The most significant story of the day asserts that the American financial system is effectively insolvent.I’ve been asserting similar things for a while now, but had become concerned that such views were turning me into a crank. I even had Dymphna put me on a 24-hour Crank Watch, to make sure that I didn’t turn into a wild-eyed conspiracy zealot.
But this latest article is from Forbes — not known as a crank publication. I only excerpted a piece of it here; follow the link to read the whole sobering tale. It will be fully understandable to those readers who are economically literate — unlike me — but even to a layman, the general gist is clear.
We’re getting closer and closer to the moment of “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here”.
Thanks to Abu Elvis, C. Cantoni, Insubria, Islam in Action, JD, KGS, RRW, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
- - - - - - - - -
Crisis: Mediterranean, Loans Harder to Come by for SMEs
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, MARCH 9 — It is increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to obtain loans in the current financial crisis, both on the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. This is one of the issues that countries in the region must face up to and has emerged from today’s conference in Rabat, Morocco, entitled, “The needs of small and medium sized businesses in the Mediterranean during the course of their life cycles,”, organised by FEMIP, the European Investment Bank’s instrument for the Mediterranean (EIB). The development of small and medium sized businesses represents one of the main objectives for the EU, and so the EIB has launched a hefty plan to finance SMEs. Four concrete proposals came out of the conference, starting with more information being made available to SMEs on what financing is available to them from banks, and including a diversification of FEMPI intervention strategies. Another point raised was to continue monitoring the funds sent from immigrants to their home countries, as well as continuing to modernise the local banking system through better training within institutions. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Finanical: Obama’s Economic Saviour Savaged as Keating Lets Rip
When Barack Obama announced his champion to rescue the world from economic ruin, it was the first time most Americans had ever heard the name Tim Geithner.
[…]
If anyone in the US media had thought to ask a former Australian prime minister for his assessment, they would have heard a different view. And they would not have been so surprised at Geithner’s performance since.
In a speech to a closed gathering at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Thursday, Paul Keating gave a starkly different account of Geithner’s record in handling the Asian crisis: “Tim Geithner was the Treasury line officer who wrote the IMF [International Monetary Fund] program for Indonesia in 1997-98, which was to apply current account solutions to a capital account crisis.”
In other words, Geithner fundamentally misdiagnosed the problem. And his misdiagnosis led to a dreadfully wrong prescription.
[…]
The problem was not government debt. It was great tsunamis of hot money in the private capital markets. When the wave rushed out, it left a credit drought behind.
But Geithner, through his influence on the IMF, imposed the same cure the IMF had imposed on Latin America and Mexico. It was the wrong cure. Indeed, it only aggravated the problem.
[…]
China, in particular, drew hard conclusions from the IMF’s mishandling of the Asian crisis. It decided that it would never allow itself to be dependent on the IMF, or the US, or the West generally, for its international solvency. Instead, it would build the biggest war chest the world had ever seen.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The U.S. Financial System is Effectively Insolvent
For those who argue that the rate of growth of economic activity is turning positive—that economies are contracting but at a slower rate than in the fourth quarter of 2008—the latest data don’t confirm this relative optimism. In 2008’s fourth quarter, gross domestic product fell by about 6% in the U.S., 6% in the euro zone, 8% in Germany, 12% in Japan, 16% in Singapore and 20% in South Korea. So things are even more awful in Europe and Asia than in the U.S.
There is, in fact, a rising risk of a global L-shaped depression that would be even worse than the current, painful U-shaped global recession. Here’s why…
| [Return to headlines] |
Alan Keyes Launches ‘Liberty’ Blog
Warns of ‘Obama’s push to make U.S. Soviet-style state’
Alan Keyes, a 2008 presidential candidate who now is a plaintiff in one of the many lawsuits seeking to verify whether Barack Obama qualifies under the U.S. Constitution’s requirements to occupy the Oval Office, has launched a new blog website where, according to the site, “faith gives reason for citizen action.”
“Given Obama’s push to overturn constitutional government and make the U.S. a Soviet-style state,” Keyes told WND, “I think it’s more important than ever that those of us who believe in liberty deliberate and work together.”
[…]
Keyes continues, however, by alluding to the saying: “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”
“It’s easy to understand,” Keyes writes, “why folks who are looking, waddling and quacking like communists would rather we called them messiahs.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part II
This is the continuation of the Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part I story. In part I the president of the bank tells me that I am illogical not to want Sharia law here…
| — Hat tip: Islam in Action | [Return to headlines] |
Judge: Eligibility Issue Thoroughly ‘Twittered’
Dismisses case brought by retired military officer
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit questioning Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president, because the issue already has been “blogged, texted, twittered and otherwise massaged.”
Meanwhile, more and more members of Congress are being shown to have dismissed concerns by constituents about Obama’s eligibility.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Profanity Flies in Heated Dem Session
After an angry, swearing late night meeting among top Democrats, Congress voted Friday to give itself another five days to try to complete a long-overdue omnibus spending bill that had become a growing embarrassment for party leaders and President Barack Obama.
Senate Democrats had abruptly pulled back Thursday night after finding themselves one vote short of the 60 needed to cut off debate. The action infuriated Speaker Nancy Pelosi so much that the California Democrat wanted to abandon the $409.6 billion measure and instead push through a stripped-down continuing resolution to keep the government operating through Sept. 30.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Somali-Americans’ Disappearances Raise Alarm of Terrorism Ties
March 6 (Bloomberg) — Seven months ago, Mustafa Salat told his father he was taking his clothes to the laundromat near their apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota. He never returned.
Salat, 19, later called from his birthplace, Somalia, and said he was okay, though he wouldn’t discuss what he was doing in a country he left when he was one year old, according to his parents, Lul and Ali. Salat’s parents, along with U.S. authorities, said they fear he and other young Somali-Americans from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area were recruited to train at terrorist camps and fight in Somalia’s civil war.
Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is concerned those Somalis may return to the U.S., where they are citizens, and plot terrorist attacks. Those fears were heightened last week when Robert Mueller, the FBI director, said a Somali-American living in Minneapolis was “radicalized” in his hometown, went to Somalia and became the first known U.S. citizen to carry out a suicide bombing.
“I am like a dead person walking,” said Lul, 42, who asked that her last name not be used and spoke in Somali through an interpreter. She and her husband go to bed with the phone under the pillow, fearing bad news about their son, they said. “I am not sleeping,” Lul said.
FBI Interviews
The FBI said it has been interviewing relatives of the missing and monitoring other cities with large Somali populations such as Columbus, Ohio, and Seattle, for reports of disappearances. The bureau wouldn’t comment on Salat or estimate the number of Somali-Americans who have disappeared. The FBI wouldn’t say whether those who went missing would face charges if they return.
At least 17 young men have vanished during the past two years from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and are believed to be in Somalia now, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, a legal-aid organization.
Jonathan Evans, a counter-terrorism official in the U.K., recently raised concern in a newspaper interview that residents there had trained in camps in Somalia and had returned to Britain. The FBI won’t say whether any of the Somali-Americans have returned to the U.S.
The FBI is concerned that there may be more Somalis who have disappeared and whose parents haven’t reported them as missing, said E.K. Wilson, a bureau spokesman in Minneapolis.
Senate Hearings
The disappearances also are raising concern among lawmakers. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who heads the Senate homeland security panel, plans a hearing March 11 on recruitment efforts in the U.S. by Somali groups.
Somali-Americans have gone to Somalia and trained there in terrorism camps associated with the militant group al-Shabaab, or “the Youth,” which has ties to al-Qaeda, said a U.S. counter- terrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Al- Shabaab was designated as a terrorist group last year by the U.S.
The official said al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda are closely connected and it is unclear which organization runs the Somali training camps.
U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in 2006. Islamist and clan-based opposition militias began a guerrilla war against the Ethiopian occupation. Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia in January after the occupation failed to end Somalia’s civil war, leaving much of the south of the country under the control of al-Shabaab.
Obama’s Inauguration
While al-Shabaab has focused its activities within Somalia, its aspirations may be expanding. The FBI investigated a possible threatened attack by the group that could have been directed at Washington, coinciding with President Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
The disappearances are worrisome because of the risk posed by citizens of the U.S. and U.K. who can travel freely and blend in with the population, terrorism analysts said.
“It’s a blinking yellow light that needs further attention before it deteriorates and becomes a dangerous opening for attack,” James Phillips, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington public policy organization, said in an interview.
The recruiting in the U.S. “raises the question of whether these young men will one day come home, and, if so, what they might undertake here,” the FBI’s Mueller said in a Feb. 23 speech in Washington.
Suicide Bomber
Mueller flagged the case of Shirwa Ahmed, 27, who lived in Minneapolis before going to Somalia, where he carried out a suicide bombing in October that killed at least 30 people, according to news reports. Ahmed was a naturalized U.S. citizen.
For their part, Salat’s parents said they don’t know if their son is involved with al-Shabaab.
Lul and three other mothers or grandmothers of missing young men have formed a group attempting to make sure the disappearances are reported, and to ensure that if their children return, they won’t be held by authorities. Other parents may not have reported disappearances for fear their children will be targeted by law enforcement, or that family immigration violations may come to light, said Jamal, who helped organize the mothers.
| — Hat tip: RRW | [Return to headlines] |
States Get Assertive With ‘King’ Obama
The 10th Amendment is not all that hard to understand:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Since even Harvard graduates can easily understand this simple language, the fact that it is so blatantly ignored must mean that the president and the majority of Congress reject this portion of the Constitution they swore to defend.
[…]
Rep. Ron Paul and a few others in Washington have raised their voices in opposition to this trend. Now, there are new rumblings across the land that give new hope to those who still believe that the U.S. Constitution must not be ignored.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Tapeworm’s State of the Legion Address
Editor’s note: In this column, David d’Escoto tips his hat to author C.S. Lewis and his “Screwtape Letters.”
My fellow demons, it brings me great pleasure to stand before you with such good news. After a long and arduous battle on many fronts in America, I am delighted to confirm that we are making great strides on the political and economic fronts. As gratifying as this is, nothing brings me more joy than to report the verifiable attrition and conversion to socialism of the next generation of America’s Christians.
Turn your attention to the big screen to view some of the inspiring results coming out of America. These reports clearly show our success in systematically destroying the worldview of children from Christian families. Remember, this is a key strategy in bringing down this “last and greatest bastion of freedom,” to quote that scoundrel Mr. Reagan.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
We’re All Inner-City Blacks Now
Blacks for years elected politicians championing public policy that destroyed their own communities. Now the rest of America has installed a new political leadership with the perfect formula — run roughshod over private ownership, disdain traditional values, substitute political power for personal responsibility — for destroying our country.
We can expect the rest of America to reap the same benefits that blacks have enjoyed from this lunacy. In the late 1960s, when President Johnson announced his war on poverty and seeded welfare state culture in our inner cities, the majority of black families had married parents living at home. By 1995, only one in three black homes had married parents.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
What is a Socialist?
Socialism might sound lofty and enlightened to liberals, but those of us in Flyover Country know better. If you take anything decent, traditional and uplifting — and flip it on its head — you have socialism. To whit:
1. Socialists believe in the use of force to gain their personal ends.
2. Socialists believe in slavery. Their concept is not the slavery of an individual owning another individual, but of a state owning the output of the individual.
[…]
8. Socialists are intolerant. If you have a dissenting opinion, you are mocked and ridiculed for having the temerity to disagree.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Protest Against Brunetta in Florence
(AGI) — Florence, 6 Mar. — “Brunetta, Sacconi, Berlusconi. They’re the real lazy bums”. Some two hundred protesters belonging to Cobas and the Left staged a protest against Renato Brunetta, minister of Public Administration, upon his arrival in palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence to attend the exhibition entitled “150 years of history told in our front pages” dedicated to the 150 years of ‘La Nazione’. Many red flags were flying along with far from polite chants and choruses. Many women were complaining that they should be allowed to choose their pension age.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Government Angry Over Princess Anne in Gibraltar
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 5 -Spain’s Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has expressed ‘refusal, dismay and indignation on the part of the Spanish people’’ over the visit of Britain’s Princess Anne to Gibraltar. Moratinos relayed Spain’s unease to his British counterpart during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. ‘I explained to Milliband that this visit has hurt the sensibilities of all Spanish people’’ said Moratinos, who is worried over the indignation which the royal presence in the colony has provoked in the Spanish press. The opposition Popular Party criticized Prime Minister Zapatero for being too weak in his protests to London over the visit. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Corruption Inquiry, 2 PP Mayors Resign
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 6 — The mayors of two towns near Madrid today handed in their resignations and requested temporary suspension from the Spain’s People’s Party (PP). Jesus Sepulveda and Gines Lopez, respectively the mayors of Pozuelo de Alarcon and Arganda del Rey, have been incriminated in the inquiry into presumed corruption in the PP which is being carried out by Balthazar Garzon of Spain’s national court, the Audienca Nacional. PP sources cited by Europa Press say that both the mayors deny the accusations but have asked for precautionary suspension from the party ‘until the situation is clarified’’. A third member of the PP, Ricardo Galeote, an assessor in Estepona (Malaga) and the party’s civilian secretary, also asked for precautionary suspension from the party as he awaits clarification of the terms of his implication in the same inquiry into presumed corruption. Galeota, who is scheduled to appear before the investigating magistrate on March 18, is accused by Garzon of having earned 42,469 euros through corrupt means between 2001 and 2003,when he was responsible for the municipal ‘Tourism and Recreational Activities’’ body, which paid 54,000 euros to a company connected to Francisco Correa — the main defendant in the inquiry. Judge Garzon yesterday gave up the inquiry, handing it over to Madrid’s Higher Justice Court, as soon as he recognised signs crimes committed by the former Assessor for Sport of Madrid’s Communities, Alberto Lopez Viejo, and regional parliamentarians Alfonso Bosc and Benjamin Martin Vasco — all of whom are members of the PP. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: 6,000 Join Malmö Davis Cup Protest
Police estimate that up to 6,000 demonstrators have joined a march in Malmö to protest against the ongoing Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel in the city.
There are reported to be some 200 masked demonstrators at the back of the march and police confirm that the otherwise peaceful march was disrupted by incidents involving paint bombs, fireworks and Bengal lights.
Several of the masked, black-clad hooligans rushed the barriers holding demonstrators away from the Baltisk Hallen arena where the match is taking place.
The first day of competition in the Davis Cup first round match passed off calmly and none of the forecast trouble and fighting occurred.
But police took no chances on Saturday with up to 1,000 officers on duty.
Saturday’s march is being marshalled closely by a large police presence including a helicopter escort.
Rumours that neo-nazi and other extremist groups intend to infiltrate the march have kept police on alert.
The controversy over the match has been building for weeks and gathered pace when local politicians ordered that the match to be played behind closed doors.
Former Green party leader Per Gahrton claimed that the decision had already given demonstrators some success.
“We have been helped by brave politicians in Malmö. We thank them for that,” Gahrton said.
As play was due to reconvene on Saturday the match stood tied at 1-1. Former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, 33, took four hours to give the Swedes a 1-0 lead thanks to a 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6 win over Harel Levy.
But Dudi Sela then saw off Andreas Vinciguerra 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 to
level the tie.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Theatre: Islam and US, on Understanding and Being Understood
(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 5 — The cultures of others, other ways of life, alienation and integration, life on the outskirts, the pressures towards religious fundamentalism, Islam and Judaism. These are the subjects of the theatre show “Islam and us” organised by Mario Prosperi, which opened last night in Rome’s ‘Nuovo Teatro Colosseo’. “The event is intended for Italians first of all. It wants to make them aware of and bring them closer to the Islam, also creating sympathy for this culture which is often regarded with too much superficiality” explained Prosperi who also stars in “L’islamico”, a play written and directed by him, in performance until March 8. Arvaro-Prosperi is a Roman greengrocer who, a victim of extortion by the local mafia, turns to a cell of Muslim fundamentalists to exert revenge. “It is based on a true story. Arvaro — who has been called Mustafa since his conversion — is in real life an Italian butcher converted to Islam. I met him every Saturday in the Mosque of Rome where he had been studying Arab for years. He always wore a keffiyeh on his head and he had two wives. One day he just vanished into thin air”. In the play the man is recruited by some fundamentalists to fight in Afghanistan against the Americans. A story of terrorism and religious fanaticism. A cliché according to Prosperi, because terrorists are a tiny minority. “The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful” he said. “In fact, Islam fulfils a need for religion which other religions aren’t able to satisfy. It is very well-furnished, responding to a need for prayer felt by many. This explains the growing number of conversions”. >From March 11 to 13 will be performed ‘Fatma et la honte di Yacoub Abdellatif’’ (directed by Ewa Lewinson): a glimpse into the life of solitude of a Muslim housewife from Kabilia, living on the outskirts of Amiens. “France started dealing with the issue of immigration and integration a long time ago” Prosperi admonishes: “in Italy we are still behind also from the viewpoint of theatre”. Isolation, incommunicability with her own children and her husband and nostalgia for her native land are daily problems for this woman who spends her days sealed up in the kitchen of her apartment. Unaware of the passing of time, Fatma stays in contact with the outside world by watching her neighbourhood: when she wants to know what time it is she throws an empty jar out of the window and counts the number of people who protest or the number of dogs barking. The series will be concluded by “Il signor Ibrahim e i fiori del corano” by Eric Emmanuel Shmitt (directed by Giorgio Serafini Prosperi, from March 23 to 31). It tells the story of Momo and Mr.Ibrahim — on which the film of Francois Dupeyron with Omar Sharif is based -, which is the story of a teenager in Paris who befriends with an elderly Arab man, the only Muslim living in a street of many Jews. “A spiritually strong story of a Muslim who fills the emptiness left by the father of this Jewish boy. He takes care of his education and they develop a very close relationship” concludes Prosperi, who points out that the play was written by a Jewish writer. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Traffic in Human Beings: Spain Entrance Into Europe
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 6 — Spain is the entrance into Europe for traffic in human beings with the aim of exploiting female prostitution, “certifies” a report from the UN Office Against Drugs and Crime (UNODC) regarding 2007, quoted today in Pais. In spite of the more severe sentences delivered by the national plan against sexual exploitation, the Iberian Peninsula continues to be the country of passage or destination for Romanian, Brazilian and Chinese women obligated to become prostitutes. The novelty emerging from the report is that women themselves are often the managers behind these sex slaves. Most of the people arrested for this type of crime, in fact, are victims who have become traffickers themselves. An unprecedented circumstance, according to the dossier, considering that in the past 90% of this kind of organised crime was carried out by men. Spain and France are the two countries in Europe where police have discovered the largest number of cases of sexual exploitation. In Spain in 2007, 2,400 victims were recorded, 2,000 in France. It involves, in part, women from Romania, Brazil, Colombia and from Central and Western Africa. In the same year in Spain, 1,240 people were arrested for exploitation and organising prostitution and 1,870 were accused of trafficking human beings. The “feminisation” of the prostitution network is alarming, according to Joahn Gruger, UNODC coordinator in South Africa, and can be explained in that the trafficker “first gains the victims trust, then cheats them”, using them as “pawns in the system”. Women who force girls to take drugs and then work the streets for a few euros, and at times only for food and something to drink, in countries like Mozambique and South Africa. Often the mere promise of work is enough to make them fall into the network, or the promise to be able to continue with their studies. 78% of traffic in human beings, according to the report is connected to the sexual exploitation of women and girls, and 60% of people sentenced for these crimes in Eastern Europe and Asia are women. The dossier states that 18% of human trafficking is for exploitation in the workplace, while 20% of the victims are children. It has been calculated that every year million minors end up in the prostitution or slavery network, as well as those used as child-soldiers. To combat slavery in the XXI century, the UN report advises governments to unify existing legislation. Countries like India and Pakistan are the primary destinations for 16 year old minors from South-East Asia. But India is also an exporter and transitory territory for trafficking in children from Bangladesh and Nepal. In southern Africa it has been calculated that 39,000 children are destined to become prostitutes and that work in the fields is carried out in slave-like conditions. International associations and networks against slavery are launching the alarm for the Football World Cup in South Africa, which could be an occasion for the country’s minors to fall into prostitution networks. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Campaigners Will Seek Arrest of Islamic Radical
Campaigners from the Centre for Social Cohesion have pledged to seek an arrest warrant for Dr Ibrahim Moussawi, an Islamic extremist, who is due to visit Britain this March.
The think-tank said the Home Office would be “beyond hypocrisy” if it allowed Dr Ibrahim Moussawi into Britain just weeks after barring Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician, because of his alleged anti-Muslim views.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Junkie Burglars ‘Cheat Justice’
Serial teenage criminals to escape with a slap on the wrist
Serial teenage burglars and muggers could escape with a caution if they have a drug habit, it emerged last night.
Even when a tearaway commits a string of crimes, a ‘conditional caution’ could be handed down instead of a court trial and possible jail sentence.
The conditions could involve simply saying sorry to victims or repairing damage. The Tories called the controversial Government proposals ‘cheating justice’. Critics fear they remove a significant deterrent to repeat offending.
Last year, under-18s committed more than 6,500 house burglaries and 6,300 robberies and were involved in 47,000 cases of theft and handling stolen goods.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslim Students Back Killing in the Name of Islam
A third of Muslim university students believe killing in the name of religion can be justified, a survey has revealed.
A study on the attitudes of students has found that 28 per cent said killing could be justified if the religion was under attack and another four per cent supported killing in order to “promote and preserve” the religion.
Over half, 53 per cent, said killing in the name of religion was never justifiable but among non-Muslim students that figure was 94 per cent.
While most students showed a typical generation gap where their parents were more religious than they were — 72 per cent — a significant 18 per cent said they were more strict in their religious observance than their parents.
The importance of sharia law to most Muslim was underlined by the 40 per cent who said they supported its introduction into law for Muslims in Britain, although 37 per cent opposed it.
A third of those surveyed supported the creation of a worldwide Muslim caliphate but 25 per cent opposed it and 42 per cent said they were not sure.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
UK: New Treatment Guidelines Mean Doctors Must Follow Wishes of Terminally-Ill Patients
Doctors have been warned they will be struck off if they ignore the wishes of patients who have made ‘living wills’ which say treatment should be stopped.
The ethical rules of the medical profession will in future demand that doctors obey the living wills, in which patients can ask to be killed if they become too ill to speak, eat or drink.
The new guidelines for medical staff appear to reverse the ancient principles of saving life which underpin the work of doctors. These are expressed in the Hippocratic Oath which states ‘a physician shall always bear in mind the obligation of preserving human life’.
The new draft guidelines are to be circulated by the General Medical Council, the regulator for doctors, for consultation over the spring and summer. They are likely to come into force later in the year.
[…]
Dr Peter Saunders, of Care Not Killing, said: ‘We have always opposed legally binding rules. A doctor who treats their patient can now be actively breaking the law.’
Tory MP Julian Brazier said: ‘Medical staff will frequently have crises of conscience when the law requires them to do something they know is wrong. The GMC guidelines reflect a pernicious law.
‘There is always a terrible risk with living wills that somebody has changed their mind and the doctors do not know. There is also a high risk that people have relatives with a vested interest in their death.’
[…]
Doctors are warned: ‘Serious or persistent failure to follow this guidance will put your registration at risk.’ The guidelines spread concern-in the medical profession that doctors will be firmly bound by both the criminal law and their own professional rules to kill patients who are not dying.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries said: ‘It’s a thin line between someone wishing not to continue with treatment — and the state or others making that decision on someone’s behalf. All over the UK patients are being cared for safe in the knowledge that their life is protected in law. This ruling will make many vulnerable and elderly people very nervous indeed.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Victims of Socialism
Deadly Rationing: The gatekeeper for Great Britain’s national health care system is denying cancer patients drugs that would extend their lives. Why? Because the medication is considered too expensive.
What’s a life worth? Apparently not much in Great Britain.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the government agency that decides which treatments the National Health Service will pay for, has effectively banned Lapatinib, a drug that was shown to slow the progression of breast cancer, and Sutent, which is the only medicine that can prolong the lives of some stomach cancer patients.
Banning beneficial drugs due to cost is nothing new in Britain. NICE, which has to be one of history’s most ironic acronyms, forbade the use of Tarceva, a lung cancer drug proven to extend patients’ lives, and Abatacept, even though it’s one of the only drugs that has been shown in clinical testing to improve severe rheumatoid arthritis.
Once again, we have to ask: Do we really want to use the British system as the model for a U.S. health care regime?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican: Pope Revokes Promotion of Conservative
Vatican City, 2 March (AKI) — Pope Benedict XVI has formally revoked the promotion of an ultraconservative priest who provoked an outcry within the Catholic church when he said that God had punished the American city of New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina. The Vatican announced the decision on Monday, confirming a previous decision by the priest, Gerhard Maria Wagner, to decline the promotion.
In January Benedict promoted Wagner to the post of auxiliary bishop in Linz, one of Austria’s largest cities.
But Wagner asked the pontiff to revoke his appointment as a bishop after his promotion led to protests within the church.
In February Wagner said the “fierce criticism” had persuaded him to ask not to be named auxiliary bishop of Linz.
The Vatican’s announcement said the pope had “dispensed Wagner from accepting the office” ..
Wagner had questioned whether Katrina was a result of “spiritual pollution” and he also described the Harry Potter children’s novels as satanic.
He reportedly wrote in a parish newsletter that the death and destruction caused by Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 was divine retribution for the city’s tolerance of homosexuals and permissive sexual attitudes.
In February, 31 of the 39 deans of the Linz diocese endorsed a declaration of no confidence in Wagner.
Benedict’s promotion of Wagner came a week after another public relations furore which erupted after the Pope overturned the excommunication of a bishop who denied the Holocaust.
In a television interview last November, British-born Bishop Richard Williamson disputed that six million Jews had died at the hands of the Nazis, and claimed that none had died in gas chambers.
Last week Williamson apologised for the harm his comments had caused but Jewish leaders around the world said his apology was inadequate.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Balkans: Maroni, OK to Admission in EU, But More Security
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 6 — Yes to the admission of nations from the Balkan area in the European Union, but they have to raise their standards of security and tackle crime and Italy is willing to provide all the help needed, said Italian Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni. He was speaking on the sidelines of the sixth Ministerial Conference on security cooperation on Europe’s south-eastern frontiers, currently under way in Belgrade. Maroni has held bilateral meetings with the interior ministers of Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro. A bilateral accord, signed in December, is in place with Serbia; the one with Bosnia goes back to 2002, and there is nothing with the other countries, although the will exists to sign up. “These four nations,” Maroni noted, “are calling for relaxation of visas and adhesion to the EU. We are supporting both these processes, but in parallel there has to be a tightening of their security standards, with the adoption of more efficient measures against the trafficking of drugs, arms and illegal immigrants which come in through the Balkan route”. Maroni added that Italy “can play a crucial role in this for historic and geographic reasons. The key is bilateral accords. With Serbia, I have given my go-ahead for Serb police to undergo training courses in Italy alongside our traffic police. The objective would be to improve their ability to check the traffic along Corridor 10, which crosses Serbia, Hungary and Greece. We can provide video surveillance systems and training”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Balkans: Regional Ministers, Value Added Area for EU
(ANSAmed) — ROME — The Balkans have added value for the European Union: without their entry in the EU the whole region will see neither political stability nor economic prosperity. Foreign ministers and academics meeting agree; they were at the Faculty of Political Science at the University La Sapienza in Rome to discuss ‘The European Union at the heart of the Balkans: the completion of expansion eastwards’’. There are many problems holding back the entry of Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania: bureaucratic and legal issues (in particular cooperation by Croatia and Serbia with the Hague Tribunal), political problems (Slovenia’s veto of Croatia’s entry due to the territorial controversy over the sea border in the gulf of Piran, as well as economic issues. ‘We need the time and the support of the founding members of the European Community for the western Balkan states to join the European family’’ said Croatia’s ambassador to Italy Tomislav Vidosevic. ‘Italy has always provided an important and consistent support to our entry and the entry of our neighbours into Europe. We are aware of the fact that this is a crucial period for Europe and the Balkans, but security and stability in the area depend on this enlargement and on entry into NATO’’. For Raimondo De Cadorna, head of the General directorate for the European Union Foreign Ministry, 2009 could still be the year of the Balkans. ‘‘We need to tackle one problem at a time. Rome has supported the candidacy of these countries, and will continue to do so. The European press is not sending the right messages on what enlargement really is, and what the benefits will be for the whole continent’’, he said. The people of the East, for their part, are betraying a certain weariness. ‘‘We feel that European expectations are excessive and we are tired of never receiving positive signs over the efforts we have made — despite the crisis in Kosovo — especially regarding cooperation with the Hague Tribunal’’ says Serbia’s ambassador Sanda Raskovic-Ivic in her speech. ‘We need tangible signs for public opinion, which has lost its ‘euro-enthusiasm’’ recently’’. The meeting, which was organized by MSIOI (The Cultural Association created by the EU students’ movement) in collaboration with the Eurosapiens Association — comes before tomorrow’s meeting at the University, with Croatian Premier Ivo Sanader, where Euro-Atlantic issues will be discussed in view of Croatia’s membership of NATO scheduled for April 3. (ANSAmed). Y30-FPI/
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kosovo: EU Court Sentences Ethnic Albanian to 17 Years in Jail
Pristina, 4 March (AKI) — An ethnic Albanian has been sentenced to 17 years in jail for a war crime committed in July 1998, in the first trial held under the auspices of the European Union mission in Kosovo (EULEX).
The court sentenced 59-year-old Gani Gasi, an ethnic Albanian from the central town of Komorane. He was charged with opening fire on four members of an ethnic Albanian family in July 1998, killing one and wounding four members.
“This trial shows that EULEX is serious about investigating and prosecuting war crimes cases whenever they took place, as long as we have enough evidence for a successful prosecution to proceed,” the chief EULEX prosecutor Theo Jacobs said after Wednesday’s verdict.
“We will do this regardless of the ethnicity of those involved in the crime,” Jacobs said.
The European Union deployed its 2,500-man mission in Kosovo in December to replace the outgoing UN mission (UNMIK), after majority ethnic Albanians declared independence from Serbia a year ago.
The mission consists of judges, prosecutors, policemen and customs officers tasked with helping the Kosovo government in establishing law and order in the newly proclaimed state.
But Kosovo’s tiny Serb minority, which opposes Kosovo’s independence, earlier this week prevented European judges from entering the court and trying two Serbs in the northern town of Mitrovica.
Most of the remaining 100,000 Serbs in Kosovo live in the north and the Kosovo government has not yet established control in the area.
“This trial shows that EULEX is serious about investigating and prosecuting war crimes cases whenever they took place, as long as we have enough evidence for a successful prosecution to proceed,” the chief EULEX prosecutor Theo Jacobs said after the verdict.
“We will do this regardless of the ethnicity of those involved in the crime,” Jacobs said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Crisis: Foreign Investment in the Mediterranean
(ANSAmed)- BRUSSELS, MARCH 6 — Data on direct foreign investment in the area supplied by the ANIMA Observatory is listed below. ISRAEL: 3.2 billion euros in investment in 2008. Mostly in new technologies, biotechnology and health materials. US companies were the primary investors, with 53 projects, followed by the EU with 14. TURKEY: a record 195 projects in 2008. With the impact of the crisis on the auto sector, slowing production announced in 2008 has come into view. In the mean time, with the privatisation of the energy market, many foreign groups bought electrical plants, while the tobacco and alcohol sector was purchased by the British company BAT for 7 billion dollars. ALGERIA: the country collected 6.2 billion euros in foreign investment in 2008, especially from the Gulf area, and mostly in the real estate sector. An amusement park alone, financed by a Dubai company, accounted for 5 billion dollars. TUNISIA: the country received 3 billion dollars in foreign investment in 2008 (growth of 56% in projects compared to 2007 according to ANIMA). Strong European presence in the country, especially the French. Key sectors were information technology, business services and insurance. MOROCCO: 2008 showed a 35% drop in investments compared to 2007. French presence, in particular in the banking and finance sector: for example, Credit Agricole increased its stake in Credit du Maroc. SOME ITALIAN INVESTMENTS: 2008 showed 9 projects in Turkey, among which a Fiat joint venture with a local company to create new models, and Unicredit which bought 20% of Martur Turca’s capital in the auto sector. In Tunisia, Benetton had three projects in the textiles sector, Avionave will set up a production and assembly site, while in Egypt, Edison invested 1.4 billion dollars to develop an offshore natural gas plant in Abukir . (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Med: Genoa Hosts ‘Talks on Western Mediterranean’
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 6 — On March 13 and 14, Genoa is to host “Talks in the Western Mediterranean. The Regions and civil society for decentralised cooperation and participatory democracy,” promoted by the European Commission’s Representatives in Italy, the Ligurian Legislative Assembly and the Ligurian Regional Council, in collaboration with major social bodies and local groups. An official statement reports that the meeting is form part of the process initiated at the July 2008 summit and are to be considered complementary to discussions taking place across the region. The aim of the talks is to “contribute to the strengthening of territorial cohesion, and the cooperation between the 5 countries in the Western Mediterranean which make up the UAM (Union of the Arab Maghreb), (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Malta) particularly through active involvement of social organisations and local and regional authorities”. Participants “will discuss and exchange ideas over the two days on strategic areas such as immigration, freedom and fundamental rights, sustainable development, mobility and cultural exchanges. Territorial continuity and the experiences of shared projects which have already been tried out in the Western Mediterranean area through development of the so-called ‘dialogue 5+5’, encourages the continuing and further extension of sub-regional integration, rendering it increasingly open to participation”. The European Commission’s Representatives in Italy and the Ligurian regional council are “thoroughly convinced that the role of local groups and of civil society is absolutely vital for effective cooperation on the ground, as is making a real involvement of those working with regional communities and their representatives a necessity. In this way, the Genoa Forum is a pilot initiative of particular interest for the western Mediterranean and a moment of reflection for a future development of participatory democracy that is fair and within-reach across the entire Union for the Mediterranean.” (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Int’l Meeting on Finance Resources for New Cities
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 3 — An International Conference on “Mobilization of Local Revenue Sources for City Development and Service Delivery” was opened in Egypt. Egyptian Housing Minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi said his ministry adopted an overall strategy to achieve a sustainable socio-economic development and improve the citizens’ living conditions. Egypt has a 30-year-long experience in building new cities, Maghrabi said, citing the establishment of 22 new cities, at total investments of 35 billion Egyptian pounds. The conference was attended by experts from Canada, Sweden, England, the United States, Belgium, South Korea and the European Union. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: Women and Politics, 2nd Campaign Starts March 7
(ANSA) — RABAT, MARCH 3 — With the title “Women in the towns: conscripts for the local government”, the 2nd national campaign for the participation of women in politics will get underway on March 7 in Rabat. According to MAP press agency, the campaign will open with a conference organised by the Minister of Social Development and Family in collaboration with the Interior Minister. The goal is to mobilise institutional, political, and public organisations for women to have a presence in local government that exceeds 12%. The minister of social development wants to raise public awareness about the importance of female participation in local administration management, drawing upon the experiences of women who have contributed to leading various towns in different areas in the country. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Rai Med: Special on Saharawi, Forgotten People
(ANSAmed) — PALERMO, MARCH 4 — A people without a homeland, citizens of a state not yet born. The Saharawi people are in search of freedom and independence from Morocco, but a veto-war prevents negotiations for the independence of the area in the Western Sahara. The government in Rabat is refusing to restore independence to the former Spanish colony, and is instead proposing an autonomous state under Moroccan sovereignty. The Polisario Front claims the right to self-proclaimed independence and is calling for a popular referendum. Recently, the new UN envoy Christopher Ross seems to have reawakened hopes for those wanting independence. For the past thirty years, two hundred thousand refugees have been living in exile in the desert. A special Rai Med News programme will be dedicated to the issue, to go on air every Thursday at 9pm. Taking part will be the Moroccan ambassador to Italy, Mohammed Nabil Benabdallah, the refugee Suadou Lagdaf (who has lived in Italy for over ten years and continues to fight for her people) and Stefano Rebora, president of the Genoa-based “Music for Peace” association, which has promoted many humanitarian missions. Rai Med is available in the free Rai satellite package, as well as on channel 804 on Sky. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Embassy in Cairo Says More Attacks Possible in Egypt
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 3 — A message published on the U.S embassy in Cairo said that “Over the past two weeks there has been a series of security incidents in Cairo, including a bombing at the Khan el-Khalili on February 22 that resulted in the death of a foreign tourist, a stabbing at the Khan el-Khalili on February 27 resulting in the injury of an American citizen, and an incident with a Molotov cocktail on the Metro, on February 28, which did not cause any injuries. These events do not appear to be connected, but there is some indication that additional incidents are planned, says the warden message. The Egyptian Government has visibly increased security levels in the downtown area, around major tourist sites and at public venues such as shopping centers. We advise Americans to take great care in visiting these sites, to remain strictly alert to their surroundings, and to practice good personal security measures. In the past, terrorist attacks have occurred at major tourist sites in Cairo, at the Khan, for example, but also at the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, and the pyramids, as well as against tourist buses. Hotels in resort areas have also been targeted. Travelers should use caution when visiting destination resorts and hotels without significant physical setback and security procedures. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza: Press, Hamas Arrests Hezbollah Operative
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 6 — A Palestinian man thought to be an operative of Lebanese Hezbollah in Gaza was arested this morning by Hamas security services and later released, reports Israeli newspaper Maariv. The report claims that the man in question is Ahmed Abdallah Saleh, from the Jabalya refugee camp, who is suspected of having ordered a series of rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, without coordination with Hamas’s military command. Maariv tells of how, years ago, Saleh was an officer of the PNA’s general intelligence service, during which time he made first contact with Hezbollah. Thanks to financing received from Lebanon — continues the newspaper — he was able to organise several tens of militia groups which act on his orders. Saleh was previously arrested six months ago by Hamas’s secret services, which found a suspicious amount of foreign currency and radio equipment in his home. That time he was warned against acting autonomously against Israel but it seems — concludes the newspaper — that Saleh ignored Hamas’s admonitions. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza: Shalit Appeals for Help on Israeli Front Pages
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — ‘‘Help’’ is the plea, handwritten in cursive Hebrew, on the front page of Israeli newspapers, together with a photograph of Ghilad Shalit, the Israeli corporal held prisoner in Gaza by Hamas since June 2006. The press explains that the Shalit family have decided to launch a new awareness campaign to urge the Israeli government to follow through with the indirect negotiations with Hamas for an exchange of prisoners. For the campaign, an advertising company has recreated Ghilad Shalit’s handwriting using a computer, in order to make it appear as a message sent from prison. His cry, ‘‘Help’’, also appears in Israeli streets and on buses. In the meantime, Shalit’s family is planning to move into a tent in Jerusalem to increase pressure on the government. The daily Arab newspaper al-Hayat has confirmed that last week a director of Hamas, Mussa Abu Marzuk, discreetly entered Gaza from Damascus (with the tacit agreement of Israel) to meet Ahmed Jaabri, the commander of the armed wing of Hamas which is holding the Israeli prisoner. Hamas’ firm position on the exchange of prisoners was confirmed. According to the newspaper, Jaabri predicted that ‘‘before being set free, Shalit will speak good Arabic’’.(ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Middle East: Olmert, No Peace Without Dividing Jerusalem
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM — There will be no true peace with the Palestinians until Israel accepts that Jerusalem needs to be divided, as part of a final agreement for a two-state solution. The statement has come from out-going Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, in a clear act of self-criticism towards his own political past. He added words of homage to his deceased Labour predecessor Yitzhak Rabin, but also of defiance to Likud (nationalist right) leader Benyamin Netanyahu, who is destined to succeed him and whose own beliefs are a far cry from those Olmert uttered. ‘‘There will be no peace if a significant part of Jerusalem doesn’t become the capital of a (future) Palestinian state,’’ Olmert spelled out, as quoted by the online edition of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper, speaking at a public meeting in the city where he was also previously the mayor. He went on to explain that his ideas on this issue changed after he abandoned Likud to become the prime minister as leader of the centre party Kadima. ‘‘Sat on this seat, which is not very comfortable, you get a panoramic vision of everything and you come to different conclusions from those you held when your views were only partial,’’ he insisted. The conclusions, Olmert observed, which ‘‘Rabin, may he rest in peace, would have come to if he had not been stopped by an assassin’s bullet.’’ (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Palestinian Group Claims Jerusalem Digger Attack
Jerusalem, 6 March (AKI) — A man identifying himself as a member of the self-proclaimed Palestinian group, Ahrar al-Jalil, on Friday claimed responsibility for the bulldozer attack in West Jerusalem in a telephone call to Palestinian news agency Maan.
In a statement, Ahrar al-Jalil — or Free men of Galilee — claimed the bulldozer driver, 26-year-old Mari al-Rdaidah, was one of its members.
The little-known group has also claimed responsibility for three other similar attacks in the city over the past year, according to Maan.
Al-Rdaidah was shot dead by police after the bulldozer he was driving rammed a police car, causing it to flip over several times as the digger sped down a West Jerusalem road, dragging the car behind it.
Two policemen were injured in the incident, which occurred on Jerusalem’s main Begin Highway. An Israeli taxi driver said he also shot al-Rdaidah four times before police arrived.
The family of al-Rdaidah, who was married with a child, have denied Israeli claims that the collision was a terrorist attack, saying it was an accident.
He was a resident of the West Jerusalem suburb of Beit Hanina, which was annexed by Israel in 1967.
In July last year, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem killed three Israelis and wounded 45 others when he rammed the bulldozer he was driving into buses and cars in West Jerusalem’s Jaffa Street, before being shot dead.
Three weeks later, 16 people were wounded in a similar incident, and the attacker was also killed.
In September, a Palestinian driver rammed his car into a crowd of Israeli soldiers, wounding 19 people. He too was shot dead, although relatives denied it had been a deliberate attack.
Israel has recently issued orders for the demolition of 100 Palestinian homes it claims were built illegally in the neighbourhood of Silwan, located in East Jerusalem.
More than 1,000 Palestinians will be displaced if the demolitions proceed, Maan said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Commerce: Tuscany Looks for Export Market in the Emirates
(ANSAmed) — FLORENCE, FEBRUARY 27 — The United Arab Emirates are the principal market for Italian exports across the Middle East and North Africa region, according to data from the ICE and the Italy-Arab Chamber of Commerce. For 2009, predictions from ICE-Prometeia show the UAE to be the only geo-economic area where there will be an increase in exports, forecast to be more than 7%. The figure is the main premise for a brief economic- institutional mission by representatives of the Region of Tuscany, led by president Claudio Martini, that will arrive in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Tuscan exports are up in the UAE (+1.6% in the third quarter of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007 which closed with +27% on 2006 and more than 755 million, 411 thousand euros in exports). Imports have almost doubled, from 11 million, 275 thousand euros in the first 9 months of 2007 to more than 20 million in the same period of 2008. In the UAE capital Martini, along with Ambassador Paolo Dionisi, will meet, among others, the Minister for the Economy, Sultano Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, and the director general of the Ministry for Planning and the Economy, Abdullah Saleh. Before returning to Tuscany on March 3 the president will also meet representatives from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and visit the permanent exhibit dedicated to the Saadiyat Island cultural district, one of the most popular destinations for global tourism. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Defence: Two New Deals Between Turkey and UAE
(ANSAmed) — ABU DHABI, FEBRUARY 23 — Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul attended on Sunday the opening ceremony of the Ninth IDEX International Defense Fair, in Abu Dhabi, the Middle East’s biggest defense fair where near 40 Turkish defense companies are participating. Speaking to reporters, as Anatolia agency reported from Abu Dhabi, Gonul said two Turkish companies were set to sign a deal with two of UAE’s major defense contractors for the joint production of assault boats and rockets. Gonul said he met earlier with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, who is also chief of staff of the UAE Armed Forces, adding that Turkish and UAE armed forces are expected to sign cooperation agreements in defense industry and military training. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iran ‘Surprised’ by Morocco Severing Ties
Iran says it is surprised by Morocco’s decision to sever diplomatic links with Iran, saying the move harms unity in the Islamic world.
In a statement Saturday, the Foreign Ministry rejected charges by Morocco that Iran was intervening in its internal affairs.
Morocco said Friday it was cutting off diplomatic relations with Iran and accused Teheran of trying to spread Shi’ite Islam in the north African Sunni Arab kingdom.
The Moroccan press has repeatedly accused the Iranian Embassy of proselytizing in recent years. The Iranian ambassador denied the charges as recently as last week
| — Hat tip: Abu Elvis | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: Saudi Arabia to Arab League, Face Up to Tehran
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 3 — In a meeting of Arab League Foreign Ministers in Cairo, the head of Saudi Arabian diplomacy, Saud al Faisal, encouraged all Arab countries to work together to “face up to Iran’s defiance. To achieve Arab reconcilication,” Faisal said, “we need to reach a common vision of the issue of Arab security and we need to face up to Iran’s defiance.” His worries relate to the activities of the Shiite movement Hezbollah and the radical Palestinian group Hamas, which have very close links to Iran, as well as to Tehran’s nuclear weapons programme, which is also considered a danger by the West. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel: Lieberman Tipped to be New Foreign Minister
Jerusalem, 6 March (AKI) — Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Israel’s right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, has emerged at the most likely candidate for foreign minister in the new government to be led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. But Lieberman has demanded Netanyahu, the prime minister-designate, grant him ‘full-autonomy’ if he assumes the position.
“Lieberman wants to make sure that Netanyahu doesn’t let another minister receive tasks that belong to the foreign ministry,” said an unnamed source quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz.
The source also said that Lieberman did not want former foreign minister and Likud MP Silvan Shalom to handle negotiations with Syria.
“Lieberman wants to ensure that Netanyahu doesn’t let Silvan Shalom handle negotiations with Syria in order to placate Shalom.”
Lieberman — whose party won 15 seats in the February elections — would replace Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni, whose party won 28 seats. But she has declined to join a coalition with the conservative right-wing parties led by Netanyahu’s Likud and Lieberman.
Likud won 27 seats in the election for Israel’s 120-member parliament or Knesset. However, Netanyahu has yet to form a government.
Other far-right nationalist and religious parties that could join a Likud-led coalition are National Union (4 seats), Shas (11 seats), Jewish Home (3 seats) and United Torah Judaism (5 seats).
If they join a Likud-led coalition, including Yisrael Beiteinu, various nationalist parties will between them control 65 of 120 seats and have a comfortable parliamentary majority. However, divisions remain between the right-wing religious parties, and the right-wing secular Yisrael Beiteinu.
Beiteinu is an anti-Arab rightist party, which advocates, among other things, allowing couples barred from religious Jewish marriage to marry in a civil union, something that rightist religious parties such as Shas oppose.
Beiteinu also favours redrawing Israel’s borders to remove non-Jewish Israelis and annex occupied territory settled by Jews.
The 2009 poll was dominated by security issues following Israel’s recent offensive against Islamist Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the results signal a shift to the right by Israeli voters.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia: Gov’t Wants to Create New Jobs for Women
(ANSAmed) — ROMA, 24 FEB — The Saudi Council of Ministers adopted new measures to increase job opportunities for women by expanding women’s health and technical education programs and introducing a distance employment system using electronic facilities, Arab News reported today. Yesterday the Cabinet meeting, chaired by King Abdullah, instructed the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) to train more women to take up jobs related to computer operation, office work as well as women’s care centers and jails, the Saudi Press Agency said. “Kindergartens will be made part and parcel of the education system and the jobs there will be restricted to women”, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja told the same agency. The Cabinet adopted the new decisions on the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on Administrative Reforms. The meeting also urged the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies to take necessary administrative and organizational measures to provide jobs for women in the women’s education sector. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia: Timid Steps to Reform, ‘Glass Half Full’?
(by Anna Lisa Rapana’). (ANSAmed) — RIYADH — Nora Al Fayez, the first woman in history to be part of the Saudi government, works behind the dark-paned glass walls of the Education Ministry in Riyadh, along one of the city’s main arteries — where cars flash past which women are prohibited from driving. And, at least for the time being, she will be remaining behind that dark glass. The decision was made to limit media attention granted to the newly-appointed deputy education minister (placed in charge of the education of females) in her first 100 days of activity. The reason for such a move was to prevent such a ‘‘historic’’ role, and the resulting strength of its symbolic message, from overshadowing the other new elements of the package recently approved by the king, which some have hailed as being a small step towards reform. On February 14, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz announced a series of measures which call for a large reshuffle in key positions in the Saudi kingdom: the head of the judicial council has been replaced, who had ruled it lawful to kill the owners of satellite channels that broadcast immoral programmes, as has the head of the religious police, the Muttawa’in (police officers of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice), with a younger and more moderate commander. However, also unprecedented changes have been decided on for the Ulema Council, a body which up until now had followed the only juridical school based on the literal interpretation of the Koran based on the teachings of the medieval theologian Ibn Taymiyya. It is a move that, in the eyes of observers, could be the start of broader change in a society whose organisation and law are based on religious dictates. In other words, if we begin scratching at the surface of this institution, the door may just begin to open a bit. And so the glass seems half full. The Saudi press is dealing with issues which had previously been off-limit, such as violence against domestic help (widespread in the country) and against children. The country’s papers are publishing more articles per day to women’s issues , and the front-page news on the Saudi Gazette is the opening up to women of the book fair in Riyadh, which got underway the day before yesterday. ‘‘In response to heated debate last year,’’ reads the article, ‘‘Deputy Culture Minister Abdul Aziz Al-Subeil has said that women will be allowed to work at the fair this year.’’ The women taking advantage of the opportunity will, of course, not only have to cover their heads but will be entirely hidden beneath a black abaya. The vast majority will also have their faces covered with only slits left for their eyes, as Saudi women live normally, only ‘revealing themselves’ within their homes. By law each woman is entrusted to a tutor — either father, brother or husband. They leave their houses (accompanied by a man) mainly to go to large shopping centres ,which seem catapulted into the Saudi desert from some American city (there is even a Saks Fifth Avenue, with its shining shop windows a carbon copy of those in New York). They rise up from the land next to one another, their iron and steel towers covered with names familiar to Westerners: from McDonald’s to Starbucks. All are filled with young people, though boys and girls have to watch each other from a distance, as there are separate areas for men and women. Women in Saudi Arabia do out yell and scream for their rights. At times some join each other in asking for the right to drive, but this is as far as any sort of protest goes. Perhaps the person to put it best was Cyma Azya, a young journalist on state-run TV, when she said in her self-assured manner, in perfect English and in front of foreign television cameras, that ‘‘we have to get rid of the myth that Saudi women are oppressed, repressed and depressed. I have never left my country, and I am proud of the fact.’’ (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
‘Shoe Hurled at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iranian City’
A shoe was recently hurled at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while he was in the city of Urmia, an Iranian Web site has reported.
The incident in the Iranian city was an apparent imitation of a similar attack on former U.S. president George Bush in Iraq last year.
Urmia News, the Iranian site, reported that Ahmadinejad was in a car en route to an election rally when the shoe was thrown. Ahmadinejad was traveling to a local stadium where he was meant to deliver a speech ahead of upcoming presidential elections in Iran.
According to the report, a hat was also thrown at the Iranian president before his convoy sped away from the scene.
The incident was not reported by Iran’s major news outlets. But it has been widely commented upon in the Islamic Republic’s blogosphere, which is viewed as one of the most developed in the world. It is one of the key tools for disseminating information that contradicts the position of the regime that controls the traditional media.
A number of pro- Ahmadinejad bloggers denied the report, claiming it was a rumor spread by “monarchists” and “anti-revolutionaries,” the accepted terms for members of the Iranian opposition.
Urmia News said the incident occurred after riots erupted in the city in response to harming by the convoy of an elderly pedestrian who had sought to hand Ahmadinejad a letter.
Urmia News did not say when the incident transpired, but it apparently took place at some point over the last few days.
| — Hat tip: Abu Elvis | [Return to headlines] |
Terrorism: Iraq-Based Joint Command PKK Starts Operations
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 23 — The trilateral joint command center based in the northern Iraqi province of Arbil, which aims at pursuing and destroying the terror organization PKK on the field, has officially launched operations, Hurriyet Daily News reports. Turkey, Iraq and the U.S. decided to form a joint committee in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil to combat the PKK, which launches cross-border attacks on Turkey from bases in the neighboring country, as part of efforts to boost cooperation against the terrorists. The center includes military and civilian officials from Turkey, the United States, the Iraqi central government and the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq. Besides destroying the PKK on the field, the command center targets providing security along the Turkey-Iraq border, and providing intelligence to Turkey. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Miliband, Contact With Hezbollah Authorised
(ANSAmed) — LONDON, MARCH 6 — British Foreign Minister, David Miliband, confirmed to the BBC today that he has authorised contacting the Lebanese militant Shiite group Hezbollah, stressing that the influence of Iran in the region ‘must be stopped’’. ‘We have authorised low level contacts with them (the political wing of the movement, which has a representative in the Lebanese government, ed.)’’, Miliband said to the BBC, ‘to make it perfectly clear our intention to see UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which among other things calls for the disarming of militants in Lebanon, applied’’. Resolution 1701 had the objective of ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. London has not had official contacts with the Lebanese Islamic organisation since 2005 and has included its armed wing on the black list of terrorist groups. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
US Report Highlights Cyprus Human Rights Concerns
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, FEBRUARY 27 — A new US government report has listed a number of areas of concern about human rights issues in Cyprus. The 2008 report, published by the US State Department says the government of the Republic of Cyprus generally respects the human rights of its citizens, adding however, that “there were problems in some areas”. The problems listed — as Famagusta Gazette reports — include police abuse, degrading treatment of persons in police custody and of asylum seekers, violence against women, discrimination against members of minority ethnic and national groups and trafficking of women to the island, particularly for sexual exploitation. The report adds that the US does not recognise “the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime, in northern Turkish occupied Cyprus, nor does any country other than Turkey”. It also refers to the “substantial number of Turkish troops on the island” and dismisses Turkish Cypriot claims that mosques in the southern government controlled part of the country are neglected, pointing out that the Cyprus government has routinely carried out maintenance and repair of mosques in the area under its administration. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: ‘Blood on Its Hands’: SAS Chief Blames Government for Deaths of Four Soldiers in Afghanistan
A former SAS commander in Afghanistan has claimed the Government had ‘blood on its hands’ over the ‘unnecessary deaths’ of four soldiers killed when their Snatch Land Rover hit a roadside bomb.
Major Sebastian Morley reportedly said Whitehall officials and military commanders repeatedly ignored his warnings troops would be killed if they continued to use the ‘unsafe’ vehicles.
The 40-year-old resigned following the death of Corporal Sarah Bryant, the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan, and three of her male colleagues after their Snatch hit an anti-tank mine in Helmand province in June last year.
[…]
He predicted that the conflict in Afghanistan would escalate, saying: ‘This is the equivalent to the start of the Vietnam conflict, there is much more to come.
‘We hold tiny areas of ground in Helmand and we are kidding ourselves if we think our influence goes beyond 500 metres of our security bases. It’s just crazy to think we hold that ground or have any influence on what goes on beyond the bases.
‘We go out on operations, have a punch-up with the Taliban and then go back to camp for tea. We are not holding the ground. The Taliban know where we are. They know full well when we have gone back into camp.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: East Java, Policewomen Must Wear Islamic Veil
The new chief of police has issued a “nonbinding” order for all women in uniform. Police officers are also asked to pray five times a day. The headquarters in Java has approved the norm, and says that the agents are “free” to decide whether to follow it.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Police women must wear the veil; all police officers are obliged to pray five times a day, as required by the precepts of Islam. These are the directives promulgated by Brigadier General Anton Bachrul Alam, the new chief of police in the province of East Java, to “bring my subordinates to the right path of life.”
He clarifies that these guidelines are not a “order,” but an “invitation” to practice a way of conduct appropriate for a good Muslim. And in less than three days, the provincial police have adopted the policy issued by their commander. “I think that it’s a good idea to be practiced in my jurisdiction area,” says Umar Effendi, police chief in Sumenep. Juansih, a woman and the deputy chief of police in Bojonegoro, says that “this is not a compulsory order, but I have disseminated this new policy to my subordinates.” In the Bojonegoro department, there are at least 130 female police officers. “We are happy to do so,” say Mega and Eva, two policewomen. “By wearing our jilbab (headscarf), we feel stronger and not as easily plunged into committing sins.”
From police headquarters in Jakarta, they say that there is “no problem, if they want to wear or not to wear. As it is not an official order but only an advocacy from their superior, let them do what they want to wear.”
In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, wearing the jilbab is obligatory only in the province of Aceh, the only one to have adopted sharia. In recent years, the question of the Islamic veil has led to a feud involving all of Indonesian society. Many fundamentalist Islamic groups have asked for the imposition of Islamic law in the entire country, but they have run into opposition from the authorities, who are afraid that “national unity” could be threatened. In recent months, fundamentalists have launched campaigns of “moralization” aimed against yoga, the Rotary and Lions clubs, smoking, and abstention from voting.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Johann Hari’s Article Was “Dripping With Hatred for Islam.”
Al-Ahram 26.02.2009 (Egypt)
In the aftermath of the Indian publication of Johann Hari’s attack against Muslim censorship — greeted by calls for censorship — opinion editor of the Khaleej Times Aijaz Zaka Syed knows who’s at fault: Johann Hari. Syed says Hari’s original article was “dripping with hatred for Islam.” “We are not against free speech,” writes Syed, but “if playing with people’s beliefs and trampling on all they hold sacred is freedom, then we’re better off without it.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan — Sri Lanka: 250 Suspects Arrested in Lahore Attack. Zardari Government Under Accusation
Pakistan’s security forces say they have identified those responsible for the attack on Sri Lanka’s national cricket team. Investigations point to domestic activity, and to the involvement of the Islamic terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Opposition parties in Islamabad and Colombo are criticizing their respective governments.
Lahore (AsiaNews) — The Pakistani police have arrested 250 people suspected of being involved in the attack on Sri Lanka’s national cricket team. Four of those arrested are accused of direct responsibility for the terrorist attack, which killed six policemen and the driver of the team bus (in the photo, the coworkers of one of the victims pray on the site of the killing).
The provincial governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, has stated that the authorities have identified those responsible for the attack, but for now they do not intend to release any information. Salahuddin Niazi, head of the investigations, has said the same. The results will be communicated soon, “but for now,” he added, “any comment or revelation could undermine our efforts.”
Sources inside the administration say that the authorities are focusing on the domestic origin of the attack, and the direct implication of the Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. But there are also accusations against India: various commentators speak of involvement in the attack on the part of New Delhi’s espionage services.
The ease with which the terrorists operated and then got away from the site of the attack continues to generate criticism of the government and police forces. Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervez has acknowledged the clear lapse in security, and accusations are growing in the country against the government of President Asif Ali Zardari.
The opposition is using the attack for political purposes, and linking it to the affair of brothers Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif, who have been banned from public office by a sentence from the Supreme Court: Nawaz is the leader of the Muslim League party, and Shahbaz is the former governor of the province of Punjab, whose capital is Lahore. The opposition has called for protests on March 12, against the subservience of the judiciary to the president. A sit-in protest against the government is scheduled for the 16th, in front of the parliament in Islamabad.
Meanwhile, the government of Sri Lanka is confirming its solidarity with Pakistan, although the communications minister, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana, has acknowledged the serious lapse in Islamabad’s security services. The opposition accuses the government of ignoring security warnings from Australia, but Minister Abeywardana replies: “We did not think about the internal problems of Pakistan when we approved the tour [of the national cricket team].”
The governments of the two countries intend to collaborate in the investigations, and have announced that they want to set up a joint working group to share experiences of the fight against terrorism.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Maktaba-E-Anaveem, Teaching Theology to Christians and Muslims
The institute founded by Bible scholar Emmanuel Asi is celebrating its twentieth anniversary. Formation courses open to all; working groups in 16 cities in the country; more than 170 publications created so far. An initiative also appreciated by Protestants and Muslims.
Lahore (AsiaNews) -20 years of activity spent teaching theology to ordinary people in a country where only 2% of the population is Christian, while there are more than 130 million Muslims, 85% of the inhabitants. This is the story of the Maktaba-e-Anaveem Pakistan (MAP), also known as the Theological Institute for Laity, created in 1989 from an idea of Fr. Emmanuel Asi, a Bible scholar and priest of the archdiocese of Lahore.
On February 28, the MAP marked its 20th anniversary with a solemn celebration at its headquarters in Sadhoke, a village in the district of Gujranwala in Punjab. Fr. Asi tells AsiaNews that more than 10,000 people have benefited from the activities of the MAP: “We welcome men and women of any faith without any discrimination in our groups so anyone interested in learning contextual theology can join our groups.”
Catholics and Protestants, but also Muslims and the faithful of other religions frequent the activities at the institute, which has a network of 16 groups scattered throughout various cities in Pakistan. The MAP organizes formation courses that include seminars and study sessions. The MAP also produces theological publications: over 20 years of activity, it has published about 170 books destined for both the Catholic and Protestant faithful, and also appreciated by Muslim scholars.
Various personalities of the Catholic Church in Pakistan participated in the celebrations for the anniversary. Lawrence John Saldanha, the archbishop of Lahore, recalled that the service offered by the MAP is in keeping with the teaching of Vatican Council II, which urged serious and continual formation in the faith for the laity. The archbishop also emphasized that the openness of the institute to anyone who wants to attend it, including women, is a contribution to the affirmation of religious freedom. Jospeh Coutts, the bishop of Faisalabad, thanked Fr. Asi for his contribution to instructing the laity and making them active in the Church’s life, and also stressed the importance of the publications in the Urdu language.
Messages of good wishes came from the archbishop of Karachi, Evaristo Pinto, and from the bishop of Peshawar, Mano Rumal Shah, but also from personalities of civil society and members of other religions. These include Rehman Faiz, a Muslim and a representative of Amnesty International in Pakistan, who in his message to Fr. Asi expressed appreciation for “the efforts being made by Maktaba-e-Anaveem Pakistan in various segments of publications and dialogue for better understanding among people, communities and religions.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Probe Links Local Militants to Lahore Cricket Attack
Islamabad, 6 March (AKI) — By Syed Saleem Shahzad — Pakistani authorities have established a link between Tuesday’s attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in Lahore and former militants from the Kashmiri separatist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba. Sources said senior intelligence officials also met Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of Jamaat-Ud-Dawa, considered to be an arm of LeT on Friday, and asked him to use his influence to stop further attacks.
Sources among Pakistani militants said that the attackers were former members of LeT who had been fighting against Indian security forces in the disputed territory of Kashmir.
After Pakistan closed down the militants’ camp in Kashmir, they resigned from LeT and joined forces with the Taliban to fight against NATO forces in Afghanistan. These groups joined forces with the Taliban back in 2005-06 and changed the dynamics of the war against foreign troops based there.
Pakistani intelligence officials on Friday conducted raids at a local hostel in Lahore where some of the militants stayed before the attack. Some of the alleged facilitators were arrested and admitted that they were former LeT militants, who are now part of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Unlike all other militant groups, LeT fighters are classic guerrilla fighters. They were trained by the Pakistani army’s elite Special Service Group to fight against Indian forces in Indian Kashmir and are reputedly among the toughest fighters in the world.
Many experts are convinced that they have joined forces with the Taliban and together have created a resurgence in targeted guerilla attacks that have changed the dynamics of the war theatre.
The Serena attack in Kabul in January 2008, the attack on the national parade in Kabul in July 2008, and the devastating Mumbai attacks in November 2008 illustrate the changes in guerrilla techniques which LeT was known to use against the Indian security forces.
Intelligence agencies have spoke to Hafiz Mohammad Saeed in the past in a bid to have militants sever their ties with Al-Qaeda. However, neither the security agencies could trace their whereabouts or determine if he had any influence over them.
The reason is that these militants mostly live in tribal areas and have abandoned all communication links with Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and the leadership of LeT. Hence it is believed that it is just another futile exercise to use LeT and Hafiz Mohammad Saeed’s channel to communicate with them.
Despite the latest action by Pakistani intelligence services, interior ministry chief Rehman Malik said on Friday he could not rule out foreign involvement in Tuesday’s attack against the Sri Lankan team and international cricket officials.
Six Pakistani police and two civilians were killed on Tuesday when gunmen ambushed the team on their way to a test match against the Pakistani team in Lahore. Seven Sri Lankan cricketers and a coach were among 19 people wounded.
“I cannot rule out (involvement of a) foreign hand in the incident,” Rehman Malik told reporters in Lahore.
In February Malik admitted for the first time that last year’s terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that targeted two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai were partly planned in Pakistan.
He said that several suspects were now being in custody and a case has been filed which could lead to their prosecution.
Although Pakistan formally banned LeT after Al-Qaeda’s 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States and curbed the group’s activities, its camps were never closed, according to analysts.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Philippines Stock Exchange Considers Sharia-Inspired Investments
An index is being considered that would be dedicated to stocks that conform to Koranic law. It is a means for attracting investment from the Islamic market. Islamic equity indexes already exist in Southeast Asia, on the exchanges of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, and one will be launched next month in Thailand.
Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE) is considering the launch of a new index dedicated to stocks that conform to sharia. Franciso Lim, head of the PSE, explains that “other exchanges in the Asian region are doing it so we might be left behind. We have to study it carefully.” The aim of the operation is connected to the possibility of attracting investment from Islamic countries.
The stock markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore already have Islamic equity indexes, and Thailand is preparing to launch one of its own next month. There are at least 30 companies on the PSE that already conform to the dictates of sharia.
The head of the Filipino exchange is not ruling out the possible creation of an Islamic index for the entire region of Southeast Asia, but he adds that in order to study the feasibility of the project, more developments are necessary in the infrastructure of the regional stock markets.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sufi Shrine Bombed, in Push to “Talibanize” Pakistan
The memory of the poet Rehman Baba, a symbol of “peace and tolerance” for the entire country, has been profaned. Islamic extremists unleashed the violence because women were permitted free entry to the shrine. Today, the local population held a protest demonstration.
Peshawar (AsiaNews) — The terrorist attack on the shrine of the Sufi poet Rehman Baba demonstrates the “kind of country” that “Taliban fanatics” want to make out of Pakistan. Even more serious is the fact that the shine was attacked “because it was open to women.” In this way, there is a tendency toward “the deterioration of the level of security in the country.” This is the cry of alarm issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), according to which the country runs the risk of progressive “Talibanization.”
Yesterday in Peshawar — capital of the North-West Frontier Province, on the border with Afghanistan — the Taliban bombed the shrine of the 17th-century Pashtun language Sufi poet, beloved all over the province and in neighboring Afghanistan. Rehman Baba is considered a symbol of peace and tolerance, and his writings are still studied today for their message of “love of God” and respect for neighbor. The explosion happened yesterday at 5:10 in the morning; the white marble shrine suffered serious damage, but there were no deaths or injuries.
The HRCP recalls that Rehman Baba is an icon “not only of the Pashtun people, but of the whole of Pakistan,” and that it is “ironic” that the shrine of a poet “revered for opposing oppression and advocating peace and tolerance had been targeted by militants.”
Local government sources say that in recent days, the Taliban issued a warning, demanding that women be banned from entering the shrine. According to the police, the mastermind of the attack is Mangal Bagh, head of the extremist movement Lashkar-e-Islam. Recently groups of men with long hair and beards had repeatedly visited the site of the attack.
Today, the local population organized a demonstration to protest against the attack. Harsh condemnation is also coming from Pakistani prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who is asking investigators for “in-depth investigations,” so that those responsible “may be brought to justice.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Tibet — China: De Facto Martial Law in Force in Tibet, Army Ready for Violent Crackdown
Pro-Tibet activist tells AsiaNews about massive deployment of troops in Tibet, on the ready to crackdown on any protest, even if only verbal. But Tibetans are showing no sign of fear. The danger of a catastrophe is great if the world community does not intervene.
Dharamsala (AsiaNews) — “China’s provocative troop deployments and surrounding of Tibetan monasteries has ensured that the stakes could not be higher in Tibet on the eve of next week’s 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and flight of the Dalai Lama into exile,” Stephanie Bridgen, director of Free Tibet, told AsiaNews. For her the danger of unrest in Tibet is due to China’s crackdown. “Chinese paramilitaries have already shown they are prepared to fire with impunity at Tibetan protesters.”
On 27 February police shot at a monk, Tapey, from Kirti Monastery in Aba County (Sichuan) who had set himself on fire in protest against the ban to celebrate religious holidays.
Only yesterday Xinhua confirmed his identity, reporting that he was “out of danger” and that has been moved to a hospital in Chengdu. But Chinese authorities still denied claims that he had been shot.
Since the incident no one who knows him has been able to see him.
For over a month China has deployed tens of thousands of troops in Tibet and Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu, arresting and beating people to stop any form of protest, even if only verbal.
Martial law is de facto in place in these areas which are off-limits to foreigners.
Foreign journalists who travelled there covertly have reported a massive and threatening military presence on the streets of the Tibetan capital before being stopped and expelled.
Civil war seems to be imminent. Army convoys rumble along highways and paramilitary officers search civilian cars.
Fortified positions are surrounded by sandbags. Lhasa is under a curfew.
China’s crackdown has been relentless since bloody riots broke out in March 2008; altogether 220 Tibetans have been killed, nearly 1,300 have been wounded and nearly 7,000 have been detained or imprisoned, according to the Tibetan government in exile
“With Tibetans showing their determination to protest in the face of China’s clampdown, the conditions are clearly in place for a potential catastrophe,” Bridgen said.
In fact recent weeks saw an upsurge in non-violent protests, especially by Tibetan monks, many of whom have been arrested.
Radio Free Asia has reported that yesterday two Tibetan women—a nun named Pema Yangdzom and later a girl—staged separate protests in front of the Public Security Bureau in Kardze.
“World leaders must break their silence on Tibet and respond to the recent call by the Tibetan government in exile for urgent intervention if we are to avoid a repeat of last year’s bloody crackdown on Tibetan protesters,” said Bridgen.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Chavez Tells Obama He Should Follow Venezuela’s Socialist Path
“Now President Obama arrived with some announcements, hopefully, but the capitalist model and its perverse values have failed.”
“I recommend to Obama — they’re criticizing him because they say he’s moving towards socialism — come Obama, ally with us on the path to socialism, it’s the only road.”
“Imagine a socialist revolution in the U.S. Nothing is impossible.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: 90 Illegal Immigrants Deported in a Week
Rome, 6 March (AKI) — The Italian government has over the past week deported 90 illegal immigrants from the southernmost Italian island of Lampedusa, the interior ministry said on Friday. Those expelled were mainly Tunisians, Algerians and Egyptians.
A further 93 illegal immigrants who landed on Lampedusa, including 78 Tunisians and 15 Nigerians have also been served with expulsion orders, the interior ministry said.
The migrants have been transferred to the Ponte Galeria expulsion centre outside the Italian capital Rome ‘for technical reasons’ pending their deportation, the interior ministry noted.
Lampedusa is the main arrival point for illegal immigrants reaching Italy by boat from North Africa. Several hundred have arrived on the island this week, including women and small babies, putting fresh strain on the island’s already overcrowded detention centre.
The conservative Italian government late last year decided to hold illegal immigrants on Lampedusa prior to deportation instead of transferring them to other centres in Italy.
Illegal immigrants held at the centre rioted there last month over conditions at the severely overcrowded centre, where some had been held since December. Detainees also staged a mass breakout from the centre in January.
The centre was designed as a temporary reception centre able to hold a maximum 800 people for a few days at a time, yet over twice this number have been detained there at times, prompting criticism from rights groups, the UN refugee agency and Italian opposition politicians.
Lampedusans have also protested at what they call the ‘militarisation’ of the picturesque island, which they claim is ruining its tourism business.
The Italian government said this week it intends to keep the Lampedusa expulsion centre and intends to rebuild parts of the building burned down last month by rioting illegal immigrant detainees.
The government is seeking to repatriation agreements with all the North African ‘transit’ countries from which many of the people-smuggling boats set sail for southern Italy, notably Tunisia, Libya and Morocco.
A total of 31,000 people arrived on Lampedusa last year, out of 36,900 who reached Italy by boat
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Number of Migrants Down in 2008
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 5 — For the first time in this decade the number of migrants into Spain has fallen. In 2008 150,000 residence permits were issued, 50,000 less than in 2007. The number of family reunion permits decreased by 30,000 according to the Yearbook of Immigration in Spain, presented yesterday in Madrid by the Secretary of State for immigration, Consuelo Rumi. Not a significant decline, but it means the end to ten years of increasing immigration. Rumi also pointed out that last year around 2,000 immigrants participated in the programme for unemployed immigrants only, of the voluntary return to their country of origin. The programme includes a refund of paid national-insurance contributions as long as the immigrant does not return to Spain in the next three years. Another 1,800 foreigners returned to their country thanks to social assistance programmes managed by NGOs. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Who’s Thomas Saenz?
Civil Rights: The open-borders crowd eagerly awaits the nomination of one of its own to a key Justice Department post, a man who has dedicated his life to promoting illegal immigrant “rights.”
President Obama is expected to appoint Thomas Saenz as the nation’s top civil-rights enforcer. It’s a key appointment because Obama has promised to “reinvigorate” the division Saenz will lead. And the Civil Rights Division carries a wide-ranging portfolio, covering everything from hate crimes and police misconduct to voting rights and redistricting laws.
All this power will likely be turned over to Saenz, who was a top lawyer for a radical Hispanic group that wants to cede California to Mexico. Saenz is credited with killing Proposition 187 in California against the wishes of 60% of voters. That law would have denied welfare to illegals.
At the time, Saenz was vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, whose co-founder has exulted: “California is going to be a Mexican state, we are going to control all the institutions. If people don’t like it, they should leave.”
Saenz has also sued California cities to establish “hiring halls” for illegal day laborers so that they can have a place to urinate. In fact, protecting day laborers against “anti-immigrant” sweeps is one of his top priorities.
He has agitated for “a federal court decision which would settle (the issue) for all time,” and now he may have his way. Loitering illegals may soon have total freedom to harass store customers and drink and relieve themselves in public.
He would also crack down on local law enforcement officials who help ICE deport illegals. When the LAPD tried such collaboration, Saenz demanded “punishing all wrongdoers.”
In fact, the way Saenz sees it, no illegal alien should be rounded up.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
State Bans Prayer at Christian Institutions
Policy censoring faithful ‘on their own private property’ challenged
The Illinois High School Association is being challenged on a policy that bans Christian schools from offering a prayer or any religious message over their public address systems when they host association events on their own property.
“It is blatantly unconstitutional for public school officials to come into private schools and enforce a policy prohibiting them from expressing what’s central to their religious beliefs,” said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, or ADF.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Stem Cells: Cattaneo, Enough Fraud No Embryos Yes Benefits
(AGI) — Rome 6 Mar. — What is terrible, what really itches, is the fraudulent position according to which Italy is morally opposed to stem cell research but reaps its benefits. If we are against it, we must tell Italian citizens that they will never benefit from and discoveries made in this field. Italian researcher Elena Cattaneo is again speaking about stem cells during the second World Congress on ‘freedom of research’ and ‘free research’ held by the ‘Luca Coscioni’ Association in Brussels. Speeches were given by 1993 Nobel prize winner for chemistry Kary Mullis (tomorrow it will be the turn of Martin Perle, Nobel prize winner for Physics in 1995) and Spain’s Health minister Bernat Soria, who accepted the leadership of the growing movement for the ‘patients’ freedom in treatment’ requested by a Belgian patient suffering from Gerhig’s disease, and emphasised the “need for total freedom of research”. As for Italy, “We researchers are not irritated or bothered by the fact that a 50,000 euro loan for stem cell research has been taken away from us because we will keep up with our research thanks to financing offered by the EU. But we are troubled by a fraudulent attitude that tells our citizens that we do not carry out stem cell research because it is immoral without adding, for the sake of coherence, that Italian citizens will never benefit from any discovery deriving from such research”.
This is total hypocrisy, then. In Italy there is a preconceived and dogmatic aversion to stem cells which has no basis or scientific justification. Intellectual coherence and honesty would impose that if Italians are told that research is banned, they must also be told that they will never reap the benefits of such research”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Parents Face Court Action for Removing Children From Gay History Lessons
Parents face possible court action for withdrawing their children from lessons on gay and lesbian history.
More than 30 pupils were pulled out of a week of teaching at a primary school which included books about homosexual partnerships.
The controversial content was worked into the curriculum at George Tomlinson School in Waltham Forest, East London.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
3 comments:
The Illinois High School Association is being challenged on a policy that bans Christian schools from offering a prayer or any religious message over their public address systems when they host association events on their own property.
This is blatantly unconstitutional; which is to say it is against fundamental human rights: there is no "except on public property" or "only if it cannot be seen or heard by the public." And, given the caving in on Muslim demands either on [pis]sharia, foot baths, and prayer rooms in public areas; this so-called "empty public square" is exposed for the lie and Christophobia it is: the proponents of the ban should no longer be permitted to hide behind pleasant and reasonable sounding ideology.
Burning the hijab in Oslo:
Sarah Rasmussen burns a hijab (English Subtitles)
re: Financial Crisis
Out in the open … EU states may need aid - German Economy Minister
Germany's Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is openly saying that whole countries – and not just their banks – may have to be bailed out to prevent their collapse.
EU states may need aid
On top of the financial crisis, there is an energy shortfall crisis that is looming, which will be exacerbated by the fixation over global warming. Gas supply from Russia is problematic, and oil from the ME is dependent on religion and politics. Couple these with food shortages, and one has all the ingredients where solutions that are "direct" in approach, become politically possible.
Post a Comment
All comments are subject to pre-approval by blog admins.
Gates of Vienna's rules about comments require that they be civil, temperate, on-topic, and show decorum. For more information, click here.
Users are asked to limit each comment to about 500 words. If you need to say more, leave a link to your own blog.
Also: long or off-topic comments may be posted on news feed threads.
To add a link in a comment, use this format:
<a href="http://mywebsite.com">My Title</a>
Please do not paste long URLs!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.