The Iranian Revolution Grinds to a Halt on the Eve of Its Anniversary
THE GUARDIAN: Thirty-one years ago this week, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran after 15 years in exile. The anniversary is usually marked by triumphant rallies. Not this time: protesters are planning mass demonstrations against a regime they say has betrayed Islamic ideals.

For three decades, the image of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arriving on Iranian soil to a tumultuous homecoming after 15 years in exile has been a centrepiece of Iran's revolutionary iconography.

It is an event best captured in a famous picture of the late spiritual leader being gently led down the steps of an Air France jet by a man dressed as a pilot or an air steward. The picture embodies the heady mixture of pride, compassion and religious hero-worship the revolution is supposed to evoke among Iranians.

Khomeini was returning to be hailed as a saviour by his fellow countrymen after a wave of popular uprisings that had toppled the regime of the western-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His guide was playing a mere walk-on part in the historic drama that engulfed Iran that day in February 1979.

But last week, at the start of the annual Fajr festivities marking the revolution's anniversary, that image was the subject of a strange story that seemed symptomatic of the increasing uncertainty surrounding the country's revolutionary legacy, amid the continuing turmoil over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election.

The Islamic Revolution Documentation Centre, a state body linked to a pro-government MP, claimed on its website to have traced Khomeini's chaperone as one Gerard Jean Fabian-Bataouche, who it said was living almost destitute in Tehran. The report, based on an interview with Fabian-Bataouche, described him as a former French policeman of Algerian origin who had been Khomeini's personal bodyguard while he was living in the village of Neauphle-le-Château, outside Paris, waiting for the shah to fall in the months before the revolution.

Having taken a liking to the man after learning that he had an Iranian wife and spoke Farsi, Khomeini had invited him to be on board his triumphant flight to Tehran. Fabian-Bataouche had remained in Iran afterwards but had fallen on hard times. He was said to be homeless and forced to flit from one friend to another in an endless quest for a place to sleep.

It seemed an improbably shabby postscript to an association with the ­revolution's founding father. Predictably, the story was immediately denounced as a hoax and within a day, the Islamic Revolution Documentation Centre removed it, citing "serious doubts" about Fabian-Bataouche's authenticity.

True or false, the fact such a tale even saw the light of day betrayed an uncharacteristic lack of official sure-footedness as the revolution approaches its 31st anniversary. The prospect of revolutionary festivities is usually a cause for triumphalism among the Islamic republic's establishment. Instead, with the storm over Ahmadinejad's hotly disputed poll victory last June refusing to abate, it appears to be making them jumpy. >>> Robert Tait and Noushin Hoseiny | Sunday, February 07, 2010

Shirin Ebadi, Iranian Nobel Prize Winner, Backs Fresh Street Protests in Iran
THE TELEGRAPH: Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has called on her fellow Iranians to defy the security forces and take to the streets this week on the anniversary of the revolution.

Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. Photo: The Telegraph
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mrs Ebadi described her despair at the regime's brutality but urged Iranians to show peaceful defiance.

"I believe people should take part in the demonstration," she said. "They should ask for their rights, but they should do it peacefully. Obviously the regime wants people to be violent because it gives them an excuse to crack down. People must not give them that excuse."

Mrs Ebadi, 62, a revered human rights lawyer who was awarded the peace prize in 2003, fled Iran during the turmoil after last June's disputed election. She was speaking from London where she is in exile, ahead of planned opposition protests this week.

Democracy campaigners are preparing to hijack state-organised rallies on Thursday, traditionally a day for Iran's leaders to show their strength. Rattled hardliners within the regime are attempting to intimidate protesters to stay at home: 10 days ago they hanged two men for their supposed role in the post-election unrest, and another nine have been sentenced to die.

Mrs Ebadi also spoke of her frustration at the regime's brutal treatment of Iranian protesters and described its chilling threats against her. Her family have remained in Tehran and both her husband and sister have been arrested and briefly jailed.

She told The Sunday Telegraph that threats have been made against her by her enemies within the regime through her friends who are still in the country. >>> Angus McDowall | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Shirin Ebadi's Interview with The Sunday Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Shirin Ebadi, 62, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her long career as a human rights lawyer in Iran. She spoke to The Sunday Telegraph during a stay in London.

Sunday Telegraph: "Have you spent much time in London since fleeing Iran last summer?"

Shirin Ebadi: "Since the election I've almost been living at airports. Not because of my safety, but so I can travel to talk about Iran.

"I stay in hotels wherever I go because the people who invite me always put me in hotels. I have been living in hotels since I left Iran in June. Obviously I'm tired, but I don't let it affect my work."

ST: "Are you in any danger from the regime?"

SE: "I've never been contacted by the regime directly. But they contacted my family and friends and said 'wherever she is, we can get rid of her'.

"I don't take the threat seriously. If people want to do something they don't talk about it beforehand. Their main aim is to scare me off doing my work properly.

"Obviously, I don't want to make my enemies happy, so I continue with my work inside the law.

"They threatened my husband and my sister that if I continue with my work they will arrest both of them. My sister was detained for three weeks. They were not tortured physically, but to arrest people because of something someone else has done is a form of emotional torture." >>> Angus McDowall | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Jewish Documentary: Faith and Fate

British Banker Could Face Death Over Fraud Charges
THE TELEGRAPH: A multi-millionaire British citizen is facing a potential death sentence in Indonesia on charges of corruption and fraud relating to the controversial collapse of one of the country's leading banks.

Rafat Ali Rizvi, inset, has been accused of stealing assets from Bank Century. Photo: The Telegraph
Rafat Ali Rizvi, 49, who grew up and went to university in the UK, has been accused of stealing assets from Bank Century after it was rescued from collapse by the state in November 2008 with $670m (£430m) of taxpayers' money.

Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Rizvi at Indonesia's request but he remains at large, splitting his time between the UK, where he has a property on London's Park Lane, and Singapore. Neither country has an extradition agreement with Indonesia.

Mr Rivzi, believed to be worth around $600m, protests his innocence but friends say he fears standing trial in Indonesia because the Bank Century case has become highly political. Investigations have been launched into the original bail-out as well as alleged corruption surrounding the case.

According to Mr Rivzi's lawyers, he believes he will be made a scapegoat for the bank's failure. >>> Philip Aldrick | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Tea Party Convention Stalled by Racially-charged Opening Remarks
THE TELEGRAPH: A conference designed to galvanise opposition to Barack Obama's "big government" agenda has hit controversy after racially-charged remarks by the opening speaker, a leading anti-immigration campaigner.

Tom Tancredo, who served for ten years as a Republican in Congress, said America's first black president was only elected because "we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country".

Such tests were used to prevent blacks from voting during segregation and were banned by the landmark civil rights legislation of 1964.

Speaking at the first National Tea Party convention, Mr Tancredo also denounced the "cult of multiculturalism". The 2008 election had "put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House ... Barack Hussein Obama," he said, using the president's Islamic middle name.

"This is our country," he told the audience. "Let's take it back." >>> Alex Spillius in Nashville | Friday, February 05, 2010

Tea Party Turns Nasty: ‘It’s Our Country – Let’s Take It Back’
TIMES ONLINE: They will proudly boast of how they have galvanised ordinary Americans against runaway government spending, but a dark underbelly of xenophobia has been exposed at the first national gathering of the Tea Party movement.

Here in the vast Gaylord resort in Nashville, where 600 members of the conservative grassroots phenomenon that exploded in revolt against President Obama’s economic policies have gathered, it would be advisable not to wear a T-shirt declaring “I am an illegal immigrant”.

The anti-Government, anti-Establishment movement, which has splintered in the past week with many boycotting this gathering, has billed itself as a revolution born of the widespread disgust at Washington and the way that the nation’s politicians are bankrupting America’s future.

With its raucous protests it has undeniably become a political force that threatens to hand Democrats a disastrous midterm election night in November. Voter anger against spending and debt, of which the Tea Partiers are in the vanguard, played a significant role in the recent loss of the late Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat and could conceivably lead to Democrats losing the House and Senate.

Yet the speech that opened the Nashville event yesterday, an address greeted with whoops and cheers from the mainly white audience, reflects a movement that also appears to have a less attractive side to it.

Tom Tancredo, a former Republican congressman who ran for president in 2008 on an anti-illegal immigration platform, said of the voters who elected Mr Obama: “They could not even spell the word ‘vote’ or say it in English and they put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House — Barack Hussein Obama!”[.]

Decrying America’s multiculturalism, Mr Tancredo said that Republicans and Democrats had voted for a black man because they felt they had to. To a standing ovation, he shouted: “We really do have a culture to pass on to our children: it’s based on Judaeo-Christian values.”

“This is our country,” he declared. “Let’s take it back!” He added, to applause: “Cultures are not the same. Some are better. Ours is best!” The crowd, some wearing recently purchased T-shirts saying “Keep the change — I’ll keep my FREEDOM my GUNS and my MONEY”, loved it. >>> Tim Reid in Nashville | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Sheikh Al-Qaradawi Speaks about the Muslim Conquest of Europe

Kommentar zur Staatsverschuldung: Griechenland sollte die Eurozone verlassen
WELT ONLINE: Griechenland steckt in einer schweren Finanzkrise, die Zahlungsunfähigkeit droht. In dieser Situation erweist sich der EU-Stabilitätspakt als Papiertiger. Die griechischen Politiker schrecken vor gravierenden Reformen zurück. Dabei gibt es nur einen Weg: Athen muss die Drachme wiedereinführen.

Ein auslaufendes Modell? Die griechische 1-Euro-Münze. Bild: Welt Online
Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie haben sich in einem tiefen Tunnel verlaufen und stehen an einer Weggabelung. Sie wissen, dass die Tunnelröhre, die Ihnen offen steht, ins Verderben führt. Der Weg ins Freie ist hingegen versperrt, und Sie müssten ihn erst einmal unter größten Mühen frei schaufeln. Was würden Sie tun?

Ungefähr so stellt sich im Moment die Situation in der Eurozone dar. Sowohl für die Staaten Südeuropas, allen voran Griechenland, die darum fürchten müssen, kein Geld mehr am Kapitalmarkt zu bekommen. Als auch für die stabileren Länder wie Frankreich oder Deutschland. Denn deren Bevölkerung müsste die Zeche zahlen, wenn sie die Hellenen tatsächlich vor der drohenden Zahlungsunfähigkeit bewahren. >>> Von Jörg Eigendorf | Samstag, 06. Februar 2010

Barack Obama: Stumbling Towards Isolationism
THE TELEGRAPH: One of the ironies of Barack Obama’s presidency is that he is increasingly distant from the world he promised to embrace, writes Toby Harnden in Washington

Photo: The Telegraph
Europeans cheered Barack Obama every step of the way to the White House.

They swooned when the candidate took his stump skills to Berlin, where he spoke of "the burdens of global citizenship" and promised to "remake the world".

He had lived in Indonesia as a boy, travelled to Pakistan and Africa in his youth and came from a family that looked, as he liked to quip, "like the United Nations". Then, in his first year in office, he made 10 trips abroad to 21 countries, making him the most travelled of all United States presidents in their first 12 months.

So it came as a rude shock to Europeans last week when Obama decided not to bother with the European Union knees up Madrid in May - particularly miffing Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero of Spain, who, like the American president, campaigned on his opposition to the Iraq war.

American officials intimated that they were unimpressed by European bickering over who would sit next to the Obamas at the summit dinner and even over who would be the first leader to shake the hand of the person that Oprah Winfrey anointed as "the One" in Iowa back in 2008.

Perhaps Obama himself was a touch irritated by Nicolas Sarkozy's new habit of mocking him. "Obama has been in power for a year, and he has already lost three special elections," the French president said last week. "Me, I have won two legislative elections and the EU election. What can one say I've lost?" >>> Toby Harnden's American Way | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Adolf Hitler Took 'Primitive Viagra' to Have Sex with Eva Braun, Claims New Book
THE TELEGRAPH: Adolf Hitler took a primitive form of Viagra when he tried to have sex with Eva Braun, a new book on the Fuhrer’s fragile health has claimed.

Hitler believed the sex drug would give him the necessary energy for his encounters with Eva Braun, the book claimed. Photo: The Telegraph
Based on long-dormant medical archives and formerly classified military documents, it claimed the dictator was so afraid of pills that most of his medication was injected.

The authors of the book, titled Was Hitler Ill?, claimed he took 82 different sorts of medication during his rule of Nazi Germany including the primitive “Viagra”, which was a testosterone extract.

The book is largely based on papers from Dr. Theodor Morrell, regarded as a quack among many in the upper echelons of Nazism, who Hitler came to rely on with increasing urgency during the war.

The less-than-flattering nickname “Reich syringe master” was given to him by Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, himself a morphine addict by war's end.

According to the book, in 1944, Morrell began giving Hitler injections of the testosterone and a cocktail made from the semen and prostate glands of young bulls into his bloodstream. >>> Andrew Hough, and Allan Hall in Berlin | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI Criticises 'Tide of Secularism' in UK and Support for Euthanasia
THE TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI has criticised the “increasing tide of secularism” in Britain, in his second comments on the country in a week.

The pontiff condemned support for euthanasia, which he said goes directly against the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life, and recent developments in embryo research.

He also said that too many people see the Roman Catholic Church in terms of “prohibitions and retrograde positions” but ignore its positive vision of the world.

The pope added that faith schools are a “powerful force” for improving society.

It comes just days after Benedict XVI made an unprecedented attack on Labour’s “unjust” equality laws, claiming that they restricted religious freedom. >>> Martin Beckford | Saturday, February 06, 2010

Stifling Free Speech Is Not Really Free
In protecting Muslims from those who offend them, the West ill-serves Islam and those Muslims who seek its reform. Muslims need untrammelled free speech to awaken to the awareness of how totalitarian and comatose is their culture. – Salim Mansur, QMI Agency
TORONTO SUN – Comment: Free speech is not merely an ornamental bauble found in liberal democratic societies. It is the well-fought ground upon which the structures of such societies have been constructed.

It is free speech in practice, or its ideal subscribed to, that has distinguished Europe and western civilization from all others past and present. Its absence or suppression is the main feature of totalitarian culture.

Yet free speech has never been entirely free from siege by special interests.

Except for the United States where free speech is constitutionally protected by the first amendment, the exercise of free speech can still be constrained by the guardians of public interests as we see in the case of the Dutch MP Geert Wilders, indicted and brought to court for offending Muslims in Holland.

The trial of Wilders is as much a step backward from the ideal of free speech as it is indicative of how free people willingly compromise their freedom by forgetting their history.

In indicting Wilders for hate speech, the Dutch, and their Western supporters, have turned their backs to the long line of defenders of free speech as the cornerstone of liberty, from Spinoza and Voltaire to Emile Zola. >>> Salim Mansur, QMI Agency | Thursday, February 4, 2010

Pat Condell: The Crooked Judges of Amsterdam

Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?


Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom >>> Mark Alexander | Friday, April 20, 2007

Colin Powell Joins the Obama Movement Backing Gays in Military
TIMES ONLINE: “You don’t have to be straight in the military,” Barry Goldwater said in 1994. “You just have to be able to shoot straight.”

Sixteen years on, the conservative icon and former presidential candidate can look down from the hereafter on an American cultural scene where the President and his top commanders at last agree that gays should be able to serve openly in the armed forces.

They have been joined this week by General Colin Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who once called homosexuality “a behavioural characteristic” unlike such “benign characteristics” as skin colour.

General Powell’s opposition to repealing the longstanding ban on gays in the military helped to produce the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, the death knell of which President Obama announced in his State of the Union address. With General Powell’s change of heart — which aides said came two years ago, even though he waited until Wednesday to announce it — the US Congress is the only remaining obstacle to ending the ban.

For decades, the status of gays and lesbians in uniform has created an apparently unbridgeable gulf between liberals who note that gays are allowed to die for their country but not to be open about their sexuality, and social conservatives who insist that lifting the ban would lead to sexual harassment cases and undermine the effectiveness of fighting units.

It is a potentially explosive political issue that President Clinton tried and failed to resolve in 1994, and that Mr Obama must still sell to Republicans and some Democrats in the centre. >>> Giles Whittell, Washington | Friday, February 05, 2010

Rauchverbot in Griechenland total gescheitert
KRONE.at: Griechenlands Kampf gegen seinen Ruf als Europas Raucher-Nation Nummer eins ist zumindest vorerst einmal völlig gescheitert: Sechs Monate nach der Einführung eines angeblich strikten Rauchverbots an öffentlichen Plätzen wird in Lokalen weiterhin gequalmt. Nur in Krankenhäusern und öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln wird das Verbot eingehalten. "Ansonsten wird überall geraucht", sagte Panagiotis Behrakis, Professor für Lungenheilkunde an der Universität Athen, am Freitag.

Grund des Fehlschlags sei die Tatsache, dass die zuständigen Ministerien nie richtig geklärt hätten, welche Ausnahmen es geben dürfe und wie die speziell für Raucher eingerichteten Räume aussehen müssten, hieß es in Medienberichten. >>> | Freitag, 05. Februar 2010

Greenland MPs Call for End to Danish Political Involvement
ICE NEWS (.is): The Danish parliament’s elected representatives for Greenland have declared that they are ready to begin negotiations aimed at discontinuing the semi-autonomous country’s involvement in Danish domestic politics.

“This is a process we need to get started,” said Greenland MP Sofia Rosssen. “This was something I said during the last election”. Rossen has not suggested a date for any withdrawal but claimed it would not happen until Greenland has been afforded full responsibility for the administration of its own domestic affairs. >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Rising Anti-Semitism in Malmo
ICE NEWS (.is): Jewish residents in the southern Swedish city of Malmo are being increasingly targeted by anti-Semitic threats and harassment, causing many to flee the city out of safety concerns.

“Threats against Jews have increased steadily in Malmo in recent years and many young Jewish families are choosing to leave the city,” said Jewish Community of Malmo leader Fredrik Sieradzki in a report by The Local. “Many feel that the community and local politicians have shown a lack of understanding for how the city’s Jewish residents have been marginalised”.

In 2009 there were 79 crimes reported to Malmo police against Jewish residents, representing a 50 percent increase from the previous year according to media reports. >>> | Thursday, February 04, 2010

It Looks As If You’ll Soon Qualify to Live in Florida Yourself, Arnie!
THE TELEGRAPH: Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, is facing a backlash from fellow governors after saying that Florida is just "for old people" and that "no one would want to go to Iowa".

Mr Schwarzenegger took a swipe at the two other states in a speech in Silicon Valley promoting his own state as a destination for tourists and businesses.

"No matter where you go in the world, people still want to come to California," he said. "There's no one screaming 'I can't wait to get to Iowa.' That I can guarantee you. They want to come here to California." Florida just for old people, says Arnold Schwarzenegger >>> Nick Allen in Los Angeles | Friday, February 05, 2010

This Video Will Show You, Dear Fellow Infidel, Exactly the Fanaticism We Are Up Against: “If You Stood in Front of the Prophet for Just One Minute...”

BAE Pays Fines of £285m Over Arms Deal Corruption Claims
THE GUARDIAN: Guardian campaign vindicated by weapons maker's admissions over Saudi al-Yamamah contract and other cases

The British arms firm BAE Systems has accepted guilt and agreed to pay penalties in the US and the UK totalling several hundred million dollars to settle all the long-running corruption allegations against it.

Under the deal, announced simultaneously in London and Washington this afternoon, BAE will pay $400m (£255m) in the US and £30m in the UK.

In the US, the company will plead guilty to offences of false accounting to settle bribery allegations made over the enormous al-Yamamah arms deals with Saudi Arabia stretching back more than 20 years, as well as corruption allegations over arms deals in central Europe. >>> David Leigh and Rob Evans | Friday, February 05, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: To the BAE files and videos >>>

Watch an Exclusive Trailer for David Baddiel's The Infidel
THE GUARDIAN: In David Baddiel's new comedy, a devout Muslim Londoner (Omid Djalili) discovers that he's adopted, and Jewish. The Infidel is released around the UK on 9 April

Watch the trailer here | Friday, February 05, 2010

Russia Sees No Problem in Arming Iran
CNSNEWS.com: The Russian government sees no problem selling weapons, including advanced anti-aircraft systems, to Iran, saying that arms sales are fine so long as there is no U.N. weapons embargo on the Islamic Republic. >>> Matt Cover, Staff Writer | Friday, February 05, 2010

Germany's Very Own Minaret Debate Turns Nasty
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A small Muslim community in a western German town would like to build a minaret on its mosque. But the plan has triggered passionate opposition from locals, many of whom rely on rhetoric from the extreme right in railing against the "symbol of Islam's quest for power."

"Willkommen," reads the stencilled print on the wall along the riverside boardwalk in the small town of Völklingen. Not content to just welcome its German guests, however, the message is translated into a number of languages. "Bienvenue ... bienvenidos ... velkommen," it reads. And "hosgeldiniz," a nod to the city's substantial Turkish population.

Elsewhere in the city -- particularly in the quarter known as Wehrden -- Muslim immigrants may not feel quite as welcome. A small mosque on the banks of the Saar River there has applied for a permit to build a small minaret on its roof -- triggering a wave of at-times vehement protest reminiscent of the fuss surrounding the November 2009 referendum in Switzerland to ban minarets in the country.

"I am against the Islamification of our fatherland!" reads a message, posted by "Tommy" on the Web site of the local paper Saarbrücker Zeitung. "Islam is the greatest threat facing humanity," he adds. >>> cgh | Friday, February 05, 2010

Zapatero zu Gast in Washington
Spaniens Ministerpräsident Zapatero und Präsident Obama umarmen einander. Bild: Spiegel Online
SPEGEL ONLINE: Mit seiner Absage für einen EU/USA-Gipfel hatte Barack Obama für Enttäuschung in Spanien gesorgt - das Land hat derzeit die Ratspräsidentschaft inne. Jetzt trafen sich der US-Präsident und Spaniens Ministerpräsident José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero am Rande eines traditionellen Termins in Washington.

Washington - US-Präsident Barack Obama und der spanische Ministerpräsident José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero sind am Donnerstag kurz in Washington zusammengekommen. Das Treffen am Rande des traditionellen Gebetsfrühstücks in der US-Hauptstadt fand wenige Tage nach dem Wirbel um Obamas Absage für einen für Mai geplanten EU/USA-Gipfel in Spanien statt. >>> luk/dpa | Freitag, 05. Februar 2010

Bat Ye’or in Israel

Bat Ye’or on Islamic Jihad

Global Sell-off Shudders Markets as Euro Plunges to Eight-month Low Amid Fears of Debt Default
MAIL ONLINE: The euro fell for a second straight day today amid fears that economies of Portugal, Greece and Spain could collapse in a sea of debt.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 1.6 per cent, while Germany's DAX fell 1.3 per cent and the CAC-40 in France was 2.1 per cent lower.

The euro tumbled below $1.37, its lowest level since May 2009.

It also slumped against other safe-haven currencies like the Swiss franc, forcing the Swiss National Bank to take the unusual step of intervening in the market.

But the currency remained steady against sterling, reflecting the weakness of the British economy. >>> Lucy Farndon and Heath Aston | Friday, February 05, 2010

Nouveau décrochage de l'euro face au dollar
LE FIGARO: Face aux détériorations des finances publiques de plusieurs états de la zone euro, la monnaie européenne est passée à 1,3648 dollar ce vendredi matin.

L'euro est tombé vendredi à son niveau le plus bas depuis mai 2009. Ce matin, la monnaie unique enchaîne sa troisième séance de repli et est passé sous les 1,37 dollar, après avoir franchi en baisse le seuil des 1,38 dollar la veille (jeudi soir vers 22 heures). Il a atteint 1,3648 dollar vers 9 heures 30. C'est un niveau inédit pour la monnaie unique depuis le 9 mai.

Depuis le début de l'année, l'euro a cédé 2,5%.

Cette chute s'explique en particulier par l'inquiétude des cambistes due aux difficultés budgétaires de plusieurs pays de la zone euro. Beaucoup s'attendent à une intervention musclée de l'Europe, voire à un appel auprès du Fonds monétaire international (FMI), pour aider la Grèce à se sortir d'une crise budgétaire sans précédent.

Un autre sujet vient inquiéter l'euro sur le marché des devises, le cas de l'Espagne qui a très mal digéré la crise avec notamment un taux de chômage atteignant près de 20%. D'ailleurs Dominique Strauss-Kahn, le patron du FMI, a parlé ce jeudi sur RTL d'une crise «très forte en Espagne» et que le pays devait faire «un effort considérable» pour réduire les déficits publics. La dette publique espagnole s'est envolée un peu au-dessus des 60% du PIB en 2010 alors qu'en 2007 elle ne représentait que 36,2% du PIB. >>> Jean-Guillaume Brasseur (lefigaro.fr) | Vendredi 05 Février 2010

First Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop Says St. Paul Was Condemning Homosexual Acts by Heterosexuals


CNS NEWS: To the news article >>> Karen Schuberg | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Wilders: "Islam Is a Totalitarian Ideology"

Record Number of Anti-Semitic Attacks in Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: A record number of anti-Semitic attacks took place in Britain last year, according to new figures.

More than 924 reports of bigoted violence and abuse were received last year by the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST).

The charity, which monitors anti-Semitism in Britain, said the figures marked the worst year since records began in 1984.

Gordon Brown said the findings were ''deeply troubling.''

The incidents included violent street attacks, arson, egg-throwing, racist graffiti, website hacking and hate mail.

Researchers said the surge was fuelled by the ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces in January 2009.

Almost a quarter of incidents (23 per cent) included some form of reference to the controversial conflict.

The fighting was marked by protests around the world, including ugly confrontations outside the Israeli Embassy in London.

In a statement released through the charity, Mr Brown condemned the attacks and said more must be done towards securing Israel and creating a Palestinian state.

He said: ''Anti-Semitism is one of the most ancient of hatreds - and yet it constantly adapts to modern times, requiring ever greater vigilance from all of us who are determined to stand up for tolerance and for the truth. >>> | Friday, February 05, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Teenage Girl Buried Alive in Turkey for Talking to Boys
THE TELEGRAPH: A 16-year-old girl has been buried alive by her relatives in Turkey as punishment for talking to boys, police have said.

The hole where Medine Memi was buried by her relatives in the courtyard of their house in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey. Photo: The Telegraph
Medine Memi was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.

Her father and grandfather have since been arrested and are due to face trial over her death. Her mother was also charged but has since been released.

Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website.

Medine had first been reported missing 40 days earlier.

The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting.

Media reports said the father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – had male friends. The grandfather is said to have beaten her for having relations with the opposite sex.

A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. >>> | Friday, February 05, 2010

Please Forgive Me, Begs British Woman Facing Lashes Over ‘Subversion’ in Iran
TIMES ONLINE: A British national has begged forgiveness from an Iranian revolutionary court after being put on trial in Tehran for subversive activities, Iranian websites reported yesterday.

An unidentified woman, 24, the daughter of a British mother and Iranian father, has admitted some of the charges against her including encouraging and attending demonstrations, consorting with foreigners and drinking alcohol, government and opposition websites said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has asked the Iranian Government for clarification of the reports, and that the woman be given consular assistance if true. That is unlikely to be granted, though, because Iran does not recognise dual nationality.

Relations between London and Tehran are already under strain. The Iranian regime has accused Britain of fomenting the worst unrest in its 31-year history, arrested Iranians working for the British Embassy and expelled the BBC’s correspondent. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, February 05, 2010

Rahm Emanuel Apologises for 'Retards' Comment
THE TELEGRAPH: Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, has apologised for calling Left-wingers Democrats '----ing retards'.

Mr Emanuel faced calls for his resignation less than a year since President Barack Obama apologised for comparing his ten-pin bowling skills to those of disabled participants in the Special Olympics.

The famously foul-mouthed political operator had used the offending term last summer to berate liberal groups attacking conservative Democrats whose votes the White House needed for health care reform.

But his characteristically colourful language has only just been reported, drawing immediate fire from Left and Right, including Sarah Palin, the conservative heroine and former Alaska governor who is the mother of a Downs' Syndrome baby.

She called on Mr Obama to "show decency" by sacking Mr Emanuel, a former Chicago congressman who is one of the most combative figures in Washington. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Cameron: Gay Refugees from Africa Should Be Given Asylum in UK
MAIL ONLINE: Gay refugees from Africa should be granted asylum in the UK, David Cameron has said.

The Tory leader suggested that homosexuals should be allowed to stay in Britain if their lives would be put in danger were they sent home.

Under immigration rules, gay men are often sent back to countries with homophobic regimes - and advised to keep their sexuality a secret in case local police attack them.

But in an interview with gay magazine Attitude, Mr Cameron said the rules should be changed to protect homosexuals fleeing persecution.

He also promised to do more to stop rappers whose songs contain homophobic lyrics from performing in Britain, and said he would force faith schools to teach pupils there was nothing wrong with being gay. >>> Daniel Martin | February 05, 2010

Attitude >>> | Thursday, February 04, 2010

The Pope Is Right About the Threat to Freedom
TIMES ONLINE: We may not agree with the Vatican line on homosexuality. But the State is trampling on our rights as individuals

There are times when human rights become human wrongs. This happens when rights become more than a defence of human dignity, which is their proper sphere, and become instead a political ideology, relentlessly trampling down everything in their path. This is happening increasingly in Britain, and it is why the Pope’s protest against the Equality Bill, whether we agree with it or not, should be taken seriously.

Let me make it clear that I believe homosexuals have rights that need defending. Like Jews, they have been a persecuted minority for far too long. They too, like Jews, were victims of the Holocaust. They have a case that should be heard.

I believe, too, that religious beliefs have no privileged status in a democratic society. Religions should have influence, not power. I do not believe that the religious convictions of some should be imposed on all by force of law. In a free society, the religious voice should persuade, not compel.

We all have an interest in freedom, the freedom to act differently from others. Indeed, at the core of human rights is a religious proposition: that we are all, regardless of colour, creed or culture, in the image of God. That religious vision burned brightly in the minds of those such as John Locke, who first formulated the idea of rights in the 17th century.

It was integral to the American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal [and] that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” John F. Kennedy made a similar statement in his great inaugural address: “The rights of Man come not from the generosity of the State, but from the hand of God.”

That is why using the ideology of human rights to assault religion risks undermining the very foundation of human rights themselves. When a Christian airport worker is banned from wearing a cross, when a nurse is sacked after a role-play exercise in which he suggested that patients pray, when Roman Catholic adoption agencies are forced to close because they do not place children for adoption with same-sex couples and when a Jewish school is told that its religious admissions policy is, not in intent but in effect, racist, we are in dangerous territory indeed. >>> Jonathan Sacks | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

France Denies Citizenship to Man with Veiled Wife
THE WASHINGTON POST: PARIS -- French authorities have denied citizenship to a man who forced his French wife to wear a face-covering veil, saying he had rejected national values of secularism and gender equality.

The government has been speaking out strongly against head-to-toe veils, and is moving toward banning them in public after a long public debate over French national identity in the age of globalization.

Critics call the face-covering veil a gateway to extremism, but the move to ban it has drawn fierce criticism from some of France's five million Muslims, who say such restrictions are based in fear and intolerance of Islam.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has called the veils degrading to women and unwelcome in France. Sarkozy, a law-and-order conservative whose relations with the Muslim community have often been fraught, has been a vocal proponent of an all-out ban on the burqa, niqab and other face-covering Muslim veils. >>> Jenny Barchfield, The Associated Press | Thursday, January 04, 2010

Une ville d'Allemagne autorise l'appel du muezzin
SAPHIR NEWS: Malgré les vives protestations d'une partie de la population, la ville allemande de Rendsburg, au nord de l’Allemagne, a autorisé l'appel à la prière du muezzin lancé par haut-parleur depuis les minarets de la Grande Mosquée, inaugurée en automne 2009, a annoncé, mardi 2 février, le maire social-démocrate, Andreas Breitner. >>> La Rédaction | Mercredi 03 Février 2010

The Lure of Radical Islam
AINA: According to a recent ABC report, “As many as three dozen criminals who converted to Islam in American prisons have moved to Yemen where they could pose a ‘significant threat’ to attack the U.S., according to a report on al-Qaeda from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. … Also of concern to U.S. officials, the Senate staff found, is a group of ‘nearly 10 non-Yemeni Americans who traveled to Yemen, converted to Islam, became fundamentalists, and married Yemeni women so they could remain in the country.’ … An American official described them as ‘blond-haired, blue-eyed types’ who fit the profile of Americans who al-Qaeda has sought to recruit for terror missions.”

These, of course, are not the first Americans — black, white, or in between — to convert to Islam and join the jihad: John Walker Lindh wound up fighting fellow Americans alongside Taliban forces in Afghanistan; Adam Gadahn became a major character in al-Qaeda’s propaganda machine; Gregory Patterson, Levar Washington, and Kevin James plotted terror strikes against the U.S.; Christopher Paul and Jose Padilla conspired to use weapons of mass destruction.

Then there are the countless European converts, such as the British “shoe-bomber,” Richard Reid, who attempted to achieve “martyrdom” by detonating explosives in his shoes while aboard a passenger aircraft; the late Germaine Lindsay, who did achieve “martyrdom” by killing himself and 56 of his fellow citizens and injuring over 700, in the London bombings of 2005; and Abu Abdullah, the native Briton-turned-fiery-Islamist-preacher who makes no secret of his vitriolic hatred of the West (all, of course, while enjoying that unique Western liberty, freedom of speech).

What causes such men, born and raised in the West, often from Christian backgrounds, to abandon their heritage, embrace Islam, and become radicalized to the point that they conspire to kill their fellow countrymen?

As for Islam’s intrinsic appeal, it has long been argued that, unlike Christianity, which can be “heavy” on theology, Islam is relatively simple and straightforward. Thus while Christianity may revolve around more metaphysical topics — the Trinity, Christology, etc. — Islam, in black-and-white terms, commands its adherents to do this and not do that. In fact, the Arabic word “Sharia,” that comprehensive body of laws Muslims are to obey, is etymologically related to the word for “pathway” — as in, “the pathway to paradise.”

Yet there is another, more subtle, factor that may attract men to Islam: traditional male roles are well preserved in the religion. This may appeal to Western men who find it difficult to assert their “masculinity” in what may be perceived as gender-free Western societies. Harvey Mansfield’s book, Manliness, defines that term as “a quality both bad and good, mostly male, often intolerant, irrational, and ambitious. Our gender-neutral society does not like it but cannot get rid of it.”

Indeed, with an ethical code that coalesced in the seventh century — when the Muslim prophet and “perfect example” walked the earth, enforced his will, and conquered his “infidel” neighbors — Islamic culture can hardly be deemed “gender-neutral.” Even philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who despised religion and preached the need for man to be transformed into an amoral “hyper-man,” professed some admiration for Islam, describing it as “noble and manly” (The Antichrist). >>> Raymond Ibrahim | Thursday, February 24, 2010

Geert Wilders Launches Websites on Political Trial
PARTIJ VOOR DE VRIJHEID: Wednesday February 3rd 2010 Dutch politician Geert Wilders launches two websites on the political trial against him and the freedom of speech. From now on both the Dutch (www.wildersproces.nl) and the international public (www.wildersontrial.com) are able to keep up with the trials’ proceedings.

Both websites not only include the latest news on the trial but also provide background information on the trials’ participants, the summons, the cause and the importance of this trial for freedom of speech in the Netherlands and –possibly- for the whole of Europe.

Geert Wilders: “This trial is not just about me. It is about the future of freedom of speech in the Netherlands. The outcome of this trial affects the freedom of all Dutch citizens. With these websites, I want to make it possible for people to follow the latest developments concerning the trial.” [Source: Partij Voor De Vrijheid] | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Wilders on Trial: A sledgehammer blow to the freedom of speech >>>

Het Wilders process: Aanslag op de vrijheid van meningsuiting >>>

Geert Wilders spreekt de rechtbank toe: Geert Wilder Speaks to the Court

Douglas Murray – The Trial of Geert Wilders: Why We Won't Be Hearing About Camel Urine
THE TELEGRAPH: The trial of the Dutch politician Geert Wilders recommenced yesterday with a ruling on which expert witnesses the defence would be permitted to call.

When the trial opened a fortnight ago, Wilders asked for a rather sparky list of 18 expert witnesses. They included some noted experts on Islam and social cohesion. And also a few, ahem, practitioners of the same. They were to include Mohammed Bouyeri, who shot, stabbed and partly beheaded the film-maker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam in 2004. And also Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the jihadist cleric who was given the red-carpet treatment in London by former mayor Ken Livingstone a few years back.

Sadly the Dutch court haven’t allowed these witnesses or most of the others, leaving the defence with only three witnesses. They are expert Simon Admiraal and leading Dutch scholar Hans Jansen (author of numerous scholarly books and the hilariously titled recent Islam for Pigs, Donkeys, Monkeys and Other Beasts). Most interestingly the court has allowed Wilders to call as an expert witness the brave and eloquent Wafa Sultan.

Sultan made her name – and garnered her first fatwas – for a blinding hit-the-ball-out-of-the-stadium interview on Al Jazeera a few years ago viewable here. It caused terrible convulsions across the Muslim world, and also apparently in Sheikh al-Qaradawi who described her home-truths session as consisting of “unbearable, ghastly things that made my hair stand on end.”

I much look forward to seeing Wafa Sultan take the stand. Though I slightly pity the prosecution for having to attempt to cross-examine her. Read on and comment here >>> Douglas Murray | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Anger as Cherie Blair Spares Devout Man from Jail
TIMES ONLINE: Cherie Blair has been reported to the office overseeing judges' behaviour for apparently sentencing a man convicted of assault more leniently because he was religious.

The National Secular Society wrote to the Judicial Complaints Office on Friday complaining that Mrs Blair — a prominent Roman Catholic — suspended the six-month prison sentence passed on Shamso Miah, a Muslim who broke a stranger's jaw in row over a bank queue, on the ground that he was devout.

"We think this is discriminatory and unjust and we wish to make a formal complaint about it," wrote Terry Sanderson, the president of the NSS.

Today Mr Sanderson told The Times that the complaints office had acknowledged his letter and confirmed that it was going to investigate the case.

"We feel it's wrong that someone so high profile as Mrs Blair — and she is very high profile as a Catholic — should make such remarks in court," he explained.

"The man was incredibly violent and broke someone's jaw for no apparent reason. She said that he would have got a six-month sentence but was suspending it because he was a religious man and would know he was doing wrong, which we feel implies that a non-religious person wouldn't know it was wrong. >>> Jenny Booth | Thursday, January 04, 2010

Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' to Be Republished in Germany
THE TELEGRAPH: Adolf Hitler's autobiography "Mein Kampf" is to be republished in Germany in 2015 for the first time since being banned under the country's constitution at the end of the Second World War.

Under the post-1945 German constitution, the dissemination of Nazi philosophy has been a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment.

But the copyright, held by the state of Bavaria where the Nazi movement began life in the 1920s, expires in 2015, 70 years after the death of its author in his Berlin bunker.

On Thursday the Munich-based Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) pledged to publish an "annotated version" with historical notes that it hopes will see the book used in schools and colleges.

The finance ministry in Bavaria said it had still not decided whether to give its permission but it is understood that with the lapse in copyright, the IfZ will not need the green light from it. "Besides, we think our version, with sensible notes and comments pointing out the falsity of much of what he wrote, will be far better than neo-Nazis putting out their own versions," said the IfZ. >>> Allan Hall in Berlin | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Australia: Christian Pastors Taken to Court to Silence Criticism of Islam

Santé : Un peu de poids ne nuit pas
Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Des études affirment qu’un excès pondéral d’une quinzaine de kilos n’a pas d’incidence notable. Les normes médicales seraient trop sévères

Si vous pesez entre 10 et 19 kilos de trop, mais que votre poids reste stable, rien ne vous oblige à tenter de maigrir! Il vaudrait mieux vous accepter tel que vous êtes. Voilà le message qu’un nombre croissant de médecins et de diététiciens essaient de transmettre au grand public, après des années de mises en garde contre le surpoids et l’obésité.

Fin janvier, une étude publiée dans la revue American Geriatrics Society révélait que les septuagénaires présentant de l’embonpoint avaient une espérance de vie supérieure de 13% à celle de leurs contemporains de poids normal. Selon l’auteur, le Dr Leon Flicker, ce résultat corrobore des observations antérieures selon lesquelles l’indice de masse corporelle ou IMC (BMI en anglais), utilisé pour déterminer le surpoids, est trop sévère. Le même constat avait déjà été dressé par le Journal of the American Medical Association, notamment. Corpulence idéale à la baisse >>> Francesca Sacco | Jeudi 04 Février 2010

TIME: Being Fat May Not Be All Bad — if You're 70: Putting a smile on chubby faces everywhere, a new study by Australian researchers finds that being overweight may be a boon for the elderly: among the 9,240 adults ages 70 to 75 in the study, those who were overweight were the least likely to die over 10 years, compared with people who were of normal weight or obese. >>> Sora Song | Thursday, January 28, 2010

Populist Wilders darf Mörder nicht als Zeugen aufrufen
WELT ONLINE: Berlin - Ein Amsterdamer Gericht hat im Verfahren gegen den niederländischen Oppositionspolitiker Geert Wilders beinahe alle Anträge des Angeklagten abgelehnt. Der Islamkritiker wollte unter anderem den Mörder von Filmemacher Theo van Gogh als Zeugen vor Gericht erscheinen lassen. Dies wurde nicht genehmigt. Auch gilt Wilders Immunität als Abgeordneter nicht uneingeschränkt.

Berlin - Ein Amsterdamer Gericht hat im Verfahren gegen den niederländischen Oppositionspolitiker Geert Wilders beinahe alle Anträge des Angeklagten abgelehnt. Der Islamkritiker wollte unter anderem den Mörder von Filmemacher Theo van Gogh als Zeugen vor Gericht erscheinen lassen. Dies wurde nicht genehmigt. Auch gilt Wilders Immunität als Abgeordneter nicht uneingeschränkt. Wilders reagierte auf die Ablehnung fast aller 18 beantragten Zeugen enttäuscht. Verschiedene radikale Imame und Strafrechtler wurden abgelehnt, nur drei Islamwissenschaftler dürfen aussagen. ,,Dieses Gericht hat kein Interesse an der Wahrheit. Das wird kein ehrlicher Prozess. Ich respektiere das nicht", sagte Wilders. Er spricht von einem "politischen Prozess". >>> Von Rob Savelberg | Donnerstag, 04. Februar 2010

NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Van Gogh's killer rejected as Wilders witness: Mohammed B. will not be allowed to testify in the case against Geert Wilders, leader of the populist PVV party, an Amsterdam court has ruled. >>> RNW, NRC | Thursday, January 04, 2010

Gays: Le pape opposé à Londres
leJDD.fr: Benoît XVI a annoncé mardi son voyage en Grande-Bretagne en septembre prochain. Mais le pape a soulevé la polémique en s'opposant à un projet de loi en cours d'examen, qui entend lutter contre la discrimination basée sur l'orientation sexuelle.

Benoît XVI est le pape de la polémique. Ces voyages génèrent souvent des remous, comme en Israël, en Afrique ou aux Etats-Unis. L'annonce de sa visite en Grande-Bretagne a aussi soulevé une vague de protestation. Le souverain pontife s'est en effet adressé aux évêques gallois et anglais et leur a confirmé sa venue à l'automne prochain, en septembre. Certes les visites papales sont très rares dans le pays, ce sera la deuxième en cinq siècles, après celle de Jean Paul II en 1982. Certes l'Eglise anglicane s'est construite par opposition à Rome. Mais la visite ne devait pas susciter une telle polémique.

La levée de bouclier est venue du contenu de l'intervention papale devant les 35 évêques. Benoît XVI a en effet critiqué un projet de loi sur l'égalité des sexes. Le texte, actuellement examiné par la chambre des Lords, interdirait la discrimination basée sur l'orientation sexuelle. "Votre pays est bien connu pour son engagement ferme dans l'égalité des chances pour tous les membres de la société. Cependant, la législation ayant pour objet de parvenir à ce but a eu pour effet d'imposer des limites injustes à la liberté des communautés religieuses d'agir conformément à leur croyance", a-t-il dénoncé. Les catholiques comme les anglicans redoutent notamment de ne plus pouvoir choisir les professeurs sur la base de leur foi dans leurs établissements scolaires. Ils ont aussi exprimé leur préoccupation face à une possible obligation de célébrer le mariage d'un transsexuel. "Par certains aspects, elle (la législation, ndlr) viole en fait la loi naturelle sur laquelle est fondée l'égalité de tous les êtres humains et par laquelle elle est garantie", a ajouté le pape. >>> M.V., leJDD.fr | Mercredi 03 Février 2010

Terrorisme : Obama refuse d'inscrire la Corée du Nord sur la liste des États terroristes
Pyongyang "ne satisfait pas aux critères réglementaires pour être à nouveau désigné comme un Etat qui soutient le terrorisme", assure Barack Obama. Crédits photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Le président américain Barack Obama a indiqué mercredi que la Corée du Nord ne serait pas à nouveau inscrite sur la liste noire américaine des Etats terroristes, malgré des appels en ce sens émanant du Congrès.

L'administration du président George W. Bush avait retiré Pyongyang de cette liste au vu des progrès faits par le pays pour rendre son programme nucléaire plus transparent en 2008. Mais après une série de gestes provocateurs de l'Etat stalinien, dont un essai nucléaire et des tirs de missile l'an dernier, certains parlementaires éminents avaient demandé à Barack Obama de revoir cette décision. En juillet dernier, le Sénat américain avait ainsi adopté une résolution non contraignante appelant le président à réfléchir à une inscription de la Corée du Nord sur la liste, qualifiant le pays de "menace pour l'Asie du Nord-est et pour la paix et la sécurité internationales". >>> AFP | Jeudi 04 Février 2010

L'extrême droite toujours vivace en Autriche
Heinz-Christian Strache, le leader du parti d'extrême droite FPÖ , le 10 janvier lors d'un meeting à Vienne. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Dix ans après les sanctions de l'UE, l'euroscepticisme reste vivace.

Dix ans après, Andreas Khol n'a rien oublié. L'ancien président du Parlement autrichien et député du parti conservateur autrichien (ÖVP) se souvient parfaitement de cette conversation téléphonique avec Jacques Chirac, le matin du 27 janvier 2000. Ce jour-là, le président de la République française a tenté de convaincre l'ÖVP de ne pas s'acoquiner avec le Parti autrichien de la liberté (FPÖ, extrême droite) dans un gouvernement de coalition inédit. L'Europe ne pourrait laisser passer une telle provocation. Andreas Khol a beau expliquer qu'il est impossible à son parti d'ignorer le FPÖ et ses 27 % de voix, voire 33 % d'intentions favorables, rien n'y fait. «On va vous isoler , menace le chef de l'État français. L'Autriche va le payer cher.» Le 4 février 2000, le gouvernement «noir-bleu» de Wolfgang Schüssel est intronisé à Vienne. L'extrême droite se hisse triomphalement au pouvoir, tandis qu'un vent de panique souffle sur l'Europe prise de court. L'Union européenne vote en catastrophe des sanctions. Du jour au lendemain, ministres et diplomates autrichiens affrontent quolibets et portes closes. Des programmes d'échanges scolaires sont annulés. Le Guide du routard barre son édition Autriche 2000 d'un bandeau noir symbolique. Le bras de fer va durer six mois, jusqu'à ce qu'en septembre, de guerre lasse, l'Europe renonce aux sanctions.

Une décennie plus tard, les choses ont bien changé. L'extrême droite a quitté le gouvernement en janvier 2007, usée par le pouvoir. Son leader emblématique, Jörg Haider, s'est tué dans un accident de voiture en octobre 2008. En Europe, le souvenir même des sanctions s'estompe lentement, surtout depuis l'irruption de l'extrême droite au gouvernement en Italie, en Slovaquie ou encore au second tour de l'élection présidentielle française en avril 2002. >>> Maurin Picard, Vienne | Jeudi 04 Février 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Geert Wilders’ Witness List Cut Down To Three In Medieval Amsterdam Trial
The Grim Reaper. Image: News Real Blog
DAVID HOROWITZ’S NEWS REAL BLOG: The Grim Reaper of Sharia is alive and well. His blade is still sharp. The fix is in at the Amsterdam Criminal Court. Today, the Judges hearing the “Inciting to Hatred” trial (read that: No more political free speech in The Netherlands – ever) of Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders slashed the number of witnesses he may call to testify in his defense from eighteen – to three. It’s all right out of the Dark Ages. It’s 632 A.D. again in The Netherlands. >>> John L. Work | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Anti-Islam Dutch Lawmaker Says He’s Being Denied a Fair Trial; Court Rejects Most of His Witness List
CNS NEWS: The Dutch lawmaker on trial for his provocative views on Islam said Wednesday he was being denied the right to a fair trial after the court rejected most of his requested defense witnesses, including a convicted murderer who invoked the Koran to justify his actions.

The Amsterdam District Court ruled that Geert Wilders could only call three witnesses out of the 18 he wanted. Among those it turned down was Mohammed Bouyeri, imprisoned for life in 2005 for murdering a Dutch critic of Islam, filmmaker Theo van Gogh, on an Amsterdam street the previous year.

In a statement released after the brief hearing, Wilders said, “This court is not interested in the truth. This court doesn’t want me to have a fair trial. I can’t have any respect for this. This court would not be out of place in a dictatorship.” >>> Patrick Goodenough, International Editor | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Muslim Women 'Radicalised' in UK
If Muslims cannot live by civilized norms of behaviour, then why should we, the peace-loving majority, accept them here? – © Mark

BBC: On 1 February, a female suicide bomber killed 54 people in north-east Baghdad.

The attack may have happened on another continent, but there are increasing concerns that violent extremism among women may now also be increasing in the UK.

It is believed that the process of radicalisation often takes place at universities.

One Islamist group linked with this practice is Hizb ut-Tahrir.

While not itself connected to any terrorist acts, Hizb ut-Tahrir has courted controversy and politicians have seized on some of its more inflammatory views.

The Conservative Party has said it would ban the organisation altogether.

Nazreen Nawaz is a spokeswoman for the group. She became a member while studying medicine at King's College London.

Today, sitting at her dining table in south London, she teaches her four-year-old daughter how to spell and explains her decision to join.

"The philosophy of Hizb ut-Tahrir offered me a view of Islam that could solve many of the problems in the Muslim world," Dr Nawaz says.

"We don't advocate that British Muslims go over and fight in Palestine and occupied countries.

"What we say is that people in lands such as Afghanistan, Iraq and occupied countries have the right to defend themselves."

'Naive'

There are concerns that hundreds of British Muslim women have been radicalised, many while being students.

Recent intelligence reports about terror plots involving women, and the growing trend of al-Qaeda's use of female suicide bombers, have ignited concerns that some may turn to violent extremism in Britain. >>> Rahila Bano, BBC World Service | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Massachusetts: Asylum Request Redux
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Barack Obama’s aunt Zeituni Onyango will make a second bid for political asylum as she goes before an immigration judge in Boston on Thursday. Ms. Onyango moved to the United States in 2000. Her first asylum request was rejected, and she was ordered deported in 2004, but she continued to live in public housing in Boston. A judge later agreed to reopen her asylum case. [Source: The New York Times] The Associated Press | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Obama's aunt fights deportation: The Kenyan aunt of President Barack Obama, Zeituni Onyango, is to appear before an immigration judge to fight deportation. >>> | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Perez Hilton Holds Off TechCrunch, Mashable and Twitter Founders in Web Influence List
THE TELEGRAPH: Perez Hilton, the celebrity blogger, has been named the most influential person on the internet - ahead of the founders of TechCrunch, Mashable, Twitter and Digg.

Perez Hilton. Photo: The Telegraph
Forbes magazine's fourth annual web celebrity ranking praised Hilton - real name Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr - for his "off-colour blend of humour, opinion and immature humour".

It noted that his celebrity had begun to spill over into the non-virtual world, following a fracas last year in which he was allegedly assaulted by a manager of the band Black Eyed Peas. >>> Matthew Moore | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Barack Obama Tells Americans 'Don't Go to Las Vegas'
THE TELEGRAPH: A careless remark by President Barack Obama about Las Vegas has triggered a furious backlash from Nevada’s cash-strapped gambling city and a key Democratic ally fighting a tough re-election battle in the state.

Bright lights of Las Vegas cast a shadow over its burgeoning poverty. Photograph: The Telegraph
Speaking about the economy at an event in New Hampshire, Mr Obama told Americans: “When times are tough, you tighten your belts.

“You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college. You prioritise. You make tough choices.”

The economy of the world’s most famous gambling and entertainment destination is heavily dependent on tourism and Las Vegans were already incensed by a comment from Mr Obama last year that companies should not use federal bail out money for trips to the city.

Tourism and casino officials said the comment hurt the city after companies cancelled meetings in Las Vegas and re-arranged them elsewhere.

Mr Obama’s latest remark about Las Vegas prompted a swift and angry retort from Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, who has an uphill battle to win re-election in Nevada, which has an unemployment rate of 13 per cent, in the November mid-term elections.

“The President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn’t be spending their money,” he said in a statement. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

La Chine menace Obama
lePARISIEN.fr: Pour les dirigeants chinois, le dalaï-lama reste un ennemi. La semaine dernière, des émissaires du leader spirituel tibétain sont venus en Chine dialoguer avec des responsables du Parti communiste. Comme en novembre 2008, ils sont repartis en Inde sans résultat. Hier, en conférence de presse, les délégués chinois à ces conversations se montrent inflexibles.

« Le dalaï-lama ne doit pas se définir à l’étranger comme le représentant légal du peuple tibétain. Il n’est pas habilité à parler avec le gouvernement chinois du bien-être des habitants du Tibet. » Cette fermeté s’accompagne d’un message : une rencontre entre Obama et le dalaï-lama « minerait sérieusement » les relations sino-américaines. Le dalaï-lama sera à Washington autour du 16 février. Hier, la Maison-Blanche a confirmé cette visite. >>> Richard Arzt, à Pékin | Mercredi 03 Février 2010

Irak – Bagdad : 41 pélerins tués par une femme kamikaze
lePARISIEN.fr: L'attentat-suicide qui a tué lundi 41 pèlerins chiites - dont au moins 11 femes et enfants - et blessé 106 autres, lundi, près de Bagdad, a été perpetré par une femme. Celle-ci s'est mêlée aux pèlerins lors d'une étape dans leur procession religieuse à Boub al-Cham, dans la banlieue nord de la capitale, et a actionné la ceinture d'explosif qu'elle portait.

Selon le commandement militaire de Bagdad, les pélerins se rendaient à Kerbala et l'attaque s'est produite à 11h45 locale (9h45 en France). «L'attaque perpétrée par la terroriste qui portait une ceinture d'explosif a eu lieu à l'intérieur d'une cabine de fouille corporelle réservée aux femmes», a précisé l'armée.

Des dizaines de personnes étaient rassemblées près des tentes dressées par des bénévoles pour servir des rafraîchissements et des collations aux pèlerins qui convergent depuis plusieurs jours vers la ville sainte, située à 110 km au sud de la capitale irakienne.

«Nous servions les gens quand l'attaque a eu lieu à l'intérieur de la tente de fouille pour les femmes», a affirmé l'un de ces bénévoles, Allawi Hassan, blessé aux jambes et soigné à l'hôpital al-Kindi de Bagdad. «Quand l'explosion a eu lieu, je me suis senti propulsé dans les airs. J'ai vu de nombreux enfants et femmes blessés avant de m'évanouir. Je me suis réveillé à l'hôpital», a-t-il ajouté. Des explosifs impossibles à détecter >>> Leparisien.fr | Lundi 01 Février 2010

Anti-Muslim Dutch Lawmaker's Trial Tests Freedom of Speech
TIME: A flamboyant populist and founder of a virulently anti-immigrant political party, Geert Wilders sees himself as a champion of free speech in the Netherlands. Others would disagree. Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament, is in court this week to face five counts of inciting hatred and discrimination for describing Islam as a fascist religion and Moroccan youths as violent, and for calling for the banning of the Quran. The trial, which resumed Wednesday after a two-week break, is being seen as a test of the limits of free speech and the famously tolerant country's commitment to protecting minority rights.

Wilders, a 46-year-old with bleach-blond, bouffant hair, made international headlines in 2008 when he made a short film called Fitna, in which verses from the Quran were displayed against a background of violent film clips and images of terrorism by Islamic radicals. Described as "offensively anti-Islamic" by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the film led to protests in the Muslim world and prompted Britain to ban Wilders from entering the country. But it also brought Wilders more popularity at home. His Party for Freedom finished second in last year's European Parliament elections, winning 17% of the Dutch vote. His party also holds nine seats in the Dutch parliament.

Because of his extreme anti-Muslim views, Wilders is often compared to the leaders of Europe's other far-right parties, such as Nick Griffin of the British National Party and Jean-Marie Le Pen of France's National Front. But he claims (though his opponents strongly disagree) that his policies are rooted in the Dutch tradition of tolerance: he says that Islam is a threat to women's rights and he criticizes Muslims' anti-gay rhetoric. Now under 24-hour surveillance because of the many death threats he's received, Wilders told TIME last year that Islam itself stirs hatred. "The Quran is full of incitements to violence," he said. "Islam wants to dominate every part of life and society. It does not want to integrate or assimilate, but to dominate. It should not be compared to other religions, but with totalitarian ideologies, like communism or fascism." >>> Leo Cendrowicz | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The Dividing Lines of Uganda's Anti-gay Row
BBC: Newsnight's Tim Whewell has travelled to Uganda where an attempt to punish "aggravated homosexuality" with the death penalty has caused outrage across the world.

Preacher Martin Semper uses his popularity to deliver a vehement message of anti-gay rhetoric to an enthusiastic congregation at a Kampala University. Watch BBC video >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Bram Moszkowicz, Geert Wilders' lawyer. Photo: De Telegraaf
Wilders’ Lawyer Speaks Out
GATES OF VIENNA: Moszkowicz: Court is overestimating itself

The lawyer for Geert Wilders, Bram Moszkowicz, finds that the court overestimates itself, now that it has found it unnecessary to hear some legal experts. “That is quite something, that a court finds that no legal experts are needed,” Bram Moszkowicz said. “With this the court overestimates itself, and when a judge overestimates himself, I start to be afraid.” >>> Baron Bodissey | Translation by VH | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Original article in Dutch in De Telegraaf

Interessante Meldung: Otto Habsburg: Ehefrau starb im Familienkreis
DIE PRESSE: Regina Habsburg ist im Kreise ihrer Familie im bayerischen Pöcking gestorben, sie soll bereits länger an Herzbeschwerden gelitten haben. Sie wurde 85 Jahre alt.

PÖCKING/WIEN. Regina, die Ehefrau Ottos von Habsburg-Lothringen, ist am Mittwoch nach langer schwerer Krankheit im 86. Lebensjahr in ihrem Haus in Pöcking am Starnberger See gestorben. „Sie ist friedlich im Kreis ihrer Kinder eingeschlafen“, berichtet Eva Demmerle, die Büroleiterin Habsburgs. „Mit meiner Mutter verlieren wir eine großartige Persönlichkeit, die uns durch ihren unerschütterlichen Glauben und ihre positive Lebenseinstellung geprägt hat“, erklärt ihr ältester Sohn Karl.

Regina wurde am 6. Jänner [Januar] 1925 als Prinzessin von Sachsen-Meiningen (aus dem Haus Wettin) in Würzburg geboren. Ihr Vater starb 1946 in russischer Gefangenschaft im Alter von 53 Jahren.

Da sie aus einem „ehemals regierenden Hause“ stammte, kam sie für eine Hochzeit mit dem um 13 Jahre älteren Otto von Habsburg in Frage, dem ältesten Sohn des letzten österreichischen Kaiserpaares. Nicht nur seine Mutter Zita, sondern auch die Monarchisten sahen in ihm lange Zeit den österreichischen Thronprätendenten. >>> Von Hans Werner Scheidl, Die Presse | Mittwoch, 03. Februar 2010

Granada: The Magic of the Moors
THE TELEGRAPH: Now's the time to enjoy the stunning sights of Granada, says Anthony Jefferies.

The Alhambra is Spain's most visited tourist attraction but will be relatively quiet in February Photo: The Telegraph
The Alhambra is heart-flutteringly beautiful at any time but with southern Spain warming up in the early spring sunshine and the crowds yet to arrive, this is the perfect season to visit the great Moorish palace complex and the lovely city fanning out from its flanks. Old Moorish and gipsy quarters, vast cathedrals and churches, tree-lined plazas and great restaurants will provide an antidote to the cold British winter. >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Geert Wilders: Israel Protecting West
ARUTZ SHEVA: (IsraelNN.com) In a recent speech in New York City, Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders, who became famous for a film on radical Islam, credited Israel with protecting the West.

“The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel , Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.”

Wilders has since been put on trial in the Netherlands for his film, which opponents have accused of being "hate speech". [Source: ArutzSheva] | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Muslim Demographics

Shocking: Europe Will Become Muslim Eurabia Within 20 Years


Muslim Scholar Says Islam Will Conquer Europe and World