Muslim Extremists Shout Abuse at British Soldiers During Home-coming March
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim extremists shouted abuse at British soldiers during a home-coming march by the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

Muslims shout abuse at British soldiers in Luton, showing the true, loving nature of Muslims and Islam. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
A group of around 20 men in traditional Islamic dress held up banners and placards that read: "Anglian Soldiers Butchers of Basra", "Anglian Soldiers Criminals, Murderers Terrorists" and "Baby killers".

As the battalion, which is nicknamed The Poachers, reached Luton Town Hall the small group shouted and yelled "Terrorists" and "Anglian Soliders Go to Hell."

The protestors then had to be protected by police as angry supporters of the soldiers turned on them shouting: "Scum" and "No surrender to the Taliban." >>> | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Saudi Cleric: Prosecute Prominent Business Tycoons
YNET NEWS: Islamic law professor issues religious decree calling for prosecution of Waleed bin Talal, al-Waleed al-Ibrahim as 'drug dealers' for owning commercial TV channels broadcasting 'inappropriate programs'

Waleed bin Talal, one of the richest men in the world. Photo courtesy of Ynet News
A Saudi cleric has published a "fatwa" (Islamic decree) calling for the prosecution of two of the kingdom's most prominent businessmen, who belong to the ruling family.

This fatwa is unusual as it states the names of the two officials and is not just a general call. The two men mentioned are business tycoon Waleed bin Talal, one of the wealthiest people on earth, and al-Waleed al-Ibrahim, the brother-in-law of former Saudi King Fahd.

Yusuf al-Ahmad, an Islamic law professor, called for the two men's prosecution as "drug dealers" due to the fact that they own commercial television channels broadcasting "inappropriate programs". Bin Talal owns Rotana TV and al-Ibrahim owns the MBC channel. >>> Doron Peskin | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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

Guantánamo-Häftlinge sind stolz auf 9/11-Anschläge
TAGES ANZEIGER: Wegen der Anschläge in New York droht fünf Männern, die in Guantánamo inhaftiert sind, die Todesstrafe. In einem heute veröffentlichten Dokument bekennen sie sich mit Stolz zu den Terroranschlägen.

Foto von Chalid Scheich Mohammed dank dem Taages Anzeiger
Der mutmassliche Drahtzieher der Anschläge vom 11. September 2001, Chalid Scheich Mohammed, und vier weitere Angeklagte haben ein umfassendes Geständnis abgelegt. Im Dokument, das die Zeitung «New York Times» jetzt veröffentlicht hat, bezeichnen sie die Anschläge gegen das World Trade Center (WTC) in New York als «Opfergabe an Gott». Die Anschuldigungen gegen sie betrachten die Männer als Abzeichen der Ehre. Das Dokument trägt den Titel «Die islamische Antwort auf die neun Anschuldigungen der Regierung». Gemäss dem Zeitungsbericht wird die US-Justiz das Dokument möglicherweise heute Dienstag veröffentlichen. >>> vin | Dienstag, 10. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>

Saudi Arabia Sees Sharp Rise in Diabetes
AL WATAN: RIYADH: Some 90 people a month have a foot amputated due to diabetes in the Saudi capital, a doctor told AFP on Monday, expressing concern about the high levels of the condition in the oilـrich kingdom.

The number of diabetesـlinked amputations is rising quickly and beginning to occur at younger and younger ages, said Dr Abdulaziz AlـGannass, foot and ankle surgeon at the National Guard King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

"We have three cases every day of amputated feet due to diabetes in Riyadh," Gannass told AFP, adding that he could not provide a figure for such cases across the vast desert kingdom.

"It is the number two reason for admission (to hospitals) in the kingdom after trauma," he said.

Gannass called the level of diabetes in the country "shocking", attributing it to poor diet and high sugar consumption, lack of exercise and smoking, and said one of the worst complications, diabetic foot, is on the rise.

Diabetes occurs when a person cannot convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy due to a lack of insulin or because the conversion process is not working properly.

Diabetic foot, involving lack of feeling, ulcers which do not heal, bone softening, gangrene and other complications, results from nerve damage and constricted blood flow in the foot caused by diabetes. >>> AFP | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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

Sheikha Latifa Praises Kuwaiti Women
Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, Head of the Committeee on Women’s Affairs in Kuwait. Photo courtesy of Al Watan
AL WATAN: KUWAIT: Sheikha Latifa AlـFahad AlـSabah, the Head of the Committee on Women['s] Affairs and President of the Federation of Kuwaiti Women's Associations, said on Monday that Kuwaiti women have greatly participated in the development of Kuwait and have contributed towards the country's prosperity.

On the occasion of International Women''s Day, Sheikha Latifa said in a press release that Kuwaiti Woman has [sic] succeeded in many sectors, including the fields of science and art, as well as assumption of higher positions with the help of national efforts such as education.

She also urged Kuwaiti women to exert more effort for their country's future. [Source: Al Watan] Kuna | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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

Dalai Lama Warns Tibetans Are 'Near Extinction' at 50th Anniversary of Exile
THE TELEGRAPH: The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, has marked 50 years of his flight from China and exile in India with a defiant speech praising the sacrifices of those killed during last year's uprising, but warning that Tibetan identity was "nearing extinction."

Despite 50 years of international campaigning and fruitless negotiations with Chinese leaders, Tibetans were still treated like criminals in their own country, he said.

"These 50 years have brought untold suffering and destruction to the land and people of Tibet. Even today, Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear and the Chinese authorities remain constantly suspicious of them," he told followers in Dharamsala, the Indian home of his government in exile.

"Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction; in short, the Tibetan people are regarded like criminals deserving to be put to death," he said. >>> By Dean Nelson in New Delhi | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le dalaï lama dénonce la répression au Tibet. «Mensonges» répond Pékin

CHINE | Les échanges de déclarations fleurissent à l'occasion du 50e anniversaire de la fuite du chef spirituel tibétain.

Les Tibétains en exil ont marqué mardi le 50e anniversaire du soulèvement réprimé par la Chine et de l'exil du dalaï lama. A cette occasion, leur chef spirituel a accusé Pékin d'avoir fait de la province un «enfer» et tué «des centaines de milliers» de ses compatriotes.

Depuis son lieu d'exil de Dharamsala, dans le nord de l'Inde, le dalaï lama a aussi réitéré sa revendication d'une «autonomie significative» pour son pays natal.

«Ces 50 dernières années ont été celles de la souffrance et des destructions pour le territoire et le peuple du Tibet», a dit le lauréat 1989 du prix Nobel de la paix, dans un discours prononcé devant son temple accroché aux contreforts de l'Himalaya.

«Une fois le Tibet occupé, le gouvernement communiste chinois y a mené toute une série de campagnes de violences et de répression (...) Les Tibétains ont littéralement vécu un enfer sur Terre», a accusé le bonze. >>> ATS/AFP/AP/Reuters | Mardi 10 Mars 2009

WELT ONLINE: Jahrestag des Volksaufstands: Dalai Lama beklagt Leben der Tibeter als Hölle

Vor 50 Jahren erhoben sich die Tibeter gegen China. Der Dalai Lama hat aus diesem Anlass eine dramatische Anklage gegen China erhoben. Die Volksrepublik habe den Tibetern die Hölle auf Erden bereitet, sagte er. Tatsächlich riegelte die chinesische Polizei Tibet zum Jahrestag nahezu vollständig ab. >>> AFP/dpa/lk | Dienstag, 10. März 2009

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Tibeter gedenken des Aufstands vor 50 Jahren

Peking - Unter massiven Sicherheitsvorkehrungen haben die Tibeter ihres Volksaufstandes gegen die Chinesen vom 10. März 1959 gedacht. Das Hochland war praktisch abgeriegelt. Der tibetische Regierungschef Qiangba Puncog beschrieb die Lage in Lhasa als «stabil».

Die Truppen befänden sich in normaler Bereitschaft, sagte der Regierungschef laut amtlicher Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua am Rande der Jahrestagung des Volkskongresses in Peking.

Aus Angst vor einem Wiederaufflammen der Proteste wie vor einem Jahr hatte China die Militärpräsenz massiv verstärkt. Es drangen keine unabhängigen Informationen nach außen. Telefonkontakte zu großen tibetischen Klöstern in Tibet und den angrenzenden Provinzen Qinghai, Gansu und Sichuan seien unterbrochen, berichtete das Zentrum für Demokratie und Menschenrechte aus Hongkong. Bei einem kleinen Zwischenfall an der Nationalitäten-Universität in Chengdu in Sichuan habe jemand Bilder des Dalai Lama und Flugblätter ausgehängt. >>> © dpa | Dienstag, 10. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – India >>>

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged Climbs Up Charts During Recession
THE TELEGRAPH: Atlas Shrugged, the literary classic which promotes individual enterprise above all else during tough economic times, has catapulted up the charts since the recession.

Photo of Ayn Rand courtesy of The Telegraph
Sales of the 1957 philosophy novel, written by the late Ayn Rand, enjoyed a major resurgence over an 18-month period that coincided with pivotal economic moments.

Such is the modern-day fascination, according to The Economist, that the book's sales rank on Amazon climbed more than 500 places in the book charts over a two-year period, eclipsing such rival tomes as Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. >>> By Mark Coleman in Los Angeles | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

YOU TUBE: Ayn Rand: The Mike Wallace Interview (1959)


Part 2
Part 3
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Buffett: Crisis Is an Economic Pearl Harbor
TIMES ONLINE: Warren Buffett said yesterday that the US economy had “fallen off a cliff”, describing the current crisis as “an economic Pearl Harbor” as concern spread about the US Administration’s fitful attempts to halt the collapse of the American banking sector.

The leading investor, an informal adviser to President Obama whose financial diagnoses are widely respected – even though he conceded that he failed to predict the severity of the crisis – said that the economy had come “close to the worst case” imagined, and that recovery would be slow.

Mr Buffett, a multibillionaire, said that the entire banking sector had been hours from collapse in September, and would have imploded without the $700 billion Wall Street emergency bailout.

Mr Buffett also spoke of the growing fears over Mr Obama’s muddled approach to the central issue in solving the economic crisis: what to do with the banks’ $2 trillion of toxic debt that is threatening the collapse of the financial sector. Mr Obama and his Treasury chief, Timothy Geithner, have said that they do not want to nationalise any banks but they are coming under increasing pressure after massive and repeated injections of cash into crippled financial giants such as Citigroup, Bank of America and AIG have failed to stem losses. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

AOL: Warren Buffett Says Economy Fell Off Cliff

OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire Warren Buffett remains confident that America's best days are ahead, but he says the nation likely will face higher unemployment and eventually inflation because of the current economic crisis. Buffett said the nation's leaders need to emphasize a consistent message, and they should support President Barack Obama's efforts to repair the economy because fear is dominating Americans' behavior.

Buffett said the economy has basically followed the worst-case scenario he envisioned six months ago.

"It's fallen off a cliff," Buffett said Monday during a live appearance on cable network CNBC. "Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen."

Buffett said the changes are reflected in the results of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s subsidiaries. He said Berkshire's jewelry companies have suffered, but more people have been willing to switch to Geico to save money on car insurance. The three-hour-long interview aired from another Berkshire subsidiary that has been hampered by the economy, the Nebraska Furniture Mart store in Omaha.

He predicted that unemployment will climb a lot higher before the recession is done, but he also reiterated his optimistic long-term view: "Everything will be all right. We do have the greatest economic machine that man has ever created."

Fear and confusion have been driving consumer and investor behavior in recent months, Buffett said.

The nation's leaders need to clear up the confusion before anyone will become more confident, and he said all 535 members of Congress should stop the partisan bickering about solutions. He said politicians should also stop trying to use the current economic crisis to force through other policy changes.

"We ought to defer most of the things that get people riled up," Buffett said. >>> By Josh Funk, AP | Monday, March 9, 2009

CNBC: “Economy Has Fallen Off a Cliff”


The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

China lehnt die Demokratie ab
WELT ONLINE: Die Aussage des chinesischen Parlamentspräsidenten Wu auf dem Volkskongress war deutlich: In China wird es keine Demokratie geben. "Wir werden niemals ein Mehrparteiensystem einführen", sagte die Nummer zwei an Chinas Polit-Spitze. Beobachter sehen in der Rede mehr als nur ein Ja zum Sozialismus.

Chinas Parlamentspräsident Wu Bangguo hat einer parlamentarischen Demokratie nach westlichem Vorbild eine klare Absage erteilt.

„Auf keinen Fall können wir das westliche System kopieren“, sagte Wu vor dem Nationalen Volkskongress, der derzeit seine Jahrestagung in Peking abhält. 

„Wir werden niemals ein Mehrparteiensystem einführen“, sagte der 67-Jährige. Auch eine Trennung von Legislative, Exekutive und Judikative oder das Zweikammersystem werde es nicht geben.

In China gelte ein „System von Zusammenarbeit und politischen Beratungen unter dem Dach der Kommunistischen Partei Chinas und kein Mehrparteiensystem nach westlichem Muster“. Wu nimmt in der Hierarchie Chinas nach Staatspräsident Hu Jintao offiziell Platz zwei ein.

Beobachter werteten die Rede als klare Absage an politische Reformen, die sowohl im Ausland als auch in China selbst immer wieder gefordert werden. Volkscongreß: China weist westliches Demokratieprinzip zurück >>> AP/AFP/ab | Montag, 9. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Obama, sa nouvelle vie à la Maison Blanche
LE MONDE: Il arrive au bureau Ovale vers 8 heures, nettement plus tard que son prédécesseur George W. Bush, mais il se couche beaucoup moins tôt. Il fait de la gymnastique tous les jours, et il est très heureux, après deux ans de campagne électorale, de pouvoir dormir sous le même toit que sa famille. Il reçoit 40 000 lettres par jour. Chaque matin, le "staff" lui en sélectionne une dizaine qu'il va lire pendant la journée, dans les quelques minutes qu'il a demandé qu'on lui laisse entre ses rendez-vous. Barack Obama, qui a donné un aperçu de sa routine de président dans une série d'entretiens, a eu du mal à s'habituer à sa solitude forcée. Il a insisté pour que son équipe lui organise une sortie hebdomadaire, au contact des Américains. >>> Corine Lesnes, LeMonde | Lundi, 09 Mars 2009

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

Sarkozy Provokes Anger with Luxury Holiday in Mexico
THE TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla have provoked an outcry in France by spending the weekend in a £2,100-a-night beach-front villa in Mexico.

’Président de Bling’ in Mexico, enjoying a luxury getaway with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, at the El Tamarindo Beach and Golf Resort on Mexico’s south-eastern Pacific coast. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The couple spent the weekend at the El Tamarindo Beach and Golf Resort, located in a nature reserve on Mexico’s south-eastern Pacific Coast.

The villa cost £1,640 plus 17 per cent tax and 10 per cent service charge – making a total of just over £2,100 per night. However, the overall cost including security and staff is believed to have come to £45,000.

The visit was shrouded in secrecy and disclosed only after Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy inadvertently told friends at a charity event on Thursday afternoon that “I’m leaving tonight for Mexico” after her husband had burst in a little earlier.

The one-bedroom villa, owned by a multi-millionaire friend of Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón, comes with private pool, outdoor Jacuzzi, butler, cook and maid. It is set in 2,000 acres of tropical rainforest. The Elysée said the presidential couple had sought to keep the private break secret “for security reasons”.

Unemployment in France passed two million in January and the country is expected to go into recession this quarter. “I find [the holiday] very shocking at a time of international crisis and rising unemployment,” Marielle de Sarnez, the vice-president of the centrist Modem party, said.

“At root, it reveals the glaring gap between the president and the people: he is not aware of the state of the country and what the French are going through. The least a leader can do is to assume a form of solidarity with the population. Why can’t he just take a normal break? He’s not obliged to go to a palace, even if someone else is paying.” >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, March 9, 2009

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

Time to Get Rid of Gordon Brown, the Profligate Prime Minister!
THE TELEGRAPH: John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, has warned that Gordon Brown's policy of imposing large debt levels will load "nasty medicine" onto future generations.

Former Australian PM John Howard said that spending billions to try to survive the recession merely stored up problems for future generations. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
His comments come after Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, said cutting VAT in the UK was a "mistake" and warned that running up large debts in Britain could "ruin the country".

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Howard said that spending billions to try to survive the recession merely stored up problems for future generations, he said.

He said: "Medicine will have to be taken and it is a question of making sure that we don't load all the bad nasty medicine onto future generations.

"It is common-sense that if you get too deeply into debt the burden you put on future generations is enormous."

Mr Howard, who was led the right wing Liberal Government from 1996 to 2007 and a close ally of Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister, said he was worried that governments seemed to think that there was no alternative to this form of "deficit spending" to survive the recession.

He said: "There is a danger that governments generally will think that the solution is to go ever deeper into debt. That troubles me because I don't think it is.

"My sense is that over the last month or six weeks the sense of restraint how far you go into debt seems to have disappeared and that troubles me.

"There is a mood developing that it does not matter how much you are going into debt. I am not sure that is a sensible thing." Former Australian PM John Howard Warns of Gordon Brown's Nasty Medicine >>> By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Monday, March 9, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>

Israeli, Vatican Historians Meet to Discuss Wartime Pope
Photo of Pope Pius XII flanked by soldiers of the Third Reich courtesy of Google Images
HAARETZ: Israeli and Vatican historians met for the first time Sunday to discuss the current state of research into Pope Pius XII and his Holocaust-era conduct.

The gathering at Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial signals a growing willingness of Israeli and Vatican officials to try to resolve one of their most sensitive disagreements - the pope's action or inaction during the Nazi genocide.

Most Jews believe Pope Pius XII was partly to blame for the scope of the Holocaust tragedy for failing to speak out publicly against the Nazi atrocities or attempting to mobilize Catholics in Germany and elsewhere to stop it.

The Vatican has struggled to defend its wartime pope as it pushes his sainthood cause, insisting that Pius spearheaded discreet diplomacy that saved thousands of Jews.

A symbol of the dispute is a caption of a photo of Pius at Yad Vashem's museum that says he did not protest the Nazi genocide of Jews and maintained a largely neutral position. The Vatican protests the wording. >>> Associated Press | Monday, March 9, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Rachida Dati 'Forced to Take Unconventional Route to Motherhood'
THE TELEGRAPH: Rachida Dati, the French justice minister, has defended her decision to return to work five days after giving birth in her first interview since her lightning-fast maternity leave.

Photo of Rachida Dati courtesy of The Telegraph
Miss Dati, 43, who has fallen from grace with President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that her decision to return immediately to work was personal and not an attempt to prove she was a "high-performance" superwoman.

"My health was up to it and I would have done nothing against my doctor's advice. You mustn't believe that I wasn't tired. Of course I was. I'm not 20 anymore. Moreover, I'm justice minister, I have my duties," she told Le Journal du Dimanche. "But, fundamentally, I believe that the most important right of women is freedom," she said, in an interview that was published on International Women's Day.

France's first minister of North African descent ignited a fierce debate after giving birth by Caesarean section to baby Zohra in January, with several feminists saying she had done a disservice to working women by rushing back to the office so soon.

The unmarried Miss Dati, who has described her private life as "complicated", reaffirmed that she had no intention of naming the father of her daughter, merely adding: "Of course I would have dreamed of starting a more conventional family, but life decided otherwise."

Among those who have denied being the father are Mr Sarkozy's brother François, a Qatari prosecutor and Jose Maria Aznar, the former Spanish prime minister.

Miss Dati, who is also mayor of Paris' chic 7th arrondissement, responded to allegations that have sapped her star status, including that she had bullied staff and magistrates, was more fond of fashion and gems than ministerial dossiers and had more or less been fired by Mr Sarkozy.

She defended her political record, saying that she had pushed through 30 reforms during her two years in the job, one of which other ministers had tried and failed to enact over several decades. She was not "impulsive or hot-headed", she said, but had natural "authority". >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, March 9, 2009

leJDD.fr: Dati: "Le premier droit des femmes, c'est la liberté"

Rachida Dati a choisi la journée de la femme pour faire taire ses détracteurs et leur dire qu'à l'avenir, il faudra compter sur elle. La ministre de la Justice, qui va quitter prochainement la place Vendôme pour mener la campagne des élections européennes en Ile-de-France s'explique sur son parcours, sa médiatisation et ses réformes, et assume complètement son bilan.

Vous avez 43 ans, un premier enfant et vous changez de job. Au moins trois raisons de faire un bilan. Quel est-il?

L'événement qui a été le plus marquant pour moi, c'est la naissance de ma fille. J'ai longtemps cru ne pas pouvoir avoir d'enfant, ça a été une belle surprise. Quant au job, en briguant un mandat de députée européenne, je change de responsabilités mais pas de mission. Je reste au service des Français. J'ai l'honneur d'être ministre de la Justice, un ministère où le drame, la douleur, les difficultés sont le quotidien. J'ai plus que jamais envie de continuer à faire de la politique, c'est-à-dire d'améliorer la vie des gens. Ma capacité d'indignation reste intacte.

Depuis que vous êtes ministre, vous avez fait 30 unes de quotidiens et
60 couvertures de magazines. Mais ce sont votre personnalité, vos toilettes, vos amours qui ont monopolisé l'attention, pas vos réformes...

L'exposition venait de ma nomination. En me plaçant à la tête d'un ministère régalien, Nicolas Sarkozy a donné un signe fort à la société française. J'en ai accepté la contrepartie médiatique. Mais, vous savez, au bout d'un moment, vous ne vous reconnaissez même plus, ni dans les images ni dans les propos que l'on vous prête. >>> Propos recueillis par Anne-Laure BARRET, Marie-Laure DELORME et Marie-Christine TABET, Le Journal du Dimanche | Samedi 07 Mars 2009

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

Das Monsterbudget
ZEIT ONLINE: Barack Obamas Haushaltsentwurf treibt Ausgaben, Schulden und Steuern gefährlich in die Höhe

Foto von Präsident Obama dank der Corriere della Sera
Zwei Zahlen, die nicht alle Tage vorkommen: ein Haushaltsdefizit von 1,75 Billionen Dollar, das 12,5 Prozent der Wirtschaftsleistung (BIP) entspricht. Werfen wir einen Blick nach Europa, um Barack Obamas Budgetvorlage einzuordnen: Brüssel wollte 2004 hohe Strafen gegen Deutschland und Frankreich verhängen, weil die schon wieder die Defizitgrenze von drei Prozent durchbrochen hatten. Ein doppelstelliges Defizit – das hat Amerika seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg nicht mehr erlebt. Ein Trost für Obama: 1944 klaffte eine Lücke von 50 Prozent – sieben Billionen (heutige) Dollar. Die Europäer, die den Amerikanern schon bei fünf Prozent gern und ausgiebig die absolute Verantwortungslosigkeit bescheinigt haben, zucken heute mit den Schultern. Trotzdem wollen 1,75 Billionen Dollar erst einmal geborgt sein. Die US-Bundesobligationen werden, das bedenkt derzeit niemand, auch in Europa platziert werden, also hier die Zinsen hochtreiben und Kapital absaugen.

Die Kommentatoren auf dieser Seite des Atlantiks haben das Monsterbudget des Obama sogar wohlwollend aufgenommen. Auch hier ein wenig Perspektive: Die vier Billionen des Haushalts sind noch etwas mehr als das gesamte deutsche BIP und sehr viel mehr als nur ein »stimulus«, eine Konjunkturspritze, mit Goodies für viele und vieles – zum Beispiel für Stipendien, aber auch für die Armee (plus vier Prozent).

Der Kern des Programms (wenn denn alles durch den Kongress geht, was nicht geschehen wird) ist ein Stück »Sozialdemokratisierung« Amerikas – wenn auch nicht so radikal wie unter Roosevelt (1933 bis 1945). Der Bund allein wird nun 28 Prozent des BIP verbrauchen – acht Punkte mehr als 2007. Das ist ein europäischer Wert.

Der Bund zahlt heute schon 587 Milliarden Dollar für die staatliche Gesundheitsversicherung (ja, die gibt es), da will er in den nächsten zehn Jahren noch 634 Milliarden drauflegen, um auch den 30 bis 40 Millionen Unversicherten staatlichen Schutz zukommen zu lassen. >>> Von Josef Joffe | Montag, 3. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Clinton geht auf Konfrontationskurs zu Netanjahu
Clinton und Netanjahu im "King David"-Hotel in Jerusalem. Foto dank der Zeit
ZEIT ONLINE: Wie werden sich Washington und Jerusalem nach dem Machtwechsel arrangieren? Bei ihrem Antrittsbesuch in Israel hat US-Außenministerin Clinton dem designierten Premier Netanjahu klar die Richtung vorgegeben

Die USA beharren auf der Zweistaatenlösung in Nahost. Sie gehen damit auf Kollisionskurs zum designierten israelischen Ministerpräsidenten Benjamin Netanjahu, der einen eigenständigen Palästinenserstaat bisher ablehnt. Eine entsprechende Vereinbarung in der Region sei jedoch "unausweichlich", sagte US-Außenministerin Hillary Clinton bei ihrem Besuch in Israel. Fortschritte in Richtung einer Zwei-Staaten-Lösung seien durchaus auch in Israels Interesse. Der Weg zu einer Beilegung des israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikts sei zwar steinig, erlaube aber keinen Aufschub.

Gleichzeitig versicherte sie Israel des "fundamentalen Bündnisses" mit den USA. "Wir haben das israelische Volk immer unterstützt und werden dies weiterhin tun." Sie freue sich auf die Zusammenarbeit mit der neuen Regierung. "Dies bedeutet ja nicht, dass wir als gute Freunde nicht auch andere Meinungen haben können."

Der rechtsorientierte Likud-Vorsitzende Netanjahu hatte mehr als eine Stunde mit Clinton und dem neuen US-Nahostgesandten George Mitchell gesprochen. "Das gemeinsame Ziel ist es, mit kreativem Denken Wege zu Fortschritten zu finden, um aus dem Labyrinth herauszukommen", sagte er nach dem Treffen. Bei dem Gespräch sei es um die Palästinenserfrage, um Iran und regionale Themen gegangen. "Wir haben vereinbart, dass wir uns nach der Regierungsbildung wieder treffen und eng zusammenarbeiten wollen, um Wohlstand, Sicherheit und Frieden in unserer Region zu gewährleisten." >>> © ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, Reuters | Mittwoch, 4. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Memo from Istanbul: Nearly a Million Genocide Victims, Covered in a Cloak of Amnesia
THE NEW YORK TIMES: ISTANBUL — For Turkey, the number should have been a bombshell.

According to a long-hidden document that belonged to the interior minister of the Ottoman Empire, 972,000 Ottoman Armenians disappeared from official population records from 1915 through 1916.

Ottoman Armenians are marched to a prison by armed Turkish soldiers in April 1915. Photo courtesy of The New York Times
In Turkey, any discussion of what happened to the Ottoman Armenians can bring a storm of public outrage. But since its publication in a book in January, the number — and its Ottoman source — has gone virtually unmentioned. Newspapers hardly wrote about it. Television shows have not discussed it.

“Nothing,” said Murat Bardakci, the Turkish author and columnist who compiled the book.

The silence can mean only one thing, he said: “My numbers are too high for ordinary people. Maybe people aren’t ready to talk about it yet.”

For generations, most Turks knew nothing of the details of the Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1918, when more than a million Armenians were killed as the Ottoman Turk government purged the population. Turkey locked the ugliest parts of its past out of sight, Soviet-style, keeping any mention of the events out of schoolbooks and official narratives in an aggressive campaign of forgetting.

But in the past 10 years, as civil society has flourished here, some parts of Turkish society are now openly questioning the state’s version of events. In December, a group of intellectuals circulated a petition that apologized for the denial of the massacres. Some 29,000 people have signed it.

With his book, “The Remaining Documents of Talat Pasha,” Mr. Bardakci (pronounced bard-AK-chuh) has become, rather unwillingly, part of this ferment. The book is a collection of documents and records that once belonged to Mehmed Talat, known as Talat Pasha, the primary architect of the Armenian deportations. >>> By Sabrina Tavernise | Sunday, March 8, 2009

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

Clinton betont die Schlüsselrolle der Türkei
NZZ Online: Ankündigung eines baldigen Besuchs von Präsident Obama

tf. Wien, 8. März

Die amerikanische Aussenministerin Hillary Clinton hat sich am Samstag bei einem Besuch in Ankara für eine engere Kooperation zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten und der Türkei starkgemacht. Zur Untermauerung ihres Bekenntnisses kündigte Clinton einen baldigen Besuch von Präsident Barack Obama in der Türkei an. Die Visite, die in ungefähr einem Monat stattfinden soll, sei ein Ausdruck für den hohen Stellenwert der Freundschaft zwischen den beiden Ländern. Clinton traf in Ankara ihren Amtskollegen Ali Babacan und hatte eine knapp zweistündige Unterredung mit dem Regierungschef Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In Medienauftritten lobte Clinton das Gastland als Beispiel für eine erfolgreiche Koexistenz von Demokratie, Moderne und Islam. Entsprechend grosse Hoffnungen setzen die USA auf eine aktive Rolle der Türkei im Nahost-Friedensprozess. >>> tf | Sonntag, 8. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>

Comedy: What Do Americans Think of Muslims?

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Anjem Choudary: Military Coup in the UK

Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>