US to Use Graphic Images of Death and Disease on Cigarette Packs
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A dead man in a coffin, a crying baby, a bald cancer patient and a close-up of a mouth with dirty teeth and a malignant lip lesion are among new graphic warnings the United States is proposing for cigarette packs.

The changes are part of a 2009 law that requires new and larger labels on cigarettes to depict the negative health consequences of smoking.

The warnings will take up about half the space on the front of each cigarette pack, located on the upper portion so they are visible in most store displays.

A series of 36 graphics are available on the Food and Drug Administration's website. After public consultation the government will choose nine images to place on cigarette packs. Read on and comment >>> | Thursday, November 11, 2010

Isn't it time they left smokers alone? Don't the authorities think that people know the risks of smoking tobacco? This relentless war on smokers is becoming very tiresome and it is certainly very unfair, especially when many people get up to far worse than enjoy a few puffs on a cigarette.

I write not as a smoker but as an ex-smoker. But I like to think that I live by the maxim, 'live and let live'.

It is very strange that at the very time that the US is clamping down so hard on smokers, the authorities are legalising the use of marijuana. Take California as a case in point: Schwarzenegger has just relaxed the law there to make smoking this drug much easier.

I have been in America as a smoker many times, before I gave up. I have also been in California. Trying to find somewhere to light up is a challenge indeed! But yet they can come to the conclusion that they can ease up on the drug laws. Go figure!

No sane person would advocate smoking cigarettes. Encouraging people to quit is a good thing. But that needs to be gotten into perspective. The smoking habit is indubitably unhealthy; but there are far worse things than smoking and nobody does anything about them. Smoking has become the bête noire of the day. Unfortunately to the exclusion of all other evils.

If I had children, which I don't, if the worst thing they got up to was smoking a cigarette, I'd count myself very lucky indeed. This world is full of far greater evils.

Since the decline of the importance of religion in our daily lives, people seem to have become obsessed with trying to prolong their lives. They think they can find the secret to eternal life. Years ago, people relied on the idea of the afterlife for that. Now people have become health freaks instead. Strange that! Fact is, though, as an American friend of mine always says: We can't get out of this life alive! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Osama bin Laden Appoints New Commander to Spearhead War on West
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Osama bin Laden has appointed a new commander to spearhead al-Qaeda's offensive of operations against the West.

Known to western intelligence services by the alias Saif al-Adel, or "Sword of the Just", al-Qaeda's new chief of international operations is believed to have conceived of the wave of strikes that set off terror alerts across Europe recently, as well as last week's mid-air parcel-bomb plot.

US and Pakistani sources have told The Daily Telegraph that al-Adel is running several similar operations as part of a war of attrition intended to persuade Western public opinion that the war against terror is unwinnable. This would clear the road for al-Qaeda to capture power in fragile states such as Somalia and Yemen.

"His strategy", said Syed Saleem Shahzad, a Pakistani expert on al-Qaeda, "is to stage multiple small terror operations, using the resources of affiliates and allies wherever possible."

A US counter-terrorism official said the idea was for "small-but-often attacks" that would hurt the West more than a "one-off terror spectacular". >>> Praveen Swami, Diplomatic Editor | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Congressman Says God Will Save Us from Climate Change
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Republican congressman who believes that global warming is not a threat because God has promised not to destroy the Earth has put himself forward as chairman of a powerful committee that deals with energy policy and its effect on the environment.

John Shimkus, an evangelical Christian representing Illinois, quoted the Bible in a congressional hearing last year on a proposed "cap and trade" legislation designed to limit carbon emissions.

Reading from God's post-Flood promise to Noah in Genesis 8:21, he said: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though all inclinations of his heart are evil from childhood and never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done."

Mr Shimkus added: "I believe that's the infallible word of God, and that's the way it's going to be for his creation.

"The Earth will end only when God declares it's time to be over. Man will not destroy this Earth. This Earth will not be destroyed by a Flood. I do believe that God's word is infallible, unchanging, perfect." >>> Alex Spillius, Washington | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Silvio Berlusconi Defeated Three Times in Parliament as Grip on Power Grows Weaker
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Silvio Berlusconi's hold on power looked more fragile than ever after his government was defeated in parliament and new claims emerged of starlets being supplied for parties at one of his mansions.

The Italian government was humiliated in parliament when MPs loyal to Gianfranco Fini, the prime minister's main rival, voted with the Opposition on three amendments to a controversial treaty drawn up between Italy and Libya on stemming illegal immigrants.



Mr Fini and his followers defected from the government in July, depriving Mr Berlusconi of a guaranteed parliamentary majority, and tensions between the former allies has plunged Italy into political paralysis.

The defeat came as a weekly magazine published alleged secretly filmed video footage of showgirls being driven to Mr Berlusconi's mansion, Villa San Martino, on the outskirts of Milan, without apparently undergoing any security checks by the police who protect the property. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Herman Van Rompuy: 'Euroscepticism Leads to War'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Euroscepticism leads to war and a rising tide of nationalism is the European Union's "biggest enemy", Herman Van Rompuy, the president of Europe has told a Berlin audience.

EU Council President Van Rompuy delivers his State of Europe speech at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Mr Van Rompuy linked hostility to the EU, and the idea that countries could leave the Union, to a revival of aggressive nationalism.

"We have together to fight the danger of a new Euroscepticism. This is no longer the monopoly of a few countries," he said. "In every member state, there are people who believe their country can survive alone in the globalised world. It is more than an illusion: it is a lie."

The controversial comments made on Tuesday come less than a fortnight after David Cameron, the Prime Minister, declared that he was a Eurosceptic after his gruelling Brussels summit battle to block a sharp increase in the EU budget at a time of national austerity.

Bill Cash, the Conservative chairman of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, "entirely repudiated" a link between Euroscepticism and the rise of nationalism.

"It is not anti-European to be pro-democracy. The problem is that the democratic base for the EU is wanting. The solution to the rise of the far-Right is proper democracy exercised through national parliaments," he said.

Clarifying the remarks, a spokesman for Mr Van Rompuy, stressed that he was not talking about Mr Cameron's brand of Euroscepticism but about those people who want to leave the EU. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Barack Obama in Indonesia Appeals for Muslim-Christian Tolerance
THE GUARDIAN: White House dogged by 'secret Muslim' claims, amid sniping from the American right

Barack and Michelle Obama with the grand imam at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta. Photograph: The Guardian
Barack Obama was in wistful mood today on his return to Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood. He reminisced about mango trees, flying kites, running alongside paddy fields, buying satay from street vendors and catching dragonflies.

He spoke too of the tolerance Indonesians had shown the foreign child brought up in their midst, and the tolerance needed today to eradicate the mistrust that had built up over the years between Muslims and Christians.

He was speaking at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, in the second major speech of his presidency reaching out to the Muslim world. The first was in Cairo last year.

But there was little sign of tolerance on US conservative websites, where there were derogatory comments about the visit. Pictures of the Obamas visiting the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta are likely to surface on websites propagating the myth that the president is a secret Muslim. >>> Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Toni O'Loughlin in Jakarta | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Canadian PM: I Will Defend Israel 'Whatever the Cost'

HT: Pastorias at iBloga >>>

Obama und Merkel gehen auf Konfrontationskurs
WELT ONLINE: US-Präsident Barack Obama verlangt von Deutschland und China Hilfe beim Abbau des US-Handelsbilanzdefizits. Merkel stellt sich dagegen.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel und US-Präsident Barack Obama: Die Stimmung vor dem Gipfeltreffen in Seoul ist angespannt. Bild: Welt Online
Die USA steuern beim G-20-Gipfel auf eine direkte Konfrontation mit Deutschland und China zu, den beiden größten Exportnationen der Erde. Der innenpolitisch schwer angeschlagene US-Präsident Barack Obama pocht weiter auf verbindliche Hilfe aus Berlin und Peking beim Abbau des gewaltigen US-Handelsdefizits. Diese Position verdeutlichte Obama in einem Brief an seine Kollegen. Dem Plan erteilte Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel vor ihrer Abreise nach Südkorea am Mittwoch eine klare Absage. Die südkoreanische G20-Präsidentschaft berichtete über festgefahrene Verhandlungen der Unterhändler aus den wichtigsten Volkswirtschaften der Erde (G20).

Merkel machte klar, dass die Ungleichgewichte in den Handelsbeziehungen auch etwas mit der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Produkten auf dem Weltmarkt zu tun hätten. „Quantifizierte Ziele wird Deutschland jedenfalls nicht mittragen“, sagte sie und lehnte erneut Zielkorridore oder andere messbare Vorgaben für Handelsströme ab.

Die „New York Times“ berichtete aus einem Brief Obamas an die G-20-Gipfelrunde. Darin räumte er zwar ein, dass die USA ihren Konsum auf Pump einschränkten müssten. Aber mit Blick auf China und Deutschland schrieb er, andere Ländern müssten auch etwas tun. „Kein einzelnes Land kann unser gemeinsames Ziel einer starken, dauerhaften und ausgewogenen Erholung auf sich selbst gestellt erreichen.“ Obamas Finanzminister Timothy Geithner hatte sich schon beim G-20-Treffen mit seinen Kollegen eine Abfuhr vor allem von deutscher Seite für den Plan geholt. >>> dpa | Mittwoch, 10. November 2010

China May Be Bigger Economy Than US Within Two Years
Barack Obama greets China's Paramount Leader, Hu Jintao. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – JEREMY WARNER: Here’s a finding that will have any red-blooded American spluttering into his cornflakes. According to the Conference Board, a highly respected economic research association, China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy by 2012, or within two years. Read on and comment >>> Jeremy Warner | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Millbank Tower: Student Fees Protest Turns Violent

Nicolas Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin Go to War on de Gaulle's Anniversary
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy is dangerous for France, warned Dominique de Villepin, the former French prime minister, as the bitter Right-wing rivals competed for Charles de Gaulle's mantle on the 40th anniversary of his death.

Nicholas Sarkozy, left, and Dominique de Villepin. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
With De Gaulle nostalgia in full swing in France, President Sarkozy yesterday seized the commemoration to liken himself to the revered wartime leader who refused to collaborate with the Nazis and was the architect of the country's post-War recovery.

In a thinly-veiled reference to his deeply unpopular pension reforms, which brought millions to the streets in the past few weeks, the President quoted De Gaulle's phrase: "If France has called me to serve as its guide, it is certainly not to preside over its sleep."

But Mr de Villepin, a staunch Gaullist who famously opposed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, was the most vocal in denying the president's right to claim such a heritage. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Michelle Obama Brushes Off Indonesia Handshake Row
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama has brushed off a row with an Indonesian minister who was reluctant to shake her hand.


America's First Lady visited southeast Asia's biggest mosque with her husband on Wednesday, a day after Indonesia's communications minister had told Twitter followers that he had reluctantly shaken hands with her at a formal reception.

Tifatul Sembiring, a conservative Muslim who refuses to touch women he is not related to tweeted: "I tried to prevent it with my two hands but Mrs Michelle moved her hands too close to me, then we touched."

Video footage of the meeting suggested otherwise, however, showing Mr Sembiring reaching out to shake Michelle's hand like the other dignitaries.

The Obamas much-anticipated visit to the Istiqlal Mosque in central Jakarta was one of the last stops on Mr Obama's twice-postponed visit to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

Grand Imam Haji Mustafa Ali Yaqub showed the Obamas around the massive domed structure, which was still being built when a young Mr Obama lived in the nearby suburb of Menteng as a child in the late 1960s. >>> | Wednesday, November 19, 2010

Flashback: Indonesian Mosque Obama Visited Greeted Ahmadinejad as a “Rock Star” Where He Called For The Destruction of Israel, Predicted Sharia Would Rule World >>>

HT: Pastorius of iBloga >>> Pastorius | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Student Protests Turn Violent as Tory Headquarters Evacuated
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A student protest against rising tuition fees has turned violent with demonstrators forcing their way into a building and smashing windows as they approached Parliament.

Demonstrators barge into the lobby of Millbank Tower, smashing windows and setting fire to placards outside the entrance. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
A group barged into the lobby of Millbank before being forced out by police and security officers. They then began setting fire to placards outside the entrance.

Windows in the office block were smashed and a number of smoke bombs thrown.

Up to 50,000 people, many waving placards, are marching though the streets of London in the biggest show of opposition to the Coalition Government.

Students from towns and cities across the UK have travelled to London in coaches, to join lecturers, pensioners and medical trainees in voicing their opposition to the rise. >>> | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

‘Matthew Taylor on the student protesters inside Conservative HQ at Millbank Tower’

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron admits tuition fees increase will keep cost to foreign students down: The Coalition’s decision to increase tuition fees by thousands of pounds will help keep down the cost to foreign students of studying in Britain, David Cameron has admitted. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cost of a degree 'has tripled in 20 years': The cost of a university degree has more than tripled in 20 years as thousands of teenagers are priced out of higher education, according to research. >>> Graeme Paton, Education Editor | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Ausländer und Integration - Strache, FPÖ

WHO: Russians Smoke the Most
THE MOSCOW TIMES: With 44 million adults, or almost 40 percent of the population, Russia has the biggest percentage of adult smokers among the 14 countries surveyed by the World Health Organization.

More adults smoke in Russia than in any other heavy-smoking country, and their average life expectancy is one of the shortest among former Soviet countries, according to two separate but thematically linked reports released Tuesday.

Politicians and analysts said the popularity of smoking, which contributes to worsening demographics by killing up to 500,000 Russians a year, could be stopped through tougher regulations, but tobacco producers have blocked all efforts for years, successfully lobbying their interests with the ruling United Russia party.

With 44 million adults, or almost 40 percent of the population, Russia has the biggest percentage of adult smokers among the 14 countries surveyed by the World Health Organization in a poll presented at a Moscow conference Tuesday.

More than 60 percent of Russian men and almost 22 percent of Russian women smoke, according to the WHO's Global Adult Tobacco Survey.

The poll also covered Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Vietnam — countries that “bear the highest burden of tobacco use,” the survey said.

The survey is "not a document but a call to take action," Luigi Migliorini, acting head of the WHO's Russia office, said at a conference where the report was presented Tuesday, RIA-Novosti reported.

Some 400,000 to 500,000 Russians a year die from smoking-related causes, a figure that accounts for 17 percent of the country's yearly mortality rate, a co-author of the report, Oleg Storozhenko, told the conference, Interfax reported.

Separately, a study the Audit Chamber released on Tuesday said Russia lagged behind most other former Soviet republics in life expectancy. >>> Natalya Krainova | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

David Cameron's Obsession with Image and Spin Is Failing the Country
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The public is paying dearly for the Prime Minister's cult of personality, argues Simon Heffer.

David Cameron is obsessed with spin. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
That the public mood lightened last week when the BBC went on strike, and we were spared for a day or two endless earnest reports and analyses of the activities of our pygmy politicians, should hardly be a surprise. What perhaps requires further thought, both by politicians and those of us who report or analyse their doings, is whether there is generally just too much of it out there for anybody's good.

We know that in a democracy information (preferably truthful) is essential. I, like many of my colleagues, came into journalism precisely to throw bricks through windows. The Fourth Estate has a role, without doubt, in fulfilling the import of that pompous phrase "holding politicians to account". But since so much of what the politicians tell journalists is either only half the truth or, at times, none of the truth at all, some of us do start to wonder why we bother. I rarely sit down on a Tuesday without the thought crossing my mind that it would be better all round if I were to write a column about the cultural importance of Ealing films, or a defence of Wagner, or a philippic against much contemporary architecture. I do not doubt many of you would agree. Yet again, however, this week there is a subject, related to what I have just said, that requires all our attention.

The Prime Minister has put no fewer than 26 people on the public payroll, on short-term contracts, without advertising their posts. Most of these people are trusties, and the most prominent of them are in the business of managing Mr Cameron's image: and, in one case, Mrs Cameron's. One of them is his photographer. Another is described as being his "web guru", a man whose contribution to the lexicon of conservative thought so far has been to seek to "pimp your party" and to throw a fund-raising event that was "so hip it hurts", whatever the hell that means. The Prime Minister also has his own film-maker. There is also someone being paid £50,000 a year working for something called the "behavioural insight team" in the Cabinet Office. She, and they, must have their work cut out. I believe there are even some young people who advise on policy, and we must judge the quality of their contribution to our governance by its results.

It is reported that a senior civil servant warned Mr Cameron of the injudiciousness of appointing at least some of these people at all, and especially in this way, at a time of stringency in the public sector. The act has also been interpreted as a means of Mr Cameron getting around his own much-trumpeted policy of reducing the number of special advisers in government. But the real issue here is one of image, and image management. We knew that Mr Cameron was obsessed with this when in opposition, usually to the exclusion of developing any policies or principles. Many of the people hired in this compromising way were in charge of massaging the Cameron image before he entered Downing Street. Nicky Woodhouse, the film-maker, did his saccharine and nauseating "WebCameron", by which the public who cared to watch were deceived into believing they were witnessing real slices of Cameron family life. Read on and comment >>> Simon Heffer | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

This article hits the nail right on the head. We, the electorate, are sick and tired of our vain politicians who think far too little of the 'little people' and far too much of themselves. David Cameron is an exemplar par excellence of such a politician. One can see his vanity in his face. In short: He loves himself. And he is using these spin creatures to try and make the rest of us love him equally as much. The strategy will fail. The electorate has had quite enough of spin during the Blair years. Look where that got us!

How nice it would be to be governed by real politicians. Winnie was the complete opposite of Cameron: Churchill thought little about his appearance, but a hell of a lot about the country.

Thank you so much for this insightful article. It was a pleasure to read it. – © Mark [This comment can also be read here]

L'adhésion de la Turquie, de la Croatie et du Monténégro à la loupe de l'UE
LE MONDE: La Commission européenne a dressé mardi un tableau peu encourageant de l'avancée des négociations d'adhésion de la Turquie à l'UE, s'inquiétant de l'impasse chypriote, alors qu'elle a ouvert la voie, dans son rapport annuel sur les projets d'élargissement de l'Union, à une candidature du Monténégro. Bruxelles a par ailleurs salué l'entrée de la Croatie dans la dernière phase des négociations d'adhésion, conditionnant la fixation d'une date à la démonstration de son engagement dans la lutte contre la corruption. >>> LEMONDE.FR | Mardi 09 Novembre 2010

Les attaques contre les chrétiens d'Irak continuent
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: BAGDAD | Bagdad a encore souffert de 3 morts et 26 blessés mercredi matin dans des attaques contre des domiciles de chrétiens. La branche irakienne d’Al-Qaïda avait annoncé qu'elle viserait les chrétiens.

Une série d’attentats a visé mercredi matin les domiciles de chrétiens à Bagdad faisant trois morts et 26 blessés, selon une source du ministère de l’Intérieur. Ces nouveaux attentats anti-chrétiens surviennent dix jours après l’attaque meurtrière contre une église catholique de la capitale irakienne. >>> ATS / AFP | Mercredi 10 Novembre 2010

Österreich – Tezcan: "Warum habt ihr 110.000 Türken eingebürgert?"
DIE PRESSE: Der türkische Botschafter in Wien rechnet mit der gescheiterten Integrationspolitik ab und schont auch seine Landsleute nicht. Den Österreichern wirft er vor, sich nur im Urlaub für andere Kulturen zu interessieren.

Kadri Ecved Tezcan. Bild: Die Presse
Kadri Ecved Tezcan: Wollen Sie, dass ich im Interview als Diplomat antworte, was langweilig wird? Oder soll ich als jemand antworten, der seit einem Jahr in Wien lebt und viele Kontakte zu den 250.000 Türken hier hat?

Ich ziehe die zweite Variante vor. Was läuft bei der Integration der Türken in Österreich falsch?

Ich möchte eines vorweg sagen: Anders als Griechen oder Italiener begannen die Türken erst vor 35, 40 Jahren zu emigrieren. Österreich war übrigens das letzte Land, in das türkische Bürger kamen. Die Löhne in Deutschland waren höher.

Hat das zur Folge, dass es für Türken nicht einfach ist, sich an Regeln im Ausland anzupassen?

Das nicht. Ich wollte damit nur sagen, dass auch Einwanderer in den USA ihre Probleme hatten. Aber diese Probleme sind nun vergessen. Integration ist ein Prozess. Ich war vor fast zwanzig Jahren Generalkonsul in Hamburg. Jedes Jahr lud ich die Mädchen und Buben, die aufs Gymnasium aufgenommen wurden, in meine Residenz ein und gratulierte ihnen mit Geschenken. Es gab damals so wenige türkische Gymnasiasten. Heute könnte ich das in Österreich nicht tun, denn es gibt hierzulande ungefähr 2000 türkischstämmige Studenten, die hier geboren wurden, plus 20.000 türkische Gymnasiasten. Das ist wunderbar. >>> Von Christian Ultsch (Die Presse) | Dienstag, 09. November 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Austria treats Turks 'like a virus', ambassador claims: Kadri Ecved Tezcan causes diplomatic storm with interview accusing public and political elite of xenophobia >>> Ian Traynor, Europe editor | Thursday, November 11, 2010

FPÖ: ''Diplomatische Beziehungen zur Türkei aussetzen''
DIE PRESSE: Die FPÖ kritisiert die jüngsten Aussagen des türkischen Botschafters in Wien als "schier ungeheuerlich".

FPÖ-Generalsekretär Harald Vilimsky fordert die sofortige Aussetzung der diplomatischen Beziehungen Österreichs zur Türkei. Grund sind die Aussagen des türkischen Botschafters in Wien, Kadri Ecved Tezcan, im Interview mit der "Presse".

Es sei schier ungeheuerlich, was der oberste türkische Diplomat den Österreichern ausrichte und in keiner wie immer gearteten Weise akzeptabel, erklärte Vilimsky am Mittwoch in einer Aussendung. Der türkische Botschafter habe sich nicht nur massiv im Ton vergriffen, sondern einen Beweis mehr geliefert, dass die Türkei bzw. die türkische Mentalität niemals Teil der Europäischen Union werden könne, so Vilimsky. >>> | Mittwoch, 10. November 2010

Amnesty International fordert Anklage von George W. Bush: Einsatz von Waterboarding gegen einen Terrorverdächtigen erlaubt
NZZ ONLINE: Amnesty International hat die Anklage des früheren US-Präsidenten George W. Bush wegen seiner Anordnung zum Einsatz von Waterboarding gegen einen Terrorverdächtigen verlangt.

Die Regierung von Präsident Obama sei verpflichtet, strafrechtliche Schritte gegen Bush zu unternehmen, nachdem dieser sich in seinem am Dienstag veröffentlichten Memoiren zu dem Einsatz der umstrittenen Verhörmethode bekannte, sagte der Vertreter von Amnesty International, Rob Freer, am Dienstag. >>> sda/afp | Mittwoch, 10. November 2010

Matthew Norman: How did this wastrel ever find his way to the White House? : It takes a certain minimal intelligence for the truly dim to have a notion of their own dimness, but this is denied George Bush. He has the self-awareness of a bison >>> | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Barack Obama Reaches Out to Muslim World in Indonesia
THE GUARDIAN: US president urges all sides to look beyond 'suspicion and mistrust' to forge common ground against terrorism

President Barack Obama arrives on stage to deliver a speech at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. Photograph: The Guardian
In the Muslim nation that was his boyhood home, President Barack Obama acknowledged today that US relations are still frayed with the Islamic world despite his best efforts at repair. He urged all sides to look beyond "suspicion and mistrust" to forge common ground against terrorism.

Forcefully returning to a theme he sounded last year in visits to Turkey and Egypt, Obama said: "I have made it clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam ... Those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy."

Beaming with pride, Obama delivered perhaps the most intensely personal speech of his presidency, speaking phrases in Indonesian to a cheering crowd of more than 6,000 mostly young people who claimed him as their own. "Let me begin with a simple statement: Indonesia is part of me," he said in Indonesian at the University of Indonesia.

He praised the world's most populous Muslim nation for standing its ground against "violent extremism" and said: "All of us must defeat al-Qaida and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion. This is not a task for America alone." >>> Associated Press in Jakarta | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Guardian Photo Gallery: Barack Obama visits Indonesia: US president returns to Jakarta, where he lived for four years as a child, to meet the president and visit the country's largest mosque >>> | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

[Obama] said both sides have a choice: either "be defined by our differences and give in to a future of suspicion and mistrust" or "do the hard work of forging common ground and commit ourselves to the steady pursuit of progress." [Source: The Guardian]

Barack Obama Asia Trip: US President Reaches Out to Muslims in Indonesia
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has acknowledged that US relations are still frayed with the Islamic world despite his best efforts and urged all sides to look beyond "suspicion and mistrust" to forge common ground against terrorism.

Speaking in Indonesia, where he lived from the ages of six to ten, he declared that "Indonesia is a part of me".

And he forcefully returned to a theme that he sounded last year in visits to Turkey and Egypt.

He said: "I have made it clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam. ... Those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy."

Beaming with pride, Mr Obama delivered perhaps the most intensely personal speech of his presidency, speaking phrases in Indonesian to a cheering crowd of more than 6,000 mostly young people who claimed him as their own. It felt oddly like one of the campaign speeches Mr Obama had been giving in the US, with music blaring over speakers inside the auditorium.

For Mr Obama's standing abroad, the speech was closely watched and consequential, an update on America's "new beginning" with Muslims that he promised last year in Cairo.

"Let me begin with a simple statement: Indonesia is part of me," he said in Indonesian at the University of Indonesia. Read on and comment >>> | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Muslim minister defends shaking Michelle Obama's hand: A conservative Muslim government minister admits he shook hands with Michelle Obama, the US First Lady, in welcoming her to Indonesia but says it was not his choice. >>> | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Barack Obama returns to Jakarta and confesses 'I barely recognise it': Vist to capital of Indonesia – home to US president in 1960s – stripped to diplomatic essentials >>> Toni O'Loughlin in Jakarta | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Obama im Land seiner Kindheit: Wirtschaftliche Beziehungen im Vordergrund des Staatsbesuchs >>> afp | Dienstag, 09. November 2010

LE TEMPS: Barack Obama, grand admirateur de l’Indonésie: Le président américain a érigé ce mercredi en modèle de tolérance et de démocratisation ce grand pays méconnu sur la scène internationale qu’il voit «jouer un rôle important au XXIe siècle» >>> AFP | Mercredi 10 Novembre 2010

German Feminist Calls Family Minister 'Hopeless' and 'Incompetent'
THE GUARDIAN: Alice S[c]hwarzer responds after her claim that heterosexual sex involves 'inevitable' subjugation of women was called 'absurd'

Germany's leading feminist campaigner and its minister for families, pensioners and women have locked horns over the role of feminism in relationships and the workplace, unsparingly attacking each other's views in a row that has escalated into a nationwide debate.

Alice Schwarzer, considered the country's foremost women's rights campaigner, labelled Kristina Schröder "hopeless" and "incompetent" after Schröder said she thought some of her views were wrong.

Schröder, 33, of the Christian Democratic union, was recruited by Angela Merkel and became the youngest woman ever in a German cabinet. She told Der Spiegel that she could not agree with certain views expressed by Schwarzer, including that "heterosexual sex was hardly possible without the subjugation of women".

Schröder said: "It's absurd to define something that is vital to the survival of humanity as subjugation." She said she was unconvinced by the feminist argument that rejecting heterosexual relationships in favour of homosexuality was a "solution to the disadvantage to women", and blamed boys' underperformance in school on the disproportionate number of female carers and teachers. She also rejected the idea of quotas to improve the standing of women in the workplace. >>> Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Dhimmitude*! Judge Blocks Oklahoma Ban on Sharia Law
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A ban on sharia law that was voted into Oklahoma's state constitution last week has been blocked by a federal judge.

Sharia law is based on the teachings of the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Voters in the state backed a measure to bar the use of Islamic and international law by 70 per cent to 30 per cent, in a referendum held on the same day as the US midterm elections.

However Muneer Awad, the head of the regional branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, promptly filed a lawsuit against it.

Mr Awad argued that the measure violated the right to religious freedom as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

"Islam was the target of this amendment," Mr Awad said. "This amendment does not have a secular purpose."

Judge Vicki Miles LaGrange granted a temporary restraining order against the measure, in advance of a hearing on November 22. >>> Jon Swaine in New York | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

* My God are these lawyers STUPID! How can Shariah law possibly be compatible with the US Constitution? Or the Bill of Rights? Only a moron such as this judge could possibly give this credence. Fie on her! – © Mark

Christian Woman Sentenced to Death in Pakistan 'for Blasphemy'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Christian woman has been sentenced to hang in Pakistan after being convicted of defaming the Prophet Mohammed.

Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother-of-five, denies blasphemy and told investigators that she was being persecuted for her faith in a country where Christians face routine harassment and discrimination.

Christian groups and human rights campaigners condemned the verdict and called for the blasphemy laws to be repealed.

Her supporters say she will now appeal against the sentence handed down in a local court in the town of Sheikhupura, near Lahore, Pakistan.

Ashiq Masih, her husband, said he had not had the heart to break the news to two of their children.

"I haven't told two of my younger daughters about the court's decision," he said. "They asked me many times about their mother but I can't get the courage to tell them that the judge has sentenced their mother to capital punishment for a crime she never committed." Mrs Bibi has been held in prison since June last year. >>> Rob Crilly in Islamabad and Aoun Sahi in Lahore | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

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Confiscated Jewish Wealth 'Helped Fund the German War Effort'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jewish wealth confiscated by the Nazis paid for almost a third of the German war effort, a new study has found.

The Nazis made vast profits out of selling off the possessions of Jews who were later deported to die in the extermination camps in occupied Poland. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Nearly 120 billion Reich marks – over £12 billion at the time – was plundered from German Jews by laws and looting.

The official study commissioned by the ministry examined the years from 1933 to 1945. Hans-Peter Ullmann, a Cologne history professor, said the tax authorities under the Nazis actively worked to "destroy Jews financially" and to loot wealth in the nations the Germans occupied.

Even Jews who managed to escape from Germany before the Holocaust had to leave part of their wealth behind in the form of an "exit tax". Tax laws discriminated against Jews from 1934 onwards.

The ministry raised money for the war effort through taxes, borrowing and "outright theft," Prof Ullmann said. "Conservatively, their money financed at least 30 per cent of the German war effort," he added.

Christine Kuller of the University of Munich, who also worked on the study, said tax offices built whole hierarchies of bureaucrats "who discovered dwellings and bank accounts and emptied them". The bureaucrats then disposed of all traces of those who disappeared in the extermination camps.

She added; "Post war there was a myth that the civil servants of the finance ministry were neutral; the reality was that anti-Semitism among them was an everyday occurrence." >>> Allan Hall in Berlin | Tuesday, November 09. 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: German Foreign Ministry 'actively encouraged Holocaust': A German government report has concluded that German diplomats were complicit in the murder of millions of jews during the Second World War. >>> | Thursday, October 28, 2010

Obama Visits Indonesia Seeking to Build Bridges with Muslim World
THE GUARDIAN: US president returns to Jakarta, where he lived for four years as a child

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at an arrival ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photograph: The Guardian
Barack Obama arrrived in Jakarta today for a brief trip to Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a child.

On the second stop of his 10-day Asian tour, Obama will meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, visit the country's largest mosque and deliver a speech supporting the country's democratic progress.

But the US president's visit to the world's most populous Muslim nation will last for less than 24 hours, and may have to be cut even shorter because of concerns that volcanic ash from Mount Merapi could disrupt his flights.

Speaking at a joint press conference with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Obama said he thought the US was on "the right path" to a better relationship with the Muslim world, but acknowledged that some "misunderstandings and mistrust" were likely to remain.

"What we're trying to do is make sure that we are building bridges and expanding our interactions with Muslim countries," he said.

Obama's visit to the Istiqlal mosque – the biggest in south-east Asia – is seen as his best chance to improve relations with the Muslim world since an address in Cairo last year. >>> Toni O’Loughlin in Jakarta | Tuesday, November 09, 2010

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Islamic TV Channel Rapped for Advocating Marital Rape
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A TV channel aimed at Muslims has been censured by the media watchdog Ofcom for allowing its presenters to encourage violence against women and advocate marital rape.

In one programme on the Islam Channel, which broadcasts on Sky and Freesat, the presenter of a discussion of sex within marriage said that "it shouldn't be such a big problem where the man feels he has to force himself upon the woman".

During another programme, a woman phoned in to ask if she had the right to hit a violent husband back. The presenter responded: "In Islam we have no right to hit the woman in a way that damages her eye or damages her tooth or damages her face or makes her ugly. Maximum what you can do, you can see the pen over here, in my hand, this kind of a stick can be used just to make her feel that you are not happy with her."

In March this year, the channel was the subject of a report by the Quilliam Foundation, a London-based organisation that describes itself as "the world’s first counter-extremism think tank". >>> Neil Midgley, Assistant Editor (Media) | Montag, November 08, 2010

Church of England Is 'Like a Coffee Chain Going Out of Business', Defecting Bishops Warn
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A bishop who is defecting to Rome has likened the Church of England to a coffee chain that is going out of business.

Five bishops have announced that they are converting to Roman Catholicism in protest at liberal Anglican reforms and urged others to follow their path.

One likened the Church to a chain of coffee shops that is losing customers while a second accused it of adopting an increasingly “lax” attitude towards issues of morality, such as homosexuality and abortion.

As first reported in The Daily Telegraph, three serving and two retired traditionalist bishops announced that they are resigning in order to convert to Roman Catholicism.

The defections come as hundreds of worshippers prepare to take up the Pope’s offer to join a new section of the Roman Catholic Church which is being established for Anglicans who cannot accept liberal reforms such as the ordination of women bishops.

The new body, known as the English Ordinariate, is expected to be finalised next week and to begin operation as a full part of the Roman Catholic Church next year.

The Catholic Church in England and Wales welcomed the decision made by the Bishops of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham; Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst; Richborough, the Rt Rev Keith Newton; and two retired bishops, the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, honorary assistant bishop of Winchester, and the Rt Rev David Silk, honorary assistant bishop of Exeter.

In a joint statement the bishops expressed their “dismay” and “distress” at recent liberal reforms to the Church, in particular the ordination of women priests and plans for the consecration of women as bishops. >>> Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, November 08, 2010

Egypt Gripped by Rising Muslim-Christian Tensions
Hundreds of Egyptian Muslims protesting against what they allege are abuses by Egypt's Coptic Church. Photograph: TIME
TIME: Around 200 men flooded out of the al-Qa'id Ibrahim mosque into the midday sunlight following the Friday afternoon prayers in Alexandria. They held up banners before the hundreds of black-clad riot police who were there to greet them, and immediately began to chant. "Shenouda is the enemy of God," they yelled, referring to Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church, Egypt's largest religious minority. "Shenouda is an infidel ... State security, where is your Islam? Why did you leave the criminals alone?"

Much of the rage expressed by the members of the hard-line Salafi sect of Islam stems from one woman. Not much is known about Camilia Shehata, a priest's wife from Upper Egypt, whose story (or lack thereof) has gripped the Middle East's most populous nation since the summer, sparking waves of angry protests and emotional editorials. Shehata disappeared from her home for several days in July after having reportedly converted to Islam — some say in an effort to get a divorce, which is not permitted by the Coptic Church. At first, the Christians protested — accusing Muslims of kidnapping a Christian and forcing her to convert. When she re-emerged, it was the Muslims' turn. Many now believe Shehata was forcibly returned to her home and the Coptic Church by state authorities, only to become sequestered against her will within the confines of a monastery.

"We do not know anything except that she was married to a priest and she ran away from that marriage. Everything else is just rumors, and that is the problem," says Amr Khafagy, the editor in chief of the independent al-Shorouq newspaper, which has run four stories and an editorial about Shehata. "The government never said the absolute truth and the church never said the absolute truth. And the media blew these rumors out of proportion."

It's not the first time a Christian has converted to Islam, but conversion has long been a sensitive issue in a state where Copts worry about rising Muslim religiosity and Muslims increasingly see Copts as existing outside the law. It is also one of the first times the state has interfered in an individual's conversion, claims Rafiq Habib, a Coptic intellectual. If they hadn't, he says, this never would have gotten so out of hand. "From the public perspective, it was a sign that the role of the church and the position of the Copts has changed in the last years — that they have become allies of the state and allies of the President."

Wafaa Constantine, who was also the wife of a priest, reportedly converted to Islam in 2004 and wound up in a monastery as well. Neither woman has appeared in public since their returns to the church, and the Salafi protests of late have invoked both names. "Today we hold a standoff to free our sister hostages from the church," explained one of the protesters, Atef Wael. "Whenever a sister converts to Islam, they keep her in the church and they torture her to make her appear before the media saying that she is a Christian, not a Muslim." Other protesters outside the mosque on Friday and in recent weeks have displayed pictures of women they allege are Shehata, Constantine and others held captive by the church. Some sobbed as they chanted slogans comparing their struggle to the Crusades. >>> Abigail Hauslohner, Alexandria | Monday, November 08, 2010

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Security Increased Around Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Security around Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the French first lady, has been "drastically" beefed up following al-Qaeda warnings that France is a priority terrorist target.

Last week, Osama bin Laden issued a threat to kill French nationals for their government's support of the war in Afghanistan and a ban on the full Islamic veil.

Shortly afterwards, Greek police intercepted a booby-trapped parcel bomb addressed to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to the Pure People website, security services have received "credible intelligence" that the threat to the President but also his wife has increased.

The website said: "There is no question of the couple ever going out without an armed escort. Details of all their movements are being kept secret until the very last moment. Their schedule is randomly changed and family and friends informed at the at the latest possible moment." >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, November 08, 2010

Radical Yemeni Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki Calls for Killing of Americans
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A US-born radical Yemeni cleric has called for the killing of Americans in a new video message posted on radical web sites on Monday.

Anwar al-Awlaki said Americans are from the "party of devils" and so don't require any special religious permission to kill.

In the 23-minute Arabic language message entitled "Make it known and clear to mankind," al-Awlaki said it was "either them or us". He also called all Arab and Yemeni leaders "corrupt" and said it was time for religious scholars to take charge.

"Kings, emirs, and presidents are not now qualified to lead the nation, or even a flock of sheep," he said. "If the leaders are corrupt, the scholars have the responsibility to lead the nation." >>> | Monday, November 08, 2010

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Visite du Pape en Espagne – Benoît XVI appelle à protéger la famille, union "d'un homme et d'une femme"
"L'amour généreux et indissoluble d'un homme et d'une femme est le cadre efficace et le fondement de la vie humaine", a souligné le pape dans son homélie, lors de la messe solennelle de consécration de la Sagrada Familia. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Le pape Benoît XVI a consacré dimanche la basilique de la Sagrada Familia à Barcelone, chef-d'oeuvre de Gaudi, symbole des valeurs traditionnelles de la famille qu'il a défendues en dénonçant le mariage homosexuel et l'avortement. Peu avant, Benoît XVI avait été accueilli sur le chemin de la Sagrada Familia aux cris de "pédophile", "va-t-en" par 200 homosexuels s'embrassant à pleine bouche pour dénoncer les "discriminations" dont ils se disent victimes.



Au deuxième jour de sa visite en Espagne, un pays qui a légalisé le mariage homosexuel et libéralisé l'avortement, où la laïcité gagne du terrain, le pape, dans son homélie, a défendu la famille comme union "indissoluble d'un homme et d'une femme". Il a dénoncé l'avortement, dont la libéralisation cette année est l'une des réformes phares du gouvernement socialiste de José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, en rappelant que l'Église "s'oppose à toute forme de négation de la vie". >>> Source AFP | Dimanche 07 Novembre 2010

Archbishop of Canterbury Warns of Forced Jobs 'Despair'
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Government plans to force the long-term unemployed to do unpaid manual labour could drive vulnerable people into a ''downward spiral of uncertainty, even despair'', the Archbishop of Canterbury warned.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will lead the closing session at Davos. Photo: The Sunday Telegraph
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will this week unveil plans for four-week programmes of compulsory community work doing jobs like litter-picking or gardening for jobless people deemed to have lost the work ethic.

His Cabinet colleague Danny Alexander today said the Work Activity placements would be used as a ''sanction'' against benefit claimants who fail to take advantage of available support to find employment.

But the proposal came under fire from Labour and the unions, with the TUC warning that it would harm jobless people's prospects of finding paid work and would undercut the employment of existing manual labourers.

Asked about the proposed scheme, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, told BBC WM Radio: ''People who are struggling to find work and struggling to find a secure future are, I think, driven further into a sort of downward spiral of uncertainty, even despair, when the pressure is on in this way.''

Under Mr Duncan Smith's plans, job advisers will be able to direct jobseekers who they believe would ''benefit from experiencing the habits and routines of working life'' to undertake a 30-hour-a-week work placement.

Postings are likely to be provided by charities or councils and will be designed to offer the jobseeker the opportunity to gain work discipline and skills while benefiting their local community. They will be required to continue seeking permanent work while on a placement.

Anyone refusing to take part or failing to turn up on time could have their £65-a-week Jobseekers Allowance stopped for at least three months. >>> | Sunday, November 07, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Work-shy will be 'pushed' into working for free by welfare revolution: People who do not try hard enough to find a job will be forced to work for free or lose their benefits, the Government will announce this week. >>> Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, November 06, 2010

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Ofsted Praises Islamic Schools Which Oppose Western Lifestyle
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ofsted and the Charity Commission are today accused of "whitewashing" hardline Islamic schools which are helping to radicalise a new generation of young British Muslims.

Among the schools directly inspected by Ofsted was the Madani Girls' School, a private Islamic school in London's East End. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has established that the education watchdog has published positive reports praising Muslim schools for their contribution to community cohesion — even in the case of a school which openly states that Muslims “oppose the lifestyle of the West”.

The Ofsted inspector responsible for many of the reports, Michele Messaoudi, has been accused of having links to radical Islamist organisations.

This newspaper can reveal that another recent Ofsted inspector, Akram Khan-Cheema, is the chief executive of a radical Muslim educational foundation, IBERR.

Its website describes Islamic schools as “one of the most important factors which protect Muslim children from the onslaught of Euro-centrism, homosexuality, racism, and secular traditions”.

Ofsted has also passed the inspection of dozens of Muslim schools to a new private “faith schools watchdog”, the Bridge Schools Inspectorate, which is co-controlled by Islamic schools’ own lobbying and trade body, the Association of Muslim Schools.

The Bridge Schools Inspectorate allows Muslim head teachers to inspect each other’s schools.

Among the schools directly inspected by Ofsted was the Madani Girls’ School, a private Islamic school in London’s East End.

Its Ofsted report, written by Mrs Messaoudi, said it made pupils “aware of their future role as proactive young British Muslim women” and left them “well-prepared for life in a multicultural society”.

However, the Madani Girls’ School’s own website openly states: “If we oppose the lifestyle of the West, then it does not seem sensible that the teachers and the system which represents that lifestyle should educate our children.”

It says that under western education “our children will distance themselves from Islam until there is nothing left but their beautiful names”. >>> Andrew Gilligan | Saturday, November 06, 2010

Gay Bishop Gene Robinson Announces Plan to Retire Early
THE GUARDIAN: Long-running controversy, including death threats, "takes its toll" on Right Rev Gene Robinson who plans to call it day seven years ahead of schedule

US Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the church's first openly gay bishop, is to retire early. Photograph: The Guardian
An openly gay bishop whose appointment split the Anglican church is to resign, saying the last seven years had "taken their toll" on him, his family and his flock.

The Right Rev Gene Robinson, of New Hampshire, revealed his plans yesterday, at at annual diocesan meeting. He will be 65 when he steps down, seven years below the retirement age.

He told the convention that being in the eye of the storm had proved too much.

He said: "Death threats, and the now-worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as bishop, have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark, who has faithfully stood with me every minute of the last seven years, and in some ways, you.

"While I believe that these attitudes, mostly outside the diocese, have not distracted me from my service to you, I would be less than honest if I didn't say that they have certainly added a burden and certain anxiety to my episcopate."

He said he would continue his work with the "unchurched" and "dechurched" on college campuses and public forums, showing no intention of retiring from public life. >>> Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | Sunday, November 07, 2010