Pakistan Supporters Fear for Safety of Aasia Bibi after Taseer Killing
THE GUARDIAN: Christian woman is on death row under blasphemy laws that Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer had condemned before his assassination

Salmaan Taseer meets with Aasia Bibi after she was sentenced to hang for blasphemy in Punjab province, where Taseer was governor until his assassination on Wednesday. Photograph: The Daily Telegraph
Human rights workers say they fear for the immediate safety of Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman at the heart of Pakistan's blasphemy furore, following the assassination of Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer this week.

"None of us feel safe, least of all her," said Shahzad Kamran, a Christian charity worker who has visited Bibi in jail several times since last November when she was sentenced to hang for blasphemy.

Bibi, a mother of four who has been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad, has been in solitary confinement for the past month. But since Taseer was shot multiple times by his own guard in Islamabad on Tuesday, Kamran said he feared Bibi could be killed by a zealot.

"There are many chances. The prison guards could also kill her because they are Muslims and we cannot trust them," he said.

Kamran said he expected that Bibi's "heart was broken" at the death of Taseer, her most prominent defender, and that her plight had reverberated across Pakistan's embattled Christian community.

"Taseer died for the Christians and now we are feeling broke and scared. If they can kill the governor of Punjab then who am I?" >>> Declan Walsh in Islamabad | Thursday, January 06, 2011

Swedes 'Want King to Abdicate' in Favour of Daughter
BBC NEWS EUROPE: It is less than a year since her marriage in a fairytale setting in Stockholm, and now it seems Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria has replaced her father in the people's affections.

An opinion poll for a leading Swedish newspaper suggests nearly two thirds of the country want the King, Carl Gustaf the Sixteenth, to abdicate.

Dominic Kane reports. Watch BBC video >>> | Thursday, January 06, 2011

The Gathering Storm Radio Show

I’ll be WC and Always On Watch’s guest on this week’s Gathering Storm Radio Show. The upcoming show will be tomorrow, Friday, January 7, 2011 at 3.00 PM EST. That’s 8.00 PM UK time, and 9.00 PM CET.

Please come along. All are welcome. If you wish to call in, the number is (1) 646 915 9870.

To the show >>>

David Usborne – Death of a Prince: Latest Tragedy to Hit Iran’s Dynasty
THE INDEPENDENT: The suicide of Alireza Pahlavi, the youngest son of the former Shah of Iran, is a reminder of the futility of the dream that one day the royal family may be restored

Whatever it was that sustained Alireza Pahlavi – his money, perhaps, his good looks or even a lingering nostalgia for luxuries and status lost – it ran out this week. With a single squeeze of the trigger, the youngest son of the former Shah of Iran, aged 44 and living in a well-to-do corner of Boston, took his own life on Tuesday.

Neighbours in the South End district of Boston won't miss him much, even if they liked to gossip about his royal lineage every once in a while. Almost no one knew the man who always looked debonair in pressed jeans and a blazer, climbing from his Porsche before disappearing into his brownstone home, its windows obscured by interior shutters.

That he generated pavement chit-chat was hardly surprising. He was different. He had been raised as the second in line to the ancient Peacock Throne of Persia, accustomed once to unimaginable privilege. As an adult in Boston he seemed accomplished – he attended Ivy League universities – and had once been touted as the city's most eligible bachelor. But to wonder at the man and his pedigree was to ignore the demons burrowed inside. >>> David Usborne | Thursday, January 06, 2011

Exile 'Traumatic' for Shah's Son Alireza Pahlavi
BBC NEWS MIDDLE EAST: The younger son if the Shah of Iran, Alireza Pahlavi, was "extremely affected" by his family's exile, former Iranian minister Mahnaz Afkhami says.

Alireza Pahlavi killed himself in the US after a long battle with depression.

Ms Afkhami, who was minister for women's affairs during the Pahlavi era, told the BBC World Service that the fall of the Shah was a "traumatic experience" for Alireza, who was 13 years when his father fled the country in 1979. Listen to BBC audio >>> | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Related >>>

Anti-Islamic Group from U.K. to Hold Rally
NATIONAL POST: A British right-wing group responsible for a wave of violent anti-Islamist street protests in the United Kingdom will attempt to spread its message to Canadians at a rally in Toronto next week.

A "support rally" for the controversial English Defence League is scheduled to take place at the Toronto Zionist Centre on Tuesday night. The event is being organized by the Jewish Defence League of Canada.

Tommy Robinson, the EDL leader, will speak at the rally through an online hookup. It is believed to be the first Canadian rally for the EDL, repeatedly linked to violence since it formed in 2009 to counter Islamist militancy in Britain.

"I am disappointed that the JDL would support an organization whose record in the U.K. is one of violence and extremism," said Bernie Farber, CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "This is more than unwise and I sure hope they reconsider this decision.”

Dozens have been arrested at EDL protests, including Mr. Robinson, an alias used by Stephen Lennon. He was charged in November with assaulting a police officer at a confrontation with Islamists who burned poppies during a two-minute silence for veterans.

"The root cause of the problem is the Koran, it's Islam," he told the BBC on Nov. 19. "And no one has got the balls to admit it and say it and talk about it. We will. We're not creating these divisions and this extremism. It's already there. That's why we formed. If there was no militant Islam there would be no EDL." >>> Stewart Bell, National Post | Thursday, January 06, 2011

Iran 'Arrests' US Woman on Spy Charges
THE GUARDIAN: Hall Talayan, 55, arrested in north-west Iran near the border with Armenia

The woman is the fourth American Iran has arrested and accused of spying in less than two years. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal (seen above) were arrested in July 2009. Photograph: The Guardian
Iran has arrested an American woman on charges of spying after she illegally entered the country on foot, reports from the country said today.

According to the Iran newspaper, the US national, named as Hall Talayan, had spying equipment hidden on her body when customs authorities held her in the border town of Nordouz, 370 miles (600km) north-west of Tehran.

Khabaronline, a conservative news website, also named Talayan, saying she had a small microphone hidden between her teeth. The woman reportedly crossed by land from Armenia, and did not have a visa. >>> Peter Walker and agencies | Thursday, January 06, 2011

Abdur Raheem Green: Surviving in the West

Christianity Under Siege in the Muslim World
View TIME photos here

E-Zigarette - gesundheitlich unbedenklich? *

* Das Video wurde zum Teil in Schwyzertüütsch gemacht.

Republicans Take Control of US House of Representatives
BBC: The 112th US Congress has convened in Washington, starting a new legislative session in which resurgent Republicans aim to cut the size of the US government and its spending.

The new Congress is being sworn in two months after mid-term elections which saw President Barack Obama's Democrats suffer heavy losses to the opposition.

Republican John Boehner has taken over the key role of House speaker.

A BBC correspondent says the stage is now set for ideological battle.

Mr Boehner, a Midwestern conservative, was confirmed as House speaker on Wednesday afternoon, replacing liberal San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

Ms Pelosi passed the speaker's gavel, which she called a "strong symbol of peaceful democracy", to Mr Boehner in an official exchange of power.

In his opening remarks, Mr Boehner said the objective of Republicans was to give government back to citizens of the US and provide honesty and accountability.

"No longer can we fall short, no longer can we kick the can down the road. The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin to carry out their instructions," Mr Boehner said. (+video) >>> | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Obama to Be Stoic Spouse in Marriage of Inconvenience
BBC: One thing is not in doubt: there will be tears before it's over.

The man who will be sworn in on Wednesday as speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner, cried when his party won in November, cried afterwards when he explained he had been at that moment thinking of his modest background, helping out in his dad's bar, and then cried again on TV when he was asked why he'd cried.

Whether he'll weep again now, I cannot say, but it may be a moment when all Republicans may feel like getting out the hanky. The scale of their achievement is enormous: two years after the election of Barack Obama on a huge wave of abstract ideals like hope and change, they won the mid-term election hands down. Today they take charge of one of the most important components of American government, the House of Representatives. They have cut the Democratic majority in the Senate too.
In this fluid mix comes not just tears, but tea.

There will be many new faces in Congress. Fresh faces, steeped in the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement. They really are different. Many of them took not the tired old route of a little light lawyering and then a stint in the city council or state government. Here are car salesmen, pizza restaurant owners, opticians - people who've never before been politicians.

They are filled with a sense of mission and mandate, a belief that they have been elected by the American people to overturn what they see as Mr Obama's socialist agenda. Read on and comment >>> Mark Mardell | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Wuppertal, Deutschland: Abu Alia – Erinnerung an die Fundamente seiner Religion

EZP MuslimTube

US TV: Fired for Using the ‘N-word’
MAIL ONLINE: The question of whether it is acceptable for an African-American person to use the 'n' word in a workplace but not a white person is to be decided by a federal jury.

U.S. District Judge Barclay Surrick has ruled that former Fox29 reporter-anchor Tom Burlington's claims against the station of double standards and racial discrimination will go to trial on January 18.

But the judge ruled out Burlington's claim of a hostile work environment.

Burlington, who is white, was dismissed after using the 'n' word during a staff meeting in June 2007.

He made the comment while discussing a story about about the symbolic burial of the word by the Philadelphia Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Burlington, who is now working as a real estate agent, was suspended within days and then fired after the incident was published in the Philadelphia Daily News. White TV reporter fired for using the ‘n-word’ accuses station of racial discrimination >>> Daily Mail | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Related >>>

Islam in Germany

Islam in Europe - The Numbers 2010

Mehrere christliche Missionare in Iran festgenommen
Vergleich mit der Taliban
NZZ ONLINE: In der iranischen Provinz Teheran sind mehrere christliche Missionare festgenommen worden. Missionsarbeit steht in Iran unter Strafe.

In Iran sind mehrere christliche Missionare festgenommen worden. Die Anführer einer «korrupten» und «fehlgeleiteten» Bewegung seien in der Provinz Teheran festgenommen worden und weitere Festnahmen stünden bevor, sagte der Gouverneur der Provinz Teheran, Mortesa Tamaddon, am Dienstag. >>> sda/afp | Mittwoch, 05. Januar 2011

Publisher Changes N-word to ‘Slave’ in New Edition of Huck Finn
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Mark Twain wrote that “the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter.” A new edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer will try to find out if that holds true by replacing the word “nigger” with the word “slave” in an effort not to offend readers.

Twain scholar Alan Gribben, who is working with NewSouth Books in Alabama to publish a combined volume of the books, said the racially offensive slur appears 219 times in Huck Finn and four times in Tom Sawyer. He said the word puts the books in danger of joining the list of literary classics that Twain once humorously defined as those “which people praise and don't read.”

“It's such a shame that one word should be a barrier between a marvellous reading experience and a lot of readers,” Gribben said.

Yet Twain was particular about his words. His letter in 1888 about the right word and the almost right one was “the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” >>> The Associated Press, Montgomery, Ala | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Huckleberry Finn Loses the 'Nigger' He Loves, Thanks to a Publisher's Ethnic Cleansing
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – CHRISTOPHER HOWSE: There is a great fuss in America about a new edition of Huckleberry Finn from which the word nigger has been excised. It occurs in the novel 217 times, or 219 (tallies vary, and I have lost count), so its loss makes quite a difference. It is like The Merchant of Venice without the word Jew.

Indeed Jew is far more pejorative in the mouths of Shakespeare’s characters than nigger is in the mouths of some of Mark Twain’s. Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock’s servant, resolves to run away, and declares: “I am a Jew if I serve the Jew any longer.”

We readers of Shakespeare and Mark Twain do not dislike black people or Jewish people. Yet we can be more certain that Twain did not hate blacks than that Shakespeare was not anti-Semitic. Anyone would have to be not only stupid but a fool to miss the fact that Mark Twain was on the side of Jim, the runaway slave in Huckleberry Finn.

Even if we cannot be sure that Shakespeare wasn’t anti-Semitic, should it mean that teenagers at school must never read The Merchant of Venice again? Or, if we are doubtful about Thomas Carlyle’s attitude to emancipated slaves, does that mean nobody should peruse his discourse from 1853, On the Nigger Question?

Striking out the word nigger every time it appears in Huckleberry Finn is a kind of ethnic cleansing, a pretence that in the land of the free no one referred to black people by a demeaning term once the Civil War had been won. >>> Christopher Howse | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Un premier film occidental télédiffusé en Corée du Nord
LA PRESSE: Le film britannique Joue-la comme Beckham (Bend It Like Beckham) est devenu le premier film occidental diffusé à la télévision nord-coréenne le 26 décembre dernier.

Les films occidentaux sont interdits en Corée du Nord, parce que censés promouvoir la culture «impérialiste». >>> Cyberpresse | Mercredi 05 Janvier 2011

64% of Turks: Freeze Ties with Israel
YNET NEWS: Survey finds US, Israel seen by Turkish citizens as top threat, followed by Iran; only 27.9 percent say ties with Jewish state should be improved

The United States and Israel top the list of countries that Turks see as a threat, according to an opinion poll seen by AFP Wednesday. The survey, conducted by the Ankara-based Metropoll research company last month, found that 42.6 percent saw the United States as "the greatest external threat," with another 23.7% singling out Israel.

Turkey's eastern neighbor Iran ranked third, listed by three percent of the respondents, while another neighbor and traditional rival Greece come fourth with 2.3%.

In response to another question, 63.6% said relations with Israel should be frozen, as opposed to 27.9% who said ties should be improved. >>> AFP | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Clerics Salute 'Brave' Pakistan Killer
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of Pakistan's religious leaders have publically applauded the murder of a prominent politician gunned down because of his campaign to reform the country's blasphemy laws.

Mumtaz Qadri, left, is embraced as he arrives at a court in Islamabad. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
In a statement released hours before the funeral of Salman Taseer, a liberal politician close [to] President Asif Ali Zardari, 500 scholars from the Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat group praised his assassin and ordered their followers not to grieve or they would suffer the same fate.

"We pay rich tributes and salute the bravery, valour and faith of Mumtaz Qadri," the statement said referring to the man now in police custody, before going on to warn politicians and academics to learn lessons from Mr Taseer's death.

"Also, there should be no expression of grief or sympathy on the death of the governor, as those who support blasphemy of the Prophet are themselves indulging in blasphemy."

Mr Taseer, the governor of Punjab, was shot dead in Islamabad on Tuesday by a member of his own protection detail.

He had become a hate figure among hard-line clerics for taking on the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, an issue that has illustrated the country's deep religious divide between a small, liberal elite and conservative mullahs who draw huge followings. >>> Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Murder in Pakistan
ARAB NEWS – EDITORIAL – AN EXTRACT: Taseer was murdered by one or perhaps more bigots who believed that he wanted to repeal the country’s blasphemy law. But he was the true face of tolerance that Islam represents. He worked for the good of his country trying to promote tolerance and understanding and peace between its different communities. He stood up against extremism and violence. It cost him his life and his heartless, grinning murderer is an ignorant instrument of evil. >>> Editor | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

USA: Fears Over Economy Highest Since Recession
MAIL ONLINE: The number of Americans worried about the economy has reached its highest level since the darkest days of the recession two years ago, according to a new survey published today.

The Rasmussen poll showed that 87% of voters view the economy as by far the most important issue facing the government.

The percentage is five points up from an October poll and underlines the task still faced by President Obama to restore confidence in the shell-shocked financial system.

Improving the economy is seen as the highest priority since August 2008, when the scale of the financial crisis was first becoming clear.

Only 24% of voters agree with Mr Obama’s claims that his policies have the economy moving in the right direction. However, halfway into the Obama presidency more voters still believe the Bush White House was more to blame for the financial collapse than the current administration. Welcome home, Mr President: Poll reveals fears over economy at highest level since recession as Obamas return from Hawaii
>>> David Gardner | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Egypte : Persécutés dans l’indifférence
Manifestation de coptes en Egypte au lendemain de l’attentat d’Alexandrie. Les chrétiens d’Orient sont devenus indésirables. Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Les violences contre les chrétiens s’intensifient au Moyen-Orient et les poussent à l’exil. Elles se heurtent au silence de la communauté internationale. Cette christianophobie croissante coïncide avec une réislamisation des pays arabo-musulmans où les chrétiens sont assimilés à l’Occident conquérant

«Nous n’avons plus de repères. Nous ne pouvons plus dire que l’Egypte est notre terre. Beaucoup de coptes songent à partir définitivement.» Atef Michael vit depuis 27 ans en Suisse. Membre de l’Eglise copte orthodoxe de Suisse romande, il s’inquiète pour le sort de ses coreligionnaires en Egypte, où il se rend régulièrement pour revoir ses amis et administrer l’héritage de son père. «Dans un siècle, il n’y aura plus de chrétiens dans ce pays, prédit-il. Le gouvernement ne protège pas les coptes et laisse faire les islamistes. Le président Hosni Moubarak a condamné l’attentat contre l’église d’Alexandrie, mais ce ne sont que des mots. En réalité, il s’en fiche. Le gouvernement n’assure pas la sécurité des coptes, qui sont victimes de vexations et de discriminations au quotidien.» >>> Patricia Briel | Mercredi 05 Janvier 2011

Gefahr! Linke Fantasien: Lötzsch spekuliert über Wege zum Kommunismus
WELT ONLINE: Die Vorsitzende der Linkspartei veröffentlichte in der "Jungen Welt" einen Text über "Wege zum Kommunismus" – und erntet heftige Kritik.

Die Linkspartei-Vorsitzende Gesine Lötzsch ist mit Spekulationen über die Zukunft des Kommunismus in die Kritik geraten. Der Direktor der Stasiopfer-Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, Hubertus Knabe, griff Lötzsch wegen eines am Montag in der linken Zeitung „Jungen Welt“ veröffentlichten Textes an, in dem sie sich über „Wege zum Kommunismus“ geäußert hatte. „Wenn die Linken-Vorsitzende öffentlich darüber sinniert, welches der beste Weg zum Kommunismus ist, kann einem nur angst und bange werden“, sagte Knabe. Für die Opfer des Kommunismus seien solche Gedankengänge „schmerzhaft und unerträglich“. >>> dapd/dpa/sam | Mittwoch, 05. Januar 2011

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Linke-Chefin erklärt Kommunismus zum Ziel der Partei: Klartext bei der Linken: Mitten in der Programmdebatte bekennt sich Parteichefin Gesine Lötzsch zum Kommunismus. Im Marxisten-Blatt "Junge Welt" hat sie einen Text platziert - darin fehlt jedes kritische Wort über die Verbrechen, die im Namen der Ideologie begangen wurden. >>> Von Stefan Berg | Dienstag, 04. Januar 2011

NZZ ONLINE: Albaniens blockierte Aufarbeitung der Geschichte: Die Auseinandersetzung mit dem kommunistischen Regime hat noch kaum begonnen >>> Daniel Ursprung | Mittwoch, 05. Januar 2011

Zehn Jahre Krieg: Wie al-Qaida die Welt veränderte
ZEIT ONLINE: 2011 jähren sich zum zehnten Mal die Anschläge vom 11. September. Seither haben die USA, hat der Westen Krieg geführt. Nun ist Amerika kriegsmüde.

Amerika wird in diesem Jahr Trauer tragen – zumindest im September. Vor zehn Jahren wurden die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika das erste Mal seit Pearl Harbor zu Hause angegriffen. In Manhattan stehen immer noch Kräne an dem Ort, wo einst die markanten Zwillingstürme des World Trade Center waren. Die Wunde der Stadt ist ebenso wenig verheilt wie die Wunde einer ganzen Nation. 19 Männer zeigten der Supermacht am 11. September 2001 mit vier Flugzeugen ihre Grenzen auf. Sie veränderten die Welt.

Niemand hat diese Bilder vergessen. Diese Aufnahmen, die nach einem Hollywood-Film aussahen und doch eine neue Wirklichkeit einläuteten: Um 8:46 Uhr Ortszeit schlug ein Flugzeug in den Nordturm des World Trade Center ein. Aus einem gigantischen Loch quoll Rauch in den Himmel über Manhattan. 17 Minuten später raste eine zweite Maschine in den intakten Südturm. Sofort war klar: Das ist kein Unfall. Zwei Flugzeuge, die innerhalb von wenigen Minuten ein Gebäude treffen – das musste ein Anschlag sein.

Dann schlug um 9:37 Uhr ein drittes Flugzeug im Pentagon ein, dem berühmten Gebäude des Verteidigungsministeriums in Arlington bei Washington. Das Wahrzeichen amerikanischer Militärmacht war rußgeschwärzt, ein Loch klaffte in der Fassade, ein Großbrand brach aus. Eine vierte Maschine zerschellte auf einem Feld im Bundesstaat Pennsylvania. Vermutlich wollten sie die Terroristen in das Weiße Haus hineinsteuern.

Fast 3.000 Menschen kamen am 11. September ums Leben. Bis heute konnten hunderte Leichen nicht identifiziert werden. Weiter lessen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Von Hauke Friederichs | Mittwoch, 05. Januar 2011

L'islam inspire la crainte en France comme en Allemagne
LE FIGARO: Quarante pour cent des Français et des Allemands estiment que l'islam représente «plutôt une menace», selon un sondage du Monde. Les sondés dénoncent en priorité l'échec de l'intégration des communautés musulmanes.

Jugement sévère sur l'islam des deux côtés du Rhin. Un sondage de l'Ifop, publié mardi par Le Monde, révèle que la communauté musulmane représente «plutôt une menace sur l'identité de leur pays» pour 40% des Français et 42% des Allemands. Seuls 22% des Français et 24% de leurs voisins voient dans l'islam «un facteur d'enrichissement culturel». Ces réserves sont quasiment homogènes quelques soient les classes d'âge en France. Entre 41% et 44% des sondés de 25 à 65 ans partagent ce constat. Seule exception les jeunes de 18 à 24 ans. Seuls 28% d'entre eux se déclarent inquiets. En Allemagne, la tendance est au contraire inversée. Les plus méfiants sont les jeunes, à 47%. La génération née avant 1945 ne fait part de craintes que dans 36% des cas.

Des deux côtés de la frontière, plus de deux-tiers des sondés dénoncent avant tout le manque d'intégration des communautés musulmanes. Un échec imputable aux principaux intéressés, selon 61% des Français et 67% des Allemands. Viennent ensuite les différences culturelles pour 40% des interrogés hexagonaux et 34% du panel germanique, puis le fait que les personnes d'origine musulmane soient regroupées dans certains quartiers et certaines écoles. Le racisme et le manque d'ouverture de certains Français et Allemands arrivent en quatrième position pour 18% des tricolores et 15% de leurs voisins. >>> | Mardi 04 Janvier 2011

Lien en relation avec l’article >>>

'Nazi' Village in Germany Becomes 'No-go Zone'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A village in east Germany has been taken over by neo-Nazis and the local Mayor claims the authorities have given up on trying to impose order.

Photo: The Daily Telegraph
People living nearby say that Jamel, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state, has become a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis from across Europe.

Jamel comprises just ten farmhouses, at least seven of which are occupied by far-right extremists. Swastikas have been daubed on the walls of the houses and a plaque at the entrance to the village states "Village of Jamel – free, social, national". There is also a sign pointing to Adolf Hitler's birthplace – "Braunau am Inn 855 kilometres".

Beer bottles and car tyres litter the streets and guard dogs strain at their chains in front yards. Young men with shaved heads practise shooting in the woods surrounding the village and children give Nazi salutes to any visitors. There is an annual party to celebrate Hitler's birthday.

"Now, they see Jamel as a 'nationally liberated zone'," Horst Lohmeyer, who lives nearby, told Spiegel. >>> | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Right-wing Extremism: The Village Where the Neo-Nazis Rule
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Hitler salutes in the street and firing practice in the forest: Neo-Nazis have taken over an entire village in Germany, and authorities appear to have given up efforts to combat the problem. The place has come to symbolize the far right's growing influence in parts of the former communist east.

Horst and Birgit Lohmeyer have been working on their life's dream for six years, renovating a house in the woods near Jamel, a tiny village near Wismar in the far northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Birgit Lohmeyer writes crime novels, her husband is a musician, and both try to pretend everything is normal here in Jamel.

It wasn't easy to find their new home. The Lohmeyers spent months driving out to the countryside every weekend, heading east from where they lived in Hamburg, but most of the houses they saw were too expensive. Then they came across the inexpensive red brick farmhouse in Jamel. Slightly run-down, but not far from the Baltic Sea, the house sits surrounded by lime and maple trees, near a lake.

The Lohmeyers knew that a notorious neo-Nazi lived nearby -- Sven Krüger, a demolition contractor and high-level member of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD). What the Lohmeyers didn't know was that other neighbors felt terrorized by Krüger. He and his associates were in the process of buying up the entire village.

Jamel is an example of the far-right problem that has plagued Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for years. The rural region, once part of communist East Germany, has a poor reputation in this regard -- the NPD, which glorifies the Third Reich, has been in the state parliament since 2006 and neo-Nazi crimes are part of daily life. In recent months, a series of attacks against politicians from all the democratic parties has shaken the state. Sometimes hardly a week goes by without an attack on another electoral district office, with paint bombs, right-wing graffiti and broken windows. >>> Maximilian Popp | Monday, January 03, 2011

To the photo gallery >>>

THE GUARDIAN: Remains in Austrian hospital graveyard may be Nazi euthanasia victims: Psychiatric institute in Tyrol finds records of up to 220 people who may have been murdered under Third Reich >>> Kate Connolly | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Iran nimmt christliche Missionare fest
TAGES ANZEIGER: Die Gruppen seien korrupt und fehlgeleitet, begründen die Behörden die Festnahme. Sie vergleichen die Missionare mit den Taliban.

Im Iran sind mehrere christliche Missionare festgenommen worden. Die Anführer einer «korrupten» und «fehlgeleiteten» Bewegung seien in der Provinz Teheran festgenommen worden und weitere Festnahmen stünden bevor, sagte der Gouverneur der Provinz Teheran, Mortesa Tamaddon. >>> miw/sda | Dienstag, 04. Januar 2010

L’islam représente "plutôt une menace" pour 40% des Français et des Allemands
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Un sondage publié ce mardi par le quotidien français Le Monde témoigne de la méfiance des populations des deux pays envers l'islam, alors que le débat sur la place de celle-ci dans la société se développe.

Pour au moins 40% des Français et des Allemands, l’islam représente "plutôt une menace", selon un sondage publié mardi par le quotidien français Le Monde, alors que le débat sur la place de l’islam se développe dans ces deux pays.

Selon ce sondage, 42% des Français interrogés considèrent les musulmans "plutôt comme une menace", et 22% les voient comme "un facteur d’enrichissement culturel" (pour 36%, ils ne sont "ni l’un ni l’autre"). Les Allemands sont respectivement 40%, 24% et 36% à donner ces réponses.

Dans les deux pays, une forte majorité répond que l’intégration des musulmans ne s’est pas faite. Ils ne sont "pas du tout" ou "plutôt pas intégrés" pour 68% des Français et 75% chez les Allemands.

Entre 5 et 6 millions de musulmans vivent en France, qui compte la plus importante communauté musulmane d’Europe, et environ 4 millions en Allemagne.
"Malgré une histoire coloniale différente, une immigration différente et des modes d’intégration différents, il est frappant de relever que le constat, dur et massif, est le même dans les deux pays", relève Jérôme Fourquet, de l’institut de sondage Ifop, qui a réalisé l’étude. >>> AFP | Mardi 04 Janvier 2011

Israel: Andrea Bocelli to Sing at Masada
YNET NEWS: Famed Italian tenor to take part in one time performance in June. All proceeds dedicated to support of Galilee, Negev residents

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has accepted an invitation from the Israeli Opera to come to Israel in June for a unique concert which will be held at the foothills of the famous Masada landmark. The concert will mark the closing of the Opera Festival which will include performances of "Aida" at the Masada and Jerusalem at the Sultan's Pool.

Proceeds from the concert, which will be held June 12 in cooperation with the Or Association, will be dedicated to the support of residents of the Negev and the Galilee.

Bocelli will be accompanied by musicians from the Rishon Lezion Symphonic Orchestra and the opera choir. The famous tenor will sing famous arias from popular operas together Neapolitan songs. Choir and orchestra pieces will also be preformed during the concert. >>> Merav Yudlilovitch | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Time To Say Goodbye: Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

Prince Alireza Shah. Photograph: Google Images
Youngest Son of Iran Shah Commits Suicide
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Prince Alireza Pahlavi, the youngest son of the late Shah of Iran, has been found dead after committing suicide in the United States, according to his family.

The prince, 44, who had been studying at Harvard University, killed himself in his home in Boston, his family said on Tuesday.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, his older brother, said Prince Alireza had been downhearted due to political developments in Iran over recent years and at the loss of other relatives.

"Like millions of young Iranians, he too was deeply disturbed by all the ills fallen upon his beloved homeland, as well as carrying the burden of losing a father and a sister in his young life," he said.

The prince was studying for a postgraduate degree in philology and ancient Iranian studies. He had already obtained degrees from Princeton and Columbia universities. >>> Jon Swaine, New York | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

ABC NEWS / US: Son of Former Iranian Shah Found Dead in Boston: Former Iranian prince, youngest son of ousted shah, found dead of apparent suicide in Boston >>> Denise LaVoie, Associated press | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Tragic Double Suicide of the Shah of Iran's Children, Who Battled to Start a New Life in the U.S.
MAIL ONLINE: The youngest son of the Shah of Iran has killed himself after a long battle with depression - following his model sister who also took her own life.

Tormented by his sister’s death and the upheaval in his native country, Alireza Pahlavi, 44, shot himself in the head at his home in Boston, where he was studying at Harvard University.

His brother, former crown price Reza Pahlavi, said the family was in ‘great sorrow’ over the tragedy.

A family statement confirmed: ‘It is with immense grief that we would like to inform our compatriots of the passing away of Prince Alireza Pahlavi.

‘Like millions of young Iranians, he too was deeply disturbed by all the ills fallen upon his beloved homeland, as well as carrying the burden of losing a father and a sister in his young life.

‘Although he struggled for years to overcome his sorrow, he finally succumbed.’ >>> David Gardner | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Inside the Hidden Kingdom – Saudi Arabia
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Fettleibigkeit wird zur Volkskrankheit
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Laut einer Studie der Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung ist jeder Zweite übergewichtig. Die meisten fettleibigen Menschen leben in den USA und Mexiko.


MAIL ONLINE: Why are men getting so tubby? : The average British man has piled on A STONE in a decade. Yes greed and laziness are to blame but there are other, more worrying forces at play... >>> John Naish | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Verbunden / Related hier and here

Iranian Nuclear Scientist 'Tortured on Suspicion of Revealing State Secrets'
THE GUARDIAN: Shahram Amiri, who claimed he was abducted by CIA, has not been seen since return from US last year

After being welcomed home as a hero last year, Shahram Amiri (pictured holding son Amir Hossein) has been held and tortured in Iran, according to a US-based website. Photograph: The Guardian
An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA and who returned to a hero's welcome in Tehran last July, has since been imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of giving away state secrets, according to an opposition website.

Iranbriefing.net - run by a US-based group which normally reports on political prisoners and the activities of Iran's revolutionary guard - said the scientist, Shahram Amiri, had been interrogated intensively for three months in Tehran and then spent two months in solitary confinement, where his treatment had left him hospitalised for a week.

The Tehran authorities would not confirm or deny the account.

Amiri has not been seen in public in the six months since his much-publicised homecoming from America, where he claimed to have been held against his will. State media portrayed him at the time as a daring patriot who had escaped from his alleged CIA captors with critical information about US covert operations against Iran.

US officials, surprised by Amiri's unexpected return to Iran, insisted he had gone to the US willingly. There was concern in US intelligence circles however that his original "defection" in Saudi Arabia in 2009 could have been a trap to embarrass the CIA and trick its officials into revealing how much the US knows about the Iranian nuclear programme. >>> Julian Borger and Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Related >>>

New Hungary Citizenship Law Fuels Passport Demand
BBC: Many people living in regions that used to form part of Hungary have started applying for Hungarian citizenship.

Thousands applied at Hungarian consulates in Romania on Monday, when a new citizenship law took effect, a Hungarian community leader said.

Zsolt Szilagyi said he thought "hundreds of thousands" would apply in Transylvania, northern Romania.

Some Slovak politicians have condemned the new law. Slovakia, like Romania, has a large ethnic Hungarian minority.

Hungary ceded two-thirds of its territory under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, after being on the losing side in World War I. That left large Hungarian communities living in neighbouring countries. >>> Laurence Peter, BBC News | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Rebellion der Spanier: Die Wut über das strengste Rauchverbot Europas
WELT ONLINE: In spanischen Restaurants und Kneipen darf nicht mehr geraucht werden. Der Gaststätten-Verband sieht 145.000 Jobs in Gefahr.

Auf den ersten Blick sieht alles normal aus in der Bar „La Lata“ im Norden Madrids. Es herrscht großer Andrang an der Theke, die reichlich mit Tapas bestückt ist. Die Kunden genießen wie gewohnt den Aperitif am späten Vormittag und unterhalten sich angeregt.

Und doch fehlt der typische Qualm, denn seit Tagen gilt überall in Spanien eines der strengsten Rauchverbote in Europa. Zigaretten sind aus Cafés, Bars, Restaurants und geschlossenen Räumen verbannt. Auch vor Krankenhäusern, auf Spielplätzen und vor den Schulen darf nicht mehr gequalmt werden. Sogar die als „Raucheraquarien“ verschrienen Glasquader an Spaniens Flughäfen wurden jetzt abgeschafft.

„Noch fehlt es uns nicht an Gästen, aber das Ambiente ist weg“, sagt Amelia hinter der Theke. Kein Wunder, dass sich fast alle Diskussionen um das Rauchen und das neue Antitabakgesetz der sozialistischen Regierung von José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero drehen. „Einen solchen Eingriff in meine persönliche Freiheit hätte ich von einer links orientierten Regierung nicht erwartet“, sagt Alberto, ein junger Versicherungskaufmann und passionierter Raucher. Marta, seine hübsche Kollegin, widerspricht ihm. „Ich fühle mich ohne den ständigen Qualm hier jetzt viel wohler.“ >>> Ute Müller | Dienstag, 04. Januar 2011

Verbundene Artikeln hier, hier, und hier

Pakistan Governor Assassinated Over Blasphemy Laws Campaign
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: One of Pakistan's most outspoken politicians was shot dead in Islamabad on Tuesday by one of his own guards in a killing that police are linking to his controversial campaign to reform the country's blasphemy laws.

Witnesses said Salman Taseer, 56, the governor of Punjab province, was killed by a gunman in a police uniform at a small market close to his home in the capital.

His death is the most high-profile political assassination since the murder of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, in December 2007.

Last night the government appealed for calm as members of Taseer's Pakistan People's Party staged demonstrations in the Punjab city of Multan.

The country's government is already on the brink of collapse, following the defection of a key coalition ally, and further unrest would deepen the sense of political crisis.

Eyewitnesses said Taseer was a familiar figure at Kohsar Market, an arcade popular with expat aid workers, diplomats and journalists. >>> Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

What Women Really Want: To Marry a Rich Man
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Women still want to marry men who are better educated and earn more money than them, a report finds today.

The idea that women dislike being financially dependent on men is a myth, with more choosing to “marry up” now than did so in the 1940s, according to Dr Catherine Hakim from the London School of Economics.

After decades of gender equality campaigning many women now find it hard to admit that they want to be a housewife more than they want a successful career of their own, she said.

The study comes after the Coalition announced a series of measures intended to narrow the pay gap between men and women.

Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat equalities minister, said large companies could be forced to declare how much more they pay men and announced that firms would be able to use “positive action” to recruit new staff from under-represented groups for the first time.

However, Dr Hakim criticised David Cameron for backing the idea of quotas to ensure that more women gain seats on the boards of leading companies. Men dominate top positions because many women simply do not want long careers in business, she said.

Despite 40 years of reforms to promote gender equality at work, a woman’s financial dependence on a man “has lost none of its attractions”, she said. >>> Tim Ross, Social Affairs Editor | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

CENTRE FOR POLICY STUDIES: Feminist Myths and Magic Medicine: The flawed thinking behind calls for further equality legislation >>> Catherine Hakim

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH BLOGS: So the feminist man-haters and victim-mongers were wrong all along >>> Cristina Odone | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Con Coughlin: Nick Clegg Is Clueless When It Comes to Fighting Terrorism
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH BLOGS: With every day that passes Nick Clegg gives us yet further proof of why he is totally unsuited for high office. As the country’s deputy prime minister, he will have been made fully aware, from the regular briefings he receives from our intelligence and security services, of the very real threat this country faces from Islamist terrorism.

Indeed, it was only through the skill and diligence of dedicated security officers that a major terrorist attack was narrowly averted over the Christmas holiday. The targets apparently included Parliament itself, which you might have thought would have driven home even to pacifist-minded politicians like Mr Clegg the very real and present danger we all face from this pernicious threat. Read on and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

The Islamification of Britain: Record Numbers Embrace Muslim Faith
THE INDEPENDENT: The number of Britons converting to Islam has doubled in 10 years. Why? Jerome Taylor and Sarah Morrison investigate

The number of Britons choosing to become Muslims has nearly doubled in the past decade, according to one of the most comprehensive attempts to estimate how many people have embraced Islam.

Following the global spread of violent Islamism, British Muslims have faced more scrutiny, criticism and analysis than any other religious community. Yet, despite the often negative portrayal of Islam, thousands of Britons are adopting the religion every year.

Estimating the number of converts living in Britain has always been difficult because census data does not differentiate between whether a religious person has adopted a new faith or was born into it. Previous estimates have placed the number of Muslim converts in the UK at between 14,000 and 25,000.

But a new study by the inter-faith think-tank Faith Matters suggests the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions nationwide each year.

By using data from the Scottish 2001 census – the only survey to ask respondents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey – researchers broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were by ethnicity and then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole.

In all they estimated that there were 60,699 converts living in Britain in 2001. With no new census planned until next year, researchers polled mosques in London to try to calculate how many conversions take place a year. The results gave a figure of 1,400 conversions in the capital in the past 12 months which, when extrapolated nationwide, would mean approximately 5,200 people adopting Islam every year. The figures are comparable with studies in Germany and France which found that there were around 4,000 conversions a year. >>>Jerome Taylor and Sarah Morrison | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

'Why I Decided to Convert to Islam'
BBC: Up to 100,000 converts to Islam are living in the UK, with white women leading the growing number of people embracing the Muslim faith, according to a report by Kevin Brice of Swansea University.

The study, on behalf of the Faith Matters organisation, found 5,200 people converted to Islam in the UK last year.

A survey of 122 converts last year showed 56% were white British, with women making up 62% of respondents.

One convert in Wales, Jane, talks to Felicity Evans of BBC Radio Wales about why she chose to follow the faith and change her life. Listen to BBC audio >>> | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Surge in Britons converting to Islam: White women lead a wave of Britons embracing Islam, with a 50 per cent rise in converts living in this country in a decade according to a new report. >>> | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Der Wahnsinn kehrt zurück
ZEIT ONLINE: Goldman Sachs bringt sich mit dem Einstieg bei Facebook in eine strategisch günstige Position. Aber ist die Internetplattform wirklich 50 Milliarden Dollar wert?

Der Chef der Internet-Plattform Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, wirbt bei jeder Gelegenheit für mehr Offenheit: "Die Menschen teilen ihre Informationen immer schneller und offener. Das ist die neue soziale Norm." Nur wenn es um die Zahlen seiner Firma geht, gibt sich Zuckerberg verschlossen. Bis heute hat das Unternehmen keine belastbaren Zahlen über Umsatz, Gewinn oder Cash-Flow vorgelegt. Einen Börsengang, der für mehr Transparenz sorgen würde, lehnte Zuckerberg bisher kategorisch ab.

Die Intransparenz schadet ihm offenbar nicht: 500 Millionen Dollar zahlen die Investmentbank Goldman Sachs und der russische Investor Digital Sky Technologies für ein einziges Prozent an Facebook. Damit verdoppelt Zuckerberg sein rechnerisches Vermögen auf knapp 14 Milliarden Dollar. Das Portal, dessen Gründer und oberster Stratege gerade einmal 26 Jahre alt ist, ist auf dem Papier inzwischen 50 Milliarden Dollar wert - mehr als die Deutsche Bank. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Von Rolf Benders | Klaus Stratmann | Ulf Sommer | Christoph Kapalschinski | Hans-Peter Siebenhaar | Dienstag, 04. Januar 2011

Les chrétiens du Liban se sentent menacés
LE FIGARO: Ils se considèrent en perte de vitesse sur le plan politique et économique au profit des deux principales communautés musulmanes, les sunnites et les chiites.

L'attentat dont ont été victimes les coptes d'Alexandrie résonne douloureusement au Liban, où la communauté chrétienne partage le sentiment d'être menacée à long terme, même si le danger n'y prend pas des formes violentes. La litanie des mauvaises nouvelles concernant leurs coreligionnaires d'Orient -l'exode des chrétiens d'Irak, notamment- exacerbe le sentiment d'insécurité des Libanais maronites, orthodoxes, melkites, syriaques, latins… Au point qu'un ministre a présenté la semaine dernière un projet de loi visant à interdire pendant quinze ans toute vente immobilière entre chrétiens et musulmans. Lire la suite et ecrire un commentaire >>> Par Sibylle Rizk | Lundi 03 Janvier 2011

Qur’an Is Guide to Success, Says Prince Khaled
ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has highlighted the significance of learning and memorizing the Holy Qur’an.

“There is no objective higher than the learning of Qur’an,” he said, adding that the memorizers of the holy book are among the most honored near God.

Prince Khaled made this comment while addressing a ceremony at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday night, which was held to honor 25 winners of the King Abdul Aziz International Qur’an Recitation and Memorization Contest.

“The Qur’an is the guide to success in this life and the hereafter,” Prince Khaled said. “It’s the divine constitution for the whole humanity.”

He said King Abdul Aziz established the Kingdom, which reached the peak of its progress during the rule of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, on the basis of the Qur’an and Sunnah. >>> Arab News | Monday, January 03, 2011

Editorial: Saudization Drive
ARAB NEWS: Call for replacement of expats with Saudis in retail sector is prompted out of necessity

In most countries, a call from a prominent economist to expel foreign workers and replace them with nationals would be met with accusations of racism. But that accusation cannot be leveled at Saudi economist Abdul Rahman Al-Homaid. His call last week to replace foreigners in the retail sector with Saudis is prompted not by fantasies of national purity but by necessity.

As we have pointed out before in these columns, there is a ticking time bomb in Saudi Arabia. It is called unemployment and it threatens to explode with potentially devastating results unless defused. Because of the population growth rate — the highest in the world — every year for the next 20 years an extra 400,000 jobs will be needed to meet the demand from young Saudis coming onto the labor market. That is just the men! The consequences of them not finding work could be serious — economically, politically and socially.

For that simple reason, there are no taboos. There cannot be the same sentiments as elsewhere. Saudi Arabia has to put its own interests first. It is not racist to call for foreigners to be replaced by nationals, which would be the case in France or Germany or the US, because there is not the overriding imperative there of finding jobs for a burgeoning population. They actually need foreigners to fill jobs. >>> Editor | Monday, January 03, 2011

Mark Steyn: The Fraud of Multiculturalism

Ausschreitungen in Kairo
Etliche Verletzte bei Christen-Protesten – Gemayel spricht von «Völkermord»
Ein äyptischer Christ bei den Protesten in Kairo bildet mit seinen Fingern das Kreuzzeichen. Bild: NZZ Online
NZZ ONLINE: Nach dem blutigen Anschlag auf eine koptische Kirche in Alexandria entlädt sich die Wut der Christen in Ägypten in teilweise gewalttätigen Protesten. In Kairo gab es etliche Verletzte.

Nach dem tödlichen Bombenanschlag auf eine koptische Kirche in Alexandria in der Silvesternacht haben die Ausschreitungen auf die ägyptische Hauptstadt Kairo übergegriffen. Vor der Kathedrale warfen Demonstranten Flaschen und Steine auf Polizisten. 45 Beamte wurden laut Polizei verletzt, nach anderen Meldungen waren es 39 Sicherheitskräfte und zwei Passanten.

Zuvor hatte es bereits in Alexandria und in einem vorwiegend von Christen bewohnten Dorf in der oberägyptischen Provinz Assiut Proteste gegeben, bei denen die Demonstranten auch Slogans gegen Präsident Husni Mubarak riefen. Mittlerweile hat sich die Lage entspannt. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> ddp/sda | Montag, 03. Januar 2011

Father Christmas Banned After Muslim Complaint
MAIL ONLINE: Father Christmas has been banned from visiting a children's nursery after a Muslim family complained.

For the last four years, Dennis Jackson has donned a beard and red-and-white costume to hand out presents at the St Peter's Head Start Programme in Minnesota.

But this year he was told he wasn't welcome after objections from a Somali family.
'It kind of burnt me up,' Mr Jackson said, after being banned by officials at the Head Start Programme.

They had told him 'it was against some people’s wishes' for him to make the half-hour appearances for two classes, for about three dozen children all aged three and four.

According to the regional coordinator for the Minnesota Valley Action Council, Chris Marben, at least one Muslim family complained of his visit. Father Christmas banned at children's centre after Muslim family complained >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, January 03, 2011

Un Noël sous protection policière pour les chrétiens coptes de Meyrin

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ATTENTATS | Les chrétiens coptes de Suisse fêteront jeudi soir le Noël copte dans leur Eglise de Meyrin, sous protection policière. Ils craignent d'être la cible d'une attaque après le récent attentat contre leur communauté en Egypte.

"Notre Eglise, comme une septantaine d'autres églises coptes dans le monde, figure sur la liste du site islamiste radical al mojahden", affirme le père Mikhaïl Megally, qui est à la tête de la communauté copte orthodoxe de Suisse Romande. Une menace qui inquiète l'Eglise de Meyrin: deux de ses membres éminents, un théologien et un avocat, y sont nommément dénoncés. >>> ATS | Lundi 03 Janvier 2011

How Republicans and Tea Party Will Use Congress to Bash Barack Obama
THE GUARDIAN: The phoney peace is over: US right plans to tackle healthcare reforms and federal budget

John Boehner, the Republican leader who is expected to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Photograph: The Guardian
The Republican party is to use the new Congress, which begins on Wednesday, to mount a guerrilla campaign aimed at destroying Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, slashing the federal budget and preparing the ground for his defeat in the 2012 White House race.

When the Senate and House convene at noon, both will be awash with Republican members elected in November's crushing victories over the Democrats, many of them backed by the Tea Party movement.

In a political shift comparable to the Republican takeover of Congress in 1995 and the Democrats in 2007, the Republicans have a strong platform to harry Obama, having won control of the House and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate.

The handover of power in the House will take place on Wednesday after a bipartisan prayer service at St Peter's Catholic church. Members will vote in the House for a new Speaker, and Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold that post, will pass the gavel to the Republican leader, John Boehner.

Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues are to meet behind closed doors in Washington tomorrow to discuss strategy for coping with the shift in power and how to protect the gains they have made over the last two years. Read on and comment >>> Ewen MacAskill in Washington | Monday, January 03, 2011

Greece to Build 128-mile Anti-migrant Wall
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Greece has announced plans to build a controversial new wall along its 128 mile-long land border with Turkey to keep out illegal immigrants.

Christos Papoutsis, a Greek interior minister, insisted the wall was necessary after Brussels intervened last year to prevent an immigration crisis by sending in an elite taskforce of border guards to protect the frontier between Greece and Turkey, the EU’s most insecure boundary. He compared the planned barrier to the 650-mile fence along sections of the United-States-Mexico border.

“Co-operation with other EU states is going well. Now we plan to construct a fence to deal with illegal migration,” he said.

”The Greek public has reached its limit in taking in illegal immigrants. We are absolutely determined on this issue. Greece can’t take it anymore.”

Critics said the planned wall would be viewed as a symbol of widespread opposition, led by France, Germany and Greece, to Turkish EU membership and an emblem of a new Christian-Muslim divide between West and East. >>> Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, January 03, 2011

La tension monte en Égypte après l'attentat d'Alexandrie
Dimanche, au Caire, des manifestants coptes s'en sont pris aux hauts responsables venus pérsenter leurs condoléances au patriarche Chenouda III. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Des incidents ont éclaté dimanche au Caire après l'explosion qui a fait 21 morts devant une église d'Alexandrie. Un ministre a été la cible de jets de pierres et l'un des principaux responsables musulmans du pays a été encerclé dans sa voiture.

Depuis l'attentat qui a fait 21 morts et 79 blessés dans la nuit du Nouvel An devant une église copte d'Alexandrie, les heurts se multiplient à travers l'Egypte. Après de violents affrontements entre chrétiens et musulmans, samedi, à Alexandrie, des incidents ont éclaté au Caire dimanche. Plusieurs centaines de coptes se sont rassemblés dans l'enceinte de la Cathédrale Saint-Marc, siège du patriarcat copte orthodoxe, harcelant les responsables qui venaient présenter leurs condoléances. Des manifestants ont ainsi jeté des pierres sur Osmane Mohamed Osmane, secrétaire d'Etat au développement économique, après qu'il a rencontré le patriarche Chenouda III. Au même moment, des affrontements opposaient d'autres manifestants aux policiers postés à l'extérieur. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Lundi 03 Janvier 2011

Mysterious Bird Deaths in Arkansas

LE FIGARO: Une pluie d'oiseaux morts s'abat sur l'Arkansas : Près de 5000 volatiles sont tombés dans les rues d'une petite ville du sud des Etats-Unis, le soir de la Saint-Sylvestre. Les raisons de cette hécatombe sont pour le moment mystérieuses. >>> Par Constance Jamet | Lundi 03 Janvier 2011

St. Anton, Österreich. Bild: Google Images (Österreich)
Österreich: Russische 'Invasion' auf heimischen Skipisten
KRONEN ZEITUNG: Da kann man seine Ohren noch so spitzen, ein deutsches Wort hört man in den heimischen Skigebieten derzeit nicht. Auch kaum ein englisches oder italienisches. Gastein, Sölden und Co. sind jetzt fest in russischer Hand – beinahe im Minutentakt landen die Flieger aus dem Osten. Vielerorts wird um die Gunst der betuchten Gäste gebuhlt. Allerdings: Nicht jeder ist darüber erfreut. Allein am Sonntag landeten knapp 50 Maschinen aus Moskau, Kiew oder anderen Metropolen im Osten in Salzburg. >>> Doris Vettermann, Kronen Zeitung | Montag, 03. Januar 2011

Wird die arabische Welt eine Region ohne Christen?
WELT ONLINE: Die Lage der Christen in Ägypten ist mit der im Irak nicht vergleichbar. Doch bei der Auswanderung gibt es dramatische Parallelen.

Nach dem Anschlag mutmaßlich islamistischer Terroristen auf koptische Christen im ägyptischen Alexandria fürchten Gläubige in Europa und Deutschland weitere Attentate. Unter der Überschrift „Hör auf zu schlafen und steh’ auf“ ruft die mit dem Terrornetzwerk al-Qaida eng verbundene Internetseite Schumuch el Islam jeden „Muslim, der sich um die Ehre seiner Schwestern sorgt“, zu Sprengstoffanschlägen auf. Als potenzielle Ziele werden rund 50 Gotteshäuser koptischer Christen in Ägypten, in Frankreich, Großbritannien und Deutschland genannt.

In Deutschland leben etwa 6000 koptische Christen, von denen viele aus Ägypten stammen. Größere Gemeinden gibt es in Frankfurt und München. Der Bischof der koptischen Christen in Deutschland, Anba Damian, hat die Bundesregierung bereits kurz vor dem Anschlag auf die koptische Kirche in Ägypten vor Attentaten auch in der Bundesrepublik gewarnt. Damian sagte im Bayerischen Rundfunk, das Bundes-kriminalamt habe koptische Priester vor entsprechenden Plänen gewarnt. Demnach könnten Kopten in der Nacht vom 6. auf den 7. Januar zum Ziel neuer terroristischer Aktivitäten werden, konkrete Ziele seien Frankfurt und Lehrte. In dieser Nacht feiern die Kopten die Geburt Christi. >>> M. Lutz und A. Kolpatzik | Montag, 03. Januar 2011

Koptisches Weihnachtsfest im Visier der Terroristen
WELT ONLINE: Kanzlerin Merkel ist über das Blutbad von Alexandria entsetzt. Islamische Terroristen planen offenbar Anschläge zum koptischen Weihnachtsfest.

Koptische Christen sehen sich auch in Deutschland von islamischem Terror bedroht. Bereits vor dem verheerenden Attentat in Ägypten zu Neujahr habe sich die hiesige koptische Gemeinde deshalb an Bundesinnenminister Thomas de Maizière gewandt, bestätigte das Innenministerium in Berlin. Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) verurteilte das Blutbad in Alexandria scharf und äußerte Abscheu und Entsetzen.

Dort hatte ein Selbstmordanschlag in der Silvesternacht mindestens 21 Menschen getötet. Dutzende wurden verletzt. Merkel sei über das Attentat entsetzt, sagte ihr Sprecher Christoph Steegmans. In einem Beleidstelegramm an den ägyptischen Präsidenten Husni Mubarak äußerte sie demnach die Erwartung, dass Mubarak alles in seiner Macht stehende tun werde, derartige Vorfälle in Zukunft zu vermeiden.

Sicher fühlen sich die koptischen Christen aber auch in Deutschland nicht. Ihr Bischof Anba Damian sagte, das Bundeskriminalamt habe koptische Priester gewarnt. Im Internet sei ein Plan im Umlauf, wonach vom 6. auf den 7. Januar – dem koptischen Weihnachtsfest – Kopten Zielscheibe für terroristische Aktivitäten sein könnten. In dieser Nacht erreichen die Weihnachtsfeiern von orthodoxen Christen ihren Höhepunkt.

„Ich habe den Bundesinnenminister vier Stunden vor dem Terroranschlag in Alexandria davon in Kenntnis gesetzt“, sagte Damian. >>> Verena Schmitt-Roschmann | Montag, 03. Januar 2011

LE FIGARO: Menaces sur les coptes orthodoxes de France: Elles ont été proférées via Internet contre des églises. La section antiterroriste de la Criminelle enquête. >>> Par Jean-Marc Leclerc | Lundi 03 Janvier 2011

Navy Investigates Lewd Videos Made On USS Enterprise

This Is a Must Watch! Cholesterol Myth Exposed! They Use It to Sell Drugs That Kill You!

Bild: Google Images
Eier werden zu Sondermüll – Hühner notgeschlachtet
WELT ONLINE: Wegen des mit krebserregendem Dioxin verseuchten Futtermittels werden 1000 Höfe gesperrt. Der Verkauf von Eiern ist verboten.

Das Jahr 2011 beginnt für Deutschlands Verbraucher mit Nachrichten, deren Ursache man sonst eigentlich lieber verdrängt. Zehntausende Hühnereier mussten am Montag in Niedersachsen auf den Sondermüll gebracht werden, 8000 Legehennen wurden in Nordrhein-Westfalen notgeschlachtet, um nicht in den Nahrungskreislauf der Menschen zu geraten. In Thüringen wurde kontaminiertes Futtermittel in einer Schweinezucht entdeckt. Das wird erst einmal so weitergehen. Der jüngste Futtermittelskandal der Republik nimmt seinen Lauf. Es geht einmal mehr um Dioxin, eine chemische Substanz, die im dringenden Verdacht steht, krebserregend zu sein, und sich im Körperfett anreichert. Es geht aber auch um einen Nahrungsmittelkreislauf, bei dem Otto Normalverbraucher sehr schnell Überblick und Appetit verliert. >>> Ulrich Exner | Montag, 03. Januar 2011