Rapport : Racisme: le Conseil de l’Europe critique la Suisse
LE TEMPS: L’organisation, que la Suisse présidera dès novembre pour six mois, dénonce les «zones d’ombre et failles» de l’article 261 bis du Code pénal. Le rapport s’inquiète aussi du sort des requérants d’asile et des Roms

«Elève un peu dissipé. A fourni des efforts mais peut mieux faire. Pas question de se reposer sur ses lauriers.» Voilà, en résumé, comment le Conseil de l’Europe noterait la Suisse dans un cahier d’école. Pas de bonnet d’âne, ni de relégation au fond de la classe près du radiateur, mais pas de prix d’excellence non plus. Dans son rapport publié ce matin, la Commission européenne contre le racisme et l’intolérance (ECRI) mise en place par l’organisation se montre même assez critique. La Suisse devrait cette fois y prêter un peu plus d’attention que d’habitude: elle présidera dès novembre le Conseil de l’Europe pour six mois. Et compte faire des droits de l’homme sa priorité, notamment via une réforme de la fameuse Cour européenne…

Le dernier rapport de l’ECRI consacré à la Suisse remontait à janvier 2004. Depuis, des progrès ont été accomplis, note la commission. Avec la nouvelle loi sur les étrangers entrée en vigueur en 2008, cantons et communes tiennent compte des objectifs d’intégration et «créent des conditions propices à l’égalité des chances et à la participation des étrangers à la vie publique». L’ECRI salue aussi le fait que, depuis janvier 2009, toute décision de naturalisation négative doit être justifiée et susceptible de recours judiciaire. >>> Valérie de Graffenried | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Europarat: Schweiz muss Rassismus stärker bekämpfen
DIE PRESSE: Das Europäische Komitee gegen Rassismus und Intoleranz rügt, Diskriminierungen von Immigranten seien in der Schweiz weit verbreitet. "Besorgt" zeigt es sich über das Erstarken der Volkspartei.

Der Europarat hat die Schweizer Regierung zu einem energischeren Kampf gegen Rassismus und Intoleranz aufgefordert. Vor allem Schwarzafrikaner, Muslime und Immigranten aus den Balkan-Ländern seien in der Schweiz weit verbreiteten Diskriminierungen ausgesetzt, rügte das Europäische Komitee gegen Rassismus und Intoleranz (ECRI) in einem am Dienstag veröffentlichten Bericht. Das gelte besonders für den Zugang zu Ausbildung und Arbeitsplätzen. Die Arbeitslosigkeit sei bei Ausländern fast dreimal so hoch wie im Landesdurchschnitt. >>> Ag. | Dienstag, 15. September 2009

Claim Back Holidays Lost to Sickness, Says European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice, with this ridiculous ruling, has just opened the door to widespread abuse of the system. This is a shirkers’ ruling. It will do nothing to promote productivity and everything to promote indolence and work avoidance. – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Workers who fall ill during their holidays could now claim the time back from their employers following a landmark European Court of Justice judgment that lawyers warned was open to abuse.

The court ruled that employees had the right to ask for statutory leave to be "reallocated" when it was spoilt by sickness.

Under the terms of the judgement, employees would even be allowed to carry any annual leave ruined by illness over into the next holiday year.

The ruling is effectively a new interpretation of the European Working Time Directive on workers' hours, which applies in Britain across the entire private and public sector.

Leading employment lawyers warned it would be costly for businesses and that it left "the door open for abuse" by unscrupulous employees seeking to bolster their holiday entitlement by simply claiming to have a cold or flu while on leave.

A worker could phone up while on holiday and report in sick in the normal way - taking the day off sick, rather than counting it against their annual leave entitlement.

The decision has its origins in a separate ruling on a case brought by a group of British workers earlier this year which said that workers were entitled to accrue holiday during sick leave. However, that had left open the question of what would happen if sickness coincided with scheduled leave.

The new ruling, over a case in Spain, is likely to mean that employers will end up paying for both their employees' sickness absence and a rescheduled holiday.

Owen Warnock, a partner at the law firm Eversheds, said: "Many employers take the view that if an employee is sick while on holiday, that is just bad luck for them.

"The European court has now said that this is not allowed by the working time directive.

"The danger of abuse is clear: an employee could increase his or her holiday entitlement by ensuring that in most years they alleged they were sick while on holiday. It may only be the occasional ‘bad penny’ who does this, but the resentment that it would create with colleagues should not be underestimated." >>> Richard Edwards | Monday, September 14, 2009

L'inquiétante «salafisation» des esprits en Égypte
LE FIGARO: Le mois de ramadan met en évidence le développement de pratiques religieuses radicales dans un pays autrefois connu pour sa modération.

La rumeur s'est répandue comme une traînée de poudre, agitant les rédactions des journaux, alimentant les conversations dans les cafés et les familles : la police d'Assouan, au sud de l'Égypte, arrêterait les personnes qui ne respectent pas le jeûne du ramadan, en buvant, mangeant ou fumant dans la rue ! La «nouvelle» a provoqué une stupéfaction horrifiée chez les musulmans modérés.

Les défenseurs des droits de l'homme se sont emparés de l'affaire, dénonçant une dérive sans précédent dans le pays. «Le pouvoir veut donner des gages aux islamistes en se montrant plus religieux qu'eux», a accusé l'un d'eux. «Le jeûne n'est pas obligatoire», a rappelé un autre - ce qui n'est plus évident en Égypte, où la pression sociale et religieuse est telle qu'il est difficile de s'y soustraire, au moins en public.

L'ennui, c'est qu'en dépit de l'étrange mutisme du ministère de l'Intérieur sur le sujet il ne s'agit apparemment que d'une rumeur, inspirée, peut-être, par l'initiative individuelle d'un officier, ou par une campagne anticriminalité qui aurait été assimilée par les habitants d'Assouan au ramadan. Mais le fait qu'elle ait été jugée crédible est révélateur de l'évolution des mentalités dans une Égypte où la religion est devenue omniprésente, y compris sous ses formes les plus radicales, comme le wahhabisme ou le salafisme. Des pratiques «importées» >>> Tangi Salaün, au Caire | Vendredi 11 Septembre 2009

Égypte : La «salafisation» de la société
LE TEMPS: Le ramadan met en lumière le développement des pratiques religieuses radicales. Les autorités s’en inquiètent et ont placé les mouvements radicaux sous haute surveillance

La nuit est tombée sur Le Caire. Dans la pénombre, la foule se presse pour les prières de tarawih, des prières surnuméraires, non obligatoires, devenues ces dernières années un temps fort du mois de ramadan en Egypte. Ici et là, quelques croyants sont vêtus à l’occidentale. Mais la grande majorité porte une longue barbe, une djellaba courte pour les uns, une tunique passée par-dessus un pantalon pour les autres. Ou, du côté des femmes, le niqab, le voile intégral.

Loin de l’ambiance de fête créée par les fanous, les traditionnelles lanternes du ramadan, la mosquée elle-même respire l’austérité. Et pour cause: Al-Rayan est l’une des principales mosquées salafistes du Caire. Les tenants de cet islam sunnite rigoriste, inspiré de la vie des compagnons du Prophète, sont de plus en plus nombreux en Egypte et, pour eux, le ramadan est propice au prosélytisme.

«Quand je suis venue prier ici pour la première fois, on m’a donné des conseils vestimentaires pour être une bonne musulmane: couvrir entièrement mon corps, mes mains et mon visage, porter des chaussettes pendant la prière pour ne pas montrer mon talon», témoigne une jeune mère de famille. Les prêches sont l’occasion pour les imams salafistes de marteler leurs principes ultraconservateurs, comme le rejet de la télévision, de la musique ou de toute autre distraction moderne.

Le «niqab» banalisé

De plus en plus suivies, ces règles bouleversent la pratique religieuse des Egyptiens. Si l’Egypte est le berceau de l’islam politique, avec la création des Frères musulmans en 1928, et du djihadisme – l’Egyptien Ayman al-Zawahiri est le théoricien d’Al-Qaida et le bras droit d’Oussama ben Laden –, elle a longtemps été réputée pour sa tolérance et sa modération. Il y a quelques années encore, les Egyptiens regardaient avec étonnement les salafistes occidentaux, à l’apparence si reconnaissable, de plus en plus nombreux à venir étudier l’arabe en terre d’islam en Egypte. Aujourd’hui, les codes vestimentaires salafistes ou wahhabites, «importés» des pays du Golfe et du Pakistan, sont pourtant en passe de devenir la norme dans certains quartiers. >>> Tangi Salaün | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Anti-dhimmitude! France’s Hardline Immigration Minister Eric Besson Calls for ‘Debased’ Burkha to Be Banned
MAIL ONLINE: France's hardline immigration minister has launched a fresh demand to ban the burkha - decribed by president Nicolas Sarkozy a sign of 'subservience and debasement'.

Eric Besson said the Islamic full head and body covers were 'unacceptable' and not welcome in France.

His demand for a total ban comes after 58 French MPs called last June for a public inquiry on whether it should be illegal for women to hide their faces in public.

Mr Sazkozy backed the move, saying at the time: 'This garment makes women prisoners and deprives them of their identity.

'I say solemnly that they are not welcome on the territory of the French Republic.'

Women's rights groups and Left-wing MPs went even further, descibing the item as a 'walking coffin' and and a 'mobile prison'.

A burkha refers to a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with only a mesh screen over the eyes, while a niqab is a full-body veil, often in black, with slits for the eyes.

France - home to Europe's largest five million Muslim population - already passed a law in 2004 forbidding students and staff from wearing veils and other religious symbols in schools as part of a drive to defend secularism.

Earlier this year Mr Besson said he though [sic] a law banning burkhas and niqabs would only 'create tensions'.

But he has now said he wants Islamic garments which cover the face - worn by an estimated 2,000 women in France - outlawed everywhere.

He said yesterday: 'I recognise that my views have now evolved.

'The burkha is unacceptable and contrary to the principles of national identity, of sexual equality and of the French Republic.' >>> Ian Sparks | Monday, September 14, 2009

Geert Wilders May Ask 'Muslim Idiots' to Testify in Hate Trial
ARUTZ SHEVA: utch government prosecutors have announced they will put legislator Geert Wilders on trial January 20 on charges of discrimination and inciting hatred. Wilders said he wants to put Islam on trial and that he is “considering calling on radical imams and other idiots as witnesses.”

The Netherlands' largest newspaper called it the “trial of the century." It will begin on January 20, two months before municipal elections in which Wilders’s Freedom party is involved.

“I find it horrible that I’m prosecuted” Wilders said. “This is a political trial, and it’s sad that I'm prosecuted as a criminal for only voicing my political opinions. I hope free speech will prevail. I am convinced that the trial can only lead to my acquittal.”

The charges of the use of hate speech include Wilders's charging U.S. President Barack Obama with “closing his eyes to the great dangers of Islamisation” and comparing the president with Neville Chamberlain, the former British Prime Minister. >>> Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, Israel National News | Monday, September 14, 2009

Remembering WWII: 70 Year Anniversary

Islam: Ignorance Is Not a Strategy
TOWNHALL.COM: Eight years after the tragic events of 9/11, most Americans still know nothing about Islam. Moreover, our political leaders now refrain from even associating terrorism with Islamic radicals at all. To commemorate 9/11, President Obama spoke wistfully at a memorial service at the Pentagon. He called Americans “to serve our communities, to strengthen our country and to better our world.” He never once made mention of Islam, the religion Obama had praised in his White House Ramadan dinner, a dinner called to “celebrate a great religion, and its commitment to justice and progress.”

Despite the President's efforts to re-educate Americans on Islam, research shows that few of us actually know anything about the alleged “religion of peace.” One would think (and hope) that after the events of 9/11, Americans would have seized the opportunity to examine the movement that spawned such heinous acts of terror. On that momentous day, I realized my own gaping lack of knowledge regarding the world's second largest religion. I had studied Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity, but knew noting about Islam. In the years since 9/11, I have now read the Koran, studied biographies of Mohammed, reviewed histories of Islam, and interviewed scholars of Islam. I wrongly assumed that other Americans were doing the same self-education.

The recent Pew Forum survey regarding how religions are perceived n America reveals some ugly facts about our ignorance.

Only four out of ten Americans could correctly answer two basic questions about Islam:

1) What is the Muslim name for God?
Allah

2) What is the name of the Islamic holy text?
Koran

In other words, 60% of Americans know absolutely nothing about Islam. That kind of widespread ignorance is shameful and deplorable. Acts of terror murder more than 3000 Americans and set off a war that continues to this day; yet the average American chooses not to examine any of the underlying philosophy that birthed the horrors.
Formerly, my training in a politically correct United Methodist theology school had taught me that all religions are basically the same, that all lead to God, and that all have the same essential core teachings. After the past eight years of research, I am embarrassed at the paucity of education I received.

In sum, Islam was conceived as a political movement wedded to a religious faith. Mohammed envisioned Islamic political hegemony from the outset, and immediately organized his own army to pursue that vision. Yes, the founder of the religion of peace led his own army and waged bloody, violent wars against those who would oppose his own reign. Most Americans should know that, but clearly, we do not. >>> Allen Hunt | Monday, September 14, 2009

Obama Is a Girly Man

Charles Darwin Film 'Too Controversial for Religious America'
THE TELEGRAPH: A British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

Creation: Review, background and the facts >>>

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

Movieguide.org, an influential site which reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder". His "half-baked theory" directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering", the site stated.

The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as "a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying".

Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of Creation, said he was astonished that such attitudes exist 150 years after On The Origin of Species was published.

"That's what we're up against. In 2009. It's amazing," he said. >>> Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor | Friday, September 11, 2009

Government 'Sold Its Soul' Over Libya Deals
Gordon Brown’s government is the crappiest in living memory. It’s worse even than Tony Blair’s government; and that is saying something! The damn lot that make up Gordon’s government should hang their heads in shame. Clearly, to these unprincipled people, the bottom line means everything. Justice counts for nothing; profits count for everything. In behaving as they have done, they have brought the good name and reputation of the United Kingdom into disrepute, they have damaged our special relationship with the United States, and they have given capitalism a bad name.

This government’s deeds are enough to make any normal Brit feel ashamed of his nationality.

Were this to be the USA, we Brits would be out on the streets in our droves, as was witnessed by the mass demonstrations in DC at the weekend, demonstrating against Obama and his agenda. But, being British, we just let it all go over our heads. It’s all like water off a duck’s back. The Britons’ weakness is our extreme tolerance. We keep on tolerating the intolerable! – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Police officers have accused the Government of being willing "to sell its soul for trade deals" following the disclosure that Jack Straw agreed that the killer of Pc Yvonne Fletcher would not be brought to justice in Britain.

In a letter to Gordon Brown, Paul McKeever, the chairman of the Police Federation, said he was ''shocked, appalled and disgusted'' that the UK agreed the murderer would go on trial in Libya.

The Foreign Office has conceded that any trial for the shooting - which took place outside the Libyan embassy in London 25 years ago - will take place in Tripoli.

The agreement was reportedly struck three years ago, when trade deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds were being negotiated.

Mr McKeever wrote: ''Together with the 140,000 police officers throughout England and Wales that the Police Federation represents, I was shocked, appalled and disgusted" at the news of the agreement.

''This is an absolute disgrace. Pc Fletcher was gunned down in cold blood 25 years ago by a cowardly and callous killer who managed to flee to Libya.

''Now we discover your government rolled over three years ago, abandoning any attempt to bring Yvonne's killer to face the UK courts and justice. >>> | Monday, September 14, 2009

Airliner Plot 'Most Wicked Ever Uncovered in Britain'
THE TELEGRAPH: A plot to blow up transatlantic airliners was ''the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever proven'' in Britain, the trial judge has said.

The trio was part of an al-Qaeda-inspired terror cell. Photo: The Telegraph
Sentencing the three Muslim extremists behind the plans, Mr Justice Henriques said the gang was planning a ''grave'' terrorist atrocity which would have been comparable to the Sept 11 attacks.

Airliner bomb plot ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali was jailed for life with a minimum of 40 years today for planning what judge Mr Justice Henriques said was an atrocity comparable with the September 11 attacks. Co-conspirator Assad Sarwar was given life with a minimum of 36 years and Tanvir Hussain was sentenced to life with a minimum of 32 years.

The trio, part of an al-Qaeda-inspired terror cell, planned to detonate home-made liquid bombs on board flights bound for major North American cities, Woolwich Crown Court heard. The judge said they were only prevented from accomplishing their goal by the largest-ever counter-terrorism operation in the UK.

Mr Justice Henriques said: ''The intention was to perpetrate a terrorist outrage that would stand alongside the events of September 11, 2001 in history.''

The judge added that the airline bomb plot had ''reached an advanced stage in its development''.

He said the men had ''sufficient chemicals for 20 home-made detonators of commercial strength''.

''I'm satisfied that there is every likelihood that this plot would have succeeded but for the intervention of the police and the security service,'' he said. >>> | Monday, September 14, 2009

Paris: Pervert Capital of the World?
THE TELEGRAPH: Our [The Telegraph’s] writer is an expat newly adrift in the French capital - and what a warm welcome she's receiving.

Paris may be the city of love but it is also the capital of perverts. To experience this, you simply need to be female and walk down the street. You’re almost guaranteed to get your daily dose of dirty old men and if you live on the Left Bank, you really don’t need to go far.

In the space of a few weeks, I have been propositioned by at least a dozen men. As I wait to cross the road, at Saint Michel, a man old enough to be my grandfather leans over towards me and whispers seductively in my ear: "Jolie fesses" (nice bum).

They reveal themselves in broad daylight, in public places. Strolling through the Jardin du Luxembourg on a sunny day, surrounded by pushchair-wheeling mothers and playing children, a middle-aged man standing by the open-air public pissoires, is having a quick one off the wrist.

Now you might suppose, or hope, that this is out of the ordinary behaviour yet my eyes are graced by a similar vision just a few days later. A girlfriend is in mid flow describing the "special" dance scene from Sasha Baron Cohen’s latest film, Bruno, when low and behold, we get our own show right there on the Boulevard Saint Germain.

A respectable looking middle-aged man wearing a suit unzips himself right in front of us and pulls it out. Several similar episodes later, I start to think that maybe this is the norm here in Paris. Or is it me? Do I attract "les vieux cochons"?

I question female friends and colleagues and sure enough they all have similar stories to tell. Perhaps it’s simply that Paris is the pervert capital of the world?

What is it that makes Frenchmen feel that they have the right to proposition women half their age and/or flash at them? Is it something they’re eating? Is someone slipping viagra into their foie gras? Is it something cultural? Or is Paris just "une ville excitante"? >>> Emily Rose | Monday, September 14, 2009

Obama accuse des républicains de vouloir torpiller sa présidence
LE MONDE: Aucours de l'émission "60 minutes", sur CBS, dimanche 14 septembre [sic], le président des Etats-Unis, Barack Obama, a accusé le camp républicain de s'opposer à son projet de réforme du système de santé, avec comme seul objectif de torpiller sa présidence.

"Je pense qu'actuellement nous en sommes à un point où certains au sein du Parti républicain pensent que la meilleure chose à faire est simplement de tuer la réforme, que c'est là une bonne politique", a affirmé le président lors de cet entretien enregistré vendredi. Le président américain a assuré qu'en dépit de leurs efforts, il avait suffisamment de soutiens pour faire passer une large réforme d'un système qui perd des flots d'argent et laisse des dizaines de millions d'Américains sans assurance-maladie. "Je crois que nous aurons suffisamment de votes pour faire passer non pas juste une quelconque loi sur la santé, mais une bonne loi sur la santé qui aide le peuple américain, réduise les coûts, permette à long terme de contrôler le déficit [du budget]", a-t-il ajouté. >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP et Reuters | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

60 Minutes Steve Kroft Interviews President Obama on "Healthcare", September 13, 2009
Part 1:



Part 2:

Bin Laden Warns U.S. on Israel Ties: Website
REUTERS: DUBAI - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned the American people over their government's close ties with Israel in an apparently new audio tape posted on an Islamist website on Monday.

"The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby," Bin Laden's latest tape said.

"The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine."

The message, entitled "A statement to the American people," was around 11 minutes long and was posted a few days after the eighth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify its authenticity but the website often is used by supporters of al Qaeda.

In the tape, the al Qaeda leader said there had been no real change in American policy because U.S. President Barack Obama had retained people like U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates from the administration of former President George W. Bush.

"If you think about your situation well, you will know that the White House is occupied by pressure groups," Bin Laden said.

"Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq -- as Bush claimed -- it (the White House) should have been liberated."

The website had said earlier this month it would soon carry a "present" to Muslims from bin Laden on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. >>> Reporting by Andrew Hammond; editing by Michael Roddy | Monday, September 14, 2009

Latest bin Laden Audio Tape Released
TIMES ONLINE: A new audio tape from Osama bin Laden warning the American people over their government's close ties to Israel has been released by al- Qaeda's media branch, according to a US-based terror monitoring group.

The terror group's As-Sahab Media released a video featuring a still image of bin Laden and a 10 minute long audio statement entitled "A statement to the American people", said the organisation IntelCenter.

The release came two days after the United States marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people.

On the audiotape, bin Laden said that among "some other injustices," US support for Israel motivated Al-Qaeda to launch the 9/11 attacks.

He also stated that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were driven by the pro-Israeli lobby in the White House and corporate interests, not Islamic militants.

"If you think about your situation well, you will know that the White House is occupied by pressure groups," he said, according to IntelCenter.

"Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq - as Bush claimed - it (the White House) should have been liberated."

He also said that Mr Obama's retention of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others from the Bush administration was confirmation of the president's weakness. >>> | Monday, September 14, 2009

In Audio Message, bin Laden Calls Obama 'Powerless'
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: CAIRO -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden described President Barack Obama as "powerless" to stop the war in Afghanistan, and Americans' inability to grasp why the Sept. 11 attacks occurred has "cost you a lot without any result whatsoever."

The remarks by the terrorist leader were released two days after the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that he ordered. Mr. bin Laden typically addresses the American people in a message timed around the Sept. 11 anniversary.

Mr. bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in the mountainous region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, said current White House officials are merely following the strategy of former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney to "promote the previous policies of fear to market the interest of big companies." "Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq -- as Bush claimed -- it [the White House] should have been liberated," he said.

When Mr. Obama became president and retained many of the Bush administration's military leaders, such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "reasonable people knew that Obama is a powerless man who will not be able to end the war as he promised," Mr. bin Laden said.

"If you end the war, so to it," Mr. bin Laden said. "But if it is otherwise, all we will do is continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes." SITE Intelligence Group, a terrorist-monitoring firm, provided a translation of the tape, which was also translated by The Associated Press.

The al Qaeda leader sought to drive home key grievances often voiced in the Arab and Muslim world, where Washington's policies are seen as blatantly favoring Israel at the expense of the rights of Palestinians and other Arabs.

"We have demonstrated and stated many times, for more than two-and-a-half-decades, that the cause of our disagreement with you is your support to your Israeli allies who occupy our land of Palestine," Mr. bin Laden said. >>> Associated Press | Monday, September 14, 2009

If Children Are Taught That Patriotism Is Wrong, Britain’s Very Identity Is At Stake
MAIL ONLINE: One of the most startling aspects of our society at present is the way things that were once considered to be virtues have now become the object of intense disapproval, and vice versa.

A recent survey of teachers by London University's Institute of Education found that some three-quarters of them believed it was their duty to warn their pupils about the dangers of patriotism.

Once upon a time, loving your country enough that you were prepared to die for it was held to be the highest virtue.

Indeed, without patriotism there would be no one serving in the Armed Forces.

For the past 1,000 years, it has given the people of these islands the strength and courage to repel invaders and defeat the enemies of liberty.

Is it not extraordinary that such affection for your country should now be considered so objectionable that children should be told it is positively dangerous?

One teacher said that praising patriotism excluded non-British pupils.

'Patriotism about being British divides groups along racial lines, when we aim to bring pupils to an understanding of what makes us the same.'

But on the contrary, patriotism is what binds us together through a shared sense of belonging and a desire to defend what we all have in common. >>> Melanie Phillips | Monday, September 14, 2009

Mandy Tells Unions: We'll Fight You on Spending Cuts after TUC Chief Predicts 4m Jobless and Riots in the Streets
MAIL ONLINE: Lord Mandelson will today face down union threats of strikes and rioting if there are public spending cuts.

In the most hawkish statement yet from a senior minister on the need for restraint he will say Gordon Brown has decided to stop 'throwing money' at state services.

The Business Secretary, in a major speech, will also insist that the Tories are 'ideologues', hellbent on wrecking the public services.

His intervention comes as union barons raised the spectre of 1980s-style riots if public spending is slashed.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said taking an axe to public services would spark a 'double quick, double dip' recession and push unemployment over four million.

Unemployment could hit 40 per cent in major cities in the North, triggering massive social unrest, he said.

Speaking on the eve of the TUC conference in Liverpool, Mr Barber said: 'Cut the stimulus off and the economy would go into decline again.

'It would take many years before there was any chance of returning to anything like full employment. That would scar for life a whole generation of young people.'

He warned: 'Last time we suffered slash and burn economics we had riots in the streets here.

'I make no prediction that this would happen again, but it would take us back to the days of a deep north-south divide and once again hollow out whole areas of the economy.' >>> Tim Shipman and Kirsty Walker | Monday, September 14, 2009

Editor-At-Large: After Turing, the Shameful Abuse of Gays Goes On
THE INDEPENDENT: It's become fashionable for politicians to say sorry – generally for events they have no control over. It's easier to demonstrate humility for a social injustice that happened more than half a century ago than to admit responsibility for handing Rover cars to a bunch of avaricious buffoons who presided over its demise, resulting in thousands of workers losing their jobs.

Belatedly, Gordon Brown has made a public apology for the "horrifying and utterly unfair" treatment of Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician and code-breaker whose work undoubtedly helped to bring the Second World War to a swifter conclusion, and who made an important contribution to the development of computers.

Turing was gay, and after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952 he was offered chemical castration or a prison sentence. He submitted to the highly controversial medical procedure; however, his criminal record ensured he lost his security clearance and his job. He committed suicide two years later.

There's been a long campaign to clear Turing's name – more than 30,000 people signed a petition – so it's not as if the Prime Minister woke up one day and decided that this repulsive episode in the history of gay-bashing should be publicly atoned for half a century later. In 1999, Time magazine included Turing in its 100 most important people of the 20th century and some campaigners want him to be posthumously knighted.

I'm glad that Brown felt bad about what happened to Turing, but I wonder whether he spends any time considering the ongoing harassment of homosexuals in one of our former colonies, a country millions of Britons visit and one with very close ties to a large number of British citizens. I'm talking about Jamaica, where last week John Terry, a British diplomat, who was made a MBE for services to tourism, was found murdered at home in Montego Bay. A note attached to his body reportedly called him a "batty man", slang for homosexual.

Whether this particular murder was homophobically inspired or not, the context is not encouraging. The attitude of most Jamaicans towards gay men and women is prehistoric – in a survey last year, 70 per cent questioned said they didn't think homosexuals should be entitled to the same rights as other citizens; only 26 per cent disagreed with that. In a recent poll of Jamaicans, 96 per cent were against legalising sex between consenting males. The Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has gone on record saying he would never allow gays in his cabinet. Popular musicians including Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man and Beenie Man have all had hits with lyrics that call for gays to be attacked and killed.

In 2006, Time called Jamaica "the most homophobic place on earth". Prominent gay activists have been murdered and homophobic attacks are routine. Homosexuality itself is not illegal, but sodomy is. Organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have long complained about the treatment of gays in Jamaica, to no avail. >>> Janet Street-Porter | Sunday, September 13, 2009

Executive Pay 'Up 10 Per Cent Despite Crash'
THE INDEPENDENT: The pay of executives at the helm of Britain's top companies rose 10 per cent last year despite their organisations suffering huge losses on the stock market, it emerged today.
The full and part-time directors of the FTSE 100 companies took home more than £1bn between them last year, according to The Guardian's annual survey of boardroom pay.

The directors' salary increases were more than three times the 3.1 per cent average pay rise for ordinary workers in the private sector and more than double the rate of inflation last year.

Their bumper pay hikes came at a time when many of their companies were imposing pay freezes and redundancies on staff in a bid to cut costs.

The survey also revealed that the 10 most highly paid executives together earned £170m last year - up from £140m in 2007.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "The Guardian's analysis shows the breathtaking cynicism involved in a lot of executive pay deals, which are unrelated to either personal or corporate performance and involve people who are very well off helping themselves to larger salaries when private sector wages in many companies are being cut."

The increases in executives' basic pay helped compensate for falls in bonuses related to the performance of their companies.
Overall pay for directors of FTSE companies, including bonuses, fell by an average of 5 per cent, with the average chief executive of a bluechip company now earning a basic salary of £791,000.

But taking into account bonus payments, share awards and the value of perks ranging from cars and drivers to school fees and dental work, the average pay package rises dramatically, the newspaper said.

Nearly a quarter of FTSE chief executives received total 2008 pay packages worth more than £5m, and 22 directors now have basic salaries of more than £1m. >>> Rosamond Hutt, Press Association | Monday, September 14, 2009

Executive Pay Keeps Rising, Guardian Survey Finds
THE GUARDIAN: Full and part-time directors of FTSE 100 shared between them more than £1bn

Bart Becht, the chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, was rewarded with £36.8m in pay, bonuses, perks and share incentive schemes. Photo: The Guardian
Executives at Britain's top companies saw their basic salaries leap 10% last year, despite the onset of the worst global recession in decades, in which their companies lost almost a third of their value amid a record decline in the FTSE.

The Guardian's annual survey of boardroom pay reveals that the full- and part-time directors of the FTSE 100, the premier league of British business, shared between them more than £1bn.

Bonus payouts were lower, but the basic salary hikes were more than three times the 3.1% average pay rise for ordinary workers in the private sector. The big rise in directors' basic pay – more than double the rate of inflation last year – came as many of their companies were imposing pay freezes on staff and starting huge redundancy programmes to slash costs.

The Guardian data also shows that a coterie of elite bosses at the helm of multinational corporations are seeing their overall pay packets soar ever higher. The 10 most highly paid executives earned a combined £170m last year – up from £140m in 2007. Five years ago, the top 10 banked some £70m.

The Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, said: "The Guardian's analysis shows the breathtaking cynicism involved in a lot of executive pay deals, which are unrelated to either personal or corporate performance and involve people who are very well off helping themselves to larger salaries when private sector wages in many companies are being cut." >>> Julia Finch and Simon Bowers | Monday, September 14, 2009

Vladimir Poutine prépare son retour au Kremlin
LE FIGARO: Le premier ministre russe évoque sa candidature à la présidentielle de 2012 à la place de Medvedev.

Vladimir Poutine vient de dévoiler, plus nettement que jamais, son intention de se réinstaller au Kremlin au lendemain de la prochaine élection présidentielle, prévue en 2012. À l'aise et souriant, Vladimir Poutine, qui s'exprimait vendredi devant un parterre de journalistes et experts internationaux dans sa résidence de Novo-Ogarevo, près de Moscou, a démontré qu'il tenait fermement en main les rênes du pouvoir, son avenir, et celui de… Dmitri Medvedev.

Le premier ministre a rappelé qu'il était l'auteur du partage du pouvoir ayant permis à Dmitri Medvedev d'arriver à la présidence en 2008, et qu'il saurait, le moment venu, rééditer l'opération. «En 2008, y a-t-il eu concurrence ?», a-t-il lancé. «En 2012, il n'y aura pas de concurrence non plus. Selon la réalité du moment, nous ferons une analyse et nous prendrons une décision», a précisé Vladimir Poutine, assurant : «Nous nous mettrons d'accord parce que nous sommes du même sang et sur la même longueur d'onde.» Les critiques de Medvedev >>> Thierry Portes | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Comment Ben Laden échappe à la CIA
Oussama Ben Laden en avril 1998, en Afghanistan. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Pour échapper aux postes avancés de la CIA, le chef d'al-Qaida sait jouer de l'hospitalité pachtoune.

Pourquoi n'a-t-on toujours pas retrouvé Oussama Ben Laden, l'homme le plus recherché de la planète ? Au dire des services de renseignement occidentaux présents à Kaboul, il se cache dans les montagnes reculées du Waziristan, zone tribale pakistanaise frontalière de l'Afghanistan.

Le «cheikh» ne reste jamais très longtemps au même endroit. Il se déplace avec un tout petit nombre de gardes du corps, habillé comme n'importe quel paysan pachtoun local du Waziristan. Lorsqu'il aborde un nouveau village, il s'assoit avec le chef de la tribu, et s'arrange pour lui offrir, sans l'offenser, un généreux cadeau en numéraire pour l'entretien de sa mosquée. Il devient alors l'hôte de la tribu, intouchable selon le pashtounwali, le code d'honneur ancestral des Pachtouns.

S'il venait à l'idée d'un habitant de chercher à le dénoncer pour toucher la prime de 25 millions de dollars, ce dernier n'aurait de toute façon personne à qui rapporter l'information. Dans ces zones tribales autonomes, il n'y a jamais eu le moindre poste de police, du temps des Britanniques comme du temps des Pakistanais.

Dans les principales villes du Waziristan (Banna, Miramshah, etc.), la CIA a installé des minibases avancées, truffées de technologie, dans des maisons anodines, gardées en permanence par des hommes de l'ISI, le tout-puissant service secret militaire pakistanais. Les agents américains ne sortent jamais de ces bases secrètes, passant leurs journées à décrypter les interceptions téléphoniques, à scruter les images aériennes envoyées par les drones, à débriefer les espions pachtouns dépêchés sur le terrain par l'ISI. >>> Renaud Girard, envoyé spécial du Figaro à Kaboul | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009