Tuesday, August 03, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: A plan to build a mosque and a Muslim community centre within two blocks of Ground Zero cleared a major hurdle today amid an intensifying groundswell of opposition from rightwing pundits and politicians.
The $100m project would see a 13-storey centre, replete with prayer space, swimming pool and restaurant, rise in Park Place, just north of the World Trade Centre where al-Qaida terrorists struck on 11 September 2001.
Opponents turned to the Landmarks Commission of New York City, that has the power to order the preservation of historic buildings, in the hope that it would put a stop to the plans by blocking the demolition of the existing building on the site.
Today the commission unanimously declined to preserve the building, an 1850s Italianate structure that was damaged on 9/11 and has been disused ever since. It said there was nothing sufficiently distinguished about its design that earned it landmark status.
The decision removes an important possible barrier to the plans going ahead, though critics have vowed to continue their fight. A group of protesters were present at the commission vote, including one man carrying a banner that said: "No 9/11 victory mosque". >>> Ed Pilkington in New York | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
* Are Americans really going to be that weak and subservient? This is quite unbelievable. It would have been totally unimaginable in years gone by. If they allow this mosque to go ahead, they will deserve the Islamisation of their country. They will have earned it! – © Mark
FINANCIAL TIMES: ‘Ground Zero’ mosque moves forward: Months of rising rhetoric about religious freedom came to a head on Tuesday when a city commission voted that a contentious plan to build a mosque two blocks from “Ground Zero” could move forward. >>> Alan Rappeport in New York | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
SKY NEWS: 'Ground Zero Mosque' Set To Go Ahead >>> Hannah Thomas-Peter, in New York | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
BBC: Attempt to block 'Ground Zero mosque' fails: An attempt to stop a plan for a mosque near New York's Ground Zero has failed after the site was denied landmark status. >>> | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Ground Zero mosque and Muslim community centre wins approval: Controversial plans to build a Muslim community centre and mosque near Ground Zero can go ahead after a conservation agency cleared the way on Tuesday for the demolition of the existing building on the site. >>> Tom Leonard in New York | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Une mosquée sera construite à deux pas de Ground Zero : POLÉMIQUE | Une commission de la ville de New York chargée de la préservation du patrimoine a levé mardi un obstacle majeur à la construction d’une mosquée près de Ground Zero, en retirant un bâtiment de la liste des monuments historiques. >>> AFP | Mardi 03 Août 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Moschee am Ground Zero darf gebaut werden >>> sda/dpa | Dienstag, 03. August 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: After a protracted battle that set off a national debate over freedom of religion, a Muslim center and mosque to be built two blocks from ground zero surmounted a final hurdle on Tuesday.
The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 9 to 0 against granting historic protection to the building at 45-47 Park Place in Lower Manhattan, where the $100 million center would be built.
That decision clears the way for the construction of Park51, a tower of as many as 15 stories that will house a mosque, a 500-seat auditorium, and a pool. Its leaders say it will be modeled on the Y.M.C.A. and Jewish Community Center in Manhattan.
The vote on Tuesday was free of much of the vitriol that had been part of previous hearings. One by one, members of the commission debated the aesthetic significance of the building, designed in the Italian Renaissance Palazzo style by an unknown architect.
Later in the day, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg*, who has forcefully defended the planned mosque, praised the landmarks commission’s vote. >>> Javier C. Hernandez | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
*The arrogance of Bloomberg is astonishing! Does this man really deserve the position he holds? – © Mark
THE GUARDIAN: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims the promotion and teaching of the artform is not compatible with country's sacred regime
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is "not compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.
In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."
Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," he said.
Unlike other clerics in Iran, whose religious rulings are practised by their own followers, Khamenei's views are interpreted as administrative orders for the whole country, which must be obeyed by the government. Last month Khamenei issued a controversial fatwa in which he likened his leadership to that of the Prophet Muhammad and obliged all Iranians to obey his orders. >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Monday, August 02, 2010
TORONTO SUN: OTTAWA - Canada should ban burkas in public, according to more than half of the people polled exclusively for QMI Agency.
The Leger Marketing online poll found 54% of people surveyed said the government should follow France's lead and not allow women to wear burkas in public for safety and transparency reasons.
Only 20% of respondents said Canada shouldn't consider a ban because it's an issue of freedom of religion and freedom of expression, and 15% said it didn't affect them either way.
Older Canadians were more likely to agree with a ban, with 71% of those 65 years and older choosing that option. Only 40% of Canadians 18-34 years old said burkas should be banned.
Leger Marketing vice-president Dave Scholz said the poll surprised staff at the research firm.
"This is Canada -- we don't ban anything," * he said. >>> Laura Payton, QMI Agency Parliamentary Bureau | Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Yes, you do, Sir! You ban smoking for a start! Check this out!
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – BENEDICT BROGAN: Pakistan’s anger at David Cameron and his remarks about terrorism are getting great play ahead of president Asif Ali Zardari’s visit. The Telegraph details today the real purpose of his appearance in Britain, namely to promote the political interests of his Pakistan People’s Party and his son Bilawal, who is being lined up to succeed him. There’s a big rally in Birmingham on Saturday (sorry, no cameras apparently). Which helps to explain why the visit wasn’t cancelled as some demanded: the dinner at Chequers on Friday was always incidental. Continue reading and comment >>> Benedict Brogan | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Now that David Cameron has been so frank with the Pakistanis, perhaps he should think about being as frank with the Saudis, too. Because the Saudis also have a Janus face: On the one hand they are supposed to be our partners in the ‘war on terror’, but at the same time they are funding the growth of Salafism in the West, and thereby undermining the stability of our Judeo-Christian civilization. The Saudis also quietly fund the Jihad against us. So come on Mr. Cameron! You like the truth; so come out with it: The whole truth, and nothing but the truth. – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Doctors for Nicolas Sarkozy have given the 55-year-old leader a clean bill of health a year after he collapsed while jogging.
A battery of exams, including bloodwork and cardiovascular tests, all proved normal, the French President’s medical service said. It added that the president had requested to undergo the tests.
His collapse a year ago was seen as a wake-up call over the president’s intense, high-octane lifestyle. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Official says 'humane and emotional' Brazilian president may not have all facts in Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case
Iran signalled today that it was likely to reject the Brazilian president's offer to give refuge to an Iranian woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning.
The case of 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani triggered an international outcry that prompted Iran to at least temporarily withdraw the stoning sentence. Ashtiani, who has two children, could still be hanged.
Ramin Mehmanparast, a foreign ministry spokesman, said: "A far as we know, [the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula] Da Silva is a very humane and emotional person who probably has not received enough information about the case."
Further information would be provided to the president to clarify the situation about "an individual who is a convicted offender", he added. Iran says Ashtiani has also been convicted of murder. >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
LE TEMPS: PARIS, Le président pakistanais Asif Ali Zardari a averti mardi que la coalition était "en train de perdre la guerre" en Afghanistan et rejeté les critiques du Premier ministre britannique David Cameron sur un double jeu d'Islamabad avec les talibans.
"La communauté internationale, à laquelle appartient le Pakistan, est en train de perdre la guerre contre les talibans. Et ce, avant tout, parce que nous avons perdu la bataille de la conquête des coeurs et des esprits", a déclaré au quotidien Le Monde M. Zardari qui achève mardi une visite en France avant de se rendre à Londres.
Estimant cependant que "la communauté internationale n'acceptera jamais de voir les talibans diriger à nouveau" l'Afghanistan, le chef de l'Etat pakistanais juge que les rebelles "n'ont aucune chance de reprendre le pouvoir" même si "leur emprise progresse".
Alors que des documents confidentiels de l'armée américaine, diffusés par le site internet Wikileaks, font état de liens entre le Pakistan et les talibans, M. Zardari juge "absurde" l'idée d'un double jeu de son pays.
"Le Pakistan et sa population sont victimes des terroristes. Nous ne faisons pas que défendre nos frontières, nous luttons contre la terreur et ceux qui la propagent", a-t-il affirmé.
Les zones tribales du Nord-Ouest, frontalières avec l'Afghanistan et bastion des talibans pakistanais, sont le sanctuaire d'Al-Qaïda et la base arrière des talibans afghans.
"Il n'y a pas de bons talibans avec qui on pourrait parler et d'autres, mauvais, qu'il faudrait combattre", ajoute-t-il, même s'il "respecte le choix" du président afghan Hamid Karzaï "d'engager son pays dans un processus de réconciliation avec les insurgés disposés à accepter le dialogue". >>> AFP | Mardi 03 Août 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan president: coalition forces 'losing war against Taliban in Afghanistan' : Coalition forces are “losing the war” against the Taliban in Afghanistan, Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan, claimed ahead of his visit to Britain. >>> Andrew Hough, Duncan Gardham, John Bingham | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Reagan, the son of former American president Ronald Reagan, is launching “the very first conservative email provider”.
Mr Reagan says that popular email providers such as Hotmail, Google, Yahoo! and Apple support leftwing causes and are “hurting” America. In a message on his website he said: “People who believe in true Reagan Conservative Values are unwittingly supporting the Obama, Pelosi and Reid liberal agenda!”
Those who sign up for the Reagan email service, which costs $34.95 per year, will receive an email address that ends with @reagan.com and early subscribers will also get a DVD of Ronald Reagan’s 1987 “tear down this wall speech”[.] >>> Shane Richmond, Head of Technology (Editorial) | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Der Monsunregen in Pakistan dauert an, und die sich talwärts wälzenden Wassermassen überfluten tiefer liegende Regionen. Im Überschwemmungsgebiet mangelt es an Trinkwasser und Nahrungsmitteln. Zehntausende sind obdachlos, Seuchen drohen.
Die Hochwasserkatastrophe in Pakistan weitet sich aus. Der Monsunregen dauert an, und die Wassermassen aus den nordwestlichen Bergregionen erreichen die tiefer liegenden Gebiete. Sie überfluten immer neue Dörfer entlang der Flussufer; nach einem Bericht des Fernsehsenders Geo News sind es schon über 200. Nördlich von Peshawar haben die Behörden die Evakuation der Bevölkerung angeordnet. Betroffen ist auch bereits die Provinz Punjab mit ihren landwirtschaftlichen Grossbetrieben. Auch für die Millionenstadt Hyderabad wurde vorsorglich schon eine offizielle Hochwasserwarnung ausgegeben.
Immerhin, in den von den Überschwemmungen bisher am meisten betroffenen Gebieten geht das Wasser nach offiziellen Angaben nun zurück. Die Behörden führen Erkundungsflüge durch. «Ganze Dörfer sind weggeschwemmt, Tiere sind ertrunken und Kornspeicher weggeschwemmt. Die Zerstörung ist massiv und vernichtend», lautet die Bilanz von Latifur Rehman, einem Pressesprecher der Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Peshawar laut «Regional Times». >>> Andres Wysling | Dienstag, 03. August 2010
Monday, August 02, 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: CANICULE EN RUSSIE | Le président russe élargit aussi la possibilité de recourir aux forces armées pour lutter contre les flammes.
Le président russe Dmitri Medvedev a décrété lundi l’état d’urgence dans sept régions de Russie en raison des incendies de forêt et de tourbe qui y font rage, ont rapporté les agences russes. Ce texte permet de limiter l’accès aux zones où l’activité humaine pourrait provoquer de nouveaux départs de feu. >>> ATS/AFP | Lundi 02 Août 2010
Liens en relation avec l’article ice et ici
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has offered to stay away from the campaign trail for the US mid-term elections amid a growing realisation that he may be a liability for the Democrats.
The president is understood to have told senior Democrats during a private meeting at the White House that they “may not want me” to campaign in their areas during the next three months.
During a visit by Mr Obama to Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, the Democrat candidate for governor was “not available” to meet the president and campaigned elsewhere in the state. The situation highlights the dramatic slump in Mr Obama’s fortunes.
For the past two elections, he has been the Democrat’s main asset with other candidates desperate for him to campaign in their areas.
However, his approval ratings are now below 50 per cent and a growing number of Americans are dissatisfied with his handling of the economy.
The Republican party - expected to win a majority in the US Congress this year - are attempting to turn the mid-term election in to a referendum on Mr Obama.
Over the weekend, Mr Obama addressed his declining popularity in an interview, saying that his fortunes would not improve until unemployment began to fall. He said that an assessment of his success was currently “incomplete”. >>> Robert Winnett in Washington | Monday, August 02, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Two Islamist militants have been found guilty of plotting to bomb New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.
Russell Defreitas, 67, a US citizen born in Guyana, and Abdul Kadir, 58, of Guyana conspired to blow up buildings, fuel tanks and pipelines at the airport in the New York City borough of Queens. The men, who were arrested in June 2007, face up to life in prison.
Defreitas, who had worked at the airport, provided knowledge of its facilities and layout, US prosecutors said, while Kadir, an engineer, helped with technical aspects such as how to blow up the buried fuel pipelines.
Defense attorneys for the men portrayed them as all bluster and no substance. Prosecutors said Defreitas and Kadir did more than just talk and “took concrete steps to make this plan a reality.”
Officials have said the plot was nowhere near being operational when the men were arrested.
This was the first case involving a plot against New York to go before a local jury since 2006. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Sieben Wochen nach den Wahlen in den Niederlanden zeichnet sich eine rechte Minderheitsregierung unter Tolerierung der Partei des Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders ab.
In den Niederlanden wird der Islamkritiker Geert Wilders einer rechten Minderheitsregierung die Mehrheit im Parlament sichern. Sieben Wochen nach den Wahlen teilten die liberale VVD und die Christdemokraten CDA am Freitagabend in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung in Den Haag mit, es sei vereinbart worden, dass Wilders Partei für Freiheit (PVV) eine Regierung der beiden Parteien unterstützen und ihr bei Abstimmungen die nötige Mehrheit verschaffen werde. Die PVV soll kein Ministeramt erhalten, berichtete die niederländische Nachrichtenagentur ANP.
Zuvor waren Verhandlungen zur Bildung einer Koalition aus Liberalen, Christdemokraten und der antiislamischen Partei Wilders gescheitert. Eine Mitte-Rechtskoalition von VVD und der CDA käme mit Wilders PVV auf 76 Mandate und hätte damit nur eine hauchdünne Mehrheit. Es gebe zwar Meinungsunterschiede, zum Beispiel über den „Charakter des Islam“, aber die drei Parteien hätten das Ziel, die Niederlande „stärker, sicher und wohlhabender“ zu machen, heißt es in der Erklärung. „Es gibt vieles, was die Parteien verbindet.“ >>> dpa | Samstag, 31. Juli 2010
LIBÉRATION.fr: L'aide commence à affluer dans le nord-ouest du pays, principale région touchée par les pluies diluviennes. Alors que certains villages inondés restent toujours inaccessibles, le dernier bilan des autorités fait état de 1200 morts.
LE POINT: Le président pakistanais Asif Ali Zardari a estimé lundi que la France considérait le Pakistan comme "un partenaire responsable", à l'issue d'un entretien avec son homologue Nicolas Sarkozy. "La France considère le Pakistan comme un partenaire responsable", a assuré Asif Ali Zardari, s'exprimant devant des journalistes au palais de l'Élysée. >>> AFP | Lundi 02 Août 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Alarm sounds over rise of extreme groups such as Tsagaan Khass who respect Hitler and reject foreign influence
Their right hands rise to black-clad chests and flash out in salute to their nation: "Sieg heil!" They praise Hitler's devotion to ethnic purity.
But with their high cheekbones, dark eyes and brown skin, they are hardly the Third Reich's Aryan ideal. A new strain of Nazism has found an unlikely home: Mongolia.
Once again, ultra-nationalists have emerged from an impoverished economy and turned upon outsiders. This time the main targets come from China, the rising power to the south.
Groups such as Tsagaan Khass, or White Swastika, portray themselves as patriots standing up for ordinary citizens in the face of foreign crime, rampant inequality, political indifference and corruption.
But critics say they scapegoat and attack the innocent. The US state department has warned travellers of increased assaults on inter-racial couples in recent years – including organised violence by ultra-nationalist groups.
Dayar Mongol threatened to shave the heads of women who sleep with Chinese men. Three years ago, the leader of Blue Mongol was convicted of murdering his daughter's boyfriend, reportedly because the young man had studied in China.
Though Tsagaan Khass leaders say they do not support violence, they are self-proclaimed Nazis. "Adolf Hitler was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity," said the 41-year-old co-founder, who calls himself Big Brother.
"We don't agree with his extremism and starting the second world war. We are against all those killings, but we support his ideology. We support nationalism rather than fascism." >>> Tania Branigan in Ulan Bator | Monday, August 02, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Wearing a burka does not prevent Muslim women ‘engaging in everyday life’ in Britain, the Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi claimed today.
In comments that will reignite the row about the full face veil, Baroness Warsi defended the right of Muslim women to ‘choose’ to wear the burka.
Backbench Tory MPs have launched a bid to ban the wearing of the burka in public.
Critics claim the burka is a symbol of oppression, with some Muslim women ordered to wear the full face veil by their husbands.
But Lady Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in the Cabinet, yesterday launched a passionate defence of the burka. She suggested that many Muslim women choose to wear the veil of their own free will.Lady Warsi, who was named last year as Britain’s most powerful Muslim woman, said: ‘Just because a woman wears the burka, it doesn’t mean she can’t engage in everyday life.
‘Why should we tell women what to wear? What it boils down to is choice. If women don’t have a choice over what to wear then they are oppressed.
‘But if a woman has a choice, and she chooses to wear whatever she chooses to wear then she’s not oppressed is she? She’s choosing what she wants.’
Critics claim that the burka alienates Muslim women from the rest of society. But Lady Warsi said the burka did not act as a barrier in itself.
She added: ‘There are women who wear the burka who run extremely successful businesses – internet businesses, which don’t actually require you to be there face to face.’
Lady Warsi’s intervention is the latest bid by the coalition Government to close down debate about the burka. Tory party chairman says Muslim women SHOULD be allowed to wear the Burka >>> Jason Groves | Monday, August 02, 2010
ZEIT ONLINE: Neue Enthüllungen um den verstorbenen Rechtspopulisten Haider: Er soll über Geheimkonten in Liechtenstein Millionen verschoben haben. Geld kam angeblich auch aus Libyen.
"Das dreckige Dutzend": So fasst das österreichische Nachrichtenmagazin profil die neuen Enthüllungen über den verstorbenen Rechtspopulisten und früheren Kärntner Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider zusammen. Es geht um Geld "aus dunklen Kanälen", um ein "dichtes Netz aus Treuhandkonstruktionen", das Staatsanwälte in drei Ländern beschäftigt. Haider soll in Liechtenstein mehr als ein Dutzend Briefkastenfirmen unterhalten und über diese Geheimkonten rund 45 Millionen Euro am Fiskus vorbei geschleust haben.
Wie das Magazin berichtet, stießen Sonderermittler aus Österreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz auf die Konten, als sie in zwei anderen Fällen gegen Haider ermittelt hatten: den Kauf der Hypo Group Alpe Adria Bank (HGAA) durch die deutsche BayernLB im Jahr 2007 sowie die Privatisierung der österreichischen Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Buwog im Jahr 2004. Insgesamt seien 46 von Treuhändern eingerichtete Briefkastengesellschaften gefunden worden, von denen ein Dutzend Haider zugerechnet werden.
Von den einst 45 Millionen seien inzwischen aber nur noch rund fünf Millionen Euro übrig. Der Rest wurde dem Magazin zufolge bereits vor Jahren verspekuliert. Vieles deute darauf hin, dass die Mittel weder der Freiheitlichen Partei (FPÖ) noch dem Bündnis Zukunft Österreich (BZÖ), sondern ausschließlich Haider zur Verfügung gestanden hätten. Schon als der Politiker im Jahr 2000 die Führung der FPÖ abgab, sei die vermeintlich prall gefüllte Parteikasse bis auf die staatliche Parteienfinanzierung leer gewesen. >>> Zeit online, dpa, Reuters, AFP | Montag, 02. August 2010
Verbunden: Das dreckige Dutzend >>> Von Michael Nikbakhsh und Ulla Schmid | Samstag, 31. Juli 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: An Islamic reality TV show that made its contestants counsel promiscuous teenagers and bury corpses has named a mosque prayer leader as Malaysia's top role model for young Muslims.
Producers voiced hopes yesterday of launching similar versions of Imam Muda, or "Young Leader", in other Muslim-majority countries after the Malaysian show's first season became the most-watched programme to ever air on the Islamic channel of the Astro pay-TV network.
Muhammad Asyraf Ridzuan, 26, beat Hizbur Rahman Omar Zuhdi, an Islamic schoolteacher, to win the competition late on Friday in an event broadcast nationwide from an auditorium packed with spectators who had secured the highly coveted tickets. It was the culmination of a 10-episode run to find a man whose religious devotion could inspire other Malaysian Muslims of his generation.
Ridzuan's victory earned him prizes that mixed the spiritual – a new job as prayer leader at a prestigious Kuala Lumpur mosque and an all-expenses paid pilgrimage to Mecca – with the secular, including a car, iPhone, laptop and 20,000 ringgit (£4,000) in cash. >>> Sean Yoong in Kuala Lumpur, AP | Monday, August 02, 2010
Related articles here and here
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: A fortnight after it was revealed by The Independent on Sunday that Lloyds banking group had abandoned its landmark Islamic mortgage offer, one of its rivals has outlined plans to expand the number of home loans offered which comply with sharia law.
The Islamic Bank of Britain has secured an extra £20m of investment from Qatar International Islamic Bank so that it can increase the number of sharia-compliant home loans and savings products. Under sharia, the payment and receipt of interest is banned, as is investment in areas such as arms manufacturing, alcohol and tobacco. >>> | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: A controversial ban on smoking in Hobart's outdoor malls has been well received, the city's council says.
Hobart City Council in May passed a ban on smoking at three outdoor malls in central Hobart, which took effect on Sunday.
Smoking in Hobart's alfresco dining areas will be illegal from August next year.
The ban caused controversy when first announced, with retailers expressing concern it could affect business.
But the council said at the time it was proud to have some of the nation's most stringent anti-smoking laws. >>> AAP | Monday, August 02, 2010
THE DIRT: No time was wasted as the radio duo pressed Abbott over his views on gay marriage.
Just like Prime Minister Julia Gillard, marriage in his view is always between a man and a woman. (+ audio of Tony Abbot on gay marriage) >>> Posted by Jason | Monday, August 02, 2010
REUTERS CANADA: SANTIAGO - The head of Chile's Socialist party, Fulvio Rossi, told reporters on Sunday that he planned to sponsor a bill to legalize gay marriage in the country, as occurred last month in neighboring Argentina.
"This is a project that I will present ... and I am also calling on the Church to be more welcoming, and I say that as part of the Church," the senator said, responding to remarks from Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz who described the same-sex weddings in Argentina as "an aberration." >>> Reporting by Maria Jose Latorre; Writing by Laura MacInnis | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The British High Commissioner has been summoned to meet Pakistan's foreign minister as the effects of David Cameron's remarks on terrorism continue to be felt.
Adam Thomson will meet Shah Mehmood Qureshi after David Cameron said he would not apologise for his comments about Pakistan exporting terrorism when he meets the country’s president for talks this week.
Relations between London and Islamabad soured last week when Mr Cameron said Pakistan could not be permitted to "look both ways" in promoting the export of terror while publicly working for stability in the region.
His comments were made in India, which added to the negative reaction across the border.
President Asif Ali Zardari has been facing pressure to cancel the talks with Mr Cameron at Chequers, which he has so far resisted.
Last Wednesday, while In Bangalore, Mr Cameron said: "We cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that this country [Pakistan] is allowed to look both ways and is able, in any way, to promote the export of terror."
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the high commissioner and Pakistan foreign minister had covered a "broad range of issues".
"They discussed a broad range of issues including preparations for President Zardari's visit," she said. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor, and Andy Bloxham | Monday, August 02, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Der tschetschenische Rebellenführer und selbst ernannte «Emir vom Kaukasus», Doku Umarow, ist von seinem Posten zurückgetreten. Er hatte sich im März zum Bombenanschlag in der Moskauer Metro bekannt.
In einem Video, das am Sonntagabend auf verschiedenen Websites veröffentlicht wurde, gab Umarow zugleich die Ernennung von Aslambek Wadalow zum neuen «Emir vom Kaukasus» bekannt.
Dieser sei «jünger und energischer», sagte Umarow, der sich im März zu den Attentaten auf die Moskauer U-Bahn mit 39 Toten bekannt hatte. «Das bedeutet nicht, dass ich mich vom Heiligen Krieg zurückziehe», sagte der 46-jährige Umarow. Er werde seinen Nachfolger «mit Worten und Taten» unterstützen, sagte Umarow. Lesen Sie weiter und schreiben Sie einen Kommentar >>> sda/afp | Montag, 02. August 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Tight security and low celebrity count as Bill and Hillary Clinton's daughter marries investment banker
In the end, Oprah Winfrey was a no‑show. In fact, the occasion was notable for its relatively modest sprinkling of celebrities, in tune with the family event that the woman at its centre had wanted it to be.
Not that the wedding of Chelsea Clinton on Saturday was low-key. Beaming in a veiled Vera Wang dress on a gorgeous day in upstate New York, she was led down the aisle by her father Bill, the former president, who kept his promise not to cry and certainly looked as though he had also lost his pledged 15lbs judging from the set of photographs given out by the family.
Hillary Clinton wore a dress by Oscar de la Renta.
The groom, investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, who was a childhood friend of Chelsea's and who shared some of the peculiarities of her upbringing by being the son of Democratic politicians, wore a yarmulke and a tallit prayer shawl. >>> Ed Pilkington in New York | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Raul Castro has said that his government will scale back controls on small businesses, lay off unnecessary workers and allow more self-employment - significant steps in a country where the state dominates nearly every facet of the economy.
Cuba's president, however, quashed notions of a sweeping overhaul to the country's communist economic system in response to the financial crisis it is facing.
"With experience accumulated in more than 55 years of revolutionary struggle, it doesn't seem like we're doing too badly, nor that desperation or frustration have been our companions along the way," the president said.
Speaking in parliament, Castro said that authorities would "update the Cuban economic model," suggesting reforms could be on the horizon. Cuban officials plan to reduce state control of small businesses, authorize more Cubans to become self-employed and build a new tax structure that will compel state employees to contribute more. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Leader says prohibitions on licences and commercialisation will be rolled back in effort to reduce 'bloated' state sector
More Cubans will be allowed to work for themselves and hire their own workers, the country's president has said, while ruling out wholesale reform of the communist economy.
Raúl Castro, who was speaking to parliament at the opening of its biannual session, said the steps were aimed at creating jobs as the government seeks to cut jobs from the public sector over the next five years.
About 95% of all Cubans work for the government and Castro suggested that as many as one in five state employees were redundant in what he called a "bloated" state sector.
Castro said those left out of work would be retrained or reassigned to other jobs but warned that few sectors would be immune to cuts. While sketchy, his comments signalled a liberalisation of the economy at a time of financial crisis. Raúl Castro took power from Fidel, first temporarily, then permanently, in July 2006. He has a reputation for being more pragmatic than his brother. >>> Mark Tran | Monday, August 02, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Raul Castro will den Sozialismus zukunftsfähig machen: Kuba erlaubt Privatwirtschaft im Kleinen– Die kommunistische Führung in Kuba hat beschlossen, Kleinbetriebe mit Angestellten zuzulassen und den Staatsapparat verkleinern. Präsident Raul Castro will so das soziale System des Landes für die Zukunft erhalten. >>> sda/dpa | Montag, 02. August 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A suspected short-range rocket salvo from the Egyptian Sinai, an area where Islamist militants have operated in the past, have struck Red Sea ports in Israel and Jordan.
Several rockets hit the Israeli holiday resort of Eilat, while four people were injured when further rockets hit the nearby Jordanian port of Aqaba.
There was no word of casualties in Eilat, District Port Commander Moshe Cohen said, adding that his forces were still trying to confirm that five explosions heard in the morning had been caused by shelling.
Mr Cohen told Israel Radio that two of the suspected rockets or mortar bombs appeared to have landed in the sea, while another struck the nearby Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Asked where the salvo was launched, Mr Cohen said: "It's a little early to say, but it is reasonable to assume that it came from the southern area."
He was referring to neighbouring Egypt and the Sinai desert which is known for Islamist militant acitivty. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has invited Barack Obama, his US counterpart, to face him in a televised one-on-one debate to see who has the best solutions for the world's problems.
The provocative proposal came as Iran dealt with a new wave of international sanctions - driven by Washington - aimed at pressuring the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme."Toward the end of summer we will hopefully be there for the (UN) General Assembly and I will be ready for one-on-one talks with Mr Obama, in front of the media of course," Mr Ahmadinejad said in an address broadcast live on state television. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
Teil 5:
Teil 6:
Teil 7:
Teil 8:
Teil 9:
Verbunden: Teil 1 bis Teil 4 >>>
Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Offer raises hopes Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, will be spared
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has stepped into the international outcry over Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, by offering his country as a refuge, a move which raised hopes her life will be spared.
The surprise offer prompted an immediate reaction from Iran, which considers Brazil a key ally. Iranian officials softened their tone with Ashtiani's family over the weekend and official media reported full details of the story for the first time.
"I don't think Iran can ignore Brazil as easily as it ignored other countries," Ashtiani's son, Sajad, told the Guardian today. "It is very important that Brazil, as one of Iran's most significant allies in the world, has offered a haven for my mother."
He hoped Turkey, which also carries influence with Tehran, would add its voice. "No countries in the world can have such impacts that Brazil and Turkey can have on Iran now. These two countries can save my mother's life," said Sajad. >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro, and Rory Carroll | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE OBSERVER: Findings overturn earlier research on working mothers / Gains of being in employment outweigh disadvantages
A ground-breaking study has found that mothers can go back to work months after the birth of their child without the baby's wellbeing suffering as a result.
By assessing the total impact on a child of the mother going out to work, including factors outside the home, American academics claim to have produced the first full picture of the effect of maternal employment on child cognitive and social development. Their conclusion will provide comfort for thousands of women who re-enter the employment market within a year of giving birth.
"The good news is that we can see no adverse effects," said American academic Jane Waldfogel, currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. "This research is unique because the question we have always asked in the past has been: 'If everything else remains constant, what is the effect of a mum going off to work?' But of course everything else doesn't stay constant, so it's an artificial way of looking at things.
"Family relationships, family income, the mental health of the mother all change when a mother is working and so what we did was to look at the full impact, taking all of these things into account."
In one of the most fraught areas of social policy and research, several studies over the past two decades have suggested that children do worse if their mothers go back to work in the first year of their lives.
Recent research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University found that children of mothers who went back to work within the first three years were slower learners, and a 2008 Unicef study recommended that mothers stay at home for the first 12 months or "gamble" with their children's development. The Pew Research Centre in Washington found high levels of anxiety among women over the issue.
The new study, led by New York's Columbia University School of Social Work, was published last week by the Society for Research in Child Development. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care followed more than 1,000 children from 10 geographic areas aged up to seven, tracking their development and family characteristics.
It found that, while there are downsides to mothers taking work during their child's first year, there were also significant advantages – an increase in mothers' income and wellbeing, and a greater likelihood that children receive high-quality childcare. Taking everything into account, the researchers said, the net effect was neutral. >>> Tracy McVeigh and Anushka Asthana | Sunday, August 01, 2010
This study is suspect, to say the least. To start with, wasn’t it conducted by a working mother?
To say that “babies don’t suffer when mothers return to work” is about as stupid as it gets! Do these idiots think that babies bring themselves up?
This study flies in the face of hundreds, nay thousands, of years of experience with raising our offspring. It also seems to fly in the face of earlier, probably more believable, studies.
Fact is that children need mothers at home. We can see this when we look around us, and see how badly-raised so many children are today. It’s the mother who gives the child the informal education it needs. Formal education comes from the schools it attends; but informal education comes from the home. And if there is no-one in the home to supply it, the child has to do without it. This is exactly what is happening today, because so many mothers today are selfish and choose to work instead of raising their offspring.
Whilst material goods are nice to have, they are no substitute for the love, support and guidance a stay-at-home mother can give. The fact that many young people today have abysmal language skills, no dress sense or no culinary skills, no table manners, and further, they are often obese to the point of endangering their own health, all point to children who have lacked a good start in life. To say that babies don’t suffer when their mothers return prematurely to the workplace is about as stupid as saying that one’s partner, when gravely ill, will not suffer when one goes out to work and leaves him or her to the gods! – © Mark
THE NEW YORK TIMES: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The UAE said Sunday it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. Neighboring Saudi Arabia quickly indicated it planned to follow suit.
The decision could prevent hundreds of thousands of users in the Mideast country from accessing e-mail and the Web on the handsets starting in October, putting the federation's reputation as a business-friendly commercial and tourism hub at risk.
Blackberry data is encrypted and routed overseas, and the measure could be motivated in part by government fears that the messaging system could be exploited by terrorists or other criminals who cannot be monitored by the local authorities.
However, analysts and activists also see it as an attempt to more tightly control the flow of information in the conservative country, a U.S. ally that is home to the Gulf business capital Dubai and the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Within hours of the announcement, a telecommunications official in neighboring Saudi Arabia said the desert kingdom would begin blocking the BlackBerry messaging service starting later this month. The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, said the country's telecommunications regulator would issue a statement on the move soon.
Like in Saudi Arabia, government censors in the UAE already routinely block access to websites and other media deemed to carry content that runs contrary to the nation's conservative Islamic values or could stoke political unrest. >>> The Associated Press | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Prime Minister's comments on terrorism provoke anger in the government and streets of Karachi
David Cameron's comments about Pakistan's alleged links with terrorism threatened to cause a full-scale diplomatic row last night after the country's intelligence officials boycotted a counter-terrorism summit in the UK and demonstrators burned an effigy of the Prime Minister on the streets of Karachi.
Three days before President Asif Ali Zardari is due to arrive in London, members of his intelligence services cancelled a planned conference with British counterparts over the stinging criticism delivered by Mr Cameron in India last week.
Pakistan's information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said yesterday that there was "resentment" in his country over the comments made during a visit to its traditional rival. But, amid warnings that the intervention could cause unrest among young British Pakistanis, he said he hoped the crisis could be resolved when the leaders meet this week at the PM's country retreat, Chequers. >>> Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Among the bayonet-like minarets of ancient Istanbul, an East wind is blowing. It will chill us all... says The Mail On Sunday columnist in the week David Cameron calls for Turkey to join the EU
Down a glum, dark back alley in Istanbul, I found a sinister sight. In a workshop two stern and bearded men were bent over sheets and patches of very black cloth, their sewing-machines whirring urgently.
I was plainly unwelcome and they objected to the very idea of being photographed. I quickly saw why. They were making dark robes and masks for women to wear. They looked to me as if they longed for the day when every woman in sight was clad in their workmanship.
They knew the women would wear them, because one day, not far off, they would have to. These robes would be, literally, a 'must-have' for the women of Turkey.
Those who think of Turkey as a relaxed holiday destination, or as a Westernised Nato member more or less 'on our side' need to revise their view.
And that very much includes our Prime Minister, David Cameron, who last week joined in the fashionable chorus urging Turkish membership of the European Union. Mr Cameron plainly hasn't been properly briefed.
Leave aside the fact that such a step would allow millions of Turks to live and work in Britain, and give us - as EU members - a common border with Syria and Iraq. Mr Cameron really ought to realise that the new Islamist Turkey he so ignorantly praises is much more interested in making friends with Iran than it is in joining the EU. And it is becoming less free and less democratic by the day.
I would say there is a strong chance that we will soon lose Turkey to the Islamic world, much as we lost Iran to the ayatollahs 30 years ago. And there is not much we can do about it - least of all the daft scheme to include this nation in the EU.
Panic-mongering? Well, perhaps. But I would rather monger a bit of panic now than ignore what I saw.
I will come in a moment to the bizarre alleged plot against the Turkish state, which has swept dozens of government opponents into prison in dawn raids.
But first let us take a stroll round the Istanbul district of Fatih. It is noon, and the rival calls to prayer of two mosques are wavering in the baking, humid air.
Not far away is a gigantic Palestinian flag draped over the side of a building. Nearly opposite, a group of pale, intense men in turbans loiter on a street corner whispering into their mobile phones. Where am I? The flag suggests Gaza. The whispering men bring to mind Peshawar or some other Taliban zone.
Or am I in Saudi Arabia? For round the corner comes a phalanx of veiled women, under the vigilant eyes of a bossy man in a prayer cap. There are several grades of these women. First there are the wholly shrouded, their downcast eyes glimpsed through a slot, imprisoned in shapelessness. Most disturbing for me - because I have been to Iran - are those in chadors exactly like those commanded by the ayatollahs in Tehran. There is something particularly harsh about the inverted triangle through which their pale and sombre faces peer.
With them come the women they call 'Tight-heads' - 'Sikmabash' in Turkish. These are a new feature of Istanbul since I was last here a few years ago, in evidence all over this enormous city.
They are mostly young and often attractive. But they have swathed their heads tightly in voluminous, brightly coloured scarves. Their lower limbs are covered by long dresses or trousers, and over this, in the oppressive heat, they wear thin raincoats. Such outfits are available in a successful chain of shops called Tekbir, which means 'God is great'.
Covering up the female sex is big business here now. The owner of an independent Islamic clothes shop complains to me that trade isn't as good as it used to be because he now faces so much competition. He notes that more and more of his clients are young women, rather than conservative rural grandmas. Continue reading and comment >>> Peter Hitchins in Istanbul | Sunday, August 01, 2010
My essays on Turkey joining the UK:
Turkey in the EU >>> Mark Alexander | Friday, September 30, 2005
More Reasons Why Turkey and the EU Should Not Join in Union! >>> Mark Alexander | Saturday, October 01, 2010
THE OBSERVER: Security forces fear wave of terror as austerity programme provokes strikes, protests, violence – and assassination
Greek security forces have warned of a wave of violence reminiscent of the terror that stalked Italy in the seventies after urban guerillas threatened last week to turn the country into a "war zone".
"Greece has entered a new phase of political violence by anarchist-oriented organisations that are more murderous, dangerous, capable and nihilistic than ever before," said Athanasios Drougos, a defence and counter-terrorism analyst in Athens.
"For the first time we are seeing a nexus of terrorist and criminal activity," he said. "These groups don't care about collateral damage, innocent bystanders being killed in the process. They are very extreme."
The threats came from a guerrilla group called the Sect of Revolutionaries, as it claimed credit for the murder of Sokratis Giolas, an investigative journalist. Giolas was shot dead outside his Athenian home on 19 July, in front of his pregant wife.
The gang promised to step up attacks on police, businessmen, prison guards and "corrupt" media – and, for the first time, threatened holidaymakers.
"Tourists should learn that Greece is no longer a safe haven of capitalism," its declaration said.
"We intend to turn it into a war zone of revolutionary activity with arson, sabotage, violent demonstrations, bombings and assassinations, and not a country that is a destination for holidays and pleasure."
In an accompanying picture, the group displayed an arsenal that included AK 47 assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and brass knuckledusters.
"Our guns are full and they are ready to speak," it said. "We are at war with your democracy." >>> Helena Smith, Athens | Sunday, August 01, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel's president has accused the English of being anti-semitic and claimed that MPs pander to Muslim voters.
Shimon Peres said England was "deeply pro-Arab ... and anti-Israeli", adding: "They always worked against us."
He added: "There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary."
His remarks, made in an interview on a Jewish website, provoked anger from senior MPs and Jewish leaders who said the 87-year-old president had "got it wrong".
But other groups backed the former Israeli prime minister and said the number of anti-semitic incidents had risen dramatically in the UK in recent years.
The controversy follows the furore last week over David Cameron's remark that Gaza was a "prison camp", as he urged Israel to allow aid and people to move freely in and out of the Palestinian territory.
Mr Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who is three years into his seven-year term as president and was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen in 2008, said that England's attitude towards Jews was Israel's "next big problem".
"There are several million Muslim voters, and for many members of parliament, that's the difference between getting elected and not getting elected," he said.
"And in England there has always been something deeply pro-Arab, of course, not among all Englishmen, and anti-Israeli, in the establishment.
"They abstained in the [pro-Zionist] 1947 UN partition resolution ... They maintained an arms embargo against us in the 1950s ... They always worked against us. They think the Arabs are the underdogs."
By contrast, relations with Germany, France and Italy were "pretty good", he added. >>> David Harrison and Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Saturday, July 31, 2010
Shimon Peres has got this right. MPs do pander to Muslims for votes. Further, the Foreign Office and the establishment of this country has long been pro-Arab. Bravo, Mr Peres for having the courage to state the truth! I applaud you. – © Mark
THE GUARDIAN: Israel president Shimon Peres accuses Britain of pro-Arab bias: Veteran politician claims MPs pander to Muslim voters with anti-Jewish rhetoric and glorify Palestinians as underdogs >>> Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem | Sunday, August 01, 2010
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