Libya’s Viewpoint: Celebrate Libya Sees Olympic-scale Success While World Watches On
THE TRIPOLI POST: TRIPOLI, Libya: As Western media continue their unfair, confused, disinforming and deceptive coverage of the release of the innocent Libyan citizen Abdulbaset Al-Megrahi from his eleven-year captivity in European prisons, Libya celebrates the First September Revolution’s 40th Anniversary as never before. A grand celebration sets in motion a week of unprecedented events scheduled to sweep through the country started on 1 September. The celebrations offered at least a glimpse into the country’s rich 14,000 [?] year history.

Dignitaries from around the world gathered in Tripoli’s Green Park last night to witness what has been one of the Africa’s largest, most successful and most spectacular events in history. The celebration marked the 40th Anniversary of the Al Fateh Revolution. Guests joined Muammar Al Gaddafi, Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution, for a full schedule of activities from a military parade to an exclusive Iftar dinner and opening ceremony designed to bring to life Libya’s rich history and culture.

Al-Megrahi, however, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 after being unjustly convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. He served eleven years and five months in prison including more than two years in the infamous Camp Zeist prison in Holland. Legal experts in the US, Britain and the rest of the world have made it clear since the begging of the shame [sic] trial in the Netherlands that the trial was unfair and the prosecutor had no case.

Military Precision

The celebrations launched with a perfectly executed military parade involving troops from countries across the world. African nations such as Senegal and Algeria participated alongside European countries including Italy and Ukraine, marching to music and bearing their national flags. Troops from Greece and the French Foreign legion also participated. The soldiers were followed by full artillery of military vehicles, from trucks to tanks, some carrying an anti-aircraft weaponry while naval vessels passed by offshore. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, King Abdullah of Jordan, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani from Qatar, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, Tunisia’s President Ben Ali, Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Boutaflika, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Benin’s President Karekou were amongst the VIP audience as the Frecce Tricolori, Italian acrobatic planes, flew in formation over the parade ground and around Tripoli’s beautiful coastline.

VIP Iftar

Close by dignitaries made their way a specially designed dining area, constructed to float atop the water of the Red Castle lake. A lantern-lit path from the bank of the lake to the VIP iftar was created in front of the Red Castle outer wall onto which unique projections were placed. The projections mark the beginning of what is known as ‘Libya by Light’, a week-long schedule of Libya inspired images across six of the country’s key cities. Some of the best international brands were brought in to offer a new dimension to the proceedings; the meal itself was designed and prepared by acclaimed Parisian restaurant Le Notre and guests were given limited edition gold Chopard watches with outline of Africa on the face and a diamond marking Libya within it.

Libya Takes to the Stage

As hundreds of performers prepared themselves for their grand debut on what is considered by organizers to be one of the largest tent-like stages to have ever been constructed, dignitaries arrived in golf kart manufactured by the likes of Hummer and Cadillac. Joined by the Leader’s family, further guests attended the opening ceremony included Turkey first lady, Prime Minister, Amina Erdogan, former Ukrainian Acting Prime Minister Ioulia Tymochenko, French Minister for Co-operation Alain Joyandet and the President of Chad Idriss Déby and the President of Niger Mamadou Tandja. And the show certainly impressed; acrobats, lasers, projections and illuminated sculptures of animals all came together to give the show a sense of style, grandeur and magic. >>> | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Chopard >>>

Leading Islamist Wins Right to Name Son 'Djehad'
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In Germany, it seems, it's okay to name children "Jihad." A Berlin court has ruled that the name Djehad is neither denigrating nor offensive -- even if the child's father is a man considered by German intelligence agents and the United States to be one of the country's most radical Islamists.

A Berlin court ruled this week that a man suspected of being one of Germany's leading radical Islamists, can name his son "Djehad," an alternative spelling of the Arabic word jihad. A city official had previously rejected the name because of its connotation of Islamic holy war.

A city official said it had rejected listing the name in the city's birth registry because it could endanger the child's welfare. Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, the term "jihad," which in the West is usually regarded as meaning "holy war," has had negative connotations in Germany. The child's father himself, German-Egyptian Reda Seyam, is being monitored by German intelligence agencies and is known to have fought as a jihadist in Bosnia.

But this week a local superior court, following previous rulings in an administrative court and a regional court, said the name was unobjectionable. >>> dsl -- with wires | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Special Relationship. Passed Away 2009. R.I.P.
TIMES ONLINE: For some time America has regarded this country as Little Britain. The Lockerbie bomber case is seen as the final straw

After Gordon Brown met Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at the G8 summit in Italy earlier this year he joked that he had discovered Michael Jackson alive and well. There is indeed an uncanny resemblance between the Libyan leader and the King of Pop. But it was not, of course, the singer who asked the Prime Minister to release the Lockerbie bomber. Michael Jackson is dead — and so now is the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States.

The row over the decision to allow Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to return to Libya is the final nail in the coffin for the transatlantic bond first identified by Winston Churchill after the Second World War. Even Barack Obama abandoned his normal diplomatic tone to criticise the “highly objectionable” arrival of the bomber in Tripoli. Robert Mueller, the head of the FBI, said that the release of the man convicted of murdering 270 people on Pan Am Flight 103 made a “mockery of justice” and would give “comfort to terrorists around the world”. There was a widespread assumption in Washington all along that the decision was linked to a trade deal.

For the Americans, this is not just about justice it is also about trust — the White House sees the release of al-Megrahi as a blatant breach of an agreement given by the British Government that he would serve out his sentence in Scotland. It is impossible to sustain a relationship, let alone a special one, if one partner can no longer believe what the other one says. In Whitehall there are already nervous mutterings about whether intelligence-sharing and military co-operation will be able to continue in the same way.

This may be a tipping point but in fact the United States has been tilting away from Britain for some time. Ironically, at the very moment when people in this country are rediscovering after years of hostility their love of America — as a result of the election of the first black president — the Americans are tiring of their old European flame.

On holiday on Long Island this summer, I was struck by the anti-British mood. There are T-shirts for sale in New York with the slogan “Britain’s not that great” printed next to pictures of a helmeted policeman and Big Ben. “Your country is just a dipshit little nation,” an influential celebrity agent told me over dinner in the Monkey Bar (the fashionable Manhattan restaurant that is part owned by the British restaurateur Jeremy King). “It’s got no power or influence any more. I bet only 5 per cent of the people in this room have even heard of Gordon Brown.”

In different areas, antipathy towards Britain is taking hold just as anti-Americanism in this country fades. The debate about health reform in the US has been dominated by distorted accounts of appalling death rates and eugenic policies under the “evil” NHS. Meanwhile, the British Armed Forces are facing increasing criticism for what the Americans see as a failure to pull their weight in Iraq and Afghanistan. The City of London has been decimated by the credit crunch and could end up paying a heavier price than Wall Street as the new financial world order takes shape. Even London Fashion Week is a poor relation to similar events in New York, Paris and Milan.

There is a growing perception in the US that the UK is losing its way — with MPs who have been caught fiddling their expenses, a recession deeper than anywhere else and a leader who has become a lame duck. Newsweek, the magazine that hailed Cool Britannia in the 1990s, recently redefined us as “Little Britain”, a nation struggling to keep a foothold in a rapidly changing world. It used to be said that we punched above our weight — but now we have become the global punch bag as China and India rise. The new dawn is over, replaced by a gloomy dusk. >>> Rachel Sylvester | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

US Senate Asked to Probe Lockerbie 'Oil Deal'
TIMES ONLINE: A veteran United States senator has asked Congress to investigate whether negotiations for a lucrative Libyan oil contract played a role in the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

The call from Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, will add to the pressure on Gordon Brown, who has been accused of damaging - or even killing off - the transatlantic "special relationship" by backing the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi.

The Prime Minister insisted yesterday that there had been nothing underhand in the decision by the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to free al-Megrahi. The 57-year-old is dying from prostate cancer.

“There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Gaddafi,” Mr Brown told an audience in Birmingham.

The former Libyan intelligence office served just eight years of a life sentence for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, killing 270 people including 11 on the ground. Two-thirds of the victims were American and their relatives reacted with fury to the news that he was to be freed.

Mr Lautenberg called for a Senate investigation into the decision in a letter to Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican member. He said that the congressional panel “must expose the truth" and “uncover whether justice took a back seat to commercial interests". >>> Philippe Naughton | Thursday, September 03, 2009

Guest List for Libyan Strongman Moammar Khadafy's Party Includes Thugs, Dictators
Photo: New York Daily News
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: All Col. Moammar Khadafy needs is an extended pinkie.

He certainly has real-life guests to rival the fictional villains assembled by Dr. Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies.

Where Dr. Evil has No. 2 and Frau Farbissina, the Libyan dictator has president-by-terror Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and president-by-genocide Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who is under indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

To top it off, the guest list at the celebration of Khadafy's 40th year in power includes the man known in Somalia as "the father of piracy," Mohammed Abdi Afweyne.

In attending the four-day extravaganza, Afweyne reportedly took a break from exacting ransom for a ship held hostage off the Somali coast.

In May, the supposedly reformed Khadafy said that such piracy is not piracy at all, but "self-defense" against "greedy Western nations."

"It is defending the Somalia children's food," Khadafy said.

Among the ships that Afweyne's pirates hijacked was a World Food Program freighter carrying 850 tons of rice bound for the starving in Somalia.

As this week's 40th anniversary celebration in Libya neared, Prince Andrew had originally RSVP'd in the affirmative. He bowed out following the furor over the hero's welcome given to freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Otherwise, the prince might have found himself sitting with a thug, a genocidal psychopath and a pirate kingpin while huge screens flashed photos of a bomber convicted of murdering 270 innocents.

The big photos of Libya's new national hero accompanied a performance by a New Zealand bagpipe band, complete with kilts. The bomber was freed by the Scottish justice secretary.

"The freeing of al-Megrahi was a highlight of the colonel's time in office and he wanted to honor Scotland for it," a Libyan official said. >>> Michael Daly | Thursday, September 03, 2009

Libyan Government Says Lockerbie Bomber Is Not Near Death Yet
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: The Libyan government on Wednesday denied claims by the Lockerbie bomber's family that he was in intensive care and dying faster than expected.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi "is not in a dangerous situation" and was merely moved to a VIP room at the Tripoli hospital, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Seyala. >>> Helen Kennedy, Daily News Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Moyen-Orient: Ahmadinejad, un peu plus seul
leJDD.fr: En Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rencontre des difficultés pour obtenir la confiance de son cabinet. Plusieurs noms pourraient être retoqués par le Parlement.

Après la rue, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doit affronter le Parlement (le Majlis). Le président de la République islamique, dont la réélection le 12 juin dernier avait jeté une partie de la population dans la rue, a choisi les 21 membres de son cabinet. Mais comme le veut le système iranien, chacun des ministres doit désormais être approuvé par le Parlement. Pour Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, c'est ici que les choses se compliquent. Ici aussi où ressurgissent les tensions à la tête de la République islamique, voire au sein même du clergé chiite. Censée être une formalité – les conservateurs dominent le Majlis - la nomination du cabinet s'éternise. Le Parlement examine mercredi, pour la quatrième journée consécutive, sa composition, notamment les candidats proposés pour les postes sensibles de l'Intérieur et du Pétrole. Le vote de confiance pourrait toutefois intervenir dans la soirée ou jeudi matin. Mais certains candidats pourraient toutefois passé à la trappe. Pour diverses raisons.

Des élus ultraconservateurs voient notamment d'un mauvais œil le choix de trois femmes, une première depuis la révolution islamique de 1979. Et ce, bien que celles-ci ne soient pas connues pour leur ouverture. "L'islam respecte la femme. Mais cela ne veut pas dire qu'on doit leur laisser des positions sociales importantes", a ainsi estimé l'ayatollah Ahmad Khatami. Autre choix contesté, celui de Kamran Daneshjou pour le portefeuille du ministère des Sciences, de la Recherche et des Technologies. Vice-ministre de l'Intérieur sous "Ahmadinejad I", il était en charge de l'organisation de la présidentielle du 12 juin. Or, plusieurs élus estiment que choisir cet homme - alors que le résultat de l'élection est toujours controversé et que l'opposition n'a pas renoncé à se faire entendre - ne participe pas à l'apaisement. D'autres, la frange la plus "libérale" des conservateurs, dénoncent le choix de Heydar Moslehi pour le ministère des Renseignements, soulignant son "passé douteux". L'homme est l'ancien représentant du Guide suprême auprès des bassidjis, le bras armé des Gardiens de la révolution. Ahmadinejad lâché par le Guide? >>> Marianne Enault, leJDD.fr | Mercredi 02 Septembre 2009

Affaire Kadhafi: Kadhafi veut rayer la Suisse de la carte
Mouammar Kadhafi. Crédits photo: Le Temps
LE TEMPS: La Suisse doit être démantelée et ses régions linguistiques réparties entre ses voisins. Mouammar Kadhafi va soumettre cette requête devant l’assemblée générale de l’ONU qui débute le 15 septembre. Il l’avait déjà formulée lors du sommet du G8 en Italie en juillet.

«La Libye a déposé cette requête», a déclaré mercredi soir la vice-présidente de la Commission de politique extérieure du National Christa Markwalder (PLR/BE) dans l’émission «10 vor 10» de la TV alémanique. Le chef d’Etat libyen demande que figure à l’ordre du jour la division du territoire suisse et sa répartition entre les pays voisins, a ajouté Mme Markwalder.

Début juillet lors du G8, Mouammar Kadhafi avait déclaré que la Suisse «est une mafia mondiale et non un Etat». Et d’ajouter qu’elle «est formée d’une communauté italienne qui doit retourner en Italie, d’une autre communauté allemande qui doit retourner en Allemagne et une troisième communauté française qui doit retourner en France».

La Libye assume pour un an la présidence de l’assemblée générale de l’ONU. Mme Markwalder craint qu’elle n’utilise cette fonction pour nuire à l’image et à la réputation de la Suisse. Selon elle, la diplomatie suisse va devoir se retrousser les manches pour éviter un scandale devant l’ONU. >>> ATS | Jeudi 03 Septembre 2009

Qadhafi verlangt von der Uno die Auflösung der Schweiz
BERNER ZEITUNG: Der libysche Staatschef hat bei den Uno einen Antrag gestellt: Sie sollen in der Herbstsession die Schweiz von der Landkarte streichen und unter den Nachbarn aufteilen.

Was Libyens Staatschef Moammar al-Qadhafi bereits im Juli am G8-Gipfel in Italien forderte, hat er nun als formellen Antrag an die Uno-Vollversammlung gestellt. Dies berichtete die Berner Nationalrätin Christa Markwalder, Vizepräsidentin der Aussenpolitischen Kommission (APK) des Nationalrates, heute in der Sendung «10vor10» des Schweizer Fernsehens.

«Libyen hat den Antrag gestellt, dass an der Uno-Vollversammlung, die am 15. September beginnt, auch das Traktandum diskutiert werden soll, dass das schweizerische Staatsterritorium aufgeteilt und an die Nachbarländer verteilt werden soll», sagte Markwalder. «Dem Image der Schweiz abträglich» >>> oku/sda | Donnerstag, 03. September 2009

Brown the Betrayer: Britain’s Sellout Prime Minister Has Broken Faith and Ties with U.S.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – Editorial: It was Winston Churchill who asked in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, "What kind of people do they think we are?" And it is Gordon Brown who has given grounds to believe that today's British are a cowardly, unprincipled, amoral and duplicitous lot. Because he is all of those.

Can he remain in power having been revealed as at least complicit in an atrocious miscarriage of justice and breach of faith? That will be up to the Brits, but on this side of the Atlantic Ocean it is inconceivable that an elected official would have a snowball's chance after sanctioning an oil-for-terrorist deal.

Surely Brown can hardly survive the revelation that his government assured Libya that the prime minister did not want the Lockerbie bomber to die in prison, a message duly passed on to the Scottish official who released Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on "compassionate grounds."

As for the "special relationship" between the U.S. and Britain, the storied alliance built on the resolve of World War II and carried on through Thatcher and Blair, through Iraq and Afghanistan: It is, in a word, gone.

Brown's maneuverings to get into the good graces of Libyan mass murderer Moammar Khadafy broke the bond between America and the Blessed Plot beyond his ability to repair it. That work will fall to someone else, someone who values human life more than commercial expediency, someone who is stalwart rather than a sneak, someone true to his pronouncements.

The U.S. and the U.K. committed to imprisoning Megrahi in Scotland after the Libyan spy was convicted of blowing Pan Am Flight 103 out of the air over that country in 1998. The atrocity was a direct precursor of 9/11, and no one could have imagined that Brown - leader of a nation that, too, has been terror's target - would trash the pledge.

But Brown did trash the pledge, and in the most revolting terms, letting it be known, it bears repeating, that he did not want Megrahi, author of 270 murders, to die in prison.

So, Megrahi has returned to Libya a hero, perhaps dying of prostate cancer, perhaps not. Brown got his way, and he will never outlive the stain. [Source: New York Daily News] | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

MAIL ONLINE:
Brown the betrayer: U.S. fury over British broken promise to keep Lockerbie bomber in jail >>> James Chapman | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Arabs Charged Over Dutch Cartoon
BBC: An Arab organisation is to be put on trial in the Netherlands over its publication of a cartoon deemed offensive to Jews, prosecutors say.

The cartoon, published by the Arab European League (AEL) on its website, questions the Holocaust.

It said the decision to prosecute illustrated bias against Muslims.

It said the same standards were not applied to the Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who made a film including cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Last month prosecutors said they would not put the far-right MP on trial for distributing the controversial Danish cartoons, which caused a storm of protest after their publication in 2005.

However, he is still being investigated separately for inciting hatred against Muslims by making statements comparing Islam to Nazism.

But Dutch prosecutors said the AEL cartoon was "discriminatory" and "offensive to Jews as a group... because it offends Jews on the basis of their race and/or religion".

The cartoon shows two men standing near a pile of bones at "Auswitch" (sic). One says "I don't think they're Jews".

The other replies: "We have to get to the six million somehow."

A spokeswoman for the prosecuting authority said the group could be fined up to 4,700 euros (£4,100), though in theory a prison sentence was also possible. >>> | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Brown Says 'No Cover-Up' in Lockerbie Bomber's Release
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Addressing controversy over the recent release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted "there was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing" by the U.K. leading up to the release.

Meanwhile, Scotland's parliament passed a motion late Wednesday denouncing Kenny MacAskill, the justice minister who made the decision to release Mr. al-Megrahi last month. The harsh rebuke, which was approved in a 73-50-1 vote, condemned Mr. MacAskill for mishandling the decision in a way that damaged Scotland's international reputation. >>> Alistair MacDonald and Paul Sonne| Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Cancer Specialists Fly to Tripoli as Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi Fades Fast
TIMES ONLINE: The health of the Lockerbie bomber is deteriorating so fast that European cancer specialists are being flown to Tripoli in a chartered aircraft to treat him, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi's brother has told The Times.

"He's in a bad situation. The last check-up was very, very bad... He's dying," said Mohammed al-Megrahi, who doubted his brother would live another month. "We are really worried about him, but it's the wish of God."

Mr al-Megrahi would not, or could not, say where the specialists were coming from or who was paying for them.

A Libyan government official said that al-Megrahi "has been admitted to the emergency room in the hospital. He is in a bad way. He is unable to speak to anyone."

A hospital spokesman said: "Because of the treatment he is receiving, his immune system is very weak."

Critics of the Scottish Government's decision to release al-Megrahi last month have questioned how ill he really is, but there seems little doubt that he is in his final weeks, or even days. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tripoli | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Hockey Mom? Sarah Palin Stayed at Home, Says Levi Johnston
TIMES ONLINE: If her estranged potential son-in-law is to be believed, Sarah Palin is not just the vice-presidential candidate who lost and the Governor who quit.

According to Levi Johnston, who nearly married her daughter, Mrs Palin was the supermom who did not cook, the hockey mom who almost never attended her son's hockey matches and the fearless outdoorswoman who had never touched a fishing rod and did not know what sort of gun nestled in a box under her bed.

Exhausted - or just bored - by her duties as head of Alaska’s state government, Mrs Palin would return home most days by 5pm to take long baths and watch her favourite home improvement shows on television, according to Levi Johnston, who fathered her first grandchild and nearly married her daughter.

Mrs Palin argued frequently with her husband about the idea of divorce, insisted that she was going to adopt the baby her daughter was about to have with Mr Johnston and rapidly lost what enthusiasm she had for the Governor’s job on her return to Alaska last November, Mr Johnston claims.

Most woundingly for a woman portrayed by the McCain campaign as a doting supermom, the former high school ice hockey star writes: “There wasn’t much parenting in that house. Sarah doesn’t cook, Todd (her husband) doesn’t cook - the kids would do it all themselves: cook, clean, do the laundry and get ready for school." >>> Giles Whittell in Washington | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

BP Makes "Giant" Oil Find in Gulf of Mexico
REUTERS: LONDON - Oil major BP Plc said it has made an oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, which analysts believe could contain over 1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, reaffirming the Gulf's strategic importance to the industry.

BP said in a statement on Wednesday that it had made the "giant" find at its Tiber Prospect in the Keathley Canyon block 102, by drilling one of the deepest wells ever sunk by the industry.

Further appraisal will be required to ascertain the size of volumes of oil present, but a spokesman said the find should be bigger than its Kaskida discovery which has over 3 billion barrels of oil in place.

Estimates of recoverable reserves range from around 20 percent of oil in place. >>> Tom Bergin | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Europe Dims Old-style Lightbulbs

Obama: "Islam ist Teil von Amerika"
Ja wirklich! Islam ist Teil von Amerika genau so sehr als Christentum Teil von Saudi Arabien ist!

Offensichtlich, versucht Barack Hussein Obama die Religion seines Vaters an die Amerikaner aufzudrängen.

So eine Art Politik zu treiben, so eine Verfälschung der Geschichte absichtlich zu schildern, so eine Lüge zu verbreiten!

Mit so einem Mann am Steuer des mächtigsten Landes der Welt kann man für die Zukünft nur schwarz sehen! Und zu sagen, daß der Islam bedeutet Gerechtigkeit und Fortschritt ist nichts Anders als lächerlich. – © Mark

DIE PRESSE: US-Präsident Obama würdigt bei einem Abendessen anlässlich des Fastenmonats Ramadan den Beitrag von Muslimen zur US-Gesellschaft. Der Islam stehe für Gerechtigkeit und Fortschritt. Er sei eine "große Religion".

US-Präsident Barack Obama hat den Beitrag von Muslimen zur amerikanischen Gesellschaft gewürdigt. Bei einem Abendessen am Dienstagabend anlässlich des muslimischen Fastenmonats Ramadan bezeichnete er den Islam als "große Religion" und sprach von dessen "Engagement für Gerechtigkeit und Fortschritt".

An dem Dinner nahmen neben Kabinetts- und Kongressmitgliedern auch mehrere Vertreter muslimischer Organisationen der USA teil. Obama sagte, der Islam sei ein "Teil von Amerika", schreibt die "Washington Post". Bereits Obamas Vorgänger George W. Bush hatte ein Iftar veranstaltet, ein Abendessen zum Fastenbrechen. >>> Ag./phu | Mittwoch, 02. September 2009

Obama Hosts Dinner for Islamic Holy Month
THE WASHINGTON POST: WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has praised the contributions of American Muslims at a dinner to celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Obama joined Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors and members of Congress to pay tribute to what he called "a great religion and its commitment to justice and progress."

The president also welcomed American Muslim community leaders to the event in the State Dining Room.

Obama said Islam is "part of America." He said the American Muslim community is diverse, like the broader citizenry of the United States. >>> Ann Sanner, The Associated Press | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

USA: Obamas Umfragewerte brechen ein
DIE PRESSE: Der Druck auf US-Präsident Barack Obana steigt. Nach sieben Monaten Regierungszeit bewertete laut einer Umfrage des TV-Senders CNN erstmals eine Mehrheit der politisch unabhängigen US-Bürger seine Politik negativ.

Erstmals seit seinem Amtsantritt im Jänner [Januar] bewerte eine Mehrheit der politisch unabhängigen US-Bürger die Politik von US-Präsident Barack Obama negativ. 53 Prozent der Unabhängigen gaben an, sie seien mit Obamas Arbeit im Weißen Haus nicht zufrieden, 43 Prozent sprachen sich positiv aus. 
Das geht aus einer am Dienstag veröffentlichten Umfrage des Nachrichtensenders CNN hervor. 

Die Mehrheit der unabhängigen Stimmen habe Obama bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen den Weg ins Weiße Haus geebnet, sagte CNN-Meinungsforscher Keating Holland. "Wenn er diese Unterstützung verliert, wird es für Obama schwieriger, aus der Mitte zu regieren." >>> APA, Red. | Mittwoch, 02. September 2009

Bundesrat will umstrittenen Vertrag mit Libyen erfüllen: Aussenministerin Calmy-Rey übernimmt das Dossier wieder
NZZ ONLINE: Der Bundesrat will den Streit mit Libyen vorerst nicht eskalieren lassen. Er hält am umstrittenen Vertrag fest, obwohl es keine Anzeichen für eine rasche Freilassung der Schweizer Geiseln gibt. Von Libyen wird erwartet, dass es die Verpflichtungen ebenfalls einhält.

Der Bundesrat steckt in einer schwierigen Situation. Bundespräsident Hans-Rudolf Merz hat einen umstrittenen und für die Schweiz wenig vorteilhaften Vertrag mit Libyen unterzeichnet. Obwohl die Schweiz alle ihre Verpflichtungen erfüllt hat, sind die Geiseln immer noch in Tripolis. Und es gibt weiterhin keine zuverlässigen Anzeichen, dass die ABB-Mitarbeiter demnächst ausreisen können. Eher scheint es, dass Libyen immer neue Forderungen stellt.

Trotz der eigentlich unmöglichen Situation und trotz dem wachsenden Druck der Öffentlichkeit will der Bundesrat die Affäre nicht weiter anheizen. Dahinter steht die Hoffnung, dass damit letztlich auch Libyen seinen Verpflichtungen nachkommen wird. Mit einem Tag Verspätung hat die libysche Regierung inzwischen immerhin einen Vertreter für das Schiedsgericht ernannt, das die Affäre um Hannibal Ghadhafi klären soll.

Wie Bundespräsident Merz und Aussenministerin Micheline Calmy-Rey am Mittwoch vor den Medien gemeinsam erklärten, strebt der Bundesrat normale Beziehungen mit Libyen und vor allem auch die Rückkehr der beiden in Libyen festgehaltenen Schweizer Geschäftsleute an. Er hält aus diesem Grund am umstrittenen Vertrag mit Libyen fest. Wie Merz betonte, erwartet er aber, dass Libyen seinen Teil der Vertrags ebenfalls erfüllt. EDA für Umsetzung zuständig >>> tsf. | Mittwoch, 02. September 2009

Alerte de la dhimmitude! Le Conseil suisse des religions rejette l’initiative anti-minarets
LE TEMPS: Les principales Eglises et communautés religieuses de Suisse s’opposent à une initiative qui «pousse à la méfiance au sein de la population». Elles appellent à promouvoir activement l’intégration des communautés islamiques.

Juifs, chrétiens et musulmans de Suisse rejettent résolument l’initiative anti-minarets, soumise au peuple le 29 novembre prochain. Mercredi matin, le Conseil suisse des religions (SCR), qui réunit les principales Eglises et communautés religieuses du pays, a déclaré lors d’une conférence de presse à Berne que cette initiative «instrumentalise la religion à des fins politiques» et «ne résout aucun problème». Au contraire, elle «alimente les suspicions et les craintes de la population» ainsi que «l’agressivité à l’égard des personnes de confession musulmane». Elle constitue même «un recul législatif, puisque le peuple suisse a aboli toute exception religieuse que contenait la Constitution fédérale».

Cette prise de position commune sur un projet de votation est une première depuis la création du SCR en 2006. Selon le pasteur Thomas Wipf, président du Conseil, elle peut être considérée «comme une pierre milliaire dans l’histoire du dialogue entre chrétiens, juifs et musulmans», même au-delà de la Suisse.

«Pour les membres d’une communauté religieuse, les édifices qui abritent leurs activités ne sont pas de simples lieux de rassemblement, mais le symbole de leur foi et l’expression de leur manière de célébrer Dieu», affirme la prise position, contenue dans un document de huit pages intitulé «Pour une cohabitation des religions en paix et en liberté». «C’est pourquoi, poursuit-elle, pour de nombreux musulmans, le minaret fait tout naturellement partie de la mosquée. Interdire les minarets blesserait ces personnes dans leur dignité et porterait atteinte à leur droit fondamental de pratiquer leur foi.» D’après le SCR, «respecter les croyants en tant que personnes implique aussi l’ouverture face aux diverses expressions de la foi», un droit garanti par la Constitution. Cela «pour autant que l’ordre législatif suisse soit respecté». >>> Patricia Briel | Mercredi 02 Septembre 2009

Muslims to Turn Capitol Hill into Giant Outdoor Mosque
ISLAM IN ACTION: Inspired by President Obama's pro-Islamic speech in Cairo, approximately 50,000 Muslims are expecting to attend a prayer service outside Capitol Hill. They claim that this is about them loving America. If they really loved America as we know it, they would be in the streets protesting against the Sharia push, and the Islamic preachers of hate in America. But they do not, this is all about them pushing Islam on America.

Elizabeth mosque organizes national prayer event in D.C.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Jeff Diamant
STAR-LEDGER STAFF

A mosque in Elizabeth, Dar-ul-Islam, is spearheading a national prayer gathering next month in Washington, D.C., that organizers are billing as the first event of its kind -- organized prayer for tens of thousands of Muslims outside the U.S. Capitol building. >>> | Monday, August 31, 2009



Islam on Capitol Hill >>>

Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>

Street Dawa (August 21, 2009)
Part 1:



Part 2:



Hat tip: Islam in Action >>>

Lockerbie-Anschlag: Brown war offenkundig für Attentäterbegnadigung
WELT ONLINE: Gordon Brown hat die Begnadigung des Lockerbie-Attentäters unterstützt. Der öffentliche wie politische Druck wächst. Die Opposition erhebt den Vorwurf, dass es allein um wirtschaftliche Belange ging. Der Premierminister hingegen verneinte, dass das Interesse an libyschem Öl dabei eine Rolle spielte.

Der britische Premier Gordon Brown gerät im Streit um die Freilassung des Lockerbie-Attentäters immer mehr unter Druck: Brown unterstützte offensichtlich die Begnadigung des Libyers Abdel Bassit Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi. Ein früherer Staatssekretär im britischen Außenministerium bestätigte am Dienstagabend, Brown habe nicht gewollt, dass der krebskranke Al-Megrahi im Gefängnis in Schottland stirbt. Bill Rammell erklärte im Sender BBC, dass er dies im Februar seinem Amtskollegen in Libyen mitgeteilt hätte. Er habe jedoch „ausdrücklich“ betont, dass die Entscheidung über die Zukunft Al-Megrahis bei der schottischen Landesregierung lieg[.] >>> dpa/sk | Mittwoch, 02. September 2009

Managergehälter: EU will Bonuskultur am liebsten weltweit abschaffen
WELT ONLINE: Die Finanzminister der Euro-Zone stimmen derzeit ihre Position für das anstehende G20-Treffen ab. Ziel müsste ein weltweiter Kurswechsel bei millionenschweren Bonuszahlungen für Manager sein, damit Banken nicht abwandern. Doch nicht alle Staaten sind mit gleicher Entschlossenheit wie Deutschland bei der Sache.

Ein Banker der Schweizer Großbank UBS springt über ein Plakat von Demonstranten. Bild: Welt Online
Drei Wochen vor dem G20-Treffen in Pittsburgh ringen die EU-Länder um eine einheitliche Linie, die millionenschweren Sonderzahlungen für Bank-Manager zu beschneiden. „Die Bonuskultur muss zu einem Ende kommen", sagte der amtierende Vorsitzende der EU-Finanzminister, Schwedens Ressortchef Anders Borg. Er warf den Bankern vor:„Sie feiern wie 1999, dabei haben wir schon 2009.“

Die Europäer wollen beim G20-Gipfel einen weltweiten Kurswechsel bei Bonuszahlungen im Banksektor durchsetzen. „Es gab einen europäischen Konsens, in Details sind aber noch Unterschiede da“, sagte der österreichische Finanzminister und Vize-Kanzler Josef Pröll nach Beratungen mit seinen europäischen Amtskollegen. „Es kann nicht sein, dass Manager mit Tagesgewinnen unglaubliche Summen abschöpfen.“ Es solle künftig bei Bonuszahlungen mehr Transparenz geben – so sollten diese offengelegt werden. Eine Neuorientierung bei den Sonderzahlungen könne es aber nur geben, wenn diese weltweit zum Zuge kommen. Sonst drohe eine Abwanderung von Banken. >>> dpa/mos | Mittwoch, 02. September 2009

Ben and Jerry's Renames Ice Cream Hubby Hubby in Celebration of Gay Marriage
THE TELEGRAPH: Ben and Jerry's has changed the name of one of its best-selling ice creams to Hubby Hubby, in celebration of the legalisation of gay marriage in its home state of Vermont.

The flavour formerly known as Chubby Hubby will be sold under the playful new name for the length of September.

Ben and Jerry's has developed a reputation for social activism – and smart publicity stunts – since being founded by two former hippies in Burlington, Vermont in 1978.

The firm has striven to retain its freethinking reputation despite its 2000 sale to food giant Unilever, and earlier this year marked Barack Obama's election as US president by renaming one of its nutty ice cream flavours "Yes Pecan".

The state of Vermont's decision to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, which came into force on Tuesday, was deemed suitable grounds for another celebration.

“At the core of Ben & Jerry’s values, we believe that social justice can and should be something that every human being is entitled to,” said Walt Freese, chief executive of Ben & Jerry’s. >>> Matthew Moore | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

THE GUARDIAN:
Gay couples tie the knot in Vermont: New law takes effect as Vermont becomes the latest state to allow same-sex marriage >>>| Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Affaire Kadhafi: La crise libyenne vire au cauchemar politique
LE TEMPS: La Libye exigerait désormais que la Suisse paie une caution de 430 000 francs pour les deux hommes d’affaires retenus à Tripoli. Le Conseil fédéral tiendra une conférence de presse à 14h30 en présence de Hans-Rudolf Merz et de Micheline Calmy-Rey.

En juillet, Mouammar Kadhafi avait déclaré à L’Aquila, lors du G8, vouloir «démanteler la Suisse». Si son vœu ne s’est pas exaucé, il a en tout cas réussi à semer la zizanie au sein du Conseil fédéral, à diviser le monde politique et à mettre le président de la Confédération dans une situation embarrassante. Hans-Rudolf Merz est désormais pour beaucoup «politiquement mort». Mais rares étaient ceux, hormis la Jeunesse socialiste, qui osaient mardi ouvertement exiger sa démission. La Suisse ne veut pas subir une humiliation supplémentaire susceptible de réjouir les Libyens tant que les deux hommes d’affaires retenus depuis un an à Tripoli ne seront pas de retour.

Le président de la Confédération présentera aujourd’hui, en collaboration avec les Affaires étrangères (DFAE), une proposition au Conseil fédéral concernant la suite de la procédure pour régler l’affaire. En attendant, Pascal Couchepin a profité de sa traditionnelle sortie à Zimmer­wald pour voler à son secours (lire ci-dessous). Le PLR, lui, hausse le ton: il exige du gouvernement qu’il suspende l’accord signé le 20 août, «car la Libye ne le respecte pas». Jeu simpliste dénoncé >>> Valérie de Graffenried | Mercredi 02 Septembre 2009

Gaddafi's Forty Years in Power Celebrated with a 'Gallery of Grotesques'
THE INDEPENDENT: War crimes suspect and notorious Somali pirate turn out for anniversary party

The celebrations marking Colonel Gaddafi's 40th anniversary as Libya's dictator lit up the Tripoli sky last night as a number of international pariahs, described by one diplomat as a "gallery of grotesques", gathered to enjoy a lavish parade, dance spectacles and fighter jets streaking overhead.

The celebration was meant to be the crowning act in Gaddafi's rehabilitation on the international stage, but the Libyan leader's respectability, already undermined by the controversy raging over the release of the only convicted Lockerbie bomber, was further eroded by accusations that a notorious Somali pirate leader was among the VIPs in attendance.

Mohammed Abdi Afweyne, a confessed leader of one of the largest pirate gangs that has been terrorising shipping off the Horn of Africa, has been in Tripoli since Saturday, according to sources in Somalia.

Government sources refused to confirm or deny the presence of Afweyne, the leader of a gang of hijackers that seized control of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons. Reports also suggest that Afweyne had met with senior Libyan officials.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese ruler who is indicted for war crimes in Darfur, were among those enjoying the party which was expected to go on until dawn.

The only European leader to accept an invitation to the opening of the week-long extravaganza marking the Libyan leader's 40 years in power was the Maltese President George Abela. France and Italy were represented at ministerial level while Britain attempted to distance itself by sending an embassy chargé d'affaires, Mark Matthews. The British Government has been deeply embarrassed by repeated accusations that it traded the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber in return for Libyan oil and gas. Britain's ambassador to Libya, Vincent Fean, took the opportunity to visit Malta instead of staying for the party, while in private British diplomats were said to be deeply concerned with the content of last night's show.

As dozens of world leaders were seated behind bulletproof glass to watch the festivities, only Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez broke away from the heavy security to joke with reporters. >>> Daniel Howden in Tripoli | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Stalin's Grandson Fights for the Good Name of Joseph
THE INDEPENDENT: Russian liberals sued over pamphlet saying that the dictator killed civilians

The grandson of Joseph Stalin has launched a libel suit against one of Russia's leading liberal newspapers, accusing it of lying in an article which stated Stalin had killed Soviet citizens.

As the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, defended the reputation of the wartime leader in Poland, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, the dictator's grandson, began his quest to claim nearly £200,000 from Novaya Gazeta.

"Half a century of lies have been poured over Stalin's reputation and he cannot defend himself from the grave, so this case is essential to put the record straight," Mr Dzhugashvili's lawyer, Leonid Zhura, told Reuters.

Liberal critics say that the drive to rehabilitate Stalin has official backing, with the Kremlin keen to glorify Russia's Soviet past and make Russians proud of their history, while glossing over Stalin's crimes.

Dzhugashvili is Stalin's real surname, and Yevgeny Dzhugashvili is the son of Stalin's son, Yakov, who was killed during the Second World War. It is believed that the Nazis offered to trade Yakov for a captured German field marshal, but Stalin refused the offer. Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, however, remains an enthusiastic Stalinist. >>> Shaun Walker in Moscow | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Princess Diana: Death 'Was Not an Accident' Says Leading Lawyer
THE TELEGRAPH: The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was not an accident, according to the memoirs of lawyer Michael Mansfield who represented Mohamed Fayed at the inquest into the crash.

The 1997 accident in the Alma Tunnel in Paris still poses unanswered questions despite lengthy inquest at the High Court, he claims in his book, Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer.

The 67-year-old QC, who has represented clients in high profile cases ranging from the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence to the Birmingham Six, insisted the inquest had not been a waste of time and that Mr Fayed was entitled to the procedure as “a grieving father”.

In the book, which is being serialised in The Times, he wrote: “I found it difficult simply to accept that what happened in the Alma Tunnel in Paris was ‘just one of those tragic things’. Of course it might have been, but then that’s what “they” always hope we will think.

“Judging whether a hidden hand is at work is always difficult, but I prefer a healthy and inquisitive assessment of the authorised version, and for me it was mere serendipity to be approached a year after the crash and asked to represent Mohamed Al Fayed for the purposes of an inquest.” >>> Alastair Jamieson | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

TIMES ONLINE:
Princess Diana: I've always believed the crash was not an accident: From Stephen Lawrence to the Birmingham Six, a radical lawyer has fought many controversial cases. In this exclusive extract from his memoirs he reveals his part in the most high-profile: the death of Diana >>> Michael Mansfield | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Fragment from World's Oldest Bible Found Hidden in Egyptian Monastery
THE INDEPENDENT: Academic stumbles upon previously unseen section of Codex Sinaiticus dating back to 4th century

A British-based academic has uncovered a fragment of the world's oldest Bible hiding underneath the binding of an 18th-century book.

Nikolas Sarris spotted a previously unseen section of the Codex Sinaiticus, which dates from about AD350, as he was trawling through photographs of manuscripts in the library of St Catherine's Monastery in Egypt.

The Codex, handwritten in Greek on animal skin, is the earliest known version of the Bible. Leaves from the priceless tome are divided between four institutions, including St Catherine's Monastery and the British Library, which has held the largest section of the ancient Bible since the Soviet Union sold its collection to Britain in 1933.

Academics from Britain, America, Egypt and Russia collaborated to put the entire Codex online this year but new fragments of the book are occasionally rediscovered. >>> Jerome Taylor, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Related:
World's Oldest Bible Published in Full Online >>> Chris Irvine | Monday, July 06, 2009

Terror Suspect Saeed Jalili Set to Become Ahmadinejad's Defence Minister
TIMES ONLINE: A former Revolutionary Guard wanted by Interpol for allegedly masterminding Argentina’s worst terrorist attack looks set to become Iran’s new Defence Minister after Parliament signalled that it would confirm President Ahmadinejad’s provocative choice.

The development came as Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, sounded a conciliatory note to the international community, saying that Tehran was ready to present a new package of proposals to foreign governments in the hope of restarting talks on its nuclear programme.

American officials said that they had yet to receive any official notification from Tehran and it remains unclear whether the new proposal is substantively different from the one rejected by Western powers last year. Efforts to restart talks have repeatedly floundered over Iran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

Representatives of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, China and Russia will meet in Frankfurt to discuss tougher sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector.

Mr Jalili said that Mr Ahmadinejad’s re-election had given the country a powerful mandate to put forward a new proposal — a surprising interpretation of the disputed victory that has thrown the country into its worst crisis since the Islamic revolution.

The power struggle triggered by the allegedly rigged elections has opened cracks even among the conservative establishment and led to unprecedented criticism of both Mr Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

AMIA Bombing: Teheran MPs Show Support for Minister Wanted by Argentina
BUENOS AIRES HERALD: Iran's parliament is signalling support for the hardline president's choice of new defence minister, a man Argentina says was involved in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish centre that killed 85 people.

One member of parliament, Hadi Qavami, interrupted a speech by Defence Minister-designate Ahmad Vahidi to say he had initially opposed Vahidi's nomination but he changed his mind after "the Zionists' allegations" and would now vote for him.

The comment drew praise from other deputies in the assembly, who chanted "Death to Israel", state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Under parliamentary rules, two MPs can take the floor to voice opposition to a ministerial nominee, but no one did so in the case of Vahidi, a sign he will be backed by the legislature in a vote of confidence scheduled for Wednesday. >>> | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Merkel erinnert an Verantwortung für Zweiten Weltkrieg: Gedenkfeier zum Kriegsausbruch – Putin ruft zur Versöhnung mit Polen auf
NZZ ONLINE: Bei der Hauptzeremonie der Gedenkveranstaltung zum Kriegsbeginn vor 70 Jahren hat die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkels die Verantwortung Deutschlands für den Zweiten Weltkrieg und das damit verbundene Leid in vielen Völkern Europas unterstrichen.

Die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel hat die deutsche Verantwortung für den Zweiten Weltkrieg und das damit verbundene Leid in vielen Völkern Europas unterstrichen.

«Heute vor 70 Jahren begann mit dem deutschen Überfall auf Polen das tragischste Kapitel in der Geschichte Europas», sagte die Bundeskanzlerin während einer Gedenkstunde auf der Westerplatte bei Danzig. Der von Deutschland entfesselte Krieg habe «Jahre der Entrechtung, der Erniedrigung und der Zerstörung» gebracht.

Inzwischen habe sich Europa aus einem «Kontinent des Schreckens» in einen «Kontinent der Freiheit und des Friedens» verwandelt. «Deutschlands Partner in Ost und in West haben diesen Weg durch Versöhnungsbereitschaft geebnet. Sie haben uns Deutschen die Hand zur Versöhnung ausgestreckt. Wir haben sie voller Dankbarkeit ergriffen.»
Merkel hob vor mehreren Staats- und Regierungschefs hervor, dass der Weg Europas zur Freiheit erst mit dem Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs vollendet worden sei. Gleichzeitig wies sie ausser der Rolle Polens auch die Verdienste Ungarns und der damaligen Tschechoslowakei hervor. Aufruf zur Versöhnung >>> sda/dpa/afp/ap | Dienstag, 02. September 2009

Hitlers Wahnsinn reisst Europa ins Verderben: Der deutsche Überfall auf Polen als Ende aller Friedens-Illusionen
NZZ ONLINE: Vor genau 70 Jahren, am 1. September 1939, marschierten deutsche Truppen in Polen ein und rissen damit den Zweiten Weltkrieg vom Zaun. Zu spät hatten die Westmächte versucht, Nazideutschland vor diesem Schritt zurückzuhalten. Hitlers Grössenwahn verwandelte die Welt in ein Trümmerfeld, auf dem Millionen von Toten zurückblieben.

Am 1. September 1939 überfiel Nazideutschland das Nachbarland Polen und entfesselte damit den Zweiten Weltkrieg. Mit dem deutschen Einmarsch brach die nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg mühsam errichtete Ordnung von Versailles zusammen. Das System kollektiver Sicherheit, das die friedliche Koexistenz zwischen den alten Mächten und den neuen Staaten Europas hätte garantieren sollen, war gescheitert. Allzu divergierende Interessen und unvereinbare Traditionen hatten es geschwächt, und die skrupellose Machtpolitik des deutschen Diktators Hitler hatte ihm in wohlberechneten Schritten den Todesstoss versetzt. Vor allem Grossbritannien und Frankreich waren nicht willens gewesen, Hitler Einhalt zu gebieten. Dieser hatte sich überdies eine Woche zuvor die Komplizenschaft des andern grossen Massenmörders sichern können, des sowjetischen Despoten Stalin. Polen war für beide eine begehrte Beute. Politik durch Aggression und Betrug >>> de. | Dienstag, 01. September 2009

La Libye d’avant Kadhafi
LE TEMPS: A la fin de 1951, la Libye devenait une monarchie indépendante. Rappel d’une naissance difficile après la colonisation italienne

L’axe italo-libyen. La Tripolitaine et la Cyrénaïque, contrairement aux autres provinces ottomanes d’Afrique du Nord, sont demeurées sous la domination de l’empire jusqu’en 1911. C’est l’année où les Italiens, qui entretenaient des relations commerciales avec la Libye depuis plus d’un siècle, déclarent la guerre à Constantinople. Ils obtiennent en 1912 les provinces susmentionnées et le Dodécanèse. Avec l’arrivée au pouvoir de Mussolini commence alors une longue période de colonisation et de résistance. >>> Olivier Perrin | Mardi 01 Septembre 2009

Archives du Temps: 1969, la fin du régime royaliste en Libye
LE TEMPS: Il y a quarante ans, le 1er septembre, l’armée renversait le roi Idriss à Tripoli

« Le renversement de la monarchie et du roi Idriss qui l’incarnait depuis l’indépendance du pays officiellement proclamée le 24 décembre 1951 s’inscrit dans le lent processus de désagrégation des régimes royalistes du monde arabe. […] Pour la Libye, ce renversement marque la fin d’une époque.

Profitant de l’absence du roi qui, âgé de 79 ans, suivait depuis le 12 août une cure en Turquie, l’armée a pris le pouvoir à Tripoli, faisant du même coup de la Libye le dix-huitième Etat africain à régime militaire. La soudaineté du putsch, que rien ne laissait prévoir, a surpris l’étranger et plus particulièrement l’Organisation de l’unité africaine réunie en session ministérielle à Addis-Abeba. On pensait en effet généralement que de profondes modifications interviendraient dans les structures et l’organisation du pays à la mort d’Idriss, mais on n’imaginait pas que celles-ci se produiraient de manière si brutale et surtout si rapide. Les officiers qui en ont pris l’initiative ont voulu accélérer le cours des choses et la situation au Moyen-Orient, qui se dégrade de jour en jour, n’est sans doute pas étrangère à ce coup d’accélérateur. […] >>> Michel Barde | Mardi 02 September 1969

Gordon Brown Did Not Want Lockerbie Bomber to Die in Jail, Minute Reveals
Minutes of the meeting also show the pressure exerted by the Libyan government. Image: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: A Foreign Office minister told Libya in February this year that Gordon Brown did not want the Lockerbie bomber to die in jail, according to an official minute released today.

Abdulati Alobidi, the Libyan Minister for Europe, told how he had warned Bill Rammell, a Foreign Office Minister visiting Tripoli, that Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi should not be allowed to die in a Scottish prison.

"Mr Alobidi confirmed that he had reiterated to Mr Rammell that the death of Mr Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK," the note released by the Scottish government said.

"Mr Alobidi went on to say that Mr Rammell had stated that neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Secretary would want Mr Megrahi to pass away in prison but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of the Scottish ministers."

The note relates to a meeting in March between Scottish officials and a Libyan government delegation including Mr Alobidi. >>> Philippe Naughton | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Officer Does Not Like Anti-Obama Poster: "It Ain't [America] No More, OK?"


Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>

Muammar Gaddafi Hailed as 'Knight' of Revolution as Celebrations Kick Off
THE GUARDIAN: Dazzling display at airbase launches 40th anniversary tributes to Libyan leader

Part of the spectacular celebrations marking Muammar Gaddafi's 40 years in power which began early today. Photo: The Guardian
Libya's celebrations marking Muammar Gaddafi's four decades in power got off to a spectacular start this morning with a colourful extravaganza lauding his achievements as the heroic "knight" of the country's revolution.

Dancing, singing, marching and feats of horsemanship were combined in a dazzling display at Tripoli's Mitiga airbase in the early hours of the morning in a lavish tribute to the one man who will forever be identified with the coup on 1 September 1969.

Gaddafi, in mottled beige suit and matching cap, sat in the centre of a dais under a striped awning as African, Arab and other VIPs were disgorged from black limousines and ranked according to their importance before the show began after the Ramadan iftar meal.

Green laser beams cut through the humid night sky to announce the "Knight and Men" salute to "a great leader, a maker of great events" – first in Arabic and then English, French, Italian and Spanish for the many foreign guests.

A troupe of Italian girls took part in the dancing sequences, but the horse riders were Libyans, men and women in tribal dress, strutting and cantering across the Astroturf repeatedly to shake their fists and hail the man on the podium. >>> Ian Black in Tripoli | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Muammar Gaddafi Hits Out on 40th Anniversary of Libyan Coup
THE TELEGRAPH: Libyan celebrations of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s four decades in power saw the strongman lash out at Western governments he has wooed for six years.

Col Gaddafi dedicated the first spectacular mass performance of a week of celebration to his adopted daughter Hannah, who was killed in an American air raid on Tripoli in 1986. The events appear designed to inflame tensions with America and Britain, after several years of steadily improving relations.

The British embassy said a charge d'affair would attend tonight's performances in the absence of an ambassador. The guests are to watch a military parade comprising detachments of African, Arab and European troops this evening.

Some 80 aircraft, including two French Rafale jets, are to carry out a fly-past over the streets of Tripoli where the security services have imposed draconian security controls, closing the main roads and only allowing specially screened vehicles to pass checkpoints.

Tripoli's streets have been decked with thousands of multicoloured lights, and hundreds of Gaddafi portraits and placards paying tribute to the leader, including one saying: "May Glory Be Yours, Oh Maker of Glories." >>> Damien McElroy in Tripoli | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Telegraph Picture Gallery:
Colonel Gaddafi: 40 years since the bloodless coup that brought him to power >>>

Chine: La dissidente ouïghoure Rebiya Kadeer prête à discuter avec Pékin
LE POINT: La dissidente ouïghoure Rebiya Kadeer, accusée par Pékin d'avoir fomenté des violences en juillet dans le Xinjiang, s'est dite prête mardi à discuter directement avec les autorités chinoises de l'amélioration du sort de sa communauté et de son auto-détermination.

"Je suis prête à discuter avec les autorités chinoises des moyens de surmonter les erreurs politiques des 60 dernières années et oeuvrer en vue de réformes politiques", a-t-elle déclaré devant la commission des droits de l'Homme du Parlement européen à Bruxelles, où elle était invitée pour la première fois officiellement.

"Il est temps que le gouvernement chinois s'assoie pour discuter avec moi, avec sa sainteté le dalaï lama et tous les dirigeants des communautés chinoises non Hans (l'ethnie majoritaire en Chine, ndlr), qui ont été calomniés, emprisonnés et diffamés simplement parce qu'ils sont en désaccord avec la politique officielle", a-t-elle dit.

"Je souhaite que les autorités chinoises réduisent la tension au Turkistan oriental", le nom donné par les Ouïghours au Xinjiang, en engageant "un vrai dialogue avec les représentants du peuple ouïghours à l'étranger. >>> AFP | Mardi 01 Septembre 2009

L'incendie double de volume et menace Los Angeles
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: CALIFORNIE | Après avoir doublé de volume en l’espace de 24 heures, le violent incendie de forêt qui fait rage dans la banlieue nord-est de Los Angeles continue, tôt ce mardi matin, de menacer la métropole elle-même.

Les flammes ont déjà détruit 53 maisons et en menacent 12.000 autres alors que quelques habitants ont commencé à regagner leurs maisons rendues à l’état de cendres.

Pour l’heure, le manque de vent empêche le feu de progresser vers les banlieues densément peuplée du nord-est de Los Angeles, selon les services forestiers américains. «Je ne suis pas très optimiste mais nos pompiers vont faire tout ce qu’ils pourront pour empêcher ce feu de provoquer davantage de destruction», a dit lundi soir le commandant Mike Dietrich, du Service des forêts. Zoo évacué >>> AP | Mardi 01 Septembre 2009

Lockerbie Bomber Row: Details of Blair-Gaddafi Meetings Will Not Be Published
THE GUARDIAN: Papers relating to former PM's meetings with Libyan leader will not be among those published by the government this afternoon

Tony Blair, left, and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a historic first meeting in 2004 after Libya had renounced its weapons of mass destruction programe. Photo: The Guardian
Downing Street has confirmed that papers relating to Tony Blair's meeting with the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, will not be among the documents about the Lockerbie bomber being released this afternoon.

The prime minister's spokesman said the government would publish all "relevant" correspondence relating to the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 bombing, this afternoon.

The Foreign Office and the Ministry of Justice are putting documents on their website after 2pm. In Edinburgh the Scottish government will also be releasing its own documents, probably later in the afternoon.

But the papers will not cover Blair's meetings with Gaddafi in 2004 and 2007, which paved the way for a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries, Downing Street said today.

Today David Cameron claimed that Gordon Brown's failure to say whether or not he approved of the release of Megrahi showed that he did not have the leadership skills required of a prime minister. Writing in the Times, the Conservative leader says that having the willingness to express an opinion was "a basic requirement of leadership".

The Tories have condemned the Scottish government's decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds. Brown has said that he was "repulsed" by the way Megrahi received a hero's welcome when he returned to Tripoli, but the prime minister has not said whether or not he approved of the decision to grant Megrahi his liberty.

In his Times article, Cameron says: "Mr Brown should have condemned the decision to release al-Megrahi. At the very least, he should have expressed an opinion. But all we got, day after day, was a wall of silence, finally broken after a long week when Mr Brown declared that he was 'angry' and 'repulsed' at scenes in Tripoli. We all were. But that wasn't the point. People wanted to know what the prime minister thought about the decision to release him in the first place.

"Such candour is a basic requirement of leadership – a quality that once again Mr Brown has demonstrated he lacks." >>> Nicholas Watt and Andrew Sparrow | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Iran: Demonstrant im Gefängnis zu Tode geprügelt
WELT ONLINE: In einem iranischen Gefängnis ist ein 25-jähriger Demonstrant so stark misshandelt worden, dass er an den Folgen starb. Die Behörden hatten als Ursache zunächst eine Hirnhautentzündung angegeben. Im Parlament herrscht Unfrieden über Präsident Ahmedinedschads Kabinett: Zu viele Frauen und Günstlinge sollen Minister werden.

Anders als von den Behörden angegeben, ist ein inhaftierter iranischer Demonstrant nicht an einer Hirnhautentzündung, sondern an den Folgen von Misshandlung gestorben. Wie die halbamtliche Nachrichtenagentur Mehr berichtete, kam ein rechtsmedizinischer Ausschuss zu dem Schluss, dass psychischer Stress, schlechte Haftbedingungen und „zahlreiche Schläge“ für den Tod des 25-jährigen Mohsen Ruholamini verantwortlich waren. Eine Meningitis, die von den Behörden als Todesursache genannt worden war, schlossen die Mediziner aus.

Ruholamini war Anfang Juli bei Protesten gegen die umstrittene Wiederwahl von Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad festgenommen und in das Gefängnis Kahrisak gebracht worden. Nach seiner Verlegung in eine andere Haftanstalt starb der junge Mann. Der oberste geistliche Führer Ayatollah Ali Chamenei ordnete wegen der schlechten Haftbedingungen Ende Juli die Schließung von Kahrisak an. Inzwischen kündigte er auch die Ahndung von „Verbrechen“ gegen Demonstranten an. >>> WON | Dienstag, 01. September 2009

Hitler-Stalin-Pakt: Putins Russland glättet die sowjetische Geschichte
WELT ONLINE: Zum 70. Jahrestags Weltkriegsausbruches zeigt sich, welche aktuelle politische Brisanz die Deutung seiner Geschichte hat. Putins Russland versucht, durch Restauration der sowjetischen Lesart des "Antifaschismus" ehemalige europäische Sowjetrepubliken und Satellitenstaaten – aber auch Westeuropa – einzuschüchtern.

Die Unterzeichnung des deutsch-russischen Nichtangriffspaktes am 24. August 1939. Bild: Welt Online
Putins Russland betreibt mit der Geschichte der Zweiten Weltkriegs aktive Machtpolitik. Zwar hat der Premierminister, der in Wahrheit Russlands eigentlicher Herrscher ist, mit einem Beitrag für die polnische Zeitung „Gazeta Wyborcza" die akute Spannung aus dem Verhältnis zu Polen genommen. Immerhin räumt Putin darin ein, dass es gute Gründe gebe, den Hitler-Stalin-Pakt vom 23. August 1939 zu verurteilen. Er gibt auch zu, dass die Ermordung von etwa 15 000 polnischen Offizieren in Katyn nach der sowjetischen Okkupation Ostpolens, die knapp drei Wochen nach dem deutschen Überfall auf Polen erfolgte, das Konto der Sowjetunion gehen.

Putin macht allerdings auch klar, dass von russischer Seite in Bezug auf die verbrecherischen Folgen des Hitler-Stalin-Paktes über dessen von 1994 stammende Einstufung als „unmoralisch“ durch das russische Parlament keine weiteren Schuldeingeständnisse oder gar Entschuldigungen nötig seien. Dabei hatte der Pakt nicht nur grünes Licht für Hitlers Vernichtungskrieg gegen Polen gegeben. Gemäß einem geheimen Zusatzprotokoll hatte sich die Sowjetunion sowohl Ostpolen als auch die baltischen Staaten Litauen, Lettland und Estland einverleibt und die systematische Liquidierung oder Deportation der Eliten der überfallenen Länder zwecks „Russifizierung“ dieser Nationen betrieben. >>> Von Richard Herzinger | Dienstag, 01. September 2009

Zweiter Weltkrieg: Polen warnt vor Verfälschung der Geschichte
WELT ONLINE: Genau heute vor siebzig Jahren beschoss das deutsche Kriegsschiff "Schleswig-Holstein" das zur Festung ausgebaute polnische Munitionsdepot in Danzig. Polens höchste Repräsentanten haben nun bei der Gedenkfeier zu Beginn des Zweiten Weltkriegs an die Verantwortung Deutschlands erinnert. Sie warnten davor, die Geschichte zu vergessen.

Zum 70. Jahrestag des Beginns des Zweiten Weltkriegs hat der polnische Regierungschef Donald Tusk davor gewarnt, Geschichte zu vergessen oder zu verfälschen. „Ohne aufrichtiges Gedenken werden weder Europa noch Polen oder die Welt jemals in Sicherheit leben können“, sagte Tusk in einer Ansprache auf der Westerplatte bei Danzig (Gdansk).

Dort hatte im Morgengrauen des 1. September 1939 das deutsche Kriegsschiff „Schleswig-Holstein“ das zur Festung ausgebaute polnische Munitionsdepot beschossen. Mit dem Überfall Hitler-Deutschlands begann damals der Zweite Weltkrieg, bei dem rund 50 Millionen Menschen ums Leben kamen. >>> AP/dpa/ks | Dienstag, 01. September 2009

Affaire Libyenne: Otages: Tripoli exige une lourde caution
LE TEMPS: Plus de 430 ’000 francs suisses: selon une source citée par la Radio suisse romande (RSR), c’est le prix demandé par la Libye pour la libération des deux Suisses retenus à Tripoli depuis plus d’un an.

La Libye exige le versement de plus de 430’000 francs suisses de caution pour permettre aux deux Suisses retenus depuis plus d’un an à Tripoli de quitter le pays, selon des «sources proches du dossier, côté suisse» citées mardi par la Radio Suisse Romande (RSR).

Selon les sources de la RSR, «la Libye exige le versement d’une caution de 500.000 dinars libyens (soit 430’000 francs suisses) pour la libération des deux Suisses». >>> AFP | Mardi 01 Septembre 2009

Affaire Kadhafi: La rage et l’humiliation
LE TEMPS: C’est l’histoire d’un conflit qui tourne vite très mal et qui se termine en un cauchemar diplomatique pour la Suisse et deux de ses citoyens pris en otage en Libye

Que se passera-t-il si les deux otages suisses ne sont pas revenus dans une semaine? A cette réponse posée au retour de son voyage controversé à Tripoli, le vendredi 21 août, Hans-Rudolf Merz avait répondu: «Je suis prêt à faire un deuxième voyage pour m’assurer qu’ils rentrent. Et si je n’y arrive pas, s’ils restent bloqués en Libye, alors je perdrai la face.» Le délai d’une semaine est dépassé depuis plusieurs jours. Un autre délai était en passe d’être dépassé lundi soir. Vendredi, le Département des finances affirmait détenir une garantie écrite du premier ministre libyen que les deux Suisses pourraient quitter le pays «avant la fin du mois». >>> D.S. Miéville | Mardi 01 Septembre 2009

Pictured: The Man Who Had His Nose and Ears Cut Off by the Taliban for Daring to Vote
MAIL ONLINE: Lal Mohammad was determined to stand against Taliban threats and exercise his right to vote in Afghanistan's presidential election.

But he now regrets his defiance.

These horrifying pictures show a fearful Mohammad recovering after he was ambushed by Taliban fighters as he walked to a polling station last week.

The 40-year-old farmer was beaten and mutilated. The Taliban cut off his ears and part of his nose in the shocking attack.

The Taliban vowed to disrupt the August 20 vote, threatening reprisals against voters and staging scores of rocket attacks and several bombings across the country on election day.


The threats and violence failed to stop the election from taking place, but they do seem to have hurt turnout in some areas, especially the Taliban heartland in the south.

Mohammad was in pain and in tears as he gave the gruesome account of his ordeal. >>> | Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Top 10 Worst Bible Passages
THE TELEGRAPH: A list of the top 10 worst Biblical verse has been drawn up, which includes approval for sexism, genocide and slavery.

Readers of the humorous Christian website shipoffools.com were asked to submit their 'favourite' worst verses to compile the list, in a light-hearted project called Chapter & Worse.

Topping it was St Paul's advice in 1 Timothy 2:12, in which the saint says: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent."

The extract is often used to justify opposition to women priests.

Next was this worrying verse endorsing genocide, from 1 Samuel 15:3: "This is what the Lord Almighty says ... 'Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.' "

Third was Moses's call to kill witches, in Exodus 22:18: "Do not allow a sorceress to live."

Another gruesome verse to make the list was Psalm 137, which celebrates this terrible revenge: "Happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us / He who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks."

A more controversial inclusion was that of St Paul's thoughts on homosexuality, from Romans 1:27, currently an extremely divisive matter with the Anglican church: "In the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error."

Others on the list included God's test of Abraham in Genesis 22, in which Abraham is made to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice; this endorsement of female subservience in Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to you husbands as to the Lord"; and similar advice for slaves in 1 Peter 2:18: "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel." >>> | Tuesday, September 01, 2009