’Gay Advance’ Could Put UAE Sheikh in Swiss Jail
THE GUARDIAN: The brother of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, one of the richest men in the world, is to stand trial in Switzerland for an alleged assault on an Italian-American businessman in the bar of an exclusive Geneva hotel.

Swiss prosecutor Daniel Zappelli has confirmed that 37-year-old Sheikh Falah bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan will be tried on charges of assaulting Silvano Orsi with a belt in the La Reserve hotel four years ago.

Mr Orsi, 39, claims that he was repeatedly attacked after refusing homosexual advances from the sheikh and has since been unable to work because of his injuries. The sheikh, in evidence to a pre-trial closed hearing last year, claimed that he merely had a 30-second scuffle after he was accused of being gay.

The case will be heard before a three-man tribunal that can impose a sentence of up to two years in prison. UAE sheikh to stand trial for 'sexually motivated' assault (more) By David Pallister

Saudi King Jeered
TIMESONLINE: King Abdullah II of Saudi Arabia was greeted by jeers and placards as he began his state visit to Britain this afternoon as dozens of demonstrators turned out to protest at his country's human rights record.

About 50 human rights protestors and anti-arms trade activists mingled with the crowds lining The Mall as the monarch accompanied the Queen in a carriage on their way to Buckingham Palace.

King Abdullah’s visit has been shrouded in controversy over oppressive policies against women and gays in the Middle Eastern kingdom and the war on terror.

Protesters, including Peter Tatchell, the gay rights activist, chanted "King Abdullah, torturer, murderer" and held banners marked "Put human rights before BAe profits" and "You can’t do this in Riyadh" as the procession went past. Saudi King jeered as controversial visit begins (more) By Jack Malvern

What, Exactly, Are the Saudis Doing for Us?
THE TELEGRAPH: For the past 48 hours, our television studios have been filled with well-fed, sleekit men in pinstripes telling us how critical Saudi Arabia is to British interests. "British interests" is, of course, a much nicer phrase than "my place on the board of a Saudi-funded company", which is often what they really mean, but never mind. They have set the terms of the debate. As far as commentators are concerned, this is now a morality versus Realpolitik issue. On the one hand stand the namby-pamby liberals, with their concerns about feminism and capital punishment; on the other the hard-faced hommes d’affaires with their talk of defence contracts and counter-terrorism.

Yet to posit the debate in these terms is to beg the question. Let’s stop for a moment and analyse the contention, made by every recent British Prime Minister, that the Saudis are "our key allies in the region". What precisely are these "allies" doing for us? Blog: Daniel Hannan (more)

In Pictures: The Saudi King's Visit to the UK
Look at Pictures of the Saudi Visit

"Glenn Beck’s Warning to Muslims"
With thanks to the The Anti-Jihadist for alerting me to this video:

On Prince Bandar

Computer Troubles
I should like to inform my readers that I have been experiencing severe computer problems since the end of last week. In fact, my hard drive is broken on my computer. It has since gone in for repair.

As a result, I have to use my old computer instead. But as my old computer has an old operating system (not updateable), I do not have complete functionality on all Web sites, especially Blogger. Posting is therefore extremely difficult.

I should like to apologise for this, and ask you all to bear with me until I get my usual computer back, and hopefully in good working order.

Regards

Mark Alexander

Laura Bush and the Islamic Veil
With many thanks to Always On Watch for alerting me to this video:

Dr Cable on Saudi Arabia
"By any standards, and in the assessment of our own Foreign Office, the human rights record of this Government is absolutely appalling …They point to the systematic discrimination against women, people of other religions, the exercise of systematic corporal punishment, through amputation, the public beheadings." – Dr Vince Cable [Source: The Times]

Cable Speaks Up
LISTEN TO BBC AUDIO:
Cable shuns Saudi king visit

"Glittering State Banquet" for Saudi King! Fact Is: The British People Don’t Want Him Here!
BBC: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is due to arrive in the UK on Monday for the first state visit by a Saudi monarch for 20 years.

He will be the guest of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and is due to meet British political leaders on Wednesday, culminating in a glittering state banquet. Saudi visit to seal ties with UK (more) By Frank Gardner

BBC:
Cable to boycott Saudi king visit

BBC:
What shared values, Mr Howells?

THE TELEGRAPH:
Saudi king's arrival in UK triggers July 7 row By Robert Winnett

TIMESONLINE:
Saudi visit marred by David Miliband snub

TIMESONLINE:
Comment: Saudi visit surrounded by controversy

TIMESONLINE:
Saudi King accuses Britain of failing to take terror threat seriously

"We Must Bomb Iran," Says Podhoretz
A senior foreign policy adviser to the Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani has urged that Iran be bombed using cruise missiles and "bunker busters" to set back Teheran’s nuclear programme by at least five years.

The tough message at a time of crisis between the United States and Iraq was delivered by Norman Podhoretz, one of the founders of neoconservatism, who has also imparted his stark advice personally to a receptive President George W. Bush.

"None of the alternatives to military action - negotiations, sanctions, provoking an internal insurrection - can possibly work," said Mr Podhoretz. We must bomb Iran, says US Republican guru (more) By Toby Harnden

Islamofascism Awareness Week: The Violent Oppression of Women in Iran
This video is not for people with a weak stomach. Warning: It is also NOT suitable for children:

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Interview with David Horowitz
Mark Alexander

Dollar Woes Continue
BBC: The US dollar tumbled to yet another new low against the euro, as speculation mounted that US interest rates would be cut again next week.

The euro traded as high as $1.4375, breaking the record set last Friday, when one euro bought $1.4319.

The dollar did recover slightly to $1.4369 against the euro bloc currency.

A slew of weak data - including a drop-off in durable goods sales and plummeting demand for new homes - has underlined woes in the US economy. US dollar touches a new euro low (more)

Mark Alexander

Iranian Women


Mark Alexander

Iran Defiant at New US Sanctions
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Iran has responded defiantly to new sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and three state-owned banks.

The Iranian foreign ministry said the sanctions were doomed to failure.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the measures are to "confront the threatening behaviour of the Iranians".

But both China and Russia criticised the sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin likened the US move to "mad people wielding razor blades".

Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns criticised Russia for selling weapons to Iran and China for investing in the country.

He told the BBC: "It's very difficult for countries to say we're striking out on our own when they've got their own policies on the military side, aiding and abetting the Iranian government in strengthening its own military." Iran defiant at new US sanctions (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
US sanctions on Iran

BBC:
Iran and the US: A new Cold War? By Roger Hardy

Mark Alexander

Jemen lässt Kaida-Terroristen frei
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: (ap) Jemenitische Behörden haben den Drahtzieher des blutigen Anschlags auf das US-Kriegsschiff «USS Cole» freigelassen. Der zur Kaida gehörende Jamal al-Badawi wurde 2004 wegen des Anschlags, bei dem 17 Menschen umgekommen waren, zum Tode verurteilt. Seine Strafe wurde in 15 Jahre Haft umgewandelt. Zusammen mit 22 anderen Kaida-Kämpfern gelang dem vom FBI gesuchten Terroristen noch im gleichen Jahr die Flucht aus dem Gefängnis. Jemen lässt Kaida-Terroristen frei: Al-Badawi war Drahtzieher des Anschlags auf «USS Cole» (mehr)

Mark Alexander

US Announces Toughest Action Yet Against Iran
THE TELEGRAPH: The United States has announced its toughest action against Iran since the aftermath of the 1979 revolution by instituting a raft of unilateral sanctions.

The unprecedented steps are designed to cut international financial support to Teheran's theocratic regime as well as targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp, which is accused of supporting Shia insurgents in Iraq. US imposes strict economic sanctions on Iran (more) By Toby Harnden in Washington and Damien McElroy

Mark Alexander

Record Price for Koran
Photo of gold Koran courtesy of the BBC
BBC: An 800-year-old copy of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, has sold for a world record price of £1,140,500 at an auction in London.

The Koran, which has been dated to 1203, is believed to be the oldest known complete copy written in gold. Gold Koran sells for record £1.1m (more)

Mark Alexander

France Introduces DNA Tests for Migrants
BBC: France's parliament has passed a new bill that introduces tighter curbs on foreigners hoping to join relatives in France - including possible DNA tests.

The controversial bill was passed in both the country's National Assembly and in the Senate.

Supporters say it will speed up the process for genuine applicants and cite similar laws in other European nations.

Critics have attacked the law as racist and questioned the use of genetics as a basis for being allowed into France. French parliament adopts DNA bill (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
French DNA tests for migrants

Mark Alexander

UK Stock Market Still Shaky
THE TELEGRAPH: The credit crisis is far from over and British shareholders are at serious risk of becoming its next victims, the Bank of England has warned.

In an unexpectedly downbeat report on the state of the British financial system, the bank warns that the UK stock market is "particularly vulnerable" to a downturn.

Almost all British workers have money invested in shares – either directly or indirectly through their pensions and life assurance plans – and could lose out if share prices suffer a significant fall.

The bank warns that there is a significant risk of the City and Britain's financial system becoming embroiled in further turmoil as a result of the credit crisis gripping the world's money markets. 

The "credit crunch", which has already caused a run on Northern Rock bank, is far from over, it says.

And today, retail entrepreneur Sir Philip Green warned that the shockwaves from the crisis will be felt throughout the economy. Investors warned of slide in shares (more) By Edmund Conway

Full coverage of the credit crisis

Interest rates

TIMESONLINE:
UK financial system at risk from new shocks, says Bank By Gabriel Rozenberg and Christine Seib

Mark Alexander

Italy’s Geriatric Lawmakers Turn Their Attention to Italy’s Bloggers
Italy's leaders barely understand word processors, let alone the web. Now they've turned against the country's bloggers

By G8 standards, Italy is a strange country. To put it simply, it is a nation of octogenarian lawmakers elected by 70-year-old pensioners. Everyone else is inconsequential.

Romano Prodi, the Prime Minister, is a spry 68, knocking off 71-year-old Silvio Berlusconi in last year’s election. President Giorgio Napolitano, 82, has six more years left on his term; his predecessor was 86 when he called it quits. In the unlikely event that Italy declares war, the decision will come from a head of state who was a month shy of 20 when the Germans surrendered at the end of the Second World War.

This creaky perspective is a necessary introduction to any discussion about Italian politics with outsiders, I find. If the Italian Government seems unable to adapt to the modern world, the explanation is quite simple. Your country would operate like this too if your grandparents were in charge.

Recently, Italian lawmakers once again took aim at modern life, introducing an incredibly broad law that would effectively require all bloggers, and even users of social networks, to register with the state. Even a harmless blog about a favourite football squad or a teenager grousing about life’s unfairness would be subject to government oversight, and even taxation – even if it’s not a commercial website.

Outside Italy, the legislation has generated sniggers from hardly sympathetic industry observers. Boingboing cleverly reports Italy is proposing a “Ministry of Blogging.” Out-law.com plays it straighter, calling the measure an “anti-blogger” law. A geriatric assault on Italy's bloggers (more) By Bernhard Warner

Mark Alexander

Bush Administration to Take New Steps Against Iran
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 — The Bush administration will announce a long-debated policy of new sanctions against Iran on Thursday, accusing the elite Quds division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps of supporting terrorism, administration officials said Wednesday night.

The administration also plans to accuse the entire Revolutionary Guard Corps of proliferating weapons of mass destruction, the officials said. While the United States has long labeled Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, the decision to single out the Guard reflects increased frustration in the administration with the slow pace of diplomatic negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. New Steps by U.S. Against Iranians (more) By Helene Cooper

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy Mediterranean Summit Bid
Photo of Nicolas Sarkozy courtesy of the BBC
BBC: France's president has invited the leaders of Mediterranean countries to attend a summit to discuss "economic, political and cultural union".

Speaking on a visit to Morocco, Nicolas Sarkozy invited heads of state and government to meet in France in 2008.

He said the proposed grouping would be different from the European Union, but that the European Commission could ensure they complement one another.

Past efforts to bring together Mediterranean countries have failed.

"What is at play is absolutely decisive," Mr Sarkozy said of the often tense region where different cultures, religions and ways of life meet. "Here, we win all or lose all."

"The future of Europe lies in the south," he added. Sarkozy Mediterranean summit bid (more)

Mark Alexander

Doris Lessing No Less Controversial at 88 Years of Age
Photo of Doris Lessing courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing has called the September 11 attacks "not that terrible" compared to the campaign of terror waged by the IRA in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Lessing, 88, who won the literature prize earlier this month, said the attacks, which led to George W. Bush's war on terror, were not as "extraordinary" as some Americans think.

She told the Spanish newspaper El Pais: "September 11 was terrible, but if one goes back over the history of the IRA, what happened to the Americans wasn't that terrible. 

"Some Americans will think I'm crazy. Many people died, two prominent buildings fell, but it was neither as terrible nor as extraordinary as they think. They're a very naive people, or they pretend to be.

"Do you know what people forget? That the IRA attacked with bombs against our Government.

"It killed several people while a Conservative [conference] was being held and in which the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was attending. People forget," she said.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks of 2001 but more than 3,700 died and tens of thousands were injured in more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

During the Troubles, the IRA murdered about 1,800 civilians and members of the security forces. Lessing, the author of The Golden Notebook, also poured scorn on Mr Bush and on Tony Blair, the fomer prime minister.

"I always hated Tony Blair, from the beginning," she said. "Many of us hated Tony Blair, I think he has been a disaster for Britain and we have suffered him for many years.

"I said it when he was elected, 'This man is a little showman who is going to cause us problems' and he did. As for Bush, he's a world calamity. Everyone is tired of this man. 9/11 not as bad as IRA, says Doris Lessing (more)

Do you care what authors think about current affairs?

Mark Alexander

Mad Britain!
DAILY EXPRESS: A CHRISTIAN couple who fostered 28 children have been forced to quit be­cause they refuse to promote homosexuality.

Vincent Matherick, 65, and wife Pauline, 61, have also had their 11-year-old foster son removed from their care after their failure to sign a contract enforcing sexual equality.

They say social services told them they must tell children it is “good” to be homosexual. They must also take them to gay meetings if they were curious about same-sex relationships.

The Mathericks’ “crime” was to refuse to sign, on principle, an agreement implementing new laws which promote sexual equality.

The couple say they neither condemn nor condone homosexuality but cannot promote it because of their religious beliefs. Barred, the Christian Foster Parents Who Refused to Tell Boys: It’s Great Being Gay (more)

Mark Alexander

OBL Calls for Holy War Against Peacekeepers in Darfur
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has called for a holy war against a proposed peacekeeping force in Sudan's war torn region of Darfur, in a message that appeared on jihadi websites on Tuesday.

The audio recording was accompanied by a still picture and excerpts were aired by pan-Arab satellite news channel al-Jazeera yesterday.

Bin Laden called on those living in the areas surrounding Darfur, particularly the Arabian peninsula, to drive out any foreign forces in the region. Bin Laden calls for jihad against peacekeepers (more)

Mark Alexander

Inferno in Southern California
BBC: More than 500,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to escape wildfires in California in the biggest US evacuation since Hurricane Katrina.

Fierce winds are fanning fast-moving fires that have ravaged land from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border.

The fires have left one dead, destroyed 1,300 homes and businesses, and are threatening 68,000 more properties.

President George W Bush will visit the state on Thursday, after declaring a state of emergency in seven counties. Wildfires force California exodus (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Fires Spread to San Diego

Mark Alexander

Russia Detains Two Muslims Over Train Blast
NAZRAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russian forces detained two Muslim men in the southern republic of Ingushetia in connection with the August bombing of a train between Moscow and St. Petersburg, an interior ministry source said on Wednesday. Russia says detains two Muslims for train blast (more)

Mark Alexander

Isn’t It High Time that Britain Got Out of the EU? Unelected EU Bureaucrats Have Proved They Cannot Be Trusted
DAILY MAIL: Minister were challenged yesterday over plans by Brussels that could leave Britain facing a fresh wave of migrants from Africa and Asia.

The blue card scheme that would let an extra 20million immigrants and their families from outside the EU settle in any European country was described by the Tories as "a very worrying development".

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis called on Labour to "make clear it will not hand over more control to Brussels" after the plans to give work permits to skilled workers were unveiled by immigration commissioner Franco Frattini.

The blue card, similar to the U.S. green card, would entitle migrants with more than three years' work experience or a university degree to work in a member state under "fast-track" immigration reforms.

Mr Frattini has described the scheme as a global job advertising blitz to attract engineers, doctors, nurses and IT workers from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Europe's economy has skills gaps caused by a declining, ageing population, but the U.S. is currently a far more attractive destination for many qualified workers.

Britain can opt out of the scheme initially because it is not bound by EU policy on immigration and asylum.

But blue card-holders would be allowed to enter the UK by the "back door" because the scheme allows workers and their families to move to a second EU country of their choice after two years.

They can also apply to stay permanently after five consecutive years in any EU state. Britain already plans to introduce a points system based on salary and qualifications which would allow skilled migrants to work here.

Yet this could be rendered useless because even if someone was rejected by Britain, they could be approved by the blue card scheme. 'Blue card' will bring extra 20m Asian and African workers to EU in next 20 years (more)

DAILY EXPRESS:
Immigration is a Big Worry for 75% of Britons

BBC:
EU pins hopes on ‘blue card’

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
The European Bluecard

Mark Alexander

Pat Condell on Islam in Europe
This video is so good that I have decided to repeat it:



Mark Alexander

Stop Eurabia!


Mark Alexander

Islamofascism: David Horowitz on Hannity and Colmes


Mark Alexander

Christopher Hitchens: Defending Islamofascism
SLATE: The attempt by David Horowitz and his allies to launch ”Islamofascism Awareness Week" on American campuses has been met with a variety of responses. One of these is a challenge to the validity of the term itself. It's quite the done thing, in liberal academic circles, to sneer at any comparison between fascist and jihadist ideology. People like Tony Judt write to me to say, in effect, that it's ahistorical and simplistic to do so. And in some media circles, another kind of reluctance applies: Alan Colmes thinks that one shouldn't use the word Islamic even to designate jihad, because to do so is to risk incriminating an entire religion. He and others don't want to tag Islam even in its most extreme form with a word as hideous as fascism. Finally, I have seen and heard it argued that the term is unfair or prejudiced because it isn't applied to any other religion.

Well, that last claim is certainly not true. It was once very common, especially on the left, to prefix the word fascism with the word clerical. This was to recognize the undeniable fact that, from Spain to Croatia to Slovakia, there was a very direct link between fascism and the Roman Catholic Church. More recently, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, editor of the Encyclopaedia Hebraica, coined the term Judeo-Nazi to describe the Messianic settlers who moved onto the occupied West Bank after 1967. So, there need be no self-pity among Muslims about being "singled out" on this point.

The term Islamofascism was first used in 1990 in Britain's Independent newspaper by Scottish writer Malise Ruthven, who was writing about the way in which traditional Arab dictatorships used religious appeals in order to stay in power. I didn't know about this when I employed the term "fascism with an Islamic face" to describe the attack on civil society on Sept. 11, 2001, and to ridicule those who presented the attack as some kind of liberation theology in action. "Fascism with an Islamic face" is meant to summon a dual echo of both Alexander Dubcek and Susan Sontag (if I do say so myself), and in any case, it can't be used for everyday polemical purposes, so the question remains: Does Bin Ladenism or Salafism or whatever we agree to call it have anything in common with fascism? Defending Islamofascism: It’s a valid term. Here’s why. (more) By Christopher Hitchens

Mark Alexander

Schweizer Ängste
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: 22. Oktober 2007
Die Wahlen in der Schweiz sind in erster Linie mit zwei Themen gewonnen worden: mit Klimapolitik und innerer Sicherheit. Von den Umweltsorgen der Schweizer profitierten die Grünen. Die Eidgenossen wählten hier lieber das Original als die Kopie der Sozialdemokraten. Dessen ungeachtet bleiben Grüne und Sozialdemokraten politisch wesensverwandt. Gewinner in Sachen innere Sicherheit war wieder einmal die rechts außen stehende Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) unter dem Justizminister und Populismusprofi Christoph Blocher.

Die Enge ihres landwirtschaftlichen und kleingewerblichen Ursprungs in der Deutschschweiz hat die Partei - beziehungsweise ihre Wählerschaft - längst verlassen. In städtischen Gebieten, zum Beispiel in Zürich, ist die SVP stärker denn je, und auch im französischsprachigen Landesteil hat sie noch einmal viele Stimmen hinzugewonnen. Seit 1919 hat keine Partei in der Schweiz eine solche Mehrheit erreicht wie die Volkspartei. Waren früher die Liberalen vom Freisinn die dominierende Kraft, so kommt heute niemand mehr an der SVP vorbei. Schweizer Ängste (mehr) Von Jürgen Dunsch

Mark Alexander

Muslims Bigots: Kick Them Out of Our Peaceful Land!


Mark Alexander

No Convictions in Trial Against Muslim Charity
THE NEW YORK TIMES: DALLAS, Oct. 22 — A deadlocked federal jury here did not convict any leaders of a Muslim charity who were charged with supporting Middle Eastern terrorists, and the judge today declared a mistrial in what has been widely viewed as the government’s flagship terror-financing case.

The case, involving the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and five of its backers, is the government’s largest and most complex legal effort to shut down what it contends is American financing for terrorist organizations in the Middle East. President Bush announced he was freezing the charity’s assets in 2001, saying that the radical Islamic group Hamas had “obtained much of the money it pays for murder abroad right here in the United States.”

But at the trial, the government did not allege that the foundation, which was based in a Dallas suburb, paid directly for suicide bombings. Instead, the prosecution said, the foundation supported terrorism by sending more than $12 million to charitable groups, known as zakat committees, which build hospitals and feed the poor.

The prosecution said the committees were controlled by Hamas and contributed to terrorism by helping Hamas spread its ideology and recruit supporters. The government relied on Israeli intelligence agents, using pseudonyms, to testify in support of this theory.

But prosecutors appeared to have made little headway in convincing the jury. No Convictions in Trial Against Muslim Charity (more) By Leslie Eaton

Mark Alexander

100 Years After
Photo of J P Morgan courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Almost exactly 100 years ago at 4.45 in the morning of a November day on the corner of Madison and 35th Street in New York a group of some 50 or so exhausted men stumbled out into the street.

Some had not slept for days.

Behind them, on the other side of the monumental brass doors that closed behind them, they left a piece of paper which pledged them collectively to a loan of some $25m - about $10bn (£5bn) in today's money.

Beside it stood a large gentleman with a walrus moustache, who had forced them into the deal which ended a two-week financial panic that had come close to destroying New York's financial system. That man was J Pierpont Morgan.

From 1903 to 1906 the global economy had boomed and the Dow Jones had doubled.

But the global supply of gold to which all hard currency was pegged had not kept pace, and hard cash was increasingly scarce.

A hundred years later our credit squeeze had its genesis in the infamous sub-prime mortgage market of the US. 100 years after the 1907 credit crunch (more) By Jamie Robertson

Financial crises: Lessons from history By Steve Schifferes

Mark Alexander

Nicolas and His Femme Fatale
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: She wanted to "live in the shadows" but her husband wanted to live in the limelight.

So Cecilia summed up the inevitability of her marriage breakdown today in the French newspaper, L'Est Republicain.

The 49-year-old former model insisted they had "tried everything" to stay together. And even though she had run off to New York in 2005 with an advertising executive, she said she had returned with every intention of rebuilding her relationship.

"What happened to me has happened to millions of people," she said. "One day you just don't have your place in the couple... it does not work anymore."

France's former first lady went on to say she now wanted time to be able to put her family first.

The couple, who were both on their second marriage, had one child together, Louis, aged 11. They also had two children each from their previous marriages.

But for someone who explained her public absences by claiming it was a way "to not show oneself, not expose oneself, to protect oneself", Cecilia has been quick off the mark to get her side of the story in the press.

Especially so when the official divorce statement from the Elysee stated clearly that neither side wished to comment on their separation. Sarkozy split: Adieu to an ideal (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Nicolas and Cécilia divorce

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE:
Pour les Français, le divorce des Sarkozy est «une affaire privée»

Mark Alexander

The US Undergoes a Period of Doubt: Tim Egan’s Point of Vew
BBC: The US may be one of the most religious countries in the West but is it undergoing a period of doubt.

“A few days ago, I attended a memorial service for a friend who died far too young, of throat cancer. The service was held at a history museum, and it was packed - standing room only.

What was curious, initially, was the lack of any reference to religion. My friend had left a final set of instructions: he wanted to be remembered first as a husband to his wife of more than 20 years, and second as a citizen of his city, and third as a lover of history.

During the tributes, there were many references to how the past can inform our decisions in the present. There were nods to reason and friendship and love.

The closest anyone came to mentioning God or spirituality was when someone told the widow, as an aside, that you often visit the deceased through dreams - when they can appear at no particular prompting.

Even if the formal religion was absent, the habit of expressing a hope for spiritual optimism remains. The secular funeral is still somewhat of a novelty, at least to me.

But it may be something that we see more and more of in the future - particularly on the West Coast, the most unchurched part of the United States.

It may be daring to say it but America seems to be experiencing an atheist moment. Although "In God We Trust" was declared the national motto by an act of Congress more than 50 years ago and has been stamped on the currency for longer than that, some considerable doubt has developed of late. Keeping the faith: A point of view (more)

Mark Alexander

According to German-Led Team of Economists, Britain's Economic 'Miracle' Just a Sham
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's economic resurgence over the last fifteen years has been driven by record levels of household debt and a public spending spree that cannot continue, according a German-led team of economists.

In a damning new report "More Mirage than Miracle" published by the free-market think tank Policy Exchange, the analysts said Britain was relapsing into high-tax and high-regulation sclerosis just as the rest of Europe begins to shake itself out of statist lethargy.

The country's underlying slippage has been masked by a housing boom that creates a false sense of wealth and encourages people to over-spend by drawing cash from their homes.

The British are resorting to a Faustian Pact that leaves many of them with an ever greater debt burden. German team damn UK economic 'miracle' as a sham (more) By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Mark Alexander

The Profligate President
Photo of President Bush courtesy of The Times
TIMESONLINE: President Bush yesterday asked Congress for another multibillion-dollar slice of military funding, spending which should ensure the cost of the Iraq war rises over the $500 billion mark early in the new year.

His request for an additional $42 billion brings the total budget for Iraq and Afghanistan wars in the financial year beginning this month to $190 billion. Spending has risen from $8 billion a month last year to a projected $15 billion. President Bush presses Congress for extra $42 bn to fund wars (more) By Tom Baldwin in Washington

Mark Alexander

Mass Murder as Party Entertainment?
Photo courtesy of YNET NEWS
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Historians dispute the claim by a British journalist that Nazi fanatics attending a party near the Austro-Hungarian border in March 1945 killed 200 Hungarian Jews as an "additional entertainment" laid on by the hosts. The massacre did happen, though, and the circumstances surrounding it remain unclear.

A row has broken out among historians about one of the most spectacular Nazi crimes committed in Austria. On the night of March 24 to March 25, 1945, some 200 Hungarian Jews were murdered in the Austrian town of Rechnitz near the Austro-Hungarian border. The bodies of the victims still haven't been found.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper last week published an essay by British journalist David Litchfield in which he claims that several guests at a party held by Countess Margit von Batthyany, born Thyssen-Bornemisza, in Schloss Rechnitz castle were offered the chance to murder the Jews as an "additional entertainment" laid on by local Nazi party chief Franz Podezin. The guests accepted the offer, Litchfield wrote. Mass Murder as Party Entertainment? (more)

Mark Alexander

Ben Laden appelle les rebelles irakiens à s'unir
LE FIGARO: Un nouvel enregistrement sonore attribué au leader d'al Qaida a été diffusé lundi soir par la chaîne al-Jazeera.

Après une vidéo diffusée peu avant la commémoration des attentats du 11 septembre, c’est un enregistrement sonore attribué à Oussama Ben Laden que la télévision du Qatar al-Jazeera a rendu public lundi soir.

Dans cet enregistrement, le chef d'al Qaida appelle les insurgés irakiens à remplir leur "devoir" qui est "d'unifier les rangs afin d'en faire un seul, comme le veut Dieu". Et d’inciter "les hommes de foi honnêtes" à "déployer des efforts en vue d'unifier les rangs des combattants et de continuer sans fatiguer sur la voie qui les mène à cela".

"Prenez garde à la division (...) Le monde musulman attend de vous que vous soyez unis sous la même bannière pour défendre la vertu.", a-t-il prévenu avant d'expliquer : "la force de la foi réside dans la puissance des liens existant entre les musulmans, et non pas la force d'une tribu ou d'une nation". Ben Laden appelle les rebelles irakiens à s'unir (suivant)

NZZ:
Neue Audiobotschaft von Osama bin Laden veröffentlicht

Mark Alexander

Kalifornien brennt
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: (sda/afp) Bis Sonntagabend wüteten in Kalifornien laut den Behörden mindestens elf Grossbrände, vor allem in der Region von Los Angeles, San Diego und Santa Barbara. Die Flammen seien absolut nicht unter Kontrolle zu bekommen, sagte der Feuerwehrchef von Los Angeles, Michael Freeman. Gouverneur Arnold Schwarzenegger rief für die betroffenen Gebiete den Notstand aus. 250'000 fliehen in Kalifornien vor Bränden: Ein Mann in den Flammen umgekommen - Notstand ausgerufen

BBC:
Californians flee as fires rage

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
California burns

Mark Alexander

OBL Urges His Supporters to Unify Their Ranks
BBC: A new audio recording purportedly by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has urged insurgent groups in Iraq to unify their ranks.

"The interest of the Islamic nation surpasses that of a group - it is more important than that of a state," says the message broadcast on al-Jazeera TV. 'Bin Laden call' to Iraq fighters

Mark Alexander

The BBC Leads the Way in Covering the Swiss Election Victory for Christoph Blocher in the UK
BBC: The right-wing Swiss People's Party has won the most votes recorded in a Swiss general election, despite a campaign marred by accusations of racism.

The SVP, already the country's largest party, won 29% of the vote and gained seven seats on the National Council.

"We have reached the highest score ever since this electoral system began," said party leader Ueli Maurer.

The left-of-centre Social Democrats were the biggest losers of Sunday's polls, losing nine seats. Record poll win for Swiss right (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Swiss right wing in poll win

Mark Alexander

If This Is the Shape of the Conservative Party to Come, Then All I Can Say Is This: Shame on the Tories!
BNP*: Labour may be the party of government and so deservedly gets the blame for allowing the creeping Islamification of our country but the leading party of opposition is not far behind Labour in its dhimmitude. The Conservatives want Muslim votes as eagerly as does Labour as it haemorrhages support amongst its traditional base of “middle England”.

The Conservative Muslim Forum, a body set up by David Cameron to advise the Conservatives on Muslim issues has criticised the Government's relationship with Israel and concluded that Iran has "legitimate" reasons for wanting nuclear weapons.

The Conservative Muslim Forum also wants the compulsory history curriculum in schools changed to give "full recognition to the massive contribution that Islam has made to the development of Western civilisation".

It also argues that preachers who advocate a rejection of democracy and its institutions should not be denied entry into Britain. Conservatives chase Muslim votes (more)

*Please note that placing this article on my website should in no way be construed as an endorsement of the BNP. That goes for any other piece that I might place up on this website from any other party, too.

Mark Alexander

Chubby Gord Promotoes Diet and Sport to Tackle Childhood Obesity
Why don’t you take a leaf out of the kids’ book, Gord? It looks as if you could do with a little exercise yourself!



Mark Alexander

The Swiss Election, Blocher’s Victory, Not Reported in the British Press. Why Not?
None of the following newspapers (The Telegraph, TimesOnline, The Guardian, Daily Mail), nor BBC Europe, has found it necessary to inform the people, their readers, that Christoph Blocher, the Justice Minister and head of SVP, won the election yesterday in Switzerland. Incredible!

Many, of course, found the Swiss election to have overtones of racism; in reality, however, the Swiss were merely looking after themselves. And who can blame them for that?

©Mark Alexander

A Pointed Warning for Iran from Dick Cheney
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LANDSDOWNE, Va., Oct. 21 — Vice President Dick Cheney issued a pointed warning to Iran on Sunday, calling the government in Tehran “a growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East” and promising “serious consequences” if the government there does not abandon its nuclear program.

The remarks, just days after President Bush suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to “World War III,” amounted to Part II of a one-two punch from the administration at a moment when it is trying to persuade its allies in Europe to impose stiffer sanctions on Tehran. Those efforts grew more complicated on Saturday when Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator resigned on the eve of crucial talks with Europe.

“The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences,” Mr. Cheney said, without specifying what those might be. “The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Cheney, Like President, Has a Warning for Iran (more) By Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Mark Alexander

The Horrors of Islam: Al-Shari’ah and the Barbaric Treatment of Women
Hat tip to Citizen Warrior for this horrific video. Be warned: This video has scenes which many will find extremely difficult to watch:


YouTube has taken this video down, but you can still view it HERE
Please be aware that this video is suitable neither for the weak of stomach nor children.

Mark Alexander

Flirtatious Sarkozy Plays the Field
TIMESONLINE: OVER the past few weeks a French cable television channel has been playing Love Actually, the film featuring Hugh Grant as a bachelor British prime minister who is smitten with a member of his staff.

France is lapping it up - the French prime minister’s household enjoyed a viewing recently – but no film could compete with the Gallic version unfolding in real life as Nicolas Sarkozy, the pint-sized president, is left on his own at the summit of power after separating from Cécilia, his glamorous wife.

Their divorce proceedings have unleashed a torrent of speculation about how “super Sarko”, as the hyperactive leader is known, will fare as the first bachelor head of state in France since Napoleon divorced Josephine when she could not bear him a child.

From François Mitterrand’s “secret” family to the escapades of Jacques Chirac – when he was mayor of Paris his nickname was “three minutes including shower” – French politicians’ love lives follow a colourful tradition. Although elected on a platform of “rupture” with the past, Sarkozy is unlikely to be the exception. Far from it.

In what seems certain to become a national pastime, speculation began last week about who would be the next “première dame” as the country prepared for the unprecedented spectacle of a president playing the field.

Sarkozy, who has two grown-up sons from his first marriage, is often described as a seductive figure and Cécilia, a tall former model who has two grown-up daughters from her own first marriage, enjoys the same reputation. Together they have Louis, a 10-year-old son, but the marriage had deteriorated recently to such an extent that Cécilia stopped appearing with Sarkozy in public, fuelling rumours that they may have sought comfort elsewhere.

“I dedicated 20 years of my life to Nicolas, 20 years that were not always easy, far from it,” Cécilia, 49, said yesterday in Elle magazine. “They were 20 years in which I devoted myself to him in the shadow.”

Sarkozy, who has made clear in the past how crucial Cécilia was to his wellbeing, seemed, nevertheless, to have begun turning the page. There is no shortage of women to keep him amused.

As he came out of a meeting with ministers a few weeks ago, a photographer caught him carrying a letter which said: “I haven’t seen you for an eternity and I miss you . . . a million little kisses.” French tongues wag as Nicolas Sarkozy plays the field (more) By Matthew Campbell in Paris

TIMESONLINE:
Cécilia Sarkozy in her own words

Mark Alexander

Wildfires Rage in California
BBC: At least one person has been killed and thousands evacuated as at least 12 wildfires rage across the US state of California, fanned by fierce winds.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven counties, with 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares) burnt from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In Malibu, a large blaze forced stars including film director James Cameron and Olivia Newton-John to flee.

Officials say the ground is tinder dry after a record summer heatwave. Wildfires blaze across California (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Wildfires Rage in Malibu

WATCH GUARDIAN VIDEO:
California wildfire: A blaze rages in the hills above Malibu, threatening million-dollar homes

THE GUARDIAN:
35,000 flee as wildfires rip through southern California

TIMESONLINE:
Hollywood stars evacuated as California wildfires threaten Malibu

Mark Alexander