Tuesday, May 12, 2009
BBC: A Labour peer turned on a BBC presenter demanding to know how much she was paid during a live interview on MP expenses.
Lord Foulkes clashed with Carrie Gracie on the BBC News Channel after she asked if MPs who had abused their expenses should pay the money back.
He accused the media of ignoring the good work MPs did and demanded to know how much she was paid.
Told it was £92,000 a year, he said she was being paid "nearly twice as much an MP - to come on and talk nonsense".
He added that BBC presenters such as John Humphrys and Jeremy Paxman were paid hundreds of thousands of pounds "to come on TV and sneer at democracy and undermine democracy. The vast majority of MPs are being undermined by you." >>> | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
BBC: Greece's data protection agency has banned Google from expanding its Street View service in the country, pending "additional information" from the firm.
Street View gives users a 360-degree view of a road via Google Maps.
Authorities want to know how long the images would be kept on Google's database and what measures it will take to make people aware of privacy rights.
A similar street mapping service, run by local ISP Kapou, was also suspended for the same reason.
In a statement, Google said that it had not seen the full details of the The Hellenic Data Protection Authority's request, but had taken steps to protect people's privacy. >>> | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
BBC: Roxana Saberi, the US-Iranian journalist released from jail in Iran on Monday, has thanked all those who helped to win her freedom.
She was freed after four months in prison when an eight-year term on charges of spying for the US was cut. She denied the charges.
Wearing a bright blue headscarf, Ms Saberi looked thin but in high spirits.
"I'm very happy to be free and to be with my parents again," Ms Saberi told reporters outside her flat in Tehran.
"I'm thanking all those people all over the world - which I'm just finding out about - who - whether they knew me or not - helped me and my family during this period," she said, smiling.
"I don't have any specific plans for the moment, I just want to be with my parents and friends, and to relax.
"Thank you very much - all of you," Roxana Saberi said, in her first public comments since her release. >>> | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Watch BBC video: Roxana Saberi: 'I am of course happy to be free and with my parents again' >>>
THE TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI has said that the Catholic church was 'irrevocably committed' to reconciliation with Jews, tacitly admitting a gap continues to exist between the two sides.
On the second day of his visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the Pope toured holy sites around Jerusalem and had separate meetings with Muslim and Jewish leaders.
After meeting Israel's two chief rabbis, Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger, the Pope addressed the issue of tension between Christianity and Judaism dating back thousands of years.
"Today I have the opportunity to repeat that the Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to the path chosen at the Second Vatican Council for a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews,'' the Pope said.
"As the declaration [from the Second Vatican Council] makes clear, the Church continues to value the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews and desires an ever deeper mutual understanding and respect through biblical and ideological studies as well as fraternal dialogues.'' >>> By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS: GURDWARA SRI PANJA SAHIB (Hasanabdal): Jaswant Kaur is a middle aged mother of four, full of life and smiles as she makes tea for us and reminisces about life in village Pir Baba in Buner. But while she is glad that she took her children away from the hell like situation back home, she can’t stop fretting about her husband who stayed behind. The three days that she has been at Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib, Hasanabdal, already seem like an agonising lifetime. It’s never easy being a refugee within one’s own land.
But like many others around her, Jaswant is a brave woman. She is already a commanding presence in the sprawling kitchen of the massive Gurdwara which otherwise has the capacity to house up to ten thousand people. It’s amazing how the majority of the women here can still smile, even those like Jaswant who have had to leave their spouses behind, for one reason or another. Maybe they are smiling because unlike the Muslim displaced people of Swat, who are forced to languish on the roads of Rawalpindi and elsewhere and eking out a living in miserable circumstances, the Sikh community has suffered a much better fate, at least till now. None of us can even imagine the trauma of someone waking up happy and all settled in their home one morning, and becoming a helpless refugee the next. >>> Mariana Baabar | Monday, May 4, 2009
GLOBEANDMAIL: WASHINGTON — America's top general in Afghanistan was ousted Monday, a casualty of President Barack Obama's massive expansion of the war that will surge tens of thousands of troops into Taliban-infested areas in southern Afghanistan, where Canadians have been fighting and dying for years.
The forced ouster of Lieutenant-General David McKiernan and his replacement by Lieutenant-General Stanley McChrystal, a commander with a controversial background in clandestine warfare and special operations, spearheads a new counter-insurgency strategy.
Fighting the raging Taliban insurgency that threatens Afghanistan “requires new thinking and new approaches by our military leaders,” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday[.]
The move comes as Washington takes even greater control of the flagging NATO effort to shore up a shaky government in Kabul, stem the flow of insurgents and weapons streaming back and forth across the border with Pakistan and avert a Taliban renaissance. >>> Paul Koring | Monday, May 11, 2009
TAGESANZEIGER: Eine neue Gallup-Erhebung mit 120'000 Befragten zeigt: Junge US-Amerikaner sind weniger für die Demokraten als vielmehr gegen die Republikaner. Das hat seinen Grund.
Die verheerende Präsidentschaft des George Walker Bush, besser bekannt als W., könnte das politische Schicksal der Republikanischen Partei über Jahrzehnte hinweg schwer belasten. Dass die Partei Ronald Reagans und der beiden Bushs bei den Kongresswahlen 2006 sowie den Präsidentschaftswahlen 2008 unter die Räder kam, ist eine Sache. Und dass sie sich nach den acht Bush-Jahren jetzt wirr und ziellos präsentiert, ist auch eine Sache. Eine andere dagegen ist, dass dank des toxischen Texaners eine ganze Generation junger Amerikaner mit den Republikanern nicht viel zu tun haben möchte. >>> Von Martin Kilian, Washington | Dienstag, 12. Mai 2009
NZZ Online: Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanyahu hat bei seinem ersten Auslandbesuch seinen Willen bekräftigt, die Friedensverhandlungen mit den Palästinensern bald wieder aufzunehmen. Netanyahu traf in Sharm as-Sheikh mit Ägyptens Präsidenten Hosni Mubarak zusammen.
«Wir wollen so bald wie möglich die Verhandlungen mit den Palästinensern wieder aufnehmen», sagte Netanyahu am Montag auf einer kurzen Pressekonferenz mit Mubarak in dem ägyptischen Badeort Sharm ash-Sheikh.
Er hoffe, dass dies «in den kommenden Wochen» möglich sei. Der Besuch in Ägypten ist Netanyahus erster Auslandsbesuch seit seinem Amtsantritt Ende März.
«Wir wollen zunächst den Frieden mit unseren palästinensischen Nachbarn ausweiten», sagte Netanyahu. Israel und die Palästinenser sollten eine «Perspektive des Friedens, der Sicherheit und des Wohlstands» haben. «Diese drei Dinge gehen zusammen und nicht eines auf Kosten des anderen.» >>> sda/afp/dpa | Montag, 11. Mai 2009
WELT ONLINE: Er kam, sah und siegte. Bei seinem Kurzbesuch in Berlin umschmeichelte Frankreichs Staatspräsident Sarkozy die Junge Union, ging mit Kanzlerin Merkel Schnitzel essen und gewann die Herzen der Berliner. Nur wüsste man gern, was er wohl auf dem Rückflug über seine Gastgeber gesagt hat.
Er kann durchaus charmant sein. Wenn er will. Er will bloß nicht immer. Am Sonntag jedoch zeigte sich Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy beim deutsch-französischen Freundschafts-Treffen der Jungen Union im Berliner Sony-Center von seiner allerbesten Seite: Strahlte, lächelte, schüttelte, Hände und freute sich über die T-Shirts der Fähnchen schwenkenden Jugend, auf denen er mit seiner Freundin „Ongdschela“ Merkel abgebildet war.
„Frankreich liebt Sie, Frankreich bewundert Sie, Frankreich ist Ihr Freund“, rief der Präsident den nachwachsenden Christdemokraten zu. Soviel ungezügelte Zuneigung erfahren Junge-Unions-Mitglieder sonst eher selten in der Öffentlichkeit. Der ein oder andere wähnte sich vermutlich in einer therapeutischen Sitzung, als Sarkozy auch noch hinzufügte „Frankreich fürchtet Sie nicht.“
Nicolas Sarkozy weiß natürlich, dass gerade Europa-Wahlkampf ist, und deshalb ist er aktuell besonders nett. Da pflegt er selbst die deutsch-französische Freundschaft, die ihm ansonsten nicht besonders nah am Herzen liegt. Da lässt er sich sogar von Kanzlerin Angela Merkel zu einem deutschen Schnitzel mit Spargel überreden. >>> Von Sascha Lehnartz | Montag, 11. Mai 2009
WELT ONLINE: Die US-iranische Journalistin Roxana Saberi hat das Evin-Gefängnis in Teheran verlassen. Zuvor war in einem Berufungsverfahren ihre Haftstrafe in eine zweijährige Bewährungsstrafe umgewandelt worden. Nach Angaben ihres Vaters Reza Saberi soll die 32-Jährige so bald wie möglich in die USA zurückkehren.
Nach knapp viermonatiger Haft im Iran ist die US-Journalistin Roxana Saberi wieder auf freiem Fuß. Ein Berufungsgericht wandelte am Montag eine achtjährige Gefängnisstrafe in zwei Jahren Haft auf Bewährung um. Die 32 Jahre alte Journalistin wurde daraufhin bereits wenige Stunden später aus dem berüchtigten Evin-Gefängnis in Teheran entlassen.
Saberi, die sowohl die iranische als auch die amerikanische Staatsbürgerschaft hat, war Spionage vorgeworfen worden. Für die Journalistin, die unter anderem für den angesehenen US-Radiosender NPR arbeitete, hatte sich auch der amerikanische Präsident Barack Obama eingesetzt. Er hatte die Spionagevorwürfe als unbegründet zurückgewiesen und ihre Freilassung verlangt. >>> dpa/AFP/fsl | Montag, 11. Mai 2009
LEFIGARO: Le recueillement du pape allemand a surmonté la plupart des réticences suscitées par son passé.
La visite de Yad Vashem par Benoît XVI, au Mémorial de l'Holocauste à Jérusalem, devait être le moment le plus lourd de symboles de la visite papale. Elle a finalement montré à quel point les relations entre l'Église catholique et les Juifs étaient apaisées.
Un pape allemand ? «Je ne le vois pas en fonction de sa nationalité. Je le vois comme le chef des Églises catholiques et je lui présente tout le respect qu'il mérite», dit Edward Mosberg, un rescapé de l'Holocauste qu'a rencontré lundi Benoît XVI. «Il n'y a rien de compliqué dans sa visite. Le Pape représente l'Église. Je représente mon peuple. Nous nous serrons la main», affirme Dan Landesberg, un autre rescapé.
Depuis l'établissement des relations diplomatiques entre Israël et le Vatican, et la visite de Jean-Paul II en 2000, beaucoup de malentendus ont été levés. Les récentes polémiques, qui ont accompagné le début du procès en béatification de Pie XII, puis la réhabilitation de l'évêque négationniste Mgr Williamson, sont presque retombées.
Les quatre ministres israéliens du parti ultra-orthodoxe séfarade Shass ont tout de même boycotté lundi la réception de Benoît XVI chez le président Shimon Pérès. «Ils ont choisi de ne pas participer à cette réception en raison du passé du Pape dans les Jeunesses hitlériennes et par respect pour les victimes de la Shoah», a affirmé le porte-parole du parti, Roï Lachmanovitch. Le président du mémorial de Yad Vashem, le rabbin Israel Meir Lau, lui-même rescapé de la Shoah, le seul de toute sa famille exterminée dans les camps, a aussi émis des réserves sur le discours du Pape. «Quelque chose manquait. Il n'a mentionné ni les nazis qui ont participé à la boucherie, ni prononcé un mot de regret.»
Mais ces voix sont restées relativement isolées. Un encart signé par les principaux rabbins israéliens, saluant l'arrivée du Pape, a été publié lundi dans les principaux journaux du pays. Jean-Paul II avait été l'artisan du rapprochement de l'Église avec les Juifs. Sa visite au mur des Lamentations est restée dans les mémoires. >>> De correspondant du Figaro à Jérusalem, Adrien Jaulmes | Mardi 12 Mai 2009
LEFIGARO: La designer Zeynep Fadillioglu a dessiné les formes de la mosquée Sakirin, inaugurée vendredi.
Dans la ville aux mille minarets, la dernière-née des mosquées porte une empreinte résolument féminine. Dehors, avec sa coupole et ses formes architecturales courbes, l'édifice est tout en rondeur. À l'intérieur, des versets dorés du Coran ondulent le long des murs en verre, enveloppant les fidèles dans un cocon. Érigée sur la rive asiatique d'Istanbul, la mosquée Sakirin, qui a été inaugurée vendredi dernier, constitue une première en Turquie : commanditée par une riche famille turco-saoudienne, elle a été conçue par une femme.
Signe que le symbole est d'importance, Emine Erdogan, l'épouse du premier ministre, et Ali Bardakoglu, le président de la direction des affaires religieuses, ont assisté à la cérémonie d'ouverture. «À ma connaissance, dans le reste du monde, jamais une telle tâche n'a été confiée à une femme, raconte la responsable de l'ouvrage, Zeynep Fadillioglu. J'ai pleuré quand le projet m'a été proposé.» >>> Laure Marchand, à Istanbul | Lundo 11 Mai 2009
The disgusting broadcasting organisation which calls itself the British Broadcasting Corporation has gone and done it again!
The BBC is nothing but an orgainisation which specializes in social engineering. If you are sick and tired of the way this company operates, then you will also be sick and tired of having to pay the licence fee.
It is high time that the licence fee were scrapped. Let the fat cats at the BBC forage for their fat salaries in the private sector as others have to do. We’ll see how much social engineering they’ll do then.
The BBC has outlived its usefulness. The organisation broadcasts mostly rubbish anyway. Their news broadcasts are hardly worth watching. Now even the religious programmes won’t be worth watching either. The new programmes are sure to whitewash Islam and portray the cult as a ‘religion of peace’. Doubtless, the Jihad – you know, the BIG push to take over the world – will be ignored. Brushed aside.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the United Kingdom as we knew and loved it is becoming a thing of the past. Our so-called leaders, corrupt as they are, haven’t got the balls to protect us from the backwardness that is Islam; and then we have the BBC pushing the cause of Islam whilst largely ignoring Christianity, thus helping to usher in the New Dark Age.
Sad story! – ©Mark
MAIL Online: The BBC yesterday appointed a Muslim as its head of religious programming in a radical departure from broadcasting tradition.
The post - considered one of the most influential religious roles in the country - has gone to Aaqil Ahmed, who has been working as an executive at Channel 4.
The appointment will cause dismay among the Christian churches.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams raised concerns over the prospect of a Muslim head of religious broadcasting during a meeting with the corporation's director general Mark Thompson in March.
It comes at a time of deepening worries among Christian leaders that their faith is being sidelined and downgraded by authorities.
Both Dr Williams and Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu have made repeated public complaints over the indifference and occasional hostility to Christianity shown in Whitehall and from other authorities.
Last year the BBC gave the job of producing its most popular and longrunning religious programme, Songs of Praise, to a Sikh, Tommy Nagra.
The Church of England points out that 70 per cent of the population of Britain professes to be Christian, but only 3 per cent are Muslims. >>> By Steve Doughty | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
MAIL Online: HSBC bankers are in line for bumper bonus payouts after an 'encouraging' jump in profits.
While the company's performance added impetus to a day of good economic news, the re-emergence of the City's discredited bonus system will be an embarrassment for Gordon Brown, who has promised to outlaw reckless behaviour in the Square Mile.
Taxpayer-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland has already started offering 'guaranteed' bonuses to traders in defiance of promises it made to rein in no-strings-attached rewards.
And Barclays is gearing up for massive payouts after profits rose 15 per cent in the first three months of 2009.
The culture of extravagant bonuses encouraged bankers to take ever bigger risks, laying the ground for the gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. >>> By Simon Duke | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
TIMESONLINE: Indian MPs running in this year’s election have become almost 300 per cent richer on average since the last poll in 2004, and one is more than 90 times wealthier, according to the first detailed study of their financial assets.
The report by National Election Watch, a coalition of non-government organisations, proves for the first time what many had long suspected — that MPs have enriched themselves in office while life has remained a struggle for the 880 million Indians surviving on less than $2 (£1.30) a day.
Under a Supreme Court ruling in 2003, all election candidates must disclose their assets, educational qualifications and any criminal background.
The report takes the assets declared by 300 MPs running in this year’s month-long election, which ends tomorrow, and compares them with their declarations in 2004. It shows that 14 MPs disclosed a tenfold increase in their wealth over the past five years. Thirty, including a Cabinet minister, declared a fivefold increase and 175 reported a rise of more than 100 per cent.
“Politics has become a huge money-making business,” said Trilochan Sastry, the Dean of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, who led the study. Most members of the 543-seat Parliament — 128 of whom face criminal charges — had under- reported their wealth, he added. >>> Jeremy Page, South Asia Correspondent | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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