Grèce : Une «solution européenne» plutôt qu'un recours au FMI
20MINUTES.ch: La Grèce souhaite trouver une «solution européenne» à ses difficultés financières et n'envisage pas pour l'instant de recours au Fonds monétaire international (FMI).

«Nous voulons une solution européenne, nous ne voulons pas choisir le FMI», a déclaré M. Papandreou à l'issue d'un entretien d'une heure avec son homologue français à l'Elysée.

«La solution européenne jusqu'à hier ou avant-hier restait très théorique. Après les différentes rencontres que j'ai eues cette semaine (...) j'ai entendu que la volonté politique existait, et pas seulement de la part du président Sarkozy», a-t-il poursuivi.

«Notre pays a pris des mesures plus importantes et supplémentaires par rapports à ce que les spécialistes (...) avaient préconisé (...) nous voulons donc pouvoir emprunter comme tout autre pays de la zone euro avec un taux qui est similaire, peut-être pas identique, mais comparable», a ajouté le chef du gouvernement grec. >>> ats | Dimanche 07 Mars 2010

Paris : La statue de la République recouverte d'une burqa géante
20MINUTES.ch: Une soixantaine de jeunes militants ont recouvert samedi à Paris la statue symbolisant la République française, sur la place du même nom, d'une burqa noire géante. Ils entendaient célébrer ainsi la journée de la femme avec deux jours d'avance.

Les manifestants, dont une petite dizaine de garçons, appartenant à l'association «Ni putes ni soumises», ont organisé un défilé circulaire en brandissant des pancartes «Ni voile ni burqa», «service public = avortement et contraception» ou «raser mes jambes oui, raser les murs non».

Un peu plus tard, les manifestants ont symboliquement recouvert la statue d'une burqa noire géante, afin de protester contre ce qu'ils estiment être un retard pris dans le vote d'une loi interdisant la burqa dans les lieux publics. >>> ats | Dimanche 07 Mars 2010

The Crooked Judges of Amsterdam

Pouring Oil Onto the Fire
eKATHIMERINI.com – Editorial: Greece’s politicians seem unable to comprehend people’s anger at the manner in which they have handled the money in the public coffers, even though the signs are visible to even the most uninformed observer.

At a time when the public sector is putting a freeze on any new hirings and thousands of young people are being forced to join the unemployment line, parliamentary deputies have voted to award permanent status to a group of temporary employees in the state sector.

Defenders of the move have said that the law was put in motion during the days of the previous parliamentary president. But this is not an adequate excuse.

A poorly planned decision cannot be made legitimate after the fact and, in any case, the country’s public finances are in a state of code red due to the fiscal crisis and outstanding debt.

Gestures such as giving permanent jobs to staff who have been hired to carry out short-term tasks only pour more oil onto the flames. [Source: eKathimerini.com] | Saturday, March 06, 2010

eKATHIMERINI.com – Editorial: One thing has become strikingly clear as Greece’s great economic drama unfolds: The Greeks will have to pull themselves out of the mess on their own. Despite the danger that the eurozone faces as a whole, despite the threat its debt crisis poses to Europe’s political unification and irrespective of the responsibility of predatory investors, the rest of Europe sees Greece’s problem as comeuppance for years of profligacy and political cowardice. European policy is now being shaped by public opinion in each country – and the public is in no mood to see other countries benefit when its own is facing benefit reductions and a shaky future. This is a logical reaction. But it is also undeniable that European governments have been very slow to formulate policy toward the Greek crisis and, at least in some cases, they have been at the forefront of criticizing Greece and, thereby, isolating it. (This may be aimed at taking the focus off their own possible problems, letting off steam or warning other possible fiscal miscreants that they can expect no bailouts.) Curse and Godsend >>> | Friday, February 26, 2010

Opinion: Lebanon, at Peace, Braces for War
LOS ANGELES TIMES: A growing economy; political stability. But most Lebanese fear it won't last.

The Middle East has no shortage of conflicts to worry the rest of the world: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians. And now, add an old trouble spot to that list: Lebanon.



On the one hand, Lebanon's economy grew by a dizzying 9% last year, the strongest pace of any country in the region. Its feuding religious and political factions have joined in a power-sharing agreement that seems stable. And it's even selling itself, with some success, as a chic destination for European and American tourists.



But as I discovered on a visit to Beirut last month, the Lebanese are certain all this good fortune can't last. They're convinced -- not without reason -- that the confrontation between the U.S. and Iran will spill over into another war between Israel and Lebanon.

Just inside Lebanon's southern border, where Israel and the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah went to war in 2006, Iran and its ally, Syria, have been helping Hezbollah rearm. The radical militia, which runs southern Lebanon as its own mini-state, reportedly has obtained Iranian-made missiles that can reach Tel Aviv, and Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has promised to strike at Israel at a time and place of his choosing. 



Israel isn't taking the threat lightly; its pugnacious foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, recently warned that Israel might use the next war to try to topple Syria's authoritarian regime. >>> Doyle McManus | Sunday, March 07, 2010

Fast abgehoben: Westerwelle mit Lebensgefährten Michael Mronz auf dem Rollfeld des Flughafens Berlin-Tegel. Bild: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Guido Westerwelle: Reisebegleiter und mehr
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Außenminister Westerwelle hat am Samstag seine bislang längste Auslandsreise begonnen: Chile, Argentinien, Uruguay und Brasilien will er binnen einer Woche besuchen und damit Lateinamerika zu einem Schwerpunkt seiner Außenpolitik machen. In Deutschland wird dem Vizekanzler und FDP-Vorsitzenden vorgeworfen, unsensibel dienstliche Verbindungen mit parteipolitischen und privaten verquickt zu haben.

Auch auf der Reise nach Südamerika begleiteten ihn als Teil der Wirtschaftsdelegation alte Bekannte, darunter auch ein Unternehmer, der vor fünf Jahren der FDP 48.000 Euro gespendet haben soll. Die Opposition fordert Aufklärung, nachdem die Zeitschrift „Der Spiegel“ schrieb, dass FDP-Spender offizielle Reisebegleiter des Außenministers seien. Die Öffentlichkeit müsse beurteilen können, „ob es hier unzulässige Zusammenhänge und Einflussnahmen gegeben hat“, sagte der Parlamentarische Geschäftsführer der Grünen Beck. Sogar die Grenze von „Amtsmissbrauch“ erreicht sieht der stellvertretende Fraktionsvorsitzende der Linkspartei im Bundestag, Maurer. Kritik aus der Opposition >>> Von Wulf Schmiese | Sonntag, 07. März 2010

Génocide arménien : coup de froid entre les USA et Ankara
LE FIGARO: La Turquie a rappelé jeudi son ambassadeur à Washington, après le vote par la commission américaine des Affaires étrangères d'une résolution reconnaissant le génocide arménien.

Les présidents américain et turc, Barack Obama et Abdullah Gül, en avril 2009, à Ankara. Photo : Le Figaro
Les relations se tendent entre Ankara et Washington. La commission des Affaires étrangères de la Chambre des représentants américaine a approuvé jeudi une résolution sur la reconnaissance du génocide arménien par la Turquie en 1915. «C'est une nouvelle preuve de l'attachement du peuple américain aux valeurs humaines universelles et un pas important vers la prévention des crimes contre l'humanité», a réagi le ministre arménien des Affaires étrangères, Edouard Nalbandian. En signe de protestation, Ankara a en revanche immédiatement rappelé son ambassadeur aux Etats-Unis «pour consultations».

«Nous condamnons cette résolution qui accuse la nation turque d'un crime qu'elle n'a pas commis», a déclaré le gouvernement turc. Elle n'a «aucune valeur aux yeux du peuple turc», a ajouté le président turc Abdullah Gül, qui menace de «conséquences négatives (…) dans tous les domaines». Selon Ankara, ce vote montre «un manque de vision stratégique» parmi les élus américains, alors que les deux pays «travaillent ensemble sur un large éventail de questions». La Turquie, alliée de longue date de l'OTAN, joue un rôle important dans les intérêts américains au Moyen-Orient et en Afghanistan, ainsi que dans la médiation face à Téhéran dans le dossier du nucléaire iranien.

Hillary Clinton avait pourtant mis en garde les membres de la commission contre l'adoption d'une telle position. Cela «pourrait dresser des obstacles devant la normalisation des relations» entre la Turquie et l'Arménie, soutenue par Washington, avait averti la secrétaire d'Etat américaine. Ce qui n'a pas empêché le texte d'être voté par 23 voix contre 22. «Les Turcs disent que voter la résolution pourrait avoir des conséquences terribles pour nos relations bilatérales, et peut-être y aura-t-il en effet des conséquences», a déclaré le président de la Commission, Howard Berman. «Mais je crois que la Turquie tient à ses relations avec les Etats-Unis au moins autant que nous tenons à nos relations avec la Turquie.» Le texte n'a pas encore force de loi >>> Par Thomas Vampouille | Vendredi 05 Mars 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Muslim Leader Wants Elements of Sharia in Australia
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: ELEMENTS of Islamic law - the sharia - should be legally recognised in Australia so that Muslims can live according their faith, a prominent Muslim leader says.

Addressing an open day at Lakemba Mosque on Saturday, the president of the Australian Islamic Mission, Zachariah Matthews, said parts of sharia could be recognised as a secondary legal system so that Muslims were not forced to act contrary to their beliefs. ''Sharia law could function as a parallel system in the same way that some traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law was recognised in the Northern Territory,'' Dr Matthews told the Herald after the session.

''I don't think we are so unsophisticated that we cannot consider a multilayered legal system as long as it doesn't conflict with the existing civil system.''

The comments shocked some attending the open day. They felt Dr Matthews was advocating the introduction of the penal system under which women have been stoned to death for adultery, and corporal punishment is meted out for some offences.

''It came as quite a shock to some non-Muslims in the crowd when sharia law and the idea of a parallel legal system was mentioned,'' one audience member, Jasmine Donnelly, said.

''One group of people just left straight after that.'' >>> Paul Bibby | Monday, March 08, 2010

Still More Barbarity in Saudi Arabia! Sudanese Driver Executed in Saudi Arabia
BBC: A Sudanese driver convicted of murdering his Saudi Arabian employer has been executed.

Mussa Ahmed was beheaded in Riyadh in the eighth execution in the kingdom this year.

Ahmed killed Mohammed al-Mutairy by hitting him on the head with a metal object, a statement published by the official SPA news agency said.

Following the crime, Ahmed fled to Sudan but was extradited to Saudi Arabia to stand trial, reports said.

No other details about the case were available.

Saudi Arabia executed 67 people last year, fewer than the record number of 153 in 2007.

Under the country's strict version of Sharia law, rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death. [Source: BBC] | Thursday, March 04, 2010

Lord Alli: A Victory for Religious Freedom
THE TELEGRAPH: Lord Alli has hit back at criticism from religious leaders over whether gay civil partnership ceremonies should be allowed in churches. Here he lays out his case.

In the House of Lords on Tuesday there was a landmark decision, allowing Civil Partnerships between gay couples to take place in religious buildings.

The debate took place against the background of a growing number of religious denominations such as the Quakers, Liberal Judaism and the Unitarian Church publicly stating that they wanted to host these ceremonies on their premises.

The essence of the debate was whether or not they should be allowed to do it.

There can be no doubting the immense difference that Civil Partnerships have made to British life since the first ceremonies were performed just over four years ago.

People from all walks of life have been able to celebrate as they watched their sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters, their uncles and aunts entering into lasting unions with their partners.

Indeed, it does seem rather strange that the Church of England shouldn’t encourage Civil Partnerships since, as with marriage, they promote stable and committed relationships.

I couldn’t agree more with the 20 bishops and former bishops who wrote to The Times last week, arguing that “to deny people of faith the opportunity of registering the most important promise of their lives in their willing church or synagogue, according to its liturgy, is plainly discriminatory,” and who urged that “every peer who believes in spiritual independence or in non-discrimination” should support the move.

Over 120 peers turned up to listen and take part in the debate, with the resolution ultimately gaining support from all parties. >>> Waheed Alli | Sunday, March 07, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Lord Waheed Alli >>>

After Tory Leader Reveals His List of Ethnic Candidates, Cameron's Rainbow 1st Eleven
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: In the latest development in his campaign to show how dramatically the Tories have changed, David Cameron has published the party’s first-ever official list of openly gay MPs.

The Conservatives say they have 20 openly gay candidates standing in the Election. Of those, 11 told party chiefs they were ‘happy’ to be named in the first authorised list of gay Conservative candidates.

It has led some to suggest jokingly that the Tories might change the party’s traditional blue colour to the rainbow flag of the gay movement.

Publication of the list followed a claim by Shadow Minister Nick Herbert that if the Tories win the forthcoming General Election there could be up to 15 openly gay Conservative MPs. That compares to three at present, including Mr Herbert.

The move follows similar increases in the number of Tory women and ethnic minority candidates. It has led to a backlash from some grassroots activists, who claim the changes have been forced on them by Mr Cameron. Others say it has made the Conservative Party look more modern.

In a speech authorised by Mr Cameron, Mr Herbert said the party had ended the domination of ‘male, white, professional, grey-suited and straight’ Tory MPs. >>> Simon Walters and Brendan Carlin | Sunday, March 07, 2010

Wegen Grundrechten: Europarat warnt vor Ganzkörperschleier-Verbot
KRONE.at: Der Europaparat hat vor einem Verbot von Ganzkörperschleiern gewarnt. Eine solche Maßnahme würde die betroffenen muslimischen Frauen nicht befreien, sondern ihre Lage noch zusätzlich erschweren, erklärte der Menschenrechtsbeauftragte der paneuropäischen Organisation, Thomas Hammarberg, im Vorfeld des Internationalen Frauentags am Montag.

In einigen Europaratsländern, darunter Frankreich, ist eine Debatte über das Verbot des Ganzkörperschleiers Burka, bei dem selbst die Augen durch ein netzartiges Sichtfenster versteckt werden, und des Gesichtsschleiers Nikab, der nur einen Spalt für die Augen freilässt, entbrannt. >>>| Sonntag, 07. März 2010

Triumph der Vernunft! Tierschutzanwalt-Obligatorium klar abgelehnt: Nein-Mehrheit in allen Kantonen zur Initiative des Schweizer Tierschutzes
NZZ ONLINE: Die Kantone sind auch künftig nicht verpflichtet, einen Tierschutzanwalt einzusetzen. 70,5 Prozent der Stimmenden sagten Nein zur Tierschutzanwalt-Initiative. Das Volksbegehren wurde in keinem einzigen Kanton angenommen.

Am meisten Zustimmung erhielt die Initiative für einen obligatorischen Tieranwalt in den Städten, am deutlichsten abgelehnt wurde sie in ländlichen Gebieten. Den höchsten Nein-Stimmenanteil verzeichneten die Kantone Appenzell-Innerrhoden und Obwalden mit rund 84 Prozent.

Ebenfalls über 80 Prozent der Stimmenden sprachen sich in den Kantonen Wallis, Jura, Uri, Nidwalden und Freiburg gegen Tierschutzanwälte aus. In vielen Kantonen sagten zwischen 70 und 80 Prozent der Stimmenden Nein. Zwischen 60 und 70 Prozent lag der Nein-Stimmenanteil in den Kantonen Zürich, Bern, Aargau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Solothurn, Graubünden, Genf, Schaffhausen, Tessin und Basel-Landschaft. Knappstes Resultat in Basel[.]

Am meisten Ja-Stimmen gab es im Kanton Basel-Stadt: 44 Prozent der Stimmenden sprachen sich dort für Tierschutzanwälte aus. In allen anderen Kantonen nahmen weniger als 40 Prozent der Stimmenden die Initiative an. In der Kompetenz der Kantone >>> (sda)/bbu. | Sonntag, 07. März 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Dem Tierschutz ein Bärendienst: Ein Nein mit Nachhall >>> crz. | Sonntag, 07. März 2010

Votations Fédérales : L'avocat pour les animaux ne sera pas obligatoire
20MINUTES.ch: Les cantons continueront de décider eux-même comment appliquer la loi sur la protection des animaux.

L'initiative populaire les enjoignant à instituer un avocat chargé de défendre les intérêts des bêtes a été rejetée par 70,5% des votants. Tous les cantons ont dit «non».

La Protection suisse des animaux a eu beau jouer la corde sensible et attirer nombre de «people» à sa cause, sa campagne n'a pas réussi à convaincre la majorité qu'un avocat spécial était la seule institution capable de défendre efficacement la gent animale contre les mauvais traitements et de punir sévèrement les coupables. Seul un peu moins de 672'000 votants ont glissé un «oui» dans l'urne. >>> ats | Dimanche 07 Mars 2010

Economie : Ce que Sarkozy va dire à Papandréou
leJDD.fr: Lorsque Nicolas Sarkozy accueillera, ce soir, à 18 heures, le Premier ministre grec Georges Papandréou, son attitude sera scrutée dans toute l’Europe. Le Président français naviguera entre deux écueils. Il ne peut donner l’impression que les gouvernements de "grands" pays imposent une purge à des "petits" alors qu’eux-mêmes ont laissé filer leurs propres dépenses. Et la France ne doit pas accorder un chèque en blanc à la Grèce, comme le craignent les Allemands. Bref, ne pas humilier Athènes, ne pas braquer Berlin.

Le premier objectif des autorités européennes est de stopper la spéculation qui ébranle l’euro. Les taux d’intérêt grecs ont explosé avec d’énormes primes de risque (les fameux "Credit Default Swap" ou CDS). Ils sont retombés depuis jeudi, Athènes a pu lever 5 milliards d’euros.

Deuxième objectif : éviter un effet domino sur d’autres pays européens. En 2008, la faillite de la banque Lehmann Brothers ne faisait peser aucun risque réel mais a pourtant provoqué une panique sur les marchés. Aujourd’hui, la dette grecque pèse moins de 3% du PIB européen mais d’autres pays pourraient payer cher la même crise de confiance (Espagne, Portugal, Royaume-Uni). La Grèce, symbole des futures réformes européennes >>> Olivier Jay, Le Journal du Dimanche | Samedi 06 Mars 2010 | Mise à jour le 07 Mars 2010

France Finally Acknowledges Its War Children
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: The offspring of German soldiers and French women born during the occupation were cruelly shunned

When Jean-Jacques Delorme was growing up in Lisieux in Normandy in the 1940s, schoolmates called him a "bastard" or "son of a Boche" – a slur word for German. He didn't really know what it meant, but it made him feel like an outcast.

Life had been different from the outset. After his birth in October 1944 it had been his grandmother who cared for him until he was five years old. But it was only decades later that he learnt why his mother was absent at that time: she had been sentenced to one year in prison, for so-called collaboration horizontale. She had also been given five years of dégradation nationale – essentially, a loss of certain rights – for her crime of indignité nationale, sleeping with the enemy.

Mr Delorme was not alone. He is one of 200,000 children who grew up in France the offspring of German soldiers who occupied the country during the war. After the war ended, supposed collaborators were executed, while women who had been "collaborating horizontally" had their hair shaved, were paraded through jeering crowds and jailed. Mr Delorme's mother was one of those "shaven women".

Mr Delorme faced silence and secrecy when he tried to find out who his father was. His suspicions had first been raised when he was 12 years old. "My sister was born and my mother gave me the livre de famille – or 'family book' – to register her birth," he remembers. "I noticed a note in the margin by my name, saying I was illegitimate by my father.

"My mother had married when I was four, and I had taken her husband's name as he officially recognised me as his son. I asked my mother, but she wouldn't tell me. Nobody would tell me. I sensed I was different from my brothers and sisters, so I asked my mother again when I was 17. She was enraged, and walked out slamming the door behind her."

It was only when he was 21, had completed his military service and gone to work in Paris that Mr Delorme found the truth out about who his real father was. "I asked my grandmother. She pulled out an envelope, yellowed with age, from her wardrobe. 'Your mother asked me to destroy its contents, but I didn't in case you ever wanted to know,' she told me. I opened the envelope and there were a good number of photos of my mother with a German soldier."

Then his mother, who had been a kitchen servant during the occupation, finally revealed his birth father's name: Hans Hoffmann. >>> Geneviève Roberts in Paris | Sunday, March 07, 2010

New SPLC Report: "Patriot" Groups, Militias Surge in Number in Past Year
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The number of extremist groups in the United States exploded in 2009 as militias and other groups steeped in wild, antigovernment conspiracy theories exploited populist anger across the country and infiltrated the mainstream, according to a report issued today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Antigovernment "Patriot" groups - militias and other extremist organizations that see the federal government as their enemy - came roaring back to life over the past year after more than a decade out of the limelight.

The SPLC documented a 244 percent increase in the number of active Patriot groups in 2009. Their numbers grew from 149 groups in 2008 to 512 groups in 2009, an astonishing addition of 363 new groups in a single year. Militias - the paramilitary arm of the Patriot movement - were a major part of the increase, growing from 42 militias in 2008 to 127 in 2009. >>> | Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Rage on the Right

Nana Mouskouri
Weiße Rosen aus Athen



The White Rose of Athens



Plaisir d'amour

Unsinn! Absurdité! Absurdity!
Wilders, Not Islam, 'Is Holland's Biggest Problem' >>> Josh Ward | Friday, March 05, 2010
Islam for the Diaspora: Importing Germany's Imams >>> James Angelos in Ankara, Turkey | Friday, March 05, 2010

Grèce: La colère contre la rigueur
leJDD.fr: Un pays ruiné, un gouvernement socialiste qui met en place un plan d'austérité pour apaiser l'Europe et les marchés. Vendredi, les syndicats manifestaient devant le Parlement.

Des milliers de personnes ont manifesté vendredi devant le Parlement, à Athènes. Photo: leJDD.fr
Jours d’austérité, jours de colère en Grèce. Adonis Davanelos n’a pas de mots assez durs contre le plan draconien annoncé mercredi par le Premier ministre socialiste Papandréou, et voté en urgence, vendredi, par le Parlement grec. Il vise à faire économiser au pays 4,8 milliards d’euros pour apaiser les marchés et forcer l’Europe à la solidarité.

"Jour après jour, les mesures sont plus dures. Ils ont d’abord annoncé que les salaires du secteur public seraient gelés, puis qu’ils seraient diminués, puis que cela toucherait aussi le privé. Ils augmentent les taxes. On va perdre un mois de salaire à cause de la hausse de la TVA et des autres taxes, on supprime notre treizième mois et, en plus, nos salaires seront diminués de 7%. C’est énorme, non?", s’énerve ce syndicaliste, membre de Syriza, la coalition de la gauche radicale. Ils étaient nombreux ceux qui, tel Adonis, faisaient grève, vendredi, contre le plan d’austérité de Papandréou. A côté de lui, son copain, Tassos: "C’est très brutal, les gens sont sous le choc, ils ne croient pas que ce soit possible. Autrefois, on faisait monter l’inflation, mais c’était indirect. Là, c’est terrible, on baisse les salaires, on supprime les primes, les gens vont s’en rendre compte à la fin du mois." "Papandréou n'avait pas le choix" >>> Cécile Amar, envoyée spéciale du Journal du Dimanche à Athènes | Samedi 06 Mars 2010

Référendum : Les Islandais rejettent en masse l'accord Icesave
20MINUTES.ch: Les Islandais ont rejeté par référendum samedi l'impopulaire accord financier Icesave, selon des résultats officiels partiels annoncés par la télévision publique islandaise.

Le gouvernement a reconnu dans un communqué [sic] la victoire du «non».

D'après les résultats après dépouillement de 18 000 bulletins, sur 230 000 électeurs, le «non» l'emporte à 98%. >>> ats | Samedi 06 Mars 2010

«Pas touche à mon pays!» : Des musulmans de Suisse protestent contre Kadhafi à Berne
20MINUTES.ch: Une cinquantaine de mulsumans résidant en Suisse ont lancé un cri de colère samedi après-midi à Berne contre le régime libyen.

«Pas touche à mon pays!»: à Berne, environ cinquante personnes ont protesté samedi après-midi contre l'appel au djihad du dirigent libyen. Photo: 20Minutes.ch
Symboliquement, sur l'Helvetiaplatz, ils ont dit «non au djihad contre la Suisse» lancé par le colonel Kadhafi, «non à l'instrumentalisation de l'islam».

«Nous refusons toute volonté de déstabiliser notre pays, la Suisse, parce que nous sommes solidaires de nos concitoyens avec qui nous pouvons toujours vivre différents et égaux», a lancé Abdel Lamhangar, élu socialiste au Conseil général de Romont (FR). Il est l'initiateur du rassemblement. >>> ats | Samedi 06 Mars 2010

Islamists Got Voters Out for Livingstone
THE TELEGRAPH: A fundamentalist group which believes in sharia law, jihad and creating an "Islamic social and political order" in Britain arranged an "unprecedented mobilisation" of voters for the former London mayor, Ken Livingstone, at the last mayoral election.

In an election lost by Mr Livingstone, the Islamic Forum of Europe helped secure massive and unexpected swings towards him in its east London heartland.

In one ward, Spitalfields, his vote share rose from 29.6 per cent in 2004 - an election he won - to 68.4 per cent in 2008, a rise of nearly 39 percentage points.

In every other ward in Tower Hamlets and Newham with a sizeable Muslim population, his vote rose by between 23 and 36 percentage points. His vote in other Muslim and ethnic minority areas of London also rose, but by far smaller amounts.

Mr Livingstone's economic development body, the London Development Agency, had agreed to pay more than £1.3 million to the East London Mosque, controlled by the IFE, and described by critics as hardline. >>> Andrew Gilligan | Saturday, March 06, 2010

Nicolas Sarkozy's Private Dinner with the Obamas Hailed as 'Diplomatic Coup'
Obama and Sarkozy in Paris in 2008. Photograph: The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: AFTER months of being cruelly snubbed, Nicolas Sarkozy’s ambitious dream of supplanting Britain as America’s best friend in Europe has come a step closer to reality with an invitation to a private dinner in the White House at the end of this month.

He and his wife Carla will have dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama in their private White House apartment. It is a rare honour for a visiting leader: Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, had to make do with chats in the Oval Office.

The hyperactive Sarkozy, whose enthusiasm for the glitzy side of politics has led to his being nicknamed “Sarko l’Américain”, is thrilled to be rubbing shoulders with the world’s most famous couple. Even before Obama was elected, the French leader had put his diplomatic service into overdrive to try to win favour with the new White House. >>> Matthew Campell in Paris | Sunday, March 07, 2010

Cocaine, Kidnapping and the Al-Qaeda Cash Squeeze
THE TELEGRAPH: Hit by a global crackdown on their wealthy financiers, Bin Laden's followers have been forced to abandon their Koranic principles to pursue their holy war.

The three al-Qaeda agents assured the Colombians that they would have no problem moving their shipment of European-bound cocaine through the Islamist badlands of the Sahara.

As supporters of the terrorist organisation's North African branch, they would guarantee shipment of the drugs through territory they controlled - so long as they were paid fee of $2,000 per kilo.

The trio, all from the impoverished desert nation of Mali, thought they were setting up a deal with representatives of Colombia's Marxist FARC guerrillas to smuggle up to 1,000 kgs of cocaine.

In fact, they were speaking to informants for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who secretly taped the meeting in Ghana in a sting operation in December. The three men, who were recorded on tape saying that they were levying "taxes" on the terror group's behalf, were arrested and extradited to New York, where they are now fighting drug and terror charges.

Anti-terrorism officials believe the case may prove a crucial landmark in the battle against al-Qaeda: it is the first time that anyone linked to the terror group has faced prosecution for its newest money-spinning activity, narco-terrorism. >>> Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, March 06, 2010

Obama Addresses Health-Care Reform

Khamenei’s Uncertain Future: A lonelier road for Iran’s Supreme Leader
THE MAJALLA: While before the presidential elections it appeared that Khamenei would remain Supreme Leader for life, his fate is far less certain today, and he is openly defied by reformist leaders, faces dissent from top ayatollahs, and is contested in public demonstrations. Despite the damage to his reputation, Khamenei’s vast and potent network remains for the moment intact, and his future rests largely in the hands of the Revolutionary Guards.

Among the numerous casualties of Iran’s tainted 2009 presidential elections was the legitimacy of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While for two decades Khamenei had attempted to cultivate an image of an impartial and magnanimous guide staying above the political fray, his defiant public support for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—amidst massive popular uprisings and unprecedented fissures amongst the country’s political elites—exposed him as a petty, partisan autocrat.

At a popular level, previously sacred taboos were shattered, as hundreds of thousands of Iranians defied Khamenei’s unveiled threats against protestors by taking to the streets chanting “death to the dictator” and even “death to Khamenei.” Widely seen images of government-sanctioned brutality against civilians—such as the horrific murder of 27-year-old Neda agha Soltan—as well as persistent allegations of torture, rape, and forced confessions in prison have undermined Khamenei’s image as a “just” spiritual leader among Iran’s pious classes. Widespread allegations of the growing role of his son Mojtaba, considered a key Ahmadinejad ally, in Iran’s repressive security apparatus have further tarnished Khamenei’s public image. >>> Karim Sadjadpour | Monday, February 01, 2010

Geert Wilders: Der radikale Volkstribun
DIE PRESSE: Nach den niederländischen Kommunalwahlen ist der Rechtspopulist Wilders im Aufwind. Der Mann mit dem gefärbten Blondschopf setzt auf Islamkritik und innere Sicherheit. Die Anschläge von 9/11 haben ihn radikalisiert.

Innerhalb von nur einer Woche erlebte Geert Wilders zwei ganz große Triumphe. Der erste war sein Wahlsieg bei den Kommunalwahlen in den Niederlanden, bei denen er mit seiner „Partei für die Freiheit“ (PVV) in der Stadt Almere stärkste politische Kraft wurde; am Regierungssitz in Den Haag stieg die PVV zur zweitgrößten Partei knapp hinter den Sozialdemokraten auf. Seinen zweiten Triumph feierte der Mann mit dem blondierten Haupthaar in London. Dort zeigte er im britischen Parlament seinen islamkritischen Film „Fitna“ („Zwiespalt“) und feuerte erneut Tiraden gegen den Islam ab: Da nannte er den Propheten Mohammed einen „Barbaren, Massenmörder und Pädosexuellen“, da bezeichnete er den türkischen Ministerpräsidenten Erdoğan „Mafkees“, als Spinner.

Der Auftritt von Wilders in London war für den Niederländer deshalb ein großer Erfolg, weil ihm das britische Innenministerium 2009 noch die Einreise ins Vereinigte Königreich mit der Begründung verweigert hatte, Wilders gefährde die öffentliche Sicherheit. Wilders klagte. Ein Londoner Gericht gab ihm recht – mit der Begründung, dass Wilders auch in Großbritannien von seinem Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung Gebrauch machen könne. >>> Von Helmut Hetzel (Den Haag) (Die Presse) | Samstag, 06. März 2010

DIE WELTWOCHE – Auszug: In den internationalen Medien wird Wilders als extremer Rechtsaussen dargestellt. Das ist er nicht. Seine Gegner und ungenügend informierte ausländische Berichterstatter übernehmen gern die Kritik politisch korrekter niederländischer Politiker und Journalisten. Wilders ist hochgewachsen, er hat eine auffällige Haartracht, und wenn man ihm persönlich begegnet, frappiert der grosse Kontrast zwischen seinem Image in den ausländischen Medien – der Kryptofaschist – und dem sanftmütigen, fröhlichen Menschen, der er in Wirklichkeit ist.

Wilders ist ein leidenschaftlicher Populist, der ganz genau weiss, wann er die Medien mit extremen Äusserungen provozieren kann. Er hat eine breitgefächerte Anhängerschaft von Sozialisten bis hin zu Konservativen, die sich allesamt Sorgen um die Zukunft des Wohlfahrtsstaats machen – der per definitionem nur Bestand hat, wenn die Solidargemeinschaft zu den Werten des Nationalstaats steht.

Wilders wahrt achtsam Distanz zu Parteien und Gruppierungen, die als rechtsradikal eingestuft werden. Täte er das nicht, würde er seine Anhänger in den Niederlanden sofort verlieren. Setzt er seinen Vormarsch fort und verdrängt die arrivierten Parteien, dann kann er, falls er nicht ermordet wird, die Fahne Fortuyns nach den nächsten Wahlen in die Räume des Ministerpräsidenten tragen. Ein sanftmütiger, fröhlicher Mensch >>> Von Leon de Winter* | Mittwoch, 10. Juni 2010

*Leon de Winter ist Autor verschiedener Romane, Drehbücher und Erzählungen.

Aus dem Niederländischen von Hanni ­Ehlers

EU nimmt neuen Anlauf zu Nahost-Verhandlungen: Zwei-Staaten-Lösung für Palästinenser und Israeli im Zentrum
NZZ ONLINE: Die EU will Palästinenser und Israelis wieder an den Verhandlungstisch bringen. Die EU-Aussenbeauftragte Catherine Ashton kündigte nach dem Treffen der 27 EU-Aussenminister im spanischen Córdoba an, sie werde am 14. März in den Nahen Osten reisen.

«Wir müssen jetzt handeln, und zwar in Richtung auf eine Zwei-Staaten-Lösung», sagte der spanische Aussenminister Miguel Angel Moratinos. Die Europäer wollten den US-Nahost-Sondergesandten George Mitchell bei dem Versuch unterstützen, Verhandlungen zwischen den Konfliktparteien wieder in Gang zu bringen.

Erster konkreter Beitrag dazu ist Ashtons einwöchige Nahost-Reise Mitte März. Bei ihrem ersten diplomatischen Einsatz seit Amtsantritt im Dezember wird sie Israel, Ägypten, Syrien und Jordanien besuchen. >>> sda/dpa/Reuters | Samstag, 06. März 2010

Parlamentspräsident Petsalnikos: Warnung vor anti-griechischer Stimmung
FOCUS ONLINE: Der griechische Parlamentspräsident Philippos Petsalnikos wirbt im FOCUS für gute Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und seiner Heimat – trotz Provokationen und beleidigender Mails. Er verspricht radikale Reformen im Kampf gegen den Bankrott.

Manche Äußerungen deutscher Politiker seien „sehr negativ, ja provokativ für Griechenland“, sagte er in einem Interview mit FOCUS. Deshalb würden deutsche Bürger derzeit „sehr oft beleidigende E-Mails“ an die griechische Botschaft in Berlin schicken. „Es wäre schade wenn die guten Beziehungen verletzt würden. In Deutschland leben immer noch 350 000 Griechen“, so Petsalnikos, der mit einer Deutschen verheiratet ist. >>> flf | Samstag, 06. März 2010

Church Bows to Gays Seeking Communion
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Homosexuals can now attend communion in all parishes in the diocese of Den Bosch.

This is the outcome of a meeting between the church council of the main Roman Catholic church in the Netherlands, St. John’s Cathedral in Den Bosch, priest Geertjan Van Rossum, Vera Bergkamp of the gay organisation COC and editor-in-chief of the gay peridocial Gaykrant.

"People should decide for themselves whether or not to attend communion whatever their sexuality and should do so with a clean conscience," said a spokesperson for the diocese.

The openly gay Prince of the Carnival who was recently refused communion in the provincial town of Reusel therefore should have received it. The church's refusal to give him communion sparked protests at Roman Catholic church services up and down the Netherlands on Sunday.

During the protest, gay rights demonstrators dressed in pink and wearing wigs of the same colour walked out of the service at St. John’s after priest Geertjan van Rossum said "the correct experience of sexuality is part of the ten commandments". >>> RNW | Friday, March 05, 2010

Iceland Votes on Bailout


NZZ ONLINE: Isländer stimmen über Milliarden-Zahlungen ab: Nein zum Abkommen mit Grossbritannien und den Niederlanden erwartet >>> sda/dpa | Samstag, 06. März 2010

German Chancellor Says Greece Doesn't Need Aid


Lien en relation avec cette vidéo:

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La Grèce n'a actuellement pas besoin d'aide financière, selon Angela Merkel >>> AFP | Vendredi 05 Mars 2010

"11 septembre": Ahmadinejad n'y croit pas
leJDD.fr: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a qualifié samedi les attentats du 11-Septembre de "grand montage". Pour le président iranien, cet évènement vise à justifier la "guerre contre le terrorisme" menée ensuite par les Etats-Unis, rapporte l'agence de presse officielle Irna. "L'incident du 11 septembre est un grand montage qui a servi de prétexte à la campagne antiterroriste et de prélude à l'invasion de l'Afghanistan", a-t-il affirmé devant le personnel du ministère des Renseignements, évoquant un "scenario complexe en matière de renseignement". [Source: leJDD.fr] | Samedi 06 Mars 2010

'There Is a Sense of Revolt. I Feel It Too'
THE GUARDIAN: Nana Mouskouri is one of the biggest-selling singers of all time. Already adored in Greece, she promised this week to forgo her pension – the least she could do, she says, to help her financially ruined country

Nana Mouskouri: ‘Everywhere I see stories about my country going bankrupt. It’s painful for me. Nobody wants their country to be treated badly’. Photo: The Guardian
Athens in spring, and the tangerine trees are laden with vivid orange fruit. On the top floor of a quiet bookshop near the parliament a press conference is in progress: six people facing a room of journalists, arguing for the need to preserve the home of one of Greece's best-known poets. At their centre sits a woman striking both for her total stillness, and her huge dark glasses. She speaks evenly into a microphone, certain of her audience. When she finishes the meeting breaks up, into knots of people sipping wine and lighting cigarettes, jockeying and gossiping, as in any literary gathering the world over.

But when Nana Mouskouri makes her way to the back of the room it's to say, "Welcome. Welcome to troubled Athens." Because while here there may be blue skies and blossom, just round the corner stand armed police, riot shields at the ready. The traffic is just beginning to flow again, after yet another demonstration against the austerity measures just announced – the third round in as many months, and the harshest: €4.8bn (£4.3bn) in wage cuts, tax increases, a 30% cut in traditional holiday bonuses, a freeze on state pensions. The papers carry pictures of the demonstration yesterday – of pensioners, grey-haired and lined, being pressed back into line by young officers in full riot gear.

This week Mouskouri – who, even though she doesn't live in Greece, must be, by some measure, the country's most famous pensioner – announced that she is doing her bit by forgoing her pension altogether. "They say that one bird doesn't bring the springtime," she says now, laughing slightly, "but it's something." Her voice is quiet, only very lightly inflected – 50 years of fame, of equable, kindly interviews in one or another of her six languages, have produced an odd mixture of openness and distance, a generosity both rote and sincere – an effect exacerbated by the glasses she has hidden behind ever since she was a child. Speaking to her, you often find you are addressing her mouth, because although you can see her eyes through the tinted lenses, they seem to be doing their own thing, like a consciousness in a fish tank, swimming close, then arching away again.

Unlike the socialist government, which has strongly suggested that Greece's often very wealthy diaspora stump up some cash in its time of trouble, Mouskouri refuses to insist that other people should follow her example. But she rather hopes they will. "I believe in the pride, and the good will of everybody." Later she mentions that she's heard "that a deputy from the parliament has given her salary for a certain time. In Greece we call that philotimo. Philotimo is to have a certain pride – not arrogance, pride – and to place it well. To say I want to do something for my country. I believe there is some of it. I hope. At least nowadays everybody's informed about [the crisis]." >>> Aida Edemariam | Saturday, March 06, 2010

Canada’s Prime Minister Forced to Backtrack Over Plans to Make National Anthem More Politically Correct
MAIL ONLINE: The Canadian government has been forced to backtrack over plans to make its national anthem more politically correct after a national outcry.

Three days after announcing the proposals to alter 'O Canada' to include the country's women in one of its lines, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his conservative government would no longer be pursuing the idea.

The national anthem, which has existed for nearly 100 years, includes the line 'true patriot love in all thy sons' command'.

Originally, the line said 'in thou dost us command', but it was changed to the current line in 1980.

Mr Harper wanted to start a public discussion on whether to change the wording in a way that would not exclude the nation's women.

He is said to have initiated the idea on the basis of advice of a female senator, according to National Post columnist Don Martin.

The idea was included in a major policy speech on Tuesday, but by yesterday the public outcry was so strong Mr Harper dropped the idea completely. >>> | Saturday, March 06, 2010

U.S. Anglicans Converting en masse to Catholicism
MAIL ONLINE: About 100 traditionalist Anglican parishes across the United States have decided to convert en masse to the Roman Catholic Church, it emerged yesterday.

They have voted to take up the offer made by Pope Benedict XVI in November that permits vicars and their entire congregations to defect to Rome - while keeping many of their Anglican traditions, including married priests.

The Pope had been accused of attempting to poach Anglicans unhappy about decisions taken in their church to ordain women and sexually-active homosexuals as priests and bishops.

But the Vatican insisted that the move to create self-governing 'personal ordinariates' came as a result of requests from at least 30 disaffected Anglican bishops around the world.

The Anglican Church in America will now enter the Catholic Church as a block, bringing in thousands of converts along with their own bishops, buildings and even a cathedral. >>> | Saturday, March 06, 2010

Dutch MP’s Visit to Show Anti-Islam Film to UK Lawmakers Sparks Outrage

Controversial Dutch MP Geert Wilders Says Islam Is 'Fascist'

Portugal : José Socrates entre le marteau et l’enclume
Le premier ministre socialiste José Socrates. Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Entre les exigences de Bruxelles pour qu’il prenne des mesures d’austérité drastiques et l’inquiétude de l’opinion, le premier ministre socialiste a une marge de manœuvre bien réduite

Le ciel politique du flamboyant premier ministre, José Socrates, est empli de nuages menaçants. Au lendemain d’une grève des fonctionnaires – suivie jeudi à 80% –, et alors que Bruxelles exige de lui des mesures drastiques pour réduire le déficit public, la situation du leader socialiste est devenue difficilement tenable. Car, non seulement José Socrates va devoir annoncer d’ici peu des réformes très impopulaires (réduction des dépenses de santé, gel des salaires de la fonction publique, baisse des indemnités chômage…), mais il fait face à une série de scandales économico-médiatiques dans lesquels il serait impliqué.

Enquête parlementaire

La semaine prochaine, une commission d’enquête parlementaire sera constituée pour faire la vérité sur son rôle dans le rachat de la télévision privée TVI – l’une des deux plus importantes – par Portugal Telecom, le géant des télécommunications du pays, sous contrôle gouvernemental. Pour la première fois depuis le retour de la démocratie en 1974, un chef de l’exécutif sera appelé à comparaître personnellement dans une affaire qui pourrait le forcer à la démission. >>> François Musseau | Samedi 06 Mars 2010

Turkey Threatens 'Serious Consequences' After US Vote on Armenian Genocide
THE GUARDIAN: Strategic partnership at risk despite Barack Obama's attempts to stop Congress resolution

Turkey has threatened to downgrade its strategic relationship with the US amid nationalist anger over a vote in the US Congress that defined the mass killings of Armenians during the first world war as genocide.

Barack Obama's administration, which regards Turkey as an important ally, was today desperately seeking to defuse the row. It expressed its frustration with the House of Representatives' foreign affairs committee, which voted 23-22 yesterday in favour of a resolution labelling the 1915 massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians a "genocide".

A furious Turkey may now deny the US access to the Incirlik air base, a staging post for Iraq, as it did at the time of the 2003 invasion, or withdraw its sizeable troop contribution to the coalition forces in Afghanistan.

On the diplomatic front, the US needs the support of Turkey, which has a seat on the UN security council, in the push for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme. Turkey is also helpful to the US on a host of other diplomatic issues in the Middle East and central Asia.

The White House and state department began work today to try to prevent the controversial issue making its way to the floor of the house for a full vote. >>> Robert Tait in Istanbul and Ewen MacAskill in Washington | Friday, March 05, 2010

Soon Every Swiss Dog Could Have His Day in Court
If the Swiss adopt this stupid measure, then they will ALL be ready for admittance to the Bürghölzli in Zürich forthwith! Sicherlich können die Schweizer nicht recht bei Trost sein! Perhaps Colonel Ghadhafi was right all along. It could be that this really is the land of the infidel! They certainly don’t have enough serious things to think about, or else they wouldn’t come up with nonsense like this! Think about this: Goldfish are given more rights in Switzerland than homosexuals are in Muslim countries! Now that's something to ponder over. – © Mark

TIMES ONLINE: There is no better place than Switzerland to be a chicken. Or a hamster. Or even — though the jury is still out on this — a goldfish.

The reason is that the country has an extraordinary set of animal protection laws that closely define the obligations of pet owners and farmers.

Now it is about to go a step farther [sic]: a national referendum tomorrow will decide whether to allow animals official legal representation.

The canton of Zurich already has an animal advocate, Antoine Goetschel, a kind of courtroom Dr Dolittle who, for the past two years, has been fighting the corner for flogged horses, depressed Dalmatians and tortured fish.

A “yes” vote will place publicly funded animal welfare lawyers, like Mr Goetschel, across the country. “Then I think the Government should create some form of academy or educational forum for animal barristers,” Mr Goetschel said. “These are not skills learnt at law school.”

The tricky issues facing these new Rumpoles of the barnyard came to a head a fortnight ago in one of Mr Goetschel’s most toughly fought cases.

An angler on Lake Zurich landed a 22lb (10kg) perch after, as he subsequently bragged to a local paper, a ten-minute fight. Zurich citizens complained and the state prosecutor passed the case to Mr Goetschel, who had to determine how long an angler can struggle to land a fish before it becomes an act of cruelty. Fish-rights supporters opened a Facebook page for the dead perch — 6,000 “friends” made it probably Europe’s most popular fish — while the anglers argued fiercely that the fish felt no pain.

Mr Goetschel did not win the case. >>> Roger Boyes | Saturday, March 06, 2010

Nach Völkermord-Resolution: Türkei wirft Kongress „historischen Fehler“ vor
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nach der Entscheidung des Auswärtigen Ausschuss des amerikanischen Repräsentantenhauses, den osmanischen Massenmord an den Armeniern im Jahr 1915 als „Völkermord“ einzustufen, hat der türkische Außenminister Ahmet Davutoglu am Freitag vor einer Verschlechterung der Beziehungen zwischen seinem Land und den Vereinigten Staaten gewarnt. Davutoglu bezeichnete die Entscheidung als Beleg für mangelnde strategische Weitsicht in Washington und fügte sinngemäß hinzu, Ankara erwarte, dass Präsident Obama dagegen vorgehe. Andernfalls sei der Ausblick (auf die Beziehungen zwischen beiden Ländern) „nicht positiv“, sagte Davutoglu.

Die Türkei werde den im vergangenen Jahr begonnenen Annäherungsprozess an Armenien fortsetzen, sich dabei aber nicht unter Druck setzen lassen: „Wir sind entschlossen, die Verhandlungen über eine Normalisierung der Beziehungen mit Armenien voranzutreiben“, wurde Davutoglu am Freitag zitiert. Allerdings gefährde die Entscheidung des Auswärtigen Ausschusses die Ratifikation der Protokolle über die armenische Annäherung durch das Parlament, sagte der Außenminister weiter.

Die Türkei und Armenien hatten sich im April 2009 unter Vermittlung der Schweiz auf eine Normalisierung ihrer Beziehungen geeinigt. Im Oktober vergangenen Jahres unterzeichneten Ankara und Eriwan ein Protokoll über die Aufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen sowie über die Öffnung der seit 1993 geschlossenen Grenze zwischen den Ländern. >>> FAZ.NET mit tens., rüb., Reuters, dpa | Samstag 06 März 2010

Le Canada, le pays du G7 le plus résistant à la crise, hésite entre rigueur et relance
LE MONDE: Les Canadiens ont certes goûté à la crise, avec des effets à long terme sur les finances publiques, mais leur pays, qui a émergé de la récession au troisième trimestre 2009, a affiché une croissance de 5 % au quatrième et conserve une bonne longueur d'avance sur ses collègues du G7. Le ministre des finances canadien, Jim Flaherty, s'est vanté de cette place en présentant, jeudi 4 mars, son cinquième budget, qui donne "priorité absolue" à un plan de relance de 46 milliards de dollars canadiens, (près de 33 milliards d'euros) dont 19 milliards restants pour 2010.

Contrairement à son voisin états-unien, le Canada a conservé un secteur financier robuste (qui a traversé la crise sans aide étatique et en accumulant des profits) et une demande intérieure soutenue qui a compensé, en partie, une baisse de 14 % des exportations en 2009. Pour l'avenir, M. Flaherty table sur une reprise mondiale pour conserver au Canada sa place de leader du G7 en matière de croissance. >>> Anne Pelouas, Montréal (Canada) Correspondance | Vendredi 05 Mars 2010

Hillary Clinton veut empêcher un vote du Congrès sur l'Arménie
LE MONDE: La secrétaire d'Etat américaine Hillary Clinton a déclaré, vendredi 5 mars, que l'administration américaine allait "travailler très dur" pour bloquer le vote au Congrès d'une résolution qualifiant de "génocide" les massacres d'Arméniens sous l'Empire ottoman. Les propos de Mme Clinton se veulent conciliants envers la Turquie, qui avait appelé Washington à bloquer cette résolution.

Les responsables turcs ont déclaré qu'une adoption de ce texte aurait des conséquences négatives non seulement sur les relations entre Ankara et Washington, mais également sur le processus de réconciliation avec l'Arménie.

"Nous espérons que les relations turco-américaines ne serons pas soumises à une nouvelle épreuve. Sinon, les perspectives auxquelles nous allons être confrontés ne vont pas être positives", a souligné le ministre des affaires étrangères turc, Ahmet Davutoglu, évoquant une "affaire d'honneur national". >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP | Vendredi 05 Mars 2010

Grèce : manifestation et violences à Athènes
lePARISIEN.fr: La Grèce a adopté vendredi son plan de rigueur alors que le pays était quasiment paralysé par des grèves et des manifestations, dont l'une à Athènes marquée par de violents affrontements entre policiers et jeunes.

Le projet de loi intitulé «Mesures d'urgence pour faire face à la crise financière» a été adopté au cours d'une procédure parlementaire d'urgence.

Visant à rassurer les marchés et stabiliser la zone euro - fragilisée par cette crise exceptionnelle - ce plan d'austérité comprend notamment des coupes salariales pour les fonctionnaires, le gel des retraites du secteur privé et public ainsi qu'une hausse des deux points de la TVA, à 21%. Objectif : 4,8 milliards d'euros d'économie pour réduire le déficit public de 4 points à 8,7% de PIB cette année. >>> Leparisien.fr | Vendredi 05 Mars 2010

La Grèce n'a actuellement pas besoin d'aide financière, selon Angela Merkel
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: BERLIN | La chancelière allemande a fait cette déclaration à l'issue d'une rencontre avec le Premier ministre grec Georges Papandréou à Berlin.

La chancelière allemande Angela Merkel et le Premier Ministre grec George Papandreou lors d'une conférence de presse à Berlin, le 5 mars 2010. Photo: Tribune de Genève
La chancelière allemande Angela Merkel a estimé vendredi après une rencontre avec le Premier ministre grec Georges Papandréou à Berlin que la Grèce n'avait actuellement pas besoin d'aide financière et que la stabilité de la zone euro était "assurée". "La Grèce n'a pas demandé d'aide financière", a déclaré la chancelière lors d'une conférence de presse commune.

"La stabilité de la zone euro est assurée. Le résultat est que la question (d'une aide financière à la Grèce) n'est pas posée (....) Je suis même optimiste (et pense ) qu'elle ne sera pas posée." >>> AFP | Vendredi 05 Mars 2010

Mosab Hassan Yousef: “The God of Islam Is the 'Biggest Terrorist'”


Related:

Son of Hamas Leader: Hamas Atrocities Led Me to Convert >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

The Terrible Truth About Hamas >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

’Son of Hama’ Who Spied for Israel >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

Livre : Homosexualité: "J'aime mon pays, mais mon pays ne m'aime pas"
Les jeunes hommes se sont photographiés eux-mêmes, ici un gazaoui. Photo: L’Express.fr
L’EXPRESS.fr: Une collection de témoignages et d'autoportraits décrivent la situation des gays dans des pays où leur sexualité est considérée comme un crime. Un livre utile et poignant.

En Algérie, ils risquent deux ans de prison. En Irak, des chefs religieux ont envoyé des escadrons de la mort pour les tuer par dizaines. Aux Maldives et en Malaisie, leur emprisonnement peut être assorti de coups de fouet. En Jamaïque, ils encourent dix ans de travaux forcés et au Yémen, la peine de mort par lapidation... S'il s'agissait d'une minorité religieuse ou ethnique, leur sort mobiliserait sans doute davantage. Mais la répression des homosexuels dans de nombreux pays du monde, puisque c'est de cela qu'il s'agit, passe souvent inaperçue dans nos démocraties développées. Pis, quand elle est identifiée et reconnue, elle provoque un sourire ou un haussement d'épaules.

Dans un livre passionnant qui vient de paraître (1), Philippe Castetbon aborde le sujet de front. Journaliste et photographe, il a contacté des gays sur tous les continents, dans les quelque 80 Etats où les relations entre femmes ou entre hommes sont condamnés par la loi. A une cinquantaine d'entre eux – un par pays – il a demandé une photo de leur visage caché, ainsi qu'un récit personnel. >>> Par Marc Epstein | Mercredi 03 Mars 2010

Somalia’s Sufis Fight the Shabab
Watch New York Times video: Somalia's Sufis Fight the Shabab: Somalia has been plagued by civil war between rival clans for almost 20 years. Now, religious groups are killing each other over competing visions of Islam. >>> Produced by Michael Kamber, Vijai Singh

Recruiting Americans for Jihad
Watch New York Times video: Recruiting Americans for Jihad: More than 20 young American men from the Minneapolis area have traveled to Somalia to fight for the Shabaab, a militant Islamic organization that is waging an insurgency against the country's government. >>> Produced by Matthew Orr

Reporter's Notebook: Libya's Leader
Watch New York Times video: Reporter's Notebook: Libya's Leader: Authoritarian leaders all over the world take steps to create a veneer of democracy. Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi outdoes almost all of them. >>> Produced by Eric Owles, Michael Kamber

Azerbaijan President's Son, 12, 'Buys £30m Worth of Luxury Dubai Property'
THE TELEGRAPH: The 12-year-old son of the Azerbaijan president has gone on a multi-million pound property spending spree, buying up a series of luxury Dubai waterfront mansions.

Heydar Aliyev, the son of Ilham Aliyev, the oil-rich country’s president, allegedly spent almost £30 million (US$44 million) on nine waterfront mansions in the southern Gulf emirate earlier this year, reports said.

The boy, who was 11 at the time, made the purchase in the Palm Jumeirah development over two weeks, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Heydar’s name and his date of birth appeared on Dubai Land Department records, which were obtained by the paper.

The details listed on the property records were the same as those of the son of the former Soviet Republic’s president, whose annual salary is about £150,000 ($228,000).

The purchases are about the equivalent to 10,000 years' worth of salary for the average citizen of the country. >>> Andrew Hough | Friday, March 05, 2010

Germans Tell Greeks to Rise Earlier and Work Harder to Avoid Financial Crisis
THE TELEGRAPH: A German tabloid has advised Greeks to adopt a more Germanic work ethic – by rising earlier and working harder – in order to solve the country's financial crisis.

On Thursday, two German politicians told their Greek counterparts that the country should sell off its assets – art, historic buildings and islands – before accepting international aid.

George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, was dispatched abroad, to seek the help of European leaders including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, in addressing the country's mounting debt.

But Germany's Bild tabloid had another suggestion, calling on Greek citizens to adopt a more Germanic work ethic in an open letter to Mr Papandreou. Dear Mr Prime Minister, >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

Dutch Prince Bernhard 'Was Member of Nazi Party'
THE TELEGRAPH: Prince Bernhard, the father of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, was a member of the Nazi party, a new book has claimed, contracting the German-born Dutch war hero's life-long denials.

Prince Bernhard and his daughter Queen Beatrix. Photo: The Telegraph
"Bernhard, a secret history" has revealed that the prince was a member of the German Nazi party until 1934, three years before he married Princess Juliana, the future queen of the Netherlands.

Annejet van der Zijl, a Dutch historian, has found membership documents in Berlin's Humboldt University that prove Prince Bernhard, who studied there, had joined Deutsche Studentenschaft, a National Socialist student fraternity, as well as the Nazi NSDAP and its paramilitary wing, the Sturmabteilung.

He left all the groups on leaving university in December 1934, when he went to work for the German chemical giant, IG Farben. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Friday, March 05, 2010

Geert Wilders Anti-Islam Film Gets House of Lords Screening
THE GUARDIAN: Dutch far right politician, who was last year banned from the UK, said film showing was a 'victory for freedom of speech'

The controversial far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders appeared at the House of Lords today to screen an anti-Islam film and denounce the religion as "totalitarian" and incompatible with democracy.

The visit, which was originally planned for last year, sparked demonstrations from anti-fascists and a show of support from the far-right English Defence League.

Wilders, 46, who leads the Freedom party, was banned from the UK when Jacqui Smith was home secretary. She said his presence had the potential to "threaten community harmony and therefore public safety".

Wilders succeeded in getting the ban overturned and told a press conference that he had screened his film in the Lords and discussed it afterwards in what he termed a "victory for freedom of speech".

"I had to debate with people who disagreed with me and people who agreed with me," he said.

Wilders said he had "nothing against Muslims whatsoever" but Islam was a "totalitarian religion".

"Islamism and democracy are incompatible. The more Islam we have, the more freedom we will lose and this is something worth fighting for."

Wilders, whose film describes the Koran as a fascist book, has received death threats for denouncing Islam and has been under close protection for more than five years.

This afternoon he repeated the views that have angered Muslims in Europe and across the globe, saying Islam was a "fascist ideology", "a violent and dangerous religion and a retarded culture".

Wilders, who visited the Lords at the invitation of the UK Independence party leader Lord Pearson and the crossbencher Baroness Cox, said: "Cultural relativism is the greatest disease we face in Europe today."

Lord Pearson said that while he and Wilders – "a very great man" – agreed on many things he did not support his Dutch colleague's desire for the Koran to be outlawed.

"If Geert is still calling for the Koran to be banned like Mein Kampf then I would not agree with him," he said. "[But] the Koran should be very much more discussed among the Muslim community."

When Wilders was asked whether he would engage with Muslims who reinterpreted their holy book in a manner more compatible with his views, he replied: "If you tear the hateful passages out of the Koran, you would get Donald Duck."

In any case, he said, Muslims would never abandon the text of what he called "a terrible book". >>> Sam Jones | Friday, March 05, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: In pictures: Protests for and against the visit of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

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

Lady in Red: Princess Letizia of Asturias, Spain


WIKIPEDIA: The principality of Asturias / Principado de Asturias >>>

Princess Mary of Denmark

Dänen wollen neuen König
BASLER ZEITUNG: Eine Umfrage überrascht nicht nur die dänische Königin Margrethe: Sie soll ihrem ältesten Sohn, Kronprinz Frederik, Platz machen.

Beliebt im Volk: Königin Margrethe II. und ihr ältester Sohn Frederik. Bild: Basler Zeitung
Eine knappe Mehrheit der Dänen wünscht die Abdankung von Königin Margrethe II. zu ihrem 70. Geburtstag in gut zwei Monaten. Dieses überraschende Ergebnis hat eine Umfrage des Capacent-Institutes für Danmarks Radio ergeben. >>> vin/sda | Freitag, 05. März 2010

Barroso Tells Greece: "Full Compliance Paramount"

Schuldenkrise: Empörte Griechen wollen Inseln nicht verkaufen
WELT ONLINE: Damit Griechenland aus den Schulden rauskommt, haben Politiker von CDU und FDP den Verkauf von unbewohnten griechischen Inseln gefordert. Die Empörung ist groß, denn die Griechen denken an die deutsche Besatzung während des Zweiten Weltkrieges zurück. Angela Merkel soll sich jetzt für die Idee entschuldigen.


Politiker von CDU und FDP haben Griechenland aufgefordert, zur Bewältigung der Schuldenkrise unbewohnte Inseln zu verkaufen – und damit für Empörung gesorgt. Der Vorsitzende der CDU- Mittelstandsvereinigung, Josef Schlarmann, sagte der „Bild“-Zeitung, Griechenland besitze Gebäude, Firmen und unbewohnte Inseln, die zur Schuldentilgung eingesetzt werden könnten.

„Ein Bankrotteur muss alles, was er hat, zu Geld machen, um seine Gläubiger zu bedienen.“ Der FDP-Finanzexperte Frank Schäffler sagte:

„Der griechische Staat muss sich radikal von Beteiligungen an Firmen trennen und auch Grundbesitz, zum Beispiel unbewohnte Inseln, verkaufen.“

Der Linken-Vorsitzende Lothar Bisky forderte von Kanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) eine Entschuldigung für den Vorstoß. „Die Herren von Union und FDP haben wohl vergessen, wer zuletzt den Versuch gemacht hat, griechische Inseln zu erobern. So ein Vorschlag aus Deutschland ruft bei vielen Menschen in Griechenland entsetzliche Erinnerungen auf“, kritisierte Bisky.

Deutschland hatte Griechenland im Zweiten Weltkrieg besetzt. Deutsche Soldaten verübten damals Massaker unter der Zivilbevölkerung. Bisky forderte nun, Merkel solle sich öffentlich bei Griechenlands Regierungschef Giorgos Papandreou entschuldigen. Merkel trifft Papandreou am Freitag in Berlin. >>> dpa/afp/jm | Donnerstag, 04. März 2010

Schlägerei am Tempelberg in Jerusalem: Steine gegen Betende, Gummischrot gegen Demonstranten
NZZ ONLINE: Die Polizei in Jerusalem hat eine Kundgebung muslimischer Demonstranten am Tempelberg gewaltsam aufgelöst. Dabei wurden mindestens 50 Demonstranten und Polizisten verletzt, die meisten von ihnen leicht.

Ein Polizeisprecher sagte, die Sicherheitskräfte seien eingeschritten, als Steine gegen jüdische Gläubige an der Klagemauer am Fusse des Tempelberges geworfen worden seien. Die Gläubigen seien in Sicherheit gebracht worden. Nach Diskussionen mit der Behörde für muslimische Kulturgüter habe sich die Polizei schliesslich zurückgezogen.

Der Sprecher wies Berichte zurück, wonach die Polizei die Aksa-Moschee auf dem Tempelberg gestürmt habe. Die Moschee ist das drittwichtigste islamische Heiligtum nach Mekka und Medina.

Später kam es im muslimischen Viertel der Jerusalemer Altstadt zu weiteren Zusammenstössen. Auch aus dem Viertel Ras al-Amud in Ost-Jerusalem wurden Zwischenfälle gemeldet. >>> sda/afp/dpa | Freitag, 05. März 2010