Michael White: Britain, Proud Home of Euroscepticism
THE GUARDIAN: Distrust of Europe seems inherently British, born of geographic distance and political loyalties

The British do not have a monopoly on Euroscepticism. But suspicion towards the European project has existed for longer within the British mainstream than anywhere else. It was evident in the lofty mistrust displayed by both Labour and Tory governments towards the EU's first faltering steps. At the signature of the treaty of Rome in 1957, Britain sent Russell Bretherton, a middling trade official, not even a minister. To observe, not join.

When the then prime minister, Harold Macmillan, acknowledged the strategic error and applied to join in 1961, his wartime ally, Charles de Gaulle, feared Britain would be an Anglo-Saxon Trojan horse and kept it out until 1973. In those early days it was Labour's leader, Hugh Gaitskell, who raised the Eurosceptic standard against losing "1,000 years of history" as an independent state. His enemies on the Labour left, who saw Europe as a capitalist ramp, cheered him on. Fellow moderates were appalled.

The Tories had their sceptics too – including pro-Commonwealth nostalgics – preaching the angry language of betrayal. They were marginalised, their rebellious votes neutralised by Europhile Labour and Liberal (later Lib Dem) MPs, as well as most of Fleet Street where – as at Westminster – most top jobs were held by "never again" veterans of the second world war.

With the exceptions of the pro-empire Daily Express and the communist Daily Worker, Fleet Street voted yes in the 1975 referendum on UK membership. Seven Labour cabinet members – led by Michael Foot – were allowed to campaign for a no. Margaret Thatcher campaigned for a yes with Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, David Steel and Roy Jenkins.

Only in the late 80s, as vivid wartime memories faded, did the centre of gravity shift in both main parties. Claiming to have been deceived, in 1988 Thatcher denounced "federalism" in Bruges, just as Neil Kinnock – encouraged by the visionary French European Commission president, Jacques Delors – led Labour to embrace a social Europe. It would protect workers against the free market capitalism of Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. As Labour swung towards Europe, most of Fleet Street swung the other way. So it has remained. » | Michael White | Thursday, January 26, 2012

Scientists Urge Unis to Axe Alternative Medicine Courses
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: MORE than 400 doctors, medical researchers and scientists have formed a powerful lobby group to pressure universities to close down alternative medicine degrees.

Almost one in three Australian universities now offer courses in some form of alternative therapy or complementary medicine, including traditional Chinese herbal medicine, chiropractics, homeopathy, naturopathy, reflexology and aromatherapy.

But the new group, Friends of Science in Medicine, wrote to vice-chancellors this week, warning that by giving "undeserved credibility to what in many cases would be better described as quackery" and by "failing to champion evidence-based science and medicine", the universities are trashing their reputation as bastions of scientific rigour. » | Kelly Burke | Thursday, January 26, 2012

Scots Land First Blow in Battle to End Union

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: EDINBURGH: Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has taken the first formal step towards an independence referendum that the government in Edinburgh hopes will secure a mandate for the country's withdrawal from the United Kingdom in as little as five years.

In a Scottish government consultation paper published on Wednesday, the leader of the Scottish National Party said the 2014 referendum would ask Scotland's 4 million voters: “Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?”

Mr Salmond's plan for the independence vote set the stage for what some in Britain have described as a high-stakes constitutional poker game pitting Mr Salmond against the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, with the prize the right to dismantle, or preserve, Britain's existence as a united country.

Mr Cameron has insisted that only parliament in London has the legal power to approve a referendum on the potential breakup of the union between England and Scotland, which was forged in the Act of Union of 1707. He has also said London, not Edinburgh, should set the terms and timing of the vote.

Mr Salmond has rejected those positions and on Wednesday he threw down the gauntlet. Outlining his own terms for the ballot, he set a May deadline for the conclusion of a public consultation['] on its terms and suggested that Mr Cameron would have little choice in the end but to bow to whatever format Mr Salmond's government adopted. » | John Burns, Alan Cowell | Friday, January 27, 2012

Marriage Made Easier for Same-sex Couples
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: THE federal government will help Australian same-sex couples marry in countries where gay marriage is legal by issuing them with documents currently available only to heterosexuals.

In several nations that allow gay marriage, including Portugal, Spain, Norway and South Africa, a person must produce a Certificate of No Impediment, which proves they are at least 18, unmarried and that there is no other barrier to them taking part in a marriage ceremony.

The Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, will announce today that from February 1 same-sex couples will be able to apply for the certificates. » | Dan Harrison | Friday, January 27, 2012

Julia Gillard Attacked in Riot
Prime Minister Australia Julia Gillard is attacked by Aboriginal Protestors on Australia Day.

Hogg Bowled Over by His Own Tastelessness in Pot Shot at Muslims

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: RODNEY HOGG took fans "inside the mind of a lunatic fast bowler" in his autobiography and did so again yesterday with a Muslim slur that has landed him in controversy.

The outspoken former Test cricketer, who terrorised batsmen during his six-year international career, was forced to duck and weave after delivering a tweet described as "more than despicable" by the leader of an Islamic group.

"Just put out my Aussie flag for Australia Day but I wasn't sure if it would offend Muslims … So I wrote 'Allah is a shit' on it to make sure," Hogg tweeted at about noon yesterday. » | Andrew Wu | Friday, January 27, 2012

Soziale Frage in den USA: Im Land der Ungleichen
SUEDDEUTSCHE: Bei der Präsidentenwahl 2012 tritt ein anderer Barack Obama an als vor vier Jahren: Gefragt ist nicht mehr der Versöhner, sondern der Klassenkämpfer, der für soziale Gerechtigkeit eintritt. Das ist eigentlich unamerikanisch, aber trotzdem nötig. Denn angesichts eines extrem ungerechten Steuersystems, das schamlos die Reichen bevorzugt, haben viele US-Bürger das Grundvertrauen verloren: dass jeder die Chance habe, sein Glück zu machen.

Vor vier Jahren war Barack Obama als Versöhner angetreten. Die Amerikaner hatten ihn gewählt, weil sie hofften, dass er die Gräben zuschütten könnte, die sich in den ersten Jahren des neuen Jahrtausends unübersehbar aufgetan hatten: die tiefe Animosität zwischen den beiden politischen Lagern im Land und die klaffenden Unterschiede zwischen den Profiteuren der Boom-Jahre und dem Rest der Gesellschaft, in der immer mehr Menschen der Absturz drohte.

Inzwischen ist alles anders. Die Hoffnung, die Obama seinerzeit entgegenbrandete, ist längst dahin. Deshalb wird sich diesmal ein anderer Obama zur Wahl stellen. Das hat er in seiner Ansprache zur Lage der Nation im Kongress unmissverständlich zu verstehen gegeben. 2012 tritt Obama der Klassenkämpfer an. » | Ein Kommentar von Reymer Klüver | Mittwoch 25. Januar 2012

Obama Hits the Road amid Republican Attacks on State of the Union Speech

THE GUARDIAN: President kicks off tour of swing states as Gingrich and Romney accuse him of 'class warfare' in asking rich to pay more

Barack Obama left Washington on a tour of swing states crucial to his re-election in November after delivering a populist state of the union speech that launched his 2012 campaign.

Obama called for a fairer, more equal America, the theme he is to pursue throughout the campaign, branding the Republicans as the party of the rich elite.

Republicans accused him of promoting "class warfare" and adopting "left-wing demagoguery".

Although Obama did not mention by name one of the Republicans chasing the party nomination to be his challenger, Mitt Romney was the president's target when Obama called for a minimal tax rate of 30% for millionaires.

"Washington should stop subsidising millionaires," the president said.

He added: "Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense." » | Ewen McAskill in Miami | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

'It Really Makes Me Think about Becoming a Muslim': Liam Neeson Considers Converting to Islam Following Trip to Istanbul

MAIL ONLINE: He may have been named after the local priest in his Irish hometown but Liam Neeson could be leaving his Roman Catholic beliefs behind.

The 59-year-old actor is said to be considering converting to Islam following a working trip to Istanbul.

According to The Sun, Neeson admitted that Islamic prayer 'got into his spirit' while he was filming in Turkey.

'The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing,' he said.

'There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim.'

Neeson was raised in Northern Ireland as a devout Roman Catholic due to his parents[‘] beliefs. » | Kirsty McCormack | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

DOPPIO SCHERMO: Liam Neeson verso la conversione all'Islam: L'attore ha confessato che la preghiera islamica "gli è entrata nello spirito", durante le riprese di un nuovo film a Istanbul. » | Scritto da Sonia Arpaia | Mercoledì 25 Gennaio 2012

Muslim Cleric Banned from Britain Claims Al Qaeda Poised to Launch Su[i]cide Attacks in Syria
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Omar Bakri Mohammed, the radical cleric banned from the United Kingdom for 'glorifying terrorism', has told the Daily Telegraph from his base in the Middle East that al Qaeda is poised to wage war against the Syrian regime.

Bakri, once nicknamed the 'Tottenham Ayatollah', said hard line Salafi Muslim groups, including al Qaeda, and his own Al-Ghuraba group, also proscribed in the UK, are ready to help their 'Muslim brothers' with a campaign of suicide attacks against President Bashar al Assad.

"In two or three operations, [al Qaeda] can make the Ba'ath party run away," he added. "With self sacrifices operations – you call them suicide bombings, al Qaeda will go to the Parliament when the Ba'ath are inside, he will explode and he will say 'Oh God receive me. Oh God I am hurrying towards you'".

"Al Qaeda are so clever, they can make so many weapons from nothing. They can go to any kitchen, make a very nice pizza bomb and deliver it fresh," added Bakri.

Speaking from his new home in Lebanon, the self styled cleric who caused controversy after the 2005 London bombings by blaming them on the government and British public, called the wave of pro-democracy revolutions that have swept the Middle East in the past year, 'al-Qaeda's victory'.

The volatility in the Arab world, and the dismantling of authoritarian regimes and ruthless intelligence services have given Salafist groups room to breathe and the thousands of jailed Islamists in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, released as the dictatorships crumbled, have been perfect for recruiting he added. » | Ruth Sherlock, Beirut | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Nazis Decided to Convert 25,000 Nazis to Islam

LIBERTY NEWS: When the Nazis decided to "convert" 25,000 Nazis to Islam ('Moslem association,' "Jamait-e-Muslimin," 1939) under the Arab "Fuehrer."

...common to the Nazi creed of the sword and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. Not only has a school been opened in Berlin, where Moslem students are given free education and board; it has been decided to "convert" 25000 Nazis to Mohammedanism. They will be organised in a newly-formed Moslem association, Jamait-e-Muslimin, which already has an understanding with the Mufti, a leader of the Palestinian Arabs. It is intended that the 25000 converts shall be sent to various Moslem countries as trade and political missionaries. Two centres have already been started for them in the Near East. The one in Cairo directs Nazi work in Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, and Transjordania. [Source: Liberty News] | Paula Poster | Thursday, January 19, 2012

Kuwaiti Royal Prince Reportedly Converts to Christianity
WILMINGTON POLITICAL BUZZ EXAMINER: A member of the Kuwait's royal family has reportedly renounced his Islamic beliefs and has embraced Christianity.

It's being reported in the Italian newspaper La Stampa’s 'Vatican Insider' section, that Prince Abdullah al-Sabah announced his conversion in an audio file on the Arabic-language Christian television station al-Haqiqa.

According to the report, Abdullah stated:

"First of all, I fully agree with the distribution of this audio file and I now declare that if they kill me because of it, then I will appear before Jesus Christ and be with Him for all eternity."

In an apparent acknowledgment to the real possibility of martyrdom due to his embrace of Christianity, Prince Abdullah declared:

"I will accept whatever they do to me, because the truth in the Bible has guided me towards the right path."

The Prince is also reported to have stated:

"Islamic communities have always wanted to attack in different parts of the world but God has preserved the world and still protects it.

This is why we have recently seen disagreements appearing among Islamic groups who are now fighting with each other.

They are about to divide further into different groups."

» | Timothy Whiteman | Monday, January 23, 2012

Police Trainees See Anti-Islam Film

THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Mayor Michael Bloomberg said New York police used "terrible judgment" showing counterterrorism trainees a documentary-style film that says Muslim extremists are masquerading as moderates to destroy America from within.

Bloomberg said police have stopped showing officers The Third Jihad, a 72-minute movie that has been branded inflammatory by some Muslim organisations and was produced by a conservative group called the Clarion Fund.

"Somebody exercised some terrible judgment," he said in Albany, the state capital. "As soon as they found out about it, they stopped it." » | AP | Thursday, January 26, 2012

Psychiater beantragen Einweisung von Breivik in Klinik
DIE PRESSE: Der norwegische Attentäter soll zur Beobachtung in eine psychiatrische Klinik eingewiesen werden. Sie erhoffen sich neue Erkenntnisse über seine Psyche. Ein erstes Gutachten hatte Breivik für unzurechnungsfähig erklärt. » | Ag. | Mittwoch 25. Januar 2012

Laptops Reduce Male Fertility Say Researchers
According to researchers in Argentina, man's supposed new best friend, the innocuous laptop, could seriously affect male fertility. In simulated tests, the sperm of 33 volunteer were all negatively affected. The mobility of the semen diminished and the breakdown of its DNA increased. While tests have yet to be conducted on female subjects, the discovery suggests the devices potentially reduces a man's fertility and increases the danger of genetic deformities in children who are born. Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman reports from Buenos Aires.

Turkey Booming as EU Continues to Languish
As Europe continues to grapple with its economic crisis, Turkey appears to be slowing its move toward EU membership. The economy is booming, and as it strengthens relationships in the Middle East, the country is debating whether its future lies more in the east than the west. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reports from Ankara.

Mitt Romney: In His Own Words
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks about his core values: his family, his religion and his country.

Gingrich: Romney's Attacks Out of Desperation
GOP candidate calls assault nasty and untrue

Sen. Marco Rubio on 'Hannity'
Florida senator reacts to State of the Union address, Florida primary

Romney Camp: Gingrich Scrambling for a Distraction
Candidate's staff claims the former House speaker is trying to take the heat off himself and his past

How Can Mitt Romney Win Over Republican Voters?
Focus group on Romney's appeal

Ron Paul: In His Own Words

Newt Gingrich: In His Own Words

Rick Santorum: In His Own Words

Gingrich Is Obama’s Best Surrogate
THE WEASHINGTON POST: The most important figure in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address wasn’t on the House floor. In fact, he hasn’t taken a seat in front of the chamber in 13 years.

But as he campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination in Florida, former House speaker Newt Gingrich was doing more to boost President Obama’s reelection prospects than anything Obama himself could do. While Obama was using the speech to portray the Republicans as plutocrats, Gingrich was doing all he could to prove the caricature true. Read on and comment » | Dana Milbank | Opinion Writer | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Google to Track Users... Like Never Before!
RT: In a move that has triggered outrage, Google has announced plans to bring all data collected from users’ separate accounts on its sites into a combined profile. Besides raising dubious questions about privacy, this offer is one you… cannot refuse.

The changes will take effect on March 1. Before that date, Google will notify its hundreds of millions of users about the new rules of the game. In preparation, the company is boosting its privacy policy and terms of service. Users will have to decide whether to agree with the new terms – or lose access to some of their favorite sites. There is no way of opting out of the changes.

Some say Google’s privacy announcement is frustrating and a little frightening."Even if the company believes that tracking users across all platforms improves their services, consumers should still have the option to opt out,” said Common Sense Media chief executive James Steyer, as cited by the Washington Post.

Google says the new policy reflects a “desire to create a simple product experience” that does what one needs, when one needs it. The changes, apparently, will also allow Google to offer more new services and other “cool things.” » | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Sanctions Dodge: India to Pay Gold for Iran Oil, China May Follow

Obama’s New Fairytale: Peace and Prosperity for War-bent US

Exclusive TV Series Hosted by Julian Assange to Premiere on RT in March

Read article here | Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Related »

WikiLeaks: Rights to Julian Assange Chat Show Bought by Russian TV
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has chosen a Kremlin-bankrolled satellite TV channel known for its relentless anti-Western propaganda to broadcast his new talk show.

RT, a Moscow-based channel formerly known as Russia Today, said on Wednesday it had secured exclusive first broadcast rights for Mr Assange’s new 10-part interview show ‘The World Tomorrow.’

“Details of the episodes and the guests featured are secret for now,” RT said in a statement, adding it was proud to be associated with the WikiLeaks founder.

On bail in the UK with strict limits on his freedom of movement pending possible extradition to Sweden on sex crime charges he denies, RT said Mr Assange would interview "’iconoclasts, visionaries and power insiders’" – people Assange can clearly identify with, being a rather controversial figure himself.”

“The 40-year-old Australian media and internet entrepreneur will get to talk about the issues of the day with those he believes will shape the world tomorrow. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

David Cameron: Human Rights Laws Stop Britain Protecting Against Terrorism
David Cameron has claimed human rights laws are stopping Britain from protecting its citizens from terrorists in a landmark speech to the Council of Europe.

Read article and comment here | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Digital ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Will Be Made EU Law
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Embarrassing, inaccurate or simply personal data will have to be deleted from the internet and company databases if consumers ask, under a new set of European laws.

The move will mean that social networks such as Facebook or Twitter will have to comply with users' requests to delete everything they have ever published about themselves online. It will also mean that consumers will be able to force companies that hold data about them, such as for Tesco's Clubcard, to hand it over or remove it.

The changes, which could take more than two years to implement, also include a new EU power to fine companies up to 2 per cent of their global turnover if they breach the rules. Read on and comment » | Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Davos Elite: Capitalism Has Widened Income Gap

SEATTLE POST INTELIGENCER: DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — A four-year economic crisis has left societies battered and widened the gap between the haves and have-nots, financial leaders conceded Wednesday — with one suggesting that Western-style capitalism itself may be endangered.

As Europe struggles with its debt crisis and the global economic outlook remains gloomy at best, there's a sense at the heavily guarded World Economic Forum that free markets are on trial.

Many at the elite economic gathering in the Swiss Alps accept that more must be done to convince critics that Western capitalism has a future and that it can learn from its massive failures.

For David Rubenstein, the co-founder and managing director of asset management firm Carlyle Group, leaders must work fast to overcome the current crisis or else different models of capitalism, such as the form practiced in China, may win the day.

"As a result of this recession, that's lasted longer than anyone predicted and will probably go on for a number more years ... we're going to have a lot of economic disparities," Rubenstein said. "We've got to work through these problems. If we don't do in three or four years ... the game will be over for the type of capitalism that many of us have lived through and thought was the best type." » | Pan Pylas, AP Business Writer | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Alex Salmond: Scotland Could Be Independent by 2016
Alex Salmond today vowed to break up Britain by 2016 as he set out his timetable for a referendum on Scottish independence and its aftermath.

Read article and comment here | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

'There Will Be Riots on Streets of America': George Soros Predicts Class War in U.S. as Euro Triggers Collapse of Global Economy

MAIL ONLINE: Billionaire New York investor warns of impending economic meltdown / Backs euro and buys Italian bonds from Jon Corzine's failed MF Global / Warns it's 'difficult to know right decisions to make' after boom years / Supports Occupy Wall Street, Democrats and Obama re-election efforts

Billionaire investor George Soros has warned the global economic system could collapse and riots on the streets of America are on the way.

The 81-year-old said he’d rather survive than stay rich as the world faces an ‘evil’ period and Europe fights a ‘descent into chaos and conflict’.

He has backed the euro, bought $2billion in European bonds and insisted the economic climate is similar to the 1930s Great Depression.

‘The euro must survive because the alternative - a breakup - would cause a meltdown that Europe, the world, can’t afford,’ he told Newsweek.

‘The situation is about as serious and difficult as I’ve experienced in my career. We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world.’

His warnings came as U.S. stocks dipped on Tuesday, with talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis faltering and threatening a five-day winning streak. » | Mark Duell | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The White House: The State of the Union

John F. Kennedy Predicted the Monday of His Funeral Would Be 'Tough Day'
Secret recordings made by President John F Kennedy reveal in the days before his assassination that he predicted the following Monday would be a "tough day". It would prove to be the date of his funeral.

Read article and comment | Rosa Prince, New York Correspondent | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

US Election 2012: Mitt Romney Attacks 'Divisive' Barack Obama Ahead of State of the Union Address
The former Massachusetts governor offered what his campaign called a "prebuttal" to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, labelling the President as a "desperate campaigner-in-chief"

Read short article here | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Gaddafi Loyalists Retake Bani Walid
Loyalists of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi have seized control of the town of Bani Walid, raising the former government's green flag.

Turkish Anger Over French 'Genocide' Vote
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, says a controversial genocide bill passed by the French parliament is "racist". The proposed law makes it illegal to deny that the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 constituted genocide. Turkey says relations between the countries will be seriously affected if French President Nicolas Sarkozy signs it into law. Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Turkey's main city, Istanbul.

Turkey's Shrinking Media Freedoms
Hrant Dink, a Turkish editor and journalist who campaigned for many years for the Turkish government to recognise the genocide of Armenians, was murdered in 2007 in what many believe was a police-related incident. His is just one case concerning press freedoms which have lead many in the country to believe the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AK Party, has broken its promises to protect liberties. According to recent accounts, nearly 100 journalists in Turkey are in prison while 1,000 of the country's 16,000 cases pending at the European Court of Human Rights are related to media freedom. In the first of a three-part series on reforms within the country, Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Istanbul, takes a closer look at the state of press freedom.

Tantawi: Egypt to Lift State of Emergency
Head of military council says decades-old state of emergency to be lifted on Wednesday, except for cases of "thuggery".

German Report: 20% of Germans Are Anti-Semitic
THE JERUSALEM POST: Islamic-based anti-Semitism present among German Muslims

BERLIN - The German government released on Monday the findings of a two year inquiry into modern anti-Semitism in the Federal Republic, showing that latent anti-Semitism affects one of every five Germans.

The 202 page study, entitled "Anti-Semitism in Germany," covered a wide spectrum of German anti-Semitism, including hatred of the Jewish state as a manifestations of anti-Semitism within the Left movement and Islamic-animated loathing of Israel and Jews, especially from Iran's regime and the Turkish media.

Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a member of the ten member commission, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, that the "experts came to the conclusion that the ideology of the Iranian regime is anti-Semitic." According to the report, "The state anti-Semitism is, however, not only relevant on the propaganda level" in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The study notes that Iran's anti-Semitic ideology plays a role in Germany.

When asked what the report means by Iran's regime not limiting its anti-Semitism to its domestic agenda, Wahdat-Hagh said, Iran supports foreign anti-Semitic entities "militarily, financially and ideologically." He cited the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

In Germany the strong presence of Iran's regime is located in Hamburg. "In view of the facts that the political head of Iran is also considered a spiritual figure for many extremist thinking Muslims," wrote the commission's authors. The study says that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader in Iran, is the sponsor of the Islamic Center in Hamburg (IZH).

According to one commission member, Dr. Juliane Wetzel, hyperbolic criticism of Israel as an expression of anti-Semitism exists between 40 and 50% of the population. However, Dr. Clemens Heni, a leading German scholar of contemporary German anti-Semitism, said Wetzel plays down the widespread form of anti-Israel anti-Semitism in the Federal Republic. » | Benjamin Weinthal, Jerusalem Post Correspondent | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Persecution of Christians Rising in Islamic Countries
CBN: JERUSALEM, Israel -- With Islamists poised to take over governments overthrown during the "Arab spring," Christians and other minorities may soon be subject to Sharia (Islamic) law.

Some say assurance by Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis, and Ennahda, that non-Muslims would not be mistreated under Sharia is, at best, questionable.

In Egypt, attacks on Coptic Christians have increased exponentially since the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime last year.

Egyptian Christians have been beaten, shot and stabbed to death, and their homes and churches have been fire bombed by angry Muslims.

On Monday, Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament held its first session. The Muslim Brotherhood now holds 47 percent of the seats, and the Salafist al-Nour party 25 percent.
Syrian Christians have also come under increasing persecution.

"The Christian community in Syria has been hit by a series of kidnappings and brutal murders; 100 Christians have now been killed since the anti-government unrest began," the Jerusalem Post quoted the Pakistan Christian Post. » | Tzippe Barrow | CBN News Internet Producer – Jerusalem | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy: 'I'm Confronted by the End of My Career'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy has apparently admitted that he is facing the end of his political career and may soon devote himself to "making money".

The French President reportedly made the admission as new polls suggest he will be defeated if, as expected, he stands for re-election in the Spring.

"In case of failure, I stop politics. Yes, that is a certainty," said Mr Sarkozy, 56. "Anyway, I'm at the end. In any case, for the first time in my life, I'm confronted by the end of my career."
The comments, which were made to key aides over the past few days and reported in Le Monde, also included the words: "I am not a dictator".

Mr Sarkozy has made it clear to political allies that he would like to follow in the footsteps of Tony Blair, who went on to make millions after stepping down as Prime Minister.

The President is said to have told his governmental colleagues: "Me too – in the future, I'd like to make money." » | Peter Allen in Paris | Tuesdaay, January 24, 2012

Turkish Rage at ‘Yes’ from French Senate

HÜRRIYET DAILY NEWS: Turkey expressed fury yesterday after the French Senate passed a bill criminalizing denials of the 1915 events as genocide in spite of threats from Ankara to punish Paris with “permanent” sanctions if the bill was passed.

“Turkey’s response to the adoption of the bill had long been decided. These measures will stay in place as long as the law stays in force,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters yesterday.

French senators passed the bill following a marathon session, with 127 legislators voting in favor of the bill and 86 voting against the motion in the legislature’s upper house, which has 348 members.

France’s lower house voted to make such denials a crime last month, prompting Turkey to suspended military, economic and political ties. With the motion’s passage through the Senate, Turkey is now expected to unveil a new raft of measures that will affect educational and cultural ties with France.

The bill will become law once it is approved by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and enters the Official Gazette.

Making a speech on behalf of the government, French Minister of Relations with Parliament Patrick Ollier said the bill complied with French and EU laws. Ollier said two “genocides” were now recognized by France.

“The denial of the Jewish genocide is penalized; [now we are making that] this possible for the Armenian genocide as well,” said Ollier. » | Hürriyet Daily News | ANKARA | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

HÜRRIYET DAILY NEWS: 'Genocide' bill 'null and void for us': Erdoğan » | Hurriyet.com.tr | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Disney Lifts Beard Ban for Park Workers
THE GUARDIAN: Employees in Florida and California will be allowed beards or goatees, providing they are kept short

After banishing them from its magical realms for six decades, Disneyland has finally taken pity on hirsute men seeking employment in the field of mouse collaboration.

A mere 12 years since it made the landmark decision to allow employees to emulate the late Walt by sporting moustaches, the famously image-conscious outfit has opened the doors of the kingdom to men with the right kind of facial hair.

From 3 February, employees in Florida and California will be allowed to report for duty with beards or goatees – providing they are less than a quarter of an inch long. » | Sam Jones | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Show Your Pride and Fly Our Flag, Politicians Say
HERALD SUN: PROMINENT Australians have urged their compatriots to fly the flag with pride, despite claims the national symbol is a sign of race hate.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Ted Baillieu led the charge to dismiss a study suggesting Aussies who attached flags to their cars for Australia Day were more likely to have racist views.

But an Islamic leader claimed the country could not deny some flag-flying patriots were racist and that the flag had allegedly been used as a "weapon" against some Australians.

The flag furore follows neurosurgeon Dr Charles Teo's claim that racism still plagued Australia and migrants were victimised.

University of WA researchers found in a survey of 513 people last Australia Day that one in five attached flags to their cars, and that flag-flyers "tend to express more racist attitudes" than others. » | Wes Hosking, Aleks Devic with Stephen Drill | Herald Sun | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

New Dark Age Alert! Female Circumcision Fear as Fundamentalists Roll Back Women's Rights

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Maldives women face more repression under a rising tide of religious fundamentalism, reports Ben Doherty from Male.

When the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, visited the Maldives late last year, she urged that the practice of flogging women for having sex outside marriage - while very rarely punishing men for the same - should be abolished.

"This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women," she told local reporters then.

The response was as fierce as it was unexpected. The next day protesters rallied outside the UN building, carrying placards that read "Ban UN" and "Islam is not a toy" and threatened to "Flog Pillay". A website later promised to "slaughter anyone against Islam".

Similar protests have followed, and a growing religious divide between moderate and fundamentalist Muslims - constitutionally, all Maldivians are obliged to follow Islam - has led many to question the direction of religion in the Maldives and, in particular, the place of women in Maldivian society.

In an interview with the Herald, the Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, conceded an emergent religious fundamentalism had changed the way women were viewed, and treated, in his country. » | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

US Election 2012: Mitt Romney Campaign Advert Mocks 'Historian' Newt Gingrich
The former Massachusetts governor attacks his Republican rival for his work for mortgage firm Freddie Mac

Read the short article here | Monday, January 23, 2012

US Election 2012: Mitt Romney Lashes Out at Newt Gingrich in Florida Republican Debate
Mitt Romney accuses Newt Gingrich of being an "influence peddler" who was forced to “resign in disgrace" at the Florida Republican debate.

Read the article here | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Sir Salman Rushdie Decries India's Failure to Protect Free Speech at Jaipur Literary Festival
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sir Salman Rushdie has launched a fierce attack on the Indian government for pandering to extremist Muslim groups and failing to protect freedom of speech after threats of violence forced him to withdraw from a top literature festival.

His planned appearance in conversation with a leading news presenter was cancelled at the last minute after the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival received death threats and the police warned of violence inside the venue and riots outside from Muslim protesters if it went ahead.

According to eyewitnesses, a group of around 50 Muslim men had infiltrated the crowd shortly before the session was due to begin an dwere intimidating members of the audience to give up their seats. Organisers were said to bewildered over how they managed to get past a bar code security pass system and hundreds of police.

Jaipur's police commissioner B. L Soni said protesters had earlier registered as delegates and were present inside in significant numbers.

In a television interview Sir Salman said he believed the government had sought to stop him from appearing at the festival to win Muslim votes in its key Uttar Pradesh state election campaign and had circuited [sic] “fantastically fishy” intelligence reports of assassination plots to stop him to force his withdrawal.

He said the arts were under assault from both Hindu and Muslim extremists and that “if it goes on, India will cease to be a free country.” India had been the first country in the world to ban his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, ahead of Muslim countries which denounced it as ‘blasphemous’, and today lagged behind countries like Turkey, Egypt and Libya which have lifted the ban. » | Dean Nelson, New Delhi and Rachel Rickard Straus in Jaipur | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sir Salman Rushdie prevented from speaking by video link at Jaipur literature festival: Sir Salman Rushdie was prevented from speaking to the Jaipur literature festival audience by video link today after a Muslim mob infiltrated the venue, the police warned of violence and the organisers received death threats. » | Dean Nelson, New Delhi | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Turkish Fury at French Vote on Armenian Genocide Law

BBC: Turkey has reacted with anger after the French Senate approved a bill making it a crime to deny genocide was committed by Ottoman Turks against Armenians during World War I.

The Turkish foreign ministry branded the decision "irresponsible" and threatened swift retaliatory measures.

Armenia says that up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman empire split.

Turkey rejects the term genocide and says the number was much smaller.

The bill will now be sent to President Nicolas Sarkozy to be signed into law, which he is expected to do before the end of February.

'Total rupture'

Correspondents say the move threatens to cause a serious rift between France and Turkey, who are Nato allies.

"France opened a black page in its history," said Volkan Bozkir, head of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee, on Twitter.

Turkey's ambassador to France, Tahsin Burcuoglu, said the vote could cause a "total rupture" of relations between the two countries. » | Monday, January 23, 2012

Related »

Hate Cleric Abu Qatada May Be Released
DAILY EXPRESS: A HATE preacher once described as Osama Bin Laden’s “right hand man in Europe” could be freed from a UK jail in just two weeks.

Abu Qatada is fighting deportation to Jordan on terror charges from Long Lartin Prison in Worcester. He could be freed after a bail hearing set for February 6. » | Daily Express Reporter | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Canada Party - "Meet The Canada Party"

Golshifteh Farahani and 3 Gorgeous Muslim Actresses Who Posed Nude and Sparked Controversies
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: The nude photo of Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani has enraged several members of the Muslim community, particularly since one of the more principal tenets of Islamic fundamentalism has always been to ban women from any degree of nudity.

The decision by Farahani, therefore, is a bold one and one that has, predictably, sparked controversy across the world. However, she isn't the first Islamic actress who has shed her clothes and her inhibitions.

There are at least 3 others who have already bared it all, on different occasions, and faced similar criticism from conservative families and the religious community.

Who are these 4 actresses?

Golshifteh Farahani

Golshifteh Farahani, an Iranian actress whose nude photos were published in a magazine called Madame Le Figaro, has been banned from entering her native country, following a decision by the Iranian government. Farahani, who played a pivotal role in the Hollywood film "Body of Lies", opposite Leonardo Di Caprio, was then also condemned by the conservative Iranian regime for violating Islamic law by appearing without a hijab in a few scenes.

Meanwhile, Farahani is already living outside of Iran; she left the country last year to protect the strict rules mandated by Islamic law and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Iranian cinema. » | Sangeeta Mukherjee | Monday, January 23, 2012

Viewpoint! La vita nuda: Baring Bodies, Bearing Witness
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Many young men and women are now protesting by the only means left: using their bodies - whether by burning or exposing.

New York, NY - Reflecting the public gesture of the Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, who posted naked pictures of herself late last year on her blog by way of a protest "against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy", a young Iranian actress now living in France, Golshifteh Farahani, has recently created a sensation in and out of her homeland, especially in the social networking cyber society, by posing half naked for Madame Le Figaro, and also appearing topless in a short black-and-white video clip. It's called "Corps et Ame [sic] [Corps et Âmes]/Bodies and Souls" and is produced by the prominent French fashion photographer and music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

As with the case of Elmahdy and her compatriots, the nude picture and video clip of Farahani have sharply divided Iranians around the world; some celebrating her act as courageous, pathbreaking, dismantling ancient and sacrosanct taboos - and thus revolutionary, while others condemning her as opportunistic, obscene, immoral and damaging to the cause of liberty in Iran. The Islamic Republic has reportedly banned her from returning to her homeland.

Whence the outrage? In its widest sense, clothing is the civilising posture of humanity. No society, no community, no human gathering is devoid of one form of clothing or another as the formal decorum of becoming a full and public human being: it might be as little as a mere bamboo sheath around the groin or it might extend to fully covered veiling, without even the eyes visible to any intruding gaze. But clothing of one sort or another is definitive to all forms of civility.

Our manner of dressing ourselves is the most immediate habitat of our humanity - violently disrupted at times by tyrants who sought to give a different look to that humanity. When Reza Shah (who reigned in Iran from 1925 to 1941) banned the mode of "veiling" in Iran he had deemed unseemly to his vision of "modernity", there were women who remained home and never appeared in public until their dying day - because for them to appear in public without their habitual clothing was like forcing New Yorkers to go to work in their bikinis.

When Khomeini re-imposed that almost-forgotten manner of veiling decades later, generations of women had grown up entirely alien to that manner of veiling. Reza Shah and Khomeini - two tyrants interrupted by one weakling potentate - had fought their fateful battles over the site of our mothers' and daughters' bodies. » | Hamid Dabashi | Monday, January 23, 2012

Barack Obama Has Reasons to Smile Again
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As the president prepares his State of the Union address, the future looks more hopeful – the US economy is recovering, Republicans are weak and he is untainted by scandal.

The conventional wisdom in Washington decrees that Barack Obama should not have a prayer of re-election this year. Since the Great Depression, no United States president has won a second term when unemployment has been above 7.4 per cent.

For each of his three years in office it has been well above that, peaking at 10 per cent in 2010. But crucially for the White House, and for the country, this most vital indicator, the release of which unemployed workers and Washington’s army of pundits alike anticipate keenly every month, is moving in the right direction.

Unemployment is now at 8.5 per cent, the lowest since February 2009, Mr Obama’s first full month in office. And it is not the only encouraging number. Gross domestic product is creeping up, the stock market is nearly double the low reached following the financial debacle of autumn 2008 and consumer confidence is returning.

Republican activists and voters caught up in the excitement of their party’s primary campaign tend to assume rather gleefully that the sluggish economy will doom Obama to the ignominy of a single term. They lap up candidates’ routine denigrations of the president as a “radical” driving the United States to “European-style socialism”, and harp on the danger of the world’s most powerful economy facing a Greek-style collapse. » | Alex Spillius | Monday, January 23, 2012

Génocide arménien : le Sénat adopte le texte controversé
LE POINT: La loi, déjà votée par l'Assemblée, est donc définitivement adoptée par le parlement français. Ankara a immédiatement exprimé sa colère.

L'issue du vote faisait peu de doutes. Le Sénat a adopté, lundi soir, la proposition de loi sur la négation des génocides, dont celui des Arméniens en 1915. Le ministre turc de la Justice Sadullah Ergin a qualifié ce vote de "manque total de respect" et de "grande injustice" à l'égard de la Turquie. Sur la chaîne d'information CNN Türk, immédiatement après l'adoption du texte, il a déclaré que, pour son pays, cette loi était "nulle et non avenue".

Le président de la Commission des Affaires étrangères du parlement turc, Volkan Bozkir, a pour sa part indiqué sur son compte Twitter que "la France a(vait) ouvert une page sombre de son histoire" en pénalisant la négation du génocide arménien sous l'Empire ottoman, de 1915 à 1917. L'ambassade turque à Paris a pour sa part annoncé des "conséquences permanentes" si la loi était promulguée. Continuez à lire et ajouter un commentaire » | LePoint.fr | lundi 23 janvier 2012

Verwandt »

Französischer Senat billigt Völkermordgesetz
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der Pariser Senat hat am Montag trotz aller Drohungen der Türkei ein neues Völkermordgesetz verabschiedet. Das Gesetz stellt die Leugnung von gesetzlich anerkannten Völkermorden unter Strafe.

Mit dem neuen Gesetz kann auch der Tod zahlloser Armenier während des Ersten Weltkriegs im Osmanischen Reich bestraft werden. Die Türkei als Nachfolger des Osmanischen Reiches streitet einen Völkermord ab und hat für den Fall einer Annahme des Gesetzes mit schweren Konsequenzen gedroht. » | dpa/gern | Montag 23. Januar 2012

No More Mr Nice Mitt! Romney Suggests Newt Gingrich Might Be a Criminal

MAIL ONLINE: Mitt Romney's aim in Florida is to destroy Newt Gingrich with an all-out assault on his character and record.

After Gingrich's 13-point victory in South Carolina, the primary here next Tuesday is a must-win for the former Massachusetts governor.

New polls from the Sunshine State indicate that Gingrich has powerful momentum.

In the course of a press availability here in Tampa that lasted a little over six minutes, Romney called the former House Speaker 'highly erratic', described him as having 'gone from pillar to post almost like a pinball machine', branded him an influence-peddling 'lobbyist' and suggested he was unstable.

Romney demanded that Gingrich return the $1.7million he earned as a self-described 'historian' for federal housing agency Freddie Mac and that he authorise the House of Representatives release all the documentation relating to an ethics investigation that led to his censure and a $300,000 fine.

Oh and Romney floated the idea that Gingrich might be guilty of criminal activities. Read on » | Toby Harnden | Monday, January 23, 2012

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The World's Most Expensive Ski Chalets

The most affordable chalet on the list: Chalet Grace, Zermatt, £65,000 per week
To the photo gallery »

Greeks' Eroding Faith in the State
As eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels to reach a deal on the extent of losses Greece's private-sector bond-holders, some Greeks have expressed more faith in the "troika" of international creditors than in their own government. The decline of faith in the state comes as the nation is in urgent need of increased European bailout funds to avoid bankruptcy. Al Jazeera's Tim Friend reports from Athens on the mood among the Greek people.

Huge Rally Supports Hungary Premier against EU
At least 100,000 people took to the streets of Budapest on Saturday in support of Viktor Orban, Hungary's two-time prime minister, who is currently caught up in a dispute with the European Union over new laws which the EU says threaten democracy. Attila Mesterhazy, the president of the Hungarian Socialist Party, says Orban is trying to portray himself as the protector of Hungarian sovereignty and the attacks on him as attacks on the people. Al Jazeera's Rory Challands reports from Budapest.

Iranians React to Proposed EU Sanctions
European foreign ministers are expected to impose a ban on Monday, on Iranian oil imports into the European Union. But the prospect of new sanctions does not appear to worry too many people in Iran. Many feel import restrictions will have a big impact on some of the EU's already cash-strapped economies struggling to keep their heads above water in the eurozone crisis if they follow the US's lead, causing a major spike in the global price of oil. Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari has reaction from Tehran.

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