German Court Fines British Bishop for Holocaust Denial
By James Meikle
The Guardian, April 16, 2010
"A British Roman Catholic bishop, who had been excommunicated and rehabilitated, was fined €10,000 (£8,765) by a German court yesterday for denying the Holocaust during a Swedish television interview. Richard Williamson was found guilty of incitement for saying he did not believe millions of Jews were killed during the Second World War and that 'only 200,000 to 300,000' had died in Nazi death camps. Court spokesman Bernhard Schneider said that Judge Karin Frahm said in her ruling that the bishop could not have expected that the clip would show up on YouTube and be seen directly in Germany. She had therefore reduced the fine. Williamson had been barred from attending the hearing, in the Bavarian city of Regensburg, or making media statements by the order of which he is a member, the ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X(SSPX). Denying the Holocaust is a hate crime in Germany but Williamson's lawyer, Matthias Lossmann, said he had explicitly told the Swedish crew conducting the interview not to broadcast it there. He had not yet decided whether to appeal the judgement. The journalists who conducted the interview also ignored a court order to attend the trial, Lossmann claimed, leaving the judge to rely on written statements as testimony.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
United States / Fascism
Chomsky Warns of Risk of Fascism in America
By Matthew Rothschild
The Progressive, April 12, 2010
"Noam Chomsky, the leading leftwing intellectual, warned last week that fascism may be coming to the United States. 'I'm just old enough to have heard a number of Hitler's speeches on the radio,' he said, 'and I have a memory of the texture and the tone of the cheering mobs, and I have the dread sense of the dark clouds of fascism gathering' here at home. Chomsky was speaking to more than 1,000 people at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, where he received the University of Wisconsin's A.E. Havens Center's award for lifetime contribution to critical scholarship. 'The level of anger and fear is like nothing I can compare in my lifetime,' he said. He cited a statistic from a recent poll showing that half the unaffiliated voters say the average tea party member is closer to them than anyone else. 'Ridiculing the tea party shenanigans is a serious error,' Chomsky said. Their attitudes 'are understandable,' he said. 'For over 30 years, real incomes have stagnated or declined. This is in large part the consequence of the decision in the 1970s to financialize the economy.' There is class resentment, he noted. ... He said 'the colossal toll of the institutional crimes of state capitalism' is what is fueling “the indignation and rage of those cast aside.' 'People want some answers,' Chomsky said. 'They are hearing answers from only one place: Fox, talk radio, and Sarah Palin.' Chomsky invoked Germany during the Weimar Republic, and drew a parallel between it and the United States.
By Matthew Rothschild
The Progressive, April 12, 2010
"Noam Chomsky, the leading leftwing intellectual, warned last week that fascism may be coming to the United States. 'I'm just old enough to have heard a number of Hitler's speeches on the radio,' he said, 'and I have a memory of the texture and the tone of the cheering mobs, and I have the dread sense of the dark clouds of fascism gathering' here at home. Chomsky was speaking to more than 1,000 people at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, where he received the University of Wisconsin's A.E. Havens Center's award for lifetime contribution to critical scholarship. 'The level of anger and fear is like nothing I can compare in my lifetime,' he said. He cited a statistic from a recent poll showing that half the unaffiliated voters say the average tea party member is closer to them than anyone else. 'Ridiculing the tea party shenanigans is a serious error,' Chomsky said. Their attitudes 'are understandable,' he said. 'For over 30 years, real incomes have stagnated or declined. This is in large part the consequence of the decision in the 1970s to financialize the economy.' There is class resentment, he noted. ... He said 'the colossal toll of the institutional crimes of state capitalism' is what is fueling “the indignation and rage of those cast aside.' 'People want some answers,' Chomsky said. 'They are hearing answers from only one place: Fox, talk radio, and Sarah Palin.' Chomsky invoked Germany during the Weimar Republic, and drew a parallel between it and the United States.
Genocide in History / Genocide Prevention
A Fiery Scholar on the Trail of Genocide and Its Causes
By Mike Hale
The New York Times, April 13, 2010
"Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, the controversial scholar who has specialized in the study of mass murder in books like 'Hitler's Willing Executioners' and 'A Moral Reckoning,' has a reputation for combativeness. 'Worse Than War,' Wednesday night on PBS, won't change that. Its dramatic high point involves Mr. Goldhagen's stalking Efraín Ríos Montt, the former dictator, through the halls of Guatemala's Parliament until Mr. Ríos Montt agrees to talk about the killings of Mayan villagers during his time as ruler. As a smiling Mr. Ríos Montt says that he would be in jail if he were responsible for the deaths of 200,000 Mayans, Mr. Goldhagen’s voice on the soundtrack says, 'Staring into the eyes of this killer, I feel outrage and disgust.' 'Worse Than War' is a two-hour television companion to Mr. Goldhagen's 2009 book of the same title, an examination of the causes of genocide and ethnic cleansing along with his recommendations for how to prevent them. We see him visiting scenes of mass murder in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, Guatemala and Germany, where he talks to survivors and perpetrators, often posed within beautifully photographed landscapes. (The director of photography was Rod Bachar.) The stories are both horrifying and depressingly familiar, sometimes accompanied by disturbing archival footage of the killers in action.
By Mike Hale
The New York Times, April 13, 2010
"Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, the controversial scholar who has specialized in the study of mass murder in books like 'Hitler's Willing Executioners' and 'A Moral Reckoning,' has a reputation for combativeness. 'Worse Than War,' Wednesday night on PBS, won't change that. Its dramatic high point involves Mr. Goldhagen's stalking Efraín Ríos Montt, the former dictator, through the halls of Guatemala's Parliament until Mr. Ríos Montt agrees to talk about the killings of Mayan villagers during his time as ruler. As a smiling Mr. Ríos Montt says that he would be in jail if he were responsible for the deaths of 200,000 Mayans, Mr. Goldhagen’s voice on the soundtrack says, 'Staring into the eyes of this killer, I feel outrage and disgust.' 'Worse Than War' is a two-hour television companion to Mr. Goldhagen's 2009 book of the same title, an examination of the causes of genocide and ethnic cleansing along with his recommendations for how to prevent them. We see him visiting scenes of mass murder in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, Guatemala and Germany, where he talks to survivors and perpetrators, often posed within beautifully photographed landscapes. (The director of photography was Rod Bachar.) The stories are both horrifying and depressingly familiar, sometimes accompanied by disturbing archival footage of the killers in action.
Bosnian Genocide / International Tribunals
Serbs Carved Cross into My Chest, Muslim Tells Radovan Karadzic War Crimes Trial
Agence France-Presse dispatch in The Telegraph, April 14, 2010
"A Muslim witness in war crimes trial opened his shirt and showed his scars to former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.. The man told the court that he was haunted by nightmares of fellow Muslim prisoners dying beside him. Under cross-examination by Mr. Karadzic, who accused him of lying, Ahmet Zulic pulled open his shirt on the witness stand, pointed to his chest and told the bench: 'Right here I have a cross carved in my skin. You can see the cross carved on my chest.' Mr. Karadzic's genocide trial had resumed today after a six-week delay with the evidence of Mr. Zulic, the prosecution's first witness, in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The former president of the self-declared Bosnian Serb state is acting as his own defence lawyer. Mr. Zulic, now 62, claims he was arrested in a Serb clampdown on his village, Mahala, a predominantly Muslim part of Sanski Most town in northwestern Bosnia in June 1992. He was held by Serb forces at two detention camps for five months, during which time he said he was severely beaten, starved and forced to witness the executions of fellow detainees.
Agence France-Presse dispatch in The Telegraph, April 14, 2010
"A Muslim witness in war crimes trial opened his shirt and showed his scars to former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.. The man told the court that he was haunted by nightmares of fellow Muslim prisoners dying beside him. Under cross-examination by Mr. Karadzic, who accused him of lying, Ahmet Zulic pulled open his shirt on the witness stand, pointed to his chest and told the bench: 'Right here I have a cross carved in my skin. You can see the cross carved on my chest.' Mr. Karadzic's genocide trial had resumed today after a six-week delay with the evidence of Mr. Zulic, the prosecution's first witness, in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The former president of the self-declared Bosnian Serb state is acting as his own defence lawyer. Mr. Zulic, now 62, claims he was arrested in a Serb clampdown on his village, Mahala, a predominantly Muslim part of Sanski Most town in northwestern Bosnia in June 1992. He was held by Serb forces at two detention camps for five months, during which time he said he was severely beaten, starved and forced to witness the executions of fellow detainees.
Argentina / Spain / Universal Jurisdiction
Argentina Tries Probing Crimes of Franco's Spain
By Almudena Calatrava
Associated Press dispatch on Yahoo! News, April 14, 2010
"Argentine human rights groups are turning the tables on Spain, hoping to open a judicial probe of murders and disappearances committed during the Spanish Civil War and the early years of Gen. Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Lawyers representing Argentine relatives of three Spaniards killed during the 1936-39 war will ask the federal courts here Wednesday to open an investigation, and hope to add many more cases in the months to come. Such cross-border human rights probes have long been the specialty of Spain's crusading investigative judge Baltasar Garzon, whose case against Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet in 1998 helped lead to the undoing of amnesties that had protected Latin America's dictators. But Garzon himself now faces a potentially career-ending trial on charges of abusing his authority by opening an investigation into deaths and disappearances in Franco's Spain. So Garzon's supporters now hope to launch the same investigation, citing the same principles of international law -- from Buenos Aires. 'We have many hopes for this case,' said Santiago Macias, vice president of Spain's Association for the Recuperation of Historic Memory, which helps Spaniards search common graves for anti-Franco victims of the civil war and dictatorship. Attorney Carlos Slepoy, a specialist in human rights law, told The Associated Press the plaintiffs are invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction, which provides that genocide and crimes against humanity 'can be prosecuted by the courts of any country.' 'It's a shame that in democracy we have to seek Argentine justice, the justice system of another country, to investigate an issue that in our supposedly strong democracy we haven't been able to do,' Macias told the AP before joining the group in Buenos Aires. 'The same thing happened in Argentina when Spanish justice was the first to throw down the glove' in investigating human rights crimes committed during Argentina's 1976-83 dictatorship, Macias said. [...]"
By Almudena Calatrava
Associated Press dispatch on Yahoo! News, April 14, 2010
"Argentine human rights groups are turning the tables on Spain, hoping to open a judicial probe of murders and disappearances committed during the Spanish Civil War and the early years of Gen. Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Lawyers representing Argentine relatives of three Spaniards killed during the 1936-39 war will ask the federal courts here Wednesday to open an investigation, and hope to add many more cases in the months to come. Such cross-border human rights probes have long been the specialty of Spain's crusading investigative judge Baltasar Garzon, whose case against Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet in 1998 helped lead to the undoing of amnesties that had protected Latin America's dictators. But Garzon himself now faces a potentially career-ending trial on charges of abusing his authority by opening an investigation into deaths and disappearances in Franco's Spain. So Garzon's supporters now hope to launch the same investigation, citing the same principles of international law -- from Buenos Aires. 'We have many hopes for this case,' said Santiago Macias, vice president of Spain's Association for the Recuperation of Historic Memory, which helps Spaniards search common graves for anti-Franco victims of the civil war and dictatorship. Attorney Carlos Slepoy, a specialist in human rights law, told The Associated Press the plaintiffs are invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction, which provides that genocide and crimes against humanity 'can be prosecuted by the courts of any country.' 'It's a shame that in democracy we have to seek Argentine justice, the justice system of another country, to investigate an issue that in our supposedly strong democracy we haven't been able to do,' Macias told the AP before joining the group in Buenos Aires. 'The same thing happened in Argentina when Spanish justice was the first to throw down the glove' in investigating human rights crimes committed during Argentina's 1976-83 dictatorship, Macias said. [...]"
Israel / Palestine
Suppressing Book Bolsters Settlers
By Seth Freedman
The Guardian, April 14, 2010
"Targeting Israeli businesses via the threat of boycotts is usually the preserve of radical forces from abroad, but the latest sanctions storm to hit the country is very much an internal affair. Tzomet Sefarim, one of the nation's largest booksellers, this week bowed to intense pressure from rightwing critics to stop selling The National Left, a political pamphlet which heavily criticises the settler movement. According to a Tzomet Sefarim spokesman, the extraordinary decision to withdraw the book was taken despite the company being 'a chain for all of the people of Israel [and having] no political affiliation.' Instead, the company acted 'because we received many complaints that the book hurts the feelings of some of our customers, [so] we decided to stop selling it.' That the authors are bitterly opposed to the settlement enterprise is indisputable: settlers are referred to as 'messianic madmen' and their children branded 'brainwashed zombies'; elsewhere, the settler movement is accused of being 'an industry that produces nothing but apartheid and destroys the Israel that we knew and loved.' However, such language is far from unusual in the political cauldron that is modern-day Israel, and given the scathing abuse routinely levelled at the Israeli left by settler leaders, the campaign to ban the pamphlet appears a hugely hypocritical endeavour.
By Seth Freedman
The Guardian, April 14, 2010
"Targeting Israeli businesses via the threat of boycotts is usually the preserve of radical forces from abroad, but the latest sanctions storm to hit the country is very much an internal affair. Tzomet Sefarim, one of the nation's largest booksellers, this week bowed to intense pressure from rightwing critics to stop selling The National Left, a political pamphlet which heavily criticises the settler movement. According to a Tzomet Sefarim spokesman, the extraordinary decision to withdraw the book was taken despite the company being 'a chain for all of the people of Israel [and having] no political affiliation.' Instead, the company acted 'because we received many complaints that the book hurts the feelings of some of our customers, [so] we decided to stop selling it.' That the authors are bitterly opposed to the settlement enterprise is indisputable: settlers are referred to as 'messianic madmen' and their children branded 'brainwashed zombies'; elsewhere, the settler movement is accused of being 'an industry that produces nothing but apartheid and destroys the Israel that we knew and loved.' However, such language is far from unusual in the political cauldron that is modern-day Israel, and given the scathing abuse routinely levelled at the Israeli left by settler leaders, the campaign to ban the pamphlet appears a hugely hypocritical endeavour.
Maternal Mortality
Maternal Deaths Decline Sharply Across the Globe
By Denise Grady
The New York Times, April 13, 2010
"For the first time in decades, researchers are reporting a significant drop worldwide in the number of women dying each year from pregnancy and childbirth, to about 342,900 in 2008 from 526,300 in 1980. The findings, published in the medical journal The Lancet, challenge the prevailing view of maternal mortality as an intractable problem that has defied every effort to solve it. 'The overall message, for the first time in a generation, is one of persistent and welcome progress,' the journal's editor, Dr. Richard Horton, wrote in a comment accompanying the article, published online on Monday. The study cited a number of reasons for the improvement: lower pregnancy rates in some countries; higher income, which improves nutrition and access to health care; more education for women; and the increasing availability of 'skilled attendants' -- people with some medical training -- to help women give birth. Improvements in large countries like India and China helped to drive down the overall death rates. But some advocates for women's health tried to pressure The Lancet into delaying publication of the new findings, fearing that good news would detract from the urgency of their cause, Dr. Horton said in a telephone interview.
By Denise Grady
The New York Times, April 13, 2010
"For the first time in decades, researchers are reporting a significant drop worldwide in the number of women dying each year from pregnancy and childbirth, to about 342,900 in 2008 from 526,300 in 1980. The findings, published in the medical journal The Lancet, challenge the prevailing view of maternal mortality as an intractable problem that has defied every effort to solve it. 'The overall message, for the first time in a generation, is one of persistent and welcome progress,' the journal's editor, Dr. Richard Horton, wrote in a comment accompanying the article, published online on Monday. The study cited a number of reasons for the improvement: lower pregnancy rates in some countries; higher income, which improves nutrition and access to health care; more education for women; and the increasing availability of 'skilled attendants' -- people with some medical training -- to help women give birth. Improvements in large countries like India and China helped to drive down the overall death rates. But some advocates for women's health tried to pressure The Lancet into delaying publication of the new findings, fearing that good news would detract from the urgency of their cause, Dr. Horton said in a telephone interview.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
United Kingdom / Yemeni Jews
Persecuted Yemeni Jews To Be Given Sanctuary in Britain
By Jerome Taylor
The Independent, April 14, 2010
"Britain is on the verge of signing a secret deal to allow a small number of Yemeni Jews facing severe persecution in their home country to move to the UK, The Independent has learnt. The tentative agreement is the product of months of painstaking negotiations between the Foreign Office and the Yemeni authorities, who have struggled to contain rising anti-Jewish sentiment as they battle a sectarian insurgency in the north and growing al-Qa'ida-inspired militancy. An estimated 20 or 30 families living in the northern town of Raida already have relatives living in the UK. They have been desperately trying to seek sanctuary here amid rising hate attacks, murders and forced conversions by the hostile Shia al-Houthi tribe, which dominates Yemen's mountainous border with Saudi Arabia. Assaults against the country's small Jewish community intensified to such a level last year that the US State Department organised a series of airlifts to evacuate more than 100 Jews with connections to the Yemeni community already living in America.
By Jerome Taylor
The Independent, April 14, 2010
"Britain is on the verge of signing a secret deal to allow a small number of Yemeni Jews facing severe persecution in their home country to move to the UK, The Independent has learnt. The tentative agreement is the product of months of painstaking negotiations between the Foreign Office and the Yemeni authorities, who have struggled to contain rising anti-Jewish sentiment as they battle a sectarian insurgency in the north and growing al-Qa'ida-inspired militancy. An estimated 20 or 30 families living in the northern town of Raida already have relatives living in the UK. They have been desperately trying to seek sanctuary here amid rising hate attacks, murders and forced conversions by the hostile Shia al-Houthi tribe, which dominates Yemen's mountainous border with Saudi Arabia. Assaults against the country's small Jewish community intensified to such a level last year that the US State Department organised a series of airlifts to evacuate more than 100 Jews with connections to the Yemeni community already living in America.
Israel / Jewish Holocaust
Israel Mourns and Remembers Victims of the Holocaust
BBC Online, April 12, 2010
"Israel came to a halt as citizens marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis during World War II. Sirens rang out across the country bringing drivers to halt, and they stood by their cars for two minutes' silent reflection. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the occasion to warn against what he called a new threat to Jews from Iran. There are more than 207,000 holocaust survivors living in Israel. There are 63,000 fewer survivors remaining compared to two years ago, figures show. On the front page of one of the country's leading circulation Hebrew daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahranoth, there was a black and white picture of a bearded polish man, covered in a prayer shawl, kneeling before two Nazi officers, clenching his fists. It was a picture of the maternal grandfather of Meir Dagan, the head of Israel's spy agency Mossad, in the moment before he was executed by the Nazis. It comes from Mr. Dagan's personal library. 'I see that photo every day and vow that a thing like that will not happen again,' he said. ... At Jerusalem's Yad Vashem, the state memorial authority, President Shimon Peres and Mr. Netanyahu joined other lawmakers and cabinet minister in reading out the names of family members killed in the Nazi death camps. 'If we have learned anything from the Holocaust, it is that we must not be silent or be deterred in the face of evil,' Mr. Netanyahu said. ... Television and radio stations gave their entire day's programming over to the Holocaust. [...]"
BBC Online, April 12, 2010
"Israel came to a halt as citizens marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis during World War II. Sirens rang out across the country bringing drivers to halt, and they stood by their cars for two minutes' silent reflection. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the occasion to warn against what he called a new threat to Jews from Iran. There are more than 207,000 holocaust survivors living in Israel. There are 63,000 fewer survivors remaining compared to two years ago, figures show. On the front page of one of the country's leading circulation Hebrew daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahranoth, there was a black and white picture of a bearded polish man, covered in a prayer shawl, kneeling before two Nazi officers, clenching his fists. It was a picture of the maternal grandfather of Meir Dagan, the head of Israel's spy agency Mossad, in the moment before he was executed by the Nazis. It comes from Mr. Dagan's personal library. 'I see that photo every day and vow that a thing like that will not happen again,' he said. ... At Jerusalem's Yad Vashem, the state memorial authority, President Shimon Peres and Mr. Netanyahu joined other lawmakers and cabinet minister in reading out the names of family members killed in the Nazi death camps. 'If we have learned anything from the Holocaust, it is that we must not be silent or be deterred in the face of evil,' Mr. Netanyahu said. ... Television and radio stations gave their entire day's programming over to the Holocaust. [...]"
Bosnian Genocide / International Tribunals
Karadzic Genocide Trial to Hear from 1st Witness
By Mike Corder
Associated Press dispatch on Yahoo! News, April 13, 2010
"A Bosnian Muslim opened witness testimony in Radovan Karadzic's genocide trial Tuesday by telling judges his elderly father-in-law was burned alive during the brutal Serb take-over of his village in 1992 at the outset of the Bosnian war. Ahmet Zulic said his father-in-law was killed by Serbs 'mopping up' survivors of an artillery attack on the mainly Muslim village near Sanski Most, in northwestern Bosnia, in May 1992. Zulic also watched Serbs force about 20 Muslim men to dig their own graves and then slashed their throats or shot them, prosecutor Ann Sutherland told judges. Sutherland said Zulic was held in brutal Bosnian Serb-run detention facilities from June to November 1992, during which time his weight dropped from 90 to 55 kilograms (from 198 to 121 pounds). The chilling testimony was intended to illustrate the savage campaign early in the 1992-95 war to carve out an ethnically pure Serb ministate in Bosnia.
By Mike Corder
Associated Press dispatch on Yahoo! News, April 13, 2010
"A Bosnian Muslim opened witness testimony in Radovan Karadzic's genocide trial Tuesday by telling judges his elderly father-in-law was burned alive during the brutal Serb take-over of his village in 1992 at the outset of the Bosnian war. Ahmet Zulic said his father-in-law was killed by Serbs 'mopping up' survivors of an artillery attack on the mainly Muslim village near Sanski Most, in northwestern Bosnia, in May 1992. Zulic also watched Serbs force about 20 Muslim men to dig their own graves and then slashed their throats or shot them, prosecutor Ann Sutherland told judges. Sutherland said Zulic was held in brutal Bosnian Serb-run detention facilities from June to November 1992, during which time his weight dropped from 90 to 55 kilograms (from 198 to 121 pounds). The chilling testimony was intended to illustrate the savage campaign early in the 1992-95 war to carve out an ethnically pure Serb ministate in Bosnia.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Psychology of Genocide
Brain Circuits Same for Empathy, Violence
UPI.com, April 12, 2010
"The same parts of the brain that deal with violence also deal with empathy, researchers in Spain said. Lead author Luis Moya Albiol of the Universidad de Valencia in Spain said the prefrontal and temporal cortex of the brain, the brain's amygdala and other features of the limbic system -- parts of the brains that process emotional reactions -- play a role in all situations involving empathy. Moya Albiol said these parts of the brain overlap in a surprising way with those that regulate aggression and violence. 'Just as our species could be considered the most violent, since we are capable of serial killings, genocide and other atrocities, we are also the most empathetic species, which would seem to be the other side of the coin,' Moya Albiol said in a statement. 'We all know that encouraging empathy has an inhibiting effect on violence, but this may not only be a social question but also a biological one -- stimulation of these neuronal circuits in one direction reduces their activity in the other.' The findings are published in the Spanish journal Revista de Neurologia."
[n.b. This is the complete text of the dispatch.]
UPI.com, April 12, 2010
"The same parts of the brain that deal with violence also deal with empathy, researchers in Spain said. Lead author Luis Moya Albiol of the Universidad de Valencia in Spain said the prefrontal and temporal cortex of the brain, the brain's amygdala and other features of the limbic system -- parts of the brains that process emotional reactions -- play a role in all situations involving empathy. Moya Albiol said these parts of the brain overlap in a surprising way with those that regulate aggression and violence. 'Just as our species could be considered the most violent, since we are capable of serial killings, genocide and other atrocities, we are also the most empathetic species, which would seem to be the other side of the coin,' Moya Albiol said in a statement. 'We all know that encouraging empathy has an inhibiting effect on violence, but this may not only be a social question but also a biological one -- stimulation of these neuronal circuits in one direction reduces their activity in the other.' The findings are published in the Spanish journal Revista de Neurologia."
[n.b. This is the complete text of the dispatch.]
Spain / Spanish Civil War
Judicial Battle in Spain over Attempt to Probe Franco's Crimes
DPA dispatch in EarthTimes.org, April 12, 2010
"A judicial battle was launched in Spain on Monday over the attempt by a high-profile judge to investigate the crimes of 1939-75 dictator Francisco Franco. Two associations representing Franco's victims sued Supreme Court judge Luciano Varela for professional misconduct in preparing a trial against National Court judge Baltasar Garzon. Garzon, who is known internationally for his human rights investigations in other countries, launched in 2008 Spain's first judicial probe into Franco's crimes. The judge blames the late dictator for the deaths of more than 100,000 alleged opponents during the 1936-39 civil war and the ensuing dictatorship. A few months later, however, Garzon was forced to drop the probe under pressure from legal experts and conservative politicians. Two far-right associations and Franco's Falangist party lodged a legal complaint against Garzon at the Supreme Court. Judge Varela gave the green light to a trial, saying Garzon had overstepped his authority in ignoring an amnesty that had been granted for civil war era crimes after Franco's death in 1975. Branches of the Association for the Recovery of Historic Memory (ARMH) in the north-eastern region of Catalonia and on the island of Majorca challenged Varela's decision in court. They expressed their 'deep indignation' over a trial which had been initiated by 'Fascist' Franco's 'ideological representatives.' Varela ignored international agreements signed by Spain, which said amnesties did not apply for genocide or crimes against humanity, the associations argued. The associations also sued Supreme Court judge Juan Saavedra, president of a court chamber which had rejected appeals lodged by Garzon. ARMH defends the families of Franco's victims, tens of thousands of whom still lie buried in unmarked mass graves. The trial against Garzon has also met with widespread criticism abroad. [...]"
DPA dispatch in EarthTimes.org, April 12, 2010
"A judicial battle was launched in Spain on Monday over the attempt by a high-profile judge to investigate the crimes of 1939-75 dictator Francisco Franco. Two associations representing Franco's victims sued Supreme Court judge Luciano Varela for professional misconduct in preparing a trial against National Court judge Baltasar Garzon. Garzon, who is known internationally for his human rights investigations in other countries, launched in 2008 Spain's first judicial probe into Franco's crimes. The judge blames the late dictator for the deaths of more than 100,000 alleged opponents during the 1936-39 civil war and the ensuing dictatorship. A few months later, however, Garzon was forced to drop the probe under pressure from legal experts and conservative politicians. Two far-right associations and Franco's Falangist party lodged a legal complaint against Garzon at the Supreme Court. Judge Varela gave the green light to a trial, saying Garzon had overstepped his authority in ignoring an amnesty that had been granted for civil war era crimes after Franco's death in 1975. Branches of the Association for the Recovery of Historic Memory (ARMH) in the north-eastern region of Catalonia and on the island of Majorca challenged Varela's decision in court. They expressed their 'deep indignation' over a trial which had been initiated by 'Fascist' Franco's 'ideological representatives.' Varela ignored international agreements signed by Spain, which said amnesties did not apply for genocide or crimes against humanity, the associations argued. The associations also sued Supreme Court judge Juan Saavedra, president of a court chamber which had rejected appeals lodged by Garzon. ARMH defends the families of Franco's victims, tens of thousands of whom still lie buried in unmarked mass graves. The trial against Garzon has also met with widespread criticism abroad. [...]"
Serbia / United Kingdom
Serbia Pursues Ejup Ganic for War Crimes. Or Is It a Vendetta?
By Roy Gutman
McClatchy Newspapers dispatch in The Christian Science Monitor, April 12, 2010
"Eighteen years after the start of the devastating war here, Serbia -- widely viewed as responsible for provoking the break-up of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia -- has asked Britain to extradite a Bosnian leader who was briefly in charge of the country and its military forces. Serbia made the charge against Ejup Ganic, Bosnia's wartime vice-president, in late February, claiming that he ordered Bosnian forces to shoot and kill wounded Serb-led federal troops departing the Bosnia capital by armed convoy in May 1992. The war crimes case comes to a head Tuesday when British authorities decide whether to free Ganic, 64, or send him to face trial in Serbia. Ganic's lawyers and the Bosnian government say that Serbia, a pariah state that has sheltered indicted war criminals since the war ended in 1995, has submitted a politically motivated extradition request whose defects include a flawed explanation of Balkan geography.
By Roy Gutman
McClatchy Newspapers dispatch in The Christian Science Monitor, April 12, 2010
"Eighteen years after the start of the devastating war here, Serbia -- widely viewed as responsible for provoking the break-up of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia -- has asked Britain to extradite a Bosnian leader who was briefly in charge of the country and its military forces. Serbia made the charge against Ejup Ganic, Bosnia's wartime vice-president, in late February, claiming that he ordered Bosnian forces to shoot and kill wounded Serb-led federal troops departing the Bosnia capital by armed convoy in May 1992. The war crimes case comes to a head Tuesday when British authorities decide whether to free Ganic, 64, or send him to face trial in Serbia. Ganic's lawyers and the Bosnian government say that Serbia, a pariah state that has sheltered indicted war criminals since the war ended in 1995, has submitted a politically motivated extradition request whose defects include a flawed explanation of Balkan geography.
Catholic Church / Anti-Semitism
Bishop "Blames Jews" for Criticism of Catholic Church Record on Abuse
By Tom Kington
The Guardian, April 11, 2010
"A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse. A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a 'Zionist attack' was behind the criticism, considering how 'powerful and refined' the criticism is. The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI. Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: 'They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers.' The interview was spotted on Friday by the American Jewish Committee, which said Babini was using 'slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to world war two.'
By Tom Kington
The Guardian, April 11, 2010
"A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse. A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a 'Zionist attack' was behind the criticism, considering how 'powerful and refined' the criticism is. The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI. Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: 'They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers.' The interview was spotted on Friday by the American Jewish Committee, which said Babini was using 'slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to world war two.'
Maternal Mortality
Saving Women's Lives in Childbirth -- It's More Possible Than We Thought
By Sarah Boseley
The Guardian, April 12, 2010
"Is cutting the death rate among women in pregnancy and childbirth in poor countries an impossible task? Sometimes it may have seemed so. Too difficult, too expensive, too many women scattered through too many countries with far too few midwives and obstetricians between them. We seemed to be stuck on half a million tragic deaths a year forever. But, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at Washington University in the USA, the death rate has been going down after all. Quite dramatically. In the past 30 years, say Christopher Murray and colleagues who have just published online with the Lancet medical journal, that figure of 500,000 a year has come down to 343,000. That is a drop of 35%. It's remarkable news -- and all the more remarkable because it's been happening without anyone realising it. It's like waking up and finding somebody has demolished the ugly old building across the road and planted trees instead. Hard to believe the scenery has changed quite so dramatically. The new optimistic outlook will take some getting used to. This is what Dr. Murray told me.
By Sarah Boseley
The Guardian, April 12, 2010
"Is cutting the death rate among women in pregnancy and childbirth in poor countries an impossible task? Sometimes it may have seemed so. Too difficult, too expensive, too many women scattered through too many countries with far too few midwives and obstetricians between them. We seemed to be stuck on half a million tragic deaths a year forever. But, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at Washington University in the USA, the death rate has been going down after all. Quite dramatically. In the past 30 years, say Christopher Murray and colleagues who have just published online with the Lancet medical journal, that figure of 500,000 a year has come down to 343,000. That is a drop of 35%. It's remarkable news -- and all the more remarkable because it's been happening without anyone realising it. It's like waking up and finding somebody has demolished the ugly old building across the road and planted trees instead. Hard to believe the scenery has changed quite so dramatically. The new optimistic outlook will take some getting used to. This is what Dr. Murray told me.
Russia / Neo-Nazism
Judge Who Targeted Russia's Neo-Nazis is Found Shot Dead
By Shaun Walker
The Independent, April 13, 2010
"A leading Russian judge who received death threats after handing out long prison sentences to nationalist and neo-Nazi groups was shot dead yesterday in Moscow. Eduard Chuvashov was shot three times in the stairwell outside his second-floor apartment, just before 9am as he was leaving for work. Sources in Russian law-enforcement said that nationalist groups could have been behind the attack. Mr. Chuvashov, 47, had handled several high-profile cases involving racist killings, and death threats were posted along with his photograph on extremist online forums. In February, Mr. Chuvashov presided over the trial of 12 members of an ultra-nationalist group called the 'White Wolves' who were accused of a series of gruesome murders of migrant workers, mostly from Central Asia. The victims had been bludgeoned to death or stabbed many times. The killings were recorded on mobile phones and posted online. Mr. Chuvashov found all of the gang members guilty and sentenced them to up to 23 years in prison. Last week, he jailed another three members of a skinhead group for racist murders. ...
By Shaun Walker
The Independent, April 13, 2010
"A leading Russian judge who received death threats after handing out long prison sentences to nationalist and neo-Nazi groups was shot dead yesterday in Moscow. Eduard Chuvashov was shot three times in the stairwell outside his second-floor apartment, just before 9am as he was leaving for work. Sources in Russian law-enforcement said that nationalist groups could have been behind the attack. Mr. Chuvashov, 47, had handled several high-profile cases involving racist killings, and death threats were posted along with his photograph on extremist online forums. In February, Mr. Chuvashov presided over the trial of 12 members of an ultra-nationalist group called the 'White Wolves' who were accused of a series of gruesome murders of migrant workers, mostly from Central Asia. The victims had been bludgeoned to death or stabbed many times. The killings were recorded on mobile phones and posted online. Mr. Chuvashov found all of the gang members guilty and sentenced them to up to 23 years in prison. Last week, he jailed another three members of a skinhead group for racist murders. ...
Poland / Russia / Katyn Massacre
Lech Kaczynski: Seventy Years On, It Is Time the Wounds of Katyn Were Healed
The Independent, April 13, 2010
"The alliance between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact and the Soviet attack on Poland on 17 September 1939 reached a terrifying climax in the Katyn massacre. Not only in the Katyn forest, but also in Tver, Kcharkiv and other known, and unknown, execution sites citizens of the Second Republic of Poland, people who formed the foundation of our statehood, who adamantly served the motherland, were killed. At the same time families of the murdered and thousands of citizens of the eastern territory of the pre-war Poland were sent into exile deep into the Soviet Union, where their indescribable suffering marked the path of the Polish Golgotha of the East. ... Katyn became a painful wound of Polish history, which poisoned relations between Poles and Russians for decades. Let's make the Katyn wound finally heal and cicatrize.
The Independent, April 13, 2010
"The alliance between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact and the Soviet attack on Poland on 17 September 1939 reached a terrifying climax in the Katyn massacre. Not only in the Katyn forest, but also in Tver, Kcharkiv and other known, and unknown, execution sites citizens of the Second Republic of Poland, people who formed the foundation of our statehood, who adamantly served the motherland, were killed. At the same time families of the murdered and thousands of citizens of the eastern territory of the pre-war Poland were sent into exile deep into the Soviet Union, where their indescribable suffering marked the path of the Polish Golgotha of the East. ... Katyn became a painful wound of Polish history, which poisoned relations between Poles and Russians for decades. Let's make the Katyn wound finally heal and cicatrize.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Palestine / Israel
Rights Groups Slam New West Bank Deportation Rules
By Karin Laub
Associated Press dispatch on Yahoo! News, April 11, 2010
"Israel's military has issued new orders that human rights groups warned Sunday could lead to the expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank. Under the new rules, anyone caught living in the West Bank without an Israeli permit could face expulsion within as little as three days or be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. The orders are to go into effect Tuesday. The military said existing law already allows for the expulsion of illegal residents and that the new order adds another layer of judicial oversight over deportation procedures. However, 10 Israeli human rights groups urged Defense Minister Ehud Barak to rescind the new rules. The rights groups said the orders are so vague and sweeping that virtually all West Bankers are potentially at risk. For example, the military does not define what permits are required to shield against deportation, the groups said. The military later clarified that West Bankers with residency rights would not be targeted. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the new measures as 'an assault on ordinary Palestinians, and an affront to the most fundamental principles of human rights.' He said Palestinians are being turned into criminals in their own homes.
By Karin Laub
Associated Press dispatch on Yahoo! News, April 11, 2010
"Israel's military has issued new orders that human rights groups warned Sunday could lead to the expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank. Under the new rules, anyone caught living in the West Bank without an Israeli permit could face expulsion within as little as three days or be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. The orders are to go into effect Tuesday. The military said existing law already allows for the expulsion of illegal residents and that the new order adds another layer of judicial oversight over deportation procedures. However, 10 Israeli human rights groups urged Defense Minister Ehud Barak to rescind the new rules. The rights groups said the orders are so vague and sweeping that virtually all West Bankers are potentially at risk. For example, the military does not define what permits are required to shield against deportation, the groups said. The military later clarified that West Bankers with residency rights would not be targeted. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the new measures as 'an assault on ordinary Palestinians, and an affront to the most fundamental principles of human rights.' He said Palestinians are being turned into criminals in their own homes.
Honouring Holocaust Remembrance Day
April 11, 2010
Photo by Adam Jones, November 2009.
See the full photo gallery from Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Photo by Adam Jones, November 2009.
See the full photo gallery from Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Vatican / United Kingdom / Child Sexual Abuse
Richard Dawkins Planning to Have Pope Benedict Arrested over "Crimes against Humanity"
The Telegraph, April 11, 2010
Richard Dawkins, the atheist campaigner and evolutionist, is planning to have Pope Benedict XVI arrested when he comes to Britain later this year for 'crimes against humanity.' Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, are seeking advice from human rights lawyers as to what legal action can be taken against the pope over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. It emerged this weekend that in 1985 when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases, the pope signed a letter arguing that the 'good of the universal church' should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. Dawkin and Hitchens believe he should face criminal proceedings because his 'first instinct' was to protect the church rather than the children in its care. They are hoping to exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, on a Spanish warrant when he visited Britain in 1998.
The Telegraph, April 11, 2010
Richard Dawkins, the atheist campaigner and evolutionist, is planning to have Pope Benedict XVI arrested when he comes to Britain later this year for 'crimes against humanity.' Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, are seeking advice from human rights lawyers as to what legal action can be taken against the pope over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. It emerged this weekend that in 1985 when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases, the pope signed a letter arguing that the 'good of the universal church' should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. Dawkin and Hitchens believe he should face criminal proceedings because his 'first instinct' was to protect the church rather than the children in its care. They are hoping to exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, on a Spanish warrant when he visited Britain in 1998.
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