Monday, March 01, 2010
BASLER ZEITUNG: Offiziell bestreiten die Deutschen noch immer, dass sie für die Griechen Geld springen lassen werden. Doch vieles spricht dafür, dass sie bereits an einem Trick arbeiten, um trotzdem einzugreifen.
Wegen der Griechenlandkrise kommen die europäischen Staaten Deutschland und Frankreich zunehmend unter Druck. An den internationalen Kapitalmärkten wird von ihnen rasch ein stützendes Eingreifen erwartet. Doch in Deutschland wäre ein solcher Schritt äusserst unpopulär, laut Umfragen lehnt das eine deutliche Mehrheit der Bevölkerung ab. Ausserdem gälte es als verheerendes Signal, wenn ein Land wie Griechenland, das sich um die Regeln der Währungsunion bisher derart foutiert hat, durch Steuergelder der anderen gerettet werden würde.
Deshalb betont besonders die deutsche Regierung nach wie vor, dass von ihr keine Hilfe erfolgen werde. Die Franzosen wiederum sagen, ohne Beteiligung der Deutschen würden auch sie nichts bezahlen. Auch die Griechen dementieren weiterhin, Hilfe zu beantragen. Die offizielle Sprachregelung ist noch immer, dass die Griechen erst einmal glaubhaft damit beginnen sollten, das eigene Haus in Ordnung zu bringen. Erst am 16. März soll die nächste Prüfung der Lage vorgenommen werden. >>> Von Markus Diem Meier | Montag, 01. März 2010
BASLER ZEITUNG: Hannibal Ghadhafi hat in Tripolis überraschend Max Göldi im Gefängnis besucht. Der Sohn des libyschen Machthabers hat dem Schweizer erlaubt, seine Mutter anzurufen.
«Es ist mir eine Ehre, dass Hannibal Ghadhafi mich besucht und ich hoffe, dass er seinen Einfluss nutzen kann, um mir in meiner Situation zu helfen», sagte Göldi bei dem Treffen gegenüber Journalisten. Er hoffe auch, dass die Justiz ihre Arbeit machen werde und dass sich einige Dinge verbesserten.
«Ich bin seit 19 Monaten von meiner Familie getrennt und möchte so schnell wie möglich nach Hause zurück», sagte Göldi weiter. Laut einem Journalisten der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters wirkte der inhaftierte Schweizer entspannt und lächelte während des Treffens.
Auf die Frage, welche Forderungen er an die Schweizer Regierung stelle, sagte Göldi: «Die Schweiz muss Hannibal Ghadhafi das Recht zugestehen, von seinem Recht Gebrauch zu machen.» Die Veröffentlichung von Hannibals Polizeifotos in der «Tribune de Genève» sei «unakzeptabel» und «gegen das Gesetz».
Anschliessend setzten die beiden ihr Gespräch unter vier Augen fort. Göldis Anwalt Salah Zahaf ergänzte, Hannibal Ghadhafi habe seinem Mandanten erlaubt, seine Mutter in der Schweiz anzurufen, die am Montag Geburtstag hatte. Wichtige Geste >>> sam/sda | Montag, 01. März 2010
TIMES ONLINE – Leading Article: The confrontation between Ankara and the army could prove catastrophic
Turkey, a pillar of Nato, a potential member of the European Union and a strategic Western ally in the Middle East, is today poised on the brink of disaster. If the current confrontation between the moderate Islamist Government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the military establishment provokes a coup, or spurs political and religious violence, the loss to the West, to regional stability and to the hopes for this emerging economic power would be incalculable. What is at stake is of critical importance not just to Turkey but to countries across the Muslim world: is political Islam, even in moderate guise, compatible with democracy, state authority and secular institutions?
Tensions have eased slightly since the release of three top military commanders, taken in for questioning over an alleged coup plot. But despite the Prime Minister’s crisis talks with General Ilker Basbug, the head of the armed forces, and their joint promise to resolve tensions “within the constitutional order”, fears and rumours are still sweeping the country. The stock market has fallen. Social and political divisions are hardening. A further 14 people have been questioned, bringing military arrests to almost 40. And Turks have been amazed to see serving officers, until now virtually untouchable by civilian authorities, being charged with plots to bomb mosques, provoke violence and stage a confrontation with Greece — plots that seem as cynical as they are bizarre. >>> | Monday, March 01, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan has predicted trouble ahead in Barack Obama's presidency.
The 76-year-old leader said the 'white right' was conspiring to make Obama a one-term president, and pointed to his stalled efforts to introduce health care legislation as proof.
He said those opponents and lobbyists were trapping him into a future war with Iran that could lead to mass destruction.
'The word "prophet" is too cheap a word. I am a light in the midst of darkness,' Farrakhan said at the annual convention of the movement that embraces black nationalism. 'It ain't ego, it's my love for you.'
An estimated 20,000 people attended the heavily guarded Saviours' Day event at the United Centre in Chicago.
Followers - men dressed in navy uniforms and women in white skirt suits with matching hijabs - cheered on Farrakhan with shouts of 'Allahu Akbar,' Arabic for 'God is great.' >>> | Monday, March 01, 2010
If anyone has been hurt by the Libyan row, it is Libya itself, because it has shown itself to be just what it truly is: a rogue state. – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Neutral Switzerland has had its reputation as a global mediator dented as weaknesses in its foreign policy are exposed by its escalating row with Libya, analysts said.
Relations between Bern and Tripoli have been strained since July 2008, when one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Hannibal and his wife were arrested in Geneva after two domestic workers complained they had mistreated them.
Libyan [sic] retaliated by blocking two Swiss businessmen from leaving its territory while Switzerland imposed visa restrictions on some Libyans, effectively blocking them from entering Europe's Schengen 25 nation travel zone.
But the row reached new heights this week when Gaddafi called for jihad against the alpine state over a recent Swiss ban on the construction of minarets.
Hasni Abidi, the director of the Geneva-based Study and Research Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World, said the tussle with Libya was "bad publicity for the Swiss in the Arab and Muslim world," where Switzerland had traditionally played a role in mediation.
Bern was a middleman in ending decades of hostility stemming from World-War I-era massacres between Turkey and Armenia, leading them to sign historic protocols estabilishing diplomatic ties.
Switzerland also represents US interests in Iran and Tehran's interests in Egypt.
However, "this speciality is very certainly weakening given the situation linked to the Libyan crisis," added another analyst, Frederic Esposito, from the European Institute of the University of Geneva.
Abidi added that this was amplified by a Swiss referendum vote last year to ban the construction of new minarets, a move that drew worldwide criticism and which Kadhafi seized on to call for jihad.
Gaddafi knew that Switzerland's role as a mediator is "based on its image of neutrality and impartiality and openness," said Abidi, and therefore he has attacked this image.
Swiss handling of the Libyan crisis has exposed broader weaknesses in its foreign policy, said analysts. >>> Hui Min Neo and Alix Rijckaert, in Geneva for AFP | Monday, March 01, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Sir Ian Blair signed a formal agreement with an Islamic extremist to treat him as the Metropolitan Police’s "principal" representative of the Muslim community, it can be disclosed.
The activist, Azad Ali, was accepted by the Met as a trusted interlocutor. The force also agreed to give him information on forthcoming anti-terror raids. – Mr Ali has previously justified the killing of British troops in Iraq, believes al Qaeda is a "myth," and has praised a key mentor of Osama bin Laden.
Mr Ali signed the deal, a copy of which has been seen by the Daily Telegraph, in his capacity as the then chairman of the Muslim Safety Forum – a body closely linked to the fundamentalist Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE).
In yesterday's Sunday Telegraph a Labour minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, accused the IFE of infiltrating the Labour Party and British politics along the lines of the far-Left Militant Tendency in the 1980s. The IFE believes in jihad, sharia law and the transformation of Britain into an Islamic state. It will be the subject of a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary tonight.
The Muslim Safety Forum was set up, in its own words, to challenge the "unfair focus on the Muslim community when it came to policing activities and enforcement of anti- terror policing legislation."
It was accepted by the police as a legitimate body. The agreement, dated December 2006 and personally signed by Mr Ali and Sir Ian, who was Commissioner of the Mat at the time, states: "The Commissioner will recognise the MSF as the principal body in relation to Muslim community safety and security."
Sir Ian or his deputy committed to meet Mr Ali and the MSF at least twice a year and to hold monthly meetings with the MSF at "New Scotland Yard or other suitable premises."
Met chiefs, including counter-terrorist commanders, also committed to attending the MSF's own meetings "whenever possible”. Both the current head of the antiterrorist command, Commander Shaun Sawyer, and his predecessor, Commander Bob Quick, who the MSF described as a "close partner”, have had regular meetings.
The agreement says that the Met and MSF will "use the MSF as a consultation body to help formulate policy or practice." and "progress an annual plan of work through agreed priority workstreams," jointly led by Met and MSF representatives.
The workstreams included counter-terrorism and "Islamophobia." Mr Ali was the MSF lead on counter-terrorism. >>> Andrew Gilligan | Monday, March 01, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: France seeking emergency aid from EU after storms leave 47 dead: France is seeking emergency aid from the European Union after the fiercest storms in a decade which left 47 people dead. >>> | Monday, March 01, 2010
BBC: Hundreds of Dutch activists have walked out of a Mass in protest at a Roman Catholic policy of denying communion to practising homosexuals.
On this occasion, the church, in 's-Hertogenbosch, had already decided not to serve communion, so the protesters left, shouting and singing.
The dispute began earlier this month when a priest in a nearby town refused communion to an openly gay man.
The Netherlands was the first country to introduce gay marriage in 2001.
Most Dutch people support gay rights, but the Roman Catholic Church teaches that homosexual activity is sinful. >>> | Sunday, February 28, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Die britischen Konservativen kämpfen mit einem rasch schwindenden Vorsprung vor Labour. Die Wahlstrategie der Personalisierung und Polarisierung bei inhaltlicher Unschärfe hat bisher nicht verfangen.
Gut zwei Monate vor dem voraussichtlichen Wahltermin spitzt sich der Kampf um die Macht im britischen Unterhaus zu. Just am Tag der letzten grossen Konferenz der Konservativen in Brighton zeigte die sonntägliche Wählerumfrage ein drastisches Abschmelzen des Vorsprungs vor der regierenden Labourpartei auf bloss noch 2 Prozentpunkte. Damit scheint den Konservativen ausgerechnet in derselben südenglischen Küstenstadt, in der Labour noch am Parteikongress im vergangenen September mit wehenden Fahnen unterzugehen schien, die Hoffnung auf den sicher geglaubten Wahlsieg davonzuschwimmen. Im letzten Herbst hatten die Tories in Umfragen noch um bis zu 15 Prozentpunkte vor Labour gestanden, Anfang Jahr waren es noch rund 10, vor einer Woche 6 Punkte. Fragwürdige Personalisierung >>> Peter Rásonyi, Brighton | Sonntag, 28. Februar 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Nach dem schweren Erdbeben in Chile wird das Ausmass der Schäden allmählich sichtbar. Staatspräsidentin Bachelet spricht von einer grossen Katastrophe, die Behörden haben bis anhin über 700 Tote gezählt.
Nach dem verheerenden Erdbeben in Chile mit mehreren hundert Toten haben Rettungsteams am Sonntag nach Verschütteten und Überlebenden gesucht. Zwei Millionen Menschen seien von der Katastrophe betroffen, sagte Chiles Präsidentin Michelle Bachelet in einer Fernsehansprache. Das südamerikanische Land sehe sich mit «einer Katastrophe unvorstellbaren Ausmasses» konfrontiert, so Bachelet. Zahl der Toten dürfte noch steigen >>> sda/afp/Reuters/dpa | Sonntag, 28. Februar 2010
THE GUARDIAN: The american president has been trying to kick the habit for sometime, apart from the smoking he is in excellent health
Barack Obama is still struggling to kick smoking, according to his first medical examination since becoming president.
Obama is sensitive about his cigarette habit and tetchy with reporters who raise it. But after his 90-minute medical at the Navy hospital outside Washington yesterday morning, his doctors confirmed he had not yet managed to conquer the habit and suggested he "continue smoking cessation efforts".
The doctors said the president used medication to try to ease the pangs, they described it as "nicotine replacement therapy, self-use".
Obama promised Michelle when he embarked on his campaign to become president he would quit, at the time he said he was smoking about eight a day.
He told reporters last year he had quit but still had an occasional cigarette, without specifying how many. >>> Ewen MacAskill, Washington | Monday, March 01, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's first medical: president smokes too much and should improve diet: President Barack Obama hasn't kicked his smoking habit, takes anti-inflammatory medication to relieve chronic tendonitis in his left knee and should improve his diet to lower his cholesterol, his team of doctors said after the 48-year-old's first medical checkup as commander in chief. >>> | Monday, March 01, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
LE FIGARO: VIDEO - François Fillon évoque un désastre «national» et annonce que les arrêtés de catastrophe naturelle seront publiés «dans les 48 heures». Le littoral atlantique est le plus touché.
«C'est une catastrophe nationale» a déploré le premier ministre François Fillon. Xynthia laisse en France un sillage de destruction et un lourd bilan humain. La tempête, l'une des plus violentes depuis celle de 1999, a fait au moins 45 morts. On déplore une trentaine de disparus et une dizaine de blessés. Le littoral atlantique est la zone la plus lourdement touchée. La plupart des victimes se sont noyées, suprises par la montée brusque des eaux dans les terres. «Le bilan est susceptible de s'alourdir avec nos reconnaissances plus en avant à l'intérieur des terres dans les maisons, dans les parkings», a prévenu le porte-parole de la Sécurité civile. En 1999, la tempête avait provoqué la mort de 92 personnes.
Nicolas Sarkozy, qui se rendra lundi en Vendée et en Charente-Maritime, a demandé «au gouvernement d'agir sans attendre». Une réunion s'est tenue dimanche après-midi à Matignon au terme de laquelle François Fillon a promis que les arrêtés de catastrophe naturelle seraient publiés «dans les 48 heures». Il a également annoncé «un plan exceptionnel de construction et renforcement des digues», en accord avec les collectivités locales. Le ministère de l'Intérieur va débloquer 1 million d'euros de crédit d'urgence qui seront mis à disposition des préfets pour venir en aide aux régions sinistrées. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Dimanche 28 Février 2010
This is the sort of nonsense that makes people NOT proud to be British! Staff at the UK embassy should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. But they’re not; they are just raking in the money. For such people, money and contracts are clearly more important than principle. – © Mark
ARAB NEWS: RIYADH: Sources at the British Embassy in Riyadh say the death of a British cyclist in a road accident last week is believed to be nothing more than a “tragic accident”. >>> Walaa Hawari, Arab News | Sunday, February 28, 2010
Related:
British Cyclist Was 'Deliberately Run Down' in Saudi Arabia >>> Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter | Saturday, February 27, 2010
What is so clear to me is that so many converts to Islam seem to come from broken homes, or homes which have not given correct guidance during the formative years to the children.
It is also very clear to me that so many converts to Islam are one-time alcoholics, drug-addicts, or have been in some other way lost. They certainly had no grasp of their former religion, Christianity.
We Westerners are failing our young; and the more we fail our young, the more they will turn to this backward religion. Islam is not the solution; rather, it is a problem that we are shoring up for ourselves. Wake up! – © Mark
TIMES ONLINE: HE was supposed to be the he-man of the US Senate, a truck-driving triathlon-completing [sic] former male model who sends female colleagues into a swoon. But America’s newest senator showed a more feminine side this weekend with the revelation that he wore pink leather shorts on his first date with his future wife.
Scott Brown is the most prominent senator in America, his victory last month in the seat long held by the Kennedys having given Republicans a crucial vote to block President Barack Obama’s agenda.
With attention already turning to the 2012 presidential race, Brown is the surprise name on the list of Republican contenders. In the most recent poll he ranked fourth above party stalwarts such as Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee.
There was fury among supporters last week after he was one of five Republicans unexpectedly to vote in support of Obama’s jobs bill. “You let me down like Tiger Woods,” was typical of the messages posted on his Facebook page, where he was castigated as a Rino (Republican in name only).
The revelation about the pink leather shorts came from his daughter Arianna, 19, who may have been getting her own back for his embarrassing remark about her and her sister on election night when he announced that they were “available”.
According to a profile in today’s New York Times magazine, Brown went pale when asked about the shorts. He said they had been given to him in part payment for a modelling assignment and he wore them because they looked good with his tanned legs. “If I wore these now,” he said, “I’d get shot. But it was the 1980s. Pastels were in. It was all pastely.” >>> Christina Lamb in Washington | Sunday, February 28, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Merkel macht sich wegen der Krise in Griechenland Sorgen um die Stabilität des Euro. Zugleich verneinte sie, dass Deutschland mit Milliardenbeiträgen helfen werden.
Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel sorgt sich wegen der griechischen Finanzkrise um die Stabilität des Euros. «Der Euro ist sicherlich in seiner schwierigsten Phase seit seinem Bestehen», sagte die CDU-Chefin am Sonntag in der ARD. Die Schwierigkeiten müssten nun an den Wurzeln angepackt werden, und diese seien das hohe Staatsdefizit und die verloren gegangene Glaubwürdigkeit Griechenlands. Keine deutschen Milliardenhilfen >>> ddp | Sonntag, 28. Februar 2010
20MINUTES.ch: Une personne a été tuée et trois autres blessées dans l'effrondrement samedi de la coupole d'une mosquée près de Nador, dans le nord du Maroc.
L'accident a lieu une semaine après la chute du minaret d'une mosquée de Meknès (centre), qui avait fait 41 morts le 19 février. >>> afp | Dimanche 28 Février 2010
20MINUTEN.ch: Eine unvorhergesehene Welle Asylsuchender vom Balkan macht nach Angaben aus Belgrad der Europäischen Union zu schaffen. Seit der Aufhebung des Visazwangs vor zwei Monaten beantragten allein aus Südserbien bis zu 10 000 Albaner in EU-Ländern Asyl. Jetzt handelt die EU.
Die Armut zwingt sie zur Auswanderung. Die EU kämpft mit vielen Asylbewerbern. Das sagte der Albaner-Vertreter im serbischen Parlament, Riza Haljimi, am Samstag. Nicht nur aus Südserbien reisen sie ins übrige Europa. Tausende weitere Albaner aus Mazedonien und dem Kosovo versuchten, in EU-Ländern politisches Asyl zu erhalten, berichteten die örtlichen Medien. Besonders [be]troffen sei Belgien. >>> sda | Samstag, 27. Februar 2010
NAME: Des forces de sécurité libyennes ont été déployées ce week-end dans les environs l'ambassade de Suisse à Tripoli.
Selon le Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE), cette mesure a été prise en prévision d'une manifestation qui devait avoir lieu près de la représentation diplomatique.
L'agence de presse italienne a indiqué que des dizaines de policiers avaient été déployés devant l'ambassade ainsi que deux ambulances. La manifestation, dont le but était d'exprimer l'hostilité à l'égard de la Suisse, a finalement été annulée, selon la même source. >>> ats | Dimanche 28 Février 2010
MIDDLE EAST ONLINE: Many university students are not able to recite Arabic alphabet as youths consider language not very ‘cool’.
Lebanon, a tiny, vibrant Mediterranean country, prides itself on its polyglot society but for the country's youths native Arabic is not very "cool."
"Hi, kifak? Ca Va?" -- or "Hi, how are you doing? Okay?" -- is a typical multi-linguistic Lebanese greeting so popular it now appears on bumper stickers and teeshirts sold around the world.
English and French often replace the local dialect in conversation, especially among the urban youth, and one organisation has launched a campaign to preserve Arabic in Lebanon.
"Arabic is still very much alive as a language, but young people are moving farther and farther away from it," said Suzanne Talhouk, who heads the organisation "Fael Ummer" (Imperative) which is running the campaign.
"Some of our youngsters are incapable of writing correctly in Arabic, and many university students we interviewed were not even able to recite the alphabet," Talhouk said.
Urban youths are often unable to hold a conversation in one language, causing amusement but also irking those around them with such home-grown expressions as the popular farewell: "Yalla, bye."
"At my school it's more cool to speak French. Arabic is looked down upon," said high school student Nathalie. >>> Rana Moussaoui, Beirut | Sunday, February 28, 2010
MIDDLE EAST ONLINE: Jordanian double-agent Balawi accuses Amman of being behind death of two top militant leaders, including Zarqawi.
A Jordanian double-agent who blew himself up in Afghanistan, killing seven CIA officers, called for jihad against his homeland in a video made before his death in the suicide attack, monitors said Sunday.
Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi accused Jordan of being behind the death of two top militant leaders, according to the report by IntelCenter, a US group that monitors Islamist websites.
"There is no solution to the situation in Jordan other than mobilising to the land of jihad to learn the arts of war and train in them, then return to Jordan and begin operations," Balawi was quoted as saying.
"Kill them with knives and swords. Lure them, trick them, use their own methods against them -- use counter-intelligence," he said. >>> W. G. Dunlop, Dubai | Sunday, February 28, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Violence erupted at Jerusalem's holiest site on Sunday when Israeli riot police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinian protestors.
The most serious unrest in Jerusalem's sacred Old City in five months came after days of disturbances in the West Bank triggered by a declaration that two Jewish shrines on Palestinian territory would be declared Israeli heritage sites.
At least 14 protestors and four policemen were hurt during the clashes as battles raged both in the winding alleyways of Jerusalem's walled Old City and at the hilltop compound of the al-Aqsa mosque where the trouble first started.
According to Israeli police, Palestinian protesters inside the al-Aqsa mosque, held by Muslims to mark the spot that the Prophet Mohammed ascended into Heaven, threw stones at a group of tourists visiting the compound.
The youths believed the tourists to be Jewish radicals intent on reclaiming the compound, which also houses the Dome of the Rock, for Israel.
Marking the spot where the two Hebrew temples of antiquity once stood, the compound is venerated by both the Jews, who call it the Temple Mount, and by Muslims, for whom it is the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary.
The clashes erupted on the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from the Persian vizier Haman. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Sunday, February 28, 2010
ZEIT ONLINE: In Griechenland wächst die Wut auf Deutschland: Auf Flugblättern wird zum Boykott deutscher Produkte aufgerufen, Abgeordnete fordern gar Kriegsreparationen.
In Griechenland breiten sich anti-deutsche Emotionen aus. Im Parlament in Athen forderten Abgeordnete der kommunistischen und der ultra-konservativen Opposition, die griechische Regierung müsse Deutschland zu Reparationszahlungen für den Zweiten Weltkrieg auffordern. Vize-Regierungschef Theodoros Pangalos hatte Deutschland bereits vor einigen Tagen vorgeworfen, im Zweiten Weltkrieg griechisches Gold gestohlen und damit die Wirtschaft ruiniert zu haben.
Sein Chef, Ministerpräsident Giorgios Papandreou, versuchte zu beruhigen. Auf die Frage von Oppositionspolitikern, ob er bei seinem Besuch in Berlin das Thema Reparationszahlungen ansprechen werde, sagte Papandreou im Parlament, das werde er nicht tun. "Wir haben unsere Forderungen nie aufgegeben", fügte er hinzu. Aber die Gelegenheit, dies anzusprechen, sei angesichts der augenblicklich schwachen Position Griechenlands nicht opportun. "Wenn wir dies (die Reparationen) heute auf die Tagesordnung setzen würden, dann würden viele es als eine neue Ausrede, einen neuen Versuch interpretieren, von unseren Problemen abzulenken." Griechenland müsse seine Probleme mit Hilfe seiner Partner in der EU lösen. Die Bundesregierung wies die Vorwürfe zurück, die Entschädigungszahlungen Deutschlands seien nicht vollständig geklärt. >>> Zeit Online, dpa, Reuters | Freitag, 26. Februar 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's health care summit was a sham and a failure, argues Toby Harnden in Washington, and the President could be heading for defeat in 2012
Barack Obama was in his element as he addressed the bipartisan health-care summit he had convened for the principal purpose of shaming the recalcitrant Republicans.
His preferred lectern had been taken away and he had been forced to agree to remain seated but it was nevertheless a cherished opportunity for him to scold, patronise and peevishly disdain his opponents – and to pontificate for nearly six hours.
To be fair, Obama spoke for a mere 119 minutes, as opposed to the 110 minutes he deigned to allocate to the Republicans and the 114 minutes he gave to his fellow Democrats. When challenged about the two-to-one imbalance between the parties, Mr Obama shot back: "I'm the President."
Again and again, he put Republicans down with sarcastic asides, berating them like naughty schoolboys for bringing in a copy of the 2,400-page Senate health bill as a "prop" and informing them of the need to "get our facts straight".
The televised event, dreamt up by the White House to create the desired "atmospherics" for an attempt to push his health-care bill through Congress by Easter, underlined the reality that Obama is not a leader or even really a politician – he is a professor.
Professor Obama is convinced of his own intellectual superiority. When his pupils fail to realise that he knows what is good for them, he simply repeats himself in the expectation that the simpletons will eventually understand. >>> Toby Harnden's American Way | Saturday, February 27, 2010
BBC: Two days after the White House hosted an inconclusive summit on healthcare reform, President Barack Obama has urged Americans to find common ground.
In his weekly radio address, Mr Obama said tens of millions of Americans could not afford to wait another generation for change.
He said it was time to move past the bickering and game-playing which was blocking progress on reform.
The White House said he would announce "the way forward" next week. President Obama urges US healthcare action >>> | Saturday, February 27, 2010
THE SUNDAY TIMES: WHEN Barack Obama took office last year he was compared to Superman, even joking at a dinner that he had been “born on Krypton and sent here ... to save the planet Earth”. Last January he appeared on the cover of Spider-Man.
Now, with his legislative agenda in tatters, the president has moved from comic-strip hero to comparisons to one of the great flawed figures of American literature. Ten days ago Charlie Cook, a leading election analyst, compared Obama and his battle to push through healthcare reform to Captain Ahab and his suicidal hunt for the great white whale.
Despite poll after poll showing that Americans’ main priority is jobs, the president has focused on reforming the US healthcare system and extending coverage to the 40m citizens with no insurance.
“I think choosing to take a Captain Ahab-like approach to healthcare — I’m going to push for this even in the worst downturn since the Great Depression — is roughly comparable to Bush’s decision to go to war [in Iraq],” Cook told Politico. “It basically destroyed the first year of a presidency.” Barack Obama ‘destroys first year in office’ >>> Christina Lamb in Washington | Sunday, February 28, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Labour minister says his party has been infiltrated by a fundamentalist Muslim group that wants to create an “Islamic social and political order” in Britain.
The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) — which believes in jihad and sharia law, and wants to turn Britain and Europe into an Islamic state — has placed sympathisers in elected office and claims, correctly, to be able to achieve “mass mobilisation” of voters.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Jim Fitzpatrick, the Environment Minister, said the IFE had become, in effect, a secret party within Labour and other political parties.
“They are acting almost as an entryist organisation, placing people within the political parties, recruiting members to those political parties, trying to get individuals selected and elected so they can exercise political influence and power, whether it’s at local government level or national level,” he said.
“They are completely at odds with Labour’s programme, with our support for secularism.”
Mr Fitzpatrick, the MP for Poplar and Canning Town, said the IFE had infiltrated and “corrupted” his party in east London in the same way that the far-Left Militant Tendency did in the 1980s. Leaked Labour lists show a 110 per cent rise in party membership in one constituency in two years.
In a six-month investigation by this newspaper and Channel 4’s Dispatches, involving weeks of covert filming by the programme’s reporters:
IFE activists boasted to the undercover reporters that they had already “consolidated … a lot of influence and power” over Tower Hamlets, a London borough council with a £1 billion budget. >>> Andrew Gilligan | Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
WELT ONLINE: Die Massenverhaftungen hoher Militärs zeigen, dass die Türkei weiter nach einer gesellschaftlichen Balance sucht. Einer der wichtigsten Gründe für das Ringen um die türkische Seele ist, dass sich die strategische Bedeutung des Landes für die USA im Kampf gegen Terror geändert hat.
Seit Jahren ringen die neuen und die alten Eliten der Türkei um die Macht. Ein langsamer Regimewechsel findet statt: An die Stelle der säkularen, antiklerikalen Republik des Staatsgründers Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – formal demokratisch, aber orientiert an autoritären und militaristischen Mustern – tritt etwas Neues, dessen Umrisse erst klar hervortreten müssen.
Optimisten dürfen hoffen, dass es ein nach Europa strebendes, demokratisches, modernes, pluralistisches Regime sein wird, dessen offen islamische Sympathien nicht stören, sondern beweisen werden, dass Islam, Toleranz und Demokratie kompatibel sind. Pessimisten fürchten, dass es genauso autoritär sein wird wie das vorangegangene, nur unter religiösem Vorzeichen und mit einer offensiveren Außenpolitik, die jenseits von EU und Nato nach einer Vormachtstellung in der islamischen Welt strebt und sich als Gegengewicht zu Europa versteht. Der Wert der Türkei für die USA >>> Von Boris Kálnoky | Samstag, 27. Februar 2010
LE POINT: Un mois de perquisitions, des dizaines de militaires arrêtés, un vaste complot révélé... L'armée turque vient de subir l'un des pires revers de son histoire en ce début d'année 2010. La police a mis à jour un gigantesque projet de conspiration visant à renverser, en 2003, le gouvernement du Parti de la justice et du développement (AKP), au pouvoir depuis 2002. Piqué au vif, l'état-major s'est défendu de toute "action illégale" le 22 janvier dernier. Les faits sont pourtant avérés et le Premier ministre turc n'a pas caché sa colère : "Ceux qui préparent des plans en secret pour écraser la volonté du peuple doivent se rendre compte qu'à partir de maintenant, ils devront affronter la justice. (...) Personne n'est au-dessus des lois", a prévenu Recep Tayyip Erdogan vendredi. Des positions tranchées qui témoignent de l'acidité des relations entre les militaires turcs et les membres de l'AKP. >>> Par Cyriel Martin | Vendredi 26 Février 2010
The Pahlavi Crown (التاج الپهلوی) >>> | Monday, February 23, 2009
WIKIPEDIA: Pahlavi Crown >>>
THE TELEGRAPH: A Briton has been killed after youths allegedly rammed a car into a group of friends who were cycling in Saudi Arabia.
John Currie, who worked for BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace), is believed to have been one four cyclists who were being "cut up" by local youths in two cars on a main road on the outskirts of Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Initially, it is understood that one of the cars clipped a cyclist, causing him to fall off his bike. Then, however, one of the drivers is alleged to have turned around and deliberately ploughed his car into the cyclists.
Mr Currie, 54, a human resources worker with BAE, is said to have been smashed against the vehicle's windscreen and later died from his serious injuries. His widow, Pauline, is returning to Britain this weekend.
The couple, from Chester, Cheshire, are believed to have two grown-up children. Mr Currie's body will be flown home for a funeral service.
In the past 15 years, there have been a number of terrorist attacks on British and other western nationals in Saudi Arabia by Muslim extremists. Several westerners have been killed - and even more injured - in a series of bombs and gun attacks. Radicals are angry that US and British oil companies and their staff are operating on Saudi soil. >>> Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter | Saturday, February 27, 2010
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN: People on Australia's east coast are being warned to stay away from beaches on Sunday morning after warnings of a possible tsunami.
The alert follows a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of Chile, toppling buildings, cutting power and killing at least 76 people.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) issued a tsunami watch at 7:45pm (AEDT) on Saturday declaring a "potential tsunami threat" to New South Wales, Queensland, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said tsunami waves could start affecting Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands after 8:30am (AEDT) on Sunday.
NSW could be hit after 8:45am (AEDT) on Sunday, while Queensland could be hit after 8:15am (AEST). >>> AAP | Sunday, February 28, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The first waves of the tsunami triggered by the earthquake in Chile have hit New Zealand's eastern Chatham Islands and officials have warned bigger waves are to follow.
New Zealand's entire east coast is at risk with waves up to three metres (10 feet) expected to hit the Chatham Islands and Banks Peninsula, near the main South Island city of Christchurch.
"It is expected that the greatest wave heights will occur between six and 12 hours after the initial arrivals," the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management said in a statement.
Residents on the Chatham Islands were moved to higher ground several hours before the first wave struck and residents in low-lying areas of Banks Peninsula had been told to be prepared to evacuate.
The biggest tsunami warning in history was marked by alarm sirens, panic buying and mass evacuations across the Pacific, eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand. >>> Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, February 27, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Residents in coastal areas of Hawaii are being evacuated as the Pacific island chain braces for a tsunami following a powerful earthquake off the coast of Chile.
Tsunami sirens sounded at 6am local time (1600 GMT) to alert residents to the risk posed by the waves.
Warnings were triggered on islands all across the Pacific following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake 70 miles from Chile's second largest city Concepcíon.
Tsunami waves radiated out from the epicentre and have already hit land at the southern Juan Fernandez Islands, about 400 miles off the coast of Chile, where it was reported to have caused "serious damage".
Easter Island has also been evacuated ahead of the waves hitting.
Residents in Hawaii were warned that the potentially destructive waves were forecast to reach the islands by 11.19am local time.
Experts at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said they were expecting a tsunami of more than three feet in the central Pacific.
It is the first time Hawaii has experienced voluntary tsunami evacuation since 1994.
Emergency services were laying on fleets of public buses to provide free transport for anyone needing to leave evacuation zones.
"If you live anywhere in the evacuation zone, you have to evacuate," said John Cummings, Oahu Emergency Management Department spokesman. "We're going to treat this as a destructive-type tsunami." >>> Richard Gray | Saturday, February 27, 2010
HONOLULU ADVERTISER: An 8.8 earthquake in Chile triggered a tsunami warning in the Hawaiian Islands this morning, prompting residents and tourists to clog gas stations and supermarkets as they stocked up on food, water and toilet paper.
Tsunami warning signals began blaring across all islands just after 6 a.m. today and tourists in Waikiki were told to head to higher floors inside their hotels.
Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center say this morning's tsunami wave should arrive at a height of 2.5 meters — or just over 8 feet — when it hits the Big Island at 11:19 a.m.
By the time it reaches Oahu 40 minutes later, the waves should only be a meter or less.
A meter is equivalent to 39 inches. But officials urged people not to be lulled by the relatively small wave heights in a state accustomed to monster waves.
"You're going to have some run-up and you're probably going to see some damage in the inundation zone area," said Victor Sardina, a geophysicist for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. "I would hope people don't stay around the coastal area. Just go inward; stay away from the shore."
The center warned that tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and that the first wave may not be the biggest.
Because tsunami waves wrap around the islands, all shores are at risk no matter which direction they face, officials said. >>> Advertiser Staff | Saturday, February 27, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: At least 47 people were reported dead today and large parts of South America put on tsunami alert after one of the biggest earthquakes in modern times struck southern Chile.
The quake, registered at magnitude 8.8 on the Richter scale, caused buildings and bridges to collapse and led to power-black [sic] outs in parts of the Chilean capital, Santiago, 200 miles from the epicentre.
Chile's President Michele Bachelet declares "state of catastrophe" following earthquake.
Eyewitnesses spoke of panicking crowds pouring onto the streets of the city, hugging each other and crying. Telephone and power lines were down, making a quick assessment of the damage difficult in the early morning darkness. The death toll figure was broadcast by Chilean radio, citing reporters on the ground.
Meanwhile the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an official tsunami warning notice to Chile and Peru, and a less severe tsunami "watch" notice to Ecuador.
"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the centre said on its website. "It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre and could also be a threat to more distant coasts." It was not yet clear how big the tsunami was. Chilean radio stations later reported that the tsunami warning had been lifted. >>> Colin Freeman | Saturday, February 27, 2010
LE FIGARO: Le tremblement de terre de magnitude 8,8 a fait au moins 82 morts dans le centre du pays. Une alerte tsunami a été lancée dans le Pacifique. Une vague de deux mètres a touché Talcahuano. Une autre vague a atteint l'île Robinson Crusoë où se trouvent plusieurs Français.
Un séisme d'une ampleur exceptionnelle, 50 fois plus fort en énergie que la secousse qui a frappé Haïti en janvier dernier. Un tremblement de terre de magnitude 8,8 frappé samedi matin le Chili, provoquant la mort d'au moins 82 personnes. Selon les services de secours, les victimes ont été piégées par des murs qui se sont effondrés, mais un nombre important a également succombé à des crises cardiaques. Une alerte au tsunami a été lancée pour l'ensemble des pays de l'océan Pacifique. Une vague de tsunami de deux mètres a atteint la ville côtière de Talcahuano 20 minutes après le séisme. On ignore pour le moment l'étendue des dégâts. Par précaution, les autorités ont également évacué les côtes de l'île de Pâques, située à 3.500 kilomètres à l'ouest des côtes chiliennes.
Une grande vague a aussi frappé dans la matinée l'île Robinson Crusoé, à 660km du continent dans l'archipel des îles Juan Fernandez. La présidente chilienne Michelle Bachelet a immédiatement envoyé deux navires, deux hélicoptères et un avion chargés d'aide pour secourir les 650 habitants. Les autorités ne sont pas en mesure pour l'instant de savoir s'il y a eu des victimes. Une dizaine de Français se trouvent sur l'île Robinson Crusoë. Ces archéologues mènaieent conjointement avec un groupe homologue chilien, des recherches dans la baie Cumberland pour retrouver des vestiges d'un trois mâts espagnol du XVIIe siècle, le San Martin. Toutes les tentatives faites par l'AFP samedi pour les joindre sont demeurées vaines.
L'alerte au raz-de-marrée a été élargie par les autorités américaines, à l'ensemble des pays de l'océan Pacifique. Le Japon, l'Australie, la Nouvelle-Zélande, la Polynésie française et Hawaï ont émis des alertes au tsunami. En Polynésie, la circulation a été interdite à moins de 500 m des côtes. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Samedi 27 Février 2010
WELT ONLINE: Durch das Erdbeben der Stärke 8,8 sind in Chile mehr als 80 Menschen ums Leben gekommen. Viele Opfer werden noch unter den Trümmern vermutet. Für weite Teile der Pazifikregion wurde eine Tsunami-Warnung ausgelöst, so auch in Japan, Australien, Neuseeland und auf den Philippinen. Viele Küsten wurden evakuiert.
Eines der schwersten jemals gemessenen Erdbeben hat Chile erschüttert und mehr als 80 Menschen in den Tod gerissen. Das Jahrhundertbeben am frühen Samstag erreichte die Stärke 8,8 und löste einen Tsunami aus. Für nahezu die gesamte Pazifik-Region wurde eine Warnung vor der Flutwelle ausgerufen – von Südamerika, über Hawaii bis Japan und Neuseeland. Chiles Staatspräsidentin Michelle Bachelet rief Katastrophenalarm aus.
Die mächtigen Erdstöße um 3.34 Uhr Ortszeit hatten die Menschen im Schlaf überrascht. Viele rannten in Panik aus ihren Häusern und kampierten aus Angst vor Nachbeben im Freien. Das Epizentrum lag nach Angaben der US-Erdbebenwarte etwa 92 Kilometer nordwestlich der Küstenstadt Concepción. Die Erde bebte in fast 60 Kilometern Tiefe. In schneller Folge gab es mehr als 20 Nachbeben mit Stärken von bis zu 6,9. Hunderte unter Trümmern vermutet >>> dpa/AFP/kami | Samstag, 27. Februar 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Open warfare has broken out at the top of the European Union with governments accusing the new president, Herman Van Rompuy, of making a power grab.
National leaders are concerned Mr Van Rompuy, who had been expected to take a back seat role, is attempting to expand his position.
Germany and France backed his candidature on the understanding he would act as an EU "chairman" rather than a high-profile leader.
But the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty has triggered bitter in-fighting between Mr Van Rompuy, Baroness Ashton, the foreign minister, and the Commission over who is in charge of representing Europe on the global stage.
Diplomats are increasingly worried that amid the turf wars there is a danger of Brussels "mission creep" as squabbling EU chiefs try to enlarge their empires at the expense of each other and national sovereignty. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Friday, February 26, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: In der Türkei hat es wegen angeblicher Umsturzpläne aus dem Jahr 2003 weitere Verhaftungen gegeben. Die Polizei verhaftete in 13 Städten hochrangige Mitglieder der Armee. Ministerpräsident Erdogan wehrte sich gegen den Vorwurf, er wolle die Armee in Misskredit bringen.
Vor dem Hintergrund von Putschgerüchten sind in der Türkei laut Medienberichten weitere hochrangige Militärs festgenommen worden. Es seien 17 aktive Offiziere sowie einer im Ruhestand festgesetzt worden, berichtete «CNN Türk» am Freitag. Pläne aus dem Jahr 2003 >>> sda/afp/Reuters | Freitag, 26. Februar 2010
Catherine Ashton muß wirklich eine dumme Frau sein! Wie kann eine intelligente Person so ‘was Dummes sagen? Sie sagt, daß der Machthaber von Libyen zum Heiligen Krieg zu einem “unglückichen Zeitpunkt” aufgerufen hat. Was? Sollte man, in dem Fall, zum Schluß kommen, daß nächstes Jahr eine günstigere Zeit für so einen Aufruf wäre? – © Mark
WELT ONLINE: In bemerkenswerter Wortwahl reagiert die EU-Spitze auf den Dschihad-Aufruf von Libyens Machthaber Muammar al-Gaddafi gegen die Schweiz. Gaddafi habe zu einem "unglücklichen Zeitpunkt" zum Heiligen Krieg aufgerufen. Seine Äußerungen seien "ungewöhnlich". Die UN sprechen von einem inakzeptablen Verhalten.
Die Vereinten Nationen haben den Dschihad-Aufruf des libyschen Machthabers Muammar al-Gaddafi gegen die Schweiz scharf kritisiert.
Derartige Erklärungen eines Staatschefs seien "im Rahmen der internationalen Beziehungen inakzeptabel“, sagte der UN-Generaldirektor Sergej Ordzhonikidze. Die UN-Vertretung in Genf sieht Ordzhonikidse auch nach dem Appell Gaddafis ausreichend durch Sicherheitskräfte geschützt.
Al-Gaddafi hatte im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau-Verbot für Minarette in der Schweiz zum Heiligen Krieg gegen die Alpenrepublik aufgerufen. "Der ungläubigen und abtrünnigen Schweiz, die die Häuser Allahs zerstört, muss mit allen Mitteln der Dschihad erklärt werden“, sagte Gaddafi anlässlich eines Mohammed-Gedenktages in der ostlibyschen Stadt Benghasi.
Auch die EU-Außenbeauftragte Catherine Ashton bedauert es, dass al-Gaddafi zu einem "unglücklichen Zeitpunkt“ zum Heiligen Krieg gegen die Schweiz aufgerufen hat. Ein Sprecher Ashtons sagte in Brüssel, es handele sich um „in diplomatischem Sprachgebrauch ziemlich ungewöhnliche Äußerungen“ Gaddafis.
"Wenn die Berichte darüber zutreffen, dann kommen diese Äußerungen zu einem unglücklichen Zeitpunkt, zu dem sich die EU gemeinsam mit der Schweiz bemüht, eine diplomatische Lösung im laufenden Streit zu finden“, sagte der Sprecher. >>> AFP/jm | Freitag, 26. Februar 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Yasmine al-Mehairy did not even really want to be there. She had been invited to a friend’s birthday party at an upmarket nightclub called 35, in the Four Seasons hotel. She was parked illegally but only planned to hand over a bouquet and spend ten minutes inside. But when the bouncer pointed at her headscarf as the reason she could not enter, Ms al-Mehairy decided to fight.
“I ended up arguing with the guy for longer than I would have stayed in the first place if he just let me in,” said the 29-year-old IT professional, who eventually gave up and called her friend to meet her at the door and accept her birthday flowers.
Egypt’s steady drift towards religion has been well documented. But now there are signs of a backlash. In trendy clubs and cafés across Cairo, the hair and neck-covering scarf known as the hijab is increasingly being shunned as unacceptable dress.
Several bars and restaurants where alcohol is served now essentially ban veiled women from entering. The policy is more open in some places than others but seems to apply to at least half a dozen Cairo venues.
“They always give you the ‘there’s going to be alcohol’ reason,” said a Western-raised veiled Arab woman who has lived in Cairo since 2006. “In Egypt it’s mostly that they don’t like the look of it. They want to maintain some sort of prestige,” the woman, who did not want her name to be published, told The Times.
Club and restaurant managers refused to comment on the record about the ban, but several questioned why a devout veiled woman would even want to attend venues that served alcohol. One manager of a Cairo club, however, said that the restrictions were less about protecting the veiled women from “sinful” environments than about shielding the club’s core clients from having to look at veiled women. “It causes a lot of discomfort and doesn’t create the atmosphere I need to make money,” the manager said. “I can either make my regulars comfortable or I make the other 1 per cent comfortable.” >>> Ashraf Khalil in Cairo | Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
THE GUARDIAN – An extract: The leader of the rightwing Danish People's party, Pia Kjærsgaard, called the situation absurd, and said that Politiken had sold out. She urged Danish newspapers to reprint the cartoons as a protest against Politiken's settlement. "It is deeply, deeply embarrassing that [Politiken's editor] Tøger Seidenfaden has sold out of Denmark's and the west's freedom of speech. I cannot distance myself enough from this total sellout to this doctrine," Kjærsgaard said. [Source: The Guardian] Lars Eriksen in Copenhagen | Friday, February 26, 2010
JYLLANDS POSTEN: Danish newspaper enters deal with organisations and offers apology for offending them with images of the Prophet Mohammed Politiken newspaper, one of 11 Danish newspapers that reprinted the Mohammed cartoons, has issued an apology to eight Muslim organisations for offending...Opposition leaders Helle-Thorning Schmidt of the Social Democrats and Villy Søvndal of the Socialist People’s Party called the move ‘outrageous’ and said deals should not be done involving freedom of speech. Paper apologises for Mohammed cartoons [JP] | Friday, February 26, 2010
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