Some 1500 delegates from the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) met in Berlin on Sunday to officially launch the organization, openly calling for “orderly dissolution of the euro.” AfD also asks for the return of some sovereignty from the EU to the member states, as well as the introduction of Swiss-style referendums at the federal level. Created by economists and professors dissatisfied with the euro, its members number 7,500 supporters. The party aims to debut in September’s general elections. The party is optimistic about the upcoming elections, “a double digit result is realistic”, party spokesman, Bernd Lucke told the Bild newspaper.“We are an alternative to the euro policies of Mrs. Merkel,” AfD deputy spokeswoman Frauke Petry said last month. “We have the potential to become a major party.”Germany’s established parties have criticized AfD’s platform as populist.“They are advocating something that I consider to be unfounded, dangerous and illusionary,” because this would mean “a return to a traditional-style nation-state” that will hurt Berlin’s export-dependent economy, Jürgen Trittin from the Green Party told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.“The Alternative for Germany has a program for destroying jobs in the German export industry,” Trittin added.The political establishment is also worried that the new anti-euro party will attract voters frustrated by German support for a number of bailouts for debt-ridden eurozone members.All political parties in Germany must receive five percent of the national vote in order to qualify for representation in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. … Read More
German equivalent to Ukip angry at Nazi jibes from southern Europe
http://www.youtube.com/v/2T1XLx06CJE?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Read more: German equivalent to Ukip angry at Nazi jibes from southern Europe
Document declaring Soviet Union’s breakup ‘missing’ from archives
Document declaring Soviet Union’s breakup ‘missing’ from archivesGet short URLLink copied to clipboardemail story to a friendprint versionPublished: 08 February, 2013, 06:16
TAGS:Scandal,
CIS,
Russia,
Ukraine,
Politics,
Belarus
Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk (2L), Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich (3L) and Russian Presiden
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t Boris Yeltsin (2R) during the signing ceremony to eliminate the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States. Viskuly Government House in the Belorussian National Park “Belovezhskaya Forest” on December 8, 1991 (RIA Novosti / Yuriy Ivanov)Those looking for proof of the USSR’s dissolution will have to make do with copies: the key historic document declaring the country’s end has vanished in Belarus. A former Belarusian leader believes the document was kept by some official to make “a fortunThe officials who signed the accords and those responsible for keeping them have failed to explain why they only have notarized copies, or where the original could be.Despite a number of attempts to find the original document original during the 1990s, “no direct or clear answer” could be given by any of the sides, former executive secretary of the CIS Ivan Korotchenya told KP. Korotchenya believes that the original could have been tucked away by some senior official because of its “fundamental importance” at the time. Nobody wanted to be held responsible for signing the accords, he added.However, former Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich had a more pragmatic explanation on why the original went missing from the archives, saying the key historic agreement is “worth a fortune.” Any “skilled communist manager” could easily see that its value would be “wildly high” in the future, Shushkevich told KP. He then pointed journalists towards then-foreign minister of Belarus Pyotr Kravchenko.Kravchenko, who was responsible for keeping the treaty at the time of signing, refused to comment on the location of the original. He has boasted in the past of possessing all the drafts of the Belavezha Accords, on which he is now writing a book.The Belarusian foreign ministry said the problem “has been brought into notice,” and the archives will be searched to clarify the situation
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.Even if the original has really gone missing, the notarized copies have legal power equal to the original, a CIS spokesman told RIA. Thus, there shouldn’t be any legal consequences in the case of the document’s loss, he added.Documents on establishing the CIS were signed here. Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Viskuli; December 8, 1991 (RIA Novosti / Yuriy Ivanov)”);
$(“.tail_text”).show(500);
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The historic document known as the Belavezha Accords was signed on December 8, 1991 by the leaders of the Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, though not the leader of the Soviet Union itself. In addition to stating that the USSR “has ceased to exist,” it also established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), thus marking a new era for the formerly Soviet republics.The document says it was made in three equally valid copies in Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian.But it turns out the state leaders were only given certified copies of a Russian-language document, while the only existing original went missing from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s archives, an investigative report by Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) has shown.The report issued by the Minsk edition of the Russian daily has spurred media outrage, and has caused some finger-pointing among the officials.Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine (L); Stanislav Shushkevich, Belarus’ Supreme Soviet Speaker (C); and Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia (2R), in Belovezhskaya Pushcha after signing the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), (RIA Novosti / Yuriy Ivanov)The officials who signed the accords and those responsible for keeping them have failed to explain why they only have notarized copies, or where the original could be.Despite a number of attempts to find the original document original during the 1990s, “no direct or clear answer” could be given by any of the sides, former executive secretary of the CIS Ivan Korotchenya told KP. Korotchenya believes that the original could have been tucked away by some senior official because of its “fundamental importance” at the time. Nobody wanted to be held responsible for signing the accords, he added.However, former Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich had a more pragmatic explanation on why the original went missing from the archives, saying the key historic agreement is “worth a fortune.” Any “skilled communist manager” could easily see that its value would be “wildly high” in the future, Shushkevich told KP. He then pointed journalists towards then-foreign minister of Belarus Pyotr Kravchenko.Kravchenko, who was responsible for keeping the treaty at the time of signing, refused to comment on the location of the original. He has boasted in the past of possessing all the drafts of the Belavezha Accords, on which he is now writing a book.The Belarusian foreign ministry said the problem “has been brou
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ght into notice,” and the archives will be searched to clarify the situation.Even if the original has really gone missing, the notarized copies have legal power equal to the original, a CIS spokesman told RIA. Thus, there shouldn’t be any legal consequences in the case of the document’s loss, he added.Documents on establishing the CIS were signed here. Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Viskuli; December 8, 1991 (RIA Novosti / Yuriy Ivanov) … Read More
Protesters demand Pakistan government resign
http://www.youtube.com/v/Fzceb1I1bHU?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Credit: Protesters demand Pakistan government resign
Marchers Arrive in Tahrir to Protest Morsy’s Constitutional Declaration
Egypt Independent: Tens of thousands of marchers flocked to Tahrir from several neighborhoods around Cairo on Tuesday to voice their rejection of President Mohamed Morsy’s constitutional declaration and to call for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly … Read More
Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis demand dissolution of new parliament (PHOTOS)
Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis demand dissolution of new parliament (PHOTOS)Get short URLLink copied to clipboardemail story to a friendprint versionPublished: 08 December, 2012, 23:21
TAGS:Election,
Middle East,
Protest,
Politics,
Bill Dod,
Opposition,
Lucy Kafanov,
Clashes
Protestors march to Kuwait Towers during as they protest against new voting rules at the Gulf Road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012.
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(25.3Mb)embed videoProtesters have hit Kuwait City demanding the dissolution of the parliament elected last week and the cancelation of an amendment to election laws. The emir invited the new house to hold its inaugural session, rejecting the opposition’s calls.Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah on Wednesday reappointed Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah as premier, after the cabinet resigned in a routine step required after the election. Kuwait, which is one of the oldest Gulf monarchies, has one of the most open political system among the Gulf Arab states. Parliament has legislative powers and the right to question ministers. But the emir, head of the Al-Sabah family that has ruled Kuwait for 250 years, still appoints the prime minister, who in turn chooses the cabinet.Despite the protest mood showing no signs of dying down, Kuwait’s monarchy is not under threat, according to geopolitical analyst Eric Draitser.“The Kuwait monarchy is entirely dependent upon the United States and other powers, which need Kuwait and other countries like it to maintain control of oil dominance in the region. So, if any of those regimes were to fall, it would create severe economic shockwaves for the US and the other powers and, of course, they are not able to execute their geopolitical agenda unless they have hegemony in the Middle East,” Draitser told RT.Kuwaiti opposition supporters stand between banners calling for freedom and liberty prior to the start of a march along a major road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (AFP Photo / Marwan Naamani)Former Member of Parliament Walid Al-Tabtabaie (3rd R) holds a young boy on his shoulders shouting with a megaphone during a march protesting against new voting rules at the Gulf Road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (Reuters / Stephanie McGehee)Protestors hold up their agals (ropes to keep the traditional headdress in place) during a march protesting against new voting rules at the Gulf Road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (Reuters / Stephanie McGehee)”);
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Crowds of men, women and children wearing orange, the color of the protest movement, marched along a coastal road on the edge of the capital, heading for Kuwait Towers, a major landmark by the Gulf.”This parliament is illegitimate, this [electoral law] amendment is illegal,” chanted the protesters.The demonstrators called on the government to abolish the decree, which lowered the number of candidates a voter is eligible to pick from the maximum of four to one. They claim the amendment was adopted so that the government could have even more control over the parliament.Kuwait’s government, where members of the ruling family hold top posts, however, says the new rules bring the country in line with democratic norms elsewhere. Last week’s snap polls were boycotted by the opposition, and all 50 seats were won by pro-government candidates, including a record 17 seats by the Shiite minority.The opposition’s supporters have been demonstrating for the second week in a row, attracting large numbers of people as police watched the protest without interfering.On Saturday, the demonstrators also raised banners reading “No to violence, enough arrests,” in reference to violent clashes between police and protesters over the past several days.The confrontations had broken out between riot police and youth activists who staged protests every night since Monday to express their rejection of the election. Police used teargas and stun grenades liberally while battling the activists at that demonstration. More than 150 protesters and 24 police officers were injured while dozens were arrested. Protestors march as they protest against new voting rules at the Gulf Road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (Reuters / Stephanie McGehee)Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah on Wednesday reappointed Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah as premier, after the cabinet resigned in a routine step required after the election. Kuwait, which is one of the oldest Gulf monarchies, has one of the most open political system among the Gulf Arab states. Parliament has legislative powers and the right to question ministers. But the emir, head of the Al-Sabah family that has ruled Kuwait for 250 years, still appoints the prime minister, who in turn chooses the cabinet.Despite the protest mood showing no signs of dying down, Kuwait’s monarchy is not under threat, according to geopolitical analyst Eric Draitser.“The Kuwait monarchy is entirely dependent upon the United States and other powers, which need Kuwait and other countries like it to maintain control of oil dominance in the region. So, if any of those regimes were to fall, it would create severe economic shockwaves for the US and the other powers and, of course, they are not able to execute their geopolitical agenda unless they have hegemony in the Middle East,” Draitser t
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old RT.Kuwaiti opposition supporters stand between banners calling for freedom and liberty prior to the start of a march along a major road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (AFP Photo / Marwan Naamani)Former Member of Parliament Walid Al-Tabtabaie (3rd R) holds a young boy on his shoulders shouting with a megaphone during a march protesting against new voting rules at the Gulf Road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (Reuters / Stephanie McGehee)Protestors hold up their agals (ropes to keep the traditional headdress in place) during a march protesting against new voting rules at the Gulf Road in Kuwait City on December 8, 2012. (Reuters / Stephanie McGehee) … Read More
Egypt’s top court goes on strike over Islamist pressure
Egypt’s highest court has gone on an open-ended strike after putting off the decision on the dissolution of the Islamist-controlled Constituent Assembly and upper house of parliament, as thousands of pro-Morsi…Read Full Article at RT.com … Read More
