Berlin Retreats on Private Involvement in Greece Bailout
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has for months been insisting that any new aid package for debt-stricken Greece must involve private investors. Amid strong resistance, particularly from rating agencies, Berlin may now be backing down. The markets, it would seem, are becoming impatient. Even as Berlin seems content to move only slowly toward the establishment of a second bailout package for debt-stricken Greece, investors are getting nervous.
As are rating agencies. Fitch on Wednesday downgraded Greek debt to one step above default status. The agency cited the lack of certainty on a second aid package for Greece as a factor in its decision. In addition, the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday worsened its outlook on the Greek economy, forecasting that it would shrink by 3.8 percent this year instead of the 3 percent it had earlier predicted. Still, sluggish progress is being made toward a second aid package for Greece. And according to a report in the business daily Handelsblatt on Thursday, Germany may be backing away from its demand that private investors make a “substantial contribution” to the bailout.
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EU in Discord Over Extraordinary Eurozone Summit
The EU’s internal conflict over the terms of a second bailout for Greece continues unabated, with Germany at odds with France and EU officials over when to hold a special summit on the issue. EU council President Herman Van Rompuy in a high stakes move had suggested EU leaders meet on Friday (15 July) to discuss Greece after talks by eurozone finance ministers on Monday failed to calm markets. With analysts watching every nuance of the EU’s response to the crisis, there is fear an ‘emergency’ summit would make matters worse unless it had a concrete outcome. On Wednesday, Germany let it be known it is against the snap meeting, with a government spokesperson saying: “There are no concrete plans for a special summit.” Its reluctance puts Berlin at odds with France, which wants to accelerate the Greek talks.
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EU Like Titanic: Not Even 1st Class is Safe: Tremonti
(AGI) Rome — Italy’s Finance Minister says “it’s like the Titanic, not even 1st class passengers are spared.” Giulio Tremonti was speaking in the Upper House before the confdence vote, going on to say “In Europe today we have to face up to our fate: finance cannot save us, but politics can. There can be no more political blunders. The spectre of past debt will swallow up our future unless the books can be made to balance.” .
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Eurozone Banking Stress Tests Due Amid Fresh Turmoil
The European Union this week publishes results of stress tests on Europe’s embattled banking sector amid a dangerous phase in the eurozone debt crisis that threatens to engulf Italy and Spain. The European Banking Authority, the EU’s London-based regulator for the financial sector, has carried out assessments on 91 banks representing 65 percent of the sector and will publish its findings at 1600 GMT on Friday. The purpose is “to assess the resilience of European banks to severe shocks and establish a common, conservative stress testing benchmark,” the EBA said on Wednesday. However, no default is assumed in the tests. The EBA’s tests come at a crucial time, after the long-term cost of borrowing for Italy and Spain reached record highs this week, amid intensifying concern over sky-high levels of public debt.
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‘Greece Should Never Have Been Allowed the Euro’
In retrospect, Greece should never have been allowed to join the euro, finance minister Jan Kees de Jager says in an interview with magazine Vrij Nederland.
‘With the information we have now, I would say ‘no’, de Jager told the paper..
De Jager told the magazine that despite opposition to his tough line on tackling the Greek debt crisis, the best remedy is to come down hard.
De Jager also insists banks and insurance companies have a role in a second round of financial help for Greece as a prerequisite of Dutch support.
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Greece; “The Word Default is Forbidden”, Says ND
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JULY 14 — Greek main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Antonis Samaras, addressing a Political Committee’s session on Wednesday, said that “the word default is forbidden in our vocabulary,” adding that “its mere utterance may have disastrous results and function like a self-fulfilled prophecy. And this is valid in all its versions, and in English.” As Ana reported, he went on to say that “selective default has never taken place in an EU country” and that “prudence necessitates that we see the next step and not to adopt the lesser evil, that may lead to the bigger evil. In addition, we must reject whatever jeopardises the supply with fluidity of the Greek economy.” Samaras proposed the eurobond as the alternative solution, or the repurchasing of bonds, while he said that the participation of private individuals in lending Greece will be disastrous. “The issuing of eurobonds is the only healthy solution on the part of the EU, but Europe must overcome certain obsessions,” Samaras said and predicted that Europe will be led there, but “the question is for Greece to emerge benefitted.”
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Greeks Drain Banks and Seek New Home for Stashed Cash
Investors in Greece are worried about what might happen to their savings in banks if the state goes broke. Some are moving their money abroad, some are investing elsewhere, and some are burying cash in their gardens. Vangelis Kritikos has no trouble staying busy. He’s in the shipping business, and he started out as a shipyard owner in Ghana. Today, back home in Greece, among other things, he offers tourist trips to the Greek island of Kos.
Twelve years ago, Kritikos also started an organization to protect credit seekers and small investors. He helps banking customers find their way out of debt. But small investors, who are worried about their savings, also seek his help — and that’s been happening more often lately. At the beginning, it was mainly rich people who wanted to move their money abroad, partly because part of their income wasn’t taxed. But now, Kritikos says, normal investors and savers are emptying their bank accounts. “There are even people out in the countryside, who are burying their money in their own gardens, like in old times,” he said. “A lot of people are being forced to dip into their savings to get by, because that’s all the money they’ve got. This run on the banks is continuing.”
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Italy Moves to Calm Market Turmoil as Greek Bonds Are Downgraded
Italy’s upper house of parliament is expected to approve a sweeping austerity budget in a move intended to allay concerns over a possible bailout. Meanwhile, Greece must come to terms with another ratings downgrade. The Italian senate is set to vote on a tough austerity package on Thursday, which puts forward cuts totaling 48 billion euros ($67 billion) over the next three years. If approved, the bill will be sent to the lower house on Friday. Italy’s Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has promised to step up privatization moves once the budget is approved. The measures are designed to allay concerns that Italy, the eurozone’s third largest economy, will need to be bailed out by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bond markets have shown doubt about Italy’s ability to sustain its debt burdens. Mario Draghi, member of the European Central Bank Governing Council, said the Italian government should move ahead with further measures to ensure it meets its budget reduction target.
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Italy: Cost-Cutting Measure Passes Senate in Effort to Keep ‘Future From Being Devoured’
Rome, 14 July (AKI) — The Italian Senate on Thursday passed a cost-cutting plan that includes more than 40 billion euros in spending cuts spread out over four years.
The measure passed in a 161 to 135 in a confidence vote. It will now be passed to the Lower House of Parliament where it is expected to pass a confidence vote on Friday.
The government of the euro zone’s third richest country aims to pass 40 billion the cuts to balance the budget in 2014 and make financing of Italy’s 1.8 trillion euro debt more sustainable.
“Without a balanced budget the public debt will devour our future and the future of our children,” said finance minister Giulio Tremonti, speaking to the Senate before the vote.
Tremonti (photo) also likened Europe’s debt crisis to one of history’s most infamous ship disasters and said politicians have a responsibility to act.
“Politicians can’t make any mistakes because it’s like the Titanic but in this case not even the first class passengers can be saved.”
Difficulties among the 17 countries that use the euro currency to resolve Greece’s difficulties in paying back its own debt has caused worries among investors that Italy — where total debt exceeds Spain, Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined — has caused the amount of Italy must pay in interest for its bonds to increase and its main stock market to plunge.
The austerity measure includes the payment for some medical visits that are currently free and changes in the national pension system.
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Italy: Austerity Box: Factbox
‘Overall impact more than 70 billion euros’
(ANSA) — Rome, July 14 — The austerity package approved by the Senate aims at raising an additional 47.9 billion euros through spending cuts and revenue increases from now through 2014.
Initially 25.3 billion euros will be raised to which an additional 22.6 billion euros will be added in 2014 to balance the budget.
However, government sources said Thursday “the overall impact will be more than 70 billion euros”. Revenue will be raised through an across-the-board reduction in tax deductions, including those for families, raising taxes on stock options and bonuses as well as on stock holdings.
Italians will now have to pay 10 euros for medical visits with national health doctors, as well as pay more for prescribed analyses, and 25 euros for non-emergency care at hospitals.
Italy’s pension system is also affected by the measure with retirement ages gradually raised in line with life expectancy and a higher tax rate for people with pensions of over 90,000 euros a year.
Another cost-saving measure in the package is grouping together small municipalities to form single administrations.
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Italy Greenlights Cuts After Borrowing Rates Jump
The Italian Senate gave initial approval to radical budget cuts on Thursday after a spike in borrowing rates and plunges on stock markets as Italy fights being dragged down by Europe’s debt crisis. “If we don’t have a balanced budget then public debt — a monster from our past — would devour our future and the future of our children. The country is watching us,” Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said ahead of the Senate vote. He also warned other European governments on the fallout of the crisis. “There should be no illusions about who will be saved. Like on the Titanic, the first class passengers won’t be able to save themselves,” he said.
The vote in the Senate, where the government holds a comfortable majority, was passed by 161 votes in favour to 135 against with three abstentions. The measures are now set to go before the lower house of parliament on Friday for expected final approval, even though the main opposition Democratic Party has said it will vote against and has demanded new elections. Italy has one of the highest debt levels in the world and one of the lowest growth rates in Europe and reports of infighting between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Tremonti have further spooked investors in recent days.
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Netherlands: Credit Rating Agencies Failed on Greece: Finance Minister
Credit rating agencies were too late to address the Greek crisis and now risk exaggerating the situation, finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told website nu.nl on Thursday in response to readers’ questions.
‘Credit agencies saw the risks being posed by Greece too late and should have warned about them much earlier,’ De Jager said. ‘Now things are going wrong, they risk being too tough.’
This means that the credit-worthiness of countries can be better assessed by the International Monetary Fund, which monitors the eurozone together with the European central bank and European commission, he said.
‘These institutions have much better insight into countries than private credit ratings agencies,’ he said. ‘Perhaps we should give greater emphasis to the opinion of the IMF.’
Junk
Greece, Ireland and Portugal have all been given poor ratings by the agencies, such as Moody’s and S&P. EU officials have already criticised Moody’s decision to downgrade Ireland to ‘junk’ status.
And, according to the BBC, ratings agency Moody’s has said it may cut the US AAA debt rating, citing the ‘rising possibility’ the US will default on its debt obligations.
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Pressure Rises on Germany in Eurozone Debt Crisis
Pressure on Germany to give ground in the Greek debt crisis rose Thursday as the eurozone drama, coupled with a warning of a US debt downgrade, stoke tensions on global markets. Italy responded to the rapidly rising dangers of debt contagion by racing to approve radical budget cuts to prevent its economy, the third-biggest in the eurozone, from being dragged down after Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Ratings agency Fitch affirmed Italy’s AA- credit rating, but downgraded Greece by three points to CCC from its previous rating of B+. That was the second rating blow to eurozone countries in 24 hours following a junk status downgrade for Ireland. Fitch said the urgency of organising a second rescue for Greece would have required a plan from the European Union and International Monetary Fund at the beginning of July, and owing to uncertainty over any contribution from private investors.
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Treasurer: Calif. May Borrow $5b if Feds Default
California’s state treasurer said Wednesday that he’s preparing contingency plans to borrow as much as $5 billion for the state in case the federal government misses its Aug. 2 deadline to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. The state was preparing to take out short-term loans to cover day-to-day state operating expenses if the federal government begins to run out of money to pay its bills, Treasurer Bill Lockyer told the Sacramento Press Club. “We’re hoping to do our borrowing before Aug. 2,” he said. Lockyer, a Democrat, said he’s prepared to act in case talks between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., remain at an impasse. That could force the federal government to default on loan obligations and shortchange states on health care and education funding.
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Judge Declares Mistrial in Roger Clemens Perjury Case
The federal judge presiding over Roger Clemens’s perjury trial declared a mistrial because the prosecution revealed information Thursday that he had previously deemed inadmissible.
The United States District Court Judge Reggie Walton abruptly stopped the trial and scolded the prosecution for playing a videotape of the 2008 Congressional hearings on performance-enhancing drug use in baseball. The part of the tape that worried him included comments made by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, about the credibility of Andy Pettitte, Clemens’s former best friend and teammate, who is expected to be one of the star witnesses for the government.
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Thousands Back Tulsa Officer Ordered to Muslim Worship
Tens of thousands of Americans are lining up in support of a police officer in Tulsa, Okla., who was punished for refusing his department’s order to attend an “Islamic proselytizing event” even as a legal team representing the captain is petitioning the court to add new allegations of misbehavior by his superiors to a lawsuit over the dispute.
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Austria: Council Houses Only for German Speakers
Council houses will not be available to people who do not speak German in future in Austria’s most westerly province of Vorarlberg.
In future, applications will be considered together with whether or not the person applying speaks German.
The ÖVP and the FPÖ agreed to go ahead with the project proposed by local MP Dieter Egger for a one-year test period. It means that in future anybody who applies for a council house and does not speak German will need to learn the language within a year if they are to be entitled to a property.
The only exceptions to the rule are those who already occupy council property.
The project will then be reviewed in September 2012.
Egger said: “Giving council property to people who don’t speak German is an ever-increasing source of conflict especially with other tenants.”
The decision by the ÖVP to back the move is an about turn after they had earlier refused to support it.
The move was opposed by the Green party and the SPÖ.
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Belgian Burqa Ban Comes Into Effect July 23
(AGI) Brussels — The Belgian law banning the burqa takes effect on July 23. The law, passed by the Belgian parliament on April 28 will become law throughout the country in all public places with a fine of 137.50 euro and a possible jail sentence of up to seven days. Belgian’s burqa law was first tabled in April 2010, but parliament was not able to come to a decision because of a government crisis. France was the first European country to forbid the burqa and women wearing it can can be fined up to 150 euro.
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‘British Democracy is a Farce’
As the News of the World phone hacking scandal continues to unfold, there are indications that it extends beyond the press to the police and even the government. German papers on Thursday write that the situation reveals grave problems within Britain’s democratic system.
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East-West Pay Gap Persists Decades After German Reunification
Workers in eastern Germany receives significantly less pay than their coutnerparts in the nation’s west. Weaker industry and collective bargaining are being blamed for the westward migration of skilled workers. Soon after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Federal Republic of Germany and the economically emaciated German Democratic Republic were coupled. More than 20 years later, eastern German workers still earn as much as 33 percent less than their western counterparts. Of the 100 professions surveyed by the Hans Böckler Foundation in Dusseldorf, only eastern Germany’s hairdressers and letter carriers earn more money than their counterparts in the West. Reinhard Bispinck, a collective bargaining expert at the Hans Böckler Foundation, says German leaders need to bring pay levels into alignment and stem the flow of qualified workers leaving eastern Germany.
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EU Court: There’s No Such Thing as Finnish ‘Cognac’
There is no such thing as Finnish cognac, the European Union’s top court ruled on Thursday, barring spirit drink makers in Finland from using the French brandy’s name on their bottles. The Finnish company Gust. Ranin Oy labelled bottles with the names “Cognac, Hienoa Konjakkia” and “Cafe-Cognac, Kahvi-Konjakki” after securing authorisation from national authorities. French cognac producers took the company to court, arguing that the name is protected under the European Union’s geographical indications rules. The EU Court of Justice sided with the French cognac makers, saying the use by the Finnish company of the name cognac would “adversely affect the protected indication.” Cognac must be made within a limited region around the town bearing its name in southwestern France, with a specific type of grape and production method.
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Germany: Living in a Dying City
Hoyerswerda is Germany’s fastest shrinking city — and a potential trailblazer for other communities facing demographic collapse. Caitlan Carroll reports on how its residents are trying to cope. Dancers slowly roll on to a stage like waves while dark instrumental music plays in the background. A large screen shows interviews of people talking about their hopes for the dying town of Hoyerswerda. Located some 160 kilometres southeast of Berlin, this post-industrial community has turned an abandoned supermarket into a theatre for “Hoyerswerda Lives!”, a dance performance by 70 residents for an audience made up of friends, family and neighbours. The amateur dancers, aged seven to 70, practised for six months to stage this retelling of their city’s history.
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German Police Working for EADS: Berlin Opposition Livid About Saudi Border Deal
The opposition in Berlin was already outraged about a plan to sell 200 tanks to Saudi Arabia. Now, however, a new deal involving the training of Saudi border patrol officers is raising additional questions. And some say the German constitution may have been violated. The deal involves a mountain of money: The German deal to sell Saudi Arabia 200 “Leopard” battle tanks is worth some €2 billion. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has yet to directly confirm the deal — and the opposition is furious . Given the pro-democracy movements in the region, it has demanded that Germany cease making arms deals with authoritarian regimes such as that in power in Saudi Arabia.
But now the opposition has found a new avenue of attack. Germany, after all, is involved in training Saudi security forces in conjunction with the European defense company EADS. And according to a recent report in the German newsweekly Stern, the mission is much more dicey than previously thought. The training deal also involves a lot of money. According to Stern, Saudi Arabia awarded a €2 billion contract to EADS in 2008 to set up a state-of-the-art surveillance system along its 9,000 kilometer (5,600 miles) border. More precisely, the contract went to Cassidian, a Munich-based defense company that is an offshoot of EADS.
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Italy: P4 Probe: Northern League Against PDL on Moral Question
(AGI) Rome — “The Northern League is not going to follow us”.
The People of Freedom Party (Berlusconi’s party) seems to have lost hope. The Northern League is set not to veto the arrest warrant issued for the Italian Deputy Alfonso Papa. Umberto Bossi is still vague about it (“Let’s keep the majority on tenterhooks”), but the Northern League’s aim is to let the “moral question” come out within the People of Freedom Party and other government parties. This is the policy of Northern League deputies close to Roberto Maroni .
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Italy: Waste Disposal: Legambiente: 1,290 Municipalities Recyle
(AGI) Rome — In 2010 1,290 municipalities in Italy deserve the title of “Recyler Municipality” since they have surpassed 60% of separate collection of household waste. For the second time in a row, Legambiente will assign the ‘egological’ title for the best systems created to handle urban waste, to Ponte nelle Alpi in the Province of Belluno, at the cutting edge in the northestern Italy. Other best pratices are 65.6% of municipalities in Veneto, 34.2% of municipalities in Friuli Venezia Giulia and 28,3% in Trentino Alto Adige.
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Italy: Fini Says Ad Personam Laws Damaging for Institutions
(AGI) Rome — Fini says that personalist laws or those relating to sectorial interests are damaging to institutions’ prestige.
He said that “laws known as ‘snapshot laws,’ are the consequence of too much legislative red tape and contradictory measures, which leads to legal uncertainty and therefore public lack of confidence in the institutions.” He added that he believed that “the shortcomings largely generated by bad political habits have been and still are damaging to social cohesion and the prestige of public bodies.” .
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Italy: It is a Problem of Credibility of Politics, Tremonti
(AGI) Rome — “It is a problem of credibility and confidence in politics”. Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, in a speech at the Chamber of Senate, stated that “politics cannot make any more mistakes”. “It is wrong to assert that we have done nothing to fight the crisis,” he added with reference to the maneuver. The Minister invited everybody to “work hard and responsibly for the country”. He underlined that “salvation” for Europe comes from politics not from finance. “We have either to go ahead or to founder” and the only solution is a “European common political response”.
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Masked Robbers Attack Swiss Soldiers
Two masked robbers armed with knives attacked a military patrol in the early hours of Wednesday morning after they were caught trying to steal assault rifles stored at a military facility. The two were discovered by a patrol shortly after 3am in a military building in Waldstatt, canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. When taken by surprise, they attacked the patrol with knives, injuring a 25-year-old soldier slightly in one hand before taking flight, local reports said. It is believed that one of the two robbers was also injured in the skirmish, reports said.
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Muslims Call for Imams in the German Military
Muslim leaders have slammed the lack of an Islamic spiritual counsellor in the German armed forces in spite of the fact that an estimated 1,200 Muslims serve in the Bundeswehr. Two of the main umbrella groups representing Germany’s estimated 4.3 million Muslims said in remarks published Wednesday that such a move would be a good step forward for integration. “That would have a great significance for integration,” the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Aiman Mazyek, told the online news portal, News.de.
While Protestants and Catholics have about 90 priests each providing spiritual support to soldiers, there is no Muslim imam or counsellor, even though there are about 1,200 Muslims serving in the Bundeswehr, according to website. Mazyek called for the issue to be discussed at the next German Islam Conference, which his own group has previously boycotted. It would be a “win-win situation” to have a Muslim spiritual figure in the Bundeswehr. The chairman of the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany, Ali Kizilkaya, echoed the call, saying: “If the good will is there, it is uncomplicated.” He added that such a move would be “a bid for integration.”
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Plea for Flanders to Join Netherlands
LOUVAIN, 13/07/11 — Flanders should become independent and join the Netherlands in a confederation, suggests law professor Matthias Storme of the University of Louvain.
Storme urged the adoption of the so-called Plan N in the newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen yesterday. He considers a confederation with the Netherlands offers the best future for Flanders, which would maintain its own parliament and government. Foreign policy and the army would be transferred to The Hague.
Most Flemish people are seeking more independence for their region within Belgium. The negotiations on this, which are linked to the formation of a new Belgian government, have been completely stuck for months.
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Press Freedom in Hungary: Prime Minister Launches New Offensive Against Journalists
Just days after Hungary handed off the EU’s rotating president to Poland, Prime Minister Orban has hastened his radical transformation of the country’s media landscape. Supporters claim a massive wave of layoffs is necessary restructuring. But critics fear that not toeing the line of the ruling party can result in a pink slip.
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Right-Wing Populists on the Rise: Austria’s Freedom Party Goes From Strength to Strength
Under its leader Heinz-Christian Strache, the right-wing populist Freedom Party has become a force to be reckoned with in Austrian politics. It is currently neck and neck with the country’s two largest mainstream parties in the polls. Meanwhile the governing Social Democrats are struggling to reconnect with ordinary voters. They aren’t actually that far apart, the chancellor and his adversary — at least in geographical terms. While Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann runs the country from the Federal Chancellery on Vienna’s Ballhausplatz square, Heinz-Christian Strache meets with visitors five minutes away, at his office in a palace, which has a view of the city’s rooftops.
The leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Strache has steel-blue eyes and looks dashing in a dark suit. He is not someone who shies away from selling pipe dreams as prophecies. “As chancellor,” he promised in June, he plans “not to do everything differently” but to “improve many things.” In his choice of words, Strache sounds out of touch with reality. Given that he is the nightmare of Austria’s major parties, the center-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), who does he intend to govern the country with? “That’ll work itself out,” he says. “After the next elections, different people will be in charge” in the SPÖ and the ÖVP.
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Spain: Mallorca Chuetas Now Considered “Real Jews”
(ANSAmed) — MADRID — The word ‘chueta’ comes from ‘juet’, or Jewish. Majorca’s Jews are called ‘chuetas’; they are an ethnic minority, mostly converted Catholics, persecuted during the Inquisition and now, after generations of repression and social isolation, they have been recognised by Jewish authorities. ‘El Pais’ reports that they have been designated as “authentic Jews” by senior Israeli Rabbi Nissim Karelitz. They are the descendants of 37 Jews killed in Majorca on May 6, 1691 during the Inquisition for Crypto-Judaism and of part of the Jews who converted to Catholicism, who passed on the collective conscience of their roots. It is estimated that there are currently 18,000 inhabitants on the Balearic island who still carry the surnames of Jewish converted or persecuted families, whose history is enshrined in a vast array of literature including over 200 books, monographic essays and memoirs. Stigmatised and segregated throughout history, up until the first half of the 20th century they practised strict endogamy (marriage between members of the same clan), to preserve their race.
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Swedish Language Skills No Prerequisite for a Job
While Swedish classes for immigrants are all well and good, the best way to acquire Swedish fluency and boost integration is to encourage immigrants to enter the labour market as soon as possible, argues linguist Sandra Ljung.
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Egyptians Seeking Compensation for Years of War and Occupation to Save Economy
There are growing concerns about the rapid decline of the Egyptian economy as a result of the absence of political stability, the spread of demonstrations and strikes. According to a study prepared by the National Planning Institute, total economic losses in Egypt between the outbreak of the revolution on January 25 and through mid-March were estimated at $37 billion. Facing a dangerous economic situation, Egyptian economists have taken a number of initiatives to support the economy, starting with a special fund to support the economy, a fund to support the stock exchange, and most intriguing are popular demands to collect compensation from Britain for 75 years of occupation extending from 1882-1954.
It is noteworthy that the Egyptian demands for reparations from Britain coincided with the suggestion made by Iranian president Ahmadinejad at the UN and later in Istanbul, early this month, to form an independent commission to estimate the losses resulting from occupation and the slave trade.
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Egyptian Presidential Candidates (Part II) — ‘Amr Moussa: Egypt Must Turn Over New Leaf With All Countries, Including Iran
In an interview with the website Khabar Online in late June 2011, Egyptian presidential candidate and former secretary-general of the Arab League ‘Amr Moussa expressed support for the establishment of a democratic regime in Egypt and for reform, in particular the redrafting of the constitution. Moussa called on the U.S. to accept the results of Egypt’s upcoming elections, whatever they might be, including a victory by the Muslim Brotherhood. He also expressed his support for advancing Egypt’s nuclear program for civilian purposes and for renewing ties with all countries, including Iran.
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EU Recognizes Libyan Rebel Council, Offers Its Support
The leader of the Libyan rebel council has been received by EU and NATO leaders as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. The Libyan delegation are on a two-day visit to Brussels. A delegation of Libyan rebels, led by the leader of the National Transitional Council (NTC), has met with NATO and EU officials to discuss the ongoing situation in Libya. For a long time, European governments treated the NTC with caution, as they did not know what it was or what its members wanted. However, the NTC has now been recognized by several countries as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, and in recognition of this, its leader Mahmoud Jibril was received in Brussels on Wednesday. Jibril held talks with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at NATO headquarters, and Rasmussen expressed the importantance of the visit. “They [the NTC] have a great responsibility for the smooth transition to a democratic and inclusive future in Libya,” said Rasmussen.
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Filipinos Catholics, Heroic Witnesses in Libya
“When the war is over, the work of Catholics will remain one of the most heroic pages of the Church in Libya,” said Mgr Martinelli. Despite the war, more than 2,000 Filipino nurses and doctors have remained in the country to serve the population.
Tripoli (AsiaNews) — “When the war is over, the work of Catholics will remain one of the most heroic pages of the Church in Libya,” said Mgr Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Tripoli. Speaking to AsiaNews, he praised the “precious work” of more than 2,000 Filipino Catholics employed in local hospitals who have remained in the country to help the population.
“After NATO bombing started, most migrants lost their job and fled,” the prelate said. “Those who stayed behind have had to face enormous difficulties.”
Fuel is regularly in shortage supply in the main cities of eastern Libya (Tripolitania), Mgr Martinelli said. People have to join long line-ups to get bread and basic necessities.
“Filipino nurses and doctors chose to remain, not for money, but to serve the people of Libya and the Church,” he explained. “They face the hardships of war with courage and a sense of responsibility.”
Many Sub-Saharan migrants, mostly construction workers, also chose to stay. They have shown a great deal of courage, the bishop explained. “These people are giving their time and life for the Church and are a sign of hope for Libyans.”
After almost six months, the war is at a stalemate. NATO airstrikes continue to hit strategic sites controlled by Gaddafi’s forces. This has allowed the Benghazi rebels to come closer to Tripoli.
However, soldiers loyal to Libya’s strongman are far from being defeated. Yesterday, they repelled an attack and retook a few villages about 100 kilometres from the capital.
Tomorrow, the Libya contact group is set to meet in Istanbul (Turkey) to renew their pressure on Gaddafi, who still refuses to go, and increase funding for the rebels.
Mgr Martinelli now hopes for a truce in connection with Ramadan, which begins in early August.
“People are tire of this conflict,” the prelate said. “But we cannot tire to pray God to enlighten leaders so that they can lay down their weapons.” (S.C.)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Moscow Envoy, Gaddafi Prepared to Blow Up Tripoli
(ANSAmed) — MOSCOW — Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has a “suicide plan” for Tripoli, which consists in basically blowing up the Libyan capital if it is attacked by rebels, according to Russia’s envoy to Libya Mikhail Marguelov, quoted in an interview published today by the Russian daily Izvestia. “The Libyan prime minister told me in Tripoli that if the rebels take the city, they would cover it in missiles and blow it up,” Marguelov said in the interview. “I believe that Gaddafi’s regime really does have this sort of plan.” The Kremlin’s envoy has also cast doubt on speculation that the Libyan regime is running out of munitions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Suspends Cooperation With Italy’s ENI
‘Everything is finished with ENI’, says PM
(ANSA) — Tripoli, July 14 — The government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has stopped all cooperation with the Italian energy giant, ENI, the Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi said on Thursday “Everything is finished with ENI,” the prime minister told a news conference in Tripoli.
Al-Mahmoudi said he deplored the way in which Rome had “violated” the friendship accord with Italy endorsed three years ago and its participation in NATO raids against the Gaddafi regime.
ENI is one of the largest foreign oil companies in Libya and has been active in the North African country since the 1950s, but the company angered the regime when it suspended operations and built ties with the rebels seeking to replace Gaddafi. The prime minister said the Gaddafi government was prepared to let US firms invest because Washington was not playing a direct role in the NATO bomb attacks.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: After Six Months Revolution Running Out of Steam
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JULY 14 — Six months ago, Tunisia experienced something absolutely unexpected: the ignominious flight of the dictator who for 23 years had had the country under his heel, literally robbing it of its assets. But today, as Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his fiendish wife, Leila Trabelsi, watch from their villa in Saudi Arabia as developments unfold in the country that they ruled for more than two decades and that has recently sentenced them to hefty prison sentences, Tunisia is beginning tor realise that the “jasmine revolution” and the unbridled hope that it generated are imperfect miracles, even if they are responsible for a significant new page in the country’s history.
As those now running the country admit, Tunisia is going through very delicate times, the direct consequence of the unbounded euphoria that accompanied the fall of the regime. Many believed that without Ben Ali, who scattered tens of thousands of men in uniform across the country’s streets, anything was possible, and that rules were made to be eluded or broken. This is evident from the daily episodes of violence that have affected almost all walks of life in Tunisia. Sit-ins by workers have turned into the illegal siege of factories and roadblocks, while activists from rival parties have clashed. Even Islamic fundamentalists have flexed their muscles and are able to act reasonably freely, while the reaction time from security forces appears suspicious.
Everyone believes that the worsening of the security situation lies squarely at the door of the provisional government and, as its leader, albeit by interim, of Béji Caid Essebsi, the experienced eightysomething Prime Minister. In the last few days, Essebsi has been targeted from all sides and is accused of having allowed too much freedom to the people and, therefore, of being unable to protect the country from veering towards violence that is only occasionally repressed.
Since the revolution, a culture has become engrained in Tunisia in which all claims, be they trade unionist, political or social, have taken root, exposing the flaws in the system of public order, which often looks on before it intervenes, by which time the blind anger of the people has already caused maximum damage.
Essebsi has done his best to defend himself and has done so before the “high commission for the realisation of the aims of the revolution”, an elephantine commission made up of politicians and representatives of civil society, and one that was due to oversee the country’s transition but has instead become an arena for clashes, spectacular resignations and equally spectacular returns. It is certainly no co-incidence that there have been repeated calls in the last few days for Tunisia to rouse itself from its current state of dangerous stagnation that makes spaces for old claims from cronies who it was thought had been removed once and for all. In the best spirit of tribal antagonism, the phoenix is rising from the ashes.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
U.S.-Based Egyptian Scholar Mamoun Fandy Blames U.S. Aid for ‘The Ruin of Egypt’ And Says: The U.S. May be Handing Egypt Over to the Muslim Brotherhood Just Like it Handed Post-Saddam Iraq Over to Iran
“The Americans are the most stupid to have dealt with the Middle East issue.”
Interviewer: “That is an important statement.”
Mamoun Fandy: “There are two reasons for this. They are the ones who are leading it all.”
Interviewer: “They are the ones who are leading it all.”
Mamoun Fandy: “Right. For example, they disposed of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Then, they handed it over to Iran, instead of to their friends. So if they ended up handing the Egyptian revolution over to the Muslim Brotherhood, it would not be something unheard of. They always give the prize to their enemies, rather than to their friends. This is due to deep ignorance of the nature of this region. I believe that the main reason…
“As someone who has lived for many years in the U.S., I think that the U.S. aid constituted one of the main reasons for the ruin of Egypt. U.S. aid to Egypt since the days of Sadat has reached 50 billion dollars. If you consider it in dollar value, it is equivalent to the 20 billion dollars allocated by the Marshall Plan for the recovery of Europe after World War II.
“How come the same amount of money that was used to rebuild Europe, and to built several modern countries — not just one — has gone into a black hole in Egypt, down deep wells — or rather, deep pockets — and has not made any impact on Egyptian society, and has not transformed it from a backward, ignorant society to a modern one?
“Where did this money go? It was given as a kind of bribery to the ‘yes men’ who followed Washington’s policies without hesitation. The U.S. aid did not contribute in any meaningful way to Egyptian society. It helped to create a dictatorial regime, which led Egyptian society to accept the policies of the U.S. government. This is abhorrent to the average Egyptian, and is equally abhorrent to the average American, who believes that his money should go to help the poor and the needy, to improve education and so on. I hope that the Americans stop giving any aid to Egypt.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Times Misrepresents Museum of Tolerance Construction Plans
Reporting of controversial Museum of Tolerance repeatedly states new centre will be built on cemetery, whereas actual location is car park.
The Times today reports on the latest developments for the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Museum of Tolerance, which is scheduled to be built in Jerusalem. ‘Mayor backs plan for Jewish museum on Muslim cemetery’, by Laura Pitel, opens by alleging that a Muslim cemetery is at the heart of the controversy surrounding the construction:
‘The Mayor of Jerusalem has defended a decision to allow a museum to be built on a Muslim graveyard.’
The article continues to assert the ‘historical and religious importance’ of the graveyard:
‘The construction of the Museum of Tolerance, a project of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, based in the US, has been the subject of a dispute between Muslim and Jewish groups due to the historical and religious importance of the centuries-old site.’
The suggestion that the museum will be built on a Muslim cemetery is furthered by the article citing Palestinian allegations of hypocrisy:
‘Palestinian groups said that the project would violate religious rights and would never have been allowed to go ahead had it been on the site of a Jewish cemetery.’
However, the article fails to mention that the Simon Wiesenthal Centre has repeatedly clarified that the museum will not be built upon the cemetery, but rather on an adjacent car park that was constructed half a century ago. As the organisation’s website states:
‘The Museum is not being built on the nearby Mamilla cemetery, but on the adjacent site which, for nearly a half-century, served as Jerusalem’s municipal car park where every day hundreds of Jews, Christians, and Muslims parked their cars. Electric, cable and sewer lines were laid below the ground.’
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre also notes that the Israeli Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of the construction of the museum, accepted that the area was no longer part of the cemetery:
‘Details of the planning procedures on the museum compound from 1960 onward show that for almost fifty years the compound has not been a part of the cemetery, both in the normative sense and in the practical sense, and it was used for various public purposes. It was classified as an open public area and a road, an underground car park, two buildings on top of the car park, and finally the Museum of Tolerance were planned for it. During all those years no one raised any claim, on even one occasion, that the planning procedures violated the sanctity of the site, or that they were contrary to law as a result of the historical and religious uniqueness of the site.’
| — Hat tip: TV | [Return to headlines] |
E.U.: Turkey Threatens to Take Its Marbles and Go Home Over Cyprus
Turkey has decided that now is the time to play hardball over Cyprus; inclusion in the E.U., and having to deal with Cyprus as a fellow member state would complicate efforts to legitimize the Turkish land grab and occupation. And so Ankara is attempting to blackmail the E.U. by threatening to deprive the union of its presence. The only problem is, plenty of Europeans don’t think that would really be such a bad thing.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Columnists: Turkey-Hamas Relationship Characterized by ‘Love’
The Hamas-associated press has lately been publishing numerous articles in praise of Turkey and its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party won the June 2011 Turkish parliamentary elections. It should be noted that since the events of the June 2010 Freedom Flotilla, Erdogan has been viewed in the Arab press as a champion of the struggle against the Gaza siege and as a promoter of Turkish-Palestinian relations. This impression became even stronger after, in his victory speech, he mentioned Ramallah, Gaza, and Jerusalem.(1) Erdogan has also been active in promoting the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, along with Egyptian leaders.
The Hamas-affiliated daily Falastin recently published several articles that praised Turkey, stressing its warm relations with Hamas and the similarity of Hamas’s and Turkey’s positions. One article stated that Turkey, like Hamas, has turned toward the Arab and Muslim world instead of the West. The articles also emphasized that Turkey benefits from championing the Palestinian cause; for example, it was claimed that Erdogan’s support of the Freedom Flotilla contributed to his victory in the elections.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian Officials: Equal Rights for Shi’ites Would Solve the Crisis in Bahrain
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told the Mehr news agency that his country supports the demands of Bahraini protestors, who want parliament to be elected by all citizens, regardless of religion or sect. Iranian Majlis National Security Council member Parviz Sorouri said that releasing political prisoners, withdrawing Saudi forces, and granting equal rights to Shi’ites (who make up some 60% of residents) would end the Bahraini crisis. The Bahraini foreign ministry summoned the Iranian Charge D’affaires in Manama and protested a call by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati to Muslims (Shi’ites) to conquer Bahrain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian FM: We Are a Safe Energy Provider to Europe; We Will Establish a New Mechanism to Resolve Nuclear Issue
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that Iran could be a safe provider of oil and gas to Europe by expanding the rail lines from Kazakhstan to Iran and from the Persian Gulf to Oman. Salehi also called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon to visit Iran without preconditions. Salehi said that his meeting with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in Vienna was “positive,” and that they agreed on the establishment of a new mechanism that would enable Iran to expand cooperation with the IAEA in order to resolve the misunderstandings on the Iranian nuclear program.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Middle East Billionaires Sitting on Personal Assets Worth $1.7 Trillion
According to “the 15th Annual World Wealth Report issued by Merrill Lynch, the wealthiest individuals in the Middle East became richer in 2010, with 400,000 people in the region sitting on a $1.7 trillion. Only the United Arab Emirates, and more specifically the Emirate of Dubai, saw a decline in its wealth but the regional wealthy population swelled by 10.4% in 2010, the report revealed. Tamer Rashad, head of Middle East at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, said that rising oil prices and an increase in global equity market capitalization had driven the region’s wealth over the past year.
“One key differentiation factor for the Middle East economy is the significant high ratio of savings to gross domestic product,” he told the Arabian Business. This ratio reached 54% in Bahrain and 40% in Saudi Arabia compared to single-digit rates in developed countries, such as the United States. A high-net-worth individual is classified by Merrill Lynch as one with investible assets of at least $1 million, excluding their primary residence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Movement in Southern Iraq Calls for Boycotting Iranian Products
There are a growing number of movements in southern Iraq that are calling to put an end to the escalating Iranian influence in Iraq. One of the methods used by these movements is to boycott Iranian products. The head of the Movement for the Liberation of Southern Iraq ‘Awaz al-’Abdan said that his movement has launched a campaign for the last four years to boycott Iranian products, particularly food products, canned food, construction material, cars, children toys and household goods that are attractive to buyers because of their low price. Al-’Abdan claims that the campaign is beginning to have an impact.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia: Number of Wives Beating Husbands on the Rise
(ANSAmed) — ROME, 14 LUG — One-hundred and forty-five physical attacks were committed by wives against their husbands in the Saudi city of Jeddah in one month, writes Saudi daily Al Yawm, citing a report from the police in the province. The number of cases of is 20% higher than during the same period last year. “Betrayal and money are the two main reasons for this type of violence, which has the characteristics of a modern social phenomenon,” says the researcher, Salah Abdulwahab.
A recent study carried out by police in the province of Jeddah shows that attacks on husbands include physical violence, husbands being thrown out of the family home and seizure of the husband’s possessions. The report claims that wives are often helped by their brothers in cases of physical attacks. Husbands often start the violence, but the reaction by their wives, who are often helped by relatives, becomes a form of revenge and, as a result, is often even more violent.
In 57% of cases, the report explains, violence is the first step towards divorce. Unemployed wives suffer the most at the hands of their husbands.
Betrayal of the husband, the alleged frigidity of the wife, sexual abuse of domestic workers and visits to pornography websites are the main causes of violence against husbands, according to the study carried out by the Saudi Social Vision Centre.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey-TRNC: Erdogan to Pay His 1st Visit Abroad in N.Cyprus
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, JULY 14 — Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will pay his first official visit abroad to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC, recognized only by Ankara) as the prime minister of the 61st government of Turkey, an official statement said on Thursday. As Anatolia news agency reports, Turkey’s Prime Ministry Press Center’s statement said that Erdogan would visit TRNC on July 19 and 20 on occasion of the Peace and Freedom Day of TRNC. During his visit, Erdogan is expected to meet with TRNC leader Dervis Eroglu and other Turkish Cypriot officials. Erdogan and Turkish Cypriot officials would discuss opportunities for a lasting and permanent solution in Cyprus, which would contribute to security, stability, cooperation and prosperity in East Mediterranean. the statement said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish PM Erdogan Slams the Door on Reconciliation Efforts, ‘Normalization of Ties With Israel Unthinkable, Unless…’
In his Friday speech to the Turkish parliament to unveil his new government’s program, Erdogan said that Turkey would closely follow all investigations in related international platforms of the (Israeli) assault on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. “[The] normalization of ties between the two countries is unthinkable, unless Israel formally apologizes for its unlawful act which is against all international law and human values, pays compensation to the relatives of our citizens who lost their lives in this atrocious event, and lifts the embargo on Gaza”, Erdogan said, to the applause of the AKP lawmakers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Police Arrest 14 Misunderstanders of Islam for Plotting Attacks on U.S. Installations to Avenge Death of Osama Bin Laden
Turkish police have detained 14 people in raids targeting the al-Qaida militant group across western Turkey after the discovery of explosives and weapons, the Interior Ministry said. Police ceased 700 kg (1,500 lb) of ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient in improvised explosives, in a raid on a house in the province of Ankara, Milliyet newspaper said on Wednesday. The detainees, linked to a group active in Afghanistan, were detained on Tuesday on suspicion of planning attacks on US installations in Turkey to avenge the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan on May 2, the paper said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why is Quantum Gravity So Hard? And Why Did Stalin Execute the Man Who Pioneered the Subject?
By Gennady Gorelik
What is the hottest problem in fundamental physics today? Physics aficionados most probably would answer: quantum gravity. Of all the fundamental forces of nature, only gravity still stands outside the rubric of the quantum theory. The difficulty of quantizing gravity has led to radical theories such as string theory, with its bold predictions of higher space dimensions and parallel universes. It’s unclear if these theories are “crazy enough to have a chance of being correct,” as Niels Bohr used to say. And too few people know the dramatic early history of this field.
In fact, the field of quantum gravity was born in 1916, even before physicists had properly explained the other fundamental forces, electromagnetism and the nuclear forces. Twenty years later, a young Russian physicist by the name of Matvei Bronstein realized that gravity would be the hardest force of all to quantize. But before he could do something about that, he was swept up in Stalin’s Great Terror and executed at the age of 30.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Cities on High Alert After Blasts Kill 18 in Mumbai
India is on high alert after three bombings in the financial hub killed 18 and wounded over 100. The home minister has told reporters all angles are being investigated. No militant group has claimed responsibility.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Justice, Afghanistan Style: Assassin Who Killed President Karzai’s Brother Hanged in Public Square
This is the brutal lynching and public display of the close confidante who shot dead Ahmed Wali Karzai — the half-brother of president Hamid Karzai.
A group of men in plain clothes hung the corpse against the wall in Kandahar for around 20 minutes before they carried it away.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was assassinated on Tuesday by the man who is said to have been from his own tribe and home town, whom he had travelled with and worked alongside for seven years.
President Karzai was joined by thousands of mourners at the funeral of his half brother.
The president, tribal leaders, government officials and others attended first a morning prayer service in the provincial capital, Kandahar, before travelling to the family’s ancestral home village of Karz for the funeral.
A sea of mourners surged toward the grave as a large wooden coffin, adorned with red flowers was brought forward.
Helicopters circled overhead as the coffin was lowered into the earth.
Mr Karzai — surrounded by a ring of security men — was on the fringe of the throng of mourners, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The president approached the grave, climbed into it and had to be pulled out by his shoulders as his grief got the better of him.
Shortly after the funeral in Karz, Mr Karzai held a press conference in the provincial capital.
He said: ‘My message for them (the Taliban) is that my countrymen, my brothers, should stop killing their own people.
‘It is easy to kill and everyone can do it, but the real man is the one who can save people’s lives.’
Meanwhile, a suicide attack was reported at a mosque in Kandahar during a memorial service for Wali Karzai.
The explosion killed the head of the provincial religious council and at least three others, the Interior Ministry and the Kandahar provincial government’s media office said.
‘Bomb blast killed chief of Kandahar Ulema Council and wounded 11 more in the mosque where people were praying for AWK,’ the media office said on Twitter, referring to Ahmad Wali Karzai.
Afghan television channel, Tolo TV, reported a second explosion near the mosque, but gave no further details.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for Wali Karzai’s killing, but Afghan officials have said it is unclear whether he was shot by insurgents or died as a result of an internal dispute.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that insurgent fighters killed Wali Karzai because he cooperated with British, U.S. and Canadian forces in the south.
He said: ‘He was aligned with foreign occupiers,’ before describing him as a ‘puppet’ of the West and claiming he was on the CIA payroll.
Walid Karzai had denied working for the CIA or having profited from the illegal seizure of government and private land — another Taliban claim.
His death has left a dangerous power vacuum in the south as the Afghan government pursues peace talks with insurgents ahead of a U.S. troop withdrawal.
The international military coalition has few friends of stature in the province and none with the influence of Mr Karzai’s half brother — considered a master operator and the uncrowned ‘king’ of Kandahar.
Without his sibling, the president will struggle to find an ally resourceful and ruthless enough to balance alliances with tribal and political leaders, drug runners and militias in a province where the Taliban still holds much influence.
Rustam Shah, former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, said Wali Karzai’s death exposed the fragility of the security infrastructure in the southern provinces, particularly Kandahar.
He said: ‘It will be a big blow to the government’s image in the Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan.
‘The president will have to be very careful to move quickly to consolidate and maintain his power structure in Kandahar.’
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Fake Vaccination Campaign Raises Real Fears
Alleged CIA ruse riles Pakistani researchers.
Did the United States organize a fake vaccine campaign in Pakistan to try and ensnare the world’s top terrorist? In true spook fashion, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) isn’t saying, but the rumour alone could set back already fragile vaccination efforts in the troubled nation of 180 million, according to public-health researchers from the region. The story, which first appeared in The Guardian on Monday, alleges that the CIA sent vaccinators into the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in the months before the raid by US special forces that killed Osama bin Laden.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Housewives Grow Their Own Veg to Avoid Exploding Watermelons
As the number of food scandals grows worldwide and particularly in China, a group of Beijing housewives has come up with a special solution involving home-grown vegetables. Zhao Chunhong is watering the plants on her crowded balcony on the third floor of a modern apartment building in Beijing. Before she starts cooking for her children, the 35-year-old steps outside to pick out the ripe vegetables and tasty herbs. Zhao grows cabbage, bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers and much more — her family’s diet has become seasonal. Zhao is part of a small group of well-off people living in Beijing whose fear of contaminated food has prompted them to grow their own vegetables on balconies or rooftops. “We don’t want to eat food that has been treated with additives, pesticides and chemical fertilizers,” she says. “My family’s health goes first.”
Contaminated food is a hot topic in China, where a new scandal is uncovered almost every week. Not long ago, exploding watermelons made headlines in southern China. It turned out that farmers had treated the crops with growth enhancers in exceedingly high doses. Elsewhere, the heavy metal cadmium was found in rice, and arsenic in soy sauce. Furthermore, there have been cases of bleach being found in mushrooms, chemical additives in pork, hormones in poultry and melamine in powdered milk.
The government seems incapable of dealing with the scandals. However, it did recently announce stricter sentencing and even the death penalty in some cases for perpetrators of “food crimes.” Nonetheless, Chinese consumers remain skeptical, finding it difficult to trust legislation, which is often not enforced.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
End of Space Shuttle Program Paves the Way for China and India
As NASA winds down its space shuttle program, there is speculation that a new space race between China and India is underway. Experts say it is more of a ‘marathon’ than a race. After 30 years, 135 missions, two disasters, and trillions of dollars spent, NASA’s space shuttle program is winding to a close. The US launched its last manned mission into space earlier this month. Meanwhile, China is charging forward — the emerging superpower of the 21st century has great plans for its space future. This year, a Chinese rocket will send a train car-sized module into orbit as part of plans to build a space station by 2020 when the International Space Station is scheduled to close. China hopes to put a man on the moon soon after.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Migrants’ Rescue: Malta Awaits NATO’s Explanation
Nato has not yet responded to Malta’s questions about a rescue operation of immigrants by a Spanish warship in international waters last Sunday.
Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici told journalists this evening that Malta awaited explanations about the rescue of 111 migrants found in a drifting boat outside Malta’s search and rescue area on Sunday morning.
The boat’s engine had failed and although a tug boat’s crew tried to render assistance, they were unable to repair the engine.
Malta’s rescue coordination centre issued a notice of ships in distress and assetts on site were obliged to assist.
The migrants then requested rescue and were picked up by a Spanish destroyer, the Almirante Juan de Borbón, 78 nautical miles away from Tunisia, 88 nautical miles from Lampedusa and 141 nautical miles from Malta.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that the Spanish warship, which is under Nato command, headed to Malta. However, Malta was only informed of this decision 18 hours after the rescue and when the Spanish ship was just 40 nautical miles from the island.
Malta then asked the Nato command in Naples why the immigrants were being brought here and whether similar requests for disembarkation were submitted to Tunisia and Italy. Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Malta had not received replies to its questions.
So far the Spanish destroyer has been refused permission to come to Malta. It is currently in international waters.
Army commander Brigadier Martin Xuereb said the warship had medical facilities on board so the migrants were safe on a well-equipped ship.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said he discussed the issue with his Spanish counterpart and told him that the ship’s “unilateral decision was strange”. Spain is saying that the ship is under Nato’s command.
There has been no communication with Italy.
The minister insisted this was not a stand off with Spain or Italy but Malta, as a sovereign state demanded it be respected.
“The problem is not Malta’s, it is Nato’s.”
Malta was ready to accept humanitarian cases if their medical condition could not be covered by the medical facilities on board.
A 10-month-old baby who needed medical attention was flown to Malta from the Spanish destroyer yesterday and was followed today by the medical evacuation of a young man and a woman. The woman is pregnant.
Earlier, media reports quoted a Nato spokesman saying that following Sunday’s rescue the Ghanaian, Tunisian and Libyan migrants were on Monday transferred onto the warship in accordance with the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) protocol.
The reports also claimed the warship proceeded to Lampedusa but the Italian authorities refused it entry and directed the vessel to Malta.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Malta had no information that Italy had refused the disembarkation of the migrants.
| — Hat tip: AC | [Return to headlines] |
Migration Fell During Economic Crisis
The world economic crisis led to a severe fall in international migration, a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has claimed.
According to the OECD’s 2011 International Migration Outlook Report, permanent migration into OECD countries fell by around seven per cent in 2009, to just 4.3 million people. A 16 per cent decline in the movement of temporary migrants, such as seasonal agricultural workers, was also noted.
Experts at the organisation said the drop was mainly attributable to a reduced amount of “free movement” within the EU, which was in turn likely to have been caused by a shrinkage in the labour market.
“Of course, some countries have put measures in to limit the number of migrants, but most of this fall was caused by a decline in demand,” said Thomas Liebig, one of the report’s authors.
“Countries such as Canada and Australia continued to have slight increases in migration, because they have long-term migration programmes which are not so affected by cyclical changes, and because they were not hit so badly by the crisis. In Europe, by contrast, there just weren’t as many jobs for migrants to move into.”
Movement beween EU states fell by 22 per cent in 2009, with the struggling economies of Italy, Spain and Ireland registering particularly large drops in migrant intake.
Despite its economic problems, the UK saw the largest increase in permanent migration of any OECD country, up 14 per cent from 2008. The report said however that this was due in part to the high number of students who had come over to study, then decided to stay, rather than a sudden influx of new arrivals.
The report also revealed that the country which sent the most migrants to OECD countries was China (accounting for around nine per cent of intake), followed by Romania, India and Poland.
The overall drop in migration followed a small decline in 2008, but the report said that considering how serious the financial crisis had been, migration levels were higher than could have been expected. Permanent migration was still higher than in any year before 2007, when there was a record amount of movement.
Preliminary data from 2010 and 2011 suggests that a decline in migration is still ongoing, but Mr Liebig said the “structural need” of the world labour market for migrants meant it could soon pick up again. “We have an increasingly globalised world, and one where a lot of populations are ageing too — migrants will be needed to fill gaps in workforces.”
He admitted however that the financial crisis “represented something of a turning point for migration, as it is not clear yet to what extent things like movement within the EU will increase when the crisis is over.
“Whatever happens, migration in the future is not likely to mirrror what we have seen before.”
| — Hat tip: AC | [Return to headlines] |
Al-Qaeda Calls for “Cyber-Jihad” On Facebook, Twitter
Al Qaeda has explicitly called for ‘cyber-jihad’ and there have been a series of attempts by terrorists to ‘invade’ Facebook, the Government’s new counter-terrorism strategy said today. ‘Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda has explicitly called not only for acts of lone or individual terrorism, but also for ‘cyber-jihad’,’ it added. The use of social networking sites and video sharing is now ‘commonplace’, the strategy said. ‘There have been a number of attempts by terrorist and extremist groups to “invade” Facebook.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Al-Qaeda’s Embrace of Encryption Technology: 2007-2011
By Steven Stalinsky
In January 2007, Al-Qaeda began to use encryption tools for its online activities, particularly for communications efforts, often utilizing security software based on military grade technology. The goal was to hide messages and to protect data transferred via networks, the Internet, mobile phones, ecommerce, Bluetooth, and the like. This development was in direct response to various security breaches of its websites over the past years by Western government agencies. The issue of encryption by Al-Qaeda made news most recently following the killing of Osama bin Laden. U.S. intelligence sources reported that much of the material seized at bin Laden’s compound was encrypted and stored electronically on computers, laptops, hard drives, and storage devices. This report traces the development of Al-Qaeda’s encryption development efforts — from basic software first used by a few high ranking members to mass online distribution available to major Al-Qaeda-affiliated websites and chat rooms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Inflatable Antenna You Can Stick in Your Backpack
A big issue in setting up satellite communications networks is the antennas — it takes time to set them up. In the wake of a big disaster cell networks can be damaged when the towers fall and take months to repair. For television crews and military units carrying a rigid satellite antenna can be a serious logistical problem, as even a metre-sized dish is quite heavy and difficult to transport. Enter GATR Technologies, which has designed an inflatable 1.2-metre satellite antenna that can fit into a backpack and be carried by a single person. The company’s antenna looks something like a beach ball. It is a double-layered sphere with one layer a nylon mesh and the other made from sail material. The antenna is in the centre.
The receiving dish divides the sphere’s interior into two chambers and by applying pressure to one chamber you can push the antenna into a parabolic shape. The company already sells a larger, 2-metre version but this one is small enough to fit in an airline’s hand luggage area when folded. GATR’s director of marketing, Dean Hudson, said the military is the major customer, though the company also hopes to get some interest from television crews who don’t want to go through the trouble of packing an entire satellite-link system up when they travel to areas without roads.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Wave-Power Ships Could Bring Cheaper Clean Electricity
SHIPS that harvest energy from the waves and store it in batteries could one day generate electricity from the world’s oceans more cheaply than today’s wave-power devices. The ships would sail to a suitable location, drop anchor and start generating electricity from wave energy. Once their batteries were fully charged they would return to shore and feed the electricity into the grid.
Unlike conventional wave-power devices, the ships would not need undersea cables to link to the electricity grid, says Andre Sharon at Boston University and the Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation, also in Boston. These cables typically cost more than $500,000 per kilometre and account for a significant fraction of the cost of conventional wave-generated electricity. The 50-metre-long ships would harvest wave energy via buoys attached to their sides by pivoting arms. While the hull remains relatively stable, the buoys would bob up and down on the waves, causing the arms to pivot back and forth and drive a generator producing up to 1 megawatt of electrical power. The batteries are planned to have a capacity of 20 megawatt-hours, so the ships would have to stay at sea for at least 20 hours for a full charge.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
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