Muslim Marriage: A Portrait
THE TIMES: A true Muslim marriage is about husband and wife helping each other attain paradise says Na'ima B. Robert

Bismillah*

My husband is ill. He lies in bed, in the dark. I try to keep the children quiet. I try to keep them from disturbing him. I try to get them to sleep without too much fuss.

When all is peace, I tiptoe into the room. I feel his forehead for signs of a fever. I ask him if he needs anything. He needs to drink fluids, Vitamin C. I know this. And I also know that he won't ask.

So I go to the kitchen, put the kettle on. I mix him a drink - lemon to fight the cold germs, honey to soothe his sore throat, fresh mint leaves to lift the taste a little. I say 'Bismillah' before I pour the hot water, make a little prayer for his well being, before taking it to him. He smiles through his discomfort. I have brought him ease.

But I wave away his thanks. It is nothing.

I am his wife. That's what I'm here to do.

Some may sneer at these small acts of kindness. Some may shake their heads pityingly at this description of servitude. But they don't understand my life or my motivations. They do not know, do not understand that I married my husband for the sake of Allah.

Our goal, from the outset of a marriage arranged by mutual friends, was to help each other to attain Paradise. Nothing more, nothing less.

We went about our marriage the traditional Islamic way. We didn't date, we didn't cohabit, we didn't spend any time alone. We met a few times, in the company of my guardian, asked each other innumerable questions, discussed every issue that was important to us. My husband flew halfway across the world to obtain my parents' consent and we were married, with a marriage contract and a mahr (dowry paid to the bride) but no pomp or ceremony, in a room in Baker Street. >>> Na'ima B. Robert** | Monday, August 24, 2009

*In the name of Allah

**The founder and editor of Sisters Magazine >>>

Libye: Un anniversaire malvenu
leJDD.fr: En Libye, le colonel Kadhafi s'apprête à fêter mardi, le 40e anniversaire de "sa" révolution. Pour l'occasion, de nombreux chefs d'Etat seront présents à Tripoli. Mais en pleine polémique sur la libération de l'auteur de l'attentat de Lockerbie, les dirigeants occidentaux boudent les festivités.

"Sarkozy, Medvedev et Poutine seront de la partie." La semaine dernière, un responsable libyen dressait, pas peu fier, la liste des personnalités censées assister aux festivités du 40e anniversaire de la révolution libyenne, mardi à Tripoli. Mais à la veille de l'événement, la liste des invités se raccourcit. Dès la semaine dernière, Paris et Moscou ont démenti la participation de leurs chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement, la France indiquant qu'elle serait uniquement représentée par son ambassadeur. Tripoli n'a pas vraiment apprécié. Hasard ou nécessité, le Quai d'Orsay a annoncé lundi que le secrétaire d'Etat à la Coopération, Alain Joyandet, représentera finalement la France aux cérémonies. Une décision semble-t-il précipitée: la visite du secrétaire d'Etat en Libye ne figurait pas, en effet, dans son agenda de la semaine, envoyé aux rédactions jeudi dernier.

Avec Tripoli, Parie joue les équilibristes, entre l'envie d'encourager le retour de la Libye sur la scène internationale – inauguré en 2007 par la résolution de l'affaire des infirmières bulgares – et le contexte actuel. La communauté internationale a en effet peu apprécié le retour triomphal réservé en Libye à Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi, l'auteur de l'attentat de Lockerbie – 270 victimes –, libéré de sa prison écossaise pour raison de santé le 20 août dernier. Paris n'a pas non plus oublié la polémique autour de la visite du colonel Kadhafi en France en décembre 2007. Et la désormais célèbre petite phrase de Rama Yade, alors secrétaire d'Etat aux droits de l'Homme: "Notre pays n'est pas un paillasson." >>> Marianne Enault - leJDD.fr | Lundi 31 Août 2009

Sebastian Faulks: Koran Has ‘No Ethics’
The Koran. Photo: The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE bestselling author Sebastian Faulks has courted controversy by saying the Koran has “no ethical dimension”.

In an interview with today’s Sunday Times Magazine, he added that the Islamic holy scripture was “a depressing book”, was “very one-dimensional” and unlike the Christian New Testament had “no new plan for life”.

Faulks was speaking in advance of the publication of his novel, A Week in December.

Best known for historical works such as Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, his new novel addresses contemporary London. Its characters include a health fund manager, a literary critic and a Glasgow-born Islamic terrorist recruit. Researching the latter, he read a translation of the Koran which he found “very disappointing from a literary point of view”.

He also criticised the “barrenness” of the Koran’s message and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad, especially when compared with the Bible.

“Jesus, unlike Muhammad, had interesting things to say,” Faulks said.

“He proposed a revolutionary way of looking at the world: love your neighbour; love your enemy; the meek shall inherit the earth. Muhammad had nothing to say to the world other than, ‘If you don’t believe in God you will burn for ever’.”

Criticism of the Koran is regarded as blasphemous by Muslims. [Source: The Sunday Times] | Cathy Galvin | Sunday, August 23, 2009

WWII Remembered While Putin’s Eye Is on Poland

Lockerbie Bomber Filmed 'On His Deathbed'
DAILY RECORD (Scotland): LIBYA yesterday allowed a British TV crew to film the Lockerbie bomber "on his deathbed".

Pictures on Channel 4 News last night showed Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on a drip, connected to a heart monitor and wearing an oxygen mask.

Unshaven Megrahi apparently could not reply when the reporter asked him a question. One of his sons said: "He is deteriorating fast."

But there was no way to independently assess the bomber's condition, and observers suggested it was in Libya's interests to make Megrahi's health look worse than it was. >>> Dave King | Monday, August 31, 2009

40 Jahre Gaddafi: Der «verrückte Hund» feiert seine Revolution
24 MINUTEN ONLINE: Vor 40 Jahren putschte sich Muammar al-Gaddafi in Libyen an die Macht. Lange war der ebenso brutale wie bizarre Diktator isoliert, doch nun sitzt er fester im Sattel denn je. Dafür sprechen auch die Heimholung des Lockerbie-Attentäters und der Kniefall der Schweiz.

Als amtierender Vorsitzender der Afrikanischen Union sonnt sich der meist in quietschbunte Gewänder oder Uniformen gekleidete libysche Staatschef derzeit in der Rolle des «Königs von Afrika». Am 1. September sollen zudem die Feierlichkeiten zum «40. Jahrestag der Revolution» ihren Höhepunkt erreichen. Gaddafi, Jahrgang 1942, hatte 1969 gemeinsam mit einer Gruppe von Offizieren in einem unblutigen Putsch den betagten König Idris I. entmachtet. Seither steuert der Beduinensohn die Geschicke des Landes.

Viele Beobachter erstaunt es, dass sich Gaddafi so lange an der Spitze halten konnte. Seine zwischen Aggressivität und Scheckbuchdiplomatie schwankende Aussenpolitik und die von ihm eingeführte «direkte Volksdemokratie» haben dafür gesorgt, dass der Lebensstandard vieler Libyer heute gering ist, obwohl das Land über grosse Energievorkommen verfügt.

Doch Kritik am autokratischen Führungsstil von «Bruder Führer» hört man höchstens von einem Dutzend libyscher Oppositioneller, die im Exil leben. Parteien sind in Libyen verboten, hunderte Regimegegner sitzen im Gefängnis, Menschenrechtsorganisationen sprechen von Folter und Verschwundenen. Die Medien werden vom Staat kontrolliert. Vorliebe für grosse Auftritte >>> pbl/sda | Samstag, 29. August 2009

Weltkriegs-Beginn: Putin nennt Hitler-Stalin-Pakt «unmoralisch»
20 MINUTEN ONLINE: Der russische Ministerpräsident Wladimir Putin hat den Pakt der Sowjetunion mit Deutschland vom August 1939 als «unmoralisch» verurteilt. Dem Westen gab er eine Mitschuld an Hitlers Angriff auf Polen.

Der Hitler-Stalin-Pakt gilt als Voraussetzung für den deutschen Angriff auf Polen am 1. September 1939, da er zunächst ein Eingreifen der Sowjetunion verhinderte. 1941 brach Deutschland den Pakt und griff auch die Sowjetunion an.

In einem am Montag veröffentlichten Beitrag für die polnische Zeitung «Gazeta Wyborcza» zum 70. Jahrestag des Beginns des Zweiten Weltkriegs warf Putin zugleich Frankreich und Grossbritannien vor, ebenfalls Vereinbarungen mit Adolf Hitler getroffen zu haben. >>> ap | Montag, 31. August 2009

Station Fire Claims 18 Homes and Two Firefighters
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Crews struggle to contain a 42,500-acre blaze that's 'still very much out of control.' The flames have continued to spread despite relatively low winds, and continuing heat will keep them going.

Los Angeles wildfires. Photo: Los Angeles Times
The giant fire in Angeles National Forest continued its slow-motion rampage through the mountains Sunday, causing the deaths of two firefighters as it bore down on the semirural community of Acton and threatened to overrun Mt. Wilson.

The two firefighters were killed when they drove off the side of a treacherous road in the Mt. Gleason area, south of Acton, around 2:30 p.m., said Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant. They were later identified as Arnaldo Quinones, 35, of Palmdale and Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County.

"This accident is tragic," Bryant said, choking up as he spoke Sunday evening. "This is a very difficult time for L.A. County Fire Department and the men and women that serve day in, day out."

The fire had churned through more than 42,500 acres of chaparral and forest, from the edge of metropolitan Los Angeles up to pine-clad ridges and down toward the Mojave desert. More than 12,500 homes were threatened and 6,600 were under mandatory evacuation orders Sunday night. Eighteen residences have been destroyed, fire officials said, mostly in the Big Tujunga Canyon area.

The fire was 5% contained, officials said, and at least temporarily eased off the foothill communities from La Cañada Flintridge to Altadena.

Much of Sunday turned into a blistering-hot waiting game for firefighters, who were trying to determine where the fire would move next. Rather than battling the flames in the sheer granite canyons of the interior, with heavy vegetation more than 40 years old in many areas, they cut fire lines near threatened neighborhoods.

"In this rugged, steep terrain, with this brush as thick as it is, we are having difficulties establishing containment lines where we can make a stand," said Capt. Mark Savage, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "This fire is still very much out of control." >>> By Jessica Garrison, Alexandra Zavis and Joe Mozingo | Monday, August 31, 2009

Merkel Victory in Doubt after Left-wing Surge in Regional Elections
TIMES ONLINE: Germany’s lacklustre national election campaign was thrown open last night when left-wing parties made a surprise surge in two key regional states.

Early results from elections in Thuringia and Saarland showed that Chancellor Angela Merkel will face a much stronger opposition than expected in the general election. Political pundits had assumed that Ms Merkel would be a shoo-in on September 27 and that she was poised to rule Germany with a coalition of Christian Democrats and the small, pro-business Free Democrats.

But her Christian Democrat Party was hit hard by voters in what seemed to be a general protest against the conservative party identified with a tarnished financial and banking elite. Suddenly, the terms of this national election campaign have changed.

Ms Merkel remains the most popular politician in the country but it is now unclear with what coalition she intends to rule and how she will realise her dream of introducing a “progressive conservatism” to Germany.

“These results show that there is no support in the country for a coalition between Christian Democrats and Free Democrats,” said Frank Walter Steinmeier, leader of the centre-left Social Democrats, Ms Merkel’s main rivals. “It also shows what an unreliable indicator opinion polls have become. We will fight for outright victory on September 27.”

What seemed to be emerging last night was the prospect of a left-wing coalition governing in two important regional states. >>> Roger Boyes in Berlin | Monday, August 31, 2009

President Ahmadinejad Criticised as He Puts Together New Cabinet
TIMES ONLINE: The cracks in Iran’s political establishment became clear yesterday as conservatives came out strongly against President Ahmadinejad’s choices for Cabinet.

In the first day of confirmation proceedings in parliament, MPs repeatedly questioned the President’s picks, accusing him of choosing unquestioning loyalists over those properly qualified for the job.

Mr Ahmadinejad is tasked with forming a new Government amid unprecedented opposition following his disputed election victory. He has been under assault from reformist minded rivals and mass public opposition since the election but in recent weeks conservatives have joined the open defiance, voicing their anger at his monopolisation of key Government posts.

MPs from both sides joined in the attack in the first day of what looks to be a deeply contentious confirmation process ending with a vote on Tuesday. >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Monday, August 31, 2009

Berlusconi chez Kadhafi malgré tout
Berlusconi et le colonol Kadhafi. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Juste avant les célébrations du 40e anniversaire de l’arrivée au pouvoir du colonel Kadhafi et une année après le premier anniversaire du traité d’amitié entre l’Italie et la Libye, le président du Conseil italien s’est rendu à Tripoli pour dîner avec le leader libyen

En dépit des critiques d’une partie de l’opposition, des organisations non gouvernementales et de l’irritation de l’allié américain, Silvio Berlusconi n’a pas renoncé à sa fête d’anniversaire. Un an après la signature du traité d’amitié entre Rome et Tripoli qui a officiellement mis fin au contentieux post-colonial moyennant entre autres le versement par l’Italie de 5 milliards de dollars de dédommagements, le président du Conseil, qui est à l’origine de cet accord histo­rique, s’est rendu quelques heures dimanche en Libye pour y rencontrer le colonel Kadhafi. Il en a profité pour poser la première pierre de l’autoroute qui devra être construite, aux frais de la Péninsule, le long de la côte et a ensuite dîné avec le «guide de la révolution» pour célébrer la fin du ramadan.

Malgré l’accueil triomphal réservé le 21 août, à son arrivée en Libye, à l’ancien terroriste Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, qui a profondément choqué la Grande-Bretagne et les Etats-Unis (Barack Obama a parlé de scènes «hautement déplaisantes»), Silvio Berlusconi n’a pas modifié son programme. Ses collaborateurs ont même confirmé que les «Flèches tricolores», patrouille acrobatique et fleuron de l’aéronautique italienne, participeront, mardi 1er septembre, à la célébration du 40e anniversaire de l’accession au pouvoir du colonel Kadhafi. >>> Eric Jozsef | Lundi31 Août 2009

LE TEMPS:
Al-Megrahi promet de nouvelles révélations >>> Jean-Claude Péclet | Lundi31 Août 2009

Iran: Chamenei kündigt Strafen gegen Demonstranten an
WELT ONLINE: Das geistliche Oberhaupt im Iran, Ayatollah Ali Chamenei, will Gewalt von und gegen Demonstranten während der Wahl-Proteste bestrafen lassen. Wer "strafbare Handlungen" begangen habe, werde genauso nach Recht und Gesetz zu Verantwortung gezogen, wie diejenigen, die sich dem Staat widersetzt hätten.

Das geistliche Oberhaupt des Irans, Ajatollah Ali Chamenei, hat sich im Zusammenhang mit der umstrittenen Wiederwahl von Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad für die Bestrafung von Gewalt auf beiden Seiten ausgesprochen.

Nach Angaben des Senders Press TV sagte Chamenei am Sonntag, alle die nach der Wahl Opfer von Gewalt geworden seien, müssen wissen, dass die Führung keine Absicht habe, Konzessionen zu machen. Wer Verbrechen und Gräueltaten begangen habe, werde seine gerechte Strafe erhalten, ebenso wie diejenigen, die sich dem Staat widersetzt hätten. >>> AFP/dpa/dcs | Montag, 31. August 2009

L'ancien premier ministre israélien Ehoud Olmert inculpé pour corruption
LE MONDE: Le procureur général de l'Etat d'Israël a annoncé, dimanche 30 août, avoir retenu trois chefs d'inculpation de corruption contre l'ex-premier ministre israélien, Ehoud Olmert. "Le dossier d'inculpation a été présenté aujourd'hui dimanche au tribunal de district de Jérusalem", indique le bureau du procureur général Menahem Mazouz, précisant que M. Olmert est accusé de fraude, d'abus de confiance et de non-déclaration de revenus. Sa secrétaire personnelle, Shula Zaken, est également inculpée.

En septembre, dans le dossier le plus grave, les enquêteurs de la police avaient indiqué qu'ils disposaient d'éléments prouvant que M. Olmert avait reçu illégalement de l'argent de l'homme d'affaires américain Morris Talansky. "L'enquête a montré que Talansky a versé d'importantes sommes d'argent en liquide et de façon illégale à Olmert pendant des années, au moins à partir de 1997", alors qu'il était maire de Jérusalem, ministre de l'industrie et du commerce, expliquait le communiqué de la police. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP, Reuters et AP | Dimanche 30 Août 2009

Italy: La dolce vita Dampened by Excess Alcohol
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (AKI): Italy's passion for La Dolce vita seems to have been dampened by excess. There are now an estimated 60,000 alcoholics across the country and 1.5 million Italians between the age of 11 and 24 are at risk of alcohol abuse.

Now Italy's two biggest cities, Rome and Milan, have introduced new regulations to restrict alcohol consumption, particularly among young people, to tackle the problem.

The northern city of Milan took the initiative in July and banned the consumption and sale of alcohol to young teenagers in an effort to stop binge drinking.

Parents of children under the age of 16 caught drinking wine or spirits will be liable to heavy fines of up to 500 euros.

Now the city of Rome and local merchants have agreed to a new protocol designed to limit the sale of alcohol to teenagers and monitor consumption.

Under the new regulations it will be illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 16 and anyone serving alcohol must be at least 18 years of age.

If the city's nightclubs want to stay open until 5 a.m. they must also follow this new protocol or their late licence will be revoked.

Emanuela Lancianese, a spokeswoman for Rome city council, told Adnkronos International (AKI) that excessive alcohol consumption had become a serious problem in the Italian capital. >>> Christina Fox | Friday, August 07, 2009

Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Lady?
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: 'Feminine values' are making a comeback but do they have any place in today's world?

The eternal question of what makes a woman a lady has reared its well-coiffed head once again this summer thanks to a raft of new experts queuing up – politely, of course – to tell British women to polish their shoes, mind their p's and q's, and generally be a little more ladylike.

While for many the very idea of ladylike behaviour is outdated, or even risible – as illustrated by the memorable Little Britain sketches in which David Walliams cries: "I am a Laydee" – a controversial book poised to hit UK bookshops next month is seeking to rescue the term from ridicule, advocating a "return to feminine values". This may not be entirely fanciful.

At the same time, sales of the conservative magazine The Lady are soaring, and Miss Debrett, the etiquette authority's new online agony aunt, is offering women a helping hand on everything from weddings to email etiquette.

In her book How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World, Jordan Christy laments the rise of the "stupid girls", represented in the public eye by such celebrities as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, declaring our "current female landscape as "embarrassing, flippant and shallow". >>> Rachel Shields | Sunday, August 30, 2009

Dignitaries from Around the World to Attend 40th Anniversary of the Revolution
THE TRIPOLI POST: Heads of State and Government from Around [sic] the World [sic] to Attend [sic] the 40th Anniversary of the Revolution.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela will be among a large number of heads of state and government will be visiting Libya this week to take part in the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Great Al Fateh Revolution.

Among these dignitaries there will also be Malta's President George Abela.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will also visit Libya on September 1.

A statement issued on Thursday by the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines the visit would sustain the excellent ties that have existed between the Philippines and Libya since 1976, when diplomatic ties were first established.

Also special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Jiang Weixin, also Chinese Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, is to attend the celebration of the 40th anniversary. >>> | Sunday, August 30, 2009

US Envoy Praises Libya for Efforts to Bring Peace to Darfur, Saying: ‘Very Proud to Be Partners with the Libyans’
THE TRIPOLI POST: US envoy Scott Gration praised Libya's role in resolving the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan at a meeting with Egyptian, Libyan and Sudanese officials in Cairo Sunday.

"I'm very impressed and very grateful to the role that the Libyans are playing not only in rebel unification but in bringing peace between Chad and Sudan," he said.

"I see the Libyans have a very positive role... and we are very proud to be partners with the Libyans," he added. >>> | Sunday, August 30, 2009

The New Libya: ليبيا الجديدة

Gaddafi's Gamble - Libya
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Les otages de libye rentrent en Suisse aujourd'hui
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: LIBERATION | C'est par un vol régulier depuis la capitale Tripoli que les deux hommes d'affaire suisses en Libye devraient rentrer ce dimanche au pays.

Serait-ce enfin le jour tant attendu? Les deux otages suisses retenus en Libye depuis l'été 2008 sont attendus ce dimanche en Suisse. C'est en tout cas ce qu'affirmait la Radio Suisse Romande à la mi-journée. Comme l'annonçait déjà vendredi le Département des finances du président de la Confédération Hans-Rudolph Merz, Les deux hommes d'affaire sont censés rentrer à bord d'un avion de ligne en provenance de Tripoli, la capitale libyenne. >>> Grégoire Nappey | Dimanche 30 Août 2009

Wie Merz in Tripolis um eine Lösung feilschte: Offerte für ein Treffen mit Ghadhafi abgelehnt
NZZ am Sonntag: Vor der Reise von Bundespräsident Merz nach Tripolis verschärfte Libyen laufend die Forderungen. Nach Unterzeichnung des Vertrages wurde Merz ein Treffen mit Muammar Ghadhafi angeboten. Doch dieser lehnte das überraschende Angebot ab.

Die Verhandlungen waren abgeschlossen, die Pressekonferenz war vorbei. Bundespräsident Hans-Rudolf Merz sass in Tripolis schon im Auto, bereit für die Rückkehr in die Schweiz, als ihm von libyscher Seite doch noch ein Treffen mit Staatschef Muammar Ghadhafi später am Abend in Aussicht gestellt wurde. Das versichert eine glaubwürdige Quelle aus Merz' Umfeld. Der Bundespräsident hat sich darauf erkundigt, wie sicher diese Offerte sei und wann das Treffen stattfinden könne. Als er daraufhin eine ausweichende Antwort und den Hinweis erhielt, es könne noch einige Zeit dauern, bis Ghadhafi Zeit für ihn finde, habe sich Merz zur Abreise entschlossen.

Zugeständnisse Libyens

Dies war der Abschluss eines harten Verhandlungstages, an dem Merz den umstrittenen Vertrag mit dem libyschen Premierminister – statt wie erwartet mit Ghadhafi persönlich – zur Beilegung der durch die Festnahme von Hannibal Ghadhafi und dessen Frau Aline letzten Sommer in Genf ausgelösten Krise unterzeichnet hatte. >>> Stefan Bühler, Pascal Hollenstein | Sonntag, 30. August 2009

Time to Shine Light on a Murky Deal
THE SUNDAY TIMES – Leading Article: It is three weeks since news emerged of the decision to allow the Lockerbie bomber to return to Libya to die, and the sense of unease is growing. Polls show that two-thirds of people in Britain, and a similar proportion in Scotland, where the decision was made, think the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was wrong.

Legal and quasi-judicial decisions often spark outrage. Kenny MacAskill, Scotland’s justice secretary, had to defend his decision last week in the Scottish parliament. What has increased the sense of unease is the strong suspicion that the release was the direct result of deals done in the desert between Tony Blair and Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, the Libyan leader, deals subsequently refined by British government ministers.

Today we report on a letter written by Jack Straw, Britain’s justice secretary, to his Scottish counterpart in December 2007. In it he overturned a previous understanding that Mr Megrahi was exempt from a prisoner transfer programme agreed between Britain and Libya as part of the Blair-Gadaffi discussions. A few months earlier the government had been clear on that exemption. Lord Falconer, then lord chancellor, wrote to Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National party, saying Libya had agreed that the Lockerbie bomber would serve out his sentence in Scotland.

What changed? The strong circumstantial evidence is that a lucrative agreement to allow BP to explore for oil off the Libyan coast was being held up by Mr Megrahi’s exemption from the prisoner transfer programme. The idea that the Westminster government had no view and no influence is not credible. >>> | Sunday, August 30, 2009

MI6 Agent Joined Disgraced BP Boss in Secret Meetings with Gaddafi
Lord Brown and Gaddafi. Photos: Mail On Sunday
This is the same Lord Brown who struck up a 'close friendship' with Peter Mandelson's then partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva from Brazil. Peter Mandelson has been flitting about the world to attend parties of the rich and famous (and sometimes infamous). It is known that he had at least two meetings with Seif ul-Islam before the deal to release Megraho was struck.

It is difficult to tell precisely, of course, without being privy to far more detail; but can't it be said that there appears to be here at least one common thread on the British side? – ©Mark

MAIL ON SUNDAY: New questions about the extent of the Government’s involvement in the trade deals that led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, were raised last night with the revelation that an MI6 agent flew to Libya with former BP boss Lord Browne for two cloak-and-dagger meetings with Colonel Gaddafi.

Jeff Chevalier, the ex-lover of Lord Browne, has told The Mail on Sunday that Browne was ‘shocked’ when the agent made a reference to his relationship with Mr Chevalier, indicating the authorities knew about their liaison, which was a closely guarded secret.

Mr Chevalier said Lord Browne also referred to Mark Allen, the MI6 counter-terrorism chief at the centre of the secret talks between Libya and Britain, who now works for BP.

But he did not know if Allen was the agent who accompanied the peer to Libya.

Lord Browne’s secret missions started shortly after international sanctions were lifted on Libya in 2003, prompting an ‘oil rush’ by companies keen to win lucrative contracts – and with the Government lobbying hard on BP’s behalf.

Although Gaddafi agreed to hand over Megrahi for trial as part of negotiations to lift sanctions, oil industry insiders claim BP’s attempts to win business were hampered by objections to the Lockerbie bomber’s detention.

Mr Chevalier, who spent four years in a relationship with Lord Browne, recalled that the BP boss made his first trip to Libya accompanied by the unnamed MI6 agent. >>> Glen Owen | Sunday, August 30, 2009

Related:

A sad end to an illustrious career: Lord John Browne could face charges of perjury >>> BBC | Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Gay Soap Opera >>> Friday, June 01, 2007

Watch BBC video: BP chief executive resigns >>>

Muammar Gadaffi’s Son to Move to Britain
THE SUNDAY TIMES: SAIF GADAFFI, the son of the Libyan ruler, is moving his burgeoning media empire to London as he seeks to capitalise on blossoming trade ties with Britain.

Gadaffi, who escorted Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the freed Lockerbie bomber, from Scotland to Tripoli, has bought a £10m home in Hampstead, north London.

Staff at Gadaffi’s television news company, Al Mutawassit, are moving to the UK — with the first broadcast planned this week — and their boss is expected to follow. Ultimately, it aims to rival Al-Jazeera, the leading Arab news channel, with the launch of a website and newspaper.

Whitehall sources confirmed that Gadaffi, 37, had been granted a UK visitor’s visa that allows him to stay in Britain for up to six months. >>> Kevin Dowling | Sunday, August 30, 2009

Revealed: Lockerbie Link to Oil Exploration Deal
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.

The correspondence makes it plain that the key decision to include Megrahi in a deal with Libya to allow prisoners to return home was, in fact, taken in London for British national interests.

Edward Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: “This is the strongest evidence yet that the British government has been involved for a long time in talks over al-Megrahi in which commercial considerations have been central to their thinking.”

Two letters dated five months apart show that Straw initially intended to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, under which British and Libyan prisoners could serve out their sentences in their home country.

In a letter dated July 26, 2007, Straw said he favoured an option to leave out Megrahi by stipulating that any prisoners convicted before a specified date would not be considered for transfer.

Downing Street had also said Megrahi would not be included under the agreement.

Straw then switched his position as Libya used its deal with BP as a bargaining chip to insist the Lockerbie bomber was included.

The exploration deal for oil and gas, potentially worth up to £15 billion, was announced in May 2007. Six months later the agreement was still waiting to be ratified.

On December 19, 2007, Straw wrote to MacAskill announcing that the UK government was abandoning its attempt to exclude Megrahi from the prisoner transfer agreement, citing the national interest. >>> Jason Allardyce | Sunday, August 30, 2009

Opinion: Kingdom of Hatred
YNET NEWS: Anti-Israel sentiments have been rife in Sweden even before controversial tabloid report

There is no need for a blood libel like the one published by Aftonbladet to realize they don’t like us in Sweden. In the country that likes to present itself as equal and neutral, Israel is considered the greatest nemesis of our time.

It is difficult to find media reports that show at least the required neutrality of a news report. For example, stories about terror attacks during the Intifada did not always note the perpetrator was a suicide bomber, but rather, that “four Israelis and a Palestinians were killed in an explosion,” as if the poor Palestinian just happened to be at the scene of the blast.

When we did find a report about Israeli victims, it was immediately complemented by a long item about Palestinians whose house was razed. In those reports it was clear who deserves the sympathy, and it wasn’t us.

Why is it happening? At times this is indeed about legitimate political criticism, yet in other cases political criticism is merely a veneer for classic anti-Semitism. The Jewish community in Sweden is small and barely speaks up in defense of Israel, while the Israeli presence in the country is minimal.

On the other hand, there are many Muslim immigrants in the country. The result is hatred for Israel, which in many cases is felt by people fed by the anti-Israeli media and Palestinian propaganda.

And this hatred is easily felt: In some stores, the fact that fruits and vegetables on offer arrived from Israel is not noted, for fear they will be damaged on the shelves. Meanwhile, wine produced in the Golan Heights and sold in the national alcoholic beverage chain faced a consumer boycott. In the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, hate mail and hateful phone calls are routine. >>> Adi Porat | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Kennedy Funeral Mass Begins

Nato-Chef Rasmussen lobt in der Türkei das Fasten
WELT ONLINE: Wenn Nato-Generalsekretär Anders Fogh Rasmussen in die Türkei kommt, ruhen die Augen der Gläubigen auf ihm und erwarten Verbeugungen in Richtung Islam. Bei seinem Besuch lobte jetzt der Däne die Vorzüge des Fastens – entschuldigte sich aber nicht nach dem Streit um die Mohammed-Karikaturen.

Einst hatte sich Anders Fogh Rasmussen gegen den türkischen EU-Beitritt ausgesprochen, und es abgelehnt, sich in der aufgeregten Debatte um die Mohammed-Karikaturen 2006 für Dänemark zu entschuldigen, oder gegen die dänischen Karikaturisten oder Medien vorzugehen, die Karikaturen des Propheten Mohammed veröffentlicht hatten.

Aus all diesen Gründen hatte die Türkei sich zunächst gegen seine Ernennung zum Nato-Generalsekretär ausgesprochen und erst zugestimmt, als unter anderem angeblich ein Versprechen gegeben worden war, Rasmussen werde sich in irgendeiner Weise entschuldigen und um eine Verbesserung der Beziehungen der Nato zur islamischen Welt bemüht sein.

Eine Entschuldigung hat er bislang nicht geboten, aber an Gebärden des Entgegenkommens mangelte es nicht, als er am Donnerstag für zwei Tage nach Ankara kam. Zurzeit ist Ramadan, und er nahm an einem abendlichen Fastenbrechen der islamisch geprägten Regierungspartei AKP teil. Er hielt dabei eine Rede, von der einige Zeitungen festhielten, er habe sich über die Vorzüge des Fastens geäußert, und von seinem großen Respekt für den Islam gesprochen, den er „eine der größten Religionen der Welt” nannte. Von Ministerpräsident Erdogan musste er sich ein Zitat des islamischen Mystikers Mevlana aus dem 13. Jahrhundert anhören, in dem fast Zweifel an der Ehrlichkeit des Nato-Chefs anklangen: „Zeig Dich wie Du bist, oder sei wie Du dich zeigst”. >>> Von Boris Kalnoky | Freitag, 28. August 2009

Kadhafi ne plantera pas sa tente en Amérique
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: NEW YORK | Le numéro un libyen Mouammar Kadhafi a accepté de ne pas planter sa tente de bédouin le mois prochain dans le New Jersey.

Il devait s'installer dans une banlieue de New York où résident des parents de victimes de l’attentat de Lockerbie.

Le dirigeant libyen a prévu de participer fin septembre à New York à l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU, pour la première fois depuis 40 ans, et les habitants d’Englewood, 30 000 habitants, craignaient qu’il ne s’installe pendant la durée de son séjour sur un terrain que possède la Libye dans la commune.

"Je suis très heureux que Mouammar Kadhafi ait apparemment renoncé à venir à Engelwood", a affirmé vendredi le parlementaire Steve Rothman, notant que "sa présence aurait posé des problèmes de sécurité pour les habitants d’Englewood et les diplomates libyens".

Englewood abrite plusieurs familles de victimes de l’attentat de Lockerbie, qui avait fait 270 morts en 1988, et qui ont été choquées par l’accueil triomphal réservé récemment par M. Kadhafi à Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi, condamné pour l’attentat et libéré pour raisons de santé. >>> AFP | Samedi 29 Août 2009

Beduinenzelt von Ghadhafi in New York nicht willkommen
NZZ ONLINE: Libyens Staatschef verzichtet auf Camping während Uno-Vollversammlung

Nach Protesten von amerikanischen Politikern will der libysche Staatschef Muammar al-Ghadhafi während seines Besuchs bei der Uno-Vollversammlung sein Beduinenzelt offenbar nicht in einem New Yorker Vorort aufschlagen. >>> sda/afp | Samstag, 29. August 2009

«Ted Kennedy, homme fantasque et poids lourd politique»

Watch AP video: Final farewell to Kennedy >>> | Saturday, August 29, 2009

GLOBE AND MAIL – Photo gallery: The Kennedy funeral; Mourners gather to say goodbye to Ted Kennedy >>>

Washington Converges on Boston for Kennedy Funeral
REUTERS: BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidents, members of Congress and the public gathered on a rainy Saturday to say goodbye to Senator Edward Kennedy, a towering figure in American politics who contributed to major social changes in the United States over the last 50 years.

Senators and U.S. representatives of both political parties joined the large Irish-American Kennedy clan, the country's pre-eminent political dynasty, at a Roman Catholic basilica for a funeral where President Barack Obama was to deliver the eulogy.

Dozens of lawmakers from the last several decades -- many of whom had been Kennedy's fiercest foes on legislation -- attended the traditional Catholic funeral Mass in the stone, 130-year-old Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica.

Mourners -- from Hollywood star Jack Nicholson to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer -- packed the white and gold interior of the church beneath soaring arches and stained glass.

Obama and former presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton sat at the front with their wives.
Since Kennedy's death on Tuesday of brain cancer at age 77, Americans have staged a series of memorials to the last of the Kennedy brothers, and his death has been treated like the passing of a president. >>> Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Scott Malone | Saturday, August 29, 2009

Iran: Les hésitations de l'AIEA
leJDD.fr: Dans un rapport publié vendredi, l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique (AIEA) estime que le programme nucléaire iranien représente toujours une menace, et ce, en dépit des récents efforts faits par Téhéran.

Peut mieux faire. C'est en substance le message délivré vendredi à l'Iran par l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique (AIEA). Dans un rapport confidentiel dont l'agence Reuters a obtenu copie, les experts de l'AIEA relèvent les récents efforts faits par la République islamique en matière de nucléaire, mais leur conclusion n'a pas varié d'un iota depuis leurs dernières enquêtes: le programme nucléaire iranien représente toujours une menace pour le reste du monde. Ainsi, si les autorités iraniennes ont autorisé une surveillance accrue des installations de Natanz, site d'enrichissement d'uranium, elles ont, dans le même temps, installé un millier de nouvelles centrifugeuses, portant leur parc total à 8308 unités. Pour l'heure non exploitées, elles permettent, en théorie, à l'Iran d'accélérer ses activités d'enrichissement d'uranium, première étape, craint la communauté internationale, vers la mise au point d'une bombe atomique.

Dans son rapport, l'AIEA s'inquiète également des activités en cours sur le site d'Arak. Certes, Téhéran a autorisé ce mois-ci, et pour la première fois depuis un an, des inspecteurs de l'ONU à visiter le réacteur nucléaire à eau lourde qui s'y trouve. Mais les experts relèvent que depuis, la République islamique refuse de leur fournir davantage de précisions sur la nature du programme. L'AIEA craint que ce réacteur ne soit configuré de manière à retraiter du plutonium pour fabriquer des armes nucléaires, en sus de la centrale de Natanz. Et d'insister, dans son rapport, sur la dimension militaire du nucléaire iranien. Les autorités iraniennes assurent, elles, que leurs activités nucléaires n'ont qu'une visée civile, notamment pour produire de l'électricité. "Une litanie de tentatives d'obstruction" >>> M.E (avec Reuters) - leJDD.fr | Samedi 29 Août 2009

Attentat de Lockerbie: Les incohérences de la piste libyenne
LE TEMPS: La «piste libyenne» dans l’attentat contre le vol de la Pan Am en 1988 est minée d’incohérences et la libération récente du «coupable», atteint de cancer, arrange pas mal de monde. Un ingénieur suisse au cœur du procès et un professeur autrichien, parmi d’autres, contestent la version officielle depuis des années.

«Répugnant», «un outrage», «insulte à la vraie pitié». Depuis la libération d’Abdelbaset al-Megrahi le 20 août, la colère ne faiblit pas. Comment ose-t-on relâcher – même pour raisons humanitaires (cancer en phase terminale) – le terroriste qui a tué 270 personnes en glissant une bombe dans la soute du vol Pan Am 103?

Vingt et un ans après l’attentat de Lockerbie, les blessures se rouvrent. L’accueil triomphal d’Al-Megrahi en Libye est un acide versé sur la plaie, de même que les déclarations de Saïf Kadhafi, fils de Mouammar, qui qualifie Lockerbie d’«histoire ancienne. La prochaine étape, c’est un commerce fructueux et productif avec Edimbourg et Londres». Du coup, le pèlerinage des chefs d’Etat à Tripoli pour célébrer les quarante ans de la «grande révolution» devient le théâtre de la honte.

Sans doute entre-t-il beaucoup de realpolitik cynique dans le drôle de dénouement de l’affaire Lockerbie. Reste surtout une question: et si ce n’était pas la Libye qui avait fait le coup? Coups de théâtre >>> Jean-Claude Péclet | Samedi 29 Août 2009

Bishop of Rochester: Church of England Must Do More to Counter Twin Threats of Secularism and Radical Islam
THE TELEGRAPH: Traditional British society is under threat from the rise of aggressive secularism and radical Islam, one of the Church of England's most outspoken bishops has warned as he steps down.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who ends his time as Bishop of Rochester next week, said the established religion must speak out more to preserve the country’s Christian heritage and offer moral guidance to the masses.

He also claimed that liberal Anglicans around the world who are following contemporary culture rather than the teachings of the Bible are effectively following a different faith.

Dr Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, became the Church’s first Asian bishop when he was appointed to Rochester in 1994 and came to be seen as a contender for the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

However the job went to Dr Rowan Williams and as the global Anglican Communion tore itself apart over the ordination of homosexual clergy, Dr Nazir-Ali instead became known as one of its leading conservative voices.

Last year he claimed some parts of Britain had become “no-go areas” for non-Muslims, and boycotted a once-a-decade gathering of senior Anglicans in protest at the presence of liberal American bishops.

In a final interview with The Daily Telegraph before stepping down on Tuesday, Dr Nazir-Ali said he did not believe the history of the church would have been different had he been given the most important job in Anglicanism.

“This is not about one man – these are currents in culture and they happen in different ages.

“I am happy that I’ve been able to do what I’ve been asked to do.”

But he also said that the Church of England, which is used to working with society, should speak up more often to defend the country’s customs and institutions, most of which are based on Christian teaching. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, August 29, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber: 'I Want a Public Inquiry'
THE TELEGRAPH: Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, has backed calls for a public inquiry into the atrocity.

Megrahi, 57, said it was "unfair" to the victims' families not to have an inquiry into the bombing.

Speaking from a bed in his home in Tripoli, Libya, he told The Herald newspaper: "I support the issue of a public inquiry if it can be agreed.

"In my view, it is unfair to the victim's families that this has not been heard. It would help them to know the truth. The truth never dies. If the UK guaranteed it, I would be very supportive."

Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the disaster, has frequently called for a full public inquiry.

Megrahi added: "I would want to help Dr Swire and the others with the documents I hold.

"My feeling is that the UK Government will avoid a public inquiry because it would be a headache for them and the Americans and it would show how much the Americans have been involved and it would also cost them a lot of money which they may not want to spend because of the recession." >>> | Saturday, August 29, 2009

Editorial: Lockerbie Terrorist's Release Is an Ugly Act of 'Mercy'
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The muted U.S. reaction to the bomber's repatriation to Libya adds to the insult to justice.

The release by Scotland of Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi, who was expected to spend his life in prison for the 1988 bombing of a Pan American jetliner, was merciful, certainly, but an outrage nonetheless. The "compassionate release” of the terminally ill Libyan terrorist showed no compassion for relatives of the 270 people killed when the jet exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Compounding their trauma was the muted protest of the Obama administration.

Instead of viewing the special relationship between the United States and Britain as a cause for candor, the president, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. resorted to diplomatic circumlocution. The president called Megrahi's release "a mistake" and was reduced to asking Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi not to treat Megrahi as a hero and to place him under house arrest. Clinton issued a statement calling the release "deeply disappointing." Holder shifted into passive voice to say that the interests of justice "have not been served by this decision."

This country has a special interest in punishment for Megrahi because 189 of the victims were Americans, including 35 Syracuse University students returning home for the Christmas season. But whatever their nationality, they were innocent victims of an attack that virtually defined the term "terrorism." For many of their families, a life sentence was the minimum punishment to be meted out to Megrahi. His release and repatriation after serving only eight years thus upends their expectations and undermines the argument that life in prison is an acceptable alternative to execution. >>> Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times | Friday, August 21, 2009

Gay US Bishop Attacks Treatment of Gay and Lesbian Clergy by Church of England
THE GUARDIAN: Gene Robinson chides Archbishop of Canterbury for talk of two-tier Anglican communion

Gene Robinson, the Espiscopalian bishop of New Hampshire, says gay and lesbian clerby are treated by the Church of England as a problem to be solved. Photo: The Guardian
The first openly gay bishop in the Anglican communion has launched an outspoken attack on the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Gene Robinson, the Episcopalian bishop of New Hampshire, criticised the policy of the Church of England towards gay and lesbian clergy. Alluding to the significant number of clergy who are gay, he said: "I think gay clergy in the Church of England are thought of as a problem to be solved or at least lived with, rather than a gift from God."

Robinson, who is in Britain to speak at the Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham Racecourse this weekend, added that he could not accept the archbishop's recent comments that if the Episcopal church refused to uphold the current moratorium on consecrating actively gay bishops or blessing civil unions, the communion might have to be reorganised into a two-tier, or "two-track" model. "I can't imagine anything that would be more abhorrent to Jesus than a two-tier church," he said. "Either we are children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ, or we aren't. There are not preferred children and second-class children. There are just children of God." >>> Aida Edemariam | Friday, August 28, 2009

Islam, Eat Your Heart Out! Nudists Unite - Whatever the Weather
THE TELEGRAPH: As upmarket Southwold is being considered as a new nudist venue, one writer bares all on Brighton's chilly East Beach, a naturists' favourite.

"Try everything once," said Sir Thomas Beecham, "except incest and folk-dancing."

It's a fine bon mot for a thrice-married conductor, but I bet Sir Thomas never went into work one morning in London and found himself, four hours later, strolling along a nudist beach in Brighton wondering whether he had the courage to throw caution to the bitterly cold wind, swap his M&S suit for his birthday one and join in the naturist fun.

There are a number of uncomfortable questions racing through my mind as I contemplate joining Brighton's most liberated. What is the etiquette for this sort of thing: does one whip one's clothes off in one fluid movement or should one progress in slow, measured stages? More worryingly, still, can anyone see me? Which boxer shorts did I put on this morning? And why is it so very, very chilly all of a sudden?

So let's start with an easier one to answer: why am I here?

On Thursday, this paper reported that Southwold, the Suffolk seaside town nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea, is being considered as an alternative nudist venue to Corton, 16 miles to the north. Corton, one of Britain's official oldest nudest venues, will be forced to close soon owing to coastal erosion, and the residents of Southwold don't appear too enamoured by the prospect of an invasion of naked flesh. "They would go ballistic," said Joe Annis, a lifeguard. Gordon Brown, who strolled awkwardly along Southwold beach in a blazer on holiday last year, has unfortunately not yet expressed an opinion.

But is Southwold not missing out in its reluctance to embrace naturists with open arms? And is this not the answer to the Prime Minister's annual dress-down sartorial dilemma?

In Britain, we have always tended to snigger at nakedness. While our southerly European neighbours celebrate the nude body – painting it, sculpting it, going topless on a beach at the drop of a sunhat – we seem to prefer the buttoned-up approach. Taking all your clothes off might be just about acceptable before showering alone, but on a public beach? No, thank you very much; we'll leave that to the Swedish. And if I want to keep my stripy socks on while making love, that's my God-given prerogative as an Englishman. >>> Iain Hollingshead | Friday, August 28, 2009

Colonel Gaddafi Party to Outshine the Beijing Olympics
THE TELEGRAPH: Libya is planning a celebrations on the scale of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Colonel Gaddafi to power.

If anything, the superlatives will be even greater as Beijing 2008 did not boast the world's largest tent, 1,000 camels, Toureg nomads or 40 hot air balloons.

Performers are being flown in from all over the planet, from dancers and fireworks specialists to a brass band from Wales.

The giant tent, and the stage within it, longer than a football pitch, are being built by a British special events company, Atlantic Enterprise.

The director is a Frenchman and the party is being put together by a public relations company run by the British government's one-time favourite ad-man.

"Everything is bespoke for this event," said Atlantic's managing director, Shane McCarthy. "Nothing like this has ever been done before."

Organisers are expecting 300,000 Libyans to watch the show being put on next Tuesday to mark the anniversary live, with more on television.

After congregating in Libya's capital Tripoli, newly whitewashed and decorated with Gaddafi posters, hundreds of VIP guests will enjoy an evening buffet.

They will then be escorted into a smaller version of the open Bedouin tent, 130 yards by 45 yards, by 27 yards tall, in which the pageant will take place. Once they are joined by Col Gaddafi himself, the show will begin.

The scale will be vast. Four hundred performers, helped by a crew of 1,100, will lay on a pageant of Libya's history: as centre of Phoenician trade, of Roman civilisation and Arab learning.

Mr McCarthy said the firm was using 15 Antonov aircraft to fly in 8,000 tons of equipment. There would be 100 tons of equipment on the stage itself.

Reference will be made to Libya's period as an Italian colony. But Italy is now one of Libya's closest friends and the "Frecce Tricolori" or Tricolor Arrows, Italy's answer to the Red Arrows, will be joining the celebrations. >>> Richard Spencer | Friday, August 28, 2009

Woman Jailed for 18 Years for Insulting Thai Royals
THE TELEGRAPH: A Thai woman has been jailed for 18 years for insulting the country's revered royal family during anti-government rallies.

Daranee Charncherngsilapakul. Photo: The Telegraph
Daranee Charncherngsilapakul, 46, a supporter of Thailand's ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was found guilty of making speeches considered insulting to the Thai royal family.

The judge at Bangkok's main criminal court said her speeches at Sanam Luang park in the capital during three pro-Thaksin rallies attended by his "Red Shirt" supporters" in June and July last year were against the law of lese majeste, a court official told AFP.

"The court convicted the defendant on three counts and sentenced her for six years on each count," she said.

"Although the defendant testified that she did not intend to insult the monarchy or make the public believe her, she could not escape her wrongdoing," the verdict said. >>> Foreign Staff at The Telegraph | Friday, August 28, 2009

The Dark Side of Martha's Vineyard
THE TELEGRAPH: Beneath its idyllic exterior, Martha's Vineyard – beloved holiday destination of America's well-heeled – is rife with depression, alcoholism, drug abuse and domestic violence.

President Barack Obama enjoying a bike ride with his family and friends while on vacation on Martha's Vineyard. Photo: The Telegraph
America's First Family will wave goodbye to Martha's Vineyard tomorrow after a week's holiday on an island whose name is rarely uttered without the epithet "idyllic".

As President Obama flies his family back home to Washington, they will rapidly be followed by an armada of private jets from the tiny local airport. After next weekend's Labour Day holiday, the exodus of billionaire businessmen, media tycoons and Hollywood stars who summer on the island will be complete. From Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce to Valerie Jarrett and the Clintons, they'll all be gone. In a matter of days, the island's population withers from 100,000 to just 15,000.

More than a few of the quitters must feel a twinge of jealousy for those lucky few left behind on the 23-mile island. They shouldn't. The reality of out-of-season – and that in holiday-starved America means any month outside July and August – is anything but a paradise for most of those left behind.

Martha's Vineyard's dark little secret is one of desperately high levels of depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence and even suicide attempts among a population that struggles to make ends meet in a billionaire's playground when the billionaires have all left.

The last time the island's social problems were publicly totted up – in 2005 - the number of cases of patients treated each year in hospital for alcohol or drug abuse had soared from almost 200 in 2002 to just over 750 three years later. The caseload of patients struggling with depression had grown from 40 in 2002 to 92 in 2005. Suicide attempts climbed almost tenfold, from three in 2002 to 29 in 2005.

Some local experts believe the situation has not got any better. "It's the shadow side of Martha's Vineyard – all the things you don't expect to exist on a luxury island," said Dr Gail Gordon, its former community services senior psychologist. "And it's the seasonal nature of the island that makes our social problems worse. Everyone works so hard over the summer and then there's this let down when all the others go." >>> Tom Leonard | Friday, August 28, 2009

Gaddafi Is Everywhere in Libya — Especially as He Celebrates 40 Years in Power
TIMES ONLINE: You are never alone in Libya. From the moment you arrive at Tripoli international airport, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is with you.

Wherever you go, the Great Leader and Father of the Revolution watches benevolently over you, never more so than now as he prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought him to power.

As befits Africa’s longest-serving leader, he stares down from a thousand billboards, from great banners draped down the sides of skyscrapers, from bunting stretched across streets, from official portraits in every shop and hotel lobby, from hoardings at the remotest junctions in the desert. Nobody else gets a look-in.

His image is reproduced in neon, on mosaics and across the sides of the hot-air balloons tethered in Green Square in readiness for next Tuesday’s celebrations. It appears on the huge electronic clocks counting down the minutes to that great occasion.

His is a personality cult that makes Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein or Kim Jong Il look self-effacing. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tripoli | Friday, August 28, 2009

Homophobia in Mexico
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Gay Conversion - USA
Christian lobby groups in the US believe homosexuality is a mental disorder!
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Why Has My Father’s Murder Gone Unpunished?
THE SPECTATOR: Huda Abuzeid, whose father was killed by the Libyan regime, says that we must not turn a blind eye to its acts of intimidation and violence

There is a joke about Libya which goes something like this: why does Libya has [sic] a population of both six million and four million? The answer is that one million are abroad and the other million are in prison.

It’s not a funny joke, but it’s a revealing one. As the country prepares to celebrate 40 years of Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, and despite various of our politicians desperately trying to tell us how much Libya has changed and the numerous Sunday supplement articles extolling the virtues of Libya as a holiday destination, Libya remains one of the most intolerant, totalitarian and repressive regimes in the world. Libyan citizens regularly ‘disappear’ — arrested by the authorities. Their loved ones are often left in the dark.

Since 2003 Libya has been extolled by Britain as an example of a reformed state. Tony Blair was quick to take the credit, rushing over to Gaddafi and saying, ‘People should not forget the past, they should move beyond it.’

On hearing that, I felt physically sick. With that one sound-bite, Libyans inside the country and those who like me were living abroad knew that the political will to push for justice in the many unresolved cases was lost.

Cases such as the murder of my father, Ali Abuzeid, whose body I found in his west London shop on 26 November 1995. He had been stabbed to death. A key member of the leading Libyan opposition group in the 1980s, my father had put all his efforts into ridding his homeland of its dictator. My childhood years were spent worrying about him every time he travelled, learning to be careful around other Arabs. I once had to leave Tunisia accompanied by secret police when they found out that a hit squad had been sent to assassinate him after a failed attempt to overthrow the Libyan regime.

Back in London, I remember hearing his name mentioned in a speech by Gaddafi, who had called for him and others to be hunted down. At one point there was a bounty of millions on his head.

After years in exile and the deaths of many of his friends inside Libya who had been rounded up and executed, my father decided to retire from opposition politics. Revolution, he now believed, could only come from within, instead of being led by those in exile. However, from his shop in a neighbourhood populated with Arabs, he remained vocal about his opinions and politics and then, after years of being careful and keeping under the radar, he became an easy target.

So when I answered a call early one Sunday morning in November 1995 from one of his staff, who said the door to the shop was open but the lights were off, my heart began to pound with that familiar childhood fear for his safety. I told myself that maybe he had just fallen down some steps or that he had forgetfully left the door open. >>> Huda Abuzeid | Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wilders Compares Prophet Muhammad to a Pig
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE - Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders has seized on a news report from Saudi Arabia for peppery written questions to the cabinet. In these, he compares the Islamic prophet Mohammed to a pig.

Wilders has requested clarification from Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on a marriage in Saudi Arabia between an 80 year old man and a 10 year old child. The child had run away from her elderly husband, but was brought back to him by her father, the English-language website Arab News reports based on a Saudi newspaper.

Wilders asks the minister if he shares the view that "this man is behaving like a pig, just like the barbarous Prophet Mohammed, who married the six year old girl Aisha." The PVV leader wants Verhagen to summon the Saudi Arabian ambassador to express his repugnance. [Source: NIS News Bulletin] | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Wilders' Party Loses Support
DUTCHNEWS.nl: Geert Wilders' anti-immigration PVV party would take 24 seats in the 150-seat parliament if there was a general election tomorrow, four down on last month, according to the latest Politieke Barometer opinion poll.

At the beginning of July, support for the PVV had reached an all-time high of 32, making it the most popular party in the country. It currently has nine seats in parliament.

The new poll says the Christian Democrats are now in the lead, with 37 seats. Coalition party Labour (PvdA) is up two seats at 24.

Meanwhile, research by Synovate for tv programme Nova shows that almost 40% of Wilders' supporters back the PVV because they have lost faith in the government and other political parties. >>> AD | Friday, August 28, 2009

États-Unis: Un chapitre de l’histoire américaine se clôt
LE TEMPS: Le lion politique est mort mardi soir à l’âge de 77 ans.

En été 2008, bien que rongé par la chimiothérapie, il s’était fait violence pour se rendre au Sénat et voter contre des coupes dans Medicare, l’assurance maladie publique pour les plus de 65 ans. Certains républicains en furent tellement émus qu’ils retournèrent leur veste. L’anecdote révèle ce qu’a été Edward Kennedy durant ces quarante-six ans au Sénat: un politicien passionné qui n’a jamais eu honte de s’afficher sous l’étiquette «liberal», progressiste.

«Une figure unique»

Le dernier patriarche des Kennedy, l’une des familles les plus glamour de l’histoire politique américaine, est décédé mardi soir à 77 ans des suites d’une tumeur cérébrale dans sa maison du Massachusetts. Il sera enseveli samedi au cimetière d’Arlington à proximité de ses frères John Fitzgerald et Robert. La nouvelle a suscité une vague d’émotion à travers toute l’Amérique. Le président Barack Obama a déclaré avoir le «cœur brisé», soulignant que Ted Kennedy a été une «figure unique» aux Etats-Unis.

Considéré comme l’un des sénateurs les plus puissants et plus influents de l’Histoire américaine, le benjamin des neuf enfants de Joseph et de Rosa Kennedy porte en lui le destin tragique de la famille. Après la mort de son frère Joseph durant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, l’assassinat, en 1963, de son frère John, président des Etats-Unis, est un cataclysme. Un an plus tard, Ted échappe miraculeusement à la mort dans un accident d’avion. Le cauchemar se poursuit en 1968 quand, dans un hôtel californien, un Palestinien chrétien tue son autre frère, Robert, candidat à l’investiture démocrate pour la présidentielle de 1968. Prostré, Edward Kennedy se réfugie, dix semaines durant, dans le silence, naviguant seul sur son voilier, au large de Cape Cod. Plus tard, l’alcoolisme et sa réputation de coureur de jupons font les gros titres de la presse américaine. En 1969, un mystérieux accident de voiture sur l’île de Chappaquiddick, où la passagère de Kennedy perd la vie, finira de ternir l’image du politicien.

Après le divorce d’avec Joan Bennett Kennedy en 1982, Ted Kennedy se relève et se remarie avec Victoria Anne Reggie, une avocate de Washington. «Ces événements ont montré ses faiblesses, mais ils l’ont aussi humanisé», confie au Temps un Américain proche de l’administration Obama. D’autant que Ted Kennedy n’a jamais éludé ses problèmes en en assumant publiquement les conséquences avec une franchise quasi désarmante. >>> Stéphane Bussard | Jeudi 27 Août 2009

Europe Launches Major Push for New Banker Bonus Rules
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: France, Germany and the EU are launching a major offensive to change the system of bonuses paid out to bank employees. Knowing that it won't work anywhere if it isn't implemented everywhere, they are hoping to make it a major issue at the upcoming G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.

The debate surrounding bankers' bonus payments has finally reached Brussels. In an interview with the daily Hamburger Abendblatt, European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry Günter Verheugen said that the European Union will reach an agreement very soon on limiting the income of bank managers.

Verheugen also told the paper that the European Commission believes that, when it comes to a bank's system of compensation, there should be "no direct relation with a company's short-term profits." Instead, he is confident that the EU's member states and parliament will be able to reach a swift agreement on the issue.

Likewise, Verheugen also voiced his support for measures to impose high taxation rates on the bonuses of bankers whose companies receive state support. "What we're really talking about here," Verheugen told the paper, "is figures arising when a company has been kept alive by the state for a long time." >>> wal/jtw - with wire reports | Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Despite Progress, Former East Germany Still Lags Behind
Wittstock, East Germany. Photo: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Billions have been pumped into the former East Germany, but 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, its economy has not caught up with the West. A new report praises the progress so far but warns that the region needs well-educated young people and an influx of immigrants if it is to thrive.

When the Berlin Wall finally fell in November 1989, a wave of hope and optimism swept across Europe -- perhaps nowhere more so than in the once divided Germany. Hope, however, soon gave way to disillusionment as the collapse of the Socialist planned economies saw millions of people lose their jobs and many became nostalgic for their old way of life. In Germany, despite the pumping of massive funds into the former Communist East, the stark divisions in income and employment between the two halves of the country rapidly undermined the initial wave of enthusiasm for reunification.

Now, 20 years on, a new study on the economy in the former East has shown that while there has been huge progress in bridging that chasm, a significant gap still remains. While in the 1990s the two halves of the country saw their economies slowly converge, stagnation set in at the turn of the century and since 2008 they have actually begun to drift further apart again. The report by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) has found that there are still significant structural problems to be overcome. In particular the region has to battle a demographic slump and is in need of better qualified young people and immigrants to keep its economy growing. 'Exuberant Expectations' in 1989 >>> smd -- with wire reports | Friday, August 28, 2009

Nord- und Südkorea vereinbaren neue Familientreffen
DIE PRESSE: Nach fast zwei Jahren soll es erstmals wieder Familien-Zusammenführungen auf der geteilten Halbinsel geben.

Nord- und Südkorea haben eine neue Runde der Familienzusammenführung auf der seit 56 Jahren geteilten Halbinsel vereinbart. Die Familientreffen sollen bereits im kommenden Monat stattfinden und sind die ersten derartigen Begegnungen seit fast zwei Jahren. Die Vereinbarung wurde am Freitag nach dreitägigen Verhandlungen bekanntgegeben. Die Treffen sollen ab dem 26. September über einen Zeitraum von sechs Tagen zwischen 200 Familien stattfinden. >>> Ag. | Freitag, 28. August 2009

Islamisme: Medvedev exhorte les religieux
leJDD.fr: Le président russe Dmitri Medvedev a exhorté vendredi les hauts dignitaires musulmans à s'unir pour lutter contre les groupes islamistes qui troublent le Nord-Caucase. "Malheureusement, les bandes criminelles réussissent encore à recruter des jeunes gens pour leurs activités", a-t-il dit à des responsables religieux et régionaux. "Il serait bon d'élaborer un programme de travail avec les jeunes dans le Nord-Caucase", région en proie à une violente insurrection islamiste, a-t-il ajouté. Les islamistes multiplient depuis des mois les attentats à la bombe et les attaques armées contre la police et les forces de sécurité en Tchétchénie, au Daghestan et en Ingouchie. [Source: leJDD.fr] | Vendredi 28 Août 2009

US 'Warned Kenny MacAskill that Lockerbie Bomber Would Get Hero's Welcome'
TIMES ONLINE: Kenny MacAskill was warned by his US counterpart that the convicted Lockerbie bomber could get a hero’s welcome if he was returned home to Libya.

The message from Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, is contained in notes of a conversation he had with Mr MacAskill two months before the latter’s decision to free Abdel baset Ali al-megrahi [sic].

Theere was outrage in both the the US and in Britain last week when the freed terrorist was shown returning to Tripoli amid jubilant scenes with some in the crowd waving the Scottish flag.

The scenes came only hours after al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, had walked free from Greenock Prison in Scotland after Mr MacAskill had granted him compassionate release.

Mr Holder’s warning has been revealed by Frank Duggan, the president of a relatives group, Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, the aircraft that was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie on December 21 1888, with the loss of 270 lives.

Mr Duggan says a US Justice Department official read him notes that Mr Holder used during the conversation with Mr MacAskill. >>> Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Correspondent | Friday, August 28, 2009

Popularität von Obama in Israel auf Tiefststand
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Jerusalem - Die Popularität von US-Präsident Barack Obama in Israel hat einen neuen Tiefststand erreicht. Nur noch vier Prozent der Israelis halten die Politik Obamas für pro-israelisch.

51 Prozent glauben, dass die neue US-Regierung die Palästinenser stärker favorisiert. Das geht aus einer am Freitag von der «Jerusalem Post» veröffentlichten repräsentativen Umfrage hervor. Zu Zeiten von Obamas Vorgänger, George W. Bush, hatten noch 88 Prozent der Befragten die US-Politik als pro-israelisch eingeschätzt. >>> © dpa | Freitag, 28. August 2009

4% of Israeli Jews: Obama Pro-Israel
THE JERUSALEM POST: The number of Israelis who see US President Barack Obama's policies as pro-Israel has fallen to four percent, according to a Smith Research poll taken this week on behalf of The Jerusalem Post.

Fifty-one percent of Jewish Israelis consider Obama's administration more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel, according to the survey, while 35% consider it neutral and 10% declined to express an opinion. The poll of 500 people representing a statistical model of the Jewish Israeli population had a margin of error of 4.5%. >>> Gil Hoffman | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Nétanyahou à Berlin reçoit les plans d'Auschwitz
LE FIGARO: En visite à Berlin, où Angela Merkel a plaidé pour un retour au dialogue avec les Palestiniens, le premier ministre israélien s'est vu remettre les plans orginaux du camp pour le mémorial de Yad Vashem.

Benyamin Nétanyahou, ici avec le rédacteur en chef de Bild (à droite), étudie les plans originaux du camp d'Auschwitz, qui seront conservés au mémorial de l'Holocauste. Crédits photo: Le Figaro
Le premier ministre israélien, Benyamin Nétanyahou, a rencontré, jeudi à Berlin, la chancelière allemande, Angela Merkel, son meilleur soutien en Europe. En raison de l'Holocauste, l'Allemagne s'abstient généralement de critiquer Israël. Merkel devait néanmoins répéter que l'Allemagne, comme les autres membres de l'Union européenne, considère la colonisation comme un obstacle à une solution du conflit israélo-palestinien. La veille, elle avait appelé l'État hébreu… >>> Patrick Saint-Paul (à Berlin) | Vendredi 28 Août 2009

Seif ul Islam al-Qadhafi: Megrahi’s Release Was Linked to Oil Deal
MAIL ONLINE: Gordon Brown came under fresh pressure to reveal details of his Government's dealings with Libya today after claims by the son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi over the Lockerbie bomber.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi claimed a prisoner transfer deal with Britain had targeted Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi and was linked to talks on trade and oil.

He said the 'deal in the desert' specifically targeted the bomber but his name was never mentioned, and the prisoner transfer deal was signed at the same time as an oil deal. Gordon Brown under pressure over Lockerbie bomber after Gaddafi son reveals prisoner swap WAS linked to oil deal >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Friday, August 29, 2009