Queen's Irish visit is an insult, says Real IRA

Masked member of Real IRA says at rally to mark 1916 Easter Rising that the Queen is 'not wanted on Irish soil'

The Real IRA rally in Derry. A member told supporters that next month's visit to Ireland by the Queen was an insult. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

The Real IRA has described the Queen's visit to Ireland next month as an "upcoming insult". In a speech to republican dissident supporters in Derry a masked Real IRA man said the trip was "not on behalf of the Irish people".

At the ceremony to mark the 1916 Easter Rising, the Real IRA member said: "The Queen of England is wanted for war crimes and not wanted on Irish soil."

His remarks in the city cemetery in Derry were part of an event organised by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. Around 200 people attended. They were addressed by the former IRA hunger striker Marion Price.

Last week another dissident Irish republican claimed that the Queen should be regarded as a "legitimate target" when she visits the Irish Republic in May.

 

What happens when Greece defaults

It is when, not if. Financial markets merely aren’t sure whether it’ll be tomorrow, a month’s time, a year’s time, or two years’ time (it won’t be longer than that). Given that the ECB has played the “final card” it employed to force a bailout upon the Irish – threatening to bankrupt the country’s banking sector – presumably we will now see either another Greek bailout or default within days.

What happens when Greece defaults. Here are a few things:

- Every bank in Greece will instantly go insolvent.

- The Greek government will nationalise every bank in Greece.

- The Greek government will forbid withdrawals from Greek banks.

- To prevent Greek depositors from rioting on the streets, Argentina-2002-style (when the Argentinian president had to flee by helicopter from the roof of the presidential palace to evade a mob of such depositors), the Greek government will declare a curfew, perhaps even general martial law.

- Greece will redenominate all its debts into “New Drachmas” or whatever it calls the new currency (this is a classic ploy of countries defaulting)

- The New Drachma will devalue by some 30-70 per cent (probably around 50 per cent, though perhaps more), effectively defaulting 0n 50 per cent or more of all Greek euro-denominated debts.

- The Irish will, within a few days, walk away from the debts of its banking system.

- The Portuguese government will wait to see whether there is chaos in Greece before deciding whether to default in turn.

- A number of French and German banks will make sufficient losses that they no longer meet regulatory capital adequacy requirements.

- The European Central Bank will become insolvent, given its very high exposure to Greek government debt, and to Greek banking sector and Irish banking sector debt.

- The French and German governments will meet to decide whether (a) to recapitalise the ECB, or (b) to allow the ECB to print money to restore its solvency. (Because the ECB has relatively little foreign currency-denominated exposure, it could in principle print its way out, but this is forbidden by its founding charter. On the other hand, the EU Treaty explicitly, and in terms, forbids the form of bailouts used for Greece, Portugal and Ireland, but a little thing like their being blatantly illegal hasn’t prevented that from happening, so it’s not intrinsically obvious that its being illegal for the ECB to print its way out will prove much of a hurdle.)

- They will recapitalise, and recapitalise their own banks, but declare an end to all bailouts.

- There will be carnage in the market for Spanish banking sector bonds, as bondholders anticipate imposed debt-equity swaps.

- This assumption will prove justified, as the Spaniards choose to over-ride the structure of current bond contracts in the Spanish banking sector, recapitalising a number of banks via debt-equity swaps.

- Bondholders will take the Spanish Banking Sector to the European Court of Human Rights (and probably other courts, also), claiming violations of property rights. These cases won’t be heard for years. By the time they are finally heard, no-one will care.

- Attention will turn to the British banks. Then we shall see…

English Defence League march to Islamic centre site

Police said their strategy ensured the protest passed off without incident

More than a hundred English Defence League protesters have marched through a Flintshire town to the site of a proposed new Islamic cultural centre.

The site at the Shotton Lane Social Club was burnt down in a suspicious fire in February.

Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society was planning to turn the property into a multi-cultural centre.

Police said their strategy ensured the protest passed off without incident.

Early reports had suggested between 200 and 300 people were taking part but police said it was just over 100.

The march ended with speeches outside the Shotton Lane Social Club before the protesters dispersed.

North Wales Police said they mounted an operation to combat any problems between rival factions working in partnership with Flintshire Council, British Transport Police and the local business community

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Shannon said: "I am pleased with the success of the police operation today.

"Our aim was always to allow the protest to pass peacefully whilst taking into account the rights of the people of Shotton to go about their normal business.

"I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding for any disruption that was caused.

"People have a right to protest, but our priority is to safeguard the public and maintain order, which I am pleased to say we achieved today."

Around 100 people had to leave their homes as firefighters fought the blaze on 4 February.

At the time police said they were keeping an open mind and would not been drawn on possible motives.

Women flock to Danish sperm banks

Jessica McCallin has already chosen a name for her unborn daughter. She will be called Freya, after the Norse goddess of fertility.

‘Freya is one of my favourite girls’ names,’ she says. ‘I didn’t know the meaning but, when I found out, I knew straight away that would be her name. It’s perfect.’

It’s somewhat fitting, too. Because Freya’s father is a 6ft Dane in his 20s, with greeny-blue eyes and blond hair. But beyond those few physical characteristics, neither Jessica nor Freya will know any more.

Mother-to-be: Jessica McCallin paid £460 for the treatment at a sperm donor bank in Denmark

Mother-to-be: Jessica McCallin paid £460 for the treatment at a sperm donor bank in Denmark

This is because last June, Jessica, 36, flew to Copenhagen and was artificially inseminated with the sperm of an anonymous Danish donor — and more and more British women are doing exactly the same thing.

Last year, about 500 to 1,000 British women were treated in Denmark, resulting in between 100 to 200 pregnancies.

‘It was an incredibly easy process,’ recalls Jessica, who is single. ‘After a few months of monitoring my cycle, I booked a flight to coincide with the time I ovulated.

‘I’d found out about the Danish sperm bank through a friend. It occupied a few rooms in a tasteful period building in the centre of Copenhagen.

‘The nurse put me at ease. I didn’t feel a thing as she carried out the procedure, and it was over within minutes. Then, half an hour later, I was back strolling round the streets of Copenhagen. I felt very comfortable about what I had just done.’

So why did Jessica go to Denmark rather than use a British sperm donor?

‘I had heard stories here of long waiting lists with single women being a low priority,’ she explains. ‘In Denmark it is straightforward. There is no queue, it doesn’t matter if you’re a single woman and you can go on to have another child by the same donor.

‘You are also able to choose the characteristics of the donor.

‘I wanted my child to look as much like me as possible. Lots of my family are tall, broad and fair, and we come from the North of England and Celtic regions conquered by Norsemen, so we probably have Scandinavian blood. The Viking aspect appealed to me.’

The idea of having a Scandinavian bloodline is appealing to an increasing number of British women who, faced with a shortage of donors in the UK and a wait of up to two years in some areas of the country, are choosing to go to Denmark for artificial insemination. One clinic’s catchphrase is: ‘Congratulations, it’s a Viking!’

'Some of my friends have rushed into having children with a man they weren't sure about, and things haven't worked out. I wouldn't want to do that'

Jessica paid £460 for the treatment at Stork Klinik, set up by midwife Nina Stork in 1991 specifically for single women and lesbians. She also spent £200 on flights, accommodation and meals during her time in Copenhagen.

She had to be cleared for sexually transmitted diseases before the clinic would agree to treat her, and underwent an hour-long phone interview with a nurse to discuss her motivation for having a child.

A 60-minute chat, not even conducted in person, might seem paltry considering the magnitude of the exchange. But, lest we forget, the Stork Klinik is a business: it’s not in its interest to put people off with probing questions. The more sperm the clinic sells, the more money it makes.

Jessica, a journalist, who lives alone in a one-bedroom flat in Denmark Hill, South London, fell pregnant on that first attempt, and her daughter is due this month.

Years of research, discussions with family and friends and soul-searching have brought her to this point. And Jessica, who has a brother and three sisters, feels confident she has made the right choice for her.

‘I don’t have a single regret. I have loved being pregnant and I am looking forward to meeting my daughter.

‘In my early to mid-20s, I knew I wanted children. By my late 20s, I was in a relationship and I thought I would get married and have them the usual way. But the relationship didn’t work out. It would have been nice to have met someone to share my life with, but it hasn’t happened.

‘Some of my friends have rushed into having children with a man they weren’t sure about, and things haven’t worked out. I wouldn’t want to do that.

‘I always saw 40 as my fertility cut-off point. But when I turned 35, I read a raft of articles about a woman’s fertility dropping sharply from 35.

‘There was no major desperation that gripped me. It was a growing feeling that I knew I wanted a child.

‘One of my younger sisters has been trying for a child for two years and I felt I needed to start trying earlier rather than later, in case I had fertility problems.

‘Some time back, a gay friend offered to be a donor, but I decided against it because I thought it may cause complications. So, after years of thinking about it, the idea of going to Denmark just felt right.’

Back-up plan: More British women are choosing to be single mothers by using a sperm donor because their relationships have failed or they haven't met the right man

Back-up plan: More British women are choosing to be single mothers by using a sperm donor because their relationships have failed or they haven't met the right man

The head of the world’s biggest sperm bank, one of 15 private clinics in Denmark, says the number of women travelling to the country for treatment has soared.

Cryos International, based in Aarhus, was set up in 1987, has 427 donors on its books and supplies sperm to 65 countries. Half of all women who have treatment in Denmark have come from abroad.

‘We have a lot more donors than in the UK where there is a real shortage, thanks to the laws being changed on anonymity,’ says Ole Schou, its managing director and founder. ‘Treatment is also up to ten times cheaper in Denmark, even with the travel costs thanks to low-cost airlines.’

Also, in the UK, rules state that a single donor can produce a maximum of ten pregnancies and subsequent children for those families, while in Denmark a donor can be used for 25 pregnancies.

'Most research says the best approach is to be honest from when your child asks about who their dad is'

Mr Schou believes the compensation scheme in the UK is also complicated and puts off donors. Presently, centres may only pay donors their ‘reasonable expenses’.

And in April 2005, anonymity for donors in the UK was removed, meaning donor-conceived children can now find out the identity of their father when they turn 18.

‘Before that, there were about 2,000 donors in the UK but that number has fallen dramatically,’ says Mr Schou.

Dr Gillian Lockwood, medical director of Midland Fertility Services, a private clinic in Aldridge, near Walsall, says: Donors have gone down and demand has gone up. The same number of donors are registering, but a significant proportion are now creating a single pregnancy for someone they know.’

There has also been a rise in same-sex couples having children.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority insists that the number of donors has barely altered since 2005, but there seems to be an acknowledgment that the shortage of sperm and egg donors has reached crisis point. In January, it launched a three-month public consultation to explore how to improve the situation.

Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, says: ‘In some areas of the country, the wait for a sperm donor can be as long as two years, and there is no choice of donors to pick from; you have to take what you’re offered.’

Professor Lorraine Culley, of De Montfort University in Leicester, studied 41 cases of women going abroad in a report about to be published by the Economic and Social Research Council.

‘The main drive for them was the shortage of donors in the UK combined with the cost of treatment here,’ she says.

‘Funding cuts in primary care trusts are also having an impact, with some suspending IVF treatment.’

Denmark — population just 5.5 million in contrast to Britain’s 60 million — is widely accepted to be the ‘sperm capital’ of Europe.

FACT OF LIFE

Around 1,700 births a year in the UK are a result of donor treatment

Laura Witjens, chair of the National Gamete Donation Trust, which campaigns in Britain to increase the number of sperm, egg and embryo donors, explains her theory why: ‘The sperm banks in Denmark are much more professionally run than here. Also, I think we live in a society that’s less inclined to share, whereas the Danish are not so uptight.’

In Denmark, the rules on sperm donation are more flexible than the UK. Donors can choose to be identifiable or anonymous, with 80 per cent choosing to remain secret.

Jessica decided to pick an anonymous donor. ‘The anonymity issue was the one thing that concerned me,’ she says. ‘I read a lot of psychological research papers for donor-conceived people. The constant theme which caused distress was being lied to, or having their feelings denied.

‘Most research says the best approach is to be honest from when your child asks about who their dad is. I don’t know what I’ll say, but I’ll find a form of words.

‘And I’m planning to set up an official group so Freya gets to meet as many children like her as possible. The clinic also holds an annual party for children born through them, which I plan to take her along to as she grows up.

These days, the definition of family is so very different from previous generations. One in two marriages end in divorce, and there are more gay families and families with stepchildren.

‘If I meet someone and I fall in love then so be it, but I am not concerned about being a single parent,’ says Jessica.

Her parents, John and Margaret, a former child psychologist, are supportive. The retired couple, both 64, are even buying a house near Jessica so they can be hands-on grandparents. ‘My parents have two grandchildren so far and they are desperate for more,’ she says.

And would she like to have another child? ‘I have been thinking about it more and more. I’ll see how things go. But if I did, I would use the same sperm donor again as it makes sense for Freya to have a sibling exactly like her.’

Swiss canton voters could ban the burqa

A petition in Canton Ticino could force a referendum on prohibiting women from wearing burqas in public, a first for the country.

A local committee in Ticino, Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region, said it has collected 11,316 signatures, over a thousand more the required number to launch a referendum. Canton authorities will check the signatures over the next few days, reports say and could then call for a referendum.

According to local newspaper Corriere del Ticino, as well as banning burqas, niqabs and other Islamic headresses, the initiative also aims to ban the use of balaclavas and other headgear that disguise people's faces. These are sometimes worn by people attending football matches in Switzerland.

If the referendum goes ahead, it will be the first time in Switzerland that citizens have been asked to express an opinion on burqas. A similar ban came into effect in France recently, causing a hot debate on personal and religious freedom in the country and beyond.

In 2009, the Swiss voted to ban the construction of minarets in a country, a decision that has sparked controversy in the Muslim world and in other European countries.

Turkey And The European Union

Let's keep it this way!

Firstly I would like to say that I don't agree with the EU and I don't like the fact that we are in it, but we are for now and we all need to live with it until we leave, get booted or what have you. But what does bother me is the possibility of Turkey joining some lovely sunny day in the very real near future.

In a speech at the Turkish parliament, Mr Cameron said he wanted to "pave the road" for Turkey to join the EU, saying the country was "vital for our economy, vital for our security and vital for our diplomacy".

He went on to say Turkey could become a "great European power", helping build links with the Middle East.

Does this not bother you can you imagine the consequences of such a suicidal move. For a reason unknown to me a vast majority our people voted for a party who for all intense purposes are trying to end our way of life not just with the Turkey issue but with many sensitive topics which I shall not enter into in this essay.

How can David Cameron go to Turkey and basically promise to promote and support the entry of Turkey into the European Union, on what grounds would that be good for us? And do we the vast majority of our nation want an estimated arrival of 1.000.000 Turks on our shores who would legally be allowed to come.

It's like this Turkey is not a European country for starters, it's a nation in western Asia with a small territory in southeast Europe which has been under Turkish occupation for several hundred years. Turkey does not have our traditions, culture or a way of life that is in all honesty compatible with our own.

Another important point is that Turkey is a Muslim nation with around 80 million people or so. And  at the moment all the nations that are in the EU are Christian not that it really bothers me because I am not Christian, for me that is also an imported religion from the east and is as foreign to us really as Islam and an Islamic Europe, which is what we are heading for if you look at the Demography of it all but none the less given a choice I would choose a Christian Europe over a Muslim one.

So if we put this in real terms and what it means for us today it would mean that If Turkey was to become a full member state, 80 million or so Muslim would be able to travel without restraint across Europe, seeking your jobs for half the pay, does that ring any bells Hmm Poles. I mean even a child can imagine the effects this would have on our society, culture, and way of life.  In the long run, 50 years after Turkey gets into the EU I honestly think Europe would look like a different place, a place we ourselves could not even recognise. Which brings me to another point Turkey I think would be a gateway for more illegal immigrants coming in Europe through the back door by that I mean Turkeys eastern border, I am no expert but I can't imagine its too difficult to creep across that border, even if caught for a small donation I am sure one would turn a blind.

The powers that be keep telling us that Turkey is one of the leading contenders for the post of "best" Muslim country, nonetheless it still decades behind the European altitudes and standards when it comes secularism, open-mindedness and all manner of rights. Despite the little progresses it has made in the past few years which the powers that be like to remind of us from time to time, the facts are Turkey by Turkey I mean its general populous are generally hostile to the idea of religious tolerance, our ideas of acceptable freedoms and freedom of speech, and us as people all said and done. I mean look in the recent past, Turkey raised objections to the former Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen from becoming the NATO Secretary-General which incidentally he now is. The Turks main argument was that he wasn’t fit for the job because he did not give an apology for caricatures of Muhammad which appeared in a Danish tabloid in 2005, which is a bit two-faced considering that the Turks have not recognised, well for that matter even ever considered apologising for the Armenian Massacres during and just after World War 1. In more recent times, Turkey has been severely abusing its ethnic Kurdish people for years. Again Christians, Turkish or other are not treated the same as the majority Muslims in Turkey to this day especially when it comes to practicing their religion. The few churches that remain in the region today are places of historical "importance" or are parts of more modern building which have no religious attachment.

If we remove the religious or cultural concerns Turkey’s entrance into the EU would probably also fuel some sort of financial-economical and political disparity.  Turkey´s long political disagreements with European Greece and Cyprus would probably become more active because of the very reason these nations would have to try to work together and this would add more stress on an already fragile EU, this would greatly threaten the already straining stability of the EU, which I suppose would be a good thing in the long run. Furthermore, Turkey would have the smallest economy in the EU and this would be a ball and chain for us to carry, and this chain would be felt by us much harder that the ones we had previously and the present day for example Poland, Lithuania and Romania.

So personally I feel admitting Turkey to the EU would be an extremely bizarre, rash and self-destructive move for the EU and Europe as a whole.

I spoke with a Turkish person I know and he said this to me, "I don't really care for joining the EU. I take home every month more than the present EU wage standard when I am home in Turkey, I am quite satisfied with the way things are in Turkey right now and don't see why we need to change, I enjoy travelling and am partial to visiting Europe, but that's the beauty of a vacation you get to see other cultures, eat their food and meet their people but when you leave it all stays there why should we Turks  have to change to suit you, I like being Turkish and am proud of that. But in the long and short term I don’t see any real benefit for us by joining the EU anytime soon.

So in closing if Turkey does someday enter the EU that means the EU has rejected or ignored the natural, cultural and geographical constraints on EU membership, and we should all ask ourselves perhaps it's time to offer membership to let's say Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, and half of Latin America all of which are much more compatible to our way of life, attitude, and beliefs than Turkey will ever be.

The Key to Success

Understanding

I believe that first and foremost, a movement must have an understanding of itself, as well as its purpose and goals. This goes not only for the leadership, but for its membership as well. In my opinion, this basic understanding must be the creation of a new nation for our people beginning with the creation of local communities networking together. We must understand that the basic building block of a nation is the community, and only by building new communities and influencing existing communities can we have the required foundation for our survival.

Focus

Once there is an understanding, we must have focus. Without being focused we will never know in which direction we must go. To start becoming focused we must understand the very foundation that we need to build. This is the family and the community. The family is the core of the every community. Without the family to reproduce future generations, a community will age and die out. But without the community, a family is alone and lacks a reinforced support base that is needed in times of crisis. We must focus on bettering our families so that we can better our communities which in turn will better our country.

Direction

Everything is doomed without a direction to go in. We must march forward in one direction, united under an idea. This direction will only be known by being focused and having an understanding.

Destination

What is the point of a Direction without a destination? This is why I also believe we must have goals both short term and long-term. This also shows progress among the organisation. Our short term goals will be different for each local community in practice but the long term goal of Integralism remains the same.

Personal foundation

The leaders should not and cannot lead an organisation without having a personal foundation for themselves. We see too often beggars trying to become mini-fuehrer’s. Those in leadership positions should represent those that they wish to lead. The working class will never completely respect a man who has never broken a sweat. If you have not been able to gain order over your own life, how can you ever hope to bring order to such a chaotic society like the one we face today?

Money

A lot of people think that having a personal foundation means being rich, but that is not necessarily the case. Money is vital to the operations of an organisation. We have seen a lot of groups use this as an excuse to ask for funds and focus completely on making money. We must have a transparent movement which is open with its money about where donations go as well as allow the donors to decide what causes they are donating to.

Communication

Transparency is only one part of communication as a whole. We must always remember that we aren’t mind readers and we must be able to communicate with one another about activism and ideas. Communication will also allow a greater deal of understanding.

Vicinity

Phones and bulletins are good ways to communicate with everyone, but living in close proximity of comrades is also important. This is why vicinity is important. People will follow locals much more willingly that someone across the map. This is why building communities is paramount to our success. We must grow organically from one area and expand.

Base

The very core of this area must become the nucleus of the movement. This is why a strong base must be created first before any expansion goes underway. With a foundation built we will build an unshakable home. A strong political and economic base doesn’t necessarily have to be a majority but rather a very active minority. By achieving 5% to 10% of the population in a town you can effectively boycott local business’s and can influence those in power.

People

Lastly - and the centerpiece of our movement - is always its people. Our future lies in the hands of its members and its leaders. Each and every individual - no matter what position -must remain honorable and loyal at all times. He or she should always take responsibility for any actions of the past and the present. Without followers there’s no need for leaders. And without proper leaders, we can never be led to victory.

Melancholia director banned from French festival for Nazi comments but film apparently remains in running for top prize

Cannes film festival organisers have banned Lars von Trier from their event after he caused a furore by joking about being a Nazi at a press conference to promote his new film, Melancholia.

The Cannes board of directors declared the Danish director, formerly a festival favourite as much for his outspoken persona as his taboo-breaking films, "persona non grata, with effect immediately" following a bizarre performance in front of the media on Wednesday when he declared he had sympathy for Adolf Hitler.

"Cannes provides artists with an exceptional forum to present their works and defend freedom of expression and creation," the board said in a statement. "We profoundly regret[s] that this forum has been used by Lars von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival."

Von Trier's offending words came in response to a question about his German roots. Seemingly joking, Von Trier announced himself to be a Nazi, after expressing sadness that he hadn't been born Jewish. As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, and Melancholia stars such as Kirsten Dunst sought to staunch his flow, Von Trier continued: "What can I say? I understand Hitler. He did some wrong things, absolutely, but I can see him sitting there in his bunker at the end ... I sympathise with him, yes, a little bit."

The festival organisers subsequently issued a statement saying they had asked the director for an explanation. This followed an hour later, when Von Trier said: "If I have hurt someone this morning by the words I said at the press conference, I sincerely apologise. I am not antisemitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi." But his contrition does not appear to have been sufficient for the board, headed by president Gilles Jacob, to whom the matter was referred.

The ban appears to be a personal one: Melancholia is still in contention for all awards, including the festival's most prestigious, the Palme d'Or, which Von Trier won in 2000 with his film Dancer in the Dark. But should Von Trier triumph, he will not be welcome at Sunday's ceremony to pick it up. All press engagements to promote Melancholia have been cancelled, and it remains uncertain whether the cast and crew would boycott the rest of the festival in protest.

The Guardian's film critic, Peter Bradshaw, a prize juror on this year's Un Certain Regard sidebar, applauded the decision to blame the director himself "rather than his blameless and dull film … that way there is no suggestion of censorship", and urged Von Trier to make "a real apology, and not the smirking tongue-in-cheek one that made things subtly worse".

The nature of Von Trier's reaction to the ban was unclear. Thierry Fremaux, the festival director, said Von Trier told festival officials that he "accepts the punishment". "He's upset by this matter," Fremaux said. "He recognised that the festival had to take a firm position in regards to his comments."

But the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet quoted Von Trier as saying: "I'm proud to have been declared persona non grata. This is maybe the first time in film history that has happened.

"I think one of the reasons is that the French themselves treated the Jews badly during the second world war. Therefore it is a touchy subject for them. I highly respect the Cannes festival, but I also

understand that they are very angry with me right now. I'm no Mel Gibson, but once again I would like to say sorry everybody."

Despite near-universal condemnation for Von Trier's outburst at the time, the board's decision has met with widespread bafflement in Cannes. Lee Marshall, critic for trade paper Screen International, expressed sceptisicm about the timing of the ban. "Von Trier's initial apology should have been enough. That it wasn't suggests to me that this was political." Time Out's film editor, Dave Calhoun, admitted to feeling as uncomfortable about the festival's actions as Von Trier's ill-advised words. "Cannes is an open cultural forum and most people I speak to at the festival agree that his comments were hugely open to interpretation and not coherent enough to form any kind of proper argument or clear opinion. The festival has played judge and jury when it would have been wiser to allow the public, the press and anyone else to decide for themselves."

Jewish groups condemned von Trier's remarks and quickly applauded the festival's measures against the director Thursday.

"This is a welcome action which declares to the world that the suffering of victims is not a fit subject for mockery or casual self-promotion," Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, said in a statement. "The organizers of the Cannes film festival have eloquently taken a determined moral stand against cavalier expressions of hate and insensitivity to those brutalized by the Nazis -- Jew and non-Jew."

With delegates from the world's media congregated and eager for controversy, it looks increasingly unlikely the board's ban will have quite the intended effect. Guy Lodge, from awards site In Contention, suggests it may even give Von Trier career a useful boost, especially following lukewarm reviews for Melancholia itself. "This just amounts to fighting stupidity with stupidity - not to mention a little hypocrisy, when Mel Gibson was given the red-carpet treatment only a few days ago. Von Trier will be fine: I'm sure the ever more competitive Venice film festival will be happy to house his future works. If anything, this just proves his remarkable ability to remain the centre of attention."

Freedom Of Speech

The world will have come to a grave dark place when we no longer have the freedom to say what we like. Different organisations are trying to censor television and other sources of media and I see that as unconstitutional. Life will be far different then it is now, losing the freedom of speech will be one step closer to losing our other rights, and the people who choose to say certain things should take responsibility, not the rest of the nation.

Without our freedom of speech we cannot express our thoughts and ideas freely and openly. Everything we say and do will be censored to some extent, even if its as simple as only saying and doing things when in the privacy and security of our own homes, or at least as long as our homes are secure. Once our freedom to speak our mind is gone, we begin to lose everything that makes us who we are.

Freedom of speech has always been a very important right to all British, but we must realise that by losing that right we open ourselves up to losing all the other rights and freedom most of us take for granted every day. If we cannot speak freely then the government can stop us from speaking out on our own behalf allowing them to take away other rights. If we cannot speak freely, who is to say in the future we can vote "freely". All the things we have grown accustomed to, as British, will be lost.

My last argument point has to do with the people being censored. We must realise that while we can say what we want, we ourselves need to understand limits. You do not say the same things when you are around children that you would around friends. Especially those who are in the media, they are being watched by a mixed audience so it is important that we have a freedom to say what we wish but still keep it appropriate for all. In our society we must take responsibility for our actions so that the government does not step in and do it for us because the majority of the time what they do can be considered overkill.

We’ve got to see that we as a nation have such a wonderful gift that many other nations and places in the world can only imagine. We must take care not to let our freedom slip away because we took it for granted and didn’t take the responsibility we all know we should.

Freedom of Speech vs.  Hate Speech

An important aspect of this conflict lies in the understanding of the definition of 'Freedom of Speech'. Although I do not agree with the concept of censorship, as a society, we have to use our brain to know where to draw limits. Everybody is free to voice their opinion about homosexuality for example, but that freedom does not allow the promotion of hate and violence.

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on "hate speech". The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as "the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression."Furthermore freedom of speech is recognized in European, inter-American and African regional human rights law. It is different from and not to be confused with the concept of freedom of thought.

Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristic. In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group. The law may identify a protected individual or a protected group by race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristic. In some countries, a victim of hate speech may seek redress under civil law, criminal law, or both. A website that uses hate speech is called a hate site. Most of these sites contain Internet forums and news briefs that emphasize a particular viewpoint. There has been debate over how freedom of speech applies to the Internet. Conferences concerning such sites have been sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Critics have claimed that the term "Hate Speech" is a modern example of Newspeak, used to silence critics of social policies that have been poorly implemented in a rush to appear politically correct. There is a strong international consensus that hate speech is incompatible with free speech, but the United States is perhaps unique among much of the developed world in that under law hate speech regulation is incompatible with free speech.

Recent German prosecutions of Nazi suspects

John Demjanjuk, aged 91.

A look at recent prosecutions of suspected Nazi war criminals in Germany.

_May 12, 2011: Verdict scheduled in case of John Demjanjuk, 91.

_July 2010: Samuel Kunz, 88, is charged with participating in the murder of 430,000 Jews while serving as a low-ranking guard at the Belzec death camp. Kunz dies in November 2010, before he can be brought to trial.

_March 2010: Heinrich Boere, 88, is convicted of murdering three civilians in the Netherlands when he was a member of a Waffen SS death squad in 1944; sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal is rejected.

_November 2009: Prosecutors file charges against former SS Sgt. Adolf Storms on 58 counts of murder in connection with a massacre of Jewish forced laborers in Austria in 1945. Storms dies in July 2010 at age 90, before he can be brought to trial.

_August 2009: Josef Scheungraber, a 90-year-old former officer in the German army, is convicted of murder for ordering the massacre of 10 civilians in a 1944 reprisal killing in Italy; sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal is rejected.

_December 2005: An 88-year-old former Nazi commander, Ladislav Niznansky, is acquitted of murder in three massacres in Slovakia. Court cites insufficient evidence.

_February 2004: A court halts the trial of Herbertus Bikker, an 88-year-old former SS member, on charges of killing a Dutch prisoner during World War II. He is ruled medically unfit to stand trial.

_July 2002: Friedrich Engel, a 93-year-old former SS major, is convicted on 59 counts of murder for a 1944 massacre of Italian prisoners and given a suspended seven-year sentence. A federal court later quashes the conviction, doubting the evidence was sufficient. Engel dies in 2006.

_May 2001: Anton Malloth, an 89-year-old former guard at the Theresienstadt fortress in occupied Czechoslovakia, is sentenced to life in prison for beating and kicking a Jewish inmate to death in 1944. Malloth's appeal is rejected. He dies in 2002.

_April 2001: Julius Viel, an 83-year-old former SS commander, is convicted of murdering seven Jewish prisoners from Theresienstadt in 1945. Sentenced to 12 years in prison, Viel dies in 2002, with an appeal of the verdict pending.

Cyprus is least gay-friendly EU country, study says

The ILGA-Europe map shows a clear east-west divide (Photo: ILGA-Europe)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Cyprus is the least gay-friendly EU country followed by Italy, Latvia and Malta according to a new report out by gay-rights group ILGA-Europe.

The study - out to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on 17 May - puts Cyprus in the 'red zone' alongside Armenia, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Russia and Turkey.


The only European countries which scored worse are Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Religious countries in eastern and south-eastern Europe generally scored less well than northern and western countries.

The survey notes that unlike many EU members, Cypriot law makes no mention of sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination and hate speech measures. It has never hosted a gay pride event. It has no legal recognition of same sex partnerships and an unequal age of consent for straight and for same-sex couples.

Spain, Sweden and the UK come out as the most progressive. The study noted that Germany and Portugal scored better than last year, while Lithuania and Hungary slid down.

The survey for the first time took into account the rights of trans-gender people as well as gays, lesbians and bisexuals. It looks only at the legislative environment and does not take into account social factors or anecdotal evidence about levels of toleration.

"Europe considers itself a global leader on human rights and equality, but the map and the index clearly show how far we are from being able to claim the title of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender] human rights and equality champions," ILGA-Europe's Linda Freimane said.

Anglo-Saxon Heathenry

Crucial for the practice of Germanic heathenry which is the ancestral folk religion of the English peoples as a life way, you must have an understanding of the goals it is intended to serve, as well as the philosophical and religious principles that rest at its core. Germanic heathenry is a holistic faith, which means that our world-view and practice comprises a series of wholes, one within the other, and many interlinked, creating larger wholes which all transcend the sum of their parts. These wholes exist within concentric circles, expanding outward infinitely. The lore of Heathenry is replete with circles, for a circle has no clear end and no beginning, and can grow without breaking. The heathen universe is a living, evolving phenomenon, not a static one. Our doctrines are based in the traditions of antiquity, but the heathen of today lives in today. Our way is not an anachronism, nor is a simply a celebration of the past. It is a path toward a future that the Gods have envisioned, and toward which they help us strive. 

The doctrines of Fyrnsidu (the old ways) as it is today are a distillation of the social, spiritual, and ethical teachings of the ancient Germanic peoples focusing strongly on the Anglo-Saxons, as extrapolated by the Sácerdhád (priesthood) from diverse primary sources. These sources include the remaining corpus of Old English and Old Norse literature and gnomic verse, as well as surviving English folk-lore, customs, holiday traditions, moral codes and common law which can be demonstrated or postulated to originate in the Heathen Era. Thus, with regard to the ethical, spiritual teachings of Asatru, Fyrnsidu, and Germanic paganism there is a long and august tradition, stretching into dim antiquity, upon which these teachings are based. This traditional ethic served the heathens of old very well for centuries, evolving over time as the tribes that made up the greater Anglo-Saxon nation migrated and expanded into new lands. The corpus of lore upon which our honour-code of today is based is fairly extensive, if fragmented.

Theology on the other hand is a different matter. Germanic heathenry, like all religions is faced with a number of philosophical problems and intellectual challenges from non-believers with regard to its teachings on the nature of the Gods and divinity. With regard to metaphysical and spiritual matters, we Germanic heathens embrace the practice of mysticism which is to say, the direct experience of the divine or sublime through non-ordinary states of perception. This practice of drawing conclusions of a spiritual nature based upon such direct, non-ordinary experiences of the Divine or "otherworldly" is called a Doxastic Practice, a practice of gaining knowledge or understanding which cannot be established as reliable outside of the practice itself.  

With regard to this religious conundrum: it is the official position of the Sácerdhád (priesthood) that the truth claims of any religion, with regard to its doctrines or teachings concerning divinity, can only be justified within the context of a religious tradition. From a purely epistemic standpoint, belief in the Gods cannot be satisfactorily justified without recourse to personal gnosis or religious experiences/revelations as evidence. Therefore, the goal of epistemology within the tradition of Fyrnsidu cannot be to prove the truth of our religious doctrines, but rather to understand them. So long as these doctrines continue to advance the stated goals of the tradition, then their veracity need not be challenged from an epistemic standpoint, as the existence of the Gods and wights of Germanic heathenry cannot be demonstrated with absolute certainty except from a position of faith. 

Heathen morality in practice is not founded upon hard and fast "commandments", but upon commonly held usages or customs called þéawas. A þéaw or simply "thew" is a mode of conduct or ethical value which encourages personal growth and social stability. Our Sidu/Troth is codified into a sort of ethical code through these þéawas, which in times of yore would have been taught to the young by their parents as simply "the way things are done." Today, we have refined these þéawas into practicable policies called sidungas.

The Twelve Æþeling Þews

Bisignes – Industriousness.
Efnes - Equality, equal justice for all.
Ellen – Courage.
Geférscipe - Community mindness, putting the good of the community above one's self.
Giefu – Generosity.
Giestlíðness – Hospitality.
Metgung - Moderation or self control.
Selfdóm - The ability to be an individual, true to one's self.
Sóð - Truth, Honesty.
Stedefæstnes – Steadfastness.
Tréowð - Troth or loyalty.
Wísdóm – Wisdom.

Other branches of Germanic heathenry have presented these tenets differently, some may teach a greater number, some less, but most will adhere fairly closely to what is written here.

It is important to note, that while these teachings are adapted from heathen ethical codes and practices as found in primary sources, it is unlikely that the ancients codified these teachings to the degree we do today. It is doubtful they had a "list" of thews as such, for they had no need of such lists. To the ancient heathens, the thews were implied in every form of social instruction, from parents, warriors, leaders, and holy folk. We modern heathens are faced with the task of restoring our system of ethics to the state of robustness that it once enjoyed, and so for us, such constructs are meaningful.

Wyrd, Orlagu, and Ordæl, Crucial to gaining an understanding of heathen ethics is an understanding of Wyrd. In Norse heathenry, we see frequent reference to a trio of "weird sisters", the Norns. These enigmatic figures are called Urth, Verdandi, and Skuld. In Anglo-Saxon heathenry, their names are Wyrd, Werthende, and Sculd. We view these beings as being hypostases (different aspects) of one entity, the goddess of the Underworld, who is intimately connected to the web of causality linking all things in the cosmos. This Wight is often seen as being one and the same as Holda, the goddess of the dead, and of the lower reaches of the spirit world, the region called Hel. Her appearance in heathen literature in the guise of three sisters is a mythological representation of her three states, or functions: that which has become (cause), that which is becoming (action), that which should become (effect). The wierd sisters have been likened to the Greek fates; however this is a flawed comparison. The weird sisters are not bound by time, they do not equal past, present, and future. Rather, they are three 'modes' in the unfolding of events in the universe, regardless of the chronology of those events. The key in understanding Wyrd is not time, but cause-and-effect. Let us imagine a 'web', like that of a spider. Let us now say that this web is the universe, and every thread in the web a distinct action, or phenomenon. Our deeds, both great and small, weave new threads, which link other threads together in an ever-expanding network. These new connections bring new circumstances which prompt further actions, and form still more connections. Wyrd is often seen in the lore gazing into her well, in which she can see a "record" of the deeds of all beings. From this we can infer that the ancients saw the wyrd (deeds already wrought) of every being as being indelibly written on the face of reality, never to be removed or undone. Werthende, the Norn ruling that which is becoming, represents the Moment, what we might call the present, if we were to use the term loosely. Werthende is the process of weaving wyrd. She is in a sense, the very act of doing. Sculd, the third "sister" is for want of a clearer description, the consequence of wyrd. The word sculd is the ancestor of our word "should", and likewise refers to what "should" happen, based on the turnings of wyrd. The word also has strong connections to "debt", and is used to refer to the logical consequence of any given deed. In terms of ethics, sculd is used to describe both guilt, as in responsibility for the outcome of one's actions, and debt incurred thereby. To summarize, our actions are werthende, the wending or weaving of the threads. When those actions invoke a consequence, a relationship of cause and effect is created, and Wyrd is "fulfilled". Today, many people will still pause and reflect upon witnessing an occurrence that seems to be one of divine provenance, or on seeing someone suffer a just and ironic turn of fortune, and say "that was weird". This is truer than most people realize. Two concepts very closely related to those of Wyrd and Sculd, are Orlagu and Ordæl. Orlagu, meaning 'primal law', or 'that which has been placed down before', refers to the layers of Wyrd that pertain to an individual person or entity. In a sense, one's orlagu comprises one's 'personal' wyrd. This is very similar to the Hindu concept of Dharma. Likewise, Ordæl is 'the hand dealt to us' as a result of our Orlagu-- or put another way, the consequence incurred by past-actions. This concept is roughly analogous to the Hindu concept of Karma. From this word we have the modern "ordeal".

Consistent with the doctrines of panentheism, animism, and holism, our ancestors symbolized the living cosmos as a great tree, with the homes of spirit-beings nestled in its roots and branches, its trunk serving as the world-axis or axis mundi. The heathen Anglo-Saxons of old called this tree the Eormensýl, the “Heavenly Pillar”. The Norse called it Yggdrasil, which is “The Terrible One’s Steed”, in reference to the sorcerer-god Odin’s self sacrifice by spearing himself to its trunk. The Eormensýl is a sacred symbol to heathens, and represents cosmic order.

Heathery is a panentheistic faith. Panentheism is defined here as the belief that divinity exists within the universe and yet encompasses the universe at the same time. To most practitioners of Germanic Paganism, the Divine is not a remote and coercive force, but rather a subtle and immanent one. This means that the Divine surrounds and permeates everything, taking part in the unfolding of the universe rather than transcending it. We believe that the Divine is active in the world of men and influences both us as individuals and our world at large through the agency of the Gods, whom we call the Ésan.

Strongly linked to the concept of panentheism is that of animism, which is the belief that all objects and creatures in the universe are endowed with a subtle or spiritual essence, a soul, which governs their existence. Put simply, animism is the doctrine that everything is alive on a spiritual level, though they may be inanimate physically. Even inanimate objects possess a subtle or spiritual “self”. Though the “subtle self” of an inanimate object may not be complex enough to be a true soul, it will nonetheless possess a measure of the spiritual life-force which pervades everything in the universe. Followers of our brand of paganism call this life-force æðm, which means “breath”. Some heathens learn to cultivate their æðm and focus it using certain esoteric disciplines to perform “magical” acts, or feats of seemingly superhuman prowess (mægen).

Germanic heathenry teaches that the soul has several parts, which are vitalised by æðm (breath, vapour) while a person lives. At the moment of death, the soul is separated from the body, and generally the greater part of the individual’s personal store of æðmis returned to the universe in undifferentiated form. What remains of the soul, the higher self, will make its journey to whichever otherworldly domain it best belongs, generally the realm of the dead, (Hel), or in some case to one of the heavenly halls of the Gods. It should be noted here that Hel, sometimes mistakenly associated with the western, monotheistic “Hell”, is not a place of torment. The word “Hell” is in fact borrowed from the Germanic tongues by the followers of the One God of the Book, who misapplied it to their own eternal places of punishment. Heathenry has no place for eternal damnation, as there is no evidence to suggest that any man, however base and evil, is wholly unredeemable. Germanic heathery teaches that imperfect or un-evolved souls reside in Hel until they may be born again, to further their journey toward ascension to Heaven, the plane of the Gods. Some heathens also believe that some souls are able to remain near the living after death, remaining to watch over their kin and loved ones. Other spirits remain in the land of the living for other reasons. The lore of spirit wights is the subject of another lesson; suffice to say the fate of the heathen soul upon the death of the body varies from individual to individual.

Anglo-Saxon paganism was a polytheistic religion, revolving around a pantheon centred on the god Woden. It is for this reason that the Christian Church labelled it to be a form of "paganism".

Due to the early Christianisation of England, Anglo-Saxon paganism is sparsely attested, and much more difficult to reconstruct than Norse paganism. Our main sources of evidence are toponymy, archaeology (especially burials such as the one at Sutton Hoo) besides sparse literary testimonies such as Bede's, and what can be glimpsed from surviving works of Anglo-Saxon poetry such as Beowulf. It has been resurrected in the 20th century through the form of the Neo-pagan religion of Theodism.

The pagan Anglo-Saxons were polytheists, believing in several different gods and goddesses. Most of these deities were associated with a specific aspect of nature, for instance, Þunor, was the god of the sky and thunder.

Being of their Germanic ancestry, the Anglo-Saxon deities were largely the same gods as were worshipped by the Norse and other Germanic peoples. The names vary slightly due to the differences in language among the Germanic people. For example, Þunor of the Anglo-Saxons was the same deity as Thor of the Norse and Donar of the Germans. Likewise, Woden of the Anglo-Saxons is the same as Óðinn among the Norse and Wodan of the Germans.

The Anglo-Saxons, (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) comprised of tribes such as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, arrived in Britain from southern Denmark, the Netherlands and northern Germany in the early-mediaeval period.

The last pagan king of Anglo-Saxon England was Arwald, who was killed in battle in 686 by the Christian king, Cædwalla of Wessex.

Pope Gregory instructed Augustine to "destroy the idols but use their houses for Christian worship" Many Anglo-Saxon pagan practises were transformed into Christian practices, for instance, the Christian festival of Easter was adapted from a previous Anglo-Saxon pagan spring festival devoted to the Anglo-Saxon pagan Goddess Ēastre.

Yule Feast is a Pagan Winter Festival (winter solstice).

Not a Christian Birthday Celebration

According to the Christian missionaries sent to proselytize among the Germanic peoples of northern Europe were instructed to superimpose Christian themes upon existing local pagan holidays, to ease the conversion of the people to Christianity by allowing them to retain their traditional celebrations. Thus, Christmas was created by associating stories of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth with Yule. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred approximately six months after Christmas Day. One thing that all scholars agree on is Jesus was not born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday on December the 25th? The answer lies in the pagan origins of the Feast of Yule (Beginning of Runic Year), missionaries found it convenient to provide a Christian reinterpretation of popular pagan holidays such as Yule and allow the celebrations themselves to go on largely unchanged, versus trying to confront and suppress them. The Scandinavian tradition of slaughtering a Boar at Christmas is probably salient evidence of this to this day. The tradition is thought to be derived from the sacrifice of boars to the god Freyr at the Yule celebrations. Yule Feast - Winter Solstice (Sacred to Odin and Freyr) and we also find Easter another Christian reinterpretation of the Pagan Spring Equinox celebrations Ēastre (that is, Easter) is the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess Ēastre converted to English "Easter" to identify the celebration of Midsummer Day. The Spring Equinox celebrations are assimilated from northern European pagan festivals. Coincidence the rising of the Sun coincides with the resurrection of the Son of God?