A vendor in a mall Johnson City, Tennessee was forced asked to close his kiosk by the mall’s owners when he refused to remove various anti-Obama items, including his popular “Nobama” T-shirt. The vendor insisted that he was only responding to customer demand, and would have carried anti-Republican merchandise if anyone had requested it.In other news, two Turkish police chiefs were forced to resign after videos revealing their gay relationship were released.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, CSP, DP111, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, JD, Larwyn, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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A Surveillance Society or a Free Society?
The Big Question — should government control the people or should the people control government?
Orwell’s prediction of a future big brother government came true. Whether acknowledged or not, Americans now live in a surveillance society.
Most of that American public falls into one of the categories the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calls “potential threats;” environmentalists, animal lovers, anti-war protestors, pro-lifers, evangelical Christians, observant Jews, Constitutionalists, returning veterans, and third party candidate supporters are all “potential domestic terrorists.”
Just how far is the American public willing to let the government go in order to assure public safety? Do the people want the police on every block, all emails read by the government, phone calls overheard, or every financial transaction monitored? Do the people want sensors placed in cities that detect how much an individual perspires, in order to assess and monitor supposed guilt?
How about computer software programs that decide whether or not the way people walk or dress presents a threat to the government? In Britain citizens are captured on surveillance cameras an average of 300 times a day; does the American public want to be subjected to this level of scrutiny?
The Real ID Act 2005 mandated that facial recognition technology be used for all drivers’ license photos; facial recognition, a biometric, measures distances between facial characteristics — specific parts of the mouth, eyes, nose and so on — and digitizes this information. Using this technology, each citizen would be enrolled into a single global biometric identification system.
No matter where a person is — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma or Paris, France — that person can be identified with the use of facial recognition technology. Closed circuit television cameras/surveillance cameras (CCTV) and linked computer systems make possible remote surveillance and global information sharing.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago: Teen Attacked, Beaten to Death in Melee
[See article for very graphic video]
This is the hard lesson some students at Fenger High School have to deal with after a day of learning. For them it’s a hard lesson of reality on the streets.
Thursday after school, two rival gangs got into a fight three blocks from the high school.
In all four students were beaten in that melee — one was released from the hospital Friday morning.
While police continue their investigation, some students say they don’t want to go back to Fenger next week.
Rival gang members have been fighting for a month — and each time one of their fellow classmates is injured.
No knives and no guns were used in Thursday’s fight. Just fists, feet and boards.
Derrion Albert, 16, was struck in the head by one of those boards.
Seconds later the honor student hit the pavement. That’s when witnesses, who are other high school students, say gangbangers began stomping on and punching Albert.
Derrion Albert’s mom said witnesses told her he was “trying to help another student and kind of got mixed in with the crowd of the fight and he was hit.”
A senior who witnessed the whole thing says the melee lasted less than five minutes.
The video shows students and workers from a nearby community center rescue the boy — but many out there knew it was too late.
Surveillance videos are mounted on businesses in the Roseland area, but Chicago Police say those don’t show faces.
Police have a copy of this footage and it may help identify Albert’s killers.
But while that investigation goes on, students say they will remember Derrion Albert as a good kid. A quiet, smart kid with no gang affiliation. But just a kid who may not have had enough street smarts to go another way.
If you can identify any of the people allegedly involved in the death of Derrion Albert, please call Area Two of the Chicago Police Dept. That number is 312-747-8272.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago: 3 Charged in Beating Death of Student
CHICAGO — Three teenagers were charged Monday in the beating death of a 16-year-old Chicago honor roll student on his way home from school, a melee captured on a cell phone video that shows a group striking him with boards and kicking him as he lay on a sidewalk.
The death of Derrion Albert, a sophomore at Christian Fenger Academy High School, on Thursday has reignited community outrage over chronic violence involving city students and is putting pressure on school and police officials to address gang problems that often are at the root of such violence. More than 30 students were killed in 2008, according to district figures, and the city could exceed that toll in 2009.
But some community members said the solution lies with parents.
“It is our problem. We have to take control of our children,” said Dawn Allen, who attended a vigil at the school Monday, where a group of residents tried to force their way into the school before being turned back by police.
Albert was attacked around 3 p.m. Thursday in front of Agape Community Center in the south Chicago neighborhood of Roseland, where he was walking to a bus stop, authorities said.
The violence stemmed from a shooting early Thursday morning involving two groups of students, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County prosecutor’s office. When school ended, members of the two groups began fighting.
The attack, captured in part on a bystander’s cell phone video, shows Albert being struck on the head by one of several young men wielding wooden planks. After he falls to the ground an appears to try to get up, he is struck again and then kicked.
Prosecutors charged Silvonus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, and Eric Carson, 16, with first-degree murder, and they were ordered held without bond on Monday, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County prosecutor’s office.
Simonton said Albert was a bystander and not part of either group. She said Albert was knocked unconscious when Carson struck him in the head with a board and the second person punched him in the face. Albert regained consciousness and was trying to get up when he was attacked a second time by five people and was struck in the head with a board by Riley and stomped in the head by Shannon, Simonton said.
Desiyan Bacon, Riley’s aunt, attended Monday’s vigil at the school and said her nephew didn’t have anything to do with the beating and was a friend of the victim.
“They need to stop the crime, but when they do it, they need to get the right person,” Bacon said.
| [Return to headlines] |
Frank Gaffney: A Virus Called Shariah
A Denver airport shuttle driver from Afghanistan who plotted to blow up subway trains in New York City. A Jordanian who tried to destroy one of Dallas’ tallest skyscrapers. An American who thought he was detonating a truck bomb aimed at a federal courthouse in Springfield, Illinois. Law enforcement authorities who successfully stymied these alleged attacks have been at pains to emphasize that there are no connections between the three. Of course there are…
| — Hat tip: CSP | [Return to headlines] |
How Much Government Control in Cybercrisis?
At least 18 bills have been introduced as Congress considers digital disaster
Yet when a Senate committee was exploring ways to secure computer networks, a provision to give the president the power to shut down Internet traffic to compromised Web sites in an emergency set off alarms.
Corporate leaders and privacy advocates quickly objected, saying the government must not seize control of the Internet.
Lawmakers dropped it, but the debate rages on. How much control should federal authorities have over the Web in a crisis? How much should be left to the private sector? It does own and operate at least 80 percent of the Internet and argues it can do a better job.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
No More Business for “Nobama” Salesman
Dan Fuchs said business was just starting to pick up at his kiosk in the Mall at Johnson City.
Fuchs’ business, the Graphic Edge, printed slogans and pictures on items such as coffee cups, bumper stickers and T-shirts. He said more than half of his business came from the sale of anti-Obama merchandise. Bumper stickers with slogans such as “SOS: Stop Obama’s Socialism,” “Nobama,” and “Chicago got the party, but the country got the hangover” were displayed around the small stand.
Now it appears Fuchs is out of business at the mall, but mall officials say this decision was not based upon political views.
Friday afternoon, Fuchs was handed a lease termination notice by mall officials and signed by Mall General Manager Tembra Aldridge. The letter states that the option to terminate the lease agreement is effective 11:59 p.m. today and that he must vacate the mall premises and remove his property before then.
Fuchs said he was given no reason for this termination and was shocked and upset. Thursday evening, Fuchs said mall officials met with him and told him to take down the anti-Obama items on display by closing time or face immediate eviction.
“I was upset about it, of course,” he said Friday prior to receiving the notice. “That’s my livelihood.”
Fuchs had been in business at the mall for around two months and hadn’t initially set out to create anti-Obama items. One day, he said a customer asked for an anti-Obama shirt to be printed. A few days later, he said another customer asked for another similar item.
The some of these items were put on display and most were completed upon customer request, Fuchs said. He said that around 60 percent of items being sold out of the kiosk was anti-Obama merchandise.
By Friday morning, Fuchs said these items had been take down.
Marsha Hammond, the mall’s marketing director, has a different take on that meeting. She said that Aldridge and Melinda Davis, the mall’s specialty leasing representative, suggested that Fuchs also display items in support of Obama. The mall had received several complaints from customers regarding the anti-Obama items, she said. Hammond also said that it was Fuchs’ decision to remove the items completely from display.
“That is not true,” Fuchs said. “I was given no choice. I was given, (Thursday) night at about 4:30, the option of taking it down or get out, receive an eviction at closing time.”
Fuchs said that while he never anticipated any, he was aware of customer complaints prior to Thursday’s meeting. Hammond said, and Fuchs confirmed, that several weeks prior to Thursday’s meeting, Davis came by the kiosk to suggest Fuchs display pro-Obama items which would allow him to continue to display anti-Obama items. Friday, prior to receiving the termination notice, Fuchs said he would comply with this suggestion.
The anti-Obama merchandise sold at the kiosk is not necessary his viewpoint, Fuchs said. He again said most were completed upon customer request and were displayed as work samples.
“I support his office,” he said “I might not like him, but I support his office.”
Fuchs also said that he would have printed anti-Republican items at customer request and has refused to print some vulgar items. He said that his stand wasn’t exclusive to the display of anti-Obama items, but bumper stickers with slogans such as “Support Our Troops” and “ETSU Pride” were also on display. Still, he said the anti-Obama items typically got a good response from mall patrons passing by.
“People would look at them and laugh or whatever, and I would always ask ‘what do you think about it? Do you approve?’ or some silly little remark,” he said. “And I would say that probably 95 percent were positive, only 5 percent were not.”
While Hammond said the mall is a private property and officials do not wish to see it used as a political forum, she said the mall does not conduct its business based on political views and that the termination of Fuchs’ lease is due to a matter between him and the mall.
Before he received the lease termination, Fuchs said his lease was set to expire Dec. 31 and that he planned to be around for the holiday season.
“I certainly hope I’m here to take care of the Christmas business,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Larwyn | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Population Control Czar
This site (http://zombietime.com/john_holdren/) , contains a damning indictment against Holdren and the White House. Even if half of what is listed is true, this man is putting forth pure evil. What is even more disturbing is that Barack Obama was impressed enough with Holdren’s philosophy to appoint him to the Science Czar position.
The site also answers every possible argument against the indictment. Any reasonable person would have to agree with the assertion of Holdren’s danger to this country and by extension, that of our sitting chief executive.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Purported Non Muslim President Obama Makes High Level Muslim Appointment to DHS
by Vincent Gioia
Purported non Muslim Barack Hussein Obama made a presidential appointment of Muslim Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Arif Alikhan for a top job at the federal Department of Homeland Security. In his new job Arif Alikhan will be Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy Development at the Department of Homeland Security. Alikhan has been Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles — in charge of public safety for the city.
Why Muslim Alikhan at the Department of Homeland Security you might ask? DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said Alikhan’s “broad and impressive array of experience in national security, emergency preparedness and counterterrorism will make him an asset” — yes, but on behalf of the US or Muslims? I am not sure what she is talking about and she probably doesn’t know either: www.indiawest.com/readmore.aspx?id=1132&Sid=1
Alikhan says a big part of his job will be fostering communication between agencies. Alikhan, like Obama, also wants to help improve America’s image with Muslims around the world. He will now set policy on security at the highest levels of the federal government. But what policies has the new Assistant Secretary embraced?
During his years in Los Angeles, Alikhan was responsible for derailing the Police Department’s plan to monitor activities within the Los Angeles Muslim community, where numerous radical mosques and madrassas existed, and where some of the 9/11 hijackers had received support from local residents.
Alikhan is strongly anti-Israel; he has referred to the terrorist organization Hezbollah as a “liberation movement.” Hezbollah is on the US official terrorist list while being an affiliate of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Alikhan also opposed President George W. Bush’s prosecution of the war on Islamic terror.
In 2007 Alikhan was instrumental in removing the Muslim terror tracking plan in LA. The Muslim ‘Mapping’ Plan of the Los Angeles Police Department is now “dead on arrival” according to Chief William Bratton. “It is over and not just put on the side,” said Chief Bratton in a meeting with the Muslim leadership of Southern California at that time. The meeting was moderated by Arif Alikhan.
Chief Bratton acknowledged the hurt and offense caused to Muslims and agreed to send a letter to the Muslim community announcing the official termination of the ‘mapping’ plan.
A major reason for the termination of the ‘mapping’ plan was the Muslim community’s vociferous opposition and active civic engagement in making themselves heard beyond Los Angeles. Muslim organizations demonstrated a strong unity of purpose and message on the issue of ‘mapping’ that led to a position of strength for Muslims in the meeting. Those involved in the initial phases of this controversy were the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California www.shuracouncil.org and the Council on American-Islamic Relations www.cair.com, the Muslim Public Affairs arm.
Muslim Democrats welcomed Alikhan’s appointment at a banquet/fundraiser for the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California recently where the first speaker was Arif Alikhan, a devout Sunni and the son of Pakistani immigrants: www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,505573,00.
Other speakers included Professor Agha Saeed of the American Muslim Task Force (AMT) who spoke about “the struggle of the Muslim Community against the pervasive atmosphere of Islamophobia and hatred in the aftermath of 9/11.. It was a struggle against the tide — a very strong tide — to prevent Muslims in America from being marginalized and silenced.”
Professor Saeed issued five demands from Muslims to the Department of Justice. These demands included a cessation to the infiltration by spies of mosques and an end to the introduction of agents provocateur. In addition there was to be a cessation of attempts to undermine Muslim groups such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Un-indicted co-conspirator CAIR was thrilled at the appointment: www.us4arabs.com/content/view/1590/31/
Last week, Napolitano swore in Damascus-born Kareem Shora, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)’s national executive director, to a position on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, an outside-the-department group of national security experts that advises the Secretary. Shora is the first Arab rights advocate on the panel. Shora has with ties to terror backers: www.creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/06another-jihad-nominee-atdept-of-homeland-security/
One may wonder how does an obscure (but Democrat) bureaucrat and devout Muslim come to the position of Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles — in charge of public safety for the city and now becomes Assistant Secretary to DHS under purported non Muslim Democrat President Barack Hussein Obama?
| — Hat tip: DP111 | [Return to headlines] |
Stop Allowing the Left to Set the Rules
The rules set by the Left are extremely clear. Racist images of black conservatives and negative images of Bush are fair game. Even a play about murdering President Bush was called “harmless art.” Meanwhile, all unflattering images of Obama are racist, and constitute dangerous, potentially violent, hate speech.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called Congressman Joe Wilson a racist for saying, “You lie” to president Obama. Using her psychic powers, Dowd said Wilson was really saying in his mind, “You lie, BOY!” And yet, liberal commentator Julianne Malveaux, saying she hopes black conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife “feeds him a lot of fatty foods so he will die early from heart disease like many black men”, was not considered racist. I am a black conservative singer, songwriter, entertainer and columnist. Liberals have posted comments all over YouTube and C-Span freely using and calling me the “N” word. Because they are libs and I am an uppity, off the liberal plantation, run-away black, all tactics to restore me to my owners are acceptable.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Destroyers Who Control Congress, The White House & Media
One world government means one world religion and that’s where the Rick Warren’s of the world come into play. Warren’s mission is “modern religion.” His crusade is to build a “unified theology” which pushes “civility”. I’ve watched him and he’s very slick. There is a huge effort world wide to “blend” the world’s religions, ending up with some wacky version the “New Age” baloney. The number one goal, of course, is to destroy Christianity in this country. It is essential in fostering communism because communism can only flourish in a Godless nation. Global domination under a brutal, communist, totalitarian force is the ultimate goal.
If it weren’t for other dedicated Americans who also spent decades trying to reach people like me, I would never have found the truth. In the past, there were courageous members of Congress who tried to warn the American people who were not listening back then. It was sex, drugs, rock and roll and good times while the destroyers were hard at work:
Hon. Marjorie S. Holt of Maryland In the House of Representatives January 19, 1976, page 240
“Mrs. Holt. Mr. Speaker, many of us recently received a letter from the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, inviting Members of Congress to participate in a ceremonial signing of “A Declaration of Interdependence” on January 30 in Congress Hall, adjacent to Independence Hall in Philadelphia. A number of Members of Congress have been invited to sign this document, lending their prestige to its theme, but I want the record to show my strong opposition to this declaration.
“It calls for surrender of our national sovereignty to international organizations. It declares that our economy should be regulated by international authorities. It proposes that we enter a “new world order” that would redistribute the wealth created by the American people. Mr. Speaker, this is an obscenity that defiles our Declaration of Independence, signed 200 years ago in Philadelphia. We fought a great Revolution for independence and individual liberty, but now it proposed that we participate in a world socialist order.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UN: Gaddafi Superstar in New York, Following His Show
(by Alessandra Baldini) (ANSAmed) — NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 25 — Muammar Gaddafi is a true superstar in New York, following his appearance at the UN: changing from the Bedouin tunic worn at the opening of the Assembly to a dark suit, the Libyan leader was a show-stealer on US media and in the US political Think Tanks. “I understand the anger of the Lockerbie families,” Gaddafi said in an interview to the Wall Street Journal, discussing the enraged reactions to the triumphal welcoming reserved in Tripoli to terrorist Abdelbased al Megrahi, released by Scotland. In the same interview, the Colonel said he hoped for the beginning of a “new era” in the relationship with the US, led by President Barack Obama. During his rambling speech at the UN on Wednesday, Gaddafi called Mr. Obama “a son of Africa”. The Libyan leader, who was in full flow during his UN speech, accusing the Security Council of being “a terrorist organization”, got on his high horse like a consummate politician during a meeting with the experts of the New York Council on Foreign Relations, one of the most influential Think Tanks on foreign politics in the US. Afterwards, at the head offices of the Libyan embassy to the UN, he faced US media: on top of the interview with Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper, Gaddafi was also interviewed by Time Magazine. “Following an input for our American friends and others, we spoke with Iran and North Korea to dissuade them from pursuing a nuclear programme, following Libyan example. And guess what they said? That what Libya got in exchange was not enough,” said Gaddafi in his interview to Time. Libya gave up its nuclear weapon programme in 2003 and Gaddafi said that “the US have the responsibility to reward and encourage” all the countries that will do the same “so that they will have the resources to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes”. Meanwhile, in the US, following dispute on Megrahi’s welcoming in Tripoli, opposition is growing against aid granted to Libya after its change of position, six years ago. Under pressures from Congress, the State Department announced that it is now reconsidering the decision to allocate 2.5 million USD as aid to Libya, which also include funding of two foundations belonging to the Colonel’s son.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Your Choice: Get Off the Couch or Socialism
The big government tax-and-spend liberals are happy with this irrefutable government power grab of our liberties, while too many conservatives at heart are just sitting on the couch. And since the mainstream media is not connecting the dots about what is really happening, here are some recent examples:
The “Cap & Trade & Tax & Kill” bill was passed in the House of Representatives under the false premise of a global warming crisis. Only eight Republicans voted for this bill, and none of the 211 Democrats read the bill before voting in favor of the bill.
The president and the Democrat-controlled Congress are attempting to confiscate total control of our nation’s health-care system using often disputed and misleading information, while claiming the end result will not be socialized medicine. This claim has been repeatedly shown to be false by dozens of organizations and hundreds of writers.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus attempted to silence the private insurance company Humana Inc. for daring to criticize one part of his proposed health-care bill. (Baucus Bludgeons Humana). This is both an abuse of power through intimidation and a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
France: UNESCO Leader’s Victory ‘Bridges Gap Between East and West’
Rome, 28 Sept. (AKI) — The newly-elected director general at the United Nation’s Educational Scientific and Cultural organisation or UNESCO, Irina Bokova said that despite Italy not supporting her candidacy, her victory was “symbolic” of an end to divisions between east and western Europe. Bokova, Bulgaria’s former foreign minister, is also the first woman and eastern European to lead UNESCO.
“I think it is symbolic that on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, we can celebrate the reunification of Europe, and I think this is an extremely positive signal that a person from eastern Europe is elected to head UNESCO,” said Bokova in an interview with Adnkronos.
“People in eastern Europe know a lot about reforms and social change. Coming from a (former) communist system, perhaps we are even more attached to the values of freedom and human rights…and I will commit myself to promote these values at UNESCO.”
In regard to Italy not supporting her candidacy, Bokova (photo) said it is time to “turn the page”.
“It is important now that we close that chapter and turn the page,” Bokova told Adnkronos, indirectly replying to Italy’s foreign minister Franco Frattini who had previously said he felt “saddened” for the defeat of controversial Egyptian candidate Farouk Hosny, who narrowly lost the election to Bokova by 31 votes to 27.
“I would have probably also felt disappointed if I wouldn’t have won, but it is now time for us to work together,” she said. Her election, however, must still be confirmed by UNESCO’s general assembly.
Italy’s choice for director general of UNESCO, Farouk Hosny, was marred by controversy after he made controversial remarks regarding Israel as well as his support for the Palestinian cause. Previous to the vote, Hosny apologised for the provocative statements he made attacking Israel.
In May 2008, 71 year-old Hosny is reported to have told an Egyptian parliamentarian that he would burn any Hebrew-language textbooks found in the library and cultural centre at Alexandria.
Hosny reiterated his support for the Palestinian people and the “suffering and injustice” they have suffered.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France Seeks to Woo Islamic Investments
The French parliament this month has approved changes to legislation to allow Islamic “sukuk” bonds to be issued and the Qatar Islamic Bank has applied to be the first such bank to open in France.
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, France is hoping to unseat London as the European hub for Islamic banking, offering products that comply with Sharia law and meet the needs of big investors mostly from Gulf countries.
But the drive is raising hackles, with some opposition politicians accusing the government of undermining France’s much prized secularism to accommodate wealthy interests.
“When rich Muslims are concerned, we welcome them. But when they are poor, we put them on planes and deport them. This is all very upsetting,” said Socialist deputy Henri Emmanuelli.
After failing to garner enough votes to derail the bill, the Socialist opposition is challenging the legality of the new legislation on Islamic finance before the Constitutional Council.
“We must not allow principles of Sharia law, or the ethics of the Quran to be introduced into French law,” said Emmanuelli.
Under Sharia law, making money from money such as charging interest is not permitted and investment in companies involved in alcohol, gambling and tobacco is strictly off limits.
“Sukuk” bonds
Much of the debate has focused on opening up the French market to “sukuk” bonds, which are asset-based and do not pay interest. Investors receive coupons corresponding to part of the profits earned by the asset underpinning the bond.
Economists argue that money raised through Islamic finance could help spur France’s nascent recovery with tools that are seen as financially sounder than the high-risk derivatives that led to the 2008 global meltdown.
Elyes Jouini, an author of a report presented to the government last year, estimates that France could tap into 120 billion euros in capital from Islamic finance by making adjustments to its tax and banking laws.
Only €7 billion of those would be raised domestically among France’s five million Muslims.
“There are extremely important financial reserves in Gulf countries and southeast Asia and these countries are ready to invest anywhere but they have specific rules in terms of ethics and in terms of the choice of investment,” said Jouini.
“If France wants to attract this capital to its economy, it must offer the possibility for these investors to do so according to the rules of Islamic finance,” he said.
Fear of the unknown
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Central Bank governor Christian Noyer are to address a major conference in Paris this week that could yield some announcements on promoting Islamic finance in the French economy.
France’s far-right National Front has denounced Islamic finance as a “community-based peril” resulting from immigration.
Jouini said opposition to the changes stems from “fear of the unknown.”
“The term Islamic is confused with Islamist, the term Sharia raises fears because some think of women forced to cover themselves, the word fatwa raises fears because some think of Salman Rushdie, but a fatwa is nothing more than a decree,” said Jouini.
“Islamic finance draws from the ethical principles of Muslim law but it obviously obeys Republican laws. It is not outside the boundaries of legality or civil society,” he said.
The drive to open up to Islamic finance came as a parliament task force was looking at measures to ban the wearing of the full Islamic veil in France, reviving controversy over Islam’s place there.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
France: Huge ‘Play-Shopping’ Centre Built in Montpellier
(ANSAmed) — ROME, SEPTEMBER 24 — The shopping centre Odysseum, a structure over a surface area of 50,000 square metres at the edge of Montpellier (southern France), was inaugurated yesterday and today will opening its doors to the public. Inside the Odysseum, called by the president of the Montpellier community (city and suburbs) a “play-shopping” centre and the one of its kind in Europe, includes a hypermarket, 96 shops, a cinema complex with 17 screens, a bowling hall, a skating track, an aquarium and several restaurants. According to Freche, the shopping centre, which cost about 110 million euros, plus 50 million for the hypermarket, is expected to go from 6 million to 12 million customers per year, a forecast which is giving rise to concerns on the part of small shop owners in Montpellier.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Fresh Doubts Over Hitler’s Death After Tests on Bullet Hole Skull Reveal it Belonged to a Woman
Adolf Hitler may not have shot himself dead and perhaps did not even die in his bunker, it emerged yesterday.
A skull fragment believed for decades to be the Nazi leader’s has turned out to be that of a woman under 40 after DNA analysis.
Scientists and historians had long thought it to be conclusive proof that Hitler shot himself in the head after taking a cyanide pill on 30 April 1945 rather than face the ignominy of capture.
[…]
But DNA analysis has now been performed on the bone by American researchers.
‘We know the skull corresponds to a woman between the ages of 20 and 40,’ said University of Connecticut archeologist Nick Bellantoni.
‘The bone seemed very thin; male bone tends to be more robust. And the sutures where the skull plates come together seemed to correspond to someone under 40.’ Hitler was 56 in April 1945.
Mr Bellantoni flew to Moscow to take DNA swabs at the State Archive and was also shown the bloodstained remains of the bunker sofa on which Hitler and Braun were believed to have killed themselves.
‘I had the reference photos the Soviets took of the sofa in 1945 and I was seeing the exact same stains on the fragments of wood and fabric in front of me, so I knew I was working with the real thing,’ he said.
His astonishing results have been broadcast in the U.S. in a History Channel documentary titled Hitler’s Escape.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-Serbia: Importance of Strategic Collaboration, Urso
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 24 — The strategic importance of economic and trade collaboration between Italy and Serbia was stressed by Deputy Economic Development Minister in charge of Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, speaking today in Belgrade at a Forum on ‘Investment opportunities in Serbia’. “I personally and the Italian government have always believed in the strategic importance of Serbia economically, but also politically and culturally,” said Urso at the start of the conference. The Deputy Economic Development Minister arrived to Belgrade leading a numerous delegation of businesspeople and economists. Their objective is to strengthen cooperation with Serbian groups and agencies mainly in the energy, infrastructure, and food and agricultural sectors. The forum is particularly important in view of the first Italian-Serbian joint inter-governmental summit scheduled to take place in Rome on November 13. “In the past three years, trade has more than doubled, and investments and the presence of Italian businesses in Serbia has grown,” stressed Urso, who cited Fiat’s positive results in particular, which “quadrupled its presence” in the Balkan state despite the economic crisis. Italy is Serbia’s third trading partner after Russia and Germany. In 2008 trade totalled 2.2 billion euros. Deputy Minister Urso, who met with Serbian Economic Minister Mladjan Dinic and in the afternoon will also meet with Premier Mirko Cvetkovic and Trade Minister Slobodan Milosavljevic, will also visit the technological and industrial park in Vrsac tomorrow, not far from the Romanian border, where businesses in Emilia Romagna, the Veneto, and Friuli are interested in investing. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Makes Fresh Obama ‘Sun-Tan Gaffe’
Milan, 28 Sept. (AKI) — Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has made a new gaffe about the Obamas’ skin colour, after telling a group of supporters that the wife of US president Barack Obama, Michelle, is also “sun-tanned”.
“You will not believe it, but the two of them went to get a tan, because the wife is also tanned,” said the prime minister, who made the remarks in Milan at a rally of conservative supporters of his People of Freedom party (PdL) on Sunday.
“I bring greetings from what’s his name?…some tanned guy. Ah, Barack Obama,” Berlusconi said.
The 72-year-old Berlusconi made international headlines after the US presidential election in November last year when he said Obama was “young, good-looking and suntanned.”
Last week, Michelle Obama greeted global leaders with a kiss at the G20 summit being held in the northeastern US city of Pittsburgh, but when her husband introduced her to Berlusconi, she held out her arm for a handshake.
The Italian premier who was attending the G20 summit in the American city of Pittsburgh, held out his arms and looked at her admiringly. (photo)
Berlusconi, a billionaire media mogul, has recently been in the headlines after questions were raised about his sex life.
He has in recent months been at the centre of allegations that prostitutes attended parties at his homes in Rome and in Sardinia and that he slept with 42-year-old escort Patrizia D’Addario last November.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Milan Magistrates Accuse Google of Concealing Data
Public prosecutor says information was removed in violation of law. Google’s reply: “We decide what to disclose”
MILAN — What if there’s a kidnapping, a ransom request arrives by computer, fax or mobile phone over one of Google’s email services, and magistrates ask the US-based company for data traffic details? Not even in that case would the company guarantee collaboration, Google Inc. writes in a letter to the Milan public prosecutor’s office. Even “in the presence of specific emergency circumstances involving an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury”, replies Google’s deputy general counsel for legal affairs, Google Inc. takes it upon itself to subject to its “own discretion” any communication of information requested by the judicial authorities. In any case, the company claims that it does not store such data for more than 30 days and, for the electronic identifier can links an account to an individual, it restricts communication in European Union countries.
There’s a trial of strength going on between Google and Italian magistrates. In the front line is Milan, where legal action for defamation is under way against Google’s Italian executives regarding footage on Google Video that shows a youngster with Down’s syndrome being harassed by four students in Turin. At the heart of the dispute are two interpretations of the concept of “web citizenship”: “no server no law” (under which Italy has no jurisdiction unless servers are physically present on Italian territory); and “no server but law” (jurisdiction belongs not to countries where servers are located, of which there may be several, but to the country in which the services are offered).
Last spring, the Milan public prosecutor’s office asked Google Inc. to clarify the procedures and policies it applies on the issue. The reply has now been communicated in a letter to all Milan-based public prosecutors by assistant public prosecutor Corrado Carnevali, who describes it as “non-compliant with Italian law in several respects”.
For example, Google conserves account@gmail data for only 30 days, which Carnevali writes “has no justification in law and is by reason of its brevity evidently prejudicial to computer examinations for investigative purposes”. Instead of 30 days, Italian law requires traffic data to be stored for 12 months (legislative decree no.109 dated 30 May 2008, implementing EC directive 2006/24). In the view of the Milan magistrates, Google Inc. should be “subject to Italian regulations since it addresses its services to Italian and EC citizens, among others”.
The public prosecutor’s office also views as “equally incomprehensible and without any basis in law” “Google’s policy of restricting communication of the IP address associated with the subscriber where this does not relate to an EU country, since it is common knowledge that any citizen, Italian or not, can utilise hacked machines located in non-EU countries for criminal purposes. This, too, is prejudicial to computer examinations for investigative purposes”.
But the most audacious aspect is Google’s statement that it will take at its “own discretion” any decision on whether to communicate data to magistrates even “in the presence of specific emergency circumstances involving an imminent danger of death”. In his letter, public prosecutor Carnevali makes note of the point “with profound dismay”.
Luigi Ferrarella
28 settembre 2009
English translation by Giles Watson
www.watson.it
Article in Italian
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Migration Board Firing of Pro-Israel Blogger ‘Violated Constitution’
Sweden’s Parliamentary Ombudsman (Justitieombudsmannen — JO) has rapped the Migration Board (Migrationsverket) over its controversial reassignment of Lennart Eriksson, an employee who had voiced pro-Israeli opinions on his personal blog.
The action taken against Eriksson constituted a violation of his freedom of speech — and freedom of opinion, according to the Ombudsman.
“The constitutional protection of freedom of speech means that, amongst other things, the public may not take action against any individual who has exercised their freedom of speech. There are no grounds for an exception in this case,” the Ombudsman wrote.
In 2007, Eriksson was reassigned following a decision by his new supervisor, Eugène Palmér, who objected to Eriksson’s pro-Israeli opinions and vocal admiration for the US army general George S. Patton.
Palmér suggested that, given Patton’s “broken loyalties to his superiors,” significant doubts had been raised as to Eriksson’s trustworthiness.
In accordance with Palmér’s decision, Eriksson was first reassigned, and later fired.
The Ombudsman has openly criticized Eriksson’s boss, asserting that “there were no legally viable grounds for the course of action Eugène Palmér decided upon.”
Building upon the ombudsman’s critique, Eriksson has also pointed the finger at the Director General for the Migration Board, Dan Eliasson.
“In light of the JO’s decision, the government should now dismiss Dan Eliasson. No administrative authority should have a boss who allows for violations of the constitution,” Eriksson wrote on his blog.
The Mölndal District Court ruled in November of last year that Eriksson’s demotion was invalid and that the Migration Board should pay damages in the amount of 100,000 kronor ($14,200).
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Arson Suspected in Södertälje Blaze
Arson is suspected in a powerful fire which ravaged the offices of the Assyrian cultural and athletic association (Assyriska föreningen) in Södertälje early Monday morning.
Around 25 firefighters from five stations were called in to help battle the fire.
According to a statement released by the greater Stockholm fire service, firefighters were able to limit the flames to a smaller section of the building, located in the city’s Hovsjö industrial area.
A preliminary investigation into aggravated arson has been launched, said Roger Kämpe, a commander with the Stockholm police, to the TT news agency.
“There are eye-witness accounts indicating that the fire started on the roof of the building,” he said.
Firefighters were called around 2am on Monday morning, and continued to battle the blaze into the daylight hours.
“The fire is now under control by we have people who continue to work with the final extinction of the fire,” Sandra Danielsson of the Södertörn fire service told TT.
“One wing was totally destroyed as was a part of the building closest to it. But the main section the so-called Green House, is still intact.”
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Police ‘Knew of Helicopter Heist Plans’
Swedish police had been forewarned by counterparts in Serbia about plans to rob a Stockholm cash depot, according to media reports. Six people have been taken into custody for their suspected involvement in the crime.
Serbian police told the Aftonbladet newspaper they aware of plans to rob the Västberga cash depot and alerted Swedish police that a coup was imminent.
“We gave them everything that was needed to stop the robbery,” Serbian Chief of Police, Milorad Veljovic, told the newspaper.
“We really did everything in our power short of going to Sweden and stopping the robbery ourselves.”
A police source confirmed for TT that Swedish police had received a tip regarding the planned robbery from the Serbian police, but rejected the assumption that they had neglected the information.
According to the information provided, the robbery was due to take place a week earlier. At that time Swedish police were closely monitoring the robbers in an operation referred to as KKP 4.
The operation entailed monitoring a number of different cash depots and temporarily moving police helicopters from the police heliport at Myttinge on Värmdo to another location.
“But because nothing happened, the operation was called off. Then it happened anyway, only later on,” the source said.
Police helicopters at the Myttinge heliport were subsequently unable to respond when the robbery took place on Wednesday morning of last week because of fake bomb had been placed near the hangar.
On Sunday, Swedish police took a total of six people into custody for their suspected involvement the robbery.
The suspects include a 34-year-old from Norrtälje, a 38-year-old from Stockholm, a 36-year-old man from Enskede in southern Stockholm, a 31-year-old man from Hägersten and a 29-year-old man from Norsborg, south of Stockholm.
All are suspected of aggravated robbery for their role in the Hollywood-style robbery at the G4S cash depot in Västberga south of Stockholm early Wednesday morning.
A 21-year-old man from Bagarmossen has also been taken into custody on suspicions of being an accessory to grand robbery, according to documents submitted to the Södertorn District Court.
The 34-year-old suspect is a former student of Roslagen Helikopterflyg, a Swedish helicopter training academy in Norrtälje, north of Stockholm.
“He completed his education here around fifteen years ago, but he has never worked for us,” said head instructor Christer Öhlund to the TT news agency.
According to Öhlund, the 34-year-old only attained a private flying certificate. He does not have certification to fly as a professional pilot.
The man has had regular contact with the training academy, routinely hiring a helicopter for private flights. The last time he did so was in summer of this year.
According to flight instructor, the school was planning to hire the suspect as a photographer for the company, but the plans were never carried out.
Öhlund was shocked to discover that the man was being held on suspicions of involvement in the robbery.
“I don’t think he’s guilty. I can’t imagine that he could have done this. He’s just too nice and personable to have carried out such a thing,” he said.
Attorney Leif Silbersky is defending the 34-year-old and hinted at how his client was feeling following his arrest.
“A person never feels good when they are arrested and consider themselves to be completely innocent,” he said.
Interrogations have been held for the suspects, according to the National Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen).
The Swedish police remain tight-lipped regarding any additional information, and refuse to reveal whether the suspect knew one another before the robbery was carried out.
District prosecutor Leif Görts is due to announce on Wednesday at noon whether he plans to request that the suspects be remanded in custody.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Council Hires Hoodie Spies to Rummage Through Bins and See What is Being Thrown Away
Worried residents thought their rubbish was being stolen when council ‘spies’ dressed in hoodies started rifling through their bins.
Concerned neighbours saw mysterious men emptying their bins into black sacks and loading them into an unmarked white van.
When homeowners questioned the official binmen an hour later they learned their council was conducting a survey of what was being thrown away.
The ‘spies’ were part of a week-long waste analysis study by the Northamptonshire Waste Partnership, a collaboration of eight local authorities working to reduce rubbish going to landfill. An external contractor was told to go through the bins of residents.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Ed Balls Spends £3m on Office Makeover… Including Massage Room and Muslim Prayer Area
A ‘contemplation suite’ and an area set aside for Muslim prayer have been installed as part of a major makeover of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Designer furniture was shipped over from Italy for the office refit, while black granite surface tops have been laid in the kitchen areas.
The most costly expense was a grand staircase made from glass and surgical steel. Its price tag is understood to have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A gym, four lifts, six meeting rooms with high-tech conference equipment and two cafes have plumped up the bill for the two-year project to £3m.
News of the makeover comes as Mr Balls prepares to cut £2billion from the country’s schools budget, meaning jobs will be slashed across the education system.
Sources at the department last night claimed that the changes have come about after two buildings were merged into one, saving £13m a year.
They also sought to down-play the extravagance, describing the massage room as a small ‘sport treatment room’ and pointing out that the gym is subscription-only.
But critics condemned such spending during the downturn as ‘appalling frills’.
And one employee at the Government department compared the newly-refurbished offices in Great Smith Street, London, with a luxury cruise ship.
The worker told the Sun: ‘Parents will be stunned to find the department is cutting cash for teachers and school books while staff are working in five-star luxury.
‘It doesn’t look like an office, it looks like a luxury cruise liner.’
Last week Mr Balls became the first minister to detail cost-cutting plans after 2011 by suggesting comprehensive schools could economise by forming federations.
Up to 3,000 headmasters and deputies face the axe under the proposals.
Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘It is appalling that with taxpayers struggling to make ends meet, record national debt and children leaving school unable to read, these bureaucrats have been splashing our cash on luxury offices.
‘The first thing that needs to be cut are the excessive perks and lavish furnishings that ministers use our taxes for.’
A DCSF spokesman said: ‘The refurbishments were done to enable us to merge two London locations and therefore save millions of taxpayer pounds.
‘In fact the costs of the work were made back within just 12 months through better use of space such as desk sharing.
‘This has also allowed us to move other groups of public servants into the building to save yet more money to the taxpayer.’
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Jedi Religion Founder Accuses Tesco of Discrimination Over Rules on Hoods
Daniel Jones says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following incident at store in Wales
Tesco has been accused of religious discrimination after the company ordered the founder of a Jedi religion to remove his hood or leave a branch of the supermarket in north Wales.
Daniel Jones, founder of the religion inspired by the Star Wars films, says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following the incident at a Tesco store in Bangor.
The 23-year-old, who founded the International Church of Jediism, which has 500,000 followers worldwide, was told the hood flouted store rules.
But the grocery empire struck back, claiming that the three best known Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies — Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker — all appeared in public without their hoods. Jones, from Holyhead, who is known by the Jedi name Morda Hehol, said his religion dictated that he should wear the hood in public places and is considering legal action against the chain.
“It states in our Jedi doctrination that I can wear headwear. It just covers the back of my head,” he said.
“You have a choice of wearing headwear in your home or at work but you have to wear a cover for your head when you are in public.”
He said he’d gone to the store to buy something to eat during his lunch break when staff approached him and ordered him to the checkout where they explained he would have to remove the offending hood or leave the store.
“They said: ‘Take it off’, and I said: ‘No, its part of my religion. It’s part of my religious right.’ I gave them a Jedi church business card.
“They weren’t listening to me and were rude. They had three people around me. It was intimidating.” Jones, who has made an official complaint to Tesco, is considering a boycott of the store and is seeking legal advice.
Tesco said: “He hasn’t been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.
“If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they’ll miss lots of special offers.”
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Mark of Madness: Police Refuse to Show Suspect’s Birthmark in ID Parade… Because of His Human Rights
When Tracy Ryan spotted a suspected burglar emerging from the dog sanctuary where she works, she thought she would have little problem pointing him out to police.
After all, he had a large port-wine stain on his face.
But when police set up an identity parade, they refused to take the man’s distinctive birthmark into account — in case it infringed his human rights.
An officer from the Nottinghamshire force explained that the mark was too rare to be included in a profile of the burglar when it was entered into a computer database.
It would leave only a small pool of potential suspects in the electronic ID parade, he said, breaking police rules.
Under laws designed to take into account ‘the rights and freedoms of the public’, witnesses must be shown a minimum of 12 photographs before they are allowed to identify a suspect.
These are selected from a database of people who have passed through custody in Nottinghamshire, in the hope that the burglar is already known to police.
Because only a handful of people on a database had a birthmark or port-wine stain, the characteristic gave fewer than 12 results.
The characteristic was subsequently removed and the search was broadened.
This forced Mrs Ryan, 39, to examine the faces of 93 suspects, none of which she recognised.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Tell Mother Attacked by Yobs at Home: ‘We Won’t Send Anyone… It May Escalate the Problem’
A mother who was punched to the floor in her own home by yobs was stunned when police advised her not to call officers to her house — because it would ‘escalate’ the problem.
Nikki Collen, 39, begged officers for help after a thug kicked in her front door and punched her to the floor in her hallway.
After her attacker fled, Nikki rang Warwickshire Police who promised to send an officer to her home in Kenilworth.
But an hour later she received a phone call from a woman police officer who told her it would be better if police did not attend because it might inflame the situation.
Mother-of-two Nikki, who is studying an Open University degree in nursing, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it.
‘I was attacked and wanted to report it but the officer was persuading me not to press charges.
‘She even told me that if the bullies saw a police officer at my home it could escalate the problem further.
‘I was so scared I asked what I should do and she told me to try and sort it out on my own. I was really upset and felt really alone.
‘It’s a horrendous way to live and has got to the stage where I fear going out because of the abuse I will get.
‘I can’t cope with it and need some help from authorities. I’ve just had enough and need to move. Why should I put up with this?’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Schoolgirl,14, Dies After Being Given Cervical Cancer Jab
A 14-year-old schoolgirl died hours after being given the controversial cervical cancer vaccine today.
The teenager from Blue Coat Church of England School, in Coventry, died in hospital after receiving the Cervarix jab.
The tragedy marks the first reported death since more than 1.5m doses of the injection were given to young girls as part of a national vaccination programme since last September in the UK.
A number of her classmates have reported side effects to the vaccine.
Critics say the case highlights the risks of mass vaccination, because no testing regime can ever pick up the rarest and potentially most lethal side effects.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Thug Who Murdered Father of Three Boasts About His ‘Cushy’ Life Inside Prison on Facebook
A violent thug who stamped and kicked a father of three to death is boasting about his ‘cushy’ life behind bars on Facebook.
Mark Elliott, 22, was part of a gang of feral youths who savagely attacked Mark Witherall ‘like a pack of hyenas’ after he caught them burgling his house.
The 47-year-old builder suffered massive internal injuries and died in hospital five weeks after the drink and drug-fuelled attack.
[…]
His frequent updates have angered the victim’s family who have complained several times to police and prison authorities, but officials say they are powerless to remove the profile from the social networking site.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fiat: New Model From Serbian Factories Announced
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE — The announcement of further Fiat investments for the production of a new model in the factories at Kragujevac, and the signing of an agreement that provides for investments in Serbia from the entire chain of the Italian automobile industry were the central moments of the visit, yesterday in Belgrade, of the deputy Minister of Economic Development, in charge of foreign trade, Adolfo Urso. Urso arrived in the Serbian capital at the head of a large delegation of some 100 Italian businessmen, with whom he spoke at the forum on investment opportunities in Serbia which took place at the seat of the Central Bank of Serbia. The visit assumed particular importance in light of the first ever inter-government summit between Italy and Serbia that will take place in Rome on November 13, and represents yet another signal of support for the integration of Serbia. Opening the conference, Urso stressed the importance of economic and commercial collaboration between Italy and Serbia, a country, he said, that occupies a strategic position in the centre of the Balkans, intersecting European corridors 10 and 7. Speaking at the forum, the Serbian economic minister, Mladjan Dinkic, announced that in 3 to 6 weeks, Fiat will begin in the factories at Kragujevac (central Serbia) the project for a new model of car, with an investment of 800 million euros. “Upon the invitation of Sergio Marchionne, November 13, together with president Boris Tadic, I will be in Turin for the presentation of the new Fiat model”, Dinkic stated, insisting on the advantages that Serbia offers in terms of export, the only country in the region with a free trade regime with other countries of the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and some of the countries of the former Soviet Union like Russia and Belarus. Those who produce in Serbia, he observed can export without taxes to these countries, a market of some 800 million people. With Dinkic, Adolfo Urso signed yet another important agreement opening the way to investments in Serbia from the entire Italian automotive sector. Today Urso, who also met with Serbian Premier Mirko Cvetkovic and ministers of trade Slobodan Milosavljevic and infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic, will visit the industrial and technological park in Vrsac, not far from the border with Romania, where many Italian companies are interested in investing. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Finmeccanica: Selex Sistemi, 6.4-Mln Euro Contract in Serbia
(ANSAmed) — MILAN, SEPTEMBER 22 — Selex Sistemi Integrati, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, obtained a 6.4-million euro contract for the river Information Service (RIS) on the stretch of the Danube that crosses Serbia, as team leader of a temporary association of businesses with Periskal Doo (Serbia) and Tresco Cvba (Belgium). The River Information System in Serbia, launched and financed by the EU, is the first river traffic monitoring system. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Foreign Trade: Urso, Mission in Serbia With 100 Firms
(ANSAmed) — ROME, SEPTEMBER 23 — Some 100 ‘Made in Italy’ firms will tomorrow be represented in Serbia. The delegation will be led by the vice minister for Economic Development with the foreign trade portfolio, Adolfo Urso. The aim, reads a note from the ministry, is to tighten new partnerships with Serbian companies, above all in the sectors of energy, infrastructure and industrial agriculture. The order for the day also includes developments for the car industry after the recent deal signed by Fiat in Belgrade for the control of Zastava. The following are taking part in the delegation: ICE, SIMEST, FINEST, CONFAPI and ANCE. The mission will conclude on Friday at the Vrsac industrial and technological park, where firms from the regions of Emilia Romagna, Friuli and the Veneto are interested in investing. Italy is in third place in terms of trade with Serbia, after Russia and Germany. Total trade in 2008 was equal to 2.2 billion euros, with a positive balance of 700 million for the Italian economy. The mission also anticipates the first Italian-Serbian intergovernmental summit on November 13. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Intesa Bank Approves 195 Million Euros of Credits
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 23 — Intesa Bank in Serbia announced that it approved 195 million euros of credits in the first eight months of this year, 120 million euros of which were approved for entrepreneurs, reports VIP Daily News Report. A member of the bank’s Executive Board Dejan Tesic said that the bank approved 32,000 loans for the population in eight months, worth 75 million euros, and 10,000 loans for entrepreneurs, agencies reported.(ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Minister Announces Larger Export of Weapons
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 23 — Serbia Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said that this year, thanks to new contracts, the export of military equipment and weapons from Serbia would be larger than that of the last year that was USD 400 millions worth, reports Tanjug news agency. “Thanks to quality products, Serbian military industry returned to the world market through huge door and until the end of the year we are to conclude several other important export arrangements”, Sutanovac said after meeting between representatives of the Defense Ministry, directors of six factories that manufacture military equipment and weapons and Jugoimport SDPR company. “Only few years back, all of these factories were in a serious situation with modest business. That is why I am requesting from their management today to respect the concluded contracts in view of quality and delivery dynamics. There shall be no understanding for or support to those acting contrary to that. The Iraqi market is of special importance for us”, Sutanovac said.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Bosnian Convicted of War Crimes
Belgrade, 28 Sept. (AKI) — A Serbian court on Monday convicted a former Bosnian security officer to 12 years in prison for ordering a 1992 attack on a Yugoslav army convoy in which at least 50 soldiers were killed. According to the indictment, Ilija Jurisic, ordered an attack on soldiers who were withdrawing in the predominantly Muslim Bosnian city of Tuzla, despite an agreement between authorities that they could leave the city peacefully.
The trial of Ilija Jurisic at the Serbian war crimes court has strained relations between Bosnia and Serbia.
Bosnian officials had claimed the proceedings were staged and politically motivated and demanded his release.
The court said in its verdict that the Bosnian troops first killed the truck drivers with sniper fire, and then fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at the vehicles.
Bosnian authorities have maintained that the Yugoslav soldiers fired first during the pullout arranged between Belgrade and Sarajevo.
They said the Bosnian troops acted in self-defence in one of the bloodiest clashes during the opening days of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Jurisic, who was arrested at Belgrade airport two years ago, had maintained his innocence during the highly publicised trial.
His defence lawyer Djordje Dozet called the verdict “scandalous” and claimed that the court did not establish that Jurisic issued the order to attack.
Fifty one soldiers were killed and at least 50 wounded in the attack in May 1992.
During the trial, Jurisic admitted to having ordered the attack on the army convoy, but said he was acting on the orders of his superiors. Jurisic was at the time a senior Bosnian police official.
Jurisic said he was a victim of a “political trial” and his defence lawyers demanded an acquittal.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Nuclear: Algeria Has 29,000 Tonnes of Uranium Reserves
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, SEPTEMBER 24 — Algeria’s uranium reserves amount to a total of 29,000 tonnes, an “insufficient” quantity to develop a peaceful national nuclear energy programme, said Algerian Energy Minister, Chakib Khelil, specifying that a law on developing nuclear energy will be presented in Parliament in the coming weeks. “Currently, Algeria has 29,000 tonnes of uranium reserves that can be used,” added Khelil, quoted by APS; “a quantity that would only allow two nuclear power plants to function with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each for 60 years”. Therefore, he concluded, “it is necessary to increase reserves by starting an exploration and discovery programme for new deposits. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Terrorism: Morocco, 24 People Arrested
(ANSAmed) — RABAT, SEPTEMBER 25 — Twenty-four persons have been arrested by Morocco’s security forces across the country on charges of forming part of a terrorist network specialised in recruiting volunteers to send to Iraq as suicide bombers, or to join Al Qaeda guerrillas in Somalia and Afghanistan. According to a press release issued by the Interior Ministry, the accused persons, who are said to have worked together with affiliates living in Sweden, Belgium and in the area between Syria and Iraq, sent around twenty aspiring suicide bombers from these countries into Iraq, adding a dozen Moroccan recruits to their numbers. According to the MAP press agency, the accusations run that the arrested persons were planning attacks in Morocco and had been awaiting Al Qaeda explosives specialists for the purpose. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Settlements: Israel, Another Small Batch of Permits
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, SEPTEMBER 23 — Over the last few hours, the Israeli government granted planning permissions for a further 37 home units in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, to be added to the 455 unfrozen over the last couple of days, prior to a hypothetical moratorium which is so far only on paper. The news was announced by YNet, the online edition of newspaper Yediot Ahronot. YNet points out that the action occurred at the same time as the New York meeting of US President Barack Obama, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen): during the meeting Obama once again urged Israel to “contain” building activities in the settlements, to promote the resumption of the peace process, even though he avoided using the more radical term “freeze”, which had been used so far. The 37 planning permissions were signed (for competence) by the Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, who is part of the delegation to the New York meeting and leader of the dwindling Labour appendage in the right-wing majority government led by Netanyahu. The planning permission concerns previously defined projects in the Karnei Shomron settlement, and the local administration expressed satisfaction on the go-ahead, stressing that it has been promised further permissions by Barak for a new block of houses destined to the family of an army officer, captain Bnaya Rayan, killed in 2006 during the second war with Lebanon. In the meantime, Israeli peace movement ‘Peace Now’ condemned the government’s action and accused Barak of “acting as a contractor on behalf of the settlers’ movement”. The new planning permissions, despite being only a limited number, represent a further blow “to the possibility (of a peace agreement with he Palestinians based on) of two states”, said the leader of ‘Peace Now’ Yaarive Oppenheimer, accusing the present Israeli government of “unilaterally destroying any chance of peace” and “putting at risk the relationship with the US”. The Netanyahu Cabinet has so far resisted pressure for the US and the international community to stop the Jewish settlement in the West Bank (were 300,000 settlers already live) and in East Jerusalem (over 200,000 people), which is a prerequisite laid down by the PNA to start again with the peace negotiations and which is also provided for in the agreements signed by both parts back in 2003, with the mediating effort of US, EU, Russia and UN, as part of the Road Map plan. During the talks prior to yesterday’s meeting, the Israeli premier only made concessions on the hypothesis of a temporary moratorium, only limited to the West Bank area, by the rightwing of the coalition and even his own party (Likud) openly protested against this possibility — in full agreement with the settlers’ movement. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Trilateral: Israel Relief, Palestinians Disappointed
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM, SEPTEMBER 23 — The Israeli Government has breathed a sigh of relief, while the Palestinians were disappointed after the trilateral meeting yesterday between US President Barak Obama, Israeli Premier Benyamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). The positions of the Israelis and the Palestinians remain distant, along with their interpretations of the resumption of the peace process: for Premier Benyamin Netanyahu it will be with no prior conditions, whereas the Palestinians say that dialogue will not resume without a clear prior agreement by Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and the freezing of all building activity in the settlements in the occupied territories. Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, described the meeting itself, and the decision to resume peace talks “without prior conditions” as a positive act. The absence of conditions, said Nir Hefez, spokesman for Netanyahu, is a cause for satisfaction for the Premier. Lieberman warned that “long and complex” negotiations were to be expected, and that people “should not wait for a solution to the conflict with a stopwatch in their hands”. Former negotiator and advisor to Premier Ariel Sharon, Dov Weisglass, shared this view, saying in an article which appeared today in Yedioth Ahronoth that i”the gap between the two sides is unbridgeable in the foreseeable future, since the most Israel is prepared to concede is below the minimum which the Palestinians are prepared to accept”. Furthermore, Israel currently considers Iran’s nuclear programme to be its priority, seen as a threat to Israel’s existence. The Palestinian issue seems to take a lower position. The Israeli press referred to i”a frozen summit”, Obama’s growing impatience over the reluctance of Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, who were warned that the peace process would go ahead “with or without them”, according to the Maariv press agency. According to public opinion, Mahmoud Abbas is in a difficult position, going back to his country without a visible result, and rather an apparent withdrawal of the USA’s request for a complete freeze in the settlements, which was rejected by Israel, and has now been reduced to simple containment. One of Mahmoud Abbas’ collaborators has also admitted that the trilateral meeting was not productive for the Palestinians, while former minister Nabil Shaat urged the Arab world “not to leave the Palestinians alone to save what is left of the Palestinian land”. The Palestinians’ disappointment seems to be playing into the hands of Hamas, the Islamic movement in power in Gaza, who condemned Mahmoud Abbas’ participation in the meeting. Hamas has denied that Abbas represents the Palestinians, claiming that at most he represents the people who are against his rivals, Al Fatah. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Defense: Turkish Army Orders Extra Chinook Helicopters
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 22 — The Turkish Army has increased its order for Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook transport helicopters from 10 to 14 aircraft, local media reported. A letter of request has been issued to Boeing and a contract is expected to be signed between the parties by mid-2010 via a US foreign military sales programme. Ten transport helicopters will be received by the Turkish Army from Boeing under the US foreign military sales programme along with four CH-47Fs that will be equipped with search and rescue equipment (SAR) to support the army’s special forces operations. Turkish companies will then manufacture extra equipment including communication, navigation and advanced infrared systems, which will then also be installed by the Turkish Aerospace Industries.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Energy: Turkey Eyes Term Extension on Iraq Oil Pipeline Deal
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 22 — Turkey is in talks with Iraq on extending the term of their agreement on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline to 20 years beyond its expiry date, Taner Yildiz, Turkish Minister of Energy, was quoted as saying by local press. “Agreement on the 980 km-long pipeline, which carries crude oil from Iraq’s northern region of Kirkuk to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, expires in mid-2010”, Yildiz said. The Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline is Iraq’s largest crude oil pipeline for exports. Although it has a projected capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day it has never reached this level since its launch in the late 1980s. Yildiz told reporters he is against the idea of launching a new parallel pipeline because the exisiting one will be sufficient to meet needs when used to its full capacity. At present it is only operating at 18% of capacity. The target is to ramp up production to 1 million barrels per day within three to four years. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Energy: Turkey Determined to Build Nuclear Reactor, Minister
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 25 — Turkey’s energy minister expressed Friday determination to continue efforts to build country’s first nuclear power plant, as Anatolia news agency reports today. Atomstroyexport-Inter RAO-Park Teknik, a consortium of Turkish and Russian firms, was the sole bidder in the tender to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant held last year. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said the Turkish government had not made the final decision on the offer and added that November 20-24 was the deadline for government’s assessment. The Turkish government asked the consortium to lower its price to be charged for the electricity from the nuclear plant. The consortium lowered the price but state officials said it was still high. Yildiz said the Turkish government was negotiating the price with officials of the Russian firm. “It is not clear yet. The legal process is still under way. But it does not mean that we could prefer another one,” Yildiz said. In August, Turkish and Russian officials discussed the issue of price cut during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Ankara. Turkey could also take up to 25% stake in the project if a reasonable price was set, Turkish officials had said earlier. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Inconsistent on Peace Process, Human Rights NGOs
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, SEPTEMBER 24 — The position of the EU in recent years on the peace process in the Middle East has not been coherent: this conclusion was contained in a report from a group of 15 European and international NGOs such as Amnesty International and Oxfam, which deal with human rights, humanitarian law, and development. The NGOs analysed the conclusions of various EU Councils of Foreign Ministers on the Middle East, and found at least 9 contradicting points. They have requested a change in course for the next Council of Foreign Ministers on October 27-28. The EU, pointed out the report, is not only Israel’s top trade partner, but also the top donor to the PNA, in addition to being part of the Quartet on the Middle East. The following is a list of 9 points that the report highlighted as inconsistent positions, followed by their recommendations: — INVESTIGATION ON GAZA: The EU failed by not supporting an independent investigation into Operation ‘Cast Lead’, in contrast with other recent conflicts. According to the NGOs, the EU should maintain the same principles, asking that those responsible for human rights and international humanitarian law violations be tried. — BLOCKADE ON GAZA: Why does the EU Council not stress the illegality of the blockade imposed on Gaza as they have done for the settlements? The recommendation to the EU is to explicitly condemn the blockade on Gaza and its violation of international law. — WALL: The EU should return to criticising the construction of a wall in the Palestinian Territories by Israel, something that they have not done since July of 2007 despite the fact that in the UN, all of the member states supported the sentence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). — SETTLEMENTS: A block on the Israeli settlements is not sufficient, it is necessary to ask them to change their policy as they have done in the past, activating cooperation instruments with Israel excluding the settlements. — SETTLER VIOLENCE: The NGOs mention the violence perpetrated by the Israeli settlers, which is “no less serious than the attacks carried out by Palestinians”. The EU should call for the law to be applied in the West Bank to Israeli settlers and Palestinians. — VIOLATIONS BY THE PNA: The recommendation is that the EU condemn the human rights violations both by the PNA and Hamas security forces, and provide support to PNA security forces to respect human rights. — PRISONERS: The EU should express their worries about the 7,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, including 342 minors, and ask for their cases to be revised in accordance with international criteria. — QUARTET PRINCIPLES: Nonviolence, acknowledgement of Israel, and the acceptance of previous obligations and agreements are the three principles requested by the EU that the Palestinian government respect as preconditions for negotiations, while Israel has not been asked to satisfy the same principles. According to the NGOs, the EU should involve both sides without considering principles such as preconditions to negotiations. — WEAPONS: The council has asked for illegal weapons trafficking into Gaza to end, but no restrictions on the arrival of weapons to Israel has been requested. The NGOs call for the EU to revise their position on exports to Israel. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Multiple Attacks Kill Many in Fresh Violence
Baghdad, 28 Sept. (AKI) — Multiple attacks in Iraq have killed at least 10 people and injured several others ending a period of relative calm during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
At least seven police officers were killed and 10 others were wounded on Monday, after a suicide bomber exploded a water tanker rigged with explosives at an Iraqi police station in Kilo, located near the central city of Ramadi.
Media reports said the attack follows a previous attack earlier in the day, when a bomb exploded aboard a minibus travelling from the province of Babel to Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding two others.
Later in western Baghdad, three Iraqi servicemen died and 15 others were injured in a double blast.
The commander of the local army battalion is said to be among the victims.
“This afternoon, three Iraqi servicemen were killed and 15 others, including four soldiers, were wounded when two roadside improvised explosive devices hit an Iraqi army patrol vehicle,” a police source told the Iraqi news agency, Voices of Iraq.
Violence in Iraq jumped in August, with the highest number of violent deaths recorded for more than a year.
Iraqi government figures showed that 393 civilians were killed that month, and about 60 police officers and soldiers.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Two Police Chiefs Had to Resign for Gay Relationship
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 24 — Two police chiefs had to resign after an investigation was launched regarding them after videos showing their gay relationship were revealed, which brought a question into discussion “whether gays could become police officers or not.” As daily Hurriyet reports today, Erzincan Police Academy’s deputy director H.K. resigned on his own will after it was revealed that he had gay relationship with students last February. Also, police chief M.A., who was appointed to Karabuk, resigned after a video showing his gay relationship was revealed. Osman Karakus, the legal adviser to the Security Department, argued that the department, in European Union (EU) adjustment process, should approach gay police officers more moderately. Sevim Salihoglu, the secretary general of the Human Rights Association (IHD), said, “we do not want to see people facing such treatment for their sexual preferences. Sexuality is the own choice of persons like all other choices.” Retired Police Chiefs’ Association reacted to the discussions saying, “the security department cannot endure gay relationship.”(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
All Students in Pakistan’s Schools Required to Study Islam
The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Church of Pakistan criticizes the new guidelines for public education. Concern for the civics books that offer only the Islamic point of view.
Islamabad (AsiaNews) — The new guidelines for school students in Pakistan requires non-Muslims to study Islam and ignore other religious traditions in the country.
The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Church of Pakistan is critical of the National Education Policy 2009, launched September 9 by the government in Islamabad. Mgr. John Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore and chairman of the NCJP, and Peter Jacob, secretary of the Commission are concerned about the often implicit discriminatory and coercive aspects of the new guidelines content.
In a press release issued on 25 September, the two leaders of NCJP point the finger at Chapter 4 of the document, dedicated to Islamic Education. They claim that “If government thinks public education is not possible without a compulsory subject of Islamic Studies and Arabic, then we are forced to demand religious education for Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, etc. in their respective religions”.
The program drawn up by the Government contemplates that Islamiyat (Islamic studies) become compulsory until the 12th class (15 and 16 years). For students that from then on will not want to follow the lessons of Islam attendance of alternative courses of public ethics is permitted, but the Commission notes also on this front the discrimination, though latent, is clear.
The NCJP states that for non-Muslim children who do not attend the Islamiyat class “there is a risk of isolation from the rest of the class”, but not only. The courses in civics and public ethics are based on texts that address issues from the Muslim perspective without considering the traditions of different faiths in the country. They also contain biases, errors and falsehoods about non-Muslim religions.
The Commission urges the government to review the National Education Policy 2009 because its current form violates Articles 20 and 22 of the Constitution of Pakistan which guarantees free and equal citizenship to all citizens regardless of their faith. The NCJP has also appealed to the Supreme Court that they take action on the matter.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bishop of Rawalpindi: Pakistani Christians, “Unity and Light” In the Midst of Persecution
Mgr. Rufin Anthony recalls the “missionary work” that has allowed the emergence of “local vocations.” The prelate denounces feelings of “jealousy, prejudice and hatred” and confirms the continued growth of religious intolerance. He invites everyone to work “for unity and cooperation”.
Faisalabad (AsiaNews) — In a country torn by persecution of minorities, the “presence” of Christians must be “a symbol of unity and light.” This was the message Mgr. Rufin Anthony, new bishop of Rawalpindi — the fourth largest city of Pakistan — during a mass celebrated in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, on 26 September in Faisalabad. Hundreds present among prelates, religious and lay people gathered in the cathedral to greet the bishop, a native of Faisalabad, who on 21 September took possession of the new diocese.
“Bishop Rufin — recalled Msgr. Joseph Coutts, bishop of Faisalabad — is a son of [our] diocese and I am delighted to welcome him among us” the successors of the apostles. Bishop Coutts highlighted the role played by the diocese of Faisalabad in the “growth of the Christian community, many priests and nuns working in other areas of the country and abroad: two Dominican nuns are missionaries in Afghanistan.”
During the homily, Mgr. Rufin Anthony (pictured) paid tribute to the memory of Francis Benedict Cialeo, Italian missionary and bishop of Faisalabad, who together with “Capuchin and Dominican friars” worked so “vocations would be born locally” capable of “leading the diocese”. “The presence of missionaries has been a light for us — recalled Mgr. Rufin — Now we must move forward and work for unity and cooperation”.
In recent weeks Pakistan has recorded several cases of persecution of religious minorities, especially Christians, committed in the name of the blasphemy law. “The situation is unbearable — underlined the new bishop of Rawalpindi — and the causes lie in feelings of jealousy, prejudice and hatred: these elements are present in other societies, but here [in Pakistan], they take on a confessional character”. He confirms that “religious intolerance is growing” and is symptomatic of a “degradation of religion”.
The prelate concluded by pointing out the “primary” role held by Christians in the “progress” of the country, urging the faithful to be “a symbol of unity and light even if persecuted”, and assures his commitment to “bring people closer to the Church and to each other”.
Mgr. Rufin Anthony was born February 12, 1940 at Khushpur, a village in the diocese of Faisalabad, where the presence of Catholics is deep rooted; he studied theology in Rome and was ordained a priest June 29, 1969. Professor of theology and rector of the seminary in Karachi, he has worked in various parishes and has held the office of vicar general of the diocese of Faisalabad for two terms.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Auditors: Not Enough Soldiers
The National Audit Office says Denmark doesn’t have enough soldiers to meet its goals of 2,000 soldiers for international operations.
Denmark is unlikely to be able to meet its politically agreed target of being able to send some 2,000 soldiers on international operations.
The National Audit Office says in a report on international operations in Afghanistan, that even though the necessary structure is in place, Denmark doesn’t have enough soldiers.
“If the military wishes to send the equivalent capacity of 2,000 soldiers for international operations in the future, it will require a demand for, or political will, for naval or air force capacity to increase in the next few years,” says National Auditor Henrik Otbo.
A build-up of forces cannot be carried out at the envisaged pace as a result of pressure on the army, according to the military in the report.
The Audit Report says that if the army is to despatch 2,000 soldiers, it will also be necessary to increase army capacity.
The current four-year political agreement that runs out this year has a target of 2,000 troops available for international operations, compared with 1,150 in 2005. In 2008 the number was 1,421. The military has, however, said that a target of 2,000 soldiers is not achievable within the current agreement period.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Monsignor Crociata Elucidates Concept of Welcome Reception
Church and Mission, Standard
Our neighbor, no matter the culture or the country of origin, always has the visage of a brother explained monsignor Mariano Crociata, none other than the General Secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference, interceding at the conference of diocesan directors of the Migrantes Foundation, which is taking place as we speak in Frascati.His eminence, the Monsignor Crociata, says the authoritative Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, has highlighted the very requirement to secure a commitment of solidarity that departs “from how much it agitates itself (sic), even in matters of migration, in civil society, especially in the world of labor, housing and lodging, of school, familial unity, just as it does in the lively debate on migration policies, on socio-cultural integration, on interethnic cohabitation”. Rare nuggets of clarity and succinctness on this subject indeed. These messages, focused on the importance of welcome and a good reception, were delivered to the Conference by archbishops Antonio Maria Vegliò and of course the ever present Agostino Marchetto, respectively the president and secretary of the suitably named Pontifical Council for the Pastoral for Migrants and Itinerants. “In the face of the ever more complex reality of migrations — expound the bishops — a good reception or welcome becomes the key element for a pastoral able to help, in the current economic social, religious context, those seeking a better life away from their homelands. […] The warmth of a candid salutation, a friend to those who are different from ourselves and come from afar, is the most wonderful witness and can, in fact, incline one toward the direct announcement of the Gospel”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Latin American Immigrants on the Rise
Rome, 28 Sept. (AKI) — A growing number of immigrants are coming to Italy from Latin American countries. According to a new report from the Catholic charity, Caritas, the number of immigrants from the region has almost doubled since 2005.
The report, Latin America: Old and New Migrants, released on Monday, said that 30,000 legal migrants arrive in Italy with visas from the countries of South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean every year.
The largest communities of Latin American immigrants come from Peru and Ecuador with each community numbering more than 70,000 migrants.
They are followed by more than 40,000 Brazilians, 20,000 Dominicans and Colombians, 15,000 Cubans and Argentinians as well as 6,000 Salvadorans and Bolivians.
The lowest number of Latin American migrants come from Venezuela, Mexico and Chile, with between 4,000 and 5,000 migrants each.
Uruguayans, however, are the smallest community with only 2,000 migrants.
The report also said 6,000 were living in Italy in order to study, while another 6,000 came for religious purposes.
“As in the past, when the migration of Italians to Latin America was advantageous, Latin Americans are now significant from an occupational and socio-cultural point of view providing an always increasing need for extra labour force in Italy,” said the report.
Latin Americans make up 9.2 percent of the foreign-born labour force in Italy, and most of them reside in the country’s northwestern regions.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Aztecs and the Decline of Western Civilization
I have not yet read and written up Philip Hensher’s critical discussion of Aztec art at the Mail, but fortunately Mark Richardson at Oz Conservative has done so. After quoting Hensher’s article, he quotes the comments of Mail readers who are scandalized that Henscher has negatively judged the Aztecs’ human sacrifice cult. Mr. Richardson also links a VFR post about the giant head of an Aztec god I saw once in a museum.
If anyone was wondering what is this anti-Western relativism that conservatives are always complaining about, the comments of the Mail readers quoted by Richardson give a good idea. It’s a full-blown belief system, shared by perhaps a majority of college educated people in the West. And it’s a belief system that is not only horribly wrong, but that spells our doom.
What it says is very simple: “We of the West are morally tainted, and therefore we have no right to make moral and cultural judgments about other cultures.” Which really means that we have no right to make moral and cultural judgments at all. But if we as a culture have no right to make moral and cultural judgments, then we have no right to exist as a culture, period.
Clearly, when we call this belief system relativism, that is not really correct. Relativism says that you have your ways, and I have mine, and—since there’s no such thing as objective moral judgment—there’s no way to choose between them. But the Mail correspondents do make moral judgments. Thus:
Sarah, USA: It doesn’t matter if it’s gruesome, our civilization is even more disgusting. At least they did those sacrifices with a greater outcome in mind. What do you leave for us? Let’s kill whales to the extreme to feed sushi lovers? Let’s kill seals just because they’re paying me to do it? … Please, for the sake of knowledge, don’t let this person write anything else, ever.
Sarah has an absolute—not a relative—position. Her absolute position is that our civilization is morally monstrous. It is so monstrous that the killing of seals and whales by some members of our society makes our civilization more disgusting than capturing thousands of innocent people every year, dragging them to the top of a temple, and cutting out their beating heart. Relativism—”you must not judge”—is merely the cloak in which this absolutist hatred of the West is dressed. It’s not everyone who must not judge. It’s only people who speak in the name of the West who must not judge. Non-Westerners and Western leftist haters of the West have the full right to judge…
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Group of Twenty and the Evolution of Global Governance
The bottom line: the United Nations and the G8 have not brought or kept world peace, they have not prevented war and neither have they improved the finances of any country. Furthermore, they have not improved the state of the world either. The only thing they have done is set up an infrastructure that reduces the power and sovereignty of the nation-state. In essence they have de-stabilized the world. Who really runs the country and the world? He who has the gold makes the rules and it is not governments!.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
1 comment:
The Democrats (left) aren't being racist, they're merely honouring their past, when they were the party of plantation owners!
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