Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Monday, 29 December 2008
The Secret of Jewish Survival
by Rabbi Boruch Leff
Throughout the ages, many have been amazed at the Jewish nation's survival. Faced with a history of suffering, sorrow, and persecution, Jews have met adversity with strong resilience and fortitude. What is our secret? How have we maintained ...
China's Charter 08
Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link
Signed by over three hundred prominent Chinese citizens, this document calls not for ameliorative reform of the current political system but for an end to some of its essential features, including one-party rule, and their replacement with a system based on human rights and democracy.
What to Do About the Torturers?
By David Cole
America's experiment with torture presents the Obama administration with one of its most difficult challenges: how should the nation account for the abuses that have occurred in the past, what are the appropriate remedies, and how can we ensure that such abuses not happen again?
Drug Companies & Doctors: A Story of Corruption
By Marcia Angell
No one knows the total amount provided by drug companies to physicians, but I estimate from the annual reports of the top nine US drug companies that it comes to tens of billions of dollars a year. By such means, the pharmaceutical industry has gained enormous control over how doctors evaluate and use its own products. Its extensive ties to physicians, particularly senior faculty at prestigious medical schools, affect the results of research, the way medicine is practiced, and even the definition of what constitutes a disease.
For Kurdish Girls, a Painful Ancient Ritual
The Widespread Practice of Female Circumcision in Iraq's North Highlights The Plight of Women in a Region Often Seen as More Socially Progressive
(By Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)
Israel Poised for Long Fight
JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 -- Israeli warplanes struck a broad array of targets in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Sunday, hitting a security compound, a mosque, the Islamic University, a television station and a network of smugglers' tunnels along the border with Egypt as Hamas fired fresh volleys of rockets...
(By Griff Witte, The Washington Post)
The Gaza Conflict: Hamas' Strategy of Escalation
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip entered its third day on Monday with over 300 Palestinians now dead. The Arab world is up in arms, and with Palestinians as fragmented as ever, the dream of an independent country seems no closer today than it did decades ago.
IMF economist warns of "Great Depression"
The top economist at the International Monetary Fund, Olivier Blanchard, warned earlier this week that continued declines in consumer spending would set off a global depression. "Consumer and business confidence indexes have never fallen so far since they began. The coming months will be very bad," he told the French newspaper Le Monde, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
Hezbollah fighters placed on alert
"I have asked the brothers in the resistance in the south specifically to be present, on alert and cautious because we are facing a criminal enemy and we don't know the magnitude of the conspiracies," Nasrallah said.
Israeli Troops Mass Along Border; Arab Anger Rises
By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY and ISABEL KERSHNER
With the death toll in Gaza rising to nearly 300, a furious reaction spread across the Arab world, raising fears of greater instability in the region.
The Holocaust Memoir that Wasn't
The Holocaust Memoir that Wasn't
By Kenneth Waltzer
Dr. Waltzer is the Director, Jewish Studies, at Michigan State University. It was as a result of his research that the Penguin Group decided last week not to publish the now-discredited Holocaust memoir by Herman Rosenblat. Waltzer began raising questions about the book in November. In response the producer of the movie that was to be based on the memoir complained to Waltzer's dean. After Rosenblat admitted he had lied the producer said: "It’s unfortunate he told a lie .... The man is tragically flawed, but his story had value." Waltzer was joined in his doubts about the book by other Holocaust scholars including Deborah Lipstadt, who has blogged about the story here and here and here..
Black Sea Region Wheat Exports Surge
The Black Sea region has muscled its way into the exclusive club of the world's top wheat exporters and is expected to continue stealing business from the U.S.
Weaker Dollar Worries Japan, Germany
The dollar's sharp turn weaker is threatening to reshuffle winners and losers in global trade amid the toughest economic conditions in decades.
Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.
A Russian academic who has long predicted that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. has recently found an eager audience: Russian state media.
Belgium's King Names Likely Prime Minister
Belgium's king named a probable successor to Prime Minister Yves Leterme, who resigned amid a scandal related to one of the earliest major bank bailouts.
Cuba reports slowdown in economy
Cuba says it has suffered one of the most difficult financial years since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Israel mobilisiert Bodentruppen
Nachrichten
Israel mobilisiert Bodentruppen
288 Palästinenser wurden durch Luftangriffe getötet. Unterdessen hat Israel 6500 Reservesoldaten einberufen, Panzer rollen in Richtung Gazastreifen. » mehr
Unemployment at Five-year High
(Taipei Times, Dec. 23, 2008) The unemployment rate climbed for the fifth consecutive month to a five-year high of 4.64 percent last month as the economic downturn deepens, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said in a report.
Nouveaux raids israéliens sur Gaza
MINUTE PAR MINUTE - Le ministre israélien de la défense n'a pas exclu la tenue d'une opération terrestre contre le Hamas. Le conseil de sécurité de l'Onu a appelé à la fin immédiate des actions militaires.
Turquie : la crise financière frappe violemment le pays
Turquie : la crise financière frappe violemment le pays
«A la tête du Disk, le syndicat des ouvriers révolutionnaires, Süleyman Çelebi trace un bilan catastrophique des pertes d'emploi depuis un an : [ jusqu'à maintenant, il y a eu 250 000 licenciements, c'est le chiffre officiel, qu'il faut multiplier par deux car l'économie parallèle existe aussi, ce qui fait quelque 500 000 nouveaux sans-travail. ].»
Israeli Warplanes Pound Gaza
JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 -- Israeli warplanes pounded Hamas installations across the Gaza Strip on Saturday and early Sunday in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. At least 225 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 wounded, Palestinian health officials reported, one of the highest...
(By Samuel Sockol, The Washington Post)
Prosiguen los ataques aéreos israelíes en la franja de Gaza
12:01 - domingo, 28 de diciembre de 2008
Italienische Genusskultur von Lavazza
Italienische Genusskultur von Lavazza
Traumhafte Fotografien von Annie Leibovitz für den neuen Kalender des traditionellen Kaffeerösters.
Genussvoll und sinnlich, so hat Starfotografin Annie Leibovitz den 2009er-Kalender von Lavazza umgesetzt. Es ist eine surreale Reise durch ein feinsinniges, mondänes Italien. Ein guter Espresso ist für viele Italiener nicht nur der Schlusspunkt einer genossenen Mahlzeit, sondern Mittelpunkt des Lebens in allen seinen Facetten.
Durchklicken: La vita e bella.
Transitions: The American Agenda
Experts give Barack Obama advice on crime, education, energy, health care and immigration.
Israelis Say Strikes Against Hamas Will Continue
By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY and ETHAN BRONNER
Israeli officials said the Gaza airstrikes, which killed more than 225 on Saturday and went on into the night, were the start of what could be days or even months of an effort against Hamas.
US-Politologe Samuel Huntington gestorben
BOSTON: Der amerikanische Politikwissenschaftler Samuel P. Huntington ist im Alter von 81 Jahren gestorben. Das teilte die Harvard-Universität mit, an der Huntington fast 60 Jahre internationale Politik gelehrt hatte. Huntington galt als einer der einflussreichsten Politologen überhaupt. Sein Hauptwerk 'Kampf der Kulturen' erschien 1996. Darin vertrat Huntington die These, dass nach dem Ende des Kalten Krieges nicht mehr Ideologien, sondern kulturelle und religiöse Unterschiede die Konflikte prägen würden. 'Kampf der Kulturen' wurde in 39 Sprachen übersetzt.
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Al menos 120 muertos tras el bombardeo masivo israelí sobre Gaza
12:07 - sábado, 27 de diciembre de 2008
Eskalation im Gazastreifen
Nachrichten
Eskalation im Gazastreifen
Die israelische Luftwaffe hat einen massiven Angriff auf Einrichtungen der radikal-islamischen Hamas in Gaza gestartet. » mehr
Inglaterra destina 350 millones de dólares contra la obesidad
La industria alimentaria también se suma al plan del ministerio de Salud
Link corto: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1084518
Toyota ruft in China 122.000 Autos zurück
Toyota ruft in China 122.000 Autos zurück
Schon wieder schlechte Nachrichten vom Branchenriesen Toyota: Erst kam die Botschaft vom ersten operativen Verlust der Konzerngeschichte, nun ruft der Autobauer mehr als 120.000 Autos in China zurück. Der Grund: Ausfälle in der Elektronik.
Breite Zustimmung in Israel für Militärschlag gegen Hamas
Breite Zustimmung in Israel für Militärschlag gegen Hamas
Die Explosionsgefahr im Nahost wächst: Weil die Hamas weiter mit Raketen feuert, will Jerusalem das Regime in Gaza militärisch in die Knie zwingen. Erstmals steht eine Mehrheit der Bevölkerung hinter einer Vergeltungsaktion. Die Armee wartet nur noch auf günstiges Wetter. Von Pierre Heumann, Tel Aviv
mehr... [ Forum ]
La violencia y la economía desvelan a Nueva Delhi
La India teme el fin de su ciclo de bonanza
Link corto: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1084542
China’s Financial Industry Recruits Abroad
China’s Financial Industry Recruits Abroad
Chinese institutions are taking advantage of the downturn and focusing on the newly unemployed to upgrade their own staffs.
Cachemira, el territorio que ambos se disputan
La violencia allí ha caído ostensiblemente
Link corto: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1084614
Paquistán envió tropas cerca de la India
El gobierno de Islamabad ordenó el desplazamiento de 20.000 soldados hacia la frontera; ya hubo tres guerras entre los dos países
Link corto: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1084612
Vietnam and Japan sign trade pact
Japan and Vietnam sign a a free trade agreement to cut tariffs on most of the goods and services traded between them.
China to allow freer yuan trades
China says its currency can be used to settle trade in Asia, as it steps up efforts to limit damage from the global downturn.
Japan's industrial output plunges
Industrial output in Japan fell more than 8% in November, the biggest drop on record, government figures show.
China begins anti-piracy mission
A Chinese naval task force embarks on China's first military operation outside the Pacific, combating Somali pirates.
Friday, 26 December 2008
'Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity'
By MICHAEL LEWIS
Reviewed by DANIEL GROSS
Michael Lewis collects journalism on the past 20 years of market madness — and finds a pattern.
Katyushas Aimed at Israel
by Hana Levi Julian
Seven Katyusha rockets were discovered in southern Lebanon Thursday less than five kilometers, or three miles from Israel's northern border, primed and ready to fire.
Harold Pinter, l'homme en colère
Harold Pinter, l'homme en colère
Prix Nobel 2005, dramaturge le plus joué au monde, scénariste de Joseph Losey, Harold Pinter est mort mercredi soir à Londres à l'âge de 78 ans.
Espagne : la crise exacerbe les tensions xénophobes
Espagne : la crise exacerbe les tensions xénophobes
" border="0">Les incidents entre immigrés et Espagnols se multiplient, la dégradation de l'économie et la hausse du chômage les mettant en concurrence sur les emplois saisonniers.
Anticorrupción investiga a quienes vendieron en España 'fondos Madoff'
06:29 - viernes, 26 de diciembre de 2008
Tropas libanesas hallan y desmantelan unos cohetes que apuntaban a Israel
09:18 - viernes, 26 de diciembre de 2008
#475 You Create the Place
In 1856, Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Friedman of Sadugura, was arrested because of a libel and was kept in prison.
"I am permitted to serve the Almighty undisturbed," Rabbi Avraham Yaakov told his visitors, "What difference does it make whether I am here, or anywhere else?"
His father in law, Rabbi Aharon Perlow of Karlin, who was allowed to stay with him for a while in his cell, asked him, "How do you feel in this awful place?"
Rabbi Avraham Yaakov replied, "Does the place one is in make a difference? The Almighty's glory fills the earth. He is everywhere. Even here, in this awful place."
("Men of Distinction," vol.1, p.15; Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Happiness, p.247)
Israel Completes Preparations for Gaza Offensive Amid Continuing Rocket Fire
(By Mark Lavie, The Washington Post)
In Words and in Silence, a Writer of Rare Power
Let us pause. And in deference to a man who knew precisely how to wring meaning from silence, stop just a little longer.
(By Peter Marks, The Washington Post)
Obama Follows a Tradition of Testifying for Prosecutors
By PETER BAKER
President-elect Barack Obama may have set a land-speed record by giving his first interview to investigators even before taking the oath of office.
Dollar Shift: Chinese Pockets Filled as Americans’ Emptied
By MARK LANDLER
China, some economists say, lulled U.S. consumers, and their leaders, into complacency about their spendthrift ways.
Expansion of Clinics Shapes a Bush Legacy
By KEVIN SACK
President Bush has doubled federal financing for community health centers, enabling the creation or expansion of 1,297 clinics in underserved areas.
Japanese industrial output falls at record pace
Reuters
Companies halted factory lines in November to deal with a sudden plunge in global demand, underscoring fears that the world's No. 2 economy could face a prolonged recession.
Dozens held over 'Tibet rumours'
Chinese state media say 59 people have been detained in Tibet for spreading rumours and stirring up racial hatred.
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Developers Ask U.S. for Bailout
Big property developers are asking to be included in a new $200 billion loan program as a surge in commercial mortgages comes due.
The current crisis and Obama's Clintonomics team
Notebooks Overtake Desktop PCs
Notebook computers outpaced desktop shipments for the first time due to popularity of low-cost machines known as netbooks.
Russian President Talks Military Force During End-Of-Year Interview Audio Clip Available
Dmitri Medvedev says Russia will use all available means to protect its interests, during nationally televised remarks
To Track Terrorists, Follow the Money
Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson
The Obama administration would be wise to retain targeting of terrorists' financing as a key part the U.S. government's counter-terrorism tool kit. Although mounting a terrorist attack is relatively inexpensive, the cost of maintaining a terrorist infrastructure is high. Terrorist networks need cash to train, equip and pay operatives and their families and to promote their causes. Recruiting, training, traveling, bribing corrupt officials and other such activities also cost money. Limiting their ability to raise funds therefore limits their ability to function.
Efforts to disrupt terrorist groups' finances can have a real effect. In 2005, Bin Ladin's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, wrote to Abu Musab Zarqawi, asking the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq if he could spare "approximately one hundred thousand" because "many of the lines have been cut off." Matthew Levitt is the director of the Stein Program on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Michael Jacobson is a senior fellow in the Stein Program.
(Los Angeles Times)
Why Is Hamas Fighting?
Noah Pollak
The paradoxical bottom line for Hamas is that crisis, both humanitarian and military, is necessary for legitimacy and survival. Should an Israeli invasion or major air campaign seem likely, Hamas will probably accede to another ceasefire. Israel should not take the bait. Instead, a campaign of targeted killings of Hamas leaders and the destruction of Hamas assets, such as smuggling tunnels, should be instituted.
The national elections in Israel (among other reasons) make this a bad time to commence a ground campaign. If the IDF can make Hamas fear for its ability to maintain institutional cohesion and governing power while limiting civilian casualties - dead Gazans are a major international lifeline for Hamas - Israel could push Hamas into a position in which it would either have to resume the ceasefire on unfavorable, even humiliating, terms, or go down in a blaze of martyrdom. This is a dilemma Hamas hopes it won't have to face.
(Commentary)
Gaza Rocket Fire on Israel Intensifies
Isabel Kershner
Palestinian militants from Gaza increased the range and intensity of their rocket fire against Israel on Wednesday. The strikes caused extensive damage and widespread panic among local residents. The Israeli security cabinet met to consider options for a response, while Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev suggested that Israel's patience was running out. Regev said the sole responsibility for the deterioration lay with Hamas.
(New York Times)
Mandela « croqué » par le caricaturiste Zapiro
25/12/2008
Mandela « croqué » par le caricaturiste Zapiro
Par Nicolas Champeaux
Ce dessin reproche à Mandela ce mutisme sur les violations des droits de l’homme en Chine, lors d’un déplacement à Pékin en 1999 : [ on voit Mandela recevoir une médaille des autorités chinoises qui le récompense pour sa lutte contre l’oppression et derrière on voit un militaire marmonner, celui-là il a de la chance de ne pas être Chinois ! …].
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