In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful! Image: Google Images
Suspected Suicide Bomb in Central Stockholm Injures Two and Panics Shoppers
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A suspected terrorist blew himself up in an apparent suicide bomb attack in central Stockholm which left two injured and caused panic among Christmas shoppers.

Two explosions rocked the busy shopping street of Drottninggatan among the afternoon crowds.

A Swedish news agency said it had received messages about 10 minutes before the blasts in Arabic and Swedish, warning of unspecified “action”.

The email warning, 10 minutes before the bombs, protested about the country’s presence in Afghanistan, where it has a force of 500 soldiers, mainly in the north of the country.

“Our acts will speak for themselves,” the agency quoted the message as saying. “Now your children, your daughters and your sisters will die as our brothers, our sisters and our children are dying.”

The email had sound files in Swedish and Arabic. >>> Alastair Jamieson | Saturday, December 11, 2010

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Sweden hit by twin blasts in terrorist attack >>> Lucinda Beaman | Sunday, December 12, 2010 (£)

Iran Airs New Confession by Woman in Stoning Case
FOX NEWS: TEHRAN, IRAN – An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery confessed to helping a man kill her husband and re-enacted the alleged crime in an interview broadcast Friday by Iranian state television — an apparent effort by the government to deflect international criticism over the case.

It was the fourth time Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani has been shown on TV as Tehran has faced an international outcry over the announcement that she would be stoned to death, the latest source of friction between Iran and the West.

Authorities announced her conviction in the murder case only after the uproar over the stoning sentence erupted last summer, and her lawyer — who has since been arrested — said she was never formally put on trial for the killing and was tortured into confessing. Iranian authorities could use the murder charge to justify executing Ashtiani by hanging instead of stoning.

In the new footage broadcast on English-language Press TV, the 43-year-old mother of two was brought from the prison to her home outside the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran where she was shown acting out the alleged December 2005 killing, complete with an actor portraying her husband.

Ashtiani, dressed in black with a beige scarf covering her hair, described how she began an affair with another man identified as Isa Taheri. She said she gave her husband an injection that rendered him unconscious, then Taheri came to her house and electrocuted him.

Amnesty International criticized the broadcast, which was announced by Press TV earlier Friday, saying it violated international standards for a fair trial by having Ashtiani implicate herself in a crime. >>> Associated Press | Friday, December 10, 2010

THE TIMES: Iran ‘freed Ashtiani to frame case against her’ >>> Martin Fletcher, Hugh Tomlinson | Saturday, December 11, 2010 (£)

Clinton's Shout-Out to Krauthammer
Syndicated columnist responds to former president's comments

Indian Billionaires to Buy 'World's Most Expensive Suit'
India's fast-growing ranks of billionaire and multi-millionaire tycoons will soon be able to wear the world's most expensive clothes after an Anglo-French clothier announced the launch of an £80,000 suit.
Dormeuil, which makes 80 per cent of its fabrics in Britain, said it will launch six suit fabrics, including the 'Vanquish II', hailed as the world's most expensive suit. It is made of Vicuna, Qiviuk and Pashmina threads and woven into a super-light wool.

The launch is another milestone in India's extraordinary economic growth and reflects the rise of a new class of super rich.

In the last year alone, India has welcomed 69 new billionaires and witnessed a steep rise in the number of millionaires with its economy growing 8.9 per cent in the quarter ending September 30 alone. The rise has seen a surge in demand for luxury goods. >>> Dean Nelson | Friday, December 10, 2010

David Miliband Paid £25,000 for Speech at Luxury Middle East Resort
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Miliband was paid £25,000 to give a speech on relations between the West and the Muslim world, at a conference held in a “luxurious oasis” resort in the Middle East.

The Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort. Image: The Daily Telegraph
The defeated Labour leadership candidate also had his travel and five-star accommodation covered during the three-day trip, partly by the government of the United Arab Emirates, Parliamentary records show.

It suggests that he is following in the footsteps of his mentor, Tony Blair, by turning to the lucrative foreign lecture circuit after leaving frontline politics.

According to the latest Register of Members’ Financial Interests, Mr Miliband was also paid £2,500 to write a newspaper article defending his “dancing naked women” painting, which his wife had bought him for £800 as a birthday present.

…

The conference - where “opinion-makers and business leaders” discussed “critical challenges for peace and security in the Middle East” - was held at the five-star Qasr Al Sarab resort in Abu Dhabi.

Its website describes it as a “luxurious oasis” in the “legendary Liwa Desert” where guests can “unwind in the unsurpassed comfort of private, palatial-style villas”.

In his speech, Mr Miliband spoke of the responsibility of Muslim countries to “honour international commitments to human rights, independent courts and press freedoms”, and the need for the European Union to admit Turkey as a member.

Read it all and comment >>> Martin Beckford | Friday, December 10, 2010

Julian Assange's Lawyers 'Preparing for Possible US Charges'
THE GUARDIAN: Legal team for WikiLeaks founder says Washington may be planning to invoke Espionage Act to indict their client

Lawyers acting for Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, said today they are preparing for a possible indictment by the US authorities.

Jennifer Robinson said her team had heard from "several different US lawyers rumours that an indictment was on its way or had happened already, but we don't know".

According to some reports, Washington is seeking to prosecute Assange under the 1917 act, which was used unsuccessfully to try to gag the New York Times when it published the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s. However, despite escalating rhetoric over the last fortnight, no charges have yet been lodged, and government sources say they are unaware any such move is being prepared.

Robinson said Assange's team did not believe the US had grounds to prosecute him but understood that Washington was "looking closely at other charges, such as computer charges, so we have one eye on it". >>> Steven Morris | Friday, December 10, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: WikiLeaks: Julian Assange ‘could face spying charges’ >>> Nick Squires | Friday, December 10, 2010

WikiLeaks Cables: Pope Wanted Muslim Turkey Kept Out of EU
THE GUARDIAN: Vatican diplomats also lobbied against Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and wanted 'Christian roots' enshrined in EU constitution

A WikiLeaks cable reports that Pope Benedict XVI, seen here being received by Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara in 2006, 'might prefer to see Turkey develop a special relationship short of EU membership'. Photograph: The Guardian
The pope is responsible for the Vatican's growing hostility towards Turkey joining the EU, previously secret cables sent from the US embassy to the Holy See in Rome claim.

In 2004 Cardinal Ratzinger, the future pope, spoke out against letting a Muslim state join, although at the time the Vatican was formally neutral on the question.

The Vatican's acting foreign minister, Monsignor Pietro Parolin, responded by telling US diplomats that Ratzinger's comments were his own rather than the official Vatican position.

The cable released by WikiLeaks shows that Ratzinger was the leading voice behind the Holy See's unsuccessful drive to secure a reference to Europe's "Christian roots" in the EU constitution. The US diplomat noted that Ratzinger "clearly understands that allowing a Muslim country into the EU would further weaken his case for Europe's Christian foundations". >>> Heather Brooke and Andrew Brown | Friday, December 2010

Europe Set to Link Banking Bonuses to Basic Salaries
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: European regulators are set to tether banker bonuses to the level of basic salaries in a move that could deal the most severe blow yet to the culture of multi-million pound pay-outs.

Under the terms of proposals, expected to be published on Friday, investment banks may be forced to limit bonuses to a set multiple of bankers' salaries that would be agreed with financial watchdogs.

The Committee of European Bank Supervisors (CEBS) wants to see an end to bonuses that can be up to 50 times bigger than a banker's salary. Instead, the group, which is based in London and comprises members of the 27 European Union member states, wants banks to have to agree a maximum ratio of fixed-income to deferred pay with their national regulators.

Jon Terry, head of reward at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said: "While CEBS is unlikely to set a specific ratio, we expect them to propose a framework from which banks will work with national regulators on agreed bonus multiples, and then to have to justify them in the context of their risk profiles. This is going to be a radical change for many institutions." >>> Louise Armitstead | Friday, December 10, 2010

This is good news. But does it go far enough to curtail the greed of these money-grubbers? If something isn't done about this selfish culture that we now live in, I fear that the riots on the streets of London last night will look like a picnic in the park by comparison with what awaits us. The system we have now works for the good of one group of people only: the rich. The middle classes have been trampled on for far too long. – © Mark

This comment also appears here

London: Protesters On Rampage

Amazon Site Unaffected by Pro-Wikileaks Attack

BBC: Attempts by online activists to bring down online retailer Amazon's website appear to have failed.

The group Anonymous had pledged to to attack the site at 1600 GMT but the site seems to be functioning normally.

The site was targeted because it withdrew services from whistle-blowing website Wikileaks[.]

The tool through which attacks are carried out against websites perceived to be anti-Wikileaks has now been downloaded more than 31,000 times.

Security experts warned people to avoid joining the voluntary botnet.

Other targets of the loose-knit group Anonymous include Visa, Mastercard and Paypal.

The websites are targetting using the Anonymous attack tool known as LOIC. When a person installs the tool on their PC it enrols the machine into a voluntary botnet which then bombards target sites with data.

These distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are illegal in many countries, including the UK.

Social network Facebook confirmed that it had removed Operation Payback - as the campaign is known - from the site because it was promoting its attack tool. (+ video) >>> | Thursday, December 09, 2010

Smoking: Bull**** from the US Surgeon General!
MAIL ONLINE: Think the odd cigarette won't hurt? Just smoking one is enough to block your arteries and trigger a heart attack, America's chief medical adviser has warned.

Tobacco smoke causes 'immediate damage', with each puff circulating hundreds of toxic chemicals to most of your organs.

The 700-page Surgeon General's report found there was no safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke - whether you deliberately inhale or breathe it in second hand.

'That one puff on that cigarette could be the one that causes your heart attack,' said Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. Just one cigarette is enough to trigger a heart attack, says U.S. Chief Surgeon >>> Claire Bates | Thursday, December 09. 2010

Yes, and just crossing the road ONCE is enough to have a FATAL accident! Get a grip, woman! And I write as a non-smoker! That means to say a tolerant ex-smoker. – © Mark

UK to Enjoy Brief Thaw Before Freeze Returns
THE GUARDIAN: Forecasters say weekend will warm up before temperatures plummet again at start of next week

Britain will enjoy a brief respite from the worst December weather in almost 30 years, forecasters said today – but temperatures will fall again from the start of next week and stay low for the rest of the year.

The news came as the army was called in to help clear up in Edinburgh city centre after major snowfalls.

Soldiers from First Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland were on the streets of the Scottish capital after being given formal clearance by the Ministry of Defence following a request from the local authority.

The soldiers have been joined by personnel from the Royal Navy and the RAF.

After more than a week of snow, ice and transport chaos, forecasters said the UK would start to thaw, with the mercury almost reaching double figures in some areas.

But bitterly cold winds are expected to return by the start of next week, and bookmakers have slashed the odds on a white Christmas. >>> Helen Carter | Thursday, December 09, 2010

Julian Assange Should Be Awarded Nobel Peace Prize, Suggests Russia
THE GUARDIAN: Russia urges Assange nomination in calculated dig at the US over WikiLeaks founder's detention

Russia has suggested that Julian Assange should be awarded the Nobel peace prize, in an unexpected show of support from Moscow for the jailed WikiLeaks founder.

In what appears to be a calculated dig at the US, the Kremlin urged non-governmental organisations to think seriously about "nominating Assange as a Nobel Prize laureate".

"Public and non-governmental organisations should think of how to help him," the source from inside president Dmitry Medvedev's office told Russian news agencies. Speaking in Brussels, where Medvedev was attending a Russia-EU summit yesterday , the source went on: "Maybe, nominate him as a Nobel Prize laureate."

Russia's reflexively suspicious leadership appears to have come round to WikiLeaks, having decided that the ongoing torrent of disclosures are ultimately far more damaging and disastrous to America's long-term geopolitical interests than they are to Russia's. >>> Luke Harding | Thursday, December 09. 2010

Photograph: Google Images
Lockerbie Bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi 'In a Coma'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is in a coma and may have only days to live, according to reports from those close to him.

The health of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has "deteriorated badly" according to the Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi.

Megrahi was given three months to live when he was released from Greenock Prison in Scotland in August last year on compassionate grounds, and flown home to Libya.

The fact that he is still alive 15 months later has added weight to American anger that he was released. Files revealed this week by Wikileaks have also described the pressure Libya brought to bear on the United Kingdom not to allow him to die in prison.

Col. Gaddafi was speaking in the Libyan capital Tripoli, to back Megrahi's family who have said they will sue the Scottish authorities for neglecting Megrahi's health in prison. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, December 09, 2010

WikiLeaks Cyberwar: Hackers Bring Down Swedish Government Site
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anonymous hackers who claim they are defending WikiLeaks brought down the Swedish government's website amid warnings they will attack again.

Image: The Daily Telegraph
The official site, regeringen.se, was offline for several hours overnight and only a message saying the site could not be reached was visible.

Commercial websites including Visa, MasterCard and PayPal have already been targeted by co-ordinated action on one of the busiest shopping days of the year after the firms said that they would no longer process donations to WikiLeaks.

A group calling itself Anonymous and operating under the banner "Operation Payback" was behind some of the attacks and there were concerns that Twitter could become a target because it removed Anonymous' listing.

A 22-year-old software engineer who called himself Coldblood said: "The campaign is not over, it's still going strong. More and more people are joining.

"I see this as becoming a war - but not a traditional war: this is a war of data."

He added: "We are trying to keep the internet free for everyone." >>> Andy Bloxham | Thursday, December 09, 2010

Verbunden >>>

Image: Google Images
World Is Getting More Corrupt, Says Transparency Poll
BBC: The world is considered a more corrupt place now than it was three years ago, a poll suggests.

Some 56% of people interviewed by Transparency International said their country had become more corrupt.

The organisation put Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and India in the most corrupt category, followed by China, Russia and much of the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a BBC poll suggests that corruption is the world's most talked about problem.

About one in five of those polled by the BBC said they had discussed issues relating to corruption with others in the last month, making it the most talked about concern ahead of climate change, poverty, unemployment and rising food and energy costs.

In the Transparency International survey, political parties were regarded as the most corrupt institutions, and 50% of people believed their government was ineffective at tackling the problem.

One in four of those polled said they had paid a bribe in the past year - the police being the most common recipient. >>> | Thursday, December 09, 2010

Hacker nehmen Rache für Wikileaks
ZEIT ONLINE: Mastercard, Paypal - Firmen, die Wikileaks gekündigt hatten, werden im Netz angegriffen. Man werde die Seite nicht kampflos aufgeben, lautet die Botschaft der Hacker.

Die Festnahme des Wikileaks-Gründers Julian Assange ruft Gegenattacken von Hackern hervor, die als Anhänger der Enthüllungsplattform gelten. Ihr neuer Coup ist die Blockade der Website des US-Kreditkartenkonzerns Mastercard, der wie die Konkurrenz von Visa die Überweisung von Spenden an Wikileaks gestoppt hatte. Sowohl der internationale Webauftritt mastercard.com als auch die deutsche Website des Unternehmens waren zunächst nicht mehr erreichbar.

Zu dem Angriff bekannte sich die sogenannte Anonymous-Bewegung, die bereits 2008 mit Protestaktionen gegen die Organisation Scientology bekannt geworden war. Sie bezeichnete die Aktion als Operation Payback – Rache – und sprach von einer andauernden Kampagne gegen "freiheitsfeindliche Organisationen". >>> Zeit Online, dpa, AFP, Reuters | Mittwoch, 08. Dezember 2010

Man Arrested in Bomb Plot Sting
THE KANSAS CITY STAR: BALTIMORE | A construction worker who had recently converted to Islam and told an FBI informant that he thought about nothing but jihad was arrested Wednesday when he tried to detonate what he thought was a bomb at a military recruitment center, authorities said.

Antonio Martinez, 21, a naturalized U.S. citizen also known as Muhammad Hussain, faces charges of attempted murder of federal officers and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

The bomb he is accused of trying to detonate was fake and had been provided by an undercover FBI agent. It was loaded into a vehicle that Martinez parked in front of the recruiting center, authorities said, and an FBI informant picked him up and drove him to a nearby vantage point where he tried to set it off. >>> Ben Nuckols, The Associated Press | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Muslim Youth in Canada Targets for Radicalization: Study
TORONTO SUN: Al-Qaida-inspired domestic terrorism by young Muslims poses the largest single threat to Canadian security agencies, a sweeping new study says.

“Canada has been identified repeatedly in al-Qaida propaganda as a legitimate target because of its involvement in Afghanistan,” according to a 250-page report, The Edge of Violence by a group of researchers in the United Kingdom. “The idea of being part of an international jihadi movement can be exhilarating.”

The report, released Wednesday, took researchers Jamie Bartlett, Jonathan Birdwell and Michael King two years to complete and involved interviews with hundreds of Muslims and others in Canada and Europe.

They studied the differences between violent and non-violent Islamic radicals, including the so-called Toronto 18 terror cell, and conducted focus groups in Toronto and Montreal with 70 Muslim youth last year.

One group made up of young men between the ages of 18 and 30 “was unanimous that brainwashing was taking place.”

Young Muslims “had a distrust of government, a hatred for foreign policy and many felt a disconnection from their local community,” the report found.

There “was a high level of distrust towards policing and intelligence agencies.” >>> Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Terrorberichterstattung schürt Angst vor Muslimen
REGIO WEB: Die Fernsehberichterstattung in Deutschland über den Terrorismus hat die Angst in der Bevölkerung vor dem Islam anwachsen lassen. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine Untersuchung Jenaer Medienwissenschaftler. Das Team um Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Frindte und Nicole Haußecker vom Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft der Universität Jena hatte von August 2007 bis Februar 2009 die Hauptnachrichten-sendungen der Fernsehsender ARD, ZDF, RTL und SAT1 zum Thema Terrorismus aufgezeichnet und analysiert. Ergänzend sind mit 100 Personen dreimal Interviews geführt worden.

Gefühlte permanente Bedrohung

„Diese Studie beschäftigt sich nicht mit Motiven, Opfern und politischen Zielen, sondern mit dem Zusammenhang zwischen Medien und Bevölkerung“, sagte Frindte. „Terrorismusgefahr in Deutschland ist ein Risiko“, fügte der Kommunikations-psychologe hinzu. Nach der Fernsehberichterstattung stehe Deutschland im Fokus der Terrorbedrohung – was auf Grund der Herkunft der Sender normal sei. Dies führe aber dazu, dass die Zuschauer permanent eine unspezifische Bedrohung empfinden. Und je bedrohter sich Menschen fühlten, umso ängstlicher würden sie. >>> | Mittwoch, 08. Dezember 2010

Le Caire. Photo : Google Images
EGYPTE : "L'islam reste bien éloigné des problèmes quotidiens"
LE MONDE DES RELIGIONS.fr: Suite aux élections législatives, le parti au pouvoir, le PND, est assuré de régner sans partage sur l'Assemblée. A un an de la présidentielle, l'opposition, et au premier rang les Frères musulmans, a boycotté le scrutin en dénonçant des fraudes. Jean-Noël Ferrié, politologue et directeur de recherche au CNRS, analyse le positionnement de cette faction politique et religieuse. Quel est le rôle des Frères musulmans dans ces élections? >>> propos recueillis par Camille Dubruelh | Lundi 06 Décembre 2010

Wikileaks Cable: American TV Shows 'Agents of Influence' in Saudi Arabia
ABC NEWS: American television shows broadcast across the Middle East are proving to be effective "agents of influence" in the ongoing battle over hearts and minds of ordinary Muslims pondering jihad against the United States, a confidential government cable published by Wikileaks reveals.


ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "World News with Diane Sawyer," as well as CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" and NBC's sitcom "Friends," all carry more sway with viewers than a U.S. taxpayer-funded Middle East broadcast network, an unnamed Saudi source told U.S. embassy officials last year.

"It's still all about the War of Ideas here, and the American programming on [privately-owned] MBC and Rotana is winning over ordinary Saudis in a way that 'Al Hurra' and other U.S. propaganda never could," the source said.

"Saudis are now very interested in the outside world, and everybody wants to study in the U.S. if they can. They are fascinated by U.S. culture in a way they never were before." >>> Devin Dwyer | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Oprah Addresses Lesbian Rumors
Talk show host gets emotional in interview with Barbara Walters

Follow the Money
THE NEW YORK TIMES – EDITORIAL: Nine years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there is still a seemingly limitless stream of cash flowing to terrorist groups from private charities and contributors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. According to classified State Department cables recently released by WikiLeaks, governments in all three countries — all close American allies — are not doing enough to shut down that flow of money.

In a December 2009 cable to American diplomats in the region, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warns that “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide” and says that persuading Saudi leaders to treat this as a priority is “an ongoing challenge.”

The cable also said that while the Saudi government has taken important steps to criminalize terror financing and restrict the movement of money overseas, it still looks the other way when it comes to certain favored organizations. Fund-raising at pilgrimages to Mecca is believed to produce millions of dollars annually for extremists. The cable suggests an even more serious problem in Kuwait, where Islamic charities are largely unregulated. The three gulf states are also not doing enough to disrupt crimes, including drug trafficking and kidnappings for ransom, that produce revenue for terrorists. After Sept. 11, Saudi Arabia turned a blind eye to the terrorist threat even though Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi-born. >>> | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Harry Nilsson: Without You

Assange's 'Martyr Status' Further Damages US Reputation
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, has been deined bail in London. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested in London and denied bail on charges of rape and sexual molestation. German opinion makers are split on what the arrest really means. One thing they agree on: The reputation of the US continues to suffer.

The London arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made headlines in all of the major German newspapers Wednesday, with several noting how welcomed the arrest was in the United States, and editorialists discussing what freedom of information means in the world's last remaining superpower.

Assange, who turned himself over to Scotland Yard authorities on Tuesday morning, was denied bail by the British judge overseeing the case. He has been accused in Sweden of one count of rape, one count of unlawful coercion and two counts of sexual molestation, involving incidents which allegedly occured [sic] in August 2010. The Swedish public prosecutor's office had issued a European warrant to bring Assange in for questioning.

The arrest came as Assange, the 39-year-old WikiLeaks founder, faced increasing pressure from all corners of the world -- Sweden, the United States, and even his home nation, Australia -- following the stream of secret US diplomatic leaks that have been published by his website and several major news organizations, including SPIEGEL.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters in Afghanistan Tuesday that Assange's arrest: "Sounds like good news to me." Several prominent US politicians had been calling for his arrest, and former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin said he should be tracked down and hunted like Osama bin Laden. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that Assange's publication of the US diplomatic cables on his website was illegal.

In his response published Wednesday in the daily The Australian, Assange calls organization the "underdog" and writes: "Prime Minister Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not had a word of criticism for the other media organizations. That is because The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel are old and large, while WikiLeaks is as yet young and small."

He also writes that the Australian government is "trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings."

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said that Assange would get consular support in Britain, and told The Australian: "What we do with Australians in strife anywhere in the world is that we take the view that our responsibility is to ensure the consular rights and legal rights of all Australians abroad are protected. And that includes Mr. Assange."

WikiLeaks spokesman, Kristinn Hrafnsson, wrote on Twitter: "We will not be gagged, either by judicial action or corporate censorship." >>> Mary Beth Warner and Jill Petzinger | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Bergregionen setzen auf Schneekanonen
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der Schnee in den Bergen ist immer weniger echt und des Öfteren künstlich. Grund dafür ist, dass die Bergregionen immer mehr auf Schneekanonen setzen, um sich die Skigäste zu sichern. Die künstliche Beschneiung bedeutet jedoch einen riesigen Wasser- und Energieverbrauch.


Dieses Stück Nachrichten wurde zum Teil in Schweizerdeutsch (Schwyzertüütsch) ausgestrahlt.

WikiLeaks Cables: Saudi Princes Throw Parties Boasting Drink, Drugs and Sex *
THE GUARDIAN: Royals flout puritanical laws to throw parties for young elite while religious police are forced to turn a blind eye

These Saudi students at a prayer event in Riyadh conform to the puritanical image of the country, but worldly pleasures are available behind closed doors to the very rich, WikiLeaks cables show. Photograph: The Guardian
In what may prove a particularly incendiary cable, US diplomats describe a world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll behind the official pieties of Saudi Arabian royalty.

Jeddah consulate officials described an underground Halloween party, thrown last year by a member of the royal family, which broke all the country's Islamic taboos. Liquor and prostitutes were present in abundance, according to leaked dispatches, behind the heavily-guarded villa gates.

The party was thrown by a wealthy prince from the large Al-Thunayan family. The diplomats said his identity should be kept secret. A US energy drinks company also put up some of the finance.

"Alcohol, though strictly prohibited by Saudi law and custom, was plentiful at the party's well-stocked bar. The hired Filipino bartenders served a cocktail punch using sadiqi, a locally-made moonshine," the cable said. "It was also learned through word-of-mouth that a number of the guests were in fact 'working girls', not uncommon for such parties."

The dispatch from the US partygoers, signed off by the consul in Jeddah, Martin Quinn, added: "Though not witnessed directly at this event, cocaine and hashish use is common in these social circles."

The underground party scene is "thriving and throbbing" in Saudi Arabia thanks to the protection of Saudi royalty, the dispatch said. But it is only available behind closed doors and for the very rich. >>> Heather Brooke | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

*And, of course, we shouldn't forget about their fondness for pretty boys. – © Mark

The More We Learn About the Release of the Lockerbie Bomber, the More It Stinks
TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – CON COUGHLIN: What on earth was Sir Vincent Fean, Britain’s ambassador to Libya, thinking of when he warned that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi could “cut us off at the knees” if we refused to hand over Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person to be convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people?

Has Libya suddenly become one of the world’s leading superpowers? Does a half-baked revolutionary zealot like Gaddafi really have the ability to damage Britain? Admittedly Gaddafi caused us a great deal of discomfort during the 1980s when he thoughtfully provided the IRA with the Semtex they needed to carry out their campaign of terror against the British mainland.

But that hardly brought the country to its knees, and I very much doubt that any other hare-brained schemes the “mad dog” of Libya – as former American president Ronald Reagan once described him – might come up with would cause us serious harm. Read on and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Don't Shoot Messenger for Revealing Uncomfortable Truths
THE AUSTRALIAN: WIKILEAKS deserves protection, not threats and attacks.

IN 1958 a young Rupert Murdoch, then owner and editor of Adelaide's The News, wrote: "In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win."

His observation perhaps reflected his father Keith Murdoch's expose that Australian troops were being needlessly sacrificed by incompetent British commanders on the shores of Gallipoli. The British tried to shut him up but Keith Murdoch would not be silenced and his efforts led to the termination of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.

Nearly a century later, WikiLeaks is also fearlessly publishing facts that need to be made public.

I grew up in a Queensland country town where people spoke their minds bluntly. They distrusted big government as something that could be corrupted if not watched carefully. The dark days of corruption in the Queensland government before the Fitzgerald inquiry are testimony to what happens when the politicians gag the media from reporting the truth.

These things have stayed with me. WikiLeaks was created around these core values. The idea, conceived in Australia, was to use internet technologies in new ways to report the truth.

WikiLeaks coined a new type of journalism: scientific journalism. We work with other media outlets to bring people the news, but also to prove it is true. Scientific journalism allows you to read a news story, then to click online to see the original document it is based on. That way you can judge for yourself: Is the story true? Did the journalist report it accurately?

Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest. WikiLeaks has revealed some hard truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and broken stories about corporate corruption.

People have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. Sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. But there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. If a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it. Read on and comment >>> Julian Assange | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

BBC: Wikileaks: Australia FM says US to blame, not Assange – Australia's foreign minister has said the US is to blame for the release of thousands of diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, not its Australian founder, Julian Assange. >>> | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wikileaks: Kevin Rudd blames US for release of diplomatic cables: Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, has blamed America for the release of thousands of classified diplomatic cables by Wikileaks and called into question US security measures surrounding confidential information. >>> Bonnie Malkin, Sydney | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

WikiLeaks: The Man Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: As the disclosures continue, a number of questions about the way the world has changed are becoming more clearly framed

"Is this the end or beginning?" Betjeman put those words into the mouth of Oscar Wilde as he sat in the Cadogan hotel waiting to be arrested for sexual offences in 1895. Similar thoughts must have flitted through the mind of Julian Assange as he prepared to present himself at a London police station yesterday. He was duly arrested in relation to alleged sex offences in Sweden and remanded in custody for a week. Under technological, legal, financial, corporate and governmental attack from all sides, Assange has managed to keep his subversive website, WikiLeaks, staggering on, spilling classified secrets around the globe. Will WikiLeaks be floored by the arrest of its driving inspiration? Or will its actions, ethos and notoriety prove it to be indestructible and thereby demonstrate that there are new forces in the world which can effectively challenge established patterns of power and control of information? Is it the end or the beginning?

Of the charges themselves it is unwise to say anything. The internet is awash with conspiracies, smears and rebuttal, but for the moment it is best to let the Swedish judicial process take its course. It is, though, difficult to see what purpose is served by locking Assange away this week, given that a number of reputable people were prepared to stand surety for his bail. The best way of demonstrating that the charges have nothing to do with silencing WikiLeaks is to let it carry on leaking while Assange faces his accusers. >>> Editorial, The Guardian | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

WikiLeaks Cables: Barack Obama Is a Bigger Danger
THE GUARDIAN: WikiLeaks harms the US. But the president's refusal to acknowledge the threats we face is a bigger danger

'The president, unlike the long line of his predecessors since Franklin Roosevelt, simply does not put national security at the centre of his political priorities.' Photograph: The Guardian
WikiLeaks has yet again flooded the internet with thousands of classified American documents, this time state department cables. More troubling than WikiLeaks' latest revelation of US secrets, however, is the Obama administration's weak, wrong-headed and erratic response. Unfortunately, the administration has acted consistently with its demonstrated unwillingness to assert and defend US interests across a wide range of threats, such as Iran and North Korea, which, ironically, the leaked cables amply document.

On 29 November, secretary of state Hillary Clinton lamented that this third document dump was "not just an attack on United States foreign policy and interests, [but] an attack on the international community". By contrast, on 1 December, the presidential press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said the White House was "not scared of one guy with one keyboard and a laptop". Hours later, a Pentagon spokesman disdained the notion that the military should have prevented the WikiLeaks release: "The determination of those who are charged with such things, the decision was made not to proceed with any sort of aggressive action of that sort in this case."

Clinton is demonstrably incorrect in being preoccupied with defending the "international community", whatever that is. Her inability to understand WikiLeaks' obsession with causing harm to the US is a major reason why the Obama administration has done little or nothing in response – except talk, its usual foreign-policy default position. >>> John Bolton | Sunday, December 05, 2010

The Cable Guy: Julian Assange Becomes the US's Public Enemy No. 1
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: He may be on the short list for Time magazine's "person of the year," but many Americans consider Julian Assange to be a criminal and a terrorist. The WikiLeaks founder has been fighting a battle on several fronts since the publication of the diplomatic cables. He has now been arrested in London.

Wherever Julian Assange turned up in recent weeks, there was always a noticeably well-dressed young woman at his side. Jennifer Robinson, an attorney at a London law firm, has served as Assange's legal protection insurance for the last few weeks. She kept several sets of legal documents in her purse, for the event that Scotland Yard or some other law enforcement agency decided to arrest the Australian.

Assange now finds himself in need of such expert legal protection. He was arrested by British police in London on Tuesday on a European warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors. London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Assange had been arrested at around 9:30 a.m. local time, by appointment at a police station in the British capital. "He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010," the statement read. Assange was due to appear before a London court later on Tuesday.

Assange's lawyers had earlier said that he would meet with police to talk about the European arrest warrant. "We are in the process of making arrangements to meet with police by consent," lawyer Mark Stephens said on Monday.

As of last week, there was no longer any doubt that the Swedish authorities were determined to catch the 39-year-old at all costs. Interpol issued a "Red Notice" seeking Assange's arrest, and Scotland Yard's Serious Organized Crime Agency confirmed that it was familiar with the case.

But like everything else relating to the WikiLeaks founder, this private case has also become a political issue. The man who had sent a shockwave through global politics since the publication of the American embassy cables two weekends ago had become a hunted man.

He has also become the Americans' latest public enemy, after having challenged the world's most powerful nation and made its secrets public for all to see. >>> Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Showing the Spineless Side of “Great” Britain! WikiLeaks: Britain Feared Colonel Gaddafi Could 'Cut Us Off at the Knees' Unless Lockerbie Bomber Was Freed
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain feared that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could “cut us off at the knees, just like the Swiss”, unless the Lockerbie bomber was released, leaked WikiLeaks cables show.

Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Sir Vincent Fean, the UK's ambassador to Tripoli at the time, also warned that continuing to hold Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi in a prison in Scotland could have “disastrous implications for British interests in Libya”.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988. He was freed on compassionate grounds in August 2009.

The warnings were contained in secret communiqués sent from US embassy staff in Tripoli in August 2009, and produced in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

One cable said: “The British ambassador expressed relief that Megrahi likely would be returned to Libya under the compassionate release program.

“He noted that a refusal of Megrahi’s request could have had disastrous implications for British interests in Libya.”

Then the cable appeared to quote the ambassador saying: “They could have cut us off at the knees, just like the Swiss.” >>> Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

This just goes to show how spineless we Brits have become. Churchill must be turning in his grave! How disgusting! This story makes one feel ashamed to admit one is British. Get a grip! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

WikiLeaks Cables: Lockerbie Bomber Freed After Gaddafi's 'Thuggish' Threats
THE GUARDIAN: Megrahi case led to threats against UK's Libyan interests, while Scots who released him had turned down 'a parade of treats'

WikiLeaks cables say Muammar Gaddafi bullied and cajoled British politicians and bureaucrats to release convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (left), seen with the Libyan leader's son, Saif al-Islam, on his arrival in Tripoli. Photograph: The Guardian
The British government's deep fears that Libya would take "harsh and immediate" action against UK interests if the convicted Lockerbie bomber died in a Scottish prison are revealed in secret US embassy cables which show London's full support for the early release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, made explicit and "thuggish" threats to halt all trade deals with Britain and harass embassy staff if Megrahi remained in jail, the cables show. At the same time "a parade of treats" was offered by Libya to the Scottish devolved administration if it agreed to let him go, though the cable says they were turned down.

Britain at the time was "in an awkward position" and "between a rock and a hard place". The London charge d'affaires, Richard LeBaron, wrote in a cable to Washington in October 2008. "The Libyans have told HMG [Her Majesty's Government] flat out that there will be 'enormous repercussions' for the UK-Libya bilateral relationship if Megrahi's early release is not handled properly." >>> David Leigh | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: US Diplomats Struggle with an Eccentric Despot: For American diplomats, Libya is a notorious hardship post. With his quirky habits, hard bargaining, whiny sons and Ukrainian nurses, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is far from easy to deal with -- and a master of political extortion. >>> Juliane von Mittelstaedt | Saturday, December 04, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ärger mit Libyen: Schweizer schlitterten hilflos in Geiselkrise – Die Affäre um die beiden Schweizer, die fast zwei Jahre lang in Libyen festgehalten wurden, war nach SPIEGEL-Informationen brisanter als bisher bekannt. US-Kabel zeigen, wie hilflos die Diplomaten der Alpenrepublik agierten. Demnach wäre die Krise beinahe EU-weit eskaliert. >>> | Sonntag, 05. Dezember 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Calmy-Rey bricht den Negativrekord: Mit nur 106 Stimmen zur neuen Bundespräsidentin gewählt >>> sda/bbu. | Mittwoch, 08. Dezember 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Haarsträubende Details zur Libyen-Affäre: Der GPK-Bericht enthält vor allem Neues zu den Exfiltrationsplänen und zu Merz' Reise nach Tripolis >>> Simon Gemperli, Bern | Samstag, 04. Dezember 2010

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Calmy-Rey, présidente de la Confédération la plus mal élue de l’Histoire >>> Xavier Alonso et Romain Clivaz | Mercredi 08 Décembre 2010

LE TEMPS: Election misérable de Micheline Calmy-Rey : La socialiste genevoise n’obtient que 106 voix sur 189 bulletins valables. Vingt-et-un députés fédéraux n’ont pas jugé bon de participer à l’élection >>> Bernard Wuthrich | Mercredi 08 Décembre 2010

LE TEMPS: Micheline Calmy-Rey la mal-aimée du parlement : La socialiste genevoise doit être élue à la présidence de la Confédération mercredi. A Berne, l’embarras règne. Pas uniquement à cause du dossier libyen, mais aussi parce qu’elle irrite de nombreux parlementaires>>> Bernard Wuthrich | Mardi 07 Décembre 2010

England Dan & John Ford Coley: I'd Really Love to See You Tonight (1976）

The Stylish 91’s YouTube Channel >>>

Echauffourées entre policiers et étudiants devant la Scala de Milan
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: OPÉRA PERTURBÉ | L'ouverture de la saison de la Scala à Milan a été marquée mardi par des échauffourées entre la police et des étudiants qui manifestaient contre les coupes budgétaires du gouvernement, et par une protestation du chef d'orchestre Daniel Barenboïm.

Avant l'hymne national et avant de diriger "La Walkyrie" de Wagner dans le célèbre théâtre milanais, le chef d'orchestre Daniel Barenboïm s'est adressé au président italien Giorgio Napolitano, invité d'honneur, en se disant "très préoccupé pour l'avenir de la culture en Italie et en Europe".

Il a dit s'exprimer "au nom de tous les collègues qui chantent, dansent, travaillent non seulement ici mais dans tous les théâtres italiens".

Le maestro israélo-argentin a ensuite lu solennellement l'article 9 de la Constitution italienne, selon lequel "la République promeut le développement de la culture et la recherche scientifique et technique, protège le paysage et le patrimoine historique et artistique de la nation". >>> AFP | Mardi 07 Décembre 2010

Nigeria klagt Dick Cheney an
Afrikanischer Staat wirft ehemaligem US-Vizepräsidenten Korruption vor
NZZ ONLINE: Der ehemalige amerikanische Vizepräsident Dick Cheney sieht sich in Nigeria mit einer Klage wegen Korruption konfrontiert. Das Vorgehen steht im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau einer Flüssiggasanlage durch den Energiekonzern Halliburton, dessen Chef Cheney war.

Der ehemalige amerikanische Vizepräsident Dick Cheney sieht sich in Nigeria mit einer Klage wegen Korruption konfrontiert. Das Vorgehen steht im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau einer Flüssiggasanlage durch den Energiekonzern Halliburton, dessen Chef Cheney war.

Die nigerianischen Staatsanwaltschaft hat gegen den früheren amerikanischen Vizepräsidenten Dick Cheney Anklage wegen Korruption erhoben. Die Vorwürfe stehen im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau einer Flüssiggasanlage durch den amerikanischen Energiekonzern Halliburton im Süden Nigerias. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> sda | Dienstag, 07. Dezember 2010

Piratenpartei: «Wikileaks.ch» existiert seit 6 Monaten
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Wikileaks hat offenbar vorausgeahnt, dass ihre Internet-Adresse «wikileaks.org» früher oder später gesperrt werden könnte. Denn die jetzt bekanntgegebene «Schweizer» Ausweichadresse «wikileaks.ch» wurde bereits vor 6 Monaten registriert. Registriert hatte die Adresse die Schweizer Piratenpartei.

Dozens of Israeli Rabbis Back Call to Forbid Sale of Property to Arabs
THE GUARDIAN: Publicly funded municipal chiefs accused of racial incitement after signing letter in support of ultra-orthodox Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu

Safed, northern Israel, where Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu ordered his followers not to offer accommodation to Arabs. Photograph: The Guardian
Dozens of Israeli rabbis today backed a call to forbid Jews to rent or sell property to Arabs in a move likely to further stoke tensions in some cities.

More than 40 municipal chief rabbis, whose salaries are paid from public funds, signed a letter in support of a ruling by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed in Upper Gallilee instructing his followers not to offer accommodation to non-Jews.

Anyone doing so, the letter said, "causes his neighbour a great loss, and his iniquity is greater than can be borne". It went on: "It is incumbent upon the seller's neighbours and acquaintances to warn and caution, first in private and then they are entitled to publish him in public, to distance themselves from him, to prevent trade from being done with him, not to have him read from the Torah and so forth until he reverses his decision that causes harm to so many people."

Following Eliyahu's earlier ruling, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor who rents out rooms to three Arab students in Safed was threatened with having his house burned down and was denounced as a traitor to Judaism. >>> Harriet Sherwood | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Barack Obama Gives Way to Republicans Over Bush Tax Cuts
THE GUARDIAN: Allies say president 'blackmailed' into extending tax cut for wealthier Americans which may cost $4tn in lost revenue

Barack Obama talks with the Republican whip Eric Cantor after a meeting with bipartisan congressional leadership. Photograph: The Guardian
Barack Obama is bowing to Republican demands to extend a deep tax cut for wealthier Americans, to the fury of some of the president's allies who say he has succumbed to "blackmail".

In a bruising political battle that appears to set the tone for Obama's dealings with the Republicans in Congress following their victories in last month's midterm elections, the president had sought to extend a tax cut for middle-class Americans introduced by the Bush administration seven years ago which expires at the end of this month. But he wanted to see a return to pre-cut rates for households with an income above $250,000 a year, on the grounds that wealthier Americans could afford to pay more. The move would generate trillions of dollars for the financially-strapped treasury over the next decade.

The Democratic leadership believed that provided the middle class was looked after, the Republicans would find it difficult to justify tax cuts for the wealthy. The House of Representatives, still controlled by Democrats until the new Congress is sworn in next month, passed Obama's plan by a clear majority last week. But Republicans blocked the legislation in the Senate at the weekend and said they would rather see everyone's taxes rise than agree to scrapping the cuts for the wealthy.

Some Democrats called on Obama to stand firm and let the Republicans carry the blame for the inevitable middle-class backlash. But leading Democrats say the president is backing down and has agreed to extend tax cuts for everyone. In return, the White House appears to have extracted an agreement to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Senator Lieberman on Julian Assange

Superstar Muslim Preacher Amr Khaled Battles Al-Qaeda
BBC: President Ali Abdullah Saleh does not give many interviews at the moment. The man who has governed Yemen for 32 years is fed up with the press characterising the country as a "cradle of terrorism".

But for Amr Khaled he was willing to make an exception. The Egyptian Muslim televangelist is, in the words of the president a "good guy", but there is of course more to it than that - in the Middle East Amr Khaled is like a rock star.

Dubbed "The Billy Graham of Islam" by Time Magazine, his television shows get more viewers than Oprah Winfrey, his videos have racked up 26m hits on YouTube, and he boasts two million friends on Facebook.

He is a sharp-suited, smooth-talking whirlwind of progressive Islam, preaching co-existence with the West while telling Muslims how to mix their faith with the modern world.

He is not even an imam, but a former accountant for multinational auditors KPMG. (+ videos) >>> | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Saudi Royal Succession: Professor Detained Over Article
BBC: A Saudi law professor who wrote about a possible power struggle over the royal succession is being held without charge, a human rights group says.

Mohammad al-Abdulkareem, 40, was detained at his home in Riyadh on Sunday by four men who had no court warrant, the group said.

Mr Abdulkareem's article appeared shortly after King Abdullah, 86, went to America for surgery on his spine.

The royal succession is a highly sensitive subject in Saudi Arabia.

There has been no official confirmation of the arrest by the Saudi authorities. >>> Sebastian Usher. BBC News, London | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Is Refused Bail
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was refused bail as he appeared in court to face extradition charges for the first time.


The 39-year-old Australian is wanted in Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault upon two women.

He appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court to fight the extradition process.

Mr Assange, who denies the claims, was refused bail by District Judge Howard Riddle on the grounds that he would fail to surrender if released.

Jemima Khan, film director Ken Loach and investigative journalist John Pilger had all offered £20,000 each as surety for his bail.

However, he was remanded in custody and will appear again at the same court on December 14. >>> Caroline Gammell and Richard Edwards | Tuesday, December 07, 2010


NZZ ONLINE: Assange beendet das Katz-und-Maus-Spiel: Verhafteter Wikileaks-Gründer wehrt sich gegen Auslieferung an Schweden >>> Nils Anner, Cambridge | Dienstag, 07. Dezember 2010

LE FIGARO: WikiLeaks : Assange reste en prison jusqu'à mi-décembre – La demande de libération sous caution du fondateur de WikiLeaks, qui s'est rendu mardi à la police britannique, a été rejetée. Recherché pour des faits de viol et d'agression sexuelle, l'Australien est maintenu en détention jusqu'au 14 décembre. >>> Par Thomas Vampouille, Constance Jamet | Mardi 07 Décembre 2010

Britain Arrests WikiLeaks Founder in Sex Inquiry
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — Police in Britain arrested Julian Assange on Tuesday on a warrant issued in Sweden in connection with alleged sex offenses, British police officials said, the latest twist in the drama swirling around the anti-secrecy group and its beleaguered founder.

Mr. Assange, a 39-year-old Australian, was arrested by officers from Scotland Yard’s extradition unit when he went to a central London police station by prior agreement with the authorities, the police said. A court hearing was expected later in the day.

In a statement, the police said: “Officers from the Metropolitan Police extradition unit have this morning arrested Julian Assange on behalf of the Swedish authorities on suspicion of rape.”

Mr. Assange denies the charges of sexual misconduct said to have been committed while he was in Sweden in August. It was not immediately clear if Mr. Assange would resist extradition to Sweden for questioning by prosecutors there. >>> Alan Cowell and John F. Burns | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Gesichter des Islam – Männer und Frauen
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Wie entwickeln sich die Rollen von Männern und Frauen und die Bedeutung der Familie in muslimischen Gesellschaften? Welches ist das Selbstverständnis der Geschlechter in Marokko, Deutschland und Saudi-Arabien? In der Königsstadt Fés erleben wir eine traditionelle Hochzeit und die Ehe als verpflichtende islamische Lebensform.

Familienstreit von L'Oréal-Erben beendet
Überraschende Einigung erzielt – Verfahren werden zurückgezogen
NZZ ONLINE: Nach ihrem jahrelangen, erbitterten Familienstreit haben sich die französische L'Oréal-Milliardärin Liliane Bettencourt und ihre Tochter überraschend ausgesöhnt.

Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers werde alle von ihr angestrengten gerichtlichen Verfahren zurückziehen, sagte der Anwalt der Tochter, Olivier Metzner, am Montag der Nachrichtenagentur AFP. Dies beziehe sich insbesondere auf die Anzeigen gegen den Künstler François-Marie Banier.

Ihm hatte die Tochter vorgeworfen, ihre 88-jährige Mutter ausgenutzt und um fast eine Milliarde Euro in Form von Gemälden, Immobilien, Lebensversicherungen und Schecks erleichtert zu haben. >>> sda/afp | Montag, 06. Dezember 2010

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Affaire Bettencourt: le photographe Banier va conserver 300 millions d'euros: ACCORD | Le photographe François-Marie Banier, au coeur du conflit entre l’héritière de l’Oréal et sa fille, conservera l’équivalent de 300 millions d’euros (391 millions de francs) de dons de Liliane Bettencourt, ont indiqué leurs avocats. >>> AFP | Mardi 07 Décembre 2010

WikiLeaks Cables Claim al-Jazeera Changed Coverage to Suit Qatari Foreign Policy
THE GUARDIAN: US embassy memos contradict Arabic satellite channel's insistence that it is editorially independent despite being heavily subsidised by Gulf state

Qatar is using the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera as a bargaining chip in foreign policy negotiations by adapting its coverage to suit other foreign leaders and offering to cease critical transmissions in exchange for major concessions, US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks claim.

The memos flatly contradict al-Jazeera's insistence that it is editorially independent despite being heavily subsidised by the Gulf state.

They will also be intensely embarrassing to Qatar, which last week controversially won the right to host the 2022 World Cup after presenting itself as the most open and modern Middle Eastern state.

In the past, the emir of Qatar has publicly refused US requests to use his influence to temper al-Jazeera's reporting. >>> Robert Booth | Monday, December 06, 2010

Wikileaks: US Identifies Key Sites Around World For Security
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The United States has identified hundreds of sites around the world that it fears could be targeted in terrorist attacks.

The list, released by WikiLeaks, includes a dozen sites in Britain, including two telecommunications centres, several undersea communications cables, a military manufacturing plant and a vaccine production centre.

A February 2009 State Department cable asked embassies around the world to update a 2008 list of vital interests. Unlike most of the documents made available by WikiLeaks so far, it was marked “secret”.

The Government immediately condemned the latest release.

A Downing Street spokesman said this morning: "We unequivocally condemn the unauthorised release of classified information.

"The leaks and their publication are damaging to national security in the United States, Britain and elsewhere.

Though most of the information was in the public domain, its release is likely to lead to accusations that WikiLeaks did not care if it aided terrorists. >>> Alex Spillius, Washington | Monday, December 06, 2010

Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal on WikiLeaks: 'People Will No Longer Speak to American Diplomats Frankly'
Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal on WikiLeaks diplomatic cables: "a hodgepodge of selectivity, inaccuracy, agenda pursuit, and downright disinformatio. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In an interview with SPIEGEL to be published on Monday, Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal warns that the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables have caused serious damage. "America's credibility and honesty are the victim of these leaks," he says.

The United States has suffered serious political damage as a result of the WikiLeaks publication of secret documents, says Prince Turki bin Faisal, 65, the former intelligence chief and ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Washington. "America's credibility and honesty are the victim of these leaks," Turki said in an interview with the news magazine DER SPIEGEL. "People, including officials, will no longer speak to American diplomats frankly." >>> | Sunday, December 05, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: 'America's Credibility Is the Victim of These Leaks': Former Saudi Arabian intelligence head Prince Turki bin Faisal worries that the US diplomatic dispatches released by WikiLeaks could harm US credibility. He spoke with SPIEGEL about the diplomatic fallout, his country's relations with Iran and Israel, and the historical burden his country bears for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. >>> | Monday, December 06, 2010