Horray for Sweden

Swedish government makes it illegal for schools to teach religious doctrine as if it were true | Political Bunker

Swedish government makes it illegal for schools to teach religious doctrine as if it were true
Thu, 03/06/2008 - 16:33 — Atheion

The Guardian - The Swedish government has announced plans to clamp down hard on religious education. It will soon become illegal even for private faith schools to teach religious doctrines as if they were true. In an interesting twist on the American experience, prayer will remain legal in schools - after all, it has no truth value. But everything that takes place on the curriculum's time will have to be secular. "Pupils must be protected from every sort of fundamentalism," said the minister for schools, Jan Björklund.

Creationism and ID are explicitly banned but so is proselytising even in religious education classes. The Qur'an may not be taught as if it is true even in Muslim independent schools, nor may the Bible in Christian schools. The decision looks like a really startling attack on the right of parents to have their children taught what they would like. Of course it does not go so far as the Dawkins policy of prohibiting parents from trying to pass on their doctrines even in their own families - and, if it did, it would certainly run foul of the European convention on human rights. It does not even go as far as Nyamko Sabuni, the minister for integration - herself born in Burundi - would like: she wanted to ban all religious schools altogether. But it is still a pretty drastic measure from an English perspective.

The law is being presented in Sweden as if it mostly concerned fundamentalist Christian sects in the backwoods; but the Christian Democratic party, which represents such people if anyone does, is perfectly happy with the new regulation. There is little doubt that combating Islamic fundamentalism is the underlying aim, especially in conjunction with another new requirement that all independent schools declare all their funding sources. This would allow the inspectors - whose budget is being doubled - to concentrate their efforts on those schools most likely to be paid to break the rules.

In the background to these announcements comes the release of a frightening documentary film on Swedish jihadis, which follows young men over a period of two years on their slow conversion to homicidal lunacy.

I doubt he even hears what he is saying

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Bush chides Beijing over rights

Bush chides Beijing over rights

George Bush urges China to improve its human rights records

US President George W Bush has expressed "deep concerns" over China's human rights record in a speech on the eve of the Beijing Olympics.

"The US believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings," he said in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

He praised China's economy but said only respect for human rights would let it realise its full potential.

But China rejected the US president's comments.

"The Chinese government puts people first, and is dedicated to maintaining and promoting its citizens' basic rights and freedom," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

"We firmly oppose any words or acts that interfere in other countries' internal affairs, using human rights and religion and other issues."

'Firm opposition'

Mr Bush has been criticised by some campaigners for going to the Games.

He flew to Beijing following the speech in Bangkok, a stop on his final trip to Asia before he leaves office in January.

The wide-ranging address, which included criticism of the regime in Burma, was more nuanced than Mr Bush's past speeches on China, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from Bangkok.

It is unlikely to cause much offence in China, our correspondent says, and many people will see it more as a valedictory speech for Mr Bush's record in Asia rather than an outline of future US policy.

Mr Bush said he was optimistic about China's future and said change in China would arrive "on its own terms".

Young people who grow up with the freedom to trade goods will ultimately demand the freedom to trade ideas...
George W Bush
US president

But his criticisms of China's human rights record were clear.

"America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists," he said.

When it was controversially awarded the games in 2001 by the International Olympic Committee, Beijing promised to make improvements in human rights, media freedoms and the provision of health and education.

But campaigners, such as Amnesty International, say Chinese activists have been jailed, people made homeless, journalists detained and websites blocked, while there has been increased use of labour camps and prison beatings.

In March, China suppressed violent anti-government protests in Tibet. Beijing said rioters killed at least 19 people, but Tibetan exiles said security forces killed dozens of protesters in the worst unrest in Tibet for 20 years.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, rejected Beijing's claims he was behind the riots and said he expressed good wishes for the success of Games.

On Thursday, at least 1,500 Buddhists were holding a protest in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu against what they called China's violation of religious freedom in Tibet. Correspondents say there have been scuffles with police.

In Beijing, police dragged away three US Christians who tried to demonstrate on Tiananmen Square in support of religious freedom.

Four pro-Tibet activists from Britain and the US were arrested and held briefly in the city on Wednesday after a protest close to the Olympic stadium.

Burma refugees

In his address, Mr Bush said the US recognised that the growth sparked by China's free market reforms was "good for the Chinese people" and the country's' purchasing power was "good for the world".

On foreign policy, he commended China's "critical leadership role" in the negotiations to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, and the "constructive relationship" between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan.

He also called for an end to what he described as tyranny in Thailand's neighbour, Burma.

Friday's Olympic opening ceremony coincides with the 20th anniversary of a democracy uprising in Burma, which was crushed by the military.

First lady Laura Bush flew to the Thai-Burmese border to spend the day at the Mae La refugee camp where about 35,000 refugees live, having fled their homes.

The Fix is In

Court gags Cayman Whistleblower - Wikileaks

Court gags Cayman Whistleblower
From Wikileaks
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Grand Cayman News
Wednesday February 20, 2008

In the latest round of a saga that could have come from the pen of best-selling writer John Grisham’s novel, Bank Julius Baer (BJB) has succeeded in temporarily shutting down one outlet of Wikileaks, an international online transparency group.

According to internet reports, the Swiss banking giant has tried to silence their former Cayman Islands Chief Operating Officer, Rudolf Elmer, by using a court injunction to shut down the Wikileaks website, which contains what are alleged to be highly damaging documents about the bank’s offshore activities.

The Temporary Restraining Order, issued by the California Northern District Court in San Francisco, is aimed at a Domain Name Registrar, rather than just the actual publishers of controversial material, who are based outside US legal jurisdiction.

At the centre of the dispute are several hundred documents, purportedly showing offshore tax evasion and money laundering by extremely wealthy and, in some cases, politically sensitive BJB clients from the US, Europe, China and Peru, reportedly released by a Swiss whistleblower.

While the former Cayman Islands employee is apparently being targeted as the source of the material, he is not only reported to be emphatically denying releasing any documents but, according to all current reports, has not been connected with the leaks.

The original release of documents dates back to at least 2002/3 when secret BJB files relating to Cayman Islands accounts were sent to US tax authorities.

A further release of documents in 2005 targeted German account holders, whose details and account balances from US$5 million to over US$100 million, initiated a probe by the country’s authorities into possible tax evasion.

As a result, bank customers, who are understood to regard themselves as victims of a conflict between the bank and a former employee, may be forced to pay millions in taxes and in some cases could lose their entire investments.

While Mr Elmer is currently the target of BJB investigations, the whistleblower has apparently only ever been identified as ‘Teddy Baer’ or the ‘tax fraud revealer’.

Despite claims that the documents were “stolen” from the bank’s Grand Cayman office, there is no indication in any of the current reports that BJB filed any formal complaint with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), even though the removal of the documents certainly broke Swiss law and probably, according to one source, broke Cayman Islands’ law.

However, published reports suggest that BJB has conducted their own thorough, and sometimes robust, internal investigation into the leaks, including the use of private detectives.

One phase of this was subjecting Cayman-based employees to a polygraph, or lie detector test.

Mr Elmer has apparently, and without response, complained to the Cayman Islands government about the conduct of this test, which was, unlike in the USA where clear regulations exist for the conduct of polygraph tests, allegedly conducted without any statutory controls in place.

He also is reported to have claimed that his life was threatened and anonymous phone callers suggested the family should return to Switzerland “for their own good.”

Following the polygraph test, Mr Elmer was ‘laid off’ by BJB and returned to Zurich with his family. There, he claims to have been subjected to unrelenting pressure, including what he states was a half-million Swiss francs bribe, to stop doing something that he denies ever doing in the first place. In December 2007, he even took an unsuccessful anti-stalking case before the Swiss courts in an attempt to prevent BJB’s investigators following him.

Even though the documents and reports have been in the public domain for some time, BJB sought the California injunctions, stating the disclosures “constitute violation of trade secrets, conversion and stolen documents by former employee in violation of a written confidentiality agreement and copyright infringement, among other wrongful and tortuous conduct.”

Ironically, the move has not prevented access to the documents, and Cayman Net News had no problem reading the documents, along with Wikileaks’ comments on them, online.

Amongst the allegations Wikileaks makes against BJB are that the documents show evidence of deliberate tax evasion and, in one case, an account was allegedly used to handle bribery funds.

The latest high profile scandal comes at a time when the Cayman Islands, despite extensive work to ensure the offshore banking industry is properly regulated, is coming under renewed pressure from US legislators, who are claiming the islands represent an unacceptable haven for tax evaders. The revelation that bribe money may be flowing through accounts based in Grand Cayman will, although no official comment has so far been forthcoming, also be causing concern as the draft anti-corruption laws as still a long way from reaching the statute books. These laws, which are already in place in other offshore jurisdictions, would allow for the seizure of funds obtained by, or used for, bribery.

While this saga plays out in California, the RCIPS are currently investigating the death of another Swiss banker working in Grand Cayman. Frederic Bise was found dead in the back of his burning Mitsubishi Outlander on Friday, 8 February.

First appeared in the: Grand Cayman News

More shameful behavior for US Media

Framing Obama: what the Spectator and the New York Sun won't tell you - Wikileaks

How journalists desperate for dirt on Obama fell for forged documents without so much as an eye blink.
An image of Senator Obama with Raila Odinga in Kenya, 2006, together with a typical US conservative caption from 2008. This caption was taken from an article entitled Obama's Muslim Connection by Jon Christian Ryter. The same image is referenced by The Spectator's Melanie Phillips opposite. Mr. Odinga is, infact, a moderate Christian.
An image of Senator Obama with Raila Odinga in Kenya, 2006, together with a typical US conservative caption from 2008. This caption was taken from an article entitled Obama's Muslim Connection by Jon Christian Ryter. The same image is referenced by The Spectator's Melanie Phillips opposite. Mr. Odinga is, infact, a moderate Christian.
“
If Mr. Obama did not know about Mr. Odinga's electoral deal with the Kenyan Islamists when he offered his support, then he should have known. If he did know, then he is guilty of lending the prestige of his office to America's enemies in the global war on terror. We need to know exactly what Mr. Obama knew about Mr. Odinga, and precisely when he knew it.
„
— Daniel Johnson, The New York Sun
“
...the real significance of the picture is surely that it renews concern about Obama’s involvement in Kenyan politics — in particular, his apparent support for the Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who signed a memorandum of understanding with Kenyan Muslims to turn Kenya into an Islamic state governed by sharia law.
„
— Melanie Phillips, The Spectator

JOEL WHITNEY (Guernica Magazine) with JULIAN ASSANGE (Wikileaks)
Wednesday July 15, 2008

The transparency website Wikileaks has released a document further debunking claims that a Kenyan politician close to Senator Barack Obama sought votes by virtually pledging to turn the Christian country into a militant Muslim stronghold. Since the start of the year, the claims, contextualized to insinuate that Sentator Obama supports Sharia law, have been spread by both traditional and online media. As of July 2008, Google lists over 250,000 webpages connecting the two politicians.

Dated August 29, 2007, the new document is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Kenya's now Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the National Muslim Leaders' Forum; in the MOU, Odinga pledges to look into the case of 100 Kenyans who were illegally renditioned to places like Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Somalia, and Ethiopia in January and February 2007. Wikileaks also released a followup letter and the names of witnesses to the signing of the document.

Last fall, a forged version was circulated in the lead-up to the presidential election in Kenya alleging a number of preposterous claims about Odinga. Rather than pledging, for instance, to look into the case of Abdulmalik Mohamed, a Kenyan held at Guantanamo, and others like him, the forged MOU alleged that Odinga had virtually agreed to turn Kenya into a new Saudi Arabia: allowing for Sharia Law, banning alcohol, mandating Muslim dress codes and so on. The document is significant for a number of reasons, in the United States because it re-contextualizes Senator Obama’s relationship with his ancestral homeland (on his father's side) and with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. For Kenyans, it is significant in that it corrects a lie about the prime minister that put him at odds with his voters.

Wikileaks published the forged document, which was spreading through email, listing it as a likely fake on November 14, 2007. It was not hard to debunk it.

"Most of the pledges [in the fake] couldn't be met by any presidential candidate,” Wikileaks wrote, “as they are inherently unconstitutional and would mightily annoy the non-Muslim majority in Kenya... The idea behind the smear is to turn a fairly large and committed evangelical Christian block against poor Raila, who is often accused of ambivalent religious allegiance."

Wikileaks’s analysis aside, it doesn't take very advanced math, wikipedia or googling skills to recognize that risking up to 80% of the vote (Kenya's Christian majority) to cater to a minority of 10% (its Muslims) doesn't add up and both Ralia Odinga and NAMELEF publicly declared the document a forgery. But writers like the New York Sun's Daniel Johnson fell hard for the fake. Senator Obama had just been to Kenya a year before and is a member of the same tribe (the 3 million strong Luo) as Raila Odinga; smelling an easy take down, Johnson swung. Here’s Johnson, two full months after Wikileaks first outed the document as probably a fake:

“In August 2006, Mr. Obama visited Kenya and spoke in support of Mr. Odinga's candidacy at rallies in Nairobi. The Web site Atlas Shrugs has even posted a photograph of the two men side by side. More recently, Mr. Odinga says that Mr. Obama interrupted his campaigning in New Hampshire to have a telephone conversation with his African cousin about the constitutional crisis in Kenya.”

Titled "The Kenya Connection," Johnson's piece ends with no shortage of conspiratorial drama and bravado:

“If Mr. Obama did not know about Mr. Odinga's electoral deal with the Kenyan Islamists when he offered his support, then he should have known. If he did know, then he is guilty of lending the prestige of his office to America's enemies in the global war on terror. We need to know exactly what Mr. Obama knew about Mr. Odinga, and precisely when he knew it.”

The same question must now be asked of journalists like Mr. Johnson. Wikileaks calls the fake MOU part of a "plot to frame Odinga and Obama" and notes that their calling the document a fake "did not stop Kenyan and US proponents of the document deliberately avoiding the WikiLeaks analysis by linking directly to the memorandum, as opposed to its description page [where it was plainly described as fake]."

The New York Sun, The Spectator and all those who followed have questions to answer about the quality and integrity of their journalism.

Exposing Swiss bank destruction of records of Holocaust victims.

Christoph Meili - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christoph Meili (born April 21, 1968[1]) is a Swiss whistleblower.

In early 1997, Meili worked as a night guard at the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS, precursor of UBS AG) in Zurich, Switzerland. He discovered that officials at UBS were destroying documents about orphaned assets, i.e., credit balances of deceased Jewish clients whose heirs' whereabouts were unknown. Destruction of such documents was a violation of Swiss laws.[2]

On January 8, 1997,[3] he took some bank files home. After a telephone conversation, he handed them over to a local Jewish organization, which brought the documents to the police, and eventually to the press, which published the document destruction on January 14, 1997.[4]

The authorities of Zürich opened a judicial investigation against Meili[5] for suspected violation of the Swiss laws on banking secrecy,[6] which is an offense to be prosecuted ex officio in Switzerland.[7] After charges were filed against him, Ed Fagan approached him and convinced him to move to the United States, where he was granted political asylum.[8][9] According to news reports, Christoph Meili and his family are the only Swiss nationals in history ever to have been granted political asylum in the United States.[10] On January 13, 1998, Fagan filed suit on behalf of Meili against UBS, demanding a sum of 2.56 billion U.S. dollars. The settlement between the Swiss banks and the plaintiffs on the order of US $1.25 billion on August 13, 1998 also covered Meili's law suit and thus ended it.[11]

Later in 1998 the investigations of the justice of Zürich against Meili for allegedly breaking the laws on bank secrecy were cancelled,[5] but Meili did not return to his homeland until 2003. His marriage ended as he was divorced at the end of February 2002.[12] In September 2003 he visited his family in Switzerland. In the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche, Meili criticized Fagan for having instrumentalized him and for having let him down. He claimed to have never received the US $1 million that he should have gotten[12] according to their agreements after the settlement with the Swiss banks in 1998.[13] According to a report by the Swiss newspaper Facts of March 17, 2005, he had, however, received US $750,000. (The newspaper did not state when this should have occurred.)[14] In April 2004, Fagan again launched a campaign against UBS and apparently again was supported by Meili in his endeavour.[15][16]

Meili studied communication sciences[17] right after his arrival in the United States. After completing his college degree[17] in May 2004[3] he found employment once more in the security sector. On May 14, 2005 he was naturalized as a US citizen.[17] In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick on October 21, 2006, Meili re-iterated his criticism of Fagan and the Jewish organizations who had once championed him, stating again they had let him down. Meili, who still lives in Southern California, stated in that interview he was working for minimum wages.[18][19]

Justice in Iran

Iran to hang 30 convicts Sunday - CNN.com

The 30 had their cases tried by the highest judicial authorities and were found guilty of the charges brought against them, Iran's judiciary said in a statement.

The verdicts are final, and the sentences will be carried out Sunday, according to Fars.

According to Amnesty International, Iran executed 317 people last year, second only to China's 470. The U.S. executed 42 people in 2007, according to Amnesty International.

Mick turns 65 tomorrow