Muslim Americans Encouraged, Hopeful after Obama
REUTERS: WASHINGTON - Iraqi Americans Wasan Alqaisi and Sumer Majid made a Fourth of July family picnic of kebab -- served on hamburger buns with slices of American cheese.

Celebrating Independence Day in the U.S. capital, the two Muslim women were doing what generations of Americans have done before them: blending their faith and lifestyle with a U.S. national identity.

Eight years after Middle East militants carried out the September 11 attacks, Muslim Americans are raising their profile, encouraged by the election of Barack Obama, a U.S. president proud of his Kenyan father's Muslim heritage.

The president, who is a Christian, used his middle name, Hussein, at his inauguration. He called for new dialogue with Islamic nations and named a special envoy for the Middle East on his second full day in office.

"We are more optimistic about the future for us here," said Alqaisi, an accountant. "They changed the way they communicate with the Muslim countries. We feel like we have more value here now. We hope that will continue in the future."

Like other immigrant groups in a country of immigrants, Muslims were drawn to the United States seeking opportunity and relief from poverty in their home countries. Arabs went to industrial centers, south Asian Muslims to the West Coast. Some arrived to study in universities; some arrived as slaves.

A 2007 Pew Research Center study says 21 percent of Muslim Americans arrived from abroad during the 1990s.

The September 11 attacks put a magnifying glass on what until then had been a largely invisible Muslim American community, prompting many to organize. The Patriot Act limited civil liberties. Many felt they were being profiled. The Council of American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, said more than 60,000 people were subject to new government actions such as interrogations, detentions, raids and the closure of charities.

CAIR reported a 64 percent increase in the number of civil rights complaints in the year after September 11, 2001. >>> Wendell Marsh | Sunday, July 12, 2009

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Wearing the Burqa Is Neither Islamic Nor Socially Acceptable
THE INDEPENDENT: To deny face-to-face interaction is to deny our shared humanity

I am a Shia Muslim and I abhor the burqa. I am offended by the unchallenged presumption that women covering their heads and bodies and now faces are more pious and true than am I.

Islam in all its diverse forms entitles believers to a personal relationship with Allah – it cuts out middlemen, one reason its appeal extended to so many across the world. You can seek advice from learned scholars and imams, but they cannot come between your faith and the light of God. Today control freaks who claim they have a special line to the Almighty have turned our world dark. Neo-conservative Islamic codes spread like swine flu, an infection few seem able to resist.

The disease is progressive. It started 20 years ago with the hijab, donned then as a defiant symbol of identity, now a conscript's uniform. Then came the jilbab, the cloak, fought over in courts when schoolgirls were manipulated into claiming it as an essential Islamic garment. If so, hell awaits the female leaders of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Soon, children as young as four were kitted up in cloaks and headscarves ("so they get used to it, and then later wear the full thing," said a teacher to me who works at a Muslim girls' school) and now for the graduation gown, a full burqa, preferably with dark glasses.

White liberals frame this sinister development in terms of free choice and tolerance. Some write letters to this paper: What is the problem? It is all part of the rich diversity of our nation. They can rise to this challenge, show they are superhuman when it comes to liberty and forbearance.

They might not be quite so sanguine if their own daughters decided to be fully veiled or their sons became fanatic Islamicists and imposed purdah in the family. Such converts are springing up in Muslim families all over the land. Veils predate Islam and were never an injunction (modesty of attire for men and women is). Cultural protectionism has long been extended to those who came from old colonies, in part to atone for imperial hauteur. Redress was necessary then, not now. >>> Yasmin Alibhai-Brown | Monday, July 13, 2009

Doyle McManus: The End of Obamamania
LOS ANGELES TIMES: On his overseas trip, the president was met with a lot less cheering and a lot more tough talk.

Barack Obama has fallen back to Earth.

When he ran for president, Obama said his election would be "the moment the rise of the oceans began to slow." And when he made his first big foreign trip in April, he was hailed by adoring crowds -- and almost-as-adoring politicians -- in Britain, Germany, France and the Czech Republic.

But last week, in Russia and Italy, Obamania was little more than a pleasant memory. Yes, his international polling numbers are still high, but the president encountered hardly any adulation in the streets of Moscow or anywhere else. Instead, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin reportedly gave him a tongue-lashing over a two-hour breakfast, and the tent-bound refugees from Italy's April earthquake mostly wanted to know whether he could rebuild their homes. ("Yes, we camp," their banner said, pointedly.)

And the oceans are still rising too. At the Group of 8 summit, the developing countries said no to a timetable to stop global warming, the reason for the waters' rise.

That's not to say the trip was a bust; it wasn't. But it was far from a triumph, and that's a new experience for Obama's foreign policy team.

The hard reality of international affairs is that, just as the United States has interests, so do other countries. And when those interests conflict, all the charm and charisma in the world can't resolve the differences.

At the G-8 summit, the United States, Britain and France had hoped for a tough statement on Iran's nuclear ambitions. The closest they got to a warning was this: "We sincerely hope that Iran will seize this opportunity to give diplomacy a chance."

The summit's other accomplishments were mostly worthy half-measures. The developing countries wouldn't sign on, but the eight big economies agreed to try to for deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, 41 years from now. After a personal appeal from Obama, member nations promised $20 billion to help poor countries grow more food, but much of the money turned out to be old pledges under a new name.

Obama went to Moscow to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations, which under George W. Bush had veered from unrealistic enthusiasm to bitter recriminations. He succeeded in changing the tone, but the concrete results were modest. The two nuclear powers agreed on a framework for reducing their atomic arsenals, but since both sides went into the talks wanting to cut, the nuclear issue was the easy part.

More difficult were the issues each country sees as its top priority: for the United States, the problem of Iran; for Russia, the desire of its onetime possessions Ukraine and Georgia to escape from Moscow's orbit. >>> Doyle McManus | Sunday, July 12, 2009

BNP 'Does Not Want All-white UK'
BBC: British National Party leader Nick Griffin has said he no longer wants to see an all-white United Kingdom.

Watch BBC video: Nick Griffin tells Andrew Marr he no longer wants to see an all-white United Kingdom >>>

Mr Griffin, who is due to take up his seat as an MEP for the North West, said the idea of a UK without ethnic minorities was "simply not do-able".

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Griffin said: "Nobody out there wants it or would pay for it."

He said claims that he was a fascist were "smears" but said the European Union was "very close to fascism".

Mr Griffin told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that the BNP would put more money into voluntary repatriation programmes for members of ethnic minorities "who want to go back to their lands of ethnic origin".

He added that Britain was overcrowded and "terribly unstable" as a result of its "multicultural experiment".

The BNP leader also defended his view that the EU should sink boats carrying illegal immigrants.

Mr Griffin said: "What needs to be done as an example is to sink a couple of boats near the shores of Libya - throw them lifebelts so they can paddle back, so they understand they will never get to Europe.

"Because the alternative is accepting that Britain eventually is going to end up like Africa." [Source: BBC] | Sunday, July 12, 2009

Watch BBC video: BNP chief rejects 'racist' tag >>>

Watch BBC video: BNP's first MEP attacks EU >>>

Panorama: Muslim First, British Second
Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

Channel Four Interview: Nick Griffin

Die Diktatur der Mehrheit: In China werden Minderheiten systematisch schikaniert
NZZ am Sonntag: Die Aufstände der Uiguren stören Pekings Wunschbild der harmonischen Gesellschaft. Für viele Han-Chinesen sind Minderheiten minderwertig.

Die Woche in Urumqi endete schlimmer, als sie begonnen hatte. Viele Moscheen, in denen die Uiguren gewöhnlich zum Freitagsgebet zusammenkommen, blieben diesmal geschlossen. Damit wollten die Behörden neue Proteste verhindern, nachdem am vergangenen Sonntag bei ethnischen Unruhen nach Regierungsangaben mehr als 180 Personen getötet und 1080 verletzt worden waren. Die Botschaft war klar: Chinas Regierung weist den Uiguren die Alleinschuld für den Gewaltausbruch zu und sucht die Ursachen in deren muslimischer Religion.

Für die Uiguren kommt die Schliessung der Moscheen einer kollektiven Brandmarkung als Terroristen gleich, woran auch die Tatsache nichts ändert, dass im letzten Moment einige Gotteshäuser geöffnet wurden. Wer vor einer Woche noch skeptisch war, als beim Freitagsgebet Gerüchte über die Misshandlung uigurischer Wanderarbeiter in Südchina die Runde machten, kann nun kaum anders, als zu glauben, dass die Uiguren von Chinas Han-Mehrheit nichts Gutes zu erwarten haben. >>> Bernhard Bartsch, Peking | Sonntag, 12. Juli 2009

Obama's ‘Painful’ Ghana Visit
THE SUNDAY TIMES: AMERICA’S first lady, Michelle Obama, fought back tears yesterday as she toured a former Dutch slaving fort similar to the one in which it is believed her ancestors were held before being shipped to work on plantations in the deep south of the United States.

On the second day of President Barack Obama’s historic trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the first family flew from the capital, Accra, for a tour of the restored 17th-century Cape Castle, previously one of the biggest slave outposts on the West African coast.

“As painful as it is, I think that it helps to teach all of us that we have to do what we can to fight against the kinds of evils that sadly still exist in our world, not just on this continent but in every corner of the globe,” said the president.

Before the visit, Michelle Obama, whose great-great-grandfather, Jim Robinson, her oldest known relative, was born into slavery on a rice plantation in South Carolina, was made “Queen of the Cape Coast” by traditional chiefs of the region.

The couple and their children, Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11, then descended the narrow staircase into the dark dungeons of the ocean-side fort where thousands of slaves were kept for up to 12 weeks waiting for a ship to dock.

Thousands of shackled African slaves huddled in squalor before being herded onto ships bound for America through the “gate of no return”. Obamas tour slavers’ fort in ‘painful’ Ghana visit >>> Jonathan Clayton in Cape Coast, Ghana | Sunday, July 12, 2009

Church Accuses Government of Favouring Muslims
THE TELEGRAPH: Church leaders have accused the Government of giving preferential treatment to the Muslim community because of "political correctness".

Parishes are being starved of state funds to help the poor as a result of money being diverted to other faiths, senior clergy told the General Synod, which is meeting in York.

A report endorsed by Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, claimed that the Government had become "unbalanced" in its approach to faith groups.

It argued that the determination of ministers to tackle Islamic extremism in the wake of the London bombings on July 7, 2005, had led to a preoccupation with Muslim communities at the expense of Christian groups.

Subsequently, the report said, churches are facing a challenge to maintain their presence in poor parts of the country. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, July 11, 2009

NHS: "An Orgasm a Day Keeps the Doctor Away"
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: NHS guidance is advising school pupils that they have a "right" to an enjoyable sex life and that regular sex can be good for their cardiovascular health.

The advice appears in leaflets circulated to parents, teachers and youth workers and is meant to update sex education by telling students about the benefits of enjoyable sex.

The authors of the guidance say that for too long, experts have concentrated on the need for "safe sex" and committed relationships while ignoring the principle reason that many people have sex.

Entitled Pleasure, the leaflet has been drawn up by NHS Sheffield, but it also being circulated outside the city.

The leaflet carries the slogan "an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away". It also says: "Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes' physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?" NHS tells school children of their "right" to "an orgasm a day" >>> Roya Nikkhah | Sunday, July 12, 2009

Bremen im Fokus des europäischen Islamismus
WELT ONLINE: Mit einer Großrazzia ging die Polizei gegen ein Treffen europäischer Islamisten im Bremer Stadtteil Gröpelingen vor. Seit langem vermuten Verfassungsschutz und Landeskriminalamt dort ein Zentrum des Dschihad. Zentrale Figur der Bremer Islamisten ist der 28 Jahre alte René S., der sich selbst „Emir von Gröpelingen" nennt.

Karte: WeltOnline
Wenn René Marc S. (28) durch die Straßen des Bremer Stadtteils Gröpelingen streift, folgen ihm gleich mehrere Schatten. Seit mehr als einem halben Jahr wird der Deutsch-Türke permanent vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet. Rund um die Uhr begleiten Beamte des Landeskriminalamtes (LKA) jeden Schritt des gebürtigen Bremers. Zweimal bereits wurde seine Wohnung durchsucht.

„Manchmal sind es fünf Autos“, sagt er, wenn man ihn auf seine Beschattung anspricht. Letztes Jahr erst zerstachen Freunde von ihm die Reifen eines Observationswagens. René S. gilt als potenzielle Bedrohung, als islamistischer Gefährder und Kontaktmann der europäischen Dschihad-Szene. Jetzt soll er in Bremen gar ein Treffen europäischer Islamisten organisiert haben.

Vor wenigen Jahren trat der ehemalige Katholik zum Islam über. Seither folgt er der fundamentalistischen Ideologie der Taqfiri. Taqfiris akzeptieren keine von der Sharia abweichende Rechtsordnung, ordnen sich demnach auch nicht der „Freiheitlich Demokratischen Grundordnung“ unter und ziehen sich in eine Parallelgesellschaft zurück, in der eigene Gesetze und Rechtsfindungsverfahren herrschen. Männer tragen nach Prophetentradition lange Bärte, kleiden sich in traditioneller Weise, und Frauen verpflichten sich zur Verschleierung.

Jede Erneuerung der Glaubenspraxis wird von den Taqfiris strikt abgelehnt. Die Anhänger stellen sich über die übliche Autorität der Rechtsgelehrten und entscheiden nach ihrer islamischen Überzeugung selbst wer ungläubig und ein Gegner des Islam ist. Zu letzteren zählen sie übrigens auch einen Großteil der Muslime. Den Dschihad gegen die „Feinde des Islam“ betrachten sie als gottgewollte Pflicht. >>> Von Florian Flade | Sonntag, 12. Juli 2009

Takfiri (Taqfiri) / تكفيري >>>

Fofana: Vers un nouveau procès?
leJDD.fr: Un verdict controversé. Le procès du "gang des barbares" achevé, les avocats de la famille du jeune Ilan Halimi ainsi que plusieurs organisations juives, demandent un nouveau procès. S'ils ne contestent pas la peine infligée à Youssouf Fofana, condamné à la réclusion à perpétuité, ce sont les peines des 25 autres co-accusés qui font débat. Une manifestation est prévue lundi.

Le verdict rendu dans l'affaire de l'assassinat du jeune juif Ilan Halimi en 2006 est critiqué par des organisations juives, dont le Crif, qui jugent certaines peines trop clémentes et veulent un nouveau procès. Le Bureau national de vigilance contre l'antisémitisme (BNVCA) a ainsi appelé dimanche à manifester lundi soir place Vendôme à Paris, non loin du ministère de la Justice, pour réclamer un appel du parquet général. L'Union des étudiants juifs (UEJF) se dit également choquée par le verdict, soulignant que tout a été mis en oeuvre pour "éviter de tirer les leçons" d'un meurtre antisémite.

Ce dossier devenu emblématique de l'antisémitisme et de la violence dans les banlieues pourrait désormais glisser sur le terrain politique. La voix du Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (Crif) est venue se joindre à celle de l'avocat de la mère de la victime, Francis Szpiner. Proche de la majorité présidentielle - il a été candidat UMP aux législatives en 2002 - il a exhorté la ministre de la Justice Michèle Alliot-Marie à susciter un appel du parquet général. >>> Par S.R (avec Reuters), leJDD.fr | Dimanche 12 Juillet 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La famille Halimi dénonce «l'indulgence» envers les complices de Fofana

ANTISÉMITISME | Pour l'ensemble de la communauté juive de France, les peines infligées aux membres du «gang des barbares» sont jugées trop faibles.

Une salle surchauffée. Après onze semaines de débats à huis clos, les 27 membres du "gang des barbares" font face à une salle pleine à craquer. Proches, journalistes et curieux sont venus vendredi en nombre entendre le verdict de la cour d'assises des mineurs de Paris. Dans le box des accusés règne une curieuse empathie, voire de l'indifférence. Le couperet tombe à 22h20 en l'absence de la famille d'Ilan Halimi, ce jeune homme de confession juive torturé et laissé à l'agonie le long d'une voie ferrée.

Impassible, le chef de gang franco-ivoirien écoute le verdict. Sans surprise, Youssouf Fofana âgé de 28 ans est condamné à la réclusion criminelle à perpétuité assortie d'une peine de sûreté de 22 ans pour meurtre avec préméditation d'Ilan Halimi commis à raison de l'appartenance vraie ou supposée de la victime à une religion déterminée. La peine maximale. Au cours du procès, il a reconnu – et s'en est vanté – avoir porté seul les coups fatals à Ilan Halimi. "Oui, c'est moi qui l'ai fait, vous savez bien que c'est moi qui l'ai fait... Et j'en suis fier", lançait-il le 28 mai dernier. Ce vendredi soir, aucune provocation de sa part. Crâne rasé, longue barbe, vêtu d'une chemise colorée africaine, il se contente de tapoter dans ses mains, mimant des applaudissements, assis au bout du box, seul, isolé. Les 26 autres prévenus font bloc; sur le banc des prévenus, ils ont laissé un vide entre eux et Youssouf Fofana. Comme pour souligner le rôle central de celui qui se surnomme "le cerveau du gang". >>> Jean-Noël Cuénod, Paris | Dimanche 12 Juillet 2009

Tony Blair Faces Disappointment in Bid to Become European Union's President
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair faces disappointment in his bid to become the European Union's powerful new president after losing support among continental leaders.

The former prime minister's key backer, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, is said to have "changed his mind" about Mr Blair's suitability for the post.

Without Mr Sarkozy's support, Mr Blair's candidacy – which is unofficially backed by Gordon Brown and the British government – is effectively doomed.

Sources in Brussels now say the favourite for the job is Felipe Gonzales, Spain's charismatic socialist former prime minister, whose government collapsed in a sleaze scandal in 1996.

Europe's leaders are just beginning the complex horse-trading that will end in the appointment of an EU president and "high representative" – effectively the union's foreign minister – once the Lisbon Treaty has been finally fully ratified.

That could come in October when Ireland stages its second referendum on the treaty following a "No" vote last year.

Pundits expect a "Yes" vote this time round which would allow the treaty to pass into law in the EU's 27 member states.

Mr Blair, currently a Middle East peace envoy, remains the choice of 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office.

A Foreign Office source told The Sunday Telegraph: "The new job is perfectly suited to a big personality like Tony Blair."

However, Mr Sarkozy, who enthusiastically promoted the former prime minister's bid, is thought to have altered his stance – partly because of Mr Blair's perceived "failure" to achieve any change in the Middle East.

He has now switched support to Mr Gonzales, 67, who has claimed that Europe has been "adrift for 20 years" and has become a mere follower of the United States.

Mr Gonzales also heads an EU "wise men's" group appointed by Mr Sarkozy – the perfect platform from which to launch a presidential bid.
Mr Gonzales's spokesman, Joaquin Tajar. said: "Sarkozy is in favour of Gonzales's candidacy once the Lisbon Treaty has passed."

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and another key figure whose support Mr Blair would need, is now said by senior figures in Brussels "never to have been that keen on Tony getting the job in the first place." >>> Patrick Hennessy, Polticial Editor | Saturday, July 11, 2009

White House ‘Dirty Tricks’ Torpedo Palin
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate, has accused members of President Barack Obama’s administration of a dirty tricks campaign to derail her political career.

Palin’s bizarre announcement that she would quit her post as governor of Alaska on July 26 stunned political friends and foes and has been greeted with derision by a growing number of prominent Republicans. Some conservative insiders have accused the charismatic mother-of-five of succumbing to “paranoia”.

Among the many explanations for her abrupt departure – from an alleged desire to be free to pursue the presidency in 2012 to money worries and ethics problems – the theory put forward by her spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, is that members of Obama’s White House are to blame.

Palin, 45, complained in her resignation speech on July 3 that she was being hounded constantly by “frivolous” ethics complaints. “This [is] political absurdity, the politics of personal destruction,” she said. “Todd [her husband] and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills to set the record straight.”

Stapleton told Time magazine last week: “A lot of this comes from Washington DC. The trail is pretty direct and obvious to us.”

Palin and her advisers believe the most damaging ethics accusation concerned “Trooper-gate”, when Palin was accused of pursuing a vendetta to get her former brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, sacked as an Alaska state trooper. A month before the 2008 presidential election, in which she was Senator John McCain’s running mate, the Alaska legislative council found Palin guilty of abusing her power after an investigator concluded that “impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda”.

Palin dismissed the finding as a partisan smear, but it furthered the impression that she was not presidential material after running Alaska, the least populous state in the union, as her own personal fiefdom. >>> Sarah Baxter in Washington | Sunday, July 12, 2009

Nudity Does Us All Good

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Photo: Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: Channel 4's Life Class delivers an important lesson on the human form, whatever the moral guardians of daytime TV say, writes Jemima Lewis.

"Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed," said William Blake. But the moral guardians of daytime TV take a different view. The Channel 4 programme Life Class caused conniptions last week by showing a woman sitting very still with no clothes on.

The point of the programme is to replicate a real life class, with the viewers at home encouraged to pick up a pencil. The camera stays fixed on the model from one angle, only occasionally cutting away to take a peek at what the "tutor" – one of a series of distinguished artists – has drawn.

It is filmed in a determinedly untitillating way, more Open University than Nuts magazine, and in fact the first three episodes went out last week without any kerfuffle. It was only on Thursday – when Kirsten Varley, a fashion model of uncommon loveliness, dropped her silky dressing gown and stepped on to the dais – that the forces of puritanism pricked up their ears.

Channel 4 was said to have had dozens of complaints: one viewer, who watched the programme while ill in bed, croaked: "It nearly gave me a relapse. It was adult viewing, not for screening in the middle of the day."

John Beyer, of the TV pressure group Mediawatch UK, said he had referred the matter to Ofcom after being contacted by scandalised parents. "Obviously, people feel this is not suitable for daytime TV when they have children at home," he opined. "It's a pity Channel 4 cannot revive its Watercolour Challenge show."

We all miss Watercolour Challenge, John, but there comes a time when you have to let go. As for the effect of Life Class on young minds: who are these children who have never seen a naked body before? And more importantly, why not?

Going naked in front of your offspring is one of the duties of parenthood. Studies show – and common sense suggests – that children from households where nudity is commonplace grow up to feel more comfortable in their own skin. We need the background scenery of other people's bodies – dumpy, scrawny, dimpled or lean – in order to be reassured that our own peculiarities are normal. >>> Jemima Lewis | Saturday, July 11, 2009

Dhimmitude Alert! More Sh** from the British Government!
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS: POLICE will be ordered not to charge Muslim extremists in many hate crime cases – to stop them becoming more militant.

Guidelines will tell forces to press for conviction only in cases of clear-cut criminal acts.

Officers will be advised not to proceed when evidence of lawbreaking is “borderline”.

Examples of crimes to which a blind eye may be turned include incitement to religious hatred or viewing extremist material on the internet.

Last night critics warned that the move could mean Islamic radicals being give the freedom to encourage violence.

Some saw the move as a politically correct attempt to appease extremists who hate Britain.

It could even mean officers tolerating many activities of Muslim preachers of hate like the hook-handed cleric Abu Hamza.

Tory MP David Davies said: “This sounds like abject surrender. Everyone should be equal in the eyes of the law.

“It doesn’t matter whether someone is suspected of incitement to hatred or shoplifting – they should all face the same risk of prosecution.

“There should be no special favours or treatment for any section of the community.” Take It Easy on Muslim Extremists, Police Told >>>

Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>

Barack Obama Tells Africa to Stop Blaming the West for Its Woes on Historic Ghana Visit
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has delivered the most challenging speech by a US leader in Africa for decades by castigating the continent's leadership for creating a culture of "brutality and bribery".

Adopting a tone his white predecessors never dared employ, the US President told Africa it could no longer blame the West for all its woes.

"Yes, a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict, and the West has often approached Africa as a patron, rather than a partner," he told the Ghanaian parliament. "But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants."

Seeking to jolt Africa's politicians out of a complacent belief that his shared ancestry with them would soften his rhetoric, Mr Obama spoke with withering directness.

Condemning tyrannical African leaders who "enrich themselves" amid the continent's chronic poverty, he promised fresh "partnerships" only with states that were well-governed.

For the kleptocrats and autocrats who still sprinkle the continent, he had a simple message: enough is enough.

"No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery," he said. "That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end."

Traditional "strong man" rulers must give way to "strong institutions" if they are to benefit from future Western assistance, he said.

"We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't," he told the country's parliament from a podium draped in traditional yellow and green kente cloth.

"Development depends on good governance, and that is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many countries. That's the change which can unlock African potential, but that is a responsibility which must be met by Africans.

"Africa's future is up to Africans." >>> Mike Pflanz in Accra | Saturday, July 11, 2009

Sir David Frost Interview: Reza Pahlavi
Watch YouTube video here >>>

Bizarre Goings On in the Desert Kingdom
BBC: A family in Saudi Arabia is taking a "genie" to court, accusing it of theft and harassment, reports say.

They accuse the spirit of threatening them, throwing stones and stealing mobile phones, Al Watan newspaper said.

The family have lived in the same house near the city of Medina for 15 years but say they only recently became aware of the spirit. They have now moved out.

A local court is investigating. In Islamic theology, genies are spirits that can harass or possess humans.

'Get out of the house'

"We began to hear strange sounds," the head of the family, who come from Mahd Al Dahab, told the Saudi daily. He did not want to be named.

"At first we did not take it seriously, but then stranger things started to happen and the children got particularly scared when the genie started throwing stones."

He added: "A woman spoke to me first, and then a man. They said we should get out of the house."

A local court says it is trying to verify the truthfulness of the claims "despite the difficulty" of doing so. Saudi 'genie' sued for harassment >>> | Saturday, July 11, 2009

Obama's Climate of Fear
TOWNHALL: Recently I had a long lunch with an old friend. He sits on the board of one of the largest and most successful publicly traded regional banks in America. He got his seat when that regional bank acquired the very successful community bank he built from the ground up. I will not name him or this bank, but I will pass on a few things he said to me.

He said, “Our bank’s leadership team and others I know at the local or regional level feel paralyzed and intimidated by the climate of fear created by the Obama administration. We believe we are targets of a very deliberate conspiracy.

“The new and proposed regulations will remove every competitive advantage of the community bank, and make every bank identical, forced to operate exactly as does Bank of America,” he explained. “Then, absent competitive opportunity, all of the independent banks will be greatly de-valued and handicapped. They’ll be vulnerable and easily rolled up into the handful of remaining giants … the small bank’s wealth made into fresh food for the insatiable hunger of the big banks’ deficits and losses. This is, I and others believe, the next step in Obama’s plan to take total control of the financial system and money supply, a requirement of dictatorship.“

What is most significant about these statements is the person making them. This is not some freak like the fellow Mel Gibson portrayed in the movie “Conspiracy Theory.”. He’s not somebody stockpiling food in a cabin hidden away in the woods, to escape to when anarchy erupts. Not anybody you would expect to hear express such thoughts. And he’s not a lone voice.

Another friend is the CEO of a mid-sized company that had been on an impressive trajectory of growth for the past three years but is now stalled. He and his advisers have reversed their viewpoint in the last few months. They are eager to sell the company if possible now rather than later. Why? They believe Obama is deliberately, systematically destroying the economy as a whole and is specifically targeting small business for extinction – because it’s too difficult to exercise dictatorial control over millions of small enterprises. >>> Dan Kennedy | Friday, July 10, 2009

President Signs Anti-Smoker/Anti-Liberty 'Family Smoking And Tobacco Control Act'
Photo: Diggers Realm
DIGGERS REALM: Last week I reported on the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act in my article "First They Came For The Smokers.... President Obama signed that law today which in essence not only further vilifies smokers as the bane of society, but claims it will lower health care costs, bans tobacco brands from sponsoring sports and entertainment events and will "save the children". American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, CEO John R. Seffrin actually said it finally "put an end to Big Tobacco's despicable marketing practices".

Some things they failed to mention that the bill will do is further infringe on personal civil liberties in this country, have an impact on southern states that produce tobacco and create a further black market and crime for cigarettes as they become more expensive.

As I noted in my article, there were a few curious things in the bill which gave certain "classes" of people preference over others. For instance they have banned all flavored cigarettes, including things like cherry, coffee and the pretty popular clove, but allowed menthol to continue to be used in cigarettes. Menthol seems to be the major preference of black smokers (and was introduced as an exception by the Black Caucus into the bill).

Not a smoker? You should still be concerned. The government is now telling companies which flavorings they can use in products, which companies can sponsor sporting and entertainment events and which agriculture industries deserve to exist.

If you think it stops at cigarettes and tobacco then just wait a little while. They will be going after soda soon, determining that cherry Coke is too enticing for young children and is affecting their weight. Or perhaps they will go after Burgers that contain cheese because some people just like cheese a little too much and can't resist, thus putting their health at risk. >>> Digger | Undated

Digger’s Opinion: Michelle Obama Is Not A Trend Setter And Not Particularly Attractive In Any Way
DIGGERS REALM: I'm about sick of the media's attempts to make Michelle Obama out to be some world trend setter or some overly attractive woman. I find her fashion sense unappealing to her body shape and size and I don't particularly find her attractive in any way. There it has been said. Something that it seems many are afraid to state openly for fear of being called a racist. As with immigration, this as well has nothing to do with race and everything to do with lies.

I'm not usually one to denigrate someone based on their looks, but I've had about enough of this bullshit about how gorgeous Michelle Obama is and the truth must be spoken. I won't go as far as saying "You can put lipstick on a pig...", but you can do a "glamor shot" of anyone after spending 3 hours putting makeup on them and portray them as something they are not. I believe this "false face" mentality is part of why this country is falling apart. >>> Digger | Undated

Somalia: ‘The Religion of Love and Peace and Compassion and Mercy’ Has Been at It Again!
TIMES ONLINE: Seven people accused of renouncing Islam and spying for the Government were beheaded in Somalia yesterday in a move that underlined the growing authority of the country’s Islamist insurgents.

The extremist al-Shabaab group is battling the interim Government in Mogadishu and has implemented a strict interpretation of Sharia in the parts of the country that it controls.

“Al-Shabaab told us that they were beheaded for being Christian followers and spies,” a relative said after the killings. A witness described seeing the decapitated bodies in the back of a lorry in the town of Baidoa.

The killings were the largest number to take place at one time. They were the latest in a series of beheadings, amputations and stonings to death ordered by al-Shabaab, which is accused of having links to al-Qaeda and is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US.

In areas that al-Shabaab controls, including most of southern Somalia and much of Mogadishu, numerous others accused of collaborating with the Government or committing crimes such as adultery, rape, theft or murder have been publicly executed, flogged or had amputations ordered in recent weeks. Seven Somalis beheaded by extremists for 'spying for government' >>> Tristan McConnell in Nairobi | Saturday, July 11, 2009

Sarah Palin Is Resigning Over Money, Says Levi Johnston
THE TELEGRAPH: The teenage father of Sarah Palin's grandson has claimed she is resigning because she wants to make money.

Levi Johnston, 19, whose wedding to Bristol Palin, 18, was called off earlier this year, says he believes the governor is resigning over personal finances.

Mr Johnston says he lived with the Palin family from early December to the second week in January. He claims he heard the governor several times say how nice it would be to take advantage of the lucrative deals that were being offered, including a reality show and a book.

"I think the big deal was the book. That was millions of dollars," said Mr Johnston, who has had a strained relationship with the family but now says things have improved. >>> | Friday, July 10, 2009

G8: Carla Bruni Under Fire for 'Snobbery'
THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni, the wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been criticised by the Italian press for snobbery verging on 'boorishness' for snubbing the summit's official programme.

"Someone tell the first lady that snobbery to the nth degree where we come from is called boorishness," the paper Il Giornale said as the G8 was wrapping up in L'Aquila, central Italy.

On Thursday, the other G8 first ladies including Michelle Obama toured the city devastated by an April 6 earthquake, while Miss Bruni planned to visit the disaster zone on Friday.

Miss Bruni, who arrived in Italy late Thursday, also stayed away from the wives' audience with Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday. >>> | Friday, July 10, 2009

Jeb Bush fasst das Präsidentenamt ins Auge
WELT ONLINE: Er sagt, er wolle nicht Präsidentschaftskandidat werden – und heizt doch gleichzeitig die Debatte an, ob ein dritter Republikaner aus der Bush-Dynastie um das Weiße Haus kämpfen wird. Jeb Bush, ehemaliger Gouverneur von Florida, scheint mit einem höheren politischen Amt zu liebäugeln.

Jeb Bush, jüngerer Bruder des vorigen Präsidenten George W. Bush und von 1998 bis 2006 Gouverneur von Florida, sagte dem Magazin „Esquire", er wache nicht jeden Tag auf mit der Überzeugung: „Ich bin die Lösung der Probleme des Lebens." 



Ihn „schmeichelt es, wenn die Leute meinen Rat suchen", sagte der bei Exil-Kubanern und Hispanics sehr populäre Ex-Gouverneur, der zweimal mit klarem Vorsprung die Wahlen gewann und wegen der Verfassung kein drittes Mal antreten durfte.

Doch Jeb Bush, der Lieblingssohn des früheren Präsidenten George H.W. Bush senior, schränkte zugleich ein, er habe „derzeit" nicht die luxuriöse Situation, alles um eine Kandidatur auszurichten. Solch ein Satz, solche eine Einschränkung nähren Spekulationen. >>> Von Ansgar Graw

Gang Chief Jailed for Torturing French Jew to Death
YNET NEWS: Youssouf Fofana, head of the 'gang of barbarians' responsible for kidnapping, torturing 23-year-old French Jew Ilan Halimi to death in 2006 sentenced to life imprisonment; 24 other gang members also convicted

The leader of a group that called itself a "gang of barbarians" was sentenced to life imprisonment by a French court on Friday for kidnapping and torturing a young Jewish man for more than three weeks before leaving him to die.

The gang abducted 23-year-old Ilan Halimi in 2006, unsuccessfully tried to extort a ransom for their captive, tortured him until he was close to death and then left him near a train station. He died shortly after he was found.

The case shocked France and turned a spotlight on anti-Semitic violence in the poor, multi-ethnic suburbs around many big French cities.

Amid tight courtroom security, Youssouf Fofana, the gang's leader, who admitted killing Halimi, was sentenced to life imprisonment, the maximum penalty under French law, with a minimum period in jail of 22 years.

Twenty-four other gang members were handed sentences ranging from six months suspended to 18 years in prison. Two were acquitted.

"I am pleased that the Paris court of assizes has recognized the anti-Semitic character of this crime," Francis Szpiner, a lawyer for Halimi's family told reporters outside the courtroom.

"It was because he was Jewish that Ilan Halimi was killed and tortured. Noone can challenge this judicial truth." >>> Reuters | Saturday, July 11, 2009

Church of England Under Pressure to Accept Gay Marriage
MAIL Online: The Church of England warned last night that it is under pressure to accept gay marriage.

But two senior bishops - writing on behalf of the CofE - said it is not prepared to abandon its traditional teachings in favour of the idea of 'gender neutral' marriage.

They said that the Church of England considers 'it is vital for the Church to maintain a critical distance from the state and to resist what the state is doing if this is at odds with Scripture.'

The fears over same sex marriage were made public at a meeting of the Church's parliament, the General Synod.

They come at a time of high tension between Labour ministers and leading churches over gay rights and equality laws[.]

The concerns were raised in a letter from Bishop of Guildford Dr Christopher Hill and Bishop of Chichester Dr John Hinds to leaders of the Swedish state church which has close and formal links with the Anglicans.

The bishops - writing on behalf of the CofE - said they could not accept beliefs 'in which the idea of a fundamental distinction between the genders is seen as irrelevant and in which marriage is therefore seen as something that can and should be gender neutral.'

Their letter was a response to moves in the Church of Sweden to offer gender neutral marriage services which could be used for either brides and grooms or for same sex couples.

But it made plain that the CofE will resist pressure from the Government in Britain to introduce any form of same sex marriage. >>> Steve Doughty | Saturday, July 11, 2009

More Sh** from the White House! Reform Obama First!
To expect people to die for their country and then deny them cigarettes is disgraceful! – ©Mark

MAIL Online: It is an iconic image of movies and real life - a battle-weary GI sits down during a lull in the fighting and sucks on a calming cigarette.

It has endured through two world wars, and major conflicts such as Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq and numerous Hollywood blockbusters - John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the D-Day blockbuster, The Longest Day and Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan.

But it could all soon be a thing of the past - because of health and cost concerns.

Pentagon health experts are urging US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to ban smoking by troops and end the sale of tobacco in PXs, the military base shops where cut-price cigarettes have always been a popular line.

And it’s all due to a new study revealing the hidden cost to America’s three million men and women serving in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Reserve.

An investigation by the influential Institute of Medicine, commissioned by the Pentagon found that one in three members of the US services use tobacco, compared with one in five adult Americans.

The heaviest smokers - maybe, not surprisingly - were soldiers and Marines who had done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About 37 per cent of soldiers used tobacco and 36 per cent of Marines.

Combat veterans were 50 per cent more likely to use tobacco than troops who hadn't seen combat, it said. The report acknowledges that it is calling for a seismic change.

The sheer number of troops smoking also had economic costs. Researchers discovered that smoking and chewing tobacco costs the Pentagon more than £540 million a year in medical care and lost productivity.

The Department of Veterans Affairs spent up to £4billion a year on treatment for tobacco-related illnesses, the report added.
In comparison, tobacco sales in PXs netted less than £60 million a year which was spent on base recreation schemes and family support programmes.

It said: ‘A ban would confront a military culture in which the image of the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette.

Troops worn out by repeated deployments often relied on cigarettes as a ‘stress reliever.’ Pentagon calls for smoking ban among US soldiers >>> Barry Whigmore | Friday, July 09, 2009

China Closes Urumqi Mosques on Day of Prayer
TIMES ONLINE: Padlocks secured the iron grill gates to mosques across the city of Urumqi this morning as Muslim Uighurs were told to stay home and pray.

Officials have notified all mosques in the city, where 156 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured when minority Muslim Uighurs rampaged through the streets baying for the blood of Han Chinese last weekend, that today's noon prayers must be cancelled.

At the Say Bag District Mosque, security officials sat in the shaded entrance behind the locked gates, some had electric truncheons on the table in front of them in case of renewed violence. A notice on an entrance pillar asked people to worship at home today and to stay away.

Prayers were cancelled, it said: “Because of the complicated situation at the moment and to safeguard the security of the Muslim masses and to protect the property of the mosque and so as to give no opportunity to violent terrorists.”

It concluded: “We hope the Muslim masses will understand this and will notify each other.” >>> Jane Macartney in Urumqi | Friday, July 10, 2009

Maryam and Marzieh – In Danger of Being Forgotten in Iran
PERSECUTED CHURCH WEBLOG: Two Iranian Christian women, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30), continue to be held in Evin prison in Iran because of their Christian faith, unfairly labelled as ‘anti-government activists’, because of the hostility of the government towards practising Christians.

In the aftermath of the political turmoil in Iran, they are now in danger of being forgotten. One church leader from Iran said, “With so many hundreds of protestors now in the prison system, Maryam and Marzieh are likely to be forgotten.”

Arrested on March 5 , 2009, the two young women have now been in prison for four months. After being in solitary confinement for three weeks in May and early June, they were then put one small cell together for about two weeks. Then, following the arrests of thousands of protestors after the disputed presidential elections, Marzieh and Maryam were moved to a larger cell to make room for new prisoners. About 600 women were brought Evin prison during the days of the protests. There is still no clarity regarding their case. In one court session in June a judge told them that he would make sure they were both executed as ‘apostates’. Maryam and Marzieh have responded with courage, however, telling the judge to “expedite his sentence.” >>> Glenn Penner | Thursday, July 09, 2009

Hat tip: JihadWatch >>>

Tehran: Army of Police and Militiamen Attack Unarmed Protesters
TIMES ONLINE: The Iranian regime warned that any demonstrations would be mercilessly crushed, and meant it. As darkness fell on baking, dust-shrouded Tehran last night an army of riot police and hardline basiji militiamen used batons, gun butts and tear gas to beat back thousands of Iranians converging on the city centre.

"The security presence was massive. It was like a military occupation," one witness told The Times. "They were clubbing the hell out of people."

The greater victory belonged to the demonstrators, however. Male and female, some quite old, they came armed with nothing more than a burning sense of injustice. They defied the risk of serious physical injury, and the very real possibility of arrest, incarceration and torture. They did this to show the world that their resistance to Iran's brutal and illegitimate government has not been extinguished.

"We went today to show them that we are still here and are not going away and they can’t talk or scare us away. And we'll be back every time there is an occasion to commemorate or when we're asked to," said Maryam, a young female office worker nursing an arm injured by a baton blow. “We want to be heard. We are not going to let the regime ignore us,” said Ahmad, a young man in his twenties. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, July 10, 2009

Joke: Two Coffees
A Muslim dies and finds himself before the pearly Gates. He is very excited, as all his life he has longed to meet the Prophet Mohammed. Having arrived at the Gates of Heaven, he meets a man with a beard.

'Are you Mohammed?', he asks. 'No, my son. I am Peter. Mohammed is higher up.' And he points to a ladder that rises into the clouds.

Delighted that Mohammed should be higher than Peter, he climbs the ladder in great strides, climbs through the clouds coming to a room where he meets another bearded man.

He asks again, 'Are you Mohammed? 'No, I am Moses. Mohammed is higher still.

Exhausted, but with a heart full of joy, he continues to climb the ladder and, yet again, he discovers an even larger room where he meets another man with a beard.

Full of hope, he asks again, 'Are you Mohammed?' 'No, I am Jesus...You will find Mohammed higher up.'

Mohammed higher than Jesus! The poor man can hardly contain his delight and climbs and climbs, ever higher once again, he reaches a larger room where he meets a man with a beard and repeats his question:

'Are you Mohammed?' he gasps, as he is by now, totally out of breath from all his climbing. 'No, my son. I am God. But you look exhausted. Would you like a coffee?'

'Yes, please, my Lord'

God looks behind him, claps his hands and calls out: ' Hey, Mohammed, two coffees!' [Source: Unknown]

Extremist Group Announces Split from al-Qaeda
THE TELEGRAPH: A North African extremist group, whose senior leaders were crucial allies of Osama bin Laden, has denounced terrorism and become the first organisation ever to leave al-Qaeda.

The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which once sought to overthrow Col Muammar Gaddafi, dealt a blow to bin Laden by reversing a decision made in 2007 to join al-Qaeda.

A statement from the LIFG leadership criticised "indiscriminate bombings" and the "targeting of civilians", saying that violence "did not achieve the aims of the group in removing oppression".

Al-Qaeda has come under mounting pressure in recent months. Missile attacks executed by American drones in Pakistan's Tribal Areas have taken a heavy toll on its core leadership.

Meanwhile, there are tentative signs of a backlash against bin Laden's ideology in the wider Muslim world. A former extremist leader, Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, better known as "Dr Fadl", has condemned al-Qaeda from inside an Egyptian prison.

The LIFG appears to have judged that the balance of advantage lies with leaving al-Qaeda. Officials doubt whether this will, on its own, have a significant impact on al-Qaeda's ability mount attacks.

But one official pointed out that LIFG figures had "graduated to become major players" in al-Qaeda and the group's withdrawal amounted to a "moral blow" to the network. >>> David Blair, Diplomatic Editor | Thursday, July 09, 2009

'United for Neda' Is Artists' Song for Iranian People

The Story: Spurred by the continuing political unrest in Iran, more than two dozen Iranian expatriate superstars are uniting to spread a musical message of non-violent resistance.

The entertainers, poets, thinkers and actors are harmonizing on the song "United for Neda," a call to action against human rights violations by the Iranian government against Iranians protesting the disputed outcome of recent presidential elections.

The song was inspired by the plight of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year old Iranian woman who was fatally shot on the streets of Tehran on June 20. The ordeal was recorded on cell phone video and received international attention when it hit the Internet.

Read full article >>>

Iranian Police Disperse Pro-reformists: Witness
REUTERS: TEHRAN - Iranian police used tear gas and fired into the air to disperse about 250 pro-reform protesters gathered near Tehran University on Thursday in defiance of a ban on gatherings for the anniversary of violent 1999 student unrest, a witness said.

"Police used tear gas twice to disperse the crowd. There was also many Basij militia on motorbikes patrolling the area," said the witness, who asked not to be named.

Another witness said police urged passers by through loudspeakers to leave the area.

"They were about 250 people who shouted in favor of (defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein) Mousavi and made the victory sign. Police dispersed them," said the witness, who also asked not to be named. >>> Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Janet Lawrence | Thursday, July 09, 2009

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Iran Security Moves to Crush New Protests in Tehran

CAIRO — Security forces began clashing with protesters shortly after they began massing in the streets of Tehran on Thursday evening, as an initially festive demonstration quickly turned grim, witnesses said.

Tear gas was fired into Lelah Park, they said, and a woman whose coat was covered in blood ran from Revolution Square, one of the main gathering spots during the initial weeks of protests over the June 12 election. She said that police officers were beating protesters.

It was the first protest in 11 days, and was called to commemorate the 10th anniversary of violent confrontations at Tehran University when protesting students were beaten and jailed. Iranian authorities had announced earlier that the demonstration was illegal and would be met with a “crushing response.”

But at the end of the work day, hundreds of protesters began packing the streets of one area of Tehran, chanting, clapping and sitting in jammed traffic as drivers honked their horns, witnesses said. Families brought their children. Many held a hand in the air in the defiant V for victory.

The security forces quickly moved in. >>> Michael Slackman and Alan Cowell | Thursday, July 09, 2009

NZZ Online: Iranische Opposition erneut auf der Strasse: Erstmals seit über einer Woche wieder Proteste gegen umstrittene Wahl

Erstmals seit über einer Woche haben im Iran wieder Anhänger der Opposition gegen das Ergebnis der umstrittenen Präsidentenwahl protestiert. Die Polizei ging mit einem massiven Tränengaseinsatz gegen die Demonstranten vor.

Mehrere hundert Demonstranten zogen am Donnerstag durch die Innenstadt von Teheran und skandierten «Tod dem Diktator». Zuvor hatte der Gouverneur der Stadt die Anhänger von Oppositionsführer Mir Hossein Moussavi vor weiteren Protesten gewarnt und mit deren Niederschlagung gedroht.

Sicherheitskräfte bemühten sich laut Augenzeugen unter Einsatz von Tränengas, die Kundgebungen aufzulösen. Zunächst versammelten sich etwa 300 Oppositionsanhänger in der Nähe der Universität, innerhalb kürzester Zeit wuchs ihre Zahl auf etwa 700 an. Auch an anderen Plätzen im Stadtzentrum versammelten sich hunderte Demonstranten. Viele von ihnen trugen Atemschutzmasken in Grün, der Kennfarbe Moussavis. >>> ap | Donnerstag, 09. Juli 2009

LE FIGARO: Une manifestation dispersée à Téhéran

La police iranienne a lancé des gaz lacrymogènes contre des milliers de manifestants. De nouvelles interpellations auraient eu lieu.

A Téhéran, plusieurs milliers de personnes ont bravé jeudi l'interdiction de rassemblement. La police a dispersé des cortèges de manifestants venus commémorer les émeutes étudiantes de 1999 et afficher leur hostilité au pouvoir. Il s'agit des premiers rassemblements d'opposants depuis la confirmation le 29 juin de la réélection de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, où le pouvoir avait promis «d'écraser » toute nouvelle manifestation.

Environ 3.000 personnes se sont rassemblées sur l'avenue Taleghani, proche de l'université, au centre de la ville, lançant des slogans hostiles au pouvoir, tels que «Libérez les prisonniers politiques!» ou encore «mort au dictateur!», selon des témoins, qui ont également rapporté que la police avait arrêté plusieurs manifestants. De mêmes sources, «la police a fait usage de gaz lacrymogène pour disperser» le cortège et les forces anti-émeutes ont pris position dans le quartier. Peu auparavant, la police avait déjà eu recours au gaz lacrymogène contre 200 à 300 manifestants qui scandaient des slogans similaires, près de la place Enghelab. >>> F.G (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Jeudi 09 Juillet 2009

Gay Muslim Discusses His Sexuality and Islam

Al-Andalus: الأندلس

Al-Andalus : Alhambra Palace

Hack Attack

REUTERS: More Web Attacks, North Korea Suspected

SEOUL - A fresh wave of cyber attacks that slowed U.S. and South Korean websites this week hit more targets on Thursday, a Web security firm said, while the South's spy agency has said the hacking may be linked to North Korea.

The impact of the attacks, aimed so far at dozens of sites including the White House and the South's presidential office, was seen as negligible, experts said, but served as a reminder that Pyongyang has been planning for cyber warfare.

"The anticipated attack did take place, but considerable counter-measures were taken and it did act as a defense to some degree," an official at the online security firm Ahnlab said.

Some government websites, including the Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service, were affected. Access to some U.S. government sites, including the State and Defense Department, from South Korea appeared to be disabled. >>> Jack Kim | Thursday, July 09, 2009

Opinion – Martin Sherman: Netanyahu’s Misguided Vision
YNET NEWS: Israel needs leader willing to face Obama and say: ‘No, you can’t’

"…for the first time we have reached a national agreement on the two states for two people concept." – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at cabinet meeting, June 5, 2009.

In uttering these words, Benjamin Netanyahu proved himself to be unworthy of the leadership of the nation. For they clearly show that he lacks either the political wisdom or the political will for the task.

The stark contrast between Netanyahu's cabinet statement and his first rousing and resolute address to the Likud Central Committee as premier in 1996, evoke feelings of profound sadness, bitter disappointment, and deep concern. His opening words then to the eager crowd were: "There will be no Palestinian State."

Rarely does history afford leaders of nations a second chance to redeem themselves. Netanyahu is one the fortunate few who has been afforded such an opportunity. Sadly he has proven unworthy of the extraordinary favor fate granted him, His mettle has been tested and found wanting. His capitulation – however reluctant - to the notion of "two-states" which he has rejected reflects a failure of will or of intellect - or of both.

The essential point for the Israeli leadership to grasp and for the Israeli public to internalize is that the conflict between Israel, as the nation-state of the Jewish people, on the one hand, and both the Palestinians and the wider Arab world on the other, is neither complex nor complicated. Any attempt to characterize it differently reflects neither erudite sophistication nor progressive enlightenment – but rather, ill-informed ignorance at best and disingenuous denial at worst.

For the unvarnished truth is indeed brutal - and binary: In the narrow sliver of land between "The River" and "The Sea" there can prevail – and eventually there will prevail – either exclusive Jewish political sovereignty or exclusive Arab political sovereignty. The side that will endure will be the side whose political will is stronger and whose political vision is sharper. Who will protect Palestinian state? >>> Martin Sherman | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Khamenei's Son Takes Control of Iran's Anti-protest Militia
THE GUARDIAN: Mojtaba Khamenei's move dismays clerics and Revolutionary Guard generals / Tehran doctor says death toll much higher than official figure

The son of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source.

The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, said that the leading role being played by Mojtaba Khamenei had dismayed many of the country's senior clerics, conservative politicians and Revolutionary Guard generals.

But these conservatives are reluctant to challenge the Khameneis openly out of fear that any conflict would destabilise the Islamic Republic and weaken Iran in the region. Instead they will use their positions in the organs of state to make it hard for the supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to govern.

"This game has not finished. The game has only just started," the source said, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his own position in Iran.

He said Mojtaba had played a leading role in orchestrating Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory on 12 June and had led the backlash against protests through direct control of street militias, known as basiji.

The official death toll from that backlash is less than 20 but, according to a Tehran doctor who has given his account to the Guardian, the actual number is much higher – 38 in the first week at his hospital alone. He said the basiji covered up the deaths and pressured doctors not to talk. >>> Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Iran's Crackdown Proves that the 'Twitter Revolution' Has Made Things Worse
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's crackdown proves that the 'Twitter revolution' has made things worse

Almost a month on from Iran’s presidential election, it is now time to recognise that the so-called “Twitter revolution” has utterly failed to achieve anything - save dead and injured young Iranians, and up to 2,000 new political prisoners. President Ahmadinejad retains power after a violent crackdown. There has been no recount of the votes. And the blatantly rigged election results have been upheld.

So what went wrong? Well, I would argue that the answer is twofold. Firstly we need to accept that there was a hell of a lot of hype surrounding the online freedom emerging in Iran. Despite what Bobbie Johnson wrote in The Observer, Tweets do not “shake” the political world. More accurately, we have just witnessed a mini dotcom boom and bust: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr were seen to be “powerful political tools”. They aren’t. Especially when they are only being used by a relatively small urban elite. >>> Will Heaven* | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

*Will Heaven is a 21-year-old journalist who writes about politics and religion.

Pakistani President Asif Zardari Admits Creating Terrorist Groups
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's president has admitted his country created terrorist groups to help achieve its foreign policy goals.

Asif Zardari told a meeting of former senior civil servants in Islamabad, it was time to be honest about their deployment.

"Let us be truthful to ourselves and make a candid admission of the realities," he said. "The terrorists of today were the heroes of yesteryears until 9/11 occurred and they began to haunt us as well."

These groups were not thrown up because of government weakness, but as a matter of policy. He said they were deliberately "created and nurtured" as a policy to achieve some short-term tactical objectives.

His comments amount to an admission that Pakistan trained Islamic terrorists to launch attacks on India as part of its long war over its claim on Kashmir.

It came as at least 40 people were killed in a suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan.

Three US drones are believed to have fired missiles at militants near Ladha in South Waziristan. It is the third strike in two days and follows strikes in which 19 reportedly died.

Mr Zardari first confirmed that many of the Islamic militants now waging war against his government were once "strategic assets" in an interview with the Daily Telegraph earlier this week. >>> Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Obama Arrives in Italy for G-8 Summit

China Tightens Security in Xinjiang

Sarah Palin Talks Government And Her Future

Why Don't Russian-speaking Jews Trust Obama?
HAARETZ: In the past two weeks, in advance of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Russia, chapters of the Bible have become hot current events items in the Russian-language media in Israel. This is not necessarily a matter of an increasing link to the Jewish sources, but rather the use of verses found relevant to eroding the American president's legitimacy.

The Torah portion "Noah" has become particularly popular, and especially his son Ham. This Ham - whose name in Russian also means a very crude person - was punished in the Bible by having his skin turn black, with all his descendants doomed to be blacks destined for a life of slavery. Another very popular text lately is a verse from Proverbs: "Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up." The first of the heralds of evil, according to the verse, is "a slave who becomes king."

Each of these chapters is important in itself, but the real sparks are created by the connection between the two: Ham the black man who is doomed to eternal slavery and brings suffering to the world when a black slave becomes king - or in this case, ascends the throne of the presidency of the United States.

The large community of Russian-speaking Jews in America is not enthusiastic about the new president either. But here there is an interesting cultural difference. While Russian speakers in Israel proudly proclaim their rejection of political correctness, their colleagues in America have actually internalized what is politically correct. They are far less preoccupied with the color of the president's skin, and focus on his Muslim background. That is considered legitimate. >>> Lily Galili | Monday, July 06, 2009

As Iran Calms, a Struggle for Political Power Intensifies
Clerics during prayers in June. Many religious leaders have not spoken out in support of Iran’s president or supreme leader. Photo: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: CAIRO — The streets of Iran have been largely silenced, but a power struggle grinds on behind the scenes, this time over the very nature of the state itself. It is a battle that transcends the immediate conflict over the presidential election, one that began 30 years ago as the Islamic Revolution established a new form of government that sought to blend theocracy and a measure of democracy.

From the beginning, both have vied for an upper hand, and today both are tarnished. In postelection Iran, there is growing unease among many of the nation’s political and clerical elite that the very system of governance they rely on for power and privilege has been stripped of its religious and electoral legitimacy, creating a virtual dictatorship enforced by an emboldened security apparatus, analysts said.

Among the Iranian president’s allies are those who question whether the nation needs elected institutions at all.
Most telling, and arguably most damning, is that many influential religious leaders have not spoken out in support of the beleaguered president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indeed, even among those who traditionally have supported the government, many have remained quiet or even offered faint but unmistakable criticisms.

According to Iranian news reports, only two of the most senior clerics have congratulated Mr. Ahmadinejad on his re-election, which amounts to a public rebuke in a state based on religion. A conservative prayer leader in the holy city of Qum, Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini, referred to demonstrators as “people” instead of rioters, and a hard-line cleric, Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, called for national reconciliation.

Some of Iran’s most influential grand ayatollahs, clerics at the very top of the Shiite faith’s hierarchy who have become identified with the reformists, have condemned the results as a fraud and the government’s handling of the protests as brutal. On Saturday, an influential Qum-based clerical association called the new government illegitimate. >>> Michael Slackman | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Fear and Loathing at Equality Central
THE INDEPENDENT: Discrimination, conflicts of interest, financial irregularities: allegations against Trevor Phillips and his commission are building.

It was not supposed to work like this. The Government's equality watchdog – which is charged with rooting out discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, sexuality, age or disability – was yesterday in the dock charged with discrimination by a member of its own staff. It only adds to the mound of political embarrassment being heaped upon the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, whose days in the job look increasingly limited.

The woman before an employment tribunal yesterday was Brid Johal, from Tipperary. (These things are important when it comes to equality). She was an aide to the aide of Mr Phillips. Even aides have aides in the wonderful world of quangos, until David Cameron gets his way at any rate. While she was on maternity leave the person who was covering for her – whom we might, unkindly perhaps, describe as the aide of the aide of the aide – was promoted over Ms Johal's head. It happened just as a commission bigwig was holding forth publicly about how unfortunate it was that women get penalised if they take a year off. Ms Johal told the tribunal that she had not been informed that there was a vacancy available despite her bosses' promises that she would be "kept in the loop" while she was away.

There is now muttering inside the EHRC about how it has not, after all, consigned to history a world in which some people are more equal than others. "There is something oddly old-fashioned going on in terms of plum jobs at the higher level," one insider said recently.

Some are beginning to think that the man at the top, Trevor Phillips, may have feet of clay. Indeed some are murmuring that the clay goes up to knee-level and beyond. The commission has been hit in recent months by a succession of internal disputes and allegations of financial irregularities. There is talk now that the former television executive, who wanted a second term in the job, will be forced to step down when his contract ends in the autumn. >>> Paul Vallely and Kevin Rawlinson | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude! St Mary's Catholic College Turns Away Muslim Teacher Wearing Veil
TIMES ONLINE: A teacher was barred from joining students on a visit to a Roman Catholic sixth-form college because she refused a request to remove her Muslim veil.

She was accompanying two teenage girls on an open day to see if they wanted to study for their A levels at St Mary’s College, in Blackburn. The town is in the constituency of Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who once said that he preferred Muslim women not to wear veils that covered their faces.

The teacher and students were from the Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School. A spokesman for St Mary’s said that the request was made because veils were against school policy. The two pupils agreed to take off their veils but the teacher declined and left. >>> Russell Jenkins | Tuesday, June 30, 2009