Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Monday, April 06, 2015
Zweiter Weltkrieg: Athen beziffert deutsche Schuld auf 278 Milliarden Euro
Der griechische Vize-Finanzminister Dimitris Mardas hat erstmals konkrete Zahlen genannt: Als Reparationsschuld Deutschlands für den Zweiten Weltkrieg erwarte die Regierung in Athen 278,7 Milliarden Euro.
Die Summe nannte Mardas im Parlament, bei einer Sitzung des parlamentarischen Komitees, das untersuchen soll, wie Griechenland seinen Berg von Staatsschulden angehäuft hat. » | gec/juh | Montag, 06. April 2015
Demand for More Mosques in France Raises Tension
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| France is home to western Europe's largest Muslim population |
A call by Muslim leaders for the number of mosques in France to be doubled has aggravated community tensions barely three months after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
"We have 2,200 mosques and we need double that within two years," the Rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, told applauding French Muslims at a conference.
Many Muslims believe local authorities in France block applications to open or build mosques and prayer-rooms, leading to overcrowding and protests over prayers held in the streets.
However, the conservative daily Le Figaro said the comments by Dr Boubakeur, generally considered a moderate, were "provocative". » | David Chazan, Paris | Monday, April 06, 2015
Pat Condell: Free Speech on Campus
Free speech? Not at four in five UK universities
David Cameron Declares: ‘Britain Is Still a Christian Country’
David Cameron has used his Easter message to the country to declare that Britain is still a Christian country, as he urged the nation to “speak out” over the persecution of the faithful around the world.
The Prime Minister and the other party leaders shared Easter messages - even though some, including Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister, and Labour’s Ed Miliband, are self-proclaimed non-believers.
In his message, Mr Cameron said: “Across Britain, Christians don’t just talk about ‘loving thy neighbour’, they live it out… in faith schools, in prisons, in community groups.
"And it’s for all these reasons that we should feel proud to say, ‘This is a Christian country.’ The church is not just a collection of beautiful old buildings. It is a living, active force doing great works across our country. (+ David Cameron’s Christian message) » | Rosa Prince, Online Political Editor | Sunday, April 05, 2015
'Promote Gay Relationships as Positive in School,' Teachers Say
The government should be forced to portray gay relationships in a positive light, teachers say, causing outrage amongst influential Christian charities.
The call on schools including a "positive portrayal" on same-sex relationships emerged as part of a motion on a debate for a "manifesto for a new government on LGBT rights in schools, which was being debated at the NUT union's in Harrogate.
The motion, which was passed, calls on teachers to put pressure on the government to "make it compulsory that all schools' sex education policies include a positive portrayal of same sex relationships".
Campaigners have been calling on wide-range mandatory sexual relationship in every school. Under current rules, local council-run secondary schools only to provide basic sex education, including subjects such as Sexual Transmitted Diseases. There is no emphasis on a particular gender.
Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT union, said: “The NUT calls for all parties standing in the 2015 General Election to show their commitment to tackling the discrimination faced by both LGBT students and teachers in schools by following the ten point action plan outlined in the Motion. This includes making it compulsory for all schools’ sex education policies to include a positive portrayal of same sex relationships, promoting LGBT History Month in all schools, and encouraging schools to develop a curriculum that is inclusive of LGBT issues.
“We need education policy that develops curriculum for children and young people that supports the democratic values of a diverse Britain – including LGBT equality. » | Javier Espinoza, Education Editor | Sunday, April 05, 2015
Sunday, April 05, 2015
UK Defence Cuts Will Have Profound Effect, Warns US Diplomat
One of America’s leading diplomats has said he finds cuts to British defence spending “extremely troubling” and has called on the next government to spend two per cent of GDP on the military.
John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN and a leading Republican spokesman on foreign affairs, said any further cuts in defence spending would make Britain “far more vulnerable militarily” and send a signal to potential enemies that “there is a diminished will in the West to defend itself”.
He warned that further cuts in defence expenditure could seriously affect future coalition operations with the US.
“The decline in British defence spending is extremely troubling,” Mr Bolton said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph. “It means Britain will be far more vulnerable militarily.
“A diminished UK military strength also has a more profound effect internationally because it is a sign to our mutual enemies that there is a diminished will in the West to defend itself. It sends an extremely negative signal to our enemies.”
At a time when the West faced growing threats from countries such as Russia and China, as well as Islamic State (Isil) militants in the Middle East, he said it was vital that Britain retained the military strength to participate in future coalition operations with the US. » | Con Coughlin, Defence Editor | Sunday, April 05, 2015
Netanyahu Continues Attack on Iran Nuclear Agreement: It's 'a Very Bad Deal'
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday stepped up his attack on a nascent deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, calling the framework agreement announced in Switzerland last week “a very bad deal”.
The framework did not do enough to dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Netanyahu said, and world powers were making a mistake by offering Iran a path to sanctions relief without demanding more in return.
“A better deal would roll back Iran’s vast nuclear infrastructure, and require Iran to stop its aggression in the region, its terror worldwide and its calls and actions to annihilate the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said on CNN. “That’s a better deal. It’s achievable.” » | Tom McCarthy in New York | Sunday, April 05, 2015
Reclaim Australia and No Room for Racism Rallies Clash Across Australia
Around the country Reclaim Australia protesters held rallies to oppose “sharia law, halal tax and Islamisation”, where they waved Australian flags and carried signs saying “Yes Australia. No Sharia”.
More than 3000 people clashed in Federation Square and blocked surrounding streets in the Melbourne CBD as it became a battleground of competing ideologies, with a rally by the Reclaim Australia movement and counter-protest by the left-wing No Room for Racism group.
Hundreds of police formed barricades to separate protesters but scuffles still broke out and paramedics had to treat assault victims for minor injuries.
Victoria Police arrested two men and one woman, with all three released pending summons.
Tempers flared as a Reclaim Australia supporter scuffled with a Guy Fawkes mask-wearing socialist protester.
More than 100 officers put up a line of bodies to separate the two groups. (+ videos) » | Sunday, April 05, 2015
Reclaim Australia Marchers Rally against Islam
Anti-Islam protesters gathered outside Colin Barnett's offices on Harvest Terrace to take part in the national Reclaim Australia series of rallies.
A short distance away in Solidarity Square, close to Parliament House, a group of anti-racist protesters gathered to demonstrate against Reclaim Australia.
Between them, in a deserted car park, was a line of mounted police and other officers on foot, some with dogs, to make sure the two groups did not clash.
The Reclaim Australia rally was much bigger than the anti-racist gathering, with many of those on the hill outside the Department of Premier and Cabinet draped in the Australian flag.
Several speakers said they had gathered to protest against Sharia law, halal certification and Islamisation. (+ video) » | with AAP | Sunday, April 05, 2015
Attacks on Muslims Will Become Specific Hate Crime, Say Tories in Bid to Establish Full Extent of Islamophobia in Britain
Every police force in England and Wales will be required to record anti-Muslim hate crimes and treat them as seriously as anti-Semitic attacks if the Tories win the next General Election, Theresa May has announced.
In a move hailed by Islamic groups, Mrs May said that police will have to record Islamophobic attacks as a separate category, just as anti-Semitic crimes are recorded separately.
At present some forces, including London’s Metropolitan Police, do record Islamophobic crimes as such. Other forces categorise them as hate crimes or specific offences such as assault or grievous bodily harm.
The new requirement will create the first accurate picture of the extent of Islamophobic hate crimes in Britain.
Charities say there has been a steady rise of anti-Muslim hate crimes since 9/11.
But after incidents such as the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks in 2013 and the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January, there are spikes in incidents in the UK, say experts.
Mrs May made her pledge in a speech on counter-extremism to the Foundation for Peace in London just before Parliament was dissolved.
She told the conference: ‘We will require police forces to record anti-Muslim crimes as well as anti-Semitic crimes.’ Read on and comment » | Abul Taher for the Mail On Sunday | Saturday, April 04, 2015
French Flocking to Buy Books on Islam Following Charlie Hebdo Attacks
The public has been trying to make up their minds about Islam following the January terrorist attacks at the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket, which left 17 people dead.
"The French are asking more and more questions, and they feel less satisfied than ever by the answers they're getting from the media," Fabrice Gerschel, director of Philosophie magazine, told AFP. » | Saturday, April 04, 2015
Islamic State Bans Skinny Jeans and Smoking
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa have threatened to jail any young man wearing skinny jeans, smoking or keep[ing] music on his mobile phone.
Residents found in breach of the new restrictions will face at least ten days inside the province's jihadist-run jails, according to anti-Isil activists in the area.
Only those who pass a prison-based 'Islamic course' will be allowed to leave at the end of their initial sentence.
Home to hundreds of thousands of Syrians, Raqqa is known as the "capital" of the jihadist's embryonic Islamic State. Male and female morality brigades patrol the provincial capital on a regular basis, and residents believed to be gay, or to have had sex outside of marriage, face brutal executions justified by obscure [?] Islamic teachings.
The new penalties for practices deemed un-Islamic reveal the extremists tightening their grip over the social mores of millions of Syrians living under its rule. » | Louisa Loveluck in Cairo | Saturday, April 04, 2015
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Anti-Islam Pegida Group To Hold First London Rally
“Now is your chance to stand proud in our capital in support of Pegida U.K. and raise awareness of the detrimental affect radical Islam and slack border controls/mass immigration are having on our country,” the German group said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. The rally is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m., local time, (12:00 p.m. EDT) and will include candlelight vigils and speeches by critics of Islam. » | Avaneesh Pandey | Saturday, April 04, 2015
So This Is Easter: Melbourne Faces Off at Anti-Islam Rally as Police on Horseback Hold Factions Apart
It's been reported that these were competing rallies. Those reports are wrong. What occurred at Federation Square was trench warfare — with police on horseback holding the armies apart.
Because the police had been quick to isolate the core Reclaimer group on the forecourt of the SBS building, hundreds of late-comers were left to mingle with the No Roomers. Mingling often meant one-on-one screaming matches that occasionally broke out into pushing and shoving. Now and then a stray punch or two was thrown.
A Federation Square spokesman estimated 3000 thousand people — many carrying many placards, some of them droll: "You keep your Burqua, I'll keep my clitoris" — went at it noisily for more than three hours. » | John Elder | Saturday, April 04, 2015
Related »
Anti-Islam and Anti-Racism Protesters Clash Around Australia
The most violent clash was in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, where police struggled to separate 3,000 opposing demonstrators. The Victoria state ambulance service treated four people, three for minor injuries from assaults in Melbourne, Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said. The fourth was treated for chest pains. None of the injured was taken to a hospital, he said.
Police arrested two men and a woman in the fracas in Melbourne's downtown Federation Square, Victoria Police spokeswoman Belinda Batty said.
Batty said the three were later released. She said all would be charged, but she could not detail those charges.
Reclaim Australia, a community group, organized rallies in 16 cities and towns around Australia against Islamic extremism, the "Islamization" of Australian society, Islamic Sharia law and the Halal-certification of most meats sold in Australia. » | AP | Melbourne, Australia | Saturday, April 04, 2015
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