Crime inside EU ministry busted!

Israel correspondent of Weekly Blitz, Bat Zion Susskind has successfully busted a huge crime racket inside the ministry of a member state of European Union. She spent several months in investigating the matter and finally was able to get the specific evidence of crime inside the Ministry of Health in Macedonia.

According to information, Xhemajledin Mustafi, introducing himself to be the advisor to the Ministry, offered job to many people in the ministry. Dr. Osmani is the minister in charge of the ministry. In an email to Blitz correspondent [Blitz correspondent did not disclose her real identity], Xhemajledin Mustafi wrote:

"We are looking for a foreign advisor with experience in the field of public health administration because now we are going to apply for EU funds on some certain important projects and we need your expertise. If you agree to work with us I will send you the contract of work and organize you a meeting with the Minister in Skopje, Macedonia."

According to Ms. Susskind, Mustafi, who also introduced himself as Jemo stressed that his government insisted on hiring an Israeli consultant with a "Western education" as they were interested in privatizing their health care system in the fashion of Israel and other developed countries. Mustafi also stressed that though he was a Muslim, he was a supporter of the State of Israel and the US.

Xhemajledin Mustafi would generally conduct the negotiations on Skype as he claimed to be travelling over Europe, as part of his Macedonian government business.

Subsequently, our correspondent continued to communicate with Xhemajledin Mustafi. Without knowing the identity of Weekly Blitz correspondent, Mustafi was continuing his fraudulent communications and were giving false statements related to the activities inside the Ministry of Health.

On October 24, 2010, Xhemajledin Mustafi wrote in an email:

"Today 24th of October 2010 the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in the session opened for the public has decided or saying more professionally has taken responsibility to implement the health care reform and engaging international consultants.

And according to this Governmental decision there will be a budget of 70.000.000 EUR for the implementation of the first stage of this national and top priority project!"

On November 1, 2010, Xhemajledin Mustafi sent a contract to Ms. Susskind by fax. On receiving the contract copy, which is made on the official stationary of the Ministry of Health of Macedonia, with signatures of the minister Dr. Osmani and so-called advisor to the ministry, Xhemajledin Mustafi, our Israel correspondent contacted the ministry and got it confirmed from the ministry that the document was forged one. The so-called contract came from fax number 02-322-8220, which is owned by MANERA COMMERCE, Macedonia.

It is learn from various sources that Xhemajledin Mustafi was continuing such fraudulent activities using the name of the ministry of health as well as other high officials and ministers of Macedonia. It is apprehended that, Xhemajledin Mustafi is a member of fraud racket in Macedonia, who was using ministry's stationary and minister's forged signature in befooling people.

Latest bust into the huge scam inside the ministry of health in Macedonia surely leaves alarming signal for the government of that country.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

November 6, 2010

Multiculturalism failed miserably in Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Saturday that the multicultural model for integration in Germany has "miserably failed." For the first time, Merkel expressed a clear position in an ongoing debate over the integration of immigrants – especially Muslims – into German society, stressing that the current situation must be changed.

According to Merkel, immigrants should be required to integrate in society, by committing to learn the German language – and not only be allowed to do so voluntarily, as has been the policy up until now.

Despite her criticism, however, Merkel stressed that Islam was an "integral" part of modern Germany.

The chancellor's comment were said during a speech in front of the Christian-Democratic Union party youth congress (CDU-CSU), and came in the midst of a stormy debate ranging across the country's political spectrum, with CSU Chairman Horst Seehofer calling to stop Muslim immigration to Germany on the one hand, and President Christian Wolff declaring that Islam is part of Germany, just like Judaism and Christianity, on the other.

Merkel's remarks reinforced Seehofer's declaration on Friday, saying "multiculturalism is dead," and indicate a swerve to the right in the ruling party's policies – at least on matters pertaining to immigration.

Seehofer, who stirred a storm last week after declaring in a magazine interview that immigration from Turkey and the Arab countries – which he defined "foreign cultures" – must be stopped, added on Friday that Germany draws its values only from "Judeo-Christian tradition and humanistic values."

Although Seehofer's comments were strongly condemned by German officials including his own party members, Chancellor Merkel abstained from issuing a response.

Media war

In the past few weeks media outlets have been extensively covering various stories relating to immigrants in Germany, including a report about German students who were regularly harassed by children of immigrants, who call them names such as "pig eaters."

A popular German tabloid reported that a real estate company in one of the Gulf states conditioned signing rental contracts for apartments in the center of Berlin with adherence to "Islamic values," such as prohibition on drinking alcohol and gambling.

A comprehensive survey published this week indicated that more than a third of Germans supported sending immigrants back to their original homelands – even though some have been living in Germany for over 40 years.

According to the poll, 55% of Germans believed that Muslims are "unpleasant people," compared with 44% who held the same sentiments seven years ago.

Fifty eight percent claimed that the practice of Islam should be restricted in Germany, while one-in-ten Germans said they yearned for a "fuehrer" – a term affiliated with the Third Reich, meaning a "strong leader."

Commentators raised the possibility that public sentiments and declining coalitional approval rates prompted the Right to associate with the populist camp in an effort to garner support.

The prevalent feeling in the country is that the dam has been breached, and that it is suddenly permissible to speak against immigrants in Germany, said an integration expert from the Free University of Berlin in an interview with the New York Times.

The trial of Galileo

Italian scientist convicted of heresy and confined by the Pope to house arrest in 1633 for teaching that the Earth orbits the sun. On September 20, 1633, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei is tried by the Church for teaching that the Earth orbits the sun. As a result, on the Pope’s order, he was confined to house arrest for the remainder of his life until his death in 1642, at the age of 77.

One century earlier, Nicolaus Copernicus had published On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, the first book to outline a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology. This revolutionary theory placed the sun at center of the universe, rather than the Earth.

Geocentricism, the theory placing the Earth at the center of the Universe, had been vastly accepted since the 2^nd century AD, when firmly established by Claudius Ptolemy.

What is known as the “Galileo affair” began in 1610 when he came out against the Ptolemaic scientific view in his book Starry Messenger. Using the new telescope he had developed, he made observations supporting Copernican astronomy.

In reaction, many scientific and theological scholars attacked the theory because it seemingly contradicted Ptolemy's model of the universe, as well as several passages of Holy Scripture.

Galilei responded to that criticism in his letter to Kepler in August 1610 saying “My dear Kepler, I wish that we might laugh at the remarkable stupidity of the common herd. What do you have to say about the principal philosophers of this academy who are filled with the stubbornness of an asp and do not want to look at either the planets, the moon or the telescope, even though I have freely and deliberately offered them the opportunity a thousand times? Truly, just as the asp stops its ears, so do these philosophers shut their eyes to the light of truth.”

While Church officials were willing to let heliocentrism be taught as a hypothesis and discussed in scientific circles, the faith of the ordinary people was to be safeguarded. However, Galilei argued that his telescopic observations favored the Copernican heliocentric theory as a physical truth.

As the Inquisition started taking serious notice of Galilei’s work in 1615, he sent a letter to Grand Duchess Christina, which was an essay on the relation between the revelations of the Bible and the new discoveries then being made in science. His general stance was that the relevant passages of the Bible, which he was accused of contradicting, should not be interpreted literally, especially when taken from poetic or allegorical texts.

By 1616, the attacks on Copernicus’ ideas had reached a peak, to which Galilei responded by going to Rome in order to persuade the Catholic Church authorities not to ban heliocentrism. Ultimately, the Inquisition delivered him with an order not to "hold or defend" the idea that the Earth moves and the Sun stands still at the centre. The decree did not prevent Galileo from discussing the controversial subject.

Pope Urban VIII, elected in 1623, was a friend and supporter of Galilei who opposed his condemnation in 1616. And thus, with the Pope’s formal authorization along with that of the Inquisition, Galilei published Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in 1632. Previously, the Pope had personally asked Galilei to give arguments for and against heliocentrism in the book, and to be careful not to advocate the controversial theory. He also requested that his own views on the matter be included in Galileo's book. Only the latter of those requests was fulfilled by Galilei.

Whether unknowingly or deliberately, Simplicio, the defender of the Geocentric view in the book, was often caught in his own errors and sometimes came across as a fool. Indeed, although Galileo states in the preface of his book that the character is named after a famous Aristotelian philosopher, the name "Simplicio" in Italian also has the connotation of "simpleton.” This portrayal of Simplicio made it appear as an advocacy book: an attack on Aristotelian geocentrism and defence of the Copernican theory.

Unfortunately for his relationship with the Pope, Galileo put the words of Urban VIII into the mouth of Simplicio. Most historians agree Galilei did not act out of malice and felt blindsided by the reaction to his book.

However, the Pope did not take the suspected public ridicule lightly, nor the Copernican advocacy. Galileo had alienated one of his biggest and most powerful supporters, the Pope, and was called to Rome to defend his writings.

With the loss of many of his defenders in Rome because of Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Galilei was ordered to stand trial on suspicion of heresy in 1633.

As a result, Galilei was found “vehemently suspect of heresy” and was required to "abjure, curse and detest" those opinions. He was sentenced to formal imprisonment at the pleasure of the Inquisition. On the following day, this was commuted to house arrest, which he remained under for the rest of his life.

Aside from his theoretical works, Galilei made several contributions to “technology” such as an improved telescope, a thermometer, a military compass and many many others. So great was his legacy that he was called by Einstein the “father of modern science.”

HRC grants legitimacy to “murderous” Gadaffi regime

A UN Watch-led coalition of 27 NGO’s has appealed for Libya to be expelled from the UN Human Rights Council. Libya and other rights abusers are influencing the “dictator-dominated” council’s resolutions, UN Watch director Hillel Neuer says. “But given the high quantity as well as quality of Libya’s oil, we fear most countries will choose silence.”

Libya took its seat in the 47-member UN Human Rights Council (HRC) this week for the first time since its May election. A three-week council session began on Monday, triggering the rights coalition’s appeal.

In a petition signed by 27 NGO’s on Thursday, they called on the UN’s 192 members to expel Libya from the council unless Kadhafi significantly improves its human rights situation. Several victims of Libyan human rights abuses were present during the coalition’s press conference on Friday.

Given its “notorious record as one of the world’s worst violators of human rights,” the NGO’s argue Libya’s membership contradicts the UN’s promise to elect member states based on their commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights.

Libyan oil

Under the resolution that created the HRC, the General Assembly may suspend any council member that commits “gross and systematic” human rights violations. A two-thirds vote is required.

But UN Watch director Hillel Neuer told Radio Netherlands it is highly unlikely that Libya will be suspended. “Given the high quantity as well as quality of Libya’s oil, we fear that most countries will choose silence,” he told Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

He added that meanwhile, Libya’s influence continues. “As a voting member, Libya has the power to support or oppose any resolution, and as a result to influence its drafting. What may be even more damaging is that Libya’s presence in the world’s highest human rights body grants legitimacy to a murderous dictatorship - a crushing blow to Libya’s dissidents and ordinary citizens.”

World’s worst abusers

Neuer said the UN HRC, which he referred to as “the dictator-dominated council”, actively undermines and twists basic principles of human rights. He added that it has failed to take any action against “the world’s worst abusers” including Iran, China, Zimbabwe, Syria and Venezuela.

“And, far worse than that: there is a faction of 30 out of 47 seats, including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Cuba, that actively promote measures to weaken the protection of freedom of speech and to erode the council’s few remaining mechanisms for independent scrutiny of country conduct,” Neuer said.

He added that after its creation in 2006, the new council gradually eliminated the country investigators for human rights in Belarus, Cuba, Liberia and DR Congo.

Freedom House report

In a damning report published this week, democracy watchdog Freedom House noted that countries which violated human rights have a far-reaching negative influence on the UN HRC.

Since its establishment in 2006, the number of members deemed “free” by Freedom House has dropped from 25 to 20. The number of “not free” members, on the other hand, has risen from 9 to 13. The remaining country members are rated “partly free”. Freedom House said that as a result, the HRC is unable to tackle the most serious human rights violations and even covers some of them up.

The original UN human rights body, the Human Rights Commission, was disbanded following years of criticism. Ironically, the final straw for many was the appointment of Libya to the chairmanship of the body.

The council is made up of 47 member nations, each elected for three years. The seats are apportioned by region, and every year a third of the body's seats are up for renewal.

In May 2010, Libya and 13 other nations ran unopposed for 14 of the council's seats. Regional groups for the first time put forward the same number of candidates as the number of seats available to them, meaning they were elected without competition.

Cracks in the Iranian Monolith

The Iranian regime loves to boast of its military strength, international clout and hold on domestic power. Much of this is accepted by outside experts, but in fact the regime is in trouble. Iran's leaders have lost legitimacy in the eyes of the people, are unable to manage the country's many problems, face a growing opposition, and are openly fighting with one another.

A few weeks ago, according to official and private reports, the Iranian air force shot down three drones near the southwestern city of Bushehr, where a Russian-supplied nuclear reactor has just started up. When the Revolutionary Guards inspected the debris, they expected to find proof of high-altitude spying. Instead, the Guards had to report to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that the air force had blasted Iran's own unmanned aircraft out of the sky.

Apparently, according to official Iranian press accounts, the Iranian military had created a special unit to deploy the drones—some for surveillance and others, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bragged on Sunday, to carry bombs—but hadn't informed the air force.

These incidents have taken place against a general backdrop of internal conflict within the regime. In late July, Mohammad Ali Jaffari, commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime's Praetorian Guard, admitted publicly that many top officers were supporters of the opposition Green Movement. Shortly thereafter, according to official government announcements, some 250 officers suddenly resigned. In the past weeks, several journalists from the Guards' FARS news agency have defected, some to France and others to the United States.

Meanwhile, Iran has suffered a series of attacks against its petroleum industry. As Iranian media reported (detailed in the London Telegraph), a pipeline to Turkey was blown up last month, most likely by Kurdish oppositionists. Soon afterwards there was an explosion in a natural gas pipeline near Tabriz.

That was followed by a spectacular blast at the Pardis petrochemical plant in Assalouye, which—being a major facility for converting natural gas to fuel for vehicles—is central to Iranian efforts to cope with the new United Nations, U.S. and European Union sanctions against refined petroleum products.

The same plant was similarly sabotaged six months ago. No one has taken responsibility for that attack, but it suggests an activist opposition with considerable "inside" assistance.

That opposition is fed by enduring social and economic crises. Unemployment last month reached 15% and is as high as 45% in some regions. In Tehran, health officials warned pregnant women and mothers of young children not to drink the water. Electrical failures are widespread. Taxi drivers have been striking around the country this summer, some because of the long lines at gas stations and others because of a shortage of compressed natural gas. The sanctions seem to be having an effect.

As these pressures have mounted, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—against whom Iranians chant "Death to the Dictator!" at public gatherings and nightly from their rooftops—has sought to reaffirm his authority. Late last month he issued a fatwa declaring that his opinions had a status equal to those of the prophet Mohammed. The fatwa caused such consternation that it was removed from his website, then quietly returned a few days later.

Shortly thereafter, the country celebrated the funeral of Iran's most cherished performer, the singer Mohammed Nouri. Nouri was no dissident and was often praised by clerics as a "pious" man. But Mr. Khamenei chose the moment to issue a broad fatwa against music. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," he declared.

Only "Western music" had previously been banned by Mr. Khamenei, and Iranian youth reacted with predictable hostility. In the days that followed, a Canadian-made remix of the 1979 Pink Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall" went viral on the Internet with the new chorus, "Hey Ayatollah, leave those kids alone."

President Ahmadinejad has also tried to buttress his popular support, first by claiming that "stupid Zionists" were trying to kill him, and then by putting out a story—which few in Iran took seriously—of an assassination attempt on his motorcade. As usual, the "report" went through various iterations: first it was a grenade, then a firecracker, then nothing at all.

Even the government's campaign of repression seems increasingly sloppy. Recently the Judiciary Minister, in an extraordinary case of buck-passing, asked Mr. Khamenei for permission to execute 1,120 prisoners—as if the minister could imagine being prosecuted himself some day, and he wanted to be able to say it was Mr. Khamenei's fault.

These various debacles have strengthened the Green Movement, and opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi continue to launch serious verbal attacks on the regime. When the head of the powerful Guardian Council recently accused the Greens of receiving money from the Saudis and the Americans, Mr. Karroubi gave him the back of his hand: "If I am a conspirator because I object [to the rigged presidential election], then you are a partner of those who stole this nation's vote and are disloyal to the nation."

To add insult, Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mousavi's firebrand wife, wryly commented that the accusation would "make a cooked chicken laugh." Mr. Mousavi himself said that the Islamic Republic has become worse than the shah's regime, because "religious tyranny is the worst form of tyranny."

Challenges to the regime now come even from prisoners. When Mr. Ahmadinejad challenged Barack Obama to a debate this month, a Green Movement website reported with grim admiration that five journalists in Tehran's infamous Evin Prison had invited Mr. Ahmadinejad to come to jail and debate them.

Very little of this news reaches a mass Western audience, and one wonders to what extent Western governments understand what's going on. If they do, their failure to support the democratic revolutionaries is all the more lamentable.

Source:Michael Ledeen

2,000 year-old intact carving of Cupid found in Jerusalem

An intact carving of Cupid made of blue onyx dating from the Roman period was unearthed in the parking lot near the City of David, the Antiquities Authority announced on Monday.

The 2,000-year-old Cupid, about a centimeter long, was probably from a piece of jewelry. The announcement was made ahead of the 11th annual City of David Archeology Conference, which will take place on Wednesday at the City of David complex and include a presentation of recent finds. The cupid discovery was made by Dr.

Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, both of the Antiquities Authority, and funded by the City of David Foundation.

“This discovery, together with other important finds that we uncovered from this unusual, large Roman structure at the City of David, contribute significantly to our understanding of the nature of Jerusalem’s Roman Period,” Ben-Ami said in a statement.

The inlaid stone features cupid holding an upsidedown torch, which was used to symbolize the cessation of life. The piece is part of a series of archeological finds in the area that deal with images of mourning.

The conference will feature a host of archeologists and professors exploring topics such as mapping the Mount of Olives cemetery, discoveries in the Givati parking lot (in addition to the carving), and excavations of the Shiloah pool. The confab is expected to attract 1,400 people, making it one of the largest archeological conferences in Israel, according to Udi Ragones, the spokesman for the City of David and Elad, the private organization that runs the park.

Elad has drawn condemnation from activists who say that the organization’s efforts to move Jews into Silwan make it a bad choice to privately administer a park located in the east Jerusalem neighborhood. The Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement, known for organizing weekly protests in the neighborhood following the eviction of two Arab families in August 2009, is organizing a demonstration outside Wednesday’s conference.

“We want to come and bring up the point that it is a political conference, that their goals are political and that anyone taking part in this conference is in actuality supporting the actions of the settlers in Silwan, which is throwing people out of their homes, taking their land and deeply harming the residents of Silwan,” said Avner Inbar, a spokesman for the Solidarity Movement.

Inbar said Silwan residents had asked for their help in organizing a protest, and he expected anywhere from 100 to 150 demonstrators.

“Silwan is a really tense place, and Elad is just showing this off to tourists as an amusement park of archeology, saying, ‘Look how great this is, we found something here, something else here,’” he said. “They have ads in all the papers in Jerusalem, saying you should come on Succot with your kids for a fun day the City of David. It’s really nice that you can come with your kids and have a fun day, but there are 30,000 residents in Silwan and it’s not fun for them at all.”

“The attendees looked at [the protesters] with contempt.

They understood that these people are just trying to stop the excavations in Jerusalem, but the people who come to this conference want just the opposite,” Elad’s Ragones said.

He dismissed the planned protest, saying they tried the same tactic last year and only five protesters showed up.

Rosh Hashanah

...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game.

There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. More on this concept at Days of Awe.

The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts (I think) 10 seconds minimum. Click the shofar above to hear an approximation of the sound of Tekiah Shevarim-Teruah Tekiah. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays.

Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. This was the second Jewish religious practice I was ever exposed to (the first one: lighting Chanukkah candles), and I highly recommend it. It's yummy. We also dip bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason.

Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. When the first day occurs on Shabbat, many synagogues observe Tashlikh on Sunday afternoon, to avoid carrying (the bread) on Shabbat.

Religious services for the holiday focus on the concept of G-d's sovereignty.

The common greeting at this time is L'shanah tovah ("for a good year"). This is a shortening of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." More on that concept at Days of Awe.

You may notice that the Bible speaks of Rosh Hashanah as occurring on the first day of the seventh month. The first month of the Jewish calendar is Nissan, occurring in March and April. Why, then, does the Jewish "new year" occur in Tishri, the seventh month?

Judaism has several different "new years," a concept which may seem strange at first, but think of it this way: the American "new year" starts in January, but the new "school year" starts in September, and many businesses have "fiscal years" that start at various times of the year. In Judaism, Nissan 1 is the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings and months on the calendar, Elul 1 (in August) is the new year for the tithing of animals, Shevat 15 (in February) is the new year for trees (determining when first fruits can be eaten, etc.), and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years (when we increase the year number. Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin at this time).

Jewish Year 5772: sunset September 28, 2011 - nightfall September 30, 2011

Jewish Year 5773: sunset September 16, 2012 - nightfall September 18, 2012