Merkel's visit to Algiers was a platform for a longer term relationship between Algeria and Germany. The goal was to investigate the feasibility of establishing a strong bilateral relationship with Algeria as a counterweight to Gazprom. The "charm offensive" ensured that the Germans will be back.

The Chancellor's entourage was full of business representatives and her itinerary reveals her priorities. First, she met with Ouyahia, then meeting with the head of religious affairs (undoubtedly to discuss the giant mosque that is being planned for Algiers with German knowhow and Algerian money; it will be an enormous mosque with an enormous price -- 100 billion dinars), and then, after formalities, visited the war memorial with Chakib Khelil, the Minister of Energy and current President of OPEC. Khelil stressed that Sonatrach can "operate freely in Europe," addressing German concerns about it being tied in Gazprom's scheming in Mitteleuropa and acknowledging that Algeria is prepared to help Germany expand its energy profile off of the continent. She attended a dinner hosted by the German-Algerian Chamber of Commerce at the Sheraton in Algiers. To sway the Algerians, the Germans dangled prospects of car factories and new military/naval hardware (notably a deal for five frigates for the Algerian navy). Germans are eager for both a bigger share of Algeria's gas and its market, but are not oblivious to the country's "Third World bureaucracy" and "socialist oriented" economy, as several German reports noted. Some mentioned that increased economic activity would lessen the appeal of Islamist groups and terror cells.

In addition, Merkel met with civil society and women's groups, expressing disress over the fact that rape within marriage has yet to be criminalized in Algeria. Interestingly, several reports have noted that Bouteflika told the German Chancellor that he believed Syria would open a diplomatic mission in Lebanon soon. They apparently discussed the Sudanese file, though I cannot imagine that the two saw eye to eye on it.

Her departure was delayed by problems with her Airbus: A 30 centimeter crack in the fuselage kept it grounded (apparently the (accidental) handywork of an employee at the airport). Bouteflika offered his presidential Air Algerie plane to the chancellor, but it was too small and would have required that most of the delegation be left behind. Not wanting to leave behind CEOs and top executives, Merkel declined and had another serving of coffee with Bouteflika while she and her entourage waited for a larger plane.

Question of the day: Did the photographer attempt to minimize the height difference between Boutef and Merkel in this photo?

Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon, and the various newspapers fill in on every aspect of the film - often to the point of revealing the very twists and turns that render the film thrilling.

Equally shamefully, I have been known to adhere to the views of said critics and shun certain films altogether.

This month, however, I side-stepped the squeals of deploration and snide smirks of reviewers and succumbed to the latest film snatched to quell my desire for all movies French and/or France-based.

Thankfully, it was to prove a prudent move, for Caché - or Hidden - was an exhilarating romp through little more than 110 minutes of chilling thrills, with an ending so mysterious that the cherry was well and truly teetered on the cake of white-knuckledness.

Directed by Michael Haneke - Le temps du loup (2003); La pianiste (2002) - Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche star as husband and wife Georges and Anne, a successful television presenter and book publisher respectively.

Residing in the Paris suburbs, Georges and Anne enjoy a suitably bourgeoisie life that comprises statuesque creaking book shelves, seemingly endless soirees, and the occasional meander to their teenage son's swimming competitions.

The idyll is rocked, however, when Georges receives a videotape.

On it is a lengthy stream of surveillance footage of his home, shot from across the street.

And it is just the first of many: further tapes, wrapped in strange and disturbingly child-like drawings start to arrive, leaving Georges, his wife and his teenage son, Pierrot, unsettled.

The film steadily builds from there, as Georges starts looking to his past to try and find the answer to who is sending the tapes, only to find himself increasingly disturbed by the memories he recalls.

To peruse the criticism of Caché is to find an element of truth in each lament: while the lack of soundtrack rendered the movie for one critic an "exercise in pain" as the director seemingly does "everything he can to bore the audience, and the audience tries not to fall asleep or flee the theater" the absence of audio-tension contrastingly rendered the performances of Binoche, Auteuil and Lester Makedonsky (Pierrot) all the more profoundly riveting.

While mainstream thrillers herald the arrival of a horrific act, the silence lulls the viewer into a false sense of calm, only to be jerked rudely into realization at the unanticipated unfolding of events.

Once traumatised, one enters a disturbed state in which scenes that may not contain frights are nevertheless approached as doing so, as Auteuil's protagonist lurches from one unsettling memory to the next.

Binoche provides a sublime contrast to Auteuil's angst: visually captivating and emotionally charged, even when silent her expressions and body language render the scenes spectacularly entrancing.

Caché is, then, one movie to take the chance on. Personally, it was a disturbing yet masterful exercise in tense psychological viewing; for others, it became pure tedium.

Nevertheless, I cannot recommend it heartily enough - should you remain captivated to the end, it will continue to chill your thoughts for hours after.

Rating: 8/10

Algeria / Sweden / New Ambassador in Algiers

ALGIERS, Algeria, July 17, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Government today appointed Eva Emnéus as Ambassador in Algiers, Algeria.

Eva Emnéus is currently Consul-General in Gdansk, Poland. She has previously served as Director at the Nordic Council of Ministers' office in Riga, at various posts at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and at the Embassies in Kinshasa, Riga, Bangkok and Beijing.

Eva Emnéus will take up her post in autumn 2008.

SOURCE : Sweden - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• In February I wrote that a possible reason that Algeria returned several of the "sub-standard" MiGs it purchased from Russia was to pressure the Russians into letting them trade up for superior Su-35s. The Russians made that offer yesterday. If the Algerians found themselves in possession of these 4.5 generation fighters, the balance of power between Algeria and Morocco (Libya, too) would be dramatically altered, in Algiers's favor. On paper, the Su-35 is far superior to anything in Morocco's possession. Algeria's goal for many years has been to assert air superiority over its western neighbor, whose arsenal is at present primarily made up of Franco-American aircraft that puts at a strategic advantage of the Algerians. In North Africa, the skies belong to Morocco. Simply having the Su-35s will not instantly or even assuredly alter Algeria's standing pace air superiority; to be most effective they would have to be operated as a part of an integrated system (one with AWACS, for instance). It is debatable as to whether the Algerians are willing to take the financial and administrative burdens for such restructuring (with emphasis on the administrative end).
• Angela Merkel is in Algiers. She is accompanied by major energy and defense firms. The visit is probably designed to build further amiability between Algeria and Germany/Mitteluropa, in hopes of pushing Algeria way from Russia's orbit on oil/gas policy thereby lessening the effect of Russia's gas diplomacy in the long run. They would like to see that North Africa, contrary to Russian designs, remains an open third source of energy as opposed to being part of a wider Russian monopoly (even if Gazprom now has an office in Algiers). Solar energy is probably also being discussed to some degree. On the defense file, terrorism is probably also on the agenda. German firms Rheinmetall and Thyssen-Krupp are peddling their wares. The Germans may also be hoping to court the Algerians on the Mediterranean front, noting Algeria's general pessimism about and concerns over the financing, utility and mission of Sarkozy's Union for the Mediterranean (the Algerians, with the Libyans, dismiss the Union because it include Israel, even though they attended its opening). A lot of the economic discussion will probably center around increasing German FDI in Algeria. The Germans probably haven't got quite as much to offer the Algerians outside of the oil/natural gas and solar sectors as the French or Russians do (see above, and the recent accords put together in June), but their efforts seem to fit well into Algeria's grand strategy. It is Merkel's first visit to Algeria.
• In case you thought Bouteflika had dropped his hopes of running for a third term via a constitutional amendment, Ahmed Ouyahia is reminding, nay, "stressing" to us that the amendment is still on the table, even if parliament is moving into recess without any work being done on it. But have no fear, that amendment, he says, is "imminent." He also said that Algeria will be saying "no" to setting up sovereign wealth funds. The recently appointed PM also voiced frustration with the slow pace of government action, especially with respect to constructing parts of the east-west national high way. Interestingly, though not surprisingly, he said that the problems facing government action were "not seen by the public," but were nevertheless of concern to the government (probably relating to corruption, ineptitude or, characteristically, both).
• 22 MPs from Algeria's southern wilayat are worried that rioting could break out if power shortages and blackouts continue.
• A high level military delegation from Algeria traveled to Bamako, Mali on Monday. The two countries are now planning joint border patrols and intelligence sharing to combat the Tuareg rebells that cause the Malians so much grief, and the cross border al-Qaeda networking that assists AQIM.
• Torrential rains are flooding homes and taking lives in eastern Algeria.
• Also in eastern Algeria, an explosion near Boumerdes injured three people, as Ali Tounsi declared that "terrorism is almost defeated in Algeria." The Interior Minister's estimates put the number of remaining terrorists in Algeria at between 300 to 400.
• Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni expressed a desire to reform the country's administrative system. Zerhouni stated that the country should move from "representative democracy to to participatory democracy." To reorganize the wilayat and "modernize" the administration will be cheap, Zerhouni said.
• Algeria, a strong supporter of what might be called the Beijing consensus, joined a chorus of states condemning the ICC's indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide and crimes against humanity.

BEIRUT, July 16, 2008 (MENASSAT) – Lebanese women have made great strides in the private sector and are highly visible in the mainstream media as presenters and journalists. But in a country in which women make up about 53 percent of the population – more than 2 million women – their basic rights and representation has been limited in politics.

Lebanon has created an image of being one of the most tolerant Arab countries when it comes to women. In comparison to other countries in the Arab region, Lebanese women represent 28 percent of the labor force ahead of Syria with 25 percent and Jordan, which has a 21 percent participation of women in the work force.

However, when it comes to political representation in government there is only 2.8 percent participation of Lebanese women, far less when compared to more authoritarian regimes like Syria (9.6 percent) and Jordan (5.4 percent). It is a trend that worries groups like the Collective for Research and Training on Development Action (CRTDA).

Last week, the group announced the re-launching of the "Right to Nationalize" campaign, which involves lobbying politicians and doing media advocacy on the right for Lebanese women to nationalize their children if marrying non-Lebanese.

"During our field awareness of every country we met with many parliamentarians and many offered support to working to amend the law so now we need to continue to put pressure on the new Lebanese cabinet and parliamentarians," says Gender Project Officer for CRTDA, Vera Hayek.

"We have a focus group that includes members of the media who are supporting the campaign but we are starting to implement a media advocacy campaign to get the media interested in the nationalization campaign," she told MENASSAT.

Women in black

In the 1992 elections, one woman from the north of the country, one from the south, and one from Mount Lebanon (central Lebanon) won parliamentary seats. This was the first time women arrived in parliament and it constituted a fundamental transformation, since women were only present in parliamentary life twice between 1952-1962.

The women entered the elections in 1992 with the aim of challenging the political discrimination against them. However, this undertaking did not win the level of support from women in Lebanon they expected, despite the fact that women had been economically very active in Lebanese society.

Historically, the most likely way for a woman to enter the political scene in Lebanon was to fill a post made absent by a male heir.

Examples include former Minister of Industry Leila Solh, Daughter of former Lebanese Prime Minister Riad Solh and aunt of the billionaire Prince Walid Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, former Minister of Health Wafaa Hamza, a Shiite close to the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and Nayla Moawad widow of former president Rene Moawad who was the Social Affairs minister in the former government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

"We have this saying in Lebanon that the only women who make it to parliament are those in black because they reached their positions due to the death of a family member," journalism student at Lebanese University Sahar Charara told MENASSAT.

"They only serve a role to represent their political party but are ineffective in working on behalf of women's rights in Lebanon," she added.

Based on research conducted by the CRTDA from studies on Lebanese males and females ages 23 – 34, there is a ratio of women to men in Lebanon of about 7 to 1. Statistically, the survey suggests that this is due mainly to the economic situation, which places a huge percentage of men of this age in job positions outside of Lebanon. But, this still constitutes an underrepresented demographic in political office.

Right to Nationalize

Legislation constitutes one of the main social obstacles facing women. Women are still discriminated against in laws concerning the family, nationality, the right to travel, and the right to work. Groups like the CRTDA contend that has made it difficult for Lebanese women to participate independently in public life.

The nationality law which the CRTDA is attacking was established in 1925 and a decree in 1994 granted nationalization of some children born to Lebanese mothers.

One of the main reasons for denying the right to nationalize their children has been the highly politicized issue of Palestinians and Syrians married to Lebanese women. Politicians claim to nationalize the children of these marriages will likely shake up the sectarian demographics of the country.

But according to Roula Masri, founder of the "Right to Nationalize" campaign, research conducted by CRTDA indicates that only 1,000 Lebanese women are married to foreigners. Based on data of Palestinians and foreigners registered with General Security indicates that 1.6% are married to Palestinians and only 6.6% are married to Iraqis but the numbers are inaccurate.

"We are going to be updating these numbers by doing field research to figure out the actual demographics," says Masri. "However, the issue is not about how many women are married to Palestinians, Syrians or other foreigners but that they have to amend this law to highlight that this is a human right."

Amending Laws

Morocco amended the nationality law in 2005, Algeria and Egypt in 2007.

However, Lebanon, Bahrain and Syria have not amended their laws but Bahrain is currently working with other members of the gulf region to make the nationality law a more visible issue.

Algeria has been the most successful, in that women were able to amend the constitution as well as the law.

"We used several strategies like creating seminars with women’s associations, advocacy work and lobbying," said Algerian women's advocate Houria Chaouche.

"Most important was the will of the women who worked to demand that the laws be changed."

According to Chaouche, women are visible on the social and economic level but are absent on the political level in Algeria. Although women are represented in the government they don’t represent the entire female population in a country where women constitute more than half of the society – trends that mirror the situation in Lebanon.

"At the moment, the focus of civil society organizations in Algeria is to emphasize the importance of implementing policies that allow women into the cabinet and parliament," adds Chaouche.

Chaouche told MENASSAT that in Algeria women were able to voice the need for their basic rights without restrictions from any government or political parties.

However, they faced difficulties in getting mainstream media involved due to government control of the main national media in Algeria, but extensive efforts were made to get the independent or grassroots media to provide coverage of the nationality campaign.

"Working in partnership with Collective for Research and Training on Development Action (CRTDA), we are training journalists and media on mainstreaming gender in their stories and how to be aware of gender issues and being gender sensitive regarding issues in society," adds Chaouche.

One effective tool used in Lebanon's nationalization campaign was the use of social networking via the Internet.

"We were able to take this issue beyond borders through the use of Facebook, which we set up a group to discuss the need of changing the nationality law," adds Masri.

"Through this form of social networking we have been receiving numerous stories of Lebanese women who are living abroad. Many have children and would like to return to Lebanon with their families but are prohibited due to fact that they are unable to provide legal papers to their families."

Asa ca, acum, pot sa raportez:
- In primele sase luni ale acestui an am alergat 857 de kilometri (aproximativ), in crestere cu 35,8 la suta fata de perioada similara a anului trecut, cind am parcurs 631 km
- Media kilometrilor alergati este de 142,8 km/luna in 2008 si de 105,2 km/luna in 2007
- Pina acum, in acest an, am alergat un maraton montan, un semi-maraton pe sosea, o cursa de 10 km si una populara (de vreo 4 km), spre deosebire de doua maratoane clasice, anul trecut.
- Alerg in medie de 4-5 ori pe saptamina
- Anul trecut am alergat in Algeria si la Poiana Brasov, anul acesta in Bucuresti, Medias, din nou Poiana Brasov si la Chamonix (Franta)
- Singura constanta: nici in 2007, nici in 2008 si sigur nici in anii care vin nu o sa reusesc decit sa termin cu brio cursele la care particip. Dar e atit de frumos...

Many Americans are missing the exciting developments that are building the world order of the 21st century. The axis of world power is shifting from a predominantly vertical one to an increasingly horizontal one, in which political and economic influence is no longer wielded by the global North over the global South and more and more between Southern actors (as well as Northern ones). The pace of South-South cooperation has become quickened over the past decade, the result of higher gas prices, a bemused America, a stronger EU, and more robust globalization. Poorer states have become less poor, more integrated into the global economy, and their ambitions less opaque. They have grown accustomed to an increasing degree of agency over their own markets and others. The failures of many of the initiatives and consensuses that marked the era of American “hegemony” in the international order have encouraged many of them to pursue alternate paths to wealth and power. States in Latin America, Africa, and Asia have adopted regional strategies of integration, building ever more relevant nodes of influence that will shape 21st century world politics. The AU, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, IBSA, and Mercosur are just a few examples of the regionalization of world political and economic power. Each of these groups has its headman state, that will take a place the leader of one of the various poles within the international system that will emerge in coming decades.

The Union for the Mediterranean is not in itself the construction of a new pole; it instead is an attempt to fortify the EU pole, and, inside of that, to strengthen France’s position. It seeks to put France in a headman position, so that it occupies a place of primary leadership within its region that is comparable to Brazil’s within Mercosur, South Africa’s within the SADC, and China’s within the SCO. Concerns over immigration agriculture aside, France seeks to balance off Germany, whose rising sphere of influence is in the new EU member states of Eastern Europe, by picking up new partner states in the eastern and south-western Mediterranean. It is very likely that France’s attempt to pick up prestige by approaching the Middle East with more realism than the United States has, engaging all regional actors – radical and conservative, Israeli and Arab – on “equal footing” and without human rights pressures, will not amount to much.

While the organization’s inaugural meeting was dubbed a success for brining together Syria and Israel and making an otherwise impressive show of attendance from around the Mediterranean basin, the Europeans remain skeptical of its purpose and utility and many of the region’s conflicts seem to be deeper than the club’s teeth can reach. The Algerian-Moroccan rivalry seems strong than either state’s genuine interest in the Union, as evidenced by Mohammad VI’s no show and Algeria’s rather lukewarm endorsement. Libya snubbed the event, terming it a “humiliating” effort to divide the Arabs from Africa and frustrate efforts at Arab and African unity.

The American response has been muted, and the Americans did not even take an observer seat at the Union’s meeting. The Americans do not seem to believe that effort will mount to much, and the presidential candidates are not particularly interested in it. Americans see themselves their influence and utility as a fact of life. They often look at EU policy in the Middle East as being at least vaguely complementary to their own, and do not seem to see the Mediterranean project as a challenge to their own role in the region (especially because they perceive it and other regionalization mechanisms as being so weak), even if they view it through the offshore balancer lens of realism.

American presidential hopefuls are obsessed with Manichean dichotomies and the restoration of American leadership. Both speak of a division between a grand and sacred America and an existential and evil Islamist (or Islamic) terrorist threat, though one does so more out of conviction than out of conformity. Both place this within a wider framework of a militarized American exceptionalism being America’s claim to international legitimacy, as opposed to its adherence to international law and norms. It is a zero-sum perspective that finds its root in the troubled pre vs. post-9/11 dichotomy upon which much of the Bush Doctrine was based.

Those who seek to “restore” America’s place of leadership in the world are problematically confronted with a world system that will not accommodate the kind of leadership that they seek to reinstitute. The unipolar leadership Americans remember so fondly existed for a fleeting moment that has since passed. The regional bodies and cooperatives taking root the world over are the building blocks of a multipolar world. American leadership in the 21st century should be based on a recognition that its preponderance of influence is increasingly ephemeral, and that the only way for the United States to remain as an institution of global agency and to ensure that its values survive in the coming order is to lead the transition from the Post-War era to the post-post-war era. The Euro-Atlantic institutions that have been the basis for global governance and order for more than half a century are increasingly out date. From the organization of the United Nations to world financial relief and aid agencies, the international system needs amendment. A nation intoxicated with dreams of singular dominance in which increasingly powerful states, long denied prestige and broadness in their freedom of action, are mere partners. Americans need a leadership that is confident enough and brave enough to press through a strategic adjustment in the country’s foreign policy and structural adjustment in the international system.

"What happens to these men is significant in figuring out what to do with the others," said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel for the New York-based group, who noted that roughly two dozen Algerians are still held at this U.S. base in southeast Cuba.

Algeria‘s security forces have been accused of torturing terrorism suspects, the U.S. State Department has noted in reports on human rights practices, citing international and local rights groups.

"Anyone returning from Guantanamo has that stamp upon him — justified or not," he said.

Source

The report said that some soliders ambushed a top al-Qaeda leader who was known by his battle name "al-Tuhami".

The terrorist was together with other al-Qaeda members in the village of Ain al-Hamra, 70 kilometres east of Algiers.

The ambush was carried out by a special platoon in-charge of fighting terrorism.

Source

Leaders of 43 countries from the European Union and the Mediterranean region met in Paris on Sunday for a first summit of the Union for the Mediterranean, an initiative launched by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The project is aimed at breathing new life into the existing Euro-Mediterranean partnership, known as the Barcelona process, and will create a more equal dialogue between the wealthy EU and the poorer states that line the Mediterranean.

Membership of the project is open to all states that border the Mediterranean, all members of the European Union, and some others. They represent a total of nearly one billion people.

The only national leaders who were invited but did not attend were Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, a vocal critic of the project and whose country did not send an envoy at all, and the kings of Jordan and Morocco, who both said they could not come for personal reasons.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa also attended.

The new organisation will have co-presidents from each side of the Mediterranean, initially France and Egypt, and a small secretariat, the location of which remains to be decided.

One of the main aims of the Mediterranean Union, which carries the official name "The Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean", is to work on a series of practical projects, with each member state free to work on a project if it chooses.

These projects, outlined in an annex to the final joint declaration, includes:

* Civil protection -- cooperating on the prevention, preparation and response to natural and man-made disasters

* Alternative energy -- exploring the feasibility of a "Mediterranean Solar Plan" to develop solar power as an energy source, and supporting research and development into energy sources other than oil and gas. Lebanon offered at the summit to host the project's headquarters.

* Education -- setting up a Euro-Mediterranean University, based in Slovenia, promoting academic mobility and joint degrees between member states' universities. French officials frequently refer to setting up an "Erasmus of the Mediterranean", referring to a popular EU student exchange programme.

* Mediterranean business initiative -- setting up a body to help small and medium-sized companies by providing them with technical assistance and "financial instruments", using voluntary contributions from member states.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.

To download the joint declaration (as a pdf file), click here.

I went to Algeria for work, just last week.

The worst was getting the VISA, had to wait for a while, send all the papers, included a strange insurance which will cover me in case I am sick or severely injured and cannot fly back home.

We (me and my colleague) flew there on Saturday, since they start to work on Sunday.

My first time in a Muslim country.Thing that has impressed me is security. To get into the plane you are checked hundred times. Can't count how many times I passed though a metal detector and my bag was x-rayed. And Police on the streets, almost everywhere close to "important" buildings.

Well, I don't know if such measures were done to make people feeling better. For sure it will discourage any spiteful but naive guy over there.

Ah, yes...food was good, though. We had an excellent grilled beef, lamb, and chicken,  sided and covered with french fries.

The rest of the week, hotel-work-hotel. Rather than an hotel it was kind of "golden cage", so to say, a five star resort with three restaurants and a pub/night club with a billiard table and two guys doing piano bar there.

Had time only to take few shots there. Pity.

I had fantastic night this past Saturday as I was rocked and mesmerized by the tenacity mixture of Western Rock & Classic Arabic melodies and rhythms.

I unfortunately don't know Arabic nor French but my wife has mentioned to me before the political belligerence that Taha brings in his lyrics.

I encourage you to take a listen...

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=rachid+taha&search_type=&aq=f

--source: google quote links

The Union, which will operate as an organization involving 43 countries, released a joint statement announcing six cooperative projects for union members.

Although it is still unclear how all these objectives will be paid for, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called it "a dream come true" on France 24 television. Sarkozy was the project's author and fought for it along a very bumpy path involving several clashes with Germany over the specifics of the organization.

MU projects will include fighting Mediterranean pollution, creating "maritime highways," university collaboration, increased solar power and protection against droughts, earthquakes and floods.

The Union also has created hopes for Mideast peace as it will bring together several Arab countries in cooperation with Israel on both economic and diplomatic levels.

Tchina - Diwan Gnawi Aokas

Tchina - Diwan Gnawi Aokas.

ISTANBUL, July 3 (Compass Direct News) – A court in western Algeria convicted two Muslim converts to Christianity yesterday for illegally spreading their faith.

The court in Tissemsilt, 110 miles southwest of Algiers, handed Rachid Muhammad Essaghir, 37, and Djallal Dhamani six-month suspended sentences and 100,000-dinar (US$1,660) fines. The men were found guilty of “distributing documents to shake the faith of Muslims.”

“Once they get the written sentence, they will appeal straight away,” a close friend of Essaghir told Compass following the trial.

The case has received both local and international publicity following a wave of trials this year against Algerian Christians for evangelism and illegally practicing their faith.

In most cases the Christians have been charged under a presidential decree from February 2006 that restricts religious worship to government approved buildings. The decree, known as Ordinance 06-03, also outlaws any attempt to convert Muslims to another faith.

Though no Christian has yet served jail time on religious charges, several still on trial or appealing their convictions have said that negative publicity has damaged their businesses and family life.

Habiba Kouider, facing a three-year sentence after police stopped her while she was carrying several Christian books, has been kicked out of her family’s home. Kouider’s brothers learned about her conversion to Christianity after her case sparked national and international media attention.

“When her brother found out she was a Christian, he commanded her to leave the house without worrying about what would happen to her,” an assistant to defense lawyer Khelloudja Khalfoun wrote in an e-mail last month. The convert to Christianity is temporarily staying with another sister while searching for more permanent accommodations.

Chaban Beikel, a pastry maker, was fired after his boss discovered that he was one of four Protestants convicted of evangelism in Tiaret city last month, the same source said.

Third Conviction

For Essaghir, yesterday’s ruling is his third conviction for illegal religious activity this year.

Police had stopped Essaghir and Dahmani in the vicinity of Tissemsilt in June 2007 while transporting a box of Christian literature in one of their cars. Unknown to them, the two men were convicted in absentia in November 2007 and each given two-year sentences and 5,000-euro fines.

After discovering the court ruling in May 2008, the Protestants requested a retrial, their right under Algerian law.

At a hearing in Tissemsilt last week, the state prosecutor backed down from the initial jail sentence and fine, not requesting any punishment for the men. The move gave defense lawyer Khalfoun hope that her clients would be acquitted.

“It could have possibly been an order from someone above him,” Khalfoun’s assistant wrote, speculating on the prosecutor’s retreat from the previous verdict.

Essaghir was also previously convicted with Beikel in June on charges of evangelism and handed a six-month suspended sentence and a 200,000-dinar (US$3,282) fine.

In February Essaghir and two other Christians were charged with “blaspheming the name of the Prophet [Muhammad] and Allah” and threatening the life of a convert to Christianity who later returned to Islam.

In a written verdict published on May 28, the three men were handed three-year suspended sentences and 500-euro fines. The Christians’ appeal is due to be heard on July 15.

‘God Is In Control’

Essaghir has now moved from Tiaret to the coastal city of Oran with his wife and 1-year-old daughter after police shut down his Internet café in April.

Officials closed the business for failure to obtain necessary written permission from local police. But Essaghir said that this was just an excuse to harass him for his work as an evangelist, as many Internet cafés in Algeria function without such permission.

“Essaghir is doing very well, it’s a miracle,” said his close friend, who spoke with the Christian following yesterday’s trial. Despite his numerous convictions, the friend said, “he doesn’t care anymore; God is in control.”

Algerian government officials claim that Christians are not discriminated against in the North African country. In recent months several officials have made statements that the aim of certain evangelical missionaries in Algeria is to politically destabilize the country.

Report from Compass Direct News

Next week I want to follow a short series on heroes and villains. For now though let your imagination be fired as to what might happen should you step out of your front door one day. We pick up the journey having walked down through England and then from Calais through to Marseille.

Marseille

It is said of Marseille that it is the most northern city of Africa, such is the ethnic make up of this incredible gateway city of Southern France. To get here we had made our way down the Rhone Valley, with the snow capped Alps a spectacular backdrop. Again this took us a 100 kilometres out of our way, yet a city we had to pass through if we were truly to understand something of all that had cut loose across France during those days of the riots and civil unrest.

Marseille; a place where refugees and economic migraints have fled to and through over the generations. Many a tale will have been told in the harbour bars, of Armenians fleeing the genocide in Ismir, Turkey, or Algerians journeying north in search of their fortune. During the second world war this city saw whole mass movements of people as an orphaned continent growned under the strain of the bloodshed. For us however, it was a place of intrigue and rest before heading up into the glitzy coastline of Cannes, Nice and Monaco.

We had walked the length of France, from Calais to this Mediteranean port. Like memories of a long lost lover so this beautiful land of rivers and mountains had captivated our hearts. That this lover had other mistresses we were without doubt, and that we had walked this land during some of its darkest days since the student riots of the sixties, somehow added to the journey. France is indeed a country of many layers and we were all the richer for our weeks of walking into the southern sun.

As if to highlight the questions surrounding to whom France was indeed betrothed, one of the team walking in picked up a ring as it lay on the roadside on the outskirts of the city. We imagined it had been cast aside in some angry lovers quarrel. 30 months on from those dangerous days I believe the question remains. Who will France give itself to? As the USA and arch rivals England stand by, Germany continually offers flirtatious glances and indeed would be a worthy suitor, positioned strongly at the centre. However, the warnings of 2005 are not to be ignored lest France pretends that its deep and dark past with the proud woman of Algeria is not to rise angrily again.

Impianto di Hassi R’mel

L'Algeria sta costruendo a Hassi R’mel, a 400km a Sud di Algeri, un grande impianto fotovoltaico. I governanti Algerini hanno pensato che con la fame di energia che c'e' in Europa, si potrebbe evitare di sprecare tutta l'energia solare che arriva nel deserto del Sahara. L'impianto dovrebbe essere pronto il prossimo anno.

Fonte: Wikipedia

The New York Times: What have you gained from your relation with Al Qaeda, and conversely what has Al Qaeda gained from your joining?

Abdelmalek Droukdal: As we mentioned in our previous answer that our joining to Al Qaeda wasn’t a deal that we try to gain something out of it, as many of those who call themselves experts in jihadi groups promote. In reality, they are way far from the real understanding of the jihadi ancestral movement (¡!) We say that we realized and we got from this joining many goals. The most important one is that we believe that we won and acquired the pleasure of God by following his order. God’s says “hold on to the rope of God and do not be dispersed.” If there was nothing to realize from this joining except following the order of this verse, we would never hesitate to do so.

Secondly, we realized a condition and a reason for victory. If difference and division are causes of weakness and defeat as it was mentioned in our religion “And fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power departs.” (Koran: Chapter 8, Verse 46). Unity is a reason of strength and victory. This is a universal norm that even the infidels are aware of. All these mass-groupings and the international alliances are proof of that. We Muslims must be the ones who apply this universal norm.

Thirdly, by this unity we brought grief and sorrow to our enemies the Jews and apostates and crusaders.

Meanwhile Morocco has arrested 35 people, accused of being recruiters for Al-Qaeda to carry out operations in Iraq and Algeria.

Tags Technorati: Al-Qaeda, terrorism, Al-Qaeda for an Islamic Maghreb, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Abdelmader Droukdal

We've had a terrible problem with our maid this past year. After going without one at all for over a year, because we couldn't find anyone available (and I know everyone in developed countries must be "groaning" at this problem--but life here just isn't organized to be able to work if you don't have one), we finally found one last August. She was about 22, and had never worked for anyone before. Not only did she not know how to do anything, she started lying and stealing the very first week.

Several colors of hair ribbons I had had sent all the way from America (because they don't sell grosgrain ribbon here) went missing immediately, and we never got them back. I had them kept stored in the bathroom with my hair and makeup items.

Some of my makeup and deoderant also went missing the very first week. My daughter found several items of my American Mary Kay makeup in her purse (which of course is not sold in Morocco).

She also stole a $200 gold Cross pen (found in her purse). She claimed she didn't know the pen was expensive.

When confronted about the makeup, she said that her mother works for a French foreigner who had given her mother the items, and that her mother had given them to her. Of course this was an outright lie. We sat her down and gave her a firm talk about honesty (on at least five occasions). Yet all the petty theft continued regularly. Just last week, my daughter found one of her perfumes in the maid's purse, and we had found one of my small perfumes before that. When I checked my perfume tray, four of my very small Mary Kay perfumes were missing. My husband would not fire her because he says he WILL NOT do any dishes. Of course, my teenage daughter copies his behavior and says very loudly the SAME thing. (I am unable to stand at the sink and do dishes, because I am permanently on two crutches due to a long-term health condition.)

As far as her work, in one year, she has not learned to wash the dishes clean. She IS intelligent, but we have told her the same things over and over 50-100 times, and she claims to "forget." Of course what it really means is that she takes no pride whatsoever in her work, and doesn't care. Half the time she doesn't even show up for work (like missing ten working days every month), and she always comes up with really wild excuses:

I had to take my sister-in-law (or other family member) to the hospital (uses this excuse several times a month).

I got married last night (she claims to have gotten married, but not to have known about it even that day, when she worked for us, and so was gone the next day, and my Moroccan husband remarked that she didn't even have henna on her hands).

I missed the bus (regularly)

The bus broke down (more than once)

The police stopped the bus and kept everyone sitting on it for three hours (my husband said this would not be true)

The bus has changed schedule, and doesn't come at that time in the morning any more (my husband said it's not true, and when we told her so, she then came on time for three or four days)

She regularly shows up for work 2-3 HOURS late, and has given up on offering us any excuse!

While there were numerous other problems and things missing, I think this is enough to give everyone an idea of what she was like. She STILL could not wash the dishes clean, or do ANY work adequately, without someone sending her back about four times, or literally standing over her the entire day.

Furthermore, whenever she offered excuses, she never talked to me or my Moroccan husband (she is Moroccan); she instead talked to my young teenage daughter! She has a very sassy attitude, won't do the things we ask her (or says "yes" to your face, and then behaves passively/aggressively and doesn't do it, or else just does a "slop job"). She "tells" my daughter "I'm not coming/didn't come for such and such reason.) She told my daughter (but not my husband or myself) that she was taking off July (without asking, just "deciding," and informing my daughter). So, on June 3, my husband asked her if that was her last day, and she said "yes." She apparently told my daughter that she's coming back in August, but she didn't tell us.

Just in the last two weeks, I discovered ALL of my sewing needles missing (she had previously stolen a lot of thread, and we had to lock up the rest, but you can't check everything in the house every day, andlock up everything that you have).

I also discovered she had used my remaining Mary Kay foundation three times the last week (found it used in a way I would not use it). My daughter said she had behaved suspiciously that day, closing the door to the computer room, so my daughter could not see her getting into my makeup in the bathroom) the last day it happened.

In spite of all this stealing and lying, she always had to take time to pray two or three times a day!

When I asked my daughter how she could be praying, while at the same time being dishonest, my daughter (who is also Moroccan) answered, "Mom, they think that if they pray, it gets rid of all the bad stuff they do." This sounds kind of like the Catholic "confession" to me. I asked some Moroccan friends about what my daughter had said, and they agreed with her assessment.

That very evening, I met a Moroccan friend of mine at the pool and mentioned the problems with this maid. She told me her maid's friend was looking for a job. So, on July 1, the new maid came for an interview, and started the morning of July 2. You can never tell, but so far I have the impression she is honest, and at least takes some pride in her work. It's unusual these days to find a maid so quickly. We have been really lucky this time.

The evening of July 3, while putting the trash out, we discovered our old maid had thrown away a lot of her work clothes (brought from her own home) in the trash (outdoor garbage bin)! They were covered with kitchen garbage filth. I don't know why she would have done this (because they weren't in really bad condition), unless her idea was to tell her family she didn't have nay clothes any more and needed new ones.

I pulled them out of the trash, took a picture of them in a dirty heap, then washed them well in the machine, and after checking with the new maid to be sure SHE hadn't thrown them out, I cut them up into cleaning rags (with my husband's permission), which we now DESPERATELY needed. My last maid destroyed/threw away all our other good rags, even ones I had paid good money for at the store! So as I was cutting them up, it occurred to me that this was really cosmic, karmic justice! Now we'll have some good rags for quite a while.

My husband is going to deliver the rest of her things (kept in a closet) in a day or two.

For anyone who always wanted a maid, or wondered what it would be like to have one, it is more often like this, than not! Maybe out of every six maids, you'll get a good one (one every few years, that is). Thanks for listening, everyone!

Madame Monet

"Be like Chamran."

Martyrs are too great to be in need of any tribute, yet what makes such occasion a must, is to make acquainted the new generations with the thoughts and beliefs of great men in history like Shahid Mostafa Chamran.

Chamran was born in 1932 in Tehran. At 15, he began his activities with Islamic associations, participating in classes of commentary on the Quran by Late Ayatollah Taleghani and those of logic and philosophy by Martyr Professor Motahhari.

Enjoying a government scholarship for talented students, he went to the United States for a period of 14 years and earned his master's degree from the University of Texas. He then went on to get his Ph.D. in electronics and plasma physics with excellent grades from the University of California at Berkeley. He entered research on satellites and powerful radars with Bell Laboratories.

He had complete mastery over English and Arabic and also knew French and German.

His most important political activities abroad were organizing and training guerrilla and revolutionary forces in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.

Chamran participated in guerrilla activities in liberation wars against Israel and the Phalanges. For eight years he assumed responsibility for managing the Technical School of Jabal-Amel in southern Lebanon.

Full article: www.insight-info.com

At the time of the victory of the Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, Chamran returned to Iran. Initially, he became commander of the government division of the Revolutionary Guards. He was deputy prime minister for revolutionary affairs and was later appointed minister of defense.