Dmitry Medvedev at Moscow Missile Parade: 'Russia Will Teach Aggressors a Lesson'
TIMES ONLINE: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, has warned at a military parade in Red Square that Moscow will teach foreign aggressors the "lessons" of the Second World War.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev taking part at a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier outside the Moscow Kremlin. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
Nuclear missile launchers and battle tanks were driven through the centre of Moscow, while air force bombers flew above the city's skyline, as Russia celebrated victory over Nazi Germany 64 years ago. Mr Medvedev ordered the Soviet-style parade of might to remind the world that Russia remained a powerful military force.

With Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, standing beside him, Mr Medvedev told thousands of troops drawn up on the cobbles of Red Square that Russia still faced external threats to its security.

"The victory over fascism is a great example and a great lesson for all people and is still current today when people are again starting military adventures," he said.

The president's comments seemed to be primarily directed at Georgia, with which Russia fought a five-day war last year, but could also be a coded warning to the United States, some observers said. Washington is planning to build a missile defence shield in central Europe, a project that has been repeatedly condemned in Moscow.

Mr Medvedev said that foreign designs against Russia would meet the same response it gave the Nazis during the War.

"We are sure that any aggression against our citizens will be given a worthy reply," he said.

The parade was the biggest show of force since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Last year, under an initiative from Mr Putin, tanks and intercontinental ballistic missiles reappeared in Red Square after a 17-year hiatus as part of a drive to show off Russia's military resurgence. >>> By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Barack Obama's Rich Supporters Fear His Tax Plans Show He's a Class Warrior
THE TELEGRAPH: Some of Barack Obama's richest supporters fear they have elected a "class warrior" to the White House, who will turn America's freewheeling capitalism into a more regulated European system.

Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Wealthy Wall Street financiers and other business figures provided crucial support for Mr Obama during the election, backing him over the Republican candidate John McCain as the right leader to rescue the collapsing US economy.

But it is now dawning on many among them that Mr Obama was serious about his campaign trail promises to bring root and branch reform to corporate America - and that they were more than just election rhetoric.

A top Obama fundraiser and hedge fund manager said: "I'm appalled at the anti-Wall Street rhetoric. It was OK on the campaign but now it's the real world. I'm surprised that Obama is turning out to be so left-wing. He's a real class warrior."

Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute, a free enterprise think tank, said Democrats in Congress were unnerved by the president's latest plan to raise $210 billion over 10 years from multinational corporations.

The money is needed to pay for a national debt that will double over the next five years; and triple over the next 10 years to $17.3 trillion. But the crackdown already faces fierce Democratic resistance.

"These big companies are based in New York Boston, Seattle and Silicon Valley, where Democrats dominate," Mr Edwards said. "Obama's tax plan is already cleaving him from his big corporate supporters," he said.

Mr Obama made no secret of his plans to raise taxes on the "working rich" (individuals earning more than $200,000) by imposing a top income tax rate of almost 40 per cent, and there is little surprise that those plans remain on track, even during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

But Democratic opposition is building in Congress to many of the President's proposals. A plan to reduce tax deductions for charitable gifts by richer people may have to be scrapped, because the charitable sector - which includes hospitals, museums and voluntary service groups - depends heavily on tax-deducted donations.

Charles Rangel, the New York chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which drafts tax legislation, raised a red flag about the proposal last week. "I would never want to adversely affect anything that is charitable or good," he said.

Mr Obama also wants to "cap and trade" carbon emissions - seen by business as effectively yet another tax - to tackle global warming.

The president's plans are direct repudiation of the model of light touch regulation credited with creating economic growth and wealth in America in recent decades. >>> By Leonard Doyle in Washington | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Pope Calls for Cooperation between Christians and Muslims
Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowds upon his arrival to say Mass at the Lady of Peace Church in Amman, Jordan. Benedict underlined his "deep respect" for Islam. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at a mosque in Amman, Jordan, also expresses concern about the discrimination that he says Christians and others face in Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Reporting from Amman, Jordan -- Pope Benedict XVI today called on Christians and Muslims to serve mankind with the "light of God's truth" while warning that extremists in nations such as Iraq were exploiting religious differences for political and violent agendas.

Speaking at the Hussein bin Talal Mosque, the pontiff, whose three-day pilgrimage to Jordan is an attempt to mend relations with the Muslim world, said the "tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied. However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society?"

The speech before Catholic priests, Muslim clerics and Orthodox bishops was brief, but the copper-domed mosque offered a symbolic setting for the 82-year-old pope to damp criticism of his comments in 2006 that characterized Islam as a violent religion. Benedict has said he regretted the outrage he caused and made an effort at reconciliation two months later when he prayed silently with imams in the Blue Mosque in Turkey.

Many Muslim leaders in the Arab world feel the pope's contrition has not been genuine. They also say he has not spoken forcefully enough in behalf of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and has apologized to Jews for the Roman Catholic Church's past mistakes but has not done the same for historical injustices against Muslims.

That debate will probably intensify in the coming week, when Benedict leaves Jordan on Monday for Israel and the West Bank. Before his speech at the Hussein mosque, the pope visited Mt. Nebo, where Moses is believes to have been buried, to reassure Jews that the Vatican wants to "overcome all obstacles to the reconciliation of Christians and Jews in mutual respect and cooperation in the service of that peace to which the word of God calls us.">>> By Jeffrey Fleishman | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Giordania, il Papa nella moschea 
"Religione corrotta se serva della violenza"
LA REPUBBLICA.it: Benedetto XVI si raccoglie per la seconda volta un luogo di culto musulmano / 
Una preghiera anche sul monte Nebo dove Mosè indicò al popolo di Israele la "terra promessa"

AMMAN - Benedetto XVI porge la mano all'islam e sottolinea che "la religione costretta a servire l'ignoranza e il pregiudizio, è una religione corrotta". Il Papa visita i luoghi del Vecchio Testamento, il monte Nebo dove Mosè indicò al popolo di Israele la "terra promessa"; benedice la prima pietra della futura università cattolica in Giordania e sosta in raccoglimento nella moschea Al Hussein di Amman. Predica "un'alleanza di civiltà con il mondo musulmano" e rimarca che "la religione viene sfigurata quando viene costretta a servire il disprezzo, la violenza e l'abuso". Chiaro l'ammonimento del Pontefice: "Spesso è la manipolazione ideologica della religione, talvolta per scopi politici, il catalizzatore reale delle tensioni e delle divisioni e non di rado anche delle violenze nella società". >>> Sabato 9 maggio 2009

Benedicto XVI tiende la mano del diálogo a los judíos en el Monte Nebo
EL PAÍS: El pontífice anima desde este emplazamiento bíblico a "superar los obstáculos que se interponen en la reconciliación entre los hebreos y los cristianos"

El Papa ha tendido hoy la mano del diálogo a los judíos en el Monte Nebo, en el oeste de Jordania, donde ha expresado sus deseos de "superar los obstáculos que se interponen en la reconciliación entre los hebreos y los cristianos". En esta segunda jornada del Papa en Jordania, el Papa ha repetido la misma visita que Juan Pablo II hizo al Monte Nebo, el lugar desde el cual Moisés contempló la Tierra Prometida por Dios. >>> Agencias – Monte Nebro (Jordania) | Sábado 9 de mayo de 2009

¡Buenas noticias! El 'Euromillones' deja en España su mayor premio para un único acertante
EL PAÍS: Un billete validado en la ciudad de Madrid, premiado con 126 millones de euros

Un cupón del sorteo del Euromillones validado en Madrid le dará a su dueño más de 126 millones de euros, el mayor premio de la historia de la lotería europea para una única persona. Este único acertante de primera categoría -cinco números y dos estrellas- adquirió su boleto para el sorteo de esta pasada noche en la Administración de Loterías número 25 de Madrid, situada en el número 39 de la calle Alcalá.

El premio, de 126.231.764 euros, según ha informado Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, supone el de mayor cuantía cobrado por una única persona desde el nacimiento del sorteo en febrero de 2004. >>> Agencias - Madrid | Sábado 9 de mayo de 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: «Le chat noir» a porté chance au plus gros gagnant à l'Euro Millions

ESPAGNE | L'Espagnol qui a gagné, lors du tirage d'hier soir, 126 millions d'euros a validé son billet dans le bureau de loterie nommé «Le chat noir» situé dans une grande rue du centre de Madrid.

Le plus gros gagnant de l’histoire de l’Euro Millions avec un gain de 126 millions d’euros est pour l’heure anonyme mais a validé son billet dans le bureau de loterie "le chat noir" d’une grande rue du centre de Madrid, a-t-on appris samedi auprès de sa propriétaire. >>> AFP | Samedi 09 Mai 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Lottery Officials Continue Search for Owner of £110m Ticket

Madrid shop sold ticket for biggest single lottery prize / EuroMillions winner may be tourist, says seller

Lottery officials across Europe were searching today for one of the continent's richest people, who may still be unaware that they possess a lottery ticket worth £110m.

The EuroMillions jackpot is the world's biggest ever single lottery prize, but the Madrid lottery shop that sold the ticket has so far been unable to trace the buyer. If found, he or she would shoot into the club of the richest people in Europe. If the winner were British, it would mean joining the Sunday Times rich list at No 492 — tied with the Bee Gees brothers Barry and Robin Gibb.

A sign pinned to the window of the Black Cat lottery shop, just off Madrid's central Plaza de Cibeles, boasted today that this was the place where the €126m ticket had been sold.

The shop's owner, Paloma Cateleiro, said that she had no idea who had bought the ticket but suspected the chit might be lying at the bottom of a tourist's suitcase in some part of Europe.

"A lot of people come though here," she said. "We might never find out who has won it."

She said that the winner had put down €10 in the game, which let them make five different predictions of a combination of numbers that could land the jackpot.

"It could have gone to a tourist or to someone from outside Madrid, as we are right in the centre," said Ana Maria Rincón, one of the Black Cat's lottery sellers.

The huge jackpot built up after the weekly draw was rolled over six times, with no winner since 20 March. >>> Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Sunday, May 10, 2009

TIMESONLINE: £110m Winner of EuroMillions Jackpot Was Ill in Bed with Flu

Europe’s biggest lottery winner is a 25-year-old Spanish woman who was in fear of losing her job and was unaware of her £110 million jackpot because she was struck down with the flu.

The woman, from Majorca, only discovered she had become a multi-millionaire when she returned to work on Monday. She is unmarried but has a boyfriend and bought the ticket through the commercial betting website Serviapuestas.

The winner went back to work after fearing she might lose her job because of the recession, only to turn on her phone and be told she had won the jackpot. The ticket was later validated at the Black Cat kiosk in the centre of Madrid.

Jose Mieres, director of the Serviapuestas website, said they had been trying to contact the young woman since last Friday´s draw. But she did not answer her phone over the weekend and she was not replying to their e-mails.

She told Mr Mieres: “I still had flu on Monday, but with the situation of crisis we are going through, I decided I had to go to work anyway, out of fear of losing my job.” >>> Graham Keeley in Madrid | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Voyage en Jordanie: Au Mont Nebo, Benoît XVI veut réconcilier chrétiens et juifs
L’EXPRESS.fr: A l'endroit où, selon les écritures, Dieu a montré la Terre promise à Moïse, le Pape Benoît XVI a rappelé samedi 9 mai "le lien inséparable" qui unit l'Eglise et le peuple juif. Le voyage papal se poursuit en Jordanie.

Le pape Benoît XVI a appelé samedi à la "réconciliation" entre chrétiens et juifs lors d'un déplacement au Mont Nebo, le lieu où, selon les écritures, Dieu a montré à Moïse la Terre promise.

Le pape s'est rendu sur cette montagne de 840 mètres à 40 km au sud-ouest d'Amman, au deuxième jour de sa visite en Jordanie, dans le cadre de son premier séjour dans un pays arabe.

Benoît XVI, qui veut faire de son voyage d'une semaine au Proche-Orient un pèlerinage pour la paix, s'est lui-même présenté en pèlerin.

"Ici, sur les pas des innombrables pèlerins qui nous ont précédés au cours des siècles, nous sommes provoqués à mesurer plus pleinement le don de notre foi et à grandir dans cette communion qui transcende toute frontière de langue, de race et de culture", a-t-il dit. >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr avec AFP | Samedi 09 Mai 2009

Taliban Vow to 'Eliminate' Pakistan's Top Leadership
Students from Swat Valley chant slogans during a rally against the ongoing military operation in the valley in Pakistan. Photo courtesy of The Times of India
THE TIMES OF INDIA: ISLAMABAD: Angered by Pakistan government's decision to launch an all out war against them, the Taliban has vowed to "eliminate" country's top leadership including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and their close family members.

"We thought that being a member of a religious family, Gilani will support our demand of implementing Sharia in the Malakand division but instead he has announced an all-out war against us, which has angered our commanders as well as fighters," an unnamed Taliban commander told The News daily.

The militant commander, who spoke to the newspaper by phone, said after Gilani declared during an address to the nation on Thursday that the Taliban would be wiped out from the Swat Valley and adjoining areas, the militants had started planning to "eliminate the top leaders of the ruling alliance, including President, Prime Minister and their close family members and aides". >>> | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Saudi State Torture

Saudi Secrets

Somali Man Has His Hand Amputated By Al Shabab
SOMALILAND PRESS: Kismayo — A man convicted of robbery by a court in Somalia’s Islamist strong hold port-town of Kismayo had his right hand cut off. Mohamed Omar Ismael stole $90 from a saving account, local reports said.

Mohamed was sentenced to the amputation of his right-hand, and the punishment was carried out in public in the city center where a large crowd of people watched on as Islamists carried out the sentence.

This is not the first time the Islamic group known as Al Shabab, who introduced strict form of Sharia, or Islamic Law, carried out this sort of incident, it was just last year when they amputated a young man named Yusuf.

Under strict Sharia law, theft is sentenced by severing their hand. The death penalty is meted out for murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking. >>> Somalilandpress | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Obama to Address Muslims in Egypt
Obama, you are trying to brush off the differences between Muslims and Christians by stating that Muslims are “just like us”; they “simply have a different religion”.

Who are you trying to kid, Mr President? Whose eyes are you trying to pull the wool over?

It just so happens, Mr President, that the ‘religion’ of Islam is not only a proselytizing religion, but it is an expansive, belligerent religion, too – a 'religion' on a mission to take over the world! Because of weak politicians like you, Mr President, they are doing a pretty good job of it, too. And, Mr President, if you have forgotten, it happens to be the ‘religion’ which attacked the United States on 9/11! Have you forgotten that, Mr President? Or are you just conveniently forgetting it, perhaps because you don’t have the balls to deal with reality?

Instead of prancing and dancing and walzing and poncing around the world making excuses for your country, you’d be better off, and far more respected by the Muslim world, if you grew a backbone. – ©Mark

BBC: US President Barack Obama will give a long-awaited speech on US relations with the Muslim world on a visit to Egypt, the White House has announced.

He will travel to Egypt on 4 June and a day later arrive in Germany for a visit to Dresden and the site of the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

During his election campaign, Mr Obama promised to make a major speech on ties with Muslims early in his presidency.

Egypt arguably represented "the heart of the Arab world", a spokesman said.

In Turkey last month, the president declared that the US was not at war with Islam and he called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world.

Right from the start, Barack Obama has made clear he wants to rebuild relations with the Muslim and Arab world, the BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from Washington.

With so many events in so short a space of time, it is going to be a carefully choreographed trip, our correspondent says.

'Extending the hand'

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked if Egypt was an appropriate venue for the speech, given its poor record on human rights.

"The scope of the speech, the desire for the president to speak, is bigger than where the speech was going to be given or who's the leadership of the country where the speech is going to be given," he replied.

"This is a continuing effort of the president to engage the Muslim world," he added.

"All of this gives the president the opportunity hopefully to extend the hand to those that in many ways are like us but simply have a different religion." >>> Friday, May 8, 2009

Pakistan President Sees 'War' against Taliban
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has pledged to mount an all-out war against Taliban extremists, vowing to kill the militants in a military offensive.

"This is an offensive -- this is war. If they kill our soldiers, then we do the same," Zardari told PBS public television Friday, during a visit to Washington.

Pressed on whether Pakistan's stated goal of "eliminating" militants meant killing them, Zardari replied in the affirmative.

"Eliminate means exactly what it means," he said. >>> AFP | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Tension Mounts as Hezbollah Win Predicted
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: THE militant Islamic group Hezbollah looks set to consolidate its influence on power in Lebanon when voters go to the polls here on June 7.

Backed by Iran and Syria, the Hezbollah-led coalition known as March 8 is favoured to win a majority in parliament.

Led by the charismatic Shiite cleric Hassan Nasrallah, who is loathed in the West but loved across the Muslim world, Hezbollah is nevertheless expected to extend the current power-sharing arrangements under a new government of national unity.

With about 20 parties competing for attention in Lebanon's intractably complicated system - in which power is divided between the country's Sunni, Shiite, Druze and Christian populations - the Mediterranean country is in the grip of election fever. >>> Jason Koutsoukis Herald Correspondent in Beirut | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Pilgerfahrt: Benedikts schwierige Reise ins Heilige Land
WELT ONLINEEs ist eine Pilgerreise der besonderen Art: Papst Benedikt XVI. hat sich zum ersten Mal in den Nahen Osten begeben. Es handelt sich um seine zwölfte und bislang wichtigste Auslandsreise. Das Kirchenoberhaupt steht vor einer Gratwanderung zwischen Religion und Politik, denn seine Reise wird von Christen, Juden und Muslimen gleichermaßen mit großer Aufmerksamkeit verfolgt.

Diese Karte des Heiligen Landes aus dem Jahr 1560 ist als Fresco auf eine Wand im Apostolischen Palast im Vatikan gemalt. Sie zeigt weder eine Grenze noch eine der Waffenstillstandslinien, die es dort jemals gab. Nichts scheidet hier Israel vom Libanon, von Jordanien, Syrien, Ägypten oder dem Westjordanland und dem Gazastreifen. Erkennbar sind nur topografische Gegebenheiten: der Jordan, das Tote Meer, der See Genezareth, der Hermon, das Karmelgebirge, und das Nildelta, zwischen denen sich das Heilige Land im Goldton ausspannt. Karte des Heiligen Landes dank der Welt

>>> Von Martin Zöller | Freitag, 8. Mai 2009

FPÖ nimmt erneut an "Anti-Islamisierungs-Kongress" teil
DIE PRESSE: Der Kongress findet am Wochenende in Köln statt und richtet sich hauptsächlich gegen eine geplante Moschee. Im Vorjahr kam es zu massiven Protesten gegen die Veranstaltung.

Die FPÖ wird auch heuer an dem "Anti-Islamisierungs-Kongress" in Köln teilnehmen. Das gaben die Freiheitlichen am Donnerstag in einer Aussendung bekannt. Angeführt wird die Delegation von Generalsekretär Harald Vilimsky.

Der Veranstalter "pro Köln" lädt nach 2008 bereits das zweite mal rechtspopulistische Bewegungen aus ganz Europa ein, um ein Zeichen gegen eine Ausbreitung des Islam in Europa zu setzen. Die Veranstaltung am Samstag und Sonntag richtet sich hauptsächlich gegen eine geplante Moschee in Köln. Laut FPÖ-Aussendung ist er ein Forum, um zu einem Verbot von Minaretten aufzurufen, und gegen islamische Zentren zu demonstrieren. Letztere seien "vornehmlich Nährboden für Hassprediger und Demokratieverweigerer". Vilimsky wird einer der Hauptredner sein. Massive Proteste im Vorjahr >>> APA | Donnerstag, 7. Mai 2009

DIE PRESSE: Anti-Islamisierungs-Kongress: Demonstration verboten

Die Kölner Polizei hat einen Demonstrationszug der rechten Bürgerbewegung "pro NRW" zum Ort einer geplanten Moschee untersagt. Bereits am Freitag protestierten Hunderte gegen die Anti-Islamisierungs-Konferenz.

Die rechtspopulistische Bürgerbewegung aus dem deutschen Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen "pro NRW" darf bei ihrem "Anti-Islamisierungskongress" am Samstag keinen Demonstrationszug zum Ort einer geplanten Moschee in Köln-Ehrenfeld veranstalten. Das Oberverwaltungsgericht entscheid am Freitag, die Voraussetzungen eines polizeilichen Notstandes seien erfüllt.

Auch im Fall einer - von "pro NRW" erwogenen - Verkürzung des Demonstrationszugs seien für die Absicherung neben den bereitgestellten 5651 Beamten weitere rund 2460 Einsatzkräfte erforderlich. Diese seien aber nicht verfügbar. "Pro NRW" hat angekündigt, das Bundesverfassungsgericht anzurufen. >>> Ag | Freitag, 8. Mai 2009

Benoit XVI : un «profond respect» pour les musulmans
LE FIGARO: Le pape est arrivé vendredi dans la capitale jordanienne, première étape de sa tournée au Proche Orient, où il espère que l'Eglise catholique pourra jouer un rôle dans le processus de paix.

Benoit XVI a exprimé son «profond respect» pour la communauté musulmane à son arrivée vendredi en Jordanie, première étape de son voyage en Terre sainte qui va durer huit jours. Le pape se rend en «pèlerin de la paix» dans une région troublée, où il s'est attiré la colère des juifs et des musulmans par certains propos et autres décisions.

«La liberté religieuse est naturellement un droit humain fondamental et mon espérance fervente et ma prière sont que le respect des droits inaliénables et de la dignité (...) soient toujours plus affirmés et défendus non seulement au Moyen-Orient mais partout dans le monde», a-t-il également déclaré à l'aéroport d'Amman, la capitale, où il a été accueilli par le roi Abdallah II, un descendant du prophète Mahomet, et la reine Rania.


Le souverain pontife a par ailleurs souligné que la Jordanie «a été depuis longtemps à l'avant-garde d'initiatives en faveur de la paix au Moyen-Orient et à travers le monde, en encourageant le dialogue interreligieux». Quelques heures avant que son avion ne se pose à Amman, le souverain pontife a déclaré à des journalistes qu'il espérait que l'Eglise catholique puisse jouer un rôle dans le processus de paix au Proche-Orient. Il a ainsi souligné que l'Eglise n'était pas une puissance politique mais une force spirituelle qui, a-t-il souhaité, soit en mesure d'apporter sa contribution pour tenter de sceller la paix entre Israéliens et Palestiniens. >>> Flore Galaud (lefigaro.fr) avec agences | Vendredi 08 Mai 2009

LE FIGARO: À Amman, Benoît XVI récuse
 le choc de civilisations

Vendredi, le roi Abdallah de Jordanie a accueilli le Souverain Pontife à son arrivée à l'aéroport d'Amman. Photo grâce au Figaro
Le Pape a commencé, vendredi en Jordanie, son pèlerinage en Terre sainte. Il a redit son «profond respect pour la communauté musulmane».

L'antichoc des civilisations. De sa petite voix, vendredi en Jordanie, Benoît XVI a voulu combattre l'idée de la fatalité du conflit entre le monde musulman et l'Occident. Trois ans après la crise de Ratisbonne où une phrase de son discours sur la «violence» de l'islam avait mis le feu aux poudres, le Pape est allé droit au but : «Ma visite en Jordanie me donne l'heureuse occasion de dire mon profond respect pour la communauté musulmane.»

Et de féliciter publiquement ce pays pour son «rôle déterminant» dans «la promotion d'une meilleure compréhension des vertus proclamées par l'islam». Le Pape a précisé : «Nous pouvons dire que ces précieuses initiatives ont obtenu de bons résultats en favorisant la promotion d'une alliance des civilisations entre l'Occident et le monde musulman mettant en échec les prédications de ceux qui considèrent inévitables la violence et les conflits.» >>> D’envoyé spécial du Figaro à Amman, Jean-Marie Guénois | Vendredi 08 Mai 2009

Profile: Michael Savage, the US Shock Jock Banned from Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Savage has a winning way with annoying callers to his talk show.

Radio talk show host Michael Savage. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
"Get Aids and die, you pig," the American radio "shock jock" told a purportedly homosexual man who once badmouthed his teeth.

He has plenty more vitriol to go around. Latinos "breed like rabbits" , Muslims "need deporting" and as for autistic children, "in 99 per cent of cases it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out".

Quite what he might say to Jacqui Smith if she called in is unclear, but it might just be: "Thank you very much".

Shock jocks thrive on controversy and notoriety, and the Home Secretary must have exceeded Savage's wildest dreams this week when she included him on a list of undesirables banned from entering Britain.

The 16 names were people who "fomented hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way" as to cause violence if they were allowed into the country, she told the BBC.

The story in half a dozen forms has been plastered over Savage's official website and alluded to liberally on Savage Nation, his nationally syndicated radio show. Even before the hullabaloo, the San Francisco-based show boasted 10 million listeners a week, the third most popular (behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity) in US news talk radio. >>> By Tom Leonard | Thursday, May 7, 2009

Queen's Trinity Cross Medal Scrapped... Because It's 'Too Christian'
Caribbean storm: The old Trinity Cross (left) is replaced with the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which has removed any Christian symbols. Images courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A medal personally established by the Queen is being withdrawn after it was deemed offensive to Muslims and Hindus.

The honour - known as The Trinity Cross of the Order of Trinity - has been ruled unlawful and too Christian.

It has been awarded to 62 distinguished residents of the former colony of Trinidad and Tobago over more than 40 years, including cricketers Brian Lara and Garfield Sobers, novelist V.S. Naipaul and many diplomats and politicians.

But groups representing the Caribbean islands' Muslim and Hindu communities - which account for around a third of their 1.3million-strong population - had argued that the words 'Trinity' and 'Cross' were 'overtly Christian'. They also said the use of a cross insignia was offensive.

Five British law lords, all members of the Privy Council, have ruled that the honour breached the right to equality and the right to freedom of conscience and belief. >>> By Mail Foreign Service | Saturday, May 9, 2009

The Disturbing, Changing Face of Britain: British Atheists and Christians Turning to Islam

Pope Praises Islam but Skirts Politics
Jordan's King Abdullah (R) and his wife Queen Rania welcome Pope Benedict XVI (L) upon his arrival at Queen Alia International airport in Amman May 8, 2009. Photo courtesy of Reuters
REUTERS: AMMAN - Pope Benedict began a delicate trip to the Middle East on Friday by expressing "deep respect" for Islam and calling for a three-way dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews to help peace.

The 82-year-old pope appeared careful to avoid politically tinged statements at the start of his first visit to the region, which will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community," Benedict said in his arrival address, praising King Abdullah for his work in "promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam."

Benedict's Regensburg speech in 2006, in which he implied Islam was violent and irrational, still rankles in the Islamic world. Jordanian Islamist leaders have denounced the visit, saying he should apologise for the Regensburg speech first.

The pope tactfully avoided politics in responding to reporters' questions on the plane taking him to Jordan, stressing the potential of religion to help resolve conflicts.

"We are not a political power but a spiritual force and this spiritual force is a reality that can contribute to progress in the peace process," he told journalists aboard his airplane.

"As believers we are convinced that prayer is a real force, it opens the world to God. We are convinced that God listens and can affect history and I think that if millions of believers pray it really is a force that has influence and can make a contribution to moving ahead with peace," he said. >>> By Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan. Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi, editing by Mark Trevelyan | Friday, May 8, 2009

Watch BBC video: Pope Benedict XVI says he has 'deep respect' for the Muslim community >>>

BBC:
Pope Begins Mid-East Pilgrimage >>> | Friday, May 8, 2009

Johann Hari: Dear God, Stop Brainwashing Children
THE INDEPENDENT: Worship is forced on 99 per cent of children without even asking what they think

Let us now put our hands together and pray. O God, we gather here today to ask you to free our schoolchildren from being forced to go through this charade every day. As you know, O Lord, because You see all, British law requires every schoolchild to participate in "an act of collective worship" every 24 hours. Irrespective of what the child thinks or believes, they are shepherded into a hall, silenced, and forced to pray – or pretend to.

If they refuse to bow their heads to You, they are punished. This happened to me, because I protested that there is no evidence whatsoever that You exist, and plenty of proof that shows the texts describing You are filled with falsehoods. When I pointed this out, I was told to stop being "blasphemous" and threatened with detention. "Shut up and pray," a teacher told me on one occasion. Are you proud, O Lord?

Forcing children to take part in religious worship every day is a law worthy of a theocracy, not a liberal democracy where 70 per cent of adults never attend a religious ceremony. That's why the Association of Teachers and Lecturers – one of the teachers' unions – has recently moved to ask the Government to stop forcing its members to take part in this practice.

Why does this anachronism persist in this blessedly irreligious country? For all their whining that they are "persecuted", the religious minority in Britain are in fact accorded remarkable privileges. They are given a bench-full of unelected positions in the legislature, protection from criticism in the law, and vast amounts of public money to indoctrinate children into their belief systems in every school in the land. >>> Johann Hari | Friday, May 8, 2009

Muslim Dentist 'Refused to Treat Female Patients Unless They Wore Islamic Dress'
Omer Butt. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A Muslim dentist refused to treat patients unless they wore traditional Islamic dress, it was alleged today.

Omer Butt, 32, ordered women to put on head scarves or he would not register them or their families at his NHS-funded clinic, it was claimed.

At least two patients were left in pain after they declined to follow his self-imposed rules, the General Dental Council heard.

It is the second time that the dentist - who is the brother of a former spokesman of the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun - has appeared before the council's disciplinary panel on similar allegations.

Two years ago he was reprimanded for telling an Asian mother-of-two he would not register her unless she wore the Muslim hijab.

The GDC heard how Butt believed it was his duty to stop Muslim patients committing what he believed was a religious sin.

He even put a laminated sign on the wall of his waiting room telling patients they would have to adhere to his strict dress code or find another dentist.

John Snell, for the GDC, said: 'He sought to impose a dress code on patients attending his practice.

'He required that women cover their hair with a head scarf, or hijab, and that male patients remove any gold jewellery.

'If he had simply expressed a preference, without imposing any compulsion to adhere to this dress code, there may be no cause for complaint.

'However, he insisted - and those who did not comply were refused treatment.

'He made compliance with Islamic dress code a condition of treatment, which is entirely inappropriate under the auspices of the National Health Service.

'Patients should have access to NHS treatment regardless of their religious observance, or otherwise.' >>> By Tom Kelly | Friday, May 8, 2009

Saudi Beauty Pageant Aims to Find a Very Different Model of Cover Girl
Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder but in a country where a woman’s eyes are the only feature on public display, judging a beauty pageant could prove awkward.

For that reason the future Miss Saudi Arabia will not win on the merits of her figure in a bikini or her perfect skin, but will instead secure the coveted crown by dint of her devotion to her parents and Islamic values.

As of tomorrow 200 veiled hopefuls will start a ten-week process to find the winner of “Miss Beautiful Morals”, including a workshop entitled “Mum, paradise is at your feet”, a reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s dictum that respect for one’s parents is a foundation of the faith. “The idea of the pageant is to measure the contestants’ commitment to Islamic morals . . . It’s an alternative to the calls for decadence in the other beauty contests that only take into account a woman’s body and looks,” Khadra al-Mubarak, the event’s founder, said.

Unlike other competitions abroad, there will be no men involved at any stage in Saudi Arabia’s only contest for young women and it will not be televised, allowing the competitors to take off the veils and black abayas that cover Saudi women from head to toe. “The winner won’t necessarily be pretty,” Ms al-Mubarak said. “We care about the beauty of the soul and the morals.” >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, May 8, 2009

Fanatic Freed to Stir Up Hate; Yet the Home Secretary Finds It Necessary to Ban Michael Savage from Entering the Country!
DAILY EXPRESS: A RACE hate preacher who praised the July 7 London suicide bombers has been freed from jail – after serving barely 12 months of a four-and-a-half year sentence.

FREED: Abu Izzadeen left jail after serving barely 12 months of a four-and-a-half year sentence. Photo courtesy of the Daily Express
Abu Izzadeen, 33, was back on the streets ­yesterday after ­being jailed for inciting UK Muslims to kill British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The firebrand cleric praised suicide bombers, tried to justify the beheading of British hostage Ken Bigley in Iraq, and told followers: “The Americans and British only ­understand one language. It’s the language of blood.”

Last night Tory MP Patrick Mercer condemned Britain’s soft-bellied justice and warned: “This man will be back on the streets shortly, preaching hate, subverting young minds and trying to inspire people to violence and suicide.”

Izzadeen – born Trevor Brooks in Jamaica – has nine children and will rake in around £800 a month in benefits.

He posed ­outside his east London home yesterday but declined to answer questions, saying only: “I am in a rush, I have got an appointment.”

His sentence was cut by the Court of Appeal. Judges took a year off at a hearing last week, as well as reducing the sentences of four other Islamic extremists. Fanatic Freed to Stir Up Hate >>> By John Twomey | Thursday, May 7, 2009

‘Shock Jock’ Michael Savage Tells His Listeners to Boycott Britain

TIMESONLINE: The American “shock jock” radio host Michael Savage, who was included on a Home Office list of 16 people banned from entering the country, last night urged his listeners to boycott Britain.

He told his audience that Americans should not travel to Britain or buy British goods, and delivered a personal message to Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who made the decision to include him on the list of unwanted foreigners: “Unless you remove my name forthwith, unless you admit you made a mistake, I will bring a major libel suit against you personally and I will win.”

Mr Savage opened fire on the Home Secretary on the conservative news website WorldNetDaily , where he said that his message to her and the British people was: “Shame on you. Shame that you’ve fallen to such a low level.”

“It’s interesting to me that here I am, a talk show host who does not advocate violence, who advocates patriotic traditional values — borders, language, culture — who is now on a list banned in England.

“What does that say about the Government of England? It says more about them than it says about me.” Mr Savage, 67, said that he had no plans to travel to Britain, which he last visited more than 20 years ago, and joked to the San Francisco Chronicle:

“My first thought was, damn, there goes the summer trip where I planned to have my dental work done. My second thought was, darn, there goes my visit to the restaurants of England for their great cuisine.” >>> Mike Harvey in San Francisco, Richard Ford and Frances Gibb | Thursday, May 7, 2009

Barack Obama Demands Afghanistan and Pakistan Unite against Taliban
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has demanded that the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan intensify their campaigns against the Taliban amid fears the region could be overrun by extremism.

Pakistani paramilitary maintain a position on a high post in the troubled area of Pakistan's Lower Dir district, Sunday, April 26. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Both the US president and Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, held frank discussions with Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari, the countries' respective leaders, at the White House before a declaration was due to be issued underlining their commitment to co-operate in the battle against terrorism.

Dozens of other meetings were also held at ministerial level in a "tripartite summit" in Washington, as the Obama administration sought to build collaboration between neighbours who have a history of suspicion and mistrust, and to convince them of Washington's sincere interest in their plights.

With the war in Afganistan no nearer to an end, and Pakistan's civilian government in danger of collapse, Mrs Clinton told the two leaders: "We have made this common cause because we face a common threat. We have a common task, and a common challenge.

"We know that each of your countries is struggling with the extremists who would destabilise and undermine democracy."

Mr Zardari, the husband of the late Benazir Bhutto who has governed Pakistan for eight turbulent months, promised to "stand shoulder to shoulder against this cancer, this threat" of terrorism with his "dear brother" Mr Karzai and Washington. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Michael Savage BANNED From The UK - Opening Monologue, May 5, 2009

The Savage Nation >>>

Michael Savage: Winston Churchill on Islam

Michael Savage on Islam

Shock Jock Michael Savage and Others on UK Ban List Had Not Applied for Entry
TIMESONLINE: A majority of the people who were named by the Home Office as being banned from entering the country have never sought to travel to Britain, it emerged today.

Two of the 16 people named by Jacqui Smith as excluded from Britain are in prison in Russia where they are serving 20-year sentences.

The disclosure came as a US talk-show host said that he would sue the Government for defamation after being placed on the list.

Michael Weiner, also known as Michael Savage, a shock-jock broadcaster in America, has described the Koran as “a book of hate” and questioned the validity of autism.

He told his radio audience in the US that he intended to sue Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who he described as the “lunatic... Home Secretary of England”.

He said: “To link me up with skinheads who are killing people in Russia, to put me in league with Hamas murderers who kill people on buses is defamation.”

In an article posted on his website, he said that he did not advocate violence but traditional values.

He wrote: “What does that say about the government of England? It says more about them than it says about me.”

A leading media lawyer said today that lawyers would be “falling over themselves” to offer their services. >>> Richard Ford and Frances Gibb | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Moskau empfiehlt Saakaschwili Arztbesuch
DIE PRESSE: Vor dem Hintergrund eines Nato-Manövers erhöhen sich die Spannungen. Tiflis meldet einen Putsch-Versuch. Russland, das eine Einladung zur Beobachtung ausgeschlagen hat, sieht die Militärübung als „offene Provokation“.

Saakaschwili. Bild dank der Presse
MOSKAU. Genau neun Monate nach dem Fünftagekrieg zwischen Russland und Georgien im August 2008 ist die Atmosphäre zwischen den beiden Nachbarn wieder zum Zerreißen gespannt. Laut des georgischen Präsidenten Michail Saakaschwili hat Russland an der Vorbereitung eines Militärputsches in seinem Land mitgewirkt. Das US-Verteidigungsministerium hingegen sprach von einem „ziemlich isolierten Zwischenfall“. >>> EDUARD STEINER, Korrespondent der Presse | Mittwoch, 5. Mai 2009

Le Pakistan, "la guerre" d'Obama
leJDD.fr: Barack Obama reçoit mercredi les présidents afghan, Hamid Karzaï, et pakistanais, Asif Ali Zardari. Les trois hommes participeront à un sommet tripartite sur la situation régionale. Objectif pour le président américain: préciser sa stratégie de lutte contre Al-Qaïda dans un contexte de renforcement des taliban. Pour leJDD.fr, Karim Pakzad*, spécialiste de la région à l'Iris, explique les enjeux.

Le Pakistan et l'Afghanistan en sommet... à Washington. Sur deux jours, mercredi et jeudi, Barack Obama recevra séparément - et pour la première fois depuis son arrivée à la Maison blanche - l'Afghan Hamid Karzaï et le Pakistanais Asif Ali Zardari, avant de les réunir pour un sommet tripartite sur la situation régionale, rendez-vous institué par George W. Bush il y a trois ans. Le contexte est particulier: côté américain, la nouvelle administration a fait de l'Afghanistan une priorité ; côté afghan, le pays se prépare à l'élection présidentielle du 20 août ; côté pakistanais, les taliban paraissent plus fort que jamais et les combats se rapprochent de la capitale. Lors de ces tête-à-tête, Barack Obama espère convaincre Kaboul et Islamabad, dont les relations ne sont pas toujours évidentes, de l'utilité d'une démarche régionale pour vaincre Al-Qaïda. >>> Propos recueillis par Marianne ENAULT, leJDD.fr | Mardi 05 Mai 2009

Peres unterstützt Obamas neue Iranpolitik: Israels Staatspräsident zu Besuch im Weissen Haus
NZZ Online: Bei einem Besuch im Weissen Haus in Washington hat der israelische Staatspräsident Peres Unterstützung für Obamas neue Iran-Politik bekundet.

Israel unterstützt nach den Worten von Staatspräsident Shimon Peres die neue amerikanische Politik zur Annäherung an den Iran.
«Wir werden loyale Befürworter sein», sagte Peres nach einem Gespräch mit US-Präsident Barack Obama im Weissen Haus.

«Wenn sie gelingt, wird es das Beste sein», fügte Peres über die US-Politik hinzu. Er nannte keine Einzelheiten.

Obama verfolgt die Politik einer Öffnung gegenüber der Führung in Teheran und schliesst auch direkte Gespräche auf höchster Ebene nicht aus. >>> sda/dpa | Mittwoch, 6. Mai 2009

I'll Sue for Defamation, Says US Shock-jock Michael Savage, on UK Banned List
Michael Savage lashed out at the Home Secretary after his name emerged on the list. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: An American “shock jock” said last night that he was planning legal action against the Government after discovering that he had been on a list of 16 people banned from entering Britain since October.

Michael Savage, who hosts the “Savage Nation” radio show, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he had been defamed and endangered by the decision made by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary.

“This lunatic . . . is linking me up with Nazi skinheads who are killing people in Russia,” he said. “She’s putting me in a league with Hamas murderers who kill Jews on buses.

“I have never advocated violence. I've been on the air 15 years. My views may be inflammatory, but they're not violent in any way.” >>> Richard Ford, Home Correspondent | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

MAIL Online: U.S[.] Shock Jock to Sue Home Office for Defamation after Being Included on the List of 22 Banned from the UK

An American 'shock jock' DJ has vowed to sue the Government after being included on a list of Britain's 'least wanted'.

Talk-show presenter Mike Savage branded Jacqui Smith a 'lunatic' after being named alongside hate preachers and a member of Hamas.

He was yesterday named on a list of 22 hardliners banned from entering the UK because the Home Office claims they have fostered extremism or hatred.

Miss Smith said the move was aimed at naming and shaming extremists and demonstrate behaviour the Government will not tolerate.

But the publication appears to have backfired on the minister, whose job is already hanging by a thread due to a string of expense scandals.

Mr Savage said: 'For this lunatic Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary of England, to link me up with skinheads who are killing people in Russia, to put me in league with mass murderers who kill Jews on buses, is defamation.

'I thought this was a joke or a mistake. How could they put Michael Savage in the same league with mass murderers when I have never avowed violence? As a result of this, I am going to sue.'

He added: ‘I've been on the air 15 years. My views may be inflammatory, but they're not violent in any way.’ >>> By James Slack | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Sharia Boards: Scholars Hold Sway over the Success of Products
FINANCIAL TIMES: The ultimate arbiters of the Islamic finance industry are not regulators, bespoke-suited bankers or the authorities, but a small, select coterie of ascetically garbed scholars versed in Koranic verses and arcane areas of jurisprudence.

This was made abundantly clear last year, when Sheikh Taqi Usmani, a leading scholar of sharia-compliant finance, shocked the industry by declaring many Islamic bonds, or sukuk, had gone too far in mimicking conventional debt.

Bankers and lawyers debate whether it was Sheikh Taqi or the credit crunch that caused the sukuk market to clam up: most admit the denouncement did not help.

The sharia supervisory boards – that Islamic banks must have – approve or ban transactions, products and services but do not become involved in credit policy or portfolio choices.

This can bring them into conflict with bankers who have conjured up increasingly complicated products.

“I’ve seen banks where the relationships were close, and others where they were tense, but everyone knows you cannot do anything without the scholars’ blessing,” says an industry insider.

Bankers say – until the credit crunch – the scarcity of sharia scholars was the biggest drag on growth of the Islamic finance industry.

Islamic banks have multiplied in recent years, thanks to government support, a profusion of petrodollars and a favourably inclined customer base in much of the Muslim world.

However, the number of scholars qualified to pass judgment on banks has remained low at about 30-40.

In addition to exhaustive knowledge of sharia and Islamic jurisprudence, scholars have to be financially knowledgeable and comfortable with English – the language of most financial and legal documentation. >>> By Robin Wigglesworth | Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Race War Terror as Mosque Fire Bombed
DAILY STAR: Fears of a race war grew yesterday after right-wing extremists were accused of firebombing a mosque.

The Call To Islam Education Centre was gutted in a blaze which local Muslims have called an act of terrorism.



And they claim the attack in Luton, Beds, was revenge for a protest by a Muslim hate mob against returning Brit soldiers in the town in March.



Farasat Latif, the centre’s secretary, said: “We strongly condemn this violent Islamaphobic attack on our mosque. We believe that this attack was carried out by far-right extremists, an attack that could have led to many deaths.



“Over 90 children attend our centre daily. Had this happened at a different time, the results would have been catastrophic.”



Detectives have examined CCTV footage of two hooded men running to a car seconds after the midnight explosion. >>> By Ross Kaniuk | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>

Can We Ban Islam? - Legal Guidelines for the Criminalization of Islam in the United States
CANADA FREE PRESS: Geert Wilders’ recent call at a Palm Beach synagogue to ban Islam has stirred up all sorts of controversy, with more “moderate” blogs speaking out in opposition to it. So let’s take a closer look at the issue of banning Islam.

Banning Islam is more difficult in the United States than in Europe, because of the First Amendment.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

On the surface of it this is a fairly straightforward formulation barring the legislative branch from taking any action to create a state religion or barring the practice of any religion.

The founders were English citizens and well aware of the way in which religion could stoke political violence. In the late 18th century, Cromwell was not ancient history, neither were the Covenanters or the Gunpowder Plot. While they did not anticipate like the rise of an Islamic insurgency in America, they understood quite well that religion and violence could and would intersect.

That of course was one of the reasons for barring a State Church, to avoid giving the government control over religion, a situation that had resulted in much of the religious violence in England. By giving religion independence, but not political power, the First Amendment sought to avoid a repeat of the same ugliness that had marked centuries of wars in Europe.

That of course is a key point. The separation of church and state was meant to protect the integrity of both, and avoid power struggles between religious groups. There was to be no state religion, the government could not leverage religious authority and religious factions could not begin civil wars in a struggle to gain power or autonomy. For the most part it worked.

Until now the only real acid test for this approach involved the Mormon Church, an ugly history on both sides that has mostly been buried under the weight of time. More recently Scientology flared up as a cult turned church that demanded its own autonomy and did its best to make war on the government and its critics.

And then there is Islam. The first problem with using the First Amendment in defense of Islam-- is that its goal is to violate the First Amendment. Islam’s widely stated goal is to become a State Religion, around the world and in America as well. >>> By Daniel Greenfield | Monday, May 4, 2009

Daniel can be reached at: sultanknish@yahoo.com

Taliban Tighten Hold on Pakistan as Army Backs Off
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: TALIBAN forces tightened their grip on Pakistan's Swat region and continued resisting the military's efforts to dislodge them from neighbouring Buner, bringing a fragile peace accord closer to collapse and the volatile north-west region nearer to full-fledged conflict.

Yet even as the Taliban continued their rampage and rejected the Government's latest concession to their demands - the appointment of Islamic-law judges in Swat - Pakistan's military leaders clung to hopes for a non-violent solution, saying that security forces were "still exercising restraint to honour the peace agreement".

Behind this strained hope for a peaceful solution lies an array of factors - competing military priorities, reluctance to fight fellow Muslims, lack of strong executive leadership and some internal sympathy for the insurgents - that analysts say has long prevented the Pakistani army from making a full-fledged assault on violent Islamist groups. >>> Declan Walsh in Islamabad | Wednesday, May 6, 2009

US Crackdown Could Tighten Tax Noose on Multinationals
THE TELEGRAPH: American companies may soon have to adapt to a fiscal regime without frontiers.

President Barack Obama has revealed a protectionist streak. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE world is becoming a chillier place for multinationals, and for the owners of capital.

While President Barack Obama's plan to clamp down on the overseas earnings of US corporations has been billed as an attack on offshore havens, it heralds a deeper change in the way the US companies are taxed worldwide.

American citizens must pay US income tax on every dollar, peso, or yuan they earn, whether or not they set foot on US soil that year. Mr Obama is making the first efforts to extend this principle to companies as well.

At the moment, US multinationals can take tax deductions on overseas earnings, but delay tax on profits forever by reinvesting abroad. They can shuffle money from one subsidiary to another through the "check box" loophole. This is why US companies pay just $16bn (£11bn) a year on $700bn of foreign earnings, a tax rate of 2.3pc.

Mr Obama has a fight on his hands trying to stop it. >>> By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Barack Obama Hints at Tougher Line on Israel
TIMESONLINE: The Obama Administration has signalled a tougher approach towards Israel ahead of fresh talks on the Middle East peace process by insisting it must endorse the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

“Israel has to work toward a two-state solution,” declared Vice-President Joe Biden today in a speech to the annual conference of a powerful pro-Israel lobby group in Washington.

“You’re not going to like my saying this,” he warned the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) before adding that the Jewish state should not build any more settlements on Palestinian territory, and should “dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement”.

President Obama later held a White House meeting with Shimon Peres, his Israeli counterpart, who holds a largely ceremonial position. But the US Administration’s message appeared to be addressed to the new right-wing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is due to visit the White House on May 18.

Mr Netanyahu has dismayed American, Arab and European officials by pointedly refusing to back Palestinian statehood since taking office on March 31. In his own speech to Aipac, sent via satellite link, he said: “We are prepared to resume peace negotiations without any delay and without any preconditions — the sooner the better.” Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian negotiator, however, criticised Mr Netanyahu’s speech for its “vagueness” on core issues such as the status of Jerusalem and refugees, as well as its failure to commit to a two-state solution. >>> Tom Baldwin, Washington | Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Sarkozy en appelle
à un volontarisme européen
Nicolas Sarkozy s'est engagé dans la campagne de l'UMP pour les élections européennes du 7 juin, mardi, à Nîmes. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le chef de l'État s'est à nouveau opposé à un «élargissement sans fin» de l'Union.

Dix ans après les élections européennes de 1999 - le pire souvenir électoral de sa carrière -, Nicolas Sarkozy a lancé mardi la campagne pour le scrutin du 7 juin. Ovationné par quatre mille sympathisants, il était mardi au moins autant le patron de la majorité que le président de la République. Installé au milieu de la foule selon une scénographie déjà testée lors de sa dernière «réunion républicaine», à Saint-Quentin, Nicolas Sarkozy n'était pas là, a-t-il répété, pour «défendre son bilan» après deux ans d'Élysée. Pourtant, il n'a pas hésité à le faire en rappelant à plusieurs reprises que «depuis deux ans la France a eu le courage de se réformer». Mais, il a aussi martelé que «cette France que nous essayons de changer, nous ne la changerons pas sans l'Europe».

Mardi, il a donc défendu l'idée européenne, «celle des pères fondateurs», qui croyaient en une «Europe qui protège». De Tbilissi au G20, en passant par Gaza, il a multiplié les exemples de son action pour illustrer sa conviction qu'il est possible de «refuser l'Europe de l'impuissance». Et a fixé plusieurs conditions à la réussite de son projet

Ratifier le traité de Lisbonne

La première condition est l'instauration de «limites» à l'Union. «Pour que l'Europe veuille, il faut qu'elle cesse de se diluer dans un élargissement sans fin», a-t-il expliqué, disant clairement non, sous les applaudissements, à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Union. Le président souhaite en revanche créer avec Ankara «un espace économique et de sécurité commun». Un espace qu'il veut d'ailleurs élargir à la Russie . >>> Charles Jaigu, envoyé spécial du Figaro à Nîmes | Mardi 05 Mai 2009

Iraner wegen Ehebruchs zu Tode gesteinigt: Involvierte Frau zeigt Reue und wird begnadigt
NZZ Online: Wegen Ehebruchs ist ein Mann im Norden des Irans zu Tode gesteinigt worden. Die Hinrichtung fand einem Gerichtssprecher zufolge bereits im März in der Stadt Rascht am Kaspischen Meer statt. Zur Identität des Mannes wurden keine Angaben gemacht. Der involvierten Frau sei die Steinigung erspart geblieben, weil sie Reue gezeigt habe. >>> ap | Dienstag, 5. Mai 2009

Thousands Flee Pakistan's Swat Valley
Residents prepare to flee from Mingora, the main town in Pakistan's Swat Valley. Photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ISLAMABAD -- Thousands of panicked residents on foot and crammed in buses, vans and trucks fled Swat valley north of Pakistan's capital Tuesday following the breakdown of a fragile truce between government forces and the Taliban.

Authorities lifted a curfew for a few hours to allow residents to evacuate as the militants took control of Mingora, the main town of the valley, which lies about 100 miles from Islamabad. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for North West Frontier Province, which includes Swat, said he expects as many as 500,000 to flee in the near future.

Khushal Khan, head of the local administration, urged residents to leave their homes before evening as fighting between the army and militants broke out once again. Pakistan's military has been fighting the Taliban in Swat after each side accused the other of failing to honor the terms of a peace accord struck in February to end the conflict in Swat in return for the imposition of Sharia law.

Tuesday's exodus worsened a humanitarian problem stemming from the displacement of more than half a million people from Pakistan's lawless tribal region near the Afghan border and in parts of North West Frontier Province where security forces have been check the militants' efforts to expand their influence. >>> By Zahid Hussain | Tuesday, May 5, 2009

US Shock-jock, Jewish Extremist and Hamas MP on List of 16 Banned from UK
Fred Waldron Phelps Snr, an American Baptist pastor, was barred for his homophobic views. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A former member of the Ku Klux Klan, a neo-Nazi, a Hamas MP and a Jewish extremist are among 16 people named today as being banned from entering the UK.

Also on the list published by the Home Office is a US “shock jock” talkshow host whose views on Islam, rape and autism have stirred controversy in America.

The 16 are among 22 people excluded in the five months to March. The Home Office has not identified the other six on security grounds.

Today's move follows changes to the law in 2005 which widened the criteria for imposing a ban to include people who promote hatred, terrorist violence or serious criminal activity.

The list includes Erich Gliebe, the leader of an American neo-Nazi group, Michael Savage (real name Michael Weiner), a radio presenter in America, Mike Guzovsky, a Jewish extremist, and Stephen “Don” Black, a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan.

Also on the list is Fred Waldron Phelps Snr, an American Baptist pastor and his daughter, Shirley, who were barred last year for their homophobic views.

The two have picketed the funerals of Aids victims and celebrated the deaths of US soldiers as punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

Also on the list of those banned between October and March is the Hamas MP Yunis al-Astal.

Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky, the former leaders of a violent Russian skinhead gang which committed 20 racially motivated murders, are also banned. They are currently in jail. >>> Richard Ford, Home Correspondent | Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Großbtritannien: Was bleibt vom liberalen Erbe Margaret Thatchers?
WELT ONLINE: Margaret Thatcher hat Großbritannien von Grund auf verändert. Sie modernisierte das damals marode Land. Als Eiserne Lady bekämpfte sie Gewerkschaften, privatisierte Staatsbetriebe und hielt Distanz zur EU. Heute vor 30 Jahren kam Margaret Thatcher an die Macht. In ihrem Land ist sie umstrittener denn je.

"Tête à tête" mit dem damaligen US-Präsidenten Ronald Reagan im Dezember 1984 in Camp David. Bild dank der Welt
Sie gehört in jene Kategorie von historischen Figuren, mit denen man die Zeitrechnung einteilt in ein „Davor“ und „Danach“. So sprechen wir heute vom Vor-Thatcher Großbritannien und vom Nach-Thatcher Großbritannien.

Dazwischen vollzog sich die tiefgreifendste Metamorphose der jüngeren britischen Geschichte überhaupt. Sie veränderte das Vereinigte Königreich fast bis zum Nicht-mehr-Wiedererkennen.

Viele Wunden wurden aufgerissen im Verlauf dieser Revolution. Es ist daher nicht verwunderlich, dass sich bis heute Hass und Bewunderung zu gleichen Teilen um Margaret Thatcher ranken. Was dagegen nicht bestritten wird, auch nicht von ihren Verächtern, ist ihr heraus gehobener Platz in der Zeitgeschichte.

Vor 30 Jahren, in der Unterhauswahl vom 3. Mai 1979, kam sie an die Macht, mit einer eher bescheidenen Mehrheit von 43 Sitzen, die sie vier Jahre später freilich bereits auf 144 steigern konnte. Dazu verhalf ihr vor allem die argentinische Junta, die im April 1982 mit der Besetzung der Falkland-Inseln eine Verletzung des Völkerrechts beging und damit bei der „Eisernen Lady“ ein klassisches „We shall never surrender“ provozierte.

Im Zeichen der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise sucht der britische Zeitgenosse gerne nach Sündenböcken für die gegenwärtige Malaise. Als Erster bietet sich Gordon Brown an, der zunehmend glücklos agierende Premierminister.

Aber man bohrt weiter: Womit begann denn alles, wer ließ das wilde Tier ungezügelter Bereicherungssucht von der Leine, wer lenkte die Risikobereitschaft der Bürger in die Abgründe fröhlicher Verschuldung, wer predigte als Erster die Segnungen des Marktes, ohne auf die Fallstricke der Unachtsamkeit hinzuweisen? Die modische Antwort: Margaret Thatcher. >>> Von Thomas Kielinger | Sonntag, 3. Mai 2009

Pakistan’s Islamic Schools Fill Void, but Fuel Militancy
The madrasas offer almost no instruction beyond the memorizing of the Koran, creating a widening pool of young minds that are sympathetic to militancy. Photo courtesy of The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOHRI PUR, Pakistan — The elementary school in this poor village is easy to mistake for a barn. It has a dirt floor and no lights, and crows swoop through its glassless windows. Class size recently hit 140, spilling students into the courtyard.

But if the state has forgotten the children here, the mullahs have not. With public education in a shambles, Pakistan’s poorest families have turned to madrasas, or Islamic schools, that feed and house the children while pushing a more militant brand of Islam than was traditional here.

The concentration of madrasas here in southern Punjab has become an urgent concern in the face of Pakistan’s expanding insurgency. The schools offer almost no instruction beyond the memorizing of the Koran, creating a widening pool of young minds that are sympathetic to militancy.

In an analysis of the profiles of suicide bombers who have struck in Punjab, the Punjab police said more than two-thirds had attended madrasas.

“We are at the beginning of a great storm that is about to sweep the country,” said Ibn Abduh Rehman, who directs the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent organization. “It’s red alert for Pakistan.” >>> By Sabrina Tavernise | Sunday, May 3, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Who'd Be Female under Islamic Law?
THE INDEPENDENT: In Muslim states, violence against women is validated. A dark age is upon us

I am a Muslim woman and, like my late mother, free, independent, sensuous, educated, liberal, contrary and confrontational when provoked, both feminine and feminist. I style and colour my hair, wear lovely things and perfumes, appear on public platforms with men who are not related to me, shake their hands, embrace some I know well, take care of my family.

I defend Muslims persecuted by their enemies and their own kith and kin. I pray, fast, give to charity and try to be a decent human being. I also drink wine and do not lie about that, unlike so many other "good" Muslims. I am the kind of Muslim woman who maddens reactionary Muslim men and their asinine female followers. What a badge of honour.

Female oppression in Islamic countries is manifestly getting worse. Islam, as practiced by millions today, has lost its compassion and integrity and is entering one of the darkest of dark ages. Here is this month's short list of unbearable stories (imagine how many more there are which will never be known):

Iranian painter Delara Darabi, only 22 and in prison since she was 17, accused of murdering an elderly relative, was hanged last week even though she had been given a temporary stay of execution by the chief justice of the country. She phoned her mother on the day of her hanging to beg for help and the phone was snatched by a prison official who told them: "We will easily execute your daughter and there's nothing you can do about it." Her paintings reveal the cruelty to which she was subjected.

Meanwhile Roxana Saberi, a 32- year-old broadcast journalist whose father is Iranian, is incarcerated in Tehran's Evin prison, accused of spying for the US. She denies this and says she has been framed because she was seen buying a bottle of wine. This intelligent, beautiful and defiant woman is on hunger strike. Over in Saudi Arabia, an eight-year-old child has just divorced a 50-year-old man. Her father, no doubt a very devout man, sold his daughter for about £9,000.

I have been reading Disfigured, the story of Rania Al-Baz, a Saudi TV anchor, the first woman to have such a job, who was so badly beaten up by her abusive husband that she had to have 13 operations to re-make her once gorgeous face. Domestic violence destroys females in all countries, but in Muslim states, it is validated by laws and values. As Al-Baz writes, "It is appalling to realise that a woman cannot walk down the street without men staring at her openly. For them she is nothing but a body without a mind, something that moves and does not think. Women are banned from studying law, from civil engineering and from the sacrosanct area of oil." >>> Yasmin Alibhai-Brown | Monday, May 4, 2009

Bruce Anderson: Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Woman
THE INDEPENDENT: Thirty years after Margaret Thatcher arrived at No 10 and set out to change Britain, her greatness should not be in dispute

Did Margaret Thatcher really believe that there was no such thing as society? No, she did not. Photo courtesy of The Independent
Margaret Thatcher was not a Whistler etching. She did not do shades of grey. Nor do most of those who write about about her. She is either the best of Prime Ministers or the worst of Prime Ministers: the woman who saved the country or the woman who destroyed it. No one could claim that she was an insignificant figure. No one doubts that historians yet unborn will be discussing her legacy; that she will continue to ride the storms of controversy, as she did in her prime.

Thirty years ago, that all seemed so unlikely. In those days, even in the Tory party, very few people realised that she was the raw material of political greatness. Shortly after she won the leadership, Rab Butler spoke to Chris Patten. "This, ah, Thatcher woman. We don't have to take her seriously, do we?" It now seems laughable, but back then, he had a point. Ted Heath put her in his Cabinet, as the statutory woman. In three and a half years, she did not outgrow that status. She abolished a lot of grammar schools and free school milk; there were no other achievements. As an Education Secretary, she ranks somewhere between undistinguished and mediocre.

Ted lost two elections: time to go. But who was to take his place? Willie Whitelaw would not run against him. Everyone agreed that Keith Joseph would not do, including Keith Joseph. There was hesitancy. She brought it to an end. Her courage won its reward. Four years later, however, she had still not transformed that courage into unquestioned authority. A much less successful Leader of the Opposition than Tony Blair or David Cameron, she was often patronised in the Commons by Jim Callaghan. Her Shadow Cabinet included several men – Carrington, Gilmour, Joseph, Prior, Pym, Whitelaw – who appeared to be at least her equal in substance.

It is one of the more fascinating "what ifs" in counter-factual history: what if Mr Callaghan had called an election in October 1978? Even if Mrs Thatcher had won, she would have had a tiny majority. Could her fledgling government have survived the Winter of Discontent, which would have happened regardless, as Labour's wages policy imploded? But Jim dithered. The Winter of Discontent not only destroyed his chances. It highlighted the failure of an entire, often bi-partisan, approach to economic management. Amid all the wreckage, she alone seemed undaunted. No one else knew what to do. She insisted that she did. >>> Bruce Anderson | Monday, May 4, 2009

Taliban Terror Holds 2,000 Villagers as Human Shields
THE SUNDAY TIMES: TALIBAN militants who have seized swathes of North West Frontier Province in Pakistan have inflicted a reign of terror on villagers, landowners and the police, using kidnapping, looting, pillaging and murder to impose their will.

Yesterday, as Pakistani forces stepped up their campaign to retake territory in the districts of Buner, Dir and Swat, it emerged that in one Taliban-controlled village, Pir Baba in Buner, the militants were holding 2,000 people as human shields in case the army attacked.

Elsewhere the Taliban appeared to be relying on kidnapping to extort funds and intimidate the population. Many of their victims have been members of rich families.

“Kidnapping has become routine in our village. Armed Taliban were picking up people and then demanding a huge ransom for their release,” said an elderly refugee now living with his family in a tent in Timergara, a town in Dir. >>> Daud Khattak, NorthWest Frontier | Sunday, May 3, 2009

Lieberman aborde une Europe hostile
leJDD.fr: Avigdor Lieberman débarque en Europe. Le sulfureux ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, leader de l'extrême droite dans son pays, visitera Rome, Paris, Prague et Berlin pour conjurer l'isolement d'Israël. A priori, il inspire surtout la méfiance. Dans la capitale française, s'il sera reçu à l'Elysée, ce ne sera pas par Nicolas Sarkozy, mais par son bras droit, Claude Guéant.

Avigdor Lieberman risque de déchaîner les passions sur le Vieux continent. Photo grâce au JDD
Le voir ou pas? Mardi prochain, Avigdor Lieberman, ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, sera reçu à l'Elysée... mais a priori par Claude Guéant, le secrétaire général, quand il avait demandé à rencontrer Nicolas Sarkozy! Le président français "passera une tête" dans le bureau, peut-être, dit-on à Paris, mais prendra sa décision au dernier moment, en fonction du comportement et des déclarations de Lieberman... "On aura une idée de l'état d'esprit de Lieberman avant son arrivée, puisqu'il passera d'abord par l'Italie, dit-on à l'Elysée. On avisera à ce moment-là."

La prudence témoigne de la méfiance qu'inspire Lieberman, ce populiste devenu chef de la diplomatie israélienne dans la coalition de Benjamin Netanyahou. Chef d'un parti ultranationaliste, Lieberman prône des rectifications de frontières qui placeraient en dehors d'Israël des zones habitées par la minorité arabe. Mais ce sont aussi les premières positions de tout le gouvernement israélien qui inquiètent un pouvoir français pourtant très attaché à l'Etat hébreu: le refus de Benyamin Netanyahou de souscrire aux principes de deux Etats - Israël et la Palestine - comme objectif d'un processus de paix a profondément irrité en Europe. >>> Par Claude ASKOLOVITCH (avec Christian BRUNEL en Israël), Le Journal du Dimanche | Dimanche 03 Mai 2009