The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
Following calls in several European countries to ban Islamic head-to-toe veils, Germany's interior minister said he was "cautious" about the idea of outlawing headscarves in the face of a possible backlash. "The more that we try to repress symbols of other religions in public life, the more the danger grows that there will be successful attacks on Christian symbols in public, everyday life," Thomas de Maiziere told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. The minister, who is a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party (CDU), said that he would have no problem with a female worker in his ministry wearing a headscarf as an expression of religious belief. But if the headscarf was being used to express an aggressive stance "that sets itself against what a federal interior ministry represents," Maziere said it should be forbidden. According to the CDU politician, the decisions should be based on whether the behavior and appearance of an employee was "appropriate." He added that the same principles on what is correct should be applied as they would be to the wearing of flip-flops or Hawaiian shirts.
"The more that we try to repress symbols of other religions in public life, the more the danger grows that there will be successful attacks on Christian symbols in public, everyday life," Thomas de Maiziere told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
The minister, who is a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party (CDU), said that he would have no problem with a female worker in his ministry wearing a headscarf as an expression of religious belief.
But if the headscarf was being used to express an aggressive stance "that sets itself against what a federal interior ministry represents," Maziere said it should be forbidden.
According to the CDU politician, the decisions should be based on whether the behavior and appearance of an employee was "appropriate."
He added that the same principles on what is correct should be applied as they would be to the wearing of flip-flops or Hawaiian shirts.
The German Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, has excluded the Islam Council from the next round of talks, saying it is dominated by militant Turkish nationalists. The next round of integration talks between the government and representatives of Muslim communities, scheduled for May 17, will now take place without the participation of the Islam Council. The suspension follows the launch of an investigation concerning major tax fraud against the leaders of Milli Gorus, an organisation accused of promoting a fundamentalist brand of Islam. With 27,000 members, it is the dominant force within the Islam Council. "The charges are so serious," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said, "that I cannot sit at the same table as these people." In a statement issued on Friday, the leadership of the Islam Council rejected the suspension, and said the Council would withdraw from the talks altogether.
The next round of integration talks between the government and representatives of Muslim communities, scheduled for May 17, will now take place without the participation of the Islam Council.
The suspension follows the launch of an investigation concerning major tax fraud against the leaders of Milli Gorus, an organisation accused of promoting a fundamentalist brand of Islam. With 27,000 members, it is the dominant force within the Islam Council.
"The charges are so serious," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said, "that I cannot sit at the same table as these people."
In a statement issued on Friday, the leadership of the Islam Council rejected the suspension, and said the Council would withdraw from the talks altogether.
With Germany lacking schools of Islamic theology, Muslim congregations have long imported religious leaders. As Germany considers steps to create more homegrown imams, countries like Turkey -- which sends state-employed imams to Europe to serve large segments of the Turkish diaspora -- are filling the gap. It was impossible to tell that the men who gathered in a German language class one frigid winter morning in Ankara, Turkey were Islamic religious leaders. They wore suits, or plaid button-up shirts, and could have easily passed for office workers or graduate students as they worked over phrases of German in their course book. "Birgit Deichmann still searches," one man in a grey suit read aloud. He stroked his black mustache with a look of befuddlement. "What is a Deichmann?" he asked the instructor. Deichmann, she explained, was just a German last name, the name of the person still searching. His question indicated the degree of culture shock that lay ahead. These men, who hail mostly from the villages and cities of Anatolia, would in the next several months depart for Germany to serve four years as imams, leaders of Muslim congregations in mosques throughout the country. From their classroom at the Goethe Institute in Ankara, where through the windows the students could behold the white and grey minarets of Ankara's Kocatepe Mosque soaring to such heights that the towers seemed to hang from the clear blue heavens, German society seemed like a distant notion. Most of the imams, in fact, had never visited Germany, much less held a conversation with anyone with a last name like Deichmann.
With Germany lacking schools of Islamic theology, Muslim congregations have long imported religious leaders. As Germany considers steps to create more homegrown imams, countries like Turkey -- which sends state-employed imams to Europe to serve large segments of the Turkish diaspora -- are filling the gap.
It was impossible to tell that the men who gathered in a German language class one frigid winter morning in Ankara, Turkey were Islamic religious leaders. They wore suits, or plaid button-up shirts, and could have easily passed for office workers or graduate students as they worked over phrases of German in their course book.
"Birgit Deichmann still searches," one man in a grey suit read aloud. He stroked his black mustache with a look of befuddlement. "What is a Deichmann?" he asked the instructor. Deichmann, she explained, was just a German last name, the name of the person still searching.
His question indicated the degree of culture shock that lay ahead. These men, who hail mostly from the villages and cities of Anatolia, would in the next several months depart for Germany to serve four years as imams, leaders of Muslim congregations in mosques throughout the country. From their classroom at the Goethe Institute in Ankara, where through the windows the students could behold the white and grey minarets of Ankara's Kocatepe Mosque soaring to such heights that the towers seemed to hang from the clear blue heavens, German society seemed like a distant notion. Most of the imams, in fact, had never visited Germany, much less held a conversation with anyone with a last name like Deichmann.
There are now at least three schools, of which two academic universities, which provide a course to become a qualified imam in the Netherlands. This is a direct effect of the 2004 murder on film-maker Theo van Gogh, which resulted in a 2008 decision that only imams educated in the Netherlands can operate.
The row over Lord Ashcroft's donations to the Tory party threatened to erupt into a full-blown constitutional crisis last night as questions were raised over whether the Queen and the former prime minister, Tony Blair, had granted him a peerage under false pretences.As David Cameron's aides confirmed that Ashcroft would be retiring as Tory deputy chairman after the election, the Liberal Democrats called on the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, to publish all documents relating to the peerage as a matter of urgency, so that it could be established whether the sovereign had been misled.In a letter to O'Donnell, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Lord Oakeshott, said that, given the "overwhelming public interest" in how the Tories' biggest donor came to be elevated to the Lords, it was vital "to establish whether the Queen conferred a life peerage... under false pretences".The monarch confers honours mostly on the advice of the Cabinet Office and the prime minister. Ashcroft's declaration last week that he was a "non-dom" has been seen to contradict "clear and unequivocal" assurances given to the then Tory leader, William Hague, that he would take up permanent residence in the UK before the end of 2000. This assurance was seen as crucial. Members of Blair's inner circle suggest the former prime minister now feels he has been misled."Hague told Tony that Ashcroft would pay huge amounts of tax," said a source. "That was the deal. That was what we all understood at the time."But following discussions between the then Tory chief whip, James Arbuthnot, and Sir Hayden Phillips, head of the Crown Office, who signed off the peerage, Ashcroft claims it was agreed he would only become a "long-term resident of the UK", which would allow him to keep his non-dom status.
The row over Lord Ashcroft's donations to the Tory party threatened to erupt into a full-blown constitutional crisis last night as questions were raised over whether the Queen and the former prime minister, Tony Blair, had granted him a peerage under false pretences.
As David Cameron's aides confirmed that Ashcroft would be retiring as Tory deputy chairman after the election, the Liberal Democrats called on the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, to publish all documents relating to the peerage as a matter of urgency, so that it could be established whether the sovereign had been misled.
In a letter to O'Donnell, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Lord Oakeshott, said that, given the "overwhelming public interest" in how the Tories' biggest donor came to be elevated to the Lords, it was vital "to establish whether the Queen conferred a life peerage... under false pretences".
The monarch confers honours mostly on the advice of the Cabinet Office and the prime minister. Ashcroft's declaration last week that he was a "non-dom" has been seen to contradict "clear and unequivocal" assurances given to the then Tory leader, William Hague, that he would take up permanent residence in the UK before the end of 2000. This assurance was seen as crucial. Members of Blair's inner circle suggest the former prime minister now feels he has been misled.
"Hague told Tony that Ashcroft would pay huge amounts of tax," said a source. "That was the deal. That was what we all understood at the time."
But following discussions between the then Tory chief whip, James Arbuthnot, and Sir Hayden Phillips, head of the Crown Office, who signed off the peerage, Ashcroft claims it was agreed he would only become a "long-term resident of the UK", which would allow him to keep his non-dom status.
David Cameron's aides found themselves performing an unusual damage-limitation exercise when they were forced to deny claims that the Conservative leader's wife, Samantha Cameron, might be voting Labour.The unlikely allegation came from Ed Vaizey, the Tory arts spokesman and - at least until yesterday - a trusted member of the Cameron inner circle.One insider said last night that Vaizey was "in the doghouse".Vaizey made his comment in a Channel 4 programme about Cameron being broadcast tomorrow night which also identifies Samantha as the person who coined the phrase used frequently by Cameron: "There is such a thing as society, it's just not the same thing as the state."
David Cameron's aides found themselves performing an unusual damage-limitation exercise when they were forced to deny claims that the Conservative leader's wife, Samantha Cameron, might be voting Labour.
The unlikely allegation came from Ed Vaizey, the Tory arts spokesman and - at least until yesterday - a trusted member of the Cameron inner circle.
One insider said last night that Vaizey was "in the doghouse".
Vaizey made his comment in a Channel 4 programme about Cameron being broadcast tomorrow night which also identifies Samantha as the person who coined the phrase used frequently by Cameron: "There is such a thing as society, it's just not the same thing as the state."
But anything that keeps the Tories from controlling the message in this election campaign is good news. En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
I ask since, from this side of the pond, the whole thing has gotten ridiculous.
The problem for them is that for 18 months or so they've gotten away with selling that nice Mr Cameron with the sweet wife and adorable kids (plus unmentioned grief over baby death).
now they've entered the bit where the political bit about what they really believe and what they intend to do comes to the fore. And suddenly all of the vague wishy washy stuff they've been getting away with for the last 18 months isn't working, in fact becomes counter-productive. It's becoming quite obvious that they didn't do their policy homework during this time. They really thought they could just breeze in to the election without giving anything away about their plans and it would be alright.
More fool them. Good. Much as I hate NuLab, the tories are far worse. keep to the Fen Causeway
It's almost as if, when it comes right down to it, the Tories can't help revealing they are bastards and the voters know they really would be a disaster for ordinary people. En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
why, oh why is the brit electorate so hooked on the tory/lab binary?
when i think of how hard it is in america to fly a decent, electorally credible third party, and i see in the UK the work has been done, why don't more vote more for it, if for no other reason than it's not the tweedle dyad.
it's not like they don't have better ideas, they just have a 'fail' aura about them, like it's a foregone conclusion they'll always be stuck at the symbolic, politically powerless level. ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
Because the Brits haven't got a proportional system. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
The original Libs were the party of Jeremy Thorpe, who remains the only significant British pol in recent history to be put on trial for attempting to murder a lover. (Did he also fiddle his expenses?)
So the fail is strong with them.
It's not that they're disreputable - it's that currently they're not nearly disreputable enough.
Tomorrow is the first national referendum Icelandic citizens have been allowed to participate in by the political elite since the conception of the republic in 1944. By all measures, this should be a happy day for democracy in Iceland. But instead it is not a cause for celebration but a large milestone in the farcical power play which has taken place between the four largest political movements in Iceland since 1944. Yes, a farce. "Isn`t that what this whole thing really is", asked a Dutch journalist yesterday after surveying the scene? It is a sad day. The media has a lot to answer for The media has a lot to answer for. Instead of allowing people like law professor Bryndis Hlodversdottir and political science professor Svanur Kristjansson to explain to the nation why this isn't good democracy, the media has instead handed the microphones to red-faced, unbalanced Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party whose political career has revolved around kicking up as much mess as possible around IceSave. It makes for a better TV than a balanced approach and it creates pressure on the government he opposes.
Tomorrow is the first national referendum Icelandic citizens have been allowed to participate in by the political elite since the conception of the republic in 1944. By all measures, this should be a happy day for democracy in Iceland.
But instead it is not a cause for celebration but a large milestone in the farcical power play which has taken place between the four largest political movements in Iceland since 1944.
Yes, a farce. "Isn`t that what this whole thing really is", asked a Dutch journalist yesterday after surveying the scene? It is a sad day.
The media has a lot to answer for
The media has a lot to answer for. Instead of allowing people like law professor Bryndis Hlodversdottir and political science professor Svanur Kristjansson to explain to the nation why this isn't good democracy, the media has instead handed the microphones to red-faced, unbalanced Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party whose political career has revolved around kicking up as much mess as possible around IceSave. It makes for a better TV than a balanced approach and it creates pressure on the government he opposes.
With a smug grin he revealed last night and today what he had wanted all along. It wasn't a national referendum on IceSave. It was for the government he opposes to resign. Steingrimur J. Sigfusson asked the nation how it thought an agreement could be made with a saboteur on our very own negotiating team. Of course Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party and founder of the InDefence pressure group would never have dreamt up a more favorable situation. Half of the nation had bought his spin and handed him the spin necessary to demand a clear path to the power tables. Preferably before the congressional report on the economic crash due out soon. I hate to say I told you so, but I did and Icelanders were played by a snake oil salesman and too many of them bought it. He has divided the nation and now humbly offers to lead it from distress. The enemy does not have Iceland's interests at heart. It is all about the money (did we mention how he became a billionaire through an unholy alliance of politics and business) and the mandate to lead Iceland during these turmoilous times when the wealth and debts of the nation are distributed. Iceland's enemy number one has revealed himself and his name is Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson
With a smug grin he revealed last night and today what he had wanted all along. It wasn't a national referendum on IceSave. It was for the government he opposes to resign.
Steingrimur J. Sigfusson asked the nation how it thought an agreement could be made with a saboteur on our very own negotiating team.
Of course Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party and founder of the InDefence pressure group would never have dreamt up a more favorable situation. Half of the nation had bought his spin and handed him the spin necessary to demand a clear path to the power tables. Preferably before the congressional report on the economic crash due out soon.
I hate to say I told you so, but I did and Icelanders were played by a snake oil salesman and too many of them bought it. He has divided the nation and now humbly offers to lead it from distress.
The enemy does not have Iceland's interests at heart. It is all about the money (did we mention how he became a billionaire through an unholy alliance of politics and business) and the mandate to lead Iceland during these turmoilous times when the wealth and debts of the nation are distributed.
Iceland's enemy number one has revealed himself and his name is Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson
Huffington Post: IceSave Agreement: Just Sign It! (Iris Erlingsdottir, January 2 2010)Tens of thousands of investors--individuals, municipalities, and charities--took advantage of the exceptionally high rates offered on Landbanki's IceSave savings accounts, only to discover that these accounts were not formally backed by any government. Landsbanki officials had inexplicably failed to register as a domestic bank in either country, and thus were not backed by government deposit insurance. When Landsbanki went into receivership on October 7th, British authorities invoked anti-terror legislation on October 8th to freeze Landsbanki's assets there.(my emphasis) WTF!?... Ólafur Ragnar should sign the bill because it's the right thing to do, and because the consequences of rejection would be disastrous. ... [If the bill is not signed] the current government would almost certainly fall, and any chance at reasonable reform would die. The conservative Independence Party that ran Iceland until the collapse would retake power and restart the party. The businessmen whose reckless actions placed the county in danger would return with the illicit funds they've placed in off-shore accounts and buy Iceland's resources for a song.Most importantly, the new government would take whatever steps necessary to ensure that these culprits never see the inside of a jail cell. The investigation of the misdeeds that led to Iceland's collapse has proceeded very methodically, and the special prosecutor now appears on the cusp of indicting some of the Independence Party's biggest supporters. If the investigators are allowed to continue, we'll see whether the rumors of money laundering for the Russian mafia are true, whether vast amounts of money are indeed sitting in Tortola, whether bank employees exploited pension funds with same glee that Enron employees exhibited while ripping off California consumers, and whether our politicians and regulators were bribable.... By signing it, Ólafur Ragnar would ensure that the new government would be able to finish what it has started--a thorough investigation into the events that led to our fall. Unless Eva Joly and Ólafur Þór Hauksson are permitted to complete their task, not only will the wrongdoers escape justice, but we will show them that there are no adverse consequences for their incompetence and malfeasance.This raises the question of who is behind the InDefence group that started the petition against the Icesave law.
Tens of thousands of investors--individuals, municipalities, and charities--took advantage of the exceptionally high rates offered on Landbanki's IceSave savings accounts, only to discover that these accounts were not formally backed by any government. Landsbanki officials had inexplicably failed to register as a domestic bank in either country, and thus were not backed by government deposit insurance. When Landsbanki went into receivership on October 7th, British authorities invoked anti-terror legislation on October 8th to freeze Landsbanki's assets there.
... Ólafur Ragnar should sign the bill because it's the right thing to do, and because the consequences of rejection would be disastrous. ... [If the bill is not signed] the current government would almost certainly fall, and any chance at reasonable reform would die. The conservative Independence Party that ran Iceland until the collapse would retake power and restart the party. The businessmen whose reckless actions placed the county in danger would return with the illicit funds they've placed in off-shore accounts and buy Iceland's resources for a song.Most importantly, the new government would take whatever steps necessary to ensure that these culprits never see the inside of a jail cell. The investigation of the misdeeds that led to Iceland's collapse has proceeded very methodically, and the special prosecutor now appears on the cusp of indicting some of the Independence Party's biggest supporters. If the investigators are allowed to continue, we'll see whether the rumors of money laundering for the Russian mafia are true, whether vast amounts of money are indeed sitting in Tortola, whether bank employees exploited pension funds with same glee that Enron employees exhibited while ripping off California consumers, and whether our politicians and regulators were bribable.... By signing it, Ólafur Ragnar would ensure that the new government would be able to finish what it has started--a thorough investigation into the events that led to our fall. Unless Eva Joly and Ólafur Þór Hauksson are permitted to complete their task, not only will the wrongdoers escape justice, but we will show them that there are no adverse consequences for their incompetence and malfeasance.
...
[If the bill is not signed] the current government would almost certainly fall, and any chance at reasonable reform would die. The conservative Independence Party that ran Iceland until the collapse would retake power and restart the party. The businessmen whose reckless actions placed the county in danger would return with the illicit funds they've placed in off-shore accounts and buy Iceland's resources for a song.
Most importantly, the new government would take whatever steps necessary to ensure that these culprits never see the inside of a jail cell. The investigation of the misdeeds that led to Iceland's collapse has proceeded very methodically, and the special prosecutor now appears on the cusp of indicting some of the Independence Party's biggest supporters. If the investigators are allowed to continue, we'll see whether the rumors of money laundering for the Russian mafia are true, whether vast amounts of money are indeed sitting in Tortola, whether bank employees exploited pension funds with same glee that Enron employees exhibited while ripping off California consumers, and whether our politicians and regulators were bribable.
By signing it, Ólafur Ragnar would ensure that the new government would be able to finish what it has started--a thorough investigation into the events that led to our fall. Unless Eva Joly and Ólafur Þór Hauksson are permitted to complete their task, not only will the wrongdoers escape justice, but we will show them that there are no adverse consequences for their incompetence and malfeasance.
Landsbanki officials had inexplicably failed to register as a domestic bank in either country
?
If our Credit Union had pulled this crap as President my head would have been on a spike outside the state banking regulators building. And rightfully so.
The more I learn the more the story exists in bizarro-world.
The bankers, with superior knowledge and all their grand mathematical models, took a bet. The bet was that they could intentionally make bad loans and intentionally fail to disclose risks, and if the bet turned out poorly the people, who did not consent to be stooges, would bail them out. Iceland's people have said no.
The bet was that they could intentionally make bad loans and intentionally fail to disclose risks, and if the bet turned out poorly the people, who did not consent to be stooges, would bail them out.
Iceland's people have said no.
What on earth are Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and Hoskuldur Thorhallsson of the Progressive Party, doing in Norway? The official spin is that they are explaining the economic situation in Iceland, and perhaps fishing for a loan without IMF's conditions. But why are two managers of a failed Icelandic hedge fund in the podium with them? Boreas Capital which has ties with Landsbankinn and is run by close friends of Bjorgolfur Thor. And why is the hedge fund registered at the same address as an investment company owned by Sigmundur David's father?
The official spin is that they are explaining the economic situation in Iceland, and perhaps fishing for a loan without IMF's conditions.
But why are two managers of a failed Icelandic hedge fund in the podium with them? Boreas Capital which has ties with Landsbankinn and is run by close friends of Bjorgolfur Thor.
And why is the hedge fund registered at the same address as an investment company owned by Sigmundur David's father?
A 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Turkey on Monday. At least 38 are reported to have been killed, with dozens of others injured. At least 38 people are reportedly dead after a powerful earthquake shook eastern Turkey on Monday. The 6.0 magnitude quake centered on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province. It was followed by 20 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 4.1. Bekir Yanilmaz, the mayor of the town of Kovancilar, was quoted on television saying at least 38 people died in three villages in the region. The Disaster and Emergency Adminstration had earlier given the official toll at 20, with 60 people injured. Mud-brick houses Much of the population of the region lives in mud-brick houses built on hillsides, reports said.
At least 38 people are reportedly dead after a powerful earthquake shook eastern Turkey on Monday.
The 6.0 magnitude quake centered on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province. It was followed by 20 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 4.1.
Bekir Yanilmaz, the mayor of the town of Kovancilar, was quoted on television saying at least 38 people died in three villages in the region. The Disaster and Emergency Adminstration had earlier given the official toll at 20, with 60 people injured.
Mud-brick houses
Much of the population of the region lives in mud-brick houses built on hillsides, reports said.
anecdotal... ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
Three earthquakes per week all larger than 8.5 magnitude randomly distributed across the globe, that would be abnormal. And yet not -entirely- unlikely.
Last time we run that exercise (for Chile) there was nothing abnormal.
... The Year v. Magnitude plot is interesting. First, historical earthquakes (before 1900) are all Magnitude 8.5 or stronger. Also, 5 of them earthquakes are exactly 8.5 magnitude, 4 of them before 1900. This is because historical magnitudes are estimated from accounts of the damage and not from seismograph measurements. Also, earthquakes weaker than 8.5 "didn't make history". So there is a selection bias in the old data, similar to the ones one find in astrophysics where the farther out one looks the bighter an objects needs to be to be seen. ...
The Year v. Magnitude plot is interesting. First, historical earthquakes (before 1900) are all Magnitude 8.5 or stronger. Also, 5 of them earthquakes are exactly 8.5 magnitude, 4 of them before 1900. This is because historical magnitudes are estimated from accounts of the damage and not from seismograph measurements. Also, earthquakes weaker than 8.5 "didn't make history". So there is a selection bias in the old data, similar to the ones one find in astrophysics where the farther out one looks the bighter an objects needs to be to be seen.
USGS: Earthquake Facts and Statistics
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes Magnitude Annually 8+ 1 * 7 - 7.9 17 * 6 - 6.9 134 * 5 - 5.9 1,319 * 4 - 4.9 13,000 (estimated) 3 - 3.9 130,000 (estimated) 2 - 2.9 1,300,000 (estimated) * Based on observations since 1900.
Magnitude Annually 8+ 1 * 7 - 7.9 17 * 6 - 6.9 134 * 5 - 5.9 1,319 * 4 - 4.9 13,000 (estimated) 3 - 3.9 130,000 (estimated) 2 - 2.9 1,300,000 (estimated) * Based on observations since 1900.
