Cardinal Against FPÖ’s Use of Cross
WIENER ZEITUNG: Schönborn says cross is a ‘symbol of reconciliation’. / FPÖ unimpressed by all-round criticism.

Vienna. Viennese Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn has spoken out for the first time in the ongoing "hate debate” regarding the Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) controversial campaign for the European Parliament (EP) election.

Schönborn yesterday condemned the FPÖ’s use of the cross in their campaign, saying it was a "symbol of reconciliation,” after the right-wing party came under fire for using posters on which they said the Occi- dent needs to be preserved as a bastion of Christianity.

FPÖ leader Strache, who is warning of a growing "Islamisation” (meaning Muslims becoming more and more powerful) in Austria and Europe, refused to apologise for his statements and actions but accused other parties and the Catholic church of being "faint-hearted” and "cowardly”.

In his Ascension Day sermon at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Schönborn warned the cross may not be misused as a "symbol for the fight against other religions or people”.

Strache was criticised for wielding a cross when holding a speech at a demonstration against the extension at an Islamic cultural centre in Vienna last week. He said at the demonstration that someone "needs to protect our Austria from these left-radicals who do not take people’s problems seriously”. Three people were taken into custody and six were taken away injured as left-wing counter-protestors fought with special police forces at the event. >>> By Thomas Hochwarter | From hardcopy, Friday, May 22, 2009

Roxana Saberi est arrivée à Vienne
L’EXPRESS.fr: La journaliste avait été condamnée le 13 avril par l'Iran à huit ans de prison pour espionnage au profit des Etats-Unis. Après des protrestations émanant du monde entier, elle avait finalement été libérée en début de semaine.

La journaliste irano-américaine Roxana Saberi, libérée d'une prison iranienne le 11 mai, est arrivée par avion tôt vendredi matin à l'aéroport de Vienne, en provenance de Téhéran, a constaté une journaliste de l'AFP.

"Je vais passer quelques jours à Vienne, car c'est un lieu calme et relaxant", a-t-elle déclaré à l'AFP juste après son arrivée, sans donner de précision sur la durée de son séjour viennois, ni sur la date de son retour aux Etats-Unis.

Elle était accompagnée de son père, de sa mère et de son frère.

Peu après sa libération, son père, Reza Saberi, avait indiqué que sa famille préparait son retour aux Etats-Unis. >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr avec AFP | Vendredi 15 Mai 2009

VOA: Journalist Roxana Saberi Not Ready to Tell Her Story Yet

American journalist Roxana Saberi has arrived in Austria to recuperate after spending four months in an Iranian prison.



The newly-freed journalist arrived in the Austrian capital, Vienna, early Friday on a flight from Tehran. She was accompanied by her parents.



Saberi told reporters at the airport that she plans to spend several days in Austria and then go to the United States. She said she is not yet ready to talk about her experience, but will do so in the near future, recounting her time in jail, and the events leading up to her detention. 



The 32-year-old journalist, a dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in January while buying a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran. She was convicted last month of espionage. 



After Saberi's lawyer appealed the court's decision, a judge reduced her sentence and freed her from prison on Monday.



Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Saberi said she had no immediate plans and just wants to relax with her family. >>> By VOA News | Friday, May 15, 2009

Vienna March 1938

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>

We Are Destroying the Very Values Which Could Save Us in Our Battle against Islam
THE INDEPENDENT: Europe has immense strengths. The resources of civilisation are not exhausted

In 1683, a Turkish army reached the suburbs of Vienna. The outcome trembled in the balance until Jan Sobieski of Poland arrived with his army, threw back the Ottomans and finally freed western Europe from the threat of Muslim domination, thus completing the work begun by Charles Martel at Poitiers in 732.

Or did he? Today, there are plenty of Europeans who would say: "Charles Martel, Jan Sobieski, you are needed at this hour." There are widespread fears that Muslim immigrants, reinforced by political pressure and, ultimately, by terrorism, will succeed where Islamic armies failed and change irrevocably the character of European civilisation.

I was in Vienna for a conference on post-Christian Europe and resurgent Islam. The history of all important cities is a duet for grandeur and original sin but, even by those standards, Vienna is a masterpiece of complexity and ambivalence. An imperial city which has diminished into the capital of a gemütlich little republic, it was the nursery for so many of the glories of German culture – and for so much of the foulness of mid-20th century German history. So it was an appropriate setting for a pessimistic agenda.

In contemporary Britain, there are many grounds for anxiety. Even so, we cannot rival the continental Europeans when it comes to pessimism. Our home-grown product is shallow and pallid in comparison to the length, depth and sophistication of its continental rival. This is hardly surprising. The pessimism of the European mainland is the product of shattered hopes and a failed century. The first half of the 20th century was the most disastrous epoch in history. The Channel spared us from the worst of the ravages and savageries, but those whose nations experienced them or inflicted them can be forgiven for their distrust of the human condition. After such knowledge, what forgiveness, especially as recent events have added fresh inspissation to the gloom.

By 1990, it seemed as if whatever brute or blackguard made the world had decided to forgive mankind for the 20th century. The Cold War was won. George Bush celebrated a new world order. Francis Fukuyama announced the end of history. But history disagreed.

There is a basic difference between our circumstances now and the Cold War order. In the first place, it was an order. The threat was terrible but it was also predictable. We could analyse our enemies, understand them, even compromise with them. In the grimmest paradox of all, peace and stability had found a secure footing, upon the rock of mutual, assured destruction. Then, the enemy had a name, a capability, an order of battle. We had insights into his intentions, diplomatic means of mitigation, geopolitical concepts. Now, we do not even have a map of our ignorance. We are blundering in the dark, wrestling with unknown unknowns.

Europe has immense strengths. The resources of civilisation are not exhausted. Yet many of my conference colleagues were defeatists who believed that those strengths could never be mobilised. Some even argued that Islam would inevitably prevail and, within a few decades, Europe would decline into Eurabia. We Are Destroying the Very Values Which Could Save Us in Our Battle against Islam >>> By Bruce Anderson | June 2, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)