Monday, March 16, 2009

Pat Condell: A Word about the Soldiers


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The Young Turks’ (TYT) – Viewpoint: Republican Politician Gives His Thoughts On "The Gay"


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Cheney attackiert Obama: «USA sind unsicherer geworden»

BERNER ZEITUNG: Der frühere US-Vizepräsident Dick Cheney sieht wegen der Sicherheitspolitik des neuen US-Präsidenten Barack Obama ein erhöhtes Risiko neuer Terroranschläge gegen die USA.

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Foto von Dick Cheney, der letzte Vize-Präsident Amerikas dank der Berner Zeitung

In einem Fernsehinterview mit dem Nachrichtensender CNN hat der ehemalige Vizepräsident der USA, Dick Cheney, den neuen US-Präsidenten Barack Obama scharf kritisiert. Die Massnahmen bezüglich der Schliessung von Guantanamo und dem Verbot von Verhörmethoden hätten die USA unsicherer gemacht. Ebenfalls negativ beurteilte Cheney die geplante Schliessung von CIA-Gefängnissen im Ausland. «Die USA sind unsicherer geworden.» >>> vin/ap | Sonntag, 15. März 2009

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Rotes Kreuz wirft Bush-Regierung Folter vor

SUEDEUTSCHE.DE: Das Internationale Komitee des Roten Kreuzes hat die Verhörmethoden der CIA als Folter eingestuft. Dies legt ein bisher geheimer Bericht offen.

Laut einem bislang geheimgehaltenen Bericht hat das Internationale Komitee vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK) Verhörmethoden des US-Geheimdienstes CIA als Folter eingestuft, die dieser unter der Regierung von George W. Bush im Gefangenenlager Guantanamo und in Geheimgefängnissen angewendet hatte. >>> Von Reymer Klüver | Montag, 16. März 2009

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Frankreich: Neue Krawalle in Pariser Vorstädten

DIE PRESSE: In den Vorstädten der französischen Hauptstadt Paris toben erneut Ausschreitungen zwischen Jugendlichen und den Sicherheitskräften.

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In der Nacht auf Sonntag ist es in Paris erneut zu Krawallen gekommen. Es wurden wieder Wagen in Brand gesetzt. Bild dank der Presse

PARIS. Bei Krawallen in der Nacht auf Sonntag wurden in Les Mureaux im Departement Yvelines 21 Polizisten leicht verletzt und acht Personen festgenommen. In Montegron feuerten Unbekannte Gewehrschüsse auf ein Polizeikommissariat ab. In dem Kommissariat saß ein Verdächtiger in Beugehaft.

In Les Mureaux waren Polizisten in einen Hinterhalt geraten. Die Beamten waren wegen eines brennenden Autos im Stadtviertel Les Musiciens angerückt. Plötzlich wurden sie von hunderten Jugendlichen mit Steinwürfen und Gewehrschüssen attackiert. Die Ausschreitungen dehnten sich im Laufe der Nacht auf benachbarte Wohnviertel aus. >>> APA | Sonntag, 15. März 2009

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Bill Muehlenberg: The Islamic Assault on Free Speech

QUADRANT Online: It is one of the many benefits of Christianity that the West enjoys religious freedom and freedom of conscience. The properly understood notion of the separation of church and state arose from the Christian worldview, and goes back to the words of Jesus: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s”.



Islam of course knows of no such separation. Church and state are one in Islam. There is no sacred-secular distinction in the Muslim world. Everything is religious and everything is political. As Rodney Stark wrote, “Muhammad was not only the Prophet, he was head of state. Consequently, Islam has always idealized the fusion of religion and political rule, and sultans have usually also held the title of caliph” (The Victory of Reason).



Or as Dinesh D’Souza put it, “The prophet Muhammad was in his own day both a prophet and a Caesar who integrated the domains of church and state. Following his example, the rulers of the various Islamic empires, from the Umayyad to the ottoman, saw themselves as Allah’s viceregents on earth” (What’s So Great About Christianity?).



As Bernard Lewis explains, “In classical Arabic and in the other classical languages of Islam, there are no pairs of terms corresponding to ‘lay’ and ‘ecclesiastical,’ ‘spiritual’ and ‘temporal,’ ‘secular’ and ‘religious,’ because these pairs of words express a Christian dichotomy that has no equivalent in the world of Islam” (Islam and the West).

It is the genius of the West to have run with the Christian version of events in this regard, and not the Islamic one. But these cherished freedoms are ironically now being whittled way in the West as we increasingly seek to appease militant Islamists. 



In many parts of the Western world Muslims are demanding, and getting, preferential treatment. And in the process, freedom of religion is slowly being eroded. A classic example of this can be seen in Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.



This bit of scurrilous legislation has been used to silence Christians from proclaiming their faith, and from making rational criticism of Islam. The nefarious Victorian law effectively cramps real freedom of speech and religious diversity.



Of course hyper-sensitive Muslims around the world are seeking to implement such censorship on all non-Muslims. At the UN level, for example, Muslims are hoping to use UN Resolution 62/154, which has to do with "combating defamation of religions” to allow Islam to be above all criticism and critique. >>> By Bill Muehlenberg | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Egyptian Lawyer Files Suit for Rights of Christian Converts

CHRISTIAN TODAY: An Egyptian lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the country’s Minister of the Interior, in a bid to gain legal acceptance for converts to Islam who decide to convert back to their original Christian faith.

According to Civil Law in Egypt, Muslim converts can return to Christianity only by producing a certificate from a ‘body of jurisdiction’ confirming their latest conversion. The lawsuit is seeking to force the government to accept such certificates from the Coptic Patriarchate, which represents most of Egypt’s Christians.

Dr Naguib Gibraeel, a lawyer and President of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights, said that the Minister of the Interior should create equality for those who wish to convert to Islam and those who wish to convert to Christianity.

According to Dr Gilbraeel, the legal process of converting to Christianity is much harder than for those wishing to convert to Islam.

He said, "For the person converting into Islam it is enough to have a decree from Al-Azhar, while the issue becomes more complex when a Christian needs to prove his reconversion back to Christianity, as he should have a court verdict. This proves that practically they completely refuse any conversion except into Islam," reports Voice of the Copts. >>> By Charles Boyd | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Lord Carey Calls on Brown to Apologise for Recession

CHRISTIAN TODAY: Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has called on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to apologise for his role in the current economic crisis to boost his standing among the general public.

Lord Carey said that Brown needed to accept responsibility for the recession, but added that the Prime Minister would only “bounce back stronger” if he admitted his role in the current crisis.

The former Archbishop, writing in the News of the World, said, "I am puzzled and frankly saddened by Gordon Brown’s inability to acknowledge that he played a part in the awful events that brought about the current economic turmoil.

"All he needs to do is to say simply: ‘Yes, during my time as Chancellor I got it wrong. I apologise to the British people that, without knowing, I weakened the UK economy. I regret that I failed to take the steps that other leaders saw coming.’

"A church minister’s son, Gordon would know that ‘confession’ is but the prelude to the restoration of relationships with Almighty God; it works similarly in politics as it does in all walks of life." >>> By Jennifer Gold | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Bulgarian Mayor Questioned Over Radical Islam Issues

THE SOFIA ECHO: The mayor of Gurmen municipality in southwestern Bulgaria, Ahmed Bashev, has been detained for questioning by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) as a result of a prosecutor's probe into allegations of causing religious and national hatred, Bulgarian news agency BTA said on March 16 2009. >>> By Petar Kostadinov | Monday, March 16, 2009

THE SOFIA ECHO: New ‘Radical Islam in Bulgaria’ Claims

Just days after Sofia hosted a forum on how teaching at schools could be used to forestall radical Islam, a researcher gave an interview alleging that extremist Islamic sects were operating in eastern Bulgaria.

In an interview with Bulgarian news agency Focus, associate professor Tatyana Dronzina - described as an expert on conflict and terrorism research - was quoted as saying that Turkish-linked radical sects Nurju, Suleymandj and Miligurush were believed to be active in the eastern part of the country.

There were some grounds for believing that people linked to these sects were trying to make contact with pupils in Muslim religious schools in Shoumen, Rousse, Momchilgrad and in the Islamic Institute in Sofia as well, Focus quoted Dronzina as saying

While several intelligence and media reports have highlighted the rise of radical Islam in the former Yugoslavia and especially in Bosnia, earlier in 2008 US journalist Christopher Deliso said in his book The Coming Balkan Caliphate: Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West that Bulgaria was among Balkan countries where radical Islam activists were present.

Most intelligence reports have suggested that any such activity in Bulgaria is on a small scale.

After the forum in Sofia, Bulgarian National Radio interviewed Kamen Velichkov of the Foreign Ministry, who is in charge of the country's participation in the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations Initiative.

"The prevention of radicalisation in all creeds from an early school age is paramount, if we wish to have a dialogue among the various religions and cultures not only within the European Union," Velichkov told BNR.

"The issue of Islam's radicalisation is a complex one. It is above all within the competence of the state administration. Bulgaria has been trying to draw on the European experience, and in particular that of Spain, as well as non-European countries by participating in various formats, such as the Mediterranean Co-operation. >>> By Clive Leviev-Sawyer | Sunday, October 8, 2008

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David Littman: The UN in the Last Year


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Bishop Orders Episcopal Priest to Renounce Islamic Faith

USA TODAY: PROVIDENCE — An Episcopal priest in Seattle is fighting attempts by Rhode Island Episcopal Bishop Geralyn Wolf to defrock her for practicing Islam and Christianity at the same time.

Ann Holmes Redding, who marks the 25th anniversary of her ordination on March 25, says she believes she can practice both faiths and should not have to recant her Muslim beliefs.

Redding, a former Brown University student and parishioner at St. Stephen's Church in Providence, was ordained by Wolf's predecessor. Wolf is her canonical superior because Redding never shifted her canonical residence to Seattle.

Wolf has told Redding that her conversion to Islam constitutes an abandonment of the Christian faith and she must recant by March 30 or lose her status as a priest. [Source: USA Today] AP | Monday, 16, 2009

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Science and Faith: The Conflict

THE TELEGRAPH: A new film opening at the Cambridge Science Festival this evening attempts to demonstrate that the divide between religion and science is not as great as it has been portrayed.

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Charles Darwin. Photo courtesy of Google Images

Brain-scanning experiments carried out by scientists last week revealed that religious faith is embedded deep within key parts of the brain. This suggests that belief in a higher power evolved at some early point in human history.

Scientists argued that it explained the widespread nature of religion among human cultures, but the findings also highlighted a growing tendency for science to be used as a way of attacking religion.

It comes at a time when the gulf between science and religion could not seem any wider.

As the scientific community celebrates 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin in 2009, and 150 years since the publication of his famous work that explained how life evolved on Earth, the conflict between religion and science seems to be escalating.

Darwin's own life could be seen as almost synonymous with the battle that is now raging between faith and science. As a student he joined Cambridge University with the intention of studying to become a clergyman, but found himself distracted by an interest in collecting beetles.

His hobby led him to become the greatest naturalist of all time. But throughout his life he struggled to reconcile his religious views with his theories on evolution through natural selection.

Today, many leading scientists who hold religious beliefs now face a similar internal struggle as they wrestle with mounting scientific evidence that forces them continually to reassess their view of the Bible.

The mounting debate over evolution and creationism has now left many people asking whether science and religion can ever coexist, or even if scientific research will eventually bring an end to religious belief entirely.

This week, however, leading scientists will debate the issue at the Cambridge Science Festival at the premiere of a new film that attempts to demonstrate that the divide between religion and science is not as great as it has been portrayed.

A growing number of scientists who also hold religious beliefs are now speaking out against the growing antagonism that is emerging between scientists and members of the religious community in many parts of the world. >>> By Richard Gray | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Britain Showing Signs of Heading Towards 1930s-style Depression, Says Bank

THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is showing signs of sliding towards a 1930s-style depression, the Bank of England says today for the first time.

The country is displaying early symptoms of being trapped in a so-called “debt deflation trap” where families find themselves pushed further and further into the red every month, according to a Bank report published today.

The stark warning will cause serious concerns, since it was this combination of falling prices and soaring debt burdens that plagued the US in the 1930s.

The Bank is using its Quarterly Bulletin to highlight the threat posed to the economy by deflation – where prices fall each year rather than rise.

Although inflation is currently in positive territory, it is expected to become negative in the coming months.

The Bank is worried that this may combine with high levels of indebtedness to squeeze families further.

It says that families with high debts could fall prey to the debt deflation trap. This means that the cost of their debts, which are fixed, would rise compared to average prices throughout the economy. While inflation erodes debts, deflation makes them relatively higher.

The Bank’s paper suggests that Britain is particularly at risk because there is a high proportion of families with significant levels of debt, and many of them are on fixed mortgage rate, which means they will not benefit from rate cuts.

Britons’ total personal debt – the amount owed on mortgages, loans and credit cards – is, at £1.46 trillion, more than the value of what the country produces in a year.

Total personal debt has risen by 165 per cent since 1997 and each household now owes an average of about £60,000.

The Conservatives claim this is the highest personal debt level in the world. >>> By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Paulina Neuding*: Welcome to Ramallmö

THE WEEKLY STANDARD: How a tennis match sparked riots in Sweden.

"This is how it was last time too," said a Holocaust survivor, when she was escorted from Malmö's main square by the police. "We had to leave the square, while they got to stay."

On January 27th, it had been almost a month since the Israeli military operation Cast Lead was launched in Gaza. A couple of hundred people, mostly Jews, had gathered in Sweden's third largest city, Malmö, to show their support for Israel. Their slogans--"Israel's right to self defense" and "Compassion with all civilian victims"--were met with shouts of "Sieg Heil" and "Damn Jews" by a group of mainly Arab and left-wing counter protesters. Stones, eggs, and bottles were thrown, and when a home-made bomb was fired at the Jewish group police finally decided to evacuate. The pro-Israeli protesters fled, while children ran after them with cell phones to report back into the crowd where the Jews were heading.

One protester I spoke with was among those who refused to run. "I already left Poland forty years ago," she said. "They will not chase me away this time."

Last Saturday, roughly a month after the mob met Jews off Malmö's main square, the city was again shaken by riots. Seven thousand activists gathered to stop a Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel, and the demonstration march was also a manifestation of the ideological confusion that has become the trademark of the Swedish pro-Palestinian movement. Hamas flags and headbands could be spotted next to banners supporting communist groups and feminist causes.

The protesters were met by the largest Swedish riot squad since the anti-globalization riots convulsed the city of Gothenburg in 2001. In order to take on radical Islamists, left-wing extremists, and a small group of neo-Nazis that had announced that they too wanted to show their resentment toward Israel, the Swedish police prepared with 1,000 officers, helicopters, police vehicles on loan from neighboring Denmark, and a platoon of "dialogue officers." Dressed in yellow vests, the specially educated dialogue police officers were on hand to sooth the violent extremists. But despite the preparation, the police could not prevent rioting.

On their end, left-wing Swedish politicians worked to grant legitimacy to the protests. After war broke out in Gaza, a majority in the local Malmö council decided that no audience would be allowed at the Davis Cup games between Sweden and Israel. The representative of the Left Party (as the Communist Party was rechristened in 1990) made it clear that the decision was due to Israel's "genocide" against the people of Gaza.

The popular mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu, who is often referred to by the nickname "Malmö's strong man," is one of the most influential figures of the Social Democratic Party. He told the assembled media before the match that, were it up to him, Israel wouldn't be allowed to participate at all. "This is not a match against just anyone," he explained. "It is a match against the state of Israel." >>> By Paulina Neuding | Friday, March 13, 2009

*Paulina Neuding is an editorial page contributor to the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.

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Janet Daley: The Republicans Can Take Heart as Barack Obama Staggers to the Left

THE TELEGRAPH: The President's recent display of liberalism – and confusion – can only help the opposition, says Janet Daley.

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Very odd things are happening under Obama’s administration, says Janet Daley. Photo of Presdient Obama courtesy of The Telegraph

The Republicans now believe they have a grip on what Barack Obama is about. At least for this week. The grip is subject to reappraisal because Mr Obama has developed a gift for reinventing himself with remarkable alacrity. One very senior commentator on the Right said to me, "First we had Candidate Obama, who was a liberal [ie Left wing]. Then we had President-Elect Obama, who was post-partisan and centrist. Now we have President Obama, who has reverted to being ultraliberal."

The question of who Mr Obama really is, and what he truly believes, underlies the growing list of Very Odd Things that seem to be happening under his administration. Among the most perplexing of these mysteries is why, when he went to such pains to assemble a huge and widely experienced team of White House economic advisers (even going to the lengths of parading them at a press conference before he took office) he then handed over the actual drafting of his economic policy to the old Democratic fixers in Congress. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, are now, for all intents and purposes, running the Obama recovery plan.

Even if you do not regard the former as a monster and the latter as pretty hopeless, one thing is for sure: bipartisan they are not. So there is nothing very centrist about the budget which they are hoping to push through under the banner of Obama's "change we can believe in". The result: this is a $3.6 trillion Pelosi budget, embodying most of the wish-list of liberal projects that the Left of the Democratic Party has been dreaming of for more than 20 years. Should we assume, then, that this is what Mr Obama always wanted? Or that he is simply out of his depth and being steamrollered by the formidable Democratic machine in Congress? >>> Janet Daley | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Marxist Muricio Funes Is New President of El Salvador

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Mauricio Funes and wife Vanda Pignato as he declares victory. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline

TIMESONLINE: A party of former Marxist guerillas has gained power in El Salvador, bringing an end to 20 years of conservative rule.

Mauricio Funes, leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), declared himself President late on Sunday night as early counting gave him 51.2 per cent of the vote with more than 90 percent of ballots counted. Shortly afterwards his rival, the right-wing candidate Rodrigo Avila, conceded defeat

"I'm the president-elect of the Salvadorans," Mr Funes told a news conference as jubilant supporters, dressed in red, poured on to the streets of San Salvador cheering and waving FMLN flags. "This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador's greatest hope."

The FMLN and the military government fought a bloody 12-year civil war between 1980 and 1992 in which 75,000 people died. The FMLN's victory will place El Salvador firmly on the Latin American left-of-centre axis led by President Chávez of Venezuela.

Although Mr Funes, 49, has promised unity, the rise to power of the FMLN will be watched closely by Washington, already unnerved by the "pink tide" sweeping Central America. >>> Anne Barrowclough | Monday, March 16, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Linkskandidat wird neuer Präsident in El Salvador

Mauricio Funes hat die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador aller Voraussicht nach gewonnen. Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN erklärte sich zum Sieger der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl. Funes versprach Frieden für das Land, andere warnen vor Kommunismus und dem Einfluss Kubas.

Der Kandidat der linken Befreiungsfront FMLN, Mauricio Funes hat nach Auszählung von mehr als 90 Prozent der Stimmen die Präsidentenwahl in El Salvador gewonnen. Der 49-Jährige erreichte bei der als historisch bezeichneten Wahl 51 Prozent der Stimmen. Sein Gegner von der Regierungspartei Arena, Rodrigo Ávila (44) brachte es auf 48 Prozent.

Damit muss die rechte Arena-Partei zum ersten Mal seit rund 20 Jahren in die Opposition. Mehr als 4000 nationale und internationale Beobachter waren im Einsatz, darunter mehrere Dutzend aus Europa. Schwerwiegende Zwischenfälle wurden nicht gemeldet.

Funes erklärte sich am Abend zum Wahlsieger, noch ehe die Oberste Wahlbehörde das offizielle Ergebnis mitgeteilte hatte. Er wandte sich an die Nation und versprach, er wolle dem von Bürgerkrieg und sozialen Gegensätzen gespaltenen Land endlich den Frieden bringen. „Ich möchte zum Präsidenten des Friedens und des Wiederaufbaus werden“, rief er den jubelnden Anhängern zu. „El Salvador gehört uns allen.“ >>> dpa/lk | Montag, 16. März 2009

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More Than Three-quarters of Britons Want to See Jobless Immigrants Forced to Leave UK

MAIL Online: More than three-quarters of Britons believe jobless immigrants should be asked to leave the UK, according to a new poll.

The finding will raise fears that the far-Right BNP could prosper in the recession as unemployment rises.

In addition, more than half of the adults in Britain who took part in the FT/Harris survey opposed the right for citizens from other European Union countries to work here.

Outspoken immigration minister Phil Woolas admitted that the Government, despite years of tough talking on immigration, had yet to convince many voters that it had properly tightened Britain's borders. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Pauline Hanson Red-faced Over Raunchy Photos

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Photo of Pauline Hanson courtesy of TimesOnline

TIMESONLINE: A set of risque photographs taken 30 years ago has threatened to derail the latest attempt at a comeback by Australian far right politician Pauline Hanson.

Ms Hanson, who briefly achieved international infamy with a campaign against Asian immigration in the 1990s, was aged around 19 when the pictures were taken by her then boyfriend, former army commando Jack Johnson.

They showed the former leader of the One Nation party partially naked and dressed in lingerie after a drunken night at a luxury Queensland resort.

Mr Johnson, who sold the pictures to Australia's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, said he was digitising his old photographs when a friend saw the images of Ms Hanson and suggested he could make some money out of them.

"Sorry it's come to this, sweetheart - that's the way it is," Mr Johnson told the newspaper. >>> Anne Barrowclough in Sydney | Sunday, March 15, 2009

TIMESONLINE: Pauline Hanson Denies Nude Photographs Are of Her

Mystery surrounds a set of nude pictures allegedly taken 30 years ago of the Australian far-right politician Pauline Hanson.

The photographs, published across Australian media at the weekend, purport to show the former One Nation leader partially naked and in skimpy lingerie.

But Ms Hanson says the photographs are not her, and has threatened to bare her belly button to prove it.

Jack Johnson, the "former boyfriend" who sold the pictures to the Sunday Telegraph for A$15,000 (£7,000), admitted today that he could not remember when or where the pictures were taken.

The former army commando also said that he could not remember the surname of the girl he photographed after a drunken night out in Queensland in th 1970s.

He told Australia's Seven Network that he knew "in my heart of hearts" that the girl in the photographs was Ms Hanson.

"But what if I'm wrong?" he asked in an apparent admission that he may have misidentified the woman in the pictures. "I was never the smartest cookie in the barrel." >>> Anne Barrowclough in Sydney | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Fury as Islamic Extremist Who Abused British Troops Is Given 24-hour Police Protection

MAIL Online: An Islamic extremist who abused British soldiers during a homecoming parade has sparked further outrage after he was given 24-hour police protection.

Yousaf Bashir was part of a gang that hurled abuse at 200 members of the Royal Anglian Regiment as they marched through Luton last Tuesday after a second tour of duty in Iraq.

The moves comes after the semi-detached home Bashir shares with his parents was attacked on Friday.

Two downstairs windows and the glass in the front door were smashed, and the rear windows of two cars parked in the driveway were shattered.

Two police officers have been stationed in a marked car outside the property since the attacks and a CCTV camera has also been installed. >>> By Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Far-right Party in Israel Coalition

DAILY EXPRESS: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party has signed a coalition agreement with a far-right party.

The deal means that Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, would become Israel's foreign minister.



He has drawn accusations of racism for proposing that Israel's Arab citizens sign loyalty oaths or lose their citizenship. 



Although that plan is not likely to be implemented, his designation as foreign minister could harm Israel's international ties. 



The European Union urged Netanyahu to craft a government that embraces the long-standing goal of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.

 Lieberman as foreign minister could be seen in Europe as a setback to Middle East peace efforts. 



"Let me say very clearly that the way the European Union will relate to an (Israeli) government that is not committed to a two-state solution will be very, very different," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security affairs chief, said. >>> | Monday, March 16, 2009

leJDD.fr: Netanyahou serre à droite

Le Likoud est parvenu à un accord avec le parti d'extrême-droite Israël Beitenou, en vue de la formation d'un gouvernement d'union en Israël. Benjamin Netanyahou devrait confier le portefeuille des Affaires étrangères à Avigdor Lieberman. Même s'il faudra d'autres alliés pour s'assurer d'une majorité stable à la Knesset, le prochain gouvernement israélien penchera fortement à droite.

C'était écrit. Le prochain gouvernement israélien serait à droite ou ne serait pas. L'accord conclu dimanche à minuit entre le Likoud de Benjamin Netanyahou et Israël Beitenou, le parti d'extrême droite dirigé par Avigdor Lieberman, signe le virage à droite du paysage politique israélien même s'il faudra d'autres alliances pour s'assurer d'une majorité à la Knesset où siègent les députés. Avec 42 sièges sur 120, la coalition Likoud-Beitenou est en effet encore loin de la majorité absolue des 61 sièges. Mais cet accord signé à l'arraché dimanche soir, après des heures d'âpres négociations, est une première étape d'importance pour Benjamin Netanyahou qui ne dispose plus que de quelques jours pour présenter son gouvernement au président Shimon Pérès. La porte reste ouverte à Kadima... >>> Par Jérôme GUILLAS, leJDD.fr | Lundi 16 Mars 2009

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