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Kurioses aus aller Welt 
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Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Friday, 2 July 2010
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| The New Republic: Books & Arts July 1, 2010  Simon Schama BOOK REVIEW: Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero by Abigail Green In 1827, an upright, well-to-do English gentleman, traveling through the Levant with his lady wife, ran into some dirty weather en route from Alexandria to Malta. But this particular gentleman was called Moses and his notion of calming the sea was to throw the afikoman half of the middle matzoh of the Passover seder into the churning waters. Apparently, as Abigail Green tells it, in some Sephardi traditions the breaking of the afikoman symbolizes the parting of the Red Sea. Needless to say, it did the trick. The storm abated and the Montefiores, Moses and Judith, were granted a serene moonlit night. At which point, swept along by Green’s ripping tale and Montefiore’s own description of it “praying to God to preserve us, as He had … our forefathers from the turbulence of the sea,” the enchanted reader wakes from the spell to say—what? The date of this salvation at sea was November 26. Passover was six months gone or six months ahead. Did Moses Montefiore habitually carry with him an emergency matzoh for such occasions? We all know that matzot, even the tooth-testing shmurah discs that can stand up to serious punishment, would probably not survive extreme maritime stress. So must we imagine an all-weather afikoman-preserver, perhaps custom-hammered in silver, for Moses Montefiore, man of substance, bill-broker for Nathaniel Rothschild, and director of insurance, gas, and mining companies? |
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The Dismantling of a Suspected Russian Intelligence OperationThe U.S. Department of Justice announced June 28 that an FBI counterintelligence investigation had resulted in the arrest on June 27 of 10 individuals suspected of acting as undeclared agents of a foreign country, in this case, Russia. Eight of the individuals were also accused of money laundering. On June 28, five of the defendants appeared before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Manhattan while three others went before a federal magistrate in Alexandria, Va., and two more went before a U.S. magistrate in Boston. An 11th person named in the criminal complaint was arrested in Cyprus on June 29, posted bail and is currently at large. The number of arrested suspects in this case makes this counterintelligence investigation one of the biggest in U.S. history. According to the criminal complaint, the FBI had been investigating some of these people for as long as 10 years, recording conversations in their homes, intercepting radio and electronic messages and conducting surveillance on them in and out of the United States. The case suggests that the classic tactics of intelligence gathering and counterintelligence are still being used by Russia and the United States. Read more » | |
Dilma lidera disputa presidencial
Foto: Roberto Stuckert Filho
Foto: Roberto Stuckert Filho
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Pesquisa Vox Populi confirma liderança de Dilma na corrida presidencial
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Brasil é o país latino-americano que mais crescerá neste ano, prevê Cepal
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Lula: Jovens médicos formados pelo ProUni derrubam preconceitos e são motivo de orgulho
 RFE/RL Watchdog 7/1/2010 5:19:14 PM A blog of human rights, media freedom, and democracy developments from RFE/RL's broadcast region. For more, please visit and bookmark Watchdog . |
 Execution Nears For Kurdish Iranian A prominent Iranian lawyer says he fears a female Kurdish activist imprisoned in Tehran is in danger of imminent execution. More  A Batcave Of Censorship-Breaking Technology With 120 bloggers and citizen journalists locked up around the world, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has decided to fight back by opening an "anticensorship shelter." More  Armenia Ruling Parties Dispute Freedom House's 'Authoritarian' Tag Armenia's governing Republican and Prosperous Armenia parties have criticized the New York-based group Freedom House for branding Armenia a "semi-consolidated authoritarian" country. More  Jailed Uzbek Sports Journalist Won't Appeal Conviction The mother of jailed Uzbek sports journalist Khairulla Khamidov says he will not appeal his conviction to a higher court. More  Russian Rights Group Creates 'Gulag' The Russian human rights center Memorial has launched an online "museum" on the history of the Soviet labor and prison camps known as the gulag. More  Jailed Blogger To Attend Father's Funeral The Justice Ministry's penitentiary service told RFE/RL that Emin Milli would be released from prison for three days to attend the funeral of his father, Pasha Abdullayev, who died on June 28. More Some 50 houses owned by members of Iran's Baha'i religious minority have been demolished in a village northeast of Tehran, according to an eyewitness report to Radio Farda. More  Torture In Uzbekistan Described On Capitol Hill "Yusuf is going to die." That’s how Gulnora Juma, the wife of jailed Uzbek poet and political activist Yusuf Juma, summarized Juma’s plight at a recent discussion on Capitol Hill jointly sponsored by Freedom House and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. More  Gay Rights Activists Defy Russian Ban Russian gay rights activists have gathered at St. Petersburg's world-famous Hermitage Museum for a brief unsanctioned rally that ended with a police raid. More  Watchdog Blasts Iranian 'Blogfather' Trial The trial of Hossein Derakhshan, known as the "Blogfather" for helping to popularize blogging in Iran, began on June 23. More Five Azerbaijani youths who were demonstrating in support of disabled people on the capital's sea-front promenade were detained this week by police. More  Jailed Belarus Activist Ends Hunger Strike Jailed businessman and opposition activist Mikalay Autukhovich has abandoned his hunger strike after Belarusian authorities discussed Autukhovich's health problems with him. More  Wiesel Seeks Khodorkovsky Release Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel has launched a global campaign to free imprisoned Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whom he calls a "political prisoner." More  U.S. 'Troubled' By Reports Of Media Pressure In Ukraine The United States has expressed concern over reports of pressure on journalists in Ukraine. More  Rights Groups Urge Council Of Europe To Keep Up Pressure On Azerbaijan International and local rights groups have issued an appeal to the Council of Europe urging it to take concrete measures to improve the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. More  Kazakh Opposition Leader Sentenced To Four Years In Jail Yermek Narymbaev was one of the organizers of the campaign "Nazarbaev Ket!" (Nazarbaev, Go Away!) and a hunger strike against President Nursultan Nazarbaev on May 1. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail on May 2 for holding an unsanctioned demonstration. More An Iranian doctoral student at Oxford who campaigned in Iran last year for opposition leader Mir Hussein Musavi is being held in solitary confinement by Iranian authorities, according to his wife. More |
| RFE/RL Headlines 7/1/2010 5:16:36 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org. |
| Features  For Uriah Heep Fans In Former Soviet Bloc, One 'July Morning' Has Lasted 40 Years Only a few Western rock bands were able to penetrate the Soviet bloc in the 1970s, but those who did went on to enjoy cultlike status that endures until today. One such group was Britain's Uriah Heep, whose songs like "July Morning" and "Free Me" have won generations of fans in Russia and Eastern Europe. RFE/RL looks at the continued appeal of Uriah Heap -- and a long-standing Bulgarian tradition of greeting July 1 by gathering at the seaside by singing "July Morning." More  Clinton On E. Europe, Caucasus Tour Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has embarked on a five-day trip to Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. Along the way, Clinton will try to solidify strategic military cooperation, assure nervous allies of Washington's friendship, promote peaceful settlements of regional disputes, and champion democracy. More The chief nuclear inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Olli Heinonen, who lead the agency's investigations into Iran and Syria, will leave his post for personal reasons after 30 years at the UN nuclear watchdog. More  House Panel Denies Aid To Afghanistan A key House of Representatives subcommittee has voted to withhold almost $4 billion in aid to Kabul. The lawmakers are demanding an investigation into charges that huge amounts of foreign aid are being stolen in Afghanistan with the complicity of top Afghan officials. More  Petraeus Vows No Change In Afghan Rules Of Engagement General David Petraeus, the new commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, has vowed to do "everything humanly possible" to avoid casualties among Afghan civilians. More  Georgian Teachers Fear Massive Layoffs Georgian teachers and their unions worry that thousands of teachers might lose their jobs before the start of the school year. More  Moscow Airport Road Blockage Costs Aeroflot Dear The Russian airline Aeroflot says it lost 700,000 euros ($875,000) in one day as a result of a traffic problem on the major highway leading to Moscow's main airport. More  Polish Airlines To Begin Regular Flights To Georgia Poland's national airline, LOT, will begin flights between Warsaw and Tbilisi as of September 1. More Execution Nears For Kurdish Iranian A prominent Iranian lawyer says he fears a female Kurdish activist imprisoned in Tehran is in danger of imminent execution. More  Armenian Railway 'Still Readying' For Turkish Border Opening The head of Russia's state railway (RZD) says its Armenian subsidiary is continuing technical preparations for the possible opening of the Turkish-Armenian border and the renewed rail communication between the two countries. More  Tajiks Deny Role In Kyrgyz Violence General Abdullo Nazarov, the head of the National Security Ministry's office in the southeastern region of Badakhshan, told RFE/RL that reports are unfounded that he and other Tajiks were either involved in fomenting or directly taking part in the deadly violence in southern Kyrgyzstan between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. More  Moscow Backs Yerevan Redevelopment The municipality of Moscow has reaffirmed a pledge to support a massive redevelopment project in Yerevan that the Armenian government says will require billions of dollars in investment. More Armenia Ruling Parties Dispute Freedom House's 'Authoritarian' Tag Armenia's governing Republican and Prosperous Armenia parties have criticized the New York-based group Freedom House for branding Armenia a "semi-consolidated authoritarian" country. More  Two Detained In Russia FSB Protest A protest against a bill that would increase the powers of Russia's main domestic security service has been blocked by police who detained two demonstrators. More The Week In Facebook RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of the past week's events. Click on any of the status updates for more information. More  In Osh, Wandering Through The Remains Of The Days I was back when Namaz was being said on June 18. Since prayers were still in progress I went back to my kebab house, though I already knew what I’d find. It was ransacked and burned. More  PACE Vote Mirrors Shift In Russia's North Caucasus Policy A PACE resolution differentiates clearly between the situation in Chechnya, on the one hand, and that in neighboring Ingushetia and Daghestan, on the other. More A Batcave Of Censorship-Breaking Technology With 120 bloggers and citizen journalists locked up around the world, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has decided to fight back by opening an "anticensorship shelter." More  Georgia’s Long Farewell To Stalin On the night of June 25, the monument to Josef Stalin in the city of Gori was removed. And where the statue previously stood, authorities will erect a memorial to the victims of Russian aggression and Soviet repression. The symbolism of these actions is completely obvious. But if this is all there is to it, then why was the operation carried out at night amid heightened security? More |
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