There are two ongoing sets of riots in Greece, which may be related to one another. Asylum-seekers are rioting, and these riots have a jihad component. There are also anarchist riots in response to the police shooting of a teenager. The latter have done extensive damage to cars, government offices, and businesses, and are still going on.Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, JD, Larwyn, RRW, Srdja Trifkovic, Steen, TB, Tuan Jim, VH, Yorkshire Miner, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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Attorney Who Aided Terri Schiavo’s Husband Now Advising Barack Obama
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — An attorney who won an award for representing Terri Schiavo’s husband Michael in his efforts to kill his disabled wife is now an advisor to the transition team of incoming president Barack Obama.
Thomas Perrelli, who raised over $500,000 for the pro-abortion presidential candidate and is the managing partner of a Washington law firm, Jenner & Block LLP, is helping advise Obama on putting together a Justice Department team.
However, Perrelli provided Michael Schiavo with legal advice during his response to the Congressional bill that President Bush signed allowing the Schindler fail to take their lawsuit seeking to prevent Terri’s euthanasia death from state to federal courts.
Perrelli led the Jenner & Block team that developed the legal briefs opposing appeals for Michael and he ultimately received the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award in October 2006 for representing Terri’s former husband at no cost.
On Michael’s legal team, Perrelli worked with infamous pro-euthanasia attorney George Felos as well as lawyers from the Florida chapter of the ACLU.
Obama’s selection of Perrelli to participate on his Justice Department transition team is no surprise given his comments on Terri’s painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death during the presidential campaig…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Families of Somalis Missing From Minn. Speak Out
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three Somali families tell similar stories: A son or nephew disappears. A passport is gone. Days later the phone rings, and the teen says he’s in Somalia.
The phone call is abrupt and short on details. And then, nothing.
Breaking their monthlong silence, relatives of three teenagers said Saturday that they fear their loved ones are victims, brainwashed to return to Somalia to fight. The impoverished nation on the Horn of Africa is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and hasn’t had a functioning government in 17 years.
“We are not sure who is responsible,” said Hussein Samatar, a community leader and uncle to a 17-year-old who traveled to Somalia. “But we, as a community, believe they have to be held accountable.”
Samatar and other relatives confirmed their loved ones left Minneapolis, home to one of the nation’s largest Somali communities, together on Nov. 4. The young men were identified as Burhan Hassan, 17, Mohamoud Hassan, 18, and Abdisalam Ali, 19.
Abdirizak Bihi, a community organizer and also an uncle to the 17-year-old, said that at least three more young men left the same day, and that he knows of about six others who have left and traveled to Somalia over the past two years.
“This issue of missing children has been going on for quite some time,” Bihi said. “We want our children back home.”
One man who disappeared from Minneapolis earlier is believed to have killed himself in an Oct. 29 suicide bombing that also took the lives of more than 20 people in northern Somalia, according to a U.S. law enforcement official. The official, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the FBI and Justice Department were investigating.
| — Hat tip: RRW | [Return to headlines] |
Hawaii Mosque Builder Threatens to Sue Newspaper
CAIR steps in to assist in defamation action over alleged fraud
Muslims planning a mosque and other Islamic facilities for North Kona have threatened to sue HawaiiReporter.com. At issue: At issue: A September 3, 2007 article by this writer reporting allegations of “fraud” in mosque-related fundraising efforts by the Masjid al-Baqi Project of Hawaii, Inc. In an April 30, 2008 letter to HawaiiReporter, project head, Kailua-Kona resident Kamal S Majid, calls the article “defamatory.” Majid’s fundraising letter identified a specific house in the Kona Highlands subdivision and claimed that “there is a very good opportunity to purchase this property.” But the seller and listing agent pointed out that in fact the property was already in escrow to another person.
The demands made by Majid and his attorneys with the assistance of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are little more than an attempt at censorship. But shortly after receiving a second demand letter, this one dated June 3, 2008 and signed by attorneys William S. Hunt and Lerisa L. Heroldt of Honolulu law firm Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing, HawaiiReporter.com removed the article from its website.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Obama Nationality Case
The Supreme Court this morning unceremoniously declined to hear an emergency appeal from a man who claimed President-elect Barack Obama is not qualified for the presidency because he is not a “natural-born” citizen.
The court without comment declined to hear “Donofrio v. Wells,” a suit that had attempted to keep Obama off the New Jersey ballot. Leo Donofrio of East Brunswick had claimed Obama had dual nationality at birth, because of his Kansas-born mother and his Kenyan-born father, who was a British subject at the time.
Just to be nonpartisan about it, Donofrio also contended that Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Socialist Workers candidate Roger Calero also were not natural-born citizens and should have been kept off the ballot.
The case had little chance at the high court, but became the subject of a tremendous amount of speculation and debate on ideological political blogs.
Right-wing blogs were outraged when Justice David H. Souter denied Donofrio’s petition for an injunction, and left-wing blogs smelled trouble when Justice Clarence Thomas referred the matter to the full court for consideration.
In fact, both were routine procedures, as the court’s action today shows. There were no recorded dissents to the decision dismissing the case.
This hardly means the lawsuits are over. There are two other cases at the Supreme Court, neither of which has been scheduled for consideration. The most celebrated is filed by Philip J. Berg of Lafayette Hill, Pa. There are others still at lower court levels.
Berg argues that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii as Obama has said and Hawaii officials confirm. Alternately, Berg argues that Obama may have renounced his citizenship as a boy in Indonesia, where he lived for a time with his mother and stepfather.
Those supporting Berg do not believe a birth certificate Obama’s campaign has produced.
Factcheck.org has done an independent investigation of the controversy.
“FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate,” the group writes. “We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship…. Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.”
| — Hat tip: Larwyn | [Return to headlines] |
War of Words Over Hate Speech Heating Up
In the war of words over free speech, it seems one of the early combatants has switched sides.
Imam Syed Soharwardy is opening a Freedom of Speech Centre in Calgary — a place where he says people will be encouraged to openly discuss thorny cultural issues of the day.
That debate’s still raging, and it’s a nasty one.
Conservative pundits and a growing number of major media outlets have turned on the commissions, saying they risk becoming kangaroo courts where special interest groups can bully the media and jeopardize Canadians’ freedom of speech.
On the other side, there are calls to preserve what advocates insist is a needed tool in the battle against hate speech — and a way to hold mainstream media outlets to account for biased journalism.
Soharwardy fired an early salvo in the battle, lodging a human rights complaint against publisher Ezra Levant. In February 2006, Levant published the notorious Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in the now-defunct Western Standard magazine.
At the time, Soharwardy argued the cartoons were a form of hate speech.
However, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada has been through a lot since then. You might say he’s had a change of heart about hate.
“My view of the human rights commission has changed almost 180 degrees,” he told Canwest News Service. “Especially about this Section 13, the freedom of speech.”
Soharwardy backed out of the complaint against Levant, which was eventually dismissed by Alberta’s human rights commission, and has renounced the process.
“I wish we could have sat down at that time and talked it out rather than me going to a human rights complaint and Mr. Levant writing about me in the media and on the website,” Soharwardy says. “I think it would have helped us both.”
He says he hopes his planned Freedom of Speech Centre can help Muslims and all Canadians explore ways to balance hate speech and free speech…
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Cameron Calls for UK Bill of Rights
After Straw reveals plans to overhaul Human Rights Act
David Cameron demanded a ‘British Bill of rights’ today after the Government admitted the Human rights Act was preventing terror suspects from being deported.
The Tory leader stepped up his attack on the Labour legislation in the wake of remarks by Justice Secretary Jack Straw that “nervous judges” were reluctant to breach the rights of Islamic extremists.
In a speech to mark the 60th anniversary-of the UN’s Declaration of Human rights, Mr Cameron said that Labour had overseen legislation which lacked “proportion and common sense”.
The Human rights Act, introduced by Mr Straw in 1998, had led to police being unable to “name and shame” even the most wanted criminals on posters.
Mr Cameron said that the Act had also failed to protect fundamental civil liberties such as trial by jury and detention without charge.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Energy: Cyprus Has Some of the Cheapest Fuel in Europe
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, DECEMBER 4 — The price of fuel at the pump in Cyprus is actually among the lowest in the European Union, according to figures released by the government, as Cyprus Mail reports today. The data, furnished in the European Commission’s Oil bulletin, would seem to fly in the face of claims by politicians that consumers here are being conned for their gas. They show that the price of unleaded 95 petrol (quoted in euro per 1,000 litres) to be significantly lower than the EU average. The mean average retail price in Cyprus on November 24 was 851.67 euro, compared to the EU average of 1087.94 euro. Cyprus was the fifth cheapest country, with only Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania and Lithuania having more expensive fuel. According to the figures, it’s the Dutch who fork out the most at the pump (1269 euro per thousand litres), followed by Malta (1238 euro) and Portugal (1203.27 euro), with the UK coming in 12th at 1089.44 euro. For diesel, Cypriots fare even better, with the second cheapest in the EU at 933.51 euro per thousand litres, only behind Lithuania. The UK has the most expensive diesel in the EU at 1265.45 euro per thousand litres. The publication of the figures comes amid mounting calls on the government to set a ceiling on the price of fuel, an appeal repeated yesterday by EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou. Omirou protested that Cypriots paid way too much for their fuel, at a time when international crude prices were dropping sharply. The price of crude is now less than $50 a barrel. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Energy: Cypriots Pay Some of Highest Power Bills in Europe
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, DECEMBER 3 — Cyprus has the most expensive industrial electricity charges in the EU, and the fourth most expensive domestic charges, a new Eurostat report has revealed. The figures, as Cyprus Mail reports today, are further broken down into charges before and after tax, and under pre-tax category, Cyprus comes out second most expensive for domestic charges. All other countries except Ireland have a lower basic domestic charge, and where Denmark, Germany and Belgium have higher overall domestic costs than Cyprus, it is only because their tax on electricity charges are higher. In Cyprus the basic pre-tax domestic charge is 15.28 euro per 100 kilowatts with another 14.2% added in taxes, including VAT, making the total 17.80 euro per 100 kilowatts. Ireland, the highest basic domestic rate is 15.59 euro but only 11.9% is added in taxes, so their total is 17.69 euro, slightly less than Cyprus. Greece only charges 9.57 euro plus 8.6% tax, putting it on the cheaper end of the scale by far, with a total charge of 10.47 euro per 100 kilowatts for domestic consumption. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
‘Few Worries’ on Irish Pork
But border checks high nonetheless
(ANSA) — Rome, December 8 — Italy has ‘‘few worries’’ about tainted Irish pork because of a low level of imports, farmers said Monday.
The Coldiretti farm association said only 0.3% of pork sold in Italy in 2008 had come from Ireland.
Food safety police are nonetheless continuing their stepped-up border checks in the wake of the dioxin scare, authorities said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Calm Restored in Athens
Calm appeared to have returned to downtown Athens on Monday morning, following rioting in the capital and other Greek cities throughout Sunday following the death of a 15-year-old pupil in the Athens district of Exarhia the previous night after he was shot in the chest by a policeman, while several demonstrations were scheduled on Monday in Athens and Thessaloniki.
The Athens Metsovio Polytechnic University, the University of Athens and other tertiary education institutions in the capital were closed on Monday in protest over the 15-year-old pupil’s death, as were several other secondary and higher education facilities in various parts of the country.
University professors have proposed a three-day strike through Wednesday, while their association has already announced a 24-hour strike on December 10 together with other workers’ unions, while the Teachers’ Federation has called a 24-hour strike on Tuesday.
Rioting broke out in Athens and other Greek cities in the early hours of Sunday, after news began to spread of a teenager’s death at the hands of police in Exarhia the previous night. The 15-year-old boy was shot in the chest and died of his injuries shortly after being taken to hospital.
The incident occurred shortly after 9:00 on Saturday night when a police patrol car responding to a call in the Exarhia district was surrounded by a gang of 30 youths belonging to leftist, anti-establishment groups that started throwing stones and bits of wood.
The two special guards in the patrol decided to pursue the youths and, in the ensuing fracas, one of them fired his service revolver to disperse them, injuring the 15-year-old highschool student. The officer who fired claims he shot twice in the air and once at the ground and that the bullet that injured the boy must have ricocheted.
The two officers have been placed under arrest, while Deputy Interior Minister for public order issues, Panagiotis Hinofotis, immediately initiated action to place the pair on suspension, as well as their supervisor at the Exarhia police station.
Police headquarters said that an investigation was underway to determine whether the events had occurred in the way described by the two officers, while an autopsy has been ordered to confirm their claim that they did not shoot directly at the victim.
The youth’s death sparked some of the worst rioting seen in the country for decades, as hundreds of leftist and self-proclaimed anarchist youths rampaged through Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina and Hania, setting fires and smashing up cars, banks and shop windows in incidents that lasted until the early hours of Sunday morning. Several police stations were attacked during the night and police officers in several cities became the targets of violence.
The Fire Brigade, in a bulletin issued on Monday morning, said that the damage caused in the rioting, up until midnight Sunday, included: in Athens, the burning of 24 banks, 35 shops, 22 cars, 12 homes, 63 trash receptacles, 7 bus stops and a ruling New Democracy local organisation office; in Patras, a bank, a police patrol car, four cars, a vehicle belonging to the Achaia prefectural authority, 14 trash bins and a police parking log; in Thessaloniki, 9 banks, the Macedonia-Thrace ministry’s press office, 7 cars, 40 trash receptacles, the Aristotelion University’s canteen, an ND local organisation office, and three Metro construction sites; in Iraklio, Crete, two banks and four trash bins; in Hania, a prefectural car and 8 trash bins; in Kavala, an ND local office, a trash receptacle and the passport office at the police directorate; and in Chryssoupoois, a border guard post.
The Fire Brigade clarified that the above damages were incurred chiefly by molotov cocktails, and the damage listed did not include destruction caused by rocks, wood, marble and other items thrown at targets during the riots.
Further, seven people were arrested and 15 were taken to police headquarters for questioning on Sunday night in AThens during serious violence that broke out during a march to the General Police Directorate (GADA) in protest of the youth’s death.
Police said the demonstrators were cut off before reaching the GADA on Alexandras Avenue. Clashes broke out with police, in which 8 citizens and 13 police officers were injured, and were tkaen to hospital, while car dealerships, bank branches, cars and shops along Alexandras Avenue were damaged.
Police made extensive use of chemicals during the clashes, which spread to the streets around the Polytechnic, while a large number of demonstrators flooded the Polytechnic’s grounds.
Demonstrators also marched along Stadiou street towards the Parliament building off Syntagma square, where more clashes ensued, with police again using tear gas, before the protestors returned to the Polytechnic area.
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Suffers Under Wave of Asylum Seeker Caused Violence
[Video]
Greek police have clashed with hundreds of migrants waiting to submit asylum applications in Athens.
A riot broke out after one would be refugee plunged into a canal in exactly the same place where another asylum seeker was killed earlier this year.
Community leaders and politicians are warning that Athens inner city is at risk of becoming a racial battleground and are appealing for European assistance to defuse rising tension.
This year, Greece, has attracted a record 80 thousand illegal immigrants, but has been criticized by Europe for failing to help asylum seekers.
From Athens, Malcolm Brabant
| — Hat tip: heroyalwhyness | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Muslim Communities Celebrate Day of Sacrifice
(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 8 — The Muslim communities in Italy are celebrating the Day of Sacrifice. In Rome, the Aid El Kebir is being celebrated in Piazza Vittorio, in the Esquilino multiethnic district where the believers prayed guided by the imam of the community Mijanur Rahaman. “Nature has given the possibility of cohabitation among the religions but the Administration in Rome discriminates the minorities. They asked us to pray in Italian whereas Arabic was always used”. So said the President of the community of Bangladesh in Rome, Siddique Nure Alam, during the celebrations. The Muslim community in Palermo has chosen the gardens of Foro Italico to celebrate the Day of Sacrifice. “We pray our God — said the almost 1,000 people at the ceremony — that this festivity brings peace to all the communities in the country”. The celebrations in Trento were also attended by the President of the provincial council, Giovanni Kessles, who stressed that Region is “a laboratory not only for politics but also for the dialogue among religions, cultures and different people”. He was welcomed by Aboulkheir Breigheche, president of the Muslim community, who claimed the belonging of the Islamic people to this land: “we consider ourselves children of this land, citizens of Trentino”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Public Pool to Rent Out Burkinis
In a nod to women not wishing to reveal too much, an indoor public swimming pool in Sweden has begun renting out burkinis, full-body swimsuits that cover everything but the face, hands, and feet.
For 30 kronor ($3.75), the Stadsparksbadet pool in Borås in western Sweden now offers bathers who would rather not bathe in traditional swimwear something more comfortable that allows them to utilize the co-ed public pool
“[Previously] there hasn’t been a well-functioning alternative,” said pool head Anette Ekberg to the Borås Tidning (BT) newspaper, explaining that bathers who in the past chose not to wear regular swimsuits had to come up with more creative — but often less practical solutions.
“Some would swim in long pants and a shirt. Not the best solution but we don’t want to prohibit something because we can’t provide an alternative.”
The issue of appropriate attire for women at Sweden’s indoor public pools has received attention at both ends of the spectrum in the last year.
Back in February, the city of Gothenburg was ordered to pay damages to two Muslim mothers who were kicked out of a swimming pool for not removing their veils. The city appealed the ruling to Sweden’s Supreme Court, which has yet to try to case.
And in May, the central Swedish town of Enköping decided it would prohibit women from bathing topless at the town’s indoor pool.
The move came on the heels of the opposite decision by officials in Sundsvall in northern Sweden to allow women to swim topless following pressure from the Bara Bröst network — which translates both as ‘bare breasts’ and ‘just breasts’.
Ekberg claimed the pool’s decision to offer the burkini was a response to growing demand from bathers, as well as a way to avoid the hygiene issues associated with bathing in regular clothing.
“Clearly, it’s not as pleasant to swim in cotton clothing. It loosens more particles from the clothes and that forces our cleaning system to work harder,” she explained.
“Therefore we’re asking those who are interested to use the burkini. That way we can reduce the level of chlorine in the water.”
Stadsparksbadet is also considering offering burkinis for purchase in the near future, depending on the response from the public.
Sheeda Firouzfateh, a local resident who arranges women-only swimming sessions at another pool in nearby Sandared, thinks the 30 kronor rental price may be low enough to entice women to use the burkini.
However, she isn’t sure that the burkini will be enough to make modest Muslim women comfortable with bathing in the presence of men.
“I’m not so sure. It’s pretty tight and still shows your body. Maybe it’s easier for some, but others can still probably not think of showing themselves in that way in front of men,” said Firouzfateh.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
UK: 100 Police Take on Rioting Prisoners as Jail Protest Breaks Out During Muslim Festival
At least 100 police and prison staff, many dressed in riot gear, were deployed to the Aylesbury Young Offenders’ Institute after a large group of Asian prisoners ran riot inside the centre.
Sources said that they broke into the officers’ mess and workshops and armed themselves with hammers, saws and chisels.
The incident at Aylesbury Young Offenders’ Institute is described as concerted indiscipline’, by the Prison Service
The incident, described by the Prison Service as ‘concerted indiscipline’, was believed to have broken out during protests as Asian inmates celebrated the festival of Eid, which marks the end of the Ramadan fast.
Early reports that the rioters may have taken five people hostage — including a prison service Imam, were denied by a spokesman for the Prison Service.
Police said that support officers from across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire were being sent to the young offenders’ institute in Bierton Road, Aylesbury, to assist prison staff in quelling the dispute.
Trouble broke out at the centre, which houses about 400 young prisoners, just before noon. The insitute is home to some of the most violent young inmates in Britain and about 10 per cent were understood to be lifers.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Climate Change Protest at Stansted Airport
Passengers’ fury as climate change protest at Stansted airport forces dozens of flights to be cancelled
Climate change protesters stormed Stansted Airport today in an astonishing breach of security that brought flights to a standstill.
More than 50 protesters from the Plane Stupid group cut through fencing in the early hours before chaining themselves together just yards from the runway.
Thousands of furious passengers left stranded after dozens of flights were cancelled and others seriously delayed had to be kept calm by armed police.
The incident, which is hugely embarrassing for airport operator BAA, is believed to be the first time demonstrators have managed to occupy one of Britain’s major airports.
The protesters, mostly under 25 and mainly students, arrived in an old fire-engine and just before 3am and used bolt-cutters to break through a perimeter fence.
Demonstrating against a planned second runway at the airport, they chained and bolted themselves to security fencing they brought in with them.
It took police hours to cut them free and it was not until 8.30am — almost five hours after the protest had started — that the airport was able to resume flights.
Officers arrested 57 activists and took them away in an airport shuttle bus as the first planes took off overhead.
At least one, Olivia Chessell, 20, was convicted last month of a rooftop protest at the House of Commons in February.
She avoided prison for the protest and was instead fined £365 after being found guilty of trespass.
Ex-public schoolgirl Lily Kember, 21, now a student at Edinburgh University, acted as the group’s ‘mouthpiece’ from the airfield during the sit-in.
‘It’s a bit cold but everyone is in good spirits. Being arrested is a terrifying prospect, but not nearly as terrifying as the threat of climate change,’ she said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Migrants to Earn Dole and House
IMMIGRANTS will have to EARN the right to UK benefits and council housing under a tough crackdown.
Some will have to wait TEN YEARS before they get a penny in the toughest shake-up of the rules in a generation.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas revealed details in an exclusive interview with The Sun.
All legal economic migrants will first have to win the right to a passport by serving a five-year “probationary citizenship”.
Those who keep out of trouble and do voluntary work will become eligible for benefits one or two years after that.
But any who fail to commit to Britain can be denied handouts for a second five years…
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Pensioner Fined for Littering After Police Knock Cigarette From His Hand While Arresting Shoplifters
Lazaris Michael, 76, claims he was handed a fine for littering after police knocked a cigarette out of his hand
A grandfather was left humiliated after being handed a £60 litter fine when his cigarette was knocked out of his hand as he walked past a scuffle between police and shoplifters.
Lazaris Michael, 76, had taken a single puff before his smoke was sent flying as officers apprehended two girls who were trying to flee a branch of Boots.
But the pensioner did not have time to bend down and pick it up before a council warden pounced on him and hit him the fixed penalty for littering in front of a large crowd.
When he begged the council to show common sense and drop the case they responded by threatening him with an even bigger fine if he does not pay up.
Mr Michael, a retired restaurateur from Margate, Kent, said: ‘I am well known by the residents of this town and this was utterly embarrassing.
‘I’ve been shopping on this street for half a century and this has never happened before. I never drop litter.
‘I was on my way to pick up a prescription for my wife when two policemen were apprehending two girls and bringing them out of the shop.
‘This was causing people to crowd round and in the bustle someone pushed into me and I dropped my cigarette.
‘I wasn’t littering — it was a full cigarette. But before I had a chance to pick it up the warden had come up to me and asked me to come with him.
‘I didn’t know what he wanted so I went to talk to him. He gave me the fine and didn’t give me a chance to explain.
‘If he hadn’t come over to talk to me I would have bent down and picked it up without giving another thought.
‘I wouldn’t waste a full cigarette.’
| — Hat tip: Yorkshire Miner | [Return to headlines] |
Words Associated With Christianity and British History Taken Out of Children’s Dictionary
Westminster Abbey may be one of Britain’s most famous landmarks, but the word abbey has been removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.
Instead, words such as ‘MP3 player’, ‘voicemail’ and ‘attachment’ have been included.
Oxford University Press has removed words like “aisle”, “bishop”, “chapel”, “empire” and “monarch” from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like “blog”, “broadband” and “celebrity”. Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.
The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society.
But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain’s heritage.
“We have a certain Christian narrative which has given meaning to us over the last 2,000 years. To say it is all relative and replaceable is questionable,” said Professor Alan Smithers, the director of the centre for education and employment at Buckingham University. “The word selections are a very interesting reflection of the way childhood is going, moving away from our spiritual background and the natural world and towards the world that information technology creates for us.”
An analysis of the word choices made by the dictionary lexicographers has revealed that entries from “abbey” to “willow” have been axed. Instead, words such as “MP3 player”, “voicemail” and “attachment” have taken their place…
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Ports: Croatia, World Bank Provides 88 Mln for Rijeka
(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 4 — The Rijeka port authority has recently concluded negotiations with the World Bank for the concession of an 88 million euro loan aimed at realising the Rijeka (Fiume) Gateway II project. According to the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) in Zagreb, the project provides for the widening and lengthening of the Brajdica container terminal (300 metres) and the Zagreb coast harbour (400 metres). The port authority recently shelved a pre-qualification procedure for the Brajdica terminal in the aim of attracting offers from potential investors. The organisation will draw up a list of six candidates who are to take part in the international bid. The same procedure will be followed in 2009 for the Zagreb coast harbour. The entire project is expected to be concluded by 2011. It is thought that these investments will allow container traffic in the port of Rijeka to 335,000 units per year by 2015, as opposed to the current 145,000 units per year. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: 1.5 Mln Euro From EU to Help SME
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, DECEMBER 1 — The European Union has allocated 1.5 million euro for a two-year project of technical support aimed at the development of company policies in Serbia, said the state secretary of the Economy and Regional Development Ministry, Dejan Jovanovic, reports BETA news agency. “The purpose of the project is to strengthen institutions at the national and regional levels, which will deal with the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) and the policy of innovation,” he said during the presentation of the project, the implementation of which began on September 1 this year. In his words, during the project “150 Serbian companies will have the opportunity to strengthen their innovation capacities.” This means that the companies will be able to obtain the additional information and know-how they need to develop their innovation potentials and improve management models, which is important for strengthening competition and opening new jobs,” Jovanovic added. The project will help strengthen the SME sector in the Ministry for the Economy, the Agency for the Development of SME and the Serbian government’s SME Council. Project leader Stephen O’Mullane said the criteria for selecting 150 SMEs that will participate in the project will be set by the end of this week. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Gendarmerie to Meet European Standards
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, NOVEMBER 10 — Based on decisions taken in the Higher Counterterrorism Board (TMYK) and National Security Council (MGK) meetings of last month, the Turkish government is set to reform Turkey’s Gendarmerie General Command and make the military institution compatible with European Union standards, as Today’s Zaman reports. The TMYK gathered three times last month — following an attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Aktutun military outpost on October 3rd, in which 17 Turkish soldiers died — to discuss a new strategy to fight terrorism. Members of the MGK announced that Turkey will be restructuring the relevant agencies and institutions to achieve higher efficiency in its counterterrorism effort. Reforming Turkey’s gendarmerie command was also a key demand voiced by the EU in the bloc’s latest progress report on Turkey released last week. Today’s Zaman sources at the Interior Ministry say most of the draft on the reform plan, developed mainly in last month’s meetings, is already complete. The reformed gendarmerie will be based on the French and Italian models. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tourism: Moroccan Minister, Earnings Above Expectation
(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 1 — Reasoning in purely economic terms, the sector of tourism in Morocco is going better than expected, reported the Moroccan Minister of Tourism and Local Crafts, Mohamed Boussaid, from Tangiers, whose words were reported by the local Map agency. “We are about to achieve results superior to what we were expecting in some areas, above all as far as earnings are concerned, which have already reached 59 billion diram in 2007 (about 5 billion 300 million euros)” the minister said at a form dedicated to the impact of tourism on the country’s growth process. Boussaid also illustrated the government’s commitment to look to high level tourism, which currently registers “an expense indicator of 990 dollars for every tourist, three times that of Tunisia”. The minister also spoke of diversifying the tourism offer, mentioning the details relevant to Moroccan tourists who want to visit there home country and who account for a fifth of all hotel reservations today. Through a plan created to suit this purpose, national tourists are given special prices at an average of 500 diram (about 45 euros) per day for every family. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel: New Party Launched, Supported by Writers
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, DECEMBER 5 — Plans for a new Israeli social democratic party, which has found support among celebrated writers (including Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua and David Grossman), were outlined today in a theatre in Tel Aviv before a crowd of hundreds of sympathisers. The organisational framework for the new party will be provided by Meretz, the left-wing Zionist party which currently has five seats in the Knesset. The aim of Meretz’s leader, Haim Oron, is to strengthen the party by uniting new and dynamic political forces (including the Greens), which until now have remained on the margins of active politics. With early general elections scheduled for February 2009, the new party (which still has no definitive name) hopes to “inspire new hope among Israelis” and aims to claim consensus among former supporters of Labour and Kadima, with the eventual objective of becoming the main political force of Israel’s centre-left. Amos Oz, who in the last few days has caused outrage by declaring that “the Israeli Labour party has concluded its historic role”, was present at the meeting. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel: Barak, Labour Ready to Lead Opposition
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, DECEMBER 5 — “We are preparing for the elections in order to participate in the political block which will run the country. But if the electorate decides against us, we will pass to the side of the opposition and we will lead it with strength and determination”. So announced today the leader of the Israeli labour party and Defence minister, Ehud Barak, who was presenting to the press the result of the primary elections which were conducted yesterday. After Barak, the Social Assistance minister, Yitzhak Herzog, was chosen (24,788 preferences), followed by Ophir Pines-Paz (24,336) and by the Economist Avishai Braverman (22,801). “We have prepared an excellent selection, certainly better than those presented by the other parties”, exclaimed Barak. In the outgoing Knesset, labour is the second largest party (after Kadima) with 19 seats out of a total of 120. But now polls suggest that their strength will be halved and that Benyamin Netanyahùs Likud will win the vote with more than 30 seats. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel: 45 Known Terrorists Granted Amnesty
Pardoned Fatah members from same group that planned bus station bombing
JERUSALEM — As a stated gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today granted full amnesty to 45 terrorists from Abbas’ Fatah organization, Palestinian security officials told WND.
The amnesty comes just five days after WND reported information obtained indicates specific Fatah terrorists granted amnesty in recent months by Olmert plotted a foiled large-scale bombing of Tel Aviv’s central bus station.
[…]
The gestures do not require any reciprocation from the Palestinian side.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Cars: Chinese Geely Enters Europe Via Turkey
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, NOVEMBER 6 — Distribution of Geely, the second Chinese automobile brand to enter the Turkish market, is about to begin, Hurriyet daily reports. Chery was the first Chinese automobile to enter Turkey with the Mermerler Group, which lead the way for others. As of mid-November, Turkey’s Anadolu Group is planning to launch the distribution of Geely, the first independent automobile manufacturer in the Peoplés Republic of China, which started production 10 years ago. Turkey will be an important contributor towards Geely’s target of becoming a global giant, said Shufu Li, founder of the firm. “We will develop our European strategy based on Geely’s development in Turkey, which has the same standards as Europe. Should the Anadolu Group also approve, we would like to expand together into other European markets.” Li noted that Turkey would be the priority candidate for the firm if production demand emerges in Europe. The Anadolu Group’s subsidiary Anadolu Araçlar & Ticaret will begin selling two models of Geely in mid-November. The company, which will sell the brand at 25 outlets nationwide, will add five new stores in 2009, said Kamil Eser, chairman of the automotive group at Anadolu Holding. The firm has changed the names of the models they will be exporting to Turkey, he said. “In Turkey, we will import the CK model under the name of Echo, and MK as Familia. The price of Echo in the B segment will start from USD 10,000. We are targeting people for whom it would normally be difficult to purchase new cars. We have invested in Geely’s future. It is not very important for us to make profits for the time being. Based on developments in the first year, we may reach a sale figure of between 3,000-5,000 units. We expect a market share of one percent to 1.5%,” he added. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Economic Woes: Islam’s Answer
Major new ideas or radical change tend not to happen in normal times when systems are running smoothly and people are generally content. It is in times of crisis that great change is usually triggered. We are in a time of crisis. Hardly a day passes without new tidings of financial disaster. The latest grim news is from the German insurance industry that predicts that 200,000 businesses will go bust in Europe and 62,000 in the US next year — which suggests that 2009 will not see the start of an economic recovery. Perhaps, given that we live in such “interesting” economic times, it is not so surprising then that on the same day the German report was published came the suggestion, from Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, that Muslim countries form an economic bloc.
The grand mufti’s comments, made in his address to the nearly three million pilgrims assembled at Mount Arafat for what is the spiritual climax of the annual Haj, has been picked up by the media across the world as if his sermon was political and economic. It was not. The main theme was a call to Muslims to show the world “the bright face of Islam”, to demonstrate forgiveness, love and peace and to shun extremism which can lead to terrorism.
It is far from the first time that the grand mufti has made such calls. What was new, however — and it clearly explains the sudden global interest — is his accompanying comments on the world’s present economic woes, the charge being that they have been brought about by human greed. Specifically it is the use of interest as the foundation of international finance that is to blame. From there has come the proposition that Muslim countries should reject interest, adopt Shariah-compliant economics and unite to form what could become, as he put it, a “formidable economic power”.
The grand mufti is not alone in taking a moral approach to the crisis; other religious leaders around the world have also blamed it on human greed. Nor is the idea of an Islamic economic union new. Calls for one regularly surface. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is a keen supporter of the idea. But the ideas are timely. The remarkable growth in Islamic banking in recent years was because an increasing number of concerned Muslims with financial muscle could see that many aspects of international banking and finance were inimical to Islamic law. They demanded an alternative. But, growing though they are, Shariah-compliant economics has remained the minority system. The Western economic order dominates — across the Muslim world too. The big difference now, however, is that that old order is seen to have demonstrably failed. In these uncertain times, governments and states are looking for ways to stimulate fresh economic growth. In Muslim countries, it is bound to result in renewed interest in Islamic finance and in an economic union. Given the present circumstances, perhaps such a bloc is an idea whose time has come. Certainly it deserves serious consideration. Of course, it would not be a good thing for the world to be divided into potentially competing blocs. That would be dangerous. Large, collaborating blocs, however, are a different matter. Not that an Islamic economic union could happen overnight. It would have to begin small and grow — the European Union’s path to its present existence. How it might come about is one thing; enthusiasm for it is another. In the present climate, it would indeed be remarkable if support for the notion does not grow.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
Emirates: 2010, Sale of 10 Year Old Cars to be Banned
(ANSAmed) — DUBAI, NOVEMBER 25 — More safety on the streets, more attention to the environment, and the appearance of the city. These are the reasons that have inspired a new measure passed by the United Arab Emirates’ Interior Minister, which prohibits the sale of cars registered for more than 10 years. A new decree states that automobiles that have are 10 years old are in fact “old”, and prohibits the transfer of these vehicles from one owner to another. About one-third of the cars that are currently in circulation in the Emirates will be “not sellable” in 2 years. For cars that are over 20 years old, there will be an absolute ban on their use. The alternative for owners, will be scrapping the old cars or selling them outside the confines of the confederation of seven Emirates. The measure, explained the director of the National Traffic Authority, Nasser Al Mansouri, aims at safety on the roads and environmental protection, encouraging the use of public transport. It will also have an impact on the appearance of the city, added the head of the traffic division in the Interior Ministry, Gaith Al Zàabi confirming Dubaìs ambitions once again. In the Uae, 1.85 million automobiles are currently in circulation which make the ratio of vehicles per inhabitant one of the highest in the world. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Human Rights: Police Violence on Rise in Turkey, Hrw Says
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 5 — A rising wave of police violence against the public in Turkey is linked to the Turkish government’s failure to hold abusive officers to account, Human Rights Watch, or HRW, said in a report released today. The 80-page report documents 28 cases of police abuse against members of the public since the start of 2007, and examines official investigations of police conduct in those instances. The cases include fatal and non-fatal shootings by the police; ill-treatment and excessive use of force by police against demonstrators; and ill-treatment during or following identity checks. Those who file complaints against the police often find themselves put on trial for having “forcibly resisted” the police. “Turkey needs to tackle its violent and trigger-happy policing culture,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW. “That can only happen if the criminal justice system holds the police to account for these serious crimes.” Police violence in Turkey has been exacerbated by changes to the law on police powers made in June 2007, which give police excessively broad discretion to use lethal force and encourage arbitrary stops and searches by police. The problem is compounded by the failure to adequately investigate abuses when complaints are made. The report documents a pattern of police interference with investigations, including attempts to conceal, contaminate, or plant evidence. “Victims of police violence we interviewed frequently told us that the police feel untouchable. That will only change if police officers who break the law are punished,” Roth said. Incidents of police torture or ill-treatment are now more often reported as occurring outside formal places of detention — in the street, during apprehension, in police cars, or out of the sight of cameras or witnesses. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
I Didn’t Recognize Perez: Egypt’s Muslim Cleric
Opposition MPs say al-Azhar chief should be sacked
Leading Sunni Muslim cleric Muhammad Tantawi has branded the editors of an Israeli newspaper “liars” for reporting what he insists was an inadvertent handshake with Israeli President Shimon Peres, media outlets reported Sunday.
Tantawi, who heads Cairo’s al-Azhar University, said last week that he did not recognize the octogenarian Peres when he “passingly” shook his hand at a U.N.-sponsored religious dialogue last month.
Tantawi also said he had no idea that Gaza was under a seige.
“I do not know whether there is a siege of Gaza,” he said. “What siege? What rubbish? The siege has been there for months.”
The Israeli newspaper Maariv ran details of the encounter, reporting that Tantawi had approached the Israeli Nobel Peace laureate and conversed with him.
Tantawi responded furiously to the report, telling an Egyptian television anchor that the Maariv editors were “liars and sons of 60…”, an abbreviation of an Arabic insult that often ends by calling a parent a dog or a prostitute, according to a transcript obtained by Egyptian newspaper al-Masri al-Yom.
A senior journalist at Maariv told AFP that the report, by veteran correspondent Jackie Hugi, was carefully sourced.
“The newspaper stands by the report, and I stand by what Jackie published because of his history,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Another Israeli daily, Haaretz, had also published a report last week saying Tantawi was the one who approached Peres, and that he clasped Peres’s hand for several minutes while talking to him.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: German Firm Invests in Northwestern City
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, NOVEMBER 27 — German firm Siemens San. ve Tic. A.S. (industry and trade corporation) is investing some 100 million euro in Kocaelìs Gebze town, Huseyin Gelis, the director general of the company said. “We are establishing a new factory in Gebze because we attach importance to Turkish market,” Gelis told Anatolia news agency, adding that the factory would be one of the most important and modern factory in Turkey and Europe. Gelis also said that the company would continue its long-term investments in Turkey. Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and health care sectors. The company has around 400,000 employees (in continuing operations) working to develop and manufacture products, design and install complex systems and projects, and tailor a wide range of solutions for individual requirements.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Disagreements With IMF Remain,Talks Continue,Minister
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, NOVEMBER 28 — Turkish State Minister responsible for economics, foreign trade and the Treasury Mehmet Simsek said yesterday that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new loan deal were continuing, despite the fact that there were still disagreements over the content of the deal. “If we can convince the IMF and reach an agreement over the terms and content, we will make an arrangement with the IMF. There is still dispute over content,” said Simsek. Speaking at the 60th Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting in Ankara, Simsek said that certain progress was made in ongoing technical talks with IMF. However, he added that the IMF expected serious fiscal adjustments from Turkey. Simsek also clarified that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was not against an arrangement with the IMF, but he wanted “a smooth program” to help solve the liquidity problem without imposing an extra burden to the real sector. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Moody’s, Risk of Recession if No Deal With IMF
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 2 — Moody’s, a leading international rating agency, said Tuesday that Turkey would face recession in one or two years if there was no International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. Kristin Lindow, Senior Vice President at the Sovereign Risk Unit of Moody’s Investors Service, told the Turkey Credit Risk Conference held in Istanbul that the period of significant growth rates were now over. Lindow, as reported by Anatolia news agency, said Moody’s estimated a 3% growth rate for Turkey, adding that a positive outlook was expected in case of an IMF program in Turkey. Turkey’s last 10 billion USD stand-by loan deal with the IMF expired in May and business leaders have called on the government to sign a fresh agreement with the Fund to boost the 17th largest economy of the world. Moody’s senior analyst said Turkish economy had positive indicators, such as sufficient foreign exchange reserves and stated that Turkey’s problem was likely to arise from the issue of confidence. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Moody’s Gets Harsh Reply From Government
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 4 — The global crisis, generating turmoil in markets, also causes people to question the trustworthiness of credit rating institutions, and Industry and Trade Minister, Zafer Caglayan, declared that the credentials of institutions such as Moody’s are “not enough to convince me”, daily Hurriyet reported. “If these institutions (like Moody’s) had given the right advice and had led people properly, we probably would not have experienced such a devastating crisis”, Caglayan declared responding to a statement by Kristin Lindow, senior vice president of Moody’s Investors Service Risk Unit. Lindow had claimed at a conference Tuesday in Istanbul that the absence of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (Imf) would “cause Turkey to face recession”. “(If the ratings agencies had done their jobs properly) the United States would not have faced bankruptcies at the core institutions of the system”, the minister said, speaking on the sidelines of the 7th Annual Industry Congress. “The trustworthiness of the credit rating institutions should be questioned”, Caglayan declared, adding that “while the current global financial crisis terminated the jobs of the ‘wonder boys,’ who used to make money from money, it also launched a new era where people question credit rating institutions”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: ‘Black’ Economy Reigns, Oecd Says
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 3 — With an unregistered economy rate of 32.1%, Turkey has one of the highest rates of illegal markets among OECD countries, as daily Hurriyet reports today. According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, Turkey’s unregistered economy rate is much higher than the average among members. Based on an action plan to fight illegal markets, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Finance and prepared by related institutes, the average percentage of the unregistered economy in developing countries is 41%. The unregistered economy rate in transition countries is 38%. Among OECD members, the unregistered economy rate stands at 18%, while Turkey’s stands at 32.1%. Illegal markets in Greece constitutes 28.6% of the country’s entire economy, while Italy’s unregistered economy rate stands at 27% and Belgium’s at 23.2%. Based on the data collected for the same action plan the unregistered economy rate in Spain is 22.6%, while Sweden’s is 18.1%. Illegal trade in Germany, France and the Netherlands constitutes 16.3%, 15.3%and 13%, respectively, of their nation’s economies. The unregistered economy in the United Kingdom is worth 12.6% of its economy, while in Austria, it is about 10.2%. Switzerland had the lowest rate of illegal markets with 8.8%. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Court Probes Link Between Rabbi and Coup Plot
Istanbul, 8 Dec. (AKI) — A Turkish court, currently hearing charges against members of an alleged criminal network known as Ergenekon, is investigating a link between the organisation and a Turkish rabbi now living in Canada.
Turkish media reports said that the court has decided to send an official notice to the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) demanding information about the group’s ties to a Turkish rabbi, Tuncay Guney.
Ergenekon is suspected of a plot to overthrow the Turkish government. Eighty-six ultra-nationalists linked to the group are currently on trial just outside Istanbul, accused of planning a campaign of murder and violence.
Tuncay Guney, a former journalist and suspected former Ergenekon member allegedly infiltrated the gang as a government agent.
A document uncovered by a Turkish daily showed that Guney purposefully infiltrated Ergenekon and JITEM, an illegal police intelligence unit suspected of hundreds of murders, kidnappings and disappearances.
Guney has denied having links to any intelligence organisation, including the MIT. The MIT has also denied that Guney was a source of information.
Judges of the High Criminal Court, which is hearing the case against Ergenekon, decided on Friday to ask the MIT about its suspected links with Guney.
The Ergenekon operation was revealed in June 2007 when grenades were allegedly discovered in a house in Istanbul’s Umraniye district.
It is alleged to have exposed an illegal organisation that was planning events that would pave the way for a military coup to overthrow the ruling Islamist-rooted AKP government.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Fears for London Doctor in Held Bangladesh
‘Held hostage by family in Bangladesh in plot to make her marry a Muslim’
The boyfriend of a doctor who has allegedly been beaten and held captive in Bangladesh under a forced marriage plot today made an emotional appeal for her release.
Humayra Abedin, 33, is allegedly being held hostage by her family since August in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.
Her Hindu partner says Dr Abedin’s Muslim parents have bound and gagged her, handing out violent beatings to get her to end their relationship and marry a fellow Muslim.
The software engineer, who is afraid to reveal his identity, said he has grave fears for the safety of his girlfriend of five years after she made a secret phone call saying she wants to end her life and pleading with him to rescue her.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistani Official: U.S. Stepped in to Stop Mumbai Revenge
‘On the day of the attacks, India was going to act very drastically in retaliation’
British and American officials had to intervene to prevent India carrying out a strike on Pakistan in retaliation for the Mumbai terror attacks, it has been claimed.
An Indian soldier aims his weapon towards The Taj Mahal Hotel
A Pakistani senior diplomat claims India wanted to strike Pakistan for Mumbai attacks
The Pakistani High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, said he had learned from sources that India was about to launch a military strike to “teach Pakistan a lesson”.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “On the day of the Mumbai attacks, I got some information in London that India was going to act very drastically against Pakistan in retaliation to what happened.”
The senior diplomat said had alerted the Pakistani government and President Asif Ali Zardari to the threat.
In turn, Mr Zardari urgently contacted high level British and American officials who intervened to calm the situation.
Mr Hassan said: “The president spoke to people in various places and the next day Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke to Mr Zardari and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice spoke to Shri Pranab Mukherjee, India’s external minister,” he said.
“It was probably because of that reason why the tension that was building up was eased a little.
“But ever since, we have been observing that there is a lot of talk of teaching Pakistan a lesson and exercising the so-called right of hot pursuit.
“However, we have not been provided with any evidence of elements of non-state players who were responsible for what happened in Mumbai.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Insurgents Torch U.S., U.N. Supply Lines
Pakistani militants burn 160 vehicles destined for armed forces in Afghanistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants torched 160 vehicles, including dozens of Humvees destined for U.S. and allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, in the boldest attack so far on the critical military supply line through Pakistan.
The American military said Sunday’s raid on two transport terminals near the beleaguered Pakistani city of Peshawar would have “minimal” impact on anti-Taliban operations set to expand with the arrival of thousands more troops next year.
However, the attack feeds concern that insurgents are trying to choke the route through the famed Khyber Pass, which carries up to 70 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan, and drive up the cost of the war.
It also dents faith in Pakistani authorities already under pressure from India and the U.S. to act on suspicion that the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai were orchestrated by Islamic extremists based in Pakistan.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistania Delenda
by Srdja Trifkovic
That India should accuse Pakistan of involvement in recent Islamic-terrorist outrages in Bombay was to be expected. That the accusation would turn out to be so well founded so quickly, was not. The only lasting solution to the problem of Pakistan is the disappearance of Pakistan from the political map of the world. This goal is realistic, but it cannot be achieved by overt war because of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. It can be achieved, however, by exploiting Pakistan’s fundamental weakness: its ethnic, regional and tribal disunity. Actively supported by the civilized world, India need not send any terrorists to Pakistan. She should merely provide support to Baluch, Sindhi, and Northwestern tribal separatists — support of the kind that Islamabad has been giving to Kashmiri jihadists for decades. A Pakistan-free world would be a better and safer world. It can be done and it should be done.
U.S. counterterrorism officials now support India’s claims of Pakistan’s involvement in the attacks in Bombay. They have identified Pakistan’s powerful Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as the key source of support, finance, and protection for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Islamic terrorist group that almost certainly carried out last month’s attacks. If Pakistan’s involvement is proven — Islamabad’s usual denials notwithstanding — for the non-Muslim world this should be the final straw: proof positive that Pakistan is an irredeemably flawed entity, inherently unable to turn itself into a stable polity or a benign global presence, let alone a half-decent regional neighbor. It needs to be quarantined and its disintegration along its many ethnic-tribal lines actively encouraged.
The problem of Pakistan has been addressed in this column twice over the past six months.
Commenting the resignation of Pakistan’s former president (Musharraf, Out of Tricks, News & Views, August 20), we noted that the myth of Pakistan as an ally of the United States in the “War on Terrorism” should be laid to rest…
| — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic | [Return to headlines] |
Auto: Algeria-China Deal to Open Factories
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, DECMEBER 4 — China’s Shaanxi group is to open Algeria’s first vehicle-assembly plants. According to an AP release, two contracts were signed by Shaanxi with two private Algerian companies. Sealed with GM Trade, of the private Mazouz group, the first deal, worth 100 million dollars, is for the construction of an assembly unit at Setif (300 kilometres east of Algiers) for ten thousand vehicles of varying types: industrial, utility, buses and minibuses. The factory, due to come on line during 2010, will also include a training school for the manufacturing of spare parts and assembly and will “create 4 thousand jobs”, noted GM Trade’s General Director, Ahme Mazouz. The second contract, signed with Fandi Motors, concerns the construction of an assembly line for two Shaanxi brand vehicles in Algiers or at Bordj Bou Arreridj (230 kilometres east of the capital) This unit will employ around 1,200 workers and will come on line in 2009. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Six-to-One Advantage Over the US
By Spengler
In classical music, China has embraced the least Chinese, and the most explicitly Western, of all art forms. Even the best Chinese musicians still depend on Western mentors. Lang Lang may be a star, but in some respects he remains an apprentice in the pantheon of Western musicians. The Chinese, in some ways the most arrogant of peoples, can elicit a deadly kind of humility in matters of learning. Their eclecticism befits an empire that is determined to succeed, as opposed to a mere nation that needs to console itself by sticking to its supposed cultural roots. Great empires transcend national culture and naturalize the culture they require.
American musical education remains the best in the world, the legacy of the European refugees who staffed the great conservatories, and the best Asian musicians come to America to study. Thirty to 40% of students at the top schools are Asian, and another 20 to 30% are Eastern European (or Israeli). There are few Americans or Western Europeans among the best instrumentalists. According to the head of one conservatory, Americans simply don’t have the discipline to practice eight hours a day.
As a practical matter, though, American policy-makers might think about it this way. Until now, the West has tended to dismiss China’s scientists as imitators rather than originators. As a practical matter, though, American policy-makers might think about it this way. Until now, the West has tended to dismiss China’s scientists as imitators rather than originators. As a practical matter, China had little incentive to innovate; an emerging economy does not have to re-invent the wheel, or the Volkswagen, for that matter.
This was not true in the remote past, of course. China invented the clock, the magnetic compass, the printing press, geared machines, gunpowder, and the other technologies that began the industrial revolution, long before the West. When it comes time to develop the next generation of anti-missile radar, or electric car batteries, Chinese originality may assert itself once again. Chinese who have mastered the most elevated as well as the most characteristically Western forms of high culture will also think with originality.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China: Beijing Admits Almost 300,000 Infants Sick From Melamine-Tainted Milk
China’s Health Ministry releases new data. Chinese dairy and other food exports collapse in October. But new investments in the sector are taking place.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — China’s Health Ministry has admitted that 294,000 infants have had kidney problems as a result of drinking melamine-tainted milk, acknowledging that the number of babies experiencing “urinary system abnormalities’ is six times what was originally reported.
When the scandal broke in September government sources reported that more than 53,000 children had been hospitalised with kidney stones or other kidney-related complications. At least four were reported dead. Since then the authorities had not updated its figures to avoid any major social protest.
The Health Ministry said that 51,900 children were taken to hospital, with 861 still admitted and 154 suffering from “severe” conditions. It did not however mention compensation as promised to the families.
Affected children had consumed milk powder from China’s main dairy producers, tainted with melamine, an industrial compound found in plastics and which is toxic to humans.
Tonnes of the product were pulled off the shelves as tainted Chinese dairy products became suspect around the world.
As a consequence China exported just over 1,000 tonnes of dairy products in October, down 92 per cent from a year earlier.
Last year, China’s dairy industry was worth $18 billion.
Other food exports were also affected. In Qingdao export growth fell to 1.9 in October, way down from an average of 15 per cent in the first nine months of the year.
Export growth in agricultural items from Yantai, another big port in the area, dropped from 12 per cent in September to 3.2 per cent in October.
The authorities have pledged tighter controls and there are signs of renewed interest in China’s food sector.
Private equity firm of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. announced it was spending US$ 100 million to buy a minority stake in China Mengniu Dairy, the country’s largest milk producer and one of the companies involved in the melamine scandal. This should mean more funds to upgrade production and a safer product.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China: Widespread Sympathy for Murderer, Criticism for Justice System
China’s Communist Party-controlled justice system is increasingly seen as a tool of oppression and control. In reaction to the situation people side with “criminals” who are unfairly treated.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Yang Jia has become an unlikely hero to many people for his response to police violence. Convicted of killing six cops in Shanghai’s Zhabei district he was executed on 26 November but in so doing the authorities have made him a symbol of people’s distrust in the justice system.
Yang, a 28-year-old jobless man, stabbed nine policemen on 1 July, killing six and wounding the other three. Because of the circumstances of the case he received a lot of sympathy from ordinary Chinese who could identify with his reaction to an unfair arrest and the torture inflicted earlier upon him by police in prison. Equally significant his trial failed to meet the most basic standards of fairness. The defendant in fact was not allowed to choose his defence attorney and the lawyer his father hired for him was barred from the courtroom and was instead replaced by a state-appointed attorney employed by the Zhabei district government. The same family-hired lawyer was also not allowed to take part in the appeal process and Yang’s chance of pleading insanity or reduced mental capacities was quickly dismissed. All in all the trial, including the appeal phase, lasted three months.
Yang’s mother, Wang Jingmei, the only one who knew about the mistreatment he had received, vanished during the trial. It was eventually reported that she had been held at the police-run Ankang Mental Hospital in Beijing
The execution was carried out as speedily as the trial with the family, which lives in Beijing, informed just the night before.
During the trial in Shanghai hundreds of people protested outside the courthouse, carrying banners that read ‘Long live the hero with a knife!’
In the space of a few days at the end of October, more than 2,500 people added their names to an online petition, including well-known public figures, before it was promptly shut down.
After Yang’s execution last Wednesday, one blogger urged people to mourn for three days by abstaining from meat.
“The real problem with China’s legal system is that it’s under the Communist Party’s control,” said Danny Gittings, a University of Hong Kong expert on the mainland’s legal system.
“The procuratorate, public security and judiciary are separate organisations, but all [are] under the control of the same arm of the party—the political-legal committees which exist at every level of the state,” Mr Gittings said, adding that “there’s still no sign of any willingness to address the fundamental problem—the lack of a legal system independent from the state.”
For many experts point out China’s legal system is used to repress all forms of dissent rather than protect rights.
Recent examples are cases in point. In the melamine-tainted milk scandals families have not been allowed to sue the state for damages.
The death penalty has also been criticised.
“It’s too easy to sentence an innocent person to death and too difficult to overturn it once the verdict is passed,” Xian’s lawyer Zhu Zhanping said.
In mainland China 68 offences carry the death penalty, including non-violent crimes like tax evasion and panda poaching.
One of the most notorious cases is that of a Chinese farmer who was sentenced to death for killing his wife. Luckily for him she returned home before his execution after an 11-year absence.
During his trial’s appeal phase he testified that police used torture to extract a detailed confession from him.
And it is significant that the standard procedure to “shame” defendants by parading them in public is no longer enforced since March 2007 when the authorities banned it.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China: Beijing Threatens Economic Retaliations if Sarkozy Meets the Dalai Lama
The Tibetan leader is in Belgium to address the European parliament. China warns that the scheduled meeting with Sarkozy on Saturday will compromise economic ties.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The Dalai Lama met yesterday Belgium’s Prime Minister Lama Yves Leterme (pictured) and urged Europe to press China to respect human rights for the good of China. In response China has threatened dire consequences if French President Nicholas Sarkozy meets with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as scheduled.
At a press conference the 73-year-old Nobel Prize winner cited a Tibetan saying: “Some wounds in the mouth recover by themselves,” adding that the Chinese start with a “tough reaction,” but then things “can go smoothly,” like “my visit.”
The Dalai Lama repeated charges of “cultural genocide” in Tibet, calling on the European Union to stand firm on human rights in China. If the mainland wants to “become a good member of the world, they should respect these things.” Indeed, “there is a Tibetan saying that a more genuine friendship should be more frank. That’s important,” the Dalai Lama added.
“I always believe our approach, the middle-way approach, is actually helping to bring stability, unity and prosperity and ultimately bring a harmonious society. So anyone, including the EU, helping that is indirectly helping the Chinese government.”
The Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to address the European Parliament in Brussels today. On Saturday he will be in Poland to attend a ceremony commemorating 25 years since former Solidarity Trade Union leader Lech Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Here he will also meet Nicholas Sarkozy, who currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
China scrapped its annual summit with the European Union to protest the meeting, warning today that it might have consequences for trade relations with France.
“We attach great importance to our strategic partnership with France, as well as our business relations with France. These two points are closely related,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters. “Only under the condition of good bilateral relations can we create a sound atmosphere for our business relations.”
It is China’s policy to get other countries to cut ties with the exiled Tibetan leader.
Following a bloody crackdown in Tibet last March Beijing was slammed internationally by governments and public opinions. This culminated in protests that dogged the Beijing Olympic torch relay.
In April China sought to appease its critics by accepting talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives. However when the Olympic Games were over it rejected every Tibetan proposal for greater autonomy and respect for their culture and religion.
Today state-run media in China repeatedly stated that the Dalai Lama’s proposals for greater Tibetan autonomy “had no future,” accusing the spiritual leader instead of seeking to restore theocracy.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China Lacks the Moral Authority to be a Super-Power, Says the Dalai Lama
The Tibetan leader earns the support of the European Parliament for Tibetan autonomy (and not independence). In Poland the Dalai Lama will meet Sarkozy. Move to boycott French products in China, but the Foreign Minister invites nationalists to behave “calmly and rationally”.
Brussels (AsiaNews/Agencies) — China lacks the moral authority of a real super-power: the Dalai Lama told the European Parliament Assembly in Brussels yesterday. The Tibetan leader affirmed that Beijing deserves to be a super-power, given the dimensions of its population, its military and economic strength, but “one important factor is moral authority and that is lacking”.
The Dalai Lama quoted “its very poor record on human rights and religious freedom and freedom of expression and freedom of the press” adding that because of “too much censorship …the image of China in the field of moral authority is very, very poor,”.
According to the Nobel Laureate, this moral authority should be expressed in terms of resolving the issues of Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Dalai Lama’s arrival at the European Parliament was greeted with applause; some parliamentarians even waved Tibetan flags.
Hans-Gert Pöttering, Parliament President, assured him that Europe will continue to “defend the rights of the Tibetan people to their cultural and religious identity.”
“If we give up the battle for these principals — he said — we are living up on ourselves”. He went on to ask Chinese authorities to “give proof” of their real commitment to dialogue with Tibetans. That will lead to concrete results.
Following the repression in Lhasa last March, French President Nicolas Sarkozy — who currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union — had threatened to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games if Beijing failed to return to dialogue with the exiled Tibetan government that had been stalled for years. Ahead of the Olympics China restarted talks, but that have proved fruitless because China continues to accuse the Dalia Lama o aiming to divide “the Chinese nation”.
The Dalai Lama repeated before the European Parliament that he does not want Tibetan independence, but Tibetan autonomy to save it from the “cultural genocide” currently taking place under Chinese occupation.
The Tibetan leader is due today in Gdansk, Poland to celebrate together with other Noble Laureates the 25th anniversary of the Nobel Peace prize given to Lech Walesa. There he will also meet with French President Sarkozy.
The open support of the Tibetan cause — just as the Sakharov prize awarded to democratic dissident Hu Jia — show a change in the EU’s tone towards Beijing. Because of this China has threatened economic consequences, but a French representative has downplayed the threats, underlining that “the Chinese need Western investments”, above all during the current economic crises.
In China the Sarkozy’s decision to meet with the Dalai Lama has provoked strong criticism against France and nationalists’ blogs are demanding a boycott of French products. Liu Jianchao, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, while ex pressing is “dissatisfaction” at the French and European position, has asked the Chinese public to behave “calmly and rationally”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Taiwan: Censoring Cape No 7 Becomes a Political Affair
A romantic love story between a Taiwanese man and a Japanese woman is raising concern in Beijing that it might offend the sensibilities of those who suffered under Japanese “colonial” rule, which is why it wants to ban the movie. This in turn could lead to mutual resentment on both sides.
Taipei (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Cape No 7 (pictured), Taiwan’s most successful film in years, is having negative ripples in China where it could fall by the wayside under the censor’s axe. In Taiwan the reported ban has triggered an outcry from Taiwanese political leaders as well as ordinary citizens, whilst on the mainland the movie itself has led to increasing criticism of its content and of Taiwanese culture.
At the heart of the movie there is a love story between a Taiwanese rock star and a Japanese woman with flashbacks to 1945 and a Japanese teacher’s love for a Taiwanese woman at a time when he is forced to return home after the Second World War.
In Taiwan the movie has already netted NT$500 million (US$ 15 million) and has become the highest grossing Taiwanese film.
Fake DVDs and an online version of the film are already widely available in many mainland cities. Its soundtrack appeals to young people.
But the movie deals with issues that are very sensitive to mainland China like Japan’s occupation and Taiwan secession.
For many Chinese the movie is like brain-washing, sweeping under the carpet the violence perpetrated by the Japanese invaders, describing relations with the Taiwanese population as peaceful and beneficial.
Instead both countries suffered under Japanese rule which lasted 50 years for Taiwan (1895-1945). But Taipei was quicker off the mark to re-establish good relations with Tokyo.
Beijing now seems poised to reverse its earlier decision to import the movie to avoid offending “national sentiments”.
Across the Taiwan Strait the case has led to an outcry among Taiwanese lawmakers, from both ruling and opposition parties, who have lashed out at Beijing.
This could generate mutual resentment.
Even Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou got involved in the matter.
“I highly recommend that the mainland compatriots go and watch the movie, which can serve as a first step for the mainland to understand Taiwan,” Mr Ma said in the interview with Radio Taiwan International (RTI), which is available online to mainland internet users.
In his take on the controversy, the movie’s director Wei Te-sheng stressed that his film was a love story without any political statement.
More matter-of-factly, a mainland netizen described the movie as talking “about how a failed Taiwanese rock musician, who returns to his small coastal hometown, lets go of his sadness and rebuilds his confidence by loving a Japanese girl and setting up a band,” adding that “just because it won the Taiwanese people’s hearts and broke Taiwan’s box-office record, it doesn’t make it one of history’s great movies.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Australian Links to Pakistan-Based Terrorist Groupfont Size: Decrease Increase Print Lashkar-E-Toiba, the Pakistani Terrorist Group Blamed for the Attacks in Mumbai, Has Long Been Plotting to Launch a Terrorist Attack in Australia.
The closest it came was when terrorist Willie Brigitte was dispatched on a mission to Sydney to plan an attack on either the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney’s south or the national electricity grid.
He was sent by an LET terrorist known as Sajiid Mir, who is understood to have recruited, controlled and trained numerous Australians.
Among them was convicted terrorism supporter David Hicks and Sydney architect Faheem Khalid Lodhi, who has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for his part in the Brigitte plot.
Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna has told The Weekend Australian that LET now poses as much of a threat to Australia as al-Qa’ida. LET was founded in Pakistan and is made up of mostly Pakistani Punjabis with a smattering of Afghans, Arabs, Bangladeshis, southeast Asians and the occasional Western or Indian Muslim recruit.
Although it was a Pakistan-based group with a focus on Kashmir, it had close links to al-Qa’ida and was ideologically close to the concept of global jihad.
LET was only placed on the federal Government’s list of banned terrorist organisations in 2003. It has increasingly established a presence in Australia, Europe, the US and Indonesia, where an alliance had been formed between Brigitte and Gun Gun, the brother of Jemaah Islamiah terrorist Hambali…
| — Hat tip: Tuan Jim | [Return to headlines] |
Cooperation: Marche Region Gives 1.6 Mln Euro to Africa
(ANSAmed) — ANCONA, SEPTEMBER 25 — The Marches Region financed with more than 1.6 million euro cooperation and development projects in Africa between 2004 and 2006. By doing this, the region set in motion solidarity interventions for more than four million euro, thanks to the collaboration with eight Marches-based non-government associations already working in various areas of the African continent. This is the account drawn up by cooperation and development councillor Marco Amagliani on the entity’s activity in this sector. “The actions of cooperation concerned agriculture, water supply, food maintenance and safety, healthcare and fishing,” Amagliani reminded. “They were never based on the principle of charity, but on the teaching the populations involved to learn methods to develop autonomously each of these sectors, making them self-sufficient.” That approach was reiterated by governor Gian Mario Spacca who reminds in a statement that working next to the small-sized organisations operating in Africa is already “a guarantee for success. These entities stimulate the capacity to listen to the problems, so that not to impose models from above, thus adding another colonization to the historical one.” From the total regional interventions, more than 800,000 euro was bound to the agriculture, food, healthcare and environment sectors, and a little over 636,000 euro was given to the educational and training sector. The beneficiary countries were Algeria, Tunisia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, ‘Sahawai’, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Congo, Niger, Mali, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia. “Iscos implemented 11 project in eight years in Eritrea for a total of 3.5 million euro, with a regional contribution of 875,000 euro,” the Marches director of the association, Fausto Mazzieri said. The Association Chiama l’Africa di Fano (represented by Italo Nannini) has set up in Zambia (in Kitwe) and Tanzania (Iringa District) reception centres for abandoned minors, women and mothers with children who needed to be fed. The Piceno Province of the Friars Minor Capuchin, represented by father Gianfranco Priori, opened in southern Ethiopia (the city of Soddo) a school of arts and crafts in which it trained 92 children. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Burma: 34 Refugees to Leave for Resettlement in England
Teknaf, Bangladesh: About 34 refugees from Nayapara and Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camps left Dhaka for resettlement in England on December 7, at about 8 am (local time), said a refugee named Kasim from Nayapara camp.
The families who left were: three families made up of 14 people from Nayapara camp and four families of 20 people.
On November 23, they left for Cox’s Bazar from the camps and stayed there till December 4. Here they were trained about the culture and situation in England among other things by the International Organization of Migration (IOM). On December 5, at about 8 am, they left for Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar.
May be on December 7 they will fly to England, said one of relative of the refugees who are on the way to England.
The resettlement programme was started from 2006 and Canada was the first country to accept Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh. About 42 Rohingya refugees went to Canada from 2006 -2007.
The first batch of 23 Burmese refugees this year included men, women and children who were resettled in New Zealand in June.
This is a humanitarian gesture and an attempt to seek a durable solution for about 27,000 Rohingyas in two camps in Cox’s Bazaar—-Nayapara and Kutupalong.
Rohingyas still living in camps in Cox’s Bazaar are those of a group of 270,000 refugees who fled to Bangladesh in 1991-92 to escape persecution by the Burmese military junta.
The UNHCR has actively promoted resettlement in third countries for Rohingya refugees for whom no other solution is viable. “We have been heartened by the humanitarian gesture of countries such as Canada, UK and New Zealand who have accepted a small but important number of refugees for resettlement in their countries. Resettlement is one of the durable solutions for refugees”, said Ms. Pia Prytz Phiri on June 20, on World Refugee Day.
The Rohingyas are a minority Muslim ethnic group from northern Arakan state who are denied citizenship in their own country. The refugees in the camps in Cox’s Bazar have been living in appalling conditions, with no realistic prospects of going home in the immediate future.
| — Hat tip: RRW | [Return to headlines] |
EU Slaps Down Danish Immigration Policies
The European Commission indicated Denmark must do more to abide by EU immigration regulations
Efforts to toughen immigration laws in the wake of the Metock ruling have been dealt a severe blow by the European Commission on Sunday, which released its long-awaited report on the European Union’s residency directive.
The report stated that no immediate changes will be made to the directive. the commission also indicated that Denmark has been one of the worst member states in implementing EU immigration rules.
The government had been attempting to change immigration laws to prevent what it believes is widespread abuse of EU rules allowing citizens to legally bring foreign spouses into member states.
Denmark has been at odds with the EU since the Metock ruling in July, which allows non-EU spouses of legal EU residents to obtain residence permits without having previously lived in another EU country. The commission indicated Denmark has commonly failed to provide couples seeking residency proper guidance about union directives.
Denmark’s own laws require that permanent residency can only be obtained after seven years living in the country, as opposed to the five-year period cited by EU regulations. Another discrepancy between EU rules and Danish laws is that Denmark does not recognise the rights of a foreign spouse to remain in the country, should their Danish partner die after a joint one-year residency.
Both the nationalist Danish People’s Party and opposition Social Democrats have supported the government’s concerns that the Metock ruling can lead to legal residency without the foreign person having a valid reason for being in the country.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Immigrants Will Have to Wait 10 Years to Claim Council Housing
Massive Benefits Clampdown
Immigrants will have wait up to 10 years for the right to claim UK benefits and council housing in the toughest crackdown seen for decades, it emerged last night.
All legal migrants will have to serve a five year ‘probationary citzienship’ before being considered for a passport, immigration minister Phil Woolas said.
Those who work hard, are law-abiding and do voluntary work will be eligible for benefits one or two years afterwards.
But others will have to wait another five years before they can claim any benefits at all, in order to deter migrants who see Britain as a soft touch for benefit claimants.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wilders Launches World Tour With ‘Fitna’
THE HAGUE, 09/12/08 — MP Geert Wilders has started an international tour with his anti-Islam film Fitna. Countries where the Party for Freedom (PVV) leader will show the film include Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, he announced yesterday in television programme Goedemorgen Nederland.
The seventeen-minute film was released on the internet on 27 March. The government had investigated the possibility of a preventative ban. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende warned repeatedly that the film could cost the lives of Dutch nationals abroad.
But Wilders can count on more moral support abroad — in the US and Israel in particular. The MP said yesterday he would receive the American Freedom Award next spring. This prize is presented every year by the American Freedom Alliance to an individual or organisation that has defended freedom in the world with courage and dedication.
Wilders told Goedemorgen Nederland that he made Fitna to show the dangers of the Koran and Islam. He wishes to put the subject of Islamisation “more broadly on the agenda” with the help of politicians, writers and intellectuals and “make alliances for freedom”.
Wilders will show his anti-Koran film in Jerusalem on Sunday of next week. Screenings are also planned in the UK and France. The film was already shown in New York three weeks ago to a “full and enthusiastic audience”, he declared in Goedemorgen Nederland. Wilders is not prepared to give details yet of his for security reasons, but he will speak at all the places he visits.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Wilders on World Tour With Fitna
[Translated by VH]
PVV leader Geert Wilders will go on an international tour with his anti-Koran film Fitna. Among other places, he will show the film in Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
Wilders will announce this in daily newspaper Spits this monday, as the PVV-leader confirmed Sunday.
Hazards
The seventeen-minute film was published the end of March on the Internet. Wilders made the production to show the dangers of the Koran and Islam.
The aim of Wilders Fitna is “too form alliances for freedom and against Islam.” Wilders says in all the places he is going to visit he will give speeches on these topics.
Freedom
It was already known that Wilders will also be in the United States next spring to receive the American Freedom Award.
The American Freedom Alliance presents the award annually to an individual or organization that has the courage and dedication to defend freedom in the world.
| — Hat tip: VH | [Return to headlines] |
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