I don’t know about you, but I’m suffering from Obama fatigue already. Not only that, I’m a victim of MAOS (Morning After Obama Syndrome). In its most severe manifestation, people who suffer from MAOS experience a form of narcolepsy that makes them sleep for four years.c
In other news, the Vatican is making nice with Muslims again. There’s a lot of talk about a “common word”, and Tariq Ramadan is prominently involved in the discussions. See the “General” section for the articles — there are at least five of them.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Steen, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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Chinese Hack Into White House Network
Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials, a senior US official told the FT.
The cyber attackers managed to penetrate the White House system for brief periods that allowed them to steal information before US government experts each time patched the system.
US government cyber experts suspect the attacks were sponsored by the Chinese government, although they cannot say for definite.
“We are getting very targeted Chinese attacks so its stretches credulity that these are not directed by government-related organisations,” said the official.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Dollars Lining Up for ‘Civilian National Security Force’?
Report cites Frank’s proposal to cut military 25%
President-elect Barack Obama raised questions during an election campaign stop in Colorado Springs when he asserted the U.S. needs a “civilian national security force” that would be as powerful, strong and well-funded as the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force, but few of those questions have been answered.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Presidency: Hamiltonian Curse or Marxist Mess?
The Hamilton/Jefferson political battle raged on for decades, but some historians call the post-Civil War era the period of “Hamiltonian hegemony,” where the presidency became more and more dominant over Congress; states’ rights or federalism became essentially nullified; and all of Hamilton’s mercantilist economic policies were adopted, from protectionism to corporate welfare for the railroad corporations. The Republican Party has always been the party of Hamiltonian mercantilism. That’s why I’ve called Lincoln “the political son of Alexander Hamilton,” as far as economic policy and the structure of government are concerned.
Obama is a slick politician, so I expect him to continue to administer the neo-mercantilist, Hamiltonian empire that has been built up by both parties over the decades, with all of its schemes for corporate welfare for defense contractors, investment bankers and myriad other politically active businesses which, in turn, provide financial support for the regime. But Obama is also a hardcore leftist who spent his earlier career working with some of the craziest socialists in America, groups like ACORN, who advocated such things as kicking doctors off the boards of hospitals and replacing them with “the poor,” and Soviet-style nationalization of the energy and health care industries.
He’s a male Hillary Clinton, and I expect him to immediately attempt to pay off his hard-left political base with one socialistic scheme after another.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The American Electorate: Gullible’s Travels
Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh said once (that I know of) during the Clinton administration that one ought not be too energized nor dejected over who happens to be occupying the White House at any given time, since this has historically had precious little effect on the general well-being and lifestyle of the average American overall. The inference, I believe, was that trends in our culture and government are more indicative of where our society is going and are subsequently of more concern, since they have far more potential impact on We the People.
Two such alarming trends come to mind right off the bat, as it were: One, the potential for significant and fundamental changes in our government due to a Barack Obama presidency coupled with a Democrat congressional majority, given the far left situation of that majority and Mr. Obama. Two is the concentrated power that has been evidenced by the “disinformation machine” that exists in America; that being the establishment press ? or The Ministry of Truth, to wax Orwellian ? and our educational system, which has compromised critical thinking to a degree that so many Americans cast their votes for an individual who possessed no executive experience and whose political and philosophical credentials are indisputably anti-American.
Nikita Khruschev, leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, said on more than one occasion that communism would be “sold” to the American people piecemeal; like a hungover pub-crawler, we would one day wake up with communism , quite unsure of how it wound up in our bed. Despite all of the bluster and concerns over being dry roasted in our basements and bomb shelters by Soviet ICBMs, it could be argued that their leadership never believed they would have to engage the United States militarily.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Global War on Free Speech
Brett Joshpe: Dutch filmmaker charged with offending Islam wouldn’t have voted Obama
Geert Wilders is a member of the Dutch Parliament and a documentary film producer; not exactly the person one would expect to find on the front line in the battle against both radical Islam and the Islamist assault on free speech. Yet, that is where the 45 year-old founder of the Party for Freedom stands. Wilders, by posting the infamous Danish cartoons of Muhammad on his website and producing a short film titled Fitna, has stirred international controversy that has prompted boycotts of Dutch products, condemnation by the UN Secretary General, constant death threats, and civil and criminal prosecution. Americans, especially politicians on the Left, should take notice.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
You Elected a Man, Not a Moral Judgment
by Diana West
If we really inhabited a “post-racial” world, the news of the week would be that a Democrat has won the White House. But since we don’t inhabit such a world, there is much more to the news, even more than that an African-American, far-left Democrat has won the White House.
The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman clued us in the morning after, waxing rhapsodic (or something): “And so it came to pass that on Nov. 4, 2008, shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time, the American Civil War ended, as a black man — Barack Hussein Obama — won enough electoral votes to become president of the United States. A civil war that, in many ways, began at Bull Run, Va., on July 21, 1861, ended 147 years later via a ballot box in the very same state.”
As befitting a Pulitzer-Prize winner, Friedman was only just warming up (“For nothing more symbolically illustrated the final chapter of America’s Civil War than the fact that” blah blah…). But there were others taking up a similar battle cry. Madeleine M. Kunin, former governor of Vermont (and, as she also bills herself, eternal “first woman governor” of Vermont) declared at the online Huffington Post that the election of Barack Obama “is, in a sense, the culmination of Lincoln’s quest — a more perfect union.”
And, well, so it came to pass that in those earliest hours of the new era that Spike Lee went on MSNBC to tell us will heretofore be known as AB (After Barack, natch, with all past millennia relegated to BB, Before Barack), the Civil War ended, and Lincoln’s “more perfect union” was achieved. What next — or, perhaps, why bother? That is, who could ask for anything more?
One answer is Menachem Rosensaft, who, elsewhere on Huffpo, pushed the election results into a somewhat different cosmic direction. “On Nov. 4, 2008, at 11 pm,” he wrote, “Robert Kennedy finally won.”
I rubbed my eyes but Rosensaft continued: “Forty years after his assassination shattered dreams and brought his quest to change America to a sudden, brutal halt, Robert Kennedy reached the goal that had been denied him in life.”
Now I was starting to get it. Candidate Obama, whom the media permitted to remain a political cipher behind the flowing messiah robes, is now President-Elect Obama, magic mirror of historical redress…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Journalist Slammed for Racist Obama Rant
Veteran Austrian television personality Klaus Emmerich has triggered a storm of criticism for his racist comments about Barack Obama, the US president-elect.
“I wouldn’t want the Western world to be directed by a black man,” Emmerich said.
Klaus Emmerich has long been a figure in Austrian television news. His journalism career spans 61 years and includes a stint as a correspondent in Washington D.C. for ORF, Austria’s public television station. He is something like the Wolf Blitzer of Austria.
Or, at least, he was. Now, the respected US expert has stained his own report card with a string of blatantly racist remarks regarding the election of Barack Obama in the US. Speaking on a talk show on the Austrian public channel ORF on Wednesday, he said: “I wouldn’t want the Western world to be directed by a black man. When you say that is a racist remark: right, without a doubt.”
Americans are “racists, now as before, and it must be going very badly for them that they so convincingly … send a black man, and a black, very good-looking woman, into the White House,” he said.
The Austrian broadcaster distanced itself from his views, saying it was against any form of discrimination. “We have never had any comments from Mr. Emmerich which would indicate he has such opinions,” Pius Strobl, head of communications at the channel told SPIEGEL ONLINE.
Following his outburst, the moderator prevented the now-retired Emmerich from having another chance to speak, Pius said.
But Emmerich himself voiced no regret. On the contrary, he even took a harder line in subsequent interviews. Obama’s victory was an “extremely disconcerting development” he told the Austrian Standard on Wednesday, because “blacks aren’t as politically civilized.” Meanwhile, he told Die Presse in an interview published on Friday that Obama has “a devil-like talent to present his rhetoric so effectively.”
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi in ‘Tanned Obama’ Gaffe
Italian premier causes stir with ‘compliment’
(ANSA) — Moscow, November 6 — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday called United States President-elect Barack Obama ‘‘tanned’’.
‘‘Obama is young, handsome and also tanned, so he has all the qualities to agree with you,’’ Berlusconi told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
As domestic opponents urged Berlusconi to issue an immediate apology, Berlusconi told a press conference that his ‘‘tanned’’ remark, construed by many as a gaffe, was ‘‘a great compliment’’.
Berlusconi responded to a reporter’s suggestion that the remark might be misunderstood by accusing his opponents of not having a sense of humour.
‘‘God save us from imbeciles,’’ he said.
An Italian opposition MP responded by saying: ‘‘An imbecile is someone who doesn’t grasp the seriousness of his remarks, who talks about the president of the United States as if he was a lad come to play for his (soccer club) AC Milan, with an amazing superficiality that raises goose pimples’’.
The leader of the largest opposition party, Walter Veltroni of the Democratic Left, called on Berlusconi to issue an official apology to Obama, saying he had ‘‘seriously hurt Italy’s image and dignity’’ on the international scene.
Veltroni linked the premier’s remark with one the previous day from the head of the premier’s caucus in the Senate who said al Qaeda would be ‘‘happier’’ with Obama in the White House.
Veltroni said that, taken together, the two comments ‘‘risked causing a fracture in the friendship with that country and people which have given the world a great sign of hope and change’’. But a member of Berlusconi’s centre-right party accused the premier’s ‘‘pseudo-intellectual’’ critics of ‘‘taking themselves too seriously’’ in slamming a ‘‘jocular compliment’’.
The flamboyant Italian leader has a long history of gaffes, his opponents claim.
In 2005 he said he wooed Finnish President Tarja Halonen with his ‘‘playboy wiles’’ to win Italy a major European food agency.
The remark brought a protest from the Finnish embassy in Rome.
Undeterred, he said Europeans were bound to find Parma ham ‘‘more appetising than reindeer meat’’.
‘‘I’ve been through the Finnish diet and I know what it means,’’ he told chuckling reporters.
Berlusconi is known for his efforts to lighten up international events.
On one occasion he made the Italian horned ‘cuckold’ gesture for an EU group photo.
On another occasion, he said that visiting Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen was the best-looking premier in Europe, more attractive than Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari, a friend of Berlusconi’s wife.
Berlusconi’s maiden speech to the European Parliament in 2002 also spurred controversy when he likened a heckling German EMP to a Nazi concentration camp trusty.
Trying to quieten an international outcry, the premier said he had been thinking of a popular character from the 1970s comedy series Hogan’s Heroes, set in a WWII prison camp.
In 2003 Berlusconi described Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini as a benign leader who never murdered anyone and whose internment camps were ‘‘like holiday camps’’.
In 2001, soon after taking over for his second stint as premier, he caused an international uproar by claiming Western civilisation was superior to that of Islam. On the domestic front one of his last perceived slip-ups was before the 2006 election, when he said any Italian who didn’t vote for him would be a ‘‘di**head’’.
He went on to lose the election.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi’s Faux-Pas: “Handsome, Young and Tanned”
Veltroni: Berlusconi should apologise to Obama. The Cavaliere counters, “Somebody wants a degree in idiotology”. Palazzo Chigi phones the ambassador.
MOSCOW — “Yes, of course I said it. He’s handsome, young and suntanned.” Berlusconi smiles, repeats himself and offers an unrepentant explanation. “What’s all the fuss about? I don’t see what’s wrong with paying the man a compliment. Can someone tell me what’s so negative about that? Anyone who thinks that can just go ….. If they don’t have a sense of humour, that’s their problem, I made up my mind to always say what I think […]” Now in the lobby of Moscow’s Kempinsky Hotel, Berlusconi repeats the remark he had made half an hour earlier in the Kremlin’s main conference room in the presence of Russian president Medvedev who had smiled, although perhaps from embarrassment.
While the rest of the world is mesmerized by the fact that the USA has elected its first ever black president, Berlusconi jokingly makes light of Obama’s skin colour. The Italian prime minister defends his right to use irony; “it was just a sweet thing to say”. He attacks the Italian Democratic Party (Pd) and those “imbeciles with no sense of irony; God save us from the imbeciles, if they start sounding off about this, we’re all done for.” Berlusconi’s remark, seized upon by the media and given worldwide exposure in the space of a few minutes, including being picked up later by CNN and other major US networks and becoming the opening headline on most British and American news web sites (the Daily Mail talked about “racism”), before becoming the object of harsh criticism from Italy’s Democratic Party (Pd), was actually made at the end of a joint press conference with the Russian president at the close of bilateral talks between the two governments…
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Foreign Agent Tried to Influence Marriage Vote
Told Americans to follow the example of Europe
A representative of a foreign government tried to influence Californians in their vote on a state constitutional amendment to limit marriage to one man and one woman, telling the American voters they should follow the example of Europe, according to a new report.
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a group that works to impact the social policy debate at the United Nations, said a coalition of 33 American organizations already has filed a formal complaint with the German government over the apparent interference in a domestic election.
The groups are charging that German foreign ministry and justice officials were promoting same-sex marriage in the U.S. The California initiative, Proposition 8, was approved by voters 52 percent to 48 percent.
“German Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries campaigned recently in California to urge voters to follow the lead of Germany and the rest of Europe in promoting ‘same sex marriage’ by defeating Proposition 8,” the U.N. monitor group said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mortgage Crisis: Sarkozy; Summit for EU 27, Opening to Spain
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 7 — French president Nicolas Sarkozy hinted today that the European delegation to the G-20 in Washington, which for the moment only includes the four European countries of the G8 (France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany) could be rethought. Spain insists on being present at the table in Washington and Sarkozy in recent days hasn’t excluded the fact that he could give to Premier José Luis Zapatero the supplementary place kept by France as part of the EU presidency. “Who could think that in the face of a 27 member Europe, we can simply consider ourselves represented because four of us, a little more — we will speak of this again — will be at the summit in Washington?”, Sarkozy said, defending the choice of calling for this extraordinary summit. “Some people think that we meet too much, I think that in the face of what is happening in the world, we aren’t meeting enough”, he added, speaking just before the opening of the summit from the inauguration of a hall dedicated to the founder of Europe as we know it, Jean Monnet. “It was unthinkable to go to Washington without a common position of the 27 members”, Sarkozy emphasised, insisting on the necessity of a “strong and united” Europe. “We want a Europe that has importance, which responds to problems. Europe has to count in the world and because it has to be this way we have to be united”, he said, still recalling the “ambition and vision” that animated the founding fathers of Europe. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Peres to be Knighted
Queen Elizabeth II is expected to bestow an unusual honor on President Shimon Peres in a few weeks, and name him a knight in her order.
Peres is to be awarded the title, regarded as the United Kingdom’s highest honor, for his contribution to world peace and the relationship between Israel and the UK.
Peres is expected to leave for an official presidential visit in Britain on November 18. When in London, he is slated to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Remembrance Day Comes to DK
British soldiers living in Denmark have taken the initiative for a remembrance service for Danish soldiers.
The fields of Flanders where some of the worst battles and heaviest casualties of World War I took place. The poppies of Flanders have since been used on Remembrance Day to symbolise the blood spilled by soldiers.
Relatives, soldiers, former soldiers and the general public who want to commemorate soldiers who have lost their lives and those who are sent out on international missions, will get their chance next Sunday at a remembrance service at Skibet Church near Vejle, according to Kristeligt Dagblad.
British soldiers living in Denmark have taken the initiative for the service, which takes place as an extension of Remembrance Day or Poppy Day which has been commemorated in Great Britain, the Commonwealth and other countries every year since the end of World War I.
Services and remembrance ceremonies normally take place at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month — which is when the World War I armistice took effect. The poppy is worn by populations to signify the fields of Flanders, which saw some of the heaviest casualties of the war.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Report Faults Sweden for Discrimination
Swedish minorities face widespread discrimination including a lack of education in their mother tongues, Sweden’s ombudsman against ethnic discrimination said on Friday.
“There are still discriminatory structures that affect minorities’ possibilities to have their rights respected,” the body, DO, said in a report.
Many Jews, Roma and Swedish-Finns, as well as Samis, an indigenous people spread across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, and Tornedalians, who are originally of Finnish descent, “lose their languages,” the report said.
Many never had a chance to learn their own language, it said, adding that some of the minority languages were threatened with extinction.
Up until the 1970s, Sweden discriminated against many of its national minorities, including forced sterilizations and the barring of some minority languages from schools and workplaces.
Since 2000, DO said it had received around 200 reports of discrimination from national minorities in Sweden, including a number of claims from Roma that they had been denied access to public places and housing.
There were also numerous complaints from Samis that their language rights were not being respected.
“The situation is very serious,” acting ombudsman Anna Theodora Gunnarsdottir told Sveriges Radio
Minorities “experience degrading comments… and it can be difficult for them to receive the education they are entitled to in their mother tongues. Compared to a Swedish child’s access to education in his or her language, it is obvious there is discrimination,” she said.
The report added: “Discriminatory structures in schools affect children’s school results and thereby have consequences for their possibilities to advance to higher education, which in turn affects their possibilities on the job market.”
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Bin Laden Son Appeals Asylum Refusal
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, NOVEMBER 6 — One of the son’s of the head of Al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden will appeal Spain’s refusal to grant him political asylum, according to comments made by his wife. Omar bin Laden, who is 28 years old, has been at the Madrid airport since Monday when he arrived from Cairo on a flight directed to Casablanca in Morocco. Getting off the plane he asked for political asylum saying he did not feel safe in Egypt where he lives. The request was refused because the Madrid government doesn’t believe hés a victim of persecution. Omar bin Laden has a Saudi Arabian passport and is married to a British citizen. Last year he asked for a residence permit for Great Britain from Cairo which was also refused. The fourth son of Osama bin Laden, has always defined himself as a pacifist and has disavowed his father’s actions. In an email his wife Zaina al Sabah stated that Omar “has never participated in a single violent act”. “I pray, she added, that some country in the world has enough pity for him and lets him stay a place where he can live in peace”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Ill-Equipped to Defend Itself
Defence minister Sten Tolgfors wants Sweden’s Armed Forces to have more units ready for immediate mobilization to defend the country’s borders.
Currently, about one third of Sweden’s roughly 30,000 soldiers can be combat ready within one year. But Tolgfors claims that the remaining 20,000 soldiers are lacking in quality and availability.
“We need units that can be immediately useable for the defence of Sweden,” writes Tolgfors in an article published on Friday in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
“Units should be useable in reality and not just on paper.”
Tolgfors believes that Sweden’s military needs to be more flexible and readily deployable domestically, in neighbouring areas, and internationally.
He also emphasized the importance of improving the Swedish military’s interoperability with other forces from within the European Union, as well as with members of Nato.
“Sweden needs to have more units available faster. This is also the direction in which Nato’s forces are being developed. Availability, flexibility and mobility are the key words for both us and them,” he writes
“Within availability lies interoperability, that is the capability of working with other countries in the Nordic region and the EU.”
Therefore, writes Tolgfors, the military should do away with the division between a national operational force and an international force.
The Armed Forces should instead consist of rapidly deployable battle group battalions made up of career officers and soldiers rather than the reserve officer system in place today.
In addition, Tolgors suggest that national home guard be transformed into a national protective force which can then work with volunteer organizations and focus on patrolling national borders.
“Through this strategy of renewal, we can achieve a military with better capabilities for defending Sweden, which can at the same time maintain high international ambitions of spreading peace and security together with other countries,” he writes.
The proposed changes are to be submitted to the Armed Forces on Friday as part of the ongoing reform of Sweden’s military.
In the spring, the government plans to present a more comprehensive proposal for the future of Sweden’s Armed Forces which is to take effect on January 1st, 2010 and which will describe how the military should look by 2014.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Bosnia: Serb Takes Over State Presidency
Sarajevo, 6 Nov. (AKI) — A Serb, Nebojsa Radmanovic, on Thursday took over the chairmanship of Bosnia’s rotating state presidency from Muslim Haris Silajdzic.
Radmanovic said his priority will be to intensify Bosnia’s drive to join the European Union and to improve relations with its neighbours — Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro.
Under the Dayton peace accord that ended Bosnia’s 1992-1995 civil war, the Bosnian presidency rotates every eight months between Muslim, Serb and Croat representatives.
Silajdzic’s chairmanship of the presidency was marked by quarrels between him and Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the prime minister of Bosnia’s Serb entity, for whose abolition Silajdzic has campaigned.
Bosnian Serb leaders have threatened to hold a referendum on independence in retaliation.
According to the Dayton accord, Bosnia was divided into two entities with most of the powers of a state — the Serb entity and the Muslim-Croat federation.
But majority Muslims and the international community have been pushing to reduce the entities’ powers and strength of the central government.
Last month, international officials warned that Bosnia was facing collapse and urged the country to speed up reforms in order to overcome political deadlock and economic stagnation.
European Union commissioner for enlargement Ollie Rehn told the European parliament in Strasbourg that consensus in Bosnia between local Muslims, Serbs and Croats has collapsed and that political disagreements have blocked the reforms needed for Bosnia’s advances towards joining the EU.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bosnia: Former Serb Leader Karadzic Defends Convicted Aide
Belgrade, 5 Nov. (AKI) — Wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Wednesday defended his former aide, Momcilo Krajisnik, before the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Karadzic said Krajisnik was not involved in key decision-making during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 civil war.
Krajisnik, former Parliamentary speaker of the Bosnian Serb entity, was sentenced by the UN tribunal in 2006 to 27 years in jail for crimes against Muslims and Croats. But he appealed the sentence and called Karadzic to testify as a defence witness before the appeals panel.
Karadzic currently faces 11 counts before the Hague tribunal including genocide and crimes against humanity during Bosnia’s civil war. He was arrested in July in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, after 13 years as a fugitive.
In a written statement to the court, Karadzic said that Krajisnik was not responsible for the crimes he allegedly committed, was not involved in decision-making and was not a part of a military chain of command during the Bosnian war.
“Krajisnik didn’t interfere in the work of the government, except for his role in the Parliament, and had no influence on military actions,” Karadzic told the court.
“Krajisnik … was not a part of the military chain of command.”
He pointed out that Krajisnik was not instrumental in naming general Ratko Mladic a commander of Bosnia’s wartime Serb forces, which have been convicted of genocide against Muslims and Croats.
The world court, the UN International Court of Justice, ruled last year that Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide in the eastern town of Srebrenica in July 1995 when up to 8,000 Muslim civilians were killed.
“Mladic’s appointment was my choice, after he was recommended to me by other officers,” Karadzic said.
“Ethnic separation of Muslims never was Krajisnik’s obsession, or a policy of the Serb leadership,” Karadzic, war time president of RS told the court.
Since it was formed in May 1993, the UN tribunal has indicted 161 individuals, mostly Serbs, for crimes during the 1990s Balkan wars. Close to 60 people have been sentenced so far to over 1,000 years in jail.
Two more suspects charged by the tribunal including Mladic and former leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia, Goran Hadzic, are still at large.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU-Serbia: Rehn, Possibile Candidate Status for 2009
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 6 — Serbia could obtain the status of candidate country for acceptance into the EU in 2009. This is what the EU commissioner for enlargement, Olli Rehn, said yesterday in Brussels, emphasising that Belgrade will have to do “everything possible” to capture war criminals who are still running free, especially ex-general Ratko Mladic. Brussels, Rehn said, expects “constructive” behaviour on the part of Serbia in the deployment of the Eurolex forces in Kosovo. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kosovo: Belgrade and Pristina Pressed to Accept EU Mission
Belgrade/Pristina, 6 Nov. (AKI) — The international community is exerting strong pressure on Serbian and Kosovar leaders to agree on the deployment of the European mission in Kosovo (EULEX), politicians and analysts said on Thursday. NATO Secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Kosovo’s capital of Pristina on Tuesday, followed by British Foreign Minister David Milliband a day later, prodding Kosovar leaders to accept Belgrade’s conditions for the deployment of EULEX.
Before travelling to Pristina, Milliband talked to Serbian president Boris Tadic and foreign minister Vuk Jeremic in Belgrade in an effort to bridge the gap between Serbian and Kosovan leaders on EULEX’s deployment.
Belgrade continues to oppose Kosovo’s independence and resists the deployment of EULEX, which should replace the current United Nations administration (UNMIK).
Belgrade sees UNMIK’s presence as a last straw to hold on to Kosovo, because the UN mission was deployed in the province in 1999, based on Security Council Resolution 1244, which officially treats Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.
As most EU countries recognised Kosovo’s independence, along with the United States, the EU decided to send 2,000 judges, policemen and prosecutors to Kosovo to replace UNMIK. But the idea was met with strong resistance in Belgrade and in the Serb-populated areas of north of Kosovo.
However, Serbia’s pro-European president Boris Tadic has said EULEX would be acceptable if its presence was based on Resolution 1244 and remained neutral on the Kosovo status.
Kosovar leaders, on the other hand, oppose Resolution 1244 and insist that Kosovo’s independence is irrevocable and non-negotiable.
Tadic’s main policy goal is Serbia’s membership of the EU. But EU commissioner for enlargement Ollie Rehn said on Wednesday that, apart from cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal, Serbia should be cooperative on EULEX’s deployment in order to proceed towards EU membership.
“Serbia is playing an important role in the region and the EU demands its constructive approach towards EULEX deployment in Kosovo,” Rehn said.
Furthermore, he said Serbia should be “constructive on the issue of Kosovo’s participation in regional initiatives and international forums”, which is interpreted in Belgrade as a demand for recognition of Kosovo.
Scheffer and Milliband had tried to convince Kosovo’s leaders that the presence of EULEX and a 16,000-strong NATO force wouldn’t infringe on Kosovo’s independence.
“Kosovo’s government is responsible for the sovereignty over Kosovo and no one can force it to accept possible compromises,” Milliband said.
Meanwhile, Serbian opposition leaders have accused Tadic of treason and indirect recognition of Kosovo for the sake of European integration.
Slobodan Samardzic, vice-president of former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia, said Tadic was deceiving the public and trying “to smuggle in” EULEX in return for political favours from Brussels.
Belgrade analyst Cvijetin Milivojevic told Adnkronos International (AKI) that hectic diplomatic activity was “just an empty rhetoric.”
“In the end it will be the way the international community decides,” Milivojevic said.
The UN Security Council had been due to discuss the Kosovo issue on Friday, but the session was postponed until next Tuesday.
Milivojevic said Tadic was just looking for a face-saving way out of the Kosovo crisis, and conceded that some kind of a deal might be made by next week.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: 20 Million Euro From Ear for Five Heating Plants
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 5 — The overhaul and modernization of the central heating plants in Uzice, Subotica, Cacak, Pancevo and Valjevo has been completed with the help of a 20 million euro donation from the European Agency for Reconstruction, it was stated at a meeting of investors and local authorities, reports Tanjug news agency. Some 3.7 million euro were invested in the town of Uzice for conversion from coal to petrol/gas in heating plant; 3.3 million euro were invested in general overhaul of close to three-kilometer-long distribution network in Subotica, while a donation worth 3.6 million euro was used to build a modern gas heating plant in Cacak. Pancevo used the donation of 3.4 million euro to shut down 12 boiler rooms and a donation of 3.8 million euro was used to construct a new heating plant and a network in the town of Valjevo. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia-Greece: Business Conference Opens in Belgrade
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 3 — A conference exploring investment opportunities, “Greece and Serbia in South Eastern Europe”, opened in Belgrade today, radio B92 reports. The Greek business delegation is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Petros Doukas, who is in charge of economic diplomacy, and according to a statement issued by the Greek embassy in Belgrade, the Greek companies are interested in investing in Serbia and in strengthening their business ties with Serbia. More than 200 Greek businessmen and women are taking part in this forum, and they voiced their interest in investing in around twenty different business sectors in Serbia. Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic opened the conference by pointing out that Greece invested over 2 billion euro in the Serbian economy, with the largest investments in the financial and energy and telecommunications sectors. Doukas said as he addressed the gathering that trade between Serbia and Greece, which amounted to 350 million euro last year, could reach close to 1 billion euro. He said that an agreement on avoiding double taxation, which should be signed soon, is of outmost importance for intensifying business relations between the two countries. National Bank of Serbia Governor Radovan Jelasic said that four Greek banks operate in Serbia — Piraeus, Eurobank-EFG, Alpha Bank and the National Bank of Greece, taking up 17% of the balance sum of the banking sector.(ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Arab Week at the EU
This week has been the “Arab Week” at the European Parliament. This short article from François Desouche is taken from the site of the European Parliament itself: The “Arab World” is being honored from November 3 — 7 as part of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. For five days, the European Parliament will vibrate to the rhythm of the Arab/Muslim world through numerous cultural events: concerts, films, expos, demonstrations of calligraphy, etc… “The Arab world is not only a close neighbor of Europe. It is also, through the Arab communities that are present in the member States of the Union, a component of today’s European societies,” declared Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, in the message he delivered before the start of the Arab Week. The photo, showing Africa as a French flag, comes from François Desouche, but I don’t know if the photo is real or photo-shopped. The words say “Welcome to Europe.” I think it’s real. But the Arab World being celebrated at the European Parliament must refer to more than just Africa.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Archival: “Strongest Man in Egypt” Married to Four Wives Because He Has Doctor’s Orders to Have Sex 15 Times a Day
Following are excerpts from a program about the strongest man in Egypt and his wives, which aired on Al-Mihwar TV on August 7, 2007.
Reporter: This is the “Incredible Hulk” or the Samson of our times. He got married 28 times and has fathered 35 sons and daughters. The eldest, Sameh, is 24 years old, while the youngest, Sayyed, is only three. Medical tests have proven that his strength equals 260 horsepower. He can bend a metal coin with his eye socket or his tongue. Then he breaks it in two with his bare hands. Sayyed Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah is a gifted man.
Allah has bestowed upon him great strength, but he uses it only to do good. This is a man on whom Allah has bestowed the strength of 30,000 men, or 260 horsepower. Allah has also blessed him with a faithful and humble heart, as well as good values and self-restraint.
[…]
Interviewer: We welcome Sayyed Muhammad, his wife, Mrs. Sabah Zaki, and Mrs. Rida Seif, who is also his wife.
Interviewer 2: We have a lot of questions…
Interviewer: There are two other wives, who are not here with us — one is in Cairo, and the other is where?
Sayyed Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah: In Upper Egypt.
Interviewer: Where do Sabah and Rida live? In Alexandria?
Abdallah: Yes.
[…]
Abdallah: This extraordinary strength is a gift from God. I try to conceal it. I don’t like to display it. I don’t want people to be afraid of me, or feel bad because I am strong and they are not. I went back to live in [Upper Egypt], because I have a medical exemption from working in the public and private sectors. I am not allowed to work.
Interviewer: Why?
Abdallah: Because of my exceptional strength. If I worked in a company, the boss would not be able to deal with me…
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-Libya: Tremiti DNA Tests After Kadhafi Appeal, Jana
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, OCTOBER 27 — People living in the Tremiti Islands — where many Libyans were exiled at the time when Libya was an Italian colony — have agreed to undergo DNA tests, whose results will be compared with the Libyans’ genetic map, in response to a request by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who wanted to find the descendants of his exiled fellow nationals, the Libyan news agency JANA reported today. Tremiti’s Mayor Giuseppe Calabrese led the group of people who underwent the blood test. Once all blood samples were taken, the mayor explained in a speech he willingly agreed to Gaddafì’s appeal about the DNA test. Calabrese stressed Tremiti people were linked by friendly feelings to the Libyan people and extended an invitation to Colonel Gaddafi to visit the island. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Media: ‘Express’ Prohibited in Magrheb for Offending Islam
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, NOVEMBER 6 — The latest edition of weekly French magazine, Express, dedicated to “The Shock Jesus-Mohammed, Their Route, Their Message, Their Vision Of The World” was prohibited in Algeria after having received the same treatment in Morocco and Tunisia reported the Algerian press today. “We have seized the latest edition of Express in conformity of article 26 of the information code”, said on officer in the Algerian Ministry of Communication, wrote Afp without giving other details. Article 26 of the Algerian code of information sets forth that “national or foreign specialised periodicals, of any nature, cannot contain illustrations, information, or any other aspect that is contrary to Islamic morality, national values and human rights”. In the issue released for the week of October 30-November 5, Express published a dossier regarding a meeting in Rome on November 4th between catholic and Muslim representatives. According to Algerian press, the contested section is entitles “Mohammed, Profit And Warrior”. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Terrorism: Algeria, Mayor in Cabilia Killed
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, NOVEMBER 6 — The president of the popular town assembly (mayor) of the village of Timezrit, near Bejaia, in Cabilia, has been assassinated by a terrorist group, reported a message from the Algerian Interior Minister, according to the Aps press agency. Fathe Bouchibane was kidnapped yesterday at 18:45 on a road near Tifra in the same zone. “Security forces — continued the message — have found the vehicle of the president burned and after a few hours found the body as well”. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Terrorism: Algeria, Mayor in Cabilia Killed (2)
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, NOVEMBER 6 — It is not the first time that Algerian Islamic armed groups, among which, Al Qaida for Islamic Maghreb (ex-Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat), have taken aim at politicians. In February of 2007, the ex-mayor of the village of Benchouda near Boumerdes (60 km east of Algiers), still in the Berber region, Yakoubi Kelifa, was killed in front of his home by an armed group. A few months earlier, Rabah Aissat, president of the popular assemble in the Prefecture of Tizi Ouzou, the capital of Cabilia, was assassinated by a terrorist group in a bar in his home village. Cabilia remains the bloodiest region for attacks by the Meghrebi arm of Al Qaida which does not hesitate to strike, even in the capital and in other zones of the country, with kamikaze attacks and false road blocks. In the past months, kidnappings for extortion have become alarming and are creating panic among the people in Calabia. Yesterday, wrote the Algerian press, a 32 year old merchant was seized by armed med with AK-47s. In the same zone of Tizi Ouzou, 35 people have been kidnapped since the beginning of the year. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jewish Temples Never Existed, Says Top Palestinian Negotiator
Official leading peace talks claims Israel trying to ‘invent’ historical Jerusalem link
JERUSALEM — The Jewish Temples never existed and Israel has been working to “invent” a Jewish historical connection to Jerusalem, the chief Palestinian negotiator asserted.
Ahmed Qurei, the Palestinian Authority official leading all peace talks with the Jewish state, made the controversial statements in a small media briefing Wednesday attended by WND as well as by a Palestinian media outlet and an Arab affairs correspondent for a major Israeli newspaper.
But the Israeli publication decided not to print Qurei’s comments, while the Palestinian publication, the Al-Ayam daily newspaper, made news of the remarks.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mideast: Gaza; Hamas Rockets on Israel Ceasefire Condition
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, NOVEMBER 6 — Two Qassam rockets fired today from the Gaza strip exploded on Israeli territory, in the western Neghev, without causing victims or damage, said Israeli public radio. In the city of Gaza a spokesman from Hamas, Abu Obeida, said that this Islamic movement conditions the extension of the de facto ceasefire with Israel, which expires on 18 December, with a promise by Israel not to carry out further military operations in the Gaza strip. Yesterday six militant Hamas were killed in the Strip during an army exercise close to the border, to remove what a military spokesman describeed as an imminent threat to seize Israeli soldiers or civilians. Hamas reacted by firing more than thirty rockets into Israeli territory, but without causing casualties. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Barack Obama, the Iranian Government’s New Threat
Tehran blames the Democratic Party for starting sanctions against Iran. Some critics see Obama’s victory as evidence of the failure of Bush’s foreign policy. Others suggest the Iranian regime will be weakened since it no longer has the American enemy to beat on.
Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Barack Obama and his foreign policy are a threat to Iran. His approach might differ from President Bush’s bankrupt foreign policy, as demonstrated by the Republican Party’s clear defeat at the polls, but it can still constitute a danger. In principle he might even convince fence-sitters such as India, China, Turkey, Malaysia and Russia that have important economic and commercial ties with Iran, to synchronise their Iran policies with a revamped United States policy based on mediation and dialogue, this according to early comments by Iranian leaders and analysts on Barack Obama’s election victory.
“There is the thought that Obama could be as dangerous as Bush, but in a different way,” said Abolfazl Amouei, a conservative-leaning political scientist at Imam Sadeq University in Tehran, because in “Iran, Democrats don’t have a good reputation. They were the first ones who started the sanctions under President Clinton.”
Overall reactions in Iranian government circles to the US elections are cautious; they view results as a repudiation of the Bush administration.
“The American people have to change their policies in order to get rid of the quagmire made by President Bush for them,” said Gholam Ali Hadded Adel, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. “The next US president should abandon the course taken by President Bush so far,” he told Iran’s official news agency IRNA.
Iran will be one of the thorniest foreign policy issues that Obama will face. Doubts are already emerging with regards to the comment he made during the campaign that he would meet unconditionally with Iranian leaders whilst cooperating and defending Israel.
For some inside Iran the victory of the senator from Illinois represents an opportunity to weaken the power of President Ahmadinejad in favour of a more pragmatic government, willing to come to some agreement on the nuclear programme issue.
“Radicals aren’t happy about Obama’s victory,” said Saeed Leylaz, a Tehran analyst and newspaper editor often critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government.
In the meantime the Iranian government yesterday issued a new warning against the United Sates saying that it would no longer tolerate violations of Iran’s air space.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Emirates: Tourist Arrests, Hotels Advise on Behavior
(ANSAmed) — DUBAI, 6 NOVEMBER — A small brochure on how to behave (or not behave) during and after cocktail parties and events that take place in Dubai’s hotels: this is the initiative taken by some hotels in the Emirate in the wake of the arrest and sentencing to three months in prison of an English couple surprised while engaging in sexual acts on a beach, after having met at a business lunch, reported Gulf News. To help unsuspecting foreigners or those unfamiliar with laws and customs in the United Arab Emirates to not unknowingly end up in trouble, on restaurant tables and in other establishments of the Jumeirah Hotel group, together with the menu, cards that introduce people to the culture and local traditions with lists of clothing regulations, tolerable demonstrations of public affection, and allowed conditions for alcoholic consumption are being handed out. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Europe, the Missionaries’ Battle Ground
The plight of converts to Christianity in Muslim countries is well known. What is less known is the plight of Muslim converts to Christianity in Western Europe. Last week Dutch television broadcast a documentary which shows how former Muslims in the Netherlands are frequent victims of intimidation and violence.
A few weeks ago, an immigrant from Iraq was knifed in the Dutch town of Rolde by another immigrant from Iraq. The victim was a former Muslim who had converted to Christianity; the assailant was a Muslim who took offense. Though similar events recently occurred in Rotterdam, Zutphen and Hengelo, the Dutch media prefer not to report them, the documentary said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Photos of Jesus, Barbie, Nasrallah Banned From Show
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, NOVEMBER 6 — Images depicting Jesus Christ, the Shi-ite leader of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, and Barbie have been removed from a photographic exhibition in Beirut. The photographer, Lebanese director Jocelyne Saab, was told by the Solidere society, which is responsible for the exhibition about the removal of nine images “because politics and religion are two extremely sensitive subjects” in Lebanon. The exhibition was then transferred to a private gallery in Beirut, traditionally considered the most liberal of the Arab capitals, but where fierce battles took place in May between Shi-ite Hezbollah and their Sunni rivals. The clashes were the bloodiest since the end of the civil war (1975-90), which also involved the Christian and Druse communities. Saab confirmed that she was “outraged by the censorship”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Obama: Extremists Say His Election in Harmony With Islam
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, NOVEMBER 7 — Barack Obama’s victory in the American presidential elections is a “demonstration of democracy according to the caliphate model in the origins of Islam”. This was said by the spokesperson for the Hizb al-Tahrir (Liberation party) in Lebanon, a pan-Islamic extremist group which operates illegally in several Muslim countries and which has for decades sung the praises of the fight “against American domination” in the world. “Obama was elected by the majority of the American people and this is in harmony with our political representation system based on the example of the classical Islamic caliphate when Muslim followers elected the Caliph”, Ahmad Qasas, spokesperson of the Tahrir, told ANSA, on the occasion of the party presenting its political programme in Beirut. The group, which is banned in Syria, Egypt, Libya and Pakistan but has been legally active in Lebanon since May 2006, condemns the “the recourse to violence to obtain political results” and says it is “against any form of terrorism”. One of the main objectives of the group is the reinstatement of the original Islamic caliphate “in all Muslim lands” including Lebanon. “We ask that the USA stops interfering in affairs of the Islamic community, but we cannot help but be satisfied”, concluded Qasas, “when we see the Islam model for electing political authority being applied in the USA”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Christians Brace for Gang-Rape, Slaughter
India’s believers may face bloodbath after another Hindu activist is shot
Christians who have been persecuted by Hindu militants in 12 Indian states could face more bloodshed after another Hindu activist, Rashtriya Swayamsevak, was reportedly shot dead by Maoists this week.
India’s Communist Party estimates that more than 500 Christians have been killed by Hindu mobs in Orissa, 12 times more than official government claims of only 40 homicides. One official said he personally authorized “cremation of more than 200 bodies” found in jungles after Christians were blamed for the death of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on Aug. 24. They continue to be persecuted even though Maoists openly admitted to murdering Saraswati.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: Brother Warns of “Massacre” if Bali Bombers Executed
Denpasar, 6 Nov. (AKI) — The brother of one of the Bali bombers sentenced to death for Indonesia’s worst terrorist attack has threatened a “massacre” if the executions are carried out. Ja’far Shodiq, brother of Amrozi, one of the three convicted bombers, issued the ultimatum, according to the press agency Detikcom.
“If the execution is carried out there will be a massacre,” said Ja’far Shodiq, according to the site. He gave the government the warning to stop the execution “if it wants to maintain security”.
The warning was revealed as Islamic extremists rallied in the Indonesian capital to protest against the imminent execution of the three bombers found guilty of the twin bomb attacks carried out in October 2002 on the island of Bali. A total of 202 people died in the attacks, most of them foreigners.
Around 100 chanting militants descended on the offices of the national human rights body as the bombers’ lawyers met officials inside to demand access for the families.
The militants condemned the executions, and praised bombers Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and Imam Samudra, calling them holy warriors.
International rights group, Human Rights Watch, recently asked the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to commute the death sentence of the bombers who face imminent execution and instead sentence them to life in prison.
The Bali bomb attacks (photo) were the worst terrorist act in Indonesian history. The twin attacks which occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the island of Bali killed 202 people and injured more than 200 others.
The three men were tried and sentenced under terrorism laws introduced after the bombings.
“The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Indonesia is party, prohibits in article 15 the retroactive application of penal legislation….the basis for the death sentence in these cases—should not have been applied to Amrozi, Ghufron, and Imam Samudra,” said the letter.
With Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron, Amrozi is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Islamist terrorist group with suspected links to Al-Qaeda, that is committed to uniting south-east Asia under a Muslim caliphate.
Abu Rusdan, leader of JI from 2002 to 2004, said the group had no interest in the executions.
“The execution is the responsibility of JI but the entire Islamic community,” Abu Rusdan said.
Abu Rusdan was found guilty of hiding one of the men who carried out the Bali bombings and sentenced to three and a half years in jail.
“There is no room for violence in Islam. Islam wants prosperity for everyone,” he said. “Violent acts are not justified in Islam.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Jihadists Call on Muslims in Indonesia to Attack U.S., British, and Danish Embassies, Western Interests
In response to the imminent execution of three terrorists who masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings, a November 6, 2008 post on Al-Hesbah urged the Muslims in Indonesia to attack economic, religious, and diplomatic institutions associated with the West.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Joy and Hope for Obama, But Filipino Church Fears His Pro-Abortion Stance
The victory of the black senator is a triumph for the “American dream.” From the Philippines, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, hope for expansion in trade relations and greater protection for immigrants in the United States.
Manila (AsiaNews) — Enthusiasm in Manila for the triumph of Barack Obama in the election, messages of congratulations from President Arroyo, who hopes to meet the U.S. president-elect next week in New York; concern, instead, on the part of Catholic activists and leaders who are concerned about the social policies promoted by Obama, considered pro-abortion and in favor of homosexual marriage.
If on the one hand the Filipino government and people are celebrating the success, described as historic, of the Democratic candidate for president, the Church is reiterating its attention to the values of the family and protection of life. Catholics are demonstrating fear and perplexity because they are afraid of the introduction of policies aimed at birth control, a matter of harsh contention in the Philippines, where a law on reproductive health is under consideration. Promotion of the use of contraceptives, the widespread practice of abortion, and gay marriage are all elements that throw an unfavorable light on the figure of Obama and the policy of the Democrats.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will fly to New York next week to participate in the UN summit on interreligious dialogue. Congratulating Barack Obama on his electoral victory, Arroyo says she hopes to meet the newly elected U.S. head of state in person, and expects strengthened relations between the Philippines and United States under the Obama presidency. The Asian state is also urging approval of the Veterans Equity Bill, which would guarantee more protection and assistance for war veterans of Filipino origin in America.
In Nepal, the “historic” triumph of Obama over John McCain has been welcomed as a cause of celebration, following which hundreds of citizens have poured into the streets chanting slogans in favor of the Democratic senator. There have been many telephone calls to citizens of Nepalese origin living in the United States, for whom there are hopes of a better life thanks to a more liberal and flexible policy toward immigrants. Former Nepalese envoy to the United Nations Jayraj Acharaya affirms that “U.S. policy on Nepal will not change instantly, but Asians and Nepalese are happy as Democrats are liberal toward them.” He is echoed by the former Nepalese ambassador to America, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, for whom “Obama’s win has given great slap to Bush government as it has done anything in the name of terrorism in Asia, undermining UN mandate.”
The first Nepalese president, Rambaran Yadav, and Prime Minister Prachanda have sent a message of congratulations to Obama, in which they express their hope for better relations with the new government, and the recognition of the work of the Nepalese leadership, of Maoist inspiration, which still today is on the blacklist of terrorist groups.
Messages of good wishes are also coming from the president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who says he is pleased with the victory of the Illinois senator, the first president “of color” in Unites States history. “I have been impressed by the freshness and candour that you introduced to the U.S. political landscape and the hope that you generated in the United States, in particular and the wider world, in general.” Since Wednesday morning, there has been a crowd of curious onlookers at the Hilton Hotel in Colombo, in which the US Embassy had set up a special observatory to follow the results of the vote in real time. Robert Blake, the United States ambassador in Sri Lanka, commented on the “extraordinary moment” for Americans, for whom “our new president is going to be a real force for change in the U.S.” “I am proud,” the ambassador continues, “because what we have just seen shows that my country, the United States, is a land of democracy and a land of opportunity.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
South African Cop: You Whites Must F*** Off
Johannesburg — “It’s time you whites packed your bags and f**ked off.”
With these words a black police inspector from Tembisa on the East Rand allegedly scolded the victims of an armed robbery and hijacking attempt in Kempton Park on Monday night.
This officer, whose name is known to Beeld, apparently refused to arrest a black suspect on the scene.
He also refused to open a case after Nic Lubbe, 51, from Kempton Park West, his daughter, Antoenet Cronjé, and her two sons, Morné, 11, and Kyle, 3, were assailed by robbers on Monday night.
‘White dogs’
He ostensibly also refused to allow white members of the Norkem Park police to search the suspects’ car and called them “white dogs”.
Lubbe said he was on his way to drop off his daughter and grandchildren at their house in Terrenure at about 23:00 when he saw a grey Corsa bakkie next to the road in Orange River Street.
Suddenly the Corsa bakkie’s headlights went on to blind Lubbe. Then it was driven into Lubbe’s bakkie from behind.
Three armed men jumped off the back and grabbed Cronjé’s handbag.
Lubbe sped away and later returned to the scene with his wife, Mara, 49, and members of the Norkem Park police office.
A black inspector from the Tembisa roadblock task team was already there with one of the suspects (the driver of the Corsa). The other three got away.
“The inspector said we were white dogs and he told a white policewoman that he would see to it that she was shot dead in a robbery.
“Then he cocked his R5 (rifle) in my face and said it was time that we whites packed our bags and f**ked off out of the country.”
An eyewitness apparently heard the inspector’s offensive remarks.
“I saw how these people were robbed, but he protected the criminal.”
The inspector apparently did open an accident report. The Corsa driver’s wife then arrived on the scene, posing as a police officer.
One of the Norkem Park police officers said this woman wanted to arrest them when they tried to search the Corsa for “interfering with the scene”.
Lubbe said the woman emptied out the contents of his daughter’s handbag and returned the empty handbag to her.
On Tuesday Lubbe opened a case of armed robbery and attempted hijacking at the Norkem Park police.
Gauteng police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said the matter was being investigated “with the view to possible disciplinary steps.”
The Tembisa and provincial police management have expressed their shock at the alleged incident, he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
After Brief Honeymoon, Muslim World Would Feel Betrayed by Obama
By Ayaan Hirsi Ali
NEW YORK — As the new U.S. president, Barack Obama would at first have a honeymoon period with the Muslim world, a continuation, really, of the honeymoon he has already enjoyed as a black man rising to the heights of power in the most powerful nation on earth, America.
But Obama has said he is determined to find and kill Osama bin Laden. He has said that the frontier in the war on terror is now in Afghanistan, a hotspot for jihadis since the 1970s, where he wants to send more troops. In other words, he would continue the Bush policy, only with more competence.
In short order, this increased U.S. presence and the collateral damage it would cause in Afghanistan and the region would end Obama’s honeymoon. It would remind the Islamists and their sympathizers across the Muslim world that Barack Obama would not act out of solidarity with people based on the color of his skin or because of his origins in Kenya, but as the commander-in-chief protecting American national interests above all.
As a result, much of his popularity would vanish. Perhaps it would even fall to the level of George Bush. I’m sure many would come to think that Obama had betrayed them.
Barack Obama has also criticized Bush for “not talking to the enemy,” particularly in Iran. So, the world would expect Obama to obey all the diplomatic traffic rules and follow all the procedures to try to persuade President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian authorities to abandon their project to build a nuclear bomb.
But when Iran refuses to give up its bomb despite the eloquent entreaties of the new American president, Obama would be forced to act. So, after talking with Iran, he would likely end up at the same spot where Bush is. That wouldn’t make him very popular in Iran or with others who oppose America’s use of its military might.
At the same time, the original impetus of Obama’s campaign was his pledge to withdraw from Iraq in 16 months. There is little doubt that if Obama were to actually implement this pledge, jihadis in Iraq and around the world, who see history in the millennial terms of the long fight against the Crusaders, would feel they are the victors.
As the Obama campaign developed over the months, he has emphasized he would withdraw “responsibly.” “Responsibly” is, of course, open to interpretation. I don’t think it is responsible to pull out of Iraq in 16 months — unless you want the jihadis dancing in jubilation…
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
Black Pope Could Follow Barack Obama’s Election, Says US Archbishoprichard Owen in Rome
The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American US President could pave the way for the election of the first black Pope, according to a leading black American Catholic.
Wilton Daniel Gregory, 60, the Archbishop of Atlanta, said that in the past Pope Benedict XVI had himself suggested that the election of a black pontiff would “send a splendid signal to the world” about the universal Church.
Archbishop Gregory, who in 2001 became the first African American to head the US Bishops Conference, serving for three years, said that the election of Mr Obama was “a great step forward for humanity and a sign that in the United States the problem of racial discrimination has been overcome”. Like Mr Obama Archbishop Gregory comes from Chicago, and was previously Bishop of Belleville, Illinois.
He said that recent Popes, beginning with John XXIII and Paul VI, had brought prelates “from all nations and races” to Rome to take up senior positions in the Curia, the Vatican hierarchy. This offered “an international vision of a Church rich in diversity”, he told the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Pope Benedict — whose next encyclical is on globalisation and social justice — had a “world outlook” as a theologian whose thought had “opened hearts and minds on five continents”, Archbishop Gregory said. The former Joseph Ratzinger, who as a young man in his native Germany had witnessed “the horrors of the Second World War”, spoke a “universal language”.
Archbishop Gregory said that the next time cardinals gathered to elect a Pope they could “in their wisdom” choose an African pontiff. “My own election as head of the US Bishops Conference was an important signal. In 2001 the American bishops elected someone they respected regardless of his race, and the same thing could happen with the election of a Pope.”
He said that in a papal conclave, the cardinal-electors were “guided by the Holy Spirit to choose the person who best responds to the exigences of the moment”. At the last conclave in 2005, after the death of John Paul II, it was widely thought that the cardinals would choose a Third World pontiff, perhaps from Africa or Latin America.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Catholics and Muslims Pledge to Improve Links
VATICAN CITY — Catholic and Muslim leaders worked on Thursday to deflate suspicion between their two faiths, pledging at a high-level seminar here to work together to condemn terrorism, protect religious freedom and fight poverty.
The meeting came a year after 138 Muslim leaders wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI after he offended many Muslims by quoting a Byzantine emperor who called some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad “evil and inhuman.” In turn, top Vatican officials have worried about freedom of worship in majority-Muslim countries, as well as immigration that is turning Europe, which they define as a Christian continent, increasingly Muslim.
But on Thursday both sides said they hoped that the seminar would open a new and much-improved chapter in Catholic-Muslim relations, as the two groups said they might establish a committee that could ease tensions in any future crisis between the two religions.
“Let us resolve to overcome past prejudices and to correct the often distorted images of the other, which even today can create difficulties in our relations,” Benedict told the Muslim delegation. He called the gathering “a clear sign of our mutual esteem and our desire to listen respectfully to one another.”
Addressing the pope on behalf of the Muslim delegation, Seyyed Hossein Nasr of Iran, a professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University in Washington, said that throughout history, “various political forces” of both Christians and Muslims had carried out violence.
“Certainly we cannot claim that violence is the monopoly of only one religion,” he said.
The three-day forum brought together nearly 30 Catholic clerics and scholars, led by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; and as many Muslim clerics and scholars, led by Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina based in Sarajevo.
The meeting “exceeded our expectations,” said Ingrid Mary Mattson, the director of the Islamic Society of North America and a professor of Islamic studies at the Hartford Seminary.
“The atmosphere was very good, very frank,” said Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Islamic Studies at Oxford University. A celebrated intellectual in Europe, Mr. Ramadan in 2004 was denied a visa to the United States on the grounds that he had donated to two European charities that the State Department later said gave money to Hamas.
Mr. Ramadan said the thorniest questions the group tackled were “apostasy” and “freedom of worship in a minority situation.” Some Muslims believe it is apostasy to convert out of Islam.
The 15-point declaration the group issued on Thursday did not address issues of conversion.
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Religion: Islamic-Christian Dialogue Day, Overcome Stall
(ANSAmed) — ROME, OCTOBER 27 — To overcome the present phase of stall in the Christian-Islamic dialogue, civil and religious institutions have to act. This was the message launched this morning in Rome in an encounter on “Dialogue between Faiths for a Common Citizenship”, organised for the VII Day of Christian-Islamic dialogue. “September 11th — when the idea for this event came about, as an initiative which aims to oppose the climate of incomprehension and contraposition between the two communities- reminded Paolo Naso, expert in political affairs and teacher at the Sapienza University in Rome, opened a new phase in Muslim-Christian relations. We Christians have found reliable Islamic interlocutors, who know how to sew more than bombs, terror, and death”. Now, the dialogue between the two faiths is not moving forward, said the professor, who sees religious liberty “at every latitude” and in the institution of a permanent discussion with all of the religious communities present in the provincial territory the keystone for a relaunching of a dialogue. A challenge, taken on by Tobia Zevi, who on behalf of the president of the province of Rome, Nicola Zingaretti, stated: “other than the creation of a permanent consultation forum, the province can act at the level of education. This should concern the management of secondary education”. Convinced of the necessity of a permanent forum which brings together Christians, Muslims, Jews, and proposes concrete initiatives, Ahmad Giampiero Vincenzo, President of Muslim Intellectuals in Italy, who invites all religious institutions in Italy in a common commitment to “fight against racism and create a solid reference points for young people”. “We Muslims too — he underlined — we should establish and proposed, as Communion and Liberation Movement or the Focolare Movement have, solutions on a working and economic level for the community”. For Sergio Bastianel, vice-director of the Gregorian Pontifical University, “it is necessary to know the other, and to accept it, not only tolerate it”. “Non-human elements in society exist, he continued” on which civil institutes and not only religious should intervene, but he warned “an efficient cultural policy has to be based on ethics”. The Day continued into the late afternoon at the Mosque in the Magliana area, with an encounter on the topic of “Abraham in the Bible and in the Koran”, and with another on “Young People among Faith and Active Citizenship”, at the Mosque on via dei Frassini. (ANSAmed).
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Vatican:Forum on Islam; Tauran, Condemned to Dialogue
(ANSAmed) — VATICAN CITY, NOVEMBER 4 — “We are condemned to dialogue” and today’s encounter is not a “beginning”, because “we have had a dialogue with Islam for over 1400 years”. This can be an “important step” however. This is what Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president on the Pontifical Council for inter-religious dialogue said, interviewed by Vatican Radio about the Forum starting today at the Vatican, and have about 30 representatives on each side. On November 6th, they will be received in an audience with the Pope and in the afternoon, at the Gregorian Pontifical University, they will show a final declaration of their work. It is unnecessary to be afraid of denouncing human rights violations, whatever they may be, — commented Tauran — so that the truth, and not force prevail, and that the force of rights prevail of the right of force”. The papal emissary hosted an interview with Mons. Pier Luigi Celata, secretary of the Pontifical Council for inter-religious dialogue, who outlined how they came to the Forum, in terms of preparation and discussion topics. To the question as to why, despite everything, relations with Muslims have remained tense, Mons. Celata responded that “it is true, there are some situations where there are some tensions present between the Christian and Muslim community; it would however, be interesting to see if the origin of these tensions are religious or rather from influences and conditions that are of a different nature, whether they be social, economic, political, or ideological, of exploitation that could be done from one side and the other”. (ANSAmed).
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Vatican: Forum on Islam; Ratisbon is Far Away for Muslims
(by Giovanna Chirri) (ANSAmed) — VATICAN CITY, NOVEMBER 6 — Ratisbon is a distant memory, rather, what seemed to be dividing at the time, started a process of approach. The balance of the Islamic-Catholic Forum was completely positive for the Islamic delegation, which concluded today with a audience with the Pope, and joined by the letter that 138 Islamic leaders addressed last year to Christian leaders, inviting them to a “common word” of religion for peace and brotherhood. Many were satisfied in the Vatican, even with a tendency to not make this encounter absolute, next to which — was reminded, also by Benedict XVI receiving guests in the Clementine Hall- there are other possibilities for exchange and encounter with the varied and composite Muslim world. Overcoming Ratisbon, Tariq Ramadam, Swiss born scholar, and Grand Bosnian Mufti and delegation head, Mustafa Ceric, spoke in repeated statements to the press, also in the overflowing “public session” at the Gregorian University in which the common declaration was read which closed the Forum, composted of about 30 delegates per side. I pledge to “explore the possibility of stabilising a permanent Catholic-Muslim committee to coordinate responses to conflicts and other emergency situations” and to meet every two years in a Muslim majority country on the major points of the declaration. The text declared the necessity to act on the world of finance to make it more ethical and on the education of children to make them aware of their religious identity and open to others, besides confirming the defence of live and rights as meeting points. Other points agreed upon: human, for Catholics and Muslim means “male and female”; religious minorities should be protected and respected; together they must work for spirituality in a “secular and materialistic” world. And mainly: “Catholics and Muslims are called to be an instrument of love and harmony between believers and all of humanity, renouncing oppression, aggressive violence, and terrorism”. In the cordial hearing in the Clementine Hall, at the end of which, he stopped to shake hands and exchange comments with the delegates, Pope Ratzinger stated what he expects from this Forum: even starting from different anthropological and theological visions, “just participating in the recognition of the centrality of the person and the dignity of each human being, respecting and promoting life”, “we can find common ground” for a “world in which differences are pacifically faced, and the devastating power of ideologies are neutralised”. “Persecutions are even more unacceptable and deplorable if they are done in the name of God”. And finally; “we unite our forces to overcome all misunderstandings and disagreements. We resolve to overcome past prejudices and to correct often distorted images of others that also create difficulty in our relations; we will work to educate everyone, especially children, to build a common future”. And we will not limit dialogue “to a group of experts” but we will do it “to benefit everyone”. (ANSAmed)
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Vatican: Islamic Forum, We Also Have a Dream
(ANSAmed) — ROME, NOVEMBER 6 — The incident involving Pope Benedetto XVI at the Ratisbona conference is one of the facts that should be “remembered and placed its historic context”, but the answer that came from the Islamic side in a letter entitled ‘A common Word’ is similar to “what Martin Luther King did when he said ‘I have a dream’ “. The comment was made by the Muft from Bosnia Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, head of the delegation of Islamic experts attending the Vatican’s Catholic-Muslim forum. The problems, explained Ceric speaking to journalists, “aren’t resolved with protests or complaints, but looking ahead. The words of the Pope at Ratisbona were a shock of the Muslim world”, he remembered, “because it didn’t come from Islam-phobic media but from the Pope himself, and it had the same effect as September 11th did in the West”. “At the beginning we were shocked”, said the Mufti of Bosnia Herzegovin, “but then we understood that it wouldn’t help to respond only with protests. No one listens to complaints, as I myself learned”, said Ceric, remembering the painful experience with Muslims from Bosnia in the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s. “Then we protested continuously, but no one did anything. Now, that lesson in Ratisbona happened, but our answer wasn’t to protest. With ‘A common word’ we are saying ‘I have a dream’ “. The dream contained in the letter containing 138 Muslim essays from October 2007 to the leaders of the Christian churches which also brought about the meeting taking place in these days at the Vatican. (ANSamed).
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Vatican: Forum on Islam; Common Values of Life and Dignity
(ANSAmed) — VATICAN CITY, NOVEMBER 6 — A reaffirmation of “human life as a precious gift from God” and the “respect of human dignity for every person”. Stressing the fact that human being means “men and women” and that “human dignity should be assured and complete, for both men and women”. “Individual and community rights to practice onés religion in public and in private”. “Respect” for all “religious minorities” whose symbols must not be the object of “any forms of mockery or ridicule”. These were some of the points stated in the conclusive declaration of the Catholic-Muslim Forum that took place in the Vatican from November 4th and whose participants this morning were received by the Pope. Participants in the Forum committed to being “witnesses to transcendency” through “spirituality” in a world that is becoming more secular and materialistic”. “No religion or its believers — stated the text — have to be excluded from society” and “Catholics and Muslims have the duty of providing a solid education of human, civil, moral, and religious values for their members and to promote accurate information regarding their religion and the religion of others”. “We believe that Catholics and Muslims — still from the declaration -are called to be instruments of love and harmony between believers and all of humanity, renouncing all oppression, aggressive violence, and terrorism, especially carried out in the name of religion”. There is an appeal to a “ethical financial system” in which “the regularity of its mechanisms consider the situation of the poor and disadvantaged, both regarding individuals and indebted nations”. Finally, an observation about children who live in “a multicultural and multi-religious society” and for this reason it is “essential that they are well trained in their religious traditions and well informed about other cultures and religions”. (ANSAmed)
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7 comments:
In its most severe manifestation, people who suffer from MAOS experience a form of narcolepsy
[Homer Simpson]
Mmmmmm ... narcolepsy ...
{/Homer Simpson]
I like Berlusconi more and more.
So he claimed B-HO was "suntanned?"
B-HO referred to himself as a "mutt."
Now, if Berlusconi had referred to B-HO, as I have, as the first biracial President elect, would there have been an uproar? I would think so. Joke or fact, any comments that aren't filled with adoration of Dear Leader, will receive admonishment.
In other upside down world news, leftists protesters came to the defense of the U.S. flag.
I am taking Reverend Manning's advice and refusing to refer to him as "president." I invented my own monicker for for him: pobama (lower case intetional).
The B-HO CoB issue isn't going away.
SCOTUS Orders B-HO to produce his CoB.
Good boy, Barney!
GOOD BOY!
no@liberals, thank you for staying on top of Berg's efforts to out this potentially massive fraud.
One commenter at Atlas Shrugged made an incredibly important observation. It relates to the way that copies of "vault" documents like COLBs (Certificates of Live Birth) are physically backed up.
Besides there having to be an actual piece of paper bearing the correct signatures, seal and date: Somewhere there must also be a microfiche (frame of microfilm - the way that ALL government documents were backed up in the 1960s), that shows an uninterrupted numerical sequence of filled out COLBs from that period of time.
For those who are concerned about the possibility of a COLB being forged, modern forensics can determine the chemical composition and age of the paper plus any ink that is printed upon it and incontrovertibly prove its authenticity. The same forensic processes apply to the backup microfiche as well. Chemical analysis of similarly aged microfiche frames from other unrelated vault backups will instantly reveal if there has been any tampering with the microfilm itself.
The simple fact that B-HO has not enthusiatically produced this document nor opened his university transcripts not only justifies deep and well-founded suspicions about this man but also demonstrates a degree of arrogance wholly unbefitting ANYONE who would aspire to this nation's highest executive office.
Here's hoping that Berg is sufficiently dogged in his pursuit of this to force production of, not only the COLB, but its microfiche backup. Only then can there be even a remote sense of closure regarding what may be the most massive case of voter fraud in history.
Should Obama be disqualified on the basis of his non-citizenship, his next experience should be that of immediate arrest and prompt legal prosecution for felony fraud. Nothing less will be satisfactory.
Zenster,
I have had people p00h-p00h the importance of this document, for months.
There has been too much avoidance and obfuscation, concerning this document.
Any reasonable person should be curious, given the amount of bandwidth used, as to why he hasn't voluntarily offered this document, as Mc did. I keep an official microfiche copy, I know exactly where it is, and I have had it for decades. Most people I have asked, say the same thing.
I am encouraged that Justice Souter has ordered it presented, and hopefully, with the interest in this matter, he will have a forensic analysis of the document conducted.
Once again, why hasn't B-HO presented this document earlier, if he indeed has it? What is truly repulsive in this, is that this is the type of thing a responsible medium, such as a newspaper, should have pursued many months ago. But of course, they were doing their bit to get this guy elected.
I hope we can get this resolved, one way or the other, without a Constitutional crisis.
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