Revealed: Government Helpline Tells Children 'Cannabis Is Safer than Alcohol'
Absurd and disgraceful! How low will this dreadful government stoop? - Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Children calling the Government's drugs helpline are being told that cannabis is safer than alcohol and that ecstasy will not damage their health, an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has found.

Advisers manning the “Frank” helpline are informing callers they believed to be children as young as 13 that alcohol is a “much more powerful drug than cannabis” and that using the illegal drug recreationally is not harmful because it “doesn’t get you that high”.

Callers are also being told that taking ecstasy will not lead to long-term damage and that if they are in doubt, to “just take half a pill and if you are handling that OK, you can take the other half.”

They are even being told that they would be able to smoke a cannabis joint, on top of ecstasy, with no ill-effects.

The advice, given to reporters who rang the helpline posing as young people, has alarmed anti-drugs campaigners who branded it “scandalous” and “irresponsible.”

Health experts have condemned the advice given to children as “frankly appalling”, “factually incorrect” and “worryingly cavalier”. >>> By Julie Henry, David Barrett and Alex Ralph | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Iraqi Gay Men Face 'Lives of Hell'
BBC: Grainy footage taken on a mobile phone and widely distributed around Baghdad shows a terrified young Iraqi boy cowering and whimpering as men with a stick force him to strip, revealing women's underwear beneath his dishdasha (Arab robe).

Mobile footage of gay men being abused is being widely circulated in Iraq. Photo courtesy of the BBC
"Why are you dressed as a girl?" roars one of the men, brandishing his stick as the youth removes his brassiere.

The sobbing boy, who appears to be about 12, tries to explain that his family made him do it to earn money, as they have no other source of income.

The scene, apparently filmed in a police post, reinforced reports of a campaign against gay men in Iraq which activists say has claimed the lives of more than 60 since December.

In the latest manifestation of the campaign, posters have appeared on walls in the poor Shia suburb of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, listing alleged homosexuals by name and threatening to kill them.
Those named have gone underground, while gay men throughout the city and in some other parts of the country also live in fear. >>> By Jim Muir, BBC News, Baghdad | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Watch BBC video: Jim Mui’s report >>>

La charia instaurée en Somalie
Un groupe de combattants islamistes en mars, à Mogadiscio. Photo grace au Figaro
LEFIGARO.fr: La loi coranique a été votée à l'unanimité par le Parlement de transition, suite à l'accord de cessez-le-feu entre le gouvernement et les groupes islamistes radicaux.

«Nous avons un gouvernement islamique». Le Parlement de transition somalien a approuvé samedi à l'unanimité à Mogadiscio le projet de loi du gouvernement instaurant la loi coranique (charia) dans le pays, en guerre civile depuis 1991. «Il y a avait 340 membres du Parlement présents à la session et ils ont voté à l'unanimité pour l'instauration de la charia en Somalie», a indiqué le vice-président de l'Assemblée. La charia était réclamée par les insurgés islamistes actuellement opposés aux autorités. >>> Lefigaro.fr avec AFP | Samedi 18 Avril 2009

REUTERS: Somali MPs Vote to Establish Sharia Law

MOGADISHU - Somali members of parliament voted unanimously on Saturday to implement sharia law across the country in a move aimed at undermining hardline Islamist rebels who have been waging a two-year insurgency.

The approval by parliament had been expected since March 10, when the cabinet appointed by new President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed also voted to establish sharia, or Islamic, law.

Experts say Ahmed's move undermines guerrillas who have been fighting the government and questioning his Islamic credentials. It will also please wealthy potential donors in Gulf nations.

Osman Elimi Boqore, the deputy speaker of parliament, said 343 MPs attended Saturday's session.

"All of them voted 'yes' and accepted the implementation of sharia," he told reporters. "There was no rejection or silence, so from today we have an Islamic government." >>> Reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Richard Balmforth, © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Damascene Perversion: Syria's Underwear Sellers Peddle Sex and Seduction
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Maid's costumes, musicial negligee and remote-controlled underpants: You'd be surprised what you can find in a Damascus market. Syrian underwear is now so famous that it is exported throughout the Middle East -- and Palestinian women, reportedly, have the wildest taste.

Syrian underwear has become famous throughout the Middle East for its audacity. "Ever since people started going to Internet cafes and seeing what the rest of the world is wearing, demand has completely changed," says underwear merchant Abdullah Hayek. Photo courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
It's the "latest thing," Abdullah Hayek says, holding the garment up. It's an almost non-existent bra and thong, which consists of strings and a tiny triangle. It's made, not of fabric, but of sugar fondant, which has been rolled out until it is wafer-thin, held together with elastic cords.

"This allows the husband to nibble the underwear off of his wife's body," explains Hayek. The garment, which costs the equivalent of about €3 ($3.9), is available in a selection of flavors, including pineapple, apple, honey, chocolate and mango. "I probably sell 15 of them a day," said Hayek.

The Hamidiyeh souk in Damascus is without doubt one of the best markets in the Arab world. Naturally you can find carpets, inlaid crafts and Oriental kitsch being hawked to tourists within the maze of alleyways. But the majority of customers are Syrian. They push through the souk by the thousands, buying washing powder in one alley and dishes in another -- and, at the intersection where the lingerie merchants sit, they buy sexy underwear. >>> By Ulrike Putz in Damascus | Friday, April 17, 2009

US Journalist Receives Eight-year Sentence for Spying
Roxana Saberi in happier times. Photo: GoogleImages
TIMESONLINE: AN American journalist has been jailed for eight years after an Iranian court convicted her of spying.

The trial of Roxana Saberi, 31, lasted just five days and took place behind closed doors.

Saberi, a freelance reporter for the BBC and America’s National Public Radio, was arrested in January initially for not carrying the correct press credentials. She was then accused of passing classified information to US intelligence services and taken to Tehran’s Evin jail.

The United States say the charges of espionage are baseless and have demanded her immediate release, while fellow journalists have set up an internet campaign to highlight her plight.

A former Miss North Dakota, Saberi, who has an Iranian father and Japanese mother, moved to Iran six years ago. The 31-year-old is a citizen of both the United States and Iran, but Tehran does not recognise dual nationality status. >>> Robin Henry | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Free Roxana Saberi >>> Asian American Journalists Association

leJDD.fr: Iran: Condamnée à tort?

Roxana Saberi, une Irano-américaine qui travaillait pour la BBC à Téhéran, a été condamnée à huit ans de prison ferme pour espionnage. Un verdict annoncé samedi que dénonce Hillary Clinton, qui se bat depuis un mois pour faire libérer la journaliste. L'affaire menace les efforts de l'Iran et des Etats-Unis qui tentent ces derniers mois de renouer leurs relations diplomatiques.

Les appels d'Hillary Clinton, la secrétaire d'Etat, n'auront rien changé: la journaliste irano-américaine Roxana Saberi a été condamnée à huit ans de prison à Téhéran pour espionnage au profit des Etats-Unis, a-t-on appris samedi auprès de son avocat, Me Abdolsamad Khorramshahi. Ce dernier a annoncé que sa cliente fera appel. Cette jeune femme de 31 ans, qui travaillait depuis six ans pour la BBC et la radio publique américaine NPR, avait été arrêtée en janvier dernier et aussitôt incarcérée sur le site d'Evin, la prison réservée aux détenus politiques.

Son procès s'est déroulé en une seule journée, lundi dernier, à huis clos devant le tribunal révolutionnaire de Téhéran. Une durée inhabituellement brève. Le verdict, qui devait tomber dans quelques semaines selon le porte-parole du ministère iranien de la Justice, a également été rendu bien plus vite que prévu. >>> Par G.V. (avec Reuters), LeJDD.fr Samedi 18 Avril 2009

Simon Heffer: The Home Secretary Is a Walking Disaster
THE TELEGRAPH: The preposterous Jacqui Smith is a disgrace to the office of Home Secretary.

The indescribable Jacqui Smith. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
I know that people like me are supposed to write newspaper columns because we have a certain command of the English tongue. However, there are times when even the most experienced of us is forced to struggle. How, after all, can one describe Jacqui Smith, our Home Secretary? The adjectives come thick and fast, but all seem insufficient to describe this ambulant catastrophe. Preposterous, corrupt, dim, incompetent, sleazy, incapable: none of them is quite the job.

Miss Smith began by looking corrupt, when it was revealed that she was occupying a room at her sister's house and charging for it as her main residence. She then looked sleazy, dim and preposterous when it emerged that her husband, incarcerated at what was allegedly her second residence, was watching porn films and charging them to the taxpayer. Incompetence and incapability can now be added to the charge sheet following her role in the raiding of the office of Damian Green, a Conservative MP and the party's immigration spokesman: and perhaps one other adjective too – disgraceful. >>> By Simon Heffer | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Iran Is 'Guarantor' of Mid East Security
THE TELEGRAPH: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran is the 'guarantor' of security in the Middle East as his armed forces paraded in Tehran.

Iranian snipers in full camouflage take part in the Army Day parade in Tehran. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Speaking on Iran's Army Day, which featured a parade in the capital including the arresting sight of snipers turned out in full camouflage, Mr Ahmadinejad claimed: "Iran's armed forces are the guarantor of security in the region.

"Today the Iranian nation, with its religious armed forces, is ready to have a wide role in world management and to establish security based on justice across the world.

"The world should know that Iran is a nation of ideals and supports peace and security based on justice for all nations." >>> By The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff and Agencies in Tehran | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Protest gegen Verhaftung von Regierungskritikern in Ankara: Tausende Demonstranten ziehen zum Atatürk-Mausoleum
NZZ Online: Mit einem Marsch zum Mausoleum von Mustafa Kemal Atatürk haben tausende Menschen in Ankara gegen die Festnahme von säkular orientierten Regierungskritikern protestiert.

Die Demonstranten, überwiegend Studenten und Akademiker, schwenkten türkische Flaggen und skandierten: «Die Türkei ist säkular und wird es bleiben.» Dabei beriefen sie sich auf Atatürk, der 1923 den modernen türkischen Staat mit ausdrücklich weltlicher Ausrichtung gründete. An der Kundgebung nahmen mehr als 5000 Menschen teil. >>> ap | Samstag, 18. April 2009

Analyse: Mit Charme allein kommt Obama nicht weiter
WELT ONLINE: Barack Obamas Politik der ausgestreckten Hand hat ihm selbst bei Amerika-Gegnern wie Iran oder Kuba Sympathien eingebracht. Doch echte Ergebnisse bleiben aus. Nun folgt Phase zwei: Obama muss Zähne zeigen, wenn er seine Freundlichkeit nicht als Schwäche verstanden sehen will.

Obama macht sich viele Freunde, doch der Staat, der seinen Namen wert ist, hat weder Freunde noch Feinde - nur Interessen. Bild dank der Welt
Vor Barack Obamas ausgestreckter Hand ist niemand sicher. Ob Russland, Iran, Kuba, Venezuela und ganz Südamerika: Wer sich nicht schnell genug in die Büsche schlägt, wird mit Aufmerksamkeit überschüttet, vom erfrischenden Lächeln Obamas umgarnt, mit Handschlag getätschelt, mithilfe amerikanischer Selbstkritik versöhnt oder sonst wie in den obamaschen Wohlfühl-Kosmos eingemeindet.

Es fällt einem kaum ein Land ein, das noch nicht Objekt dieser schnellsten globalen Charmeoffensive der Geschichte war. Bis auf Nordkorea vielleicht, das mit Raketentests und Ausstieg aus den Atomgesprächen um Obamas Aufmerksamkeit buhlt und noch nicht erhört wurde. Diese Macho-Anmache aus Pjöngjang war offenbar selbst dem Prinzen der Herzen zu derb, um positiv beschieden zu werden.

Am Ende der Amtszeit von George W. Bush schwärmten Emissäre amerikanischer Think Tanks in die Welt aus um zu erfragen, wie ein neuer Präsident die Beziehungen und das Image der USA aufpolieren könnte. Das Ergebnis diverser Studien war nicht sonderlich überraschend: Je mehr Distanz der neue zum alten Präsidenten legt, desto besser. Und das ist Obama wahrlich gelungen. Wenn selbst ein Amerikahasser wie Venezuelas Präsident Hugo Chávez in Obamas Ohr säuselt „Ich möchte Dein Freund sein“, dann ist klar: Die Hypnose hat funktioniert. Die Frage ist, wie lange sie hält. >>> Von Clemens Wergin | Samstag, 18. April 2009

Obama Offers Cuba 'New Beginning'
BBC: President Barack Obama has said the US seeks a "new beginning" with Cuba and an "equal partnership" with all the nations of the Americas.

Mr Obama was addressing Latin American and Caribbean leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

The summit follows a historic thaw in relations between the US and Cuba.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed an offer for talks from Cuban President Raul Castro, saying the old US policy had failed.

New beginning

"The US seeks a new beginning with Cuba," Mr Obama told leaders gathered in Port of Spain.

"I know there is a longer journey that must be travelled to overcome decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day." >>> | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Watch BBC video: Obama seeks 'equal partnership' >>>

New NATO Chief Is Islam's "Major Enemy": Taliban
REUTERS: KABUL - Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents say the incoming NATO chief is the "major enemy" of Muslims for defending the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad when prime minister of Denmark.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish premier until earlier this month, is due in August to become secretary general of NATO, which leads a 56,000-strong international force fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The publication of the cartoons in a Danish newspaper in 2006 led to riots across the Muslim world, including bloody protests in Afghanistan in which several people were killed. Rasmussen had defended the publication of the cartoons on the grounds of free speech and refused to apologize to Muslim countries.

In an article posted on the Taliban's website (http://alemarah1.org/english/), the insurgent group said Rasmussen's appointment would "further strengthen the faith of the Muslims" to fight against NATO and would lead to "intensification of war" in Afghanistan.

"The major enemy of Islam's Prophet...has become the secretary general of NATO," said the undated article. >>> Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Saudi Arabia: Driving for Reform – March 16, 2008

UN-Konferenz gegen Rassismus auf der Kippe
SUEDDEUTSCHE.DE: Deutschland und andere Staaten schließen Boykott der Anti-Rassismus-Konferenz nicht aus, die EU lädt Lukaschenko ein, Abchasien kündigt ein Militärmanöver an.

Die umstrittene Anti-Rassismus-Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen (UN) in Genf steht kurz vor dem geplanten Beginn immer noch auf der Kippe. Deutschland hielt sich - wie zahlreiche andere Staaten - die endgültige Entscheidung über Teilnahme oder Boykott am Freitag weiterhin offen.

Hinter den Kulissen wurde intensiv über die Formulierungen für die offizielle Konferenz-Erklärung verhandelt. Das Treffen soll an diesem Montag beginnen. Der Westen fürchtet, dass es von Staaten wie dem Iran als Bühne für anti-israelische Parolen genutzt werden könnte. >>> dpa | Freitag, 17. April 2009

LOS ANGELES TIMES: UN Anti-racism Conference Prepares for Likely High Tensions over Israel, Religion

GENEVA (AP) — Concerns are high that next week's United Nations anti-racism conference may descend into contentious debate over Israel that marred the last such gathering eight years ago.

Already, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — who has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust — plans to speak Monday as the conference opens.

The United States and the European Union had not decided Friday whether to attend the meeting or boycott it over Islamic nations' demands to condemn Israel and call for a ban on defaming religion. Israel and Canada have said they won't attend over concerns about a possible repeat of verbal attacks on the Jewish state.

"We have made clear ... that we cannot tolerate it if this anti-racism conference is turned into an accusatory event, a one-sided event against the state of Israel," said Thomas Steg, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Many Muslim nations want curbs to free speech to prevent insults to Islam they say have proliferated since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Riots erupted across the Muslim world after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

The five-day meeting in Geneva is designed to review progress in fighting racism since the United Nations' first such conference eight years ago in South Africa.

That meeting, which ended four days before 9/11, was dominated by quarrels over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery. The United States and Israel walked out midway through the conference over a draft resolution that singled out Israel for criticism and likened Zionism — the movement to establish a Jewish state in the Holy Land — to racism.

Those references were removed from the final declaration, though it did cite "the plight of the Palestinians" as an issue.

Many of the 2001 issues — such as criticism of Israel — now are re-emerging.

Direct references to Israel and to defamation of religion have been dropped from the draft document for this year's conference, but there is pressure from Muslim countries to reinsert them. >>> Eliane Engeler, Associated Press Writer | Friday, April 17, 2009

Afghanistan: No Sex, No Food!
Afghan cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Asef Mohseni claimed the law he devised did not condone marital rape. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAILOnline: A new Afghan law that has drawn Western condemnation for restricting women's rights does not allow marital rape as its critics claim, but lets men refuse to feed wives who deny them sex, the cleric behind it says.

Ayatollah Mohammed Asef Mohseni's Shi'ite personal status law sparked controversy abroad because of a provision that 'a wife is obliged to fulfil the sexual desires of her husband'.

This was read by some as an open door to marital rape, and together with clauses restricting women's freedom of movement denounced as reminiscent of harsh Taliban-era rules.

The law has been criticised by Western leaders with troops fighting in Afghanistan, including U.S. President Barack Obama, who called it 'abhorrent'.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who signed the law last month, has since put it under review.

But Mohseni said the law - which only applies to the 15 percent of Afghans who are Shi'a muslims - has been misinterpreted by critics.

Its sexual clauses aimed only to ensure men's sexual needs were met within marriage, because Islam prohibited them seeking satisfaction with other women.

'Why should a man and woman get married if there is no need for a sexual relationship? Then they are like brother and sister,' he told Reuters in an interview in his recently built central Kabul mosque and university complex.

'A man and wife can negotiate how often it is reasonable to sleep together, based on his sex drive, and a woman has a right to refuse if she has a good reason,' said the bearded cleric.

'It should not be compulsory for the wife to say yes all the time, because some men have more sexual desires than others,' he said, adding that husbands should never force themselves on their wives and the law does not sanction that.

But women do have a duty to meet their husband's needs.

'If a woman says no, the man has the right not to feed her,' Mohseni said. New Afghan Law Does Not Allow Marital Rape... But Lets Men Refuse to Feed Wives Who Deny Them Sex, Says Cleric >>> By Mail Foreign Service | Friday, April 17, 2009

Notre sauveur !
LE MONDE: Les Etats-Unis veulent nouer un "nouveau partenariat" avec l'Amérique latine, parler "avec" elle, et non plus "pour" elle, "écouter, échanger, consulter", d'égal à égal, et non plus "dicter" ses choix, "apprendre d'elle" aussi, afin de poursuivre ensemble des objectifs communs.

Ces bouts de petites phrases, glanés dans les discours récents du vice-président américain Joe Biden, résument l'esprit dans lequel Barack Obama participe, du vendredi 17 avril au dimanche 19 avril, à Trinité-et-Tobago au 5e Sommet des Amériques, qui rassemble 34 pays du continent. Humilité, dialogue, coresponsabilité, désir de comprendre. Il s'agit, dans cette région comme ailleurs, de rompre avec l'unilatéralisme, réel ou supposé, de l'administration Bush et de désarmer l'antiaméricanisme qu'elle laisse en héritage. Barack Obama tend la main à l'Amérique latine >>> PORT OF SPAIN (TRINITÉ-ET-TOBAGO) ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL | Jeudi 16 Avril 2009

Obama will eine moderne Bahn für die USA: 13 Milliarden Dollar für Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge angekündigt
NZZ Online: Der amerikanische Präsident Obama hat sich am Donnerstag nachdrücklich dafür ausgesprochen, ein Schienennetz für Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge aufzubauen. Die USA könnten es sich nicht länger leisten, auf eine umfassende Modernisierung der Bahn zu verzichten.

Obama fuhr im Zug zu seiner Inauguration von Chicago nach Washington. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
Der amerikanische Präsident Barack Obama will mit 13 Milliarden Dollar ein neues Netz schneller Bahnverbindungen in den USA schaffen. Insgesamt sollten zehn Korridore für Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge geschaffen werden, kündigte Obama am Donnerstag in Washington an. «Längst überfällig» >>> sda/afp | Donnerstag, April 16, 2009

Barack Obama Reveals George Bush's 'Torture' Techniques
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has disclosed the controversial CIA interrogation techniques of the Bush administration, including the threat of stinging insects, simulated drowning and depriving prisoners of sleep for up to 180 hours.

Leg shackles on the floor at at the U.S. Naval Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo: The Telegraph
The US government released four memos written by the Justice Department in 2002 and 2005 to provide legal cover for methods that have been widely criticised as torture and which the new president has already disowned.

They exposed in graphic detail how 28 al-Qaeda suspects were questioned at CIA secret prisons, revealing the use of forced nudity, facial and abdominal slaps and the use of confined space and "stress positions".

They considered locking suspects in a box with an insect which they claimed was a stinging insect. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Speaking Truth to Muslim Power
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Obama does no favors to Islam by ignoring its internal debates.

Muslimatoon. Photo: The Wall Street Journal
'The United States is not at war with Islam and will never be. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject."

So spoke President Barack Hussein Obama in Turkey last week. Following in the footsteps of the Bush administration, Mr. Obama wants to avoid labeling our enemy in religious terms. References to "Islamic terrorism," "Islamic radicalism," or "Islamic extremism" aren't in his speeches. "Jihad," too, has been banished from the official lexicon.

But if one visits the religious bookstores near Istanbul's Covered Bazaar, or mosque libraries of Turkish immigrants in Rotterdam, Brussels or Frankfurt, one can still find a cornucopia of radical Islamist literature. Go into the bookstores of Arab and Pakistani immigrant communities in Europe, or into the literary markets of the Arab world and the Indian subcontinent, and you'll find an even richer collection of militant Islamism.

Al Qaeda is certainly not a mainstream Muslim group -- if it were, we would have had far more terrorist attacks since 9/11. But the ideology that produced al Qaeda isn't a rivulet in contemporary Muslim thought. It is a wide and deep river. The Obama administration does both Muslims and non-Muslims an enormous disservice by pretending otherwise.

Theologically, Muslims are neither fragile nor frivolous. They have not become suicide bombers because non-Muslims have said something unkind; they have not refrained from becoming holy warriors because Westerners avoided the word "Islamic" in describing Osama bin Laden and his allies. Having an American president who had a Muslim father, carries the name of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, and wants to engage the Muslim world in a spirit of "mutual respect" isn't a "game changer." This hypothesis trivializes Islamic history and the continuing appeal of religious militancy.

Above all else, we need to understand clearly our enemies -- to try to understand them as they see themselves, and to see them as devout nonviolent Muslims do. To not talk about Islam when analyzing al Qaeda is like talking about the Crusades without mentioning Christianity. To devise a hearts-and-minds counterterrorist policy for the Islamic world without openly talking about faith is counterproductive. We -- the West -- are the unrivalled agent of change in the Middle East. Modern Islamic history -- including the Bush years -- ought to tell us that questions non-Muslims pose can provoke healthy discussions. >>> By Reuel Marc Gerecht* | Thursday, April 16, 2009

* Mr. Gerecht, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Efforts to Continue for Enforcement of Islam: Maulana Aziz
Maulana Abdul Aziz. Photo: Google Images
THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Pakistan): ISLAMABAD: Maulana Abdul Aziz was greeted by hundreds of cheering people at the Red Mosque here on Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, he was freed by the Supreme Court on bail.

Speaking to Geo News, he said that a brutal operation was launched against them in the Red Mosque. He said: “Our struggle was for a noble cause to implement Islam across the country for which efforts would continue.”

To a question, he denied that he was released as a result of any deal. But admitted that a deal was offered to him which he rejected.

Responding to another question, Maulana Aziz said that he considers suicide attacks in the country as unjustified. However, he added that such attacks against Kufaar were correct.

Maulana Abdul Aziz is due to lead the Friday prayers in Lal Masjid tomorrow. [Source: The International News (Pakistan)] | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Les cercles de l'Autriche ultra
Les Burschenschaften pratiquent des rituels elitists. Photo: L’Express
L’EXPRESS.fr: A Vienne et dans les grandes villes, une soixantaine de corporations pangermanistes, discrètes mais influentes, réunissent les partisans d'une idéologie aux accents néonazis. Et forment les cadres de l'extrême droite.

Heinz-Christian Strache, la nouvelle star de la politique autrichienne, est un orateur souriant et talentueux, qui bat des records de popularité auprès des jeunes. Mais il participe aussi, en toute discrétion, à des rituels initiatiques conduits dans des clubs élitistes et racistes...

Tribun populiste et eurosceptique, il aime se montrer dans les discothèques et sur les plateaux de télévision. Mais il adhère aussi à une corporation opaque, Vandalia Wien, pour l'honneur de laquelle il s'est battu en duel il y a cinq ans. La devise de ce club un peu particulier constitue, en soi, une forme de programme: "Allemand, uni, fidèle et sans crainte".

Le poids des corporations

Se définir comme un Allemand et vouloir devenir chancelier autrichien? Le paradoxe était déjà assumé par Jörg Haider, l'ex-leader charismatique de l'extrême droite locale, mort en octobre 2008 dans un accident de voiture.

Dans ce pays alpin, quand on veut faire carrière "chez les bleus", c'est-à-dire au sein du FPÖ (Parti autrichien de la liberté), mieux vaut faire allégeance à l'une des quelque 60 corporations pangermanistes toujours en activité, les Burschenschaften (au sens littéral, des "congrégations de jeunes hommes").

Dans le monde germanique du début du xixe siècle, les membres des premières corporations estudiantines, qui furent à la base des révolutions nationalistes de 1848, étaient unis par la haine de la France napoléonienne et des juifs, alors émancipés par l'envahisseur. Près de deux cents ans plus tard, ces clubs très privés aux doux noms mythologiques - Brixia à Innsbruck, Olympia à Vienne - restent, de fait, interdits aux femmes et aux juifs. >>> Par Blaise Gauquelin | Jeudi 16 Avril 2009