France’s Appetite for Interference Swelling

Marine Le Pen: I Want to Free France from EU Straitjacket

Two Views on France’s Burqa BanCNN: France's Islamic veil ban spurs passionate reaction worldwide » | Michael Saba, CNN | Monday, April 25, 2011

Polémique Schengen : des Tunisiens de Lampedusa sont en FranceLE POINT: La plupart des migrants bloqués depuis des semaines à la frontière française peuvent désormais la franchir. Rencontre avec l'un d'entre eux.Le rendez-vous est pris dans l'arrière-cour d'un bar miteux de Villeurbanne, aux portes de Lyon. "Pas de photo", demande-t-il d'emblée, une cigarette à la bouche, en se retournant pour

France Threatens to 'Suspend' Schengen TreatyTHE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France has threatened to abandon European Union freedom of movement by “suspending” Europe’s Schengen Treaty due to an influx of Tunisian and Libyan migrants from Italy.Italy has given up to 26,000 illegal migrants six-month residence permits, allowing them to travel freely in the border-free Schengen zone, which covers all EU

Woman throws mug at Mona Lisa! / Kobieta rzuca kubkiem w obraz Mony Lisy!

Crazy shit! A woman reportedly threw a mug at Da Vinci's masterpiece while visiting the Louvre. Read more here.
A propos - ever been to the Louvre?
I think the new part is quite hideous.
Well on the first look it was. Maybe Ihave grown up? Dunno, but from my point of view Vienna's the only city (as for now) which combines an older building style with newer ones, successfully. Just saying!
Niezłe! Na CNN jest napisane, że jakaś nieznana turystka rzuciła kubkiem w majstersztyk Leonarda Da Vinci odwiedzając Luwr. Na innej stronie internetowej doczytałam, iż kobieta ponoć pochodzi z Rosji i była wściekła , iż odmówiono jej obywatelstwa francuskiego... jeśli to prawda, to o włoskim nawet nie powinna myśleć... dlaczego rzuciła w obraz Włocha? Bądź co bądź obraz oczywiście znajdował się "pod ochroną" jaką jest szkło pancerzowe (jeśli to się tak nazywa po Polsku).
A tak na marginesie? Byliście kiedyś w Luwrze? Francuzi by mnie teraz zapewne zlinczowali za owe słowa, ale według mnie nowa część jest ..mniej udana. Nie podoba mi się. Po prostu. Chyba tylko w Wiedniu potrafią doskonale łączyć stary styl architektury z nowym...

Banning the Burqa?

by Oscar Pocasangre

Today, while checking out the New York Times before starting my work, I stumbled upon an article that gave me a hard case of cognitive dissonance that I'm still trying to resolve. The article discussed how French President Nicolas Sarkozy is leading a campaign to ban the Muslim burqa in France on the grounds that it is demeaning and oppressive for women. Sarkozy argued that France cannot allow for women to continue being prisoners in these garments.

I wholeheartedly agree that women should not be oppressed or kept at the margin of social life. Indeed, women are entitled to be active citizens and nothing should bar them from the day to day happenings of society. But I don't know how I feel about banning a clothing garment that is intimately associated with a religion.

Isn't this - telling people what they can and cannot wear - being too invasive of personal life? Is the French government going too far? Back in 2004, it even banned conspicuous religious symbols from schools. Doesn't this go against Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance"?

Personally, if the government of my country were to prohibit wearing crucifixes I would feel like my right to manifest and observe my religious beliefs is being violated. I know that a crucifix does not marginalize me, but wearing it is a religious tradition in Catholicism just like wearing the burqa is in Islam. While, I don't know enough about Islam and its practices to say that women who adhere to its religious traditions should wear them, I do feel that if a woman wants to wear it and feels comfortable wearing it, she should be able to.

I do not believe that it is the garment, per se, what is oppressing women. A culture of domineering males who don't allow their wives, daugthers, or sisters to express themselves freely and limit their life opportunities in many different domains is the problem that should be addressed if any change is to be made. Moreover - and I know this sounds idealistic and might border on cliché - we should all make an effort to understand the values of other cultures and religions and recognize that many times they will differ from ours.