Russia: Boycotting Vodka Won’t Help Russia’s Gays - by Mark Lawrence Schrad

America's favorite sex-and-relationships columnist, Dan Savage, has called for a boycott of Russian vodka to protest violent attacks on gays by nationalist thugs and antigay legislation backed by President Vladimir V. Putin. It’s an understandable response, but the prospects for the boycott’s succeeding are slim, and the potential for it to backfire on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Russians is high.

Polls estimate that two-thirds of Russians consider homosexuality unacceptable under any circumstance, similar to where American attitudes were three decades ago. In that conservative context, a perceived threat, even symbolic, from the liberal West would be a blessing for Mr. Putin, who can portray himself as the defender of the traditional Russian family, Orthodox Christian values and national pride all at once. And to the extent that Russia becomes more xenophobic and reactionary, its gay community will be seen as only more alien — the opposite of tolerance and integration.

As a scholar of Russian politics, I arrive at this conclusion with ambivalence. Vodka and the Kremlin have indeed had a long history of codependency.

For more: go to NY-Times

EU Response To Revelations NSA Spying On EU Citizens Inadequate - Poll shows

The latest EU-Digest poll which was closed today shows that 66.87% of those polled on the question - "How do you rate the EU response to revelations by Edward Snowden of the US NSA agency spying on EU Citizen" considered the EU response weak.

Another 33.13 % even classified the response as poor.

Our new EU-Digest poll focuses on Egypt with the question: "Was the Egyptian Military Coup Legitimate"

EU-Digest

EU suspends arms sales to Egypt over crackdown

EU member states have agreed to suspend export licences for any equipment that could be used for repression in Egypt, but humanitarian aid will continue. 

The decision was announced by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton after emergency talks in Brussels.

She said EU governments "feel very strongly that they want to continue to support vulnerable people in Egypt".

The foreign ministers met after a week in which more than 900 people have died in Egypt's political violence.
Lady Ashton said the EU would review its assistance to Egypt and was urging all sides to "stop the violence and provocations" and "engage in inclusive national dialogue, open to all".

Read more: BBC News - EU suspends arms sales to Egypt over crackdown

Egyptian court orders Mubarak released from prison - by Abigail Hauslohner

"And the Egyptian Military Saga Continues"

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could leave prison as early as Wednesday night, government officials and legal experts said, after a Cairo court ordered the release of the deposed autocrat who ruled Egypt for three decades.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi

Mubarak’s release would constitute a dramatic blow to the broad protest movement that forced his removal from office in February 2011. It would also lend credibility to the Islamist opposition’s claims that the old regime is reasserting itself following a July 3 military coup that ousted Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president. Egyptian security services in recent weeks have launched a deadly crackdown against Morsi’s allies.

The Egyptian prosecutor’s office said Mubarak would remain on the country’s no-fly list and that his assets would remain frozen.

Mubarak’s release was ordered by an Egyptian court Wednesday after the 85-year-old former air force commander agreed to return or pay the value of gifts he received from state news organizations while in office, a spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said.

It was the last of three cases brought against Mubarak since he was ousted from power in the Arab Spring uprising. Judicial authorities accepted Mubarak’s appeals for a retrial on earlier charges of corruption and killing protesters during the uprising. Other charges related to the renovation of the presidential palace were dismissed earlier for lack of evidence.

“According to our penal code, you cannot detain a person for more than two years, without indicting him,” said Badr Abdellaty, a spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.

“So he can stay at home,” Abdellaty said, and go from there to court for his retrials

Note EU-Digest: And the Egyptian Military Saga Continues.....

Read more: Egyptian court orders Mubarak released from prison - The Washington Post

The Netherlands: Facts And Figures About Dutch Higher Education

The Erasmus University in Rotterdam

A student born in what is called the "European Space" which includes the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles pays a standard fee per annum, valid at every Dutch Institution of higher learning, of 1.835 euro plus a 500 euro educational material fee (books etc.) p/a  The level of the annual fee is set by the government on a yearly basis.

Financial Student Aid in the Netherlands is a mix of Government grants and loans which amount to a total of euro 960.87 p/a if the student lives outside the parental home, or euro 765.80 if the student lives at home. University students who can show proof of enrollment in a certified institution of higher learning are also eligible for a free public transport and railway pass valid for the academic year they are enrolled in.

Students have to show proof of academic progress on a yearly basis in order to qualify for the continuation of grants, loans, etc.

Insurance: Every Dutch citizen who reaches the age of 18 years (including students) has to be enrolled in the national health insurance program with a basic minimum fee of 87 euro per month. Students of parents who earn less than the minimum established yearly income can apply for additional grants in support of their children's education.

There are also various opportunities for Dutch Nationals to study abroad. For additional information: http://www.fulbright.nl/, http://www.wilweg.nl/, http://www.wilweg.nl/financiering/beursopener

Almere-Digest

Greece will need third bailout, German finance minister says - by Gernot Heller

Germany’s finance minister admitted for the first time on Tuesday that Greece would need a third aid package, as a source in Athens said the sums involved in any new deal would be far smaller than previous rescues.

“There will have to be another program in Greece,” Wolfgang Schaeuble told a campaign audience in northern Germany, in comments that raised prospect of a step that could be deeply unpopular domestically just five weeks before national elections.

“Greece and its lenders are examining several ways to plug any funding gap that Greece will face over the next few years,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The measures included using leftover funds from a bank bailout programme and previously discussed debt support measures, the official said.

In Frankfurt, the European Central Bank said Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen would visit Greece on Wednesday to discuss progress on reforms needed to ensure more bailout money.

Read more: Greece will need third bailout, German finance minister says - The Globe and Mail

Egypt: U.S. Aid 'Secretly' Cut but Saudi Arabia Group to fill gap; Brotherhood Leader Arrested

"The Obama administration has decided to temporarily suspend the disbursement of most direct military aid, the delivery of weapons to the Egyptian military, and some forms of economic aid to the Egyptian government while it conducts a broad review of the relationship," . It's getting the news that such aid has been "secretly" cut from "the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the head of the Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee."

"[Senator Leahy's] understanding is that aid to the Egyptian military has been halted, as required by law," David Carle, a spokesman for Leahy, tells The Daily Beast.

The law he's referring to requires that aid be suspended to nations where a military "coup" has supplanted a democratically elected government. While the Obama administration has not called the a coup, "two administration officials told The Daily Beast that administration lawyers decided it was best to observe the law restricting military aid on a temporary basis, as if there had been a coup designation."

Any suspension of U.S. aid may have little effect on Egypt. , while "Europeans and the United States considered cutting cash aid to Egypt, Saudi Arabia said Monday that it and its allies would make up any reduction — effectively neutralizing the West's main leverage over Cairo."

Read more: Egypt: U.S. Aid 'Secretly' Cut; Brotherhood Leader Arrested : The Two-Way : NPR

The Netherlands: Dutch Minister Of Finance Dijselbloem Optimistic About Dutch Economic Recovery

Next year there will absolutely be economic growth said Dutch Treasury Secretary Jeroen Dijsselbloem (PvdA) Monday during a party meeting in Amsterdam. '

"But the annual explosive growth rate we had in the 1990s will  not return anymore, and  I don't want this either, because it was not sustainable growth" said Dijselbloem '

The Dutch Office For Economic Policy Analysis (CPB)  reported last week that the Dutch economy will grow by 0.75 percent in 2014, but in that estimate the new austerity package of EUR 6 billion was not included.

It is generally assumed that the new austerity measures and tax increases will slow down the economic recovery said  Dijselbloem , but he reckoned that  the Netherlands will still show some growth next year.

Dijselbloem  also said one of the major difficulties at the moment for the Dutch economy was the depressed housing market.  He said it was not his intention to give any advice or make an appeal for people to spend money, but said he considered this to be an excellent time to buy a home with interest rates at rock bottom before interest rates go up again.

Almere-Digest

Electric Cars: Is Tesla Model S The Best Way To Sell Politicians On Electric Cars? - by Antony Ingram

The Tesla S 2013 model

We've long known the best way to get people interested in electric cars is simply to let them drive or ride in them.

It's easy enough to tell people they're quick, smooth and near-silent, but people are naturally skeptical of something they aren't familiar with.

That includes politicians, but just like everyone else, it seems like a ride in an electric car--specifically, the Tesla Model S--is enough to convince several decision-makers that electric cars are actually pretty good.

New Zealand transport minister Gerry Brownlee is one such politician, whose skepticism for electric vehicles has all but dissolved after a drive in a Model S.

According to The New Zealand Herald, Brownlee experienced a Model S Performance in Los Angeles, and came away highly impressed.

Read more: Is Tesla Model S The Best Way To Sell Politicians On Electric Cars?

Britain: Freedom of the Press: UK government destroyed Guardian hard drives over Snowden story

British government officials ordered the destruction of hard drives at the Guardian offices in London that purportedly contained information relating to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has revealed.

They took the action even though Rusbridger explained it was pointless, he said. The Guardian's NSA reporting is written, stored and edited in New York, he told them, and journalist Glenn Greenwald, the lead reporter on the story, lives in Brazil.

The officials from GCHQ, Britain's equivalent of the NSA, were apparently unaware of the concept of information in the cloud – and seemed satisfied that they had been able to destroy something tangible. "'We can call off the black helicopters,' joked one as we swept up the remains of a MacBook Pro," Rusbridger wrote on the Guardian website.

One official seemed mystified as to why the Guardian would want to continue to report on the subject. "You've had your debate," he told Rusbridger. "There's no need to write any more."

Rusbridger, who has edited the newspaper since 1995, has been involved in a number of cases involving press freedom and sensitive materials. One of the more prominent was the Wikileaks scoop, for which the editor is portrayed by Peter Capaldi in the upcoming movie The Fifth Estate.

Rusbridger called the hard drive incident "one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history".

Read more: UK government destroyed Guardian hard drives over Snowden story

EU team to monitor Gibraltar border

The European Commission is to send a fact-finding mission to Gibraltar to investigate controls at the border.

It follows tensions between Spain and the UK over extra border checks on the Spanish side, which have caused lengthy traffic delays.

Britain says the checks break EU free movement rules, but Spain says Gibraltar has not controlled smuggling.
The team of EU observers is expected to be despatched "as soon as possible" to assess the legality of the checks.

A row has erupted between Spain and Britain in recent weeks following the installation of an artificial reef by Gibraltar in the waters off the British territory.

Read more: BBC News - EU team to monitor Gibraltar border

Norway’s Far Right May Come to Power Despite Memory of Anders Breivik’s Killing Spree - by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson

Prableen Kaur has arrived at Grorud Naersenter, a drab shopping mall on the outskirts of Oslo, armed with hundreds of red roses and an unshakable faith in Norway’s democracy. The roses are an easy sell. “It’s an icebreaker — people usually don’t say no,” the 20-year-old Labor Party candidate says as she thrusts flowers and campaign leaflets into shoppers’ hands.

Harder to understand is her tolerance toward those sharing the views of Anders Behring Breivik, the white supremacist who left her cowering under the bodies of her friends as he calmly shot dead 69 people at a Labor Party youth camp on Utoya Island two years ago. He claimed to be on a crusade against multiculturalism and immigration, intent on wiping out the future generation of a party he blamed for the “Islamic invasion” of Norway.

“People can share their thoughts and their opinions — it is their democratic right,” says Kaur, who survived the July 22 massacre by leaping into the cold fjord. “I think democracy works better if every different opinion can be a part of the debate.”

Read more: Norway’s Far Right May Come to Power Despite Memory of Anders Breivik’s Killing Spree | TIME.com

NASA illustrates Earth's frightening chances of an asteroid collision

Earth is sitting in the path of more than 1,400 asteroids that could potentially cause significant damage, but according to NASA we likely won't see any of them smash violently into our planet anytime soon. In a chilling graphic of Earth sitting in a web of possible danger, NASA mapped out data it's collected on potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) that have intersecting orbital patterns with Earth and its neighboring planets.

The PHAs that NASA has visualized, as a part of its Jet Propulsion Labratory Photojournal project, are "fairly large" and measure at least 460-feet wide. Each of these asteroids is traveling as what the agency described as "close" to Earth's orbit. Close, NASA says, is within 4.7 million miles — which thankfully means we've got a bit of breathing room.

Read more: NASA illustrates Earth's frightening chances of an asteroid collision | The Verge

Germany To Offer Third Gender Option On Birth Certificates

As of November, Germany will be the first country in Europe to offer a "third gender" distinction on its birth certificates.

A new German law stipulates that children who are born of indeterminate gender no longer have to be categorized as "male" or "female." Instead, parents can choose to leave the space blank on their child's birth certificate, according to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Those individuals can eventually decide whether to identify as male, female or neither.

The German legislature voted this as an amendment to the Civil Status Act on May 7. As Süddeutsche Zeitung recently noted, the "legal change has received little attention so far." But that all changed when some determined the new law, while progressive, doesn't go far enough.

FarMZ, a German Family Law Journal, recently outlined the measure's shortcomings as such: Once the third gender option is legal in Germany, those who choose to identify as "blank" are going to encounter a host of bureaucratic headaches when traveling abroad. The group suggests that Germany use an "X" to designate third-gender identifiers on its passports.

Read more: Germany To Offer Third Gender Option On Birth Certificates

Social networking in the Netherlands - by Alexandra Gowling

Social networks are very popular in the Netherlands, with on average 85 per cent of the Dutch internet audience (10 million people) using one of them in recent months.

Of the various networks available, Facebook is the most popular, with just over half of the whole Dutch population using the world’s biggest social network. Second most popular is LinkedIn, with just under half that audience, followed closely by Twitter.

The Dutch social network Hyves is most popular with older users, with two-thirds of their users over 35, while half of Tumblr’s users are under 35. More people in the 45 to 55 age bracket use Twitter and LinkedIn, while the largest age group, surprisingly perhaps, for Facebook users are the over 55s.

According to Facebook Benelux, 6,1 million Dutch people log on to their accounts every day, which is unsurprising as the Dutch use the internet almost more than anyone else in Europe.

People in the Netherlands are also using smartphones more and more, as seen in the 77 per cent of Facebook users who check their account on their smartphone or tablet. Of these six million users, 4,6 million log in every day.

Read more: Social networking in the Netherlands | Dutch News

Egypt: 'Traditional cooperation' between U.S. and Egypt based on geopolitics and money - by Tom Curry

President Barack Obama may not have directly threatened to cut aid to Egypt on Thursday, but he made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable. “While we want to sustain our relationship with Egypt, our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back,” he said following days of violent clashes.

But what has that “traditional cooperation” been?

Although some U.S. foreign aid has been sent to Egypt since 1946, the current dimensions of the U.S. relationship with Egypt were set by the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, which President Jimmy Carter helped negotiate. As Obama and other presidents have said, the continuation of the Egypt-Israel peace accord is an anchor of stability in that volatile region.

Another dimension of the U.S.-Egypt relationship is geopolitical and based on access to the Suez Canal. The Egyptian government allows the U.S. Navy to use the canal on an expedited basis. According to the Congressional Research Service, this access allows the Navy to “deploy carrier groups swiftly to the Persian Gulf region. Without passage through the Canal, the Navy would have to deploy ships around the Cape of Good Hope — adding significant time to deployment from Norfolk, Va., to the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean.

”'Read more: Traditional cooperation' between U.S. and Egypt based on geopolitics and money - NBC Politics

The Netherlands: If Elections Were Held Today Dutch Coalition Government Would Suffer Massive Defeat - Poll shows

According to Dutch pollster Maurice de Hond the Dutch government coalition parties VVD (Conservative) and PvdA (Labor) would, if elections were held today, together get only 34 seats, 21 for the VVD and 13 for the PvdA.  A loss of 45 seats compared to last years election

The PVV ( Party for Freedom) of anti-Islam and anti-immigration Geert Wilders, who as his opponents say is better know for his "one liner's" rather than his political realism would double it's membership base in the Dutch parliament from 15 to 30 seats and become the biggest party in the parliament.

Almere-Digest

Turkey Elections - Parties shaping their local election candidates

Unless there is an extraordinary shift in the agenda, Turkey will declare its local elections calendar on January 1, 2014, and hit the ballot box on March 30, 2014. Five months later, in August, Presidential elections will take place. After these two elections, if not predated, general elections will be held in June 2015.

When considered in this context, local elections, which will deeply impact the country’s future and are likely to have a triggering effect, have already kicked off. Perfectionist party leaders are attaching a special importance to the three strategically crucial metropolitan municipalities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Surveys are being conducted, organizations audited. And slowly, candidate profiles for these cities are being shaped.

There are multiple scenarios and name predictions enumerated for the capital city. Let us take a look at who stands a better chance in which city, and which names outshine others.

Istanbul: Istanbul means Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In a scenario where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) loses Istanbul, it will create a demoralization in the party, as much as putting a minus sign to Erdoğan’s 11 years of success. Therefore, Erdoğan is being meticulous while picking out the candidate. If the AKP complies with its three terms limit, which indicates that no party official can hold office for more than three terms, it is likely that a strong minister from the current cabinet will be shifted to govern the city. Kadir Topbaş, the current Mayor, stands a weak chance; he is expected to be made a deputy. Among the names discussed are Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, EU Minister Egemen Bağış and a surprise name, Industry Minister Nihat Ergün. Bağış is being considered for Beyoğlu Municipality, an area still under the rule of the AKP. In this context, there are rumors that a change in the cabinet will occur in the fall, yet Erdoğan is rumored to make the change right before the election, towards the new year.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is seeking to compete with a promising candidate. In a lot of surveys, the difference between the AKP’s Kadir Topbaş and the current Şişli Mayor, Mustafa Sarıgül is measured to have fallen to four points, despite the fact that Sarıgül has not become a CHP member yet. Sarıgül is close to becoming CHP’s candidate, but some in the nationalist wing of the CHP object to his membership. Another prominent name for CHP’s candidate for Istanbul is the deputy leader of the party, Gürsel Tekin. Other names for CHP candidacy include party spokesperson Haluk Koç, deputy group chair Muharrem İnce, journalist Can Ataklı, former Gaziantep Mayor Celal Doğan, yet they are given slight chances. 

Read more: ANKARA WHISPERS - Parties shaping their local election candidates

Gibraltar: Conflict between Britain and Spain

Gibraltar

UK Prime Minister David Cameron today telephoned European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to express his views over developments on Gibraltar.

President Barroso explained that the Commission is continuously monitoring the situation and will do what is in its competence to ensure respect of EU law.

President Barroso also expects that this matter is addressed between the two countries concerned in a way that is in line with their common membership in the EU.

Note EU-Digest:   Gibraltar is located on the tip of Spain, but is a British territory, thanks to the 1714 Treaty at Utrecht that settled the War of the Spanish Succession. Since then, it's been the source of unending tension between Britain and Spain, but tensions really soared last month when Gibraltar created dumped cement blocks into the waters around the enclave, in order to prevent Spanish boats from fishing there. This infuriated Spanish officials, who retaliated by partially blocking the border checkpoint between Spain and Gibraltar, making it almost impossible for people to travel there from Spain, with some officials calling for a return of the "Spanish Armada" to Gibraltar. Britain is now retaliating back by threatening legal action, saying that the border controls are a violation of European Union rules.

Read more: EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - European Commission President's phone conversation with UK Prime Minister on Gibraltar

Britain Detains Partner of Reporter Tied to Leaks Of NSA Spy Programs by Edward Snowden

The partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist for The Guardian who has been publishing information leaked by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, was detained for nine hours by the British authorities under a counterterrorism law while on a stop in London’s Heathrow Airport during a trip from Germany to Brazil, Mr. Greenwald said Sunday.

Mr. Greenwald’s partner, David Michael Miranda, 28, is a citizen of Brazil. He had spent the previous week visiting Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker who has also been helping to disseminate Mr. Snowden’s leaks, in Berlin, to assist Mr. Greenwald. The trip had been paid for by The Guardian, Mr. Greenwald said, and Mr. Miranda was on his way home to Rio de Janeiro, where they live. 

Mr. Miranda, Mr. Greenwald said, was told that he was being detained under Section 7 of the British Terrorism Act, which allows the authorities to detain someone for up to nine hours for questioning and to conduct a search of personal items, often without a lawyer, to determine possible ties to terrorism. More than 97 percent of people stopped under the provision are questioned for under an hour, according to the British government. 

Civil rights groups in Britain have criticized Section 7 of the Terrorism Act, accusing the authorities of using the provision to arbitrarily stop and detain travelers, particularly Muslims. The British Home Office has said it is reviewing the provision in an effort to address the concerns. 

Read more: Britain Detains Partner of Reporter Tied to Leaks - NYTimes.com