The EU should be stronger and more united. Great Britain should belong to the Union.
Die EU sollte stärker und geeinter sein. Großbritannien sollte der Union angehören.
L'UE devrait être plus forte et plus unie. La Grande-Bretagne devrait appartenir à l'Union.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Holocaust Row Bishop Arrives in Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Bishop Richard Williamson, who was asked to leave Argentina after making "deeply offensive" comments about the Holocaust, has arrived back in Britain.
Richard Williamson, the Holocaust-denying bishop, has arrived back in Britain. Here, he is being escorted out of Heathrow. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The British-born Roman Catholic bishop flew into London's Heathrow airport from Buenos Aires where he was met by a crowd of international media and an armed police guard.
The bishop, who was given 10 days to leave Argentina by the country's government, declined to answer questions from the press as he was taken to a waiting car by police officers.
Those meeting him, including other Roman Catholic priests, also declined to comment before the vehicle sped away.
The bishop had been resident in Argentina until this week at the St Pius X seminary in the capital.
But after remarks he made in a Swedish television interview were broadcast, the government branded his view "deeply offensive".
He claimed in the interview last month that historical evidence was "hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler ... I believe there were no gas chambers."
He added: "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in the Nazi concentration camps but none of them in gas chambers."
The Vatican has ordered Bishop Williamson to retract his comments and the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said he must do so before he can "enter into full communion with the church". >>> | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Vatican Complains to Israel about 'Blasphemous' TV Programme
The Vatican has lodged a formal complaint with the Israeli government over a TV programme that "ridiculed and blasphemed" Jesus and Mary.
In the programme, the host denied Christian traditions - that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus walked on water - saying he would do so as a "lesson" to Christians who deny the Holocaust, a reference to the Vatican's recent lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who denied 6 million Jews were killed during the Second World War. The rehabilitation sparked outrage among Jews.
The host, a well-known Israeli comedian Lior Shlein, also claimed that Mary became pregnant at 15 by a schoolmate and said that Jesus could never have walked on water because "he was so fat he was ashamed to leave the house, let alone go to the Sea of Galilee with a bathing suit."A statement from the Vatican press office said its representative in Israel had complained to the government about the show, which was broadcast recently on private Channel 10, one of Israel's three main television stations. >>> | Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thanks to Muslims: Fight against Terror 'Spells End of Privacy'
THE GUARDIAN: Former security chief warns searching personal data will 'break moral rules'
Privacy rights of innocent people will have to be sacrificed to give the security services access to a sweeping range of personal data, one of the architects of the government's national security strategy has warned.
Sir David Omand, the former Whitehall security and intelligence co-ordinator, sets out a blueprint for the way the state will mine data - including travel information, phone records and emails - held by public and private bodies and admits: "Finding out other people's secrets is going to involve breaking everyday moral rules." >>> Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Beijing's 'Happy Couples' Launch Campaign for Same-sex Marriages
THE GUARDIAN: Wedding pictures event as gay community fights hostility and discrimination
With her bouquet of roses and fluffy white dress, Han Xincheng looked the epitome of the glamorous modern Chinese bride. But, although her parents had been pressing her to marry, the photographs were not what they might have expected: she is gazing adoringly at another woman, surrounded by onlookers.
The series of "wedding pictures" staged by lesbians and gay men in the heart of Beijing might not raise eyebrows any longer in most western countries, but they are evidence that attitudes are finally changing in a country where gay sex was illegal until 1997 and homosexuality classified as a mental illness until four years later.
There is still no legal protection against discrimination in China and few role models: no mainstream figures are openly gay. Yet now parts of China's gay population are calling for the right to wed - and meeting with some sympathy. >>> Tania Branigan in Beijing | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The number of early deaths in people who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day but were a healthy weight was the same as non-smokers who were obese, a study has found.
Smoking between one and ten cigarettes a day produced a similar risk to being overweight but not obese, the research in the British Medical Journal showed. Teenage Obesity Is as Bad for Health as Smoking: Research >>> By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Holocaust-denying Bishop Flies Back to Britain after Argentina Orders Him Out
THE TELEGRAPH: Richard Williams, the British bishop whose denial of key facts of the Holocaust provoked a crisis in the Catholic Church, will arrive in London on Wednesday after being expelled from Argentina.
Bishop Williamson, of the ultra-conservative breakaway Catholic group the Society of St Pius X, was dressed all in black, including sunglasses and a black cap, as he made his way through Ezeiza international airport in Buenos Aires to board a British Airways flight.
A man accompanying him manhandled a journalist who asked Bishop Williamson his destination and whether he would recant his views.
He refused to answer questions about his departure, which followed a decision last week by the Argentine government that his immigration papers were not in order and he should leave the country within ten days.
An interview in which the bishop questioned the scale of the Holocaust and the use of gas chambers was broadcast in the week the Pope cancelled his excommunication, sparking fury among Jewish groups.
The government of Argentina, where he had served as head of a seminary near Buenos Aires for the last six years, said that his comments "profoundly insult Argentine society, the Jewish people and humanity in general".
The British-born bishop is a member of the ultra-conservative Catholic group founded by the late Archbishop Lefebvre.
Father Richard Bouchacourt, the head of the Society of St Pius X in South America, told the Telegraph that he hoped that the scandal and attention it had attracted would now be over.
"This has damaged the society and it has damaged the Pope," he said. >>> By Nick Evans in Buenos Aires | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
WELT ONLINE: "Wer sind wir?" wollte eine türkische Tageszeitung wissen und gab eine Art Bestandsaufnahme der türkischen Seele in Auftrag. Die Ergebnisse zeigen die Türken der Demokratie zugewandt, Ausländern gegenüber aber misstrauisch. 70 Prozent finden, dass Frauen nur mit Erlaubnis ihrer Männer arbeiten dürfen sollen.
Seit acht Jahren betreibt die islamisch geprägte Regierung der Türkei eine weitreichende Reformpolitik. Unter Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan wurde die Gesetzgebung zu einer riesigen Baustelle, Hunderte Gesetze wurden an EU-Standards angeglichen. Zugleich machte sich die Regierungspartei AKP daran, die islamische Identität der Gesellschaft und deren Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten zu stärken. Über Sinn und Unsinn dieser Doppelstrategie wird viel gestritten, aber einig ist man sich darin, dass das Land in einem tiefen Transformationsprozess steckt.
Um diesen zu messen, führte das Meinungsforschungsinstitut “Konda” im Auftrag der Tageszeitung “Hürriyet” eine Umfrage durch. Unter dem Titel “Wer sind wir?” sollte eine Art Bestandsaufnahme der türkischen Seele entstehen – wo steht das Land heute? Wie lang ist noch der Weg zu einer europäischeren Türkei?
Ziemlich weit, wenn man den Ergebnissen glaubt. Der positivste Wert sind 88 Prozent Zustimmung zu der Aussage: Die Türkei sollte immer und unter allen Umständen demokratisch regiert werden. Zugleich sagten 48 Prozent, die Armee müsse eingreifen “wenn nötig”. Im Klartext, undemokratische Mittel sind zuweilen nötig um die Demokratie zu bewahren. Das ist nun einmal die paradoxe Sichtweise vieler Türken – sie sehen ihre Parteipolitiker nicht unbedingt als vertrauenswürdige Demokraten. >>> Von Boris Kalnoky | Dienstag, 24. Februar 2009
LE MONDE: Longue silhouette au visage glabre et à la mèche rebelle, Hans Küng, considéré comme le plus grand théologien contestataire catholique vivant, reçoit chez lui, en Allemagne, à Tübingen, dans sa propriété élégante aux murs tapissés d'ouvrages. Les siens, innombrables et traduits dans toutes les langues, trônent en bonne place dans son bureau personnel. Il revient ici sur la tempête déclenchée par la main tendue du pape Benoît XVI aux intégristes catholiques.
Comment analysez-vous la décision de Benoît XVI de lever l'excommunication de quatre évêques du courant intégriste de Mgr Lefebvre, dont l'un, Richard Williamson, est un négationniste affirmé?
Je n'ai pas été surpris. Dès 1977, dans un entretien à un journal italien, Mgr Lefebvre indique que "des cardinaux soutiennent (son) courant" et que "le nouveau cardinal Ratzinger a promis d'intervenir auprès du pape pour (leur) trouver une solution". Cela montre que cette affaire n'est ni un problème nouveau ni une surprise. Benoît XVI a toujours beaucoup parlé avec ces personnes. Aujourd'hui, il lève leur excommunication, car il juge que le temps est venu. Il a pensé qu'il pourrait trouver une formule pour réintégrer les schismatiques, qui, tout en conservant leurs convictions, pourraient donner l'apparence qu'ils sont en accord avec le concile Vatican II. Il s'est bien trompé.
Comment expliquez-vous que le pape n'ait pas mesuré le tollé que sa décision allait susciter, au-delà même des propos négationnistes de Richard Williamson?
La levée des excommunications n'a pas été un défaut de communication ou de tactique, mais elle a constitué une erreur de gouvernement du Vatican. Même si le pape n'avait pas connaissance des propos négationnistes de Mgr Williamson et même s'il n'est pas lui-même antisémite, chacun sait que les quatre évêques en question sont antisémites. Dans cette affaire, le problème fondamental, c'est l'opposition à Vatican II, et notamment le refus d'une relation nouvelle au judaïsme. Un pape allemand aurait dû considérer cela comme un point central et se montrer sans ambiguïté sur l'Holocauste. Il n'a pas mesuré le danger. Contrairement à la chancelière Angela Merkel, qui a vivement réagi.
Benoît XVI a toujours vécu dans un milieu ecclésiastique. Il a très peu voyagé. Il est resté enfermé au Vatican - qui est comme le Kremlin d'autrefois -, où il est préservé des critiques. Du coup, il n'a pas été capable de réaliser l'impact d'une telle décision dans le monde. Le secrétaire d'Etat, Tarcisio Bertone, qui pourrait être un contre-pouvoir, était son subordonné à la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi ; c'est un homme de doctrine, absolument soumis à Benoît XVI. On est face à un problème de structure. Il n'y aucun élément démocratique dans ce système, aucune correction. Le pape a été élu par des conservateurs, et aujourd'hui c'est lui qui nomme les conservateurs. >>> TÜBINGEN (BADE-WURTEMBERG) ENVOYÉS SPÉCIAUX | Mardi 24 Février 2009
US Report: Saudis Replacing Egypt as Regional Leader
HAARETZ: A recent U.S. National Intelligence Council report suggests Egypt has lost its superior status among Arab states, and that leadership in the Middle East is passing to Saudi Arabia despite the kingdom's efforts to avoid it.
The study, "Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan: Policies on Regional Issues and Support for U.S. Goals in the Middle East," is based on a workshop held last summer, but was released only in December, after U.S. President Barack Obama was elected and senior intelligence officials in his administration took office.
The National Intelligence Council describes itself as a center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the U.S. intelligence community. It is subordinate to the Director of National Intelligence, and provides intelligence estimates to the president and senior decision makers on foreign policy issues. While the council is a government agency, the report emphasizes it does not necessarily reflect the administration's foreign policy.
According to news reports yet to be confirmed in Washington, Obama intends to appoint Chas W. Freeman Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to head the intelligence council. Some Israeli officials have expressed concern that Freeman's political views are not in line with those of Jerusalem.
The experts convened to draft the study agreed Egypt is no longer the undisputed leader of the Arab world as it had been in previous decades, and that the torch of regional leadership is being passed to Saudi Arabia. However, the report indicates the Saudi regime is loath to accept that role, largely because of implications of the growing threat Iran poses the Arab world. >>> By Amir Oren | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
REUTERS: RIYADH - Saudi authorities arrested at least nine Saudi Shi'ite pilgrims after clashes in the holy city of Medina, Shi'ite and security sources said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia sees itself as the bastion of mainstream Sunni Islam and is worried about the rising influence of non-Arab Shi'ite power Iran in the region.
Jaafar al-Shaib, a leading figure among minority Saudi Shi'ites, said clashes occurred between Shi'ite pilgrims and morals police near a mosque that houses the tomb of Prophet Mohammad.
"Some 1,500 Shi'ite pilgrims gathered near the mosque for the commemoration of Prophet Mohammad's death," he said.
"Stick-wielding members of the morals police backed up by plainclothes policemen sought to disperse them."
Morals police often prevent pilgrims venerating tombs, seen as idolatry under the strict Saudi version of Islam.
Some pilgrims were injured in a stampede after police fired into the air to disperse the crowd, al-Shaib said, adding ambulances took some away. He said some shops owned by Shi'ites were attacked. >>> Reporting by Souhail Karam; editing by Thomas Atkins and Michael Roddy | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
MSNBC: Saudi Cleric Calls for End to Anti-Shiite Actions
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia appealed to King Abdullah to put an end to "extremist practices and insults" by members of the religious police against Shiite pilgrims following a series of incidents at a revered cemetery.
Sheik Hassan al-Saffar's posted the appeal on his Web site Monday, following reports of several incidents of confrontations between Shiites and riot police at the al-Baqee Cemetery in Medina, Islam's second-holiest city. The confrontations aggravate the friction between the overwhelmingly Sunni population and the Shiites, who say they make up 10-15 percent of Saudi Arabia's 22 million people.
Saudi Arabia follows the severe Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam that considers Shiites infidels. Shiites routinely complain of discrimination, including being banned from joining the religious police. >>> By Donna Abu-Nasr | Associated Press | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Geert Wilders on Bill O’Reilly’s The Factor, February 23, 2009
PAJAMAS MEDIA: A Dutch Hero Comes to Warn Us, Seek Our Support. The Incomparable Geert Wilders, MP, in New York City
“I have come to warn you of a great threat. Free speech is no longer a given, we must now battle for our birthright. We are looking at the end of democracy, the slavery of women, the death of gays. While there might be moderate Muslims, there is no such thing as moderate Islam. Islam is not a religion, it is a political and totalitarian ideology.”
Some would say that these are fighting words.
Indeed, Dutch parliamentarian, Geert Wilders, is fighting for Western liberty and Western values, as rooted in the legacies of “Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem.” This is the legacy he wishes to leave the “children of Europe,” as opposed to the legacy of “Mecca and Gaza.” Wilders is fighting for us all, his fight is our fight. As he said earlier today, “it is not about (him) but about Free Speech.” Today he may be a “criminal, tomorrow, anyone of us might be considered a criminal too,” for telling the truth about the danger that Islam poses to Western democracy. “Today I may be put behind bars. I am not the issue. Will free speech be put behind bars?”
“It is not 8:55pm. It is 11:55pm. We will lose everything.”
Wilders is very blond, quite trim, and well tailored, both matter-of-fact and charming in a way that does not come across in still photos. Wilders’ Dutch and Scandinavian entourage: other members of Parliament, such as Barry Madlener, of the Party of Freedom, (PVV), with whom I sat, and Lars Hedegaard, (the head of The Free Speech Society–Denmark), were all impossibly handsome, healthy, fluent in English, and heartbreakingly serious.
“The Left has hated Christianity for decades. Now, it demands respect for Islam. Guess why? The Left and Islam are both opposed to criticism of any kind. Where the Left and Islam come together, freedom will always suffer.”
Wilders attributes the erosion of Western sanity and courage to the infernal doctrine of “multicultural relativism which has fatefully weakened the West.” Such politically correct beliefs have led to the liberal Dutch Labor Party’s initiation of the lawsuit against Wilders. While the public prosecutor’s office declined to prosecute Wilders for “hate speech,” (hundreds of people wrote to the Prosecutors on Wilders’ behalf), the liberals appealed their ruling to the High Court in Amsterdam which actually overruled the public prosecutor’s decision. Wilders is on his way to appeal this last decision in the Dutch Supreme Court. He says, wryly, that the lawsuits may last until 2015. >>> Phyllis Chesler | Monday, February 23, 2009
GLOBE AND MAIL: Harvard financial guru Niall Ferguson predicts prolonged financial hardship, even civil war, before the ‘Great Recession' ends
Harvard author and financial crisis guru Niall Ferguson has landed with a thud in Ottawa, spreading messages that could make even the most confident policy makers squirm.
The global crisis is far from over, has only just begun, and Canada is no exception, Mr. Ferguson said in an interview before delivering a presentation to public-policy think tank, Canada 2020.
Policy makers and forecasters who see a recovery next year are probably lying to boost public confidence, he said. And the crisis will eventually provoke political conflict, albeit not on the scale of a world war, but violent all the same. “There will be blood.”
The Buy America penchant pushed by the U.S. Congress in passing the recent stimulus bill was only the tip of the iceberg.
Abu Dhabi buying Nova Chemicals at bargain-basement prices on Monday is a sign of things to come, with financial power quickly being transferred over to the world's creditors – namely sovereign wealth funds – and away from the world's debtors.
And much of today's mess is the fault of central bankers who targeted consumer-price inflation but purposefully turned a blind eye to asset inflation.
The Laurence A. Tisch professor of history at Harvard University, and author of The Ascent of Money, A Financial History of the World, sat down with The Globe and Mail's economics reporter, Heather Scoffield. >>> Heather Scoffield | Monday, February 23, 2009
LE FIGARO: La police a annoncé, lundi, l'arrestation de trois suspects après l'attentat du Caire, sans préciser quelles charges pèsent contre eux.
C'est sans doute par le plus triste des hasards que les jeunes Français originaires de Levallois ont été frappés par le terrorisme dimanche soir alors qu'ils s'apprêtaient à acheter quelques souvenirs dans le souk du Khan el-Khalili, l'un des lieux les plus touristiques du Caire, où défilent chaque jour des milliers d'étrangers. Des interrogations subsistaient lundi sur les circonstances précises de l'attentat. Selon la police égyptienne, la bombe - un engin artisanal rempli de morceaux de métal et de clous - était dissimulée sous un banc sur le parvis de la mosquée al-Hussein, principal lieu saint de l'islam chiite au Caire. Mais, d'après plusieurs témoignages, elle aurait au contraire été lancée depuis le toit de l'hôtel al-Hussein, un petit établissement populaire planté à la lisière du souk, sur les touristes déambulant en contrebas. Dans un cas comme dans l'autre, souligne-t-on de source diplomatique, il apparaît peu probable que les ressortissants français aient été délibérément visés.
Des sources policières égyptiennes ont annoncé lundi l'arrestation de trois, voire cinq «suspects», sans préciser quelles charges pèsent contre eux. Il s'agirait notamment de deux femmes portant le niqab (voile intégral) et d'un jeune homme qui aurait été interpellé alors qu'il fuyait précipitamment les lieux. Des informations prises avec prudence par les spécialistes, qui rappellent les méthodes d'arrestations massives généralement employées par les services de sécurité égyptiens : après l'attentat contre la station balnéaire de Taba, en 2004, près de 3 000 personnes avaient par exemple été arrêtées dans le Sinaï. >>> Le Caire, Tangi Salaün | Lundi 23 Février 2009
Congress Shows Its Commitment to Freedom of Expression by Welcoming Geert Wilders. Americans Have More Backbone Than Craven Brits
It is a nonsense to imply that only Geert Wilders claims that Islam inspires terrorism. It is a fact that it does so; and anybody who knows anything about Islam knows that. It should come as no surprise to those at the top. In fact, if they were on top of their jobs, they wouldn’t need people like Geert Wilders to tell them the facts!
It is shameful and idiotic for the British government to have turned Geert Wilders away at Heathrow. In doing so, Brown & Co have shot the messenger. Always a stupid thing to do! In doing so, they have shown that they are not committed to freedom of expression, and not committed to liberty, either. The Brown government, with its craven Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, a woman of manifest incompetence, has disgraced Great Britain. She has destroyed Britain’s image of being the mother of all democracies. I can think of no action this government could have taken to do more damage to the freedoms Brits have enjoyed over the centuries, and nor can I think of any action it could have taken to demean the reputation of this once proud nation. Churchill will surely be turning in his grave!
But, of course, anyone with a few grey cells knows why this government banned him: Out of fear of Muslims, fear of Islam, and fear of losing the Muslim vote. Far more Muslims vote Labour than Conservative. Furthermore, Lord Ahmed, the Muslim peer, wields far too much power in the House of Lords. He should be cut down to size.
For anyone who thinks that Geert Wilders is showing double standards by wanting freedom for himself to warn the West of the dangers of Islam and Islamofascism whilst wanting to ban the Koran at the same time, divest yourself of the notion. There are no double standards there at all. Even in a free society, if you find that there is a growing ideology out there which wants to destroy the freedoms you enjoy, then you’d be a fool not to ban it. After all, this is not without precedence, is it? Nobody can form a Nazi party in the United Kingdom; and as Geert Wilders says, Mein Kampf is banned in the Netherlands, as it is in Germany and Austria. Yet these nations still enjoy freedom.
THE TELEGRAPH: Republican Senator Jon Kyl is hosting a film screening at the Capitol building in Washington for a [sic] the controversial Right-wing Dutch politician who claims that Islam inspires terrorism.
Mr Kyl is sponsoring the Thursday event for Geert Wilders, who was denied entry to Britain earlier this month after British officials said he posed a threat to public order.
The Home Office refused him entry on the grounds he "would threaten community security and therefore public security".
The elected Dutch MP had been invited to the House of Lords to show his 17-minute film, Fitna, which criticises the Koran as a "fascist book" and compares Islam to Nazism.
Mr Wilders' 15-minute film, Fitna, juxtaposes verses from the Koran with images of violence and compares Islam to Nazism.
Mr Wilders has defended himself against accusations of "double standards" over his own demand for freedom of speech alongside his calls for the Koran to be banned.
MAIL Online: Now Dutch MP Who Was Banned from Britain for His Anti-Islam Film Is Welcomed in the U.S.
Jon Kyl, host of the American film screening of Fitna, Geert Wilders’ amazingly accurate depiction of Islam. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
A controversial Dutch MP banned from Britain for his fair right views will be allowed to screen his controversial anti-Islamic film in United States.
Geert Wilders, who was last month refused entry into Britain, will screen screen his anti-Islam film Fitna in Washington in two days time.
Republican Senator Jon Kyl will host Thursday's film screening for the far-right Dutch lawmaker who claims that Islam inspires terrorism.
The 15-minute film sparked controversy after it juxtaposed verses from the Koran with images of violence by Muslims. Wilders had been invited to Britain by a member of Parliament's upper house, the House of Lords, to show his film.
But the British government refused his entry into the country, saying he posed a threat to 'community harmony.' The Dutch MP also called Koran a 'fascist book' and said it should be banned.
But Kyl agreed to hold the event because he said 'all too often, people who have the courage to point out the dangers of militant Islamists find themselves vilified and endangered.'
Thursday's event is being sponsored by the International Free Press Society and is headed by Danish activist Lars Hedegaard, and the Center for Security Policy, a think tank in Washington led by Republican Frank Gaffney. >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, February 24, 2009
VIDDLER: Fitna
DIE PRESSE: Islam-Kritiker Wilders zeigt seinen Film im US-Kapitol
Der niederländische Abgeordnete Geert Wilders wird am Donnerstag seinen umstrittenen Kurzfilm "Fitna" auf Einladung des republikanischen Senators Kyl vorführen. Ein ähnliches Vorhaben in London scheiterte wegen eines Einreiseverbots.
Der niederländische Abgeordnete Geert Wilders wird am Donnerstag seinen umstrittenen Anti-Islam-Kurzfilm "Fitna" im Kapitol, dem Sitz des US-Kongresses in Washington, zeigen. Eingeladen hat ihn der republikanische US-Senator Jon Kyl. Das teilte Kyls Sprecher Ryan Patmintra am Montag mit.
Mit einem ähnlichen Vorhaben in Großbritannien war Wilders Anfang des Monats gescheitert. Auch dort wollte er auf Einladung eines Mitglieds des Oberhauses den Film zeigen. Die britische Regierung belegte den Rechtspopulisten jedoch wegen Islam-feindlicher Äußerungen mit einem Einreiseverbot. Er sei nicht willkommen, weil er eine Bedrohung für "die Harmonie der Gemeinschaft und damit die öffentlichen Sicherheit" darstelle, erklärte die Regierung. Film-Vorführung nicht öffentlich >>> Ag | Dienstag, 24. Februar 2009
IRAN CHAMBER SOCIETY: This crown was used by Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, in his coronation on 25 April 1926. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, also used the crown in his coronation on 26 Oct. 1967.
The crown was designed and built by a group of Iranian jewellers, under the supervision of Haj Serajeddin, the famous jeweller who had been in the employ of the Amir of Bokhara and had later emigrated from the Soviet Union to Iran. The stones were selected from loose stones in the treasury.
The crown made of red velvet, gold, and silver. It has a total height of 29.8 cm. and has a width of 19.8 cm. It weighs 2,080 grams. The are 3,380 diamonds employed on the crown, totalling 1,144 cts. The largest is a brilliant-cut yellow diamond of 60 cts. which is located in the center of the front jewel sunburst. There are also 369 perfectly-matching natural pearls in three rows on the crown. Of the 5 emeralds, totalling 200 cts., the largest is approximately 100 cts. The largest sapphire is 20 cts.
The design of the crown incorporates a motif of the Sassanid dynasty, which ruled over the Persian Empire from the 3rd through the 7th centuries AD. [Source: Iran Chamber Society]
Netanjahu-Regierung beunruhigt Europa
Die Aussicht auf eine rechtsgerichtete Regierung in Israel löst in der Europäischen Union grosse Besorgnis aus. Die Sorge gilt vor allem den schwierigeren Ausgangsbedingungen für den Friedensprozess. >>> vin/ap | Montag, 23. Februar 2009
Reza Pahlavi: "Ahmadinejad est un cavalier de l'Apocalypse"
Reza Pahlavi est le Prince héritier en exil. Ahmadinejad, estime-t-il, est le cavalier de l'Apocalypse. Photo grâce à L'Express
L’EXPRESS: Il a vécu la révolution islamique et fut emporté par les événements. En exil depuis trente ans, Reza Pahlavi, fils du dernier chah d'Iran, aurait pu tirer un trait sur son passé et choisir de changer de destin. Il a préféré le risque et un combat improbable. Régulièrement menacé de mort, il poursuit sa difficile résistance et publie Iran, l'heure du choix (Denoël), un livre d'entretiens avec Michel Taubman dans lequel il entend dissocier le peuple iranien du régime qui le tyrannise. Bien que les "experts", ainsi que tous les séides de la République islamique, ne voient guère d'avenir politique à Reza Pahlavi, l'homme persiste à croire à une stratégie d'alternance pacifique. Sur la nature fanatique du régime de Téhéran, les projets nucléaires d'Ahmadinejad, l'arc chiite à travers le Moyen-Orient, son analyse apporte un éclairage aux complexités iraniennes.
La République islamique d'Iran vient de fêter ses 30 ans. Quel regard portez-vous sur ces trois décennies?
Je ne peux m'empêcher de comparer ce qu'est devenu l'Iran à ce qu'il aurait dû être. Au lieu d'aller de l'avant, on n'a fait que reculer. Il y a trente ans, il y avait certes des problèmes, comme l'absence de libertés politiques, que je condamne sans réserves, mais nous étions un pays en plein développement, une société en cours de modernisation, dont le niveau de vie s'élevait. Aujourd'hui, un tiers de la population vit au-dessous du seuil de pauvreté, la fuite des cerveaux a produit une hémorragie, les tensions interethniques divisent la société, les minorités sont persécutées, et la drogue, la prostitution, la corruption ne cessent de se répandre. Sans parler d'une répression touchant toute la société et de l'absence totale de liberté. L'Iran aurait pu être la Corée du Sud ; il est devenu la Corée du Nord. Le plus dramatique, c'est que deux générations ont été sacrifiées. A quelle fin ?
Etes-vous amer?
Pas du tout. D'abord, il y a l'humour iranien, comme le prouve ce dicton populaire : "Hier, on buvait en ville et on priait à la maison ; aujourd'hui, on prie à l'extérieur et on boit à l'intérieur." Et puis, je crois qu'il faut envisager la révolution islamique comme une expérience supplémentaire dans un pays qui est déjà passé par des phases historiques extrêmement difficiles. Ce n'est pas la première fois que l'Iran est à l'épreuve. Nous avons été maintes fois envahis, agressés, occupés. Certes, la crise est désormais intérieure. Mais, si l'on ose une comparaison avec l'Europe, souvenez-vous que vous avez également connu, il y a quelques siècles, une période où la religion étouffait la société. Cela a précédé l'avènement des Lumières et l'éclosion des droits de l'homme. >>> Par Christian Makarian | Vendredi 20 Février 2009
Under the programme, which is costing just £2 million, the Czech state will pay for a one-way air or rail fare and provide 500 euros (£440) in cash to any foreign worker who wants to go home and can prove that they have been laid off from a legitimate job and have no means of support.
Ivan Langer, the interior minister, explained that if the scheme proved popular with migrant workers then he would ask the government to extend it beyond an initial eight-month period.
The Czech Republic's once booming economy attracted thousands of migrant workers, who flooded into the country from afar a field as Mongolia and Vietnam to work in flourishing sectors such as the car industry and construction.
Conservative estimates now put the number of foreigners working in the Central European country at 300,000, and that they now represent 6 per cent of the Czech workforce.
But with the small country reeling from the global recession, unemployment in January rose to a 21-month high of 6.8 per cent, and migrant workers are expected to bear the brunt of the lay-offs. >>> By Matthew Day in Warsaw | Monday, February 23, 2009
