'Arrogant Posh Boys with No Interest in Lives of Others': Tory MP Nadine Dorries Launches Astonishing Attack on David Cameron and George Osborne

MAIL ONLINE: A Tory MP has branded the Prime Minister and the Chancellor 'two arrogant posh boys' with 'no passion to want to understand the lives of others'.

Nadine Dorries said David Cameron and George Osborne's 'real crime' was to show 'no remorse' about their supposed lack of interest in matters beyond Westminster.

The Mid-Bedfordshire MP has clashed with her party leader in the past - and last year Mr Cameron apologised for humiliating her in the Commons.

She launched the personal attacks during an interview with BBC2's Daily Politics today, speaking of a 'very tight, narrow clique of a certain group of people' that she said is stopping senior ministers from understanding issues in the rest of the UK.

She said: 'Unfortunately, I think that not only are Cameron and Osborne two posh boys who don't know the price of milk, but they are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others - and that is their real crime.' » | Lyle Brennan | Monday, April 23, 2012

BBC VIDEO: MP Dorries calls PM and chancellor 'arrogant posh boys' » | Monday, April 23, 2012

BBC VIDEO: Cameron: ‘I don’t agree with arrogant posh boy claim’ »

BBC VIDEO: Cameron and Osborne: Posh or ordinary blokes? »

Former BBC Journalist Compares Breivik to Netanyahu
THE JERUSALEM POST: Jerusalem dismisses comment as "another nutty statement from another nutty Israel basher."

LONDON – A former BBC correspondent turned anti-Israel activist compared Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik, currently on trial for murdering 77 innocent people in a terror attack last July.

In an article last Thursday on his website titled “What do Breivik and Netanyahu have in common?” Alan Hart – a former BBC and ITN correspondent – concluded by saying that the mass killer and Israel’s prime minister both share “the mania of victimhood.”

The activist wrote that the main thing Breivik and Netanyahu have in common comes from them both “living in fantasy worlds of their own creation” and talking “a lot of extreme right-wing nonsense.”

From this he concluded that Norway’s mass killer and Netanyahu both suffer from what he called “the mania of victimhood.”

“The nonsense Breivik speaks is driven in general by his fears about the consequences for Norway of immigration and multiculturalism and, in particular, by his vision of an Islamic takeover,” Hart maintained.

He then stated that the “nonsense” Netanyahu speaks is driven by his perception of Israel in danger of annihilation. » | Jonny Paul, Jerusalem Post Correspondent | Herb Keinon contributed to this report | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Why Arab Women Still 'Have No Voice'
Amal al-Malki, a Qatari author, says the Arab Spring has failed women in their struggle for equality.

France Election: Sarkozy Seeks Key Far-right Votes

BBC: French President Nicolas Sarkozy is wooing far-right voters after losing narrowly to his Socialist rival in the presidential election's first round.

Francois Hollande came top with 28.6% and Mr Sarkozy got 27.1% - the first time a sitting president has lost in the first round.

Third-place Marine Le Pen took the largest share of the vote her far-right National Front has ever won, with 18%.

Referring to her voters, Mr Sarkozy said: "I have heard you."

"There was this crisis vote that doubled from one election to another - an answer must be given to this crisis vote," he said.

In a speech to supporters in Tours, Mr Sarkozy also blamed "a media unleashed" for his first round result.

"We were campaigning against caricatures and lies... and I thank you for your support," he said.

Pollsters say Mr Hollande is the clear favourite to win the second round on 6 May, a duel between him and Mr Sarkozy, who leads the centre-right UMP.

If Mr Hollande wins he will become the first Socialist president in France in 17 years.

Intense campaigning has resumed, with Mr Sarkozy travelling to Tours in the Loire Valley, central France, while Mr Hollande went to the western towns of Quimper and Lorient, in Brittany.

Speaking to around 3,000 rain-drenched supporters in Quimper, one of his strongholds, Mr Hollande described himself as the candidate of change.

He said he wanted to speak to all French people, not just the left or right.

"My message? We are a large country and we will recover - we have no need of divisions," he said. » | Monday, April 23, 2012

Related »

Le score de Le Pen inquiète les dirigeants européens
LE FIGARO: Angela Merkel et plusieurs ministres européens des Affaires étrangères ont jugé lundi le résultat de Marine Le Pen «préoccupant», au lendemain du 1er tour de la présidentielle française.

Au-delà du duel serré entre les deux finalistes du second tour de l'élection présidentielle, Nicolas Sarkozy et François Hollande, c'est Marine Le Pen qui s'impose comme la troisième force politique du pays. Avec 17,9% des voix selon les résultats définitifs communiqués par le ministère de l'Intérieur lundi, le score de la candidate du Front national (FN) inquiète en France mais également au sein de l'Union européenne.

La chancelière allemande Angela Merkel a jugé «préoccupant» le score de l'extrême droite, rapporte un porte-parole du gouvernement allemand lundi. «Mais je suppose que cela va se régler au deuxième tour», a-t-il déclaré. La chancelière allemande «continue de soutenir» Nicolas Sarkozy, a ajouté le porte-parole. Il a toutefois souligné qu'Angela Merkel «travaillerait bien» avec n'importe quel président français.

De son côté, le ministre allemand des Affaires étrangères, Guido Westerwelle, s'est déclaré satisfait dans un communiqué de voir «deux candidats démocrates certifiés» au second tour. Il a réaffirmé l'importance du partenariat franco-allemand qui est «l'une des clés pour l'avenir de l'Europe». L'eurosceptique Marine Le Pen, qui estime que la France est pénalisée par l'Union européenne à cause notamment de la politique agricole commune (PAC) et de l'ouverture des frontières, se voit ainsi refuser par Guido Westerwelle l'étiquette de démocrate. » | Par Gary Assouline | lundi 23 avril 2012

Lien en relation avec l’article »

Regierungskrise in den Niederlanden: Premier Rutte tritt zurück

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Regierung der Niederlande ist am Ende, weil die Haushaltsverhandlungen geplatzt sind. Premierminister Mark Rutte hat bei Königin Beatrix seinen Rücktritt eingereicht. Deutschland verliert damit einen wichtigen Verbündeten in der Euro-Krise.

Amsterdam - Der niederländische Regierungschef Mark Rutte ist nach den geplatzten Haushaltsverhandlungen zurückgetreten. Rutte habe der Königin die Auflösung seines Kabinetts angeboten. Das teilte die Regierung in Den Haag am Montagnachmittag offiziell mit. Zuvor hatte es zahlreiche Medienberichte gegeben, wonach der Premier zurücktreten wolle. » | anr/hen/heb/AFP/dpa/dapd | Montag, 23. April 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte resigns over austerity measures: Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, handed his resignation to the country’s Queen after European Union demands for austerity measures to bring Holland into line with euro spending rules caused the collapse of his government. » | Bruno Waterfield | Monday, April 23, 2012

Related »

Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik Claims There Is a 'Racist Plot' to Discredit Him as Insane

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik told a court questions about his mental health are part of a "racist plot" to discredit his extreme anti-Muslim ideology.

Breivik, who has admitted to killing 77 people in a bombing and youth camp massacre, said that no one would have asked for a psychiatric examination had he been a "bearded jihadist."

"But because I am a militant nationalist, I am being subjected to grave racism," he said. "They are trying to delegitimize everything I stand for."

Breivik rejects criminal guilt for the rampage on July 22, saying the victims had betrayed their country by embracing immigration.

Even the defense admits there is virtually no chance of an acquittal, so the key issue to be determined in the trial is whether Breivik is criminally insane.

Two psychiatric examinations reached opposite conclusions on that point. In a statement to the court, the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine asked for additional information from two pscyhiatrists who found Breivik sane, saying their report was incomplete.

Breivik himself insists he is sane, and accuses the prosecutors of trying to make him look irrational.

"I know I'm at risk of ending up at an insane asylum, and I'm going to do what I can to avoid that," he told the court. » | Source: AP | Monday, April 23, 2012

Breivik in the dock: Day six as it happened »

Related »

Happy St. George’s Day!

Wishing all my English visitors today, April 23rd, a Very Happy St. George’s Day!

WIKI: Saint George and the Dragon »

WIKI: Saint George »

WIKI: St George's Day »

St George's Day: A site for England »

MAIL ONLINE: Give England its own anthem, demand MPs: Fans 'could sing Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory' » | Ryan Kisiel | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Le Pen Damages Sarkozy's Election Chances
Nicolas Sarkozy became the first incumbent French president to lose in the first round of voting but all eyes were on the Marine Le Pen and her far-right party's success with 18% of the vote. WSJ's Grainne McCarthy reports from Paris.

Related »

Wilders Back on the Barricades
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Early elections in the Netherlands are all but certain after negotiations on austerity measures broke down on Saturday. Geert Wilders, leader of the populist Freedom Party, dramatically walked out of the talks at the last minute, just as an agreement seemed imminent.

After one and a half years helping govern the Netherlands by supporting a minority government, Geert Wilders has had enough. Now his Freedom Party movement can go back to a more comfortable role as protest party.

Since leaving the free-market liberal VVD party seven years ago, Mr Wilders has fashioned himself into a populist, anti-establishment politician. The champion of the average working class Joe, a constituency he refers to as ‘Henk and Ingrid’.

Strange bedfellows

That anti-establishment image was severely challenged the moment he signed a governing agreement with two stalwarts of the Dutch establishment, the VVD and the Christian Democrats. Wilders did keep a modicum of distance by not actually participating in the government, merely supporting it from parliament. The Christian Democrats refusal to allow Wilders into the cabinet gave him a convenient excuse not to join the cabinet as a full partner.

Even that distance was not enough. Governing in a coalition system such as here in the Netherlands requires compromise. Mr Wilders, on the other hand, rose to prominence by ridiculing the very culture of compromise. He risked being seen as just another wishy-washy politician, willing to trade away his principles. » | John Tyler | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Verwandt »

Breivik Compares Grief of Victims' Families to His Pain at Being Shunned

THE GUARDIAN: Anders Behring Breivik tells Oslo court on his last day of evidence that he lost contact with friends and family after attacks

Anders Behring Breivik has compared the pain he caused the families of his victims to his own situation, saying he lost contact with his friends and family after the 22 July attacks.

The 33-year-old rightwing extremist, who has admitted killing 77 people last summer, showed no remorse on Monday as he continued his shocking testimony about the massacre at the annual youth camp of the governing Labour party.

Calling the rampage "necessary", Breivik compared being shunned by those close to him to the grief of the bereaved. "The only difference was that for my part it was a choice," he said. » | Associated Press in Oslo | Monday, April 23, 2012

Related »

Far Right Rallies Faithful Against EU, Immigration


Related »

France Election 2012: One in Five Vote for Marine Le Pen as Nicolas Sarkozy Is Beaten Into Second Place

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Marine Le Pen secured the highest score for the far-Right in French presidential election history on Sunday, in a third-place finish that will present a major challenge to the two mainstream candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois [sic] Hollande, left in the race.

According to official forecasts, the 43-year-old daughter of the founder of the National Front (NF) secured between 18.2 and 20 per cent of the vote, performing even better than Jean Marie Le Pen’s shock result in 2002, when he won 17 per cent. At her press conference on Sunday night she burst into a rendition of La Marseillaise in front of delirious supporters waving the national flag.

“Whatever happens over the next two weeks, the battle for France has only just begun,” she said.

“We have exploded the monopoly of the two [main] parties of banks, finance, of multinationals, of resignation and abandonment, and carried higher than ever before the hopes of national ideas.

“Faced with an incumbent president at the head of a considerably weakened party, we are the only opposition to the ultra-liberal, lax and libertarian Left.”

Although it failed to take her into the second round, Miss Le Pen’s success will boost her influence on the French political scene, and is likely to hand her party seats in parliament later in the year. It could affect relations with minorities in France and in other European countries after a campaign based on rhetoric against immigrants, Islam and the European Union. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Sunday, April 22, 2012

My comment:

France needs Marine Le Pen. France, like the UK, is tiring of the two main parties. They do nothing for France, French culture. And culture France has in abundance.

The UK had culture in abundance once too; but these days nobody stands up for it – at least not in the two main parties. If one doesn't stand up for one's culture, the culture will soon disappear – it will be swamped.

How Britain needs its own Le Pen! How Britain needs to shock the establishment into action! Would that Le Pen were a force in Britain. I, for one, despair of the same old claptrap we get in the UK. We were once a proud nation; and now? We are just a shadow of our former selves. We apologise for this, shutting the people up here and there, and refusing to stand proud.

The Conservatives, the Socialists, the Liberals – they're ALL the same: Limp-wristed, craven, spineless, and weak to a man. Oh for our own Marine Le Pen! If not for office, then certainly to shake things up. – © Mark

This comment also appears here.


Related »

Indonesian 'Punks' Caned for Pre-marital Sex
AFP: LANGSA, Indonesia — Sharia police in Aceh, the only Indonesian province to practise the Islamic law, caned a homeless "punk" couple nine times Friday after they were caught having pre-marital sex in public.

Around 100 people in the town of Langsa watched and cheered when sharia police in green-and-black hoods caned the 21-year-old woman and her 23-year-old boyfriend, along with 11 others convicted of gambling.

"Those kids are punks. They were caught having sex by the public and were arrested by sharia police," Langsa prosecutor's office head Putra Masduri told AFP.

Masduri said the couple were often seen loitering on the streets dressed as punks, however they dressed in traditional white Islamic clothing for their caning.

Although they were arrested for pre-marital sex, their punishment comes amid a crackdown on punks in the province, in which police have raided cafes and parks to detain youths contributing to what authorities call a "social disease". » | AFP | Friday, April 20, 2012

Nor’easter to Pound East Coast with Rain, Snow

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Marine Le Pen Scores Stunning Result in French Presidential Election

THE GUARDIAN: With between 18% and 20% of the vote, the far-right candidate has beaten the previous record for Front National

In the run up to Sunday's first round presidential vote, it was hard to find many people in France publicly admitting they intended to vote for Marine Le Pen. Nevertheless between 18% and 20% appear to have done so – a stunning result for the far right.

It was a record for France's Front National, beating the previous best in 2002 when Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie, won his way into the second-round run-off with 17% of votes.

The surprise score reflected not only how Marine, a 43-year-old lawyer, made inroads into the French political landscape during a campaign in which she relentlessly challenged the "established" candidates, but also a deep disillusion with the main parties. She has now become the third force in the presidential campaign and a possible kingmaker in the second-round run-off in two weeks's time. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Un employé français de la Croix-Rouge enlevé au Yémen
REUTERS FRANCE: SANAA - Un Français travaillant pour le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) au Yémen a été enlevé samedi soir par des hommes armés alors qu'il se rendait dans la ville portuaire de Hudaida, a annoncé le CICR.

Selon une porte-parole du CICR, l'homme qui travaille dans la ville de Saada, dans le nord du pays, a été enlevé samedi soir alors qu'il se trouvait à 30km de Hudaida, située sur la mer Rouge. » | Tom Finn, Marine Pennetier pour le service français | Reuters | dimanche 22 avril 2012

The World Is Not Enough for Google Bosses

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Not content with the domination of cyberspace, Google's billionaire founders have set their sights on outer space – and the mining of natural resources from asteroids

Having created one of the titans of cyberspace, which helps to run the lives of billions, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt may well regard themselves as masters of planet Earth. Google's mega-rich founders have built a global empire worth over £120bn by channelling unimaginable volumes of information to our cherished laptops, smartphones and tablets.

But it seems that, for Page and Schmidt, the world is no longer enough. The pair are now staking a claim for galactic domination by backing a plan to mine asteroids. Google's chief executive and executive chairman are named as key players in Planetary Resources Inc, which appears set to go boldly where no magnate has gone before. » | Michael Howie | Sunday, April 22, 2012

David Cameron Is Not a 'Right Wing Person' Claims Helena Bonham Carter

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: With friends like these David Cameron might wonder why he needs enemies.

According to the actress Helena Bonham Carter, a long[-]term acquaintance, the prime minister is far from right wing and not even that conservative.

If her friend of 15-years had been running in America he would be a member of the centre left Democratic party [sic], she added.

The comments were made during an interview to promote her latest film Dark Shadows but the talk inevitably turned to her friendship with the prime minister and his wife Samantha.

The 45-year-old actress, who with her husband the director Tim Burton was photographed with the Camerons walking in the Chilterns on New Year's Day, is famously bohemian and liberal.

But she denied this was any hindrance to a friendship with the leader of the country. "He's not that conservative, actually," she told the Sunday Times.

"I mean, he's not a right-wing person. If he was in America, he'd be a Democrat, and he's got a hilarious sense of humour, which nobody really knows about."

She admitted that she was amazed when he became prime minister but mainly because she never expected anyone of her contemporaries to rise to such a lofty position. » | Richard Alleyne | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Salman Rushdie - Islamic Societies Are Based on "Honour & Shame" and the Repression

Al Jazeera Speaks to Christian Malard
Al Jazeera speaks to Christian Malard, a French journalist, about the first round of the country's presidential election.

Related video »

France Votes in Presidential Election
Voting is in full swing across France in the first round of the country's presidential election. The poll is largely being seen as a referendum on Nicolas Sarkozy's time in the top job. Al Jazeera's Tim Friend reports from Paris, France.

The Man Who Believes He Can Help Gay People Turn Straight
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dr Mike Davidson, a Christian campaigner with a homosexual past, says others, too, can reject what he calls a sin.

"I don’t want to be outrageous,” says Dr Mike Davidson softly – but it is hard to believe him. The 57-year-old Christian counsellor and campaigner has upset a lot of people lately, with his claims that homosexuals can become straight if they get enough help, therapy and prayer. The doctor has been called deluded and his work condemned as “inflammatory, homophobic and harmful”.

The Mayor of London has just banned advertisements that Davidson and his allies planned to put on the sides of buses, declaring: “Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!” They were meant to mirror a campaign by the gay rights group Stonewall, but Boris Johnson pulled the ads after taking offence at the suggestion he saw within them.

“It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone can recover from,” said Johnson, who feared “a backlash so intense it would not have been in the interests of Christian people in this city”.

I’m expecting a firebrand. What I get is a gently spoken, slightly stooping man with a South African accent, who lives in a neat detached house in the countryside south of Belfast. His wife, Lynore, brings coffee and chocolate biscuits. They have been married for 32 years, during which time he claims to have been turned away from homosexuality by a combination of counselling, prayer and psychotherapy. He also claims to be able to help others do the same. Read on and comment » | Cole Moreton | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Muslim Mob Burns Catholic Church in Sudan Capital
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE: KHARTOUM, Sudan — A Muslim mob has set ablaze a Catholic church frequented by Southern Sudanese in the capital Khartoum, witnesses and media reports said on Sunday.

The church in Khartoum's Al-Jiraif district was built on a disputed plot of land but the Saturday night incident appeared to be part of the fallout from ongoing hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan over control of an oil town on their ill-defined border.

Sudan and South Sudan have been drawing closer to a full scale war in recent months over the unresolved issues of sharing oil revenues and a disputed border. » | Mohamed Saeed | Associated Press | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Islamic Teacher Under Fire for Calling on Welsh Muslims to Support Fight for Sharia Law Abroad
WALES ONLINE: An Islamic teacher whose group was at the centre of an anti-terror raid on a Cardiff community hall has come under fire for calling on Welsh muslims to “physically” support the fight for sharia law abroad.

Abu Hajar, of Grangetown, Cardiff, is one of the leaders of the Islamic group Supporters of Tawheed, which on its website says its core belief is the “domination of the world by Islam”.

The group – which according to its website also rejects democracy and freedom, describing them as “false deities” – hit the headlines in January when one man arrested during a raid on a meeting in the city’s Canton Community Hall told an officer “I will chop your head off” before shouting “I’m going to shoot you with a machine gun”. Mohammed Abdin, 21, was subsequently jailed for eight months for the threats.

It is understood the raids were prompted by members of the Muslim community, who feared the meeting was providing a place for radical Islamists to network.

Mr Hajar has previously said the group is simply interested in spreading the message of Islam and does not preach violence or extremism.

In a video posted last month on YouTube called “Support the Muslims of Syria”, Mr Hajar said muslims should: snub western help abroad; demand an “Islamic solution” to problems in the Middle East; and impose sharia law there. » | James McCarthy, WalesOnline | Sunday, April 22, 2012

Bundling Bearded Windbags on to Jets Won't Solve Anything

MAIL ONLINE: Theresa May, one of nature’s soppy liberals, is struggling to seem decisive over the deportation of the Bethlehem-born windbag Abu Qatada. The trouble is, Mrs May isn’t even any good at pretending to be tough.

Labour and Tory politicians love this sort of charade. It makes them look as if they are guarding the nation against the Islamist threat. Like so much of what they do, it is a noisy, empty fraud on the public.

They exaggerate hugely. Like several other furry-faced old blowhards, Qatada is said to have been Osama Bin Laden’s closest henchman. Perhaps he was. Perhaps he wasn’t. He isn’t now.

He cannot really be much use as a Terrorist Godfather now that he has been on TV, and MI5 and the police watch his every movement. Well, can he? Think about it.

It has all gone wrong for Mrs May because she and her department are not very good at what they do. But really the British people ought to have seen through this fake controversy by now.

The real Islamist threat to Britain and the rest of Europe comes from uncontrolled mass migration from Muslim countries. Combined with our national refusal to defend our British, Christian culture, this is rapidly creating a powerful and influential Muslim vote which will increasingly change our country.

Given a few more decades, it will have profoundly altered this country. I have long suspected that this island will be more or less Muslim within a century, and it will be the fault of this generation. It would be perfectly legitimate for a respectable, law-abiding and civilised political party to act now to prevent this.

But instead they leave the subject to steroid-swallowing nutcases like Anders Breivik, or creepy opportunists like the BNP.

Millions reasonably worry about this. But they are dismissed as extremists by a liberal establishment which views robust defence of Britain’s culture as bigotry. » | Peter Hitchens | Saturday, April 21, 2012

100,000 British Women Mutilated
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As many as 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations with medics in the UK offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10, it has been reported.

Investigators from The Sunday Times said they secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform circumcisions or arrange for the operation to be carried out. The doctor and dentist deny any wrongdoing.

The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14 year prison sentence.

It is also against the law to arrange FGM.

Known as "cutting", the procedure is traditionally carried out for cultural reasons and is widespread across Africa.

It is thought to be needed as proof of a girl's "purity" for when she marries, but victims are rarely given anaesthetic and frequently suffer long-term damage and pain. » | Sunday, April 22, 2012

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Britain’s 100,000 mutilated women » | Mazher Mahmood and Eleanor Mills | Sunday, April 22, 2012 [£]

THE SUNDAY TIMES: I can circumcise them here: £750 for the first daughter: Finding people to conduct genital mutilation in Britain is easy — even a dentist will do it, report Mazher Mahmood and Eleanor Mills » | Mazher Mahmood and Eleanor Mills | Sunday, April 22, 2012 [£]

WATCH SUNDAY TIMES VIDEO: Undercover footage from the Sunday Times investigation »

Bahrain Grand Prix: Riot Squads, Teargas and Petrol Bombs as Protesters Claim Police Beat Shia Activist to Death
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As drivers prepared for the Bahrain Grand Prix, parts of the desert kingdom looked more like a war zone and one protester was discovered dead. Colin Freeman reports.

Built very much for strength rather than speed, they were not the kind of vehicles normally seen at the world's premiere motor racing event. Stretched along the desert highway leading to the Bahrain's Formula One race track were dozens of armoured personnel carriers - ready to use all means necessary to ensure the event went ahead.

More reminiscent of a war zone than a spectator sport, this was the extraordinary scene on Saturday as the Bahraini authorities launched a massive security clampdown to prevent pro-democracy supporters disrupting Sunday's Grand Prix. Yet their efforts to keep things peaceful proved fruitless: by late afternoon, demonstrators around the capital, Manama, were once again fighting running street battles with police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

"This is not way to deal with peaceful protests," said demonstrator Hussein Mohammed, 25, looking down a street to where clouds of tear gas were drifting. "The government should not be hosting racing contests when people are denied basic rights."

Last night, it was claimed that one activist had already paid the ultimate price. The body of Salah Habib Abbas, 37, a municipal gardener, was found lying in a pool of blood on the roof of an allotment shed close to Shakhura village, where anti-government protesters had played a cat-and-mouse game with police the night before.

Fellow demonstrators said that after being chased through allotments, he had last been seen being arrested by police, who they alleged then beat him to death. » | Colin Freeman, Manama | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Related »

Archbishop of York Victim of "Naked Racism", Claims Ally

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The early favourite to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury is the victim of “naked racism” by critics who are trying to besmirch his name, one of his closest supporters has claimed.

The outspoken Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, was born in Uganda and is the only black bishop in the Church of England. A former aide, who is about to become the Church’s director of communications, said there was a “stark contrast” between the way Dr Sentamu was portrayed and the treatment of other bishops.

“At its best, the besmirching of John Sentamu has revealed that strand of snobbery which views outsiders as lacking class, diplomacy or civility — in other words 'not one of us,’” said the Rev Arun Arora.

“At worst, it has elicited the naked racism which still bubbles under the surface in our society, and which is exposed when a black man is in line to break the chains of history.” His allegation of an “anonymous whispering” campaign against Dr Sentamu has the potential to be hugely damaging to the Church.

It recalls the last time that the Church sought a new Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2002, when the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, then Bishop of Rochester, was described as a “Paki Papist” by an unidentified cleric.

Dr Sentamu has spoken in the past about his experience of racism but stressed that any abuse came from outside the Church.

However, two bishops who spoke to The Sunday Telegraph on condition of anonymity drew, unprompted, on Dr Sentamu’s African birth in their criticism — one likening his temperament to that of an “African chief”. » | Richard Eden and Edward Malnick | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Niederlande stehen nach Budgetstreit vor Neuwahlen

DIE PRESSE: Die Freiheitspartei von Geert Wilders legt sich gegen den Haushaltsentwurf der Minderheitsregierung quer. Bis zu 16 Milliarden Euro sollen eingespart werden.

Nach dem Scheitern von Budgetverhandlungen stehen den Niederlanden Neuwahlen bevor. Ministerpräsident Mark Rutte sagte am Samstagnachmittag, seine Minderheitsregierung sei sich mit der rechtspopulistischen Freiheitspartei (PVV), von der das Kabinett geduldet wird, nicht einig geworden. Daher würden die Gespräche beendet. "Es liegt auf der Hand, dass es Neuwahlen geben wird."

Die Minderheitsregierung strebt Einsparungen von 14 bis 16 Milliarden Euro an. Die liberal-christliche Koalition ist auf die Tolerierung der Rechtspopulisten angewiesen. "Ich habe gehofft, dass wir uns einigen können. Aber der Haushaltsentwurf ist weder für die Partei noch das Land tragbar", so Parteichef Geert Wilders. Er forderte rasche Neuwahlen. » | Ag. | Samstag, 21. April 2012

Ken Livingstone Quits Mayoral Debate Over BNP Participation
THE INDEPENDENT: Ken Livingstone has pulled out of a BBC mayoral election debate after it emerged a British National Party candidate would be taking part.

The former London mayor said it was a "point of principle" that he would not share a platform with the far-right party.

Labour's candidate also told BNP voters he did not want their second preference votes when they get to the ballot box in next month's vote.

The debate, due to be hosted by BBC London 94.9 on Monday, is the latest in a series of head-to-head mayoral broadcasts but most have featured just the top three or four candidates.

Mr Livingstone said: "I have long held to the belief in no platform for the far right. The far right want to destroy our democracy and stand for the elimination of our basic rights.

"They cannot be treated as a legitimate part of politics. » | Sam Lister | Friday, April 20, 2012

Inga Bejer Engh: Norway's Truth-seeker in Anders Breivik Case

THE INDEPENDENT: The lead prosecutor in the case against Anders Breivik is calmly setting out to prove that the man who killed 77 people must be insane

When Norway's biggest ever murder trial opened in Oslo last Monday, Anders Behring Breivik marched into the courtroom and shot his right arm out in a disturbing yet rather pathetic clenched-fist Nazi-style salute.

Inga Bejer Engh's reaction was typical: her blond hair swinging above the white necktie and black gown worn by prosecution lawyers, she stood up, walked forward and in an utterly disarming gesture, shook hands with the killer. He responded with a weak smile.

Blue-eyed and doll-like, Bejer Engh looks almost too unworldly to be leading the prosecution case against the man who carried out one of Europe's worst acts of violence since the Second World War. It is an appearance that deceives. Behind the state prosecutor's cool facade there is clearly a woman driven by an iron conviction in the Scandinavian approach to crime and punishment so often derided by outsiders as "too lenient".

In comments before the trial, Bejer Engh let it be known that she was proud to be part of the prosecution team. "It will give me an opportunity to show our humane system of justice to the rest of the world," she told reporters. » | Tony Paterson | Saturday, April 21, 2012

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Leader of ‘Radical’ US Nuns Rejects Vatican Criticism

BBC: The leader of a group of US nuns the Vatican accuses of flouting Church teaching has rejected the claims.

"I've no idea what they're talking about," Sister Simone Campbell, head of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, told the BBC.

"Our role is to live the gospel with those who live on the margins of society. That's all we do."

On Wednesday the Vatican announced a crackdown on US nuns long considered too liberal by the church hierarchy.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a highly critical report that accused US nuns of engaging in "corporate dissent" and of ignoring, or worse, challenging the church's teachings on abortion, homosexuality and an all-male priesthood. (+ video) » | Jane Little | BBC News, Washington | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Democracy in Islam: Abdur Raheem Green

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Abdur Raheem Green: Democracy vs. Islam

Discrimination in the Diaspora
Many Palestinians face social and professional restrictions living in Arab countries.

Anders Behring Breivik se décrit comme une personne sympathique
REUTERS FRANCE: OSLO (Reuters) - Anders Behring Breivik, jugé à Oslo pour le meurtre de 77 personnes le 22 juillet 2011, s'est décrit vendredi comme une "personne sympathique" et a expliqué avoir appris à refouler ses émotions avant de pouvoir passer à l'acte.

Le militant d'extrême droite islamophobe de 33 ans a reconnu avoir tué huit personnes à Oslo dans un attentat à la voiture piégée et 69 jeunes gens réunis dans un camp d'été des jeunesses travaillistes sur l'île d'Utoya.

Au cinquième jour de son procès, il est revenu sur les circonstances de la tuerie, fournissant des détails sur son parcours meurtrier, traquant ses victimes jusque dans le lac entourant l'île.

Face à un public glacé d'effroi, Breivik a expliqué avoir tiré à plusieurs reprises sur ses victimes: une première balle pour les neutraliser et une seconde dans la tête.

"Ça a été extrêmement difficile de tirer la première balle, c'est contraire à la nature humaine. Mais (une fois cette première balle tirée), c'est devenu plus facile", a-t-il dit. » | par Victoria Klesty et Walter Gibbs | vendredi 20 avril 2012

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Analysis: Don't Pin Breivik's Massacre on Video Games

REUTERS.COM: That Anders Breivik was a regular player of violent video games does not explain why the Norwegian became the calm killer of 77 mostly young people, many of whom would have shared his gaming passion.

An obsession with games such as "World of Warcraft" might seem a plausible explanation for why the apparently unremarkable 33-year-old, now on trial for murder in Oslo, came to carry out the shooting spree and bomb attack last July, but it is a dangerous simplification driven by our need to understand.

"People want an answer for why these thing happen. That's completely understandable," said Seena Fazel, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Britain's University of Oxford. "That's also why mental illness is often an attractive avenue, because it does seem to provide some sort of answer."

The motive, in part, is to understand what distinguishes a mass killer from the rest of us, experts say. Breivik's game-playing, however, doesn't do that. » | Kate Kelland | LONDON | Friday, April 20, 2012

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David Frum: Mourning Christopher Hitchens
NATIONAL POST: They came to mourn Christopher Hitchens in the Great Hall of New York’s Cooper Union, where Abraham Lincoln gave the speech that launched his campaign for president in 1860.

The hall was filled with family, friends and readers; intimates of 40 years’ standing, and those who knew him only from the printed page and stage appearance; all still wounded by a loss that remains fresh at four months’ distance.

Most of the memorial took the form of readings from Christopher’s own works, occasionally enlivened by editorial comment. The biggest laugh was claimed by the writer, actor and gay-rights exponent, Stephen Fry.

Christopher, he said, had condemned as more trouble than they were worth: champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics. “Three out of four, Christopher,” said Fry.

The piano was played — beautifully — by one of the directors of the National Institutes of Health, who also proudly identified himself as “a follower of Jesus Christ.” He had guided Christopher through some experimental therapies for the esophageal cancer that killed him. He and Christopher had many fierce debates over Christopher’s assertive atheism. He reminded the audience of the words of Proverbs: As iron sharpeneth iron, so a friend sharpens the mind of his friend. » | David Frum | National Post | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Leading Article: No Credit to Bahrain or Formula One
THE INDEPENDENT: The Formula One Grand Prix should not be happening in Bahrain this weekend. That is the long and the short of it. Although the security situation is evidently better than it was last season, when the race was first postponed and then cancelled, this is largely a result of the repression exerted by the authorities.

It does not mean there has been any serious accommodation with the opposition, still less that the regime has become any more democratic. Several dozen people have been killed in protests since the start of the year and a leading opposition activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is on hunger strike in prison. Even John Yates, formerly of Scotland Yard, who is currently advising the Bahrain government, has said that the security of the race cannot be guaranteed. » | Leading article | Saturday, April 21, 2012

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Robert Fisk: This Is Politics Not Sport. If Drivers Can't See That, They Are the Pits
THE INDEPENDENT: Supposing it was Assad shelling out £40m for a race. Would Ecclestone be happy to give him a soft sporting cover for his repression?

When the Foreign Office urges British motor racing fans to stay away from Bahrain, this ain't no sporting event, folks, it's a political one. The Bahraini authorities prove it by welcoming sports reporters but refusing visas to other correspondents who want to tell the world what's going on in this minority-run, Saudi-dominated kingdom.

But what do our lads tell us from the circuit, 25 miles from the Bahraini capital, Manama? Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are only in it for sport. Bahraini repression of its democratic majority? Nothing to do with us, governor. And Sebastian Vettel? "I think it's a lot of hype." Hype? HYPE? The Arab Awakening came to Bahrain a year ago, a majority Shia people demanding a democratically elected government – with a minority Sunni monarch still at its head, for heaven's sake, as generous an Arab Spring as you could find – and it's met with police gunfire, torture and death. And Master Vettel – is there anything left of the old cliché "moral compass"? – claims "it's a lot of hype". What a disgraceful man. » | Robert Fisk | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Related here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

L'Islam en France

L'Islam en France by wanzea

”Asma Assad, verstecke dich nicht”

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Berlin und Paris wollen Kontrolle über Grenzen behalten

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Sarkozy droht Machtverlust

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Gespannte Lage in Bahrain
Das Video hier abspielen | Freitag, 20. April 2012
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Mass. Student Defends Norwegian Massacre Suspect
WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE: BOSTON — A senior at a Roman Catholic college in Massachusetts who has written letters of support to a Norwegian mass murder suspect will not be on campus "for the foreseeable future," according to school officials.

Officials at Assumption College in Worcester wouldn't say Friday whether student Kevin Forts would graduate in May. Renee Buisson, the school's public affairs director, released a statement saying that Forts has a right to express personal opinions as a U.S. citizen, but that his conduct was "under administrative review."

The review includes the English major's comments to a Norwegian news outlet in support of Anders Breivik, as well as an arrest for an alleged assault on campus this year.

Breivik is standing trial in Norway in a shooting and bombing massacre in July that killed 77 people, including children. He confessed but rejects guilt by claiming he was trying to protect Norway and Europe by targeting political forces he says opened the country to immigration. He has said an anti-Muslim network he is part of will lead a revolt with the aim of deporting Muslims.

An English-language video interview on the website of VG Nett shows Forts defending Breivik's actions. Forts called the deaths of the children "a necessary political sacrifice that is not necessary again." Forts said people need to look at Breivik's political platform, "rather than his atrocious actions."

The student also called Breivik a patriot whose act "demonstrates a sense of nationalism and a moral conscience." » | The Associated Press | Friday, April 20, 2012

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Bahrain Grand Prix: Protester Found Dead after Clashes with Authorities

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anti-government protesters in Bahrain have claimed a man has been found dead after a night of violent clashes with police ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix.

Opposition leaders in Bahrain said the man's body was found at a site where protesters had clashed violently with security forces during the night.

Protesters had flooded a main highway in a march stretching for miles while the authorities deployed armoured vehicles on to the streets of the country's capital and the main road heading to the race track.

Security forces fired tear gas into the crowds as the country's leaders struggle to contain opposition anger ahead of the Grand Prix.

The government allowed the massive Friday demonstration in an apparent bid to avoid the hit-and-run street battles that are the hallmark of the Gulf nation's 14-month uprising – and an embarrassing spectacle for Bahrain's Western-backed rulers as F1 teams prepare for Sunday's race.

But violence flared as small groups in the march peeled away from the route to challenge riot police, who answered with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades.

Some protesters sought refuge in a shopping mall and nearby shops about 12 miles north of the Formula One track, where practice runs took place and Bahrain's crown prince vowed the country's premier international event would go ahead. » | Saturday, April 21, 2012

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Bahrain Grand Prix: Thousands Rally in Manama Calling for Democracy

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Church of England Should 'Rejoice' Over Gay Marriage, Bishops Say
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Church of England should “rejoice” at the prospect of marriage between homosexual couples rather than fear it, senior bishops and clergy have said.

In a public letter, the influential members of the Anglican Church claimed that “God’s grace” was at work in allowing same – sex couples to marry.

The group, including members of the General Synod, the CoE’s governing body, dismissed “mistaken” impressions that church leaders were “universally opposed to an extension of civil marriage”.

Instead, they argued that same-sex couples who wanted to “embrace marriage should be a cause for rejoicing in the Christian Church”.

They wrote: "Recent statements by church leaders past and present may have given the mistaken impression that the Church is universally opposed to the extension of civil marriage to same-sex couples. We believe that does not adequately reflect the range of opinion which exists within the Church of England.

“The Church calls marriage holy or sacramental because the covenant relationship of committed, faithful love between the couple reflects the covenanted love and commitment between God and his Church.

“Growing in this kind of love means we are growing in the image of God."

They added: “That there are same-sex couples who want to embrace marriage should be a cause for rejoicing in the Christian Church.”

"We believe that the Church of England has nothing to fear from the introduction of civil marriage for same-sex couples. » | Andrew Hough | Saturday, April 21, 2012

Bahrain Grand Prix: Crown Prince Backs Race Despite Protests
BBC: Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa says the weekend's grand prix will go ahead despite protests.

"Cancelling the race just [em]powers extremists. Having it allows us to build bridges and celebrate our nation as an idea that's positive," he said.

Unrest in the Gulf state has led to calls for the race to be cancelled for the second year running.

On Friday, thousands attended a protest in Budaiya, demanding an end to the crackdown on dissent.

Riot police initially showed restraint, but when a group of about 100 protesters broke away and attempted to reach the site of the former Pearl Roundabout - the focus of last year's pro-democracy demonstrations - they fired stun grenades and tear gas.

The overnight demonstrations called for the "overthrow of the regime" and the release of the human rights and political activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike in prison for more than 70 days in protest at the life sentence he received from a military tribunal in June. (+ video) » | Friday, April 20, 2012

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Meet Anders Breivik’s American Pen Pal
TIME: “I dream of meeting Breivik,” 23-year-old Kevin Forts told a Norwegian tabloid.


With each passing day, Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik appears increasingly remorseless and smug during his ongoing trial for the murders of 77 people, and with each passing day the crimes he’s accused of look even more reprehensible. It is most people’s idea of a nightmare even to be in the same room as the murderous extremist.

But not all people.

Meet 23-year-old Kevin Forts of Worcester, Mass., who says it is his “dream” to meet the fanatical right-wing killer and that he agrees with his “cause” of fighting “cultural Marxism and the Islamization of Norway.”

In this videotaped interview with a reporter from Norwegian tabloid VG, Forts calls Breivik’s bombing of government offices in Oslo and the systematic executions of 69 people at a youth camp on the nearby island of Utoya a “necessary political sacrifice.” The deliberate killing of small children, he says, was “atrocious but necessary” in that it raised awareness for his cause. » | Anoosh Chakelian | Friday, April 20, 2012

SKY NEWS (AUSTRALIA): US student writes to defend Breivik: A senior at a Roman Catholic college in Massachusetts who has written letters of support to a Norwegian mass murder suspect will not be on campus 'for the foreseeable future,' according to school officials. ¶ Officials at Assumption College in Worcester wouldn't say on Friday whether student Kevin Forts would graduate in May. » | Saturday, April 21, 2012

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François Hollande: The Socialist 'Pup' On Course to Become France's Next Leader

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jacques Chirac once joked that François Hollande, the bashful Socialist pup sent to challenge him in his rural power base, was less well known than François Mitterrand's labrador.

Today, Mr Hollande is on course to succeed the late Mr Mitterrand as France's first Socialist President in 24 years, and the quiet man of French politics is finding it increasingly hard to conceal his glee.

Riding high in the polls ahead of Sunday's first round vote, France's self-styled Mr Normal told a crowd of 12,000 in Bordeaux at his final rally: "Nicolas Sarkozy said he could see a wave rising. For once he was right. The wave's coming; it's high, its strong, and it's going to smack him in the face".

"François President, we're going to win," the crowd chanted back. » | Henry Samuel, Bordeaux | Friday, April 20, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy is a victim of his own courage: The president should be applauded for his courage, hard work, plain-speaking and his love for France. » | Anne-Elisabeth Moutet | Friday, April 20, 2012

THE WASHINGTON POST: French prez race all about emotion: Fear of finance and Islam, anger at Sarkozy and the rich: PARIS — Like Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy swept to power on a wave of hope for change. Sarkozy’s wave crashed on the global financial crisis and his own failings. On Sunday, the French leader faces a tough fight against nine challengers in presidential elections awash in fear and anger. » | Associated Press | Friday, April 20, 2012

A Look Back at The Queen's Life as She Turns 86
As Queen Elizabeth II marks her birthday on Saturday April 21, the Telegraph takes a look back at Her Majesty's 86 years.
Read the article here | Friday, April 20, 2012
A note to our non-English visitors: The word ‘sixth’ is pronounced ‘siXth’ in English, not ‘siKth’, as it is pronounced in this video. It appears to be an ever-increasing practice in England these days to MIS-pronounce that word. – Mark

Céline Dion & Andrea Bocelli: The Prayer (Live In Boston Taking Chances Tour 2008)

Please don’t forget to view the video full screen. It’s quite spectacular!

As Ina Garten would say: “How fabulous is that?”!