The Sun Says: Labour’s Lost It
THE SUN: TWELVE years ago, Britain was crying out for change from a divided, exhausted Government. Today we are there again.

In 1997, "New" Labour, shorn of its destructive hard-Left doctrines and with an energetic and charismatic leader, seemed the answer.

Tony Blair said things could only get better, and few doubted him. But did they get better? Well, you could point to investment in schools and shorter hospital waiting lists and say yes, some things did - a little.

But the real story of the Labour years is one of under-achievement, rank failure and a vast expansion of wasteful government interference in everyone's lives. >>> | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Sun’s dossier of Labour failures >>>

Related:
Gordon Brown Dismisses The Sun's Decision to Back Conservatives >>> | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

International Blasphemy Day: From Danish Cartoons to Jerry Springer - The Opera
THE TELEGRAPH: It's International Blasphemy Day. We take a look at some of the key moments in the history of the profane.

International Blasphemy Day, 30 September, is intended “to remind the world that religion should never again be beyond open and honest discussion”.

It marks the anniversary of the 2005 publication of the 12 Danish cartoons that depicted Mohammed and led to worldwide riots. Its founders want to “dismantle the wall which exists between religion and criticism”.

It has, of course, met with criticism – prominent US Catholic Bill Donohue accuses the movement of picking on Christianity: "The stated purpose of Blasphemy Day has nothing to do with any religion but Islam. So who have they chosen to mock? You guessed it - Christians."

However, not all religious people take offence. “The Lord Jesus Christ was and is despised and rejected of men,” says Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are not commanded to defend his honor, but to be willing to share in the scorn directed to him.”

Here is a brief look at some of the recent history of blasphemy. >>> Tom Chivers | Wedmesday, September 30, 2009

BNP Members Could Be Banned from Teaching
TIMES ONLINE: Teachers who join the BNP could be banished from the classroom, Ed Balls indicated today as he announced a review of rules against racism in schools.

The Schools Secretary said he considered membership of the organisation “fundamentally incompatible with the values and ethos of teaching profession”.

Mr Balls, who has been under pressure from teaching unions to impose tighter restrictions on racism in schools, has so far stopped short of following the example of the police and prison service with an outright ban on BNP membership for teachers.

But today Mr Balls said he was no longer convinced that existing rules on promoting racial equality were enough. He has asked a former Chief Inspector of Schools, Maurice Smith, to look at strengthening them. >>> Chris Smyth | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

EU Blow for Turkey
THE AGE: Berlin – TURKEY'S hopes of joining the European Union have received a blow after Germany gave warning that it was ready to join France and Italy in outright opposition to Turkish membership.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has telephoned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tell him that German foreign policy is under review.

Dr Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats, which are in coalition talks after Sunday's election, are both hostile to Turkey's accession to the EU.

With almost 3 million ethnic Turks living in Germany, politicians fear EU membership would bring a new flood of immigrants. [Source: The Age] | Thursday, October 01, 2009

Europe's 1st Openly Gay FM
THE STRAIGHTS TIMES*: BERLIN - HE HAD his public coming-out five years ago at Angela Merkel's 50th birthday party and now Guido Westerwelle is in the frame to become Europe's first openly gay foreign minister.

While gay politicians have become commonplace in the much of the West, commentators said Mr Westerwelle's sexual orientation could be an issue in regions such as the Middle East and Asia where homosexuality is widely viewed as an abomination.

The leader of the business-friendly Free Democrats dismissed concerns about a clash between diplomacy and his sexuality in an interview earlier this year.

'I am convinced that today one's private life is no longer an obstacle.

Some other countries may have had a problem with the fact that Angela Merkel became the first female chancellor of Germany. Of course she does not wear a veil on the red carpet when she visits certain Arab states,' he told AFP.

'The American secretary of state (Hillary Clinton) must also hold talks in countries in which women are systematically oppressed. The decision as to who we send as a government representative rests solely with us Germans based on our political and moral standards.'

Under a front-page headline 'His Man Makes Him Strong', the mass-market Bild newspaper on Tuesday called Mr Westerwelle, 47, and his 42-year-old partner, businessman Michael Mronz, 'Germany's top political couple' and splashed photos of the two hugging on election night.

The left-leaning daily Tageszeitung, mourning the election victory of the centre-right, tried to cheer up its readers with an ironic list of its upsides including - at number two - a gay foreign minister.

'It opens up the wonderful speculation whether and how he will be welcomed at state receptions in Saudi Arabia or Syria with his life partner. And whether Michael Mronz, together with (Merkel's husband) Joachim Sauer, will try to get out of the 'ladies' programme' at summits and state visits.'

Gay rights groups hope Mr Westerwelle will keep a pledge to punish countries with records of persecuting homosexuals. He threatened in a 2008 interview with Stern magazine to cut such states' development aid. [Source: The Straights Times] AFP | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

*No pun intended!

Gordon Brown Dismisses The Sun's Decision to Back Conservatives
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has played down the damage that The Sun newspaper's decision to switch its support to the Conservatives will do to his electoral prospects, arguing that people, not newspapers, will decide the election.


The paper published a front page headline claiming ''Labour's lost it''.

But Mr Brown dismissed the impact of the decision. "I think Sun readers actually, when they look at what I say, they will agree with what I said," he told GMT.V [sic][.]

Asked whether the tabloid's support could decide the next General Election, Mr Brown replied: "No."

"Obviously, you want newspapers to be for you. We would have liked everybody to be on our side, but the people decide. I've got an old-fashioned opinion that you look to newspapers for news not opinions," he added.

In a separate round of broadcast interviews, Mr Brown added: "It's the British people that decide the election, it's the British people's views that I am interested in."

Rupert Murdoch's paper had backed the Labour party since 1997 when it switched from its traditional Tory leanings.

George Pascoe-Watson, the newspaper's political editor, told Sky News: "We warned back in 2005 that Labour was on its last chance.

"We feel now after four years that they have failed the country and they are letting Sun readers down." >>> | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Gordon Brown Pleads to Voters as The Sun Withdraws Support
TIMES ONLINE: Gordon Brown played down the damage to his electoral prospects today after The Sun withdrew its support for the Labour Party.

The Prime Minister insisted that voters and not newspapers decided the Government, urging people to take a close look at his policies.

In a round of broadcast interviews, Mr Brown said: "It's the British people that decide the election, it's the British people's views that I am interested in."

Mr Brown told GMTV: "I think Sun readers actually, when they look at what I say, they will agree with what I said."

Asked whether the support of the best-selling redtop could decide the next General Election, as it was reputed to have done in 1992 by condemning Labour's leader Neil Kinnock, Mr Brown replied: "No."

He added: "Obviously, you want newspapers to be for you. We would have liked everybody to be on our side, but the people decide.

"I've got an old-fashioned opinion that you look to newspapers for news not opinions." >>> Philippe Naughton | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Abfuhr für staatliche Krankenkasse in den USA: Auch demokratische Senatoren stimmen gegen Vorlage
NZZ ONLINE: Die von Präsident Barack Obama befürwortete Einführung einer staatlichen Krankenversicherung in den USA wird zunehmend unwahrscheinlich. Ein wichtiger Senatsausschuss stimmte gegen einen Vorstoss, die Schaffung einer solchen Krankenkasse in eine Kompromissvorlage aufzunehmen.

Die zur Abstimmung gelangte Vorlage hatte der demokratische Senator Max Baucus erarbeitet. Er tritt zwar auch für eine so genannte «öffentliche Option» als Alternative zu den privaten Versicherern ein, hatte aber angesichts des massiven Widerstands der Republikaner darauf verzichtet, sie in seinen Plan aufzunehmen. >>> sda/dpa | Mittwoch, 30. September 2009

Affaire Polanski : Un «manque de finesse», dit Micheline Calmy-Rey
LE TEMPS: Le malaise que suscite l’arrestation du cinéaste s’étend. Pointant une marge de manoeuvre restreinte, la ministre des Affaires étrangères n’a pas caché son embarras. Roman Polanski s’oppose quant à lui à son extradition

Le malaise que suscite l’arrestation de Roman Polanski, samedi soir à l’aéroport de Zurich, continue de s’étendre. Hier, à l’occasion de son Club de la presse diplomatique, Micheline Calmy-Rey n’a pas caché son embarras sur l’affaire, envoyant au passage une pique à l’adresse de la police fédérale et donc par ricochet à celle d’Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. «Sur le plan légal, la procédure ne soulève aucun doute. Mais on peut peut-être se poser des questions sur la finesse de l’intervention», a souligné la ministre des Affaires étrangères, interrogée sur l’opportunité d’arrêter le cinéaste alors qu’un festival s’apprêtait précisément à le célébrer.

Précisant que le Département fédéral des Affaires étrangères (DFAE) n’avait pas été informé au préalable de cette intervention, Micheline Calmy-Rey a toutefois souligné la faible marge de manœuvre de la Suisse. «La voie est tout de même étroite, car on ne peut pas traiter différemment les gens connus et ceux qui ne le sont pas. Cela, en Suisse, on ne l’accepte pas», a souligné la ministre, estimant que le pays «peut en être fier». Enfin, réagissant «aux liens faits par certains» entre les affaires Polanski et UBS, Micheline Calmy-Rey a vivement rejeté ces allégations: «Nous ne sommes pas à la botte des Etats-Unis.» >>> Valentine Zubler | Mercredi 30 Septembre 2009

Affaire Polanski : Zurich dans l’œil du cyclone
LE TEMPS: Les médias internationaux assiègent la métropole de la Limmat dans l’espoir d’en apprendre plus sur le sort du cinéaste. Ce dernier espère obtenir sa libération malgré une loi peu favorable

Quelques stations de télévision étrangères sont installées devant le tribunal de district de Zurich à la Badenerstrasse, bâtiment qui abrite également la prison de district de la ville. Mais rien n’indique que Roman Polanski se trouve bien là.

«Pour garantir l’ordre et la sécurité de l’exploitation, nous ne pouvons pas dire où est incarcéré Roman Polanski», explique Rebecca de Silva, porte-parole de l’Office zurichois d’exécution des peines. Entre Berne et Zurich, on se renvoie la balle sur les conditions de détention du régisseur. Seule certitude, Roman Polanski bénéficie des standards minimums garantis par les autorités zurichoises: une heure de promenade par jour, une heure de visite par semaine réservée à son épouse. Il pourrait même, mais il n’y est pas obligé, travailler pendant six heures par jour au maximum, coller des enveloppes ou des boîtes en carton par exemple, précise encore Rebecca de Silva.

Le Tages-Anzeiger, sur son site internet, prend un malin plaisir à semer le doute. Neuf prisons sur le territoire du canton peuvent en théorie accueillir l’hôte illustre. Les journalistes étrangers attendent probablement devant le faux bâtiment, car il y a de fortes chances que l’on ait emmené la star dans une petite prison en dehors de la ville. Une thèse confirmée par la discrétion avec laquelle la femme du régisseur, l’actrice Emmanuelle Seigner, a pu lui rendre visite lundi. Même le Blick n’est pas arrivé à la surprendre, et a publié d’elle une photo prise à son retour à Paris. Un maître du barreau >>> Catherine Cossy et Sylvie Arsever | Mercredi 30 Septembre 2009

TIMES ONLINE:
Roman Polanski getting by on £3 a day pocket money in prison >>> David Charter in Zurich | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Rachida Dati violemment critiquée par son frère
Jamal Dati, au moment de son procès pour trafic de stupéfiants. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Dans le livre «A l'ombre de Rachida» [sic], Jamal, le frère cadet de l'ancienne ministre de la Justice, décrit sa soeur comme autoritaire, froide et égocentrique.

«Pourquoi tout ce cinéma ?» Dans son livre «A l'ombre de Rachida» [sic], à paraître le 7 octobre chez Calmann-Lévy, le frère cadet de Rachida Dati n'est pas tendre avec l'ancienne garde des Sceaux, révèle mercredi le Nouvel Observateur, qui publie un extrait de l'ouvrage. On apprend notamment que le jour de sa sortie de la maternité avec la petite Zohra, -photo publiée dans tous les journaux-, c'est un couffin vide que tenait en réalité la ministre. «En fait, ils ont fait sortir le nourrisson sans Rachida, en catimini, pour éviter la presse», explique-t-il. «C'est pourquoi on voit ma nièce, Sânnaa, pouffer sur les photos à la sortie de la maternité : l'entourage fait semblant de regarder pendant que les journalistes mitraillent la nouvelle maman», rapporte son frère, tout en s'interrogeant sur le bien-fondé d'une telle supercherie. >>> F.G. (lefigaro.fr) | Mercredi 30 Septembre 2009

Dans l’ombre de Rachida >>> de Jamal Dati – Bientôt disponible

Charles Bremner: Brother Takes Axe to Rachida Dati
TIMES ONLINE – BLOGS: You remember this picture of Rachida Dati, the former star of the Sarkozy government, leaving the clinic with her new-born baby in her arms ? Her immediate return to work as Justice Minister earned her headlines around the world. We hear today that she wasn't holding Zohra, her daughter, just an empty baby-carrier swathed in a blanket.

This is related in a book out this week by Jamal Dati, the younger brother of the ambitious and difficult Sarkozy protegée who was cast out of the government last June and exiled to the European parliament. Scraps of A [Dans] l'Ombre de Rachida [in Rachida's Shadow] appear in le Parisien today. They make clear that Jamal, who recently spent a few months in prison for drug dealing, is out to settle accounts with the sister whose Cinderella life story was meant to inspire France's immigrant working class.

Dati, one of 12 children of a Moroccan-Algerian couple, is depicted as hard-hearted and ruthless. Those qualities are usually mentioned by those who have fallen out with the woman who is seen by the establishment as a pushy parvenue. Dati refused to have anything to do with her black sheep brother when she was minister, he says. "Every time I tried to talk to her she turned a deaf ear." He accuses his sister of having him locked up because he was a nuisance. He gave a bracelet to Zohra, he says. "She did not even thank me. She just said 'put it down there'. She did not want to take the gift in here hands. That hurt me."

The stunt on leaving the hospital last January was part of Dati's meticulous management of her image, he says. The child was taken away through a side entrance and then cared for by Dati's sister for months, says the brother. Comment here >>> Charles Bremner | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Punished for Being Yourself
THE AGE: Urgent action is needed to fight a rise in homophobia and hold governments accountable for human rights violations.

THE current president of the United Nations General Assembly, Libya's Ali Abdussalam Treki, has proclaimed that being gay ''is not acceptable''. Leave aside the bad joke that allows the representative of a nasty dictatorial regime to chair the assembly, Treki's comments echo a wave of homophobia that appears to be a strengthening theme in global politics.

In the past week there have been scary reports of mass rapes of suspected lesbians in South Africa, and systematic persecution and killings of suspected homosexuals in Iraq. The week before, a planned gay rights march in Belgrade was cancelled because the Serbian police claimed they could not protect the marchers from attacks from right-wing protesters.

The South African cases, which have resulted in several women being killed, remind us that even in countries with legal protection against discrimination - and South Africa was the first country to include sexual rights within its constitution - traditional assumptions about sex and gender are used to justify appalling brutality.

In Iraq the justifications for killings are religious, and globally there is a tacit alliance between organised Islam and the Catholic Church to prevent what is feared as the legitimisation of homosexuality. Ironically, Islamic countries such as Iran, which have a long tradition of homoerotic literature, now lead the world in criminalising, and in some cases executing, people for homosexual behaviour.

The world has never been as divided in attitudes towards homosexuality. In all Western countries legal prohibitions have been removed, and in some same-sex marriage has become legal. Openly homosexual politicians are increasingly evident, and no mainstream television series seems to be without its gay and lesbian characters.

For many political and religious leaders who dislike what they see as the unnecessary freedoms and hedonism of the West, homosexuality has become a crucial touchstone.

We should not be surprised that regimes such as those of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi rail against homosexuality, which they invoke as a symbol of Westernisation, unlike, for example, shopping malls or DVDs, which they embrace. >>> Dennis Altman* | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

*Dennis Altman is director of the Institute for Human Security, LaTrobe University.

Wird Europa von der Tochter eines Pfarrers und von einem Schwulen gerettet?
Nach der Bundestagswahl wird Deutschland von einer Koalition regiert, und zwar von zwei Leuten, die von einem eventuellen EU-Beitritt der Türkei gar nicht überzeugt sind.

Die britische Zeitung, The Telegraph, hat gestern in einem Artikel geschrieben, daß durch diese Wahl am Sonntag in Deutschland die Hoffnungen der Türkei auf einen EU-Beitritt effektiv zu Ende gebracht worden sind.

Darin ist es geschrieben worden, daß Angela Merkel und Guido Westerwelle, als Gegner eines EU-Beitritts der Türkei, zusammen mit Nicolas Sarkozy und Silvio Berlusconi in Opposition kämpfen werden.

Wenn dies der Fall sein wird, dann bedeutet dies nicht schlechte Nachricht sondern gute Nachricht für Europa, weil in dem Falle wird Europa von der Wahnsinn eines EU-Beitritts der Türkei endgültig gerettet. Das ist ein Grund zu feiern.

Mehr als siebzig Millionen Muslime in Europa willkommen zu heissen wäre lauter Irrsinn. Warum? Einfach! Weil falls der EU-Beitritt zustande käme, wäre unsere christliche Kultur in Europa schnellstens zu einem traurigen Ende gebracht. Unser Kultur wäre vom Islam vernichtet.

Nun, steht uns erfreulichere Nachricht bevor! Wir sollten deshalb der Frau Merkel und dem Herrn Westerwelle viel Kraft für den bevorstehenden Kampf wünschen. Zusammen mit Frankreich und Italien darf Deutschland Europa retten, und die Rettung wird zwar entstehen von der Tochter eines Pfarrers und von einem Schwulen. – © Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved

Urteil in Berlin: Muslimischer Gymnasiast darf in der Schule beten
HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT: Das Verwaltungsgericht in Berlin hat einem Schüler Recht gegeben: Trotz Neutralitätsgebots darf der 16-jährige Moslem an seiner Schule beten.

Gebet in einer Moschee in Mainz. Ein Berliner Gymnasium muss einem muslimischen Schüler gestatten, in der Schule zu beten. Bild: Hamburger Abendblatt
BERLIN. Der Berliner muslimische Gymnasiast Yunus M. darf weiter in einer Unterrichtspause öffentlich beten. Das Berliner Verwaltungsgericht bestätigte am Dienstag eine entsprechende vorläufige Eilentscheidung vom März 2008.

Anlass ist die Klage des inzwischen 16-jährigen Schülers, der das Diesterweg-Gymnasium im Stadtteil Wedding besucht. Er wollte während der Schulpause sein Mittagsgebet verrichten und hatte sich dafür mit Mitschülern in einen Teil des Schulflurs zurückgezogen. Die Direktorin der Schule hatte ihm dies mit Verweis auf die weltanschauliche und religiöse Neutralität der öffentlichen Schulen untersagt.

Der Vorsitzende Richter Uwe Wegener betonte in seiner Begründung, die Entscheidung bedeute nicht, dass die Schule einen Gebetsraum zur Verfügung stellen müsse. Sie dürfe den Schüler aber nicht an der Ausübung seiner Religion hindern. Yunus M. habe ihn von der Ernsthaftigkeit seines Ansinnens überzeugt. Das Gericht könne zudem nicht erkennen, dass durch das Verhalten des Klägers Konflikte im Schulalltag zwischen Schülern verschiedener Religionszugehörigkeit verursacht oder vertieft würden. >>> abendblatt.de, KNA | Dienstag, 29. September 2009

Teenagers Flogged for Saudi Shops Rampage
MAIL ONLINE: Twenty Saudi teenagers who ransacked shops and restaurants have been publicly flogged.

Human rights activists and liberals condemned the beatings in Khobar and Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.

It was not clear what lay behind the rampage other than possible frustration at the strict laws and traditions of the Islamic kingdom.

'This terrible event reflects the need to allow more space for the youth in terms of sport clubs, movie theatres and recreation facilities,' said Abdullah al-Alami, a columnist who lives in Khobar.

Newspapers reported that the teenagers received at least 30 lashes each in a public square.

They gave different accounts of the incident, with some journals saying teenagers had urged officials to give more attention to youngsters with little to do.

Others reported that the youths had targeted Western brands thinking they had links to Israel.

The rampage took place on Saudi national day last week.

A police spokesman in the eastern province declined to comment, saying he was not authorised to talk to foreign media.

The interior ministry also declined to comment.

The Eastern Province is home to most of the country's massive oil wealth.

The bulk of Saudi Arabia's Shi'ite minority, which has long complained of discrimination, also lives there.

The staunch U.S. ally is a monarchy which has no parliament and where public protests are banned. >>> | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Reaktion auf Bundestagswahl: Schwarz-Gelb: Türken enttäuscht, Israel begeistert
HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT: Ist der EU-Beitritt jetzt unmöglich geworden? Türkische Medien trauern der SPD nach. Die Briten wundern sich über Guido Westerwelle.

Der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan und seine Frau Emine bei der Ankunft zum G20-Gipfel in Pittsburgh. Bild: Hamburger Abendblatt
ISTANBUL/LONDON/JERUSALEM. Nach der Bundestagswahl stellt sich die Türkei auf schwierigere Zeiten für ihre EU-Kandidatur ein. Die Lage sei angesichts einer schwarz-gelben Regierung für die Türkei „problematischer“, sagte Suat Kiniklioglu, ein führender Außenpolitiker der Regierungspartei AKP, der Zeitung „Today's Zaman“. Auch Oppositionschef Deniz Baykal sagte, der Wahlausgang in Deutschland sei aus türkischer Sicht „nicht positiv“.

Die türkische Presse betonte ebenfalls, nach dem Ausscheiden der SPD aus der Regierungsverantwortung habe Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) mehr Spielraum für ihre türkei-skeptische Haltung. Die SPD unterstützt die türkische Bewerbung. Merkel dagegen favorisiert eine „privilegierte Partnerschaft“ zwischen EU und Türkei unterhalb der Beitrittsschwelle, auch wenn sie die seit 2005 laufenden Beitrittsgespräche Ankaras nicht torpedieren will. „Die Türkei ist der Verlierer“ der Wahl, lautete eine Schlagzeile im „Milliyet“.

Als Hoffnungsschimmer aus türkischer Sicht gilt die FDP. Die Liberalen als neuer Koalitionspartner Merkels und Partei des designierten Außenministers Guido Westerwelle hätten eine positivere Haltung zur türkischen EU-Kandidatur als die Kanzlerin, betonten Kommentatoren.

Israel hat Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel begeistert zu ihrem Wahlerfolg gratuliert. Ein Sprecher des Außenministeriums in Jerusalem sagte, Merkel habe in den besonderen Beziehungen zwischen Israel und Deutschland „Verantwortung, Mut und echte Freundschaft bewiesen“. In Jerusalem herrsche angesichts ihres Wahlsiegs „großer Optimismus“. „In Israel gibt es einen breiten Konsens darüber, dass die guten Zeiten in den deutsch-israelischen Beziehungen nun weitergehen oder sogar noch besser werden“, sagte Sprecher Jossi Levi. >>> dpa/AFP/HA | Dienstag, 29. September 2009

Angela Merkel Win Ends Turkey's EU Hopes
THE TELEGRAPH: Turkish hopes of joining the EU appeared to be all but over after Germany gave warning it was ready to join France and Italy in outright opposition to the country's membership.

Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Free Democrats (FDP) are both hostile to the accession of the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 71 million.

The CDU is against the Turks joining for cultural reasons while the FDP leader, and probable new foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle has said the country's economy is too far below European standards to integrate comfortably with other members. With almost three million ethnic Turks living in Germany, many as citizens, Germany also fears there would be a flood of immigrants after Turkish accession.

Chancellor Angela Merkell has warned her Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call that Germany foreign policy was under review. An EU meeting to review the Turkish role in the unification of Cyprus in December will represent the first test of the policy.

The Turkish reaction to the German election result has been open dismay. The country's liberal broadsheet Milliyet summed up the mood in Ankara's political circles. It said: "Turkey is the loser".

The mass-market Aksam told Turks to be braced for a change in approach from Europe's biggest country. It said: "We should expect Merkel to sharpen her opposition to Turkey's membership." >>> Damien McElroy in Berlin | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Durch die Wüste ins gelobte Land: Afrikanische Migranten auf dem Weg nach Israel
NZZ ONLINE: Weil die Reise nach Europa übers Meer immer schwieriger wird, fahren jetzt zunehmend schwarzafrikanische Flüchtlinge über Ägypten durch die Wüste Sinai nach Israel. Es ist eine gefährliche Reise ins Ungewisse.

«Es muss heute Nacht sein», flüstert Adam heiser durch die Telefonleitung. Seine Nervosität ist deutlich zu spüren, denn er will mit seiner Frau Amina nach Israel fliehen. Dort hoffen die beiden, ein besseres Leben als das in Kairo zu finden und ein friedlicheres als das in Darfur, von wo sie vertrieben wurden.

Adam meint, die Nacht nach Beendigung des Fastenmonats Ramadan biete enorme Vorteile. Der Mond sei dann nur eine schmale Sichel und beleuchte sie kaum auf der Flucht. Die ägyptischen Grenzpolizisten würden sich auf das Fest und das Frühstück am nächsten Morgen freuen, tief schlafen und die Flüchtlinge nicht bemerken. In Israel wiederum sei man noch in jüdischer Neujahrsstimmung und würde ihnen beiden wohlwollend Asyl gewähren, erklärt Adam. Dokumente für alle Fälle >>> Kristina Bergmann, im Sinai | Montag, 28. September 2009

Lettres de Menaces : Nicolas Sarkozy de nouveau la cible d'un corbeau
LE POINT: Après l'arrestation et la mise en examen de Thierry J. , un homme de 51 ans qui a avoué être l'auteur de plusieurs lettres de menaces de mort envoyées à plusieurs élus, dont Nicolas Sarkozy, les enquêteurs doivent faire face à un nouveau corbeau. Selon Le Midi libre , de nouvelles lettres de menaces ont été interceptées par les services de sécurité. Deux lettres de menaces envers le président Nicolas Sarkozy et la police postées à Roubaix, semble-t-il par la même personne, ont été reçues respectivement après et avant l'arrestation du "corbeau" présumé de l'Hérault, précise une source policière. Selon cette source, les deux lettres étaient accompagnées d'une balle, mais il ne semble pas y avoir de rapport avec l'affaire héraultaise, autre que celui d'un "effet d'émulation". >>> LePoint.fr avec AFP | Mardi 29 Septembre 2009

Pakistan’s Dame Edna
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here
Please note that since this video was made, Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated.

Iraq: City of Widows
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here | Monday, June 29, 2009

Iceland: Hook, Line and Sunk
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Happy Nazis – Germany
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Americans Are 'Illiterate' about Climate Change, Claims Expert
THE TELEGRAPH: America's lack of knowledge on climate change could prevent the world from reaching an agreement to stop catastrophic global warming, scientists said in an attack on the country's environmental policy.

Professor John Schellnhuber, one of the world's leading global warming experts, described the US as "climate illiterate"[.]

He said Americans have a lower understanding of the problems of climate change than people in Brazil or China.

More than 100 scientists are meeting at Oxford University to discuss the dangers of climate change causing droughts, floods and mass extinctions around the world.

The conference is designed to put pressure on world leaders coming together at the end of the year for the "most important meeting in the history of the human species".

The UN Climate Change Conference in December will try to reach an international deal on cutting carbon emissions so global warming stays below an increase of 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.

Prof Schellnhuber, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change, said the chance of getting such a deal was "pie in the sky" because rich countries like America are unwilling to sign up to ambitious enough targets.

"In a sense the US is climate illiterate. If you look at global polls about what the public knows about climate change even in Brazil, China you have more people who know about the problem and think deep cuts in emissions are needed," he said. >>> | Monday, September 28, 2009

Third World Population Controls Won't Save Climate, Study Claims
TIMES ONLINE: The population explosion in poor countries will contribute little to climate change and is a dangerous distraction from the main problem of over-consumption in rich nations, a study has found.

It challenges claims by leading environmentalists, including Sir David Attenborough and Jonathon Porritt, that strict birth control is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The study concludes that spending billions of pounds of aid on contraception in the developing world will not benefit the climate because poor countries have such low emissions. It says that Britain and other Western countries should instead focus on reducing consumption of goods, services and energy among their own populations. >>> Ben Webster, Environment Editor | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Andy Williams Accuses Barack Obama of Following Marxist Theory
THE TELEGRAPH: Andy Williams, the veteran pop singer, has accused Barack Obama of "following Marxist theory" and "wanting the country to fail".

Williams, a lifelong Republican whose hits include Moon River and Music To Watch Girls By, told the Radio Times he thought Mr Obama wanted to turn the US into a "socialist country".

The 81-year-old was a friend of the Kennedy family during the 1960s and was present at the Los Angeles rally where Robert F Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.

"I was very close to Bobby and he asked me to be a delegate for him when he ran for president," he said.

"He knew about me being a Republican, but just laughed and said, 'Sign yourself in as a Democrat and then change back afterwards'. Sadly, I never got to do that.

"I was very close to Teddy Kennedy, too, and his death recently brought it all back. What a tragedy. Had he lived, I think Bobby would have been a great president."

But Williams had a less favourable opinion of the current president.

"Don't like him at all," he said, "I think he wants to create a socialist country. The people he associates with are very Left-wing. One is registered as a Communist. >>> | Monday. September 28, 2009

Children Whose Mothers Work Are 'Less Healthy'
THE TELEGRAPH: The children of working mothers are less healthy than those who stay at home, according to an authoritative study by British researchers.

Almost two out of three mothers with children under five work in Britain with numbers expected to rise, but new research has shown this can affect children's health.

In a study which will cause renewed debate over who have to divide their time between caring for their offspring and going out to work, the researchers found children whose mothers worked were more likely to be driven to school, to watch more than two hours of TV a day, and have sweetened drinks between meals.

Children of mothers who worked full time also ate less fruit and vegetables, the study suggests.

Middle class families suffer the same problems as the findings remained similar even when household income was taken into account, the paper said.

Encouraging mothers to return to work has been a key Labour policy and Patricia Hewitt said in 2004 when she was Trade and Industry Secretary that mothers who do not return to work were 'a real problem'.

The research, on more than 12,000 British children aged five, was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. >>> Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Working Mums Have the Unhealthiest Children, Research Finds
TIMES ONLINE: Children brought up by mothers who work are less healthy and more likely to have poor dietary habits and a more sedentary lifestyle, research suggests.

Mothers in full-time work, including those who work flexible hours, were found to have children who eat too few portions of fruit and vegetables, watch more television and consume more fizzy drinks than the children of mothers who stay at home.

The research, published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, involved more than 12,000 British schoolchildren born between 2000 and 2002 who are part of the Millennium Cohort Study. Trends being explored include the rise in childhood obesity and policies that have encouraged women to return to work.

Researchers questioned mothers about the hours they worked and their children’s diet, exercise and activity levels when the youngsters were aged 5. They also asked how long their childdren spent in front of a TV or computer. About 30 per cent (4,030) of the mothers had not worked since giving birth but the rest (8,546) were employed. On average they worked 21 hours per week and for 45 months.

Catherine Law, of the Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, told The Times the analysis showed that mothers who worked full-time had the unhealthiest children, followed by those who worked part-time.

Making use of flexible working arrangements while in full-time employment did not appear to improve a child’s habits, she added. “We have seen the rising rates of childhood obesity and the rise in initiatives to get women back to work, and that is what this research explores,” Professor Law said. >>> Sam Lister, Health Editor | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Iran's Missiles Are ‘Ready to Destroy Israel’
TIMES ONLINE: Iran warned Israel yesterday that it faces destruction if it attacks the Islamic republic, only hours after Tehran provocatively test-fired missiles capable of hitting targets across the Middle East.

“If this [an Israeli attack] happens, which, of course, we do not foresee, its ultimate result would be to expedite the last breath of the Zionist regime,” Ahmad Vahidi, the Iranian Defence Minister, said on state television.

His defiant comments came after Western leaders dismissed a second day of rocket launches by Iran, calling them a “reprehensible” distraction from critical talks this week that will determine whether Tehran is ready to negotiate over its nuclear programme, or face biting new sanctions.

Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s White House spokesman, called the missile tests “provocative”. He added: “This is an important day and an important week for Iran.”

He demanded unfettered access to a new nuclear facility that Iran appeared to have concealed from international inspectors, but finally admitted to last week.

“They can continue on the path they’ve been on . . . or make a decision to step away from a nuclear weapons programme, and enter into a meaningful relationship with the world, based on their own security but not based on nuclear weapons.” >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent and Tim Reid in Washington | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sex Abuse Rife in Other Religions, Says Vatican
THE GUARDIAN: The Vatican has lashed out at criticism over its handling of its paedophilia crisis by saying the Catholic church was "busy cleaning its own house" and that the problems with clerical sex abuse in other churches were as big, if not bigger.

In a defiant and provocative statement, issued following a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Holy See said the majority of Catholic clergy who committed such acts were not paedophiles but homosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent males.

The statement, read out by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's permanent observer to the UN, defended its record by claiming that "available research" showed that only 1.5%-5% of Catholic clergy were involved in child sex abuse.

He also quoted statistics from the Christian Scientist Monitor newspaper to show that most US churches being hit by child sex abuse allegations were Protestant and that sexual abuse within Jewish communities was common.

He added that sexual abuse was far more likely to be committed by family members, babysitters, friends, relatives or neighbours, and male children were quite often guilty of sexual molestation of other children.

Nor did The [sic] statement said [sic] that rather than paedophilia, it would "be more correct" to speak of ephebophilia, a homosexual attraction to adolescent males.

"Of all priests involved in the abuses, 80 to 90% belong to this sexual orientation minority which is sexually engaged with adolescent boys between the ages of 11 and 17."

The statement concluded: "As the Catholic church has been busy cleaning its own house, it would be good if other institutions and authorities, where the major part of abuses are reported, could do the same and inform the media about it."

The Holy See launched its counter–attack after an international representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, Keith Porteous Wood, accused it of covering up child abuse and being in breach of several articles under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Porteous Wood said the Holy See had not contradicted any of his accusations. "The many thousands of victims of abuse deserve the international community to hold the Vatican to account, something it has been unwilling to do, so far. Both states and children's organisations must unite to pressurise the Vatican to open its files, change its procedures worldwide, and report suspected abusers to civil authorities."

Representatives from other religions were dismayed by the Holy See's attempts to distance itself from controversy by pointing the finger at other faiths. >>> Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent, and Anushka Asthana | Monday, September 28, 2009

Les Etats-Unis coopèrent avec l’Egypte pour défendre la liberté d’expression
LE TEMPS: Après avoir boycotté le Conseil des droits de l’homme depuis sa création en 2006 sous George W. Bush, l’administration américaine d’Obama propose une résolution conjointe avec Le Caire. Un acte qui rompt avec la logique des groupes régionaux

«Nous avons des principes et des espoirs.» Figure de proue des questions de droit international au Département d’Etat américain, Harold Koh, que certains verraient bien un jour à la Cour suprême des Etats-Unis, est convaincu que son pays avait un devoir de rallier le Conseil des droits de l’homme des Nations unies basé à Genève. Après avoir boycotté l’institution onusienne depuis sa création au printemps 2006, Washington n’a manifestement pas attendu longtemps avant de concrétiser son nouvel engagement avec l’arrivée de Barack Obama. De concert avec le gouvernement égyptien, il a élaboré un projet de résolution visant à renforcer la liberté d’expression. L’initiative est non seulement audacieuse, elle rompt de façon radicale avec le passé. Voici peu, le Conseil des droits de l’homme s’était déchiré dans un combat fratricide entre les tenants de la liberté d’expression plutôt rangés dans le camp occidental et les tenants du concept de diffamation des religions promu notamment par l’Organisation de la conférence islamique (OCI). >>> Stéphane Bussard | Mardi 29 Septembre 2009

Parlamentswahlen: Sozialisten bleiben in Portugal an der Macht
ZEIT ONLINE: Die regierende Sozialistische Partei von Ministerpräsident José Sócrates hat die Parlamentswahlen in Portugal gewonnen. Die 2005 errungene Mehrheit aber hat sie verfehlt.

In Portugal werden die regierenden Sozialisten weiter an der Macht bleiben: Ersten Nachwahlbefragungen vom Sonntagabend zufolge kommt die Partei von Ministerpräsident Jose Socrates bei der Parlamentswahl durchschnittlich auf 38 Prozent. Ihre bisherige absolute Mehrheit gibt sie damit ab, beim Urnengang 2005 hatte die PS noch 45,03 Prozent aller Stimmen erreicht.

Die wichtigste Oppositionspartei, die bürgerlich-konservativ orientierte Sozialdemokratische Partei (PSD) unter der Spitzenkandidatin Manuela Ferreira Leite, musste sich mit einem Ergebnis von 25 und 29 Prozent begnügen. Socrates' Hauptkonkurrentin, die auch als "Eiserne Lady" bekannt ist, hatte im Wahlkampf angesichts der schlimmsten Wirtschaftskrise seit dem Ende der Diktatur 1974 für einen harten Sparkurs plädiert. >>> Zeit Online, dpa | Sonntag, 27. September 2009

Portugal: Bitterer Sieg für Sozialisten

DIE PRESSE: Premier Sócrates gewann, verlor aber die absolute Mehrheit. Jetzt muss er Hilfe am linken Rand suchen. Eine Koalition mit den Konservativen gilt wegen gegensätzlicher Wirtschaftsideen unwahrscheinlich

LISSABON/MADRID. „Das war ein außerordentlicher Sieg“, jubelte José Sócrates noch in der Wahlnacht. In einem Meer aus roten Fahnen, die im Hauptquartier seiner Sozialistischen Partei (PS) in der Hauptstadt Lissabon wehten. Doch die Euphorie des alten und wohl auch neuen portugiesischen Ministerpräsidenten dürfte bald verfliegen. Denn sein Sieg geht mit erheblichem Stimmenverlust einher, der ihm die bisherige bequeme absolute Mehrheit nahm. Knapp 37 Prozent holte Sócrates. Vor vier Jahren hatte er noch mit 45 Prozent gesiegt. Nun muss er sich Regierungspartner suchen. >>> Vom Korrespondenten der Presse RALPH SCHULZE | Montag, 28. September 2009

Victoire du socialiste portugais José Socrates
LE FIGARO: Le premier ministre sortant devra toutefois former un gouvernement minoritaire.

Les socialistes du premier ministre José Socrates ont remporté les législatives, mais devraient être contraints de former un gouvernement minoritaire. Avec 36,5% des suffrages, le Parti socialiste arrive largement en tête, mais il fait toutefois moins bien qu'il y a quatre ans, lorsqu'il avait recueilli 45 % des voix et obtenu une majorité absolue au Parlement avec 121 sièges sur 230. Il pourrait en compter, cette fois, entre 96 et 100.

Son principal adversaire de centre droit - Manuela Ferreira Leite, chef de file des sociaux-démocrates (PSD) - obtient 29% des voix. Le Bloc de gauche et le Centre démocratique et social-Parti populaire (CDS-PP, conservateur) se disputent la troisième place avec 9,13% des suffrages pour le premier, qui affiche une nette progression après ses 6,4 % de 2005, et 10,41% des voix pour le second.

Dès avant le scrutin, le Bloc de gauche, qui juge la politique économique de Socrates trop libérale, a rejeté toute éventualité d'alliance, tout comme les communistes et les écologistes de la Coalition démocratique unie (CDU). C'est dans un climat de revendications économiques et sociales que 9,3 millions de Portugais ont été appelés, dimanche aux urnes.

Le mécontentement de la population portugaise est allé crescendo tout au long de la campagne. À quelques jours du scrutin, plusieurs catégories professionnelles comme la santé, les transports et l'administration ont appelé à la grève. Tous entendent protester contre les réformes libérales du premier ministre socialiste. La cure d'amaigrissement des dépenses publiques, avec la suppression de nombreux postes, a déclenché l'ire des fonctionnaires. >>> Diane Cambon, à Madrid | Lundi 28 Septembre 2009

Facebook wegen Obama-Mord-Umfrage im Zwielicht: Kampf gegen US-Gesundheitsreform mit immer härteren Bandagen
NZZ ONLINE: Der amerikanische Secret Service ermittelt im Zusammenhang mit einer im Internet veröffentlichten Umfrage zur Tötung von Präsident Barack Obama. In der am Wochenende auf Facebook aufgeschalteten Umfrage wurde gefragt, ob Obama umgebracht werden soll. >>> sda/dpa | Dienstag, 29. September 2009

UN-Vollversammlung: Nordkorea plädiert für "atomwaffenfreie Welt"
WELT ONLINE: Der nordkoreanische Vize-Außenminister Pak Kil-yon hat vor der UN-Vollversammlung erklärt, dass das Land bereit wäre, seine nuklearen Aktivitäten einzustellen, wenn auch alle anderen Atomstaaten ihre Nuklearwaffen aufgeben. Solange die USA aber an ihrer Nuklearpolitik festhielten, habe Pjöngjang keine Alternative.

Nordkorea ist nach Angaben eines Regierungssprechers grundsätzlich für eine atomwaffenfreie Welt. Pjöngjang wäre bereit, seine nuklearen Aktivitäten einzustellen, wenn auch alle anderen Atomstaaten ihre Nuklearwaffen aufgeben, sagte der nordkoreanische Vize-Außenminister Pak Kil-yon, am späten Montag (Ortszeit) vor der UN-Vollversammlung in New York. „Wir sind wie alle anderen friedliebenden Länder gegen einen Atomkrieg, gegen ein atomares Wettrennen und die Weiterverbreitung von Nuklearwaffen“, sagte Pak. >>> dpa /fas | Dienstag, 29. September 2009

Le numéro deux d'Al-Qaïda qualifie Obama de «criminel»
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: VIDÉO | Le numéro deux d'Al-Qaïda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, a qualifié le président américain de "criminel" dans une nouvelle vidéo rendant un hommage posthume à un chef taliban.

"Obama laisse les colonies s'étendre en Cisjordanie et autour de Jérusalem et ne montre que peu de regrets", affirme Ayman al-Zawahiri dans la vidéo dont la chaîne satellitaire du Qatar, al-Jazira, a diffusé des extraits.

"Obama fait en outre pression sur les dirigeants défaitistes pour qu'ils fassent davantage de concessions", ajoute-t-il en référence aux dirigeants arabes pressés par Washington de normaliser leurs relations avec Israël.

"Avons-nous besoin de plus de crimes à Kaboul, Bagdad, Mogadiscio et Gaza pour s'assurer que c'est un criminel? Ou bien la bassesse des Etats-Unis sous la présidence d'Obama, malgré son air souriant et affectueux, est-elle désormais claire?", se demande l'ancien médecin égyptien devenu le bras droit d'Oussama ben Laden.

Dans cet enregistrement, Zawahiri critique aussi la Turquie, appelée à commander prochainement les troupes de l'OTAN en Afghanistan.

"Chaque Turc, soucieux de l'islam et des musulmans, doit savoir que les troupes de son pays assureront le mois prochain le commandement des croisés en Afghanistan, qui brûlent les villages, détruisent les maisons et occupent la terre d'islam", dit-il.

"Les troupes turques y mèneront alors les mêmes opérations que celles menées par les juifs en Palestine. Comment le peuple turc libre acceptera-t-il un tel crime contre l'islam et les musulmans", s'est-il interrogé. >>> AFP | Mardi 29 Septembre 2009

Sharia Courts Conquer UK


Hat tip: Europe News >>>

Related:
UK hate preacher demands Koran-bashing author’s trial under sharia court >>> Submitted by Mohit Joshi | Friday, September 04, 2009

Afghan Jew a One-man Upholder of Tradition
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Zebulon Simantov says he is Afghanistan's last Jew, and he kept kosher as he celebrated Rosh Hashanah. He lives in a broken-down building housing Kabul's last synagogue, and there is a tale involved.

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - It's not easy representing centuries of Jewish tradition single-handedly. Especially if you're in a war-torn Muslim country. But Zebulon Simantov, who claims to be the last Jew in Afghanistan, is doing his best.

At the start of this weekend's Jewish New Year, he lighted three candles, changed into a traditional Afghan shalwar kameez outfit and donned a black yarmulke. He navigated around his Muslim helper, who was wrapping up his Ramadan prayers, and, for 45 minutes, swayed, bowed and intoned Rosh Hashanah prayers while an Indian game show blared from a corner TV.

"I'm the only Jew in Afghanistan," the 57-year-old said. "It's a big responsibility. Yes, I wish there was a larger community. But I keep kosher and maintain the tradition."

Simantov lives like the confirmed bachelor he is in a broken-down building that houses Kabul's last synagogue. His living area is lighted with a single fluorescent bulb, and well-worn Afghan carpets serve as his bed, floor covering and eating surface. A few feet away is his soot-blackened kitchen, from whose open window he periodically tosses waste water down onto a rubble-filled courtyard.

He slaughters his own chickens and sheep in keeping with kosher dietary laws. Normally only a specially designated person can do this, but Simantov said he has obtained permission from a rabbi in Uzbekistan.

"Sometimes he washes the sheep meat so many times, I wonder if he'll wash all the protein out," said Shir Gul Ameri, 22, an Afghan who helps with Simantov's chores.

There's a lot Simantov doesn't discuss, either because he can't remember or prefers not to talk about it. For instance, why he decided to stay in Kabul, enduring civil wars, the Soviet occupation and Taliban rule. That took some doggedness, which may partly explain his gruff personality.

"Don't talk about the Taliban, just eat," he barked. "Everyone had trouble with the Taliban. Very bad people."

But after a few whiskeys -- he favors Johnnie Walker -- a less intimidating side emerges as he welcomes strangers to his Rosh Hashanah Seder replete with heaping plates of mutton kebabs, chicken, okra, squash and grapes. >>> Mark Magnier, Sunday, September 20, 2009

Committed to Free Expression? What Nonsense
TIMES ONLINE: Yale has acted cravenly over images of Muhammad

A Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in September 2005. This seemingly innocuous decision preceded worldwide protests, death threats, trade boycotts and attacks on Danish embassies.

An outstanding scholarly account of these events is published this week, entitled The Cartoons that Shook the World by Jytte Klausen, a Danish academic in the US. Klausen dissects the motives of the main actors and illuminates debates over free speech and the place of religion in Western societies. It’s a murky business, by which, she says, “protests developed from small-scale local demonstrations to global uproar only to subside without a proper conclusion”.

Yet while there has been no conclusion, there has been change and decay. The controversy spurred an argument that would defend the principle of free speech while deploring the failure to exercise it sensitively. “We believe freedom of the press entails responsibility and discretion, and should respect the beliefs and tenets of all religions,” declared the United Nations after Danish diplomatic missions were torched.

That principle is moderate, balanced and pernicious. The idea that people’s beliefs, merely by being deeply held, merit respect is grotesque. A constitutional society upholds freedom of speech and thought: it has no interest in its citizens’ feelings. If it sought to protect sensibilities, there would be no limit to the abridgements of freedom that the principle would justify. >>> Oliver Kamm | Monday, September 28, 2009

Benedikt XVI: Papst erwirbt Respekt im atheistischen Tschechien
WELT ONLINE: Mit seiner Tschechien-Reise versuchte das Kirchenoberhaupt, das weitgehend entchristianisierte Land zurückzuerobern. Mit Erfolg: Selbst der ausgewiesen liberale Staatspräsident Václav Klaus entdeckte einen Wertekonsens mit dem Papst. Einmal mehr gelang es Benedikt XVI. zudem, die Jugend zu begeistern.

Ginge es allein nach den Übertragungszeiten des tschechischen Fernsehens, dann müsste Papst Benedikt XVI. in den zurückliegenden drei Tagen eine Hochburg des Katholizismus besucht haben. Kein Schritt des Oberhauptes der katholischen Kirche in der Öffentlichkeit, der nicht direkt übertragen wurde. Zwischendrin Expertenrunden, die sich bemühten, die Reden und Predigten des Papstes zu erläutern und einzuordnen.

Doch der Pastoralbesuch in Tschechien galt einem der am meisten säkularisierten Länder der Welt und war für den Papst in jeder Hinsicht anstrengend. Bei einer großen Messe im Wenzel-Wallfahrtsort Stara Boleslav, zu der vor allem Zehntausende junger Menschen gekommen waren, lächelte Benedikt XVI. ein ums andere Mal befreit. „Mit euch bin ich wieder jung“, rief er den Jugendlichen zu, die zum großen Teil eine eiskalte Nacht in Zelten hinter sich hatten. „Ihr, liebe Jugendliche, seid die Hoffnung der Kirche“, sagte der Papst, der anschließend die Einladung zum Weltjugendtag in Madrid im August 2011 aussprach.

Der Papst nutzte seinen Besuch vor allem, um an den Sturz des Kommunismus vor 20 Jahren zu erinnern, den er einen „Scheidepunkt in der Weltgeschichte“ nannte. Er beklagte die Leiden der Kirche während jahrzehntelanger „skrupelloser politischer Unterdrückung“. Die Katholiken in der damaligen Tschechoslowakei hätten „unbeugsames christliches Zeugnis angesichts der Verfolgung“ gegeben, erkannte er an. Vor dem Hintergrund der nun erreichten Religionsfreiheit sollten die Tschechen die christlichen Traditionen, die ihre Kultur geprägt hätten, wiederentdecken. >>> Von Hans-Jörg Schmidt | Montag, 28. September 2009

Bundestagswahl: Kanzlerin von Guidos Gnaden
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Angela Merkel hat für die Union die Kanzlerschaft gerettet, doch der eindeutige Sieger dieser Bundestagswahl heißt Guido Westerwelle. Die FDP bekommt sogar deutlich mehr Mandate als die CSU - für die Kanzlerin wird das Regieren dadurch nicht einfacher.

Berlin - Angela Merkel strahlt. Ein, zweimal wackelt sie mit dem Kopf, wippt kurz auf den Zehenspitzen, so, als wolle sie vor Freude am liebsten einen kleinen Hüpfer machen. Im roten Blazer steht sie um kurz nach 19 Uhr auf der Bühne des Konrad-Adenauer-Hauses. Eben noch war auf den Leinwänden SPD-Spitzenkandidat Frank-Walter Steinmeier zu sehen, wie er den Genossen die bittere Schlappe zu erklären versuchte, und die Menge in der CDU-Zentrale lachte spöttisch über die entsetzten Gesichter im Willy-Brandt-Haus. Nun schallt es "Angie, Angie" durch das voll besetzte Foyer. Mehrfach muss die CDU-Chefin ansetzen, um sich Gehör zu verschaffen. "Nicht nur Ihr und Sie sind heute Abend glücklich - ich bin es auch. Wir haben etwas Tolles geschafft."

Es reicht, es reicht für Schwarz-Gelb, das sagen die Wahlforscher in ihren Hochrechnungen übereinstimmend voraus. Es reicht sogar für eine stabile Mehrheit - "und das ist gut", freut sich Merkel. Es reicht allerdings nicht, weil Angela Merkel und Horst Seehofer ihre Union endlich wieder an die 40 Prozentmarke herangeführt hätten. Im Gegenteil: CDU und CSU erreichen mit gerade einmal 33,8 Prozent nicht einmal das Niveau von vor vier Jahren. Damit fährt Merkel das schlechteste Ergebnis für die Union bei einer Bundestagswahl seit der Wahl 1949 ein. Die CSU erleidet für ihre Verhältnisse gar ein Desaster: Bei 42,6 Prozent liegen die Christsozialen in Bayern.

Es reicht also vor allem für Schwarz-Gelb, weil die FDP so stark ist. 14,6 Prozent holen die Liberalen. Guido Westerwelle ist der eigentliche große Sieger dieser Wahl, darum überlässt ihm Merkel am Abend sogar den letzten Auftritt in der Reihe der TV-Liveschaltungen.

Westerwelle nimmt seinen Lebenspartner mit


Um 19.11 betritt der FDP-Chef dann das Foyer in den "Römischen Höfen" in Berlin. Die Anhänger rufen "Guido, Guido", irgendwann singen sie wie im Fußballstadion "So sehen Sieger aus, Schalalala". Westerwelle steht auf dem Podest mit dem Führungspersonal seiner Partei, plötzlich umarmt ihn sein Lebenspartner Michael Mronz. Westerwelle strahlt in die Kameras, es ist der Augenblick, auf den er hingearbeitet hat - die FDP ist wieder zurück an der Macht, nach elf Jahren in der Opposition. Neben ihm steht Hans Dietrich Genscher, der Ex-Außenminister und FDP-Ehrenvorsitzende, er wirkt fast ein wenig entrückt. Genscher, der die sozial-liberale und schwarz-gelbe Koalition in seiner Zeit mitgeprägt hat, hat Wahlkampf für den FDP-Chef gemacht. Genscher hat ihm im Präsidium an diesem Abend noch vor der ersten Hochrechnung gedankt: Der Erfolg sei auch ein Verdienst Westerwelles als Person. >>> Von Severin Weiland und Philipp Wittrock | Sonntag, 27. September 2009

Spiegel TV Video anschauen: Wahlerfolg für Angela Merkel und Guido Westerwelle >>>

Moderate Islam Takes to the Airwaves
THE MEDIA LINE: A new channel is paving the way for a new generation of Islamic TV.

[Cairo, Egypt] The man on the television appears enraged, talking fast, yelling and demanding Muslims to follow the “right path of faith.” Not too far, at a nearby table, two young Egyptian girls, shrouded in their colorful hijabs – headscarves - watch the white clad sheikh speak. They turn to each other and their glances say it all: this is not what they are looking for in Islamic television.

The café, with its Islamic preachers blaring on most Fridays and often at other times during the week, have become more commonplace in an Egypt growing progressively more conservative by the day, but there are many who are fighting against this current, especially young veiled women.

Heba is a 22-year-old recent college graduate who studied media. She has worn the veil since she was 18-years-old, but these diatribes of elderly preachers is too much, she says, highlighting the growing gulf that exists in Egypt.

“I just don’t like how angry they sound and how judgmental they have become,” she told The Media Line, asking the waiter to change the channel. Her friend Sara nodded in agreement.

Both are part of the growing trend among 20-something Egyptian women looking for a more restrained approach to Islamic television. >>> Joseph Mayton | Monday, September 28, 2009

Neuer Koalitionsvertrag bis Ende Oktober: Deutsches Regierungsbündnis soll im Eiltempo stehen
NZZ ONLINE: Die Siegesparteien der deutschen Bundestagswahlen wollen rasch ein Regierungskonzept vorstellen. Sie geben sich einen Monat Zeit dafür. Die wichtigen Knackpunkte bei den Koalitionsverhandlungen dürften wohl die Kosten der Arbeitslosigkeit sowie die steuerlichen Massnahmen bilden.

Schon am Morgen nach der opulenten Siegesfeier der FDP und der Union wird auf dem Politparkett wieder fleissig gearbeitet. Zum Ausruhen bleibt definitiv keine Zeit, im Gegenteil: Schon Ende Oktober wollen sich die Liberalen und die Union auf einen neuen Koalitionsvertrag verständigen. Dies hat der FDP-Generalsekretär Dirk Niebel bereits am Sonntagabend gegenüber dem «Spiegel» verlauten lassen.

Deutsche Effizienz

So soll es denn auch keine Sondierungsgespräche geben. Man wolle vorwärts machen und direkte Gespräche über die Koalition führen, so der Parteisekretär weiter. Bereits heute sind Termine auf Vorstandsebne vorgesehen. Deutsche Effizienz eben. >>> hoh | Montag, 28. September 2009

Adolf Hitler Suicide Story Questioned after Tests Reveal Skull Is a Woman's
THE TELEGRAPH: Adolf Hitler's suicide in his Berlin bunker has been called into question after American researchers claimed that a bullet-punctured skull fragment long believed to belong to the Nazi dictator is, in fact, that of an unknown woman.

The four-inch skull fragment has a hole where a bullet reportedly passed through Hitler’s left temple when he shot himself and is kept in Russia’s federal archives along with what are said to be his jawbones. Together, they are all that is left of Hitler’s body, the charred remains of which Soviet forces first recovered in 1945. For years, the Russians have held up the artefacts as proof that Soviet troops found Hitler’s body in the ruins of Berlin and that he died on April 30 when he shot himself just after taking cyanide.

But a History Channel documentary programme broadcast in the US called Hitler’s Escape claims the skull fragment belongs to a woman under 40 and not Hitler, who was 56 when he died. It quotes Nick Bellantoni, an archaeologist and bone specialist who took DNA samples from the skull in Moscow and had them tested at the University of Connecticut. He and his colleagues are sceptical that the skull fragment could belong to Eva Braun, Hitler’s long-time companion, since she is thought to have committed suicide by cyanide rather than with a gun. >>> Andrew Osborn in Moscow | Monday, September 28, 2009

Exclude God at Your Peril, Pope Warns Czech Republic’s Non-believers
TIMES ONLINE: An estimated 120,000 church followers waited yesterday for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI at an airfield in the southern Czech city of Brno, the centre of the country’s Roman Catholic heartland.

Although the Vatican had said that it was hoping for as many as 200,000, it is expected to be the largest turnout of the Pope’s three-day trip to the overwhelmingly secular Czech Republic.

Speaking next to a 12m steel cross, the 82-year-old pontiff warned that modern societies excluded God at their peril. “History has demonstrated the absurdities to which man descends when he excludes God from the horizon of his choices and actions,” he said, adding that technical progress was not enough to “guarantee the moral welfare of society”. >>> Foreign Staff | Monday, September 28, 2009

Mandate for Change in Germany: Merkel's Center-Right Coalition Wins, Opening Door to Tax Cuts and Labor Revamp
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BERLIN -- A center-right alliance led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was set for victory in Germany's national elections on Sunday, opening the door to modest tax cuts and labor-market changes that could help strengthen the fragile recovery in Germany's crisis-battered economy.

Ms. Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union and its pro-business ally, the Free Democratic Party, were set to win a small majority in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, according to early results. The CDU, its Bavarian conservative sister-party, the Christian Social Union, and the FDP won 48.4% of the national vote on Sunday, according to projections by state broadcaster ARD.

"For corporate Germany, this is a good signal," said Thorsten Polleit, economist at Barclays Capital in Frankfurt. "The FDP, which will feel very confident now, and much of the CDU will want to bring down government spending in order to cut income taxes."

The parties are expected to form a new national government quickly, replacing the fractious bipartisan coalition between Ms. Merkel's CDU and the left-leaning Social Democratic Party that has ruled Germany since 2005.

For the U.S. and other German allies, the election result will bring continuity in German foreign policy, including on Afghanistan, where the FDP is expected to continue to support German troops' presence, while calling for an exit strategy in the medium term. Unlike the SPD, which has had a sometimes difficult relationship with the U.S., the FDP has long been a staunch proponent of Germany's trans-Atlantic partnership.

President Barack Obama called Ms. Merkel on Sunday to offer his congratulations, the White House said in a statement, adding: "The President and Chancellor Merkel agreed that with the election of a strong German government, our cooperation will further strengthen and deepen."

Ms. Merkel, a 55-year-old physicist who is Germany's first female chancellor and its first leader to grow up in the former East Germany, told her cheering supporters in Berlin Sunday night she wants to be "a chancellor for all Germans," an attempt to reassure voters that she would temper market-oriented changes with concern for social harmony. Ms. Merkel said that she would govern for "the workers as well as for the entrepreneurs." >>> Marcus Walker | Monday, September 28, 2009

On the German Election

Iran Test Fires Nuclear Missile Capable of Hitting Israel and Parts of Europe
TIMES ONLINE: Iran has fired one of the longest-range missiles in its arsenal as part of testing it began ahead of a confrontation with foreign powers over a previously undisclosed secret nuclear facility later this week.

Earlier today the Revolutionary Guard is reported to have successfully launched the Shahab-3 missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and has a range of up to 1,200 miles – which would put Israel, most Arab states and parts of Europe, including much of Turkey, within its range.

Iranian television broadcast footage of the Shahab-3 being fired from desert terrain.

Iran’s war games began yesterday after the revelations about the enrichment plant, at a military base near the holy city of Qom. It dramatically upped the stakes for the meeting in Geneva on Thursday between Iranian representatives and those of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. >>> Catherine Philp | Monday, September 28, 2009

What to Expect from Berlin after Angela Merkel’s Return to Power
TIMES ONLINE – Analysis: For the past four years conservatives and liberals have been quietly expressing fears that Ms Merkel was a Social Democrat in sheep’s clothing, or at least in a woollen trouser suit.

Now the Chancellor has a chance to prove otherwise. The result will be a subtle change of Germany’s position in Europe.

Fuse the election manifestos of the two parties — the Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats — into a single programme and you come up with a mainland European version of progressive conservatism: there is concern for social justice, a taste for financial regulation, but also a commitment to open markets, deregulation and (when market conditions permit) privatisation.

But while some of that may suggest an affinity with a possible David Cameron government, relations with the Tories are likely to remain frosty because the new German Government is firmly committed to the Lisbon treaty.

The new Berlin Administration will almost certainly see its main friend in Europe as Nicolas Sarkozy; the Social Democrats had some reservations about the French but these are not shared by the Free Democrats.

The main loser of the new government alignment could well be Turkey. The Social Democrats have been a champion of Turkish entry into the European Union for the past 11 years, first in alliance with the Greens, and latterly in Ms Merkel’s Grand Coalition.

Now the Social Democrats are in opposition and Ankara will be faced with sceptical governments in Paris, Berlin and Rome. >>> Roger Boyes | Monday, September 28, 2009

Sommet : Le G20 se pose en nouveau gouvernement mondial
LE TEMPS: Le groupe des pays les plus puissants du monde s’est accordé sur un encadrement de la finance et une réforme du FMI

Vendredi, les chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement réunis à Pittsburg (Pennsylvanie), ont «désigné» leur enceinte comme «le premier forum pour notre coopération économique». Exit le G8. Il laisse la place à une organisation plus vaste, représentant plus de 80% de la richesse de la planète, qui fait la part belle aux pays émergents.

Dans leur communiqué final, les Etats membres détaillent comment ils entendent se donner davantage de moyens pour renforcer cette coopération. Certaines de ces mesures restent vagues (sacro-sainte souveraineté des Etats oblige), très peu de sanctions ou de mesures contraignantes sont prévues pour convaincre les éventuels récalcitrants. Au final, les membres du G20 se sont octroyés à eux-mêmes la mission «d’agir ensemble pour générer une croissance globale forte, durable et équilibrée.» Ils s’en prennent notamment «au comportement téméraire et au manque de responsabilité» qui a amené à la crise financière actuelle. «Nous ne permettrons pas, assènent-ils, un retour aux pratiques bancaires ordinaires («banking as usual»).» >>> Luis Lema | Lundi 28 Septembre 2009

TV Union Plans BNP Question Time Protest
THE INDEPENDENT: The TV technicians' union today attacked the BBC's decision to invite BNP leader Nick Griffin on to Question Time and pledged to join a demonstration against the recording of the programme.

Bectu said it would support any of its members who refused to work on the programme, which will be transmitted on October 22.

General secretary Gerry Morrissey said: "We believe there should be no media coverage of the BNP and I have raised this issue with the director general, Mark Thompson. >>> Alan Jones, Press Association | Monday, September 28, 2009

Related – BBC – Viewpoint:
Who's afraid of the BNP? >>> | Monday, September 28, 2009

Dhimmitude Alert! More Balls from Ed Balls!
MAIL ONLINE: The Government department headed by schools secretary Ed Balls has lavished £3million on luxury office refurbishments including a massage room, it emerged last night.

A 'contemplation suite' and an area set aside for Muslim prayer have been installed as part of a major makeover of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Designer furniture was shipped over from Italy for the office refit, while black granite surface tops have been laid in the kitchen areas.

The most costly expense was a grand staircase made from glass and surgical steel. Its price tag is understood to have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A gym, four lifts, six meeting rooms with high-tech conference equipment and two cafes have plumped up the bill for the two-year project to £3m.

News of the makeover comes as Mr Balls prepares to cut £2billion from the country's schools budget, meaning jobs will be slashed across the education system. Ed Balls spends £3m on office makeover... including massage room and Muslim prayer area >>> Fay Schlesinger | Monday, September 28, 2009

Angela Merkel gouvernera avec les libéraux
LE FIGARO: Les conservateurs d'Angela Merkel, avec leurs alliés du FDP, ont remporté dimanche une majorité confortable de sièges, lors d'élections législatives marquées par l'effondrement des sociaux-démocrates.

Victoire nette et sans bavure pour Angela Merkel. Les électeurs allemands ont reconduit dimanche à la chancellerie la conservatrice Angela Merkel, pour un nouveau mandat de quatre ans à la tête de la coalition de centre-droit de son choix avec les libéraux. Les conservateurs (CDU/CSU) de Merkel, et leurs alliés libéraux du FDP ont remporté une majorité confortable des sièges, 332 sur les 622 que devrait compter le Parlement, selon les résultats officiels communiqués lundi à l'aube.

Les sociaux-démocrates (SPD), qui gouvernaient avec Merkel depuis quatre ans dans une «grande coalition» et dont le candidat à la chancellerie était le ministre des Affaires étrangères sortant Frank-Walter Steinmeier, 53 ans, enregistrent leur plus bas score historique, avec 23 % des voix. La chancelière venue de l'ex-RDA, âgée de 55 ans et immensément populaire, a annoncé elle-même une heure après la clôture du scrutin la formation de cette nouvelle coalition qu'elle appelait de ses voeux pour gouverner la première puissance économique européenne, frappée par une récession sans précédent.

«Nous pouvons ce soir célébrer la victoire. Nous avons réussi à obtenir une majorité solide, pour former un nouveau gouvernement de la CDU/CSU (les Unions conservatrices) et du FDP, et c'est bien», a-t-elle déclaré au quartier général de son parti à Berlin. «Je veux être la chancelière de tous les Allemands, afin d'améliorer la situation de notre pays», s'est-elle empressé d'ajouter. La CDU/CSU enregistre toutefois son plus mauvais score depuis 1949, avec 33,8% des voix. La participation atteint un niveau historiquement bas : 70,8% contre 77,7% il y a quatre ans. >>> Samuel Potier (lefigaro.fr) | Lundi 28 Septembre 2009

Sócrates Wins Second Term in Portugal
FINANCIAL TIMES: José Sócrates, Portugal’s Socialist prime minister, was re-elected to a second term in the general election on Sunday, but his centre-left party lost its overall majority in parliament.

Mr Sócrates is expected to form a minority government and seek support for a government programme and the 2010 budget with parties to both the left and right.

However, his failure to win a comfortable majority raised the prospect of political instability and a weak government that could fall before completing a four-year term.

Only two minority administrations have survived a full term since Portugal returned to democracy in 1974. Before Mr Sócrates’ election in May 2005, the country had three governments in three years.

The Socialists won 37 per cent of the vote, down from 45 per cent in the previous election in February 2005. The centre-right Social Democrats (PSD), the main opposition party, polled 29 per cent, roughly equal to their previous result.

The Socialists’ clear win was a significant personal victory for Mr Sócrates, 52, whose popularity had been damaged by economic recession, scandal and unpopular reforms. >>> Peter Wise in Lisbon | Sunday, September 27, 2009

Related:
Smoke ban PM lights up on plane >>> Graham Keeley, The Guardian | Friday, May 16, 2009