As the female riders prepare for the first ladies' polo tournament in Iran for at least 100 years, the sports commentator gives the audience a history lesson - reminding them that polo originated in the royal courts of ancient Persia 2,500 years ago.
The queen and her ladies-in-waiting would play against the emperor and his courtiers.
BBCThe Israeli army says he ignored warnings to stop, but confirms that he was unarmed.
BBCShe said the plane had been chartered by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and had entered Peruvian airspace "without permission".
Dangerous times...
ReutersThe outcome of the weekend election remains in the balance, with Labour taking 50 seats against the opposition National Party's 49 in the 122-member parliament. The results will be finalised on October 1 after counting of 218,000 absentee votes.
Tiscali Europe
Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel in the same government? Unthinkable just a few weeks ago it now looks more and more likely, as both parties sit on a governmental knife-edge.
BBCSimon Wiesenthal was known as a Nazi hunter, but his life's work went far beyond justice for justice's sake.
Interactivist Info ExchangeThe Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Liaison, Dr. Shimon Samuels, who three years ago publicly debated Finkelstein when the book was first published in London, presented the following testimony for today's Paris hearing:
Quite apart from this being a false accusation, and quite apart from the fact that Finkelstein's book is a rational, very well researched book, as anyone who has read it will know, quite apart from all that, Finkelstein was in this case being sued for expressing his opinion. It seems freedom of speech is fine for some, but not for all.
"The Holocaust Industry presents a great danger. Mr. Finkelstein's thesis is an extremist attack on Jews in general, and American Jews in particular, accusing them of exploiting the suffering of the Shoah as 'a pretext for their crimes in the context of the Middle-East conflict. This thesis, so close to that of Roger Garaudy [a condemned French Holocaust denier and anti-Jewish hate-monger] today constitutes the principal credo of modern antisemitism. With particularly acute intellectual perversity, Finkelstein exploits his own Jewish antecedents in order to attack, as 'racist,' specific Jewish leaders, their organizations and the Jewish people.
Washington Post
MoD officials insist they have been talking to the Iraqi authorities to secure the release of the men - who were reported to be working undercover.
Monday's clashes stemmed from the arrest by Iraqi police on Sunday of two British soldiers, whom Iraqi police accused of planting bombs.BBC
But they do acknowledge a wall was demolished as UK forces tried to "collect" the men Iraqi police accused of firing on them.I wonder, why didn't british soldiers storm Guantanamo Bay to 'collect' british prisoners?
One of the soldiers said: “When the tension starts to rise and the adrenaline is flowing, the ‘red mist’ seems to descend on armed police officers who become very trigger-happy. This has been shown time and again in training exercises.”
MainichiWELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A man stole a light plane and threatened to crash it into the landmark Sky Tower in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, before plunging the craft into the sea Saturday night, police said.
Nothing justifies the destruction of synagogues by Palestinians after the withdrawl of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Of course, Israel could have dismantled all the synagogues and rebuilt them-or not-in Israel.
However, nothing justifies the destruction of synangogues by Palestinians.
Of course, the images of Palestinians looting and burning synangogues are good for the Israeli government which can use them against the Palestinians.
Nothing justifies the destruction of synagogues by Palestinians, though.
Of course, the Israeli government should have respected the decision of the courts and dismantled the synagogues, rather than giving into religious leaders-if it is to call it's self a democracy, that is.
Nothing justifies the destruction of synagogues by palestinians, though.
Of course, the synagogues have probably not always been there, and are, therfore a symbol of occupation.
Yet nothing justifies the destruction of synagogues by Palestinians.
True, nothing gave Israel the inalienable right to leave the synagogues in place.
Nothing justifies the destruction of synagogues by Palestinians.
I do not believe in 'a race towards democracy', but I hope the new palestinian state will show it's self to be a true democracy, in that it won't represent one religion or one people, as does Israel. I hope the new Palestinian state-when it is allowed to exist-will show respect to all peoples and faiths.
What's going to happen as we start running out of cheap gas to guzzle?
Recently, I have begun thinking about separatist movements. My theory is this: regional separatism, particularly of the sort found in 'western' industrialised countries, serve the purpose of governmental elites, by making the case for nationalism and patriotism. I see a difference between such separatists as the Basques, the Corsicans or the Irish republicans on the one hand, and Chechens or Tibetans on the other hand, since in the latter case oppression and denial of local culture comes into the equation. While it is indeed true that in certain european countries regional languages have been phased out by centralised governments, it is hard to think of the inhabitants of such regions today as being oppressed peoples.
Before I carry on, I would like to make it clear, that this is merely a theory, and it is not based on detailed knowledge of any of the peoples I mention.
If I take the example of Basques and Catalans, one question I ask myself is this: how can they claim independence if it is only for those living in what is now Spain, since these two regions straddle the border with France? If their culture means that much, should they not claim all of the territory, regardless of the country they find themselves in?
Other separatist movements, such as Irish republicans or Corsicans, may have more of case for their 'struggle' (all things being relative-see Tibet or Chechnya), since these are distinct geographical entities, or part of one entity yet officially attached to another. However, it seems to me, that the violent methods used to attain their goals merely allow the governments to reject them with the help of public opinion and to strenghten in this way nationalism at a state level.
A parallel could be made in the way successive Israeli governments over the decades, both left and right, have been happy to maintain the status quo of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, since it re-enforces the nationalistic nature of the state of Israel.(of course many are now realising the only way to maintain Israel as a 'Jewish state' is to give the Palestinians their own state-but that is the subject of another post).
I am not a 'europhile' anymore than I am a 'europhobe'(maybe only Europeans will understand that statement!).By that I mean, that I do not believe we are being led towards the ideal we are being marketed, yet it seems to me, that such an ideal must be our goal:a Europe without borders and without competing governments is a stepping stone on the way to an internationalist utopia. This utopia is not something we can install today, but it is something we should strive for, and not against, which is what we do when we brandish a flag, be it national or regional. As the great anarchist poet, Léo Férré said "the black flag is still a flag!".
In the mean time, where oppression, ethnic cleansing, the denial of minorities' rights, as well as xenophobia -at state and individual level- exist, these minorities should be supported, even if it means separatism.
I would like to make it clear, that my suspicion of separatism is not in favour of a centralised system, but rather a call for internationalism.
I welcome all thoughts and (rationally formulated) criticisms.
