Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik Permitted to Receive Visitors from Tuesday

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian far-right terrorist, will be allowed to receive visitors for the first time from Tuesday, after state prosecutors decided not to apply for continued restrictions.

The decision will open the way for Mr Breivik to give his first interviews with the media since he killed 77 people last July, and potentially to receive visits from those sharing his extreme anti-Islamic ideology.

Odd Gron, a lawyer at Lippestad, the firm representing Mr Breivik, said his client had received several letters from supporters requesting a visit.

"There have been requests from fans," he confirmed. "There are letters from people giving him support, there are people who want to tell him that they don't want to give him support, and also letters from journalists requesting arrangements." » | Richard Orange, Malmö | Monday, January 09, 2012

Winterwetter: Halb Österreich ist eingeschneit

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Das Schnee hat Vorarlberg, Tirol, Salzburg und Teile der Schweiz fest im Griff. Manche Dörfer sind von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Teilweise besteht die höchste Lawinen-Warnstufe.

Das Winterwetter hat Österreich sowie Teile der Schweiz und Bayerns im Griff. Vor allem der Westen Österreichs ist unter einer immer weiter wachsenden Schneedecke begraben. In den Bundesländern Vorarlberg, Tirol und Salzburg besteht die höchste Lawinen-Warnstufe. Mehrere Lawinenabgänge haben bereits Dörfer von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Der Zugverkehr über die Arlbergstrecke ist gesperrt, weil viele Bäume von den orkanartigen Stürmen umgerissen wurden und weil weiter Lawinengefahr herrscht. Zwischen dem Tiroler Ötztal und Bludenz in Vorarlberg musste ein Ersatzverkehr auf der Straße eingerichtet werden. Eine weitere Streckenunterbrechung gibt es zwischen Wörgl und Saalfelden. » | Von REINHARD OLT, WIEN | Sonntag 08. Januar 2012

NZZ ONLINE: Tausende von Skitouristen sitzen fest: Zahlreiche Wintertourismusorte wegen Lawinengefahr von Aussenwelt abgeschnitten » | Sonntag 08. Januar 2012

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Spring arrives early in Britain following mild winter weather: The first signs of spring are emerging weeks early in the countryside and in gardens as a result of the mild winter, experts said today. » | Sunday, January 08, 2012

’If Cameron Blocks EU Treaty It Will Be an Act of War'
SUNDAY EXPRESS: DAVID Cameron has three weeks to decide whether to bless a new eurozone treaty or use Britain’s veto and place the country in a “very grave position”, a senior observer warned last night.

Peter Ludlow, president of the ¬European Strategy Forum think tank, said Germany and France are confident they will secure a deal to save the long term future of the euro by the end of this month.

That would mean tougher financial rules for members of the eurozone and the use of existing EU institutions to enforce them, a move Mr Cameron has indicated is a step too far.

However, veteran EU analyst Mr Ludlow said one “very senior member” of the European Council had told him that if Britain were to try to block the deal it would be “tantamount to a declaration of war”.

He said: “If Cameron is stupid enough to try and block the use of the institutions it would be a very, very dramatic development which could only have grave consequences in terms of ¬Britain’s own interests. It would be his nuclear weapon and that’s why all the messages I get from various people give the impression he will not do that.” » | Ted Jeory | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Mystery Chinese Blogger Scores a Hit with Cultural Revolution Novel

THE OBSERVER: Under The Hawthorn Tree has already sold more than a million copies in China alone

A novel by an anonymous Chinese author living in America, which started life as a blog, has become a worldwide publishing sensation. It has been snapped up by publishers in 15 countries who have been impressed by the fact that it has sold more than a million copies in Chinaand inspired a film by an Oscar-winning Chinese director. Some publishers even bought it before reading a translation. Yet none of the publishers, translators or editors knows the author's identity.

Under the Hawthorn Tree, a tragic love story set during the Cultural Revolution, is written under the pen name of Ai Mi. All that is known about the author is that she leads a reclusive life in Florida, having gone there to study. She is thought to be in her fifties or sixties, if only because her insight into the Cultural Revolution suggests someone who experienced first hand the political and social persecution of Mao Zedong's last decade. She tells her readers that it was inspired by a true story. Her central character – a young woman from a "politically questionable family" who falls in love with the son of a general – is based on a real person with names and places disguised. » | Dalya Alberge | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Bahrain under Pressure to Investigate Shia Activist Beating
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Bahrain is under pressure to launch an investigation into the alleged police beating of a prominent Shia Muslim activist after the United States joined opposition groups in urging a full inquiry.

Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said he was kicked and beaten with clubs by members of the security forces who broke up a pro-democracy demonstration on Friday.

The Bahraini government, struggling to restore order after nearly a year of sectarian tensions on the island, denied the allegations, claiming that the police had come to Mr Rajab's aid by assisting him into an ambulance after he suffered tear gas inhalation. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, January 08, 2012

USA: Meet the Press
The Republican Candidates Debate

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

US Election: Ann Romney's Relatives in Britain Help Mitt Play the Welsh Card
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As frontrunner in the Republican White House race, Mitt Romney is seen by many as out of touch. Now his wife Ann's Welsh relatives have come to the rescue.

It is a long way from a small two-bedroom terraced brick home on King's Terrace in the mining village of Nantyffyllon to the colonnaded splendour of the White House. And it is a far cry from a 1920s open-sided charabanc in Porthcawl to Air Force One.

But Ann Romney is drawing on the working-class British roots of her Welsh-born father and her coalminer grandfather to bolster her husband Mitt's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, as was reported last week.

Now the full story of her family's journey from the mines of Glamorgan to the highest echelons of US society can be told for the first time after Mrs Romney's relatives in South Wales talked to The Sunday Telegraph.

For Roddy Evans, watching the election drama unfold from Porthcawl, the prospect of Mrs Romney as America's First Lady is sometimes difficult to imagine.

The former Wales and British Lions rugby union player, 77, is her second cousin and the Romneys and their five sons have been regular visitors over their years.

"I'm very proud of what they've achieved," he said last week at his home, where he received his annual Christmas card from his cousins last month. "It would be wonderful if the first lady had such humble roots in a little mining village in south Wales." » | Philip Sherwell, Manchester, New Hampshire and Ben Leach | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Related »

Kim Jong-un Stars in New North Korean TV Documentary
On what is believed to be Kim Jong-un's birthday, North Korea's state television broadcasts a new documentary on the 'Great Successor' in which he rides tanks, horses and a fairground ride

Read the short article here | Sunday, January 08, 2012
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Kim Jong-un celebrates birthday by driving a tank » | Malcolm Moore, Shanghai | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Nigeria's Descent into Holy War

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A wave of terrorist violence across Nigeria has raised fears of an alliance between the Islamist Boko Haram movement and al-Qaeda's franchise in the Sahara. Colin Freeman reports from the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri.

Like many other Christian outposts in the spiritual homeland of Nigeria's "Taliban", the Victory Baptist Church in the northern desert city of Maiduguri no longer just relies on God for protection.

A modest whitewashed spire in a skyline dominated by mosques, for the last month it has had a military guard to defend it from Boko Haram, the militant local Islamist sect blamed for a string of terror attacks nationwide in recent weeks.

The soldiers in the sandbagged machinegun nest outside the church, though, were unable save three members of the flock last week.

On Wednesday evening, three days after Boko Haram ordered all Christians to leave Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria for good, Ousman Adurkwa, a 65-year-old local trader, answered the door of his home near the church to what he thought was an after-hours customer. Instead it was two masked gunmen.

"They shot my father dead, and then came for the rest of the family," Mr Adurkwa's other son Hyeladi, 25, told The Sunday Telegraph the following day. "One chased my brother Moussa and killed him, and the other shot at me, but my mother took the bullet in the stomach instead." » | Colin Freeman, Maiduguri | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Blair Inc's 'Baffling' Increase in Earnings

THE GUARDIAN: Accountants question transparency of financial records kept by former PM's complex web of companies

Unemployment is rising and companies are going to the wall as the economic turmoil continues to inflict damage across the globe. But one organisation is thriving. Records recently filed at Companies House show Tony Blair Inc is going from strength to strength. They reveal that income channelled through a complex network of firms and partnerships controlled by Blair rose more than 40% last year to more than £12m. Of this, almost £10m was paid for "management services". The money was transferred via a network of firms and financial vehicles.

Accountancy experts are questioning the arcane nature of the network's finances, which makes it difficult to trace where its money is coming from, or where it is being spent.

Accounts for Windrush Ventures, an obscure company that operates under the trading name "the Office of Tony Blair", suggest 2011 has been a successful year for the former prime minister. Windrush saw its turnover rise to just over £12m, up from £8.5m in 2010. Pre-tax profits rose from £729,000 to £1.1m.

The accounts reveal that the company received "remuneration of £9,837,000 in connection with management services" from a limited liability partnership ultimately controlled by Blair. In the previous year Windrush Ventures Limited received £5.2m in remuneration for providing management services. Exactly what sort of management services are provided, and how the company derives its income, are impossible to determine as the accounts do not go into detail. Blair is legitimately taking advantage of laws allowing him to limit what his companies and partnerships must disclose. "It is baffling; these accounts make remarkably little sense," said accountancy expert Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK, a firm that scrutinises company finances. "This limited disclosure is not within the spirit of the law. " » | Jamie Doward | Saturday, January 07, 2012

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair and the £8million tax 'mystery': Former Prime Minister Tony Blair channelled millions of pounds through a complicated web of companies and paid just a fraction in tax, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. ¶ Official accounts show a company set up by Mr Blair to manage his business affairs paid just £315,000 in tax last year on an income of more than £12 million. In that time, he employed 26 staff and paid them total wages of almost £2.3 million. ¶ The accounts provide the strongest evidence yet of the huge sums generated by Mr Blair through his various activities since quitting Downing Street in June 2007. ¶ He runs a business consultancy – Tony Blair Associates – which has deals with the governments of Kuwait and Kazakhstan among others and is a paid adviser to JP Morgan, an American investment bank, and to Zurich International, a global insurance company based in Switzerland. Mr Blair makes a further £100,000 a time from speeches and lectures while also presiding over a number of charities including a faith foundation. » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Greedy Bankers to Face Prison as Chancellor Prepares New Law to Target Reckless Bosses Who Take Risks with the Economy

MAIL ONLINE: New criminal offence of 'corporate negligence' could punish financiers

Greedy bankers such as Sir Fred Goodwin could be jailed under tough new laws being drawn up by George Osborne.

Growing public outrage over the severe damage caused by the banking crisis has prompted the Chancellor to prepare a new criminal offence of ‘corporate negligence’ to punish reckless financiers.

The move comes just days before the annual City bonus season, which is expected to bring another round of bumper payouts despite the sluggish UK economy and families suffering a historic squeeze on household finances.

All three main parties are now competing to offer the most hardline policies on tackling ‘fat cats’, after their internal polling revealed the scale of voters’ fury at the level of executive pay.

Under the plan, being worked on behind the scenes at the Treasury, legislation would be introduced to prosecute any boss of a ‘systemically important financial institution’ whose actions had a significantly damaging effect on the wider economy.

The plan would mean that the chief executives of the big five banks: Bob Diamond at Barclays, Antonio Horta-Osorio at Lloyds TSB, Stuart Gulliver at HSBC, Ana Botin at Santander and Sir Fred’s successor at RBS, Stephen Hester – would all be at risk of imprisonment if they ‘crashed’ the banks and damaged the economy through their actions. » | Glen Owen | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy se défend de toute malversation

LIBÉRATION: «Marianne» assure que la femme du chef de l'Etat a profité de 3,5 millions de dollars provenant du Fonds mondial contre le Sida. Qui s'en défend et juge «inexact et trompeur» l'article de l'hebdomadaire.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a réfuté sa mise en cause par l’hebdomadaire Marianne, en affirmant, vendredi sur son site internet, que sa fondation philanthropique n’avait «jamais reçu d’argent public».

«Aucun argent public n’a jamais été reçu par la Fondation», écrit l’épouse du président Nicolas Sarkozy, dans un message posté à la une de son site, sous le titre «droit de réponse de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy».

Selon elle, «l’insinuation selon laquelle des fonds auraient été levés auprès de partenaires publics est entièrement infondée».

Dans un article intitulé «Enquête sur la philanthrope Carla Bruni-Sarkozy»,l’hebdomadaire daté du 7 au 13 janvier affirme notamment que, «au mépris des procédures normales», le Fonds mondial contre le Sida a versé 3,5 millions de dollars (2,7 millions d’euros) «en faveur des activités philanthropiques de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et de plusieurs agences appartenant à l’un de ses amis proches».

«Contrairement aux affirmations avancées par le journaliste» auteur de l’article, «la Fondation a bel et bien une comptabilité propre, consolidée in fine à la Fondation de France, comme près de 700 fondations en France dont la probité et la légitimité ne sont pas remises en question». » | AFP | vendredi 06 janvier 2012

MARIANNE: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et le Fonds mondial de lutte contre le sida réagissent à l'enquête de Marianne » | Marianne | samedi 07 janvier 2012

Argentine: la présidente Cristina Kirchner n'est pas atteinte d'un cancer
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Suite à une étude finale, les médecins ont «écarté la présence de cellules cancérigènes» dans la glande thyroïde de la présidente de l'Argentine.

La présidente argentine Cristina Kirchner n’avait pas de cancer. Une étude finale ayant «écarté la présence de cellules cancérigènes» dans la glande thyroïde après son opération de mercredi, a annoncé samedi le porte-parole de la présidence, Alfredo Scoccimarro.

«L'étude histopathologique finale a constaté la présence de nodules dans les deux lobes de la glande thyroïde de la présidente, mais elle a écarté la présence de cellules cancérigènes, modifiant ainsi le diagnostic initial», a dit M. Scoccimarro à la presse, lisant une déclaration. » | ats/ afp/Newsnet | samedi 07 janvier 2012

Liens en relation avec l’artcle ici et ici

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Argentine President Cristina Kirchner wrongly diagnosed with cancer: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner never had cancer despite having been diagnosed with the disease, her spokesman said. » | Saturday, January 07, 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Argentiniens Präsidentin nicht an Krebs erkrankt: Die argentinische Staatschefin Kirchner hat offenbar doch keinen Krebs. Die erste Diagnose habe sich als falsch erwiesen, teilte ein Sprecher am Samstag mit: Kirchner befinde sich nach einer Operation an der Schilddrüse "in einem optimalen Zustand". » | usp/AFP/Reuters | Samstag 07. Januar 2012

Rick Santorum’s Both a Religious Zealot and a Sellout

Cenk Uygur on Obama’s Record, Romney’s Tax Plan & Then Some

Saif Gaddafi Sets Libya's New Rulers a Test of Commitment to Human Rights

THE GUARDIAN: Tyrant's son has become an unlikely rallying point for human rights activists as he languishes in jail without a lawyer

Home for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is currently a converted living room with a dirty beige carpet in a compound close to Zintan, a modest mountain town 100 miles south-east of Libya's capital, Tripoli. Uniformed guards are his only company and he is denied visitors, television, radio and the internet.

He shakes hands with his few visitors with his left hand, because the thumb and forefinger of his right have been severed. He insists this was the result of being targeted in a Nato air strike, but some Libyans think it was the work of a rebel sympathiser, as punishment for Saif's habit of wagging his finger at rebels on his television broadcasts. Fred Abrahams of Human Rights Watch, granted a rare interview with Saif, reported that he looked well and gets fed three times a day. What Saif does not get is access to a lawyer, or any sight of the charges that Libya's new rulers say he faces.

Which is why, less than three months after his father's death, Saif is fast becoming an unlikely rallying point for international human rights advocates. It is a twist of fate no one would have anticipated, but Libya's rulers face increasing criticism over their failure to fulfil promises to set up a proper justice system. Saif, always the most influential son of the late Muammar Gaddafi, has been languishing in his makeshift prison cell since being arrested by militias in November.

The failure of the authorities to tell him what he is charged with or give him access to a lawyer has prompted a torrent of criticism from rights groups. » | Chris Stephen | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Margaret Thatcher, pionnière ou démon?

LA PRESSE: (Londres) Un nom est sur toutes les lèvres ces jours-ci en Angleterre: Margaret Thatcher. Satire pour les uns, propagande conservatrice pour les autres, le film The Iron Lady, mettant en vedette Meryl Streep, confirme la lente réhabilitation d'un personnage politique longtemps controversé. Mais le débat sur son héritage fait toujours rage.

Le film The Iron Lady met en scène la Margaret Thatcher d'aujourd'hui: frêle, amnésique et hantée par les souvenirs de sa carrière politique. Plus «Dame de rouille» que de fer, ont ironisé des journalistes qui l'ont connue. Le portrait cru et sans ambages de la dame de 86 ans, qui s'enfonce dans la démence sénile depuis cinq ans, frise le sacrilège aux yeux de ses proches et même du premier ministre David Cameron.

«Elle n'a jamais été la femme à moitié hystérique et hyperémotive interprétée par Meryl Streep», s'est emporté Norman Tebbit, son ancien ministre. Une critique partagée par d'autres amis de Margaret Thatcher, dont le règne à Downing Street, de 1979 à 1990, a été marqué par les grèves des mineurs, la guerre froide et les attentats terroristes de l'IRA.

La famille de l'ancienne première ministre a levé le nez sur l'invitation à la première londonienne mercredi dernier. La sortie du film de son vivant froisse les susceptibilités. » | Mali Ilse Paquin, collaboration special, La Presse | samedi 07 janvier 2012

Liens en relation avec l’article ici et ici

Rick Santorum: A Republican Menace or a Messiah?
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: When Rick Santorum began his improbable presidential run last June, half of Republican voters had never heard of him. Even after a dozen debates, he was just as unknown.

One group has long been well acquainted with him, however. And it is not the social conservatives behind his stunning tie for first place in this week’s Iowa caucuses.

Gay rights activists have considered Mr. Santorum a menace since his 2003 outburst against a Supreme Court decision striking down anti-sodomy laws. They have ensured that, even after he lost his Senate seat in 2006, Mr. Santorum’s name has lived on in infamy.

Thus was born the noun “santorum” – a word whose definition is so unsavoury the ex-senator has been trying to get Google to remove it from its search engine.

But as Mr. Santorum comes under scrutiny as potentially the only candidate able to stop Mitt Romney, he is discovering there is no erasing one’s past in politics or cyberspace.

The sudden attention could take him down or rehabilitate the meaning of his name.

The Republican base still craves a candidate who can beat the “Massachusetts moderate” – as the fast fading Newt Gingrich calls Mr. Romney. Mr. Santorum may be poised to ride a conservative wave, if not to the nomination, perhaps to a place on the GOP ticket. » | Konrad Yakabuski | MANCHESTER, N. H. | Friday, January 06, 2012

Rick Santorum Has Gay Friends

The Young Turks »

Piers Morgan Confronts Rick Santorum On His Bigotry

Egypt’s Coptic Christians Celebrate First Post-Mubarak Christmas

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Egypt’s Christians celebrated Saturday their first Christmas after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, amid tight security and a display of national unity to allay fears of the growing power of Islamists.

The Coptic Orthodox celebration follows an escalation in violence against the minority, an estimated 10 per cent of Egypt’s 85 million people, over the past year.

Many Christians blamed a series of street clashes, assaults on churches, and other attacks on radical Islamists who have become increasingly bold after Mr. Mubarak’s downfall.

Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began with a late night Friday Mass at Cairo’s main cathedral, which was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt’s political spectrum. They included leaders of Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. » | Sarah El Deeb | The Associated Press | CAIRO | Saturday, January 07, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Egypt's Coptic pope celebrates Christmas with call for unity: Figures from across political spectrum attend mass at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral amid fears of rising sectarian tension ¶ As Coptic Christians celebrated their first Christmas after the Egyptian revolution, their pope called for national unity amid fears that their community will suffer under Islamic majority rule. ¶ Copts, who use of a 13-month calendar dating back to pharaonic times, celebrated Christmas Day on Saturday. ¶ At the start of the festive celebrations in Egypt, prominent figures from across the political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and members of the ruling military council, attended Friday night mass at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral. ¶ The Coptic pope, Shenouda III, commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt". ¶ He said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree ... on the stability of this country, and in loving it and working for it, and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." » | David Shariatmadari and Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Royal Navy Sends Its Mightiest Ship to Take On the Iranian Show of Force in the Gulf
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Royal Navy's most formidable warship is being sent to the Gulf for its first mission as tensions rise in the strategically vital region, it can be disclosed.

Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, which served as the conduit for 17 millions barrels of oil every day last year.

Naval commanders believe the deployment of HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, will send a significant message to the Iranians because of the firepower and world-beating technology carried by the warship.

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, has publicly warned Iran that any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be "illegal and unsuccessful".

The Daily Telegraph understands that HMS Daring has been fitted with new technology that will give it the ability to shoot down any missile in Iran's armoury. The £1 billion destroyer, which will leave Portsmouth next Wednesday, also carries the world's most sophisticated naval radar, capable of tracking multiple incoming threats from missiles to fighter jets. » | Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Foreign Office Warns of Terrorism Risk in Kenya
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Foreign Office has warned of an increased risk of terrorism in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The warning came as Kenya admitted the threat from Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents from neighbouring Somalia was not "totally neutralised."

Foreign Office officials said they believed there was a heightened threat of "terrorist attacks" in the Kenyan capital and that attacks "may be in the final stages of planning."

"Attacks could be indiscriminate and target Kenyan institutions as well as places where expatriates and foreign travellers gather, such as hotels, shopping centres and beaches. We strongly advise British Nationals to exercise extra vigilance and caution in public places and at public events," the FCO said in a statement. » | Friday, January 07, 2012

Cameron Set for New Row with Europe over Closer Harmonisation

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron is facing a fresh row with France and Germany over plans to more closely integrate the European Union.

A draft treaty circulating in Brussels this weekend states that the 26 EU members states planning to sign a new fiscal treaty should be allowed to set their own policies for Europe’s single market.

The proposed treaty also stipulates that the key bodies of the union should be allowed to police tough new deficit rules – directly contradicting the British Prime Minister’s wishes.

Mr Cameron refused to sign the new treaty at a summit in Brussels in December, where he said it would be wrong for the group of 26 to use the European Council, European Court of Justice and other EU institutions to drive through and oversee closer harmonisation of tax and spending policies by governments.

It is understood changes were made to the draft treaty over the Christmas period in accordance with French wishes for “deeper integration in the internal market”. » | Robert Watts, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Countess of Wessex Criticised for Accepting Jewels from Bahrain

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Countess of Wessex has been criticised for accepting two sets of jewels from the royal family of Bahrain.

The countess, 46, was given the gifts during a recent official visit to the country.

She was given one set by Bahrain’s king and a second set by the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

Her husband, the earl, received a pen and a watch.

Critics said the countess should sell the gems and give the proceeds to political protesters in Bahrain.

Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: “Given the appalling suffering and repression of the Bahraini people, it would be a fitting gesture for the Countess of Wessex to auction these trinkets and distribute the proceeds to the victims of the regime.” » | Andy Bloxham | Friday, January 06, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Countess of Wessex 'should return bloodstained' gems to Bahrain: Labour MP Denis MacShane and activist Peter Tatchell call on Sophie to return jewels after crackdown on democracy protests ¶ Gems accepted by the Countess of Wessex from Bahrain's royal family should be sold to benefit victims of the regime's crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners, according to a former foreign office minister. ¶ The countess received two suites of jewels as presents during a day-long visit to the Arab state in December, while her husband Prince Edward received a pen, a watch and a silk rug. » | Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You

US Election 2012: Ann Romney's Welsh Connection
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ann Romney's Welsh cakes on the US election campaign trail in Iowa offered a glimpse into her family's Celtic working class roots.

Amid the bleak concrete strip malls of the first stop on this year's US presidential election campaign trail, they were a delicious reminder of the green grass of home.

Welsh cakes, baked by Mitt Romney's wife Ann, were the talk of freezing Iowa last week among the campaign staff, supporters and journalists lucky enough to catch her eye.

As well as taming the hungry travelling circus around the Republican front-runner's campaign, they also offered a glimpse of the working-class British ancestry of the would-be First Lady of America.

She may now be one half of a glamorous multi-millionaire power couple, but Mrs Romney’s roots stretch back to the tiny mining village of Caerau, near Bridgend.

“I am a coal miner’s granddaughter,” Mrs Romney, 62, said at a campaign stop.

“I feel I am just one foot away from where that mine was and how close we all are, all of us, to the sacrifices of our parents and grandparents who tried to make a better life for us.”

That grandfather, David Davies, emigrated to the US in the 1920s after being crushed in a mining accident. He did whatever work he could find to pay for his family to join him.

His wife, daughter and three sons – one of them 15-year-old Edward Roderick “Rod” Davies, future father of Mrs Romney – arrived in 1929, just as Wall Street crashed and the Great Depression struck. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington and Jon Swaine | Friday, January 06, 2012

Jamaica Vows to Drop Queen as Head of State

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Portia Simpson Miller, the new prime minister of Jamaica, has vowed to abandon the Queen as head of state and turn the country into a republic.

Mrs Simpson Miller made the pledge just weeks after it was announced that Prince Harry would visit the Caribbean nation later this year to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.

The constitutional changes are not expected to disrupt his trip but may lead to a potentially embarrassing diplomatic situation where a representative of the monarchy visits Jamaica at the same time the government is working to sever its links to the crown.

Speaking at her inauguration on Thursday, Mrs Simpson Miller offered a fulsome tribute in English to the monarch, saying: "I love the Queen. She is a beautiful lady, and apart from being a beautiful lady, a wise lady and a wonderful lady."

However, she pointedly switched to Jamaican patois as she told the crowd of 10,000: "But I think the time has come." » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Friday, January 06, 2012

Michelle Obama 'Raged Against Rahm Emmanuel and White House Advisors'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama clashed frequently with Rahm Emmanuel, her husband's White House chief of staff, as the pair vied for influence over the President, according to a new book.

The First Lady reportedly believed that Mr Emmanuel's willingness to cut backroom deals during the battle over health care reform was tainting Barack Obama's image as a new kind of American leader.

The Obamas paints a picture of a presidential inner circle divided between Mrs Obama's idealistic belief in what the administration could achieve and the grittier pragmatism of Mr Emmanuel.

The book, written by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, claims that the chief of staff refused to allow the president's wife into high-level morning meetings, leading a brooding Mrs Obama to berate other senior advisers by email.

She allegedly sent furious notes to Alyssa Mastromonaco, the president's director of scheduling, and to Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago friend who now serves as one President Obama's top advisors.

Ms Jarrett was said to remove the First Lady's name before circulating the emails widely within the West Wing. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Saturday, January 07, 2012

The Weekly Standard's Anti-gay Email Is Just One of a Disturbing Trend

THE GUARDIAN – NEWS BLOG: Frustrated American conservatives are exploiting gay paranoia to make up for a drought of ideas on how to fix the economy

Conservative magazine and website The Weekly Standard is under fire for sending a vituperative and deeply paranoid email to its thousands of subscribers, claiming that the "homosexual lobby" wants to indoctrinate American school students with a "perverted vision for a homosexual America".

The email, from the rightwing activist Eugene Delgaudio, rails against proposed legislation designed to protect young gay students from discrimination, saying it would "require schools to teach appalling homosexual acts".

The Standard has moved to distance itself from the email, sent as a sponsored mail-out by its marketing department, but the editor has declined opportunities to disavow the content.

Yet even in the charged atmosphere of cultural discourse in the United States, the language is extraordinary. Delguadio, renames the Student Non-Discrimination Act as the "Homosexual Classrooms Act" and says it would

• Require schools to teach appalling homosexual acts so "homosexual students" don't feel "singled out" during already explicit sex-ed classes;

• Spin impressionable students in a whirlwind of sexual confusion and misinformation, even peer pressure to "experiment" with the homosexual "lifestyle";

• Exempt homosexual students from punishment for propositioning, harassing, or even sexually assaulting their classmates, as part of their specially-protected right to "freedom of self-expression";

• Force private and even religious schools to teach a pro-homosexual curriculum and purge any reference to religion if a student claims it creates a "hostile learning environment" for homosexual students.

It goes on to say that the bill is "just the start" of a secret plan by gay campaigners. "In fact, it will set them up to ram through their entire perverted vision for a homosexual America." » | Posted by Matt Wells | Friday, January 06, 2012

Santorum Enjoys New Hampshire Poll Bump But Trails Far Behind Romney

THE GUARDIAN: WMUR poll shows Rick Santorum benefiting from Iowa success, but Mitt Romney remains favourite to win primary on 44%

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is enjoying a bump in the polls in New Hampshire as a result of his success in the Iowa caucuses.

A poll for WMUR, the New Hampshire affiliate of ABC, puts Santorum on 8%, up from only 1% when the last poll was taken in November. More signficantly, Santorum – as he did in Iowa – is enjoying a surge, and the poll figures taken in the two days after Iowa show even higher support for him, at 11%.

But Santorum is still well behind the frontrunner Mitt Romney, who is almost certain to add New Hampshire to his win in Iowa. He would then be heading to South Carolina for its 21 January primary with two victories behind him. » | Ewen MacAskill in Manchester, New Hampshire | Friday, January 06, 2012

Big Donors 'Buying Policy'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wealthy donors appear to be buying Government policy by securing “preferential” access to ministers and senior politicians, the standards watchdog has warned.


Sir Christopher Kelly said the perceived influence of rich businessmen over politicians is undermining public trust in Westminster. He cited the Coalition’s planning reforms as an example of a policy that raised suspicions after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that property developers were paying thousands of pounds for access to senior Tories.

Such preferential treatment leads to increasing concerns that there is “no smoke without fire”, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

“There is no doubt that significant donors do have preferential access to political decision makers,” he said. “The thought that anyone would give such a large sum of money to a party solely for altruistic reasons is quite a difficult one. The risk is policy being influenced in other, more subtle, ways because some people have access because they have given donations.

“There is a risk of it [influencing of policy by donors] happening and more importantly there is a public perception that it does happen.”

The comments by Sir Christopher amount to one of the most strident warnings yet that Britain’s political system is at risk of being corrupted by wealthy individuals. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Mehr Hinrichtungen in Saudi-Arabien
Uno-Menschenrechtskommission ist alamiert
NZZ ONLINE: Das Uno-Hochkommissariat für Menschenrechte in Genf hat sich besorgt über die im vergangenen Jahr deutlich angestiegene Zahl von vollstreckten Todesstrafen in Saudi-Arabien gezeigt.

Das Uno-Hochkommissariat für Menschenrechte sei wegen des signifikanten Anstiegs der Anwendung der Todesstrafe in Saudi-Arabien alarmiert, sagte der Sprecher des Kommissariats, Rupert Colville, am Freitag vor Journalisten in Genf.

Noch beunruhigender als die hohe Zahl von Exekutionen sei aber die Tatsache, dass die jeweiligen Gerichtsprozesse von internationalen Standards weit entfernt seien. «Folter als Mittel, um ein Geständnis zu erzwingen, scheint eine breite Anwendung zu finden», kritisierte Colville. » | sda/afp | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Mitt Romney Soars to Top of South Carolina Poll
THE BOSTON GLOBE: Mitt Romney has rocketed to an 18-point lead in South Carolina, according to a CNN poll released today.

South Carolina, the first southern state to hold a primary, could prove to be a crossroads for the Republican nomination process. Social conservatives and Tea Party activists hope to erect a roadblock against Romney, seeking to prevent the momentum he gained from his historic eight-vote victory in Iowa and his expected win in New Hampshire next Tuesday from transforming into an election juggernaut.

Voters head to the polls Saturday, Jan. 21.

South Carolina is more socially conservative than New Hampshire and could pose a problem for Romney. His more conservative rivals - including former senator Rick Santorum, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas Representative Ron Paul, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have been campaigning there. Perry has skipped New Hampshire to muster his forces in South Carolina. » | Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Santorum Compares Marriage Equality to Polygamy

ADVOCATE.COM: Santorum Vs. Students on His Slippery-Slope Logic » | Friday, January 06, 2012

Related »

ADVOCATE.COM: Santorum Says He's Barely Mentioned Gay Rights » | Michelle Garcia | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Persischer Golf: Die Ausgegrenzten
ZEIT ONLINE: Warum provoziert der Iran den Westen? Das Regime in Teheran hat Angst, aus gutem Grund: Es geht ums Überleben

Das Regime des Irans mag Unsicherheit streuen über seine wahren Absichten. Die Straße von Hormus, die Halsschlagader der Weltwirtschaft,für Öltanker sperren? Auf die Drohung folgte eine ganze Reihe von widersprüchlichen Stellungnahmen aus Teheran. Bluff oder nicht, eine Botschaft der gefährlichen Manöver am Golf ist klar: Noch mehr Sanktionen, noch mehr Gängelung durch den Westen wird sich die Islamische Republik nicht bieten lassen. Hinter der militärischen Protzerei steckt ein Land, das in die Enge getrieben ist. Jetzt, so sehen es seine Führer, ist der Zeitpunkt gekommen, Amerika und Europa das zurückzuzahlen, was sie dem Iran so viele Jahre über angetan haben.

Das Regime in Teheran hat Angst, aus gutem Grund. Seit der ehemalige US-Präsident George W. Bush den Iran in einer berüchtigten Rede vor dem Kongress im Januar 2002 zusammen mit Nordkorea und dem Irak Saddam Husseins auf die »Achse des Bösen« setzte, hat sich der Druck auf das Regime stetig erhöht. Die Sanktionen der UN zeigen Wirkung. Es geht mittlerweile um die Existenz der Islamischen Republik Iran. » | Von Ulrich Ladurner | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Orthodox Christians in Turkey Dive into the Bosphorus
Jan. 6 - Greek Orthodox Christians brave the cold waters of the Bosphorus to compete for a wooden crucifix in a traditional Epiphany ceremony. Rough Cut.

US Expands Definition of Rape to Include Men
THE GUARDIAN: Obama administration broadens definition to include more forms of assault in first major update since 1927

The Obama administration on Friday broadened the definition of the crime of rape to include more forms of sexual assaults such as rape of men and oral or anal sex, the first major revision to the definition in more than 80 years.

The new definition will include any gender of the victim and attacker and also assaults in which a victim cannot give consent because the individual has been incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, is under the age of consent, or is mentally or physically incapable of consent, the justice department said.

"This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years," vice president Joe Biden said in a statement. » | Reuters | Friday, January 06, 2012

France Proclaims 600th Anniversary of Joan of Arc
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France will mark the reputed 600th anniversary of Joan of Arc with a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy to her birthplace.

President Sarkozy will travel to Domremy, the village said to have been her birthplace, where he will unveil a plaque in the home where she is thought to have been born.

Mr Sarkozy will also visit Vaucouleurs, also in the Vosges mountains of eastern France, where Joan of Arc began her campaign to push the English out of France and put Charles VII on the throne.

Mr Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are battling over the mantle of the French patron saint Joan of Arc, a surprise player in the upcoming presidential election.

The two leaders are to stage rival celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the birth of the 15th-century Catholic martyr who has been appropriated by the far-right partly for her booting out of medieval English "immigrants".

The teenage peasant led the French army against the English after experiencing religious visions and was later burned at the stake, but her broad appeal to French of all political colours has ensured her immortality.

France is officially a secular state, but the story of Joan's struggle against the English and Burgundians on behalf of the French crown has often served as an inspiration in patriotic causes.

She is regularly wheeled out as a symbol of French unity, alongside such Gallic icons as general Charles de Gaulle or Vercingetorix, who defied the Romans like a real-life Asterix. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, January 06, 2012

LE FIGARO: Sarkozy honore Jeanne d'Arc : Nicolas Sarkozy a célébré aujourd'hui la mémoire de Jeanne d'Arc érigée en symbole de la "résistance" de la France dans l'épreuve et de son "unité nationale" en dénonçant, à quelque cent jours de la présidentielle, "ceux qui voudraient s'en servir pour diviser". En s'invitant sur le terrain des exploits de la "pucelle d'Orléans", le chef de l'État se savait dans le collimateur de ses futurs rivaux électoraux, prêts à rouvrir son procès en détournement politique de l'Histoire, ouvert avec Jean Jaurès ou Guy Môquet. Surtout à la veille de l'hommage que le Front national doit rendre demain à celle qui a "bouté les Anglais hors de France". » | AFP | vendredi 06 janvier 2012

Adolf Hitler 'Nearly Drowned as a Child'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Adolf Hitler nearly drowned when he was four years-old but was saved by a local priest, historians have claimed.

Newspaper clippings have emerged detailing how a child – who experts believe was Adolf Hitler – was rescued from the River Passau, Germany, in January 1894.

The infant is not named in the article, which was uncovered in a German archive, but it matches a story recounted by priest Max Tremmel in 1980. He said his predecessor Johann Kuehberger told him he had rescued Hitler when the Nazi leader was a child. Residents of Passau, where Hitler grew up, also claimed the priest's story was true.

The account of the incident remained uncorroborated until recently when the article emerged. » | Amy Willis | Friday, January 06, 2012

WOCHENBLATT: Was wäre, wenn Hitler 1894 in Passau ertrunken wäre? : Als vierjähriger Junge wohnte Hitler in der Kapuzinerstraße in der Innstadt. Im gleichen Haus wohnte der spätere Passauer Domkapellmeister Johann Kühberger, der viele Jahre später seinem Nachfolger Max Tremmel berichtet haben soll, dass er als Junge den kleinen Adolf vor dem Ertrinken im Inn gerettet habe. » | Mittwoch 04. Januar 2012

Rome Turning into 'Wild West' of Violent Crime
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The murder of an immigrant bar owner and his nine-month old baby girl during a botched robbery has shocked Rome, prompting warnings that the city of La Dolce Vita is turning into a "Wild West" of violent crime.

Zeng Zhou, 31, a Chinese immigrant, and his baby daughter, Joy, were killed by the same bullet when two thieves demanded the takings from the bar he ran in the capital's grimy Tor Pignattara district on Wednesday night.

The bullet passed through the baby's head and then struck her father in the heart, killing both of them instantly.

His 27-year-old wife, Zeng Lia, was stabbed in the attack and is being treated in hospital.
She told police that one of the gunmen had yelled "I'll kill you like a dog" at her husband when he refused to hand over thousands of euros in cash.

The double murder was the 36th killing in the city in the past 12 months – up from 25 in 2010.

The killings were "an offence to the Eternal City" and risked turning the Italian capital into "an immense favela where shoot-outs happen as they did in the Wild West," said La Stampa, one of the country's most respected daily newspapers. "In one year, Rome seems to have spun out of control."

The violence has spread from the graffiti-clad sink estates on the outskirts of the city to the tourist-friendly piazzas and cobbled streets of the centre. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, January 06, 2012

Rick Santorum Enters Bill O'Reilly's ‘No Spin Zone’

British Skiers Stranded in Zermatt
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of British holidaymakers have been left stranded in Zermatt after an avalanche prevented travel in or out of the Swiss ski resort.

Snow has covered the road and rail routes in and out of the village, and continued heavy snow and high winds has meant helicopters have been unable to take off or land.

The resort has been cut-off since about 1.30pm on Thursday after more than a metre of snow fell in less than 24 hours. The surrounding mountains have also been closed to skiers.

A spokesperson for Zermatt Tourism said rail staff had been unable to dig out the train tracks, the main route into the resort, and the situation would be assessed again at 11.15am today. » | Oliver Smith and Caroline Shearing | Friday, January 06, 2012

NZZ ONLINE: Wetterbericht für die Schweiz: Nachts teils klar, am Samstag wieder Niederschlag – Allgemeine Lage: Die Schweiz liegt zwischen einem kräftigen Hoch mit Zentrum über dem nahen Atlantik und einer Tiefdruckzone über Skandinavien. Zwischen diesen Druckzentren herrscht weiterhin eine starke bis stürmische, direkt auf die Alpen gerichtete Nord- bis Nordwestströmung. Darin eingelagert erreicht am Samstag ein nächstes, okkludierendes Frontensystem die Schweiz. » | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Wulff will Telefon-Anruf nicht freigeben
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Berlin - Bundespräsident Christian Wulff hat sich in seiner Kredit- und Medienaffäre in neue Bedrängnis gebracht.

Das Staatsoberhaupt lehnte am Donnerstag die Veröffentlichung seines Telefon-Anrufs bei der "Bild"-Chefredaktion ab. Dies hatte die Zeitung erbeten, um ihre Darstellung zu belegen, dass das Staatsoberhaupt eine Berichterstattung über seinen 500.000-Euro-Kredit verhindern wollte. Wulff hatte hingegen am Mittwochabend in einem Fernseh-Interview erklärt, er habe nur um einen Tag Aufschub für die Veröffentlichung gebeten. Die SPD warf Wulff prompt vor, er tue nichts, um die Vorwürfe gegen ihn zu entkräften. "Ob er gelogen hat oder nicht, kann nur eine Veröffentlichung der Mailbox beweisen", erklärte der Parlamentarische Geschäftsführer der SPD, Thomas Oppermann.

Die Mehrheit der Deutschen überzeugte Wulff laut ARD-DeutschlandTrend durch das Interview nicht. Die meisten Befragten wollen ihm aber eine zweite Chance geben und als Staatsoberhaupt behalten. Eine Blitzumfrage am Donnerstag ergab, dass 61 Prozent Wulffs Auftreten nicht überzeugend fanden und nur 30 Prozent überzeugend. Dennoch sind 60 Prozent der Meinung, dass Wulff eine zweite Chance verdient habe. 36 Prozent teilen diese Ansicht nicht. Das schlägt sich auch in der Frage nach einem Rücktritt nieder: 56 Prozent wollen, dass Wulff im Amt bleibt - neun Punkte mehr als am Mittwoch vor dem Interview. Dagegen sind 41 Prozent der Befragten der Meinung, dass Wulff zurücktreten sollte. Am Mittwoch waren es noch 50 Prozent. » | Reuters | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Wulff sieht sich neuen Vorwürfen ausgesetzt: Berlin - Während Bundespräsident Christian Wulff mit dem Empfang der Sternsinger am Freitag Routine demonstriert hat, schwelt die Debatte über seine Zukunft weiter. » | Reuters | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

FOCUS ONLINE: Bettina Wulff lässt sich von Luxus-Labels einkleiden: Die Kanzlerin sagt Nein, wenn ihr Modehersteller Kleider für öffentliche Anlässe anbieten. Offener reagiert Präsidenten-Gattin Bettina Wulff nach FOCUS-Informationen auf solche Angebote. » | flf | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Turkish Ex-army Chief in Jail over Anti-government Plot

REUTERS: Former Turkish armed forces chief General Ilker Basbug spent his first night behind bars on Friday, charged with trying to overthrow the government in an unprecedented development likely to exacerbate tensions with the military.

Basbug, who retired in 2010, is the highest-ranking officer to be caught up in the so-called Ergenekon case, a long-running crackdown on EU candidate Turkey's once all-powerful military and secularist establishment.

The former general was taken from an Istanbul courthouse in the early hours of Friday for a health check before being transported in a police convoy to Silivri prison, some 80 km (50 miles) west of the city, where hundreds of defendants in the Ergenekon case are being tried in a specially-built courtroom.

"The Republic of Turkey's 26th general chief of staff has been remanded in custody for forming and directing a terrorist group. I leave it to the great Turkish nation to judge," Basbug said as he was lead from the courtroom.

The decision to send Basbug to jail came hours after prominent Turkish journalists on trial over alleged ties to the ultra-nationalist Ergenekon network said the charges against them were "a massacre of justice."

Ergenekon is accused by prosecutors of being behind multiple conspiracies against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party government, and several hundred suspects, including retired senior military officers, academics, lawyers and journalists, have been detained in cases related to the network. » | Daren Butler and Can Sezer | ISTANBUL | Friday, January 06, 2012

Rick Santorum Endorses Muslim Profiling
CBS NEWS: In a discussion over balancing national security and privacy, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Tuesday he would endorse profiling, specifically of Muslims and young men, in order to enhance security at airports.

"We should be trying to find the bomber, not the bomb," the former Pennsylvania senator said at the CNN debate, explaining his support for profiling. He cited the use of profiling in Israel as an example of how it would work.

Asked to explain by debate moderator CNN's Wolf Blitzer who would be profiled, Santorum said, "The folks who are most likely to be committing these crimes."

"Obviously, Muslims would be someone you'd look at," he said, adding that "the radical Muslims are the people that are committing these crimes, by and large, as well as younger males. » | Stephanie Condon | Tuesday, November 22, 2012

Santorum Wants to Impose 'Judeo-Christian Sharia'
CNN OPINION: There are two Rick Santorums: The first one I might not agree with, but the second one truly scares me.

"Santorum One" pushes for less government regulation for corporations and shrinking the federal government. You may or may not agree with these positions, but they are both mainstream conservative fare.

Then there's "Santorum Two." This Santorum wants to impose conservative Christian law upon America. Am I being hyperbolic or overly dramatic with this statement? I wish I were, but I'm not.

Plainly put, Rick Santorum wants to convert our current legal system into one that requires our laws to be in agreement with religious law, not unlike what the Taliban want to do in Afghanistan.

Santorum is not hiding this. The only reason you may not be aware of it is because up until his recent surge in the polls, the media were ignoring him. However, "Santorum Two" was out there telling anyone who would listen.

He told a crowd at a November campaign stop in Iowa in no uncertain terms, "our civil laws have to comport with a higher law: God's law." » | Dean Obeidallah, Special to CNN | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Rick Santorum Compares Same-sex Marriage to Polygamy, in Spirited Exchange at N.H. College
THE WASHINGTON POST: DURHAM, N.H. - Rick Santorum took on a restive audience Thursday night over the issue of same-sex marriage, which the former Pennsylvania senator vociferously opposes.

Asked by a college student why he opposed the right of same-sex couples to wed, he responded that there was no compelling reason to allow it and suggested that it was akin to legalizing polygamy.

“So, everybody has the right to be happy?” he said. “So, if you’re not happy unless you’re married to five other people, is that OK?”

Santorum’s logic provoked an outcry from the audience, which was made up primarily of local college students but also a number of local conservative voters who were there to support the surging presidential candidate.

It was the first such confrontation over Santorum’s well-documented opposition to gay rights and gay marriage since his surprisingly strong finish in the Iowa caucuses, but it probably won’t be the last. New Hampshire has allowed same-sex marriage since 2010, and voters who were unaware of Santorum’s stance on the issues are likely to hear a great deal about them now that he is emerging as the Christian conservative standard-bearer in the race.

The grilling began almost immediately after Santorum concluded his opening remarks at an event sponsored by the New England College. Student after student challenged him on his stance, especially in light of his earlier remarks about the founding principle that all men were created equal. » | Sandhya Somashekhar | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Michael Bublé: Hollywood (Official Video)

Barack Obama Sets Out Plans for Leaner Military in Historic Strategy Shift

THE GUARDIAN: President says armed forces will move away from large-scale ground warfare and focus more on China in wake of budget cuts

President Obama has unveiled plans for America's military future, outlining a historic shift towards a smaller and leaner force that will focus on China and move away from large-scale ground warfare that has dominated the post-9/11 era.

Obama became the first president to announce a strategy change directly from inside the Pentagon – a theatrical gesture designed to underline the significance of the shift. Mindful of the dangers of displaying any weakness over national security in an election year, Obama said he was determined to maintain US military supremacy around the world, but he admitted that the review involved a move to "smaller conventional ground forces" and the removal of "outdated cold war-era systems".

The immediate incentive for the change in tack, set out in a Pentagon strategy paper, is the fiscal crisis and the Congress-led drive for spending cuts. Currently, the Pentagon is under orders to slash $487bn from the resources it had expected to receive over the next 10 years, and those cuts could rise to close to $1tn if Congress fails to reach agreement on alternative reductions by January next year. » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Un timbre dédié à la pose de la première de La Grande Mosquée de Paris
lePARISIEN.fr: Erigée entre 1922 et 1926, la Grande Mosquée de Paris, située dans le 5e arrondissement, célèbre cette année les 90 ans de l'amorce de sa construction. Pour marquer cet anniversaire, La Poste émet un timbre à 0,60€. Il sera disponible dès le 11 février prochain.

Inaugurée en 1926 pour rendre hommage aux milliers de musulmans morts pour la France, la Grande Mosquée de Paris a commencé à être construite dès 1922. » | Relaxnews | Tuesday, January 03, 2012