January 6, 2006

World Media Watch

by Gloria R. Lalumia

BuzzFlash Note: WMW provides BuzzFlash readers foreign views and perspectives that are not usually available from the media here in the U.S. The presentation of these articles from these international publications is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.

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 WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JANUARY 6, 2006

1//EUobserver.com, Belgium--EU DRAWS UP ADRIATIC GAS PLAN AFTER RUSSIA-UKRAINE FIASCO (The EU might build a new gas pipeline on the Adriatic Sea coast in order to ease reliance on Russia following the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. Hungarian economics minister Janos Koka told news wires about the plan following a meeting of EU energy experts in Brussels on Wednesday [4 December]. Under the scheme, tankers would deliver liquid gas from the Middle East and North Africa to an Adriatic region entry point into Europe. A feasibility study is due by March. The EU experts' meeting was originally tabled for May, but was brought forward after Russia turned off gas supplies to transit state Ukraine on Sunday causing sharp drops in deliveries to the EU. … The EU currently relies on Russia for around 25 percent of its gas consumption. "We have to draw consequences from what happened, not just on gas but also regarding oil and electricity," Austrian economics minister Martin Bartenstein said according to PAP and IHT.)

2//The Toronto Star, Canada--TORIES JUMP INTO CLEAR LEAD (The election campaign has taken a dramatic turn, with the opposition Conservatives jumping into their first real lead over the governing Liberals, a new poll shows. The survey, conducted by EKOS Research Associates for the Star and La Presse, found that 36.2 per cent of decided voters say they will support the Conservatives, while 30.4 per cent favoured the Liberals. The NDP is supported by 17.9 per cent of voters, while the Bloc is at 10.4 per cent nationally and the Green party is at 4.7 per cent. If the numbers hold up, it would mean a Tory minority government. However, the electorate is still volatile, with 40 per cent of respondents saying they could still change their minds. … The poll will be a dispiriting blow to the Liberals, who have to rally their troops for the final push to the Jan. 23 vote. But it will also hold dangers for the Tories, making them a target in a way they've escaped so far. Many Tories are privately cringing at the prospect of peaking too early, as seemed to be the case in the 2004 campaign.)

3//DW-World.de, Germany--NEW RULES FOR MUSLIMS IN GERMAN STATE BLASTED (Getting German citizenship usually means signing an oath of allegiance to the constitution. Not any more. One state has begun singling out Muslims for tougher questioning, sparking an outcry across the country. On Jan. 1, life got tougher for Muslim immigrants angling for a German passport in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. In a unique move, the interior ministry of the state has said that potential Muslim Germans would face a lengthy interrogation, involving answering a catalogue of 30 questions on their political, cultural and social views. Subjects include their opinions on religious freedom, equality of the sexes, homosexuality, freedom of expression, the concept of honor, forced marriage. … Officials will document the responses, which the applicant will eventually have to certify with his or her signature. Those who fail to satisfy the authorities of their readiness to accept the Basic Law will be refused citizenship. Baden-Württemberg has also warned that intentionally fudged answers could lead to German citizenship being revoked years later. The new measure will only be applied to applicants from 57 Islamic countries [some 60 percent of all immigrants to Baden-Württemberg in 2004]. Other candidates will be subject to the procedure in exceptional cases.)

4//The Independent, UK--CHIRAC VEERS LEFT TO SMOOTH PATH FOR FAVOURED SUCCESSOR DE VILLEPIN (President Jacques Chirac has entered what may be his last full year in politics by veering significantly to the left. M. Chirac, a connoisseur of U-turns and zig-zags, has used new year receptions to announce a flurry of left-leaning policies, including a radical shift in the financing of health and social security spending. He has 17 months remaining in his second term and his poll ratings are at a record low. The sharp turn is seen as an attempt to fulfil M. Chirac's last remaining political ambition: to ruin the presidential chances of his former protégé, the Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy. … M. Sarkozy has called for a "rupture" with a "failed" French political and social model and a move towards a lower-spending, less intrusive state. But all the new policies announced by M. Chirac this week are intended to suggest the French model of high-spending and generous welfare protection is compatible with a forward-looking, ground-breaking country. The intention seems to be to .paint the popular M. Sarkozy as an ultra-liberal ideologue and a threat to the French way of life.)

5//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong-- PHILIPPINES: PRAY, PUT POLITICS ASIDE (The newly elected president of the highly influential Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wants to steer the organization back to its pastoral mission and away from politics. His wish may be difficult to attain in the Philippine political arena, where the Church has always had a central, if controversial, role. The CBCP should concentrate more on its religious duties and put politics aside, said Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, the new leader of the 119-member organization. . … Lagdameo's aim is rather at odds with reality in a country where the Catholic Church is the most influential institution reaching into every facet of society, including politics. … If the people-power movements were the defining moments of the Church's grip on the country's politics, its central role was highlighted again at the peak of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's crisis last summer. Arroyo, plagued by accusations of vote-rigging, survived three impeachment attempts brought against her in parliament by the opposition in July. Analysts agree that the Church helped her stay in power.)

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1//EUobserver.com, Belgium 05.01.2006 - 09:55 CET
http://euobserver.com/9/20628

EU DRAWS UP ADRIATIC GAS PLAN AFTER RUSSIA-UKRAINE FIASCO
By Andrew Rettman

The EU might build a new gas pipeline on the Adriatic Sea coast in order to ease reliance on Russia following the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute.

Hungarian economics minister Janos Koka told news wires about the plan following a meeting of EU energy experts in Brussels on Wednesday (4 December).

Under the scheme, tankers would deliver liquid gas from the Middle East and North Africa to an Adriatic region entry point into Europe.

A feasibility study is due by March.

The EU experts' meeting was originally tabled for May, but was brought forward after Russia turned off gas supplies to transit state Ukraine on Sunday causing sharp drops in deliveries to the EU.

Moscow and Kiev struck a price deal in the small hours of Wednesday morning, but some EU politicians are sceptical if the accord will hold.

The EU currently relies on Russia for around 25 percent of its gas consumption.

"We have to draw consequences from what happened, not just on gas but also regarding oil and electricity," Austrian economics minister Martin Bartenstein said according to PAP and IHT.

"Dependency on Russia should be reduced," he added.

The EU energy group also asked the European Commission to produce a green paper on energy policy coordination in time for the Austrian presidency's first summit in March.

The paper is likely to focus on uniform counting methods for member states' gas reserves, concerted action on new supply routes, such as the Turkish 'Nabucco' pipeline, nuclear and renewable energy and energy conservation.

Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reports that all member states agreed on Wednesday to tackle energy at EU level, including previous opponents of the idea such as the UK.

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2//The Toronto Star, Canada Jan.5, 2006
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Content...

TORIES JUMP INTO CLEAR LEAD
Sean Gordon, Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA—The election campaign has taken a dramatic turn, with the opposition Conservatives jumping into their first real lead over the governing Liberals, a new poll shows.

The survey, conducted by EKOS Research Associates for the Star and La Presse, found that 36.2 per cent of decided voters say they will support the Conservatives, while 30.4 per cent favoured the Liberals.

The NDP is supported by 17.9 per cent of voters, while the Bloc is at 10.4 per cent nationally and the Green party is at 4.7 per cent.

If the numbers hold up, it would mean a Tory minority government.

However, the electorate is still volatile, with 40 per cent of respondents saying they could still change their minds.

Until now, polls have shown the Liberals in the lead or, more recently, the two parties in a virtual tie. The EKOS poll came on the same day an SES poll was released showing the Conservatives leading the Liberals 36 to 33 per cent.

The EKOS poll shows that an effective campaign by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has combined with a renewed focus on Liberal ethics to reverse the position of the two parties.

Results for Ontario and Quebec are eye-catching. In Ontario, where the Liberals have always enjoyed a big lead, a real dogfight has now emerged, with the Liberals at 38.5 per cent support and the Tories at 35.3.

In Quebec, where Harper has spent an unusual amount of time, the two parties are in almost a dead heat with the Liberals at 21.9 per cent and the Conservatives at 20.2. The Bloc Québécois is well ahead at 43.8, but the increased Tory support has come at the Bloc's expense. The shift shows Quebec voters are eyeing a federalist alternative other than the Liberals.

The poll will be a dispiriting blow to the Liberals, who have to rally their troops for the final push to the Jan. 23 vote.

But it will also hold dangers for the Tories, making them a target in a way they've escaped so far.

Many Tories are privately cringing at the prospect of peaking too early, as seemed to be the case in the 2004 campaign.

"It would be better not to be the target this early," said one senior Tory.

That danger was illustrated last night when NDP Leader Jack Layton lashed out at Harper, saying a Harper government would wreak havoc on the Canadian federation and team with Quebec separatists in a destabilizing move for the country.

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3//DW-World.de, Germany 05.01.2006
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1840793,00.html

NEW RULES FOR MUSLIMS IN GERMAN STATE BLASTED

Getting German citizenship usually means signing an oath of allegiance to the constitution. Not any more. One state has begun singling out Muslims for tougher questioning, sparking an outcry across the country.

On Jan. 1, life got tougher for Muslim immigrants angling for a German passport in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg.

In a unique move, the interior ministry of the state has said that potential Muslim Germans would face a lengthy interrogation, involving answering a catalogue of 30 questions on their political, cultural and social views. Subjects include their opinions on religious freedom, equality of the sexes, homosexuality, freedom of expression, the concept of honor, forced marriage.

Questions range from "Do you think the woman should obey her husband and that he can beat her if she is disobedient?"; and "Would you allow your daughter to participate in sports and swimming classes at school?"; to "What do you think of the fact that parents forcibly marry off their children? Do you think such marriages are compatible with human dignity?"

"Serious or just paying lip service?"

The ministry has said that Germany's 16 federal states must be permitted to discern whether potential new citizens truly accept the country's Basic Law, to which they are required under federal law to sign an oath of allegiance.

"We need to find out whether the applicant really does seriously mean it when he signs an oath of allegiance to the constitution and accepts it, or whether he's merely paying lip service to it," said Günter Loos, Baden-Württemberg interior ministry press spokesman, in Stuttgart.

"There have been neutral surveys and studies that have shown there are discrepancies between Muslim beliefs and our constitution -- just think of things like forced marriages, honor killings and the like," Loos said.

"If there is a suspicion that the person who wants to become German does not share our fundamental principles and values, then the new interrogation is meant to find that out," he added.

Loos insisted the new procedure is "not so much a catalogue of questions," but rather a "guideline" meant to aid officials quizzing the applicant.

"Discriminatory and racist"

Officials will document the responses, which the applicant will eventually have to certify with his or her signature. Those who fail to satisfy the authorities of their readiness to accept the Basic Law will be refused citizenship. Baden-Württemberg has also warned that intentionally fudged answers could lead to German citizenship being revoked years later.

The new measure will only be applied to applicants from 57 Islamic countries (some 60 percent of all immigrants to Baden-Württemberg in 2004). Other candidates will be subject to the procedure in exceptional cases.

Those details of the rule, in particular, have raised hackles among politicians and Muslim groups.

Faruk Sen, director of the Center for Turkish Studies in Essen, said the move was discriminatory and racist.

"Every country has the right to examine foreigners' loyalty to the country's values and social order with certain questions during the naturalization process," Sen said. "But if 30 questions are only applied to Muslims, as is the case in Baden-Württemberg, then it amounts to religious ostracism and racism."

Sen pointed out that among the 2.7 million Turks in Germany -- the biggest group among the country's 3.5 million Muslims -- there was a high propensity to apply for German passports.

He added that the new measure would hamper the willingness among foreigners to apply for German citizenship, in turn negatively impacting ongoing efforts towards their integration.

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4//The Independent, UK Published: 06 January 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article336762.ece

CHIRAC VEERS LEFT TO SMOOTH PATH FOR FAVOURED SUCCESSOR DE VILLEPIN
By John Lichfield in Paris

President Jacques Chirac has entered what may be his last full year in politics by veering significantly to the left. M. Chirac, a connoisseur of U-turns and zig-zags, has used new year receptions to announce a flurry of left-leaning policies, including a radical shift in the financing of health and social security spending. He has 17 months remaining in his second term and his poll ratings are at a record low.

The sharp turn is seen as an attempt to fulfil M. Chirac's last remaining political ambition: to ruin the presidential chances of his former protégé, the Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy.

President Chirac, 73, weakened by health problems and his defeat in the referendum on the EU constitution last May, has probably abandoned hope of a third term. By embracing ideas from trades unions and the centre-left opposition, M. Chirac is preparing for an aggressively centrist, and even leftist, campaign next year by his preferred successor, the Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin.

M. Sarkozy has called for a "rupture" with a "failed" French political and social model and a move towards a lower-spending, less intrusive state. But all the new policies announced by M. Chirac this week are intended to suggest the French model of high-spending and generous welfare protection is compatible with a forward-looking, ground-breaking country.

The intention seems to be to paint the popular M. Sarkozy as an ultra-liberal ideologue and a threat to the French way of life. "Let's escape from this endless debate on the 'French model'," President Chirac said. "You don't change what you are."

He has also set hi-tech ambitions, such as the development by 2030 of a new "cleaner" fourth generation of nuclear reactors and the abandonment of fossil fuels by French rail and bus services by 2025.

He has also raided the thinking of the trade union federation, the CGT, once Communist-affiliated, to propose the biggest shift in social policy financing for 60 years.

The French health service, and pensions and unemployment benefits, are funded by separate taxes - or social security contributions - which fall heavily on both employers and employees. The system is partly blamed for the stubbornly high rate of unemployment (just under 10 per cent). The social security system is also hugely in deficit.

M. Chirac has proposed that a proportion of employers' contributions to the social security fund should no longer be based on the number of people a company employs. Instead, payments should be based on the "value added" by a company, including its investments and foreign earnings.

This would push a larger part of the social security budget on relatively "low-employment" industries in fields such as finance and new technologies. "High employment" industries would be relieved of part of their costs, potentially creating many jobs. But opponents warned such a switch could force companies, and foreign investment, to move from France.

M. Chirac picked up another union idea for individual rights to "permanent training", to allow employees to switch jobs more easily. He also promised a €2bn (£1,377m) a year state loan fund for promising start-up and small companies.

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5//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Jan 6, 2006
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/HA06Ae02.html

PHILIPPINES: PRAY, PUT POLITICS ASIDE
By Fabio Scarpello

MANILA - The newly elected president of the highly influential Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wants to steer the organization back to its pastoral mission and away from politics. His wish may be difficult to attain in the Philippine political arena, where the Church has always had a central, if controversial, role.

The CBCP should concentrate more on its religious duties and put politics aside, said Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, the new leader of the 119-member organization.

"The working heart of the CBCP consists of [its episcopal] commissions. So all commissions should focus on the nine pastoral priorities," he said in a speech after succeeding Archbishop Fernando Capalla last month.

The nine pastoral priorities are: integral faith formation, empowerment of the laity toward social transformation, active presence and participation of the poor in the Church, the family as focal point of evangelization, building and strengthening of participatory communities that make up the parish as a community of communities, integral renewal of the clergy, journeying with youth, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and animation and formation for mission ad gentes (the Second Vatican Council's decree on the missionary activity of the Church).

Lagdameo's aim is rather at odds with reality in a country where the Catholic Church is the most influential institution reaching into every facet of society, including politics.

(SNIP)

If the people-power movements were the defining moments of the Church's grip on the country's politics, its central role was highlighted again at the peak of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's crisis last summer.

Arroyo, plagued by accusations of vote-rigging, survived three impeachment attempts brought against her in parliament by the opposition in July. Analysts agree that the Church helped her stay in power.

"During the vote to impeach Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a congressman accepted that last-minute calls by Erano Manalo, head of the Iglesia ni Cristo, kept him from signing the impeachment complaint," Baylon said.

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), or Church of Christ, is a religious group that declared its support for Arroyo during the last week of the 2004 election campaign, which she won by a contested 1 million votes.

Besides the INC, another religious group that is involved in politics is the Catholic movement El Shaddai. "They can also deliver millions of votes," said Quezon.

Further, the role of the Church was instrumental in the failure of the opposition's attempt to take the battle from the courtroom to the streets.

In a July 10 pastoral statement, the CBCP declined to support the mounting calls for the resignation of Arroyo. "In a spirit of humility and truth, we declare our prayerfully discerned collective decision that we do not demand her resignation," then-CBCP president Capalla read from the three-page statement.

The statement meant that most people stayed home and the protests never mounted to anything comparable to past people-power movements.

However, Lagdameo has now taken over and stated his intention to return to basics, though he is expected to state his position on pressing political issues when the bishops convene some time this month.

Expectations are mixed.

"The Church is divided," Quezon said. "There are bishops who are conservative, others liberal. The clergy is divided. The faithful are confused. But with the new leaders we may see a return to the old pro-democracy Church of 1986."

Baylon hoped for a continuation of the status quo that sees the Church walking a fine line between being apolitical and becoming politically active.

"I believe the religious orders should maintain their activism in relation to moral issues, which, given the weakness of political values and principles in the Philippines political system, means bordering on political involvement," he said. "However, at the stage the Philippines is in, the abdication by church leaders would have even worse consequences."

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