Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Ban That Bloody Burqah!

THE TELEGRAPH: The head of President Nicolas Sarkozy's Right-wing UMP party on Tuesday said he would continue to push for a total ban of face-covering Islamic veils in France.

Jean-François Copé's proposal for a full ban was backed by 190 MPs but rejected by a cross-party commission, which handed a list of proposals to parliament recommending a ban of the burka or niqab in state facilities but not in the street.

The ban would apply to public places, including all schools, hospitals, public transport and government offices. It described the face-covering veil as an unacceptable "challenge to our republic".

However, after six months of hearings, the commission stopped short of outlawing the veil in the streets, in shopping centres and other public venues, due to doubts about the constitutionality of such a move.

Mr Copé, however, dismissed the idea a full ban was unconstitutional.
"It is incomprehensible to say you can't wear (the full veil) in hospitals but can in bakeries," he told the Daily Telegraph.

His stance is backed by the majority of French: a poll last week showed 57 per cent are in favour of a total ban.

The cross-party report recommends passing a parliamentary resolution, paving the way to a law making it illegal for anyone to appear with their face covered at state-run institutions and on public transport, for security reasons.

Niqab-clad women could be denied services at the post office, or other government buildings, as well as access to a work visa, residency papers or French citizenship, the report said.

Parliament is expected to pass a resolution after regional elections in March, with a law possible "by the end of the year", according to one commission member. France moves closer to Muslim face veil ban >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

LE TEMPS: France : Alerte contre les «barbares» en burqa : Un rapport parlementaire préconise des mesures pour compliquer la vie des femmes portant le voile intégral. Dans l’espoir, à terme, d’éliminer le phénomène >>> Sylvain Besson | Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! The Dollar Bubble

A Must Watch! Radical Islam In America


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Al Qaradawi Praising Hitler's Anti-Semitism

Dennis McShane on the New Anti-Semitism



Dennis McShane: “Islam is a religion of peace”? Come on, Dennis! Get real!
France MPs' Report Backs Muslim Face Veil Ban

BBC: A French parliamentary committee has recommended a partial ban on women wearing Islamic face veils.

The committee's near 200-page report has proposed a ban in hospitals, schools, government offices and on public transport.

It also recommends that anyone showing visible signs of "radical religious practice" should be refused residence cards and citizenship.

The interior ministry says just 1,900 women in France wear the full veils.

In its report, the committee said requiring women to cover their faces was against the French republican principles of secularism and equality.

"The wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our republic. This is unacceptable. We must condemn this excess," the report said.

The commission called on parliament to adopt a formal resolution stating that the face veil was "contrary to the values of the republic" and proclaiming that "all of France is saying 'no' to the full veil".

Presenting the report to the French National Assembly, speaker Bernard Accoyer said the face veil had too many negative connotations.

"It is the symbol of the repression of women, and... of extremist fundamentalism.

"This divisive approach is a denial of the equality between men and women and a rejection of co-existence side-by-side, without which our republic is nothing."

The report is expected to be followed by the drafting of a bill and a parliamentary debate on the issue. >>> | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

BBC: Countries across the continent have wrestled with the issue of the Muslim veil - in various forms such as the body-covering burka and the niqab, which covers the face apart from the eyes. The debate takes in religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. The Islamic veil across Europe >>> | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Interdiction du voile intégral : l'avis des juristes

Crédits photo : Le Figaro

LE FIGARO: Dans son rapport rendu mardi, la mission parlementaire préconise l'interdiction de la burqa par la loi dans les services publics. Les spécialistes du droit estiment en effet qu'une loi est mieux adaptée que des arrêtés municipaux ou des décisions de justice. Mais la justification de l'interdiction s'annonce délicate.

Le parlement peut adopter une loi restreignant le port de la burqa mais la voie est étroite : tel est l'avis des universitaires entendus par la mission d'information de l'Assemblée sur le port du voile intégral. En tout état de cause, une limitation du port de la burqa ne peut être édictée que par une loi, et non par des arrêtés municipaux ou par des décisions de justice, jugent ces juristes.

Ainsi Anne Levade, professeur de droit public à Paris XII, «le législateur bénéficie d'une plus grande liberté que l'autorité réglementaire pour poser des interdictions générales». «Les réglementations éparses qui peuvent exister ont des fondements juridiques très fragiles, observe Bertrand Mathieu, professeur de droit public. Le législateur est seul compétent pour réglementer l'exercice d'une liberté publique», en l'occurrence le droit de se vêtir librement. Et plus encore si le port du voile intégral est considéré comme la manifestation de convictions religieuses. Si les parlementaires décident d'élaborer une loi, quelle base juridique peuvent-ils invoquer?

Selon le professeur Guy Carcassonne, une réglementation du port de la burqa dans les lieux publics ne peut être motivée par le principe de laïcité. Dans son sens actuel, la laïcité signifie que l'État est tenu d'être neutre à l'égard des religions et de respecter la liberté de conscience. Le gouvernement a certes le droit d'interdire à ses agents et aux élèves des collèges et lycées publics de manifester ostensiblement leur confession. >>> Guillaume Perrault | Mardi 26 Janvier 2010

Ganzkörperschleier: Paris will Burka aus der Öffentlichkeit verbannen

WELT ONLINE: Muslimische Frauen in Ganzkörperschleiern sollen in Frankreich nicht mehr Bus und Bahn fahren dürfen. Eine parteiübergreifende Parlamentskommission empfahl ein vollständiges Verbot der Burka in öffentlichen Einrichtungen. Auch Schulen, Krankenhäuser und Behörden dürften verschleierte Frauen nicht mehr betreten.

Frauen im Burka in der südfranzösischen Metropole Marseille. Der Ganzkörperschleier soll in Frankreich aus dem öffentlichen Leben verbannt werden. Bild: Welt Online

In Frankreich zeichnet sich ein Verbot der Ganzkörperverschleierung muslimischer Frauen in Behörden und öffentlichen Einrichtungen ab. Eine parteiübergreifende Enquetekommission der Nationalversammlung forderte einstimmig eine Parlamentsresolution, die ein Verbot der Burka „auf dem Gebiet der Republik“ verlangen soll. Eine große Mehrheit der Kommissionsmitglieder sprach sich zudem für ein Gesetz aus, das die Vollverschleierung in allen staatlichen Einrichtungen untersagt.

Das würde unter anderem bedeuten, dass Frauen, die eine Burka tragen, keine öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel wie Busse oder U-Bahnen benutzen dürften. Auch der Zutritt zu Schulen, Krankenhäusern und Behörden wäre Burka- und Nikab-Trägerinnen damit untersagt. Weiter erlaubt wäre die Burka damit auf offener Straße und in der Privatwirtschaft.

„Ganz Frankreich sagt Nein zum Ganzkörperschleier und verlangt, dass diese Praxis auf dem Gebiet der Republik verboten wird“, heißt es im Vorschlag des Parlamentsausschusses für die Entschließung. Eine Burka zu tragen widerspreche „den Werten der Republik“. >>> AFP/dpa/ks | Dienstag, 26. Januar 2010

Für Burka-Verbot in Frankreichs Service Public: Parlamentskommission will Einschränkung von Verschleierung

NZZ ONLINE: Frankreich setzt ein offizielles Zeichen gegen die volle Verschleierung: Die Burka soll zwar nicht ganz aus der Öffentlichkeit verschwinden, aber das Tragen soll eingeschränkt werden. Die parlamentarische Kommission spricht von einer Herausforderung für die Demokratie.

Die vor sechs Monaten ins Leben gerufene parlamentarische Mission hat in ihrem «Burka-Bericht» klare Worte gefunden. Das voll verschleiernde Gewand sei Ausdruck einer gesellschaftliche Einkerkerung, die von einer islamische Minderheit propagiert werde. Der damit verbundene absolute Rückzug einer Person aus der Öffentlichkeit spiele sich oft auf dem Hintergrund einer sozialen und materiellen Not ab. Die Bewegung und die damit verbundene Ghettoisierung verkörpere eine Herausforderung für Demokratien.

Die Gruppe der Parlamentarier, die mit ihrem Bericht ein erstes offizielles Zeichen gegen die volle Verschleierung in Frankreich setzt, hat ihren Bericht am Dienstag dem Präsidenten der Nationalversammlung überreicht. Die Analyse, die unter dem Vorsitz des kommunistischen Abgeordneten André Gerin entstanden ist, gilt als Baustein eines Gesetzesentwurfs, der demnächst in Angriff genommen werden dürfte. Hoche Wellen wirft das Thema bereits jetzt. Denn, so eine der brennenden Fragen, lassen sich in der Republik individuelle Rechte (hier das Recht zur «freien» Kleidung) mit dem anderen staatsprägenden Gebot der gesellschaftlichen Integration vereinbaren?

Starke Symbolkraft

Der Bericht und die Schlussfolgerungen sind klar: Die Kommission schlägt nämlich vor, dass dort, wo öffentliche Dienstleistungen erbracht werden, die Verschleierung nicht toleriert werden soll. Von einem generellen Verbot, was einem Totalverbot des umstrittenen Gewands in der Öffentlichkeit gleichkäme, rät die Gruppe ab. Nun wird sich das Parlament mit dem Bericht befassen; anschliessend soll ein Gesetzesentwurf ausgearbeitet werden. Die Stossrichtung der Kommission … >>> Manfred Rist, Paris | Dienstag, 26. Januar 2010
More Troops for Afghanistan? Non, Mr President!

MAIL ONLINE: France is to stop sending soldiers to Afghanistan, Nicolas Sarkozy has announced.

It comes as leaders in Germany revealed plans to send more troops - but only to train local security forces and help with elections.

The decisions defy U.S. President Barack Obama's call for more troops from Europe. He had piled pressure on Nato allies after vowing to send up to 30,000 more troops to the country last year.

Mr Obama believed more troops were needed to fight a growing Taliban insurgency.

The French President yesterday said he would consider sending more trainers and civilian helpers in the hope of improving the efficiency of the Afghan Army.

But he ruled out extra soldiers to carry out these duties.

Mr Sarkozy said in a live interview on TF1 television on Monday night: 'If there is a need for more people to train, to help the police to undertake civil engineering, to help the population, to help Afghanisation, why not?

‘But combat troops? No.’ France and Germany risk diplomatic row after snubbing Obama's call to send more troops to Afghanistan >>> Peter Allen and Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Single British Asian Mums Losing Their 'Honour Babies'

BBC: Some single British Asian women are being forced by their families to give up their children as so-called "honour babies", according to a charity which wants action to uncover the scale of the problem.

Saima was just 17 when she fell pregnant. But, instead of feeling happy about becoming a mum, she knew her world was about to fall apart.

Although she longed to keep her baby, she was aware her strict Pakistani parents would never allow it because she was not married.

She declined her GP's option of an abortion and hid her pregnancy from her parents until a few weeks before she was due to give birth.

"As soon as my parents found out I was pregnant they kept me hidden in the house," she said.

"I wasn't allowed out until I gave birth to my son. They immediately adopted him as their own and a few days later I was sent to Pakistan where my dad had arranged my marriage.

"I wasn't allowed to return to the UK until I fell pregnant with my husband's child.

"My husband and I lived quite close to my parents so I had to watch them bring up my son and pretend he was my brother. My marriage didn't really work out and I was very unhappy."

Saima's name has been changed to protect her identity but the situation is all too real for her and many more young Asian women.

A charity has told BBC Asian Network it fears a growing problem of single women being forced to give up their babies because of "honour".

"It is a deeply hidden issue but a very relevant one that is kept underground," says Jasvinder Sanghera, who founded the charity Karma Nirvana to help victims of forced marriages and honour-based crimes.

She said: "The term 'honour baby' is used because the baby is said to have brought dishonour on that family.

"The cases could be in their hundreds, because we have no idea how many there are." >>> Ushma Mistry, BBC Asian Network | Lundi 25 Janvier 2010
The Disgusting, “Shameless” Tony Bliar!

THE INDEPENDENT: (from a firm that bet on British banks going bust)

Tony Blair is to be paid at least £200,000 by a City firm accused of profiteering from the financial crisis that brought Britain's banks to their knees.

The former prime minister has been hired by the hedge fund Lansdowne Partners to deliver four presentations to staff about the world political situation. Mr Blair, one of the world's most highly paid speakers, reportedly commands between £50,000 and £170,000 for a single speech.

Details of his latest money-spinning appearance emerged days before he is due to appear before the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war.

He was accused last night of a "shameless" willingness to accept money from any source. Blair's £200,000 hedge fund pay-day >>> Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor, and Nick Clark | Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Death Threats for French Imam Who Preaches Peace with Jewish Neighbours

THE TELEGRAPH: Preacher under police protection after Gaza conflict raises tensions in poor Paris suburb

Women walk past a synagogue in Lille, northern France, tagged with the inscription Zog (Zionist Occupation Government) and a swastika. Photograph: The Telegraph

Hassen Chalghoumi has devoted his life to bringing people together. For years he has preached the values of inter-faith harmony from his mosque in Paris's poor and fractious north-eastern suburbs, working with Jewish leaders, inviting them to his home and urging young people of all religions to embrace harmony in place of hatred.

But today the imam, whose work has been hailed by religious and political leaders, was in fear of his life and under police protection in Drancy after the tensions lying dormant in his community were reawoken by the conflict over 2,000 miles away in Gaza.

Enraged by his determination to show solidarity with the Jewish community at a time when they feel the battle lines are clear, unknown French Muslims have left death threats on his mobile phone. Some have stopped him in the street to warn him he is going "too far". His car has been vandalised and drenched in fuel.

"It is very hard to work for rapprochement in such a climate," he said. "But it has to be done."

In a fortnight which has seen the Palestinian death toll from Israel's assault exceed 1,000, the European country with the largest Muslim and Jewish populations has been served an uncomfortable reminder of the tensions that continue to divide it.

Synagogues in several towns across France have been daubed with antisemitic graffiti. One in Lille was decorated with a swastika. Others have been attacked with petrol bombs and set alight. Dozens of people have been arrested after pro-Palestinian protests turned violent and Israeli flags were burned in the street. According to the French Jewish students' union, there have been 55 antisemitic incidents since 27 December. The police have not published an official list. >>> Lizzy Davies, Paris | Friday, January 16, 2010

Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>
Gladiator Soundtrack – Enya: Now We Are Free

Monday, January 25, 2010

Bravo for Nico! Nicolas Sarkozy Backs a Ban on the Full Muslim Veil

TIMES ONLINE: Curbs on wearing the full Muslim veil come a step closer in France today with a report that will call for a ban on the dress in post offices, universities, hospitals and state-owned premises, as well as public transport.

Last night President Sarkozy was due to endorse the proposals, to be made by an all-party commission. Last week he called the niqab, the form of veil worn in France, “contrary to our values and to the ideals we have of women’s dignity”. Parliament is expected to act on the proposals in the spring.

If they become law women with covered faces would be refused public services such as transport, university classes and benefits. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Remember Gays in the Holocaust

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Yad Vashem : יד ושם >>>

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Children of the Holocaust

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We Are Still In the Shadow of the Holocaust

THE TELEGRAPH: Anti-Semitism is on the rise, which makes memorial day all the more vital, says Michael Gove.

This Wednesday we remember the greatest crime ever inflicted by man against his fellow man. Holocaust Memorial Day allows us to reflect on the bleakest chapter in the history of the 20th century. And there is a special urgency in the call to remember this year, of all years - because the shadow of the Holocaust continues to fall over the world today.

Mass murder is still deployed as a political tool by tyrants, from Burma to Zimbabwe. Racism is returning to the streets of Europe, from St Petersburg to Antwerp. And, hard though it is to credit after the horrors of the last century, anti-Semitism is creeping back into the corridors of power.

We know that Nazi ideology still has the power to motivate evil men. From the Swedish fascist who tried to acquire the "Arbeit macht frei" sign which hung over the gates of Auschwitz, to the British fascists of the BNP, there is an ominous resurgence of extremist activity visible across our Continent.

It is because we face a new fascist threat, and because the extremism of the BNP is mirrored in the equally toxic ideology of anti-Semitic groups such as Islam4Uk and Hizb-ut Tahrir, that we need, all of us, to make an additional effort to remember how the Holocaust started. And where it ended.

The history of the Holocaust is the history of a society which blamed the Jews for its miseries, sought to push them to the margins and then sought, literally, to make them vanish from sight. In our time we can see the same trends returning. The calls for boycotts of Jewish thinkers at Israeli universities, the rise in anti-Semitic incidents on our streets, the inflamed rhetoric of vilification which culminates in the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call to wipe Israel off the map, are all connected. >>> Michael Gove | Monday, January 25, 2010

Buchenwald

Warning! Attention! Achtung! The images here are very graphic and disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.



Kristallnacht (Crystal Night / The Night of Broken Glass): The German Pogrom 1938



Shoah Memorial-Museum >>>

Mémorial de la Shoah: Musée, Centre de documentation juive contemporaine >>>

Yad Vashem / יד ושם >>>
«La Shoah en tant que telle est une invention juive»

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: POLÉMIQUE | Quelques jours après la visite de Benoît XVI en la synagogue de Rome, un évêque polonais à la retraite provoque un tollé avec ses déclarations négationnistes sur un site italien.

"La Shoah en tant que telle est une invention juive", a affirmé lundi un évêque polonais à la retraite sur un site catholique traditionaliste italien, à deux jours du 65e anniversaire de la libération du camp d’extermination d’Auschwitz, journée mondiale de l’Holocauste.

"S’il est indéniable que la majorité des morts dans les camps de concentration étaient des juifs, dans la liste il y a aussi des tziganes, des Polonais, des Italiens et des catholiques", a déclaré Mgr Tadeusz Pieronek, sur le site Pontifex.roma.it.

"Il n’est donc pas permis de s’approprier cette tragédie pour faire de la propagande", a ajouté le prélat de 75 ans, qui fut ami du pape Jean Paul II, en affirmant qu’il "n’est pas historiquement vrai que dans les camps de concentration ce sont seulement des Juifs qui sont morts". "Il y a eu beaucoup de Polonais, mais cette vérité aujourd’hui est souvent ignorée", a poursuivi Mgr Pieronek.

Pour Mgr Pieronek, ancien secrétaire et ex-porte-parole de l’épiscopat polonais, "alors on pourrait parler avec la même force et fixer une journée de la mémoire aussi pour les nombreuses victimes du communisme, les catholiques et chrétiens persécutés et ainsi de suite". >>> AFP | Lundi 25 Janvier 2010

La Grèce appelle la Turquie à une relance des efforts de rapprochement

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: AVANCÉE | Le Premier ministre grec, Georges Papandréou, a appelé son homologue turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, à une relance des efforts de rapprochement , dans sa réponse à une lettre que lui avait envoyée en novembre le dirigeant turc.

Artisan en 1999 de la normalisation entre les deux pays, à l’époque en tant que chef de la diplomatie, M. Papandréou s’affirme dans ce courrier "encouragé par la volonté commune" des deux dirigeants "d’améliorer les relations bilatérales" qui marquent le pas ces dernières années, a indiqué l’agence de presse grecque Ana.

L’Ana a obtenu copie du courrier, qui a été remis dans la journée par l’ambassadeur grec à Ankara, a-t-on appris auprès des services de M. Papandréou.

M. Papandréou, qui adresse dans ce courrier une invitation à une visite officielle de M. Erdogan, exprime le souhait d’une relance des efforts pour "la mise en place entre les deux pays d’une relation plus viable et productive, et d’une paix durable", selon l’Ana. >>> AFP | Lundi 25 Janvier 2010

Türkei-Experte im Interview: "Erdogan kehrt zurück zu muslimischen Instinkten"

WELT ONLINE: In den 90er-Jahren galt der gegenwärtige türkische Ministerpräsident Erdogan als islamischer Fundamentalist. Danach erfand er sich neu als pro-europäischer Modernisierer. Im WELT-ONLINE-Interview erklärt Türkei-Experte Gareth Jenkins, warum Erdogan inzwischen wieder in Richtung Islam tendiert.

WELT ONLINE: Der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan galt in den 80er- und frühen 90er-Jahren als islamischer Fundamentalist. Später gab er sich moderat, pro-westlich, und stritt ab, dass der Islam zu seiner politischen Identität gehöre. Wo steht er heute? Hat er sich schon wieder geändert?

Gareth Jenkins: Er hat sich damals geändert, aber nicht so sehr, wie ein naiver Westen das glauben wollte. Ich denke, er hat nie wirklich die Idee verinnerlicht, dass es eine Gleichberechtigung geben sollte zwischen den Kulturen und Religionen. Fundamentalismus war in der Türkei immer etwas Anderes als beispielsweise in arabischen Ländern, es hatte mehr mit kultureller Identität zu tun als mit Scharia. Seit 2007 kehrt Erdogan zunehmend zu dieser Suche nach einer muslimischen Identität zurück. Es ist eine instinktive Rückkehr zu seinen ursprünglichen Werten.

WELT ONLINE: Warum?

Jenkins: Erdogan und die AKP waren naiv in ihrem Bestreben, der EU beitreten zu wollen. Sie verstanden nicht, was die EU ist, sie wollten eigentlich der EU ihrer Fantasie beitreten. Die Realität hat sie enttäuscht, auch die Erfahrung mit anti-islamischen Gefühlen im Westen. So kehren sie zurück zu dem, was sie ursprünglich wollten, es ist auch eine Hinwendung zu den muslimischen Ländern, die einst zum osmanischen Reich gehörten. >>> Von Boris Kalnoky | Montag, 25. Januar 2010