"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

DAILY IOE ROUND UP

VIA: Islam In Europe
News and Opinions about the Muslim
and Islamic Community in Europe and the West

Wrong language means no medical help?
In Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, a regional hospital doctor refused treatment to a Russian-speaking patient who could not explain his symptoms in the country’s official language.

According to the Novosti.err.ee portal, Dmitry Smolnikov, a diver, had approached the hospital after receiving a jaw injury during an unsuccessful plunge. Smolnikov waited to be seen by the oral surgeon for three weeks.

When he finally got an appointment, he entered the doctor’s office and tried to explain his condition in Russian. He was then requested to speak Estonian.
Denmark demands from Obama
From Danish: Danish climate minister Connie Hedegaard says she finds it hard to understand how an American president can accept the Noble prize in Oslo, just a few hundred kilometers away from Copenhagen, for his ability to creat new hope, and at the same time send an empty-handed delegation to the climate summit.
Norwegian politician forecasted 6 million Jews would perish
From Norwegian: In 1943 Haakon Lie wrote a letter to The Nation about antisemtiism in Norway, the persecution of Jews and the deportation to German concentration camps.

Later that year he said in an interview with Nordisk Tidende (Norwegian newspaper in US), that everything that happened in Norway, Poland, even to the Germans, is nothing compared with the extinction of 6 million Jews, of a whole people.
South Africans 'fought in Gaza'
(+ Al Jazeera YouTube clip)

South African Lawfare
Judah Grunstein | Bio | 02 Nov 2009

Another lawfare development to keep your eye on, this one in South Africa. Apparently the investigations that went into the Goldstone Report also turned up evidence of South African nationals fighting in Gaza on behalf of the IDF. It's not clear from the article in what capacity they were fighting, that is, whether they were contractors, mercenaries or Jewish South Africans who enlisted in the IDF out of solidarity. In any event, a group of South African lawyers is trying to build the case for a war crimes investigation.

We've already seen some of the legal difficulties that have arisen with regard to holding U.S. military contractors responsible for criminal conduct under U.S. military or civilian justice. In fact, it has often seemed as if there is a legal loophole that makes prosecuting such conduct next to impossible.

But the U.S. military effort in Iraq and Afghanistan has made use of non-American military contractors, recruited by subcontractors in Latin America and Eastern Europe. (David Axe reported on the latter in his WPR column some months back.) Which means that theoretically, these contractors could be held responsible in their countries of origin.

So the South Africa case could be a precedent-setting one worth watching.
CareNow apologizes to Muslim job applicant
CareNow, a medical group that operates 22 facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has apologized to a Muslim job applicant who was told a “no hat” policy would make it impossible for her to wear her hijab at work.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday that Coppell-based CareNow has apologized to the applicant and added that it will clarify its policies to ensure employees are aware of what religious accommodations to make for employees.

The job applicant, Hena Zaki, is a doctor, according to the group.

CAIR sent a letter to CareNow advising them that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that employers “reasonably accommodate” an employee’s religious practices.

CareNow President Tim Miller responded to CAIR's letter via e-mail on Oct. 31.

“We regret the misunderstanding with Dr. Zaki," Miller wrote in the e-mail. "We will clarify our policy and continue to provide training to our current employees to try to prevent future misunderstandings. We look forward to sitting down with Dr. Zaki and discussing potential job opportunities. Bright, young doctors like her are just what we're looking for."
Wilders warns against "climate of hate"
Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, has called Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan (of the Labour Party) and Democrats D66 leader Alexander Pechtold "political accomplices" of Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

Five years ago today, the Dutch filmmaker was stabbed to death in the street by a radical young Muslim who felt he had insulted Islam. Theo van Gogh was well known for his outspoken anti-Islamic views and was the maker of the controversial film Submission. The murder was the second political murder in recent history in the Netherlands and sent shockwaves through the country. (The first came when politician Pim Fortuyn was murdered shortly before the elections in May 2002.)

Mr Wilders says comments by the two politicians have contributed to "a climate of hate and violence against him and his party." He added that the Labour Party and D66 had not learnt anything from the murder of Pim Fortuyn. The two politicians have typified the Freedom Party as extreme right and a danger to the constitutional state at the weekend.

Mr Wilders believes that this "demonisation and the denouncements" were made out of fear of the Freedom Party's success. He warned: "If anything ever happens to me or my party that everyone will know that Van der Laan and Pechtold contributed to a climate that made it seem justified to some madmen."

The Friends of Pim Fortuyn foundation is holding a public commemoration of Theo van Gogh on the spot where he died this afternoon. A number of debates have also been organised to mark the anniversary of his death.
Wilders 'is undermining democracy': report
Monday 02 November 2009

Geert Wilders' PVV party is an 'extreme right-wing' grouping and a threat to social cohesion and democracy, according to a report on radicalism in the Netherlands by three academics for the home affairs ministry, the Volkskrant reported at the weekend.

The report, which is not yet finalised, looks at polarisation and radicalism in the Netherlands. Ministers and the researchers are still discussing the final changes but sources say ministers want to water down the conclusions because of the political sensitivity, the paper says.

As it now stands, the report describes the PVV as an 'extreme right-wing party which is mobilising anti-Islam sentiment and hatred of governmental system', theVolkskrant states.
Fetuses wrongly declared dead
National News | 2009-11-02
In twenty four cases during the last three years, doctors have unintentionally been giving pregnant mothers the false piece of information that their fetuses have died.

The Swedish radio has investigated reports about mistakes in the medical sector and hospitals. The result shows that this mistake has happened at least twenty four times during the last three years. In half of the cases, the women who got the information that their fetus has died, was given abortion pills. When they returned to the doctor, they learned that it was not dead at all, but perfectaly healthy

According to the guidelines, two separate ultrasound examinations shall always be performed to avoid mistakes like this, but this is not always the case.
'Love Jihad' a misinformation campaign: Kerala Muslim outfits
KOZHIKODE: Muslim outfits in Kerala today said the 'love jihad', where girls from other religious background are allegedly lured to marriage and
converted to Islam, is a "malicious-and misinformation campaign" by Sangh Parivar outfits.

The term 'love jihad' is a misconceived notion "raked up" by Sangh Parivar outfits and reference of such a term by Constitutional establishments like the judiciary "is not a good sign", a joint statement by various prominent Muslim leaders here said.

"The misinformation campaign against the non-existent organisation in the name of 'Love Jihad' would only lead to vitiating the prevailing communal harmony and create suspicion among various communities and the parties concerned should keep themselves away from levelling unsubstantiated charges," the statement said.
No dating at this University + pictures
MALAYSIA - THE International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has become the first "no dating place" in the country.

A banner has been put up at its Gombak campus to warn the students from dating in the university compound.

The banner reads: "IIUM is an Islamic territory. No dating. Allah is watching us."
One of the weirdest headlines I've seen: Clinton wishes he had left White House "in a coffin"
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Monday he would have preferred to leave the White House in a coffin because he loved being commander in chief, but signaled his political life is over.

"It's good that we have a (term) limit. Otherwise I would have stayed until I was carried away in a coffin. Or defeated in an election," Clinton said at a conference in Istanbul. "I loved doing the job."
VIA: Islam In Europe
News and Opinions about the Muslim
and Islamic Community in Europe and the West

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