Saturday, January 11, 2003

News Feed 20110621

Financial Crisis
»Economic Historian: ‘Germany Was Biggest Debt Transgressor of 20th Century’
»EU Agrees New €500 Bn Permanent Bail-Out Fund
»Greece and the Euro Europe’s Dangerous Leap of Faith
»Greek Protestors: Clueless in Athens
»Greek Government Survives Confidence Vote
»IMF Warns of ‘Considerable’ Risks to Spain Economy
»‘No Reason’ For Britain to Join Greece Rescue: Cameron
»Thousands of Angry Europeans Protest Against Austerity
»UK Treasury Pondering Death of the Euro
»UK: Unions Warn of ‘Unprecedented’ Strike Action Ahead
 
USA
»Caroline Glick: An Obama Foreign Policy
»Frank Gaffney: Determined Disinterest in Our Own Destruction
»Minority Men Falling Behind Academically, Study Finds
»Silicon Valley Chip Legend Dies in Saratoga Crash
»Top Court Rejects Global Warming Lawsuit
 
Europe and the EU
»A Map Without Germany’s Left Party Faces Charges of Anti-Semitism
»Boeing ‘Dreamliner’ Wows Paris Air Show Crowds
»Denmark: Ex-Minister: “if Nobody Else Will Say it, Then I Will”
»Dutch Anti-Islam Lawmaker Wilders Faces Judgement
»First Halal Mozzarella Presented in Campania
»Germany: Pipe Bombs Hidden in Kids’ Playground
»Germany: Nine Police Injured in Stuttgart 21 Clash
»Germany: Salafist Islam a Growing Threat, Interior Ministers Say
»Thumbs-Up From Norway for the Muhammed Cartoons
 
North Africa
»Ousted Tunisian President Sentenced to 35 Years in Jail
»The Benghazi Mission: Diplomats Flock to Rebel City
»Tunisia: Court Sentences Ben Ali and Wife to 35 Years
 
Middle East
»Iran Satellite is Step Towards Human Space Flight
»Turkey’s Christians: From Genocide Recognition to Reclaiming Church Properties
 
Russia
»Medvedev Keeps World Guessing Over Presidential Bid
»Russia Threatens to Cut Off Belarus Electricity
»Russia Enters World of Islamic Finance
»Ukraine Secretly Ramps Up Ties With NATO: Report
 
Australia — Pacific
»Muslim Woman Carnita Matthews Escapes Jail by Remaining Behind Her Burqa
 
Immigration
»Barroso Supports ‘Temporary’ Border Controls
 
Culture Wars
»Belgium: Man Attacked in the Streets of Brussels Because He is Gay
 
General
»Pluto’s Mysterious Moons, Nix & Hydra, Turn 5

Financial Crisis

Economic Historian: ‘Germany Was Biggest Debt Transgressor of 20th Century’

Think Greece’s current economic malaise is the worst ever experienced in Europe? Think again. Germany, economic historian Albrecht Ritschl argues in a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, has been the worst debtor nation of the past century. He warns the country should take a more chaste approach in the euro crisis or it could face renewed demands for World War II reparations.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


EU Agrees New €500 Bn Permanent Bail-Out Fund

EU finance ministers on Monday (20 June) in Luxembourg put the finishing touches on the eurozone’s massive permanent bail-out fund, giving it an effective lending capacity of €500 billion. To establish the new European Stability Mechanism (ESM), intended to replace the temporary €440 billion European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) created last year, states will offer €620 billion in credit guarantees and a full €80 billion in cash.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Greece and the Euro Europe’s Dangerous Leap of Faith

When it comes to the euro crisis, Europe means business. That, at least, is the message sent by the decision to withhold a vital aid tranche until Greece passes a far-reaching austerity package next week. But the move could backfire.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Greek Protestors: Clueless in Athens

Greek protestors don’t get it. They’re still trapped in Bastiat’s old illusion.

One of the most bizarre aspects of the Greek mess is how completely out of touch with reality the Greeks who protest the reductions in government spending are. There is simply put no other option when you have a large primary (excluding interest payments) deficits and no one wants to lend to you unless you agree to cut spending.

And the strikes and protest themselves only increase the need for spending cuts because they by weakening the economy reduces tax revenues. The Greek unions strikes are therefore as stupid as expressing dissatisfaction with the fact that you freeze by reducing heating further or taking off your shirt

So how could people be so unbelievably clueless like the Greek protestors? I think this is really a case of them being under Frederic Bastiat’s old dictum “the State is the great illusion where everyone thinks they can live at the expense of everyone else”. The Greeks have for years wanted and gotten from the politicians lavish social benefits but have refused to pay the taxes needed to finance these benefits, creating the large budget deficits. Everyone saw the state as simply a means to live off others. In reality, it is of course impossible for everyone to live at expense of everyone else.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Greek Government Survives Confidence Vote

Parliament passed a confidence vote on Prime Minister George Papandreouâ€(tm)s new cabinet, formed last week to push through a fresh package of austerity measures required to receive international financing to stave off default.

The passage averts early elections and a stalled government at a critical moment. Now, Mr. Papandreou must face an even bigger challenge next week, when Parliament votes on the new slate of measures, including tax hikes, wage cuts and state privatization, that are required by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund before it releases the next segment of aid that Greece needs to meet expenses through the summer.

[Return to headlines]


IMF Warns of ‘Considerable’ Risks to Spain Economy

The IMF warned Tuesday of “considerable” risks to Spain’s battered economy, saying the authorities had responded robustly to the serious challenges but repairs were incomplete. Spain faced grave economic risks if it failed to crack down harder on spending, shake up the financial sector and loosen up the labour market, the International Monetary Fund said. The Fund issued the warning two days after about 200,000 Spaniards took the streets to protest austerity measures and unemployment, and as markets showed deep concern about euro zone sovereign debt strains.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


‘No Reason’ For Britain to Join Greece Rescue: Cameron

Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said Britain had no duty to contribute to any possible Greek bailout and vowed to “fight very hard” to defend his stance at this week’s European Council meeting. The leader maintained there was “absolutely no reason” for Britain to become involved in the likely rescue plan, but admitted uncertainty in the eurozone could damage the British economy during a speech at The Times’ CEO summit. The Conservative party head told the newspaper summit he “absolutely didn’t believe” Britain would contribute to a bailout, and added “I shall be fighting very hard to achieve that at the European Council this week.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Thousands of Angry Europeans Protest Against Austerity

Thousands of angry European trade unionists swamped Luxembourg’s city centre Tuesday, shouting “No to Austerity!” and demanding EU governments fund jobs rather than service deficits. Police said as protesters began their march that at least 7,000 people from across Europe had poured off two trains and 130 buses in the demonstration called by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and expected to rally some 20,000 people. Held as the European Union prepares for a summit Thursday and Friday to be dominated by the continent’s sovereign debt crisis and events in Greece, the march was called to prod EU leaders to focus on jobs rather than deficits. The 27-nation bloc’s “main problem is not deficits but unemployment”, said ETUC president, Spaniard Ignacio Toxo, whose group represents 83 union confederations from 36 European countries. He told a news conference that European governance should be directed “at bolstering its social model rather than attacking it” as was the case in Greece, and that Athens should be given until 2016 to reduce its debt, rather than 2014 as is the case.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


UK Treasury Pondering Death of the Euro

The UK’s treasury minister has — during a cut-and-thrust debate in parliament — admitted that London is preparing for a potential break-up of the eurozone. The 47-year-old junior minister made the controversial comments while under fire from Conservative Party MPs and opposition Labour Party members in Westminster on Monday (20 June) about the implications for the British economy if Greece goes bust.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


UK: Unions Warn of ‘Unprecedented’ Strike Action Ahead

Millions of public sector workers were preparing for the fight of their lives to defend jobs, pensions and services, raising the prospect of “sustained” strikes, a union leader said today.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

USA

Caroline Glick: An Obama Foreign Policy

Outgoing US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is worried about the shape of things to come in US foreign policy. In an interview with Newsweek over the weekend, Gates sounded the warning bells.

In Gates’ words, “I’ve spent my entire adult life with the United States as a superpower, and one that had no compunction about spending what it took to sustain that position. It didn’t have to look over its shoulder because our economy was so strong. This is a different time.

“To tell you the truth, that’s one of the many reasons it’s time for me to retire, because frankly I can’t imagine being part of a nation, part of a government… that’s being forced to dramatically scale back our engagement with the rest of the world.”…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick[Return to headlines]


Frank Gaffney: Determined Disinterest in Our Own Destruction

During the Cold War, America faced an implacable enemy, driven by a supremacist ideology that called for, among other things, the use of an array of covert front groups, stealthy techniques and subversive activities to achieve our destruction. For many years, our effort to defeat Soviet Communism featured a concerted counter-intelligence (CI) effort aimed at ferreting out and defeating such sedition.

Unfortunately, America now faces once again an implacable enemy, driven by a supremacist ideology that calls for, among other things, the use of an array of covert front groups, stealthy techniques and subversive activities to achieve our destruction. In the place of the Soviet Union and the influence operations run by its intelligence service, the KGB, and the Communist International (Comintern), we confront the Islamic doctrine known as shariah and the Muslim Brotherhood, which serves as the principal engine for extending its reach…

           — Hat tip: CSP[Return to headlines]


Minority Men Falling Behind Academically, Study Finds

The College Board report says they also are more likely to face unemployment or incarceration, and it says fixing the problem should be a national priority.

Among the findings: • 28% of African American men and 16% of Latino men aged 25 to 34 had obtained an associate’s degree or higher, compared with 70% of Asian American men and 44% of white men.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Silicon Valley Chip Legend Dies in Saratoga Crash

A prominent Silicon Valley analog chip designer and author was identified Monday as the man who died after crashing into a tree in Saratoga on Saturday.

San Francisco resident Bob Pease, 70, wrote several books on analog design and other topics and had a regular column in the Electronic Design magazine, which shared the news about his death with readers on Monday. But he is probably best known for his 33 years spent at National Semiconductor in Santa Clara.

Friends have called him an “icon across the entire breadth of the analog chip world.” At National, he designed a negative voltage regulator that sold more than 135 million copies, a chip that flew on the Apollo and components that made medical missions to Mount Everest.

[Yeah, and my chip design flies in the Space Shuttle. I’ve worked on the B2 Bomber project plus the European stealth fighter and Star Wars Initiative (SDI) project, as well. All without a college degree. Yet, unlike Mr. Bob Pease, I still have the frickin’ brains to wear my seat belt. — Z]

The California Highway Patrol said Pease was driving his red 1969 Volkswagen Beetle on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. when he veered too far right during a left-hand curve on Pierce Road in west Saratoga. The vehicle struck a tree head-on, and Pease, who was not wearing his seat belt died instantly. [emphasis added]

[Gotta be some sort of major league dumbo to not buckle up. What, yer friggin’ immortal? — Z]

Police said he was coming out of the Mountain Winery driveway, although it was unknown whether alcohol played a role in the solo vehicle crash.

[I’ve driven up and down the Mountain Winery road dozens of times. Be it as a catering captain or for front row seats to see master flautist Jean Pierre Rampal, Miles Davis, Judy Collins, Dave Brubeck, George Shearing or a host of other brilliant musical artists, the road is no great challenge, trust me. — Z]

A self-described curmudgeon, the scientist also wore a distinctly long, white beard and on occasion could be spotted throwing computers off the tops of buildings. He also liked to hike, even making a trip to the Himalayas, and considered his field an art.

He used to commute down the Peninsula in his Beetle. Ironically, one of Pease’s published books was called “How to Drive into Accidents — and How Not to.” The cause of Pease’s fatal crash is under investigation by the CHP.

[Go frickin’ figure. — Z]

           — Hat tip: Zenster[Return to headlines]


Top Court Rejects Global Warming Lawsuit

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a global warming lawsuit against five big power companies, its most important environmental ruling since 2007 and a victory for the utilities and the Obama administration.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

Europe and the EU

A Map Without Germany’s Left Party Faces Charges of Anti-Semitism

Swatiskas intertwined in the Star of David, a map of the Middle East with Israel missing, boycotts of Israeli products: Germany’s far-left Left Party, many feel, has a growing anti-Semitism problem. The issue threatens to divide the party.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Boeing ‘Dreamliner’ Wows Paris Air Show Crowds

Boeing’s graceful new long-haul jet, the 787 Dreamliner, landed at Le Bourget aerodrome to woo crowds of admirers at its first Paris International Air Show on Tuesday. Paris is home turf for the US giant’s European rival Airbus, and Boeing was determined to show off its most modern plane at a time when the duelling pair are vying for an important order from Air France-KLM. The airline is due to decide whether to buy the Dreamliner, which is due for delivery to its first client in September, or to stick with France’s Airbus and face a wait for its rival A350 long-haul carrier. Industry sources expect the giant flag-bearer to pick a mix of the two planes, despite political pressure in France to make the patriotic choice.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Denmark: Ex-Minister: “if Nobody Else Will Say it, Then I Will”

Former immigration minister breaks silence — and ranks — on influence of the Danish People’s Party

Former immigration minister and Liberal MP Birthe Rønn Hornbech has called Pia Kjærsgaard, the Danish People’s Party leader — and the figure behind the government’s border control agreement — “un-Danish”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Dutch Anti-Islam Lawmaker Wilders Faces Judgement

Dutch far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders faces judgement Thursday in an Amsterdam court for his statements attacking Islam, which he claimed were made to “defend freedom in the Netherlands.” Wilders, 47, will be in the dock as Judge Marcel van Oosten starts his verdict at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) in a trial watched closely by both Wilders’ supporters and his detractors and broadcast live. Wilders faces five counts of hate speech and discrimination for his anti-Islamic remarks on websites, Internet forums and in Dutch newspapers between October 2006 and March 2008, and in his controversial 17-minute movie “Fitna” (“Discord” in Arabic).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


First Halal Mozzarella Presented in Campania

Muslims can now feast on one of Italy’s best-loved gastronomic delights, mozzarella, without any fear they are breaking Islamic Law. For the first time a producer of the famous cheese from Campania, the La Baronia company based at Castel di Sasso near Caserta, has won certification that its mozzarella is halal — made in accordance with the dictums of Sharia. Italy’s Zayd Ibn Thabit Islamic Culture Association and food-certification agency TUV gave the endorsement in an initiative promoted by the ‘Consorzio di Tutela della Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP’, the consortium that ensures the cheese is made according to time-honoured tradition. “This initiative is a sign of the attention companies and public institutions are devoting to religious miniroties,” said Abdallah Massimo Cozzolino, an imam at Naples Mosque and the president of the Zayd Ibn Thabit Islamic Culture Association.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Germany: Pipe Bombs Hidden in Kids’ Playground

A five-year-old boy in Germany found two home-made pipe bombs at a playground but escaped unscathed, police said after arresting three men who admitted to planting the explosives.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Germany: Nine Police Injured in Stuttgart 21 Clash

Nine police were injured after clashes on Monday night between police and anti-Stuttgart 21 protesters who had stormed the controversial rail project, authorities announced.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Germany: Salafist Islam a Growing Threat, Interior Ministers Say

German state interior ministers are warning of a rise in radical Salafist Islam that poses a risk of home-grown terrorism, with one politician calling for changes to residency laws so “hate preachers” can be more easily deported.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Thumbs-Up From Norway for the Muhammed Cartoons

After five years, a new poll reveals a surprising, and gratifying, shift of opinion in Norway in regard to the cartoons that changed the world.

By Bruce Bawer, HRS

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

North Africa

Ousted Tunisian President Sentenced to 35 Years in Jail

Former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife have each been sentenced to 35 years in jail after being found guilty of embezzlement. The couple, living in exile in Saudi Arabia, were tried in absentia.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


The Benghazi Mission: Diplomats Flock to Rebel City

While the fighting continues in western Libya, diplomats from around the world are setting up shop in the rebel capital Benghazi. Their mission is to help force Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi to his knees.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Tunisia: Court Sentences Ben Ali and Wife to 35 Years

A court in Tunis has sentenced the ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, to 35 years in jail. The trial in absentia, the first that the ousted President has faced, began this morning and, with unusual speed, ended this evening. The court also demanded that the couple pay total fines of 46 million euros and decided to postpone to June 30 another case in which Ben Ali and his wife must answer further charges of embezzlement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

Middle East

Iran Satellite is Step Towards Human Space Flight

On 15 June, Iran put its second ever satellite, Rasad-1, into orbit 260 kilometres above Earth. The nation hopes to use the experience to launch a monkey into space this year and, by 2019, a human. The worry is that such rockets could also be used to fire missiles at targets on Earth. At 15 kilograms, Rasad-1 may be tiny, but it is a boost to Iran’s space capabilities, says Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation think tank, headquartered in Washington DC.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Turkey’s Christians: From Genocide Recognition to Reclaiming Church Properties

The Armenian-American community took a major step last week to reverse the consequences of the Armenian Genocide and end the Turkish government’s long-standing policy of erasing all traces of Armenian civilization from present-day Turkey.

Armenian inscriptions at the entrance of one of the churches in the historic Armenian city of Ani. (Photo by Khatchig Mouradian)

Going beyond mere acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, some members of Congress have introduced a new resolution that urges “the Republic of Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and to return confiscated church properties.”

The sweeping House Resolution 306 calls on the Government of Turkey to:…

           — Hat tip: VM[Return to headlines]

Russia

Medvedev Keeps World Guessing Over Presidential Bid

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has remained evasive about whether or not he will run for a second term of office next year. The president seems determined to preserve some intrigue — at least for the time being. The question of whether Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will once again stand for office in presidential elections next March has long been a source of speculation. And as his long-standing political ally, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, tours the country to muster support for his All-Russian People’s Front (ONF) movement, Medvedev finds himself increasingly under pressure to give an answer. At the recent St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the president at last hinted that he may soon be prepared to do so.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Russia Threatens to Cut Off Belarus Electricity

Russia’s power utility warned Tuesday it would cut off all electricity to cash-strapped Belarus if it remains in arrears after receiving the first tranche of a $3 billion bailout loan. A potential interruption of Russian supplies should not hit resource-starved Belarus too severely because it only receives a tenth of its electricity from its energy-rich neighbour. But it adds another psychological blow to a nation of 10 million that this year has already seen its currency devalued by more than a third and inflation reach a staggering 32.6 percent amid its worst crisis since the Soviet era. The cutoff threat stems from a $54 million electricity payments debt that resulted in a partial disruption in supplies earlier this month.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Russia Enters World of Islamic Finance

Hoping to attract Arab capital, Russia took its first step into the world of Islamic finance this month by issuing sukuk, Islamic bonds which comply with Muslim religious rules. The bonds are to be issued by the majority Muslim Russian republic of Tatarstan in the Volga region, which has embarked on an ambitious drive to attract foreign investment.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]


Ukraine Secretly Ramps Up Ties With NATO: Report

Ukraine is ramping up cooperation with NATO, dealing a blow to Moscow’s hopes that its neighbour would align itself closer to Russia under President Viktor Yanukovych, a report said on Tuesday. The Kommersant daily, citing a confidential document outlining cooperation between Ukraine and the military bloc for the current year, said Yanukovych sought closer ties with NATO even more stoutly than his openly pro-Western predecessor Viktor Yushchenko. The dramatic turnabout in Kiev’s foreign policy comes despite Ukraine last year cementing in law its non-aligned status and amid disappointment over terms and conditions of rapprochement with the Kremlin, it said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

Australia — Pacific

Muslim Woman Carnita Matthews Escapes Jail by Remaining Behind Her Burqa

UPDATE 5.31pm: THE woman at the centre of the burqa row, Carnita Matthews, has a long record of driving offences and a history of not paying her fines.

Court documents have revealed that she had been fined seven times for traffic infringements before she was stopped by police in June last year for not displaying her P-plates in the incident that sparked the row that spilled over to the District Court in NSW yesterday.

Since she first received her learner licence in 1998 at the age of 33, she has twice had her provisional licence suspended for totting up too many demerit points and twice had her licence suspended for non payment of fines.

The State Debt Recovery Office had to recover the fines. Both of those two suspensions for non payment of fines were later lifted.

It is not known how many times she was physically stopped by police and whether she had her face covered by a burqa or a niqab on those occasions.

A number of times she was caught on camera speeding and disobeying traffic lights.

After being stopped by NSW police last year for not displaying her P-plates, Ms Matthews was ordered to pay $276 in fines and court costs.

She claimed on Channel Seven and allegedly in a statutory declaration to Campbelltown police that the officer who stopped her had attempted to tear the burqa off her face, a claim that was proven untrue by the police patrol car video camera.

A magistrate last year found her guilty of making a deliberately false statement and sentenced her to jail for six months. Ms Matthews appealed, saying there was no proof she was the person in the burqa making the atatement and Judge Clive Jeffreys in the District Court yesterday upheld her appeal.

The news comes as women wearing a burqa may be ordered to remove it to identify themselves in the wake of the Carnita Matthews case.

Police Minister Mike Gallacher has revealed that police do not currently have the legal power to require women to show their face if the women refuse on religious or cultural grounds.

He said he wanted the law tightened up.

“Police powers in relation to face coverings are not clear,” Mr Gallacher said.

“It’s time to address that.”

He said he had spoken to rank and file police who wanted the situation clarified.

Any decision on whether to appeal the controversial judgment by Judge Clive Jeffreys would not be made until after the judge hands down the reason for his decision which is expected tomorrow.

The government is also considering passing new laws requiring people who make complaints against police, or in the case of witnesses giving evidence, to have to provide at least one fingerprint and their signature.

This follows the finding by the judge that he could not be certain that it was Ms Matthews who made the statutory declaration complaining about the officer who stopped her car because the person who handed the document in to the police station wore a burqa.

Mr Gallacher said he was waiting until Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione returned next week to discuss exactly what needed to be done.

He said he did not expect this to inflame community anger about women wearing full face coverings.

He said he had been told that there was nothing in Muslim culture or religion that stopped women from identifiying themselves in certain circumstances.

Yesterday, Ms Matthews avoided jail because her identity could not be proven.

Ms Matthews, 47, from Woodbine, in Sydney’s southwest, had been sentenced to six months in jail for making a deliberately false statement that a policeman tried to forcibly remove her burqa because he was a racist.

But judge Clive Jeffreys said yesterday he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was Mrs Matthews who made the racism accusation because the person who complained to police was wearing a burqa at the time.

The absurdity of the law is that, to reach the level of proof of identity to make the case, Mrs Matthews would have been required to identify herself by lifting her burqa at the police station — what started the uproar in the first place.

More than a dozen Muslim supporters linked arms and began chanting “Allah Akbar” as they stormed out of Downing Centre Court with Mrs Matthews concealed behind them.

Tempers rose and they began jostling with police after several members of the group attacked cameramen.

It marked a stark difference from their behaviour minutes earlier, when they had quietly assembled outside the lifts for prayer shortly after the judge’s decision.

Mrs Matthew’s lawyer Stephen Hopper defended their actions saying: “They are obviously happy with the result and are expressing it in a way that is culturally appropriate to them.”

Judge Jeffreys said yesterday that even if Mrs Matthews had made the complaint, he could not be sure she knew it was a “false” statement.

“I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that she made the complaint,” he said.

“Even if I was satisfied that she made the complaint, I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was knowingly false.”

Mrs Matthews made the claim in her court appearance last year, saying police could not prove it was her behind the burqa when the complaint was handed in to police. The local magistrate rejected it.

The case had lit up the religious debate when a magistrate found Mrs Matthews had deliberately made false complaints that Sergeant Paul Kearney was racist and had attempted to tear her burqa off her face when she declined to remove it on request.

She was pulled over for a random breath test last June, and accused Sgt Kearney of racism only after he booked her for failing to properly display her P-plates.

The incident was captured on a patrol car video camera and helped clear Sgt Kearney, prompting calls for all police cars to carry in-built cameras to avoid false claims.

“I’ve got my P-plates on my car … there was nothing wrong with how they were displayed,” Mrs Matthews says on the video.

“You look at me and see me wearing this and you couldn’t handle it. All cops are racist.”

She then threatens, “100 per cent”, that she will take the matter to court and fight the charge.

France was the first country in Europe to implement a full ban on covering up faces in public.

France’s burqa ban descended into farce when the first women to be summoned before a European court for illegally wearing the garments were refused entry, because they would not remove their face coverings.

           — Hat tip: Anne-Kit[Return to headlines]

Immigration

Barroso Supports ‘Temporary’ Border Controls

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso indicated Monday that he would support the reintroduction of temporary border controls so long as such decisions are taken at the EU level and not unilaterally. Establishing rules for an EU decision-making mechanism on the reintroduction of temporary border controls would “reinforce mutual trust” and reduce “unilateral” measures by member states, he said in a letter to the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, ahead of an EU summit later this week.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

Culture Wars

Belgium: Man Attacked in the Streets of Brussels Because He is Gay

The incident happened in the Brussels city centre 8 days ago. The victim was nearly strangled, but was lucky that police quickly arrived at the scene. His lawyer Sven Mary (photo) says that the attack was not a coincidence. There are more and more reports of this type of attacks in Brussels, but there is no easy solution, Mr Mary warns.

“The problem goes back to the education young people get and the basic values they are given. The offenders are often of North-African descent which makes it even more complicated.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

General

Pluto’s Mysterious Moons, Nix & Hydra, Turn 5

In June 2005, two small moons were discovered orbiting Pluto, much farther out than its larger moon, Charon.For a year, the discovery team, led by planetary astronomer Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., debated what to call the moons. On June 21, 2006, they settled on Nix and Hydra, the names of a goddess and creature in Greek mythology.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman[Return to headlines]

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