Habsburg Goes to Court over Presidential Ban
AUSTRIAN TIMES: A Habsburg family member and his daughter-in-law have gone to the Constitutional Court after they were excluded from presidential elections next year.



Ulrich Habsburg-Lothringen, a Green councillor in Wolfsberg, Carinthia, and his daughter-in-law Gabriele Habsburg-Lothringen, want the court to review whether the ban is constitutional.



Austrian election laws prohibit any member of the house of Habsburg or any member of a "ruling house" to become a candidate for the presidency.



The ban dates back to the days of the First Republic, when many people wanted to ensure there would be no restoration of the Habsburg monarchy. >>> Lisa Chapman | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Spanish Court Says Calling Your Boss a 'Son of a Bitch' Is Fine
THE TELEGRAPH: A Spanish court has ruled that calling your boss a "son of a bitch" is not grounds for sacking.

A judge in Barcelona said the slight was so common in arguments that it should not be considered a big insult.

The case related to an unnamed worker who directed the comment at his boss during a pay dispute in the northeastern city of Gerona in Jan 2008.

The worker, who also called his boss "crazy," was promptly fired. The man lost a first court challenge, but won on appeal with the Superior Court.

The ruling said his dismissal was a disproportionate punishment and the worker was entitled to be reinstated or receive £5,700 compensation.

Judge Sara Maria Pose Vidal said: "Without a doubt, both expressions are insulting.

"[But] the social degradation of language has caused the expressions used by the plaintiff to become commonly used in certain settings, especially in arguments." [Source: The Telegraph] | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Des religieux contre Ahmadinejad
leJDD.fr: En appelant les dignitaires religieux à dénoncer les violences commises par le pouvoir en Iran, le grand ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri s'est une nouvelle fois attiré les foudres de Téhéran. Plusieurs de ses proches ont été arrêtes.

En Iran, l'opposition peut compter sur le soutien du grand ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. Depuis la réélection contestée de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad à la tête de la République islamique, il n'a cessé de donner de la voix, dénonçant notamment la répression des manifestations. Sa dernière prise de position - il a demandé lundi aux dignitaires religieux de dénoncer les procès des manifestants et les violences commises dans les prisons - a d'ailleurs valu des ennuis à ses proches. Selon la presse réformatrice, plusieurs membres de sa famille, dont les trois enfants de son fils, ont été arrêtés.

Depuis la fin des années 1980, le grand ayatollah – rang le plus élevé du clergé chiite -fait figure de premier dissident religieux. L'homme a pourtant participé à la révolution islamique de 1979 et à l'élaboration de la Constitution iranienne, qui instaure, entre autres, la théocratie. Mais s'il croit toujours au fondement même de la République islamique – à savoir que le religieux prime sur le politique – il s'est très tôt montré très critique envers le pouvoir. Choisi en 1985 par l'Assemblée des experts – un collège de 88 religieux chargé de nommer et de révoquer le Guide suprême de la révolution – pour succéder à l'ayatollah Khomeini, fondateur de la République islamique, il a été écarté par Khomeini lui-même, celui-ci n'ayant pas goûté ses critiques sur la répression politique et culturelle. Son successeur au poste de Guide suprême, l'ayatollah Ali Khamenei, l'a fait placer en résidence surveillée entre 1997 et 2003. Le clergé chiite divisé >>> Marianne Enault, leJDD.fr | Mercredi 16 Septembre 2009

Turkey 'Seeks Duchess of York for Questioning over TV Documentary'
TIMES ONLINE: The Duchess of York faces questioning, and possible arrest and extradition to Turkey over allegations that she and her daughter Eugenie broke privacy laws by filming undercover in Turkish institutions for the disabled.

The Turkish government is believed to have lodged an official request for the British police to help it to secure evidence that the Duchess broke the country's strict privacy laws.

The Metropolitan Police and the Home Office are thought to be discussing the request, which arrived through the formal procedure for Mutual Legal Assistance between different countries.

Under the arrangement, British detectives would question the Duchess and relay their findings to their Turkish counterparts, who could then request further action such as her arrest and extradition.

Neither the Home Office nor the Met would comment on the record about Turkey's request this morning. But a Home Office source told The Sun newspaper last night: "We have received a request from the Turkish government for an MLA in relation to the Duchess of York. We are now awaiting the necessary paperwork but it seems likely the request will be granted."

The row concerns an episode of ITV1's Tonight programme, filmed last September and broadcast two months later, in which the Duchess and her younger daughter donned wigs and headscarves to film the cruel and spartan conditions endured by disabled women and children in two state institutions.

Eugenie wept after she saw children left tied to their beds in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu Centre for the Care of Disabled Children, where 700 youngsters are housed. The Duchess reported seeing faeces left uncleared near a bed holding two women at the Saray Rehabilitation Centre in Ankara.

Chris Rogers, an ITN correspondent who accompanied the Duchess, described what they had seen as "profoundly shocking". He reported seeing children "dressed in bedclothes and rags, some had shaven heads - which gave them the appearance of convicts rather than patients. In every corner, a child showed signs of distress, with many exhibiting the awful violent rocking of the institutionalised." >>> Jenny Booth | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Studie: Muslime fühlen sich von Medien unfair behandelt
WELT ONLINE: Mainstream-Medien berichten unausgewogen und übertrieben negativ über Muslime – das finden jedenfalls viele Betroffene aus Deutschland, Großbritannien und Frankreich. Jeder zweite ist einer Studie zufolge mit der Berichterstattung unzufrieden. Viele wenden sich deshalb ausländischen Medien zu.

Immer mehr Muslime in Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien glauben nicht, dass die Mainstream-Medien ausgewogen über sie berichten. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt ein Pilotprojekt des Londoner Institute for Strategic Dialogue und der Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland, das auf der internationalen Medienkonferenz „M100 Sanssouci Colloquium 2009“ in Potsdam vorgestellt wurde. Für das Projekt mit dem Titel „Muslime in der europäischen Medienlandschaft“ hatten die Forscher fast 150 Medienkonsumenten und Experten aus der Medienbranche befragt.

5 Prozent der befragten Muslime vertraten die Auffassung, die großen Medien berichteten negativ über Muslime. Bei den nicht muslimischen Befragten waren es immerhin 39 Prozent.

Mehr als die Hälfte der Studienteilnehmer sind überzeugt, dass es in den meisten Berichten über Muslime um Terrorismus geht. Ein Drittel glaubt, dass vor allem Fundamentalismus eine Rolle spielt; ein Viertel nimmt als häufigstes Thema in der Berichterstattung über Muslime die Kopftuchdebatte wahr.

Eine Folge der wachsenden Skepsis der Muslime gegenüber der traditionellen Berichterstattung ist die Hinwendung zu alternativen Medien. Sie nutzten entweder ausländische Quellen oder „Minoritätsmedien“, also Medien, die von ethnischen Minderheiten betrieben werden. Als Beispiel für Deutschland nennt die Studie Metropol FM, ein von Türken betriebenes Radioprogramm in türkischer Sprache. >>> Von Miriam Hollstein | Dienstag, 15. September 2009

Belgique: quand la Flandre interdit le voile
L’EXPRESS.fr – BLOG: Bras de fer dans la Flandre belge sur le foulard islamique.

Cette rentrée, les 700 écoles publiques de la région néerlandophone ont reçu consigne d'interdire à leurs élèves le port du voile dans leurs murs. La décision, qui émane du Conseil flamand de l'enseignement, un organisme indépendant du gouvernement flamand en matière pédagogique, suit celle de la ville d 'Anvers, port multiculturel, qui a banni le port de signes religieux sur son territoire.

Cette décision qui prendra pleinement effet l'an prochain est justifiée par des cas de plus en plus nombreux de pressions sur les mineurs qui ne portaient pas le voile.

En Belgique francophone, l'interdiction ou la tolérance du port du foulard relève toujours du chef d'établissement. La classe politique francophone, elle, divisée, observe l'expérience flamande et tergiverse. Les partisans de la laïcité organiseront une manifestation à Bruxelles, samedi. Leur slogan: "Pas de signe religieux à l'école!"

En Flandre, des associations marocaines et arabo musulmanes ont dénoncé "une ségrégation" et annoncé l'ouverture de nouvelles écoles islamiques. Des protestations ont été organisées dans la rue.

Contrairement à la France, où la loi interdisant le voile, avait été appliquée sans heurts ni franche contestation, la mobilisation des pro-foulard s'annonce musclée. Peut-être justement parce qu'outre-Quiévrain la parole politique n'a pas été suffisamment claire sur la question. Beaucoup dépendra donc du rapport de forces dans et autour des écoles. Ce n'est pas un bon signe. [Source: L’Express.fr] Jean-Michel Demetz | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Le Yémen est en guerre
LIBÉRATION.fr: Les combats ont repris dans le nord du Yémen entre le gouvernement et les rebelles al-Houtistes. C'est le sixième épisode en cinq ans d'un conflit complexe et méconnu.

Dans la catégorie «conflits oubliés», le Yémen mérite sans doute le podium. Hormis pour quelques kidnappings de touristes inconscients, ce pays désertique de la Péninsule Arabique fait rarement l'actualité.

Le nord du Yémen est pourtant en guerre depuis 2004. Le 11 août 2009, le gouvernement, à dominante sunnite, a lancé l'opération «terre brûlée» contre la rébellion des al-Houtistes, confinée dans la province de Saada. Ces derniers sont les ultimes représentants du zaydisme, une branche du chiisme qui reconnaît l'imam Zayd Ben Ali comme le cinquième et dernier imam. L'armée a affirmé ce mardi avoir tué 40 de leurs combattants au cours des trois derniers jours, et reconnu avoir perdu 7 hommes dans une embuscade sur une route à l'est de Saada. >>> Yann Libessart | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Un Ben Laden affaibli s'adresse au «peuple américain»
LIBÉRATION.fr: Dans un enregistrement audio, le chef d'Al Qaeda dénonce les «groupes de pression» œuvrant à la Maison Blanche. Pour plusieurs analystes, ce discours marque un net changement de ton.

Le dernier message d'Oussama Ben Laden, diffusé par le site As-Sahab, traduit selon plusieurs analystes un changement de ton du leader d'Al Qaeda, affaibli et à la recherche d'une porte de sortie. D'après le centre américain de recherche sur le terrorisme Intel Center, qui retranscrit le message audio de Ben Laden, ce dernier a invité les Américains à faire pression sur la Maison Blanche pour qu'elle mette fin aux guerres en Irak et en Afghanistan.

Sans quoi, «nous poursuivrons une guerre d'usure contre vous de toutes les façons possibles» menace Ben Laden. Il leur demande également de se prononcer contre le soutien à Israël de la part de l'administration américaine plutôt que de succomber au «terrorisme idéologique» des néo-conservateurs. Ben Laden affirme que «parmi d'autres injustices» c'est le soutien des Etats-Unis à Israël qui a conduit Al Qaeda à lancer les attaques du 11 septembre 2001.

Obama qualifié d'«opprimé»

«Le nouveau message de Ben Laden traduit un véritable changement (...) il ne comporte pas de menaces et cherche à justifier les attaques du 11 septembre», estime Diaa Rachwane, l'un des meilleurs analystes arabes en matière de terrorisme. «Pas une seule fois dans ce message, et contrairement à son habitude, Ben Laden n'a mentionné les martyrs qui ont mené les attaques du 11 septembre et ne les a salués», relève le directeur adjoint du centre al-Ahram pour les études stratégiques et politiques.

Un autre aspect du discours a retenu l'attention de Diaa Rachwane. Ben Laden qualifie en effet le président américain Barack Obama «d'opprimé» n'ayant pas le pouvoir de changer le cours des guerres et le présente comme un otage des néo-conservateurs et «des groupes de pression et notamment du lobby juif». >>> (Source AFP) | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

US-Milliardär erschiesst sich nach Ermittlungen der Steuerbehörde
BERNER ZEITUNG: Um 100 Millionen Dollar soll Finn Caspersen den US-Fiskus betrogen haben. Bevor die Steuerbehörde Anklage gegen den Mäzen erheben konnte, tötete sich dieser in seinem Golf-Club. Das Schicksal des Superreichen und prominenten Wohltäters erschüttert Amerika.

Vorbildlicher Bürger oder Steuerbetrüger? US-Milliardär Finn Caspersen brachte sich letzte Woche um. Bild: Berner Zeitung
Dollars, exquisite Clubs und teure Pferde waren seine Welt; sein Name ist in Ehrenhallen von US-Elite-Universitäten eingraviert: Finn Caspersen, bekannter Mäzen und Milliardenerbe der amerikanischen Konsumenten-Kreditbank Beneficial Corporation, hat sich letzte Woche erschossen. Seine Leiche wurde mit einer Kugel im Kopf auf dem Shelter Harbor Golf-Club in Rhode Island gefunden. Niemand rechnete damit, dass der 67-Jährige, der an Krebs litt, Selbstmord begehen würde. Was hat den Philanthropen – er spendete Dutzende Millionen für Spitäler und Universitäten – derart verzweifeln lassen?

Es war wohl das Geheimnis, das er mit sich herumtrug: Die US-Steuerbehörde verdächtigte ihn des Steuerbetrugs. Als er sich selbst richtete, bereiteten Steuerdetektive gerade eine Klage gegen ihn vor: Er soll Teile seines Vermögens bei der LGT, der Bank des Fürstenhauses von Liechtenstein, parkiert haben – vorbei am Fiskus. Die Summe, die dem Staat so entging, beläuft sich angeblich auf 100 Millionen Dollar. Gegenüber der «New York Times» sagte eine eingeweihte Person, die nicht genannt werden will, Caspersen drohte sogar eine Gefängnisstrafe. Vielleicht wollte er mit dieser Schande nicht leben. Fürchtete er sich vor dem 23. September? >>> cha | Mittwoch, 16. September 2009

Peres: UN Gaza Report Makes Mockery of History
HAARETZ: President Shimon Peres said Wednesday that the Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes during its military offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip earlier this year, "makes a mockery of history."

The president issued a stinging rebuke to the report, which was commissioned by the United Nations and authored by Richard Goldstone, a South African war crimes prosecutor who investigated Israeli and Palestinian conduct during Operation Cast Lead.

Though the report accuses both Israel and Hamas of carrying out war crimes during the three-week campaign in Gaza, it focuses primarily on Israel's actions during the fighting.

Over the course of the hostilities, which erupted on 27 December 2008 and lasted three weeks, human-rights groups say approximately 1,400 Palestinians were killed, mostly civilians, along with Israeli fatalities of three civilians and 10 soldiers.

Israel says it launched the offensive in response to persistent Palestinian rocket fire against towns and communities in the western Negev.

"The report in practice grants legitimacy to terrorism, premeditated shooting and killing while ignoring the duty and the right of a state to defend itself, something which is explicitly stated in the UN charter," Peres said.

"The Hamas terror organization is the one that launched the war, and it also committed other horrific crimes," the president said. "Hamas has employed terrorism for years against Israeli children. It has detonated explosive devices in the heart of Israeli cities, harmed civilians, launched over 12,000 missiles and mortar shells aimed at innocent civilians with one clear goal in mind - to kill."

"Israel evacuated its soldiers and citizens from Gaza, opened its crossings, and aided in the rehabilitation of the Strip," Peres added. "After the Israeli evacuation, Gaza was overrun by force by a murderous, illegitimate terrorist organization - Hamas - which launched a mutiny against the legitimate Palestinian Authority."

"Instead of building Gaza and worrying about the welfare of its residents, Hamas built offensive tunnels against Israel and brutally used Palestinian children and civilians in order to conceal terrorists and hide weapons," Peres said.

The president said criticism against Israel's actions fails to offer effective alternatives that can stifle rocket fire against the country's outlying towns. >>> Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Rabbi Tovia Singer & Jeremy Gimpel: Will There Be One World Power?

Gaddafi’s Heir Leaves Clue to His World Vision in His PhD
TIMES ONLINE: Buried away on the dusty shelves of a London library is a student’s vision for a new world order.

Doctoral dissertations are usually of little interest outside the world of academic research but this book casts an intriguing light on the beliefs of one of the Middle East’s most influential figures.

The publication by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the eldest son of the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife, is set to fuel the debate about the pace of democratic and economic reform in his homeland.

Perhaps because it is published under the surname Alqadhafi, the blue cover of the PhD thesis appears to have been little read since it was filed at the Senate House library of the University of London last autumn. Over 428 pages, the man seen as heir apparent to the socialist dictator who has ruled Libya for 40 years calls for democracy and greater influence for business in his vision of the world’s governing institutions.

Dr Gaddafi has become an increasingly powerful voice in the oil-rich country, which has influence in both the Muslim world and the African Union. Although dismissed by critics as a playboy prince for his frequent international travel and attendance at celebrity parties, Dr Gaddafi spent four years researching his thesis at the London School of Economics.

While other doctoral students struggled to survive with occasional lecturing, the multimillionaire Libyan was also negotiating the release of the Lockerbie bomber and $1.5billion compensation for his victims, opening up his country’s oil and gas fields to international businesses and restoring diplomatic links with the US.

Dr Gaddafi, 37, introduces his work by writing: “I shall be primarily concerned with what I argue is the central failing of the current system of global governance in the new global environment: that it is highly undemocratic.”

The comments will be read with interest in Libya, where his father has ruled since a military coup in 1969 and where opponents are still ruthlessly suppressed. Dr Gaddafi says that his dissertation “analyses the problem of how to create more just and democratic global governing institutions”, focusing on the importance of the role of “civil society”. >>> David Brown | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Gaddafi Son’s Academic Thesis Boosted by Corporate Consultants
TIMES ONLINE: When it comes to carrying out original research, few PhD students have access to one of the world’s most prestigious corporate consultancies, with advisers including the former head of the Secret Intelligence Service.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi used Monitor Group to carry out a survey and interviews with the leaders of non-governmental organisations to provide the empirical data for his thesis at the London School of Economics.

Senior advisers at Monitor Group include Sir Richard Dearlove, who was recruited in 2005, the year after he retired as head of MI6. Sir Richard was well known to the Libyans because Colonel Gaddafi had chosen British intelligence as the go-between when he decided to surrender his country’s nuclear programme.

The company also employs Sir Mark Allen, another former MI6 agent and a senior adviser to BP. Sir Mark lobbied Jack Straw just before the Justice Secretary abandoned efforts to exclude the Lockerbie bomber from a prisoner transfer deal. Mr Gaddafi hired the company in 2004… >>> David Brown | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Gaddafi's Son Used Spies for British PhD Thesis that Decries Lack of Democracy

THE TELEGRAPH: Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan dictator, used a firm that employs the former head of British intelligence to carry out research for his doctoral thesis.

Mr Gaddafi used Monitor Group to interview the heads of non-government organisations for a paper that argued the "central failing" of current global institutions was that the set-up was "highly undemocratic.

The 37-year-old is seen as a potential heir to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi who has been dictator of Libya for 40 years. Monitor Group employs both Sir Richard Dearlove, head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) at the time of the Iraq war and Sir Mark Allen, the intelligence agent who brought Col Gaddafi's regime in from the cold.

Mr Gaddafi spent four years researching his thesis at the London School of Economics and his PhD thesis was filed at the Senate House library of the University of London last autumn. The paper runs to 428 pages and calls for democracy and greater influence for business* in multi-national affairs. >>> Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

*What sort of nonsense is this? It is precisely because business has had far too much influence in multi-national affairs that we have just experienced the fiasco of the craven British government caving in to Libya over the release of Megrahi. If we are going to have a world in which corporations wield too much power, then we are going to have a sick world to live in! Go back to the LSE, Dr Gaddafi, you've got some learning to do! – Mark

New Book Claims George W Bush Said Barack Obama 'Has No Clue'
THE TELEGRAPH: George W Bush believed Barack Obama was "a cat" who "has no clue", dismissed Sarah Palin as a nonentity and insulted Hillary Clinton's posterior, according to a new account of life in the White House under the former president.

For all his politeness in public, Mr Bush is alleged to have privately mocked fellow big name politicians, claims his former speech writer Matt Latimer, whose book Speech Less: Tale of a White House Survivor has been awaited with some anxiety by members of the previous administration.

In extracts published by GQ magazine, Latimer writes: "He came in one day to rehearse a speech, fuming. 'This is a dangerous world,' he said for no apparent reason, 'and this cat [Obama] isn't remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you'." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mohammed Now No.1 Baby Boys' Name in London
THE TELEGRAPH: Telegraph.co.uk today reports that Mohammed has become the most common name for baby boys born in London and in three other English regions.

In the capital, the Islamic name - including its varient spellings - was twice as popular as the second-placed name, Daniel, in 2008.

For those who follow these things, this won’t come as a huge surprise. We know that the UK’s Muslim population is growing, both through immigration and through its higher birthrate. We know that there are particular concentrations in London, the West Midlands and the North of England. We know that Muslim families tend to choose one particular name for their baby boys - Mohammed - a way that other communities do not.

And last week it was reported that the name was now the third most popular in England as a whole. In fact, Mohammed probably rose to the number one slot in the capital some time ago. For several years, I have been trying to pin this down as a fact. But until now, it has proved impossible because for the past decade or so, the Office for National Statistics has not disclosed regional breakdowns of popular baby names, only national totals. My requests for the regional figures were met with the response that this would be impossible to provide, even under the Freedom of Information Act. >>> Ben Leapman | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Jimmy Carter Says Joe Wilson's Attack on Barack Obama Was 'Based on Racism'
THE TELEGRAPH: Former President Jimmy Carter has said that Joe Wilson's outburst during President Barack Obama's speech to Congress last week was an act "based on racism" and rooted in fears of a black president.

"I think it's based on racism," Mr Carter said at a town hall held at his presidential centre in Atlanta. "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president."

The Georgia Democrat said the outburst was a part of a disturbing trend directed at the president that has included demonstrators equating Mr Obama to Nazi leaders.

"Those kind of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care," he said.

"It's deeper than that." >>> | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams: Bankers Have Failed to Repent
TIMES ONLINE: The Archbishop of Canterbury has waded into the debate on bankers' bonuses, warning that financiers feel no "repentance" for the excesses of the boom that led to financial meltdown.

Dr Rowan Williams, the head of the Church of England, said the Government should have acted to cap bonuses and he warned that the gap between rich and poor would lead to an increasingly "dysfunctional" society.

Dr Williams told BBC2's Newsnight programme: "There hasn't been a feeling of closure about what happened last year.

"There hasn't been what I would, as a Christian, call repentance. We haven't heard people saying 'well actually, no, we got it wrong and the whole fundamental principle on which we worked was unreal, empty'."

Asked if the City was returning to business as usual he said: "I worry. I feel that's precisely what I call the 'lack of closure' coming home to roost. It's a failure to name what was wrong. To name that, what I called last year 'idolatry', that projecting of reality and substance onto things that don't have them."

His remarks referred to an article he wrote in The Spectator a year ago in which he warned that society was at risk of turning to idolatry in its worship of wealth. >>> Robert Lindsay | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Finger-wagging Is Just Not Enough, Mr President
TIMES ONLINE: Apparently, during his big speech on financial reform last night, there were audible groans on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when President Obama said that he had “always been a strong believer in the power of the free market”.

This was presumably because that particular element of the President’s audience thinks he is anything but. Applied to their own corner of the US economy, though, why they think as they do is anyone’s guess. One year on from the collapse of Lehmans, it looks to be business as usual on Wall Street, with big bonuses in the offing amid signs that, as Mr Obama said, the lessons of the crisis have been ignored by some.

But for all his finger-wagging, for all his promises to undertake serious financial reform, the President has actually done remarkably little so far.

Apart from trying to convince Americans that big government bailouts of financial institutions have come to an end, last night’s speech was all about trying to get that process back on track, which is why a key element of Mr Obama’s plans — a new consumer protection agency to oversee financial products such as mortgages and personal loans — was again flagged.

Yet the measure looks some way from ever reaching the statute book due to a formidable lobbying effort by the financial services industry.

Other elements of Mr Obama’s proposals, such as measuring and seeking to regulate systemic risk, are even further away. Similarly, while the Administration has tabled proposals which would ensure that many over-the-counter derivatives are traded on regulated exchanges, centrally cleared and more accurately reported, these plans are a long way from being enacted.

Part of the problem is that Mr Obama’s fellow Democrats, despite controlling Congress, seem far more determined to push through healthcare reforms before they ever turn their attention to an overhaul of financial regulation.

All of this is hugely regrettable and helps to explain why so many ordinary folk on Main Street believe that the President is in thrall to Wall Street.

Meanwhile, in fairness to those NYSE traders who groaned at Mr Obama’s comment last night, the President is giving them good reason to doubt his free-market credentials. >>> Ian King, Business commentary | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

L’ancien président de la république ne fumera pas sur la couverture de ses mémoires
GALA.fr: La loi Evin a fait une nouvelle victime. D’après le Parisien, l’ancien président de la république ne fumera pas sur la couverture du premier volume de ses mémoires. Jacques Chirac (fumeur jusqu’à la fin des années 80) devait apparaître une cigarette à la main, sur le premier tome de sa biographie. Seulement, l’entourage de l’homme politique à l'origine de la lutte contre le cancer en France a finalement refusé cette photo, par souci de légalité...

Le premier tome des mémoires de Jacques Chirac sera publié avec un retard d'un mois. D’après le Parisien, le prédécesseur de Nicolas Sarkozy va devoir changer l’illustration du livre. En cause, une photo le représentant en train de fumer.

Le cliché en question mettait en scène Jacques Chirac (fumeur jusqu’en 1988) avec une cigarette à la main. Seulement, l’entourage de l’homme politique, à l'origine de la lutte contre le cancer en France, a refusé cette photo par souci du respect de la loi Evin (relative à la lutte contre le tabagisme et l'alcoolisme).

En France, la loi proposée par Claude Évin en 1991 interdit la publicité pour le tabac et l'alcool. Et Jacques Chirac n’est pas le seul à avoir fait les frais de ce texte. On se souvient qu’en juillet dernier, le beau Alain Delon voyait sa cigarette gommée sur les affiches du parfum Eau Sauvage de Dior. >>> | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Chirac Smoked Out
TIMES ONLINE – BLOG: Jacques Chirac, the last President, has become the latest victim of the anti-tobacco zeal that prevails these days in France. Chirac's publishers have just delayed for a month the release of the first volume of his memoirs because his staff objected to a cover portrait in which he is holding a lit cigarette.

A dangling clope was a trademark of the younger Chirac, as it was of most French stars of the last half century. The picture is a nice atmospheric shot from the 1980s of the pensive prime minister of the time. It would not have made much sense without the cigarette, though smokes have been purged in recent years from pictures of Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon,Jean-Paul Sartre,Albert Camus, Charles de Gaulle, André Malraux, the late writer-politician, and Jacques Tati, the late film-maker.

"The release of the book has been put back because of the cover photograph," said Elizabeth Franck, spokeswoman for the NiL publishing house. "Photographs of the young Chirac smoking are quite common. Everyone has seen them (but) when Mr Chirac's staff saw the photo on the cover mock-up, they preferred to change it for a portrait of his face alone," Franck told us.

The bon vivant Chirac, 76, stopped appearing in public with cigarettes in 1988 and made cancer research one of the main priorities. His presidency ended with a smoking ban spreading in public places. Nicolas Sarkozy, his successor, is a private smoker. He enjoys one fat Cuban cigar a day in the Elysée Palace -- but never touches alcohol.

The Chirac decision has been attacked as another case of excessive obedience to the anti-smoking fervour which took hold in Chirac's years in the Elysée, from 1995-2007. "Political correctness has struck again", said Le Parisien.

The doctoring of pictures has become an issue in the cultural world, with critics accusing publishers, advertisers and museum directors of air-brushing history in the way that banished Soviet politicians were once erased from Kremlin portraits.

It's pretty clear that historic pictures are not covered by the 1991 anti-tobacco legislation, known as the Evin law. This prohibits "all propaganda or publicity, direct or indirect, in favour of tobacco and its products."

Géard Audureau, chief of the Non-smokers' Rights campaign organisation, called the Chirac cover-change silly. "This is an image of the young Chirac from a time when he smoked. It does not shock me to see a smoking president because it was the reality in that period," he told us. "It is an old-fashioned picture which does not promote tobacco." >>> Charles Bremner | Monday, September 14, 2009

Gaddafi Doctors to Be Trained by NHS as Row over Britain’s Relations with Libya Intensifies
MAIL ONLINE: Libyan doctors are to be trained by the NHS following an agreement signed by a Cabinet minister with Colonel Gaddafi's regime weeks before the release of the Lockerbie bomber, it emerged today.

The agreement is the latest in a series of moves to normalise relations between Britain and the north African state, which was an international pariah for years after being blamed for the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people.

But the Department of Health dismissed as "nonsense" suggestions that the agreement had any link with the recent release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi or trade deals with the oil-rich regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by former Health Secretary Alan Johnson in spring 2008, Libyan medical staff will be able to get a year's instruction in Britain.

Training opportunities will be available in the UK for Libyan medical staff in areas such as intensive care, anaesthetics and endoscopy, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, the Evening Standard reported.

Links have also been formed between London's Moorfields Eye Hospital and the main eye hospital in Libyan capital Tripoli.

The agreement was later discussed in a visit to Libya by then health minister Dawn Primarolo and was raised again when Mr Johnson's successor Andy Burnham met health minister Mohamed Hijazi during a trip to the country on constituency business earlier this year, said the Department. >>> | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Stoning to Death: Bringing the Horrors of Islam to Life!


First you'll hear a speech, then a man gets flogged. The stoning of two women starts 6 minutes into the video. Watch till the end.

The stoning of women is practiced in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

Warning: even if the film quality is poor, the images are extremely powerful and are not recommanded for all. [This is NOT suitable for children, for those who have a weak stomach, or for those who are of a nervous disposition.]

Hat tip: Apostates of Islam >>>

This is the barbarity that the law-makers of Aceh province have voted to make law; and this is the religion that our politicians – almost to a man – are in denial about. They call it the 'religion of love and peace', when anyone with an atom of common sense and intelligence knows full well that Islam symbolizes anything but either love or peace. Islam is a cruel, heartless cult. And I use the word 'cult' not as an insult but because that is what Islam truly is. A cult, by definition, venerates a particular figure. In this case, Muhammad. All devotion in a cult is directed towards that figure. In Islam, all devotion is directed towards Muhammad; indeed, Muslims are to love their prophet more than they love their own mothers, fathers, wives, or children. Therefore, the old name for Islam, Muhammadanism, is a very apt term for Westerners to use. Perhaps we should revert to the term! – © Mark

Pan African Parliament Declares Solidarity with Al-Megrahi
"What happened to Megrahi reminds us of the long suffering inflicted on Africa by the its enemies the colonialists and their heinous crimes and discrimination. The Europeans think that they are the strongest and make us fear them but we will face head on their injustice and defend our rights, marching along with Leader Muammar Gaddafi the President of the African Union." – Mr. Mustafa Abudaina from Algeria, Pan African Parliament (PAP) member

THE TRIPOLI POST: Tripoli– The Pan African Parliament declared on Wednesday its solidarity with Abdulbaset Al-Megrahi and wished him quick recovery after his release from captivity in Scottish and Netherlands prisons for more than eleven years.

The 150 strong Pan African parliamentarian delegation expressed its support with Al-Megrahi when they made a visit to him at Tripoli Medical Center.

Speaking to Megrahi and the large audience in his presence, The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Hon. Dr. Moussa Idriss Ndele, MP said "we wished that this meeting had took place at the Parliament's headquarters [in in Midrand, South Africa] and gave you a red carpet welcome."

Mr. Ndele added that that would have been in response to the big welcome given to the Bulgarian nurses by the European Parliament despite their crime and with disregard to the feelings of over 400 Libyan children who were infected with AIDS and their relatives.

Al-Megrahi waived his hand to the African parliamentarian delegation as he responded to their words of support and get well wishes. >>> | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Freed Iraqi Shoe Thrower Tells of Torture in Jail
THE GUARDIAN: 'My flower to the occupier': Defiant journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi stands by protest against visiting George Bush

Watch Guardian video here
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush has marked his release from jail by angrily defending his action and claiming he was tortured after his arrest.

Muntazer al-Zaidi's supporters and family gave him a rapturous welcome, sacrificing six sheep to mark his release and hanging laurels of flowers around his neck.

Wearing an Iraqi flag, Zaidi gave a detailed account of being tortured after his arrest, and vowed to reveal the names of senior officials in the Iraqi government and army who he said had been involved in his mistreatment.

Listen to Guardian audio: Iraqi shoe thrower released: 'The mood is one of celebration': An Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at former President George W Bush has been released to scenes of jubilation in Baghdad, reports Martin Chulov >>>
Appearing with a missing front tooth, he told of beatings, whippings and electric shocks after his arrest. He said he now feared for his life, and believed US intelligence agents would chase after him.

"These fearful services, the US intelligence services and its affiliated services, will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary ... in a bid to kill me," he told the news conference.

"And here I want to warn all my relatives and people close to me that these services will use all means to trap and try to kill and liquidate me either physically, socially or professionally."

The reporter said he was abused immediately after his arrest, and the next day. He said he was beaten with iron bars, whipped with cords and electrocuted in the backyard of the building in the Green Zone.

"In the morning, I was left in the cold weather after they splashed me with water," he said.

He went on to defend his assault on Bush. "Simply put, what incited me toward confrontation is the oppression that fell upon my people and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by placing it under its boots," he said.

Zaidi said "throwing shoes against the war criminal Bush" was his answer to the cries of those bereaved by the conflict.

"The criminal murderer is standing here expecting us to throw flowers at him; this was my flower to the occupier."

Zaidi also talked of seeing "many, many massacres in every inch of our homeland" and of "witnessing the screams of victims and the cries of bereaved women". >>> Martin Chulov in Baghdad | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Des femmes et de l'or pour Mountazer Al-Zaidi
COURRIER INTERNATIONAL: L’homme qui a jeté ses chaussures à la tête de George Bush pourra vivre sur un grand pied à sa sortie de prison. Une avalanche de cadeaux devrait saluer la libération du journaliste irakien Mountazer Al-Zaidi. "On a eu des promesses d’argent, l’émir du Qatar a promis un cheval en or, le colonel Mouammar Kadhafi a dit qu’il lui remettrait la plus haute décoration libyenne, et d’autres ont dit qu’ils lui offriraient une voiture de sport", a déclaré son frère Dargham, cité par la BBC. D’ores et déjà, son employeur, la petite chaîne de télévision Al-Baghdadia, lui a acheté un appartement de quatre pièces, rapporte le Guardian. Sans parler des propositions de mariage. "Un Irakien qui vit au Maroc nous a appelés pour lui offrir sa fille", rapporte son rédacteur en chef Abdul Hamid Al-Saij. "[…] Après l’événement, beaucoup de femmes ont voulu l’épouser, mais nous n’avons pas pris leur nom." Le reporter, devenu un héros pour le monde arabe, devrait être libéré lundi 14 septembre, au terme de neuf mois de prison. "C’est ton baiser d’adieu, chien ! Au nom des veuves et des orphelins d’Irak", avait-il crié à l’ex-président américain lors de son lancer de chaussures. [Source: Courrier International] | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Le lanceur de chaussures contre Bush sort de prison
Mountazer al-Zaïdi affirme avoir été torturé en détention et exige des excuses du Premier ministre irakien. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Mountazer al-Zaïdi, le journaliste devenu célèbre après avoir lancé sur l'ex président américain ses souliers fin 2008, souhaite désormais créer un centre pour les orphelins et les veuves, auxquels il avait dédié son geste.

Libre après neuf mois de détention. Le journaliste irakien Mountazer al-Zaidi, propulsé au rang de héros du monde arabe après avoir lancé ses souliers à la tête de George W. Bush, a quitté mardi la prison de la base militaire de Mouthanna. La libération anticipée du reporter pour bonne conduite aurait dû avoir lieu dès lundi mais elle avait dû être repoussée suite à des problèmes administratifs.

Son avocat s'est félicité de la libération et a rendu hommage à l'indépendance de la justice irakienne. Lors d'une conférence de presse, Mountazer al-Zaidi a réclamé lui des excuses au premier ministre Nouri al-Maliki. Il affirme en effet avoir été torturé lors de son emprisonnement. «Au moment où Nouri al-Maliki expliquait à la télévision qu'il ne dormirait pas tant qu'il ne serait pas rassuré sur mon sort, j'étais frappé à coups de câbles électriques et de barres de fer. mes geôliers ont simulé des noyades [une technique employée par la CIA]».

Le reporter était entré dans l'histoire en décembre dernier en projetant ses souliers, taille 43, contre l'ancien locataire de la Maison-Blanche, qui les avaient évitées de justesse. Le journaliste s'était écrié «C'est le baiser d'adieu, espèce de chien». Condamné en première instance à trois ans de prison pour «agression contre un chef d'Etat en visite officielle», sa peine avait été réduite en appel à un an. Dans la culture arabe, jeter ses chaussures à la tête de quelqu'un et le traiter de «chien» est considéré comme une grave insulte. De nombreuses demandes en mariage >>> C.J. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

New Dark Age Alert! MPs Pass Law to Stone to Death Adulterers in Indonesian Province
As darkness falls over the world, our politicians continue to be in denial about the dangers of Islam. I speak not of radical Islam, but of Islam itself. For Islam truly is the problem; and it’s the greatest problem facing the civilized world today.

The silly word games our politicians play, the useless, banal games to try and separate this Islam from that one, the games they play to exonerate themselves from action – action which they are too cowardly to take, are really not helpful. On the contrary, these games hinder our ultimate success over the cult that is Islam, over the world’s greatest force for darkness, backwardness, inhumanity, and barbarity.

We need to roll back the frontiers. We need to push back the enveloping tide of ultimate backwardness – the evil forces which will take us back to the ‘New Dark Age’. The process of taking the world back to benightedness has begun; it needs to be halted forthwith, it needs to be halted without further delay. – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Married people who commit adultery could be stoned to death under new law unanimously passed on Monday by MPs in the devoutly Muslim Indonesian province of Aceh.

Muslim women are seen in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia Photo: The Telegraph
The law, which will come into effect in 30 days, also decrees that homosexuals could be caned and jailed for eight years.

Those convicted of rape or consuming alcohol could be face up to 200 lashes of the cane meted out in public.

The 69-seat house in the semi-autonomous province voiced no reservations over the new law, an extension of the Sharia code already in force.

Gambling and drinking were already banned after Aceh introduced elements of Sharia law in 2001, when it became compulsory for women to wear headscarves. >>> Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Berlin: Geschäftsbesuch am Sonntag
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Behörden kontrollieren künftig strenger, ob Läden am Wochenende offen sein dürfen

Ladenbesitzer und Geschäftsinhaber, die sonntags ihre Läden geöffnet haben, müssen künftig mit Besuch staatlicher Behörden und möglicherweise auch mit erheblichen Ordnungsstrafen rechnen. Und einige werden sonntags wohl geschlossen bleiben. Denn der Senat, die Gewerkschaft Verdi und das Landesamt für Arbeitsschutz, Gesundheitsschutz und technische Sicherheit (Lagetsi) drängen darauf, dass Läden sonntags nur in Ausnahmefällen geöffnet sind, wenn sie zum Beispiel Reisebedarf anbieten. So legen es das Arbeitsschutzgesetz und das Ladenöffnungsgesetz fest, das seit 2006 gilt. "Der Sonntag hat eine besondere Bedeutung. Arbeit an diesem Tag muss eine Ausnahme bleiben", sagte Erika Ritter, Landesfachbereichsleiterin Handel bei Verdi. >>> Von Stefan Strauss | Dienstag, 15. September 2009

Sarkozy droht mit Boykott des G-20-Gipfels: Grenzen für Managerboni als Knackpunkt
NZZ ONLINE: Der G-20-Gipfel im amerikanischen Pittsburgh könnte möglicherweise am Unwillen des französischen Staatspräsidenten Sarkozy scheitern. Sollten dort Begrenzungen für Managerboni nicht diskutiert werden, will Sarkozy das Gipfeltreffen platzen lassen.

Frankreichs Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy will den G-20-Gipfel Ende des Monats in Pittsburgh platzen lassen, wenn dort keine Grenzen für Managerboni beschlossen werden. «Wenn es keine konkrete Entscheidung gibt, werde ich den Gipfel verlassen», zitierte ihn die regierungsnahe Zeitung «Le Figaro» am Montag. Die Drohung sei ernst gemeint, sagte der Generalsekretär des Élysée-Palastes, Claude Gueant, dem Sender RTL. Sarkozy sei «sehr entschlossen», ein Abkommen zu erreichen.

Der Staatschef hatte bereits vor dem Londoner G-20-Gipfel im April mit einer «Politik des leeren Stuhls» gedroht, sollte man sich dort nicht eine Zügelung der globalen Finanzmärkte einigen können. Obwohl sich die Europäer dort nicht mit allen ihren Forderungen durchsetzen konnten, blieb Sarkozy am Tisch.

Auf dem nächsten G-20-Treffen will der Franzose gemeinsam mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel eine Deckelung von Managergehältern und Bonuszahlungen durchsetzen. Das bisherige System belohnt kurzfristiges Risiko und gilt damit als eine der Ursachen der Weltfinanzkrise. >>> ap | Montag, 14. September 2009

Norwegische Sozialdemokraten regieren weiter: Partei von Ministerpräsident Stoltenberg bleibt stärkste Kraft
NZZ ONLINE: Die Mitte-Links-Regierung in Norwegen hat die Parlamentswahlen knapp gewonnen. Der sozialdemokratische Ministerpräsident Jens Stoltenberg erklärte sich zum Sieger und kündigte die Fortsetzung der rot-rot-grünen Koalition an.

Nach der Parlamentswahl in Norwegen bleiben die Sozialdemokraten voraussichtlich weiter an der Regierung. Nach dem vorläufigen Ergebnis bei Auszählung von 99 Prozent der Stimmen wurde die Arbeiterpartei von Ministerpräsident Jens Stoltenberg mit einem Anteil von 35 Prozent als stärkste Partei bestätigt. Ihre Koalitionspartner, die Sozialistische Linkspartei und die Zentrumspartei, erhielten jeweils 11 Prozent. Das Bündnis kommt damit auf 86 der 169 Sitze im Parlament von Oslo.

«Es sind noch nicht alle Stimmen ausgezählt, und es ist knapp, aber zurzeit sieht es so aus, dass wir weitermachen können», sagte Stoltenberg in einer Fernsehdebatte. Führende Oppositionspolitiker räumten ihre Niederlage ein. >>> ap | Dienstag 15. September 2009

Ahmadinejad reçoit l'ambassadeur du "petit Satan"
LE FIGARO – BLOG: Au pays des mollahs, tout finit par arriver ! Après cinq longs mois d’attente, le nouvel ambassadeur britannique en Iran vient de présenter ses lettres de créances à Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, le président de la République islamique.
« Nous regardons vers l’avenir, a déclaré ce dernier en recevant Simon Gass. Nous espérons que le gouvernement britannique a tiré les leçons et corrigera son comportement passé », a ajouté Ahmadinejad.

Déjà passablement mauvaises, les relations entre Téhéran et Londres se sont encore dégradées, après l’élection présidentielle de juin, remportée – grâce à des fraudes – par Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Le guide suprême, Ali Khameneï, accusa ouvertement les médias britanniques d’avoir soutenu les manifestants. Et une dizaine d'employés locaux de l’ambassade de Grande-Bretagne furent même arrêtés pendant quelques jours.

Jusqu’à très récemment, la Grande-Bretagne était considérée comme le « petit Satan » par l’Iran. Le prédécesseur de Simon Gass, Jeffery Adams, subissait – certes, avec un flegme tout britannique - les petites vexations que lui infligeaient ses homologues iraniens, quand ces derniers le convoquaient au ministère des Affaires étrangères, pour lui rappeler les déclarations « hostiles » de son patron à Londres. Avec les commentaires >>> Par Georges Malbrunot | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Prozess gegen mutmaßliche El-Kaida-Mitglieder
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Koblenz - Zwei mutmaßliche Mitglieder der islamistischen Terrororganisation El Kaida müssen sich seit Montag vor dem Koblenzer Oberlandesgericht verantworten. Die Bundesanwaltschaft wirft den 31-jährigen Männern vor, Geld und Kampfgerät für das Terrornetzwerk El Kaida beschafft zu haben.

Einer der beiden aus aus [sic] Sindelfingen in Baden-Württemberg stammenden Männer soll zudem für die Anwerbung von «Kämpfern» in Deutschland zuständig gewesen sein. Er habe zwei potenzielle «El Kaida-Kämpfer» rekrutiert, von denen einer sich später auch in einem Terrorcamp in Pakistan im Umgang mit Waffen und Sprengstoff ausbilden ließ, sagte Staatsanwältin Carola Bitter. >>> © dpa | Montag 14 September 2009

Musharraf avoue avoir détourné l'aide américaine
Pervez Musharraf (ici en mars 2009) réside depuis plusieurs mois à Londres. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: L'ancien général-président a utilisé des fonds destinés à la lutte contre les talibans pour renforcer son dispositif militaire face à l'Inde.

Retiré du pouvoir depuis plus d'un an et quasiment en exil à Londres depuis plusieurs mois, Pervez Musharraf continue de faire des vagues. L'ancien général-président pakistanais, qui a démissionné le 18 août 2008, vient d'admettre qu'il avait détourné l'aide américaine consentie au Pakistan pour lutter contre les talibans dans les zones tribales, en bordure de l'Afghanistan, au profit d'un renforcement militaire à la frontière avec l'Inde. «C'était dans l'intérêt du Pakistan, voilà pourquoi j'ai agi ainsi», a-t-il déclaré à la chaîne de télévision pakistanaise Express News. «Et je me moque bien de savoir si cela met les États-Unis en colère», a-t-il poursuivi, soulignant dans la foulée qu'il n'avait pas eu d'autre choix que de faire alliance avec les Américains en 2001. «Ils menaçaient de bombarder le Pakistan !», a-t-il rappelé.

Cette confession tardive est un pied de nez à Washington, qui n'a jamais osé «froisser» son allié pakistanais en lui demandant des comptes sur les 11 milliards de dollars déboursés en sa faveur depuis 2001. Elle place aussi le gouvernement civil d'Islamabad dans une position difficile à l'heure où, aux États-Unis, le Congrès doit se prononcer sur un nouveau paquet financier pour le Pakistan. Cet apport d'argent frais est avant tout destiné à aider le pays à faire face à la crise humanitaire sans précédent engendrée par les opérations de l'armée contre les talibans. Au printemps, plus de deux millions de personnes ont fui la région de Malakand et la vallée de Swat. Depuis la semaine dernière, de nouveaux réfugiés déferlent sur Peshawar en provenance de la passe de Khyber où le conflit fait rage. Clinton attendue en octobre >>> Marie-France Calle, correspondante du Figaro à New Delhi | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Dhimmitude! Les regrets d'Hortefeux face à une «polémique injuste»
«L'islamophobie n'a pas sa place dans notre pays», a assuré Brice Hortefeux, sans convaincre tous les invités. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Dans un geste symbolique après la diffusion de la vidéo équivoque, le ministre de l'Intérieur et des Cultes a rompu le jeûne du ramadan avec le CFCM et condamné l'islamophobie tout comme l'islamisme.

Depuis la diffusion de la vidéo polémique, Brice Hortefeux multiplie explications et gestes symboliques. Lundi soir, il rompait le jeûne du ra­madan pour la deuxième fois, invité d'honneur du Conseil français du culte musulman (CFCM). Le mi­nistre a profité de ce repas, «de cette rencontre privilégiée», pour s'expliquer. «Je suis ému de penser que, du fait d'un certain tohu-bohu médiatique, et d'une interprétation totalement inexacte, des personnes ont pu être blessées dans leur être et leurs convictions», a déclaré le ministre. «Je veux donc dire mes regrets, au delà d'une polémique inutile et injuste, j'exprime mon respect pour tous les Français, celles et ceux qui vivent sur notre sol, quelles que soient leur religion, leurs convictions», a-t-il ajouté.

Il a également défendu une France tolérante. «L'islamophobie n'a paLs [sic] sa place dans notre pays», a assuré Brice Hortefeux, sans convaincre tous les invités. Certains ironisaient sur le droit «d'insulter les Arabes, et l'ardeur à défendre les musulmans». De son côté, le Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (Mrap) qui réunissait lundi son bureau exécutif a décidé «de faire citer devant le tribunal correctionnel le ministre de l'Intérieur du chef de diffamation à caractère raciste», et a même demandé sa démission.

Le président du CFCM a, lui, mis en garde : «Nous assistons à une montée de l'islamophobie en France» a-t-il lancé. Mohammed Moussaoui a évoqué la profanation du cimetière de Notre-Dame de Lorette, les attaques contre des mosquées avant de fustiger un débat sur la burqa «instrumentalisé, qui alimente un climat hostile aux femmes voilées. On nous rapporte des humiliations». Le CFCM refuse que l'on légifère sur la burqa, a-t-il rappelé. Car si le conseil prône «l'islam du juste milieu», il n'entend pas s'opposer à l'islam fondamentaliste.

Prudent, Brice Hortefeux n'a pas souhaité évoquer la burqa avant la fin des travaux de la mission parlementaire, en décembre. Mais il a rappelé : «La République combat l'islamophobie, tout comme elle combat l'islamisme.» Avant de détailler sa vision de la laïcité à la française qui «garantit l'égalité des droits de tous les citoyens». Citant Aragon, il appelle à un dialogue étroit «avec tous ceux qui croient au Ciel et ceux qui n'y croient pas». Luttes d'influence >>> Cécilia Gabizon | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Rapport : Racisme: le Conseil de l’Europe critique la Suisse
LE TEMPS: L’organisation, que la Suisse présidera dès novembre pour six mois, dénonce les «zones d’ombre et failles» de l’article 261 bis du Code pénal. Le rapport s’inquiète aussi du sort des requérants d’asile et des Roms

«Elève un peu dissipé. A fourni des efforts mais peut mieux faire. Pas question de se reposer sur ses lauriers.» Voilà, en résumé, comment le Conseil de l’Europe noterait la Suisse dans un cahier d’école. Pas de bonnet d’âne, ni de relégation au fond de la classe près du radiateur, mais pas de prix d’excellence non plus. Dans son rapport publié ce matin, la Commission européenne contre le racisme et l’intolérance (ECRI) mise en place par l’organisation se montre même assez critique. La Suisse devrait cette fois y prêter un peu plus d’attention que d’habitude: elle présidera dès novembre le Conseil de l’Europe pour six mois. Et compte faire des droits de l’homme sa priorité, notamment via une réforme de la fameuse Cour européenne…

Le dernier rapport de l’ECRI consacré à la Suisse remontait à janvier 2004. Depuis, des progrès ont été accomplis, note la commission. Avec la nouvelle loi sur les étrangers entrée en vigueur en 2008, cantons et communes tiennent compte des objectifs d’intégration et «créent des conditions propices à l’égalité des chances et à la participation des étrangers à la vie publique». L’ECRI salue aussi le fait que, depuis janvier 2009, toute décision de naturalisation négative doit être justifiée et susceptible de recours judiciaire. >>> Valérie de Graffenried | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Europarat: Schweiz muss Rassismus stärker bekämpfen
DIE PRESSE: Das Europäische Komitee gegen Rassismus und Intoleranz rügt, Diskriminierungen von Immigranten seien in der Schweiz weit verbreitet. "Besorgt" zeigt es sich über das Erstarken der Volkspartei.

Der Europarat hat die Schweizer Regierung zu einem energischeren Kampf gegen Rassismus und Intoleranz aufgefordert. Vor allem Schwarzafrikaner, Muslime und Immigranten aus den Balkan-Ländern seien in der Schweiz weit verbreiteten Diskriminierungen ausgesetzt, rügte das Europäische Komitee gegen Rassismus und Intoleranz (ECRI) in einem am Dienstag veröffentlichten Bericht. Das gelte besonders für den Zugang zu Ausbildung und Arbeitsplätzen. Die Arbeitslosigkeit sei bei Ausländern fast dreimal so hoch wie im Landesdurchschnitt. >>> Ag. | Dienstag, 15. September 2009

Claim Back Holidays Lost to Sickness, Says European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice, with this ridiculous ruling, has just opened the door to widespread abuse of the system. This is a shirkers’ ruling. It will do nothing to promote productivity and everything to promote indolence and work avoidance. – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Workers who fall ill during their holidays could now claim the time back from their employers following a landmark European Court of Justice judgment that lawyers warned was open to abuse.

The court ruled that employees had the right to ask for statutory leave to be "reallocated" when it was spoilt by sickness.

Under the terms of the judgement, employees would even be allowed to carry any annual leave ruined by illness over into the next holiday year.

The ruling is effectively a new interpretation of the European Working Time Directive on workers' hours, which applies in Britain across the entire private and public sector.

Leading employment lawyers warned it would be costly for businesses and that it left "the door open for abuse" by unscrupulous employees seeking to bolster their holiday entitlement by simply claiming to have a cold or flu while on leave.

A worker could phone up while on holiday and report in sick in the normal way - taking the day off sick, rather than counting it against their annual leave entitlement.

The decision has its origins in a separate ruling on a case brought by a group of British workers earlier this year which said that workers were entitled to accrue holiday during sick leave. However, that had left open the question of what would happen if sickness coincided with scheduled leave.

The new ruling, over a case in Spain, is likely to mean that employers will end up paying for both their employees' sickness absence and a rescheduled holiday.

Owen Warnock, a partner at the law firm Eversheds, said: "Many employers take the view that if an employee is sick while on holiday, that is just bad luck for them.

"The European court has now said that this is not allowed by the working time directive.

"The danger of abuse is clear: an employee could increase his or her holiday entitlement by ensuring that in most years they alleged they were sick while on holiday. It may only be the occasional ‘bad penny’ who does this, but the resentment that it would create with colleagues should not be underestimated." >>> Richard Edwards | Monday, September 14, 2009

L'inquiétante «salafisation» des esprits en Égypte
LE FIGARO: Le mois de ramadan met en évidence le développement de pratiques religieuses radicales dans un pays autrefois connu pour sa modération.

La rumeur s'est répandue comme une traînée de poudre, agitant les rédactions des journaux, alimentant les conversations dans les cafés et les familles : la police d'Assouan, au sud de l'Égypte, arrêterait les personnes qui ne respectent pas le jeûne du ramadan, en buvant, mangeant ou fumant dans la rue ! La «nouvelle» a provoqué une stupéfaction horrifiée chez les musulmans modérés.

Les défenseurs des droits de l'homme se sont emparés de l'affaire, dénonçant une dérive sans précédent dans le pays. «Le pouvoir veut donner des gages aux islamistes en se montrant plus religieux qu'eux», a accusé l'un d'eux. «Le jeûne n'est pas obligatoire», a rappelé un autre - ce qui n'est plus évident en Égypte, où la pression sociale et religieuse est telle qu'il est difficile de s'y soustraire, au moins en public.

L'ennui, c'est qu'en dépit de l'étrange mutisme du ministère de l'Intérieur sur le sujet il ne s'agit apparemment que d'une rumeur, inspirée, peut-être, par l'initiative individuelle d'un officier, ou par une campagne anticriminalité qui aurait été assimilée par les habitants d'Assouan au ramadan. Mais le fait qu'elle ait été jugée crédible est révélateur de l'évolution des mentalités dans une Égypte où la religion est devenue omniprésente, y compris sous ses formes les plus radicales, comme le wahhabisme ou le salafisme. Des pratiques «importées» >>> Tangi Salaün, au Caire | Vendredi 11 Septembre 2009

Égypte : La «salafisation» de la société
LE TEMPS: Le ramadan met en lumière le développement des pratiques religieuses radicales. Les autorités s’en inquiètent et ont placé les mouvements radicaux sous haute surveillance

La nuit est tombée sur Le Caire. Dans la pénombre, la foule se presse pour les prières de tarawih, des prières surnuméraires, non obligatoires, devenues ces dernières années un temps fort du mois de ramadan en Egypte. Ici et là, quelques croyants sont vêtus à l’occidentale. Mais la grande majorité porte une longue barbe, une djellaba courte pour les uns, une tunique passée par-dessus un pantalon pour les autres. Ou, du côté des femmes, le niqab, le voile intégral.

Loin de l’ambiance de fête créée par les fanous, les traditionnelles lanternes du ramadan, la mosquée elle-même respire l’austérité. Et pour cause: Al-Rayan est l’une des principales mosquées salafistes du Caire. Les tenants de cet islam sunnite rigoriste, inspiré de la vie des compagnons du Prophète, sont de plus en plus nombreux en Egypte et, pour eux, le ramadan est propice au prosélytisme.

«Quand je suis venue prier ici pour la première fois, on m’a donné des conseils vestimentaires pour être une bonne musulmane: couvrir entièrement mon corps, mes mains et mon visage, porter des chaussettes pendant la prière pour ne pas montrer mon talon», témoigne une jeune mère de famille. Les prêches sont l’occasion pour les imams salafistes de marteler leurs principes ultraconservateurs, comme le rejet de la télévision, de la musique ou de toute autre distraction moderne.

Le «niqab» banalisé

De plus en plus suivies, ces règles bouleversent la pratique religieuse des Egyptiens. Si l’Egypte est le berceau de l’islam politique, avec la création des Frères musulmans en 1928, et du djihadisme – l’Egyptien Ayman al-Zawahiri est le théoricien d’Al-Qaida et le bras droit d’Oussama ben Laden –, elle a longtemps été réputée pour sa tolérance et sa modération. Il y a quelques années encore, les Egyptiens regardaient avec étonnement les salafistes occidentaux, à l’apparence si reconnaissable, de plus en plus nombreux à venir étudier l’arabe en terre d’islam en Egypte. Aujourd’hui, les codes vestimentaires salafistes ou wahhabites, «importés» des pays du Golfe et du Pakistan, sont pourtant en passe de devenir la norme dans certains quartiers. >>> Tangi Salaün | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Anti-dhimmitude! France’s Hardline Immigration Minister Eric Besson Calls for ‘Debased’ Burkha to Be Banned
MAIL ONLINE: France's hardline immigration minister has launched a fresh demand to ban the burkha - decribed by president Nicolas Sarkozy a sign of 'subservience and debasement'.

Eric Besson said the Islamic full head and body covers were 'unacceptable' and not welcome in France.

His demand for a total ban comes after 58 French MPs called last June for a public inquiry on whether it should be illegal for women to hide their faces in public.

Mr Sazkozy backed the move, saying at the time: 'This garment makes women prisoners and deprives them of their identity.

'I say solemnly that they are not welcome on the territory of the French Republic.'

Women's rights groups and Left-wing MPs went even further, descibing the item as a 'walking coffin' and and a 'mobile prison'.

A burkha refers to a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with only a mesh screen over the eyes, while a niqab is a full-body veil, often in black, with slits for the eyes.

France - home to Europe's largest five million Muslim population - already passed a law in 2004 forbidding students and staff from wearing veils and other religious symbols in schools as part of a drive to defend secularism.

Earlier this year Mr Besson said he though [sic] a law banning burkhas and niqabs would only 'create tensions'.

But he has now said he wants Islamic garments which cover the face - worn by an estimated 2,000 women in France - outlawed everywhere.

He said yesterday: 'I recognise that my views have now evolved.

'The burkha is unacceptable and contrary to the principles of national identity, of sexual equality and of the French Republic.' >>> Ian Sparks | Monday, September 14, 2009

Geert Wilders May Ask 'Muslim Idiots' to Testify in Hate Trial
ARUTZ SHEVA: utch government prosecutors have announced they will put legislator Geert Wilders on trial January 20 on charges of discrimination and inciting hatred. Wilders said he wants to put Islam on trial and that he is “considering calling on radical imams and other idiots as witnesses.”

The Netherlands' largest newspaper called it the “trial of the century." It will begin on January 20, two months before municipal elections in which Wilders’s Freedom party is involved.

“I find it horrible that I’m prosecuted” Wilders said. “This is a political trial, and it’s sad that I'm prosecuted as a criminal for only voicing my political opinions. I hope free speech will prevail. I am convinced that the trial can only lead to my acquittal.”

The charges of the use of hate speech include Wilders's charging U.S. President Barack Obama with “closing his eyes to the great dangers of Islamisation” and comparing the president with Neville Chamberlain, the former British Prime Minister. >>> Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, Israel National News | Monday, September 14, 2009

Remembering WWII: 70 Year Anniversary

Islam: Ignorance Is Not a Strategy
TOWNHALL.COM: Eight years after the tragic events of 9/11, most Americans still know nothing about Islam. Moreover, our political leaders now refrain from even associating terrorism with Islamic radicals at all. To commemorate 9/11, President Obama spoke wistfully at a memorial service at the Pentagon. He called Americans “to serve our communities, to strengthen our country and to better our world.” He never once made mention of Islam, the religion Obama had praised in his White House Ramadan dinner, a dinner called to “celebrate a great religion, and its commitment to justice and progress.”

Despite the President's efforts to re-educate Americans on Islam, research shows that few of us actually know anything about the alleged “religion of peace.” One would think (and hope) that after the events of 9/11, Americans would have seized the opportunity to examine the movement that spawned such heinous acts of terror. On that momentous day, I realized my own gaping lack of knowledge regarding the world's second largest religion. I had studied Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity, but knew noting about Islam. In the years since 9/11, I have now read the Koran, studied biographies of Mohammed, reviewed histories of Islam, and interviewed scholars of Islam. I wrongly assumed that other Americans were doing the same self-education.

The recent Pew Forum survey regarding how religions are perceived n America reveals some ugly facts about our ignorance.

Only four out of ten Americans could correctly answer two basic questions about Islam:

1) What is the Muslim name for God?
Allah

2) What is the name of the Islamic holy text?
Koran

In other words, 60% of Americans know absolutely nothing about Islam. That kind of widespread ignorance is shameful and deplorable. Acts of terror murder more than 3000 Americans and set off a war that continues to this day; yet the average American chooses not to examine any of the underlying philosophy that birthed the horrors.
Formerly, my training in a politically correct United Methodist theology school had taught me that all religions are basically the same, that all lead to God, and that all have the same essential core teachings. After the past eight years of research, I am embarrassed at the paucity of education I received.

In sum, Islam was conceived as a political movement wedded to a religious faith. Mohammed envisioned Islamic political hegemony from the outset, and immediately organized his own army to pursue that vision. Yes, the founder of the religion of peace led his own army and waged bloody, violent wars against those who would oppose his own reign. Most Americans should know that, but clearly, we do not. >>> Allen Hunt | Monday, September 14, 2009

Obama Is a Girly Man

Charles Darwin Film 'Too Controversial for Religious America'
THE TELEGRAPH: A British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

Creation: Review, background and the facts >>>

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

Movieguide.org, an influential site which reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder". His "half-baked theory" directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering", the site stated.

The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as "a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying".

Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of Creation, said he was astonished that such attitudes exist 150 years after On The Origin of Species was published.

"That's what we're up against. In 2009. It's amazing," he said. >>> Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor | Friday, September 11, 2009

Government 'Sold Its Soul' Over Libya Deals
Gordon Brown’s government is the crappiest in living memory. It’s worse even than Tony Blair’s government; and that is saying something! The damn lot that make up Gordon’s government should hang their heads in shame. Clearly, to these unprincipled people, the bottom line means everything. Justice counts for nothing; profits count for everything. In behaving as they have done, they have brought the good name and reputation of the United Kingdom into disrepute, they have damaged our special relationship with the United States, and they have given capitalism a bad name.

This government’s deeds are enough to make any normal Brit feel ashamed of his nationality.

Were this to be the USA, we Brits would be out on the streets in our droves, as was witnessed by the mass demonstrations in DC at the weekend, demonstrating against Obama and his agenda. But, being British, we just let it all go over our heads. It’s all like water off a duck’s back. The Britons’ weakness is our extreme tolerance. We keep on tolerating the intolerable! – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Police officers have accused the Government of being willing "to sell its soul for trade deals" following the disclosure that Jack Straw agreed that the killer of Pc Yvonne Fletcher would not be brought to justice in Britain.

In a letter to Gordon Brown, Paul McKeever, the chairman of the Police Federation, said he was ''shocked, appalled and disgusted'' that the UK agreed the murderer would go on trial in Libya.

The Foreign Office has conceded that any trial for the shooting - which took place outside the Libyan embassy in London 25 years ago - will take place in Tripoli.

The agreement was reportedly struck three years ago, when trade deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds were being negotiated.

Mr McKeever wrote: ''Together with the 140,000 police officers throughout England and Wales that the Police Federation represents, I was shocked, appalled and disgusted" at the news of the agreement.

''This is an absolute disgrace. Pc Fletcher was gunned down in cold blood 25 years ago by a cowardly and callous killer who managed to flee to Libya.

''Now we discover your government rolled over three years ago, abandoning any attempt to bring Yvonne's killer to face the UK courts and justice. >>> | Monday, September 14, 2009

Airliner Plot 'Most Wicked Ever Uncovered in Britain'
THE TELEGRAPH: A plot to blow up transatlantic airliners was ''the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever proven'' in Britain, the trial judge has said.

The trio was part of an al-Qaeda-inspired terror cell. Photo: The Telegraph
Sentencing the three Muslim extremists behind the plans, Mr Justice Henriques said the gang was planning a ''grave'' terrorist atrocity which would have been comparable to the Sept 11 attacks.

Airliner bomb plot ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali was jailed for life with a minimum of 40 years today for planning what judge Mr Justice Henriques said was an atrocity comparable with the September 11 attacks. Co-conspirator Assad Sarwar was given life with a minimum of 36 years and Tanvir Hussain was sentenced to life with a minimum of 32 years.

The trio, part of an al-Qaeda-inspired terror cell, planned to detonate home-made liquid bombs on board flights bound for major North American cities, Woolwich Crown Court heard. The judge said they were only prevented from accomplishing their goal by the largest-ever counter-terrorism operation in the UK.

Mr Justice Henriques said: ''The intention was to perpetrate a terrorist outrage that would stand alongside the events of September 11, 2001 in history.''

The judge added that the airline bomb plot had ''reached an advanced stage in its development''.

He said the men had ''sufficient chemicals for 20 home-made detonators of commercial strength''.

''I'm satisfied that there is every likelihood that this plot would have succeeded but for the intervention of the police and the security service,'' he said. >>> | Monday, September 14, 2009