Le renvoi de Jacques Chirac devant la justice pour “détournements de biens publics” et “abus de confiance” dans le cadre de l’affaire des chargés de mission de la Ville de Paris est non seulement superflu, mais aussi et surtout moralement douteux, eu égard au fait que les délits reprochés remontent à plus de vingt ans et que tous les partis politiques ont eu recours à ces pratiques.
La justice devrait faire le procès de la classe politique entière au lieu de s’acharner sur un homme qui a servi la France de manière exemplaire pendant plus de quarante ans.
C’est une constante bien française, la nation décapite le Père, celui qui incarne le mieux ce qu’elle est, en érigeant l’échafaud en place publique; observez la chose, elle est invariablement la même: la tête du monarque, bon, débonnaire, doit être donnée aux chacals qui n’en feront qu’une bouchée : Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. Comme le disait le Général De Gaulle: “Les Français sont des veaux”. Jacques Chirac s’en sortira, c’est une question d’honneur pour la France. Souvenons-nous des années Mitterrand, des suicides, des scandales personnels et des dépenses royales, corruption et république bananière à tire-larigot… Oui, il ira devant les juges, il passera quelques nuits blanches, mais il se relèvera, tête haute.
Our friend from New Delhi, Sumit Lal, former Director and General Manager at ECCO INDIA, and currently Business Adviser at ECCO Asia Pacific Limited, has just started his own blog.
“The West needs innovation; Israel’s got it,” write Dan Senor and Saul Singer, authors of Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. They argue that the Israeli economic model, based on innovation, can help the West, in particular, “get out of its economic hole.”
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel – a country of 7.1 million people, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources – produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom?
Drawing on examples from the country’s foremost inventors and investors, geopolitical experts Dan Senor and Saul Singer describe how Israel’s adversity-driven culture fosters a unique combination of innovative and entrepreneurial intensity.
As the authors argue, Israel is not just a country but a comprehensive state of mind. Whereas Americans emphasize decorum and exhaustive preparation, Israelis put chutzpah first. “When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week,” one analyst put it. At the geopolitical level, Senor and Singer dig in deeper to show why Israel’s policies on immigration, R&D, and military service have been key factors in the country’s rise – providing insight into why Israel has more companies on the NASDAQ than those from all of Europe, Korea, Japan, Singapore, China, and India combined.
So much has been written about the Middle East, but surprisingly little is understood about the story and strategy behind Israel’s economic growth. As Start-Up Nation shows, there are lessons in Israel’s example that apply not only to other nations, but also to individuals seeking to build a thriving organization. As the U.S. economy seeks to reboot its can-do spirit, there’s never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.
Reviews & Endorsements
“An eye-opening look at a side of Israel that most people never think about.” (The Week)
“There is a great deal for America to learn from the very impressive Israeli entrepreneurial model—beginning with a culture of leadership and risk management. Start-Up Nation is a playbook for every CEO who wants to develop the next generation of corporate leaders.” Tom Brokaw, special correspondent for NBC News, author of The Greatest Generation
“Senor and Singer’s experience in government, in business, and in journalism—and especially on the ground in the Middle East—come to life in their illuminating, timely, and often surprising analysis.” George Stephanopoulos, host of This Week, ABC News
“In the midst of the chaos of the Middle East, there’s a remarkable story of innovation. Start-Up Nation is filled with inspiring insights into what’s behind Israel’s dynamic economy. It is a timely book and a much-needed celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit.” Meg Whitman, former president and CEO of eBay
“Senor and Singer highlight some important lessons and sound instruction for countries struggling to enter the 21st century. An edifying, cogent report, as apolitical as reasonably possible, about homemade nation building.” Kirkus Reviews
“The authors ground their analysis in case studies and interviews with some of Israel’s most brilliant innovators to make this a rich and insightful read not just for business leaders and policymakers but for anyone curious about contemporary Israeli culture.” Publishers Weekly
by Alan Posener Die Welt / Welt am Sonntag / HIRAM7 REVIEW
Something’s going on in Europe, and I don’t like it.
There’s the future German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle’s refusal to even listen to the question of a BBC correspondent, unless it’s put to him in German:
You only have to look at the comments on Youtube and elsewhere to realize what it is that is going on here: the political and chattering classes have abandoned the rules governing their chatter; nationalism, racism and intolerance in general are being allowed back into polite society after spending the past 40 years out in the cold.
Political correctness – that great civilizer – is dead. Multiculturalism is under siege. And the ban on anti-Semitism – which the Catholic Church has already lifted by welcoming back the anti-Semitic Pius Brotherhood into its ranks – will soon be as worthless as the paper on which Sir Karl Popper’s great book on the Open Society was written.
I mention Karl Popper, because in the age of Totalitarianism he confronted a vexing question of democracy head-on: was the open society bound by its own philosophical, legal and political parameters to tolerate the propaganda of its enemies?
Popper said no: there was no reason to tolerate intolerance; no reason to grant freedom to the enemies of freedom; there should be no openness towards the enemies of openness. People who want one man, one vote one time should not – as they were in Gaza – be allowed to contest elections. Democracy is more important than freedom; more important than truth; more important than justice – or any one of the multitude of ideas, concepts, slogans and ideals in whose name one could (and people have tried to) suspend democracy.
It’s always the enemies of tolerance who chafe at this seeming intolerance of democracy. One shouldn’t let oneself be fooled. People say, “If you stop people from saying what Sarrazin said, you are denying 80 percent of the population a voice.”
Well, if 80 percent of the population are racist, which I don’t believe for a moment, but I’m saying if, then fuck them and there’s all the more reason to keep a tight lid on what is said by public figures, isn’t there?
Popper didn’t call his book “The Majority Rules”, he called it “The Open Society”. Even 99 percent of the population don’t have the right to dismantle the open society and replace it with a society in which privileges are awarded or denied according to race, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation or social background.
That’s what Europe has been about this past half-century. Let’s keep it that way.
vi auguro una felice estate con un video, che spero possa ispirare la nostra pausa, per rientrare al lavoro con rinnovate energie per affrontare tutto il nuovo che ci aspetta.
Ci vediamo a Settembre per progettare il futuro della comunicazione.
Hamburg, den 28. Juli 2009 – Am 2. Oktober 2009 findet das erste Hamburger BarCamp für Filmschaffende auf dem 17. Filmfest Hamburg statt. Beim “Digital Film Camp@Filmfest Hamburg”, auch DFC@Filmfest Hamburg genannt, diskutieren Filmemacher und Web 2.0-Spezialisten die digitale Zukunft des Films.
Mit der Frage “Wie arbeiten und finanzieren sich Filmemacher im Web 2.0?” endete das zweite Berliner “Digital Film Camp” am 17. April diesen Jahres. Veranstalter und Organisator war Simon Chapuzzeau, Inhaber der HomeBase Lounge Berlin.
Für Chappuzeau lag es auf der Hand, “nach dem großen Erfolg des DFCs mit dem Format auf Reisen zu gehen, um den hohen Bedarf des inhaltlichen Austausches zwischen den Filmemachern und Digital Natives bundesweit zu fördern”. Filmfestleiter Albert Wiederspiel freut sich “über die inhaltliche und organisatorische Kooperation mit Simon Chappuzeau.” Für Wiederspiel ist “das DFC@Filmfest Hamburg eine hervorragende Gelegenheit, im Rahmen von Filmfest Hamburg web-affinen Filmemachern neue Chancen und Wege zur Herstellung und Finanzierung sowie zum Marketing und Vertrieb aufzuzeigen.”
Die deutschen Filmstudenten der Hamburg Media School und deren schwedische Austauschstudenten vom Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm sowie die Hamburger Medienakademie haben sich bereits ihre Teilnahme an dem DFC@Filmfest Hamburg gesichert.
Die Organisationsform des DFC@Filmfest Hamburg zählt zu der Veranstaltungsreihe von BarCamps (engl. Un-Conference) und ist ein unkompliziertes und effektives Konferenzformat, welches sich längst über die Internet-Szene hinaus etabliert hat. Das erste BarCamp fand im August 2005 in Palo Alto, Kalifornien, statt.
Die Ad-hoc-Nicht-Konferenz nach der Open-Space-Methode ist aus dem Bedürfnis, sich in offener Umgebung auszutauschen und voneinander zu lernen, entstanden. Dabei bilden Diskussionen, Präsentationen, Workshops (sogenannte “Sessions”) und die Interaktion der Teilnehmer untereinander den Fokus. Jeder, der etwas beizutragen hat oder etwas lernen möchte, ist willkommen und herzlich eingeladen, mitzumachen.
Der Ablauf des DFC@Filmfest Hamburg wird zu Beginn der Veranstaltung gemeinsam mit den Organisatoren und den Teilnehmern gestaltet und koordiniert. Je nach Interesse und Anliegen teilen sich die Teilnehmer in Gruppen auf und nehmen aktiv oder passiv an den “Sessions” teil. Die Inhalte und Ergebnisse der Veranstaltung werden noch während des Film Camps im Internet in entsprechenden Blogs, Social Networks oder Portalen dokumentiert, Kommentare, ergänzende Hinweise und Links werden über den Micro-Blogging-Anbieter Twitter veröffentlicht. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos und lediglich aus Platzgründen limitiert.
Aus diesem Grund ist eine vorherige Anmeldung in der Zeit vom 30.07. bis zum 14.09.2009 unter folgender E-Mail-Adresse notwendig: digitalfilmcamp@filmfesthamburg.de.
Filmfest Hamburg geht 2009 mit folgenden Sektionen an den Start: Agenda 09, Nordlichter, Vitrina, Voilà!, TV Spielfilme im Kino, eurovisuell und Neuseeland Deluxe.
Ein Kommentar von Alan Posener
Korrespondent für Politik und Gesellschaft Die Welt / Welt am Sonntag
Toleranz verlangt nicht danach, Unstimmigkeiten und Widersprüche zu verschleiern. Im Gegenteil, sie fordert, die Unmöglichkeit eines umfassenden einheitlichen Denkens anzuerkennen und darum fremde und gegensätzliche Ansichten ohne Haß und Feindschaft zur Kenntnis zu nehmen. (Lew Kopelew)
Nun ja. Dass sich Henryk über meinen Umgang mit anderen Menschen beschwert, buche ich als Engländer eher belustigt unter „the pot calling the kettle black“. Was aber außer diesem schlechten Umgang - den heben sie ja “besonders” hervor, also ist das offenkundig nicht alles – was also sonst an meinen „persönlichen Eigenarten“ den drei Oberzensoren und Charakterbeurteilern nicht gefällt, wollen sie weder mir noch dem Publikum noch den anderen Mitgliedern der Achse des Guten mitteilen.
Körpergeruch? Aber es heißt doch nicht „Achsel des Guten“.
Zu meinen persönlichen Eigenarten gehört persönliche Loyalität. Vielleicht ist es dumm von mir, bei anderen Leuten Loyalität zu erwarten. Ich habe als Chef des Forums der Welt dafür gesorgt, dass Maxeiner & Miersch ihre wöchentliche Kolumne bekamen. Vielleicht war es dumm von mir zu erwarten, dass die Beiden dafür ein wenig dankbar sein und im Falle einer Diffamierung zumindest überlegen würden, ob sie dem Denunzianten eher Glauben schenken als mir.
Zu meinen persönlichen Eigenarten gehört Offenheit. Vielleicht war es dumm von mir zu erwarten, dass die Zwei von der Undankstelle wenigstens das Gespräch mit mir suchen würden, bevor sie mich im Verein mit Henryk rausschmissen.
Zu meinen persönlichen Eigenarten gehört, dass ich nicht nachtragend bin. Vielleicht war es dumm von mir zu glauben, dass Henryk einen öffentlichen Widerspruch ertragen könnte.
Übrigens bin ich jetzt auch nicht nachtragend. Wenn sich die Drei entschuldigen, soll alles vergessen sein. Muss nicht einmal öffentlich sein.
Im Gespräch mit Michael Miersch (auf dem Weg zu seinem Schreibtisch im Großraumbüro kommt er täglich an meinem Büro vorbei – hat jedoch nie von der Gelegenheit Gebrauch gemacht, mich auf meine miesen „persönlichen Eigenheiten“ anzusprechen) hat er mir immerhin heute, als ich ihn wegen der Kritik meiner “persönlichen Eigenschaften” auf der Achse des Guten zur Rede stellte, zugestanden, dass in jenen ominösen „Belegen“, die dem Triumvirat von irgendeinem charakterlosen und feigen anonymen Dreigroschenjungen zugespielt wurden, lediglich eine Kritik an der Achse, keine Kritik an ihm persönlich enthalten ist. „Aber die Achse ist mein Baby.“ Das macht mich noch lange nicht zum Kinderschänder.
Das macht mich zu jemandem, der Kritik an der Richtung hatte, die einige Achsen-Autoren einschlugen. Kritik, die ich immer öffentlich und/oder in Mails an die betreffenden Autoren geäußert habe. Und das, nicht meine “persönlichen Eigenarten”, ist mein Vergehen.
Ich stelle fest: Würde mir jemand zutragen, ein Freund von mir hätte meine Ergüsse oder Ergüsse irgendwelcher Kollegen bei der Welt-Gruppe als „idiotisch“ oder „unter aller Sau“ bezeichnet, ich würde das Gespräch mit dem Freund suchen. Übrigens habe ich jede Menge Freunde, die so denken und vermutlich reden. Du meine Güte! Es gibt Wichtigeres.
Ich würde keinesfalls öffentlich über die “persönliche Eigenheiten” dieses Freundes raunen. Wahrscheinlich ist es aber diese „persönliche Eigenart“, die den Achsen-Mächten nicht passt. Sie nennt sich: ”Anstand”.
Anmerkung der Redaktion: Bitte loggen Sie sich ein, um einen Kommentar zu diesem Artikel zu verfassen. Wir wollen nach Möglichkeit keine anonymen Kommentare veröffentlichen. Bitte tragen Sie zu einer sachbezogenen Debatte bei und verzichten Sie darauf, Ihre Argumente durch persönliche Angriffe zu entwerten.
Die Redaktion sichtet jeden Kommentar und entscheidet, ob der Leserkommentar freigeschaltet wird. Beleidigungen, nicht nachprüfbare Behauptungen, erkennbare Unwahrheiten und/oder rassistische Andeutungen führen dazu, dass der Kommentar in jedem Fall nicht freigeschaltet wird.
Nachfolgender E-Mail-Wechsel zwischen dem libertären Publizisten Alan Posener auf der einen Seite, und dem Triumvirat Dirk Maxeiner, Henryk M. Broder und Michael Miersch, Herausgeber des ebenso unkonventionellen und polemischen Online-Magazins Die Achse des Guten, auf der anderen Seite, zeigt wie intolerant und unfair Publizisten (und Journalisten) sein können…wenn es darum geht, einen unliebsamen Kollegen aus dem Verkehr zu ziehen.
Alan Posener bat uns darum, diese Korrespondenz publik zu machen, damit die Drahtzieher dieser Kabale Gelegenheit haben, hierzu Stellung zu nehmen, um diese kindergartenähnliche Autorenstreit ein anständiges Ende für alle Beteiligten zu bereiten.
Wir wollen hoffen, dass Konrad Adenauer verallgemeinerte, als er einst sagte: “Mit kleinen Jungen und Journalisten soll man vorsichtig sein. Die schmeißen immer noch einen Stein hinterher.”
***
Mittwoch, 20. Mai 2009 – 15:39
Lieber Alan,
in letzter Zeit wurden wir mehrmals darauf aufmerksam gemacht, dass du die Autoren von achchgut.com unter anderem als “Idioten” und “unter aller Sau” bezeichnest. Wir wollten das zunächst nicht glauben. Aber inzwischen wurden uns Belege zur Kenntnis gegeben, in denen du deiner Verachtung schriftlich Ausdruck gibst.
Warum bist du Mitglied in einem Autorennetzwerk, das du dermaßen geringschätzt? Es steht dir doch frei, nach Freunden zu suchen, für die du mehr Respekt empfindest. Als du im Herbst 2008 zu achgut.com kamst, waren bereits dieselben Autoren dabei wie jetzt.
Nachdem du deinen eigenen Blog aufgegeben hast, nahmst du die Einladung auf achgut.com zu schreiben freudig an. Wir möchten nicht mit jemandem zusammenzuarbeiten, der intrigiert und sich bemüht, den Ruf von achgut.de zu schädigen.
Damit ersparen wir dir die Peinlichkeit, weiterhin mit “Idioten” in Zusammenhang gebracht zu werden.
Grüsse
Dirk Maxeiner, Henryk M. Broder und Michael Miersch
Der größte Lump im ganzen Land ist und bleibt der Denunziant. [Das wusste schon Hoffmann von Fallersleben Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts - Anmerkung der Redaktion.]
Freilich wer auf solche Leute hört, ist selber schuld. Dieser Brief ist geradezu kafkaesk. (Kafkas Roman Der Prozess beginnt mit dem Satz: “Irgendjemand musste K. denunziert haben“.)
Wieso sagt ihr nicht, wer euch “darauf aufmerksam gemacht hat”, dass ich so etwas gesagt habe? Um was für “Belege” handelt es sich da? Wieso teilt ihr mir das Ergebnis eures geheimen Tribunals mit, ohne mir vorher eine Chance zur Anhörung zu geben? Ist das euer Verständnis von Fairness.
Für mich riecht es nach Stalinismus. Da ich nicht glauben mag, dass ihr so handelt wie irgendwelche K-Gruppen-Fuzzis, möchte ich dringend um eine Aussprache bitten. Auch mein Humor hat Grenzen.
Beste Grüße
Alan Posener
Korrespondent für Politik und Gesellschaft
Welt am Sonntag
Die in HIRAM7 REVIEW veröffentlichten Essays und Kommentare geben nicht grundsätzlich den Standpunkt der Redaktion wieder.
Terrorist organizations actively scan Israeli sites, as well as social networks in which many Israelis are active, including veterans of classified Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units, in order to gather classified information on security targets in Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem has said in a statement.
Recent reports indicated new trends in terrorist activity on the internet beyond collecting information posted by Israelis, including direct and concrete appeals to Israeli citizens to become involved in terrorist activity or pass along classified information in return for payment.
Recently, an Israeli citizen complained to the Israel Security Agency that he had been contacted on ‘Facebook’ by a man purporting to be a Lebanese merchant, who asked him to pass along classified information in return for payment. This incident joins many others that have been identified by the security services. Personal information – such as names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers – that is transferred via the internet for business or private purposes may help terrorist elements to locate and contact Israeli citizens both in Israel and abroad, the PM’s Office warned.
The Vatican said that with a new YouTube channel, it hoped to broaden the pope’s audience - around 1.4 billion people are online worldwide – while giving the Holy See better control over the pope’s Internet image.
Spotlight on 111th U.S. Congress with regard to Israel’s self defense war
Israel is engaged in a crucial struggle against Hamas terrorists who have been firing rockets at Israeli population centers for years, causing great suffering and posing great risk for Israel’s citizens. Israel’s decision to defend itself by surgically retaliating against Hamas has been met with criticism and condemnation from some in the international community. It is now more important than ever that the new United States admnistration publicly supports Israel’s right to defend itself from attack by Hamas and other terrorist groups.
HIRAM7 REVIEW responds to UN Security Council on Gaza
HIRAM7 REVIEW started an online petition to UN Security Council, expressing profound disappointment and concern about the statement delivered by him on December 31, 2008, with regard to the situation in the Gaza Strip.
The petition stressed that the international community needs to understand the tremendous danger that terrorist organizations like Hamas pose not only to Israel, but also to the entire world. It also observed that intergovernmental organizations like the UN should vigorously denounce the Hamas regime in the name of human rights, instead of demonizing Israel when it acts to protect its citizens, in lawful exercise of its right of self defense. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy which seeks peace and targets the terrorists, and Hamas that seeks Israel’s destruction and targets the innocent, including his own people.
***
American Leaders Speak Out in Support of Israel’s Right to Self-Defense
Current & Future Administration Officials
David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President-Elect Barack Obama
President George W. Bush
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Congressional Leadership
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
U.S. Senate
Arizona
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
John McCain (R-AZ)
California
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Connecticut
Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
Florida
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Georgia
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Illinois
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Indiana
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Iowa
Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Louisiana
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Maryland
Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Missouri
Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO)
Nevada
John Ensign (R-NV)
New Hampshire
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
New Jersey
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
New York
Charles Schumer (D-NY)
North Carolina
Kay Hagan (D-NC)
Ohio
George Voinovich (R-OH)
Pennsylvania
Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA)
Rhode Island
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
South Carolina
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Texas
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
U.S. House of Representatives
Alabama
Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
Mike Rogers (R-AL)
Arizona
Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Harry Mitchell (D-AZ)
California
Howard Berman (D-CA)
John Campbell (R-CA)
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
Jim Costa (D-CA)
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
Wally Herger (R-CA)
Dan Lungren (R-CA)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
George Radanovich (R-CA)
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Colorado
Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)
Connecticut
Jim Himes (D-CT)
Florida
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)
Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Ron Klein (D-FL)
Connie Mack IV (R-FL)
Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
John Mica (R-FL)
Adam Putnam (R-FL)
Tom Rooney (R-FL)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Cliff Stearns (R-FL)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
Robert Wexler (D-FL)
C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
Georgia
Paul Broun (R-GA)
Tom Price (R-GA)
Illinois
Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Phil Hare (D-IL)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)
John Shimkus (R-IL)
Indiana
Mike Pence (R-IN)
Iowa
Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
Steve King (R-IA)
Kansas
Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Kentucky
Geoff Davis (R-KY)
Louisiana
Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
John Fleming (R-LA)
Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
Steve Scalise (R-LA)
Maryland
Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD)
John Sarbanes (D-MD)
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Massachusetts
Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Barney Frank (D-MA)
Edward Markey (D-MA)
James McGovern (D-MA)
Richard Neal (D-MA)
John Olver (D-MA)
Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
Michigan
Gary Peters (D-MI)
Missouri
Outgoing House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Russ Carnahan (D-MO)
Ike Skelton (D-MO)
Nevada
Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
New Hampshire
Paul Hodes (D-NH)
New Jersey
John Adler (D-NJ)
Rob Andrews (D-NJ)
Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Leonard Lance (R-NJ)
Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Steve Rothman (D-NJ)
Albio Sires (D-NJ)
New York
Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Eliot Engel (D-NY)
John Hall (D-NY)
Brian Higgins (D-NY)
Steve Israel (D-NY)
Peter King (R-NY)
Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
John McHugh (R-NY)
Michael McMahon (D-NY)
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
Anthony Weiner (D-NY)
Ohio
John Boccieri (D-OH)
Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
Steven LaTourette (R-OH)
Zack Space (D-OH)
Betty Sutton (D-OH)
Oklahoma
Dan Boren (D-OK)
Mary Fallin (R-OK)
Pennsylvania
Christopher Carney (D-PA)
Charlie Dent (R-PA)
Jim Gerlach (R-PA)
Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
Allyson Schwartz (D-PA)
Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Bill Shuster (R-PA)
Rhode Island
Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Jim Langevin (D-RI)
Texas
Kevin Brady (R-TX)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Chet Edwards (D-TX)
Gene Green (D-TX)
Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
Pete Olson (R-TX)
Ted Poe (R-TX)
Pete Sessions (R-TX)
Lamar Smith (R-TX)
Virginia
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Gerry Connolly (D-VA)
Washington
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
State and Local Elected Officials
Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NY)
Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Armond Budish (D-OH)
Since prayers can be said anywhere, for those of you who still need prayers said, I can say them before I go to sleep any night.
Upon getting back from Israel, I published my interview with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. She is more than just the most beautiful woman in Congress. She is also the brightest. She is a true conservative and a rising republican star.
In The Wall Street Journal, columnist Michael Barone reviews a new bestseller written by John Zogby: The Way We’ll Be.
“John Zogby is the maverick in the political polling fraternity, the guy who admits that he sometimes tweaks the rules and whose numbers are sometimes greeted with skepticism. He is also an original thinker and a perceptive observer of the American scene, especially as it is viewed from the far-outside-the- Beltway precincts of Utica, N.Y., where his Lebanese- immigrant grandfather ran a grocery store for years.
It is the social observer who comes to the fore in Mr. Zogby’s The Way We’ll Be, an attempt to describe, by way of polls, the American state of mind and to imagine what it portends. Along the way, Mr. Zogby sounds several themes. One is that Americans increasingly want variety in their consumer products and entertainment offerings. ‘They want choice, not imposition, and they are demanding to be treated as individuals,’ he writes. ‘Today’s beer drinker and movie watcher and rock music fan can personalize his or her refrigerator or DVD or iPod playlist as never before.”
The influence of the Internet on our lives is increasing. News, advertising, employment, education, and networking are being affected. Israel’s security is especially vulnerable to the manipulation of geography. The online world allows the creation of a virtual reality that at times bears only passing resemblance to facts on the ground.
The gap between reality and virtual reality is further exploited by political activists promoting what we term “replacement geography,” a means of controlling the virtual representation of land in place of controlling the land itself. In an information age, control on the common map may be worth more in negotiations than control on the ground.
Google Earth
With a user base of 400 million,(1) Google Earth uses satellite imagery combined with maps, terrain, and 3D buildings to present the earth at various levels of magnification. Key features (geography, place details, pictures, etc.) are included with the download of Google Earth in what is known as a “core layer.” Users can also download “custom layers” created by other users, which provide educational, historical, or special interest information to be accessed by those wishing to take the Google Earth experience further.
The Google Earth website was the 8th most searched for website in the UK at the start of 2006.(2) The user base in June 2007 was 200 million, (3) up 100 percent from reports10 months earlier.(4) The application has broad appeal, with almost a quarter of the visitors to Google Earth over the age of 55.(5) Google Earth has been used by campaign groups to raise public awareness; examples include grass roots environmental campaigns that created a layer with information against deforestation; a WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) layer showing large-scale environmental and socioeconomic shifts; and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which created a layer with information on the crisis in Darfur. These projects were custom layers which users could add to Google Earth.(6)
Virtual Reality
Virtual Israel, as represented by Google Earth, is littered with dozens of orange dots. Orange dots represent contributions from the user community, and those appearing by default have been accepted into the core layout by Google Earth. In the case of Israel, most of these dots claim to represent “one of the Palestinian localities evacuated and destroyed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.” For example, Ramat Aviv, the site of Tel Aviv University, appears as Al Shaykh Muwannis. While generally Google Earth does not erase Israeli towns and kibbutzim, it has heavily integrated a politically motivated Palestinian narrative into the map of Israel. As a result, Israel is depicted as a state born out of colonial conquest rather than the return of a people from exile. Each orange dot links to the “Palestine Remembered” site, where custom layers which further advance this narrative can be obtained.
Early press reports portrayed the virtual Palestine initiative as documentation of fact and included Israeli comments that it was “biased but legitimate.”(7) Later research showed that many of the claims staked out in Google Earth were presenting misinformation. Kiryat Yam was wrongly claimed to be built on the Palestinian village of Ghawarina. Many sites known to be ruins in 1946 are claimed to be villages destroyed in 1948. Arab villages which still exist today are listed as sites of destruction.8 The Google Earth initiative is not only creating a virtual Palestine, it is creating a falsification of history.
Google Earth’s core information also includes other problems. Previously, areas beyond the “green line” were labeled as “Occupied Territories,” a phraseology which is sometimes used to justify terrorism, rather than “disputed territories.”(9) The area listed as “occupied” also included the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.(10) Google Earth places Mt. Scopus and its Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem within Jordanian territory prior to 1967, even though it was an area where Israel exercised control during that period, according to the 1949 Armistice Agreement.
In March 2008 the Gaza Strip was still listed as “Israeli-occupied,” despite Israel’s full withdrawal in 2005 and the military takeover of the Strip by Hamas in mid-2007. By May 2008 (after press coverage), the label was changed to read “Gaza Strip.” A note states: “Many sources still regard the Gaza Strip as ‘Israeli-occupied’ despite formal Israeli withdrawal in September 2005.”(11) There is still no mention of Hamas’ control.
Politically-Loaded Geography
“Replacement geography” builds on the concept of “replacement theology,” a position that spurred anti-Semitism within the church and which, starting with Vatican II, has been removed from Christian doctrine. Indeed, it has been stated that recognition of the State of Israel by the Vatican completed this process.(12) Replacement theology stated that Christians had inherited the covenant and replaced the Jews as the chosen people. The concept of replacement geography similarly replaces the historical connection of one people to the land with a connection between another people and the land.
This was famously applied by the Romans when they renamed Judea to Palaestinia, and Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina in 135 CE in an effort to destroy the Jewish people after the Bar Kokhba revolt. In more recent times, replacement geography has resulted in the destruction of Jewish artifacts at the Temple Mount.(13)
The inclusion of virtual Palestine, superimposed on Israel in the core layer of Google Earth, is an example of replacement geography advanced by technology. Those wishing to find directions, explore the cities of Israel, or randomly wander across this small piece of land are immediately taken to a politically motivated narrative unrelated to their quest. This is the sort of replacement the ancient Romans tried and failed to achieve. The promotion of a replacement narrative works against a compromise solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, inspiring absolutist positions rather than a negotiated settlement.
Main Implications
Generally, Google allows all kinds of organizations or individuals to create overlays with their own information on its map. These overlays are only available to those who specifically request them, but they are not automatically incorporated into the core map of Google Earth that every user entering its website can see. Disturbingly, Google has incorporated the Palestinians’ overlays and their accompanying narrative into its core maps of Israel. As Google maintains editorial control over its core layer, it has responsibility for its content, which it clearly has not adequately exercised.
Google Earth presents a tremendous challenge by allowing historical revisionism. Maps of the world have changed with evolving historical circumstances everywhere. Yet theoretically, with this tool, organizations seeking to make a claim for Mexican sovereignty over territories incorporated into the U.S. in the nineteenth century could raise such arguments by revising the map of Texas or California. Rather than serving as an educational resource, Google Earth could simply evolve into a website for political warfare.
For those who do not physically visit Israel, the “facts” on this virtual ground are real. It is to be expected that people will form their opinion on issues such as borders, land rights, and historic connection based on sources like Google Earth. The social propagation of a narrative of Israeli aggression and ethnic cleansing – an aspect of “Anti-Semitism 2.0″(14) – is spread through Google Earth.
Without a response that includes new information about the historical connection of the Jewish people to Israel throughout the ages, as well as modern Israeli history and the Israel of today, the world’s opinion of Israel can only grow dimmer. An increase in content – assuming Google will eventually add it to the core layer, something that is far from certain – would address the vast imbalance, yet do little for the user experience.
A far better solution would be for Google to remove the narrative and treat Israel as it treats every other country on the globe. Both the Palestinian narrative and promotion of Israel can have their place, but this should be in optional layers. The core layer of Google Earth should be ideology free and not serve as a platform for indoctrination or a campaign to wipe Israel off the virtual map.
7. Gal Mor, “Palestinian Villages Commemorated on Google Maps,” Ynet News, 13 July 2006.
8. David Shamah, “Digital World: Google Earth’s ‘False Flags’,” Jerusalem Post, 4 March 2008.
9. Dore Gold, “From ‘Occupied Territories’ to ‘Disputed Territories’,” Jerusalem Viewpoints, No. 470, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 16 January 2002.
12. Padraic O’Hare, The Enduring Covenant: The Education of Christians and the End of Antisemitism, (Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1997).
13. Mark Ami-El, “The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities,” Jerusalem Viewpoints, No. 483, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 1 August 2002, http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp483.htm
14. Andre Oboler, “Online Antisemitism 2.0. ‘Social Antisemitism’ on the ‘Social Web’,” Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism, No. 67, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 1 April 2008.
***
About the author: Dr. Andre Oboler is a social media expert. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Lancaster University, UK and is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is currently a Legacy Heritage Fellow at NGO Monitor in Jerusalem, and edits ZionismOnTheWeb.org – a website countering on-line hate.
L’homme contemporain, même dans les pays à forte tradition démocratique, n’a pas la maturité qui correspond à ses moyens intellectuels et à ses connaissances.
(Jean-François Revel – Extrait d’un Entretien avec Pierre Assouline)
Ceux qui se souviennent du grand écrivain et philosophe iconoclaste Jean-François Revel, intellectuel de droite par excellence, au meilleur sens du terme (à l’instar de Julien Benda, auteur de La trahison des clercs), et fils spirituel s’il en est de Raymond Aron, n’auront sans nul doute pas oublié son pamphlet mémorable intitulé La connaissance inutile, qui dénoncait il y a vingt déjà, avec brio et un sens certain de la majesté dans le verbe, la pléthore néfaste pour le débat public d’informations et de connaissances superfétatoires.
Lors de son discours de réception du 31 janvier 2008, Max Gallo, élu par l’Académie française à la place laissée vacante par la mort de Jean-François Revel, déclarait en substance: “Mais qui est-il donc, ce Jean-François Revel? Un écrivain égal aux plus grands. Un écrivain français nourri par la sève rabelaisienne et voltairienne. Un lecteur de Saint-Simon et de Montesquieu, de Chateaubriand et de Tocqueville, de Taine, de Montaigne et de Proust. Un humaniste engagé dans les combats contre les totalitarismes, qui a toujours défendu la liberté d’expression et affirmé que le seul barrage au fanatisme meurtrier est de vivre dans une société pluraliste où le contrepoids institutionnel d’autres doctrines et d’autres pouvoirs nous empêche toujours d’aller jusqu’au bout des nôtres.”
Dans un article publié aujourd’hui dans le quotidien Le Monde, Jean-Michel Dumay reprend, sans y faire directement allusion, la thèse de Revel et l’étend pour ainsi dire aux nouveaux médias, notamment et surtout l’internet.
“Jamais ce que Pierre Teilhard de Chardin nommait ‘la température psychique de la Terre’ n’a été aussi élevée. Avec le développement du cyberespace, des réseaux, de la téléphonie mobile, le monde est devenu en quelques années un gigantesque océan tourmenté, envahi non plus seulement d’énergie et de matière, mais, la numérisation aidant, d’informations. De savoirs, de connaissances.”
PostGlobal’s panelists look at the ability of online social networking to stir political change, following an Egyptian crackdown on some users of the website Facebook.
In den letzten Tagen hat sich ein Foto im Internet schnell verbreitet. Das Bild zeigt, wie die Polizistin Jiang Xiaojuan einer Erdbebenwaise mit Muttermilch ernährt. Diese Frau hat selber einen sechs Monate alten Sohn und stillte nach dem Erdbeben bedingungslos einige Babys, die bei dem Erdbeben in Sichuan zu Waisen wurden.
Quelle:Xinhua
Ein schweres Erdbeben mit der Stärke 7,8 nach der Richter-Skala hat den Wenchuan-Kreis in der südwestchinesischen Provinz Sichuan am 12. Mai 2008 um 14.28 Uhr erschüttert. Inzwischen hat die Zahl der Opfer 40.075 erreicht, 247.645 Menschen wurden verletzt.
Informationen zufolge werden das Chinesische Roten Kreuz, das Rote Kreuz in der Sonderverwaltungszone Hong Kong und die International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Rettungsgruppen ins Katastrophengebiet schicken, um dort die Notlage zu untersuchen.
HonestReporting exposes anti-Israel activists manipulating the online encyclopedia.
“Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia anyone can edit, may strive for pure democracy, but that doesn’t mean it’s always fair. Our colleagues at CAMERA learned this the hard way last month when their effort to fight anti-Israel bias on Wikipedia ended in several members being banned from the site and bad press for the organization. CAMERA’s campaign involved recruiting volunteers and instructing them in the basics of Wikipedia participation. The Palestinian advocacy group, Electronic Intifada (EI), however, branded the effort ‘a plan to rewrite history’ and filed a bitter complaint with Wikipedia administrators, resulting in unusually stiff penalties for the CAMERA volunteers involved.”
Guter Journalismus kann erstickt werden, aber er wird niemals konformistisch sein. (Hans Leyendecker)
Es hat sehr lange gedauert bis im Zusammenhang mit der Propaganda-Tournee des Sektenführers Dalai Lama quer durch Deutschland und der erbärmlichen Idolatrie in der Bevölkerung die ersten kritischen Artikel in den deutschen Medien erschienen. Bisher musste man von einer regelrechten Gleichschaltung der Presse sprechen, so identisch waren die abgeschmackten Lobhudeleien und devoten Anbiederungen von BILD bis Spiegel.
Zwei Hamburger retten die Ehre des deutschen Journalismus: Helmut Schmidt und Ulrich Wickert.
In der ZEIT hat sich Altbundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt zu Wort gemeldet (Tibet als Prüfstand) und mit Sachkenntnis auf die unmenschliche Situation der Bevölkerung Tibets unter dem buddhistischen Lama-Staat verwiesen.
In einem Video-Kommentar (Der Dalai Lama ist kein Heilsbringer) gibt der Journalist und Mitherausgeber des Nachrichtenportals Zoomer Ulrich Wickert seinen Senf dazu und verteidigt die Entscheidung von Bundespräsident Horst Köhler und Bundesaußenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, den Dalai Lama nicht zu empfangen. “Mutig sein, heißt heute, den Dalai Lama nicht zu treffen”, so soll Steinmeier seinen – richtigen – Entschluß begründet haben.
In einem Artikel der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung (Dalai sein ist alles) geht Nils Minkmar mit Ironie auf die so genannte Shugden-Affäre ein, die den Dalai Lama in schiere Rage versetzt.
Tibet-Experten Victoria und Victor Trimondi haben den Shugden-Fall, der jetzt immer mehr in das Licht der Öffentlichkeit gerät, ausführlich untersucht in dem Artikel Krieg der Orakelgötter – Shugden-Mönche beantragten gegen den Religionsführer eine Klage wegen Menschenrechtsverletzung beim Obersten Gericht Indiens.
In cooperation with China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the ministry responsible for disaster relief in China, Half the Sky Foundation has created the HTS CHILDREN’S EARTHQUAKE FUND in order to deliver food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to Chinese children and families.
On Monday, May 12, 2008, at 2.28 p.m. Beijing time, a major earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, jolted southwestern China’s Sichuan Province. The quake destroyed many buildings in the area, as well as infrastructure like communication towers. According to the latest reports, more than 70,000 people have died and many more have been injured or are missing.
You can help those affected by this catastroph by making a financial gift to the Half the Sky Foundation, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.
Beijing-based Half the Sky establishes and operates infant nurture and preschool programs, provides personalized learning for older children, and establishes permanent families for children with disabilities. In 2007, Half the Sky was invited by the Chinese government to expand its life-changing programs now operating in 38 institutions to 300 institutions and beyond. Half the Sky ’s long-term strategy is for local governments in China to operate the life-changing programs themselves.
Freedom House’s 2008 report on press freedom shows a clear decline in both authoritarian countries and established democracies.
PRESS RELEASE
Washington D.C., April 29, 2008 – Global press freedom underwent a clear decline in 2007, with journalists struggling to work in increasingly hostile environments in almost every region in the world, according to a new survey released today by Freedom House. The decline in press freedom – which occurred in authoritarian countries and established democracies alike – continues a six-year negative trend.
Freedom House will formally present findings from Freedom of the Press 2008: A Global Survey of Media Independence today at the Newseum in Washington. Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor will also unveil the Map of Press Freedom 2008, a central exhibit featured in the Newseum’s Time Warner World News Gallery.
While the survey indicated that setbacks in press freedom outnumbered advances two to one globally, there was some improvement in the region with the least amount of press freedom: the Middle East and North Africa. The survey attributes the gains in the Middle East and North Africa to a growing number of journalists who were willing to challenge government restraints, a pushback trend seen in other regions as well.
“For every step forward in press freedom last year, there were two steps back,” said Windsor. “When press freedom is in retreat, it is an ominous sign that restrictions on other freedoms may soon follow. However, journalists in many countries of the world are pushing the boundaries, crossing the red-lines, demonstrating commitment and courage against great odds and we are seeing a greater global flow of information than ever before.”
Out of 195 countries and territories, 72 (37 percent) were rated Free, 59 (30 percent) Partly Free, and 64 (33 percent) were Not Free, a decline from 2006. However, the study found that declines in individual countries and territories were often larger than in years past. Key regional findings include:
Central and Eastern Europe/ Former Soviet Union: This region showed the largest region-wide setback, with Russia, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan, and several Central European countries, among others, showing declines. Only 18 percent of the region’s citizens live in environments with Free media.
Middle East and North Africa: More unrestricted access to new media such as satellite television and the internet boosted press freedom regionally. Egyptian journalists showed an increased willingness to cross press freedom ‘red lines,’ moving the country into the Partly Free category.
Asia-Pacific: Restrictions on media coverage were imposed in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and Vietnam’s government cracked down on dissident writers.
Americas: Guyana’s status shifted from Free to Partly Free, while Mexico’s score deteriorated by a further three points because of increased violence against journalists and impunity surrounding attacks on media.
Sub-Saharan Africa: The region accounted for three of the year’s five status changes: Benin declined from Free to Partly Free, while the Central African Republic and Niger moved into the Not Free category. Political conflict and misuse of libel laws were key factors behind a number of country declines.
Western Europe: The region continued to have the highest level of press freedom worldwide, despite declines in Portugal, Malta and Turkey, the only country in the region ranked Partly Free.
The survey, released annually in advance of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and internet freedom in every country in the world. The 2008 ratings are based on an assessment of the legal, political and economic environments in which journalists worked in 2007.
“Improvements in a small number of countries were far overshadowed by a continued, relentless assault on independent news media,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Freedom House senior researcher and managing editor of the survey.
“We are particularly concerned that while abuses of press freedom continue unabated in restrictive environments such as China, threats are also apparent in countries with an established record of media freedom and in newer democracies in Central Europe and Africa.”
The key trends that led to numerical movements in the study include:
Unrest and Upheaval: Media played a key role in covering coups, states of emergency and contested elections in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Georgia, and as a result, journalists became prime targets during government crackdowns.
Violence and Impunity: Violence against journalists and, in many cases, corresponding impunity regarding past cases of abuse was a key factor in determining press freedom in countries as diverse as Mexico, Russia and the Philippines.
Punitive laws: Media freedom remains seriously constrained by the presence and use of numerous laws that are used to punish critical journalists and outlets.The abuse of libel laws increased in a number of countries, most notably in Africa. Satellite television and internet-based news and networking sources are an emerging force for openness in restricted media environments as well as a key target for government control.
New media: The world’s worst-rated countries continue to include Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. In 2007, Eritrea joined the ranks of these exceedingly bad performers, while a crackdown in Burma worsened that country’s already repressive media environment, leaving its score second only to that of North Korea worldwide.
Detailed information from the survey are available here and by contacting Laura Ingalls at ingalls@freedomhouse.org.
Posted by HIRAM7 REVIEW 
Posted by HIRAM7 REVIEW 
Posted by HIRAM7 REVIEW 
Nachfolgender E-Mail-Wechsel zwischen dem libertären Publizisten 
