Darfur - Jihad perverted
From a strictly religious standpoint, the killing of the Christian and or animist population of Southern Sudan could be interpreted as part of the obligation of pious Muslims to fight the infidels. But there is now enough evidence that religious zeal is not the principal motive for the activities of the milices supported by the government in Khartum in Darfur.The fossile fuel and mineral resources below the surface are the most important one, and no one knows who will finally take profit from the dirty work of the milices. All this might be trivial if there was not the silence with which religious authorities and intellectuals in the islamic world ahve reacted to the Darfur tragedy so far.
It would greatly enhance the credibility of the religious and intellectual elite of the muslim community if it's most prominent exponents could decide to take action against the Khartum government, beyond the closed circles of the United Nations. No doubt, the victims of the United States war against Iraq and the sufferings of the Chechen population on the hand of Russia both contribute greatly to a desire for revenge throughout the Muslim community, but this is a different story, this is Africa, a continent that has already suffered too much from foreign domination, be it
slavery, colonial or postcolonial oppression, a continent without defense.
A strong word from Muslim leaders on Darfur is overdue.

"Monarchie bananière" et "Cheval noir"

Aujourd'hui, la Neue Zürcher Zeitung décrit François Bayrou comme "cheval noir" qui aurait échappé au propriétaire de son écurie, l'UDF (seul mouvement libéral de la France) et plus particulièrement à l'ancien Président de la République, Giscard d'Estaing. Il y a deux raisons pour Giscard de se fâcher contre le "cheval noir":
a) Etant ENArque lui-même,il y lui-même toujours été un membre proéminent de la "monarchie bananière" apostrophiée hier sur France Culture par la Verte Corinne Lepage (dont ont peu admirer le courage du soutenir un libéral et d'afficher sa conviction qu'écologiee et économie de marché ne sont pas en contradiction irréparable)
b) Bayrou propose un projet simplifié pour la Constitution Européenne dont Giscard a été le père spirituel...
Vous trouverez les sites web de Bayrou et de Corinne Lepage dans la liste des liens.

"Banana Monarchy" and "Black Horse"

Yesterday, on French radio station "France Culture", a refreshing interview with one of the less known dozens of candidates for the French presidential election, Corinne Lepage. This outspoken lady has already made public her preference for the liberal François Bayrou who at present is classified third in the presidential race behind the official big party candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal.
While openly addressing ecological subjects, she refuses to accept the wide-spread view that market economy and ecological objectives are incompatible. Why does she take sides at this early stage of the campaign`with a liberal outsider? She explains that France has become a "banana monarchy" which means that the power centers of the state are in the hands of an extremely restricted and inbred elite of men and women who have started their carreer as students at the ENA (Ecole Nationale d'Administration), the so-called "Enarchs", with little or no contact with the economic and societal reality of the population.
Her programme is worth reading even for those who do not share her views on nuclear power plants. You will find it along with the one of François Bayrou on the link list.
Today, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung describes François Bayrou as "Black Horse" escaping control by his owner (former French President Giscard d'Estaing and the "Union pour la Démocratie Française UDF", the only serious liberal movement in France). It is clear that Giscard d'Estaing ist angry about the "black horse" for two simple reasons:
a) Giscard has always been a prominent "ENArque" and member of the "banana monarchy" nomenclatura, and
b) Bayrou is suggesting a new, simplified project for the European Constitution the core programme of which had been masterminded by Giscard himself...

Fortune-Building in Switzerland and the reinvention of dynasties of the Habsburg type

My post on Swiss Federal minister of justice Christoph Blocher and his critique of NOVARTIS CEO and chairman of the board Daniel Vasella has provoked interesting comments. An anonymous commentator whose text I will not publish in extenso for reasons of privacy protection writes to me:
"What astounds me about HBM (i.e. Henri B.Meier, former finance chief of ROCHE and HBM Partner AG, Zurich, respectively, see http://www.moneyhouse.ch/u/pub/hbm_partners_ag_CH-020.3.024.334-3.htm - the editor ), Ebner & Blocher: No one in this country is interested in the real origin of Blocher's fortune (it can quite obviously not be from EMS) and no one in this country seems to be interested in the origin of HBMs astronomical financial profits @ Roche back in the early nineties either, nor in the financial shambles he left, earlier this decade. ... Despite the vast amount of socialist oriented journalists, writing here. An omertà that reminds one of the Craxi Italy and of the former PM there, don't you think?"