest scoring eurozone countries, the group said in a statement, were those suffering from the bloc’s debt crisis, caused in part by “public authorities’ failure to tackle bribery and tax evasion.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Denmark: Prime Minister Tells Nation That Tough Times Are Ahead

In her debut New Year’s speech, Helle Thorning-Schmidt says that problems will continue throughout 2012

Against a backdrop of burning candles and plummeting opinion polls, Helle Thorning-Schmidt gave her first New Year’s speech to the nation as prime minister on Sunday. Also hanging over Thorning-Schmidt’s head — and permeating much of what the Socialdemokrat said — was the global economic crisis and its effects on Denmark. “Our goal is to bring Denmark safely through the crisis and out on the other side with our wealth, decency and solicitude in tact,” Thorning-Schmidt said. “It won’t be easy. But we can if we will. The new year — 2012 — will not be the year, when we free ourselves from our problems. We must admit that now.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



EU Slams Hungary for Power-Grab on Central Bank

BRUSSELS — The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday (22 December) lashed out at the Hungarian government over plans to seize control of its central bank, the latest in a series of power-grabs by the ruling party amid worsening economic conditions and downgrades to ‘junk’ territory by two major ratings agencies.

Enforcing the current draft law on the central bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank) “could undermine [its] independence”, the ECB said in a statement, focusing on a provision which would increase the number of deputy governors, effectively giving the government a say in the setting of interest rates…

Last week, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso sent a letter to Orban warning that the two bills are in breach of EU law and “strongly advised” him to withdraw them from parliament.

Since the IMF walk-out, the Hungarian government’s repayment capacity was downgraded to “junk” by Standard and Poor’s, after Moody’s — another major ratings agency — did the the same in November. Both have projected a negative outlook for the country’s economy, forecast to have the highest debt level and slowest economic growth among the EU’s eastern members next year.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



Finance: EIB Grants Over 2 Bln Euro Loan to Turkey

(ANSAmed) — BRUXELLES, JANUARY 2 — The European Investment Bank (EIB) provided Turkey with 2.043 billion euros of loan in 2011, as Anatolia news agency reports. The bank’s loans to Turkey were up 5.6% year-on-year in 2011. The EIB gave the highest loan to Turkey’s Ankara-Istanbul high-speed train project. The loan was around 400 million euros. Loans the EIB provided to Turkey in the last five years reached 11.5 billion euros.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



German Central Bank Official: ‘Britain Must be Aware of Its Importance in the EU’

The world continues to demand that Europe find a solution for its ongoing debt crisis. But in an interview with SPIEGEL, senior Bundesbank official Andreas Dombret says that American investors are being too impatient. He also demands that the UK do its part and reiterates his bank’s position that the ECB should not become a lender of last resort.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italian Stores Open as Long as They Want

‘Save Italy’ measure intended to boost consumer spending

(ANSA) — Rome, January 2 — A new law went into effect Monday allowing Italian stores to open and close whenever they please. Previously the law required that stores close after a certain number of hours per day, as well as some holidays, Sundays and one day during the work week. Bars and restaurants can also stay open non-stop. Intended to boost consumer spending, the relaxed rules are part of the emergency government’s package of stimulus and budget measures that aim to raise 30 billion euros and lift hurl the country out of its debt crisis.

Critics argue that the measure will only benefit large companies with the personnel to cover more shifts, while smaller businesses will lose their ability to compete. The measure comes as stores across Italy prepare for after-Christmas sales, which began in some southern cities Monday as the rest of the country follows suit throughout the week. According to the retail association Confcomercio, the average Italian spends 168 euros on clothing during the winter sales season. Yet estimates for 2012 from the consumer group Codacons have lowered the amount to 110 euros — a 30% drop — in light of the global economic crisis.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Cash-Strapped Church Closes Until Easter

Hit by lower offerings, Treviso priest can’t afford electricity

(ANSA) — Treviso, January 2 — A church near Treviso is closing until Easter because of a plunge in offerings due to the economic crisis.

Father Stefano Taffarel, parish priest at Fontanelle di Treviso, said his flock’s less giving ways meant he could no longer pay to heat and light the church of Sts Peter and Paul.

For the rest of the winter, Father Taffarel said, the church will open only for funerals and special feast days.

Normal services will be moved to a smaller church in the centre of the village, which he can afford to run.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



New Year’s Speeches Voice Fears on Future of Europe

BRUSSELS — EU leaders have said in their festive messages the single currency is still at risk unless they take decisive action. For her part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that the latest phase of the crisis coincides with the 10th birthday of the now-familiar red, blue and brown banknotes with their little motifs of EU maps and Romanesque or Gothic windows.

“In a few hours it will be exactly 10 years since many of us at just around midnight withdrew our first euros from a bank machine. Since then, the euro has made our lives easier and our economy stronger,” she said on national TV on 31 December. She linked the fate of the currency to the fate of the Union itself.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sarkozy Kicks Off Election Year With Warning

Facing a tough election fight in four months, French President Nicolas Sarkozy kicked off the new year warning voters that 2012 was “full of risks” and that France’s future will hang in the balance. France entered an unpredictable election year on Sunday, with polls showing Sarkozy’s main contender, Socialist candidate François Hollande, leading in the race for the presidency.

“What is happening in the world announces that 2012 will be a year full of risks but also full of possibilities. Full of hope, if we know how to face the challenges. Full of dangers, if we stand still,” Sarkozy said during the last New Year’s Eve address of his first term. “France’s destiny could once again be tipped” in 2012, Sarkozy said, highlighting his experience in dealing with the eurozone debt crisis.

“Emerging from the crisis, building a new model for growth, giving birth to a new Europe — these are some of the challenges that await us,” he said.

With the crisis and the French economy set to take centre stage in the vote, right-wing Sarkozy also sought to steal some thunder from the left, vowing action on unemployment and saying the financial sector would not set French policy. He promised “important decisions” on fighting joblessness before the end of January, after new figures last week showed unemployment at a 12-year high, with the number of registered jobseekers in France hitting 2.84 million.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Spain: It’s Official: Purchasing Power Has Taken a Big Euro-Era Hit

Salaries rise by 14 percent; the cost of living by 48 percent

Official figures are confirming what Spanish citizens had suspected for years: that adopting the euro caused a general price rise that has not been matched by a similar wage hike. As the 10th anniversary of the replacement of the peseta approaches, a report by a major consumer organization based on official statistics shows that salaries rose by an average 14 percent over the last decade, while the price of food went up by 48 percent, housing by 66 percent and transportation by 45 to 58 percent.

The OCU consumers’ organization said in its report that the most glaring proof of this gap between what employees earn and the cost of living is the market basket. In an April 2001 study, this representative basket cost families an average of 4,600 euros annually; in May 2011 the same set of products cost 6,800 euros a year, reflecting a 48-percent price rise. These figures are based on a comparison of supermarket prices as reported by OCU once a year.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks changes in the price of goods and services bought by households, registered an accumulated rise of 32 percent between 2002 and 2011. Yet data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that salaries only rose an average of 14 percent in the last 10 years.

Some of the most notable price hikes affected basic food products such as bread (85 percent), eggs (114 percent), milk (48 percent), rice (45 percent), oil (33 percent) and potatoes (116 percent).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Job Offers Down by 62%

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JANUARY 2 — Employment and apprenticeship offers in Tunisia in the first 11 months of 2011 were down 37% compared to last year’s corresponding period, while jobs fell by 62%. Employment demands registered an increase of 113% that African Manager, which released the figures, called “historic”.

For those with high school qualifications alone, there was a 187% increase in job applications

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Van Rompuy: EU Could Avoid Full Treaty Change Via Legal Trick

BRUSSELS — The European Union may be able to winkle out of the fraught process of a full treaty change via a clever legal trick, EU Council President Herman van Rompuy has suggested. According to a two-page report from the Belgian EU chief submitted to national capitals on Tuesday (6 December), by amending a protocol attached to the Lisbon Treaty rather than changing the treaty itself, the lengthy and politically uncertain path of referendums and ratification by national parliaments can be avoided entirely.

Instead, so long as EU leaders unanimously back a redrafting of a single protocol, the changes can be achieved almost instantly, following consultations with the European Central Bank and the European Parliament, both of which would be formalities. The article (Art. 126) in the treaty that deals with excessive deficits is fleshed out in a protocol attached to the legal text of the document but which remains separate from the treaty itself.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

USA


Anonymous Strikes Again: Hackers Publish Email Addresses and Passwords of 860,000 Clients of Shadowy U.S. Security Firm

Hackers who stole thousands of credit card numbers from U.S. security firm Stratfor have now published the email addresses of more than 860,000 of its clients.

The loose-knit Anonymous movement released the data — which included information on former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger — online.

The lists of emails included scrambled details of their passwords — which experts said could be cracked within a matter of seconds by using software downloaded for free.

People working for big corporations, the U.S. military and major defence contractors were all contained on lists stolen from the intelligence company often dubbed the Shadow CIA.

The Antisec faction of the movement said last weekend it had hacked into the firm and promised that the release of the stolen data would cause ‘mayhem’.

Computer hackers ‘could bring rail network to a standstill’ warns security expert — but would we even notice?

A spokesperson for the group said via Twitter that yet-to-be-published emails from the firm would show Stratfor, which gathers non-classified intelligence on international crises, ‘ is not the ‘harmless company’ it tries to paint itself as’.

Antisec has not disclosed when it will release those emails, but security analysts said they could contain information that could be embarrassing for the U.S. government.

Jeffrey Carr, chief executive of Taia Global Inc, said: ‘Those emails are going to be dynamite and may provide a lot of useful information to adversaries of the U.S. government.’

Stratfor issued a statement on Friday confirming that the published email addresses had been stolen from the company’s database.

It said it was helping law enforcement probe the matter and conducting its own investigation.

The statement said: ‘At Stratfor, we try to foster a culture of scrutiny and analysis, and we want to assure our customers and friends that we will apply the same rigorous standards in carrying out our internal review.’

John Bumgarner, chief technology officer of the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, said: ‘There are thousands of email addresses here that could be used for very targeted spear phishing attacks that could compromise national security.’

The Pentagon said it saw no threat so far.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]



L.A. Arson Suspect is 24-Year-Old Hollywood Man

Los Angeles police on Monday afternoon booked a 24-year-old man on suspicion of arson after an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy detained him in connection with a string of more than 50 deliberately set fires

Booking records identified the man as Harry Burkhart, a Hollywood area resident. He is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown L.A.

No new arsons have been reported since the suspect was taken into custody, but police stressed that the investigation was ongoing.

The fires have caused $2 million in damage, authorities said.

At a news conference Monday, officials said the arson task force is sifting through about 100 clues in the case.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said : “I feel very good that we’ve got the right guy. [The suspect] had the right stuff in his van, and we are confident in the arrest.”

According to law enforcement sources, Burkhart has been involved in a dispute with federal immigration officials.

Burkhart appears to have been battling the U.S. government over the immigration status of his mother.

The Los Angeles Police Department is in communication with federal immigration officials concerning the dispute, the law enforcement sources said.

LAPD detectives found materials inside Burkhart’s minivan that could have been used to set fires, the sources said. All of the sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

[Return to headlines]



Mount Rainier Body Confirmed as Suspected Gunman

SEATTLE (Reuters) — A body found face down in the snow at Mount Rainier National Park is that of an Iraq war veteran suspected of killing a park ranger, then fleeing into the wilderness, authorities said on Monday.

Park spokeswoman Lee Snook said the body was confirmed to be that of 24-year-old Benjamin Colton Barnes, who was suspected of shooting ranger Margaret Anderson dead on Sunday when she stopped his vehicle at a roadblock.

Snook said Barnes’ body had been found lying face down in the snow and partially submerged in the Paradise River above Narada Falls following an exhaustive manhunt by 200 local, state and federal law enforcement agents.

She said the body was discovered wearing only a T-shirt, pants and one tennis shoe and that a gun was found about 50 yards away.

“The conjecture is he died from exposure to the elements,” Snook said, adding that temperatures dipped into the 20s overnight in Mt. Rainier National Park.

The body, which was initially spotted from the air by search and rescue teams, had “no heat signature,” Washington State Patrol spokesman Guy Gill said in a tweet.

Authorities say Barnes fled into the backcountry following the shooting death of Anderson, 34, on New Year’s Day, which prompted the massive search and the evacuation of some 125 tourists from the park.

“Like any criminal, he’s not important. Our emphasis is on Margaret,” Pierce County Fire Chief Garry Olson said, remembering the slain ranger as “friendly, dedicated and a hard worker.”

Residents of Eatonville, where Anderson lived, were shaken by the death of the popular park ranger.

“It’s just very sad, everyone in town knew her,” said Teresa Mackey, manager of the Cruiser Cafe in Eatonville, just west of the park.

Of Barnes, she said: “People are very happy he’s been found.”

The former U.S. Army private was also suspected in a separate shooting incident on early New Year’s Day that injured three men and a woman at a house party in the Skyway neighborhood of Renton, Washington near Seattle, according to the King County Sheriff’s Department.

Barnes received a Chapter 14 misconduct discharge in November of 2009 after being charged by civilian authorities with driving under the influence and improperly transporting a privately owned weapon, Army officials said.

He served one tour of duty in Iraq, the officials said.

Photographs released by authorities showed a heavily tattooed Barnes with the words “Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust” on the back of his neck.

[Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


France: Karachi: Sarkozy Involved in Kickbacks Scandal, Press

Approved creation of ad hoc company as Budget Minister

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, JANUARY 2 — French president Nicholas Sarkozy was allegedly involved in the commissioning of arms sales to Pakistan in the 1990s linked to a 2002 attack in Karachi, in which 15 people lost their lives. According to one of the witnesses questioned during the inquiry, reports today’s daily Liberation, in 1994 the Budget Minister (a post held by Sarkozy at the time) allegedly authorised the creation of a company in Luxembourg named “Heine” in order to pay intermediaries for armaments contracts (until 2000 a legal practice). “It is clear that the Budget Minister must have given his approval for the creation of Heine,” said former high-ranking official of the defence ministry Gerard-Philippe Menayas, according to the minutes of the interrogation quoted by the paper,” given the importance of the issue, this decision could only have been made at the Cabinet level.” A 2010 report by Luxembourg police had already spoken of Sarkozy’s role in the setting up of Heine, but the president has always denied any involvement. The complex judicial matter of the “Karachi affair” aims to establish whether the payments (legal at the time) paid on the side for the contracts finalised in 1994 with Pakistan, for the sale of submarines, and with Saudi Arabia, for the sale of frigates, gave rise to “back payments” (illegal): money which secretly returned to France and went towards funding the presidential campaign of former prime minister Edouard Balladur in 1995.

The dossier is made more sensitive by the suspicion — which judges are looking into — of a link between France’s decision to break off payments to Pakistani intermediaries in 1995 and the May 2002 attack in Karachi, which killed 15 people (11 of whom French). The investigative thesis is that this terrorist attack may have been a form of retaliation by the beneficiaries of the payments. Two figures closely linked to Sarkozy have already been placed under investigation in relation to the case: Thierry Gaubert and Nicolas Bazire, as well as the former minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Germany: “Anonymous” Declares “Blitzkrieg” On Neo-Nazis

“Anonymous” hackers have declared “Blitzkrieg” on neo-Nazis for the New Year, disabling a number of their websites and publishing lists of extreme-right supporters.

A “Nazi-Leaks” portal has appeared on the internet listing hundreds of names of people subscribed to various shops selling far-right clothing, as well as writers for the Junge Freiheit newspaper which carries contributions from far-right commentators.

The hackers say they have managed to close down 15 websites associated with the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), the Frankfurter Rundschau reported on Monday. They have reportedly called their campaign “Operation Blitzkrieg”.

Long lists of names, some with addresses, purporting to be customer registers of firms such as the infamous Thor Steinar clothing firm were posted on the “Nazi-Leaks” portal.

People listed on the portal as having written for the Junge Freiheit newspaper included Peter Scholl-Latour, according to the Frankfurter Rundschau. He is a respected journalist and Afghanistan expert who has written for, among other publications, the Stern magazines.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Art Listing Hitler as ‘Freely Elected’ Attacked”

A work of art in the Reichstag building which includes Adolf Hitler in a list of “freely and democratically” elected members of the German parliament has been repaired after someone attacked it.

The display — a series of drawers featuring the names of the 4,781 MPs elected between 1919 and 1999 — has been largely ignored since its installation in 1999 when the lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag moved from Bonn to the Reichstag building in Berlin.

The period between 1933 and 1949 when there was no parliament is symbolised in the display by a black box.

The dents to Hitler’s drawer and its repair, reported by the Tagesspiegel newspaper, has ignited a debate over whether Hitler was really fairly elected — and whether the display should feature his name.

Some politicians have, in recent days, expressed various views of the 1933 elections and the artwork’s merit.

Bundestag President Norbert Lammert has said in two speeches that the elections weren’t democratic, although he has so far left open whether the installation should be modified.

Socialist Left Party member Petra Pau agreed that the election had not been fair, although she said she supported repairing Hitler’s name because seeing it “immediately stimulates reflection and discussion” among visitors.

But Sven Schulz, a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party said the damage should never have been fixed, calling the repairs “making Hitler pretty again.”

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Teachers ‘Need Help to Fight Youth Extremism’

Attempts to prevent young Germans from getting into right-wing extremism are failing because of poor coordination and sporadic financing say experts. Though all German children discuss the Third Reich as part of their school curriculum, not enough is being taught about modern ideas of human rights and discrimination — and teachers are often poorly equipped to counteract the extreme right wing’s aggressive recruiting of young people, the experts said.

“Short term projects which are time-limited from year to year are not enough,” said Eva-Maria Stange, a member of Saxony’s state legislature. “We need a stable structure.” The November revelation of a neo-Nazi terror cell — three people are suspected of killing a policewoman and at least 9 people with a migration background between 2000 and 2007 — has heightened calls for authorities to do more to prevent young people from being lured into a life of extremism.

Finding solutions will take some effort, said the experts who have called for a consistent, large-scale effort to coordinate a fight against extremism among youth. Freiburg University of Education sociologist Albert Scherr said there should be a federally funded foundation that spearheads anti-discrimination education efforts. Scherr said schools should incorporate more human rights and anti-racism education into the core curriculum.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Sharp Fall in Working-Age Population Seen

‘15-64-year-olds to fall from 65.7% to 54.3% in 2056’

(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — Italy’s working-age population will fall in the next few decades, Istat said Wednesday.

The 15-64-year-olds will fall from their current 65.7% of the population to 62.8% in 2026, the statistics agency said in a report on Italy’s demographic future. The shrinkage will accelerate over the longer term, Istat said, dropping to 54.3% in 2056, but will then stabilise at 54.7% in 2065.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Spain: New Year Brings End to Bullfighting in Catalonia

Ban effective as of yesterday

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 2 — Yesterday saw the entering into force of a ban on bullfighting in Catalonia, approved in the Catalan Parliament in July 2010. In July 2011 the Chamber of Deputies had rejected a proposal by the Popular Party and the Ciudadanos Party to reverse the ban. Over the past year about 15 bullfights have been held in the region, especially in Barcelona’s Plaza de La Monumental where the last bullfight in September was taken part in by a number of famous bullfighters including José Tomas, Serafin Marin and Juan Mora. The ban originates in the popular legislative initiative promoted by the Prou! (Basta!) platform, which collected 127,500 signatures and on which an appeal is pending submitted to the Constitutional Court by the PP. The law banning the practice established the first six months of 2012 as the period in which economic compensation will be decided on due to the ceasing of activities for those running bullfighting rings and working in the sector, which the latter estimate at 300 million euros and the Catalan government claims is a few dozen thousand ones. The law also provides for the possibility to transfer to the 2013 budget the economic compensation granted to “holders of personal rights” harmed by the ban on bullfighting.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



‘Star Wars’ And ‘LOTR’ Sword Master Bob Anderson Dies at 89

Bob Anderson, a former Olympic swordsman who staged fights for films including the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings series, has died, British fencing authorities said Monday. He was 89. The British Academy of Fencing said Monday that Anderson died early New Year’s Day at an English hospital. Anderson donned Darth Vader’s black helmet and fought light saber battles in two of the three original Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The villainous character was played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones, and Anderson’s role was not initially publicized. But Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, said in a 1983 interview that “Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader’s fighting.” “It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told (director) George (Lucas) I didn’t think it was fair any more,” Hamill told Starlog magazine. “Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man.”

Robert James Gilbert Anderson was born in Hampshire, southern England, in 1922. He served in the Royal Marines during World War II and represented Britain in fencing at the 1952 Olympics and the 1950 and 1953 world championships. His first film work was staging fights and coaching Errol Flynn on swashbuckler The Master of Ballantrae in 1952.

He went on to become one of the industry’s most sought after sword masters, working on movies including the James Bond adventures From Russia With Love and Die Another Day; The Princess Bride; The Legend of Zorro; and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Fencing academy president Philip Bruce said Monday that Anderson was “truly one of our greatest fencing masters and a world-class film fight director and choreographer.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Rise in Shootings Puts Strain on Malmö Police

After the latest incident where a 15-year-old died from shot wounds to the head and chest on Sunday evening, police say that the situation in Malmö is “strained”. “There were a lot of shootings during the latter part of 2011. It is a tough situation right now,” said Hans Nilsson of the Skåne county police to daily Svenska Dagbladet (SvD).

The 15-year-old was found shot half past midnight, in the midst of New Year’s revellers. Everything is pointing to him being gunned down in cold blood on an open street, while the bangs from the fireworks masked the sound of the gun. “At first I thought he was drunk, but as I approached him I saw all the blood,” said the person who found him to daily Aftonbladet.

So far the police are flummoxed as to why the boy was targeted. He has no previous criminal record and is described by those in the neighbourhood as “an ordinary guy” who was into sports and very fond of his family. “Everyone is talking about it and no one can understand. He was a funny and nice guy, he was full of jokes and almost always happy,” said a school friend to Aftonbladet.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Syrian Man ‘Assassinated’ In Germany… Sparking Fears Damascus is ‘Hunting Down Its Critics in Europe’

A Syrian man has been killed ‘execution-style’ in Germany as fears grow that the Damascus regime is actively hunting down its critics in Europe.

The 35-year-old man was killed after he stopped in his Volkswagen car at a set of traffic lights in Sarstedt, near Hanover, and two men opened the doors and fired inside.

The two assassins then fled the scene. The victim died from head wounds and a special murder squad has been formed at Hildesheim, where he lived.

Police made no speculation whether his murder was linked to the unrest in Syria that has been continuing since March last year.

The victim’s name, in accordance with German media laws, was not released.

The murder comes a week after a critic of President Bashar Assad’s regime was badly beaten by men wielding iron bars at his home in Berlin.

The Syrian ambassador to Germany was summoned to the foreign ministry in Berlin last month after the attack on a Berlin councillor, Ferhad Ahma.

The 37-year-old Green party politician suffered a severe beating when he opened his door to two men claiming to be police officers.

He believes Syria’s secret police were behind the brutal assault on Boxing Day.

Ahma is an outspoken critic of the Damascus regime, and suffered serious bruises and other wounds in the attack but a spokesman for the Berlin police said that its state security force had taken over the investigation.

The Syrian authorities have been responsible for 5,000 civilian deaths in the country since opposition to the regime started to grow 10 months ago.

Arab League observers, who are in Syria to make sure it keeps its promise to stop cracking down on the dissent, today said the government had withdrawn heavy weapons from inside its cities and freed 3,500 prisoners.

But the League’s Nabil Elaraby added that security forces continue to kill protesters and pro-regime snipers are still operating.

President Assad agreed to the monitoring plan on December 19. But since monitors began work last Tuesday, activists said 150 people, the vast majority of them unarmed, peaceful protesters, have been killed.

Elaby said: ‘Yes, there is still shooting and yes there are still snipers. Yes, killings continue.

‘The objective is for us to wake up in the morning and hear that no one is killed. The mission’s philosophy is to protect civilians, so if one is killed, then our mission is incomplete. There must be a complete cease-fire.’

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed tanks had withdrawn from cities. But he said residents reported that the weapons were still a threat.

The Arab League plan requires Assad’s regime to remove security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders, free political prisoners and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



UK: ‘Show Them Love’: Archbishop of Canterbury Defends Summer Rioters (Again) In New Year’s Message

The Archbishop of Canterbury today defended rioters who took part in last summer’s unrest claiming many young people felt ‘let down’ by Britain.

He called on the public in a broadcast New Year message not to give up on the younger generation and show them support and love so they can ‘flourish’.

Dr Rowan Williams described the violence as ‘angry’ and ‘lawless’ but claimed the country had failed its youngsters by being ‘suspicious and hostile’ towards them and not providing good role models.

He said: We have to ask what hind of society is it that let’s down so many of its young people.That doesn’t provide good role models and drives youngsters further into unhappiness. and anxiety by only showing them suspicion and negativity.

‘When you see the gifts they can offer, the energy that can be released when they feel safe and loved, you see what a tragedy we so often allow to happen.

Dr Williams’ comments risk another clash with David Cameron who warned last month the Church should ‘keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country.’

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



UK: ‘Why Can’t I Skype My Friends and Relatives Abroad From Prison?’ Whine of Bangladeshi Terrorist Jailed for Plotting to Blow Up Passenger Jet

A British Airways computer expert who is in jail for plotting to blow up a passenger jet has complained that he is not allowed to use Skype to contact friends and relatives abroad.

Rajib Karim, 32, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in March last year for planning to launch a 9/11-style terror attack from the UK, is furious that he cannot use the free video and telephone system while behind bars.

The father-of-two claims using a prison payphone costs him too much money.

And the convicted terrorist is upset that this leaves him unable to speak to relatives and friends in his native Bangladesh.

In a letter written to Inside Time, a newspaper for prisoners, he said: ‘The international call rates cost a lot using the prison PIN system and the Skype option looked like a perfect solution.

‘The best part was that it was legal and no breach of prison rules as the call was made to a direct number and was not being redirected.

‘But when I recently tried making my first call I was told by staff here at HMP Frankland that I am not allowed to make any calls through Skype.’

He said he ‘tried to explain’ how other prisons in the UK reportedly allow inmates to use the service, but said: “The response was a firm “no” as HMP Frankland is part of the high security estate.’

Karim’s complaint has been passed on to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).

He was imprisoned for 30 years last year after Woolwich Crown Court heard he wanted to use his position at British Airways to plant a bomb on a plane as part of a ‘chilling’ conspiracy with Anwar Al-Awlaki, a notorious radical preacher associated with Al Qaeda.

U.S.-born Al-Awlaki has previously been linked to a number of high-profile terror plots, and was thought to have inspired the 9/11 bombers. He was killed by a predator drone last September.

Among numerous plots to bring the airline to its knees, Karim hoped he could exploit industrial action by staff to become a cabin crew member and cause an explosion on a U.S.-bound flight.

He was found guilty of four counts of planning terrorism.

Mr Justice Calvert-Smith recommended that Bangladesh-born Karim be automatically deported after he has completed his sentence.

He told Karim: ‘The offences were of the utmost gravity.

‘You are and were a committed jihadist who understood his duty to his religion involves fighting and, God-willing, dying and then being rewarded in the afterlife.’

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



UK: The Criminals in Uniform: More Than 900 Police Officers and Pcsos Have Convictions From Burglary to Domestic Violence

More than 900 serving police officers and community support officers have a criminal record, official figures show.

Forces across England and Wales employ policemen and women with convictions including burglary, causing death by careless driving, robbery, supplying drugs, domestic violence, forgery and perverting the course of justice.

Those with criminal records include senior officers, among them two detective chief inspectors and one chief inspector working for the Metropolitan Police.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Protest Sit-in by Police Officers in Tunis

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JANUARY 2 — Internal security officers have today staged a sit-in in front of the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Tunis. Organised by the police force’s national union, the demonstration urged the drafting of a statute for the profession as well as the provision of the necessary equipment for their difficult job. According to the TAP news agency, the protest was prompted by the “silence of the President of the Republic, the head of government and of the Interior Minister about attacks on security personnel”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Gulf: Defence: Oil Monarchies Spend 35 Billion Dollars

On fighter-bombers, helicopters, missiles, interception systems

(By Alessandra Antonelli) (ANSAmed) — DUBAI, JANUARY 2 — While Iran is busy verifying and demonstrating its war capabilities with missile tests and naval training in the Persian Gulf, the oil monarchies on the other shore have just signed 35 billion dollar deals with the United States to strengthen their own military capabilities.

Saudi Arabia has signed a 30 billion dollar deal to buy 84 new F-15 fighter-bombers, the upgrade of a further 70 aircraft already part of its Royal Air Force and 178 new helicopters — 72 Black Hawks, 70 Apaches and 36 Little Birds.

The United Arab Emirates have agreed a deal to buy two Thaad missile-defence systems — including 96 missiles — for 3.5 billion dollars. The Pentagon says that this the first time that the sophisticated defence system has been sold abroad, and has confirmed the sale of 209 Patriot missiles to Kuwait for a total of 900 million dollars.

Spending by the three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries amounts to a third of the estimated total (100 billion euros) expected by the six nations from the oil block between now and 2015. The Saudi kingdom alone has signed a ten-year plan worth 60 billion dollars, which was approved last year by US Congress.

Armament in the region, which has been growing consistently both which significant overseas purchases and the start of local production of armoured light vehicles and ships, has accelerated in recent years in line with the growth in Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The oil monarchies in the Gulf, however, have always denied that there is a direct link between the two factors and have defended the Islamic Republic’s right to develop a nuclear programme for civilian use.

The rivalry between the two powers coveting hegemony in the region, the Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran (Shia) has never been hidden and was stepped up last autumn after it emerged that an Iranian plan to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington had been thwarted. The crisis arrive amid a popular uprising in Bahrain, the only majority Shia country to be ruled by a Sunni dynasty, which in turn came in the wake of the Arab Spring.

The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is under pressure from the increasingly stringent sanctions imposed by the international community, has once again threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. With around 40% of the world’s crude oil transiting through the strait, the move would be intolerable both for western economies, and for regional Arab economies that derive most of their wealth from oil production.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

South Asia


India: Google and Facebook Ordered to Remove Anti Religious Content

Social websites including Google and Facebook have been ordered by an Indian court to remove all ‘anti-religious’ and ‘anti-social’ content within six weeks.

On Saturday a Delhi Court ordered 22 social networking sites, including Yahoo and Microsoft, to wipe the objectionable and defamatory contents and file compliance reports by February 6, 2012.

Additional Civil Judge Mukesh Kumar passed the order on a suit filed by Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi seeking to restrain the websites from circulating objectionable and defamatory contents.

           — Hat tip: Nilk [Return to headlines]



Luxury Maldives Resorts Set to Close Their Health Spas Because Islamists Say They’re ‘Offensive’

Thousands of honeymoons will never be the same again after Islamists put pressure on the Maldives government to close them down.

The islands are a paradise holiday destination renowned for its pristine white sand beaches, turquoise waters and high-end luxury.

Honeymooners and celebrities from around the world flock there, often paying up to $1,000 a night at hideaway resorts.

But now officials in the Maldives have ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago’s luxury spas, health centres and massage parlours must close.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



Territorial Army Solider Faces Murder Charge for Shooting Suspected Taliban Bomber

A Territorial Army soldier is under investigation for murder after he shot dead a suspected Taliban bomber.

Fusilier Duane Knott, 26, said he killed the Afghan believing that he was laying explosives intended to kill British troops on patrol.

However, senior officers believe the man may have been an innocent farmer and Fusilier Knott could now become the first British soldier serving in Afghanistan to be charged with murder.

           — Hat tip: Nilk [Return to headlines]

Latin America


Activists Say Washington Holds Key to Ending Drug War in Mexico

As Mexico’s drug war enters its sixth year, activists say its time for the United States to stop the flow of dollars and guns to the drug cartels. Legalizing drugs, they argue, could save thousands of lives. As the presidency of Mexico’s Felipe Calderon winds down, his legacy is set to be defined by the war he launched against the drug cartels within days of his election in December 2006.

The five-year conflict has not had a significant impact on the quantity of drugs sold by the cartels. This fiscal year, the amount of drugs coming from Mexico seized by US border agents increased by 48 percent. But the war has come at a terrible price to Mexicans, killing more than 45,000, displacing 230,000 and exposing the state’s corruption and inability to protect its citizens.

The candidate who convinces Mexicans that he or she can restore peace and justice to their country will likely win the presidential election next July. But some say that regardless of who is elected, the only effective way to take away the cartels’ profits and power is for the United States to change its drug laws. It’s a message those pushing for an end to the drug war in Mexico hope Americans will hear.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Mexican Cartels Seek Recruits Among California Latinos

More than 5,000 young people in San Diego, most of them Hispanics accused of being involved in street gangs, have been held in confinement by the city’s corrections system during the past two years. Most of the crimes are associated with assaults, robbery, drug trafficking or consumption, since according to the authorities, being near the border also makes the youths easy targets for Mexican cartels that recruit them to smuggle drugs.

Pedro Ríos, an activist with the San Diego office of the American Friends Service Committee, told Efe on Tuesday that the situation is particularly prevalent at high schools in the southern part of the county, which is fertile terrain for recruiting U.S.-born Hispanics who can cross the border with little difficulty.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Mexicans Confront Racism With White, Black Doll Video

REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY — Is Mexico’s an inherently racist society? Does the culture overwhelmingly favor those with light skin over those with dark skin? And if so, is that a legacy of European colonialism or present-day images in television and advertising? These are among the thorny questions emerging in online forums in Mexico since a government agency began circulating a “viral video” showing schoolchildren in a taped social experiment on race.

The kids are seated at a table before a white doll and a black doll, and are asked to pick the “good doll” or the doll that most resembled them. The children, mostly brown-skinned, almost uniformly say the white doll was better or most resembled them. One child in the video with mixed-race features says the white doll resembled him “in the ears.” “Which doll is the good doll?” a woman’s voice asks the child. “I am not afraid of whites,” he responds, pointing to the white doll. “I have more trust.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Immigration


UK: Migration Will Fall Sharply This Year ‘But it Won’t Hit PM’s Target’

The Institute for Public Policy Research claimed that net migration — the difference between the number of people arriving in the UK, and those leaving — would be cut from a record 252,000 in 2010 to 180,000.

But the figure falls short of David Cameron’s commitment to reduce net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ during the lifetime of the current Parliament, it said.

The IPPR, considered New Labour’s favourite think-tank, claimed the best hope of fulfilling the pledge was for an economic downturn to make the country less attractive to migrants and drive away EU migrants already here

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


Spain: Abortion a Bigger Problem Than Joblessness, Says Catholic Church

Bishop warns of UNESCO plan to “make half the world population homosexual”

Cardinal Archbishop Antonio Rouco Varela used an open-air gathering in Madrid’s Plaza Colón on Friday to attack the policies of the previous Socialist Party government, calling for a repeal of legislation that provides for abortion on demand, as well as same-sex marriage. “Life is a sacred right that humans have been given by God,” Rouco told the faithful gathered in bright winter sunshine from a stage dominated by a 68-meter-long altar and backed by a 12-meter-high cross.

Rouco railed against the current situation in Spain and Europe, declaring that Christ had lived in times of historic blindness, and that we were now in one of those times. “The family is under attack in Spain,” said the archbishop, who is also the chairman of the Spanish Bishops Conference, insisting that abortion and euthanasia in Europe was a deeper crisis than the economy or politics.

Also present at the Mass, the first major open-air event staged by the Roman Catholic Church in Spain since the Popular Party (PP) government took office last week, were some 30 bishops from around the country. Pope Benedict XVI, in a message from Rome, said the Christian family must be a “refuge for loyalty, respect and understanding.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

General


Deep-Voiced Men Don’t Have ‘Macho’ Sperm

Although it’s women are attracted to men with low-pitched voices, the evolutionary reason isn’t clear. A new study indicates low-voiced men do not have higher quality semen.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20120101

Financial Crisis
» ADOC: Winter Sales Will be a Flop With a 30% Drop
» EU at Crossroads, Coming Year to be Turning Point
» Eurozone Worries Driving Finnish Presidential Campaign
» Greece: Banking Sector to Shrink in Next Few Years
» Greece: Second Largest National Daily Closes Down
» Hungary Passes Controversial Bank Law
» ISTAT: Italians Poorer and at Risk of Exclusion
» Italy: ‘Italians Lost 39.7% of Purchasing Power in Euro Era’
» Italy: Milan Bourse Closes Year on High Note
» On Euro Anniversary, EU Leaders Warn of Tough Year Ahead
» Shake-Up in Iceland Cabinet Amid Row Over EU Stance
» Turkey’s Economy Roaring, But Euro Crisis May End Party
 
USA
» Downsizing and Weakening the U.S. Military
» Pentagon Acquires 20 Brazilian Rotary Super-Tucans
 
Europe and the EU
» 13.31 Billion Deutsche Marks Still Missing
» Cyprus Announces Major Natural Gas Find Off-Shore
» Ferrari Railroad? Italians Unveil Europe’s First Private High-Speed Train Line
» France: Woman Fined by Police for Driving in Burka Told it Was ‘As Bad as Eating Sandwich Behind the Wheel”the Officer Who Stopped Her Said She Was Driving Hesitantly and Clearly Could Not See Properly’
» Greece: Former Turkish PM’s Arson Admission Fuels Anger
» Italy: Police Chief Says Italy is Teaching the Rest of Europe
» Little Impact From Danish EU Presidency: Media
» Strolling to the Bank From His Taxpayer-Funded Home, The ‘Disabled’ Father Who Has Claimed Nearly £300,000 in Benefits From Britain AND Denmark
» Swedish Teenager Shot in the Head in Malmö
» UK: We Won’t Eat Halal Meat, Say MPs and Peers Who Reject Demands to Serve it at Westminster
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Egyptian Civil Court: Virginity Tests on Female Prisoners Illegal
» Egypt: The Copts Fear the “Protection” Of the Army, Which Turns on NGOs
» Italy: Tripoli to Review ENI Contracts
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Yishai Condemns ‘Wild Incitement’ Against Haredim
 
Middle East
» Iran Reports Successful Medium-Range Missile Test
» Turkey: Marked Inequalities in Incomes and Lifestyles
 
Russia
» Anti-Putin Opposition Tends to be Leaderless, Heterogeneous and Apolitical
 
South Asia
» Business as Usual for Italy’s ISAF Medics in Afghanistan
» Child Sacrificed, Liver Offered to Gods: Indian Police
» India: Karnataka: Four New Anti-Christian Attacks
» Italian Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan
 
Far East
» North Korea Calls for “Human Shields” To Protect New Leader
» Robots to Enjoy Long Walks on the Beach
 
Immigration
» Afghan, Iraqi Migrants Stopped in Puglia
» Neo-Fascist Political Movement to Run Northern Italian School Council
» Romney Says He Would Veto DREAM Act Giving Illegal Immigrants Path to Citizenship
 
General
» The Bee and the Lamb

Financial Crisis


ADOC: Winter Sales Will be a Flop With a 30% Drop

(AGI)Rome-Winter sales starting on the 5th of January 2012 will be a flop as sales are estimated to drop by 30% drop against 2010. Consumer spending is forecast to drop by 21%. The forecasts are made by ADOC, whose President Carlo Pileri estimates “an expenditure budget of no more than 90 Euros per person. The sale of footwear (-25%) and low-to-medium quality fashionwear (-35%) will be a real flop but also the sale of high-quality fashiowear will record an estimated 7% drop. Only sportswear will come out almost even, recording only a 2% drop”.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



EU at Crossroads, Coming Year to be Turning Point

To take on new look: 27- or 17+?

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 30 — For a Europe pinned down under a debt crisis and with pressure from the US and China, 2012 will be a year seeing EU change its look: the slow integration which has been its hallmark up until now is no longer viable, with markets dictating the pace and its traditional time spans “glacial”. It has already seen a bit chip off, in the form of Great Britain rejecting the new Save-Europe Budget Pact as well as in the form of IMF funds to help the eurozone. And so the EU is now hanging in the balance between a 27- and a 17+: in the new form to ensure its survival it could let London go and fight to keep the others, or work on making the eurozone ever more compact, possibly extending it to some country daring enough to accept its new rigour. Europe’s trial will get underway from the very beginning of the year: the chancelleries and the delegates of the European Parliament are already working on the text of the new Budget Pact, which on January 24 will have to receive approval from economic ministers and on January 30 that of leaders in an extraordinary session. The Budget Pact is considered a save Europe measure, and will be implemented without Great Britain, which is taking part in drawing it up as an observer: after having dropped out of the operation it was invited by EU president Herman Van Rompuy to the work sessions in the hope that it might change its mind.

However, the hope is a feeble one: London’s second ‘no’ — to the FMI funds set aside to save the eurozone — has for the time being driven a sharp wedge between the UK and continental Europe. Meanwhile Europe is moving forward, even if with only nine if necessary: the leaders, who remember well the lengthy ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, have decided that the intergovernmental accord to create a budget union will come into force as soon as it is signed by nine states. Strengthened cooperation is urged by France and Germany, which have distanced themselves from the communitarian spirit of which Italian PM Mario Monti often speaks, and to which also the representatives of the European Commission and Council, Van Rompuy and Jose’ Barroso, are against. However, the French-German directorate refuses to reconsider the matter, especially after accusations of not being able to solve the crisis so far and of having taken action later than it should have. Moreover, economic outlooks show a Europe (or at least most of it) in recession for 2012, the situation as concerns the markets continues to be critical, Sarkozy will be standing for election in the spring and Merkel has to deal with a coalition pushing her towards the maximum level of rigour possible and the lowest level of solidarity. The result: Paris and Berlin cannot afford anything but the recipe of rigour and discipline that they intend to administer — by force if necessary — to the eurozone and possibly to all of Europe in order to get it out of the crisis. Whether or not rigour will actually solve the situation remains to be seen. For example, the “Save Italy” measure, on the basis of taxes and cuts to bring down the enormous level of debt on the basis of the Sarkozy-Merkel recipe, Italy would have to be able to take up a virtuous cycle leading to market confidence in a country with a debt over 60%. Instead, markets are still anxious and the spread (the differential between the German bund and its Italian equivalent) is still over 500. With the downgrade of some eurozone countries expected in January, and the GDP drop that awaits Europe at the 2012 threshold, the next few months will be decisive to slap down cement on the foundations, giving an unequivocal sign of Europe’s solidity. “If the euro explodes, Europe will no longer exist,” Sarkozy said a few weeks ago. The responsibility is therefore in the hands of the EU-27.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Eurozone Worries Driving Finnish Presidential Campaign

(HELSINKI) — Finland’s presidential candidates are locking horns over the eurozone crisis as the January 22 election looks set to reflect a surge in euroscepticism in one of Europe’s top-rated economies. “The dividing lines between the candidates follow the EU issue pretty closely,” Helsinki University political science professor Tuomo Martikainen told AFP.

The eurozone slowdown brought on by the debt crisis is expected to hit Finland’s export-reliant economy hard, with growth expected to slow to just 0.4 percent in 2012 and with Finns nervous about the future although unemployment is for the moment still comparatively low at 7.3 percent. Finland’s future in the eurozone and the wider EU has thus become a bone of contention as popular President Tarja Halonen prepares to leave office after her second term in office.

Although the presidential post no longer holds direct sway over European Union policy, Martikainen said the issue “is pretty close to the hearts of voters and it’s also easy for them to identify the views and the candidates along those lines.” While former finance minister Sauli Niinistoe who is leading the polls is strongly pro-euro, a strong showing by eurosceptics could further constrain the coalition government’s room for manoeuvre.

The eurozone debt crisis dominated the April parliamentary elections with the europhobic Finns Party surging to become Finland’s third largest party. Coalition political constraints pushed the new Finnish government to demand collateral for any new Greek aid, delaying quick adoption of a new deal.

Although it has a population of only 5.3 million, Finland is one of an elite club of eurozone members to still hold a triple-A credit rating and is key to any bailout deals.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Banking Sector to Shrink in Next Few Years

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 27 — Greek bank officials are expecting the local credit sector to shrink rapidly in 2012 and the following years, as daily Kathimerini reports today. They estimate that major lenders will merge to create two or three big banks, while most of the small ones will either be incorporated into bigger schemes or cease to operate. In the last few weeks Proton Bank and TBank have already had their status changed, with the former coming under the control of the Credit Stability Fund, while most of the latter’s assets have been passed on to Hellenic Postbank. Credit sector officials told Kathimerini it is inevitable the sector will shrink as its size is entirely dependent on the economy. “The structure of the banking system remains to a great extent orientated toward the situation in the market, as it did in 2007 when the credit expansion rate was in the double digits and the expectations for the course of the economy were great,” they said. Business plans for most banks in the new year include reductions in branch networks, cutting staff and the sale of assets and subsidiaries abroad. The prospects of employment in the sector are not positive, either: European Central Bank data showed that at the end of 2010, Greek banks employed 63,408 people, down from 66,163 in 2008. Bank officials expect the figure to plummet in the next couple of years, amounting to 13,000 fewer jobs by 2013.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Greece: Second Largest National Daily Closes Down

Eleftherotypia started publishing in 1975

Eleftherotypia (Free Press), second largest daily in the country in terms of circulation (third from left in the photo), has shut down

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS — After the private Greek television station Alter, which interrupted its broadcasts once and for all a few days ago, also the authoritative and second largest daily in the country in terms of circulation Eleftherotypia (Free Press) has shut down, the latest victim of the economic crisis which has hit the Greek information sector hard. Reports were found in Athens media outlets today, which claimed that the X. K. Tegopoulos company, owner of the newspaper, had filed for bankruptcy with the competent Athens court under Article 99 of the Bankruptcy Code.

The daily paper Eleftherotypia began publishing on July 21 1975, and has always been an independent newspaper critical of the various Greek governments since then.(

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Hungary Passes Controversial Bank Law

Hungary has passed a law designed to give PM Orban political control over the Central Bank. The move could trigger EU court action and destroy chances of an IMF bail-out. Ratings agencies have downgraded Budapest to junk in recent days, while its 10 year bonds trade at almost 10%.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



ISTAT: Italians Poorer and at Risk of Exclusion

16% of Italians struggle to get to end of the month

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 29 — In 2010, 18.2% of people living in Italy were, according to the Eurostat definition, “at risk of poverty”, with 6.9% in a state of “serious material deprivation” and 10.2% living in families with low work intensity. The rough indicator of the risk of poverty and social exclusion, which considers those in at least one of these three conditions vulnerable, stands at 24.5%, a similar figure to 2009. This is according to the Italian institute of statistics (ISTAT), which has just released a report on income and living conditions.

In the two year period between 2009 and 2010, the risk of poverty (from 18.4% to 18.2%) and the level of “serious material deprivation” (from 7% to 6.9%) remained largely stable, while the proportion of people living in families with low work intensity, those in which people between the ages of 18 and 59 work less than a fifth of the time, rose from 8.8% to 10.2%.

Germany and France have lower figures both in terms of “risk of poverty” and for the indicator of “serious material deprivation”. In Italy and France, the risk of poverty is starker for young people between 18 and 24 compared to the older generations. In Italy, the risk of poverty is higher for under-18s.

In 2010, 16% of families living in Italy said that they found it very difficult to get to the end of the month. Some 8.9% found themselves behind with the payment of bills, 11.2% were late paying the rent or the mortgage, and 11.5% were unable to heat their homes sufficiently.

The report also found that 50% of families living in Italy had income that did not exceed 24,544 euros per year, or 2,050 euros per month. In the south of the country and on the islands, half of all families earned less than 20,600 euros or 1,700 euros per month. The report shows that larger families and/or those with a low number of earners are most exposed to the risk of material deprivation. Families with only one source of income more often find themselves in discomfort, as do the elderly living alone, single-parent families, and families with three or more children.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: ‘Italians Lost 39.7% of Purchasing Power in Euro Era’

Four-member family ‘took 10,850-euro hit’

(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — The Italian middle class has lost 39.7% of its purchasing power in the 10 years since the euro became legal tender, a leading Italian consumer group said Friday.

From January 2012 to January 2012, Codacons said, a four-member family took a total hit of 10,850 euros because of rises in the prices of retail goods, local rates and petrol as well as higher rents and government budget cuts.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Milan Bourse Closes Year on High Note

Market loses 100 billion euros in 2011

(ANSA) — Milan, December 30 — The Milan stock market closed up Friday, ending a rocky year on a small high note. The FTSE Mib index earned 1.22% and closed 2011 above the psychologically important 15,000-point mark as shares rose across Europe. As a whole the year was marked by losses totalling over 25%.

Over the past 12 months, the Milan bourse lost approximately 100 billion euros, an amount equal to the combined value of Italian industrial giants Fiat, Eni and Enel. Only Greece and Portugal fared worse, though losses in 2011 were felt across the eurozone, which posted its steepest annual fall since 2008 when the financial crisis began. The spread between Italian and German bonds was slightly up at 527 basis points, a potentially dangerous threshold.

Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds were up to 7.07% after falling to 6.98% Thursday. Italian Premier Mario Monti said yields approaching 7% — the rate at which other eurozone countries have sought bailouts — were “unjustified” in view of the Italian economy’s “sound” fundamentals.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



On Euro Anniversary, EU Leaders Warn of Tough Year Ahead

(BRUSSELS) — Far from the fanfare which heralded its arrival a decade ago, the 10th anniversary of the euro Sunday was marked by questions over its survival and predictions of more economic gloom in Europe. Instead of celebrations came warnings from the leaders of euro powerhouses Germany and France that following the market maelstrom of the past year, 2012 carried further risks for the battered single European currency.

“The debt crisis is still keeping us in suspense,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year’s message which warned of a difficult year in the eurozone. Europe, she insisted, was growing through this crisis, even if “the path to overcome it remains long and will not be without setbacks.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said 2012 was a year “full of risks” but vowed that Paris’s economic policy would not be dictated by the markets or the ratings agencies. “What is happening in the world announces that 2012 will be a year full of risks but also full of possibilities. Full of hope, if we know how to face the challenges. Full of dangers, if we stand still,” Sarkozy said.

“A very difficult year, marked by necessary but painful measures, is ending… a very difficult year is around the corner,” Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said in his New Year’s message. The European Central Bank, which sets the interest rate for the entire 17-member eurozone from its Frankfurt headquarters, is to issue a new 2-euro commemorative coin from Monday but its own celebrations were decidedly muted.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Shake-Up in Iceland Cabinet Amid Row Over EU Stance

(REYKJAVIK) — Iceland’s centre-left government was reshuffled Saturday, whittling down the number of ministries from 10 to eight, amid charges from one of two booted ministers his anti-EU stance was to blame. “The demand for my resignation from the government, which now has been fulfilled was … put forward because of my stance (against) Iceland joining the European Union,” outgoing agriculture and fisheries minister Jon Bjarnason said in a statement.

Bjarnason, of the Left Green Party, had presided over the areas where Icelanders are most at odds with the European Union and that are expected to be the biggest hurdles in the country’s ongoing membership negotiations. The North Atlantic country, which began membership talks in June, has butted heads with the EU over its whaling as well as fishing rights, with a so-called “mackerel war” heating up late last year after Iceland unilaterally multiplied its catch quota. Brussels then blocked Icelandic fishing boats.

Steingrimur Sigfusson, the head of the Left Green Party who will be taking over Barnason’s responsibilities, rejected the notion that the outgoing minister’s attitude to EU membership was why he was pushed out. “No, it has nothing to do with that,” he told commercial broadcaster Channel 2.

Sigfusson, who until Saturday was finance minister, will head a new ministry moulding together responsibility for agriculture and fisheries with economic affairs and part of the former industry, energy and tourism ministry.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Turkey’s Economy Roaring, But Euro Crisis May End Party

(ANKARA) — With the economy growing at a record pace, Turkey’s leaders exude confidence it can dodge any eurozone crisis fallout, but analysts warn a slowdown in its top trading partner will hit in 2012. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan asserted recently that Turkey has managed to avoid any impact from the economic crisis troubling European countries.

With one of the highest growth rates in the world in 2010 at 8.9 percent, Turkish officials pledge it will move from 17th place to the ranks of the top 10 economies by 2023. “We will surpass one by one” the economies which are currently above Turkey, said Babacan, who boasted if Turkish leaders had been at the helm in Europe the region’s problems would have been resolved “within three months.”

But economists and analysts say the Turkish economy, which is closely linked to that of the EU via a customs union agreement since 1995, will feel the effects if the eurozone tips into recession in 2012 as feared. “Whatever happens in Europe closely concerns Turkey. If the EU catches a cold, Turkey sneezes as the two economies are inter-dependent,” a European politician said on condition of anonymity.

“Before the 2008 global crisis, Turkey’s exports to the EU stood at 56 percent but this figure is now down to 47 percent” said Sarp Kalkan, analyst at TEPAV think tank. So far Turkish exports to the EU have not shrunk in absolute terms, but exports to the Middle East and North Africa grew rapidly.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

USA


Downsizing and Weakening the U.S. Military

Unless you follow writers such as Bill Gertz and others, you probably don’t have much of a feel for just how extensive the downsizing of the U.S. military, especially the Air Force, has been over the past twelve years. Yes, that includes the entire Bush II administration. It’s not just the personnel numbers involved, it’s also the reduction/delay/cancellation of procurement contracts, closing of bases and shipyards, awarding contracts to overseas suppliers rather than domestic manufacturers, et cetera, so on and so forth.

Also part of the scheme are practices such as the directed persecution of American combatants, as is exemplified by the prosecution of the Marines involved in the Haditha killings and the Lt. Pantano witch hunt. When all was said and done, charges against the Lieutenant were dropped after the long-sought physical evidence was finally unearthed and examined. But there’s no need to go to that much trouble to kill esprit de corps and combat effectiveness. Just RIF some officers close to the 20-year mark and screw them out of retirement and medical benefits. That’s how you fill officer ranks in the future.

From the Wall Street Journal:…

[Return to headlines]



Pentagon Acquires 20 Brazilian Rotary Super-Tucans

(AGI) Rio de Janeiro -The Pentagon has acquired combat aircraft with rotary blades for the first time, the Brazilian Super-Tucans. Furnished with the most modern combat jets in the world, the US Air Force, for the first time has acquired rotary blade combat aircraft, ideal for air support to ground troops.

The contract, sealed with Embraer, is for a value of 255 million dollars. Less sophisticated and powerful than the so-called “flying cannon”, the antiquated A-10 Warthog, the Super-Tucan has, however, operative costs which are notably lower and its reduced speed together with a better operating manoeuvrability for ground troop support make it the ideal aircraft.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


13.31 Billion Deutsche Marks Still Missing

13.31 billion Deutsche Marks in cash remain unaccounted for on the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the euro, according to a newspaper report. According to a report in Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, DM6.41 billion in notes and DM6.9 billion in coins were never converted after the euro was introduced on January 1, 2002. Altogether, they would be worth €6.8 billion. The cash, which works out at DM162 per German, is thought to have been stashed away and long forgotten, or else left abroad by holidaymakers and immigrants.

The Deutsche Mark was also often used as currency in the Balkan region during the wars of the 1990s, and much of the missing cash is thought to be still hidden away, even buried, in the former Yugoslavia. On top of this, wads of old banknotes are still occasionally discovered when deceased people’s homes are cleared out.

A German Federal Bank spokesman told the paper that the bank expects that a large part of the money will never be converted into euros. Forty-seven branches of the federal bank still exchange old DM banknotes into euros at no charge, though statistics show that less is exchanged every year. In 2011, only DM140 million was converted, compared to DM180 million in 2010.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Cyprus Announces Major Natural Gas Find Off-Shore

A field with an estimated 140-230 billion cubic meters

(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, DECEMBER 29 — A submarine field off Cyprus where US firm Noble Energy is conducting exploratory drilling holds an estimated 140-230 billion cubic meters of natural gas, a significant find for the small island, the country’s president Demetris Christofias announced Wednesday.

Christofias said the offshore discovery puts Greek Cyprus on Europe’s energy map and is attracting the interest of many foreign investors. But it could also risk heightening tensions with rival Turkey, which doesn’t recognize the Republic of Cyprus as a sovereign state. It’s the first time the size of the deposit has been estimated based on actual drilling results. The site is some 185 kilometers south of the east Mediterranean island near a huge Israeli gas field (the Leviatan) estimated at 480 billion cubic meters. The island of Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north — recognized only by Ankara — since 1974 when Turkey intervention after an abortive coup by supporters of a union with Greece. Turkey opposes any energy search by Greek Cypriots on grounds that it could undermine the rights of Turkish Cypriots to oil and gas wealth. Under strain from Europe’s financial crisis, Greek Cypriot officials see the gas find as a potential boost to the island’s 18 billion euro economy, which is forecast to grow by a meager 0.2% of gross domestic product next year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Ferrari Railroad? Italians Unveil Europe’s First Private High-Speed Train Line

Dubbed ‘Italo,’ the new train is not only fast and red, it’s being launched by Ferrari chief Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Europe’s first privately operated high-speed train service will begin rolling in March. And yes, the trains travel (slightly) faster than a Ferrari.

This shiny new set of Italian wheels is red, super-fast and luxurious. No wonder some have come to calling Italo the Ferrari of high-speed trains. Indeed, it has been launched by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the longtime chairman of Ferrari, who now doubles as president of Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV), Europe’s first privately operated high-speed train line.

Italo is due to be in service in March 2012 and will travel at a top speed of 360 kilometers-per-hour (224 m.p.h). It could turn out to be a serious competitor for Trenitalia, Italy’s state-owned train operator. “There was a lot of resistance, and various problems, but we believe in this project,” says Montezemolo. “We see this as the start of a period where citizens will have choice, competition, and the will to succeed.”

“Finally we will travel well by train,” said another shareholder of NTV, Diego Della Valle, owner of the luxury goods company Tod’s.

In the most luxurious “Club” class, which has only 19 seats, there will be two private lounges, individual television screens, and meals served by the up-market Italian food company Eataly. Just behind is “First” class, where the seats are large and arranged three across. Personalized menus are available. In a “Relax” carriage, cell phones are banned. The second class has been renamed “Smart” class, for travellers who prefer to spend a bit less. They will have access to a small cinema.

Its founders also point to the new train line’s environmental cred: including relatively low carbon emissions and noise levels, and use of recyclable materials. Ticket prices have not been announced, and will depend on the time and day of the week.

“Italy is the first country in Europe with a totally private operator of high speed train,” Montezemolo declared. “Everyone says that it’s time to believe in Italy. We are showing that we believe in the country in a very concrete way.”

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



France: Woman Fined by Police for Driving in Burka Told it Was ‘As Bad as Eating Sandwich Behind the Wheel”the Officer Who Stopped Her Said She Was Driving Hesitantly and Clearly Could Not See Properly’

A Muslim woman has been fined for driving while wearing a burka because the garment ‘reduced her field of vision’.

Police who stopped the woman in France compared wearing a veil over the face behind the wheel to driving with ice on the windscreen, eating a sandwich or smoking a cigarette.

The woman was handed a £28 on-the-spot fine under article 412-6 of the highway code, which states: ‘Field of vision must not be restricted by either passengers, objects being transported or by the position of non-transparent objects on the windows.’

She was also told she was in breach of the country’s controversial burka ban imposed last April, which outlawed anyone hiding their face in public, including in streets, shops, restaurants and cars on public roads.

Police said the woman was pulled over while driving in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, on Thursday.

Spokesman Laurent Dufour added: ‘The officer who stopped her said she was driving hesitantly and clearly could not see properly.

‘Looking out through a narrow slit in the fabric is as dangerous as driving while eating a sandwich, smoking or with an iced-up windscreen.’

France was the first country in Europe to outlaw Muslim headgear that hides the face. Similar laws have since being passed in Belgium and the Netherlands.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described the burka as a ‘sign of debasement’. His immigration minister Eric Besson called it ‘a walking coffin’.

Militant Muslim woman Hind Ahmas, 32 — dubbed France’s first ‘burka martyr’ — is currently facing two years in prison for wearing the veil after refusing to pay a £35 fine for the offence.

She is appealing the fine on the grounds that the new law is unconstitutional and preparing to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Senior police chiefs have branded the ban ‘unenforceable’ and said officers were too busy fighting serious crime to go ‘burka-chasing’.

Leaders of Al Qaeda’s North African network have vowed to seek revenge on France for enforcing the law.

They wrote on an Islamic extremist website: ‘We will seek dreadful revenge on France by all means at our disposal, for the honour of our daughters and sisters.’

           — Hat tip: ICLA [Return to headlines]



Greece: Former Turkish PM’s Arson Admission Fuels Anger

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 27 — Greek politicians reacted angrily on Monday following the admission by former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz that Turkish secret agents intentionally started forest fires in Greece in the 1990s as part of state-sponsored sabotage. The claims — as daily Kathimerini reports — are not new and were common knowledge on the islands of the eastern Aegean which were particularly hard hit by wildfires in the 1990s. But Yilmaz’s comments — part of an interview published in the Turkish daily newspaper Birgun over the weekend — are the first admission by an official source that Ankara was funding subversive activities in Greece. According to Yilmaz, who served as premier three times in the 1990s, agents of the Turkish secret service set fire to Greek forests during the leadership of his archrival Tansu Ciller, from 1995 to 1998. During that period major forest fires caused huge damage on the islands of the eastern Aegean and in Macedonia. The news sparked political outrage Greece on Monday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said the claims were “serious and must be investigated,” adding that Athens was awaiting a briefing from Ankara.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Police Chief Says Italy is Teaching the Rest of Europe

(AGI) Rome — Police chief, Antonio Manganelli, said 2012 will be “marked by major international cooperation.” Manganelli was giving his usual end of year message broadcast on the police multimedia network. From police headquarters in Naples, where he spent New Year’s Eve, the prefect said that following the great achievements of the last 12 months “we are giving advice to the rest of Europe, convincing other countries to adopt similar anti-mafia legislation.” The first international school for detectives from around the world is to open in Caserta. It will teach the strategies and techniques to fight organised Mafia-style crime. The chief of police also focused on the unprecedented qualitative and quantitative successes in the fight against the Mafia: “We achieved gratifying results in a particularly delicate area, including the management of the wealth confiscated from the Mafia, something for which our culture had not prepared us. The divestment of Mafia assets defeats the very purpose of engaging in crime.” ..

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Little Impact From Danish EU Presidency: Media

(COPENHAGEN) — Non-euro country Denmark, which discretely took over the European Union’s rotating presidency on Sunday, will have little power to resolve the crisis ravaging the continent, Danish media said. That is because “Denmark does not have the euro, and because the European presidency no longer has the same importance as before,” the Ritzau news agency wrote.

“Politically, Denmark will have little impact on the aspect of European cooperation that, for now, is mainly attracting attention,” it said as Copenhagen took the reins of the EU presidency from Poland. “Formally, Denmark cannot and should not resolve the euro crisis,” it insisted.

The news agency, however, hailed the left-leaning government and particularly Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and European Affairs Minister Nicolai Wamman for their expressed aim to try to bridge the differences between the 17-member eurozone and the full 27-member bloc. Swedish local daily Sydsvenska meanwhile predicted that Denmark would remain a “player in the power game” surrounding the euro crisis.

Ritzau maintained that Denmark, with little power to end the crisis, would “focus its political energy on having an efficient presidency in all the areas within the EU where Danish ministers are invited to sit at the negotiating table… especially on environmental issues.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Strolling to the Bank From His Taxpayer-Funded Home, The ‘Disabled’ Father Who Has Claimed Nearly £300,000 in Benefits From Britain AND Denmark

A British father of three is under investigation for an alleged £292,000 benefit fraud in both the UK and Denmark.

Hassan Gilani, 58, has received up to £110,000 in housing benefit on top of £70,000 in disability allowance from the UK taxpayer since 1997.

He also banked an estimated £112,000 of benefits in Denmark since 2002 after claiming that he can barely walk and has severe difficulty with basic tasks such as eating and dressing himself.

But last week he was pictured in trainers and a blue duffel coat, walking unaided to a branch of Barclays near his £250,000 taxpayer-funded home in Croydon, South London.

On another occasion he left his house with a crutch before tossing it into the front seat of his green Mercedes and driving to a local branch of Western Union, a money transfer company used to send funds abroad.

His alleged fraud came to light after Danish authorities received a tip-off in September that Gilani had not been seen at his flat in the Nordvest district of Copenhagen for more than two years but was continuing to receive state benefits.

Investigators alerted British authorities after they traced him to a three-bedroom house in Croydon — more than 850 miles from the Danish capital. Records show Gilani receives the maximum amount of disability benefit in the UK.

He was paid incapacity benefit from 1999 to 2002, totalling £4,900 a year, after convincing the social services that he could not work due to a disability.

In 2002, Gilani was transferred on to income support — a benefit for people unable to work due to ill- health — getting up to £2,700 a year.

And in 2005 he was placed on one of the maximum levels of disability living allowance, netting him a further £5,000 annually.

Fraud investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions launched their own investigation last month and will now examine all his benefit claims since 1996. Gilani, who is originally from Pakistan, faces up to seven years in jail in Britain if he is found guilty of misleading social services to claim state support.

Danish authorities believe he may have rented out his apartment in Copenhagen while claiming the Danish equivalent of housing benefits and disability living allowance.

This would have netted him the equivalent of about £1,000 a month in benefits and potentially up to £800 a month in rent he was not entitled to because the property is owned by the local authority.

Gilani appeared on the electoral roll in Denmark in 2002, moving into a rented three-bedroom apartment in the Nordvest district. He was able to claim up to £860 a month in incapacity benefit after once again convincing the authorities that he had a disability which prevented him from working.

In 2005, he began to claim housing benefit in the country, adding about £250 to his monthly benefit allocation.

It is believed he continued to claim both benefits until October this year when they were stopped by Danish authorities after the tip-off.

Benefit cheats cost the British taxpayer more than £1?billion a year. If offenders are found guilty of fraud, they are required to pay back the money they have stolen.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



Swedish Teenager Shot in the Head in Malmö

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head and chest in the Malmö suburb of Rosengård, in the south of Sweden, late on Saturday night. “He has sustained one shot wound to the head and several to the chest,” said Peter Martinsson of the local police in Malmö to newspaper Aftonbladet. The alarm came in to the police half an hour after midnight, in the first hour of 2012. A number of patrol cars made their way to Rosengård where they found a young boy shot several times.

The boy was taken to hospital where medical staff has been working to save his life. At one point during the night police said that the boy had died, but the information was later changed and officers reported that he is still hanging on although his condition is critical. Police confirmed on Sunday morning that the boy was still alive. Later reports on Sunday stated that his condition is critical. The boy is previously known to the police, although not for any serious offences.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: We Won’t Eat Halal Meat, Say MPs and Peers Who Reject Demands to Serve it at Westminster

The Palace of Westminster has rejected demands to serve halal meat in its restaurants.

Muslim MPs and peers have been told they cannot have meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition because the method — slitting an animal’s throat without first stunning it — is offensive to many of their non-Muslim colleagues.

The stance has infuriated some parliamentarians who have eaten meat in the Palace’s 23 restaurants and cafes, having been assured that it was halal.

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: ‘I did feel misled. I think a halal option should be made available.’

In 2010, the Mail on Sunday revealed schools, hospitals and restaurants were serving halal meat to unwitting customers.

Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Somerfield and the Co-op all said they stocked meat slaughtered according to Islamic tradition without letting customers know.

Fast-food chains including Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, ­Nando’s and Subway are also using halal meat without ­telling customers, it was revealed.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt: Egyptian Civil Court: Virginity Tests on Female Prisoners Illegal

The ruling comes after the complaint of a young activist, captured in March in the demonstrations in Tahrir Square. Together with six others, the girl was forced to undergo a test in front of some officials. Egyptian blogger arrested during the Coptic massacre of 9 October ..

Cairo (AsiaNews) — The virginity tests performed by the military on activists captured in Tahrir Square are illegal and must be stopped. This was announced yesterday by the Court for Civil Rights in Cairo, after the complaint filed in recent months by Samira Ibrahim, a young protester captured during the protests last March along with six other girls. During the period of captivity, the military forced them to undergo a virginity test, which according to the deposition of Samira was performed in front of some officials.

To date, the young woman is the only one of six activists to denounce the military despite the threats and risks of retaliation. In March, the army justified its actions, saying that the tests were used to avoid the accusation of rape by young activists. In recent days, a top official announced the transfer of the case to the Supreme Military Tribunal, ensuring the proper punishment for those responsible, but so far there have been no further developments. “I hope that the verdict of the Civil Court — said Samira — will help me win the case against the officer who conducted the tests. They can say what they want, but I want him and those with him who gave the order prosecuted “.

The civil court ruling is a way to force the Army to suspend military leaders accused of beating Ghada Abdel Raziq Kamal, the young activist beaten and tortured by soldiers in the demonstrations of last December 16. The images of the woman kept on the ground and kicked by the police have spread around the world. On December 20 thousands of women took to the streets to denounce the abuses of the military and demand respect for their dignity.

Riham Ramzy, a young Catholic Copt from Upper Egypt, tells AsiaNews that “the beating of the girl by the military and abuses against activists shocked the country. It is as if they had beaten all tEgyptian women. “ According to the girl, the brutality shown by the army has served to mobilize the Egyptians and the Jasmine Revolution on the side of women.

“After these things — she continues — we know that the Egyptian people are on our side. The protests are attended by all, lay people, Muslims and Christians. All we demand is respect for our rights and our dignity. Even the Islamic parties must take into account that women are an integral part of Egypt. “

The continuing violence and allegations of arbitrary detention, are forcing the army to ease its grip on activists. On 25 December, a judge of the Military Court ordered the release of Alaa Abd El Fattah, the blogger was arrested in October during the massacre of Coptic Christians in front of the headquarters of the Egyptian state TV. (S.C.)

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Egypt: The Copts Fear the “Protection” Of the Army, Which Turns on NGOs

Fears of new attacks against churches in the celebrations at the end of the year and Orthodox Christmas. Muslim Brotherhood announced their commitment to protect Christians. Military raid against 17 foreign NGOs engaged in human rights. Blocked all funds and transactions. Caritas among the associations. Spokesman for the Catholic Church “The soldiers think only of themselves and protect their power.”

Cairo (AsiaNews) — The Arab Spring is increasingly being betrayed by the authorities. About 10 months after the fall of the Mubarak regime, sources tell AsiaNews that there is an atmosphere of instability and fear in the country. In view of the end of year festivities and the Orthodox Christmas (January 6), the Coptic community fears new attacks against the churches, similar to those that occurred after the New Year of 2011 in Alexandria and in 2010 at Nag Hammadi (Luxor). Tensions have been increased by continuous military statements about the presence of unspecified external forces interested in wreaking havoc in the country before January 25, the anniversary of the Jasmine revolution.

In recent days, Kiryllos, Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Nag Hammadi appealed to General Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), asking that safety be guaranteed during the celebrations. “I have received several bomb threats against my diocese — he says — and I asked the police to protect the community.” Yesterday, the SCAF assured maximum protection for Copts. Even the Muslim Brotherhood, winners of the first two rounds of parliamentary elections, have responded to the bishop’s call. In a statement posted yesterday on their site, they announced they will collaborate with the military in maintaining security around Coptic churches during the holiday.

On New Year’s Eve 2011 in Alexandria, a car bomb exploded during a Mass of the Coptic community, killing 21 people. Because of the attack clashes erupted between Christians and Muslims, but it turned out that the attack was orchestrated by the secret services of Habib el-Adly, the interior minister of the Mubarak government. On January 6, 2010, an armed commando opened fire on a group of faithful of the church of Saint John in Nag Hammadi, killing seven people. At the time the police had ignored repeated requests for protection of the Coptic communities. No policeman was on guard at the time of the attack.

Because of this the Christians have little confidence in the army, tied to the old regime. Fr. Greich Rafiq, spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church, said that “the army thinks only of its own interests and protecting its own power and not the values of the revolution.”

An example of this attitude is the recent military raids in the offices of 17 human rights organizations funded by the United States, European Union and other foreign countries. They are accused of not having permission to work in the country.

“The military — said the priest — have raided the offices seizing computers, documents and blocking all accounts. They are justified in arguing that these organizations were financing parties and movements threatening the stability of the country. “ Among the groups targeted are: Caritas, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the Arab Center for Independence and Justice. According to Father Greich the army fears the future presidential elections of 25 January and dictatorial methods used to extinguish any form of dissent.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: Tripoli to Review ENI Contracts

Only two for social initiatives, claims group

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 30 — Eni contracts are at risk in Libya. The Italian oil group, operating in the North African country since 1959 and the top international group as concerns hydrocarbon extraction (stronger than even such giants as France’s Total) will have to deal with the new transitional government’s desire to “re-examine” the contracts signed with Colonel Gaddafi’s regime. This possibility had until now been entirely rejected by the group’s managing director Paolo Scaroni, who called it “inconceivable” given the international guarantee rendering current contracts binding. However the possibility seems ever more likely. “The head of the transitional government Abdel Rahim Al Kib,” reports a statement from the prime minister’s office, “has informed Paolo Scaroni, who he met with on Wednesday, that the contracts signed between the group and the previous regime will be reviewed and re-examined in line with Libyan interests before being applied.” The government went on to say that the entire world “must respect the choices made by the Libyan population. Foreign companies working in Libya will have to prove that they are partners of Libya and not of Gaddafi and his regime.” Eni will therefore have to “prove that it has a significant role in the reconstruction of the cities destroyed by Gaddafi’s forces.” The statement does not specify exactly what the review of the conditions will consist of, nor what contracts will be affected by the modifications. Eni has rushed to specify that only “two sustainability contracts for social initiatives” will be reviewed. It would seem that there is therefore no risk to the large oil contracts which enable the Italian group to every year extract (with the obvious exception of 2011) between 200,000 and 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including both gas and oil. Suspended on March 16 to then gradually resume at the beginning of September, Eni’s production activities in Libya are conducted in the offshore region of the Mediterranean Sea in front of Tripoli and in the Libyan desert. At the end of 2009 Eni was a party in 13 mineral permits for an overall surface area of 36,374 square kilometres (Eni share at 18,165 kilometres). In June 2008, Eni and the Libyan national oil company NOC signed Exploration and Production Sharing (EPSA IV) contracts extending the length of the mineral permits to 2042 for oil production and to 2047 for gas ones.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Yishai Condemns ‘Wild Incitement’ Against Haredim

Interior Minister slams haredi violence but says entire community targeted for actions of small group of extremists.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) on Sunday condemned violence perpetrated by haredi [ultra-Orthodox] extremists but said that he believes there is “wild incitement” against all haredim.

“Everyone knows that we are talking about a small group within haredi society, but there is incitement against all of the haredim,” Yishai stated in an Army Radio interview.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Iran Reports Successful Medium-Range Missile Test

Ground-to-air naval test firing follows previous day’s claim of nuclear fuel breakthrough

Iran has claimed to have successfully tested a new medium-range ground to air missile during naval exercises in the Gulf, amid rising tensions over the country’s nuclear programme.

State news agency Irna on Sunday quoted Iran’s naval commander, Mahmoud Mousavi, as saying the missile was equipped with the latest technology and intelligent systems. The missile test was made during 10 days of naval exercises to the east of the Straits of Hormuz, the narrowest section of the Gulf, which Iran has threatened to close in the event of western sanctions on its oil exports.

The exercises come a few weeks before EU foreign ministers meet to consider further sanctions, possibly including an oil embargo against Tehran, after an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report in November confirmed western allegations that Iran had worked on nuclear weapons designs, at least until 2003, and may have carried out experiments more recently.

Amid constant speculation that Israel or the US could use air strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme, Iran has attempted to buy long-range surface to air missiles from Russia. After Moscow cancelled the deal to sell its S-300 missiles last year, Tehran said it would develop its own as an independent deterrent against attack. Sunday’s announcement appeared designed to show it was making progress.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Turkey: Marked Inequalities in Incomes and Lifestyles

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 30 — There are still sharp disparities between the incomes received in Turkey’s industrialised North-West and its less developed South-East.

This is the finding of a recent survey carried out by the country’s statistical institute Turkstat. The survey finds that the average income of Turkey’s households totalled 22,063 Turkish lire (TL) in 2010, (1 TL is worth 8.898 euros), while average pro-capita income was 9,735 TL (3,926 euros). As for a breakdown of average pro capita incomes across the country’s regions, the region containing Istanbul leads the field with 13,382 TL (5,397 euros), followed by western Anatolia with 11,116 TL (4,483 euros). The region with the lowest income was south-eastern Anatolia with just 5,144 TL (2,074 euros). Wages and salaries make up 43.7% of incomes, followed by social benefits (20.5%, which are in turn made up of pensions, 91.1% and subsidy cheques) as well as by earnings from enterprises (20.2%). The sector of the population at risk of poverty amounts to 16.9% ( with 14.3% living in urban areas), while those under on-going risk number 18% of the population.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Russia


Anti-Putin Opposition Tends to be Leaderless, Heterogeneous and Apolitical

Streets protesters tend to come from the country’s developing middle class. For now, it has no recognised leader. For organisers, what matters is to educate civil society and de-legitimise Putin’s party.

Moscow (AsiaNews) — The movement behind the most important anti-government demonstrations in Russia in the past 15 years is so heterogeneous, eclectic and unstructured that it defies description. Still, after the mass demonstration in Moscow on 24 December, sociologists and media pundits are trying to do just that.

For the past month, activists have called for the cancellation of last month’s parliamentary elections, the adoption of a new electoral law and an end to ‘Putinism’. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the main target of demonstrators’ slogans, is using the lack of a clear leader to justify his government’s refusal to meet their demands. For some pundits, as long as the protest movement is without a leader, the Kremlin will not feel threatened enough to start a dialogue.

For now, the “extra-system” opposition, as it has come to be known, is not seeking any leader or planning a political agenda. “It is not important to become a political party,” environmentalist and protest organiser Evgenia Chirikova told AsiaNews. “What matters right now is to educate civil society so that people are aware of their rights and to undermine the power and credibility of the party of thieves and cheats,” which is how Putin’s United Russia party is called after it won the last elections amidst accusations of fraud and vote rigging.

For sociologists, the intellectuals, human rights activists, young students and workers, small entrepreneurs and professionals that are taking to the streets to protest peacefully and organising online and in social networks represent a new Russian middle class. It is what Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin who now heads Solidarnost, a group that organises demonstrations, calls the ‘creative Moscow’, namely educated people who travel and get their information online and not from official media.

Survey research backs this view. In a recent study by Levada, an independent research centre, 62 per cent of the movement’s members are university graduates, 69 per cent backs liberal or pro-democracy parties and more than two thirds goes online. Indeed, the Internet is the opposition’s most important tool.

Still, even though three quarters of respondents say their protest is against the authorities, they don’t have a clear idea of who should replace Putin who is preparing to move back to the Kremlin after the upcoming presidential elections on 4 March.

For 41 per cent of those surveyed, journalist Leonid Parfenov is one possible leader. The list of leaders also includes writer Boris Akunin and blogger Alexey Navalny (35 per cent and the 36 per cent of support). The latter however gets only 22 per cent for president, whilst 21 per cent would pick Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky.

In a survey by public polling company Vtsiom, this trend is confirmed. Meanwhile, as civil society groups plans to continue their protests until the March presidential elections, which they already deem illegitimate, Vladimir Putin’s popularity continues to decline. Even if he is still the frontrunner, his support has dropped from 60 per cent in 2008 to 44 per cent today, this according to the Public Opinion Fund.

Siberian and rural voters, people with below average wages, the elderly and women are more likely to vote for him. By contrast, Putin is less popular among city folks, people with higher incomes, higher education and residents of Moscow and the Central Federal District as well as voters between the ages of 45 and 54.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Business as Usual for Italy’s ISAF Medics in Afghanistan

(AGI) Bala Murghab (Afghanistan) — In charge of ISAF’s Regional Command West, Italy’s soldiers were at work despite festivities. At the Bala Murghab outpost — the outpost closest to the Turkmenistan border — Italian army medics started accepting patients at 0900 hours, just like every other morning. Accompanied by military personnel, patients were allowed in one at a time after being vetted at the outpost’s entry checkpoint. Today’s patient screenings at the medical emergency and stabilisation facility included a dozen children — one of whom requiring leg injury medication — and a man who had suffered heel injuries after using it as an emergency brake for his motorcycle.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Child Sacrificed, Liver Offered to Gods: Indian Police

RAIPUR, India (AFP) — A seven-year-old Indian girl was murdered in a tribal sacrifice and her liver offered to the gods to improve crop growth, police in the central state of Chhattisgarh said on Sunday. The body of Lalita Tati was found in October one week after her family reported her missing.

‘A seven-year-old girl was sacrificed by two persons superstitiously believing that the act would give a better harvest,’ Narayan Das, the police chief of Bijapur district, told AFP by telephone. The two men was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of killing the girl and offering her liver to the gods in a grisly tribal ceremony. Police said the men had confessed to the crime.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



India: Karnataka: Four New Anti-Christian Attacks

Three occurred on December 28 in different areas of the state, the fourth in the evening of the 25. With these number of attacks in Karnataka in 2011 rises to 49. Sajan George, “The Hindu radicals violate the human dignity of the Christian population.”

Mangalore (AsiaNews) — Four new attacks by Hindu fundamentalists have disrupted the Christmas season for Christians in Karnataka. Sajan K George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), calls them “a shame and a blot on the secular and democratic India”, because “even if the fundamentalists do not respect the holy period of Christmas, they are proof that government and authorities are complicit in the persecution against Christians. “ The first occurred on December 25 last, while the other three all occurred on the 28 in different areas of Karnataka. The number of accidents in the State has thus risen to 49 in 2011.

On Christmas Eve, about 20 activists of a local group, the Jagaran Vedike, attacked a family gathered at dinner. The Hindus have attacked men, women and children with sticks and stones, injuring them seriously and threatening their lives. Many of them were later hospitalized for fractures of the limbs and nose. The minister’s wife suffered a serious chest wound. The activists fled immediately after the violence, while the police made a report but did not initiate investigations on the attackers.

On December 28 there were three separate incidents. In Maripalla, in Mangalore district, Hindu extremists set fire to the village crib. Christians immediately condemned the fire to the Bantwal police, who arrested two Hindu radicals. The men defended themselves saying that the Christians during the Christmas celebrations practiced forced conversions.

In Mulky (Mangalore), about 20 Hindu extremists wearing masks stopped the prayer service of the Pentecostal Church of God of Hebron. Armed with stones and sticks, the attackers destroyed windows, rooms and vehicles parked outside the building. The pastor I.D. Sanna was at home with his wife Sarah, children Abhishek and Prerna and five other people, but they were not harmed.

In the district of Davanagere some activists of Sriram Sene (local Hindu nationalist movement) entered the house of a member of the Pentecostal Church Divyadarsana Ministry. There they physically beat Pastor Raju Doddamani and those present, accusing them of practicing forced conversions. Then, the attackers called the Vidyanagar police, which brought out the Christians for questioning.

“The worst thing — Sajan K George said — is that Hindu extremists have perpetrated these heinous human rights violations against Christians. Above all, they violated their dignity as human beings invading the privacy of their homes, attacking women and children, desecrating the sanctity of the family, with physical and verbal abuse. “

The president of the GCIC concludes: “By granting these Hindu extremists impunity, the persecution of religious minorities will become an ordinary event. The Indian Constitution provides that ‘all people have equal right to freedom of conscience and to profess, practice and propagate their religion’. Yet the violence shows the status of second class citizens granted to the Christian population. “

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italian Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan

Local driver killed in convoy attack

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — An Italian soldier was wounded in an attack on a military convoy in western Afghanistan on Thursday.

An Afghan driver was killed and another civilian was also wounded when insurgents opened fire on the convoy.

The convoy, which included soldiers and civilians, was travelling from Bala Murghab to Herat in Regional Command West, an area under Italian control of the NATO-led mission.

The injured were airlifted by helicopter to the military headquarters of the Italian ‘Sassari’ Brigage in Bala Murghab for treatment.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Far East


North Korea Calls for “Human Shields” To Protect New Leader

North Korea called on its people to rally behind new leader Kim Jong-un and protect him as “human shields” while working to solve the “burning issue” of food shortages by upholding the policies of his late father, Kim Jong-il. The North’s three main state newspapers said in a policy-setting editorial traditionally published on New Year’s Day that Kim Jong-un has legitimacy to carry on the revolutionary battle initiated by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and developed by his father, the iron-fisted ruler who died two weeks ago.

“Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of our Party and our people, is the banner of victory and glory of Songun (military-first) Korea and the eternal centre of its unity,” the 5,000-word editorial carried by the North’s state KCNA news agency said. Asserting that the inexperienced young Kim, in his late 20s, is “precisely” identical to his father, the editorial said “the whole Party, the entire army and all the people should possess a firm conviction that they will become human bulwarks and human shields in defending Kim Jong-un unto death.”

Notably, the editorial called North Korea’s food problem “a burning issue” for the ruling Workers’ Party to solve and build “a thriving country.” “Glorify this year 2012 as a year of proud victory, a year when an era of prosperity is unfolding, true to the instructions of the great General Kim Jong-il,” the editorial said.

The destitute North has been suffering from chronic food shortages, relying heavily on outside aid. A U.N. report said in November the isolated communist state needs food assistance for nearly 3 million of its 24 million people in 2012.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Robots to Enjoy Long Walks on the Beach

IN THE deserts of an alien planet, the famously neurotic C-3PO from Star Wars had a talent that today’s robots sadly lack: hiking through sand dunes. That could soon change, though, as humanoids learn how to balance when the going gets soft. Walking in a desert or on a beach is tough going, because both feet sink into the sand, and slip over the sand particles. This upsets a droid’s balancing system, which assumes it will step on a hard surface. It becomes confused when information from its accelerometers shows that its feet are unsteady.

To fix the problem, engineers led by Shunsuke Komizunai of Japan’s Tohoku University in Sendai, researched how balancing systems can compensate for sand’s unusual characteristics. To do so, they made a model robot foot about the same size as an adult human’s — and made it “tread” with various levels of force in a box full of sand to represent robots of different weights. Last month they presented results they had collected from accelerometers and other sensors at the eighth international conference on flow dynamics, also in Sendai.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Afghan, Iraqi Migrants Stopped in Puglia

32 ‘still wet from the sea’

(ANSA) — Lecce, December 30 — A group of Afghan and Iraqi migrants were stopped Friday soon after disembarking from a boat on the coast of Puglia.

The 32 migrants, who had split up into smaller groups, were “still wet from wading ashore”, police said.

All males including some minors, they were said to be in good health.

They were taken to a migrant reception centre near Otranto.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Neo-Fascist Political Movement to Run Northern Italian School Council

Once known for it’s left-leaning politics, the region of Emilia Romagna has recently witnessed a high school council taken over by a far-right group. As much as ideology, the election victory is another sign that traditional politics has lost legitimacy among Italian youth

In the traditionally left-wing northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, the recent triumph of a neo-fascist student movement in school elections is the latest sign of radical responses to social problems and further evidence that traditional political parties are losing their grip on the democratic process.

More than 600 students at Galilei high school, in the town of San Secondo Parmense, elected members of the radical right group Blocco Studentesco (Students’ Block) as their four student body representatives. The students’ movement is connected with Casa Pound, a neo-fascist movement which recently became notorious when one of its sympathisers, Gianluca Casseri, shot and killed two Senegalese men in Florence.

The representatives of Students’ Block reject the accusation of xenophobia and point out that their spokesperson is black. But they do add that immigration should be stopped.

“Our politics are about real problems at school, and people appreciate us for that,” says Students’ Block representative Riccardo Rigoni. “We’ll keep organizing lectures, debates, sports activities, and entertainment to involve students and make them aware of their future,” he adds.

This is the first time that a radical right-wing group has had such a clear victory in the once Communist region of Emilia Romagna.

Further south, students groups close to Casa Pound and the Students’ Block have also won some recent school elections in Rome.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Romney Says He Would Veto DREAM Act Giving Illegal Immigrants Path to Citizenship

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday that he would veto legislation that would allow certain illegal residents to become American citizens.

“The answer is yes,” Romney said during a campaign stop here in western Iowa, when he was asked if he would refuse to sign what’s known as the DREAM Act.

Romney has said before that he would oppose the legislation, which would legalize some young illegal immigrants if they attend college or serve in the military. But Saturday was the first time he’s explicitly said he would veto it.

Democrats immediately seized on Romney’s remarks. “Wrong on principle and politics,” David Axelrod, the Obama campaign’s top political adviser wrote on Twitter in response. The Democratic National Committee called Romney’s stance “appalling” in a written statement.

Immigration is likely to be a key issue in the general election, particularly in swing states like Florida, Nevada and Colorado, which have significant Hispanic populations.

Romney said he would support provisions of the bill that allow people to earn permanent residency if they serve in the military.

“I’m delighted with the idea that people who come to this country and wish to serve in the military can be given a path to become permanent residents of this country,” Romney said in Iowa.

He was campaigning just three days before the state’s Republican caucuses. A new poll shows Romney leading the field of GOP presidential candidates.

The most recent version of the DREAM Act would have provided a route to legal status for immigrants who were brought to the United States before age 16, have lived in the country for five years, graduated from high school or gained an equivalency degree and who joined the military or attend college.

It targeted the most sympathetic of the estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States — those brought to the country as children, and who in many cases consider themselves American, speak English and have no ties to their native countries.

Critics of the bill called it a backdoor to amnesty that would encourage more foreigners to sneak into the United States in hopes of eventually being legalized.

           — Hat tip: AC [Return to headlines]

General


The Bee and the Lamb

Part 3

by Takuan Seiyo (January 2012)

The West is now at a critical juncture not seen at least since 1920s, and in some respects, since the 1st century AD when the End of Times seemed imminent. Every component and institution of the ruling elite, every value it promotes and enforces, in every Western country, seems hypocritical, malignant, the whole thing reeling toward the ash-heap of history.

Vampire banksters captured the political process and skimmed off exorbitant riches while hoisting society onto leveraged stilts of fictitious debt, layers upon layers of it with over $700 trillion — ten times planet Earth’s Gross National Product — in derivative paper alone. Corrupt politicians transferred the banksters’ bad bets and the EU socialists’ soured gambles onto the account books of Western taxpayers, i.e. the little people. Central banks are “printing” to provide the wherewithal for this economic malpractice. This erodes the net worth of the West’s middle class, particularly the prudent savers, fixed income retirees, hundreds of millions of people who played by the rules in order to find out at the end that there are no rules, not even laws. Laws are for the little people; the Jamie Dimons and John Corzines do what they want with impunity.

The vaunted globalization has merely built channels for global contagion by biological and financial viruses. Transfer of wealth from the North to the South and of technology from the West to the East was accompanied by a transfer of population in the reverse direction: perhaps the worst deal any civilization has made in history.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20110424

Financial Crisis
» Ireland: ECB-Forced ‘Run on Our Banks’ Led to Bailout
 
USA
» Classified Military Files Offer New Insights About Guantánamo Detainees
» Doctors Clear Giffords to Attend Shuttle Launch
» FBI Identifies Suspect in Attempted Bombing at Colorado Mall
 
Europe and the EU
» Finland: New Government — New Policy Towards Israel?
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Mubarak to be Moved to Cairo Military Hospital
» Libya Rebels Say Oil Firms Can Resume Work Soon
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» ‘Heinous Act Against Jewish Worshipers’
 
Middle East
» Security Forces Kill 9 Syrians in Sunni District
 
Immigration
» John Sentamu: Is the Big Society Big Enough to Offer Shelter to Refugees?
 
Culture Wars
» UK: Is This Equality? As a Lawyer, I Never Thought I’d Have to Defend Christians in a Christian Nation
 
General
» Headlines From the Year 2020 (Part VI)

Financial Crisis


Ireland: ECB-Forced ‘Run on Our Banks’ Led to Bailout

Frankfurt’s ‘murky role’ in bailout must be explored says McCarthy

Economist Colm McCarthy has said that there are “widespread suspicions” that the European Central Bank fostered a run on Irish banks to force the last Government to seek a bailout from the EU-IMF.

In the Sunday Independent today (below and page 23), Mr McCarthy says that the ECB behaved in a “bullying fashion” towards Ireland by threatening to withdraw liquidity support and “fostering” a run on the banks.

Mr McCarthy also said that any further inquiry into the banking crisis in Ireland should explore the “murky role” of the ECB in events leading up to the exit of Ireland from financial markets and resort to EU-IMF financing in November 2010.

His comments follow the publication of a quite sensational account by former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in which he claims that the ECB forced Ireland into the bailout.

In an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 today, Mr Lenihan has also accused members of the ECB executive of “betrayal”. He criticises some ECB governing board members for the “damaging” manner in which they briefed some media about Ireland.

But the state secretary at the German finance ministry, Jorg Asmussen, told BBC Radio 4: “It was made very clear to the Irish Finance Minister that it was not just about Ireland. The functioning of the currency union was at stake.”

It emerges in the programme that when EU finance ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday, November 16, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, pressed Mr Lenihan to hold a press conference immediately after the meeting to announce an application for aid.

Mr Lenihan responded: “I refused and said I wouldn’t participate on that basis; that my Government had the sovereign right to decide how it conducted these discussions.”

Mr McCarthy, an economist at UCD, has said the Government should now consider publishing full records of ECB communications with the Irish authorities throughout the affair. “It is high time, too, for automatic publication of ECB council minutes,” he said.

A report on the BBC programme, published by the Irish Times yesterday, is re-published in full in the Sunday Independent today on page 20. It sheds significant new light on the traumatic events which led the Government to request assistance from the EU-IMF.

The “widespread suspicions” to which Mr McCarthy refers were commented upon by an Irish academic, Professor Gary O’Callaghan, of Dubrovnik International University, in February in a paper entitled: ‘Did the ECB cause a run on the Irish Banks?’

Professor O’Callaghan said: “A systemic run on Irish banks was the cause of the November crisis and that it probably resulted from public musings by ECB members on the need to curtail liquidity support to banks.”

In the three months up to November last, the banks in Ireland had lost ¿125bn in deposits. A further ¿75bn of deposits left in December after the EU-IMF bailout.

The BBC programme recounts how, on November 8 and 9 last, Mr Lenihan met European Commissioner Olli Rehn in Dublin. At the time, the position of the Government, in public and private, was that Ireland was fully funded up to mid-2011.

Mr Lenihan recalled: “The Commission felt that Ireland should be given a chance to see whether it could survive. I don’t think the Commission was anxious to bounce member states into a programme. That was my strong impression from my discussions with commissioner Rehn.” Earlier this month, Mr Rehn’s spokesman said of his visit: “He didn’t want to push the authorities in one sense or another.”

Both Danny McCoy of Ibec, the employers’ body, and Jack O’Connor of Siptu, who met Mr Rehn separately, said the commissioner had communicated the ECB’s unwillingness to continue its support of the banking system indefinitely — but had given no hint whatsoever that the situation would change within days.

The EU’s position contrasted with that of the ECB, according to Mr Lenihan.

The ECB had been ratcheting up pressure on Ireland the more Irish banks tapped its short-term liquidity funding. That, he said, “gave the governing council [of the ECB] the opportunity to intervene and comment — and they commented with great vigour”.

He went on: “While I found Mr [Jean-Claude] Trichet very helpful throughout the crisis, I have to say I could not say that of all of his colleagues. Some of them were inclined to brief newspapers in their own member states, giving them an assessment of the Irish position, which I viewed as damaging.”

The suddenness of the move in mid-November also appears to have been unexpected for Ajai Chopra of the IMF. He was in Brussels for the week beginning November 15 to discuss wider European issues with the EU. He was scheduled to continue on to Frankfurt but instead cancelled the Frankfurt meetings and flew to Dublin in the middle of the week.

Replying to a question as to whether he supported seeking external assistance at that time, the governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, replied that: “By the very first days of November it had become absolutely clear to me that this was the way to go.”

As speculation intensified over the weekend of November 13 and 14, a series of denials by Cabinet members was made. Dermot Ahern, flanked by Noel Dempsey, appeared on television describing reports to that effect as “fiction”.

Their ministerial colleague at the time, Eamon Ryan, simply told the BBC that the denials were not true. He went on to say that these denials did “huge damage” and that “there was a huge loss of confidence among the Irish public about what they were being told”.

It subsequently emerged Mr Ahern and Mr Dempsey were operating on briefing notes from the Department of Finance at the time.

At a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, November 16, the pressure on Ireland had become intense. State secretary at the German Finance Ministry, Jorg Asmussen, who attended the meeting, said: “It was made very clear to the Irish finance minister that it is not just about Ireland. The functioning of the currency union was at stake.” At that meeting, Mr Asmussen’s boss, Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s finance minister, pressed Mr Lenihan to hold a press conference immediately after the meeting to announce an application for aid.

Mr Lenihan responded: “I refused and said I wouldn’t participate on that basis; that my Government had the sovereign right to decide how it conducted these discussions.”

Denials continued on the Wednesday, up to and including Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Then on Thursday, November 18, Mr Honohan appeared on RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland programme to state frankly that there would be an aid package amounting to tens of billions of euro.

This intervention came, he said, when he learned the night before that an editorial was to appear in the Financial Times newspaper “saying effectively that people should be planning on bank runs”.

He was concerned about the possible effect it would have on financial stability and said he needed to provide reassurance. Asked if he had consulted the Government on the radio appearance, he said: “No, I operate an independent role here.”

By that point, dozens of officials from the EC-IMF-ECB were in Dublin and the formal application for assistance was made three days later on Sunday, November 21.

Mr Lenihan also gave a graphic description of his feelings when the bailout talks were concluded. “I’ve a very vivid memory of going to Brussels on the final Monday to sign the agreement and being on my own at the airport and looking at the snow gradually thawing and thinking to myself, this is terrible. No Irish minister has ever had to do this before.”

[Return to headlines]

USA


Classified Military Files Offer New Insights About Guantánamo Detainees

A trove of more than 700 classified military documents provides new and detailed accounts of the men who have done time at the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba, and offers new insight into the evidence against the 172 men still locked up there. Military intelligence officials, in assessments of detainees written between February 2002 and January 2009, evaluated their histories and provided glimpses of the tensions between captors and captives. What began as a jury-rigged experiment after the 2001 terrorist attacks now seems like an enduring American institution, and the leaked files show why, by laying bare the patchwork and contradictory evidence that in many cases would never have stood up in criminal court or a military tribunal.

[Return to headlines]



Doctors Clear Giffords to Attend Shuttle Launch

Mark Kelly, Rep. Giffords’ husband, tells Katie Couric in exclusive interview to air Monday how his wife is progressing

(CBS News) In an exclusive television interview that will broadcast Monday on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, astronaut Mark Kelly shares with CBS News Anchor and Managing Editor Katie Couric that his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, has been cleared to attend Friday’s launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.

Couric sat down with Kelly in Houston ahead of the shuttle launch, and he shared details about how his wife is progressing as she recovers from the brain injury she suffered following the January 8 shooting in Tucson, Arizona.

Kelly said of Giffords’ ability to leave her rehab: I’ve met with her doctors, her neurosurgeon and her doctors. And…they’ve given us permission to take her down to the launch. I’m excited about that, yes.”…

[Return to headlines]



FBI Identifies Suspect in Attempted Bombing at Colorado Mall

The FBI issues a nationwide alert in a search for Earl Albert Moore, 65, who was seen on surveillance video. Officials say he is probably armed and dangerous.

Reporting from Denver— The FBI identified a 65-year-old man with a raft of aliases as the suspect in the attempted bombing of a suburban shopping mall on the anniversary of the Columbine massacre and issued a nationwide alert Sunday, warning that he is probably armed and dangerous.

Earl Albert Moore is the lone suspect in the case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. It listed five aliases for him and said he had an “extensive” criminal background.

One week before Wednesday’s attempted bombing, the FBI said, Moore had been released from federal prison after serving a sentence for armed bank robbery in West Virginia.

Authorities found a pipe bomb and two propane tanks while extinguishing a small fire in the Southwest Plaza food court. The mall is less than two miles from Columbine High School, where in 1999 two students killed 13 people before turning guns on themselves. The mall, which can have as many as 10,000 shoppers at its busiest, was evacuated for hours.

There was no explicit link to the high school massacre, but the timing made people suspicious and anxious. The local school district restricted access to 25 schools as a precaution.

Attention swiftly turned to grainy pictures captured by surveillance cameras of a balding man with a mustache who was spotted leaving the area at the time of the attempted bombing. Investigators were not able to identify him until Sunday.

It remained unclear whether Moore was still in Colorado. In a statement, the FBI said it was conducting a nationwide hunt and asked the media to distribute images of Moore.

The agency said Moore is about 6 feet tall, weighs 200 to 220 pounds and has a gray mustache and multiple tattoos, including one of a viking. His aliases include Earl Buchanan, Morelli Buchanon, John Lindzy, Donald Morelli and Gary Steele.

Authorities urged anyone with information about his whereabouts to call 911 or the Jefferson County tip line at (303) 271-5615.

[Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Finland: New Government — New Policy Towards Israel?

The Finnish parliamentary elections resulted in a massive victory for the True Finns. The party managed to increase the number of its MP’s from a mere 5 to a whopping 39 making it the third largest party in the Parliament. The sabre-rattling party campaigned against the closed circle of the top three parties and will now undoubtedly use its mandate to change several aspects of the current political order. The changes will be felt across the board, but for those interested in monitoring the relations between Finland and Israel, the future is more interesting than ever.

Unlike its Nordic neighbors Norway and Sweden, Finland has traditionally been friendly towards Israel. Only during Erkki Tuomioja’s reign as foreign minister, Finland showed some unprecedented signs of hostility. In a famous interview in 2001, Tuomioja compared Israeli defensive actions to the Nazi persecution of European Jewry. As it looks now, Tuomioja’s Social Democratic Party will be part of the new government.

Tuomioja’s multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism run counter to True Finns’ world view. Tuomioja, who as foreign minister, seemed more like an Amnesty International appointed advocate, would have a hard time adjusting to a government led by the likes of Timo Soini, a friend of Israel and Jussi Halla-aho, whose views on immigration and foreign aid do not mix well with Tuomioja’s positions.

It seems unfathomable that the leadership of True Finns would allow Tuomioja back in the driver’s seat as far as Finland’s foreign policy is concerned. However, similarly to Tuomioja, True Finns opposes NATO membership, whereas the incumbent foreign minister, Alexander Stubb is an ardent advocate of Finland joining the organization.

Unlike Tuomioja, True Finns wants to cut foreign aid and is not willing to succumb to UN or EU -mandated foreign policy. Finland is a small country and has limited amount of leverage in world affairs. However, being a member of an important group of a diminishing number of well-run European economies, it has the ability to make a difference in many important issues.

However it’s likely that the current foreign minister and a popular politician, Alexander Stubb will continue to run the foreign ministry. Stubb is a media-driven politician who is often unwilling to reevaluate existing policies and instead refers to EU and the UN as the two organizations that Finland should follow.

True Finns has the political capital to challenge many existing policies which have never been scrutinized. For example, Finland’s sizable and unconditional aid to the Palestinians might be revised under the new government. Moreover, its unlikely that the new government would be pressured into cutting defense ties with Israel simply because organizations such as ICAHD Finland regularly petition the government to do so.

Jussi Niinistö, a security advisor for the True Finns and a strong candidate to become the next minister of defense, recently stated that Finland should increase its defense spending. If one is to look at the list of True Finns MP’s and assuming that the deliberations preceding the forming of the new government go according to True Finns’ wishes, we will likely see a shift toward a foreign policy which will reflect well on the long-standing relations between Finland and Israel.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt: Mubarak to be Moved to Cairo Military Hospital

The former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, is to be moved to a military hospital in Cairo after a doctor declared him well enough to travel.

He has been in hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since falling ill during questioning about corruption allegations and protesters’ deaths.

Prosecutors said the 82-year-old was supposed to go to Tora prison hospital, but it was not ready to receive him.

The military council that took power in February is under pressure to try him.

Mr Mubarak’s two sons, Gamal and Alaa, along with a number of senior officials and business figures close to him are already being held at Tora prison.

Condition ‘stable’

For the past two weeks, the former leader has been in a private wing of a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh after being admitted with heart problems.

But the public prosecutor, Abdul Maguid Mahmoud, said Mr Mubarak was now fit enough to be transferred to the Mazraa hospital at Tora prison.

He will first be moved to a military hospital in the capital, the International Medical Centre, and then to the prison hospital once proper preparations have been made. The facility is not equipped with intensive care facilities that could deal with any sudden deterioration of his heart condition.

Once there, Mr Mubarak will face questioning over allegations of corruption, including charges that his government supplied gas to Israel at below market prices.

He will also be questioned about his role in ordering the violent response to anti-government protests, in which more than 800 people died.

The prosecutor’s office cited a doctor’s report as saying Mr Mubarak could be moved without endangering his health, as long as he was given appropriate medical treatment.

An official source cited by the state news agency Mena said he could be transferred to the military hospital with 48 hours.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head in Cairo says many Egyptians doubted that the country’s new military rulers would be willing to hold the man many soldiers regard as a war hero to account for the abuses of the old regime.

But the incarceration of his sons, many of his closest associates and now Mr Mubarak himself may push those doubts aside, he adds.

[Return to headlines]



Libya Rebels Say Oil Firms Can Resume Work Soon

Rebels say production halted after Gaddafi attacks

BENGHAZI, Libya, April 24 (Reuters) — East Libya’s Zueitina and Sirte Oil companies will be able to resume work as soon as the areas where they operate are secured, a top rebel oil official in said on Sunday.

Rebels have fought a fierce back-and-forth battle with forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on the road between the eastern cities of Ajdabiyah and Brega for over three weeks, forcing much of the civilian population to evacuate.

Getting the companies in those areas running again would be a boost for the insurgents, but to do so rebel forces will likely need to muster the firepower to dislodge better-armed and trained government loyalists from the area.

“For Sirte Oil and Zueitina, we have people ready to move in as soon as they are safe to move,” Wahid Bugaighis, appointed head of the National Oil Company by the rebel national council, told reporters in Benghazi.

“If we are liberated and the situation is stable, then they are ready to go back,” he added.

The main oil fields under rebel control are the Sarir, Nafoora and Misla fields, all owned by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco).

Rebels said they were forced to halt production after troops loyal to Gaddafi attacked the Misla field.

Bugaighis said the opposition would not be exporting any more oil until they were able to repair the damage at Misla and that oil at a storage terminal in Tobruk would be used mainly for a refinery there.

“Presently we are not replenishing any storage in Tobruk,” he said.

Bugaighis said a damage assessment at Misla was complete and workers were preparing to do repairs. He said it would take at least a month to get back on stream, but even that estimate was rough because reconstruction planning was still under way.

Agoco said separately this week it could not give a timeline for resuming production given the scale of the damage at Misla and the lack of safety there.

Bugaighis said rebels were studying “alternatives” to reinforce security at the oil fields they control, but declined to give details.

Breathing Space

Eight guards were killed in an attack on a pumping station along the pipeline between the Sarir field and a port in Tobruk this week, he said, while adding that the attack would not affect the pumping or use of the pipeline.

The loss of Brega, which supplied natural gas to Benghazi, has forced rebels to import more diesel fuel from abroad to run a power plant north of the rebel stronghold, Bugaighis said.

He said electricity output from the plant has been cut by about a quarter to save fuel.

“This is to give us some breathing time between arrivals of tankers. We didn’t have this problem when the gas was supplied to the plant, but now we have to supply it by sea and get it from abroad,” Bugaighis said.

He said rebels made about $129 million from their only shipment of crude oil, but had to pay $75 million for a single cargo of gasoline.

“You have to put things in perspective,” he said. “You don’t go far with $129 million.”

[Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


‘Heinous Act Against Jewish Worshipers’

(VIDEO) Details remain unclear hours after Palestinian police officers open fire on group of hasidim at Joseph’s Tomb, killing one, injuring two others. PM Netanyahu urges PA to act with heavy hand against perpetrators, while Palestinian sources claim it is still uncertain whether shooting was intentional

Shooting attack or unintentional mishap? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned on Sunday evening the shooting incident at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus that killed 24-year-old Ben-Yosef Livnat and injured two other Hasidim, calling it a “terrorist attack.”

In his statement, Netanyahu urged the Palestinian Authority “to take harsh steps against the perpetrators who committed this heinous act against Jewish worshipers who were on their way to prayer.”

Netanyahu also said that he had spoken with the victim’s aunt, Sports and Culture Minister Limor Livnat and sent his condolences to the family.

The Palestinian Authority has yet to issue an official statement in response to the incident, but several Palestinian sources claimed that it was still uncertain whether the shooting was intentional.

The only Palestinian official to comment on the affair was Nablus Governor Jibril al-Bakri. According to al-Bakri, “Around 5:45 am five Israeli vehicles with some 30 passengers arrived at the scene.

“They divided into two groups and began throwing stones at Palestinian police officers guarding the vicinity,” he said.

No suspects arrested

The governor added that the police officers shot in the air, and the worshippers began fleeing in their cars while hitting the road block. However, Al-Bakri did not explain how Ben-Yosef and three other Hasidim were injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, the IDF and Palestinian security apparatus continued to probe the fatal incident in an attempt to unfold the events as they occurred.

Earlier, Palestinian security forces spokesman Adnan Damiri denied reports that claimed Palestinian forces arrested the police officer responsible for the shooting.

In an interview with a Palestinian radio station Damiri claims that Palestinian security forces collected testimonies and were investigating the incident, adding that Israel has yet to establish any kind of inquiry.

As of Sunday evening, two Hasidim remain hospitalized in Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. One is in serious condition while the other sustained moderate injuries. A third man was released from the hospital shortly after the incident.

[Return to headlines]

Middle East


Security Forces Kill 9 Syrians in Sunni District

AMMAN (Reuters) — Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad shot dead at least nine civilians on Sunday in a sweep on the coastal town on Jabla, the Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah said.

The forces deployed in the old Sunni district of the mixed town on the Mediterranean coast following a pro-democracy protest against the autocratic rule of President Bashar al-Assad the previous night.

Assad, who succeeded his late father as president in 2000, is from Syria’s minority Alawite sect, who form a majority in Jabla and have generally stayed away from the protests demanding political freedom and an end to corruption although independent Allawites have condemned the killings.

Sawasiah, an independent organization, and another human rights activist in contact with Jabla, said security forces also raided the house of Zakraiya al-Akkad, a physician in Jabla, after he spoke Al Jazeera television about the killings in his hometown.

In the coastal city of Banias to the south, protest leaders said they would cut the main coastal highway unless the siege on Jabla was lifted.

Rights campaigners said they feared that Assad’s forces were preparing a similar attack on the town of Nawa after reports of bulldozers and military vehicles heading there after thousands called for the overthrow of Assad at a funeral for protesters killed by security forces.

Electricity and communications had been cut off in parts of Nawa by the evening and residents, some armed, erected barriers in the streets in preparation to defend against attack.

“Long live Syria. Down with Bashar!” mourners chanted, their calls audible in am earlier telephone call during the funeral in Nawa, 25 km (15 miles) north of the city of Deraa where demonstrations against Assad’s rule erupted last month.

“Leave, leave. The people want the overthrow of the regime.”

Overthrow

At least 100 people were killed across Syria on Friday, the highest toll in five weeks of unrest, when security forces shot protesters demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption in their country, ruled for 41 years by the Assad dynasty.

Another 12 more people were killed on Saturday at mass funerals for the slain protesters, and rights campaigners said secret police raided homes near Damascus and in the central city of Homs on Sunday, arresting activists.

Assad assumed power when his father died in 2000 after ruling Syria for 30 years. The hostile chants in Nawa on Sunday reflect a steady hardening of the demands of protesters who at first called for greater freedoms but now seek his overthrow.

International condemnation of Assad has also intensified. Western criticism was initially muted because of lingering hopes that Assad might implement genuine reform and because revolution in Syria would reshape the political map in the Middle East.

An eminent jurists’ group said on Sunday the U.N. Security Council must investigate “mass killings” by the security forces which it said may warrant prosecution by the International Criminal Court. Human Rights Watch also called for a U.N. investigation and for international sanctions on Syria.

“Those ordering and carrying out these attacks, including those firing live rounds into crowds, must be held criminally accountable,” said Wilder Tayler, secretary-general of the International Commission of Jurists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people were arrested by security forces after the demonstrations on Friday, including nine in Idlib province, four in Syria’s second city of Aleppo and five in eastern Raqqa province.

Mansour al-Ali, a prominent figure from the minority ruling Alawite sect, was arrested in Homs after he spoke out against the shooting of protesters, an activist in Homs said.

[Return to headlines]

Immigration


John Sentamu: Is the Big Society Big Enough to Offer Shelter to Refugees?

In 1973 I was forced to flee Idi Amin’s brutal regime. I found compassion and care in Britain. Today, I want to live in a society that holds out the same hope for fugitives

The events of the first Easter were told against a social backdrop of violence, injustice, migration, and the desperate search for safety. Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Passover that week, a festival that recalled their forebears’ desperate flight from Egypt as refugees. Generations before, their ancestors had gone to Egypt as economic migrants. In the past weeks, as the turmoil in the Middle East has played out, Egypt has once again found itself a refuge for those seeking sanctuary. Having made historic changes in its own political settlment, it is admitting fugitives from the conflict in neighbouring Libya.

Today, no country should have to act alone, and those states affected by recent political upheaval are assisted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. International arrangements are in place to ensure that victims of violence and torture, and any in need of international protection, are given a chance both of surviving immediate crises and of finding security for the future.

The persistence of violence and injustice anywhere is regrettable but the international agreements to protect refugees are a mark of human progress, and indeed arise from a virtue common to many religions — the virtue of hospitality to the stranger and the alien.

In stretching economic times, it is not surprising that those who foot the bill for humanitarian provision should, along with others, have to find ways of increasing efficiency and cutting costs. But I hope that, as a nation, we are as committed as ever, even now, to those values which have made Britain great, among them a firm conviction that it is our duty to come to the aid of the oppressed, and to offer protection where it is needed.

Immigration and asylum is an area of moral debate where there is often more heat than light. This week, for example, we have seen France closing its border with Italy to prevent desperate new migrants fleeing unrest in North Africa reaching its territory.

But to assess whether there really is a refugee or migration “crisis” we must consider the evidence carefully. And one key area of research must surely be into what happens to “failed” asylum-seekers who are returned to their country of origin. More notice needs to be taken, I believe, of increasingly unpalatable evidence from countries like Congo and Cameroon that some returnees from the UK, including those with young children, are subjected to imprisonment, torture, abuse and starvation. By the time we learn of their appalling fate, it is too late to say, “we got it wrong”.

The UNHCR recently released a report which found that during 2010 some 358,800 asylum applications were made in the 44 industrialised countries. The US, France, Germany, Sweden and Canada were the largest asylum recipients in 2010 and accounted for more than half of all asylum applications received by these 44 states.

But applications for asylum in industrialised countries are more than 40 per cent lower than they were 10 years ago and many have raised concerns that this is partly due to tighter immigration controls which are stopping refugees from seeking protection in these countries. The fact is that globally there are no fewer refugees than before: it is just that most refugees continue to be assisted in poor countries.

Tunisia and Egypt, for example, despite the turbulence of recent weeks, have both recently pledged to allow the thousands of Libyans fleeing the escalating conflict to enter their territory. Meanwhile, some hundreds of thousands of Ivorians fleeing the recent violence in Cote d’Ivoire have received assistance in eight West African countries. Let us hope that the conflict there is truly coming to an end now, but for the time being the number of people who have become refugees as a result of these conflicts in West Africa alone is equivalent to the total number of asylum applications that the UK has received in the last five years. In 2010, the UK received its lowest number of asylum applications since 1989.

Given that the number of asylum-seekers and refugees who end up in the European Union is now relatively small, it is particularly important that we respond to individuals who do seek sanctuary in our countries in a principled and compassionate way. This should include providing protection to all those fleeing persecution or escaping situations of conflict and widespread human rights violations, and providing adequate support to those in the asylum system so that they can meet their essential living needs.

When the public-spending cuts bite, it should not be the most vulnerable of all who suffer. It usually falls to local refugee groups, and often to churches, like many I visit in the north of England, to support those who are struggling to live on the meagre levels of support offered to asylum-seekers. How “Big” is our “Big Society” in relation to these people? There will always be those who need our protection and our support — are we big-hearted enough to accept this? It would be tragic if, because of misplaced fears over immigration numbers, we shut our doors to those seeking sanctuary from persecution.

In 1973, I myself was a refugee who had to escape Idi Amin’s brutal regime in Uganda. Many of my contemporaries were not so lucky. I was received in Britain with great compassion and care — it was almost a home from home. Yes, one room in a communal house sufficed for me, my wife and daughter. However, I recall the struggles of surviving on the very limited financial support available at the time, and I also recall the generosity of those who went out of their way to make us welcome. I would like to think that those genuinely needing protection today find that Britain is no less committed to help than its partners in the international community.

Easter for Christians is a time of rebirth, resurrection and good news. I would like to see that message transformed into something very practical, human and down-to-earth. I want to belong to a society that treats its vulnerable people with respect, and which holds out the hope of a new life for those who have been battered, bruised and abused. This is a desire I share with many fellow travellers, those with and without belief in God. Let Easter be a time of hope for everyone — but especially the broken, the homeless, the fugitive and the destitute.

[Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


UK: Is This Equality? As a Lawyer, I Never Thought I’d Have to Defend Christians in a Christian Nation

I wanted justice to be done and believed that our great British legal system, founded on Christian principles, would secure such justice.

I never imagined that my skills as a lawyer would be used to defend Christians for following their faith in 21st Century Britain.

In the UK, Christians are beginning to experience discrimination that leads to them being marginalised and losing their jobs. Over the past three years more than 100 have suffered after wearing a cross, sharing their faith, even offering a prayer.

Why is this? I believe it is because, as a nation, we have forgotten our history and Christian foundations — our very identity. The legal and political elite tell us that we have now ‘grown up’ and are a secular nation.

This rings hollow for many of us. Even those who might not attend church regularly still — the majority of them — identify with the great faith that shaped our nation.

Christian principles are clear-cut and easy to understand. They espouse life, joy, forgiveness, freedom, tolerance and justice. These principles are good for all and we are poorer as a society when we reject their source.

The social reformers of the 19th Century who made Britain great — Wilberforce, Fry, Peel and Rowntree, among others — were compelled by their love for Christ and built on the foundations of preachers such as Wesley and Whitefield of the 18th Century.

Most of the great advances in public life, in healthcare, education and social provision, came as a result of Christian conviction.

Biblical principles of justice transcribed into the statute books helped to maintain true tolerance within our society, the dignity of every human being and the call to great sacrificial public service.

Yet since the middle of the last century the Christian framework that shaped our culture has come under increasing attack.

As a young barrister in the Eighties I had the privilege of knowing Lord Denning — a judge famous for doing the right thing — and every three months I would enjoy fish and chips with him at his local pub in Whitchurch in Hampshire.

What was it that informed Lord Denning? It was his notion of Christian justice. He once proclaimed: ‘Without Christianity, there can be no morality, there can be no law.’

Yet modern legal and political thought, particularly under the Blair/Brown regime but continuing under Cameron and Clegg, has been dominated not by Christian principles, but by liberal secular humanism, exemplified in the equalities legislation of the past decade.

Contrast Lord Denning with Lord Justice Munby, and his statement in a recent Christian Legal Centre case: ‘Although historically this country is part of the Christian West, and although it has an established church which is Christian, there have been enormous changes in the social and religious life of our country over the past century. Our society is now pluralistic and largely secular.

‘We sit as secular judges serving a multicultural community of many faiths . . . The laws and usages of the realm do not include Christianity, in whatever form. The aphorism that “Christianity is part of the common law of England” is mere rhetoric.’

Has Lord Justice Munby forgotten the whole of our nation’s history?

While appearing to have the noble aim of upholding personal dignity, equality laws passed in the past decade have acted as a political lightning rod to eliminate Christian morality from the workplace. In essence, they are being applied unequally.

Take marriage. Marriage as traditionally understood no longer has any special status in the law and yet it is the first building block for a stable society. We have exchanged the ideal of marriage between a man and woman for ‘All relationships are equal’.

As the new morality is enforced by the State, the fear of appearing ‘phobic’ has led to many public bodies conducting ‘Middle Age’ witch-hunts against anyone who dares speak or even think differently.

Eunice and Owen Johns were foster parents with an impeccable record. Their fostering application, for children aged between five and ten, stalled because they couldn’t sign an equality policy which meant that they would be prepared to ‘promote the practice’ of homosexuality.

The judges said there might ‘be a tension between equality provisions concerning religious discrimination and those concerning sexual orientation’.

Where this is so ‘the equality provisions concerning sexual orientation should take precedence’.

The fear of appearing ‘phobic’ has led to many public bodies conducting ‘Middle Age’ witch-hunts against anyone who dares speak or even think differently. The Equality and Human Rights Commission intervened in the case and said that there was a concern that children placed in the care of people such as Eunice and Owen Johns might be ‘infected’ with their views.

It has all gone too far. It is time to turn the tide. I don’t believe the great and ordinary British people want this kind of liberal-tyranny.

We want our freedom back. People should be free to debate, state and hold the view that a child needs a mother and a father without feeling ashamed or sidelined.

We don’t want preachers arrested or Christian registrars forced from office because they can’t, in conscience, officiate at same-sex civil partnership ceremonies.

We don’t want doctors and magistrates to lose their jobs because they believe that vulnerable children are best raised in a home with a mother and a father, or our children put in isolation because they refuse to take off a purity ring.

I could go on. The liberal tyranny does not stop at the family but invades any manifestation of the Christian faith in the public arena.

It leads to a nurse of 38 years being taken off frontline nursing because she won’t take off her two-inch cross; it leads to an electrician being told to remove the palm cross he has had in his van for 15 years.

These cases are the tip of the iceberg. Most go unreported. It was the sense of injustice that led us, three years ago, to set up the Christian Legal Centre and its sister organisation, Christian Concern. Are we as a nation really prepared to let go of our Christian roots? Well, I am not, not without a fight.

There cannot be a Big Society without a Big Story.

This nation’s great story is based on that of Jesus Christ. At Easter, we celebrate how, faced with a world that had rejected Him and gone its own way, God reached out in love, at the cost of His own life, to bring reconciliation at the most fundamental level — a reconciliation to Him.

Christians for generations have responded to this story of new life, hope and sacrifice by giving themselves in acts of service to our great land.

Surely it is time to embrace and accept them, noting that true tolerance is accepting the difference, not silencing or eliminating them from public life.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

General


Headlines From the Year 2020 (Part VI)

  • Chinese consumers complain about atrocious manners and lack of basic Mandarin grammar at U.S. call centers
  • EU Chairman Muhammed ibn-Sultan calls in NATO troops to quell rebellion of Christians in northern England
  • UN Security Council condemns Israel for not undertaking any military operations for over three months, “which is evidence of secret preparations to conquer the Arab countries”
  • Gold hits $1 million per ounce, still holding at price of a good men’s suit

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111231

Financial Crisis
China’s Real Estate Bubble May Have Just Popped
Euro Could Become World’s Leading Currency — Noyer
Greece: Resigned Financial Prosecutors Back in the Saddle
Greek Cenbanker Says Return to Drachma Would be Hell
Italy: Catholic Charity Says More Italians Are ‘New Poor’
Italy Had a Lean Christmas
Italy: Pizza, Cappuccino Prices ‘Doubled With Euro’
The Future of the Yuan: China’s Struggle to Internationalize Its Currency
The Spectre of 1932: How a Loss of Faith in Politicians and Democracy Could Make 2012 the Most Frightening Year in Living Memory
Turkey’s CB Sees 5% Inflation in Coming Years
 
USA
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Gives Birth to Baby Boy
Building Owner Wants to Establish Mosque in Meriden
Court Hears Arguments in Alpharetta Mosque Case
Goodbye, 2011
High-Fat Diet Injures the Brain, Rodent Study Reveals
Jewish American Titan From the Ghetto
LA Fears Long Night of New Year’s Arsons Awaits
Muslim Leaders Boycott New York City Mayor’s Event
Obama Recruits Qaradawi
President Obama Signs Controversial Defense Bill Despite ‘Reservations’
Romney and Paul in Virtual Dead Heat, Des Moines Register Poll Says
Sea Slug Offers Clues to Improving Long-Term Memory
The Center for American Progress’ Jihad Against the Free World
The North American Idea: A Vision of a Continental Future
 
Canada
Study Shows Dog Domestication Was Natural
 
Europe and the EU
Archaeologists Make Virtual Map of Neolithic Stonehenge
Dutch Mosques Defaced 117 Times in Five Years
First Domesticated Dogs — Predmostí, Czech Republic
French Women’s Groups Protest FIFA Decision to Endorse Hijab
Gladiator Gym Goes Virtual — Carnuntum, Austria
Illegal Fireworks Seized Across Italy, Two Arrests
Italy: Berlusconi to Support Monti if Measures Agreed Beforehand
Italy: New Year’s Firework Bans to Protect, Cats, Dogs, People, Peace
Italy: Former Berlusconi Minister Dies in Bergamo
King of Spain’s Son-in-Law Urdangarin on Corruption Charge
Napolitano Rejects Merkel Role in Berlusconi Removal
Saudi Arabia: 14 Accused in French Tourists’ Murder Stand Trial in Riyadh
UK: Dr Pasha Laid the Foundation of the British Muslims in the UK
UK: New Year Message From the Secretary General
Viking Boat Burial — Ardnamurchan, Scotland
 
Balkans
Bosnian Muslim Group Tells Followers to Boycott New Year’s Eve
 
North Africa
“Moderate” Muslims Call for “Killing All Jews”
Arab Spring Impacts Archaeology — Libya/Egypt/Tunisia/Syria
Egypt — One Year After the Massacre of Christians in Alexandria, Egypt Seeks a Way Forward
Egypt: Muslim Villagers Burn Houses of Christians Upper Egypt
Fire Destroys “Temple of Knowledge” In Egypt
Tunisia: Construction of Photovoltaic Panel Factory Suspended
 
Middle East
Article on Iranian Website: This is How We’ll Close Strait of Hormuz
Hellenic Aerospace Signs Agreement With UAE Firm
Iraqi Interpreters Wait for Promised U.S. Visas
Saudi Arabia: Defense Bolstered With $29.4bn Arms Deal With America
Saudi Arabia: War Dance Becomes Wedding Tradition
Saudi Arabia: Indonesian Maid Brutally Raped
SR150bn Spent on Construction and Upkeep of Mosques
UAE: Nation Offers Prayers for Rain
 
South Asia
Afghanistan: Taliban Commanders ‘Captured and Killed’
Indonesia: Sunni Mob Sets Fire to Shia Boarding School in East Java
 
Far East
Ancient Chinese Takeout — Shaanxi/Xinjiang, China
Cancer-Causing Milk Brings More Danger to China’s Food
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
Leave Southern Nigeria, Mend Warns Northern Muslim
Nigeria’s Jonathan Vows to Rout Boko Haram ‘Cancer’
Nigeria: Blast Near Mosque in Northeast Nigeria Kills Four
Nigeria: Kubwa Mosques Beef Up Security
Nigeria Calls State of Emergency Over Sect Attacks
 
Immigration
Italy: ‘Foreigners to Triple by 2056’

Financial Crisis


China’s Real Estate Bubble May Have Just Popped

A Host of Factors Are Set to Undermine the Country’s Economic Growth

For years analysts have warned of a looming real estate bubble in China, but the predicted downturn, the bursting of that bubble, never occurred — that is, until now. In a telling scene two months ago, Shanghai property developers started slashing prices on their latest luxury condos by up to one-third. Crowds of owners who had recently bought apartments at full price converged on sales offices throughout the city, demanding refunds. Some angry investors went on a rampage, breaking windows and smashing showrooms.

Shanghai homeowners are hardly the only ones getting nervous. Sudden, steep price reductions are upending real estate markets across China. According to the property agency Homelink, new home prices in Beijing dropped 35 percent in November alone. And the free fall may continue for some time. Centaline, another leading property agency, estimates that developers have built up 22 months’ worth of unsold inventory in Beijing and 21 months’ worth in Shanghai. Everyone from local landowners to Chinese speculators and international investors are now worrying that these discounts indicate that “the biggest bubble of the century,” as it was called earlier this year, has just popped, with serious consequences not only for one of the world’s most promising economies — but internationally as well.

What makes the future look particularly bleak is the lack of escape routes. If Chinese investors panic and rush for the exits, they will discover that in a market awash with developer discounts, buyers are very hard to find. The next three months will be a watershed moment for a Chinese investor class that has been flush with cash for years but lacking a place to put it. Instead of developing a more balanced, consumer-based economy, an entire regime of Beijing technocrats — drunk on investment-led growth — let the real estate market run red hot for too long and, when forced to act, lacked the credibility to cool the sector down. That failure threatens to undermine the country’s continued economic rise.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Euro Could Become World’s Leading Currency — Noyer

PARIS: The euro could become the world’s leading currency in the next decade if leaders of the single-currency bloc succeed in tightening fiscal integration, European Central Bank policymaker Christian Noyer said in an article to be published in the Journal du Dimanche. European leaders struck a historic deal at an emergency summit in Brussels on Dec. 9 to draft a new treaty for deeper economic union, in an attempt to stem the debt crisis that is threatening to cause the collapse of the single currency.

The news temporarily calmed markets. But concerns quickly resurfaced as the final details of the agreement have yet to be determined and a new treaty could take up to three months to negotiate. Ratings agency Fitch has said it doubts a comprehensive solution to the crisis can be found and urged more decisive action from the ECB.

“If we implement all the decisions taken at the Brussels summit we will emerge stronger,” Noyer said in the article, due to be published to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the euro on Jan. 1. “In 10 years, maybe the euro will be the world’s number one currency.”

Noyer, who is also governor of the Bank of France, waxed lyrical about the merits of the euro, saying it had protected purchasing power, improved trade and competitiveness and made workers increasingly mobile. In the past decade, the euro had become the world’s second reserve currency after the dollar, and the only euroskeptics were outside the monetary union, he said.

Contrasting with Noyer’s nostalgia, an opinion poll also due to be published in Sunday’s Journal du Dimanche showed 50 percent of French people thought the single currency had been a bad idea, compared with 35 percent who approved. A separate article in Saturday’s Le Parisien showed the price of an average shopping basket had risen 22 percent since the euro first came into circulation, with certain basic goods such as the baguette rising up to 30 percent.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Resigned Financial Prosecutors Back in the Saddle

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 30 — Two financial prosecutors who tendered their resignations on Wednesday after claiming that a “variety of organized interests” were attempting to derail their probes into a range of offenses, including tax evasion, withdrew their resignations on Friday during a brief meeting with deputy prosecutor Fotis Makris. Grigoris Peponis and Spyros Mouzakitis — as daily Kathimerini online reports — submitted a two-page report to Makris, who had been ordered on Thursday by Supreme Court prosecutor Yiannis Tentes to conduct a probe into allegations by the two prosecutors whose job it is to investigate, among others, high-profile financial crimes. On Wednesday, Peponis and Mouzakitis had said that among the factors that had compelled them to resign were “politicoeconomic intervention” in their work, a lack of technical support and that their positions were being undermined by an imminent change to the law that would have passed their duties to a deputy prosecutor at the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry on Friday informed Tentes that the contentious legal amendment will be withdrawn. Coming out of their 15-minute meeting with Makris on Friday, Peponis and Mouzakitis confirmed that they will continue doing the job they have been assigned, saying “we are prosecutors of financial crimes and we remain on the ramparts.” Peponis and Mouzakitis had recently launched probes into a number of high-profile cases, including major tax evasion, the resignation of Finance Ministry official Diomidis Spinellis after claims that fines on fuel trading firms were not being collected, banks’ funding of Alter TV, allegations of benefits cheating and claims of fiddled statistics at the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Greek Cenbanker Says Return to Drachma Would be Hell

Greece would experience disastrous consequences if it returned to the drachma, the country’s central banker said in an interview with Sunday’s Kathimerini newspaper, warning that such a move would mean a 60 to 70 percent devaluation. “A return to the drachma would mean real hell, at least in the first years,” Bank of Greece Governor George Provopoulos told the paper. “Living standards would plunge. The new currency would be significantly devalued, possibly by up to 60-70 percent.” (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Catholic Charity Says More Italians Are ‘New Poor’

2,000 families may be evicted soon

(ANSA) — Rome, December 20 — More than 260,000 Italian families were evicted from their homes in the past decade and the number is growing, the Catholic organisation Sant’Egidio said Tuesday.

According to the the Catholic charity, 21,614 people were evicted in 2000 while the number had grown to almost 30,000 in 2010. Spokesman Mario Marazziti, spoke about the growing impact of the economic crisis on Tuesday at the release of a report called: ‘Where to eat, sleep and wash’.

He said 2,000 more families could lose their homes before 2012 and more than 50,000 families could join the growing number of “new poor”, referring to those who have no home or work.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy Had a Lean Christmas

Each Italian ‘spent 48 euros less’ on gifts, decorations

(ANSA) — Rome, December 27 — With the economic crisis biting, Italy had one of its leanest Christmases in recent years, according to farmers’ and consumers’ associations.

Consumer association Codacons said the average Italian cut spending on gifts and decorations by 48 euros.

Farmers’ body Coldiretti said the 2.3 billion euros Italians spent on food and drink for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch was a 18% drop the amount spent in 2010.

The association added that this was the biggest decline since 2001, when spending on Christmas feasts fell 28% following the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Pizza, Cappuccino Prices ‘Doubled With Euro’

Milan, 29 Dec. (AKI) — The price for a pizza in Milan has doubled during the ten years since they gave up the lira for the euro currency. A cappuccino also costs twice as much, according to one of Italy’s most biggest newspapers.

Italians and other Europeans have long complained that official statistics fail to reflect that real inflation that has hit consumers since banks began issuing the euro. Using Milan prices for common items as a national inflation gauge, the Corriere della Sera daily in a Thursday report attempted to illustrate that common items dear to the daily lives of millions of Italians have rocketed in price in the 10 years since the introduction of the euro.

Supporters of a monetary union — now boasting 17 members — say that the price of goods and services can fall because the costs of converting currency would be eliminated. Detractors accused businesses of profiting by rounding up prices in their favour. So the cost of a Milan bus or subway ticket on 31 December 2001 was 1.500 lire. The next day it cost 1 euro, rather than the official lira-euro exchange of 77 euro cents, according to Corriere della Sera.

According to report, the price in Milan for the popular quattro stagioni, or four seasons, pizza — a pizza divided into four parts with as many toppings — rose from the lira equivalent of 5.16 euros when the euro began circulating on 1 January 2002 and now costs 10 euros.

When the Milanesi have breakfast at a coffee bar they can now expect to pay 2 euros, compared with the equivalent of 1.03 euros, and Barilla spaghetti rose about by about one-third, the newspaper said.

To satisfy a fastfood craving on 1 January 2002, a Big Mac at McDonald’s cost 4,900 lire, or 2.53 euros, but now costs 3.50.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



The Future of the Yuan: China’s Struggle to Internationalize Its Currency

According to a growing chorus of pundits and economists, China — already the world’s most prolific exporter, largest sovereign creditor, and second-largest economy — will someday soon provide the world’s reserve currency. According to this view, just as the dollar dethroned the British pound in the interwar years, so the yuan will soon displace the dollar, striking a blow to U.S. interests. As the economist Arvind Subramanian recently wrote, the yuan “could become the premier reserve currency by the end of this decade, or early next decade.”

This view has gained traction as Chinese leaders have launched a concerted effort to internationalize the yuan. During the G-20 summit in November 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, Chinese president Hu Jintao called for “a new international financial order that is fair, just, inclusive, and orderly.” Beijing soon began to encourage the use of its currency in international trade, swap arrangements between central banks, and bank deposits and bond issuances in Hong Kong.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Spectre of 1932: How a Loss of Faith in Politicians and Democracy Could Make 2012 the Most Frightening Year in Living Memory

The dawn of a new year is usually a time of hope and ambition, of dreams for the future and thoughts of a better life. But it is a long time since many of us looked forward to the new year with such anxiety, even dread.

Here in Britain, many economists believe that by the end of 2012 we could well have slipped into a second devastating recession. The Coalition remains delicately poised; it would take only one or two resignations to provoke a wider schism and a general election.

But the real dangers lie overseas. In the Middle East, the excitement of the Arab Spring has long since curdled into sectarian tension and fears of Islamic fundamentalism. And with so many of the world’s oil supplies concentrated in the Persian Gulf, British families will be keeping an anxious eye on events in the Arab world.

Meanwhile, as the eurozone slides towards disaster, the prospects for Europe have rarely been bleaker. Already the European elite have installed compliant technocratic governments in Greece and Italy, and with the markets now putting pressure on France, few observers can be optimistic that the Continent can avoid a total meltdown.

As commentators often remark, the world picture has not been grimmer since the dark days of the mid-Seventies, when the OPEC oil shock, the rise of stagflation and the surge of nationalist terrorism cast a heavy shadow over the Western world.

For the most chilling parallel, though, we should look back exactly 80 years, to the cold wintry days when 1931 gave way to 1932.

Then as now, few people saw much to mourn in the passing of the old year. It was in 1931 that the Great Depression really took hold in Europe, bringing governments to their knees and plunging tens of millions of people out of work.

Then as now, the crisis had taken years to gather momentum. After the Wall Street Crash in 1929 — just as after the banking crisis of 2008 — some observers even thought that the worst was over.

But in the summer of 1931, a wave of banking panics swept across central Europe. As the German and Austrian financial houses tottered, Britain’s Labour government came under fierce market pressure to slash spending and cut benefits.

Bitterly divided, the Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald decided to resign from office — only to return immediately as the leader of an all-party Coalition known as the National Government, dominated by Stanley Baldwin’s Conservatives.

Like today’s Coalition, the National Government was an uneasy marriage. Sunk in self-pity and spending much of his time flirting with aristocratic hostesses, MacDonald cut a miserable and semi-detached figure. By comparison, even Nick Clegg looks a model of strong, decisive leadership.

As for the Tory leader Stanley Baldwin, he had more in common with David Cameron than we might think. A laid-back Old Harrovian, tolerant, liberal-minded and ostentatiously relaxed, Baldwin spent as much time as possible on holiday in the South of France, preferring to enjoy the Mediterranean sunshine rather than get his hands dirty with the nuts and bolts of policy.

Meanwhile, far from offering a strong and coherent Opposition, the rump Labour Party seemed doomed to irrelevance. At least its leader, the pacifist Arthur Henderson, could claim to be a man of the people, having hauled himself up by his bootstraps from his early days as a Newcastle metal worker.

Not even his greatest admirers could possibly say the same of today’s adenoidal, stammering Opposition leader, the toothless Ed Miliband.

With the politicians apparently impotent in the face of the economic blizzard, many people were losing faith in parliamentary democracy. Their despair was hardly surprising: in some industrial towns of the North, Wales and Scotland, unemployment in 1932 reached a staggering 70 per cent.

With thousands more being plunged out of work every week, even the National Government estimated that one in four people were making do on a mere subsistence diet. Scurvy, rickets and tuberculosis were rife; in the slag heaps of Wigan, George Orwell saw ‘several hundred women’ scrabbling ‘in the mud for hours’, searching for tiny chips of coal so they could heat their homes.

Feeling betrayed by mainstream politicians, many sought more extreme alternatives. Then as now, Britain was rocked by marches and demonstrations. In October 1932, a National Hunger March in Hyde Park saw bloody clashes between protesters and mounted policemen, with 75 people being badly injured.

And while Left-wing intellectuals were drawn to the supposedly utopian promise of the Soviet leader Josef Stalin — who turned out to be a brutal tyrant — thousands of ordinary people flocked to the banners of the British Union of Fascists, founded in the autumn of 1932 by the former Labour maverick Sir Oswald Mosley.

Never before or since has the far Right commanded greater British support — a worrying reminder of the potential for economic frustration to turn into demagogic resentment.

But the most compelling parallels between 1932 and 2012 lie overseas, where the economic and political situation was, if anything, even darker.

           — Hat tip: Seneca III [Return to headlines]



Turkey’s CB Sees 5% Inflation in Coming Years

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 27 — The Central Bank of Turkey forecast on Tuesday 5% year-end inflation rate for the following three years, as Anatolia news agency reports. Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci said the year-end inflation rate target for 2012, 2013 and 2014 was 5%. “We will not only focus on price stability but also go on with ensuring financial stability,” Basci told a press conference in Ankara. Turkey envisages 10% inflation rate by the end of 2011.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

USA


Ayaan Hirsi Ali Gives Birth to Baby Boy

Dutch-Somali anti-Islam campaigner Ayaan Hirsi Ali has given birth to a baby boy at the age of 42, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.

Hirsi Ali, a former Dutch MP, married Scottish historian Niall Ferguson earlier this year.

Ferguson left his wife of 17 years and three children for Ali, after they met at a party in 2009.

Hirsi Ali now works for a conservative think-tank in the US.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Building Owner Wants to Establish Mosque in Meriden

MERIDEN — A local property owner has applied to establish a mosque in the former Szymaszek-Taylor Funeral Home on East Main Street. Aminullah Noori, owner of the vacant building at 189 E. Main St., has requested a special exception to the city’s zoning codes for the first floor to be used as a mosque by the Islamic Association of Southern Connecticut. He is also requesting an exception for residential use on the second floor. Noori purchased the building for $300,000 in 2007. It was marketed as office space and is zoned for commercial use. Attempts to reach Noori, including a message left with the building’s real estate agent, were unsuccessful Friday. Efforts to reach members of the Islamic Association of Southern Connecticut were also unsuccessful.

Because places of worship are considered tax-exempt, special permission is needed from the city. Assistant Town Planner Tom Skoglund said he believed that because the building would be leased to the Islamic Association, it would remain taxable. Noori’s application will be heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals at a Tuesday night meeting. Board member Joseph Ferrigno Feest said the board will consider whether there is adequate parking and if a mosque fits with other building uses in the area. The same stretch of East Main Street is home to churches, a funeral home and several other gathering places, such as the Elks club, the Augusta Curtis Cultural Center and the city’s only synagogue.”It either has merits or it doesn’t. It’s a very clear choice,” said Feest, adding he will wait until the Tuesday hearing to make a judgment. Skoglund said he believes the Islamic Association of Southern Connecticut has a small congregation. “If it was approved and (the congregation) turned out to be something a lot more than they said it was, it’s something we could revisit,” he said.

The brick building at 189 E. Main St., was erected in 1868 as a residence by Isaax Lewis, the city’s third mayor and one of the founders of the International Silver Co. According to historical research, the 8,500-square-foot mansion was designed with elements of Second Empire and Victorian Gothic architectural styles. Meriden now has one Muslim house of worship, the Baitual Aman Mosque on Main Street in South Meriden. The group, which practices a denomination of Islam called Ahmadiyya, purchased the former Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in 2007. The city has denied mosque applications in the past. In 1998, a proposal by the Jafaria Association of Connecticut for a former medical office building on Green Road was denied after officials cited traffic concerns in the mostly residential area. In 2008, controversy erupted in Wallingford when an application by Edible Arrangements owner Tariq Farid took steps toward building a 3,868-square-foot mosque on Leigus Road, which drew considerable opposition. The application was ultimately denied by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which cited traffic concerns.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Court Hears Arguments in Alpharetta Mosque Case

A federal judge will decide whether to rule on a lawsuit involving a mosque’s expansion in Alpharetta before the case goes to trial.

Both sides appeared in U.S. District Court this month seeking a summary judgment in the case. Attorneys for the city of Alpharetta and the Islamic Center of North Fulton presented arguments in a federal suit stemming from the city’s denial of a request by the mosque to expand its facility on Rucker Road. The case, filed in 2010, has drawn the attention of the U.S. Justice Department, which is conducting its own investigation under a federal law that requires local governments to show that zoning decisions against religious groups are the least restrictive way to accomplish a compelling government interest. The law also prohibits governments from making decisions favoring one religion over another. “The mosque is arguing that the refusal to allow it to rebuild an adequate space on the site they own substantially burdens their ability to exercise their religion,” said Andrea Jones, attorney for the Islamic Center.

The Alpharetta City Council voted 6-0 in May 2010 to reject plans by the center to tear down its 2,500-square-foot worship house and construct two buildings: a 1,900-square-foot multipurpose facility and a 12,000-square-foot, two-story main building. During the 2010 zoning hearing, a crowd of 150 squeezed into the council chambers to hear several hours of arguments. Residents of surrounding subdivisions said the project was too big for the 4-acre lot and would make traffic worse on Rucker Road. Residents and the City Council said they were concerned the worship center was backing out of previous agreements made before Alpharetta annexed the property from Fulton County in 2005.

Attorneys for the center argued this month that the mosque never entered into any agreement with surrounding homeowners about the development of its facility or the size of its congregation. The congregants of the Islamic Center are underserved by the current facility, they argue. In addition, the Islamic Center argues that its expansion would not adversely affect traffic on Rucker Road and that the city’s own Comprehensive Plan allows for churches in the area. In its arguments before the court, the city maintains the Islamic Center asserted in its original zoning agreement with Fulton County that the site would be used as a place of worship in the existing structure. The city also claims that center officials indicated in 1998 they were not planning on growing their 25-member congregation. City Attorney Sam Thomas said Alpharetta is awaiting a ruling from the judge and will be prepared to present its case at trial if necessary. “The city’s position from the outset is that this case is not about religion,” Thomas said. “It’s about land use, and that’s what we presented in our oral argument to the court.”

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Goodbye, 2011

by Diana West

Taking stock at year’s end, I chose to throw a spotlight onto the “unsolved mystery of 2011” — what really happened in Smolensk, Russia in April 2010, when the sitting government of Poland and a central swath of its intelligentsia was lost in a stunning plane crash. The 2011 Russian crash investigation report prompts more questions than the it answers, beginning with: Why hasn’t Russia returned the Polish plane’s black boxes to Poland? Why doesn’t the international community, so-called, want to find out? Has the West, once again, become complicit in another Big Lie to come out of Moscow?

Looking past all too obvious top 10 story lists, it’s well worth noting Andrew McCarthy’s timely jeremiad — “The surrender is complete now…”— in a piece today at NRO where he picks up on a recent report in The Hindu claiming that Yusef al-Qaradawi, smoothie sheikh of jihad, is mediating secret talks between the US and the Taliban. I do hope they’re serving tea. It would make a nice bookend, if not homage to the surrender process’s beginnings in “teatime for terrorists,” as noted in a column of mine on the first “secret” talks between the US and jihadists in Iraq going back to July 5, 2005.

Over at PJM, Patrick Poole has done yeoman work with his “Not Top 10 List” of national security fiascos to help us all articulate why we are sputtering into our champage glasses on hearing Obama National Security Advisor John Brennan tells us “President Obama has been, I think, very singularly focused on doing everything possible to keep the American people safe,”

Note especially Patrick’s point #6 (in chronological order): “Obama backs overthrow of Gaddafi, installs al-Qaeda-friendly, Shariah-compliant regime in Libya (March-present).”

This, I submit, is the story of the year, if not the decade. Ten years after 9/11, the United States of America switched sides, and no one, not the American people as represented by Congress, not even the GOP presidential contenders, noticed. Talk about a catastrophic crash…

           — Hat tip: Diana West [Return to headlines]



High-Fat Diet Injures the Brain, Rodent Study Reveals

Shedding extra pounds and keeping them off can be hard, and a new study suggests one reason why: A high-fat diet, followed for even a short time, injures the brain. Researchers looked at the brains of rodents that were bred to become obese and found that when placed on a high-fat diet, the animals developed injuries to the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that controls your urge to eat and sends signals to stop eating when you’re full.

The researchers found signs of similar damage in the same brain area in obese people. “Within 24 hours of switching rodents to a high-fat diet, we found injury in the hypothalamus area,” said co-author Dr. Michael Schwartz, an endocrinologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Jewish American Titan From the Ghetto

by Christopher Hitchens

Look first upon this picture, and on this… the two photographs of Saul Bellow that adorn the initial covers of the Library of America edition of his collected works. In the first, we see a somewhat rakish fellow, sharply dressed and evidently fizzing with moxie, who meets the world with a cool and level gaze that belies the slight impression of a pool shark or racetrack con artist. In the second, and in profile, we get a survey of a sage in a more reflective pose; but this is a sage who still might utter a well-chosen wisecrack out of the side of his mouth. The antique history of the shtetl and the ghetto is inscribed in both studies of the man, but some considerable physical and mental distance has evidently been travelled in each case.

[…]

The journalist Christopher Hitchens, who died last week at the age of 62, discovered in his late 30s that he was halachically Jewish. He said that this discovery “thrilled” him. The above is extracted from a piece Hitchens wrote for ‘The Atlantic’ in November 2007. The full essay is republished in the latest collection, ‘Arguably’, by Atlantic Books. Among the many awards gained by the Canadian-born, Jewish American novelist, Saul Bellow (1915-2005), was the Nobel Prize for literature in 1976

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



LA Fears Long Night of New Year’s Arsons Awaits

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firetrucks parked in neighborhoods. Police patrolled the city. Switchboards took hotline calls. City officials scrambled on a busy New Year’s Eve to identify who was behind dozens of arson fires that have spooked the Hollywood area for two straight nights.

A blaze Saturday evening suggested it could be a long night. Firefighters quickly put out a car fire at about 6 p.m. in Hollywood that “fits the profile of concern” authorities have been following for the arsons, fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

A crew of 10 put out the fire in minutes. The flames did not spread beyond the car and no one was injured. Humphrey could not immediately say how the fire started.

The fire closely resembled more than a dozen set before dawn Saturday, mostly in North Hollywood, and nearly two dozen fires set in and around Hollywood a day earlier.

Though some of the fires spread and damaged homes and apartments, none have brought injuries.

Still, some residents were on edge as authorities ramped up efforts to catch the culprit or culprits on a night when police and fire resources are always stretched thin as drunken New Year’s revelers hit the town.

“We’re pulling out all the stops,” Humphrey said. “We’re hoping that the person or people responsible will be brought to swift and complete justice.”

Firefighters were to be stationed around the city to respond to emergencies, while authorities set up a hotline and pored through tips. Authorities also were interviewing witnesses, looking at video footage for clues and have announced at least $35,000 in rewards for information leading to a conviction.

Among the most pressing questions: Were the fires set by a serial arsonist, multiple people or copycats? And why target cars, apparently at random?

“It’s really unnerving,” said Gary Joseph, one of several neighbors who stood looking at the frames of four badly charred vehicles in a carport in North Hollywood. Joseph said there was no way to stow his own car and keep it safe.

“It’s partly exposed, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” he said…

[Return to headlines]



Muslim Leaders Boycott New York City Mayor’s Event

NEW YORK: More than a dozen Muslim community leaders boycotted an interfaith breakfast organized by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday to protest reported police surveillance of Muslim areas since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In an open letter to Bloomberg, the leaders accused the mayor of ignoring concerns that the New York Police Department has been using racial profiling and violating civil rights in its anti-terrorism surveillance programs.

“We believe with heartfelt conviction that during times when a community’s rights are being flagrantly violated its leaders cannot in good conscience appear at a public gathering with the government official who is ultimately responsible and smile for the cameras as if all is well, when we know full well that it is not,” the letter said.

The letter cited a series of articles earlier this year by The Associated Press that alleged that police, at times in cooperation with the CIA, infiltrated New York mosques, Muslim bookshops and other Islamic businesses and institutions to gather intelligence without specific evidence of any criminal activity.

The letter was signed by 15 leaders of Muslim organizations based in New York City who said they were turning down their breakfast invitation, as well as the leaders of several dozen other faith organizations and civil rights groups.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Obama Recruits Qaradawi

The administration is working with a Muslim Brotherhood jurist.

The surrender is complete now. The Hindu reports that the Obama administration has turned to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s leading jurist, to mediate secret negotiations between the United States and the Taliban. I wrote about Qaradawi at length in The Grand Jihad and, here at NRO, have regularly catalogued his activities (see, e.g., here, here, here, here, and here; see also Andrew Bostom’s “Qaradawi’s Odious Vision”). For those who may be unfamiliar with him, he is the most influential Sunni Islamist in the world, thanks to such ventures as his al-Jazeera TV program (Sharia and Life) and website (IslamOnline.net). In 2003, he issued a fatwa calling for the killing of American troops in Iraq. As he put it,

“Those killed fighting the American forces are martyrs given their good intentions since they consider these invading troops an enemy within their territories but without their will. . . . Although they are seen by some as being wrong, those defending against attempts to control Islamic countries have the intention of jihad and bear a spirit of the defense of their homeland.”

Qaradawi urges that Islam must dominate the world, under a global caliphate governed by sharia. He maintains that Islam “will conquer Europe [and] will conquer America.” He sometimes qualifies that the conquering will be done “not through the sword but through da’wa,” but the qualification is a feint.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



President Obama Signs Controversial Defense Bill Despite ‘Reservations’

HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’s signing a $662 billion defense bill despite “serious reservations” over its restrictions about handling suspected terrorists.

A presidential statement accompanying the bill signing says the administration will interpret and implement some parts of the law in way that gives counterterrorism officials flexibility and upholds the nation’s values.

The White House initially threatened to veto the legislation, but pulled back after Congress made last-minute revisions.

The new law gives the president the authority to waive military custody, if it’s in the interest of national security, for foreign terrorism suspects who are linked to al-Qaida or who are involved in plotting or attacks the U.S.

The military custody requirement also will not apply to U.S. citizens.

Obama signed the bill in Hawaii, where he is vacationing.

           — Hat tip: AC [Return to headlines]



Romney and Paul in Virtual Dead Heat, Des Moines Register Poll Says

The Des Moines Register poll — the final one before the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday — has Mitt Romney and Ron Paul virtually tied in the lead going into the final 72 hour of voting.

In the survey, Mr. Romney has 24 percent and Mr. Paul has 22 percent.

The new poll, which was released online by the newspaper at 7 p.m. local time, shows the candidates closely bunched up behind the two leaders.

[Return to headlines]



Sea Slug Offers Clues to Improving Long-Term Memory

Using sea slugs as models, scientists someday may be able to design learning protocols that improve long-term memory formation in humans, a new study suggests. The researchers used information about biochemical pathways in the brain of the sea slug Aplysia to design a computer model that identified the times when the mollusk’s brain is primed for learning. They tested the model by submitting the animals to a series of training sessions, involving electric shocks, and found that Aplysia experienced a significant increase in memory formation when the sessions were conducted during the peak periods predicted by the model.

The proof-of-principle study may someday help scientists discover ways to improve human memory, the researchers said. “This is very impressive,” David Glanzman, a neurobiologist at the University of California Los Angeles, said of the study, in which he was not involved. “If someone had asked me ahead of time, ‘Are you going to be able to improve learning if you model these two pathways?’ I would have predicted no.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Center for American Progress’ Jihad Against the Free World

by Daniel Greenfield

The colors of the American flag are red, white and blue, but the colors of the Center for American Progress are red, white and green. Red for the left and green for Islam.

The Center for American Progress is not just any organization. Headed up by John Podesta​, a co-chairman of Obama’s transition team and backed by a 38 million dollar annual budget, it is George Soros’ most ambitious attempt to turn his Shadow Party into a shadow government. CAP is the organization with the single greatest influence on the Obama White House and its foreign and domestic policy. CAP is more than just another think tank; it’s a lever for shifting the Democratic Party further to the left, bought and paid for by George Soros​ and a roster of secret donors whose names are not made public by the secretive and powerful organization. Those who buy influence with it also get anonymity as part of the package. But the Center is more than a rogue billionaire’s brand of progressivism turned into talking-point groupthink by Washington insiders. It is a link between the American left and the Muslim right, articulating the Islamist agenda as a vehicle for the foreign policy of the post-American left. It’s where Ali Gharib can run pieces whitewashing the Muslim Brotherhood​ while Zaid Jiliani attempts to justify the ambassador to Belgium’s comments denying the existence of Muslim anti-Semitism.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



The North American Idea: A Vision of a Continental Future

Robert A. Pastor

Not every author admits to advocating a proposition “whose time has not yet arrived.” Pastor, a master scholar-practitioner, concedes that since 9/11, Canada, Mexico, and the United States have been slipping backward, away from the shared “spirit of community based on interdependence” that he advanced in his 2001 book, Toward a North American Community. The United States, in particular, has fortified its border rather than expand on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Undeterred, Pastor presses his case with intelligence and good humor, marshaling data to demonstrate that all three nations would be better off adopting cooperative solutions to common problems. Public opinion polls suggest that the citizens of Canada, Mexico, and the United States are ready for greater regional cooperation. To deflect “sovereignty-zealots” and other myopic opponents of broader integration, Pastor calls on leaders to articulate a hopeful vision of integration while making practical progress on immediate problems. His book constitutes a brave master plan, a bright vision to challenge and enlighten future generations.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Canada


Study Shows Dog Domestication Was Natural

A Canadian researcher who specializes in the biology of ancient dogs co-authored one of the most significant studies of the year in canine science: a paper detailing the world’s earliest evidence of an animal in transition from wild wolf to domesticated dog. The “extraordinary preservation” of the creature’s 33,000-year-old skull—found in a cave in southern Siberia—has helped show that dog domestication “was, in most cases, entirely natural” and not really a “human accomplishment,” says B.C. evolutionary biologist Susan Crockford.

She was part of a six-member team of researchers from Russia, Britain, the U.S. and the Netherlands that turned the clock back on wolf-dog transformations by thousands of years and showed that the phenomenon probably happened many times in many places around the globe.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Archaeologists Make Virtual Map of Neolithic Stonehenge

A team of archaeologists from Bournemouth University have created a virtual prehistory map. They created an application within Google Earth to show what the Stonehenge area would have looked like in Neolithic times. The app is free to download and they believe it could be extended to historic sites around the world.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Dutch Mosques Defaced 117 Times in Five Years

Between 2005 and 2010 mosques in the Netherlands were defaced 117 times, according to research by social researcher Ineke van der Valk. The acts of vandalism were motivated by a hatred of Islam, the researcher is quoted as saying on VPRO radio programme Argos. In 43 cases, the mosques were daubed with offensive symbols or slogans. In 37 instances, the mosques sustained material damage. In 99 of the incidents the police failed to find any of the culprits. In the United States there were 42 similar incidents during the same period. Most of the vandalised mosques in the Netherlands are located outside the major cities. There are some 450 mosques in The Netherlands, which has a population of more than 16.5 million. Some five percent of the population is believed to be Muslim, some 44 percent Christian and over 41 percent agnostic. As a percentage of the population, the Netherlands has Europe’s second-largest Muslim community, inferior only to France, which has a Muslim community of more than nine percent.

RNW, 30 December 2011

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



First Domesticated Dogs — Predmostí, Czech Republic

Researchers have, until recently, thought that dog domestication occurred about 14,000 years ago. In 2011, the case for it taking place much earlier received a boost from sites across Eurasia. Mietje Germonpré, of Belgium’s Museum of Natural History, and a team of researchers published a paper describing three canid skulls that had many of the distinctive traits that separate domesticated dogs from their wolf ancestors, including a shorter, broader snout and a wider brain case. The skulls, which date to roughly 31,500 years ago, were part of a collection from the site of Predmostí, in Czech Republic. In addition, a separate research team found a dog skull at Razboinichya Cave in Siberia that was dated to 33,000 years ago. Both finds support a 2009 research paper published by Germonpré and her colleagues describing a 36,000-year-old dog skull found at Goyet in Belgium. Critics could write off the single dog skull from Goyet as an aberration. “When I received the results of the date I was really disappointed,” Germonpré said of the Goyet skull. “I thought no one would believe it. I couldn’t believe it.” But the evidence from all three sites now makes Germonpré’s case much stronger.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



French Women’s Groups Protest FIFA Decision to Endorse Hijab

Three French women’s organizations have expressed concern and disappointment with world soccer body FIFA’s endorsement of a proposal to lift the ban on women players wearing a hijab, an Islamic hair dress, on the pitch. “To accept a special dress code for women athletes not only introduces discrimination among athletes but is contrary to the rules governing sport movement, setting a same dress code for all athletes without regard to origin or belief,” the three organizations said in an open letter to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Anne Sugier, president of the League of International Women’s Rights (LDIF) founded by Simone de Beauvoire, said in an email that she had sent the letter together with the heads of FEMIX’SPORTS and the French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby, following publication on December 19 of the FIFA executive committee decision in The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, 29 December 2011

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Gladiator Gym Goes Virtual — Carnuntum, Austria

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology has allowed an international team of researchers from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI-ArchPro) to both identify a ludus (gladiator school) at the Roman city of Carnuntum in Austria and bring it before the public in an unprecedented way. What was once a vibrant city of 50,000 residents is now the site of an immense archaeological park. The newly discovered fourth-century A.D. gladiator school, the fourth largest ever found in the world, located just west of the largest amphitheater outside of Rome, is a self-enclosed complex that includes an inner courtyard, circular training area, living quarters, and a cemetery. The high-resolution images collected from the GPR survey show an under-floor heating system, bathing area, and walking paths within the complex. With the improved GPR technology developed by LBI-ArchPro, a complete picture of gladiator life is starting to emerge. Digitally re-created images of the ludus allow visitors to see how the school fit into the city’s landscape, and it’s possible to view them on a smartphone by using the free Wikitude World Browser software.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Illegal Fireworks Seized Across Italy, Two Arrests

Cities from Milan to Palermo issue street bans

(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — Two people were arrested Friday and thousands of illegal fireworks seized across Italy as police sweeps ahead of New Year’s Eve intensified and cities from Milan to Palermo decided to ban fireworks from the streets.

In Naples police discovered a clandestine factory, seizing four tonnes of fireworks and arresting one man.

Another underground factory was discovered near Salerno and the owner cited for breaking the law. At San Giorgio a Cremano outside Naples another man was arrested for possession of 160 kg of illegal fireworks.

Some 300 kg of dangerous fireworks were found under the stairs of a house in Lecce in Puglia and a couple was cited.

At Castelfiorentino near Florence a toy-shop owner was cited for possession of 387 kg of banned fireworks.

A man was caught with 550 kg of illegal fireworks on the motorway near Arezzo.

Every year in the run-up to Christmas Italian police seize tonnes of extremely powerful and illegal fireworks, most of them made in China.

Police have said their preventive action will continue until the end of the year, when Italy’s traditional New Year fireworks mayhem regularly results in burns and mutilations.

Naples is usually the worst-hit city, recording the highest number of injuries.

In the last five years there have been three New Year celebration deaths in the southern Italian city.

Women in Naples got so fed up with their menfolk in 2008 that they launched a ‘no sex if you let off fireworks’ drive.

The operation had some success as the number of injuries dropped by about 100 to 382 that year.

But one person was killed by a stray bullet — the second year running that someone was accidentally shot dead on New Year’s Eve.

Campania, the region around Naples, was the worst-hit region again in the last two years with several hundred injuries including parts of hands blown off.

Many of the illegal fireworks sold in Italy are actually rudimentary bombs.

A mortar is currently on the black market that packs a one-kg punch and can cause serious damage to persons and objects within a “very wide” radius, police say.

Local youths have delighted in giving heavy-duty fireworks scary or jokey names like The Bin Laden, The Maradona Bomb, Desert Storm, Red October and Turbo 3.

Last year saw the first appearance of another big bazooka, The Pope Bomb.

Among this year’s favourites is a monster blaster called the Monti Bomb after Italian Premier Mario Monti’s bumper austerity package.

Many cities, including Milan, Venice, Turin, Asti, Modena, Bari, Palermo and Olbia in Sardinia have issued ordinances in the last two days banning fireworks from the streets.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Berlusconi to Support Monti if Measures Agreed Beforehand

(AGI) Rome — The PdL party will keep on supporting the Monti government but wants the next measures to be agreed upon beforehand. In an audio message sent to the ‘promoters of freedom’, party leader Silvio Berlusconi said: “We will keep on acting responsibly, for the sake of Italy and of the Italians, supporting all the reforms required to ensure economic growth.

Reforms which our government had already listed in the letter sent to the European Central Bank and to the European Commission. All these topics can be addressed promptly and efficiently if from now on, as I hope, the government’s measures will be agreed upon with us before being passed, for we still are the parliamentary majority”.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: New Year’s Firework Bans to Protect, Cats, Dogs, People, Peace

Turin, 29 Dec. (AKI) — Italians setting off fireworks this New Year’s Eve risk losing more than a finger.

Turin, Venice and Bari are Italy’s first major cities to ban the use of explosives ranging from firecrackers to louder, more colourful and devices.

Turin’s prohibition is in the name of dog and cat protection, Bari’s law was passed to safeguard “the safety of people and other living beings,” and the ban in Venice is to generically protect the peace. Transgressors are fined up to 500 euros for lighting explosives as small as firecrackers.

Italians traditionally welcome the New Year with explosives that light up the sky, but cause household pets to hide in terror and fray the nerves of humans.

In the days that lead up to the holiday television news is full of images of police raiding illegal factories and warehouses will boxes of fireworks, sometimes big enough to break windows and shake plaster from ceilings. On 1 January first there are inevitably stories of lost limbs and even fatalities.

In Rome and Florence — the most celebrated Italian cities of art — the mayors have called for moderation, while the Milan city government is using an ant-smog law to curb the use of fireworks.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: Former Berlusconi Minister Dies in Bergamo

Tremaglia was MP for 40 years

(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — Long-serving MP and former minister Mirko Tremaglia died in the northern city of Bergamo at the age of 85 on Friday.

Tremaglia, who was minister for Italians abroad from 2001 to 2006, served in two governments of former premier Silvio Berlusconi.

A former Fascist, Tremaglia joined Benito Mussolini’s Italian Social Republic when he was only 17 and during World War II he was captured by Allied Forces and held as a prisoner of war at Coltano near Pisa. Tremaglia was first elected to parliament in 1972 with the Italian Social Movement-National Right, a political party comprised of former Fascists. He later transferred to the National Alliance and finally Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party in 2008.

Tremaglia was responsible for fighting to extend the voting rights of Italians living abroad and drove constitutional changes which enabled them to vote in the 2006 elections.

He suffered from Parkinson’s Disease for many years.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



King of Spain’s Son-in-Law Urdangarin on Corruption Charge

(AGI) Madrid — King Juan Carlos of Spain has suffered a blow with the news that his son-in-law, the former handball player Inaki Urdangarin, has ben charged as part of a corruption investigation referred to as the “Noos case”. The judge in Palma de Mallorca, Jose Castro, has already fixed the date of February 6 for Urdangarin’s trial. Urdangarin, the husband of the King’s youngest daughter, the Infanta Cristina, is accused of taking part in a series of illegal practices thanks to a group of businesses connected to the Noos Institute, a non-profit organisation chaired by the Duke of Palma.

Urdangarin and his business partner, Diego Torres, are accused of diverting public funds towards his personal accounts and of directing significant sums towards tax havens.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Napolitano Rejects Merkel Role in Berlusconi Removal

‘No request to replace premier’, says president

(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — President Giorgio Napolitano on Friday rejected a US media report that claimed German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed for the removal of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.

A political furore erupted after a report in The Wall Street Journal suggested Merkel had “intervened” in October and telephoned Napolitano urging him to “nudge Berlusconi off the stage”.

A statement released by Napolitano’s office said that there was no discussion “of any issue of internal Italian politics, nor any request to replace the premier”.

“The reason for the conversation was only about the measures taken and to be taken to reduce the deficit, in defence of the euro and in relation to structural reforms,” the statement said.

The highly respected Journal said that Merkel was concerned that Berlusconi was failing to adequately tackle the debt crisis and introduce the reforms demanded by the European Central Bank.

Earlier on Friday a spokesman for Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party (PdL), Daniele Capezzone, demanded a “convincing denial” of the report.

He also expressed concern about the content of the telephone call describing it as “authoritative and invasive” and stressed that Italy remained a healthy democracy with its “autonomy and freedom” intact.

The Journal claimed its article was drawn from interviews with more than two dozen policy makers, including “many leading actors”.

It said Merkel was under pressure to intervene to prevent Italy from following the financial collapse witnessed in Greece and other countries.

“We are not a German colony,” said Melania de Nichilo Rizzoli, an MP for the PdL. “The European treaties do not allow the interference of one state in the political affairs of another European state”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Saudi Arabia: 14 Accused in French Tourists’ Murder Stand Trial in Riyadh

A special criminal court in Riyadh began the trial of 14 suspects accused of murdering four French tourists and threatening their women. They are also accused of supporting Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and carrying out a number of other crimes.

The trial, which was attended by a French consul and two relatives of the victims, saw the public prosecutor reading out the charges against the 14 defendants. The first three defendants were accused of being directly involved in the murder that took place in a desert area about 90 km north of Madinah in 2007. The remaining 11 are accused of setting up a terror cell and providing support to the murderers.

During the session, the prosecutor explained the various roles played by the defendants in the crime. They are also accused of opening fire against security officers, seizing cars of citizens at gunpoint and taking money from the ATMs of Saudi-American and Saudi-British banks and possessing weapons and explosives.

The prosecutor accused six defendants of providing shelter to Walid Al-Radadi, leader of the terror cell, and trying to smuggle him out of the Kingdom when his names appeared on a list of 36 wanted terrorists, two years before the attack on the victims.

Seven defendants are accused of possessing and using hashish. Arab News has learned that the seven used to meet to take drugs. One of them had acknowledged that he had once bought hashish for SR900.

Mansour Al-Qafari, a spokesman of the Justice Ministry, said Defendant No. 1 is accused of killing four French men and threatening to kill their women. He also tried to kill another European while he was coming out of a factory in the Industrial City of Jubail. He had also opened fire on two vehicles of the intelligence department. He had taken away eight vehicles at gunpoint. He is also accused of giving protection to Walid Al-Radadi and supporting Al-Qaeda.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Dr Pasha Laid the Foundation of the British Muslims in the UK

Dr Syed Aziz Pasha, founder and Secretary General of the oldest British Muslim federal body in the UK, the Union of Muslim Organisations (UMO), passed away on November 23 after a long illness. Dr Pasha, 81, was one of the most respected Muslims leaders in the UK. Born in Madras, South India, in 1930, he graduated from Madras University in 1950. He went to the US in 1965, first as a student, helping to found the Muslim Student Association. He then pursued a promising career as an international legal consultant to the UN Indian delegation in New York. Dr Pasha recounted his family’s historic association with global Muslim causes to the author, M A Sherif, who is researching on British Muslim history. His parents, Professor Syed Rauf Pasha and Azmatuddin Sahib Begum, were from Arcot in South India. Professor Pasha was born in 1897 and participated in an Indian delegation to Palestine. Professor Pasha was a Congress supporter and died in India in 1967. The younger Dr Pasha also retold his own participation in an Indian delegation to the UN and the role played by V K Krishna Menon, the Indian minister, in overcoming his officials’ objections in having a Muslim in the delegation.

Dr Pasha later moved to the UK, he quickly became involved in improving the services to the Muslim community, leading the Knightsbridge Mosque in 1967. Between 1973 and 1983 he served as President of the Indian Muslim Federation. But his crowning achievement was his ability to see and bring together the burgeoning voices of British Muslim civil society.

He had the foresight and vision to understand that Britain’s Muslim community was diverse. That diversity would be further strengthened if Muslims came together in common cause. And so, in 1970, Dr Pasha founded the UMO — an umbrella body of thirty-eight associations. It has grown to over 200 organisations. As leader of the UMO, Dr Pasha enhanced the community’s connection with Government and public policy. Events organised by the UMO in Parliament and at Party Conferences were events in which politicians from all parties would make as a priority diary commitment. And he led the way in pushing through key reforms that would be later championed by the rest of the community. These included state funding for Muslim schools, and halal food provisions and prayer rooms in schools, hospitals, prisons and places of work.

He was passionate about the recognition of Muslim Family Law as outlined by UMO Muslim Bill of Rights. Dr Pasha pursued this passionately without fear or favour. The febrile anti-Muslim atmosphere after 9/11 and 7/7 in Britain (in particular) would render such passions unfashionable. Yet, a year after the terrorist attacks in London, Dr Pasha reportedly suggested after a meeting with the Communities Secretary, Ruth Kelly, that Muslims could be felt to be part of the fabric of British society if aspects of Muslim family law were acknowledged, he said, “this could function harmoniously alongside British Family Law.” In the years after 7/7, terms such as ‘Shari’ah’ and notions of Muslim family law became taboo. This was exemplified in the near-universal condemnation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who had the temerity to suggest in 2008 that aspects of Islamic jurisprudence could be accommodated where it did not conflict with British law.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: New Year Message From the Secretary General

The New Year brings tough challenges but unique opportunities too.

For many of us, 2011 will be remembered as the year that defied long-held stereotypes. The Arab Spring which swept across the Middle East and North Africa undermined the idea that the Muslim world doesn’t “do” democracy. The summer riots here in Britain suggested that all of us, including Muslims, had a collective duty and resolve to overcome adversity. And, the horrific massacre carried out by Anders Breivik in Norway gave us a wake-up call to be vigilant against the many peddlers of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

Looking ahead, 2012 will be a year of opportunities which we should seize with faith, hope and aspiration. Faith-communities will come together to support and celebrate the London Olympics. You can be sure that British Muslims up and down the country will be urging on our Olympic teams. And we hope to find Muslim centres and mosques embodying the spirit and generosity of Ramadan, opening their doors and welcoming the many visitors who will come to this country.

The forthcoming Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will serve as an opportunity for all to reflect on the significant changes that Britain and British society have undergone in the last 60 years. During Her Majesty’s reign, our connection with the world has changed, but continued to grow. Many communities, including Muslim communities, have made this country their home. Today, the United Kingdom is a place where many faiths and many beliefs have added to an already rich spiritual tapestry where, immigrant communities help maintain Britain’s competitive edge by preserving economic links and trade opportunities with those countries they left behind.

Make no mistake. 2012 will be a challenging year. Recession, even economic Depression, is at our door. Unity at home will be crucial if we are to face the ongoing tumultuous changes both here and around the world. It remains vital to deny the hate mongers the oxygen of publicity or the lifeblood of the falsehoods and misconceptions of Islam and Muslims on which they thrive — and which, certain journalists and media outlets seem so keen to promote. As the financial crisis continues to bite, we should learn from the events of 2011 and look to the values that unite us not divide; that help us celebrate our diversity, whilst binding us into a greater whole; and offer an alternative, a message of hope, to those who constantly seek to downplay and divide us. Let us celebrate the ‘Great’ in Great Britain, and the ‘United’ in United Kingdom and remain unified in purpose and spirit in the challenging times ahead.

I wish everyone a Happy and Peaceful New Year!

Farooq Murad

[JP note: The extremist MCB adding its voice to our ‘rich spiritual tapestry’ and doing its best to replace its weft and warp with Islam.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Viking Boat Burial — Ardnamurchan, Scotland

A spectacular Viking boat burial was uncovered this year on the coast of Ardnamurchan, a remote region of western Scotland, the first such burial to be found on the British mainland. The Viking, who is thought to have perished over 1,000 years ago, was most likely a high-ranking warrior. He was buried lying in a 16-foot-long boat, with artifacts including a sword with silver inlay on the hilt, a shield, a spear, an ax, and a drinking horn. “The level of preservation of the objects and the range of grave goods make this one of the most important Viking burials found in the U.K.,” says Colleen Batey, a Viking specialist from the University of Glasgow.

Although the location is isolated today, at the time of the burial, it was right on the main north-south seafaring route between Ireland and Norway. No Viking dwellings have been found in Ardnamurchan, but Vikings are known to have inhabited the nearby islands of the Hebrides. “We don’t know why they chose this location for the burial, but the Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds there may have made it an important place for them,” says Oliver Harris, project co-director from the University of Leicester. Isotope analysis of the Viking’s teeth may eventually help the scientists pin down where he was from.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Balkans


Bosnian Muslim Group Tells Followers to Boycott New Year’s Eve

The Islamic Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina has called on Muslims in the country not just to boycott the upcoming New Year eve celebrations, but to “turn off the lights early and let everyone see you’re boycotting everything happening on that night” it said in a statement released on Wednesday. By taking part in the celebration, Muslims would “violate God’s boundaries, and do something their master hates and despises” said the organization. The group’s statement cited quotes from a book by Almir Dumica, “Pearls of the Sunnah in the Mosaic of Time”, in support of their position. “On that night, turn off the lights early and let everyone see you’re boycotting everything happening on that night. Do not fear anyone’s objections. Don’t you have a right to choose? Do not say, ‘how can I do that, I will change nothing, most people do it. I will be declared a black sheep’,” Dumica writes in the book.

“On that night go to bed on time, happy and satisfied that the Allah gave you many benefits that you do not consider often, and which you would become aware of only if you lost them,” the Islamic Community said in its release. “Think about your health and family … the peace and security you enjoy. Then, each night of the year will be much more dear to you than the New Year’s night is to any of those who eagerly await it all year, while a blessed feeling of triumph will overcome your soul and body, because piousness and reason will have won over passions and ugly customs,” the statement concludes.

The Islamic new year, which is when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Madinah on Muharram first, was celebrated this year on November 25. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Slavic population underwent a large-scale conversion to Islam after the region’s occupation by the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 15th century, giving it a distinctive role within the Balkan region. Muslims are about 1.8 million, or roughly 8 percent of the total previous Yugoslavian population. They constitute the majority ethno religious group in the state according to Cole, John and Sam Beck in their book “Ethnicity and Nationality in Eastern Europe”.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

North Africa


“Moderate” Muslims Call for “Killing All Jews”

Muslim Brotherhood presented as face of moderate Islam

A group defended as representing the “moderate” face of Islam has called for the killing of all Jews.

The Muslim brotherhood, which recently won a majority of seats in Egyptian elections, has often been called a “moderate” faction of Islam.

The website, Ikhwanophobia .com, states that the group wants to represent the Muslim brotherhood as the face of moderate Islam. Following the election victory, many mainstream media outlets also claim the Muslim Brotherhood is a moderate Islamic organization.

The Muslim Brotherhood claims to be a moderate group. Speaking to the Associated Press, Essam el-Erian, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s new political party in Egypt, said, “We represent a moderate and fair party. We want to apply the basics of Sharia law in a fair way that respects human rights and personal rights.”

If Muslim Brotherhood defenders are correct, that the group is the face of moderate Islam, then it appears that moderate Islam believes in the killing of all Jews and the destruction of Israel.

YNet news reported at the end of November a Muslim Brotherhood rally of moderate Muslims was held at Cairo’s most prominent mosque.

The rally, which over 5,000 people attended, was called to promote the “battle against Jerusalem’s Judaization.”

Many worshippers left the mosque before the rally got underway, although a group spokesman for the moderate organization urged attendants not to leave the protest.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesmen called for liberating the whole of Palestine, a reference to all of the land Israel currently occupies. A quote from the Koran, vowing, “one day we shall kill all the Jews” was uttered multiple times at the moderate rally.

On Monday, Dec. 27, Ismail Haniyeh, Gaza’s Hamas premier, met with Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohammed Badie.

Hamas is a designated terrorist organization of the United States and Israel and the Hamas charter calls for the total destruction of Israel. Badie said Hamas served as a role model for the Brotherhood and the Brotherhood supported Hamas in its “resistance” against Israel.

Egypt’s Middle East News Agency reported that Badie said Hamas has served as a role model to the Brotherhood. Haniyeh describes Hamas as the “jihadi movement of the Brotherhood with a Palestinian face.”

The moderate Muslim Brotherhood has also called for re-evaluating the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.

Mahmoud Hussein, the group’s secretary general, said, “A long time has passed since the Camp David accord was signed, and like the other agreements it needs to be reviewed, and this is in the hands of the parliament.”

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]



Arab Spring Impacts Archaeology — Libya/Egypt/Tunisia/Syria

No discussion of the year 2011 can be complete without a reference to what’s been termed Arab Spring. The political phenomenon has the potential to have an extraordinary impact on archaeology for years to come.

In Libya, a Russian journalist broadcast that thieves plundered the country’s museums and NATO bombed the ancient Roman sites of Leptis Magna and Sabratha. At the end of September, a three-person team from Blue Shield, a nonprofit organization concerned with the protection of cultural heritage in areas of conflict, traveled to western Libya and found Leptis Magna untouched. The theater at Sabratha suffered minor bullet damage, but the rest of the site was fine. Rebels had entered Tripoli’s National Museum, but only wrecked Qaddafi’s old cars on display; museum staff had previously hidden or moved important artifacts. Overall, the Blue Shield report said, they found no evidence of organized looting at the museums or archaeological sites they visited. Nevertheless, there are still concerns.

“There is a lot of hearsay, but artifacts have been smuggled out of the country through Egypt,” says Ray Bondin, Malta’s ambassador to UNESCO, who has worked with Libyan heritage authorities for many years. “The sites are not well protected and the department of antiquities is still organizing itself.”

After rebels drove Qaddafi’s forces from Benghazi, for instance, the so-called Treasure of Benghazi-around 8,000 bronze, silver, and gold coins and other artifacts from the ancient city of Cyrene near modern-day al-Bayda-disappeared from a bank vault.

Egypt appears to have been affected more than its westerly neighbor. After the revolution erupted in late January, then Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs Zahi Hawass offered assurances that all sites and artifacts were safe. Later, however, this proved not to be true. Looters had attacked dozens of sites and broke into storerooms throughout the country, including in the delta region, Abydos, Abu Sir, Giza, Dashur, Lisht, Saqqara, and Quntara. Thieves also pilfered artifacts from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, while protests and street battles went on outside in Tahrir Square.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Egypt — One Year After the Massacre of Christians in Alexandria, Egypt Seeks a Way Forward

The persecution against Christians mingled with violence against the Arab revolution. In a year more than 1000 dead, thousands injured, 1200 have lost one or both eyes, because the police shoot at eye level. The interim government has not kept its many promises of equality between Christians and Muslims, but here and there are signs of growing alliances, mutual respect and friendship.

Cairo (AsiaNews) — One year has passed since the terrible massacre in the Church of the Two Saints, in Alexandria on New Year’s eve last year, which left more than twenty dead and a hundred wounded. One year later the facts regarding those responsible for committing this horrible crime are no clearer. There have been rumours which assert that it was the ministry of internal affairs who ordered the attack, but no investigation results have so far been published. Yesterday, the last Friday of the year, the protestant church called for a peaceful demonstration in Tahrir square to commemorate this anniversary, asking people to come with armed only with candles and no other religious symbol. A large demonstration led by Shaykh Mazhar Shaheen processed from Omar Makram mosque in Midan al Tahrir up to the Evangelical Church of Qasr al Doubara, one street behind Midan al Tahrir to celebrate the Chrismas and New Year’eve feasts.

Three weeks after last New Year’s eve attack the January 25 revolution exploded, and since then many difficult events have succeeded each other making it a hard time for the population, and mainly for Egyptian Christians. In fact, the Alexandria massacre took place less than a year after the violent attack at Nag Hammadi, in Upper Egypt on the eve of the Coptic Christmas celebrations, on the 7th of January 2010, which left seven dead and many wounded. And less than two months after clashes over a church construction in the suburb of Giza, next to Cairo, that left two dead and many wounded.

Early in March 2011, the Church of the Two Martyrs in Sol, next to Helwan, in the southern suburb of Cairo, was set on fire killing two people died. The motive for the arson attack was a forbidden love affaire between a Christian young man and a Muslim girl. The two fathers died in a quarrel, then the Muslim population burned the church. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) decided to rebuild the church which was ready for Easter one month later.

During March the awful virginity test was imposed on young women arrested by the authorities.

On Saturday, March 7, two churches in Imbaba, in a western suburb of Cairo, were attacked by fundamentalist mobs, with the result of a dozen Christians killed and the burning of the two churches. This suburb had once been termed ‘the Islamic Republic of Imbaba’.

In June 2011 a long awaited draft bill on building permits for places of worship both for Islam and Christianity was brought before parliament. But still today, this law has not been implemented.

On June 29, a vast confrontation between demonstrators and police forces left more than one thousand wounded. Again, on July 23, another confrontation resulted in more than two hundred wounded.

On September 30th, a church in Marinab village, in Asswan governorate was raised by Muslim fundamentalists who had decided to eradicate the village church by first pretending it was a new construction, than demanding it remove its crosses and the domes and finally burning the church, and many households belonging to the Christian population, without any protection from the civil authorities, rather, on the contrary with the obvious blessing of Asswan governor.

On Sunday October 9, a Christian demonstration began in Cairo to demand equal rights for Christians and justice for the Marinab village church. Numerous Muslim demonstrators were joined their Christian compatriots. What took place was a veritable slaughter which has now become known as the ‘Maspero massacre’ : The army attacked demonstrators resulting in 25 people dead and 350 wounded, many of them crushed under the wheels of advancing armoured vehicles. The state television located on Maspero Avenue launched

an appeal that verged on a call to civil war appealing to the population to come and protect the armed forces ‘savagely attacked by Christian demonstrators’. Three soldiers were reported dead, but in the end revealed to be only lightly wounded.

On October 10, the culprit of Nag Hamadi attack of January 7, 2010, who had been sentenced to death, was executed.

Then came the protests of Mohammad Mahmoud Street on November 19 (see 21/11/2011 Egypt, toll rises from Tahrir Square clashes: 30 dead and thousands injured), and later in mid December, the demonstrations and sit-in around the Parliament and the Ministers Council buildings (see 17/12/2011 Egypt: clashes between the army and demonstrators continue in front of the Houses of Parliament), with a heavey toll of dead and wounded.

In just one year, more than one thousand people have died, thousands of more wounded, an estimated one thousand two hundred people lost one or both eyes, and probably twelve thousand demonstrators were arrested and judged by military courts. Many political personnalities and well-known journalists have also been summoned and mistreated.

It is reported that since last March, one hundred thousand Christian Egyptians have left the country emigrating to different destinations. Many people among the Christian community, and among the poorest of them, would now like to apply for religious asylum in countries like the USA, Canada, or Australia.

Recently many bishops reported to have received threatening letters to prevent them from celebrating the New Year and Christmas. Pope Shenouda III, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church replied two days ago that ‘we do not fear any threats and we shall celebrate the feasts’, though everybody knows that the celebrations will be restricted inside churches and earlier than the usual midnight masses. The Catholic Church, which celebrates Christmas in Cairo, Alexandria and Lower Egypt on the December 25, had all the masses between 7 and 9p.m. All the churches were surrounded by police forces, which will be the same for the Orthodox Christmas on the eve of January 7.

‘Christmas is celebrated this year in Egypt in a state of ‘sad joy’ because of the general situation: sadness, because the year that passed has been a severe one not only for Christians but also for Muslims. From the massacre of the Two Saints’ church in Alexandria last year to the battle at the Ministers Council, through the Maspero massacre and the hard economic situation, all of this has left a wounded and suffering Egyptian society as Fr Rafic Greiche, official spokesman of the Catholic Church in Egypt, stated yesterday.

‘On the other hand, added Fr Greiche, we must preserve some joy, because every Egyptian is still full of hope that the difficulties and obstacles will be resolved little by little in building a new democratic state in this land that once sheltered Jesus and the Holy Family, where dignity, justice and equality should prevail for everyone’.

On this point, many political experts consider that the parliamentary elections have really attracted the majority of the population who felt for the first time they were really participating in their political duty and right. But many of them are still critical feeling that it was more a religious election than a democratic one, since no-one stopped the parties from using religious slogans when it was strictly forbidden.

An anecdotal gag was bandied about during the election campaign which went: ‘Women electors and men electors, whatever your religion, please vote for the salafist islamic party al-Noor. If you are Muslim, you shall go to Paradise. If you are Christian, you shall go [flee] to Canada!’

But there were also many positive reactions, mainly from the well known slogan of the 1919 revolution of the famous leader Saad Zaghloul, founder of the Wafd party that says ‘Religion is for God, and Homeland is for all’. The design of the Cross and the Crescent intertwined is more and more obviously brandished. Let us recall that in mid October the SCAF adopted a draft law incriminating discrimination and violence, which is usually aimed at Christians and women. But still, we have to see if this law is really being implemented in the daily life. On the other hand many people are reacting to Muslim preachers on Fridays correcting what they feel is an open attack against Christians, among whom, mainly Nawwara Negm, daughter of the famous anarchist poet Ahmad Fouad Negm, and strong activist since the beginning of the January revolution.

A young Christian student in the end of primary course, Myriam Armanios (11-12 years old) wrote two days ago on Facebook : ‘Like you, I have the right to celebrate my feasts’. More than 3 thousand pupils sustained her as well as the Maspero Youth Federation. A demonstration was organized in front of the ministry of education to protest against the fixed dates for midyear exams on the 1st and the 8th of January [the Coptic Christmas period]. The minister of education decided immediately to postpone the examinations for a couple of days later.

After the Lotus or Jasmin or Spring revolution, many promises were made by the government but none were achieved : like putting the minimum salary up to 750 Egyptian Pounds (a little less than 100 euros per month); offering a pension to the ‘martyrs’ of the revolution and the ‘martyrs’ of Maspero massacre; offering free medical care and treatment for all the wounded of the revolution and of Maspero massacre; an end to bringing civilians before military courts; adjusting the price of petrol to the standard prices in Spain, Turkey, Israel and Jordan; organizing impartial investigations into the Maspero, Mohammad Mahmoud street and Council of Minister massacres, as well as many other economic promises: until now none of these have been kept, provoking a general state of disillusionment.

Another point is the looming anniversary of the January 25th revolution: is the SCAF ready to let demonstrators gather? is the official press and media, as well as the interim government ready to stop accusing demonstrators of being agents and agitators manipulated by foreign powers? These last two days about twenty NGOs involved in human rights were raided, their computers seized and they were accused of being illegally financed by abroad.

Faced with this old approach to this important juncture, many observers express that the old regime is still active. As expressed by Pr Ezzeddine Shukry, professor of political science: ‘A regime that is not yet over, in front of a revolution that is not yet broken’.

We have to point out finally that the blogger Alaa Abd al Fattah, arrested in November and accused of criminal acts during Maspero massacre, has finally been released on probation in his flat, until a further judgement. Another positive act was the administrative court that stopped the virginity test imposed on young women arrested by the armed forces.

Pr Shukry perfecttly expresses the feeling among the general population when he says, ‘the situation is confused for the moment, but we must keep hope for the future, because the revolution movement has not been overcome, it is still active and will never be defeated’. He considers the many martyrs as a source of positive inspiration for the movement, and he brings as a symbol of hope of the dentist Ahmad Sharara, who lost one eye on the 28th of January and the second eye on 19th of November and who states : ‘Better to live blind with honour and dignity than to live with my sight despondent and blinkered’.

Demonstrators in Tahrir square yesterday refused to join an anti-protest march led by the army and the officials, thus refusing to join hands with the people hailing the expelled former president Mubarak. And still leaders of the political and youth movements have called for a huge gathering on this New Year’s eve in Tahrir square from 8p.m. until 2 a.m. to respond to the appeal first launched by the woman journalist Gamila Ismaïl to celebrate the Christian New Year by candle light with Coptic Hymns and Muslim Soufi prayers animated by famous singers like male singer Ali al Haggar and the beautiful Azza Balbaa.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Egypt: Muslim Villagers Burn Houses of Christians Upper Egypt

Dozens of residents of the village of Baheeg in Assiut, Upper Egypt, burnt three houses owned by a Christian family after a Christian villager allegedly published cartoons mocking Islam on his Facebook account. A number of Muslim students attacked their Coptic classmate for posting the cartoons, a Muslim student told Al-Masry Al-Youm. The Muslim students attacked the Coptic student on Thursday at Monqebad Secondary School in Assiut. Eyewitnesses said the military intervened to break up the fight and escorted the Coptic youth and his family away from the village. Later, Muslim villagers set fire to the family’s houses. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and armed forces and police imposed a security cordon around the site of the incident. Major General Mohamed Ibrahim, director of security in Assiut, said security forces are attempting to coordinate with Muslim clerics to calm citizens and contain the situation. Christians make up about 10 percent of the population in Egypt, which totals around 80 million people.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Fire Destroys “Temple of Knowledge” In Egypt

Pharaonic faces stare out from charred pages in Cairo’s Egyptian Scientific Complex on Monday. The documents are among thousands of precious historic works damaged or destroyed by a fire that consumed the structure over the weekend. Now in danger of collapsing, the complex, also known as the Institut d’Égypte, caught fire on Saturday during clashes between protesters and army soldiers near Tahrir Square.

“It’s a huge shock. It’s a gorgeous building and there are some really important ancient manuscripts and printed materials contained there,” said UCLA Egyptologist Willeke Wendrich. Founded by Napoleon in 1798, the Institut d’Égypte is dedicated to the advancement of scientific research. Its complex housed nearly 200,000 documents and manuscripts, some dating back to the 1500s.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Construction of Photovoltaic Panel Factory Suspended

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 27 — Building work on a site in Bousalem (a town in inland Tunisia) producing photovoltaic panels has been suspended, according to the Arab-language Tunisian newspaper Al Maghreb, which says that the sponsor of the 11 million dinar (around 5.5 million euros) project, Mustapha Kasdaoui, took the decision after the access rote to the site was blocked by groups of unemployed people. The newspaper also reported that the jobless protesters physically attacked some workers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Article on Iranian Website: This is How We’ll Close Strait of Hormuz

In response to threats by Western countries to impose oil sanctions on Iran, the Iranian website Mashreq News, which is close to Iranian military circles, posted an article on December 15, 2011 outlining military measures that could be taken by Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz should the regime choose to do so.

The article enumerated the forces and weapons that Iran could employ in such a military operation, including fast attack craft carrying anti-ship missiles; submarines; battleships; cruise and ballistic missiles; bombers carrying laser-, radar- and optically-guided missiles; helicopters; armed drones; hovercraft; and artillery.

It stated that despite Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s statements that Tehran would not initiate a military confrontation but would retaliate harshly if attacked, “there is no guarantee that [Tehran] will not launch a preemptory strike on the civilian level, for instance through cyber-warfare or by means of economic pressure, including by closing the Strait of Hormuz and cutting off [this] energy lifeline for an indefinite period of time.” It added, “Should additional sanctions be imposed on Iran, especially in the domain of oil export, Iran might keep [its] oil from leaving its territorial waters.”

In a further threat, the article stated that Iran would in the future be able to attack the 480-km pipeline with a capacity of 2.5 million barrels/day[1] that the UAE is planning to build in order to bypass the Strait of Hormuz in order to neutralize Iran’s ability to disrupt the world’s oil supply: “As for the plan… to construct a [pipeline] from the UAE that will be an alternative in times of emergency in case the Hormuz Strait is closed, we should note… that the entire territory of the UAE is within range of Iran’s missiles, [so Iran] will easily be able to undermine security at the opening of this [pipeline] using weapons to be discussed this report.”

In accordance with Iranian doctrine, the article pointed out that these weapons would actually not be necessary because there would be suicide operations, and added that “the faith of the Iranian youth, and their eagerness to sacrifice their lives, will sap the enemies’ courage.”

Despite statements by Iranian government spokesmen, including Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi and Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, that the closing of the strait is not currently on Iran’s agenda,[2] Majlis National Security Committee member Pervez Sarouri said that the Iran would be conducting 10 days of naval maneuvers, called “Velayat 90,” beginning December 24, 2011, to drill closing it.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Hellenic Aerospace Signs Agreement With UAE Firm

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 30 — Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB) announced the signing of a cooperation memorandum with the company Advanced Military Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Center (Ammroc) in the United Arab Emirates, thus boosting its presence in the UAE. Ammroc is the primary support outfit for the UAE air force and belongs to the aeronautics sector of the Abu Dhabi-based company Mubadala. The agreement between the two companies, as ANA reports, concerns activities involving the factory maintenance of aircraft, engines and related systems as well as technical training on all aspects of aircraft maintenance. Both the Greek and UAE air forces are equipped with similar aircraft, such as the F16, M-2000 and C-130, and helicopters.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Iraqi Interpreters Wait for Promised U.S. Visas

BAGHADAD — He rarely leaves his house. He’s been shot at by gunmen in a passing car. He gets death threats over the phone. “Traitor,” the callers say. “American agent.” Tariq, 27, is a quick-witted, tech-savvy Iraqi who tosses off idiomatic American English phrases such as “I’m outta here” and “That’s cool.” When he served as an interpreter for the U.S. military, Tariq lived on a secure base, safe from fellow Iraqis determined to kill him because of his service to America. But when the unit he served pulled out of Iraq on Oct. 13, he was dismissed and escorted off the base.

The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, passed in 2008, provided fast-track status for Iraqis who had worked for the U.S. government or military. The law authorized 5,000 special visas per year — 20,000 through 2011. But through October, just 3,415 had been issued to Iraqis, according to the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.

The State Department says 7,362 Iraqis who worked for the United States have received special visas over that period, but that total includes family members. Through July, 62,500 Iraqis had applied through the special visa program, though many have given up and dropped out.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Saudi Arabia: Defense Bolstered With $29.4bn Arms Deal With America

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has boosted its defense capabilities with a $29.4 billion arms deal with the United States. The Kingdom confirmed on Friday that it has signed the deal to purchase 84 F-15SA fighter jets. A Defense Ministry spokesman said the deal includes 70 Apache attack helicopters, 72 Black Hawk helicopters, 36 AH-6i helicopters and 12 MD-530F helicopters as well as upgrading of 70 existing F15 jets.

“The agreement also includes munitions, spare parts, training, maintenance and logistics for several years to ensure high level of defense capabilities for the Kingdom to safeguard its people and land,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the spokesman as saying.

He said the deal came in line with the desire of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, supreme commander of the armed forces, to strengthen the defense capabilities of Saudi forces. In a previous statement, Defense Minister Prince Salman emphasized the need to modernize the Kingdom’s armed forces and bolster its defense capabilities in the face of growing challenges and threats.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Saudi Arabia: War Dance Becomes Wedding Tradition

JEDDAH: Al-Dahha, a war dance initiated by the tribes in the northern areas of Saudi Arabia in the past, has now become a ritual in the wedding celebrations in the northern parts of the Kingdom and the countries bordering it from the north. Some historians claim that it was invented by the Anza tribe before the advent of Islam in the Arab Peninsula.

According to history books, a small group of people from this tribe were out one night on patrol when they saw some movement. They sent one member of the group to scout ahead and see what was going on, and he discovered a large army from another hostile tribe preparing to invade their area.

He returned from his scouting trip and told his people about the large army. The members of the tribe were few in number and could be easily overcome by the invading army that outnumbered them. They thought of a trick to scare the big army away. They came up with the idea of this dance in which they sang songs that sounded very much like roars of lion. They also hit their camels until they too started roaring.

The invading army, unaware of what these sounds were, got scared by the fearful sounds and ran away. Since then, the Al-Dahha dance was passed down from generation to generation. Today it has become part of wedding celebrations. The dance starts with the singer chanting some lyrics and the main dancer swinging the sword. He is then joined by other dancers, who make loud throaty sounds. The singers change and the dance continues.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Saudi Arabia: Indonesian Maid Brutally Raped

MAKKAH: The homicidal investigation unit of the Makkah police and security patrols have found an Indonesian housemaid at Al-Jabal checkpoint on the Makkah-Laith coastal road in a very bad shape. The Indonesian maid, in her 20s, was reportedly beaten and raped by seven drunken men, the police said on Tuesday.

The police said the maid was under a sponsor in Makkah, and had left the sponsor’s place with a young man to have illicit sex at his friend’s apartment in Jeddah. According to the police, the two men asked five other friends to meet them at a certain place on the Makkah-Laith road where they participated in the illicit act.

“The two men bought alcohol from Jeddah and met with their other five friends at their rendezvous where they all alternately raped the woman, and finally dumped her along the road,” the police said. It added that the woman was found by the police early morning Tuesday in miserable shape, totally fatigued and unable to walk. The woman was rushed to the maternity and child hospital at Jarwal district in Makkah and the police have started a massive hunt to track down the seven suspects.

Meanwhile, Makkah police said that they have arrested a gang composed of a Saudi, two illegal Yemenis and a Sudanese car mechanic who stole cars from Makkah, dismantled them in a desolate area near Taif and sold the parts in the underground market. The police said during the past two years, the gang stole more than 60 cars and stripped them at a workshop owned by the Sudanese mechanic about 140 km away from Makkah.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



SR150bn Spent on Construction and Upkeep of Mosques

JEDDAH: There are more than 70,000 mosques across the Kingdom and the government has spent nearly SR150 billion on the construction, renovation and maintenance these mosques during the past five years, a senior official said on Saturday. Ali bin Salim Al-Abdali of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs revealed this during a ceremony marking the opening of King Abdullah Mosque by Al-Jouf Gov. Prince Fahd bin Badr in Sakaka on Saturday. The mosque, which can accommodate 3,700 worshippers, was established at a cost of SR30 million.

Al-Abdali, who is the director general of the ministry’s office in Al-Jouf, said the government constructed 60 new mosques and renovated 200 others during the past five years. “In Al-Jouf province alone there are 1,300 mosques,” he said.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah laid the foundation stone for the Sakaka mosque when he visited the province few years ago. The mosque complex includes two libraries, a dawa center, housing for the imam and khatib and other related facilities. Al-Abdali commended the government’s support to construct and renovate mosques. King Abdullah recently allocated SR500 million for renovation of mosques.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UAE: Nation Offers Prayers for Rain

A large number of faithful offered prayers for rain (Salat Al Istisqa) across the UAE on Friday, in line with the directives of the president.

AL AIN — Muslims in the city of Al Ain supplicated to God for showers responding to a call The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to all Muslim worshippers in the UAE to offer congregational prayers for rain in the tradition of Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him). Undersecretary at the Court of Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region Shaikh Hazza Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan joined the prayers. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan also performed the rain prayers at the Shaikh Salama Mosque along with a large number of worshippers. Preacher Shaikh Nasser Saeed Al Shibili led the prayers, after which he made a short sermon.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Afghanistan: Taliban Commanders ‘Captured and Killed’

Kabul, 30 Dec. (AKI) — At least three Taliban commanders and people who gave logistical support to the militants were killed and 11 have been captured in joint raids with Nato and Afghan forces, Nato said in a statement in Friday.

The coalition statement says one operation this week in Bakwah district in Farah resulted in the capture of 11 Taliban commanders and so-called facilitators.

Around 130,000 international troops, primarily from the United States, are in Afghanistan fighting Taliban insurgents together with Afghan soldiers.

Separately, a roadside bomb on Friday killed four civilians in Afghanistan’s southern province of Uruzgan on Friday, the provincial head of the crime investigation unit said, the AFP news agency reported

“Four civilians were killed and one injured when their vehicle hit a Taliban-planted mine in Trinkot city this morning,” said Gulab Khan in the report.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Indonesia: Sunni Mob Sets Fire to Shia Boarding School in East Java

The hate crime against minority Shias took place yesterday on Madura Island. Ahmadi Muslims have been victims of similar acts in the past at the hand of Muslim extremists.

Karang Gayam (AsiaNews) — Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country with a Sunni majority, was hit by intra-Muslim sectarian violence. An angry mob set fire to a Shia boarding school (pesantren in Indonesian) yesterday. The school, which included a small mosque, is in Karang Gayam, on Madura, a big island off East Java Province. The province is a stronghold of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest (moderate) Muslim organisation.

NU East Java chief Kiai Hajj Mutawakil Alallah condemned the attack. Blaming a “third party”, he said the attack was a hostile act designed to divide local Muslims.

Earlier, a mob had attacked four houses and shops belonging to a local Muslim, setting them on fire before moving to the Shia Tajul Muluk School and its small mosque.

Recently, another local Muslim was forced to abandon his property and home and move to another East Java city after he was accused of spreading “fraudulent” Islamic teachings to locals and students in a boarding school. He is the legal owner of the torched boarding school, which had around 130 pupils.

Established in 2004, the school had only recently raised concerns among local Muslims over the presence of minority Shia educational facility in their territory.

For local authorities, the incident is due to a local row that got out of hand. For the local chapter of NU, the conflict has a long history and it will try to defuse it before its spreads to other areas.

The incident highlights an ugly undertone in Indonesia’s life, namely the mistreatment of minorities by majority Sunnis. In this case, Shias were the target, but members of the Ahmadi community have been attacked by Muslim extremists in the past.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Far East


Ancient Chinese Takeout — Shaanxi/Xinjiang, China

Today, dog soup and millet noodles may be meals only an archaeologist could love. In two tombs at opposite ends of the country, archaeologists have found the remains of intriguing dishes, well preserved in bronze vessels and clay pots and buried with the dead. In a Warring States tomb in Shaanxi Province, one team found a soup containing what they believe to be dog bones. And in Subeixi Cemetery in Xinjiang, another group of archaeologists found 2,400-year-old intact noodles made of millet. With efforts to re-create the meals, archaeologists may soon be eating like the ancients.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Cancer-Causing Milk Brings More Danger to China’s Food

After the melamine scandal, which left many people dead or sick a few years ago, giant dairy Mengniu acknowledges that some of its products contained aflatoxins, highly carcinogenic substances caused by fungi or mould. Although China’s central government has imposed tighter controls, companies continue to ignore them in the pursuit of profits.

Beijing (AsiaNews) — China’s Mengniu Dairy company acknowledged that its products contained excessive and lethal doses of aflatoxin, one of the most dangerous carcinogens in the world. Although the food giant destroyed the tainted batch of milk, consumers’ confidence has been shaken again.

In a press release, the company said that the problem was discovered before the tainted milk reached stores. “Mengniu would like to express our sincere apologies to consumers,” the statement said. “We will learn a big lesson from this incident and will work harder to meet all national and corporate standards on quality.” Mengniu is China’s largest dairy.

Aflatoxins are toxins produced by various species of fungus, or by mouldy substances, and are among the most carcinogenic substances known. If they are found in milk, it is because of poor hygiene during production.

Chinese authorities have ordered dairy companies to meet higher standards, but so far, they have failed in their pursuit of profits.

A few years ago, China’s food industry was hit by a succession of scandals. In 2008, six children died and another 300,000 became sick from drinking melamine-tainted milk formula. Melamine is a substance that when added to milk powder artificially boosts its protein content.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Leave Southern Nigeria, Mend Warns Northern Muslim

The movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND has condemned in strong terms, Christmas Day bombing of Christians in Northern Nigeria, warning that it will attack Muslims in the South and North if the Federal Government fails to half the attacks on Christians. MEND in a statement signed by General Peter Timi sent to Weekend Observer yesterday warned that to avoid bloodbath, from January 2012, Northern Muslims and those from neighbouring countries resident in Southern Nigeria to leave.

MEND statement reads:

“We call on security agencies in the country to respond swiftly and positively to the security challenges facing the Christian faith in the Northern States or we will be left with no other option than to carry out reprisal attacks on all the Islamic establishments in the entire south and join forces with the northern Christians. The incessant killing of innocent lives, especially Christians across the north must stop; the movement will no longer fold its arms and watch some group of miscreant unleash mayhem on Niger Deltans and other Southern Christians in the North. To avoid bloodbath beginning from January 2012, we strongly advise all Northern Muslims including those from Niger Republic, Cameroun and Chad Republic residing from Benue, Kogi and Kwara to Lagos States and from Enugu to Cross River States respectively to leave in earnest as the blood of those southern Christians killed in the far north are seeking reprisal attack. The incident that happened at King Street Off Urhobo road, Sapele will be a child’s play compare to what we have in stock if this advice is ignored”

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Nigeria’s Jonathan Vows to Rout Boko Haram ‘Cancer’

(AGI) Madalla (Nigeria) — Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to quash Boko Haram Islamic movement. Following recent sectarian bloodshed targeting Nigeria’s Christian minority, Jonathan described Boko Haram as “a cancer in Nigeria’s body” and accused the fundamentalist movement of conspiring to “kill” Nigeria.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Nigeria: Blast Near Mosque in Northeast Nigeria Kills Four

An explosion killed four people in the violence-torn city Nigerian city of Maiduguri as Muslim faithful left a mosque after Friday prayers, the military and residents said.

The blast comes after a series of Christmas attacks blamed on Islamist sect Boko Haram killed at least 42 people, most of them outside a Catholic church near the capital Abuja, and raised fears of reprisals from Christians. “There was a loud blast near the mosque just after the Friday prayers as people were trooping out of the mosque,” one resident said. “Everybody scampered to safety, leading to a stampede.” Another resident, Mohammed Bukar, reported four dead and others wounded. “There was confusion following the blast,” he said. “When the dust settled, I saw four dead people being loaded into a vehicle along with some wounded in the blast.” A spokesman for a military task force in the region confirmed the blast but could not immediately provide details.

“It’s true there was a blast near Monday market while people were leaving the mosque. We don’t have details yet,” said Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed. Boko Haram has carried out scores of attacks in Nigeria, most of them in the northeast. The group’s targets in that region have included Muslim leaders. Thousands have fled Maiduguri fearing further attacks by Boko Haram and heavy-handed military raids, with soldiers accused of killing civilians and burning their homes after bomb blasts. Christian leaders have expressed mounting frustration over the Nigerian authorities’ inability to stop attacks that have killed hundreds of people this year. They have said they will be forced to defend themselves if the authorities do not address the problem.

Amid the mounting concerns over reprisals, a bomb was thrown into an Arabic school on Tuesday in Delta state in southern Nigeria, wounding six children and an adult. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Violence had been raging even in the days before the Christmas bombings, especially in the northeastern cities of Damaturu, Potiskum and Maiduguri. Another attack hit the northeast on Wednesday night, when gunmen opened fire and threw explosives at a hotel and open-air bar in the city of Gombe, wounding 15 people, the hotel manager said. The motive for that attack was not clear, though Boko Haram has often targeted bars. In Damaturu last week, suspected members of Boko Haram carried out attacks followed by a military crackdown that led to clashes. A rights group and police source said up to 100 people were feared dead in the violence. An emergency official has said an estimated 90,000 people have been displaced in Damaturu.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Nigeria: Kubwa Mosques Beef Up Security

Imams in Kubwa, a surburb of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, said security is being beefed up in all mosques in the district to guard against the occurrence of any criminal activities. Six children and another person were on Tuesday night injured when suspected assailants threw a homemade bomb in the midst of about 100 kids taking lessons at a Qur’anic school in Sapele, Delta State. Chief Imam of Kubwa Juma’at Mosque, FHA, Kubwa, Alh. Salihu Zamfara, who spoke to Daily Trust, said the Imams in the district held a meeting same Tuesday night to seek ways of preventing a occurrence of such bombing that might endanger the lives of worshippers. He said some of the decisions taken include the checking of the boots of vehicles of both Muslims and non-Muslims entering the premises of any mosque in Kubwa. Imam Zamfara also said that all polythene bags carried by mosque entrants will be thoroughly searched to forestall any occurrence similar to the bombing in Delta State. Another Imam who spoke on the matter, Mal. Mohammadu Jauro, of the Kubwa Abattoir mosque, called on Muslim faithful to be wary of any strange face in the mosque and report any suspicious movement to the relevant authorities. He said both Muslims and non-Muslims in the area should not fold their arms and allow people with bad intention to cause loss of lives and/or injuries to innocent citizens.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Nigeria Calls State of Emergency Over Sect Attacks

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s president on Saturday declared a state of emergency in parts of Africa’s most populous nation, after a recent slew of deadly attacks blamed on a northern-based radical Muslim sect killed dozens of people, as separate communal clashes in the country’s southeast left more than 40 dead.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared an indefinite state of emergency in four states, which would all allow security agencies there to make arrests without proof and conduct searches without warrants. He also ordered the closure of international borders near the affected areas.

They include parts of northeastern state of Yobe and the central states of Plateau and Niger, all hit by the Christmas Day attacks that left at least 42 people dead, for which a radical sect known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility. Attackers targeted churches and one of the state offices of Nigeria’s secret police.

The president also declared a state of emergency in parts of the northeastern state of Borno, a stronghold of the feared Islamic sect.

“What began as sectarian crises in the northeastern parts of the country has gradually evolved into terrorist activities in different parts of the country with attendant negative consequences on our national security,” Jonathan said.

“(The state of emergency) means extra powers to security agencies in those areas,” said National Security Adviser Owoye Azazi, who also told journalists in Abuja that it would last “until the situation improves.”

Jonathan also said Saturday that he has directed top security officials to set up a special counterterrorism unit to fight the growing threat posed by Boko Haram.

Earlier in the year, an Aug. 26 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria’s capital Abuja killed 24 people and wounded 116 others. The sect claimed responsibility for that attack.

The Christmas attacks come a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in central city of Jos in the nation’s “middle belt,” where the country’s largely Muslim north meets its largely Christian south. Last year’s Christmas attacks claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded.

“Terrorism is a war against all of us,” Jonathan said as he spoke during an address on national television on Saturday. “I call on all Nigerians to join hands with government to fight these terrorists.”

The sect, some of whose members are believed to have links to al-Qaida, wants to impose Islamic Shariah law across Nigeria.

The U.S. Embassy had warned U.S. citizens late Friday to exercise caution in Nigeria.

“Violent extremist attacks have continued in various locations, including the states of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Plateau, and Yobe, resulting in numerous casualties,” the warning read.

Boko Haram’s widening terror attacks, though, are only further intensifying religious and ethnic divisions in Nigeria. In this nation of more than 160 million people, thousands have died in recent years in communal fighting pitting machete-wielding neighbors against each other.

[Return to headlines]

Immigration


Italy: ‘Foreigners to Triple by 2056’

‘Foreign-born population up from 4.6 to 14.1 mln by 2065’

(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — Italy’s foreign population will triple by 2065, Istat said Wednesday.

The foreign-born population is set to rise from 4.6 million now to 14.1 million in 2065, the statistics agency said in a report on future demographics.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111230

Financial Crisis
» Delusions of the Euro Zone: The Lies That Europe’s Politicians Tell Themselves
» Euro Falls Below 100 Japanese Yen
» Italy: Leaders Having ‘Trouble’ With Crisis, Says Napolitano
» Italy: Fees for Public Services Greatly Outpace Inflation
» Italy: Energy Bills to Go Up in 2012
» Major Dubai Companies ‘May Need Bail-Outs’
» Monti Says Italy Not Following Greece
» Monti Calls for Boost to Eurozone Bail-Out Firepower
» Swiss Face New Year of Economic Uncertainty
 
USA
» Caroline Glick: Obama’s Foreign Policy Spin
» Mosque and Cultural Center Moves to Gateway Business Park
 
Europe and the EU
» Bishop Against Greek Parliament’s Mosque Building Bill
» Cyprus Discovers Gas at First Search
» Denmark to Battle for European Unity
» First Ship Leaves Holland to Collect Waste in Naples
» France: Woman in Coma After Violent Rape Attack
» France: Petrol Sales Limited to Cut New Year Car Torchings
» Scotland: ‘We Were Sacked for Being White and Christian’, Claim Principal and His Wife Dismissed From Dubai-Backed ‘Multicultural’ College
» Snow Halts Truck Traffic at Mt Blanc Tunnel
» Sweden: Life Sentence for Malmö Bouncer Murder
» Sweden: Suspected Khat Smuggler Crashes After Car Chase
» UK: Exeter Mosque: A Testament to Religious Harmony in UK
» UK: Ken Livingstone’s Running Mate Attacks His Misjudgement on Islamic Extremism
» UK: Murdered Woman Dumped in Canal Had Month-Old Baby
 
North Africa
» Egyptian Bishop Warns of Another Massacre in Nag Hammadi
» Egypt: Cairo Raids Create Climate of Fear for Civil Organizations
» German Companies Ready to Seize Business Opportunities in Libya
» How UK Feared and Fawned Over Mubarak
» Moroccan Activists See Little Hope for Gender Policy Reforms
» Tunisia: Islamists Now Focussing on Tourism
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» The Grand Mosque in Beersheba is Now a “Judaisation Museum”
» The Ultra-Orthodox in Israel: A Clash of Cultures in the Holy Land
 
Middle East
» Iran to Start Missile Tests in the Persian Gulf
» Is 2012 the Year Israel Will Bomb Iran?
» Israel Cancels Military Contract With Turkey
» Pro: No Reason to Fear the Democratic Experiment
» Turkish Prime Minister Apologizes for Deadly Airstrike
» UAE: Dubai Experience Overwhelms Recardo Kaka
» Will Israel Strike at Iran’s Nuclear Facility in 2012?
 
South Asia
» Man in Afghan Uniform Kills French Soldiers
 
Far East
» Japan’s Premier Pushes for Stronger Economic Ties With India
» ‘Violent Terrorists’ Shot Dead in Northwestern China
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» EU Seeks to Expand Anti-Piracy Mission in Somalia
» Hijacked Italian Crew ‘Fine’ Says Captain
» ‘Nigeria Could Get Worse Than Iraq’
» Nigeria Attacks Highlight Global Problems Faced by Christians
 
Latin America
» Chile: Scientists Test Tech for Mission to Saturn Moon Titan
» From Fidel Castro to Hugo Chavez: With Great Power Comes Truly Great Paranoia
 
Immigration
» Exclusive: Interpol Chief — Close EU Border Loophole or Risk Attack
» France Makes it Harder to Become French
 
General
» At the Earth’s Core, Secrets Slowly Emerge

Financial Crisis


Delusions of the Euro Zone: The Lies That Europe’s Politicians Tell Themselves

Since its inception, the euro zone has been built on lies, the most grievous of which is the idea that the common currency could work without political union. But Europe’s politicians are currently suffering under a different but equally fatal delusion — that they have all the time in the world to fix the crisis.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Euro Falls Below 100 Japanese Yen

Lowest point in a decade

(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — The euro fell below 100 Japanese yen for the first time since June 2001 on renewed concern about Europe’s economic crisis.

On the eve of its 10th anniversary, the 17-nation currency also dropped against the US dollar as Moody’s described Italy’s latest Treasury bond auction as “disappointing”.

The euro weakened against the yen for the fifth consecutive day and was trading at 100.05 late morning.

Moody’s released a statement after Thursday’s bond auction raised only 7 billion euros, well below the target of 8.5 billion euros.

The Wall Street ratings agency’s comments came as the euro currency fell to its lowest level against the dollar in 15 months.

Premier Mario Monti on Thursday called for an expanded European bailout fund to help arrest the eurozone’s debt crisis after the auction.

Moody’s said despite an injection of funds from the European Central Bank that had lowered short-term spreads, long-term bonds would remain under considerable pressure in 2012

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Leaders Having ‘Trouble’ With Crisis, Says Napolitano

‘Need for a new balance’, says president

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — European leaders appear to be having “great trouble” dealing with the economic challenges of globalisation, President Giorgio Napolitano said on Thursday.

In a letter published in the Italian daily La Repubblica, Napolitano said European countries had reached an important historical point and he called for more courage in dealing with what he called a “critical phase” of globalisation.

“European leaders appear to be having great trouble reaching that goal,” Napolitano said in the letter to be published in the monthly magazine Reset.

“Particularly acute for reformists today is the need to find a new balance between economic and social policies,” the president said.

He said with the “urgent euro crisis” European leadership today appeared to be “glaringly inadequate due to a general cultural slowdown and impoverishment of democratic political life”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Fees for Public Services Greatly Outpace Inflation

Water costs 70% more than in 2000, study finds

(ANSA) — Venice, December 29 — Fees for public services in Italy have greatly outpaced inflation since 2000, according to a new study released Thursday. In little more than a decade, water bills have risen nationally by more than 70% and trash collection by more than 60%, said CGIA, the Mestre-based association of artisans and small-business owners. The rising costs are out of synch with inflation, which grew 27.1% in the same period.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Energy Bills to Go Up in 2012

Average family to spend extra 54 euros

(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — Italians will be paying more bills in 2012, according to a report released Friday. Starting in January, electricity costs will rise by 4.9% and gas by 2.7%, Italy’s energy authority said.

According to the latest quarterly update, the average Italian family will spend 54 more euros on its energy bills next year — 22 more for electricity and 32 for gas.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Major Dubai Companies ‘May Need Bail-Outs’

Some of Dubai’s biggest companies will need state-funded bail-outs in 2012 if large-scale defaults are to be avoided, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has warned.

The credit rating agency has said that five conglomerates, including Dubai’s financial services zone’s investment arm and the main electricity and water company, will “struggle” to service their vast debt piles by themselves. In a note S&P said that the five Dubai government-related entities (GREs) it rates are “up against significant risks from the weakening global economic outlook, the Arab Spring, and the volatile equity and bond markets.” The agency added: “These risks have raised concerns as GREs face large debt maturities and refinancing needs in 2012.”

The fears will compound the outlook for global banks, some of which have a high exposure to Dubai debt. The emirate’s total debt load is about $119.8bn (£77.7bn), according to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Some $15bn needs to be repaid or refinanced in 2012, according to the bank. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority is at “very high” risk of needing extraordinary government support, the rating agency said. DIFC Investments, the investment arm of the Dubai International Financial Centre, is at “high” risk.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Monti Says Italy Not Following Greece

‘We have stopped heading that way’, says PM

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Premier Mario Monti said Italy was not following Greece’s economic demise despite its love of the country.

Addressing journalists at his end-of-year media conference, Monti stressed that Italy was taking a different direction after the passage of the government’s 30-billion-euro emergency package.

“We are very close to Greece but we are not heading in a south-east direction,” Monti quipped.

“We have stopped heading in that direction and we have engaged powerful currents flying from the Aegean towards the north-west heading for Brussels.

“We are so far from Greece, a country that we regard with great affection”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Monti Calls for Boost to Eurozone Bail-Out Firepower

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has called for a boost to the size of the eurozone bail-out fund following a mixed response to a series of bond auctions by Rome. The technocratic leader that replaced Silvio Berlusconi last month told reporters on Thursday that the war-chest of the European Financial Stability Facility need to be “significantly greater” than at present.

He said that for peripheral eurozone states to enjoy more successful bond sales, “most of the work needs to be done in Europe.” He also underlined the need for a “united, joint and convincing response.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Swiss Face New Year of Economic Uncertainty

Financial experts are forecasting a difficult year for Switzerland, with growth remaining sluggish, consumer prices dropping, and the performance of the economy largely dependent on international trends. The Swiss economy is expected to experience only slight growth in the coming year, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 percent.

The economic slowdown will also have an effect on the job market. Research collated from several institutions predicts a rise in unemployment from the current 3 percent to 3.7 percent. The Federal Council is more pessimistic and has warned that the official rate of unemployment will rise to 3.9 percent by the end of 2012, a figure that could increase still further if the eurozone fails to cure its financial woes.

Manufacturing industries, such as paper, printing and textiles, will be hit hardest, although job cuts are also expected in the financial sector. Industries struggling with a fall-off in demand and the impact of a strong franc will also see staff numbers reduced. These include retail businesses, the catering trade and makers of industrial machinery, Alexis Bill-Körber from BAK Basel Economics told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper.

The construction industry, by contrast, is not expected to suffer. The same goes for the watch-making industry, thanks primarily to exceptional sales in Asia.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

USA


Caroline Glick: Obama’s Foreign Policy Spin

In recent months, a curious argument has surfaced in favor of US President Barack Obama. His supporters argue that Obama’s foreign policy has been a massive success. If he had as much freedom of action in domestic affairs as he has in foreign affairs, they say, his achievements in all areas would be without peer.

Expressing this view, Karen Finney, a former Democratic spokeswoman who often defends the party in the US media, told The Huffington Post, “Look at the progress the president can make when he doesn’t have Republicans obstructing him.”

According to a Gallup poll from early November, the US public also believes that Obama’s foreign policy has been successful. Whereas 67 percent of Americans disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy and the federal budget deficit, 63% of Americans approved of his terrorism strategy. So, too, 52% approved of his decision to remove US forces from Iraq. In general, 49% of Americans approved of Obama’s handling of foreign affairs while 44% disapproved.

These support levels tell us a great deal about the insularity of the American public. For when one assesses the impact to date of Obama’s foreign policy it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that if the US public was more aware of the actual consequences of his policies, his approval rating in foreign affairs would be even lower than his approval rating in domestic policy…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]



Mosque and Cultural Center Moves to Gateway Business Park

An office building fronting Interstate 35 will have an atypical tenant come 2012: Dar-us-Salam Cultural Center will be relocating to Gateway Business Park. The center is currently housed at an address on West 128th Street, according to multiple online listings of Islamic worship places. City staffers say the current building does not conform to the city’s fire and safety regulations regarding large gatherings. According to a memo from city staff to the council, building officials have been involved in a lengthy enforcement process with the center, which should be resolved by the proposed move. The Burnsville City Council approved the request for a conditional use permit on Dec. 20. The new location at 603 West Travelers Trail is equipped with a sprinkler system and is designed to address the necessary life safety requirements. The 5,200 square foot space leased by Kraus Anderson will also have ample space for the Muslim cong regation — which ranges in size from 50 to 120 people. The space will be able to accommodate classrooms, group prayer, and offices.

Officials at Dar-us-Salam did not respond to requests for comment.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Bishop Against Greek Parliament’s Mosque Building Bill

According to the Greek press, Greek Orthodox Bishop Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus appealed to the Council of State to withdraw a Greek bill that would allow the building of a mosque in the capital city, Athens. Known for his far-right views, Seraphim described the bill as an anti-Christian move and a disrespect to Christian martyrs, although it is billed as democratic move. In the previous years, there were talks of building a mosque in Athens. However, no steps were taken as the previous governments’ ministers were mainly right-wingers. This year a bill which asked for an old building in the Votanikos region of Athens to be converted into a place of worship for Muslims passed through the Greek parliament.

Recently, the historic Recep Paþa mosque, which was built on the Greek island of Rhodes during the Ottoman era, collapsed last week. Following the collapse of two of the four main pillars, the entire structure collapsed, the Anatolia news agency reported. Kyriakos Magos, an architect working for the Rhodes municipality who oversees renovation projects of the island’s historic buildings, said the mosque had deficiencies in its structure and was supported by piers for a long time, before the collapse.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Cyprus Discovers Gas at First Search

Cyprus Wednesday there could be up to 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the offshore field it is currently exploring. The find could make the island self-sufficient in the commodity for decades. “New favourable economic prospects have opened for the future of the country,” President Demetris Christofia said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Denmark to Battle for European Unity

Denmark takes over the six-month EU rotating presidency on Sunday (1 January), kicking off what is expected to be another traumatic year for the eurozone and its single currency. Like all presidency countries, Denmark has a specific to-do list, but the eurozone crisis means that its most pressing task will be political in nature: ensuring that euro and non-euro states do not drift apart.

Not being a member of the single currency means that politically it is already on the back-foot however. Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, one of the few centre-left politicians in the European Union, had a taste of what this means during her first EU summit in December.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



First Ship Leaves Holland to Collect Waste in Naples

(AGI) Naples — The first Dutch ship will soon dock in Naples to collect and return to Holland waste to be burned in an incinerator as established by an agreement with the company AVR .

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



France: Woman in Coma After Violent Rape Attack

A 29-year-old Paris woman is still in a coma on Friday after she was violently attacked by a rapist in her home who stabbed her nineteen times. Daily newspaper Le Parisien reported that the woman was heading home at around 9pm on Friday 23rd December after spending the evening with her boyfriend. She became frightened when she realised she was being followed and walked quickly to the building where she lives in the rue Saint-Amand in the largely residential 15th arrondissement.

Metro newspaper reported that the man then managed to force his way into her studio apartment. “The young woman was thrown into her studio where the man raped her,” said a source close to the inquiry, reported Metro. “She couldn’t do anything. The man then got out his knife and stabbed her nineteen times, leaving her for dead.” The woman managed to find her way to the building’s caretaker who called the emergency services. She was taken to the Pitié-Salpétrière hospital in southern Paris and was able to tell police what had happened before she fell into a coma.

“This could very well be a serial rapist,” said the same source. “The police have found elements that establish a link between several crimes committed in the capital where the culprits have still not been identified.” Police are studying video surveillance footage from cameras along the route the young woman took on her way home.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France: Petrol Sales Limited to Cut New Year Car Torchings

Sales of petrol and other combustibles will be limited on New Year’s Eve in a bid to curb what has become an annual tradition of revellers torching hundreds of cars, police said. Youths in the often depressed suburbs of French cities have been torching hundreds of vehicles on New Year’s Eve since the early 1990s in what police say has become a competition to see which area can cause the most damage.

Police last year said they would no longer release figures for the number of vehicles set on fire to put an end to the “competition and ranking” that had emerged, with more than 1,000 vehicles being torched every year. In a police circular seen by AFP, Interior Minister Claude Gueant urged security forces to “mobilise with the greatest vigilance” for the New Year’s Eve celebrations on Saturday. Instructions sent with the circular said local security forces should take all measures necessary including “restricting retail sales of petrol.”

In Paris, where tens of thousands are expected to gather for the annual celebration on the Champs Elysées, police have banned the sale of “domestic combustibles” such as lighter fuel from Wednesday to Monday. Alcohol sales have also been banned around the Champs Elysées on New Year’s Eve.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Scotland: ‘We Were Sacked for Being White and Christian’, Claim Principal and His Wife Dismissed From Dubai-Backed ‘Multicultural’ College

A principal and his wife have been sacked from a college whose stated aim is to promote multiculturalism because they are white Christians, they claim.

Professor Malory Nye, 47, says he was dismissed from the Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education in Dundee, Scotland, because his race and religion were seen by his superiors as a threat to its core Muslim values.

He says the college’s claims to pursuing multicultural values were a charade and that he was dismissed so he could be replaced by a Muslim.

His wife Isabel Campbell-Nye, 42, alleges she was forced from her position as head of the English language centre because she attracted too many students who were not Muslims or Arabs.

The independent college, whose patron is Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai, advertises itself as a research-led institution ‘that promotes a greater understanding of different religions and cultures in a multicultural context, for the benefit of the wider community’.

The couple are taking the college to an employment tribunal claiming racial and religious discrimination, and unfair dismissal.

Mrs Campbell-Nye is also claiming sex discrimination after she was suspended and later dismissed apparently because she is married to Prof Nye.

The couple, from Perth, were marched off the college grounds in June and have not been allowed to return since.

They claim they were given no reason for their suspensions and were dismissed in November despite no evidence of any wrongdoing.

The couple have also lodged grievances against the chancellor of the College Lord Elder — a Labour peer and close friend of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown — for his handling of what they describe as a ‘sham’ disciplinary process.

Prof Nye and his wife began working at the college eight and four years ago respectively, choosing to marry on the campus last year.

However, they believe their attempts at pushing it in a more cosmopolitan direction angered their superiors. Prof Nye said his suspension came just days after he changed the college’s name from the ‘Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic studies’.

The couple allege that Abubaker Abubaker, the director of operations, and Mirza al-Sayegh, chairman of its board of directors and private secretary to the Sheikh, decided to force them out because they were British, white and Christian.

Prof Nye told the Telegraph: ‘It is clear to me that there is collusion between these two individuals that I should be removed from my position on the basis that I am not an Arab and not a Muslim and that the person who has the role of principal should be Arab and/or Muslim.

‘Multiculturalism and respect for cultural and religious differences are, I had thought, core values of the college.

‘However, I believe that such inclusive multiculturalism no longer fits the particular type of multicultural vision of certain managers and the chairman, that is accepting of different cultures, so long as the majority of students are Muslims and/or Arabs and the ethos is distinctly Islamic.

‘My face and lack of Muslim faith no longer fit.’

Mrs Campbell-Nye says Mr Abubaker also wanted her removed from her position because she had attracted too many European and Asian students, who weren’t Muslim, to her English course at the college, which receives no public funding.

She said: ‘Some are from Arab and other Muslim backgrounds. However, a substantial number are from other parts of the world and other cultures.

‘I believe Mr Abubaker does not feel happy with us recruiting students from these backgrounds as it does not fit the particular multicultural vision he has for English language.

‘The only times Mr Abubaker has encouraged me to bring in students to English language are when they are Arabs or Muslims.

‘I believe that Mr Abubaker’s discrimination against me, because I am not Muslim, I am not Arab, and I am also a woman — and because I have brought a number of non Muslim/non-Arab students to the college — is a significant reason for my suspension.’

Despite a waiting list for places on its English language courses, the college closed the department last month, leaving its two remaining tutors redundant at Christmas.

The college, which operates as a charity in partnership with the University of Aberdeen, advertises in its prospectus that ‘multiculturalism is at the centre of our vision and structure’.

‘Our multicultural ethos is visibly translated and implemented in our day-to-day operation. Our staff and students come from diverse national, cultural and religious backgrounds including Muslims and non-Muslims,’ it says.

A spokesman for the college said: ‘We can confirm that we have been notified that Employment Tribunal proceedings have been raised in the name of Professor Malory Nye and his wife, Isabel Campbell-Nye.

‘The College, an independent, not-for-profit charity, places diversity, religious pluralism and multiculturalism firmly at the core of its Higher Education programmes — and its day-to-day activities,’ the spokesman said.

‘The Al-Maktoum College will vigorously defend its reputation as a centre of excellence within the higher dducation sector and the good name it has won over the last ten years here in Dundee, nationally and internationally.

‘Professor Nye was dismissed from his post as Principal at the College following a period of suspension on full pay and an inquiry conducted by the College Chancellor.

‘Contingency plans were put in place to ensure the continued smooth running of the College.

‘We are in consultation with our team of legal advisers and, as a result, we are not in a position to discuss the matter further at this stage.’

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



Snow Halts Truck Traffic at Mt Blanc Tunnel

Bad weather sweeps across northern Italy

(ANSA) — Aosta, December 30 — Heavy snow halted truck traffic through the Mt Blanc tunnel between Italy and France Friday.

Cars were still being let through the 11.6 km tunnel linking Chamonix in Haute-Savoie and Courmayeur in Val d’Aosta, which takes a third of road freight between the two countries.

A wave of snow and rain hit northern Italy Thursday and is expected to sweep down into central parts over the weekend.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Life Sentence for Malmö Bouncer Murder

A 25-year-old member of the infamous criminal gang Brödraskapet (‘The Brotherhood’) has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a man outside an illegal night club in Malmö last summer. Three witnesses identified the 25-year-old as the murderer of the 35-year-old bouncer who had barred the man from entering the club, reported the local newspaper Sydsvenskan. In the early hours of July 10, the 25-year-old member of the infamous criminal gang Brödraskapet tried to enter the club’s private party together with some friends.

The 35-year-old bouncer refused to allow the group to enter club, prompting a fight to break out. The victim was beaten, kicked and kneed before finally being stabbed with a 22-centimetre long knife, which cut into a major artery, according to Sydsvenskan. He later died at hospital.

The 25-year-old and his friends ran from the scene of the crime, but were apprehended by police in a nearby park soon thereafter, where the 25-year-old was found to have the victim’s blood on his clothes. According to Sydsvenskan, the man attempted to rig witness reports in his favour during the trial, by sending letters with directions for his relatives. This tactic was unveiled when the letters were confiscated.

Malmö’s district court found testimony from the three witnesses identifying the 25-year-old as the killer highly credible, and Thursday’s conviction led to a prison life sentence. The Brödraskapet gang was founded on May 1995 by inmates at the maximum security prison in Kumla in central Sweden and is considered to be one of Sweden’s most feared organized criminal gangs.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Suspected Khat Smuggler Crashes After Car Chase

A man believed to be carrying 200 kilogrammes of the amphetamine-like substance khat in his car crashed into a guardrail after trying to flee Swedish customs officials at the Öresund bridge on Friday morning. The man approached a customs checkpoint at 4.50am on Friday morning, but when the officials tried to check his car, he instead stepped on the gas and sped off. Customs officers alerted police, who then gave chase after the man. After a few kilometres, however, the man crashed at high speed into a railing on the wrong side of a roundabout.

“For some reason he did not stop. The person in question is in hospital and has not yet been interviewed,” customs officer Bo Fredriksson told news agency TT. Upon inspecting the man’s car after the accident, police discovered it to contain copious amounts of the drug khat. “We have established that the type of drug discovered is khat, but we cannot say exactly how much was in the car,” said the Skåne police spokesperson Helena Ralmark told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Exeter Mosque: A Testament to Religious Harmony in UK

The little room used as a mosque in Exeter back in 1975 has grown and expanded into a beautiful mosque and Islamic cultural center to cater to the increasing number of Muslims in that sleepy university town in southwest England.

The story of the Exeter Mosque is probably the story of every mosque across the UK. Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), talks about that with fondness. In 1975, he came to Exeter as a young faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Exeter. When he asked around for a place to pray for Muslims he found none despite there being a number of Muslims. So he and a group of Muslim students were given a prayer room in the Students’ Guild. They started with 5 people in their congregation that gradually increased to 20, 40, 60 and even Muslims from neighboring towns joined them. In Eid, they had to find a large plot of land to hold the huge number. At that time the Muslim community in Exeter was small. They were mainly shopkeepers, restaurant owners and university students. They came together and decided to establish the Islamic center for the southwest and created a committee to work on establi shing the center. Ihsanoglu was the president of that committee. “I still have with me a copy of the minutes of that meeting which took place in December 1976,” Ihsanoglu said. They started raising funds for the center, and even though he left back to Turkey in 1977, Ihsanoglu was happy to come a year later for the opening of the center when a house had been purchased and converted into the Islamic centre of the southwest.

Thirty years later, as the space became insufficient, the Muslims in Exeter wanted to raise funds to build a mosque. Planning permission was granted in 2000 but raising funds was hampered and construction stalled after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in New York and 7/7 in London. Ihsanoglu contacted Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah, who generously provided funding that enabled the construction work to proceed. Imam Mohammed Abrar said he hoped it would attract thousands of Muslims and increase the understanding of Islam in the wider community. The Muslim community in Exeter and other places in Britain has grown and prospered over the years. They have become successful businessmen, academics and community leaders and reached the highest levels of government. “I believe that centers like this in Exeter can serve as a role model for community harmony and cohesion both here and abroad and deserves our support,” said Ihsanoglu at the opening ceremony of the ne w and expanded Exeter Mosque and Cultural Centre recently.

Lord Mayor of Exeter Stella Brock acknowledged that the journey of Muslims has not been easy in the past ten years, post 9/11, but there is a need to move forward. “It is a testament to your faith and dedication,” she said at the opening ceremony. She expressed appreciation of the Muslim community and called for respect of different religions and cultures. Martyn Goss, the Director of Council for Church and Society (Diocese of Exeter) welcomed Muslims and said he was looking forward to continue working closely with them.

The Imam of the mosque and some Muslim youths spoke about the role and importance of the center in the life of Muslims there. It was more than just a space to pray, they said.

[JP note: More than just a space to pray — they can say that again.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Ken Livingstone’s Running Mate Attacks His Misjudgement on Islamic Extremism

Ken Livingstone’s mayoral running-mate, Val Shawcross, yesterday denounced Ken’s support for the Muslim extremist, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, as a “misjudgment” and a “mistake” and criticised Ken for “not apologising sooner” for the “stupid and unpleasant things” he said to Oliver Finegold, the Jewish journalist he likened to a “concentration camp guard.”

Ms Shawcross confirmed to me today that she had said the remarks, to a mayoral hustings at a Jewish conference at Warwick University. It’s a very interesting development. My first thought was whether it could possibly be preparing the ground for a new approach by Ken, to try to reduce some of the huge cluster of negatives that surround him by admitting that he was wrong. It would be unprecedented, if so — and it does not seem to be the case.

Ms Shawcross told me that her remarks had not been discussed with Ken. “It was a Q&A. I didn’t discuss a script with Ken, I didn’t discuss the hustings at all [with him] apart from who would attend,” she says. “I was speaking in my capacity as a London Assembly member.”Ken’s links with Muslim extremists are one of his most disturbing features. As mayor he channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds to a hardline mosque run by the Islamic extremist group, the IFE, and in return benefited from some, shall we say, interesting help from them at the 2008 election. Last year he campaigned against his own party in order to back the IFE’s candidate for mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman.

Ken also continues to defend Qaradawi, who has cost him support among liberals, gay people, Jews, feminists and democrats. As recently as March, he told questioners who raised the issue at a campaign event in strongly-Jewish Barnet that “you shouldn’t smear a man you haven’t met. I met Sheikh Qaradawi. Am I to believe the Daily Mail rather than what I hear a man say with his own voice? Here was Sheikh Qaradawi saying, not just to me in private but the audience he addressed in City Hall and then to Paxman on Newsnight: No-one should discriminate against a homosexual. No man should physically assault his wife.”

I don’t know about the Mail. But the good Sheikh did tell that well-known tool of the right-wing lie machine, the Guardian, that he supported a husband’s right to “lightly” beat his wife, and that homosexuality was “a clash between morality and immorality.” In his own book , The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam, not published by Associated Newspapers as far as I know, Qaradawi has reiterated his views on wife-beating and called for gay people to be killed. And Ken unfortunately forgot to mention that among Yusuf’s other statements on Newsnight was strong support for suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. He has also defended rape, saying that “to be absolved from guilt, the raped woman must have shown some sort of good conduct.”

It is not the first time Shawcross has shown a clearer understanding than Ken himself of where his interests lie: last year, after her adoption as Ken’s official deputy, she fired a little shot across the great man’s bows over the Lee Jasper fiasco. “Ken didn’t attend to the nature and performance of his team as much as he should have last time,” she said. Ken, of course, continues to defend Jasper — even claiming, absurdly, that he has been “exonerated.” If Ken is to be diverted from his suicide trajectory, he must apologise and admit his mistakes himself. That still looks highly unlikely. In the meantime, it’s come to something when you are criticised by even your own running-mate.

Update: Ken’s spokesman has contacted me to say that Ken is “very relaxed about Val’s comments.”

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Murdered Woman Dumped in Canal Had Month-Old Baby

A Christian convert whose body was found dumped in a canal on Christmas morning was the mother of a month-old baby boy, it has emerged.

Ruby Love, 23, from Harrow, North London was found by a dog walker in the Grand Union Canal in Southall, West London, by a dog walker shortly before midday on Sunday.

Manzar Juma, 27, the father of two of her children, was charged by police with her murder. He is understood to be Muslim and unemployed. He is due to appear in court on Friday.

Miss Love was born Rabina Malik into a Sikh family but her mother changed the family’s names by deed poll in 2003. They attend a nearby Catholic church, she said.

She had three chilrden, a girl, nine, and two boys, Adam, two, and Amir, four weeks, and worked in her family’s property business. She had hoped to train as a midwife before having children.

Her mother Precious, 45, said: “Both my daughters are very devout Christians. She was a daughter of God. She had a cross tattood on her foot.

“We had the loveliest relationship. She was a lovely girl. She was my best friend. She was very articulate and mature, and she worked hard. She did the business accounts for her grandmother and she would have been a huge success. She lived for her children.”

Miss Love was last seen by her mother at 6pm on Christmas Eve.

She was found fully clothed but her handbag, shoes, bank cards and a ring resembling Princess Diana’s saphire engagement band were missing.

Miss Love was found to have bruising to her eye, injuries on her face, strangulation marks to her neck and had suffered a blow to the back of her neck, her mother said.

Her mobile phone was discovered in a rubbish bin several miles away, Miss Love said. She was informed of her daughter’s death at 5pm on Christmas Day and identified her body the next day.

“It had been 24 hours, and I was anxious. I was about to call the police, and there was a knock. I was scared something might have happened to her; it was mother’s instincts.”

In the family’s kitchen Miss Love has formed a shrine with candles and photographs of her late daughter.

Ruby’s sister, Sarah-Lee, 22, said: “It was a horrible person who took her from us. She’s a Christian girl and he did it on Christmas day.”

“She was like a mother to me. She was such a loving girl. She was an angel. She was so charitable; she would feed anyone in the street. She was too blessed for this world and she has been taken from us.”

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egyptian Bishop Warns of Another Massacre in Nag Hammadi

by Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) — Bishop Kyrillos, the Coptic Orthodox bishop of Nag Hammadi, received last week several threats of attacks to be carried out on churches in Nag Hammadi, either on New Year’s Eve or Christmas Eve on January 6. “I do not want another Nag Hammadi Massacre to happen again,” he said in an interview on the Egyptian independent TV Channel Al Tahrir. On January 6, 2010 6 Copts were killed and more than 15 injured in a drive-by shooting of worshippers as they left church after celebrating the Coptic Orthodox Christmas Eve’s mass, which falls on January 6 according to the Julian Calender (AINA 1-7-2010).

The Nag Hammadi diocese will cancel all festivities for New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve, and will end the midnight service early and not after midnight as is the norm.

“I have reported to the police all the threats received and asked for protection. I told them that I am ready to ask our youth to organize committees to protect the churches,” said Bishop Kyrillos. “Yesterday I sent an appeal to Field Marshall Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the prime minister and the interior minister, asking them to secure Nag Hammadi, which has experienced repeated acts of violence.”

At the end of 2009, despite warnings by local church authorities in Nag Hammadi of possible violence during the Coptic festivities in January 2010, police had not bolstered security for Christmas.

Bishop Kyrillos believes that the reason behind these new threats is his unwavering support for the Copts of his diocese, who are plagued by an escalating series of kidnappings. The Bishop councils his parishioners not to give in to the kidnappers by paying the ransoms, but instead to report the crime to the police. “I cannot and will not stay inactive while I see the terrified Coptic families paying all what they have, and sometimes what they do not have, to get their children back.”

The leader of the kidnapping gang, Ahmed Saber, who lives in Samasta village in Bahgoura, threatened to carry out a massacre in Nag Hammadi after the security forces attempted to arrest him and his gang, but were not successful.

From August 11 until December 24, eleven kidnappings took place in Nag Hammadi and neighboring Farshout and Bahgoura, part of the parish of Nag Hammadi, and this has “escalated recently to the extent that not one week passes without kidnapping, sometimes even taking place at mid-day,” said Bishop Kyrillos. “Some families report the kidnapping to the police, some are returned without paying ransoms and some families pay huge sums of money for their loved ones.”

Only in 4 out of the 11 cases did families recover their children without paying ransom. Some ransoms went as high as 630,000 Egyptian pounds, paid for the release of a physician and a pharmacist, while 17-year old friends Girgis and Mina Dawood, kidnapped together on December 24, were released yesterday for a smaller ransom. “Contrary to my advice, their families paid a ransom of 130,000 for both lads.” He said he does not believe the kidnappers would slaughter the children as they threaten, but they do it for the high ransoms they are demanding and eventually getting.

Bishop Kyrillos is very pessimistic regarding the threats of attacks on churches. The Nag Hammadi Massacre of 2010, was one in a series of attacks on churches during the Coptic festivities. A similar incident took place in April 2009 when Muslims opened fire on worshipers as they left the prayer service on Easter Eve in the village of Higaza, Qena Governorate, resulting in the death of Amir Stephanos (36), Ayub Said (22), and the injury of Mina Samir (35).

On New Year’s Eve 2011, a bomb detonated outside the Two Saints Church in Alexandria, killing 23 and injuring 96 parishioners who were attending a New Year’s Eve Mass (AINA 1-2-2011).

           — Hat tip: Mary Abdelmassih [Return to headlines]



Egypt: Cairo Raids Create Climate of Fear for Civil Organizations

The raids by the Egyptian authorities on non-govermental organizations could create a climate of fear and have an impact on their work in the country, says Amnesty’s deputy program director for the region.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



German Companies Ready to Seize Business Opportunities in Libya

German companies see promising business opportunities in Libya. Many of them hope to land some highly profitable contracts following the fall of the Gadhafi regime. But international competition is on the ríse.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



How UK Feared and Fawned Over Mubarak

A frank Foreign Office assessment of Hosni Mubarak appears in a 1980 document just released by the National Archive. Mr Mubarak, then Egypt’s vice president, is described as a “friendly and cheerful” personality but the Foreign Office warned that his “affable exterior concealed a degree of ruthlessness”. Mr Mubarak was considered by British officials to be the most likely successor to President Anwar Sadat “should anything happen to him”. It was therefore considered appropriate to make a “fuss” over his visits, which included one in September 1980 — less than a year before the assassination of Sadat by Islamic extremists opposed to peace with Israel. Whitehall officials were cautioned not to mention Mrs Mubarak’s Welsh relatives unless the matter was raised by the Mubaraks themselves, as “they may wish to play the connection down”. An evening at the ballet or the theatre was suggested as suitable entertainment “subject to the Mubaraks’ tastes”. Top of the serious agenda for t he visit in 1980 was a meeting with Mrs Thatcher, at which the discussion centred on slow progress towards Middle East peace, which both sides appeared to blame on Israel’s settlement policy. Secret minutes said the prime minister had told her guest that she stayed in close touch with Jewish leaders in the UK and that Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s policies on the occupied territories “have no friends anywhere”. It was considered by the Jewish community, she continued, that settlement activity in the territories “was unacceptable”.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Moroccan Activists See Little Hope for Gender Policy Reforms

After the Islamist party PJD won elections in Morocco, the future of reforms to the country’s family laws remains up in the air. Activists fear a conservative approach to equal rights could slow — or reverse — progress.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Islamists Now Focussing on Tourism

Ghannouchi: extend culture and environment beyond beaches

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 30 — Tunisia’s Islamist party Ennahda, which was successful in the first free elections following the revolution in the country, has no desire to contaminate the golden egg of tourism with Salafist Puritanism.

There will be no bans on bathing costumes, no veils for female tourists and no threatening Islam with which to scare away foreigners. If anything, the new political force is keen to extend the reach of tourism in the country, taking in culture and the environment to go alongside Tunisia’s beaches.

The Ennahda leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, Tunisia’s new strongman, has explained his ideas on tourism in an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, which is published in London and close to the Saudi royal family.

In truth, Ghannouchi talks about many other aspects in the interview. His comments range from relations with other Arab states (“we want to establish good relations, we are not interested in rebuilding the caliphate by uniting Islamic governments”) to the chances of recognizing Israel (“it is not on the cards until it recognises the rights of the Palestinians”) and from Syria (“the worst injustice to be seen in the world today is occurring in Syria”) and revolutions in the Arab world (“we hope that Gulf states will follow the easiest and least expensive path, avoiding social uprisings”).

Above all, Ghannouchi repeats for the umpteenth time that Ennahda is a moderate Islamist party, and that it will not interfere with freedom of expression and women’s rights, claims that the party’s secular rivals consider simple propaganda. Many of the leader’s comments have been made a number of times before. But his views on tourism are new and worth being relayed. “Tourism represents an essential resource for our economy and Tunisia is a country that is open to the outside world. Islam is not a religion of isolation but of openness to the world”. Ghannouchi even uses the Prophet’s name to legitimise the tourism industry. “In truth, even in the Koran Muslims are told to “travel around the world”“.

The Islamist leader uses this image to show the way forward. “We will work to develop the Tunisian tourist industry and to overcome the crisis that has hit the sector, with attention to the lack of services and of choice. We intend to diversify our industry and to become an attractive destination for tourists from neighbouring countries, such as Algeria, Libya and the Gulf states, as well as for the Japanese and the Americans”.

Ghannouchi believes that “Tunisia has been limited to a beach resort. But we want to diversify our attractions and to supply other services, because we have a lot to offer: tourism in the desert, cultural, educational and environmental tourism”.

The politicians was keen to convey during the interview the image of an open and friendly country, to dismiss fears over a new Iran, and of political Islam that might be hostile and an enemy of the West. “We have confirmed our commitment to the great principles of democracy, human rights, political pluralism, the rejection of violence and of coups d’etat. as we are fully committed to equality between the sexes”.

“Not only will we retain our partnership with the European Union, but we will also work to widen it,” Ghannouchi continues.

“We do not support those who believe that wearing the veil is a religious duty for women”.

Turning his attention to Salafists, a major source of fear for the West, Ghannouchi said that “while some of them are known for extremism, this is an answer to state oppression. we expect that in the absence of oppression and in an atmosphere of dialogue and freedom, the phenomenon of extremism will fall and that Tunisia’s religious vision, which is known for its moderation, will eventually prevail”.

Ghannouchi was keen to convey a serene and reassuring image.

“92% of Tunisians are optimistic about the future, as are 96% of women. The country is secure and, as I always say, Tunisia is beautiful and has become even more beautiful without Ben Ali”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


The Grand Mosque in Beersheba is Now a “Judaisation Museum”

The Al Aqsa Foundation has accused the Israeli government of turning the Grand Mosque in Beersheba into a “Museum of Judaisation”. Such a move by the local municipality “is invalid” claims the Foundation: “The Grand Mosque is a sacred place and a religious endowment property; it cannot be used for purposes other than Islamic worship.”

Built in 1906 during Ottoman rule, the Grand Mosque is now home to a variety of images, statues and other “disgraceful” things which violate the sanctity of the mosque and the feelings of Muslims, said a statement released by the Foundation. A delegation from the Al Aqsa Foundation made a field visit to the mosque to inspect the violations of Israel’s Beersheba Municipality. The members of the delegation made a point of praying in the mosque to “emphasise its purpose and sanctity”. It should be returned to its original purpose and not used as a museum or other showcase, they said.

Al Aqsa Foundation’s deputy head, Hajj Sami Rizkallah Abu Mukh, said that the Israelis had hung photographs on the mosque’s walls showing Zionist gangs’ seizure of Beersheba and occupation of the mosque in 1948, alongside pictures of the Israeli history in the city. He said that this sacrilege against a holy place broke his heart, especially when he saw statues of Israeli and British soldiers in the corners of the mosque, and big screens displaying indecent scenes, including people drinking wine and dancing. Hajj Abu Mukh added that the municipality is trying to deceive public opinion by displaying historical photos of the mosque from the Ottoman era; most of the pictures are from the British Mandate period up to today. “Beersheba,” he added, “is historically an Arab and Islamic city.” He deplored the fact that tourists are visiting the mosque to see the exhibition, even though it is supposed to be a place of worship, not a museum or art gallery. Al Aqsa Foundation had earlie r rejected an Israeli court decision to turn the mosque into a museum of Islamic and oriental heritage, and called for the reopening of the building for Muslim worshippers.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



The Ultra-Orthodox in Israel: A Clash of Cultures in the Holy Land

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel would like to see gender separation in public, and some have stooped to harassing women — and even children — to get their way. With thousands of Israelis protesting against the growing influence of the super-religious, the rift in Israeli society is getting deeper.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Iran to Start Missile Tests in the Persian Gulf

Iran says it is planning to start missile tests in the Persian Gulf. The announcement is likely to aggravate the row between Iran and the United States over Iran’s threat to close a vital oil transport route. “Shorter and longer-range, ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles will be tested on Saturday,” navy deputy commander Admiral Mahmoud Moussavi told the semi-official Fars news agency.

Moussavi said the tests will be the main and final phase in preparing the Iranian navy for confronting the enemy in a war-like situation. They will take place as part of Iranian navy maneuvers currently under way in the Persian Gulf.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Is 2012 the Year Israel Will Bomb Iran?

While the world’s attention is diverted by the continuing political unrest in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq and Syria, we should not forget that Iran continues to pose the biggest threat to the West’s long-term security. The violent unrest in Iraq and Syria is certainly a cause for concern: political instability in Iraq could have repercussions throughout the Gulf, while the Assad regime’s brutal suppression of anti-government protests could easily spill over into neighbouring Lebanon. But worrying though these events might be, it is unlikely they will pose a direct threat to our well-being. Iran’s refusal to back down on its illegal nuclear programme, though, is another matter entirely. The ayatollahs’ threat over the Christmas holiday to close the Strait of Hormuz if the West imposes sanctions on Iran’s oil industry is a worrying reminder that the Iran crisis remains very much at the forefront of the West’s securi ty considerations. If the ayatollahs’ carried out their threat, Iran could, at a stroke, choke the main artery for the West’s energy supplies. The Iranians have been planning for such an eventuality for the past twenty years. Unlike the late 1980s, the last time Iran seriously disrupted shipping passing through the Gulf, Iran now has the equipment, in terms of anti-ship missiles, to enforce the threat. The U.S. Navy, which has two aircraft carrier groups permanently stationed in the area, would, of course, be forced to intervene, thereby leading to open hostilities between Washington and Tehran.

But if you think that is an alarming prospect, just imagine the mayhem that would erupt if Israel decided that it had had enough of Iran’s prevarification over its nuclear programme and decided to launch unilateral air strikes to knock out Iran’s nuclear facilities. As the new year dawns, this remains a very strong possibility. Despite more than a decade of intense diplomatic effort, Iran is nearing the stage where it will have all the means at its disposal to produce a nuclear warhead, as well as an effective delivery system. The Israelis, who regard Iran’s nuclear programme as an existential threat, are well aware of how close the ayatollahs are to achieving their long-held ambition of acquiring nuclear technology, and are determined to prevent such an eventuality from occurring. In an ideal world they would prefer the West to do the job for them. But as President Barack Obama clearly has no appetite for confronting the ayatollahs, it may well be that, in 2012, I srael has no alternative but to take matters into their own hands.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Israel Cancels Military Contract With Turkey

The increasingly fragile relationship between Israel and Turkey showed no sign of improvement this week after the Israeli government cancelled a military contract worth more than £90 million. The government had been due to supply Turkey with an aerial intelligence system in a deal agreed two years ago. But, according to an official speaking anonymously, concerns about Turkey’s shifting allegiances in the Middle East prompted Israel to pull out. The Ministry of Defence said that all decisions about contracts were taken “in accordance with the specific diplomatic and security considerations”. However, the ministry stressed that the decision was taken with regard to the specific technology and was nothing to do with the overall relationship between the two countries. Concern over the deterioration of the once-strong relationship, severely damaged by the fall-out from the deaths of Turkish activists on a flotilla to Gaza last year, was said to be the reason Prime Minister Benjami n Netanyahu tried to block a Knesset debate on official recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Turkey has long refused to recognise the Armenians’ claim that some 1.5 million people were massacred in 1915 and 1916, saying instead that 500,000 people died fighting against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Earlier this month, France angered Turkey by passing a law making it illegal to deny that what happened in 1915 was genocide.

Turkey has already downgraded diplomatic relations to the lowest level and expelled the Israeli ambassador; if Israel was to follow France’s example, this would further strain ties.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Pro: No Reason to Fear the Democratic Experiment

Will the Arab Spring end in an Islamist-dominated, backwards and therefore grey winter? Not at all, says DW’s Islam expert Loay Mudhoon.

Loay Mudhoon is editor-in-chief of qantara.de, DW’s portal promoting dialogue with the Islamic world

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Turkish Prime Minister Apologizes for Deadly Airstrike

Turkey’s prime minister and president have apologized for an air strike that killed around 35 people in the south of the country. The government says the military mistook smugglers for Kurdish militants.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UAE: Dubai Experience Overwhelms Recardo Kaka

Real Madrid superstar a guest of DTCM

Brazilian superstar Recardo Kaka was overwhelmed by the sights in Dubai during a 10-day family holiday as a guest of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). The Real Madrid midfielder who has been linked with a £22 million move away from Santiago Bernabeu visited Dubai’s internationally-renowned iconic landmarks and touristic attractions. “Dubai is a wonderful city and one of the nicest in the world. I am honoured to be here for the family holiday. I thank the DTCM for the wonderful opportunity given to me to visit the emirate. I am overwhelmed with the hospitality I enjoyed here and we plan to come again to Dubai soon,” said Kaka. A prized target of Arsenal and PSG, the former World Player of the Year took time off from his schedule to meet the DTCM Executive Director for Business Tourism Hamad bin Mejren, at the DTCM Head Office on Tuesday. He also met the DTCM employees and signed autographs for them and visitors. “It was a pleasure hosting Recardo K aka and facilitating his visit to various places in Dubai. We are promoting sports tourism and it is our efforts to help footballers and other sports personalities explore the emirate and see its extensive world-class sports facilities,” bin Mejren said. During the meeting, they discussed the promotion and marketing of Dubai as a sports destination across the world and how DTCM has been promoting football through various initiatives.

Ghassan Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours, said: “We have been cooperating with the DTCM in its efforts to promote Dubai worldwide and we are happy to be associated with the DTCM for Kaka’s visit.” Kaka visited the world’s tallest man-made structure, Burj Khalifa, and took a Seawings-organised aerial tour to experience a bird’s eye view of the natural beauty and extra-ordinary man-made structures in the emirate, including The Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab and Jebel Ali Port. Also in the itinerary were a desert safari experience and a visit to the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding which provided him insights into the cultural and traditions of the emirate. He also visited a mosque which offered him insights into the world of Islam, the Arabs and the Muslim way of life. He also toured Al Bastakiya cultural district to get to know about the history and evolution of the Dubai since the 1890s. He also enjoyed the traditional Arabian hospitality in the modern settin gs at a dinner arranged at the world’s highest restaurant located in Burj Khalifa. He went on shopping at Dubai Mall and also had a lunch at one of the restaurants located in the world’s biggest shopping mall. The 29-year-old mega star also enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the traditional open markets in Spice and Gold souqs in addition to touring different parts of Deira and Bur Dubai.

[JP note: Unfortunate name.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Will Israel Strike at Iran’s Nuclear Facility in 2012?

Britain and America reacted with fury at Israel’s bombing of the Osirak nuclear site in 1981, questioning the threat it presented. But ten years later, Israel’s judgment was explosively endorsed when the US felt the need to totally destroy the disabled Osirak during the largest airstrike of the Gulf War. Following years of Syrian denial and international scepticism, a secret IAEA report seen by the BBC earlier this year gave strong evidence that the site bombed in 2007 by Israel in northeastern Syria was, as the Israelis had known, a secret nuclear reactor being built with the help of North Korea. Had that site been permitted to complete its apocalyptic programme, to what use would a desperate Assad — fighting for survival and slaughtering his own people by the thousand — now be putting his weapons of mass destruction? I have seen at first hand the scepticism and accusations of exaggeration that have greeted Israel’s attempts over many years to rally the free world to confron t Iran’s relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons. But last month’s IAEA report citing “credible and well-sourced” intelligence that Iranian nuclear weapons development is continuing sounded a note of alarm.

The dangers to Israel are beyond doubt. President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have made clear that the “Zionist entity” must be wiped off the map. Despite the contrary views of many international experts, nobody with national security responsibilities can possibly dismiss such sentiments as mere rhetoric.

Many Middle Eastern states fear the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran just as much as Israel does and could well be panicked into their own arms race. The implications for the balance of power in the region, also affecting Western interests such as oil supply and trade, are enormous. Should international military intervention again become necessary, potential options would be dramatically reduced or removed completely. But the Iranian nuclear danger extends beyond the Middle East. Since 9/11, a nexus of terrorist groups with weapons of mass destruction has become the West’s gravest security concern.

Tehran has a long record of facilitating strikes against the West. And it has bridged the Sunni-Shia theological divide both in its support for Taliban attacks against our forces in Afghanistan, and for al-Qaida. This summer, the US government accused Iran of helping al-Qaida transfer cash and recruits into Pakistan for its international operations. There should be few higher priorities for the West than stopping Iran extending its already wide-ranging support for international terrorism into supply of nuclear arms. Is there a diplomatic solution? Iran has responded to decades of appeasement, compromise and incentives — including even US military attack on the main Iranian opposition — with deception, aggression and outright contempt. Our government can be commended for finally ordering financial institutions to stop doing business with Iranian counterparts, including the central bank. Others, including the US and Canada, have taken similarly robust action. But the sanction t hat could bite hardest, an embargo on Iranian oil sales, would also likely push up global oil prices, damaging Western economies at a time when they are struggling for survival.

Russia’s and China’s opposition to further economic measures also undermine the effectiveness of sanctions. The most they are likely to achieve is slowing Iran’s nuclear programme.

Covert action of the sort that has seen a series of “accidents” involving nuclear facilities has only limited, delaying impact. As each attack occurs, and new countermeasures are brought in, effective repetition becomes decreasingly possible. The best option would be an Iranian solution — toppling the ayatollahs from within. But Tehran is vigorously suppressing all opposition. Western powers that could help bring about such change seem reluctant to invest the necessary effort. Nor would regime change automatically provide the silver bullet: whatever government is in power in Tehran will see the acquisition of nuclear weapons as a national duty. Ensuring that the likes of Ahmadinejad and Khamenei would be replaced by a stable regime that could be trusted with responsibility for the ultimate destructive force would need concerted international support and diplomatic pressure from every quarter.

So is an Osirak-style strike inevitable? Target hardening, site dispersal and Iran’s air defences mean that it would present a far bigger challenge and may need greater use of ground forces. Intelligence collection and decision-making is as challenging as the operation itself. The critical judgment concerns the point at which Iran becomes capable of constructing nuclear bombs rapidly — amidst a thick fog of subterfuge and deception. Following a strike, Tehran would almost certainly lash out — both at Israel and at any nations thought to be involved, using its own forces and proxies, which have global reach. This option is fraught with danger. But Prime Minister Netanyahu is no more prepared to be “the man in whose time there will be a second Holocaust” than was Menachem Begin.

Col Kemp commanded British Forces in Afghanistan and headed the International Terrorism and Iraq team for the Joint Intelligence Committee

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Man in Afghan Uniform Kills French Soldiers

A man dressed in Afghan army fatigues on Thursday shot dead two French soldiers in what appeared to be the latest attack by a member of the Afghan security forces on NATO troops. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the soldier joined the army in order to carry out his attack in Kapisa province, in the volatile east of the country where many of the 3,700 French troops in Afghanistan are based. The insurgent group, which has been waging a 10-year insurgency against US-led NATO and Afghan forces, also said they carried out a roadside bombing in the southern province of Helmand that killed 10 local police.

“An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against two International Security Assistance Forces service members in eastern Afghanistan, today, killing both service members,” an ISAF statement said. The Taliban, who frequently exaggerate their claims, said three French soldiers were killed and several others wounded.

“Ibrahim (the soldier)… achieved his aim by taking out three French invading troops and wounding a number of them after he opened fire,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on their website. The perpetrator was also killed, he added.

The incident brings the total number of coalition military fatalities this year to 563, according to an AFP tally based on independent website iCasualty.org, down from a wartime high of 711 in 2010. This year has been the bloodiest so far for French troops, with 26 killed. The latest victims were members of the French Foreign Legion, Paris confirmed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Far East


Japan’s Premier Pushes for Stronger Economic Ties With India

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, on a lightning 36-hour visit to New Delhi, has stressed the importance of enhancing economic relations between Asia’s second and third largest economies.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



‘Violent Terrorists’ Shot Dead in Northwestern China

Chinese police have shot dead seven suspected kidnappers after a shootout in the restive Xinjiang region. The kidnappers have been referred to as ‘violent terrorists’ by official Chinese media. Seven “terrorists” have been shot dead in China’s restive northwestern Xinjiang province. According to official media, members of a “terror gang,” possibly influenced by Islamists, had kidnapped two people late Wednesday in the county of Pishan near the borders of India and Pakistan.

The two hostages were freed when police shot dead seven of the suspected kidnappers in a rescue mission, as reported by Chinese media. According to the account, police were forced to open fire after being shot at. One police officer was also killed in the shootout and one was wounded. Four other suspects were wounded and taken into custody.

Xinjiang is a resource-rich province and has seen bouts of violence between locals and the Chinese government, which tends to blame the unrest on religious extremism, terrorism and separatist elements. Violence most recently flared up in Kashgar and Hotan in the summer of 2011, resulting in the death of 32 people. In September, four people were sentenced to death for the incidents. Beijing reacts to such violence by increasing police presence, conducting raids, restricting or cutting communication lines, such as telephone and internet connections, and sometimes limiting the practice of Islam.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


EU Seeks to Expand Anti-Piracy Mission in Somalia

Piracy off the Somali coast remains a huge problem, despite international efforts to combat the scourge. Now, the EU is considering expanding the scope of its operation to include attacks on onshore infrastructure such as weapons depots. German politicians are warning of the dangers of mission creep.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Hijacked Italian Crew ‘Fine’ Says Captain

Somali pirates keeping 18 captive

(ANSA) — Naples, December 30 — The captain of an Italian ship that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia said Friday that the crew was safe.

“We are anchored off the Somali coast and the crew is fine,” Captain Agostino Musumeci said in a telephone conversation, according to Domenico Ievoli, chief executive of the Naples shipping company Marnavi.

An oil tanker, the Enrico Ievoli was captured near the coast of Oman with 18 crew members aboard, including six Italians.

Last week another Italian oil tanker, the Savina Caylyn owned by the Neopolitan company Fratelli D’Amato, was freed after being hijacked by Somali pirates in February.

The Italian foreign ministry denied the pirates’ claim that a ransom was paid.

In October an Italian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia with 23 people on board was freed after an operation by British special forces.

Last year pirates in the region are believed to have earned $80 million from ransom money.

Earlier this year governments reached an international agreement that they would not pay ransom.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



‘Nigeria Could Get Worse Than Iraq’

Nigeria’s Christian community has warned that it will retaliate if the attacks by the Muslim Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram don’t cease immediately. DW talked to a civil rights activist about the tense stand-off.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Nigeria Attacks Highlight Global Problems Faced by Christians

Recent Christmas Day attacks on churches in northern Nigeria, which killed more than 40 people, have refocused attention on the hurdles faced by Christians around the world in practicising their faith.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Latin America


Chile: Scientists Test Tech for Mission to Saturn Moon Titan

A team of scientists has traveled to remote Laguna Negra in the central Andes of Chile to test technologies that could one day be used to explore the hydrocarbon lakes of Saturn’s moon Titan. The Planetary Lake Lander (PLL) project is led by Principal Investigator Nathalie Cabrol of the NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute, and is funded by the NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) program. This three-year field campaign will design and deploy a lake lander at Laguna Negra, which is a particularly vulnerable system where ice is melting at an accelerated rate.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



From Fidel Castro to Hugo Chavez: With Great Power Comes Truly Great Paranoia

Plainly lunatic ideas can take on serious importance when no one contradicts you.

I have been reading Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s comments about his cancer. It is, apparently, an assassination attempt by America. I wonder if that’s what happened to me last week. I had the norovirus and spent Christmas in bed. I had put it down to bad luck. But maybe there was something more sinister at work. While you wouldn’t call me a dictator as such, maybe there are people out there who want to stop me writing… When you’re a totalitarian, nothing is ever as straightforward as falling ill. This week, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the president of Argentina, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, has had cancer, as has her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. And Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo. These South American leaders are all democrats, however. And not one has attributed their cancer to anything other than the fact that people do, unfortunately, get cancer.

Dictators, though, think differently. Dictators live in a bubble of paranoia. So when Hugo Chávez was diagnosed with cancer last June, he considered it not an act of God or poor luck, but imperialist aggression. An assassination attempt, in fact, by the US. “It’s very difficult to explain, even with the law of probabilities, what has been happening to some of us in Latin America,” he said in a speech this week. “Would it be so strange that they’ve invented technology to spread cancer and we won’t know about it for 50 years? I’m just sharing my thoughts, but it’s very, very, very strange.” President Chávez also revealed that Fidel Castro, his close ally, had warned him: “Chávez, be careful, they’ve developed technology, be careful with what you eat, they could stick you with a small needle.” Castro is living proof of the maxim that just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. One of the former Cuban dictator’s bodyguards published a book a few year s ago, claiming that there had been 638 attempts made on Castro’s life, including the exploding cigar that was meant to blow up in his face.

[…]

[JP note: The same might be said about Islam.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Exclusive: Interpol Chief — Close EU Border Loophole or Risk Attack

Alarm raised over gap in European passport security that could ‘lead to another September 11’

A glaring failure by almost all European countries to check passports against an international database of lost and stolen travel documents is leaving the Continent vulnerable to a terrorist attack on the scale of the Madrid train bombings, the head of Interpol has warned.

In what he said he hoped would not be his “last interview”, Interpol’s Secretary General, Ronald Noble, told The Independent that nearly all EU members are failing to make crucial checks against the agency’s database of 15 million suspicious passports — allowing potential terrorists to enter Europe and cross multiple borders undetected.

“So many basic steps aren’t being taken, which could lead to another September 11, another July 7 [the 2005 London Underground bombings], another March 11 in Madrid,” Mr Noble said.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]



France Makes it Harder to Become French

France will be making it harder for foreigners to seek French citizenship as of January. Critics say the new requirements, which include tough language tests and allegiance to “French values”, are an electoral ploy that panders to the far right. By FRANCE 24 (text) Foreigners seeking French nationality face tougher requirements as of January 1, when new rules drawn up by Interior Minister Claude Guéant come into force.

Candidates will be tested on French culture and history, and will have to prove their French language skills are equivalent to those of a 15-year-old mother tongue speaker. They will also be required to sign a new charter establishing their rights and responsibilities.

“Becoming French is not a mere administrative step. It is a decision that requires a lot of thought”, reads the charter, drafted by France’s High Council for Integration (HCI). In a more obscure passage, the charter suggests that by taking on French citizenship, “applicants will no longer be able to claim allegiance to another country while on French soil”, although dual nationality will still be allowed.

Guéant, a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party, described the process as “a solemn occasion between the host nation and the applicant”, adding that migrants should be integrated through language and “an adherence to the principals, values and symbols of our democracy”. He stressed the importance of the secular state and equality between women and men: rhetoric perceived largely as a snipe at Muslim applicants, who make up the majority of the 100,000 new French citizens admitted each year.

France’s interior minister has made it clear that immigrants who refuse to “assimilate” into French society should be denied French citizenship.

Earlier this year, Guéant intervened personally to ensure an Algerian-born man living in France was denied French nationality because of his “degrading attitude” to his French wife.

That followed an earlier push by France’s former Immigration Minister Eric Besson to revise existing laws in order to strip polygamists of their acquired citizenship.

Pandering to the far right?

Guéant has come under criticism numerous times over the past year for allegedly pandering to the whims of far-right voters in his efforts to secure a second term for Sarkozy in 2012. The UMP has edged progressively further right over the course of Sarkozy’s term, even as the far-right National Front party continued to bite into its pool of voters.

Marine Le Pen, the popular leader of the anti-immigration National Front, has been campaigning in favour of a ban on dual citizenship in France, which she blames for encouraging immigration and weakening French values. While several UMP members have endorsed her stance, Guéant has stopped short of calling for a ban on dual nationality, largely because of the legal difficulties such a move would entail.

But the interior minister has taken a hard line on immigration, announcing plans to reduce the number of legal immigrants coming to France annually from 200,000 to 180,000 and calling for those convicted of felony to be expelled from the country.

François Hollande, the Socialist Party’s candidate in forthcoming presidential elections, described Guéant’s stance as “the election strategy of a right wing ready to do anything in order to hold on to power”, adding that his own party would tackle all criminals “irrespective of their nationality”…

           — Hat tip: Fausta [Return to headlines]

General


At the Earth’s Core, Secrets Slowly Emerge

The behavior of Earth’s core and the core’s ingredients besides iron are major geological mysteries. Scientists can’t exactly go take a sample. Yet understanding the core’s exact makeup and conditions is a big deal for those who are trying to understand how our planet’s complicated geophysical systems work together.

Not only is it likely the Earth’s largely iron core plays a role in the movements of continents over millions of years, it plays a major role in preserving life here: The roiling iron heart of our planet helps maintain the Earth’s magnetic field, which helps shield life on the surface from damaging solar energy. In addition, it holds valuable clues about how the planet formed.

“Pinpointing the properties of iron is the gold standard — or, I guess, ‘iron standard ‘ — for how the core behaves,” Jennifer Jackson, assistant professor of mineral physics at Caltech, said in a statement. “That is where most discussions about the deep interior of the Earth begin. The temperature distribution, the formation of the planet — it all goes back to the core.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111229

Financial Crisis
» Crackdown on Evasion Forces Italians to Kick Cash Habit
» Euro: A Drab 10th Birthday Party for the Currency
» France to Hold Jobs Summit as Unemployment Hits 12-Year High
» Iceland is Our Modern Utopia
» Italy: Monti Discusses Stimulus Plan With Cabinet
» Italy: Petrol Prices Hit New Record
» Italy: Ten-Year Bond Yield Falls Below 7%
» Italy: Monti Pledges Market Reform and Growth in 2012
» Non-Euro Denmark Takes Over EU Amid Euro Crisis
» The Corruption of America
» UK: Cuts ‘Spell a Care Crisis for the Elderly’: Charity Chief Warns That 900,000 Won’t Get Support Next Year as Councils Slash Funding
 
USA
» Court Turns Deaf Ear to Anti-Semitism
» DuPage Mosque Project Wants to Add Dome, Minaret
» NASA’s Twin Moon Probes Set for Lunar Arrival This Weekend
» Philadelphia Security Firm Discriminates Against Muslim Worker
» South Floridians Join National Lowe’s Boycott
» Stephen Hawking is Hiring: Seeks Assistant to Help Him Speak
» Story of the Year: Anti-Muslim Bigotry in America
 
Europe and the EU
» A Tunnel Divides Them: Germans and Danes Split Over Undersea Link
» An Independent Scotland Would Have 7 Votes in the EU Council
» Europe’s Inexorable March Toward Islam
» Five Years on Romania, Bulgaria Cash in on EU Membership
» France: Armenian Vote: Turks Urged to Boycott French Goods
» France: Veiled Woman Given Driving Fine
» French ‘Cola Tax’ Approved: Paris Vows to Fight Deficit and Obesity
» Hungarian Journalists Sacked for Criticising Government
» Italy: ‘Dolce Vita’ Diva Ekberg, Broke and Alone, Appeals for Help
» Italy: Captain’s Wife Attacks Govt Over Hijacking Response
» Italy: Barbara Berlusconi ‘Pregnant’ With Pato’s Child
» Italy: Rich Businessman Suspended for Landing Helicopter on Beach
» ‘Shrimp Shortage’ Set to Spoil Swedes’ New Year
» Sweden: Elk Hunter Acquitted of Killing Skier by Mistake
» Switzerland: 2011: Record Year for Popular Initiatives
» The Netherlands Benefits Little From Its Foreign Students
» UK Police: We Are Treating Murder of Indian Student Shot in Head by Killer Who Had Asked for the Time as Race Hate
» UK: JDL and Far-Right Parties Find Common Ground
» UK: Man Arrested After Woman’s Body Found in Canal on Christmas Day
» UK: Obituary: Professor Sir Michael Dummett
» UK: Record Number of Patients Catch Infections in Hospitals
» UK: Woman Found Stabbed to Death and Man Critically Ill in Hospital After Sobbing Schoolboy Covered in Blood Knocks on Neighbour’s Door
 
Mediterranean Union
» Italy: Terzi: Partnership Fundamental, EU Must Look
 
North Africa
» Egyptian Court Orders End to Virginity Tests on Women Held
» Italy: Monti to Visit Libya January 21
» Tunisia: Soliman: National Guard Position Attacked
» Tunisia: Gaddafi’s Adoptive Son Arrested
» US Lambast Cairo Police Searches at NGO Premises
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Priests Brawl Over Clean Up at Bethlehem’s Nativity Church
 
Middle East
» Bombs, Threats Ahead of New Year in Lebanon Resort
» Brand New Island Rises From Red Sea Depths
» Christians and Muslims a Year Since the Start of the Arab Spring
» Is Hague Doing Enough to Stop the Arab Spring Becoming a Winter for Christians?
» Monti Believes Greater Pressure Should be Applied on Iran
» ‘Nightmare Year’ For Women’s Rights in Turkey, Survey
» The FCO Must Do More to Stem the Bloodshed
 
South Asia
» Afghan Girl Locked in Toilet for 5 Months: Officials
 
Far East
» China Unveils Space Mission Plans Through 2016
» Police Kill Seven Muslims in West China
» Scott, Amundsen… And Nobu Shirase
 
Australia — Pacific
» Pigeons Match Monkeys in Abstract Counting Skills
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Diplomatic Supping With Jihadist Devils
» Ghana: Leader of Sufi Sect Cautions Muslim Youth Against Electoral Violence
» Humanitarian Operator Killed in Somalia
» Nigeria: Bombings: Muslim Lawyers Urge More Dialogue
» Uganda: Pastor Mulinde’s Health Improving
 
Latin America
» Hugo Chavez Wonder if USA Gave Him Cancer
 
Immigration
» Brussels Rules Let 11,000 Migrants a Year Slip Into the UK by the Back Door
» Italy: Indian to Serve 15 Years for Killing ‘Disrespectful’ Son
» Sweden: Agency Slams Immigrant Language Class Failings
» UK:£42million Bill to Get Remove Failed Asylum Seekers: How Taxpayer Funding for Secretive Flights Has Quadrupled in Past Seven Years
 
Culture Wars
» UK: Emin ‘Outsider’ In Art World for Voting Tory
 
General
» Scientists Hunt for Meteor Crash Clues in 200-Million-Year-Old Murder Mystery

Financial Crisis


Crackdown on Evasion Forces Italians to Kick Cash Habit

Rome, 23 Dec. (AKI/Bloomberg) — Floriana d’Andrea, a Naples musician, carries rolls of euro notes when she buys instruments and audio gear, a practice she’ll have to change as Italy sets new limits on cash payments in a bid to curb tax evasion.

“I bought some expensive sound equipment and the shop owner jacked up the price when I asked for a receipt,” said d’Andrea, 41, who paid 1,600 euros in cash in the transaction. She has a credit card but rarely uses it.

Prime minister Mario Monti, in office just over a month, wants landlords, plumbers, electricians and small businesses to stop conducting large transactions in cash, which critics say helps them evade taxes. The government on 4 December reduced the maximum allowed cash payment to 1,000 euros from 2,500 euros.

“If they force us to use credit cards, prices will go up,” said d’Andrea, noting that many retailers offer discounts to customers who pay in cash and don’t demand a receipt, in effect splitting with them the savings from evading the country’s 21 percent sales tax.

Italy loses more than 120 billion euros in unpaid taxes every year, according to the Equitalia tax collection agency. The country spends another 10 billion euros annually on security and labor for processing cash transactions, according to banking association ABI.

Monti is focusing on curtailing evasion as one way to reduce Italy’s 1.9 trillion-euro debt, which is bigger than Spain, Greece, Ireland and Portugal’s combined. Investor concern that Italy remains at risk of being overwhelmed by the region’s debt crisis pushed the country’s borrowing costs to euro-era records last month.

Small Transactions

“Tracking cash payments won’t automatically ensure lower evasion, which often involves transactions smaller than 1,000 euros,” said Luca Mezzomo, head of economic research at Intesa Sanpaolo in Milan. The measures “could, however, be a good instrument for the tax authorities to identify people who spend more than they’ve officially earned.”

The reform pits the government against some Italians who prefer to pay for everything from wedding receptions to home renovations with cash, allowing merchants to underreport or not declare the revenue, and gaining a discount in exchange. Many small companies pay salaries in cash, allowing employees to report less income, the Finance Ministry said last year.

“Businesses make us accomplices, because nobody wants to pay extra on a large transaction,” said Adele Costantini, a professor of medicine in the southern region of Abruzzo, who had to argue to get a receipt from a house painter. “I want them to pay the tax, not unload it on me.”

Big Savers

Italians are the euro region’s least-indebted consumers and among its biggest savers, according to data from the European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat. Their frugality may be at least partly linked to a distrust of paying with anything other than cash. Italian credit-card holders use their cards on average only 26 times per year, or five times less than in the U.K., according to the Bank of Italy.

“The culture of cash is strongly ingrained in Italians, even those that don’t evade,” deputy finance minister Vittorio Grilli said at Rome press conference on 5 December. The government initially wanted to set a 300-euro or 500-euro cash limit but decided against it, Grilli said, reasoning that citizens needed time to adapt to new rules.

Italian banks, which charge businesses up to 2 percent for credit-card transactions, could end up being the main beneficiaries of the new rules, according to Rome-based consumer group Adusbef. “Unless banks cut fees on credit cards and current accounts, they’ll just make more money from the new law,” said Mauro Novelli, the general secretary of the organization, which represents banking and insurance customers.

Older Italians

Consumer advocates say the new law also discriminates against older Italians, many of whom don’t use credit cards. As many as 7.5 million Italians have never had a bank account, according to Adusbef. “The law cannot force old people to use plastic or open bank accounts,” Novelli said.

The government is negotiating with the banks to get them to cut fees on credit cards and lower costs for bank accounts to encourage the move away from cash, Grilli said.

Banks are willing to consider zero-cost current accounts for low-income retirees and discuss credit-card costs “in light of the government’s new measures,” Giuseppe Mussari, head of Rome-based ABI, said on 11 December. However, lenders won’t “give away” services that carry a cost for them, he said.

‘Stringent Limits’

Italy’s tradition of saving won’t be at risk from the new measures, said Nicola Borri, an economics professor at Rome’s LUISS University. “Italians mainly use debit or credit cards with stringent limits,” he said. “Financial instruments that allow you to pile up debt are very limited in this country.”

Politicians have seized on the cash issue as a way to build support among a public reluctant to change. “There’s a real danger of crossing over into a fiscal police state,” former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said at a political convention on 27 November in Verona, about two weeks after the debt crisis toppled his government.

“What we need is a revolution in Italians’ thinking and that takes time,” Monti told reporters early this month. “This is meant to be a first step.”

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Euro: A Drab 10th Birthday Party for the Currency

Choices made in 2012 will decide its survival

(ANSAmed) — ROME — On the first of January 2002, the then President of Italy and one of the most ardent supporters of the project, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, oversaw the entry of the euro into circulation in this country. With no technical hitches worth mentioning, no ATMs refusing to obey instructions and with nothing more than the kits Italians had been issued with before Christmas to aid them with the changeover, all went according to plan. The new Euro replaced such historic currencies as the thousand-year-old Italian Lira, the French Franc, the Florin and the mighty German Mark itself.

But the new currency was built to a design based on the soundness of this latter currency and the ECB, the European Central Bank in name, remained German in spirit — a condition for the German ‘Ja’ to entry into the international monetary project. Eleven nations pioneered the currency — and Italy managed to be among these, albeit with a typically Italian last minute rush — having to adopt a tax purpose-made for the transition. Greece was left behind at the starting blocks, but was given a year in which to adjust its public finances — a job never done in any thoroughgoing fashion. Today there are seventeen members: an unlucky number for most Italians, and it was therefore no surprise to many that the euro should now hit a crisis. Assailed by currency speculators, with a central bank charged with its defence, but without a licence to print money or to stand as guarantor of last instance for the debts of member countries, and least of all for the least disciplined of them at present: Italy and Spain. While Ireland, Greece and Portugal have already had recourse to international bail-outs and have technically surrendered their national budgetary independence. Almost on the dot of its birthday, then, on December 9, the euro underwent a course of emergency treatment whose success is far from clear. Germany obtained from the rest of the European Union — (that is, from the Euro-zone plus another nine countries, with the United Kingdom keeping its distance) — the go-ahead for a fiscal compact, as Mario Draghi the currency’s new chief guardian called it. The pact amounts to a commitment to apply the rules of a budgetary pact as if modified by an inter-governmental treaty and a review of the changes has not been ruled out for the future. And so 2012 will be a crunch year for the survival of the euro, 10 years on from its creation, and there is no shortage of gloom among analysts, with predictions of an exploding euro-area, or of a two-speed set up involving stronger and weaker members and the expulsion of the more indebted. Hit by the Greek syndrome — or maybe better the Greek tragedy — markets await the next head of government summit called for January 30 where matters such as growth and employment are to be on the agenda. These are sore points not just in Italy, but in almost every country of the Union. Until today, the single currency appeared to be set on overtaking the dollar in terms of soundness — but it has instead shown its dependence on the performance of the US economy. It has overcome the feeble conclusions of previous EU summits, but this uncertainty cannot last forever. And so it is that the Wall Street Journal reports national central banks preparing for the return of their old currencies (the finger is being pointed at the Dublin-based bank first of all) while other leaks — which are being consistently denied — speak of Germany re-espousing its first love — the Mark. And all this as the hours count down to the anniversary of that great moment ten years ago. March had been set as the last date for exchanging the old lire into euros, but this latest pact has de facto brought the date forward, reaping a dividend of around one billion for the treasury. This may not be much, but it would be useful these days if it could count as a reduction of the Italian government’s debt — that great white whale the Monti government has to tame in order to win back the confidence of international markets. And so the euro’s tenth birthday promises to be an anti-climax, with the whole world watching events in Rome to see whether Italy really is ‘too big to fail’ or, with a spread that is staying stubbornly over 500 points, whether it turns out to be ‘too big to save’.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



France to Hold Jobs Summit as Unemployment Hits 12-Year High

A sharp rise in France’s unemployment figures is putting pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy to deliver, with over half the French population wanting the candidates for the spring presidential election to focus their energies on maintaining jobs. Figures released by the labour ministry this week show that the number of those unemployed hit 2.85 million in November, a 12-year high and the seventh consecutive monthly increase.

The numbers have sparked a debate in France about the nature and future of employment with Sarkozy convening a jobs summit on 18 January. The discussion has mainly focussed on part-time work and reducing hours and salaries instead of losing jobs, a proposal that has to be agreed with the unions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Iceland is Our Modern Utopia

Público, Madrid

In rejecting by referendum a bailout for their toxic banks and the repayment of external debt, the citzens of Iceland have shown it is possible to escape the laws of capitalism and take control of one’s destiny, writes a Spanish historian

Miguel Ángel Sanz Loroño.

Since the times of Oscar Wilde it has been known that a map without the island of Utopia on it is a map “not worth even glancing at”. Despite that, the journey of Iceland from the darling of late capitalism to a project in true democracy suggests that a map without Utopia is not only unworthy of our attention, but is also a hoax conjured up by a defective cartography. Whether the markets like it or not, the lighthouse of Utopia has begun flashing faint warning signals to the rest of Europe.

Iceland is not Utopia. It is known that there can be no kingdoms of liberty within the Empire of necessity of late capitalism. But it is a recognition of a dramatic absence. Iceland is proof that capital does not own all the truth there is to this world, even when it aspires to control all the maps we can lay out.

With its decision to halt the wheel of tragedy of the markets, Iceland has set a precedent that could threaten to break the back of late capitalism. For now, this small island, which is doing what was claimed to be too unreal to be possible, does not seem to be sinking into chaos, though it does seem to be sinking into an information blackout. How much information are we getting from Iceland and how much on the loans to Greece? Why has Iceland gone off the pages of some of the media that should be telling us what is happening out there in the world?

A constitution drafted by citizen assemblies

So far it has been the birthright of those in power to define what is real and what is not, what can be thought and done and what can not. The cognitive maps deployed in order to understand our world have always had obscure corners where lies the barbarism that upholds the dominions of the elites. Those unmapped shadows of the world usually go with the elimination of their opposite, the island of Utopia. Walter Benjamin has already put it in writing: There is no document of civilisation that is not at the same time a document of barbarism.

These elites, aided by theologians and economists, have been defining what is real and what is not: what is realistic, according to this definition of reality, and what is not and therefore an aberration of thought that cannot be taken into account. That is, what can be done and thought and what can not. But they have done it, in accordance with the basis of power and its violence: the dreaded concept of necessity. One must make sacrifices, they say with a stricken gesture. Either adapt, or face the unimaginable catastrophe. Late capitalism has exposed its logic in a perversely Hegelian way: all that is real is necessarily rational, and vice versa.

In January 2009, the Icelandic people rebelled against the arbitrariness of this logic. The peaceful demonstrations of the crowd brought down the Conservative cabinet of Geir Haarde, and running the country fell to a left-leaning parliamentary minority, which called elections for April 2009. The Social Democratic Alliance of Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and the Left-Green Movement renewed their coalition government with an absolute majority. In autumn 2009, by a popular initiative, a Constitution began to be drafted by citizen assemblies. In 2010, the Government proposed creating a national constitutional council whose members would be chosen by lot. Two referenda (the second in April 2011) refused to rescue the banks and pay the foreign debt. In September 2011 the former Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, was put on trial for his role in the crisis…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: Monti Discusses Stimulus Plan With Cabinet

Ministers back ‘phase 2’ growth initiatives

(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — Italian President Mario Monti met with cabinet members Wednesday to discuss the second phase of his austerity plan that aims to stimulate economic growth. “After ample debate, the cabinet unanimously agreed with the president’s proposals,” according to a written statement from the ministers in Monti’s emergency government. The 30-billion-euro package of tax hikes, spending cuts and pension reforms passed a confidence vote in the Senate to win final approval Thursday.

Before that vote Monti told the Senate that “phase two” of his emergency government’s action would be “all about growth”.

The former European commissioner has said that the New Year would bring several moves to stimulate Italy’s flagging economy, including liberalizations and lowering taxes on businesses.

Monti’s austerity package has angered Italy’s trade unions, who have staged a series of strikes in protest against it.

They say the “unfair and unjust” measures hit the poor and the middle classes too hard and do not clobber the wealthy or tax evaders hard enough.

Monti, who stepped in to lead an administration of non-political technocrats after the debt crisis forced Silvio Berlusconi to resign as premier last month, has said the alternative is a financial meltdown that would render the state unable to pay pensions and salaries.

As expected Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, which remains the biggest in parliament, voted in favour of the package.

However, the former premier is said to have threatened to withdraw his support and force early elections if the government imposes more tax increases. The package features a new property tax and a rise in value added tax, which will take it up from 21% to 23% in the top band in the second half of next year.

Pensions above 1,400 euros will not be raised in line with inflation next year and the retirement age will go up from 60 to 62 for women and from 65 to 66 for men.

Furthermore, the minimum number of years of pension contributions needed to retire before the retirement age will increase from 40 to 42 years for men and 41 years for women.

In his speech in the Senate on Thursday Monti stressed the importance of working with “the social partners”, especially the trade unions, who have repeatedly baulked at talk of revising a key prevision in the 1970 Workers’ Statute that says workers fired without just cause must be reinstated.

The premier did not mention the totemic Article 18 but repeated that labour-market reform to open up places for women and young people, a third of whom are jobless, was a high priority for his government.

He also said new benefits for those who lose their jobs should be introduced.

“The phase that now opens will focus on the labour market and job-loss support,” Monti said.

“It will be necessary and possible to proceed in a different way from that hitherto used with the political and social groups because the labour market, by its nature, requires greater dialogue with social partners,” Monti said.

He added that phase two will feature efforts to cut public spending and red tape and encouraged Italians to buy Treasury bonds to help ease the pressure the state paper is coming under on the financial markets.

On Wednesday, markets initially seemed to react positively to the meeting as interest rates were halved at a Treasury bond auction. But the impact was short-lived as the spread between the long-term bond against the German benchmark returned to 500 basis points.

Monti’s cabinet is scheduled to have “future meetings” to discuss details of the stimulus plan, according to the premier’s office.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Petrol Prices Hit New Record

More increases expected in 2012

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — The price of gasoline hit a new record of 1.722 euros a litre in Italy on Thursday.

According to the trade journal, Quotidiano Energia, the oil giant ENI increased the price of petrol by 1 cent to 1.722 euros a litre and the price of diesel by 0.5 cents to 1.694 euros a litre. Italian drivers faced a dramatic increase in prices in early December when a nationwide tax hike on gasoline took effect as part of the government’s 30-billion-euro ‘Save Italy’ austerity package.

At that time the average price of a litre of petrol rose almost 10 cents to 1.708 euros, making it the most expensive in Europe.

While prices remained relatively stable over Christmas, the online daily predicted further increases in early 2012 and expected other companies to follow ENI’s lead and also raise their prices.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Ten-Year Bond Yield Falls Below 7%

Market responds well to last auction of the year

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell below 7% at a closely watched auction Thursday.

The yield fell to 6.98% from 7.56% at the last auction in November.

A yield of 7% is the rate at which other eurozone countries have sought bailouts .

Demand was 1.36 times the 2.5 billion bonds on sale, compared to 1.34 times at the November auction.

The auction, the last of the year, was seen as a more severe test of market sentiment than a three-month auction Wednesday which saw yields halved from 6.5% to 3.25%.

Also on Thursday, an auction of three-year bonds saw yields plummet to 5.62% from 7.89% at the last auction, while demand was 3.46 billion euros for the 2.53 billion euro in bonds sold.

Counting a third auction on seven-year paper, the Treasury placed a total of seven billion euros Thursday.

The Milan bourse was steady at +0.1% while the spread between Italian and German bonds was slightly up at 522 basis points, a potentially dangerous threshold.

Italian Premier Mario Monti said a spread above 500 points was “unjustified” in view of the Italian economy’s “sound” fundamentals.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Monti Pledges Market Reform and Growth in 2012

‘Action to free up competition and capital’, says PM

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Premier Mario Monti on Friday promised his government would focus on growth and labour market reform in the next phase of his ‘Save Italy’ economic package.

Monti was speaking at the prime minister’s traditional end-of-year media conference in Rome.

“The next few weeks will be dedicated to growth,” Monti said. “However, government funding will not be used, not only because there is so little but equity demands we reduce it.

“We are convinced that this action to free up energy, liberalisation and competition and to promote human capital for universities, research and challenging and essential reform of the labour market will eventually lead to growth and equity”.

The prime minister stressed it would have been “devastating” if Italy had not adopted its recent reforms in exchange for intervention from the European Central Bank.

“That had to be done,” he said. “From today we move on to what we want to do”.

Monti said after the package entitled ‘Save Italy’ he had no objection if the new phase was called ‘Grow Italy’.

He stressed that neither he nor his ministers saw the phases as two distinct periods and the decree ‘Save Italy’ included “growth and equity”.

“The growth phase is in tune with the consolidation of public accounts,” he said.

“Sustainable consolidation cannot occur if the famous denominator — GDP — does not grow adequately”.

Monti’s 30-billion-euro package aims to balance the budget by 2013 and avoid financial collapse arising from the debt crisis.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Non-Euro Denmark Takes Over EU Amid Euro Crisis

Non-euro country Denmark takes over the European Union presidency Sunday, determined to solve the crisis in the 17-member eurozone by cultivating consensus among all 27 EU members. The Scandinavian nation of 5.6 million, one of the few countries in Europe run by a centre-left government, will have to face the euro crisis head-on even though it risks being marginalised along with the nine other EU members, including Britain, that have not adopted the euro.

“I understand perfectly that the 17 members of the eurozone need to take some decisions amongst themselves,” Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a Social Democrat, has said. But it is in the interest of core EU members France and Germany “to keep the 27 together” and consult all EU member states “when these decisions concern them”, she said, because “in times of crisis, we have to believe in our institutions.”

After Denmark rejected the Maastricht Treaty in a referendum in 1992, Copenhagen negotiated four opt-outs to European cooperation, including one on the single currency. These exemptions “will of course be fully respected,” Denmark’s European Affairs Minister Nicolai Wammen said. But, he stressed, “we will also chair the meetings on these issues.”

Thorning-Schmidt said Copenhagen wants to try to “be a bridge between the 17 and the 27” to make sure that the gap does not widen between the eurozone and non-euro countries.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Corruption of America

So… is America growing richer or poorer based on per-capita GDP? Seems like a simple enough question, doesn’t it? Is our economy growing faster than our population? Are we, as individuals, becoming more affluent? Or is the pie, measured on a per-person basis, growing smaller?

This is the most fundamental measure of the success or the failure of any political system or culture. Are the legal and social rules we live under aiding our economic development or holding us back? What do the numbers say?

Unfortunately, it’s a harder question to answer than it should be. The problem is, we don’t have a sound currency with which to measure GDP through time. Until 1971, the U.S. dollar was defined as a certain amount of gold. And the price of gold was fixed by international agreement. It didn’t actually begin to trade freely until 1975. Therefore, the value of the U.S. dollar (and thus the value of U.S. production, which is measured in dollars) was manipulated higher for many years.

Even today, our government’s nominal GDP figures are greatly influenced by inflation. The influence of inflation is particularly pernicious in GDP studies. You see, inflation, which actually reduces our standard of living, drives up the amount of nominal GDP. So it creates the appearance of a wealthier country… while the nation is actually getting poorer.

The only real way to accurately measure per-capita GDP is to build our own model. The need to build our own tools tells you something important — the government doesn’t want anyone to know the answer to this question. It could easily publish data far more accurate than the indexes it puts out. But government doesn’t want anyone to know. And it wants to be able to say “those aren’t the real data” when studies like ours produce bad news.

So pay attention to how we built our charts. You can see for yourself that our data are far more accurate than the government’s figures. Our data are based on the real purchasing power of the currency, not the nominal numbers, which are completely meaningless in the real world.

[Return to headlines]



UK: Cuts ‘Spell a Care Crisis for the Elderly’: Charity Chief Warns That 900,000 Won’t Get Support Next Year as Councils Slash Funding

Cuts to social care services mean that Britain’s elderly are facing an ‘absolute crisis’, according to the head of a leading charity.

Age UK’s director Michelle Mitchell said increasing numbers of older people with considerable care needs were ‘getting absolutely no support at all, or poor quality and limited support’ as a result of cuts to local authority provision.

She said research by the King’s Fund health charity showed that the number of older people who need significant care support but receive no assistance will reach almost 900,000 in 2012, rising to one million by 2015.

‘This means people will deteriorate more quickly and go into hospital,’ she warned.

‘We have seen the rates of admissions to hospital increase over the last few months which, apart from anything else, is very expensive — to have someone admitted through A&E and then kept in hospital.

‘Care is in crisis and it is getting worse. We have evidence to show that local authorities have cut care for older people by 4.5 per cent this year — and this at a time when social care is chronically underfunded anyway.’

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]

USA


Court Turns Deaf Ear to Anti-Semitism

A terrorism expert and Islamic watchdog isn’t surprised that a court has ruled to reject the claims of anti-Semitism at the University of California, Berkeley. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a Jewish student and a recent graduate of UC Berkeley filed suit, claiming officials failed to protect Jewish students from the threats and harassment brought on by two campus Muslim groups. The complaint focuses on the activities during the anti-Israel “Apartheid Week” in 2010 conducted by the Muslim Student Association and Students for Justice in Palestine. The harassment included uniformed Muslims conducting “checkpoints,” asking passing students if they were Jewish. The annual event is meant to compare Israel’s policies to the institutionalized racism of South Africa’s former white government. One of the plaintiffs claimed that a leader of the pro-Palestinian group rammed her with a shopping cart as she staged a counter-protest. However, the court rejected her complaints, saying much of the alleged harassment, even if true, constituted protected political speech that UC Berkeley had no obligation to stop.

But Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch says the Muslims were actually the enemies of free speech. “The Muslim students who threatened and acted thuggishly toward the Jewish students were not acting in any kind of legitimate way in defense of free speech. They were trying to shut down the Jewish students,” he contends. “And so this ruling is really sort of ridiculous. Now, thuggishness and shouting people down and shutting people up is protected speech, and to complain about that is to try to shut down the thugs. It’s kind of an appalling situation.” An attorney for the plaintiffs is weighing his clients’ options, but Spencer is not confident the students’ right to speak freely about Islam at Berkeley will be protected.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



DuPage Mosque Project Wants to Add Dome, Minaret

A group planning to build a mosque near Willowbrook is hoping that the future structure will include a dome and minaret.

Recent changes to DuPage County’s zoning laws could pave the way for a planned mosque near Willowbrook to have a dome and minaret, despite a previous vote that rejected those distinctive structural features. Muslim Educational and Cultural Center of America has approval to construct a roughly 47,000-square-foot mosque on almost 5 acres along 91st Street near Route 83. But in February, the county board refused to give the group permission to exceed DuPage’s 36-foot height restriction in unincorporated residential neighborhoods. At the time, the group needed a height variance to add a 69-foot dome and 79-foot minaret to the future mosque. But then in October, DuPage adopted a set of zoning law changes that apply to churches, mosques and other places of assembly.

One of those revisions allows religious design elements — including bell towers, steeples and crosses — to exceed 36 feet as long as certain setback requirements are met. However, the features can’t be taller than 72 feet. “MECCA didn’t have the chance to bring the heights down to what was perceived to be acceptable to the county board,” said Mark Daniel, the Elmhurst-based attorney representing the group. “Now under the new ordinance, they have the right to go in and ask for this relief.” MECCA has started the process of trying to amend its conditional-use permit to include a shorter 50-foot dome and 60-foot minaret. A county zoning board of appeals hearing on the petition is scheduled to resume on Jan. 9.

The county board eventually will get the final say on whether any changes can be made to MECCA’s conditional-use permit.

In the meantime, neighbors are expected to oppose the changes even though MECCA moved the planned location of the dome east away from neighboring residential parcels. The dome would be more than 300 feet away from residential neighbors to the west. Following the old zoning rules, county board members in February said MECCA representatives couldn’t show a legal hardship to justify a height variance. DuPage officials said the height limit for residential areas was adopted in 2005. Since that time, the county hasn’t allowed any variances for religious uses. In the meantime, MECCA is hoping to start building the mosque by March. The construction is expected to take 18 months from the date work begins.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



NASA’s Twin Moon Probes Set for Lunar Arrival This Weekend

A pair of NASA spacecraft is getting set to orbit the moon this weekend, a move that will kick off the probes’ effort to study Earth’s nearest neighbor from crust to core.

NASA’s twin Grail spacecraft are slated to start circling the moon one day apart, with Grail-A arriving on Saturday (Dec. 31) and Grail-B following on Sunday (Jan. 1). The two probes will then fly around the moon in tandem, mapping the lunar gravity field in unprecedented detail and helping scientists better understand how the moon formed and evolved. “This mission will rewrite the textbooks on the evolution of the moon,” Grail principal investigator Maria Zuber, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in a statement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Philadelphia Security Firm Discriminates Against Muslim Worker

Imperial Security, Inc., a Philadelphia security firm, recently signed a consent decree with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to settle a case involving discrimination against a Muslim worker. Imperial Security hired Julie Holloway-Russell, a Muslim who wore a khimar headscarf covering her hair, ears, and neck to her job interview to become one of the company’s security guards. After landing the job, Ms. Holloway-Russell wore the khimar when reporting for her first work assignment. She was told to remove the khimar because the company’s dress code required all employees to wear a white shirt, tie, black pants, a black belt, black socks, and black shoes, and it forbade additions to the uniform for any reason, including religion. Ms. Holloway-Russell was offered a company-approved baseball hat to wear in lieu of her khimar, but she refused to remove her khimar. She was then terminated.

Imperial Security will pay $50,000 under the consent decree, designate an EEO officer who will receive complaints of discrimination or retaliation, revise its employee handbook to permit accommodation of religious beliefs, and establish a procedure for handling discrimination complaints and a disciplinary policy for any employee who engages in discriminatory or retaliatory behavior. The Imperial Security case comes on the heels of a case resolved last summer against Abercrombie & Fitch. In that case, a young Muslim woman interviewed to become an Abercrombie sales associate but was denied employment because she wore a khimar to her job interview and “did not comply with their looks policy,” says Natasha Abel, a trial attorney in the EEOC’s Philadelphia district office.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



South Floridians Join National Lowe’s Boycott

FORT LAUDERDALE — A Sunrise contractor has joined a national boycott of Lowe’s, saying the home improvement supply store bowed to bigotry by pulling advertising from a TLC reality television show about Muslims after a fundamentalist Christian group pressured it to do so.

“I am not only upset… but it’s shocking to hear someone would pull an add just because someone is Muslim,” said Mohamed Sulaman, an American Muslim who has been in the South Florida construction industry for 13 years. “I don’t know what the show is but, due to the fact they pulled the ad out just based on the Muslim thing, that is why I am taking a stand and not shopping at Lowe’s.” Lowe’s pulled its advertising from TLC network’s All American Muslim Dec. 5 after an email campaign launched by the Florida-based fundamentalist Christian group Florida Family Association (FAA) targeted the show’s advertisers. The show allows a peek into the lives of American Muslim families living in the Dearborn, Mich. areas heavily populated by American Muslims. It portrays them as normal, everyday Americans who practice an often misunderstood faith. But the families are too all-American for the Tampa-based FFA which urged its members through its web site to email the show’s 60 advertisers to encourage them to pull their support. They said the show was “clearly designed to counter legitimate and present day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and sharia law” while asserting that it was “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Stephen Hawking is Hiring: Seeks Assistant to Help Him Speak

If you’ve always dreamed about one day working with Stephen Hawking, now could be your chance. The famed astrophysicist is looking to hire a technical assistant to help develop and maintain the special electronic system that enables him to communicate, according to his personal website.

Hawking suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that left the scientist severely disabled. In 1985, Hawking lost his real voice in a tracheotomy procedure, according to an Associated Press report. Now, the physicist uses a computerized speech system attached to his wheelchair to interpret the twitches of his face to produce a synthesized voice.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Story of the Year: Anti-Muslim Bigotry in America

INSIDE THE FIRST AMENDMENT By Charles C. Haynes First Amendment Center

The recent decision by Lowe’s Home Improvement to pull ads from the reality TV show “All-American Muslim” caps a very successful year for the growing anti-Muslim movement in the United States. So successful, in fact, that anti-mosque protests, anti-Shariah laws, and anti-Muslim hate crimes could easily fill any list of “top five” religion stories in 2011.

Lowe’s withdrawal from sponsoring a show about the daily life of five American Muslim families was apparently in response to objections to the program from a conservative Christian group called the Florida Family Association.

Wittingly or unwittingly, Lowe’s action re-enforces the message anti-Muslim groups have been propagating for years: Portraying Muslims as ordinary Americans is problematic, if not wrong and dangerous, because it may lull the rest of us into ignoring the stealth threat of Islam and Muslims to the freedom and security of theUnited States. Of course, the Florida Family Association and other anti-Muslim groups hasten to tell you, there are some “good Muslims.” But Islam itself, they argue, is inherently violent and oppressive — and eventually Muslims inAmericawill subvert our laws by imposing their own. Never mind how many studies show high levels of opposition to radical Islam and extreme interpretations of Shariah law among Muslim Americans. Never mind how much Muslim leaders and institutions in theU.S.help in the fight against extremism. Never mind the millions of Muslims who have practiced their faith freely and peacefully inAmericafor generations — without undermining the Constitution.

No reasoned argument, no amount of scholarship, no pile of studies is enough to convince the diehard “stop the Islamization of America” crowd that they are wrong to demonize Islam and Muslims in the U.S. In 2011, the anti-Muslim narrative migrated from the right-wing fringe into the mainstream. It’s gone so far that even an innocuous television show created to fight stereotypes loses a sponsor because it doesn’t portray the very stereotypes it attempts to dispel. Fortunately, Americans who care about religious freedom are beginning to push back. As I write this, Christians, Jews, Muslims and others are organizing boycotts of Lowe’s in cities throughout the nation. And growing numbers of religious and political leaders are speaking out against intolerance and prejudice aimed at Muslim Americans. If the decision-makers at Lowe’s had hoped to avoid controversy by pulling sponsorship from the show, they badly miscalculated.

In a world plagued by extremists acting in the name of Islam, it goes without saying that Americans have every reason to be worried about homegrown terrorism. According to the polls, Muslim Americans strongly share that concern. That’s why imams preach and work against extremism and Muslim Americans are actively helping law enforcement foil terrorist plots (studies support both of these assertions). Incoherent and unnecessary laws banning Shariah, unfounded fears about mosques in the neighborhood, and ugly attempts to paint all Muslims with the terrorist brush, are all red herrings that divert Americans from our shared goal of fighting extremism (of all varieties) and securing our safety and freedom.

Ironically, Lowe’s cave-in to anti-Muslim prejudice may prove to be exactly what was needed to wake Americans up to the very real dangers of Islamophobia in our country. If we must concede 2011 to the propagators of fear and hate, let’s work to make 2012 a banner year for proponents of religious freedom. 12-28-11

Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum,555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.,Washington,D.C.20001. Web: firstamendmentcenter.org. E-mail: chaynes@freedomforum.org.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


A Tunnel Divides Them: Germans and Danes Split Over Undersea Link

Denmark plans to build a 20-kilometer tunnel under the Baltic Sea to Germany in what would be the largest infrastructure project in Europe and one of the world’s longest undersea tunnels. Most Danes support the project, but resistance is growing on the German side.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



An Independent Scotland Would Have 7 Votes in the EU Council

An independent Scotland would be awarded seven votes within the Council of Ministers, the EU institution representing member states, according to information from the EU Commission, the UK Press Association reports. The UK itself would see its voting share reduced from 29 to 27 in the event of Scottish secession.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Europe’s Inexorable March Toward Islam

by Soeren Kern

As the rapidly growing Muslim population makes its presence felt in towns and cities across the continent, Islam is transforming the European way of life in ways unimaginable only a few years ago. What follows is a brief summary of some of the more outrageous Islam-related controversies that took place in Europe during 2011.

In Austria, an appellate court upheld the politically correct conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife and anti-Jihad activist, for “denigrating religious beliefs” after she gave a series of seminars about the dangers of radical Islam. The December 20 ruling showed that while Judaism and Christianity can be disparaged with impunity in postmodern multicultural Austria, speaking the truth about Islam is subject to swift and hefty legal penalties. Also in Austria, the King Abdullah Center for Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue was inaugurated at the Albertina Museum in downtown Vienna on October 13. The Saudis say the purpose of the multi-million-dollar initiative is to “foster dialogue” between the world’s major religions in order to “prevent conflict.” But critics say the center is an attempt by Saudi Arabia to establish a permanent “propaganda center” in central Europe from which to spread the conservative Wahhabi sect of Islam.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Five Years on Romania, Bulgaria Cash in on EU Membership

Five years after joining the European Union, Bulgaria and Romania are cashing in billions of euros in aid and their citizens can earn a living in the bloc’s more fortunate members, even if obstacles persist. “Many things have changed since January 1st, 2007. For one thing, Romanians and Bulgarians can travel freely and work in the EU,” Romania’s Minister of European Affairs Leonard Orban told AFP.

Despite labour market restrictions introduced by 11 member states, hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians and two million Romanians are working in other EU countries, mostly Italy, Spain and Germany. Whether they are construction workers or nurses, Bulgarian migrants sent home more than 680 million euros ($880 million) in the first 10 months of 2011, while remittances from Romanians topped 2.7 billion.

The biggest windfall for the two former communist countries, among the poorest in Europe, was however the EU money aimed at helping them catch up with the older member states. Nearly 20 billion euros were set aside for Romania over the 2007-2013 period and some 6.7 billion for its southern neighbour. An additional 13 billion euros was earmarked for the two countries’ farmers.

A bridge across the Danube, the extension of the underground rail system in Sofia and hundreds of kilometres (miles) of motorways in both countries will draw most of the EU funds, a godsend for lagging infrastructure. But spending all this money is not easy. Lengthy procedures and scarce funds to co-finance the projects as required by the EU have delayed many of the development-targeted programmes.

With barely 3.5 percent of the funds used so far, Romania has by the far the poorest track record. Bulgaria posts a much higher rate, 18 percent, according to the minister in charge of European funds, Tomislav Dontchev.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France: Armenian Vote: Turks Urged to Boycott French Goods

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 23 — Under the banner “Minister incites Turks to boycott French goods”, Turkish daily Hurriyet reports that Turkey’s EU minister said people would react to France’s Armenian genocide denial bill. “We saw in the past for the case of Italy, those who emptied wine onto (the streets) and burned coats and ties were this country’s people. There is no need for suggestion, this nation’s people decide on their own,” EU Minister Egemen Bagis told reporters yesterday. Bagis said Turks would react by not consuming French goods in response to the controversial bill. It was announced last night that Ankara is recalling its ambassador and freezing political visits as well as joint military projects, including exercises. Ankara will also cancel permission for French military planes to land and warships to dock in Turkey as a result of the bill.

Meanwhile, Turkish Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergun said Turkey would probably not assume an embargo policy against France nor violate international agreements.

However, France should take into consideration the uneasiness that would emerge in Turkish society, Ergun said. Bulent Eczacibasi, president of the board of directors of Eczacibasi Holding, said any boycott against the French firms in Turkey would harm the Turkish economy. “It would not be wise to punish those companies working in Turkey; by doing that we will hurt ourselves. We should be calm and our steps should be outcome-oriented. We should avoid taking steps with anger that could be detrimental to ourselves,” he said. In a last warning to France over the Armenian genocide denial bill, Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said bilateral ties were under threat of “irreparable damage” and urged French lawmakers to use “common sense”. The planned bill has united Turkey’s ruling and opposition parties in Parliament, which in a joint declaration denounced it as a “grave, unacceptable and historic mistake”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



France: Veiled Woman Given Driving Fine

A woman in Brittany was slapped with a €35 ($45) fine after police spotted her driving her car wearing a full-face veil. The woman, who was visiting family in the north-west coastal town of Saint-Brieuc, was wearing the face-covering niqab, reported daily newspaper 20 Minutes. Police stopped the woman who “seemed hesitant in her driving,” said local police spokesman Laurent Dufour. “On closer inspection, they realized she was veiled,” he said. “This is an issue of skill, safety and visibility,” said Dufour. He compared driving with a full face veil to driving a car with ice on the windscreen, eating a sandwich or smoking a cigarette.

France banned the wearing of full-face coverings in public in October last year. Dubbed the “burqa ban”, anyone refusing to show their face risks incurring a fine. Earlier in December a 32-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 days of ‘citizenship service’ after she refused to remove a full-face veil. The woman, Hind Ahmas, said she would not obey the ruling. She risks a two-year prison sentence and a €30,000 fine if she does not perform her citizenship service.

Last week a Muslim man was jailed after he punched a nurse who tried to remove his wife’s burqa during an emergency C-section. He was sentenced to six months in prison and described by the judge as putting “his religious dogma above the laws of the Republic and his French citizenship.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



French ‘Cola Tax’ Approved: Paris Vows to Fight Deficit and Obesity

Officially part of the country’s tough austerity measures to combat the debt crisis, France will implement a new “soda tax” on Jan. 1. The legislation is also part of a growing trend in Europe to impose sin taxes on food and drinks associated with poor health and obesity.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Hungarian Journalists Sacked for Criticising Government

Hungary’s broadcaster has sacked two journalists, Balazs Nagy Navarro and Aranka Szavuly, who are on hunger strike to protest against alleged government meddling in the media, the Irish Times reports. The move comes amid growing EU criticism about the style and reforms of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: ‘Dolce Vita’ Diva Ekberg, Broke and Alone, Appeals for Help

Rome, 22 Dec. (AKI) — Anita Ekberg, the Swedish 1960s blond bombshell who famously cavorted in Rome’s Trevi Fountain in the 1960 Federico Fellini classic “La Dolce Vita” is destitute and asking for help.

Ekberg, 80, has been living in a care home near Rome for the past three months after she broke her thighbone in a fall. She hasn’t returned to her apartment which was robbed of furniture and jewellery. A fire has rendered it unfit for habitation, according to accountant Massimo Morais who was appointed to help manage her affairs.

Morais has written to the Fellini Foundation of Rimini appealing for financial held and posted on the Foundation’s Facebook page.

“We ask the Foundation to help share with other benefactors that possibility, however modest,” to help a good actress,” Morais said in the letter. “A small present is always a big gift.”

Ekberg’s iconic role saw her act opposite Italian Marcello Mastroianni. Playing dreamy American movie star with only the first name Sylvia, donning an elegant evening dress she calls out “Marcello, come here. Hurry up,” beckoning Mastroianni’s philandering character Marcello Rubini to join her in the 17th century Baroque fountain.

Starring in more than 20 movies, including “Abbott and Costello Go to Mars,” 1953 and “War and Peace,” 1956 she was married twice and romantically linked to Mastroianni, Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper.

Prior to film stardom, curvy Ekberg was a popular pinup girl and won the Miss Sweden contest in 1950.

“She would dearly love to go home but the fact is she can’t as she does not have the money to restore the house where she lives which was damaged in the fire,” Morais said. “She also has no family to help look after her and lives on her own. That’s why she is asking the Foundation for help.”

The Rimini, Italy-based Fellini Foundation, founded in 1995, said it plans to hold an event for Ekberg but has not yet worked out the details.

“I feel a bit alone,” Ekberg told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in a September interview to commemorate her 80th birthday. “But I have no regrets. I’ve loved, cried, been crazy with happiness.”

Speaking of the movie that launched her into the pantheon of screen icons, she said, “It was 1960. A lifetime ago.”

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: Captain’s Wife Attacks Govt Over Hijacking Response

‘It is shameful, no-one called us,’ says wife

(ANSA) — Naples, December 27 — Rita Musumeci, wife of the captain whose ship the Enrico Ievoli was seized by pirates off the coast of Oman, has attacked the Italian government for failing to offer enough support.

“It is shameful. No-one from the government called us to let us know,” she said. “They are keeping nice and warm with their families. What do they care”? The Enrico Ievoli was captured off the coast of Oman with 18 crew members aboard, including six Italians.

Musumeci said it was “absurd” for her to have received the news from journalists.

“No-one from the foreign ministry informed us,” she said.

“The relatives of other crew members are in exactly the same position”.

Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi used Twitter to say that he was closely following the hijacking of the tanker and was hoping for a “positive conclusion”.

The Naples company that owns the oil tanker said it is working closely with the Italian government to recover the ship and its crew.

“We are working to do everything possible to ensure their maximum safety,” said Attilio Ievoli, vice-president of Marnavi, who owns the shipping firm with his brother Gennaro.

He said he had learned via a telephone conversation that the crew was “doing well”.

Ievoli said he wanted to offer his support to the families, despite the distance.

“We are in contact with the Foreign Ministry and we have only followed the security instructions issued by the government,” he said. Last week another Italian oil tanker, the Savina Caylyn owned by the Neopolitan company Fratelli D’Amato, was freed after being hijacked by Somali pirates in February.

The Italian Foreign Ministry denied the pirates’ claim that a ransom was paid.

In October an Italian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia with 23 people on board was freed after an operation by British special forces.

Last year pirates in the region are believed to have earned $80 million from ransom money.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Barbara Berlusconi ‘Pregnant’ With Pato’s Child

Magazine says she is expecting her third child

(ANSA) — Rome, December 27 — Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of the former Italian premier, is reported to be expecting a baby with her Brazilian partner and football champion Alexandre Pato.

According to the Italian weekly gossip magazine Diva e Donna, Berlusconi is pregnant with her third child and the footballer who plays for AC Milan is the father.

“Barbara Berlusconi, 27 years, already the happy mother of Alessandro, 3, and Edoardo, 2, born from her relationship with former financial analyst Giorgio Valaguzza, is expecting her third child with Pato, according to persistent rumours,” the magazine said.

Berlusconi’s father Silvio Berlusconi owns AC Milan and she is a member of the board.

She and Pato appeared to formalise their relationship when they went to La Scala Opera House and appeared hand in hand at the premiere of Don Giovanni on December 7.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Rich Businessman Suspended for Landing Helicopter on Beach

Same suspect laughed at potential profit of 2009 L’Aquila quake

(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — The Italian civil aviation authority on Wednesday suspended the pilot’s license of a controversial Roman businessman who landed his helicopter on a public beach north of the capital to allegedly take his mother out to eat.

Francesco Maria De Vito Piscicelli claimed dangerous winds forced an emergency landing Tuesday but critics accused the wealthy contractor of flaunting his opulence at a time when most Italians are cutting back due to the euro crisis.

Piscicelli, who comes from an aristocratic Neapolitan family, was in the news when wiretaps leaked to the press revealed that he laughed at the prospect of winning contracts for reconstruction after the 2009 earthquake in Abruzzo, which killed 308 people.

The embattled businessman is currently on trial for bribery to land the contract for a new Carabinieri training school on the outskirts of Florence.

Piscicelli has denied all wrongdoing.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



‘Shrimp Shortage’ Set to Spoil Swedes’ New Year

Seafood features prominently on many a Swede’s New Year’s menu, but harsh winds on Sweden’s west coast have made fishing difficult recently, sending shrimp and crayfish prices sky high. Fish counters around the country have far lower supplies of the popular seafoods than usual, just as shoppers are gearing up to buy and prepare their festive New Year’s dinners. A kilo of shrimp may set revelers back 500 kronor ($72), more than twice the usual price. The high prices have fish retailers concerned that many Swedes may opt out of serving sea food for dinner on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s a shame. For all those who had planned to eat shrimp and crayfish it’s looking very tough. We’re searching high and low, and may get a small selection, but unfortunately it won’t be very cheap for New Year’s,” said fish retailer Nisse Molinder of Melanders fisk, to Sveriges Radio (SR). The reason for the shortage are the series of storm that have battered Sweden’s west coast with fierce winds, making it nearly impossible for fishing boats to leave the harbour in search of the popular crustaceans.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Elk Hunter Acquitted of Killing Skier by Mistake

A Swedish elk hunter who felled her first elk with a single shot that passed through the animal only to hit and then kill a cross-country skier, has been acquitted of manslaughter charges by the district court in Växjö in central Sweden. The 32-year-old hunter had held her license for six years when her first elk was felled in December 2010 with a single shot, a shot with tragic consequences. Just 60 metres beyond the felled beast lay a 71 year-old cross-country skier in the snow in Ljungby, in southern Sweden. The bullet which killed the elk had continued, hitting the skier and killing him instantly

“We tried to resuscitate him, but it was impossible,” said the woman to the police. The incident occurred in Ljungby, in southern Sweden, in December 2010. The 32-year-old woman faced manslaughter charges for the incident, but the court ruled on Thursday she was innocent on all criminal charges. According to her lawyer, the incident has been hard for the hunter overcome.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Switzerland: 2011: Record Year for Popular Initiatives

Switzerland’s system of direct democracy seemed more alive than ever in 2011, with the year seeing the launch of a record 23 popular initiatives. Most of the popular initiatives launched or voted upon were related to immigration, the environment or the economy.

The record haul of initiatives can be partly explained by the fact that 2011 was a federal election year, with political parties using the mechanism of direct democracy to set their political agendas. Major international events, like the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, helped the greens and the newly formed Party for Solidarity — Switzerland, to raise awareness about Switzerland’s nuclear policy. Both asked citizens to phase out nuclear power.

Another environmental initiative, in this case launched by the newly formed Liberal Green Party, proposed an energy tax to replace the Value Added Tax (VAT). The return of the financial crisis also prompted political parties to launch several initiatives. The Socialist Party, in alliance with the unions, launched an initiative to set a minimum wage in Switzerland.

The Socialists also teamed up with the Greens and various organizations to collect enough signatures to force a vote on the establishment of a publicly funded health insurance system. Not for the first time, foreigners represented one of the hottest topics for national initiatives. Using controversial posters that earned it international infamy, the Swiss People’s Party hit the headlines with its initiative against mass immigration.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Netherlands Benefits Little From Its Foreign Students

Most foreign students who attend Dutch universities leave as soon as they have their degrees and do not contribute to the local economy, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.

The claim is made by Sander van den Eijnden, head of Nuffic, the organisation which stimulates the internationalisation of higher education in the Netherlands.

Van den Eijden tells the paper better integration of foreign students would bring advantages for the Dutch economy by encouraging more to stay.

‘Our strong point is our English language abilities, that is why they come here,’ Van den Eijden is quoted as saying. ‘But it is also our weakness because foreign students are on the edge of society because they do nothing in Dutch.’

Costs

Later on Friday, the cabinet publishes new figures looking at the cost and benefits of encouraging so many foreign students to come to the Netherlands.

The paper says that even though the EU pays €6,000 a year towards the bill for each foreign students, they still cost the Dutch taxpayer €108m a year. Far more foreign students come to the Netherlands than Dutch students study abroad.

This is partly due to the low fees — around €1,700 for EU nationals — which make it much cheaper for students to take a degree in the Netherlands than, say, England. Some universities, such as Maastricht, advertise heavily abroad…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



UK Police: We Are Treating Murder of Indian Student Shot in Head by Killer Who Had Asked for the Time as Race Hate

The murder of a gifted university student gunned down by a stranger is being treated as a ‘hate crime’, police said today.

Anuj Bidve, 23, was shot at point-blank range after he and a group of friends strayed into a deprived area of Salford, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of Boxing Day.

The Indian-born electronics student, from a wealthy Delhi family, had apparently been executed despite replying politely when his attacker asked him the time.

A fifth person, a 20-year-old man, was today arrested in connection with the murder and is being questioned by police along with two youths aged 17, one aged 17 and a 19-year-old.

Speaking at a press conference today, Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan said detectives were not ruling out that the shooting might have been racially motivated.

He said: ‘A racially-motivated crime is when there is actual evidence to show that it is the actual motivation for the crime.’

He said a hate crime, ‘by definition, is something that a community or anyone perceives is racially motivated’.

Yesterday locals left tributes to Mr Bidve at the scene in Ordsall, an area known for high crime levels.

A note addressed to Mr Bidve and attached to a small bouquet of flowers, said: ‘Evil and mindless people took your life away for nothing.

‘We are local residents who are so saddened and sickened at this senseless act (that) we don’t think living here will ever be the same.

‘We send our condolences to your family and friends and hope you don’t blame us all. Rest in peace Anuj. God bless you — unlike your murderer who will rot in hell.’

The killing has disgusted members of the community in the tough inner city suburb, which has found itself the subject of worldwide condemnation on news and social networking sites since the killing.

Last night council leader John Merry urged the community to ‘unite and name the gunman whose actions brought shame on the city’.

He added: ‘The victim and his friends were just walking into town — as many students would do at this time of the year.

‘The community will only get over this if they come forward with information that will help convict the person responsible.’

Norman Owen, leader of Salford’s Liberal Democrats, agreed Mr Bidve’s murder had shamed the city.

‘This is a disgrace,’ he said. ‘What kind of city are we living in when we have a young man walking on the street with a gun and is ready to use it. We are being dragged down by this issue and the police have got to get into gun crime.’

Police were last night continuing to question three boys — two aged 17 and a 16-year-old — arrested on Tuesday, as well as a 19-year-old arrested in the early hours of yesterday.

Yesterday witnesses described how they desperately fought to keep a gifted university student alive after he was gunned down by a stranger who had just asked him for the time.

Anuj Bidve had responded politely but the man pulled out a gun, placed it against his head and pulled the trigger.

One eyewitness driving past the scene in Salford, Manchester, immediately after the attack revealed that she ‘just kept on trying to keep him breathing’.

Yesterday. the mild-mannered 23-year-old’s family spoke of ‘losing faith in everything’ after the murder.

The Lancashire University electronics student had been approached by the killer and another man as he walked with friends to Christmas sales at 1.35am on Boxing Day.

After Indian-born Mr Bidve, from a wealthy Delhi family, fell to the pavement, his two attackers fled into the night.

Mr Bidve — who had not been drinking — had been walking with nine friends through a rough inner-city district in Salford, Manchester, after leaving their nearby hotel to queue for early morning bargains.

His friends desperately tried to give him first aid as armed police arrived at the scene and launched a widespread manhunt.

Last night police were questioning two youths — aged 16 and 17 — after they were arrested following police raids on houses in Salford.

Three men were today arrested in connection to the enquiry and all five remain in custody.

A police source said the youths were ‘connected to the shooting’ but were not believed to be the gunman and his accomplice.

Although no racist insults were heard, detectives are closely investigating the theory the shooting might have been racially motivated.

Witness Sheetal Patel, 25, said she held Mr Bidve’s hand as he lay dying in the street.

The cake maker had been driving past when the student’s friends waved down her car.

‘When we arrived at the scene, the guy was lying on the floor,’ she said. ‘I was holding his hand, but he was alive.

He was making noises. All I was saying is, “You’re very strong, you’re going to be all right”. We just kept on trying to keep him breathing and to make him know that we were there.

‘There was one guy holding Anuj’s head trying to put pressure on the wound. And there was another guy who was on the phone to the police.’

Miss Patel said that ‘he was shot in the head, but the bullet didn’t go through his head’ and there did not appear to be an exit wound.

‘We all thought he was going to live,’ she added.

Tributes yesterday poured in for Mr Bidve.

His brother-in-law Rakesh Sonawane, 30, said the student had moved to the UK in September to do a postgraduate course at Lancaster University after completing an electronics degree in Pune, India.

He said: ‘Anuj had been very happy. It was his dream to go to the UK but unfortunately his dream could not last longer than three months.’

His brother-in-law said he was ‘clever and sporty’, had a wide circle of friends and loved watching football and supporting Manchester United.

And he added: ‘He had lots of friends. You only have to look at his Facebook page to see how many friends and followers he had. We have completely lost faith in everything.’

A statement last night from Mr Bidve’s family said: ‘Anuj was a loving son, a super caring brother and first and forever friend for many.

‘He valued his relationships and put them over anything else. He was the first person you could call when in trouble. Anuj loved to travel and loved his food. He loved to cook.

‘He could easily bring a smile on anyone’s face with his innocent jokes. He loved playing football. He enjoyed his life and is an inspiration for us to live life to its fullest.

‘His passing will not only leave a void in our lives, but in the hearts of all those who knew him.’

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]



UK: JDL and Far-Right Parties Find Common Ground

Extremist Jewish factions and far-right parties team up against “Islamisation” despite the latter’s anti-Semitic past.

Right-wing movements previously associated with anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi ideologies are increasingly opting for a surprising tactic to garner legitimacy within mainstream politics: Forging alliances with extremist Jewish organisations under the banner of fighting “Islamisation”. “Far-right parties are professing a new found love of Israel as a way of escaping their past anti-Semitism and racism, and to justify their prejudice towards European Muslims as not being racist,” Toby Archer, a researcher who studies far-right parties and the “counter-jihad blogosphere”, explained to Al Jazeera. “Parties like the British National Party (BNP) in the UK, Vlaams Belang in Belgium, and the National Front in France are all coming out from a neo-fascist past.” These parties have stopped using anti-Semitic rhetoric, Archer said, which had prevented them from attracting support. It is important to distinguish between the traditional far-right, who are historically anti-Semitic, and the populist new-right, who have emerged in the last two decades and partake in an anti-Muslim discourse, he said. The English Defence League (EDL) closely linked to the BNP, a right-wing anti-Islamic extremist group based in the UK. The EDL has gained notoriety for its aggression against British Muslims and its links with neo-Nazi groups. Last year, it moved to garner support within the Jewish community by officially opening a Jewish Division open to “represent the Jews who are fighting against Islamisation,” according to a statement. Tommy Robinson, a spokesperson for the EDL, said one of the group’s fundamental beliefs was that as a “shining star of democracy”, Israel has the right to defend itself.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Man Arrested After Woman’s Body Found in Canal on Christmas Day

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a young woman’s body was discovered in a canal on Christmas Day.

Ruby Love, who was born Rubina Malik, was found in the Grand Union Canal at Bankside in Southall, west London, shortly before midday on Sunday, police said.

The 23-year-old was from Harrow in north-west London.

Officers were called to the scene by a member of the public at about 11.40am on Sunday.

A 27-year old man was arrested on Tuesday and remains in custody at a north London police station.

Miss Love was thought to have known the arrested man.

A post-mortem examination was not able to establish a formal cause of death and the results of further tests are awaited. Her family have been informed.

The isolated stretch of canal last night remained sealed off as detectives preserved the scene.

A grass verge, footpath and narrow road remained behind police tape three days after the grim discovery of Miss Love’s body.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Police have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of a body in the Grand Union Canal on Christmas Day.

‘Police were called by a member of the public to reports of a body found in the Grand Union Canal at Bankside, Southall.

‘Officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed anything suspicious on, or before Christmas Day.’

The section of canal where her body was spotted is part of popular walk the Hillingdon Trail and has been handed a ‘seal of approval’ by the London Walking Forum.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



UK: Obituary: Professor Sir Michael Dummett

Professor Sir Michael Dummett, who has died aged 86, was among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality.

Logic, language and mathematics were his chief philosophical preoccupations. He was particularly interested in the work of Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), a German mathematician who tried, but ultimately failed, to demonstrate that formal logic could govern all mathematical truths. In his book, Frege: Philosophy of Mathematics (1991), Dummett attempted to pinpoint precisely where the German had gone wrong, and in the course of his analysis he argued that Frege’s work had two significant by-products for philosophy. First, Frege had invented a new formal language for logic in which, for example, it is possible to describe the difference between the phrase “everybody loves somebody”, and the phrase “there is somebody whom everybody loves”, and to demonstrate clearly how different conclusions can be derived from each of these propositions. Second, Dummett suggested, Frege’s theses about the nature of logic opened up a whole new field — the philosophy of language, through which philosophers might account for thought through an analysis of grammar and semantics.

As well as his work on Frege, Dummett was known for his struggle to resolve the argument between what he termed “realist” philosophers and “anti-realists” (idealists, nominalists etc), who disagree about the logical principles they apply to propositions that are under dispute. For Dummett, the championing of anti-realism meant a rejection of the realist principle of bivalence — the idea that any sentence which attempts to make an assertion must be either true or false. Dummett held that this was not the case for sentences that discuss certain subjects — for example, mathematics. In particular, Dummett argued that metaphysical debates — such as whether unicorns are real — are properly understood as debates about logical laws and the nature of truth. He delivered his most complete statement of the nature of such metaphysical debates, and the means by which they can be resolved, in The Logical Basis of Metaphysics (1991). Thought and Reality (2006) was a further disquisition on anti-realism.

Though he influenced a whole generation of analytic philosophers, including such figures as John McDowell, Christopher Peacocke, and Crispin Wright, Dummett’s work was not easy reading. His stature amongst colleagues was immense, but inevitable difficulties in communicating his theories concisely prevented him from achieving the wider attention he deserved. When asked by his publisher to supply a new introduction to a work on Frege, for example, Dummett supplied 500 pages of material. But his commitment to truth had very practical applications, and ones which he pursued with vigour and personal courage. In particular, throughout his career he maintained a deep interest in the ethical and political issues concerning refugees and immigration, informed by what he described as “an especial loathing of racial prejudice and its social manifestations”.

In the post-war period, Dummett and his wife Ann were among the earliest and most dogged campaigners on race relations. In 1958 they co-founded the Institute of Race Relations think tank and in the 1960s, as the trickle of immigration became a flood, they drove a battered van to Heathrow Airport day after day to take up the cases of Asian and West Indian immigrants threatened with deportation. On one occasion they were arrested and prosecuted after staging a protest against a market stallholder who refused to serve black customers. Police dropped charges and the then Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, apologised. Dummett saw the root of the problem as lying in the political system. In his book On Immigration and Refugees (2001), he argued that lurking behind the egalitarian veneer of democracy is the more manipulative principle of playing on people’s prejudices to gain votes. This, when applied to issues of immigration, has invariably led to a jingoistic policy — a policy founded, essentially, on racism. In Britain, according to Dummett, much of the blame rested with the Home Office, a department which he accused of “decades of hopeless indoctrination in hostility”, first against Commonwealth immigrants, and later against asylum seekers and refugees. “For the Home Office,” he once wrote, “the adjective ‘bogus’ goes as automatically with ‘asylum seeker’ as ‘green’ does with ‘grass’.”

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Record Number of Patients Catch Infections in Hospitals

The number of patients who contracted life-threatening infections in NHS hospitals has almost doubled in two years to a record level, official figures have shown.

Recorded cases of patients with a “nosocomial condition” — any infection acquired in hospital or a medical environment — also rose by more than a third last year compared with the year before.

A large proportion of the patients involved were aged over 75, the figures from the NHS Information Centre show. Illnesses related to such infections led to average stays in hospital last year of 31.1 days.

Experts blamed poor hygiene for the dramatic rise in infections, including superbugs MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff) as well as norovirus and E.coli.

But the Department of Health dismissed the “misleading” figures, published online, saying that officials have “got better and better at tackling hospital infections”.

According to the new figures, supplied by NHS hospitals, the number of patients found by consultants to have hospital-acquired infections rose last year reached a record 42,712.

That figure increased from the 31,447 recorded in the previous year and almost double the 22,448 documented in 2008/09.

Last year’s figures were the highest levels recorded in the 13 years in which the records have been publicly available. In 1998/99 there were just 335 such cases. The Centre did not provide a breakdown of illnesses.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



UK: Woman Found Stabbed to Death and Man Critically Ill in Hospital After Sobbing Schoolboy Covered in Blood Knocks on Neighbour’s Door

A woman has been found stabbed to death after a sobbing schoolboy turned up on a neighbour’s door covered in blood.

A man was also discovered with injuries and is in hospital in a critical condition after the double stabbing earlier today in Wolverhampton.

The child, believed to be of secondary school age and the son of the couple, fled the bloody scene to raise the alarm.

The man in his 30s and woman, 36, were discovered at the address at about 7.47am after police arrived at the gruesome scene.

One neighbour said: ‘We heard the little lad was covered in blood and crying uncontrollably when he knocked on a neighbour’s door, that’s when police were called.

Carol O’Mahoney, another resident who lives nearby, said: ‘Neighbours said they had a five-year-old boy and that the little one was seen running from the house for help this morning covered in blood.’

Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident which happened in a house that is used as temporary accommodation in the Whitmore Reans area of the city.

The family is believed to be of Iranian origin and West Midlands Police have launched a murder inquiry.

A police cordon is in place at the scene as officers investigate the circumstances of the woman’s death and how the man came to sustain his injuries.

The murder is the latest in a string of knifing incidents across the country over the festive period including a double stabbing in Islington, London, last night.

Two men were found with injuries and four women were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder following an argument that broke out in a shop just before midnight.

The two victims were apparently stabbed when the disturbance spilled out onto Greenman Street, near the junction with Essex Road.

One man, aged 42, remains in a serious, but stable condition in hospital, police said today. The other suffered a minor injury to his arm and did not require medical treatment.

A third man, who is not believed to have been stabbed, was seen nearby with minor head injuries.

The four women were arrested and are today being questioned, although it is not believed they were involved with the stabbings.

Giving just his Christian name, a man called Adam spoke about the incident which happened on the Peabody Estate.

He said: ‘Just after 11pm I heard loads of shouting and screaming and lots of people ran into the block.

‘I thought it was someone having a party. I heard someone shouting “f**k off” a lot and “f****g hell, f****g hell”. They were running up the stairs and down again.

‘It sounded like a lot of people and then there were a lot of police after that.’

Drips of dried blood could be traced from the police cordon to inside the block, with blood on the stairs and a large pool by a ground floor flat that officers had cleaned.

Other residents reported hearing an argument but did not witness the incident.

Detectives from Islington are trying to identify other suspects as they piece together the chain of events that led up to the woundings, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

He said police officers and paramedics from London Ambulance Service were called at 11.56pm to reports of two men suffering stab wounds.

It is not known if a weapon has been recovered.

The Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘The four women will be questioned by detectives from Islington CID. They were arrested following an incident shortly before midnight last night.

‘Two men were stabbed one is stable in hospital. The other suffered more serious injuries, we’re are not sure if his condition is critical at the moment.

‘A third man suffered head injuries but they were not serious and did not require hospital treatment.’

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

Mediterranean Union


Italy: Terzi: Partnership Fundamental, EU Must Look

(ANSA) — ROME, DECEMBER 27 — The European Union must “re-orientate” its policy “towards European partnership”. This is according to Italy’s Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi, who has been speaking on Radio Anch’io. “The Mediterranean has a fundamentally important role in this historic period of Italian foreign policy,” Terzi said. “It is certainly not a new phenomenon, but a direction that is enriched by new positions and a new sense of urgency. This is why in the last few weeks I have worked thoroughly both bilaterally and in Brussels in the member states’ Foreign Affairs Council to raise awareness and to attempt to re-orientate the entire European policy towards Mediterranean partnership”. “It seems that awareness of this is emerging but naturally we are operating with a great deal of intensity in terms of bilateral relations too,” the minister said, highlighting his forthcoming trips to Mediterranean countries.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egyptian Court Orders End to Virginity Tests on Women Held

(AGI) Cairo — An Egyptian court has ordered an end to the practice of forced virginity tests for women being held in the country’s prisons. The verdict comes after a protester in Tahrir Square, Samira Ibrahim, complained that she was subjected to the test in April after being arrested during a demonstration in the Egyptian capital. Human rights organisations said that they had been informed of the procedure. Today’s decision by judge Aly Fekry was greeted by jubilant cheers from hundreds of activists present in the courtroom.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: Monti to Visit Libya January 21

PM to reactivate 2008 friendship treaty

(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Italian Premier Mario Monti will visit Libya next month to restore cooperation with the north African country, reactivating an important friendship treaty.

Monti said he would take “various ministers” with him to Tripoli on January 21 “to reactivate the friendship treaty with broad scope, to restore, intensify and update cooperation”. Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said last week that Italy would move “swiftly” to implement a range of provisions in the treaty, sealed three years ago but suspended during the war against late Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Terzi said Libyan transitional leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil had shown during a visit to Rome on December 15 “how much Libya had been awaiting the reactivation of the treaty”.

“We are moving very swiftly to enact all of its various dimensions,” the foreign minister added.

Under the friendship treaty Italy agreed to pay colonial reparations of $5 billion over 20 years, including the construction of a coastal highway, while Libya pledged to stop migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

Now that it is being reactivated, Italy will be able to fully reopen its oil and gas pipelines and Libya will pursue wide financial interests in Italy including stakes in giant bank Unicredit and soccer club Juventus, helped by assets that had been frozen during the war.

Monti has stressed the move would help both countries “focus on the priorities of the new Libya” after the demise of Gaddafi, who was caught and executed by rebels on October 20.

The treaty was signed by Gaddafi and then Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi in mid-2008.

Italy was initially wary about taking part in the war against Libya but later provided key air bases for the Nato-led campaign as well as fighter-bombers that ran hundreds of sorties.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Soliman: National Guard Position Attacked

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 27 — The national guard headquarters in Soliman (in the governorate of Nabeul, in the Capo Bon area) came under attack last night by a group of thirty or so persons throwing stones and petrol bombs. The attack was aimed at freeing a youth who had been arrested on suspicion of drug dealing and illegal trading of alcoholic beverages. The attack failed thanks to the arrival of a sizeable force of police officers, who arrested three persons and are looking for others.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Gaddafi’s Adoptive Son Arrested

Miled Abdessalem may be extradited to Tripoli

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 28 — Miled Abdessalem, the adoptive son of Colonel Gaddafi, has been arrested in Tunisia today, where he was staying illegally. Sought by Interpol, Mr Abdessalem may face extradition to Libya, if the country’s government so requests.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



US Lambast Cairo Police Searches at NGO Premises

(AGI) Washington — A US State Department spokesman today expressed “profound concern” at searches conducted at Cairo NGO offices. The searches were ordered by Cairo magistrates and involved the premises of 17 NGOs, two of which American. The State Department spokesman said “similar operations are inappropriate […] and run counter to years of bilateral cooperation.” .

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Priests Brawl Over Clean Up at Bethlehem’s Nativity Church

(AGI) Bethlehem — Armenian and Greek Orthodox priests came to blows in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity over who should have the honor of cleaning up the church after Christmas services. When the crowds of the faithful leave, it falls to the clerics to clean up and hundreds of them brawled in the church over the spot where Jesus is said to have been born.

Palestinian National Police had to intervene to break up the fight.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Bombs, Threats Ahead of New Year in Lebanon Resort

TYRE, Lebanon — Zuheir Arnaout seethed with anger as he surveyed the damage from a bomb that targeted his restaurant in Tyre, one of the few cities in southern Lebanon where alcohol is still tolerated. “What is it they want? To stop people from drinking, from having a good time?” he demanded outside the popular “Tyros” restaurant on the scenic Mediterranean seafront. On Wednesday, a bomb made of two kilos of TNT exploded and caused extensive damage to the restaurant, destroying the “Tyros” band’s instruments in the process. The attack came a few days before New Year’s Eve and was the third of its kind targeting alcohol-friendly restaurants in Tyre in the past two months. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings in Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city that boasts a picturesque port and Roman archaeological sites. Home to both Muslims and Christians, Tyre is also popular among expats and UN peacekeeping troops deployed in southern Lebanon along with their families. Like many Tyre townsfolk, Arnaout believes the bombings aim to kill off the city’s lucrative tourism sector, which peaks in summer, as well as its popularity during the winter holiday season. “There are rumours going round that some want to prevent the New Year’s Eve countdown from being celebrated in Tyre,” he said. But Arnaout insisted he would not give in to threats. “New Year’s Eve will be celebrated in this restaurant — the livelihood of 32 families depends on it,” he told AFP.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Brand New Island Rises From Red Sea Depths

Volcanic activity in the Red Sea is causing the formation of a new island in the Zubair archipelago as lava is cooled by the surrounding seawater and solidifies. The underwater volcano responsible is located on the Red Sea Rift, where the African and Arabian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart.

Yemeni fishermen first spotted lava spewing 30 metres into the air on 19 December and this was later confirmed by satellite observations. Ash plumes were detected by NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard its Terra and Aqua satellites and NASA’s Advanced Land Imager aboard its Earth Observing One satellite, which produced this image. Elevated levels of sulphur dioxide in the region were also recorded by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard NASA’s Aura satellite.

By 23 December, the lava mass had broken the water’s surface and the new island had begun to take shape. The island is currently around 500m wide and is still growing. The question now is whether or not it has staying power. It may continue to grow significantly as volcanic activity continues, or the fragile lava mass may be broken up by the action of the sea’s waves.

Whatever the outcome, volcanic activity in the Red Sea region appears to be on the rise.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Christians and Muslims a Year Since the Start of the Arab Spring

The Arab uprising spread like wildfire and every Arab country felt its effects. However, the changes must be seen against the backdrop of the Islamist rise to power. Christians are afraid but must cooperate with Muslims. Syria’s case and the bishops’ reaction are a case in point. The West is confused and Obama discredited. A year on, here is a review of what happened in the Arab world.

Beirut (AsiaNews) — Everything began a year ago when a young Tunisian, Mohammed Buazizi, fed up by poverty and police humiliation, set himself on fire. It was 15 December, and like a wildfire on a dry prairie, his sacrifice burnt its way from country to country. It all happened because the Arab world is going through tough times. People felt pain and wanted change. All they needed was spark for the fire to start.

The Arab revolution spread unevenly, depending on the country. In some countries, people were better prepared. In Tunisia, people are stronger and more mature and their former regime did allow protest from time to time. Where the regime was completely dictatorial, as in Libya, an external intervention was necessary. In the Syrian case, the situation is even more complex and it is unclear whether a solution will be found or not.

In some countries, like Jordan, very little happened, probably because their situation is not as bad as elsewhere. In others, nothing happened because population is largely uniformed; for instance, oil-rich Saudi Arabia, where people live well but do not know what are human rights, freedom and equality.

The Arab world and its needs

In any case, unrest this year in the Arab world was caused by the fact that people’s needs are not met. The first and foremost need or reason is poverty, which affects a good part of the population. However, the revolution was not their doing for they live in such grim conditions that the idea of revolution would not have crossed their mind. Others carried it out and they joined in, as in Egypt where 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. In Tunisia, the young man who set himself on fire was desperate because of poverty and unemployment.

The second reason is the dismal level of youth unemployment. In our culture, the inability to start out in life is a source of humiliation. Unemployment means the inability of forming a family. In Europe, reaching the age of 30 without one’s own family is not a tragedy. In our countries, people start to think about creating their own family at the age of 20 with the expectation that they would have it by 25. But if you are jobless, that is impossible. In our countries, a man must be able to buy a house; a woman must bring the furniture. However, if they are unemployed, they cannot get marry and that is humiliating.

The third reason is ethical. It is the lack of dignity and freedom to express one’s opinions as well as the level of inequality. This is especially true for intellectuals as well as the middle classes. Other forms of discrimination, not necessarily religious, also play a role.

Finally, television brings the rest of the world into people’s living rooms. People feel backward compared to others and wonder why it is so. At the same time, they hear that the president, the minister and others are billionaires. All this creates a sense of injustice, which felt as something quite personal.

All this created a sense of frustration that led to the uprising.

Islamist victory

Initially, the movement began spontaneously, from the grassroots. It had no real leadership and today we can see its consequences. Those who made the revolution did not reap the fruit of victory. They enabled others, who were better organised, to benefit for their work. It was such a setback, that some are already saying that it “wasn’t worth the trouble”.

I remain confident. Even though Islamists won, this step was necessary because it allowed other priorities different from theirs to come to the fore. Dignity, jobs, freedom, equality and democracy, were the reasons behind the youth-led revolution, not religion.

It is true that Islamists can now wield power. Now they can show that “Al-Islâm huwa l-hall!”, that “Islam is the solution” for everything. They will have to demonstrate that an Islamic system will solve the problems of unemployment, education, equality, democracy, finances, etc.

For the first time since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Islamists will exercise political power. It will be an important occasion to see in what areas they can provide concrete answers to real problems and in what they will not. It is also will be an important to see what type of Sharia they will implement, whether it will that of Saudi Arabia, where a woman was beheaded on witchcraft charges, that of Iran, which is blocking the country’s development, or some other versions. As for us, our view will depend on results.

What is certain though is that Islamists, especially Salafists, are using the Arab spring to impose their version of Islam. This was brought home to Tunisia (when they tried to impose the niqâb on women at Manouba University, the country’s best known institution of higher learning, and open a mosque near the campus) and Egypt (when many churches were attacked, crosses destroyed and soldiers assaulted women, leading to last Tuesday’s demonstration).

Education for democracy

In Egypt, the massive electoral victory (60 per cent) of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists now means that the former will have to prove that they deserve the electorate’s confidence.

Their victory was inevitable. After 60 years of military rule, the democracy was but a faded memory. Yet, more than 50 per cent of the electorate came out to vote, and that is positive. The turnout in past elections did not go above 5-7 per cent. Egyptians refrained from voting knowing that the outcome had already been fixed. Under Nasser, the ruling party won 95 per cent of the vote with 5 per cent of voters casting their ballot.

Tunisia is a special case. Turnout in its recent election was at least 80 per cent. This is a sign that people are interested in politics and are prepared to participate.

Now it is time for young people to organise. Their societies and the rest of the world have taken the Arab Revolution seriously. But they need to plan and achieve unity; otherwise, all is lost. Unlike Tunisia, young people created dozens of parties in Egypt, splitting the vote and so they lost the advantage they had.

The ‘Egyptian Bloc’, a liberal party open to Christians and Muslims alike founded by billionaire Copt Naguib Sawiris, won 17 per cent of the vote. It is not much, but it is something.

This shows there is hope for the future. The movement must raise awareness among Egyptians about what is at stake. In addition to the economy, which is doing badly, it must focus on education. Egypt is particularly backward compared to other Arab countries. Its illiteracy rate is around 40 per cent (especially among women) and the quality of education is poor. This is why people vote according to religious affiliation rather than political analysis.

Despite attacks against churches, Christian-Muslim solidarity has given rise to a certain sensibility and movement for equality, hitherto impossible. Although minimal given the efforts, this is something positive.

The situation in Syria

Syria is where people realise the most what is at stake. Until recently, the Assad regime had appeared very stable. Now that situation is very serious and difficult. Information about is happening inside the country remains unclear. The bishop of Aleppo recently told me to be weary because what is said outside the country is different from what is said inside.

Nonetheless, some new things are emerging. For the first time, the Arab League took a clear position. It suspended Syria from the organisation and agreed to sanctions and more.

Of course, the League’s position is somewhat ambiguous. Syria is an ally of Iran, a predominantly Shia country, whilst the Arab League is almost entirely Sunni. The Arab League’s threats against Syria might thus be motivated more by this opposition than by love for the revolution. Whatever the case may be, Syrians for the past nine months have been willing to give their life to change the situation, and this is a truly new fact.

Syria has distinct problems, those of a totalitarian power structure facing an unarmed population. Neighbouring Arab countries are said to be providing financial aid to the rebels, but a Syrian or Arab mediator is needed; otherwise, there will be destruction.

For the first time, Turkey has come to the defence of Syrian rebels. Perhaps, it has its own hegemonic goals or maybe it is acting to meet its obligations as a Western ally. Or perhaps Turkey might want to promote itself as a model of moderate Islamic nation, despite its own less than stellar human rights record.

The situation in other countries

The future is uncertain in Libya. Islamist ideas are being articulated, but the country’s main problem is how to reconcile its many tribes so that they work together for its development. With industry still in its infancy, it is unclear whether it can move forwards.

Saudi Arabia did not experience any uprising (since it was nipped in the bud by the military), but people still want some change.

By contrast, in countries like Yemen and Bahrain, a revolution did take place, leading to some significant changes. Neither can ever be the same.

Morocco too saw some volatility but no revolution. Fear was sufficient to initiate some social reforms. Even before this, the kingdom had modified its family law (Mudawwanah), giving women more legal rights.

All this suggests that people in the Arab world are seeking their own path.

What about Christians?

In general, Christians fear that Islamists will hijack the revolution. They, especially Salafists, scare us. A danger does exist, but cooperation with others is the only possibility to get the most from the situation. We should not be afraid. Naturally, working with the Islamists will be hard, but some Islamists have political plans and a desire to overcome their country’s backwardness. We must remain watchful to show them when they cross certain limits, when they violate certain rights, etc.

Dialogue is possible and useful on certain social issues. It is time we help and support each other, and show more solidarity towards non-Christians, and vice versa. It is time to work together against illiteracy, poverty, disease, etc. In the field of education and health care, Christians have already shown their generosity and professionalism towards everyone, Christian or Muslim. I think it is possible to work together with most people.

At the same time, we must defend justice, freedom of conscience, the freedom to live our faith and proclaim it; this way, we can implement the principle of equality. Egyptian Muslims speak of the “best religion”, an idea that finds application in the legal field. And of course, by best they mean Islam. For us, that is unacceptable.

Other forms of discriminations exist (men vs. women, rich vs. poor), and we must work against all of them, because they are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel.

Personally, I am not afraid of an Islamic regime. I am however concerned about intolerance. Many Muslims are also opposed to the Salafists who aim at imposing their intolerant vision of Islam (especially as it applies to women). As Christians, we cannot turn inward; instead, we must work with all those who are fighting for a society that respects human rights.

The Arab spring from a Christian perspective

Because they fear of the future, Christians tend to prefer regimes that are already in place. Such regimes are dictatorial in nature and that is a sin. If the government engages in violence, we must say that we are against violence, whatever its source, whether the opposition, ordinary citizens or the military.

We must say that we are for freedom, but not the excess of freedom that is bringing ruin to the West. We must be for equality and justice, for Christians and Muslims, for men and women. Now is the time for Christians to engage in cultural evangelisation, which is far from proselytising.

Unfortunately, the fear of Islamism is pushing Christians to turn to the past. Most of them do not want to get involved too much in politics; they just want to live in peace. However, as a Christian, it is my right and duty to be politically active.

Given this background, we can understand the position of Syria’s bishops, who prefer the known over the unknown. However, the choice is not between good and evil, but between two evils .. . . and the choice goes to the lesser of the two. Yet, our path is to say what matters.

Lastly, the West

The West has supported dictators and then ditched them. Now it is wavering. The West has been roundly criticised in Arab countries because of their reliance on countries like Saudi Arabia whose ideological foundations in the indirect source of Islamic terrorism. A country like the United States, which speaks about freedom and human rights, tends to be silent in the matter when it comes to the Saudis.

On Libya, Arabs believe the West was more interested in Libyan oil than in Libya’s freedom. In fact, it got involved only against Libya (as it did against Saddam Hussein and Iraq) and not other countries. With Syria, the West is cautious because that country plays an important geopolitical role. . . .. On Syria, the West is not unified and its position is not based on clear principles and values.

I am not an idealist. I think that each country will pursue its interests first. However, since the entire Arab world is caught up in the Arab spring, it would have been better to come up with ways of how to support (or not support) these movements.

The policy towards Israel, which is one of main causes of the Mideast crisis, is an issue that leaves Arabs dismayed, especially after they saw Barack Obama do a U-turn on the same day, first backing a two-state solution and then changing his position during Netanyahu’s visit.

The same is true for his Cairo speech, which first conquered the Arab world, but was discredited months later when it became clear that his policies would not be much different from those of Bush. His credibility is now at all-time low. One has to be committed to principles in order to be a model for others.

The same is true for Europe, which is losing its religious and cultural identity. Unable to deal with its colonial past, it tries instead to hide behind a guilty conscience instead of showing that colonialism too had some value in terms of the dialogue of cultures.

In Europe, people are turning away from the local (usually Christian) religion. The relationship between Europeans and other world religions has become ambiguous. What is more, some governments appear at times to give preference to imported religions, whilst suffocating local ones. If France, for instance, denies is historical Catholic identity, it will not be able to deal with other religions. De facto, a form of schizophrenia has evolved, ranging from the secularisation of Christian festivities to the recognition of religions, other than Christianity.

For this reason, the Arab revolution can also help many young Westerners come to their sense. In Egypt and Syria, some people risked their lives for an ideal, that of a life of dignity, and for a whole people. How many people in Italy or Europe would be willing to do that?

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Is Hague Doing Enough to Stop the Arab Spring Becoming a Winter for Christians?

by Tim Montgomerie

Islamic persecution of Christians is a massive global issue. It has grown with instability across the Middle East. The Middle East Forum’s record of violence and intolerance in November alone includes:

  • In Nigeria, “Islamic militants shouting “Allahu Akbar” carried out coordinated attacks on churches and police stations, including opening fire on a congregation of “mostly women and children,” killing dozens”;
  • Also in Nigeria, “the Muslim militant group, Boko Haram, executed two children of an ex-terrorist and “murderer” because he converted to Christianity”;
  • In Ethiopia more than 500 Muslim students assisted by Muslim police burned down a church, while screaming “Allahu Akbar”;
  • In Algeria five Christians were jailed for “worshiping in an unregistered location”;
  • In Kashmir “Muslim police arrested and beat seven converts from Islam in an attempt to obtain a confession against the priest who baptized them”;
  • In Kenya, “suspected Islamic extremists, apparently angered at the use of wine during communion—Islam forbids alcohol—threw a grenade near a church compound killing two, including an 8-year-old girl, and critically wounding three others”…

The list goes on here and I also recommend this page run by Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Fraser Nelson took up the issue for Christmas in a powerful piece in last Friday’s Telegraph. Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt MP (himself a Christian) has responded but Fraser is not satisfied with the response. Nor, some months ago, was the leader of Scotland’s Catholics. If Mr Burt and William Hague are looking for a model of how to respond they might look to Canada’s Conservative government. During this year’s election campaign Stephen Harper promised that religious freedom would become “a key pillar of Canadian foreign policy” and next month an Office for International Religious Freedom will be established inside the Department of Foreign Affairs, based on the US equivalent.

At the recent Deauville Summit Harper succeeded in inserting three references to Christian persecution in Arab states into the final communique. My source in Ottawa says the UK was not “terribly helpful” in assisting him in this. Most significantly Canada has also refocused refugee programmes on persecuted Christians. This has included accepting 20,000 Iraqi refugees over the last five years. A commitment to appoint a full-time UK envoy on religious freedom was part of William Hague’s 2001 Tory manifesto. The problem, as Ann Widdecombe recently noted, is out of control. We need a response from the Foreign Secretary that is as big as the challenge.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Monti Believes Greater Pressure Should be Applied on Iran

(AGI) Rome — Speaking at a press conference, while explaining he shares the position assumed by the international community, Prime Minister Mario Monti said greater pressure should be urgently applied on Iran with provisions reducing Teheran’s revenue from crude oil exports. Monti added that “the embargo should not be applied to imports that do not provide Iran with additional financial resources.” The premier was referring to “oil imported by ENI as payment for previously existing credit.” .

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



‘Nightmare Year’ For Women’s Rights in Turkey, Survey

160 women were murdered in Turkey in 2011 by male partners

(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 29 — In the wake of a report that 160 women were murdered in Turkey in 2011 by male partners or relatives, some are calling for women at risk to be given free guns and lessons in how to use them. The new statistics, released by the group “We Will Stop the Murders of Women”, paint a dire portrait of the state of women’s rights in Turkey, as the Istanbul newspaper Today’s Zaman writes. The report reveals that one in two of the 160 women murdered were killed “because they wanted to make an independent decision concerning their own lives”. Of these, 41% wanted to divorce or separate from their husband or partner, 32% were murdered due to jealously on the part of their husband and 16% were killed because they rejected a man’s advances. Only 23% of the women who applied to the state for protection from domestic violence this year received such assistance, the report said. Such stark statistics prompted Hayrettin Bulan, chairman of Sefkat-Der, a non-governmental group working for the protection of women, to suggest that “a last-resort solution to the problem may be to issue guns to women facing violence”. Bulan added that his organization is already in talks with shooting ranges to arrange lessons for women at risk next year. But Hulya Gulgahar, a prominent Turkish women’s rights lawyer, disagreed. “To arm women with guns will create a whole different set of problems,” she said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



The FCO Must Do More to Stem the Bloodshed

The Foreign Office has kindly responded to my Telegraph piece from last week, which suggested that they could do more to confront the religious cleansing sweeping the Middle East. In an extended version of a letter he has sent to the paper, the Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt says that his department is doing plenty:

‘Concrete examples include: Iraq, where the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have raised religious freedoms and where the FCO is funding a further meeting of the High Council of Religious Leaders; Algeria where I recently met a delegation of Christian leaders to discuss the challenges they are facing; Egypt where the Deputy Prime Minister has raised our concerns direct with the Prime Minister; and further afield, in Pakistan where we have been working closely with the Minister for Minorities to increase the profile of religious freedom.’

But I’m afraid the response only shows just how far the FCO has to go. Take Iraq, where the FCO is ‘funding a further meeting of the High Council of Religious Leaders’. Does it really think this will make the slightest difference to the number of Christians being executed by Salafi militias? A thousand have been killed by the sectarian violence there, and two-thirds of the 1.4 million Christians have now fled. The only thing left for Britain to do is grant them asylum, not sponsor talking shops for religious leaders. Egypt is midway into becoming an Iraq. This time last year, Islamist fanatics were targeting Coptic churches. One Arab Spring later, and the Egyptian military is now mowing down Christians. It’s great that Nick Clegg is expressing his concerns to the Egyptian Prime Minister about the unfolding bloodshed, but his chances of making the slightest bit of difference are comparable to a snowball’s chance of floating all the way down the Nile.

Burt says he ‘met a delegation of Christian leaders to discuss the challenges they are facing’ in Algeria on 26 Oct. That’s good to hear. But it’s not going to have much effect if William Hague doesn’t even raise the subject when he travels to Algeria (which he didn’t). It’s no good listening to concerns if they’re not passed on. Although Algeria, it should be said, is far from the worst offender. So what should the FCO be doing? It should stop religious repression long before it gets to the Iraq/Egyptian phase where massacres are taking place. In my Telegraph piece I gave a few suggestions:

1)   Deny aid to any country that does not allow freedom of religious practice (to anyone: Jews, Bahais, Christians, Sunnis).
2)   Publish an annual report on religious freedom, which would send a clear message about how seriously Britain takes this.
3)   Make clear that promoting religious freedom is regarded as a means of conflict prevention, because the next wars are as likely to be within countries as between them.

And what about William Hague giving a speech devoted to this? Nicholas Sarkozy has already called it ‘religious cleansing’, and Hague — the best speaker in Parliament — could make an even bigger impression. I’d concur with one of the clergymen I most admire, the former Bishop of Rochester Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali. Born in Pakistan, he knows the problem of religious sectarianism as well as anyone, and his letter to the Telegraph appears under the minister’s:

‘The so called Arab Spring may be a winter for Christians, women and other groups. The demands of the shari’a in the areas of blasphemy, apostasy, freedom of worship and of expression will further exacerbate the position of Christians and other non-Muslims. It is time now not just for the “quiet diplomatic word” but for action at an international level to secure the future of religious minorities in the Islamic world.’

What Burt has done is good, but is nowhere near enough. He’s a good minister, and Hague is one of the government’s best talents. Together, reformulating their policy, they could ensure that Britain leads the world in confronting this new evil.

P.S. The Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission has spent years calling for the Foreign Office to beef up its focus on religious freedom, most recently in this report. It suggested that the government ‘appoint a special envoy for international freedom of religion and belief in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and re-establish an FCO Freedom of Religion Panel to advise the Government on violations of religious freedom and methods of promoting religious freedom’.

[Reader comment by kevin on 28 Dcember 2011 at 12:19 pm]

Perhaps a good start would be to worry about religious cleansing nearer at home where hopefully something effective could be done. Tower Hamlets, Bradford, Leicester are easy examples.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Afghan Girl Locked in Toilet for 5 Months: Officials

Afghan police have rescued a teenage girl who was beaten and locked up in a toilet for over five months after she defied her in-laws who tried to force her into prostitution, officials said Tuesday.

Sahar Gul, 15, was found in the basement of her husband’s house in northeastern Baghlan province late on Monday after her parents reported her disappearance to the police.

“She was beaten, her fingernails were removed and her arm was broken,” district police chief Fazel Rahman told AFP.

Three women including the teenager’s mother in-law had been arrested in connection with the case but her husband had fled the area, he added.

The case highlights how women continue to suffer in Afghanistan despite the billions of dollars of international aid which has poured into the country during the decade-long war.

“The 15-year-old girl was brought to hospital with severe shock,” said Pul-i-Khurmeri hospital chief Dr Gul Mohammad Wardak.

“She had injuries to her legs and face and the nails on her left had been removed.”

Sahar Gul was married to her husband seven months ago in the neighbouring province of Badakhshan, but she was brought to Baghlan to live with her husband, said Rahima Zareefi, the provincial head of women affairs.

During this time her parents were unable to contact her, she said

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]

Far East


China Unveils Space Mission Plans Through 2016

The Chinese government on Thursday (Dec. 29) issued a broad statement on its five-year space program, saying top priorities include developing three new launch vehicles — including a rapid-response launch system — and mitigating its contribution to space debris. The 17-page white paper, “China’s Space Activities in 2011,” reiterates China’s focus on lunar exploration, with robotic lunar landers and a lunar sample-return mission slated for launch by 2016. The country’s well-publicized development of its manned space station in low Earth orbit is also a priority.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Police Kill Seven Muslims in West China

Beijing: Police killed at least seven Muslims in China’s restive Central Asia, news agencies reported.

The officials said this was an attempt to end a kidnapping by terrorists while rights group termed it as excessive force. Report said police officers opened fire after they encountered resistance in a Wednesday night raid on a mountain hideout outside Hotan city to free two men kidnapped by “a violent terrorist group.” Aside from the seven dead, four people were injured and another four arrested, and while police freed the two hostages, one officer was killed and another injured, said an account on the official website of Xinjiang, the region where the incident took place. A spokeswoman for the Xinjiang government confirmed the account and identified the kidnappers and their hostages as Uighurs, the indigenous, mainly Muslim ethnic group.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Scott, Amundsen… And Nobu Shirase

Japan also had a heroic explorer dashing to the South Pole 100 years ago — and he did it on a shoestring

FOR a few weeks in January 1912, Antarctica was teeming with explorers. Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian party had reached the South Pole on 14 December and were speeding back to the coast. On 17 January, Robert Scott and the men of the British Antarctic expedition had arrived at the pole to find they had been beaten to it. Dejected, they began to retrace their steps in what turned out to be their final journey. Just then, a third man with polar aspirations arrived on the scene. Nobu Shirase was a little late but no less determined to cover himself in glory.

In the story of the race to the South Pole, Shirase is the invisible man. A Japanese explorer, his part in one of the greatest adventure stories of the 20th century is hardly known outside his own country. Yet as Scott was nearing the pole and with the world still unaware of Amundsen’s triumph, Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic expedition sailed into Antarctica’s Bay of Whales in the smallest ship ever to try its luck in these perilous waters. On 19 January 1912, the little wooden schooner sailed up to the edge of the Ross ice shelf and left Shirase and his men to scale the immense wall of ice ready for a daring dash south.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Australia — Pacific


Pigeons Match Monkeys in Abstract Counting Skills

They are not renowned for their brainpower, but pigeons may be as smart as monkeys when it comes to arithmetic. Three pigeons were shown a computer screen displaying images with one, two or three shapes and trained to list the shapes in ascending order. To receive a reward of wheat, the birds learned to peck the images in the correct order.

Moreover, after they had learned this skill, the birds could perform the task with pairs of images containing anything from one to nine objects. Two rhesus monkeys were the first non-human animals to perform this task in an experiment in 1998. The pigeons are the first non-primates to manage it.

“We show they can apply what they have learned with a small set of numbers — from one to three — to numbers they’ve not seen before,” says lead researcher Damian Scarf of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. “The learning and applying of abstract numerical rules is not unique to primates.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Diplomatic Supping With Jihadist Devils

While Western diplomats wring their hands over trivial insults to Islam, a slow-motion genocide of Christians has been unfolding in the Muslim world. The latest attack occurred on Christmas day in Nigeria, where the terrorist sect Boko Haram bombed two Catholic churches in the towns of Abuja and Jos, killing at least 39 worshipers. This same group killed 32 Christians last Christmas Eve. In this year alone, Boko Haram has murdered 491 people.

The killings in Nigeria are just one example of continuous violent attacks on Christians and their churches. Yet our Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been nearly silent about this war on Christianity. When the Egyptian military participated in the murder of 25 Egyptian Copts, her State Department​ rejected a request from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to put Egypt on its list of countries that violate religious freedoms. Instead, Secretary Clinton​ issued a generic warning to the generals ruling Egypt “to ensure that the fundamental rights of all Egyptians are respected, including the rights of religious freedom, peaceful assembly and the end of military trials for civilians, and that efforts be made to address sectarian tensions.” Compare this reflexive diplo-speak to her more passionate reaction to the recent beating of Egyptian women during a demonstration, one of whom was publicly stripped: “This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people,” she said. Apparently, exposing a woman’s blue bra is a more heinous crime than running over a Copt’s head with a military vehicle.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Ghana: Leader of Sufi Sect Cautions Muslim Youth Against Electoral Violence

The Spiritual Head of the Sufi Sect of the Tijanniya Muslim Council of Ghana, has asked Muslim youth to reject overtures by politicians who are out there to create confusion in pursuit of their self-serving agenda. Sheikh Khalifa Abdul Faidi said as the nation prepares towards the 2012 General Election, the youth should be more alert and refuse to be part of any evil project likely to stir up violence and wreck the peace. He said it should not be lost on them that Islam stands for peace and asked adherents of the religion to mirror the virtue.

Sheikh Faidi admonished the youth to distant themselves from acts that would dent the image of Islam. Sheikh Faidi was speaking at the launch of the 36th annual “Sufi Maulud” celebration of the Tijanniya in Kumasi. It is a religious tradition performed to mark the birth day of the Founder of the Tijanniya Sect, Sheikh Ahmed Tijanni. The event fixed for January 5- January 7, 2012, would be held at Prang in the Brong Ahafo Region. Sheikh Faidi appealed to the citizenry, especially leaders of the political parties, to be more responsible in their conduct to prevent tension ahead of the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections. He said it is important for the political parties to accept to play by the rules of fairness and transparency to ensure the success of the polls. GNA

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Humanitarian Operator Killed in Somalia

(AGI) Mogadishu — A humanitarian operator was gunned down today by a man who attacked him in his office in Mogadishu. A colleague of the victim, initially thought to be dead, was actually badly injured in the thigh and lost lots of bllod, but did survive. Both worked for the humanitarian NGO ‘Medecins sans Frontieres’ and apparently both were foreign.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Nigeria: Bombings: Muslim Lawyers Urge More Dialogue

The Federal Capital Territory chapter of the Muslim Lawyers Association (MULAN) has called for more dialogue to resolve the spate of bomb attacks and insecurity in the country.

Chairman of the association, Bar. Abdullahi Awwal Muhammad, while condemning the Boko Haram bombing of St Theresa Catholic Church, Madala, Niger State, said the incident is barbaric, uncivilized and against Islamic teachings. He said this period is a testing time for the country’s democracy and there is need for people of all faiths to work and pray together for a lasting solution to the problem. “This period should enable both Muslims and Christians to dialogue with each other more than before and proffer solutions to end the crises. All countries that have been democratic have undergone several kinds of crises before they get to where they are today. This is the sacrifice that we have to pay to stabilise our own democracy. The only thing is for us to continue to dialogue with one another and look at ways to solve the problem instead of apportioning blames,” Muhammad said. He also urged government to be more proactive in tackling the security challenges facing the country, adding that government should go beyond mounting check points and CCTV cameras in strategic places but provide modern equipment that could check vehicles and enhance security in the land. While felicitating with Christians on the Christmas celebration, he urged them to imbibe the teachings of Jesus Christ.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Uganda: Pastor Mulinde’s Health Improving

By Taddeo Bwambale

The health of Pastor Umar Mulinde of Gospel Life Church International who was attacked with acid on Christmas Eve, is improving.

Speaking exclusively to the New Vision, Mulinde said he felt some improvement in his condition. He said the pain all over his body had greatly reduced.

“I am recovering. Experts are monitoring my condition and they have promised to do their best to help me recover,” Mulinde, who is currently admitted at International Hospital Kampala (IHK), said.

He is under strict guidelines by doctors at IHK not to talk for long, as this affects the sores on his lips. The doctors are struggling to restore his sight after his right eye was affected during the attack.

“My right eye which had closed has been opened. But I cannot see anything at the moment,” Mulinde said.

Unknown people laced Pastor Mulinde with acid as he left his church, leaving his face, neck and other parts of his body severely injured.

The incident occurred at about 9:00pm in the parking lot of the church located in Namasuba, a suburb along the Kampala-Entebbe Highway.

The police are investigating whether his attack is linked to his conversion from Islam to Christianity, or a land wrangle involving a prominent businessman.

On Monday, Pastor Mulinde blamed the attack on religious fanatics opposed to his conversion from Islam, as well as his strong critique on the faith during religious debates and sermons.

The Police have so far arrested one person in connection with the attack.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]

Latin America


Hugo Chavez Wonder if USA Gave Him Cancer

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hinted that the U.S. may be behind a “very strange” bout of cancer affecting several leaders aligned with him in South America. Chavez, speaking a day after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, said the Central Intelligence Agency was behind chemical experiments in Guatemala in the 1940s and that it’s possible that in years to come a plot will be uncovered that shows the U.S. spread cancer as a political weapon against its critics.

“It’s very difficult to explain, even with the law of probabilities, what has been happening to some of us in Latin America,” Chavez said in a nationally televised speech to the military. “Would it be so strange that they’ve invented technology to spread cancer and we won’t know about it for 50 years?”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Brussels Rules Let 11,000 Migrants a Year Slip Into the UK by the Back Door

Brussels rules are letting thousands of migrants into Britain ‘by the back door’.

Nearly 11,000 moved here this year on the basis of having been given citizenship in another EU country.

The total, revealed in figures from the Office for National Statistics, is up more than a third on the 8,000 cases recorded in 2006. Many of the migrants would normally have been barred from taking up residence in Britain.

But under EU rules they are automatically entitled to come here once they have EU citizenship and start working — or claiming benefits. The data, compiled from passenger surveys, shows that 47,000 non-EU immigrants have found their way to the UK using this method over the past five years.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Indian to Serve 15 Years for Killing ‘Disrespectful’ Son

Rome, 22 Dec. (AKI) — An Indian immigrant was brought to prison Thursday after a Rome appeals court upheld a 15-year-four-month sentence he received for killing his son because he didn’t respect Indian culture or a father’s domestic authority.

K.V., 41, in April 2009 was arrested at his home in the coastal town of Anzio near the Italian capital where he stabbed his son in chest during heated argument because he deemed the 21-year-old victim disrespectful after coming home after 1:00 am.

K.V. and his wife called an ambulance but the son died soon after arriving at the hospital.

The culture clash between parents and their children born in Italy’s expanding immigrant community at times results violence.

In 2010 a Pakistani immigrant was arrested with his son on suspicion of bludgeoning his wife to death near the northern Italian city of Modena after she defended her daughter for refusing an arranged marriage. In June a Moroccan carpenter living near Venice was arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife to death because she wanted to leave him and begin a more liberated and western life with another man.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Agency Slams Immigrant Language Class Failings

Many of Sweden’s municipalities fail to place newly arrived immigrants in Swedish language classes within the time frames stipulated by law, a new investigation has found. “It’s regrettable that municipalities don’t prioritize the possibility for new arrivals to start their education as soon as possible,” Erica Sahlin, a project leader with the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen), said in a statement. “The sooner one can start with Swedish, the easier it is for one to get established both in the labour market and in society in general.”

Around half of the 39 municipalities recently reviewed by the agency suffered from one shortcoming or another when it came to their ability to offer new arrivals a place in Swedish language classes specifically designed for immigrants. According to Sweden’s establishment reform laws, which came into force about a year ago and are designed to help ease immigrants’ transition into Swedish society, newly arrived refugees should have the option of beginning Swedish language studies within one month of applying for a spot in Swedish for immigrants (Svenskundervisning för invandrare — SFI) language classes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK:£42million Bill to Get Remove Failed Asylum Seekers: How Taxpayer Funding for Secretive Flights Has Quadrupled in Past Seven Years

The Government has spent £42million on secretive flights to send failed asylum seekers back home, it was revealed today.

British taxpayers are forking out a staggering £500,000 each month to fund expensive air travel arrangements for foreign nationals who have lost bids to stay in the country.

Entire aircraft are rented by UK Borders Agency staff to send up to 100 immigrants back home at a time to prevent passengers on scheduled services witnessing ‘distressing’ removals.

The average cost of enforcing the removal of a failed asylum seeker was £11,000 in 2005, but this figure had risen to up to £17,000 by 2009.

Including accommodation and support costs, some cases that year cost as much as £25,60.

Figures obtained under Freedom Of Information laws show the shadowy flights — which do not show on airport departure screens — have quadrupled in the last seven years.

In 2004, the data shows £1.73million was spent on sending back those who had failed in bids to stay in the UK.

That soared to £10.4million in 2009/10 and £8.5million in the past year. Over the seven year period the total is estimated to be £42million.

Figures show a record number of foreign nationals, 42,552, were either forcibly removed or went home voluntarily last year. Those journeys were undertaken on either charter or scheduled flights, mostly from UK airports.

A total of 306,535 had been repatriated in the seven years up to September, the data shows.

In 2005/06 the amount spent on charter flights rose to £4.3million and has continued to rise.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


UK: Emin ‘Outsider’ In Art World for Voting Tory

Tracey Emin has said that she feels an “outsider” in the art fraternity after admitting she voted for the Conservatives in the last general election. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday morning, which she was guest-editing, she said people could be “really abusive” about the decision, as people in the art world “never vote Tory”. Emin defended the Conservatives’ record on dealing with the arts saying that they were doing “quite good actually”, but that hard economic times ensured that “everything is being cut and there isn’t any money”. The topic arose after Emin, 48, was told someone had written to Today saying she should not be on the programme as she was a “Tory stooge”. Emin was quick to defend herself, saying: “I voted as an individual, I live in a democracy and I am allowed to vote for what I want, and I wish people would understand that.”

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

General


Scientists Hunt for Meteor Crash Clues in 200-Million-Year-Old Murder Mystery

Mass extinctions are a relatively common theme in the history and evolution of life on Earth, and the most famous one is the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. A plethora of research has been conducted to determine how the dinosaur era ended, generating theories of massive volcanic eruptions, catastrophic climate change and giant impactors from space. However, much less is known about another remarkable extinction event that occurred roughly 135 million years earlier — an extinction that may have set the stage for the age of dinosaurs .

The mass extinction that occurred just before the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods wiped out much of the life on land and in the oceans, leaving the world ripe for dinosaurs to plunder. For astrobiologists, the causes of this extinction comprise one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time. Now, a team of scientists is helping to reveal the secrets of the Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) extinction by studying geological formations around the world that bear evidence of a traumatic disruption in Earth’s ecosystems some 200 million years ago.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111228

Financial Crisis
» 2012: Make-or-Break Year for the Euro
» Greece: Full Speed Ahead for Privatizations
» Italian Rates Plunge at Bond Auctions
» Italy: Bond Spread Falls Below 490 Basis Points
» Italy: Interest Rates Halved at Treasury Bond Sale
 
USA
» A Fearful Symmetry
» Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Again Top Most Admired List
» Floridians Want More Naked Germans to Visit
» Laughs for Islam
» Muslim Brotherhood ‘Has Infiltrated Our Highest Positions in Government’, Claims US Talk Show Host
 
Europe and the EU
» Germany: State Invests Millions in Revamping Nazi Retreat
» Germany: Air Berlin Takes Off With Etihad Airlines
» Greek Elections Pushed Back to April
» Ireland Plans Referendum Body to Prepare for Possible EU Treaty Poll
» Italy: ‘Spumante to Beat Champagne Worldwide on New Year’s Eve’
» Italy: Another Bit Falls Off Colosseum
» Netherlands: Jerusalem Post Gives Another Boost to Wilders’ Party
» Scotland: Miscarriage of Justice Points to Fingerprint Flaws
» Slovenia’s Maribor Mobilizes Residents for European Year of Culture
» Somalis ‘Shut Out’ of Sweden’s Health System
» Sweden: Court Orders Vilks Plot Suspects Released
» Swiss Data Hacked in ‘Anonymous’ Attack
» Tapping Algae for Fuel in Sweden
» UK: ‘Gangsta’ Faced Jail for Phone Robbery
» UK: 1.2m Criminals Get Benefits
» UK: Arguably Hitchens
» UK: Boxing Day Stabbing May be Linked to String of Gang Clashes on Oxford Street
» UK: EDL Leader in Lay-by Attack
» UK: I’m Sure Harriet Harman Enjoyed That Dr Who. But Did Anyone Else?
» UK: Middlesborough Deters Teens With Pig Dung
» UK: Plans Unveiled for a New Islamic Place of Worship in Purley Town Centre
» UK: Record Numbers of Parents Convicted of Letting Pupils Play Truant in One Year as 9,000 Are Charged
» UK: The Priest Who Thought Stalin Was a Saint
» UK: Wimbledon Guardian Review of the Year — April
 
North Africa
» Egypt Charges Three Soldiers With ‘Manslaughter’ In the Maspero Massacre
» Egypt: Unspoken Muslim Brotherhood-Military Agreement
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Fighting in the Church of the Nativity
» No News: Hitler as Role Model
 
Middle East
» Ankara Accused of ‘Abandoning’ Israel and France by Dutch Freedom Party
» EU to Pursue Iran Sanctions Despite Threat of Strait Closure
» Iran: Judiciary Ruling in Execution of Woman Causes International Outcry
» Kuwait: Grand Mosque Showcases Array of Islamic Art
» Saudi Arabia: Kingdom Will Continue to Follow Salafist Ideology: Prince Naif
» Syria on the Brink of Civil War, Says German Defense Expert
» The Islamists Who Stole Christmas
 
Russia
» Russia, Turkey Clinch South Stream
» Russia Plans ‘Eurasian Union’ On EU Model
 
South Asia
» Afghanistan: Kabul Specifies Rules of the Game for Taliban Talks
» India: New Delhi’s Decision to ‘Muzzle’ The Net Creates Protest
 
Far East
» A Nervous Region Watches as North Korea Mourns Kim Jong Il
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Does Nigeria’s Taliban Have the West in Its Sights?
» Pope Condemns Nigeria Christmas Attacks
» Refugees in Nigeria
 
Immigration
» Italy: Foreigners to Triple by 2056
 
Culture Wars
» The Left and ‘The Future of History’

Financial Crisis


2012: Make-or-Break Year for the Euro

The new year promises to be make or break time for the eurozone, with dramatic integration into a new fiscal union for most and predictions that one “small country” could leave the currency area. If 2011 went down as the “annus horribilis” for the European Union’s symbol of integration, leaders of Germany, France and debt-laden monetary partners face stark choices as they enter 2012, a decade after euro notes and coins first entered into everyday circulation.

The euro debt crisis could bring all of Europe to its knees, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a recent speech reflecting on contagion that spread from Greece through also bailed-out Ireland and Portugal before hitting Spain and finally Italy. “What kind of Europe will we have left if the euro disappears, if Europe’s economic heart collapses?” he asked.

A radical transformation is under way precisely to avoid that doomsday scenario, one that would eventually blur differences even in tax and welfare systems across the core eurozone economies. But one also that may not be without an early casualty: for instance, the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Philip Hampton, expects one “small country” to leave the eurozone in 2012. His comment, made as Greece was wrapping up painful negotiations over a massive write-down with some of the world’s biggest banks, was echoed by others in the City of London.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Full Speed Ahead for Privatizations

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 28 — The Greek state privatization fund (TAIPED) is racing full throttle into the first quarter of the new year, having already chosen which state assets should be the first to go, as daily Kathimerini reports.

The sale of the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA), the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA), Hellenic Defense Systems (EAS), the Greek Organization for Horse Racing (ODIE), the LARCO mining and metallurgical company and a small number of real estate properties are the most likely to see invitations for expressions of interest in the next one to three months, according to TAIPED officials. The same sources argue that the outcome of the new privatizations being prepared, as well as those already under way, such as the state lotteries and the former airport at Elliniko, depend primarily on economic developments in Europe and to a lesser extent on the climate in Greece. A key condition will be the successful completion of the new private sector involvement (PSI+) plan, a well-informed official noted. TAIPED is also preparing for other longer-term sell-offs, such as the extension of concession contracts for the major road projects around the country, for which a solution is being sought via negotiations with the contractors. TAIPED’s administration appears upbeat on the issue but hasn’t revealed any details.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italian Rates Plunge at Bond Auctions

Italy has paid dramatically lower rates at two bond sales on Wednesday. The fall in borrowing costs is being seen as a signal that market sentiment is becoming more positive as Italy’s austerity measures take effect.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Bond Spread Falls Below 490 Basis Points

ECB deposits surge to record high

(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — The spread between long-term Italian bonds and the German benchmark bond fell below 490 basis points on Wednesday after the European Central Bank reported record deposits from European banks overnight.

The spread on the 10-year Treasury bond was at 486.6 basis points in early trading with a yield of 6.8%.

On Tuesday the spread rose to 516.6 basis points in early trading before falling to 505.7 basis points at the end of the day. European Union banks left 452 billion euros with the Frankfurt-based ECB on Tuesday, the most since the euro’s introduction in 1999 and up from the previous record of 411.8 billion euros a day earlier.

The ECB last week loaned 523 banks a record 489 billion euros for three years to keep credit flowing through the 17-nation eurozone. Premier Mario Monti and his cabinet were due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the second phase of the government’s economic package and measures to stimulate growth.

The government’s credibility was to be put to the test with 11.5 billion euros worth of bonds to be sold at a Treasury bond auction on Wednesday and 8.5 billion euros worth of bonds to go on sale on Friday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Interest Rates Halved at Treasury Bond Sale

But long-term spreads return to 500 mark

(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — Interest rates were halved at Wednesday’s Treasury bond auction but the positive impact was short-lived as the spread between the long-term bond against the German benchmark returned to 500 basis points.

Interest rates at the six-month bond auction fell to 3.251% from 6.504% at the end of November.

But after 10-year bonds fell to 482 basis points in early trading, the spread surged to the psychologically significant 500-mark once again to deliver a yield of 6.91%.

The Treasury bond auction took place a day after European Union banks deposited a record 452 billion euros with the European Central Bank on Tuesday, the most since the euro’s introduction in 1999.

The ECB last week loaned 523 banks a record 489 billion euros for three years to keep credit flowing through the 17-nation eurozone.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

USA


A Fearful Symmetry

What is happening in American politics is simply astounding. Here is an incumbent President whose approval ratings are rightly dire. He is the most far-left, dangerous and damaging President the US has ever known. In office, he has amply fulfilled the worst fears of those like myself who warned well before he was even elected that his agenda was to neuter America’s influence abroad and to extend the reach of the state into people’s lives at home. In foreign policy, he has made the world an immeasurably more dangerous place by strengthening America’s enemies and dumping on its allies (even vitiating the sacrifice of America’s own soldiers in Iraq, now poised to descend into world-threatening anarchy because of the militarily illiterate and defeatist withdrawal of US forces from there). With the US economy tanking so disastrously, one might think that such a President offered an open goal for the Republicans. Yet the amazing fact is that the Republicans just have not got a credible candidate. One after the other, they have been exposed as either embarrassingly third rate or off-the-wall or both.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Again Top Most Admired List

Clinton Most Admired Woman a record 16th time

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama continue to be named by Americans as the Most Admired Woman and Most Admired Man living today in any part of the world. Clinton has been the Most Admired Woman each of the last 10 years, and Obama has been the Most Admired Man four years in a row. Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, and Condoleezza Rice round out the top five Most Admired women, while the top five Most Admired men also include George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Billy Graham, and Warren Buffett.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Floridians Want More Naked Germans to Visit

Pandabare, a nudist community in western Florida, United States, has won an advertising grant to tempt German nudists to try stripping off stateside. According to the Reuters news agency, Pandabare were awarded $3,800 in tax money by the Pasco County commission to get Germans to holiday in one of the organization’s 16 resorts, campgrounds and clubs in the county north of Tampa. The ads, to be placed in European magazines, will promote Pasco’s reputation as the nudist capital of the US.

“The idea is to create a ‘Euro-bird’ season in July and August which are our worst two months of the year,” said Eric Keaton, public communications manager for the Pasco County tourist agency. Keaton claims nudism was an important part of the local economy. The primary target market for the ad campaign will be Germany which, according to Pandabare’s application document, is “a large and lucrative market whose millions of nudists are among the world’s most prolific travellers.” Keaton said the advertisements, set to launch in 2012, are still in the conceptual stage, but he promised, “They are very clean, and somewhat funny.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Laughs for Islam

Armed with humor and a desire to engage in dialogue about Islam, a troupe of four Muslim comedians performed in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Billed as ‘The Muslims are Coming!’ comedy tour, they also set up a “Name that Religion” game in Birmingham, Ala. and an “Ask a Muslim” booth in Lawrenceville, Ga. What they found was often surprising.

Negin Farsad

Q. How do you identify with Islam?

A. I’m pretty secular. Maybe even super-duper secular. I consider myself culturally Muslim like Christian friends who might say they’re Christian but never go to church, or Jewish friends who barely celebrate Passover but have a great matzo ball soup recipe. I also view it as a minority/socio-political designation, i.e. to say you’re Muslim is to identify with a group that is being marginalized and by identifying with them, you may help bolster their cause. Because of the current climate, admitting that I’m a Muslim has taken on a larger political meaning.

Q. How much of a role does religion play in your daily life?

A. Religious edicts were passed down to my parents — edicts like, “don’t be a dick to people” (so to speak) and its those edicts that guide my every day (non-dickish) behavior. I don’t eat pork, not because there’s anything wrong with it — s***, sometimes its delicious! — but because I grew up in a household that didn’t eat pork. So, Islam has had an effect on me even though I don’t brandish a Koran around or pray multiple times a day. That’s how religion inserts itself into someone’s cultural reality and it certainly has inserted itself into mine.

Q. Years doing comedy as a full-time job?

A. 5 years as a standup comedian, filmmaker and television/web comedy writer (this is my third film so its more accurate to say I’m a “comedian/filmmaker”)

Q. Where does your comedic inspiration come from?

A. Ah… that’s a good question that even mystifies me. When I see ridiculous things, I write them down. When someone says something absurd, I write it down. When I feel like crap, and the root cause of it is something perfectly embarrassing, I write it down. And sometimes I just turn on Fox news and let the jokes flow over me. I don’t make religion funny. I think religious texts are hilarious because the parables in them are combination sci-fi flick and MMORPG. So those can be funny. A dude parted a sea, frogs rained, something about a hat — that’s all very funny. I hope no one gets their panties in a ruffle because you have to admit, its entertaining. But, what I don’t make fun of are the moral guidelines that people get from those parables or the basic ethical tenets of a religion. Ethics aren’t funny, they’re just good rules to live by. Even I have a line that I don’t cross when it comes to making light of religions — I can’t tell you exactly where that line is, but I know it when I see it.

Q. Childhood dream job?

A. I wanted to be President of the United States… and I settled on comedian.

Q. Favorite pizza topping?

A. PEPPERONI! That’s only half true because I’m actually one of those weirdos that loves pineapple on my pizza. Don’t judge me.

Q. If you weren’t a comedian, what would you be doing?

A. I would be a policy analyst-turned-elected official. In fact, before comedy I was a policy adviser for the City of New York. It was important stuff and I really believed in it but I just had to go through with this comedy thing.

Q. What’s next for you?

A. After “The Muslims Are Coming!” documentary feature is all done, I’ll be back to standup and then… eh, probably another movie. But more than likely I’ll settle on a really long nap.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Muslim Brotherhood ‘Has Infiltrated Our Highest Positions in Government’, Claims US Talk Show Host

Former “Saturday Night Live” actress Victoria Jackson, working on confidential information she as a web talk show host has special clearance to obtain, has claimed that the United States is being overtaken by radical Muslims bent on bringing the nation under Sharia law. “I just went to a briefing in Washington DC, across the street from the Capitol, at the Longworth building at 8:30 am two days ago and it changed my life,” Jackson said last week on her web show, “Politichicks.” “For six hours, I saw pictures and names and dates and facts and Islamic law books and Korans, Surahs for six hours and they proved to me… that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated our highest positions in government and this is serious.”

Huffington Post, 27 December 2011

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Germany: State Invests Millions in Revamping Nazi Retreat

Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state is investing millions of euros in a plan to turn a former elite school for Nazi children into a popular tourist attraction. More than €32 million in government money will be invested in the Ordensburg Vogelsang project, which is to include several exhibition spaces on the history of the resort and the surrounding region, as well as a restaurant and welcome area by 2014.

Plans to open a youth hostel and a retreat building for young people have been scrapped for the time being due to funding issues, but officials said they still hope to see them constructed in the future. They are also hoping the state funding is seen as a positive signal by potential private investors, though they admit its isolated location and dark past may be seen as deterrents.

Ordensburg Vogelsang, in North Rhine-Westphalia’s Eifel National Park, was an elite education facility for young Nazi party members. Students there were usually the children of prominent party leaders who took part in intensive physical training and learned about Nazi ideals. After World War II Belgium used it as a training facility until it was handed back to the Germans in 2005. It has been open to civilian visitors ever since.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Air Berlin Takes Off With Etihad Airlines

Etihad Airways will increase its stake in financially troubled Air Berlin. The Abu Dhabi state-controlled airline and the German discount carrier will also cooperate commercially, including a code-sharing agreement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greek Elections Pushed Back to April

A general election in Greece to replace the technocratic administration of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has been pushed back to April, governing parties have agreed, although the precise date remains unclear. The current government needs two additional months to settle plans outlining fresh austerity and structural adjustment demanded by international lenders and to complete negotiations with creditors over a multi-billion-euro debt write-down.

Speaking to a meeting of the political council of the centre-left Pasok, finance minister Evangelos Venizelos told his party colleagues that elections would be later than the 19 February date originally agreed. “Elections will be held after Easter, in late April,” he said, according to Agence France Presse.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Ireland Plans Referendum Body to Prepare for Possible EU Treaty Poll

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said he intends to establish a permanent referendum commission so that the public is fully prepared for a possible poll on the fiscal discipline treaty currently being drawn up by member states. “I cannot give you an indication now as to whether there will actually be a referendum in respect of the inter-governmental agreement from the European business until the text is finalised and we get the advice of the attorney general,” said Kenny on Tuesday (28 December), according to PA.

“What I am going to do though is set up the Referendum Commission on a much more permanent basis so that the commission will be able to reflect in readiness as to what is actually going to happen.” Referendum commissions are set up ahead of each referendum in Ireland to give neutral information on the topic being put to vote.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: ‘Spumante to Beat Champagne Worldwide on New Year’s Eve’

Italian bubbly will edge out French rival thanks to record sales

(ANSA) — Rome, December 27 — Italian spumante will beat French champagne when corks are popped around the world this New Year’s Eve, Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti said Tuesday.

The Italian bubbly is set to edge out its French elder cousin thanks to a record 25% rise in sales in the first 10 months of the year, Coldiretti said, compared to just 3.5% for champagne.

More than 300 million bottles of spumante will be opened on the night of December 31 thanks to growth spurts of 37% in the United States, 25% in the UK and 8% in Germany, the leading spumante importer, Coldiretti said.

Among the new lovers of Italy’s bubbly is Russia, fourth in the import standings with a record rise of 40%.

“Italian spumante’s success abroad is accompanied by its unquestioned leadership in Italy where nine out of 10 toasts will be ‘Made in Italy’,” Coldiretti said. Coldiretti said spumante was riding high despite the economic crisis at home and abroad.

“Sales are anti-cyclic and there will be an estimated 2% rise in household consumption in Italy at the end of the year, in clear contrast with the general economic trend”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Another Bit Falls Off Colosseum

(ANSAmed) — Rome — The Colosseum lost another bit of masonry Tuesday following a fragment of wall that fell off on Christmas Day, fire services said. “Another small piece of tufa (stone) fell from an arch facing the Arch of Constantine,” they said. “No one was hurt, though tourists were a bit surprised”. The Christmas Day incident, which sparked headlines like Colosseum Falling on Tourists, spurred calls to bring forward a planned restoration of the iconic monument. Work is currently scheduled to start in March on a two-year revamp funded by footwear magnate Diego Della Valle.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Netherlands: Jerusalem Post Gives Another Boost to Wilders’ Party

The Dutch Freedom Party, the Netherlands’s third largest political party, urged the Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministries last week to reconsider Turkey’s continued membership in NATO. Geert Wilders, head of the party, and its Mideast expert, deputy Wim Kortenoeven, accused Turkey of abandoning its allies — Israel earlier this year, and now France.

Turkey severed diplomatic and military ties with France last week, over the French parliamentary resolution on the current Turkish government’s reaction to the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of Christian Armenians in 1915. The empire preceded the modern secular Turkish state founded in 1923, and the French deemed the state’s denial that these events represented genocide to be punishable by a monetary fine.

Kortenoeven, a leading European specialist on the Mideast and author of several books on the region, told The Jerusalem Post that since Turkey has a short but disturbing history of abandoning allies, it could be a lethal mistake to entrust them with the custody of a crucial element of the new Western/European defense system against nuclear rogue states such as Iran and Pakistan. The Dutch lawmakers asked that the slated missile shield to be installed in Turkey be reconsidered. The party’s military spokesman, Marcial Hernandez, also posed questions to the ministries regarding Turkey’s reliability as a NATO partner. The Dutch Freedom Party opposes militant Islam and has generated much controversy in Europe due to its criticisms of political and reactionary strands of Islam in Holland and throughout Europe.

Jerusalem Post, 26 December 2011

You’ll note that the report distorts the position of the PVV with regard to Islam. Wilders and his party have made it clear that they oppose not just “militant Islam” or “political and reactionary strands of Islam” but the entire faith. The Jerusalem Post can hardly claim ignorance of that fact. When Wilders visited Israel in 2008 to show his film Fitna, the paper reported that he described Islam as “a totalitarian ideology ‘full of hate, violence and submission’“. For an earlier example of the Jerusalem Post promoting the PVV (“The Party for Freedom has prioritized Israel’s security interests and sees combating extremist Islam as integral to defending Israel and Western liberal values”) see here.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Scotland: Miscarriage of Justice Points to Fingerprint Flaws

FINGERPRINTS were once the cornerstone of forensic identification. Now a report into a miscarriage of justice has renewed pressure on print examiners to improve their methods, while two new studies reveal the extent of their fallibility. The results could change the fingerprint profession worldwide.

The Fingerprint Inquiry was launched by the Scottish government after detective Shirley McKie was acquitted of perjury. Flawed fingerprint analysis was the only evidence against her. The report, published on 14 December, concludes that human error was to blame and voices serious concerns about how fingerprint analysts report matches. It recommends that they no longer report conclusions with 100 per cent certainty, and develop a process for analysing complex, partial or smudged prints involving at least three independent examiners who fully document their findings.

The recommendations lay bare fundamental problems which have demanded attention for decades, says Jim Fraser, a forensic scientist at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK. In interviews with 400 fingerprint experts from around the world, he found that 80 per cent believe fingerprint identifications are reliable. And although several recent cases have hinted that fingerprint analysis should be treated with caution, it remains a mainstay of forensic identification.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Slovenia’s Maribor Mobilizes Residents for European Year of Culture

Maribor, Slovenia’s second-largest city, hopes to activate locals and attract visitors as it celebrates its cultural heritage in 2012. Two decades after the fall of communism and the independence of Slovenia, the former industrial city of Maribor is striving to create a new cultural identity.

Located at the foot of the Alps in the eastern part of Slovenia, one of the EU’s smallest countries, Maribor is close to the Austrian and Croatian borders. Several notable Renaissance buildings, as well one of Europe oldest synagogues can be found in Maribor’s Old Town. But today, large residential areas and shopping centers give Slovenia’s second largest city another character.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Somalis ‘Shut Out’ of Sweden’s Health System

Many Somalis in Sweden feel dismissed when visiting a doctor in Sweden, according to a new study, which shows that many end up looking abroad for medical treatment as a result.

As a part of his study, Svenberg also interviewed doctors in training and found they sometimes find it difficult to understand patients from Somalia. There are often misunderstandings when an interpreter is present and some doctors tell of feeling left out when they cannot communicate directly with their patient.

Between the 2000 and 2010, around 25,500 Somalis applied for asylum in Sweden, according to figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB) and the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket). During the same time period, around 14,000 Somalis took Swedish citizenship. As of 2010, there were approximately 30,800 Somali citizens in Sweden.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Court Orders Vilks Plot Suspects Released

The three men accused of planning to murder controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks in a foiled attack in Gothenburg on September should be sentenced to prison, prosecutors argued in their closing arguments on Wednesday. “My client is incredibly relieved,” defence attorney Urban Gilborne told the TT news agency following news of his client’s release, announced late Wednesday afternoon by the Gothenburg District Court. “I’ve also spoken with his family and they are overjoyed and excited that he’s coming home.”

According to Gilborne, the court’s decision to life the remand order on the three suspects, who have been held in custody since September, is a sign that they are innocent. He emphasized, however, that the final verdict won’t be announced until January 20th. “I’ve claimed the whole time that the evidence was weak,” he said.

Vilks, known for his controversial artwork published in Nerikes Allehanda in 2007, has been subject to several attacks and threats and has received plenty of media attention. During a four day hearing, which concluded on Wednesday, prosecutors attempted to prove that the three men suspects intended to murder Vilks during a biennial art show at the Röda Sten gallery in Göteborg on September 11th.

The evidence against the three men, identified in court documents as Abdi Aziz Mahamud, a 26-year-old Somali citizen living in Sweden, and Swedish citizens Salar Sami Mahamood, 24, and Abdi Weli Mohamud, 26, consists of recordings of telephone calls between them. But Ulf Ahlstedt, the lawyer representing one of the three men, argued that the recordings weren’t sufficient enough to prove his clients’ guilt. “The recording quality of the telephone calls is not clear enough and this evidence cannot be relied on,” said Ahlstedt to news agency TT.

In closing arguments, the prosecutor argued the suspects should be convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to at least three years in prison. In addition, the alleged murder plot could be seen as an attack on Vilks’ freedom of expression, which strengthens the cause for conviction, the prosecutor said. Whilst the men admit that they hate Vilks, they deny having plotted his murder. Swedish security service Säpo had had men under observation for several months prior to their arrest in early September 2011.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Swiss Data Hacked in ‘Anonymous’ Attack

The department of Foreign Affairs, the Swiss army, private bank Julius Bär and Nestlé are among the victims of a hacking attack targeting US security firm Stratfor on Christmas Eve. Swiss German-language public radio DRS revealed on Tuesday that it had received access to a vast file containing the credit card details, phone numbers, passwords and private addresses of Swiss citizens working for companies which use Stratfor’s services. The file, thousands of pages long, was one of the documents stolen by Anonymous, a hacking syndicate.

In an online message posted on Sunday, Anonymous derided Stratfor for exposing their clients to the risk of theft by neglecting to encrypt identity data. Stratfor, which is based in Texas, provides political, economic and military analysis that helps customers reduce their exposure to risk.

According to DRS, about a third of the information stolen, including credit card numbers, is still current and valid. Stratfor has promised to inform customers whose information was stolen by no later than December 28th. Aside from UBS executives, and employees of private banks such as Julius Bär, or international companies like Nestlé and ABB, Anonymous also stole data belonging to key staff at several Swiss media, such as the foreign news desk at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, tabloid Blick, Swiss-German public ratio station DRS and national broadcaster SF.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Tapping Algae for Fuel in Sweden

The beaches of Trelleborg in southern Sweden are coated with algae each summer, choking marine life and disrupting holidays for tourists. But the green gloop may also hold huge economic and ecological benefits for the region. Scientists believe the reeds and plankton can used in the production of biogas. The fast-growing seaweed is being harvested on a large scale towards that purpose.

In the long term, the project is meant to include several Baltic Sea states. Sweden and Poland are leading the way. A biogas pilot plant is coming up in Sweden while Poland plans a small mobile biogas facility on the Baltic Sea. In Sweden, the project is to focus on using the biogas as engine fuel for trucks, thus lowering the dependance on fossil fuels in vehicular traffic. In Poland, the aim is to develop an alternative energy source.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: ‘Gangsta’ Faced Jail for Phone Robbery

Shop stab victim Seydou Diarrassouba, 18, in rap boasts

OXFORD Street murder victim Seydou Diarrassouba faced jail after he was accused of robbing a boy of 16 of his BlackBerry, it emerged last night. The 18-year-old appeared in court just a week before he was stabbed through the heart in front of horrified sales shoppers on Boxing Day. Seydou — who was chased and killed after two rival gangs argued over which trainers to steal from a Foot Locker store — also starred in a chilling “gangsta” rap video months before his murder. The teenager — known by the street name “Nutz” — boasted in the YouTube film that he had “shot men down” before a rival appears to be chased and gunned down in the street. At one point Seydou is surrounded by hoodie pals bragging they have access to “straps” or guns to shoot people for money. Seydou, of Mitcham, South West London, was also pictured striking a gangsta gun pose on a Facebook tribute page yesterday. But the menacing image was in stark contrast to the portrayal of the teenager by his devastated family and friends as “a nice boy”. His family — from the Ivory Coast — yesterday released a smiling picture of him taken a few years ago. Former school pal Munawar Shaikh, 20, said: “He was a good kid who always had a smile.” The CPS said yesterday that Seydou appeared at Inner London Crown Court over the alleged phone robbery of Nile Downes in Clapham, South London, in September. He was also charged with assaulting Nile and his brother Yafeu, 19. He was released on bail but was due to stand trial in the New Year. If convicted, he faced a long sentence because of Nile’s age.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: 1.2m Criminals Get Benefits

BRITAIN’S broken benefits system was exposed last night after official figures showed one in four jobless welfare claimants is a criminal.

Experts warned taxpayers risk “bank- rolling career criminals” as statistics revealed 1.23million people on unemployment handouts have been cautioned or convicted of offences in the last five years.

Figures also show that 33 per cent on Job- Seeker’s Allowance — 400,000 people — have records of offending over the same period.

The figures confirming the link between claiming benefits and law-breaking were disclosed last night by the Department for Work and Pensions and led to attacks from critics of Britain’s bloated welfare state.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



UK: Arguably Hitchens

It could never be said that Christopher Hitchens, who died on December 15, hid his light under a bushel. Yet there’s also no denying that this polymathic journalist and intellectual was himself a source of light, sometimes even sweetness and light, though his work generally revelled in the blazing illumination of the wrongs, failings and misjudgements of others. For more than forty years he was a flail and a scourge, but also a gift to readers everywhere. While many of the more than 100 pieces collected in Arguably, an oversized, magnificent and sometimes exasperating volume, might be reckoned book reviews, they aren’t really. Description and quotation, supported by personal stylishness, lie at the heart of true reviewing. But, in these pages, Hitchens doesn’t so much review books as exploit them. They are, to borrow I. A. Richards’s phrase, machines to think with. When he quotes, it isn’t to illustrate a book’s particular quiddity but to advance an argument of his own or to pillory perceived deficiencies in its style or logic. To have one’s work “reviewed” by Christopher Hitchens was invariably a mixed blessing, since he frequently conveys the impression that he himself could have done a much better job and that he, in fact, knows the subject in far greater depth than the obviously well-meaning but just slightly deficient author. When Hitchens does pass out compliments, they tend to be briefly adjectival, along the lines of “fine” or “brilliant”, conveying a slightly episcopal mixture of approbation and condescension.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Boxing Day Stabbing May be Linked to String of Gang Clashes on Oxford Street

The death of a teenager in front of crowds of shoppers on Oxford Street may have been just the culmination of a string of clashes as rival gangs converged in search of cut-price designer labels, police fear.

Seydou Diarrassouba, 18, bled to death in front of hundreds of onlookers after a fight in a shop selling trainers on Boxing Day. It was one of at least three suspected gang confrontations on Britain’s busiest shopping street during the day but it is thought there may have been many more. There are now fears that the killing could spark a spiral of revenge attacks following the stabbing of a second youth nearby only a few hours later. Detectives believe that the lure of cheap designer clothes and trainers drew gangs from across the capital onto Oxford Street for the post-Christmas sales. Seydou, 18, who was on bail for robbery and assault at the time, suffered a single stab wound to the heart during a clash in a branch of the Foot Locker, sportswear shop at lunchtime on Monday. He bled to death on the road outside as a passing detachment of police from Scotland Yard’s Diplomatic Protection Group battled to hold back an agitated crowd as first aid was administered.

The Muslim teenager was the 15th young person to be murdered on the streets of London this year. Last night 11 people, including a 16-year-old boy, were being questioned by police over the killing. A 21-year-old man was stabbed in the leg in a second attack on Oxford Street just a few hours later. Police have yet to establish a motive for the murder of the teenager but rumours that it have been sparked by a row over a pair of trainers were being played down last night. Instead, it is thought that the fight may have stemmed from an earlier, unreported, clash between two groups of youths in or around Oxford Street during the day. Detectives are preparing to scour hundreds of hours of CCTV from other shops to piece together the movements of Seydou and his friends in an attempt work out what led to the fatal confrontation. Police suspect that the second stabbing may have been an attempted revenge attack for the killing but have not publicly linked the two.

Last night it emerged that there was also a third suspected gang clash on Oxford Street, inside a shop next to the scene of the second stabbing, earlier in the day. It happened at around the time Seydou was stabbed and although it is not thought to be directly linked police see it as indicative of the number of gang members mingling among thousands of bargain hunters on Boxing Day. “If you went up to Oxford Street on that day you would have found members of gangs from all over London,” said one source. Yesterday, at their home in Mitcham, south London, Seydou’s family, including his brother Ali, 20, they were too upset to comment. Scores of friends posted messages on a dedicated Facebook site paying tribute to a boy with a “sweet smile”. But others referred to him as a “fallen soldier” — slang for a gang member — and one described him as a “martyr”.

But it emerged yesterday that Seydou appeared at Inner London Crown Court on December 19 — only a week before his death — to face charges of robbery and assault over an attack in Clapham on September 29. One source said that Seydou was known to be “on the periphery” of the south London gang scene. Meanwhile Scotland Yard moved to dispel controversy over footage posted on YouTube appearing to show a police officer using a Taser stun gun on a member of the crowd surging around the dying teenager on Monday.

Commander Steve Rodhouse of the Metropolitan Police later clarified that the Taser had been removed from its holster but not “deployed”. “Officers can be seen in the footage pushing the crowd back and one officer is shown to remove his Taser from its holster, although at no time was it ever deployed,” he said. “Clearly in those initial early stages, officers would have been unaware of what had occurred and where the suspects might be and their priority would have been to prevent further injury or loss of life to those in the area.”

Police last night issued an appeal for members of the crowd who filmed the incident and its aftermath to share their footage with detectives as they try to piece together the movements of those involved.

Detective Superintendent John Sweeney, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: “Our sympathy goes to the family of the victim at this time and we are appealing for witnesses to come forward. We know there were a number of people filming the incident inside Footlocker and may have captured the incident or its aftermath and we are appealing for these people to contact us.” Police recovered at least two knives from the scene although it is has not been confirmed whether one was the murder weapon.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: EDL Leader in Lay-by Attack

POLICE have launched an investigation after English Defence League leader Stephen Lennon was violently assaulted in a lay-by outside Luton.

Mr Lennon, who calls himself Tommy Robinson, says he was driving along the A6 at about 2am last Thursday (Dec 22) when he pulled over after another car, a black Vauxhall Zafira, flashed its lights at him.

When he got out of the car he was attacked by three men, with the beating only coming to an end when a ‘good Samaritan’ stopped at the scene, he said.

Mr Lennon, who runs a tanning salon in Luton, said: “I was on my way back from Dunstable and near Streatley I noticed the car flashing me.

“I pulled over and got out. The car was being driven by a girl and three lads jumped out and I took a beating.

“As soon as I got out the passenger leapt out and I could tell straight away what was going to happen.

“I started fighting back and then the other two got out.

“The geezer that pulled over to help me said one of them had a pole but I didn’t see anything. But the hospital said the injuries looked like they’d been caused by a blunt object.”

Mr Lennon drove to Bedford Hospital where he was given a CT scan, which revealed bruising on his brain. He was released later the same day.

“I didn’t want to go to hospital but the guy that helped me kept insisting that I had to go,” he said. “They had knocked me out when he arrived — he said if he hadn’t pulled over they would probably have carried on.

“I’ve never had a kicking like it. I had to go home to my kids looking like that.”

Mr Lennon said claims on an anti-EDL website that the attack had been faked or had been carried out by football hooligans were “pathetic” and had been fabricated by people who had been kicked out of the EDL for being too right-wing.

He described his attackers as being of Asian appearance and said they were wearing jeans and bomber jackets, with one wearing a checked scarf.

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said it was as yet unclear what the motive for the attack was.

They appealed for any witnesses to come forward, including the good Samaritan, saying: “He was driving a silver Ford Mondeo and was called John or Jonathan.

“The officer investigating this case is Det Con Tom Hamm, contactable direct on 01582 473322. He would like to hear from John or anyone who knows who John is.”

           — Hat tip: PS [Return to headlines]



UK: I’m Sure Harriet Harman Enjoyed That Dr Who. But Did Anyone Else?

We watched two television programmes on Christmas Day: The Nativity in the morning, and Doctor Who in the evening. Both were drenched in BBC Politics, but one overcame them. Strangely, it wasn’t the science fiction. The Nativity skirted perilously close to recasting the birth of Christ as a too-modern Leftist parable about the sin of judging single mothers: it showed Mary’s pregnancy taking place before her marriage to Joseph — not the version I remember from primary school. But if this was a perilous reworking, it was a very forgiveable one. Married or not, Mary must have had a hideous time attempting to explain her condition to unbelieving family, most of all to Joseph, who was shown in The Nativity first of all doubting Mary’s fidelity, before ultimately believing and re-affirming his love for her. Very human, very moving, beautifully shot and acted, The Nativity was a wonderful start to Christmas.

Doctor Who was execrable though. Labour Party supporter and chief writer Steven Moffat turned in a script that could have pleased few outside the living room of Harriet Harman. Every trite Left-wing cliché was in place. Noble trees threatened by acid rain: check. Said acid rain caused by rapacious humanoids: check. Worst of all was the misandrist posturing. The message, yelled at full volume, was that men are weak and women are strong. I’m not paraphrasing. Only women could save the acid-rain-threatened tree-people, the Doctor declared, though whether this was something to do with their two X chromosomes or the gynecological consequence of that was never (thankfully) explained. Even the rapacious, acid-rain-producing trio of alien humanoids appeared for long enough only to display men as useless (one burst into tears) and women sensible (the female acid-rain-producing etc instantly threw off her alien background to side with the protagonist, a middle-class 1940s mother). It was so narratively lazy, as well as politically predictable.

Since its reboot, Doctor Who has had two talented writers in charge, but both have flaws. Russell T Davies had a God complex about the Time Lord which became wearing towards the end. Steven Moffat’s politics are his own business, but when one of the most-watched children’s television characters becomes a cipher for Harmanism, then I object. And this culture we have, that bends over backwards to transmit a message about the supposed inadequacy of men: I can watch some science fiction riddled with it, roll my eyes at my partner, and pick up a novel to read instead. What impact does it have on viewers in the target age range? Unforunately, I imagine more children heard Steven Moffat’s line about weak men than absorbed the Gospel’s message about Joseph’s fortitude and love from earlier in the day.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Middlesborough Deters Teens With Pig Dung

It may not be the most conventional way of tackling crime, but a council has claimed success after using pig dung to eject teenagers from a woodland they used to drink and take drugs.

Elderly residents of Middlesbrough had complained to the that young people were smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol in a woodland area near the Coulby Newham housing estate.

In response, officials thinned out the trees so the area was more visible from paths and then spread a thick layer of pig manure on the ground — which has proved highly effective in deterring wayward teens.

“Following complaints, an inspection of the area revealed it was being used to drink alcohol and take drugs, as paraphernalia known as bongs (used to smoke cannabis) were found,” said a spokesman for Middlesbrough Council.

“Feedback from the residents indicated that, although there was a slight whiff in Willowbank, they would much rather have a pong than a bong.”

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]



UK: Plans Unveiled for a New Islamic Place of Worship in Purley Town Centre

MUSLIMS set to create a place of worship in Purley town centre have unveiled plans they hope will provide “a chance for the community to build bridges”. At a meeting this week, members of Purley Islamic Community Centre (PICC) led town leaders round the proposed site and took questions from members of the public. The group — who have prepared for everything from opening the centre for mother and toddler groups to combating extremism — planned to submit a formal planning application by the end of Friday. The community centre, behind The Rectory pub in Russell Hill Place, would open seven days a week with local groups able to use the premises between prayer sessions. PICC volunteer and management consultant Usman Sadiq (far right of picture) said: “The key messages were that we are normal members of the community who will play a part in the cultural mix, and to say, ‘let’s talk as a community’. “We wanted to make sure we had answered the right questions before we put in planning permission. This project will be open to everyone in the community. We hope it can be a positive place for us and our children.”

Mr Sadiq added: “We believe in peace. We are just as frustrated about terrorism as everybody else, we abhor it. Islam on the whole is a law-abiding religion and that is what we wanted to show people. It is a chance for the community to build bridges. Extremism takes place because the sense of community disappears. When people are involved in a community there is much less chance of them being radicalised.” The group added they had contacted police and asked to be included in the mosque governance programme — a scheme which helps tackle extremism. The group estimates there are around 100 Muslim families in Purley who will benefit from the centre’s dawn-till-dusk prayer space, but that the facilities, only one fifth of which will be prayer space, will be open to the town. Parking concerns were allayed at the Monday night meeting, as the group cited 650 parking spaces within 150 metres of the centre.

Plans are also in place for the former Venture photography building to be used for homework clubs, a senior citizens’ club and keep-fit and cookery classes. The partitioned classrooms will also host Koran lessons. PICC trustee and mother-of-two Nirgis Haq said: “We have a lot plans. We are hoping to offer keep-fit and cookery classes for groups, and if anyone comes along with an idea we will be open with them. We want somewhere for our children to go. It will be great for them on a Friday night. It will be great for them to have somewhere to go. Not just Muslims.” The group, which has been renting churches to pray, says the centre will accommodate 50 to 70 people and hopes it will be open by summer 2012. It will purchase the building, comprising of a ground floor and basement, if planning permission for change of use proves successful. No external alterations will be made.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Record Numbers of Parents Convicted of Letting Pupils Play Truant in One Year as 9,000 Are Charged

A record number of parents have criminal records for allowing their children to skip school.

More than 9,000 were convicted last year, marking a threefold increase in nine years.

Almost two-thirds — 5,938 — were fined, but 25 were jailed, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act.

Figures for 2011, available in the spring, are expected to show the trend continuing amid a growing crackdown on problem families.

Ministers are already looking at tougher sanctions for parents whose children miss school, including the withdrawal of child benefit.

Schools are also likely to face demands to monitor children’s attendance at a much earlier age, even tracking how often toddlers miss nursery classs as part of a Government review of discipline and attendance, due to be published in January.

Magistrates gained new powers to deal with the parents of truanting children in November 2000.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



UK: The Priest Who Thought Stalin Was a Saint

Charles Moore reviews ‘The Red Dean’ by John Butler (Scala).

As Canterbury Cathedral this week marks the anniversary of the death of its most famous “turbulent priest”, Thomas Becket, it is a good moment to study the life of its second-most famous one. Hewlett Johnson became the Dean of Canterbury in 1931, when he was already getting on for 60, and clung on to the post, despite numerous attempts to get him out, until 1964. Over those 33 years, Johnson devoted the bulk of his astonishing energy to proving that Soviet Communism, especially as practised by Stalin, was heaven on earth: “While we’re waiting for God, Russia is doing it.” In his bestseller The Socialist Sixth of the World, which was published not long after Stalin’s most extensive programme of mass murder, he wrote: “Nothing strikes the visitor to the Soviet Union more forcibly than the complete absence of fear.”

No Communist outrage could put Johnson off his stride. He supported the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939. In the face of all evidence, he praised the Soviets for their toleration of religion, excitedly reporting, after a private audience with Stalin, that the great man favoured freedom of conscience. He always refused to condemn Stalin. Neither would he condemn the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. His methods, too, were sometimes unscrupulous. He repeatedly accepted free trips from VOKS, the Soviet cultural front organisation which suborned Western writers and intellectuals, never questioning its itineraries or facts. When he wrote his books, he copied out the economic statistics that VOKS sent him, without inquiry or even comprehension. The uncritical tribute he published on Stalin’s death was in large part plagiarised, without acknowledgment, from an existing piece of Soviet propaganda. The British intelligence services may well have been right to consider him an “agent of influence”.

Johnson did well from his views. In 1951, he was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize, for which he received £10,000 (roughly £230,000 in today’s money). The sales of his books were made enormous by the print runs which Stalin decreed for them. His stupendous vanity was gratified by meeting the dictators (including Mao, Fidel Castro and Rakosi in Hungary). He became a world celebrity, and regarded his main book as “dynamite, the most powerful war weapon, that starts factories working”. He was also, arguably, a hypocrite. Although certainly not personally luxurious (he liked nothing better than rolling in the snow in the Deanery garden rather than wallowing in a hot bath), he was pretty rich and employed several servants. He came from a prosperous Northern industrial family (Johnson’s Wireworks) and his first wife was richer still. When she died, she left him Chippendale, Sheraton and Hepplewhite furniture, silver, jewellery, fine carpets, Chinese and Japanese sculptures, a Broadwood grand, tapestries, paintings, glassware etc. By 1952, he owned 11 houses and garages, and plenty of shares, including some in Lonrho.

In 1937, when the pupils at the King’s School were making too much noise for his taste, he grabbed some of the school’s land for his garden to keep them at a distance. Criticised by the Archdeacon, he told him sharply that he should not be “worrying over small matters when so great things were at stake in the world”. He was off to the Soviet Union, he said, because “I ought to use all my spare time for bigger things” — without surrendering his horticultural conquest. During the war, it distressed Johnson that the servants were getting uppity. He was angry when his handyman got a bigger boiled egg for breakfast than he. Writing to his second wife — who, in wartime exile in Wales, was having trouble with her maid — he advised her: “Let her see that you are a lady and if she cannot rise to the privilege of comradeship then the older relationship of mistress and maid must continue… It is moral training. Russia has had to do this.”

What makes this book so interesting, however, is that the author wants us to see the good in Johnson. While never concealing or excusing his politics, John Butler draws on personal archives never before seen to paint an attractive picture of the private man — vigorous (his second wife was 32 when he married her at the age of 64), affectionate to his children (he first became a father when he was 66), brave in staying in Canterbury all through the war. He was popular with the people, though not the Chapter, of Canterbury. With his domed pate, long white hair, tall, imposing figure and old-fashioned decanal gaiters, he was a “character”. He worked relentlessly and preached often and well. In an odd way, he kept alight the beacon of the Anglican world at a time of great trial. I am glad that Mr Butler has approached his task in this way, because it makes the book much fresher than a work of character assassination. But its effect is to point up how extraordinary it was that a free country like ours could excuse people who defended mass murderers so long as they were from the Left. If Johnson had spoken of Hitler as he did of Stalin, no one would have received him in polite society.

For his unusual views, Johnson suffered nothing worse than a few cross letters from the Archbishop and semi-successful attempts to dislodge him from various Canterbury positions (“Ominously, the governors began to plot Johnson’s removal as Chairman of the Governing Body”). By contrast, the victims of the man he worshipped died in their tens of millions. His speeches and writings helped legitimise this. Johnson was told by Raul Castro (who, replacing brother Fidel, rules Cuba to this day) that people believed his pro-Communist writing because he was a priest. That is a terrible thought.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Wimbledon Guardian Review of the Year — April

Controversial plans to redevelop a mosque were given the green light — much to the delight of Merton’s council leader. The Darul Amaan mosque, in Merton High Street, Colliers Wood, was granted planning permission by Merton Council to demolish the current single-storey structure and build a new three-storey mosque with a basement, dome and minaret.

[…]

[JP note: As my Great Uncle Bulgaria might have said, “Make good use of bad rubbish.”]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt Charges Three Soldiers With ‘Manslaughter’ In the Maspero Massacre

by Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) — The Supreme Military Court started today, December 27, procedures in the trial of three soldiers on charges of “manslaughter” of 14 Christian Copts during the Maspero Massacre which took place in front of the radio and television Building in Maspero on October 9. According to the indictment, the list of defendants were limited to three soldiers from the military police, who were charged with manslaughter, which under the penal code carries penalties of imprisonment of not more than seven years.

The military prosecution accused the three soldiers of causing “through their mistakes caused by their neglect and lack of precaution” the death of 14 people from the crowds in front of the Radio and Television Union Building. The indictment went on to say that the drivers of vehicles and armored vehicles of the armed forces “ drove randomly and did not match the condition of the road, which was full of protesters, leading to their collision with the victims.”

On October 9, 27 Christians were killed, 14 crushed under the wheels of military armored vehicles and the rest by being fired at with live ammunition. Another 329 Christians were injured. According to witnesses and video footage, the protestors were chased by armored vehicles chased over the pavements (video) and were shot at by snipers placed in the TV building and over bridges overlooking the TV Building (AINA 10-10-2011).

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a independent NGO, said that the military justice took into account only those victims who were trampled under the wheels of the military armored vehicles and excluded those victims who were killed by live bullets, including the prominent Coptic political activist Mina Daniel, known from the January 25 Revolution.

EIPR said the trial did not meet the minimum guarantees of seriousness and justice and is a continuation of the position of the military junta, which refused and still is refusing any recognition of its responsibility for this heinous crime which resulted in killing 28 protesters, mostly Copts. It also accused the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of continuing to seek the protection of members of the military police from criminal accountability by bringing the three soldiers before a military tribunal, even before the investigating judge assigned by the public prosecution has completed his investigation into the same incident.

Hossam Bahgat, director of EIPR, who was honored this year by Human Rights Watch for upholding the personal freedoms of all Egyptians, said “Nearly three months after the Maspero massacre, the junta decided to select 14 of the victims of the massacre who were crushed under the wheels of the military armored vehicles, in front of our eyes and on television, and then go on to consider them as “victims of negligent military drivers, as if they died in an ordinary accident.”

Commenting on the indictment, Bahgat said “How can the killing of 14 citizens be considered a manslaughter misdemeanor? What about Mina Daniel and the rest of the victims of the massacre who were killed by live bullets? And why has the military decided to quickly make this mock trial without waiting for the report of the investigating civilian judge of the massacre? How can we trust in the military justice? We see them making every effort to shield its members and its leaders from accountability.”

Observers say the main purpose of the military trial is to confirm the account of the massacre given by two members of the Military Council at the press conference which was held on 12 October, during which they denied that the soldiers guarding the television building were armed, and instead accused the unarmed Coptic demonstrators of attacking the military police forces. They also said that the drivers of the armored vehicles were confused and trampled over the demonstrators. To prove their point, the police randomly arrested 27 Copts from the streets (AINA 11-5-2011), in addition to the prominent Muslim activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, and accused them of inciting violence, the murder of one soldier, the theft of guns from the armed forces, and damaging private and public property during the October 9 Maspero Massacre, They were all released last week after being detained for 66 days (AINA 12-20-2011).

Ahmed Hossam, a lawyer with EIPR believes that no justice will ever be received for the victims of Maspero, or victims of any of the other crime committed by the military against the Egyptians, as long as the provisions of Code of Military Justice stands as a barrier to the ability of the prosecutors to investigate with the military in cases referred to them.

Activists have previously called for the need to amend these provisions to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by military of accountability to civil courts in crimes against civilians.

           — Hat tip: Mary Abdelmassih [Return to headlines]



Egypt: Unspoken Muslim Brotherhood-Military Agreement

To carry out elections

(ANSAmed) — DECEMBER 27 — Violence and bloodshed have once again marred the Egyptian parliamentary elections but have not halted them, as Islamic parties — the “moderates” under the Muslim Brotherhood and the “extremist” Salafis — strongly wanted votes to be cast on expectations of receiving a wide majority in the People’s Assembly, the lower house of the Egyptian parliament, and have no intention of breaking off their unspoken agreement with the ruling military council. Following the brutal intervention by the Army against protestors camped out in front of the government headquarters in central Cairo, which resulted in the death of fifteen people, a number of liberal and secular political parties as well as the youth movements at the centre of the revolution which ousted Hosni Mubarak’s regime have demanded that the military junta speed up the transfer of power and hold presidential elections on January 25, the first anniversary of the beginning of the revolution.

However, the powerful Muslim Brotherhood has disassociated itself, with its Justice and Freedom Party promptly making it known that an early transfer of power “will not solve the crisis”, while Secretary General Saad Katatni stated that his party would not budge from the previously announced position of presidential elections on June 30 2012. This was the same position taken by the Muslim Brotherhood in the days leading up to the first round of elections on November 28, when over 40 were killed in an initial outbreak of violence.

The axis with the military is of an instrumental nature for the Islamists, as when the Brotherhood has seen its interests and future advantages threatened by the military junta it has not hesitated to distance itself from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). Nonetheless, the Brotherhood is standing alongside the military in their attempt to discredit the protestors and movements demanding that the SCAF step down immediately, bolstered by consensus of a large part of the population, the ‘silent majority’ — which young activists call “hezb el kanaba” (“the sofa party”) — tired of protests and exhausted by the economic havoc wrought by them. Protests are now limited to Cairo, and even in the capital only a small portion of its 20 million inhabitants are involved.

Revealing is a video shot during the last incidents, in which three soldiers are seen dragging the bloodied body of a protestor while the surrounding traffic continues to flow normally. As concerns the most shocking incident, that of a young woman beaten and stripped by soldiers, the popular television preacher Khaled El Gendy has posed the question as to why the girl “was there, and who let her go out”. Military propaganda, which denounces “plots” and accuses those who continue to protest of wanting to destabilise the country with the aid of “foreign elements”, therefore is likely to have an influence on a large number of Egyptians, who consider them guarantors of their security. With the Army leaving by the wayside the “conciliatory attitude” which had characterised its actions for months, and the young revolutionaries seen as instigators of public disorder, the Muslim Brotherhood appear ever more as a stabilising force, and even in the West are seen as the lesser evil. They are part of the establishment — with their leaders mostly lawyers, doctors and engineers — and have made a number of reassuring statements on a wide variety of issues: from respect for women’s rights and those of minorities, to the reassurances to tourists that they will continue to be able to consume alcohol and wear bikinis on the beach, as well as a pledge to abide by the peace treaty with Israel. On the last point the Salafis of the alliance under the Al Nour party have also made their voice heard. In an unprecedented telephone call to the Israeli military radio, their spokesperson said that they intended to abide by the treaty with Israel. The Salafis are the thorn in the side of the Muslim Brotherhood in these first post-Mubarak elections, with their 20% of votes establishing them as competition to the Brotherhood on the latter’s own terrain, who the Salafis have also accused of sacrificing Islamic ideals too much for the sake of compromise.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Fighting in the Church of the Nativity

A fight broke out at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem after rival groups of Orthodox and Armenian clerics clashed over the boundaries of their jurisdictions inside the church.

           — Hat tip: alcade [Return to headlines]



No News: Hitler as Role Model

Under the somewhat tortured title “Finding Fault in the Palestinian Messages That Aren’t So Public,” New York Times (NYT) correspondent Isabel Kershner reports that a “new book by an Israeli watchdog group catalogs dozens of examples of messages broadcast by the Palestinian Authority for its domestic audience that would seem at odds with the pursuit of peace and a two-state solution.” Since at least half of the report is dedicated to “balancing” the evidence provided in the newly published book with anxious questions about the “political correctness” of reporting on the subject, Kershner doesn’t get around to mentioning one of the most widely discussed examples provided in the book: an essay in a youth magazine by a Palestinian girl who describes a dream encounter with various role models including a ninth-century Persian mathematician, an Egyptian Nobel laureate, the historic leader Saladin — and Adolf Hitler. As the authors of the book correctly point out, it is unfortunately hardly surprising that a Palestinian teenager, growing up in an environment where the killing of Israelis and Jews is routinely glorified, should regard Hitler as a role model.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Ankara Accused of ‘Abandoning’ Israel and France by Dutch Freedom Party

BERLIN — The Dutch Freedom Party, the Netherlands’s third largest political party, urged the Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministries last week to reconsider Turkey’s continued membership in NATO.

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]



EU to Pursue Iran Sanctions Despite Threat of Strait Closure

The European Union is pressing ahead with plans to impose new sanctions on Iran, an EU spokesman said Wednesday after Tehran threatened to close a vital oil transit channel in response to Western measures. “The European Union is considering another set of sanctions against Iran and we continue to do that,” Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, told AFP.

“We expect the decision will be taken in time for the foreign affairs council on January 30,” he said, referring to the next meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned on Tuesday that “not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz” if the West broadened sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

The United States and the 27-nation EU are considering new sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil and financial sectors. But EU governments have been divided over whether to impose an embargo on Iranian crude. Oil from Iran in 2010 amounted to 5.8 percent of total EU imports, making Tehran the bloc’s fifth-largest supplier after Russia, Norway, Libya and Saudi Arabia. Spain represents 14.6 percent of Iranian oil imports to Europe, Greece 14.0 and Italy 13.1 percent.

More than a third of the world’s tanker-borne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, linking the Gulf — and its petroleum-exporting states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — to the Indian Ocean.

The United States maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage for oil remains free. NATO officials declined to comment on the Iranian threat.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Iran: Judiciary Ruling in Execution of Woman Causes International Outcry

Iranian officials, already under fire for sentencing a woman to death by stoning, has done little to diminish international outcry by instead pursuing an execution by hanging.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 44, was convicted back in 2006 for an “illicit relationship outside of marriage” and sentenced to death by stoning. The execution was delayed after protests across the globe, and Ashtiani has been detained in prison ever since.

On Sunday, the head judiciary, Malek Ajdar Sharifi said the prison does not have the “necessary facilities” to carry forth with the stoning and that they are considering hanging as an alternative.

Sharifi told the Isna News Agency that an investigation is being conducted to see if it is legally and religiously possible to execute Ashtiani by hanging and that once a determination is made, the sentence will be carried out.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]



Kuwait: Grand Mosque Showcases Array of Islamic Art

KUWAIT: The Fifth Islamic Arts Forum opened at the Grand Mosque on Sunday night, showcasing an array of works and products that attest to the fine caliber and beauty of Islamic art. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MIA), Dr Adel Al-Falah, inaugurated the event. This year, the items on exhibit are the works of participants from 10 countries.

The official said this event is an opportunity to shed light on many fine artistic works and artisans’ products, whether they be textiles, pottery, ceramics, or calligraphy or some other form of art. The MIA aims at stressing the beauty embraced in Islamic culture and share it with people of other cultures and faiths.The event is sponsored by Mohammad Al-Nomas, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, and the Minister of State for Housing Affairs. It is set to last till January 7. “Our calligraphers, artists, and artisans will help promote awareness of our great Islamic heritage through their fine works, and this is an opportunity for them to do the Muslim nation great service,” he said. This comes within the general understanding of the framework of the ministry’s duties, including educational, cultural and social aspects,” he added. The official also expressed his belief there is a great need to put more care into the introduction of Islamic arts and its legacy into school curricula.

Khlaif Al-Uthaina, Undersecretary for Cultural Affairs, said “the ministry aims to render the Grand Mosque a pioneering religious, cultural, social and educational institution at the local and regional level. It aims to make it a landmark sought for worship as well as interaction, and to foster more contact with the public. This exhibit, he stressed, helps within the overall effort to preserve our Islamic identity and heritage. “Art has always been a reflection and embodiment of national advancement. It could well be the lone and strongest representation a civilization leaves behind for posterity,” the official noted. Farid Al-Ali, Chairman of Kuwait Center for Islamic Arts, said the previous four forums proved a great success, and saw great popularity by enthusiasts both locally and from other parts of the world. “Visitors are in store for a magical journey in the world of color, brush-stroke, and font,” he promised. As part of the event, a workshop is set up for visiting children, who will be given tips on and the opportunity to experiment with special techniques in each of the arts represented. They will also be instructed on the arts of dialogue and interaction through work-groups, he divulged. Art supplies and books and compilations on Islamic arts are also on offer during the exhibit. They are offered by bookshops and establishments from other countries, he said. — KUNA

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Saudi Arabia: Kingdom Will Continue to Follow Salafist Ideology: Prince Naif

RIYADH: Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, opened a symposium on “Salafism: A Shariah approach and a national demand,” organized by the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University here Tuesday and commended its objectives.

Prince Naif said Saudi Arabia would continue to follow the Salafist ideology and denounced those who create doubts about this moderate Islamic ideology and link it with terrorism and extremism. “Salafism is rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah and calls for peaceful coexistence with other faith communities and for respecting their rights,” the crown prince said. “We have to stand united against those who launch smear campaigns on Salafism.” He also laid the cornerstone for a number of educational projects worth SR2.3 billion at the university.

Suleiman Abalkhail, president of the university, thanked Prince Naif for opening the event. “The Kingdom is based on the moderate Salafi ideology,” he said, adding that the Saudi government has been following the teachings of Islam in all its affairs and relations. He said more than 100 religious experts from around the world would take part in the symposium to discuss 120 research papers on seven core subjects. This seminar aims to achieve several goals such as shedding light on the doctrinal teachings of the Salafist movement, clear misconceptions about Salafism, clarify the roots of Saudi government regulations and its rightful principles and lastly provide a clear idea about Islam’s approach toward non-Muslims.

The core subjects include Salafism, an approach pursued by the state since its foundation and its connection to Islam; misconceptions about the Salafi approach; the Salafi approach and its connection with the modern religious discourse, the relationship between the Saudi state and the Salafi approach in terms of originality and application; and the link between the Salafi approach and school curricula.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Syria on the Brink of Civil War, Says German Defense Expert

As the violence continues in Syria, all eyes are now on the Arab League observer mission in the hope that it can achieve a breakthrough. Defense expert Gernot Erler says President Bashar al-Assad is playing for time.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Islamists Who Stole Christmas

It’s certainly not one of the endearing Christmas traditions, but exploiting Christmas for political purposes is unfortunately becoming a sort of Christmas ritual for activists who regard themselves as pro-Palestinian — and who are, in any case, fiercely against Israel. But as so often, the relentless focus on blaming Israel reflects a cynical approach that cares little about any kind of abuse or persecution that can’t be blamed on the Jewish state. As I’ve noted in a previous post, even though Christianity is doing very well globally, the picture in the region where it originated looks rather grim: today’s Middle East has the lowest concentration of Christians (just 4% of the population) and the smallest number of Christians (some 13 million) of any major geographic region. Contrary to what pro-Palestinian activists like to insinuate, Palestinian Christians under Palestinian rule in Gaza and the West Bank are affected by the very same dynamics that have diminished the ancient Christian communities all over the Middle East — and before they came for the Christians, they came for the Jews. Focusing on minorities in the Middle East, Zvi Mazel, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, notes in a recent op-ed:

“Nearly a century after they rose on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, the Arab states have failed to cause the mosaic of ethnic, national and religious communities which form them to coalesce into nations with common goals and aspirations. Those societies have been torn by ceaseless internal and external squabbles, political and economic discrimination, revolts, civil wars and military coups — resulting in an estimated five million dead and countless wounded as well as a growing number of refugees.”

But if the Arab Middle East was often hostile to its minorities while secular Arab nationalism held sway, the now emerging Islamist-ruled Middle East is already threatening even Egypt’s ancient Coptic community whose roots go back centuries before the establishment of Islam and whose very name is associated with ancient Egypt. A depressing report in the Wall Street Journal notes that “[for] decades Copts have suffered attacks by Islamists who view them as ‘kafir’-Arabic for nonbelievers. […] This year, mobs have looted and attacked Coptic churches, homes and shops throughout Egypt. Churches have been burned down, and one Copt had his ear cut off by a Muslim cleric invoking Islamic law.” One woman quoted in the report says that she faced harassment because she did not go out veiled, and that she was openly told by a fellow-Egyptian: “We want to clean our country of you.” Hardly less alarming was her experience when a doctor who checked her 12-year-old daughter for a fever suggested that the girl should have her genitals mutilated. Estimates by human rights groups indicate that as many as 100,000 Copts may have already fled Egypt in the wake of the “Arab Spring.”

But for Egypt’s Copts, the year had already begun with sorrow and anguish when the bombing of a church in Alexandria killed 21 and wounded nearly 100 people leaving a New Year’s Mass. One of the victims was a young woman named Mariouma Fekry who, just before attending the mass, had written on her Facebook page: “I have so many wishes in 2011 … hope they come true … plz god stay beside me & help make it all true.” The Egyptian government eventually blamed the Gaza-based “Army of Islam” for the bombing; according to press reports, the group denied responsibility, but expressed praise for the perpetrators. This praise is hardly surprising given that also Gaza’s tiny Christian community faced violence and threats by Islamists already shortly after Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Ever since, Gaza’s Christians have been aware that they can’t celebrate Christmas publicly.

Moderate Islamism in action.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Russia


Russia, Turkey Clinch South Stream

Russia said Wednesday it had clinched a deal with Turkey allowing it to lay the South Stream natural gas pipeline to Europe through its territorial waters. The announcement delivers a vital boost to Moscow’s hopes of building the link by the end of 2015 and beating a rival US-backed project that is still struggling to get off the ground.

The pipe would run under the sea from energy fields in Russia to the Balkans and eventually pump up to 63 billion cubic metres (2.2 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year to markets stretching from Italy and Slovenia. “I would like to thank Turkey for its decision to issue final approval to construct the South Stream pipeline through Turkey’s special economic zone,” Putin said during talks with the visiting Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Russia’s state-run energy giant Gazprom said it had also resolved a deliveries dispute with Turkey that saw Ankara revoke a contract with Russia earlier this year. Gazprom said delivery terms for both the Western Pipeline to Istanbul and the Blue Stream pipeline under the Black Sea had been agreed through the end of 2012.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed but the Russian media had earlier reported that Turkey was purposely delaying its approval of the South Stream route in order to bargain for lower prices. South Stream has remained a controversial project because it threatens to increase further Russia’s current dominance in the European natural gas market.

EU states receive more than a quarter of their gas from the world’s largest energy producer and had been seeking to limit that dominance by diversifying import sources and breaking up Gazprom’s grip on European energy routes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Russia Plans ‘Eurasian Union’ On EU Model

Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia wants to join two other former Soviet republics in a new integration project. The Eurasian Union is to be based on the EU — but its success is in doubt.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Afghanistan: Kabul Specifies Rules of the Game for Taliban Talks

With Taliban set to open an office in Doha, the Qatari capital, Afghanistan’s High Peace Council has set out the ground rules for engaging the Taliban.

In an 11-point note sent to foreign missions, the Council has said that Afghanistan is ready to accept a Taliban office in Qatar to help the peace talks, but that no foreign power can get involved in the process without Kabul’s consent.

Not that Doha would have been the government’s first choice. While opening the Taliban office in Doha is being seen — both by the West and by Kabul — as a way of creating distance from Pakistan, Afghan officials have been quoted by Reuters as saying that the government would have preferred Saudi Arabia or Turkey, being close to both the International forces in Afghanistan have become a target of violence

governments.International forces in Afghanistan have become a target of violence

The US and Qatar, helped by Germany, engaged in negotiations with the Taliban over setting up an office in Doha, keeping President Hamid Karzai’s administration in the dark. Kabul reacted angrily and also recalled its ambassador from Doha last week.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



India: New Delhi’s Decision to ‘Muzzle’ The Net Creates Protest

Social networking sites have been instructed by a Delhi court to remove derogatory content for allegedly webcasting objectionable material. India’s growing number of internet users fear this is tantamount to censorship. India’s articulate telecom minister Kapil Sibal is facing a deluge of protests in the online world after he threatened that the government would be forced to take remedial steps if social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google failed to screen offensive material from their sites.

“Down with censorship! Down with the arrogance of the Congress Party,” “Democracy weeps! I honestly thought this was a joke,” “India going the China way” — were some of the posts, tweets and Facebook status messages of the burgeoning number of internet users in the country.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Far East


A Nervous Region Watches as North Korea Mourns Kim Jong Il

As North Koreans lined the streets of the capital at the start of a two-day funeral for their “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il, region powers are asking what his son and “great successor” will do for the isolated state.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Does Nigeria’s Taliban Have the West in Its Sights?

The Christmas Day bombings could be a worrying sign of things to come, says David Blair.

The warning signs are familiar. An armed group begins by imposing the strictures of Islamic sharia on a Muslim population, using first moral persuasion and then actual violence. Having secured its hold over a region where central government has little control, it broadens its aims and resolves to take on “enemies of Islam” wherever they may be found. What had been a local security problem explodes into an international threat. So it was with the Taliban in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan — and so it may be with the radical Islamists of Nigeria. For the second Christmas Day in a row, a group known as “Boko Haram” has carried out bomb attacks on Christian churches, claiming dozens of lives in a country where religious strife poses a genuine threat to the survival of the state.

Boko Haram was born in northern Nigeria, a vast region bordering the approaches to the Sahara where Islamic radicalism has been gaining ground for generations. Since 1999, nine northern states have adopted sharia as the basis of their criminal and civil law, as well as parts of three more. In practice, this has made less difference than might be thought. With typical Nigerian pragmatism, the authorities have generally chosen to tread carefully when enforcing the full rigour of sharia: the kind of executions that were commonplace in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan — and still are in Saudi Arabia — have been rare. As elsewhere in the Muslim world, faith has been subtly moulded to fit local traditions.

None the less, critics always warned that opening the way for sharia, which offends the secular spirit of Nigeria’s constitution, would simply encourage more radical demands. So it has proved. Boko Haram emerged in 2002 with the aim of imposing the strictest interpretation of sharia first in the north, and then the entire country. Its initial targets were Nigerian Christians, along with moderate Muslims. Moving from its heartland in Borno state, in the far north-east, it joined the underworld of armed groups and criminal gangs spreading across the most populous country in Africa. In the process, it trod the familiar path of becoming steadily more extreme, soon labelling the Nigerian state an “enemy of Islam” and broadening its list of targets accordingly. In June, it bombed the federal police headquarters in the capital, Abuja.

The next big attack provided the clearest possible warning that Boko Haram had evolved into a genuinely international threat. In August, it dispatched a suicide bomber to the United Nations offices in Abuja, killing at least 21 people. A spokesman sought to justify the bloodshed in terms that could have been used by al-Qaeda itself: he denounced the UN as a tool of Western influence and warned that it would be “one of our prime targets”. This episode had striking parallels with an earlier event on the other side of the Sahara. In 2006, Algerian Islamists, having lost the country’s civil war, allied with Osama bin Laden to become “al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM), warning that they would strike against Western interests wherever they were found. They made their new purpose abundantly clear by launching a suicide attack on the UN headquarters in Algiers in December 2007.

Key figures in Boko Haram are understood to have met AQIM, which has a presence in neighbouring Niger. The danger, therefore, is that it has become the latest — if unannounced — member of the al-Qaeda franchise, focusing on Western targets not only in Africa, but further afield. If so, Britain would almost certainly feature on its hit list. At least 150,000 Nigerians are thought to live here, raising the possibility that cells loyal to Boko Haram could be infiltrated into the country. A group that began operating in the remote city of Maiduguri, near the border between Nigeria and Chad, could evolve into a threat to British security, too. There is nothing inevitable about this. While al-Qaeda did manage to extend its reach from the north-west frontier of Pakistan to the streets of London, it had key advantages that Boko Haram lacks. First, the British population of Pakistani origin is perhaps 10 times greater. Second, the determination of the Pakistani state to combat al-Qaeda’s brand of pitiless nihilism was always open to question — to put it mildly.

Nigeria’s government, by contrast, knows full well that religious extremism could tear the country apart. Christians and Muslims take a roughly equal share of the 170 million population, and attacks by one religion against the other have a history of triggering bloody cycles of retaliation and revenge. While security agencies may need to improve their ability to tackle Boko Haram, they do not lack the resolve. Already, the group’s founding leader and hundreds of its followers have been killed in clashes with security forces. The danger is that Boko Haram will continue to draw strength from all the factors that combine to cripple Nigeria: astonishing levels of corruption, the constant misuse of the country’s oil wealth and an ever-widening gap between a venal elite and the impoverished majority. Just as the largely Christian youth of southern Nigeria join militias who kidnap oil workers, supposedly to win a fairer share of their country’s natural wealth, so northern Muslims will be tempted by an armed group that claims to be fighting a corrupt and predatory government. And in this interdependent world, Nigeria’s domestic problems could soon be ours as well.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Pope Condemns Nigeria Christmas Attacks

Pope Benedict XVI has condemned a series of terrorist attacks carried out on Christmas Day in Nigeria, praying for the “hands of violence” to stop. The attacks were claimed by the Islamist sect Boko Haram. A day after a series of terrorist attacks killed dozens of churchgoers on Christmas Day in Nigeria, the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has pled for an end to violence that “brings only pain, destruction and death.”

The pope, speaking from his window overlooking St Peter’s Square in Rome, condemned the attacks since claimed by Islamist militants in Nigeria as an “absurd gesture” and prayed that “the hands of the violent be stopped”. Militants of the Boko Haram sect said they had set off the bombs, raising fears that they are trying to ignite sectarian civil war. Three of the five bombs hit churches and one killed at least 27 people at a Catholic church. A total of 39 people were killed in the attacks´.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Refugees in Nigeria

About 90,000 people have been displaced in clashes between militant Islamists and the security forces in Nigeria’s Damaturu city, an official has said.

           — Hat tip: alcade [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Italy: Foreigners to Triple by 2056

(ANSAmed) — Rome, December 28 — Italy’s foreign population will triple by 2065, Istat said Wednesday. The foreign-born population is set to rise from 4.6 million now to 14.1 million in 2065, the statistics agency said in a report on future demographics.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


The Left and ‘The Future of History’

Francis Fukuyama of “End of History” fame is contemplating “The Future of History” in the new issue of Foreign Affairs. (Note that the article will be available to non-subscribers only until 12/29/2011.)

UPDATE: My link doesn’t seem to work for others, so try this one from CFR on Twitter: RT @foreignaffairs: Francis Fukuyama, the man who ended history, now says it could come back: http://fam.ag/sNiEHz

The central focus of his essay is the question if liberal democracy can survive the decline of the middle class that is currently struggling to cope with the impact of technological advances and globalization. Fukuyama argues that for the past few decades, “the ideological high ground on economic issues has been held by a libertarian right,” while the left has failed “in the realm of ideas.” He warns that the “absence of a plausible progressive counternarrative is unhealthy, because competition is good for intellectual debate just as it is for economic activity. And serious intellectual debate is urgently needed, since the current form of globalized capitalism is eroding the middle-class social base on which liberal democracy rests.”

Here is Fukuyama’s verdict on the left:

But the deeper reason a broad-based populist left has failed to materialize is an intellectual one. It has been several decades since anyone on the left has been able to articulate, first, a coherent analysis of what happens to the structure of advanced societies as they undergo economic change and, second, a realistic agenda that has any hope of protecting a middle-class society. The main trends in left-wing thought in the last two generations have been, frankly, disastrous as either conceptual frameworks or tools for mobilization. Marxism died many years ago, and the few old believers still around are ready for nursing homes. The academic left replaced it with postmodernism, multiculturalism, feminism, critical theory, and a host of other fragmented intellectual trends that are more cultural than economic in focus. Postmodernism begins with a denial of the possibility of any master narrative of history or society, undercutting its own authority as a voice for the majority of citizens who feel betrayed by their elites. Multiculturalism validates the victimhood of virtually every out-group. It is impossible to generate a mass progressive movement on the basis of such a motley coalition: most of the working- and lower-middle-class citizens victimized by the system are culturally conservative and would be embarrassed to be seen in the presence of allies like this.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111227

Financial Crisis
» 10 Years on: Britain Happy to Have Stayed Out of the Euro
» Defying the Euro Crisis: Will German Growth Stall in 2012?
» Despite Crisis Greece Doesn’t Want to Give Up Euro
» East Europeans Happy to Wait in the Wings for the Euro
» Eurozone Banks Park Record Amount of Funds at ECB
» France: Alarm Over Growing Soup Kitchen Users, Fewer Funds
» Germany More Than 2 Trillion Euro in Red
» Greece: Christmas Bonus Evaders Soar
» Honeymoon Over for Europeans and Their Money
» Measure of Fear: Banks Bunker Hundreds of Billions in Deposits at ECB
 
USA
» Caught on Tape: Clerk Punches, Knocks Out Armed Robber
» Couple in Deadly Grapevine Shooting Had Recently Split
» First Pictures of Family Gunned Down on Christmas Day by Estranged Husband and Father Dressed in a Santa Suit
» VA GOP Primary: Mitt V. Ron — But No Conservatives!
 
Europe and the EU
» Even Austrian Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light
» France: Muslim War Graves Attacked
» Germany: Historian Wants Ban on Communist Uniforms
» Italy: Two Die in Cold Snap
» Italy: Sixty Group in Mourning, Wicky Hassan Dies in Rome
» Radical Islam Claims Another: Gregorius Nekschot, RIP
» Swedish Police Hunt ‘Halloween Mask’ Killer
» UK: Abdul Khalazai Pleads Guilty to Raping a Woman on Folkestone Seafront
 
Balkans
» Officially and Unofficially, The Euro Reigns in the Balkans
 
North Africa
» Egyptian Court Rules Against Virginity Tests
» The Salafist Party’s Plan for the Pyramids? Cover Them in Wax
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Young Girl “Shameless”, Zealots Spread Terror
 
Middle East
» Defence: Helicopter Makers Prepare for Turkish Face-Off
» Gulf: Islamic Bonds Up 62%, Bolstered by European Crisis
» Lebanon: Maronite Patriarch Calls for Surrender of Arms
» Tehran Threatens to Close Down Global Oil Tanker Traffic
» Turkey, Libya Discuss Turkish Companies’ Return
» Turkish Warships Shell Narrow Water Between Israeli, Cypriot Gas Fields
» UAE: Man Kills Former Girlfriend Killed, Buries Her in Desert
 
South Asia
» Pakistan: Muslim Terrorists Killed Shahbaz Bhatti, Interior Minister Says
 
Far East
» Italy Sends 40 Tonnes of Aid to Philippines
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Another Italian Ship Seized by Pirates
» Italian Tanker Hijacked Off Oman Coast
» Nigeria: Terzi Calls on International Community
 
Immigration
» EU-IOM: Migration Accord on Tunisia, Libya and Egypt
» Rescue, Arrests of Italy-Bound Illegals in Greece
» Swiss Village in Uproar Over Asylum Centre
 
General
» Surface of Pluto May Contain Organic Molecules

Financial Crisis


10 Years on: Britain Happy to Have Stayed Out of the Euro

A decade after the euro came into circulation, the British are more hostile than ever towards a currency that faces a battle for survival, and cannot hide their satisfaction at holding on to the pound. Yet such sentiment masks the fact that while the eurozone is struggling, the British economy is not exactly booming either.

According to a poll in the wake of Prime Minister David Cameron’s veto at a crunch European Union summit, 65 percent of Britons said they believe the euro is doomed and only one in five respondents thought it would survive. The Sunday Times newspaper caught the mood with its headline: “It’s bad, but at least we’re outside the eurozone.”

Anyone who hates Europe and the euro “can boast in the pub that they were right all along,” it said. Despite the hostility to the euro, the tangible benefits of Britain’s decision to stay out of the single European currency appear to be limited. Figures from the European Commission show that Britain’s public deficit in 2011 will be greater than that of Greece and its debt will be roughly equal to that of France, despite an unprecedented set of painful austerity measures. Meanwhile, unemployment is at a 17-year high and inflation is twice the rate of the eurozone.

Essentially, Britain is still paying the bill for the financial crisis of 2008 which caused deep damage to its banking and financial services sectors, in which it is the leading nation in Europe. Financial services were the reason given by Cameron for dramatically using the veto on a revamped EU treaty because he fears new regulations from the bloc would restrict the City of London’s room to manoeuvre.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Defying the Euro Crisis: Will German Growth Stall in 2012?

The global economy is at risk from all sides, with the European debt crisis, a weak US economy and a slowdown in China. But most German companies are still doing well, and executives are optimistic about 2012. Experts wonder, however, how long the export-driven German economy will be able to elude the gathering storm.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Despite Crisis Greece Doesn’t Want to Give Up Euro

Ten years of the euro have left Greece’s economy in tatters, but the single currency remains highly popular among Greeks who fear a return to the drachma would be catastrophic. Politicians never fail to hammer it home, but the polls also confirm it: Greeks want to stay in the eurozone.

“Our position in Europe is non-negotiable,” Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said recently. “Greece is and will remain part of a united Europe and the euro,” added Papademos who was governor of the country’s central bank when the currency went into circulation a decade ago and went on to become a vice president of the European Central Bank.

Strong support for the euro — up to 80 percent according to polls — has held up despite the deep recession and the bitter austerity measures Greece must impose to get its bailout funds. Unemployment has rocketed, with nearly half of young people now without a job. Moreover, the possibility of Greece leaving or being forced out of the eurozone is no longer an idea entertained only by the lunatic fringe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Greeks in November that this would be the result if they didn’t quickly accept new bailout conditions — triggering compliance but renewed market unease.

The British weekly The Economist, which has long argued Greece will end up eventually defaulting on its massive debt, recently organised a conference in Athens on a possible exit from the eurozone. Even former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, popular in Greece for his backing of the country joining the European Union, has described its adoption of the single currency as a “serious mistake”.

That mistake enabled successive Greek governments to go on a borrowing binge that resulted in today’s unmanageable debt. “The debt comes from the fact that Greek leaders always confused the notion of credit with revenue,” said historian Nicolas Bloudanis. “Joining the single currency allowed the country to borrow at low cost which let the political class reinforce its electoral base by recruiting state employees hand over fist,” he added.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



East Europeans Happy to Wait in the Wings for the Euro

The eurozone debt crisis has taken some of the shine off joining the euro, with most of the Eastern European countries waiting in the wings happy to wait a while longer.

Nearly 70 percent of Czechs oppose their country of 10.5 million adopting the euro, with just 18 percent in support, according to a poll by the SANEP institute published in November. Prime Minister Petr Necas has said on numerous occasions that his government won’t set a date for the Czech Republic joining the single currency during its term in office which expires in 2014. The Czech National Bank and the finance ministry recommended in mid-December not setting an adoption date and not entering the ERM II mechanism in 2012 — the two-year waiting room for eurozone candidates which pegs their currencies to the euro.

Nearly three-quarters of Poles want to stay outside the euro, while 22 percent want to join, according to a poll published at the beginning of December. Poland, eastern Europe’s powerhouse with a population of 38 million, has not set a euro accession date but plans to meet all entry criteria by 2015. “It is a strategic objective. We want to join the eurozone, but not right now,” Marek Belka, the governor of Poland’s central bank, said at the beginning of December.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Eurozone Banks Park Record Amount of Funds at ECB

Eurozone banks deposited a record amount of overnight funds at the European Central Bank on Monday, official data showed Tuesday as banks remain extremely wary of lending to each other. Banks put 411.8 billion euros ($535 billion) on deposit for 24 hours at the European Central Bank, beating the previous record of 384.3 billion euros seen in June 2010.

The level of deposits at the ECB bank is an indicator of the reluctance of banks to lend to each other on the pivotal interbank market. The money deposited earns an interest rate of 0.25 percent, which is less than the rate available on the interbank market. Banks become reluctant to lend to each other notably when they are concerned about the capacity of the borrower to repay the loan.

Last week, 523 banks borrowed a record 489.2 billion euros from the ECB in a brand-new three-year lending facility, a move which the European Systemic Risk Board said would ease funding pressures on banks. The ECB agreed to make the cash available so as to avert a possible credit crunch, charging just 1.0 percent interest. But the deposit data suggest the banks are now simply parking the cash with the ECB.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France: Alarm Over Growing Soup Kitchen Users, Fewer Funds

5 mln more needed in 2012, Restos du Coeur chairman

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, DECEMBER 27 — Restos du Coeur, the most widespread network of soup kitchens for the poor in France, will need at least 5 million euros more from now until the end of 2012 to meet growing demand due to cuts in public funding. This was announced by the chairman of the association by the same name, Olivier Berthe, in statements to the media calling for generosity on the part of the nation. The number of those who coming to the “restaurants of the heart”, he said, “is steadily rising”. Over the past three years there has been a 25% increase, and last year the association served over 109 million meals to 860,000 beneficiaries, thanks to the mobilisation of 60,000 volunteers across France. However, while experiencing growing efforts, funds are becoming ever slimmer. European subsidies, paid through the Food Aid to the Indigenous Programme, have been at the same level for many years and may soon be cut, alongside French state agencies which can afford to spend ever less on these initiatives. “The result is that we must do ever more with less,” said Bezier, noting that Restos du Coeur (which in addition to soup kitchens manage social reinsertion programmes) receive a third of their funding from state money and two thirds from private donations. The association’s request for aid has come only a few days after French president Nicholas Sarkozy’s visit to the Resto Du Coeur logistics centre in Vitry-sur-Seine, in the working-class outskirts of Paris, during which he praised the “exceptional work” done by those working within the association.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Germany More Than 2 Trillion Euro in Red

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, had debt totalling 2.028 trillion euros ($2.65 trillion) at the end of the third quarter of this year, according to provisional official data published on Tuesday. That represents a fractional increase of 0.5 percent or 10.4 billion euros over the figure recorded for the end of the second quarter, the national statistics office said in a statement.

The lion’s share of the debt, or 1.289 trillion euros, was attributable to the federal government, while the regional states had debt totalling 610 billion euros and the municipal authorities had debt of 129 billion euros. The total figure represents more than 80 percent of Germany’s gross domestic product of 2.5 trillion euros in 2010, way above the 60-percent ceiling laid down by the European Union.

Nevertheless, the German debt ratio is better than many other eurozone countries. Italy’s, for example, stands at 120 percent, and the eurozone average at more than 85 percent.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Christmas Bonus Evaders Soar

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 27 — Five times as many companies as last year in Greece have failed to pay their staff the Christmas bonus this year, according to the number of complaints registered with the competent authorities in the country. With the economic crisis deepening, about 1,500 companies did not pay the Christmas bonus, amounting to a full month’s salary, to their employees as daily Kathimerini reports.

This compares with just 300 such cases last Christmas. Labor Inspection Squad (SEPE) special secretary Michalis Chalaris said that after the completion of the complaints’ monitoring, the squad will proceed to filing charges, which can lead to prison terms of up to six months plus a fine ranging between 25 and 50% of the money owed to employees, according to law. Complaints are set to exceed 2,000, as employees can file their complaints by December 31 on phone number 15512 or the local labor inspection authorities.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Honeymoon Over for Europeans and Their Money

The euro, rolled out as a cash currency with a string of promises about easy travel, European unity and stable prices, has left crisis-rattled consumers decidedly ambivalent a decade on. On the streets of Berlin, Madrid, and Bratislava, the view is similar: despite its clear upsides, the transition to the euro hiked the cost of living even as it introduced deep political and economic uncertainty in the bloc.

The euro, the most tangible manifestation of European integration in everyday life, has become a symbol of the debt crisis and the economic downturn. “Since we rolled out the euro in France, we gave up our purchasing power,” fumes Viviane Vangic, 37, in the Paris city centre. Eighty-five percent of Germans believe that the euro has pushed up prices, according to a recent survey.

And Maria Angeles in Madrid says that “when we went to the euro, what used to cost 100 pesetas now costs a euro” or 160 pesetas. Although the statistics do not bear out this impression, showing about two-percent inflation each year over the last decade, the accusation of a built-in price hike is widespread among those who remember their old currency.

This is particularly true among the newcomers to the euro. “All the prices have gone up since we adopted the euro. It has always been hard for pensioners to make ends meet,” says Elena, a 72-year-old in Bratislava, Slovakia, which adopted the euro in 2009.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Measure of Fear: Banks Bunker Hundreds of Billions in Deposits at ECB

Just before Christmas, the European Central Bank flooded the financial markets with 500 billion euros — a move that may not ultimately have the desired effect of stabilizing banks. Instead of passing that money on in loans to businesses to spur the economy, European banks have redeposited the money with the ECB at low interest rates.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

USA


Caught on Tape: Clerk Punches, Knocks Out Armed Robber

Clerk Then Makes Suspect Clean Up His Own Blood

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — A clerk at a business in Western North Carolina punched a would-be robber and knocked him out cold just minutes after the man barged in with a gun and demanded money.

It happened about 15 minutes before closing time Friday night at We Buy Gold store in Hendersonville.

“When he came through the door he told me had a gun and he even flashed it,” said Derek Mothershead. “I stood up and threw my hands up and said, ‘Take the money.’“

Mothershead said the man came behind the counter with a bag.

The punch knocked out the would-be thief. Mothershead was able to grab the man’s weapon and realized it was a pellet gun.

“When I pulled it out of his waistband I started laughing,” said Mothershead. “I said, ‘Man, you came in here with a fake gun?’“

Mothershead said he dragged the man over to a desk and held him down with one hand and called 911 with the other.

The man, later identified as Mostafa Hendi, eventually regained consciousness.

“He kind of begged me, begged me to let him go,” Mothershead said. “I said, ‘You came in and tried to rob us. You’re going to jail.’“

While they waited for police and paramedics, Mothershead gave the man a roll of power towels, sprayed the floor with cleaner and told him to clean up his own blood.

“At the time you really don’t think you hit somebody as hard as you do, but looking back at the tape I can say I hit him pretty hard, I guess,” Mothershead said.

Hendi remains behind bars on a charge of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. His bond was set at $100,000.

“There was just an opportunity there where I thought that I could actually do something and justice could be served, and I thought that’s what needed to be done,” said Mothershead.

We Buy Gold has dealt with others robberies at its 30 locations between Western North Carolina and the Upstate.

“It’s not even worth hitting us,” said Mothershead. “We’ve got a fast-retrieval money system in order and we really don’t carry that much money to begin with, so there’s no point in hitting us.”

           — Hat tip: Takuan Seiyo [Return to headlines]



Couple in Deadly Grapevine Shooting Had Recently Split

GRAPEVINE — Friends of the family fatally shot Christmas morning said Monday that one of the seven victims was a woman who had left her husband and moved to a Grapevine apartment with their two children.

One of the dead was a middle-aged man dressed as Santa Claus. Investigators believe that he killed the other six before shooting himself, Grapevine police Lt. Todd Dearing said.

Late Monday, Dearing declined to identify the victims or discuss further details.

But online property records led reporters to neighbors who identified three of them — Fatemeh Rahmati, who left her husband, Aziz Yazdanpanah, this year and moved with a son and a daughter, Nona Yazdanpanah, to the apartment complex in the 2500 block of Hall-Johnson Road.

Aziz Yazdanpanah stayed in the family’s home two miles away in Colleyville.

On Monday, police were trying to work out the timeline of the bloodiest crime in Grapevine history.

The victims were found beside open gifts near a Christmas tree in the apartment, according to police. Two handguns were found.

“We don’t know if [the killer] was with them or he came over later,” Dearing said.

The dead — four women and three men — were “related either by blood or marriage,” Dearing said. Three lived in the apartment, he said.

He said police would not release any information about the victims until the medical examiner rules in the case.

A spokesman for the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office told The Associated Press that the victims had been tentatively identified, but that the office couldn’t confirm the names because the state driver’s license fingerprint database wasn’t available on the holiday.

Police received a 911 call from the Lincoln Vineyards Apartments late Christmas morning, but no one spoke on the other end. When a patrol officer arrived, he saw bodies slumped around the living room.

No one answered the door. When officers forced their way in, they found the bodies around newly opened presents and a Christmas tree.

House foreclosed on

Property records show that a bank had foreclosed on Aziz Yazdanpanah’s Colleyville house in the 5400 block of Sycamore Court in 2010, but he was still living there, neighbors said.

Carrie Stewart and Fred Ditmars lived across the street for more than four years and described Aziz Yazdanpanah as friendly.

“He welcomed us when we moved in. He watched our house when we were out of town,” Stewart said.

Stewart and Ditmars recalled Aziz Yazdanpanah expressing concern about a year ago that his daughter was being harassed because of her ethnicity. In their conversations, Yazdanpanah mentioned that he owned a gun, Stewart said.

“He was very protective of his family,” Stewart said.

Another neighbor, Allison Baum, said she was close friends with Nona Yazdanpanah, who had hoped to be a lawyer someday. The two girls were classmates at Colleyville Heritage High School last year.

“We carpooled every day together. When her parents separated, I would pick her up from the apartment,” Baum said.

In February, Nona participated in a state competition in Fort Worth of students involved in DECA, an international organization that promotes careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges, according to a school news release.

Baum recalled Nona Yazdanpanah complaining about her parents fighting before they separated.

“I knew they were separated. I knew things were rough, but I never thought anything drastic would happen,” Baum said.

As soon as she heard news reports about the killings at the Grapevine apartment, Baum said, she texted Nona Yazdanpanah but did not receive a response.

“I just keep waiting for her to come here,” Baum said. “They were all good people.”

Baum said the separation was very difficult on the family’s father.

Baum said the family was Muslim but celebrated Christmas as a cultural holiday. The parents were originally from Iran.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]



First Pictures of Family Gunned Down on Christmas Day by Estranged Husband and Father Dressed in a Santa Suit

The crazed gunman dressed in a Santa suit who gunned down two families while they were opening their presents on Christmas morning was the father and estranged husband of three of his victims.

Aziz Yazdanpanah, who had separated from his wife in March, is believed to have opened fire at an apartment in Grapevine, Dallas — just after the family opened their gifts — before turning the gun on himself.

Just hours before the families were killed, the group had thrown a large Christmas Eve party at their ranch. Dozens of friends and relatives celebrated late into the night, according to WFAA8.com.

Friends say Yazdanpanah, 56, likely showed up unexpectedly the next morning as he had not been invited to the party.

The victims have been identified as his wife Nasrin Rahmaty, 55, the couple’s two children Nona Yazdanpanah, 19, and her brother, Ali, 15.

Yazdanpanah also killed his sister-in-law’s family. Zohreh Rahmaty, 58, who was Nasrin’s sister, and her husband, Hossein Zarei, 59. Their daughter Sahra Zarei, 22, was also shot.

Mona Hosseiny, 27, who grew up with the children, told WFAA8: ‘They were as close as siblings. They basically called each other sister, brother. They were everybody’s best friend and everybody loved them so much.’

After the Yazdanpanahs separated, Ms Rahmaty moved with her children to the Grapevine apartment. They were having financial troubles and recently declared bankruptcy.

Despite their problems, family friends say they never expected anything like this: ‘During the years, we sensed things, but not to the point he would take his own children’s lives.’

Two pistols were recovered from the home, said Sergeant Robert Eberling of the Grapevine police department, who called it a ‘gruesome crime scene’ and the worst outburst of gun violence in the town’s history.

A community of about 46,000 people some 20 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, Grapevine is known for its wine-tasting salons and was recently proclaimed by the state Senate as the ‘Christmas Capital of Texas’ for its abundance of annual holiday-season events.

‘This is obviously a terrible tragedy,’ Mayor William Tate said on Sunday night in a statement given to Reuters. ‘The fact that it happened on Christmas makes it even more tragic. This appears to be a family situation and anyone who has a family will be incredibly saddened by that happened.’

Police dispatched at about 11:30am local time on Sunday, found the bodies in the first-floor living room of a two-story unit in the Lincoln Vineyards apartments, police said.

The 911 caller never spoke to police, and officers did not see the telephone when they arrived, officials said.

Eberling said he believed police had to kick in the door to enter. No neighbors reported hearing gunshots, he said.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]



VA GOP Primary: Mitt V. Ron — But No Conservatives!

UPDATE DECEMBER 27 EVENING! Matt K. Lewis (Daily Caller) reports that Rick Perry files court challenge to Virginia ballot access rules. The link to the filing is here.

* * * * *

“And when an unresolved presidential primary rolls into Virginia, voters should be able to choose from the full slate of remaining major candidates—not just those who were able to collect 10,000 petition signatures, including 400 from each congressional district.” — Ashby Law

What a mess! And what’s an honest conservative to do in the March 6, 2012 Virginia Republican primary election?

The Virginia Republican Rube Goldberg primary rules here and here allowed only Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul to qualify for the March 6, 2012 primary ballot. (We are grateful to Moe Lane and Paula at RedState for unearthing the details over the holiday weekend of this latest adventure of the Virginia branch of the Stupid Party.)

Virginia to Conservative GOP Primary Voters: Our Way or the Highway?

Our concern is about effectively disenfranchising thousands of Virginia conservative voters during the GOP primary.

Whether the other non-qualifying or non-competing GOP candidates “knew or should have known the rules,” the rules themselves are flawed. They may or may not be the “Virginia Way” but they are not the American Way.

The many Virginia conservative voters will have to “choose” between a slick governmentalist and a widely recognized loon — or worse as Leon Wolf points out today.

Even more painful, Virginia conservatives cannot even write in their own primary candidate.

What will the Virginia GOP Establishment now do about this flawed ballot-access system?

The new (and useful) Transom daily email newsletter today declares —

“Virginia’s rules are a vestige of the Byrd-machine past and not reflective of how the overwhelming majority of states put up requirements. But the effect of this, if it stands, is simple and obvious: Ron Paul will win Virginia. It’s a primary that has no party registration and will be the only question on the ballot, without the possibility of write-ins (banned in Virginia primaries), and no incentive for Romney to devote resources here versus more competitive states, it’s an opportunity for Paul to really maximize his sizable following in the Old Dominion. And that’s why the Virginia GOP is scrambling today to find a way to get either Perry or Gingrich back on the ticket, through litigation or otherwise.” (Underscoring Forum’s.)

We would demur only from the Transom’s suggestion that the practices of the “Byrd-machine past” are indeed in the past. In our view, the Virginia GOP has inherited many of the attributes of a “machine” culture. It is just a well-manicured “ruling class” organization — not the traditional thuggish image of a Tammany Hall — but a machine all the same.

The Ron Paul Temptation for Virginia Conservatives?

In the other part of the GOP forest, some Virginia conservatives — even otherwise capable leaders — are or have been Ronulans.

They may well see a Paul victory as fatally embarrassing the GOP Establishment in Virginia. And such a victory is quite possible because the primary is an open one and Democrats can participate with their own “operation chaos.”

[see links at the URL above]

[Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Even Austrian Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light

In February of this year, an Austrian teacher, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, was found guilty of “denigration of religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion” because, during a seminar course on Islam, she stated that “Muhammed had a thing for little girls.” Sabaditsch-Wolff’s conviction was appealed, but it was upheld earlier this month.

The conviction was upheld despite the well-attested historical fact that Muhammed married his wife Alisha when she was six years old, and had relations with her by the time she was nine. Given the shift in the juridical climate in Europe, in which Sharia law is a growing force, Sabaditsch-Wolff would clearly have been wiser to simply state the facts rather than interpret them in a manner which can be taken as negative.

But one wonders when, in Western society at least, sexual relations with a nine-year-old became something that can be construed as positive—or, if such a thing can be construed as positive, one wonders why stating that Muhammed had a thing for little girls should be considered a denigration of Muhammed. Does this have something to do with global warming?

It is inescapable, as I may have said before, that a post-Christian society in which Christianity will define itself in opposition to Christianity. Moreover, because Christianity strengthens and corroborates our perception of the natural law, this very often means a post-Christian society must define itself in opposition to truth itself…

           — Hat tip: Salome [Return to headlines]



France: Muslim War Graves Attacked

Thirty war graves of Muslim soldiers who fought in World War I have been attacked and defaced in the southern city of Carcassonne. Racist insults and swastikas were painted on the graves, which are identified by the Islamic symbols of the star and crescent. Slogans including “France for the French” and “Arabs out” were painted on some of the gravestones, reported daily newspaper Le Figaro.

The graves of Muslim soldiers in the same graveyard were attacked earlier this year in September. Abdallah Zekri, president of a body that monitors Islamophobia, condemned the attacks on the graves of soldiers who “died for France.” He pointed to a “significant and very worrying increase in Islamophobia in France.”

He said such attacks are up by 34 percent in 2011. In November alone, these included six fires at mosques in the country. The graves were cleaned and a religious ceremony to honour the dead is planned for Tuesday morning.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Historian Wants Ban on Communist Uniforms

A prominent historian of communist East Germany and its Stasi secret police has called for a ban on the public display of communist era uniforms or insignia.

“This is not only tasteless, but violates the dignity of the victims of this dictatorship,” Hubertus Knabe, the director of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, where the Stasi ran a huge prison, told the BZ newspaper this week.

“For years, we’ve been experiencing an increasingly careless way of dealing with the relics of the communist dictatorship in Germany,” he added.

Communist-era insignia has become increasingly chic in western Europe, where young people sometimes wear t-shirts or military caps with the infamous hammer and sickle.

In parts of Berlin, surplus East German military supplies are sold on the streets and street hawkers pose in old army uniforms for pictures with tourists.

But Knabe says the commercialization of the communist era is wrong and should be compared to idealizing the Nazis. In Germany, it is illegal to publicly display insignia like the swastika that are commonly associated with the Nazis.

Knabe told the BZ that there is no other country where “you can freely walk around on the street in the uniform of a fallen dictatorship.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Two Die in Cold Snap

Tramp burns to death in Bolzano, homeless woman dies in Milan

(ANSA) — Rome, December 26 — Italy’s cold snap claimed two lives Monday when a tramp burned to death in Bolzano after huddling too close to his fire and a homeless Ecuadorean woman was found dead in Milan.

In Genoa a 77-year-old woman died after inhaling fumes from a broken heater and three neighbours who saved her daughter suffered severe intoxication.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Sixty Group in Mourning, Wicky Hassan Dies in Rome

Co-founder and creative spirit of the group, 56 years old

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 16 — Wicky Hassan, co-founder and creative spirit of the Sixty Group and owner of the clothing brands Miss Sixty and Energie, died this morning in Rome. A refugee from Libya, where he was born in Tripoli 56 years ago, he arrived in Rome at the end of the ‘60s after the hunt for Jews in the North African country. He has been one of the most active and brilliant fashion creators of the past years.

Hassan, founder, majority shareholder and creative mind of the Sixty Group, had been fighting a tumour for four years. The group has expressed its deepest sorrow and has underlined that “in the past years, since the illness was diagnosed, Wicky Hassan had relentlessly worked preparing his company for the future. Specifically, he had dedicated time with immense humanity to creating a strong design team which could implement and carry on his vision.” “Besides ensuring a continuity in style”, the statement continues, “Wicky Hassan had also taken steps to ensure the future governance of the group entrusting Piero Bongiovanni, current CEO of the company and his management team with the powers necessary to ensure business continuity.” “Today we have lost one of the world’s great fashion designers.

A man who was able to express great love for design and for his company as well as take a firm stand against all discriminations”, stated Piero Bongiovanni.

“Wicky a friend, a visionary, a man of great values. A partner I had the privilege of working with over the past years. He will remain in our hearts for ever”, stated Renato Rossi, co-founder of the Sixty Group.

His most recent quality leap was the acquisition of such a prestigious brand as ‘Roberta di Camerino’, but Wicky Hassan never forgot that he owed his fortune to jeans. Because it was jeans that represented the soul of the Sixty Group, which Hassan co-founded (along with Renato Rossi) in 1989, and which were at the height of its creativity: it was no coincidence that they formed an essential component of every collection and represented way over half of the fashion house’s sales. The business was built on rock-solid intuition, the linking of denim and fashion thanks to tireless experimenting with fabrics and an eye for the trends in what the young would wear.

Born in 1955 in Tripoli into a Jewish family already active in the fabrics sector, Hassan arrived in Italy in 1967 when Libyan Jews were being forced by the regime to flee the North African country. His first stop was Rome, then the Hebrew grammar school in Milan, and then back to the capital. And it was here that Hassan started his ascent into the world of fashion: in 1983 his shop ‘Energie’ in Via del Corso became a focal point — partly thanks to its alluring window displays and special effects. From this period came his collaboration with cartoonist and artist Andrea Pazienza. Successes mounted: ‘Energie’ became a brand. In ‘89 the partnership with Renato Rossi from which Sixty Group was born. The first ‘Energie’ collection followed and the house received the blessings of the sector. Over the following years, the group consolidated and appeared on the world stage — large in scale with branches abroad. Under its umbrella grew brands such as Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah, Murphy & Nye and Refrigiwear (in ‘93). Successful labels that are appreciated everywhere.

It’s not surprising that in 2006, the Pitti Immagine Award went to Wicky Hassan, in recognition of a creative intuition which by now had become a standard to be imitated. The acquisition of a brand as famous as ‘Roberta di Camerino’ — a relative success in the luxury segment — represents the latest achievement of a Group that has no intention of stopping to rest upon its laurels. There was an element of chance in the way the whole operation was born and thanks also to the personal friendship between Hassan and Giulia Coen Camerino. “It’s an extraordinary brand, “ Hassan said at the time, “one of the few capable of competing with French couturiers,” and this says much about the Group’s market outlooks. Very close to the practising Hebrew community, the funeral took place today (with the attendance of Rome’s Mayor, Gianni Alemanno), given that tomorrow is the Sabbath and religious practice prevents the celebration of a funeral on that day. The Chair of Rome’s Jewish community, Riccardo Pacifici, called him a ‘just person’ for his works of charity. Hassan never made a secret of his homosexuality, indeed he often struck out against prejudice and discrimination. A long-term relationship with a companion stretched over years, Hassan was very close to the three adoptive children.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Radical Islam Claims Another: Gregorius Nekschot, RIP

Gregorius Nekschot, the controversial Dutch cartoonist, has had enough. January 1, he is putting away his pens for good, he told Dutch daily de Volkskrant today, and heading on to a new chapter in his life.

Nekschot — a nom-de-plume — gained renown in 2008, when Dutch law enforcement officials raided his house in the early morning hours, pulling the sleeping cartoonist from his bed in response to allegations of racism and discrimination. Those charges were the handiwork of Abdul-Jabbar van de Ven, a radical imam in the Netherlands who, among other things, praised the murder of Theo van Gogh by a radical Muslim in 2004, and has called for the death of Dutch MP Geert Wilders. Van de Ven apparently found nothing hypocritical in charging Neckschot with abusing the right to free expression in his cartoons — which are often admittedly offensive and distasteful, such as the one depicting an Osama bin-Laden look-alike fornicating with a bear. Nekschot was held for 30 hours, and his computer and CDs impounded; it took two years before the case was ultimately dismissed by the courts…

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]



Swedish Police Hunt ‘Halloween Mask’ Killer

The shooter who killed one man and injured two others at a cafe in Malmö in southern Sweden on Monday wore a mask similar to those worn by robbers in the 2010 Hollywood film “The Town”, according to police, who said Tuesday they have yet to make any arrests in the case. Several witnesses have told police that the perpetrator wore a rubber mask with the face of an elderly man similar to masks featured in “The Town”, said investigative leader J-B Cederholm of the Malmö police. “We’ve chosen to go public with the photo [from the film] because it corresponds to what witnesses describe,” he told the local Sydsvenskan daily. “Whether it’s exactly alike or not, I can’t say.”

Some fifteen people were in the café when the shots were fired on Monday evening, and police have interviewed several of these witnesses during the night. “I was sitting at the table next to the victim. A guy came in with a Halloween mask and a pistol in each hand. He didn’t say a word, he just fired, and fired, and fired. A bullet or two hit the floor, and others hit his friends’ legs and hands,” said a witness to newspaper Aftonbladet. The 27-year-old victim, who died from his injuries, was sitting at a table playing cards when the masked man entered the café shortly before 8pm on Monday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Abdul Khalazai Pleads Guilty to Raping a Woman on Folkestone Seafront

by Paul Hooper

A young woman was raped on Folkestone seafront after going there following a row with her partner.

The victim had begged her attacker to stop, but Abdul Khalazai ignored her tearful pleas and continued the attack.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that when the girl later relived her terrifying ordeal it triggered “such emotions that they were some of the most shocking ever seen by officers”.

Khalazai, 18, of Albert Street, Whitstable, pleaded guilty to rape and was ordered to be locked up in a secure hospital indefinitely.

He had escaped from his native Afghanistan and arrived in the UK in 2006 in the back of a lorry.

Within a year he had carried out his first attack, sexually assaulting a stranger in the street.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]

Balkans


Officially and Unofficially, The Euro Reigns in the Balkans

The eurozone crisis has not prompted panic in the Balkans even though the euro is the currency of reference here and Montenegro and Kosovo use it despite being a long way from membership. Throughout the region, loans are taken out and savings made in euros while salaries are determined based on the European single currency.

“In the past, all of us in the Balkans were in love with the German mark. Since it disappeared, the euro rules,” explained Zoran Jovanovic while sipping coffee at the popular Belgrade Biblioteka cafe. “It is the case in Belgrade, Zagreb, Podgorica, Skopje, Tirana, Sarajevo or even Pristina, everyone thinks in euros,” said the 40-year old architect.

While some European Union states struggle for years to fulfill the strict economic and monetary criteria to enter the single-currency zone, Kosovo and Montenegro have already made the euro their national currency. Podgorica unilaterally adopted the euro after it proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2006. Pristina started using the euro as soon as the currency went into circulation in 2002. Before the euro was introduced, the two capitals which were at odds with Belgrade and had abandoned the dinar and used the German mark.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egyptian Court Rules Against Virginity Tests

Cairo (CNN) — An Egyptian administrative court issued an order Tuesday banning virginity tests for female detainees, months after several women alleged they were subjected to such examinations following a March protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

The ruling comes in the case of Samira Ibrahim, a 25-year-old marketing manager who took the country’s military led-government to court in August, alleging she was among those subjected to the test after her arrest during the March 9 protest. She said she faced death threats after bringing the case.

“Justice has been served today,” Ibrahim told CNN. “These tests are a crime and also do not comply with the constitution, which states equality between men and woman. I will not give up my rights as a woman or a human being.”

Aly Hassan, a judicial consultant affiliated with Ministry of Justice, said the order only affects the use of such tests in military prisons and on women in temporary detention.

“Those tests are not considered a crime or else the file would be in the Criminal Court,” Hassan said. “It’s the circumstances of the alleged test that may be in question here.”

In March, the human rights group Amnesty International reported that Egyptian troops beat, shocked and strip-searched women arrested during the protest in Cairo and forced them to submit to virginity tests.

Egyptian authorities initially denied requiring virginity tests, but in May, a senior general who asked not to be identified acknowledged the practice.

The general said the tests were performed as a safeguard against the women accusing authorities of sexual assault, and he defended the tests.

“The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine,” the general told CNN at the time. “These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs).”

But Ibrahim said her treatment clearly showed the tests were meant to “degrade the protesters.”

“The military tortured me, labeled me a prostitute and humiliated me by forcing on me a virginity test conducted by a male doctor where my body was fully exposed while military soldiers watched,” she said.

Another protester arrested in the March 9 protest, Salwa Hosseini, offered a similar account, according to an Amnesty International report on the allegations.

In addition to Ibrahim, a member of the No to Military Trials to Civilians group, Maha Mamoun, joined the legal action even though she was not subjected to a test, said Ahmed Ragab, an attorney with the Hisham Mubarak Law Center who handled Ibrahim’s case.

Ragab said government lawyers initially denied that the tests were administered and the case was repeatedly delayed before Tuesday’s ruling.

           — Hat tip: AC [Return to headlines]



The Salafist Party’s Plan for the Pyramids? Cover Them in Wax

For now members of the Nour (The Light) Salafist party, which won 20 per cent of the vote in recent elections, are talking about putting an end to the ‘idolatry’ represented by the pyramids.

This means destruction — along the lines essayed by the Afghan Taliban who blew up the Banyam Buddhas — or ‘concealment’ by covering them with wax. Tourists would presumably see great blobs rather than the perfectly carved steps.

This last suggestion was made by Abdel Moneim Al-Shahat, a Nour candidate for parliament. Apart from wanting to do away with this ‘rotten culture’, this gentleman also wants to ban the Nobel prize winning novels of Naguib Mahfouz, one of many great Egyptian writers.

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Young Girl “Shameless”, Zealots Spread Terror

Ultra-Orthodox on rampage in Beit Shemesh, 3 TV crews attacked

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, DECEMBE 27 — “They called me shameless, brazen. They even spat at me”. Naama Margulis, a skinny, bespectacled girl approaching her eight birthday, tells the television cameras that she has become afraid to travel the 300 metres that separate her hom in Beit Shemesh (west of Jerusalem) from her school. This is because the feared “Sikarikim” are waiting along the road. The self-styled “guardians of modesty” have established that the Margulis family, though they live devoutly, are an affront to public decency, claiming that the young girl is an “unbearable person” because, they say, “she does not dress modestly enough”. Speaking on television, the young girl says that she has been spat at and called “bawdy”. Two minutes on the television news on the commercial Channel 2 were enough for little Naama’ to ignite the tinderbox that is Beit Shemesh, a sleepy town previously inhabited by working-class Sephardis, before being left to its fate on the margins of the major Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, and becoming a delicate ultra-Orthodox suburb in the last decade. Here the first generation of religious fanaticism has been unashamedly consummated. A year ago, the first “Taliban women” appeared, Orthodox Jewish women covered from head to toe by numerous layers to hide their shapes. Alongside them, the aggressive “Sikarikim” began to lay down the law. The “guardians of modesty”, whose name is evocative of the zealots who 2,000 years ago, under Roman occupation, would stab integrated Jews with a “Sika” (dagger).

Compared to the “Taliban women”, the unfortunate Naama also appears to the Sikarikim to be a walking example of indecency that should be eradicated. For some time already, though this was not previously known, pavements in Beith Shemesh have been separated by gender, forbidding women from walking past the synagogues frequented by extremists. Hardline rabbis in the town have also been giving explicit orders to women not to stay in the streets for longer than family needs dictate and not to gather at the entrance to homes. There is probably no other place in Israel where hardline rabbis have such an ability to lay down the law.

This week, Naama’s brief television appearance led to an escalation in the situation. Television crews descended on Beit Shemesh. Reporters were surrounded by hostile crowds and three of them were attacked. “We were about to be lynched,” one cameraman says. When the town authorities tried to remove signs ordering the separation of the sexes in th streets, mass protests were staged, with police forced to disperse the troublemakers. The signs reappeared soon after,

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Defence: Helicopter Makers Prepare for Turkish Face-Off

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 20 — Many of the world’s major helicopter manufacturers are expected to compete for a multibillion dollar contract to potentially co-produce thousands of light utility choppers in Turkey’s upcoming large-scale helicopter tender, as daily Hurriyet reports. The U.S. Sikorsky Aircraft, which won a separate 3.5 billion USD competition to lead the production of more than 100 larger utility helicopters for Turkey over Italy’s AgustaWestland in spring 2011, became the first major international company to formally announce it would also seek to win the light utility helicopter contest in May. At the time, procurement chief Murad Bayar said Turkey would soon begin to design and develop a military and civilian light utility helicopter, probably with a foreign partner and possibly with Sikorsky Aircraft. Bayar said Sikorsky, a leading manufacturer of various rotary-wing aircraft, did not have a helicopter in the category of light utility platforms, which weigh between 4,500 kg and 5,500 kg, the type of chopper Turkey wants to develop. “Turkey and Sikorsky Aircraft can work on this matter together. If it happens, it happens. If it does not, we are ready to work with any other company,” Bayar said. Sikorsky has teamed up with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in the co-production of the larger T-70 utility helicopter, a Turkish version of the U.S. S-70i Black Hawk International. Later, an AgustaWestland official said, “We will be available for Turkey if Turkey wants to work with us.” His remarks were in line with advice by former Italian Deputy Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who had urged AgustaWestland to pursue all helicopter competitions.

“AgustaWestland needs to pursue all opportunities and chances in the helicopter field,” Crosetto said in Istanbul earlier this year. “They will have to fight in a tight market.” In November the pan-European Eurocopter became the latest major rotary-wing aircraft maker to announce it would also seek to win Turkey’s light utility helicopter contract.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Gulf: Islamic Bonds Up 62%, Bolstered by European Crisis

5.6 billion euros sold

(ANSA) — DUBAI,DECEMBER 27 — Interest in sukuks (Islamic bonds) has risen by 62% in the oil-rich Gulf region. The six monarchies and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sold bonds in compliance with the Sharia (Koranic law regulating economic and financial aspects of society as well) worth 5.6 billion euros, the highest since 2007, according to the UAE daily The National. The sale of bonds issued by GCC (which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman) governments and banks was fostered by the sovereign debt crisis shaking up Europe, according to regional economic analysts.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Lebanon: Maronite Patriarch Calls for Surrender of Arms

Leaving them to national army alone

(ANSA) — VATICAN CITY, DECEMBER 27 — The Maronite Catholic Patriarch, Bechara Rai, has expressed the hope that the Beirut will undertake to free Lebanon of all armaments, leaving them only to the legal use of the armed forces. During a Christmas mass celebrated in Bkerke on December 25, Patriarch Rai emphasised how “it is the state’s duty alone to ensure the security of citizens and peace throughout the country, to gather up all arms and to place them under the sole control of Lebanon’s legitimate forces, so that Beirut and the whole of Lebanon be freed of arms”. The sermon was reported on Vatican Radio, which cited the missionary press agency, Asianews.

The words of the head of the Maronite Church appear to give voice to the hopes of many MPs, who over the year have issued calls for a “demilitarised” Beirut following the bitter armed clashes involving Hezbollah. It also echoes calls by the charitable Islamic association Burj Abi Haidar for a demilitarised Tripoli.

But as AsiaNews points out, the Patriarch’s words are aimed principally at the Hezbollah situation. This is the only armed group that has never laid down its weapons, with the justification that it needs to be constantly prepared to fight Israeli forces. In this respect, the Patriarch added: “The state has subsume all defence and security missions under one sole political authority and to increase confidence in its armed forces”.

The Christmas Mass was also celebrated by Emeritus Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and by the Vatican’s Nuncio to Lebanon, Msg.

Gabriele Caccia. Apart from the country’s head of state, Michel Suleiman, other politicians present at the mass were from the opposition ranks of Catholic MPs, including the leader of Kataeb, Amin Gemayel, and the head of the Free Patriotic movement, Michel Aoun, who is close to Hezbollah.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Tehran Threatens to Close Down Global Oil Tanker Traffic

(AGI) Tehran- In case of UN sanctions, Iran threatens to close down the Strait of Hormuz and block global oil-tanker traffic.

“If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi was quoted as saying to the IRNA Press Agency.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Turkey, Libya Discuss Turkish Companies’ Return

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 19 — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey and Libya are assessing losses incurred by Turkish construction companies during the anti-Gadhafi uprising as well as discussing their return to the country. Erdogan, as local media reported, also said Saturday that Turkey would support efforts to restore security in Libya, saying the country was sending material to equip police and that a security delegation would travel there next month. Erdogan was speaking at a news conference with the visiting chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil.

Turkish companies were involved in Libyan construction projects worth billions of dollars before the outbreak of the anti-Gadhafi uprising in February.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Turkish Warships Shell Narrow Water Between Israeli, Cypriot Gas Fields

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias has warned Turkey to stop its warships shelling the strip of water dividing the Cypriot and Israeli gas exploration zones in the eastern Mediterranean. Debkafile’s military sources report Wednesday that Turkish warships began turning their guns on the strip dividing Israel’s Leviathan gas field from Block 12 of Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone-EEZ, where a large gas field was recently discovered. Neither Israel nor Cyprus reported the Turkish attacks, which are staged in international waters, but both reinforced their naval units around the gas fields.

It was the Cypriot president who broke the silence Friday with a warning: “If Turkey does not change its gunboat diplomacy and stop playing the part of regional police officer, there will be consequences, which, for sure, will not be good — either for the whole region or the Turkish people and, first and foremost, for Turkish Cypriots.” On Thursday, Israel canceled the $90 million sale to the Turkish Air Force of Elbit’s hi-tech LOROP-Long Range Oblique Photography military surveillance system. Israeli defense sources said the transaction was canceled lest SAR radar or LOROP technology find their way into the hands of Israel’s enemies, such as Iran.

According to military sources, Israel timed the deal’s cancelation as a warning to Ankara to back off from its campaign of harassment in and around Israel’s gas fields. Jerusalem, Athens and Nicosia are economic and security partners in the exploration and development of eastern Mediterranean gas resources. The same firm, Noble Energy Inc of Houston, Texas, is working both Cypriot and Israeli fields. Shares in the U.S. company are held in Cyprus by the Cypriot national energy company and in Israel by Delek Drilling LP and Avner Oil Exploration LLP.

The recent discovery that the gas fields are much bigger than first believed has raised the stakes around them. The three governments involved are looking forward to becoming major gas suppliers to Europe and so reducing the continent’s dependence on Russian and Turkish gas pipelines. Noble Energy’s latest estimate, published Dec. 19, added 6.3 percent to the Leviathan well’s untapped potential, raising it from the previous estimate of 16 to 20 trillion cubic feet. Nicosia too will shortly issue an upwardly revised estimate of its gas field.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UAE: Man Kills Former Girlfriend Killed, Buries Her in Desert

Death sentence handed down

(ANSAmed) — DUBAI, DECEMBER 27 — A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to death in the United Arab Emirates for having killed his former girlfriend and buried her in the desert, reports the local press. The man, who was only said to have been of “Arab” nationality, was found guilty by the court in Al Ain, an oasis in the Abi Dhabi province, of having killed his 21-year-old former girlfriend Iman after she repeatedly refused to get back together with him.

According to the Sharia, the Koranic law applied in Muslim countries, the victim’s family can pardon the assassin and save him from death in exchange for money. Iman’s family, however, has insisted that the death sentence be carried out. In the United Arab Emirates the death penalty is provided for in cases involving murder, rape, drug trafficking, armed robbery and apostasy. However, it is rarely implemented.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Pakistan: Muslim Terrorists Killed Shahbaz Bhatti, Interior Minister Says

The murderers are believed to be members of Sipah-e-Sahaba. During Christmas-related events, Paul Bhatti, national harmony advisor to the prime minister, praised the minister. “I want to carry on my brother’s mission to serve humanity in order to create an atmosphere of peace, love and stability in the country,” he said.

Islamabad (AsiaNews) — Those who murdered Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic, belong to Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Muslim terrorist organisation, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said during a Christmas event at Islamabad’s Fatima Church. In cooperation with Interpol, Pakistani authorities are making all possible efforts to bring them back to Pakistan after they fled to Dubai. Paul Bhatti, brother of the slain minister and national harmony advisor to the prime minister, praised the Interior minister’s statement. “Rehman Malik’s statement will bring an end to the rumours that have been surfacing regarding Shahbaz Bhatti’s murder,” he said.

Police sources in Islamabad said the two suspects, Zia-ur-Rehman and Malik Abid, are already in Pakistan. Some local newspapers claimed instead that the murder was due to a dispute among relatives over assets and properties.

During some pre-Christmas events, Paul Bhatti called on the Water Ministry not to cut power to Churches during the Christmas period in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal and Jehlum, to allow Christians to celebrate christmas according to tradition without hindrance or problems. The ministry had planned a number of blackouts to save energy.

In Rawalpindi, the national harmony adviser visited disabled children at the St Joseph’s Hospice, bringing gifts. “I want to carry on my brother’s mission to serve humanity in order to create an atmosphere of peace, love and stability in the country since I do not seek political status or monetary benefits”, Dr. Paul said.

“The core truth that makes Christmas such an extraordinarily special time is that God became a human being and, precisely because in the limitless vastness of his glory, he became one of us, his experience of our limitations has changed our experience of what it is to be human or better, has revealed what it is to be truly and fully human,” Mgr Rufin Anthony, bishop of Rawalpindi-Islamabad, said in his christmas message. “Because God became human, we can embrace our humanity fully, in ourselves and others. Because God became human, we can love without fear and forgive without recompense. Because in becoming human, God has shown us that love is possible, that it works.”

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Far East


Italy Sends 40 Tonnes of Aid to Philippines

Tents, blankets, water purifiers to storm survivors

(ANSA) — Rome, December 27 — Italy has sent an emergency flight of 40 tonnes of badly needed aid to the storm-stricken population of the Philippines, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

On December 16-17 tropical storm Washi reaped more than 1,000 victims and left more than 300,000 homeless.

The Italian aid department plane left from Kuala Lumpur and arrived on the island of Mindanao, the epicentre of the storm, with tents, blankets, emergency-repair material, water containers and purifiers, the ministry said. The 500,000-euro operation will see the aid distributed by the Philippines welfare ministry, it added.

Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi “instructed the aid department to make an urgent humanitarian flight to bring a rapid response to the immediate needs of the survivors,” the ministry said

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Another Italian Ship Seized by Pirates

Oil tanker captured off coast of Oman

(ANSA) — Rome, December 27 — Another Italian ship has been seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

An oil tanker, the Enrico Ievoli belonging to Naples company Marnavi, was captured near the coast of Oman with 18 crew members aboard, including six Italians.

“The pirates are aboard but we are all well,” Agostino Musumeci, the commander of the Enrico Ievoli, said in a telephone conversation, according to Marnavi Chief Executive Domenico Ievoli.

Last week another Italian oil tanker, the Savina Caylyn owned by the Neopolitan company Fratelli D’Amato, was freed after being hijacked by Somali pirates in February.

The Italian foreign ministry denied the pirates’ claim that a ransom was paid.

In October an Italian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia with 23 people on board was freed after an operation by British special forces.

Last year pirates in the region are believed to have earned $80 million from ransom money.

Earlier this year governments reached an international agreement that they would not pay ransom.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italian Tanker Hijacked Off Oman Coast

(CNN) — An Italian tanker with 18 people on board was hijacked off the coast of Oman, officials said Tuesday.

The chemical product tanker, Enrico Ievoli, was on its way from the United Arab Emirates to the Mediterranean Sea when it was seized, according to the company that owns the ship. It was carrying caustic soda.

Of the 18 people on board, six are Italian nationals, five are Ukrainian and seven are Indian, the company — Marnavi — said.

           — Hat tip: AC [Return to headlines]



Nigeria: Terzi Calls on International Community

‘Do more to defend religious freedom,’ FM says

(ANSA) — Rome, December 27 — Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi on Tuesday urged the international community to avert a fresh wave of violence in Nigeria after Christmas Day bomb attacks on Christian churches that killed dozens.

The attacks, by an Islamist terrorist sect called Boko Haram, “must not be the spark for a fresh wave of violence,” Terzi said. “It is up to the international community to do its utmost to avert it,” he said, urging the United Nations to “do more” to defend freedom of religion.

Terzi said Boko Haram, “half sect, half militant terrorist organisation that refuses Western traditions” had become “extremely dangerous, with widespread and repeated attacks since its leader was killed two years ago”.

The area where leader Imam Mohammed Yusuf was killed by Nigerian security forces in 2009 had seen more than 700 deaths, Terzi recalled.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Immigration


EU-IOM: Migration Accord on Tunisia, Libya and Egypt

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 27 — The European Union (EU) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), have signed a cooperation accord in Tunis on the management of migratory flows following the events in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The accord entails the EU’s setting up a fund of 9.9 million euros to finance a three-year programme which will start on January 1.

The IOM will take charge of the enactment of the programme in Tunisia and Egypt.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Rescue, Arrests of Italy-Bound Illegals in Greece

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 27 — Seventeen people, identified as would-be illegal migrants and an alleged migrant smuggler, were rescued from a stalled speedboat off the isle of Erikoussa, north of the Ionian island of Corfu, on Saturday by the coast guard, as reported by ANA news agency. Authorities were notified that the vessel was drifting in the sea region, with a patrol boat dispatched to the scene. The boat had been reported stolen from a Corfu marina. The alleged migrant smuggler was arrested and will be led before a local prosecutor, while the illegals were transferred to a border patrol unit.

Further south at the western port of Patras, a total of three non-EU nationals were arrested during attempts to board Italy-bound ferry boats with forged travel documents. In one instance, the 62-year-old driver of a truck and his 62-year-old companion were also arrested for stowing away one of the migrant inside the tractor trailer. Finally, in the extreme northwest port of Igoumenitsa, one foreign national was arrested along with the driver and co-driver of an Italy-bound lorry early Sunday morning, after authorities discovered that the former possessed and displayed forged travel documents with the purpose of illegally exiting Greece and entering Italy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Swiss Village in Uproar Over Asylum Centre

Local officials from Bettwil, in northern Switzerland, have collected almost 10,000 signatures against federal plans to build a refugee centre in the village of 560 inhabitants. Bettwil has been mobilizing for weeks against federal plans to accommodate up to 100 asylum seekers in a former military barracks in the village, located in the canton of Aargau. The federal government plans to host between 80 and 100 refugees for a period not exceeding six months.

In the village, cars carry protest stickers and streets are covered with posters that read: “Yes to solidarity, no to the asylum centre”, or “Massive asylum centre, no,” the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports. Before Christmas, both the mayor and a committee representing Bettwil citizens travelled to Aargau to bring the signatures and convey their opposition to the government’s plan.

According to Jacqueline Wiederkehr, one of the members of the committee, the Federal Council failed to give the people of Bettwil a chance to voice their opinion prior to the decision. The mayor of the remote village, Wolfgang Schibler, went further, saying cantonal and federal authorities had acted with “arrogance.” Schibler has denied accusations of xenophobia, and is seeking to distance himself from extreme right-wing groups supporting his cause.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

General


Surface of Pluto May Contain Organic Molecules

The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted new evidence of complex organic molecules — the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it — on the frigid surface of Pluto, a new study finds. Hubble observations revealed that some substances on Pluto’s surface are absorbing more ultraviolet light than expected. The compounds in question may well be organics, possibly complex hydrocarbons or nitrogen-containing molecules, researchers said.

The dwarf planet Pluto is known to harbor ices of methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen on its surface. The ultraviolet-absorbing chemical species may have been produced when sunlight or super-speedy subatomic particles known as cosmic rays interacted with these ices, researchers said. “This is an exciting finding because complex Plutonian hydrocarbons and other molecules that could be responsible for the ultraviolet spectral features we found with Hubble may, among other things, be responsible for giving Pluto its ruddy color,” study leader Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., said in a statement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111226

Financial Crisis
» Greece: Economic Crisis Causes Increase in Crime
» Greece: Hearses Clog Streets in Anti-Austerity Protest
 
USA
» Decades Later, A Cold War Secret is Revealed
» Defense Department Agrees to Allow Muslim Cadets to Wear Hijabs
» Georgia Woman Who Threatened 2 New York Lawmakers is Shot to Death by Cop
» Man Who Sexually Assaulted Chihuahua Gets 10-Year Sentence
» Victims in Hacking of Security Analyst Stratfor Targeted After Speaking to News Media, Online
» Woman Charged With Punching Elderly Walmart Greeter
» Yemeni Leader to be Admitted Into U.S. For Medical Care
 
Europe and the EU
» France: Genocide Law MP Receives Death Threats
» Germany: Hitler’s Favourite Singer Dies Aged 108
» Italy: Five ‘Fake’ Blind People Cited for Fraud
» Norway: Herder Wants Hollywood Cash for Old Joik
» Sweden: Busy Christmas Weekend for the Swedish Police
» Sweden: Disabled at Risk After Assistance Centre Theft
 
North Africa
» Egypt’s Nude Blogger Calls for Women Without Veils Pictures
» Libya: U.S. To Buy Anti-Aircraft Missiles From Militias
» The Female Faces of Egypt’s Revolution
» Tunisia: Revolution Betrayed, Return of Protests, Blogger
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: Netanyahu’s Misleading Lessons in Governance
 
Middle East
» Iranian Sakineh’s Death by Stoning May Commute to Hanging
» Switzerland Freezes More Iran Assets
» Turkish-French Tensions Rising. Algeria Was Genocide, Erdogan
 
South Asia
» Indonesia: Rocker Accuses Police of Banning Him to Please Organization
» Indonesia: West Java: Islamic Extremist Groups Threaten Catholics, Christmas Celebrations at Risk
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Pope Condemns Attacks in Nigeria
» White House: Appears Nigeria Attacks Were Terrorism
 
General
» A Grim Christmas
» Genes Play Major Role in Primate Social Behavior, Study Finds

Financial Crisis


Greece: Economic Crisis Causes Increase in Crime

Most crimes committed in Athens,robberies double in one year

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 23 — The deep economic crisis that has hit Greece, entering its fourth year of recession, has had many negative consequences. One of these is a sharp increase in crime across the country. Armed robberies doubled in the past year and all other types of crime are also increasing by the day, causing citizens to feel more and more uncertain. The police do what they can, despite the fact that there isn’t always petrol for their cars, that the stations are understaffed and that officers are waiting for months to get paid. In Athens, according to figures released by the institute for tourist research and forecasts, organised crime has reached the highest levels compared to the rest of the country. The figures show that 64% of all murders, 75% of robberies, 64% of thefts and 65.5% of cases of smuggling are recorded in the capital.

“Organise crime, which has seen a sharp rise in the centre of the city but also in its outskirts, must be fought,” said the mayor of the capital, Giorgos Kaminis, in an interview with newspaper To Vima. The Municipality, the mayor continued, has insufficient resources to fight organised crime but the problem is real in the centre of Athens. The economic crisis, the high concentration of unemployed or under-employed illegal immigrants and the continuous decay of the centre of Athens have created an explosive situation.

Gangs of several nationalities, drug addicts and prostitutes are a regular sight in the centre of the Greek capital. Foreign tourists, scared, leave also the last hotels that are still open and the few inhabitants and shopkeepers that have stayed are living in fear and uncertainty, far away from the reassuring presence of the police. In the past year 18 hotels closed their doors in the historic centre of Athens, according to the Greek Hotel Chamber. The consequences for the city’s economy and the increase in unemployment in the hotel sector are obvious. Chairman of the Chamber Giorgios Tsakiris said recently in a joint press conference with the mayor of the capital that the degradation of the centre of Athens will force other hotels to close down as well. Tsakiris also accused the Ministry for Citizen Protection and other relevant institutions — which are responsible for the situation in the centre of Athens according to a report issued by an interdepartmental commission — that they have left the city centre “in the grip of crime and delinquency” due to their omissions and incompetence. Kaminis has announced after last Friday’s meeting with Premier Lucas Papademos that he will prepare a plan to “rescue Athens.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Greece: Hearses Clog Streets in Anti-Austerity Protest

Athens, 22 Dec. (AKI) — Greek hearse drivers on Thursday protested their government’s cost-cutting programme by driving empty vehicles through Athens and Thessaloniki, the country’s second-largest city.

Organizers of the protest are worried that a sharp rise in annual road taxes could close the casket on their businesses.

Greece is attempting to rescue itself from economic collapse by imposing emergency taxes as amid years of recession.

The hearse drivers were the lastest profession to hit the streets in a wave of demonstrations. The government this week said around 1,580 protests had been held in Athens this year.

A 110-billion-euro bailout package from the european Union and the International Monetary Fund partners in May 2010, saved the country from bankruptcy.

Negotiations are in progress that would allow Athens another rescue package, this one 130 billion euros. Such a deal would erase half of the value of Greek bonds held by private investors.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

USA


Decades Later, A Cold War Secret is Revealed

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — For more than a decade they toiled in the strange, boxy-looking building on the hill above the municipal airport, the building with no windows (except in the cafeteria), the building filled with secrets.

They wore protective white jumpsuits, and had to walk through air-shower chambers before entering the sanitized “cleanroom” where the equipment was stored.

They spoke in code.

Few knew the true identity of “the customer” they met in a smoke-filled, wood-paneled conference room where the phone lines were scrambled. When they traveled, they sometimes used false names.

At one point in the 1970s there were more than 1,000 people in the Danbury area working on The Secret. And though they worked long hours under intense deadlines, sometimes missing family holidays and anniversaries, they could tell no one — not even their wives and children — what they did.

They were engineers, scientists, draftsmen and inventors — “real cloak-and-dagger guys,” says Fred Marra, 78, with a hearty laugh.

He is sitting in the food court at the Danbury Fair mall, where a group of retired co-workers from the former Perkin-Elmer Corp. gather for a weekly coffee. Gray-haired now and hard of hearing, they have been meeting here for 18 years. They while away a few hours nattering about golf and politics, ailments and grandchildren. But until recently, they were forbidden to speak about the greatest achievement of their professional lives.

“Ah, Hexagon,” Ed Newton says, gleefully exhaling the word that stills feels almost treasonous to utter in public.

It was dubbed “Big Bird” and it was considered the most successful space spy satellite program of the Cold War era. From 1971 to 1986 a total of 20 satellites were launched, each containing 60 miles of film and sophisticated cameras that orbited the earth snapping vast, panoramic photographs of the Soviet Union, China and other potential foes. The film was shot back through the earth’s atmosphere in buckets that parachuted over the Pacific Ocean, where C-130 Air Force planes snagged them with grappling hooks.

The scale, ambition and sheer ingenuity of Hexagon KH-9 was breathtaking. The fact that 19 out of 20 launches were successful (the final mission blew up because the booster rockets failed) is astonishing.

So too is the human tale of the 45-year-old secret that many took to their graves.

Hexagon was declassified in September. Finally Marra, Newton and others can tell the world what they worked on all those years at “the office.”

“My name is Al Gayhart and I built spy satellites for a living,” announced the 64-year-old retired engineer to the stunned bartender in his local tavern as soon as he learned of the declassification. He proudly repeats the line any chance he gets.

“It was intensely demanding, thrilling and the greatest experience of my life,” says Gayhart, who was hired straight from college and was one of the youngest members of the Hexagon “brotherhood”.

He describes the white-hot excitement as teams pored over hand-drawings and worked on endless technical problems, using “slide-rules and advanced degrees” (there were no computers), knowing they were part of such a complicated space project. The intensity would increase as launch deadlines loomed and on the days when “the customer” — the CIA and later the Air Force — came for briefings. On at least one occasion, former President George H.W. Bush, who was then CIA director, flew into Danbury for a tour of the plant.

Though other companies were part of the project — Eastman Kodak made the film and Lockheed Corp. built the satellite — the cameras and optics systems were all made at Perkin-Elmer, then the biggest employer in Danbury.

“There were many days we arrived in the dark and left in the dark,” says retired engineer Paul Brickmeier, 70.

He recalls the very first briefing on Hexagon after Perkin-Elmer was awarded the top secret contract in 1966. Looking around the room at his 30 or so colleagues, Brickmeier thought, “How on Earth is this going to be possible?”

One thing that made it possible was a hiring frenzy that attracted the attention of top engineers from around the Northeast. Perkin-Elmer also commissioned a new 270,000-square-foot building for Hexagon — the boxy one on the hill.

Waiting for clearance was a surreal experience as family members, neighbors and former employers were grilled by the FBI, and potential hires were questioned about everything from their gambling habits to their sexuality.

“They wanted to make sure we couldn’t be bribed,” Marra says.

Clearance could take up to a year. During that time, employees worked on relatively minor tasks in a building dubbed “the mushroom tank” — so named because everyone was in the dark about what they had actually been hired for…

[Return to headlines]



Defense Department Agrees to Allow Muslim Cadets to Wear Hijabs

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that the Department of Defense will begin allowing Muslim and Sikh students who wear an Islamic head scarf (hijab) or a turban to participate in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC).

“We welcome the fact that Muslim and Sikh students nationwide will now be able to participate fully in JROTC leadership activities while maintaining their religious beliefs and practices,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

In October, the Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta after a 14-year-old Muslim student at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn., was forced to transfer out of a JROTC class when her commanding officers told her she could not wear hijab while marching in the September homecoming parade.

CAIR requested constitutionally-protected religious accommodations for the girl and for future Muslim JROTC participants.

In a Dec. 19 letter sent to CAIR, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Larry Stubblefield wrote:

“I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta to your October 13, 2011 letter concerning Miss Demin Zawity’s request to wear a religious head covering (hijab) while participating in an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) event at Ravenwood High School.

“Based on your concerns, the Army has reviewed its JROTC uniform policy and will develop appropriate procedures to provide Cadets the opportunity to request the wear of religious head dress, such as the turban and hijab. This change will allow Miss Zawity and other students the chance to fully participate in the JROTC program. Additionally, a representative from the U.S. Army Cadet Command will contact Miss Zawity and provide her the opportunity to rejoin the Ravenwood High School JROTC unit.

“The Army prides itself in being a diverse organization, comprised of individuals from many faiths and religions. We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention.”

NOTE: The Orlando Sentinel says there are 952 comments but you can only see two. Neither of them supports the Army’s decision.

           — Hat tip: Lurker from Tulsa [Return to headlines]



Georgia Woman Who Threatened 2 New York Lawmakers is Shot to Death by Cop

Jameela Barnette targeted Rep. Pete King & state Sen. Greg Ball

A Muslim woman who had been charged with sending fake weapons and a pig’s foot to two New York lawmakers was killed during a struggle with a cop in Georgia on Sunday, authorities said.

Jameela Barnette, 53, of Marietta, was slapped with federal charges last month for sending New York State Sen. Greg Ball (R,C-Patterson) a vial of perfume, a hate-filled letter and a doll of the monkey Curious George wearing two Stars of David.

She had also mailed a pig’s foot to Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) in response to controversial hearings he held in March on the purported radicalization of American Muslims, Politico has reported.

A spokesman for Cobb County Police said an armed Barnette was shot to death after officers responded to a panic alarm she activated at her apartment at 11 a.m. Christmas Day.

When the cops arrived, Barnette opened the door while wielding a knife and a handgun and assaulted an officer with the blade, the spokesman said.

The unnamed officer shot her, killing Barnette at the scene, police said.

“Despite receiving injuries to his arm, the officer was able to use his service weapon to stop the assault,” the spokesman said.

The cop was treated for minor injuries to his arm and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Police said they did not know why Barnette triggered the alarm.

Barnette railed to several media outlets against what she called anti-Muslim congressional hearings last spring. She told a local TV station she sent Ball, who represents Putnam County and parts of Westchester and Dutchess counties, the threatening package because he’s racist toward her faith and supported King’s hearings.

“I knew the Jews were behind the hearings,” she told Politico. “A monkey is a representation of who the Jews are.”

A judge released Barnette without bail after her arrest in November.

Both Ball and King are Catholic.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]



Man Who Sexually Assaulted Chihuahua Gets 10-Year Sentence

A Sacramento parolee convicted of sexually assaulting a chihuahua was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison and must now register as a sex offender. A jury last month convicted Robert Edward De Shields of strangulation and sexual abuse of the 8-month-old chihuahua. He was high on meth at the time of the attack, prosecutors said.

De Shields is confined to a wheelchair and had rented space in a South Sacramento home. When the homeowners came home one day in March, they found De Shields holding the scared dog, prosecutors said. The next day, the dog was missing, but found in the garage with De Shields. The dog was in pain and shock, prosecutors alleged.

A veterinarian later found severe injuries to the dog’s rectum and internal organs. De Shields has been in and out of prison since 1992. Because of this case’s additional requirement that he register as a lifetime sex offender — which is unusual for an animal-cruelty case — he must now serve his sentence in state prison. Under the state’s prison realignment system, he would have otherwise served the time in county jail, the Sacramento County district attorney’s office said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Victims in Hacking of Security Analyst Stratfor Targeted After Speaking to News Media, Online

NEW YORK — Victims of a data breach at the security analysis firm Stratfor apparently are being targeted a second time after speaking out about the hacking.

Stratfor said on its Facebook page that some individuals who offered public support for the company after it revealed it was hacked “may be being targeted for doing so.”

The loose-knit hacking movement “Anonymous” claimed Sunday through Twitter that it had stolen thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information belonging to the company’s clients. Anonymous members posted links to some of the information Sunday and more on Monday.

Stratfor, based in Austin, Texas, said its affected clients and its supporters “are at risk of having sensitive information repeatedly published on other websites.” The company has resorted to communicating through Facebook while its website remains down and its email suspended.

A message posted online Monday by a group asserting it spoke for Anonymous mocked victims who spoke to The Associated Press about the experience of learning that their credit card information was stolen and used to make unauthorized charitable donations. The message also ridiculed someone who criticized the hacking on Facebook, saying “we went ahead and ran up your card a bit.”

A Stratfor spokesman would not say whether the information was encrypted in its database or what the company has learned since the incident began.

Anonymous has said the data was not encrypted. If true, that would be a major embarrassment for a security-related company.

The spokesman, Kyle Rhodes, said the company could not discuss any details because several law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident.

The data was posted in a series of releases in links embedded in online messages that, in turn, were linked to from Twitter.

[Return to headlines]



Woman Charged With Punching Elderly Walmart Greeter

BATAVIA, N.Y. — A woman spent Christmas in jail, accused of punching a Walmart greeter as she left the store Christmas Eve.

Batavia resident Jacquetta Simmons, 26, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, State Police Trooper Tracy Patterson said. She faces a second count because the victim, Grace Suozzi, 70, is older than 65.

Patterson said Simmons is accused of punching and knocking down Suozzi at 11:23 a.m. after the employee asked Simmons to see receipts for items the customer was carrying in store bags. After hitting Suozzi, Simmons ran out of the store, but employees and customers quickly surrounded her until police arrived.

Suozzi suffered fractures to the left side of her face and significant swelling, Patterson said.

Simmons on Sunday was being held in Genesee County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Patterson said Simmons had receipts for everything in her bags.

[Return to headlines]



Yemeni Leader to be Admitted Into U.S. For Medical Care

HONOLULU — The Obama administration will allow the embattled president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to travel to New York City for medical treatment, an administration official said Monday, after a vigorous internal debate over fears the United States would be criticized for appearing to provide a safe haven for a reviled Arab leader responsible for the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators.

Mr. Saleh could arrive at New York-Presbyterian Hospital as soon as the end of this week, the official said, for treatment of medical problems stemming from a near-fatal bomb blast in June at the mosque in his presidential complex. He would be the first Arab leader to request, and to be granted, admission to the United States since political unrest began convulsing the region a year ago.

Though officials had been concerned that the decision would anger the many Yemenis eager to see Mr. Saleh prosecuted, they decided that giving Mr. Saleh a way out of Yemen, even temporarily, could help smooth the way to elections next year and perhaps end a political crisis that has brought the government of the impoverished nation to the brink of collapse.

[Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


France: Genocide Law MP Receives Death Threats

The French parliamentarian who proposed a controversial genocide denial bill has received death threats and had her website attacked. Valérie Boyer, a member of the governing UMP party, was successful in getting parliamentary approval for a bill that outlawed the denial of a massacre of Armenians by Ottoman troops in 1915.

The bill’s passage unleashed a wave of indignation in Turkey. Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the vote represented “politics based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia.” Daily newspaper Le Parisien reported that Boyer’s website was attacked on Sunday. Visitors were redirected to a site showing the Turkish flag and a message attacking the French government and the Armenian community in France.

“You, the Armenian diaspora, are so cowardly that you don’t have the guts to open up the archives and face the truth,” said the message. In an attack on French politicians the message said “you, the French, are so pitiful and pathetic that you ignore the truth to get votes.” On Monday morning, the site, valerie-boyer.fr, was still unavailable with a “site indisponible” message being shown.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Hitler’s Favourite Singer Dies Aged 108

Johannes Heesters, a controversial operetta singer who became famous in Nazi Germany and who was considered one of the world’s oldest performing artists, died on Saturday aged 108, his agency said. A favourite of Hitler, Heesters was born in the Netherlands in 1903 and made his name performing in Nazi Germany. He died in a clinic in the town of Starnberg in Bavaria where he lived, said his agency Ross. Heesters played in numerous films and theatre plays, including performing the main role in the Merry Widow, an operetta by Franza Lehar, some 1,600 times.

Heesters’ popularity with the Nazis haunted him throughout his life, with protests accompanying his 2008 concert in the Netherlands, his first in decades in his home country. During his previous concert in the Netherlands in 1963 the audience chased him off by giving him a Hitlerian salute when he appeared on stage. Heesters had recently been ailing, being cared for in a hospital intensive care unit since December 17. His death prompted condolences, including one from Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer who said “elegance and lightness were his trademark.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Five ‘Fake’ Blind People Cited for Fraud

‘We have crushing evidence’ police say

(ANSA) — Rome, December 23 — Five fake blind people have been cited for fraud in the Abruzzo city of Pescara, Italian police said Friday.

The five, on benefits for “total blindness”, were filmed walking about the city, dodging traffic and taking buses.

“We have crushing evidence,” police said.

One of the five, carrying a walking stick for the blind, went to a health office, picked up a certificate and checked that it was OK, police said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Norway: Herder Wants Hollywood Cash for Old Joik

A reindeer farmer in northern Norway is claiming a traditional Sami chant used in Hollywood movie The Thing was originally given to him as a gift by his aunt. The chant, or joik, used in the film first came to prominence in 1980, when it formed an integral part of Norway’s entry in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Now, more than 30 years later, reindeer herder Isak Mathis Triumf has threatened to take legal action against the Norwegian duo that performed Sámiid Ædnan (Sami Earth) in front of a huge European television audience.

In a field of 19 entrants, the song finished 16th. The competition was won that year by Ireland’s Johnny Logan with the song What’s Another Year. While the joik failed to win over Europe’s music juries, its reappearance this year in horror film The Thing is expected to vastly increase the value of the copyright. And Triumf is determined to have a share of the spoils. “We Sami don’t know how much money could be involved, or how much we can actually earn from this. That’s why I haven’t reacted earlier,” he told national broadcaster NRK.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Busy Christmas Weekend for the Swedish Police

Murders, break-ins and accidents made it a busy Christmas holiday weekend for the police and emergency services across Sweden this year. With so many people traditionally away from their homes, Christmas is often a busy time for burglars and this year proved to be no exception. 28 break-ins were reported in the county of Skåne, in the south of Sweden, alone, while there was also a spate of burglaries in Kalmar, Oskarshamn and Partille.

The worst hit area was the western part of the county, with six burglaries in Helsingborg, five in Malmö and four in Ängelholm. “Most of the burglaries were discovered in the evening when people came home after Christmas celebrations with relatives and friends,” said Skåne police on their website.

Meanwhile further north in Växjö, Kronoberg County, thieves broke into a safety deposit at the county council building and found keys to several vehicles, including minivans and cars, which they proceeded to steal. The building itself was vandalised and several computers were also reportedly stolen during the robbery.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Disabled at Risk After Assistance Centre Theft

A home assistance centre in Kronoberg county, central Sweden, was left reeling after a burglary on Christmas day, where thieves took off with both cars and computers after demolishing the centre’s offices. “Not a fun Christmas present. Now we have no cars to reach clients and service their wheel chairs and other home aids,” the center’s head Yvonne Hellsten told news agency TT.

On Sunday she received a text message telling all employees that Tuesday will not be an ordinary work day. The five stolen vehicles were a car, a minibus and three service busses with special equipment for handicapped passengers, including ramps. The material value of these vehicles is estimated at 2 million kronor ($291,000).

Somewhere between 12pm Christmas Eve and 10am Christmas day, the thieves broke into the centre’s offices in one of Växjö’s industrial areas. They jimmied a safe, stole the car keys, and made their escape with all the centre’s vehicles. “We will try to borrow cars,” said Yvonne Hellsten. Police began their forensic investigation of the crime scene on Sunday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt’s Nude Blogger Calls for Women Without Veils Pictures

CAIRO: Egypt’s controversial “Nude Blogger” Aliaa al-Mahdy on Monday asked women who want to remove their veils to send her photographs to publish them online. It comes only weeks after she posted a full-frontal image of herself on her blog, sparking massive criticism from both liberals and conservatives alike in Egypt.

Mahdy called on women to send photos of themselves with and without the veil, their reasons behind having worn the veil and why they took it off as well as the reactions of others after they had removed it.

“Women who were veiled and took off the veil and women who are veiled and want to take off the veil, send me all or some of these items … if you agree to publish them,” Elmahdy wrote on her blog A Rebel’s Diary.

Mahdy sparked controversy last month when she posed completely nude and posted the photo on her personal blog. She wrote on her website that it was an act of protest, but both liberals and conservatives have condemned the move.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]



Libya: U.S. To Buy Anti-Aircraft Missiles From Militias

Weapons were taken from Gaddafi forces’ barracks

Libyan rebels prepare to fire rockets during the battle to liberate the city of Sirte, Libya, 11 October 2011

(ANSAmed) — NEW YORK — The U.S. is discussing a loan with Libya to recover, by buying them, thousands of portable anti-aircraft missiles. The weapons were taken from Libyan barracks by rebels and militants during the revolution against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The missiles are light, easy to use and have a heat-seeking system that poses a limited threat to modern military aircrafts, but a serious threat to commercial airliners. Commercial airplanes are rarely equipped with defence systems to protect them against missile attacks. The weapons could end up on the black market and fall into the hands of terrorists. Sources in the U.S. administration have told the New York Times that the details of the agreement still have to be worked out. They specified that the deal is based on the idea that the U.S. will supply money and technical support to Libya to buy missiles and secure or destroy them. The U.S. has already allocated 40 million USD to secure weapons of Libyan rebels, mainly anti-aircraft missiles, while a precise budget for acquisition has not been established yet, the sources added. The same type of programme has also been used in Afghanistan in the past, where the U.S. has bought back many Stinger missiles that it had supplied to the forces that fought against the Soviet occupation in the ‘80s.

According to estimates made by the U.S. government, the Gaddafi regime has imported around 20 thousand anti-aircraft missiles over the years. There are now precise estimates regarding the number of missing missiles.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



The Female Faces of Egypt’s Revolution

Egyptian women have been beaten by soldiers and humiliated before the world but have become key players in the Arab spring. Whether Muslim or Christian, together they oppose the lies of the caretaker government and the media. Still, as new demonstrations are planned for Tahrir Square, violence against young people continues.

Cairo (AsiaNews) — Egyptian Women, deliberately ignored and put aside from the revolution since last March are now regaining their dignity and are letting the whole world hear their voice.

Not one of them was elected in the recent parliamentary elections held in two thirds of the 27 provinces or governorates. Terribly mistreated by the army in the last days, in front of the whole world, they reacted by organizing a major demonstration Tuesday in Cairo. Thousands of them crossed the heart of Cairo, walking along Maspero Avenue, where the Egyptian State TV building stands, to reach Tahrir Square to make their voice and protest heard.

Women with or without veil

Among the many veiled and unveiled women, some well know figures, like Bouthayna Kamel, candidate to the presidency. The women were surrounded by large numbers of men who decided to join them and protect their sides from any possible attack.

They were strongly shouting their protest against the recent events, which showed the world how many Egyptian women have been molested and savagely attacked by soldiers. “Women have not been undressed, it is the armed forces who unveiled their real face,” read one of the many banners, they held.

Other banners read, “Egyptian women are a red line not to cross,” “The army is to protect us, not to undress us,” “You who are silent, why? Isn’t she your sister?”, “Down with the army rule”, and paraphrasing a famous poem by the late poet Amal Dongol, “No reconciliation for bloodshed”.

They were also denouncing “the rotten official information and media, directly accusing the armed forces of responsibility in all recent events, even when fire broke out in buildings like the Egyptian Institute.

In fact, no one in Egypt can accept what happened, how people, women, doctors, journalists and demonstrators have been treated.

Many women and other segments of the population, when asked, totally reject excuses presented in Tuesday’s press conference held on Tuesday by one of top generals. Instead, they are asking instead for “official and political excuses by Marshal Tantawy (acting chief of state) along with a quick investigation about the events and harsh penalty sentences”.

A group of public figures, among whom are some of the elected candidates in the Parliament, have lodged an official accusation against the armed forces, namely the general in charge of the troops downtown Cairo, as well as the minister of the Interior , the minister of Health, the minister of Information, for the death of 15 people in the recent events. This group held a sit-in front of the Supreme Court in the central Cairo. The moment they arrived there, they found groups of baltagiyya (hooligans) waiting for them, so they went to have the sit-in front of the Lawyers Trade Union, behind the court. This sit-in is maintained every day four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening.

All TV channels and newspapers, except the official ones belonging to the state have reproduced women total refusal of the armed forces excuses. The press conference held Tuesday by General Adel Emara was badly welcomed, since he used an authoritarian way shouting at journalists and threatening a woman journalist to “shut up or be expelled!” He barely recognized the way women were treated and asked people to consider this as part of a terrible situation, accusing “a third party”, without mentioning who it is, to be handling the events in the framework of a vast plot and conspiracy against Egyptian state.

This same trend was adopted yesterday in another press conference by the minister of justice, “accusing external powers to destroy Egyptian revolution” and “warning against what could happen on the 25th of January, for the first anniversary or the revolution”. The minister did not name any of these dark and unknown powers, just hinting that many civil society NGOs “received illicit funds from abroad”. This did not answer the question raised by the famous novelist Alaa al Asswany about the huge funds received by the Muslim Brothers and the Salafists from Saudi Arabia. Mr Asswany stated recently that a check of 300 million has reached the Salafists without the authorities asking how and why.

Media lies

About the information conveyed by the official media and by the authorities, all the experts state, “We are back to the former way of distorting realities.” A famous editorialist, Salah Issa is asking about details concerning this conspiracy “so that we can share in dismantling it if ever it exists”. Azza Karim, a woman teacher of sociology in the National Centre for Sociological studies is stating that “the real responsible for a new revolution is the SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces), since he had for the past period all the legislative and executive prerogatives without using them to achieve the legal demands of the revolution. Egypt does not need a new revolution as much as new waves to achieve the basic requirements”. She added, “The SCAF should very quickly deliver the power to civilians”.

At the same time, many media revealed the wrong information conveyed by the official channels of TV who have been showing a group of young men testifying that they have been paid by someone from the Parliament to launch Molotov cocktails and set fire in different places.

The media were able to discover that this group of men had been arrested two days before the events and are still detained by the public prosecutor’s department. They have even given the official number of the summons warrant. Many such information accusing known persons are spread about people like Ayman Noor, or Ramy Lakah, who threatened to sue anyone diffusing such “false accusations, without any proof”.

Mrs Radwa, activist in the Human Rights field, expressed her disillusion about proceeding to the old way of cheating and lying, telling falsehoods, “Egypt will never advance without adopting a new way of telling the truth and facing realities in a positive way, instead of always rejecting the responsibility on a ‘third element’ who is always unknown”.

Many statements have expressed the strong disappointment provoked by the armed forces in their way of handling the situation. Dr Nihad Aboul Omsâne, activist women member of the Centre for Human Rights stated that “the armed forces have completely destroyed their relationship with the Egyptian people, refusing, as she said, the dual choice offered, ‘to die drowned or burned’.”

Egyptian women have the reputation to be strong, even though denied their rights or mashed by traditions and by men. With their reaction in Tuesday’s demonstration, their regained their dignity and firmly asserted their strong personality.

On FaceBook, they recently organized what is called, “Sisters of the Revolution Movement” and they shouted strongly in Tahrir Square, “No to marginalization of women and preventing them from sharing in the events and in the democratic transformation of the country”. They insisted also to let the famous undressed woman (Ghada Kamal Abdel Raziq) be molested by the army regain her dignity stating, “We are all Ghada Kamal Abdel Raziq”.

The women of the revolution

The mother of Ahmad, a young man killed in the events of Mohammad Mahmud street on 19 November, has never stopped sharing the demonstrations. These last days, she was shouting in Tahrir Square, “Dear Marshal, come and see what is happening to our youth, come and explain to us what happened to Khalid Said, Mina Daniel, Ahmad, Alaa Abd al Hadi…”.

Nashwa Abdel Tawwab, widow of famous Shaykh Emad Effat, assistant to the Mufti, who was shot at point-blank range last week in the events in front of the Ministers’ Council stated that “he was expecting to die as a martyr and this is what happened”, but she is still waiting to find out about the inquiry and know exactly who has shot him and obeying to what orders.

On the other side, a university woman teacher, Hind Nafeh Badawy badly injured and transferred to the military hospital dismissed Marshall Tantawy when he came to visit the wounded people in the hospital. She turned him down, as was reported by Al-Badil newspaper.

It has later been reported on FaceBook that she received bad treatments after this sequence and finally she was transferred to a university hospital. Yesterday, a complaint was lodged against this university hospital, the minister of Higher Education, the Ministry of Health and the university because many patients, among whom Hind, were denied treatment by doctors and nursing staff who maintained them with the handcuffs.

Farida is a young medical doctor who emigrated to Australia last year and shared over there many support demonstrations to the Egyptian revolution. She decided to come back last summer and fully share the movement for the changes desired for Egypt. She explained at the TV how she was arrested on her way to cure the wounded people next to Parliament a few days ago. She was beaten and harassed by army members who took her inside the Parliament premises. There she found many other people arrested, among whom a woman called Ghada, who answered back to the soldier beating her and was threatened not to come out of this in one piece. Farida tried to tell everyone not to react. Finally, an officer superior in grade, came in, presented his excuses and told them they would be released, which took a certain time to happen after their I.D. papers were returned to them.

Old and new violence

Another medical doctor, Christian Dr Mona, who is acting at the field hospital next to Omar Makram Mosque in Tahrir Square explained now the campaign hospital was burned with all the medicine and equipment. Still the hospital maintained, inside the mosque premises, treatment for wounded, mainly people injured with severe wounds on the head and the face, compound fractures, wounds provoked by bayonets, as well as some people hit by bullets.

Four days ago, Alaa Abd al Hady, a young doctor in his final year of medicine, coming to help at the field hospital was shot dead in front of Omar Makram mosque field hospital. Yesterday another student, Mohammad Mustapha, engineer, from the same university died after a surgery. He received a bullet in his back in Tahrir square at Tuesday dawn. He had a strong haemorrhage that needed transfusing 38 packages of blood offered by his fellow students, but he died yesterday evening. He was a national tennis champion.

The two of them belonged to Ayn Shams University in Abbasseyya area, not far away from the defence ministry. On Wednesday afternoon, even before Mohammad Mustapha’s death, a huge student demonstration headed by the University President and the teaching staff started from the university until the defence ministry where the SCAF stands.

The question everyone is asking, why this brutality? Why people are not peacefully arrested ad submitted to a clean investigation, why this ferocious way of treating the people?

Radoua Ashour, woman novelist and teacher at both Ayn Shams and Cairo Universities, was stating yesterday, “We have not been able to protect our youth, who are the future of the country, who are its blossoming flowers. The responsible people of all this mess must be tried and convicted. She added what was stated fifteen years ago by another teacher, “They are victims, but they write history”. What everyone wants, added Radoua, “is the famous slogan of the Egyptian spring revolution of January 2011, ‘Bread, Liberty and Social Justice’.”

Egyptian Students Federation is initiating a “Week for Universities’ Anger”. Tomorrow, Friday, a huge demonstration in called on Tahrir square under the title “Friday of Recovering Dignity”. Sixteen movements and parties are calling for it, but the Muslim Brothers and the Salafists announced they are not sharing. Late, yesterday, a counter demonstration was called in Abbasseyya square, next to defence ministry.

On Tuesday a communiqué form the SCAF suggesting a presidential election around the 25th of January to mark the revolution anniversary has not been welcomed, as if SCAF “wants to withdraw from responsibility” as many sources reacted.

Yesterday, Marshall Tantawy called the new Parliament to hold its first meeting on Monday the 23d of January at 11 am.

Until then a general feeling of worry is spread and everybody is caring about what can go on and how the armed forces will try to prevent any revolutionary movement on the Egyptian revolution anniversary for the 25th of January next.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Revolution Betrayed, Return of Protests, Blogger

‘We wanted reforms, not a government that teaches us Islam’

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 22 — A year after the start of the ‘Jasmine Revolution’, people in Tunisia will start demonstrating again. This prediction was made by Tunisian blogger and symbol of the revolution, Lina Ben Mhenni.

“One year ago people in Tunisia demonstrated to ask for social and economic reforms and for more freedom, not for another government that tells us how to be good Muslims,” she said in an interview with ANSA, referring to the Ennahda Islamic party that won the elections in October. “On the outside it looks like a moderate party, but the truth is different,” she explains: instead of responding to the demands of the Tunisians “who have sacrificed their lives for freedom, the Constituent Assembly is discussing non-existent problems like identity or the niqab.” And “people are already organising sit-ins and demonstrations: Ennahda has promised 600 thousand jobs in two years and people are now claiming what was promised for their vote,” the 28-year-old Nobel Peace Prize candidate continued. Moreover, “articles that criticise Ennahda,” the moderate Islamic party in the Tunisian government, “have started to disappear” from the social networks and blogs used by Tunisians to breathe life into the Jasmine Revolution.

As regards to the other media, newspapers and television, “the situation has not changed from the period under Ben Ali”, the President who was ousted in the Tunisian Spring, added the activist. “Before the elections everybody could say what they wanted, now the lies and manipulations of the truth are back: the media sing praise to the new President and the new power.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Caroline Glick: Netanyahu’s Misleading Lessons in Governance

Many of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s supporters were stunned last week when IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz announced he was promoting Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon to major general and appointing him to serve as the next commander of the Central Command.

Alon completed a two-year tour of duty as Judea and Samaria Division Commander in October. During his tenure, Alon distinguished himself as the most radical, politically insubordinate officer to have held the position in recent memory.

In an interview with The New York Times in October, Alon openly sought to undermine and discredit declared government policy. He called for the US Congress to continue to fund the Palestinian Authority’s security services despite the PA’s decision to ditch the peace process…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Iranian Sakineh’s Death by Stoning May Commute to Hanging

(AGI) Teheran — The death by stoning sentence issued against Sakineh may be commuted to a hanging sentence. News of the potential move was announced by the Iranian East Azerbaijan’s chief magistrate. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has a death sentence pending after she was found guilty of conspiring to murder her husband. Her death sentence was suspended last year following concerted international pressure.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Switzerland Freezes More Iran Assets

Switzerland ratcheted up sanctions against Iran on Thursday, announcing it was freezing the assets of 180 Iranian people and enterprises. Many of the individuals and companies affected belong to Iran’s maritime transport sector, according to a list published by the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs.

The move echoes steps taken on December 1st by the European Union, which has strengthened sanctions against Iran over the country’s nuclear programme. Switzerland in November placed 116 names on its Iran sanctions list. Iran’s nuclear programme is of extreme concern to many in the international community who accuse the country of developing nuclear weapons.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Turkish-French Tensions Rising. Algeria Was Genocide, Erdogan

After law that criminalises denying Armenian massacre

(ANSAmed) — PARIS, DECEMBER 23 — The diplomatic crisis between France and Turkey is deepening. Today Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan accused France of perpetrating ‘genocide’ during its colonial period in Algeria, the day after the French parliament passed a law that criminalises the denial of genocide, including the Armenian genocide in 1915. The French authorities have called the Turkish response “excessive”, and have asked Turkey for “moderation”, trying to heal the rift. “We estimate that 15% of the Algerian population was massacred by the French as of 1945. That is genocide,” accused Erdogan in a press conference in Istanbul. He referred to the violence committed by the French during the Algerian independence process between 1945 and 1962. Then Erdogan directly attacked the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his family: “If Sarkozy does not know about this genocide, he can ask his father, Pal Sarkozy, who was a legionnaire in Algeria in the ‘40s. I’m sure that (Pal Sarkozy, editor’s note) has much to tell to his son about the massacres committed by the French in Algeria,” Erdogan continued. “The Algerians have been burned collectively in ovens. They have been tortured without mercy.” Five months before the presidential elections in 2012, “Sarkozy has started to look for votes,” Erdogan added, “using feelings of hate against Muslims and Turks. The election in France, a country where around 5 million Muslims are living, has clearly shown at this point that racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiments have reached dangerous levels in France and Europe.” >From Prague, where he attends the funeral of Vaclav Havel, Sarkozy has explained that France does not give and does not accept lessons, and that it will try to ease the tensions. “I respect the convictions of our Turkish friends. Turkey is a great country, a great civilization but it must respect us,” said the President. “I think there was no need for this initiative but the Parliament has voted in favour of it. Now will try to resume peaceful relations. It will be difficult, I am aware of that, but time will do its work,” commented France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’, who called Erdogan’s statements “excessive.” But “there are many reasons for France and Turkey to maintain a relation of trust and friendship, therefore I call for cool-headedness and moderation.” The father of the French President, Pal Sarkozy, has said that he has “never been in Algeria.” This morning the Turkish ambassador to France has returned to his fatherland for “consultations”, and several anti-French demonstrations have been organised in Istanbul. The law that was approved yesterday by the French parliament includes one year of imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine for people who deny the Armenian genocide, which France recognised in 2001. Turkey, apart from recalling its ambassador, has announced a freeze in political and military cooperation projects between the two NATO allies. The sanctions against France do not regard commercial trade or activities of French companies in Turkey, though Erdogan does not rule out further restrictive measures. Trade between the countries reached 12 billion euros in the first 10 months of 2011.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Indonesia: Rocker Accuses Police of Banning Him to Please Organization

Jakarta, 21 Dec. (AKI/Jakarta Post) — Indonesian rock star Ahmad Dhani says that he will report the National Police for bowing to a warning from a mass organization to ban his music group, TRIAD, from performing at a certain cafe in the city.

“How come the police are powerless against a mass organization? I am disappointed with the police, particularly the Cirebon Police and the fact that they are afraid of mass organizations,” he said Wednesday.

He said that his decision to file an official report against the police came after lengthy consideration.

“After consulting with a lot of police officers, who also regretted this incident, I will report them to the National Police Headquarters,” he said.

Dhani said that Cirebon was not the first city to ban him and his band from performing, as he recalled that he had also been barred from playing in Yogyakarta. However, he said that on that occasion, the local police had had the courage to take charge of the situation.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Indonesia: West Java: Islamic Extremist Groups Threaten Catholics, Christmas Celebrations at Risk

Fundamentalists attack the faithful of the parish of St. John the Baptist in Parung. Threats of attacks if prayers services are held. For Islamists, the building has nopermit. Allegations rejected by the local faithful. For the Executive Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference it is a clear violation of religious freedom.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Islamic fundamentalist groups in Parung, Bogor regency, West Java province, are threatening and “warning” the local Catholic community, victims of attacks in anticipation of the holiday season. At the risk of the celebration of Masses and religious services, especially with regard to the faithful of the parish of St. John the Baptist, long the center of a dispute between Christians and Muslims that revolves around the building construction permit.

A statement published by the “ Parung Society of Muslim “ emphasizes the “strong support” of the stance of the Govenor of Bogor regency, who opposes the plan to build a church for the faithful of the parish of St. John the Baptist. Again, the controversy revolves around the infamous IMB — the Izin mendirikan bangunan — essential for any contrustion in Indonesia and even more difficult to obtain when it comes to a place of Christian worship.

Speaking to AsiaNews Fr Benny Susetyo Pr, Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI), speaks of “unfriendly methods” of Islamic fundamentalists, who end up “undermining the spirit of Pancasila”, the guiding principles of the state that promote religious freedom, multiculturalism and unity in diversity. The priest also points the finger at local government officials, who have never wanted to find an agreement on the matter that concerns the place of worship.

In recent days, members of the Muslim Parung demonstrated against what they call “illegal” construction of a church, which actually has had a permit for six years and is home to the functions of the local Catholic community of the village of Waru. Last year, fundamentalist groups have prevented the celebration of Christmas functions, the faithful have had to move elsewhere to avoid new attacks during the services.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Pope Condemns Attacks in Nigeria

‘Stop the hand of the violent’, Benedict pleas

(ANSA) — Vatican City, December 26 — Pope Benedict on Monday condemned Christmas Day bomb attacks by Islamists in Nigeria that killed dozens of Christians.

Speaking at Angelus prayers, the pontiff voiced “deep sadness” at the attacks on the churches and appealed to authorities to “stop the hands of the violent ones”.

“Violence,” he said, “is a path that only leads to pain, destruction and death”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



White House: Appears Nigeria Attacks Were Terrorism

HONOLULU (Reuters) — The White House condemned the violent attacks in Nigeria on Sunday, which it said appeared to be acts of terrorism.

“We condemn this senseless violence and tragic loss of life on Christmas Day,” the White House said in a statement released from Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is vacationing.

“We have been in contact with Nigerian officials about what initially appear to be terrorist acts and pledge to assist them in bringing those responsible to justice,” it said.

[Return to headlines]

General


A Grim Christmas

by Srdja Trifkovic

This Christmas let us spare a thought and say a prayer for countless Christian victims of Muslim brutality, over the centuries and in our own time.

An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Sunday morning, killing at least 25 people. A radical Muslim group, Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the attack and another bombing in the city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation’s predominantly Muslim northeast. The Christmas Day attacks show the growing national ambition of Boko Haram, was responsible for some 500 murders this year alone. The assaults come a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded.

Egypt’s dwindling Copts have seen their position deteriorate over the past year from precarious to perilous. Already facing discrimination and harassment from Mubarak’s secular regime, they now see that things could get a lot worse under the Islamists who are poised to take power. Their annus horribilis started on New Year’s Day 2011, when a powerful car bomb targeted a Coptic church in Alexandria, killing 25 parishioners and wounding nearly 100 just as they were finishing midnight Mass. The next turning point was the Maspero massacre on October 9, when 27 unarmed Christian protesters were killed and hundreds more injured, not by some shadowy Islamic extremists but by the military. An official commission—established by the Army—has unsurprisingly absolved the Army of all responsibility for the killings.

The country’s eventual transition to what passes for democracy in the Muslim world is going to make matters far worse for the Copts, who are fearful the army and courts will no longer be able to shield them from ever-greater discrimination and harassment. The writing is on the wall. The Freedom and Justice Party, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood, won the second round of the three-stage parliamentary elections last Wednesday and Thursday, taking 38 of the 59 seats contested; an even more radical group, the Salafist Nour Party, won 13 seats. The adherents of political Islam, in other words, have captured 86 percent of all seats contested. Their spiritual leader is Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, who in a recent video reminded the faithful that Christians are kuffar, or infidels. After quoting Quran 5:17 (“Infidels are those who declare God is Jesus, son of Mary”) he went on to declare that any association between a human and God (shirk) is the greatest sin: “Whoever thinks Christ is God, or the Son of God, not symbolically—for we are all sons of God—but attributively, has rejected the faith which God requires for salvation.”

The Sheikh’s position is eminently mainstream in the Muslim world, which may explain the fact that he is still hailed in the West as a moderate. Three years ago, in a U.S. News article titled “Finding the Voices of Moderate Islam,” Lawrence Wright described him as “a highly promoted champion of moderate Islam”: “He is the kind of cleric the West longs for, because of his assurances that there is no conflict with democratic rule and no need for theocracy.” His assurances, indeed… On this form watch out for the Coptic Exodus of 2012, on par with that of the Christians in Iraq since the “liberation” of 2003.

Iraq’s dwindling Christian population marked Christmas on Sunday with religious leaders calling for peace, days after attacks across Baghdad killed dozens. A week after US forces completed their withdrawal from the country, a senior bishop noted that little was being done to prevent a continuing Christian exodus from Iraq. As worshippers gathered for Sunday morning Christmas services, their churches were guarded by armored security vehicles, heavily-armed soldiers and policemen patrolling the surrounding streets and guarding rooftops. “Our faithful are like everyone in Iraq—they have fear,” Chaldean Bishop Shlemon Warduni told AFP. “They feel there is no peace, no security, so they go where they can live in peace. We don’t agree, we don’t want them (to go), but they say, ‘If we don’t go, can you ensure my life, can you ensure my job, can you ensure the future?’ … The government cannot ensure their lives, how can we ensure their lives?”

The Christian community in Iraq was some two million strong before the US-led invasion of 2003. Up to four-fifths are estimated to have left the country in recent years following a series of attacks by Muslim extremists. On October 31, 2010, an Al-Qaeda assault on a Baghdad church left 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security force members dead. “We have concerns about the US withdrawal, despite the security forces saying it will be safe,” says Louis Sako, Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk. “There has been a failure to ensure the safety of Christians—the security forces are not sufficiently prepared to ensure the protection of Christians. Even though we have repeatedly asked to raise the level of security, the results are not encouraging.” According to Sako, 57 churches and houses of worship in Iraq have been attacked since the invasion, with more than 900 Christians killed and more than 6 000 wounded.

Syria has the largest Christian community in the region, some 2.5 million strong. Most of them are supporting President Bashar Al Assad amidst ongoing protests in the country. A Syrian Christian explained that they prefer “a brutal dictator who guarantees the rights of religious minorities to the uncertain future that Assad’s departure might bring.” It is not to be doubted that if the Obama Administration is successful in its stated objective of bringing Assad down, the Christians in Syria will follow their Iraqi brethren into exile.

Two thousand miles further east, Asia Bibi, a mother of five children, is one of a dozen Christians in the province of Punjab currently awaiting appeal or execution under Pakistan’s scandalous blasphemy laws. On Christmas Day, after a year in jail, she will not be able to say prayers or to see her children and husband. She is being held in isolation, has not been allowed to bathe for over two months, and cannot stand unsupported. It is worthy of note that Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was assassinated last January and Federal Minorities Minister Shahbaz_Bhatti was killed in March for defending Asia Bibi and criticizing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

Pakistan has a constitution that guarantees religious freedom, but murders, discrimination, and violent harassment of its small Christian minority are persistent. Any dispute with a Muslim—most commonly over land—can become a religious confrontation. Christians are routinely accused of “blasphemy against Islam,” an offense that carries the death penalty. Charges of blasphemy can be made on the flimsiest of evidence—one man’s word against another, and since it is invariably a Muslim’s word against that of a Christian, the outcome is preordained. The ease with which blasphemy charges can be made to stick has led to a spate of malicious complaints motivated by personal enmity and greed, especially for the Christians’ land. On many occasions Christians charged with blasphemy have been murdered before their cases reached the courts.

The scene is the same in Alexandria, Aceh, Istanbul, Prishtina, Karachi, Nazareth… Heavily armed police guard churches as hostile crowds look on. Wherever Muslim numbers dominate, Christians have reason to fear for their safety. The majority know Sheikh Ali Goma is right. The refusal of the People of the Book to acknowledge him, Muhammad, as the messenger of God doomed them to unbelief and eternal suffering after death (Kuran 5:72-73). Christians are mortal sinners and their condemnation is irrevocable: “God will forbid him the garden and the fire will be his abode… They blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a trinity; for there is no god except One Allah. Christ the son of Mary was no more than an apostle; many were the apostles that passed away before him.” (5:75)

As he progressed from a moral teacher to the secular ruler of Medina and master of people’s destinies, Muhammad made the final break with the Jews and Christians, who are fiercely denounced. The Muslims must be merciless to the unbelievers but kind to each other. (48:29) “Whoso of you makes them his friends is one of them.” (5:55) The punishment for resistance is execution or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides. (5:33) Muhammad was no longer trying to convert; Allah is a repetitive polemicist rejoicing in infidel suffering.

Thirteen centuries of Islam have effectively eliminated Christianity from the land of its birth. The terminal decline of the Christian remnant in the Middle East has been accompanied by the indifference of the post-Christian West to its impending demise. Once-thriving Christian communities are now tiny minorities, and in most countries of the region their percentages have been reduced to single digits. Whether they disappear will partly depend on Western leaders belatedly expressing their outrage at Christian persecution. According to David Parsons, media director for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, there is clear historic precedent for such outside intervention in the Arab/Muslim world to protect Christian communities:

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]



Genes Play Major Role in Primate Social Behavior, Study Finds

Nicholas Wade

Social behavior among primates — including humans — has a substantial genetic basis, a team of scientists has concluded from a new survey of social structure across the primate family tree.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111225

USA
» Christmas Day Massacre at Grapevine Apartment
» Woman Files Fake Rape Report on Lover When Husband Finds She’s Cheating
 
Europe and the EU
» Cyprus to Privatize the Stock Exchange, FinMin Says
» Turin Declared Italy’s Most ‘Sustainable’ City
 
North Africa
» Tunisia: Yazaki Closes Factory in Om Larayès
 
Middle East
» Iranian Woman to Face Death by Stoning or Hanging
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Clashes in Nigeria Leaves More Than 60 Dead

USA


Christmas Day Massacre at Grapevine Apartment

GRAPEVINE (AP) — Seven people believed to be related had opened their Christmas gifts and started cleaning up the wrapping paper when they were shot to death in a suburban Texas apartment, police said Sunday.

Authorities said they believe the shooter is among the dead, but got a warrant before doing a full search on the small chance that it was otherwise.

Four women and three men, aged 18 to 60, were found in an adjoining kitchen and living room area when police entered the apartment around midday, said Police Sgt. Robert Eberling. Two handguns were found near the bodies in the apartment that was decorated for the holiday with a tree, he added.

“It appears they had just celebrated Christmas. They had opened their gifts,” Eberling said.

The victims have not yet been identified, but Eberling said it appears they all died of gunshot wounds. He said authorities still don’t know what sparked the incident.

Grapevine Police Lt. Todd Dearing said investigators believe that all the victims were related, but that some were only visiting and didn’t live in the apartment. He said police are looking for other relatives to inform.

“Seven people in one setting in Grapevine, that’s never happened before. Ever,” Dearing said.

He said police were performing a “meticulous” search of the apartment and he expects them to be on the scene for many hours.

Police and firefighters first rushed to the Lincoln Vineyards complex after receiving an open-ended emergency services call at about 11:30 a.m., Eberling said.

“There was an open line. No one was saying anything,” he explained.

So police went into the apartment, located in a middle-class, suburban neighborhood of Grapevine, not far from the upscale Fort Worth neighborhood of Colleyville…

[Return to headlines]



Woman Files Fake Rape Report on Lover When Husband Finds She’s Cheating

A woman in Fort Myers, Florida, hoped to cover her tracks and appease her angry husband by telling police her lover — her husband’s best friend — had raped her.

But now 18-year-old Jody Mary Ryan is the one in jail, arrested on a charge of making a false police report, after investigators discovered her sex assault claims were bogus, cops said.

Ryan later confessed her husband, 27-year-old Mahmoud Koush, put her up to making the phoney claims when he found out about about the extra-marital tryst. It was his way of getting back at his adulterous pal.

           — Hat tip: Nilk [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Cyprus to Privatize the Stock Exchange, FinMin Says

(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, DECEMBER 23 — Nicosia’s government will turn the state-controlled Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) into a company, as a first step towards privatization, daily Famagusta Gazette reported quoting minister of Finance Kikis Kazamias as saying. “The Council of Ministers adopted Wednesday the Finance Ministry’s proposal that will proceed with the change in the law on the Stock Exchange,” he said, adding that initially the state will be the sole shareholder but gradually the CSE will be privatized. According to Kazamias, the CSE is the only state-controlled Bourse in Europe. The Minister said that the Parliament approved the law creating a state-controlled CSE in the 90s as there were no safeguard clauses for its correct supervision. “Today we have a supervising authority which performs its duties in an exemplary manner and we cannot be the pan-European exception,” he went on to say. Concluding, Kazamias said he will send letters notifying the CSE Chairman of the Board, its administration, as well as the staff unions of the government decision, adding the staff jobs will be secured.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Turin Declared Italy’s Most ‘Sustainable’ City

Praise for good public transport, car- and bike-sharing schemes

(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — Turin has been declared Italy’s most environmentally sustainable city.

The northern metropolis came top of a ranking compiled by the Euromobility association ahead of Venice in second place and Milan in third.

The capital Rome came 20th out of the 50 cities surveyed by Euromobility, while the southern cities of Campobasso and Foggia came bottom.

Turin prevailed thanks to its good public-transport system, its bike-sharing and car-sharing schemes and the city’s high number of low-environmental-impact vehicles, thanks in part to public incentives to use cars powered by natural gas rather than petrol. Euromobility’s Scientific Director Lorenzo Bertuccio said that Italy on the whole was making progress in adopting greener transport systems.

“Steps forward are being made on the road of environmentally friendly transport,” Bertuccio said.

“Over the last year there has been a big increase in the use of bike sharing and in the number of methane and liquid propane gas cars”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Tunisia: Yazaki Closes Factory in Om Larayès

Following strikes

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 20 — Yazaki, a Japanese company and global leader in the production of cables, has decided to close its factory in Om Laraye’s in the Gafsa mining region. The statement to the Tunisian Ministry of Industry and Technology indicated that the decision comes following “irregular strikes which were not announced by workers at the production site on 15-16 December 2011”, resulting in damages to the clients and “requiring the company to pay enormous penalties” and with significantly negative implications for the image of the group on the global market, in which the company holds a 23% stake. In 2009, the group announced a series of investments amounting to 25 million euros and the creation of 5,000 jobs in the region of Gafsa.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Iranian Woman to Face Death by Stoning or Hanging

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Authorities in Iran said Sunday they are again moving ahead with plans to execute a woman sentenced to death by stoning on an adultery conviction in a case that sparked an international outcry, but are considering whether to carry out the punishment by hanging instead.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is already behind bars, serving a 10-year sentence on a separate conviction in the murder of her husband. Amid the international outrage her case generated, Iran in July 2010 suspended plans to carry out her death sentence on the adultery conviction.

On Sunday, a senior judiciary official said experts were studying whether the punishment of stoning could be changed to hanging.

“There is no haste. … We are waiting to see whether we can carry out the execution of a person sentenced to stoning by hanging or not,” said Malek Ajdar Sharifi, the head of justice department of East Azerbaijan province, where Ashtiani is jailed.

“As soon as the result (of the investigation) is obtained, we will carry out the sentence,” he said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

The charge of a married woman having an illicit relationship requires a punishment of stoning, he said.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Clashes in Nigeria Leaves More Than 60 Dead

Fighting between a radical Muslim sect and Nigerian troops have left more than 60 people dead.

Several days of violence in the Nigeria’s northeast has left churches bombed and people hiding in fear.

The country’s authorities said at least 61 people have died in the violence.

The government has now ordered a dusk until dawn curfew in the Yobe state, where at least 50 people died, following attacks by the sect known as Boko Haram.

In Maiduguri, the capital of neighbouring Borno state, bombs reduced at least three churches to rubble and raised fears of further attacks by a group that claimed Christmas Eve bombings last year that killed dozens.

The fighting began Thursday in the two states, with gunfire and explosions heard into the night and the following day in an arid region that borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

In Damaturu, residents fled their homes near the city’s central mosque ahead of a combined attack by soldiers and the federal police’s feared Mobile Police, known as “kill-and-go” for their propensity for violence.

The paramilitary forces raided the area in armoured personnel carriers and tanks, with heavy gunfire marking their arrival.

“We were able to kill 12 of the Boko Haram armed sect and bombers,” said local police commissioner Lawan Tanko.

He added that officers also recovered Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition and explosives.

There were fears that the death toll could rise to more than 100.

Authorities have blamed Boko Haram for firebombing at least three churches around the capital, attacks that killed one pastor and his young child.

This is just the latest in a series of bombings over the last year by Boko Haram.

The group, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege” in the local Hausa language, wants to implement strict Shariah law across a nation of more than 160 million people that is home to both Christians and Muslims.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for an attack in Damaturu, Yobe state’s capital, that killed more than 100 people in November.

The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing of the UN headquarters in Nigeria’s capital in August that killed 24 people and wounded 116 others.

While initially targeting enemies via hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes, violence by Boko Haram has developed a new sophistication and apparent planning that includes high-profile attacks with greater casualties.

The sect is responsible for at least 465 killings in Nigeria this year alone.

Boko Haram has splintered into three factions, with one wing increasingly willing to kill as it maintains contact with terror groups in North Africa and Somalia, diplomats and security sources say.

That, as well as its increasingly violent attacks, have some worried the group will carry out further attacks around Christmas and New Year’s.

Last year, a series of Christmas Eve bombings in the central Nigerian city of Jos claimed by Boko Haram killed at least 32 people and wounded at least 74 others.

With those attacks in mind, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja issued a warning Friday to citizens to be “particularly vigilant” around churches, large crowds and areas where foreigners congregate.

Analysts say the government’s response remains strained as President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the country’s south, remains worried about alienating the country’s predominantly Muslim north with heavy-handed tactics.

In 2009, a military and police crackdown following rioting by Boko Haram members in and around Maiduguri left 700 people dead.

Yet since Thursday, authorities have been using paramilitary police and soldiers more freely. Tanko, the Yobe state police commissioner, said joint patrols by the military and police would continue.

“When you are fighting people you don’t know, you cannot say that’s the end of the exercise,” Tanko said. “We are trying to ensure that will be the end, but we are monitoring what is going on.

“But we know we cannot specifically say that will be the end.”

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111224

Financial Crisis
» Greece: 76% of People Say Worst Yet to Come, Survey
» Holidays: Italy’s Austerity, Pizza and Polenta on the Table
 
USA
» ‘Kite Runner’ Too Islamic, School Board Told
» Massachusetts Woman: TSA Confiscated My Cupcake
» Obama’s Abysmal Record on Civil Liberties
» U.S. Muslims Celebrate Christmas as Part of American Culture
 
Europe and the EU
» Archaeology: Aegean Islands Treasures on Display in Athens
» Germany: Islamic Studies Gains Foothold in State Schools
» Italy: Woman With Drugs in Breast and Bottom Implants Stopped
» Norway: Gil Ronen Distorts Oslo Police Report by Claiming All Rapists Are All Muslims
» UK: JC [Jewish Chronicle] Readers Round on Bright
» UK: Lutfur Rahman’s Tax-Avoiding Cabinet Member Buys Himself a Porsche
» UK: Minchin and the Nauseating Moral Cowardice of the Liberal-Left Trenderati
» UK: Sunderland Mosque Plan is Handed to Council Chiefs
» UK: Waterstone’s Backs Down Over Mein Kampf
» UK: When Islam Met the Diversity Industry …
 
North Africa
» Egypt: 24% Fewer Tourists in Third Quarter 2011
 
Culture Wars
» Parents, Have You Read Your Child’s Textbook Lately?

Financial Crisis


Greece: 76% of People Say Worst Yet to Come, Survey

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 23 — A massive 99% of Greeks say the country’s economic situation is bad, while 76% believe that the worst is still to come, as daily Kathimerini reports citing an Eurobarometer survey published in Bruxelles Thursday. This puts Greeks among the most pessimistic people in the 27-member European Union, along with the Irish, the Spanish and the Bulgarians. The survey found serious disaffection also with the political situation, with only 8% of Greeks saying they trust their government. Twelve percent said they trust the Parliament.

Both figures were down from the previous survey. The EU, which is involved in Greece’s bailout loan, is seen as a more effective actor, with 29% of the country’s respondents saying they trust the bloc. The Autumn 2011 Standard Eurobarometer was conducted between November 5 and 20.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Holidays: Italy’s Austerity, Pizza and Polenta on the Table

‘SupernEnalotto’ pizza popular, pig’s trotter resists

At times of economic crisis, pizza is on the table for the Holidays

(ANSAmed) — ROME — Italians are opting for low-cost holiday meals this year, and tend towards the unique and healthy variety. There will be none of the costly Christmas dinners of salmon and foie gras, as times of crisis call for a rediscovery of local products and even pizza will be seen on holiday tables decked out for the holidays….as long as it brings fortune.

This was seen in a survey carried out by the pizza makers association APES on a representative sample of 300 Italian pizzerias and restaurants just before with the not-to-be-missed gastronomic events of the holidays.

The so-called “Monti effect” is being felt even on the table: pig’s trotter will still be seen (31%), as will polenta with dried salt cod (23%) and ravioli and cappelletti (14%), while the new entry is pizza (21%), which one out of every five Italian families will be making recourse to, especially in the holiday version launched by pizza makers: the “SuperEnalotto” (lottery) pizza with culatello (a type of ham) and red hot chilly peppers. In times of crisis, 8 out of every 10 Italians say they are worried about the current situation and confess that they will be changing their habits this year. According to the respondents, the vast majority will be staying at home (74%), and estimates say that one out of every four Italians will be eating out but opting for cheaper pizzerias (56%) instead of restaurants (29%). “I can confirm,” said Enzo D’Angelo, Rome pizza maker from APES, “that pizzerias are getting many bookings for New Year’s Eve. It is clear that the new SuperEnalotto pizza, the pizza of fortune, will be very popular, a way to get 2012 off to a good start. Due to the economic crisis, many of my colleagues will remain open until 11 PM to allow their regular customers to eat pizzas and then head to the streets to celebrate. It is a valid alternative which is being chosen ever more in place of a more costly Christmas dinner.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

USA


‘Kite Runner’ Too Islamic, School Board Told

The ACLU of Arkansas is paying close attention to a move by Jonesboro high school patrons to remove “The Kite Runner” from a senior English class curriculum because of its “presentation of Islam as a viable and genuine religion.” An article in the Jonesboro Sun did not name the two Valley View School District patrons who want the curriculum changed, but one is apparently a substitute teacher who learned of the curriculum while substituting in the class. “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, is a redemption story about a boy who betrays his servant friend, flees Afghanistan as the Soviets rise to power and returns years later as the Taliban take over to make amends to the servant’s family. The servant boy is sodomized in one scene, and that and language in the book were also named as objectionable.

As quoted in the Jonesboro Sun, the patrons complained that the book “may cause some students to question the validity of our ‘one nation under God’ … Is it permissible to have a book which deals with Islam and a man’s journey to receive it as truth when most schools are not allowed to teach the same in relation to the Bible?” Attempts to reach the school board president, Dr. Brian Gray, were unsuccessful, but according to the Jonesboro Sun, a couple of board members suggested the book be kept in the curriculum but not read aloud in class. The board will take up the issue again at its Jan. 10 meeting. Norm Stafford, a former professor of English at Arkansas State University and a member of the ACLU board, said he will join other ACLU representatives at the meeting. He said students were exposed to “far more explicit stuff about the Penn State story,” referring to the publication of allegations of abuse by former football coach Jerry Sandusky. He cited the irony that the patrons would try to ban a book whose story line is set against the evils of the rise of the extremist, book-banning Taliban.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Massachusetts Woman: TSA Confiscated My Cupcake

PEABODY — A woman who just flew back home from Las Vegas says an airport security officer confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought the icing on it could be a security risk.

Rebecca Hains said the Transportation Security Administration agent at McCarran International Airport took her cupcake Wednesday, telling her its frosting was enough like a gel to violate TSA restrictions on allowing liquids and gels onto flights to prevent them from being used as explosives. She said the agent told her the frosting was conforming to the jar it was inside.

“I just thought this was terrible logic,” Hains said Friday.

Hains, who lives in Peabody, just north of Boston, said the agent didn’t seem concerned that the cupcake could actually be explosive, just that it fit some bureaucratic definition about what was prohibited. She said he even offered to let her eat it away from the airport security area.

Hains, a 35-year-old communications professor at Salem State University, said she told the agent she had passed through security at Boston’s Logan International Airport earlier in the week with two cupcakes packaged in jars, gifts from a student. But she said the agent told her that just meant TSA in Boston didn’t do its job.

The TSA, which is entrusted with protecting the nation’s transportation system, was reviewing the situation, agency spokesman Nico Melendez said. Passengers are allowed to take cakes and cupcakes through checkpoints, he said.

Hains ultimately surrendered the cupcake. But she said the situation highlighted a lack of common sense by the agent and the ludicrousness of TSA policies.

“It’s not really about the cupcake; I can get another cupcake,” she said. “It’s about an encroachment on civil liberties. We’re just building up a resistance and tolerance to all these things they’re doing in the name of security, when it’s really theater. It is not keeping us safe.”

           — Hat tip: AC [Return to headlines]



Obama’s Abysmal Record on Civil Liberties

By signing the ‘anti-terror’ bill the president could end up being worse than his Republican predecessor on civil liberties

Here we are. More than 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, more than six months since the killing of Osama bin Laden and less than a year away from the next presidential election, Barack Obama is about to sign into law the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA). It authorises the indefinite detention in military custody of US citizens who are suspected of having “substantially supported” al-Qaida, the Taliban or “associated forces” — and makes such detention mandatory for foreign nationals who are accused of having links to al-Qaida.

In fact, say civil liberties lawyers and human rights groups, this pernicious and Orwellian piece of legislation doesn’t only enshrine in US law (in sections 1021 and 1022) indefinite military imprisonment without trial for terror suspects, but also makes it much easier for the government to transfer — or “render” — US citizens to foreign regimes for interrogation or incarceration, (also section 1021) and much more difficult to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay(sections 1023, 1026, 1027, and 1028).

Obama and the Democrats have a great deal to answer for. This brazen militarisation of US civilian justice and law enforcement cannot just be laid at the door of dastardly Republicans in Congress. In the Senate, the bill was co-sponsored by a Democratic senator, Carl Levin; in the House of Representatives, it sailed through with the support of 93 Democrats, including the minority leader, Nancy Pelosi (despite being opposed by, among others, the directors of the FBI and the CIA, the attorney general and the defence secretary). The president has the power to veto the bill and, initially, his aides had suggested he would do so. However, citing vague “changes” to the language of the bill, Obama — the most veto-shy president since James Garfield in the 1880s — made a U-turn this month and withdrew his veto threat in what a New York Times editorial called “a complete political cave-in, one that reinforces the impression of a fumbling presidency”.

But this isn’t about the president’s political incompetence or abject weakness. It is, above all, yet another example of Obama’s refusal to stand up for civil liberties and the rule of law. Over the past three years, the former constitutional law professor has failed to close Guantánamo Bay, expanded the detention facility at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, defended the use of warrantless surveillance and military tribunals, and — shockingly — asserted the right to assassinate, via drone strike and without due process, US citizens he deems to be terrorists. As the leading US legal scholar Jonathan Turley has argued, “the election of Barack Obama may stand as one of the single most devastating events in our history for civil liberties”. It is hard not to like or admire Obama as a person: the president is intelligent, reasonable, eloquent and witty. But presidents should be judged on their policies, not personalities; their records, not their rhetoric. Obama, however, has been handed a pass on indefinite military detention by the same liberals, progressives and Democrats who were so outraged and disgusted by the Bush administration’s much milder Patriot Act. Liberals have to ask themselves: do civil liberties and human rights only matter when a Republican is sitting in the Oval Office? A few weeks ago, at a private dinner, I was assailed by a senior state department official for echoing Turley’s critique of the president and for daring to compare Obama to his Republican predecessor. In fact, I now regret saying Obama was similar to Bush. When it comes to civil liberties, once he signs the NDAA into law, he will be worse.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



U.S. Muslims Celebrate Christmas as Part of American Culture

LOS ANGELES • With Christmas comes tradition in the Traband household: A plate of cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. A stocking full of treats for Omar, the family dog. A noble fir decorated with golden garland and keepsake ornaments. But there is no angel atop the tree. Sahira Traband feels that would conflict with her family’s faith. They are Muslims. “The magic of Christmas is the part we celebrate,” said Traband, 45. “We didn’t get into the whole religious thing.” At a time when the holiday is being pulled in different directions — some people replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” so as not to offend, while others campaign to “Keep the Christ in Christmas” — it’s not uncommon for Muslims to use the occasion as an entry into American culture, no different from signing up their children for Little League. Just how many Muslims do observe the holiday is unclear, because it is a personal choice fellow faithful might criticize. But if they were to ask, Muslims might discover they know a family or two who put up trees or send letters to Santa.

That fact may come as an even bigger shock to those who regard Muslims and their faith as being at odds with Western lifestyles.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Archaeology: Aegean Islands Treasures on Display in Athens

Prestigious exhibition opens at Cycladic Art Museum

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 12 — The Cycladic Art Museum of Athens, in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has opened a series of archaeological exhibitions dedicated to the small and remote islands of the Aegean. The exhibition, which has the suggestive title of “Agoni grammi” (literally “the sterile line”) and will be repeated every three years, is curated by the director of the museum, Professor Nikolaos Stampolidis, and by the archaeologist and museum curator, Giorgios Tassulas. The first exhibition, which has the subtitle “Archaeological journey through the islands of Kastelorizo, Symi, Halki, Tilos and Nisyros”, is organised in collaboration with the 12th office of Classical and Prehistoric Antiques and the 4th office of Byzantine Antiques, was opened on Thursday December 8 and runs until April 23.

Some 390 artefacts from the five islands are on display in the exhibition, which opens with an overview of the geographical and geological characteristics of the island. Their mythology and history is then explained through a series of sculptures, work tools and vases that illustrate the customs and daily occupations of the antique inhabitants, but with a focus on the island’s modern problems, above all the lack of water and the difficulty of sea and air links with the Greek mainland and other islands, as told in a video by the people who live there today.

The visit begins with a marble plinth depicting a ship similar to the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The exhibition is divided into five thematic areas, each of them a journey to one of the five islands, and starts with the room dedicated to Kasterlorizo, the island furthest away from the Greek mainland. The many finds on display here include a crown of golden ivy leaves discovered in 1913 on the plain of St. George and now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Athens, after being offered by the inhabitants of the Dodecanese islands to the motherland in 1948. The next room, which is dedicated to the islands of Symi and Halki, features an inscription dating back to 202-201 BC, but the content of which is quite modern. It refers to the taxation of the inhabitants, a practice that was common even in Ancient Greek times. The epigraph carved into the marble suggests a clear invitation from the island’s rulers to its citizens to make a contribution to tackle the community’s financial problems, a contribution, it is stated, that must be of at least 50 drachmas. Meanwhile, in the room dedicated to the islands of Tilos and Nisyros, visitors can admire prehistoric objects discovered in the cave of Arcadius, which include the remains of the dwarf elephants that died out around 4,000 years ago due to volcanic activity in the area. Speaking at the opening, the Minister for Culture and Tourism, Pavlos Geroulanos, said that the exhibition fills the visitor with “a taste for simplicity, rhythm, love for the beautiful and the real and hospitality, values that are profoundly Greek and anthropocentric”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Germany: Islamic Studies Gains Foothold in State Schools

German Education officials are making moves to establish Islamic studies as a regular subject in North Rhine-Westphalia’s public schools, in line with other religious courses about Catholic or Protestant Christianity.

There have been several pilot projects to teach principals of the faith to German pupils, who are offered the option religious instruction in most state schools. But a vote by the NRW parliament will give it a more permanent foothold until at least 2018, when the effectiveness of the instruction will be comprehensively evaluated. Although there is demand for the courses — there are about 300,000 Muslim students in the state’s schools — Islamic studies classes have been controversial throughout Germany. But supporters have argued that offering approved classes at about 130 state schools by vetted teachers could encourage the flourishing of a more moderate version of Islam among German youth. State Education Minister Sylvia Löhrmann said the parliamentary vote represented a “sign of more integration” adding that North Rhine Westphalia could be “a good example” for other states. But there appears to be some discomfort among lawmakers about the idea. Although the Greens and the centre-right Christian Democrats and centre-left Social Democrats supported the parliamentary vote, the socialist Left party voted against it, and the pro-business Free Democrats abstained. Officials have emphasised that the classes are held in German and are offered only by specially trained teachers.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Italy: Woman With Drugs in Breast and Bottom Implants Stopped

Spanish model nabbed at Rome airport

(ANSA) — Fiumicino, December 21 — A Spanish model was arrested at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport Wednesday after trying to bring 2.5 kilogrammes of cocaine into Italy inside breast and buttock implants.

The woman, named as M.F.M, 33, was examined after “failing to satisfactorily explain” the reasons for her trip from Sao Paulo in Brazil, police said.

“Extremely pure crystal cocaine was found perfectly moulded to the very large implants on the women’s chest and rear,” they said.

“She tried to distract officers with a plunging neckline and a short skirt but they were not impressed,” a customs official said.

The model has been charged with international drug trafficking.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Norway: Gil Ronen Distorts Oslo Police Report by Claiming All Rapists Are All Muslims

Norway Ministry of Justice confirms that a 2010 Oslo police report on rapes which Gil Ronen and other Islamophobes claim has statistics showing the rapists were all Muslims are untrue.

Earlier this month, Arutz Sheva, an Israeli website popular with Kahanists, an outlawed movement that is gaining prominence with the rise of the extreme right in Israel published ‘Norwegian Minister Links Norwegian Rape Wave To Israel’ by Gil Ronen. The story purported to shed light upon a conspiracy involving a Norwegian minister who ordered the truth about an Oslo police report detailing rape statistics to be hushed up, otherwise Israel may use the report against Norway because the rapists were Muslims.

Ronen offered no evidence for his claims except to cite an Israeli blogger who writes a Hebrew blog, one Yehuda Bello whom he claims understands Norwegian, is ‘acclaimed’ and has contacts in Norway. Ronen wrote: “Bello reports that from January to late October, 48 rapes were confirmed to have been carried out in Oslo alone, 45 of them by Muslims. 48 rapes were confirmed to have been carried out in Oslo alone, 45 of them by Muslims.”

Ronen contradicts this statement in another paragraph where he writes that the politically correct culture prevents them from being reported as ‘Muslim’ crimes. When journalists expressed scepticism at the reports blaming the Norwegian minister, all citing Ronen, the headline at Arutz Sheva was edited to read ‘Muslim ‘Rape Wave’ Reported in Oslo‘. The original claims about the ministerial cover up, can still be seen quoted by propagandists of Islamophobia including Robert Spencer of the David Horowitz organisation FrontPage Mag. The only source Ronen links to as proof, is an earlier piece he wrote in June 2011 with the headline ‘Police Report: All Assault Rapists in Oslo Follow Muhammad, where he claims:”Norway’s police issues report with amazing statistic: all assault rapes in Oslo in 2010 were perpetrated by Muslims

Meanwhile, anti Muslim bloggers like Pat Condell jumped onto the bandwagon as did neo conservative hatemongers Pamela Geller and Debbie Schlussul , the latter has suggested that 9/11 could have been prevented had the feds paid more attention to Rabbi Kahane instead of making Kahanism illegal. Not surprisingly, none of these bigots linked to ‘Voldtekt i den globale byen the Oslo 2010 rape statistics report which they were misrepresenting.

It is worth mentioning here that Geller and Schlussul along with Caroline Glick have received flak for attempting to tie the Brievik attacks to Norway’s anti Israel stance. The gist of Ronen’s earlier piece is that Norway’s bored rich population have their priorities wrong. But never fear because a neo nazi like Fjordmann the Anders Brievik idol, and by now discredited Yehuda Bello, are here to educate the Norwegians whom he describes: “They are also traditionally anti-Semitic, he believes. As a result their politicians and press are focused on Israel’s actions in Shechem (Nablus) and Hevron and choose to ignore Muslim misdeeds — be they in Iran, Syria, or in Norway itself.”

What he writes next appears to be projection: “Despite this, he reports, the Muslim rape campaign has become so terrible that even Norwegians have begun to recognize the reality around them, and in recent months there have been protests where the slogan was “Muslims out!”

If Ronen believes that expelling Norway’s Muslims will make the Zionist expansionist project more acceptable to Norwegians then it’s a misguided assumption. The anti Israeli occupation sentiment in Norway existed before the Muslim immigrants arrived in any significant numbers. Shortly after Arutz Sheva published the Oslo rapes report in early December, I wrote to The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police asking them to verify Gil Ronen’s claims. I received the following reply from Elisabeth Lund a Senior Adviser to the Ministry:

Statistics regarding assault rapists:

The Oslo Police District has given a report of rapes in Oslo in 2010. The report shows that for all types of rape, except assault rape, European perpetrators are in the majority, and they are mostly Norwegian. Assault rapes covers only five identified unique person. These have all a foreign origin. The number is however, so low that it does not provide a basis for drawing conclusions with regard to country of origin. Two of them were very young (under 18) and two had severe psychiatric diagnoses and cannot be regarded as representative of their ethnic culture. It is highlighted in the report that generalizations like “Oslo’s rapists are foreigners”, which have been seen in media, are wrong. The report gives no statistics regarding religion of rapists.”

Yours Sincerely,

Grethe Kleivan

Deputy Director General, “

Thus, the fabricated claims by Gil Ronen, can be dismissed as being little more than opportunistic distortions.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: JC [Jewish Chronicle] Readers Round on Bright

The article by Martin Bright in last week’s Jewish Chronicle denouncing prominent figures in the Jewish community for failing to boycott London Citizens over its links with the East London Mosque has provoked a welcome backlash from the paper’s readers. A leader in this week’s issue headed “Islamism’s allies”, presumably written by JC editor Stephen Pollard, states:

Last week we published an analysis by our political editor of the ongoing problems with London Citizens and the East London Mosque, and criticising those who lend these two organisations their support. We have received many outraged letters from those who think such support is not merely acceptable but vital. They are profoundly mistaken. If ever there was an issue that the JC exists to highlight it is this deeply misguided alliance with fellow travellers of Islamism.

The letters criticising Bright that appear in the print edition of the paper have not as yet been published on the JC website, so here they are.

WITTENBERG IS NO ‘USEFUL IDIOT’ BUT RATHER A ‘BRAVE, INSPIRATIONAL LEADER’

• Martin Bright (JC, December 16) calls Masorti senior rabbi, Jonathan Wittenberg, a “useful idiot” for participating in an interfaith celebration of the winter festivals alongside Christians, Muslims and Jews from dozens of churches, mosques, schools and community institutions across London. While the term “useful idiot” has specific historical connotations, most readers will rightly construe it as an unwarranted, offensive attack on one of our community’s most thoughtful, brave and inspirational leaders. We believe this kind of insulting language has no place in the pages of the JC.

Basil Shall (Co-Chair, New North London Synagogue); Clive Sheldon QC (Vice-Chair, Assembly of Masorti Synagogues)

East End Road, London N3

• I was among the 500 or so representatives of churches, mosques, schools, synagogues, trade unions, universities and youth organisations who attended the first annual assembly of North London Citizens. Unfortunately, I missed the opening progressive fanfare from shofarot, interspersed with readings underlining the call to action. I did hear the adoption of the social justice agenda: interfaith, Big Society and social action of the highest order. I believe Rabbi Wittenberg was present and anyone who has read his articles in the JC or seen his inspirational input into the New North London Synagogue would have found Martin Bright’s allusion to him as a “useful idiot”, abhorrent. Rabbi Wittenberg is marching in the footsteps of his teacher Rabbi Abraham Heschel, who campaigned for human rights with his friend, the Rev Martin Luther King. And we know there were extremists in the crowd that day. Better to engage with and defy the views of such people than to condemn them from the sidelines.

Neville Sassienie

sassienie@aol.com

• Martin Bright’s article raises a wider issue. The consolidation of the Anglo-Jewish community in North London and Manchester means that there are few Jewish voices to be heard elsewhere. Many Britons have never seen or spoken to a Jew. One of the few ways we can make contact with the wider British community is by participation in multi-faith activities.

Does Mr Bright suppose that Rabbi Wittenberg’s withdrawal from London Citizens would result in the organisation collapsing? Rather, it would be hailed by Muslim extremists as a victory and would marginalise the Jewish community even further. London Citizens involves 160 schools, churches, mosques, trade unions, synagogues and voluntary organisations, of which the East London Mosque is only one. Far from being a “useful idiot,” Rabbi Wittenberg is to be admired for fighting the Jewish corner — not always a pleasant task — and for providing a Jewish input to the London Citizens’ work, for example an amnesty for undocumented migrants and initiatives for safer cities. He also provides an ally for other member organisations threatened by extremism.

Bryan Reuben

bgreuben@gmail.com

• A pageant of schools and faith groups celebrates the diversity of their religious traditions in the East End of London. A day later, the JC launches the fiercest attack possible, linking the words “Jihad” and “Jews”. Synagogues and other Jewish communal organisations have a high degree of accountability. To whom is a JC journalist accountable? Should we, its readers, not expect the newspaper of the Anglo-Jewish community to uphold our expectations of responsible reporting? Synagogues such as mine and others involved in Citizens UK, understand that our raison d’etre extends beyond the scope of our internal realities, We want to work out what we have in common with our neighbours, and to work together to achieve change.

(Rabbi) Shulamit Ambalu

North London Progressive Jewish Community

shulamit.ambalu@ntlworld.com

• It would have been tragic if a Jewish voice had not been heard — particularly an inspirational one like Rabbi Wittenberg’s. Attendance was not an endorsement of Dr Bari’s opinions. But to have stayed away would simply have meant that those present would not have heard a Jewish voice. Martin Bright’s view that it would somehow have brought pressure to bear on the leadership of the East London Mosque might be described as “idiotic”. But then I would not use that kind of language.

Elkan Presman

Heath View, London N2

[JP note: A pageant of useful idiots?]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Lutfur Rahman’s Tax-Avoiding Cabinet Member Buys Himself a Porsche

It’s been “Lutfur Rahman week” on the blog, as we look at some of the people around Tower Hamlets’ extremist-linked mayor. On Tuesday I introduced you to Cllr Shahed Ali, Lutfur’s cabinet member for the environment, who liquidated his restaurant business owing £25,000 to the taxman — though the restaurant continued to be owned by him, and continued to trade exactly as it always has. Tuesday, as it happens, was also Cllr Ali’s 41st birthday — and to mark the happy occasion, happy at least before the blogpost went up, he bought himself a Porsche. As Shahed puts it on his Facebook page: “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to. My new toy for my Birthday treat!”

That’s it in my photo — a Porsche Cayenne 4.5ltr 4×4 with a V8 turbo engine, currently retailing at up to £87,000. Being a Lutfur Rahman councillor must pay more than I thought…

To be fair, Shahed’s model appears to be last year’s, available on the secondhand market for as little as £46,000. But that, er, “saving” his company was able to make on tax must still have come in handy when he was amassing the pennies in the piggybank. Shahed receives just under £23,000 in “special responsibility allowances” from the taxpayer for his council role and is responsible for spending about £70 million of taxpayers’ money. But he told me this week he would not be paying the money his company owes in tax.

And has Shahed had yet another helping hand from the taxpayer, too, I wonder? In January this year, according to Companies House, he registered a new company, Arts Worldwide, giving his home address as a flat in Harkness House, Christian Street, E1. The flat concerned is a council property. You know, those things, subsidised with public money, that are supposed to be for people in urgent need. But Shahed owns at least four properties of his own — his Essex restaurant, the property next door, a flat in Cannon Street Road, Shadwell, and yet another flat in Manchester Road, on the Isle of Dogs. Whatever can his urgent need be? A parking space for his new Porsche?

It is perhaps just a coincidence that Shahed’s Christian Street flat first popped on to the public record soon after he announced his support for Lutfur, the man expelled from Labour for his close links with Islamist extremism. But there does seem to be a link between Lutfur supporters and Tower Hamlets council flats. In August, I exposed how Shiraj Haque, Lutfur’s chief backer and a millionaire, was the proud tenant of a housing association house in Bethnal Green, despite owning at least eight properties of his own, a chain of restaurants and a supermarket. Nothing’s too good for the workers, as they say.

PS We do of course have printouts, in case Shahed is tempted to change his Facebook.

PPS Lutfur denies links with extremism.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Minchin and the Nauseating Moral Cowardice of the Liberal-Left Trenderati

Did you hear the song Aussie comic Tim Minchin wrote savagely satirising Islam for Channel 4’s Eid special? No, I didn’t either. It didn’t happen and it never would happen: first because no broadcast station in its right mind would ever allow it; second because I don’t believe that Minchin would be stupid enough to write it. And I’m not calling Minchin out for physical cowardice on this issue. From the Danish cartoons to the Paris bombing, we’ve seen far too many cases of artists testing the right to free speech — only to find that where certain religions are concerned, such matters are strictly verboten. But what I am definitely accusing him of is hypocrisy and moral cowardice, as regards the banned song he wrote for a Jonathan Ross Christmas special likening Jesus to a blood-drinking zombie.

Personally, I’m sorry we didn’t get to hear the song. As one of those typical, laissez-faire, occasional churchgoing C of E types, I have no problem with having my religion being satirised. Also, the points he apparently made in it sound not just funny but also quite astute: yes, there definitely is something very weird about the New Testament story. In the performance Minchin likened the resurrection of Jesus to the 1978 horror film ‘Dawn of the Dead’, singing: “Try that these days you’d be in trouble, geeks would try to smack you with a shovel. Jesus lives forever, which is pretty odd, but not as odd as his fetish for drinking blood,” he sang while playing the piano before a studio audience and fellow guests including Tom Cruise and the cast of Downton Abbey. In a reference to the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth, Minchin sang: “Jesus’ mother gave birth to him without having sex with a dude, no she would never be that rude, never even been nude with a dude.”

When I Tweeted this morning in response to this “Really looking forward to hearing Tim Minchin’s fearless comedy song about Mohammed”, some members of his fan club — including the ephebically pouty-smile-tastic Prof Brian Cox, no less — Tweeted back that he had written a funny song sending up Islam called “Ten Foot C*** And A Few Hundred Virgins.”

Actually, though, when you examine the lyrics, you realise that the title is about as daring as it gets. Nor is it directed specifically at Islam. It’s an equal-opportunities offence number, which also has a dig at Christianity, rapture-based cults and religion generally. Sure, it’s brave even to broach Islam at all. But no way does it criticise Mohammed — or indeed, even mention him — with the same unbridled satirical glee Minchin deploys on Jesus (above) and has done in the past on the Pope. Had he done so, he’d be needing a bodyguard this Christmas.

Again, let me stress, this isn’t a plea to Minchin to acquire set of cojones and commit suicide through the medium of satire. I wouldn’t write a rude song about Islam if you paid me a million quid. Or even ten million. But what I equally wouldn’t do is compromise my integrity by laying heavily into one soft-target religion while treating a rival one, far more ripe for satire, with kid gloves. To do so would, I think, make me look a hypocrite and a fraud. But hey, why single out Minchin? The problem I describe is absolutely endemic among the liberal left trenderati. You find it with the ‘comics’ on Radio 4’s beyond-dismal The Now Show; with the team that fronts the even-more-beyond-dismal-if-that’s-possible-but-yes-it-is-it-really-is 10 O’Clock Live; with the creators of the daringly satirical Jerry Springer: the Opera; with that rag-bag of Paul-Nurse-worshipping, Establishment lickspittles who call themselves “Skeptics” — the Ben Goldacres; the Simon Singhs; the Brian Coxes; the that-comic-who-does-those-science-shows-saying-how-true-man-made-global-warming-is-whose-name-I-keep-forgetting; and the rest…

Sorry. I know it’s the season of goodwill to all men and stuff, but really: have these faux-edgy lightweights ever actually stood up for any cause in their lives which requires an ounce of moral and intellectual courage or originality of insight? I don’t mean showing solidarity with Palestine or boldly declaring how fraudulent they find homeopathy or saying how ridiculous they find Christianity or being rude about Tories or supporting student protests or any of that predictable, career-safe, spray-on-credibility tedium. I mean actually, for once in their lives doing something that puts them out on a limb, that doesn’t tick all the usual green-left-liberal trendy boxes,that runs the risk of them never getting invited back as one of the resident lefty chortlemeisters on Radio 4’s News Quiz? Course not. For all their pretence at out-there dangerousness, these guys are as safe and cosy and establishment as you could get. Truly, they are the veritable IKEA, the World Of Leather, the Mister Byrite of popular culture. I’m sure it pays the rent — but at what cost to their shrivelled souls?

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Sunderland Mosque Plan is Handed to Council Chiefs

A CONTROVERSIAL planning application has been submitted to build a mosque in Sunderland. Some Millfield residents protested earlier this year when the city council agreed to sell a disused vehicle storage depot to an Islamic community group looking for a new place of worship. Neighbours are concerned about parking problems and noise late at night. Now an official application has been made to convert the depot into a place of worship, community and education centre with a new frontage and two domed columns, and 20 parking spaces.

The proposals include separate male and female entrances and prayer areas, a library and social services facilities, washing and toilet facilities and a body preparation area.

Lib Dem ward councillor Paul Dixon said residents had genuine planning concerns, but feared their protests would be hijacked by right-wing extremist groups. He said: “I think there will be hell on when people find out a planning application has gone in. “We only found out by chance the council were planning to sell the site. We were told there wouldn’t be an application until at least the new year, and people wouldn’t notice any changes to the building. Now they’ve applied to knock the front down, built parapet walls and put a tower on each corner. The council has let residents down from start to finish on this one. I’m disgusted with them.”

The application was submitted by Mazhar Mahmood on behalf of the Pakistani Islamic Centre. No one there could be contacted for comment. If approved, the mosque is expected to replace an Islamic centre which has been operating for years in the same street without planning permission. Coun Dixon said the council should have been more open with residents, and now fears the English Defence League (EDL) aims to capitalise on public anger to grow support in the area. The EDL already has a leaflet drawn-up and a Facebook group calling for a halt to the mosque plans. Coun Dixon said Millfield was a very diverse area with people from many religious and ethnic backgrounds — including other branches of the Islamic faith — and a backlash over the new mosque proposals could cause problems.

Pauline Featonby-Warren, chairman of the Millfield Residents’ Association and a member of the Filipino Christian faith group in the area, said the mosque was too big and there were genuine concerns about parking and noise. There was also disquiet that the council had not sold the site on the open market. She added: “I also think it could look very out of place — next to an Aldi and a row of wee cottages.” Coin Clark, head of planning and property at the council, said: “This application will be considered on its merits having regard to national and local planning policies, and other material considerations. “As part of the statutory requirements for this type of application, nearby residents have been consulted by letter, whilst site and press notices will appear in due course. Interested parties have the opportunity to make representations through the planning process.”

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Waterstone’s Backs Down Over Mein Kampf

Booksellers Waterstone’s has apologised for inappropriately promoting Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf as a “perfect” Christmas present. But the UK’s largest bookshop chain has denied it is attempting to bolster sales of the infamously antisemitic work, despite the JC discovering several stores deliberately and prominently displaying the book. Staff at Waterstone’s in Huddersfield used a festive point-of-sale sticker to promote the book as “the perfect present” with an accompanying personal recommendation message by a staff member trumpeting the book as “an essential read for anyone”. Town-centre stores in Manchester, Liverpool and Cheshire have been displaying front covers of multiple copies of the book, a sales technique designed to attract the attention of shoppers.

The trend was first spotted by Jewish travelling salesman Jonathan Levine, 44, from north Manchester. He has now received an apology from Waterstone’s, after he complained.

Mr Levine said: “I would be most obliged if Waterstone’s would explain what lies behind the apparent zeal on their part to promote this disgusting work. When challenging one of the staff in Manchester’s Deansgate branch, I was told that it was ‘a Christmas bestseller which sold really well’. A dubious justification indeed for selling this hateful work.” A Waterstone’s spokesperson said: “We do not believe we actively promote this book; our customers are capable of forming their own opinions on whether to purchase it or not.

However, you do raise a couple of instances where we have obviously got things wrong. The book should not be stocked in any politics section, and our Huddersfield branch should not have used inappropriate seasonal stickers on the book. “We have instructed stores accordingly, and apologise for the offence caused. We will also communicate with all our branches at the earliest possible opportunity to remind them of the sensitivities surrounding our stocking of Mein Kampf.”

[JP note: Note the weasel word ‘sensitivities.’]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: When Islam Met the Diversity Industry …

by Damian Thompson

This week, I was told about a London primary school whose pupils are overwhelmingly Muslim. It isn’t having a nativity play. There was a plan to sing carols in a lesson, but parents banned their children from attending. Mixed swimming lessons will soon be a thing of the past. Canteen food has to be halal. “This is effectively a faith school — a Muslim one,” says a teacher. Maybe so, but a visit to the school’s website reveals that the school also has an official religion: multiculturalism. Two of the major festivals in the year are a “Red Card to Racism” sports tournament and Black History Month. And here there’s no conflict. No Islamic father has pulled his little girl out of a black history celebration, even if she isn’t actually black. (Many of the pupils are Muslims from Kosovo.)

I’m fascinated by the relationship between British Islam and public sector multiculturalism. We’ve got into the habit of thinking of the multi-culti brigade as fervent secularists. So they are — where Christianity is concerned. But they feel strangely at home in the company of Muslims whose beliefs are ferociously conservative. How odd, you might think, that an ideology emanating from Sixties American campuses fits so comfortably with one that emerged from medieval Arabia. I’d assumed that the initiative was taken by liberals who patronise Muslims while turning a blind eye to their social attitudes. But that was before I discovered the Islamic Diversity Centre (IDC). The IDC is based in Newcastle upon Tyne and calls itself “the only authentic source for knowledge on Islam in the North East”. Although it seems to be a small group, its website is beautifully engineered by an upmarket design agency. However, it’s the extent of its institutional reach that really impresses. IDC offers an “Introduction to Islam School Workshop” whose “trained facilitators… teach schoolchildren the beauty of Islam”. Staff from Catholic schools, among others, offer testimonials. There are also courses for NHS professionals and anyone in the field of equal opportunities. “The goal is to break down the stereotypes surrounding the Muslim community,” we’re told.

Hmm. That depends which stereotypes we’re talking about. It’s true that the IDC rejects Islamist violence and rhetoric. On the other hand, try clicking through to the profiles of team members. While there are photographs of the men, every woman is represented by an identical headshot showing a pair of eyes peeking out of a niqab. This is seriously conservative Islam, in other words. Its courses aim to inform, not convert — but at weekends, IDC staff can be found proselytising vigorously on street corners. They run a New Muslim Support Centre “to meet the needs of the burgeoning numbers of Muslim converts in the North East”. Significantly, it also acts as a “Diversity and Equality Centre”. Islam has a long history of accommodating itself to its host culture without watering down its tenets. In 21st-century Britain, that means pressing the Islamophobia button, and pressing it hard.

Would conservative Christians be allowed to extol the beauty of the Gospel in secular primary schools and hospitals? Don’t be silly. The public sector knows which stereotypes it’s happy to challenge and those it would rather leave undisturbed. The IDC is a “non-judgmental place”, according to its advertisements. No doubt that’s true — so long as you don’t count the stuff on its website about the unrighteous burning forever in “the fire of hell”. But somehow I doubt that the subject crops up in diversity workshops.

[JP note: Link to the Islamic Diversity Centre www.islamicdiversity.org.uk/ Be sure to have a look at the team www.islamicdiversity.org.uk/team.asp and the quote from its ‘What is Islam’ section: Islam in Arabic means submission to Allah, and it is the only religion or way of life which Allah will accept from mankind. It is more than disturbing that these people have access to schools and other venues, and more than enough to inspire my inner Islamophobe.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt: 24% Fewer Tourists in Third Quarter 2011

33.1% decline in tourist from the West

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, DECEMBER 21 — The number of tourists that visited Egypt in the third quarter of 2011 has fallen by almost 25%, reports the Egyptian statistical agency. The agency explains that the number of foreign visitors fell by 24%, from 3.6 million in the third quarter of 2010 to 2.8 million in the same period this year. Mainly Western tourists stayed away from Egypt: their presence saw a 33.1% decline. The number of tourists from other countries in the Middle East fell by 21.6%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


Parents, Have You Read Your Child’s Textbook Lately?

by Beth Wettengel

Although it is hard to admit, parents are guilty of overlooking some of the “fine print” in life. The best-intended parents (myself included), who check homework, instill values, run soccer carpool, and tuck in children at bedtime, sometimes get mired in the busyness of life. While making sure all the schedules and needs are met on the home front, we often miss what is right in front of our noses. Parents sending their children off to school trust that the kids are being taught accurate, unbiased, and morally correct information. We put our trust into a school system that spends more “awake” time with our kids than we do. Sometimes we are a little too trusting when we do not review the textbooks, look over curriculum, and ask teachers questions about their lesson plans. Before I go any further, I want to clarify that I am a believer and a product of public education. I have five relatives who teach or have retired from the public school sector. My children have been blessed with excellent teachers in the Sumner County school system who are responsible, competent and caring.

There are two areas that should be a nationwide concern for parents due to the pressure of certain political organizations and activist groups. I will only discuss one in this article due to the length. After checking my child’s homework one night, I found an entire chapter dedicated to Islam. I understand that the formation of religion is a part of history and therefore should be discussed briefly; however, the length and depth of material are completely inappropriate. In the Holt World History book, the Islamic World chapter covers the roots of Islam, Islamic beliefs and practices, Islamic empires and cultural achievements. (14 pages of Islam compared to three pages of Christianity). Christianity was covered in one section under the Roman empire chapter. Furthermore, the chapter of Islam was whitewashed from clearly explaining the aspects of Sharia Law, the treatment and rights (or lack thereof) of women, and how Islam is “tolerant” (or not so much) toward other religions. The textbook glosses over the spread of Islam through bloodshed of non-Muslims and points out that trade “helped” non-Muslims convert (page 363). The post 9/11-issued book explains that jihad is “to make an effort, or to struggle.” Only in the last sentence was jihad also translated as “holy wars.” Although 96 percent of all social studies text books have been revised since that horrifying historic event, one-third of the textbooks make no mention of 9/11 according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Another disturbing discovery, the textbook refers to Allah as God several times. As a Christian, I find the interchanging of “Allah” and “God’s” name offensive. Any studied Christian or Muslim would attest that the two religions believe in two different beings as God. Why, then, are the two different beliefs of God being presented as one?

If you think I might be overreacting to the teaching of Islam in the classroom, allow me to elaborate on another “tool” that was used in a Bryon, Calif., classroom. At Excelsior Middle School, the teacher was supposedly following an instructional guide when she told students they would pretend to be Muslims for three weeks in order to learn what Muslims believe. According to World Net Daily, during this time they were required to wear Muslim dress, memorize verses from the Quran, pray to Allah, simulate Ramadan by fasting, use the phrase “Allah Akbar” (Allah is great), and play “jihad games.” When parents were not allowed to opt out, Christian parents sued the school system. Tragically, the federal judge in the 9th Circuit ruled that such activities constitute teaching “about religion” and declared the program devoid of “any devotional or religious intent,” and therefore educational, not religious in nature. In essence, the courts ruled against parental rights and religious freedom. Stories of similar cases rarely get reported. Cinnamon Stillwell, an opinion writer for The San Francisco Chronicle writes, “Islamists have taken what’s come to be known as the ‘soft jihad’ into America’s classrooms, and children in K-12 are the first casualties. Whether it is textbooks, curriculum, classroom exercises, film screenings, speakers, or teacher training, public education in America is under assault.”

Parents need to research materials and resources being used in the classroom. Ask questions. Be rational and civil when you talk to your child’s teacher. Remember that the teachers did not write the textbook. Do find out what points she/he intends to make. My child’s teacher was clear, upfront and reasonable while addressing my concerns. I appreciate the sense of teamwork I felt when I left her classroom. As parents and concerned citizens, we cannot sit idly by. Stillwell writes, “Probably the single greatest weapon in the arsenal of those trying to fight the misuse of America’s public schools is community involvement.” This means you! If even 20 percent of parents took an active role in the fight against indoctrination in the public schools, substantial improvements would be made.

Beth Wettengel is a Hendersonville mother of two.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111223

Financial Crisis
» Italy: Wage-Price Gap Biggest Since 1997
 
USA
» A Muslim’s Christmas Wish
» CAIR: New Army Policy Will Allow JROTC Hijabs, Turbans
» Congressman Claims Michelle Obama Has a ‘Large Posterior’
» Historic Muslim American Newspaper Celebration Draws Hundreds to Nation’s Capital
» In Islamic Law, Gingrich Sees a Mortal Threat to US
» Iran, Taliban, Al-Qaida Liable for 9/11, New York Judge Rules
» Mich. Jews, Muslims Continue Volunteer Alliance
» Muslim Exchange Student Helps Promote Intercultural Understanding
» Pennsylvania: Muslim Author Cancels School Visit After Parents Threaten Protest
 
Canada
» Controversy Grows Over Veiled Threat
» Quebec Government Denounced by Opposition for Allowing Muslim Prison Workers to Wear Headscarf
 
Europe and the EU
» Exhibition of ‘Mosques in Germany’ Concludes at IIUI
» Italy: Vote on Arrest of Ex Govt Member for ‘Mafia Links’ Put Off
» Italy: Toscani Comes Up With Penis Calendar
» Italy: Rome Investigation Launched Into Neo-Nazi Group
» Mama’s Boy and Mass Murderer: Experts Disagree on Psychological State of Norwegian Killer
» The Late Roman Empire Was Not the Twilight of Popular Myth
» UK: Is Religion in Terminal Decline in Britain?
» UK: Lutfuhr Rahman Cabinet Member: I Luv My Weapons
» UK: Muslims’ Anger Over Off-Licence Go-Ahead — Community Leaders Say They Have “Not Been Listened to”
» UK: No Penalty for London Blogger Calling for Attacks on Jews…
» UK: Oh, All Right, Just One More Time …
» UK: Rabbi Defends His London Citizens Involvement
 
North Africa
» Tunisia: Judiciary Lifts Charges on Arafat’s Widow
 
Middle East
» How Can We Remain Silent While Christians Are Being Persecuted?
» Inside Syria’s Death Zone: Assad’s Regime Hunts People in Homs
» Saudi Arabia’s Invisible Hand in the Arab Spring
» Syria: Damascus Suicide Attack; State TV Blames Al Qaeda
 
South Asia
» The Perils of Journalism in Pakistan: Living in Fear of Intelligence Agents
 
Australia — Pacific
» New Zealand: Sonny Bill Misses Out on Muslims’ Top 500 Listing
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Nigeria: 2 ANPP Members Denied Bail for Crticising Kwankwaso
 
Immigration
» UK: Illegal Immigrant Who Hacked Off Neighbour’s Head With Meat Cleaver Has His Sentence CUT by Six Years
 
Culture Wars
» The War on Christmas is Real, And the Atheist Barbarians Are Winning it
» Walter Reed (Military Hospital) Accidentally Bans Bibles
 
General
» I Lived as a Turkey for a Year

Financial Crisis


Italy: Wage-Price Gap Biggest Since 1997

1.5% wage rise against 3.3% inflation rate

(ANSA) — Rome, December 23 — The gap between Italian wages and inflation rose to 1.8 percentage points in November, its highest since 1997, Istat said Friday.

The annual wage rise was 1.5% compared to an inflation rate of 3.3%, the statistics agency said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

USA


A Muslim’s Christmas Wish

By SAAD KARAMAT / The Los Angeles County resident is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley and an award-winning member of the Muslim Writers Guild of America.

World would benefit from more people following Jesus’ teachings.

Most people are often surprised to hear that Jesus is a highly esteemed figure in Islam. My friend once asked, “Is this a new idea within Islam?” thinking that, perhaps, Muslims recently concocted this notion. In reality, Jesus is not only considered a prophet in Islam (a fact many Christians are familiar with). In fact, Jesus is mentioned more times in the Quran, by name, than Prophet Muhammad himself— each time in the most elevated regard. Therefore, this Christmas, Jesus can be the inspiration for Muslims and Christians — and others, too — to build bridges of interfaith harmony and work together for the betterment of society. For example, Jesus taught, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25). The intention of this statement? Jesus sought to impress upon the wealthy the need to share a portion of their wealth with the poor — if they wish to enter the “Kingdom of God,” or heaven. This teaching promotes social justice, ensuring that no person goes without the basic necessities of life, such as food, water and health care, while others enjoy the luxuries of life.

It is not promoting communism but, rather, human dignity and morality. Our current economy would likely not be in its degraded situation if the rich — including Muslims, Christians and even atheists — were mindful of Jesus’ lesson. Not only would our current economy benefit greatly from Jesus’ teaching, but also would the economies of so-called Muslim nations. Pakistan, for example, has some of the most distressing and unequal economic conditions in the world. I have seen people spending more than 1,000 rupees (approximately $11) for a meal in fancy restaurants, outside of which there are barefooted and emaciated beggars pleading simply for 3 rupees (approximately 3 cents) to buy a piece of bread for themselves or their children. The inequality is absolutely heart-wrenching. As a Muslim, I wish Jesus’ teachings were practiced in Pakistan and other countries where the less fortunate are often and sadly forgotten about.

Jesus’ teaching of caring for the less-fortunate includes compassion for the elderly. According to the Quran, Christ claimed, “God has raised me to care for my [parents]” (Quran 19:32). The number of elderly who are being cared for in nursing homes these days is remarkably high — which, in some cases can be beneficial and preferable to living, and dying, alone. Studies, however, show that the vast majority of elderly people prefer to spend time with their families rather than at nursing homes. If we all tried to be more like Jesus, we could work toward creating a society in which the elderly are — where possible — cared for by their own families, fostering an environment of love and reciprocity. I can also speak from personal experience that when grandparents are involved in the lives of their grandchildren, they benefit immensely. I considered caring for my grandparents an unparalleled privilege and blessing. In short, Jesus is one of the most pivotal figures in the history of mankind, as two of the world’s largest religions place him at a centerpiece. This Christmas Day, certain theological differences between Muslims and Christians will remain. These aside, Jesus’ teachings of caring for the less-fortunate and our loved ones are just a couple of the many teachings and examples of Jesus that we can use to work collectively for the social good and, in this process, improve our relations. Muslims and Christians, let’s make Jesus our inspiration to come together this Christmas Day. This is my Christmas wish.

[JP note: Santa says no.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



CAIR: New Army Policy Will Allow JROTC Hijabs, Turbans

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that the Department of Defense (DOD) will begin allowing Muslim and Sikh students who wear an Islamic head scarf (hijab) or a turban to participate in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC). In October, the Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta after a 14-year-old Muslim student at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn., was forced to transfer out of a JROTC class when her commanding officers told her she could not wear hijab while marching in the September homecoming parade.

SEE: JROTC’s Head Scarf Rule Keeps Tenn. Girl from Parade

tinyurl.com/3ckva3x

JROTC Examines Rules After Headscarf Complaint

tinyurl.com/6msmfsf

Video: Tenn. Muslim Student Not Allowed to Wear Hijab in JROTC (CAIR)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3PTFCBUf1k

CAIR requested constitutionally-protected religious accommodations for the girl and for future Muslim JROTC participants.

SEE: CAIR Letter to DOD

tinyurl.com/lettertodod

In a December 19 letter sent to CAIR, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Larry Stubblefield wrote:

“I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta to your October 13, 2011 letter concerning Miss Demin Zawity’s request to wear a religious head covering (hijab) while participating in an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) event at Ravenwood High School. Based on your concerns, the Army has reviewed its JROTC uniform policy and will develop appropriate procedures to provide Cadets the opportunity to request the wear of religious head dress, such as the turban and hijab. This change will allow Miss Zawity and other students the chance to fully participate in the JROTC program. Additionally, a representative from the U.S. Army Cadet Command will contact Miss Zawity and provide her the opportunity to rejoin the Ravenwood High School JROTC unit. The Army prides itself in being a diverse organization, comprised of individuals from many faiths and religions. We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention.”

“We welcome the fact that Muslim and Sikh students nationwide will now be able to participate fully in JROTC leadership activities while maintaining their religious beliefs and practices,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR’s E-Mail List

tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed

twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel

www.youtube.com/cairtv

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Congressman Claims Michelle Obama Has a ‘Large Posterior’

A congressman has landed himself in hot water after making some ungentlemanly remarks about the size of Michelle Obama’s behind.

Republican Jim Sensenbrenner was heard making the unflattering comments during a mobile telephone conversation at Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport. The rotund 67 year-old explained to the person on the phone how a woman had approached him at a church auction three weeks ago with nothing but praise for the US First Lady. Speaking loudly, he then reportedly went on to say: “She [Mrs Obama] lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself.” Mrs Obama, 47, who is said to undergo a gruelling daily fitness regime, has been involved in a prominent “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity. But Mr Sensenbrenner accused the US president’s wife of hypocrisy for apparently failing to take her own advice. Since the comments were made public, he has backtracked and said he will be contacting the First Lady to apologise. A spokesman for the congressman said: “Mr Sensenbrenner was referring to the First Lady’s healthy food initiative. “He doesn’t think the government should be telling Americans what to eat. While he may not agree with all her initiatives, he plans to contact the First Lady’s office to apologise for his comments.” Mrs Obama has yet to comment on the remarks.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Historic Muslim American Newspaper Celebration Draws Hundreds to Nation’s Capital

It is estimated that one out of five D.C. residents is a Muslim or has a Muslim family member. With such a presence, the Muslim Journal, the oldest Muslim-American publication, recently came to the nation’s capital for a weekend of historic events. The festivities, themed Time to Be Grateful, featured three days of events including presentations highlighting the historical connections between African-Americans and Muslims. One presentation featured a one-man play staring Philadelphia police officer-turned actor-producer Ahmad Kenya. The play was about the nineteenth century life of Omar Ibn Sayyid. The monologue depicts the trials of Ibn Sayyid, a scholar from the West African Fulani state of Futa Torro, who in 1807 was literally one of the last Africans sold into slavery in the United States during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Ironically, the slave ship registered in Baltimore, reached its destination of Charlestown, S. C., days before the United States Navy began enforcing the 1807 Slave Trade Act, which made transport of enslaved people via the high seas a crime punishable by hanging.

This production was just one example of the history-telling featured during the Muslim Journal’s celebration. America’s Islamic Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, in Southeast D.C., also was recognized during the weekend events. Museum curator and founder, Amir Muhammad, spent 30 years chronicling the history of Muslims in America, a legacy dating back to 1312. For the past decade, Muhammad showcased his hundreds of historical artifacts as a traveling museum, making presentations to audiences around the world. Before a sold out crowd of over 500 at the Washington Grand Hyatt Hotel, Muhammad proudly accepted an award for his labor of love in which he has been aided by his wife, Habeebah.

Sharing the stage with Muhammad was the District’s Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D). Norton welcomed the crowd of Muslim leaders and other dignitaries to the nation’s capitol.

“Muslim-Americans have a long history here in America, and I’m proud to be here with you,” said Norton. Ironically, days before the event Norton’s Republican colleagues on the House Homeland Security Committee, led by Congressman Peter King (NY), held a hearing scrutinizing the Muslim-American community for its members who promote or engage in violence. Why does Congressman King see fit to only focus on the Muslim community? That’s unfair,” said Norton to a receptive dinner audience. Norton’s point was underscored by the fact that conservatives in Congress have not called for similar hearings to investigate Jared Lee Loughner, accused of firing into a crowd waiting to meet Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D), killing six people, including a federal judge, and injuring Giffords and 13 others. “I am offended by this prejudice,” said Norton. Recognizing that many at the award program were fellow District residents and voters, Norton used the occasion to remind the audience that she has plenty of fight left and asked for support in her reelection campaign.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



In Islamic Law, Gingrich Sees a Mortal Threat to US

Long before he announced his presidential run this year, Newt Gingrich had become the most prominent American politician to embrace an alarming premise: that Shariah, or Islamic law, poses a threat to the United States as grave as or graver than terrorism. “I believe Shariah is a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States and in the world as we know it,” Mr. Gingrich said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington in July 2010 devoted to what he suggested were the hidden dangers of Islamic radicalism. “I think it’s that straightforward and that real.” Mr. Gingrich was articulating a much-disputed thesis in vogue with some conservative thinkers but roundly rejected by many American Muslims, scholars of Islam and counterterrorism officials. The anti-Shariah theorists say that just as communism posed an ideological and moral threat to America separate from the menace of Soviet missiles, so today radical Islamists are working to impose Shariah in a “stealth jihad” that is no less dangerous than the violent jihad of Al Qaeda. “Stealth jihadis use political, cultural, societal, religious, intellectual tools; violent jihadis use violence,”Mr. Gingrich said in the speech. “But in fact they’re both engaged in jihad, and they’re both seeking to impose the same end state, which is to replace Western civilization with a radical imposition of Shariah.”

New York Times, 21 December 2011

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Iran, Taliban, Al-Qaida Liable for 9/11, New York Judge Rules

NEW YORK — A federal judge has signed a default judgment finding Iran, the Taliban and al-Qaida liable in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Judge George Daniels in Manhattan signed the judgment Thursday, a week after hearing testimony in the 10-year-old case. The signed ruling, which he promised last week, came in a $100 billion lawsuit brought by family members of victims of the attacks. He directed a magistrate judge to preside over remaining issues, including fixing compensatory and punitive damages.

Daniels signed findings of fact saying the plaintiffs had established that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were caused by the support the defendants provided to al-Qaida. The findings also said Iran continues to provide material support and resources to al-Qaida by providing a safe haven for al-Qaida leadership and rank-and-file al-Qaida members.

During last week’s open-court hearing, family members of Sept. 11 victims sat through a four-hour presentation from attorneys who cited evidence supporting their claims that Iran actively assisted the hijackers of planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers, at the Pentagon and into a field in Pennsylvania. Former members of the 9/11 Commission and three Iranian defectors also spoke.

It would be near impossible to collect any damages, especially from the Taliban or al-Qaida.

Iran has not commented on the ruling. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied any Iranian connection in the Sept. 11 attacks or with al-Qaida. Saudi Arabia had been knocked out of the lawsuit, but lawyers filed papers on Thursday to reinstate Saudi Arabia as a defendant.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

           — Hat tip: AC [Return to headlines]



Mich. Jews, Muslims Continue Volunteer Alliance

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit area’s Jewish community is continuing a tradition of working with Muslims to serve their Christian neighbors while they celebrate Christmas. About 125 Muslims are expected to join about 800 Jewish volunteers Sunday for Mitzvah Day, the single largest day of volunteering by the Jewish community. It’s the third year for the team-up between Jews and Muslims. The volunteers will be helping 40 Detroit-area social service agencies at sites throughout the day. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit has sponsored Mitzvah Day for more than 20 years. This will be the third year that Muslims have joined the effort. Mitzvah means “commandment” in Hebrew and is generally translated as a good deed.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Muslim Exchange Student Helps Promote Intercultural Understanding

POYNETTE — Kae Fernandez, a foreign exchange student from the Philippines, was giving a talk to a group of elementary children and responding to familiar questions — “Have you ever seen snow?” “Do you have a McDonald’s there?” — when the topic turned serious. “What do you say when you pray?” asked Amelia Pickarts, 9, a fourth-grader at Poynette Elementary School. Fernandez, 16, who is Muslim, said later she was caught a little off guard by the specificity of the question but pleased it was asked. It cut right to the reason she’s here. Since August, Fernandez has been attending Poynette High School through a U.S. State Department program begun after Islamic extremists attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001. The program aims to promote intercultural understanding.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Pennsylvania: Muslim Author Cancels School Visit After Parents Threaten Protest

Lisa Abdelsalam said she feels “like she swallowed posion” in the days since the threat of parental protests caused the Muslim mother and author to cancel a talk with students at A.M. Kulp Elementary School in Hatfield. “I have a such a sick feeling in my stomach,” said Abdelsalam, 48, who lives in Colmar with her husband and children, all of whom were or are North Penn students. Born in Lansdale, the 1981 North Penn High School graduate converted to Islam at 19, when she married her husband, who is from Egypt. As she has many times at many North Penn schools, she was scheduled to meet with several Kulp classes over four days earlier this month to discuss how she wrote and published her book, “A Song for Me, A Muslim Holiday Story,” based on her son Yoseph’s experiences at York Avenue Elementary in the 1990s.

“A Song for Me, A Muslim Holiday Story,” has illustrations based on pictures of the York Avenue school and details a Muslim boy’s efforts to fit into the holiday spirit at Christmastime.

A few days before her appearance at Kulp was to take place, Principal Erik Huebner called her. The principal, according to Abdelsalam, told her a few parents had complained about the program and threatened to bring in an outside group to protest if the classes went forward. “They did not want a Muslim or a Muslim book read in their classrooms,” she was told.

Abdelsalam, a longtime volunteer at Kulp where she previously served as president of the Home and School Association, and a current member of the district’s diversity committee, was taken aback. “I was serving pizza with these people last year,” she said. Huebner was supportive, said the author, and said she was welcome to come regardless of the protests. However, both she and the principal decided it was best to cancel, for the sake of the young students. “I didn’t feel it would be right; it wasn’t one day, it was four days over two weeks,” she explained. “It’s not a battle that should be fought in an elementary school parking lot.”

phillyBurbs.com, 22 December 2011

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Canada


Controversy Grows Over Veiled Threat

Government talk of banning the niqab has some fearing a less tolerant Canada

When Minna Ella walks through the department store, she’s one of the few women who don’t get pestered by clerks trying to dole out free makeup and perfume samples. “They just look right through me,” the 35-year-old says. The reason seems clear. Whenever the mother of four leaves her house in Waterloo, Ont., she covers herself with a niqab, a Muslim veil that covers her from head to toe, leaving a slit for her eyes. She is one of an estimated 300 women across Canada living their public lives under the cover of this veil. Ella, who was born and raised in Ontario, says in the past few years, she has noticed a sense of growing anger and fear from Canadians. She says that’s particularly true since Quebec introduced Bill 94 in 2010. The bill, still working its way through the legislature, would require public employees, education and health workers, and anyone seeking government services, to have their faces uncovered at all times. The debate spread across the country and was the first in a series of moves Ella says have changed her experience of Canada. Earlier this month, Jason Kenney, the minister of immigration, citizenship and multiculturalism, announced that women will now be required to remove their face coverings during citizenship swearing-in ceremonies. Survey results from Forum Research showed widespread support for the move, with 81 per cent of respondents saying they agreed with it. In fact, a majority of the survey’s 1,160 respondents in every major category — sex, age, region and political persuasion — agreed.

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Quebec Government Denounced by Opposition for Allowing Muslim Prison Workers to Wear Headscarf

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) — The Quebec government, which said Tuesday it will allow Muslim women working in provincial jails to wear a head scarf, has been accused by the Opposition of caving in to an “excessive” demand. The Quebec Public Security Department passed the new rule after reaching a deal with Quebec’s human rights commission, following a complaint made four years ago. The ministry chose to enforce what it calls an “accommodation” rather than take the matter to the provincial human rights tribunal.

The Parti Québécois lambasted the government Tuesday for caving in to this “excessive” demand. “This is completely unacceptable,” said PQ critic for secularism issues Carole Poirier. “The guards are state employees and should not wear any conspicuous religious symbols, especially not in a jail where the neutrality of the state should be obvious.” The decision stems from a 2007 incident when a then-19-year-old Islamic Montrealer abruptly terminated training to become a Quebec prison guard after she refused to remove her hijab — a garment that covers the hair but leaves the face revealed. The woman [Sondos Abdelatif, pictured] had passed all preliminary tests and was about halfway through a training program at Bordeaux jail in Montreal when she was told she couldn’t wear her hijab on the job, for safety reasons. Citing her religious beliefs, the woman challenged the ban and eventually filed a complaint with the human rights commission. After a lengthy process, the commission found the Public Security Department rules were discriminatory.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Exhibition of ‘Mosques in Germany’ Concludes at IIUI

ISLAMABAD, Dec 22 (APP): A collection of photographs by German Photographer Wilfried Dechau, featuring rare glimpses of Mosques in Germany, concluded Thursday at International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).Some stunning images of examples of Islamic architecture in Germany were exhibited with exquisite photographic techniques. The selection reflected both the artists’ shared approach to the chosen motifs and their artistic position.The show was organized by Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany in collaboration with IIUI.Wilfried Dechau travelled through Germany in order to capture places of worship of Islam in Germany in their urban context. His photos depicted the interior of the mosques,the atmosphere at Friday prayer, imams, children, men and women.

Wilfried Dechau visited different mosques in Pforzheim, Penzberg, Mannheim, Wolfsburg, Aachen, Karlsruhe, Hamburg and Stuttgart. The photographs were taken in March and April 2008. Wilfried Dechau’s photo reportage shows a collection of impressions on the theme of “Muslims and their Houses of Prayer in Germany. He rigorously pursues his goal of capturing the mosques and their settings in purely documentary form. With his choices of camera position and angle, his aim is always underscored by the inclusion of cars, streetlamps and the urban context. In this way, he positioned the mosque in relation to its surroundings.Monumentality is found, by contrast, in the more formal photographs of interiors and domes. With their splendid, delicate painted and mosaic ornaments, he made the pictures “majestic”. The character of the buildings is portrayed without photographic idealization or embellishment. The exhibition “Mosques in Germany” has already travelled both nationally and internationally to Indonesia, Turkey and Austria, Kuwait and some other places.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Italy: Vote on Arrest of Ex Govt Member for ‘Mafia Links’ Put Off

Cosentino accused of being ‘reference point’ for Casalesi clan

(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — A House panel on Wednesday put off until January 10 a vote on a request from Naples prosecutors to arrest former economy undersecretary Nicola Cosentino on suspicion of corruption and collusion with the Neapolitan Camorra mafia.

The panel voted to give itself more time to examine new evidence presented at the last minute by Cosentino.

Next month’s vote is expected to be tight, with the position of former government ally the Northern League said to be critical.

Ex-Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party has said it will vote solidly in favour of their member and against his arrest.

If the panel votes for Cosentino’s arrest, the issue will then be put before a full session of the House, where the PdL is the biggest party.

The former PdL undersecretary, who denies wrongdoing, is accused of pressuring members of Italy’s largest bank Unicredit into providing financing for a shopping mall with alleged ties to the Camorra’s notorious Casalesi clan.

Prosecutors have claimed Cosentino was the “national reference point” for the Casalesis.

The Casalesis, whose fugitive leader Michele Zagaria was arrested earlier this month, became known to an international public thanks to writer Roberto Saviano’s bestselling 2006 book Gomorrah, later turned into a successful film that won second prize at Cannes.

Cosentino decided to resign last year after allegations of being part of a lobby that aimed to influence high-court judges in Berlusconi’s favour.

However, the former undersecretary did not give up his post as the ex-premier’s party leader in Campania, the region around Naples.

Cosentino was also accused by prosecutors in 2009 of links with the Camorra but parliament rejected an arrest warrant and Berlusconi turned down his proffered resignations from both his posts.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Toscani Comes Up With Penis Calendar

Ex-Benetton shock photographer follows up pubes edition

(ANSA) — Pisa, December 22 — Provocative former Benetton photographer Oliviero Toscani is courting fresh scandal with his 2012 calendar for a leather-tanning consortium showing close-ups of 12 penises.

Last year Toscani’s calendar for the consortium near Pisa featured women’s pubic areas, sparking protests.

Toscani’s entourage said Thursday he would unveil the new calendar at Florence’s anthropology museum on January 12 with pornstar Rocco Siffredi in attendance.

They refused to say who had posed for the calendar.

Past controversial Toscani pics have included a nun kissing a priest; a man dying from AIDS; an unwashed newborn baby with an umbilical cord attached; a bullet-ridden Bosnian war flak-jacket: a man slain by the Mafia lying in a pool of blood; gay men in affectionate poses; and an emaciated model who later died of anorexia.

His work for Benetton’s ‘United Colors’ publicity campaign also included attacks on racism, notably one with three almost identical human hearts, which were actually pig hearts, with the words ‘white’, ‘black’, and ‘yellow’ as captions.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Rome Investigation Launched Into Neo-Nazi Group

Religious leaders included on Stormfront ‘blacklist’

(ANSA) — Rome, December 23 — Rome prosecutors on Friday launched an investigation into a neo-Nazi organisation alleged to have compiled a blacklist of religious figures, politicians, journalists and judges.

The investigation into the white Supremacist organisation, Stormfront, is being led by prosecutor Pietro Saviotti who was briefed by postal police in the past few days.

The organisation is reportedly a branch of the international body founded by former head of the Ku Klux Klan, Don Black.

The blacklist includes: the Bishop of Turin Monsignor Cesare Nosiglia; Riccardo Pacifici, the President of the Jewish Community in Rome; Adel Smith, the President of the Muslim Union of Italy; and journalists Gad Lerner and Maurizio Costanzo.

According to a report in the daily La Repubblica, those on the list have been targeted because of their support for immigrants. (Photo: Gad Lerner)

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Mama’s Boy and Mass Murderer: Experts Disagree on Psychological State of Norwegian Killer

Psychiatrists evaluating the Norwegian man who killed 77 people this summer have diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenic psychosis. But a number of forensic psychiatrists disagree. They believe he has a narcissistic personality disorder — and can therefore be held responsible for his actions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Late Roman Empire Was Not the Twilight of Popular Myth

By Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith

Far from being chaotic, Late Antiquity was stable and confident right up until the late 5th century

The ever excellent Ed West has this to say over at Telegraph blogs, while speaking about our current decline:

There are, of course, many other similarities between our age and the late Roman Empire: a declining birth rate, especially marked among upper-class women; a collapse in religious belief and the growth of a more vital and passionate monotheistic faith from the Middle East; a shrunken attachment to the ideal of the country — patriotism — and increased attachment to the state, a state which virtually all ambitious, educated people wished to work for.

It is perhaps something of a truism to compare our own age with the period of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Funnily enough, when researching my thesis, which had a chapter about Saint Augustine, I read quite a lot about what historians call Late Antiquity. Late Antiquity is a fascinating period, and for two reasons. Firstly, it is full of surprises, and secondly it is full of excellent sources, chief of which to my mind is Augustine himself. We know more about Augustine than any other ancient person (with the possible exception of the Emperor Julian) and through him we find a point of entry into the world of Late Antiquity; it is only hundreds of years later that we have a similar insight into what people were thinking and feeling, when we reach the confessional writings of the seventeenth century.

So, what can we learn from the twilight of the Roman Empire? For a start, it is a mistake to think of it as a twilight. The Empire was substantially intact at the death of Theodosius the Great in 395, and even after 410, when Rome had been sacked by Alaric the Goth, Augustine makes clear in The City of God that he thinks that Rome, though suffering a reverse, is by no means defeated. Indeed, contemporary historians now think that while the fall of the North African provinces was a huge blow, which occurred in the year of Augustine’s death, 430 AD, it was only the two subsequent failures to win them back, in 461 and 468, that doomed the West. So, even into the second half of the fifth century, people in the Roman Empire may well have been confident that the Empire was going to survive, just as it had survived the very difficult period in the third century before the accession of Diocletian.

What is very clear from reading Augustine, and even Jerome, is a strong sense of belief that these men had in the Roman idea, which was for them summed up in Virgil’s immortal line put into the mouth of Jupiter: Imperium sine fine dedi. “I grant them imperial rule without end.” Augustine and Jerome were Christians, but this idea made perfect sense to them. Rome was immortal, granted immorality not by Jupiter but by Divine Providence. Moreover, the other Virgilian tag about Rome’s role in the world, Parcere victis et debellare superbos — “to spare the vanquished and to conquer the proud” — would have made perfect sense to Christians as well.

So the world of Late Antiquity, it seems to me, had a very clear idea of itself and what it was for. This, it strikes me, is in marked contrast to our own world, which may talk of values, but rarely says what those values are. But if that is the case, why did the Western Empire collapse, for collapse it undoubtedly did? The real reason, as far as I can judge from my reading, was internal weakness caused by incessant civil wars. Roman fought Roman until the Western Empire effectively ran out of troops. The Eastern Empire was much less prone to Emperor assassination, usurpation and civil strife. But the West was essentially destroyed by its own military rulers. Alaric, after all, was, though barbarian born, a Roman general, in the pay of the Roman Empire, who sacked the City because he had not been properly paid. One of the Western Empire’s last effective military leaders was Stilicho — half Vandal, but emphatically Roman — murdered by his own son-in-law the ineffectual Emperor Honorius. These people, Goths and Vandals, did not want to destroy the Empire, rather they wanted to take it over from within, and by the fifth century had more or less succeeded. Stilicho was a pretty good ruler and general, but internal divisions did for him. In the sixth century Italy was to be devastated not by Goths, but by Justinian’s Roman armies, trying to reconquer the peninsula for the government in Constantinople.

Jerome, incidentally, in one of his letters, laments the fact that the Empire trusted men like Stilicho; I think the Empire’s mistake was not in trusting Stilicho, but not in trusting him enough. He might just have saved the West. But what are the lessons for us? Going back to Ed West’s concerns about immigration and asylum seekers, people who come to Europe from Afghanistan generally do so, I would have thought, because they want what Europe has, rather than because they wish to destroy Europe from within. Yes, there are Trojan horses in our midst, but these people are relatively few and far between; the vast majority of immigrants want to integrate, surely, as much as Alaric and Stilicho did. I am reminded of something a lady who knew a great deal about the Middle East said to me at the time of Rowan Williams’s now famous Sharia Law speech. She told me she had had women ringing her up all day, all saying the same thing: “Doesn’t the Archbishop realise that we came to Britain in order to get away from the oppression of Sharia? And now the very person who should be resisting Sharia is trying to force us back into it.” If you have read this far, you might agree with me that this is a long and rambling post. My conclusion is that like Augustine, we need to have confidence in our national myth; without it, we are lost. But we are not lost yet.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Is Religion in Terminal Decline in Britain?

by Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari

Is religion fading in Britain? According to the latest influential British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA), just released this December, half of us Brits do not belong to any religious grouping or affiliation. What’s more, more than half (56%) of those who identify themselves as belonging to a religion never attend religious services. The ratio gets worse for the young: 65% of 18-24 year olds do not affiliate to a religion, compared with 55% of the same age group (18-27) in 1983. Previous reports had already raised a number of interesting issues to humanists and a number of challenges to faith communities. Between 1983 and 2009 British attitudes towards religion, Christianity in particular, shifted significantly. For example, those who professed no-religion rose from 31% in 1983 to 51% in 2009. Those who identified as Christian fell from 66% in 1983 to 43% in 2009. And those who identified as belonging to ‘other’ religions rose from 2% in 1983 to 5% in 2009. Perhaps less surprising was that women, the old and less educated were more religious compared to men, young and better educated people.

There is no dearth of people who, with gleeful smiles, have long-expected that religion will have a slow but certain demise. The growth of New Atheism has joined a chorus of humanists and secularists advocating that religion should be “countered, criticised, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises”. In 2008 a group of them came up with a £140,000 advertisement campaign on London’s bendy buses and across England, Scotland and Wales, with the message that “there is probably no God…now stop worrying and enjoy your life”. In a tit for tat advertisement the Christian Party came up with the rebuttal: “There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life”. Ignore the word “probably” and “definitely” from these adverts and you expose a great divide that splits the population down the middle.

It is true this decline of religion is not only in Britain, but across Western Europe. According to the Centre for the Study on Global Christianity at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts: “Every major religion except Islam is declining in Western Europe.” What we are talking about here the decline of organised religions that have existed for millennia (not the new religious movements, beliefs, faiths or cults). To be more specific, for Europe, this is about the three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — all originating from the same source, Prophet Abraham’s pure monotheism. In spite of some secondary differences on theology and rituals, these three religions have left a legacy at the heart of European life. Britain having a predominantly Christian legacy, any shift in social attitude towards religion here is primarily about Christianity. However, as Judaism and Islam are now integral parts of British life, the social trend affects them as well. And in our hurry to distance ourselves from religion’s failings, we ignore its many successes too — particularly in a time of social hurt and economic confusion, when the need for belief and belonging is more crucial than ever. We risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater, if you will.

Take the issue of education. Education is at the heart of human progress. There would be little or no modern education system without the Biblical (New and Old) Testaments, as well as the Qur’anic injunctions ‘to learn’. Monasteries, synagogues and mosques have been at the heart of the historical educational infrastructure that has helped shape the learning we have today. The cross-fertilisation of the pedagogy and philosophy of Christian Europe with the Islamic world shaped European Renaissance and Enlightenment. Al-Khwarizmi invented algebra to work out religious inheritance laws, whilst Isaac Newton wanted to discover and describe the perfect mathematical order of the Creation. Religion provided the inspiration for their works. Any Muslim with basic Islamic knowledge would be aware that the first revealed word of the Qur’an was ‘Read’. Albert Einstein in his speech, ‘My Credo’, in 1932 said: “To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is a something that our mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as a feeble reflection, this is religiousness. In this sense I am religious.” (Einstein: A Life in Science, Michael White and John Gribbin, p. 262)

No-one can deny the fact that religion has been used to create intolerance, not only between people but within the same religious groupings, too. Europe faced this in the past; the Inquisition and Spanish Reconquista were blots on its history. The sectarian killings among Muslims in some countries and Al-Qaeda’s terrorism in recent times remind us how Islam is constantly in danger of being used in un-Islamic way. In fact, all religions can be used to foster fanaticism and hatred. While this is unacceptable, we should not accuse religion itself per se. The fact is, in human history more killings and cruelty had been carried out for political conquests, economic greed, perverted sense of nationalistic or racial superiority and ideology than for any “religious” notion. Religion is often a convenient scapegoat used by those who wish to cloak their actions in some form of righteousness, by rulers who wish to stir up a populace. The 20th century wars, destruction, banishment of people, ethnic cleansing and other cruelty has surpassed probably all the so-called ‘religious’ atrocities of the past.

As for the question whether God exists or not, this has perturbed the human mind throughout time, including even Abraham’s quest for God. Is there any scientific or empirical evidence to prove or disprove this existence? There is none. Science is not in the business of finding ‘truth’, let alone finding God. Science is about statistical probabilities based upon the experimental evidence. All scientific experimentation is subject to errors, because of confounding factors and multiple parameters. The ‘truth’ of Newtonian physics was no longer held to be absolute once it was taken over by Einsteinian physics. However this ‘truth’ of the last century is now being questioned because of the recent experiments at CERN (in search of the so-called Higgs Boson “god particle”). When a new ‘truth’ comes up, the previous ‘truth’ gives way. There cannot be orthodoxy in science.

The nature of the scientific method — which has undoubtedly led to much technological advancement over the few centuries — is that it cannot answer many questions, let alone the most difficult question of the existence of God. Probability, not truth, is science’s language and jargon. An empirical approach can never answer the question whether or not the universe was created by an external force or whether it emerged from forces within itself. One cannot test this scenario. The most that those who reject the idea of a creator can offer are ‘theories’. This is not about rubbishing science and its method: I come from a background in Physics. Nor is it to deny the respect for those who try hard to understand the processes that drive the universe and the nature of things — as Newton and Einstein both did in their time. It is about reminding ourselves of the limitations of science and conclusions one can infer from it. To apply science beyond its remit is bound to bring unnecessary disrepute to both itself and its practitioners.

The question is how does religion know that there is definitely a God? Well, there is no ‘proof’ here either. Religion starts with belief, based on the same message from all the Prophets who were known as truthful in their life. Religions, particularly Islam, demand critical autonomy from its adherents in order to see the observable world, the ‘ayat’ or signs in the creation. Prophet Abraham observed these signs, used his critical autonomy, and ‘discovered’ God. The Qur’an is replete with exhortation to keep an open mind, observe, reflect, contemplate and act for the benefit of all humans and the creation. Religion’s premise is different from that of science. Religion, when properly understood, brings ease of heart and mind and teaches love and care for all. People of faith are less likely to suffer from the confusion of ‘uncertainty’ in life.

Religion may be on the decline in Europe, but it is flourishing among some communities and in many other parts of the world. Religion can be a source of tranquil hearts and inspiration for fight against tyranny, inequality and injustice. For arguments sake, even if there is no God, human beings need one to behave responsibly on Earth.

* Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is a parenting consultant (www.amanaparenting.com). He is a founding member of The East London Communities Organisation (TELCO), Chairman of the East London Mosque Trust, and former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10).

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.

[JP note: I imagine all articles by Bari should come with the spurious disclaimer that he is not an extremist.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Lutfuhr Rahman Cabinet Member: I Luv My Weapons

Oh dear — here’s the social networking website that Cllr Rania Khan forgot! The picture above, of a rather ferocious-looking hand dagger, is taken from Rania’s pages on the “Hi5” site. In the caption beneath it, Lutfur Rahman’s cabinet member for culture declares: “This is wat i m takin about. I knw its not lady like, but i luv my weapons.” However many “weapons” has Rania got, I wonder? The one in the pic alone is almost certainly worth two years if she’s caught with it in the street…

There’s also a delightful outbreak of homophobia (completely unprecedented on Planet Rahman, of course.) Beneath a shot of a young man with his arm round another one, Rania tenderly declares: “My cozn’s gone batty brav.” Batty is of course slang for gay in leading progressive circles, such as school playgrounds, English Defence League demonstrations, and the vocabularies of Lutfur Rahman supporters. And I’m sure the reason the two lads are holding a rose in their picture can’t be anything to do with mocking other people’s sexual orientation.

Other pictures on Rania’s site include one of the extremist cleric Zakir Naik, banned from Britain after saying that “every Muslim should be a terrorist,” and Rania herself with publicity material from the hardline Islamic Human Rights Commission, which busies itself with attacking the prosecution of such notable victims of British imperialism as — er- Abu Hamza. Visit soon before she takes them down! Rania was a keynote speaker at last month’s Fem 11 conference; one of the top subjects on the agenda was defeating violence against women. The possession of instruments of violence by women, however, seems to be something she’s held rather more mixed views on. Let’s hope Rania has grown up a bit since posting these pics — they are six years old. But when she put them up, she was only a few months off becoming a councillor. And her ghastly English is almost as bad for someone who’s supposed to be promoting high cultural standards. None of it will do much for Lutfur’s attempts to deny his links to Islamic extremism. Is there a single member of the mayor’s inner circle, I wonder, who is not a complete embarrassment?

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Muslims’ Anger Over Off-Licence Go-Ahead — Community Leaders Say They Have “Not Been Listened to”

Leaders of the Muslim community have said they have “not been listened to” by Town Hall licensing chiefs in a row over a new off-licence in Finsbury Park. The licensing committee granted permission for Finsbury Supermarket, in Seven Sisters Road, to sell alcohol last Thursday despite a petition by 750 people opposing the bid. The shop is next door to Muslim Welfare House bookshop and near Finsbury Park Central Mosque. Toufic Kacimi, director of Muslim Welfare House, stressed it was not a religious issue, but rather one about good neighbours. He said objectors were not represented properly at last week’s hearing, as they did not understand the procedure and could not match a solicitor hired by the grocery store. “We don’t want a war with our neighbours but that’s what’s happening,” he said. “This problem wouldn’t have happened if the panel had listened to our concerns properly, because a lot of people in this area have the same concerns about crime rising if there is more alcohol sold here.”

Muslim Welfare House has said it will now approach Town Hall Labour leader Councillor Catherine West and Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn with its concerns. “We have already had issues with a broken bottle being left nearby since they started selling alcohol on Friday,” Mr Kacimi added. Finsbury Supermarket owner Kayar Mustafa said the shop would insist on identification from “even those who are clearly over 18” and would refuse to serve drunks. It has cost us a lot of money to fight Muslim Welfare House, and we are just small businessmen trying to make a living,” he added. “We had a delay to our alcohol licence for a month when Muslim Welfare House decided to take us to the Town Hall and that cost us £10,000 in total. We cannot afford that again.” Cllr West said: “I am very happy to talk to Muslim Welfare House and I can understand the problem. We want to protect the community and in general there is a link between alcohol and crime levels.” Mr Corbyn said he would be meeting Muslim Welfare House to discuss the issue. “There are already plenty of off-licences in Finsbury Park,” he added.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: No Penalty for London Blogger Calling for Attacks on Jews…

Antisemitic blogger escapes prison term

A London blogger who wrote that Jews must be “attacked wherever you see them” on the Scotsman newspaper’s website has escaped jail, after pleading guilty to posting the comments.

Mohammed Sandia from Wembley said Jews were a “genetically mutated inbred tribe. Jews are not fit to breathe our air and should be attacked wherever we see them. Throw rocks at their ugly, hooked-nosed women and mentally ill children, and light up the real ovens.”

He changed his plea to guilty after initially denying the charges in November 2010. Sheriff Gordon Liddell expressed regret he could not impose a longer custodial sentence, suggesting a short sentence would “only have the effect of turning you, in your own eyes, and in the eyes of your supporters, into a martyr. I choose not to do that.”

Sheriff Liddell opted to defer sentencing for 12 months. Last week, Sandia appeared again in court, and was admonished — leaving him with a criminal record but no substantive penalty.

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities director Ephraim Borowski welcomed the sentence as an “outspoken condemnation of Sandia’s outrageous and abhorrent postings on the Scotsman website, and a clear signal that the law will not tolerate the abuse of freedom of speech to spread hatred.”

Mr Borowski’s deputy director, Leah Granat, said: “The police and prosecutors have been fantastic — this case breaks new ground in establishing that the distributed nature of the internet does not offer protection from prosecution. The Scotsman is in Edinburgh, complaints were made in Glasgow, and Sandia was posting in London.

“This required cross-border co-operation to track down the computer [of the poster] and who it was used by. “

The Scotsman’s digital editor, Stephen Emerson, said that Sandia’s posts had been removed “five minutes after being posted.

“We make every effort to ensure offensive comments are removed promptly from the site, and co-operated fully with police throughout this investigation.”

           — Hat tip: Freedom Fighter [Return to headlines]



UK: Oh, All Right, Just One More Time …

Well, people do keep asking for another look at this little number… The colourful orange character, incidentally, has just been signed up by Catholic Voices, where he’ll feel very much at home.

PS: Some people have asked why I’ve had a go at Catholic Voices. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, since there are so many decent young Catholics supporting it — but I don’t trust the organisers.

Tags: Archbishop of Canterbury, Muppets

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Rabbi Defends His London Citizens Involvement

Senior Masorti rabbi, Jonathan Wittenberg, has robustly defended his participation in last week’s London Citizens multi-faith event, which was also attended by senior members of the East London Mosque. Rabbi Wittenberg maintained that had he not attended “there would be no Jewish voice at all. There are people in this country who never hear a Jewish voice. The face of the Jew is very easily demonised.” He acknowledged that he had never directly challenged the views of London Citizens’ deputy chair, Junaid Ahmed of East London Mosque, who gave a speech at the height of Operation Cast Lead paying tribute to Hamas terrorists. Rabbi Wittenberg said he did not realise which members of the ELM would be at the London Citizens event in a Hackney church last week. He did not and had never intended to go on the “multi-faith peace procession” with the mosque’s chairman, Mohammed Abdel Bari, and had only attended the service afterwards, where he gave a short talk on Chanucah and lit a candle. He said he did not “seek to confront people with a record of difficult views” like Mr Bari or Mr Ahmed, but would challenge abhorrent views if he were presented with them directly. “The Middle East has never, ever come up for discussion. We discuss what’s good for citizens of London.I am cautious. I have boundaries. I do not, consciously, share platforms with people who preach hate. That might even include fellow Jews. It happens, because occasionally, I am confronted by something I don’t expect, and then I consider it my duty as a Jew to challenge it. To hide away also has its dangers.”

Of Mr Ahmed’s views on Hamas, Rabbi Wittenberg said: “I was not involved in following that up, but nor did I at any point endorse his views, I certainly do not. I find them abhorrent.”

But he added: “The difficulty comes when you are invited to be somewhere, you don’t know who else will be there. At what point do you say no? It’s not a simple question. “Do you say: ‘I won’t come because in the place where somebody else worships, a year ago, something bad was said’? My view is sometimes one has to take risks, but should never do things that undermine the integrity of Judaism.” Some members of Rabbi Wittenberg’s New North London Synagogue have spoken in favour of his involvement. Micah Gold, who is also a member of the Citizens Group, said: “The East London Mosque is a legitimate Muslim community serving and supporting thousands of Muslims struggling to get on in the poor East End of London — some of our families know what that was like.”

[JP note: Useful idiot.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Tunisia: Judiciary Lifts Charges on Arafat’s Widow

Had been accused of attempted corruption by Trabelsi clan

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 23 — Sohua Arafat, the widow of Palestinian leader Yasser, is no longer under the arrest warrant issued in October by the Tunis court, according to the French-language Tunisian paper Le Quotidien. Yasser Arafat’s widow had been accused — after statements made by members of Leila Trabelsi’s (wife of former Tunisian president Ben Ali) clan later proving false — of attempted corruption as part of the building of the Carthage international school. After being charged Sohua Arafat left Tunis, where she had been living for a long time, for Malta to then move to Egypt, where she is currently staying.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


How Can We Remain Silent While Christians Are Being Persecuted?

A new evil is sweeping the Middle East and the Foreign Office is failing to confront it.

Father Immanuel Dabaghian, one of Baghdad’s last surviving priests, is expecting a quiet Christmas. To join him in the Church of the Virgin Mary means two hours of security checks and a body search at the door, and even then there’s no guarantee of survival. Islamist gunmen massacred 58 people in a nearby church last year, and fresh graffiti warns remaining worshippers that they could be next. The Americans have gone now, and Iraq’s Christian communities — some of the world’s oldest — are undergoing an exodus on a biblical scale.

Of the country’s 1.4 million Christians, about two thirds have now fled. Although the British Government is reluctant to recognise it, a new evil is sweeping the Middle East: religious cleansing. The attacks, which peak at Christmas, have already spread to Egypt, where Coptic Christians have seen their churches firebombed by Islamic fundamentalists. In Tunisia, priests are being murdered. Maronite Christians in Lebanon have, for the first time, become targets of bombing campaigns. Christians in Syria, who have suffered as much as anyone from the Assad regime, now pray for its survival. If it falls, and the Islamists triumph, persecution may begin in earnest.

The idea of Christianity as a kind of contagion that is foreign to the Arab world is bizarre: it is, of course, a Middle Eastern religion successfully exported to the pagan West. Those feet, in ancient times, came nowhere near England’s mountains green. The Nativity is a Middle Eastern story about a child born to a Jewish mother, whose first visitors were three wise Iranians and who was then swept off to Egypt to escape Roman persecution. His Apostles later scattered to Libya, Turkey and Iraq, to establish the Christian communities that are now under threat. For most of history, they have coexisted happily with Muslims: dressing the same way, even celebrating each other’s festivals. The rise of the veil, and other cultural dividing lines, is a relatively modern phenomenon.

These dividing lines are now being made into battle lines by hardline Salafists, who are emerging as victors of the Arab Spring. They belong to the same mutant strain of Sunni Islam which inspired al-Qaeda. Their agenda is sectarian warfare, and they loathe Shia Islam as much as they do Christians and Jews. Their enemy lies not over a border, but in a church, synagogue or Shia mosque. The Salafists may be detested by the Muslim mainstream. But as they are finding out, you don’t need to be popular to seize power in a post-dictatorship Arab world — you just need to be the best organised. The West is so obsessed with government structure that it doesn’t notice when power lies elsewhere, and Islamist death squads are executing barbers and unveiled women in places like Basra. Two years ago, the idea of such bloody sectarianism would have sounded like a macabre fantasy in a country as civilised as Egypt. After al-Qaeda bombed a church on New Year’s Day, Muslim elders sat in the front pews forming a human shield and defying the terrorists. But moderate Egyptians are now losing this power struggle. The killing has started, with another 25 Copts murdered in October. Tens of thousands of Egypt’s Christians have already joined their Iraqi counterparts in exile: as Iraq proved, one death can lead to a thousand emigrations. The Salafists are finding it staggeringly easy to realise their fantasy of a “purer” Egypt.

The Arab Spring was always going to mean danger for religious minorities, unleashing the Islamic extremists who previously were kept at bay. For all their evil, the old secular tyrants abused their victims equally, whether they wore the cross, hijab or skullcap. This year’s revolutions are marked by the utter absence of any leaders-in-waiting. History has repeatedly shown how, under such circumstances, regime change can be followed by a descent into sectarian chaos. Extremists can easily start fights along religious or ethnic lines by assassinating a leader, or blowing up a shrine. The result can be civil war (as with Bosnia and Rwanda), even leading to partition (as with India and Cyprus). The Foreign Office has been typically slow to recognise the gathering threat, despite repeated warnings. The biggest one of all came a fortnight ago, when the Archbishop of Canterbury opened a gripping debate in the Lords about the widening persecutions, and what the Government ought to do. Lord Patten, the former education secretary, revealed that he spent a year failing to persuade the Foreign Office to help a group of Anglicans in the Anatolian peninsula, who are banned from worshipping in any public place. “‘The answer was no,’ he said. ‘They would not approach the Turkish government to ask, ‘Please can you ease up a bit?’“ But when German Catholics were having trouble in the same place, Angela Merkel’s government intervened immediately, working with the Turks to send a Catholic priest to hold public worship.

So why the British reticence? It might be that the Foreign Office sees this as part of a soppy equalities agenda, unworthy of diplomatic attention. Those who have raised the issue directly with William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, say he is unenthusiastic. When Mr Hague visited Algeria recently, he did not raise its ban on any Christian activity outside state-licensed buildings. When challenged, ministers deplore persecution in general — but, seemingly, not so much that they’d do something like pick up the phone to Ankara. Yet there is plenty Britain can do. Countries could be denied aid until Christians (or Jews, or Sunnis) are allowed to worship freely. British diplomats could be empowered, even instructed, to advocate freedom of religion. When a peer of the realm alerts the Foreign Office to some persecuted Anglicans, a red alert ought to sound. Mr Hague might even publish an annual audit of religious freedom in various countries, making clear its importance to Britain. It might make its own estimate about the scale of the flood of refugees.

The Foreign Office did not realise the full evil of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans until it was too late: it did not take civil tensions seriously enough. It can do better now, making clear that it regards religious cleansing as an emerging evil that ought to be confronted wherever it is being incubated. Article 18 of the UN Charter of Human Rights guarantees freedom of religion — and yet outright religious oppression is quietly ignored, from Saudi Arabia to the Maldives. For ages, Iran has been able to persecute Baha’is with a minimum of fuss kicked up in the West. The ayatollahs are now turning the screw on Christians, with 300 arrested in the past year. Speaking in that House of Lords debate were men to whom the idea of religious cleansing is anything but abstract. Lord (Dolar) Popat fled Uganda when Idi Amin turned on the Indians in 1971. Hindus, he said, are taught that it is a sin to be prejudiced against anyone. But it is “an even greater sin to witness persecution, then sit back and do nothing to stop it”. Lord Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, said his parents were once victims of the same evil that now confronts Christians. He quoted Martin Luther King: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” Our friends in the Middle East are all waiting to hear from HM Government. Perhaps, in the new year, it might have something to say.

[Reader comment by andredestmartin on 23 December 2011 at approx. 09:52 am.]

A noted historian, commenting on the policy of HMG in the 19th century remarked that: “The Foreign Office always preferred the gentleman Turk to the swarthy Christian.” And so it was, after the First World War, that the allies stood idly by, watching the Christians of Asia Minor being massacred in Smyrna, and then arranged for the remnants to be moved to Greece. In the Second World War, the Germans managed to cleanse Kosovo of most of its Christians, but the job had to be finished off by NATO just over ten years ago. The Christians in Iraq were protected by Sadddam Hussein, but the West finished him off, leaving the Christians to their fate; and now most of the remaing governments in the Middle East which were not actively persecuting Christians have fallen. Outside the Lebanon, only Assad remains, but it looks as though he won’t last long. I don’t believe the Governments of Britain or America are in any way capable of helping the Christians of the Middle East, except, perhaps, to allow them to settle in the West as refugees. What is happening now is simply the logical culmination of policies which go back centuries. In fact, since the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the political interests of the West have never really favoured the well being of Oriental Christians.

[JP note: HM Government will remain silent — this is after all the hyper-dhimmi UK and it would not do to upset the masters.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Inside Syria’s Death Zone: Assad’s Regime Hunts People in Homs

The regime in Damascus is using snipers to hunt down its own people. Rebels on the ground in besieged Homs, the site of some of the most extreme brutality, say the international community is hesitating to help Syrians out of fear that it will trigger a civil war. But the threat is merely propaganda from ruler Bashar Assad, they claim.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Saudi Arabia’s Invisible Hand in the Arab Spring

How the Kingdom is Wielding Influence Across the Middle East

by John R. Bradley

On October 4, a brief, ominous release came from the state-controlled Saudi Press Agency in Riyadh acknowledging that there had been violent clashes in the eastern city of Qatif between restive Shiites and Saudi security forces. It reported that “a group of instigators of sedition, discord and unrest” had assembled in the heart of the kingdom’s oil-rich region, armed with Molotov cocktails. As authorities cleared the protesters, 11 officers were wounded. The government made clear it would respond to any further dissent by “any mercenary or misled person” with “an iron fist.” Meanwhile, it pointed the finger of blame for the riots at a “foreign country,” a thinly veiled reference to archrival Iran.

Saudi Arabia has played a singular role throughout the Arab Spring. With a guiding hand — and often an iron fist — Riyadh has worked tirelessly to stage manage affairs across the entire region. In fact, if there was a moment of the Arab revolt that sounded the death knell for a broad and rapid transition to representative government across the Middle East, it came on the last day of February, when Saudi tanks rolled across the border to help put down the mass uprising that threatened the powers that be in neighboring Bahrain. The invasion served an immediate strategic goal: The show of force gave Riyadh’s fellow Sunni monarchy in Manama the muscle it needed to keep control of its Shia-majority population and, in turn, its hold on power.

But that was hardly the only advantage King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud gained. The aggression quelled momentum in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich eastern province among the newly restive Shia minority who had been taking cues from Bahrain. The column of tanks also served as a symbolic shot across the bow of Iran: The brazen move was a clear signal from Riyadh to every state in the Middle East that it would stop at nothing, ranging from soft diplomacy to full-on military engagement, in its determination to lead a region-wide counterrevolution…

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



Syria: Damascus Suicide Attack; State TV Blames Al Qaeda

40 killed,100 injured; 14 killed in ongoing repression,activists

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT — A few hours after the arrival in the Syrian capital this morning of the first team of Arab League observers tasked with preparing the ground for the entire Arab League mission, the centre of the city was shaken this morning by two bomb attacks which Syrian state-run television claims were carried out by two Al Qaeda-linked suicide bombers. The provisional death toll stands at 40 dead and over 100 injured. In contrast with the nearby Lebanon and Iraq, Syria has rarely seen suicide attacks, and today’s has occurred in an extremely tense situation in the country, after ten months of anti-regime protests violently repressed (over 5,000 killed according to UN figures) which over the past few weeks has led to armed uprisings in some regions, such as Homs, Deraa and Idlib. Today, as has become usual every Friday on the day of Muslim community prayer, protests are underway in a number of parts of the country and anti-regime activists report that at least 14 civilians were killed this morning — for the most part in Homs — on the “Friday of the Death Protocol”: the name is in reference to the protocol signed by the Arab League and Syria on the details of the Arab League observers mission.(

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

South Asia


The Perils of Journalism in Pakistan: Living in Fear of Intelligence Agents

For the second year in a row, Reporters Without Borders has named Pakistan the most deadly country in the world for journalists. The biggest threat is not terrorists, but the intelligence service, a prominent talk show moderator alleges. The same man just received an ominous warning via text message.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Australia — Pacific


New Zealand: Sonny Bill Misses Out on Muslims’ Top 500 Listing

Senior Islamic figures here say they are disappointed that All Black Sonny Bill Williams failed to make this year’s list of 500 most influential Muslims ranked by the Royal Islamic Strategic Centre in Jordan. Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand senior vice-president Javed Khan said a formal letter would be written to the centre advising them of “the existence of New Zealand’s Muslim superstar” and ensuring Williams makes next year’s list. The only New Zealand Muslim to make this year’s list is federation president Anwar Ghani, who appears alongside Muslim kings, preachers and sheikhs. The top 50 were ranked, with the other 450 named in 14 categories such as scholarly, political, business, media and celebrities and sports stars. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah again topped the list and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI climbed from fifth last year to second place. Mr Ghani was named under the “administration of religious affairs category” for agents of change responsible for founding or directing institutions that influence the religious affairs of Muslims.

The centre described Mr Ghani as having done “considerable work” in “building bridges with the Government as well as with the broader New Zealand population and leaders of other faiths”. Mr Khan said it was an honour for the federation’s president to make the rankings twice in a row, but Williams also deserved to be on the list. “Sonny Bill Williams is probably the most famous Muslim in New Zealand and, in a Rugby World Cup year, has brought the faith to prominence,” Mr Khan said. Williams converted to Islam in 2008 after attending prayer services at a Sydney mosque. “I think the only reason he was not included in the list is because these people are not aware of the existence of New Zealand’s Muslim superstar and we’ll be writing to them to make sure he’s there next year.”

MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS

1   King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia (1 last year)
2   King Mohammed VI of Morocco (5)
3   Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey (2)
4   King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of Jordan (4)
5   Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran (3)
     
    Influential Muslim celebrities and sports stars
     
1   Zinedine Zidane, soccer (France)
2   Muhammad Ali, boxing (USA)
3   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball (USA)
4   Hashim Amla, cricket (South Africa)
5   Ma Yue, wushu (China)

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Nigeria: 2 ANPP Members Denied Bail for Crticising Kwankwaso

Two prominent members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) publicity committee for Kano State, Shehu Isa Direba and Anas Abba Dala are facing trial before a Sharia Court for criticising Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso’s directive to all former local government council bosses and for alleged slander against the governor’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Yunusa Dangwani. The two politicians were denied bail twice — Wednesday and yesterday, even after several entreaties to secure their freedom. The duo were first arrested and detained at Nassarawa Police Division within the Kano metropolis about two weeks ago but were later released on bail, following the intervention of some ANPP chieftains in Kano.

At the court’s sitting yesterday, the two politicians were arraigned before the Unguwa Uku Sharia Court for alleged utterances capable of inciting the public against the state government. Shehu Direba on a radio political programme had criticised the governor’s directive that all former council chairmen during the Shekarau-led administration should return their official vehicles, while Dala on the same platform, alleged that the doctorate degree the chief of staff to Governor Kwankwaso claimed to have acquired was not academically acquired. Direba, in his comment said the former council bosses did not commit any offence by not returning the official vehicles allocated to them since “the law clearly provides for that” and therefore, urged them not to return the vehicles.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Immigration


UK: Illegal Immigrant Who Hacked Off Neighbour’s Head With Meat Cleaver Has His Sentence CUT by Six Years

An illegal immigrant who raped a nanny and decapitated his neighbour had his life sentence cut by six years today.

Algerian Mohamed Boudjenane, 49, assaulted the Filipina woman and shaved off her hair before killing Lakhdar Ouyahia, 43, in the belief the two were having an affair.

Boudjenane was captured on CCTV carrying the head of Mr Ouyahia in a plastic bag on a bus to Regents Canal in Maida Vale, West London.

The headless corpse was found wrapped in a duvet two days later at the back of a supermarket near Boudjenane’s home in Kilburn, North-West London.

The Algerian showed police where he had thrown the head in a canal and police divers recovered it from the water.

But he claimed he had no memory of hitting Mr Ouyahia with a hammer and hacking off his head with a meat cleaver.

Boudjenane was convicted of murder, two counts of rape and false imprisonment by an Old Bailey jury in 2008.

It also emerged Boudjenane was still claiming dole when he should have been thrown out of the country in 2001.

Judge Christopher Moss QC jailed the Algerian for life, with a minimum term of 22 years.

But the murder conviction was quashed last year after the Court of Appeal ruled the trial judge had misdirected the jury on psychiatric evidence.

When the case was referred back to the Old Bailey in September this year, Boudjenane pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

The Recorder of London, Judge Peter Beaumont QC, jailed him for life with a minimum term of 16 years after hearing he suffered from a ‘paranoid and delusional disorder’ at the time of the killing.

He said: ‘Given the extreme nature of the violence perpetrated both before and in carrying out the killing, the protection of the public, and indeed the elimination of risk to the public, is paramount.’

However, the fresh psychiatric evidence meant there should be a ‘substantial reduction’ in the minimum term originally imposed, he added.

The sentence will run concurrently with the 15-year jail term imposed in 2008 for the rape and false imprisonment offences.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


The War on Christmas is Real, And the Atheist Barbarians Are Winning it

There are two wars on Christmas: one public and baloney, one conceptual and terrifying. The first usually involves a group of “Bah! Humbug!” atheists trying to ruin everybody’s fun. Take this story from Santa Monica, California. For decades Palisades Park has displayed traditional religious tableaux at Christmas — the Virgin and Child, the three wise men, shepherds etc. But this year a lottery system was introduced to allow other religious groups to compete for spaces. Incredibly, a bunch of atheists won and were permitted to put up images of Satan, Jesus and Father Christmas, with the tagline: “37 million Americans know a myth when they see one… What myths do you see?” All good family fun.

Anti-social displays of bad taste are becoming common in the United States of America. The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue reports the following outrages: “In a South Carolina cancer center, a 67-year-old volunteer Santa was evicted because of the “different cultures and beliefs of the patients we care for” … In an elementary school in Stockton, California, poinsettias were banned but somehow snowmen were permitted; they justified their censorship by saying there was a Sikh temple in the city … A skeleton St. Nick was found hanging from a cross on the grounds of the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg, Virginia.”

Getting over-excited about this sort of thing is, of course, exactly what the perpetrators want. The kind of tragic busybody who takes the time to write a letter protesting a display of poinsettias as an affront to multicultural tolerance probably spends Christmas horribly alone and is just desperate for attention. The best thing to do is to ignore them (as so many public officials have done). Or else, you could wait until they fall asleep after a marathon Battlestar Galatica session and then cover their entire front lawn in a pattern of poinsettias that reads, “Merry Christmas.”

More worrying is the insidious conversion of the religious festival of Christmas into a purely cultural phenomenon. Christians on both sides of the Atlantic have noticed with dismay that the commercial aspects of the season have been elevated (I saw crackers on sale in September) while its spiritual dimension has been squeezed out of the public sphere. I’ve said it before and I’ll write it again: the Founding Fathers never intended for faith to be excluded from public or political life. America might lack England’s established church or continental Europe’s pervasive Catholicism, but it was founded by Christians along Christian principles with the express intention of building a more Christian commonwealth. It is, at risk of sounding pedantic, a Christian nation in all but its absence of national church.

And yet the decision to ban members of the US House of Representatives from using the words “Merry Christmas” when addressing their constituents speaks volumes about the changing status of Christianity in American society. In the last few decades, it has been relegated to one religion among many, while the festival celebrating the birth of its founder has become a jolly excuse for a day off work. Modern Christmas, for most people, is about as sacramental as St. Patrick’s Day. The subversion of Christmas has as much to do with free market consumerism as it does the judicial conspiracies of the Left. Liberal preacher Eric D Barreto, writing for HuffPo, makes this wise observation, “When the Christmas season begins with pepper spray and shoving matches on Black Friday, when physical altercations break out over parking spots at the mall, when we obsess about the language of Christmas rather than its meaning, then we have certainly lost our way.” Thinking along similar lines, Christian skeptic Rachel Held Evans concludes, “The best thing that could happen to this country is for Christ to be taken out of Christmas — for Advent to be made distinct from all the consumerism of the holidays and for the name of Christ to be invoked in the context of shocking forgiveness, radical hospitality, and logic-defying love.”

But what Barreto and Evans miss is that the reduction of Christmas to profit is inseparable from a concerted intellectual effort to discredit Christianity as a worldview. Writing as guest editor of the New Statesman, Richard Dawkins — the Ayn Rand of the New Atheism — admits that he personally loves the “cultural legacy” of Christmas: “I’m happy to sing real carols, and in the unlikely event that anyone wants me to read a lesson I’ll gladly oblige — only from the King James Version, of course.” Dawkins has no intention of destroying Christmas. He would prefer to appropriate it and, by stripping it of its spirituality, reduce it from an experience of the divine to “just another holiday”. The world Richard Dawkins wants to live in is a little like the dinosaur room in a museum: full of the bare bones of old ideas, stripped of their flesh and devoid of life.

The real war on Christmas is not the effort to deprive it of a place in the public sphere, which is more like a set of small, localised skirmishes. No, the real war is the effort to strip the festival of its meaning. Christmas isn’t about brandy eggnog and mince pies, generous presents and bad TV. It’s about the birth of Jesus Christ. Take away that central truth and you are left with a holiday that lacks a message. Take away that message, and the system of morals that flows naturally from it, and you risk stripping America of its ethical foundation. There is no better example than the decision of the dean of Washington and Jefferson College to approve the display of a Christmas tree covered in condoms. This is the future: the joyless abuse of the hollow remnants of Western civilisation. It is a future that, like the rubber covered tree, points to sterility and death.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Walter Reed (Military Hospital) Accidentally Bans Bibles

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is backtracking on an order that banned family members from bringing Bibles and other religious materials to injured soldiers and a religious organization is demanding an explanation.

Issued on the date of the official consolidation of the region’s two military medical centers, the memo on visitor and patient policy contained a section stating “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.” The Sept. 14 memo came from the desk of Rear Adm. Matthew L. Nathan, commander of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

A spokeswoman for Walter Reed told The Washington Examiner on Friday that the policy was “written incorrectly,” and that a ban on religious items was never enforced.

“Family can and always have been able to bring in any religious materials,” said spokeswoman Sandy Dean, adding that the hospital provides chaplain services for many faiths.

The medical center rescinded the policy in early December after the Family Research Council brought it to the attention of several members of Congress who then contacted Walter Reed.

“It should have been more thoroughly reviewed,” Dean said.

But FRC President Tony Perkins is skeptical.

“If you can’t get it right in a memo [from the commander], who can you trust?” he said.

The religious organization has now filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for copies of all communications regarding the making of the policy.

The policy was signed by Nathan’s chief of staff, C.W. Callahan. But Dean said a “group of people” wrote the four-page memo and could not attribute the line on religious items to one person.

Dean said the policy’s intent was to “preserve people’s religious rights,” but many have lambasted the wording, saying it was a far cry from that intent.

Iowa Rep. Steve King, one of the Republican congressmen who initially contacted Walter Reed, said through a spokeswoman that he’s not surprised the medical center is taking weeks to rewrite its policy after rescinding it this month.

“It’d be easy for me to write it — but obviously they need someone other than the original author to come up with a new idea,” he said.

Dean said she did not immediately have an update on the status of the rewrite but said officials were being careful “that the policy we do come out with is respecting everyone’s religious rights.”

           — Hat tip: McR [Return to headlines]

General


I Lived as a Turkey for a Year

You lived with wild turkeys in rural Florida for over a year. How did it all begin?

I had been experimenting with the imprinting phenomenon — in which young animals become attached to the first moving object they encounter — for years, with many types of birds and mammals. Wild turkeys are difficult to come by, so when I lucked upon some wild turkey eggs I decided: OK, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Did you learn to talk “turkey”?

They sort of taught me their language. Researchers had identified 25 to 30 calls in wild turkeys that I was familiar with. But I learned that wild turkey vocabulary was much more complex than I had realised — within each of their calls were different inflexions that had specific meanings. For example, they had an alarm call for dangerous reptiles, but what I learned was that in that call there were specific inflexions that would identify a species of snake. Eventually when I heard a certain vocalisation I knew without question they had found a rattlesnake.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111222

Financial Crisis
» Banks Queue Up for Cheap ECB Loans
» Belgium Paralysed by 24-Hour Strike Over Pension Reform
» Global Depression Could Last Several Years: Medvedev
» Greece Turns to Energy as Its Economic Savior
» House Republican Leaders Agree to Payroll Tax Deal
» Huge Increase in East Europeans on Benefits
» Immigration to Germany From Debt-Wracked Euro States Soars
» In Eurozone, Year of Deleveraging Could Prove Dangerous
» New Economy Minister, From Lehman Collapse to Spain Crisis
 
USA
» A Vandalized Valley
» Controversial ‘Bird Flu’ Edits Move Ahead
» Stakelbeck: U.S. Hispanic Support for Israel Growing
» Study Linking Virus to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Retracted Amid Controversy
 
Europe and the EU
» Austria: Strache Plans Stronger Right-Wing Alliances
» Belgium: Farmers Take Ikea to Court
» Breivik Was Insane — Experts
» Dutch TV Hosts ‘To Cook and Eat Own Flesh’ On Air
» Dutch Population Will Hit 17 Million by 2016
» Europe’s Perishing Parishes: Dutchman Helps to Liquidate Dying Churches
» Finland Finds Missiles on Danish Ship Bound for China
» French Muslim Jailed for Punching Nurse Who Tried to Remove Wife’s Burqa During Childbirth
» Germany Court Finds Six Guilty of Carbon Tax Fraud
» Greece: Terrorism, New Group Claims Gas-Canister Attacks
» Italy: Cold Snap Causes Havoc Across Italy
» Italy: Pillar Collapses in Ancient Garden in Pompeii
» Latvian MPs Nix Russian Language, Paving Way to Plebiscite
» Six Jailed in EU-Wide Carbon Tax Conspiracy
» Spain: Tous Son-in-Law Facing Five Years for Shooting Burglar — Despite Jury Acquittal
» UK: Drunk Woman Falls Under Train at Barnsley Station
» UK: Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam at the British Museum
» UK: Insurers Urge Radical Security Rethink Following Metal Sculpture Theft
» UK: Lutfur Rahman Cabinet Member’s Company Owes Taxman £25,000, But Won’t Pay
» UK: Lutfur Rahman Council Suspends Ex-Leader After Complaint by Islamic Extremist
» UK: Students’ Unions ‘Must be Able to Veto Hate Speakers’
» UK: William Hague Has the ‘Frites Fraternity’ On the Run Across Whitehall
» UK: Why a Burka Ban Defends the Rights of Women
 
Balkans
» Serbia to Allow Freedom of Movement to Kosovo Citizens
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Pleasant and Unpleasant Surprise
» Libya: ‘Swift’ Enactment of Treaty Says Terzi
 
Middle East
» Armenian Genocide Bill ‘Betrays History’: Turkish Deputy PM
» Armenian Genocide Vote: Turkey Withdraws Ambassador From France
» Bomb Blasts Rock Baghdad as Political Crisis Deepens
» Iran Must Stop Persecuting Minority Religions
» Iraq’s Christians Near Extinction
 
Russia
» Bureaucrats Costly and Too Numerous
» Medvedev Unveils Russia Reforms But Warns ‘Extremists’
» Top Putin Ally Appointed Head of Kremlin Staff: Official
 
Far East
» China Buys Stake in Portuguese Energy Company
» Chinese Wines Beat French at Own Game
» Korean-Made Submarine to be Built on Indonesian Soil
» Wukan Settled, Haimen Still on the Boil: Protests in China
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Dutch Cabinet Wants Marines on UN Ships
 
Latin America
» New Festive Television Choices: Muslim Channels in Spanish
 
Culture Wars
» Minister Told He Will Face Potential Arrest for Reading Christmas Story From the Bible at Capitol Christmas Tree
 
General
» I’ll Put Millions of People on Mars, Says Elon Musk
» NASA Probe Snaps Close-Up Photos of Giant Asteroid

Financial Crisis


Banks Queue Up for Cheap ECB Loans

Over 500 European banks rushed to borrow almost half a trillion euro in cheap loans from the ECB on Wednesday (21 December), highlighting the credit squeeze on the market and only marginally increasing investor confidence that the central bank is mastering the euro-crisis.

The price in gold dropped slightly on Thursday morning and markets went up by an average of one percent in response to the cash injection, as 523 banks took a record of €489.2 billion at an interest rate of just one percent over three years — an emergency programme initiated by the European Central Bank. So far, only short-term loans for up to a year benefited from these low rates. But the ECB decided to extend the period with many European banks heavily exposed to government bonds from troubled eurozone countries. This has led to decreasing inter-bank lending due to lack of trust in each other’s capacity to pay back.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Belgium Paralysed by 24-Hour Strike Over Pension Reform

Angry public sector workers protesting pension reforms shut down Belgium’s schools, post offices and almost its entire transport grid Thursday in the latest anti-austerity protest to grip Europe. Called the day parliament debated the controversial reform, the 24-hour stoppage was the first political test faced by the fledging centre-left government in just barely two weeks in office.

The strike severely disrupted travel across Belgium’s borders, halting all international rail traffic including busy high-speed Thalys services to France, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Eurostar links to Britain. In Brussels, where the entire bus, tram and underground rail network was halted, people walked or cycled and protesters flagged down city-bound vehicles to hammer home the reasons for the stoppage.

“Workers aren’t responsible for the crisis,” said Andrea Della Vechia of the FGTB union. “If funds be needed, they should go to the financial markets or the banks for cash, not the workers.” Postal workers, teachers, public broadcasters and prison guards all joined the protest, which also snagged activity in Antwerp, Europe’s second busiest port. “It’s a great success,” said Francis Wegimont, secretary general of the CGSP union. “Our members are determined and furious.”

Socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo’s coalition government has pledged to cut 11 billion euros ($14 billion) off the budget to trim the country’s debt and deficit — respectively at 96.2 percent and 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2010. It has vowed to maintain pension payments and retirement at 65, but is proposing to extend the country’s popular early retirement option from 60 to 62 and make it harder to stop working earlier.

Addressing parliament, Di Rupo, whose government took office December 6, called for dialogue with the trade unions but said reforms were long overdue. “The reforms are inescapable,” he said. “They are key to overcoming inter-generational conflict and absolutely necessary to the re-establishment of healthy public finances.”

After an epic political crisis left the eurozone nation without a government for a world record 541 days, the new coalition has embarked on structural reforms and drastic budget cuts after Belgium’s credit rating was downgraded and the European Commission warned of potential penalties. But unions are angry both over the substance of the reform and the government’s failure to negotiate its terms with them.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Global Depression Could Last Several Years: Medvedev

President Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that a global economic depression could last for several years and require Russia to step up efforts to improve its competitiveness. “We really are facing difficult times,” Medvedev said in his last address to the nation before March presidential elections in which he will be ceding his place to his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin.

“The global economic depression could last several years, while competition for the minds, the ideas, the resources — it will only get stiffer, and we are in the epicentre of this race. “But even in these most difficult times, we have no right to stop our development. This work will require perseverance, effort and, of course, time.”

Both Putin and Medvedev have taken credit for helping Russia survive the worst of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and insisted that only their team will be able to deal with current economic challenges. Medvedev noted that “many politicians, heads of international organisations and leading economists and businessmen” have all warned of the onset of a global economic depression in the months to come. “It is obvious that difficult times await us all,” Medvedev stressed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece Turns to Energy as Its Economic Savior

Greece’s economy is in ruins, crushed by the country’s vast debt load. But government officials say that energy may offer a way out of the mess. And the country isn’t picky. Athens is looking to develop renewable energy sources at the same time as it explores for oil.

In Greek mythology, the sun God Helios, son of Hyperion, drove his chariot across the sky from east to west each day. Now, energy officials in the financially beleaguered nation are naming a major solar project after Helios and banking on energy more broadly as a possible way out of the financial crisis. That means exploring Poseidon’s domain of the sea by expediting plans for oil exploration, offshore wind energy production and, possibly, as a future natural gas hub. It also means completing oil and gas pipelines and privatizing state-owned oil, gas and power concerns.

“Energy is one of the key driving sectors of the economy, much more today than it has been in the past,” George Papaconstantinou, Greece’s minister for the environment, energy and climate change, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. If you exclude traditional sectors such as tourism, he said, energy “is probably the most dynamic sector, at the moment, in Greece. And it’s the one that will be driving investment in 2012 and beyond.”

The potential upside for the economy is direly needed. The country of roughly 12 million borrowed its way to near oblivion in recent years, amassing €204 billion ($267 billion) in debt by 2006 and running large budget deficits. Greece’s public debt rose to 160 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, putting it at the forefront of the world’s most indebted economies. The European Union and its member states created two massive loan packages totalling roughly €220 billion in the past year and forced creditors to accept a 50 percent debt haircut, aiming at helping Greece reduce its debt to GDP ratio to 120 percent by 2020. But amid cost cuts and privatizations, the country must also create growth that raises revenue and reduces unemployment, which topped 16 percent this year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



House Republican Leaders Agree to Payroll Tax Deal

Bowing under intense pressure from members of their own party to end the politically damaging impasse over a payroll tax holiday, House Republican leaders on Thursday agreed to accept a temporary extension of the tax cut, beating a a hasty retreat from a showdown that Republicans increasingly saw as a threat to their election opportunities next year.

Under a deal reached between House and Senate leaders — which Speaker John A. Boehner was presenting to the rank and file in an evening conference call — House members would accept the two-month extension of a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits approved by the Senate last Saturday while the Senate would appoint members of a House-Senate conference committee to negotiate legislation to extend both benefits through 2012.

[Return to headlines]



Huge Increase in East Europeans on Benefits

The number of East Europeans on benefits in the Netherlands has increased explosively. Almost 12,000 Poles and other migrants from the newer EU member states are currently receiving Dutch benefits. Almost 3200 of them receive social security, more than 2500 are on unemployment benefits and over 1400 have a disability allowance. In addition, around 4400 East Europeans receive a state pension or a surviving relative’s pension.

Social Affairs Minister Henk Kamp presented the figures to parliament on Wednesday. At the end of last year, there were just 1070 East Europeans on social security and 1527 on unemployment benefit, as the minister reported to parliament last summer. At the time, he expressed his concern that more Poles would request benefits. Minister Kamp says he is shocked by the figures and referred to the borders with Romania and Bulgaria not yet being opened. “Who is to say that this figure won’t rise to 30,000 or 40,000 soon?” he said. If it does it will cost the treasury hundreds of millions of euros.

A large majority of MPs conservative VVD, Christian Democrats, Freedom Party, Labour Party, Party and Socialist Party expressed their support for cabinet plans to limit work permits for Romanians and Bulgarians until 2014.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Immigration to Germany From Debt-Wracked Euro States Soars

Germany saw a sharp rise in immigration in the first half of the year, due mainly to newcomers from crisis-wracked European states, according to official statistics released Thursday.

The eurozone’s top economy had a 19 percent rise in new arrivals at 435,000 people, the federal statistics office said in a statement.

“What is remarkable here is the strong increase in immigration from EU countries that have been particularly hard hit by the financial and debt crisis,” it said.

Eight-four percent more Greeks moved to Germany in the first half than in the same period in 2010 and 49 percent more Spaniards.

More recent members of the EU, mainly former communist countries in eastern Europe, also sent about one-third more citizens to live in Germany than a year back, due largely to a relaxation of labour market restrictions.

Other European countries, Asia and the Americas boosted emigration to Germany 11 percent each, while Africa was responsible for a three-percent rise.

With unemployment falling to 6.4 percent in November, its lowest level since reunification more than two decades ago, and around three-percent economic growth, Germany has weathered the eurozone crisis largely unscathed.

It is actively recruiting skilled labour abroad to plug yawning gaps in the workforce and offset a steep population decline caused by a chronically low birth rate.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



In Eurozone, Year of Deleveraging Could Prove Dangerous

With governments laboring under too much debt and banks hobbled by too little capital, 2012 is shaping up as another year of hard slog for Europe’s economy that could yet test the single currency to destruction. The Netherlands on Thursday became the latest country to report that output shrank in the third quarter, lending credibility to forecasts that the broader euro zone will soon be in recession if it is not already.

A generation that gorged on debt is now adjusting to what some are calling the Great Stagnation. Talk of a lost decade, like Japan in the 1990s, no longer seems outlandish. So far so familiar. What worries economists is that the longer the deleveraging of government and bank and household balance sheets drags on, the greater the risk of market or policy accidents.

If the economy is already at stall speed, an unexpected shock could send it into a deep dive. In an age of globally integrated supply chains and capital markets, the impact on the rest of the world could be severe. “Entering 2012, we are facing uncertainty on the grandest of scales,” HSBC economists led by Stephen King said in their latest quarterly report.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



New Economy Minister, From Lehman Collapse to Spain Crisis

Spain’s new economy minister, 51-year-old Luis de Guindos, comes to the job as a survivor of one of the world’s biggest financial failures — the collapse of US investment giant Lehman Brothers. Named to the pivotal cabinet post by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday, the balding financier faces a daunting task rescuing an economy teetering towards recession with a 21.5-percent jobless rate.

He has some solid political credentials with the ruling Popular Party, which won an election landslide on November 20 as voters punished the Socialists for their handling of the economic slump. De Guindos was a member of then prime minister Jose Maria Aznar’s team from 1996-2004, working in the economy ministry and rising to become state secretary for the economy from 2002-2004,

But the reputed economist, a married father of two who was born in Madrid on January 16, 1960, has also carved out a career in the private sector. After rising to the post of chief executive of financial consultancy AB Asesores, he became executive chairman for Spain and Portugal at Lehman Brothers from 2006-2008.

Lehman collapsed on September 15, 2008, after its risky bets on the US housing market turned bad, sending shockwaves through the world’s banking system and sparking a global credit crunch. Only this month, a US judge approved plans to end Lehman Brothers’ US bankruptcy and move it toward liquidation, settling creditors’ claims worth around $450 billion.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

USA


A Vandalized Valley

While the elites make excuses, citizens cope with theft and destruction.

By Victor Davis Hanson

The city of Fresno is now under siege. Hundreds of street lights are out, their copper wire stripped away. In desperation, workers are now cementing the bases of all the poles — as if the original steel access doors were not necessary to service the wiring. How sad the synergy! Since darkness begets crime, the thieves achieve a twofer: The more copper they steal, the easier under cover of spreading night it is to steal more. Yet do thieves themselves at home with their wives and children not sometimes appreciate light in the darkness? Do they vandalize the street lights in front of their own homes?

The Catholic church was just looted (again) of its bronze and silver icons. Manhole covers are missing (some of the town’s own maintenance staff were arrested for this theft, no less!). The Little League clubhouse was ransacked of its equipment.

In short, all the stuff of civilization — municipal buildings, education, religion, transportation, recreation — seems under assault in the last year by the contemporary forces of barbarism. After several thefts of mail, I ordered a fortified, armored mailbox. I was ecstatic when I saw the fabricator’s Internet ad: On the video, someone with an AK-47 emptied a clip into it; the mail inside was untouched. I gleefully said to myself: “That’s the one for me.” And it has been so far.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Controversial ‘Bird Flu’ Edits Move Ahead

Top US scientists on Wednesday defended their bid to stop details of a mutant bird flu virus from being published and called for global cooperation to ward off an uncontrollable pandemic. Meanwhile, scientists involved in the experiments said they are cooperating with government officials and the editors of the journals Science and Nature to pare down their research for publication in the coming weeks.

The controversy arose when two separate research teams — one in the Netherlands and the other in the United States — separately found ways to alter the H5N1 avian influenza so it could pass easily between mammals. Until now, bird flu has been rare in humans, but particularly fatal in those who do get sick. H5N1 first infected humans in 1997 and has killed more than one in every two people that it infected, for a total of 350 deaths.

The concern is the virus could mutate and mimic past pandemic flu outbreaks such as the “Spanish flu” of 1918-1919 which killed 50 million people, and outbreaks in 1957 and 1968 that killed three million.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Stakelbeck: U.S. Hispanic Support for Israel Growing

When Israeli leaders survey the world scene, the landscape is not always encouraging. From Europe to the United Nations to the Muslim world, anti-Israel sentiment is growing stronger.

Yet a new voice is emerging that could help change that narrative.

Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population — and they could be set to become a valuable friend and timely ally to Israel at a crucial time in its history.

You can watch my new report on this emerging trend by clicking the link above..

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy New Year!

           — Hat tip: Erick Stakelbeck [Return to headlines]



Study Linking Virus to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Retracted Amid Controversy

A two-year scientific controversy all but ended Thursday when the prestigious journal Science retracted a study linking a strange virus to chronic fatigue syndrome, a sometimes-debilitating disorder with no known cause.

The journal’s editors “lost confidence” in the study after at least a dozen attempts to replicate the finding failed, wrote editor-in-chief Bruce Alberts in a retraction notice to be published Friday.

Further, the study’s authors “omitted important information” from some of the figures in the paper, Alberts wrote.

The retraction formally removes the study from the scientific record.

“I think it’s 99 percent the end of the story,” said John Coffin, a virologist at Tufts University who worked on a team that could not replicate the original study.

Published in October 2009, the retracted study generated a wave of hope among chronic fatigue patients that a cause of their illness had finally been found. Led by scientists at the privately-funded Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nev., the study reported a bizarre virus, xenotrophic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), in the blood of 68 of 101 chronic fatigue patients.

But as laboratories worldwide failed to replicate the discovery, criticism of the original report mounted.

In May, two reports detailed how XMRV was likely a lab-borne contaminant, not a blood-borne virus. The case further unraveled in September, when nine laboratories tested for the virus in 15 people previously found to carry it. Only two of the labs found the virus in the supposedly infected individuals. The labs also reported conflicting results from the blood of 15 healthy individuals.

“As far as virologists go, the story ended a long time ago,” said Vincent Racaniello, a virologist at Columbia University, referring to the September report. “There’s no evidence at the moment that any virus is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.”

The story took a bizarre turn in November, when the scientist at the center of the controversy, Judy Mikovits, was jailed in California.

Mikovits was an author on the retracted report and a chief champion of the notion that XMRV or a similar virus is linked to chronic fatigue. She was fired from the Whittemore Peterson Institute in September for insubordination. The institute then accused Mikovits of stealing laptop computers, flash drives and laboratory notebooks.

On Nov. 18, Ventura County, Calif., sheriffs arrested Mikovits on a felony “fugitive from justice” charge stemming from the allegedly stolen materials.

Audrey Young, a spokeswoman for the Whittemore Peterson Institute, said Thursday that Mikovits, now out of jail, “did turn over some of the materials, including a laptop which she had wiped clean. She did not turn over all of the material, and that’s an enormous problem.”

A civil lawsuit filed by the Whittemore Peterson Institute is requesting the return of all of the lab materials. Mikovits could not be reached for comment Thursday.

One prominent patient advocate said the saga has been been a “roller coaster ride.” But most patients have now “moved on,” said Kim McCleary, president and chief executive of the CFIDS Association of America. “They’re certainly disappointed and discouraged that this did not pan out the way it was initially promoted. But they understand there’s no point in pursuing a dead end.”

Last year, the original study prompted the American Red Cross to ban blood donations from chronic fatigue patients.

On Thursday, a Red Cross spokeswoman said the group’s policy remained unchanged. “If somebody tells us they have chronic fatigue syndrome, we will continue to defer them,” said Stephanie Millian, although not because of fears of XMRV transmitting through the blood supply. Rather, Millian said, the Red Cross was “following the lead” of patient advocacy groups that advise ill patients not to donate blood.

Between 1 million and 4 million Americans are thought to have chronic fatigue syndrome, a mysterious disorder that causes prolonged and severe fatigue, body aches and other symptoms.

[Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Austria: Strache Plans Stronger Right-Wing Alliances

Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) chief Heinz-Christian Strache discussed immigration issues with high-ranking representatives of Italy’s rightists. The Eurosceptic joined members of the European Parliament (MEPs) of the far-right Lega Nord party and former Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni to speak about asylum issues and Islamism in a platform discussion in Milan on Monday.

Strache said yesterday (Tues) he intended to strengthen his party’s ties with right-wing movements in Italy. The politician, who has headed the FPÖ since 2005, engaged in creating alliances among right-wingers across Europe in recent years. The FPÖ organised several summits attended by political representatives of right-wing circles in Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries. Strache was harshly criticised and accused of trying to create conflicts when he headed a delegation of European politicians meeting with nationalist Israelis last year.

The FPÖ is given good chances to overtake the People’s Party (ÖVP) for second place in the next election. The coalition factions of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the ÖVP are trying to avoid a collapse of their cooperation despite stark differences in opinion regarding the future of the Austrian army and the country’s school and education system.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Belgium: Farmers Take Ikea to Court

The hospitality industry and the Farmers’ Union are taking the Swedish budget furniture store Ikea to court in connection with cheap meals that are being sold under the cost price. Horeca Vlaanderen and the Boerenbond allege that Ikea is selling food at a loss and maintain that this is illegal.

A couple of times during the course of the past year Ikea launched special stunt sales. Last spring customers could have steak and chips for 2.5 euros. Last summer there was also a barbecue meal for 3.95 euros. In September it was mussels and chips for 5 euros. With the festive season upon us new stunts are in prospect.

The hospitality industry and the farmers Union say that despite repeated requests to stop the actions Ikea has not responded: “Ikea is primarily a furniture store. We wouldn’t mind if Ikea also operated restaurants, but we cannot accept that the store uses food merely as a marketing instrument in order to attract custom. By selling food at a loss Ikea is breaking the law and is guilty of unfair competition.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Breivik Was Insane — Experts

A panel of experts confirmed Thursday that the Norway gunman who killed 77 people in twin attacks in July was criminally insane, meaning he will likely be sent to a closed psychiatric ward. “There is no major objection to the report” published on November 29 by two psychiatrists which found that Anders Behring Breivik suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, the head of the panel of experts, Karl Heinrik Melle said, according to Norwegian news agency NTB. The panel’s conclusions were submitted to the Oslo district court.

Behring Breivik, an anti-Islam 32-year-old right-wing extremist, is currently being held at a high-security prison outside Oslo pending his trial which is due to open on April 16. Given the psychiatric evaluations, Behring Breivik is expected to be sentenced to psychiatric care in a closed ward instead of going to jail. The gunman has disputed the diagnosis of insanity, according to one of his lawyers.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Dutch TV Hosts ‘To Cook and Eat Own Flesh’ On Air

Two presenters on Dutch public television will cook and eat a small piece of human flesh surgically removed from the other’s body in a show being aired on Wednesday, the channel said. “It’s not a hoax,” BNN television spokesman Thijs Verheij told AFP ahead of the weekly show “Guinea-pigs” being broadcast at 9.40 pm (2040 GMT) after being pre-recorded in a studio.

BNN, which is aimed at an audience of teenagers and young adults, in 2007 broadcast a show in which participants in need of an organ transplant competed to win a kidney from a dying woman. It turned out to be a hoax. “The show in 2007 was held to raise awareness about the need for organ donors,” Verheij said. He said “Guinea-pigs” aimed to tackle off-the-wall issues such as “what a small piece of human flesh tastes like”.

Two presenters can be seen in a short online promotional video sitting across a table from each other and eyeing a small piece of meat on their plates, presumably human, which was cooked earlier in a pan. Verheij said two pieces of flesh were surgically removed from the men’s bodies, one from one presenter’s abdomen, the other taken from his colleague’s buttocks.

Interviewed when the show was recorded, a lawyer said cannibalism itself is not punishable in the Netherlands, but taking human flesh from a living person without a valid medical reason may be an offence, said Verheij.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Dutch Population Will Hit 17 Million by 2016

The Dutch population is expected to grow by 60,000 people a year in the coming years. The Dutch statistics office expects the Netherlands will be home to 17 million people in 2016. Each year about 180,000 babies are born compared to 140,000 deaths. And 160,000 people a year settle in the Netherlands with roughly the same number of people leaving the country.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Europe’s Perishing Parishes: Dutchman Helps to Liquidate Dying Churches

A drastic exodus from the church is underway in the Netherlands. With two churches shuttered each week, one man has become the country’s top advisor on how to repurpose the once holy buildings. Some are demolished, while others find new life as mosques, stores and even recreation centers.

For years the number of faithful has been declining. The trend has swept across all of Western Europe, with churches forced to close in France and Belgium too. But in the Netherlands, Christianity’s retreat from society has been particularly drastic. The Protestant Church alone loses some 60,000 members each year. At this rate, it will cease to exist there by 2050, church officials say.

The trend has led to the mergers of churches from several communities. St. Lawrence in Bilthoven has consolidated its congregation with that of eight other churches. But none of these amalgamations need more than one church, one organ, and one altar crucifix. All the other chalices, crosses and pews need to be disposed of. The problem, de Beyer says, is that holy items don’t sell particularly well. The buildings themselves quickly find new renters, though.

In Helmond, some 80 kilometers south of Bilthoven, a supermarket even moved into a defunct church in 2001. A bookstore has opened in a former Dominican church in Maastricht, while in Utrecht and Amsterdam churches have been turned into mosques. Of the Netherlands’ some 17 million citizens, about 850,000 practice Islam. Still, many other churches are simply being demolished.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Finland Finds Missiles on Danish Ship Bound for China

Finnish authorities have found 69 Patriot missiles and around 160 tonnes of explosives onboard the Danish-owned ship Thor Liberty, when it took shelter from a storm in the Finnish port Kotka. The ship left the German port Emden on 13 December and was bound for the Chinese port of Shanghai.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



French Muslim Jailed for Punching Nurse Who Tried to Remove Wife’s Burqa During Childbirth

A Muslim man who punched a nurse for trying to remove his wife’s burqa during childbirth has been jailed in France.

Nassim Mimoune, 24, had already been expelled from the delivery room for branding the midwife a ‘rapist’ as she carried out an intimate examination of his wife.

Then through a window he spotted the nurse taking off his wife’s burqa as she prepared to give birth.

He smashed open the locked door and hit the woman in the face, demanding she replace the full Islamic face veil.

As his wife delivered a baby boy, Mimoune was ejected from the building by security men from the hospital in Marseille and arrested for assault.

A judge in the southern French port jailed Mimoune for six months on Wednesday, telling him: ‘Your religious values are not superior to the laws of the republic.’

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]



Germany Court Finds Six Guilty of Carbon Tax Fraud

A Frankfurt district court on Wednesday ruled three Britons, two Germans and a Frenchman guilty of having used a so-called carousel trade to evade taxes on carbon permits in the European Union. The fraud was carried out via Deutsche Bank, where seven staff members are still under investigation.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Terrorism, New Group Claims Gas-Canister Attacks

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 22 — An anticapitalist militant group calling itself “Zero Tolerance” has claimed responsibility for three gas canister attacks this year targeting the offices of senior politicians, including Justice Minister Miltiadis Papaioannou. The previously unknown group said it carried out the attacks to protest against austerity measures, political corruption and the jailing of suspected members of the far-left Greek terror group Revolutionary Struggle. The other attacks targeted the offices of Alternate Foreign Minister Mariliza Xenoyiannakopoulou, and former EU commissioner Vaso Papandreou, who chairs Parliament’s economic affairs committee. “For the past 18 months, Greece has been under occupation by the troika,” the group said in a statement posted on the Athens Indymedia website. “The peaceful mood of most demonstrators is over. Now everyone realises we are at war.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Cold Snap Causes Havoc Across Italy

Snow forecast for Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia

(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — A homeless man froze to death north of Milan and four others were killed in traffic accidents as the latest cold snap caused havoc across Italy.

As Italians braced for snowfalls in several regions, a rock wall collapsed in the Pale di San Martino range in the Dolomite mountains in the northern province of Belluno and authorities said there was a risk of more avalanches in the Alps.

No-one was injured in Monday’s landslide that measured 300 metres at its base but three roads have been closed in the area.

Meanwhile, the Civil Protection Department issued a weather warning for the southern regions of Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia on Wednesday.

Tomas Fioravanti, 38, froze to death in the city of Varese, north of Milan, on Monday night and the road fatalities occurred in two accidents in Sardinia and the Marche region.

Snow, ice and freezing temperatures were forecast for several regions.

Snowfalls were expected on Wednesday as far south as Campania, Calabria and Basilicata as well as Sicily.

Four flights were diverted from the Sicilian capital Palermo to Catania and Trapani because of poor weather.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Pillar Collapses in Ancient Garden in Pompeii

The latest in a series of similar incidents

(ANSA) — Pompeii, December 22 — Archaeologists on Thursday were assessing the damage after one of the pillars in the garden of an ancient Roman home collapsed at Pompeii. Police were also called to investigate the collapse of the pillar which was part of an external pergola at the house of Loreius Tiburtinus in the centre of the popular tourist site.

News of the collapse was announced by the Special Archaeology Superintendent of Naples and Pompeii and the site was immediately closed to the public. The House of Loreius Tiburtinus is famous for its extensive gardens and outdoor ornamentation, in particular its Euripi, fountains that feature many frescoes and statuettes. The frescoes portray the myths of Narcissus on one side of the fountain and Pyramus and Thisbe on the other in a garden full of fruit trees and other plants. At the end of November, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO and the Italian government agreed to join forces to restore rain-damaged Pompeii after several recent collapses.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Latvian MPs Nix Russian Language, Paving Way to Plebiscite

Lawmakers in European Union member Latvia rejected a motion Thursday to enshrine Russian as the second official state language after Latvian in the ex-Soviet Baltic state’s constitution. Legislators in the 100-member parliament voted 60-0 against a proposal to make Russian an official language, a move which forces a referendum on the subject early next year in line with a popular citizens’ initiative.

Russian-speakers account for around a third of Latvia’s 2.2-million population, but in order for the referendum to succeed it will need to attract more than half of the electorate, or the equivalent of 771,350 votes. There is therefore little chance of the measure ever taking effect. All 31 members of the opposition Harmony Centre party, which draws most of its support from the Russian minority, boycotted the Thursday vote after their efforts at a compromise deal were rejected.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Six Jailed in EU-Wide Carbon Tax Conspiracy

Six men have been found guilty for participating in a conspiracy to evade taxes on carbon permits in the European Union. The Frankfurt verdict marks the first convictions following an EU-wide investigation. A German court has found six men guilty of having participated in a conspiracy to evade taxes on carbon permits in the European Union.

The men, aged between 27 and 66 and from Germany, Britain, and France, were found to have evaded around 300 million euros ($391 million) in value-added tax (VAT) between August 2009 and April 2010. Using a so-called carousel trade, buyers imported emissions permits in one EU country without paying VAT and then sold them to each other, adding tax and keeping the difference.

The EU Emissions Trading System caps the emissions of factories and power plants in an effort to fight climate change. Companies are forced to buy carbon permits if they need to emit more carbon than permitted. Companies are also allowed to sell permits if they need to emit less carbon than foreseen.

“The convicted were fraudulently involved in tax-evading trades. … They have brought the carbon market trading scheme into disrepute,” said Judge Martin Bach in the Frankfurt district court on Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Spain: Tous Son-in-Law Facing Five Years for Shooting Burglar — Despite Jury Acquittal

SON-IN-LAW and security guard of the Tous empire, Lluís Corominas, is facing a five-year jail term for killing a burglar — despite having been acquitted previously by a jury. Prosecution officer Teresa Duarte claims the verdict, which saw Corominas walk free, was ‘inadmissible’ and has appealed against it, calling for five years in prison. She says she does not believe Corominas pulled the trigger due to ‘blind fear’, as his defence claimed.

Corominas has already been forced to pay 310,000 euros in compensation to the dead burglar’s family. He was called out in the night when intruders were detected on the estate of the Tous family, owners and creators of the prestigious handbag and jewellery firm of the same name. Corominas, who is married to the daughter of the family, travelled to the premises, bringing his gun. He then fired shots at the burglars as he saw them approaching their car. One suffered injuries and another was killed outright.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Drunk Woman Falls Under Train at Barnsley Station

Video released to highlight dangers of station platforms while drunk

CCTV footage of a woman falling under a train has been released as part of a campaign to warn of the dangers of being drunk on station platforms. The video shows the woman getting off a train at Barnsley station, in South Yorkshire, stumbling backwards and falling down a narrow gap between the train and platform.

British transport police said the woman was helped from the tracks very quickly and taken to hospital with cuts and bruises. Trains were delayed for 20 minutes. Inspector Graham Bridges said: “This woman was lucky to only end up with a few minor injuries and, had it not been for the alertness of other passengers who helped her, we could have been dealing with potentially serious injuries.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam at the British Museum

Explore the history and experiences of the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca, known as Hajj at this latest exhibition at the British Museum. Extra members are invited to a viewing, dinner and curator’s talk on 3 February

Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam explores the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca, known as Hajj. Objects from the UK, Middle East, Africa and Europe will reveal the purpose, history and context of this significant journey for Muslims, from its beginnings to the present day. Discover the rituals that take place, the experiences of the pilgrims and the sheer operation behind this extraordinary event which attracts over three million pilgrims each year. Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum says: “This exhibition will enable a global audience to deepen their understanding of the significance and history of the Hajj. In particular, it will allow non-Muslims to explore the one aspect of Islamic practice and faith which they are not able to witness, but which plays such a major part in forming a worldwide Islamic consciousness.”

Extra members are invited to enjoy an evening viewing of the exhibition followed by an exhibition-inspired two course meal in the Great Court Restaurant. After dinner, the exhibition’s curator will give a talk and host a Q&A session in the restaurant. The event takes place on 3 February at 5.30pm. Tickets cost £37.

[JP note: For extra clarity, it would have been better if MacGregor had used the descriptor ‘dhimmis’ instead of ‘non-Muslims.’]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Insurers Urge Radical Security Rethink Following Metal Sculpture Theft

Leading insurers yesterday advised owners of valuable metal artworks to radically “rethink” their security measures and even consider replacing sculptures with replicas.

Experts told councils and museums to take extra precautions following a spate of increasingly high-profile thefts of statues and other works from established artists. Private collectors and homeowners were warned to avoid putting “precious metal sculptures in window bays” and to consider growing “spiky hedges to deter thieves”.

One local authority even revealed plans to install motion sensitive alarms on or around its works of art on public display in its parks in an effort to prevent them being taken. “It is a sad consequence of the continuing economic crisis that more large metal sculptures are being stolen,” said Annabel Fell-Clark, CEO of insurers AXA ART UK. “We would encourage councils to review the security of any works on public display in conjunction with their insurers.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Lutfur Rahman Cabinet Member’s Company Owes Taxman £25,000, But Won’t Pay

Following Lutfur’s recent disappointment at the PCC, there is more bad news for Tower Hamlets’ extremist-linked mayor. His cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Shahed Ali, has been running a company that owes the taxman a great deal of money. Companies House records show that Cllr Ali was company secretary and a director of a firm called Last Viceroy of British India Ltd. The company, which was based at the same address as a restaurant of the same name in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, never filed any accounts. But on 7 October 2009 its directors placed it in voluntary liquidation and in August 2010 they dissolved it. Almost the sole creditors were HM Revenue and Customs. The insolvency documents show that they are owed £16,000 in unpaid VAT and £9,000 in unpaid income tax and national insurance. There are, alas, no means to pay this bill: the company was wound up without assets of any kind. Happily, however, the restaurant appears to have carried on trading very much as normal!

Well, almost as normal. In December 2009, there was a slight interruption in service when the authorities raided the premises, arresting three of the staff who turned out to be illegal immigrants. One was found hiding on the roof. They probably didn’t pay all that much tax either. The restaurant was still in business as of this Saturday, according to a review posted on the Qype website. It is now run by a company called Dinebest — which, surely by complete coincidence, popped up at just about the same time that the Last Viceroy of India company was placed into voluntary liquidation. Dinebest’s sole director is another Mr Ali, Anhar. Any relation of Shahed, I wonder? Interestingly, the contact for the restuarant’s management on Qype is still given as “Shaheduk.” Maybe Shahed/Anhar just forgot to change it. Oh yes, I forgot to mention: Land Registry records show that Shahed Ali is still the owner of the restaurant, and indeed the property next door too. So he probably does have some assets which could be used to pay that tax bill, after all!

When I called Cllr Ali, he at first claimed not to have heard of Last Viceroy of British India. “Are you sure you’ve got the right information?” he asked. I pointed out that Last Viceroy is listed in his Companies House entry along with a number of companies which he declares in his register of interests at the Town Hall. I could also have pointed out that he owns the restaurant, and that the company secretary’s mobile phone number in Last Viceroy’s company records is the same as his. Cllr Ali’s memory then staged a rapid recovery. He admitted that he had been secretary of the company. He insisted, however, that its liquidation had most definitely not been a ruse to avoid paying tax. So would he, I asked, now be paying the Revenue the tax owed? “The company is liquidated, that’s the end of the story,” he said. Cllr Ali currently makes quite a lot of money from the taxpayer — he is paid £22,723 in “special responsibility allowances.” And he spends even more taxpayers’ money — his part of the council has a budget of at least £70 million. So I decided to ask the question again. Would he be paying the tax that is owed to the Revenue? “The company is liquidated, that’s the end of the story,” he repeated. I think that’s a no, don’t you?

PS Cllr Ali is of course not the first of Lutfur’s councillors or supporters to attract controversy. There’s Shiraj Haque, whose restaurants were raided by the police for counterfeiting; Shelina Akhtar, shortly to stand trial for fraud; Alibor Choudhury, who has seen the inside of a courtroom more than once (and is now, incredibly, in charge of the council’s budget); and not forgetting Shah Yousouf, who will stand trial in April for alleged election crimes.

PPS Lutfur denies any links to extremism

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Lutfur Rahman Council Suspends Ex-Leader After Complaint by Islamic Extremist

[…]

PS Lutfur denies any links with extremism.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Students’ Unions ‘Must be Able to Veto Hate Speakers’

Islamic society leader warns of linking university attendance and terrorism. John Morgan reports

Students’ unions should introduce tougher rules to keep “hate speakers” off campuses and stop the spread of Islamist extremism, MPs have heard. Hannah Stuart, co-author of Islam on Campus: A Survey of UK Student Opinions and Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections, made the suggestion in evidence to the Home Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the roots of violent radicalisation. The committee held a day-long session at De Montfort University last week, including a workshop titled “How can we best counter radicalisation in universities?” Nabil Ahmed, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, rejected many of Ms Stuart’s arguments, countering from the audience that it was “upsetting and hurtful for Muslim students to be caricatured as potential extremists, potential radicals, when none of this is applicable to 99.9 per cent of not just Muslim students, but all students”.

Islamist Terrorism analysed 138 cases of individuals convicted of “Islamism-related offences” and found that 30 per cent “had at some point attended university or a higher education institute”.

Although the study was “not suggesting that 30 per cent were radicalised because they attended university”, said Ms Stuart, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, it did find that “schools and universities were definitely involved in that linking-up of individuals”. She added: “In terms of that politicisation and militarisation of faith — particularly I’m thinking of external speakers and hate speakers in universities — that is an important area and we should be focusing on it.” By example, Ms Stuart said that support for “Hamas or other extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir” was unacceptable. She added that while “we should not be policing campuses”, one solution was that any organisations “affiliated to students’ unions would need to present any external speakers publicly on a website a week before the event”, allowing students’ unions to decide whether it should go ahead.

In response, Mr Ahmed pointed out that more than 30 per cent of young people in the general population go to university, “so this link between (university attendance and Islamist terrorism) is dangerous”. He added that while “it is not necessarily my view”, the Turkish prime minister recognises Hamas as a political party. Don’t call that an extremist view — that is a legitimate view,” Mr Ahmed said. Anthony Richards, a terrorism expert at the University of East London, said from the audience that the government’s Prevent strategy — revised to cover “extremism” rather than just “violent extremism” — risked having “indeterminate scope” because it ignored the question “as to what we mean by radicalisation”. The committee also heard a speech from Jesse Jackson, the US civil rights activist, who was awarded an honorary degree by De Montfort on 12 December. He gave a different take on the term “radicalisation”, calling for greater equality, praising the Occupy movement and noting that in biblical times “a radicalised Jesus” had “occupied the temple”.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: William Hague Has the ‘Frites Fraternity’ On the Run Across Whitehall

[…]

Actually, no one has yet come up with a collective term for those mandarins steeped in the ways of the European Union. Arabists are referred to — often derisively — as the “camel corps”, a term that conjures images of gentlemen in pith helmets and puttees, more at ease in the alleys of the souk than the corridors of Whitehall. Their colleagues who have steeped themselves with similar enthusiasm in the labyrinthine complexities of EU politics are equally influential. This “frites fraternity” or “Brussels brotherhood” or whatever we might call it is well entrenched across government. The FCO is its main base, but it is also strong in Vince Cable’s Business department, where an excessive enthusiasm for all things EU is partly blamed by No 10 for the lack of progress in reducing Britain’s regulatory burden. Mr Cameron has let his frustration show in recent months when he has exhorted ministerial colleagues to stand up to officials and lawyers who worry about being taken to the European Court.

[JP note: Not to be confused with the Fritz Fraternity — the FCO appeasers of the beastly Huns during the two great wars of the twentieth century.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



UK: Why a Burka Ban Defends the Rights of Women

Both multiculturalism and the burka need to be taken away from the cultural reciprocity footing. It was sad, yesterday, to see Nigel Farage of UKIP considering ditching his party’s policy of the burka ban. Contrary to mass popular belief there is nothing intolerant or illiberal about this policy.

Let me explain. It is a common, flawed assumption that it is intolerant not to tolerate other, alien, cultures on the British Isles. There is a missing part to this, of what would otherwise be, erroneous equation. The other part can be posed in a question: How can it be tolerant of immigrants and other non-indigenous cultures not to give up their own cultures and assimilate once on the territory of the British Isles?

[…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Balkans


Serbia to Allow Freedom of Movement to Kosovo Citizens

Serbia on Thursday moved to allow freedom of movement to all citizens of Kosovo, blocked since the breakaway territory’s Albanian majority unilaterally declared independence in 2008. The government in Belgrade passed a decree on freedom of movement, enabling Kosovo citizens to cross into Serbia and move freely across the country with personal documents issued by Pristina authorities for the first time since the independence was proclaimed, spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic said.

Mihajlovic said the measure would be implemented by early next week. “Freedom of movement is a democratic and civilised act and this decree is a follow-up to the agreement” reached during the EU-sponsored talks in Bruselles between Belgrade and Pristina, Mihailovic told AFP.

Kosovo citizens holding identity papers issued by Pristina — which Belgrade does not recognise — would be getting documents at the border allowing them to pass through the territory of Serbia. According to the decree, Serbia will also issue temporary car plates for vehicles registered in Kosovo.

Belgrade has considered Kosovan vehicle number-plates and IDs invalid, preventing Kosovars from using the shortest route to Europe and causing headaches for the 150,000-strong ethnic Albanian diaspora in EU countries, many of whom only hold documents issued by Pristina. The move represents the implementation of a crucial accord reached so far in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue that opened in March in Brussels under EU auspices and that is a key condition for Serbia’s EU bid.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Egypt: Pleasant and Unpleasant Surprise

Jeffrey Goldberg offers a more intelligent observation than Carlos Latuff could ever hope to do on Abdel Moneim Kato, the Egyptian general who said anti-government protesters “deserve to be thrown into Hitler’s ovens.”

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Cairo arguing with Holocaust deniers (arguing doesn’t work, by the way), so I was pleasantly surprised to read of a senior Egyptian official who understands that Hitler’s ovens were real, and that the Holocaust was a brutal affair. I was unpleasantly surprised, of course, to read of an Egyptian official who wants to punish his fellow Egyptians the way Hitler punished the Jews. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Mubarak’s military successors are trying very hard to win the let’s-outdo-Hosni-in-cruelty-and-sheer-idiocy competition.

[Readers’ comments]

PetraMB on 22 December 2011, 3:04 am

It’s been admittedly a long time since I was in Cairo (a few days after Sadat’s murder, wondering who the hell was this Mubarak guy whose poster was plastered all over the place…), but I’m not sure if this “Hitler’s oven” remark is not taken very differently in a country that adores the MB’s spiritual leader Yussuf Qaradawi who has preached to an Al Jazeera audience of many millions that Hitler was a tool of divine providence, meting out a fully deserved punishment to the Jews. Take this together with the many examples (e.g. from widely used Saudi textbooks) that teach that the Quran describes the Jews as despicable and condemned by Allah as deserving of punishment, and take also all the popular conspiracy theories of “Zionists” and “foreign elements” being behind any disturbances that damage Egypt, and you get a very different reading: those rowdy protesters are just as evil as the Jews, and they deserve the same (divinely sanctioned) punishment — in other words, the “Hitler’s oven” remark simply reflects the widely accepted notion that the Jews stand for absolute evil; and the local outrage about this remark, I’m afraid, is mainly outrage about being labeled as so irredemably evil.

Ethan on 22 Dcember 2011, 3:28 am

Gene, I know it pains you to hear it, but most people in the MENA know that the Holocaust occured, and understand its scope. They approve of it, however, rather than think it a travesty. To Westerners, they want to hide that fact, lest they be thought of as racist a*******, so they deny that it occurred, and argue against it in a vain attempt to diminuate the tragedy. It’s the politically correct way to say “We want to kill every Jew because Allah commands it.” Islam is the problem, Nazis made it palatable. Europeans eat this stuff up.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]



Libya: ‘Swift’ Enactment of Treaty Says Terzi

Italy to pay out $5 bln over 20 years

(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — Italy is moving “swiftly” to implement a range of provisions in a friendship treaty with Libya that was reactivated last week, Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Wednesday.

Terzi said Libyan transitional leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil had shown during his visit to Rome a week ago “how much Libya had been awaiting the reactivation of the treaty”.

“We are moving very swiftly to enact all of its various dimensions,” the foreign minister added.

Under the friendship treaty, which was interrupted by the war against late strongman Muammar Gaddafi, Italy agreed in 2008 to pay colonial reparations of $5 billion over 20 years, including the construction of a coastal highway, while Libya pledged to stop migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

Now that it has been reactivated, Italy will be able to fully re-open its oil and gas pipelines and Libya will pursue wide financial interests in Italy including stakes in giant bank Unicredit and soccer club Juventus, helped by assets that had been frozen during the war.

The decision Thursday was announced by Premier Mario Monti after talks with Jalil in Rome.

Monti, who said he would visit Italy’s former colony “in mid-January”, stressed the move would help both countries “focus on the priorities of the new Libya” after the demise of Gaddafi, who was caught and executed by rebels on October 20.

The treaty was signed by Gaddafi and then Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi in mid-2008.

Italy was initially wary about taking part in the war against Libya but later provided key air bases for the Nato-led campaign as well as fighter-bombers that ran hundreds of sorties.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Armenian Genocide Bill ‘Betrays History’: Turkish Deputy PM

A French bill making the denial of Armenian genocide a criminal offence was a “betrayal of history”, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Thursday. “I condemn the French parliament, which passed this bill meaning betrayal of history and historical truth,” Arinc said on his Twitter account. “The French parliament… dimmed out history and truth by approving the bill,” he added. Arinc accused the French lawmakers backing the bill of “bringing back the Inquisition”, and he said the legislation was “evil-minded”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Armenian Genocide Vote: Turkey Withdraws Ambassador From France

Following a move by the French lower house of parliament to pass a bill making it a punishable crime to deny the genocide of Armenians, Turkey has announced retaliatory measures. The issue of the killings between 1915 and 1917 has long divided Ankara and European countries.

In the end, repeated protests from Turkey had little impact: France’s lower house of parliament voted on Thursday to approve a draft law that would impose stiff penalties on any person in France who denies the genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1917. In an interview with French foreign broadcaster France 24, Patrick Devedjian, a member of Sarkozy’s UMP party of Armenian origin, praised the vote. “The purpose of the bill is to stop foreign nations from coming to France and pushing discriminatory propaganda against people living here,” he told FRANCE 24. “We are not seeking to rewrite history; the Armenian genocide is an established fact, an undeniable truth.”

It didn’t take long for Ankara to provide an official response. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would recall its ambassador from France, suspend joint military maneuvers and restrict French military flights. “We are recalling our ambassador in Paris to Ankara for consultations,” the Turkish president said. “As of now, we are cancelling bilateral level political, economic and military activities,” Erdogan said, according to the Associated Press. “We are suspending all kinds of political consultations with France.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Bomb Blasts Rock Baghdad as Political Crisis Deepens

Explosions have wracked mainly Shiite districts of Baghdad, killing at least 57 people. The blasts coincide with sectarian disputes within Iraq’s powersharing government and follow last weekend’s US troop withdrawal.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Iran Must Stop Persecuting Minority Religions

Editor’s note: Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist, is the author of “Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran.”

(CNN) — In March 2009, when I was detained in Evin Prison in Iran, two evangelical Christians were arrested. I never met them but spotted them a few times through the barred window of my cell as they walked back and forth to the bathroom down the hall.

I would later learn that Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh had converted from Islam to Christianity and faced charges of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, insulting religious sanctities, and committing apostasy. They resisted severe pressure to renounce their faith, and in November 2009, after an international outcry, the two women went free.

News headlines are now highlighting the plight of another Iranian Christian accused of apostasy, or abandoning one’s religion. When Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was 19, he converted from Islam to Christianity. In 2010, a provincial court sentenced him to death. This year, Iran’s Supreme Court ruled that the case should be reviewed and the sentence overturned if he recants his faith — a step Nadarkhani, 34, has so far refused to take.

Now, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Iran’s judiciary has ordered the verdict to be delayed, possibly for one year. But Nadarkhani’s supporters hope sustained worldwide pressure will lead to his just and immediate release.

As international criticism has mounted, an Iranian official has alleged that Nadarkhani is being prosecuted not for his faith but for crimes including rape and extortion. Nadarkhani’s attorney, however, says the only charge the pastor has faced is apostasy, and court documents support this assertion…

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]



Iraq’s Christians Near Extinction

by Raymond Ibrahim

Dear Reader:

If the ongoing eradication of Christians under Islam is of concern to you, please consider signing Christian Solidarity International’s petition urging President Barack Obama to present during his forthcoming State of the Union Address his “administration’s policy to prevent the eradication of the endangered Christian communities and other religious minorities of the Islamic Middle East.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Russia


Bureaucrats Costly and Too Numerous

There are too many bureaucrats, and each year they are costing more, according to government experts. Their ranks have to be reduced 30 percent, and those that remain have to be compelled to work better, the experts say. Over the last 10 years the number of civil servants at all levels grew 40 percent. At the end of 2000, there were 1.16 million people working as civil servants, but by the end of 2010, that number reached 1.65 million, according to a final presentation on corrections to the country’s long-term strategy to 2020 that was submitted to the government.

The number of bureaucrats is growing, even though the population as a whole is not. At the end of 2010, for every 100,000 Russian citizens there were 1,153 bureaucrats, whereas 10 years ago that number was 31 percent less. In comparison, experts say the United States has a one-fourth the number of tax inspectors and less than half as many customs inspectors per 1,000 people as Russia does.

Out of 1,000 employed Russians, 25 of them are bureaucrats. That number was 18 in 2000 and 15 in 1994. There are too many civil servants, and they interfere with economic growth, according to those who prepared the government report, and overall the country cannot afford them. Their salaries alone cost the budget 67 billion rubles ($2.1 billion) per month, or 804 billion rubles per year. If they were to be reduced to the levels of 2000, the country would save 240 billion rubles a year.

If related expenses, like space, transportation, communications and so forth, were considered, the possible savings could double, said Andrei Klimenko, director of the institute for issues of municipal and state management at the Higher School of Economics.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Medvedev Unveils Russia Reforms But Warns ‘Extremists’

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday unveiled political reforms in response to an outburst of protests, but warned that “provocateurs and extremists” were seeking to stir unrest in the country. Two days ahead of a new mass rally accusing the authorities of rigging this month’s parliamentary elections, he proposed a range of reforms including the resumption of direct elections of local governors.

But in his last state-of-the-nation address before his expected handover of the Kremlin to Vladimir Putin next year, Medvedev warned that the authorities would not allow its biggest protest wave in years to destabilise Russia. “Attempts to manipulate Russian citizens, lead them astray and incite strife in society are unacceptable,” Medvedev told both houses of parliament. “Russia needs democracy and not chaos.”

“We will not allow provocateurs and extremists to drag society into their schemes,” Medvedev said. Taking aim at the West, he added: “We will not allow interference from outside in our internal affairs.” Medvedev’s address came after December 4 parliamentary elections showed an unexpectedly sharp dip in support for the ruling party and were followed by mass protests against vote-rigging.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Top Putin Ally Appointed Head of Kremlin Staff: Official

Deputy Russian Prime Minister and one-time presidential hopeful Sergei Ivanov, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has been appointed the Kremlin chief of staff, Kremlin spokeswoman Natalia Timakova. “(President Dmitry) Medvedev has appointed Sergei Ivanov as the head of his administration,” Natalia Timakova told AFP.

The appointment marks a significant promotion for the 58-year-old former KGB officer, who is believed to be a member of Putin’s inner circle and comes as the Russian strongman is planning to reclaim his old Kremlin job in March presidential elections. Many observers had considered Ivanov the top candidate for the 2008 presidency before then president Putin had to step down after a maximum two consecutive terms and publicly endorsed Medvedev’s candidacy.

Top Kremlin idealogue and deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov had been appointed to the job earlier this month on a temporary basis. The move also comes after the Russian lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved the candiadacy of Sergei Naryshkin — another Putin ally believed to have a KGB past — to the job of speaker.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Far East


China Buys Stake in Portuguese Energy Company

China Three Gorges Corp. beat competitors Thursday to a 21.35 percent state in Energias de Portugal (EDP), paying 2.7 billion euros as debt-stricken Portugal sells assets to bolster state coffers. “The cabinet has chosen China Three Gorges to acquire 21.35 percent of the capital of EDP… for 2.7 billion euros,” Treasury Secretary Maria Albuquerque said after a government meeting.

China Three Gorges, which operates the world’s biggest hydro-electric dam of the same name, beat Germany’s EON and Brazilian firms Eletrobras and Cemig to become the single biggest shareholder in power generator EDP after Spain’s Iberdrola which holds 6.79 percent. The Portuguese government has been progressively reducing its stake in EDP since 1997 to leave it with 25 percent which it has promised to sell off in an effort to bolster the state coffers.

The privatisation programme comes in return for an EU and International Monetary Fund debt bailout for Portugal worth 78 billion euros ($102 billion) agreed earlier this year. The government has also committed to sell electric grid operator REN and national carrier TAP, aiming to raise some 5.0 billion euros to help ease the strain on the public finances.

China has been a major buyer of overseas assets to back its growth drive at home but it has also said it would help the eurozone overcome its debt problems. Last month, China’s giant refiner Sinopec paid $3.54 billion for a 30 percent stake in the Brazilian unit of Portuguese oil giant Galp Energia.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Chinese Wines Beat French at Own Game

[10:25:23 AM] Baron 2: French wine growers had their finely trained noses put out of joint when they were trounced by a group of Chinese wines in a blind tasting.

The event, which took place in Beijing, lined up five French wines against five from China.

To guarantee fair play, the judges were made up of five French and five Chinese wine experts.

Four wines from the north-western Ningxia region of China beat all the wines from Bordeaux, France’s most famous wine area.

The first placed wine was a cabernet sauvignon from the Grace Vineyard Chairman’s reserve.

It was left to a 2009 Lafite Saga from the Medoc area of Bordeaux to restore Gallic pride in fifth place.

The event was reminiscent of a similar contest in 1976 between French and American wines. Known as the Judgement of Paris, there was dismay in France when Californian wines beat their French opposition.

“The Ningxia region has huge potential,” said Nathalie Sibille, a Bordeaux specialist quoted in daily newspaper 20 Minutes.

“People will have to change their opinion of Chinese wines,” added one member of the jury, Fiona Sun.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Korean-Made Submarine to be Built on Indonesian Soil

South Korea clinched a $1.1 billion deal to supply three submarines to Indonesia, beating tenders from France, Germany and Russia, because its offer included technology transfer, authorities said Thursday. “South Korea has advanced technology and they are open to a technology transfer, while the other countries in the tender were only focused on selling the submarines,” defence ministry spokesman Hartind Asrin told AFP.

South Korea won the tender Tuesday over France, Germany and Russia, according to the ministry, in its largest-ever weapons export deal. It will allow Indonesian company Penataran Angkatan Laut (PAL) to observe how the vessels are built and to assemble the third in Indonesia. “Under the contract, two submarines will be built in South Korea and the third one will be built at PALs facilities in Surabaya in East Java,” Asrin said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Wukan Settled, Haimen Still on the Boil: Protests in China

Protests against a planned power plant continued for a second day in the town of Haimen in southern China, where Wukan village, the scene of a recent 10-day stand-off between villagers and authorities, is also situated. Residents of Haimen surrounded a government building and blocked an expressway on Tuesday in their protest against a planned second coal-fired power plant within a kilometer of an already existing one which the residents say is polluting air and seawater and reducing the catch of the fishermen at sea.

According to the official Chinese Xinhua news agency, several hundred people gathered for protests on a highway on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper reported that more than 1,000 protesters had gathered at a toll gate to confront hundreds of riot police. Xinhua reported that police fired four rounds of tear gas shells and beat up the protesters. At least three protesters had been hit and then arrested, the agency reported. A local official confirmed to Reuters by telephone on Thursday that there had been no injuries or deaths.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Dutch Cabinet Wants Marines on UN Ships

Dutch marines will soon accompany UN food transports destined for Somalia. Sources in The Hague have told broadsheet that the heavily armed marines are to provide protection against pirates. The proposal will be discussed in Friday’s weekly cabinet meeting.

The first contingent of marines is to board a UN ship in January. The new mission means fewer marines will be available for the special teams currently involved in the protection of Dutch merchant shipping off Somalia. The marines would initially be deployed for a six-month period. It is not clear how many marines would be involved.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Latin America


New Festive Television Choices: Muslim Channels in Spanish

Iranian and Saudi stations begin vying for audiences in Spain and Latin America

Christmas time marks the arrival of Islamic television in Spain. Two satellite stations in Spanish, one broadcasting from Iran and the other from Saudi Arabia, will begin airing on December 21 and January 1, respectively. Both will offer round-the-clock programming for Spanish and Latin American audiences through the Hispasat satellite, industry sources say.

Córdoba Televisión is owned by the Foundation for the Message of Islam, presided by Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Fawzan and backed by the Saudi royal family. At first, programming will fill up eight hours a day and this segment will be repeated three times. Reports, documentaries and religion-based talk shows will make up the bulk of the content.

In order to put the programs together, the sheikh’s aides hired around 50 people, mostly Spaniards who have converted to Islam but also a few professionals from the private networks Antena 3 and Telecinco, who were lured by the hefty paychecks. There are also small teams in Argentina and Colombia, the countries with the largest Muslim minorities in Latin America.

Sheikh Al Fawzan has spent years disseminating Wahhabism, the ultraconservative interpretation of Islam that is practiced in Saudi Arabia. He personally delivers his harangues on Al Ikhtariya, a Saudi station, and on Al Majd, a station from the UAE. In his impassioned speeches, he holds that Muslims need to profess “a positive hatred” of Christians, and he also justifies the marginalization of women in his country.

A professor of Islamic theology at Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University, Al Fawzan is also a member of the Sharia Oversight Committee and of the Human Rights Committee, an agency at the service of the Saudi regime.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Culture Wars


Minister Told He Will Face Potential Arrest for Reading Christmas Story From the Bible at Capitol Christmas Tree

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ — Rev. Patrick Mahoney to read the Christmas Story at the Capitol Tree on Thursday, December 22, at 12:00 P.M.

The Capitol Christmas Tree is located on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol Building.

Rev. Mahoney met with Capitol Police officials telling them of his plans to sing Christmas Carols, read the Christmas story, pray for peace, justice and religious freedom, hold a small 5 inch Nativity Display and pray for political leaders at the Capitol Christmas Tree.

Police officials told him some of his activities may be prohibited or constitute an illegal demonstration.

Rev. Mahoney contacted his attorney, Jim Henderson Senior Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, who in turn called the Office of General Counsel for the Capitol Police on Tuesday, December, 21.

After talking with the Assistant General Counsel for the Capitol Police, Mr. Henderson sent Rev. Mahoney this email:

“Your use of the Bible or the ornament (Nativity Scene) would convert your activity, in the view of the Capitol Police, into a prohibited demonstration. If you failed to discontinue that activity on police direction you would be risking ticketing or arrest.”

Rev. Mahoney told Capitol Police officials he would still read the Christmas Story and hold the Nativity Display on Thursday even if it meant arrest or citation…

           — Hat tip: Janet Levy [Return to headlines]

General


I’ll Put Millions of People on Mars, Says Elon Musk

The swashbuckling SpaceX founder says that he can get to Mars on a shoestring within 20 years — thanks to the fully reusable rockets he’s determined to build

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



NASA Probe Snaps Close-Up Photos of Giant Asteroid

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has taken its first close-up images of the giant asteroid Vesta, revealing the space rock in a wealth of new detail. Dawn recently entered its lowest orbit yet around the rock, which lies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The cozy orbit is allowing the spacecraft to observe new details about a body that scientists think could have been a planet, had things developed differently.

Small grooves, lines and dimples along Vesta’s surface are revealed in the new photos, potentially giving astronomers clues about the space rock’s history, as well as the history of the solar system as a whole. The asteroid is covered in craters from impacts of smaller asteroids in the crowded debris field where it orbits.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

News Feed 20111221

Financial Crisis
» Banks Gorge on ECB Loans
» Doubts Increase Over Usefulness of New Fiscal Treaty
» ECB Opens Flood Gates to Turn Tide of Debt Crisis
» Germany to Borrow €250 Billion to Service Debt
» Greece: Coalition Govt Stained by Pension Dispute
» Greece: Nea Dimocratia Blocks New Pension Cuts
» Greece: Venizelos Optimism for Swap Dampened
» Italy: Unicredit to ‘Hire Dozen More Banks’ To Underwrite Stock Sale
» Italy: Minister Denies Planning to Change Law on Dismissals
» Massive Lending Operation: ECB’s Risky Plan to Flood Banks With Cash
» Norway Offers IMF €7 Billion to Help Eurozone
» Sarkozy’s Comeback: Euro Rescue Efforts Boost French Leader
» The ‘German Premier’: Task Force Leader Cleans House in Greece
» The Crash Specialists: Argentina’s Lessons for a Crisis-Ridden Europe
 
USA
» Andrew Bostom: Gingrich: Gerson, And Sharia
» Sandra Bullock Smuggles Sausage for Christmas
» UN Adopts Religious Intolerance Resolution Championed by Obama Administration
 
Europe and the EU
» Cold Weather Front May Spell Snow for Southern Italy
» Decaying and Deadly: WWII Mines Pose Growing Risk in Germany
» France: Plan to Deploy Police at Strike-Hit Airports
» Germany Funds Afghan TV Cop Show
» Germany: Teens Jailed for Brutal Berlin Metro Attack
» Italy: Bisogniero New Ambassador to Washington
» Lithuania: Nurses Go Norway
» Norway: My Son is Worst Terrorist Since WWII: Jens Breivik
» Sweden: Man Shot Dead in Malmö
» Sweden: ‘Tattoo’ Marketing Angers Larsson’s Partner
» Switzerland: UBS ‘Rogue Trader’ Remanded in Custody
» UK: Baby Born to Muslim Mother After Affair Must be Adopted to Stop Honour Killing Attempts by ‘Shamed’ Grandfather
» UK: Muslim Baby Was at Risk of “Honour Killing”
» UK: Stonehenge Rocks Pembrokeshire Link Confirmed
» UK: Teenage Rapists Aged Just 16 Caught on Camera ‘Elated’ After Horrific Sex Attack on Woman, 20
» Vatican Uses NASA Technology to Preserve Ancient Tomes
» Wilders: Islam Book Generates Interest Outside US
 
Balkans
» Turkey and Kosovo Sign Air Transportation Agreement
 
North Africa
» Libya: Jalil: Saif Gaddafi to Stand Trial Next Week
» Tunisia: Govt List: 3 Key Ministries to Ennahdha
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Reconciliation: PNA Unity Government by January 2012
 
Middle East
» Activists Say at Least 100 Killed in Syrian Town
» Syria: 8 Foreign Engineers Kidnapped, Including 5 Iranians
» Syria: Pro-Assad Demonstration in Damascus
» Syria: A Sad Christmas for Damascus Christians
» Turkey Warns France Over Genocide Bill
 
Russia
» Court Slammed for Slating Holy Book
» Russian Church Keen to Limit ISKCON Activities
 
South Asia
» Pakistan: ‘675 Women: Girls’ Killed for Honour in First 9 Months of Year
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Christmas Staple Frankincense ‘Doomed, ‘ Ecologists Warn
» Italian Ship Freed by Somali Hijackers
» Somali Pirates Holding 200 Crew Hostage: EU NAVFOR
 
Latin America
» Saudi Dairy Giant Spends $83m on Argentina Farms
 
Immigration
» Denmark: Stateless Criminals Granted Citizenship
» EU Court Bars Asylum Transfers Risking ‘Inhuman’ Treatment
 
General
» Fears Grow Over Lab-Bred Flu
» First True ‘Alien Earth’ May be Found in 2012
» Record-Busting Motorbike Will be Jet Engine on Wheels
» Smallest Planet is Tinier Than Earth

Financial Crisis


Banks Gorge on ECB Loans

(Reuters) — Banks gobbled up nearly 490 billion euros in three-year cut-price loans from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, easing immediate fears of a credit crunch but leaving unresolved how much will flow to needy euro zone economies.

Following a string of failed attempts by euro zone leaders to thwart market attacks on the bloc’s weaker members, hopes of crisis relief before the year-end had been pinned on a massive uptake of the ECB’s ultra-long and ultra-cheap loans.

The near half a trillion euro take-up of ECB funds exceeded almost all forecasts. A total of 523 banks borrowed with demand way above the 310 billion euros expected by traders polled by Reuters, making it the most the bank has ever pumped into the financial system.

“The take-up was massive … much higher than the expected 300 billion euros. Liquidity on the banking system has now increased considerably,” said Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]



Doubts Increase Over Usefulness of New Fiscal Treaty

Just a few days into the making of a new intergovernmental treaty on fiscal discipline, serious questions are being raised about whether the slight draft offered to date is either useful or necessary. Following the first day of negotiation on the proposed 14-article treaty, first circulated at the end of last week, the three MEPs at the table noted that virtually all the provisions could be done using the current EU treaties.

“It is for political, symbolic reasons that they want to do this agreement,” said Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian liberal MEP, while his Socialist counterpart Italian MEP Roberto Gualtieri noted that “most, if not everything, could have been done through secondary legislation.” Both MEPs, briefing colleagues on Tuesday evening (20 December,) noted that the legal services could give no answer when specifically asked what in the draft pact could not be achieved under current EU law.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



ECB Opens Flood Gates to Turn Tide of Debt Crisis

The European Central Bank opened the flood gates on Wednesday to drown the debt crisis, injecting a record amount into eurozone banks but analysts were sceptical that it would be enough. In its first-ever 36-month refinancing operation, the ECB fully met a total 489.19 billion ($641 billion) in bids from 523 banks at a rate of just 1.0 percent.

That is higher than the previous record of 442 billion euros for a one-year auction in June 2009 and came in at the top end of analysts’ expectations for 100-500 billion euros. Stock markets, where sentiment has been higher all week, firmed on the news and the euro held up against the dollar but eurozone bond market rates firmed, except for France.

German banks welcomed the move, which also eases some of the pressures which have caused banks to curb lending to businesses and households. “It has decisively improved the liquidity situation of the European banking sector,” said the head of the German BdB banking federation, Michael Kemmer.

Along with the other liquidity measures announced by the ECB last week, “these are the right and important steps to counter the danger of a credit crunch in the euro area,” Kemmer said. Last week, ECB chief Mario Draghi said the central bank would launch its longest-ever refinancing operation, effectively providing unlimited funds to banks on exceptionally easy terms.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany to Borrow €250 Billion to Service Debt

Germany intends to borrow up to €250 billion ($329 billion) from the markets in 2012, less than this year’s level, the government’s financing agency said Wednesday. “The annual preview of government issuance in 2012 contains one-off issues with a total volume of €250 billion, which will serve to finance the federal government budget and the special funds of the federal government in 2012,” the agency said in a statement.

In 2011, Germany had initially planned to raise €302 billion before revising the figure downward to €275 billion, with two-thirds coming from the bond market and one-third from the money market. The fresh money borrowed will be used to repay the country’s debts and the interest on them, the agency said.

Germany, Europe’s top economy, has more than €2.0 trillion in debt or more than 80 percent of its gross domestic product, resulting in interest charges of tens of billions of euros annually. It benefits from lower borrowing rates compared to many of its partners in the eurozone, which have been hit hard by sinking investor confidence. However market volatility has taken its toll. Investors shunned a November auction of German 10-year bonds, considered the gold standard of eurozone debt, in a development that sent shock waves through the single currency area.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Coalition Govt Stained by Pension Dispute

Flat-out “no” by right on more sharp reductions

(by Furio Morroni) (ANSAmed) — ATHENS — The coalition government in Greece led by Premier Lucas Papademos is on the brink of a confrontation. As announced in recent days, New Democracy, the centre-right part backing the government with PASOK (socialist) and LAOS (far right), took a firm stance today against any further pension cuts, which will be discussed today in a crucial cabinet meeting. After statements by party spokesman, Giannis Michelakis, who clearly stated that New Democracy would not vote in favour of salary and pension cuts, Labour and Social Security Minister, Giorgios Koutroumanis, made a considerable about-face today. And just before the meeting where new pension cuts were supposed to be decided (it would have been the third in five months), the minister said that his ministry’s proposal was only the basis for discussion, and no decisions were supposed to be made. The reductions contained in the Labour Ministry’s bill involve pension cuts ranging from 15% to 40% depending on the financial situation of the welfare agency distributing them. But there is tension in the Greek cabinet also due to disagreements between PASOK and New Democracy ministers. Difficulties are mainly linked to the chaotic situation within PASOK resulting from conflicts due to the race for succession in party leadership which is distracting the socialist ministers from their institutional tasks. According to the Greek press, Lucas Papademos is also reportedly highly annoyed with these problems, as speculation on the need for a government reshuffling continues, and was rekindled today by LAOS leader Giorgios Karatzaferis, who stated that “if there is not a reshuffling and a new government with a maximum of 10 ministers and 3 deputy premiers is not formed, early elections will be necessary immediately”. Also today, a source from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) denied the existence of any reason for the optimism expressed yesterday by Greek Finance Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, regarding an imminent framework agreement between the Greek government and creditors to cut public debt held by private institutions in half as part of the second rescue plan for Greece. Today, the IIF source, cited by Skai TV, denied that there is “room for such optimism. Everything is still up in the air, both the outcome of negotiations and the percentage of participants in the programme”. Despite the situation of extreme uncertainty, unrest over the government’s economic policy persists, and today the union representing Greek tax office employees called a 48-hour strike for December 29-30. The protest comes following a worsening of the problems in the sector and alleged heavy criticism against workers in the sector. The strike on the last two days of the year will certainly create serious problems not only for the Finance Ministry in terms of tax collections, but also for many people who have to settle any outstanding business with the tax office.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Greece: Nea Dimocratia Blocks New Pension Cuts

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 21 — Nea Dimocratia, The centre-right party that is part of the Greek government coalition together with Pasok (socialists) and Laos (far-right), today spoke out against any further pension cuts. A discussion on the issues was scheduled in today’s cabinet meeting. After the statement of party spokesman Giannis Michelakis, who told television channel Ant1 that his part will never vote for new wage and pension cuts, Labour and Welfare Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis took a step back. Shortly before the start of the cabinet meeting in which a decision should be taken on another reduction of pension payments (the third in five months), Koutroumanis said that “today the Ministry’s proposal will be discussed but no decisions will be taken.” Meanwhile, tensions are rising in the Council of Ministers because of the conflicts between Pasok and Nea Dimocratia Ministers, but also due to the chaotic situation inside the Pasok party. The problems in Pasok have been caused by conflicts over the party’s new leadership; they distract the socialists Ministers from their work.

Premier Lucas Papademos, according to the Greek media, is angry and concerned about these issues, amid insistent calls for a government reshuffle. Laos leader Giorgos Karatzaferis said today that “without a government reshuffle and the formation of a new government with 10 Ministers and three Vice-Premiers at most, we will have to organise early elections at once.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Greece: Venizelos Optimism for Swap Dampened

Result of talks still up in the air, says IIF source

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 21 — A source from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) has today categorically denied that there should be any reason for the optimism expressed yesterday by Greece’s Finance Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, over a deal framework deal between the Greek government and creditor banks to halve the public debt owned by private investors as part of the country’s second bailout plan. The news was reported by the private radio and television network Skai.

Last night, Venizelos said that the deal between the Athens government and creditor banks would be concluded shortly. “We are close to an agreement. I am confident,” the minister said, adding that “this can be feasible if our partners respect the deal of October 26 and 27”.

Today, however, the IIF source quoted by Skai denied that there should be any “space for optimism of the sort. Everything is still up in the air, from the result of the talks to the percentage of private participants in the programme”. Skai suggests that, given the current international economic situation, the only certainty is that new Greek government bonds will be subordinated to English rather than Greek law, as was the case with the current bonds, and as imposed by the IIF at the European summit of October 26.

Greece’s second bailout (worth 130 billion euros) will see the involvement of private individuals, who will have to accept a 50% reduction in the nominal value of credits through a swap of old bonds held by Greek banks in exchange for new ones. The plan aims to reduce Greek debt from 160% of GDP to 120% by the year 2020. Thirty of the 130 billion euros in the bailout plan are aimed at recapitalizing Greek banks, which alone hold almost 50 billion euros of Athens’ debt.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Unicredit to ‘Hire Dozen More Banks’ To Underwrite Stock Sale

Milan, 20 Dec. (AKI/Bloomberg) — UniCredit, Italy’s biggest lender, plans to hire an additional 12 banks to help manage its 7.5 billion-euro rights offering next month, said two people with knowledge of the discussions.

The co-lead managers will work alongside the 14 securities firms UniCredit hired to underwrite the stock sale, said the people, who declined to be identified, because the plans are private. UniCredit is in talks with mostly European banks for the roles, one of the people said.

Banks managing a rights offering typically guarantee the sale of shares, taking on the risk that they may be left with the shares if investors balk. By hiring additional managers, UniCredit is trying to limit the risk the firms may be left with unsold stock. The Milan-based bank, whose market value has more than halved to 13.9 billion euros this year, is selling shares after Italy’s Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl last month failed to get orders for all the stock on sale in its rights offering.

“It’s a huge amount to be raised at a difficult time, so it’s possible that they want to reduce risk by bringing in more banks,” said Joern Lange, a Vienna-based analyst at Raiffeisen Capital Management, which manages about $36 billion in equities. “UniCredit’s sale will be a tough one, but it all depends on the price. If the political environment becomes less tense, they should be able to get it done.”

UniCredit is raising the money to plug a capital shortfall and comply with the European Banking Authority’s targets. The stock has dropped about 10 percent to 0.70 euros in Milan trading since the lender announced the offering on Nov. 14.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy: Minister Denies Planning to Change Law on Dismissals

Fornero has ‘nothing special in mind’ on Article 18

(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero on Wednesday denied that the government was considering measures that would make it easier for firms to sack workers.

Fornero has come under heavy fire over the last few days from Italy’s trade unions, who believed she wanted to change Article 18 of the Workers Statute, which makes it illegal for companies with more than 15 employees to dismiss people without just cause.

Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of the main centre-left Democratic Party, backed the unions earlier on Wednesday when he said it would be “crazy” to touch Article 18.

But Fornero, a leading member of Premier Mario Monti’s government of technocrats that stepped in after the financial crisis forced out Silvio Berlusconi’s administration last month, said the row had been created by the media misinterpreting her comments.

“I don’t have anything particular in mind concerning Article 18,” she told RAI television.

“I was naive but journalists are very good at setting traps”. The government has said it plans to adopt reforms to loosen Italy’s labour market to help young people and women enter the job market. Even before the row over labour reform, Italy’s unions were already furious with Monti’s government for its 30-million-euro austerity package designed to lift the country out of its debt crisis.

The unions have staged a series of strikes in protest against measures that they say hit the poor and middle classes too hard.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Massive Lending Operation: ECB’s Risky Plan to Flood Banks With Cash

The European Central Bank has launched the biggest lending operation in its history, and banks pounced on the offer on Wednesday, borrowing almost a half-billion euros for three years at a low interest rate. Governments hope the banks will use the cash to buy sovereign bonds, but critics warn the ECB’s strategy is risky and could stoke inflation.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Norway Offers IMF €7 Billion to Help Eurozone

Norway on Wednesday offered the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about €7 billion ($9.2 billion) to help bolster the European economy, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said. “Norway today offered the International Monetary Fund a loan of 55 billion kroner to help stabilise the European economy,” Stoltenberg told reporters. Earlier this week, the 17 countries that share the euro pledged €150 billion ($195 billion) in bilateral loans for the International Monetary Fund to assist the debt-laden eurozone. European Union leaders had called at a December 9th summit for €200 billion, including contributions from non-eurozone countries.

“We are doing this because it is in our interest to restore enough order in the international economy to be able to get out of the crisis we are currently bogged down in,” Stoltenberg said. “It is not a gift, it is an investment,” he insisted.

The loan requires approval from the Norwegian parliament and is conditional on other contributions from other countries, he said. Four non-eurozone members of the EU — the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland and Sweden — each pledged on Monday to make loans to the IMF for use in stabilising the eurozone. But Britain, also a member of the EU but not of the eurozone, has meanwhile refused to stump up its roughly 30-billion share.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sarkozy’s Comeback: Euro Rescue Efforts Boost French Leader

Written off as a failure just months ago, conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy is inching back up in the polls as the election season begins. While he’s restyled himself as a statesman out to rescue the euro, his opponent, Socialist candidate François Hollande, is still searching for the right message.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The ‘German Premier’: Task Force Leader Cleans House in Greece

Armed with 45 experts and 30 years of experience, Horst Reichenbach is in Athens to help the Greeks economize and institute reforms. His conclusions about their situation are sobering, but he also reports a new sense of determination for tackling the debt crisis there.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



The Crash Specialists: Argentina’s Lessons for a Crisis-Ridden Europe

Ten years ago, Argentina’s economy was in a shambles, the victim of vast sovereign debt, a peso that was pegged to the US dollar and rigid IMF austerity measures. A decade later, Europe is facing many of the same problems. Argentina’s recovery has plenty of lessons for the euro zone — if only it would listen.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

USA


Andrew Bostom: Gingrich: Gerson, And Sharia

Former President George W. Bush’s aide Michael Gerson posted a distressingly ignorant column on 12/13/11 which attacked both former speaker and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, and my colleague Andrew C. McCarthy, for their sober, if frank conceptions of the Sharia. The counterfactual basis for Mr. Gerson’s diatribe is his own thoroughly deficient understanding of Islam’s religio-political code for personal, societal, and Muslim state behavior. He glibly—and wrongly—imputes unique Western notions of individual rights, equality before the law, or even rational legal procedures of evidence to the Sharia’s so-called “set of transcendent principles of justice.”

Gerson condemns Gingrich’s apt summary conclusion (made during a July 2010 speech at the American Enterprise Institute) that “Shariah in its natural form has principles and punishments totally abhorrent to the Western world,” while deriding the former speaker’s “qualifications” to make such an assessment. The crux of Gerson’s vitriolic, uninformed “argument”—that Gingrich has deliberately misrepresented as normative Sharia “the most radical form of Islamic law”, and dared to identify this sacralized code as “totalitarian”—is factually-challenged—and dangerous—drivel.

With vanishingly rare intellectual honesty and resolve, Gingrich has described how normative Sharia—antithetical to bedrock Western legal principles—by “divine,” immutable diktat, rejects freedom of conscience, while sanctioning violent jihadism, absurd, misogynistc “rules of evidence” (four male witnesses for rape), barbarous punishments (stoning for adultery), and polygamy…

           — Hat tip: Andy Bostom [Return to headlines]



Sandra Bullock Smuggles Sausage for Christmas

Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock has admitted to smuggling delectable sausage from Germany into the United States for Christmastime. During an appearance this week on NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” the 47-year-old star of films like “The Blind Side” said she and accomplices have been smuggling the sausage into America ever since her German mother died in 2000. “We break the law because we have to manage to smuggle German sausages into the country and apparently bringing meats across the waters is against the law,” Bullock said.

Although raised in the United States, the actress was born to a father in the US Army stationed in Nuremberg where he met Bullock’s mother, a German opera singer. As a child, Bullock became fluent in German and travelled to her mother’s performances throughout Europe. On the “Tonight Show” she declined to explain how she smuggles the sausage — whether through the mail on her person — but said she has a need for a very specific type of meat for her Christmastime spread.

“It has to be from Nuremburg,” she said, likely referring to the famed Nürnberger Rostbratwurst. “They’re these little sausages that you just have shipped in and you fry them up with sauerkraut and potato salad but they have to be the right ones because they sell a lot that are imposters.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UN Adopts Religious Intolerance Resolution Championed by Obama Administration

(CNSNews.com) — The U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the stereotyping, negative profiling and stigmatization of people based on their religion, and urging countries to take effective steps “to address and combat such incidents.”

No member state called for a recorded vote on the text, which was as a result adopted “by consensus.”

The resolution, an initiative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), is based on one passed by the U.N.’s Human Rights Council in Geneva last spring. The State Department last week hosted a meeting to discuss ways of “implementing” it.

Every year since 1999 the OIC has steered through the U.N.’s human rights apparatus a resolution condemning the “defamation of religion,” which for the bloc of 56 Muslim states covered incidents ranging from satirizing Mohammed in a newspaper cartoon to criticism of shari’a and post-9/11 security check profiling.

Critics regard the measure as an attempt to outlaw valid and critical scrutiny of Islamic teachings, as some OIC states do through controversial blasphemy laws at home.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU


Cold Weather Front May Spell Snow for Southern Italy

(AGI) Rome — Italy’s emergency response services issue weather warning as new cold front heads for Italy. Today’s bulletin forecasts a cold weather front heading for Sardinia and the Tyrrhenian coastline in southern Italy. Temperatures are expected to drop significantly, with snowfall forecasts below the 1,000 metre line.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Decaying and Deadly: WWII Mines Pose Growing Risk in Germany

Two anti-tank mines from World War II have exploded spontaneously in the ground next to a road in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. Fortunately, nobody has been hurt so far. Experts are warning that the risk of such sudden blasts is growing because the trigger mechanisms are decaying with age.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France: Plan to Deploy Police at Strike-Hit Airports

The government threatened to deploy police officers at airports in place of striking security workers, during the busy holiday season, as their action continued for a fifth day. “If the strike continues tomorrow, border police, airport police and if necessary riot police… will be mobilised to ensure security at airports,” Transport Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said on Tuesday. “It is very difficult in present conditions to scan and verify all passengers and luggage,” she said.

Three hundred policemen and women and 100 gendarmes were already on standby to fill in for the strikers,” interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told AFP. The strike was on launched Friday by unions demanding improved working conditions and salary increases. Negotiations on Sunday aimed at ending the strike failed. By Tuesday evening, 430 of the 607 scheduled flights had taken off from Paris’s Charles De Gaulle airport. All the flights from Lyon airport had taken off.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany Funds Afghan TV Cop Show

The German government is bankrolling a new TV cop show in Afghanistan in the hope of helping improve the image of the country’s much-maligned police force. According to the website of news magazine Der Spiegel, the series will attempt to portray Afghan police in a new light: As courageous, smart and honest, in contrast to their current widespread perceptions of them as being corrupt and ineffective.

And in a country where women have traditionally been marginalised, it also will show investigators confronting crimes against women and demonstrating that they can serve as police officers. One of the central figures of the new show, called “Commissioner Amanullah,” is Saba Sahar, a 37-year-old who is a well-known actress but also a real-life policewoman, according to Der Spiegel.

Currently there are only about 1,400 policewomen in Afghanistan’s 125,000-strong police force. The show, which is slated to go on the air beginning next April is being sponsored in part by the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan, which has been the focus of Germany’s efforts to help professionalise Afghan police forces.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Teens Jailed for Brutal Berlin Metro Attack

A judge has handed down prison sentences of between four and six years to four young men charged with attempting to kill a man at a Berlin metro station earlier this year. The three 18-year-olds and one 15-year-old were convicted of attempted murder for attacking a 30-year-old house painter and his co-worker at the German capital’s Lichtenberg U-Bahn station in February.

The victim’s co-worker escaped with minor injuries, but the 30-year-old suffered massive brain trauma during the beating and remains severely injured. During the trial, prosecutors argued that the accused — all of whom are from immigrant backgrounds — had been motivated by “hate of Germans” and “having fun by committing gratuitous violence against the weak.”

The teens told police that they had been provoked after the man shouted the Nazi salute “Seig Heil” at them, but police dismissed that claim after speaking to witnesses. Authorities expressed shock when the incident took place, with Berlin’s interior weighing in with strong condemnation. They also said they were surprised no bystanders stepped in to protect the helpless victim. The incident was one of several recent attacks at public transportation facilities that left the German public angry and authorities struggling to improve security.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Bisogniero New Ambassador to Washington

NATO deputy secretary-general replaces Terzi

(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — Career diplomat Claudio Bisogniero, an expert on NATO, relations with China and international financial issues, was on Thursday appointed Italy’s new ambassador to Washington. Bisogniero, 57, succeeds Giulio Terzi who has become foreign minister in Mario Monti’s new emergency government.

After spending time in China in the early 1980s, where he observed the opening to the West under Deng Xiaoping, Bisogniero was seconded to NATO in the late 1980s where he followed the rise of Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the thaw between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

He served at the Quirinale Palace from 1989 to 1992 before four years in Washington as chief advisor for US economic and financial affairs. In 1996-99 Bisogniero represented Italy at the United Nations in New York and led Italian moves to reform the Security Council.

After returning to Rome he took up various posts at the foreign ministry including deputy director-general for political affairs in 2002-05, working on the UN, NATO, the G8, disarmament and human rights.

From 2005 to 2007 he was director-general for relations with the US, Canada and Latin America.

A ranking ambassador, in October 2007 Bisogniero was appointed deputy secretary-general of NATO in Brussels, among the highest international posts held by Italy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Lithuania: Nurses Go Norway

Faced with the economic crisis, Lithuanian medical staff are increasingly leaving to work in Norway, where salaries are much higher. Although they do not become exiles, they do have to contend with a permanent schedule of return journeys between Oslo and Vilnius.

More and more Lithuanians are working abroad, but only leaving home for short periods. Four weeks in Norway, and two in Lithuania: this is the package that Norwegian homecare providers typically offer prospective medical personnel.

In Lithuania, the emigration of doctors and nurses has become a headache for everyone. It seems as if they are all leaving the country one after the other. This year, close to 3% of our doctors opted to try their luck abroad — a phenomenon that has in part been prompted by the opening of the German labour market.

According to official figures, non-specialist nurses working in Lithuania earn a net average of 1,074 litas [311 euros] per month, and the low pay is one of the main reasons why they are opting to go abroad. Employers in Scandinavian countries, which offer a high level of medical services, and where there is a shortfall of doctors, are taking advantage of the situation. The Finns are recruiting in Estonia, while the Norwegians are active in Lithuania. However, no one is being asked to emigrate, just to come and work on short-term missions.

Nurses who sign with Norwegian companies work four weeks in Norway before returning home for two weeks off. The amount they are paid depends on their level of seniority in Norway: with salaries varying from 7,000 (€2,000) to 14,000 (€4,000) litas per month.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Norway: My Son is Worst Terrorist Since WWII: Jens Breivik

The father of Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in twin attacks in July, says his son is the “worst terrorist” since World War II, in an interview released on Wednesday. Jens Breivik, 76, a retired diplomat who lives in the south of France, told German news weekly Stern that he last had contact with his son about six years ago by phone but that he now wanted to visit him in prison.

“I want to look him in the eyes. Perhaps I am in a position to arouse feelings in him,” he told Stern in comments published in German. “He is the worst terrorist since the Second World War. He killed 77 innocent people and isn’t even showing remorse,” he added in an interview. Breivik, who divorced Anders’s mother when he was one year old, said they did not have much of a father-son relationship and had no common interests. But he indicated he felt a sense of guilt. “Probably all that wouldn’t have happened if I had looked after Anders more,” he added.

Behring Breivik killed a total of 77 people on July 22nd, most of whom died when he embarked on a shooting spree on the island of Utøya, some 40 kilometres north-west of Oslo. He had earlier set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people. His father had worked in one of the now destroyed government buildings in the 1990s, Stern said.

Now in custody at the high-security Ila prison near Oslo, Behring Breivik, 32, is scheduled to go on trial on April 16th. A psychiatric evaluation of the confessed killer who claimed to be on a crusade against multiculturalism and the “Muslim invasion” of Europe, concluded late last month that he suffered from “paranoid schizophrenia”.

If confirmed by a panel of experts and the Oslo court, that conclusion will most likely mean Behring Breivik cannot go to prison but instead will be sent to a closed psychiatric institution for treatment.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Man Shot Dead in Malmö

A 55-year-old man was shot in the head while renovating a café in central Malmö on Tuesday afternoon.

Officers were alerted of the shooting shortly after 1pm. “The incident had taken place just before that,” said Marie Persson of the county police to news agency TT. The police quickly arrived on the scene, secured the premises and let emergency services in to try to save the man’s life. He was taken by ambulance to the Skåne University hospital, where his condition was judged to be life threatening. He died later during the evening.

According to witness statements, two men had entered the café, which two others were refurbishing, when some sort of dispute ensued. “One of the men then pulls out a gun and shoots the workman in the head,” said police officer Thomas Paulsson to Sveriges Television (SVT). After the shooting, the two men quickly exited the shop, leaving the bleeding victim and his severely shocked 30-year-old colleague, who managed to get help alerting police.

“He came running in here saying his friend had been shot, wanting me to call the police,” one witness told local paper Sydsvenskan. “I thought he was joking at first but he took a deep breath and I realized that he must be serious. I closed the door and called the police.”

According to Sydsvenskan, the victim was not previously known to the police. However, one of the owners of the café is said to be a 40-year-old former member of the disbanded Lion Family gang, which operated in the area in 2009 and 2010. Police have yet to make any arrests in connection to the shooting.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: ‘Tattoo’ Marketing Angers Larsson’s Partner

The late Swedish crime writer Stieg Larsson’s former partner has slammed the commercialization of the author’s best-selling novel, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” in connection with the release of Hollywood’s adaption of the book. “We would never have sold any rights for merchandising,” Eva Gabrielsson told the AP news agency.

Gabrielsson, who was in a relationship with Larsson for more than 30 years before he died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 50, has been engaged in a long-running dispute with Larsson’s family over the rights to the estate of the late-author. The journalist-turned-novelist died without a will, and the couple never had children. Under Swedish law, Larsson’s assets — including copyrights — thereby automatically went to his father and brother, leaving Gabrielsson with nothing.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Switzerland: UBS ‘Rogue Trader’ Remanded in Custody

A trader accused of a $2.25 billion fraud at Swiss bank UBS was remanded in custody by a London court on Tuesday as his case was adjourned until January 30th, when he must enter a plea. Kweku Adoboli, 31, is charged with two counts of fraud and two of false accounting between 2008 and September this year.

Judge Alistair McCreath adjourned Adoboli’s plea and case management hearing for a second time to give the defendant’s new legal team more time to consult with their client. Dressed in a white shirt, navy blue tie and grey suit, Adoboli sat on the front row of the dock with a notepad in his hand. He spoke to confirm his name.

The son of a Ghanaian former UN official, Adoboli worked for UBS’s global synthetic equities division in the City of London financial district. He bought and sold exchange traded funds, which track different types of stocks or commodities such as precious metals.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Baby Born to Muslim Mother After Affair Must be Adopted to Stop Honour Killing Attempts by ‘Shamed’ Grandfather

A baby born to a Muslim mother after an affair must be adopted to prevent the child becoming the victim of an honour killing, the Court of Appeal ruled today.

The baby’s mother, who is not married, was so ‘terrified’ of how her family would react that after becoming pregnant she ran away from home.

She then concealed her pregnancy by wearing loose clothes and travelling to the other side of town for her antenatal care.

As soon as the baby — known only as Q — was born the mother gave her up for adoption.

Upholding a High Court decision, three judges ruled that Q’s father could not have his daughter to live with him because of the risk the baby’s maternal grandfather would track her down.

Instead, Q, who is now a year old, will be adopted.

The baby’s maternal grandmother had told police that if her husband found out about the child ‘he would consider himself honour-bound to kill the child, the mother, the grandmother herself and the grandmother’s other children’.

Today Lord Justice Munby, Lady Justice Black and Lord Justice Kitchin said in a joint ruling that the child was at risk if she was not adopted.

They said if the grandfather discovered the affair ‘it would be a matter of intense almost unimaginable shame to him and his family’.

The couple who are adopting the child had been looking after her since December 2010.

They are also Muslim and from the same country as the mother, but from a different community.

The judges imposed unusually wide reporting restrictions banning the publication of all names and locations linked to the case because of the continuing dangers faced by mother and child.

The baby’s father — a married man known as F — had launched an appeal against the decision made by Mrs Justice Parker in the High Court last July.

She found there would be ‘a very significant risk of two and two being put together’ if the child went to live with its father because the baby was quite obviously not his wife’s child.

The appeal court judges ruled: ‘In the particular circumstances of this case, the judge rightly regarded the risk of physical harm to Q and M (her mother) as being of major importance.’

The court heard that although both the baby’s mother and father were Muslim, there was a ‘profound cultural difference’ between them.

Upholding Mrs Justice Parker’s decision to make an adoption order, the appeal judges said: ‘The mother’s evidence, supported as it was by her actions, and the evidence of (the father) and an experienced police officer, drove the judge to conclude that refusal of the order would carry with it a significant risk of physical harm.

‘In our judgment this conclusion cannot be criticised.’

The adopting couple, Mr and Mrs A, were ‘loving and devoted adopters to whom Q has formed a deep attachment’.

The couple were Muslims who had taken advice from their imam that they could adopt Q.

The judge had rightly concluded that under Islamic law and tradition ‘there would be no long-term harmful consequence in adoption’.

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]



UK: Muslim Baby Was at Risk of “Honour Killing”

LONDON (Reuters) — A baby at risk of becoming the victim of an “honour killing” because she was born as the result of her unmarried Muslim mother’s secret affair must be adopted to keep her safe, the Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday.

Three senior judges rejected a bid by the one-year-old girl’s natural father to have her live with him and his wife.

The child’s natural mother is in favour of adoption so that her own family will not find out about the birth.

Lord Justice Munby, Lady Justice Black and Lord Justice Kitchin said in a joint judgment the case involved “exceptionally difficult adoption proceedings,” the Press Association reported.

The judges imposed unusually wide reporting restrictions banning the publication of all names and locations linked to the case because of the continuing dangers faced by mother and child.

The appeal court rejected an appeal by the father “F” against a decision last July refusing him a residence order allowing the baby to live with him.

The judge ordered that “baby Q” should be adopted by a couple, also Muslim, from the same country as the mother, but from a different community.

She found there would be “a very significant risk of two and two being put together” if the child went to the father because Q was quite obviously not the child of his wife, who had a child of her own.

If the child’s maternal grandfather found out about the affair “it would be a matter of intense almost unimaginable shame to him and his family,” said the judge.

The appeal court said on Wednesday: “It was plainly the judge’s view that this might provoke action to preserve the family’s honour.”

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]



UK: Stonehenge Rocks Pembrokeshire Link Confirmed

Experts say they have confirmed for the first time the precise origin of some of the rocks at Stonehenge. It has long been suspected that rhyolites from the northern Preseli Hills helped build the monument. But research by National Museum Wales and Leicester University has identified their source to within 70m (230ft) of Craig Rhos-y-felin, near Pont Saeson.

The museum’s Dr Richard Bevins said the find would help experts work out how the stones were moved to Wiltshire. For nine months Dr Bevins, keeper of geology at National Museum Wales, and Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University collected and identified samples from rock outcrops in Pembrokeshire to try to find the origins of rhyolite debitage rocks that can be found at Stonehenge.

By detailing the mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock, a process known as petrography, they found that 99% of the samples could be matched to rocks found in this particular set of outcrops. Being able to provenance any archaeologically significant rock so precisely is remarkable”

Rhyolitic rocks at Rhos-y-felin, between Ffynnon-groes (Crosswell) and Brynberian, differ from all others in south Wales, they said, which helps locate almost all of Stonehenge’s rhyolites to within hundreds of square metres.

Within that area, the rocks differ on a scale of metres or tens of metres, allowing Dr Bevins and Dr Ixer to match some Stonehenge rock samples even more precisely to a point at the extreme north-eastern end of Rhos-y-felin. Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University called the discovery of the source of the rocks “quite unexpected and exciting”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Teenage Rapists Aged Just 16 Caught on Camera ‘Elated’ After Horrific Sex Attack on Woman, 20

Two teenagers subjected a woman to a terrifying rape ordeal after stalking her and abducting her as she left a nightclub.

Jailat Khan and Shahzada Khan, both just 16, were caught after they were captured on CCTV celebrating their sickening attack in Leeds city centre.

The victim, in her early 20s, was on the phone to her boyfriend asking him to get her a taxi at around 2am when she was dragged into a doorway.

He could hear her screams for 30 seconds before the line went dead. She was then raped.

The pair have now been jailed for the shocking attack.

A court heard the pair, both Afghanis, were prowling the streets on June 12 this year looking for an easy target when they came across their victim.

The defendants spotted the woman and followed her after she left the HiFi club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and one spoke to her when she stopped at a bus stop while the other was looking around assessing the area.

The pair then struck from either side bundling her into a fire exit doorway.

Jason Pitter, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court she was pushed to the ground and when she screamed Shahzada put his hand over her mouth.

She could hear Jailat laughing and tried to struggle but was overpowered. Jailat raped her while his accomplice held her down.

Mr Pitter said: ‘While on the mobile phone to her boyfriend, he had the misfortune of hearing the attack begin.

‘He heard her become distressed then say ‘Get off, get off, what are you doing’. He heard her scream for 30 seconds before her line went dead.’

The defendants ran off when they were disturbed but Shahzada was then captured on CCTV making a playful bowling motion. The prosecutor said they appeared ‘elated’ after the attack.

‘Those actions do not portray the grave nature of their conduct moments before,’ said Mr Pitter.

Two men heard the victim’s distress and went to her assistance. She was hysterical and pleaded with them not to leave her alone saying ‘Why has this happened to me? Why have they done this to me?’ When the police arrived they found her sitting in the doorway hugging her knees, shaking, crying and muttering.

Jailat Khan, of Beeston, Leeds, was ordered to be detained for five years and Shahzada Khan, of Leeds, was ordered to be detained for four years after both admitted kidnap and rape.

Sentencing the pair on Tuesday, Judge Christopher Batty said they had targeted a vulnerable woman alone in the city centre and the effect on her was ‘immeasurable’.

‘Not a day passes without her suffering flashbacks and nightmares. She has not been out since these events, her confidence has gone and she is currently taking anti-depressant medication.’

The judge, who lifted a ban on their identities because of the severity of the attack, said: ‘I have been to that alleyway and it is a very cold, miserable, frightening place and I can’t even begin to imagine how the complainant felt. It is a very dark and lonely spot.’

He told them had they been adults the sentence would have been longer but he had taken into account their plea sparing the victim a trial and their age.

Stephen Crossley, for Jailat Khan, said he arrived in the UK in 2009 and was given discretionary leave to remain until July next year following the deaths of his father and brother in Afghanistan and loss of contact with his mother and sister in that country.

Neither he nor Shahzada Khan knew their ages and both had been given a statutory birth date of January 1, 1995.

Catherine Silverton, for Shahzada Khan, said he was brought up in Afghanistan, Pakistan and then the UK by a couple he thought were his parents but discovered when he was remanded they were his aunt and uncle, his real parents having died in a car crash when he was young. He had expressed remorse.

She added: ‘Nothing I say on the defendant’s behalf is intended to suggest that these offences were anything other than the stuff of nightmares.’

The Khans were identified following an appeal. Jailat Khan’s DNA was found on the woman and while in custody, he was found to have a ‘worrying attitude to women’ and threatened to rape a member of staff.

After the case Det Supt Paul Taylor said: ‘This was an extremely shocking incident and is thankfully something which I have never seen before in my many years as a detective.

‘After stalking lone women until they were able to find a victim, they then celebrated their crimes in full view of CCTV cameras. This proved to be their undoing.’

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]



Vatican Uses NASA Technology to Preserve Ancient Tomes

One of the world’s oldest libraries in Rome faces a huge problem — how to preserve 1,800-year-old manuscripts in a digital format that’s readable for next-generation computers. A format designed to store images taken by satellites and orbital telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope could offer a solution to the Holy See’s Vatican Library.

Archivists have already begun scanning the fragile, ancient tomes in the Vatican’s collection with software that can transform old pages pressed against glass into an accurate, flat digital image. Such images saved in the flexible image transport system (FITS) format — designed by NASA and European space scientists in the 1970s — will allow computers built even 100 years from now to decode whatever information is stored. “If you have a tool that can read FITS today, you can read FITS files from 20 years ago,” said Pedro Osuna, head of the European Space Agency’s scientific archives. “It’s always backwards compatible.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Wilders: Islam Book Generates Interest Outside US

A book by Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders which is due to be published in the US in April is also generating interest in other countries.

“They will probably soon follow” Wilders said on Wednesday; the first day the book could be ordered in advance. The book is called Marked for Death: Islam’s War Against the West and Me and is scheduled for US release on 30 April.

Mr Wilders says the book is an “Indictment of Islam and its Prophet Mohamed.’‘ It is not yet known whether it will be translated into Dutch.

The Freedom Party leader says the book offers “a solid, historical analysis of the dangers of Islamisation.” In it, Wilders makes concrete proposals and political solutions to “turn the tide on the Islamisation of the West and preserve our precious liberty.”

Egypt recently voiced its concerns about the publication. The issue was discussed at the end of November during a meeting between the Dutch ambassador and the Egyptian foreign ministry.

           — Hat tip: The PVV [Return to headlines]

Balkans


Turkey and Kosovo Sign Air Transportation Agreement

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 21 — Turkey and Kosovo signed a deal on air transportation within the scope of extending flight network in Balkan countries, as Anatolia news agency reports. Turkey’s Civil Aviation Directorate General stated on Wednesday that the deal was signed following the talks between Turkish and Kosovar officials last week, noting that the deal would increase flights between Turkey and Kosovo, especially between Istanbul and Pristina. The deal also includes holding scheduled cargo flights between the two countries. The deal will help Kosovo to connect with not only Turkey but also other countries via Turkey.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

North Africa


Libya: Jalil: Saif Gaddafi to Stand Trial Next Week

Son and former successor of Muammar Gaddafi

(ANSAmed) — ROME — NTC President Mustafa Abdel Jalil said that next week in Libya the trial against Saif al-Islam, the son and former successor of Muammar, captured in mid-November in southern Libya, might begin. Jalil also predicted that the trials against others accused of having ties with the former regime would begin.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Tunisia: Govt List: 3 Key Ministries to Ennahdha

Marzouki to submit it to Constituent Assembly tomorrow

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DECEMBER 21 — The list of ministers of the new Tunisian government was presented by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali yesterday evening to the President of the Republic Moncef Marzouki, who will be submitting it tomorrow (Thursday) to the Constituent Assembly. The list has not been made known but according to reliable sources the Interior, Foreign and Justice ministries will be assigned to representatives of Ennahdha, the Islamic party that won the October 23 elections. The same sources say that Ali Larayedh (political prisoner under Ben Ali’s regime) will be given the post of Interior Minister, Noureddine Bhiri (current party spokesman) that of Justice Minister and Rafik Ben Abdessalem (son-in-law of party leader Rached Ghannouchi) that of Foreign Minister.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel and the Palestinians


Reconciliation: PNA Unity Government by January 2012

Agreement reached in Cairo, Hamas spokesman

(ANSAmed) — GAZA — A Palestinian unity government of experts from the West Bank and Gaza will be formed by January 2012: this is one of the points several Palestinian factions have agreed on in talks in Cairo in the past days. The news was announced by Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum. The factions have also approved the composition of a committee of nine — chaired by the former rector of the Bir Zeit University (West Bank), Hanna Nasser — which will organise new presidential and general elections in the Territories in May 2012.

By the end of January 2012, Barhum said, the Hamas government in Gaza and the PNA government in Ramallah will release all political prisoners. As of tomorrow, Palestinian press agency MAAN reports, the talks in Cairo will focus on the question of the inclusion of the PLO in the political factions that are not yet represented, together with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

Press sources in Gaza have added that a meeting between PNA President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, scheduled today, has been postponed; the meeting may be held tomorrow.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Middle East


Activists Say at Least 100 Killed in Syrian Town

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops assaulting a northwest town with machine gun fire and shelling have killed at least 100 people in one of the deadliest episodes of the 9-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime, activists said Wednesday.

Tuesday’s attack on the town of Kfar Owaid in Idlib province showed the Syrian government was pressing ahead with its crackdown despite its agreement this week to an Arab League plan for bringing a halt to the bloodshed.

“It was an organized massacre. The troops surrounded people then killed them,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

He said troops on the outskirts of the town surrounded and fired on crowds of civilians and activists trying to flee out of fear they would be detained. The group, which uses a network of local activists to collect information on the crackdown, said 111 were killed in Kfar Owaid Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]



Syria: 8 Foreign Engineers Kidnapped, Including 5 Iranians

Working near Homs

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, DECEMBER 21 — Eight engineers of different nationalities have been kidnapped by terrorists in the centre of Syria, according to the official Syrian news agency Sana. Five of them are Iranian nationals. The origins of the other three are as yet unknown.

The agency says that the engineers were kidnapped last night close to Homs, as they travelled on a company bus that was taking them to their place of work. The engineers were working at the Jandar power station, in the industrial area on the outskirts of Syria’s third largest city.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Syria: Pro-Assad Demonstration in Damascus

Flags fly ‘for army that defends us against terrorists’

(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, DECEMBER 21 — Flags, pictures of the President and slogans: today the very loyal supporters of Assad demonstrated in Damascus on the eve of the arrival of the Arab League observers. They came together around the large fountain on Omayad Square,in the centre of the new part of the city. The Assad supporters have organised the event “to pay tribute to our troops,” they explain. “I have dressed my boy in a camouflage combat suit for that reason,” said a young woman who proudly showed her ‘small soldier for a day’.

The new part of the city was unusually calm since early this morning, because all main access roads had been closed for traffic. Security forces guarded the roads, while street traders were selling flags, banners and gadgets with the Syrian flag and the face of the President painted on them. In military uniform, wearing sunglasses, saluting and smiling, enclosed in a heart printed on t-shirts. “We love Syria, we love Bashar”.

A small procession started from one of the university buildings: families, elderly couples but most of all young people. The demonstration was in fact organised by a group of young people who call themselves ‘Young people for the Syrian flag’ and “not by an official organisation”, said two persons of around thirty, both called Rabia and both involved in the organisation of the event. “It has been organised by a group of friends, they have come together here and have spread the word via the social networks and web television. We have dedicated this event to the military, they are Syrian citizens like us.” Many girls are also wearing shirts or trousers in camouflage colours. They want to pay tribute to the army, which “protects the Syrian people” from “terrorists.” When a band starts playing the national anthem on a stage, everybody stops and many start singing, while standing at the salute. Then balloons are released with the Syrian colours and people start dancing, singing and shouting slogans. It almost seems a celebration, and yet Damascus signed an unprecedented agreement on Monday, allowing observers to move around freely in the country, while opposition and activists continue to reports dozens of casualties. “We approve of this agreement,” said one of the Rabias, “and the government has signed it because the people want it.” “Wars have never resolved any crisis,” said the other Rabia, “the only solution is dialogue.” But dialogue with whom? “With all honest Syrian citizens, with those who want reforms and certainly not with those who give weapons to gangs. People in Syria are free and carrying out reforms is a continuous process. At times there are obstacles, and this international conspiracy certainly is one of them.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Syria: A Sad Christmas for Damascus Christians

Subdued out of respect for dead, but ‘we are united’

(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS — No Christmas lights are strung up around Damascus, and not even a decorated tree can be found in the Christian quarter of the Old City, where even the churches are bare of adornments. “Out of the respect for the dead,” the Christian community seem to say in unison in Syria, where they account for 10% of the population and have long been one of the most integrated in an Arab country. It is for the latter reason that they have oftentimes shown their support for Assad’s regime, which they feel protected by. And it is for this every reason that now — aware of the crisis afflicting the country — they are calling for Syrian unity.

The community is doing its part by renouncing all “superfluous’ Christmas symbols, observing the holiday solely through religious celebrations and within their families. “There will be celebrations as always, but due to the situation and out of respect for so many who have died, in our church and our family we have decided to spend Christmas in our houses and limit the use of lights and decorations,” said Milad, whose name means ‘Christmas’. Milad works with his father in one of the many goldsmith shops of the souk, whose owners are almost all Christians. “In Syria there is a problem at the moment,” he said, “there is a need for reform, but the situation is not like what some media outlets make it seem. And so the arrival of observers is a good thing. However, we must stay united, more than before, for our future.” Concerns over what the future may hold in store are palpable. “There have never been religious tensions here,” said Iria, a 71-year-old Christian Protestant in her tiny linen shop in the Christian quarter of Damascus’s Old City, “we have always lived in harmony. We are now worried because there are people shooting and killing and we do not know who they are. And we don’t know what will happen if the regime falls — in Egypt, after what happened, the Muslim Brotherhood are now taking over.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Turkey Warns France Over Genocide Bill

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday asked France to drop a parliamentary bill making it illegal to deny the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey was genocide, Reuters reports. The bill, put forward by a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party, is due to be debated Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Russia


Court Slammed for Slating Holy Book

Local religious leaders and organisations have slammed a Russian court for comparing the Bhagavad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, to Adolf Hitler’s controversial Mein Kampf.

The Nazi dictator wrote Mein Kampf while he was in Landsberg prison in Germany in 1925. The book contains Hitler’s anti-Semitic views.

State prosecutors in Tomsk, Siberia, seek to ban the Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita, contending that it is an extremist religious text that should be on a blacklist.

The call, which has been linked to a Christian extremist group, claims the book spreads “social discord” and wants its distribution in Russia to be rendered illegal.

The Russian ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, said: “I consider it categorically inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to the courts. For all believers, these texts are sacred.”

He said Russia was a secular and democratic country where all religions enjoyed equal respect.

Protests

Kadakin made the statement after Indian lawmakers forced an adjournment of Parliament over the issue and Hindus staged protests outside the Russian consulate in Kolkata city on Monday.

The Siberian court is expected to deliver its verdict on December 28.

The president of the SA Hindu Maha Sabha, Ashwin Trikamjee, said he had signed an international online petition protesting against the “crazy suggestion”.

Trikamjee said: “There is no logical basis to this call; it is an anti-Hindu sentiment. The Bhagavad Gita is a holy scripture and no one is forced to read it. This call is unacceptable and we have already mobilised locally and sent a letter to the Russian authorities expressing our concern.

“In this day and age, there should be no place for such religious intolerance. In fact, this is one of the the most powerful pieces of literature.”

He said the Maha Sabha would be monitoring the situation very closely.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) and its followers in Russia have also written a letter to the prime minister’s office in New Delhi calling for immediate intervention.

The Russian court referred the book to the Tomsk State University for an” expert” examination on October 25.

But Hindu groups in Russia say the university was not qualified as it lacked scholars who study the history and cultures, languages and literature of the Indian subcontinent.

Durban Iskcon spokeswoman Champakalata Dasi said they were also strongly supporting their Russian counterparts through the online petition.

           — Hat tip: RW [Return to headlines]



Russian Church Keen to Limit ISKCON Activities

By Vladimir Radyuhin and Sandeep Dikshit for The Hindu

The court case against a translation of the Bhagavad Gita in the Siberian city of Tomsk is linked to long-running attempts by the Russian Orthodox Church to limit the activities of the Hare Krishna movement, branding it as a totalitarian sect.

Earlier this year, the authorities banned the construction of an ISKCON community village in the Tomsk region. Seven years ago, the Moscow city government did not allow the movement to build a sprawling prayer-cum-cultural complex in central Moscow. Later, ISKCON was permitted to set up its centre in a Moscow suburb.

ISKCON says it has one lakh Russian followers and more than 100 communities but the Orthodox Church claims the number is in a few thousands.

Russian ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin regretted that the case was being heard in the university city of Tomsk, famous for its secularism and religious tolerance, and reiterated the secular credentials of Russia.

Mr. Kadakin considered it “categorically inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to…courts. For all believers, these texts are sacred.”

A second-term ambassador, whose first posting was in India in 1971 and who for years taught about India, Mr. Kadakin said the Bhagavad Gita, along with the holy scriptures of other faiths, was a great source of wisdom for the people of India and the world. “Russia, as is known to anyone, is a secular and democratic country where all religions enjoy equal respect. This is even more applicable to [the] holy scriptures of various faiths, whether it is the Bible, the Holy Quran, the Torah, the Avesta and, of course, the Bhagavad Gita, the great source of wisdom for the people of India and the world,” he said.

“It is not normal either, when religious books are sent for examination to ignorant people. Their academic scrutiny should be done at scientists’ fora, congresses, seminars, etc., but not in court. It is strange that such events are unfolding in the beautiful university city in Siberia, as Tomsk…is famous for its secularism and religious tolerance. Well, it seems that even the lovely city of Tomsk has its own neighbourhood madmen. It is sad indeed.”

           — Hat tip: RW [Return to headlines]

South Asia


Pakistan: ‘675 Women: Girls’ Killed for Honour in First 9 Months of Year

Islamabad, 20 Dec. (AKI) — At least 675 Pakistani women and girls were murdered during the first nine months of the year in so-called honour killings, according to a news report, citing a senior official in the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Many of the victims were gang raped before being killed, the unnamed official said. At least 71 victims of the killings committed for allegedly defaming family honour were under 18 years old, the AFP news agency reported.

At least 19 were killed by their sons, 49 by their fathers and 169 by their husbands, AFP reported.

Many of the victims were accused of having affairs or marrying without permission.

The Commission reported 791 honour killings in 2010 and there was no discernible decrease this year, the official added.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Sub-Saharan Africa


Christmas Staple Frankincense ‘Doomed, ‘ Ecologists Warn

The biblical Christmas story of the three kings may need a rewriting, or at least a tweak to one of the gifts — frankincense. Production of the fragrant resin, which is used in perfume and incense, could decline by half over the next 15 years, a new study finds. Tapped from various species of the Boswellia tree that grow in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, frankincense has been traded internationally for thousands of years. However, researchers warn that the trees are declining at a troubling rate.

Ecologists from the Netherlands and Ethiopia monitored Boswellia trees growing in 13 plots of about 65 acres (2 hectares) each located in northwest Ethiopia, near the source of the Blue Nile river. The plots contained trees that were tapped for frankincense, as well as some that were left untapped. The researchers studied the survival, growth and seed production of more than 6,000 Boswellia trees over the course of two years. Based on their finding, the researchers created demographic models to predict the fate of Boswellia populations. They estimate that the production of frankincense could drop to half over the next 15 years, and the number of Boswellia trees could decline by 90 percent in the next 50 years.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italian Ship Freed by Somali Hijackers

Crew’s families express relief

(ANSA) — Mogadishu, December 21 — An Italian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia in February has been freed.

Sources close to the families of the five crew members still being held by pirates said there were scenes of joy and relief on the southern island of Procida, off the coast of Naples, where many of the crew members live.

They were kidnapped when the oil tanker ‘Savina Caylyn’ owned by the Neopolitan company, Fratelli D’Amato, was hijacked by Somali pirates 880 miles off the Somali coast on February 8.

Five of the 22 original crew were still being held by the pirates.

In October an Italian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia with 23 people on board was freed after an operation by British special forces.

Last year pirates in the region are believed to have earned $80 million from ransom money. Earlier this year governments reached an international agreement that they would not pay ransom

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Somali Pirates Holding 200 Crew Hostage: EU NAVFOR

Somali pirates are currently holding 200 people hostage as part of their ransom business, keeping them from their families during the festive season, the EU’s anti-piracy mission said. “This humanitarian tragedy is especially pertinent over Christmas, a time when families normally gather to celebrate,” EU NAVFOR said in a statement.

It said 199 men and one woman were being held against their will by pirate gangs in Somalia following the seizure of their ships in the Indian Ocean. Since the start of the EU NAVFOR counter-piracy mission in December 2008, 2,317 merchant seamen have been held hostage for an average of nearly five months, with 24 crew from the Dubai-owned Iceberg 1 missing for 19 months.

“It is estimated that at least 60 merchant seamen have died as a result of their captivity in the hands of the pirates and many more have suffered torture and abuse,” the statement said. Of the 200 hostages, 49 are being held without the collateral of a ship, which either sunk or was abandoned, “which means that their future is less clear as their value is seen as less than that of a ship.”

The EU force said the pirates occasionally hold back some crew members after striking a ransom deal to negotiate the release of convicted Somali pirates from the home country of the detained seamen. It cited the example of four South Koreans and seven Indians from the Gemini and Asphalt Venture who were held back after the release of the ships.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Latin America


Saudi Dairy Giant Spends $83m on Argentina Farms

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company said Wednesday it is buying Argentine farm operator Fondomonte S.A. for $83 million in a bid to secure animal feed.

The acquisition will give Riyadh-based Almarai Co. control of roughly 30,000 acres of farmland in the South American nation.

Almarai said the deal is in line with the desert kingdom’s policy of “securing supplies and conserving local resources” and will ensure it has access to high-quality feed.

Despite its scorching desert climate, Saudi Arabia for decades produced millions of tons of homegrown wheat with the help of generous farm subsidies. It is now trying to wind down domestic production because of concerns over dwindling water supplies.

Fondomonte operates three farms dedicated to producing corn and soybeans, according to Almarai. The Argentine company’s website says it also grows barley, rice and sorghum.

Almarai said it plans to use the crops to feed both chickens and cattle.

           — Hat tip: KGS [Return to headlines]

Immigration


Denmark: Stateless Criminals Granted Citizenship

Stateless individuals in Denmark are now receiving the citizenship they are entitled to, though the criminal backgrounds of some is a concern for national security, some argue

The opposition is calling for a revision to a UN convention requiring stateless individuals to be granted citizenship in their country of birth after the most recent naturalisation passed parliament, despite including a number of individuals who would probably not had their applications approved had they been through the normal application procedure.

The list of candidates for naturalisation is usually passed without much fuss in parliament. But out of the 1,700 on this December’s list are 36 who are known to have committed serious offences in Denmark and one who is considered a threat to national security by the domestic intelligence agency, PET.

These 36 individuals are some of the 460 stateless individuals residing in Denmark — mostly children of Palestinian refugees — and are entitled to Danish citizenship under the 1961UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Despite this entitlement, the previous government refused to grant stateless individuals automatic citizenship. The practice was detailed this spring and culminated in Birthe Rønn Hornbech (Venstre) being forced to step down as immigration minister, after it was revealed that she instructed the Immigration Service not to abide by the convention.

At least 40 stateless individuals are thought to have had their justified citizenship request denied as a result. But while Denmark may now be granting stateless individuals their right to citizenship, some political parties disagree with a convention that allows candidates who ordinarily would be denied due to their criminal past avoid a lengthy vetting process.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



EU Court Bars Asylum Transfers Risking ‘Inhuman’ Treatment

The European Union’s top court on Wednesday barred EU states from transferring asylum seekers to other nations in the bloc where they could face “inhuman treatment.” The court sided with Afghan, Algerian and Iranian asylum seekers who challenged attempts by courts in Britain and Ireland to send them back to their EU entry point of Greece, notorious for the squalid conditions of its immigration system.

“An asylum seeker may not be transferred to a member state where he (or she) risks being subjected to inhuman treatment,” the Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice ruled. Under an agreement called Dublin II, EU countries are allowed to deport an asylum seeker back to the country in which the applicant first set foot.

Greece, overhwelmed by an influx of migrants crossing its porous border with Turkey, has struggled to process a mountain of asylum requests. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, said in 2010 that migrants often endured “inhuman” conditions in filthy, overcrowded detention facilities in Greece.

The European Court of Human Rights ordered Belgium earlier this year to pay damages to an Afghan migrant who had been sent back to Greece. In the case reviewed by the EU judges, an Afghan national who arrived in Greece in 2008 and later made his way to Britain resisted an attempt to send him back to Greece, arguing that his fundamental rights could be violated there. Five other migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and Algeria claimed asylum in Ireland after leaving Greece.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

General


Fears Grow Over Lab-Bred Flu

Scientists call for stricter biosafety measures for dangerous avian-influenza variants.

It is a nightmare scenario: a human pandemic caused by the accidental release of a man-made form of the lethal avian influenza virus H5N1. Yet the risk is all too real. Since September, news has been circulating about two groups of scientists who have reportedly created mutant H5N1 variants that can be transmitted between ferrets merely breathing the same air, generally an indicator that the virus could also spread easily among humans.

The work raises the spectre of a disease that spreads as fast as ordinary seasonal flu, but with a fatality rate akin to wild-type H5N1 — an order of magnitude greater than the mortality rate of roughly 2.5% seen during the catastrophic flu pandemic of 1918. Until now, debate about the new variants has focused on whether the research poses too great a security risk to be published — even if partially redacted — a question currently under consideration by the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB).

A number of scientists argue, however, that the NSABB’s deliberations have come far too late. Because further research on the new variants now seems inevitable, a far more important question, they say, is whether the labs that hold samples of the virus — and those who will seek to work with them in the future — have sufficient biosafety protection to make sure it cannot escape.

“This horse is out of the barn,” says Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and biodefence expert at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. “At this point, it is utterly futile to be discussing restricting the publication of this information,” he adds, pointing out that the results have already been seen by many flu scientists, including referees, and are probably spreading through the flu grapevine faster than a speeding neutrino.

Sources say that one of the studies, led by Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has been submitted to Science, and that the other, led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has been sent to Nature. (Nature’s journalists do not have access to submitted manuscripts or the journal’s confidential deliberations on them.) Fouchier also presented his results in September at the annual European Scientific Working Group on Influenza conference in Malta.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



First True ‘Alien Earth’ May be Found in 2012

While 2011 was a huge year for alien-planet discoveries, 2012 could bring something even more exciting: the first true “alien Earth.” This year saw the tally of confirmed exoplanets top 700, with NASA’s Kepler space telescope flagging thousands of additional candidates that still need to be verified. And just this month, Kepler scientists announced two landmark finds — the first two Earth-size alien planets, as well as a larger world in its star’s habitable zone, that just-right range of distances where liquid water (and possibly life as we know it) could exist.

These and other recent discoveries suggest that the prized quarry of many exoplanet hunters — an “alien Earth” — could be just over the horizon. In fact, such a planet may well pop up in the next round of Kepler candidates, which should be released next year, researchers said.

The year has seen a huge increase in the number of known exoplanets. At the start of 2011, astronomers had confirmed 528 alien worlds, according to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, a database compiled by astrobiologist Jean Schneider of the Paris-Meudon Observatory. Less than one year later — and just 16 years after the first alien planet was found orbiting a sun-like star — the count now stands at 713. And thousands more are waiting in the wings.

On Dec. 5, Kepler scientists announced the discovery of 1,094 new exoplanet candidates, bringing the mission’s total tally in its first 16 months of operation to 2,326. So far, just 33 of these potential planets have been confirmed by follow-up observations, but researchers have estimated that at least 80 percent of them will turn out to be the real deal.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Record-Busting Motorbike Will be Jet Engine on Wheels

RICHARD BROWN is a man with unfinished business. In 1999, he smashed the one-way speed record for a motorbike by hitting 584 kilometres per hour on the salt flats of Bonneville in northern Utah. But his claim on the outright world record — which is based on the average of two runs in opposite directions — was thwarted by technical problems. Now he is trying again. He hopes to be the first person to exceed 720 km/h on a motorbike while achieving an average two-way speed of at least 640 km/h. Any old bike will not do: he will be using one that is jet-propelled.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Smallest Planet is Tinier Than Earth

The smallest exoplanets yet found around a normal star span just 1.03 and 0.87 times the Earth’s diameter. The worlds, which are probably rocky like Earth, are too close to their host star to harbour life as we know it, but if they formed farther out as is thought, they may once have been habitable. Discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, the planets orbit a sun-like star about 950 light years away called Kepler-20. They smash the previous record for the smallest exoplanet around a living star, a planet 1.4 times as wide as Earth known as Kepler-10b.

“We’ve crossed the Earth-sized threshold,” says Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The discovery comes just two weeks after the announcement of Kepler’s first confirmed planet in the habitable zone around a star of the same type as the sun — though at 2.4 times Earth’s width, that planet may be gassy like Neptune. The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures are right for liquid water to exist on an object’s surface.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]