Chancellor Werner Faymann

What expects immigrants in Austria next year

In Österreich soll durch die sogenannte “Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte” die Zuwanderung neu geregelt werden. Die auf einem Punktesystem basierende Regelung soll das bisherige Quotensystem ersetzen. Kriterien für die Zuwanderung sollen etwa bestimmte Qualifikationen, Deutschkenntnisse oder Nachfrage am Arbeitsmarkt sein. Innenministerin Maria Fekter (ÖVP) erklärte, die Karte solle schon 2010 eingeführt werden. Source: Die Presse
In den USA gibt es bereits seit Jahrzehnten die sogenannte Green-Card, die zugleich Niederlassungsbewilligung und Arbeitsgenehmigung ist. Weltweit gibt es einen Wettbewerb um besonders gut ausgebildete Arbeitskräfte – als Beispiel wird meist der indische Software-Experte genannt. Die klassischen Einwanderungsländer USA und Kanada sind dabei die großen Sieger. Source: ORF.at (more…)

Austrian far-right parliamentarian Susanne Winter was convicted Thursday of incitement because of her anti-Muslim statements, including the claim that Islam’s prophet Mohammad was a pedophile. A court in Winter’s home town of Graz also found the 51-year-old politician guilty of humiliating a religion. She was sentenced to a fine of 24,000 euros euros and a suspended prison term of three months, Austrian news agency APA reported. The politician, who took a seat in parliament last fall for the Freedom Party (FPOe), made the anti-Islamic remarks in January 2008.

About animal brothels in Graz

She also proposed in a discussion with students that Muslim men should commit bestiality rather than making “indecent advances” on girls. When somebody may ask my own opinion about Susanne Winter case and weather I see here insult of Muslim religious feelings, I would of course support indignant outburst of conventional wisdom saying politician should really care what she is speaking about, because any chauvinistic escapades, even if they meant only to attract more attention of electorate to FPÖ, turn out to be very expensive nowadays.

Candidness of Susanne Winter

From the other side, I see Susanne Winter not as aggressor, but victim of Austrian conventionalism, who dared to pronounce publicly what other Austrians often say to one another in privacy of their home kitchens. Being born and raised up in Islamic country, and thus knowing something about realities of Islamic world, I withdraw now from further comments and only recite words of renowned author and prominent political figure defending rights of Muslim women Ayaan Hirsi Ali:
“For centuries we had been behaving as though all knowledge was in the Quran, refusing to question anything, refusing to progress. By declaring our Prophet infallible and not permitting ourselves to question him, we Muslims had set up a static tyranny. We froze the moral outlook of billions of people into the mind-set of the Arab desert in the seventh century. We were not just servants of Allah, we were slaves.”

Galina Toktalieva:  The rebellious and extravagant thoughts about Islam and prophet Muhammad, which Susanne Winter announced publicly as her own to attract more attention of electorat to herself and her ultra-right party, were originated by Somalia female Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her book “Infifel” (seen in all bookstores in Austria two-three years ago) who was brought up in Islam, emigrated to Holland, became politician and then after coming through ordeal of life threats from Muslims and faked Holland citizenship, emigrated to the USA.

Female genital cutting or female circumcision, refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons. It is practiced throughout the world, with the practice concentrated most heavily in Africa. Amnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have been affected by some form of mutilation, with over 2 million procedures being performed every year. Whilst act is widely practiced out in the open by Africans of varied faiths, it is practiced in secrecy in some parts of the Middle East . In the Arabian peninsula, mutilation is usually performed, often referred to as Sunna circumcision especially among Afro-Arabs. The practice occurs particularly in northern Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, and northern Iraq. In the Iraqi village of Hasira, a recent study found that 60 percent of the women and girls reported having undergone mutilation. Before the study, there had been no solid proof of the prevalence of the practice. There is also circumstantial evidence to suggest that mutilation is practiced in Syria, western Iran, and south eastern Turkey. Source: Wikipedia

I have read recently a few autobiographical books of women who came through procedure of genital cutting in their childhood, including memoirs of Mende Nazer, Waris Diri and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali. All of them were raised up in Muslim environment. (more…)

MOSCOW – A Russian human rights lawyer renowned for his work on abuses in Chechnya was shot to death Monday by a masked gunman who followed him from a news conference. A young journalist who tried to intervene also was shot.

Murder

The broad-daylight shootings of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova prompted grief and outrage in a country where lawyers and journalists who challenge the official version of justice are frequently targeted. Colleagues drew comparisons with the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya — a client of Markelov’s and a fellow enemy of rights abuses in Chechnya and across former President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Markelov, 34, was shot near a building where he had just held a news conference, about half a mile (1 kilometer) from the Kremlin.

Markelov was shot in the back of the head at close range by an attacker who followed him after the news conference, wore a stocking-style mask and had a silencer on his gun — clear signs of a planned killing, state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

Fatal intervention

(Specifics of russian national mentality would not let person stay cowardly passive toward unknown offenders in the street) Anastasia Baburova, a freelance journalist in her mid-20s who had worked for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was shot when she tried to intervene after Markelov was attacked. Another Novaya Gazeta editor, Sergei Sokolov, later said she died on an operating table. (more…)

Russisch-Ukrainischer Gas-Streit eskaliert

Russia–Ukraine gas debates refer to a number of argues between Russian state-controlled gas supplier Gazprom and Ukraine over natural gas supplies, prices and debts. The disputes have threatened natural gas supplies in numerous European countries that depend on Russian natural gas.
A serious disagreement started in March 2005 over the natural gas and transit prices. It culminated on 1 January 2006 in cutting gas supplies to Ukraine. The situation calmed on 4 January 2006 when supply was restored. Another gas dispute arose in October 2007 over gas debts and culminated in the gas supplies reduction in March 2008. During the last months of 2008 relations between Gazprom and Ukraine again became tense because of a fight over the size of debts owned by Ukraine.
In January 2009, the disagreement resulted in 18 European countries reporting major falls or cut-offs of gas supplies from Ukrainian pipelines carrying Gazprom gas. (more…)

As author I praise value of writer’s honesty. As Mahatma Gandhi wrote in his autobiography: “The heart’s earnest and pure desire is always fulfilled”, so sincere author, has chances to reach heights of mastery. After rambling through books in next Vienna bookstore, I would descend in metro, and vibration of train and feeling of running forward would pacify and bring me in thoughts far beyond of my destination. Previous experienced passenger of Moscow and St-Petersburg underground, now whenever I find myself squeezed between unknown people in underground rush hour, my mind starts traveling in time and space. If to look long enough at dim silhouettes of passengers reflected in dark window, and lights of tunnel splashing  through, is easy to accept suggestion that time does not exists, countries, epochs, generations, yesterday and tomorrow – all is mixed up and goes on at the same time, emerging and passing away as segments in gigantic kaleidoscope. In this common transitory impermanence the only anchor that persists is my awareness of reality. Perhaps this fragile fleeting transit between me and higher source of the world, not perceivable by senses and not knowable by mind, is the only space where search for ultimate truth gives promise to be rewarded? So highest degrees of ultimate truth can not be ascribed to transitory of particular time and particular people. Truth that is true only for certain group is sort of interpretation.
By other words, if author orientates at approval of certain group, his statements are short-lived. (more…)