Belmont Stakes Needs Government Loan to Stay in Business; Bluegrass Country on the Skids; Horse Farms for Sale
Bluegrass country is on the skids. Stud fees are down as much as 90%, gambling revenue has plunged, and the horse racing industry switched its stance from fighting casino gambling to embracing it.
The New York Times tells the story in Gamble Sours for Many Kentucky Horse Breeders…
| — Hat tip: REP | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Says Europe Needs Its Own Ratings Agency as IMF Warns £105bn Greek Crisis Could Spread Across EU
Germany has launched a fightback for the euro after a ratings agency downgraded three EU governments, sparking financial chaos.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called for Europe to have its own ratings agency as the Greek financial crisis threatened to spread across the EU ‘like the ebola virus’.
Westerwelle told ‘WAZ’ newspaper group last night that the EU ‘should counter the work of rating agencies with efforts of its own.’
He said rating agencies must not develop, sell, and rate financial products all at the same time. He said such conflicts of interest must be ruled out.
Peter Bofinger, a member of the government’s independent economic advisory panel, criticized Standard & Poor’s move to lower the ratings for Greece and Portugal.
Spain was also downgraded last night to AA from AA+.
The economist told the ‘Welt’ newspaper that ‘we should not make the welfare of Europe dependent on rating agencies,’ pointing to their failure to spot problems ahead of the financial crisis.
[…]
European bureaucrats last night brushed aside the economic crisis — and announced plans for an astonishing 6 per cent budget increase.
With governments across Europe imposing swingeing austerity measures, the European Commission stunned observers by proposing a lavish increase in its own funding.
Critics last night said Brussels was ‘living in cloud cuckoo land’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Goldman Sachs is the Left’s Favorite Bank
In the ubiquitous echo chambers of the left, the embattled Goldman Sachs is being falsely characterized as both Republican-friendly and a symbol of free-market corruption.
Of course it’s pure nonsense that has been eagerly lapped up by those who want to believe the worst about Republicans, capitalism, and America itself. The Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Goldman for securities fraud was filed just in time for the bank to bend over for a televised spanking in Congress.
But Goldman, which engages in the ritual of public self-flagellation from time to time on advice of counsel, is the best friend that Democrats and leftists ever had on Wall Street. Its alumni and enablers have pushed faddish, left-wing, pro-Big Government policies for as long as I’ve been a journalist.
Goldman’s business model is simple: the bigger and more stifling government gets, the more profit Goldman makes.
Why would a highly profitable company—it made a staggering $3.46 billion in the first quarter——want more regulation unless it stood to benefit from such assaults on the marketplace?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Crisis is Compared to the ‘Ebola Virus’ As Cost of Bailout Rises to £105bn and IMF Warns Problem Could Spread Across EU
The debt crisis is sweeping across Europe like an ebola virus, a leading official said yesterday as another EU government suffered a credit rating downgrade.
Standard & Poor’s lowered its rating on Spain’s public debt to AA from AA+, triggering further financial chaos.
Markets across Europe fell and the White House was forced into admitting the crisis was of ‘great concern’.
The news came as the International Monetary Fund confirmed bailing out Greece could cost billions more than previously estimated.
And the move raised fears the Greek debt crisis could spiral out of control. According to calculations supporting Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece could cost 8 per cent of the region’s gross domestic product, equivalent to a a Europewide bill of £520billion.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: No Limit to Austerity Measures
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, APRIL 29 — The Greek government has today said that given the current conditions, it is not able to set down “red lines” — meaning limits to the austerity measures requested by the EU and the IMF. Spokesman Giorgio Petalotis also told TV Skai that there would be “painful measures”. Previously the government had said that it had laid down a few “red lines” which were not to be crossed in negotiations with the EU and the IMF. However, now the spokesman cited by Skai has said that the situation no longer allows for such limits. Pelaotis did not specify whether the new, “painful measures” would affect 2010 or not in the three-year recovery plan, but he did say that they might include fresh rises in VAT on alcohol, cigarettes and fuel, as well as fresh cuts in benefits for state employees, a freeze on private sector salaries, flexibility in labour relations and liberalisation as concerns limits to lay-offs in the private sector. He did not rule out cuts to year-end and extra year-end bonuses, but said that the matter was still being discussed. Some measures will be temporary and others permanent. The spokesman added that by the end of the week talks with the EU and the IMf would come to an end. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jean-Claude Trichet, Call Your Office
The European Central Bank is trying very hard not to get stuck bailing out Greece.
By Tristan Abbey, Scott Palter
Greece’s financial crisis has taken a turn for the worse, and it is forcing the European Union to confront an identity crisis of its own. The decision by Standard and Poor’s, a leading credit agency, to cut Greek government bonds to “junk” status rattled the European markets Tuesday, and led Deutsche Bank chief economist Thomas Mayer to warn that the country was entering “a death spiral of government insolvency.” S&P also downgraded Portuguese and Spanish debt this week, sending markets tumbling further.
Amid fears that Greece could default on its international debt, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet met in Berlin Wednesday in an attempt to convince Germany to fund a large portion of a planned 45-billion-euro bailout for the Greek economy.
The conventional narrative paints this debate as a duel between Berlin and Brussels. The seat of the European Union delivers strident promises of support, advocating a kind of proto-federalism that cannot countenance a Greek default. The German government, however, remains skeptical at being saddled with the lion’s share of the debt burden. Even the inclusion of the International Monetary Fund in the EU rescue package announced earlier this month was generally interpreted in terms of the Berlin-Brussels debate. While the tension between these two power centers is undeniable, a third player has been largely overlooked: Frankfurt, home of the European Central Bank (ECB).
Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has roughly a century of precedent to guide its behavior, the ECB is a new institution with barely a decade of history. With the euro briefly dipping below its lowest level in a year against the dollar on Tuesday, the ECB faces the greatest challenge in its short history — and a crisis that will help shape the organization for years to come.
The ECB has essentially three models from which to choose. It could solidify its mandate as an institution completely independent from the EU leadership, in the manner of the German central bank, by deliberately limiting its portfolio to the preservation of the euro’s value. It could achieve a similar level of independence from Brussels but with a broader economic brief, like the Fed, assuming more power and more responsibility. Finally, it could devolve into a technocratic instrument of executive power, subordinating itself to Brussels in the same manner as the Bank of France subordinates itself to the powers that be in Paris. From the perspective of Frankfurt, which is largely concerned with avoiding overt responsibility for saving Greece, a hybrid of the latter two models represents the worst possible solution.
The ECB leadership has good reason to avoid being tasked with bailing out Greece, and therebv the euro. Saving the euro requires a number of unpleasant actions, such as shouldering the burden of enforcing austerity measures on an unwelcoming populace. Frankfurt does not want to bear this political responsibility while the EU and the powerhouses of Europe carp on the sidelines. Trichet wants to avoid being forced into the mold of the Fed and the Treasury Department, which have taken the political heat for the U.S. bank bailout since 2008.
So far, Frankfurt has navigated these dangerous waters without taking responsibility for either saving Greece or calling for the expulsion of the Eurozone’s more problematic debt-laden members. It is maneuvering as an independent power center to force the national governments — Berlin, of course, but also the proto-federalists in Brussels, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, and Rome — to make the necessary decisions. The 45-billion-euro proposed bailout announced earlier this month was such a decision. While the ECB has made provisional moves in support of the measure, it has also emphasized the responsibility of national governments to maintain fiscal discipline and carefully ensured the onus of the bailout is distributed across several players.
The ECB is essentially playing a waiting game, buying time to define its role in Europe’s future. As long as it accepts Greek bonds as collateral, a default is essentially impossible. However, this logically entails that the ECB has the power to effectively coin money in the manner of the Fed. This is an outcome Brussels would like, but Berlin would not. For now, Frankfurt’s institutional interests pull it in opposing directions: The ECB has a vested interest in the success of the European project, which tilts it towards Brussels, but also in preserving its independence and its financial reputation, which favors Berlin. As eyes turn to the German constitutional court for a possible challenge to the bailout, it appears that the ECB has skillfully hedged its institutional bets.
In a few years, the rules governing Frankfurt’s relationship with Brussels and Berlin will be clarified as future sovereign debt and fiscal crises, like the one currently facing Greece, further define the position of the ECB. Ultimately, the question facing Europe is whether protecting the eurozone means that the EU will be forced into the next stage of federalism, despite decades of public assurances to the contrary. Brussels says yes, but Berlin says no. The continent awaits Frankfurt’s answer, and it is one Jean-Claude Trichet may not yet know.
Tristan Abbey and Scott Palter are senior editors at Bellum: A Project of The Stanford Review.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
New Tahoe Ritz-Carlton Highlands in Default
The Ritz-Carlton Highlands at Lake Tahoe took the first step toward potential foreclosure after its lender filed a notice of default against the owner of the high-end property.
Placer County records show that Bank of America filed the default notice on the luxury property on March 31. The notice states that the borrower is late on almost $19 million in payments for the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, with loans totaling about $157 million. The 400,000-square foot luxury resort officially opened in Dec. 9 and cost $300 million to build.
A notice of default can be filed in California when a borrower is 90 days behind in payments. Once a default notice is filed, the borrower has another 90 days to work out an agreement with the lender before a notice of sale can be filed on the property.
The notice has to do with Avon, Colo.-based developer East West Resort Development’s financial situation, not the resort’s actual performance, said Steven Holt, public relations director for the Ritz-Carlton Highlands. East West is the owner of the resort while Ritz-Carlton serves as the property manager, according to Holt.
“We have had an amazing winter season ahead of all projections,” Holt said. “We exceeded our top line revenue as well as our bottom line revenue for every month since we were open. Ultimately, East West’s financial position does not impact our operation.”
The notice is the latest in a string of bad news for East West. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year after its real estate sales fell by 60 percent. At the time, Lake Tahoe properties such as the Tahoe Club were included in the bankruptcy filing, but the Ritz-Carlton Highlands was not part of the list.
The Ritz-Carlton Highlands is currently closed from April 19 to May 10 in preparation for the summer season. Holt told the Reno Gazette-Journal earlier this month that the temporary closure was “business as usual” for luxury ski resorts, which typically close for a few weeks during the “spring shoulder season.” Holt stressed that the closure has nothing to do with the troubles experienced by the Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas. The Vegas resort is scheduled to close permanently in May.
Even if ownership of the Ritz-Carlton Highlands changes from East West, it will not affect the Ritz-Carlton’s role with the property, Holt said.
“We have a management contract with ownership and it is transferable regardless of who the owner is,” Holt said. “Ritz-Carlton will continue to operate this property.”
[Comments from REP:
Think about it for a second. They opened Dec. 9. Ninety days to get to a NOD would be March 9th! And when you buy a house, your first payment is included in the mortgage. So that means, April 9th! It looks like they never made a payment!!! On a $300 million project. OUCH!
(And for a bonus) Which brings us to “management contract with ownership”.
Yeah, right. Sure you do.
A signed agreement? Who cares? How much is that worth if it is no longer feasible to have a luxury hotel in the area? I guess in the Spring…hope really does spring eternal. (sorry, I just couldn’t resist that one. )
My friends, we are in a new era. A new paradigm is needed to get through these times. The conspicuous consumption era is over and (I feel) a subsistence era is here.]
| — Hat tip: REP | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Govt Passes Austerity Measures, Senate Burns Millions
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 29 — Pressure is mounting on Spain to speed up with reforms and the austerity plan, after their debt was downgraded and Standard & Poor’s warned of “prolonged weak growth”, which will not bring the Spanish economy out of the woods with a minimal growth of 0.7% of GDP in the coming six years. And while the Vice-President of the EU Commission and Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia urged to “speed up the decision-making process”, because in Spain, like the rest of Europe, “we are already in extra time”, the executive in Madrid announced a plan to cut public spending to save 40 million euros from 2011-2013. According to conservative daily ABC, the government “cut 40 officials to give the impression that they are saving… and the senate will spend millions in interpretation services”. The reference is to an initiative approved yesterday by the Senate, with votes in favour from the nationalist parties and Socialist Party, and against from the PP and UPN, which pave the way for the use of five co-official Spanish languages in their plenary sessions, through simultaneous interpretation from Spanish to Catalan, Basque, Galician and Valencian. According to the nationalist parties that promoted the initiative, the reform — which must now be examined by another committee — will cost the state 120,000 euros. But according to the People’s Party, it will cost the state at least 1.2 billion euros. The deep reforms announced by the government aim to cut the deficit from 11.2% to 3% in 2013. The plan, which nears to being approved tomorrow in the council of ministers, is needed to demonstrate that the streamlining process is for real. According to El Mundo, the plan will cut over 300 advisors for public agencies, about 30 main offices and several secretary generals and secretaries of state. The objective is 40 million euros in savings in 2011-2012, which will be added to the 37.9 million per year in cuts to current expenses from prefectures and autonomies already planned for the same period. The plan, drafted by Deputy Premier and Minister of the Economy Elena Salgado and Infrastructure Minister José Blanco, plans not only for the rationalisation of entrepreneurial public sector expenses, but also expenses from mergers, mainly related to the Finance and Infrastructure Ministries. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Unemployed Increase as Iran’s Economy Languishes
Layoffs increase by 49% in Tehran and 70% nationally. The country is rich in resources, wasted on nuclear projects. Imports destroy local economies, but favour China in exchange for international political support.
Tehran (AsiaNews) — Layoffs and closing factories are increasing throughout Iran, provoking protests of workers unions and alarm bells that warn of an unprecedented crisis in the country. The regime’s authorities do not even hide the concerning data. The percentage of redundancies has increased by 49% in Tehran and 70% on a national level compared to last year’s data. During the past week, Rooz , an online agency close to the opposition, reports at least 2,500 workers were laid off in the leather industry in Ilam and Mashad. In recent weeks, sources within the unions say, the number of workers made unemployed amount to 4 thousand.
The crisis in Iran has reached such a level that Alireza Mahjoub, the head of the House of Labor — the official workers union — has forecast the future closure of hundreds of medium and large businesses and the subsequent dismissal of 200 thousand workers a year.
The wave of closures has also hit the leather factories of Mashhad (the second largest city). According to various experts, so far at least 1500 workers have been sent home. In this area, heavy competition of low cost products imported from China and Thailand are having a devastating effect on the local market. Over the past five years the demand for labour has fallen. Imports, especially from China — encouraged by President Ahmadinejad in exchange for international political support — has led to the failure of many factories.
In Tehran, the number of workers at the Pars Electric, one of the city’s biggest employers, fell from 3500 to 150 last year, according to employment agency (ILNA). In Tabriz, many workers in the manufacturing sector have been dismissed. Among the companies affected by the cuts, even giants like Motogen (which produces electric motors) and Bonyan Diesel engines (generators).
Many industries in the province of Fars and in the region of Kheirabad are facing serious problems and developing a policy of staff reductions, as a result there have been an increasing number of strikes and protests to which, however, the law seems to be deaf.
The economic crisis, an industry in decay and poverty of millions of workers in Iran are only some of the consequences unpopular policies of the Islamic regime, which is wasting the country’s vast resources on its attempts to develop nuclear arms. The country was in recession even before the elections last year and the situation will only worsen with the implementation of the draft Law on the cut of state subsidies to transport, energy and essential goods like rice and flour. If approved, the plan will send inflation through the roof. Without subsidies, the factories of the electricity sector, currently working at a loss or below capacity, will began to close and dismiss staff. Already in February, the non-arrival of public funds led to the closure of three electrical systems, following the loss of 1500-2 thousand jobs.
The House of Labour has proposed to organize a series of events for the Labour Day May 1, but the interior minister and the governor of Tehran has already rejected the request.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats ‘Rigging’ Puerto Rico Path to Statehood?
House votes on option for island to become 51st state
A move is afoot to grant statehood to Puerto Rico, and a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow may put the island on a path to becoming the nation’s 51st state.
Democrat Pedro R. Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood delegate to Congress and former co-chair of President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign in Puerto Rico, is sponsor of H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act. The act has 181 co-sponsors.
[…]
Under H.R. 2499, Puerto Ricans would vote on the issue of statehood yet again. Puerto Ricans have voted against statehood three times since 1967, preferring their present status as an independent commonwealth in association with the U.S.
[…]
However, some say statehood advocates are “rigging” the voting process to ensure Puerto Rico becomes a state.
[…]
The bill calls for a two-stage vote.
[…]
He explained that though electoral trickery, the people of Puerto Rico would be forced to essentially choose between statehood or independence on the second vote — possibly resulting in “a minority of Puerto Rican voters producing a false landslide vote for statehood.”
[…]
Ann Shibler of the John Birch Society explains that Democrats would like to see Puerto Rico become a state because they stand to gain more seats in Congress.
“Because of Puerto Rico’s population, they could pick up many electoral votes as well, since more than 22 other states have smaller populations, which could in turn swing an election,” she wrote.
In an article on RedState.com, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said because Puerto Rico has a population of more than 4 million people, it would receive two U.S. senators and six or seven House seats.
“But as long as there is 435 seat maximum in the House, if Puerto Rico receives six seats, then other states expecting to gain a seat after the 2010 Census would lose representation,” he explained.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Director of Wyoming Gun Owners Association Confronted by Cops With Ar-15s
Anthony Bouchard, defender of the Second Amendment and director of Wyoming Gun Owners Association, was confronted by police in Sheridan, Wyoming, after delivering a speech at a local Tea Party event.
Bouchard’s speech centered on states’ rights, Obamacare, and Wyoming House Bill 95 known as the Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act. Mr. Bouchard criticized senator Bruce Burns, a Republican, for introducing resolutions that removed “the teeth” from the bill, according to The Sheridan Press.
On the day after the event Bouchard and his family were leaving a hotel when two police officers armed with AR-15 rifles approached his vehicle. The cops ordered Bouchard, his wife and little girl to put up their hands. Bouchard was then ordered to exit the vehicle. An officer named Sgt. Kody Lamb was particularly agitated. His “hand shuttered like he was on an extreme adrenaline rush,” writes Bouchard, who was practicing his Second Amendment right at the time of the encounter.
Bouchard instructed the cops on the Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights and told them he was not violating the law. Realizing he did not have a reason to confront Bouchard, Sgt. Lamb threatened to arrest him for disturbing the peace.
On the day after the encounter, the police stonewalled Anthony Bouchard. They would not allow him to have copies of the dispatch recordings or the police report. “I also contacted Evidence Technician Stephen Johnson inquiring about exactly what statute they are using to deny the dispatch recordings, he has refused to return my call,” writes Bouchard on his Cheyenne Gun Rights Examiner blog.
“Wyoming statute states that ‘the person in interest’ is allowed to have access to the recordings, but the the City of Sheridan would rather flex their power. The City Attorney Mia Mikesell said ‘she didn’t have to cite statute’ to me and ‘it was their policy’ to ask for a Subpoena, she then hung up on me,” he adds.
Bouchard suggests his blog readers call the Sheridan City Hall and protest his treatment.
Anthony Bouchard states he was stopped at gunpoint and harassed because he is an advocate of the Second Amendment who insists on practicing open carry and because he delivered a speech at the Sheridan Tea Party event.
Read the entire account of the encounter on his blog.
| [Return to headlines] |
New Name for Obama: The Manchurian President
Book exposes radical nexus behind chief executive that is changing America
President Obama has deep ties to an anti-American extremist nexus that has been instrumental not only in building his political career but in crafting current White House policy, charges a new book.
“The Manchurian President: Barack Obama’s Ties to Communists, Socialists and other Anti-American Extremists,” is set officially to be released Monday.
The book exposes an extremist coalition of communists, socialists and other radicals working both inside and outside the administration to draft and advance current White House policy goals.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pictured: The Gang of Women ‘Date Robbing’ Rich Men by Spiking Their Drinks Then Stealing From Their Homes
A gang of female thieves are targeting men in bars, spiking their drinks and then robbing them in their homes, U.S. police fear.
The women, dubbed the bombshell bandits, are believed to have struck at least 10 times in the last six weeks in cities across south Florida.
One victim, who asked for his identity to be concealed, told an NBC reporter that he felt ‘definitely violated and vulnerable’ when two women date robbed him.
He said that he had his watch stolen along with other jewellery and £15,000 of cash after the women allegedly spiked his drink.
The victim also claims they ran up thousands of dollars on his credit cards.
‘Next thing I knew it was two o’clock in the afternoon on Friday,’ he said. ‘And I woke up in bed with all my clothes on and my Cartier Roadster watch missing off my wrist.’
The man had passed out in a cab after meeting two women at a Miami beach club.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Belgian Bid to Ban ‘Racist’ Tintin in the Congo
A Congolese man living in Belgium was trying to get a controversial Tintin book banned in the cartoon star’s home country of Belgium, BBC reported on its Website.
The ginger sleuth’s “little (black) helper” in Tintin in the Congo is seen as “stupid and without qualities,” Bienvenu Mbutu, is quoted as saying. “It makes people think that blacks have not evolved,” said Mbutu, who has been campaigning for years to have the book removed from Belgian shops.
A court was to rule on whether the book can be sold in Belgium and, if so, whether it should carry a warning. Although it was scheduled for Wednesday, the verdict has been delayed and is now expected on May 5.
The book has already attracted much criticism for its crude racial stereotypes. Three years ago, the U.K.’s Commission for Racial Equality called for the book to be banned, saying it contained imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice.
A black woman is featured in the book bowing before Tintin and exclaiming: “White man very great. White mister is big juju man!” Written in the late 1920s, it was the second Tintin adventure created by Herge, who later said it was a youthful sin that reflected the prejudices of the time.
A scene in Tintin in the Congo in which the eponymous hero gave a geography lesson to Africans about Belgium was later changed to a math class. Now U.K. editions are generally found alongside more adult books and are sold with a band of paper around the outside, warning the content is offensive.
While Mbutu has asked for the book to be banned, he has said he would be satisfied if it was sold with a warning like the one used in Britain, said the BBC’s Dominic Hughes in Brussels.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
For Dutch Jews: Wilders is a ‘Delicate Subject’
The Dutch Jewish community is divided over Geert Wilders, the controversial populist politician. He is a staunch supporter of Israel, but many feel his treatment of Muslims brings back unpleasant memories.
By Karel Berkhout and Danielle Pinedo in Amsterdam
Geert Wilders’ populist-right PVV party has left the Netherlands divided, but in one Jewish family in Amsterdam, the rift runs right across the dinner table. The family’s youngest son (17) is sympathetic towards Wilders, in part because of his unwavering loyalty to Israel. In his mother, Annette Atiya, the PVV evokes feelings of discomfort. “I feel many of Wilders’ remarks, such as the one regarding head scarves, [Wilders has described them in derogatory terms and called for a tax on them] are part of a witch hunt against a specific segment of the population. That reminds me of the anti-Semitic rabble-rousing that went on before the war,” Atiya said.
Atiya talks to her son about it. He is “an intelligent and reasonable boy,” according to his mother and attends an Orthodox-Jewish school. “I’ll ask him questions like: ‘Wilders stayed away from another debate. Why is that?’ That does make my son think,” Atiya said. But she added that her son often responded by complaining about the frequent taunts Jewish boys wearing skullcaps are subjected to by their Moroccan peers. Atiya did not want her son to figure prominently in this article. “This is a delicate matter, after all,” she explained.
A topic of controversy
Affiliation with or disassociation from Wilders is a hot topic amongst the 40,000 Dutch Jews. One Jewish businessman, Gidi Markuszower, decided to run on the PVV’s ballot for the forthcoming parliamentary election. But he soon had to withdraw his candidacy after coming under fire for his controversial remark that voices critical of Israel should be banned and for carrying a firearm at a Jewish rally.
Markuszower’s actions are not the cause of the PVV controversy in the Jewish community however. A covert debate has been going on for much longer. In synagogues, at the celebration of Israeli Independence day last week, in the columns of the Nieuw Israelietisch Weekblad (New Israeli Weekly) and at the butcher’s. “It is a topic of discussion,” admitted rabbi Raphael Evers of the conservative Jewish community in Amsterdam. He declined further comment.
On the Friday before Markuszower withdrew his candidacy, Jewish bakery Lamaronne was packed with customers. Here, in the middle of Amsterdam’s Buitenveldert neighbourhood, home to a sizable Jewish population, eager shoppers had gathered on the eve of the Sabbath to buy traditional Jewish baked goods like challah. The store, which is under rabbinic supervision, clearly was a meeting place as well as a baker to its clientele, who greeted each other enthusiastically.
The baker, an Israeli who lived in Antwerp for years, was kind enough to offer free coffee, but he was less forthcoming with political opinions. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said. His clients were more willing to comment. Most wanted to remain anonymous, however, because, as they said, “it is a delicate matter”. One Israeli mentioned that he was ashamed of Wilders. “Israel can do without friends like him. To me, he is a racist.” A Danish woman was more positive. “As a foreigner, I feel foreigners should either adapt or leave the Netherlands,” she said, referring to Wilders’ harsh stand on immigrants, Muslims especially, who don’t support Dutch values.
Annette Atiya said she took offence at the callous way Wilders singled out one minority. “Precisely what happened in Jewish history,” she reflected. Many in the Jewish community share her opinion, Rabbi Menno ten Brink, of the Liberal Jewish Community in Amsterdam, for instance. “Wilders is stigmatising an entire segment of the population,” he said “This has led to a lot of trouble for us Jews in the past. I will not stand for it.”
The PVV does not seem to draw a disproportionate amount of Jewish support. “In our shul you will find people with different political preferences — from veteran Labour voters to PVV sympathisers,” said rabbi Shmuel Katzman of the Orthodox Jewish community in The Hague, a city where the PVV boasts a substantial following. Maurice de Hond, a well-known pollster of Jewish descent, has not done any research on the matter yet, but he said he was under the impression Jewish support for Wilders “did not surpass the national 15 percent”. Although “the percentage could be a bit higher amongst the youth,” he added.
Ber van Halem (22) said he would certainly vote for the PVV. “Wilders is the only one who will actually do something about criminal Moroccans,” he said. Van Halem, who never leaves home without his skullcap, was beaten up 18 months ago by boys who were probably of Moroccan descent. His assailants were never caught. “A crackdown on violent anti-Semitism is long overdue,” Van Halem said. “Apart from Wilders, what politician will go through with it?”
This subject remains an exposed nerve, even amongst Wilders opponents. The Jewish community in Amsterdam feels it has increasingly come under threat in recent years. Last year, the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents doubled. For years, synagogues and Jewish events have had heavy security for fear of bombings like the ones seen in Antwerp and Paris. Markuszower’s gun possession may have been widely reported by media in the relatively gun-averse Netherlands, it is hardly held against him in Jewish circles.
A friend to Israel
“And then there is still the electoral victory of that anti-Semite party in Hungary and the wave of Jews fleeing anti-Semitism in France,” Atiya said. “For Dutch Jews, Israel is a destination of last resort.” Many of them also feel the country deserves support, no matter what you think of its conflict with the Palestinians. As a frequent visitor to Israel, Wilders is there to offer it.
In a biographical book Veel gekker kan het niet worden (It doesn’t get much crazier than this) by Arthur Blok, Wilders describes how he travelled to an Israeli kibbutz to work at the age of 17. “I didn’t have enough money to travel to Australia, so I decided to go to Israel instead,” Wilders is quoted as saying. “Another reason for letting Australia be was the fact that my great-grandfather on my mother’s side was called Levinus Meijer.” Meijer is a typically Jewish name. “I thought: perhaps I will be able to trace some of my far-flung roots in Israel. But I wasn’t.”
This appealed to Van Halem’s imagination, who said he had heard more inspiring stories about Wilders. “He has an Israeli flag and the portrait of a rabbi hanging in his office. I find the portrait in particular very appealing, since I myself was named after a famous rabbi.”
In reality, the flag adorns the office of Wilders’ fellow PVV parliamentarian Martin Bosma. Nothing is known about a rabbinic portrait.
Israel stands for the preservation OF Jewish identity, Atiya said, “as we are doing here in Buitenveldert by living together with a large number of Jews, or the Orthodox Jews are by adhering strictly to Jewish laws. People will always fear that assimilation could lead to the disappearance of Judaism.”
The PVV, however, opposes ritual slaughter, a practice many Jews find essential to their identity. Wilders’ main target in this respect is the Muslim community, but he does not make any exceptions for Jews. “I have spoken to him about his views regarding ritual slaughter, but he stuck to his guns,” rabbi Evers said. The rabbi emphasised how little animals suffered under the practice. “Those knives are so incredibly sharp. You don’t even feel it when you cut yourself.”
According to Katzman, the PVV has created a “dilemma” for Jewish voters. “Both when it comes to matters that affect the Jewish community directly, and matters that show little tolerance of our fellow gentile man.” Jews who feel Israel is important may vote for the right-wing liberal VVD or the Christian Democratic CDA in the end, rabbi Ten Brink predicted, recalling a speech given by a prominent CDA member on Israeli independence day. “Afterwards I heard a lot of people say, ‘perhaps I will vote CDA after all’,” Ten Brink said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France: ‘I Was a Lovely Little Present, Wasn’t I?’ Underage Prostitute Claims She Was Franck Ribery’s ‘Birthday Treat’
French international football star Franck Ribery jetted an underage prostitute to his hotel room as a ‘birthday present’ to himself.
The footballer paid thousands of pounds to have Zahia Dehar flown to Germany for a night of passion, she has revealed in a new interview.
Ribery — who met the Moroccan call girl in a Paris nightclub — plays for Champions leaugue finalists Bayern Munich and is currently regarded as France’s best player.
Zahia is one of 18 girls quizzed in a police raid this month on Paris brothel Cafe Zaman, used by some of France’s top footballers.
The scandal threatens to plunge France’s World Cup campaign in chaos.
Zahia told vice squad officers how she had £1,500-a-night sex with three players now at the centre at the centre of the child prostitution racket.
And she has now revealed to Paris Match magazine how married Ribery paid thousands of pounds for first class flights and a five-star hotel to hire her for a single night on his 26th birthday on April 7 last year.
She said: ‘I was Ribery’s brithday present.
‘Franck approached me in a Paris club. He booked me and flew me to Munich to celebrate his 26th birthday.
‘He made reservations at a luxury hotel in Munich. We had sex and he paid me. I was a lovely little present, wasn’t I?’
But Zahia — who has been in hiding at a villa in the south of France since the scandal erupted on April 12 — insisted she told Ribery she was 18 at the time — the legal age for prostitution in France.
She also told Paris Match how she turned to prostitution at the age of 16.
She said: ‘The first time I did it was also to celebrate a man’s birthday.
‘I’ve always looked older than I am, and when I began to understand that I was pleasing to men, I thought: “Why not take advantage of it?”
‘I have had encounters with all kinds of people from the world’s of sport and showbiz. They proposition me and I make myself available.
‘But I have no pimp and I don’t give the money I make to anyone.
‘I only have paid sexual relations with people that I choose to. No one forces me to do anything and when I don’t want to do something, I don’t.
‘I consider myself to be a call-girl, but not a prostitute.’ She said her strict Muslim family had no idea of her ‘profession’ until the latest scandal erupted.
Zahia added: ‘My mother and my step-father did not know what I was doing until this happened. Now it seems they have had “some news from their daughter”.’
Bayern’s £40m player Ribery has admitted to having sex with Zahia during police interviews, but denies paying her or knowing she was only 17-years-old.
Lyon football club’s Sidney Govou, 30, and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, 22, are also being probed by police in connection with the scandal.
Zahia told police she had sex with Real Madrid’s Benzema during the course of 2008, when she was just 16.
And that she spent a night with Govou in March this year, when she was 18, Le Monde said.
All three players — none of whom have so far been charged with any offence — have said they believed the girl was of legal age.
They also told police they did not know Zahia was a prostitute and were ‘surprised’ when she asked for cash after having sex.
Paris judge Andre Dando is currently considering whether charges should be brought.
A judicial source said: ‘Judge Dando has yet to decide if Ribery is to be prosecuted but it remains a possibility.
‘Ribery has admitted having sexual relationship with the girl over several months, but denies knowing she was underage.
‘This could seriously damage his career, and the same applies to the other players if they are found to have been knowingly sleeping with an underage prostitute.’
The owner of the Cafe Zaman, a barman and two other workers have all now been charged with aggravated pimping, and 20 young women have been questioned.
Ribery converted to Islam after marrying wife Wahiba, his childhood sweetheart and mother of his two children.
She is said to be ‘devastated’ by the scandal and ‘seriously considering’ launching divorce proceedings, French daily France-Soir said.
A poll published in the paper also revealed six out of ten French people thought it was ‘morally unacceptable’ for Ribery to play for the French national team.
Despite the revelations, Ribery’s lawyer Sophie Bottai has denied her client had committed any offence.
She said: ‘This affair does not concern my client and could only, in the worst case, involve his private life alone.’
Lawyers for Govou, Benzema and Arfa also deny any wrongdoing.
Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president of the French Football Federation, said: ‘An investigation is under way. There is nothing else to say at the moment.’
France was widely criticised last year for the way they qualified for the World Cup.
Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry admitted handling the ball which set up a goal against Ireland which secured the draw France needed to go to South Africa in June.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Papandreou Convenes Unions for New Measures
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS — Greek premier Giorgio Papandreou has called unions and industrial representatives today to inform them of the new, “painful measures” that the government is ready to introduce to deal with the emergency and to bring in the EU-IMF aid package. Government sources have said that the three-year recovery plan would have to be finalised “within the next few days”. The premier is also expected to announce the new measures in a televised speech to the nation. Papandreou, who yesterday presided over a government meeting on the economy and then spoke over the phone to some European leaders, has set up a “crisis committee” made up of Economy and Interior Ministers to deal with the emergency. Yesterday evening, in speaking at a conference organised by the Economist, the premier said that “we are prepared to apply painful measures and to go forward on large-scale structural changes”. He underscored that it was necessary not to allow the “small fire” caused by the Greek crisis “to blaze out of control and become a threat for the entire euro zone”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Diplomat Nearly Attacked in UK
Pro-Palestinian protesters lunge at deputy ambassador after lecture.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have tried to attack the Israel’s deputy ambassador to Britain.
Protesters lunged at Talya Lador-Fresher following her lecture Wednesday at the University of Manchester. The envoy, who was not hurt, told Britain’s Jewish Chronicle that she feared she would be physically assaulted by the protesters.
Lador-Fresher was removed from the area by a security vehicle, which she entered from the back entrance of the lecture hall. The demonstrators attacked the car, some holding Palestinian flags up to the windows and others climbing on the hood and trying to smash the windshield, according to reports.
“I don’t think they wanted to kill me, but I genuinely believed they wanted to physically hurt me,” she said. “If I had not had the police and security team, I would have been beaten up.”
Lador-Fresher told the Jewish Chronicle, “No foreign diplomat should have to go through what I went through.”
She had been scheduled to give the lecture in February, but it was postponed following reports of planned demonstrations and the inability of university authorities to properly protect her. At that time, more than 300 protesters from the Action Palestine student society scuffled with Jewish students and police.
The lecture was scheduled for Wednesday, when police and university authorities said they were prepared to deal with the demonstrators, including a complete lockdown of the building, a high-level security presence, ID checks at the door and ticket-only arrangements.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Adoptive Parents ‘Can’t Specify Child’s Race’
Rome, 29 April (AKI) — Italian couples, who are seeking to adopt a child, are guilty of racism if they reject black or non-European children, the prosecutor at Italy’s highest court claimed on Wednesday. The prosecutor backed a court petition by Italy’s Friends of Children association of adoptive and foster parents (AIBI).
The Court of Cassation’s prosecutor agreed with AIBI’s petition that a previous ruling by a court in Catania was racist because it allowed a couple who did not want black or non-European children to adopt a child.
He said it breached the Italian constitution and international human rights law.
“Mercenary” interests such as those of the unidentified couple should “disqualify them from being parents,” AIBI said in its petition.
The petition is expected to be considered by judges from all sections of the Court of Cassation. The high court’s rulings almost invariably follow the prosecutor’s recommendations.
“The Catania court’s ruling is at odds with Italian adoption law and legislation protecting children. It is illegitimate because it flouts international conventions outlawing all forms of racial discrimination,” AIBI president Marco Griffini wrote in the petition to the court.
“The court should uphold the rights of children to grow up and be educated in a family environment without being discriminated against on grounds of sex, ethnic and linguistic identity and in full respect for their cultural identity.”
If the court rules in favour of the AIBI’s petition, lower Italian courts will no longer be able to allow such ‘racist’ couples to adopt.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Armani Tells of Pain of Losing Partner
Rome, 29 April (AKI) — World famous Italian fashion designer has described the pain of losing his partner Sergio Galeotti, calling it “my biggest battle”. He made the remarks in an interview to be published in Italian weekly Panorama on Friday.
In the interview Armani talks about his life including his “rather unhappy” childhood but his biggest challenge was overcoming the loss of his partner.
“The biggest battle I have faced in life was getting over losing Sergio Galeotti,” the 75-year ‘king of the catwalk’ told Panorama.
Galeotti died of a cardiac arrest in Milan in 1985 at aged 40 following a two-year battle with leukaemia.
“But this traumatic experience strengthened me, and made me realise how little time we dedicate to those we really care about, ‘ said Armani
It was Galeotti, who trained as an architect and worked as a buyer for Larus, a men’s clothing store chain, who persuaded Armani to set up his own company in 1975 and became its chairman.
The Giorgio Armani global fashion empire recorded more than 4 billion euros in sales in 2008 , the latest figures posted on the corporate website. Armani’s personal fortune is estimated at 5.3 billion dollars.
Armani admitted he had regularly gone to church in Milan to pray during Galeotti’s illness.
“Yes, I would make the sign of the cross, but with some suspicion,” he stated.
Right now he is renovating his house in the exclusive southern French resort of St Tropez “to have the house I never had during my childhood, which was rather unhappy”, he said.
“My father worked a lot. He would count out his wages in 1,000 lire notes in front of us in silence,” said Armani.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Imam ‘Arrested’ In Milan After Terror Conviction
Milan, 29 April (AKI) — A radical Muslim preacher was arrested in the northern city of Milan on Thursday, sources close to Milan’s Muslim community told Adnkronos International (AKI). Italy’s top appeals court on Wednesday jailed Egyptian-born Abu Imad on terrorism charges.
The imam, who previously led prayers at Milan’s central mosque was taken to police headquarters and was to be transferred to the city’s San Vittore prison, the sources told AKI.
Imad was the imam at Milan’s Viale Jenner mosque until early 2009 but was not previously arrested. Under Italian law, suspects can remain at liberty until they have completed their appeal, if a judge does not consider they are likely to flee the country or tamper with any evidence against them.
Italy’s highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation, on Wednesday upheld a previous prison sentence imposed on Imad by a Milan court in December 2007.
The court sentenced Imad to three years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act.
Ten other people were also jailed for the same offence, receiving sentences that varied from two to 10 years, while four others were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Milan prosecutors had asked for jail terms ranging from four years and six months to 15 years for all the defendants.
Imad and his co-defendants had allegedly set up a Salafite cell that was active in Milan and elsewhere in the northern Lombardy region.
The cell’s mission is believed to have been recruiting suicide bombers, trafficking illegal immigrants and indoctrination.
The Viale Jenner mosque has been linked to Islamist terrorism several times but has so far managed to avoid closure, despite a July 2008 order from the government.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Violent Pimp Freed Because His Mother is Sick: Court
Judges in Amsterdam have released a man sentenced to four years in jail for his role in a violent prostitution gang, because his mother is seriously ill, not because he is about to become a father, Amsterdam court officials said on Thursday.
Earlier, the Telegraaf reported Murat Ordu had been freed pending his appeal hearing on July 16 because he is about to become a father.
The decision to release him has disappointed the public prosecution department and shocked victims, some of whom have now gone into hiding, ANP says.
‘We are strongly opposed to this,’ a department spokeswoman said. ‘The interests of society are more important than the personal interests of the suspect.’
Flight risk
‘There are no concrete indications that Ordu is a fight risk,’ advocate general Charles Wiegnant told the Telegraaf. In addition, he has been banned from contacting his victims, ANP said.
Ordu was part of a gang said to have forced over 20 women into prostitution in Amsterdam, The Hague, Alkmaar and Utrecht. Other members of the gang were jailed for six and five years.
Last year there was an outcry when another violent pimp Saban Baran left the country after was given a week’s leave to bond with his new baby despite being a known flight risk. He was serving a 7.5-year sentence.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Senate to Debate in Five Official Languages
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, APRIL 29 — The Spanish Senate has paved the way for the use of five co-official languages in its plenary sessions through simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician and Valencian. The Senate approved the proposal presented by nationalist parties in a 134 to 112 vote today. It will consider reforming regulations so that co-official languages can be used in plenary sessions, committees and written communications. The proposal, which was supported by Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, the Basque Nationalist Party and the Socialist Party, saw the People’s Party and the Navarrese People’s Union vote against it. According to nationalist parties, the reform will cost the state 120,000 euros, which can be recovered with a revision of the federal budget. According to PP spokesman Juan Van Hallen, a major critic of the proposal who called it “an authentic piece of rubbish” since it would “force Senators to use earpieces in a room where everyone understands the same language”, introducing an interpretation service would cost over 1.2 billion euros. The committees will now debate on the proposal, which will be subsequently examined in the Lower House. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Allegations Mount Against Catholic Church
The sexual abuse allegations against the Catholic church in Sweden continue to grow as a further victim alleges that she was abused by her parish priest.
The woman, who is now in her forties, claims that she was repeatedly abused as a four-year-old by a priest who was active in the parish.
The woman lived at the time at a Catholic Church children’s home in Sweden.
“It has had catastrophic consequences for my life, and my family’s life,” the woman told Christian website Dagen.
According to the woman, the priest was later transferred to a post overseas. The woman has also since moved abroad.
The abuse has been reported to the Catholic Church in Sweden, but the woman claims that she has neither received any apology nor been met with any understanding for her ordeal.
The Catholic Church has condemned the abuse in a letter to the website and pledged that it “will get to the bottom” of the allegations.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Immigrant Clung on to Coach Gearbox for 150 Mile Journey Into Britain
An immigrant was arrested at a bus depot after travelling 150 miles clinging to the gear box of a coach carrying British day trippers from Calais.
The 30-year-old man from Eritrea, East Africa, hung under the vehicle from the French port, through the Eurotunnel and on a four-hour motorway journey.
Shocked bus drivers only discovered the ‘exhausted’ illegal immigrant when they arrived at Kenzie’s Coach depot in Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, at 10pm last Friday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
10 Hydroelectric Plants in Serbia by Italy’s Seci
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, APRIL 29 — Italy’s Seci Energia and the Serbian agency for electric energy production (EPS) will be signing an agreement to set up a joint venture in charge of building ten more hydroelectric plants. According to the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) office in Belgrade, the agreement calls for the construction of 10 hydroelectric plants on the Ibar river with a total power of 85 Megawatts, three along the Drina river with a total power of 365 Megawatts and another on the Sava river — near Kupinov — with 140 Megawatts, as well as a few wind power plants of approximately 500 Megawatts overall. Total investment is about 1.5 billion euros and calls for a part of the “green” energy produced to be redirected in export to Italy at favourable prices. In the future joint venture Italians will hold a 51% share while the Serbian agency for electric energy production will instead be minority shareholder. Seci will be mainly in charge of investment management while EPS will deal with technical aspects and facilities. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Croatian Firms Eye Investment in Sandzak
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, APRIL 29 — Croatian Ambassador to Belgrade Zeljko Kupresak said in Novi Pazar that his country wants to invest in Sandzak and renew historical ties, reports BETA news agency. After a meeting with Novi Pazar Mayor Meho Mahmutovic, Kupresak added that they discussed how products from Sandzak could be exported to Croatia. “Croatia is a major consumer of dairy and agricultural products, clothes and footwear. Croatian companies are interested in investing into local agriculture and in production in the metal industry,” he stated. He went on to say that a visit by Sandzak business people to Croatian will be organized soon. The ambassador added that he and Mahmutovic also talked about how Croatia can help Serbia en route to EU membership.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Tunnel: Gas Massacre, Anger Rises Against Egypt
(ANSAmed) — GAZA/TEL AVIV, APRIL 29 — They died like mice, poisoned underground by gas in one of the “smuggling tunnels” that connect Gaza and Egypt and that facilitate the passage of just about anything, from weapons to the most fundamental of goods. Hamas, the radical Islamic movement in power in the Palestinian enclave, is pointing the finger at Egyptian forces over these horrendous deaths. With denials from Cairo ignored, the megaphones thunder against what is being called a “cold-blooded slaughter”. 4 smugglers died in the trap last night, while another 10 were pulled out alive, but poisoned or injured, as Muawia Hassanein, the head of Gaza’s emergency medical services, confirmed to ANSA. The certainty is that they all inhaled noxious gas. For everything else, accounts differ. In Gaza, it is considered beyond doubt that the deaths were caused mainly by a toxic gas pumped into the passageways a few days ago by Egyptian border guards to make the tunnels impassable, in a sort of deterrent allegedly compounded yesterday by artillery fire and the subsequent collapse of a vault. In Cairo, on the other hand, although the “destruction of four illegal tunnels” in the last few hours has been confirmed, official sources deny any Egyptian involvement in the use of gas (a “dissuasive” practice formally abandoned a couple of years ago in the wake of heated protests) and are putting the four deaths down to the explosion of butane cans carried by the Palestinians themselves. Either way, the rage felt by Gazans towards their Egyptian neighbours has reached worrying levels in the last few hours, while Hamas representatives continue to fan the flames. One spokesman, Fawzi Barhum, described the incident as “a terrible crime committed by Egyptian security against simple Palestinian workers looking to earn their daily bread; a cold-blooded slaughter that Hamas and the whole of the Palestinian people condemn”. Another spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, has charged Cairo with “full responsibility for the blood of these victims”, asking the Egyptian authorities “to investigate and bring the guilty parties to justice”, and saying that “the solution (for putting an end to smuggling) is not to kill innocent civilians but to open border passages”. The tunnels, as they are perceived by the one and a half million people living in the Gaza Strip, represent the desperate answer to the cordon imposed around the enclave since the bloody rise to power of Hamas in 2007. The dark, cramped passages are used to transport weapons and ammunition, as the Israelis have reported for some time, but also basic material, spare parts, food, fuel and even cattle. They often represent the only alternative to the blockage stringently imposed by Israel in answer to rocket fire and attacks repeatedly carried out by Islamic militants over the last few years. The blockage has now also been implemented with increasing rigour in the South, in the area of Rafah, along the small stretch of the border with Egypt, though the Egyptian government, irritated by Hamas’ extremist line and concerned about infiltration from the Palestinian territories (and also about the risk of collaboration with the hardline fundamentalist Egyptian opposition), has wasted no time in beginning the construction of an underground steel barrier. A barrier that remains unfinished, however, and one that did not prevent a handful of ill-fated men from yesterday tragically challenging fate.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Long March to Destroy Israel
In the 1930s, Italian communist Antonio Gramsci advocated the “long march through the institutions” as the most effective means for communism to prevail in the Western democracies. He sought to overthrow capitalism and enthrone an authoritarian ideology he sincerely believed would usher in an age of equality and social justice. History has conclusively proven him to have been wrong. Gramsci disagreed with the methods of his contemporary compatriots, the Bolsheviks, who were implementing communism in Russia through violence, or what they called revolution. Gramsci’s tactics involved quietly infiltrating and then dominating cultural institutions, the media, academe, foundations, the arts, and to use those resources to impose an informal cultural dictatorship. Gramsci understood that by controlling the culture, what Marx called the “means of communication,” communism could be imposed under another name and in such a way that the democracies would find themselves asleep at the switch.
The Gramscian method is now being attempted as a means of undermining and eventually destroying the state of Israel. All of this would of course be moot if the speedier Bolshevik approach employed by Iran under Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah and Hamas proxies firing missiles and their development of a nuclear bomb is successful. Well-meaning liberals, including an increasing number of pro-Israel Jewish liberals, are incrementally moving away from believing in Zionism as a moral and ethical force in the same way the Gramscians of previous generations gradually moved liberals away from free-market democracy. Zionism, it should be stated, is the national aspirations of the Jewish people in the modest state of Israel, nothing more and nothing less.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
British Girl, 10, Fights Off Two Men Who Tried to Rape Her in Dubai
The girl was by herself in a sandy play area near where she lived with her family when she was attacked.
One of the sex fiends grabbed the youngster round the waist while the other attempted to remove her clothes.
But girl managed to fight them off by kicking the men and screaming, before running away.
She was discovered by her family more than two hours later with a security guard from the complex where she lives.
Bangladeshi Abdul Aziz, 27, has been charged with attempted rape and has appeared in court in Dubai. The other man is still at large.
Aziz is said to have told police that he and the other man saw the girl on her bike and that they tried to undress her for sex but she managed to escape.
The girl’s 44-year-old father rushed back from work to join the search for his missing daughter after being informed by his wife she had not returned home.
He told Gulf News: ‘Around 6pm, we spotted our daughter standing at the villa’s entrance near the security guard and she was crying.
‘We took her inside to know why she didn’t come back home.
‘She claimed to me that one of them grabbed her by her belly and put his hand on her mouth, then asked the other one to undress her, wanting to abuse her.
‘Then she alleged that she freed herself and kicked one of the men and left the place.’
A Dubai court source told The Sun: ‘It was an extremely serious assault — the prosecution say there was clear intent to rape or carry out a serious sexual assault on the girl.
‘She was very lucky to escape and very brave to have fought back.
‘Her parents were frantic when she disappeared and incredibly relieved when she was found.’
The trial was adjourned until May 20.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: Suntanned Women to be Arrested Under Islamic Dress Code
Iran has warned suntanned women and girls who looked like “walking mannequins” will be arrested as part of a new drive to enforce the Islamic dress code.
Brig Hossien Sajedinia, Tehran’s police chief, said a national crackdown on opposition sympathisers would be extended to women who have been deemed to be violating the spirit of Islamic laws. He said: “The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehaviour by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values. In some areas of north Tehran we can see many suntanned women and young girls who look like walking mannequins.
“We are not going to tolerate this situation and will first warn those found in this manner and then arrest and imprison them.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian Navy Plane Flies Near Uss Eisenhower in Gulf of Oman
Washington (CNN) — An Iranian navy plane that approached a U.S. aircraft carrier last week was flying as low as 300 feet as it neared the USS Eisenhower, U.S. military officials said Wednesday.
The incident, first reported by CNN on Tuesday, came as Iran was beginning a series of military exercises last week meant to show off their military prowess.
The Eisenhower was on duty in the Gulf of Oman in the northern Arabian Sea, in support of the Afghanistan war efforts, when the Iranian maritime patrol aircraft flew within 1,000 yards of the vessel, according to military officials.
While the encounter was not threatening, it was unusual. U.S. navy ships have regularly encountered Iranian aircraft in the Persian Gulf in recent years, but this encounter took place in the Gulf of Oman, in an area where Iranian jets are seen much less frequently, several Navy officials said.
The officials declined to be identified, citing the extremely sensitive nature of any U.S. military interaction with Iranian forces.
Adm. Gary Roughead, the top Navy officer, confirmed the April 21 incident. The Iranians were “not provocative or threatening. As long as they are professional and not threatening or reckless, it’s international space,” he said.
Radar on the Eisenhower and other U.S. ships in the vicinity closely tracked the Iranian aircraft as it approached the aircraft carrier to ensure it maintained a nonthreatening path, Roughead said. A senior U.S. military official said the Iranian plane was tracked by U.S. units for nearly 100 miles before it reached the Eisenhower.
The Iranian aircraft was a Fokker F27 that was unarmed, officials said. It remained in the vicinity of the Eisenhower for about 20 minutes before leaving the area, according to the senior official. The Eisenhower had just finished a series of carrier aircraft flight operations and a resupply at sea mission.
U.S. officials believe the Iranians wanted a close look at the carrier, but they could not say if the Iranians took photos of the ship.
One of the officials also said Iran may simply have been trying to demonstrate its aerial capabilities to the United States.
U.S. military officials continue to emphasize that recent encounters with Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf have been professional and without confrontation or problems. The U.S. Navy takes great care to try to stay out of the way of any Iranian forces in the region, officials said.
| — Hat tip: Zenster | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 20 Arrested in Turkish Child Prostitution Case
Accused of encouraging three juveniles to engage in prostitution, 26 people were arrested Wednesday in Alasehir in the western province of Manisa, news agencies reported.
Four more people, however, were still being sought on the same allegations, Anatolia news agency reported. Two girls, ages 14 and 16, and a boy, 16, were allegedly forced into prostitution and are being kept under state protection.
The suspects were also alleged to have had sexual intercourse with the children. The ages of those arrested ranges from 20 to 57.
On Tuesday, 31 people were taken into custody; 28 were sent to court, with 26 of these people being placed under arrest.
The Alasehir branch of Egitim Sen, a trade union for education employees, protested the crime. Hasan Hüseyin Erkol, the head of the branch, said those individuals who protected the perpetrators of the alleged crimes were as guilty as the perpetrators.
Erkol said amendments should be added to the Constitution to protect children.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Mayor Says Rape Allegations ‘Sorted Out’
Local residents in the southeastern Anatolian city of Pervari “sorted out among themselves” the allegations against children for raping toddlers, according to the mayor.
The statement comes as recent child abuse allegations in the city cause the city to be the target of criticism for covering up the events.
Pervari, a district in Siirt province, topped the country’s agenda as it was revealed that eight children between ages 11 and 14 allegedly raped two toddlers and then attempted to kill them last year.
The 2-year-old boy survived but the 3-year-old girl died. The story about the incident surfaced just after another child abuse case in Siirt came to light, that one involving seven students at a boarding school allegedly being abused by local elders over two years and no one taking any action. Criticism of negligence surged after these allegations.
“We sorted out the incident among ourselves,” said Ismail Bilen, the mayor of Pervari, a member of the Democratic Party, or DP, talking about the rape allegations of the toddlers by other children. “This was a child’s game. This was something 7- or 8-year-old children do. Pervari is a small place and we are all relatives. When I said we sorted it out I mean we did it with our local administrator, prosecutor and police,” he said.
No case has been opened about the allegations yet, as the forensic report of the murdered child has not yet come to the prosecutor’s office. Only three children were arrested for the event but they were later released.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry said Wednesday that on April 29, 2009, they sent two inspectors to the province. As a result of the investigation, the substitute principal, and two deputy principals of the boarding school where the alleged abuse occurred were removed from office, the ministry said.
On the other hand, the governor of Siirt, Necati Sentürk, talking about the allegations of rape against the students in Siirt, said among the seven girls in the case, two pairs of them were reported to be siblings, and the family of two sisters has been taken under state assistance. “We will economically aid the family for three years and provide social and psychological support,” Sentürk said.
Minibus comes under fire
Meanwhile, in another village in Pervari, someone opened fire on a minibus and one person died and one child was injured. The shooting occurred Tuesday night and it is suspected that the attack was connected to enmity between two families in the village.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: West Java, Thousands of Islamic Extremists Attack a Christian Center
Three cars destroyed and some buildings set on fire. The origin of the attack a rumor that Christians wanted to build a chapel within the center. Hundreds of local police fail to stop the raid, but police chief promises justice.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Thousands of Muslim extremists attacked a Christian educational center in Bogor regency, West Java province, Indonesia. The toll from yesterday’s attack is three destroyed cars and several buildings damaged or burnt. The wrath of fundamentalists was unleashed, and encouraged by the local Council of Ulema (MUI), by unsubstantiated rumours that the Christian community BKP Penabur were planning “to build a place of worship” within the complex.
Targeted attacks against the Christian community continue in the regency of Bogor, coupled with the impotence of the Indonesian authorities unable to stop the violence with a religious background. Yesterday morning, thousands of Islamic extremists attacked and set fire to the center of the Foundation Penabur BPK, despite the garrison erected earlier by hundreds of police.
The fundamentalists destroyed and burned three cars a part of the 10 buildings that make up the whole Christian complex. The Muslims anger was spurred on by rumours that the leaders of the foundation wanted to construct a chapel. The rumours were groundless, but were enough to ignite minds and incite the crowd. Local sources, on condition of anonymity, tell AsiaNews that the attackers were “people from the neighbouring sub-districts Cisaura and Ciawi. One detail that, in reality, shows the attacks were well orchestrated.
The police, unable to prevent violence, promises justice. Six people were detained and are under interrogation. “If any of these is responsible for the attacks — said Tomex Kurniawan, police chief of Bogor City — we will not hesitate to establish an arrest warrant”.
Recently, hundreds of Muslims, which later became thousands, have appealed to Cisarua government, to put a stop to any construction activities within the BPK Penabur, despite the permit (IMB) issued by the authorities. Fundamentalists accuse Christian Foundation of “betraying” the “truce” which prohibited the creation of a Christian education centre in a predominantly Muslim area.
The appeal was then transformed into a real indictment. The leaders of the Foundation have strongly denied the rumors about the construction of a small church. However, the intervention of local leaders of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has triggered a backlash from extremists. Rahmatullah, head of the MUI in Cisarua, claims not to be contrary to “hospitality centres,” but — he claims — the Christians are hiding a secret plan to build a small chapel or prayer centres”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Man With Knife Slashes 28 Children at Chinese Kindergarten
Five are critically wounded before the assailant, an unemployed salesman, is overpowered. It is the latest in a string of similar attacks in which 10 children have died and dozens were injured
An unemployed insurance salesman on Thursday slashed 28 kindergarteners with a kitchen knife in Jiangsu province, critically wounding five children in the latest in a series of similar attacks at schools that have left 10 dead and dozens injured.
The attack, the fourth since March 23, took place in the eastern city of Taixing, 120 miles northwest of Shanghai. The 46-year-old assailant overpowered a security guard at the front gate of the Zhongxin Kindergarten and entered a classroom, authorities said.
“It was a terrible scene. He was waving the knife as though he was daring us to come in and stop him, but nobody would dare,” said restaurant owner Gu Xudong, 41, who ran across the street to the school when he heard screaming. He said the attack was stopped by a deliveryman who grabbed a fire extinguisher and smashed it into the assailant’s head. “That guy is the people’s hero,” Gu said.
The suspect was identified as Xu Yuyuan, out of work since 2001. No motive was disclosed.
“This man was obviously sick,” said a 28-year-old factory worker who was at the Taixing People’s Hospital, where most of the victims were being treated. “But our society is very complicated. The economy has changed so quickly. It is hard to know where you are.”…
| — Hat tip: Zenster | [Return to headlines] |
Italian in Mexican Ambush Safe and Sound
Gunmen kill two in attack on humanitarian convoy
(ANSA) — Rome, April 29 — An Italian who was believed to have been taken hostage after gunmen attacked a humanitarian convoy in southern Mexico is safe and sound, the Italian foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said David Casinori had been in contact by phone with an official from the Italian embassy in Mexico who had gone to the southern state of Oaxaca to try to find him.
Casinori later spoke by phone with a private Italian radio station and explained that he had not been able to get into contract before because he had lost his cellphone.
Two people were killed Tuesday and a number of people taken hostage when a paramilitary group ambushed a convoy carrying some 40 Mexican activists, journalists, teachers and European aid workers which was travelling to the remote village of San Juan Copala bringing food, clothing and medicines.
The victims were reported to be 25-year-old Tyri Antero Jaakkola of Finland and Alberta Carino, 35, who was a member of the Latin American NGO Cactus.
There are also reports that a third person may have been killed in the attack.
Recalling the ambush, Casinori said “we were about to enter San Juan Copala when we found the road was blocked. When we tried to back up a group of gunmen appeared and began firing on us. At first we all took cover but then we ran off into the jungle”.
“Unfortunately, two people were killed while they were still in one of the vehicles,” he added “During our escape some of us were stopped by the gunmen whothreatened and robbed us before letting us go. We ran through the forest until we reached a main road, where we could still hear shots being fired,” Casinori said.
“We were helped in our escape by the Mexican members of our convoy who had contacts with the local population. I’m alright even though still a little shocked. But I’m in a safe place with other members of the convoy,” he told the radio station.
The gunmen who attacked the convoy are believed to be members of the Triqui Region Union for Social Wellbeing (Ubisort), a paramilitary group said to be linked to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the leading opposition party which was in power in Mexico uninterruptedly for 71 years until 2000.
Ubisort is battling for control of the region against the Unifying Movement of Triqui Struggle (Mult-i).
According to official Mexican sources, rivalry between the two Triqui groups left over 30 people killed last year and violence has worsened recently due to the upcoming July 4 elections.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Immigrants Plan to Leave Over Ariz. Law
PHOENIX (AP) — Many of the cars that once stopped in the Home Depot parking lot to pick up day laborers to hang drywall or do landscaping now just drive on by.
Arizona’s sweeping immigration bill allows police to arrest illegal immigrant day laborers seeking work on the street or anyone trying to hire them. It won’t take effect until summer but it is already having an effect on the state’s underground economy.
“Nobody wants to pick us up,” Julio Loyola Diaz says in Spanish as he and dozens of other men wait under the shade of palo verde trees and lean against a low brick wall outside the east Phoenix home improvement store.
Many day laborers like Diaz say they will leave Arizona because of the law, which also makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and directs police to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants.
“We want to drive day labor away,” says Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, one of the law’s sponsors.
An estimated 100,000 illegal immigrants have left Arizona in the past two years as it cracked down on illegal immigration and its economy was especially hard hit by the Great Recession. A Department of Homeland Security report on illegal immigrants estimates Arizona’s illegal immigrant population peaked in 2008 at 560,000, and a year later dipped to 460,000.
The law’s supporters hope the departure of illegal immigrants will help dismantle part of the underground economy here and create jobs for thousands of legal residents in a state with a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.
Kavanagh says day labor is generally off the books, and that deprives the state of much-needed tax dollars. “We’ll never eliminate it, just like laws against street prostitution,” he says. “But we can greatly reduce the prevalence.”
Day laborers do jobs including construction, landscaping and household work for cash paid under the table. Those jobs have been harder to find since the housing industry collapsed here several years ago.
Standing near potted trees and bushes for sale at a Home Depot in east Phoenix, Diaz, 35, says he may follow three families in his neighborhood who moved to New Mexico because of the law. He says a friend is finding plenty of work in Dallas.
Diaz says he has too much to lose by staying — he’s supporting a wife and infant son back home in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas.
“They depend on me to survive,” he says. “I’m not going to wait for police to come and arrest me.”
Jose Armenta, a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico’s western coast, is already planning to move to Utah within the next 20 days because of a combination of the economy and the new law.
“A lot of people drive by,” he says as he watched nearby cars speeding past, “and they yell, ‘Hey, go back to Mexico!’“
Analysts say it’s too soon to tell what lasting effects the law will have on the state’s underground work force, which also includes baby sitters, maids and cooks.
A study of immigrants in Arizona published in 2008 found that non-citizens, mostly in the country illegally, held an estimated 280,000 full-time jobs. The study by researcher Judith Gans at the University of Arizona examined 2004 data, finding that they contributed about 8 percent of the state’s economic output, or $29 billion.
Losing hundreds of thousands of unskilled laborers wouldn’t hurt the state’s economy in the short term, but it could limit the economy’s ability to grow once it recovers, says Marshall Vest, director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.
Legal workers who are willing to take any available job now will become more choosy if the unemployment rate falls back to low levels seen before the recession hit.
“That’s really the question, as to whether the existing population is willing to work those (low-level) jobs,” Vest says. “I think economics provides the answer. If job openings have no applicants, then businesses need to address that by raising the offered wage.”
Some illegal immigrants, however, intended to stick around.
Natalia Garcia, 35, from Mexico City, says she and her husband — a day laborer — will stay so their daughters — both born in the U.S. — can get a good education and learn English. The couple have been living in Arizona illegally for the last 10 years.
“Mexico doesn’t have a lot of opportunities,” she says. “Here, we work honestly, and we have a better life.”
Olga Sanchez, 32, from southern Mexico, lives in Phoenix illegally with her two brothers, who are 21 and 17. While the youngest boy is in high school, all three work and send money back home to their parents.
“This law is very bad for us,” says Sanchez, who gets about $250 a week cleaning three houses. “I’m afraid of what’s going to happen.”
She says the family is going to wait and see if the law takes effect and what the fallout will be before deciding whether to leave. The law is certain to be challenged in court; Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff already are considering lawsuits.
“All I ask from God is a miracle for us to stay here and work,” she says.
| — Hat tip: REP | [Return to headlines] |
Mayor Bloomberg Slams Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant Law: ‘We Are Committing National Suicide’
A fired-up Mayor Bloomberg warned the U.S. “is committing national suicide” by passing the buck on implementing comprehensive immigration reform.
Hizzoner delivered the blunt message Wednesday as he criticized Arizona’s harsh new anti-immigrant law.
“This is not good for the country. I don’t agree with it,” he said. “We love immigrants here.”
Bloomberg said that because federal lawmakers have failed to tackle the thorny issue, lawmakers in states like Arizona have taken matters into their own hands.
“This country is committing national suicide,” Bloomberg said.
The Arizona law allows cops to stop anyone they think is in the country illegally and arrest folks who can’t prove their immigration status or citizenship.
Bloomberg deemed it an invitation to harassment.
“We have to get real about the 12 million undocumented here,” the mayor said. “We’re not going to deport them. Give them permanent status. Don’t make them citizens unless they can qualify, but give them permanent status and let’s get on with this.”
Bloomberg spoke as he thanked volunteers at the “Citizenship Now!” hotline sponsored by the Daily News and City University of New York, which helps callers who want to know how to become citizens.
He called on President Obama to lead the fight to overhaul the nation’s immigration rules. “I will be there behind him supporting him 100%,” he said.
Bloomberg long has been a supporter of immigration reform, saying current law deters international companies from sending employees through border hassles to work in the U.S. — and freezes out the highly skilled immigrants America needs.
“We don’t have doctors, and we’re not allowing people who want to come here and be doctors to come here,” the mayor said. “This is just craziness.”
“People are developing new drugs in India, rather than here. They’re going to win the next Nobel Prize in China or in Europe, not here. If we want to have a future, we need to have more immigrants here.”
| — Hat tip: Takuan Seiyo | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican: Pope Calls for Protection of Migrant Rights
Vatican City, 28 April (AKI) — Pope Benedict XVI has expressed concern for the plight of immigrants and called for greater efforts to protect their human rights. The Vatican on Wednesday released a telegram which Benedict sent to Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, to mark the European congress on migration in the Spanish city of Malaga.
He said he hoped to see “recognition for their rights and a guarantee for their possibilities to live a life dignified in all aspects”.
The Pope’s telegramme was released as the Italian bishops conference (CEI) expressed concern about the “painful reality” for immigrants who have to wait until they can be reunited with their families.
“First, the biggest children arrive and finally the youngest, with psychological and emotional repercussions in relation to the parents, with the difficulties of re-establishing close relations in the country where they have immigrated,” said Gianromano Gnesotto, from the CEI’s welfare organisation, Migrantes.
His comments were released ahead of his appearance at the congress in Malaga on Wednesday.
He said the term ‘a rate’ was an economic term linked to the availability of adequate income for reunions in Italy.
The conservative Italian government last year toughened its immigration laws, particularly in regard to illegal immigrants.
Anyone entering Italy without permission face fines of up to 10,000 euros and immediate expulsion. Anyone renting housing to an illegal immigrant faces up to three years in prison.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Why Arizona Drew a Line
ON Friday, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a law — SB 1070 — that prohibits the harboring of illegal aliens and makes it a state crime for an alien to commit certain federal immigration crimes. It also requires police officers who, in the course of a traffic stop or other law-enforcement action, come to a “reasonable suspicion” that a person is an illegal alien verify the person’s immigration status with the federal government.
Predictably, groups that favor relaxed enforcement of immigration laws, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, insist the law is unconstitutional. Less predictably, President Obama declared it “misguided” and said the Justice Department would take a look.
Presumably, the government lawyers who do so will actually read the law, something its critics don’t seem to have done. The arguments we’ve heard against it either misrepresent its text or are otherwise inaccurate. As someone who helped draft the statute, I will rebut the major criticisms individually:
It is unfair to demand that aliens carry their documents with them. It is true that the Arizona law makes it a misdemeanor for an alien to fail to carry certain documents. “Now, suddenly, if you don’t have your papers … you’re going to be harassed,” the president said. “That’s not the right way to go.” But since 1940, it has been a federal crime for aliens to fail to keep such registration documents with them. The Arizona law simply adds a state penalty to what was already a federal crime. Moreover, as anyone who has traveled abroad knows, other nations have similar documentation requirements.
“Reasonable suspicion” is a meaningless term that will permit police misconduct. Over the past four decades, federal courts have issued hundreds of opinions defining those two words. The Arizona law didn’t invent the concept: Precedents list the factors that can contribute to reasonable suspicion; when several are combined, the “totality of circumstances” that results may create reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.
For example, the Arizona law is most likely to come into play after a traffic stop. A police officer pulls a minivan over for speeding. A dozen passengers are crammed in. None has identification. The highway is a known alien-smuggling corridor. The driver is acting evasively. Those factors combine to create reasonable suspicion that the occupants are not in the country legally.
The law will allow police to engage in racial profiling…
| — Hat tip: Zenster | [Return to headlines] |
Could Extraterrestrials Really Invade Earth, And How?
By Karen Rowan
The human race could be devastated if aliens were to learn of our existence and venture to Earth, warned British scientist Stephen Hawking on Sunday. But how could extraterrestrials really invade Earth?
Aliens have already viciously attacked our spacecraft, savagely kidnapped us, heartlessly conducted experiments on us, and mercilessly aimed their death-rays at us, but of course, all of these crimes have been committed only in novels and movies.
Other experts who, like Hawking, have devoted their careers to thoughtful exploration of the possibilities of alien contact say that we don’t have anything to fear.
“In movies, aliens only come here for two reasons,” Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) told Life’s Little Mysteries, SPACE.com’s sister publication. “They either come here to find some resource they don’t have on their own planet, or they want to use us for some unauthorized breeding experiment.” These scenarios play on our most primal human fears of losing the resources we need to survive or not being able to reproduce, Shostak said.
In reality, it isn’t logical to think that aliens would want to do either of those things, Shostak said. Space travel is expensive and requires an enormous investment, he said.
“Anything that we have here, they could find where they live,” Shostak said. If there was a resource found on Earth that did not exist on the aliens’ home planet, there would certainly be easier ways to get or make the resource than coming here.
And if an alien civilization was advanced enough to engage in interstellar travel, they would also probably have very advanced robotic machines, Shostak said. If they wanted to research our planet, they would be more likely to send those machines here than to come here themselves.
“It’s not like, the hatch will open and we’ll see a strange, alien paw coming out,” he said. “It’s more likely to be a robotic arm.”
Contact with aliens is extremely unlikely, agrees David Morrison, Director of Space at NASA-Ames Research Center. Any communication that may occur would likely be in the form of radio waves sent from one civilization to another, he said.
“We’re listening for radio signals,” Morrison said, “And we can assume that any civilization that we receive a signal from is more advanced than we are.”
We have only had the technology to listen and send radio waves for the last century, so if an alien radio signal reaches us from a distant planet hundreds or thousands of light-years away, that civilization would have to be more advanced than ours, Morrison said.
Morrison doubts that an advanced alien civilization would come here to harm us.
“Someone once suggested that if a civilization can last for hundreds of thousands of years, it almost surely has solved the problems we have. I would hope so,” Morrison said.
Even if aliens existed, knew about us, and could travel here, they wouldn’t be likely to send an army or the equipment needed to launch an attack on the Earth, said science fiction writer Jack McDevitt.
“Imagine putting together an invasion force, only to stick them in containers to travel here for years,” McDevitt said.
Although contact between humans and aliens has been a key part of many of McDevitt’s books, he doesn’t think that it’s likely to actually happen. It would take a great amount of time for aliens to reach Earth, and any civilization capable of this feat would not want to delegate its fighting force to the task, he said.
We have bigger problems to worry about, McDevitt said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
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