Saudi Beheaded for Murder
THE PENINSULA (Qatar): RIYADH: A Saudi man convicted of murdering a compatriot was beheaded by the sword yesterday, the interior ministry announced.

Salehm Dhibani was executed in Tabuk, in northwest Saudi Arabia, after being found guilty of shooting to death Rafaa Al Hawiti during a dispute, according to a ministry statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The beheading brought to 19 the number of executions announced since the beginning of the year. [Source: The Peninsula] AFP | Saturday, April 4, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Ex-Muslim Warns West of Plot to Impose Islamic Law
THE CHRISTIAN POST: Open, tolerant, and generous Western nations are being taking advantage of, warns a former Muslim from the Middle East who now lives in America.

Muslims in Arab countries as well as some born and bred in the West are aggressively pushing to impose Sharia law, or Islamic law, in countries such as Britain and the United States, among others, claims Nonie Darwish, who lived under Sharia law for 30 years in Egypt.

“To live under Islamic Sharia law is to live in the world’s largest maximum-security prison, and I for one don’t want to be incarcerated again,” writes Darwish in her new book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.

For many Westerners, it is hard to believe that cruel punishments, extreme oppression of women’s rights, and unjust marriage customs as seen in Sharia can still exist in the 21st century.

But it does exist, Darwish says, and is applied in strict Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, and Sudan. Some states in northern Nigeria also have Sharia courts, and recently the Northwest region of Pakistan was allowed to enact Sharia law to appease terrorists.

In the West, Canada allowed Sharia family arbitration from 1991 to 2006, and Great Britain allows it on a limited scale. >>> By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter | Saturday, April 4, 2009

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Haider Widow Meets Pope for Easter Blessing
AUSTRIAN TIMES: The widow of former Carinthian Governor Jörg Haider has visited the Pope at the Vatican to receive a blessing before spending her first Easter alone.



Claudia Haider and her daughter Ulrike visited Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday this week with a small group after making the request to see him.



The last trip Haider made with her late husband was to Rome, where the Pope received them both. She reportedly wanted to get the Pope’s blessing before spending her first Easter without her late husband.



Claudia Haider gave the Pope a photograph of her late husband, the Pope and herself taken during the papal audience at which the Pope had received the two of them. >>> Austrian Times | Thursday, April 2, 2009

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Obama Brown-noses King Abdullah: A Bow to End All Bows!
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Conservative American commentators have accused Barack Obama of "grovelling" to an Arab monarch at the G20 summit in London.

A photo and video footage of the US President bowing to Saudi Arabian King Abdullah at yesterday's G20 meet-and-greet has been doing the rounds on the internet today.

Obama grovels to the Saudi king.
Mr Obama appears to shake the King's hand and then bow from the waist while French President Nicholas Sarkozy looks on.
Leading conservative blogger Michelle Malkin and Dakota Voice both wrote of their outrage at the President's deference to a foreign monarch.

"The whole thing is embarrassing. Its like the 'American Hillbillies go to Europe'," Malkin wrote.

"He is throwing American power and prestige out with both hands as fast as he can."

Dakota Voice contributor Bob Ellis said the bow was a gesture of submission.

"The leader of the most free nation in the world should not be slobbering on the ring of some king," Ellis wrote. Obama and the King: A Right Royal Bow Row >>> Georgina Robinson | Friday, April 3, 2009

Obama fawning to the Saudi king in a disgusting act of extreme dhimmitude. From now on, it would be more appropriate to call the president Barack Hussein Abdulmalik (meaning: 'slave of the king').

Pakistani Court to Hear Public Flogging Case
ABC News (Australia): The chief justice of Pakistan has intervened over a video in circulation showing the public flogging of a teenage girl in the north-western Swat Valley area.

Chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has called a court hearing on the matter next week.

He has ordered top government officials from North West Frontier Province to appear in person and produce the girl, who is shown in the video being held down by two men while a third hits her with a strap while she cries out in pain.

A human rights activist, Tahira Abdullah, described the flogging as a defamation of Islam.

"I am sickened to the core. I feel nauseous," she said. >>> | Saturday, April 4, 2009

Dhimmitude! Outright Dhimmitude! Read This Article and You’ll Be Nauseated! Have the British Lost All Sense of What Once Made Them a Great Nation?
THIS IS MONEY: As borrowers and savers call for a fairer banking system, are the principals of Islamic banking the answer? We take a look at the Islamic Bank of Britain

Tired of hearing about fat cat bank bonuses when you have been a bank's loyal saver for decades and received nothing?

Well, there is a new bank in Britain offering out a share of its profits, not just to shareholders, but those who deposit savings into its coffers.

The main aim of the Islamic Bank of Britain is to offer 'Sharia compliant' ways of borrowing and saving for British Muslims, which are in tune with Islamic law.

Non-Muslim bank customers can also benefit from this as Sharia rules – based on ethical trading principles – mean ordinary customers benefit along with the bank in the good times.

But they can also lose if the bank starts to lose funds. Is Islamic Banking the Model for Fairness? >>> Alan O’Sullivan | Saturday, April 4, 2009

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Emanuel Shilo – Opinion: In Praise of Lieberman
YNET NEWS: Foreign minister’s induction speech merely expressed what most Israelis think

This time, Lieberman did not speak with exaggerated zeal. He did not call for the bombing of Egypt’s Aswan dam. He merely expressed the opinion of most Israeli citizens, whose vote in the last elections proved that they too, just like Lieberman, no longer believe in peace that will be achieved through concessions.

The incoming foreign minister’s declaration that in exchange for peace with Syria he is only willing to give peace – and not the Golan Heights – is the consistent continuation of his declarations from the election campaign, which resulted in an especially impressive electoral outcome.

Meanwhile, the demand for reciprocity in the relationship with Egypt will also resonate positively among many Israelis. The Israeli public is not blind to what is going on. It recognizes the country through which rockets are being smuggled, to later explode on the streets of Sderot and Ashkelon.

When it comes to Lieberman, one of the less predictable politicians in Israel, it is difficult to know when we are dealing with a frank declaration of intentions and when is it merely a smoke screen. However, if his speech on Wednesday indeed outlined his future policy, he did well by stating this as early as his first day on the job. Reminder to Bibi >>> Emanuel Shilo | Saturday, April 4, 2009

Streit um Generalsekretär: Nato findet kein Mittel gegen Blockade durch Türkei
WELT ONLINE: Fehlstart des Jubiläumsgipfels der Nato: Die Staats- und Regierungschef der Bündnisländer konnten sich am ersten Abend nicht auf einen neuen Generalsekretär einigen. Die Türkei blockiert die Ernennung des dänischen Regierungschefs Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Dies ist auch eine erste Niederlage für Kanzlerin Angela Merkel.

Gilt bislang als aussichtsreichster Kandidat für den Posten des Nato-Generalsekretärs: der dänische Regierungschef Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Bild dank der Welt
Die Staats- und Regierungschefs der 28 Nato-Staaten haben einen Streit über den neuen Generalsekretär des Bündnisses noch nicht beilegen können. Sie beschlossen am späten Freitagabend auf ihrem Gipfeltreffen in Baden-Baden nach Angaben von Diplomaten lediglich, an diesem Samstag einen neuen Einigungsversuch zu unternehmen. Der türkische Präsident Abdullah Gül hielt an seinen Bedenken gegen den dänischen Regierungschef Anders Fogh Rasmussen, der bislang als aussichtsreichster Kandidat für den Posten gilt, fest.

Sowohl US-Präsident Barack Obama als auch Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel und Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy hätten vergeblich versucht, Gül umzustimmen. Nach Angaben von Diplomaten wollte Obama vor dem neuen Einigungsversuch vom Samstag noch einmal mit Gül sprechen. Der türkische Regierungschef Recep Tayyip Erdogan hatte am Freitag seine Ablehnung Rasmussens bekräftigt. Ankara ist vor allem erbost, dass Rasmussen bisher nichts gegen einen in Dänemark beheimateten kurdischen Fernsehsender getan hat. Auch die Haltung im Streit um den Abdruck von Karikaturen des Propheten Mohammed in einer dänischen Zeitung vor vier Jahren stößt auf Ablehnung. >>> dpa/AP/AFP/nic | Freitag, 3. April 2009

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USA: Raucher zahlen bald 150 Prozent mehr Tabaksteuer
WELT ONLINE: In den USA haben Raucher es schwer. Erlaubt ist das Rauchen fast nur noch im Freien und in Wohnungen. Nun steigt auch noch die Tabaksteuer von 39 Cent auf 1,01 Dollar pro Schachtel. Die Entscheidung liefert Gegnern von Präsident Barack Obama Munition. Denn betroffen sind vor allem Amerikaner mit kleinem Einkommen.

Bild dank Google Images
Viele Raucher in den USA sind sauer. Die Liebhaber des Glimmstängels, die wegen der vielen Verbote fast nur noch unter freiem Himmel qualmen dürfen, werden nun auch noch vom Staat zur Kasse gebeten: Diese Woche wurde in den USA die Tabaksteuer von 39 Cent pro Zigarettenpackung auf 1,01 Dollar erhöht. Landesweit kostet eine Packung nach der jüngsten Steuererhöhung fünf bis sechs Dollar.

Gegner von Präsident Barack Obama wittern darin eine Chance zum Angriff: Die Tabaksteuer werde vor allem von unteren und mittleren Einkommensgruppen bezahlt, schrieb der konservative Wirtschaftsexperte Brad Schiller im "Wall Street Journal". Genau diesen Bürgern habe Obama aber versprochen, nicht die Steuern zu erhöhen.

Auch die Tabakindustrie nutzt dieses Argument: Die Mehrzahl der Raucher in den USA sei eher arm und könne sich Steuererhöhungen am wenigsten leisten, empört sich Tommy Payne, Vizepräsident des Tabakkonzerns Reynolds American. >>> epd/fsl/ks | Freitag, 3. April 2009

Taliban bekennen sich zu Amoklauf in den USA: Angeblich Antwort auf US-Luftangriffe - Aussagen widersprechen sich
NZZ Online: Nach dem bewaffneten Überfall auf ein Einwanderungszentrum im amerikanischen Teilstaat New York hat der Führer der Taliban in Pakistan die Verantwortung für die Bluttat übernommen. Die Attentäter seien Taliban gewesen, sagte er in Interviews.

Der Attentäter in Binghampton sei angeblich ein Taliban gewesen. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
Der Führer der radikal-islamischen Taliban in Pakistan hat sich zu der Geiselnahme mit 14 Toten in einem amerikanischen Einwanderungszentrum bekannt. «Ich übernehme die Verantwortung. Das waren meine Männer», sagte Baitullah Mehsud pakistanischen Medien und der britischen BBC am Telefon. In den USA hatte es jedoch zuvor keinerlei Hinweise auf einen terroristischen Hintergrund gegeben.

Mehsud sprach von zwei pakistanischen Tätern, von denen einer entkommen konnte. Die amerikanische Polizei hatte dagegen nach der Bluttat im Teilstaat New York von einem aus Asien stammende Täter gesprochen, der sich durch einen Kopfschuss selbst umgebracht habe. Sein Motiv sei unklar. >>> sda/dpa | Samstag, 4. April 2009

Secret bancaire: la Suisse va agir vite
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: G20 | La volonté de la Suisse d'agir dans le domaine du secret bancaire est sincère, a souligné Micheline Calmy-Rey dans une interview au «Temps».

Micheline Calmy-Rey. Photo grâce à la Tribune de Genève
«Nous n'avons aucun avantage à traîner les pieds car notre intérêt, c'est d'obtenir les mêmes conditions-cadres pour toutes les places financières. Nous avons de sérieuses concurrentes», a relevé la ministre des affaires étrangères. Celle-ci rappelle que le gouvernement est déterminé à concrétiser ses décisions, qui mettent fin à la distinction entre fraude et évasion fiscale.

Le fait que la Suisse se retrouve, après le sommet du G20, sur une liste grise s'explique vu qu'elle a pris des engagements, mais doit encore les mettre en vigueur. Et la renégociation de 74 accords de double imposition prendra un peu de temps, explique Micheline Calmy-Rey. >>> ATS | Samedi 04 Avril 2009

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Strasbourg : nouveaux heurts entre police et manifestants
Vingt-cinq personnes ont été interpellées, samedi matin. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Samedi matin, les forces de l'ordre ont fait usage de gaz lacrymogène pour repousser environ 1.800 personnes qui tentaient de pénétrer dans le centre-ville. Vingt-cinq personnes ont été interpellées.

De nouveaux heurts ont opposé samedi matin des manifestants anti-Otan aux forces de l'ordre, à Strasbourg, quelques heures avant une manifestation «monstre». Environ 1.800 personnes dispersées en plusieurs groupes ont tenté de pénétrer dans le centre-ville, et les policiers ont fait usage de gaz lacrymogène pour les repousser. Aucun blessé n'était signalé. Vingt-cinq personnes ont été interpellées.

Les manifestants qui espèrent encercler la zone d'accès restreint autour des sites du sommet pour en perturber le déroulement, se déplaçaient très rapidement d'un carrefour à l'autre, tentant de surprendre les forces de l'ordre. Parmi eux, il y a beaucoup de filles, de jeunes, beaucoup d'Allemands, avec des casquettes, des cagoules, des lunettes de soleil ou des masques respiratoires.

Un groupe d'une trentaine de personnes ayant réussi à franchir un pont sur un canal en direction du centre historique de la ville a été refoulé par des gendarmes mobiles qui ont tiré des gaz lacrymogènes. Ils ont retraversé le pont dans le calme, les mains levées en scandant «No NATO» («non à l'Otan»), avant de courir vers un autre carrefour, imités de l'autre côté du canal par les gendarmes.

«On est en train de gagner la guerre», s'est félicité un CRS en référence au succès des forces de l'ordre à maintenir, jusqu'ici, les militants en dehors de la ceinture strasbourgeoise. >>> lefigaro.fr avec AFP et AP | Samedi 04 Avril 2009

Les turpitudes de Lieberman
leJDD.fr: Pour la deuxième journée consécutive, le nouveau ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, Avigdor Lieberman, a été entendu par la police vendredi, dans le cadre d'une enquête sur une affaire de corruption. Le leader ultranationaliste nie toute implication et dénonce un piège politique. Il y a deux jours, il avait estimé qu'Israël n'était pas lié par le processus de paix lancé à Annapolis.

Avigdor Lieberman. Photo: Google Images
A peine ministre et déjà entendu par la police. Nommé mardi par Benjamin Netanyahou au poste de ministre des Affaires étrangères, Avigdor Lieberman a été entendu vendredi par la police dans le cadre d'une enquête sur une affaire de corruption. Et ce, pour la deuxième fois en deux jours. Selon le porte-parole de la police Mickey Rosenfeld, l'interrogatoire a duré cinq heures vendredi, sept heures et demie jeudi. Il devrait être prochainement réinterrogé.

L'enquête, ouverte depuis treize ans, porte sur des suspicions de pots-de-vin, blanchiment d'argent et abus de confiance. Le nouveau chef de la diplomatie israélienne avait déjà été interrogé dans ce cadre, avant sa prise de fonction. Selon le quotidien israélien Haaretz, le leader ultranationaliste aurait notamment reçu des pots-de-vin via une firme de consultants dirigée par sa fille, Michal. Cette dernière a également été interrogée par la police, ainsi que plusieurs de ses collaborateurs, avant les élections législatives anticipées du 10 février. La police n'a pas révélé les détails de l'enquête. Un porte-parole du département chypriote de lutte contre le blanchiment a toutefois révélé vendredi qu'elle lui avait réclamé des éclaircissements sur certaines transactions financières effectuées sur les comptes de Lieberman. >>> Par Marianne ENAULT, leJDD.fr | Vendredi 03 Avril 2009

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The Liberal Economist Who's Become Obama's Chief Critic
THE INDEPENDENT: Forget the Republicans, the biggest thorn in the President's side is Paul Krugman. Stephen Foley reports

Paul Krugman On the bank bailout: 'The plans are a classic exercise in 'lemon socialism': taxpayers bear the cost if things go wrong, stockholders and executives get the benefits if things go right. Photo courtesy of The Independent
His apocalyptic warnings have sent readers flocking to his blog. A viral video of a Californian man literally singing his praises is a hit on YouTube. Tickets to a lecture he was giving in California last night were going for $135 (£91). Newsweek magazine just put him on the cover and dubbed him the head of "the loyal opposition". Paul Krugman is the man of the moment. And Team Obama is rattled.

While the US leader has been entrancing foreign statesmen on a whirlwind tour of Europe and trying to craft an era of bipartisanship back home, his staunchest opponent has appeared from very close quarters – from the left – threatening a crisis of confidence that could capsize his infant presidency.

The Obama administration has been blindsided by the emergence of Mr Krugman – not even a politician, but an economist – as a focus for dissidents who believe it is not doing enough to repair the economy.

On both pillars of Mr Obama's economic strategy – the $800bn package to stimulate the economy and the $1 trillion bailout for the financial sector – the bearded Princeton university professor has been the President's most coruscating critic.

Mr Krugman has been doing his New York Times column for a decade. He has long been a staple on political talk shows and gained new respect last year when he won the Nobel prize for economics for his work on international trade. But in the past few months, he has tapped into the anxiety of a wider audience, which is asking the question of the moment: will the Obama recovery plan work?

His answer is no. The economic stimulus Bill was far smaller than required to combat soaring job losses, which yesterday passed five million since the start of the US recession. Worse, the plan to repair the banking system – lending private investors up to $1 trillion to buy toxic mortgage assets from the country's ailing banks, in the hope of freeing them up to start lending again – is doomed, because it is based on the flawed notion that the major US banks are fundamentally sound. >>> Stephen Foley | Saturday, April 4, 2009

YOUTUBE: The Shortcomings of the Stimulus Plan

Pakistani Taliban Chief Claims U.S. Shooting
REUTERS: PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah [sic] Mehsud claimed on Saturday responsibility for an attack on a U.S. immigration center in New York state in which 13 people were killed.

"I accept responsibility. They were my men. I gave them orders in reaction to U.S. drone attacks," Mehsud told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. >>> Reporting by Alamgir Bitani; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel | Saturday, April 4, 2009

REUTERS: New York Immigrant Center Shooting Leaves 14 Dead

BINGHAMTON, New York - A man armed with two handguns killed 13 people at an immigration services center before apparently turning the gun on himself, authorities in Binghamton, New York, said on Friday.

Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told a news conference the gunman blocked the back entrance of the building with a car, walked in the front door and shot two receptionists, one of whom died, before entering a classroom and killing 12 more people and then apparently committing suicide.

He said that four other people were critically wounded in the latest U.S. shooting incident with multiple casualties.

One of the receptionists survived, pretending to be dead before crawling under a desk where she managed to call police, Zikuski said. She was in critical condition in a hospital. >>> By Hans Pennink | Saturday, April 4, 2009

Hate Cleric, Abu Qatada, Issues Rallying Cry from Prison
Abu Qatada is considered to be the most dangerous jihadi and ideologue to have operated from Britain. He has smuggled a letter out of prison which has inflamed radicals around the world. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: The extremist cleric Abu Qatada has issued a 6,000-word rallying cry to his followers from inside one of Britain’s most secure prison units.

The Palestinian preacher hails the “victory” of the Mujahidin and claims that his treatment has helped to radicalise a new generation of young British Muslims.

Despite demanding his freedom, he says that “the gift of prison” has helped him to lose more than 50lb (22kg) in weight. He even suggests that a vigorous exercise programme appears to have cured his diabetes and back trouble.

The cleric boasts of being told by Bilal Abdullah, the NHS doctor jailed for the car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow in 2007, that he was heavily influenced by the cleric’s taped sermons. He describes the bomber, who narrowly failed in his attempts to blow up a nightclub and airport terminal, as “truthfully a man from the men of Islam, in knowledge, action, steadfastness and manhood”.

His communiqué was smuggled out of Long Lartin high-security jail, Worcestershire, and is circulating on jihadi websites and forums, where it is attracting widespread comment. The ease with which it has been distributed is an embarrassment for Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who is in charge of prisons, and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who leads the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy. >>> Sean O’Neill, Crime and Security Editor and Richard Ford, Home Correspondent | Saturday, April 4, 2009

By Law - Women Must Preen for Men
TIMESONLINE: In male-dominated Afghanistan, women are treated like chattel. What's changed since the Taleban?

Let's take a walk,” I suggested to Aziza. Kabul was in full bloom. The sun's rays had burnt the barren earth, but didn't reach us in the basement apartment in a grey, dilapidated neighbourhood in the outskirts of the city. My back was aching after weeks hunched on the floor listening to women talk of life behind four walls.

“A walk?” She looked at me in bewilderment. “A walk to where?”

“Just around here,” I tried.

Impossible. A walk without a purpose was a forbidden walk. She would just never get permission. The only reasons to leave the house were to run important errands or visit relatives.

Aziza belonged to a well-off and relatively liberal family. Yet the male head of the family would decide her whereabouts as he did with all the female members of his family.

Years have passed since our talk. Western politicians focus on improving conditions for women and children - and the conservative Afghan culture keeps hitting back. Schools are built to educate girls - and then torched to the ground. Aid programmes aimed at helping women are set up - and Afghan female activists are murdered and silenced. A constitution that proclaims equal rights for men and women is approved - and is then broken daily by the judgments of local shuras and jirgas, traditional assemblies of elders. >>> Åsne Seierstad | Saturday, April 4, 2009

Appell Obamas zum Auftakt des Nato-Gipfels: «Amerika braucht ein starkes Europa»
NZZ Online: Präsident Obama hat Europa zu Beginn des Nato-Gipfels aufgerufen, mehr Verantwortung für die Sicherheit zu übernehmen. Am Treffen soll auch ein neuer Nato-Generalsekretär gefunden werden.

Obama wird von Merkel mit militärischen Ehren empfangen. (Bild: Reuters)
win. Strassburg, 3. April

Das Gipfeltreffen zum 60. Geburtstag des Nordatlantikpakts hat am Freitag mit einem Nachtessen der Staats- und Regierungschefs der 28 Mitgliedstaaten im Kurhaus von Baden-Baden begonnen. Zuvor hatte der amerikanische Präsident Obama in Strassburg seinen französischen Amtskollegen Sarkozy und in Baden-Baden die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Merkel zu bilateralen Gesprächen getroffen. In Strassburg stellte sich Obama auch einem breiteren Publikum im Stil eines amerikanischen Townhall-Meetings, wobei er eine mitreissende Rede hielt. Überall, wo der amerikanische Präsident auftauchte, wurde er von begeisterten Menschenmengen begrüsst; der Kontrast zu Besuchen seines Vorgängers, George W. Bush, hätte grösser nicht sein können. >>> | Samstag, 4. April 2009

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Nahost: Israels Außenminister will nicht von Frieden reden
WELT ONLINE: Israels neuer Außenminister Avigdor Lieberman hat in nur zwei Tagen die Welt gegen sich aufgebracht. Mit aggressiven Äußerungen und der Weigerung, Truppen aus den Golanhöhen abzuziehen, scheint er den schwelenden Nahost-Konflikt noch anzufachen. Noch dazu droht dem Ex-Türsteher eine Anklage wegen Korruption.

Avigdor Lieberman, der neue Außenminister von Israel, ist ein ultrakonservativer Hardliner. Bild dank der Welt
Die scheidende Außenministerin Tzipi Livni saß mit versteinerter Miene im Publikum und lauschte einer umbarmherzigen Verurteilung ihrer Politik durch ihren Nachfolger, Avigdor Lieberman. Dabei hatte Livni sich zuvor geradezu versöhnlich gegeben: Über alle Differenzen hinweg teilten sie doch alle die Überzeugung, Israel müsse eine Heimat für das jüdische Volk sein. Auch in der Opposition werde sie, die ehemalige oberste Diplomatin, weiterhin dazu bereit sein, ihr Land im Ausland zu repräsentieren. Doch dann trat Lieberman aufs Podium.

Normalerweise erregen die Antrittsreden der Minister vor den Mitarbeitern ihrer Ministerien nicht allzu viel Aufsehen, richtungsweisende programmatische Äußerungen sind bei solchen Anlässen unüblich. Lieberman brach mit der Tradition: Weder der Osloer Friedensprozess noch alle weiteren Zugeständnisse hätten den Frieden näher gebracht, sagte er. Es würde auch nichts bringen, das Wort „Frieden“ jeden Tag 20 Mal in den Mund zu nehmen. Israel müsse aufhören, dauernd über „Frieden“ und „Zugeständnisse“ zu reden. >>> Von Michael Borgstede | Freitag, 3. April 2009

L'élégance ? Aucune trace !
Crédits photo: Gala.fr
GALA.fr: Elles se sont rencontrées pour la première fois ce 3 avril à Strasbourg, en marge du premier tête-à-tête entre Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy. Et en tant qu'épouses respectives des deux hommes les plus importants du monde, l'Américaine pointue et l'élégante Française ont mis un soin tout particulier ce matin en choisissant leur tenue. Tandis que Michelle Obama a une nouvelle fois porté haut les couleurs de son créateur fétiche Thakoon, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, plus classique mais tout aussi chic, a choisi la maison Dior. Décryptage de ce match mode. A Strasbourg, elles ont rivalisé d'élégance... >>> Perrine Sabbat | Vendredi 03 Avril 2009

Anti-dhimmitude: School Bans Muslim Mother from Parents' Evening for Wearing Veil
MAIL ONLINE: A mother was barred from a parents' evening at her child's school because she was wearing a veil.

The mother-of-one arrived at the function wearing a full veil which covers every part of the body except the eyes.

But she was turned away on health, safety and security grounds after the headteacher said visitors' faces should be visible at all times.

The woman, who is a former pupil of the school, is furious with her treatment and says her religion should not affect her access to the Catholic school.

The incident happened in Blackburn, Lancs, which was at the centre of controversy three years ago when Jack Straw MP angered Muslim groups by suggesting women who wear veils over their face can make community relations harder.

The former foreign secretary branded the veil as a 'visible statement of separation and of difference' in 2006.

The move caused fury among Muslim groups who condemned Mr Straw and accused him of discrimination.

The latest incident is set to reignite the row over the right to wear whatever clothing the religious believer chooses. >>> By Jaya Narain | Friday, April 3, 2009

No Kiss for Obama from Sexy Carla!
We've all been there: Carla Bruni leans in to greet Barack Obama with a kiss today - but quickly backpedals. Photo courtesy of the MailOnline
MAIL ONLINE: Over the last few days Barack Obama has charmed the entire world.

And today it appeared his charisma overwhelmed the French First Lady.

It is usual in France to greet one another with a kiss - but the best Mr Obama could get out of a suddenly flustered Carla Bruni was a handshake. >>> By Mail Foreign Service | Friday, April 3, 2009

G20: A 'New World Order' Is Simply Fantasy
THE TELEGRAPH: The international act of posturing was pointless; because despite having caused the problem, the political class had none of the requisite skills to sort it out, says Simon Heffer.

Barack Obama and Gordon Brown: Don't trust these guys with your trillions. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Those who thought that Dr Goebbels came to an end on a stretch of waste ground in Berlin in 1945 have been forced to think again. The piece of theatre that concluded in London on Thursday was one of the great confidence tricks of our lifetimes. Just getting the 20 most important heads of government on the planet together in one place and not being unpleasant about each other was, we must concede, something of an achievement. But it won't make a blind bit of difference to the world's economy.

Nor, I imagine, will it have any effect on the result of the next general election. In the months ahead, as thousands more people go on to the dole every week, more businesses go under and confidence continues to seep out of a system wrecked by politicians, few will link in their minds the words "Gordon Brown" and "triumph". I have long thought that our Prime Minister was around elevenpence ha'penny to the shilling. His fantasy press conference at the end of the G20, with his grandiloquent (and preposterous) claim to have founded a "new world order", confirmed it. >>> By Simon Heffer | Friday, April 3, 2009

Angry RBS Shareholders Vote against Sir Fred Goodwin's Pension
THE TELEGRAPH: Royal Bank of Scotland's shareholders have emphatically rejected the £700,003 annual pension awarded to former chief Sir Fred Goodwin at a tense meeting in Edinburgh.


About 90pc of the beleaguered bank's shareholders voted against its renumeration report, including UK Financial Investments, which manages the taxpayers' majority stake.

Sir Fred was fired in the Autumn as RBS was forced to go cap-in-hand to the taxpayer for billions as financial markets and the economy soured. Sir Philip Hampton, the bank's new chairman, said that the pension plan is legally stipulated by Sir Fred's contract but no "stone is being left unturned' to see if it can be overturned. >>> By Jamie Dunkley and Peter Taylor in Edinburgh | Friday, April 3, 2009

President Barack Obama: America Has Been 'Arrogant and Dismissive' Towards Europe
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has declared that America has "failed to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world" and has "shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive" towards its allies.


His speech in Strasbourg went further than any United States president in history in criticising his own country's action while standing on foreign soil. But he sought to use the comments, which amount to a mea culpa for recent American foreign policy, as leverage to alter European views of America and secure more troops for the war in Afghanistan.

He declared that there had to be a fundamental shift on both sides of the Atlantic. "America is changing but it cannot be America alone that changes."

Addressing a crowd of some 2,000 mainly students from France and Germany, Mr Obama said: "In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world.

"Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive."

He then balanced this striking admission with a tough message to Europeans that blaming America and using its actions as an excuse to avoid tackling the global Islamist threat was unacceptable.

"But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual, but can also be insidious. Instead of recognising the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what is bad."

In a speech which his aides billed as a commitment to rebuild transatlantic relations by offering an olive branch directly to young Europeans, he offered himself as the figure who could bridge the gap that had grown over the eight years of President George W. Bush's administration.

"On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common," he said. "They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated.

"They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America." >>> By Toby Harnden in Strasbourg | Friday, April 3, 2009

Netanyahu to Obama: Stop Iran—Or I Will
The message from Israel's new prime minister is stark: if the Obama administration doesn't prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, Israel may be forced to attack.
An Atlantic exclusive

THE ATLANTIC: In an interview conducted shortly before he was sworn in today as prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu laid down a challenge for Barack Obama. The American president, he said, must stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons—and quickly—or an imperiled Israel may be forced to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities itself.

“The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu told me. He said the Iranian nuclear challenge represents a “hinge of history” and added that “Western civilization” will have failed if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

In unusually blunt language, Netanyahu said of the Iranian leadership, “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”

History teaches Jews that threats against their collective existence should be taken seriously, and, if possible, preempted, he suggested. In recent years, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has regularly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” and the supreme Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, this month called Israel a “cancerous tumor.” >>> By Jeffery Goldberg | Interview | Tuesday, March 31, 2009

G20 Summit: Global Financial Crackdown Is Cost of Solving Crisis
THE TELEGRAPH: • New Financial Stability Board as global overseer • Tax havens and hedge funds to be punished • Heavy scrutiny for banks

Gordon Brown and his fellow world leaders have pledged the biggest crackdown on tax havens, hedge funds and banks in modern history as the price to be paid for the multi-trillion dollar bail-out of the world economy.

"The era of banking secrecy is over", the Prime Minister declared, as the Group of 20 leading nations agreed to impose a new range of regulations on banks and non-bank financial institutions as a punishment for contributing to the crisis.

Harsh fines and sanctions will be levied on tax havens that refuse to publish details of their accounts; hedge funds will have to provide more detailed accounts in the future; and bankers will have their bonuses more heavily controlled and taxed throughout the world, the communique pledged.

The range of new regulations will be implemented by national governments in the coming months, officials said, after the G20 agreed on more significant and far-reaching reforms than had been expected.

In what will be interpreted as a victory for the French and German factions, which had emphasised the importance of regulation over new fiscal giveaways, the G20 also ordered the creation of a new Financial Stability Board dedicated to monitoring leverage and inter-connectedness of international financial institutions. >>> By Edmund Conway Economics Editor | Friday, April 3, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: G20 Summit: Blacklisted Tax Havens Face Sanctions

Tax havens that refuse to sign anti-secrecy agreements face expensive sanctions under an unprecedented global effort to catch illegal tax evaders.

Liechtenstein is among 45 territories blacklisted by the OECD and threatened with punitive financial retaliation for banking secrecy. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Switzerland, Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Monaco, Luxembourg and Hong Kong are among 45 territories blacklisted on Thursday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and now threatened with punitive financial retaliation for their banking secrecy.

Among the sanctions being considered by the G20 are the scrapping of tax treaty arrangements, imposing additional taxes on companies that operate in non-compliant countries, and tougher disclosure requirements for individuals and businesses that use shelters.

Of the offending jurisdictions, 40 "have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard" but have yet to implement it. Only Costa Rica, Malaysia, Philippines and Uruguay have refused to sign up altogether. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are fully compliant already.

Illegal tax evasion through offshore shelters has been a long-standing irritation for Gordon Brown, President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. An estimated $7 trillion of assets are held offshore and, according to pressure group Tax Justice Network, developed countries lose $180bn a year in evaded taxes. >>> By Philip Aldrick, Banking Editor | Friday, April 3, 2009

'One in 10 Americans Still Think Barack Obama Is Muslim'
THE TELEGRAPH: More than two months after Barack Obama placed his hand on the Bible and was sworn in as president of the United States, 11 per cent of Americans still think he is a Muslim, a poll suggested on Thursday.

'We did OK,' says Barack Obama. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph

White evangelical Protestants and Republicans were the most likely to say Mr Obama - who has an Arabic middle name - was Muslim in response to the poll question: "Do you happen to know what Barack Obama's religion is?"

Nearly one in five white evangelical Protestants and 17 per cent of the Republicans who took part in the telephone poll of 1,308 adults, which was conducted by Pew Research from March 9-12, said they thought Obama was Muslim. >>> | Friday, April 3, 2009

Weimar 1923 May Have More Lessons than US 1932
THE TELEGRAPH: Are we heading for another Great Depression?

Many baffled forecasters are asking just that, and studying what the US did wrong after the stock market crashed in 1929. But the more relevant policy errors might have been those made earlier across the Atlantic - in Weimar Germany from 1919 to 1923.

Policymakers have learned from the US mistakes. This time around, there has been no shrinkage of the money supply and no repetition of President Hoover's increase in tariffs in 1930 and income taxes in 1932. On the contrary, money supply has expanded rapidly while fiscal policies have been expansionary and protectionism limited.

But look at the Weimar government. Suffering from the trauma of defeat in the First World War and the burden of reparations, it was too weak to raise taxes. It ran large budget deficits instead. Interest rates were kept far below the rate of inflation, while money supply expanded rapidly. About half of government expenditure was funded by newly printed money. >>> By Martin Hutchinson, breakingviews.com | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

RBS: Sir Fred Goodwin 'Thinking About' Shredding His Pension
THE TELEGRAPH: Former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin - known as 'Fred the Shred' - is considering a "voluntary reduction" in his £703,000-a-year pension payout, the bank has confirmed.

Chairman Sir Philip Hampton said Sir Fred was thinking about the move, but said it was too soon to know what the outcome would be.

He said: "I've asked Sir Fred if he would consider a voluntary reduction and he's told me he's thinking about that."

The comments come ahead of the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh later on Friday, when angry shareholders are expected to vote down RBS's remuneration report in protest at Sir Fred's controversial pension payout.

RBS - now majority-owned by the taxpayer - also warned of more job losses in the UK and internationally as it said the 2,700 announced so far this year for the UK were "not the end of the story".

The embattled bank said it was still unclear how many redundancies would be made, but stressed it would do "all it can" to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum.

The group is laying off staff as part of a plan to cut £2.5 billion from annual costs within the next three years. >>> | Friday, April 3, 2009

Un enfant tué à la hache dans une colonie de Cisjordanie
LE FIGARO: Un Palestinien a tué un adolescent et grièvement blessé un enfant jeudi. La victime était le fils du fondateur de la colonie juive.

Jeudi après-midi, en Cisjordanie, un Palestinien a tué un adolescent et grièvement blessé un enfant à coups de hache. L'attaque a eu lieu dans la colonie de Bat Ayin, dans le Gouch Etzion, bloc d'implantations juives entre Bethléem et Hébron. Un habitant a déclaré à la télévision s'être battu avec l'assassin, qui pourrait être un employé local de la colonie, et être parvenu à le désarmer. Selon son témoignage, un autre habitant aurait tiré sur l'agresseur, le blessant avant qu'il ne prenne la fuite.

L'armée a aussitôt bouclé la zone entourant Bat Ayin et décrété un couvre-feu dans les villages palestiniens voisins, où la police perquisitionnait les maisons à la recherche du meurtrier. La colonie, l'une des plus radicales de Cisjordanie, n'était pas entourée d'une clôture comme la plupart des autres implantations juives, les habitants considérant la construction d'un périmètre de défense comme un aveu de faiblesse.

La victime, Shlomo Nativ, 13 ans, est le fils de l'un des fondateurs de la colonie. L'enfant blessé, Yair Gamliel, 7 ans, est celui d'un activiste connu, Ofer Gamliel, qui purge une peine de prison pour avoir participé à une tentative d'attentat contre une école palestinienne de Jérusalem-Est en 2002. Il est soupçonné d'appartenir à une organisation clandestine de colons extrémistes, dont une partie des membres est originaire de Bat Ayin. >>> Adrien Jaulmes | Jeudi 02 Avril 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Relié) >>>

Kommentar: Das Bankgeheimnis war eine bürgerliche Bastion
WELT ONLINE: Der G-20-Gipfel hat das Bankgeheimnis abgeschafft. Das ist ein Schlag gegen bürgerliche Ideale. Es ist daran zu erinnern, dass die totalitären Regime des 20. Jahrhunderts jedes Bankgeheimnis kassierten, weil sie es als Zelle bürgerlicher Resistenz betrachteten. Leider breitet sich der moderne Steuerstaat hemmungslos aus.

Es gab einmal ein Bankgeheimnis, und das beruhte auf Vertrauen zwischen Bürger und Bank wie zwischen beiden und dem Staat. Unbetrauert und ohne Nachruhm ist das Bankgeheimnis auf dem G-20-Gipfel ins Grab gesunken. Mit ihm die Reste der bürgerlichen Epoche.

Dieser Abschied ist Anlass zu mehr als dem zynischen Achselzucken, es sei ohnehin der Datenschutz nichts als ein leeres Wort, oder die unschuldige Bemerkung, man habe doch nichts zu verbergen. Es ist daran zu erinnern, dass die totalitären Regime des 20. Jahrhunderts jedes Bankgeheimnis kassierten, weil sie es als Zelle bürgerlicher Resistenz betrachteten. Leider aber hat der moderne Steuerstaat die Tendenz, sich hemmungslos auszubreiten, jeden Lebensvorgang, oder nahezu jeden, zu kontrollieren und die – Bismarcks frühe Warnung zu zitieren – „misera contribuens plebs“ unter Generalverdacht zu stellen.



Steuern sind zu zahlen, keine Frage. Man muss es ja nicht lächelnd tun. Es reicht, dass der Staat das Vertrauen, das ihm in steiler Progression finanziell übertragen wird, seinerseits durch verantwortlichen Umgang rechtfertigt. Das ist Grundlage der Legitimität. Aber sie endet, wie das Bundesverfassungsgericht vor Jahren bereits feststellte, irgendwo an der Schwelle zu 50 Prozent vom Einkommen. >>> Von Michael Stürmer | Donnerstag, 2. April 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Armut: Jeder zehnte Amerikaner braucht Lebensmittelhilfe
WELT ONLINE: Die Wirtschaftskrise in den USA führt immer mehr Menschen an den Rand des Existenzminimums. So sind inzwischen zehn Prozent der Amerikaner auf staatliche Lebensmittelmarken angewiesen. Das ist eine Rekordzahl von 32,2 Millionen Bedürftigen. Obama plant jetzt eine Erhöhung des Lebensmittel-Programms um 13 Prozent.

Bild dank Google Images
In den USA ist inzwischen jeder zehnte Bürger auf die Lebensmittelhilfe der Regierung angewiesen.

Im Januar habe eine Rekordzahl von 32,2 Millionen Bedürftigen Lebensmittelmarken erhalten, teilte das Landwirtschaftsministerium mit. Im Durchschnitt seien in dem Monat pro begünstigte Person 112,82 Dollar bezahlt worden. >>> Reuters/fsl | Freitag, 3. April 2009

Egypt Village Mob Torches Bahai Homes
AFP: CAIRO — Egyptian villagers have set fire to Bahai homes after a member of the religion said on television the village was "full of Bahais," the latest incident to reflect religious tensions in the country.

Furious villagers rampaged through Sharoniyah, near Sohag in southern Egypt, on Monday and Tuesday, setting fire to and damaging four Bahai homes, a security official told AFP, asking not to be named.

The fires spread to two Muslim homes which were also damaged, the official said.

The villagers also threatened the village's roughly 30 Bahais with death, the official said, after which all of them fled. >>> | Tuesday, April 2, 2009

Syria Warned over Britons Held for Weeks
THE INDEPENDENT: Britain has warned Syria that marked progress towards an improved relationship between the two countries could be undermined if Damascus continues to refuse consular access to two Britons held by the security forces here.

Maryam Kallis, 36, was seized by plain-clothes security men on 15 March while walking with one of her four young children on a busy Damascus street. She has been kept incommunicado and at an unknown location ever since and Amnesty International said this week that it believed she could be in danger of torture or other ill-treatment. A British male, who has not been named, was seized in an apparently unconnected episode two days later, and the Syrian authorities have not so far disclosed the reasons for either detention. >>> By Donald Macintyre in Damascus | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Israel's New Foreign Minister Dismisses Two-state Solution
THE INDEPENDENT: Far-right Lieberman rejects US-led talks with Palestinians

Far-right politician Avigdor Lieberman stunned diplomats in his first speech as Israel's foreign minister yesterday when he rejected the past year of US-led negotiations and said that a previous commitment Israel made to Palestinian statehood "had no validity".

Mr Lieberman reinforced fears that his government will steer the country in a more hawkish direction when he added that concessions to Palestinians would be "mistaken". The remarks contradicted Israel's previous commitments agreed at the Annapolis conference in 2007, and drew an immediate response from Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, who emphasised that the US was "committed to the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security".

Expectations had been raised in recent weeks that Mr Lieberman would seek to soften his image, and that the new hardline government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu would avoid alienating the international community.

Mr Lieberman's speech came a day after Mr Netanyahu offered the Palestinians self-rule in place of the statehood that had at least rhetorically been on offer in a declaration accompanying the relaunch of peace talks under the leadership of Ehud Olmert at the Annapolis conference. But Mr Lieberman said "The Israeli government never ratified Annapolis, nor did parliament."

Mr Lieberman took issue with the very idea of concessions towards the Palestinians saying that "whoever thinks that through concessions peace will be achieved is mistaken. He is only inviting pressure and more wars." >>> By Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Afghanistan: Gesetz bestimmt Häufigkeit von Sex in der Ehe
WELT ONLINE: Mindestens vier Mal pro Woche – so oft muss eine afghanische Frau mit ihrem Mann schlafen, wenn er danach verlangt. Das sieht ein neues Gesetz vor, das Präsident Hamid Karsai ohne parlamentarische Debatte in Kraft setzte. Für Frauenrechtler wird dadurch die Vergewaltigung in der Ehe legalisiert.

Der afghanische Präsident Hamid Karsai hat ein Gesetz unterzeichnet, das Ehefrauen dazu zwingt, mindestens alle vier Tage mit ihrem Mann zu schlafen. „Solange der Mann nicht auf Reisen ist, hat er jede vierte Nacht das Recht auf Geschlechtsverkehr mit seiner Frau“, bestimmt Artikel 132 des neuen Gesetzes zur Regelung des Familienlebens unter den Schiiten in Afghanistan. Diese stellen rund 20 Prozent der Bevölkerung.

„Außer wenn die Frau krank ist oder irgendeine Krankheit hat, die sich bei Geschlechtsverkehr verschlimmert, ist die Frau verpflichtet, den sexuellen Bedürfnissen ihres Mannes eine positive Antwort zu geben“, heißt es in dem Gesetz. >>> | Donnerstag, 2. April 2009

Islam in China

En Suède, les homosexuels pourront se marier à l'église
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: LOI | Le parlement suédois a adopté mercredi à une large majorité une loi permettant aux homosexuels de se marier civilement ou religieusement.

Cette législation "sur le mariage sexuellement neutre" entrera en vigueur dès le 1er mai. Sur les 349 parlementaires, 261 ont voté pour, 22 contre, seize se sont abstenus tandis que 50 étaient absents.

En Suède, les couples hétérosexuels peuvent choisir de se marier soit à la mairie soit à l'église. Les couples homosexuels étaient jusqu'alors seulement autorisés, depuis 1995, à s'unir via un "partenariat" rendu légal par une cérémonie civile. >>> Mercredi 01 Avril 2009

A Athènes, pas un jour sans son attentat
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: CONTESTATION | Banques, commerces ou voitures de luxe sont devenus les cibles quasi quotidiennes d’une violence attribuée par l’Etat à la mouvance anarchiste. Derrière ce phénomène se cache autre chose: l’effondrement de la classe moyenne.

Voitures incendiées samedi dernier chez un concessionnaire Jaguar à Athènes. En Grèce, la multiplicité des actions de groupuscules anarchistes se couple à la montée de la petite criminalité. Photo grâce à la TDG
Cinq banques, une succursale de la Poste, une voiture diplomatique, une autre appartenant à une société de gardiennage et trois autos particulières. Parties en flammes, incendiées dans la nuit de lundi à mardi, au centre-ville et dans la grande banlieue d’Athènes.
Mais que se passe-t-il en Grèce, où une grève générale de vingt-quatre heures – convoquée aujourd’hui par les syndicats pour protester contre la vie chère – pourrait s’accompagner de nouvelles violences?

Depuis les émeutes qui ont ravagé le centre d’Athènes, au mois de décembre, suite à la mort d’un lycéen de 15 ans abattu par un policier, la violence s’installe dans cette mégapole de près de 5 millions d’habitants. Sans épargner d’autres grands centres urbains, comme Salonique en particulier. Pour l’instant, les dégâts sont matériels. Mais les Grecs, pourtant habitués aux actions de groupuscules anarchistes, s’interrogent. La multiplicité des attaques se couple à la montée de la petite criminalité. Elle s’ajoute à la montée en puissance de gangs mafieux, qui n’hésitent plus à descendre des patrons de club ou des partenaires en «affaire». >>> Nicolas Verdan | Jeudi 02 Avril 2009

Video: Radicals Beat Girl, 17, in Islamic Stronghold of Swat, Pakistan
TIMESONLINE: This grainy footage appears to show a 17-year-old girl being beaten by Islamic radicals in Pakistan’s northwestern region of Swat, where Sharia law was introduced after the government reached a truce with the Taleban in February.

A local Taleban commander in the militant stronghold of Matta, 25 miles from the regional capital, Mingora, ordered the girl to be flogged a week ago after accusing her of adultery, according to local reporters.

But some residents of Matta have accused the commander of ordering the beating to get revenge after the girl refused to accept his proposal of marriage, the reporters told The Times.

“Please! Enough! Enough!” the girl is heard crying in Pashtu, the language of the tribes who dominate northwestern Pakistan – now the main hub of Taleban and al-Qaeda activity.

At another point, she cries: “I am repenting, my father is repenting what I have done, my grandmother is repenting what I have done...”

The man flogging her is also heard abusing his colleague as he struggles to hold her down and stop her covering her backside with her hands.

“You should hold her tightly so she doesn’t move,” he is heard saying. >>> Jeremy Page, Delhi | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Barack Obama Warns North Korea over Rocket Launch as Pyongyang 'Fuels Missile'
THE TELEGRAPH: North Korea can expect a "stern, unified action" from the international community if it test-fires a ballistic missile, US President Barack Obama has said.

South Korean protesters burn a mock missile, pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and North's flags during a rally against North Korea's missile in Seoul, South Korea. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Obama promised tough action at a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit as reports emerged that Pyongyang had begun fueling the long-range rocket for an impending launch.

US military officials said that technicians have started to fuel up the three-stage Taepodong-2 missile at Musudan-ri launch site in the country's northeast in defiance of a 2006 UN resolution.

Pyongyang has said that the missile-test is a satellite launch not covered by the UN resolution and has informed international agencies that it will fire the rocket as early as Saturday.

US intelligence officials said that analysis of the rocket's nose-cone appeared to confirm claims that it was a satellite launch, but added that the launch was a cover for testing ballistic missile technology capable of delivering a warhead as far as Alaska or Hawaii.

Diplomatic tensions are building on the Korean peninsula, where relations between North and South have sunk to their lowest levels in a decade. >>> By Peter Foster in Beijing | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Taliban in Policy Shift on Beards and Burqas
THE INDEPENDENT: Negotiations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai reveal new pragmatism ahead of US offensive

An Afghan man has his beard trimmed at the Fazal Mohammad Barber Shop in Kabul. The trimming of beards was outlawed by the Taliban. Photo courtesy of The Independent
The Taliban, whose extreme interpretation of Sharia law and its harsh punishments made Afghanistan one of world's most repressive and reviled regimes, have agreed to soften their position on such things as beards and burqas as part of a trade-off in negotiations with the Afghan government.

Afghanistan is increasingly the focus of international diplomatic attention following a major international conference in The Hague this week. It will surface on the fringes of the G20 summit and dominate this week's Nato meeting in Strasbourg. Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, floated the idea of talking to "moderate" Taliban at the Hague conference, saying that those who gave up "extremism" would be granted an "honourable form of reconciliation".

Publicly, a Taliban spokesman yesterday rejected the American offer, describing it as "a lunatic idea". But preliminary talks between President Hamid Karzai's government and Taliban insurgents are already under way, and appear to have yielded a significant shift away from the Taliban's past obsession with repressive rules and punishments governing personal behaviour. The Taliban are now prepared to commit themselves to refraining from banning girls' education, beating up taxi drivers for listening to Bollywood music, or measuring the length of mens' beards, according to representatives of the Islamist movement. Burqas worn by women in public would be "strongly recommended" but not compulsory. The undertakings have been confirmed by Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, who was the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan in the late 1990s, and who has been part of a Saudi-sponsored peace initiative. >>> By Kim Sengupta and Jerome Starkey in Kabul | Thursday, April 2, 2009

G20 Summit: Leaders Target Bankers
THE TELEGRAPH: World leaders will agree unprecedented global restrictions on pay and bonuses for bankers at the G20 summit in London.

G20 rioters storm RBS – Telegraph TV exclusive
In future, bankers will be prevented from receiving multi-million pound cash bonuses for speculating on the stock market.

Their remuneration will instead be based on the risks they take over the long term. Bankers deemed to be making risky investment decisions will only be paid in shares that can be cashed in after several years.

The multi-million-pound bonuses paid to bankers have been blamed for encouraging them to take the "reckless" decisions that triggered the global financial crisis.

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the remuneration deal was thrashed out over the past few days following intensive diplomatic efforts by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. The measure did not appear in a draft communiqué that was leaked at the weekend.

The European leaders were understood to have pushed for an exact monetary limit on banking pay but were prepared to sign up to the new, strongly-worded agreement.

Regulators in each of the G20 countries will impose the new restrictions, which cover both private banks and those owned both wholly and partially by the state.

The agreement will be the most eye-catching part of the communiqué, which is expected to be released by G20 leaders at the summit in London's Docklands on Thursday.

On Wednesday, violent clashes took place in the capital between police and anti-capitalism protesters ahead of the talks. In the City of London, a branch of Royal Bank of Scotland was attacked and looted as violence flared during a 6,000-strong protest, which resulted in 32 arrests.

A man died after he collapsed at the scene of protests near the Bank of England last night.

A protester called the police after they saw the man collapse and stop breathing in St Michael’s Alley, near Birchin Lane just off Cornhill shortly before 7.30pm.

Two police medics broke through the cordon and carried the man to a clear area in front of the Royal Exchange where they gave him CPR.
The ambulance arrived six minutes later and took him to hospital just before 8pm, where he was pronounced dead.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The officers took the decision to move him as during this time a number of missiles - believed to be bottles - were being thrown at them.”

It is believed that the man died of a heart attack. >>> By Andrew Porter, Robert Winnett and Christopher Hope | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Protocol Is Abandoned as Michelle Obama Cosies Up to Queen
The US President and his wife appeared very relaxed in the company of the Queen. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Protocol seems to be dispensed with when the Obamas come to town.

Michelle Obama and the Queen slipped their arms around each other towards the end of a reception at Buckingham Palace held in honour of the G20 leaders and their wives.

The US President and his wife appeared very relaxed in the company of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh from the start.
By the end of the evening, the two women were standing side by side and appeared to be chatting about their height difference.

As they moved closer and continued to chat, the Queen put her hand on the back of Mrs Obama, who did the same for a few moments. Before she departed, the Mrs Obama told the Queen: “I really enjoyed our meeting.” >>> Laura Dixon | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Dancing Pope Advert Banned
THE TELEGRAPH: A nightclub leaflet showing the late Pope John Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman has been banned.

The leaflet shows Pope John Paul II with a bottle of beer dancing with a blonde woman wearing a short dress . Image courtesy of The Telegraph
The Advertising Standards Authority branded the flyer offensive and ordered it to be removed a complaint by the Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) on behalf of angry Poles and Catholics.

The leaflet showed Pope John Paul II with a bottle of beer dancing with a blonde woman wearing a short dress.

It was distributed to promote a night called Berserk at Club Fire nightclub in Ipswich.

Sheila Soltysik, secretary of Ipswich Polish Club, said a local Polish girl had complained to her.

She said: "It was hugely offensive. The sheer volume of the reaction is what made us take the matter to ISCRE.

"It is unfortunate that the thoughtless actions of a marketing idea has created dismay amongst the Polish community and Catholic religion by depicting figures of high moral standards amongst ideas of inappropriate behaviour and surroundings.

"Perhaps to some it may have innocent connotations but to the majority of sensible people it is deeply upsetting." >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Dumb UK 'Heading Back to the Dark Ages' Thanks to Cult of Celebrity, Says Senior Tory
Liam Fox: Britain's obsession with celebrity is sending it back to the Dark Ages. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
Where do you suppose Liam Fox got the phrase a “New Dark Age” from?
MAIL Online: Britain risks entering a new Dark Age because the cult of celebrity is undermining learning, a senior Tory said yesterday.

Liam Fox warned the fabric of society was under threat, with the 'age of reason' going into reverse.

The defence spokesman said a generation ago children wanted to be astronauts or scientists - now they simply want fame.

'Since the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the age of reason, we have transformed our world,' he said.

'But there is a crisis of confidence, an uncertainty and a lack of optimism in our society which should trouble us.

'Diminishing social mobility, the cult of the celebrity society, the decline in serious learning, the increasing disregard for empiricism and social attitudes verging on value-phobia threaten to cast a shadow on the enlightened western liberalism which has taken us so far.'

Dr Fox, who is seen as the keeper of the Thatcherite flame, expressed alarm about the collapse in the numbers studying science at university.

And he attacked Labour's promotion of political correctness, which he argued was undermining free expression and thought. >>> By James Chapman | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

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The Pope Is 'Stupid', Says Richard Dawkins after Pontiff's Claim that Condoms Increase AIDS
Professor Dawkins stands with the UK's first atheist campaign founder Ariane Sherine before one of the ads they placed on London buses and Underground. Dawkins has labelled the Pope 'stupid' for his stance on condoms. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Biologist Richard Dawkins has attacked the Pope as 'stupid' over his claim condoms increase AIDS.

The prominent atheist said Benedict XVI would end up with the blood of millions of people on his hands if they took his words seriously.

Speaking at a university in Spain, he raged: 'I wonder on what basis anyone can say condoms make AIDS worse.

'The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or just dim.

'If people take his words seriously he will be responsible for the deaths of thousands, perhaps millions of people.'

Dawkins, 67, launched his attack in a press conference at the University of Valencia after being awarded an honorary degree at an official ceremony.

He also claimed the more people thought for themselves, the less they were likely to believe in God.

And he congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama for overturning predecessor George Bush's funding ban on stem cell research.

Professor Dawkins is known for his passionate views and has become known as much for his views on atheism as his Darwinist theories on evolution. >>> By Gerard Couzens | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

G20: Sarkozy and Merkel Form Pact to Curb the Excesses of Disgusting, Shameless, Greedy, 'Can't-Get-Enough' Bankers
THE TELEGRAPH: Tough regulation of global financial markets is a non-negotiable demand of France and Germany at tomorrow's G20 summit, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel have said.

France's President Sarkozy waves alongside German Chancellor Merkel before a bilateral meeting in London, ahead of a G20 summit meeting. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
In a tough-speaking joint press conference in London on the eve of the summit, the two leaders left no doubt that they will refuse to sign an agreement which does not meet their "red lines" on tax havens, hedge fund regulation, banking transparency and a worldwide cap on bankers' pay.

Mr Sarkozy said that the summit provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to give capitalism a conscience.

He said: "Germany and France will speak with one and the same voice.

"We are aiming for the same objectives in terms of principles and how we apply those principles. The objective is a simple one – we demand results, we want hard and fast results."

He added: "This is a historic opportunity afforded us to give capitalism a conscience, because capitalism has lost its conscience and we have to seize this opportunity."

Mrs Merkel said that Germany was ready to offer support to poorer countries which are unable to deliver fiscal stimulus packages of tax spending and public investment from their own resources.

But she made clear that both France and Germany feel they have already implemented substantial stimulus packages of their own.

Mrs Merkel said that France and Germany wanted to see "a new architecture and new regulations for financial markets" spelt out very clearly in the final communique of the summit. G20 Summit: Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel Demand Tough Market Regulations >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

TIMESONLINE: Franco-German Demands Upset G20 Unity

The leaders of France and Germany delivered a stunning ultimatum to Gordon Brown tonight when they demanded binding reform of world financial markets as the price of their support at tomorrow's G20 summit.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel made the comments at a joint press conference at which they promised that they would "speak with one voice" at the meeting in London's Docklands.

Having already scuppered Gordon Brown's plans for the summit to agree on a massive and coordinated fiscal stimulus, the two European heavyweights are demanding that it now move to do away with the "light-touch" Anglo-Saxon model of regulation blamed for the current economic crisis. >>> Philippe Naughton | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Islam Metastasizes!
SAUDI GAZETTE: SOME three-four million Muslims live in Latin America and over 50,000 of them are Hispanic. Majority of Muslims there have roots from Middle Eastern countries like Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. There are large Muslim populations in Brazil, Venezuela and Columbia. Mosques and prayer houses can be found in all major cities.

Islam in Latin America began with Muslim journeys to the continent even before the arrival of Columbus. Evidence of this early contact is based on world maps produced by Muslims in the early 16th century. Later, during the voyages of Columbus to the New World, some Muslim Moors are believed to have accompanied him, fleeing persecution in the Iberian Peninsula. In Brazil, the importation of African slaves during the colonial period accounted for a substantial influx of Muslims into the continent. Little is known whether these early Muslims were able to maintain their faith.

The Islamic influence on regional architecture and culture between 1600-1800 CE is still visible today in cities such as Lima, Cholula and Guatemala City. Lima, the capital of Peru, is famous for its Tapadas Limenas or Covered Women in Lima. During the 18th Century, there was uprising of Muslim slaves (Brazil 1835).

Since late 19th century, Arabs first began to immigrate from the Middle East to Latin America. The descendants of these immigrants are still found today in significant numbers. Further, emigrants from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine increased during the mid 20th Century after Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its surrounding areas. These Muslims were largely merchants and became influential in local trade. Many have even held leading positions in government. Growth of Islam in Latin America >>> By Dr. Mozammel Haque | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

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Bishop Defrocks Episcopal Priest Who Practices Islam
KTVL.COM: SEATTLE -- An Episcopal priest who lives in Seattle has been removed from her position for refusing to recant her faith in Islam.

Rev. Ann Holmes Redding served as director of faith formation at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle until 2007 when she announced she also was a Muslim.

She believes the faiths are compatible at a fundamental level and practices both. But she was defrocked today by her Bishop, Geralyn Wolf in Rhode Island where Redding was ordained.

Wolf called Redding "a woman of utmost integrity" but said her open practice of Islam meant she abandoned the Episcopal church. [Source: KTVL] | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Iran: Three Converts Ordered to Stop ‘Christian Activities’
COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: Judge puts them on probation, threatening them with ‘apostasy’ trial.

LOS ANGELES – Declaring three Iranian Christians guilty of cooperating with “anti-government movements,” a court in Shiraz on March 10 ordered the converts to discontinue Christian activities and stop propagating their faith. An Islamic Revolutionary Court judge handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence with a five-year probation to Seyed Allaedin Hussein, Homayoon Shokouhi, and Seyed Amir Hussein Bob-Annari. The judge said he would enforce their prison sentence and try them as “apostates,” or those who leave Islam, if they violate terms of their probation – including a ban on contacting one another. A new penal code under consideration by the Iranian Parliament includes a bill that would require the death penalty for apostasy. “The warning that they will be ‘arrested and tried as apostates’ if they continue their Christian activities is quite chilling,” said a regional analyst who requested anonymity. [Source: CompassDirectNews] Copyright © 2009 Compass Direct News | Tuesday, March 31, 2009