Conditions in American detention centers for illegal immigrants have been the subject of extensive media attention of late and even of a critical report by the UN's special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. Conditions in European detention centers for illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers, by contrast, have received less attention. But as Matthias Lehnert has shown in a recent article in the Berlin weekly Jungle World, the new EU "return" directive will practically guarantee that the most draconian conditions existing in the EU -- notably those obtaing in Germany -- will not only persist, but likely spread. See my translation of the Lehnert article on Pajamas Media here. 

In his speech to the Knesset on Monday, Nicolas Sarkozy pronounced himself to be a "friend of Israel" no less than fours times and described France as "Israel's Friend" another three times. But his remarks at a news conference the next day in Bethlehem hardly seemed friendly. See my new article on World Politics Review here.

The German journalist Dirk Auer recently visited Tetovo, the "unofficial capital" of the Albanian-dominated northwestern part of Macedonia. His report in the Berlin weekly Jungle World sheds light on what one might call the "monomania" of ethnic national politics, despite any apparent ideological differences between rival nationalist parties. See my translation on World Politics Review here.

It might seem odd to find the head of an NGO ostensibly devoted to defending freedom of speech signing a petition whose only point could be to suppress it. But when one knows more about Reporters Without Borders, it turns out not to be so odd after all. See my new article on Pajamas Media here.

A former official in the Algerian civil service and the author of four previous novels, the Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal has recently published a new book titled Le village de l'Allemand: "The German's Village." Via the reflections of two brothers of Algerian origin living in the Parisian banlieues, it tells the story of the brothers' father: Hans Schiller, a hero of the Algerian war of independence as a member of the National Liberation Front (FLN) -- and, as so happens, before that an officer in the dreaded Nazi paramilitary force, the SS. For Boualem Sansal, "the line separating Islamism from Nazism is a thin one." Grégoire Leménager spoke with him for the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur. See my abridged translation of the interview on World Politics Review here.

The motto of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany was “The world is our guest, you’re staying with friends” [Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden]. Two years later, however, the prospects of a good showing by the German national team in the European soccer championships appear to have inspired anything but friendly sentiments among some German soccer fans. See my new article on Pajamas Media here.

Osama Mostafa Hassan Nasr, better known as "Abu Omar", is the Egyptian cleric who was allegedly kidnapped in Milan in 2003 as part of the CIA "extraordinary renditions" program. Starting in 2002, Abu Omar was under intensive surveillance by the Italian police. Examination of the transcripts of his recorded conversations provides a clearer idea of just what he was up to before he went missing and why Italian authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest. The charge: involvement in international terrorism. See my new report with extensive translated excerpts from the Italian surveillance tapes on World Politics Review here.

On the occasion of Israel's 60th birthday, Jost Kaiser of the German edition of Vanity Fair magazine analyzes what he calls Germans' "neurotic obsession" with the country. See my translation on Pajamas Media here.

The Tempelhof Airport in Berlin is to be closed and New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman is sad. For some background on the airport that is the object of Kimmelman's affections, see my new article on Pajamas Media here.