Tag: Racism

French “Double Standards” on Racism Under Fire

Tuesday, 28 March 2006

The French government and media’s “double standards” in tackling hate crimes has drawn a diatribe after an odious attack on a Frenchman of Algerian origin had been met with deafening silence compared to the much publicized and denounced killing of a French Jew last month.

“We condemn the double standards of media and French institutions especially the Elysee and the government,” the Coalition for Truth said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net on Monday, March 27.

The rights advocacy group was formed in the wake of the killing of Shayeb Zaef, a 40-year-old French of Algerian roots, three weeks ago in an apparent racist attack.

The assailant, identified as Jean Marie, called Zaef a “filthy Arab” before shooting him thrice as he was stepping out of a caf+® in Lyon, witnesses said.

“We waited in vain for three entire weeks for a single word of condemnation from prominent French politicians, including the head of Lyon’s municipality,” Mouloud Aounit, the Secretary General of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples, told IOL.

Aounit was among the signatories of the coalition’s statement along with prominent figures such as Algerian-born Senator Alima Boumediene and Olivia Zemor, the head of the Euro Palestine group.

In stark contrast, the killing of French Jew Ilan Halimi has been the talk of France last month and drew immediate condemnation from President Jacques Chirac, who was keen on attending a memorial service for the victim in a Paris synagogue.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have further took to the streets in protest against racism and anti-Semitism.

The march drew an array of politicians, including Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and representatives of the opposition Socialists, including Lionel Jospin, a former prime minister.

“Pressures”

Although initial investigations have revealed that the killer had links with the radical right-wing and despite eyewitness counts that he used mouth-fouled abuse against Zaef, police are reluctant to admit the racist nature of the crime.

This drew fire from the coalition which urged judiciary authorities not to “bow to political pressures.”

This also prompted the S.S. Racime group to organize a silent rally that drew 500 people in central Lyon.

The protesters carried banners demanding nothing but the truth.

As anger mounted, Sarkozy finally decided to meet Zaef’s wife and three sons to promise them a transparent inquiry into the killing of their breadwinner.

Zaef’s killing is he second of its kind in less than two months.

On February 25, two brothers of Moroccan origin were harshly attacked by a group of rightists and rushed to intensive care in critical condition.

Years of government negligence and marginalization prompted thousands of French immigrants and Arabs to stage nationwide riot in October and November of last year.

They voiced anger at racial discrimination despite being born in France, a lack of educational and employment prospects and police harassment.

A Sorbonne research released in 2005 by the French Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion represent an obstacle to jobseekers.

Turkish Weekly

February 6, 2010
Race attacks force Turkish couple out of home in York

Race attacks force Turkish couple out of home in Windsor Garth, Acomb

By Jeremy Small

City of York Council flats in Windsor Garth, Acomb

A TURKISH woman today claimed she and her husband had been forced out of their York home by a racially-motivated campaign of vandalism that ended in her car being torched.

Burcu Kaya-Gurer, who is married to Hasan Gurer, said she feared for her life after her car was vandalised and set alight, the couple’s satellite dish was destroyed, and Mrs Kaya-Gurer was subjected to intimidation.

Mrs Kaya-Gurer, 30, a team leader with a York-based company, said she and her husband had now quit their City of York Council flat in Windsor Garth, Acomb, and had moved to live in private rented accommodation elsewhere in the city, despite having to pay a much higher rent.

She said of the thugs: “They have won. They have forced me out because I was in fear of my life.”

Mrs Kaya-Gurer said the ordeal began in June when the satellite dish was broken. She said she reported the incident to the council and the police, but they both told her there was nothing they could do because there were no witnesses.

She claimed that, earlier last month, a gang of people tried to pull cables off a replacement satellite dish the couple had put up. “When they saw me they ran away laughing,” she said. “There are many satellite dishes outside – why mine? They know I’m Turkish.”

She said the police told her they could not do anything because nothing had actually been damaged. She said she later saw members of the gang near her car, only to discover the following day that the plastic covering one of the wing mirrors had been pulled off.

Mrs Kaya-Gurer said the council gave her an application to move to another council home but told her it might be “ages” before the couple could be rehoused. She claimed her Vauxhall Corsa car was set on fire on Monday October 26, and in the early hours of the following morning, someone who looked like one of the gang was banging on her front door demanding she retract the statement she made about the fire to the police. “I was so scared,” she said. “I was crying; my eyes were red.” She said she then telephoned the council, but claimed she was told there was insufficient evidence for her to be rehoused straight away. “I said ‘What more do you need? Do you want to see me on fire?’” She said the council tried to sort the problem out, but it was too late. “They could have helped me a long time ago. I was ignored. I want a normal life again. I never deserved any of this.”

A police spokesman said after the car fire, two men aged 18 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage. He said they had been released on police bail while inquiries continued.

He said: “The issue of hate crime is something that North Yorkshire Police takes extremely seriously. Any incident of hate crime is thoroughly investigated whenever it is reported to us.

“If people are nervous about contacting us directly, for any reason at all, we have recently launched Hate Crime Reporting Centres.

Full details of these are on our website (northyorkshire.police.uk/hatecrime).”

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: “We are treating Mrs Kaya-Gurer’s concerns very seriously. We are working closely with the police and other partners to try to resolve the issues.”

Source: www.yorkpress.co.uk, 5th November 2009

November 6, 2009
Turkey Exposed:

Cannot Pretend to be

Both Pro-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian

Publisher, The California Courier

Playing the skillful political games of their Ottoman predecessors, Turkey’s current masters present their country under various guises — as European and Middle Eastern, Islamic and secular, pro-Arab and pro-Israeli.

It now appears that the end is near for at least one of these Turkish charades. Israeli officials have finally awakened from their prolonged coma to discover that their erstwhile “strategic partner” is far more hostile than their Arab enemies.

For a long time, Turkish leaders have been calling the Israelis all sorts of unsavory names and accusing Israel of committing barbaric acts, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Strangely, Israel has shown little indignation, even in the face of persistent racist and anti-Semitic outbursts by large segments of the Turkish public.

The latest display of Turkish hostility was the exclusion of Israel from a multinational military exercise which was to start in Turkey on October 12. In protest, the United States, Italy and Holland pulled out of these maneuvers, causing their cancellation. In a move designed to further irritate the Israelis, Turkey announced that it would instead hold joint military exercises with Syria, Israel’s main adversary.

Turkey’s Prime Minster Rejeb Erdogan told the Anatolia Press Agency last week that he had banned Israel from the military drill in response to the wishes of the Turkish public. “Turkey does not take orders from anyone in regards to its internal affairs,” Erdogan boasted. Some Turkish officials indicated that the ban was instituted because the Israeli jets assigned to the exercise had participated in the Gaza bombings earlier this year.

This episode marks a major escalation of the long-standing Turkish bitterness towards Israel. For the first time, the Turkish military joined the civilian government in adopting an anti-Israeli position. Furthermore, Turkey went beyond mere verbal condemnation to taking concrete action. For years, the Israeli government was willing to swallow insults from Turkish officials, as long as its Air Force was permitted to make practice runs in the vast Turkish airspace, shared intelligence, and sold military hardware to Turkey.

Making matters worse, Israelis were deeply offended by the broadcast of a Turkish show on state TV last week, depicting graphic scenes of Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian children and committing other atrocities.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reacted by summoning the Turkish ambassador and accused Turkey of inciting hatred against Israelis. Lieberman stated that not even Israel’s enemies would air such a hostile TV series. Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom urged Turkey “to come to its senses.” Another Israeli official stated: “We need to stop accepting the Turkish dictates and humiliations. It is inconceivable that they should insult us at every opportunity, and we should continue to hold our tongues.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically rejected any future mediating role for Turkey in talks with Syria. An unnamed “senior Israeli official” was quoted by Haaretz as stating that the strategic ties with Turkey may “have simply ended.” Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post quoted some Israeli defense officials as stating that “advanced weapons sales to Turkey would now be reviewed.”

There were also widespread calls last week for the Israeli public to boycott Turkish resorts. National Public Radio (NPR) reported that Israel’s largest labor union would no longer plan for thousands of its workers organized tours of Turkey, and would direct them to go instead to Greece and Bulgaria. Since January, there has been a 47% drop in the number of Israelis spending their vacations in Turkey, according to Time magazine. An Israeli coffee shop chain expressed its displeasure by announcing that it would no longer serve Turkish coffee to its customers. In an unprecedented move, several Israeli cabinet ministers declared that they would turn down the Turkish Embassy’s invitation to attend Turkey’s Independence Day celebrations later this month.

Many outraged Israelis advocated that, in retaliation, Israel acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Dan Margalit of “Israel Hayom” newspaper accused the Turks of not only committing Genocide, but also the “ongoing crime, which is expressed in energetic Turkish activity to deny the atrocity and to incite against any country and government and artist who wish to express their horror.”

Ephraim Inbar, head of the BESA Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, reminded the Turks that they are still in need of “Israeli influence in Washington to prevent the passage in Congress of a resolution declaring the killing of Armenians during World War I a genocide.”

In an unprecedented action, the “Im Tirtzu” Israeli student movement held a protest last week in front of the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv. The students displayed bloody pictures of victims of the Armenian Genocide, handed out books on the Genocide to passersby, and carried signs calling on Turkey to formally recognize the Genocide.

To atone for its past sin of siding with Turkish denialists, Israel must officially affirm the Armenian Genocide as well as actively lobby for its recognition by other states. Israel should also permit the erection of a monument at a prominent location to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide and reverse its long-standing ban on TV broadcast of documentaries on this subject. It is certainly in Israel’s own interest to side with the victims of genocide rather than with its perpetrators!

Instead of maintaining at all cost its unholy alliance with Turkey, Israel should earnestly pursue a peace settlement with the Palestinians and live in peace with its Arab neighbors, thus obviating the need to curry favors with the Turkish denialist regime.

==================== SUBJECT RELATED E-MAIL’S RECEIVED=

From: Ismet Takim [ismettakim@yahoo.com]

Subject: {Pax Turcica} Our problems are just begining, l worned you all before, we play this game we will loose and guess who is happy???

READ

Turkey Exposed:

and any of you still have any questions about this? some of our readers here is also responsiable for this and you have no idea what we will face, you just sit and watch, pro Palestenian Turkey is comitting suicide,

Erdogan made the biggest mistake, and some of you who posts pro

Filistin BS, tags and articles here should be ashame of themselves

they have done a disservice and put our mainly my efforts back in

time, and we have to fix this now, l have to go to work again and undo some of this,

stupid stupid stupid bird brains bleeding hearts, stop your Anti Israel stands and get real, stop hurting Turkey,

======================================================

From: Metin Mangir [mangir.metin@gmail.com]
Subject: {Pax Turcica} Are you aware of the slap to Erdogan by Obama?

While we are all focussed on the Armenian issue (because of our

proxomity to the diaspora) Obama invited (!) Erdogan to come to WDC on

Oct 29 (with two weeks notice), following the cancellation of the joint

military exercises with Israel, US, and the increasing row with Israel

upon showing of a TV program on TRT. (now that Turkey has good

relations with Syria, does it not need Israel to squeeze Syria?? which

was what started the close military collaboration with Israel.)

The choice of date and such short notice is VERY significant (and

insulting)! The big brother is calling the errant boy on the carpet?

By the way, in general the news about the Armenian protocols are

positive in Turkey (amazing!). Very few voices are opposing it. Also

it has lost its luster as the “milli birlik acilimi” and the return of

34 people from Irak upon Ocalan’s orders has taken the center stage.

If the borders open the real big winner will be Russia, more than

Armenia. Since (rightly) Azerbeycan will be pissed off at Turkey and

the West, and get closer to Russia (if it can dare to play with such

danger) and the West, US will loose the Caucases.

What I do not understand is

1) how come US is willing to let this happen? What has Russia forced

upon US following Georgia?

2) Davutoglu, who has written in three different places in his book

about the crucial importance of Azerbeycan for Turkey, is going along

with this protocols steps?

Metin

==========================================

From: Ergun [ergun@cox.net]
Subject: {Pax Turcica} Re: Are you aware of the slap to Erdogan by Obama?

Metin,

I suspect one major thing behind Obama’s sudden invitation: Afghanistan.

He may ask for more troops from Turkey. Secondarily, Iraq. O. may discuss

strategy with E. on the mechanics of US pull out, the vacuum in Iraq, etc.

All have to do with US involvement in unpopular, unwanted wars that are

draining the US economy and social life.

Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and others are little more than dressing for

the salad.

This is one man’s opinion. 🙂

Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

===================================================

Statement released by National Security Council that met today is below. Afghanistan issue has been discussed. Turkey will resume Kabul Area Commandership for the second time.

Afganistan‘da son dönemde meydana gelen gelişmeler, Cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimleri dahil, değerlendirilmiş, ülkemizin Afganistan‘ın istikrarına yönelik katkı ve girişimlerinin sürdürüleceği belirtilmiştir. Bu kapsamda; Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerinin Kabil Bölge Komutanlığı görevini Kasım 2009 başında ikinci defa alacağı, yine önceki görevlerde olduğu gibi, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerinin terörle mücadele, uyuşturucu ile mücadele, mayın temizleme görevlerinde kullanılmayacağı teyit edilmiştir.

Fariz Huseynov [huseynovfa@gmail.com]

=======================================================================

On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 12:52 PM, <vaslay@aol.com> wrote:

dear Ergun

you are not alone for this opinion

is isn’t funny while we are disgracing our man and women in uniform ( TSK)
Obama needs our soldiers not government

if you didn’t have one of the best army in the middle east

O. wouldn’t care less for you

regardas,

vedat aslay

——————-

Dear Metin

Excellent observation and analysis

I wonder what is going behind the close doors?

Yes Russia it seems that the big winner?

how come for the US. Are we underestimating her.

The is a big game going on over the middle east and Central Asia.

The player are strong and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, TURKEY and even Israel is foot soldiers in this game

Obama will make sure that Erdogan is not out of step. If he is you know in military

SOL, SAG, SOL SAG, SOL, SOL P……. SOL
Don’t worry this game is a long game and we are just watching part I

Vedat Aslay vaslay@aol.com

========================================================

From: Yusif [yusif@azeris.com]
Subject: {Pax Turcica} Re: Are you aware of the slap to Erdogan by Obama?

That’s correct. Russia will be a winner big time.

First, they will close the discussion on Nabucco both restricting

other countries’ willingness to diversify their exports and preventing

anything that could possibly harm Russia economically and

politically.

Second, they will realize the South Stream project, always viewed as

an alternative to Nabucco and through that project will still control

southern Europe and Turkey itself.

Third, under the pretext of protection of South Stream, Russia will

completely militarize Black Sea with additional Russian fleet and will

henceforth prevent another proposed rival energy project White Stream

to go from Georgia to EU through Ukraine from realization.

Fourth, Russia will get deeper into Turkish economy through Armenia

and through Armenian element will be able to exert pressure on Turkey

and possibly other Middle Eastern states in the future. It benefits

Russia to see islamization of Turkey. The practice of moderate Islam

in the form of Gulenist ideology actually may suit Russia’s interests.

In regards to US interests in the deal there are several factors.

First of all, US was hoping for Russia’s support on the issues of

nuclear threat from Iran. In general, apart from everything else, it

is not in Russia’s interest to see containment and any sort of

democratization of Iran. There is 25 mln Azeri minority in Iran which

if needed could be a decisive factor in the future partition of Iran

or a tool to bring down the current mullah regime. That’s one of the

reasons Stalin was willing to and finally withdrew from Iran in 1946

because he did not want a more sizeable Azeri minority within Soviet

borders.

Secondly, in my opinion, it’s not the US that is exerting pressure on

Turkey. I think it’s Turkey which is using its inadequate behavior

with Israel to pressure the United States. If we go back to 2003 we

would see that Turkey was bold enough to withstand pressure from US

during proposed invasion of Iraq from Turkey. To me personally, it

doesn’t make sense to see America give up Azerbaijan and Georgia and

the existing energy projects therefore losing both economically and

politically.

As far as Turkey’s position about Azerbaijan is concerned, I think

they might have striken a deal on withdrawal of Armenian troops from 5

occupied regions and agreed with Russia and US on joint peacekeeping

mission. In any case, allowing any peacekeeping missions in Karabakh

would be disastrous for Azerbaijan. If Russia’s troops are allowed to

be stationed on Azerbaijani soil in any form, this would be the end of

Azerbaijani independence and goodbye to Karabakh. Experience with

Georgia is a good example.

Presence of US troops would mean almost the same. Experience with

Kosovo is a good example. That’s why Kaidanow is all around (http://

www.a1plus.am/en/official/2009/10/20/nalbandian-tina-kaidanow)

Presence of Turkish troops, if any, would mean nothing at all,

especially if the protocols are ratified and diplomatic relations

established and ‘good will of friendly’ Turkish government is

recognized in Armenia and separatist regime in Karabakh.

Any peacekeeping mission whatsoever would mean protraction of this

conflict and interim status of NK last forever, therefore ending in

partitioning of Azerbaijan forever.

I guess, the original plan of these regional players is:

1. to strike a deal, have Armenian troops withdrawn from 5 regions;

2. bring in the peacekeeping force into those regions;

3. ensure return of Azerbaijani refugees to those regions;

4. re-arrange routes of energy resources from Azerbaijan and Central

Asia through Armenia and/or through occupied Karabakh, as many allege;

5. build confidence between people of the region

6. hold a referendum in NK. Holding a referendum in Karabakh would

mean complete loss.

Opening any borders means directly benefitting Armenia economically

which will stimulate economy and therefore human reproduction of

Armenians in Karabakh. That’s when the numbers will matter.

Yusif

================================================

Turkey’s The policy of “zero problems” creating “new problems”

https://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/2009/10/20/turkeys-the-policy-of-zero-problems-creating-new-problems/

From: Ergun [ergun@cox.net]

The policy of “zero problems” with neighbors seems to be creating “new problems” with neighbors

Case one: Azerbaijan.

The U.S.-Russia-mandated protocols with murky gains but sure losses for Turkey are already costing Turkey dearly. Check out these recent developments:

1- Azerbaijan Looks For Gas Routes To Europe Bypassing Turkey

2- Azerbaijan warns Turkey, West on gas exports

3- Azeri leader slams Turkey as gas route to Europe

https://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLG44450320091016

4- Azerbaijan stops flying the Turkish flags over the Turkish martyrs’ cemetary in Baku.

When the U.S. and Russia (an EU) forced these protocols on Turkey, they probably expected the estrangement of Azerbaijan. If the oil and gas lines from Azerbaijan to Turkey run dry, the biggest beneficary would be, you guessed it, Russia. Risk all you got for something in return that may or may not pan out. We are sold this deal as “dialog, normalization, peace, and democracy” package. Sometimes I wish an engineer was the leader in Turkey so that he would know simple math, as in addition and subtraction.

April 24 is not far away. We will all see if the protocols bring “normalization and peace” or ” more chaos, polarization, and stalemate”, with the net result of poorer Turkey due to weakened/lost energy lines. (Prediction: the latter. Why? Because the deal incredibly left Azerbaijan out. Huge mistake!)

Case two: Israel

This one has to do with Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, although the tensions came to a head over other things like a cancelled joint military exercises and an aired TV-show:

TV Show Deepens Split Between Israel and Turkey

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125573461255590957

Turkey points to Israel to deflect from itself

Netanyahu declares in Madrid that due to recent developments, Turkey is no longer an impartial mediator for peace talks between Syria ad Israel.

My take on all this:

I am not against dialog or peace. I am against poor business deals, especially if they are conducted under pressure of partisans with vested interests clashing with yours.

The foreign policy of Turkey should be updated from “zero problems with neighbors” to “zero old and new problems with neighbors”.

Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

October 20, 2009
The Fener Greek Patriarchate Universal or National?

The basic mistake made when there is an unsolved problem or when a problem is left hanging, is going around the problem itself without trying to go down its essence and thus to the real answers. To put in other words the basic mistake is the inability to focus on the efforts to find the “right answers” to the “right questions”.

One can find the traces of such mistakes during the process of finding a solution to the problems arising from The Fener Greek Patriarchate.

These problems primarily arise from ecumenical claims and the demand that Turkey should recognize this claim.

In the text of the Lausanne Treaty, which is regarded as the fundamental treaty of the Turkish Republic, there is no mention of the Patriarchate. In Lausanne, political and administrative privileges given to the Patriarchate during the Ottoman period were lifted and it was agreed that it only had spiritual authority. Other than that it is not stated in the text whether it has any authority outside the Turkish borders or any ecumenic title..

Ecumenism is a problem which essentially concerns “church laws and tradition”. Therefore it is out of the question that the Turkish Republic accepts the ecumenism of the Fener Greek Patriarchate.

What is more is that the claims of ecumenism “theologically” have a grave moral flaw:

“Vatican, 1600 years later, had abandoned its principles of faith regarding that the churches except those in Rome, Antakya and Alexandria, which are defined in the Iznik Clerical Council in 325, could not be regarded as ecumenic.

Thus, the claim that the Church in Istanbul was founded by St. Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus Christ, was accepted behind the scenes by Vatican, yet under the guarantee of “the infallibility of the Pope”.

However, until November 30^th 2008 it was claimed that the Fener Greek Patriarchate was promoted to a patriarchate from episcopacy due to the “a unified church a unified state” motto of the Eastern Roman Empire and for political reasons and that the St. Andrew myth was made up to justify this on religious grounds. However it was a widely known fact that there is no document indicating that St. Andrew had come to the city of Istanbul, since the city was not even founded in year 30.”[1]

Moreover it a weird contradiction that the Fener Greek Patriarchate is defined and asserted as ecumenic only by those involved in power struggle in the region and not by Orthodox countries and communities. Barthelomeos is consistently defined as the leader of 300 million Orthodox. However it is quite interesting that those who grant him the title “Ecumenic” are not Orthodox themselves.”[2]

Apart from the theological discussions, issues related to the contemporary practices and demands of the Patriarchate also need to be unraveled:

Is the Fener Greek Patriarchate a national church or is it universal (ecumenic[3])?

If it is so, than why are the main churches subordinate to the Patriarchate are led only by those of Greek origin? Why is the Fener Greek Patriarch, Jerusalem Patriarch, French Metropolitan Bishop etc. are only chosen from among those of Greek origin?

What’s more; “Why is the Fener Greek Patriarch is regarded as a national church even above the church in Greece?”

Why do some Greek Metropolitan Bishops force into the churches of those from different nationalities (eg. Bulgarian Church) and hold a sermon in Greek language?

And other questions follow:

Will only those of Greek origin benefit from the Heybeliada Clergy School, great efforts of which were shown in the establishment and which has become a source of political pressure on Turkey? Will the Fener Greek Patriarchate, which has authority over only 300 thousand people among 300 million Orthodox congregation, consider the Orthodox congregation, which is dispersed to a vast area and which is out of its control, as non-existent at the expense of creating duality in the Orthodox world?

It does not seem possible for the Fener Greek Patriarchate – with its single-sided demands and fait accompli – to reach a common solution neither with the Orthodox world nor with Turkey unless reliable and logical answers are found to these questions.

Sibel Keskin

sibelkeskin@yahoo.com

[1] Gozde Kilic Yasin, Global Religious Struggle, Cumhuriyet, July 14th, 2008.

[2] Above-mentioned article.

[3] The term ecumenic derives from the Greek word “oikoumeni“, which means universe, cosmos and world.

September 2, 2009
Kathleen Kennedy Attacks the Pope for Obama

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, has sparked controversy — and outrage — by writing that President Barack Obama reflects the views of American Catholics better than the Pope.

In a column for Newsweek magazine’s Web site, Kennedy Townsend — eldest of Robert Kennedy’s 11 children — asserted: “Obama’s pragmatic approach to divisive policy . . . and his social-justice agenda reflect the views of American Catholic laity much more closely than those vocal bishops and pro-life activists.”

She noted that while Obama and Pope Benedict XVI “disagree about reproductive freedoms and homosexuality,” American Catholics “know Obama’s on their side. In fact, Obama’s agenda is closer to their views than even the Pope’s.”

Among the voices decrying Townsend’s column is Judie Brown, president and co-founder of the American Life League, a pro-life organization.

Writing for CNSNews, she calls Townsend’s views “misguided” and states: “‘Reproductive freedoms,’ for those unfamiliar with the culture of death’s propaganda, is a code phrase for abortion on demand, sex instruction in schools, birth control for kids, and all manner of bizarre propositions that help the purveyors of smut to define the human person as an animal incapable of self-control . . .

“One can easily tell that her thought process has little to do with Catholic identity and, in fact, is contrary to all that is Catholic. There is no other explanation for her inane claim that President Obama is somehow more in tune with American Catholics than the Pope.”

Townsend goes on to say that the Church hierarchy “ignores women’s equality and gays’ cry for justice because to heed them would require that it admit error and acknowledge that the self-satisfied edifice constructed around sex and gender has been grievously wrong.”

She also cites the Pope’s recent encyclical “Charity in Truth,” claiming it gives “moral credence to Obama’s message.”

But Brown counters, “In fact, the encyclical’s message is something else entirely . . .

“Without respect for the human person, it is impossible to bring about a just society, and in a just society, there is no room for heinous crimes such as abortion. This is the underlying theme of the entire encyclical, which Kennedy Townsend apparently overlooked entirely.”

=============================

Kennedy Townsend urges youth to get into politics

By Steve Hinnefeld 331-4374 | shinnefeld@heraldt.com

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend reflects on the level of
individual involvement in politics Thursday before speaking
at a dinner for Ivy Tech’s O’Bannon Institute for Community
Service. Townsend is a former Maryland lieutenant governor
and daughter of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy. David
Snodgress | Herald-Times

“It’s great that record numbers of young people are involved in community service through volunteer activities”, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said.

But it’s a shame that so many steer clear of another means of civic engagement: political activity and government service.

“Government is where we make our most solemn common decisions,” she said. And when it’s attacked as unworthy, “that hurts our ability to build a strong community.”

Townsend is the oldest child of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy and a niece of John F. Kennedy. She was in Bloomington Thursday to speak at a fundraiser dinner for the O’Bannon Institute for Community Service at Ivy Tech Community College.

She was lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003 and counts as one of her primary achievements that she helped make community service a requirement for high school graduation.

But she said it’s disappointing that students who boast of their volunteerism — planting trees, tutoring children, delivering meals to the elderly — often won’t dirty their hands with politics.

“I think that’s a loss of talent and energy and vision,” she said.

Townsend, a Democrat, attributed the nation’s turn against politics, in part, to strategy by some Republicans. She recalled when Ronald Reagan said government was the problem, not the solution.

“If you’re good and bright and smart, why do you go to the place where the problem is?” she said.

Her new book, “Failing America’s Faithful,” is based on a related theme, she said. It argues that churches have “shrunken God” through a narrow focus on sex and abortion.

She tells how, in 1968, the television interviewer David Frost asked both her father and Reagan, “Why are we on Earth?” Reagan talked about freedom and individual salvation. Robert Kennedy talked about making life better for others.

“There it is in a nutshell,” she said. “Do I care primarily about me? Or do we care about community?”

July 21, 2009
UK, Racism; From the streets to the courts

A mini-pogrom in Ulster has shocked Britain. But a legal battle with the far right is brewing on the mainland.

RACIST bogeymen leered out of newspaper pages in both Britain and Northern Ireland this week. On the mainland, the far-right British National Party (BNP), which won its first two seats in the European Parliament earlier this month, was given an ultimatum by Britain’s equality watchdog to step in line with non-discrimination laws or face legal action. Separately, white thugs in Ulster hounded more than a hundred Romanian immigrants—mainly Roma gypsies—out of their homes and, in most cases it now seems, away from the province altogether.

The attacks in south Belfast were of the sort that Northern Ireland hoped had died with the Troubles. Over several nights crowds stoned the homes of immigrant families, smashing windows and posting extracts of Mein Kampf through letterboxes. Tension between locals and east European immigrants had simmered since football hooligans clashed at a match between Poland and Northern Ireland in March. When the intimidation reached a peak on June 16th, the Romanians were moved to a church hall and then to a leisure centre. On June 23rd Northern Ireland’s government announced that most had decided to return to Romania.

Northern Ireland elected no far-right politicians to the European Parliament in the polling on June 4th. Nonetheless, many in Britain reckon that their neighbours over the water are a more prejudiced bunch than they are themselves. Socially, Ulster leans to the right: civil partnerships, greeted with a shrug by most British Tories, attracted protests in Belfast when they were introduced in 2005; abortion is also more restricted than on the mainland.

It may be that these conservative attitudes extend to scepticism about outsiders. A survey published on June 24th by Northern Ireland’s Equality Commission, a statutory watchdog, found that nearly a quarter of the population would be unhappy if a migrant worker moved in next-door. People were even more hostile to Irish travellers, sometimes called gypsies (and often confused with Roma). Just over half said they would mind having travellers living next to them.

Comparing these results with the rest of Britain is hard because surveys produce different answers according to how a question is worded. Across the United Kingdom, less than a tenth of whites say they would mind having a black or Asian boss (though nearly a third admit to being at least “a little” racially prejudiced). But the trends on the mainland and in Ulster are in sharp contrast. British hang-ups about minorities have fallen pretty steadily over the past 20 years, according to the British Social Attitudes Survey, a big questionnaire. By contrast, Northern Irish dislike of travellers is up by a quarter from 2005.

Yet sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland are relatively low. Only 6% now say they would mind having a neighbour of a different faith. One theory goes that the fizzling out of the old disputes has helped to stoke other ones. “The attitudes that facilitate sectarianism may find new outlets in new times,” suggested Bob Collins, the head of the commission. Immigrants are not the only victims: anti-gay sentiment, falling across Britain, has gone up by more than half in Northern Ireland since 2005.

Glass houses

The election of a man with a conviction for inciting race hatred to represent northern England in the European Parliament spoils any pretty notion that all is well on the mainland. But the selection of Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, and his colleague Andrew Brons, a former National Front chairman, has provoked a legal challenge from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a mega-watchdog.

The EHRC wrote to Mr Griffin on June 23rd that it believed the BNP fell foul of the law in its race-based membership policy, its hiring (which appears to be restricted to party members) and what the EHRC interpreted as hints that the party would not provide an equal service to constituents of all races. Unless the BNP changes its ways by July 20th, the watchdog will seek a court order to force it to; if the party held that in contempt it could face fines, imprisonment—and publicity.

Why pounce now? First, the EHRC was born only in 2007. Its predecessor, the Commission for Racial Equality, lacked the power to pursue this sort of independent legal challenge. Second, the law has been clarified: the law lords ruled in November 2007 that certain functions of political parties are indeed subject to the Race Relations Act of 1976, which had been in doubt.

Most obviously, the action was triggered by the electoral success of the BNP which, coupled with talk in Westminster about voting reform likely to benefit small parties, has made it harder to dismiss as a sideshow. Others have moved against the BNP since the election: the Royal British Legion, a veterans’ group, publicly called on Mr Griffin to stop wearing its poppy emblem; the government is pondering banning BNP members from teaching, just as they are already banned from the police and prison services. A forthcoming bill on equal opportunities is expected to include a clause explicitly to stop the BNP and its ilk from insisting on race-based membership.

If the EHRC’s complaint goes to court, it will not be the first time a case against a political party has tested race-relations laws. The 1976 act followed a House of Lords ruling in 1973 upholding the right of East Ham South Conservative Club to ban a Sikh because of his race. And the 2007 Lords’ ruling that has clarified the grounds for the EHRC’s current case was over a complaint by a Pakistani man—upheld by their lordships—against the Labour Party.

Economist

June 28, 2009