China and Russia to Invite South Africa Into BRIC to Help Their Expansion
The BRIC group (Brazil, Russia, India and China) might admit South Africa as a member. For many experts, although other countries have stronger economies, South Africa is useful, especially for China, as a gateway to Africa. However, the United States as well as India might see their role diminished.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — In late December, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told South Africa that it was invited to join BRIC, a grouping of the major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India and China. For some analysts, the decision to bring in this new member reflects more a strategic move by China and Russia to build up their presence in Africa than the true strength of the country’s economy. In fact, South Korea would probably be a better candidate for BRIC membership.
South Africa had raised the possibility of joining the grouping in 2009. In April of this year, its president, Jacob Zuma, will be an observer at the third BRIC summit in Beijing following an invitation from his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.
Experts note that South Africa’s economy, population and growth rate are much smaller than all the other BRIC members are. The African country’s GDP last year was US$ 286 billion, far less than the US$ 2 trillions of India and Brazil, China’s US$ 5.5 trillion, and even Russia’s US$ 1.6 trillion.
Its growth was a tepid 3 percent, less than Russia’s 4 per cent, Brazil’s 7.5 per cent, India’s 9.7 per cent and China’s 10.5 per cent.
Similarly, its population of 49 million is dwarfed by that of China (1.36 billion) and India (1.2 billion).
Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairman Jim O’Neill, who first coined the acronym BRIC for Brazil, Russia, India and China to refer to the emerging economic giants, said that South Korea would have been a more suitable candidate than South Africa for BRIC membership.
At just US$ 286 billion, South Africa’s GDP is less than half of South Korea’s US$ 832.5 billion, Turkey’s US$ 617.1 billion and Mexico’s US$ 874.9 billion. It is two-thirds of Indonesia’s US$ 540.3 billion.
Politics rather economics explain the decision to have South Africa join, especially China’s interest in Africa’s riches. For Beijing, Pretoria provides a better access to Africa. This is particularly important in order to contain the United States, which has recently upgraded its presence in the continent.
In fact, it is not an accident that the first BRIC summit in June 2010 in Yekaterinburg saw leaders discuss a possible currency alternative to the US dollar, an issue that has little traction in South Korea, Mexico or Indonesia.
“This is something that China sees in its own interest with its aim of understanding the future of Africa and becoming an ever bigger presence there,” said Marvin Zonis, professor emeritus at the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business.
China exports high tech and other manufactured goods to Africa and imports energy and raw materials. Trade between China and Africa hit a record US$ 115 billion as of the end of last November.
South African Minister of international relations and cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane acknowledged that his country would act as a “gateway” for BRIC nations to increase investment and trade in Africa.
Russia and Brazil welcomed the news, but India has so far not made any official statement on the matter because it is pinning its hopes on US support for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
For Washington, Africa is a region where the United States and India should closely cooperate. For the Americans, India is an emerging power without a colonialist past, and might be interested in limiting Chinese expansion.
Africa is indeed high on India’s foreign policy agenda for 2010, and this is likely to generate friction with China.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
‘Earmarks’ To Nowhere: States Losing Billions
WASHINGTON — Almost 13 years ago, Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., directed $375,000 in federal funding “to improve State Road 31” in Columbus, Ind., a city at the edge of his district.
The McIntosh “earmark” seemed routine at the time, like almost 2,000 other congressional pet projects that lawmakers inserted into the 1998 highway bill. But there was a problem: “There is no State Road 31 that travels through Columbus, only U.S. 31,” says Will Wingfield, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The error hurt all of Indiana and has wrapped the earmark in red tape to this day. The money not only remains unspent, but because Congress counts money earmarked for highway projects against a state’s share of federal gas tax revenue, the amount of the earmark reduced what Indiana would have received in federal funding — almost dollar for dollar.
McIntosh’s botched attempt at earmarking is one of more than 7,374 congressionally directed highway projects in which at least some money that lawmakers set aside remains unspent, a USA TODAY analysis of state and federal records shows. In at least 3,649 of those earmarks, not a single dollar has gone toward its intended purpose, sometimes because of simple, sloppy mistakes, USA TODAY found.
The problem is so pervasive that almost 1 in 3 highway dollars earmarked since 1991 — about $13 billion — remains unspent, federal data show. “We call them orphan earmarks,” says Michael Covington of the South Carolina Department of Transportation. “They don’t have a home.”
The federal government treats an unspent earmark like an undated check that could be cashed at any time. It affects the federal budget only if it’s cashed. Nevertheless, because lawmakers inserted some of the earmarks into particular sections of transportation bills, many of the orphan earmarks also count against a state’s share of federal highway funds and have taken billions of dollars away from state transportation departments across the nation.
During the past 20 years, orphan earmarks reduced the amount of money that states would have received in federal highway funding by about $7.5 billion, USA TODAY found. That’s $7.5 billion that states could have used to replace obsolete bridges, repair aging roads and bring jobs to rural areas.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Split Fiat Debuts on Stock Exchange
CEO Marchionne hails move, stressing challenges ahead
(ANSA) — Milan, January 3 — CEO Sergio Marchionne hailed the split of Fiat’s car businesses from its other divisions after the separate companies debuted on the Milan stock exchange Monday, while stressing many challenges lay ahead.
The group has spun off farm and construction vehicle division CNH, bus and truck maker Iveco and the non-auto part of Powertrain, which develops and produces engines and transmissions, into a new company, Fiat Industrial.
Its car-making and components divisions, including Fiat Group Automobiles (Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo), Ferrari, Maserati, Magneti Marelli, Teksid, Comau and the rest of Powertrain, have remained in the original Fiat Spa.
“This is a very important moment for Fiat because it represents both a final destination and a starting point,” said Marchionne, who has turned Fiat around after taking the helm in troubled times in 2004.
“Given the great transformations taking place on the market, we could no longer keep together sectors that have no industrial or economic characteristics in common.
“In assessing the value of the split you also have to consider the opportunities for personal development it will be able to offer our workers”.
The two Fiat companies performed well on their first morning of trading after the split Monday.
Fiat Industrial changed hands at 8.734 euros and Fiat Spa fetched 6.696 euros, up 1.78% and 4.16% respectively on the calculation of their values from the last day of trading on December 31, when they were part of the same group.
Analysts expect the split companies’ share prices to be highly volatile for a while until brokers firmly make up their minds about their value as separate entities.
Financial markets had for some time urged a spinoff, but Marchionne had opted to keep the group together up to now to avoid additional turbulence during the economic recession and enable its partnership with Chrysler to consolidate.
Fiat last year acquired 20% and management control of Chrysler in exchange for its cutting-edge green and small car technology, as well as access to Fiat’s sales and service networks in Europe and Latin America.
Marchionne did not rule out a full merger between the companies this year.
“It’s possible that our stake will go up to 51%,” he said. “It’s possible, not probable. Today there’s no plan for a merger between Fiat and Chrysler”. Marchionne also again warned that Fiat’s plans to invest some 20 billion euros in Italy over the next five years will only go ahead if workers agree to its drive for separate, factory accords aimed at boosting productivity and efficiency.
Fiat has reached agreements for the creation of new, ad hoc companies that will take over its car plant at Pomigliano d’Arco, near Naples and its historic Mirafiori plant in Turin with all the main unions except one, FIOM.
These companies will offer workers’ new contracts and conditions outside Italy’s long-established system of nationally negotiated collective contracts for the sector.
The Mirafiori deal will be put to a workers vote this month and Marchionne said Monday that the carmaker will drop its planned investments in the plant if they give the thumbs down. He also told FIOM, which is part of Italy’s biggest and most left-wing union confederation CGIL, that “Fiat can produce cars with or without” it.
FIOM announced that its members will down tools for eight hours on January 28 against the separate agreements after Fiat concluded negotiations with other unions on pay, benefits and working hours for Pomigliano on Wednesday.
FIOM says these agreements violate Italian labor laws, describing them as “an unprecedented attack on democracy and on people’s rights”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: So Much for Austerity! We Were Promised a New Era of Whitehall Belt-Tightening, So Why Did Quango Chief Order Staff to Blow £1m of Your Money?
Sir Andrew Cahn, the UK Trade & Investment chief executive, told senior colleagues the Foreign Office was ‘heading for an underspend and wants to get money out of the door’
A quango chief ordered officials to dream up ways of blowing £1million of public cash which it did not need, leaked emails reveal today.
As the rest of the country braced itself for the deepest austerity cuts since the Second World War, the head of UK Trade & Investment — the Government’s business promotion body — was inventing schemes to ‘get money out of the door’.
The revelations will plunge the UKTI, which funds some of Prince Andrew’s work as a trade ambassador, into crisis.
It will also leave Foreign Secretary William Hague facing questions about his department’s role in urging the organisation to splash taxpayers’ cash.
Sir Andrew Cahn, the body’s £250,000-a-year chief executive, told senior colleagues the Foreign Office was ‘heading for an underspend and wants to get money out of the door’.
‘If we can spend money in this financial year on a one-off basis, then we can have at least £1million,’ he wrote.
‘Can you think what we might do with such money?’
Sir Andrew suggested using the unexpected £1million to offer ‘business development visits’ — trips to the UK by staff based abroad — to every UKTI post around the world.
Alternatively, selected UKTI offices could be sent £50,000 each to ‘use locally’, he said.
Quangos such as UKTI were being asked to rein in their budgets, with 192 bodies facing abolition or merger.
But Sir Andrew, who left his post this week with a £1.2million pension pot for a top City post at investment bank Nomura, was casting around for ways to spend more money.
‘In the past, it would have been marketing, but Cabinet Office restrictions may make that difficult,’ he mused in an email to his executive team, passed to the Daily Mail.
‘I don’t suppose we could do inward investment stuff, could we? Could we use it for our leadership conference?
‘Perhaps to provide funds for all of our staff to go out and visit companies and do promotional events…?’
He went on to suggest that ‘BDVs’ — business development visits — could be offered to staff overseas ‘on the grounds that this is their most consistent complaint’.
Susan Haird, who took over from Sir Andrew as acting chief executive this week, responded enthusiastically, saying using unexpected funding for visits was a ‘good idea and money can be spent swiftly on those’.
Labour said the leak suggested the Foreign Office had lost control of its finances.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: ‘William Hague’s financial planning seems to be in chaos.
‘The Foreign Secretary has cut spending on longstanding programmes dealing with the fight against international drugs and crime, at the same time as his department is rushing to “get money out the door”.
‘At a time when jobs and livelihoods in Britain are being put at risk by Government cuts, the Foreign Office needs to show it has a proper grip on its priorities and financial plans.’
‘Any suggestion of getting money “out of the door” is wrong, unacceptable and offensive, and we are absolutely committed to getting the best value for taxpayers,’ the source said.
UKTI sources accepted the language used in the exchanges was ‘not at all appropriate’, but insisted no extra public cash had in the end been taken from the Foreign Office because no proper way to spend it had been identified.
A spokesman said: ‘The Government does not comment on leaked documents. Government spend is subject to rigorous value-for-money checks to ensure appropriate return for taxpayer funding.
‘All of UKTI’s services are subject to independent assessment. For every £1 of taxpayers’ money spent, our customers tell us that this generates £19 of additional profit for their businesses. UKTI has not drawn any additional resource from the Foreign Office this financial year.’
Jointly funded by the Department of Business and the Foreign Office, UKTI is the Government’s trade promotion arm.
The Duke of York acts as its special representative, attending summits and meetings around the world.
His expenses have been a source of controversy in the past. They increased by £11,000 in the year to last March to more than £150,000, according to figures published by UKTI.
Last night, Sir Andrew refused to come to the door of his London home to answer allegations that he had called for the unnecessary spending of £1million of public money at a time of austerity.
His wife Virginia referred the matter to UKTI, saying: ‘We have just returned from holiday. We are unpacking.’
UK Trade & Investment’s role is to promote ‘UK plc’ abroad.
Jointly funded by the Department for Business and the Foreign Office, it is the Government’s trade promotion arm.
Its website says it ‘works with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice’.
UKTI helped mount the Prime Minister’s recent business missions to India and China.
The quango’s current annual budget of around £340million faces substantial cuts under government spending reviews. UKTI expects to lose hundreds of its staff of 2,300, who work in London, Glasgow and around 100 countries.
Perhaps its best-known ‘employee’ — although unpaid — is the Duke of York.
Prince Andrew was made UKTI special representative in 2001 and his expenses travelling the world promoting Britain have sparked controversy.
Figures published last August revealed eye-watering costs to the taxpayer for his hotels, food and entertainment abroad in his role as the UK’s ambassador for trade.
His expenses rose to £154,000 for 12 foreign trips in 2009, up £11,000 on the previous 12 months.
In just three days, Andrew and four staff spent £19,200 on meals, accommodation and entertaining dignitaries at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He also ran up a £33,800 bill on an 11-day trip to the Middle East and Egypt plus a further £31,000 over nine days in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The expenses include the cost of hotels for Andrew and his staff — he usually travels with between two and five officials — all reception and official dinner costs, internal transport and ‘local hire’ such as translation services.
His bills are on top of £520,000 in travel costs, including at least six specially-chartered flights, which are covered by a separate government grant.
| — Hat tip: 4symbols | [Return to headlines] |
We Must Challenge Obama Before He Breaks the United States
Just today, David Limbaugh, writing for Newsmax in a column titled “Obama’s Administrative Abuse Rages On”, advised that such a moment of acting “outside its constitutional authority” by “affirmatively thwarting the express will of the Congress” occurred when he issued “an executive order promising to give (the International Monetary Fund) $140 billion for redistribution to Third World countries.”
How can that man just DO something like that of his own volition? Can he raid the United States Treasury at his will and give billions of our tax dollars away to poor people in other countries without any approval or at least, concurrence of some other justified authority? There is no record of his having large sums of income from employment as a not too busy law school teacher, so how did he accumulate all the millions of dollars to have his net worth now stand at around 10 million dollars at the end of 2009 according to mangoboss.com?
Where in our Constitution does it give him permission to steal the money we provide through our taxes for his own personal pleasures? For that matter, is there any LIMIT to the amount of our tax dollars that he can steal for his whims and wishes, or does he have carte blanche?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Body of Murdered Cyberwar Expert Found in Landfill
The body of a decorated US Army officer was found dumped in a Delaware landfill on New Years Eve day, a few days after he expressed concern that the nation wasn’t adequately prepared for cyber warfare, according to news reports following the bizarre whodunit.
Events surrounding the murder of John P. Wheeler III, who most recently worked part-time for defense contractor Mitre Corporation on cyber defense topics, read like a Tom Clancy novel. The 66-year-old worked for three Republican administrations, was special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, served in the office of the Secretary of Defense, and penned a manual on the effectiveness of biological and chemical weapons, which urged US forces to show restraint.
The day after Christmas — five days before his body was found as it was being dumped from a trash truck into the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington — Wheeler sent longtime friend Richard Radez an email expressing concern that the US wasn’t sufficiently prepared for “cyber warfare,” according to The Associated Press.
“This was something that had preoccupied him over the last couple of years,” Radez told the news organization.
Wheeler’s focus on computer warfare, and his ties to Mitre, have already attracted conspiracy theories involving the military industrial complex, but there are plenty of other intriguing details that don’t immediately fit into such a plot.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
CAIR Sues Debbie Schlussel Over Name
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has sued controversial Southfield lawyer Debbie Schlussel in federal court for trademark infringement, saying Schlussel incorporated several similarly-named groups to confuse its donors.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, urges U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, to stop her from using the names she incorporated.
“There are people in our community who contacted our office thinking she actually was named executive director of CAIR Michigan,” the group’s executive director, Dawud Walid, said today. He said he fears supporters of his group are making charitable contributions to Schlussel, believing she runs the real CAIR organization.
Schlussel countered that CAIR abandoned its name in Michigan by failing to file annual reports to the state of Michigan beginning in 2004. She said she filed articles of incorporation last year, at the behest of a client who she wouldn’t identify.
“They abandoned it,” Schlussel said. “The state of Michigan sent them notices, but they never once responded.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Col. Ralph Peters on Why Freedom is Never Free
[…]
A society that doesn’t have to make choices, won’t make choices.
When the economic downturn arrived—as downturns inevitably do—we still imagined that we were a nation politically divided into give-it-all-away Democrats and spend-responsibly Republicans. That’s nonsense. The parties simply spend lavishly on different things (although, increasingly, their priorities overlap: see the trash loans at the heart of the housing crisis). A terrible hour of shame arrived for the Republican Party when its activists—desperate to derail the looming train-wreck of Obamacare—began howling about “death panels” and health-care rationing. Well, guess what? We can’t afford to keep every comatose granny alive indefinitely in an intensive-care ward. Nor can we afford to give every patient—even the currently insured—every expensive treatment indefinitely. This isn’t a matter of “should” any long, but of “can.” Call it what we might, we will have to ration health care—even without the peculiar injustices of Obamacare. The issue is how to ration it ethically and most usefully.
Both parties have fled from the idea of individual responsibility. During the health-care “debate” (a juvenile name-calling session), not one leading politician in either party risked uttering the O-word: Obesity. If end-of-life costs haunt hospital hallways today, our collective obesity is on track to destroy us financially in the longer-term. It’s not only the myriad problems associated with obesity itself, but the countless diseases and ailments attendant to it, from plague levels of diabetes, through heart disease, to the costs of joint replacements (ask a surgeon what it’s like to operate on a morbidly obese patient). And except for those with rare medical conditions, obesity is a choice.
[…]
A morally healthy society needs pride. And real pride comes from self-reliance, not charity. While an ethically sound society allows for the legitimate needs of the truly incapable, it does not reward the capable-but-feckless. Government only rarely should be the first answer to our problems (it owes us nothing beyond security against foreign intruders and domestic criminals, and the protections detailed in the Constitution).
[…]
We all know—and the best citizens honor—the observation that “Freedom isn’t free.” But when it comes to government hand-outs, free isn’t freedom. On the contrary, the more dependent the citizen becomes upon government for his or her personal needs and wants, the more enslaved that individual becomes (I’m bewildered by those who demand “reparations” for slavery, while advocating enthusiastically the new slavery of unearned benefits—an addiction every bit as destructive to the soul as crack or meth is to the body).
[…]
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Elizabeth Edwards’s Revenge From Beyond the Grave After She Cut Cheating Husband John Out of Will Days Before Death
The final will and testament of Elizabeth Edwards shows she left nothing to her cheating husband, former presidential candidate John Edwards.
She cut her estranged husband out — instead leaving everything to her three children.
The couple’s eldest daughter, lawyer Cate, was named as the executor of the will, which Elizabeth, 61, signed on December 1 — just six days before she lost her battle to breast cancer.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked Document: EPA Knowingly Approved Bee-Killing Pesticide
A Colorado beekeeper recently obtained a leaked document revealing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) knows a popular crop pesticide is killing off honey bees, but has allowed its continued approval anyway. Despite opposition from its own scientists, EPA officials first gave the a-okay to Bayer CropScience’s toxic pesticide clothianidin in 1993 based on the company’s own flawed safety studies. But now it has been revealed that the EPA knew all along about the dangers of clothianidin and decided to just ignore them.
By now, most people know that honeybees are dying off at an incredibly disturbing rate. Colony collapse disorder (CCD), a condition where bees stray from the hive and never find their way back, is nixing millions of nature’s pollinators every year. Previous studies have pinpointed various environmental toxins as the primary culprits, including toxic pesticides like clothianidin (http://www.naturalnews.com/028429_c…).
And the leaked document, which was written by the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, explains clearly that “[c]lothianidin’s major risk concern is to nontarget insects (honey bees)” and that “[a]cute toxicity studies to honey bees show that clothianidin is highly toxic on both a contact and an oral basis.” The letter was in response to a request from Bayer to have clothianidin approval expanded for use on cotton and mustard in addition to its other approved uses.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Light-Bulb Banning Begins: Left-Coast and European Bureaucrats Are Grabbing Incandescents
[Editorial]
The cost of illuminating your home is about to go up significantly. Most Americans take for granted that when they flip a switch, darkness immediately gives way to a warm, natural light. That’s no longer possible in California, where a regulation that took effect Jan. 1 only allows the sale of harsh, cold compact fluorescents above a certain wattage. Unless the new Congress takes action, the same rules will apply to the rest of the country, beginning next year.
The prohibition on buying real light bulbs follows from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law by then-President George W. Bush. The measure gave bureaucratic zealots in the Golden State permission to embark on their confiscatory policy a year early. Of course, in true Orwellian fashion, the California Energy Commission strongly denies it’s doing anything to prohibit consumers from buying the type of bulbs they prefer. “You can still buy any type of light bulb you like, the only difference is that the new bulbs will use less energy and cost less money to operate,” the commission’s website explains. Left unsaid is that it’s a crime to sell newly manufactured cheap bulbs that produce a pleasing, natural light of 100 watts or more.
[…]
Congressional busybodies don’t care about the impact on consumers. They want to be just like the Europeans who began bulb banning in 2009. The final phase will be complete in September after the popular 60-watt incandescent is declared contraband. As London’s Daily Mail reported, this marketplace manipulation will bring a predictable outcome: The cost of government-mandated compact fluorescent fixtures is about to triple.
[…]
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NPR Exec Who Fired Juan Williams Resigns
The woman who fired Juan Williams from NPR has resigned. Ellen Weiss, now-ex-senior vice president of news, gave Williams the axe via phone after he appeared on Fox News and said he was nervous whenever he saw people dressed in “Muslim garb” on an airplane. NPR just concluded an investigation of the incident, and though it found the firing was legal, Weiss is out and CEO Vivian Schiller will get no bonus for 2010, Mediaite’s Mark Joyella reports.
NPR employer faced a great deal of criticism for the firing — especially from conservatives who said it was trying to stifle some opinions with liberal political correctness — including calls to cut its federal funding. Weiss had worked for NPR for 28 years. Williams landed on his feet, receiving a three-year contract with Fox News…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Energy Policy an Unnatural Disaster
A few days ago, former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) took to Twitter, and twitted Barack Obama once again. This time, she took on the president over how his weak, seemingly socialist policies have increased gasoline prices, and harmed the U.S. economy. She’s absolutely correct in her assessment of Obama’s energy strategy.
Palin knows what she’s talking about on oil and gas and energy issues. From 2003-2004, she was chairman of the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, and became quite well known as a corruption whistleblower there.
As governor, Palin signed the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act into law. The Act set a timeline for oil companies to get serious about transporting oil from Alaska to the lower 48 states.
Palin supports energy independence to strengthen the U.S. dollar and decrease oil prices. She stated as much on the campaign trail as vice president more than two years ago, and more recently, when stumping for conservative candidates in 2010.
But President Obama has pursued policies that have weakened the dollar and increased oil prices — the exact opposite of what Palin and the grassroots conservatives she helped elect last year have articulated.
Obama’s energy policies have been nothing short of an unnatural disaster for the U.S.
[…]
…Were the U.S. to further develop its natural resources, and reduce its dependence on foreign oil, we would be free of many of the entanglements that we’ve had in foreign policy during the last few decades.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Packages Set Off at Md. State Buildings
WASHINGTON — Two incidents involving packages at Maryland state buildings have shut down mailroom operations in government offices across the state.
One package was at the Jeffrey Building in downtown Annapolis and another was at the Maryland Department of Transportation headquarters in Hanover. A law enforcement source tells CBS News the package in Annapolis was addressed to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at the governor’s mansion, but was taken to the state offices.
The packages created smoke and odor when they were opened, and one reportedly flamed up while the other fizzled. Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley says the packages were small, describing them as about the size of a book.
Police say there were no serious injuries, although a spokesman for Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen says a mail room employee was hurt in the Annapolis incident. The extent of the employee’s injury was not immediately known.
State agencies have ceased all mail operations until hazardous materials crews can investigate and it’s determined if any other packages have been sent.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Package Explosions at Maryland Government Buildings
The first explosion was in the mailroom of the Department of Transport headquarters in Hanover, while the second occurred half an hour later in a building in Annapolis housing the Maryland state department. The packages, which both emitted a small bang or flame, were likely sent through the mail, according to an official.
Maryland police said there was no serious injuries, but reports said at least one person was hurt.
State police spokesman Greg Shipley said mailrooms at state offices across Maryland were being quarantined until it could be determined if any other packages had been sent.
He said the packages were small, about the size of a book, adding: “In both instances when the small packages were opened, there was a dissemination of smoke and a smell, that’s the best description we have right now.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Pediatricians Track Survival of the ‘Tiniest’ Preemies
In 40 percent of premature births, the cause is “unknown,” according to the March of Dimes, which started a Prematurity Campaign in 2003.
While data is collected about low birthweights in general, there is nothing specific for the very smallest babies, Dr. Bell told The Washington Times.
In 2000, he founded the Tiniest Babies Registry to gather information about the rarest of infants — those weighing less than 400 grams who lived past the point of hospital discharge.
In the beginning, he said, the registry identified 15 patients, including two born in the 1930s. (One baby was weighed on a grocery scale.) Today’s tally includes 80 patients from the United States and 30 from nine other countries. The smallest infant started life at 260 grams, or less than 10 ounces.
The vast majority of these tiny infants are girls, although the reasons for this are not understood.
“Our best guess is that something about the hormonal milieu affects the maturation rate of the lungs and other key organs,” said Dr. Bell, who teaches at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa. “Premature girls mature faster than boys, just as preadolescent girls typically reach puberty at a younger age than boys.”
[…]
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Reading Constitution Out Loud Called ‘Fetish’
Rush Limbaugh fires back, blasting ‘perverts’ who twist founding document
In a nation founded upon the U.S. Constitution, one might think that reading the founding document out loud on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives might not be controversial, but some on the left suggest those promoting its voicing have a “fetish.”
Among them is Dahlia Lithwick of Slate.com, who penned a column titled, “Read It and Weep: How the tea party’s fetish for the Constitution as written may get it in trouble.”
Dictionaries define “fetish” as an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion, often associated with sexual gratification.
[…]
Syndicated columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer said the objection to reading the Constitution aloud by many on the left “is truly astonishing.”
He said on Fox News that in the 1960s, “Liberals got in trouble for being on the wrong side of the flag,” and are now in danger of being on the wrong side of the Constitution, which he called “the essence of America.” He noted for liberals to think there’s an advantage in dismissing the public reading of the document “is real bad politics.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Senators Seek Data on Gitmo Detainee Transfers
Call on Justice for documents
Senate Republicans are pressing the Obama administration for documents that outline procedures used in releasing terrorism-suspect detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, information the Justice Department and State Department have previously withheld.
In an effort by the GOP to provide greater oversight of the administration’s war on terrorism, seven members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, including the presumed next vice chairman, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Republican, last month signed letters seeking the documents.
“The transfers of potentially dangerous detainees to countries with questionable capabilities to provide security and monitoring has been a matter of significant concern for the committee,” the senators stated in a Dec. 9 letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
[…]
A recent Defense Intelligence Agency study on the recidivism rate of detainees found that 150 of those released from the Guantanamo Bay prison are confirmed or suspected to have returned to terrorism. President George W. Bush released more than 500 suspected terrorists from the prison.
[…]
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US Considered Trade War Over GM Crops
American diplomats wanted to start a trade war with Germany and other European countries that opposed the use of genetically modified crops, according to Wikileaks cables reported by British daily The Guardian.
The paper’s Wednesday edition reported that the US Ambassador in Paris, Craig Stapleton — a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush — urged Washington in 2007 to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops.
“Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits.
“The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices,” said Stapleton, who co-owned with Bush the Texas Rangers baseball team.
Germany, along with many European neighbours, opposed the use of the US biotech firm’s genetically-modified corn, MON 810 and eventually banned the corn in 2009.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Watchdog Decries Use of Liens by IRS: Says Agency Inflicts ‘Torment’ On Taxpayers With No Money
The IRS filed nearly 1.1 million liens in the budget year that ended in September, a 14 percent jump over the previous year. Liens punish taxpayers and often hurt their ability to pay back taxes, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson said Wednesday in her annual report to Congress.
“By filing a lien against a taxpayer with no money and no assets, the IRS often collects nothing, yet it inflicts long-term harm on the taxpayer by making it harder for him to get back on his feet when he does get a job,” said Ms. Olson, an independent watchdog within the IRS. “Absent data that show liens make a meaningful contribution to revenue collection and especially in this economy, I find it unacceptable that the IRS continues to torment financially struggling taxpayers in this way.”
[…]
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William Daley Will be President’s Chief of Staff, Officials Say
William M. Daley will become the next White House chief of staff, bringing an outsider’s voice and decades of experience with business to the West Wing, officials said Thursday. Currently a senior executive of the investment bank JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Daley was commerce secretary in the Clinton administration, and is currently a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase
President Obama will make the announcement at 2:30 Thursday afternoon. Pete Rouse, the interim chief of staff and a longtime friend of the president’s, will become a counselor to Mr. Obama, officials said.
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PM on Ramadan Apology: Law Should Apply Every Day
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says regardless of the religious holiday, he expects the law to be enforced.
The PM’s comments Thursday came in reaction to a QMI Agency story about officers from the RCMP and Ottawa Police apologizing to Muslims in Ottawa for arresting three suspected Muslim terrorists during Ramadan.
“In fairness, this is an operation matter of the RCMP and I wouldn’t pretend to know all details and aspects of the story,” Harper said. “But the general approach that this government would expect to see is that the law, our important laws, are enforced every day of the year.”
According to a participant at the Aug. 26, 2010, meeting, police officials from the Mounties and Ottawa’s municipal force apologized to local Muslims for making the arrests during the month-long Ramadan celebrations. Ramadan began on Aug. 12 and ended Sept. 9.
The meeting of the RCMP’s cultural diversity consultative committee was called as investigators were still building their case against Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, Misbahuddin Ahmed and Khurram Syed Sher. The three men were arrested on Aug. 25.
“To show support to our Muslim brothers and sisters during RAMADAN, there will be no food or drink during this most important meeting. This meeting is for one hour only, in order to observe prayer time and the breaking of the fast during RAMADAN,” Cpl. Wayne Russett wrote to meeting participants in an e-mail.
Alizadeh, Ahmed and Sher all face several terrorism-related charges. Tarek Fatah, a liberal Muslim and founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, criticized the apology. Fatah called for police diversity committees across Canada to be disbanded because they’re centres for brainwashing the police establishment…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
500 UK Terrorists Targeted by Police and MI5
MORE than 500 British Islamic extremists are planning terror strikes in the UK, according to secret figures obtained by the Daily Mirror.
Some of the jihadists, who are being watched by MI5 and counter-terror police, have already obtained bomb-making materials.
The figure, which fluctuates between 450 and 550, represents the number of monthly live investigations carried out by undercover spooks at any one time.
A counter-terror source said: “Make no mistake these people represent extremely serious threats to UK citizens — the threat of a mass atrocity committed against the public is real.
“Some of them not only have the intent but the material needed to carry out that intent and they represent the most serious threat.”
Some would-be terrorists under surveillance are potential “lone wolf” bombers. These are the most difficult to monitor because they do not talk about their plans.
And a small number are being watched by intelligence officers abroad as they are planning attacks on British interests overseas.
The Government is spending more money to uncover terror plans, like the attack on Glasgow airport and the “Blackburn Resistance” plot, than ever before…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: “Submission II is Too Risky”
Ayaan Hirsi Ali says she will not make sequels to her controversial 2004 film Submission, an attack on the treatment of Muslim women. In an interview for Dutch TV, the former Dutch politician said the risk to the crew and cast would be too great.
The script for Submission II is ready for filming and a third part was planned, Ms Hirsi Ali says, but it would be necessary for producers, crew and actors to remain anonymous, and this would be “extremely difficult if not impossible”.
Submission criticised alleged violence against women in Islam, and featured images of women’s bodies painted with verses from the Qur’an. After the film was aired on Dutch TV, its director Theo van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim extremist. The filmmaker and broadcaster was an outspoken critic of Islam. He had been open about his role in collaborating with Ms Hirsi Ali on Submission, which some Muslims criticised as blasphemous.
Fanatics
Submission II was to have tackled the oppression of homosexuals in Islam. In part three God would have been portrayed speaking directly.
Although Ms Hirsi Ali says she feels too great a sense of responsibility to go ahead with the sequels, she denies her decision was based on fear. Creating a climate of fear was precisely the aim of Muslim fanatics who reject any criticism of Islam, she says.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali now lives in the United States, where she works for the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. She was elected as an MP for the free-market liberal VVD in 2003, having switched to the right from the Labour Party. As a feminist Islam critic she argued that Dutch politics had ignored the oppression of Muslim women…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Brigitte Bardot Campaigns to Ban Shechitah in France
Actress Brigitte Bardot has launched a campaign to ban the religious slaughter of animals in France.
Ms Bardot, along with six other animal rights groups, aims to put up more than 2,000 posters encouraging the government to outlaw both the Jewish practice of shechitah and the Muslim method, halal, of killing animals.
The posters include a graphic image of a cow’s head. Ms Bardot, 76, wants religious slaughter to be replaced “to prevent animals suffering.”
She told AFP: “I can no longer accept that in order to please a god, animals have their throats slit like in the Middle Ages without being stunned beforehand.”
The star, who lives in St Tropez, is a longtime animal rights activist and has campaigned on issues including ending bullfighting and seal hunting, as well as . She set up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals in 1986.
Ms Bardot has spoken against shechitah and halal on several occasions. Last year she wrote a letter to French President Nicholas Sarkozy calling on him to remember “France is a secular country” and oppose the practices…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
British Links to Mumbai-Style Machinegun Plot
Three men were arrested last week with a submachine gun, silencer and ammunition in the boot of their car after traveling from Sweden to Denmark to launch attacks in which they apparently planned to raid the offices of the newspaper and kill as many people as possible. The arrested men are thought to have links with two men in Derby who were part of a network run by al-Qaeda mastermind Ilyas Kashmiri, one of the world’s most wanted men.
A security source said the network was still being investigated but it was not thought the men had received “operational” help from Britain. However CagePrisoners, a British group campaigning for Muslim prisoners, used one of the figures arrested in the alleged Danish plot, Munir Awad, as a case-study for unjust imprisonment after he was arrested on separate trips to Somalia and Pakistan.
CagePrisoners, which is supported by the Joseph Rowntree trust and Amnesty International, has previously helped publicise the work of Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior figure with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular. The Kashmiri network in Derby was uncovered by MI5 when David Coleman Headley, an American working with Kashmiri, travelled to Britain in August 2009 to meet two men who were to help him with an attack on the Danish newspaper.
They, in turn, sent him to meet a contact called “Farid” in Sweden, a businessman of North African origin living in an apartment in central Stockholm.
Farid apparently told Headley he could not help because he was being “continuously watched,” according to a later interrogation of Headley. Headley was arrested in October 2009 after a tip off to the Americans from MI5 and has pleaded guilty to planning the attacks on the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
The plan was called the “Micky Mouse Project” because the attack was in revenge for cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammed. A Swedish security source said Farid mixed “in the same circles” as the men arrested last week, who were allegedly plotting a similar attack…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Cartoons Made Scandinavia Terror Threat ‘Much Bigger’: Experts
Five years after a Danish newspaper first published controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet, targets in Scandinavia are increasingly in the crosshairs of would-be terrorist attackers, the AFP’s Nina Larson explains.
The exposure last week of a plot to massacre staff at a Danish newspaper is, according to experts, merely “business as usual” in once tranquil Scandinavia five years after a crisis over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad began.
“The result of the cartoon crisis has been that we went from having a very, very low threat level to a much bigger threat level,” explained Danish terrorism expert Lars Erslev Andersen.
Magnus Ranstorp at the Swedish National Defence College agreed, describing attack plots by Islamic extremists as “business as usual in Denmark.”
“They live with terrorism. They know there are extremists. They know they are the focus,” he told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
Once renowned for their virtually non-existent crime rates, Denmark and its Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Norway have recently seen a string of thwarted attacks and unraveled plots by Islamic extremists.
Just weeks after Sweden’s first ever suicide bombing, which narrowly missed wreaking carnage among Christmas shoppers, five men were arrested Wednesday for hatching what Danish officials called a plan to “kill as many people as possible” at the Copenhagen offices of the Jyllands-Posten daily.
The paper published in September 2005 a dozen cartoons of the Muslim prophet, triggering violent and sometimes deadly protests around the world.
The controversial drawings were originally printed as part of a debate about self-censorship and freedom of expression after no one could be found to illustrate a book about Muhammad amid fears drawings of the prophet — prohibited by Islam — would provoke retaliation.
After Danish police discovered a plot to assassinate one of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard, at least 17 Danish dailies reprinted his drawing featuring the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse in February 2008, reigniting anger among many Muslims.
A month later, a voice message purported to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned that publishing the “insulting drawings” was worse than Western forces killing Muslim women and children and that the “reckoning for it will be more severe.”
“What the cartoons did was make Jyllands-Posten, Denmark and really all of Scandinavia visible and a target for Islamic extremists,” explained Wilhelm Agrell, an intelligence analysis professor at Lund University in southern Sweden.
The Scandinavian countries’ participation in NATO-led forces in Afghanistan and Denmark’s role as an eager ally in the US ‘war on terror’ — with around 500 troops stationed in Iraq until 2007 — also made the countries more visible to extremists.
Before 2003, “there would really have been no point for (Islamic extremists) to attack the Scandinavian countries … but through developments they have become targets,” Agrell told AFP.
In the past year alone, there have been four failed attacks in Denmark, including a Somali man who tried to kill Westergaard with an axe and a Chechen man who was arrested after accidently setting off a package bomb destined for the Jyllands-Posten offices.
David Headley, who helped plan the 2008 Mumbai massacre, had also been planning an attack on the paper, and according to reports may have had links to this week’s thwarted attack.
One of three men arrested in Norway in September suspected of plotting attacks said the trio planned to target the Danish daily.
Suicide bomber Taimour Abdelwahab, who killed only himself in Stockholm on December 11, meanwhile made no reference to the Danish cartoons in a message sent out shortly before the blast, but he did mention Lars Vilks.
The Swedish artist, who provoked outrage with a 2007 drawing of Muhammad as a dog, has this year faced several assassination plots, the fire-bombing of his house and was head-butted while giving a university lecture.
Following this week’s foiled attack, experts stressed there was no established connection between the attempts across the region and insisted the threat level in Scandinavia was no worse than elsewhere.
“If you look at Germany, the Netherlands, France, Britain … my impression is that the Scandinavian countries are not an exception to the overall situation in Europe, but rather that they have moved up (the threat scale) to be part of the general pattern we’re seeing everywhere,” Agrell said.
And as elsewhere, the possibility of averting all future attacks is slim.
“These attacks are hard to spot,” he added, lamenting that “sooner or later, one will succeed, from the perpetrator’s perspective.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Conservatives Call for Ban on the Left Party Amid Commie Flap
Bavaria’s conservative premier Horst Seehofer has backed a call to consider banning the socialist Left party in the wake of controversial comments by its chairwoman Gesine Lötzsch about putting Germany on the path to communism.
Speaking the party conference of his Christian Social Union (CSU) in Wildbad Kreuth, Seehofer said that Lötzsch’s comments this week justified exploring ways to proscribe the party. At the same time, he announced a tougher debate with “political opponents, including The Left.”
Seehofer said he absolutely had sympathy for the demands by CSU General Secretary Alexander Dobrindt, who on Wednesday said that any party that acted like The Left ran the risk of not just being monitored by the authorities “but also that a ban could under the circumstances be considered.”
Lötzsch had announced “that she wanted to adopt communism in Germany, that this is a stated goal of The Left party in Germany,” Dobrindt claimed.
She was therefore standing outside the constitution, which meant The Left party had to be “urgently monitored” by the country’s domestic intelligence agencies, he said.
It was unfortunate that The Left party, which is the successor to East Germany’s communist party, was falling back into old patterns, he added.
In Monday’s edition of the leftist newspaper Junge Welt, Lötzsch published a commentary about the pursuing communism. Included in the piece was the statement:
“We can only find the paths to communism if we set out and try them out, whether in opposition or in government.”
However, in the last sentence of the article, she also spoke out for democratic socialism as the future motto.
Lötzsch later told news magazine Der Spiegel: “The Left party is leftist-socialist.
We are and will not become a communist party. And I will not become a member of the communist platform.”
Despite CSU rhetoric, banning the party, which regularly polls about 10 percent support nationally, is highly unlikely. Such talk of proscription is normally reserved for far-right parties such as the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Islam Now Considered ‘A Threat’ To National Identity by Almost Half of French and Germans, According to New Poll
Islam is considered a ‘threat’ by millions of French and Germans to their national identity.
A poll by France’s Le Monde newspaper also found a majority in both countries believe Muslims have ‘not integrated properly’.
Le Monde ran the results under a headline which brands efforts to get different religious communities to live side by side as a ‘failure’.
France, with seven million, and Germany, 4.3 million, have the largest Muslim communities in Europe. There are 2.4million in Britain.
Last year German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded that her country’s multicultural society had ‘failed’, while French president Nicolas Sarkozy has also complained about the growing influence of radical Islam.
According to the Le Monde poll, carried out with marketing firm IFOP, 68 per cent of French and 75 per cent of Germans believe Muslims are ‘not well integrated into society’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
France’s FM Warns French Against Confusing Islam and Terrorism
French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has warned here about “unreasoned” fear of Islam and about confusing moderate Muslims with radical or fundamentalist parties. Speaking after polls here showed significant levels of fear of Islam’s influence in France and Germany, Alliot-Marie recalled that France “had avoided the trap set by Al-Qaeda” in September 2001 when there was a danger of a backlash against Muslims because of the work of a handful of terrorists.
“I believe that one is not afraid of the person one knows, this more concern the Muslims in general. One is not afraid of one’s neighbour across the hall,” the French Minister said in an interview with “Europe 1” radio Tuesday.
“The trap set by Al-Qaeda was to push us towards a general confrontation, towards a war between the Muslim and Western worlds. We must watch out for anything that goes in that direction,” she said.
“We must not confuse Islam and terrorism. And we must not confuse moderate Islam with fundamentalist Islam and I think that the creation by President (Nicolas) Sarkozy of the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM), with which I worked when I was Minister for Faiths and for the Interior, was a great success,” the Foreign Minister affirmed.
“This allows for the establishment of a dialogue and prevents the importing on to our territory the conflicts that have no place here.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Rising Tide of Islamophobia Engulfs Athens
Not too long ago, on a warm October evening, Nasir Prodan clambered down the five marble steps of an Athens basement to pray. He swayed through a swarm of about 50 Bangladeshis and knelt on the tenement’s grimy green carpet trying to listen to the service as bystanders outside poured scorn and hostility on Islam.
That was just the start.
Fifteen minutes into the 8 p.m. prayer, roaring rioters took a crowbar to the makeshift mosque, shattering its window, then, tossing a flaming beer bottle inside. Mr. Prodan and his compatriots escaped unscathed. But as they put out the fire and returned to resume worship, rioters retaliated by padlocking them all inside.
“We were like trapped mice,” Mr. Prodan recalls. “It took police three hours to come and unlock us. It took me hours to calm down.” …
Last year, after a larger and noisier confrontation drew the ire of international action groups — mobs of ultra-nationalist youths marred an open-prayer session, pelting Muslim worshippers with raw eggs, blaring rock music from adjacent apartment blocks and scattering leaflets depicting Muslims as pigs — the government renewed its promise once more, pledging to allocate a plot of land within weeks and launch an international tender for the construction of the mosque in early January.
“The state has to understand the urgency of the problem,” says Naim Elghandour, president of the Muslim Association of Greece. “Most of the Muslim migrants pouring into Greece have escaped persecution and famine, and the last thing they can hold onto is their faith.
“If that goes,” he warns, “and if hate crimes continue to block their assimilation, then it’s just a matter of time before they go off like a time bomb.”
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Islam Seen as ‘A Threat’ To National Identity by Almost Half of French and Germans
Islam is considered a ‘threat’ by millions of French and Germans, with the vast majority believing Muslims have ‘not integrated properly’, a devastating new poll revealed today.
Le Monde newspaper ran the results under a headline which brands efforts to get different religious and cultural communities to live side-by-side as a ‘failure’.
It will be viewed with particular dismay in France and Germany, as the two countries have the biggest Muslim communities in Europe. Last year German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded that her country’s multicultural society had ‘completely failed’, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also frequently complained about the growing influence of radical Islam.
Britain also has a sizeable Muslim presence, with members often complaining of discrimination and prejudice.
‘Islam and integration: French and Germans admit failure,’ writes Le Monde, the most famous newspaper in Paris.
According to its poll carried out with marketing firm IFOP 68 per cent of French and 75 per cent of Germans believe Muslims are ‘not well integrated into society’.
Others — 55 per cent in France and 49 per cent in Germany — believe that the ‘influence and visibility of Islam’ is ‘too large’, while 60 per cent in both countries say the reason for the problem was Muslims’ own ‘refusal’ to integrate.
Just as crucially, 42 per cent of French and 40 per cent of Germans consider the presence of Islamic communities ‘a threat’ to their national identities.
An editorial in Le Monde adds: ‘As Islam becomes a permanent and increasingly conspicuous fixture of European societies, public opinion is clearly tensing up, though disparities do appear between young and old and between left- and right-wing.’
Jerome Fourquet, of IFOP, said the results ‘go beyond linking immigration with security or immigration with unemployment, to linking Islam with a threat to identity’.
Mr Fourquet said he would like to extend the research to countries like the UK, where he believed the results would be pretty much the same.
The threat of terrorism has increasingly been linked with Muslim communities in all European countries, including Britain, since the 9/11 attacks on the USA in 2001 and the 7/7 atrocities in central London in 2005.
In France, Mr Sarkozy’s government has displayed an increasing hard line towards religious extremism, recently banning Islamic veils.
Meanwhile, Mr Sarkozy has courted the voters of hard-right parties like the National Front as he tries to reassert traditional values…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Federalism Now’, Northern League Insists
Week of January 17-23 will be key says Bossi
(ANSA) — Belluno, January 5 — Northern League leader Umberto Bossi on Wednesday insisted that the government must pass its pet federalism project by the end of the month.
Bossi, Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s key ally, said the week of January 17-23 would be crucial to get the bill out of a parliamentary commission and on the way to final approval.
“I’m convinced it will pass,” he said.
The League, whose heartland is the richer north of Italy, has fought for years to change the country’s political geography so that more tax money remains where it is generated.
Critics say its ‘fiscal federalism’ project will widen the gap between the affluent northern regions and the poorer south, or Mezzogiorno.
Recently Bossi has been saying the federalism law might be the government’s last act ahead of a snap election in the spring.
But on Wednesday he said Berlusconi had assured him he had recruited enough centrists to ensure a working majority in the House, where he won a confidence vote by just three votes on December 14.
“Berlusconi’s numbers are growing,” he said.
A handful of members of the centrist Catholic opposition UDC party on Wednesday denied reports they had gone over to the premier’s People of Freedom party.
On Tuesday Berlusconi promised his government would last until the end of its term in 2013.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jordanians Say EU Support Democracy in Kingdom, Poll
(ANSAmed — AMMAN, DECEMBER 5 — Jordanians overwhelmingly feel their country has good relations with the EU, and have a particular appreciation for the role the EU plays in promoting democracy in the country. This was just one of the findings of a wide-ranging survey carried out as part of the Opinion Polling and Research (OPPOL) project, funded under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) regional information and communication programme.
The survey aimed to generate better information about awareness, understanding and perception of the EU and the role it plays in Jordan. The first phase was a baseline study, which interviewed opinion leaders to evaluate their perception, knowledge and appraisal of the EU. The second phase involved an opinion poll which questioned members of the general public. The overwhelming majority of respondents have a positive assessment of the EU and its relations with Jordan. A full 100% of opinion leaders say Jordan has good or fairly good relations with the EU, while 86% of the general public felt relations were good.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kevin Myers: Muslim Girls Are Covertly Prepared for Forced Marriage. Yet the Feminists Stay Silent
YOU really can take your pick from the interconnected headlines of the past fortnight: the church-massacres of Christians in Egypt and Iraq by al-Qa’ida, and the murder of the governor of the Punjab, followed by a petition of support for his killer from 500 “moderate” Islamic scholars in Pakistan.
Closer to home there were the terrorist conspiracies in Denmark, Sweden and Britain, and the revelation that while the Christian population in Britain fell by two million in four years, the Muslim population there increased by 74pc to 2.9 million since 2001 (yes, the very year when Islamophobia supposedly became endemic).
But surely the most pathetic headline of all was the one announcing the Greek government’s decision to build a 128-mile wall to keep out “illegal immigrants”.
What a treasury of intellectual dishonesty and cultural cowardice is embodied in that term “illegal immigrant”. For if Greece had a border with Germany, would it erect a barrier to keep illegal Germans out? Or English? Or Swedes? Unlikely somehow.
For some immigrants are more immigrant than others. What the Greeks are keeping out are their old friends from Anatolia, with whom they have been conducting a racial, religious and cultural struggle for over a thousand years. These used to be called Mussulman and later Ottoman and later still Turkish. Now they’re called “illegal immigrants”, in a nice congenial pretence that the illegal immigrant in Thessaloniki is much the same as the illegal immigrant in Arizona.
Which is certainly true, to a degree. The opening decade of the 21st Century has seen the clarification of the divide between Birth Control societies and those where Nature Inevitably Takes Its Course. The BC societies of the USA and the EU are facing increasing pressure to take in the population increases from NITIC countries along their southern borders: African countries double their population every 25 years, whereas Europe’s population has gone up by 50pc in 90 years.
This is unquestionably a major issue for western (once-Christian) civilisations: how many immigrants should they admit? The even more important issue, concealed in the Greek government’s wall-plan, is this: how many Muslim immigrants can any society take, and yet retain the qualities that made it attractive to Muslims in the first place?
Now aside from “refugees” from one Muslim country to its neighbour, there’s little sign of mass-population movement from one Islamic country to another. Bangladeshis, Pakistanis. Afghans, Somalis, may operate as guest workers in Saudi Arabia, where they have no rights, but if they seek a brighter economic future, they move their families to the Christian/secular countries of Greater Europe, which includes North America and Australasia.
And of course, if the immigrants then conform with local norms — as British Hindus and Sikhs have usually done — then there is usually no long-term problem. The result is a cultural enrichment and fusion in which everyone gains.
This is simply not true of Muslim immigration. Not merely is there not a single stable, prosperous Muslim democracy in the world, free of terrorism and fundamentalism, there is no society that has received large numbers of Muslims that has not soon been confronted by an Islamic defiance of existing societal norms. This defiance can be cultural, in which dissident dress code is sought as a religious right; or educational, in which Muslims are raised within their own autonomous school system; or legal, with a demand for Sharia law; or insurrectionary, in which local Muslims opt for terrorist jihad against the state which admitted them.
No European country — not one — that has admitted large numbers of Muslims has been spared any of these outcomes.
No European country — not one — that has admitted Hindus has had to face any comparable problem.
THE EU’s response has been to ignore what it finds uncongenial to talk about, as meanwhile dogmatic “multiculturalists” silence sceptics with the perverse gagging laws that have arisen in every European country. These make it almost impossible for Europeans to defend European values without being called “racist” or an “Islamophobe”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Liberals Are Completely Deluded About Islam in Britain and the Existence of Sectarianism
Liberal Conspiracy has a post playing down a story about conversions to Islam, one which almost perfectly encapsulates the liberal delusion over Islam:
But more striking is the generational change the survey reveals. While 76.3% of people say they were raised as Christians, only 43.7% of people now identify as such. The real story, when it comes to British religion, is the number of people converting to godlessness. And while 2.3% of people were raised in the faith, 2.4% call themselves Muslims: hardly a story of British ‘Islamification’. That a few Britons choose to convert to Islam every year — most in order to marry into Muslim families before continuing to live much as before — is hardly news. More remarkable is the growing number of former Muslims who have bravely gone public with their embrace of secularism, despite facing ostracism and sometimes violence for the offence of apostasy. Ignore the headlines: there’s never been a better time or place to believe in nothing much — despite the paranoia of those for whom it’s always the end of the world as we know it.
No, don’t ignore the headlines. Because, as Eric Kaufmann wrote in Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, there is a difference between affiliation, belief and attendance. People do not necessarily have to believe in God to affiliate with a religion, which is why, despite only 5 per cent of English natives attending church, over 70 per cent of them identify as Christians. More significantly, in parts of England where there are now a large number of Muslims, the last census saw a jump in the number of whites who described themselves as Christians, despite church attendance continuing to slump.
For sectarianism to flourish religion is not necessary — indeed religious piety may provide a way of countering it. The IRA did not deliberately murder Ulster Protestants because they objected to Luther’s idea that salvation comes through faith, and the UFF didn’t slaughter innocent Catholics because of their disgust for the doctrine of transubstantiation, nor did Serbs kill Bosnian Muslims because they passionately believed in Christ’s divinity and rejected the notion he was merely a prophet.
For sectarianism to flourish all you need to do is import a large number of people with what sociologist Enest Gellner called “counter-entropic” traits — differences of identity that stop people intermarrying. Race is one such trait, but religion is a far stronger one, with British Muslims (and Sikhs and Hindus for that matter) all more than 90 per cent likely to marry within their own religious and ethnic groups. This is hardly surprising, when according to the last census, only 0.5 per cent of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis said they had no religion, against 11.3 per cent for African-Caribbeans and an even higher figure for whites.
“You don’t even have to be religious to cheer for Team Islam,” Prof Kaufmann says, “Identity politics stimulates spiritual curiosity and strengthens communal norms of piety that might otherwise crumble.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Police Refuse to Enforce Burka Ban
Amsterdam police will not arrest women in burkas, even if a ban is introduced. That’s according to Police chief Bernhard Welten, who said on public television that police officers have to use their common sense. “I do not feel that I should always be an instrument of the government who always does what is asked.”
In response, Freedom Party MP Hero Brinkman, a former policeman himself, strongly criticised the chief, “The police should be subservient to the authorities. The government and parliament make the laws. The police enforce them. We would be a banana republic if it were the other way around.”
He called on the interior minister to take action against Mr Welten, although he fell short of actually calling for his resignation. On Twitter, the MP wrote, “Welten is leaving this year. Pity, would have liked to see him sacked.”
On public radio, Mr Brinkman said regional police chiefs had abused the ability to use their own discretion for years, but he predicted this would no longer happen under the current government. The Dutch police force is due to be reorganised, with regional police corps merging into a national force, thus having only one police commissioner in future.
The controversial proposal to ban face-covering garments was stipulated as part of the coalition agreement between the conservative VVD and the Christian Democrats. The minority government is supported in parliament by the anti-Islam Freedom Party…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Health Minister Wants to Reduce Market Forces in Hospital System
Health minister Edith Schippers is planning to reverse efforts to introduce more market forces into hospital services, the NRC reported on Monday.
The paper says the minister plans to keep hospitals to strict budgets until 2015 at least and impose price ceilings on treatments which had already been liberalised.
From 2015, the minister wants to introduce hospital funding on the basis of performance rather than a fixed amount per patient.
The paper bases its claims on an internal health ministry document. The move is notable because Schippers’ party, the free-market VVD, is a strong supporter of more competition in healthcare.
Healthcare costs are currently rising by 4% a year.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Muslim Group Praises Burqa Ban Rebel Police Chief
Orthodox Dutch Muslim organisation As-Soennah has welcomed remarks by Amsterdam police chief Bernard Welten that he would not enforce a proposed ‘burqa ban’.
A ban on wearing the full-face veil in public as proposed by the anti-Islam Freedom Party is included in the coalition agreement. But in a TV interview Mr Welten said his force would not arrest women for wearing the burqa or niqab. He admitted this was a form of “civil disobedience”.
On the website Al-yaqeen.com, the Salafist As-Soenna group praises Mr Welten’s “courageous” remarks, adding “Evidently the Netherlands still has people in prominent positions whom it can be proud of.”
However, Mr Welten has come in for fierce criticism from the coalition parties, the VVD and Christian Democrats. A majority of MPs agree that he should withdraw his remarks and offer an apology.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders responded via Twitter that Mr Welten “has to enforce the law, and thus the pending burqa ban too, or pack his bags, either voluntarily or involuntarily”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Riding the Wave of Islamophobia: The German Geert Wilders
A former member of Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democrats has formed a party to attract voters enthralled by Thilo Sarrazin and disappointed by Germany’s existing parties. Berlin politician René Stadkewitz’s new Freedom Party aims to leverage fear of Islam for political ends.
The 52 men and women meeting in a conference room at the Hotel Maritim in Berlin’s Tiergarten district were determined to remain undisturbed. No one else was privy to the location and time of the meeting, in a deliberate attempt to prevent protestors and journalists from showing up at the scene. The only outsider present was Daniel Pipes, an American author, critic of Islam and advisor to former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who happened to be in the city.
The Hotel Maritim is on Stauffenbergtrasse, near the Memorial to the German Resistance. It is an historic point of reference that the 52 attendees would likely have drawn encouragement from. Like would-be Hitler assassin Claus von Stauffenberg, after whom the street is named, they too hope to protect Germany against what they perceive to be pending disaster. The group drafted a set of bylaws and discussed a 77-page party platform, which includes such statements as: “We will do everything in our power to oppose the Islamization of our country.”
They gave their party a grand name, a name worth fighting for: “Die Freiheit” (Freedom).
The 52 men and women chose as their party chairman an unprepossessing man with a short haircut and melancholy eyes, the 45-year-old manager of a company specializing in alarm systems and security technology and a member of the Berlin state parliament, René Stadtkewitz.
A few weeks later, Stadtkewitz, a former member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), is sitting at the wheel of his BMW 5 Series. It is a cold November morning as the Berlin skyline gradually fades away in the rear-view mirror. At first, Stadtkewitz’s most noticeable feature is his voice, the kind of warm, rich bass often found among radio announcers on classical music stations. But despite his appealing voice, the words coming out of his mouth lose their weight due to their strangeness.
“If we don’t get things right demographically, we’ll have Algeria in Berlin before long. Islam has always been a religion of conquest,” Stadtkewitz says in his throaty bass, the voice of a smoker who fills his lungs with cigarette smoke every two hours. It’s about a 550-kilometer (344-mile) trip to Wetzlar in the western state of Hesse, but Stadtkewitz plans to return to Berlin that evening. His day will consist of more than 1,000 kilometers on the road, with political meetings and a press conference sandwiched in between the two legs of his trip.
Stadtkewitz speeds across the autobahn.
“There is a press conference, isn’t there, Marc?” Stadtkewitz asks.
The question is directed at the man sitting in the back. Marc Doll, 33, is a teacher who has been a vegetarian for the last 15 years. Doll, who has an honest face and keeps his hair parted neatly on the side, is the deputy party chairman.
“Yes, René, as far as I know,” says Doll.
Stadtkewitz nods in satisfaction. The event in Wetzlar sounds promising. A few members of the local chapter of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) intend to join the Freedom Party. Stadtkewitz doesn’t know these people and has only communicated with them by e-mail and phone, but if FDP members are indeed defecting to his new party, it will be a coup that “will cause a lot of hype in Hesse, even in the media,” says Stadtkewitz.
‘Geert Wilders Is a Great Democrat and Liberal’
It’s the kind of hype that can’t be bad for a new, virtually unknown party, particularly as its chairman, Stadtkewitz, is also virtually unknown: a former member of the CDU from Berlin who never made much of an impression as a politician, never held any significant positions and produced few headlines. Stadtkewitz is the classic second-tier politician. His only media exposure consists of a few stories in Berlin newspapers that have generally described Stadtkewitz as a right-wing populist.
But what does that mean?
“Well, what exactly is that supposed to be, a right-wing populist?” Stadtkewitz asks, scratching his head.
Perhaps someone like Dutch politician Geert Wilders?
“That’s nonsense. Right-wing populist. Geert Wilders is a great democrat and liberal. I know him well.”…
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Hägglund, Leader of the Christian Democrats, Supporting Terrorism is Criminal
The Christian Democrats want it to make it a crime to support organisations that have been listed as extremist or terrorist organisations, according to leader Göran Hägglund.
In an interview with newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, he also says that the party will take up the fight with the other three parties in the centre-right government Alliance.
National insurance reform is another issue of importance to the party, according to Hägglund.
| — Hat tip: Freedom Fighter | [Return to headlines] |
Train Stations on Alert Over Terror Threat Fears
British Transport Police cancelled leave and called in extra officers after intelligence was received that terrorists could be planning attacks.
A security source said there was no “imminent” threat and the overall threat level had not changed but there was activity from one of a “handful” of extremist cells that cause concern at any time, leading to an adjustment in policing levels.
It is understood that “intelligence chatter” suggested that transport hubs in London could be a target.
It was unclear last night whether the terrorists were discussing suicide bomb attacks, or Mumbai-style shootings, or a combination of methods. A Whitehall source said: “The assessment of the threat to transport hubs has been revised. The view is that there is a greater risk than before, so steps are being taken as a precaution.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Will be in the EU, Says Sweden’s Foreign Minister
Historical experience shows that a democracy that knocks on the door of the democratic European Union will at the end of the day never be refused, according to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
“Turkey is a big player and will have a big impact on the European Union,” Bildt said, speaking to private channel Skyturk. “So, patience and determination, then you will see that’s been the case for other countries that have knocked on the door.”
Bildt said Turkey faces some very complicated issues coming out of its own history that need to be addressed in order to become a full member of the EU. He said the EU, having gone through the process of setting up the Lisbon Treaty and now struggling with economic problems, has regained the strategic perspective of enlargement, which he believes had been missing in the past few years.
“Turkey is of course particularly important in a number of aspects, it has an economic dimension, it has demographic potential,” he told Skyturk in a taped interview with Zeynep Dereli from Leaders and Decisions. “But, clearly I say there is a need for reform in Turkey,”
Foreign Minister Bildt, together with Franco Frattini, William Hague, and Alexander Stubb recently penned an op-ed in the International Herald Tribune in support of Turkey’s European Union membership.
Bildt has served as Sweden’s Foreign Minister since 2006.
| — Hat tip: Reinhard | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Converting Muslims to Christianity: Handy Tips for Modern Evangelists
Here’s a new book, Reaching Muslims by Nick Chatrath, that will “help you building open-hearted friendships with Muslims”. It doesn’t add AND CONVERT THEM TO CHRISTIANITY because modern evangelicals know just how sensitive this issue can be. None the less, that’s what this “one-stop guide for Christians” is geared towards — introducing Muslims to the real Jesus, as Christians understand him, thus enabling them, if they wish, to abandon Islam.
What fascinates me about this book — endorsed by R T Kendall, one of the world’s leading evangelical theologians, and Canon Andrew White, the so-called “Vicar of Baghdad” — is how expertly it treads through a minefield regarded as far too dangerous by most mainstream church leaders.
There’s lots of cheerful affirmation of Muslim culture and Muslims — “culturally rich and often wonderfully passionate about life and faith”. Christians are encouraged to get to know Muslims, wish them a happy Eid, “take cake, get invited in”. Also, they should beware “stoking fear and mistrust” by, for example, getting into arguments about Sharia that may be based on misguided media reports.
But they shouldn’t conceal their Christian beliefs or miss an opportunity to discuss “the prophet Jesus” in ways that may lead their Muslim friends to become their ex-Muslim friends. In fact, there’s a section of the book dedicated to practical advice on how Muslims can renounce Islam without arousing unnecessarily hostility from relatives — or, one might add, in certain countries such as Sudan, actually being crucified (though Chatrath doesn’t dwell on this less eirenic aspect of conservative Islam). Sometimes, ex-Islamic Christians may need to “continue operating as Muslims” by attending the mosque, says the book, though preferably as a temporary expedient.
You don’t have to be a Christian to admire the honesty of Chatrah, a former McKinsey executive turned Oxford DPhil student, and his publishers, Monarch Books. New Testament scholars disagree on many aspects of Jesus’s message, but there is little doubt that the historical Jesus wanted people to make converts. As did Mohammed. In both cases, there are questions about whether the founder envisaged converts from outside his own ethnic/religious group — but Christianity and Islam as they evolved were the most powerful engines of proselytisation in history…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cafe Bosses in ‘Bacon Smell’ Row to Fight Ban — Manchester Evening News
A cafe is to fight an extractor fan ban — after a neighbour complained that Muslim friends would not visit him because of the smell of bacon.
The Snack Shack, on Adswood Road, Cale Green, is to appeal against the decision by the Stepping Hill area committee.
The Planning Inspectorate will give a final ruling by the end of January.
The cafe installed the fan three years ago and applied for retrospective planning permission.
But neighbour Graham Webb-Lee told the council it made his family feel sick and his Muslim friends refused to visit him because they were offended by the smell.
The cafe is owned by Bev and Cetin Akcicek, who is Muslim.
Bev, 50, said: “We have two small children and are just trying to earn a living.
“We just wish this was over. It is pathetic and has cost us a lot of money. We pre-cook the bacon and only put it on the griddle briefly so there is no problem with the smell.
“We have Muslim customers who come in and they are not at all bothered.”
The Snack Shack has cooked fry-ups for nine years without a previous complaint, Bev, of Great Moor, added.
But Mr Webb-Lee told the council the vent was just 12 inches from his front door.
Planning officers had recommended the application for approval…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: How to Spot if Your Child is a Victim of a Sex Gang
WHITE girls are being groomed on the street for sex abuse by Asian gangs, a shock new investigation reveals.
It found that out of 17 cases since 1997, 56 people were convicted of sex crimes against children. Of those, three were white and 53 Asian — 50 of them Muslim and most British Pakistani.
Most of the victims have been white, although in one city several Bangladeshi Muslim girls were also abused.
Cops claim many in authority are afraid to discuss the abusers’ race through fear of being branded racist.
Here Sheila Taylor, of Safe & Sound Derby — a charity helping victims of sexual exploitation — reveals the truth about the grooming gangs and we hear from a victim and a Muslim community leader.
THERE are a number of warning signs that might suggest a child is being sexually exploited. These include the child regularly going missing from home or school, unexplained new clothes, jewellery and mobile phone credit, excessive phone calls and texts and sudden changes in behaviour.
Generally, professionals working with the victims of child sexual exploitation know that many children and young people will suffer long-term ill effects as a result of their experiences — for example, mental ill health, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and criminal records.
The impact on the child’s family can be devastating. Recently there have been a number of prosecutions highlighting the party-style model of grooming.
This is common and involves gang members luring their victims to parties where they are plied with alcohol and drugs, only to be raped and made to perform sex acts. The amount of men at these parties will outnumber the girls by far and the girls will all be exploited.
As more awareness is raised around this model, other local authorities and police forces are better able to identify cases. This encourages investigations which in turn lead to more prosecutions.
Many other forms of child sexual exploitation do not currently receive the same attention and therefore often go under the radar.
To keep children safe the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People, or NWG — of which Safe & Sound Derby is a member — call for a UK action plan with a dedicated co-ordinator that brings together the Department for Education, Department of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office to work alongside the agencies working with these children.
In November 2010 the NWG reported that last year 53 of the 54 specialist projects working in this field across the UK had received referrals on 4,206 children and young people from a wide range of backgrounds.
This really is the tip of the iceberg, as approximately two thirds of local authorities do not have dedicated services available for the victims of child sexual exploitation…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Latvian Squatter in Britain Because It’s an ‘Easy Touch’ Ends Up in a £10m Mansion
A Latvian artist who moved to the UK after hearing how easy it was to live here for free ended up in a multi-million mansion.
Jobless Jason Ruddick left the Baltic state after a friend told him squatters’ rights were so entrenched in the UK that is was ‘almost impossible’ to be evicted.
He upped sticks and travelled the 1,500 miles to London and set up home with some friends in a £10million, 10-bed Victorian home in Highgate.
[…]
‘It’s really expensive to live in such a big house if you have to pay for it,’ he added.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Fail to Target Asian Sex Gangs ‘For Fear of Race Factor’
POLICE and social workers are failing to tackle Asian gangs who are grooming white girls for sex — some as young as 11 — for fear of being branded racist, it emerged yesterday.
Figures reveal an alarming number of prosecutions for on-street grooming of girls aged between 11 and 16 have involved men of Pakistani heritage. Experts fear the statistics are a fraction of the “tidal wave” of offending in the Midlands and northern England, which has been rife for more than a decade.
A senior officer at West Mercia police called for an end to the culture of silence surrounding the issue, highlighting the prevalent “damaging taboo” to ignore the connection between on-street grooming and race. Chief Inspector Alan Edwards said: “These girls are being passed around and used as meat.
“To stop this type of crime you need to start everyone talking about it — but everyone has been too scared to address the ethnicity factor. “No one wants to stand up and say Pakistani guys in parts of the country are recruiting young white girls and passing them around relatives for sex — but we need to stop being worried about the racial complication.” In a briefing paper, researchers at University College London’s Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science reported that victims were typically white girls while “most central offenders are Pakistani”. The offenders were not viewed as paedophiles but picked vulnerable young girls “because of their malleability”. The report concluded that “race is a delicate issue” that should be “handled sensitively but not brushed under the carpet”.
Grooming begins with groups of older men befriending under-age girls they meet in town centres, shopping malls or outside schools, treating them initially as girlfriends and showering them with presents and attention.
But the relationship quickly becomes exploitative as the abuser plies the child with drink and drugs before pimping her out to friends and paying customers. In the worst cases, girls were moved around the country to be repeatedly abused. Most police forces and charities working to help victims, who in some cases have endured years of abuse, have publicly denied ethnicity has any link to on-street grooming. But in 17 court cases since 1997 where groups of men were prosecuted, 53 of the 56 people found guilty were Asian, 50 of them Muslim, while just three were white.
The claims come after five Asian men were jailed in November for a total of 32 years for a string of sexual offences against girls aged between 12 and 16 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The presiding judge Peter Kelson QC, told the men they were “sexual predators”, adding: “You had what you regarded as your fun. Now you will take your punishment.” Weeks earlier, nine Asian men were jailed for the “sustained sexual abuse” of a privately-educated schoolgirl who was forced into sex slavery aged 14 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Six Teenagers Chased Lone Boy of 16, Killed Him With a Single Stab… And Then Shook Hands and Laughed, Old Bailey Told
A teenage gang chased down a 16-year-old like a pack of animals and stabbed him to death, a court heard yesterday.
The six youths — one aged just 14 and some wearing their school uniforms — screamed ‘I’m gonna cut you in pieces’, it is alleged.
The Old Bailey heard that they chased Nicholas Pearton and plunged a knife five inches through his back and into his heart.
As they made off on a bus, the killers were apparently seen bragging and laughing about the attack, with one holding a knife high above his head as he chanted the name of their gang.
In a sickening gesture of congratulations, two of the alleged killers are captured on CCTV shaking hands as they sat on the bus. Others shouted foul-mouthed abuse about their victim, yelling: ‘I wish the ****er would die.’
As the gang fled, Nicholas’s parents rushed from their nearby home to cradle their dying son who lay slumped on the ground.
His death was the result of rivalry between two gangs, t he Black Mafia and the Shanks and Guns, prosecutor Edward Brown QC told the court.
He said: ‘Some of the defendants were in their school uniform at the time of the attack — in their blazers and ties.’
It is believed one of the alleged killers had a run-in with a friend of Nicholas’s at Sedgehill School a few hours before the attack in Sydenham, South-East London, on May 5 last year.
Nicholas went to help his friends in the Black Mafia gang in nearby Home Park after hearing they were embroiled in a fight with the rival gang. But when he arrived his gang ‘evaporated’.
Nicholas, the only white boy involved, was left alone in the park, making him an easy target, Mr Brown said.
[…]
Six youths aged 14, 15, two aged 16 and two now aged 17, deny murder. They are all from the South-east London area but cannot be identified for legal reasons.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Albanian Imams Fight Ban to Wear Headscarves at School
(AGI) Tirana — Albanian imams are against banning headscarves from schools. The association of Albanian imams wrote an open letter against the provision included in the high school reform bill, according to which all religious symbols are to be banned from schools. The headscarf, they maintained, is not a symbol but a most important part of the Moslim identity.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Croatia: Visas for Albanians Lifted
(ANSAmed) — ZAGREB, JANUARY 4 — As of January 1, 2011, the citizens of Albania no longer require visas when crossing Croatian borders or staying in the country up to 90 days. The Albanian Foreign Ministry welcomed Zagreb’s decision, underlining that it would bring the citizens of the two countries closer to each other and boost their cultural and economic ties, ATA reported. Last year, the EU also abolished the visa regime for this Balkan country.(
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Orthodox Patriarch Blames World for Alleged Organs Trafficking
Belgrade, 5 Jan. (AKI) — The patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Irinej, on Wednesday blamed the international community for turning a blind eye to alleged Kosovo organs trafficking.
In a Christmas message delivered on Wednesday, Irinej said the trafficking of human organs, allegedly taken from Serb prisoners during the 1990s Kosovo rebellion, was going on before the eyes of the international community and its representatives in Kosovo.
“The horrible crime of trafficking organs of innocent Serb victims of hate and terror has been going on with indifferent and often complicity silence of representatives of the international community,” Irinej said.
“Unfortunately, the gravest example is the attitude of too many powerful people towards the right of Serbian people in Kosovo to life, freedom and the future,” the patriarch said.
An investigator from the Euopean Council human rights watchdog, Dick Marty, said in a report delivered last month that Kosovo prime minister Hashim Thaci and other high officials and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were involved in human organs trafficking which were sold at western clients.
Thaci and Kosovo officials have vehemently denied the accusations, while western powers expressed disbelief at the report and asked for a thorough investigation.
Foreign representatives in Kosovo “knew very well, what was going on”, Irinej said. “But truth and God’s justice always have the last word,” he concluded.
Kosovo majority Albanians declared independence from Serbia in February, 2008 with the help of western powers. Belgrade has continued to oppose Kosovo’s secession.
Some ten million Serbs around the world celebrate Orthodox Christmas on Friday, according to Gregorian calendar.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Al-Qaida Targeting Morocco
Al-Qaida is plotting revenge on Morocco for supporting U.S. efforts in the global war on terror, a terrorist expert claims.
Mohamed Darif, a Moroccan analyst specializing in militant Islam, said Moroccan authorities have dismantled about 70 terrorist cells in the country since 2002.
He said al-Qaida might be seeking revenge against the Moroccan monarchy for supporting U.S. efforts against Islamic terrorist groups, London’s pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reports.
Moroccan King Homammed VI after the Sept. 11, 2001 pledged his commitment to the so-called war on terror.
The kingdom, Darif added, was also involved in “extraordinary rendition” programs with U.S. intelligence agencies. He claimed al-Qaida leader and Sept. 11 architect Ramzi bin al-Shibh and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed were subjected to harsh interrogation tactics in Morocco.
Moroccan authorities announced Wednesday they uncovered a 27-member cell from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb plotting attacks on overseas and domestic targets…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt on Alert as Copts Gather for Christmas Eve
Coptic Christians are preparing to celebrate Christmas Eve amid tight security after a bomb attack on a church in Egypt in which 23 died.
Armed Egyptian police have been ordered to protect churches where Copts are expected to gather in large numbers.
There have been calls for Muslims to hold vigils outside Coptic churches in a gesture of solidarity.
But some radical Islamist websites have urged more attacks, publishing church addresses in Egypt and Europe.
The bombing of the al-Qiddissin Church in Alexandria on New Year’s Day was the worst act of sectarian violence in Egypt in a decade.
It triggered days of protests and riots by Christians blaming the government for encouraging discrimination and not doing enough to protect them.
In response, the Egyptian authorities have stepped up security around many churches, with explosives experts on hand.
Armoured vehicles have also been stationed in key areas. One device containing nails and fireworks was found in a church staircase in the southern city of Minya but it had no detonator and one security official told Associated Press it may have been placed there to test security.
Egyptian activists have called for Muslims to form human shields around churches during Thursday’s Christmas Eve celebrations as a gesture of solidarity with Christians.
However, radical Islamist websites have been circulating lists of Coptic churches in Egypt and Europe with instructions on how to attack them.
“Blow up the churches while they are celebrating Christmas or any other time when the churches are packed,” says a line from a video attributed to al-Qaeda, called Jihadi Encyclopaedia for the Destruction of the Cross, that has been widely circulated on the internet…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: Police Arrest 27 as Alleged Al-Qaeda Cell Uncovered
Rabat, 5 Jan. (AKI) — Moroccan authorities say they have arrested 27 people, including a member of Al-Qaeda’s branch in North Africa for planning terrorist attacks in the kingdom.
The network was led by “a Moroccan national who is a member of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and who wanted to create a rear base in the country for terror attacks,” an Interior Ministry statement said late Tuesday, cited by Moroccan news agency MAP.
The statement did not name those arrested or specify when their arrests took place.
But it said the suspects “planned to commit terrorist acts with explosives-laden belts and car bombings.”
AQIM, the acronym by which the group is know, has bases spread across Algeria, Mauritania and Mali, according to analysts.
Local daily Hespress said the arrests followed police raids in Amghala, an oasis town in Western Sahara (photo), a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, and Algeria to the northeast .
Police uncovered three hideouts in the area containing arms caches and explosives belts as well as several car bombs, according to Hespress.
The alleged cell was planning to target ‘sensitive’ sites in Morocco, the paper reported.
It had recruited a number of local youths and was planning to send them to Al-Qaeda training camps in Algeria and Mali.
The members of the alleged cell were also planning bank robberies to finance their terrorist activities, said Hespress.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Rabbis Say Women Must Not Drive
Influential rabbi puts out religious decree banning Jewish women from driving or learning to drive.
TEL AVIV — An Israeli rabbi has put out a religious decree banning Jewish women from driving or learning to drive.
The influential rabbi, Avraham Yosef, has said women should not get behind a wheel unless absolutely necessary.
His order prohibits women from driving in areas populated by ultra-orthodox Jews.
Rabbi Yosef is the rabbi in charge the city of Holon.
He has justified his decree by saying that driving for women does not reflect modesty or chastity, especially in cities inhabited by religious people.
Recently, another rabbi, Shmuel Halevi, issued a similar prohibition saying the seductive appearance of women distracted men drivers, resulting in accidents.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli MPs Back ‘McCarthyite’ Probe on Rights Groups
The bill was proposed by the hard-line party of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman
Israeli MPs have voted to establish a formal inquiry into the foreign funding of human rights groups, in a move critics describe as “McCarthyite”.
The bill accuses local rights groups of damaging the legitimacy of Israel’s military by “branding IDF soldiers and commanders as war criminals”.
It was sponsored by the hard-line party of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
It follows other recent initiatives from the Israeli right, like requiring an oath of loyalty from non-Jews.
The motion to establish the commission of inquiry will now go to parliament’s House Committee for debate, ahead of a full vote before the Knesset.
MK Fania Kirshenbaum — of Mr Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party — who submitted the proposal, accused human rights groups of branding Israeli soldiers as war criminals.
“These groups provide material to the Goldstone commission [which investigated the 2008-2009 Gaza offensive] and are behind the indictments lodged against Israeli officers and officials around the world,” Ms Kirshenbaum said.
A series of arrest warrants for Israeli politicians and military officials have been issued in the last few years, particularly by pro-Palestinian groups in European countries.
The 41-16 vote brought a storm of protest from local rights groups, including Acri, Btselem, Adalah and the Hotline for Migrant Workers.
“Persecution and attempts at silencing will not stop us. In a democracy, criticism of the government is not only legitimate — it is essential,” said a statement from Btselem, one of the organisations named in the decision.
The Welfare and Social Services Minister, Isaac Herzog, called it a “political witch hunt” suited to “shady regimes” that would damage Israel’s international standing, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Israel “must be a light unto the world in terms of freedom of speech and freedom to express beliefs, and reject proposals that have the scent of McCarthyism,” Mr Herzog said, referring to the 1950s communist witch hunt led by US Senator Joseph McCarthy.
| — Hat tip: heroyalwhyness | [Return to headlines] |
Melanie Phillips: the Challenge of Public Diplomacy Vis-a-Vis the Delegitimisation of Israel
Address to Ariel Conference on Law and Mass Media, 30 December 2010
[…]
The west is experiencing a total inversion of truth evidence and reason. A society’s thinking class has overwhelmingly subscribed to an immoral, patently false and in many cases demonstrably absurd account of the Middle East, past and present, which it has uncritically absorbed and assumes to be true.
In routine, everyday discourse history is turned on its head; logic is suspended; and an entirely false narrative of the conflict is now widely accepted as unchallengeable fact, from which fundamental error has been spun a global web of potentially catastrophic false conclusions.
This has led to a kind of dialogue of the demented in which rational discussion is simply not possible because there is no shared understanding of the meaning of language. So victim and victimiser, truth and lies, justice and injustice turn into their precise opposite.
This madness is being promulgated through a global alliance between state and non-state actors — diplomats and journalists, politicians and NGOs and websites. Many of these are waging war not just against Israel but against the west.
There are two preconditions for an effective fightback. First is to form effective structures of resistance. Those structures, however, depend in turn on a correct understanding of the nature and scale of what we are up against.
So far, the structures are not in place, and more important still, what Israel is up against is grossly — and fatally — underestimated and misunderstood.
The problem is that we are dealing with a pathology — to which we nevertheless respond as if it were rational behaviour.
What’s happened is a pattern of thinking in the west which turns reality upside down. Remarkably, this in turn echoes a very similar inversion of reality within the Islamic world, where such inversion has a theological base.
Because Islam is considered perfect, its adherents can never do wrong. All their aggression is therefore represented as self-defence, while western/Israeli self-defence is said to be aggression.
So in this Orwellian universe the enslavement of Muslim women is said to represent their liberation; democracy is a means of enslavement from which the west must be freed; and the murder of Israelis is the purest form of justice.
[…]
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Beaky Buzzard, Zionist/Mossad Agent?
by Andrew G. Bostom
Tuesday (1/4/11) the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Weeam, claimed a vulture, “R65” tagged with the words, “Tel Aviv University,” was detained as a Mossad spy. Donning a leg bracelet and transmitter, apparently placed by Israeli ornithologists evaluating bird migration patterns, the vulture was found in a rural area of The Kingdom. Seven vultures banded in Israel during the last few years are known to have reached Saudi Arabia. Transmissions from four of them have ceased and they are presumed dead. One vulture — in addition to R65 — apparently is still alive and “airborne” over Saudi Arabia, after wintering in The Sudan.
Notwithstanding these realities, the Al-Weeam report claimed the migratory tracking study was “a Zionist plot,” which triggered a deluge of posts on Arabic websites, insisting that “Zionists” were training such birds for espionage.
A bird ecologist (and eminently rational human being) for the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, Ohad Hatzofe, opined,
The subject is receiving great publicity and it is important that Saudi authorities understand that it is not true. There is also an international treaty of nature protection professionals, that forbids doing things like this.
The Al-Weeam report, and those complementary posts it inspired, are pathognomonic of the delusive, conspiratorial Jew-hatred that has pervaded the Islamic Middle East since the advent of Islam — centuries before the modern Zionist movement began in the late 19th century — through the present.
The Muslim world’s obsession with Jewish conspiracies against Islam date back to Islam’s foundational texts, and history…
| — Hat tip: Andy Bostom | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Journalist Cautions Turkey on Global Aspirations
Turkey is overstretching its abilities if it believes it can truly be an player on the global stage, according to a prominent Egyptian journalist.
“Isn’t [Turkey] going too far?” Fahmi Huweidi, a writer at Egyptian daily al-Ahram, said Tuesday following a speech by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in which the latter spoke of an international role for his country instead of a merely national one. “Turkey can be a wise country. But it is not a superpower. Turkey is strong but on a regional level, not on an international level.”
Huweidi spoke at Istanbul’s Åžehir University at the invitation of the Prime Ministry’s public policy department.
Davutoglu said Turkey should take an influential role in the 21st century by predicting crises before they occur and added that the country should be at the top of the list of “wise countries” in the international community.
“Some say Turkey will be one of the most powerful countries of the 21st century. We would like that. But let’s not exaggerate. No one expects Turkey to solve the problem in Zimbabwe,” Huweidi said, adding that with the United States pulling out of the Middle East, there was room for a larger Turkish role in the region.
Turkey has a vision based on two foundations, the journalist said.
“First, Turkey has become a central country from a bridge position. Second, it is at peace with its history and region,” he said, adding that in contrast to previous governments, Turkey was positively influencing its environment.
Huweidi, however, cautioned against comparisons to the Ottoman period, noting that the government’s policies were sometimes called “neo-Ottoman” by certain commentators. “Both Arabs and Turks have a negative image of the Ottoman period.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: ‘American Woman Arrested on Suspicion of Spying’
Teheran, 6 Jan. (AKI) — Iranian authorities arrested a middle-aged American woman they accuse of being a spy, government daily Iran said on Thursday. The 55-year-old woman, named by the paper as Hall Talayan, was arrested when she attempted to enter Iran from Amenia without a visa.
Iranian security forces found ‘the woman was carrying spying devices’ including a microphone hidden between her teeth, Iran said.
The woman was detained by customs guards in the town of Nordouz in northwestern Iran, said the daily. It did not state when.
Iran is already holding two US citizens on spying charges. If the reports are confirmed, the woman’s arrest will worsen relations between Iran and the West which are already strained over the country’s nuclear programme
Three American hikers, two men and a woman, were also arrested in July 2009 near the Iraqi border on suspicion of spying.
The woman, Sarah Shourd, was released in September 2009 on bail of 500,000 dollars and returned to the United States. Her two fellow hikers, remain in jail awaiting trial.
The trial was due to begin in November 2009 but was postponed.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: American Woman Detained in Iran After ‘Spy Equipment is Found Hidden in Her Teeth’… But State Television Denies the Report
Iran’s state television is now denying an earlier newspaper report that border guards had detained an American woman on suspicion of spying.
A state-owned newspaper reported the American woman was being held after authorities found espionage equipment in her teeth.
The state-owned newspaper IRAN reported on Thursday that authorities detained the 55-year-old on spying charges in the town of Nordouz, .
It said the woman, identified as Hall Talayan, had spying equipment hidden on her body when customs authorities detained her in the border town, 370 miles northwest of the capital Tehran.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Muqtada Al-Sadr Returns From Exile With Eyes Firmly Fixed on Grabbing Political Power
Hundreds of supporters mobbed the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as he returned home to Iraq after nearly four years in self-imposed exile in Iran.
The sight of the firebrand, once dubbed the ‘single biggest threat to the U.S. in Iraq’, will be a depressing one for American troops and politicians.
He left Iraq in 2007 an unpredictable leader of a street-fighting organisation with huge popular support but returns a legitimate political figure likely to play a key part in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s new government.
However, his presence will unnerve Sunnis. For many, his Mahdi Army will always be synonymous with the vicious sectarian killings they are blamed for carrying out during the worst of the sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007.
And Christian minorities who have been subject to increasing violence in recent months will expect no relief.
A swarm of al-Sadr’s bodyguards — dressed in black clothes and flak jackets and toting automatic rifles — deployed around his house in the al-Hanana neighborhood in central Najaf where followers were waiting to meet him.
One of the youngest among those gathered outside al-Sadr’s house was nine-year-old Mohammed Sadiq, who was accompanied by his uncle. ‘I’d like to kiss his hands and tell him: I miss you and don’t leave us again,’ said Sadiq.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic Group is CIA Front Claims Ex-Turkish Intel Chief
A memoir by a top former Turkish intelligence official claims that a worldwide moderate Islamic movement based in Pennsylvania has been providing cover for the CIA since the mid-1990s.
The memoir, roughly rendered in English as “Witness to Revolution and Near Anarchy,” by retired Turkish intelligence official Osman Nuri Gundes, says the religious-tolerance movement, led by an influential former Turkish imam by the name of Fethullah Gulen, has 600 schools and 4 million followers around the world.
In the 1990s, Gundes alleges, the movement “sheltered 130 CIA agents” at its schools in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan alone, according to a report on his memoir Wednesday by the Paris-based Intelligence Online newsletter.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan: Violent Clashes With Casualties in Maan
(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, JANUARY 4 — Four persons have been killed and a fifth seriously injured in clashes between members of two rival tribes in the city of Maan in southern Jordan, where the clashes were followed by violent protests against the security forces leading to fire attacks on some police vehicles and on a government building.
Events started with a brawl between a group of men local to Maan, which lies 300 kilometres south of Amman, and others from the Bedouin village of Al Jafer. The brawl turned more serious when one of those involved opened fire with an automatic weapon, killing two on the spot and injuring another who died later. In a few hours, enraged relatives of the three victims blocked the main highway in the area and, finding a member of the same tribe as the attackers, killed that person with a shot to the head.
Clashes then spread onto the streets of Maan, where hundreds of residents accused the police — witness reports say — of not having taken steps to arrest the killers and this led to an attack on a law court and on other government buildings and the burning of several police vehicles. Windows of banks and other services were broken and some streets were blocked by barricades.
Reinforcement security forces were then despatched from Amman and they used tear gas in an attempt to restore order, while the government announced it had set up an investigation into the events. Jordan has seen a series of clashes between the various tribes in the North and South of the country, partly due to the worsening economic climate. The situation in Maan, a stronghold of conservative tribal forces known for their anti-government sentiments, has been especially tense.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kurdish Poet Gets Death Threat in Sweden
A Kurdish poet who lives in western Sweden has filed a police report after receiving a death threat from Islamists in northern Iraq.
The man, who lives in Värmland, has also requested that his identity be protected, local newspaper Nya Wermlands-Tidningen reported on Wednesday.
The poet received the death threat after a poem he wrote about women’s rights was published in the Kurdish part of Iraq.
A mullah criticised the poem at a Friday prayer in Iraq and prayed to Allah for revenge through the death of the poet, according to a video on YouTube. The threats was made by telephone.
Police in Värmland have remained silent regarding the threatened Kurdish poet.
“An investigation is under way at this point. However, I do not know whether a preliminary investigation has begun,” Tommy Lindh, press officer at the Värmland police, told news agency TT on Wednesday.
He refused to comment on what types of crimes the investigation involves or whether the man has some sort of police protection.
The police are working on a complaint that was made just before the new year.
“We can only communicate how our operations generally work in a case like this, nothing about the specific case,” said Lindh.
The Swedish chapter of PEN, the worldwide association of writers, is concerned by a recent wave of threats against writers and intellectuals around the world.
“There is a lot going on like this — in China, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and so on. In the US, journalists at major news outlets have said that it would be good if someone took the life of Julian Assange,” Swedish PEN club Chairman Ola Larsmo told TT.
“Suddenly, it is okay to express a threat against people in different contexts. There is a risk that we may have to get used to such a climate,” he added.
Larsmo does not know the threatened Kurdish poet in Värmland.
“However, we are in contact with dozens of writers who live in exile in Sweden under death threats and the organization Reporters Without Borders has contact with just as many journalists,” he added.
Larsmo does not know if any of the threatened writers in Sweden have police protection.
“And maybe I do not want to know either,” he added.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Last Jewish Dhimmis of Yemen [interview]
This was in today’s Jerusalem Post.
This interview follows the set pattern of severely oppressed individuals granted a smattering of free speech. While the rabbi gives continual thanks to the Yemeni president, it is clear that the Jews of Yemen are on the brink of extinction. Notice that their main Jewish connection is the Satmar hassidim—probably this is because Satmar anti-Zionism gives them a certain legitimacy with the Yemeni regime. The rabbi also reveals that Yemenite Jews no longer have a synagogue or means of livelihood, a situation reminiscent of refuseniks in the FSU.
Considering the history of the Jews of Yemen and their rich cultural heritage, this is a pathetic end for one of the most distinctive Jewish communities in the world.
Here is a brief video which gives a glimpse into Jewish Yemeni culture:
| — Hat tip: JCPA | [Return to headlines] |
Passengers Overpower Hijacker on Norway-Turkey Flight
Reuters) — Passengers aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Oslo overpowered a would-be hijacker as the plane landed at Istanbul airport on Wednesday, fellow passengers told Turkish media.
Police said the man was a Turk who had demanded that the plane return to Norway. His motive was unclear. According to the Turkish Dogan news agency, he tried to force his way into the cockpit of the plane saying: “I have a bomb.”
The pilot notified emergency services at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. Passengers were quickly taken off after landing and the man was arrested and the bomb found to be a fake.
“I was sitting at the front end of the plane and I heard voices at the back of the plane around 30 minutes before we landed,” said Lelya Kilic, one of the 59 passengers aboard flight TK1754 from Oslo.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Perspective: Islamic Terrorism on the Rise
The religion of “peace” just sent out another “peaceful” message of carnage and bloodshed outside of a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt, shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day. As news emerged from that sorrowful situation, the media reported 21 people killed and at least 80 more injured.
According to an eye witness, the explosives originated from within a car emblazoned with the words, “More to come.” This tragic event comes after weeks of open and unveiled threats against Christian leaders and churches in Egypt. A memo recently published by al-Qaeda listed Egyptian churches and pastors — including some people known to me personally — that they wanted to reach out to with their brand of “peace.” Some of the targeted individuals mentioned are truly some of the most peaceful, loving, and caring human beings I’ve ever known.
What emboldened this action on the part of Muslim terrorists against Christians? I believe that it was the impotence, or should I say selective impotence, of the government of President Mubarak. In the past, terrorist activities by Islamic extremists that impacted the Egyptian economy caused the government to move swiftly to eliminate the perpetrators. But of late, as attacks on Christians happened again and again and again, the government and its security apparatus dragged its feet.
Weakness or the appearance of weakness always leads to disastrous consequences; this is a lesson that the Obama administration needs to heed. What our government and others around the world need to realize is that our enemies are confused by signs of weakness and mixed messages. They only respect and respond to strength, even though they may resent it.
No wonder terrorists felt that they were on safe ground to attack this very large church. I have often sympathized with President Mubarak’s dilemma, but I fear that he is about to commit the same mistake that his immediate predecessor, Anwar Sadat, committed — namely, taking selective action against Islamic extremists.
This lack of action could bring about the demise of his regime which would spell disaster not only for Egypt, but for the whole region. It is unthinkable to imagine that Egypt could become the Lebanon of the 70’s or the Iraq of the 2000’s. This would be catastrophic to the U.S. interest in the region, to say nothing of Israel’s and other Christian minorities’ existence…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Spytalk — Islamic Group is CIA Front, Ex-Turkish Intel Chief Says
A memoir by a top former Turkish intelligence official claims that a worldwide moderate Islamic movement based in Pennsylvania has been providing cover for the CIA since the mid-1990s.
The memoir, roughly rendered in English as “Witness to Revolution and Near Anarchy,” by retired Turkish intelligence official Osman Nuri Gundes, says the religious-tolerance movement, led by an influential former Turkish imam by the name of Fethullah Gulen, has 600 schools and 4 million followers around the world.
In the 1990s, Gundes alleges, the movement “sheltered 130 CIA agents” at its schools in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan alone, according to a report on his memoir Wednesday by the Paris-based Intelligence Online newsletter.
The book has caused a sensation in Turkey since it was published last month.
Gulen could not be reached for comment.
But two ex-CIA officials with long ties to Central Asia cast doubt on Gundes’s charges.
Former CIA operative Robert Baer, chief of the agency’s Central Asia and Caucasus operations from 1995 through 1997, called the allegations bogus. “The CIA didn’t have any ‘agents’ in Central Asia during my tenure,” he said.
It’s possible, Baer granted, that the CIA “turned around this ship after I left,” but only the spy agency could say for sure, and the CIA does not comment on operational sources and methods.
A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said Gundes’s “accounts are ringing no bells whatsoever.”
Likewise, Graham Fuller, a former CIA station chief in Kabul and author of “The Future of Political Islam,” threw cold water on Gundes’s allegations about Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Engaging Assad
President Obama is sending Ambassador Robert Ford to Syria in a recess appointment, avoiding a political fight in Congress over his confirmation. This effort to “engage” the Baathist regime is likely to make Bashar Assad laugh as the U.S. pursues a futile effort to draw Syria away from Iran.
A U.S.-based democratic opposition group called the Reform Party of Syria is criticizing the move, especially due to its timing. The appointment comes only days after Bashar Assad met with a brutal terrorist named Samir Kuntar in his Presidential Palace. Kuntar used to be a member of the Palestine Liberation Front and has been convicted of killing innocent Israelis, including murdering a four-year old girl by smashing her skull with a rock. In November 2008, Assad presented Kuntar with Syria’s highest award after he was released from an Israeli prison as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah. The engagement comes as Syria continues to host Baathist insurgents and elements of Al-Qaeda responsible for carrying out countless attacks in Iraq and sponsors Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. In March, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a member of Al-Qaeda living in Syria named Muthanna Harith al-Dari who was funding the training of Al-Qaeda members in Syria. The Assad regime’s collusion with these terrorists is so deep that in fall 2009, Iraq tried to have a U.N. tribunal established to prosecute Syrian officials and terrorists on Syrian soil, but failed to gain the support of the Obama Administration. Syria refuses to allow the International Atomic Energy Organization to inspect three suspected nuclear sites and the agency says it has been uncooperative since June 2008. The Assad regime still will not answer questions about the nuclear reactor it was building with North Korean assistance that was destroyed by the Israelis in September 2007. It has, however, admitted to carrying out uranium conversion activities in 2004 that it previously did not disclose.
The Obama Administration previously backtracked on its plans to send an ambassador in September 2009 because of concerns that Syria using “security blackmail” against the U.S. “Assad fires a rocket here or there [in south Lebanon] and expects us to run to him,” one official said. So far, no one in the administration has publicly explained what has changed between now and then to justify sending the ambassador, though it is probable that it is related to the impending indictment of Hezbollah for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri by a U.N. tribunal…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
The BBC’s Fantasy Extremists
Imagine for a moment that you’re a BBC reporter. You’re on the Sunday programme, the Radio 4 early morning religious affairs show. In September, it’ll be a decade since the events of 9/11. You’ve been asked to look at the impact on the relationship between Islam and the West. So what do you focus on? The alliance between the hard left and Islamists? Maybe. The rise of radical Islam on campus? Perhaps. The failure of some in the West fully to grasp the threat? Possibly. Or the rise of Christian extremism? Because that’s where the real story lies, according to BBC reporter Kevin Bouquet. Last weekend I was a guest on the programme. As I sat in the studio listening to his report, I began to wonder what fantasy world we were in. Mr Bouquet informed us that, after the attack, “some in the west felt personally threatened by Muslims.” Heaven knows why. It’s not as if murdering 3000 people provides any real reason to feel threatened by radical Islam.
“They believed,” he went on, “that Muslims had nothing but hatred for America and its allies.”
Here’s where the problems really start. It’s the missing word ‘radical’. The BBC subscribes to all the multi-culti PC shibboleths, one of which is that it is only ‘neocons’ who draw attention to the rise of radical Islam. So Mr Bouquet himself has to lump all Muslims together, and so fail to distinguish between peaceable and radical Muslims. But that’s just the start. Soon we got to the real story: Christian extremism. Cue a recording of pastor Terry Jones, who last year threatened to burn the Koran. As Mr Bouquet put it: “It’s an example of another significant development over the last decade — the ease with which extremists on all sides can now make their voices heard.” On all sides. Who wouldn’t equate a man in a field in Florida threatening to burn a book with a global jihadi network that has already murdered thousands?
Then we switched to Zahed Amanullah, a Muslim, who told us that the internet is to blame for “amplifying the extremes of society on all sides”.
Mr Bouquet then reiterated that the problem is “extremism on all sides”. Just in case you missed the point.
On and on it went, including this useful aide memoire from Mr Bouquet: “Late in 2010, a plot by al-Qaeda in Yemen targeting synagogues in the United States served as a reminder that it’s not just Christians who are under threat from Muslim extremism.”
Thanks. I’d forgotten that jihadi terrorists have also killed Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, Jews and other non-Christians, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran is developing a bomb to wipe Israel off the map…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Passengers Overpower Plane Hijacker After He Storms Cockpit Shouting He Had Bomb
Passengers aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Oslo over-powered a would-be hijacker who tried to storm the cockpit claiming he had a bomb.
The Boeing 737-800, which was carrying 60 passengers, including a child, and seven crew members, was en route from the Norwegian capital to Istanbul.
The man, identified as 40-year-old Cumar Yasar, put on a ski mask and began shouting ‘I have a bomb’ before two passengers were able to restrain him.
When police in Istanbul entered the plane to arrest Yasar they found one of the passengers sitting on him.
Officers said the man was a Turk who had demanded that the plane return to Norway.
‘I was sitting at the front end of the plane and I heard voices at the back of the plane around 30 minutes before we landed,” said Lelya Kilic, another of the passengers.
‘I saw a fight between passengers and a man with a mask, carrying a device that looked like a radio handset.’
The hijacker was identified a Turkish national from a Kurdish village in the southeastern region of Anatolia.
‘A person in the back of the plane put on a mask and threatened to blow up the plane in the air,’ passenger Salim Tahar told Norwegian television network TV2.
‘The man spoke Turkish and demanded the plane return to Oslo.’
He told TV2 that the man appeared to be holding something but it was not clear what.
‘We were 50 minutes away from touchdown when I heard a lot of noise at the back of the plane,’ he said of the timing.
He added that the crew moved the other passengers to the front of the plane, while the would-be hijacker remained at the back.
When the aircraft landed in Istanbul, Turkish police entered the plane and arrested the man. The bomb was found to be a fake.
The hijacker was identified a Turkish national from a Kurdish village in the southeastern region of Anatolia.
The Anatolia news agency reported that police who interrogated Yasar found he suffers from psychological problems.
It has also been reported that he was carrying a card identifying him as a disabled man.
There were no reports of anyone being hurt in the incident.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
USA and Israel Turkey’s Main Enemies, Poll
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, JANUARY 5 — According to a poll carried out by the Turkish institute Metropoll and published today, the main enemies of the Turks are the USA and Israel. A total of 1,504 people were interviewed in December. Of these, 43% indicated that the USA poses the most serious foreign threat to their country, a Muslim but laic country, an ally of Washington and NATO members since 1952. The US threat, according to 23% of the interviewed, is followed by Israel, and 63% said that the Turkish government should freeze its ties with the Jewish State, while 28% want closer ties. Iran, which according to many Western countries is equipping itself with nuclear weapons, is considered a threat by just 3% of the interviewed, and Turkey’s traditional “enemy”, Greece, only by 2%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Editorial: Islam’s Blasphemy Murders: Government Execution in the Name of Allah is a Form of Terrorism
The Obama administration has declared a “struggle against violent extremism,” but it has little to say when it comes to extremism practiced by governments. Blasphemy laws in Pakistan and Afghanistan are being used to sanction judicial murder in the name of Islam. The United States refuses to condemn these practices, apparently believing this would amount to an unwarranted imposition of American values on foreign customs. Even in these backward countries, however, there are brave political leaders who are standing up to legal persecution.
The point was illustrated vividly Tuesday in Pakistan when Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab Province, was gunned down by a member of his own security detail. Taseer was an opponent of Pakistan’s blasphemy law and recently requested a pardon for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five who was found guilty of blaspheming Islam and sentenced to death. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Taseer’s assassination but chose not to delve into the motive of his assassin or raise the blasphemy issue. Instead, Mrs. Clinton offered the bland assurance that the United States “remains committed to helping the government and people of Pakistan as they persevere in their campaign to bring peace and stability to their country.” Meanwhile, radical supporters of accused assassin Malik Mumtaz Qadri rallied at his arraignment yesterday, showering him with rose petals and chanting “death is acceptable in the service of the Prophet.”
The law under which Mrs. Bibi was condemned is conspicuously vague. It enjoins “words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly, [that] defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed,” which in practice could extend to anything. Taseer was an outspoken critic of the law as a relic that was preventing Pakistan from moving into the modern world. He lost his life because he wasn’t afraid to stand up for religious freedom in a dark place.
Afghanistan’s blasphemy laws also are deplorably strong…
[…]
| [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: Prosecutors Demand 5-Year Jail Term for Sex Video Rock Star
Jakarta, 6 Jan. (AKI/Jakarta Post) — Indonesian prosecutors on Thursday demanded that popular rock star Nazriel Irham be jailed for five years over a sex video scandal and pay a 27,750 dollar fine. The sentence demand was delivered by prosecutor Rusmanto during a closed trial hearing at the Bandung District Court on Thursday.
Irham’s attorney, OC Kaligis, said that his client’s legal team would respond to the sentence demand at the next trial session, scheduled for Jan. 13.
“We have prepared our statement,” he said.
The star, known as Ariel, turned himself into police in June 2010 after two videos emerged allegedly showing him having sex with one of the country’s most famous models and a television presenter.
The scandal has shocked Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation where many people have conservative views about sex.
Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Zainuri Lubis Zainuri said last June that police had named Ariel a suspect and charged him under the 2008 Pornography Law that carries a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison.
The term “Ariel Peterporn” is a play on his name, band and the sex tapes. The term hovered at the top of Twitter’s topics, following the release of the videos on the Internet.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Scholars Praise Murder of Pakistani Governor
The murder of a Pakistani governor is being greeted with adulation by “moderate” Muslim scholars. Why? Governor Salman Taseer opposed the death penalty for those convicted of blasphemy against Islam. As Muhammad Zamir Assadi reported for The New American, On January 4, Salman Taseer, Governor of the Pakistan province of Punjab, was assassinated by his personal security guard in Islamabad’s Kohsar market. Malik Mumtaz Qadri, who belongs to the Punjab police, fired 26 bullets at Taseer before being arrested by Islamabad police. According to police, the attacker stated that he had decided three days earlier to kill the Governor because he had defamed the Prophet Mohammad.
Governor Taseer’s actions in at least two recent incidents have been considered blasphemous by Muslim fundamentalists. The first occurence concerns Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to hang after being convicted of defaming the Prophet Mohammed. …
Governor Taseer, who was a member of the Pakistan Peoples party (the political party leading the federal government), visited the Sheikhupura central prison to meet with Bibi. According to the Express Tribune, the Governor stated afterward (on November 20) that he would take her clemency appeal to the President. He also told the media after the meeting that Bibi denied saying anything disrespectful about either the Prophet Muhammad or Islam, adding that villagers had chased her to her home, sexually assaulted her, and dragged her through the streets.
Given his solemn responsibility to protect the life of Gov. Taseer, Qadri’s betrayal of his duty was not only cowardly (he allegedly shot Taseer in the back) but also the murder of his coreligionist — a man who was simply fulfilling his duty to ensure that a woman received justice under Pakistani law. But far from censuring his actions, many Islamic scholars are leaping to Qadri’s defense.
An article by AP reporter Babar Dogar (“Muslim scholars praise killer of Pakistan governor”) offers a window into the mind of what passes for “moderate” Islam:
More than 500 Muslim scholars are praising the man suspected of killing a Pakistani governor because the politician opposed blasphemy laws that mandate death for those convicted of insulting Islam.
The group of scholars and clerics known as Jamat Ahle Sunnat is affiliated with a moderate school of Islam and represents the mainstream Barelvi sect.
The group said in a statement Wednesday that no one should pray for Punjab province Gov. Salman Taseer or express regret for his murder. One of his security guards is the suspected killer.
The statement also made a veiled threat against Taseer’s supporters: “The supporter is as equally guilty as one who committed blasphemy.”
Their comments came as thousands gathered under tight security Wednesday to pay silent homage at Taseer’s funeral.
The elusive “moderate school of Islam” has spoken, and it decrees death not only for those who are convicted in the kangaroo court of a Sharia-influenced legal system but death also for those who object to such a travesty of justice. By denying even the possibility of regret for the murder of Gov. Taseer, such “moderate” Muslim scholars seek to deny any peace in life or in death for those who would question whether a Christian woman should die for a false accusation of blasphemy against Islam. Such a mindset earns its proponents the designation of advocating a religion of terror, since it relies on death threats and justifies the murder of government officials to silence those who would even question its justice…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistani Lawyers Salute Taseer’s Killer
ISLAMABAD: The killer of Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer was showered with rose petals by lawyers when he was presented Wednesday before District and Sessions Judge Malik Naeem Shaukat by police. The court gave Islamabad police remand of Malik Mumtaz Qadri for a day.
Qadri was brought to court in an armored car. A rowdy crowd slapped him on the back and kissed him as he was escorted inside the court. The lawyers who tossed the rose petals were not involved in the case.
As he left the court, a crowd of about 200 sympathizers raised slogans in his favor.
Earlier, more than 500 preachers and scholars from the Jamat Ahle Sunnat group said no one should pray or express regret for the killing of the governor. The group representing Pakistan’s majority Barelvi sect also issued a veiled threat to other opponents of the blasphemy laws.
“The supporter is as guilty as one who committed blasphemy,” the group warned in a statement, adding politicians, the media and others should learn “a lesson from the exemplary death.” Jamat leader Maulana Shah Turabul Haq Qadri paid “glorious tribute to the murderer … for his courage, bravery and religious honor and integrity.”
Local religious heads, including the imam of the Badshahi Mosque, refused to lead funeral prayer for the slain governor. A religious scholar from Pakistan People’s Party, Afzal Chishti, led Taseer’s funeral prayer. Taseer was later laid to rest with full honors.
Ironically, Salman Taseer’s father, Muhammad Din Taseer, had led funeral prayer for Ilamuddin Shaheed, who killed Rajpal, an accused blasphemer, in 1923. Rajpal had published a book written by Krishan Prashad Pratap making fun of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Mumtaz Qadri told interrogators Tuesday that he shot Taseer multiple times because of the politician’s vocal opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
Qadri pumped more than 20 rounds from his assault rifle into Taseer’s back in an Islamabad street on Tuesday. The commando, who had been assigned to protect his victim, has yet to be charged with a crime.
Taseer’s son Shehryar lodged a report with police Wednesday, naming Malik Mumtaz Qadri as his father’s killer.
Questions have arisen about whether others were involved in the assassination and why Qadri was assigned to Taseer’s detail.
Faisal Raza Abdi, political adviser to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, said officials with the Punjab police told him that months ago the department had deemed Qadri a security risk because he had extremist views, and said he should not be assigned to protect high-profile figures.
Abdi said he was told that assessment was part of the investigation. He said the fact that Qadri was allowed to guard Taseer suggested others may have played a role in the killing.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters that the government has launched an “all-out investigation” to find out how a fanatic was placed on the governor’s security detail. Sources told Arab News that “others knew about Mumtaz Qadri’s intentions and they arrested him alive so that he would make a religious hero.”
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Extremists, The Majority and the Moderate Minority
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For too [long] we have been relying on a mythical moderate religious majority to stand up and be counted. It’s time to realise, it isn’t about to happen.
Comments
Mulhid Murtad 5 January 2011, 12:50pm
you are right on. as an ex-Muslim and an Atheist Pakistani I do feel huddled amongst a thin slice of liberal minded, mostly leftist, Pakistanis. And there is a sea of Pakistanis out there who are staunchly imbedded in religion. They may not bother to pray or give alms but fail to see the horror behind such Islamic laws such as the death penalty for blasphemy and adultery.
So we are a thin minority caught up in a conservative country. I think that the international community needs to look into this and give safe passage from Pakistan to those who view Islam law as oppressive, primitive and unjust.
So far the international community is more concerned with the minority view of the Taliban and the Salafists (Wahabis) who wage war against NATO soldiers. We in Pakistan face another enemy — the conservative majority who support Islamic Shariah but do not necessarily support the Taliban or Al-Qaeda. This majority is a monster too — a monster that the West has not yet recognized.
[JP note: my emphasis.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan Governor’s Suspected Assassin Hailed as Hero
Mumtaz Qadri, 26, made his first appearance in an Islamabad court, where a judge remanded him in custody. Mr. Qadri is accused of spraying automatic gunfire at the back of Punjab province Gov. Salmaan Taseer while he was supposed to be protecting him as a bodyguard.
A rowdy crowd slapped him on the back and kissed his cheek as he was escorted inside the court. The lawyers who tossed the rose petals were not involved in the case.
As he left the court, a crowd of about 200 sympathizers chanted slogans in his favor…
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Pakistan — India: Christians Honour Salman Taseer, A Courageous Victim of the Blasphemy Law
For Fr. James Chennan, Vice Provincial of the Dominicans in Lahore, the country has lost a promoter of human rights, loved by minorities. Indian Christian leaders condemn Taseer’s murder, one of the few credible voices of Pakistan.
Lahore (AsiaNews) — While Pakistan buries Salman Taseer and announces three days of national mourning, Fr James Channan Vice Provincial of the Dominicans in Pakistan speaks to AsiaNews.
“Salman Taseer is the latest victim of the blasphemy law — says the priest — The governor of Punjab was brave to speak out against such a controversial topic such as blasphemy. Minorities loved him very much. We have lost a promoter of human rights. “
The priest lives in Lahore in Punjab and in recent years and had formed a personal relationships with Taseer. “I often met the governor — he says — the last time on December 23 when I attended the celebrations for Christmas at his home.” Fr. Chennan confirms that on that occasion Taseer had condemned the blasphemy law, stressing that there is no need for these ‘obscure rules’ in a country 96% Muslim.
“The governor — adds the priest — also stressed that a State is recognized by how it treats minorities and condemned the Muslim attacks against Christian villages in Gojra and Korian occurred in 2009.”
News of Taseer’s death of has shaken Indian Christians. John Dayal, secretary general of the All Indian Christian Council, called the governor of Punjab, “one of the few sane voices of Pakistan” because of his position against the blasphemy laws and commitment in favour of a pardon for Asia Bibi. Even Sajan George President of the Global Council of Indian Christian (GCIC) has condemned the murder, stressing that the death of the leader represents a turning point in the battle to repeal the blasphemy law. “
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim KFC Employee Erupts at Customer for Ordering Bacon
A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer.
The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26, allegedly after a customer became angry after being refused bacon on their burger.
The Punchbowl restaurant does not serve bacon or pork in accordance with Islamic law, and one employee can be heard saying “we don’t have bacon” before the other begins yelling.
“Don’t record me bitch!” he screams as he approaches the counter. “Don’t f — -ing record me!”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Battisti Case ‘Won’t Hurt Military Accord’
Deal with Brazil ‘still valid’, foreign ministry says
(ANSA) — Rome, January 5 — The Italian foreign ministry on Wednesday denied a Brazilian TV report quoting Foreign Minister Franco Frattini as saying a military deal with Brazil would suffer from a diplomatic row over the non-extradition of former terrorist Cesare Battisti.
“Minister Frattini said in the interview that there is not a propitious climate for the ratification of the accord in January but the accord remains fully valid,” the ministry said in a statement. “The minister never said the accord could not be signed until the Battisti case is resolved,” the ministry stressed.
It said it had read reports of the interview “with surprise and dismay”.
Earlier, news agencies quoted Frattini as telling Brazil TV station Rede Globo that the accord could not be ratified until the Battisti case was resolved in Italy’s favour.
Brazil has denied Italy’s request to extradite Battisti, who has been sentenced to life in Italy for four murders.
Italy, which on Tuesday saw nationwide protests against ex-Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s decision which also included calls to boycott Brazilian goods, has appealed to Brazil’s supreme court not to let Battisti out of jail.
The court responded by reopening the dossier on Battisti, who legal experts say will stay in prison at least until March. Frattini told Rede Globo he was “indignant that a criminal may soon be able to circulate freely on the beautiful Brazilian beaches”. “When a terrorist is condemned in a country, it has the right to see him stay in jail no matter where he has sought refuge”.
In an interview with Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore on Tuesday, Frattini reiterated that any existing economic accords with Brazil would not be hurt by the case.
Italy has said it will appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to try to have Lula’s decision reversed.
Battisti, 56, was arrested in Brazil in April 2007, some five years after he had fled to that country to avoid extradition to Italy from France, where he had lived for 15 years and become a successful writer of crime novels.
In January 2009 the Brazilian justice ministry granted Battisti political asylum on the grounds that he would face “political persecution” in Italy.
The ruling outraged the Italian government who demanded that it be taken to the Brazilian supreme court, which in November 2009 reversed the earlier decision and turned down Battisti’s request for asylum.
However, the court added that the Brazilian constitution gives Lula personal powers to deny the extradition if he chose to.
Lula made that decision on December 31, his last day in office.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, meeting the son of one of Battisti’s victims at a protest Tuesday, reiterated that Battisti was a “common criminal” but stressed that the case was one of “justice” and would not unduly affect ties with Brazil.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
This Law Makes Amnesty Impossible for Illegal Kids
Last month, U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s anchor baby Dream Act amnesty burned down in flames. But Washington DC insiders predict the bill will surface again in the future.
What does the bill advocate? It allows an estimated 2.1 million Mexican anchor babies born to illegal alien parents within U.S. borders to enjoy instant citizenship. That in turn would allow those ‘citizens’ to sponsor countless millions of their family into the U.S. via ‘chain migration’ or ‘family reunification’.
Long time activist, Michelle Dallacroce, director at http://www.MothersAgainstIllegalAmnesty.com researched a little known fact about the Mexican Constitution.
What did you discover about Mexican children born in foreign lands and how does it affect the Dream Act amnesty for anchor babies?
“Liberation!” said Dallacroce. “Anchor babies and US Citizenship are not and never have been the direction we as a country should choose. But we have for the last five years because as usual the Americans are always reacting to the actions of the open border clan.
“It was staring us right in the face! But we just didn’t look! Instead of trying to defend and protect the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution against children born to their illegal alien females while crossing our borders, we never looked at the Constitution of the country of these women who were birthing these children.
“That is where this story should begin and that is where it should end! The Mexican Constitution, Chapter II, Article 30, paragraph II, states that you are a Mexican by birth if born on foreign territory, sons or daughters of Mexican parents born in national territory. There you have it! Anchor Babies are not U.S. citizens! They are citizens of Mexican according to the Mexican Constitution.
“April 4, 1997, President Sedillo of Mexico stated that “We will not tolerate foreign forces dictating and enacting laws on Mexicans. Our contention is that we are not enacting or dictating any laws on the Mexican illegal alien children born by illegal alien females in the US territory. Further, he states that “he was going to use all diplomatic and legal forces at his disposal to…protect Mexicans living in the Uniited States.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Principal Creates Furor, Orders Moms, Dads to Class
Alarmed residents: Officials have ‘no right to compel parents to do anything’
A principal in a Massachusetts school district has created a furor by ordering parents to attend a drug forum that is being planned, under the threat that their children will not be allowed to participate in clubs and sports if they fail to follow his orders.
The threat from officials at the Swampscott School District is being reported by the Salem News online. And it left commentator Michael Graham of 96.9 FM in Boston aghast.
“Swampscott officials insist that their middle and high schools are awash in drugs and drugged out teens. The proof? They’ve had FIVE whole incidents of drinking or drug activity. Five! Oh, and when they brought the drug-sniffing dogs to school, very little ‘contraband’ was found,” he reported.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Proviso Cut From Medicare Rules: End-of-Life Talk Stirred Outcry
Reversing a politically delicate decision, the Obama administration will drop references to so-called “end-of-life” counseling from the ground rules for Medicare’s new annual checkup, the White House said Wednesday.
The latest shift on the sensitive subject comes ahead of a vote next week in the new GOP-led House to repeal President Obama’s landmark health care overhaul.
The decision is not likely to have much impact on patients and doctors already discussing options for care in the last stages of life. For example, voluntary end-of-life planning is already covered as part of the “Welcome to Medicare” doctor visit, available to seniors within the first year of joining the program.
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White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the administration still supports end-of-life planning, but is pulling the language from the regulation because there wasn’t enough chance for all sides to comment on the change.
“We did not think that the process [gave] the public an adequate space in a public comment period to debate these kinds of things,” Mr. Gibbs told reporters.
Discussions about how to face the end of life are already an accepted part of care for people with a terminal illness, and the administration’s reversal is unlikely to have much impact on that. Long-standing federal rules require hospital patients to be informed of their right to spell out in a living will or similar document their wishes about being kept alive by machinery if there’s no hope for a cure.
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End May be Nigh for Western History
Sir, How illuminating to see a novel historical analogy used to map force fields of the present day (“Future shock? Welcome to the new Middle Ages”, Parag Khanna, December 29). Perhaps the only things missing to complete these well argued and compelling parallels with the Middle Ages are, first, an indication as to what extent European politics before post-medieval centralisation into nation states was influenced by ongoing confrontations with an ideological and expansionist Islam; and, second, how a weakened Byzantium was eventually lost to Muslim invaders partly because western Christians could no longer understand or care for their eastern cousins, just as so many young Europeans today express a fashionable moral loathing for Dr Khanna’s new Byzantium without wishing even to understand it, let alone realise the debt they owe it.
In any case, it helps to show that Francis Fukuyama was probably right to say the end of history was nigh, but in the opposite way he intended: for it is only western history, and the west as principal agent of history, that seem at an end…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Greenhouse Effect; Everybody Talks About it But Few Know What it is
When specialists examined how climate science applied individual components of the complex climate system, they realized how they were misused. Swedish mathematician Claes Johnson explains where the basic problem of radiation lies in the greenhouse effect:
“The basic postulate of IPCC climate alarmism is the relation dQ = 4 dT connecting radiative forcing dQ to global warming dT, with dQ = 4 Watts/m^2 from doubling of CO2 giving a climate sensitivity or global warming of dT = 1 C, which is inflated to 1.5 — 4.5 C by feed back.”
“The relation dQ = 4 dT comes from Stefan-Boltzmann’s Radiation Law, which cannot be disputed as such.”
“The reason the Radiation Law does not determine the temperature of the surface of the Earth to its value of 15 C, is that the Earth is one part of the coupled Earth-atmosphere system with radiation exchange between the parts. The Radiation Law determines the temperature of the surface of the system, the stratopause, to 0 C, but not the Earth surface temperature.”
Does that help? No? (You can read more in Slaying the Sky Dragon advertised on the CFP homepage.) What it does is explain the gap between ‘official’ science and failed predictions. It also explains how they were able to fool so many people for so long. As Will Rogers said, “It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble. It’s what we know that ain’t so.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
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