Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Douglas Murray – Asserting the Superiority of Western Values
Russia Sidelined from G8: Does It Matter?
'Post-Cold War West Poked Russian Bear with Stick until It Finally Swiped Back'
Head to Head: Has Political Islam Failed?
Putin führt Wehrertüchtigung in Russland wieder ein
Kreml-Chef Wladimir Putin hat die aus Sowjetzeiten stammende Wehrertüchtigung wieder eingeführt. Zur freiwilligen Teilnahme aufgerufen sind alle Einwohner ab sechs Jahren. Dank des Systems seien Generationen gesunder Menschen herangewachsen, sagte Putin. Als "Tribut an die Traditionen unserer nationalen Geschichte" werde auch wieder der alte Name "Gotow k trudu i oboronje" (GTO, Bereit zu Arbeit und Verteidigung) genutzt.
In den 30er-Jahren stand in der Sowjetunion patriotische Erziehung von jungen Proletariern auf dem Programm. Sie mussten stark sein und ihr sozialistisches Vaterland verteidigen können. An den Olympischen Spielen nahm die Sowjetunion damals nicht teil, Sport galt als Zeitvertreib für Kapitalisten. Eine eigene Sportbewegung musste her, ohne das westliche Wort "Sport" zu benutzen. Stattdessen war die Rede von der "physischen Kultur". "Physische Kultur im Sommer muss den Arbeitermassen neue Kräfte gebe, neue Energie in die ermüdeten Muskeln gießen, Fertigkeiten geben, die ein Arbeiter und ein Soldat braucht", schrieb die sowjetische Zeitung "Komsomolskaja Prawda" 1930. » | Von Julia Smimova | Dienstag, 25. März 2014
Un islamiste suisse tue trois personnes en Turquie
Un citoyen suisse originaire du Kosovo a été arrêté en Turquie après le meurtre de trois personnes, dont un gendarme, dans la province anatolienne de Niğde la semaine passée, a annoncé la police . » | Par Pascal Schmuck, Zurich | mardi 25 mars 2014
Rumsfeld's Take: Karzai Snubs West, Backs Putin's Power Grab
War Threats Escalating in Ukraine?
Monday, March 24, 2014
Unbranded Cigarettes Could Mean People Smoke More, Experts Warn
Putting cigarettes in plain packs could lead to a rise in sales, experts have said, as smokers will no longer care about buying expensive brands.
The warning came as industry data from Australia - the only country to introduce plain packaging - suggests that the amount of tobacco delivered to retailers has risen in the year since changes were made. » | Laura Donnelly, Health Editor | Monday, March 24, 2014
Inside Story: Turkey Turns Off Twitter
Far-Right Makes Electoral Come-back across France
France on Sunday woke up to a “new political age” that appears to have sounded the death knell of two-party politics in the country when the far-Right party Front National (FN) made surprising gains in municipal elections.
Surpassing even the most upbeat forecasts by Marine Le Pen, the FN leader, the anti-EU and anti-immigration party gained at least 10 per cent of the vote in 229 towns across France, qualifying them to run in the second round of elections on March 30. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, March 24, 2014
Mitt Romney Calls Barack Obama 'Naive' on Russia and Vladimir Putin
Mitt Romney said on Sunday that President Barack Obama is naive when it comes to Russia, has shown "faulty judgment" about Moscow's intentions and could have done more to try to deter its annexation of Crimea.
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee said Obama had not had the foresight to anticipate Russia's moves and should have been working earlier with allies to make clear the penalties that Russia would face if it moved into Ukraine. Romney did acknowledge that such steps might not have been enough though to hold back Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
"Had we communicated those things, there's always the potential that we could have kept them from invading a country and annexing it into their own," Romney said in an appearance on Face the Nation, on CBS. » | Associated Press in Washington | Sunday, March 23, 2014
Putin urged to make Transdniestria his next conquest »
Russia Ready to Annex Moldova Region, Nato Commander Claims
Nato's most senior military commander said on Sunday that Russia had amassed a large military force on Ukraine's eastern border, and warned that Moldova's separatist Trans-Dniester region could be the Kremlin's next target.
General Philip Breedlove, Nato's supreme allied commander, described the Russian force that began exercises 10 days ago as very, very sizeable and very, very ready.
"There is absolutely sufficient force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Trans-Dniester if the decision was made to do that. That is very worrisome," Breedlove said. » | Luke Harding in Donetsk | Sunday, March 23, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Sharia Law in UK: Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry
Calls for a Parliamentary inquiry into the scale of Islamic law in the UK are mounting after the body representing solicitors in England Wales issued formal guidance on making “Sharia compliant” wills.
The Law Society was accused of giving its stamp of approval to discriminatory practices after it published advice on writing wills which deny women an equal share and exclude “illegitimate” children or unbelievers.
The society denied promoting Sharia and insisted that it was simply responding to demand.
But MPs said the publication would be a “wake-up call” for those who support women’s equality. » | John Bingham, Religious Affaira Editor | Sunday, March 23, 2014
The Price of Failed American Leadership?
Sharia law Is Well and Truly Operating in the UK – Thanks to the Law Society
It was with incredulity that I saw this practice note issued by the Law Society last week.
Lawyers will know that practice notes issued by the Law Society are guidance on best practice for specific topics or areas of law.
This practice note provides guidance to lawyers specialising in areas such as wills, succession and inheritance, and in particular how to accommodate the wishes of clients who want to ensure their assets are distributed according to 'sharia law principles' on their death.
I'm not a wills lawyer, but according to memory in the UK unless you draw up a will, on death your estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy. I'm sure most lawyers will also say that clients can do whatever they want with their assets, and it has always been the case that a lawyer must follow the client's instructions on such issues.
But what this guidance does is legitimise discrimination towards women and "illegitimate children" – if that term still has any meaning in English law. In an astonishing few paragraphs the guidance states (at Section 3.6):
"The male heirs in most cases receive double the amount inherited by a female heir of the same class. Non-Muslims may not inherit at all, and only Muslim marriages are recognised. Similarly, a divorced spouse is no longer a Sharia heir, as the entitlement depends on a valid Muslim marriage existing at the date of death.Now, of course a person has always been able to distribute their assets in any way they wish and a Muslim may completely legally have distributed their assets according to sharia principles, without letting the lawyer know the basis of the instructions. The difference now is that a solicitor could offer this service to a Muslim client and the Muslim client can say they want to distribute their assets in a certain way because of their religious requirement. » | Sadikur Rahman | Friday, March 21, 2014
"This means you should amend or delete some standard will clauses. For example, you should consider excluding the provisions of s33 of the Wills Act 1837 because these operate to pass a gift to the children of a deceased 'descendent'. Under Sharia rules, the children of a deceased heir have no entitlement, although they can benefit from the freely disposable third.
"Similarly, you should amend clauses which define the term 'children' or 'issue' to exclude those who are illegitimate or adopted."
Islamic Law Is Adopted by British Legal Chiefs
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| Under ground-breaking guidance, produced by The Law Society, High Street solicitors will be able to write Islamic wills |
Islamic law is to be effectively enshrined in the British legal system for the first time under guidelines for solicitors on drawing up “Sharia[-]compliant” wills.
Under ground-breaking guidance, produced by The Law Society, High Street solicitors will be able to write Islamic wills that deny women an equal share of inheritances and exclude unbelievers altogether.
The documents, which would be recognised by Britain’s courts, will also prevent children born out of wedlock – and even those who have been adopted – from being counted as legitimate heirs.
Anyone married in a church, or in a civil ceremony, could be excluded from succession under Sharia principles, which recognise only Muslim weddings for inheritance purposes.
Nicholas Fluck, president of The Law Society, said the guidance would promote “good practice” in applying Islamic principles in the British legal system.
Some lawyers, however, described the guidance as “astonishing”, while campaigners warned it represented a major step on the road to a “parallel legal system” for Britain’s Muslim communities.
Baroness Cox, a cross-bench peer leading a Parliamentary campaign to protect women from religiously sanctioned discrimination, including from unofficial Sharia courts in Britain, said it was a “deeply disturbing” development and pledged to raise it with ministers.
“This violates everything that we stand for,” she said. “It would make the Suffragettes turn in their graves.” » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Saturday, March 22, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
The Wolf Hunt Returns to France as Species Makes a European Comeback
Freedom of Speech Is 'Universal' Right, Michelle Obama Tells China
Freedom of information, expression and belief should be considered "universal rights", Michelle Obama, the US first lady, told students in China on Saturday.
Speaking at Peking University on the second full day of a weeklong, bridge-building family tour of the country, Mrs Obama said: "It is so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the internet and through the media."
"When it comes to expressing yourself freely, and worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information - we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet," Mrs Obama told an audience of around 200 students.
"My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens, and it's not always easy.
"But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." » | Tom Phillips, Shanghai | Saturday, March 22, 2014
Newsnight Economics Editor Duncan Weldon's 'Embarrassing' Fascist Past
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| Duncan Weldon is the TUC's chief economist but once dabbled in far-Right politics |
When a TUC official was hired by Newsnight as its new economics correspondent, the BBC faced familiar accusations of Left-wing bias.
But Duncan Weldon has admitted that he once had a brief, “witless” dalliance with fascism, having been an admirer of Oswald Mosley when he was a boy.
As a 19-year-old student, he wrote an article for his university newspaper headlined “I was a fascist”, in which he described attending British National Party meetings and taking part in a “violent” demonstration against asylum seekers.
Writing under the pseudonym Sam Healey in the Oxford University student newspaper Cherwell in 2002, he wrote that after attending several BNP meetings: “I was starting to consider myself a Fascist – a patriot – one of the few who understood that in order to regain what we once had, we may have to take distasteful methods.”
The hiring of Mr Weldon by the Newsnight editor Ian Katz, a former deputy editor of The Guardian, had already raised eyebrows because Mr Weldon has virtually no professional journalistic experience. » | Gordon Raynor, Chief Reporter | Friday, March 21, 2014
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Cannot Rock the Boardroom
My comment:
I must confess that I find it hard to understand women’s obsession with having it all: a career, motherhood, and wifehood. It seems to me that they end up like the proverbial dog chasing its tail – always attempting to catch it, but never quite doing so.
Whatever happened to the concept of mothers putting baby first? Whatever happened to mothers tending to baby’s needs, first and foremost?
This obsession women have of being successful in their careers has led to an awful lot of trouble in society. To start with, the divorce rate has shot through the roof. Further, the house is often no longer the home. It was always said that the mother was the heart of the home; but with mothers being absent from the home for much of the day, they can no longer fulfil this rôle properly.
Then we come to the fact that all these working mothers have driven up the price of houses. So much so that it is now virtually impossible for many married couples even to entertain the idea that the wife might be better off staying home, rather than going out to the workplace.
But what have we gained in all this? Are people really so much better off? And what about the health of the mother? Are they really doing their long-term health any good by pushing themselves so much? And this, of course, ignores the long-term damage done to so many children, many of whom simply go off the rails.
I’d be interested to know if any others feel as I do. Am I really such a lone voice? – © Mark
This comment appears here too.
Ukraine : "Nous sommes au bord de la Troisième Guerre mondiale"
Ancien patron du SBU, les services secrets ukrainiens, et ancien colonel du KGB lorsque l'Ukraine appartenait encore à l'Union soviétique, Igor Smeshko connaît tous les secrets militaires des deux pays. Et c'est un homme en colère. Contre Poutine bien sûr. "Il fait prendre à l'Europe le risque de la Troisième Guerre mondiale", dit-il. Mais aussi contre l'actuel gouvernement ukrainien au pouvoir depuis la chute de Victor Ianoukovitch qui, selon lui, n'a rien fait pour éviter l'annexion de la Crimée par la Russie et pour montrer à Poutine que l'Ukraine était en mesure de se défendre. Un étonnant coup de colère dans un pays où le gouvernement de coalition tente justement de montrer que le pays est soudé. » | D’envoyé special du Point à Kiev, Romain Gubert | samedi 22 mars 2014
Putin Mocks US Sanctions, Vows Not to Strike Back
Moscow and Crimea Light Up Skies with Fireworks to Celebrate Reunion
Putin Orders Fireworks over Moscow as He Laughs Off US Sanctions
Fireworks have been let off over Moscow on President Vladimir Putin’s orders as Russia celebrated the formal annexation of Crimea, in a front to the West.
Mr Putin laughed off the US sanctions that targeted his inner circle, promising the Russian government would “have the back” of those on the list, and even opening a personal account at a sanctioned bank as an act of solidarity.
“Far as I’m aware, it’s an average bank,” Mr Putin said on Friday of Bank Rossiya, the only institution on the list of sanctions targets released by the US Treasury Department on Thursday. “I don’t have a personal account there, but I’ll open on on Monday.”
And in what appeared to be a move to de-escalate tensions, he even said he had no intention of imposing answering reactions. “We should refrain from retaliatory steps,” he said. » | Roland Oliphant in Simferopol and Yekaterina Kravtsova in Moscow | Friday, March 21, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Pope Francis: 'Hell Awaits' Mobsters Unless They Change Their Ways
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| Pope Francis delivers his speech during a meeting with relatives of innocent mafia victims, in Rome's St. Gregorio VII church, just outside the Vatican. |
Pope Francis has warned Italy’s mafia they will go to hell unless they repent and reminded them they cannot take their “blood stained money and blood stained power to the next life.”
Speaking at an emotional vigil in Rome on Friday attended by around 900 relatives of people murdered by Italy’s mafia clans, Francis told mobsters to “please change your life”, adding: “We pray for you, I am asking you on my knees to convert, it is for your own good.”
Francis delivered his somber, strongly worded attack after the names of all 842 innocent people killed in Italy by the mafia since 1893 were read out at the Church of San Gregorio VII, close to the Vatican.
“This life that you live will not give you joy or happiness,” he said. “Convert, there is time before you finish up in hell, which is what awaits unless you change path,” he said. “You have a father and a mother – think of them and convert.” » | Tom Kington, Rome | Friday, March 21, 2014
Le pape aux mafieux: «changez de vie» »
Russland druckt neue Landkarte
Schon in wenigen Wochen sollen die neuen russischen Landkarten fertig sein – mit der Erweiterung um die Krim. «Wir brauchen keine besonderen Messungen. Das ganze wird höchstens ein bis zwei Monate dauern», sagte der Präsident der Staatlichen Universität für Geodäsie und Kartographie, Viktor Sawinych. » | mw/sda | Freitag, 21. März 2014
Le pape aux mafieux: «changez de vie»
Le pape François a lancé vendredi un appel aux «hommes et aux femmes de la mafia» à «changer de vie, à arrêter de faire le mal, à se convertir», lors d'une cérémonie en mémoire des victimes de la criminalité organisée à Rome. » | afp/Newsnet | vendredi 21 mars 2014
Türkischer Premier Erdogan: Der Staat bin ich
Istanbul/Rize - Alles muss spektakulär sein, wenn Recep Tayyip Erdogan erscheint, natürlich auch am Sonntag, wenn er in Istanbul buchstäblich Neuland betritt: Eine viele tausend Quadratmeter große Halbinsel wurde im Marmara-Meer geschaffen, mit Grünflächen und Parkplätzen für 2000 Autos und 1000 Busse. Erdogan will sie eröffnen, er will vor 1,5 Millionen Fans Wahlkampf machen. Kleiner geht es nicht.
Erdogan hat den Spruch "Versprich einem Türken eine Autobahn, eine Shoppingmall, einen Flughafen, und er wählt dich" verinnerlicht wie kein anderer türkischer Politiker. Bei vielen Wählern kommt der Größenwahn gut an. » | Von Hasnain Kazim | Freitag, 21. März 2014
Listening Post: Erdoğan: Control, Conflict, Conglomerates
US Government Giving Up Control of Internet
The Foxhole: How Is US Diplomacy Viewed in the World Today?
Tit for Tat: Mocking Sanctions
Singing Nun Stuns Judges on Italy's The Voice
Crimea, Sevastopol Officially Join Russia as Putin Signs Final Decree
THE GUARDIAN: Putin laughs off sanctions as he signs bills to transfer Crimea to Russia: President promises to open account at blacklisted bank as west signals intent to maintain pressure over Ukraine crisis » | Alex Luhn in Moscow | Friday, March 21, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Inside Story: Oil and Gas: At What Price?
France Says Britain Must Extend Sanctions to Russian Oligarchs in London
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| Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister of France |
Britain should target the assets of Russian oligarchs in London if more sanctions are adopted against Moscow over Ukraine, France’s foreign minister has said.
Laurent Fabius made the remarks as he said France might envisage suspending a €1.2billion (£1billion) contract to supply two warships to Russia.
The decision not to deliver two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, he said, could be part of a potential “third level” of sanctions if Russia did not respond to those imposed by the European Union and the US on Monday on a number of top Russian and Ukrainian figures.
But he insisted this could only take place “in the framework of general sanctions imposed by all countries”.
Mr Fabius went on to single out Britain, saying it must do “the equivalent with the assets of Russian oligarchs in London. Sanctions have to touch everyone”. » | Henry Samuel, in Paris and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Krim-Krise: Schulz warnt vor Krieg in Europa
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| EU-Parlamentspräsident Schulz bei der Ankunft in Brüssel: "Wir reden vom Risiko eines bewaffneten Konflikts." |
Washington - Der reguläre Gipfel der Staats- und Regierungschefs der EU an diesem Donnerstag und Freitag wandelte sich zum Krisengipfel. Schon wieder. Der zweite Krisengipfel in diesem Monat. In Brüssel sucht man nach einer gemeinsamen Haltung in der Krim-Krise. Wie scharf sollen weitere Sanktionen gegen Russland ausfallen?
Vor Beginn der eigentlichen Gespräche berieten sich die Gipfelteilnehmer mit EU-Parlamentspräsident Martin Schulz - und der konfrontierte sie mit drastischen Befürchtungen: "All diejenigen, die geglaubt haben, Krieg oder Kriegsgefahr wären kein Thema mehr, sehen sich eines Besseren belehrt", sagte der Sozialdemokrat. "Wir reden vom Risiko eines bewaffneten Konflikts." Das "sehr brutale Vorgehen" Russlands zur Annexion der ukrainischen Halbinsel Krim bedeute eine "neue Dimension".
Schulz äußerte nach einem Treffen mit den EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs Sorge, dass sich Russlands "Begehrlichkeiten" nicht auf die Krim beschränkten. "Und deswegen ist jeder weitere Schritt der russischen Regierung zu beantworten mit verschärften Sanktionen" bis hin zu einer "dramatischen wirtschaftlichen Konfrontation". Die EU müsse Moskau deutlich machen, dass sie ein Überschreiten der von Russland erreichten Grenze nicht akzeptiere, fügte Schulz hinzu. » | ler/dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, 20. März 2014
Répression: Le premier ministre turc veut «supprimer» Twitter
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| Après Facebook et YouTube, le premier ministre turc Erdogan veut désormais supprimer Twitter. |
«Nous allons supprimer Twitter. Je me moque de ce que pourra dire la communauté internationale», a lancé Recep Tayyip Erdogan devant des milliers de partisans lors d'un rassemblement électoral à huit jours du scrutin municipal du 30 mars. «Ils verront alors la force de la Turquie», a-t-il ajouté.
Au début du mois, le chef du gouvernement islamo-conservateur avait déjà menacé d'interdire YouTube et Facebook. «Nous sommes résolus à ne pas laisser le peuple turc être esclave de YouTube et Facebook», avait-il déclaré lors d'un entretien télévisé, «nous prendrons les mesures nécessaires, quelles qu'elles soient, y compris la fermeture». » | afp/Newsnet | jeudi 20 mars 2014
Dutch Politician Wilders Accused of Discrimination
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| Geert Wilders said he had been "only referring to Moroccan criminals" at the rally |
At a local election rally in The Hague on Wednesday night, Mr Wilders asked supporters of his Freedom Party if they wanted more or fewer Moroccans there.
When they chanted "fewer" in response, Mr Wilders said: "We'll organise that."
The Dutch Moroccan Alliance (SMN) said he had crossed a legal boundary by targeting a specific group of people.
Video footage of the rally is being circulated on social media with some critics drawing comparisons between Mr Wilders and Adolf Hitler's call for the "irrevocable removal" of Jews from German life.
They accuse the outspoken politician of alluding to a promise of action that, taken to its literal conclusion, could resemble ethnic cleansing. » | Anna Holligan | BBC News | The Hague | Thursday, March 20, 2014
Crimea Will Return to Ukrainian Jurisdiction, Says Minister
He also told the BBC's Chris Morris that they are still deciding whether to withdraw Ukrainian troops and their families from Crimea. (+ BBC video) » | Thursday, March 20, 2014
Anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church Leader Fred Phelps Dies
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| Phelps was an ordained Baptist minister, although his church was not affiliated with any mainstream denomination |
The Reverend Fred Phelps Sr, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, died on Wednesday evening at 84.
The church, made up mostly of his family, rose to international notoriety with its practice of picketing funerals of fallen US troops.
It claimed their deaths were punishment for America's tolerance of gays.
'Diabolical'
Their signs read "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11" and the like, and bore messages offensive to gay and lesbian people. » | Thursday, March 20, 2014
West Creating 'Permissive Environment' for Vladimir Putin?
Obama: US to Impose Additional Costs on Russia
Tit for Tat: Russia Hits US Officials with Sanctions, as Obama Expands Penalties
The newest sanctions would bar nine American officials from entering Russia. The list includes House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Just as Vladimir Putin's government shrugged off U.S. sanctions earlier in the week, so did the Americans targeted by Moscow.
"The Speaker is proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin's aggression," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement.
McCain tweeted that he's "proud to be sanctioned by Putin."
As each side imposes sanctions, left unclear is whether any of them will have an effect on the standoff over Russia's widely challenged annexation of Crimea. (+ FoxNews video) » | FoxNews with The Associated Press | Thursday, March 20, 2014
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