Friday, February 15, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Dwindling church attendance and dire financial straits are forcing the Catholic and Protestant Churches in Germany to sell off church buildings en masse. Some are demolished, while others are turned into restaurants or indoor rock climbing centers.
The crew tasked with demolishing the Holy Family Church in the northern German town of Barmstedt arrived bright and early and began by removing the baptismal font. Next, a bulldozer moved in and knocked down the main church hall and the bell tower. In the space of a just a few hours, this house of worship to the Almighty was reduced to a pile of rubble.
"Very painful," is how Rev. Stefan Langer describes the demolition of this church north of Hamburg. For years, Langer oversaw baptisms, weddings and services here, but now the former church grounds stand nearly empty. The congregation has put the plot of land up for sale, advertising the property as "developable land" in a "prime location," and asking a price of €310,000 ($416,000).
"Upon this rock, I will build my church," Jesus said with confidence. He said nothing, though, about demolishing those churches.
Two millennia later, churches are being forced to make dramatic cuts due to dire financial straits and declining membership. "Between 1990 and 2010 we closed 340 churches, and of those 46 were demolished," says Thomas Begrich, head of finances for the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD), Germany's largest federation of Protestant churches. This, Begrich says, is only the beginning. "It may be necessary to give up an additional 1,000 buildings," he said.
Churches are being demolished throughout Germany. Take, for example, the city of Frankfurt am Main. In the 1950s, when Konrad Adenauer was German chancellor, there were 430,000 Protestants living in the city. Today, that number is 110,000. These declining numbers have forced the Church's regional authorities to close every fourth house of worship. » | Matthias Schulz | Translated from the German by Ella Ornstein | Thursday, February 14, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Holidaymakers to Egypt have been reassured about the future of the country as a tourist destination after authorities moved to restrict the sale of alcohol.
This week the government – led by Mohamed Morsi of the Freedom and Justice Party, which has strong links to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood – said it will no longer issue licenses to sell alcohol in some urban areas, including newly-built “satellite cities” on the outskirts of major population centres.
Announcing the move, Nabil Abbas, vice-president of the New Urban Communities Authority, said: “We cannot allow stores spreading debauchery in our society.”
Although the ban is unlikely to affect any key holiday destinations – particularly Red Sea resorts such as Sharm El Sheikh – it has raised fears that growing conservatism could soon affect those travellers wishing to visit the country and enjoy a drink. One Cairo-based news website described the move as “the end of alcohol in Egypt”. » | Oliver Smith | Friday, February 15, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: America's most prominent pro-gun activist has urged the country's shooters to fight efforts by President Barack Obama to make the US "like England" with tougher laws regulating firearms.
Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association (NRA), warned gun enthusiasts that Mr Obama's plans for an assault weapons ban and background checks would make them pariahs.
"We don't want America to become like England, where some of that nation's outstanding rifle competitors keep their hobby a dark secret from their neighbours for fear of social disapproval," said Mr LaPierre. "We're not going to let the anti-gunners push us into that zone."
His remarks, in an article for The Daily Caller website, were sharply rejected as "absolute rubbish" by Phil Scanlan, the performance director for British Shooting, the national gun sports organisation.
"Of course you have to go through a series of checks to obtain a licence," Mr Scanlan told The Daily Telegraph. "But if you want a gun for legitimate sporting purposes there are no real barriers."
Mr Scanlan pointed to last summer's London Olympics – where Briton Peter Wilson won gold in the double trap, and "shooting events were sold out every day" – as proof of healthy gun-sports culture. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Thursday, February 14, 2013
THE DAILY CALLER: Stand and Fight » | Wayne LaPierre | Wednesday, February 13, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Contempt for Europe is rising all across Britain, driven by politicians and media who blame Brussels, often absurdly, for everything from the declining economy to male impotence. A small group of pro-Europeans are waging a bizarre campaign against the country's agitated majority.
A group of men, all clad in dark suits, have gathered in a central London conference room to save Europe. They have responded to an invitation proclaiming that "the fight back begins" -- and the seriousness of the situation is reflected in their faces. It is late on a Wednesday afternoon a fortnight ago -- one week after British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a referendum will be held on Britain's membership in the European Union. That has opened the door for the country to exit the EU, which is something that the men in this room want to prevent at all costs. Ever since the day when Cameron said it was time to "settle the question" of Britain's relationship with Europe, these men have had a mission.
The building in which they are forging their plans is Europe House -- a political flashpoint. Up until just a few years ago, this was the Conservative Party's headquarters. Margaret Thatcher once planned her attacks against Brussels here, and Cameron used to have an office on the premises. Now, the building on Smith Square houses the offices of the European Parliament and the European Commission. The mass-circulation Daily Telegraph has dubbed it the "propaganda headquarters." This should actually be a good place to defend the European ideal against its adversaries, but it's a lonely place -- the last bastion.
Fat, Battle, War
Not many people have come to the meeting, 150 perhaps, and they can all easily fit into the windowless room. Members of the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party are attending the event. This is a cross-party movement primarily of older men with thinning hair, and very few women. The event was organized by Peter Wilding, who now grabs the microphone. Wilding, who has the charisma of a brush salesman, is the director of the Center for British Influence through Europe, a newly founded group that is lobbying for Britain to remain in the EU. He shouts into the room: "Help us to win, help us to fight back."
He says he wants to assemble an "army of supporters" to fight Europhobia in Britain. Wilding's voice has the pitch of a general who has to lead his troops into a decisive battle. » | Juan Moreno and Christoph Scheuermann in London | Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Royals try to stop 'outrageous' and 'wholly false' allegations about business deals surfacing in London trial
Relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia will suffer if what are said to be highly damaging allegations about business deals surface during a London trial, lawyers for two Saudi princes have warned the high court.
The resort to political justifications – among other reasons – for suppressing the disputed claims is revealed in a ruling delivered on Wednesday by Mr Justice Morgan. The judgment upholds, in principle, requests by the Guardian and Financial Times to be given documents detailing the disputed transactions involving Saudi interests in Beirut and Nairobi.
The allegations are said to be so serious that if published they would upset relations not only between the oil-rich kingdom and the UK but also have an "adverse effect" on Saudi links with the US. The Saudis have dismissed them as untrue, "outrageous" and "scandalous".
The companies court judge has given the Saudis time to appeal against his decision. A confidential annex to the judgment is, therefore, not yet being made public; it remains temporarily closed pending an appeal.
The dispute, which has erupted over the sale of $6.7m (£4.3m) worth of shares, has "thrown up a nuclear mushroom cloud" of litigation, Mr Justice Morgan said.
Lawyers for Prince Mishal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, his son, Prince Abdulaziz, and others have indicated they will go to the court of appeal to challenge the decision and prevent details of the allegations being released. » | Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent | Wednesday, February 13, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Polizei riegelte Oslos Zentrum zeitweise weitgehend ab: Ein Mann hat damit gedroht, das Parlament in der norwegischen Hauptstadt zu sprengen. Sicherheitskräfte nahmen einen Verdächtigen fest, mussten ihn kurz darauf aber wieder freilassen.
Oslo - Rund eineinhalb Jahre nach den Anschlägen des Anders Behring Breivik hat eine Bombendrohung die Bürger Oslos in der Nacht zum Mittwoch erneut in Angst versetzt. Dem Polizeichef der norwegischen Hauptstadt, Johan Fredriksen, zufolge sei die "nicht spezifizierte Drohung" durch einen Buspassagier ausgesprochen worden. Die Angaben des Busfahrers habe man als ernstzunehmend eingestuft. » | fdi/dpa | Mittwoch, 13. Februar 2013
MAIL ONLINE: John Guandolo claims John Brennan converted while in Saudi Arabia / Former FBI agent says Mr Brennan visited Mecca and Medina during Hajj
The incoming head of the CIA converted to Islam while working as a station chief in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, a former FBI agent has claimed.
John Guandolo, who retired from the FBI in 2008, said in a radio interview that John Brennan - who has been nominated by Barack Obama as the new director of the CIA - visited the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina accompanied by Saudi officials who may have persuaded him to convert.
Mr Guandolo's tale echoes elements of the plot of hit show Homeland, in which U.S. Marine Nick Brody converts to Islam while being held prisoner by al-Qaeda, only to begin working for the CIA after his release.
Mr Guandolo told the Trento Radio Show via Skype that Mr Brennan visited the holy sites during the Hajj season - in sees hundreds of thousands of Muslims converge on the cities to perform a series of rituals - while serving as CIA station chief in Riyadh between 1996 and 1999, a report on Al Arabiya News said.
Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering Mecca, and are not permitted to enter the city centre, or sacred core, of Medina.
The ex-FBI agent told the radio station Mr Brennan was 'unfit' to take charge of the CIA, and claimed U.S. government officials based in Saudi Arabia during that period 'were direct witnesses to his growing relationships with individuals who work with the Saudi government and they witnessed his conversion to Islam'. Read on and comment » | Kerry McDermott | Tuesday, February 12, 2013
HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »
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