French Jewish Mother Wins Custody Battle Against Saudi Prince
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A French Jewish mother has won a custody battle in France against a Saudi prince, who has been ordered to return their 10-year old daughter he was alleged to have kidnapped after their cross-religious romance turned sour.

The Paris criminal court ordered Prince Sattam al-Saud from the kingdom’s founding royal family, to hand over custody of his daughter Aya to her French mother, Candice Cohen-Ahnine, and provide child support of €10,000 (£8,300) a month.

For the past three-and-a-half years, the prince has kept Aya in a Riyadh palace despite efforts by the French foreign ministry and President Nicolas Sarkozy's office to resolve the issue.

But the French court ruling appears to have had no effect on the prince. “What do I care of Sarkozy?” he is cited as telling [Le] Nouvel Observateur magazine. “If need be, I’ll go like [Osama] bin Laden and hide in the mountains with Aya.”

Miss Cohen-Ahnin, 34, and the prince met in London 14 years ago at Brown’s nightclub and their daughter was born in November 2001.

Their relationship continued until 2006 when he allegedly announced that he was obliged to marry a cousin, but that she could be a second wife. She refused and they separated.

Miss Cohen-Ahnine claimed that her daughter was taken from her during a visit to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and that she was held in the prince’s palace where she had only fleeting meetings with her daughter.

She said she managed to leave when a maid left her door open and she sought refuge in the French embassy.

Miss Cohen-Ahnin was eventually spirited out of the country after the prince allegedly produced a document purporting that she had been Muslim but had converted to Judaism — a crime punishable by death. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

LEX TIMES.fr: Une mère se bat pour récupérer sa petite princesse saoudienne : Le 12 janvier dernier, un juge aux affaires familiales a accordé à Candice Cohen-Ahnine l’exercice de l’autorité parentale sur sa fille Aya, retenue depuis 2008 à Riyad (Arabie Saoudite) au sein de la famille royale Al Saud. Une affaire complexe, l’enfant est née de sa relation avec le prince Sattam, membre de la famille royale Al Saud. Retour sur le cauchemar d’une mère auquel la Justice et les services diplomatiques français pourraient mettre fin. » | Par Emilie Gougache | LexTimes.fr | samedi 28 janvier 2012

Eviction on Millionaires' Street
Behind the baroque facades of St Petersburg residents live in squalor as they take on predatory property developers.

Read the article here | Witness | AJE | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Former RBS Chief Exec Fred Goodwin Stripped of His Knighthood
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Fred Goodwin, the disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive, has been stripped of his knighthood.

Government officials confirmed the award has been "cancelled and annulled" because the bank's former chief executive had "brought the honours system into disrepute".

The Forfeiture Committee met last week to consider the issue. Its recommendation to strip Mr Goodwin of the honour was conferred to the Queen by Prime Minister David Cameron, the Cabinet Office said.

The announcement that Mr Goodwin has been stripped of the honour for "services to banking" will shortly be announced in the [The] London Gazette.

"The scale and severity of the impact of his actions as chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland made this an exceptional case," a spokesman for the Cabinet Office said. » | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Spanish Judge Defends Probe into Franco-era
The world-renowned Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón has defiantly rejected charges of abuse of power for opening an investigation into Franco-era crimes. Al Jazeera's Charlie Angela reports.

Related »

France's Armenia Genocide Law Put On Hold

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: French MPs from across party lines petition against bill outlawing denial of mass killings by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

A new French law punishing denial of the "Armenian genocide" has been put on hold after politicians from across party lines opposed to the legislation demanded that its constitutionality be examined.

Turkey reacted furiously last week when the Senate approved the law which threatens with jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915 to 1916 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's office brushed off angry threats of retaliation by Turkey and vowed to enforce the law within a fortnight.

However, on Tuesday two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the legislation - from both the Senate and the lower house of parliament - said they had formally requested the constitutional council to examine the law.

"This is an atomic bomb for the Elysee [the presidential office] which didn't see it coming," Lionel Tardy, a deputy from Sarkozy’s own party, said. » | Source: Agencies | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Canada: Muslim Canadian Congress Hoping to Expand Canadian Burka Ban

Ron Paul: Armed Chinese Troops in Texas!

La population du Japon va chuter d'un tiers sur 50 ans
LA PRESSE: La population du Japon va chuter de 32,3% entre 2010 et 2060 compte tenu de la dénatalité, et les personnes âgées de plus de 65 ans représenteront alors près de 40% du total, une perspective inquiétante pour le pays et son régime de protection sociale, selon une nouvelle étude publique.

En 2060, le Japon ne comptera plus que 86,74 millions d'habitants, contre 128,06 millions recensés en 2010, le passage sous la barre symbolique des 100 millions devant se produire en 2048, d'après les chiffres actualisés publiés lundi par l'Institut national de la protection sociale et des problèmes démographiques. » | Agence France-Presse | lundi 30 janvier 2012

How Mitt Got His Mojo Back: 5 Things He Got Right in Florida

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: More than a dozen polls over the last week all show that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who by his own admission got beaten up badly in the South Carolina primary, is now on the cusp of a dramatic, double-digit Florida primary win.

Backed by millions of campaign dollars, seasoned strategists, and the Republican party establishment, Mr. Romney allowed an insurgent campaign by former congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich to gain traction in South Carolina – and send his own campaign in to a momentary tail-spin.

But Florida has been an entirely different story. Here are the five things Mr. Romney did right to get his leadership campaign back on track in the Sunshine State. Leading the debate attack » | Affan Chowdhry | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Mitt Romney would rank among richest presidents ever: Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you’re in Romney territory. » Connie Cass | WASHINGTON | The Associated Press | Saturday, January 28, 2012

Ministers Line Up to Warn Off Rudd

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: SENIOR supporters of Julia Gillard have rounded on Kevin Rudd, telling him to drop his leadership ambitions because the party would never have him back.

With Ms Gillard today using a keynote speech on the economy to try to break the slump in her form, the Regional Development Minister, Simon Crean, went after Mr Rudd yesterday, saying he was not a team player but a prima donna who did not have the numbers to mount a challenge.

''He can't be prime minister again. He's got to accept that,'' Mr Crean said. ''People will not elect as leaders those they don't perceive as team players.'' (+ video) » | Phillip Cooray, Chief Political Correspondent | Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Racial Segregation in US at an All-time Low
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: NEW YORK: More than 40 years after the US government enacted fair-housing legislation and the Great Migration of African Americans from the South began to ebb, residential segregation in metropolitan America has been significantly curtailed, according to a study released this week.

The study of census records by two economics professors, fellows at the conservative Manhattan Institute, found cities are more racially integrated than at any time since 1910.

They concluded all-white enclaves ''are effectively extinct'' and while black urban ghettos still exist, they are shrinking. However, more integration in housing hasn't led to a similar closing of the gap in opportunity and income between African Americans and white Americans. » | Sam Roberts | Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Outgunned This Time, Gingrich Vows to Fight On

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Newt Gingrich looked ready to cede a string of Republican Party primary contests this month to Mitt Romney, who is poised to triumph in today's winner-takes-all vote in Florida, but was determined to fight on.

Outgunned financially and facing the pro-Romney states of Nevada and Michigan, Gingrich campaign strategists were setting their sights on March and more friendly contests in the south where the former House Speaker can expect to benefit from bigger numbers of Tea Party and conservative Republicans.

They drew comfort, too, from future contests in which delegates would be apportioned according to how many votes candidates won, unlike in Florida where the winner collects all 50.

''Regardless of the message the Romney campaign wants to push and the media wants to deliver, this race is just getting started,'' wrote Mr Gingrich's national political director in a memo to staff and donors. » | Simon Mann | Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Baltasar Garzón: Judge On Trial - Video Profile
This film follows Baltasar Garzón, a Spanish judge best known for having Chile's General Pinochet arrested, during his suspension from his job charged with an abuse of power. His trial marks a decisive moment for Garzón's career, for Spain's judicial system, and for the justice for which Garzón has become a standard-bearer

Read the article here | Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

More Than 60 Dead in East European Cold Snap
REUTERS.COM: More than 60 people have died in a cold snap across Eastern Europe, authorities said on Tuesday, forcing some countries to call in the army to help secure food and medical supplies and set up emergency shelters for the homeless.

The temperature in Ukraine sank to minus 33 degrees Celsius (minus 27 Fahrenheit), the coldest in six years, while eastern Bosnia experienced lows of minus 31C and Poland, Romania and Bulgaria minus 30C.

Forecasters said the cold spell would last until Friday with further heavy snow expected across the region on Wednesday.

At least 30 people, most of them homeless, have died in Ukraine in the past five days, the Emergencies Ministry said. Another 500 people were treated in hospital for frostbite and other cold-related ailments. » | Reuters | Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Richard Balmforth in Kiev, Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia, Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo, Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Writing by Janet Lawrence; Editing by Mark Heinrich | KIEV | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Big Freeze Hits Eastern Europe »

Ed Miliband: David Cameron Has 'Sold Britain Down the River' in Europe
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has accused David Cameron of selling Britain 'down the river' by leaving the UK isolated from Europe.

Read the article and comment » | Christopher Hope, in London and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Royal Navy to Send HMS Dauntless to Falkland Islands
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina.

Dauntless will set sail for the Falkland Islands in the coming weeks armed with a battery of missiles that could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," according to one Navy source.

The Type 45 destroyer is the most advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic ship in the world equipped with 48 Sea Viper missiles and the Sampson radar, which is more advanced than Heathrow air traffic control

The ship is in a league of its own in air defence able to track dozens of multiple targets
"It can shoot down Argentine fighters as soon as they take off from they bases," said another Navy source. "This will give Buenos Aires serious pause for thought." » | Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik Wants First Interview with Foreign TV
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The gunman who killed 77 people in twin attacks in Norway wants to give his first interview to a foreign television channel before his trial opens in April, his lawyer was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Attorney Geir Lippestad told Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang (VG) that he had advised his client Anders Behring Breivik against giving any media interviews because "it is not wise to speak out before the trial".

"But Breivik has maintained that he would like to be interviewed by a foreign television channel," Lippestad said.

The 32-year-old right-wing extremist, who was declared by psychiatrists last year to be criminally insane, has not spoken to the media since his deadly rampage last July.

Numerous Norwegian and foreign media outlets have expressed an interest in interviewing Breivik in the high-security Ila prison near Oslo, where he is being held pending the opening of his trial on April 16. » | Source: AFP | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Syria: Bashar al Assad and Family 'Will Be Killed Like Gaddafi'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Syrian President Bashar al Assad, his British wife Asma and their family will meet a bloody end 'like Gaddafi' as his regime falls from power, a leading member of the opposition movement has warned

Haitham Maleh, a member of the executive committee of the Syrian National Council, told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Assad had forfeited any chance of a peaceful exit from Syria as a result of his regime's brutal crackdown on protesters.

The former judge, who has spent decades in Syrian prisons for his human rights activism, predicted that Mr Assad, his wife and three children would be killed in revenge for his failure to respond positively to peaceful demands for change.

"Assad and his family will be killed in Syria, their next steps will be very bloody," he said. "Two months ago we offered him the option to leave us alone and go but instead he went for the blood of his people. The end for him will be that he is killed like Gaddafi."

Persistent reports have emerged around the Middle East that Mrs Assad has sought to return to England - or at least flee the fighting in Damascus - with her three children, Hafez, Zein and Lareem. Al-Masry-Al-Youm reported yesterday that she was among a group of family members including the president's mother and cousins that was driving to the airport to leave but forced to turn back by an opposition ambush. » | Damien McElroy | Monday, January 30, 2012

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM: Syria's first lady falling from grace: Not so long ago, she was the darling of the international press, described as a "rose in the desert" and "a ray of light in a country full of shadow zones." ¶ But today, Syria's first lady is being likened to a modern-day Marie-Antoinette, drawing criticism for staying mum on a crisis that has left more than 5,000 people dead in her country. » | Saturday, January 14, 2012

Arianna Huffington: Beyond Left and Right
The co-founder of The Huffington Post on why the old concept of the political left and right marginalises issues.

Inside Story - The Impact of Twitter's Censorship Plan
As Twitter introduces a new procedure for self-censorship, is this the end of freedom of expression on the internet?

Jordan's King Receives Hamas Leader
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is in Jordan on his first official visit since he was forced to leave in 1999 for what authorities called "illicit and harmful" activities. The trip on Sunday by Meshaal, who was accompanied by Qatar's crown prince, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is seen as a rapprochement between the Jordanian monarchy and the Palestinian Islamist movement. Jordan's King Abdullah held talks with Meshaal, who is usually based in Damascus, and his five-member delegation of top Hamas officials including deputy chairman Mousa Abu Marzouk. Sheikh Tamim attended the talks as a mediator. Al Jazeera's Nisreen El Shamayleh reports from Amman.

Sharia Law from UK to Nigeria
A documentary about the extremely fast uprising of the sharia law in Nigeria.

Merkel to Join Sarkozy on Campaign Trail for French Presidential Election
THE GUARDIAN: Merkel's plan to make joint appearances with Sarkozy is seen as highly unusual but also a sign of things to come in Europe

Eyebrows are being raised across Europe after Angela Merkel pledged to join Nicholas Sarkozy on the campaign trail in his bid to be re-elected French president later this year.
In an unusual - and potentially risky - move, the German chancellor promised to go on the stump with her Gallic counterpart in an attempt to keep him in the Elysée.

Hermann Gröhe, general secretary of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), confirmed over the weekend that she would "actively support Nicolas Sarkozy with joint appearances in the election campaign in the spring".

While it is not uncommon for certain world leaders to campaign on behalf of friends in neighbouring countries - Vladimir Putin has often vigorously supported candidates in former Soviet states - European politicians have generally adhered to an unwritten pact not to interfere with elections in other member states.

They may support each other on certain issues - former German chancellor Helmut Kohl famously appeared on French TV alongside François Mitterand ahead of a referendum on France joining the euro - but to board their battle buses and speak at their rallies seems a new step, said Ulrike Guérot, an expert on Franco-German relations at the European Council on Foreign Relations. But, she said, it is likely to become ever more common as European leaders build a "transnational democracy". » | Helen Pidd in Berlin | Monday, January 30, 2012

Afghan Man Strangles Wife for Having Baby Girl
THE GUARDIAN: Afghan police say local militia member, who is still at large, killed the woman after she gave birth to a third daughter

An Afghan man killed his wife for giving birth to a third daughter rather than the son he hoped for, police in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province have said.

The victim, 28, known by the one name of Storai, was strangled by her husband, a local militia member, and his mother on Saturday "in revenge" for bearing the couple's third daughter three months ago in Mohasili village, police said.

Police said they arrested the victim's mother-in-law in connection with her death, but Storai's husband was still at large, probably sheltered by armed militia colleagues. » | Reuters in Kabul | Monday, January 30, 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy Says Britain Has 'No Industry'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy has stated Britain is a country with "no industry" as he set out "shock measures" to reinvigorate France's faltering economy.

Mr Sarkozy announced he would increase VAT by 1.6 per cent. When a journalist made the point that there had been an increase in prices in Britain after VAT rises, Mr Sarkozy claimed: "The United Kingdom has no industry anymore."

A UK official said: “It is not true. The percentage of GDP that is manufacturing is11 per cent, the same as in France.”

Manufacturing as a percentage of GDP was 11 per cent in the UK and in France in 2009, the last comparable figures.

“UK industrial production as a share of GDP was 15 per cent, compared to 12.5 per cent in France in the same year. What he said is not true. He has got an election.”

Defending his efforts to save the euro and the French economy, Mr Sarkozy said: “The financial crisis is calming down. Europe is no longer on the edge of the abyss...The elements of a stabilisation of the financial situation in the world and in Europe are in place.”

Mr Sarkozy all but announced his candidacy for the two-round election, due to be held on April 22 and May 6. “I have a rendezvous with the French,” he said. “I will not shirk my responsibility.”

But the uncharacteristically downbeat president admitted to having "regrets" about some of his policies, which he said he would address "at the appropriate time".

His remarks came a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany backed his — as yet unannounced — re-election bid by unexpectedly announcing that she would join him on the campaign trail.

In a hour-long “do or die” TV interview broadcast simultaneously by nine channels, Mr Sarkozy adopted Churchillian tones as he unveiled measures from reducing working time and salaries to save jobs to raising VAT in order to cut employers’ contributions by €13 billion (£11 billion). However, the man who staked his presidency on boosting the French economy faces a tough task as he lags in the polls, unemployment stands at a 12-year high and public debt is at record levels. Read on and comment » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, January 30, 2012

Norway Convicts Two Men over Al-Qaeda Plot on Danish Newspaper
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two men were found guilty on Monday of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, the first convictions under Norway's anti-terror laws.

A third defendant was acquitted of terror charges but convicted of helping the others acquire explosives.

Investigators say the plot was linked to the same al-Qaeda planners behind thwarted attacks against the New York subway system and a shopping mall Manchester in 2009.

The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Mikael Davud, to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.

Judge Oddmund Svarteberg said the court found that Davud, a Chinese Muslim, "planned the attack together with al-Qaeda". Bujak was deeply involved in the preparations, but it couldn't be proved that he was aware of Davud's contacts with al-Qaeda, the judge said.

The third defendant, David Jakobsen, who assisted police in the investigation, was convicted on an explosives charge and sentenced to four months in prison – time he's already served in pretrial detention.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the defendants would appeal. » | Source: AP | Monday, January 30, 2012

Ann Romney Speaking About Her Secret Battle With MS In Orlando, Fl. (August 31, 2011
The College Press had the chance to attend the recent Romney fundraiser where Ann Romney was speaking to her loyal following. While on stage Romney began to tell of her battle with MS and how she overcame the trials of this disease.

Mitt Romney on Newt Gingrich

Sarah Palin: They’re Trying to ‘Crucify’ Newt

Read the article here | MJ Lee | Friday, January 27, 2012

Leading Article: Crony Capitalism and Craven Folly
THE INDEPENDENT: What is it about bankers' pay that makes the hard-pressed majority feel that finance capitalism is a conspiracy against them? Could it be that, more than three years after the credit crunch of 2008, we feel that the unfair rewards in the sector that caused the crisis continue unabated? Could it be that the rewards now seem even more unfair because we, the taxpayers, put up the security to bail out the banks? Could it be that we feel that politicians, who mouthed slogans about fairness and how they would put an end to excessive pay, have played a cynical game? Could it be that the way banks pay their top people seems designed to confuse us, even when we, the taxpayers, are their shareholders.

All of those. The fuss over the bonus awarded to Stephen Hester, boss of RBS, a nationalised bank, has been running all week on the basis that it was conveniently just under a round £1m. David Cameron, one moment has been saying it was nothing to do with him, the next moment claiming credit for having cut it to 60 per cent of what it could have been. As we report today, Mr Hester's bonus turns out to have been a highly coloured decoy designed to draw outrage away from the main story, which is that the total sum he can hope to collect from his three years in charge of the bank, already heading towards £39m, could reach £50m in a couple of years more if the share price performs well.

That we have been distracted by a tiny detail in a show of monstrous greed is bound to leave us feeling once again bamboozled.

As Paul Vallely argues on the previous page, something has changed in people's perception of fairness, and it is simply impossible for Mr Cameron and Nick Clegg, his accessory in inequity, to maintain that we are "all in this together" when such vast riches are lavished on a public employee at the same time as capping the benefits of the poorest. » | Sunday, January 29, 2012

Owen Jones: Gay People Have Come a Long Way – But Hatred Is Still Out There
THE INDEPENDENT: Outright bigotry is in retreat, but a substantial chunk of the population still has a problem

When it comes to homophobia, it's fair to say that ex-Everton football player Michael Ball doesn't mince his words. "That fucking queer," he tweeted about Coronation Street's Antony Cotton. "Get back to your sewing machine in Corrie, you moaning bastard." His aggressive antipathy towards gay people is shared by Jason Gibbs, a former Brighton teacher who called his students "poofs" and "batty boys", warning one class not to "go into the shower because this group will start bending you over and do you up the ass".

Both episodes are unpleasant reminders that anti-gay hatred hasn't gone away. But they also offer hope, too, about just how far we've come. Ball's bigoted tirade landed him with a £6,000 fine from the Football Association on Tuesday – the highest the body has ever imposed for homophobia; the same day, Gibbs was banned from teaching indefinitely.

There was more evidence of progress in how the media reported the 60th birthday of veteran gay rights activist Peter Tatchell on Wednesday. Throughout his tireless campaign for gay equality and dignity, he has been pilloried, demonised, and marginalised; but this week, journalists patronised him as a "national treasure". It's a fate which befalls radicals who are no longer regarded as a threat: iconic left-winger Tony Benn, who has been transformed from the "most dangerous man in Britain" to a kindly grandfather figure, is another classic example. But in Benn's case, it was because the left was beaten; Tatchell is no longer a threat because the gay rights movement has vanquished nearly all before it.

There has undoubtedly never been a better time to be a gay man in Britain, and that's down to the courageous sacrifices and struggles of activists like Tatchell. Anyone aged over 45 was born into a country where having sex with another man was sufficient grounds to have you locked up. » | Owen Jones | Friday, January 27, 2012

Online Reaction to Guilty Verdict Reached in Shafia Murder Trial




Related »

Why Women Convert to Islam
SUN NEWS: A landmark project exploring why women convert to Islam wraps up at England's prestigious University of Cambridge this weekend.

Organizers say that one of the main reasons for hosting Narratives of Conversion to Islam in Britain is "a general sense of frustration" with the media's "one-dimensional portrayals of female conversion."

They say that these focus on women who marry into the faith, and suggest that they do so at the expense of their independence and liberty.

"Judging by what the media tends to write about Islam, you would expect liberal-minded, intellectually-engaged women from non-Muslim backgrounds to give it a wide berth," Prof. Yasir Suleiman, the project's leader, says on the university's site.

"It seems to be a religion that clashes with our ideas about modernity. Yet, the paradox is that there is a noticeable number of well-educated, intellectually-engaged women with high-flying careers who are choosing to become Muslims. So the question is, how do we explain this?" » | QMI Agency | Sunday, January 29, 2012

Family Convicted in Canada ‘Honor Murders’


Read the article here | Paula Newton, CNN | Sunday, January 29, 2012
Related »

1941: Die Entscheidung für den Holocaust wird gefasst
Auf der Wannseekonferenz 1942, heißt es, wurde die systematische Judenvernichtung beschlossen. Doch die Entscheidung zur sogenannten "Endlösung der Judenfrage" war bereits früher gefallen. Bereits im Jahr 1941, parallel zum Ostfeldzug, kam er auf die Tagesordnung.
Das Video hier abspielen

Alltag einer alleinerziehenden Mutter: Ein Kind, kein Mann, drei Jobs
Frau Tiffert gehört zu der oft zitierten Gruppe Alleinerziehender, die in Deutschland finanziell besonders schlecht gestellt sind. Weil sie aber nicht allein auf die Unterstützung des Staates vertrauen will, arbeitet sie. Und zwar für drei. Alltag einer Multijobberin. (22.01.2012)
Das Video hier abspielen

Romney Surges in Run-up to Florida Primary
Competition between the Republican party's presidential hopefuls is intensifying ahead of next week's primary in Florida. The respective rivalries between their supporters are also heating up as evidenced by the election-season outbreak of "attack ads". Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Los Angeles.

Police Chief Angers NY Muslims
The appearance by the New York police department commissioner, Ray Kelly, in a film depicting an "Islamic flag" over the White House and Muslims shooting Christians has angered the city's Muslim population. The Muslim community sees the screening of the film to 1,500 trainees and Kelly's participation in it - which he at first denied but later admitted to after his appearance became public knowledge - as part of a pattern of discrimination against their community. Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler reports from New York

Interview with Anita McNaught on Syria
Al Jazeera's correspondent Anita McNaught talks from the Turkish border with Syria on the situation within Syria.

One of the World's Oldest Qur'ans Goes on Display at the British Museum in London

ISLAM TODAY: One of the oldest known manuscripts of the Qur'an in existence went on show at the British Museum Friday ahead of a new exhibition.

The Qur'an, lent by the British Library, will be part of the exhibition, "Hajj: Journey To The Heart Of Islam:, the first-ever major collection dedicated to the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in what is today Saudi Arabia.

The copy of the Qur'an is thought to date from the 8th century AD, according to the British Library.

Known as the Ma'il Qur'an, it was probably copied in Mecca or Madinah. The script is known as Ma’il, meaning sloping, on account of the pronounced slant to the right, and it is one of a number of scripts developed in the early Islamic period for the copying of the Qur'an. » | Islam Today/Agencies | Saturday, January 14, 2012

Actor’s Praise a Boost for Muslims

ADELAIDE NOW: ACTOR Liam Neeson's announcement that he may convert to Islam may help promote acceptance of the faith.

Neeson, 59, recently said he was inspired by the Islamic call to prayer while filming in Istanbul.

"There are 4000 mosques in the city (Istanbul) - some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim," he said.

"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 thing." Neeson, a Roman Catholic, said he had always been religious and was always questioning the meaning of life.

Australian New Muslims Association president Said Kanawati said celebrity converts to Islam were welcome. He said having celebrities accept Islam would help challenge the way people saw the religion. » | Tom Bowden | The Advertiser | Monday, January 30, 2012

Related »

ISLAM TODAY: Adelaide Australia Opens its Mosques to All Australians for Family Day Events » | Oslam Today/Agencies | Friday, January 27, 2012

Hester's £35.5m Pay Deal Fuels Renewed Anger Over Excess

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: PM and Chancellor pressed to make urgent Commons statement as fairness issue reignites

Disclosure of the staggering figure amounts to political dynamite as the Prime Minister fought off suggestions that he should veto the near-£1m bonus, announced last week, for the boss of the taxpayer-owned RBS.

The extra bonus of £3.3m, revealed yesterday, would be on top of the £35.54m total remuneration package Mr Hester has received since joining RBS in 2008.

As the political storm surrounding executive pay at RBS grew, Ed Miliband called on David Cameron to intervene and urged RBS shareholders to block the £963,000 bonus at its AGM in April.
The Labour leader will call for Mr Cameron or George Osborne, the Chancellor, to make an urgent statement to the Commons tomorrow on the affair at a time when the Government is capping benefits for the poorest in society. It will cast doubt on the vow by the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, to tackle executive pay.

In a further ratcheting-up of pressure on Mr Hester, it also emerged that the RBS chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, has decided to waive his £1.4m shares bonus.

But the Prime Minister, who earlier this year made great play of calling for Sir Fred Goodwin to be stripped of his knighthood for presiding over failure at RBS, yesterday refused to bow to political pressure.

Apparently uncomfortable at being asked by journalists about the bonus following talks with the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, at Chequers yesterday, Mr Cameron insisted that Mr Hester's bonus was "a matter for him" and that installing a new top team at the failed bank, which is 82 per cent owned by the taxpayer, would be even "more expensive" than it is now. » | Jane Merrick, Brian Brady, Mark Leftly, Emily Dugan | Sunday, January 29, 2012

Barack Obama Is Trying to Make the US a More Socialist State
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The ideas the President outlined in the State of the Union are based on the very model that is causing the EU to implode.

What was it everybody used to say about the United States? Look at what’s happening over there and you will see our future. Whatever Americans are doing now, we will be catching up with them in another 10 years or so. In popular culture or political rhetoric, America led the fashion and we tagged along behind.

Well, so much for that. Barack Obama is now putting the United States squarely a decade behind Britain. Listening to the President’s State of the Union message last week was like a surreal visit to our own recent past: there were, almost word for word, all those interminable Gordon Brown Budgets that preached “fairness” while listing endless new ways in which central government would intervene in every form of economic activity.

Later, in a television interview, Mr Obama described his programme of using higher taxes on the wealthy to bankroll new government spending as “a recipe for a fair, sound approach to deficit reduction and rebuilding this country”. To which we who come from the future can only shout, “No o-o, go back! Don’t come down this road!”

As we try desperately to extricate ourselves from the consequences of that philosophy, which sounds so eminently reasonable (“giving everybody a fair share”, the President called it), we could tell America a thing or two – if it would only listen. Human beings are so much more complicated than this childlike conception of fairness assumes. When government takes away an ever larger proportion of the wealth which entrepreneurial activity creates and attempts to distribute it “fairly” (that is to say, evenly) throughout society in the form of welfare programmes and public spending projects, the effects are much, much more complex and perverse than a simple financial equation would suggest.

It is probably obvious that the people from whom the wealth is taken will become less willing to incur the risks that entrepreneurial investment involves – and so will produce less wealth, and thus less tax revenue. But more surprising, perhaps, are the damaging changes that take place in the beneficiaries of this “fairness” and the permanent effect this has on the balance of power between government and the people. Read on and comment » | Janet Daley | Saturday, January 28, 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy Shows Off His Human Side as Prospect of Defeat Looms in French Presidential Election
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: French voters are seeing a side to Nicolas Sarkozy that they have never seen before, as he faces up to likely defeat in presidential elections.

They are not qualities normally associated with Nicolas Sarkozy: humility, self-awareness, contrition. Then again, the French leader is less than three months from a presidential election in which he is on track, according to all the opinion polls, to be beaten by his Socialist rival.

The unexpected mea culpa expressed by the normally hyper confident president, in which he admitted personal and political mistakes, and vowed to quit politics altogether if defeated, was as shocking as it appeared stage-managed.

The surprising 'je regrette beaucoup', which focused on the style rather than the substance of his five years in office, came during an official visit last week to the overseas territory of French Guyana to present the traditional new year greetings.

Mr Sarkozy then took the unprecedented step of inviting 20 journalists to an "off the record" briefing.

For the next three hours, during which he repeated several times that his remarks were not for public consumption, he made what may see as a last ditch attempt to transform his image: Super Sarko the Omnipresident had become Nicolas the Penitent. The message from the president of France, said Le Monde newspaper, was "I am not the man you think I am". » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Saturday, January 28, 2012

Lord Carey Backs Christian Psychotherapist in 'Gay Conversion' Row
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Leading church figures including the former Archbishop of Canterbury have sparked controversy by championing a psychotherapist who believes gay men can be 'cured' of their homosexuality.

Lesley Pilkington was effectively barred from her professional register after attempting to convert a homosexual man in a therapy session at her home.

Her patient turned out to be a gay rights journalist, who had secretly recorded the sessions and then reported her to her professional body. Mrs Pilkington, a committed Christian, was subsequently found guilty of professional misconduct.

The therapy practised by Mrs Pilkington had been described as "absurd" by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and roundly condemned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

But ahead of her appeal against the BACP ruling, Mrs Pilkington has received backing from the Rt Rev Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

In a letter to her professional body, Lord Carey – along with a number of senior figures – suggests Mrs Pilkington is herself a victim of entrapment whose therapy should be supported.

His comments – in a letter co-signed by, among others, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester and the Rt Rev Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes – will cause controversy in the gay community and beyond. » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter | Saturday, January 28, 2012

My comment:

Lord Carey and Michael Nazir-Ali are talking through their backsides. Clearly, they know nothing about sexuality, so they should shut up. That these people hold – or in the case of Michael Nazir-Ali has held – such elevated position(s) in the Church of England is astounding. Lord Carey should retire from public life forthwith. Michael Nazir-Ali should just plain shut-up and stick to what he knows best: theology. – © Mark

Newt Gingrich Gets Behind Israel, But Fails to Impress Florida's Jewish Voters
THE GUARDIAN: Republican hopeful's support for Middle Eastern state is an attempt to court the evangelical Christian audience

Newt Gingrich threw it all out there: the contentious claim that the Palestinians are a made-up people, Iran threatening a second Holocaust, Israel as a beacon.

The Republican Jewish audience lapped it up. But Gingrich, as grateful as he is for all the support he can get in Tuesday's primary election in Florida, was also courting a very different audience - one that is not Jewish and which worries many who are.

Florida has a relatively large Jewish population, accounting for more than 6% of the state's electorate given that nine out of ten are registered to vote. A few hundred turned out to see Gingrich address the Republican Jewish Coalition in Boca Raton on Friday afternoon.

Many were enthusiasts, including Rick Roth, a farmer.

"He actually has a well thought out policy on the economy. He's not talking in sound bites," he said. "I vote for who is the best candidate, not the one who can win. This electability issue is hogwash."

Roth also liked what he heard from Gingrich about Israel. The Republican candidate said the Palestinians are entitled to self-government - making no mention of a state or independence - only when they recognise Israel's right to exist, abandon a right of return to what is now Israel for Palestinian refugees and abandon hate speech against Jews.

Gingrich warned that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon it could lead to a second Holocaust, and he chided Obama for not confronting Tehran sufficiently strongly. He also said that the Arab spring is turning into an "Arab nightmare" which is only strengthening the threat from "radical Islam".

The Jewish voters in the room seemed happy enough to hear it but Roth said Gingrich's Israel policy made little difference to his decision to support him. Others agreed. They can hear much the same thing from any of the candidates with the exception of Ron Paul, who would cut off all foreign aid - including to the Jewish state. » | Chris McGreal in Boca Raton, Florida | Saturday, January 28, 2012

New Dark Age Alert! Boko Haram Vows to Fight until Nigeria Establishes Sharia Law
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Spokesman for Islamist group says it will not stop deadly attacks until country is ruled according to dictates of Allah

The Islamist group Boko Haram, which has killed almost 1,000 people in Nigeria, will continue its campaign of violence until the country is ruled by sharia law, a senior member has told the Guardian.

"We will consider negotiation only when we have brought the government to their knees," the spokesman, Abu Qaqa, said in the group's first major interview with a western newspaper. "Once we see that things are being done according to the dictates of Allah, and our members are released [from prison], we will only put aside our arms – but we will not lay them down. You don't put down your arms in Islam, you only put them aside."

Qaqa, whose name is a pseudonym, said the group's members were spiritual followers of al-Qaida, and claimed they had met senior figures in the network founded by Osama bin Laden during visits to Saudia Arabia.

The interview comes a week after Boko Haram claimed responsibility for Nigeria's single deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 186 people in the northern city of Kano.

In an audio message posted on YouTube on Friday, the group's current leader, Abubakar Shekau, threatened to bomb schools and kidnap family members of government officials.

"If [security forces] are going to places of worship and destroying them, like mosques and Quranic schools, you have primary schools as well, you have secondary schools and universities, and we will start bombing them." » | Monica Mark in Abuja | Friday, January 27, 2012

Pakistan Knew Where Bin Laden Was All Along »

Feminist Group Take Topless Protest to Davos
Ukrainian protest group Femen protest half-naked at Davos as they demand more female representatives at the World Economic Forum and on political bodies worldwide.

Read the short article here | Saturday, January 28, 2012

US Election 2012: Sheldon Adelson, the Man Keeping Newt Gingrich's Bid Afloat
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: If Newt Gingrich were to win the Republican nomination he would owe around ten million favours to Sheldon Adelson – one for each of the dollars the flamboyant billionaire has pumped into his presidential bid.

Mr Adelson, America's eighth-richest man, is responsible for almost single-handedly keeping the Gingrich campaign alive with what is thought to be the biggest donation in US political history.

The $10 million he has given so far to Winning Our Future – a pro-Gingrich Super-Pac – propelled the former Speaker to victory in South Carolina. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Friday, January 27, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Secrets of the billionaire bankrolling Gingrich's shot at the White House: Sheldon Adelson is not running for office – but his cash could swing Tuesday's Florida primary ¶ Abraham Foxman, the amiably chatty director of the Jewish civil rights group, the Anti-Defamation League, has a story to tell about his friend, the 78-year-old multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. ¶ Adelson, who is America's eighth richest man and has given millions of dollars in support of Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, was having dinner with Foxman in Las Vegas several years ago. Foxman let slip that he was having to miss an invitation to the White House from the then president, George W. Bush. Foxman explained it was impossible to get a commercial flight. Adelson replied: "If the president of the United Statesasks you to go, you go." Then he gave Foxman the use of his private plane. ¶ Foxman asked Adelson if any condition was attached to the spontaneous act of generosity. "The condition is that you tell President Bush that is how you got there," said Adelson. Foxman made it in time to meet the president. ¶ It is a classic vignette to describe the power and style of Adelson, a man who has given scores of millions of dollars to Republican and Jewish causes over the years but who only now – by backing Gingrich – is becoming known to the wider public. It shows the reach of great wealth and how it mixes with the most powerful people on earth. It also shows Adelson's willingness to use that wealth for causes and people he believes in. » | Paul Harris | Saturday, January 28, 2012

Gingrich’s Backer under Federal Investigation »

US Election 2012: Newt Gingrich Launches Aggressive Advert Attacking Mitt Romney Ahead Of Florida Primary
Newt Gingrich’s campaign has released an aggressive web video accusing Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney of attempting to “mislead, distort and deceive” ahead of Florida’s presidential primary.

Read short article here | Jacqui Goddard, Miami | Saturday, January 28, 2012

Florida Primary: Mitt Romney Uses Spanish Speaking Son as Republicans Court Hispanic Vote
Mitt Romney hands over to his bilingual son at a rally in Florida as Republican candidates court the state's large Hispanic vote ahead of Tuesday's primary

Read short article here | Saturday, January 28, 2012
Goldilocks »

Nigerian Police Battle New Attacks

They Hate Poor People
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: The liberals’ dirty little secret.

On January 1, 2012, Maine became the first state to ban smoking in all low-income public housing. Twelve thousand poor people faced their New Year’s Day hangover without the solace of a Marlboro to accompany their aspirin and coffee.

This, of course, was good. Just ask the high-minded, right-thinking progressive elites who, it’s safe to say, run Maine’s public housing authority. Progressive elites like to run things. They’d run the government, the media, and the entire U.S. economy if they could. Failing that, public housing authorities will do. The Detroit, San Antonio, and Portland, Oregon, housing authorities already ban smoking. Boston’s housing authority will do so in September. Los Angeles is expected to follow. And it’s no mystery what that highest-minded, most right-thinking, way-progressive elitist Mayor Bloomberg has in mind for New Yorkers.

Smoking is wrong. Progressive elites may be confused about the existence of right and wrong when it comes to wars against genocidal fanatics, market freedom, and the death penalty for mass murderers. But not when it comes to smoking.

Smoking kills smokers, which is about what they deserve for engaging in such lowbrow, wrong-headed, retarded, vulgarian activity, except they get sick first and that drives up the cost of a single-payer national health care system, plus their second-hand smoke is worse yet because it is a, yuck, inhalation hand-me-down from uncouth people who probably haven’t flossed, and it kills progressive elites who don’t even know anyone who smokes while also releasing greenhouse gases and stinking up the cheery curtains that elites hang in public housing group activity areas to brighten the lives of the underprivileged who are confined to concrete tower blocks with six-by-eight-foot living rooms, seven-foot ceilings, plexiglass windows, and sheet-metal doors with a dozen locks on them. Smoking is wrong.

But poor people don’t have a lot of pleasures. Sure, they have more sex than progressive elites. But somehow, for poor people, the sex always ends up in illegitimate children or HIV or some bum of a boyfriend instead of leading to, as it does for elites, a Reichian release of primordial cosmic energy or the wonderful self-fulfillment and midlife reawakening of a new divorce. And, yes, the poor have drugs and alcohol, but these bring them nothing but grief. They’re not at all like the subtle and refined delights of a 300-bottle wine cellar or the therapeutic relief from Zoloft, Lexapro, Elavil, Ambien, Halcion, Xanax, beta blockers, Levitra, and Cialis. » | P. J. O’Rourke | Monday, January 30, 2012