Hillary Clinton's Former Top Aide Latest Democrat to Criticise Barack Obama

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A former top strategist to Hillary Clinton has added his voice to a growing chorus of Democratic criticism of President Barack Obama, arguing that he is moving too far to the Left when he "should be claiming the vital centre, not abandoning it".

Mark Penn, who was Mrs Clinton's chief strategist for most of her presidential campaign after previously being a senior aide to her husband President Bill Clinton, accused Mr Obama of having "wandered into the thicket of class warfare".

His intervention came after a speech on Monday in which Mr Obama advocated raising $1.5 trillion in taxes, mainly on high earners, over the next decade. This was widely interpreted as a repositioning to the Left and was broadly welcomed by liberal activists and groups.

In an article for the Huffington Post website, Mr Penn wrote: "Barack Obama is careering down the wrong path towards re-election. He should be working as a president, not a candidate. He should be claiming the vital centre, not abandoning it.

"He should be holding down taxes rather than raising them. He should be mastering the global economy, not running away from it. And most of all, he should be bringing the country together rather than dividing it through class warfare." Read on and comment » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Army Criticised for 'Mosques' on Firing Range
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim group has criticised the Army for using structures on a firing range that resemble mosques.

Bradford Council for Mosques said the features on Bellerby firing range at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire should be taken down immediately.

The Army has apologised but said it was vital soldiers trained in an environment which replicated where they were deployed.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the structures were ''generic Eastern buildings'' and were not used as target practice.

Mohammed Saleem Khan, chief executive of the Bradford Council for Mosques, said the shape and colour of the structures - a green dome - symbolised an Islamic place of worship. >>> | Thursday, April 08, 2010

Germans Tell Greeks to Rise Earlier and Work Harder to Avoid Financial Crisis
THE TELEGRAPH: A German tabloid has advised Greeks to adopt a more Germanic work ethic – by rising earlier and working harder – in order to solve the country's financial crisis.

On Thursday, two German politicians told their Greek counterparts that the country should sell off its assets – art, historic buildings and islands – before accepting international aid.

George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, was dispatched abroad, to seek the help of European leaders including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, in addressing the country's mounting debt.

But Germany's Bild tabloid had another suggestion, calling on Greek citizens to adopt a more Germanic work ethic in an open letter to Mr Papandreou. Dear Mr Prime Minister, >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI Criticises 'Tide of Secularism' in UK and Support for Euthanasia
THE TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI has criticised the “increasing tide of secularism” in Britain, in his second comments on the country in a week.

The pontiff condemned support for euthanasia, which he said goes directly against the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life, and recent developments in embryo research.

He also said that too many people see the Roman Catholic Church in terms of “prohibitions and retrograde positions” but ignore its positive vision of the world.

The pope added that faith schools are a “powerful force” for improving society.

It comes just days after Benedict XVI made an unprecedented attack on Labour’s “unjust” equality laws, claiming that they restricted religious freedom. >>> Martin Beckford | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Bob Ainsworth criticises Barack Obama over Afghanistan
THE TELEGRAPH: Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, has blamed Barack Obama and the United States for the decline in British public support for the war in Afghanistan.

He took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.

A “period of hiatus” in Washington - and a lack of clear direction - had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.

Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan.

However, Mr Ainsworth is the first minister to express in public what amounts to personal criticism of the President’s leadership. >>> James Kirkup, Thomas Harding and Toby Harnden | Wednesday, November 25, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Iraq war files: British colonel's scathing attack on 'arrogant, bureaucratic' Americans >>> | Monday, November 23, 2009

DIE PRESSE: Auf Bush-Kurs: Obama lehnt Landminen-Verbot ab: US-Präsident Obama behält die Politik seines Vorgängers Bush bei: Die USA schließen sich als einziges Nato-Land nicht der Konvention zum Verbot von Landminen an. >>> Ag. | Mittwoch, 25. November 2009

Iranian Becomes Hero After Criticising Ayatollah Khamenei to His Face
THE TELEGRAPH: A college mathematics student has become an unlikely hero to many Iranians after he insulted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to his face.

Mahmoud Vahidnia has received an outpouring of support from government opponents for the challenge – unprecedented in a country where criticising the supreme leader is a crime punishable by prison.

The confrontation happened at a question-and-answer session between Khamenei and students at Tehran's Sharif Technical University.

Some of those in attendance at the Oct 28 forum said the Ayatollah appeared taken aback by the questioning and left the meeting early.

The session began with a speech in which the supreme leader told the students the "biggest crime" was to question the results of the June 12 presidential election that returned hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. The Ayatollah declared Mr Ahmadinejad the victor despite opposition claims of widespread fraud.

After the speech, Mr Vahidnia raised his hand, then for 20 minutes he criticised the Iranian leader over the fierce crackdown on post-election protests, in which the opposition said 69 people were killed and thousands were arrested.

In brief excerpts broadcast on state TV, the thin, bespectacled Vahidnia was shown standing behind a podium, gesturing.

"I don't know why in this country it's not allowed to make any kind of criticism of you," said the student. >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, November 06, 2009

President Ahmadinejad Criticised as He Puts Together New Cabinet
TIMES ONLINE: The cracks in Iran’s political establishment became clear yesterday as conservatives came out strongly against President Ahmadinejad’s choices for Cabinet.

In the first day of confirmation proceedings in parliament, MPs repeatedly questioned the President’s picks, accusing him of choosing unquestioning loyalists over those properly qualified for the job.

Mr Ahmadinejad is tasked with forming a new Government amid unprecedented opposition following his disputed election victory. He has been under assault from reformist minded rivals and mass public opposition since the election but in recent weeks conservatives have joined the open defiance, voicing their anger at his monopolisation of key Government posts.

MPs from both sides joined in the attack in the first day of what looks to be a deeply contentious confirmation process ending with a vote on Tuesday. >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Monday, August 31, 2009

Obama Assails Iran for Violent Response to Protests
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Obama harshly condemned the Iranian crackdown against demonstrations on Tuesday, declaring the rest of the world “appalled and outraged” and dismissing what he called “patently false and absurd” accusations that the United States instigated the protests.

In his sharpest and most expansive comments on the crisis in Tehran since the June 12 elections that the opposition called rigged, Mr. Obama deplored the violence that has killed some protesters, including a young woman whose death was captured on a video that has been played around the world.

“While this loss is raw and painful,” the president said, “we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.” >>> Jeff Zeleny and Peter Baker | Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Israel to EU: Criticism of Netanyahu Government Unacceptable
HAARETZ: A Foreign Ministry official has been warning European countries that unless they curtail criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, Israel will block the European Union from participating in the diplomatic process with the Palestinians.

The main target of the offensive is EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who recently called for a freeze in upgrading ties with Israel over its peace process policies.

Several days ago, the deputy director for Europe at the Foreign Ministry, Rafi Barak, began calling European ambassadors in Israel regarding the attitude toward the new government. The first conversations were with France's Jean-Michel Casa, Britain's Tom Phillips and the Charge d'Affaires of the German embassy.

Barak sharply protested the criticism by European ministers and senior EU officials about Israel's government.

Barak singled out Ferrero-Waldner in his rebuke and said her statements were troubling in their form, style and timing. >>> By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent | Thursday, April 30, 2009

Obama Bid to Turn to Moderate Taliban 'Will Fail'
THE GUARDIAN: Co-opting fighters unlikely to succeed, say critics / Fighters view US overture as sign of weakness

Barack Obama's call for "moderate" Taliban members to be brought in from the cold met with scepticism yesterday from leading Afghan opposition figures, who warned that co-opting fighters would fail as long as Hamid Karzai's government appeared weak and corrupt.

Repeating a successful strategy in Iraq, Obama floated the idea of appealing to Taliban adherents who are alienated by the extremism of al-Qaida fighters and might be prepared to switch sides.

"Part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of al-Qaida in Iraq," Obama said in an interview published yesterday. "There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region."

But opposition figures warned that insurgents groups rarely ceded ground when they thought they were winning.

Ashraf Ghani, a former Afghanistan finance minister, who is to stand as presidential candiate in the elections in August, said: "I don't know of a single peace process that has been successfully negotiated from a position of weakness or stalemate."

A Taliban spokesman, who said that the US president's overture was a sign of weakness, poured cold water on the notion that "moderate" fighters could be easily turned. >>> Jon Boone in Kabul | Monday, March 9, 2009

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This Government Is a Pack of ...
THE TELEGRAPH: Leading bishops in the Church of England have launched a withering attack on the Government questioning the morality of its policies.

Five of the Church’s most senior figures said the Government now presided over a country suffering from family breakdown, an unhealthy reliance on debt and a growing divide between rich and poor.

The Bishop of Manchester accused Labour of being “beguiled by money” and “morally corrupt”.

The Bishop of Hulme said they were “morally suspect” and the Bishop of Durham said they had reneged on their promises.

They were joined by the bishops of Winchester and Carlisle who claimed ministers had squandered their opportunity to transform society and run out of steam.

The bishops said Labour sacrificed principled politics and long-term solutions for policies designed to win votes. One described the Government as “tired” and another said its policies were “scandalous”.

Meanwhile, in an article for The Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron accused Gordon Brown of leading Britain to the “brink of bankruptcy”. Bishops Deliver Damning Verdict on Britain under Labour Rule >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, December 28, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

The Queen is Angered by Prince Andrew’s Attack on the White House
THE TELEGRAPH: The Duke of York has angered the Queen and senior politicians with his extraordinary attack on the White House on the eve of his trade mission to the United States.

Downing Street and the Foreign Office were also dismayed by the timing of his comments so close to the Super Tuesday primaries.

The duke's criticism, in a newspaper interview, of President Bush's post-war strategy for Iraq demolished the protocol that members of the Royal Family refrain from public comment on sensitive international and political issues.

In the interview, timed to mark the start of his 10-day mission to the US in his role as a British trade envoy, he said that there were "occasions when people in the UK would wish that those in responsible positions in the US might listen and learn from our experiences".

The aftermath of the Iraq conflict fuelled a "healthy scepticism" towards what is said in Washington, and a feeling of "why didn't anyone listen to what was said and the advice that was given?"

The remarks caused astonishment in Whitehall. The Prime Minister's official spokesman declined to be drawn but both Downing Street and the Foreign Office were irritated.

A senior Whitehall source said: "The remarks are not just unhelpful but the timing could not be much worse as the Super Tuesday primaries unfold.

"If Iraq had been a big issue in those elections his remarks could have been turned into a major diplomatic incident. He of all people should know that."

The Queen, who always studiously avoids politically sensitive subjects, was unhappy at the controversy, according to royal sources. One said: "Of course he should not have strayed into that area." Prince Andrew angers Palace with US attack >>> By Andrew Pierce

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