New Dark Age Alert! Cardinal Says Christian Europe Is to Blame for Islamisation
THE TELEGRAPH: A leading Catholic cardinal has said Europeans only have themselves to blame for allowing Islam to "conquer" the continent.

Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Archbishop of Prague. Photograph: The Telegraph
Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Archbishop of Prague, said Muslims were well placed to fill the spiritual void "created as Europeans systematically empty the Christian content of their lives".

"Europe will pay dear for having left its spiritual foundations and that this is the last period that will not continue for decades when it may still have a chance to do something about it," he said.

"The Muslims definitely have many reasons to be heading here. They also have a religious one – to bring the spiritual values of faith in God to the pagan environment of Europe, to its atheistic style of life.

"Unless the Christians wake up, life may be Islamised and Christianity will not have the strength to imprint its character on the life of people, not to say society."

The 77-year-old cardinal made his remarks in an interview to mark his retirement after spending 19 years as the leader of the Czech Church.

He said he did not blame Muslims for the crisis as Europeans had brought it upon themselves by exchanging their Christian culture for an aggressive secularism that embraced atheism.

"Europe has denied its Christian roots from which it has risen and which could give it the strength to fend off the danger that it will be conquered by Muslims, which is actually happening gradually," he said. >>> Simon Caldwell | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Buy Mark Alexander’s book: The Dawning of a New Dark Age >>>

Snow in Britain through the Years
Video: BBC archive film shots >>> | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

"On interdit la burqa, point barre!"
LE FIGARO: Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, président de Debout la République, a estimé aujourd'hui sur Radio Classique qu'il fallait "interdire la burqa, point barre", jugeant que le port du voile intégral était "une coutume barbare, une prison pour les femmes".



"L'affaire de la burqa, ce n'est pas une affaire religieuse. C'est une coutume barbare, une prison pour les femmes", a déclaré le député, en soulignant que la France avait interdit "le lancer de nain". >>> AFP | Mercredi 06 Janvier 2010

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Catholic Portugal Set to Legalise Gay Marriage
AFP: LISBON — Catholic Portugal, traditionally one of Europe's most socially conservative countries, is expected to approve the legalisation of gay marriage on Friday with a minimum of fuss.

With the governing Socialists and other left-wing parties enjoying a strong majority, the new law is likely to sail through the first reading debate and gain final approval before a visit by Pope Benedict XVI, due in Portugal in May.

In contrast to Spain, where the lead-up to the legalisation of gay marriage in 2005 brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets, the bill in Portugal has provoked only muted opposition even from the right.

While normally vocal on the role of marriage and the family in society, the Catholic Church has refused to mobilise on a subject which, according to Lisbon's Cardinal Patriarch Jose Policarpo, is "parliament's responsibility". >>> Anne Le Coz (AFP) | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Sudan Incites Against New Danish Movie
ARUTZ SHEVA: (IsraelNN.com) A new Danish film portraying the Arab Muslim genocide against Black Africans in Darfur is being compared by the Sudanese government to the anti-Islamist film Fitna and to cartoons of Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper in 2005. The publication of those cartoons of the founder of Islam led to worldwide rioting and ongoing violence, including an attempt this week to kill one of the cartoonists.

A spokesman for Sudan's foreign ministry called the movie, Hævnen ("The Revenge"; also titled Civilization in English) by Susanne Bier, "racist". The film "should be seen as a new extension of the notorious Fitna movie and the cartoons which insult the prophet Muhammad," according to Sudanese officials. >>> Nissan Ratzlav-Katz | Thursday, January 07, 2010

Germany's Westerwelle Embarks on Tour of Turkey, Gulf
AFP: BERLIN — Germany's foreign minister embarked Wednesday on a tour of Turkey and the Gulf to promote efforts to revive the Middle East peace process and weigh security risks emanating from Yemen and Iran.

Guido Westerwelle, who is head of the pro-business Free Democrats and vice-chancellor in Angela Merkel's centre-right government, flew to Ankara with a delegation including several executives scouting investment opportunities.

Westerwelle's spokesman said the five-day tour, which will also take in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, would focus on the Iranian nuclear programme, Afghanistan, and the threat posed by Al-Qaeda operatives based in Yemen.

"The issues will also include the situation in Middle East, the state of the peace process and how we can manage, together with our partners in the region, to bring about a new start in the Middle East peace process," Andreas Peschke said amid a swirl of regional diplomacy aimed at restarting talks.

Westerwelle was to join his counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu for dinner in the Turkish capital ahead of official meetings Thursday with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other government ministers.

Germany boasts a three-million-strong minority of Turkish origin -- the largest outside Turkey.

Merkel's conservatives are deeply sceptical about Ankara's bid to join the European Union and would prefer to grant Turkey a "privileged partnership" with the bloc. Westerwelle is seen as more supportive of its long-term accession. >>> | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Waafa Sultan: Islam Is Incompatible with Western Law

CAIR Debates Hate Vandalism of Quran with Chris Hitchens

Sicherheitsgipfel im Weißen Haus: Obama wird zum Anti-Terror-Präsidenten
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Er wollte mit der Kriegspolitik seines Vorgängers George W. Bush brechen - doch seit dem vereitelten Detroit-Anschlag ist klar: Auch für Barack Obama wird der Terrorkampf zum Kerngeschäft. Die Rede nach dem Sicherheitsgipfel zeigt, wie sehr die neue Rolle seinen Regierungsstil verändern wird.

Der Präsident lässt sich Zeit - und das macht sein Problem nur noch offensichtlicher. Im Situation Room des Weißen Hauses sitzt Barack Obama mit gut zwei Dutzend seiner wichtigsten Sicherheitsberater zusammen. Der FBI-Chef hält einen Vortrag, ebenso die Heimatschutzministerin und der Justizminister, fast zwei Stunden dauert das Treffen schon. Seit 30 Minuten wird Obama im Foyer zu einer kurzen Ansprache an die Nation erwartet. Die Kameras sind aufgebaut. Doch er kommt nicht.

Also schalten die TV-Sender nach Minneapolis um. Am dortigen Flughafen riegeln Polizisten gerade Gebäude ab, weil ein verdächtiges Gepäckstück gefunden wurde. Die Aufnahmen zeigen Absperrungen, aufgeregte Sicherheitsbeamte, ängstliche Passagiere - wie schon ein paar Stunden zuvor nach einer ähnlichen Warnung an einem kleinen Flughafen in Kalifornien.

Die Bilder machen klar: Auch Obama ist nun ein Terror-Präsident - knapp ein Jahr nach seinem Amtsantritt. Sein Sprecher Robert Gibbs spricht schon vom "War on Terror", als regiere noch George W. Bush.

Als dann die Sitzung endlich vorbei ist, tritt Obama vor die Kameras. Ein Helfer hat rasch noch den Redetext hingelegt. Der Präsident spricht ohne Teleprompter. Diesmal geht es ihm nicht um rhetorische Höhenflüge, sondern um klare Ansagen - zum gescheiterten Terroranschlag an Weihnachten, als dem Nigerianer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab um ein Haar ein Attentat auf den Northwest-Airlines-Flug nach Detroit gelungen wäre. "Wir müssen besser werden" >>> Von Gregor Peter Schmitz, Washington | Mittwoch, 06. Januar 2010

Le Pen souhaite un «référendum sur l'immigration»
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: FRANCE | Le président du Front national, Jean-Marie Le Pen, a prôné mercredi l'organisation d'un "référendum sur l'immigration", estimant que le "critère ethnique" était une composante de l'identité française.

"Sachant que l'immigration massive est l'instrument de son appauvrissement et de sa servitude future, c'est elle qui doit être le sujet d'un référendum, dont le résultat s'imposera de gré ou de force aux oligarques qui dirigent la France", a dit M. Le Pen.

"L'immigration massive pèse sur la vie française, sur ses finances, sur la sécurité, sur le chômage, sur l'école, sur tous les problèmes, de telle manière qu'il faut le résoudre sous peine d'être submergé", a-t-il affirmé, depuis le siège du parti à Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine).

En référence à la votation anti-minarets en Suisse, il a souhaité que les Français puissent "oser dire publiquement dans les urnes ce qu'ils murmurent tout bas que le Front national dit tout haut", voyant dans l'immigration le "problème principal de la France". >>> AFP | Mercredi 06 Janvier 2010

Nigerian Man Indicted in Plot to Blow Up Plane
THE NEW YORK TIMES: DETROIT -- A grand jury indicted a Nigerian man on Wednesday on charges accusing him of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day by trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.

The federal grand jury also charged Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab with attempted murder, possession of a firearm and other counts.

Authorities say Abdulmutallab, 23, was traveling to Detroit from Amsterdam when he tried to blow up the plane carrying nearly 300 people by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear.

The failed attack caused popping sounds and flames that passengers and crew rushed to extinguish.

Since then, airlines and the Transportation Security Administration have boosted security in airports in the U.S. and around the world. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

France Socialist Party Opposes Burka Ban
BBC: France's opposition Socialists have come out against a law banning the burka - even though they remain firmly opposed to the garment.

The announcement comes ahead of a parliamentary report on the issue that is due out later this month.

Last summer, French MPs held hearings on whether to ban the Muslim veil, which covers the body from head to toe.

President Nicolas Sarkozy had said the burka was "not welcome" in France, home to Europe's largest Muslim population.

Mr Sarkozy has left open the idea of introducing legislation to ban the burka.

While the Socialist Party opposes the wearing of the burka, it was "not favourable" to a legal ban, said party spokesman Benoit Hamon. >>> | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Lord Carey Calls for 'Reasonable Limit' on Migration
TIMES ONLINE: Lord Carey of Clifton has called for a "reasonable limit" to be imposed on the number of migrants entering Britain.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury said he was not calling for a ban on non-Christian immigrants settling in Britain, but he warned that if concerns about immigration were not addressed it could play into the hands of the British National Party.

"What I think we must call for is an understanding on the part of those who come into our country that they are coming into one which values parliamentary democracy, which is built upon our Christian heritage. They have got to understand our commitment to the English language and espouse it, and they must understand our history," he said in an interview with the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

Lord Carey said he was not arguing for an outright ban on new immigration but believed that there needed to be a "reasonable limit" on the numbers coming into the country. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

MAIL ONLINE: All immigrants should learn our Christian values: Former Archbishop of Canterbury's warning over population >>> James Slack | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

France’s Elite Colleges Rise Up in Revolt against Nicolas Sarkozy
TIMES ONLINE: The elite colleges that train France’s rulers and top managers were in open revolt against President Sarkozy’s Government yesterday, refusing orders to admit more students from working-class and immigrant backgrounds.

Cabinet ministers expressed shock at the defiant stance adopted by the heads of the grandes écoles, the establishments that educate the cream of the professions. Mr Sarkozy wants them to take 30 per cent of their entrants from low-income families. The colleges retort that to do that would mean dropping their rigorous standards.

The quarrel goes to the heart of Mr Sarkozy’s drive to revamp a once-proud higher-education system that is failing all but a lucky few, leaving France behind in world rankings. Most students are relegated to overcrowded, free-for-all universities with a 25 per cent drop-out rate, while resources are lavished on the privileged 14 per cent who reach a few dozen highly selective colleges, most of them from the higher social classes.

In recent decades France’s old meritocratic path to the top has declined. It has become harder for students from less-educated — and especially immigrant — families to pass the gruelling competitive entrance examinations for the écoles, which include the Polytechnique, the Centrale and the HEC business school. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Tuesday, January 06, 2010

Britain Threatens to Freeze Iceland Out of EU as Loan Payback Vetoed
TIMES ONLINE: Britain warned Iceland that it would be frozen out of the European Union after its President abruptly vetoed the repayment of a £3.6 billion loan.

The Treasury expected Reykjavik to rubberstamp the terms of repayment for the loan extended by Britain and the Netherlands at the height of the financial crisis. The loan meant that 400,000 savers with deposits in Icesave did not lose their money.

President Ólafur Grimsson stunned the world’s financial community by refusing to sign the repayment schedule into law. Instead, he said that the matter would be decided in a referendum among Iceland’s 243,000 voters.

The decision threatened to bring down the Icelandic Government, took its financial system to the brink of collapse and sparked the worst row with Britain since the Cod Wars of the 1970s. Fitch, the international rating agency, downgraded Iceland’s credit rating to junk status.

Lord Myners, the financial services minister, said that if the decision was allowed to stand Iceland would be frozen out of the international financial system and would not be able to join the European Union. >>> Suzy Jagger and Jill Sherman | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Prophet Muhammad Couldn’t Have Known about the Therapeutic Effects of Pork
MAIL ONLINE: The traditional English breakfast is not normally associated with good health.

But scientists have found that eating a plate of bacon and eggs could help pregnant women boost the intelligence of their unborn child.

Women are usually given a list of foods to avoid during pregnancy and it is well documented that a pregnant woman's diet can affect her unborn baby.

But the new study suggests that a chemical in pork products and eggs can help the baby's growing brain to develop. Bacon and eggs could help pregnant women boost their baby's intelligence >>> Anny Shaw | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

MAIL ONLINE: Milk from the Boob No Better Than Milk from the Bottle >>> Fiona Macrae | Thursday, January 07, 2010

Grande-Bretagne : la paix troublée de Wootton Bassett
L'imam Anjem Choudary (ici en octobre 2006, à Londres), chef du groupuscule Islam4UK, entend protester contre «l'assassinat sans pitié» de milliers de civils musulmans afghans par les troupes britanniques et américaines. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Des extrémistes musulmans menacent de défiler dans le village symbole des soldats tués en Afghanistan, à l'ouest de Londres.

Il est 13 h 55. Les cloches de l'église Saint Bartholomew sonnent le glas, un silence étrange tombe sur la rue principale de Wootton Bassett. Les commerçants ferment leurs boutiques et rejoignent les quelques centaines de personnes qui se sont rassemblées dans le froid glacial le long de la grand-rue du village. Comme à plus de 100 reprises depuis trois ans, les habitants de cette petite agglomération située dans la campagne du Wiltshire, à une centaine de kilomètres à l'ouest de Londres, viennent saluer le passage des corps de deux soldats britanniques morts en Afghanistan.

Mais cette fois-ci, la courte cérémonie se déroule dans un contexte très particulier : le groupuscule radical islamiste Islam4UK a prévu de venir manifester à Wootton Bassett avec de faux cercueils, pour protester contre «l'assassinat sans pitié» de milliers de civils musulmans afghans par les troupes britanniques et leurs alliés américains. Cette annonce faite par l'imam Anjem Choudary, ancien responsable du groupe musulman extrémiste al-Mujahiroon, dissous par les autorités britanniques, a provoqué une très vive émotion au Royaume-Uni, même si aucune date n'a encore été donné pour la manifestation. Une pétition lancée vendredi dernier sur le site Internet Facebook par une mère de famille anglaise a déjà recueilli plus de 350.000 signatures pour s'opposer à la venue des manifestants islamistes dans ce tranquille village qui est devenu le symbole du respect porté par la population aux soldats morts pour leur patrie. Le premier ministre, Gordon Brown, et le chef des conservateurs, David Cameron, ont dénoncé en des termes très sévères cette récupération d'un lieu cher aux familles des victimes. Le ministre de l'Intérieur, Alan Johnson, a expliqué qu'il envisageait d'interdire la manifestation si les autorités locales du Wiltshire lui en faisaient la demande. Réaction de dégoût >>> Cyrille Vanlerberghe, envoyé spécial du Figaro à Wootton Bassett | Mercredi 06 Janvier 2010

Les groupes anti-islamistes gagnent du terrain
LE FIGARO: Pour ces associations, le but est d'empêcher l'islam radical de devenir «une force politique en Europe» et de «récupérer» leurs centres-villes.

Stop à l'islamisation de l'Europe, Ligue de défense anglaise et galloise, Casuals United : ces organisations, aux noms souvent évocateurs, sont particulièrement actives. Créée en mars dernier, la Ligue de défense anglaise (EDL) est déjà à l'origine d'une dizaine de manifestations à Birmingham, Londres, Manchester ou Leeds contre «l'extrémisme et le terrorisme islamique». «Nous ne sommes pas des nazis ou des racistes, explique Tommy, un porte-parole du mouvement. Plusieurs centres-villes sont infestés d'extrémistes. Certaines femmes ne veulent plus aller faire leurs courses par peur de cette vingtaine d'hommes habillés en robes islamiques qui crient des slogans antibritanniques et qui appellent au djihad et à la haine raciale. Ce sont nos centres-villes et nous voulons les récupérer.» Même son de cloche du côté du groupe Stop à l'islamisation de l'Europe (SIOE), crée au Danemark en 2007 et qui est apparu cette année en Grande-Bretagne. «Notre but est d'empêcher l'islam radical de devenir une force politique en Europe», peut-on lire sur leur site Internet.

Pourtant, plusieurs organisations de lutte contre le racisme dénoncent les liens de ces groupuscules avec les partis d'extrême droite et le hooliganisme. «EDL et les autres sont des groupes racistes, un club d'alcooliques, qui n'a qu'un but : attaquer les Asiatiques», explique Unis contre le racisme. >>> Valentine Piedelièvre, à Londres | Mercredi 06 Janvier 2010

Verfolgt wegen ihrer Religion: 70.000 Christen in nordkoreanischen Arbeitslagern
WELT ONLINE: Weltweit werden Christen wegen ihres Glaubens unterdrückt, eingesperrt, angegriffen und gezielt ermordet. In Nordkorea ist die Verfolgung am schärfsten, gefolgt vom Iran, Saudi-Arabien und Somalia. Aber auch die Regierung des Inselparadieses Malediven geht besonders hart gegen die "Ungläubigen" vor.

In keinem Land der Welt werden Christen nach Angaben des internationalen Missions- und Hilfswerkes Open Doors so unerbittlich unterdrückt und verfolgt wie im kommunistischen Nordkorea. Auch der Iran, Saudi-Arabien, Afghanistan und der Jemen stehen auf dem neuen „Weltverfolgungsindex“ der Kirchenorganisation weit oben. Insgesamt seien rund 100 Millionen Christen in 50 Ländern unterschiedlich schwerer Verfolgung aufgrund ihres Glaubens ausgesetzt.

In acht der zehn Länder mit der schlimmsten Christenverfolgung sei der Islam die vorherrschende Religion, erklärte das 1955 in den Niederlanden gegründete überkonfessionelle Hilfswerk, das auch in Deutschland aktiv ist. Nordkorea führt die Liste der Christenverfolger bereits zum achten Mal an. Das dortige Regime gehe gegen Mitglieder von Untergrundgemeinden, denen nach Schätzungen etwa 200.000 Menschen angehören, „mit Verhaftungen, Arbeitslagerstrafen für die gesamte Familie eines entdeckten Christen oder Hinrichtungen vor“. 70.000 nordkoreanische Christen seien derzeit in Arbeitslagern gefangen. >>> dpa/jay | Mittwoch, 06. Januar 2010

Christmas Incident Was "Screw Up" - Obama Said
If Obama can’t speak better than this, he needs to go back to school! A “screw-up” indeed! This is mall-speak, and we expect better than mall-speak from the President of the United States of America. – © Mark

REUTERS: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama told his security chiefs on Tuesday that the botched Christmas Day plane bombing was the result of a screw up by U.S. intelligence and that the country had barely dodged disaster, according to a quotation released by the White House.

"This was a screw up that could have been disastrous," the president said during a meeting in the White House situation room, according to the White House media office. "We dodged a bullet but just barely. It was averted by brave individuals not because the system worked and that is not acceptable. While there will be a tendency for finger pointing, I will not tolerate it." [Source: Reuters] Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Bill Trott | Tuesday, January05, 2010

Pressure on Barack Obama to Reveal What Britain Said about Detroit Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama is under pressure to disclose what information MI5 passed to the American authorities about the Detroit bomber after Downing Street disclosed that a file had been "shared" with the CIA in 2008.

After initially denying that they had received British intelligence, senior American sources confirmed last night that they were "reviewing" what British information had been received on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The admission is embarrassing for the White House and threatens to provoke a rift with Gordon Brown. The conflicting briefing over the shared intelligence also suggests that the transatlantic relationship may have weakened in recent months.

Confirmation that Abdulmutallab's name was passed to the US in 2008 would be a major blow to Mr Obama, although it could also open up accusations that George W Bush's administration failed to collate intelligence properly.

The Prime Minister's spokesman disclosed on Monday that MI5 information had been shared with the Americans more than a year ago. Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, confirmed this in the House of Commons yesterday. The information is understood to have detailed Abdulmutallab's contacts with radical preachers but did not give warning that he might be a terrorist threat.

White House sources are thought to be furious over the British intervention, with Mr Obama already under pressure over intelligence failures concerning the thwarted attempt to blow up the US airliner. >>> Robert Winnett, Toby Harnden and Duncan Gardham | Tuesday, Januar 05, 2010

Passenger Profiling 'Could Be Used in Britain', Says Alan Johnson
So passenger profiling could be introduced. And about bloody time, too! – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Controversial passenger profiling techniques could be used in response to the attempted Detroit plane bombing, the Home Secretary has announced.

Home Secretary: Body scanners in three weeks
Alan Johnson said he was looking at whether ''additional targeted profiling'' was needed to beef up airport security.

Passengers could be searched according to their race, ethnic background, age and gender, a decision that is likely to face opposition from civil rights groups.

Announcing a series of new security measures, Mr Johnson warned passengers would face further delays as more were searched before they board planes.

As well as body scanners, which will be brought in at Heathrow by the end of this month, passengers will see more sniffer dogs.

By the end of the year all British airports will be required to have trace equipment in place to detect explosives in the air.

In a House of Commons statement, Mr Johnson accepted no one technology would be ''100% effective''.

He acknowledged there were civil liberties concerns about profiling, but said ministers also had an ''overriding obligation'' to protect lives.

''We are examining carefully whether additional targeted passenger profiling might help to enhance airport security,'' Mr Johnson said. >>> | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Burj Dubai: The New Pinnacle of Vanity
THE TELEGRAPH: For all the ambition of its construction, Dubai's new Khalifa Tower is a frightening, purposeless monument to the subprime era, says Stephen Bayley.

World’s new tallest building opens in Dubai
"Less is only more where more is no good." I wonder how many guests squinting into the Gulf's blue skies before the sublime, coruscating, vitreous surfaces of the blasphemously vertiginous Burj Dubai at yesterday's opening ceremony knew Frank Lloyd Wright's sardonic remark.

Wright was the Welsh-American architect – part bardic mystic, part technophile, complete megalomaniac – who proposed in 1956 the Illinois Sky City in Chicago. This was an outrageous, mile-high building: 528 floors, each with a height of 10 feet.

Wright's business was to shock and awe all mankind while doing what he could to épater la bourgeoisie at the same time. In 1956, there was neither the technological, nor indeed the financial, possibility of Wright's Sky City being built. It was a fantasy designed to impress. So, too, is Burj Dubai – or Burj Khalifa, the Khalifa Tower, as we must now call it, after it was renamed yesterday in honour of the president of the United Arab Emirates.

And Wright was its inspiration. Burj Khalifa is the work of the grand old Chicago architectural firm of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, world leaders in design of supertall buildings. SOM, as it is known, has drunk very deeply of Wright's intoxicating brew of techno-mysticism and physical daring. But, touchingly and significantly, Fazlur Khan, SOM's engineering genius whose experiments ultimately made Burj Khalifa possible, was born not in a big Western city but in Bhandarikandi, Shibchur Upazila near Dhaka.

Khan invented a new way of building tall. In the Middle Ages, masonry structures could not reach higher than the great European cathedrals: both the practicalities of hauling stone skywards with only wooden winding gear and wooden scaffolding, plus the structural requirement for unfeasibly thick walls to create stability, limited the masons' reach for Heaven.

Then, in the late 19th century, steel-framed buildings were developed in Chicago: giving the load-bearing job to structural metal made masonry redundant. Walls were there only to keep out the weather and the conventional skyscraper was born. >>> Stephen Bayley | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Copé veut interdire le voile intégral sur la voie publique

Iran 'Bars Co-operation with Foreign Groups'
BBC: Iran has banned its citizens from co-operating with foreign organisations it says are trying to destabilise the government, state media has reported.

The 60 blacklisted groups include human rights groups, Iranian opposition websites and media groups such as the BBC and US broadcasters.

Iran's deputy intelligence minister told Press TV the groups were involved in a "soft war" against the state.

The official said the groups had helped incite post-election unrest.

The BBC, Voice of America, the US National Defense University, the Soros Foundation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the East European Democratic Centre (EEDC) were among the organisations named.

Tehran has issues similar bans in the past and the terms of the ban itself remain unclear.

But Press TV quoted the official as saying that co-operating with the groups, signing contracts with them or receiving assistance from them was illegal.

He said it was also illegal for foreign parties to receive funding from foreign countries and warned citizens to avoid "any unusual relations" with foreign embassies and nationals. >>> | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Henryk M. Broder – After Attack on Danish Cartoonist: The West Is Choked by Fear
A Somalian man broke into the home of Kurt Westergaard on Friday armed with an ax and a knife. He is accused of the attempted murder of the Danish cartoonist. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL – Editorial: The attack on illustrator Kurt Westergaard wasn't the first attempt to carry out a deadly fatwa. When Muslims tried to murder Salman Rushdie 20 years ago, the protests among intellectuals were loud. Today, though, Western writers and thinkers would rather take cover than defend basic rights.

In 1988, Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" was published in its English-language original edition. Its publication led the Iranian state and its revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to issue a "fatwa" against Rushdie and offer a hefty bounty for his murder. This triggered several attacks on the novel's translators and publishers, including the murder of Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi. Millions of Muslims around the world who had never read a single line of the book, and who had never even heard the name Salman Rushdie before, wanted to see the death sentence against the author carried out -- and the sooner the better, so that the stained honor of the prophet could be washed clean again with Rushdie's blood.

In that atmosphere, no German publisher had the courage to publish Rushdie's book. This led a handful of famous German authors, led by Günter Grass, to take the initiative to ensure that Rushdie's novel could appear in Germany by founding a publishing house exclusively for that purpose. It was called Artikel 19, named after the paragraph in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights that guarantees the freedom of opinion. Dozens of publishing houses, organizations, journalists, politicians and other prominent members of German society were involved in the joint venture, which was the broadest coalition that had ever been formed in postwar German history.

Sympathy for the Hurt Feelings of Muslims

Seventeen years later, after the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published a dozen Muhammad cartoons on a single page, there were similar reactions in the Islamic world to those that had followed the publication of "The Satanic Verses." Millions of Muslims from London to Jakarta who had never seen the caricatures or even heard the name of the newspaper, took to the streets in protests against an insult to the prophet and demanded the appropriate punishment for the offenders: death. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden even went so far as to demand the cartoonists' extradition so that they could be condemned by an Islamic court.

This time, however, in contrast to the Rushdie case, hardly anyone has showed any solidarity with the threatened Danish cartoonists -- to the contrary. Grass, who had initiated the Artikel 19 campaign, expressed his understanding for the hurt feelings of the Muslims and the violent reactions that resulted. Grass described them as a "fundamentalist response to a fundamentalist act," in the process drawing a moral equivalence between the 12 cartoons and the death threats against the cartoonists. Grass also stated that: "We have lost the right to seek protection under the umbrella of freedom of expression." >>> Henryk M. Broder | Monday, January 04, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: ’Islam Needs a Sexual Revolution’ >>>

Dark Age Alert! Malawi Gay Wedding Couple Denied Bail for 'Own Protection'
THE GUARDIAN: Two men arrested after symbolic ceremony last month could face up to 14 years in jail

A court in Malawi today denied bail to two men arrested after becoming the first gay couple to marry in the conservative African country.

Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa told a packed court that he could not grant the couple bail, saying the ruling was for their own protection. "The public out there is angry with them," Usiwausiwa said.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza committed to marriage in a symbolic ceremony in southern Malawi last month, attracting hundreds of onlookers. They were arrested at the home they share and charged with unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency.

Government prosecutors had asked the court to detain the couple for a longer period to allow for more investigations.

Police said the two men had been taken for medical tests to prove whether they had sexual intercourse. The men's lawyer has pledged to resist any such tests. "Unless they give their consent to the medical examination, we will protest," Noel Supedi said.

The case has generated huge interest in Malawi. Suzanne Worrica, a British spectator in court, said: "The crowd atmosphere was again hostile, taunting Tiwonge and Steven, although some gay rights campaigners were present, who gave them money." >>> (with video) David Smith, Africa correspondent | Monday, January 04, 2010

Quintessential Englishmen: Yesterday, Today
Yesterday: Elegant Englishmen in tweeds. Photo: Google Images
Today: An English Muslim in the style of the prophet Muhammad, with long, bushy beard and clipped moustache. No trace of elegance here! Photo: Mail Online

Court Hears Muslims Calling British Soldiers ‘Rapists’, 'Cowards’ and ‘Scum’
MAIL ONLINE: Shocking films of a group of Muslim protestors shouting 'rapists', 'scum' and 'burn in hell' at soldiers on a homecoming parade were played to a court today.

The mob of Muslim anti-war protesters screamed hostile chants including 'baby killers and murderers all of you' and 'British army murderers' at 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment - which had lost 12 soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Holding signs made from cardboard boxes denouncing soldiers as 'Butchers of Basra' and 'war criminals', the group of men jeered 'murderers' as they marched past.

What should have been a joyful homecoming spilled over into violence as angry members of the public there to give the soldiers a heroes' welcome shouted insults back at the protestors, Luton Magistrates Court heard. >>> Lucy Ballinger and Mark Duell | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

MAIL ONLINE: Top officer says Muslim hate preacher 'DOES have right to march' as 400,000 join Facebook group against Wootton Bassett protest >>> Ian Drury | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Tories Downgrade Their Promises on Tax Breaks for Married Couples
TIMES ONLINE: The Tories have downgraded their promise of tax breaks to married couples, saying that due to the dire state of the public finances it will only be possible to offer a limited scheme.

Previously the policy had been a headline pledge for the Tories, with David Cameron expressing strong support for the idea as something that the party "will definitely do".

The scheme that the Tories have favoured up till now was to allow spouses to transfer their income tax personal allowances to one another, likely to be of particular benefit to higher income couples where one partner does not work.

But with Treasury figures suggesting that such a scheme would cost £4.9 billion to implement, the shadow chief secretary to the treasury has said that the Conservatives were likely to opt initially for a more limited scheme. >>> Jenny Booth | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

General Wojciech Jaruzelski. Photo: Google Images
Punish Those Communist Bastards!
THE TELEGRAPH: Poland's last communist leader and thousands of former secret service agents have had their pensions cut as part of a campaign to punish those who imposed the authoritarian regime upon the country.

From the start of the year, General Wojciech Jaruzelski will see his pension slashed following widespread anger in Poland that he and others involved in the suppression of dissidents and the democratic movement enjoyed lavish pensions.

The general, along with colleagues from the National Salvation Council, the body that crushed the Solidarity movement in 1981 through the imposition of martial law, have until now enjoyed pensions worth £1,833 a month.

But from January they will receive only £900, although some have said this, too, is excessive, given that a retired doctor can take home as little as £434 a month. Poland punishes former communist leaders by cutting pensions >>> Matthew Day in Warsaw | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Freed Guantánamo Inmates Are Heading for Yemen to Join al-Qaeda Fight
Said Ali al-Shihri, Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish (ID not confirmed); Abdullah Saleh Ali al Ajmi; and Abdullah Mahsud. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: At least a dozen former Guantánamo Bay inmates have rejoined al-Qaeda to fight in Yemen, The Times has learnt, amid growing concern over the ability of the country’s Government to accept almost 100 more former inmates from the detention centre.

The Obama Administration promised to close the Guantánamo facility by January 22, a deadline that it will be unable to meet. The 91 Yemeni prisoners in Guantánamo make up the largest national contingent among the 198 being held.

Six prisoners were returned to Yemen last month. After the Christmas Day bomb plot in Detroit, US officials are increasingly concerned that the country is becoming a hot-bed of terrorism. Eleven of the former inmates known to have rejoined al-Qaeda in Yemen were born in Saudi Arabia. The organisation merged its Saudi and Yemeni offshoots last year.

The country’s mountainous terrain, poverty and lawless tribal society make it, in the opinion of many analysts, a close match for Afghanistan as a new terrorist haven. >>> Tom Coghlan | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Québec: Be Aware of Islam

French Minister Defends National Identity Debate
THE TELEGRAPH: The French government has claimed its attempts to define "national identity" have overwhelming public support despite accusations it has exploited xenophobic fears.

President Nicolas Sarkozy launched a "great debate" in November, calling it a "noble" meditation on what it means to be French.

But now he is facing increasingly vocal calls – including from within his own camp – to scrap what critics say has become a dangerous slanging match over immigration and a perilous attempt to woo back the hard Right vote three months ahead of regional elections.

on [sic] Monday, the man Mr Sarkozy tasked with leading the debate trumpeted it as an "immense popular success".

Eric Besson, the minister of immigration and national identity insisted that the debate had not "veered off course" into caricature nor was it solely "focused on immigration and Islam".

He announced the results of a TNS Sofres poll he ordered suggesting that 80 per cent of French felt national identity was "weakening".

"The vast majority of contributions are perfectly respectful of our republican values," he said in a press conference.

Mr Besson was responding to claims that a website set up to encourage discussion has turned into an immigrant-bashing forum. About a fifth of the 50,000 entries had to be erased. "They're not publishable," Mr Sarkozy was reported to have complained.

The president called for calm in a televised New Year's address. He said: "Let us be able to debate without tearing ourselves apart, with insulting each other, without losing unity."

Disquiet has grown at what many regard as a threatening presence of Islam in France – home to around six million Muslims. This was compounded by Switzerland's recent vote to ban the building of minarets on mosques.

Right-wing MPs are now promoting a ban on the burka, while another law put before parliament last month would outlaw the waving of foreign flags at weddings in town halls. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, January 04, 2010

Shariah Finance

Women in Islam: The Stoning of Soraya M.

Shohreh Aghdashloo: 'The Stoning of Soraya M.' Interview

Do You Know What Sharia Law Is?

La Roumanie de Ceausescu ou l'espionnage généralisé
L’EXPRESS.fr: Après la chute de Ceausescu, il y a vingt ans, le pays a tardé à ouvrir les archives de la Securitate, l'ex-police politique. Aujourd'hui, chacun peut consulter son dossier. Et peut-être découvrir qu'il a été trahi par un voisin, un ami ou l'un des siens... >>> Par Delphine Saubaber, Marion Guyonvarch | Jeudi 17 Décembre 2009

L’EXPRESS.fr: Roumanie: Nicolae et Elena Ceausescu: un couple infernal et mégalomane >>> Par Marianne Rigaux (ESJ) | Lundi 28 Décembre 2009

L’EXPRESS.fr: Ceausescu: vie et mort d’un dictateur >>> | Vendredi 25 Décembre 2009

Unmarried Couples Caught in Malaysia Hotel Raids
BBC: Fifty-two unmarried couples could face charges of sexual misconduct and jail terms after being caught in hotel rooms by Malaysia's Islamic morality police.

Scores of officers conducted raids on budget hotels on New Year's Day in the western state of Selangor.

Those detained in the early hours of New Year's Day were mainly students and young factory workers.

The Muslim couples are expected to be charged with the offence of close proximity, or Khalwat. >>> Jennifer Pak, BBC News, Kuala Lumpur | Monday, January 04, 2010

The Lebanon: Fashion
BBC video: Peace brings 'rebirth' of Lebanese fashion design >>> | Monday, January 04, 2010

Johnson 'Will Back' Wootton Bassett Islamic March Ban
BBC: The home secretary has said he will back any request from police or local government to ban a radical Islamic group marching through Wootton Bassett.

Alan Johnson said he felt "revulsion" at the thought of Islam4UK's proposed march through the Wiltshire town.
Wootton Bassett has become famous for its repatriation ceremonies for fallen British service personnel.

Islam4UK says it wants to parade empty coffins through the town to draw attention to Afghan war casualties.

Mr Johnson said: "The idea that anyone would stage this kind of demonstration in Wootton Bassett fills me with revulsion.

"I find it particularly offensive that the town, which has acted in such a moving and dignified way in paying tribute to our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, should be targeted in this manner."

He added: "If the Wiltshire Police and local authority feel that a procession of this kind has the potential to cause public disorder and seek my consent to a banning order, then I would have no hesitation in supporting that request." >>> | Monday, January 04, 2010

New Councilman Hopes to Cultivate SLC Diversity
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: From small-town roots, Stan Penfold now pledges to be a progressive force.

All he really wanted to do was garden. Now, Stan Penfold is poised to sow the seeds of progressive policy in Salt Lake City.

It is quite a baptism for the city's newest councilman, a self-described unlikely politician, elected to lead the liberal Avenues and Capitol Hill areas.

But so too was growing up Mormon in Humboldt County, Calif., "the pot capital of the planet," Penfold smiles.

"I remember having to navigate that," he says, eating a fish platter at downtown's Oyster Bar. "I was this strait-laced kid around everybody that drank and smoked pot. The experience taught me it's sort of OK to be who you are."

That mantra has paid dividends throughout his life. It helped him comprehend the strange land of Utah when he moved here to practice landscape horticulture nearly 30 years ago.

And, as an openly gay man (thought to be the capital council's first), it helped him grow comfortable despite being immersed in the state's conservative culture.

"I discovered I kind of liked it here," says Penfold, the decade-long executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation who travels the world and always expected one day to return to California. "Nobody was more surprised than I was."

Now, after three decades of building a life, career and penchant for a growing community, the erstwhile gardener is ready to dig in to city politics. He replaces Eric Jergensen, a moderate who stepped down after eight years. Rather than being a lightning rod for gay rights -- "the city has done a remarkable job on the social-issue stuff," he says -- Penfold will focus on the grass-roots stuff -- improving quality of life where residents live.

"I want Salt Lake City government to see a city of neighborhoods," he says. "People function well when they are recognized." >>> Derek P. Jensen | Saturday, January 02, 2010

ADVOCATE.COM: Gay Man Joins Salt Lake City Council >>> Advocate.com Editors | Sunday, January 03, 2010

Obama Effigy Spotted in Jimmy Carter's Hometown

Pat Condell: Islamist Dickhead

Anjem Choudary on March for Shariah as a Solution for UK’s Problems

Justice on London's Streets, the Jewish Way
THE INDEPENDENT: With his dark-blue uniform, earpiece and walkie-talkie, Nochem Perlberger could pass for a police officer as he patrols the leafy streets of London’s Stamford Hill neighbourhood. Like an officer of the law, he responds to emergency calls, visits crime scenes and pursues suspects.

However, he is a member not of the constabulary but of the Stamford Hill Shomrim Rescue Patrol, a group of Orthodox Jewish men who, for the past two years, have been “policing” the streets of their community in Hackney.

Set up nearly two years ago, the group now has 22 patrolling members, a headquarters and even a 24-hour emergency number, staffed by six operators, which residents call to report crime. “Every house and child in the community knows this number off by heart,” said Mr Perlberger, one of the group’s committee members.

In the five months since the Stamford Hill Shomrim hotline was established, they have dealt with more than 2,000 calls including break-ins, thefts and muggings. On average, they identify three to five suspects a week and hand them over to the police. >>> Mark Hughes | Monday, January 04, 2010

Angst vor möglichem Terroranschlag in Sanaa: Botschaften der USA und Grossbritannien bleiben vorerst geschlossen
NZZ ONLINE: Die USA und Grossbritannien fürchten sich vor einem möglichen Terroranschlag in der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa. Mehrere Botschaften blieben am Montag geschlossen. Derweil kann Jemen einen Erfolg in der Terror-Bekämpfung vorweisen.

Die Gefahr eines Terroranschlags in Jemen ist dieser Tage besonders gross. Die Terrororganisation Kaida hat angekündigt, einen grösseren Anschlag auf die jemenitische Hauptstadt verüben zu wollen. Damit wollen die Extremisten die Bombardements der letzten Tage auf ihre Stellungen rächen. Kaida-Kämpfer getötet >>> hoh. | Montag, 04. Januar 2010

Wien: Paare schließen erste "Homo-Ehen"
Meine Herren! Bemühen Sie sich doch ein wenig bei der Auswahl Ihrer Hochzeitskleider! Hochzeitstag ist speziell! In Wien kann man gut einkaufen! – Mark. Bild: Die Presse
DIE PRESSE: Vier homosexuelle Paare haben zum frühestmöglichen Termin am Montag eine eingetragene Partnerschaft geschlossen. Frauen haben sich bisher noch keine angemeldet.

Am Montag haben in Österreich die ersten "Trauungen" von homosexuellen Paaren stattgefunden. Dank Feiertagen und Wochenende war es der erstmögliche Termin für die Schließung der neuen eingetragenen Partnerschaft.

Gleich vier Paare wagten in Wien den Schritt - wenn auch ohne mediale Öffentlichkeit. "Es war auch für mich ein sehr spannender und berührender Moment, weil ja österreichische Rechtsgeschichte geschrieben wurde", sagte die Chefin der für Standesämter zuständigen Magistratsabteilung 35, Beatrix Hornschall.

Alle vier Zeremonien im Margaretener Amtshaus liefen dabei eher sachlich ab: Keines der Paare wurde von Freunden oder Verwandten begleitet, und auch eine Zeremonie im Festsaal wurde nicht gewünscht, erklärte Hornschall. Alle Paare seien bereits sehr lange zusammen gewesen, eines bereits seit 50 Jahren. Alle kamen aus Inner-Gürtel-Bezirken. >>> APA | Montag, 04. Januar 2010

L'Iran lance un «ultimatum» aux Occidentaux
«La communauté internationale a juste un mois pour se décider» a déclaré, samedi, le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Manouchehr Mottaki (ici en décembre dernier). Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le pouvoir iranien menace « d'enrichir l'uranium à un niveau supérieur» d'ici à un mois. La France rejette ce qu'elle qualifie de «pirouette» de la part de Téhéran.

Menacé de nouvelles sanctions, l'Iran a donné, ce week-end, un «ultimatum» d'un mois aux grandes puissances pour qu'elles acceptent une contre-proposition à leur offre d'enrichir l'uranium à l'étranger, faute de quoi il poursuivra lui-même sa production. «La communauté internationale a juste un mois pour se décider» à accepter ou non les conditions de Téhéran, a déclaré, samedi, le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Manouchehr Mottaki, cité par la télévision d'État. Sinon, a-t-il prévenu, «Téhéran enrichira l'uranium à un niveau supérieur ». Dans une tentative de clarification, jugée ambiguë par les diplomates occidentaux, le porte-parole du ministère a indiqué dimanche que cette date limite résultait d'un «accord» passé il y a un mois avec l'Occident.

À l'origine de ce jeu de ping-pong compliqué, se trouve la fameuse offre présentée en octobre dernier par l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique (AIEA) pour tenter de régler l'imbroglio nucléaire qui oppose Téhéran à la communauté internationale. Cette proposition suggérait à l'Iran d'envoyer en Russie 70 % de ses stocks d'uranium faiblement enrichi (à 3,5 %) afin qu'ils y soient retraités à un peu moins de 20 %, pour être ensuite conditionnés en France et réexpédiés en Iran sous forme de combustible utilisable par le réacteur de recherche civil de Téhéran. Ne pas pénaliser l'opposition >>> Delphine Minoui - Correspondante du Figaro au Moyen-Orient | Lundi 04 Janvier 2010

États-Unis : Obama affaibli après l’attentat manqué
Barack Obama après sa première intervention à Hawaï au sujet de l’attentat manqué de Detroit. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Les républicains reviennent à la charge contre le président démocrate accusé d’avoir négligé la sécurité du pays. Par précaution, les Etats-Unis, aussitôt suivis par la Grande-Bretagne, ont annoncé dimanche la fermeture de leur ambassade au Yémen craignant l’imminence d’un attentat

Le jeune Nigérian de 23 ans Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab n’a peut-être pas réussi à activer les explosifs qu’il portait cousus dans ses sous-vêtements le jour de Noël. Mais sa charge explosive ne menaçait pas seulement les passagers du vol 253 entre Amsterdam et Detroit. La polémique sur la lutte contre le terrorisme ne cesse depuis lors d’enfler à Washington. Alors que les yeux sont déjà fixés sur l’échéance électorale de novembre, l’opposition républicaine entend tirer parti de cette rentrée politique pour prouver que la première année au pouvoir de Barack Obama n’a servi qu’à saper la sécurité des Etats-Unis.

De Hawaï, où il a passé ses vacances, Obama s’y est pris à trois reprises pour tenter de démontrer qu’il prenait la question au sérieux. Après avoir admis les «défaillances» du système de sécurité mis en place après le 11 septembre 2001, le président a fini par lier explicitement samedi la tentative d’attentat à Al-Qaida, et plus précisément à sa branche œuvrant dans la péninsule Arabique. Dimanche, les Etats-Unis, aussitôt suivis par la Grande-Bretagne, dévoilaient la fermeture de leur ambassade au Yémen craignant l’imminence d’un attentat. Peu auparavant, ils avaient annoncé qu’ils doubleraient le montant consacré à la lutte antiterroriste dans ce pays pour le porter à quelque 130 millions de dollars annuels. Graves lacunes >>> Luis Lema | Lundi 04 Janvier 2010

We Have Been Beaten in Jail, Say First Openly Gay Couple in Malawi
Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga performed a public engagement ceremony. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Since they became the first openly gay couple in Malawi to be engaged, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza have been arrested, put in prison and charged with offences that could lead to a 14-year jail sentence.

Between true love and gay martyrdom, however, is the brutal reality of life in a Malawi prison. Yesterday, in their first interview since being jailed, the pair claimed that they had been beaten in prison, and demanded to go to court to prove their innocence.

While Mr Chimbalanga, 20, who dresses as a woman, spoke defiantly of his love for the man he plans to marry, Mr Monjeza, 22, said that he was “drunk” when they met and was considering ending their engagement. The couple, who denied three charges of unnatural practices between males and gross indecency, performed a public engagement ceremony in front of 500 onlookers last weekend. They were arrested two days later.

With gay rights campaigners warning that the case marks a new wave of homophobia in Africa, the pair have been held since then at Chichiri prison in Blantyre, where the warders appear bemused by the level of hysteria surrounding their charges.

In an interview with The Times at the weekend, Mr Chimbalanga — visibly more at ease than Mr Monjeza, who appeared confused and disorientated — said: “I love my husband and laws should not prohibit love.” >>> Raphael Tenthani in Malawi and Valentine Low | Monday, January 04, 2010

More Balls from Ed Balls!
TIMES ONLINE: Labour will announce today that primary school children will be able to learn Mandarin and Arabic in a bid to keep up with other countries. Labour to offer Arabic and Mandarin lessons to primary pupils >>> Joanna Sugden | Monday, January 04, 2010

Barack Obama Is Vulnerable on Terror – And He Knows It
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama is playing politics over the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack and Republicans sense he is weak on the issue, writes Toby Harnden in Washington

Barack Obama said both human and systematic failures allowed the foiled Christmas Day attack on Northwest flight 253 to take place. Photograph: The Telegraph
In his weekly radio address yesterday, President Barack Obama patted himself on the back for having "refocused the fight - bringing to a responsible end the war in Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks".

He then told people to remember that "our adversaries are those who would attack our country, not our fellow Americans", before decrying "fear and cynicism" and "partisanship and division" - the code phrases for horrid Republicans used during his 2008 election campaign.

Complacency, faux moralising and partisan shots at Republicans. It was a neat summary of where Obama is going wrong after the Christmas Day debacle when the Nigerian knicker bomber managed to waltz onto a Detroit-bound flight.

For a man who campaigned denouncing the politicisation of national security under President George W Bush, it is worth noting how intensely political Obama's treatment of what might henceforth be known as Underpantsgate has been. >>> | Saturday, 02. January 2010

Stevie Wonder: I Was Made to Love Her

Anger at Threat of Islamist March in Wootton Bassett


Muslim Cleric Anjem Choudary Vows to Continue Wootton Bassett March
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim extremist Anjem Choudary has vowed to go ahead with a protest march through Wootton Bassett claiming those who honour the war dead are no different to those who support the 7/7 Tube bombers.

Anjem Choudary. Photograph: The Telegraph
The controversial cleric, who heads up Islam4UK, has organised a march of 500 people through the Wiltshire town, in memory of Muslims "murdered in the name of democracy and freedom".

Wootton Bassett has become the main focal point for the nation to show its respect to the troops killed in Afghanistan, with hundreds lining the streets each time a body is repatriated to nearby RAF Lyneham.

But Choudary said it was unacceptable to honour those killed in the conflict and he would march through the town with supporters to voice opposition at the gatherings.

Asked why he was against crowds honouring fallen British soldiers, he said: "The same could be said about the Germans fighting for Nazism in the Second World War. Those involved in 7/7 and 9/11 considered themselves to be soldiers. >>> Martin Evans | Sunday, January 03, 2010

MAIL ONLINE: 120,000 sign up to Facebook protest to stop Islamic extremist march through Wootton Bassett: More than 120,000 people had last night signed an internet petition protesting about plans by Islamic extremists to march through Wootton Bassett.

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary sparked outrage by saying his radical group Islam4UK would parade through the town renowned for honouring soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

The firebrand cleric said 500 of his supporters would carry 'symbolic coffins' in memory of the Muslim civilians ' murdered by merciless' coalition forces. >>> Ian Drury and Andy Dolan | Monday, January 04, 2010

Islam4UK Letter to the Families of British Soldiers (who have died or who are currently in Afghanistan) >>>

Islam for the UK (Islam4UK) >>>

Islam vs Democracy, Freedom and Secularism >>>

«ARBEIT MACHT FREI» : Auschwitz-Schild für britischen Nazi-Freund?
20MINUTES.ch: Hinter dem Diebstahl des Schriftzuges «Arbeit macht frei» vom Eingangstor der KZ-Gedenkstätte Auschwitz steckt angeblich ein wohlhabender britischer Nazi-Sympathisant.

Das Schild sei gestohlen worden, um es an einen wohlhabenden Sammler von Nazi-Erinnerungen in Grossbritannien zu verkaufen. Der Schriftzug sollte demnach über eine Gruppe schwedischer Rechtsextremisten weiter an den Sammler gehen, berichtet das britische Boulevardblatt «Sunday Mirror». >>> sda | Sonntag, 03. Januar 2010

Prison d'Evin : l'enfer de la section 209
Une cellule de la prison d'Evin, décorée à l'aide de portraits d'imams chiites, en juin 2006. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Dans la prison d'Evin, à Téhéran, les prisonniers de droit commun sont entassés dans des cellules collectives. Les détenus politiques échouent, eux, dans la fameuse section 209.

«L'Iran est devenu une prison. Evin est devenu une université !» Le slogan, répété à cor et à cri, lors de chaque manifestation iranienne, en dit long sur la répression en cours à Téhéran, à l'heure où de nombreux manifestants, intellectuels, étudiants, ténors du courant réformiste et journalistes s'entassent à Evin, un des plus importants centres de détention de la capitale iranienne. Combien sont-ils ? Les estimations varient de plusieurs centaines à plusieurs milliers, et selon la Campagne internationale pour les droits de l'homme en Iran, «plus de 1.000 personnes auraient été arrêtées pendant la nouvelle vague de l'Achoura» (en référence aux manifestations du week end).

Située sur les hauteurs de la ville, la prison d'Evin, dont la réputation n'est plus à faire, a été inaugurée en 1971, soit huit ans avant la révolution. Ironie du sort : un grand nombre de détenus actuels, à l'instar du défenseur des droits de l'homme Emadeddin Baghi, en sont familiers, pour y avoir déjà séjourné au temps du chah. En général, les prisonniers de droit commun sont répartis dans des cellules collectives. >>> Delphine Minoui, correspondante du Figaro au Moyen-Orient | Mercredi 30 Décembre 2009

Welt Online Kommentar: Westliche Demografie-Sorgen bei der Terrorabwehr
WELT ONLINE: Islamisten aus den Unruhestaaten Afghanistan, Jemen, Pakistan, Somalia haben in den vergangen Tagen die westliche Welt in Atem gehalten. Für den Kampf gegen den Terror sollen nun Hunderte Millionen weitere Euro bereitgestellt werden. Dabei hilft gegen den demografischen Nachteil des Westens kein Geld der Welt.

Die "New York Times" sieht den "Jemen im Chaos". Dort erhält Abdulmutallab aus Nigeria die Ausbildung für seinen Mordversuch an 289 Menschen, die an Weihnachten 2009 zwischen Amsterdam und Detroit unterwegs sind. Die Londoner "Times" beklagt den zeitgleich den "failed state" in Somalia, wo die Aufständischen hunderte von Kämpfern in den Jemen schicken wollen, um ihren dortigen Al-Qaida-Genossen gegen Amerika und die einheimische Regierung zu helfen. Die Pariser "Le Monde" erkennt am selben Tag ein "islamistisches Nest" in Pakistans Nordwesten, wo am 2. Januar 2010 bei einem Attentat auf ein Volleyballspiel fast 100 Menschen zerrissen werden.

Großbritanniens Premierminister Gordon Brown beruft daraufhin – parallel zum Afghanistan-Gipfel – eine Jemen-Konferenz zum 28. Januar 2010 nach London. Do[r]t sollen Hunderte Millionen Euro für die Lösung der "tiefer liegenden Probleme" (underlying causes, "Times") in all diesen Ländern bereitgestellt werden. Worin sie bestehen, wird allerdings nicht präzisiert.

Obwohl man gerne einmal etwas anderes vortragen würde, ist zu den ungenannten Problemen etwas sehr Simples in Erinnerung zu rufen. Das ganze Unruhequartett Afghanistan-Jemen-Pakistan-Somalia eliminiert auf die eine oder andere Weise überzählige junge Männer, kämpft also mit youth bulges, bei denen mindestens 30 Prozent der männlichen Bevölkerung 15 bis 29 Jahre alt ist. >>> Von Gunnar Heinsohn | Sonntag, 03. Januar 2010

Western Embassies Close in Yemen after 'Direct al-Qaeda Threat'
TIMES ONLINE: Three Western embassies closed in Yemen today over security concerns about possible militant attacks after the failed bombing of a US-bound plane on Christmas Day.

The US Embassy said it had received a threat by al-Qaeda, which US intelligence agencies believe has a growing presence in the impoverished Arab country.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman cited security reasons for its the closure of its embassy, but declined to say if any specific threat had been made.

Spain has also decided to close its embassy in Sanaa on Monday and Tuesday, the newspaper El Mundo said, quoting embassy sources.

In Washington, a senior aide to President Obama said that the United States had information that al-Qaeda was planning an attack against a target in Sanaa.

John Brennan, the White House counterterrorism chief, said there were “indications al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy".

A statement on the embassy’s website announcing the closure did not say how long it would remain closed.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said a decision would be taken later as to whether the British Embassy would reopen tomorrow.

The moves came after Mr Obama blamed a Yemen-based al-Qaeda affiliate for masterminding an attempt by a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound passenger plane. >>> | Sunday, January 03, 2010

The Met Office Gives Us the Warmist Weather
The Met Office forecast an unusually mild winter, but snow fell on Britain to usher in 2010. Photo: The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The UK's official weather forecasters are determined that winters should be mild, in the face of the frozen facts, says Christopher Booker

Shortly after midnight on Friday morning, as 200,000 merrymakers were departing from the Thames after enjoying a spectacular fireworks show in sub-zero temperatures, flakes of snow began to fall on Whitehall. In light of the Met Office's prediction that this would be a "mild" winter, with temperatures above average, it seemed an apt way to start the New Year. But hasn't the time come for us to stop treating the serial inaccuracy of Met Office forecasts as just a joke and see it for what it is – a national scandal?

The reason the Met Office so persistently gets its seasonal forecasts wrong is that it has been hi-jacked from the role for which we pay it nearly £200 million a year, to become one of the world's major propaganda engines for the belief in man-made global warming. Over the past three years, it has become a laughing stock for forecasts which are invariably wrong in the same direction.

The year 2007, it predicted, would be "the warmest ever" – just before global tempratures plunged by more than the entire net warming of the 20th century, Three years running it predicted warmer than average winters – as large parts of the northern hemisphere endured record cold and snowfalls. Last year's "barbecue summer" was the third time running that predictions of a summer drier and warmer than average prefaced weeks of rain and cold. Last week the Met Office was again predicting that 2010 will be the "warmest year" on record, while Europe and the US look to be facing further weeks of intense cold. >>> Christopher Booker | Saturday, January 02, 2010

TIMES ONLINE: Cold snap in Britain will continue 'for next 10 days' >>> | Sunday, January 03, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Snow paralyses Beijing as China braces for deep freeze: Snow storms paralysed Beijing on Sunday, leaving hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled, keeping schools closed, and bringing forecasts of some of the lowest temperatures in decades. >>> | Sunday, January 03, 2010

TIMES ONLINE: Transport paralysed in Asia's worst winter in 60 years >>> Richard Lloyd Parry | Monday, January 04, 2010

Watch BBC video: Severe winter weather over Europe >>> | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Britain braced for heaviest snowfall in 50-years: The heaviest snowfall in almost 50 years is hitting parts of Britain as Arctic weather brought nationwide chaos. >>> Martin Evans | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Panic Room Saved Artist Kurt Westergaard from Islamist Assassin
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Just when Denmark thought the worst was over, Islamic fury has come back to haunt it with an assassination attempt on the artist whose cartoon of the prophet Muhammad as a suicide bomber had an explosive impact four years ago on the Muslim world.

An axe-wielding Somali extremist broke into the home of Kurt Westergaard on Friday night as the 75-year-old cartoonist was looking after Stephanie, his five-year-old granddaughter.

Westergaard, whose little ink drawing of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban sparked riots throughout the Middle East in 2006, has received numerous death threats. He pressed an alarm button to summon police when the attacker entered the house in Aarhus, Denmark’s second city, by breaking a window.

He did not have time to collect the child from the living room before locking himself into a “panic room”, a specially fortified bathroom. He said the assailant had shouted “swear words, really crude words” and shrieked about “blood” and “revenge”, as he smashed the axe in vain against the bathroom door. >>> Matthew Campbell | Sunday, January 03, 2010

Looking Back on 2009 – Memorable Moments: Who Could Ever Forget Jill and Kevin’s Big Day?