An Islamophobic judge in New Zealand barred a veiled woman from his courtroom, and when she protested at the “discrimination”, she was told that the judge has jurisdiction over such matters, and that there was nothing she could do.In other news, a Swedish man is using a breast pump in an attempt to induce lactation so that he can suckle his future children.
Thanks to A Greek Friend, Aeneas, Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, CSP, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, JD, Nilk, TB, Zenster, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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Agreement Reached on Land for Flight 93 Memorial
The federal government has reached final agreements with landowners to purchase 1,400 acres at the Flight 93 crash site in southwestern Pennsylvania yesterday, clearing the way for construction to begin on the 9/11 memorial park this fall.
The announcement means the government will not invoke eminent domain to seize the land, a prospect that was raised in the spring.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Cops Jump on Swine-Flu Power: Shots Heard ‘Round the World
Pandemic bill allows health authorities to enter homes, detain without warrant
A “pandemic response bill” currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.
If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.
Massachusetts’ pandemic response bill
“Pandemic Response Bill” 2028 was passed by the Massachusetts state Senate on April 28 and is now awaiting approval in the House.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Glenn Beck Targets Pro-Marxist at FCC
Raising new concerns about another controversial Obama Administration official, testimony has surfaced from Mark Lloyd, the new Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in which he praises Paul Robeson, the communist actor and singer who was an apologist for Soviet dictator and mass murderer Joseph Stalin.
Lloyd, who worked as a broadcast journalist at NBC and CNN, has come under fire from Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck and Seton Motley of the Media Research Center for being openly critical of private media companies in the U.S. and Venezuela, where Lloyd believes that Marxist ruler Hugo Chavez is trying to implement a popular democracy.
At the FCC, Lloyd is in a position to try to influence and control media content by making statements and issuing directives on media “diversity” and fairness.
But 2005 testimony that Lloyd provided to a congressional forum headed by far-left Democratic Rep. John Conyers raises even more questions about his totalitarian mind-set and background.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Homeland Security Formalizes Laptop Seizure Rules — Sort of
For months it’s been the policy (written or unwritten, no one is sure), that the Department of Homeland Security can do pretty much whatever it wants with your laptop, cell phone, or other electronic gadgets when you, a U.S. citizen, return to the country from overseas.
It’s understandable why they want our laptops: If you’re a terrorist, chances are you have the plans to destroy the world just sitting in your inbox, and the feds would like the chance to read them while you’re waiting in line at the airport. But going through multiple gigabytes of data takes time, and so DHS has filled its vaults with the laptops of the multitude, often sitting on them for months and years as they try to figure out what to do with the bounty.
Consumer rights groups haven’t exactly been thrilled with all the arbitrary searches and seizures, and for months they’ve been pressing for DHS to formalize and clarify the rules on what it can do. At last, the department has.
Sort of.
There’s some good news in the new rules: Customs finally recognizes that holding on to a laptop for a couple of years can greatly inconvenience the life of anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves under suspicion, and is relaxing — a little — the rules about what it will do during a laptop seizure.
The big change is that it states owners should normally be present during any laptop search and that equipment should be returned quickly. But, as Ars Technica notes, there are numerous and vague exceptions to all of this, with exemptions granted for national security issues (why else would they search the laptop in the first place?) and for whatever “circumstances of the matter” the agency feels appropriate.
There are some basic rules for how long they can keep your laptop now, too, with Customs having up to 30 days to hold on to it, depending on which agency actually takes it. And as Ars also notes, “the standards for seizure remain very low.”
And so it goes. The new rules are really just policy guidelines, so exceptions will be legion and continued abuses are almost certain, but it’s good at least to have something on paper that we can complain about. Complaining about things may still be tilting at windmills — but at least now we don’t have to imagine the windmills.
| — Hat tip: heroyalwhyness | [Return to headlines] |
Napolitano: ‘Big Influx’ Of New Infections Likely
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that people should expect “a big influx” of swine flu cases this fall and prepare as best they can.
“The best thing we all can do are the very simple things, the washing of the hands, the coughing into the sleeve,” Napolitano said in a nationally broadcast interview. “ … We’re in all likelihood going to have them (new infections) before the vaccine is available.”
Napolitano was among a host of Cabinet officers who briefed President Barack Obama Tuesday on the federal government’s preparations and planning for the fall. Another of those Cabinet members, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said in a separate interview that it’s critically important to keep schools open and education uninterrupted.
“We got a little bit lucky” in the last school year, he said, because the H1N1 didn’t surface until very near the end of the academic year.
“We’re not going to be so lucky this year,” Duncan added, “so the more we’re prepared, the more we’re talking … the better we’re going to be able to handle this as a country, the more we’re going to be able to keep our schools open.”
There have been over 550 deaths in the United States from H1N1 and a scientific advisory panel recently sent the White House a report saying it was possible that anywhere from 30 percent to half the population could catch what doctors call “2009 H1N1” and that it was also possible there could be between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths.
“Everything we’ve seen in the U.S. and everything we’ve seen around the world suggests we won’t see that kind of number if the virus doesn’t change,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a C-SPAN interview last week.
In her interview Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show, Napolitano was asked why the government isn’t requiring all Americans to get the swine flu vaccine, once it’s available. “Because health programs generally aren’t mandatory, and you get pushback to that,” she replied.
She also reiterated statements that administration officials had made earlier, saying the initial supplies of vaccine should go to people most susceptible to the virus like young children, pregnant women and people with certain health problems such as asthma.
Napolitano noted that Congress has appropriated billions of dollars to buy vaccine supplies and said she believed more money could be approved if necessary. “This is a changing environment,” she said. “We’ll have to deal with it day by day.”
Asked if her Homeland Security Department was moving toward prohibiting sick people from boarding commercial aircraft, she said that decision would be left to the individual airlines.
Duncan, appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” said federal officials want to make sure that every young person between 5-24 get the vaccine, free of charge.
He praised efforts by states and localities to get ready for new infections, saying planning is going forward. “What you’re seeing around the country is an outbreak of common sense,” Duncan said.
Obama on Tuesday urged Americans to take steps to prevent infection. “I don’t want anybody to be alarmed, but I do want everyone to be prepared,” the president said after getting a briefing on swine flu preparedness.
Vaccine development is ongoing and is likely to be available by October. Certain groups are more vulnerable to swine flu, including children under 2, pregnant women and people with health problems like asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
Like the seasonal flu, swine flu spreads through coughs and sneezes of people who are sick.
| [Return to headlines] |
Obama Says Americans Should Get Swine Flu Vaccine
WASHINGTON (AP) — With a potentially deadly swine flu outbreak looming, President Barack Obama is urging Americans to take steps to prevent infection.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Latest Cyber Space Power Grab
Americans are being deceived by the news media and their elected officials in Washington, DC and it’s Americans who will suffer from that deception, according to information technology experts. A Senate bill (S.773) if passed would give the President of the United States the authority to declare a “cyber emergency” and closed down the Internet by disconnecting users.
In addition, it will require professional IT people to be certified by the federal government, something that angers these technicians and those who believe in the First Amendment.
According to critics, this stealth legislation is being sponsored by the powerful and highly partisan Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and the liberal Senator Olympia Snow (R-ME).
“The fact that a man who visited other nations to give them a heads up about our intentions would now suddenly care about security is laughable,” said political strategist Mike Baker.
“But there is no laughing about a government that wants to control cyber space, the last bastion of freedom of speech in our crumbling democracy,” added Baker.
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“People went ballistic when they discovered the Bush White House authorized the interception of telephone and other electronic communications by intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and rightly so. Yet, I haven’t heard a peep from these same people who claim they are concerned with ‘privacy rights,’“ said security expert and former NYPD cop Mike Fitzgerald.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Racist Against Latino Farmers?
Welcome to Mendota, Calif. Its population is 10,000. Most of its families work in farming; the town used to be called the “cantaloupe capital of the world.” Today, unemployment hovers around 41 percent. The town is now known as “the food-line capital,” says Mendota’s mayor, Robert Silva. This is the Dust Bowl, circa 2009.
Mendota is located in Fresno County, where July unemployment stood at 15 percent. And even that staggering number is artificially low because of all the temporary employees hired to pick the seasonal vegetables like squash, carrots, tomatoes and peppers.
Why are the communities of Fresno County suffering so deeply? Because in December 2008, the federal government decided that Fresno County, a farming-rich area which provides half of America’s vegetables, no longer needed water. The farmers whose ancestors built the canals to irrigate the Central Valley have been totally cut off from their water supply, even though they’re still paying bills for it. Hundreds of acres of prime farming land lie fallow, crops withered and dead.
All because the federal government thinks that smelt — tiny 5- to 7-centimeter fish — are more important than human beings. It seems that these annoying little creatures have been filleted by the water pumping systems necessary to make irrigation possible. They are now endangered. As the Fish and Wildlife Service put it, “It is the Service’s biological opinion that the coordinated operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, as proposed, are likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the delta smelt.” In other words, all water supply must be shut down, lest the world lose the incomparably valuable smelt.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Parents Rebel Against Obama TV Speech to Schools
‘President doesn’t get to speak to my children unchallenged’
Parents across the country are rebelling against plans by President Barack Obama to speak directly to their children through the classrooms of the nation’s public schools without their presence, participation and approval.
The plans announced by Obama also have been cited as raising the specter of the Civilian National Security Force, to which he’s referred several times since his election campaign began, but never fully explained.
“He’s recruiting his civilian army. His ‘Hitler’ youth brigade,” wrote one participant in a forum at Free Republic.
“I am not going to compare President Obama to Hitler. We’ll leave that to others and you can form your own opinions about them and their analogies. … However, we can learn a lot from the spread of propaganda in Europe that led to Hitler’s power. A key ingredient in that spread of propaganda was through the youth,” wrote a blogger at the AmericanElephant.com blog, where the subject of the day was a national “Keep-Your-Child-at-Home-Day.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan: Obama Offers Muslims Dinner and Praises Islam
(ANSAmed) — WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 2 — Yesterday evening US president Barack Obama offered a dinner at the White House to a few representatives of the Muslim community for the iftar, the traditional meal at the end of a day’s fasting for Ramadan, and praised Islam — which he called an integral part of the United States. “For over a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a period of devotion and intense reflection,” said the president in welcoming his guests in the White House’s reception room. “This evening’s iftar is a tradition which is kept in the kitchens and mosques of the 50 US states as part of Ramadan,” stressed Obama. “Islam, as we know, is part of the United States. As is the case with the US population overall, the Muslim community is very dynamic and diversified,” he continued. “On this occasion, we are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan and we are also celebrating how much Muslims have enriched the United States and its culture,” added Obama.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Rifqa Bary and the Noor Mosque
The Center for Security Policy— along with the Florida Security Council and Nonie Darwish, bestselling author of Cruel and Usual Punishment— hosted a blogger conference call to discuss the latest developments in the plight of 17-year-old Rifqa Bary. Ms. Bary— a Muslim who converted to Christianity — fled her family in Ohio out of fear that, in accordance with what authoritative Islam calls shariah, they would take her life as punishment for leaving the Islamic faith. As was discussed on the call, this fear has been reinforced by the fact that her family’s mosque, the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, has been tied to terrorism and jihadist ideology from its inception. Ms. Bary has fled to Florida where her attorneys are trying to prevent state authorities from sending her back to her family and possibly her death.
Read the transcript…
| — Hat tip: CSP | [Return to headlines] |
She’s Walking the Tightrope on Flu
***Unclosed Item!***{Comments from JD: The sky is falling…the sky is falling…the fear mongering on this issue is incredible. More people have died from regular flu than swine flu. Also note the laws giving police enhanced powers that are currently being proposed. ]
Dr. Ruth Lynfield knows the numbers sound terrifying: 30,000 dead. 170,000 hospitalized. More than a million people infected — all in Minnesota alone.
[…]
What about the infected person — could the state force him to stay home? “If they’re quarantined, yes,” Lynfield tells colleagues at one planning session. “That’s the point of quarantine.”
What if the patient doesn’t cooperate? Well, she replies, they could post a police car outside his home. “They ended up doing this in one or two cases in Toronto” during the SARS outbreak, Lynfield adds. “But we’re optimistic it won’t come to that.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
State Preps to Relocate Quarantined H1N1 Victims
‘Your home and other less restrictive alternatives are not acceptable’
DES MOINES, Iowa — A blank document from the Iowa Department of Public Health has been discovered online, designed to be filled in with the name of an H1N1 virus victim who is required to relocate from his or her home to a quarantine facility.
The form, which began appearing today in e-mails and on the Internet, has concerned a confused public already swimming in conflicting reports about the severity of the swine flu and intrusive government measures that many fear may be taken if the disease becomes a pandemic.
The Iowa document, which WND confirmed with state officials is authentic, has done little to calm the public’s fears.
“The Iowa Department of Public Health has determined that you have had contact with a person with Novel Influenza A H1N1,” the form reads. “The Department has determined that it is necessary to quarantine your movement to a specific facility to prevent further spread of this disease.
“The Department has determined that quarantine in your home and other less restrictive alternatives are not acceptable,” the document continues, before listing mandatory provisions of compliance with relocation to a quarantine facility.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Socialist Seduction of America
On his Monday Fox News broadcast Sean Hannity’s “great American panel” included singer Aubrey O’Day. Outspoken and articulate, O’Day insisted that the U.S. government should provide for all citizens what she repeatedly called “basic civil rights,” meaning all of our basic needs, including free health care, free child care and so on. She seemed to care about people and apparently didn’t want to see anyone suffer or go without.
Listening to her transported me back to a train ride I took through (what was then) Yugoslavia many years ago. While traveling across that communist country, I got into a conversation with a lady passenger about freedom and “basic rights.” I explained that in America, we have fundamental freedoms of speech, of the press, of religion, association, travel and so on, as well as freedom of opportunity — that is, to succeed or fail, but also to be able to keep the fruits of our labors and to be free of the tyranny of a stifling and predatory government.
She countered, with words very close to these: “I know that’s what you believe in America. But in my society, we believe basic rights include the right to a job, to housing, to health care, to the basics of life. We consider these to be our basic rights.”
“OK,” I said, “but what if you have to sacrifice your individual rights and liberties in order to provide such security for everyone?”
Her reply was that it was worth the tradeoff.
Although that conversation occurred more than three decades ago, I still remember it vividly. The lady passenger, an unashamed supporter of the communist system under which she lived, even said it was appropriate for her government to restrict freedom of the press to protect the citizenry from being confused and confounded by divisive information and opinions that threatened the harmony of the nation.
Now, in no way did this woman seem to me to be evil, any more than the singer on Hannity’s show was evil. Both seem like decent, caring human beings. But their worldview, so prevalent in America today — especially at the pinnacle of power with President Obama, his whack-job czars and advisers, and a Congress ruled by Pelosi and Reid — brings about a great deal of evil. Indeed, upwards of 100 million people were murdered during the last century, crushed by the madness that besets nations that give themselves over to the seduction of collectivism.
How did we get here, people? How, in America of all places, did we get to a point where the rare and inexpressibly precious freedoms millions of our warriors have fought, bled and died for count for so very little? How did we get to where a worldview that is basically — let’s say it out loud — communist, or socialist, is resonating with so many Americans? And how can the president of the United States get away with appointing a self-proclaimed communist revolutionary like Van Jones as his personal adviser?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
This Woman Might Die From Eating Cookie Dough
Severe Case Gives Context to Issue of Food Safety
Her mute state, punctuated only by groans, is the latest downturn in the swift collapse of her health that began in May when she curled up on her living room couch and nonchalantly ate several spoonfuls of the Nestlé cookie dough her family had been consuming for years. Federal health officials believe she is among 80 people in 31 states sickened by cookie dough contaminated with a deadly bacteria, E. coli O157:H7.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
University of Kansas Students Isolated by the Flu
WRENCE, Kansas (CNN) — It started with a sore throat. Then her chest was burning.
Arielle Spiridigliozzi is one of 350 students who have contracted H1N1 at the University of Kansas.
University of Kansas freshman Arielle Spiridigliozzi said she thought her symptoms were signs of allergies, or maybe even a sinus infection.
It couldn’t be H1N1, she thought.
But it was.
“I mean, I’d never, ever guessed that coming into freshman year I would get the friggin’ swine flu,” Spiridigliozzi said.
Now she accessorizes her royal blue T-shirt with a mask.
A stuffy nose, body aches, fever and coughing make up the litany of symptoms, Spiridigliozzi, 18, and her roommate, Kaitlyn Perry, 18, said they have suffered.
For more than a day, the girls have been stuck in their suite, on what they call “lockdown.” Watch more about life on “lockdown” “
University officials have asked the girls to stay in their dorm suite to limit exposure to other students. The school provides door-to-door delivery from the campus dining hall, giving the girls one less reason to have to leave their immediate four walls.
Spiridigliozzi has abided by the the university’s request, worried that she could infect another. But she doesn’t understand how she ended up in this situation in the first place.
“We took all the necessary precautions. Like, we really did. It wasn’t like I was licking the handlebars of the bus or anything,” she said. “I was hand sanitizing. I was being very careful. I don’t know how this happened.”
But she only has to look to her roommates for an answer, as illness has rapidly made its way through her suite.
When Perry became ill it struck her suddenly. While shopping, she came down with a fever and started feeling like she didn’t have the strength to stand, she said.
Perry’s flu hasn’t been confirmed as an H1N1 strain, but a third roommate, the first to get sick, they said, was diagnosed with H1N1. Then a fourth roommate got sick, illustrative of a spreading flu pattern the girls said is obvious from the empty seats in classes.
The university estimates about 340 students, or 1 percent of the student body, have flu they suspect is H1N1, said Patricia Denning, medical chief of staff at Watkins Health Center. The number of cases could be higher if students were not seeking care from campus doctors and nurses, she added. She said she has not heard of any students being hospitalized because of the flu.
Vaccines are unlikely to help much this year, because supplies are not expected until late October and require about five weeks from the first inoculation — two are required — before they become effective.
So, to make life easier for the sick, the school’s medical center has distributed what it calls a “flu kit,” which includes a mask and a home-care instruction sheet, Denning said.
The tip sheet borrows from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s information on H1N1. It says to drink lots of fluids, eat three small meals a day and get plenty of rest, Denning said.
“And so it just goes through simple common-sense things that we all know we need to do that sometimes, when mothers and dads aren’t around to remind them, this will help remind them,” she said.
Spiridigliozzi and Perry will get to wander outdoors again once their fevers have dissipated for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medications, they said. They are eager to get back to their normal lives.
Spiridigliozzi is tired of the soup and Jell-O, and Perry looks forward to playing Frisbee again.
“So boring” is how Spiridigliozzi described their isolation.
With all this free time, at least the freshmen — on campus for only two weeks — aren’t falling too far behind in their school work.
“I got all my homework done,” Perry said.
“Yeah, I’ve gotten all my homework done for the next two weeks, probably,” added Spiridigliozzi.
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US President Holds Ramadan Iftar at White House
Ambassadors, high-ranking officials and leading Congress members were greeted by a fig centerpiece and gathered around tables draped in green at the White House’s annual Ramadan iftar, the meal that breaks the day-long fast during the Muslim holy month, Tuesday night.
“We honor the contributions of America’s Muslims and the positive examples that so many of them set through their own lives,” President Barack Obama said as he continued the tradition of holding iftars at the White House.He reiterated his commitment to fostering better relations between America and the Muslim world, echoing the theme of speeches given earlier in the year in Turkey and Egypt about the need for mutual engagement and respect.
The first-ever Muslim members of Congress, Keith Ellison and Andre Carson, attended as did top administration officials including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Attorney General Eric Holder, Chair of the Judiciary Committee John Conyers and Richard Lugar, ranking member of the Foreign Affairs committee.
Ambassadors from several Muslim countries and from Israel also attended the iftar, a White House tradition started by President Bill Clinton and continued in George W. Bush.The guests, which also included Muslim community members from throughout the country, started off with the traditional dates that are used to break the daylong Muslim fast and dined on organic chicken, potato and leek puree and peas.
“The contribution of Muslims to the United States are too long to catalog because Muslims are so interwoven into the fabric of our communities and our country,” Obama said.
He went on to tell the story of noteworthy Muslims like Kareem Khan, a decorated soldier who was killed in Iraq, and Nashala Hearn, who won the right to wear the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, at school.
Obama also singled out invited basketball star Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, who broke a state record for most career points as a Massachusetts high school student, from among the guests, and paid tribute to boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
“As an honor student, as an athlete on her way to Memphis, Bilqis is an inspiration not simply to Muslim girls — she’s an inspiration to all of us,” he said.
“And while Muhammad Ali could not join us tonight, it is worth reflecting upon his remarkable contributions, as he’s grown from an unmatched fighter in the ring to a man of quiet dignity and grace who continues to fight for what he believes — and that includes the notion that people of all faiths holds things in common,” he added.
Ramadan, which began Aug. 22 according to Sunnis and Aug. 21 for Shiites, is a month of prayer, religious refection and generosity during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during daylight hours.
Obama released a video message to Muslims before the start of Ramadan in which he discussed the similarities Christians and Muslims share in terms of their values and principles.
For a full transcript of the president’s remarks Click Here
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Why Swine Flu Vaccines Just Don’t Add Up: Doing the (Fuzzy) Math
Here’s an even more interesting brain buster for you: If each vaccine shot generates $25 in revenue for drug companies, and the U.S. government orders the production of 160 million vaccines, how much money is Big Pharma making off the pandemic? That answer is roughly $4 billion in net revenues.
[…]
Doing the math on the swine flu vaccine reveals some astonishing numbers. Even if you believe the vaccine works, it turns out you’d have to vaccinate 200,000 people to prevent the death of just one person from swine flu. And vaccinating 200,000 people would probably result in the harm or death of several just from the vaccine side effects.
I did the math on the vaccine, and it turns out you have a 40 times greater chance of being struck by lightning than being saved by the swine flu vaccine.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi: EU Row Closed
EC spokesman says ‘misunderstanding’ has been cleared up
(ANSA) — Brussels, September 2 — Tensions this week between Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and the European Commission were the result of a “misunderstanding” and the case can be considered closed, a spokesman for EC President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday.
“There was a misunderstanding related to some statements which were made. I believe the matter has been cleared up,” Johannes Laitenberger told the press.
“I see no reason to continue any polemics and we hope the question can be considered closed,” he added.
Berlusconi on Tuesday said Italy was ready to block the European Union’s decision-making process if members of the EC or their spokespersons continued to make statements on matters regarding member states.
According to the premier, “only the president of the European Commission or his direct spokesman should make statements” because those made by other members of the EU executive “get twisted around… and give the opposition in each country ammunition which has no reason to exist”.
Berlusconi said he would take the matter up at the next EU summit and that “we intend to ask that any commissioner or spokesperson who insists on speaking out be definitively removed from their position”. Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Laitenberger explained that EC spokespersons “are the microphones which spread the political voice” of the EU executive.
At the same time, the EC spokesman rejected allegations that Berlusconi sought to intimidate the spokespeople of the EU’s government and stressed that the EC acted as a “collective body”.
Laitenberger recalled that Barroso was an “intransigent supporter” of the prerogatives of EU institutions and said the EC worked with the media in an “open and transparent way” in line with its “right and duty” under the EU’s governing treaties.
The spokesman was apparently referring to statements made Wednesday by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini who told Italian radio that “given that the positions taken by EU commissioners and their spokesman have triggered domestic polemics, I believe that the EC president and his spokesman should bolster their coordination towards the information media”.
Berlusconi’s tirade against EC spokesmen appeared to have been triggered by the way the center-left opposition in Italy interpreted the announcement on Monday by Dennis Abbott, a spokesman for EC Vice President and Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot, that letters had been sent to Italy and Malta asking for details on an incident regarding 75 African migrants intercepted at sea and sent back to Libya Sunday.
According to Frattini, the way the opposition Democratic Party (PD) used this to create an internal polemic “justified Berlusconi’s reaction”.
“If they stopped trying to drag the United Nations, the EU and the UN’s High Commission for Refugees into sterile domestic polemics there would be no need for Berlusconi to speak out,” Frattini, a former EC member, said.
Tuesday was not the first time that Berlusconi has gone on the offensive against the EC. In June of last year he said European commissioners were “speaking out of line every week” and added that the EU needed a “straightening out” to bring it closer to its citizens.
Barroso replied the next day that the EC was “an independent institution and not the secretary of member states”.
Berlusconi first said that the EC should only speak through its president and his spokesman last March, when he added that the other members of the EU executive should “stop preaching”.
The immediate reply from the EC was that its members “have the duty to inform on matters regarding their responsibilities and activities”.
The first time the Italian premier threatened to use Italy’s veto power was in May when he again said that only the EC president should speak on behalf of the EU, while the other commissions “should only speak in private” with member governments. Then in June Berlusconi reiterated that the EC “should not allow its single members to make public statements on relations with member governments, matters which should be discussed in private”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi Sues L’Unita
Left- wing newspaper accuses premier of “Fascism”
(ANSA) — Rome, September 2 — Premier Silvio Berlusconi is suing Italian newspaper L’Unita’ for libel.
Berlusconi’s lawyers sent the left-leaning daily a letter Wednesday asking for two million euros in damages for allegedly vilifying his personal life and performance as premier.
The letter cited articles by four of the paper’s journalists in addition to editor-in-chief Concita De Gregorio.
Offending articles included a piece claiming Berlusconi cancelled important appointments in order to spend time with escort Patrizia D’Addario.
Another suggested that the premier’s staff had appealed to Catholic Church insiders to take a soft stance on the sex scandal which erupted afterwards. Also considered defamatory were articles alleging collusion between public broadcaster Rai and Berlusconi’s own Mediaset network against satellite TV provider Sky.
Lawyers contested quotes taken from television comic Luciana Littizzetto insinuating that Berlusconi used Viagra.
The letter called the jokes “personally damaging” on the basis of representing Berlusconi as someone with erectile dysfunction, “which he is not”.
L’Unita’ editors responded Wednesday with an appeal for solidarity from its readers saying that the lawsuit smacked of fascism and accusing Berlusconi of wanting to shut the paper down.
A statement rebutting claims of defamation by Berlusconi’s lawyers noted that charges of lese majeste’, or offences to a sovereign’s dignity, weren’t a crime in Italy.
Founded by the father of Italian communism, Antonio Gramsci, L’Unita’ was long the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party.
Today, it remains close to the left-wing opposition.
L’Unita’ is the fourth paper to be sued by Berlusconi for libel after Italian’s second leading daily La Republica, the French Nouvel Observateur and Spanish El Pais.
The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing feud between the premier and left-leaning media outlets, who he blames for fueling the scandals which dogged him over the summer. In June, the Espresso group which owns La Repubblica filed suit against the premier for telling businesspeople to boycott advertising “in certain newspapers”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi and Tremonti Meet: Relations With Lega Solid
(AGI) — Rome, 27 Aug. — This morning Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Minister for the Economy, Giulio Tremonti met at Arcore, the Prime Minister’s Milan residence.
According to a note from the Prime Minister’s office, the most important issues of the political season to come were discussed in the meeting, “Prime Minister Berlusconi and Minister Tremonti stated that the relationship between the Lega Nord (Northern League) party and the government coalition is solid, ready for the upcoming regional elections and parliamentary proceedings which are due to start.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Britain’s Longest-Lasting Marriage Ends After 81 Years: Frank, 101, Passes Away Holding Wife Anita’s Hand
One half of the longest married couple in Britain has died after 81 years of wedded bliss.
Frank Milford, 101, held the hand of his wife Anita, also 101, as he passed away at the residential home where they lived.
The devoted pair met at a YMCA dance in Plymouth in 1926.
They said the secret to their long marriage was ‘give and take’ and making up after rows with a kiss and a cuddle.
Mr Milford’s 76-year-old son, also called Frank, said: ‘She’s very upset obviously, but she was sitting holding his hand when he passed away.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
British Government Hosts Petition to Remove Ted Kennedy’s ‘IRA’ Knighthood
Thousands of people have signed an online petition hosted by the British Government to remove the late Ted Kennedy’s knighthood.
The petition’s creator Stephen Clements says he started the petition because he claims that Kennedy supported the IRA.
“Ted Kennedy throughout the 70’s and 80’s actively supported groups whose sole purpose was to financially support IRA families,” he said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch to Prosecute Arabs Over Holocaust Cartoon
AMSTERDAM — Dutch prosecutors said Wednesday they will charge an Arab cultural group under hate speech laws for publishing a cartoon that suggests the death of 6 million Jews during World War II is a fabrication.
The public prosecutor’s office in the city of Utrecht said the cartoon insults Jews as a group and is therefore an illegal form of discrimination.
Prosecutors plan to press charges for “insulting a group and distributing an insulting image.”
Spokeswoman Mary Hallebeek said the maximum punishment is a year in jail, but a fine of up to euro4,700 ($6,700) is more likely, given that the charges are against the group.
The Dutch arm of the Arab European League said it doesn’t deny the reality of the Holocaust, but published the cartoon on its Web site as an “act of civil disobedience” to highlight a double standard.
AEL chairman Abdoulmouthalib Bouzerda argued that prosecutors had not pressed charges against Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders for his film that included cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Charges against Wilders, who campaigns on an anti-Islam and anti-immigration platform, were dismissed after prosecutors said his insults were aimed at Muhammad, not all Muslims, and were not systematic.
The charges against the AEL “illustrates what Muslims have been saying for decades,” Bouzerda said in a response published on the league’s Web site. “Freedom of expression is only a pretext to make life bitter for Muslims … and if (they) try to bring this hypocrisy to light, that right is denied them.”
Bouzerda said anyone should be allowed to publish insulting material in the interest of public debate.
The cartoon shows two apparently Jewish men standing near a pile of skeletons with a sign that says “Auswitch,” presumably representing the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz.
One pokes a bone with a stick and says “I don’t think they’re Jews” and the other answers, “We have to get to the six million somehow.”
Ronny Naftaniel of the Center for Documentation on Israel, which filed a complaint against the cartoon, said Jews had nothing to do with the Muhammad cartoons, so it didn’t make sense for the league to retaliate in this way.
“Imagine if Dutch Jews insulted Muslims every time they heard an anti-Semitic remark. What kind of perverse world would we be living in?” he said.
After a strong immigration wave in the 1990s, Muslims make up around 6 percent of the 16.5 million Dutch population.
A popular backlash against immigration has dominated politics here since 2001, and it intensified in 2004, when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by a Muslim radical over perceived religious insults.
That further fueled debate over immigrant crime and the need to preserve traditional Dutch values.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
German Court Lets Boy be Named “Jihad”
Berlin, Germany (AHN) — A German court has ruled that a suspected terrorist can name his son Djehad, the German word for jihad or holy war.
The upper regional court in Berlin upheld Tuesday the rulings of two lower courts allowing Egyptian-German Reda Seyam, 49, to name his four-year-old son Djehad on grounds that it is a common Arabic name for males.
Germany’s birth registration agency, which implements the country’s strict naming law, contested the name in court arguing that the father intended it to be interpreted literally and could harmful to the child, who would be associated with terrorism. It’s position was supported by the German intelligence agency’s suspicion that Seyam was a mastermind in the bombing of resorts in Bali, Indonesia in 2002 that killed 200 tourists.
Public prosecutors in Munich have also accused Seyam of encouraging young Germans to convert to Islam and join a holy war.
| — Hat tip: heroyalwhyness | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: PM Calls Snap Elections, Date to be Announced
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Wednesday evening announced the holding of a snap general election, speaking during a nationally televised address.
In prefacing the announcement, he underlined the need for immediate and significant reforms and measures to deal with the repercussions of the international economic crisis and what he called decades-old problems in the domestic economy and public sector.
Among others, Karamanlis said strict fiscal discipline, a “war” on tax evasion — a severe problem in the east Mediterranean nation — and long-sought structural reforms are imperative, reforms, however, he said necessitate a stable political system.
Along those lines, he said the main opposition party’s decision to cause early elections next March by utilising Parliament’s vote for a new president of the republic led to his decision.
Karamanlis said he has already briefed President Karolos Papoulias over his decision and will visit the latter on Thursday to officially request early elections..
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
How Sick Was Lockerbie Bomber?
MI6 looking into claims inmate released on pretense
LONDON — MI6 chief Sir John Scarlett has returned from a secret meeting with Libyan security chiefs to establish just exactly how sick is the “terminally ill” Lockerbie bomber who was released from a Scottish prison after being convicted on the destruction of Pan Am 103, the biggest mass murder in British history, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Gays Alarmed by Homophobic Attacks
Firecracker on Gay Street marks third incident in a week
(ANSA) — Rome, September 2 — Members of the Italian gay and lesbian community expressed alarm on Wednesday after the latest in a string of homophobic attacks.
“These are acts of terrorism from people who want us to live in hiding,” said Franco Grillini, president of gay journalists association Gaynet.
On Tuesday night, a pair of firecrackers were thrown at a crowd of people on a street known for being a popular meeting place for gays and lesbians.
Witnesses said four unidentified men ran away after the firecrackers exploded.
According to police, the blasts left one injured, a man hit in the ear by a flying shard, and damaged a scooter.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said Wednesday that the attacks were “extremely worrying” and promised to beef up security in areas frequented by homosexuals.
Vladimir Luxuria, a transgender activist and former PM, commented that “Rome isn’t a safe city for gays” and warned of “a cycle of homophobic terrorism”.
Monday’s incident is the third case of homophobic violence in Italy in under a week.
Last week, a young man was stabbed in an attack near the site of Rome’s summer gay and lesbian festival. Days later, a pair of tourists in Naples were beaten up by a gang of young men. The incidents spurred a gay musician in Rome to come forward saying he’d been assaulted by a man shouting insults earlier in August.
The president of gay rights group, Arcigay, Aurelio Mancuso called on the government Wednesday to include gays and lesbians in a hate-crime law being debated in parliament.
“The absence of laws protecting gays makes dangerous fringe elements think they can get away with violence”, Mancuso said.
According to Arcigay, the number of homicide and assault cases involving homosexuals in 2009 have already surpassed those from the year before.
The organization said that it planned torchlight processions in Rome every Friday starting this week to demand that something be done.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Swine Flu Risk, Centuries-Old Ritual Banned in Toledo
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, AUGUST 13 — Swine flu has put an end to a ritual that is four centuries old in Spain involving a statue of the Virgin Mary at the Cathedral of Toledo in Castile-La Mancha, where on August 15 each year worshipers go on a pilgrimage to kiss the statue and the medal of the Madonna and ask for a blessing. Juan Sanchez, the deacon of the cathedral, in agreement with the Prefect’s office of Toledo, announced that it will be prohibited for people to kiss the sacred image to avoid risks of spreading swine flu. “It will be possible to touch the medal and then to kiss your own hand as a sign of devotion to the Virgin, so we don’t have to worry,” explained Sanchez to the media. Each year over 10,000 worshipers devoted to the Virgin come to the Cathedral of Toledo on the day of the Feast of the Assumption. A ban due to swine flu risks has also been placed on drinking from terracotta jars holding water from the well in the cloister of the Cathedral, which is believed to have healing properties. “Worships’ lips cannot touch the jar in order to avoid those coming in search of a cure from being infected with swine flu,” warned the deacon. In Spain 10 people have died from swine flu, which has infected over 13,000 people in just a week. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Sea-Turtle Returns to Andalusia
(by Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, AUGUST 14 — Unrestrained urbanisation on the Spanish coast, boat propellers, marine pollution and nets used for fishing represent a growing threat for the Caretta-Caretta (loggerhead) sea-turtle, “severely threatened” by extinction. Thanks to a re-insertion programme implemented by the Superior Council for Scientific Research of the Board of Andalusia (CSIC), the sea-turtle has reappeared on the beaches of Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park in Almeria. A total of 240 young Caretta-Carettas returned this summer on the beaches where they were born from 400 eggs that were placed by the CSIC last year. “The research aims at verifying the possibility of reintroducing this species that risks extinction on the Spanish coast and the results show that there is a lot to hope for”, explained the director of the programme, Adolfo Marco. Some 4 hundred eggs from the island of Boavista, in Capo Verde, were buried last September in nest dug on the beaches of Cabo di Gata. After hatching, the little turtles were protected, “to avoid that they entered the sea on their own, where their fragility did not guarantee their survival”, Marco pointed out. Now, almost a year old, they are adult in size compared to the 20 grams they weighed after hatching, as the researcher observed “another level of ossification of their shells to prepare them for the return to the sea”. The Caretta-Caretta in recent days were released into the Mediterranean in waves: “in 14 or 15 years they will return to deposit the same eggs on the beaches of Almeria where they were born”, explained the director of the CSIC conservation project. The current one was started three years ago, and developed further this year with the transfer from Capo Verde of another 500 Caretta-Caretta eggs, 350 of which will again be deposited in the 5 nests dug into the pristine beaches of the park, while the rest will be put into monitored incubation at the Biology Station of Donana Park, again in Andalusia, and the Munejar Aquarium, which reproduces the Mediterranean habitat. After a period that oscillates between 50 and 65 days, the new Carettas will be born and like the previous generation, will be freed the following year. At the same time, technicians from the Andalusia Board will be charged with monitoring their development. The objective is to widen the nesting area significantly compared to its current size, given that this-species of sea-turtles deposit eggs exclusively on a 50 km enclave of the Boavista coastline. The primary threats for the development of the young turtles are “systematic hunting and the high mortality rate in the nests provoked by predators”, explained the CSIC expert. The accidental catching of the turtles in fishing nets can be added to the list. But there is another threat connected to climate change and global warming. Incubation temperature as Marco explained, determines the sex of the turtles and rising temperatures could deprive the species of males on a global level, because they need cooler temperatures. In this sense, the beaches of Andalusia represent a more favourable environment to that of Capo Verde. All of the turtles that have been released into the sea are equipped with a microchip under their skin that will allow them to be located when they return to lay eggs. They are alo equipped with an ultrasound mechanism that will allow their first movements in the sea to be followed. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Dad in Bid for Breast Milk
Swedish father Ragnar Bengtsson, 26, has entered into an experiment that he hopes will help him breastfeed his future children.
On Tuesday, the Stockholm family man began stimulating his breasts with a pump in a bid to produce milk.
“Anything that doesn’t do any harm is worth trying out. And if it works it could prove very important for men’s ability to get much closer to their children at an early stage,” Bengtsson told The Local.
His efforts are to be documented by Swedish TV8, with the first instalment scheduled to air at 9pm on Wednesday on the Aschberg show. Bengtsson also maintains a blog on the station’s website, the title of which translates as: ‘The Milkman — One Drop at a Time’.
Bengtsson is preparing to pump his breasts at three-hour intervals every day until the beginning of December. As a full time economics student at Stockholm University, he is not always going to be in a position to pump in private.
“I’m going to have to pull out the pump during lectures. But really it doesn’t bother me if it makes people uncomfortable. If they have issues with it that’s their problem,” he said.
Male lactation is a relatively common side effect of hormone treatments, but Bengtsson has no plans to chemically induce the process.
“If it works and the milk turns out to have a high nutritional value it could be a real breakthrough,” he said.
Bengtsson has a 2-year-old son who is in no way involved in the experiment, but the Stockholm dad doesn’t rule our breastfeeding any future kids. Not everybody has acclaimed his quest for fathers’ milk, however.
“There have been a lot of strong reactions. Some people think it’s completely sick,” he said.
Sigbritt Werner, professor of endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, told The Local that it could be possible for Bengtsson to produce “a drop or two” after three or four months.
“Women breastfeed after they’ve been bathing in estrogen during a nine month pregnancy, so obviously it takes some time. But if he works on it regularly he’ll likely notice a layer of tissue forming beneath the areola and it should be possible to produce enough of the hormone prolactin to cause lactation,” she said.
But Werner stressed that while she was interested in the subject, she was more keen for men to use their breasts to comfort their children.
“Men often have trouble finding things. And if the mother is out, the child is screaming and they can’t find the pacifier I’m sure there are a lot of men who give their baby their breasts.
“Healthy children know instinctively that the breast has a dual function. One gives them milk, the other gives them warmth and a cosy bond. Men don’t need to strive to produce milk but they should take the opportunity to get closer to their child by offering them their breasts in the same way as women,” she said.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
UK Foundation to Distribute Textbook That Lauds Muslim World’s Scientific and Cultural Heritage
An educational foundation in the UK has announced plans to distribute to high schools a free book that highlights the scientific and cultural legacies of Muslim civilization.
1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World is the creation of the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization (FSTC), a Manchester-based organization set up to raise awareness of the contributions of the Muslim world to modern civilization.
FSTC said the contribution that Muslim and other civilizations have made to the modern world has been widely overlooked and that its team of academics has focused on debunking the myth of the so-called “Dark Ages of Civilization.”
“The period between the 7th and 17th centuries — which has been erroneously labelled ‘the Dark Ages’ — was in fact a time of exceptional scientific and cultural advancement in China, India and the Arab world,” Prof. Salim Al-Hassani, chief editor of the book, said.
“This is the period in history that gave us the first manned flight, huge advances in engineering, the development of robotics and the foundations of modern mathematics, chemistry and physics.”
The foundation said it hoped to distribute 3,000 copies of the book to UK schools by October and is seeking public support for the campaign through a sponsorship scheme.
Last month, British evolutionary biologist, popular science author and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins announced plans to distribute free DVDs to high schools across the UK.
“While the Dawkins campaign, supported by the British Humanist Association, positions science and religion as opposing forces, the 1001 Inventions project reminds us that for 1,000 years the religious and the scientific were comfortable bedfellows and led to unprecedented openness to new ideas and social change,” the FSTC said.
The foundation said it was not challenging Dawkins with the free book but only wanted to “encourage debate about the relationship between science, faith and culture.”
It said FSTC has campaigned for school curriculums to acknowledge the scientific achievements of Muslim civilization for more than a decade.
“Whilst the Dawkins DVD teaches young people about the experimental scientific method, it fails to point out that it was pioneered by a religious physicist called Ibn-Al Haytham, who saw no conflict in being both a Muslim and a scientist,” Prof. Al-Hassani said.
The book comes with a DVD, a poster set for classrooms, a free Teachers Pack and lesson plans.
Responding to the initiative Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the representative organization of Anglo-Jewry, said: “Foundations can distribute materials to schools, but that does not mean that schools will or should use them. We would expect the DCSF [Department for Children, Schools and Families] to monitor carefully what is made available to children for appropriateness and balance.”
The project has been accused of being Islamic propaganda by a London-based think tank.
“This organization calling itself the FSTC is not an educational project. It is a dawah project. That is, it is Islamic propaganda,” said Douglas Murray, director of the Center for Social Cohesion, a non-partisan organization that focuses on issues related to community cohesion in the UK.
“There is significant ignorance these days, in the Britain, and the West in general, about our own scientific and cultural heritage. Organizations like the FSTC aim to step into the gap created by that ignorance and claim that the roots of our culture do not lie in our Greek and Judeao-Christian heritage, but in Islamic history.”
Murray accused the FSTC of mixing propaganda with scientific history.
“There are those who would claim that no good whatsoever has come from the Islamic world, such claims are demonstrably ignorant. But it is also ignorant and indeed ridiculous to mix propaganda with scientific history as the people behind this project seem to be doing.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Children, Schools and Families said schools could use the material at their discretion.
| — Hat tip: Aeneas | [Return to headlines] |
UK Teenage Girls ‘Worst Drunks’
Young teenagers in the UK are more likely to get drunk than anywhere else in the industrial world, shows an international survey.
Girls in particular have pushed up this level of drunkenness in the UK, says a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Among 15-year-olds, girls are more likely to have been drunk than boys.
But the report also says young people in the UK are materially well-off and enjoy a “high quality of school life”.
The report, Doing Better for Children, compares the well-being of young people living in the leading industrial economies.
Growing up
But in their personal lives, the UK youngsters are characterised by alcohol abuse and high rates of teenage pregnancy.
Parents in England, Scotland and Wales are also among the most likely to have separated — with the United States having the lowest proportion of children living with both parents.
Drunkenness in the UK is the highest among 24 OECD countries, measured in terms of the proportion of 13 and 15-year-olds having been drunk at least twice.
The UK’s figure for these under-age drunks — 33% — is more than double the rate for countries such as the United States, France and Italy.
Among girls the gap between the UK and other countries is even wider.
One in five 13-year-olds in the UK reports having been drunk twice — four times higher than countries such as the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Among 15-year-old girls in the UK, 50% reported getting drunk, almost three times higher than their counterparts in France. The rate for boys in the UK in this age group getting drunk is 44%.
Risk-taking
As well as young people getting drunk more often there are also unusually high rates of teenage pregnancy, he says.
This is despite a background of increased spending on young people — and relatively strong educational performance.
“It shows that tackling child poverty is not a magic bullet. Children who are from well-off homes can still have problems,” he says.
In terms of abusing alcohol, he says the difference might be the context in which young people first experiment with drink. In France or Italy, youngsters might try drinks in a family environment — where they are less likely to get drunk. In the UK, they might be drinking with other teenagers.
“It’s down to sensible teaching,” he says.
The figures on teenage drinking used by the OECD were gathered in 2005-06. More recent figures from the NHS, published in July, suggest that more 11 to 15-year-olds are not drinking any alcohol — but those who do drink are consuming more.
‘Responsible lives’
It says that relative to other countries, children here are “materially fairly well-off”.
And that “average family income is higher and child poverty is lower than OECD averages”.
It says that children in the UK also enjoy a high quality of school life and enjoy school much more than many of their international counterparts.
Also bullying is less frequent and teenage suicides are less common in the UK than in most other industrialised countries.
England’s Children’s Minister Dawn Primarolo said it was “disappointing to see the UK rated so low for risky behaviours”.
But she said efforts to encourage more young people to lead “healthy, safe, fulfilled and responsible lives” were beginning to show results.
“Recent statistics have shown encouraging decreases in teenage conceptions during the first half of 2008, that fewer teenagers than ever before are choosing to drink alcohol and we know that drug use among young people is falling.”
The minister also said she was “delighted to see that the record investment in education is paying off with the UK performing substantially better than the OECD average for quality of school life”.
Shadow Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “The low levels of social mobility and high levels of inequality are a serious cause for concern.”
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UK: Wife-Killer Allowed to be Black Cab Driver: Schizophrenic Already Studying ‘The Knowledge’
A convicted killer is being allowed to sit exams to become a black cab driver despite claims he is a danger to the public.
Shamsul Haque, 38, a paranoid schizophrenic, strangled his wife nine years ago. He later admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He was released in 2003 — two years after he was sentenced to indefinite detention under the Mental Health Act in January 2001.
There are concerns that Haque still poses a threat to women despite his protestations that his schizophrenia has been brought under control by drugs.
He is doing ‘the Knowledge’ — a series of exams over a period of years where potential cabbies have to learn routes in London or around selected suburbs.
Taking the test also involves a number of personal interviews.
At least one woman examiner has refused to be in the same room as the convicted killer and the case has led to a row within Transport for London and the Public Carriage Office, which regulates the black cab trade.
A number of examiners at the PCO have said they were appalled when they learned of Haque’s past.
One said: ‘The safety of the public is at risk. This guy killed his wife less than ten years ago and if he passes the exam we are going to put him in a cab, on his own, picking up lone women all over London.’
Despite the concerns, attempts to prevent Haque take his exams were overruled by senior officials.
Under offender rehabilitation laws his manslaughter conviction is now ‘spent’ and barring him could lead to a court action citing either restraint of trade or Human Rights Act violations.
‘If a conviction is spent, a conviction is spent. If we refused an applicant we would be subject to legal action,’ said a spokesman for Transport for London.
At the Old Bailey in 2001 the court heard how Haque strangled his wife Asiya, 23, and then told relatives: ‘I sent her to heaven because I love her so much.’
His case was described as ‘tragic’ by trial judge Michael Coombe.
It is understood Haque unsuccessfully tried to sue Transport for London when he was refused a minicab licence some years ago.
However, that case took place within three years of his original release from detention in 2003 and the authority was then within its rights to reject his application.
In the past, Transport for London has successfully used the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act to block certain candidates wishing to drive a black cab.
Under the rules any conviction which earns a jail sentence of more than two and a half years can never be ‘spent’. Normally this would cover a conviction for manslaughter but detention under the Mental Health Act becomes ‘spent’ after five years.
The case has been labelled ‘outrageous’ by former PCO examiner Courtney Connell. He said: ‘People at the PCO are going crazy about this.’
Meanwhile, George Vice — a member of the RMT union’s cab drivers’ committee — added: ‘I cannot believe this is happening and nobody on the committee can either. If some action is not taken, I am sure the RMT will take it.’
The cab trade is still in shock after the conviction of John Worboys, 51, this year. The former stripper from South-East London drugged and assaulted a number of women in the back of his taxi.
A spokesman for Transport for London said: ‘We have consulted all the relevant parties on this application, including healthcare providers, though the final judgment is the PCO’s.’
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Birds of Prey Risk Extinction in Cabilia
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, AUGUST 31 — Birds of prey in the Djurdjura national park in the Algerian region of Cabilia are risking extinction due to a lack of food, as well as poaching. The Algerian press says that the alarm was raised by the director of the Institute of Agronomy at the University of Tizi Ouzou, Mohamed Boukhamza. The natural reserve, which was designated a world heritage site in 1997, contains 11 species of birds of prey, including falcons and golden eagles, which “although protected by law, are at risk of extinction”. According to Professor Boukhamza, “the intensive use of pesticides, as well as the poisoning of dead animals, which is practiced more and more by shepherds to discourage jackals and hyenas “are some of the the main threats to birds of prey which feed principally on carrion”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Controversial Fatwa Limits Places to Listen to Koran
(ANSAmed) — ROME, SEPTEMBER 1 — A fatwa issued by Gamal Qutb, the former president of the commission for religious counsel at the al Azhar University, limiting the number of public places where Muslims are allowed to listen to the Koran has created controversy in Egypt. According to Al Arabiya’s website, Qutb believes that worshippers should not listen to the recitation of Islam’s sacred text at work, on public transportation, or in stores. This, he says, is a lack of respect and a sign of scarce attention to the divine message. Listening to the Koran in different places is a practice that is spreading throughout other countries. In Morocco, for example, some young Moroccans concocted a new occupation for the holy month of Ramadan, reading prayers out loud on the bus. They board public transportation vehicles and recite prayers and sell booklets and audio cassettes of Islamic preachers. “But listening to the Koran in crowded public places shows a lack of respect,” according to the Qutb. “People treat the Koran with disregard.” His fatwa has created controversy among scholars of al Azhar and Dar al-Iftaa, the government institution for religious counsel, which immediately refuted it. The Koran can be listened to at any moment, said Ahmed al-Sayeh, a theology professor at Al Azhar. This does not imply disregard, in his opinion, and those who do this, are listening to the Koran because they need to hear it everywhere”. Furthermore, he observes, this allows people to learn the verses by heart. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Popular ‘Obama Date’ Hits Shelves
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — To mark Ramadan, Egypt has given a special present to US President Barack Obama: his surname has been given to a premium quality of date — a fruit which is consumed in great quantities during the sacred month of Islam. The ‘Obama date’ — writes weekly paper Al Ahram Hebdo — is characterised by a dark colour, a soft consistency, medium size and its price, which is the highest on the market: over 3 euros a kilo. Egyptians feel very close to the US president: “probably,” notes Dessouqui, a trader, “because he’s black and has Muslim and African origins”. Juste yesterday evening, Obama offered a dinner at the White House to some representatives of the Muslim community for the iftar, the traditional meal at the end of a day’s fasting for Ramadan, and praised Islam — which he called an integral part of the United States. Among other things, in a reportage, the weekly Al Ahram Hebdo points out that the tradition of naming dates after leading figures, both Egyptian and from abroad, goes back to the 1980s. “This is the first time a US president has been paid this honour by the date markets: usually names of US presidents — especially that of George W.Bush — are given to the least attractive, cheapest dates”. In line with this principle, a date type, which is of poor quality, has been given the name of Israel’s premier, Benjamin Netanyahu. You can find it at the market for around 25 euro cents a kilo. The date market on the outskirts of Cairo can in fact be used to gauge the popularity of personalities of Egyptian and international fame from politics, cinema and sport. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Anniversary, HRW Demands Release of Political Prisoners
(ANSAmed) — ROME, SEPTEMBER 1 — Humanitarian organization Human Rights Watch asked Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to mark the 40th anniversary of his rise to power by revoking some “repressive laws” and by “freeing political prisoners”. In a statement released in New York today, the day in which celebrations are being held in Tripoli and in the whole Jamahiriya, HRW writes that “notwithstanding movements toward reform in the past five years, laws and policies that restrict the most basic rights and freedoms of Libyan citizens remain in force, and Libyans are not free to criticize the government or to form political associations”. “Gaddafi’s Great Green Charter of Human Rights promised that all human beings will be free and equal in the exercise of power”, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Forty years later, Libyans are still waiting for their rights,” she added. HRW does acknowledge that “limited steps forward” have been made, towards an increased freedom of press and increased tolerance of dissent, indicating that “at least some elements of the government recognize the need for reforms”. The humanitarian organization stressed the fact that, in the prisons of Jamahiriya, “hundreds of political prisoners are being held after receiving a sentence in an iniquitous trial, simply for having expressed their political views”. Over the last two years, HRW added, some of them have been released. Fourteen political prisoners were released in 2009, after being arrested in 2007, charged for having organized a demonstration. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Tricolour Wake Closes Fligth Demonstration Controversy
(ANSAmed) — ROME — A flyover of Tripoli by the flight demonstration squadron of the Italian Air Force marked with a long white, red, and green wake, ended the today’s mounting controversy regarding the show put on in Libya this evening by the Frecce Tricolori. Local authorities asked the group to close their demonstration for the 40th anniversary of the “revolution” led by Colonel Gaddafi by leaving a green trail in the sky, the colour the North African nation’s flag as well as the colour of Islam. A request that squadron leader Lieutenant Colonel Massimo Tammaro rejected, explaining that “the Tricolour is the most precious symbol that the Italians can donate”. Therefore, the red, white and green of the Italian flag was seen at the beginning of the exhibition and not at the end of their daring manoeuvres that have made the Frecce Tricolori one of the most famous and highly requested flight demonstration teams in the entire world. The ambassadors of Great Britain and the United States did not participate in the festivities today in Tripoli (only the Italian ambassador, Francesco Paolo Trupiano was present), while on the stage of honour next to Colonel Gaddafi were African and Arab heads of state (many of whom took part in the past days in the AU summit). (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Celebrates Gaddafi’s 40-Year Reign
(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, SEPTEMBER 1 — Giant photographs of Muammar Gaddafi, green flags, lights and poster with the number 040’ written on them can be seen on every corner and every building front in Tripoli. This is all to celebrate the Libyan leader and the revolution which brought him to power on September 1, 1969. For this 40th anniversary, Gaddafi wanted everything to be larger than life, with sumptuous spectacles and a forceful military parade which will feature — as scheduled a long time ago and despite political controversies — the Italian acrobatic flying squad, the Frecce Tricolori. At his meeting in Tripoli with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday, on the occasion of the Italian-Libyan day, Gaddafi himself underlined the great symbolic significance of the flypast by the Frecce Tricolori: “Italian pilots, who in the past have bombed the city of Tripoli, will today congratulate the Libyan people on the 40 years of the revolution.” The unpredictable Gaddafi, courted by the West for his country’s oil but who is always accused on violating human rights in Libya,, and who just two days ago celebrated peace with Italy, yesterday returned to the attack on the international community and Israel, accusing the latter from the African Union summit stage of being “behind all the wars in Africa” and asking that all Israeli ambassadors leave the capitals of the African continents. Many leaders meeting at the AU summit will sit next to Gaddafi in the VIP stand. These include Robert Mugabe, president of the increasingly-starving Zimbabwe, and Omar Bashir, the Sudanese head of state who is facing an arrest warrant form the International Criminal Court for crimes of war committed during the civil war in Darfur. Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, a close friend of Gaddafi, will also be present. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos is also expected to attend. However in recent days the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian leaders, Dmitri Medevedev and Vladimir Putin, were quickly denied by the French Cabinet office and the Kremlin after their participation had been announced by Tripoli. Representing Italy will be the Italian ambassador to Libya, Francesco Paolo Trupiano, and Giuseppe Morabito, from the African office at the Foreign Ministry. And of course, the Frecce Tricolori will carry out their flypast. The Libyans continue to ask them to do their display using green smoke, green being the colour of the revolution, but the squad’s commander, Massimo Tammaro, replied with polite firmness: “We are Italian and we are proud to offer our tricoloré, the three colours representing Italy.” (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Protection of El Kanaies Islands Project
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, AUGUST 13 — Five islands off the coast of the Gulf of Gabes, a haven for the fish and crustacean reproduction, a refuge for a variety of local marine and migratory birds from the Mediterranean basin, better known as the El Kanaies Archipelago, have now been selected for a project to protect their biological diversity. Created as a part of cooperation between the World Environmental Fund and the EU’s programme for the ecological systems of the Mediterranean coasts, the project will see the collaboration of numerous Tunisian environmental bodies and associations. Among the primary objectives is a series of studies on the biological diversity of the site and the economic and social components of the region, including building awareness among the local inhabitants, particularly fishermen, on the sensitivity of the ecosystem. The idea of contributing to making the islands, with the largest island of El Boussailaun have a total surface of 5,350 hectares, an ecological tourism site, encouraging economic and social development among their inhabitants. For the project to protect the riches of the marine and coastal environments in the Gulf of Gabes, the Tunisian state has allocated funding worth 13 million dinars (about 6.7 million euros). (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Barry Rubin: Let’s Pretend We’re Making Arab-Israeli, Israel-Palestinian Peace
Here’s one of my favorite stories explaining how the Middle East works. It was told by Muhammad Hussanein Heikal, the famed Egyptian journalist. Like all Heikal’s stories, it may or may not be true, which is also part of the lesson being taught.
When Muammar Qadhafi first became Libya’s dictator, Heikal was dispatched to meet and evaluate him by Egypt’s ruler, Gamal Abdel Nasser. After returning to Cairo, Heikal was quickly ushered into the president’s office.
“Well,” said Egypt’s president, “what do you think of Qadhafi?”
“He’s a disaster! A catastrophe!”
“Why,” asked the president, “is he against us?”
“Oh no, far worse than that,” Heikal claims to have replied. “He’s for us and he really believes all the stuff we are saying!”
The point was that the Egyptian regime took the propaganda line out of self-interest that all Arabs should be united into one state under its leadership, all the Arab monarchies overthrown, Israel wiped off the map immediately, and Western influence expelled, but it knew itself incapable of achieving these goals and to try to do so would bring disaster. Indeed, when Nasser had tried to implement part of this program in 1967, he provoked Israel into attacking and suffered his worst disaster.
Come to think of it, Arab regimes are still playing this game of systematically purveying radicalism, hatred, and unachievable goals to distract their populace, excuse their own failings, focus antagonism against foreign scapegoats and seek regional ambitions…
| — Hat tip: Barry Rubin | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Man Injured by Palestinian Rock-Throwers South of Ramallah
[A rock is their god, rocks are their arms. Stone(d) Pals! — AGF]
An Israeli man was lightly injured on Wednesday night, when Palestinians threw stones at his car, south of Ramallah.
The man received medical treatment on the scene by IDF medics.
His car, as well as a number of other vehicles, sustained some damage in the incident.
IDF troops were scanning the area for the perpetrators.
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
PA Minister: Meeting With Shalom Had No Political Implications
Palestinian Authority Economic Ministery Basem Khoury said that his meeting with Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom had no political implications and did not signal any change in the PA’s policy.
Khoury also blamed the Israeli media for “blowing the story out of proportion,” adding that the meeting had been arranged several months ago.
He said that talks with Shalom were restricted to issues related to day-to-day life in the PA territories. “This was not a political meeting,” he explained. “We didn’t discuss any political issue.”
Khoury said that he could not understand why some in the Israeli media were describing the meeting as if it were a breakthrough in relations between the PA and Israel.
He said that the PA’s declared policy of refusing to resume the peace talks unless Israel froze all settlement construction and accepted the two-state solution was still effective.
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
Technion Scientists Create Breath Test for Cancer Detection
(IsraelNN.com) Scientists at the Technion in Haifa have created a device that they hope will be able to detect cancer with a simple breath test. In an initial trial, the “breathalyzer” test was able to detect lung cancer with 86 percent accuracy.
The new device was revealed this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Researchers hope the test will provide a simple, cost-effective and non-invasive method of detecting cancer. In addition, the test is capable of detecting cancers that are not yet large enough to show up on X-rays or CT scans, allowing for earlier diagnosis that could save lives.
The system works by testing for chemicals that tend to be present in lungs affected by cancer but not in healthy lungs. The Technion team decided to test for four such chemicals: ethylbenzene, decane, heptanol and trimethylbenzene.
Patients’ breath is sent over a circuit made of silicon embedded with gold nanoparticles. If the breath contains the organic compounds common to cancer sufferers, the circuit’s electrical resistance will change.
The research team was led by Hossam Haick. The team had developed a similar test in the past, using carbon nanotubes. The silicon-gold combination was found to be superior, they said. Unlike the device that used carbon nanotubes, the latest development is not sensitive to the water vapor found in lungs.
In addition, the latest version of the test works even on patients who have recently ingested alcohol, food, coffee or tobacco. Previous versions required patients to abstain before the test in order to avoid false results.
Haick and his team have patented their device, but will continue to work to perfect it. The device must pass further clinical trials before being put to use, at which point scientists will face the challenge of creating versions of the test that are simple and inexpensive enough to be used in day-to-day practice in hospitals and clinics.
| — Hat tip: heroyalwhyness | [Return to headlines] |
Town Offers Award to Prove Existence of Sirens
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, AUGUST 12 — The town of Kiryat Yam, close to Haifa, has offered an award of one million dollars to whoever is able to prove the existence of sirens. The initiative, according to reports in the local press, began following various sightings reported by private citizens of the mythical sea creature written about in the Odyssey. According to a town council spokesperson, Natti Zilberman, in the past months at least a dozen sightings have been reported. “Many people tell us that they are certain that they have seen a siren and these are people that do not know each other in any way.” “People,” he continued, “say that they saw a female figure, which is half young woman and half fish and jumps like a dolphin and does various acrobatic feats before disappearing”. The spokesperson has denied that the reward is an advertising ploy, but admitted that he hopes that rumours of sirens can attract groups of tourists and curious people to Kiryat Yam. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Two Former Ministers Start Prison Sentences
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, SEPTEMBER 1 — The prison doors have opened for long periods of imprisonment for two Israeli former government ministers. Former minister, Shlomo Ben Izri, from the ultraorthodox Sephardi Shas party (several members of which have already served prison sentences), has arrived at the Maassiyahu prison to serve a four-year sentence for corruption. He will be placed in a cell with 6 other detainees. A crowd of supporters awaited Ben Izri to noisily show their solidarity, shouting “he’s innocent” and attacking the justice system. The other minister, who will be sent to the modern Hermon prison in the north of the country, is ex-Treasury Minister Avraham Hirschson, sentenced to five years and five months in prison for appropriating funds belonging to a mutual aid association of which he was president. He will share his cell with three other prisoners. Meanwhile in Tel Aviv this morning, former president, Moshe Katzav, has attended court on accusations of rape, violence and sexual harassment of former female employees both when he was president and when he had ministerial appointments. One of his victims will take the stand today behind closed doors. The judges have established that there will be three hearings this week. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Belgian Man Arrested Over Violation of Iran Arms Embargo
US federal agents have arrested a Belgian man on charges he sought to buy fighter jet engines for Iran.
Authorities say Jacques Monsieur, a citizen of Belgium and a resident of France, was arrested Friday in New York on charges he conspired with an Iranian, Dara Fotouhi, to buy F-5 fighter jet engines and parts.
The US Justice Department described the pair as experienced arms dealers who have been working with the Iranian government to obtain military items.
Under terms of the US trade embargo with Iran, such items may not be exported there without express permission from the US government.
Authorities said Monsieur contacted an undercover agent offering hundreds of thousands of dollars for the fighter jet engines.
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
Commerce: Turkey; Almost 50% of Imports From Six Countries
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, AUGUST 17 — During the first six months of 2009, 49.4% of Turkey’s total imports — a total of USD 30.8 billion — came from six countries: Russia with USD 8.8 billion (14.1%), Germany with 6.2 billion (9.9%), China with 5.5 billion (8.8%), the USA with 4 billion (6.4%), Italy with 3.3 billion (5.3%) and France with 3.1 billion (4.9%). The Italian Foreign Trade Commission in Istanbul reports that Spain came next with 1.6 billion (2.6%), the Ukraine with 1.6 billion (2.5%), Iran with 1.5 billion (2.4%) and Great Britain with 1.5 billion (2.4%). The ten countries together exported goods worth USD 37.1 billion to Turkey (59.4% of total imports). (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian Daily Papers: The Palestinians Must Not Accept Anything Less Than Israel’s Annihilation
Three recent editorials in Iran’s major conservative dailies Kayhan and Jomhouri-e Eslami gave a detailed account of Iran’s position vis-à-vis the U.S. peace plan. It was claimed that the U.S. and Israel are trying to force on the Palestinians a plan that safeguards their own interests and perpetuates Palestinian inferiority, by activating the U.S.’s and Israel’s proxies in the region — that is, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arabs from the “conciliation camp.” Jomhouri-e Eslami called on the Palestinians to reinforce their resistance front and to reject anything less than Israel’s annihilation, calling it “a goal within reach.” Kayhan purported that “the Arabs who are in favor of conciliation,” whom it dubbed “hypocrites within the [Islamic] nation,” “are collaborating in the implementation of the Zionist-American version of peace by giving a green light to the Americans.” It added that “peace — whether according to the Arab or the American formula — is tantamount to recognizing the brutal and artificial Zionist regime,” and said that “unless this regime is completely eradicated from the region’s political map, no Middle East peace is possible.” [1]
In another editorial, Kayhan called on the Muslim countries not to participate in the talks with the U.S. and the Zionists, which the U.S. has set for September 2009, concomitantly with the U.N. General Assembly, in order to discuss the U.S. comprehensive peace initiative in the Middle East. The paper reiterated that “a solution [in the Middle East] can be achieved only by completely annihilating the Zionist regime, which is the source of all insecurity in the region,” and that “the establishment of two states, Palestinian and Zionist, would be the same as totally crushing the rights of the Palestinian people, rather than securing these rights for them.” It was also stated that “the conflict [between the U.S. and Israel] is not genuine, but merely a fraud aimed at deceiving the Arabs from the conciliation [camp].” [2]
Following are excerpts from the Jomhouri-e Eslami editorial…
| — Hat tip: Aeneas | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Manufacturing: Confindustria, Focus on Turkey
(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 24 — In 2030 there will be about 1.5 billion people who are ‘well-off’, meaning with a pro-capita GDP of USD 30,000 (today there are about 1 billion, 80% of whom live in advanced economies), according to the Confindustria centre for studies (CSC), which says that the rise of the middle class in emerging countries represents “an opportunity for growth for Italian enterprises”, especially in countries which are close in geographical terms, such as Turkey, or cultural ones, such as Argentina. In a report, the centre underscored that ‘the increase in those who are well-off will for the most part be concentrated in economies which are considered not-advanced, where well-off individuals will rise by at least 215 million and possibly even by 611 million.” The increase in well-off individuals in advanced economies, instead, will be “limited and range between a minimum of 60 million and a maximum of 89 million.” In the study, CSC said that it is essential “for enterprises, especially those that deal in affordable luxury goods, to be aware of the long-term potential of new markets to plan winning strategies and to pick up new potential consumers. In terms of size, advanced economies are and will remain the main outlet for Italian manufacturing. However, at times, the margins for growth in demand are limited in these markets.” The study shows those who are expected to become well-off are in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and “the new middle class will arise in countries that are geographically close to us or ones that are culturally so, such as Argentina — economies where Italian products are already asserting their value and represent a sort of status symbol due to the strength of Italian brands”, and in ones in which future efforts of Italian enterprises will have to be concentrated. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Hizbullah-Linked Tycoon Arrested
Lebanese authorities are holding in custody a prominent Shi’ite financier close to Hizbullah on suspicion of fraud after he invested hundreds of millions of dollars of other people’s money before declaring bankruptcy, judicial officials said Wednesday.
A man checks books at Dar Al-Hadi Publishing House, one of Lebanon’s most prominent publishing houses, owned by wealthy businessman Salah Ezzedine
The Kuwait-based newspaper Al-Watan reported that Hizbullah incurred some $683 million in losses as a result of Salah Ezzedine’s activities.
Ezzedine gave himself up to authorities earlier this week after declaring himself bankrupt. The officials said he was then taken into custody and is being investigated for possible crimes including “the defrauding of large amounts of money.”
He has not been formally charged yet.
The case has drawn comparisons in Lebanon with that of Bernard Madoff, the New York financier whose multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme wiped out thousands of investors and charities worldwide. Madoff was sentenced in June to 150 years in prison.
Ezzedine, a wealthy businessman from the town of Maaroub near the southern port city of Tyre, is a prominent financier particularly among Shi’ite circles in Lebanon. He is the owner of Dar Al-Hadi Publishing House, one of Lebanon’s most prominent publishers of religious Shi’ite books that also prints books written by Hizbullah officials. He also owns the Al-Hadi television network for children.
Employees at the publishing house have refused to speak to reporters about the case.
An official with close links to Hizbullah confirmed to the Associated Press that Ezzedine “has extensive connections” with senior members of the group but could not say whether any senior members had business dealings with him. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The judicial officials said Ezzedine had major business interests, particularly in oil and iron industries in Eastern Europe, and suffered substantial losses when oil prices dropped starting in the middle of last year.
He tried to make up for his losses by taking money from Lebanese investors, promising them up to 40 percent interest on their deposits, which he could not repay, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Lebanese regulations.
Many Muslims consider interest paid by banks as un-Islamic, and therefore prefer to invest their money in businesses such as the ones run by Ezzedine.
Media reports said that among Ezzedine’s victims are high-ranking members of Hizbullah, as well as Shi’ite investors from southern Lebanon and the Hizbullah stronghold south of Beirut.
Al-Mustaqbal, a Lebanese daily, said that among those who filed charges against Ezzedine was Hizbullah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan. Repeated calls by The Associated Press to Hajj Hassan went unanswered Wednesday.
It was still not clear whether Ezzedine knowingly deceived investors.
Ezzedine is known for being involved in charity work. He headed an institution that organized pilgrimage trips to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
Research: Turkey to Build a Proton Accelerator Facility
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, AUGUST 24 — A proton accelerator facility will be built in Turkey to carry out scientific researchs similar with those carried out at the European Organization for Nuclear research (CERN) in Switzerland, Anatolia news agency reports. The Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKI) will lead the process for construction of the facility and it will begin receiving proposals for the construction on September 18. The facility to be built at the Nuclear Research and Training Center of the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) in Ankara, is expected to become functional within two years. In the facility, radioisotopes used in diagnosis of many diseases including cancer will be produced. The facility will also produce radiopharmaceutical isotopes used as therapeutic substance. Turkey has imported radioisotopes and radiopharmaceutical isotopes from different countries so far. TAEK aims at making exports from the facility in the long term. Also, scientific researchs similar to those carried out at the CERN will be carried out in the facility. Devices to be installed in the facility’s laboratories cost about 11.6 million euro and they will be delivered to Turkey beginning from 2010. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Target of Haditha Claims Facing New Accusations
Criminal case against Marine fails, but prosecutors don’t give up
Nearly four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre,” which was cited by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., when he publicly accused U.S. Marines of being cold-blooded killers, and after being cleared by multiple levels of military courts, a Marine officer is facing a new round of allegations stemming from the firefight in Iraq.
According to some members of his legal team, the attorneys at the Thomas More Law Center, the original investigation that failed to produce evidence for a conviction took more than 65 investigators and cost millions of dollars.
After an lengthy process in which prosecutors lost at every stage, the government has announce it no longer will pursue a criminal case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. However, his fight still goes on, because a new general in charge of the case, Marine Lt. Gen. George Flynn, has called for an administration procedure called a “Board of Inquiry,” the law center announced.
“The government’s persecution of this loyal Marine officer continues because he refused to throw his men under the bus to appease some anti-war politicians and press, and the Iraqi government,” said Richard Thompson, president of the center.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Tourism: 700-Page Turkey Guide Prepared for Arab People
(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, AUGUST 31 — A 700-page Turkey guide was prepared for Arabian tourists by Nizar Bitar, a Syrian businessman, as Anatolia news agency reports from Damascus. The guide includes visa and transportation information and explains Turkish people’s habits and values. Bitar said that he prepared the guide in four years after he toured 4 million km of road in Turkey and he used nearly 2,000 photos in the book. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Istanbul Among Most Threatened Cities by Earthquakes
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, AUGUST 13 — Istanbul, Turkey’s largest and most densely populated city, is the second most at-risk city in the world after Katmandu (Nepal), daily Today’s Zaman reports, quoting the declarations released by Zafer Akcig, head of an earthquake research center at Izmir’s Dokuz Eylul University. “On the list of most threatened cities, Istanbul places second and Izmir places third”, Akcig said. “Turkey’s most serious problem in the event of an earthquake is the collapse of buildings”, the professor said, adding that “earthquakes damage buildings, but how? Japan is hit by magnitude 7.5 earthquakes but nothing gets damaged. However, when a magnitude 6 earthquake hits Turkey, a lot of buildings fall. Earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.5 to 6.5 should not destroy anything and they don’t in Japan and the US”. A total of 82,372 people have died in the 90 major earthquakes that have rocked Turkey since 1900, the year when earthquake strength began to be recorded. The strongest of these earthquakes was a magnitude 7.9. Turkey has been rocked by several other earthquakes measuring up to magnitude 7.2, but its last major earthquake was the 1999 Marmara quake which officially claimed 17,480 lives and left thousands homeless. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: 10 Year Old Faces Probe for Teaching Kurd to Children
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, AUGUST 31 — An investigation was launched into a 10-year-old girl for reportedly teaching Kurd to young children in her house, daily Today’s Zaman reports. Medya Ormek was giving Kurdish lessons to a group of 10 Kurdish children in one of the rooms of her house in the Sur district of Eastern Anatolia province of Diyarbakir, when an investigation was opened into her. The young girl’s parents were also interrogated by the Sur Police Department. Sur Mayor, Abdullah Demirbas, said Ormek offered Kurdish lessons to other children as part of a municipal program named “One fairy tale for each night transforms every house into a center of education”. According to Demirbas, the investigation into the young girl was launched after her story made its way into national newspapers. “The girl is not guilty. She committed no crime”, the mayor noted. Speaking to reporters, Ormek said she would testify to prosecutors in Kurdish as she cannot speak Turkish. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
U.N. ‘Suppressing Info’ On Iran Nukes
Atomic agency accused of easing international pressure on Tehran
JERUSALEM — The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is deliberately suppressing information indicating Iran is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, according to a senior Israeli government source speaking to WND.
Last week the IAEA released an initial report on Iran’s nuclear program that claimed the country slowed the expansion of its nuclear production and is cooperating more with the agency just as major powers prepare to discuss harsh sanctions against Tehran.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
India: School Reform Undermines the Freedom of Over 10 Thousand Catholic Institutions
The new law for “free and compulsory education” requires private schools to set up monitoring committees that include representatives of local governments. For the Indian Church, the law is a step “in the right direction,” but the imposition of the policy would put the schools “in danger of extinction.”
New Delhi (AsiaNews) — The Indian Catholic Church fears that the new National Law on Education approved by parliament threatens to undermine the freedom of education, allowing for political interference in the management of private institutions.
The bill, enacted on August 4, achieves the landmark “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education” that the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had placed the agenda of the first hundred days of government. Kapil Sibal, Minister for Development of Human Resources, said the law “signalled a new era”. For Father Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Indian Bishops’ Conference (CBCI), “the government made an important choice in the right direction” repairing “a serious delay in securing school for all children [aged 6 to 14 years, ed]” . However the law includes a clause that alarms the Indian Church.
“The new law — said Fr Babu AsiaNews — includes Clause 21 which states that all institutions that are subsidized by the State must establish an administrative committee that monitors the progress of the school comprising elected representatives of the local authority, parents, pupils and teachers”. The purpose of the committee is to develop an even stronger link between the local community and school. The spokesman of the Indian Church recognizes the goodness of intention, but does not hide that it also gives grounds for serious concern for the more than 10 thousand Catholic institutions across the country.
“First we are concerned — said Fr Babu — because this clause gives too much opportunity to intervene in administrative policy. Second, the institutions so far have worked without a hitch. Our system has worked well to the satisfaction of all involved and the headmaster was determined by the local bishop or religious superior of the institute along with representatives of parents and students. So we do not see a compelling reason to change the system. Thirdly our experience tells us that public schools that have leaders in their Administrative Committees are not managed well. “
For the Indian Church, there is a very real risk that Clause 21 will damage the freedom guaranteed to the Christian institutions. Fr. Babu says that schools “may be in danger of extinction and will be undermined by the presence of people ill-prepared or even hostile toward us. In some States the Church has already suffered due to problems with the political leadership and these will only get worse if this provision becomes effective. “
The CBCI has already said it wants to discuss the issue with the Minister for Development of Human Resources to safeguard the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution to minorities and “continue cooperating with the government for quality education to children in India” .
Catholic schools, together with their Protestant counterparts, provide an important contribution to the education system in the country, mostly entrusted to private institutions. Fr. Babu said: “About 60% of our schools are in rural areas and reach the poorest and most marginalized children in society who represent 55% of the school population. In our institutes girls [often excluded from education, ed] study and only a small proportion of students is made up of Christians, because the majority are Hindus, Muslims or of other faiths. “
Fr. Francis Swamy, provincial coordinator of the Jesuit schools — that in Mumbai alone have a score of schools — said: “The Christian community has worked hard to develop education. Some of our schools are more than 150 years old and are highly esteemed. Why must we have political interference in their management? “ (with the collaboration of CT Nilesh)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
India: Fr. Augusto Colombo, Who Brought the Dalits to University, Dies
In over 60 years of mission in Andhra Pradesh, Fr. Colombo proved the consequences of the Gospel in development: homes for the poor, cooperatives, legal offices to defend lands, health care for lepers, schools, hospitals, to places reserved in universities for Dalits.
Rome (AsiaNews) — Father Augusto Colombo, one of the most representative figures of the Indian Church in the defence and promotion of “outcastes” (untouchables or Dalit), died in India. Born in Cantù (Como) in 1927, as a priest of PIME he left for India in 1952, for the state of Andhra Pradesh, where the institute has worked since 1855. Those were the years in which the pariahs were becoming aware of their marginalization and were turning to Buddhism and Christianity. Augusto was one of the founders of the Diocese of Khammam (1988) with three parishes. In nearly sixty years of mission in India, in addition to pastoral work he produced a number of initiatives for the promotion of Dalits: homes for the poor, cooperatives for the production and sale of tradition craftwork, the “Farm of Praise”, which won awards in India for the production of “miracle rice,” his commitment to the legal defence of Dalit lands, rural banks to fight against money lenders, health care for lepers, education, handcrafted work for women (embroidery and Cantù lace), wells, adult literacy, etc..
Augusto was dedicated primarily to Dalits, founding schools for their education from primary through to high school level. The last time I was in India (2005) he led me to see “Colombo Nagar”, or “Colombo City”, not far from Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra. Where there was once only barren and stony country, Fr. Augustus built the Institute of Technology and Science, which today has 1,500 students and every year sees between 140-150 engineering graduates, in five different specialties. Half the places are reserved for outcasts and Catholics, who have great difficulty in gaining places in other institutions of higher learning. Around this university the city of Colombo was born! Everything is owned by the Diocese of Warangal, one of 12 founded in India and Bangladesh by PIME.
Given the success of his first university, 12 years ago in Warangal, Father Colombo bought a newly built modern hospital with 600 beds, soon to become one thousand. Next to the hospital there is the beginnings of construction, destined to become the University of Medicine, the second Catholic one in India (the first is in Bangalore). Augusto called three orders of nuns, specialised in healthcare and hospitals to manage the different departments (also including the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate). The hospital is already operative, but state recognition for the university is still uncertain, due to strong opposition to Christian initiatives in this field. Previously, Augusto had founded a leper colony and three hospitals and had succeeded in getting the Regional Eye Hospital in Warangal to organize work camps, sending its young doctors to work with the medical team of Prof. Innocente Figini of Como, who for twenty years, for 10-12 days a year offers his services free of charge in a health centre founded by Father Augusto; who was also dedicated to the blind (founding a centre for specialized care) and who had recently built a hospital for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, which has been up and running since 2005.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Bars Muslim Over Headscarf
This is from the New Zealand Herald and Hawke’s Bay Today.
A Hastings Muslim woman is fuming after a Hawke’s Bay judge barred her from a Hastings courtroom because she was wearing a headscarf.
Yasmeen Ali, said yesterday morning she had gone to the Hastings District Court to support her brother, also a Muslim, who was being sentenced.
When she first entered the courtroom she was asked to take off her Hijab or headscarf by a court security officer but refused, stating she had to wear one as she was a Muslim.
She was allowed to enter and sat briefly in the public gallery before the morning break when she sat outside for 15 minutes.
But as she attempted to re-enter, a court security guard blocked her path back into the courtroom. The officer told her she had to remove her headscarf.
She pointed to a sign on the courtroom door and asked, “It says there that you can’t wear a hat, hoody but where does it say no headscarf?’
Ms Ali then asked to see a court official and was taken to Support Services manager Evan Gould, complaining she had been discriminated against.
“He said,’Oh there is not much I can do sorry’,” and gave her a pamphlet on judicial decisions.
A court security officer then approached Mr Gould and told him she could not enter as Judge Geoff Rea had said she was not allowed.
It is disgusting behaviour and I should not be treated like this and I do not think any other Muslim woman should be treated like this,’ Ms Ali said. She said it was important for her to be there when her brother was sentenced because not only was he family but a fellow Muslim.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman confirmed Ms Ali had been barred by Judge Rea from entering the courtroom. The presiding judge has jurisdiction over proceedings in the courtroom. The ministry does not comment on judicial decisions,’ she said.
Her brother, Carlos Manuel Brooking, 22, was sitting in the public gallery waiting to appear for sentence on a charge of common assault.
He was asked by the judge to remove his “hat”. Brooking removed the headress but was reluctant to remove the smaller garment underneath. He then walked out of court and was taken into custody.
Later in the dock he apologised saying he had recently become a Muslim. On the assault charge he was sentenced to 125 hours community work.
Labour Party ethnic affairs spokesman Chris Carter said the judge needed to show more understanding of modern New Zealand’s cultural diversity.
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
Terror Cell Member Jailed for Five Years
A member of a Melbourne terror cell who helped make a propaganda film featuring Osama bin Laden has been jailed for five years but could walk free from prison in less than a year.
Shane Kent, 32, underwent military training at the al-Farouq camp in Afghanistan, in August 2001, just weeks before the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
He also made part of a video featuring a graphic image of the head of a young martyr which was posted on an al-Qaeda linked website and was photographed dressing like a mujahedeen warrior in his suburban Melbourne backyard.
Encouraged by his Islamic wife and mother-in-law, Kent sought the advice of a radical sheik and soon found himself part of a terror cell intent on violent jihad.
Kent pleaded guilty in July to being a member of a terrorist organisation and recklessly making a document in preparation for a terrorist act.
Victorian Supreme Court judge Justice Bernard Bongiorno on Wednesday ordered Kent, who has already spent more than three years on remand, serve at least three years and nine months in jail.
He said that although Kent and his group did not have a specific target this did not trivialise the seriousness of their conduct.
“I am not prepared to accept on the material proffered that he has abandoned the cause of violent jihad,” he said.
“There is no admissible evidence of his having done so or of his being genuinely contrite for what he did.”
Justice Bongiorno said Kent continued to deliberately associate with the group.
“The existence of the (group) as a terrorist organisation constituted a significant threat that a terrorist act would be or would have, by now, been committed here in Melbourne,” he said.
“The absence of an imminent, let alone an actual, terrorist attack does not mean that condign punishment is not warranted in this case.”
The court was told Kent’s upbringing was unremarkable. He left a state high school after year 11 and began a painter’s apprenticeship.
In 1997, Kent converted to Islam and travelled to South Africa with a friend where he lived at an Islamic University.
He later travelled to Saudi Arabia and Yemen where he studied at an Islamic school.
In 1999, he married an Islamic woman, Eman Abdou, who he met through the Preston Mosque.
The Campbellfield couple have three children and are expecting a fourth.
During his pre-sentence hearing last month Kent’s lawyers argued he was a “barracker” who did not act to further the interests of the terror cell.
Kent made excuses not to visit other members of the group and was no longer a devout Muslim, the court was told.
He will be eligible for parole in about nine months time.
| — Hat tip: Nilk | [Return to headlines] |
Britain Faces Fresh Influx of Immigrants as EU Looks to ‘Share Out’ Number of Refugees
Plans for a ‘Joint EU Resettlement Programme’ will see Britain asked to take in thousands of extra refugees a year from war zones like Somalia and Sudan.
In a bid to reduce public concern about the cost of the project, Britain will be offered €4,000 (£3,500) for every refugee it accepts.
The project, launched by the EU’s vice-president Jacques Barrot today, is widely seen as the first part of a Brussels blueprint to roll out a common immigration and asylum policy across the EU.
Later this month the European Commission will publish plans for immigration ‘burden sharing’, which could see asylum seekers landing in EU countries like Italy and Malta moved to the UK.
The Commission today said this was a ‘pressing issue’ for the EU.
Draft documents from the European Commission state that the EU’s international image is suffering because of the ‘relatively low’ number of refugees accepted by member states.
Last year the EU accepted 6.7 per cent of the 65,596 refugees who were legally resettled around the world.
The Commission did not set a public target for the new programme today, but a Brussels source said the figure should be ‘much closer to 20 per cent’.
Mr Barrot said more than 200,000 refugees were likely to need resettlement next year, mostly from poor countries bordering war zones.
He urged the EU to make itself a ‘model of humanity’ and demonstrate ‘concrete solidarity with third countries hosting large numbers of refugees’.
If the EU were to accept 20 per cent that would equate to 40,000 refugees a year. Britain’s share, based on population, would be about 5,300.
Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said it was vital that the UK kept control of the total number of immigrants entering the country, rather than handing power to Brussels.
He said co-operation on dealing with refugees should depend on other EU countries helping to stop the flow of illegal immigrants to Britain.
Mr Green said: ‘There is nothing wrong with trying to plan the numbers of successful refugees — anything would be better than the chaos Britain’s system has suffered in recent years.
‘But Britain could only take part if we had control of the numbers arriving here under the scheme, and if other countries cooperate more in preventing the build-up of asylum seekers at Calais.’
Stephen Booth, of the think tank Open Europe, said handing over control of immigration and asylum policy risked creating a public backlash.
He added: ‘Asylum policy is a sensitive issue for the public and national governments therefore need to be clear and open about where EU asylum policy is heading in order to avoid a backlash from their citizens.’
Britain is one of only 10 EU countries to operate a formal refugee resettlement programme.
Over the last five years the UK has accepted 2,500 refugees on top of the number coming in through the wider immigration and asylum system.
A Home Office spokesman welcomed the new scheme but stressed it was voluntary.
He added: ‘We are pleased to see the EU move towards a common system of refugee resettlement, which has the potential to benefit some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
‘We will consider and scrutinise the details of these new proposals very carefully prior to agreement and the UK has the ability to opt out of any proposal that is not in our national interest.’
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Canada SA Refugee Ruling ‘Racist’
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has condemned as “racist” a decision by Canada to grant a white South African man refugee status.
Brandon Huntley, 31, had told officials in Canada he could not return to South Africa after seven different attacks.
They included three stabbings, which he said he had suffered as a result of his skin colour.
His lawyer said he was granted asylum because the South African authorities were unable to protect their citizens.
But ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu told the BBC that the decision would “only serve to perpetuate racism” in South Africa.
“We take this matter very seriously because it has something to do with tarnishing the image of the country,” he said.
Race is a sensitive issue in the country, still scarred by decades of white-minority rule, which ended in 1994.
Hundreds of thousands of white South Africans have left the country since the end of apartheid, many citing rising crime and the difficulty of finding jobs.
‘Alarming’
“We’re committed to creating a stable and safe environment for all South Africans, regardless of the colour of their skin and we think that dealing with crime along racial lines can only serve to divide the South African nation,” he told the BBC’s World Today programme.
Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board ruled last week that Mr Huntley could stay in Canada.
Canada’s Ottawa Sun newspaper quoted the panel’s chairman, William Davis, as saying he would stand out like a “sore thumb” due to his colour in any part of South Africa.
Mr Huntley’s lawyer Russell Kaplan said the asylum was granted because of discrimination — not only over crime — but also because as a white man he would find it difficult to get a job.
“The big question throughout was — was this just an act of criminality or was there a racial motivation? And every single time there was evidence that they were not just victims of criminality, that there was a racial component in the incidents,” he told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.
Bridgette Lightfoot of Homecoming Revolution, which encourages white South Africans to return home, disputed the claims.
“I myself have lived overseas for six years and I’ve been back for eight months and we really don’t feel there’s this racial prejudice against white people,” she told the BBC.
Sympathy
But in a statement the institute’s deputy head Frans Cronje said he found the reports of “the persecution of white South Africans to be largely without foundation.”
On the streets of Johannesburg, opinions were mixed about the case.
“Thugs attack you because they believe you have something they want,” said Diketso Lekhelebane.
“There is still the perception that white people have money all the time maybe that’s why he was targeted.”
“As a white South African I understand and support the basis for affirmative action but as a mother of three I’m concerned about my children’s future and what kind of jobs they will get,” university lecturer Tracey McKay told the BBC.
White people still dominate Africa’s biggest economy, with average living standards far higher than for other racial groups.
But some complain they are being deprived of jobs by the government’s black affirmative action programme.
The government says this is needed to help the black majority recover from years of discrimination during apartheid.
| [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Illegal Immigrants Sent Back to Libya
Palermo, 31 August (AKI) — Italian coastguard on Monday returned to the Libyan port of Zawia 75 illegal immigrants believed to be Somalis whose boat was intercepted between Sicily and Malta late Sunday. The European Union is writing to the Italian government asking for information on the incident, the European Commission’s spokesman Dennis Abbott told Adnkronos International (AKI).
“The commission will ask Italy and Malta for information about the latest incident and will be sending a letter as soon as possible,” Abbott said.
“It needs this information to assess the situation. The commission underlines that every human being has the right to apply for protection,” he said.
Abbott said the commission had yet to receive the information it requested from Italy last week about the African immigrants who died of hunger and thirst aboard their marooned boat off the southern Italian coast earlier this month.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Laura Boldrini, expressed shock and disbelief that only five of the 80 who set sail from Libya at the start of August aboard a motorised rubber dinghy were rescued.
They had been adrift for at least 20 days and seen between Malta and the tiny island of Lampedusa, off the coast of Sicily.
Italy’s conservative government has pledged to crack down on illegal immigration and recently made it a crime punishable with deportation and stiff fines.
Italy is believed to have returned around 1,000 illegal immigrants to Libya since May under a controversial friendship treaty signed between the two countries a year ago.
The policy has drawn sharp criticism from the Vatican, the Italian opposition and rights groups, who fear refugees are being denied the right to request asylum.
Under the friendship treaty, Tripoli is to crack down on illegal migration from its shores.
In return, Rome will pay five billion dollars (3.5 billion euros) in compensation to Libya — a former Italian colony — in the form of investments over the next 25 years.
Italy is also supplying coastguard patrol vessels to Libya and conducting joint patrols with the North African state.
It is one of the main transit countries for the hundreds of thousands of would-be illegal immigrants seeking to reach Italy and other southern Mediterranean countries each year.
The Italian government wants other European Union states to bear a greater share of the costs of policing its southern Mediterranean frontier.
“We realise the difficulties experienced by Italy and other frontline EU member states and want to help them find a solution,” said Abbott.
“We don’t want to criticise,” he stressed.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Liberalism is a Cult
For the longest time, I’ve insisted that liberalism is the religion of choice for atheists, agnostics and run-of-the-mill secularists. After all, be they Christians, Jews, Muslims or Buddhists, the truly devout accept the tenets of their religion on faith. They can try to have logical debates with the likes of a Christopher Hitchens, but in the end it all comes down to a couple of people getting red in the face, hollering “Is so” and “Is not” at each other.
But, of late, I’ve decided that referring to liberalism as a religion for non-believers is showing it too much respect. It far more resembles a cult. Even the expression about leftists drinking the Kool-Aid refers to an actual cult, the one created by the certifiable loony Jim Jones. Having led his flock of deranged sheep from San Francisco to Guyana, one day in 1978, he ordered more than 900 of his followers to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide.
[…]
Just like the disciples of Jim Jones, liberals, too, will swallow any swill. They will believe, for example, that Al Gore is a science maven. They will parrot his absurd prognostications even when he goes from yakking incessantly about “global warming” to “climate change” without missing a beat, even though changing from one to the other is tantamount to warning people of a locust invasion one second and sounding the alert about an incoming comet the next.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Transgender Teen Wants Genderless Bathrooms
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state’s middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms.
Kyle Giard-Chase, 16, asked the Vermont Human Rights Commission on Thursday to endorse the effort. He said that before he came out last year as transgendered, he was a three-sport athlete and the co-captain of the field hockey team, a girls’ sport, at South Burlington High School.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
World Wildlife Fund Condemns ‘Disturbing’ 9/11 Ad
OTTAWA — The World Wildlife Fund condemned Wednesday an advertisement claiming to be from the environmental group circulated on the Internet depicting an “offensive” scene where dozens of airplanes can be seen converging on downtown New York.
The ad, sporting a tagline that reads “the 2004 Tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11”, purports to be from the Brazilian branch of the World Wildlife Fund, however the organization said Wednesday that it was “categorically not solicited nor endorsed” by the organization.
The final line in the ad is “The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it” and is accompanied by WWF’s recognizable panda logo.
“It is not a WWF ad,” said Josh Laughren, a spokesman for the Canadian branch of the WWF. “We don’t like it and we find it offensive. We find it as disturbing as anyone else.”
Laughren said the ad was produced by an was produced by an agency to pitch to the organization.
“It was an unpleasant surprise. I guess they thought it was clever but it’s not. We just hope that people will accept that it’s not ours very quickly,” he said. “It’s so far out of line with how we operate.”
The organization became concerned over the fake ad after bloggers circulated the photo and blamed the WWF for exploiting the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
The WWF is investigating the unauthorized use of its logo, said Laughren.
The ad was reportedly made by a team at the advertising agency DDB Brasil. The company issued a statement to the New York Daily News saying that the team no longer worked for DDB and apologized to “anyone who was offended or affected by the ad.”
| — Hat tip: Zenster | [Return to headlines] |
5 comments:
Baron,
the report about the judge barring the veil from his courtroom appears to come from New Zealand,so he could be described as "Australasian", not "Australian". New Zealanders are deeply insulted if described as Australian.
mace --
Whoops! Sorry for the oversight -- I know better. I did not look at it closely enough.
I'll correct it. Thanks for upbraiding me.
New Zealand's courts are Crown courts. The judge can do virtually anthing he likes using the authority of the Crown vested in him. Unfortunately and ironically, this does not hold in the UK due to our "submission" to the EU. Laugh and cry.
The president of the United States delivering a speech to all schoolchildren in America ? With compulsory attendance ? And compulsory "work" to do afterwards ?
Has that ever happened in the US ? I'm pretty sure no French president ever attempted that, and God knows how Socialism is entrenched in this country.
Sarkozy himself, with all his authoritarian and meddling tendencies, would never dare such a move.
I thought this happened only in Communist countries and assorted dictatorships.
Either this guy has a really overinflated opinion of himself, thinking he can induce pupils into studying harder by the mere power of his words, where teachers have failed, or this is the prelude to more sinister things.
How useful is the Swedish "bull" trying to turn himself into a milk cow going to be during the civil war approaching his country? Is he going to fling his breast pump at the rioting Muslims?
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