14 Oct 2015
11 Sept 2015
Is the European Right Exploiting the Refugee Crisis?
Parties across Europe are appealing to voters through nationalistic, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
23 Jan 2015
'American Sniper' Has Incited Death Threats and Racism
As controversy rages over American Sniper, many supporters of the movie have suggested that it's apolitical and shouldn't be construed as supportive of war or bigotry; that it's merely a character study of a tortured soldier. The problem with that analysis is that the film isn't focused on a group of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or the difficulties with being reacquainted with civilian life, or the inadequacies of the Veterans Administration.
The movie is about Chris Kyle, a remorseless sniper who said his job was “fun” and wished he could return to Iraq to fight even more, and who made millions of dollars and gained worldwide fame writing about his exploits. If anything, Kyle is the absolute worst soldier one could pick to talk about soldiers coming home and our need to take care of them. The way he wrote and talked about his time in Iraq, one would think the war was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Critics of American Sniper's portrayal of Chris Kyle have received a torrent of death threats, even calls for decapitation, and the film has spawned an outpouring of anti-Muslim bigotry on social media.
22 Aug 2014
Places That Don't Exist
Simon Reeve travels to a group of unrecognised nations -- countries so obscure they don't officially exist.
8 Mar 2014
24 Jan 2014
How Corporations Are Cashing In On The Worldwide Immigration Crackdown
Nearly a decade ago, Australian authorities discovered major problems inside detention centers run by a private, for-profit company entrusted with immigrants locked up for entering the country illegally.
The company, Global Solutions Ltd. -- now owned by the British corporation G4S, the world's largest security firm -- was failing to administer care to detainees with serious health problems, according to a government investigation. A separate inquiry found that guards transporting detainees on a seven-hour drive had denied them food, water and access to bathrooms, ignoring pleas for help.
Amid public outcry over the investigation and protests by detainees who set fires and rioted at a detention center, the Australian government gradually phased out its contracts with the company. But as it now intensifies a crackdown on undocumented immigrants entering its waters, yielding growing numbers of detainees, the government has again turned to G4S to manage the flow.
4 Feb 2013
'Racism in their DNA': Israeli fan fury
A group of the Jerusalem-based Beitar fans have lashed out at the club's boss's decision to bring two Muslims from the Russian Chechen republic into the squad
12 Mar 2012
Nicolas Sarkozy courts right-wing voters with Schengen zone threat
Nicolas Sarkozy has stepped up his courtship of hard-right voters by threatening to pull France out of the EU's borderless, passport-free Schengen zone unless Brussels clamps down on illegal immigration.
Clench-fisted and dripping with sweat, the French president addressed some 30,000 flag-waving supporters at a vast, highly theatrical rally in a hangar on the northern outskirts of Paris on Sunday. Taking to the stage to a thundering, action-movie-style soundtrack, he gave a demonstration of his trademark political showmanship with a hardline speech on securing the borders of Fortress Europe. He said tightening controls was the "only way to avoid the implosion of Europe".
The rally was seen by many as Sarkozy's last chance to fire up his support-base in a faltering campaign for re-election. He is struggling to reverse the trend in the opinion polls which for months have consistently shown the Socialist frontrunner François Hollande easily beating him in the final presidential vote in May.
Sarkozy has been criticised by political opponents for shamelessly courting supporters of the extreme-right leader Marine Le Pen by proposing a referendum on illegal immigrants, complaining there were "too many foreigners" in France and raising the spectre of unsuspecting French people eating halal meat without knowing it.
Sarkozy is the son of Pál István Ernő Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa a Hungarian aristocrat, and Andrée Jeanne "Dadu" Mallah, who is of Greek Jewish and French (Catholic) origin. They were married on 8 February 1950 and divorced in 1959. Sarkozy said that being abandoned by his father shaped much of who he is today. He also has said that, in his early years, he felt inferior in relation to his wealthier and taller classmates. "What made me who I am now is the sum of all the humiliations suffered during childhood", he said later. Wikipedia – More about his father on The Telegraph
10 Feb 2012
Spanish court convicts judge Garzon
Spain's top court has convicted judge Baltasar Garzon in an illegal phone-tapping case and suspended him from the legal profession for 11 years, according to a court official.
Garzon, 56, who became internationally well known for his attempts to extradite Chile's former ruler, Augusto Pinochet, was found guilty of ordering illegal recordings of conversations between suspects in a corruption case and their lawyers.
Human rights groups and many Spanish supporters of Garzon view the accusations as attacks on Garzon for his investigation, launched in 2008, into alleged crimes against humanity committed by Spain’s nationalist government during the 1936-39 civil war.
The supreme court said in a statement on Thursday that Garzon had been suspended from the bench for 11 years, which, given his age, could effectively end his career. Garzon acted arbitrarily in ordering jailhouse phone tapping of conversations between detainees and their lawyers, the court said. It said his actions "these days are only found in totalitarian regimes". The Switzerland-based International Commission of Jurists condemned the supreme court verdict as "deplorable". It said Garzon had been prosecuted simply for doing his job.
2 Jan 2012
Outlaw singing American anthem ‘inappropriately’
Legislation introduced to the Indiana Senate would make it a crime to stray from approved lyrical or melodic guidelines while performing the national anthem at any event sponsored by public schools and state universities. The bill was proposed by Sen. Vaneta Becker (R). She told The Indianapolis Star that it was inspired by a constituent who emailed her after being upset by a parody of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Sometimes it’s just done in a joking manner,” Becker said. “But I don’t think the national anthem is something we ought to be joking around with.” The legislation would require performers to sign a contract agreeing to follow guidelines established by the State Department of Education. Those who failed to abide by the guidelines would be fined $25.
Additionally, schools would have to keep recordings of every performance for two years.
14 Jul 2011
Israeli kindergarteners to be required to sing national anthem weekly
From September Jewish nursery and kindergarten teachers to raise Israeli flag and sing 'Hatikva' according to new Education Ministry directives; teachers also required to instruct children on state symbols.
Beginning this September, Jewish nursery and kindergarten teachers will be required to open the week with the raising of the Israeli flag and the singing of "Hatikva," in accordance with new directives issued by the Education Ministry.
The preschool teachers will also be required to teach the children the state symbols once a week. The directives state that by next Independence Day, "All the children will know the words to the national anthem."
27 Jun 2011
The Misguided Notion Of What Patriotism Is
"It's not your country that you're fighting for when you go to war, it's your government.". American Historian Howard Zinn on his books: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train - A personal History of Our Times, and Failure To Quit - Reflections of an Optimistic Historian.
11 Apr 2011
Dutch town uses €100 trick to 'discourage' Kenyan marathon runners
The organisers of the Utrecht marathon are offering prize money of just €100 to Kenyan nationals if they win the event, but a Dutch winner will get €10,000, the Volkskrant reports on Saturday. The aim is to discourage Kenyans from taking part in the 42 km race, nicknamed the Dutch Battle, on April 25, the organisers say.
Last year Kenyan runners won the Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Enschede and Leiden marathons. The Utrecht race has been won by a Kenyan for the past four years and the organisers hope to give top Dutch athletes a chance to win this year. The prize money trick had been worked out with the help of a lawyer. Banning Kenyans outright would break discrimination laws but discouraging them from taking part is legal.