Flag burning? Why not, it's a free country

The Guardian reported that the British police want to see the burning of flags at demonstrations in the UK outlawed. Indeed, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Len Duvall argued that people;

"have the right to [demonstrate] but they must do so peacefully and without causing undue offence."

The Labour MP Shahid Malik also supports the police proposal; he added that these 'appear to be sensible proposals which I believe all sensible people, irrespective of religion or race, will support'.

Well, I'm sorry, but the police and Shahid Malik are talking complete and utter nonsense. For a start, the proposal is a blatant restriction on our right to free speech. I personally don't go around burning flags at demonstrations, but in a free society if other people want to do such things, why can't they?

Whether we like it or not, flag burning is a form of political speech. If the police, or anyone else for that matter finds it offensive, then that's just tough. I certainly wouldn't want to live in a society where the police determine how offensive a demonstration may be.

I militantly agree with Brendan O’Neill’s assessment of this issue, it's bad enough that free speech is under attack, on top of that, the police want to restrict our right to be offensive at demonstrations too - well, as O'Neill rightfully argued, they can just f**k right off.

Iraqi Crisis

Two years and 8 months has passed since America decided to invade Iraq and there’s still no solution to problem created by Bush’s decision.

With the last kill October ranked 4^th in the most deadly month to American troops in Iraq reaching 100 soldiers dead this month. Since the war started 2.801 US troops have died and among this ones 18% aged between 18 and 20 years old (if you increase the period to 22 years old then the percentage increases to 43%). But war has a different king of “causalities”. Approximately 10 to 15 % of US troops returning home suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and about the same percentage suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Depression and those returning go home to face a more during “war”, normal life, as you can read in this Washington Post article.

But not only are US troops suffering from this war, this war is even more dramatic to civilians. In October 2004 Lancet Journal issue a study were they estimated that 100.000 civilians were killed since the invasion and now estimates that can exceed the 600.000 civilians causalities.

With this I am not saying that we were better off with Saddam’s regime, it was a blood driven dictatorship (for example the Kurdish genocide), far from any value that I defend. But I think ,next time, before an American president (this case Bush) decides to commit a country in a personnel war he must think of the consequences of his decision. After all while people are dying in Iraq he is drinking his whiskey in the comfort of the White House.

Another mouth shutted…

Li Jianping was found guilty of incitement to subvert state power based on his articles written on the Internet and was sentenced to two years in prison. (to know more here)

Li was an Internet essayist who recently run a medical supplies business. He was also founder of Independent Federation of Shanghai Universities (which participated on 1989's Democracy Movement)

With its recent development and openness to foreigner companies we sometimes forget what China still is: a Dictatorship where basic rights are not granted, and where writers still end up in jail.

Bangladesh in turmoil

Bangladesh is going through turbulent times as the row over an interim caretaker government chief persists who will lead the country towards the upcoming parliament election in January 2007.

This unique caretaker government (CTG) system adopted in Bangladesh constitution worked in past three elections. However this time the opposition parties led by Awami League (AL) and its fourteen party alliances were protesting that the designate Chief Justice KM Hasan not to be allowed as Chief of CTG because his past involvement with the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and because of the government’s deliberate attempts to keep him in this position by extending the retirement age of the judges. They claimed that Hasan was too close the government and have accused the outgoing administration of trying to rig elections. Drishtipat group blog has details on the crisis.

On October 27, the Bangladesh government comprising of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the four party alliance ended their five year tenure. In recent times the ruling coaltion was battered by constant opposition protests crippling the country, failure to curb price hike and inflation and mishandling the power and energy sector as demand increased supply, and some dissidents within the party. Former president Badruddoza Chowdhury and a former dissident of BNP and 24 dissident active BNP members led by Oli Ahmed MP formed a new political party called Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) couple of days ago. They have accused the government of carrying out widespread corruption, alleged absence of democracy in the party and supporting the Islamic fundamentalists.

Bangladesh is passing through anxious moments as the events develop. On Saturday 28th Thousands of protesters blocked roads into the capital of Dhaka Sunday as they awaited the word on who would take his place.

Violence erupted in many places across the country as the oppositions protest continued. The protesters had stabs and oars in their hand as prescribed by their party leaders and were put in use as their rage went on when they were attacked by police or the ruling coalition supporters. Bangladesh was in turmoil as 18 persons reported killed and more than 2,000 injured in total. Shahidul News has some first hand pictures of the clashes.

Drishtipat Group blog and The Third World View have updates of the crisis and are providing backgrounds and discussions of ordinary Bangladeshis. Drishtipat urges every Bangladeshi not to be emotional with the current proceedings and try to be sane in tackling the issues. The events took a dramatic turn on 28th of December as Justice KM Hasan refused to take oath “for greater interest of the country”. This has prompted President Iajuddin to call BNP and AL to talks. Then in a surprised move the Presdent Iajudding Ahmed offered himself to be the chief adviser after AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil and his BNP counterpart Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan could not agree on any former judges to head the caretaker government.

Sheikh Hasina, chief of Awami League rejected the offer outright and urged the president to follow the constitution.

Dhaka anxiously waited today to know what decision the President takes. Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of conversation with the optimist analyzes who may be next.

The general Bangladeshis are disgusted with the political acrimony of the two major players who have divided the country rather going forward in unison.

Blog-A-Rythm proposes that BNP and AL leaders should be awarded Nobel acrimony award for turning the peaceful country into chaos in just 14 hours.

In a latest development President Iajuddin Ahmed took oath as the Caretaker government chief at 20:00 hours Bangladesh time despite strong objections by the Awami League and allies.

Rumi of Drishtipat comments: “Here is how democracy dies. Here is how BNP turns into an autocratic party. Good Bye democracy (whatever we had).”

People are contemplating that Army may soon take control to calm the situation. It need not be a coup but the president may declare state of emergency. Earlier it was predicted that Army is reluctant to get into the mess.

In the event of an emergency or martial law, the first casualty is information. The media will be shut down and internet blocked. Somewhere in, a software company and owner of the wap-internet based site Aawaj has taken a revolutionary step. Now people of Bangladesh can send news to the world via sms using their mobile phone. Drishtipat Blog has details to send information to the world if the internet is down.

The Great Fence of USA

Probably inspired on the great wall of China, George W. Bush signed the bill that will allow USA to built a 700-mile border fence along 1/3 of U.S. Border with Mexico. Nobody knows how much will it cost but the value of $1.2 Billion dollars were allocated to this project with the signature of this bill.

He expects with this fence to control the flux of illegal immigrants that go through this border. "Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise," Bush said.

Many people criticizes this politic not only abroad but also inside the USA. One example is T.J. Bonner, head of the National Border Patrol Council which states that: "A fence will slow people down by a minute or two, but if you don't have the agents to stop them it does no good. We're not talking about some impenetrable barrier".

Well I think that T.J. Bonner is quite right, not only USA will spend billions of dollars, but also will give a bad image of itself, for a measure that ultimately will have little effect. But looking on the bright side , in a far future tourists will have another attraction to see in the USA: "The Great Fence of USA".

[Quotation taken from here at CNN]

Head of Commission for Racial Equality, is a bigot

It's bad enough that the British government have unveiled a dodgy plan, to basically treat Romanians and Bulgarians as if they were the new 'white niggers' of Europe. On top of that, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips, thinks it's perfectly acceptable to label these migrants as 'racists' , even though he admits it's based solely on 'anecdotal evidence'.

Neil Davenport, a writer for Spiked Online recently commented that 'Phillips comments also show what a dramatic turn around there has been on the immigration debate'. He's not wrong there. In the past, it was old-fashioned racists who wanted tighter controls on immigration to keep blacks out. Today, it's anti-racists who demand stricter rules on new migrants all because they apparently want to keep racists out of Britain. The truth is, old school, and new school ignorant attitudes towards immigrants, are just bad as each other.

UPDATE: The Times (London) also thinks that Trevor isn't all that clever.

Janjawid attacks

[Because not all wars get the media coverage of Iraqi war]

Product of the Sudan’s crisis and supported by Sudanese government, Janjawid militia continues their reign of terror, attacking villages in eastern Chad. They are an extremely violent group, normally destroying entire villages on their attacks, looting everything and killing many villagers.

Here is a satellite picture taken of Bir Kedouas village in Chad before and after a Janjawid attack:

Before:

(©DigitalGlobe)

After:

(©DigitalGlobe)

“When the Janjawid arrived, I took my daughter in my arms and ran away but I was shot in the leg and had to slow down. That is when my daughter Husna was shot.”
The father of a three-year-old girl who was killed in Bir Kedouas (taken here).

(The Pictures were taken from here)

Pyongyang threatens war if S.Korea joins sanctions

At Reuters

"SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea warned South Korea on Wednesday against joining U.S.-led sanctions against Pyongyang and said it would take action after any such move by Seoul.

South Korea's participation in sanctions would be seen as a serious provocation leading to a "crisis of war" on the Korean peninsula, a North Korean spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.(...)"

United Nations Day

October 24th is United Nations Day. It should be a day to honor the noble ambition of the international organization. Instead, today makes me contemplate the fecklessness of the UN - as rogue countries such as the United States ignore the recommendations of its councils and act unilaterally. The arrogance of the United States to take actions - let alone start wars - without the approval of the other UN member nations astounds me.
What can we expect the UN to be able to accomplish in the world - if we (as Americans) demonstrate that it can be ignored? By our actions we are showing the rest of the world how ineffectual it actually is. Shame on the US for its actions. And shame on the UN for allowing it.

Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006

[to see the complete list click here]

Not much as change in the last positions in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006.
Facts like the torture death of Turkmenistan journalist Ogulsapar Muradova, a number of Eritrean journalists imprisoned in recent past and the total control of the media from North Korean leader gave this three countries the last place in this index.

The US continues to fall (from 17th in 2002 to 53rd this year), mainly because of Bush administration use of "national security" reason to consider suspicious any journalist who question his politics. The following facts also helped this drop:

"Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been held by US authorities in Iraq since April this year" (taken from here at RSF site).

Congratulations to the two new comer's at Top 20, Bolivia (16th) (being in the same place of Canada and Austria) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (19th) placed above some European Union member-state neighbours like Greece and Italy.

On top, Denmark lost its place because of the "cartoons incidents" so the in the first place is
Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands.


["Reporters Without Borders compiled the Index by asking the 14 freedom of expression organisations that are its partners worldwide, its network of 130 correspondents, as well as journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists, to answer 50 questions about press freedom in their countries. The Index covers 168 nations. Others were not included for lack of data about them." (Taken from this article at RSF site)]

The freedom of dressing

Should people be entitled to dress whatever they want? If we lived in a "black and white" world then the answer should be yes. And should people be entitled to wear veils in public places? Probably the answer would be also yes. But the world is "grey" and these answers aren’t so easy.
Dress codes exists for a long time and are not new now. For instance, going to one extreme, imagine nudists. Where I come from is against the law to be naked on public places, but why shouldn’t we let people be free to wear (or in this case not wear) the clothes? And, if a teacher goes naked to school? Probably you would answer no, she can not. And why, for one simple fact that is public indecency. But why? Because in our culture (almost common to all western culture) the nudity is, in our minds, connected to sex, and in catholic cultures (and many others also) sex is indecent. Isn’t the same process happening with veils?

Straw branded a 'Christian fascist'

By David Paul, Daily Express

"Muslim demonstrators hurled insults at Jack Straw yesterday, calling him a “Christian fascist” and saying he had “declared war” on the Islamic community.
The Commons leader was jeered by furious protesters as he arrived for a surgery in his Blackburn constituency.
Protected by tight security for his visit to a community centre, Mr Straw, who wants Muslim women to remove the veil in face-to-face contacts, refused to speak to the 70 demonstrators. They included a number of women wearing veils.
Police had earlier banned a planned demonstration by 8,000 Muslims on safety grounds.
The crowd included Tasaddiq Rehman, from the Blackburn Muslim Council, who said: “Jack Straw didn’t really start a debate. He declared war against the Muslim community and then he wants a debate.
“This talk about the veil is another affront to the Muslim community. Jack Straw is a Christian fascist.
“He has actually segregated the community in the name of trying to call for Muslims to integrate.”
A group of women wearing niqab veils chanted: 'The veil is our choice and our liberation. The veil is our freedom.'"

Iran says Europe may get hurt for backing Israel

By Alireza Ronaghi at Reuters

"TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday Europe was stirring up hatred in the Middle East by supporting Israel and warned it "may get hurt" if anger in the region boiled over.

"You should believe that this regime (Israel) cannot last and has no more benefit to you. What benefit have you got in supporting this regime, except the hatred of the nations?" he said in a speech broadcast on state radio.

"We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away, but you are the neighbors of the nations in this region. We inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt."(...)"

The value of nothing

How much is the value of nothing? You could answer nothing. But I think is not quite like that. Think about it.

Imagine agricultural products, everyday you go to the market and you see a lot of agricultural products, but as you can imagine not all products are sold, so they will rotten and go to the garbage. If the purpose of fruit is to be eaten or to be made in a different plant then all those fruits were for nothing, but they cost a lot (not only money but also resources).

Imagine now CD’s. Every year, record companies produce numerous CD’s, but like vegetables and fruits not all are sold, with time they loose any value for the company so they are destroyed. If the purpose of a CD is to be listen then all those CD’s were for nothing, but they cost a lot (not only money but also resources).

Like this two examples many products go to the garbage or are destroyed and will never be used or consumed. You can say that the real value of them is nothing, well probably that is true, but it is a nothing that costs a lot.

Being British

Recent comments by a senior MP in Britain have stirred up a great deal of debate over Islamic dress, and with it has come a lot of talk about integration and Muslims becoming “more British”. But what exactly does that mean?

Over the past year or so the government has attempted to define (in order to encourage) a greater sense of “Britishness” amongst the population – yet, no matter how many lists of values and attributes they come up with, no real satisfactory definition of our national identity has been found. Too vague and it’s too weak to create a sense of community. Too specific and it proves too divisive, leaving out large sections of the country.

Part of the problem is that there often seem to be two separate concepts melded together…

1) Relationship with the state: obeying British law, using British services, voting in elections, standing for public office, etc.

2) Relationship with society: engaging in social affairs, sharing in cultural trends, etc.

It’s hard to see something like the veil as a real barrier to No 1. as extreme clothing doesn’t really affect your legal status. With one or two exceptions (passport photos for example) women can comply with the law, use public transport, and vote or stand for office while veiled.

This is the reason why the state has no business regulating something like clothing. (Unless it’s somehow dangerous to others).

However, it’s the second relationship which sees a number of problems arise.

The main reason for a lot of the unease about Muslims (and other minorities) is the perceived lack of a common frame of reference. No matter which part of the country a “native Brit” comes from, I have a fair idea of what their life is like, and what their views could be. This sense of understanding is lacking when it comes to “alien” cultures - which could explain the ease with which distrust and suspicion spring up. We’re constantly told that a clear barrier exists between the majority of this country’s Muslims and those committing terrorist atrocities in their name, but how many of us have a clear enough understanding of Islam and the Islamic world to judge that assertion properly? How many of us are in a position to judge whether the veil is oppressive or not?

(In the same way: does a lack of understanding of mainstream western culture feed the sense of a general war on Islam among Muslims?)

A sense of “solidarity” across the various religious/ethnic communities in Britain can only come through increased interaction – we need to learn more about them as they learn more about us. This has to be done in a genuine spirit of co-operation. Attempt by one group to force their ideas and values onto another will only increase the sense of separateness.

Blair and his army, marching to different tunes

The British Prime minister Tony Blair, went to extraordinary lengths last week to deny that there was any difference of opinions between him and the head of his army General Sir Richard Dannatt.

Blair tried in vein to argue (but rather unconvincingly) that, in fact, he had agreed with 'every word' that Gen Dannatt had said in the Daily Mail interview. The truth is, the generals’ comments have sent the government all out to sea, more importantly, it has exposed deep divisions and lacklustre loyalty amongst the higher ranks of the military, and the government.

Ever since the Gen Dannatt made his comments, many have hailed him as some type of 'hero'. Indeed, the Stop the War Coalition wasted no time in reprinting the army chief's remarks in their national petition, demanding that the British government withdraw from 'a war and occupation which is now opposed not only by the majority of the British public but by their own army chief'. It's as if the anti-war movement are using the military commander as some kind of pin-up poster boy for peace.

The anti-war movement, while they were falling over themselves must have forgotten that General Dannatt only wants to withdraw from Iraq because he wants those troops to fight in Afghanistan instead. In any case, who ever heard of a serving British general attending an anti-war demonstration?

Six car bombs, clashes kill 20 in Iraq's Mosul

By Ziad al-Taei from Reuters

"MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Six suicide bombers including one in a fuel truck blew themselves up near police stations and U.S. forces in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday in violence that killed at least 20 people.
Another car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least eight people and wounded 70 people in an attack aimed at an Iraqi army patrol in a crowded market area.
U.S. Major General William Caldwell said the Mosul attacks by suicide bombers in vehicles were aimed at three Iraqi police stations and two U.S. patrols in the city, which is a flashpoint of insurgent activity north of Baghdad.
Nine charred bodies lay on the debris-strewn streets after the fuel truck attack, which killed 11 people. Shortly after the explosion, insurgents fired mortar shells at another police center and clashed with police. Nine more people were killed in the violence, police said.
Caldwell declined to say whether any U.S. forces were killed in the attacks, which come a day after the U.S. military announced the deaths of 11 U.S. soldiers in one of the bloodiest days in the war for U.S. troops.(...)"

Strong International Organization Wanted

Humankind is currently looking for a Strong International Organization:

Responsibilities (more here):
To maintain international peace and security;
To develop friendly relations among nations;
To cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights;
To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Skills Required:
Accuracy and diligence;
A strong sense of Justice;
A forward-thinking approach to the management of world problems;
A team builder who can develop and maintain good relationships and gain the confidence of conflicting countries both within the organization and outside.

Painting the town red, sort of

Patna,India,oct 16-Authrities in eastern India are painting a crime-infested town pink in the hope that an image makeover will lift the sagging morale of residents who are fed up with the decline in law and order, officials said monday (for further info see Reuters)
Maby according to this concept we should all start to wear pink colloured shades, if it looks better maby the world becomes better ;-)

The Edukators (Die fetten jahre sind vorbei)*

Is the society system that we are living in the best system?

I don’t have a straight answer for this question, but the question itself is becoming stronger. Many people are starting to doubt that this is the best system to resolve our problems. Many issues arouse from this question – poverty, fair trading, world justice, international law, welfare distribution, security, liberty and eventually day-by-day lifestyle.

In my mind it is becoming clearer that a change will happen. We can no longer ignore the inequality in our world or in our own home country. Every 5 seconds a child dies of hunger-related problem while I happily eat my meal, or how many people have to suffer fighting for this simple right that is freedom of speech?. (to be continued…)

[*Note: Taken from a german movie with the same title which inspired this article]

Arabic bloggers

From a dutch newspaper:
In some countries bloggers are overheard or even arrested.In the article it is stated that in 2003 in Iran the first blogger gets arrested, other bloggers came in action to get him(journalist Sina Matlabi) released.2005 Bahrein owner ( Ali Abdulemam) of Bahreinonline.com gets arrested.In the summer of 2006 the Egyptian blogger Alaa Seif gets arrested and spents 45 days in jail.
In Arabic bloggers there are noticable many women that speak for womensrights/female liberation.
Popular Arabic blogs:Egypt:Http://www.manalaa.net/ (weblog of Alaa Seif)
Saudi-Arabia:Http://saudijeans.blogspot.com
Saudi-Arabia:Http://eveksa.blogspot.com (saudi-eve)
Irak: Http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com
Libanon: Http://anecdotesfromabananarepublic.blogspot.com
Palestinian arias:Http://www.bethlehemghetto.blogspot.com
Also interested in this context Book: Bagdad Burning from author Riverbend which inspired the stageplay Girl Blog

Bush Signs Law on Treatment and Interrogation of Terror Suspects

by NEDRA PICKLER From ABC

"WASHINGTON Oct 17, 2006 (AP)— President Bush has signed legislation that authorizes new standards that expedite the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects.

Bush's plan becomes law just six weeks after he acknowledged that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military commissions.

The bill would protect detainees from blatant abuses during questioning such as rape, torture and "cruel and inhuman" treatment but does not require that any of them be granted legal counsel. Also, it specifically bars detainees from filing habeas corpus petitions challenging their detentions in federal courts.(...)"

goedendag to everybody

As most people live their live in ignorance and some who should know better as to have a fixed oppinion, i am glad to join the wall of speech openminded.If noticing i'm stubborn or fixed in my opinion try me and you'll notice i'm the opposite.Not that i go with all winds(although i like sailing :) Sofar for now, looking forward for all your input, as you can look forward to mine.
Ewout

It Happen Today in Rome

By Massimiliano Di Giorgio from Reuters

"ROME (Reuters) - A train on Rome's underground metro system rammed into the back of another at high speed on Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring as many 50 others, several seriously.
The fire brigade said two people, including a 30-year-old woman, were pulled out of the wreckage dead and some passengers were still trapped underground.
"We are working to free people who are still trapped in the metal wreckage, our aim at the moment is to save lives," fire brigade officer Luca Cari told Reuters outside the station.
The accident occurred when one train arriving at the station at high speed crashed into the back of another that was still discharging passengers at the Piazza Vittorio underground station in the city center.
The crash occurred at 9:47 a.m. (0747 GMT), at the crowded station. Unconfirmed early reports said the driver of the second train did not stop at a red light.(...)"

Europe needs to become more secular

[First of all: thank you to the establishers of this blog for allowing me to post material here - I think they have a great idea, and it deserves to be successful]

What with all the panic over events in North Korea and the Middle East, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the real need for action closer to home - for me, the UK. In light of current tensions, one of the most important issues is how the British, and other European states relate to the various beliefs and outlooks found among their increasingly diverse populations. The argument for increased secularisation, resisted by a number of religious groups, needs to be made, strongly and repeatedly.

It’s increasingly common to see secularism portrayed as anti-religious, with talk of “Secular Fundamentalists” intent on imposing their materialistic philosophy on the rest of the, God-fearing, country. However, it’s wrong to confuse secularism with atheism (or, more accurately, anti-theism), and it’s important to realise that establishing a secular state is in almost everyone’s best interest.

Secularism, in its most basic form, is simply the idea that the everyday business of the state should be conducted on atheistic (in the sense of lacking religion, not opposing it) grounds only – government should not dictate, fund or interfere with religious matters.

In a multi-faith nation, such as the UK, it’s impossible to see how the government can maintain any other position for long, as interfering in religious matters will inevitably involve discriminating against one minority or another. The British government is currently involved in a perilous plate-spinning act, trying to keep various faiths happy through state funding and (often) token representation in government business for self-proclaimed “community leaders”. This is leading to increasing tensions.

Separation of Church(es) and State is the only democratic way forward. We need to reduce religious figures to the position of ordinary private citizens, with no more voice than the rest of us. Religious organisations should be treated no different from secular groups. And funding for purely religious activities should cease.

Government-funded “faith schools” are the most prominent example of state interference in religious matters, and the best evidence against it. Segregated schooling, on whatever lines, will ultimately prove divisive and bad for social cohesion. Educating children from different backgrounds together is the best way to create the sense of an inclusive, united society which the government seems to desperately desire. They also breach the right to freedom of religion, with the government colluding in the imposition of beliefs onto children not yet old enough to make rational choices about their life. While parental (and community pressure) in religious matters will always exist, it’s another matter altogether when the state actively encourages it.

Religious groups which benefit from state support are also in a risky position in supporting it, as, should future governments take a less favourable view of their particular beliefs, they might find themselves being heavily discriminated against in favour of other faiths. The recent commotion about the veil clearly shows the danger of the government wading into these issues.

Secularisation should put all faiths on a level playing field, and put individual choice (the keystone of democracy) in religious matters at the forefront of the state’s involvement.

Freedom of speech -sine qua non-!

What we need is dialogue to understand eachother and bring an end to the clash of civilizaitions.Actually there are no borders between the different world views of human kind but we all bounded eachother with artificial ones.Believing that internet is the most available and qualified instrument to bring people together regardless their nationality,gender,race etc. I hope that this blog will contribute to the harmonization of civilizations.Besides if we leave this crucial mission totally to the politicians,it will take plenty of time.I am very pleasant to take place in such an hamble but bright event.
lots of love
Pinar

Welcome to the Nuclear Club!!!

Welcome to this new hip club. Feel free to join in, you just have to have nuclear bombs or technology. We have different groups so you feel comfortable.

If you are big and western, then you join the group of "i have them in the name of peace".

If you are shy, no problem, you join the group "we are only developing nuclear for civil purposes". To join this last group is easy, gather some nuclear scientist, buy uranium in international market and say to the world that you are not developing a nuclear bomb but if you wanted you could.

If none of this groups interested you then you have the "i just have a nuclear bomb to defend myself".

Come and join now, we are an expanding club and in a near future you can even have the possibility of using one in a coming new war.

Note: if you join the last two groups financial and arms sanctions are part of the package...

More countries could develop nuclear bombs: IAEA

By Karin Strohecker from Reuters

"VIENNA (Reuters) - As many as 30 countries may develop the capacity to produce nuclear weapons swiftly unless more is done to tackle the spread of the technology, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued the warning a week after North Korea said it had tested a nuclear bomb.

"We are dealing with almost as I call them virtual nuclear weapons states," ElBaradei said in an opening speech to a nuclear safeguards conference in Vienna.

He added a new approach was needed "so not to end up with nine weapons states but another 20 or 30 who have the capacity to develop nuclear weapons in a very short time span."

Five countries -- the U.S., Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom -- have formally declared their nuclear weapons and signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The four other nations known or suspected to have an atomic bomb are India, Pakistan, Israel, and now North Korea.

ElBaradei said new challenges had emerged as the nuclear technology was available for both peaceful and non peaceful purposes.(...)"

Nuclear weapons - The Power of choice

I know that each country has the right to defend themselves, but i believe that the Nuclear choice is the worst choice of defense. A nuclear weapon has such an destructive power that if a nuclear war goes off then nobody will win. So each money (dollar, euro, pound, etc...) is a waste, because, in the end, it will not be used. It is a choice that each country has, spend their efforts in nuclear guns or spend efforts in developing themselves...

U.N. sanctions on N.Korea expected Saturday

By Evelyn Leopold from Reuters

"UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council expects to impose arms and financial sanctions on North Korea on Saturday for its reported nuclear weapons test, with U.S. intelligence pointing to confirmation that it took place.

Russia and China submitted new amendments to a U.S.- drafted U.N. resolution, which are expected to delay the vote by several hours, but U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said he was confident the resolution would be adopted on Saturday.

In Washington, a preliminary U.S. intelligence analysis has shown radioactivity in air samples collected near a suspected North Korean nuclear test site, a U.S. official said on Friday, five days after Pyongyang announced it conducted the test.(...)"

Welcome in!!!

Welcome in. The first member, besides me have now just accepted my invitation. Today is an historical day. I don't have words to express so i will simply say Thank you! And i hope that you post soon.

Today

Today i don't have any news or personal opinion to write. I am now concentrating my efforts in managing the blog. I hope that all the people that i send the invitation will accept it so that we can start reading your posts.

See you soon,

Stran

Nobel Prize Award

Congratulations to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.

Articule by John Acher from Reuters

"OSLO (Reuters) - Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for grassroots efforts to lift millions out of poverty that earned him the nickname of "banker to the poor".

Yunus, 66, set up a new kind of bank in the 1976 to give credit to the very poorest in his native Bangladesh, particularly women, enabling them to start up small businesses without collateral.

In doing so, he invented microcredit, a system that has been copied in more than 100 nations from the United States to Uganda.

"In Bangladesh, where nothing works and there's no electricity," Yunus once said, "microcredit works like clockwork."

The Nobel committee awarded the prize to Yunus and Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below," it said in its citation.

"Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights," it said.

Yunus and Grameen were surprise winners of the 10 million Swedish crown ($1.36 million) award from a field of 191 candidates. The prize will be handed out in Oslo on December 10.

"This is fantastic, unbelievable. Thank you," Yunus, whose autobiography is called "Banker to the Poor," told Norway's NRK television after the announcement. (...)"

French, Armenians and Ottomans

I don't get this relation, i just don't get it. What a waste of time, instead of building bridges they are trying to destroy it.
I don't now many things about Ottoman History, so i can't judge the fact by itself (How many people got killed, etc...). What i don't get is what happened to the freedom of speech in France, and one thing that i would like an answer is: since when politicians are historians?

Nobel Price

Congratulations To Orhan Pamuk for wining this year Nobel Prize for Literature.

Quoting Article written By Sarah Edmonds and Niklas Pollard from Reuters (complete article)

"STOCKHOLM, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's best-known novelist Orhan Pamuk, who faced trial this year for insulting his country, won the 2006 Nobel prize for Literature on Thursday in a decision some critics called politically charged.

"I am very glad and honoured. I am very pleased," the Turkish writer told Sweden's Svenska Dagbladet newspaper when asked how he felt about winning the 10 million Swedish crown prize. "I will try to recover from this shock."

The Swedish Academy declared Pamuk the winner on a day when, to Turkey's fury, the French lower house of parliament approved a bill making it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide.

In a what was seen as a test case for freedom of speech in Turkey, Pamuk was tried for insulting "Turkishness" after telling a Swiss paper last year that 1 million Armenians had died in Turkey during World War One and 30,000 Kurds had perished in recent decades.

Though the court dismissed the charges on a technicality, other writers and journalists are still being prosecuted under the article and can face a jail sentence of up to three years. (...)"

Open Invitation

I now started to begin mine invitations to people around the world to participate in this blog.
I look into the world and i think that we live a great time, where, in a click you can talk to people around the world. What i want to create here is an international space of debate, where people can debate freely and where we will notice what unite and also what divides humankind.
People are free to debate what ever they want.
Anybody who is interested just needs to send me a valid email to stran_ger69@hotmail.com and i will invite them in.

I hope that you will be interested...

Stran

Hi everybody

Thanks for inviting me. I will try and do my best.

Best Regards,

Denunciador

Suggestion Box

Leave here any suggestion of improvement or complaint that you have. It will be very helpful to us and i thank you in advance your help.