Yale University Press Accused of Cowardice over Muhammad Cartoons
Cartoons of prophet Muhammad: Google Images
Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me the pleasure of bringing to you the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, cartoons which the ***** at Yale University Press were too cowardly to bring you. Enjoy! – ©Mark

TIMES ONLINE: Yale University Press was accused of cowardice and censorship yesterday after deciding not to reproduce cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in an academic book for fear of violent reprisals.

This year Yale will publish a scholarly work about reactions to the cartoons printed in a Danish newspaper in 2005, which sparked protests around the world.

But readers will not see the 12 cartoons that are the subject of the book, including one showing Muhammad with a turban like a bomb. In fact, they will not get to see any images of the prophet at all, not even a 19th-century sketch by Gustave Doré.

Yale has decided to publish The Cartoons that Shook the World, by Jytte Klausen, without any likenesses of the Prophet but the howls of protest are all the louder for the fact that there have not been any threats of violence related to the book.

"‘We do not negotiate with terrorists. We just accede to their anticipated demands’. That is effectively the new policy position at Yale University Press,” Cary Nelson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, wrote in an open letter.

Yale took its decision to self-censor after consulting two dozen experts, including counter-terrorism specialists and the highest-ranking Muslim official at the UN.

Yale says that the experts concluded that the book should omit the 12 Danish cartoons but also all illustrations of the Prophet. [sic] including an Ottoman print, a children’s book illustration and the Dore sketch, which portrays Muhammad being tormented in hell in a scene from Dante’s Inferno that has also inspired Botticelli, Blake, Rodin and Dali. >>> James Bone in New York | Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Bomb Blast Rocks Ingushetia – August 17, 2009

Cairo Protests at Swine Flu Bans
BBC: Angry scenes have been reported at Cairo airport as security forces barred Muslim pilgrims from travelling to Mecca because of fears over swine flu.

Hundreds staged a sit-in on Sunday when the Egyptian authorities implemented a plan to prevent anyone over 65 and under 25 from travelling to Mecca.

Another 180-200 belonging to the banned age groups were held back on Monday.

The curbs could affect large numbers of old people, some of whom expend great efforts to visit Mecca before dying.

An airport official said about 15% of would-be passengers to the Muslim holy city had been turned back on Monday.

"The people banned from leaving are those over 65 and those under 25 because they are the most at risk of being contaminated by swine flu," the official added. >>> | Monday, August 17, 2009

Gay Men Attacked, Executed in Iraq, Rights Group Says

L'Algérie décale son week-end pour faire face à la crise
LE FIGARO: Fini les jeudis et vendredis chômés en Algérie. A partir de cette semaine, le repos hebdomadaire sera respecté le vendredi et le samedi. Une mesure visant à s'adapter à l'économie des pays occidentaux.

Marche arrière. Plus de trente ans après avoir fixé au jeudi et vendredi le repos hebdomadaire obligatoire pour se démarquer des pays occidentaux, l'Algérie décale son week-end. A partir de cette semaine, le repos obligatoire devra être observé le vendredi et le samedi. Une mesure décrétée en Conseil des ministres le mois dernier pour adapter l'économie du pays à celles des pays occidentaux, et en particulier de l'Union européenne, avec qui l'Algérie a réalisé plus de la moitié de ses échanges en 2008.

En pleine crise mondiale, la Banque mondiale estimait que le manque à gagner représenté par ce décalage de week-end s'élevait à 1,2 point de croissance annuelle du PIB. Une étude de la Société financière internationale (SFI) chiffrait même à 600 millions de dollars le manque à gagner annuel. Sans remettre en question le repos du vendredi - jour de grand prière chez les musulmans -, le gouvernement algérien espère que ce nouveau week-end «semi-universel» concourra à relancer son économie. >>> Bastien Hugues (lefigaro.fr) | Jeudi 13 Août 2009

Barack Obama, Talking Crap
Watch Pajamas TV here

White House Backs Off Public Healthcare Option
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Obama and officials say it is not 'essential' to the overhaul. Insurance exchanges or cooperatives would be likely to replace it.

Reporting from Washington - The Obama administration signaled Sunday that it was on the verge of abandoning a government-run insurance option in its healthcare overhaul -- a bow to political reality and a big win for insurers.

But some experts said that may not completely relieve pressure on insurers to deliver cost savings.

Both Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Sunday talk shows that a government insurance option was not essential -- one day after President Obama himself said as much.

Private-sector options, such as insurance exchanges or cooperatives, would be likely to replace it. Obama already has proposed forming exchanges -- virtual marketplaces where private insurers would compete for consumers' business. And co-ops would allow consumers to band together to negotiate coverage.

Sebelius told CNN's "State of the Union" that a public option is "not the essential element" of healthcare overhaul, but that lowering insurance costs and preventing insurers from dumping customers for preexisting conditions or for exceeding coverage caps are must-haves.

"I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," she said. "That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing."

Gibbs agreed, describing the "bottom line" for the president: "What we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market."

Obama continues to believe that "the option of a government plan is the best way to provide choice and competition," Gibbs said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

But if there are other means to achieve that, Gibbs said, "the president will be satisfied." >>> Andrew Zajac | Monday, August 17, 2009

Dawkins and Oreilly: Do you believe in God?

Milizen töten Homosexuelle im Irak
NZZ ONLINE: Milizen haben im Irak laut einem Bericht der Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watch ungestraft Homosexuelle gefoltert und getötet. Die systematischen Angriffe hätten zu Beginn des Jahres in der Hauptstadt Bagdad begonnen und sich auf andere Städte wie Kirkuk, Nadschaf und Basra ausgeweitet, wie Human Rights Watch erklärte. Die Organisation forderte die irakische Regierung auf, sofort gegen diese Übergriffe einzuschreiten. >>> ap | Montag, 17. August 2009

Anti-gay Attacks on Rise in Iraq
BBC: Gay Iraqi men are being murdered in what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign involving militia forces, the group Human Rights Watch says.

It says hundreds of gay men have been targeted and killed in Iraq since 2004.

So-called honour killings also account for deaths where families punish their own kin in order to avoid public shame.

The report says members of the Mehdi Army militia group are spearheading the campaign, but police are also accused - even though homosexuality is legal.

Witnesses say vigilante groups break into homes and pick people up in the street, interrogating them to extract the names of other potential victims, before murdering them.

"Murder and torture are no way to enforce morality," said HRW researcher Rasha Moumneh, quoted in the report.

"These killings point to the continuing and lethal failure of Iraq's post-occupation authorities to establish the rule of law and protect their citizens."

In some cases, Human Rights Watch says it was told, Iraqi security forces had actually "colluded and joined in the killing".

Witch-hunt

Recently, posters appeared in Sadr City - a conservative, Shia area of Baghdad - calling on people to watch out for gay men and listing not only their names but also their addresses.

One gay man in Baghdad described the killing campaign as a witch-hunt.
Nearly 90 gay men have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of January and many more are missing, local gay rights campaigners say.

The report, called They want us exterminated: Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq, says horrifically mutilated bodies of gay men have been left on rubbish tips.

Sometimes their bodies are daubed with offensive terms such as "pervert", or "puppy" which is a hate word for gay men in Iraq.

The report contains detailed testimonies of a range of brutal treatment of gay Iraqi men.

"We've heard stories confirmed by doctors of men having their anuses glued and then being force-fed laxatives which leads to a very painful death," says Ms Moumneh told the BBC. >>>

Listen to BBC audio: Iraqi gay rights campaigner Ali Hili says there was more sexual freedom under Saddam Hussein >>>

Irak: les violences contre les homosexuels en augmentation, selon HRW
lePARISIEN.fr: Les actes de torture et les exécutions sommaires visant des hommes soupçonnés d'homosexualité s'intensifient en Irak, et les autorités ne font rien pour mettre fin à ces violences, a affirmé lundi l'organisation de défense de droits de l'Homme, Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Selon un rapport de 67 pages présenté lors d'une conférence de presse à Beyrouth, des centaines d'hommes ont été enlevés, torturés et tués cette année dans le quartier chiite de Sadr City, à Bagdad, un bastion de l'Armée du Mahdi, la milice du chef radical chiite Moqtada Sadr.

Le rapport, intitulé "Ils veulent nous exterminer: meurtre, torture, orientation sexuelle et genres en Irak", affirme qu'il est impossible de connaître le nombre exact de morts, mais les estimations font état de centaines de victimes.

Selon ce rapport, des porte-parole de l'armée du Mahdi avaient suggéré que l'action militaire était un remède contre la transformation des hommes irakiens en personnes "efféminées".

"Il faut des preuves pour accuser. Il y a d'autres entités religieuses, politiques ou sociales qui partagent notre rejet de ce phénomène. Il n'y a donc aucune raison pour nous accuser sans preuve", a réagi auprès de l'AFP cheikh Salah al-Obeidi, porte-parole du mouvement Sadr dans la ville sainte irakienne de Najaf.

"Il est exact que nous sommes opposés à ce que phénomène se développe en Irak. Nous le considérons comme mauvais et étranger à la société irakienne. Nous organisons des séminaires et des réunions pour régler cela de manière civilisée", a-t-il ajouté.

Le HWR cite des blessés, qui affirment que les miliciens faisaient irruption dans les maisons et interrogeaient les victimes sur l'identité d'autres cibles potentiels, avant de les tuer.

Des médecins irakiens et des employés à la morgue ont également remarqué des marques de mutilation.

Les meurtres étaient justifiés, selon leurs auteurs, par "la menace pour la virilité des Irakiens", affirme l'organisation.

Certaines exécutions sont par ailleurs assimilables à des "crimes d'honneur", commis par des membres des familles des victimes. >>> AFP | Lundi 17 Août 2009

Related:

Investigating reports of the murder and torture of gay men in Iraq, Ashley Byrne found that some gays found Saddam Hussein's dictatorship preferable to the threat of violence they face today. Some readers will find parts of his report disturbing. Saddam’s Rule Better for Gay Iraqis >>> Ashley Byrne | Monday, July 06, 2009

Grainy footage taken on a mobile phone and widely distributed around Baghdad shows a terrified young Iraqi boy cowering and whimpering as men with a stick force him to strip, revealing women's underwear beneath his dishdasha (Arab robe). Iraqi Gay Men Face ‘Lives of Hell’ >>> Jim Muir | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Iraq: Queer Fear – Gay Life, Gay Death >>> | Friday, November 14, 2008

Afghanistan: Taliban wollen den Wählern "Finger abschneiden"
WELT ONLINE: Mit brutalen Einschüchterungen versuchen die Taliban, potentielle Wähler von der Stimmabgabe bei der Präsidentenwahl am Donnerstag fernzuhalten. Auf Flugblättern warnen sie vor dem Gang zu den Urnen: "Jeden Finger, der bei der Stimmabgabe mit Tinte markiert wurde, werden wir abschneiden."

Wahlplakate in Herat. Bild: Welt Online
Westliche Geheimdienste befürchten am Donnerstag bei der Präsidentenwahl in Afghanistan einen Gewaltausbruch der islamistischen Taliban. Auch Vertreter des afghanischen Geheimdienstes NDS äußerten in der afghanischen Hauptstadt Kabul die Befürchtung, dass besonders im Süden des Landes die Wähler beim Gang an die Urnen „in Lebensgefahr sein könnten“.

Ein NDS-Angehöriger wies auf Flugblätter hin, auf denen die Taliban „direkte Angriffe“ auf Wahllokale ankündigten. Sie drohten unverhohlen: „Jeden Finger, der bei der Stimmabgabe mit Tinte markiert wurde, werden wir abschneiden“. Mit der Markierung sollen Wahlfälschungen verhindert werden.

Auf den am Sonntag aufgetauchten Flugblättern heißt es, dass die „geachteten Einwohner“ darüber informiert sein sollten, „dass sie nicht an den Wahlen teilnehmen dürfen, weil sie sonst Opfer unserer Operationen werden“. Besonders sind die Geheimdienstler über die Drohung der Taliban, „neue Taktiken“ gegen Wahllokale anzuwenden, besorgt. Es sei den afghanischen Sicherheitskräften jetzt so gut wie unmöglich, sich auf neue Angriffsmodalitäten einzustellen, sagte ein Experte. Zynisch erklärten die Taliban, falls Bürger vor oder in den Wahllokalen verletzt würden, seien sie selbst dafür verantwortlich, „denn die Taliban haben sie vorher informiert“. >>> Von Friedrich Kuhn | Montag, 17. August 2009

La France obtient la libération de Clotilde Reiss
Clotilde Reiss (ici lors de sa comparution devant le tribunal de Téhéran, le 8 août) ne peut pas, pour l'instant, quitter l'Iran. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: La jeune universitaire française est sortie de prison dimanche soir après le versement d'une caution d'un «peu plus de 200.000 euros», selon une source diplomatique à Paris. Toujours sous contrôle judiciaire, elle est hébergée à l'ambassade de France à Téhéran.

«Soulagée.» C'est par ces mots que la Française Clotilde Reiss, détenue en Iran depuis le 1er juillet pour avoir participé à des manifestations postélectorales, a commenté dimanche soir sa sortie de prison lors d'une conversation téléphonique avec le président de la République, Nicolas Sarkozy, ainsi qu'avec son épouse, Carla Bruni. «Elle est en bonne santé et garde un bon moral», a commenté la présidence. Nicolas Sarkozy «lui a exprimé sa joie et son plein soutien ainsi que celui de tous les Français, qui ont suivi avec inquiétude son arrestation et la procédure judiciaire à laquelle elle est soumise. Il a relevé la dignité et le courage avec lesquels Clotilde Reiss a affronté cette épreuve», indiquait dimanche soir un communiqué de l'Élysée. Le chef de l'État s'est également entretenu avec Rémi Reiss, le père de la jeune femme de 24 ans. Le retour en France en suspens >>> Valérie Samson avec Bruno Jeudy et Delphine Minoui | Lundi 17 Août 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: What Went Wrong
NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Piling up debt, gaffes, and hypocrisy, Obama & Co. are sinking.

We are witnessing one of the more rapid turnabouts in recent American political history. President Obama’s popularity has plummeted to 50 percent and lower in some polls, while the public expresses even less confidence in the Democratic-led Congress and the direction of the country at large. Yet, just eight months ago, liberals were talking in Rovian style about a new generation to come of progressive politics — and the end of both the Republican party and the legacy of Reaganism itself. Barack Obama was to be the new FDR and his radical agenda an even better New Deal.



What happened, other than the usual hubris of the party in power?

First, voters had legitimate worries about health care, global warming, immigration, energy, and inefficient government. But it turns out that they are more anxious about the new radical remedies than the old nagging problems. They wanted federal support for wind and solar, but not at the expense of neglecting new sources of gas, oil, coal, and nuclear power. They were worried about high-cost health care, the uninsured, redundant procedures, and tort reform, but not ready for socialized medicine. They wanted better government, not bigger, DMV-style government. There is a growing realization that Obama enticed voters last summer with the flashy lure of discontent. But now that they are hooked, he is reeling them in to an entirely different — and, for many a frightening — agenda. Nothing is worse for a president than a growing belief among the public that it has been had.

Second, Americans were at first merely scared about the growing collective debt. But by June they became outraged that Obama has quadrupled the annual deficit in proposing all sorts of new federal programs at a time when most finally had acknowledged that the U.S. has lived beyond its means for years. They elected Obama, in part, out of anger at George W. Bush for multi-billion dollar shortfalls — and yet as a remedy for that red ink got Obama’s novel multi-trillion-dollar deficits.

Third, many voters really believed in the “no more red/blue state America” healing rhetoric. Instead, polls show they got the most polarizing president in recent history — both in his radical programs and in the manner in which he has demonized the opposition to ram them through without bipartisan support. “Punch back harder” has replaced “Yes, we can.” Fourth... >>> Vitor Davis Hanson | Monday, August 17, 2009

How the West Was Lost: The Burkini
THE TELEGRAPH: The Burkini. You’d think it was a joke invention: a bit like the grotesque “Mankini” so hilariously sported by Sacha Baron Cohen on all those posters for Borat. What, after all, could be more absurd than melding the not-notably-sexy Muslim dress - the Burka - with the kind of achingly seductive kit worn by Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Woman?

But no, the Burkini is for real. It was designed by an [sic] Lebanese Australian Aheda Zanetti to enable women in thrall to extreme Saudi-style dress codes to go swimming on beaches and in public baths without incurring a beating or instant divorce from their characteristically tolerant and cosmopolitan menfolk.

“Practical and stylish,” is how they’re described on a BBC website. Hmm, up to a point. Practical if your primary goal is to protect yourself from box jellyfish stings; stylish, maybe, if your points of comparison are a gorilla outfit, or a Barbara Cartland pink dress, or a tent. But I do think we should be wary of viewing the burkini in terms of a fashion story or an amusing novelty, when it also represents something more sinister. I’m sure the designer didn’t intend this, but the Burkini has become yet another weapon in the Islamist assault on Western cultural values.

When most of us think of militant Islam, we tend to think in terms of suicide bombs on London buses, planes flying into Twin Towers and 19-year olds getting their limbs blown off by Taliban IEDs. But as any extremist Imam could tell you, there are at least two ways in which a good Muslim can further the ongoing struggle to convert the whole world from the House of War (that’s the non-Muslim world) to the House of Islam (ie global submission to the will of Allah): one (see above) is by poison or the sword; the other is by honey.

So the Burkini is part of the honey campaign: all those parts of the Islamist war on the West that have nothing to do with killing people. This campaign includes everything from schoolgirls fighting legal battles (with the help of one Cherie Blair) to fight for their inalienable right to go to school dressed like a sack, to Muslim supermarket workers trying to dictate the terms of their employment (refusing to sell alcohol), to the ongoing campaign (apparently endorsed by our own Archbishop of Canterbury) for certain civil decisions in the Muslim “community” to be made under Sharia law. The goal is to establish the view that Islam is a religion [that] should be allowed to trump everything, including the cultural norms of any non-Muslim society in which its adherents find themselves living.

Why should we care if women want to dress up in burkinis? Well we shouldn’t. It’s a free country. Where we should worry very much is when, in the name of weasel concepts like “tolerance”, “respect” and Multiculturalism, the wider society is bullied into adopting similar “Muslim” (ie Saudi-style, Wahhabist) dress codes too. >>> James Delingpole | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Burkinis Give Me a Sinking Feeling
THE TELEGRAPH: The freedom to wear a small, practical swimsuit without feeling self-conscious is hard-won, and fragile, says Jemima Lewis.

The Burkini is such a ludicrous garment that it is hard to take seriously. Designed to enable veiled Muslims to go swimming without compromising their modesty, it covers every inch of flesh except the feet, hands and face. It makes the wearer look like a cross between a Teletubby and an enormous condom.

In France it is banned from public pools, on the grounds that its copious material carries more germs than conventional swimsuits. In England, incredible though it may seem, it is becoming required wearing at some pools, during "Muslim-only" sessions.

It was not so very long ago that women were unable to take a dip in public without first donning an enormous mohair crinoline and being dragged out to sea in a bathing machine. The freedom to wear a small, practical swimsuit without feeling self-conscious is hard-won, and fragile. All it takes is for one burkini to appear at the poolside, and everyone else feels underdressed.

Wearing a burkini is not merely a personal choice, but a judgment on others. It says: I am modest, you are not. It is, in its own way, no less oppressive than a mohair crinoline. [Source: The Telegraph Jemima Lewis | Saturday, August 15, 2009

Pope Pius XII, the wartime pope. Photo: Google Images
Britain Knew about Extermination of Jews, Vatican Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: The Vatican's official newspaper has accused Britain and the United States of having detailed knowledge of Hitler's plans to exterminate the Jews but of failing to do anything to halt the Final Solution.

L'Osservatore Romano said the British and American governments ignored, downplayed or even suppressed intelligence reports about the Nazis' extermination plans.

They could have bombed Nazi concentration camps and the railways that supplied them but instead chose not to, the newspaper claimed.

It quoted from the diary of Henry Morgenthau Jr., the wartime US secretary of the treasury, who described London's alleged indifference to the plight of the Jews as "a Satanic combination of British chill and diplomatic double talk, cold and correct and adding up to a sentence of death".

British and American inaction was in contrast to the efforts made by the wartime Pope, Pius XII, who tried to save as many Jews as he could through clandestine means, L'Osservatore claimed in a lengthy article titled "Silence and omissions at the time of the Shoah (Holocaust)".

The editorial is the Vatican's latest effort to rehabilitate the reputation of Pope Pius, whose reluctance to denounce the Nazis publicly prompted accusations of anti-Semitism and earned him the title "Hitler's Pope".

L'Osservatore dismissed such claims as a "radically false" characterisation of the pontiff's wartime record.

It quoted Morgenthau as saying that as early as Aug 1942, the US government "knew that the Nazis were planning to exterminate all the Jews of Europe".

In his diary, Morgenthau cited a telegram dated Aug 24, 1942, and passed on to the US State Department, that relayed a report of Hitler's plan to kill between 3.5 million and four million Jews, possibly using cyanide poison.

L'Osservatore, which is regarded as the semi-official mouthpiece of the Holy See, reproduced a copy of the telegram.

American officials had "dodged their grim responsibility, procrastinated when concrete rescue schemes were placed before them, and even suppressed information about atrocities," Morgenthau wrote.

When the US government was finally convinced to try to rescue European Jews who had not already been sent to concentration camps, the British baulked, the editorial said.

It cited a British Foreign Office cable that warned of "the difficulties of disposing of any considerable number of Jews should they be rescued from enemy occupied territory" and advised against allocating money for the project.

While the British and Americans prevaricated, Pius was engaged in "the only plausible and practical form of defence of the Jews and other persecuted people" by arranging for them to be hidden in monasteries, convents and other Catholic Church institutions, the newspaper claimed.

L'Osservatore said that although the Nazis rounded up and deported from Rome more than 2,000 Jews, another 10,000 were saved.

Marking the 50th anniversary of Pius' death last year, Pope Benedict XVI described him as a great pontiff who worked "secretly and silently" during the war to "save the greatest number of Jews possible". >>> Simon Caldwell and Nick Squires in Rome | Monday, August 17, 2009

Ex-wife 'Admits Starting' Kuwait Wedding Party Blaze that Killed 43
TIMES ONLINE: A fire in a wedding party tent that killed 43 women and children in Kuwait was started deliberately by the ex-wife of the bridegroom, a Kuwaiti newspaper said today.

Al-Qabbas said that the 23-year-old former wife had admitted pouring petrol on the cotton tent and setting it on fire, furious at what she called her “bad treatment” by her former partner before their divorce. There was no official confirmation of the alleged confession.

Firefighters said that the blaze took less than three minutes to rip through the marquee, in which as many as 180 women and children were celebrating the wedding party. Many of those who died were killed in the stampede for the sole exit.

The men at the party celebrated in a separate tent, in line with the tradition of the conservative state. >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, August 17, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Row over Afghan Wife-starving Law
This is truly disgusting! Imagine treating women in this despicable way! – Mark

BBC: An Afghan bill allowing a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex has been published in the official gazette and become law.

The original bill caused outrage earlier this year, forcing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to withdraw it.

But critics say the amended version of the law remains highly repressive.

They accuse Mr Karzai of selling out Afghan women for the sake of conservative Shia support at next week's presidential election.

The law governs family life for Afghanistan's Shia minority.

Sexual demands

The original version obliged Shia women to have sex with their husbands every four days at a minimum, and it effectively condoned rape by removing the need for consent to sex within marriage.

Western leaders and Afghan women's groups were united in condemning an apparent reversal of key freedoms won by women after the fall of the Taliban.

Now an amended version of the same bill has passed quietly into law with the apparent approval of President Karzai. >>> Sarah Rainsford, BBC News | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Why Is the Violence Most Intense in Northern Iraq?
Watch LA Times video here | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Miliband under Fire for Saying Terrorism Can Be 'Justified' in Some Circumstances
MAIL ONLINE: The Foreign Office leapt to David Miliband's defence last night after he triggered outrage by saying terrorism is justified in some circumstances.

The Foreign Secretary also said in an interview that there were circumstances where terror was 'effective'.

The remarks were condemned by Tories, who said they risked giving succour to the Taliban as the number of UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan passed the 200 mark.

Mr Miliband was speaking on a BBC Radio 4 Great Lives programme about anti-apartheid activist Joe Slovo.

Mr Slovo, a friend of Mr Miliband's academic-father Ralph, was one of the leaders of the armed wing of the ANC which carried out a series of fatal bombings in South Africa which killed civilians.

Asked by presenter Matthew Parris whether such terrorism was ever justified, Mr Miliband said: 'Yes, there are circumstances in which it is justifiable, and yes, there are circumstances in which it is effective.'

He added: 'The importance for me is that the South African example proved something remarkable: the apartheid regime looked like a regime that would last for ever and it was blown down. It is hard to argue that, on its own, a political struggle would have delivered. >>> Daniel Martin | Monday, August 17, 2009

Alan Duncan Faces Expenses Challenge from Terry Waite at Election
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, the Tory front bencher who complained that MPs were forced to live on “rations,” faces an election challenge from anti-sleaze campaigners Terry Waite and Martin Bell.

Alan Duncan. Photo: The Telegraph
The former Beirut hostage and “the man in the white suit” have formed a political movement aimed at bringing down a number of MPs whose questionable expenses claims were disclosed by The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Bell, an ex-BBC journalist who became known for his sartorial taste after successfully challenging the Neil Hamilton, the Conservative MP at the centre of the “cash for questions” scandal, at the 1997 election, confirmed that Mr Duncan was in their sights.

Last week, the millionaire MP was forced to apologise after secret footage emerged of him complaining that MPs were treated like “****” and had been reduced to living on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

It seems that the somewhat stricter regime introduced following the expenses furore has not inhibited Mr Duncan’s lifestyle too significantly, however. He is currently said to be mid-way through a two week holiday in a luxury resort on the Indonesian island of Bali with his civil partner, James Dunseath, a press officer in the City.

The couple are thought to have flown business class with Singapore Airlines at a cost of around £3,000 each.

Mr Duncan, the shadow leader of the House who has represented the Leicestershire constituency of Rutland and Melton since 1992, is the main target of the “honest politics” alliance forged by Mr Bell and Mr Waite.

The ex-journalist said that up to 30 anti-sleaze candidates would be standing at the general election, with a shared cause of bringing "honesty" to the House of Commons.

“The common platform would be a return to honest politics,” he said. “That’s the thing that would unite everybody. Rutland and Melton has become vulnerable.” >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Related:
Alan Duncan: MPs Are Treated Like '****' and Have to Survive on Rations >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

MPs' Expenses: Alan Duncan Claimed £63,000 in Mortgage 'Flip' >>> Holly Watt | Friday, July 04, 2009

My big fat gay Tory wedding >>> Isabel Oakeshott | Sunday, March 09. 2009

Why Angela Merkel Is a Winner with the Germans
THE TELEGRAPH: Despite the recession and claims that she is "boring", the German Chancellor is on her way to a second term, report David Wroe in Berlin and Colin Freeman.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is on her way to a second term. Photo: The Telegraph
The unfashionable bowl haircut has been shaped into an elegant bob, and the frumpy hausfrau dresses replaced with smart designer outfits. For someone who started out in office wearing less make-up than Tony Blair, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has certainly yielded to the image consultants over the years.

Yet in a political scene dominated by men, Germany’s first-ever woman leader has long made it clear that she prefers to be judged not on her looks or personality, but on her policies. So when a series of election posters appeared last week, showing her in a revealing low cut dress, the response from her office was as predictable as it was icy. The pictures, put up by a well-intended parliamentary candidate for Ms Merkel’s own party, were “not authorised”, said a spokesman - despite them enlivening a lacklustre campaign.

One item on the offending posters, however, might well have won Ms Merkel’s endorsement - the printed strapline across her bosom, declaring “We have more to offer”. After four years in office, the woman dubbed the Teutonic Margaret Thatcher is enjoying popularity ratings that are the envy of other European leaders - and is almost certain to secure a second term in next month’s elections.

The August break has not been the happiest of holidays for the rest of Europe’s largely male leadership. Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi is mired in sleaze allegations, France’s hyperactive Nicolas Sarkozy has suffered heart problems, and Gordon Brown barely has the confidence of his own party. Ms Merkel, 54, however, felt confident enough to take off on an extended mountain biking holiday in the middle of her election campaign, and when she returned from the Italian Tyrol last week, it was mainly to good news. >>> | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Related:
Deutschland: Dekolleté-Plakat sorgt für Ärger >>> Red. | Dienstag, 11. August 2009

Hausfrau Appeal >>> | Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Merkel Tops Forbes List of Powerful Women >>> Associated Press | Thursday, August 28, 2008

Angela Merkel as You’ve Never Seen Her Before! >>> | Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Why Must We Bow to the Intolerant Ways of Islam?
THE TELEGRAPH: Jim Fitzpatrick MP and his wife were quite right to leave a wedding because it was segregated by sex, says Alasdair Palmer.

When Jim Fitzpatrick MP and his wife decided to leave a Muslim wedding party after they discovered it was segregated by sex, he did not anticipate the controversy his decision would generate. "It reflects badly on him," said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the former head of the Muslim Council of Britain. "It shows a lack of interest… to engage with people of different backgrounds." Tim Archer, the Tory who is standing against the minister of state at the next election, commented that "Fitzpatrick is playing a certain race card to save his skin at the next election".

All this because Mr Fitzpatrick did not want to imply that he endorsed sexual segregation by remaining at the party. Yet what can possibly be wrong with an MP, or anyone else, withdrawing from a celebration whose organisation suggests that women are not equal to men?

Some people claim that segregating the sexes is a matter of personal choice, like choosing between flavours of ice-cream. It has no implications in terms of your view of the equality of the sexes, any more than wearing the niqab or the hijab – the Islamic garments that cover women from head to toe – implies that you think women are inferior.

The Muslims who feel most strongly about sexual segregation, or about the importance of ensuring that women dress "modestly", see those customs as ordered by God. They are profoundly offended by the idea that they reflect merely human choices. That is why there is a vocal strain of Islam in Britain that insists that Muslims should be governed, not by British law, but by sharia.

Islamic law does not, of course, accept that men and women have equal rights. Sharia courts in Britain have already judged that a man may have up to four wives at any one time; that a wife has no property rights in the event of divorce; that a woman may not leave her home without her husband's consent; and that a woman cannot marry without the presence and permission of a male guardian. >>> Alasdair Palmer | Saturday, August 15, 2009

Related:
Jim Fitzpatrick, Government Minister, Condemns Traditional Muslim Wedding >>> Martin Beckford and Stephen Adams | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Gaza: Mehr als 20 Tote bei Kämpfen unter Islamisten
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Bei Kämpfen zwischen Sicherheitskräften der Hamas und einer radikalen islamistischen Gruppe, die Al Qaida nahestehen soll, sind am Wochenende im Süden des Gazastreifens 24 Person ums Leben gekommen und mehr als hundert verletzt worden. Neben sechs Polizisten und einem kleinen Mädchen starb nach Angaben des Innenministeriums in Gaza auch Abdel-Latif Moussa, der Anführer der Gruppe „Dschund Ansar Allah“ (Armee der Helfer Gottes).

Er habe am Samstagmorgen Selbstmord begangen, indem er einen Sprengstoffgürtel zündete, hieß es. Dabei sei auch ein ranghoher Hamas-Funktionär umgekommen: Abu Dschibril Schimali, der angeblich die Entführung des israelischen Soldaten Gilad Schalit organisiert hatte, war als Vermittler zu dem Prediger geschickt worden. >>> Von Hans-Christian Rößler, Jerusalem | Sonntag, 16. August 2009

Israël: Meurtre sauvage et gratuit à Tel-Aviv
LE POINT: Israël était sous le choc dimanche au lendemain du meurtre barbare d'un père de famille qui voulait protéger son épouse et sa fille contre une bande de jeunes en état d'ébriété dans un quartier huppé de Tel-Aviv. L'affaire faisait la une de tous les médias israéliens, certains évoquant la violence gratuite d' Orange mécanique , le film culte de Stanley Kubrick. Ces deux dernières semaines, dix personnes ont été assassinées en Israël dans des conditions particulièrement horribles, les corps de plusieurs victimes ayant été mutilés ou jetés à la poubelle et incendiés. La police israélienne a recensé 204 meurtres au cours de l'année écoulée. >>> AFP | Dimanche 16 Août 2009

Ahmadinejad to Nominate Three Women for Cabinet Jobs
THE GUARDIAN: Iranian president's move could result in country's first female ministers for more than 30 years

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said today he would nominate three women to join his new cabinet.

The nominations could lead to the appointment of the first female ministers in Iran for more than 30 years.

They appear to be an attempt by Ahmadinejad to win the support of Iranian women as he fends off opposition claims that his re-election to the presidency in June was fraudulent.

However, the appointments seem unlikely to appease reformists because two of the three women are fellow hardliners.

Speaking on state television, Ahmadinejad said he would nominate Marzieh Vahid Dastgerdi, a 50-year-old gynaecologist, as health minister and Fatemeh Ajorlu, a 43-year-old MP, as minister of welfare and social security.

He did not name the third woman, but said he would nominate at least one more female minister to his cabinet. >>> Associated Press | Sunday, August 16, 2009

John Yettaw, American Jailed in Burma, Released to US Officials
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The American man jailed in Yangon for swimming to the house of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has flown out of Burma after being released to US officials earlier today.

Authorities in Burma handed over jailed American citizen John Yettaw to US embassy officials earlier today, ahead of his departure from the country with US senator Jim Webb.

The US embassy said Mr Yettaw is now headed to Bangkok, Thailand, on a military plane with Senator Webb.

The senator secured his release on Saturday with a plea to Myanmar's ruling junta.

Mr Webb thanked the government for the release of Mr Yettaw at a brief news conference just prior to their departure this morning. Mr Yettaw was sentenced last week to seven years at hard labour for breaking the terms of Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest in early May.

Senator Webb met Myanmar’s top military leader Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, and announced the release of the American who was jailed for visiting the Nobel peace laureate.

Mr Webb, a Democrat who is chairman of a Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, is the first member of Congress to travel in an official capacity to Myanmar in more than a decade and is also believed to be the first senior American official ever to meet Than Shwe. >>> | Sunday, August 16, 2009

One Mother's Heartbreaking 9/11 Story
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Elizabeth Turner was pregnant with her son when she lost her husband in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre

I woke up on my own on Tuesday September 11, 2001. It was a beautiful autumn day with a bright blue sky, sunshine and a riot of colours that cascaded over the road. I looked at my tummy. It felt huge and I gently rubbed it. I felt very peaceful and happy with my place in the world.

Seven months pregnant, I would have preferred to spend the day in bed, but I had to get to work at Channel 4 Television where I was the senior human resources manager. I had a month to go before maternity leave.

I rolled over and grabbed my mobile from the bedside table. My husband, Simon, was in New York on a business trip and I liked to know that his plane had landed safely. I listened to the message. Of course he was okay. He was always okay.

On my way to work I could smell the beginning of autumn in the air and the blue of the sky was spectacular. It hinted of wonderful things. I suddenly felt a “what a fabulous life this is” moment. I was pregnant, I loved my husband deeply and everything was perfect.

At midday, just as I was collecting my things to go for lunch, Simon rang. He had showered and was ready to leave for a conference. It was in the Windows on the World restaurant at the World Trade Center.

My mind was on other things: “I need to talk to you about the Mamas & Papas buggy we want. I phoned John Lewis and it’s not in stock and I’ve looked on the internet and I can’t find anywhere that sells it ...”

Even I could sense my irrational panic. Simon calmed me down. Simon always calmed me down. I trusted him to take care of me.

This was no mean feat for any man, as I had a scary independent streak that made me feel I had to face the world on my own all the time. We chatted some more. I loved the feeling I had when I connected with him.

At about 1.45pm I walked into my office after lunch and saw on Sky News that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I couldn’t take it in. I saw my TV screen, the image of the twin towers with smoke billowing out of one of them and the “breaking news” tag line. I tried to absorb what it was telling me.

Quickly my logical mind jumped in and told me all the statistics, facts, figures, numbers and calculations that prove bad things are rare. I knew Simon was in the twin towers, but I reminded myself that I lived a normal life, I was pregnant and everything would be fine. We were about to have our first child and fathers don’t die just before a baby is born.

Jane Jordan, a human resources colleague, walked in. “This is unbelievable!” >>> © Elizabeth Turner | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Extracted from The Blue Skies of Autumn by Elizabeth Turner to be published by Simon & Schuster on August 20 at £9.99. Copies can be ordered for £8.99, including postage, from The Sunday Times BooksFirst on 0845 271 2135

Fadela Amara: "La majorité des musulmans sont contre la burqa"
L’EXPRESS.fr: Dans un entretien au Financial Times, la secrétaire d'Etat à la Ville s'en prend au voile intégral, reflet de "la manipulation politique d'une religion".

La secrétaire d'Etat à la Ville Fadela Amara estime que l'interdiction de la burqa en France permettrait d'enrayer le cancer que constitue, à ses yeux, l'islam radical.

Dans le quotidien britannique Financial Times, daté de samedi, elle assure que "la vaste majorité des musulmans sont contre la burqa", vêtement couvrant l'ensemble du corps et le visage.

"La gangrène de l'islam radical"

"La burqa ne représente pas simplement un morceau de tissu mais la manipulation politique d'une religion qui réduit les femmes à l'esclavage et va à l'encontre du principe d'égalité entre les hommes et les femmes", déclare-t-elle.

La France, havre d'un islam progressiste, se doit de "combattre la gangrène, le cancer que représente l'islam radical qui déforme complètement le message de l'islam", ajoute Fadela Amara.

Le débat sur le voile intégral a repris récemment en France à l'initiative d'un député communiste, qui a obtenu la création d'une mission parlementaire sur le sujet.

En juin dernier, Nicolas Sarkozy avait déclaré que le voile intégral n'était "pas le bienvenu sur le territoire de la République".

Selon une estimation des services de renseignement récemment évoquée par le quotidien Le Monde, seules 367 femmes porteraient la burqa dans le pays, dont nombre de Françaises converties à l'islam, dans une "démarche provocatrice." [Source: L’Express.fr] Par LEXPRESS.fr avec Reuters | Samedi 15 Août 2009

Americans Fall Out of Love with Obama
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The uproar over healthcare reforms is a symptom of how Americans are falling out of love with the new president

Arriving in Montana to join battle with his critics on Friday, President Barack Obama stepped from Air Force One, stripped off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Little more than six months after he swept into office with some of the highest approval ratings recorded, he is fighting to save his historic presidency from turning into a one-term wonder.

Obama was ready for a vigorous defence of the healthcare reforms that have spawned verbal fisticuffs at public meetings across the country. In the event, the Montana meeting unfolded with a subdued politeness that left some White House aides wishing it had been a little more feisty, so their champion could have shown off his sparring skills.

Yet for all the heat that has recently been generated by the healthcare debate, amid wild accusations about euthanising granny and manipulating mobs, it became clear last week that medicine is far from the president’s only problem, and there may be no early cure for the economic ills that are crippling his promises of change and hope.

Speaking in an aircraft hangar moments after a hailstorm had passed over Bel-grade, Montana, the 48-year-old president attempted to calm the confrontational climate that has soured debate about his attempts to overhaul an expensive and inefficient US healthcare establishment.

Sticking to time-honoured presidential tradition, he blamed the media for getting his message wrong, and for focusing on a minority of angry protesters. “TV loves a ruckus,” he added. “What you haven’t seen on TV . . . are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country.”

Yet in one sense that ruckus has spared the White House closer scrutiny of a stuttering economy that may yet prove Obama’s ruin. Recent optimism that the worst of the recession may be over has failed to make an impact on key areas of American life, and Obama last week endured one of the toughest weeks of his presidency in terms of bad economic news.

“The rapid deterioration of the economy has slowed down,” said Alice Rivlin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. “But if you have lost your job, the worst may not be over for a long time. If you have a job, you may still lose it.”

The main problem for the president is that economic data suggesting improvements in growth and productivity are not yet translating into benefits for victims of recession. Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo bank, last week summed up future prospects as “a recovery only a statistician can love”.

Obama insisted earlier this month that “actions we’ve taken in the first six months have helped stop our economic freefall . . . we’re losing jobs at half the rate we were at the beginning of the year”.

That boast was promptly undermined when a barrage of negative reports was released last week, showing that personal bankruptcies surged 34% in June compared with last year; the number of homes subjected to foreclosure proceedings rose 32% as against a year ago; the number of people out of work for 27 weeks or longer reached a record 5m; and retail sales dipped in July despite a big boost from a popular secondhand car trade-in programme. Barack Obama catches cold as economic virus spreads >>> Tony Allen-Mills | Sunday, August 16, 2009

The Stupid, Weak, Cowardly, Fawning Brits! New Dark Age Alert! Swimmers Are Told to Wear Burkinis
THE TELEGRAPH: British swimming pools are imposing Muslim dress codes in a move described as divisive by Labour MPs.

UK councils running restricted swimming session for Muslims. Photo: The Telegraph
Under the rules, swimmers – including non-Muslims – are barred from entering the pool in normal swimming attire.

Instead they are told that they must comply with the "modest" code of dress required by Islamic custom, with women covered from the neck to the ankles and men, who swim separately, covered from the navel to the knees.

The phenomenon runs counter to developments in France, where last week a woman was evicted from a public pool for wearing a burkini – the headscarf, tunic and trouser outfit which allows Muslim women to preserve their modesty in the water.

The 35-year-old, named only as Carole, is threatening legal action after she was told by pool officials in Emerainville, east of Paris, that she could not wear the outfit on hygiene grounds.

But across the UK municipal pools are holding swimming sessions specifically aimed at Muslims, in some case imposing strict dress codes.

Croydon council in south London runs separate one-and-a half-hour swimming sessions for Muslim men and women every Saturday and Sunday at Thornton Heath Leisure Centre.

Swimmers were told last week on the centre's website that "during special Muslim sessions male costumes must cover the body from the navel to the knee and females must be covered from the neck to the ankles and wrists". >>> Patrick Sawer | Saturday, August 15, 2009

BBC HARDtalk: Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins: Apostasy in Islam Carries the Death Penalty

A Typical Muslim Argues with Dawkins

Richard Dawkins on Islam

Richard Dawkins with a Muslim

RDF TV - Vestigial Organs: The Wings of the Flightless Cormorant - Richard Dawkins

Fathima Rifqa Bary


Runaway Cites Fear of Father over Leaving Islam
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Police doubt city man a threat to teenage Christian convert

A Northeast Side 17-year-old who ran away, saying that her father would kill her for leaving Islam, is in state custody in Florida.

But Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the missing-persons unit of the Columbus police special-victims bureau, disputes Fathima Rifqa Bary's allegation. He said her father, Mohamed Bary, appears to be a loving parent who knew about her conversion to Christianity months ago.

The New Albany High School cheerleader, who goes by Rifqa, disappeared on July 19, prompting fears that she had been abducted, Cupp said.

Authorities soon found that she was staying with a married couple who pastor a church in Orlando.

"She was petrified that her dad would kill her," said the Rev. Beverly Lorenz, who leads Global Revolution Church in Orlando along with her husband, the Rev. Blake Lorenz.

Mrs. Lorenz met the girl through a Facebook prayer group. Lorenz barely knew the girl, she said, but took her in when she called from a borrowed cell phone in Florida. >>> Meredith Heagney | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Read the story at Pamela Geller’s website, Atlas Shrugs >>> | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Hat tip: Robert Spencer

Australia Plans Broadcasts to Burma
DAILY EXPRESS: Australia is planning to broadcast a Burmese language radio service into the south-east Asian nation to promote democracy and human rights.

The military junta which rules Burma heavily censors the nation's media and limits the population's communications with the outside world. 



But foreign radio remains popular among locals, including US Government-funded Radio Free Asia and Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norwegian-supported operation. 



Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Burma service would become the eighth language broadcast by state-owned Radio Australia, which focuses on Asia and the Pacific. 



Mr Smith said the service would "open up a new channel of international contact for the people of Burma". 



It would also show Australian solidarity with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, he said. 
>>> | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Un groupe salafiste
 défie le Hamas à Gaza
Photo: Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Au moins six personnes ont été tuées et cinquante blessées à Rafah dans des combats entre la police du Hamas et un groupe salafiste pro-al-Qaida qui voulait instaurer un «califat» dans la ville.

De violents affrontements interpalestiniens ont fait au moins six morts et cinquante blessés vendredi dans le sud de la bande de Gaza, sous le contrôle du Hamas.

La police du mouvement islamiste s'est opposée aux membres d'un groupuscule salafiste radical, Jund Anslar Allah («les guerriers de Dieu»), basé à Rafah, près de la frontière egyptienne.

Ce groupe, qui a fait part de son existence voilà deux mois en lancant une attaque ratée contre Israël, soutient al-Qaida et juge la politique menée par le Hamas trop modérée. Vendredi, il a tenté de décréter un «califat islamique» dans la ville. Plusieurs centaines d'hommes armés de fusils mitrailleurs et de lance roquette ont défilé dans Rafah[.] >>> S.L. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP, AP | Vendredi 14 Août 2009

US Healthcare Reforms Cause Outrage and Fears of a 'Socialist State'
TIMES ONLINE: The retired coal miner queuing in the midday sun has come to the town hall meeting with heavy political baggage. “I’ll keep my money and guns — you keep the change,” warns the badge pinned to Carl Anderson’s chest. In his hand is a banner that states simply: “Revolution is Brewing.”

He is here to protest against health reform. Mr Anderson, 70, has travelled 65 miles with seven of his friends and family to add his booming voice to the pensioners’ revolt that has shaken America in the past two weeks.

Convinced that President Obama wants to turn the country into a socialist state, starting with a nationalised health service, he hopes to hijack the political agenda.

Arlen Specter, the local Democratic Senator, is about to get an ear-bashing; his fourth in four days. Mr Anderson obliges: “I have no problem with my healthcare,” he says. “We have the best healthcare in the world. If there is anything I need, I get it.”

Mr Obama’s $1 trillion (£600 billion) health reform Bill would end that, he fears. There will be rationing of treatment, and the old will bear the brunt. “They are going to start evaluating people at the age of 55,” Mr Anderson says.

Most of the roughly 1,000 people outside the community hall of Kittanning, a mining town in the Appalachian hills 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, seem to share Mr Anderson’s views, to judge by their banners. “Nobama,” says one, adorned with the skull and crossbones. “Obama lies, grandma dies,” proclaims another. >>> Imre Karacs, Kittanning, Pennsylvania | Saturday, August 15, 2009

Afghanistan Passes 'Barbaric' Law Diminishing Women's Rights
THE GUARDIAN: Rehashed legislation allows husbands to deny wives food if they fail to obey sexual demands

Women wearing the burka in Baharak town, Afghanistan. Photo: The Guardian
Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation which President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work.

"It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her," the US charity Human Rights Watch said.

In early April, Barack Obama and Gordon Brown joined an international chorus of condemnation when the Guardian revealed that the earlier version of the law legalised rape within marriage, according to the UN.

Although Karzai appeared to back down, activists say the revised version of the law still contains repressive measures and contradicts the Afghan constitution and international treaties signed by the country.

Islamic law experts and human rights activists say that although the language of the original law has been changed, many of the provisions that alarmed women's rights groups remain, including this one: "Tamkeen is the readiness of the wife to submit to her husband's reasonable sexual enjoyment, and her prohibition from going out of the house, except in extreme circumstances, without her husband's permission. If any of the above provisions are not followed by the wife she is considered disobedient."

The law has been backed by the hardline Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohseni, who is thought to have influence over the voting intentions of some of the country's Shias, which make up around 20% of the population. Karzai has assiduously courted such minority leaders in the run up to next Thursday's election, which is likely to be a close run thing, according to a poll released yesterday.

Human Rights Watch, which has obtained a copy of the final law, called on all candidates to pledge to repeal the law, which it says contradicts Afghanistan's own constitution.

The group said that Karzai had "made an unthinkable deal to sell Afghan women out in the support of fundamentalists in the August 20 election". >>> Jon Boone in Kandahar | Friday, August 14, 2009

Protests Fail to Halt Passage of Chavez's [sic] 'Socialist Indoctrination Law'
Scuffles broke out outside the National Assembly. Photo: TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: Police in riot gear used tear gas yesterday against Venezuelan demonstrators angry about a law that they believe could lead to the "socialist indoctrination" of the nation's schools.

Officers fired tear gas into crowds who were protesting in Caracas against President Chávez's plans to broaden state control over the education system.

Scuffles broke out as clouds of caustic, white gas wafted through the air outside the predominantly pro-Chávez National Assembly.

Inside, legislators began debating a Bill which would order schools to base the curriculum on "the Bolivarian Doctrine" - a reference to the ideals of the 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar.

After a marathon ten-hour session, the assembly — where Mr Chávez's party commands a majority — approved the Bill in the early hours of today.

But close to a dozen members sided with the opposition and walked out of the assembly in protest against the ruling party’s refusal to compromise on the Bill’s most contentious articles. >>> | Friday, August 14, 2009

Iranian Opposition Plans New Wave of Resistance amid Claims of Torture
'Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans,' wrote Mr Karoubi. Photo: TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: Despite nine weeks of savage repression since Iran’s hotly disputed presidential election, opponents of the regime refuse to accept defeat. They accuse the Government of torturing political detainees. They spread samizdat DVDs, use paintball guns to obliterate government posters, and attack government websites.

Mehdi Karroubi, one of the defeated presidential candidates, kept up the public pressure this week by claiming that male and female detainees have been raped in the Evin and Kahrizak prisons in Tehran, and that political prisoners were being tortured to death.

“We observe that in an Islamic country some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans,” Mr Karoubi wrote on his website.

Other detainees “were forced to take off their clothes. Then they were made to go on their hands and knees and were ridden [by prison guards]. Or the prison authorities put them on top of each other while they were naked... Do such treatments conform with Islam, which is a religion of mercy?”

Mr Karoubi’s allegations, which are supported by Western human rights organisations, seemed designed to deepen rifts within the conservative establishment over the way detainees have been treated.

They certainly appeared to strike a nerve. The regime has denounced them as baseless, and demanded Mr Karoubi produce proof. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hardline cleric, used his sermon at Friday prayers to demand that Mr Karoubi be prosecuted. He said that the accusations were “full of libel, a total slander against the Islamic system” that helped Iran’s enemies.

With the security forces brutally suppressing any street demonstrations, grassroots activists are adopting subtler methods of resisting a regime that they consider illegitimate.

They still chant “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) from the rooftops every night, and write anti-regime slogans on banknotes, but they are also daubing graffiti (“Death to basiji”, “Death to the dictator”) on walls across the capital and using paintball guns to obliterate posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, with green paint. Sometimes they simply paint a black X across his portrait. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, August 14, 2009

Tony's Cavorting on a Yacht with a Personal Butler to Rub in His Suncream. Isn't Life after No 10 Grand?
MAIL ONLINE: The impressive sight of the super-yacht Rising Sun hoving into view around the glamour spots of Europe is always enough to provoke envious glances - even among holidaying oligarchs and international playboys.

Built over five decks, the £150million vessel - the world's second largest privately owned yacht - boasts 82 rooms and an indoor swimming pool, basketball court, dance floor, spa, wine cellar and, of course, helipad.

Little wonder then, that Tony Blair chose to begin his current month-long vacation in one of its lavishly appointed staterooms.

Mr Blair expects only the best. In the past, he has complained - perhaps somewhat churlishly - that those giving him free bed and board have not provided him with accommodation of the absolute highest standard.

Indeed, his friends were flabbergasted when he moaned about a gratis holiday he and his family took three years ago at the Miami mansion of Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb. There was, Blair grumbled, simply not enough to do.

Happily, the accommodation on the Rising Sun is more than up to scratch. And Mr Blair's host, the billionaire software magnate Larry Ellison, has gone to immense trouble to ensure his stay is a comfortable one.

The former Prime Minister, who stayed aboard the yacht without wife Cherie or any of his four children, was assigned a personal butler to attend to his every whim. This extended, Mr Blair has confided, to applying his factor 30 sun cream.

After Mr Blair joined the vessel in Sardinia, Mr Ellison, the 64-year-old CEO of computer firm Oracle Corporation and the world's fourth richest man with a fortune of £13.6billion, threw a glitzy cocktail party on the deck in his honour.

Such opulence is a step up even from the luxury of Sir Cliff Richard's Barbados home, where the Blairs - when they were in Downing Street - used to spend their summer holidays.

Nowadays, Mr Blair likes to move in even more rarefied circles. Principal among his new super-rich friends is David Geffen, the self-made Tinseltown mogul and business partner of Steven Spielberg. The gay billionaire has become a close confidant.

In fact, so close are they that Mr Blair has introduced 66-year-old Geffen to his friend Peter Mandelson, who was a dinner guest on the Rising Sun himself last week.

The camp, shaven-headed Geffen has, in return, introduced the ex-Prime Minister to Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Steve Martin, with whom the Blairs holidayed aboard a yacht in Greece last summer.

A story told by a source very close to Mr Blair illustrates the orbit of wealth and excess in which he has been moving of late. >>> Paul Scott | Friday, August 14, 2009

Daniel Hannan: Government-run Healthcare Would Be ’Deeply Un-American’

Iran Inmates 'Tortured to Death'
BBC: Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidate has said that some protesters held after last month's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison.

The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped. Officials deny the rape claims, but admit that abuses have taken place.

The BBC's Jon Leyne says the opposition uses the issue to maintain political pressure without directly questioning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's poll victory.

On Thursday, Mr Karroubi alleged that a number of detainees had been tortured to death.

"Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans in [post-election] protests," his website said.

Mr Karroubi also called for the formation of an independent committee to review his evidence in "a calm atmosphere".

On Sunday, the defeated presidential candidate claimed that some opposition protesters were raped in detention.

The claim was supported by a number of human rights groups but quickly dismissed as "totally baseless" by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani.

"Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," said. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Anti-dhimmitude: Jim Fitzpatrick, Government Minister, Condemns Traditional Muslim Wedding
THE TELEGRAPH: Jim Fitzpatrick, a Government minister, has publicly condemned the Muslim tradition of separating men and women at weddings.

The farming minister and his wife walked out of the marriage ceremony of a constituent after discovering they would have to sit in separate rooms.

He said the gender segregation was a sign of increasing radicalisation and was damaging to social cohesion.

However, Muslim leaders insist the custom is traditional at Islamic weddings as well as in mosques, and expressed surprise that Mr Fitzpatrick, a third of whose east London constituents are Muslims, was unaware of the fact.

It was suggested that the Labour MP was trying to appeal to white voters who may fear divided communities.

His comments echo the row triggered three years ago when Jack Straw, now the justice secretary, called Muslim face veils a “visible statement of separation and difference” and called for women to remove them during surgeries in his Blackburn constituency.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, a founding member of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “I think in the interest of cohesion it would be better if Mr Fitzpatrick established more contact with the Muslim community.

“It shows a lack of interest on the part of the MP to engage with people with different backgrounds and sadly it reflects badly on him.

“If he had a little bit of knowledge he would have found it was quite normal and nothing unusual for them to enjoy the celebration in this way.

“There are some who prefer segregated events and some where they are joined together. We live in a society where we need to respect all traditions.”

George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow who will contest the new Poplar and Limehouse constituency against Mr Fitzgerald at the election, said: “If he doesn’t wish to attend an Islamic wedding and observe the religious customs preferred by the bride and groom, he should not go rather than insult them for perceived political gain.

“I am absolutely amazed and astonished that a Government minister with a substantial Muslim minority in his constituency should have decided to give such a gratuitous insult to so many Muslims.” >>> Martin Beckford and Stephen Adams | Thursday, August 13, 2009

How Bush Went from Hero to Zero in the Eyes of Dick Cheney
THE INDEPENDENT: Memoirs to tell of Veep's change of heart in waning years of presidency

In office he was the eminence grise behind the George W Bush throne, a silent brooding figure who was the most powerful and probably the most unpopular vice president in modern United States history. Now however Dick Cheney is poised to go public, in a memoir charging that, in his second term at least, his old boss ignored his advice and, in a word, went "soft".

Mr Cheney's frame of mind as he prepares his memoirs, likely to be published in spring 2011, was described yesterday in a front page article in The Washington Post, drawing on discussions the former vice president has held with former officials, aides and policy experts. What emerges is a man convinced he is right, now as then, that the US faced extraordinary threats, above all that a renegade state might pass nuclear weapons to terrorists. These threats in turn demanded an absolutely uncompromising response.

At first Mr Bush agreed, "but in the second term he [Mr Cheney] felt Bush was drifting away from him," according to one anonymous participant in a recent conversation with Mr Cheney. "He said Bush was shackled by public reaction and the criticism he took. The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather that Bush had hardened against Cheney's advice." The Cheney doctrine was "cast iron strength at all times – never apologise, never explain" while Mr Bush moved towards a conciliatory approach. >>> Rupert Cornwell in Washington | Friday, August 14, 2009

Why Pretend the Past Was Cigarette-free?
THE TELEGRAPH: A council's plans to bar under-18s from films with smoking sets us on a dangerous path, says Gerald Warner.

Send for the Sanity Inspector – quickly. There is work for him among the denizens of Liverpool city council. The council is proposing to use its powers to upgrade to an 18-certificate the classification of films "if they depict images of tobacco smoking", in order to protect the vulnerable youth of Merseyside from exposure to such depravity.

Needless to say, the council is not embarking on this pioneering exercise without much conscientious preparation. A consultation exercise has been launched, with separate questionnaires for "stakeholder" organisations, community groups and businesses, members of the public aged 18 and above, and for under-age respondents. The clever money is on the nine-year-olds' being the most rational, coherent and jargon-free documents to have been seen in the council for many years.

Despite this elaborate exercise in democracy, which one can safely predict will be interpreted as endorsing the council's proposals, the question has to be asked: have the city fathers really thought through the implications of such a policy? As regards new releases, will Hollywood directors draw a blue pencil through every smoking scene out of dread it may be forbidden to under-18s in Liverpool? Is there not just a smidgin of megalomania about such a supposition?

As for existing films, if this policy caught on across the country, it would mean the demise of 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and Peter Pan, unless there is a larger adult audience for those classics than is generally supposed. There is no point in objecting that Cruella de Vil, with her signature cigarette in a long holder, is a baddie: villainy is "cool" and therefore appealing.

Liverpool schoolboys may have watched their last classic James Bond film in a public theatre: the producers of Licence to Kill allegedly took a $350,000 payment to ensure 007 smoked Lark cigarettes. (In Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan denounced smoking as "a filthy habit", but appeared in Lark commercials in Japan.) Farewell, Superman II, with Lois Lane chain-smoking Marlboros. As for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Muppet Movie – they, too, would go up in smoke.

Then there are the older classics. Bogart? Mostly glimpsed through a fog of cigarette smoke, so a candidate for airbrushing out of cinematic history. Bette Davis? Ditto. Audrey Hepburn's outsize cigarette-holder in Breakfast at Tiffany's? Tantamount to pornography.

It should not be supposed, however, that such a wise body as Liverpool city council is impervious to certain objections. For example, portrayals of historical characters who smoked would be exempted. Churchill could still be shown with his trademark cigar – although if The Eagle Has Landed features an anonymous private soldier with cigarette hanging from lower lip, things might get a bit dicey. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009