Johann Hari: Violence Against Gay People Can – and Must – Be Stopped
THE INDEPENDENT: The answer lies in changing the culture of two institutions - schools and the police

The fight to win legal equality for gay people is almost won in Britain – yet the taste of champagne has been tainted by an unexpected dash of blood. In the past few years, gay people have finally begun to exercise the same rights as their straight siblings, yet there has been a sharp surge in violence against us.

In London, recorded homophobic attacks are up by 20 per cent. In Glasgow it's 32 per cent; in Liverpool it's 40 per cent; in Greater Manchester it's 63 per cent. James Parks is only the latest face to be kicked in by this trend: last week, the off-duty police officer left a club in Liverpool with his boyfriend and was lynched by a group of 20 teenagers who smashed his skull and left him close to death.

In a recession, violence always rises, and violence against minorities rises more. Attacks on Muslims, Jews, and black people are also spiking across Britain. But recorded violence against gay people has shown the most extreme rise. Last year, an 18 year-old hairdresser in Liverpool called Michael Causer was sleeping on a friend's sofa after a party when he was woken up. A witness testified that a group of teenagers yelled, "You little queer faggot!" They said they were going to cut out his body-piercings with a knife, and started burning his legs with a lighter. He was found bleeding to death later, dumped in the road outside, after having his head smashed in with a hardback book.

At the trial, one of the 19-year-olds tried for the murder said he was acting "in self-defence" – against a smaller, seven-and-a-half stone boy with no history of violent behaviour. A witness said that during the attack, he had yelled: "He's a little queer, he deserves it!" Yet the jury found him not guilty.

What can we do to stop this surge? The answer does not lie in new laws; these attacks are already highly illegal. It lies in changing the culture of two core British institutions that are still tolerating anti-gay bigotry – our schools, and our police service. >>> Johann Hari | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Corzine Loses to Antigay Republican
ADVOCATE.COM: Republican Chris Christie unseated Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race, taking nearly 50% of the vote to Corzine’s 44%.



Corzine supports same-sex marriage while Christie backs amending the state’s constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.





Despite Christie’s win, the New Jersey legislature is widely expected to vote on a same-sex marriage bill during the lame-duck session between Tuesday’s vote and January. If it passes, Corzine has pledged to sign the bill. [Source: Advocate.com] | Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Paedophile Rapist to Be Beheaded and Crucified in Saudi Arabia
THE INDEPENDENT: A man who kidnapped and raped five children, one of whom was left in the desert to die, has been sentenced to be beheaded and his body publicly crucified.

Muhammed Basheer al-Ramaly, 22, from the northern city of Hail, in Saudi Arabia, will be executed at noon today.

He will be beheaded by sword then his body tied to a wooden cross and his head stuck on a pole as a deterrent.

Al-Ramaly was found guilty in February of abducting and raping five boys, the eldest of whom was 7 and the youngest just 3, who he left out in the desert to die.

His modus operandi was to pick up the boys in his car and take them off to a secret location and rape them. Most of them were found a day or two after they were abducted, and told police that they had been abused.

Saudi reports said that police used one of the survivors, a seven-year-old boy, to scour the area where he was molested, looking for the suspect's vehicle.

Al-Ramaly allegedly confessed to the crime and was sentenced to death by a court in Hail, but appealed to a higher court in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

That court yesterday upheld the sentence and ordered his immediate execution. While Saudi Arabia carries out numerous beheadings -- 102 last year, according to Amnesty International - crucifixions are relatively rare. The last one appears to have been in May, when the headless body of a sex murderer was displayed in the capital. >>> Source: The Belfast Telegraph | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH: Pervert to be beheaded and crucified in Saudi Arabia >>> | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Italien: "Niemand wird Kreuze aus Schulen entfernen"
DIE PRESSE: Die Regierung und die Kirche protestieren gegen das Urteil des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte, das Kruzifixe in Schulklassen untersagt. Europaminister Ronchi warnt vor einem "gefährlichen Laizismus".

Die italienische Regierung reagiert mit Empörung auf das vom Europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte gefällte Urteil, wonach Kruzifixe nicht in Schulklassen hängen dürfen, weil damit das Recht der Schüler auf Religionsfreiheit verletzt wird. "In Italien wird niemand Kreuze aus den Schulklassen entfernen. Dieses Urteil ist ein besorgniserregendes Signal der antispirituellen Tendenzen in Europa und bezeugt, wie gefährlich der Laizismus in unserem Kontinent ist", warnte der italienische Europaminister Andrea Ronchi. Die Regierung Berlusconi hat gegen das Kruzifix-Urteil Berufung eingelegt, teilte Bildungsministerin Mariastella Gelmini mit.

Auch der Vatikan bekräftigte seine Sorge wegen des Urteils. Das Kruzifix sei ein elementares Zeichen für die Bedeutung der religiösen Werte in der italienischen Geschichte und Kultur, sagte Vatikan-Sprecher Pater Federico Lombardi. Er sprach dem Gerichtshof in Straßburg das Recht ab, sich in dieser Form in ureigenste italienische Angelegenheiten einzumischen. Anscheinend wolle das Gericht die Rolle, die das Christentum in der Identität Europas spiele, negieren.

Das Urteil des Gerichts sei "absurd", sagte Gabriella Carlucci, Vorsitzende der gemeinsamen Kommission von Abgeordnetenhaus und Senat für die Kinderrechte. Sowohl das zuständige Verwaltungsgericht (TAR) als auch der Staatsrat hätten darauf hingewiesen, dass das Kruzifix "Symbol der italienischen Geschichte und Kultur" sei und damit auch der Identität des Landes und der Garant der Prinzipien der Gleichheit, Freiheit und Toleranz. Klage von Mutter gegen Kreuze >>> APA | Mittwoch, 04. November 2009

Jeffrey D. Sachs: «Les Occidentaux ont été irresponsables à l’égard de la Russie»
File d’attente devant une boulangerie russe, à Moscou, en 1992: à l’époque, selon Jeffrey D. Sachs, l’Occident n’a pas voulu – ou pas pu – apporter l’aide massive qui aurait été nécessaire. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Le célèbre économiste Jeffrey D. Sachs justifie sa «thérapie de choc» pour créer un marché qui a, selon lui, fait ses preuves en Pologne. A l’inverse, la dérive russe est la démonstration, non d’une faillite des préceptes économiques mais de l’incurie politique

Son nom est indissociable des réformes économiques de l’ère post-soviétique. En 1990, Jeffrey D. Sachs, alors professeur à Harvard, conseille les autorités polonaises, puis Moscou de 1991 à 1993, ainsi que d’autres Etats de l’Europe de l’Est. Avec une fortune diverse et un héritage qui fait toujours débat. Connues sous le nom de «thérapie de choc» ou «big bang», ses recettes prônaient une rupture radicale – par opposition à une transition graduelle – avec l’économie planifiée pour embrasser l’économie de marché et ainsi arrimer l’Europe de l’Est à l’Europe occidentale. Privatisation, retrait de l’Etat, maîtrise de l’inflation, négociation de la dette, le célèbre économiste assume aujourd’hui son approche tout en se distanciant d’un courant ultralibéral auquel il avait été associé par ses détracteurs.

Après avoir piloté le projet Objectifs du millénaire des Nations unies lorsqu’il était le conseiller spécial du secrétaire général de l’ONU, Kofi Annan, Jeffrey D. Sachs est aujourd’hui directeur de l’Institut de la terre (Earth Institute) à l’Université Columbia de New York. Interview exclusive.

Le Temps: Vous avez été, après la chute du communisme, un des économistes les plus influents pour prôner une transition radicale vers une économie de marché. Avec le recul, referiez-vous la même chose?

Jeffrey D. Sachs: Je pense que c’était tout à fait justifié. La question était de savoir à quelle vitesse ouvrir le commerce, rendre les monnaies convertibles, en d’autres termes à quelle vitesse rejoindre l’économie de l’Europe de l’Ouest. La décision d’aller vite et de façon décisive s’est avérée correcte. Bien sûr, la transition a connu un chemin tortueux car c’était l’une des plus importantes révolutions du XXe siècle. Après cinquante années d’un système misérable, il y avait beaucoup de dislocations, beaucoup de difficultés d’ajustement, beaucoup d’échecs, une industrie décrépite héritée de l’ère soviétique. Ces changements étaient inévitables et difficiles. Particulièrement pour les gens âgés de 40-50 ans, dont la vie a basculé entre deux époques très différentes. Il fallait avancer prudemment, cela a souvent été hasardeux. Dans certains pays ce fut efficace, dans d’autres il y a eu beaucoup de négligences. Les réformes menées en Pologne ont été considérées comme un relatif succès. Comment l’expliquer? >>> Frédéric Koller | Mercredi 04 Novembre 2009

German Chancellor Speaks in US Congress


Angela Merkels Rede vor dem US-Kongress am 3. November 2009


Angela Merkel: Rede vor US-Kongress


Angela Merkels "bewegende Rede" vor dem amerikanischen Kongress

It's Barack Obama's First Anniversary - But There's Precious Little to Celebrate
The President appears thin-skinned, immature and inexperienced. – Simon Heffer
THE TELEGRAPH: The US President's performance has dismayed even his biggest admirers, writes Simon Heffer.

Things remain very bad in America under Barack Obama. Photo: The Telegraph
A year ago, almost to the minute, I was here in New York, watching television reports of the aftermath of the election of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States of America. I recall the sight of a lachrymose woman from the Midwest, standing outside her run-down house as the sun rose, giving thanks for her deliverance: not from George W Bush, but from the threat of foreclosure. I have no idea whether this poor woman kept the roof over her head; all I know is, if she did, it would have been no thanks to Mr Obama.

On the anniversary of his election, he is busy with unpleasant confrontations with reality. As my colleague Toby Harnden reported so graphically last week, the honeymoon is over. Never in American politics has someone come to power on such a bubble of expectation; never, inevitably, has the pricking of that bubble caused such shock. America may just have come out of recession, but things remain bad. Ten per cent of the workforce is unemployed: here in New York, perhaps the most dynamic and prosperous city on the planet, the figure is even higher.

The rhetoric that bore Mr Obama to office proved equal to electoral success, but not to economic management. Moreover, Mr Obama's most coveted legislative aim, the creation of a sort of national health service, remains elusive. The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper here of serious money, has just savaged the Bill as perhaps the worst inflicted on the American people since the era of Roosevelt. Its projected cost – $1.055 trillion over 10 years – is regarded as madness when America has a level of debt so astronomical that it (just) exceeds, per capita, that of Britain; and few outside a hard core of Obama devotees see it delivering what is needed, where it is needed.

Internationally, the lustre has worn off, too. Mr Obama might have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but the less said about that the better. The award was apparently decided in February, days after he entered the Oval Office. He gave up his missile defence system in eastern Europe: we all imagined the Russians would give something in return, but we are still waiting. More recently, he went to Copenhagen to try to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago, and failed. While this did little more than provide amusement to many, it damaged him in America, and outraged his true believers: perhaps the emperor had a small wardrobe after all.

Now he is immersed in a deliberative exercise about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. As is the lot of politicians, he will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. What the dilemma illustrates is that governing is not so easy as it might once have seemed; that you cannot please all of the people all of the time, so there is little point trying; and that the expertise of the Obama campaign in managing image is useless when managing a country. Tony Blair, had they asked, could have told him that. For all the difficulties of America's imperial burden, it is the domestic, and particularly the economic, front that Mr Obama and his colleagues are finding hardest to defend. … >>> Simon Heffer, in New York | Tuesday, November 04, 2009

Republicans Win Virginia and New Jersey Elections in Blow for Barack Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: American voters have delivered a sharp rebuke to Barack Obama by rejecting his allies in Virginia, the swing state that helped deliver him the White House almost exactly a year ago, and the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey.

Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, trounced his Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds, for whom Mr Obama had campaigned, by 17 points to become Virginia governor. Republicans also won the races in Virginia for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Governor Jon Corzine, the incumbent Democrat, was defeated by Chris Christie in New Jersey, where no Republican had won state-wide since 1997.

It was a sobering night for Mr Obama, who had campaigned ferociously for Mr Corzine, appearing at two of his rallies on Sunday. A sole consolation was an unexpectedly close race in upstate New York, where it seemed that the Democrat might overcome a Conservative party candidate after the Republican withdrew. >>> Toby Harnden in McLean, Virginia | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Updated: Republican wins in Virginia & New Jersey wins equal miserable night for Barack Obama >>> Toby Harnden | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Obama suffers poll blow a year after taking office >>> Giles Whittell in Washington | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Michael Bloomberg Elected Mayor of New York for a Third Time
THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Bloomberg has narrowly won a third term as Mayor of New York after spending a record $100 million (£60 million) on his campaign.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Bloomberg, the owner of the Bloomberg news agency, spent 13 times as much as his Democrat rival Bill Thompson and won by 51 per cent to 46 per cent.

His victory was much narrower than predicted. A poll the day before the election had put him 12 points ahead.

Mr Bloomberg, 67, who has an estimated fortune of $16 billion (£9.7 billion) and is the richest man in New York, had succeeded in getting the city's mayoral term limits changed which allowed him to run for a third time.

He had originally supported a ban on three-term mayors. >>> Nick Allen | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Is the Copenhagen Treaty about Creating a World Government?
With thanks to H for sending me the following link:

Audio: Alan Jones talks to Lord Monckton, British climate change sceptic, who says the Copenhagen treaty is about creating a world government. >>>

Lisbon Treaty: More of Britain's Powers Surrendered to Brussels
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's power to govern itself is to be surrendered increasingly to Brussels after the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty was finally ratified.

The treaty, which will come into force within a few weeks, will create the first president of Europe, as well as a European foreign minister, and will end Britain’s right to veto new EU rules in more than 40 policy areas.

The treaty's supporters say it will allow the EU to operate more efficiently and give it greater influence in world affairs.

But critics say it will cede too much more of Britain's sovereignty to Brussels.

Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, yesterday signed the Lisbon Treaty, ending eight years of resistance to its attempt to give more power to the EU.

The Czechs are the last of the 27 EU states to sign the treaty, and their move forced the Conservatives to abandon their pledge to hold a British referendum on Lisbon.

William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said it was “a bad day for British democracy”.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, will today set out plans for an alternative Tory pledge to renegotiate several parts of Britain’s EU membership, trying to win back control over social and employment laws.

It is understood that one of Mr Cameron's options will be to guarantee a referendum for British voters under a Tory government if any more national powers were in danger of being ceded to Brussels.

Mr Cameron’s retreat on announcing a referendum on the newly ratified treaty has led to accusations of breaking his promise and betraying the British people.

The Lisbon Treaty is based on the European Constitution, which started at a summit in Brussels in December 2001.

Gordon Brown hailed the Czech signature as “a historic step,” and European leaders said it will create a more powerful EU.

Despite the scale of the changes the treaty makes, the British people have never been directly consulted on the document, which was ratified in a Commons vote and signed by Mr Brown in 2007.

Labour won the 2005 general election having promised a referendum on the European Constitution but then dropped the pledge, arguing that Lisbon was a different document.

The Conservatives gave a “cast-iron” guarantee of a vote on Lisbon.

But after Mr Klaus signed the text, the Tories admitted that they will not offer voters a say on Lisbon.

Mr Hague said that once ratified, the treaty will cease to exist as a distinct legal document, meaning no vote can be held on it.

He said: “Now that the treaty has become European law and is going to enter into force, that means that a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European council, the loss of British national vetoes, these things will already have happened, and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”

Daniel Hannan, a Tory MEP and leading Euro-sceptic said the signing was a step towards a European super-state. “The boot continues to stamp on the human face,” he said.

Mr Hague last night attempted to blame Labour for the treaty’s passage. He said: “People have never been consulted or voted in a general election for this.

"The British people have never even voted once, and we will not let people forget whose responsibility that is.”

Mr Brown insisted that the signing of the treaty was something to celebrate. >>> James Kirkup and Bruno Waterfield | Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Czech Leader Signs Lisbon Treaty as Tories Concede Defeat Over Referendum
TIMES ONLINE: The Eurosceptic leader of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the Lisbon treaty, finally giving effect to a much-delayed accord designed to overhaul the institutions of the European Union and give the bloc a greater say in world affairs.

The move forced the Tory leadership to concede defeat tonight over their plans to hold a referendum on the treaty with David Cameron promising to clarify his party's policy on Europe tomorrow.

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said it was “no longer possible” to put the treaty to a popular vote. “Now that the treaty is going to become European law and is going to enter into force, that means a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European Council, the loss of British national vetoes,” he said.

“These things will already have happened and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”

President Klaus confirmed that he had signed the pact only hours after the text was given the green light by a Czech court which had been asked to rule on its constitutionality.

"I signed the Lisbon Treaty today at 1500," he told reporters in Prague as an aircraft prepared to take the Czech articles of ratification to Rome, where the original treaty setting up the EU was signed.

Mr Klaus was the last EU leader to ratify the treaty, which began life as the EU Constitution, and his signature means the 27 EU member states can pick their first-ever full-time president as well as a new foreign affairs representative. >>> Philippe Naughton, Philip Webster and Roger Boyes | Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Washington Gasps at Hillary Charm-el-shake Offensive that Leaves Islamabad Stunned
THE TIMES OF INDIA: WASHINGTON: It was supposed to be a charm offensive, but as the day wore on she put away her charm and went on the offensive. Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton’s public dressing down of Pakistan during a three-day visit there, including virtually accusing the country of complicity with al-Qaida, has shaken Washington as much as it stunned her hosts.

"Her inner voice became her outer voice," Martha Raddatz, a veteran NBC correspondent said on the network, explaining that while many in the administration believed what she said to be true (that Pakistan is coddling terrorists), it was rare for America's top diplomat to say it publicly. Officials in Washington were trying to keep a straight face, but there were a few gasps, she added.

Clinton's blunt remarks came during a pow-wow with half-dozen combative senior Pakistani journalists who harried her about US policy in the region.

"Al-Qaida has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002," she finally asserted when challenged about Washington’s tough prescriptions for Islamabad. "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to."

After having publicly doubted the bona fides of her hosts, she added, as an afterthought: "Maybe that's the case; maybe they're not gettable...I don't know. As far as we know, they are in Pakistan." At one point during the exchanges, when a journalist spoke about all the services rendered by Pakistan for the US, Mrs Clinton snapped, "We have also given you billions."

The US Secretary of State also took a swipe at the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies, telling the senior journalists, "If we are going to have a mature partnership where we work together" then "there are issues that not just the United States but others have with your government and with your military security establishment." She said she was "more than willing to hear every complaint about the United States'' but the relationship had to be a "two-way street." >>> Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Friday, October 30, 2009

Jihad: A Wake Up Call
YNET NEWS: Western democracies should keep in mind that strong Israel deters Jihad

Jihad (Holy War) has been a cardinal feature of Islam since the 7th Century. It constitutes a clear and present danger to Western democracies, irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, independent of the Palestinian issue and regardless of Israel's policies and existence.

Hebrew University Prof. Moshe Sharon, a world renowned authority on Islam, sheds light on Jihad in Islam against Israel and the West (2007):

"Jihad is the strategy and, therefore, agreements are a (tactical) interlude in the war (against the infidel),” he writes.

Sharon also notes the following: "Islam came to being as a fighting religion. Mohammed imposed his authority by means of his military strength…Islam was born in order to rule, as is only fitting for the religion of Allah which is one and exclusive”

"Any territory that was ever Muslim becomes sacred to Islam,” Sharon further notes. “If the territory is conquered by enemies of Islam, like Spain, Palestine and parts of Europe, it is incumbent upon Islam to do everything to restore it to Islamic rule.”

Finally, Sharon explains that "The laws of Jihad…form the basis of the relations between the Muslim world and the West…The only possible relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are war or a limited ceasefire.”

“Any sign of weakness is a clear call to renew Jihad,” he says. “An agreement which contains anything beyond a limited armistice or ceasefire is null and void. The only agreement with non-believers that is permitted by Islamic law is one that enables Islam to strengthen itself, so that when the time comes it can resume Jihad in better conditions.”

Meanwhile, according to Prof. Bernard Lewis, the world's leading expert on Islamic history, "the Muslims believe that they had caused the fall of the Soviet Union (in Afghanistan)…Dealing with the soft, pampered and effeminate Americans would be easier…” >>> Yoram Ettinger | Monday, November 11, 2009

Full version here

France and U.S. Condemn Ugandan Antigay Bill
ADVOCATE: The Ugandan embassies of France and the United States publicly condemned Uganda's proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Monday, but officials in the African nation plan to move forward with the discriminatory legislation.

The Ugandan embassies of France and the United States publicly condemned Uganda's proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Monday, but officials in the African nation plan to move forward with the discriminatory legislation.

"France expresses deep concern regarding the bill currently before the Ugandan parliament," the French foreign ministry said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse in Kampala. "France reiterates its commitment to the decriminalization of homosexuality and the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

The bill would amplify the country's antigay laws, including criminalizing any public discussion of homosexuality and penalizing individuals who knowingly rented property to a homosexual. >>> Christopher Mangum | Monday, November 02, 2009

Gladiator Soundtrack

No Whiff of PC in Japanese Investment Banks!
MAIL ONLINE: Two women City high-flyers who claim they were hounded out of their jobs by sexist Japanese bosses are both suing a leading investment bank for £1.5 million.

Maureen Murphy, 30, alleges that a woman trader at Nomura bank had to endure her breasts being referred to as 'honkers' during a meeting.

She says that a male colleague claimed that women 'belong at home cleaning the floors'.

And another allegedly said that the key to cheating on wives was 'not getting caught'.

Miss Murphy, a senior analyst earning £55,000 a year, and Anna Francis, 37, a director on £250,000 including bonus, had worked in Asian equities sales at Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf before the bank collapsed in September last year.

The two women moved to Nomura as part of a buyout by the Japanese bank and expected equally prominent roles.

But they claim sexist Japanese bosses withheld work and fired them because they were female and non-Japanese.

Their barrister Michael Duggan told Central London Employment Tribunal: 'This organisation is institutionally racist and sexist.' Two women City high-flyers 'hounded from bank for not being male or Japanese' sue for £3million >>> | Tuesday, November 03, 2009

L'Italie condamnée pour des crucifix dans les écoles
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: DROITS DE L'HOMME | L'habitude des crucifix dans les classes est jugée contraire au droit des parents d'éduquer leurs enfants selon leurs convictions et au droit des enfants à la liberté de religion.

La Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme a condamné mardi l'Italie pour la présence de crucifix dans les salles de classe[.]

La requérante, Solie Lautsi, ressortissante italienne, réside à Abano Terme. Ses enfants, Dataico et Sami Albertin, âgés respectivement de onze et treize ans, fréquentèrent en 2001-2002 l'école publique à Abano Terme où toutes les salles de classe avaient un crucifix au mur.

La requérante estimait la présence de ces crucifix contraire au principe de laïcité et informa l'école de sa position, invoquant un arrêt de la cour de cassation qui avait jugé la présence de crucifix dans les bureaux de vote contraire au principe de laïcité de l'Etat.

En mai 2002, la direction de l'école décida de laisser les crucifix dans les salles de classe. Une directive recommandant de procéder ainsi fut ultérieurement adressée à tous les directeurs d'écoles par le ministère de l'Instruction publique. >>> ATS/AFP | Mardi 03 Novembre 2009

Oberschicht in Iran: Operierte Partyschönheiten
ZEIT ONLINE: Zu Hause zeigen Nasrin und Hana stolz ihre unnatürlichen Nasen. Schönheitsoperationen sind hip in Iran, Partys mit Alkohol auch. Denn sie versprechen Veränderung.

In einer Teheraner Klinik wird einer Patientin die Prozedur ihrer bevorstehenden Nasenoperation erläuter. Bild: Zeit Online
Hana sieht aus wie Mariah Carey, ihre Schwester Nasrin wie Demi Moore. Nichts deutet darauf hin, dass Hana und Nasrin, beide 32 Jahre alt, eineiige Zwillinge sind. Hana hat eine Stupsnase, herzförmig aufgespritzte Lippen und honigblonde Locken. Nasrin hat der Chirurg ein griechisches Profil verpasst. Hana und Nasrin sind stolz auf ihre Schönheitsoperationen. Die Verbände auf den Nasenrücken trugen die beiden Studentinnen der Sozialwissenschaft noch, da waren die Wunden längst verheilt.

Plastische Chirurgie verstößt eigentlich gegen die Ideale der Islamischen Republik. Seelische Schönheit gilt mehr als die äußere. Doch das Regime duldet kosmetische Operationen, sie sind hipp. Ungefähr 3000 plastische Chirurgen haben sich in Teheran niedergelassen. In keinem Land der Welt werden mehr Nasen verschönert als in der Islamischen Republik, jährlich zwischen 60.000 und 70.000. Der Hype ist so stark, dass sogar Schaufensterpuppen einen Verband im Gesicht tragen. 
Hana und Nasrin leben im reichen Norden von Teheran in einem Appartement, das wirkt wie eine Kulisse aus der US-Serie Reich und Schön: weiße Ledersofas, Kristalllüster, Clubsessel. Die Familie hat genug Geld für Schönheitsoperationen. Hana denkt jetzt noch über eine Brust-Vergrößerung nach. Im Bekanntenkreis der Zwillinge gibt es kaum eine Frau, die sich nicht unters Messer legt. >>> Carola Hoffmeister | Montag, 02. November 2009

Union Européenne : Le Traité de Lisbonne validé, le président tchèque se retrouve isolé
Vaclav Klaus. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: La Cour constitutionnelle tchèque a jugé mardi le Traité de Lisbonne conforme à la Loi fondamentale du pays, condition nécessaire à la ratification complète du traité et au choix du futur président de l’Europe. Ne reste plus maintenant qu’une ultime étape: la signature du texte par le très eurosceptique chef de l’Etat tchèque, Vaclav Klaus, qui pourrait apposer son paraphe dès aujourd’hui comme il a promis de le faire. Contraint et forcé.

Matinée de souffrance pour Vaclav Klaus. Résolument opposé au Traité de Lisbonne, qu’il continue de considérer comme une menace contre la souveraineté des Etats-membres de l’Union européenne, le très eurosceptique président tchèque va devoir le signer, contraint et forcé après sa validation mardi matin par la Cour constitutionnelle. Une décision très attendue qu’il s’est d’ailleurs bien gardé de commenter. >>> Richard Werly | Mardi 03 Novembre 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Czech President Vaclav Klaus signs EU Lisbon Treaty into law: Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, has signed the EU Lisbon Treaty into law after a court cleared the final legal obstacle standing in its way. >>> Bruno Waterfield, Brussels Correspondent | Tuesday, November 30, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Tories on the spot as Czech leader signs Lisbon Treaty >>> Philippe Naughton and Philip Webster, Political Editor | Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Bürgermeisterwahl in New York: Bloombergs Glanz bekommt Risse
ZEIT ONLINE: New York wählt: Michael Bloomberg will heute zum dritten Mal Bürgermeister werden. Aber die Krise hat auch die Stadt getroffen, und der Milliardär hat viele enttäuscht. >>> Sebastian Moll | Dienstag, 03. November 2009