The News From Lebanon (in French and English)

Dans Les Pages de Hoda

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My pride and joy

Stray Cat

Foreign accent syndrome

video


Imagine waking up with 'foreign language syndrome'...that would be more like it!

Smooth Criminal

Engadget

"I got convicted for file-sharing and all I got was this lousy T-shirt"

Stating the bloody obvious

Aljazeera

Israel broke humanitarian law by inflicting "collective punishment" on Palestinians after an Israeli soldier was captured, Switzerland has said.

Who cares about humanitarian law though?

Choctastic!

To all you chocaholics, wonkaholics, dahlaholics out there, this just in from the 'Dam...
Another good reason to visit the city of canals, bicycles, brown cafes, famous artists and...chocolatte!

Just like Dahl's fictional "Chocolate Factory" owned by Willy Wonka, the main part of the "sweets park" will be located underground, in a disused railway tunnel which was handed over by the city of Amsterdam in a ceremony Thursday.

Amsterdam is the world's biggest cocoa port, processing around 30 percent of the world's cocoa beans from countries like Ghana and Ecuador. It supplies the key ingredient, cocoa paste, to major chocolate manufacturers throughout Europe

Perhaps they might be persuaded to have a Fair Trade room, better still to use only Fair Trade cocoa.

Exhortation

Forget.
Forgddit.
Forgeddaboutit.
Forget the past.
Forget what I did.
Forget who I was.
Forget him.
Forget her.
Forget them.
Forget us.
Forget where I was.
Forget to love.
Forget to live.
Forget to do.
Forget what to do.
Forget what?
Forget that.
Forget to remember.
Remember to forget.
Forget memories.
Smoke to forget.
Forget to smoke.
Forget the time.
Forget that time.
Forget that time passes.
Forget me.
Forget who I am.
Forget that I forget.
Forget forgetfulness.
I forgot.
I got what I was asking for.

Militants and terrorism

Hamas, which recently declared an end to an unofficial truce with Israel, said the operation was a response to recent deaths of civilians and the targeted killings of two militant leaders.

"This was a very serious Hamas terrorist attack," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a media interview.

Wheher or not one thinks Israel is justified in targeting so-called palestinian militants, no-one can justify the killing of innocent people especially citizens of another country. Palestine now has an elected government, formed by Hamas. If a Hamas attack in retaliation for the killing of civilians and 'militants' is terrorism, what then was the killing by the Israeli army (militants?) of a palestinian family picknicking on a beach?

Thoughts on Megan's Law and the free movement of violent criminals in Europe

Today we heard a minister is going to the US to study Megan's Law in view of importing it to the UK. This was welcomed by campaigners such as the mother of murdered school girl Sarah Payne after whom the proposed law is already being named: Sarah's Law.
Also, the BBC aired a programme about sexual offenders from other European countries having served sentences in their countries and being allowed into the UK only to re-offend.
What is the logic of Megan's Law? The idea is that people will be able to find out at the click of a mouse if a convicted and released paedophile is living in their area. How is this supposed to protect children? Is the responsibility of the police for protecting citizens, including children, to be handed over to ordinary citizens? Are parents supposed to take the law into their own hands?
Is it not our right to believe, that once an offender has served his or her sentence, then they should no longer be a risk?
As for offenders from european countries, if we do not believe certain countries are able either to reform their offenders, should we be allowing their citizens in to the UK freely? Perhaps this shows the meaninglessness at present of Europe as a community.

On the Nuke

A guest on Any Questions on Radio4 in answer to opponents of a nuclear strike on Iran asked what should be done. Nobody saw fit to point out to him that the question is what should not be done, not what should be done. When something is morally wrong, you don't need to justify yourself for not doing it, by finding an alternative.

News from Palestine

Indymedia

The Queen at 80:your memories

BBC

And some people still think the BBC is biased against patriotism...

Third in line

BBC

"There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country.

"That may sound very patriotic, but it's true. It's not the way anyone should really work."

Prince Harry, actually appearing to apologize for sounding patriotic. Priceless.

4OO years and more of flag waving

BBC

"The Union Jack to me represents the repression of the Scots by the English..."
[a_loon_nae_a_quine], Aberdeenshire..

How sad that you feel inclined to this petty sub-nationalism. While historically you may be correct isn't time we all got on together a bit better? I live in England but when I travel to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland I don't feel like I'm in another country - can't we all be proud to be Britons?

So it's better to be a British nationalist than a 'sub' scottish nationalist? To follow on logically from there, it should be even better to fly the EU flag-surely British nationalism is merely a 'sub-nationalism'. Can't we all be proud to be Europeans?

The Union Flag? Why don't you ask the Lost Generation from the 1914-18 war what it meant to be sent by inbred gentry to meaningless slaughter under it?

Couldn't really put it any better than that.

www.symbolon.jp

google:banksy

My roaming minister in exile

DJEB is very busy on the permaculture front. Pay him a visit.

Coppers eye view

I saw the news recently highlighting the use of a new piece of equipment for the police - a 'head camera' which an officer wears on his head, which will then record images and sounds from his perspective.

I don't like the idea of them being permanently on, without being able to switch them off, otherwise for an entire 10 hour shift no one will talk to me, leaving me alone to wander about in silence!

The matter of individuals having their every move potentially watched (is that a comprehensible phrase?)seems no longer to be an issue. The issue now, is if it is practical for our friendly coppers or not.
Perhaps this is a reminder, that there are still areas where we can/need to react before yet another piece of our freedom is confiscated from us. I'm thinking, for example of ID cards.

Exceptional Frog News!!!!!!!

Just because I want as many people to read this as possible.
Mr P Meeson, boss at Jet2.com airline, thinks he's gonna single-handedly get French air traffic controllers back to work, by accusing them of being 'lazy frogs'. Ha! Well done, mate, my guess is you've managed to lose several potential customers (although, I for one had never heard of Jet2.com. Now I have...).
BBC

As ever, you can go to The Frog&Bulldog for ze niouwze.

New blog and old blog

Citizens! If you wish to boaden your horizons, and so become model citizens of the FRRE, pay a visit to the new blog on the blogosphere, The Frog&Bulldog, where you will find news from the frog republic. If you feel up to a bit of french (ooh la la), you can drop in on In Urbe, where you will find more and more news from the United (oh so united) Kingdom. Surf on!

Immigration wall

Blairodiplomacy

The enemy leader is on suck-up tour of the South Pacific.

Speaking in New Zealand, he said it was important to develop machines which produced fewer emissions, while maintaining economic growth.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has ended his 24-hour visit to New Zealand agreeing to closer ties between the two countries and calling for those angry about the invasion of Iraq to focus on other issues instead.

I don't know if New Zealand is an eco-state, but if it is, British leaders don't seem to be too concerned with eco-diplomacy.

Miss Clark and Mr Blair praised each other during the visit which was the first by a British Prime Minister since John Major in 1995. The most recent visit prior to that was by Harold McMillan in 1958.

Okinawa

Okinawa base opponents make a stand at Henoko

To understand just how determined the opposition in Henoko, Okinawa, is to Tokyo's plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station here, just go to the turquoise waters off Camp Schwab.

A message from the supreme leader

My dear people. You know that I love you dearly, and I want only the best for you. This is why I look over you in all my benevolance with care and with pride.

Jewish People

In contrast to Berlin, who wanted Jews to become a “normal” people like the others, Einstein wrote, “My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain – especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state.”

Click above or the Cat's dream

The essential nature of Judaism? Why does everyone talk about the specific nature of the Jews, while avoiding qualifying it? Judaism represents a religion as well as a people. So, when a palestinian scholar says, that a religious party has won many seats in the Israeli election, whereas Fatah, the OLP are non-religious, not only is he 'forgetting' about Hamas, but he is himself avoiding the glaring fact: Israel is a religious country, whether or not the party in government is. By it's nature, Israel is religious.

Martin Buber

We have not settled Palestine together with the Arabs but alongside them. Settlement alongside, when two nations inhabit the same country, which fails to become settlement together with, must necessarily become a state against. This is bound to happen here -- and there will be no return to a mere alongside. But despite all the obstacles in our path, the way is still open for reaching a settlement together with. And I do not know how much time is left to us. What I do know is that if we do not attain [such a relationship with the Arabs of Palestine], we will never realize the aims of Zionism. We are being put to the test for the third time in this country.
(October 1929)

We considered it a fundamental point that in this case two vital claims are opposed to each other, two claims of a different nature and a different origin which cannot objectively be pitted against one another and between which no objective decision can be made as to which is just, which unjust. We considered and still consider it our duty to understand and to honor the claim which is opposed to us and to endeavor to reconcile both claims. We could not and cannot renounce the Jewish claim; something even higher than the life of our people is bound up with this land, namely its work, its divine mission. But we have been and are still convinced that it must be possible to find some compromise between this claim and the other, for we love this land and we believe in its future; since such love and such faith are surely present on the other side as well, a union in the common service of the land must be within the range of possibility. Where there is faith and love, a solution may be found even to what appears to be a tragic opposition.
(1939)

This just in

From the republic of seals.

Mr Jimbo Seal, human-hunter has this to say:
"you know, these 'ere humans, they ain't so cute when they grow up, and they eat a hell of a lotta fish, so you know, it's a matter of our survival."

Illeberal measures in Scotland

And a no-smiling rule means grinning away like the Baldy Man, played by Gregor Fisher, above, will also rule out headshots.

All you friendly Scots are welcome to seek refuge in the FRRE. Here, you will not be tagged, filed or watched.

Mistakes

Today, I have accepted failure in my composting venture, and have decided to star from scratch graciously accepting advice from the composting masters (mistresses in this case) in my entourage. We learn from our mistakes as the excruciatingly cliched cliché goes. In all walks of life, in all cases, we learn from our mistakes.

No hijab

In the case of the young girl who has been forbidden from wearing a hijab in school, I would not wish to be too unfair on the school which apparently has been very fair in it's dress code and the headteacher of which is apparently muslim. However, I hope the UK doesn't abandon it's traditional flexibility in legal matters to go down the french road of stubborn intolerance. Proof of UK flexibility can be seen in the fact, that despite uniforms still being the rule (whereas they no longer exist in France), this case is the first high profile case of a problem arising with a religious item of clothing in the UK. I didn't go beyond primary education in Britain, and my school had no muslims as far as I remember. However, is it rare for muslim girls to wear a headscarf to school in the UK? I would appreciate any input on this matter. Input from citizens of any other country is also welcome (including members of the commonwealth...).

UK contribution to energy saving

But the French firm used by Mr Blair might not make as much money as it would like - earlier this month, a low-energy light bulb was installed in the lantern over the door of Number 10.

Democracy in Afghanistan

Is this what our enemy, the US government, had in mind when it went on a cruisade to bring democracy to Afghanistan?

A democracy founded on the principles of freedom and tolerance does not kill religious dissenters. This was why Afghanistan under the Taliban was considered one of the most oppressive countries in the world.

Unfortunately freedom (specifically freedom of religion) was not part of the "packaged deal" when Afghanistan was liberated, leaving the post-Taliban democracy with four options when it comes to the trial of Abdur Rahman.

Message from the Minister of Not Working Very Hard

Before people get the idea that I'm hypocritically working too hard, I'd like to point out that the following is copied and pasted from Common Dreams who, being smart enough not to overtax themselves, copied and pasted it from the Progressive.

Now we have the I-work-around-the-clock-and-so-should-you ethic reaching upward to drag us all into the turbo-capitalist machine.

...

If we don't start making social policy that protects us from the business-uber-alles monster, we're going to find every noncash value in our lives subsumed. Family? Leisure? Art? Intellectual pursuits? Hobbies? Cooking? Health? Time with friends? Forget about it.

The KKK with berets

New portfolio

I hereby declare DJEB Minister of Not Working Very Hard. May god bless you.

Some news

British hostage Norman Kember has been freed in Iraq. American Tom Fox was found dead two weeks ago. We condemn the invasion and continued oppression of the Iraqi people by foreign governments. Of course, we abhor the torture and killing of innocent foreigners who are in Iraq to help Iraqis. However, we believe, that those with the real power to halt this civil war are those foreign governments who have effectively colonised the region.
Other news. ETA has announced a permanant cease-fire in the Basque country. We hope
it will truly be permanant, and that there will be no provocation on eiter side of this civil war. Well, I believe and hope all the above.

Update

Ah yes: I need a cabinet. We call upon candidates to send in their candidacies with their motivations. We will hold a vote and existing leaders of the FFRE (me) will vote on new members. You can use the e-mail function at the bottom of each message.

The Activist

Thanks to Colcam, I cam accross this:

So for all of you out there who feel my pain, and for the sake of feeling better about myself, this amateur has humbly created an Amateur's Activist Starter Kit. It is not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive in any way. Just some different ideas to help each of us can take steps towards engaging with our world in a more positive and effective manner without requiring deep life-altering transformations.

The FRRE is a proud sponsor of worldwide anti-imperialistic and pro-earth, pro-human, pro-peace, pro-education and pro-many other things too. Any worthwhile causes will be looked into and debated in government meetings.

ExperiMental

This friendly man in the friendly nation of Aotearoa is onto something. Click the picture. Our government (sorry:our nation) has special relations with the people of Aotearoa. We expect a lot from our dealings with those friendly people. As a matter of fact, we are considering creating an Aotearoa day, but we haven't decided on the date yet. All suggestions are welcome. We might consider a referendum. If you're good citizens.

Milosevic Dead

The leader of a white christian nation who oppressed, tortured and murdered muslim minorities in his own country has died. You'd be forgiven for thinking, when listening to the architects of the 'war on terror' and their fan base, that such a notion is fantasy. After all, Islam is the religion of intolerance, is it not?
Now, please all stand while we say our national anthem, "United against fallacy we stand". I haven't written the lyrics yet. If anyone wants to have a go, feel free. The author of the lyrics chosen will be made Cavalier of the Logical Realm.

International Headlines

A Logical Voice (henceforth known as ALV)

"The almighty should sue Blair for libel"

Colcam.Image (henceforth known as CI)

Milosevic Escapes Justice

Terrorism News (you guessed it...)

Buster is back!

Foreign 'democracy'

BBC

"Just because the national government has decided something doesn't mean we must refrain from expressing our views," he said.

Oh Japanese protesters, come to the FRRE, you will be welcome with open arms. Here we do not vote, we just decide together. Well, for now I decide together...

Oh.My.God

Milosevic found dead in his cell
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is found dead in his cell in The Hague, where he had been on trial on war crimes charges. His lawyer wants an autopsy elsewhere as Mr Milosevic feared he was being poisoned.

I'm gobsmacked. Maybe I should make a statement. Where's my foreign minister?!

The UK tightens the screws

BBC

He is expected to argue that there is no case - "not today, not tomorrow" - for creating an institution which could eventually lead to a federal UK.

In the light of this arrogant (whatever one thinks of devolution) stance, I have declared a new republic in exile. This should be a haven of equality and freedom. Oh, and peace. Open minded discussion too. I hope this shall be a light unto all nations...

Forgiveness is all the rage

Guardian

But these are not the prevailing or even popular assumptions. Instead, we exalt those who can forgive and regard those who cannot as guilty of a kind of moral weakness. We demand that those who have been brought low reach highest.

Of course forgiveness doesn't mean you have to love your husband's killer. It would be simplistic to say that. The reason forgiveness is praised (yet not enough in my opinion), is partly because we live in a society which deals with it's problems all too often with punishment. Too often, the answer is the death penalty, and that, to many of us is wrong. Forgiveness is an ideal, and not an easy one to practice, but it's the reason I, and many others oppose the death penalty.
Also, forgiveness is necessary if we wish to overcome the violence we experience regularly, be it on the streets of Belfast, London or elsewhere.
I have never judged someone because they find it hard to forgive. Who am I to judge? However, if someone calls for punishment, I must oppose that with a call for forgiveness. Many may think forgiveness means being easy on criminals. Punishment, however, is a false solution, which only brings more violence.

Lest we forget (click)

Frozen Embryos

BBC

"The key thing for me was just to be able to decide when, and if, I would start a family."

I can't believe men who think that giving their sperm, even through the act of sex, makes them a father. Us men do not carry the baby. What makes us fathers, is bringing up a child, and all the more if we are present during pregnancy.
I think it is an abuse of power, and extremely immature of this man to claim the right to determine how his sperm is used. He has given the sperm, he made the decision at the time. I would tell him to grow up and stop being such a narcissist. No doubt other men will disagree, and I don't mind reading their comments.

Alberto Gonzales

The US Attorney General refuses to accept what goes on at Guantanamo Bay is torture as defined by international law. When asked if simulating drowning is an act of torture, he refuses to answer, saying he will not talk about the tactics of the US as it would help the enemy. Quite obviously avoiding the obvious. If it wasn't a tactic, he would strongly deny it.
When asked if the US practices extraordinary rendition without the consent of the countries where it takes place, he again avoids answering, prefering to say "the US respects countries' sovereignity".
Only severely brainwashed individuals would believe this man or any of his colleagues.

Schizophrenic

Click pic.
As my friend DJEB so rightly points out, the most fanatical anti-abortionists are not pro-life, as they are the same people who not only support capital punishment, but also the killing of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, in the dubious name of 'liberation'. No-one should be duped into believing, that 'pro-lifers' view life as sacred. Religion is merely a tool for Conservatism in politics. I once saw a picture of a pro-lifer with a placard opposing all forms of killing, including the death penalty, abortion and war. I have much more respect for someone like that, even if I don't agree with them on the issue of abortion. I do not celebrate abortion, I simply celebrate the right of a woman (as well as any human being) to to do as she wishes with her body, including what is inside her body.

Drunken sex

A law change has been mooted allowing juries to decide whether a woman was too drunk to give consent.

"Giving consent is active not passive, and it's up to everyone to make sure that their partner agrees to sexual activity," she said.

Are women going to have to sign a piece of paper consenting to sex? Is drunken sex going to be outlawed? Maybe police officers are going to break in and breathalise couples engaged in sex.
Rape is a serious crime. Most rape is perpetrated by someone close to the victim, ie a parner. This is another proposed law which seems to show that all the government is interested in is legislation. Why do some men feel they can take advantage of women? That's the real question.

South Dakota tightens abortion laws

BBC

"The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them," he said in a written statement.

Unborn means unborn. Unborn children are a part of their mothers' bodies, they do not belong to society.
The most vulnerable people in society in this case are the mothers seeking abortion who will not stop because the law is tightened. They will simply be made even more vulnerable. Conservative 'religious' bigots are selfish, sick, tortured. I would add evil, if I believed in evil.

Met Police cover up on De Menezes murder

Check it out at A Logical Voice

The Times reports on the police obstructing justice in the case of murdered Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes:

Well-placed sources say the Met has declined repeated requests by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to disclose hundreds of pages of internal papers. The documents give the Met’s private assessment of the botched counter-terrorist operation that led to Jean Charles de Menezes mistakenly being killed by Yard marksmen at Stockwell Underground station last July.

The details could prove vital in knowing exactly what Ian Blair knew, and when the liar knew it.

I googled 'Asian' and 'French'

and this is what I came up with:

Asian French

DJEB, have you been there? I'll have to go when I'm back in Edo...

The Good Savage

BBC

Maj Gen Mateparae had successfully "melded together" the traditions of the Maori warrior and the British army, Defence Minister Phil Goff said.

"I am immensely proud as a New Zealander... to serve. I am also immensely proud as a member of Ngati Tuwharetoa [tribe] to be selected," he said.

The day a Maori is elected head of state in Aotearoa, and all New Zealanders are known as Aotearoans, then maybe Aotearoa will have left it's colonial past behind.
The citizens of Aotearoa today are not only of Maori or British origin. Many are of French, Swiss, Asian origin and more. The attachment to the British crown or the British army is nonsensical - in my opinion.

Toilet cleaner than ice in drinks

From A Logical Voice, this:

The results: In four of the five restaurants, the ice that came from the self-service machines had more bacteria than the toilet water, reports Tampa Bay Online. Three of the five cups of ice from the drive-through windows had more bacteria than the toilet water. The bacteria in the ice included fecal coliform or E. coli, which can only come from the feces of warm-blooded animals.

Do you feel responsible?

Here are a couple of ways you can make the world a cleaner, fairer, friendlier place. These are just links-click on the images-you have to feel responsible first.

Playing golf in space

BBC

Nasa is currently studying the risks of the commercial deal, brokered by Russia with the Canadian golf company, Element 21.

If the astro-golf attempt is approved, Element 21 plans to donate the gold-plated golf club to a charity back on Earth.

Well, that's nice.

Ken Livingstone

BBC

The Mayor of London's four-week suspension has been frozen by a High Court judge, pending an appeal.

There's the answer to my question, Truth Seeker.

Racist Lie

Yoram Ettinger on Ynet

Hamas' victory will spur on Arab emigration (especially amongst PA employees and their families), and growing anti-Semitism in France and the former Soviet Union will spur aliya (Jewish immigration).

French Jews don't flee french antisemitism. They emigrate to Israel because they can. French muslims don't emigrate to a muslim country to getaway from french racism. They don't emigrate. They stay in France, because they have no other choice.


Idan Landau on Ynet

What, exactly, would be lost the day we lost our Jewish majority? Arnon Sofer doesn't say. To each his own nightmares.

Some speak about the end of the "Jewish nature" of the country. But this is absurd. Even now, according to Sofer's numbers, 42 percent of Israel's residents, including the Territories, are Palestinian. Their influence on the "Jewish nature" of the country is negligible, unless discrimination and racism are considered "Jewish."

A fifth of Israeli citizens are Arab. Do they get a fifth of the land available for building, a fifth of the country's education and infrastructure resources, a fifth of available public funds? Of course not.

The most obvious discrimination against them has gone on for decades, even in areas where they are the majority.

Mr Irving

D.Irving website

I am not anti-coloured, take it from me; nothing pleases me more than when I arrive at an airport, or a station or a seaport, and I see a coloured family there -- the black father, the black wife and the black children. I think it is just as handsome a spectacle as the English family, or the French family, or the German family, or the South African family, or whatever. I think that is the way that God planned it and that is the way it should be. When I see these families arriving at the airport I am happy (and when I see them leaving at London airport I am happy).
[Cheers and Laughter].

But if there is one thing that gets up my nose, I must admit, it is this -- the way ... the thing is when I am down in Torquay and I switch on my television set and I see one of them reading our news to us. It is our news and they're reading it to me. (If I was a chauvinist I would say I object even to seeing women reading our news to us.)

This should be enough to convince any thinking person who might not know D.Irving, that this is a xenophobic man. The only people it wouldn't shock, are presumably those who agree with him. Those people are even less likely to have a change of heart seeing him jailed for expressing his opinions.

Harajuku, Tokyo

David Irving makes a point

In an interview from his cell, D.I., who denies the gassing - or the extent of it - of Jews by Nazis, said he's on his own because most historians are afraid of being sent to jail as he was. While this is probably a wild exageration, and most historians probably don't feel coerced into their theories, it is true, that evidence isn't usually accepted in a democratic court of law if it has been obtained by torture. In the same way, history shouldn't be based on legally acceptable facts and/or censorship.

BBC

The prosecutor also deemed the sentence too light because of "Irving's special importance to right-wing radicals", a spokesman for the office said.

This is a society admitting it is incapable of ridding itself of its extremist elements without blaming it on an indvidual. My grandmother fled Austria. Austria was probably the only country invaded by the Nazis where the latter were truly welcomed. Creating scapegoats isn't a serious way of coming to terms with the past.

"Given the ruthless efficiency of the Germans, if there was an extermination programme to kill all the Jews, how come so many survived?"

That in itself is stereotypical nonesense. Any thinking person can see that this man is not a serious historian. Only those who are not so sure need the law to decide for them...

A Geezer

BBC

"I never really thought I'd be a Muslim," he told ABC. "I'd say, 'Oh look, you know, I really love your religion but I really love my beer'."

Insane

BBC

Fifa has launched an investigation after the BBC discovered touts were selling illegal tickets for England's World Cup games for up to £900 each.
With Fifa selling the same tickets for £68, it represents a 1,000% mark-up.

What sad person is willing to pay £900 for a football match?!

Censorship comes to Britain

Over at A Logical Voice, Truth Seeker says:

While Blair & Co claim that they helping to spread "freedom and democracy" in Iraq, and Afghanistan (though quite clearly, all they've helped to spread is civil war) at home, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone is suspended from office by an unelected body, because of comments made to an Evening Standard reporter.

It would be hilarious if it wasn't such a disgusting act of disrespect towards democracy.

No Smoking!

I've said this before, but too many people seem to think this is just a matter of taking smokers' rights away. Do non-smokers not have rights?
I am a smoker.
The idea that this is a case of the state being nanny is a fallacious argument worthy of the tobacco industry. My conspiracy theory is that those who whinge about soon not being allowed to smoke in their own homes, are being paid by BAT.

ID Cards

It's the first time I post on the subject. I watched Peter Hain defend ID cards on Question TIme. He said we already have ID, we're already tagged. So, why go further?
Here in France, we have ID cards, but I don't have one. I'm white, though. This is about a freedom being taken away, and those who will see their freedom taken away will be those who look different. That's obvious. France is a particularly good example of a police state, regarding police violence, for example. Yet, I have never been stopped by police on the street, and neither, as far as I know, have my friends or members of my family. It may be to do with the colour of my skin or it may be to do with the areas I hang out in - which are not areas where a majority of non-whites live. British police may seem more civilised, but we've all seen the reports of 'institutional racism' in the police, so I don't think we can expect any better from them.

De Menezes inquest

Channel4

And as the Crown Prosecution Service is still considering whether to charge any of the Metropolitan Police officers involved in the operation that led to his fatal shooting, a full inquest hearing cannot be held.

Just because the perpetrators of this crime were working for 'our' government, doesn'n make this a lesser crime. An innocent man was killed, and what's more, according to all the evidence we have seen, he was unnecessarily killed. Therefore, it is a disgrace that the inquest into his death is taking so long, and that there has been no hard punishment of officers involved.

Awareness

Many may wonder how our consumerism here can affect the lives of others. Here's an example:

The villagers sell the wood to traders in a practice that environmentalists say is a major cause of deadly landslides in Indonesia, by removing natural barriers to heavy rain run-off.

We react when natural disasters take place, generously (though not always enough), yet we fail to see how changing our everyday habits could help prevent such disasters in the first place.
Here is one way.

Robert Cray

Words Light Fires reports on this new song and video by bluesman Robert Cray. It's a beautiful anti-war video and well worth watching.
Watch Video

Actors or terrorists?

A Logical Voice picked up on this on the BBC

One of the actors, Rizwan Ahmed, said a police officer asked him if he intended to make any more "political" films. The men were released quickly and not arrested, said Bedfordshire police. Inquiry "Six people were stopped under the Terrorism Act. This is something that happens all the time and obviously at airports and train stations," said a spokeswoman.

No doubt, the said police officer was a 'rogue element'. He is nevertheless a representative of the said Terrorism Act. So, who is to say this kind of blatant intimidation, worthy of the worst kind of dictatorship's secret police methods isn't a common occurance?

Demonstrate!

My friends at A Logical Voice call all of you who are in London on March 18th to demonstrate against Blair and New Labour's abuses of power. I will sadly not be there, so I join Truth Seeker&co in calling for a massive turnout.

Unlawful opinions

BBC

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the UK's Holocaust Educational Trust welcomed the verdict. "Holocaust denial is anti-Semitism dressed up as intellectual debate. It should be regarded as such and treated as such," Ms Pollock told the BBC News website.

But the author and academic Deborah Lipstadt, who Irving unsuccessfully sued for libel in the UK in 2000 over claims that he was a Holocaust denier, said she was dismayed.

"I am not happy when censorship wins, and I don't believe in winning battles via censorship... The way of fighting Holocaust deniers is with history and with truth," she told the BBC News website.

The New Terror

BBC

Fuelled in part by alarmist press reports and by the attempts of government agencies to draw blame away from farming, there are now calls for drastic measures against wild bird populations.

I believe these measures would put some species at risk of extinction, without having any effect on the spread of avian flu.

...

Much more likely is that before starting out, they picked up the virus from farms, either from infected poultry or their faeces. Mute swans often graze agricultural fields, and are likely to have come into contact with poultry manure spread as a fertiliser.

...

But in intensively farmed poultry, the high density of birds and constant exposure to faeces, saliva and other secretions provide ideal conditions for the replication, mutation, recombination and selection through which highly lethal forms can evolve.

...

Some of the agencies attempting to monitor and control avian flu, such as the FAO, seem to have been reluctant to draw attention to the role of intensive agriculture, because of the impact on national economies and on access to cheap sources of protein.

...

It may also be time to take a long, hard look at the way the world feeds itself, and to decide whether the price paid for modern farming in terms of risks to human health and the Earth's biodiversity is too high.

Israel holds back Palestinian aid

BBC

Israel will withhold an estimated $50m (£28m) in monthly customs revenues due to the PA, as well as impose travel restrictions on Hamas members.

"Israel will not hold contacts with the administration in which Hamas plays any part - small, large or permanent."

I wonder what Rabbi Sacks thinks of this. After all this is a democratically elected government Israel is punishing. If it is wrong for the Church of England to refuse to invest in a company which is involved in the destruction of innocent Palestinian homes, then surely this is wrong too. Would it be too much to call it anti-islamic?

Image of the day

Renaming Danish Pastries

BBC

"This is a punishment for those who start misusing freedom of expression to insult the sanctities of Islam," he said.

Yeah right. More likely a move to make sure no one decides to boycott them.

French fries and French toast were renamed "freedom fries" and "freedom toast" at cafeterias in the US House of Representatives in 2003, after France opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Interesting parallel.

Imre Kertesz: "Kaddish for a Child Not Born"

I saw this play last night, and was so moved, I decided to buy the book. I would like to quote it. The following is my translation of a french translation, so please allow for slight imperfections. It is also jsut an extract. I may post other extract as I read the text. I hope readers of this blog will comment.

"Auschwitz is inexplicable" is false first of all, structurally, since what is can by definition be explained, even if this explanation, is by it's nature, purely arbitrary, erroneous, nondescript, but it is a fact, that a fact has at least two existences, one factual, the other spiritual, a spiritual existential mode which is nothing but an explanation, a cluster of explanations, and what's more an over-explanation of the facts, which in the end means annihilation of these facts, or at the very least their blurrring; this unfortunate statement- "Auschwitz is inexplicable" -is itself an explanation, it allows the unfortunate author to explain that we should not utter a word about Auschwitz, that Auschwitz does not, or rather did not exist, since, is it not so, that only things which do not or did not exist are inexplicable? However, I probably said, that Aushcwitz did, and therefore does exist, and that there is therefore an explanation, and there is indeed no explanation to the idea that Auschwitz did not exist, that is, that one couldn't explain, that Auschwitz did not exist, didn't take place, that a state of the world did not take place in the fact named "Auschwitz"(I say this to pay hommage to Mr Oblath), there could indeed be no explanation to the absence of Auschwitz, and consequently, there has been something of Auschwitz floating around for a long time, maybe even centuries, like the sombre fruit which ripens in the sparkling rays of countless humiliations, waiting for the right moment to fall on people's heads, since finally what is, and so it must be, since it is: the history of the world is the image and the accomplisment of the spirit (quoting H.), since to consider the world as a sequence of arbitrary coincidences would be to have a rather unworthy view of the world (quoting myself), therefore, let us not forget, that: He who views the world rationally, is viewed by the world rationally: both are mutually defined-as said H. not H. the dictator and chancellor, but H. the grandiose visionary, the mad philosopher, who serves refined dishes to all the dictators, to all the chancellors and other such official userpers...

Fanatical irrationality

On Any Answers, a caller reacting to the subject of The Chief Rabbi's anger at the CoE's decision not to invest in Caterpillar which provides machinery used for Israeli destruction of Palestinian houses: First he said the issue is nothing to do with what Israel does to Palestinians, but rather, that one can not punish an international company like Caterpillar for what it's machinery is used for in one place. We should then, he added somewhat cynically, logically look at who provides hammers to Israel or who provides fertilisers to Palestinian bombers. He finished by saying this is an excuse for antisemites. So, in under two minutes, he managed to contradict his first statement.
Another example of an unwavering supporter of Israel attempting to censor any criticism of Israel with the use of the irrational fear of antisemitism.

Unelected house

Lord Turner who is opposed the 'glorification of terrorism bill' said today on Any Questions, that in the end, the House of Commons is the elected house, and will get it's way.
Isn't it strange, though, that these days, the unelected Lords seem to agree with the population more often than the elected House of Commons does?

Children in 'jail'

BBC

"We found that some of the treatment children in custody experience would in another setting be considered abusive and could trigger a child protection investigation."

According to Lord Carlisle on BBC Radio4, Britain has twice as many children in prison as in Germany, which has around twenty million more inhabitants. Shocking.
He also said, that some children seek to provoke abuse as this is what they have always known.
I find it terrible, that instead of seeking to address the roots of child offence, our society prefers to concentrate on punishment. At the same time, is it that surprising?

Vandalism

They were also ordered to pay AU$151,000 (US$111,300) to clean up the damage.

How do you clean up the damage done by a murderous and illegal war, MrHoward?

Discrimination

In Britain, there is no written constitution, unlike France. In France, the constitution guarantees in its first article equality of origin, race or religion (but not gender).
In Britain, there is a Race Relations Act (1976) and a Sex Discrimination Act (1975), but nothing that guarantees religious equality.
The problem of having a written constitution is that, as is the case in France, an article in the constitution can prevent change taking place. For example, in France it is possible to have affirmative action in favour of women, since there is no mention of gender in the constitution, but it isn't possible for minorities, since it is clearly stated that all are equal regardless of origin or race.
I'd be interested to know what readers think, and particularly whether they think there should be a 'Religious Relations/Discriminations Act'.

Thanks DJEB!

Dick Sheney shoots his mate

Time

If Cheney now finds himself criticized or lampooned, he'll ironically be in the same position he himself put Senator John Kerry in during the final days of the 2004 Presidential campaign, though the circumstances then did not involve a potentially deadly accident. At the time, Cheney used his widely-known experience as a hunter to mock a duck-hunting foray in Ohio in which Senator John Kerry ended up shooting a goose. "The senator who gets a grade of 'F' from the National Rifle Association went hunting this morning," Cheney reportedly said, to hoots. "I understand he bought a new camouflage jacket for the occasion, which did make me wonder how regularly he does go goose hunting.” As the Texas incident shows, experience does not make hunters immune to accidents, which is why hunting advocacy groups put such a relentless focus on safety as the top priority.

My kinda humour

Freedom of Speech?

Middle East Times

"Jyllands-Posten does not want to publish Holocaust drawings of an Iranian newspaper under any circumstances," said chief editor Carsten Juste on the paper's Website.

This newspaper is the hero of the islamophobic 'freedom of speech' shouting brigade.

Understanding Others

Newstalk ZB

New Zealand Catholic agency is calling for people of all religions to get to know each other better, in the wake of the publishing of the controversial Mohammed cartoons.

Caritas director Michael Smith says the issue has highlighted how tolerance and understanding needs to be improved. He says it is important people try to understand different religions and cultures.

Mr Smith welcomes the outcome of the meeting this week of media and religious leaders, in particular the apology by the media for the offence caused and the recognition of freedom of speech by religious leaders.

Imperial Traditions

Princess Kiko
BBC

If the baby turns out to be a boy, support for changing the law would quickly dwindle. If a girl, Mr Koizumi might just have time to introduce a bill, but he may not want to risk such a rush.

I wonder how much pressure was put on the couple to procreate, 12 years after the birth of their last child.
Here's to a girl, anyway!

Ethnic considerations in Israeli elections

This is a pretty serious analysis from Haaretz

Is the claim regarding the departure of the Ashkenazi Laborites based on empirical research? And if so, is the reason for their departure actually connected to Peretz's Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) background? To clarify these issues, the first thing to check is whether there has been a decline in the number of Ashkenazis intending to vote for the Labor Party. If there is such a decline, it would be interesting to see whether it is greater than the decline in the number of Mizrahis planning to vote Labor.

(...)

More in-depth research is required to isolate the effect of each of these factors on its own, including ethnic background. The fact that the mention of ethnic identification in the election propaganda could in itself have a certain impact must also be taken into account, although not specifically in the direction anticipated by those who raised the issue.

It should perhaps be added that, as far as I know, Mizrahis traditionally favour Likud, whereas Ashkenazis traditionally favour Labour. This may explain the departure of Mizrahis from the party, whereas ethnicity could be a major factor in the reasons for Ashkenazis departing. Perhaps someone could give some insight.

Photo Update

Nuclear-free Middle East not good for Israel

Haaretz

Toward the end of the discussion, Israel's delegate, Israel Michaeli, said he opposed the article because the issue of Iran should not be connected to other regional issues. In any event, he said, everyone supports regions that are free of weapons of mass destruction, but it would be unacceptable and irresponsible to accept such a resolution at this stage.

This seems to be the strongest indication yet from a representative of Israel that it does indeed have nuclear weapons. Not that it would come as a surprise.

Global Voices

Global Voices

I say.. we haven’t done the simplest thing; educating.. if you hold a Danish person walking down the street and invite him for a hot cup of ‘Arabian Coffee‘ and talked to him about who is Mohammed (the prophet) that everyone is talking about, a lot of things would have changed.. at least he will know that not all Arabs - emphasizing on the word ‘ALL’.. unfortunately!- should be sharp-fanged.. and that Mohammed should not be subject to sarcasm because he is a great man (regardless if one believes in his message or not).. who knows, he might get addicted to the ‘Arabian Coffee’ and ask you for more treats and more to learn!

Cartoon controversy:the bitter irony

Haaretz

One of the AEL cartoons displayed an image of Dutch Holocaust victim Anne Frank in bed with Adolf Hitler, and another questioned whether the
Holocaust actually occurred.

Denying the Holocaust is illegal under most European hate speech laws, which outlaw intimidating or inciting hatred toward groups on the basis of their ethnic, cultural, religious or sexual identity. Complaints about alleged hate speech are common but prosecutions are rare and convictions very rare.

Convictions may be rare, but law suits are not, and the furor around alleged anti-semitism or racism is quite common here in France.

IDF "Dogs of War"

Haaretz

After Mustafa left the house, the soldiers entered. Salha says that they were too many to count, "maybe 40"; she was very frightened and their faces were painted black. She remained seated on the mattress on the floor, which is her bed. "I remained alone in the house, in bed," she explains, adding that the soldiers noticed her, didn't say a word, and went outside. A few minutes later the dog entered. She described a frightening red animal with a collar to which an electronic device was attached. Why did the dog enter after the soldiers had already searched the house?

This article comes from an Israeli newspaper, not a Palestinian or Arab media outlet.
Everybody was up in arms after the recent Hamas victory in Palestinian controlled areas, and I cannot say I was overjoyed. However, what this article shows, is that these elections mean very little, as there is no Palestinian state, and Israel is still as present and as aggressive as ever in Palestinian lives.
With regards to this particular story, what I find most worrying is that this apparently trained dog did more than simply help to arrest a suspect, it actually 'attempted' to kill, and what's more the victim was not the suspect.

Mike Slack

Fear of the rice king

Japan Times

"If Aiko becomes the reigning empress and gets involved with a blue-eyed foreigner while studying abroad and marries him, their child may be the emperor," Hiranuma told about 40 lawmakers, academics and supporters at a Tokyo hall. "We should never let that happen."

Old Man Moves a Mountain by Lie Zie

Link

Tatxmg and Wangwu are two mountains with an area of seven hundred li square and rise to a great height of thousands of ren. They were originally situated south of Jizhou and north of Heyang.

North of the mountains lived an old man called Yugong (literally 'foolish old man') who was nearly ninety years old. Since his home faced the two mountains, he was troubled by the fact that they blocked the way of the inhabitants who had to take a roundabout route whenever they went out. He gathered his family together to discuss the matter.

"Let us do everything in our power to flatten these forbidding mountains so that there is a direct route to the south of Yuzhou reaching the southern bank of the Han River. What do you say?" Everyone applauded his suggestion.

His wife voiced her doubts. "You are not strong enough even to remove a small hillock like Kuifu. How can you tackle TaTxmg and Wangwu? And where would you dump the earth and rocks?"

"We can dump it into the edge of the Bo Sea and north of Yintu," said everyone.

Therefore Yugong took with him three sons and grandsons who could carry a load on their shoulders. They broke up rocks and dug up mounds of earth which were transported to the edge of the Bo Sea in baskets. His neighbour, a widow by the name of Jingcheng, had a posthumous son who was just at the age of discarding his silk teeth. This vivacious boy jumped at the chance of giving them a hand. From winter through summer the workers only returned home once.

An old man called Zhisou (literally 'wise old man') who lived in Hequ, near a bend of the Yellow River, was amused and dissuaded Yugong.

"How can you be so foolish? With your advanced years and the little strength that you have left, you cannot even destroy a blade of grass on the mountain, not to speak of its earth and stone."

Yugong from north of the mountains heaved a long sigh. "You are so obstinate that you do not use your reason. Even the widow and her little son do better than you. Though I die, my son lives on. My son produces a grandson and in turn the grandson has a so?of his own. Sons follow sons and grandsons follow sons. My sons and grandsons go on and on without end but the mountains will not grow in size. Then why worry about not being able to flatten them?" Zhisou of Hequ was bereft of speech.

The god of the mountains who held a snake in his hand heard about this and was afraid that Yugong would not stop digging at the mountains. He reported the matter to the king of the gods who was moved by Yugong's sincerity. The king commanded the two sons of Kua'eshi, a god with great strength, to carry away the two mountains on their backs: one was put east of Shuozhou and the other south of Yongzhou. From that time onwards no mountain stood between the south of Jizhou and the southern bank of the Han River.

Is the UK gvt completely out of touch with reality?

Jack Straw talking this morning on Radio 4 took on a lecturing tone to tell us that we, as Europeans cannot comprehend the depth of bad feeling Americans have towards Iran, as we never had an embassy under siege. He then went on to give us a lesson on the 'complicated' nature of the iranian leadership, with it's two levels of power.
What does he think we are:dumb? Doesn't he think we know the pain and suffering whole peoples have endured at the hands of american violence? Doesn't he think we are aware of the hypocrisy that lies at the heart of every state and government? Iran is hardly alone in the world in holding up a smokescreen. No need to look further that 'western democracies' to find such 'majic realism' (to pay homage to an author in the news..).
Every time I hear Blair, Straw and most of their accolytes attempting to explain the logic of their deeply unpopular and undemocratic measures, I cringe at the arrocance of their tone. Bush, at least doesn't bother going into lengthy explanations:you're either with us or against us. But our pathetic leaders always seem to find it necessary to act like schoolteachers when lecturing and admonishing us for failing to see the light.