Paris: Pervert Capital of the World?
THE TELEGRAPH: Our [The Telegraph’s] writer is an expat newly adrift in the French capital - and what a warm welcome she's receiving.

Paris may be the city of love but it is also the capital of perverts. To experience this, you simply need to be female and walk down the street. You’re almost guaranteed to get your daily dose of dirty old men and if you live on the Left Bank, you really don’t need to go far.

In the space of a few weeks, I have been propositioned by at least a dozen men. As I wait to cross the road, at Saint Michel, a man old enough to be my grandfather leans over towards me and whispers seductively in my ear: "Jolie fesses" (nice bum).

They reveal themselves in broad daylight, in public places. Strolling through the Jardin du Luxembourg on a sunny day, surrounded by pushchair-wheeling mothers and playing children, a middle-aged man standing by the open-air public pissoires, is having a quick one off the wrist.

Now you might suppose, or hope, that this is out of the ordinary behaviour yet my eyes are graced by a similar vision just a few days later. A girlfriend is in mid flow describing the "special" dance scene from Sasha Baron Cohen’s latest film, Bruno, when low and behold, we get our own show right there on the Boulevard Saint Germain.

A respectable looking middle-aged man wearing a suit unzips himself right in front of us and pulls it out. Several similar episodes later, I start to think that maybe this is the norm here in Paris. Or is it me? Do I attract "les vieux cochons"?

I question female friends and colleagues and sure enough they all have similar stories to tell. Perhaps it’s simply that Paris is the pervert capital of the world?

What is it that makes Frenchmen feel that they have the right to proposition women half their age and/or flash at them? Is it something they’re eating? Is someone slipping viagra into their foie gras? Is it something cultural? Or is Paris just "une ville excitante"? >>> Emily Rose | Monday, September 14, 2009

Obama accuse des républicains de vouloir torpiller sa présidence
LE MONDE: Aucours de l'émission "60 minutes", sur CBS, dimanche 14 septembre [sic], le président des Etats-Unis, Barack Obama, a accusé le camp républicain de s'opposer à son projet de réforme du système de santé, avec comme seul objectif de torpiller sa présidence.

"Je pense qu'actuellement nous en sommes à un point où certains au sein du Parti républicain pensent que la meilleure chose à faire est simplement de tuer la réforme, que c'est là une bonne politique", a affirmé le président lors de cet entretien enregistré vendredi. Le président américain a assuré qu'en dépit de leurs efforts, il avait suffisamment de soutiens pour faire passer une large réforme d'un système qui perd des flots d'argent et laisse des dizaines de millions d'Américains sans assurance-maladie. "Je crois que nous aurons suffisamment de votes pour faire passer non pas juste une quelconque loi sur la santé, mais une bonne loi sur la santé qui aide le peuple américain, réduise les coûts, permette à long terme de contrôler le déficit [du budget]", a-t-il ajouté. >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP et Reuters | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

60 Minutes Steve Kroft Interviews President Obama on "Healthcare", September 13, 2009
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Bin Laden Warns U.S. on Israel Ties: Website
REUTERS: DUBAI - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned the American people over their government's close ties with Israel in an apparently new audio tape posted on an Islamist website on Monday.

"The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby," Bin Laden's latest tape said.

"The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine."

The message, entitled "A statement to the American people," was around 11 minutes long and was posted a few days after the eighth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify its authenticity but the website often is used by supporters of al Qaeda.

In the tape, the al Qaeda leader said there had been no real change in American policy because U.S. President Barack Obama had retained people like U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates from the administration of former President George W. Bush.

"If you think about your situation well, you will know that the White House is occupied by pressure groups," Bin Laden said.

"Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq -- as Bush claimed -- it (the White House) should have been liberated."

The website had said earlier this month it would soon carry a "present" to Muslims from bin Laden on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. >>> Reporting by Andrew Hammond; editing by Michael Roddy | Monday, September 14, 2009

Latest bin Laden Audio Tape Released
TIMES ONLINE: A new audio tape from Osama bin Laden warning the American people over their government's close ties to Israel has been released by al- Qaeda's media branch, according to a US-based terror monitoring group.

The terror group's As-Sahab Media released a video featuring a still image of bin Laden and a 10 minute long audio statement entitled "A statement to the American people", said the organisation IntelCenter.

The release came two days after the United States marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people.

On the audiotape, bin Laden said that among "some other injustices," US support for Israel motivated Al-Qaeda to launch the 9/11 attacks.

He also stated that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were driven by the pro-Israeli lobby in the White House and corporate interests, not Islamic militants.

"If you think about your situation well, you will know that the White House is occupied by pressure groups," he said, according to IntelCenter.

"Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq - as Bush claimed - it (the White House) should have been liberated."

He also said that Mr Obama's retention of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others from the Bush administration was confirmation of the president's weakness. >>> | Monday, September 14, 2009

In Audio Message, bin Laden Calls Obama 'Powerless'
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: CAIRO -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden described President Barack Obama as "powerless" to stop the war in Afghanistan, and Americans' inability to grasp why the Sept. 11 attacks occurred has "cost you a lot without any result whatsoever."

The remarks by the terrorist leader were released two days after the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that he ordered. Mr. bin Laden typically addresses the American people in a message timed around the Sept. 11 anniversary.

Mr. bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in the mountainous region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, said current White House officials are merely following the strategy of former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney to "promote the previous policies of fear to market the interest of big companies." "Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq -- as Bush claimed -- it [the White House] should have been liberated," he said.

When Mr. Obama became president and retained many of the Bush administration's military leaders, such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "reasonable people knew that Obama is a powerless man who will not be able to end the war as he promised," Mr. bin Laden said.

"If you end the war, so to it," Mr. bin Laden said. "But if it is otherwise, all we will do is continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes." SITE Intelligence Group, a terrorist-monitoring firm, provided a translation of the tape, which was also translated by The Associated Press.

The al Qaeda leader sought to drive home key grievances often voiced in the Arab and Muslim world, where Washington's policies are seen as blatantly favoring Israel at the expense of the rights of Palestinians and other Arabs.

"We have demonstrated and stated many times, for more than two-and-a-half-decades, that the cause of our disagreement with you is your support to your Israeli allies who occupy our land of Palestine," Mr. bin Laden said. >>> Associated Press | Monday, September 14, 2009

If Children Are Taught That Patriotism Is Wrong, Britain’s Very Identity Is At Stake
MAIL ONLINE: One of the most startling aspects of our society at present is the way things that were once considered to be virtues have now become the object of intense disapproval, and vice versa.

A recent survey of teachers by London University's Institute of Education found that some three-quarters of them believed it was their duty to warn their pupils about the dangers of patriotism.

Once upon a time, loving your country enough that you were prepared to die for it was held to be the highest virtue.

Indeed, without patriotism there would be no one serving in the Armed Forces.

For the past 1,000 years, it has given the people of these islands the strength and courage to repel invaders and defeat the enemies of liberty.

Is it not extraordinary that such affection for your country should now be considered so objectionable that children should be told it is positively dangerous?

One teacher said that praising patriotism excluded non-British pupils.

'Patriotism about being British divides groups along racial lines, when we aim to bring pupils to an understanding of what makes us the same.'

But on the contrary, patriotism is what binds us together through a shared sense of belonging and a desire to defend what we all have in common. >>> Melanie Phillips | Monday, September 14, 2009

Mandy Tells Unions: We'll Fight You on Spending Cuts after TUC Chief Predicts 4m Jobless and Riots in the Streets
MAIL ONLINE: Lord Mandelson will today face down union threats of strikes and rioting if there are public spending cuts.

In the most hawkish statement yet from a senior minister on the need for restraint he will say Gordon Brown has decided to stop 'throwing money' at state services.

The Business Secretary, in a major speech, will also insist that the Tories are 'ideologues', hellbent on wrecking the public services.

His intervention comes as union barons raised the spectre of 1980s-style riots if public spending is slashed.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said taking an axe to public services would spark a 'double quick, double dip' recession and push unemployment over four million.

Unemployment could hit 40 per cent in major cities in the North, triggering massive social unrest, he said.

Speaking on the eve of the TUC conference in Liverpool, Mr Barber said: 'Cut the stimulus off and the economy would go into decline again.

'It would take many years before there was any chance of returning to anything like full employment. That would scar for life a whole generation of young people.'

He warned: 'Last time we suffered slash and burn economics we had riots in the streets here.

'I make no prediction that this would happen again, but it would take us back to the days of a deep north-south divide and once again hollow out whole areas of the economy.' >>> Tim Shipman and Kirsty Walker | Monday, September 14, 2009

Editor-At-Large: After Turing, the Shameful Abuse of Gays Goes On
THE INDEPENDENT: It's become fashionable for politicians to say sorry – generally for events they have no control over. It's easier to demonstrate humility for a social injustice that happened more than half a century ago than to admit responsibility for handing Rover cars to a bunch of avaricious buffoons who presided over its demise, resulting in thousands of workers losing their jobs.

Belatedly, Gordon Brown has made a public apology for the "horrifying and utterly unfair" treatment of Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician and code-breaker whose work undoubtedly helped to bring the Second World War to a swifter conclusion, and who made an important contribution to the development of computers.

Turing was gay, and after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952 he was offered chemical castration or a prison sentence. He submitted to the highly controversial medical procedure; however, his criminal record ensured he lost his security clearance and his job. He committed suicide two years later.

There's been a long campaign to clear Turing's name – more than 30,000 people signed a petition – so it's not as if the Prime Minister woke up one day and decided that this repulsive episode in the history of gay-bashing should be publicly atoned for half a century later. In 1999, Time magazine included Turing in its 100 most important people of the 20th century and some campaigners want him to be posthumously knighted.

I'm glad that Brown felt bad about what happened to Turing, but I wonder whether he spends any time considering the ongoing harassment of homosexuals in one of our former colonies, a country millions of Britons visit and one with very close ties to a large number of British citizens. I'm talking about Jamaica, where last week John Terry, a British diplomat, who was made a MBE for services to tourism, was found murdered at home in Montego Bay. A note attached to his body reportedly called him a "batty man", slang for homosexual.

Whether this particular murder was homophobically inspired or not, the context is not encouraging. The attitude of most Jamaicans towards gay men and women is prehistoric – in a survey last year, 70 per cent questioned said they didn't think homosexuals should be entitled to the same rights as other citizens; only 26 per cent disagreed with that. In a recent poll of Jamaicans, 96 per cent were against legalising sex between consenting males. The Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has gone on record saying he would never allow gays in his cabinet. Popular musicians including Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man and Beenie Man have all had hits with lyrics that call for gays to be attacked and killed.

In 2006, Time called Jamaica "the most homophobic place on earth". Prominent gay activists have been murdered and homophobic attacks are routine. Homosexuality itself is not illegal, but sodomy is. Organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have long complained about the treatment of gays in Jamaica, to no avail. >>> Janet Street-Porter | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Executive Pay 'Up 10 Per Cent Despite Crash'
THE INDEPENDENT: The pay of executives at the helm of Britain's top companies rose 10 per cent last year despite their organisations suffering huge losses on the stock market, it emerged today.
The full and part-time directors of the FTSE 100 companies took home more than £1bn between them last year, according to The Guardian's annual survey of boardroom pay.

The directors' salary increases were more than three times the 3.1 per cent average pay rise for ordinary workers in the private sector and more than double the rate of inflation last year.

Their bumper pay hikes came at a time when many of their companies were imposing pay freezes and redundancies on staff in a bid to cut costs.

The survey also revealed that the 10 most highly paid executives together earned £170m last year - up from £140m in 2007.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "The Guardian's analysis shows the breathtaking cynicism involved in a lot of executive pay deals, which are unrelated to either personal or corporate performance and involve people who are very well off helping themselves to larger salaries when private sector wages in many companies are being cut."

The increases in executives' basic pay helped compensate for falls in bonuses related to the performance of their companies.
Overall pay for directors of FTSE companies, including bonuses, fell by an average of 5 per cent, with the average chief executive of a bluechip company now earning a basic salary of £791,000.

But taking into account bonus payments, share awards and the value of perks ranging from cars and drivers to school fees and dental work, the average pay package rises dramatically, the newspaper said.

Nearly a quarter of FTSE chief executives received total 2008 pay packages worth more than £5m, and 22 directors now have basic salaries of more than £1m. >>> Rosamond Hutt, Press Association | Monday, September 14, 2009

Executive Pay Keeps Rising, Guardian Survey Finds
THE GUARDIAN: Full and part-time directors of FTSE 100 shared between them more than £1bn

Bart Becht, the chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, was rewarded with £36.8m in pay, bonuses, perks and share incentive schemes. Photo: The Guardian
Executives at Britain's top companies saw their basic salaries leap 10% last year, despite the onset of the worst global recession in decades, in which their companies lost almost a third of their value amid a record decline in the FTSE.

The Guardian's annual survey of boardroom pay reveals that the full- and part-time directors of the FTSE 100, the premier league of British business, shared between them more than £1bn.

Bonus payouts were lower, but the basic salary hikes were more than three times the 3.1% average pay rise for ordinary workers in the private sector. The big rise in directors' basic pay – more than double the rate of inflation last year – came as many of their companies were imposing pay freezes on staff and starting huge redundancy programmes to slash costs.

The Guardian data also shows that a coterie of elite bosses at the helm of multinational corporations are seeing their overall pay packets soar ever higher. The 10 most highly paid executives earned a combined £170m last year – up from £140m in 2007. Five years ago, the top 10 banked some £70m.

The Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, said: "The Guardian's analysis shows the breathtaking cynicism involved in a lot of executive pay deals, which are unrelated to either personal or corporate performance and involve people who are very well off helping themselves to larger salaries when private sector wages in many companies are being cut." >>> Julia Finch and Simon Bowers | Monday, September 14, 2009

Vladimir Poutine prépare son retour au Kremlin
LE FIGARO: Le premier ministre russe évoque sa candidature à la présidentielle de 2012 à la place de Medvedev.

Vladimir Poutine vient de dévoiler, plus nettement que jamais, son intention de se réinstaller au Kremlin au lendemain de la prochaine élection présidentielle, prévue en 2012. À l'aise et souriant, Vladimir Poutine, qui s'exprimait vendredi devant un parterre de journalistes et experts internationaux dans sa résidence de Novo-Ogarevo, près de Moscou, a démontré qu'il tenait fermement en main les rênes du pouvoir, son avenir, et celui de… Dmitri Medvedev.

Le premier ministre a rappelé qu'il était l'auteur du partage du pouvoir ayant permis à Dmitri Medvedev d'arriver à la présidence en 2008, et qu'il saurait, le moment venu, rééditer l'opération. «En 2008, y a-t-il eu concurrence ?», a-t-il lancé. «En 2012, il n'y aura pas de concurrence non plus. Selon la réalité du moment, nous ferons une analyse et nous prendrons une décision», a précisé Vladimir Poutine, assurant : «Nous nous mettrons d'accord parce que nous sommes du même sang et sur la même longueur d'onde.» Les critiques de Medvedev >>> Thierry Portes | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Comment Ben Laden échappe à la CIA
Oussama Ben Laden en avril 1998, en Afghanistan. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Pour échapper aux postes avancés de la CIA, le chef d'al-Qaida sait jouer de l'hospitalité pachtoune.

Pourquoi n'a-t-on toujours pas retrouvé Oussama Ben Laden, l'homme le plus recherché de la planète ? Au dire des services de renseignement occidentaux présents à Kaboul, il se cache dans les montagnes reculées du Waziristan, zone tribale pakistanaise frontalière de l'Afghanistan.

Le «cheikh» ne reste jamais très longtemps au même endroit. Il se déplace avec un tout petit nombre de gardes du corps, habillé comme n'importe quel paysan pachtoun local du Waziristan. Lorsqu'il aborde un nouveau village, il s'assoit avec le chef de la tribu, et s'arrange pour lui offrir, sans l'offenser, un généreux cadeau en numéraire pour l'entretien de sa mosquée. Il devient alors l'hôte de la tribu, intouchable selon le pashtounwali, le code d'honneur ancestral des Pachtouns.

S'il venait à l'idée d'un habitant de chercher à le dénoncer pour toucher la prime de 25 millions de dollars, ce dernier n'aurait de toute façon personne à qui rapporter l'information. Dans ces zones tribales autonomes, il n'y a jamais eu le moindre poste de police, du temps des Britanniques comme du temps des Pakistanais.

Dans les principales villes du Waziristan (Banna, Miramshah, etc.), la CIA a installé des minibases avancées, truffées de technologie, dans des maisons anodines, gardées en permanence par des hommes de l'ISI, le tout-puissant service secret militaire pakistanais. Les agents américains ne sortent jamais de ces bases secrètes, passant leurs journées à décrypter les interceptions téléphoniques, à scruter les images aériennes envoyées par les drones, à débriefer les espions pachtouns dépêchés sur le terrain par l'ISI. >>> Renaud Girard, envoyé spécial du Figaro à Kaboul | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Israel ohne Kompromissbereitschaft bei Siedlungsbau: Netanyahu in Kairo mit Mubarak zusammengetroffen
NZZ ONLINE: Der Konflikt um den Bau von israelischen Siedlungen in palästinensischen Gebieten bleibt festgefahren. Auch der US-Nahostgesandte George Mitchell war am Sonntag bei einer neuen Gesprächsrunde mit der israelischen Führung in den umstrittenen Punkten erfolglos.

Nach dem Gespräch mit Israels Präsident Shimon Peres sagte Mitchell, bisher sei in mehreren wichtigen Punkten noch keine Einigung erreicht worden, aber es werde schwer daran gearbeitet. Peres war nach einem Zusammenbruch am Samstag erst kurz vor dem Treffen aus dem Spital entlassen worden.

Der israelische Ministerpräsident Benjamin Netanyahu sagte nach seiner Zusammenkunft mit Mitchell: «Es gibt immer noch genügend Arbeit zu tun.» In einigen Punkten habe man Fortschritte gemacht, doch es gebe auch Fragen, bei denen man nicht weitergekommen sei.

Während der wöchentlichen Kabinettssitzung in Jerusalem betonte Netanyahu, Israel behindere den Friedensprozess nicht und sei bereits «morgen» zur Aufnahme neuer Friedensgespräche bereit. Netanyahu in Kairo >>> sda/Reuters/afp/dpa | Montag, 14. September 2009

Harris Tweed Maker Drops 'Scottish' Marketing Over Lockerbie Release
THE TELEGRAPH: The biggest manufacturer of Harris tweed has dropped the word "Scottish" from its marketing campaign in America amid fears of a consumer backlash over the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

Harris Tweed Hebrides said it had to “de-Scottishify” the product after receiving feedback that sales could suffer.

The company, whose chairman, Brian Wilson, a former government minister, believes it was a mistake to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, has removed references to Scotland and Scottish imagery from its promotional material.

Instead, the firm plans to use a neutral image of a model in a tweed frock coat reclining on a couch.

Mark Hogarth, the company's creative director, said it had decided to focus on the brand's island heritage rather than its Scottish credentials ahead of the launch of its fashion collection in New York next month.

He said that he was forced to rethink the marketing campaign because of the anti-Scottish backlash that followed the release of Megrahi, 57, who is terminally ill, last month.

“We are not going to promote ourselves as a Scottish company as we would previously have done,” said Mr Hogarth.

“From everyone we spoke to in the US, the feeling came back that a serious mistake had been made in releasing Megrahi.

“It really wasn't seen as a British decision in the media there, but a Scottish one. While in Scotland and in the UK as a whole there may be a sense of ambivalence about Megrahi's guilt, in the US they are very much as one.

“We have been getting a lot of feedback and we have had to de-Scottishify the image of the brand. If he had not been released we would not have altered anything. >>> Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Iran Snubs Barack Obama's Nuclear Talks
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran has dealt a blow to one of President Barack Obama's most ambitious diplomatic initiatives by dismissing demands to put its nuclear programme at the heart of direct talks with the United States.

Less than 48 hours after Washington and its allies reluctantly accepted an offer of face-to-face negotiations from Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, insisted that the topic of greatest interest to the West would not be on the table.

"From the Iranian nation's viewpoint, the nuclear case is closed," he told Britain's ambassador to Tehran, Simon Gass. "Having peaceful nuclear technology is Iran's lawful and definite right and Iranians will not negotiate with anyone over their undeniable rights."

In a rambling five-page document presented to western diplomats last week, Iran proposed negotiations on a wide array of economic and regional security issues but made no mention of its nuclear activities.

After responding with initial coolness, the United States defied expectations by taking up the offer to negotiate directly for the first time since Mr Obama came to power. The US president had promised during his election campaign to hold unconditional talks with Iran. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Sunday, September 13, 2009

This Corrupt, Craven, Unprincipled Government!
MAIL ONLINE: Ministers were branded ‘corrupt’ this evening for agreeing a secret deal with Libya that will make it impossible to bring the killer of a British policewoman to justice in the UK.

In a new favour for the Gaddafi regime, the Foreign Office agreed to drop their demands to try the murderer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, who was gunned down outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984.

The deal was signed off by Justice Secretary Jack Straw three years ago, when he was Foreign Secretary -- at a time when Britain was negotiating trade and oil deals with the regime in Tripoli.

A year later, Mr Straw also agreed to include the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, in a bid to preserve a lucrative oil contract between BP and the regime in Tripoli.

Details of the secret deal sparked claims that the government is letting the Libyans ‘get away with murder’.

Ministers stand accused of misleading the family of WC Fletcher, who have campaigned for 25 years to have her killer handed over for trial in Britain.

Queenie Fletcher, Yvonne’s mother said yesterday she had not been told about a deal. ‘They should have informed us. We were never told they’d agreed to this. No, never.’ Government's secret deal with Gaddafi saved killer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher from UK trial >>> Tim Shipman and Stephen Wright | Sunday, September 13, 2009

The New Politics of Decline
THE SPECTATOR: Trevor Kavanagh says that Britain’s pitiful standing on the world stage is not just about al-Megrahi or the recession, but is the result of Labour’s disastrous mismanagement. Everything now depends on Cameron

For the incurable optimist — of which there are no doubt several in the Downing Street bunker — there are signs that Britain is starting to recover. The stock market is booming once more, confidence is returning to the housing market and the recession may soon be over. Is it possible Gordon Brown really has saved the world — even if it is too late to save himself? Or, as Labour used to warble, might things only get better?

If only. The bleak truth for UK plc is that after 12 years of stupefying Labour incompetence, the worst is yet to come. Britain is once again on the slide towards the margins of economic influence and military clout. We have the worst public finances of any comparable western economy. The British Chambers of Commerce warned this week that the UK faces a ‘grim’ economic future, with a high risk of a relapse. Unemployment is not just spreading but setting like concrete for years to come. And our shabbily treated troops, once a match for the world’s best, will soon be driven humiliatingly out of Afghanistan.

This is not the slow, managed decline of an empire looking for a role. It is a sudden, embarrassing discovery that we don’t count on the world stage any more. Thanks to our lumbering Prime Minister, we have been given the unwelcome gift to see ourselves as others see us. And it ain’t pretty.

I am writing this from New York, whose citizens once saw Britain as a staunch economic, diplomatic and military ally. It is only a few short years since they hailed Tony Blair as a 9/11 hero and awarded him the Congressional Medal he was so embarrassed to collect. That was the high-water mark for New Labour.

Today, thanks to the Oil-for-Megrahi fiasco, we are a bitter disappointment to America. Newspapers from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Daily News are still running every fresh turn in this tawdry story.

It was perfectly summed up by a devastatingly editorial in the News: ‘Gordon Brown has given grounds to believe today’s British are a cowardly, unprincipled, amoral and duplicitous lot. Because he is all of those.’ Those are cruelly exaggerated words, but they put the finger on a single identifiable cause of Britain’s collapse. The new decline in Britain’s standing on the world stage is not just about Lockerbie. Nor is it even the decision to trade a convicted mass murderer for Libya’s vast oil reserves. It is about the shifty, furtive and ultimately disastrous management of a country which, in 1997, had every conceivable chance of becoming great again.

Labour strode to power with a huge Commons majority, the goodwill of the British people and the prospect of at least two terms in office. For the first time, Labour could ride an economy which had just taken off on a long and sustainable boom.

Tony Blair could have done one or two truly great things. His government had the cash and clout to transform a welfare state in which almost three million were on incapacity benefit. Instead, it left them to rot while importing migrants to fill almost all of the three million new jobs created. It could have performed drastic but urgently needed surgery on the lumbering National Health Service. Instead, it poured truckloads of taxpayers’ money into a giant bureaucracy, entrenching inefficiencies that will cost us up to £40 billion a year, every year. >>> Trevor Kavanagh | Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Islamization of Anti-Semitism
YNET NEWS: Oslo Accords, instead of curbing anti-Semitism, had opposite effect

Anti-Semitism infiltrated the Islamic world in the 19th century as Muslims came into contact with the Christian West. The founding of the State of Israel intensified the power and importance of anti-Semitism ideas in the Middle East. The Oslo Accords, instead of diminishing anti-Semitism, actually seemed to have had the opposite effect. Israel had become the agent of Western imperialism

Soon after the September 11 terror attack on the twin towers, Sheikh Muhammad al-Gamei'a, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque of New York City suddenly decided to return to Egypt. In his role as a New York Imam, al- Gamei'a had participated in scores of interfaith meetings together with Christian and Jewish clergy, and had been a genteel presence, expressing moderate views. That is why, a few days after his hasty departure, friends and colleagues in New York City were astounded to hear of an interview with al-Gamei'a in which he accused "the Jews" of having engineered the September 11 attacks in order to discredit Islam.

The interview, which had been posted on the unofficial web-site of Al Azhar, the Islamic world's premier institute of higher learning, revealed a world view based on the notorious "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" read with Islamic-tinted glasses. Al-Gamei'a claimed that Americans "knew very well that the Jews were behind this ugly act," but could not talk about it openly because "the Zionists control everything, the political decision-making, the big media organizations, and the financial and economic institutions. The Jewish element is as Allah described it," he continued, "They disseminate corruption in the land..." They have always unjustly broken agreements, murdered the prophets and betrayed the faith... all the time, disseminating corruption, heresy, homosexuality, alcoholism, drugs. They do this to impose their hegemony and colonialism on the world."

For al-Gamei'a, anti-Semitism was not merely an intuitive distrust of Jews, but a fully fleshed out theory of history. "These people always seek out the superpower of the generation and develop a symbiotic relationship with it. Before this, they rode on the back of England and on the back of the French empire. After that, they rode on the back of Germany. But Hitler annihilated them, because they betrayed him and violated their contract with him."

Al-Gamei'a's "proof" that the Jews were behind the attacks was an odd mixture of Arab feelings of inferiority and inflated estimations of Jewish power: "If we look closely at the incident we find that only the Jews are capable of planning such an incident, because it was planned with great precision of which Osama bin Laden or any other Islamic organization or intelligence apparatus is incapable." Al-Gamei'a's turn to a virulent form of anti-Semitism upon his return to Egypt is far from an isolated occurrence. >>> Micha Odenheimer | Friday, September 11, 2009

Call Obama's Bluff
YNET NEWS – OPINION: Confronting Obama menace critical for Israel’s future, Bibi's real test

President Barack Hussein Obama has threatened dire consequences if Israel refuses his demands to prevent Jews from building in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

His plan is yet another disastrous form of Israeli unilateral withdrawal.

This unprecedented challenge to Israel's sovereignty and strategic needs must be met firmly. At stake are not only simple human needs, but the integrity of the State of Israel and a 60-year old alliance.

Israel is an American ally, not an enemy; a partner in the struggle against terrorism, not a perpetrator. Did Obama forget? Is he confused, or didn't he ever know?

Whose side is he on?

Confronting the Obama menace is difficult, but essential; it's critical for Israel's future.

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu capitulates, he will undermine Israel's independence and set a dangerous precedent: not if Israel's national and strategic interests will be sacrificed, but when.

That will simply invite even more pressure for Israel to surrender to sworn enemies.

Paradoxically, it's not weakness and appeasement that have deterred Israel's opponents, but a strong defense based on security needs and realistic assessments of consequences.

An imposed dictated "solution" that does not resolve core issues and is unacceptable to those dedicated to violence has never succeeded - ever - without their total and complete destruction. Policy of defeatism >>> Moshe Dann | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Britain in Moral Crisis, Warns Bishop of Rochester
THE TELEGRAPH: The Bishop of Rochester has warned that Britain is facing a moral crisis.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali said that the rejection of Christian values is having a damaging effect on the country.

Speaking at his farewell service, he expressed particular concern at the breakdown of the family and at growing calls for the legalisation of assisted suicide.

Although he is stepping down as bishop, he vowed to continue to speak out on important issues and to fight for a return to Christian principles.

"I believe that the Christian faith is necessary for the life of our country," he said.

"We need to get away from the constant making of moral decisions by opinion poll.

"We are facing a crisis about affirming the dignity of human purpose.

"It may be at the earliest stage of life or as we are hearing more and more, at the later stages of life."

He added: "It is obvious to many people that the weakening of family life is responsible for what we face on our streets, in our classrooms and in homes. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones | Sunday, September 13, 2009

How Islamist Gangs Use Internet to Track, Torture and Kill Iraqi Gays
THE OBSERVER: Iraqi militias infiltrate internet gay chatrooms to hunt their quarry – and hundreds are feared to be victims

Sitting on the floor, wearing traditional Islamic clothes and holding an old notebook, Abu Hamizi, 22, spends at least six hours a day searching internet chatrooms linked to gay websites. He is not looking for new friends, but for victims.

"It is the easiest way to find those people who are destroying Islam and who want to dirty the reputation we took centuries to build up," he said. When he finds them, Hamizi arranges for them to be attacked and sometimes killed.

Hamizi, a computer science graduate, is at the cutting edge of a new wave of violence against gay men in Iraq. Made up of hardline extremists, Hamizi's group and others like it are believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 130 gay Iraqi men since the beginning of the year alone.

The deputy leader of the group, which is based in Baghdad, explained its campaign using a stream of homophobic invective. "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practise such sexual depraved acts," he told the Observer. "We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."

The violence against Iraqi gays is a key test of the government's ability to protect vulnerable minority groups after the Americans have gone.

Dr Toby Dodge, of London University's Queen Mary College, believes that the violence may be a consequence of the success of the government of Nouri al-Maliki. "Militia groups whose raison d'être was security in their communities are seeing that function now fulfilled by the police. So their focus has shifted to the moral and cultural sphere, reverting to classic Islamist tactics of policing moral boundaries," Dodge said.

Homosexuality was not criminalised under Saddam Hussein – indeed Iraq in the 1960s and 1970s was known for its relatively liberated gay scene. Violence against gays started in the aftermath of the invasion in 2003. Since 2004, according to Ali Hali, chairman of the Iraqi LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) group, a London-based human-rights group, a total of 680 have died in Iraq, with at least 70 of those in the past five months. The group believes the figures may be higher, as most cases involving married men are not reported. Seven victims were women. According to Hali, Iraq has become "the worst place for homosexuals on Earth". >>> Afif Sarhan and Jason Burke | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sunday Afternoon Chill-out: Stevie Wonder
I Just Called to Say I Love You


Part-time Lover


As

Obamas Präsidentschaft: Reden statt regieren
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Regierungszeit des 44. Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten beginnt erst jetzt richtig. Bisher war alles nur Vorgeplänkel. Und es waren vor allem Versprechen Barack Obamas, die es noch einzulösen gilt. Das Gefangenenlager Guantánamo Bay etwa soll bis zum 22. Januar 2010 geschlossen werden. Das ist wegen des Streits über die Unterbringung der noch 229 Gefangenen sowie über deren Verfahren vor Militärtribunalen oder Zivilgerichten schon jetzt ein kaum noch fristgerecht zu erreichendes Ziel. Oder die Welt soll von der Geißel des drohenden Atomtods befreit werden - so will es eine am Freitag dem Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen vorgelegte Resolution Washingtons, die nach dem Willen des Weißen Hauses am 24. September in New York bei einer von Obama geleiteten Ratssitzung angenommen werden soll.

Ob Obamas Präsidentschaft erfolgreich sein wird, wird indes an Zahlen abgelesen werden: Um wie viel Prozent wächst die amerikanische Volkswirtschaft? Wie hoch sind Defizit, Schuldenberg und Arbeitslosenrate? Wie viel kostet die Amerikaner ihr Gesundheitswesen, und wie viele fallen dennoch - unversichert oder unterversichert - durch das großmaschige Netz in den finanziellen Ruin oder ins Grab? Wie viele Menschen werden im Irak, in Afghanistan und anderswo auf der Welt Tag um Tag von islamistischen Terroristen ermordet, und wie viele amerikanische Soldaten verlieren im Kampf gegen die Gesinnungsmörder ihr Leben?

Obama hat seit seinem Amtsantritt am 20. Januar etwa 120 Reden gehalten - vor allem längere, vor kleinem und vor großem Publikum, für Radio, Fernsehen und Internet. Seine vorerst letzte monumentale Rede war jene zur heftig umkämpften Gesundheitsreform vom Mittwoch vor beiden Kammern des Kongresses; gewöhnlich wenden sich amerikanische Präsidenten nur im Januar mit ihrer "Rede zur Lage der Nation" an die im Plenum des Repräsentantenhauses versammelten Abgeordneten und Senatoren. Und auch seither hat Obama nicht geschwiegen: Bis zum Wochenende kamen Reden bei Gewerkschaftsversammlungen und Demonstrationen hinzu. Bald wird auch die ganze Welt - beim G-20-Gipfel in Pittsburgh und bei der UN-Vollversammlung in New York - noch mehr von Obama hören.

Mancher fragt sich, ob der Präsident vor lauter Reden auch noch zum Regieren kommt. Und mancher glaubt, er habe auch nach der Abreise von George W. Bush aus der Hauptstadt mehr vom Kandidaten Obama gesehen und gehört als vom Präsidenten Obama. >>> Von Matthias Rüb, Washington | Samstag, 12. September 2009

We Need to Confront Islamist Extremists, Not Conciliate Them
THE TELEGRAPH: The conviction of the terrorist bomb plotters shows that we need to confront the Islamists, and show that being Muslim and Western are indeed compatible, says Ed Husain.

On July 7, 2005, my sister missed one of the trains that was attacked by the bombers by four minutes. I was living in Saudi Arabia, but returned to Britain to help this country better understand why so many young activist Muslims were becoming extremists – as I briefly had. The convictions this week of three men who wanted to attack transatlantic flights show why that task remains as urgent as ever.

Organised hatred, separatism, and extremism were present in Britain's cities and campuses long before July 7, often cloaked in the guise of moderation. But very few people understood the complexities of extremist ideology, while many politicians had Muslim constituents they did not want to upset.

The toughest task has been convincing Muslim leaders of the need to end denial, and stop playing politics with Islamist extremism. At a recent meeting with a Muslim grandee, I was stunned to learn that he thought the British government had carried out the July 7 bombings, to give it an excuse to spy on us.

It beggars belief how many Muslim organisations have claimed that by founding Quilliam, a counter-extremist think tank which argues that there is no inherent contradiction between being Muslim and being Western, I have somehow sold out, become a patsy of the intelligence services.

I have very little idea about the espionage industry. But what have we got to hide? Why are we so worried? We should be proud citizens in a liberal democracy, committed to protecting our country from terrorist attacks just like any other crimes. Instead, I am attacked on websites, newspapers and Islamic television channels in the crudest terms.

Nor are our politicians standing up to the threat. When Quilliam's researchers revealed that Abu Qatada, "al-Qaeda's ambassador to Europe", was smuggling propaganda letters from inside a British prison, the then justice minister turned up on the BBC to dismiss our findings and say such work was "unhelpful". Boris Johnson recently called for greater understanding and tolerance of Islam at the East London Mosque – the same place where I and many others were introduced to radical Islamist ideology, and whose Saudi-trained imam is a signatory to a document that many say calls for attacks on the Royal Navy. >>> Ed Husain* | Saturday, September 12, 2009

*Ed Husain is co-founder of the Quilliam Foundation and author of 'The Islamist' (Penguin)

Quilliam >>>

Jihad: The Somalia Connection
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Numbers of young Britons heading for war-torn African country have soared

British intelligence chiefs have targeted war-torn Somalia as the next major challenge to their efforts to repel Islamic terrorism, after scores of youths left the UK for "jihad training" in the failed African state. MI5 bosses have warned ministers that the number of young Britons travelling to Somalia to fight in a "holy war", or train in terror training camps, has soared in recent years as the country has emerged as an alternative base for radical Islamic groups including al-Qa'ida.

The Independent on Sunday understands that the number of young Britons following the trail every year has more than quadrupled to at least 100 since 2004 – and analysts warn that the true figure (which would include those who enter the country overland) will be much higher.

However, the British authorities are particularly concerned about the number of people with no direct family connection to Somalia who are travelling to fight and train there. The diversity suggests Somalia is flourishing as a training ground for radical British Muslims, who could join the local terrorist militia al-Shabaab ("the youth"), go on to join conflicts including the Afghan campaign, or return home to pose a security threat to the UK. >>> Brian Brady | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Proche-Orient : «On vit mieux» en Cisjordanie
LE TEMPS: Chantiers par dizaines, magasins de luxe, cafés branchés: le territoire palestinien vit un certain boom économique, même si le chômage demeure encore élevé

Pour l’heure, Rawabi n’est encore qu’un rêve. Pourtant, dans moins d’un mois, c’est sur cet espace de 630 hectares situé à 9 kilomètres au nord de Ramallah que débutera l’érection de la première ville moderne de Palestine. Un projet de un milliard de dollars qui devrait, à terme, permettre à 40 000 Palestiniens de s’installer dans des logements modernes.

Bien sûr, la ville nouvelle ne s’adresse qu’aux familles aisées. Mais il n’en manque pas dans les territoires contrôlés par l’Autorité palestinienne (40% de la Cisjordanie). Ces derniers mois, cette bourgeoisie gravitant autour des institutions de l’AP a d’ailleurs abandonné ses scrupules et n’hésite plus à afficher son opulence.

Il suffit de se promener dans le centre de Ramallah pour constater la multiplication de chantiers. Outre deux centres commerciaux à l’européenne, la municipalité accueillera bientôt son premier immeuble de bureaux de 40 étages.

Alors qu’un ouvrier palestinien gagne environ 350 euros par mois, on trouve désormais à Ramallah des boutiques de luxe proposant les mêmes produits qu’à Paris ou Genève. Habillée à l’européenne et avec des vêtements griffés, une vendeuse explique que les ceintures Dolce & Gabana à 700 euros pièce «se sont vendues comme des petits pains» à l’occasion du Ramadan. «Nous avons une clientèle de qualité: quelques diplomates étrangers et une majorité de Palestiniens», poursuit-elle.

Le dernier endroit à la mode de Ramallah est le café Zaman inspiré des expresso-bars qui pullulent dans les rues de Tel-Aviv. La carte est semblable et les prix sont identiques. Le soir, à l’iftar (la rupture du jeûne du Ramadan), les jeunes s’y pressent en masse. Quelques-uns débarquent en 4x4 dotée de tous les instruments «indispensables»: écrans plasma et GPS.

«Avant, il fallait aller à Jérusalem-Est pour changer d’air», affirme Nayman, une jeune fille de bonne famille qui joue nerveusement avec son portable dernier cri. «Maintenant, nous avons tout ce que l’on veut à portée de la main. On vit mieux grâce à [président] Mahmoud Abbas.» Et la bande de Gaza? «Bien sûr, c’est terrible ce qu’ils endurent là-bas, mais c’est aussi la faute du Hamas», estime l’étudiante, membre du Fatah. >>> Serge Dumont, Ramallah | Samedi 12 Septembre 2009

Alan Duncan, Sultan Qaboos, and the Sultan's ‘Glittering Gifts’
I just wonder why Sultan Qaboos, the Sultan of Oman, showers Alan Duncan with ‘glittering gifts’? – Mark

MAIL ONLINE: With the first hints of autumn in the air, the sound of weary gardeners breathing a sigh of relief echoes across Britain.

But for MP Alan Duncan an aching back and calloused hands are unlikely to be high on his list of immediate problems.

For while his four-bedroom constituency home is surrounded by an acre of beautifully-tended gardens, their appearance isn't entirely down to his hard graft.

'I spend a fortune on my garden in Rutland,' he boasted last year, explaining that it is a place 'where you will never see a weed'.

What British taxpayers now know is that the pristine flower-beds and carefully kept lawns owe almost as much to them as to the 52-year-old Tory high-flyer.

Earlier this year, leaked expenses revealed that Mr Duncan had claimed in excess of £4,000 over three years to maintain his garden.

This sum included the costs of a £6-an-hour gardener who, at times, was pocketing more than £350-a-week.

Then there were the running costs of Mr Duncan's ride-on lawn-mower - a £598 service and a £49 bill for puncture repair - not to forget the £1.60 price of a bag of nails.

Mr Duncan tried to put through even more, a bill of £3,194.50 for the period between July 2006 and March 2007 being presented to the House of Commons fees office.

Alan Duncan with his partner, James Dunseath, the man to whom he proposed whilst on holiday in Oman.
It declined to pay, pointing out that the sum in question 'may not be necessarily an appropriate use of public funds'.

In all, Mr Duncan claimed £127,658 over six years under second home allowances, £126 short of the maximum.

While agreeing to pay back some £5,000 he stopped short of admitting any wrongdoing, saying: 'This is not guilt. This is a voluntary act.'

Amid the ensuing furore over moats and duck islands and 'flipped' second homes, as far as Mr Duncan was concerned that might just about have been that.

Until, that is, the multi-millionaire former oil-trader single-handedly reignited the public's ire by bemoaning the lot of a modern day MP.

Covertly recorded on camera, the Shadow Leader of the House was heard to complain that MPs were being treated like 's***' and forced to live on 'rations' in the wake of the expenses scandal.

Again the silver-tongued, bouffanthaired [sic] MP apologized. And again he sloped away hoping it would all blow over.

But, on Monday, David Cameron finally acted against Mr Duncan, moving him from the Shadow Cabinet to become justice spokesman with responsibility for prisons.

Critics complain that this demotion is little more than a slap on the wrist and that Mr Duncan may yet return to frontline politics as a Government minister.

'He is a very experienced politician who still has a lot to give and hopes that he will get another chance to prove this in the future,' a close friend told me.

If he does, then it would do well to remember just how that 'experience' was gained.

His views on money owe much to the fact that by the age of 30 he was already a wealthy man, once describing £1 million as 'not going very far'.

As for his £65,000-a-year salary as a frontbench MP, that was also clearly insufficient - until recently Mr Duncan pulled in an extra £90,000-odd from directorships.

His expertise is in trading oil, a line of work that has seen him linked to a number of characters mired in financial scandals.

Then there are his property interests. These include his £1 million-plus London home, his beautifully appointed constituency home and a third property that he rents out next to his own.

He bought it for £140,000 in a highly unusual transaction 15 years ago - more of which later. It is now worth at least five times that sum.

And let's not forget Mr Duncan's love of foreign travel. In the past decade he has spent a staggering 99 days living it up in luxury in Oman - the tab picked up by the Sultan's government.

Gifts from the same source include five watches, three sets of cufflinks, and a 'traditional Omani coffee pot and incense burner'.

He even had his appendix removed for free while on holiday there. No chance then, at least, of the 'rations' causing any problems as they work their way through Mr Duncan's system. Whining Tory Alan Duncan's £1m Gulf War oil 'rations' and glittering gifts from Sultan of Oman >>> Tom Rawstorne | Saturday, September 12, 2009

About Sultan Qaboos >>>

Massive Crowd Marches Against Obama's Agenda
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Tens of thousands of angry conservatives converge on Washington to denounce the president's healthcare proposals and more, echoing Rep. Joe Wilson's accusations.

Demonstrators are shown during a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington. Photo: Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington - Tens of thousands of protesters marched on the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, airing a wide range of grievances rooted in a shared sentiment: seething anger at President Obama and his far-reaching agenda.

Led by a fife and drum corps in period costumes, the demonstrators filled Pennsylvania Avenue and swarmed the Capitol grounds with a sea of bobbing placards and hand-lettered signs that spelled out a catalog of dissent.

There were antiabortion protesters and term-limit advocates. Critics of financial bailouts and the federal investigation into CIA interrogation techniques. Marchers who were worried about rekindling inflation and upset about the soaring national debt. Pickets opposed to Obama's healthcare reform plan and challenging the legitimacy of his election.

"Is This Russia?" one sign said. "Traitors Terrorists Run Our Government," read another. "Don't blame me. I voted for The 'American,' " a third stated.

The protest -- touted by organizers as the largest-ever outpouring of political conservatives -- was organized by a loose-knit coalition of anti-tax, small-government proponents, and widely promoted by sympathetic voices in the blogosphere and on TV and talk radio. Park police declined to provide an official crowd estimate.

The rally was embraced, after some hesitation, by congressional Republicans, some of whom were leery of associating with the more incendiary elements of Obama's opposition.

"The coming weeks and months may well set the course for this nation for a generation," said Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, the No. 3 GOP House leader, voicing the apocalyptic tone that rang through much of the day's rhetoric. "How we as conservatives respond to these challenges could determine whether America retains her place in the world as a beacon of freedom, or whether we slip into the abyss that has swallowed much of Europe in an avalanche of socialism." >>> Mark Z. Barabak | Sunday, September 13, 2009

THE WASHINGTON POST:
Picture Gallery: Conservatives Protest at the Capitol: Opponents of government spending held a massive demonstration on Saturday >>>


Massenprotest gegen staatliche Ausgabenflut: Zehntausende demonstrieren in Washington gegen die Politik Obamas
NZZ ONLINE: Mehrere zehntausend Demonstranten haben in Washington gegen die Politik von Präsident Barack Obama protestiert. Auf Spruchbändern warfen sie der Regierung am Samstag vor, die Rolle des Staates in der Gesellschaft übermächtig werden zu lassen.

Die Demonstration fand vor dem Hintergrund des anhaltenden heftigen Streits in den USA über Pläne von Präsident Barack Obama für eine umfassende Gesundheitsreform statt. Neben dem übrigen Ausgabenverhalten von Kongress und Regierung wurden vor allem diese von den Demonstranten scharf angegriffen.

Auf selbstgemalten Plakaten warfen einige Demonstranten dem Präsidenten vor, die USA Richtung Sozialismus führen zu wollen. So trug ein Immigrant aus der Ukraine ein Pappschild mit der Aufschrift «Ich hatte genug Sozialismus in der UdSSR.» >>> sda/dpa/afp | Sonntag, 13. September 2009

Proche-Orient : Liban: Hariri jette l'éponge
leJDD.fr: Le Premier ministre désigné du Liban, Saad Hariri, a annoncé jeudi qu'il renonçait à former un gouvernement après deux mois et demi d'efforts infructueux.

Il devait représenter le symbole de la stabilité politique retrouvée du Liban. Saad Hariri, fils de l'ancien Premier ministre Rafic Hariri, assassiné en 2005, voulait créer un gouvernement d'union nationale. Dix semaines après sa nomination comme Premier ministre, Saad Hariri a avoué jeudi avoir échoué dans sa mission. Ses tentatives de réunir ses rivaux du Hezbollah et les alliés chrétiens de la milice chiite pro-iranienne au sein d'un même gouvernement on toutes été infructueuses.

"J'annonce à tous les Libanais que j'ai dit aujourd'hui au président (Michel) Sleimane que je renonçais à former un gouvernement et j'espère que cette décision servira les intérêts du Liban", a-t-il déclaré jeudi après un entretien avec le chef de l'Etat. L'opposition avait rejeté mardi le cabinet proposé, dont les trente postes ministériels étaient répartis entre la coalition majoritaire dirigée par Hariri, l'alliance d'opposition dont fait partie le Hezbollah et un troisième groupe désigné par le président Michel Sleimane. >>> V.V. (avec Reuters), leJDD.fr | Jeudi 10 Septembre 2009

Les populistes menacent la gauche en Norvège
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ÉLECTIONS | Les Norvégiens se rendent aux urnes lundi pour élire leur parlement. Principal enjeu de la campagne? Un meilleur Etat providence. La gauche au pouvoir et la droite sont au coude-à-coude.

La Norvège? Un royaume paisible de lacs, de forêts et de fjords majestueux, blotti au nord de l’Europe, avec ses 4,8 millions de sujets qui se disent parmi les plus heureux du monde. Les plus riches aussi, grâce à la manne pétrolière qui a transformé en trente ans ce pays de paysans et de pêcheurs en un eldorado européen très convoité. 

Dans ce paysage de carte postale, presque idyllique, où tout respire le bon vivre, une partie de la population se plaint pourtant de ne pas profiter suffisamment de ses immenses richesses tirées de l’or noir, amassées depuis près de quinze ans par les gouvernements successifs dans «un bas de laine» qui ne cesse de grossir et qui contient près de 280 milliards d’euros.

Cette manne providentielle, investie un peu partout dans le monde sur les marchés boursiers, est destinée aux «périodes de vaches maigres», pour assurer l’avenir des générations futures, le jour où le filon de pétrole s’épuisera. Campagne contre «l’islamisme rampant» >>> Slim Allagui, Oslo | Samedi 12 Septembre 2009

Barack Obama Starts US Talks with 'Axis of Evil': North Korea and Iran
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has approved plans for the US to start direct talks with both North Korea and Iran, in a significant shift in policy.

The State Department said it would meet one-to-one with Pyongyang negotiators in an effort to persuade the reclusive Stalinist state to return to multilateral talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons programme.

Washington has also accepted a vague Iranian offer of talks on broad national security issues, even though Tehran refused to discuss its illicit atomic operations.

The US insisted it would raise Iranian’s nuclear activities in the meeting. "This may not have been a topic that they wanted to be brought up but I can assure that it's a topic that we'll bring up," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

The new approach to two regimes shunned by the previous Bush administration as rogue states from the so-called "axis of evil" marks a significant change in American diplomacy.

It is certain to come under fresh attack from prominent conservatives and national security hawks such as former vice-president Dick Cheney.

They are resolutely opposed to what they see as "rewarding" hostile nations for their nuclear belligerence by agreeing to talks.

The North Korea gambit comes just a week after Pyongyang declared that it was close to being able to enrich uranium, a development that would give the outlaw regime a potential second means of building nuclear weapons.

Until now, the US has insisted it would only speak directly to North Korea if it had already agreed to re-join the six-party talks. South Korea said yesterday that it would back a US-North Korea meeting if the goal was to kick-start the stalled six-party talks.

The strategy is a risky one, however. The North has long wanted to engage America in direct and wide-ranging talks over its nuclear ambitions while the US insists any one-to-one contact would be focussed on pushing Pyongyang back into multilateral negotiations over its atomic projects.

The regime has also long proven itself to be an unreliable partner, reneging on deals during the administrations of Mr Obama's two predecessors, George W Bush, a Republican, and Bill Clinton, the last Democrat in the White House. >>> Philip Sherwell in New York and David Eimer in Beijing | Saturday, September 12, 2009

Enya: Amarantine

Fascism Fears: John Denham Speaks Out Over Clashes
TIMES ONLINE: John Denham has spoken out against anti-Islamics for trying to provoke violence in Britain's streets.

The communites secretary spoke about yesterday's clashes involving nationalists and Muslims at a London mosque and drew comparisons with the anti-Semitic marches of the 1930s, led by Oswald Mosley's 'blackshirts' and the British Union of Fascists. He said the anti-Islamics were using similar tactics to incite violence and while he qualified that these events were not on the same scale as British fascism of the last century, he said they needed to be taken seriously.

Ten people were arrested yesterday after skirmishes broke out between police and Muslim youths, when large crowds gathered to defend a mosque that had been targeted by anti-Islam campaigners in Harrow, north west London.

The Stop Islamification of Europe (SIOE) and English Defence League (EDL) had threatened to stage a rally outside the Harrow Central mosque to mark the anniversary of 9/11 but only about 15 turned up.

Despite the calls from Imams and anti-fascism campaigners a number of youths, mostly from the local community, clashed with the 550 police officers deployed to oversee the demonstration.

Mr Denham said yesterday’s violence will have played into the hands of anti-Islamics who masterminded the protests.

He said: “I think that the English Defence League and other organisations are not actually large numbers of people.

“They clearly, though, have among them people who know what exactly they’re doing.

“If you look at the types of demonstrations they’ve organised it looks pretty clear that it’s a tactic designed to provoke and to get a response and hopefully create violence.”

“All we are facing at the moment is small. But I think we need to take it seriously enough to say that there are obviously people who would like to be provocative, hope that there is not just a reaction but there is an overreaction, then people blame the people who overreact and the situation gets out of control.” >>> Robin Henry | Saturday, September 12, 2009

John Denham, Socialist MP for Southampton Itchen >>>

Religion: Katholiken sehen sich als Verbündete der Muslime
WELT ONLINE: Gemeinsam mit den Muslimen will das „Forum Deutscher Katholiken", das sich auf besondere Weise dem Papst verbunden fühlt, „die Kultur des Todes" bekämpfen. Nicht die Stärke des Islams sei die gefährlichste Bedrohung Europas. Vielmehr führe die Verdrängung des Glaubens „zu einer geistigen Immunschwäche Europas".

Handschlag der Versöhnung: Papst Benedikt XVI. mit Ali Bardakoglu, einem seiner schärfsten Kritiker. Der Leiter der Religionsbehörde ist oberster Repräsentant des Islam in der Türkei. Bild: Welt Online
Das „Forum Deutscher Katholiken“ sieht in den Muslimen natürliche Verbündete im Kampf gegen die „Kultur des Todes“. Die Mitglieder beider Religionen müssten sich gemeinsam den „zahlreichen Herausforderungen stellen, die eine gottferne Zeit uns aufgibt“, heißt es in einer in Aschaffenburg mit wenigen Gegenstimmen verabschiedeten Resolution. Das „Forum Deutscher Katholiken“ fühlt sich in ganz besonderer Weise dem Papst verbunden.

Nicht die Stärke des Islams sei die gefährlichste Bedrohung Europas, sondern die „systematische Verdrängung des christlichen Glaubens aus der Politik und dem öffentlichen Leben, die zu einer geistigen Immunschwäche Europas führt“.

Christen müssten eindeutig zur Wahrheit ihres Glaubens stehen, wenn sie einen echten Dialog mit dem Islam führen wollen. Dazu gehöre, auch den Muslimen die frohe Botschaft zu verkünden. >>> KNA/lac | Samstag, 12. September 2009

Il étais une fois : Libye: imprécis d’histoire et de géographie
LE TEMPS: Le colonel Kadhafi veut «démanteler» la Suisse. Il en a annoncé le projet en juillet, provoquant ici un mélange de stupéfaction, d’indignation et d’amusement. Un pays comme la Suisse ne se «démantèle» pas, nous en portons la certitude intime et définitive.

Tandis que, pour un colonel libyen nourri des perceptions bédouines d’un désert qui n’a pas de frontière, de l’idéologie panarabe qui refuse de s’en donner et d’une histoire qui a longtemps brouillé les limites, le «démantèlement» est toujours dans l’ordre du possible. L’espace, qui est pour nous fermé depuis longtemps et fixé sur des cartes, est pour lui ouvert et susceptible de changement.

La Libye de Kadhafi n’existe pas. Le pays concret qu’il dirige, son peuple, ses villes et ses ressources, sont une réalité provisoire, insuffisante, qu’il s’agit d’agrandir territorialement et spirituellement sous l’égide de l’islam et de l’arabité. Et s’il faut l’agrandir, ce pays que le colonel appelle maintenant «Grande Jamahiriya arabe libyenne populaire et socialiste», c’est qu’il ne représente pas de solidité à lui seul, qu’il est fragile et «démantelable». Il n’a ni déterminisme géographique, ni impératif économique ancien, ni destin historique fortement inscrit.

Lorsque Soliman le Magnifique l’annexe à l’Empire ottoman, en 1551, l’ancien rivage grec et romain (Libia) devenu arabe est un espace flou de part et d’autre du golfe des Syrtes. Il commande le passage entre le Levant et le Couchant (Machrek et Maghreb), au débouché de la route la plus courte et la plus facile vers l’Afrique centrale. C’est une marche, au croisement des voies méditerranéennes et de l’immensité saharienne.

L’Empire le confie à des pachas, beys ou walis locaux, puis à la dynastie des Qaramanlis. Ceux-ci règnent, au nom de la Porte, sur la Cyrénaïque et la Tripolitaine, enserrées entre l’Egypte et la Tunisie, deux bastions administratifs forts du système ottoman. A partir de 1830, lorsque l’Empire perd l’Algérie, conquise par la France, il rétablit son autorité directe sur la Libye, afin de la soustraire aux appétits des puissances européennes, qui convoitent Tripoli. En vain. >>> Joëlle Kuntz | Samedi 12 Septembre 2009

Integrationspolitik: Zuwanderung – Abrechnung mit einem Mythos
WELT ONLINE: Bereicherung oder Bedrohung? Ein US-Journalist hat die Geschichte der Immigration analysiert – und sieht für Deutschland und Europa dramatische Konsequenzen. Europa hat den Bedarf an Arbeitskraft von Zuwanderern überschätzt. Sie beanspruchen die Sozialsysteme mehr, als sie dazu beitragen.

Auch Deutschland ist ein Zuwanderland. Bild: Welt Online
Auf den Tag genau 45 Jahre ist es jetzt her, dass der Portugiese Armando Rodrigues de Sà mit Blumenstrauß und einem Moped – es war eine Zündapp Sport Combiette – am Bahnhof Köln-Deutz als der millionste Gastarbeiter in Deutschland begrüßt wurde.

Geht es nach dem amerikanischen Journalisten Christopher Caldwell, gibt es an diesem Datum nichts zu feiern. Über zehn Jahre lang hat Caldwell die Geschichte der Zuwanderung nach Europa recherchiert, von Malmö bis Rom, von Dublin bis Duisburg, und sein Ergebnis ist finster. „Europa hat seinen Bedarf an Arbeitskraft von Zuwanderern überschätzt. Der wirtschaftliche Nutzen, den die Zuwanderung gebracht hat, war minimal und temporär. Er ist längst Vergangenheit.“ Dafür, so glaubt Caldwell, waren die sozialen und kulturellen Umwälzungen infolge der Massenimmigration massiv und dauerhaft. Die Einbindung neuer ethnischer Gruppen in Europas Gesellschaften war nicht einfach eine Addition zu dem, was da ist, sodass es nun bunter ist als vorher.

Wohlfahrtsstaat ist nicht zu halten

Es ist eine massive Veränderung, eine Revolution. Der Wohlfahrtsstaat ist praktisch nicht mehr zu halten; das Zusammenwachsen der EU erschwert, der Säkularismus europäischer Provenienz durch die Ankunft des Islam auf eine harte Probe gestellt. „Kann Europa bleiben, was es ist, obwohl andere Leute darin leben?“, fragt Caldwell. Die Antwort ist Nein. >>> Von Miriam Lau | 10. September 2009

Government Has Sold Its Soul to the Devil Over SAS Deal with Libya
THE TELEGRAPH: If the latest information to surface about our Government supplying SAS soldiers to Libya is to be believed then our leaders have truly sold their souls to the devil.

Lest we forget in the 1970s the main source of IRA arms was Libya and in the 1980s, the IRA obtained even larger quantities of weapons and explosives from Gaddafi's Libya. In addition there is strong evidence that IRA bombers and gunmen received training from Libya.

Therefore if British soldiers were sent to train Gaddafi’s people then it must have been with heavy hearts. The SAS has a history of fighting terrorism that goes all the way back to Malaya in the 1950s. Their collective memory of campaigns fought and won includes Borneo, Aden, Dohfar, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and of course Afghanistan. >>> Robin Horsfall* | Saturday, September 12, 2009

*Robin Horsfall was one of the SAS soldiers who stormed the Iranian Embassy in 1980

Telegraph Picture Gallery: Forty Years of Gaddafi >>>

SAS Training Soldiers from Libyan Regime that Provided Explosives to IRA Terrorists
TIMES ONLINE: Special forces have been training Libyan soldiers under a Government deal with Colonel Gaddafi, despite his regime having funded many of the IRA’s worst attacks.

SAS soldiers said there was a “weary rolling of the eyes” when they learnt that they would be passing on some of their skills to members of the Libyan infantry.

In the 1980s and 1990s Libya supplied the IRA with Semtex used in at least ten attacks, including the bombings of Harrods in 1983 and Warrington and the City of London ten years later. It was also used by the Real IRA at Omagh in 1998.

Libya also supplied machine guns and anti-aircraft missiles fired at British troops in Northern Ireland.

“The IRA was our greatest adversary. Now we are training their backers. There was a weary rolling of the eyes when we were told about this,” an SAS source told The Daily Telegraph.

“A small SAS training team have been doing it for the last six months as part of this cosy deal with the Libyans,” said another.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “We have an ongoing co-operation with Libya in the field of defence”.

This had been the case since the former rogue state announced in 2003 that it would abandon development of weapons of mass destruction. The Ministry of Defence refused to comment. >>> Sadie Gray | Saturday, September 12, 2009

Now the SAS Has to Train Libyan Troops
MAIL ONLINE: The SAS is training Libyan troops, it emerged last night.

The elite special forces unit has been passing on its combat expertise to Colonel Gaddafi's soldiers for the last six months.

The move, another sign of the growing relationship between the UK and the oil-rich country, has appalled military veterans who recall how Libya supplied the Provisional IRA with guns and explosives to kill British soldiers.

Though the Ministry of Defence refused to comment, the Foreign Office confirmed last night: 'We have got an ongoing co-operation with Libya in the field of defence.'

The spokesman denied there was any connection with the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds last month.

The first moves towards setting up the training agreement are believed to have begun after Tony Blair visited Libya as Prime Minister in 2004.

However, the deal was only finalised and officially approved by Gordon Brown earlier this year. It is believed that a team of between four and 14 men is training the Libyans in counter-terrorism techniques, including covert surveillance.

But not everything that the SAS has learned from fighting Islamic terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to be passed on.

The agreement is bound to devastate families of the Lockerbie victims and further damage relations with America. >>> Ryan Kisiel and Claire Ellicott | Saturday, September 12, 2009

«Le régime iranien veut gagner du temps»

Pour Reza Pahlavi, le fils du Shah d'Iran, l'attitude de l'administration Obama envers l'Iran ne doit pas se limiter à l'ouverture d'un dialogue, au risque de faire le jeu du régime actuel.

Riot Police Quell Clashes at Anti-Islam Demo in London
AFP: LONDON — Riot police intervened Friday to quell clashes between Muslims and anti-Islamic extremists protesting outside a London mosque on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, an AFP correspondent said.

Police moved in after a crowd of angry Muslim youths, some wearing masks over their faces, threw sticks and stones at a small group of anti-Islamic protesters near the mosque in Harrow, northwest London.

"This is England, I should be able to demonstrate," said one of the group of about a dozen mostly shaven-headed anti-Islamic protesters. >>> | Friday, 11. September 2009

Lord Falconer Suggests Archbishop of Canterbury’s Stance on Assisted Suicide Lacks Christian Compassion
THE TELEGRAPH: Lord Falconer has suggested that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s stance on assisted suicide lacks Christian compassion.

The former Lord Chancellor claimed Dr Rowan Williams should not want the relatives of terminally ill people to be prosecuted for helping them end their lives.

He called on the Church of England to take part in a wider discussion on assisted dying, even though it has been at the forefront of opposition to possible changes in the law.

Lord Falconer is the latest high-profile legal figure to speak out in the polarised debate over whether anyone who helps a loved one end their suffering should face jail.

His attempt to amend current laws – which make aiding and abetting suicide a crime punishable by up to 14 years behind bars – failed in the House of Lords in July. He wanted to remove the threat of prosecution for people who help relatives travel to “suicide clinics” such as Dignitas in Switzerland, as long as two doctors had certified they were terminally ill and had made their decision rationally. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Friday, September 11, 2009