well, it seems the usual political vote seekers are using militant vs. terrorist paranoia of our time to fuel their schemes instead of standing for religious equality---
the Swiss are banning the building of Muslim minarets (small towers that are used for the traditional call to prayer), and worse, as you'll see in the article from the BBC below: Swiss religious intolerance is so strong that almost all Muslims in their country have to pray in shanty rickety old factory buildings & similar decrepit sites, no kiddin.' ---This will just hasten more extremism & reactionary hate/distrust on all sides.... and it's interesting when u think about the famous SWISS bank accounts that are so profitable to SWISS business/economy, yet they are well known---if not LEGENDARY-- to let everyone from mafia kingpins to dirty politicians to Nazis hide their money in those famous Swiss bank accounts.....accounts yet no accountability for helping criminals stash their profits, eh?
A row is brewing over religious symbolism in Switzerland.
Members of theright-wingSwiss People's Party,
currently the largest party in the Swiss parliament, have launched a campaign to have the building of minarets banned.
They claim the minaret is not necessary for worship, but is rather a symbol of Islamic law, and as such incompatible with Switzerland's legal system.
Signatures are now being collected to force a nationwide referendum on the issue which, under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, would be binding.
The move has shocked Switzerland's 350,000 Muslims, many of whom have been campaigning for decades for more recognition for their faith.
In theory Switzerland is a secular state, whose constitution guarantees freedom of religious expression to all. In practice however mosques in Switzerland tend to be confined to disused warehouses and factories.
Across the country, there are only two small minarets, one in Zurich and one in Geneva, neither of which are permitted to make the call to prayer. In Switzerland's capital Berne, the largest mosque is in a former underground car park.
Plans rejected
In the small town of Langenthal, just outside Berne, plans to build a very modest minaret have been put on ice following thousands of objections.
Many Swiss think minarets have no place on their urban skylines
Langenthal's mosque is housed in a former paint factory on the outskirts of town.
Mutalip Karaademi, an ethnic Albanian who has lived in Switzerland for 26 years, was at first pleased when his proposal for a 5m-high (16.5ft) minaret was approved by the local authority.
But following a vociferous campaign against the plans, including a petition with thousands of signatures, the cantonal government in Berne delayed the project indefinitely.
"We are very disappointed," said Mr Karaademi. "We just wanted to do our mosque up a bit, with this small minaret and a tea room. We actually thought it might promote dialogue."
Mr Karaademi is also bitter at what he sees as unfair discrimination against his faith. "I even gave them a written undertaking that we would never make the call to prayer," he said. "They seem to think we are all criminals or terrorists - that's like saying all Italians are in the mafia."
Islamic law
But supporters of a ban on minarets say they have no intention of preventing anyone from practising their faith.
"We don't have anything against Muslims," said Oskar Freysinger, member of parliament for the Swiss People's Party.
"But we don't want minarets. The minaret is a symbol of a political and aggressive Islam, it's a symbol of Islamic law. The minute you have minarets in Europe it means Islam will have taken over."
Mr Freysinger's words may sound extreme, even paranoid, but this is a general election year in Switzerland, and the campaign against minarets is playing well with voters.
A recent opinion poll for one Swiss newspaper found that 43% of those surveyed were in favour of a ban on minarets.
"We have our civil laws here," insisted Mr Freysinger. "Banning minarets would send a clear signal that our European laws, our Swiss laws, have to be accepted. And if you want to live here, you must accept them. If you don't, then go back."
Growing resentment
It's a harsh message for Swiss Muslims, many of whom were born in Switzerland. There are fears that the campaign against minarets will provoke growing resentment against Swiss society.
"I think Swiss Muslims will be angry and bitter over this," said Reinhard Schulze, professor of Islamic Studies at Berne University. "And we know that anger and bitterness among a community can lead to radicalisation, even to militancy."
The Swiss government is extremely nervous about the prospect of militancy among Swiss Muslims; three cabinet ministers have already spoken out against the campaign to ban minarets.
There is also a growing fear that the debate will damage Switzerland's traditionally good relations with the Arab world.
But the Swiss People's Party is powerful. If the minaret campaign is, as some suspect, a vote-grabbing ploy ahead of October's general election, then it is a successful one; the party is riding high in the opinion polls.
A constitutional amendment forbidding minarets will have to be approved in a nationwide referendum. In the meantime, no minarets are being built anywhere in Switzerland; the controversy has created a situation in which no local planning officer wants to be the first to approve one.
In that respect, the People's Party may have got what it secretly wanted all along, an unofficial ban on minarets.
So for now, Switzerland's Muslims will continue to pray in abandoned buildings, many with the growing feeling that they are tolerated only as long as they remain invisible."
-- Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else ::: [ Margaret Mead ]
here is some info from messages I just sent to Bill & Agnes that gives some of the BEST websites
to keep up the struggle for FREEDOM & FREE Speech on the internet
b4 the BIG Media & their FCC & Political sellout pal$ steal & block the activist & progressive sites from us,,,,,,,,
not to mention how closely the issue is re: $hrubCo's
illegal wiretapping & other abuse$ of power in government that worm$ it's way around & under American safetyguards such as REAL oversight,
as we trade our free Speech for "SO-CALLED Security"....
that only gives more power to politician$ and helps their campaign $peeches while doing little OR nothing for real security & Freedom.
The following are some of the best places to start or join in learning & stopping the ways
Big Media & their pal$ rig the rules to block & deflect common decent citizens from using the web for progressive defense of freedom & political truth:
This REALLY worries me;;;
it erodes the promise of the internet as the most powerful free speech tool in history
with it's ability to allow REAL, common folks of ALL lands to cross political boundaries & go beyond the old, national hate-alliances so as to tell the truth of the people--
especially in situations where countries are known to crush free speech.
One of the big issues I'm staying abreast of is the NET Neutrality issue that keeps BIG Media & Internet provider companies from "oh-so-sly manipulation of the web," such as blocking progressive sites or making them so slow to connect
that we activists cannot connect to dialogue or do politically important work for free speech, ECOLOGY, HUMAN rights AND speaking truth to power.
I highly recommend these groups, --- please check them out & send them to all your activist pals :
1) The EFF @http://www.eff.org/ ...they are the Electronic Frontier Foundation: a group of FREE Speech and internet rights activists yet are also TOP level Silicon Valley experts and lawyers who frequently get on PBS & such---
often making headlines as they fight the court$, politicians & the FCC on rules that weaken the internet for common folk by allowing ISP's & Big Media to rig trick-legislation that does nasty things like block hot topics in progressive politics by shutting down access to the best blogs & activist sites ; the EFF also fights for individuals who are screwed by big Media's grip on the government & FCC...
checkout their site & read their take on the battle for Net Equality (NET Neutrality) & other progressive, free speech issues.
2) GLOBAL Internet Liberty Campaign:http://www.gilc.org/ ...these folks have an EXCELLENT "mission statement" for freedom: "The Global Internet Liberty Campaign advocates:
Prohibiting prior censorship of on-linecommunication.
Requiring that laws restricting the content of on-line speech distinguish between the liability of content providers and the liability of data carriers.
Insisting that on-line free expression not be restricted by indirect means such as excessively restrictive governmental or private controls over computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or other essential components of the Internet.
Including citizens in the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) development process from countries that are currently unstable economically, have insufficient infrastructure, or lack sophisticated technology.
Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Ensuring that personal information generated on the GII for one purpose is not used for an unrelated purpose or disclosed without the person's informed consent and enabling individuals to review personal information on the Internet and to correct inaccurate information.
Allowing on-line users to encrypt their communications and information without restriction."
3)Tor :http://tor.eff.org/overview.html.en ..."Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet.
It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features.
Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy.
Individuals use Tor
to keep websites from tracking them & their family members,
or to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers.
hey, remember that sad movie "SILENT Running"? It's been reversed, and our asses are gonna be the ones doing the running.
I thought this little sentence made 1 of the main points fairly strong :::
" In addition, legal precedents indicate that if a landowner's trees are contaminated by GE tree pollen, they may be sued for patent violations by the corporation that patented the GE tree."
...Rob here again.... remember, trees are the Earth's filter for taking carbon dioxide from the air & turning it into clean, breathable air. hhhhmmmm...... so now we're gonna tamper with the ONLY air filter the planet has? -----just Great.
" Many red flags have been raised about the genetic engineering of our food supply. Few people, however, realize that trees are also being genetically engineered.
...We haveno control over the movement of insects, birds and mammals, wind and rain that carry pollen.
Genetically engineered trees, with the potential to transfer pollen for hundreds of miles carrying genes for traits including insect resistance, herbicide resistance, sterility and reduced lignin, thus have the potential to wreak ecological havoc throughout the world's native forests. GE trees could also impact wildlife as well as rural and indigenous communities that depend on intact forests for their food, shelter, water, livelihood and cultural practices...
Trees are being engineered to kill insects, resist toxic herbicides, grow faster, & have reduced Lignin (the substance that protects the tree and makes it strong).
Release of GE trees into the environment assures that engineered traits will escape, contaminating native forests with these traits.
--Pollen studies by researchers at Duke University in North Carolina show that tree pollen can travel for over 1,000 miles, meaning widespread contamination by GE trees cannot be avoided or prevented, ---except by not allowing the release of GE trees into the environment in the first place."
... rob here again...well yall, ain't it great when you can't wash the herbicide off of the apple or other fruit from a tree--- because the herbicides & other traits will be IN the fruit.
hey yall, go click these 3 links to add international pressure against the blood-thirsty Iranian government who, among other things, actually intends to kill 3 women and one is even death by stoning----how barbaric can they get??
" Please continue to speak out about the injustice to which young Delara has been subjected.
Please sign the petitionobjecting to her execution and ask your family, friends, co-workers, members of your church, school, and community to do the same.
Please keep young Delara Darabi in your thoughts and prayers.Please keep Delara in your hearts....
well, i guess the NBA's Tim Hardaway had an unofficial-official turnover & Sulu returned fire, hah,,, ((Sci-Fi takes on mega-rich jock to make space oddity, yet makes a serious social statement-- not exactly what u expect in this galaxy, and the jock got rocked))... ...includes video...... Beam me up Scotty, and inform Mr. Bowie that Major Tom just ran into the Spiders from Mars.))) "Star Trek Actor's Satirical Response to Tim "I Hate Gay People" Hardaway [with video]" http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/48423/ rob =][=
hey folks, has anyone read info on the movie "BORDERTOWN" about the Mexican/Latino women
killed in the infamous horrible rapes/murders down
near El Paso, in Juarez, the insane case in which 400 women were killed in the 1990'swho all worked in cheap factory labor sweat-shops at the (pardon any mispelling) Maquiladoras factories?
Well, it turns out that a heroic independent film director: Gregory Nava, who made the Mexican Immigrant film that made him well known in serious film & production realms, a film called
"El Norte" ---which you might be familiar with - well, he tried for the last 10 years to make a movie on these mutilated & murdered
women in Juarez Mexico.. but no hollywood studios wanted to risk an "intellectual film" so he couldn't getmoney to make this "social justice" movie;
Since he knew & worked with famous Latino actors/actresses, he talked them into helping him get "star" appeal by acting in it & thus helping gain momentum to raise funds to make the film.
Jennifer Lopez, Antonio Banderas and even movie mega-star Martin Sheen signed on & thus they finally finished production.. but
they can't get it into American theatres yet due to the way American
theatres only want fun, popular films, so they've released it in Europe---at art-film festivals, & are waiting to see if they can get art-house-theatres to show it here in the U.S.
personally, I think they should
do "viral marketing" via blogs & internet activists by releasing
it now on DVD rather than fight for a year with the movie
distribution companies ((they believe it will take that long for
distribution to reach American theatre audiences)).
Either way, here's the link at the good ole-online "internet film dataBase," the IMdb: http://imdb.com/title/tt0445935/
sure...it's 10 years later than we needed it to be made as far
as getting public pressure on the authorities to REALLY investigate & stop the murders,
400 murders is insane, almost like a whole village or town was killed, but even as activists & netgroups
& blogs talked about it for years, no one has done any "bigtime"
mediato get the wider public aware of it, and whether the fictional script is good or not, it's sure to get media folks digging into interviews-- even if it's for greedy reasons like tv ratings or book sales of "murder mystery" stuff.. just the publicity will at least make the couch potatoes SEE the injustice a bit, eh?
the murders have lessened in recent years, but it's always the same---if media doesn't get people focused on crimes or abuse, it just goes on unchecked for
years/decades. Officials in power have turned an all to convenient blind eye to things since they can say "well I have too many problems on my plate right now" or similar unethical excuses; --and the murdered women of Juarez are EXACTLY that scenario--- since they are poor factory workers and most Americans are angry with Mexican immigration, they act as if this is just sad knews from a place that they don't want to be reminded of.
aPATHETIC... so, go to the link & pass the word on this film;
tho it's fictional--to make a murder-mystery-story for audiences, it's all about a reporter looking into those Juarez murders.
Well,,, Yesterday, federal officials announced their proposal to remove federal protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies -- a plan that could lead to the slaughter of hundreds of wolves. Take action now --
Tell Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne that you’re outraged by this ill-conceived proposal!
Associated Press (hope I'm not reposting) http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0125MarinesNavajo25-ON.html Jan. 25, 07 WINDOW ROCK - Ronnie Tallman's debate with the U.S. Marines over the last year has centered on a rare, spiritual gift bestowed upon him as a Navajo that teaches him to heal, not hurt people.." ...rob here... hey folks, PLEASE forward this to keep a rare victory in mind for Spiritual minded folks, etc. dohiyi, rob =][=
hey folks, pass it on...Bio-Gems is involved & NRDC.... " The House of Representatives could vote as early as January 18th on a bill that would cut subsidies to the oil industry and help promote clean energy resources. Send a message right away urging your representative to support this important bill. (((---click the next phrase, it's a link, yep---))) Tell your representative to vote Yes for the CLEAN Energy Act " peace, dohiyi, rob =][=
Setting the Precedent for
Clean Energy
Dear
Eric, Carefully-site
d offshore wind power can
make a critical
contribution to reducing
global warming pollution
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nation’s energy
supply.
As America’s
first offshore...
Minerva
Novoa,Advocacy Web
Administrator
A bill that would put
credit card reforms in
place now rather than in
three months was just
blocked in the Senate. So
it's time to take the
fight straight to the
banks!
Tell the...