Islamic Veil Ban in France!

Hello Bloggers!

It has come to my attention that the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy is implementing a legislation that would ban Muslim women from wearing veils in public places.

Sarkozy has repeatedly said "that such clothing oppresses women and is not welcome in France" (The Huffington Post).

A parliament spokesperson has revealed to the press that a bill banning the use of burka-like veils will be passed in May.

France has the biggest Muslim community in Europe and many politicians around the world worry there will be a cultural clash between the Muslims and the Western people, due to this upcoming ban. Yet, Sarkozy believes the ban is necessary for national security and the promotion of gender equality. However, Sarkozy is forgetting that the burka is not a religious requirement, Muslim women choose to wear it. The burka is their interpretation of dressing modestly which the Qu'ran instructs. So the gender equality part is a bit confusing. Some people reveal too much, so shouldn't others be able to cover themselves up if they please? Are dress codes really an obstruction to national or cultural values?

This debate has been ongoing since 2009 and legislation against Islamic veils will be finalised this summer. I guess France is following in the footsteps of Belgium, who is next?

What are your thoughts on this? Isn't this a violation of human rights? Or do you believe this is a necessary step to take in order to optimize national security and promote gender equality nationwide?

Ash Cloud Dilemma

Hello Bloggers!

As all of you might have heard, the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has caused air travel chaos across Europe, stranding 1,000,000 of travellers!!! 

Airline companies such as British Airways, Austrian Airlines, Ryan Air and many others have been canceling both short-haul and long-haul flights due to the very high risks the fine particles of rock and glass erupted by the volcano may cause.

Scientists have proven that when these fine particles composed of glass and rock are "sucked into aircraft engines and rapidly heated can quickly clog vital intake valves with molten glass, causing the engine to overheat and fail." However, Air France, Lufthansa and KLM have carried out test flights through the ash cloud without any kind of damage to the aircraft.

"We observed no irregularities either during the flight or during the initial inspection on the ground," Peter Hartman, KLM's chief executive who was aboard Saturday's flight, said.

Lufthansa flew 10 long-haul planes from Munich to Frankfurt through the ash cloud and reported there was not even an indication of a scratch on any of the planes. 

No one knows how long the ash cloud will last, so the question arises, are flight bans really necessary even after test flights have proven otherwise? Are civil aviation authorities being overly precarious? Thoughts??