Turquie : Erdogan joue l'apaisement
LE POINT: Après deux semaines de vives contestations à Istanbul, le Premier ministre turc promet de suspendre son projet d'aménagement du parc Gezi.

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a promis vendredi de suspendre son projet d'aménagement du parc Gezi d'Istanbul jusqu'au verdict final de la justice. Le dirigeant turc, qui avait qualifié les dizaines de milliers de manifestants réunis quotidiennement place Taksim de "vandales", de "pillards" et d'"extrémistes", a reçu dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi une dizaine d'artistes et de représentants de la société civile dont, pour la première fois, deux porte-parole reconnus de la coordination des protestataires. Le simple fait qu'il reçoive des manifestants constitue une victoire pour le mouvement de contestation, mais les quatre heures de réunion n'ont pas accouché de décisions concrètes permettant de garantir une sortie de crise. » | Source AFP | vendredi 14 juin 2013

La Norvège étend le service militaire obligatoire aux femmes
LE POINT: La décision, prise au nom de l'égalité des sexes et pour diversifier les compétences au sein de l'armée, fait l'objet dans le pays d'une quasi-unanimité.

La Norvège va bientôt devenir le premier pays européen à étendre le service militaire obligatoire aux femmes en temps de paix, conformément à une décision du Parlement norvégien vendredi. Tous les partis, à l'exception du petit parti démocrate-chrétien (KrF), se sont rangés en commission parlementaire derrière une proposition du gouvernement de centre-gauche pour instaurer une conscription militaire "sexuellement neutre". Dans la pratique, cela signifie que le service militaire obligatoire sera étendu aux femmes, vraisemblablement dès 2015 comme le projette actuellement leministère de la Défense. "La Norvège va être le premier pays européen à appeler aussi des femmes sous les drapeaux en temps de paix", a déclaré un porte-parole du ministère de la Défense, Lars Gjemble. » | Source AFP | vendredi 14 juin 2013

Obamas Kurswechsel: Russland bezweifelt Chemiewaffen-Vorwürfe der USA
14.06.2013 - Die USA sind in ihrem Syrien-Kurs umgeschwenkt, jetzt könnten Waffen an die Assad-Gegner gehen. Doch international ist die Unterstützung mäßig. Deutschland verweigert eine Ausrüstung der Aufständischen, Russland wettert offen gegen Obama.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Obamas Kurswechsel: Deutschland schließt Waffenlieferung an syrische Rebellen aus: Die USA sind in ihrem Syrien-Kurs umgeschwenkt, jetzt könnten Waffen an die Assad-Gegner gehen. Doch international ist die Unterstützung mäßig. Deutschland verweigert eine Ausrüstung der Aufständischen, Russland wettert offen gegen Obama. » | jok/cvo/dpa/AFP/Reuters | Freitag, 14. Juni 2013

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Chemiewaffen in Syrien: Russischer Spitzenpolitiker bezichtigt Obama der Lüge: Ein russischer Außenpolitiker greift US-Präsident Obama scharf an. Sein Vorwurf, der syrische Diktator Assad habe Chemiewaffen eingesetzt, sei eine Lüge. Die Informationen seien gefälscht wie einst die Berichte über Massenvernichtungswaffen im Irak. » | kgp/dpa/Reuters | Freitag, 14. Juni 2013

Sharia Law: Tearing The West In Two
What is it and what does sharia mean for Christians and others forced to abide by it? First Gary Lane looks at Islamic law. Then Pat Robertson interviews author Nonie Darwish.

Essay: Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom » | Mark Alexander | Friday, April 20, 2007

Belgistan? Sharia Showdown Looms In Brussels
The graffiti on a building in Belgium says it all: "Welcome to 'Belgistan." In fact, some are now calling it the Muslim capital of Europe.

'Islamization' Of Paris: A Warning To The West
The French have become increasingly fed up with what they see as the growing Islamization of France.

'Red Line' Crossed: US to Give Military Support to Syrian Rebels
Washington has given the green light for arming the Syrian rebels to prop up the opposition. A plan for a limited no-fly zone over Syria has also been drawn up. It comes after the U.S. administration concluded Assad's forces had used chemical weapons ''on a small scale''

David Woods' Story of Sharia Law in America!
David wood tells of his personal experience in Islamerica (Dearborn, Michigan)

Radical Islam and the Cleric Anjem Choudary
Radical Islam and the attack at woolwich, Anjem Choudary

Assange on NSA Leak: Snowden Will Be Prosecuted for Years (EXCLUSIVE)
The ex-CIA man who blew the lid off America's vast NSA public surveillance net - is promising more explosive revelations. Edward Snowden's supporters are mobilizing too - with tens of thousands signing a petition to pardon the whistleblower. With us now, a man who knows what it's like to blow the whistle in a big way, and incur the wrath of Washington - Julian Assange. He joins talks to RT via broadband from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

'Heavy Crackdown & Witch-hunt Loom as Turkey PM's 24-hr Notice Runs Down'
A man who had been on life support for days after reportedly being hit in the head by a police gas canister, has become the fifth fatality of the crackdown on public protests in Turkey. On Wednesday the country's Prime Minister set a 24 hour deadline for an end to demonstrations in Istanbul and the capital. That runs out in the coming hours. RT discusses this further with Safak Pavey, a Turkish diplomat and a member of the Republican People's Party.

NSA Leaker Snowden Barred from Travel to UK
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The British government has warned airlines around the world not to allow Edward Snowden, who leaked information on top-secret US government surveillance programs, to fly to the United Kingdom.

A travel alert, dated Monday on a Home Office letterhead, said carriers should deny Mr Snowden boarding because "the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the UK."

The Associated Press saw a photograph of the document taken today at a Thai airport. A British diplomat confirmed that the document was genuine and was sent out to airlines around the world. A Thai airline also confirmed the alert had been issued.

The official said such alerts are issued to carriers that fly into the UK and any carrier that brings Snowden will be liable to be fined 2,000 British pounds. He said Mr Snowden would likely have been deemed by the Home Office to be detrimental to the "public good." » | Associated Press | Friday, June 14, 2013

France's Burkha Ban Sparks Violence across Paris after Police Try to Arrest Woman for Wearing a Veil and Pregnant Woman Is Attacked for Covering Her Face
MAIL ONLINE: Two men put pregnant woman, 21, in hospital - undergoing treatment / Around 60 people attacked police in Argenteuil, north west of the capital / Women guilty of wearing niqabs can be fined the equivalent of around £130

Violent clashes have broken out in a Paris suburb after police tried to arrest a Muslim woman for wearing a veil.

It came as two men today put a 21-year-old pregnant woman in hospital for covering her face with a veil on the same council estate.

In what is being viewed as a severe test of France's burka ban, around 60 people attacked police on Wednesday night in Argenteuil, a commuter town to the north west of the capital.

Under a law which came into force in 2011, women found guilty of wearing niqabs in public can be fined the equivalent of around £130.

But when officers approached the unnamed woman, passers-by became involved in a 'riot' and police used tear gas and flash-ball shots to disperse them, according to a police source.

'The police were attacked' the source told Le Parisien newspaper. 'They were insulted and beaten, including punches'. Two men aged 23 and 37, including a cousin of the young veil-wearer, were arrested and placed in custody under suspicion of violence and public order offences.

In the end, 40 riot police had to be called to the area to restore order, said the source. » | Nabila Ramdani | Thursday, June 13, 2013

ACLU Sues Government Over NSA Surveillance
The fallout of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs continues and now the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Obama administration for its role in scandal. According to the ACLU, the program "represents a gross infringement of the freedom of association and the right to privacy." International human rights attorney Stanley Cohen discusses the most recent developments.

Jihadist Anjem Choudary Threatening to Take Norwegians as Hostages to Free Terrorist Mullah Krekar (May 2012)
The notorious Ilford firebrand Anjem Choudary has called for the kidnapping of Norwegian citizens abroad to exchange for the notorious Oslo firebrand Mullah Krekar, who has been detained after being convicted of death threats towards Norwegian MP Erna Solberg. The translated article from Dagbladet. Encourages Muslims to kidnap Norwegians living abroad...

Istanbul : les manifestants ignorent l'ultimatum d'Erdogan
LE POINT: Malgré les risques de répression, les occupants préfèrent rester sur place, armés de leurs "chansons" et de leurs "poèmes".

Les manifestants qui occupent le parc Gezi à Istanbul, point de départ d'une vaste contestation antigouvernementale, ont annoncé jeudi qu'ils refusaient d'évacuer les lieux malgré le "dernier avertissement" du Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan avant une intervention de la police. "Nous resterons au parc Gezi avec nos tentes, nos sacs de couchage, nos chansons, nos livres, nos poèmes et toutes nos revendications", a déclaré lors d'une conférence de presse l'avocat Can Atalay au nom Solidarité Taksim, la principale coordination des manifestants. » | Source AFP | jeudi 13 juin 2013

Julia Gillard Asked by Radio Station If Her Partner Tim Mathieson Is Gay
THE GUARDIAN: In an extraordinary interview with Howard Sattler on Perth radio, prime minister repeatedly quizzed about sexuality of her partner


Julia Gillard has been asked on a Perth radio program whether her live-in partner, Tim Mathieson, is gay.

Controversial talk back radio host Howard Sattler posed the question to the prime minister on Thursday afternoon on the premise of clearing up rumours and things "you hear."

Sattler said to the prime minister he would offer her a chance to clear up ''myths, rumours, snide jokes and innuendo'' during the interview on Perth's 6PR.

"Tim's gay?" Sattler inquired of the prime minister.

"Well that's absurd," Gillard replied. » | Katharine Murphy, deputy political editor | Thursday, June 13, 2013

Inside Story Americas: Is Obama Going Beyond Orwellian?
We examine if American security measures are going too far.

Inside Story Americas: Public Safety or Privacy Intrusion?
We discuss if it is acceptable for the US government to access American citizens' personal data.

The Tor Project »

'EU Shocked & Angry by Unaccountable US Surveillance'
The recent NSA leaks have awakened many Europeans to the "disturbing" privacy violations regularly committed by the US that their own governments facilitated and may have benefited from, Jim Killock, the executive director of Open Rights Group, told RT

Proteste in Istanbul: Erdogan richtet "letzte Warnung" an Demonstranten

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Erst erwägt er eine Volksabstimmung, nun verschärft der türkische Premier Erdogan die Drohungen gegen die Demonstranten im Istanbuler Gezi-Park. Er fordert die Oppositionellen ultimativ auf, das Gelände zu verlassen.

Istanbul - Seit fast zwei Wochen wird gegen ihn demonstriert, jetzt droht der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan den Protestierenden mit einer härteren Gangart. Er fordert die Demonstranten in Istanbul ultimativ auf, das Camp im Gezi-Park zu verlassen. Der Regierungschef hatte die Demonstranten zuvor mehrfach als "Gesindel" bezeichnet. » | als/dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, Donnertag, 13. Juni 2013

Stakelbeck on Terror: One on One with UK Islamist Anjem Choudary
He's been called Great Britain's most hated man and the face of radical Islam in the UK. Anjem Choudary makes no bones about it--he wants to see Britain become an Islamic state ruled by sharia law.

Related »

Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary: We Will Impose Sharia in British Caliphate

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: A Muslim majority will one day impose sharia law in Britain, the US and much of western Europe, according to radical cleric Anjem Choudary.

Muslims will dominate the West and impose a return to the harsh moral code of the 13th century Arabian caliphate, Choudary told the US network CBN News. The interview has just emerged on a rightwing website, which has published the interview for the first time in the UK.

The interview was recorded shortly after Choudary's Sharia4UK group was banned by Whitehall.

"Innevitably, I'm convinced, I'm 100% certain that the sharia will be implemented in America and in Britain one day," said the preacher, who had been linked to Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebolawe, the two suspects in the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

"If we have enough authority and power, we are obliged as Muslims to take the power away from the people who have it, and implement sharia law."

Choudary, who trained as a solicitor, founded the al-Muhajiroun extremist group with the militant leader Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad. That group was banned in 2004, but has re-emerged under different names and in various guises.

Choudhary continued: "If people are afraid of having their hands cut, don't steal. If you don't want to be stoned to death, don't commit adultery. » | Timur Moon | Thursday, June 13, 2013

Iranian Youth Ditch Oppressive Islam
Spend some time in the streets of north Tehran, and you will feel the pulse of a vibrant and modern Iran. Images of luxury and wealth are everywhere. This is not quite the image you expect from this deeply religious society. However, the younger generation of Iranians are particularly hungry to experience the outside world.

Turkey Protests: Dangerous Waters with No Sign of Compromise
BBC: It began just after dawn on Tuesday: the thud of tear gas fired across Taksim Square in the biggest police operation here for over a week.

Arcs of water cannon were spewed towards protesters, some of whom responded with petrol bombs and bricks.

For 12 days, the central square in Turkey's biggest city had been under the authority of a growing protest movement. This was the moment that the government decided to retake it.

All through the day, the game of cat and mouse continued.

Once the police retreated, the protesters regrouped. They took refuge in the adjoining Gezi Park, where the unrest was first sparked in response to government plans to redevelop it.

I watched as telecoms trucks were set ablaze, black smoke fusing with the white plumes of tear gas into an acrid mix.

Not listening

What began as a demonstration by environmentalists has mushroomed into something far bigger: a fight by disparate groups for greater freedom in Turkey and a preservation of the country's secular order.

They see a government with an authoritarian, neo-Islamist agenda: the highest number of journalists in the world in prison, restrictions on alcohol sales, massive construction projects prioritised over human rights.

"This is not an Arab spring", one protester, Melis Behlil, told me.

"We have free elections here. But the problem is that the person elected doesn't listen to us." » | Mark Lowen | BBC News, Istanbul | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

No Signal: Greek State TV & Radio Taken Off Air Due to Crisis
The main TV and radio channels in Greece have been taken off air, after the government decided to shut down all state-run broadcasters. All 2500 employees have lost their jobs, while the authorities slammed the company as 'a haven of waste'. Large crowds joined in a protest against the decision, which is the latest in a cost-cutting drive, as Athens' struggles to please international lenders. Panagiotis Sotiris, a social and political expert from the University of the Aegean, says it's not just about the economy any more

'NSA 'Bamboozling' Lawmakers for Access to Americans' Private Data' - Agency Veteran
American citizens hoping to change the way the NSA monitors their everyday activities have little hope of recourse, longtime agency veteran Bill Binney told RT. He said the way the Patriot Act is interpreted is the a big first step toward totalitarianism.

Putin on NSA Leak: Govt. Surveillance Shouldn't Break Law (EXCLUSIVE)
"If surveillance is in the framework of the law, then it's ok. If not it is unacceptable. You can't just listen to the phone call in Russia; you need a special order from court," Putin said answering the question of RT's Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan. Commenting on Obama's statement that "You can't have 100 per cent security and 100 per cent privacy," Putin disagreed, saying it is possible if done within the law.

Proteste in der Türkei: Erdogans harte Linie gefährdet EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das Vorgehen der Regierung Erdogan gegen die Demonstranten in Istanbul bringt die EU in eine Zwangslage. Einerseits wollen die Europäer die Gewalt nicht tolerieren, andererseits aber die Türkei als Partner halten. Die nächste Runde der Beitrittsgespräche ist in Gefahr.

London/Berlin - Wieder waren es Bilder der Gewalt, die aus Istanbul die Wohnzimmer Europas erreichten. Mit Bulldozern und Wasserwerfern rückte die Polizei in der Nacht zu Mittwoch auf den Taksim-Platz vor. Gasbomben wurden abgefeuert, Wasserwerfer jagten Demonstranten, Tränengasschwaden verhüllten die Straßen. Am Morgen waren die Reste der Schlacht auf dem geräumten Platz zu besichtigen.

Das harte Durchgreifen der Regierung von Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan stellt die EU-Partner vor ein Dilemma. Seit der Eskalation der Bürgerproteste am Gezi-Park Ende Mai schauen die Europäer dem Geschehen hilflos zu. Ein Appell hier, eine Ermahnung da, mehr kam bisher nicht aus Brüssel, Berlin, Paris und London.

Die Partner sorgen sich, dass die Gewaltexzesse alle Fortschritte der vergangenen Monate zunichte machen könnten. Mühsam hatte man sich nach Jahren der Eiszeit wieder aufeinander zu bewegt. Am 26. Juni wollten die EU-Außenminister zum ersten Mal seit drei Jahren ein neues Kapitel in den EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der Türkei öffnen. Es wäre das 19. von 35 Kapiteln. Nur eines wurde bislang vorläufig abgeschlossen. Zweifel in Westerwelles Ministerium » | Von Carsten Volkery und Severin Weiland | Mittwoch, 12. Juni 2013

Be Honest about Problem in Islam
THE AUSTRALIAN: THERE is only one view of the murder of the British soldier Lee Rigby on a south London street three weeks ago: horrific.

But there are two views of its significance. One is that it was an act by crazy people, motivated in this case by a perverted notion of Islam, but of no broader significance. Crazy people do crazy things, so don't overreact. The other view is that the ideology that inspired the murder of Rigby is profoundly dangerous.

I am of the latter view. Of course, we shouldn't overreact. But we are deluding ourselves if we believe that we can protect ourselves simply by what we do at home. The ideology is out there. It is not diminishing.

…

But there is a problem within Islam, and we have to put it on the table and be honest about it. There are, of course, Christian extremists and Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu ones. But I am afraid that the problematic strain within Islam is not the province of a few extremists. It has at its heart a view of religion - and of the relationship between religion and politics - that is not compatible with pluralistic, liberal, open-minded societies. At the extreme end of the spectrum are terrorists, but the world view goes deeper and wider than it is comfortable for us to admit. So, by and large, we don't admit it.

This has two effects. First, those who hold extreme views believe that we are weak, and that gives them strength. Second, those Muslims - and the good news is that there are many - who know the problem exists and want to do something about it, lose heart.

Throughout the Middle East and beyond, a struggle is playing out. On one side, there are Islamists and their exclusivist and reactionary world view. They comprise a significant minority, loud and well organised. On the other side are the modern-minded, those who hated the old oppression by corrupt dictators and despise the new oppression by religious fanatics. They are potentially the majority; unfortunately, they are badly organised.

The seeds of future fanaticism and terror - possibly even major conflict - are being sown. Our task is to help sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace. But clearing the ground for peace is not always peaceful.

...

Read the whole article here » | Tony Blair | The Australian | Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Russia’s Duma Waves Through Anti-gay Law – by 436 Votes to 0
THE INDEPENDENT: Gay activists attacked and arrested for protesting against bill that will ban ‘homosexual propaganda’ aimed at young people

Gay activists were attacked and then arrested outside Russia’s parliament as lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill that will ban “gay propaganda” aimed at under-18s. The Duma passed the bill, which outlaws the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”, by 436 votes to zero, with one abstention.

The bill will now become law if it is approved by Russia’s upper house of parliament and then signed by President Vladimir Putin, who has already expressed his support for it. The bill is the most criticised element of a series of measures that activists say makes a difficult situation for gay people in Russia even worse. Individuals who violate the law can be fined up to £100, while the penalty for organisations can be up to £20,000. Foreigners found to be promoting gay equality in violation of the law will be arrested and immediately deported. » | Shaun Walker | Moscow | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

THE INDEPENDENT: Russia set to pass strict anti-gay law that could see foreigners deported for 'sexual propaganda': Russia’s parliament will debate a controversial law on Tuesday that could see people arrested for behaviour that is deemed to promote homosexuality. ¶ The bill provides for Russian citizens engaged in the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation” to be fined, while foreigners could be arrested and immediately deported. » | Shaun Walker | Moscow | Monday, June 10, 2013

Whitewashing Islam: 20 Errors on 20/20 (ABC News)
The media can't seem to get their facts straight when they discuss Islam.

A.C.L.U. Sues to Bar ‘Dragnet’ Collection of Phone Records
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed by a former National Security Agency contractor last week — is illegal and asking a judge to both stop it and order the records purged.

The lawsuit, filed in New York, could set up an eventual Supreme Court test. It could also focus attention on this disclosure amid the larger heap of top secret surveillance matters that were disclosed by Edward J. Snowden, a former N.S.A. contractor who came forward on Sunday to say he was the source of a series of disclosures by The Guardian and The Washington Post.

The program “gives the government a comprehensive record of our associations and public movements, revealing a wealth of detail about our familial, political, professional, religious and intimate associations,” the complaint says, adding that it “is likely to have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers and others who would otherwise contact” the A.C.L.U. for legal assistance.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. » | Charlie Savage | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Pope Admits There Is a ‘Gay Lobby’ at the Highest Levels of the Vatican

MAIL ONLINE: Pope Francis acknowledged its long-rumoured existence for the first time / Argentine Pontiff made remarks in audience with Latin American Catholics / He also said there was a 'current of corruption' in the Roman Curia

Pope Francis has acknowledged the existence of a 'gay lobby' inside the Vatican's secretive administration for the first time.

Speaking during an audience with Latin American Catholics, the Argentine Pontiff said that there was a 'current of corruption' in the Roman Curia - the central governing body of the Catholic Church.

He also admitted the existence of a long-rumoured 'gay lobby' in the Curia, and hinted that he might take action over the issue.

Speaking in his native Spanish last Thursday, the 76-year-old told the CLAR (the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women): 'In the Curia, there are truly some saints, but there is also a current of corruption.

'There is talk of a 'gay lobby' and it's true, it exists,' he said, in a report on Chilean website Reflexion y Liberacion [sic]. 'We will have to see what we can do.’ Read on and comment » | Daily Mail Reporter | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

German Secret Service Worried About Growing Salafism

DAWN.COM: BERLIN: German intelligence voiced concern on Tuesday over the growing number of ultra-conservative Islamic Salafists in the country, some of whom are swelling jihadist ranks abroad, while warning of an increasingly violent German extreme right.

“Salafism is a particularly rapidly growing and extremely worrying group within the extremist movement,” Hans-Georg Maassen, head of domestic intelligence, told a news conference as he presented his agency's 2012 annual report.

Radical Islamists in Germany numbered 42,550 in 2012, according to surveillance services, and the number of Salafists, who espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam, within the movement grew to 4,500 from 3,800 in a year, he said.

Maassen added that while not all Salafists are jihadists, it was clear that those who departed Germany for Syria or Egypt were there for that purpose.

“One can say that Salafism is an essential step towards jihadism or for people ready to conduct terrorist attacks,” Maassen said.

He also stressed that the number of extremist Islamists in Germany did not signify there were “42,500 potential terrorists” in the country.

Still, some 1,000 people including some Salafists are considered dangerous and 130 are seen as a particular threat and are monitored around-the-clock.

The intelligence report also showed that Egypt had replaced the Waziristan region of Pakistan as the main centre for the training of jihadists.

Syria is also a favoured destination. “We counted more than 60 people who left Germany to fight in Syria,” Maassen said. » | AFP | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Edward Snowden NSA Leaker: Boehner Says ‘He’s a Traitor’
Speaker of the House talks to George Stephanopoulos about the screening of Americans' phone records.

Ron Paul on Snowden: It's a Heroic Effort
Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul tells Piers Morgan why he feels NSA leaker Edward Snowden has done a "great service."

E-cigarette Sales on the Rise

Türkei: Nächtliche Unruhen in Istanbul und Ankara
In der Nacht ist es in der Türkei erneut zu Zusammenstößen zwischen Demonstranten und der Polizei gekommen. Ministerpräsident Erdogan kündigte Gespräche an.

Türkei: Erdogan bezeichnet Proteste als "systematischen Plan"
Der Regierungschef der Türkei, Recep Erdogan, bezeichnete auf einem Treffen von Parlamentariern seiner religiös-konservativen AK-Partei die Demonstrationen als Teil eines "systematischen Plans".

Istanbul : la police interpelle des avocats
LE POINT: En grève depuis le début du mouvement, les avocats s'étaient rassemblés pour protester contre l'évacuation par la force de la place Taksim.

La police a interpellé mardi une cinquantaine d'avocats qui protestaient contre l'intervention dans la matinée des forces de l'ordre contre les manifestants occupant la place Taksim d'Istanbul, a annoncé leur association. En grève depuis le début de la fronde qui vise le Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan il y a douze jours, ces avocats se sont réunis dans l'enceinte du palais de justice d'Istanbul pour dénoncer la police, qui a repris manu militari le contrôle de la place Taksim, aux cris de "Taksim est partout", "la résistance est partout", a raconté à l'AFP une avocate ayant requis l'anonymat. La police est alors intervenue dans le palais de justice pour les en déloger. Après de brèves échauffourées, une cinquantaine de manifestants ont été interpellés, a rapporté l'Association des avocats contemporains. (+ vidéo) » | Source AFP | mardi 11 juin 2013

Bundesanwaltschaft will Klarheit in der Spionage-Affäre

SCHWEIZER RADIO UND FERNSEHEN: Die Enthüllungen des US-Informanten Edward Snowden ziehen auch in der Schweiz weite Kreise. Die Bundesanwaltschaft will deshalb Licht ins Dunkel fremder Wirtschaftsspionage bringen.

Edward Snowden steht hinter den Enthüllungen des Prism-Überwachungsprogrammes des US-Geheimdiensts NSA. Über Jahre war Snowden für den CIA in der Schweiz tätig und stiess dabei auf Brisantes: Durch ihn kam ans Licht, wie CIA-Agenten einen Schweizer Banker absichtlich betrunken gemacht haben. Als der Banker in eine Polizeikontrolle geraten sei, hätten sie ihm ihre Hilfe angeboten. Im Gegenzug habe der Banker die CIA mit Informationen versorgt. (+ Audio) » | Dienstag, 11. Juni 2013

Erdoğan's Reaction to Turkey Protests Reveals Ominous Putin Parallels
THE GUARDIAN: Leader is used to having things his own way but, civil society movement can no longer be suppressed, says Luke Harding

The assault was as brutal as it was predictable. On Friday and Saturday Erdoğan had hosted a European Union meeting in Istanbul. Rumour had it that Turkey's prime minister would send in riot police to clear away the demonstrators from Taksim Square – which they had peacefully occupied for 12 days — once his European guests had flown home.

And so it proved, with police encircling the square at 6am on Tuesday, firing rubber bullets and teargas, and ripping down banners calling for Erdoğan's resignation. By happy coincidence, Turkey's state media, which for days had blithely ignored the country's massive anti-government demonstrations, was on hand to record the event.

Turkish TV viewers witnessed this: a small group of four or five "demonstrators" throwing molotov cocktails at police. At one point they advance on police lines in a comic Roman-style phalanx while holding the flag of a fringe Marxist party. The "protesters" were in fact middle-aged undercover police officers, staging a not very plausible "attack" on their own for the benefit of the cameras.

But the violence meted out against the genuine protesters camped out under the plane trees of nearby Gezi Park was real enough. Dozens were left choking or injured as teargas billowed across central Istanbul. Meanwhile, some 50 lawyers acting for detained activists were themselves dragged away by police and roughed up at Istanbul's Çağlayan court.

Faced with a choice between engaging with this new, vibrant civil society movement, or crushing it, Erdoğan has picked the latter course. Indeed, his reaction to the nationwide citizens' revolt reveals ominous parallels with another autocratic leader who has recently found himself in a tight spot: Vladimir Putin.

None of this bodes well for Turkey's already tortuous EU accession prospects, for relations between secular and religious Turks, or for the country's democratic future. » | Luke Harding | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Turkey PM Erdogan Warns Protesters 'It's Over'
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on protesters to leave Istanbul's Taksim square, warning that his patience is running thin.

Read the Telegraph article here | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Boston Bomb Trail: Answers in Russia's Islamist South
The Boston bombing suspects lived in Russia's terror-riddled South before moving to the United States. Radical Muslims are still fighting for control of the region.

'Istanbul Like War Zone': Turkey Clashes Raging with Gas, Bullets & Cannons
Hundreds of police in riot gear are clearing barricades from Istanbul's Taksim square. They've used teargas and rubber bullets to force protesters out, many of who fled to Gezi park, where the unrest started. A crew from RT's Arabic sister Channel has been caught-up in the crackdown when police teargassed demonstrators

English Defence League Leader Condemns Attacks On Muslims

BBC: The leader of the English Defence League has told the BBC he "utterly condemns" attacks on Muslims.

Tommy Robinson denied claims his group had firebombed an Islamic community centre in London, where the letters EDL were sprayed on the building.

He admitted some of its tactics were "completely questionable", but said "working class people" had no choice.

The Muslim Women's Network UK said it had seen a rise in verbal abuse and intimidation since the Woolwich murder.

Mr Robinson was speaking after six men were jailed for planning to bomb an EDL rally in West Yorkshire.

The men, who all lived in or near Birmingham, were each jailed for more than 18 years. Their bomb plot failed because they arrived two hours after last year's rally in Dewsbury had finished.

'Completely questionable'

Mr Robinson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he condemned all acts of violence by EDL members and the group was about peaceful protest.

He denied his group was behind the blaze in Muswell Hill last week and said the graffiti could have been placed there to make it look as if the group was responsible.

"If something was set fire and someone wrote David Cameron on the side of it, does it mean he did it?" he said. (+ BBC audi) » | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

BBC: EDL protest policing 'the price of democracy' » | Len Tingle | Political editor, Yorkshire | Monday, June 10, 2013

EDL Leader: It's Not Going to End Pretty
BBC: Six Islamic extremists were jailed for up to 19 and half years each on Monday for plotting to attack an English Defence League rally.

The English Defence League's initials were scrawled on the mosque that was burnt down in north London last week and the Met Police has said there has been a rise in Islamophobic attacks following the Woolwich murder.

EDL Leader Tommy Robinson told the Today programme's Sarah Montague: "Our tactics are completely questionable... But what choice do we have?"

He said that he "utterly condemns" a violent act "by anyone" but also admitted that he had been "arrested for assaulting someone" after they had given a Nazi salute.

He said that he wanted "all aspects of Sharia outlawed" in the UK and explained that the idea that EDL initials were written on a mosque by his members "seems ridiculous". Listen to BBC audio » | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

A Former Whistleblower Gives Her Prespective on Snowden’s NSA Disclosures
National Security Agency spying disclosures raise red flag for civil liberties advocate and former whistleblower.

The girl Snowden left behind »

US Prism Scandal: 'Security Is Not an End in Itself'
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: How much monitoring is too much and at what point does freedom become compromised? With its Prism spy program, the US has crossed the line.

Shortly before US President Barack Obama's visit to Berlin, Germans are troubled by questions regarding the extent to which the United States monitors Internet traffic worldwide. Is it true, as the media claim, that the United States can access and track virtually every form of communication on the Internet at the source? The Guardian and the Washington Post reported that the National Security Agency (NSA) could gain direct access to and read user data with the so-called "Prism" program. An unnamed intelligence officer was quoted by the Washington Post as saying that the NSA could "quite literally … watch your ideas form as you type."

Internet giants like Facebook and Google were quick to issue denials, saying that they do not release any information without a court order. But doubts remain.

These reports are deeply disconcerting. When viewed in its entirety, this massive effort to acquire information, if it is true, would be dangerous.

On the weekend, President Obama reacted by saying that it is impossible to have 100 percent security and 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience.

I don't share this view. The more a society monitors, controls and observes its citizens, the less free it is. In a democratic constitutional state, security is not an end in itself, but serves to secure freedom. » | A Commentary by German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

NSA Snooping: Obama Under Pressure as Senator Denounces 'Act of Treason'

THE GUARDIAN: Information chiefs worldwide sound alarm while US senator Dianne Feinstein orders NSA to review monitoring program

Barack Obama was facing a mounting domestic and international backlash against US surveillance operations on Monday as his administration struggled to contain one of the most explosive national security leaks in US history.

Political opinion in the US was split with some members of Congress calling for the immediate extradition from Hong Kong of the whistleblower, Edward Snowden. But other senior politicians in both main parties questioned whether US surveillance practices had gone too far.

Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the national intelligence committee, has ordered the NSA to review how it limits the exposure of Americans to government surveillance. But she made clear her disapproval of Snowden. "What he did was an act of treason," she said.

Officials in European capitals demanded immediate answers from their US counterparts and denounced the practice of secretly gathering digital information on Europeans as unacceptable, illegal and a serious violation of basic rights. The NSA, meanwhile, asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation and said that it was assessing the damage caused by the disclosures.

Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who revealed secrets of the Vietnam war through the Pentagon Papers in 1971, described Snowden's leak as even more important and perhaps the most significant leak in American history. » | Dan Roberts in Washington, Ewen MacAskill in Hong Kong and James Ball in New York | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Turkey: Riot Police Breach Barricades in Taksim Square
Hundreds of riot police have moved into Istanbul's central Taksim square, firing tear gas and water cannon to disperse anti-government protestors who have been camped out in the square for almost two weeks.

Read the article here | AFP | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

New Dark Age Alert! Islam Was Not For Me - Amil Imani (Free Iran)

HT: Amil Imani »

Wealth Inequality in America
Infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.

Crackdown Cohorts: US Backs Gulf Regimes, Ignores Rights Abuses
Support for several Gulf states where a crackdown on Internet freedom has reached new highs, resulting in arrests and bans, is also causing deep concern. Given this disturbing string of incidents across the Gulf States, many wonder why Washington is ignoring the persistent human rights violations there.

'Nothing Will Stop CIA, NSA From Catching Snowden'
The United States criminal chase has begun - with top officials calling for Edward Snowden to be prosecuted to the harshest extent of the law. Intelligence analyst Glenmore Treaner-Harvey told RT Washington will try everything to catch the whistleblower.

NSA Whistle-blower Interview - Hong Kong

Edward Snowden Has Blown the Whistle on This Presidency. You Have to Wonder: Will Obama See Out His Full Term?
TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – DAMIAN THOMPSON: "They could pay off the Triads," says Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower interviewed by the Guardian in his Hong Kong hideout. Meaning: the CIA could use a proxy to kill him for revealing that Barack Obama has presided over an unimaginable – to the ordinary citizen – expansion of the Federal government's powers of surveillance over anyone.

Libertarians and conspiracy theorists of both Left and Right will never forget this moment. Already we have Glenn Beck hailing Snowden on Twitter:

Courage finally. Real. Steady. Thoughtful. Transparent. Willing to accept the consequences. Inspire w/Malice toward none.#edwardsnowden

Snowden will be a Right-wing hero as well as a Left-libertarian one. Why? First, he thought carefully about what he should release, avoiding (he says) material that would harm innocent individuals. Second, he's formidably articulate. Quotes like the following are pure gold for opponents of Obama who've been accusing the President of allowing the Bush-era "surveillance state" to extend its tentacles even further:

NSA is focussed on getting intelligence wherever it can by any means possible… Increasingly we see that it's happening domestically. The NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone, it ingests them by default, it collects them in its system and it filters them and it analyses them and it measures them and its stores them for periods of time … While they may be intending to target someone associated with a foreign government or someone they suspect of terrorism, they're collecting your communications to do so. Any analyst at any time can target anyone…

Read on and comment » | Damian Thompson | Sunday, June 09, 2013

Bill Cosby: We Should All Be More Like Muslims

BREITBART: Comedian Bill Cosby is no stranger to the culture wars.

The iconic stand-up and star of the beloved sitcom The Cosby Show routinely weighs in on cultural matters.

This past weekend, Cosby penned an op-ed for The New York Post in which he detailed some of the flaws in modern society. He also suggested we should take a page out of the Koran if we want to have healthier families, less crime and more productive people. » | Breitbart News | Monday, June 10, 2013

FBI Makes Changes to Not Offend Muslims

Read the short article here | CBNNews.com | Monday, June 10, 2013

Prism Exposed: Data Surveillance with Implications for the World

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The American intelligence director and the White House have finally confirmed what insiders have long known: The Obama administration is spying on the entire world. Politicians in Germany are demanding answers.

South of Utah's Great Salt Lake, the National Security Agency (NSA), aUnited States foreign intelligence service, keeps watch over one of its most expensive secrets. Here, on 100,000 square meters (1,100,000 square feet) near the US military's Camp Williams, the NSA is constructing enormous buildings to house superfast computers. All together, the project will cost around $2 billion (€1.5 billion) and the computers will be capable of storing a gigantic volume of data, at least 5 billion gigabytes. The energy needed to power the cooling system for the servers alone will cost $40 million a year.

Former NSA employees Thomas Drake and Bill Binney told SPIEGEL in March that the facility would soon store personal data on people from all over the world and keep it for decades. This includes emails, Skype conversations, Google searches, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, bank transfers -- electronic data of every kind.

"They have everything about you in Utah," Drake says. "Who decides whether they look at that data? Who decides what they do with it?" Binney, a mathematician who was previously an influential analyst at the NSA, calculates that the servers are large enough to store the entirety of humanity's electronic communications for the next 100 years -- and that, of course, gives his former colleagues plenty of opportunity to read along and listen in.

James Clapper, the country's director of national intelligence, has confirmed the existence of a large-scale surveillance program. PresidentBarack Obama further explained that Congress authorized the program -- but that American citizens are exempt from it.

…

'Total Surveillance of Germans is Inappropriate'

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed through a spokesman that she plans to discuss the NSA's controversial data surveillance program with President Obama during his visit to Berlin next week. A spokesperson for the German Justice Ministry also said that talks are currently underway with US authorities. The discussions will include implications to Germany and "possible impairment of the rights of German citizens."

German Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner has called for "clear answers" from the companies implicated in the document, and the German Green Party has demanded that the government investigate the circumstances of Prism immediately.

"Total surveillance of all German citizens by the NSA is completely disproportionate," Volker Beck, secretary of the Green Party group in parliament, said on Monday. The party has proposed that the topic be discussed at next week's parliamentary session.

Mormon Roots, International Reach

The program's Utah compound is full of security fences, watchdogs and surveillance cameras, as well as biometric identification system equipment. Two informants say the location for the server facility was by no means an accident. Utah is home to the largest number of Mormons in the world. This highly patriotic religious community sends its young members around the world as missionaries -- and many are then recruited by the Utah Army National Guard, whose 300th Military Intelligence Brigade employs 1,600 linguists. The NSA has access to these linguists at all times, and one insider believes they are used in "analyzing international telecommunications."

…

Read the whole article here » | Marcel Rosenbach, Holger Stark and Jonathan Stock | Translated from the German by Ella Ornstein | Monday, June 10, 2013

Edward Snowden: The Quiet Hawaii Life of the NSA Whistleblower
The government contractor who leaked details of top secret National Security Agency surveillance programs maintained an anonymous existence in a quiet suburb a few miles from Pearl Harbor.

Read the Telegraph article here | Nick Allen, Waipahu and Raf Sanchez in Ellicott City, Maryland | Monday, June 10, 2013

Female Teacher Beheaded and Three Others Tortured by Papua New Guinea Villagers Who Believed Them to Be Witches
MAIL ONLINE: Helen Rumbali was dragged from her home tortured and beheaded in public / Villagers said fire flies led them to her house - a sign she was a witch / They accused her of killing another villager - who died from sickness - with her sorcery / Experts say disparity in wealth and jealousy are main reasons for increases in such attacks

A teacher has been tortured and beheaded by her neighbours in a Papua New Guinea village because they say she was a witch responsible for the death of a sick villager.

The angry mob brandishing guns, machetes and axes surrounded her house and pulled Helen Rumbali, her sister and two nieces away. They then burnt down the house.

They say a swarm of fire flies led them from the deceased person's grave to her house - sure evidence they say that she was a sorcerer and was practicing black magic.

Helen's older sister and younger nieces were slashed with knives, then released after negotiations with police. But the mob went on to torture the former teacher, in her 40s, and then publicly cut off her head.

The sickening and heinous act is one of many horrific similar stories coming out from the island, often considered a paradise in the Pacific. » | Helen Collis | Monday, June 10, 2013

Inside Story Americas: 'Big Brother' Obama?
We ask under what authority the US monitors the world's phone calls and internet usage.

Privacy vs Security: 'Obama Already Made Choice for Us'
President Obama has stepped in to defend a massive secret surveillance program after revelations America's been spying on its own people on a vast scale. Obama said people had to be aware there's a trade of between security and privacy. The project - called PRISM - run by the NSA tracked virtually every aspect of people's online life. The revelations sparked outrage abroad as Britain's GCHQ also implicated in the project. Loz Kaye, leader of the UK Pirate Party, thinks that the security web is ineffective due to its sheer scale.

Unmasked: Former IT Worker at CIA behind Biggest-ever NSA Leak
The source of the bombshell leaks that revealed the massive scale of US surveillance has unmasked himself. 29-year-old former CIA technical assistant Edward Snowden disclosed the documents that proved Washington was secretly collecting phone records and spying on the internet activity of millions of people.

'British Dream Tends to Be Multi-culti Society without US Segregation'
RT speaks to David Goodhart, director of the Cross party think tank about one of the leading issues of the upcoming British elections - immigration.

Intelligence Report: Number of Islamists in Germany Grows
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In its annual report on extremist activity in Germany, the country's domestic intelligence agency has identified a surge in support for Islamists and growth in the number of influential neo-Nazi music groups.

During the past year, Islamist organizations experienced a surge in support in Germany according to an annual report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution obtained by SPIEGEL in advance of its planned public release on Tuesday.

The report states that the number of members and supporters of groups like Milli Görüs, the largest Islamist organization in the country, or Hezbollah in Germany rose from 38,080 in 2011 to 42,550 last year.

The largest growth was seen among members and supporters of Salafists, which increased from 3,800 to 4,500, the government agency stated. Last year, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich of the conservative Christian Social Union moved to ban three Salafist groups. » | dsl/SPIEGEL | Monday, June 10, 2013

Verwandt »

Resisting by Raising a Glass

THE NEW YORK TIMES: ISPARTA, Turkey — After retaking Taksim Square in Istanbul after hours of ugly street battles with police officers firing tear gas this month, many of the haggard protesters cracked bottles of Efes beer and raised them in a mock toast to their prime minister, who had recently pushed through a law to curb drinking.

And even in Isparta, a religiously conservative region that is a wellspring of support for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a small group of residents, drinks in hand, gathered outside the office of the local governor who is an ally of the embattled prime minister and chanted, “Cheers, Tayyip!”

Drinking is far from the only issue held up in the intense antigovernment protests that have convulsed Turkey for more than a week. But it has become closely intertwined with the broader complaints of demonstrators fighting what they see as the rising authoritarianism of the Turkish government.

It also cuts to the heart of Turkish identity, as both sides have cast it as a clash of Islamic and secular values. While protesters have held up new limits on drinking as an affront to the secular values of modern Turkey, Mr. Erdogan has said that “religion demands” curbs on drinking. He has gone so far as to implicitly refer to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey and a notoriously heavy drinker, as a “drunkard,” and in one of a series of speeches he delivered Sunday to cheering supporters, accused protesters of taking beer into mosques. » | Tim Arango | Sunday, June 09, 2013

Dutch Politician Geert Wilders: ‘What We Need Today Is Zionism for the Nations of Europe’
JNS.ORG: LOS ANGELES—Europeans “need to follow the example of the Jewish people and re-establish their nation-state” to counter the growing Islamization of their countries, Dutch politician Geert Wilders said Sunday in Los Angeles.

“My friends, what we need today is Zionism for the nations of Europe,” Wilders, founder and leader of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, said at the “Europe’s Last Stand?” conference, organized by the American Freedom Alliance.

Wilders described that Europe’s inner cities “have come to resemble Northern Africa and the Middle East” because they are ruled by Islamic Sharia law, noting that Islamic areas border the European Union headquarters in Brussels and that “largely Islamic suburbs” surround Paris.

“Europe is in a terrible state,” Wilders said. “Bit by bit, European countries are losing their national sovereignty.” » | JNS.org | Monday, June 10, 2013