Thursday, January 29, 2009

Putin und China: USA schuld an Wirtschaftskrise

DIE PRESSE: Kritik an den USA kommt anlässlich des Welt-Wirtschaftsforums in Davos aus Russland und China. Das "blinde Profitstreben" der USA habe zur schlimmsten Krise seit der großen Depression von 1929 geführt. >>> DiePresse.com | Donnerstag, 29. Januar 2009

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Österreichs Islam-Lehrer und die Demokratie: Teilweise heftige Reaktionen auf die Ergebnisse einer Studie

NZZ Online: Eine Studie, die ein muslimischer Dissertant unter österreichischen Islam-Lehrern anfertigte, hat alarmierende Ergebnisse erbracht. Rund ein Drittel der Befragten habe Mühe mit dem westlichen Menschenrechts- und Demokratieverständnis. Politiker reagieren alarmiert. >>> cer, Wien | Mittwoch, 28. Januar 2009

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Iceland Set to Appoint World's First Lesbian Prime Minister

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Photo of Johanna Sigurdottir, the world’s first lesbian prime minister, courtesy of Mail Online

MAIL Online: Iceland is set to appoint the world's first openly gay woman as interim prime minister - a former flight attendant who rose through the political ranks to become a cabinet minister.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, the island nation's 66-year-old social affairs minister, is the pick of the Social Democratic Alliance Party to lead an interim government.

Iceland's conservative-led government failed on Monday, after the country's banks collapsed under the weight of huge debts amassed during years of rapid economic growth. The country's currency has plummeted, while inflation and unemployment are soaring.

Sigurdardottir's appointment is expected to be confirmed within days by the new ruling coalition of the Alliance party and the Left-Green movement. She would lead Iceland until general elections, expected in May.

'She is a senior parliamentarian, she is respected and loved by all of Iceland,' said Environment Minister Thorunn Sveinbjarnardottir, a fellow Alliance party member.

But conservative critics say her leftist political leanings are not going to help fix the economy.

'Johanna is a very good woman - but she likes public spending, she is a tax raiser,' said Geir Haarde, who quit as prime minister Monday, partly for health reasons.

Sigurdardottir faces the difficult task of repairing the nation's shattered economy and rebuilding public trust in government. Icelanders are deeply angry at their government for not reining in the country's banks and leading the once-prosperous nation into an economic nightmare. >>> | Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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It's Like "Swimming in a Toilet"!

A noxious tide of toilet paper, raw sewage and chemical waste has transformed Dubai’s most prestigious stretch of shoreline into a foul-smelling health hazard.

A stretch of the exclusive Jumeirah Beach — a magnet for Western tourists and home to a string of hotels — has been closed. “It’s a cesspool. Our tests show too many E. coli to count. It’s like swimming in a toilet,” said Keith Mutch, the manager of the Offshore Sailing Club, which has posted warnings and been forced to cancel regattas.The pollution is a blow to Dubai’s reputation as an international holiday destination offering almost guaranteed sunshine and clear seas. Sun, Sea and Sewage in the Playground of the Rich in Dubai >>> Sonia Verma in Dubai | Thursday, January 29, 2009

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'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?'

'Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.

Lee Iacocca Says:
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.

But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned 'Titanic'.

I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.

While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis!

(Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.

We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.

We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy.

Our schools are in trouble.

Our borders are like sieves.

The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throwing away our shampoo?

We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening.

But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? - that some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments.

I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World Wars I and II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,'the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.

If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

When the West Sides With Its Enemies

CHRISTIAN TODAY Australia: In times of universal crisis, there is a great need for great men and great women to stand up and be counted. For example, when the Cold War was at its peak, it seems that three world leaders were providently raised up to withstand the menace of Soviet imperialism. Thus Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II together helped to bring an end to this global threat.

Fortunately other heroes seem to come on the scene in times of national emergency or international challenges. When universal deceit prevails, such brave men and women act as prophetic voices. With the twin challenges of militant Islam and a West that seems hell-bent on bowing in subservience to it, a number of fearless individuals have risen to the occasion.

One of them is Dutch politician Geert Wilders. The 46-year-old Dutchman has been a tireless and outspoken critic of Islamism and the cowardice of the West. He has courageously spoken out on the dangers we face, not only from militants without, but appeasers within.

He even produced a short film last year called Fitna. It minces no words in exposing the radical agenda of the Islamists, and how the heart of Islam (the Koran, the hadith, and the life and example of Muhammad) all feed into the Islamist practices and objectives.

And for his troubles he has been a hunted man. But it is not just the angry Muslim world that wants his scalp. Western appeasers are also after him. Indeed, last week a Dutch court ordered the criminal prosecution of Wilders because of his “hate speech”. The Amsterdam Court of Appeals has said his statements are “insulting,” and that they “substantially harm the religious esteem” of Muslims.

I will leave it for others to determine whether his film is indeed hate speech. But his recent speeches have certainly been clear-cut as to how he regards the Islamist threat. A few paragraphs from various recent speeches are worth reproducing here. Consider his thoughts on how Europe is faring:

“All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It’s the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city. There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.”

Take Holland for example: “In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear ‘whore, whore’. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in their country of origin.”

Other parts of Europe are also in crisis: “The history of the Holocaust can in many cases no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England sharia courts are now no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run from the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel.”

And Europe seems to be standing idly by as all this happens: “It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On all fronts we are losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is even a source of pride within ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts, the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire political establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as ‘right-wing extremists’ or ‘racists’. The entire establishment has sided with our enemy. Leftists, liberals and Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.”

And Israel is only the tip of the iceberg: “Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other places to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Therefore, the war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Thanks to Israeli parents who see their children go off to join the army and lie awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and have pleasant dreams, unaware of the dangers looming. At present the front-line of jihad runs not just through the streets of Tel Aviv and Haifa, but through the streets of London, Madrid, and Amsterdam as well. Jihad is our common enemy, and we better start Facing Jihad before it is too late.” >>> Bill Muehlenberg, Christian Today Australia Columnist | Thursday, January 29, 2009

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Saudi Arabia: Authorities Arrest Christian Convert

COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: Blogger incarcerated after writing about conversion, criticizing Islamic judiciary.

LOS ANGELES – Five months after the daughter of a member of Saudi Arabia’s religious police was killed for writing online about her faith in Christ, Saudi authorities have reportedly arrested a 28-year-old Christian man for describing his conversion and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary on his Web site.

Saudi police arrested Hamoud Bin Saleh on Jan. 13 “because of his opinions and his testimony that he had converted from Islam to Christianity,” according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). Bin Saleh, who had been detained for nine months in 2004 and again for a month last November, was reportedly being held in Riyadh’s Eleisha prison.

On his web site, which Saudi authorities have blocked, Bin Saleh wrote that his journey to Christ began after witnessing the public beheading of three Pakistanis convicted of drug charges. Shaken, he began an extensive study of Islamic history and law, as well as Saudi justice. He became disillusioned with sharia (Islamic law) and dismayed that kingdom authorities only prosecuted poor Saudis and foreigners.

“I was convinced that the wretched Pakistanis were executed in accordance with the Muhammadan laws just because they are poor and have no money or favored positions, which they had no control or power over,” he wrote in Arabic in his Dec. 22 posting, referring to “this terrible prejudice in the application of justice in Saudi Arabia.” >>> | Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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Freed Turkish Barber Reaches Home

ARAB NEWS: RIYADH: A Turkish barber who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia on blasphemy charges but later pardoned by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and released, left for Istanbul from Jeddah by a Turkish Airways flight on Monday night.

“On arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport yesterday, Sabri Bogday, 31, was received by his wife and family members,” Turkish Ambassador Naci Koru said here yesterday.

Speaking on behalf of the people and the government of Turkey, Koru thanked King Abdullah for the royal pardon. He said that the Turkish barber was welcomed at the airport by a big crowd, including his wife, Muazzez Bogday, two-year-old son Suleyman, and mother Hadra.

The diplomat said that a Saudi court overturned Bogday’s sentence after he repented and asked God for forgiveness. The Ministry of Interior informed us about the release of Bogday last week, said Koru.

The barber, who had been behind the bars for the last three years, called his family on Monday night after being finally released in Jeddah and said he would be in Turkey soon.

Bogday has been released at a time when Turkish President Abdullah Gul is expected to visit Saudi Arabia on Feb. 3. The release prior to the visit is also perceived as a gesture of goodwill and friendship between the two nations, said a report published by a Turkish newspaper.

Muazzez, the barber’s wife, thanked President Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their efforts and appeal to King Abdullah while saying that “the humanitarian gesture on the part of the Saudi king himself, cannot be expressed in words.”

Bogday, from the southern Turkey’s Hatay region, arrived in Jeddah 11 years ago and opened a barbershop.

According to reports, the barber argued with his neighbor, an Egyptian tailor, and was arrested after the tailor told police that Bogday was involved in blasphemy. >>> Ghazanfar Ali Khan | Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Barack Obama Should Apologise for 60 Years of 'Crimes'

THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded on Wednesday that US President Barack Obama apologise for the "crimes" committed by the United States against Iran over the past 60 years.

The hardline leader also called on Washington to withdraw its troops from across the world as a proof of Mr Obama's commitment to change.

"You were standing against the Iranian people in the past 60 years," Mr Ahmadinejad said during an address in the western region of Khermenshah that was broadcast by state television.

"Those who speak of change must apologise to the Iranian people and try to repair their past bad acts and the crimes they committed against Iran."

As to the troops, he said he expected two kinds of "deep and fundamental" change.

"Meet people, talk to them with respect and put an end to the expansionist policies. If you talk about change it must put an end to the US military presence in the world, withdraw your troops and take them back inside your borders."

Mr Ahmadinejad said the advocates of change must "stop supporting the Zionists, outlaws and criminals".

He called on the United States to "stop interfering in other people's affairs". >>> | Wednesday, January 28, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Iran: Ahmadinedschad will Entschuldigung von Obama

Das Versöhnungsangebot des US-Präsidenten Barack Obama an die islamische Welt ist dem iranischen Präsidenten längst nicht genug: "Wer von Wechsel spricht, muss sich beim iranischen Volk entschuldigen", sagte Mahmud Ahmadinedschad. Außerdem stellte er weitere Forderungen an die USA.

Der iranische Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat die neue US-Regierung aufgerufen, sämtliche Truppen aus dem Ausland abzuziehen.

Wenn der neue Präsident Barack Obama von „Wechsel" spreche, müsse die US-Truppenpräsenz in der ganzen Welt „beendet werden", forderte Ahmadinedschad am Mittwoch in einer Rede in der Stadt Kermanschah im Westen des Landes. Die US-Regierung dürfe sich nicht länger „in die Angelegenheiten anderer Völker" einmischen. Obama hatte am Montag die Wiederherstellung direkter diplomatischer Kontakte mit dem Iran angeboten, wenn Teheran bereit sei, „auf die geballte Faust zu verzichten".

Obama solle sich für die „Verbrechen" entschuldigen, die die USA in den vergangenen 60 Jahren am Iran begangen hätten, forderte Ahmadinedschad. „Wer von Wechsel spricht, muss sich beim iranischen Volk entschuldigen und versuchen, die bösen Taten der Vergangenheit wieder gutzumachen." Die USA müssten sich von der „expansionistischen Politik" der Vergangenheit verabschieden. >>> AFP/dpa/fas | Mittwoch, 28. Januar 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Ahmadinejad demande à Obama des excuses pour les crimes américains

IRAN | Le président iranien réclame des Etats-Unis des excuses pour les crimes commis contre l'Iran.

Le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a demandé mercredi à son homologue américain Barack Obama de s’excuser pour les "crimes" commis, selon lui, par les Etats-Unis contre l’Iran. >>> AFP | Mercredi 28 Janvier 2009

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Abdur-Raheem Green Sheds Light on How Good Muslims View Democracy


Read my essay: Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom >>>

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British Muslim Woman Leaves Islam and Criticizes Mohammed as False Prophet


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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Frauen gegen Männer: Hohe Strafen nach Fussballspiel im Iran

TAGES ANZEIGER: Zum ersten Mal seit der Revolution 1979 haben im Iran Männer und Frauen gegeneinander Fussball gespielt. Mit unerfreulichen Folgen.

Die historische Begegnung blieb nicht ohne Folgen: Drei Verantwortliche wurden suspendiert, weil nach der strengen Auslegung des Islams im Iran Männer und Frauen, die nicht verwandt sind, keinen körperlichen Kontakt haben dürfen. Einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge fand das Spiel zwischen der Frauenmannschaft und dem Jugendteam des Vereins Esteghlal am 22. Januar in Teheran statt.

Die Zeitung «Watan-e-Emrus» berichtete, die Jugendmannschaft haben mit 7:0 gewonnen. Mit Mobiltelefonen aufgenommene Videos wurden demzufolge als Beweis gegen die Verantwortlichen angeführt, die zunächst bestritten hatten, dass das Spiel überhaupt stattgefunden hatte. Dem Verein zufolge wurde ein Manager ein Jahr suspendiert und zu einer Zahlung von umgerechnet rund 5800 Franken verpflichtet. >>> sam/ap | Dienstag, 27. Januar 2009

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Freed Guantánamo Prisoners Taunt US as Closure Plan Falls Apart

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Photo of freed Guantánamo prisoners courtesy of The Times

TIMES ONLINE: President Obama's plan to close Guantánamo Bay within a year appeared to be unravelling yesterday with the emergence of former inmates on terrorist websites, fierce opposition in the US and a lukewarm response to taking detainees from the European Union.

After signing an executive order last week to close the US military prison, Mr Obama has been confronted with myriad obstacles that are making his ambitious pledge look unrealistic.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, ruled out the prospect of Britain taking any more inmates, claiming that it had already made a significant contribution.

His announcement, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, came as Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it had rearrested nine Islamist militants, including former Guantánamo inmates released to the Kingdom who had undergone a re-education programme in Riyadh.

Two other former detainees sent home to Saudi Arabia from the prison in November 2007 re-emerged over the weekend on a jihadist website, railing against Britain, the US and Israel and identifying themselves by their Guantánamo detainee numbers. One of the men who appeared on video was Said Ali al-Shihri, now the deputy leader of al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch. He is suspected of involvement in a bombing at the US Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September, which killed 16. “By Allah, imprisonment only increased our persistence in our principles for which we went out, did jihad for, and were imprisoned for,” al-Shihri said on the video. The other former inmate has been identified as Abu Hareth Muhammad al-Awfi, who is seen clutching an automatic rifle and a grenade. >>> Tim Reid in Washington and David Charter in Brussels | Tuesday, January 27, 2009

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Barack Obama Tells Muslims 'Americans Are Not Your Enemy'

THE TELEGRAPH: US President Barack Obama has told the Muslim world that "Americans are not your enemy" and renewed his pledge to travel to make an address in the capital of a major Muslim nation.


Mr Obama noted that he had lived in Indonesia for several years while growing up, and said his travels through Muslim nations had convinced him that regardless of faith, people had certain common hopes and dreams.

"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy - we sometimes make mistakes - we have not been perfect," Mr Obama said in an interview with the Al-Arabiya satellite television network.

"But if you look at the track record ... America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that."

During the 2008 election campaign, Mr Obama vowed to improve US ties with the Muslim world and said he would travel to a major Islamic forum abroad to send that message. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, January 27, 2009

AL ARABIYA:
Obama’s Interview with Al Arabiya – Transcript

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Obama will muslimische Welt als Partner gewinnen

Washington - In seinem ersten Interview nach seiner Amtsübernahme hat sich US-Präsident Barack Obama an die muslimische Welt gewandt und eine «neue Partnerschaft in gegenseitigem Respekt» in Aussicht gestellt.

Er wolle kommunizieren, «dass die Amerikaner nicht Ihre Feinde sind», sagte Obama dem arabischsprachigen Sender Al-Arabija. Das Interview wurde kurz nach der Entsendung von Obamas Nahost-Beauftragten George Mitchell in die Nahost-Krisenregion aufgezeichnet und in Auszügen von US-Medien veröffentlicht. Mitchell wird unter anderem mit der israelischen und der palästinensischen Führung zusammentreffen. >>> © dpa | Dienstag, 27. Januar 2009

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Eklat im Bundestag: Holocaust-Gedenken ohne Zentralrat der Juden

WELT ONLINE: Bislang saß bei der Holocaust-Gedenkfeier im Bundestag stets eine Abordnung des Zentralrats der Juden auf der Zuschauertribüne. Doch diesmal bleibt die Organisation der Feier fern. Man sei in der Vergangenheit missachtet worden, heißt es zur Begründung. Der Zentralrat beklagt zudem eine wachsende Judenfeindlichkeit in Deutschland.

Die Spitze des Zentralrats der Juden in Deutschland bleibt erstmals der Gedenkfeier des Bundestages für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus fern. Der Generalsekretär des Zentralrats, Stephan J. Kramer, begründete dies im „Tagesspiegel“ mit Missachtung der Organisation in den vergangenen Jahren. Die Vertreter des Zentralrats, die auf der Zuschauertribüne Platz genommen hatten, seien nie persönlich begrüßt worden. Die Gedenkfeier ist im Bundestag für 11 Uhr angesetzt.

Der Zentralrat beklagt laut Kramer einen wachsenden Antisemitismus in Deutschland. Es gebe eine „fortschreitend um sich greifende Feindschaft gegen Juden, mehr und mehr auch in der Mitte der Gesellschaft“, sagte er.

Es sei zwar zu loben, dass in ganz Deutschland in vielen Veranstaltungen an den 64. Jahrestag der Befreiung des Konzentrationslagers Auschwitz erinnert werde, sagte Kramer. „Doch wir mussten auch feststellen, dass während des Gaza-Krieges die Zahl der Hass-Mails an den Zentralrat um 40 Prozent auf 200 bis 300 pro Woche zugenommen hat.“ In einem Zehntel der Mails seien explizite Morddrohungen gegen persönlich benannte Mitglieder des Zentralrats enthalten gewesen. >>> AP/cn | Dienstag, 27. Januar 2009

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Integrationsstudie: Einmal Türke, immer Türke

DER TAGESSPIEGEL: BERLIN - Man könnte meinen, Deutschland habe ein Problem mit integrationsunwilligen Türken. Eine neue Studie hat die Integrationserfolge der verschiedenen Einwanderergruppen in Deutschland untersucht und belegt: Nur jeder zwanzigste Türke geht eine Ehe mit einem nichttürkischen Partner ein, jeder dritte Jugendliche ist arbeitslos und die Hälfte der Frauen bleibt zuhause am Herd. Die nüchterne Kernaussage der Studie über die anatolischen Einwanderer lautet: Gemessen an Indikatoren wie Beruf, Bildung und Staatsbürgerschaft integrieren sie sich langsamer als Menschen mit einer anderen Herkunft. >>> Ferda Ataman | Montag, Januar 26, 2009

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How to Make a Hamas Hero


Hat tip: Resilience TV >>>

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Islam e Cristianesimo: la differenza è tutta nel concetto di libertà

ILSUSSIDIARIO.NET: La gravità dei recenti fatti che hanno visto moltitudini di musulmani a tutti gli effetti occupare le piazze del Duomo a Milano e di San Petronio a Bologna per farvi la preghiera rituale pubblica rispettando la sacra qibla, ossia rivolti in “direzione” della prima città santa dell’islàm, La Mecca, è tutt’altro che trascurabile. Lo diventa soltanto per chi, in nome di un “corretto” relativismo etico-religioso e ingenuamente limitandosi alle manifestazioni di folclore rituale, ignori l’impianto teologico affatto diverso della religione di Maometto, che non è in primo luogo spirituale. L’islàm non è una religione dell’interiorità (nulla a che vedere con l’intimismo!) alla stregua del cristianesimo – come del resto non è ugualmente monoteistico. Infatti, sia che lo si intenda come fede vera e propria pur nelle varianti confessionali e rituali, sia che lo si prenda nella sua interpretazione socio-culturale e, quindi, laica e indifferente alla definizione positiva del rapporto personale con Dio, il cristianesimo, fondato anche sulla metafisica classica ellenica, è la religione che più parla di anima, di ragione, di cuore, dell’io. E di libertà. Tutte prerogative della natura umana personale, che addirittura diventano argomento giuridico a sostegno dell’idea di persona umana quale fonte stessa del diritto positivo. Una rivoluzione, e non soltanto per il pensiero e il “sistema” degli antichi. Insomma, Gesù Cristo, che ha promesso la risurrezione dei corpi, nell’attesa della parusia ha parlato e parla al cuore, alla intima verità di ogni singolo individuo personalmente per salvarne anzitutto l’anima affinché goda eternamente della visione e della familiarità di Dio. >>> Luca Montecchi | martedì 27 gennaio 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)
'Hate-filled' Muslim Preacher Speaks for Integration

NRC HANDELSBLAD: Khalid Yasin had been dubbed the 'terrorist imam' and some had predicted that his speeches in the Netherlands over the weekend would preach hate and dissension.

The lecture by the African-American 'sheikh' defied expectations, but the furore around his arrival point to underlying tensions regarding Islam in Dutch society.

Yasin had been quoted online as saying that homosexuality should be punished by death, that the World Trade Center attacks were the work of the secret service and claims that the AIDS virus was a plot concocted in an American laboratory to reduce the population of Africa.

Uneasy members of parliament previously debated as to whether Yasin should even be allowed entry into the Netherlands due to past statements. Member of parliament Geert Wilders had called him a "hate-filled man." >>> News staff, NRC Handelsblad | Monday, January 26, 2009

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Obama's Aunt Has Immigration Hearing in April

ASSOCIATED PRESS: WASHINGTON — The Bush administration quietly withdrew in the weeks after Barack Obama's election a new rule requiring high-level approval before federal agents nationwide could arrest fugitive immigrants. The future for Obama's aunt, who had been living in the country illegally, will be determined at an immigration court hearing in April.

The Homeland Security Department had originally imposed the unusual directive days before Obama's election, an order that would have affected Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father. She had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya.

The directive from Immigration and Customs Enforcement expressed concerns about "negative media or congressional interest," according to a newly disclosed federal document obtained by The Associated Press. The department lifted the immigration order weeks later, on Nov. 26.

The directive made clear that U.S. officials worried about possible election implications of arresting Onyango, who at the time was living in public housing in Boston. She is now believed to be living in Cleveland.

An immigration judge stayed her deportation order on Dec. 17. The judge reopened her case requesting asylum on Dec. 30, and she has a hearing on April 1 in a Boston immigration court, Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Executive Office of Immigration Review, said Monday.

Onyango traveled to Washington last week for her nephew's inauguration. News organizations observed her attending an inaugural ball with her immigration lawyer, Margaret Wong. >>> By Ted Bridis and Eileen Sullivan | Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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