French weekly publishes 'Life of Mohammed' cartoons

French weekly publishes 'Life of Mohammed' cartoons - A French weekly published Wednesday a comic book biography of the Prophet Mohammed that it says is a well-researched work by a Franco-Tunisian sociologist. Charlie Hebdo's offices were firebombed in 2011 after it published cartoons of the prophet.

A French satirical magazine, whose offices were fire-bombed after it published cartoons mocking the prophet Mohammed, on Wednesday published a comic book biography of Islam's founder.

The editor of Charlie Hebdo weekly has insisted that the new book, titled "The Life of Mohammed", was a properly researched and educational work prepared by a Franco-Tunisian sociologist.

"It is a biography authorised by Islam since it was edited by Muslims," said Stephane Charbonnier, who was also the illustrator of the book whose front page shows the prophet leading a camel through the desert.

"I don't think higher Muslim minds could find anything inappropriate," he told AFP last week.

Charbonnier said the idea for the comic book came to him in 2006 when a newspaper in Denmark published cartoons of Mohammed, later republished by Charlie Hebdo, drawing angry protests across the Muslim world.

"Before having a laugh about a character, it's better to know him. As much as we know about the life of Jesus, we know nothing about Mohammed," he said.

Satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has on several occasions published cartoon versions of Islam's prophet in a declared effort to defend free speech, to the fury of many Muslims who believe depicting Mohammed is sacrilegious.

In September Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of a naked Mohammed as violent protests were taking place in several countries over a low-budget film made in the United States that insults the prophet.

In 2011 Charlie Hebdo's offices were hit by a firebomb and its website pirated after publishing an edition titled "Charia Hebdo" featuring several Mohammed cartoons.

Charbonnier, who has received death threats, lives under police protection.(AFP)

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How to Explain Mayan Doomsday to Your Kids

How to Explain Mayan Doomsday to Your Kids — With doomsday rumors making the rounds online and likely at the water cooler, those who aren't in the know — that a Mayan apocalypse on Dec. 21 has no scientific basis — may be understandably freaked out.

That group would include kids, who often can't distinguish TV advertisements from their favorite animated shows. That's where the U.S. government comes in. Kids.gov, a government website, is taking a stand on the side of reason — for kids' sake.

"It is up to us to reassure kids that the world is not ending and that nothing bad is going to happen," according to the site. "To be able to talk to your kids with confidence, it is important to understand what the rumors are and why they are not true."

The site follows with four tips to help parents and other caregivers help alleviate kids' fears about doomsday rumors (whether they be from the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar or so-called "rogue planet" Planet Nibiru):

Take their fears seriously: Suggesting to your children that their fears are silly and dismissing them will not help. Sit down and discuss the fear with them, making sure to take it seriously.

Educate yourself about the topic of their fears: Knowing the facts will only help to calm them. If their fear is the Mayan apocalypse, here are some things to know: The rumors stem from the Mayan Long Count calendar, one of three used by the ancient Maya of Central America. On Dec. 21, today's calendar coincides with the end of the b'ak'tun, or the 144,000-day cycle on the Mayan calendar. There is no reason to believe the calendar would not just start over, and experts point out the ancient Maya did not see the end of the b'ak'tun as a sign of the end of the world.

Furthermore, two ancient calendar carvings that reference this date do not point to any doom. One found in Tortuguero, Mexico, dates to A.D. 669 and mentions the return of a deity associated with calendar changes on that day. The second carving was found in Guatemala and dates to about A.D. 696; in that text, a struggling king attempts to bolster his rule by linking it to the 13th b'ak'tun.

Help your child research the rumor: Help your child research the Mayan apocalypse, or other fear, on the Internet, making sure to note the importance of reliable sources of information. NASA has a great resource, and LiveScience also has full coverage on the Mayan Doomsday (Not).

Take the fear off their plate: "For younger children, sit down to discuss the child's fear and then tell them, 'Okay, from now on I will worry about this for you. You don't have to worry about this anymore. I’ll look into it and I will let you know what I find out,'" according to the government website.

The doomsday post by the U.S. government is not a first. In recent weeks, the U.S. space agency NASA, the Vatican and even the Australian Prime Minister (by way of a spoof video), have urged calm and affirmed the fact that the world won't end.

The latest from NASA was a video released ahead of the Dec. 21, 2012 alleged Mayan apocalypse to say the world didn't end "yesterday." The idea, according to NASA, is that the agency is so sure the apocalypse is a farce, they're willing to call it a week in advance.

Meanwhile, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) put out a release on 12/12/12, declaring that day Anti-Doomsday.

"While many pundits and prognosticators lament the supposed end of the world on December 21, 2012 (thanks to misinterpreting Mayan predictions), here at the ASP we encourage everyone to go in the opposite – and accurate – direction," the statement read. "Thus, we are declaring December 12, 2012 as Anti-Doomsday Day in celebration of rational thinking and reasoned discourse." ( LiveScience.com )

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Jewish groups struggle for Holocaust restitution

Jewish groups struggle for Holocaust restitution - — More than 67 years after the Holocaust, Jirina Novakova refuses to give up her battle to regain property confiscated from her family.

Her hopes got a boost two years ago when 43 countries vowed at a Prague conference to back global guidelines for the restitution of property confiscated from Jews during World War II to their rightful owners or heirs. The nations pledged to try harder to return real estate stolen by the Nazis, open archives that might help those dispossessed and to process claims for restitution faster. She thought that show of international determination would pressure her country, the Czech Republic, and help her finally win a court battle to get back a button factory seized from her family by the Nazis.

 

Associated Press - American lawyer and IPRC (Immovable Property Review Conference) co-chairman Stuart E. Eizenstat talks to journalists in Prague, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. The meeting in the Czech capital was held to urge countries in Eastern Europe to compensate Jews dispossessed of their property during the Holocaust and Eizenstat highlighted Germany and Austria as models for others to follow, for their property restitution and compensation laws. (AP Photo / CTK, Katerina Sulova) SLOVAKIA OUT

But the 62-year-old is still waiting.

This week, Novakova was among 200 people from 41 countries attending another international conference in Prague to review the progress made and put renewed pressure on European governments to restitute such property or provide fair compensation.

Shortly after the 2010 conference, the Czech Constitutional Court overturned a 2009 Supreme Court ruling and earlier lower court rulings in favor of Novakova and other relatives seeking the return of the Koh-i-noor button factory in Prague.

Originally owned by her grandfather, Zikmund Waldes, it was seized by the Nazis in 1939 during their occupation of what then-Czechoslovakia. The factory was nationalized by the communists after the war in 1945. After the fall of communism, the state sold the factory to a private owner in 1994. No compensation was ever paid to the family.

The 2010 agreement "didn't help at all," Novakova said. "It's a little bit depressing."

But she refuses to give up. Now she is challenging the Constitutional Court's ruling and vowed to go next to international courts if she loses her appeal.

"I still have hope," she said.

The two-day conference in Prague ended Wednesday with new calls for restitution.

"While progress has taken place since the fall of Communism and the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union, there remains an urgent need to help the tens of thousands of elderly Holocaust victims and their heirs whose property claims remain unsatisfied," Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, said in a statement.

Some at the conference, however, say they have seen some progress.

"It's too easy to be pessimistic," said Stuart Eizenstat, a special adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State on Holocaust issues. "These conferences are not simply an exercising in speaking. They are peer reviews, they encourage action. Their declarations, even though not legally binding, have made profound differences in the ways in which countries have tackled this problem."

Eizenstat highlighted Germany and Austria as models for others for their property restitution and compensation laws.

But he also noted that post-communists countries, including Czech Republic, Poland Lithuania, Hungary, Romania have been doing well at returning communal Jewish property such as synagogues and cemeteries. But he said many of these countries have not done as well compensating for private property like homes and factories.

Poland, in particular, is often criticized for failing to pass legislation that would compensate Jews for their losses in the Holocaust. Once home to Europe's largest Jewish community, Poland had for many years vowed to tackle the problem, but in 2011, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government suspended work on a compensation law, saying a rising state deficit left it unable to afford such payments.

Eizenstat said the struggle would go on.

"What we're doing is we're moving beyond the pledges that were made in 2010 to look at the concrete actions that have been taken," Eizenstat said. "We need to help survivors in their lifetime." ( Associated Press )

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Napoleon's secret coded Kremlin letter on sale

Napoleon's secret coded Kremlin letter on sale — The single line of Napoleon's secret code told Paris of his desperate, last order against the Russians: "At three o'clock in the morning, on the 22nd I am going to blow up the Kremlin."

By the time Paris received the letter three days later, the Russian czar's seat of power was in flames and the diminished French army was in retreat. Its elegantly calligraphic ciphers show history's famed general at one of his weakest moments.

 

Associated Press/Christophe Ena - In this photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, a letter dictated and signed by Napoleon in secret code that declares his intentions "to blow up the Kremlin" during his ill-fated Russian campaign is displayed for the media in Fontainebleau, outside Paris. The rare letter, written in unusually emotive language, sees Napoleon complain of harsh conditions and the shortcomings of his grand army. The letter goes on auction Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

"My cavalry is in tatters, many horses are dying," dictated Napoleon, the once-feared leader showing the strain of his calamitous Russian invasion, which halved his army.

The rare document — dated Oct. 20, 1812, signed "Nap" in the emperor's hand and written in numeric code — is up for auction Sunday at France's Fontainebleau Auction House.

The Napoleon code, used only for top-secret letters when the French emperor was far from home, aimed to stop enemies from intercepting French army orders. The code was regularly changed to prevent it from being cracked.

Napoleon must have dispatched his strongest horses and riders to carry the news: It only took three days to reach France's interior ministry — 1,540 miles (2,480 kilometers) across Europe.

"This letter is unique. Not only is it all in code, but it's the first time we see this different Napoleon. He went into Moscow in 1812 at the height of his power. He returned profoundly weakened. In Moscow, the Russians had fled days before and burnt down the city. There was no victory for Napoleon, nor were there any provisions for his starving, dying army," says Jean-Christophe Chataignier of the auction house.

The only thing left for the weakened leader was to give the order to burn Russia's government buildings — coded in the letter as "449, 514, 451, 1365..."

It is evidence of what historians call the beginning of the end of Napoleon's glorious empire, which started in Russia and ended at Waterloo three years later.

In June 1812, Napoleon's "Grand Army" — at 600,000 men one of the largest in human history — confidently entered Russia. But they were woefully unprepared for the harsh weather, the strong Russian defense and the Russian scorched-earth tactics, which left nothing behind to sustain the hungry and freezing French troops.

"This letter is an incredible insight, we never see Napoleon emotively speaking in this way before," says Chataignier. "Only in letters to (his wife) Josephine did he ever express anything near to emotion. Moscow knocked him."

In the text — which announces that his commanders are evacuating Moscow — Napoleon laments his army's plight, asking for assistance to replenish his forces and the ravaged cavalry, which saw thousands of horses die.

In September, 200 years after Russia's victory over Napoleon, the Kremlin held huge celebrations aimed at rousing patriotism among modern Russians. The highlight was a re-enactment of the battle of Borodino — one of the most damaging clashes for Napoleon's troops — which saw thousands in Russian and French military uniforms perform before several hundred thousand spectators.

The 1812 victory played an important role in Russia's emergence as a major world power. Until World War I, Napoleon's Russian campaign and the ensuing wars were the largest European military face-off in history.

The letter, which is accompanied by a second decoded sheet, is estimated to fetch up to €15,000 ($19,500). ( Associated Press )

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Female military members sue to serve in combat

Female military members sue to serve in combat — Four female service members filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat, hoping the move will add pressure to drop the policy just as officials are gauging the effect that lifting the prohibition will have on morale.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, is the second one this year over the 1994 rule that bars women from being assigned to ground combat units, which are smaller and considered more dangerous since they are often in battle for longer periods.

Associated Press/Ben Margot - Plaintiff Colleen Farrell, a U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant, speaks during a media conference Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, in San Francisco. Several active women military personnel have filed a federal lawsuit to demand combat action, requesting all branches of the military to remove the so-called combat exclusionary rule that bars women from fighting on the front lines. This suit, to be filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, is believed to be the first involving active duty military personnel. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The legal effort comes less than a year after the ban on gays serving openly was lifted and as officials are surveying Marines about whether women would be a distraction in ground combat units.

"I'm trying to get rid of the ban with a sharp poke," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt, who was among the plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit and was injured in 2007 when her Humvee ran over an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

Hunt and the other three women said the policy unfairly blocks them from promotions and other advancements open to men in combat. Three of the women are in the reserves. A fourth, Marine Corp Lt. Colleen Farrell, leaves active duty this week.

Women comprise 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel. The lawsuit alleges that women are barred from 238,000 positions across the Armed Forces.

At a Washington, D.C., news conference, Pentagon press secretary George Little said the Defense Department was making strides in allowing more women into combat. He said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has opened about 14,500 combat positions to women.

"And he has directed the services to explore the possibility of opening additional roles for women in the military," Little said. "His record is very strong on this issue."

American Civil Liberties Union Ariela Migdal, who represents the four women, said Panetta's actions weren't enough. She called for an end to the combat ban. "These tweaks and minor changes on the margins do a disservice to all the women who serve," she said.

"It falls short," she said. "It is not enough."

Marine Corps Capt. Zoe Bedell said she left active duty, in large part, because of the combat exclusion policy. Bedell said she was frustrated that her advancement in the Marines was blocked by her inability to serve directly in combat units.

"The military is the last place where you are allowed to be discriminated against because of you gender," she said.

Bedell said the blurred front lines of modern warfare, with suicide bombs and sniper attacks, have put more and more women in combat situations.

More than 144 female troops have been killed and more than 860 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began, according to Pentagon statistics.

Military leaders say they want to make sure lifting gender-based barriers would not disrupt the cohesion of the smaller combat ground units and military operations.

The Marine Corps' top leader, Gen. James Amos, ordered a survey of 53,000 troops to get their views, including whether they believe women in those units would distract male Marines from doing their jobs. The results have not been released yet.

The lawsuit alleges the ban violates constitutional female service members' equal rights. "As a direct result of this policy," the lawsuit states, "women — as a class and solely because of their gender — are barred from entire career fields.

The lawsuit also alleges that women are already serving unofficially in combat units.

Air National Guard Major Mary Jennings Hegar sustained shrapnel wounds in 2009 when she exchanged fire on the ground in Afghanistan after her Medevac helicopter was shot down. Both she and Hunt received Purple Heart medals for their injuries.

The lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, an appointee of President Barack Obama ( Associated Press )

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