In a blow to those who had placed their hope in Vaclav Klaus, the Czech President said today that he would sign the Lisbon Treaty. Although he is opposed to it, he says it is to late to stop the treaty.In other news, Syria has transferred a quarter of its long-range missile arsenal to Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Gaia, Insubria, JD, TB, VH, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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20 Violent N.C. Inmates Going Free
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A cadre of murderers and rapists, several of whom victimized young girls, will be set free from North Carolina prisons this month after state courts agreed that a decades-old law defined life sentences as only 80 years long.
Dozens more inmates could be released in the coming months unless the state can figure out a legal recourse to keep them behind bars, officials said Thursday. Gov. Beverly Perdue called them “dangerous criminals” who have repeatedly been denied parole.
“I’m appalled that the state of North Carolina is being forced to release prisoners who have committed the most heinous of crimes, without any review of their cases,” Perdue said in a statement.
One of the 20 inmates set for release, Bobby Bowden, had argued that a law adopted in 1974 clearly defined life sentences as just 80 years. The 60-year-old convicted murderer believed that the statute, combined with good conduct credits, means his life sentence is now complete.
The Court of Appeals sided with Bowden last year. North Carolina’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the state earlier this month after a lawyer from the attorney general’s office had argued that the 80-year figure was ambiguous and likely meant to determine when somebody would be eligible for parole.
Justices on the high court balked at that argument, and an attorney for Bowden called it “legal gymnastics.” The statute, which was in place for several years in the 1970s, says: “A sentence of life imprisonment shall be considered as a sentence of imprisonment for a term of 80 years in the state’s prison.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Education Sec Spoke at Event With Ayers
Undersecretary also keynoted conference aiming to ‘reform’ country’s school system
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Undersecretary Martha Kanter keynoted an education reform seminar where William Ayers was a major speaker and participant, WND has learned.
Earlier this month, Duncan and Kanter discussed their education initiatives at a convention for the Renaissance Group, which defines itself on its website as “a proactive force for the improvement and reform of education, locally, regionally and nationally.”
[…]
Michael J. Giovannetti, executive director of Renaissance, told WND in an interview that both Duncan and Kanter were fully aware of all conference speakers, including Ayers, and that the two diplomats had no problem speaking at the conference at which the unrepentant radical also was a presenter.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Is the 1st Amendment Still Relevant?
Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
How profoundly simple, how elegantly clear and understandable can you get? Our Founding Fathers labored and conferred and, yes, prayed, over this First Amendment to our hallowed Constitution. They honed and pared and polished it, until it still shines like a rare diamond. Which politically it is.
It says exactly and precisely what they intended.
How is it, then, that today, certain people are straining and misrepresenting and actually twisting it completely out of its pristine meaning?
A man named Newdow, in San Francisco, adamantly quotes just the first phrase, before the comma, in his diabolical quest to wrench the two words “under God” out of our Pledge of Allegiance. Though he is trained as a lawyer, supposedly able to interpret the wording of a law — certainly including the wording of the Constitution — he manages to convince a majority of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that he is correct in claiming that those two words might be unconstitutional! And that misguided Court then decrees that school children in nine Western states should stop including those words in the Pledge we’ve all been saying since 1954.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Moderate’ CAIR to Feature Radicals at Annual Banquet
After dismissing jihad charges in new book, showcases imam cited in ‘93 WTC bombing
While mocking an explosive new book that presents internal documents showing it is a U.S. front for global jihad, the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations is trumpeting a keynote speaker at its 15th annual banquet next week who was an uninidicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing investigation and who told New Jersey Muslims the U.S. government would one day be taken over by an Islamic caliphate.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Notre Dame Feels Political Heat Again
A surprise decision by the University of Notre Dame to send five students to last weekend’s gay rights march in the District has produced fury among alumni still smarting from the Catholic institution’s invitation to President Obama in May.
Five students belonging to the school’s Progressive Student Alliance were given an undetermined amount from the university’s student activities fund — from fees assessed to students — to drive to Washington, bunk with friends and participate in the National Equality March last Sunday. Thousands of participants marched from the White House to the Capitol to support gay rights.
Since the news broke Tuesday in the Observer, the student newspaper, comments and postings about the school’s sponsorship of the trip have ricocheted on Catholic blogs and some gay outlets.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Tom Tancredo: Obama’s Submission to Radical Islam
In a speech in Egypt this June, President Obama proclaimed, “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the U.S. and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.” Obama’s “new beginning” is a euphemism for the first steps in the Islamification of America, a process that has already infected Europe to the extent that Western Civilization is itself at risk.
To aid him in his quest, the president recently appointed Dalia Mogahed as his advisor on Islamic issues. She is on the President’s Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and recently appeared on a British TV show hosted by members of the extremist and pan-Islamist Hizb ut Tahrir Party. According to the London Telegraph, “The group believes in the non-violent destruction of Western democracy and the creation of an Islamic state under Sharia law across the world.” Many governments have outlawed the group due to its ties and support of terrorism. During the segment, the extremists called for banning women from holding political office. They also called for making Shariah the sole source of legislation while attacking “manmade law” and America’s “lethal cocktail of liberty and capitalism.” Rather than oppose these radical statements, Obama’s adviser defended Shariah.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Anatomy of a Swedish Blood Libel
Allegations of Israeli organ theft are ugly, false, harmful—and they spread.
The Aug. 17 story by Donald Bostrom in Aftonbladet, Scandanavia’s leading daily, has quickly metastasized to mainstream Muslim media, spawning cartoons of Jews stealing body parts and drinking Arab blood. These have been published in Syria, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, to name a few.
[…]
Meanwhile, editors at Aftonbladet have neither acknowledged nor corrected any of the factual errors that litter the article, and instead react with indignation to charges of misconduct. In a perversion of journalistic standards, Editor-in-chief Jan Helin admitted on his own blog on Aug. 19 that Aftonbladet had no evidence for the incendiary charges against Israel. Nevertheless, according to another Aftonbladet editor cited in Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper on Aug. 20, Mr. Helin’s publication “stands behind the demand for an international inquiry” into Israeli actions.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Daughter of Ahmadinejad Adviser Seeks Asylum in Germany
Young Iranian filmmaker Narges Kalhor is seeking political asylum in Germany after showing a film critical of the Tehran regime at a film festival. Kalhor, whose father is one of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s top advisers, says she will be seized by the secret police if she returns home.
The daughter of one of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s top advisers is seeking political asylum in Germany.
After attending the German film festival Perspective, which showcases documentaries and features with a human rights focus, 25-year-old Iranian filmmaker Narges Kalhor has applied for political asylum in Germany. Her father is Mahdi Kalhor, who is Ahmadinejad’s adviser on cultural affairs and a media spokesperson for the Iranian regime.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Far-Right Member Motions Death Penalty
During the annual congress of the far-right political party the Sweden Democrats, Joakim Larsson, chair of the Uppsala branch, has called for the introduction of the death penalty in Sweden.
In a motion, he proposed that those convicted of serious crimes should be able to be sentenced to death.
Citing criminal cases where the death penalty could have been enforced, Uppsala Nya Tiding newspaper writes that Larsson makes reference to Stig Bergling, the former Swedish police officer who spied for the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
He also mentions Anders Eklund, the man convicted of murdering 10-year-old Engla Höglund in Dalarna in 2008, who is now serving a life sentence.
Board members have already proposed to reject the motion but undeterred by the move, Larsson claims many within the party are in favour of capital punishment.
The Sweden Democrats previously backed the death penalty for certain murder cases and treason, but removed the proposal from their manifesto in 1998.
The party congress — Landsdagarna — is taking place in Skåne, southern Sweden, from 16th-18th October.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Gangster Faces Turkish Trial for Bomb Attacks
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the leader of the Original Gangsters criminal gang on suspicion of being behind an attempt to blow up two men.
Denho “Dano” Acar fled to Turkey, where he is a citizen, in 2006. The country, which has no extradition treaty with the European Union, has confirmed that it is prepared to host a trial, according to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
The two bomb attacks, on Södermalm in central Stockholm and in Stavsnäs on Värmdö, were executed by young members of the Original Gangsters (OG) crime syndicate, according to the prosecutor.
The pair are now in custody, but the prosecutor does not believe that they planned the attacks on their own.
“It struck me clearly that they were acting on instruction from elsewhere,” chief prosecutor Tora Holst said.
Holst announced on Thursday that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Acar on suspicion of attempted murder and aggravated devastation endangering the public.
The first bomb, exploded on Södermalm in May was, according to the newspaper, intended for a former restaurant owner from whom OG had agreed to retrieve a debt.
The second, in Stavsnäs in June, was directed at a computer specialist who was to be punished for hacking websites connected to the gang.
No one was hurt in either of the attacks.
Denho “Dano” Acar has not set foot in Sweden since the autumn of 2006 when he left the country instead of responding to an arrest warrant issued in connection with an arson attack in Gothenburg.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
‘Too Late’ To Stop Lisbon Treaty, Concedes Last EU Leader Left to Sign
The only EU leader who has not yet signed the Lisbon reform treaty has conceded he will not be able to derail it.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus’s admission has paved the way for the document to become law.
The treaty has already been signed by the leaders of the other 26 EU states but had been put in doubt by Mr Klaus’s last-minute objection over World War Two property claims.
Some had speculated he wanted to delay signing until after a general election in Britain, in the hope the Conservatives would be victorious and call a referendum.
Mr Klaus said: ‘I will not and cannot wait for the British election. They would have to hold it in the coming days or weeks.’
He had demanded an opt-out to shield his country from property claims by Germans expelled after the war.
The new hurdle raised concern it could require new talks and another agreement by all EU members, threatening to undo years of diplomatic work to create an acceptable treaty.
But eurosceptic Mr Klaus, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, told newspaper Lidove Noviny that despite his opposition to the charter, it had gone too far for him to stop it.
He said: ‘I do not consider the Lisbon Treaty to be a good thing for Europe, for the freedom of Europe, or for the Czech Republic.
‘However, the train has already travelled so fast and so far that I guess it will not be possible to stop it or turn it around, however much we would wish to.’
His signature is the last missing from the treaty after Irish voters approved it in a second referendum and Polish president Lech Kczynski signed up last week.
The treaty has been designed to streamline the EU’s decision making process following its expansion from 15 to 27 members.
Critics, including Mr Klaus, have described it as an attempt to create a European super-state that will rob nations of their sovereignty.
He must wait for a ruling by the Constitutional Court on a challenge to the treaty filed by a group of Czech senators before he can sign it. The court will hold a hearing on October 27.
Mr Klaus’s defiant stance on an opt-out was criticised by sections of the Czech media who said he could cast the country into diplomatic isolation.
In the interview he said: ‘I never said that is necessary that my ‘footnote’ would have to be ratified by all member states, along with the whole Lisbon treaty again.
‘Similar to that, I have never said that guarantees similar to those that the European Council gave to the Irish … would not be sufficient for me.’
Ireland’s agreement was dependent on a guarantee its neutrality, taxation and abortion laws would not be compromised.
His last minute opposition resounded with Czech voters. A poll showed 65 percent backed him because they feared laws expelling Germans could be circumvented.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
UK: A Tale of Two Very Different Britons: The Student Who Defiled a War Memorial and the Soldier Who Died at Passchendaele
They are separated by the best part of a century and a lifetime of change.
One volunteered to fight for his country and made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. The other became part of a culture where respect has no meaning and courage comes from a bottle of cheap booze.
Edwin Ievers and Phil Laing never met of course. But on the drink-sodden streets of modern Britain, their paths crossed in the most sickening way.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Birthday Girl, 9, Banned From Sharing Great-Gran’s Cake With Friends as School Deems it ‘Too Unhealthy’
It was supposed to be a treat for Olivia Morris to share among her classmates on her ninth birthday.
But no sooner had she blown out the candles on the chocolate cake than it was banned — for failing to comply with healthy eating rules.
Staff informed Olivia’s mother Rebecca that birthday cakes were no longer acceptable because they were at odds with the school’s healthy living message.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Gordon Brown and Israel PM Clash Over Gaza Vote at the UN
Gordon Brown clashed with Israeli leader Binyamin Netanyahu in a reportedly robust telephone call in the run-up to a crucial vote at the UN.
Mr Netanyahu was said to have been furious after Britain and other European countries warned they would abstain in yesterday’s ruling on a report accusing his country of war crimes in Gaza.
Britain wanted to delay the decision to allow time to reach an agreed resolution on the issue.
However, the bid failed and the 575-page report, which could Iead to the prosecution of Israelis for war crimes, was referred to the Security Council.
Israel had warned beforehand that such a move could derail the Middle East peace process.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: MPs Want God-Fearing Remnants of Empire to Downgrade Christianity
The Government is being urged by a group of powerful MPs to axe references to Christianity from the constitutions of Britain’s far-flung outposts.
To the dismay of Church leaders, the Foreign Affairs Committee is pressing for the change amid claims that references to traditional Christian morality could undermine gay rights in the overseas territories.
The committee, chaired by Labour MP Mike Gapes, also objects to Christianity being singled out above other faiths.
But the recommendation, which the Foreign Office says is being ‘carefully considered’, has provoked anger among Church leaders and politicians, with the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, condemning the move as ‘spurious political correctness’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sex Victim Wins 6-Year Battle to Have Her Attacker Deported
A woman sexually assaulted by an immigrant yesterday won her six-and-a-half year battle to have her attacker deported.
Gabrielle Browne, 44, was training for the London Marathon on a towpath when she was attacked by Mohamed Kendeh in 2003.
The 22-year-old immigrant, from Sierra Leone, also admitted carrying out a string of assaults on at least 11 women — striking when they were alone or with children in public parks.
However, despite attempts by the Home Office to deport him, Britain’s top immigration judge refused, claiming that to do so would breach his human rights.
Yesterday, a crown court judge overruled that controversial judgement.
[…]
Kendeh, then 16, grabbed Mrs Browne from behind before dragging her along the ground and trying to rape her.
After his arrest, she discovered he had recently been released from a young offenders institution after being found guilty of four sexual assaults on lone women when he was just 15.
All of the attacks took place in parks — two on women who had young children with them at the time.
Kendeh, then a heavy cannabis smoker, had also committed burglaries, theft, arson, drug offences and taken a vehicle without consent.
Despite this history, Kendeh was released on bail — only to carry out another attack on a woman by herself in her home a month later.
He was jailed at the Old Bailey for the two attacks, and the Home Office made attempts to deport him.
However, these requests were refused by top immigration judge Sir Henry Hodge.
He said although the sex attacker had been refused British citizenship and was likely to reoffend, sending him back to Sierra Leone would breach his right to a family life.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tearful Barrister Claiming £33m for Victimisation Says She May ‘Lose the Will to Live’ If Her Case Fails
A barrister making a £33million discrimination claim has a history of launching race complaints and was once arrested for harassment, a tribunal heard yesterday.
Aisha Bijlani, who is taking her own prestigious law firm to an employment hearing, previously made at least two other race-related complaints, the panel was told.
The Indian-born barrister broke down in tears as she outlined the racism and victimisation she says she suffered at Four New Square chambers in London’s Lincoln’s Inn.
[…]
But Central London Employment Tribunal heard the barrister admitted having previously filed a discrimination complaint against Raglan Housing Association when she worked for them as a non-executive director.
She also conceded that she was once arrested for alleged harassment and that she ‘may’ have then made a race complaint against the duty solicitor who dealt with her case, but said there was an appeal pending and that it was ‘a gross miscarriage of justice’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wales: Opposition to Anti-Islamic March
Around 200 people gathered to protest about a demonstration against Islamic extremism by the Welsh Defence League (WLD) in Swansea.
It was in reaction to around 60 members of the WLD staging a march in the city.
Despite police hopes the two groups would stage marches in different areas of the city, they converged.
Around 200 police, some on horses, kept the groups apart. One man, 25, was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence.
Roads were closed in order for the demonstrations to go ahead.
Speaking before its demonstration, the WLD said its event would be peaceful, but protests by its sister organisation the English Defence League have ended in disorder.
Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has accused the WDL of using “boot boy tactics”.
But the WLD denied being racist and called Mr Hain’s comments “nonsense”.
A number of opposition groups were involved in the counter-demonstration.
Police had hoped the two groups would hold separate demonstrations. But despite their efforts, the groups came within close proximity of each other.
Dozens of officers lined the streets, included several officers on horses in order to keep the protest groups apart.
“When you bring two groups together… there’s going to be passion, and that’s what we have had today,” said Ch Supt Mark Mathias during the demonstrations.
“So far it has been mostly peaceful.
“Originally we did two protest sites — two assembly points. We did think we could have two distinct locations either side of the city.
“Obviously that hasn’t happened but so far, both groups have been kept separate.”
Speaking after the event, he said: “I am pleased with the success the police operation today, which allowed the protests to pass off peacefully, whilst taking into the account the rights of the people of Swansea to go about their normal business.
“I would to thank them for patience and understanding for any disruption that was caused.
“People have the right to protest but overall the safety of the public and maintaining order is a priority.”
It is understood a second WDL protest planned in Newport next weekend has been called off.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia-Croatia: Talks on Improving Railways Cooperation
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, OCTOBER 13 — Serbian Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic announced that the talks on improving the cooperation between the Serbian and Croatian railways would be continued in 15 days, reports Tanjug news agency. At a press conference, after signing the agreement on inland navigation and waterway maintenance with Croatia, Mrkonjic said that the talks referring to the cooperation between Croatian and Serbian enterprises ‘Rade Koncar’ and ‘Gossa’, respectively, would also be initiated in Zagreb. Croatian Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Bozidar Kalmeta said that there were problems between the two railways since Serbian Railways owed Croatia 22 million euros plus interest. However, according to the agreement signed in 1995, the interests have been written off, so that Serbia’s debt is estimated to be somewhere between 7.5 and 8 million euros. Kalmeta expressed his belief that the expert teams would find a solution to this problem during the forthcoming talks in Zagreb, and announced the possibility of mutual construction of the so-called ‘regional trains.’(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Centre for Mediterranean Integration Set Up in Marseille
(ANSAmed) — MARSEILLE, OCTOBER 9 — The goal of the new Marseille Centre for Mediterranean Integration (CMIM), opened today in the French city on the occasion of the Mediterranean Week of the Economy, is to improve cooperation, encourage sustainable development and favour political integration of Mediterranean countries. The new body — founded by the French government, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the governments of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia — is a platform for technical assistance for the modernisation of public policies of the Mediterranean countries in many sectors: from urban development, transport, climate change to support for SME innovation. The Centre is also meant to aid forms of partnership between the northern and southern shore of the Mediterranean, to carry out the many initiatives scheduled in the region, especially those which the Mediterranean Union has indicated as having priority. “The Mediterranean Union follows the culture of these projects, so we must develop partnerships between the public and private sector” said Renaud Muselier, deputy mayor of Marseille and president of the Mediterranean Union Cultural Council. “The World Bank wants to favour regional integration through the exchange of knowledge, the harmonisation of standards and laws and the promotion of regional development projects” explained Shamshad Akhtar, deputy president of the World Bank for the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. “We will make sure” he continued “that this partnership will lead to concrete results for the region and that it will reduce unemployment and poverty”. According to EIB deputy president Philippe de Fontaine Vive, “the Marseille Centre wants to establish a quality partnership with the countries south of the Mediterranean in order to carry out their projects”. For now 14 programmes will be developed in the context of the CMIM, in five sectors: urban and local development, sustainable development, employment and labour mobility, transport and logistics, innovation.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Frees ‘Repentant’ Islamists
Libya has released 88 Islamist inmates, some of them belonging to a group with suspected links to al-Qaeda, the country’s state-run charity has said.
It said among those freed were 45 members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which had been accused of trying to oust Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Libya to Hold Compensation Talks
Col Gaddafi’s Libya supplied the IRA during the Troubles
A delegation of MPs has been invited to Libya to discuss possible compensation for the families of IRA victims.
Libya supplied guns and explosives to the IRA during the NI Troubles.
Lawyers for some of those injured or bereaved by the IRA have revealed that while MPs have been invited, the victims were not.
MP Jeffrey Donaldson, who will be on the delegation, said it followed talks he and DUP colleague Nigel Dodds had at the Libyan embassy in London.
“As a result of that, the Libyan government have now issued an invitation for a parliamentary delegation to visit Libya to discuss with them the claim for compensation for the victims of IRA terrorism,” he said.
Mr Donaldson said he expected there would be a chance for victims to meet with the Libyans in the future.
“They initiated the action, it’s their campaign and it’s important that their voice is heard,” the Lagan Valley MP said.
“Whilst we can speak for them, at the end of the day we want the Libyans to have the opportunity to hear directly from the victims of IRA terrorism.”
Mr Donaldson said he would be joined on the delegation by Mr Dodds, Labour and Conservative MPs and some members of the House of Lords.
In a statement, London legal firm H20 Law said while the victims were “disappointed” not to be able to form part of the delegation, they appreciated Libya’s “kind and welcome” offer and were grateful for the Foreign Office efforts.
“The victims view this as a significant step forward, as well as recognition by both countries that their plight will not be overlooked as Anglo-Libyan relations develop,” said the statement.
“They sincerely hope that, following the parliamentarian team’s visit, Libya will review its position toward them and appreciate that they wish to visit Libya in the spirit of peace and reconciliation.”
The meeting is expected to take place within weeks.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Finance: Istanbul Stock Exchange to Launch Islamic Index
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, OCTOBER 13 — Studies on creating an Islamic index in the bourse are about to be completed and the index will come into effect as soon as preparations are finalized, daily Today’s Zaman reported, quoting the President of Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB), Huseyin Erkan. The President noted that the Economic and Commercial Cooperation Permanent Committee (ISEDAK) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) had assigned the IMKB the task of creating cooperation between the stock exchanges of its 57 member countries. The Istanbul Stock Market conducted studies on creating an Islamic index as part of this assignment. “We will not create an Islamic index specifically for Turkey. Our real purpose is to build an index that includes companies being traded on the stock exchanges of Islamic countries while creating investment funds based on this index”, Erkan declared. An Islamic index is one comprising companies that are Shariah compliant and adhere to the tenets of Islamic law, including the prohibition of interest and the avoidance or gambling. “Today there are many Islamic indices being traded worldwide but these are entirely the products of Western companies and there is almost no company from an Islamic country among them”, Erkan noted. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-Syria: In Damascus for New Mechanical Training Centre
(ANSAmed) — ROME, OCTOBER 9 — An Italy-Syria Technological Centre of Mechanical Training, with offices in Damascus and Aleppo, in which Italian machines will be installed for wood, peltry, plastic and rubber working. This is the project that will begin on October 31 in the Syrian capital during the Italy-Syria economic forum which is part of the economic mission led by the Minister for Economic Development, Claudio Scajola, and organised by the Italian Trade Commission (ICE). The objective of the mission, a statement reads, is that of increasing the forms of economic-industrial collaboration between Italian and Syrian enterprises and to support Italian exports in the mechanical sector. During the events — which will include the participation of the Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Housni Lutfi, the head of the Ministry for Economic Development, Claudio Scajola, and the president of ICE, Umberto Vattani — the project for the future technological centre, while business to business encounters will be organised for the afternoon. According to data from ISTAT for 2008, Italy exported a product volume worth 1,030 million euros, 10.5% more than for the same period of 2007 and 55.1% more than in 2006. Again for 2008, ICE pointed out, the import-export ratio, traditionally passive for Italy, was extraordinarily active, reaching 211.3 million euros. A trend which hasn’t seemed to slow down even in the first 6 months of this year. Italian exports to the Middle Eastern country for instrumental goods — auxiliary machines and equipment — reached 115.9 million euros (+15.5%), covering a 35.3% share of total Italian exports. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-Saudi Arabia: Frattini for Partnership With Riyadh
(ANSAmed) — ROME, OCTOBER 12 — Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini is flying to Riyadh tomorrow with the aim of converting relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia into a true partnership between the two countries, in trade, in finance, but also politically. Frattini will be presiding at the Mixed Italy-Saudi Arabia Commission scheduled for October 13 and 14. Seven years on from the last Commission meeting, it will provide an occasion for strengthening ties which see Italy as Saudi Arabia’s main European partner, and an emerging “player” in the Gulf area. It is a tie which has the “potential for further growth”, explained Maurizio Massari, the Foreign Office spokesperson charged with presenting the mission. To start with the financial side of things: Italy is Saudi’s main European partner with traded values of over 7 billion euros in 2008 and is globally the Kingdom’s fifth largest supplier. Many Italian groups, many of whom already have a foothold in Saudi Arabia, are outside looking in at new opportunities. Opportunities which are being boosted by the massive programme of public spending under way — funded by the huge surpluses in oil revenues accumulated over recent years. The country’s government expects to spend around 95 billion euros this year on projects such as new transport and telecommunications infrastructure (with 5,400 kilometres of new roads planned), and with an eye to attracting investment with Riyadh’s recent fiscal reforms. But Italy’s ties with Riyadh have also a political value for the strenghtening of the relations with a moderate Arab state “whose role is increasing in the area” when it comes to stabilisation of regional crises. These range from Middle East peace issues to Afghanistan, as was repeatedly pointed out by Italy’s foreign minister. The work of the commission will take place in a plenary forum, chaired by the Italian and Saudi foreign ministers and in a meeting of the Joint Business Council, chaired by Frattini, to be attended by representatives of the main business sectors of the two countries. The Mixed Commission should be followed (either at the end of this year or the start of 2010) by a visit of Italy’s Minister for Economic Development, Claudio Scajola, who will concentrate on the energy sector, investment and SMEs. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lawyer Calls Turkish Christians’ Trial a ‘Scandal’
After three prosecution witnesses testified yesterday that they didn’t even know two Christians on trial for “insulting Turkishness and Islam,” a defense lawyer called the trial a “scandal.”
Speaking after yesterday’s hearing in the drawn-out trial, defense attorney Haydar Polat said the case’s initial acceptance by a state prosecutor in northwestern Turkey was based only on a written accusation from the local gendarmerie headquarters unaccompanied by any documentation.
“It’s a scandal,” Polat said. “It was a plot, a planned one, but a very unsuccessful plot, as there is no evidence.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Long-Range Missiles in Lebanon
Syria has transferred nearly a quarter of its long- and medium-range missile arsenal to Hizbullah, the Kuwaiti al Jarida reported on Thursday. According to the report, security sources in Jerusalem told the paper that the missiles, now held by Hizbullah, could hit every part of Israel.
Iranian and Syrian officers were reportedly training the Hizbullah operatives in using the new missiles and in operating early warning systems intended to alert the group of Israeli jets. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
The Kuwaiti article comes days after Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev called on UN peacekeepers to investigate Monday night’s apparent weapons cache blast in the home of a Hizbullah operative in Tayr Filsay, southern Lebanon.
In a letter of complaint sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the Security Council, Le Luong Minh of Vietnam, Shalev said Israel has “considerable” reason to believe the house where the explosion took place served as an arms storage facility for Hizbullah.
Shalev also said that in the aftermath of the explosion, Hizbullah operatives sealed off the area and attempted to remove evidence.
Following the blast in Tyre, President Shimon Peres said that Hizbullah was turning Lebanon into a “powder keg,” and the IDF released footage showing apparent arms transfer activity at the home.
| — Hat tip: VH | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Women Left Behind as Country Progresses, UN Report
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, OCTOBER 8 — Despite progress in some vital indicators of a healthy society, the role of women in Turkish society remains very low and the country has regressed, the UN Human Development Index reported. According to daily Radikal, Turkey ranked 101 out of 109 countries in the 2009 Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) released as a part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index. Turkey dropped three places in this year’s Human Development Index, ranking 79 out of 182 countries, but the alarmingly low rank in the Gender Equality Index is a strong indicator that the country has a long way to go to empower women politically and economically in order to achieve gender equality. When split into the four sections of extremely developed, developed, developing and undeveloped, Turkey falls into the category of developed with Cuba and Saudi Arabia which are ahead of Turkey’s neighbors Armenia and Iran. But in the GEM results, Turkey is only ahead of Tonga, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen. In the poverty index, Turkey is ranked 40 out of 135 countries, in the under 40’s mortality rate it was ranked 50 and in the literacy index it ranked 77. The lowest-ranked position for Turkey was in the gender empowerment measure. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Analysts Fear Pakistan’s Days Numbered
‘Seriousness and determination in dealing with the situation are totally lacking’
Nuclear-armed Pakistan’s days may be numbered as the Taliban and al-Qaida appear to have joined forces to oust the increasingly fragile regime of President Asif Ali Zardari, an administration that does not even have the full support of the Pakistani military, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
The ongoing wave of terrorist attacks and what security analysts believe to be a lukewarm response from the Pakistani military suggests that the Islamist militants believe they are gaining an upper hand to oust the government and establish Shariah law in Pakistan.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Suspects in Attacks on Christians Freed
Analyst confirms, ‘The laws protect Islam’
A Pakistani judge has released six more of the suspects in a series of attacks on Christians in Gojra, Pakistan, and rights activists say the decision just adds to the victimization of the members of the religious minority.
Sessions Court Judge Toba Sek Singh recently released the suspects, who are accused of the murders of 11 Christians and with burning down more than 40 Christian-owned houses in Gojra.
The action follows last month’s order by a Lahore judge releasing 13other suspects in the case.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican: Cardinal Sends Message for Hindu Holiday
Vatican City, 16 October (AKI) — The Vatican’s top body for promoting religious dialogue used the occasion of the Hindu festival of Diwali to send a message urging peace, protection of fundamental rights and freedom of religion in India.
The Vatican’s top inter-faith dialogue official, Cardinal Jean Louis Touran sent a message to Hindus for the feast which is celebrated during the month of October, a Vatican media statement said on Friday.
“Christians and Hindus: Committed to Integral Human Development,” was the title of the message which alluded to freedom of religion in India.
“In the process of integral development, protection of human life and respect for the dignity and fundamental rights of the person, are a responsibility of everyone, both individually and collectively”, says the text, which also bears the signature of Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata.
Touranis the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, while Celata is secretary.
“Respect for others therefore implies the recognition of their freedom: freedom of conscience, thought and religion,” the statement said.
“Integral human development also requires the political will to work towards ensuring greater protection of human rights and peaceful co-existence.
“Development, freedom and peace are inextricably linked together, and they complete one another,” the message concluded.
Diwali, known as the festival of light, is a major festival in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism and is celebrated by billions of people worldwide.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Taiwan Carries Out Largest-Ever Missile Test: Reports
Taiwan has carried out its largest-ever missile exercise, less than a fortnight after China showed off advanced ballistic weaponry in a massive National Day parade, local media said Wednesday.
The missiles were launched on Tuesday from the secretive and tightly guarded Chiupeng base in southern Taiwan and could strike major Chinese cities, the United Daily News reported.
President Ma Ying-jeou, who has been criticised for being too friendly with China, was among the observers of the exercise, the paper said, citing a “reliable military source”.
The test came after China, which has vowed to take back Taiwan, celebrated 60 years of communist rule on October 1 by parading high-tech weapons including intercontinental ballistic missiles through the streets of Beijing.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fini: Citizenship at Age 11 to Those Born in Italy
(AGI) — Turin, 8 Oct. — A foreign child who is born in Italy or who arrives at the age of one or two, deserves to receive Italian citizenship at the age of 11 if they remain uninterruptedly in our country and go to our schools, said Lower House Speaker, Gianfranco Fini, speaking today in Turin at the annual meeting on ANCI. “I do not believe,” he explained, “that the so-called ‘ius soli’ (Law on ground) can be automatically applied in Italy as it is in other countries.
I believe that a child who is born here, or who arrives here at the age of one or two, if they remain in Italy uninterruptedly until the age of 11, and if they go to our elementary schools, are deserving, if those exercising paternal authority request it, to be recognised as Italian citizens”. All this, he specified, “without waiting for them to turn 18 and mainly without verifying that they adhere to values of our society, have a proper understanding of our language, and a minimal amount of historical awareness, knowledge of our geography.
Rather, a simple recognition of citizenship based on the fact that they have spent a determined number of years and they have fulfilled all bureaucratic requirements”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Immigration Still Rising, Almost 4 Million
(ANSAmed) — ROME, OCTOBER 8 — Immigrants in Italy, with a population of almost 4 million (3,891,295 to be precise) make up 6.5% of the resident population. One year ago there were 5.8%: during 2008 the immigrant population increased by almost 500,000, reports the National Statistics Office (ISTAT) in a statement. The institute released data from early January 2009, stressing that growth, while inferior compared to 2007 when the population increased by 16.8%, continues to be “very rapid”. — ROMANIANS MOST POPULOUS GROUP; POPULATION FROM ASIA INCREASING ALSO. The increase is due mainly to new EU countries, especially Romania, where 190,403 immigrants came from last year. Immigrants from Eastern European countries that are not part of the EU increased by 12%, by 10.3% from Morocco, and from Asian countries including China, India, and Bangladesh by 18.6%. — OVER 500,000 BORN IN ITALY. In 2008 72,472 foreigners were born for a total of 519,000 (13.3% of foreigners). About 862,000 are minors; +102,000. — CITIZENSHIP +18% DUE TO MARRIAGES. Citizenship was granted in 2008 to 53,696 immigrants, mostly due to marriages. It is estimated that about 726,000 non-EU citizens have Italian citizenship. — RE-ENTRIES TO HOME COUNTRIES INCREASE. In 2008, 27,023 were taken off the books because they returned to their home countries or moved to another country abroad, a 33% increase compared to 2007. — ITALY CLOSER TO FRANCE. Six and a half percent of immigrants bring Italy closer to other European countries. For example, in France the percentage is 5.8% and in Spain 11.7% of the population are foreigners. — SIX OUT OF TEN FOREIGNERS LIVE IN THE NORTH. While 25.1% live in the central regions, and 12.8% in the south. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Asylum to Pregnant Moroccan for Humanitarian Reasons
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, OCTOBER 13 — A 30-year-old Moroccan woman, seven months pregnant from an Indian man of the Hindu religion, could be sent to prison if sent back from Spain to her country of origin. The case of the woman, expelled from the temporary shelter for immigrants in Melilla, has mobilised the support of the Faculty of Advocates and of the government of the Spanish enclave in Morocco. The Spanish Interior minister who had refused to grant asylum to the woman has agreed to study the appeal presented by the woman’s lawyer who defends her for free thanks to the Faculty. According to sources of the ‘Pro Derechos de la Infancia (Prodein)’ NGO, the temporary shelter has permanently frozen the expulsion of the Moroccan woman. The government of the autonomous city of Ceuta has asked the Spanish Interior minister to reconsider his position, suspending the expulsion for humanitarian reasons. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Asylum Fiasco as Iraqis Kicked Out of UK Are Flown Back Again After Being Turned Away From Baghdad
A plane carrying 30 Iraqi deportees has been forced to turn around and bring them back to Britain after they were refused entry into Baghdad.
They were among 40 failed asylum seekers sent home to Iraq on the first deportee flight there since the Western invasion in 2003.
But only ten were allowed into the country, with the others flown back to the UK.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Asylum Fiasco
BRITAIN’S asylum system descended further into chaos yesterday after a plane-load of Iraqis was turned away at Baghdad — and sent back to Britain.
The shaming return of the £250,000 taxpayer-funded flight highlighted the Government’s incompetence in tackling illegal immigration. And it prompted calls for reforms to stop more bogus migrants breaching our borders.
Paul Nuttall, chairman of the UK Independence Party, said: “People around the world must be laughing at us. The simple fact is that if we want to stop this sort of expensive chaos repeating then we have to make it harder for migrants to enter.”
Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green said: “This is pretty incompetent. If British taxpayers’ money is spent on these flights, then the Government should know in advance that no one will be sent back to Britain. Ministers need to provide a proper explanation.”
The latest fiasco came when a Government-chartered aircraft set off from Stansted in Essex carrying 40 failed asylum seekers. It landed in the Iraqi capital on Thursday.
The Baghdad authorities allowed only a few refugees off the plane and then blocked re-entry for the rest.
The remaining Iraqis were sent on a five-and-a-half hour return flight to Britain where they were locked up at a detention centre at Gatwick yesterday while Home Office officials tried to sort out the diplomatic wrangle. A source said if the dispute cannot be resolved, it was likely the bogus migrants will have to remain in the UK.
A Home Office spokesman said it was working with the Iraqi government to avoid a repeat of this embarrassing first mass airlift of failed asylum seekers to Baghdad.
He declined to explain why the Iraqi officials blocked entry but witnesses claimed it was because UK Border Agency staff had forgotten to make provision to take the migrants from Baghdad to Basra.
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A spokeswoman for the human rights group Refugee and Migrant Justice attacked the Government’s blundering.
She said: “One would have expected with such a high-profile remove, the Home Office would have sorted this out with the Iraqi authorities. For such a high-profile group to be returned is unprecedented.”
Mark Wallace, of campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This was a costly farce that taxpayers can ill afford. It’s ridiculous that the Government can’t even deport people successfully.
“Ironically, it seems that the Iraqi immigration service have somewhat stricter standards than our own failing agencies.”
Lin Homer, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: “We are establishing a new route to southern Iraq and have successfully returned 10 Iraqis to the Baghdad area.
“This is an important first step for us.
“We are working closely with the Iraq government to iron out the issues which led to some of the returnees being sent back, and expect to carry out another flight in the future.”
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
USA: Plan Killed to Make ‘Naturalized’ Citizens Eligible
Failed 2004 proposal would have given immigrants entry to Oval Office
A congressional committee deliberated only five years ago a plan that would have opened the door to allowing immigrants and others who do not qualify as “natural born” citizens in the United States entry into the Oval office — but ended up killing the plan.
One of the advocates for the plan was Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., whose comments still are available in an audio file posted at Talk Radio News.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Couple Sue Shipping Line Because They Were Not Told Their Holiday Was a Gay Cruise
Pair were only straight passengers out of 1,500
An Italian couple are suing a shipping line for £2,800 after claiming they were not told a relaxing holiday they had booked was in fact on board a ship hosting Italy’s first gay cruise.
The middle-aged husband and wife, who have not been named, said they were embarrassed after spotting people they knew, but had not realised were gay, on the cruise.
Despite accusations from gay groups, they deny being homophobic. Organisers insist the three-day cruise featured no scenes of excess.
[…]
‘When they booked the cruise, directly with the company, no-one told them it was also hosting the Revuelta event. They arrived at the port and saw the ship surrounded by the media.
‘They thought it was because someone famous was on board but it was in fact due to the event — the 1,500 passengers were all gay and there were numerous gay events during the three days.
‘My clients were also left embarrassed because among the passengers were people they knew and had no idea that were gay, which was uncomfortable for all parties.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Schools Put on Notice: Mass Boycott of Harvey Milk Day
‘Keep your kids from being sexually brainwashed’
SACRAMENTO — A pro-family group is calling on California parents to pull their kids out of school after the state instituted a mandatory “gay” day in public schools in honor of Harvey Milk — a homosexual activist and reported sexual predator, as well as an advocate for Jim Jones, leader of the massacred hundreds in Jonestown, Guyana.
SaveCalifornia.com led a statewide battle against “Harvey Milk Day” before California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the S.B. 572 on Oct. 12.
The bill designates May 22 — Milk’s birthday — a date of “special significance” and encourages all California public schools to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises … remembering the life of Harvey Milk and recognizing his accomplishments as well as the contributions he made to this state.”
It requires no parental consent for student participation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
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