Sarkozy Shock
TIMESONLINE: Nicolas Sarkozy, the right-wing reformer who becomes French President on Wednesday, upset both the United States and his opponents yesterday by offering the job of Foreign Minister to a Socialist veteran with anti-American credentials.

Hubert Védrine, 59 — a former senior aide to the late President Mitterrand — who served as Foreign Minister from 1997 to 2002, was considering the proposal yesterday.

The prospect of Mr Védrine running foreign policy has infuriated the beleaguered Socialists and amazed the diplomatic world because he is the architect of a doctrine for containing what he called the abusive “steamroller” of American power. His views on “the hyperpower” — the term that he coined in the 1990s — would appear to conflict with Mr Sarkozy’s pro-Atlantic views. Shock as Sarkozy woos anti-US leftwinger (more)

Mark Alexander

Chaos in Karachi
THE TELEGRAPH: Chaos gripped the streets of Karachi yesterday as gun battles left at least 31 people dead and hundreds more injured, threatening a complete breakdown of law and order in Pakistan's largest and most volatile city.

With plumes of black smoke billowing over the city of 12 million people, there were extraordinary scenes as gunmen on motorbikes pumped bullets into crowds demonstrating against Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, while police stood by and watched. Pakistan on brink of disaster as Karachi burns (more)

BBC: Pakistan city shut down by strike

Mark Alexander

Demonstration à Izmir pour proclamer leur attachement à la laïcité

Photo grâce au Figaro

LE FIGARO: Plusieurs dizaines de milliers de personnes ont manifesté dimanche à Izmir pour proclamer leur attachement à la laïcité.

Les pro-laïcs ne désarment pas. Banderoles antigouvernementales, drapeaux turcs rouge et blanc et portraits de Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, fondateur vénéré de la Turquie moderne et laïque : plus de 100.000 manifestants se sont rassemblés dimanche à Izmir, troisième ville du pays, pour protester contre le gouvernement et le parti au pouvoir, accusés de vouloir renforcer la place de l'islam dans les institutions et la société turques.

Plusieurs milliers de policiers avaient été déployés dans les rues d'Izmir en prévision de la manifestation, d'autant que la veille, un attentat sur un marché de la ville avait fait un mort et 14 blessés. Nouvelle demonstration de force du laïc en Turquie (encore)

BBC: Turkish secularists in new rally

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy und die Mehrheit der Franzosen sind gegen Türkei-Beitritt der EU

Foto von Nicolas Sarkozy dank Google Images (Frankreich)

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Deutschland und Frankreich sind - der Begriff sei erlaubt - die Eltern der Europäischen Union und bis heute die Häupter der beständig gewachsenen Familie. Wie in jeder Familie gilt in der europäischen, dass große Entscheidungen nur getroffen werden können, wenn die Häupter sich einig sind. Ist schon einer von ihnen gegen weiteren Nachwuchs, wird es keinen geben. Sind beide abgeneigt, gilt das umso mehr. Erst recht trifft das zu, wenn es sich nicht um eine natürliche Zeugung handelt, sondern um eine Adoption. Bloß dumm, wenn das Adoptivkind schon auf dem Weg zu den neuen Eltern ist, die zu spät begriffen haben, dass es keine gute Idee war, zu den eigenen Kleinen noch ein großes fremdes Kind hinzuzunehmen, um den Kontakt zu den ebenfalls fremden Nachbarn am Ende der Straße zu verbessern. Ankara und die bittere Wahrheit (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Switzerland Begins Criminal Investigations into BAE Amid Suspicions of Money Laundering
TIMESONLINE: THE Swiss authorities have begun a criminal investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption surrounding Britain’s biggest defence firm.

The federal prosecutor’s office said a probe is under way into suspicions of money laundering involving BAE Systems. A spokeswoman for the office, said the inquiry was the result of a report received from the Swiss money-laundering authority.

The move will prove highly embarrassing to the British government, which decided to halt a two-year criminal inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into the £40 billion Al Yamamah contract to sell fighter jets and Hawk trainers to Saudi Arabia.

The spokeswoman declined to give further details. Now Switzerland launches bribery probe into BAE (more) By David Leppard

NZZ: Schweiz ermittelt in Affäre um britischen Rüstungskonzern: Verdacht auf Geldwäscherei

Mark Alexander

Al-Qaeda’s Ambition: To Turn Iraq into a Militant Islamic State
TIMESONLINE: A RADICAL plan by Al-Qaeda to take over the Sunni heartland of Iraq and turn it into a militant Islamic state once American troops have withdrawn is causing alarm among US intelligence officials.

A power struggle has emerged between the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, an organisation with ambitions to become a state which has been set up by Al-Qaeda, and more moderate Sunni groups. They are battling for the long-term control of central and western areas which they believe could break away from Kurdish and Shi’ite-dominated provinces once the coalition forces depart. Al-Qaeda planning militant Islamic state in Iraq (more) By Uzi Mahnaimi

Mark Alexander

The BBC Shows Its Unprofessional Side
The BBC has spent six months investigating whether or not Scientology is a legitimate religion. Not really a very wise use of limited resources for the BBC, since Scientology, whatever one thinks of it, is no threat to the survival of the West. It would have been far better for the BBC to have spent its money and time investigating the ‘religion’ of Islam. But since they didn’t, and since they have completed their hatchet job on Scientology, perhaps they could now turn their attentions to investigating whether Islam is a legitimate religion, too. And while they’re at it, they can do a cost-benefit study on allowing Muslims into the West in their droves, when so many of them have no intention of ever integrating (integration goes against their faith), and when so many of them want to Islamize every corner of the earth, including the United Kingdom. In a few words, Muslims want to turn the House of War (Dar ul Harb) into the House of Islam (Dar ul Islam). That means to say that they want to turn the whole world Muslim! – ©Mark Alexander

TIMESONLINE: Scientologists to BBC: what planet are you living on?

BBC reporter losing it!

Click here to watch: BBC Panorama: “Scientology and me”

BBC: Row over Scientology video

THE TELEGRAPH: BBC reporter blows his top at Scientologist

Mark Alexander

Bloomberg for President?

Photo of Bloomberg courtesy of THE TELEGRAPH

THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and mayor of New York, is building the foundations for an audacious third-party presidential candidacy that would transform the 2008 race for the White House.

The Daily Telegraph has established that a senior aide to Mr Bloomberg has held three lunch meetings with officials from the Independence Party, during which detailed discussions took place as to how a third-party bid could be launched. Bloomberg readying for a run at the White House (more)

Mark Alexander

”Talking Turkey”: An Alternative Viewpoint


Mark Alexander

Israel wird sich zurückziehen
NZZ: Aussagen von Aussenministerin Livni
Israel wird sich aus weiteren Teilen des Westjordanlands zurückziehen. Das sagte die israelische Aussenministerin Tzipi Livni in einem Interview mit einer ägyptischen Zeitung. Livni nannte jedoch keinen Termin. Israel wird Teile des Westjordanlands räumen (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Truculent Ahmadinejad Remains Defiant in Face of World Pressure to Halt Uranium Enrichment
YNET NEWS: President Ahmadinejad quoted as saying Iran 'won't retreat one step', accuses enemies of 'psychological war'

Iran will not be pushed by sanctions to suspend work on its disputed nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday, two days after six world powers met to discuss Iran's defiance of UN demands.

Senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany met in Berlin on Thursday to discuss Iran's refusal to halt its uranium enrichment work, as demanded by the UN Security Council. Iran says won’t bow to sanctions over atomic work (more)

Mark Alexander

Karachi Clashes
KARACHI (Reuters) - Twenty-seven people were killed and 100 wounded in Karachi on Saturday in clashes between pro-government and opposition activists as Pakistan's suspended top judge tried to hold a rally with his supporters. Violence erupts over Pakistan’s top judge, 27 dead (more)

Mark Alexander

Anti-Gay Protests in Rome
ROME (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people gathered in Rome on Saturday for a rally to protest against a proposed law that would give greater rights to unmarried couples, including gays and lesbians.

The draft legislation, which requires parliamentary approval, has divided Italy's ruling coalition, angered the Catholic Church and roused passionate debate in the country. Thousands rally in Rome against gay rights law (more)

Hunderttausende demonstrieren in Rom für traditionelle Ehe

Mark Alexander

José Marie Aznar parle de Nicolas Sarkozy
LE FIGARO: Par José Maria Aznar, ancien président du gouvernement espagnol.
J'admire Nicolas Sarkozy. J'admire son optimisme, sa volonté, sa déter­mi­nation. J'admire sa capacité de travail et son dynamisme. J'admire surtout l'amour patriotique qu'il ressent pour la République et qu'il s'ef­force de faire partager à ses compatriotes. C'est précisément le patriotisme qui fait de Sarkozy un homme politique différent. Différent en quoi ? Différent parce qu'il ne ment pas. Il dit la vérité. Il parle à ses compatriotes sans espérer qu'ils croiront une chose et qu'il pourra ensuite faire autre chose.

Les Français peuvent avoir confiance en Nicolas Sarkozy. Cet homme m'a prouvé qu'il mérite la confiance. Nicolas Sarkozy est fiable, je le sais par expérience (encore)

Mark Alexander

Obamamania
For some time now, the United States has been in the grip of Obamamania. In many ways, it could be classed as a pandemic.

I have been racking my brains for quite some time to understand this phenomenon. This morning I had a breakthough: a friend of mine in the States, the director of Transactions Magazine, drew my attention to the following image of Barack Obama, and my thanks go to him for doing so.

The reason for this phenomenon, for this pandemic, for Obamamania are clear! I don't have to rack my brains any longer! And just in case you were racking yours, then you don't need to do so any longer, either. Here is our answer:

Image courtesy of Google Images

Mark Alexander

Nicolas Sarkozy on Turkey’s Bid to Join the European Union
“Negotiations began in 1964. We are in 2007. The time has rather come to tell the Turks whether we want them or if we don’t want them. For me actually, it is not a question of democracy, it is not at all a question of Muslims, of Islam. It is to say that it’s Asia, it is not Europe. One must tell clearly to this great people that is Turkey that they are meant to be the heart of the Union of the Mediterranean but not the heart of the European Union.” (Televised debate with Segolene Royal, May 2, 2007) – Nicolas Sarkozy [Source: New York Times]

Mark Alexander

Obamamanie
WELTONLINE: Barack Obama überall. Kein Tag, an dem der Demokrat, der gerne Präsident werden will, nicht in den Medien auftaucht. Aktuell allerdings könnte es Obama mit der Medienpräsenz fast schon zu viel werden: Ein Spottlied über ihn macht die Runde. Streit um "Barack the Magic Negro" (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Krise in der Türkei
NZZ: Schulterschluss im Lager der säkularen Opposition
Die Regierung des gemässigten Islamistenchefs Tayyip Erdogan will über eine Verfassungsänderung eine Volkswahl des Präsidenten durchsetzen. Es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass dies gelingt. Das Land schlittert nach Jahren der politischen Stabilität immer tiefer in die Krise. Tiefe politische Krise in der Türkei (mehr)

LE FIGARO: Les islamistes turcs jouent le peuple contre l'armée

Mark Alexander

Iran will not gain nuclear weapons and nor will it dominate the Middle East, says Cheney
BBC: US Vice-President Dick Cheney has issued a warning to Iran from an aircraft carrier in the Gulf.

He said Washington and its allies would keep Tehran both from restricting sea traffic and developing nuclear arms. Cheney warns Iran on Gulf visit (more)

KUWAIT TIMES: Cheney fires salvo at Iran

Mark Alexander

Musharraf Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Photo of President Musharraf courtesy of TIMESONLINE

TIMESONLINE: President Musharraf could declare a state of emergency in Pakistan amid growing civil unrest against his increasingly embattled regime.

Security forces were placed on high alert yesterday, detaining hundreds of activists on the eve of an anti-government rally in Karachi. Rival demonstrations are planned by supporters of General Musharraf, raising fears of violent clashes in the southern port city today. Pakistan set to declare state of emergency (more)

Mark Alexander