British Poltics Just Got a Whole Lot Dirtier: Miliband Urged to Depose the Hapless Brown
Photo of Gordon Brown courtesy of The Sunday Express
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS: DAVID Miliband was last night being urged to challenge Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership to save the party from meltdown in a general election.

The Foreign Secretary, reported to be holding a weekend “summit” with allies at his country retreat in Chevening, Kent, is seen by many as Labour’s best hope of heading off David Cameron’s resurgent Tories.

Senior Blairites, including former spin chief Alastair Campbell, are pressing him to depose the Prime Minister for the good of the party.

As Mr Brown prepared to tour TV studios today to accept the blame for Labour’s woes, a senior party source told the Sunday Express that Mr Miliband was close to agreeing to put himself forward.

The source said: “David’s going for it – he will challenge.” Miliband Urged to Depose Brown >>> By Jason Groves and Kirsty Buchanan

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
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Boris Johnson: Plans for a Tory Revolution
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Boris Johnson will launch a Conservative revolution in London this week, introducing a series of reforms as a test-bed for a future Tory government.

The new Mayor, who defeated Labour's Ken Livingstone, will within days pour more police on to the capital's crime-hit streets, and plans to introduce hand-held weapon scanners and knife-detecting "arches" at Tube and railway stations.

He will also move to slash immediately wasteful spending and bureaucracy and order a review of the capital's controversial congestion charge.

The swift initiatives are designed to make London a powerhouse of Tory ideas, with Mr Johnson's administration – the first chance the Tories have had to wield real political power for 16 years – used by David Cameron and his team as the proving ground for a move into government. Boris Johnson's Tory Revolution Plan Revealed >>> By Melissa Kite and Patrick Hennessy | May 4, 2008

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH:


Powerful Potential of This Pro-Tory Tide: All the signs suggest David Cameron is on course for Downing Street, says John Curtice >>>

THE SUNDAY TIMES:
Boris Johnson Tells Met Chief to Cut Crime – or Else >>> By Isabel Oakeshott | May 4, 2008

LE JOURNAL DU DIMANCHE:
Le succès de Boris le bouffon >>> Par Sabine Limat | Dimanche 04 Mai 2008

LE JOURNAL DU DIMANCHE:
Londres tombe à droite: La débâcle est totale pour les travaillistes britanniques. Il ne manquait plus que la chute de la capitale, après le scrutin du 1er mai qui avait fait basculer nombre de villes dans l'escarcelle des conservateurs. Le résultat est tombé tard vendredi: les Londoniens ont retiré leur confiance au maire sortant Ken Livingstone pour lui préférer l'impétueux Boris Johnson >>> Par Matthieu Verrier | Samedi 03 Mai 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
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’White Flight’ Begins to Harm Obama
Photo of Hillary Clinton looking upbeat, sporting sunglasses given her by an admirer and supporter, courtesy of The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: On the eve of two crucial primary election contests, Hillary Clinton is pinning her hopes of winning the Democratic presidential nomination on a collapse in the white vote for Barack Obama.

“White flight” from Obama, who was hailed as the first post-racial presidential candidate, has been gathering force since Clinton’s nine-point victory in last month’s Pennsylvania primary.

Her allies will be looking at voting patterns in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday, the two largest remaining states to go to the polls, for any signs that Obama’s proven weakness among white working-class voters may turn into a rout.

Clinton is campaigning with fresh confidence that she has a plausible path to the nomination, despite trailing Obama in states won and delegates pledged to support her at the Democratic national convention this summer. She has already beaten him among white, non-college-educated voters in 26 out of 29 states, according to exit polls. Hillary Clinton Clings On as ‘White Flight’ Begins to Harm Barack Obama >>> By Sarah Baxter in Indianapolis | May 4, 2008

THE SUNDAY TIMES:
Fiery father figure putting a match to Barack’s dream: PROFILE: Rev Jeremiah Wright >>> | May 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Italy: Arabic Version of Constitution to Aid Immigrants
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Palermo, 2 May - Catholic charity Caritas will on Tuesday present an Arabic translation of the Italian constitution in a bid to help immigrants integrate in the southern city of Agrigento.

Caritas will distribute the Arabic translation to schools, offices, and public bodies in Agrigento in southern Sicily.

It is the iniative of the archbishop of Agrigento, Monsignor Carmelo Ferraro. Caritas' office in the diocese of Agrigento helped to supervise the translation.

"Immigrants are welcome in our country, but they have a duty to respect Italian laws," said local Caritas' director, Vito Scilabra.

"We have translated the constitution to increase immigrants' awareness of the laws that govern civic life in Italy."

Two thousand copies of the translation are being printed in Arabic and Italian. [Source: Italy: Arabic Version of Constitution to Aid Immigrants]

Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)

Cuba Lifts Ban on Home Computers
BBC: The first legalised home computers have gone on sale in Cuba, but a ban remains on internet access.

This is the latest in a series of restrictions on daily life which President Raul Castro has lifted in recent weeks.

Crowds formed at the Carlos III shopping centre in Havana, though most had come just to look.

The desktop computers cost almost $800 (£400), in a country where the average wage is under $20 (£10) a month.

But some Cubans do have access to extra income, much of it from money sent by relatives living abroad.

Since taking over the presidency in February, Raul Castro has ended a range of restrictions and allowed Cubans access to previously banned consumer goods.

In recent weeks thousands of Cubans have snapped up mobile phones and DVD players.

But only now have the first computer stocks arrived.
Internet access remains restricted to certain workplaces, schools and universities on the island.

The government says it is unable to connect to the giant undersea fibre-optic cables because of the US trade embargo.

All online connections today are via satellite which has limited bandwidth and is expensive to use.

Cuba's anti-American ally, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, is laying a new cable under the Caribbean.

It remains unclear whether, once the connection is completed, the authorities will then allow unrestricted access to the world wide web. [Source: Cuba Lifts Ban on Home Computers >>> By Michael Voss, Havana | May 3, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Delicious or What, George? Who Says the West Doesn’t Love the East?
Photo of President Bush kissing King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia courtesy of Live Leak
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

’Provocative' Clinton Angers Iran
Photo of Hillary Clinton courtesy of The Times
Video: Hillary Clinton’s threat to Iran
BBC: Tehran has complained to the UN about remarks made last week by Hillary Clinton on the circumstances under which the US might attack Iran.

The Democratic presidential hopeful said last week the US could "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel.

Tehran, which insists its nuclear programme is solely for power generation, denounced her words as "provocative and irresponsible".

It said the remarks were "a flagrant violation" of the UN Charter.

In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, Iran's deputy ambassador to the UN, said Mrs Clinton had "unwarrantedly and under erroneous and false pretexts threatened to use force against the Islamic Republic of Iran". ’Provocative' Clinton Angers Iran >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

La Grande Mosquée de Paris refuse de participer aux élections du Conseil français du culte musulman
LE MONDE: La Fédération nationale de la Grande Mosquée de Paris (GMP), une des principales associations de musulmans, a décidé "à l'unanimité", samedi 3 mais, de ne pas participer aux prochaines élections du Conseil français du culte musulman (CFCM), instance représentative des musulmans de France, estimant que les critères de représentativité lui sont défavorables.

Dalil Boubakeur, recteur de la Grande Mosquée de Paris et président du CFCM, a déclaré que son association préconiserait "l'abstention" lors du scrutin, prévu le 8 juin, car elle "ne peut admettre de se voir reléguée à un rôle secondaire et une place insignifiante, voire fantomatique". M. Boubakeur, qui se présente pour un troisième mandat à la tête du CFCM, a toutefois "souhaité que les élections aient lieu" et a lancé un appel à "toutes les autorités" pour rouvrir le dialogue.
 La Grande Mosquée de Paris refuse de participer aux élections du Conseil français du culte musulman >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)

Female Teachers Dying on Saudi Roads
ASSOCIATED PRESS: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Roads in Saudi Arabia are among the world's most dangerous but one type of victim stands out: female teachers who are dying at alarming rates because of long commutes through the desert to reach remote schools.

The Saudi government appoints teachers to work in villages where local staff cannot fill all vacancies. But unlike their male counterparts, female teachers in this conservative Muslim country have difficulty living alone in the villages, forcing them to commute each day.

Nof al-Oneizi was so worried she would die that she wrote to education officials urging them to find her a school nearer to her home in the northern town of Jouf, rather than the one she was assigned to 108 miles away — a three-hour drive because of the bad roads. Since women are forbidden to drive, she carpooled in a van with a driver along with several other female teachers.

Her fears came true before a solution to her problem could be found: The 28-year-old English language teacher died in a horrific crash last November. Five other female teachers, their driver and four people in the car they hit also were killed.

"We were devastated," said Suad Amri, al-Oneizi's aunt. "I still have her school papers, all splattered with blood. Her mom can't look at them. She can't absorb what has happened to her daughter."

Nearly 6,000 people died in traffic accidents in 2007 in this country of 27.6 million, according to the Saudi Traffic Department. That is a rate of about 21 deaths per 100,000 people — one of the highest in the world. By comparison, around 14 per 100,000 people died in road accidents in the United States in 2006. Female Teachers Dying on the Roads in Saudi Arabia >>> By Donna Abu-Nasr | May 1, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

More Protests in Pakistan Against Fitna
AFP: KARACHI — Thousands of Islamists rallied in southern Pakistan Saturday to condemn an anti-Koran film by a Dutch lawmaker and cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish newspapers, witnesses said.

About 4,000 supporters of a conservative Islamic movement marched in the southern port city of Karachi demanding that Islamabad cut diplomatic ties with Denmark and The Netherlands.

"We are ready to lay our lives to protect the honour of our great prophet," the emotional crowd shouted as speakers demanded the government snap ties with the two European nations. Pakistanis Protest Dutch Anti-Koran Film >>> | May 3, 2008

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Auschwitz: la solution finale

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Partie 18: Fin
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)

Saudi Scholar Finds Ancient Women’s Rights
REUTERS: RIYADH - When clerics, ministers and businessmen gathered at a forum in Riyadh last month to discuss women in the workplace, there were no women in sight.

Typically for Saudi Arabia, the women who took part were seated in a separate room so the men could only hear them.

Such oddities are part and parcel of the complex system of social control maintained by clerics of Saudi Arabia's austere version of Sunni Islamic law, often termed Wahhabism. It's a system called into question by scholar Hatoon al-Fassi.

In her study, "Women In Pre-Islamic Arabia", the outspoken rights advocate argues women in the pre-Islamic period enjoyed considerable rights in the Nabataean state, an urban Arabian kingdom centered in modern Jordan, south Syria and northwest Saudi Arabia during the Roman empire.

Most controversially, Fassi says women in Nabataea -- whose capital was the famous rose-red city of Petra in south Jordan and which was at its height during the lifetime of Jesus Christ -- enjoyed more freedom than in Saudi Arabia today because clerics have misunderstood the origins of Islamic law.

She also suggests some Saudi restrictions on women may have their origins in Greco-Roman traditions. Saudi Scholar Finds Ancient Women's Rights >>> By Andrew Hammond, edited by Sara Ledwith | April 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Point de View: La charia expliquée
eMARRAKECH: Cambridge (Massachusetts) - Le mois dernier à Londres, Rowan Williams, archevêque de Canterbury, a donné une conférence nuancée, érudite, posant la question de savoir si le système juridique britannique devrait permettre que des tribunaux non-chrétiens aient compétence sur certains aspects du droit de la famille. La Grande-Bretagne ne connait pas constitutionnellement le principe de la séparation des églises et de l'Etat.

L'archevêque a relevé que "la loi de l'Eglise d'Angleterre est la loi du pays". Effectivement, les tribunaux ecclésiastiques qui étaient naguère compétents en matière de mariage et de divorce font toujours partie du système juridique britannique, où ils ont encore compétence en matière de biens d'église et de doctrine de l'église. Sa suggestion, sous réserve de l'accord de toutes les parties et de la stricte obligation d'assurer l'égalité des droits des femmes, serait d'envisager de permettre à des tribunaux islamiques et juifs orthodoxes de régler les affaires de mariage et de divorce.

Une bombe. Les responsables politiques de toutes couleurs, les dirigeants ecclésiastiques, les tabloïds les plus notoires, tout le monde a demandé au chef de la deuxième église chrétienne du monde de se rétracter, voire de démissionner. Depuis quelques années, l'archevêque Williams fait des pieds et des mains pour maintenir la cohésion de la communion anglicane universelle, en butte à la controverse sur l'ordination de prêtres homosexuels et le mariage homosexuel. Quelque acerbe que fût cette controverse, ce n'est rien à côté du déchaînement suscité contre lui par cette évocation des tribunaux religieux. Faut-il le préciser? Ce n'est pas la mention du droit juif orthodoxe qui a fait scandale. Dans ce débat public, c'est le mot "charia" qui fit l'effet d'une bombe atomique. La charia expliquée >>> Par Noah Feldman

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)

China Condemns Dalai Lama Ahead of Planned Talks
REUTERS: BEIJING - Beijing lambasted the Dalai Lama as a criminal on Saturday as representatives of the exiled Buddhist leader headed for a meeting in southern China on the most serious unrest in Tibet for nearly two decades.

The barrage of criticism suggested the government was in no mood to compromise following riots and protests in Tibet, which have shaken China's preparations for the Beijing Olympics and stoked Western criticism of its rule in the mountain region.

"Patriotic people of Tibet strongly condemn and vehemently denounce the litany of crimes committed by the 14th Dalai Lama and his followers," said the official Tibet Daily, according to the region's official news Website (www.chinatibetnews.com).

"They (the aides) should have reached China ... we can't have great expectations (about the talks)," Chhime Chhoekyapa, a senior aide to the Dalai Lama, told Reuters in Dharamsala. China Condemns Dalai Lama Ahead of Planned Talks >>> | May 3, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Bouffant Boris, the Unkempt, Eccentric Toff, Wins the London Race!
Photo of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the eccentric new Mayor of London, courtesy of Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: Boris Johnson claimed a remarkable victory in the London mayoral contest on Friday night to cap a disastrous series of results for Gordon Brown in his first electoral test as Prime Minister.

The Conservative candidate's win over Ken Livingstone followed a calamitous showing for Labour at the local elections - the party's worst performance at the polls for 40 years.

Mr Johnson's landmark victory, a result that would have been almost unthinkable six months ago, was the most symbolic blow to Mr Brown's authority on a day that left the Prime Minister facing the gravest crisis of his leadership.

By taking City Hall, Mr Johnson becomes the first Tory politician to hold a senior role in British politics since the party was swept out of power in 1997. His win provided a significant boost to David Cameron's bid for victory at the next general election. Boris Johnson Is the New London Mayor >>> By Andrew Porter and Robert Winnett | May 3, 2008

BBC:
Boris Johnson’s Victory Speech | May 2, 2008

BBC:
The Boris Johnson Story By Brian Wheeler | May 3, 2008

CNN INTERNATIONAL/EUROPE:
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, London's New Mayor Is Eccentric, Offensive >>> | May 2, 2008

LE FIGARO:
Boris Johnson «le bouffon»,
nouveau maire de Londres: L'excentrique candidat conservateur a ravi la capitale britannique au maire sortant Ken Livingstone avec 140 000 voix d'avance. Un échec cuisant pour les travaillistes qui perdent aussi les élections locales >>> | 03. 05. 2008

WELTONLINE:
Neue Konservative sind voll Witz und Exzentrik: Bei den Kommunalwahlen ließen Engländer und Waliser die Labour Partei ganz schön alt aussehen. Premierminister Gordon Brown kommt mit seiner grüblerischen Art nicht an. Die neuen Politstars sind Tory-Chef David Cameron und sein Parteifreund Boris Johnson, Londons neuer Bürgermeister >>> | 3. Mai 2008

NZZ Online:
Britische Konservative feiern den Triumph: Tories streben die Macht in der Downing Street an >>>> | 3. Mai 2008

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG:
Boris Johnson gewinnt in London: Britische Konservative in Siegesstimmung >>> | 3. Mai 2008

LE FIGARO:
Un échec personnel
pour Gordon Brown: Après moins d'un an à son poste, le premier ministre sort très affaibli de son premier test électoral >>> De Cyrille Vanlerberghe à Londres | 03. 05. 2008

DIE PRESSE:
London: Johnson stößt Livingstone vom Thron >>> | 03.05.2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Slimy, Weak Politicians Pandering to Muslims
THE GUARDIAN: The government's attempts to placate Muslims will cause long-term damage to communities, a charity said yesterday.

The warning came from Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, chair and co-founder of the British Muslims for Secular Democracy, a new organisation claiming to represent the "silent majority who feel no conflict between their faith and democracy".

Speaking before the launch, attended by Baroness Kishwer Faulkner and former Islamist Ed Husain, the journalist said the government was pandering to Muslims by granting too many concessions, fuelling their separation from the rest of society.

"The government has found a way of placating Muslims in a way that will only damage us in the long term, Muslims wanting separate schools or different measures. There must be one law for all. Stop Pandering to Muslims Says 'Silent Majority' >>> By Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | May 2, 2008

Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch

MY ESSAY ON THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF ISLAM WITH DEMOCRACY:
Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

A ‘George Washington’ for Europe
Who Will Be the First President of Europe?
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Islamic Fashion: ”From Drab to Dramatic”
Photo courtesy of The Star
THE STAR: There’s more to the Islamic dress than just black robes.

THE recently concluded Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta-Dubai Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF) was proof of an Islamic fashion renaissance. The runways at the tri-country fashion event were bursting with colour, with traditional garments like the burqa, jibab [jilbab] and abaya being transformed from drab to dramatic.

The festival, an attempt to turn Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Dubai into Islamic fashion capitals, attracted top designers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Among them were Malaysia’s Datuk Tom Abang Saufi and Radzuan Radziwill, Indonesian designer Ghea Panggabean, Pakistani Deepak Perwani and UAE’s Shabana Asif. Colour and Pizzaz >>> By S Indramalar

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

The Rise of Neo-Fascism in Europe No Light Matter
TURKISH DAILY NEWS: There is a lot of talk in Europe about how “Turkey should reckon with its past and draw the necessary lessons.”

There is also a lot of focus in Europe presently on where Turkey is headed politically. Both questions are valid. But looking at the rise of neo-fascism, in a continent where such things should have long been buried in the past, one cannot help but ask the same questions about Europe as well.

Have Europeans really reckoned with their past and drawn the necessary lessons? Evidence is mounting to suggest that they have not. Just look at Gianni Alemanno, the newly elected mayor of Rome, who is also a “darling” of Italy's new Prime Minister, the reelected and theatrical – not to mention “testosterone-driven” – Silvio Berlusconi.

Alemanno the neo-fascist

Alemanno is a firebrand neo-fascist and he is proud of it. Not surprisingly his election was celebrated by hundreds of supporters raising their arms in the fascist salute and chanting "Duce! Duce!” As for Prime Minister Berlusconi – who appears to be consciously mimicking Mussolini at times – he declared after Alemanno's election that they were “the new Falange," in a reference to the Spanish fascist party founded in the 1930s.

Then there is Umberto Bossi, the leader of the anti-immigration Northern League, who is himself a fascist and with whom Berlusconi is due to form a government. To understand what Bossi is made of it is enough to note his remarks earlier this week.

Indicating that immigrants had to be hunted out, he said, according to press reports, "We have no fear of taking things to the piazzas. We have 300,000 martyrs ready to come down from the mountains. Our rifles are always smoking." The Rise of Neo-Fascism in Europe No Light Matter >>> By Semih İDİZ | May 2, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Court Challenge to EU Referendum
BBC: Millionaire Stuart Wheeler has won his battle to force a High Court review into whether the government should hold a referendum on the EU's Lisbon treaty.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ruled out a public vote on the treaty, saying it does not alter the UK constitution.

But Mr Wheeler said a vote was promised on the EU constitution and says the Lisbon treaty is virtually identical.

The hearing will be on 9 and 10 June. The Foreign Office said they were "confident" of their case.

In March MPs voted by 346 votes to 206 to approve the EU (Amendment) Bill, after topic-by-topic debates over six weeks.

The Bill - which is now in the Lords - will ratify the Lisbon Treaty, which was drawn up to replace the EU constitution after that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. Court Challenge to EU Referendum >>> | May 2, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)