Ground Zero Mosque Plans 'Fuelling Anti-Muslim Protests Across US'
THE GUARDIAN: Religious leaders warn of Islamophobia surge with hate speech and opposition to new Islamic centres across America

A woman holds up a sign protesting plans to build a mosque close to the World Trade Centre site in New York. Photograph: The Guardian
The battle over plans to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York is fuelling a surge in anti-Muslim protests across the US, including opposition to new Islamic centres from California to Georgia.

Religious leaders and civil rights activists warn that a tide of Islamophobia that has swept the country since the destruction of the twin towers is being heightened by political exploitation of the New York dispute before nationwide elections and is increasingly bound up with hostility to immigrants and other forms of racism.

They say the outpouring of condemnation at the "outrage" of a mosque close to the "hallowed ground" of the World Trade Centre site also goes hand in hand with the increasing acceptability of what they describe as hate speech.

A Florida church, Dove World Outreach Centre, is planning a "burn the Qur'an" day on September 11 and has already outraged Muslims by planting a sign on its front lawn that reads: Islam is the Devil.

The church's senior pastor, Terry Jones, has said he is "exposing Islam for what it is".

"It is a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to masquerade itself as a religion of peace, seeking to deceive our society," the church said. "Islam is a lie based upon lies and deceptions and fear. In Muslim countries, if you preach the gospel or convert to Christianity – you will be killed. That is the type of religion it is."

A leading Muslim educational institution, al-Azhar's Supreme Council in Egypt, has accused the Florida church of "stirring up hate and discrimination" and called on other American churches to condemn it. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ashtiani Outrage Spurs Iran to Commute Stoning Sentences to Hanging
THE GUARDIAN: Tehran carries out series of judicial reviews but lawyer fears women who have not attracted media attention will be executed

Iran appears to be quietly changing the sentences of Iranians awaiting death by stoning to hanging after international outcry following the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two.

Mariam Ghorbanzadeh, 25, who was six months' pregnant and miscarried after being beaten up in Tabriz prison this week, was initially sentenced to death by stoning for adultery but her sentence has been commuted to hanging in a rapid judicial review. The decision is thought to have been driven by the Iranian authorities' desire to avoid further international condemnation over the barbaric punishment.

According to Iranian law, officials could not carry out her sentence while she was pregnant. Speaking to the Guardian, her lawyer, Houtan Kian, who represents Mohammadi Ashtiani and two other women kept in Tabriz prison convicted of adultery, said: "My fear is that Iran executes Mariam and those others whose cases have not attracted media attention."

Another of Kian's clients, Azar Bagheri, 19, was imprisoned at the age of 15 after her husband accused her of having an extramarital relationship. Bagheri was on death row for adultery but her sentence was commuted to 100 lashes after Mohammadi Ashtiani's story came to light. Although Bagheri's death penalty was handed down four years ago, the sentence could not be carried out until she was 18 years of old.

"All these women are convicted for adultery but Iran is trying to change their sentences after Sakineh's case has embarrassed them," Kian said. (+ video) >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Why Have Western Feminists Been So Muted in Their Criticisms of Iran?
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – TOBY YOUNG: The fate of the 43-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning took a sinister turn yesterday when she appeared on Iranian state television to confess to her “crimes”. Her lawyer fears she will now be executed imminently, probably hung by the neck until she is dead.

Many human rights groups have criticised the Iranian authorities for their brutal treatment of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, including Amnesty International and the International Committee Against Stoning. The mother of two has already received 99 lashes for committing adultery and according to her lawyer, who has fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest, she has been beaten and tortured in jail. Yet the response of feminists in the West has been strangely muted.

Hillary Clinton lost no opportunity to brandish her feminist credentials during her campaign to become the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee in 2008 and even went so far as to blame her failure to beat Barack Obama on the “glass ceiling”. Unfortunately, the concrete ceiling of Ashtiani’s jail cell hasn’t inspired any comparable rhetoric. All she has said is that she’s “troubled” by Ashtiani’s case.

At least Hillary Clinton was able to bring herself to mutter this mild rebuke. No other prominent feminist has spoken out about Ashtiani’s case, unless you include Yoko Ono who has signed the petition calling for her to be freed. We’ve heard nothing from Germaine Greer, nothing from Gloria Steinem, nothing from Jane Fonda, nothing from Naomi Wolf, nothing from Clare Short, nothing from Harriet Harmen.

We know why, of course. Almost no one on the left, with the honourable exception of Christopher Hitchens, dares to breath a word against any Islamic country for fear of being branded “Islamophobic”. Thus, a brutal dictatorship is able to torture and murder thousands of innocent women, safe in the knowledge that the self-styled keepers of the West’s conscience will remain silent. Continue reading and comment >>> Toby Young | Friday, August 13, 2010

Related >>>

Same-sex Marriages Can Take Place in California by Next Week
THE TELEGRAPH: Same-sex marriages can go ahead in California from next week, a judge has ruled.

Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco said that gay and lesbian couples can wed in the state from 5pm on Aug 18, unless opponents can convince the Court of Appeal to intervene by then.

The move followed a landmark decision by the same judge last week that the state’s ban on gay matrimony violated the US Constitution.

After that ruling California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger filed a motion demanding same-sex marriages be allowed to take place immediately. >>> Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Stop the Execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (Mirror)

Church of England steht vor der Spaltung
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Konservative Anglikaner machen gegen die vor zwei Jahren beschlossene Bischofsweihe von Frauen mobil. 1300 Anglikaner drohen mit dem Austritt.

Christliches Abendland – Was ist das?
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN – STERNSTUNDE: Im Zusammenhang mit der Abstimmung über den Minarettbau in der Schweiz wurde und wird immer wieder die «christliche Leitkultur» beschworen, die auf christlichen Werten basiere. Nur: Gibt es überhaupt so etwas wie eine christliche Leitkultur? Und wenn ja, was wäre das?



Wikipedia: Friedrich Wilhelm Graf >>>

Prof. Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Graf >>>

State Department Defends Controversial Cleric's Mideast Mission: Imam behind 'Ground Zero Mosque' tours Mideast on taxpayers' dime

Thoughts From 'Gay Bar Gate'

The Stunning Decline of Barack Obama: 10 Key Reasons Why the Obama Presidency Is In Meltdown
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER – An Extract: Growing disillusionment with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy as well as health care and immigration has gone hand in hand with mounting unhappiness with the President’s aloof and imperial style of leadership, and a growing perception that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans, especially at a time of significant economic pain. Barack Obama’s striking absence of natural leadership ability (and blatant lack of experience) has played a big part in undermining his credibility with the US public, with his lacklustre handling of the Gulf oil spill coming under particularly intense fire.

On the national security and foreign policy front, President Obama has not fared any better. His leadership on the war in Afghanistan has been confused and at times lacking in conviction, and seemingly dictated by domestic political priorities rather than military and strategic goals. His overall foreign policy has been an appalling mess, with his flawed strategy of engagement of hostile regimes spectacularly backfiring. And as for the War on Terror, his administration has not even acknowledged it is fighting one. Read it all and comment >>>

Condamnée à mort par lapidation, elle avoue tout à la télévision
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: IRAN | Une Iranienne, dont la condamnation à mort par lapidation pour adultère a suscité l'indignation mondiale, a reconnu avoir été complice de l'assassinat de son mari.

Elle a admis avoir commis un adultère.

Dans une interview diffusée mercredi soir lors d'une émission politique dénonçant la "propagande des médias occidentaux", une femme présentée comme Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani reconnaît qu'un homme avec lequel elle était en relation lui avait proposé de tuer son mari, et qu'elle a laissé cet homme commettre le meurtre lors duquel elle était présente.

Cette femme, qui parle en azéri (turc) et dont les propos sont traduits en persan, est enveloppée d'un tchador noir qui ne laisse apparaître que son nez et un oeil. Le responsable de la justice de la province d'Azerbaidjan oriental où l'affaire s'est déroulée en 2006, affirme lors de l'émission que Mme Mohammadi-Ashtiani a également endormi son mari en lui faisant une piqûre avant que le meurtrier ne l'électrocute. >>> ATS | Jeudi 12 Août 2010

Liens en relation avec l’article >>>

THE GUARDIAN: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani 'confesses' to murder on Iran state TV: Lawyer says Ashtiani was tortured before interview recorded in Tabiz prison, and fears execution imminent >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Iranian Woman Sentenced to Be Stoned: Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo speaks out against the court-ordered stoning of a woman in Iran.


Condemned Iranian Woman Denounces Lawyer


Protesters Rally for Iranian Women

Jörg Haiders Wüstenspuren: Die Ära Schüssel in neuem Licht?
NZZ ONLINE: Die undurchsichtige Affäre um Jörg Haiders schwarze Konten in Liechtenstein ist um eine Facette reicher. In einem irakischen Dokument ist die Rede von Zahlungen des Diktators Saddam Hussein an Haider und einen Parteigenossen in Millionenhöhe.

Unbeirrt von den Dementis der Staatsanwaltschaft Vaduz und des deutschen Bundeskriminalamts zu den angeblichen schwarzen Konten des früheren Kärntner Landeshauptmanns Jörg Haider in Liechtenstein, setzt das österreichische Nachrichtenmagazin «Profil» seine seine Recherchen fort. Kleine Zuwendungen >>> Charles E. Ritterband, Wien | Mittwoch, 11. August 2010

Islamisten nutzen Notlage durch die Flut aus: Die Taliban in Pakistan wollen durch Hilfen für die Bevölkerung an Einfluss gewinnen
NZZ ONLINE: Die Islamisten in Pakistan versuchen, das Leid der Bevölkerung im Hochwassergebiet für ihre Zwecke zu nutzen. Als schnelle Helfer haben sie bereits Sympatien gewonnen. Die USA verstärken unterdessen ihren Einsatz.

Die USA erhöhen ihre Anstrengungen für die Flutopfer in Pakistan. Das Trägerschiff USS Peleliu mit etwa 19 Helikoptern an Bord ging bereits in den Gewässern vor der grössten pakistanischen Stadt Karachi vor Anker. Bisher stellten die USA sechs Helikopter bereit, um die Hilfseinsätze der Regierung in Islamabad und des pakistanischen Militärs zu unterstützen.

Der amerikanische Verteidigungsminister Robert Gates benannte unumwunden auch ein weiteres Ziel der erhöhten Anstrengungen: Es solle verhindert werden, dass Islamisten die Lage ausnutzten, um ihren Einfluss bei der notleidenden Bevölkerung auszudehnen, sagte Gates nach Angaben der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters.

Pakistan ist für die USA ein wichtiger Verbündeter in der Region im Kampf gegen die Taliban in Afghanistan. In einigen Gebieten Pakistans haben sich die Aufständischen oder mit ihnen verbundene Hilfsorganisationen als Hochwasserhelfer betätigt und damit bei der Bevölkerung Sympathien gewonnen. >>> srs. | Donnerstag, 12. August 2010

Newt On Radical Islam

Muslim Raheel Raza Speaks Out Against Ground Zero Mosque On O’Reilly
THE RIGHT SCOOP: Raza says the building of this mosque is confrontational, in bad faith, and doesn’t help the cause of tolerance. She goes on to slam the ‘bleeding heart white liberals’ like Bloomberg for their PC attitude about this controversial mosque and surprises O’Reilly with her articulate understanding of this issue. He was almost speechless:

Glenn Beck Exposes Ground Zero Mosque

Jennifer Aniston: Women Having Babies Without Men
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: During a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills the actor Jennifer Aniston defended her character's leap into single motherhood by using a sperm donor. Bill O'Reilly and a Fox News panel discuss the comments. Video courtesy of Fox News.

RIM Offers 'Codes' to Saudis
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has agreed to hand over phone user codes in order to prevent a ban of its Messenger service in Saudi Arabia, says an industry insider. Video courtesy of Reuters.

Hussein's House Becomes Tourist Destination
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:

Opinion Journal: End of the Obama Era?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Senior Economics Writer Steve Moore asks whether the President is finished as an agent of change.

Limbaugh: Media Thinks Michelle Obama Can Take Fancy Vacations Because of Our 'Slave Past'

Niederlande fürchten Imageschaden durch Wilders
WELT ONLINE: Die Regierungsbeteiligung des Islamgegners Wilders könnte international für Unruhe sorgen. Dagegen sollen Diplomaten jetzt gezielt vorgehen.

Der Rechtspopulist und Islamgegner Geert Wilders soll eine Minderheitsregierung in den Niederlanden unterstützen – das macht im Ausland vielen Sorgen. Bild: Welt Online
In den Niederlanden wächst die Sorge vor einem außenpolitischen Imageverlust durch den Machtzuwachs des Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders. Diplomaten des Königreichs seien beauftragt worden, „internationale Beunruhigung über die Rolle der (Wilders-Partei) PVV bei der Regierungsbildung zu beschwichtigen“, berichtete die Zeitungen „de Volkskrant“ am Mittwoch.

Hintergrund sind die Koalitionsverhandlungen über ein Minderheitskabinett aus Rechtsliberalen und Christdemokraten mit dem erklärten Islamgegner Wilders als Dulder und Mehrheitsbeschaffer im Parlament. Sie waren am Montag offiziell eröffnet worden. >>> dpa/ks | Mittwoch, 11. August 2010

Vatican Rejects Resignations of Irish Bishops Over Child Sex Abuse Scandal
THE TELEGRAPH: The Vatican has rejected the resignations of two Catholic bishops in Ireland who offered to quit in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal, the Archbishop of Dublin said.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said in a letter to priests in his archdiocese that Auxiliary Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field will remain in their jobs but will be given "revised responsibilities".

The bishops presented their resignations to Pope Benedict XVI in December following a judge's damning report on the Dublin archdiocese that found the Catholic Church concealed the abuse of children by priests for three decades. >>> | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Nuns Accuse Banks in $5m Lawsuit
THE TELEGRAPH: Germany's Deutsche Bank and US investment bank Morgan Stanley are facing a $5m lawsuit led by a group of Irish nuns.

No banker is likely to risk describing what they do as "God's work", but they might hope at least not to get on the wrong side of His earthly followers.

Unlucky then for Germany's Deutsche Bank and US investment bank Morgan Stanley, who are facing a $5m (£3.2m) lawsuit led by a group of Irish nuns.

The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, the Holy Faith Sisters and the Irish Veterinary Benevolent Fund are among a group of 88 Irish individuals suing the two banks.

The nuns allege the two banks profited at their expense by failing to redeem an investment linked to the debt of German financial group Dresdner Bank and in so doing cost them millions of pounds. >>> Harry Wilson, Financial Services Correspondent | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ramadan Around the World in Pictures
Photograph: Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: Over a billion Muslims around the world began observing the holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday. The start of Ramadan changes every year, based on the sighting of the new moon at the start of the lunar month. The calculation can be a show of regional clout, with senior clerics across the conflicted Mideast and the two main sects of Islam often disagreeing. This year, most Sunni Muslims began fasting on Wednesday, while Shiite Muslims in Iran, Iraq and Oman are to begin observances on Thursday

To the gallery >>>

Foreign Workers Surge
MAIL ONLINE: The number of foreign workers has increased by 114,000 in the last year – while people born in Britain continued to lose their jobs.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show workers born overseas were the beneficiaries of the early stages of the economic recovery.

There are now 3.85million workers who were born abroad. At the same time, the UK-born workforce fell by 15,000, to 25.08million. Foreign workers surge by 114,000... but the number of Britons with jobs falls >>> James Slack, Home Affairs Editor | Thursday, August 12, 2010

British Are a Bunch of Thick People Ruled by a Mafia
MAIL ONLINE: The British people and David Cameron have been labelled ‘thick’ by a senior member of Iran’s government.

In a blistering diatribe against Britain, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said: ‘They have plundered the world in the last 500 years and the young lad in charge now is even more stupid than his predecessor. It’s as if God has made this nation servants of America and Zionists.’

Iran’s First Vice President added: ‘England has nothing. Its inhabitants are not human, its officials are not responsible, and it doesn’t even have any natural resources. (They are) a bunch of thick people ruled by a mafia.’ British are bunch of thick people ruled by a mafia, says Iran's vice president... and sparks row with our ambassador >>> Mail Foreign Service | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hitchens: 'We're All Dying, With Me It's Accelerated'
THE INDEPENDENT: Displaying his trademark directness and wit, Christopher Hitchens has opened up about his battle with cancer, reports David Usborne

Cancer may have robbed Christopher Hitchens of much of his hair. But no one could think it had taken any of his legendary knack for getting straight to the point.

"How am I? I am dying," he says as an opener to a conversation with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, recorded at his own home in Washington DC with his "dearest friend" Martin Amis, the novelist, more or less ambling into view midway through it, a bottle of beer in hand. "Everybody is, but the process has suddenly accelerated on me."

And in spite of the position he finds himself in, Hitchens sounds no less intellectually rigorous. To the question that each interviewer was bound to ask an orthodox atheist such as himself – is this the time to reconsider your views on God? – he offers a categorical reply: no.

It has been only a few short weeks since the English-American journalist, author, professional controversialist and curmudgeon was diagnosed with an especially fierce form of cancer. And even those whom Hitchens has infuriated – and they are legion – will surely find it hard not to be moved by his plight today. He is 61 years old, has three young children, whom he had hoped to see married one day. In video interviews recorded in the last several days with CNN and The Atlantic he looks worn out and quite altered. >>> David Usborne | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Jeff Goldberg Interviews Hitchens
THE ATLANTIC: "As a Jewish hypochondriac, I have access to a lot of medical minds," Jeffrey Goldberg tells Hitch. Among the questions: does Hitchens mind those who pray for him? Special guest appearance by Martin Amis. – Friday, August 6, 2010



THE ATLANTIC: Join the discussion >>>

AC360: Christopher Hitchens Talks Cancer and God

Image: The Atlantic
The Point of No Return
THE ATLANTIC: For the Obama administration, the prospect of a nuclearized Iran is dismal to contemplate— it would create major new national-security challenges and crush the president’s dream of ending nuclear proliferation. But the view from Jerusalem is still more dire: a nuclearized Iran represents, among other things, a threat to Israel’s very existence. In the gap between Washington’s and Jerusalem’s views of Iran lies the question: who, if anyone, will stop Iran before it goes nuclear, and how? As Washington and Jerusalem study each other intensely, here’s an inside look at the strategic calculations on both sides—and at how, if things remain on the current course, an Israeli air strike will unfold.

IT IS POSSIBLE that at some point in the next 12 months, the imposition of devastating economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran will persuade its leaders to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons. It is also possible that Iran’s reform-minded Green Movement will somehow replace the mullah-led regime, or at least discover the means to temper the regime’s ideological extremism. It is possible, as well, that “foiling operations” conducted by the intelligence agencies of Israel, the United States, Great Britain, and other Western powers—programs designed to subvert the Iranian nuclear effort through sabotage and, on occasion, the carefully engineered disappearances of nuclear scientists—will have hindered Iran’s progress in some significant way. It is also possible that President Obama, who has said on more than a few occasions that he finds the prospect of a nuclear Iran “unacceptable,” will order a military strike against the country’s main weapons and uranium-enrichment facilities. >>> Jeffrey Goldberg | September 2010

Iran Sanctions Strengthen Ahmadinejad Regime – Karroubi
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi tells Guardian US and British policy is a gift to Ahmadinejad regime

Mehdi Karroubi, the leading reformist politician in Iran, says sanctions 'have given an excuse to the government to suppress the opposition by blaming them for the unstable situation of the country'. Photograph: The Guardian
Punitive international sanctions imposed on Iran have strengthened the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and assisted its post-election crackdown on the opposition Green movement, the leading reformist politician and former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi has told the Guardian.

In his first interview with a British newspaper since widespread unrest erupted after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election as president last June, Karroubi blamed the US and Britain for adopting counterproductive policies to combat Iran's suspect nuclear programme, describing sanctions as a gift to the Iranian regime.

"These sanctions have given an excuse to the Iranian government to suppress the opposition by blaming them for the unstable situation of the country," Karroubi said in emailed responses to the Guardian's questions.

Karroubi, 73, a former speaker of the Majlis (Iranian parliament) under the reformist president Mohammad Khatami, and a candidate in last year's election, said that isolating Iran would not bring democracy to the people.

"Look at Cuba and North Korea," he said. "Have sanctions brought democracy to their people? They have just made them more isolated and given them the opportunity to crack down on their opposition without bothering themselves about the international attention." >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Liberalism's Surrender of America to Radical Islam
at Ground Zero
WORLD TRIBUNE: America is surrendering in the war against radical Islam. This is the real meaning behind the decision to build a 13-story mosque and Muslim cultural center 600 feet from the site of ground zero. A New York City panel gave the green light Tuesday for the project — despite intense resistance from many families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most New Yorkers and Americans do not want this mosque erected: It will be a symbolic monument to the triumph of Islamism in the United States.

Ground zero is more than where the World Trade Center came crashing down. It is not simply where an immense crime took place. Rather, it is the site of an act of war, hallowed ground that contains the blood of 3,000 human beings, mostly Americans, murdered on that fateful day. Like Pearl Harbor, it is a national shrine that should be dedicated to honor the memory of the victims — an eternal reminder of the atrocity perpetrated by Islamic fascism on U.S. soil.

The Sept. 11 attacks were committed by Muslim extremists in the name of holy war against the West. They used the Koran and Islamic principles to justify their actions. Their goal was to bring jihad to America, unleashing a clash of civilizations. Across the world, Islamists seek to impose a world Muslim empire based on Shariah law. Ground zero is where the war came home to America.

Hence, the building of this mosque is a sacrilegious act — a deliberate slap in the face to the victims, their families and all Americans. It also is why the sponsors of this project refuse to back down. They realize what is at stake: The mosque will cast a giant, dark shadow over ground zero, serving as a testament to the Islamist conquest of America. If Islamism can impose its will near the site of Sept. 11, then it can impose its will anywhere. >>> Jeffrey T. Kuhner* | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

*Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a radio talk show host (570 am WTNT, 5 to 7 pm daily) and a columnist at The Washington Times and WorldTribune.com.

More Hate from the Left, Aimed This Time at the 'Iron Lady', Margaret Thatcher
Lady Thatcher's family members were 'appalled' to learn that she will be depicted as a dementia sufferer looking back on her career with regret. Photographs: World Tribune
WORLD TRIBUNE: Liberals can't seem to leave anything alone, and they soil everything they touch. In another world, you might think that liberals would celebrate a woman from a middle-class background who rose in politics through sheer talent and willpower to become the first female Prime Minister of the history of Great Britain; and who then, in that position, led a renaissance that resurrected her country as an economic and military power for a generation.

Of course, that isn't the world we live in. In this world, liberals hate that sort of achievement; even more so if the hero of the story is a woman. So they are making a movie that trashes Margaret Thatcher.

The cameras have not even started rolling on a new film being made about Margaret Thatcher's life in which she is expected to be played by Meryl Streep, but already the project has been tainted by controversy over the negative way it intends to portray the former Prime Minister.

On first hearing about the production last month, a member of Lady Thatcher's family, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they were 'appalled' to learn that she will be depicted as a dementia sufferer looking back on her career with regret. >>> | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ramadan Starts for Sunni Muslims
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslims began the fasting month of Ramadan on Wednesday during an especially gruelling time of the year, with sweltering heat and extremely long daylight hours across the Middle East.

Muslims and Muslimatoon at prayer. Photographs: The Telegraph
Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, announced the siting of the crescent moon on Tuesday evening, fixing the start of the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar on the following day.

Officials in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia also announced a Wednesday start to the month.

The same was true for Sunni Muslims in Iraq, but the larger Shia community will not begin Ramadan until Thursday, as is the case with Oman.

Muslims observe Ramadan by abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset.

Pregnant and menstruating women, the sick, travellers and prepubescent children are exempt from the fast, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. >>> | Wednesday, August 13, 2010

Giant Mecca Clock Seeks to Call Time on Greenwich
THE TELEGRAPH: For more than a century, a point on the top of a hill in south-east London has been recognised as the centre of world time and the official starting point of each new day.

Big Ben (L) and the Mecca Clock Tower (R) are now in competition to be recognised as the centre of time. Photo: The Telegraph
But now the supremacy of Greenwich Mean Time is being challenged by a gargantuan new clock being built in Mecca, by which the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims could soon be setting their watches.

Due to start ticking on Thursday as the faithful begin fasting during the month of Ramadan, the timepiece sits atop the Royal Mecca Clock Tower which dominates Islam’s holiest city.

It is at the heart of a vast complex funded by the Saudi government that will also house hotels, shopping malls and conference halls.

Bearing a striking resemblance to both St Stephen’s Tower, which houses the bell of Big Ben, and the Empire State Building, the Saudi upstart aims to outdo its revered British rival in every way.

The clock’s four faces are 151ft in diameter and will be illuminated by 2million LED lights along with huge Arabic script reading: “In the name of Allah”. The clock will run on Arabia Standard Time which is three hours ahead of GMT.

When a glittering spire is added, topped with a crescent to symbolise Islam, the edifice will stand at nearly 2,000 ft, making it the world's second tallest building.

The clock of Big Ben, by comparison, is just 23ft in diameter, while its tower stands at a mere 316ft.

Residents of Mecca will also be reminded that it is time to pray when 21,000 green and white lights, visible at a distance of 18 miles, flash five times a day.

But Islamic scholars hope the clock’s influence will stretch far further than the sands of Saudi Arabia, as part of a plan for Mecca to eclipse the Greenwich Observatory as the “true centre of the earth”. >>> Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent, and Martin Beckford | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Mecca clock: Greenwich Mean Time only recently synchronised world’s watches – Throughout the vast majority of human history, the time was calculated locally according to the rising and setting of the sun. >>> Martin Beckford | Wednesday, August 11, 2010


MAIL ONLINE asks whether we’ll soon be setting our clocks to Mecca Mean Time! >>>

Related articles here and here

Senators Demand Lockerbie Bomber's Medical Records
THE TELEGRAPH: US senators have called on the Scottish government to disclose the Lockerbie bomber's full medical records in an attempt to understand why he was released early.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in hospital in Tripoli shortly after his release. Photo: The Telegraph
In a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond they asked for the release of all medical documentation for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi both while under Scottish care and after.

They also asked the Scottish government to issue the names, medical training and specialisations of the doctors who examined Megrahi.

The Libyan, who has cancer, was diagnosed with three months to live and was freed on August 20 last year.

The medical report which led to Megrahi being released on compassionate grounds went to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on August 10 last year.

Andrew Fraser, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) director of health and care, said in the report no specialist ''would be willing to say'' if a three-month prognosis was reasonable.

The four senators said that examining the Libyan's full medical records would help clarify the circumstances surrounding his release. >>> | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Drogenpolitik: Mexikos Ex-Präsident fordert Legalisierung von Drogen
ZEIT ONLINE: Vicente Fox will der Rauschgiftmafia das Handwerk legen. Die Lösung: Den Drogenkrieg beenden und den Konsum legalisieren. Der Haken: Die USA müssten mitziehen. M. Schmidt

Will Drogen in Mexiko legalisieren: Der ehemalige Präsident des Landes, Vicente Fox. Photo: Welt Online
Bestialische Morde, schrecklich zugerichtete Leichen, mehr als 28.000 Tote in dreieinhalb Jahren: Der Drogenkrieg in Mexiko hat ein hierzulande kaum vorstellbares Maß an Gewalt und Grausamkeit erreicht. Die Kriminalität schwächt den Staat, die geschwächte Regierung stärkt die Killer. Deshalb fordert der frühere Präsident Vicente Fox jetzt eine Legalisierung von Rauschgift. Sein Argument: Nur so lasse sich die wirtschaftliche Macht der Drogenkartelle brechen. "Wir sollten überlegen, die Produktion, den Vertrieb und den Verkauf von Drogen zu legalisieren", schrieb Fox in seinem Blog – und unterläuft damit die regierungsamtliche Strategie seines Nachfolgers und christdemokratischen Parteifreundes, Präsident Felipe Calderon. >>> Von Michael Schmidt | Dienstag, 10. August 2010

Will man zum Frühstück Brötchen essen? Kein Problem!
Brötchen in einem Korb. Bild: Google Images
Man kann sie kommen lassen – fliegend! Genau wie der Bundespräsident Deutschlands! >>>

THE TELEGRAPH: German president criticised for importing bread 180 miles from home to Berlin: Christian Wulff, the new German president, has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money after importing bread and baked goods 180 miles from his home state to Berlin. >>> | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Levi Johnston Grabs for Sarah Palin's Old Job in Wasilla Mayoral Run
THE TELEGRAPH: Levi Johnston, the former fiance of Bristol Palin, will follow in Sarah Palin footsteps by running in the mayoral election of the Alaskan town of Wasilla.

The 20-year-old father of the grandson of Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 US election, will run for mayor in his hometown as part of a reality TV show, his manager, Tank Jones, said.

Wasilla, population 10,250, is where Mrs Palin, who is widely touted as a potential candidate for the Republican presidential ticket in 2012, got her start in politics, moving up from city council to mayor before winning election as Alaska's governor in 2006.

Mr Jones said Mr Johnston, whose career thus far has included stints in the Alaskan oil fields and posing nude in Playgirl, is serious about politics. >>> | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Levi Johnston, the 20 year-old high-school “drop-out” for mayor of Wasilla? Give me a break! If the voters of Wasilla vote for this guy, they’ll need their heads read – they’ll need a phrenologist!

Don’t the Americans have any standards in politics anymore? Doesn’t one need a certain level of education, doesn’t one need to have a modicum of experience of life, doesn’t one need a mature intellect to enter into the political arena? This is really depressing! Before long, they’ll be telling us that Levi is running for president! – © Mark

Bounty Hunters to Cut Benefit Fraud by £1bn
THE TELEGRAPH: Private agencies are to be paid by the Government to reduce benefit fraud by £1billion, David Cameron is to announce.



Finance experts will identify welfare cheats by trawling through their records, household bills and credit card applications.

The agencies will get a “bounty” payment for each fraudster they identify under government plans to cut the £5.2billion annual fraud bill.

By having access to the Government’s database of incapacity and housing benefit claimants, the companies believe they can shave at least £1billion from the welfare bill, earning as much as £50million.

The Prime Minister will say today that the level of fraud is “absolutely outrageous” and an “uncompromising” strategy is needed.

Mr Cameron will also call on members of the public to report suspected cheats and promise tougher punishments for offenders. >>> Holly Watt, Rosa Prince and Robert Winnett | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

This is so 'old Tory'. Whilst I am not in favour of people cheating the system for benefits, I feel that Cameron should have the balls to target the fat cat bankers who are stealing far more from the system with their multi-million pound bonuses than the paltry sums of money that Jo Average is getting in the form of welfare. Why doesn't Cameron come up with something new and original like jailing bankers who milk the system, and thereby endanger capitalism's very existence? – © Mark | Comment also posted here

U.S. Footing Bill for Imam's Trip? : Imam from 'Ground Zero mosque' going to Mideast on government's tab


Related >>>

Bankers Party Like Recession Never Happened
SKY NEWS: Over 1000 bankers have been quaffing champagne like the recession never happened at the largest City party since the economic crash of 2007.

UK Couple Murdered In 'Honour Killing'
SKY NEWS: A couple from Birmingham have been murdered in Pakistan in a suspected "honour killing". They have been named locally as Gul Wazir, who was in his mid-50s, and his wife Begum. Kitty Logan reports.

Duchess Of York Close To Bankruptcy
SKY NEWS: The Duchess of York is reported to be close to bankruptcy.

Dennis Miller Locked & Loaded: Funnyman fired up about Ground Zero mosque, Lady Gaga madness

ARD TV: Deutscher Konvertiert zum Islam 2010

Deutscher Wissenschaftler konvertiert zum Islam


RTL: Immer mehr Deutsche konvertieren zum Islam

Razzia in Hamburger Taiba Moschee - Treffpunkt von Terroristen?


WELT ONLINE: Terror-Moschee – Muslime fürchten Kontrollverlust über Islamisten: Erschwert das Verbot der Taiba-Moschee die Überwachung der Islamisten? Die Angst, sie könnten sich auf andere Gemeinden verteilen, ist groß. >>> Von Florian Hanauer | Dienstag, 10. August 2010

WELT ONLINE: Moschee hätte viel früher geschlossen werden müssen: Wenn Behörden fast neun Jahre brauchen, eine terroristische Keimzelle zu schließen, ist unser Rechtsstaat zu schwach. >>> Von Jörn Lauterbach | Montag, 09. August 2010

WELT ONLINE: Hamburg – Muslimverband findet Moscheeschließung unpassend: Dass die Hamburger Taiba-Moschee ausgerechnet kurz vor dem Fastenmonat Ramadan geschlossen wurde, missfällt dem Zentralrat der Muslime. >>> KNA/dpa/cn | Dienstag, 10. August 2010

Iran's Revolutionary Guard 'Digging Mass Graves for US Soldiers'
THE TELEGRAPH: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is digging mass graves for American soldiers in preparation for a war over its nuclear programme, according to a former senior commander.

The scene in the south of Iran where hundreds of mass graves have been dug. Photo: The Telegraph
General Hossein Moghadam, the Guard's former deputy chief, was speaking after film footage showed strings of freshly dug graves in the south of the country.

They were close to the site of war graves for the dead of the long war between Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which devastated the region in the 1980s.

"The mass graves that used to be for burying Saddam's soldiers have now been prepared again for US soldiers, and this is the reason for digging this big number of graves," Gen Moghadam told the Associated Press, which obtained the footage. >>> Richard Spencer | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Steuerbetrug und Bankenboni – und wo bleibt die Ethik?
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN – STERNSTUNDE: Auf die Finanz- und Bankenkrise folgte die Eurokrise. 750 Milliarden Euro haben die Europäische Union und der Internationale Währungsfonds hochverschuldeten Euro-Ländern zur Verfügung gestellt. Das Unbehagen vieler Menschen gegenüber dem Kapitalismus hat zugenommen. Wie sicher ist das Finanzsystem? Sollen Bankenboni auch in Krisenzeiten in gewohnter Höhe ausbezahlt werden? Der deutsche Wirtschaftsethiker Ulrich Thielemann kritisiert die weitverbreitete Marktgläubigkeit und fordert einen Wandel von der «Hofierung zur Moderierung des Kapitals».

Video hier abspielen | Samstag, 08. August 2010

Feds Funding Ground Zero Imam's Mideast Trip
NEW YORK POST: The imam behind a plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero is set to depart on a multi-country jaunt to the Middle East funded by the State Department -- raising concerns that taxpayers may be helping him with the controversial project's $100 million fund-raising goal.

Feisal Abdul Rauf is taking the publicly funded trip to foster "greater understanding" about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States, the State Department confirmed yesterday.

"He is a distinguished Muslim cleric," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, when asked about the journey, reportedly to include stops in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar.

"I think we are in the process of arranging for him to travel as part of this program, and it is to foster a greater understanding about the region around the world among Muslim-majority communities," he added.

Crowley said no fund-raising for the mosque and cultural center during the trip would be permitted. "That would not be something he could do as part of our program," he said.

Abdul Rauf said funds for the center will come from Muslims and members of his congregation.

But a London-based Arabic-language newspaper that interviewed Abdul Rauf reported that he says he also will collect money from Muslim and Arab nations around the world -- raising the possibility his goodwill mission could help him build contacts in oil-rich states. >>> Geoff Earle in DC and Brendan Scott in Albany | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

HT: Atlas Shrugs >>>

La mosquée de Ground Zero, le projet qui embarrasse Obama
Le projet d'ouverture d'une mosquée aux abords de Ground Zero pourrait empoisonner la campagne des démocrates à quelques mois d'élections cruciales pour Barack Obama. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Dans l'État de New York, l'élection du prochain gouverneur se jouera, à l'automne, autour de l'ouverture controversée d'une mosquée près de Ground Zero. Le projet, initié par un imam pourtant réputé pour sa grande modération et défendu par le maire de la "Grosse Pomme" Michael Bloomberg, déchire la classe politique. L'édile sans étiquette y voit un symbole de paix et de tolérance, mais les conservateurs ne l'entendent pas de cette oreille.

Au mieux, ils jugent le projet indélicat pour les familles de victimes des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Au pire, ils y voient une véritable insulte à la mémoire des morts. Le républicain Rick Lazio a donc mis au défi son adversaire démocrate Andrew Cuomo de participer à un débat exclusivement centré sur cette question. Quant au candidat des ultra-conservateurs du Tea Party, Carl Paladino, il a déjà fait savoir que, s'il était élu, il pèserait de tout son poids pour empêcher la création de cette mosquée. >>> Par Chloé Durand-Parenti | Mardi 10 Août 2010

Shut Up, He ExplainedMayor Michael Bloomberg to New Yorkers
THE WEEKLY STANDARD – EDITORIAL: Last Tuesday, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke on the subject of the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. His remarks will be read with curiosity by future generations of Americans, who will look back in astonishment at the self-deluding pieties and self-destructive dogmas that are held onto, at once smugly and desperately, by today’s liberal elites. Our liberation from those dogmas, and from those elites, is underway across the nation. But it’s worth taking a look at Bloomberg’s speech, if only to remind us of what we need to ascend from so our descendants can look back with curiosity at the ethos to which we did not succumb.

As is the way of contemporary liberals, Bloomberg spoke at a very high level of abstraction. He appealed to the principle of religious toleration, while never mentioning the actual imam who is responsible for and would control the planned Ground Zero mosque. To name Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf might invite a consideration of his background, funding, and intentions. Do Rauf and his backers believe in the principles underlying the “inspiring symbol of liberty” that greets immigrants to the United States and before which Bloomberg stood? Bloomberg didn’t say. It apparently doesn’t matter. Toleration means asking nothing, criticizing nothing, saying nothing, about whom or what one is tolerating. This is the Sergeant Schultz standard of toleration: I know nothing.

Knowing nothing, or wishing to know nothing, about the mosque, Bloomberg took it upon himself to lecture his fellow New Yorkers on their obligation to be true to “the best part of ourselves.” That part is apparently the part of us that allows at once for intellectual obfuscation and moral preening. Bloomberg never acknowledged that sane and tolerant people might object to a 15-story Islamic community center and mosque right next to Ground Zero. He could not be bothered to take seriously the reservations and objections of a clear majority of his constituents. “In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists—and we should not stand for that.” So public sentiment be damned. There’s nothing to be learned from the ignorant and bigoted residents of New York.

Instead, Bloomberg lectured: “On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked ‘What God do you pray to?’ ‘What beliefs do you hold?’ ” True, certainly true. But Bloomberg did not permit himself to ask what vision of god, what set of beliefs, inspired those who set those buildings aflame. Bloomberg said that it was our “spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.” But attacked by whom? Bloomberg wouldn’t say. >>> William Kristol | Monday, August 16, 2010

How Does Obama Measure Up? Some nonpartisan benchmarks
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: President Obama is under water in public opinion polls, judged more unfavorably than favorably. He now pops up in Republican campaign ads that link Democratic candidates to his unpopular administration. And a growing list of Democrats would rather he stay away while they are running for office this year.

He’s a political liability to his party. But that may not be the best way to rate Obama’s 19-month tenure in the White House. There’s a nonpartisan, nonideological measure that’s a bit subjective but still renders a valid verdict. Created by Fred Greenstein, professor of politics emeritus at Princeton, it uses six criteria to evaluate the performance of a president.

Greenstein has applied it to presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton—that is, presidents no longer in office. But it’s also fair to use the six criteria to test how a sitting president is doing. Here are the criteria as applied to Obama.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. This was Obama’s strength as a candidate, but it’s been a glaring weakness as president. He’s a good explainer but a poor persuader. He doesn’t inspire. He devoted dozens of speeches in 2009 to touting his health care plan, including a nationally televised address to Congress last September. Public support dwindled. The program passed only because of large Democratic majorities in Congress elected in 2008 and likely to disappear in the midterm election in November.

Because presidents can always command an audience, they’re tempted to appear in public too often. Ubiquity undermines the office. The public loses interest, and the effectiveness of the bully pulpit dissolves. Every president since Ronald Reagan has succumbed to this temptation, Obama especially. The worst example: He was interviewed on TV during the halftime of the Duke-Georgetown basketball game last winter. >>> Fred Barnes | Monday, August 16, 2010

Listen to This Bloody Idiot!

Pat Condell: Ban the Burqah!

Muslim Group Holds 'Anti-terrorism' Summer Camp
THE GUARDIAN: Hundreds attend three-day al-Hidayah event at University of Warwick campus to learn how to fight arguments of extremists

Young Muslims arrive at al-Hidayah 2010 at the University of Warwick campus. Photograph: The Guardian
After a modest breakfast came the first choice of the day: to take part in sporting activities ranging from five-a-side football to archery, or to join the Sunday morning nature stroll around the campus. Then it was down to the serious business: a series of lectures, workshops and presentations, punctuated by prayers and countless impromptu street-corner debates.

This is al-Hidayah 2010, a three-day event that kicked off on Saturday and attended by 1,300 Muslims – mainly young men and women – that has been billed as the UK's first anti-terror camp.

Devotees of Muslim scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri have gathered at the University of Warwick's campus to be taught practical ways of countering extremist views in their schools, universities and communities. They have been learning how to engage with people expressing extremist views and are being directed to passages in the Qur'an and other Islamic texts to allow them to argue against them.

The camp follows the publication by Qadri, founder of the moderate Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) movement, of a headline-grabbing "fatwa on terrorism", a 600-page volume claiming to "remove decisively" any theological justification for Islamist terror.

"People have long asked where are the moderate Muslim organisations? What are they doing to combat extremism," said MQI spokesman Shahid Mursaleen. "We are trying to train young people here to counter the arguments they hear from the radicals, to give them the knowledge so they can question the extremists and contradict their ideology." >>> Stephen Morris | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Other articles on Tahir ul-Qadri >>>

Richard Dawkins Sparks Outcry After Likening the Burka to a Bin Liner
THE TELEGRAPH: Richard Dawkins, the outspoken atheist, has courted fresh controversy by likening the burka to a bin liner.

The 69-year-old author and Oxford academic said he is filled with “visceral revulsion” when he sees women wearing the traditional Islamic covering.

But he held back from advocating a ban on the all-enveloping cloak, insisting that such legislation would fly in the face of Britain’s liberal tradition.

Professor Dawkins referred to the burka as a “full bin-liner thing” in an interview with the Radio Times in which he discussed his forthcoming documentary on the dangers of faith schools.

He has sparked fury among Muslim groups, who have accused him of being “ignorant” and “Islamophobic”.

But he stood by his remarks last night, telling the Daily Mail: “I do feel visceral revulsion at the burka because for me it is a symbol of the oppression of women.” >>> Heidi Blake | Tuesday, August 10, 2010