No Respect, No Morals, No Trust - Welcome to Modern Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Our political leaders are falling short as we sink under a tide of vulgarity and sleaze, says Jeff Randall.

Earlier this year, the BBC broadcast a two-part documentary called The Death of Respect. It went out late and would have been missed by many. For those who did not see it, there was compelling evidence this week that the social decomposition chronicled in John Ware's programme is very real, when film of a Sheffield student relieving himself on a war memorial was shown in the same news bulletins that covered the murder of five British soldiers in Helmand.

It's hard to think of a more offensive image than booze-fuelled urine flowing over poppies, on a day when courageous servicemen are being slaughtered in order, the Government claims, to keep the rest of us safe. Hard, but not impossible. The front-page story from my local newspaper, the Brentwood Gazette, came close: thieves stole the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal collection box from St Thomas's church in the town centre. In the week of Remembrance Sunday, low-lifers had plumbed new depths.

Do not tell me that these are isolated incidents. Anxiety over the collapse of respect in modern Britain is not, as some liberal sociologists would have us believe, the creation of news-hungry tabloids and suburban reactionaries. Examples of guttersnipery are all around: from unpleasant vulgarity (spitting and swearing) to the contempt with which a sleazy political class treats its electorate. We are, one fears, in danger of becoming inured to disrespect.

On the way to the train station each day, I trudge past a trail of sweet wrappers, sandwich boxes and drink cans, discarded on the grass verge by children walking to school. Every morning they litter the streets, seemingly unaware of the mess piling up, while eating breakfast on the hoof. I once challenged a twerp who was poking an empty crisp bag into a neighbour's hedge. He seemed shocked that anyone would care.

Litter is annoying, but in the grand scheme of a society that has traded personal responsibility for blame transfer, it is little more than a pointer to a deeper malaise: the corrosion of deference in our schools, the abandonment of manners on our streets and, yes, the death of respect for civility and integrity. We are close to the point where ethical behaviour is regarded as an affliction to be pitied, a loser's burden. >>> Jeff Randall | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Fort Hood Shooting: 13 Killed and 30 Injured at US Army Base
THE TELEGRAPH: A US army officer called Major Malik Nidal Hasan has been named as the man responsible for killing 13 people and injuring 30 more in a mass shooting at a Texas military base.


Major Hasan, a military psychiatrist who had allegedly called for Muslims to attack Americans over the Iraq war, is critically ill and under guard in hospital.

The authorities initially believed he had been killed in the ensuing gun battle with police but it later emerged he was still alive despite being shot four times in the incident at Fort Hood base, the largest American military installation in the world.

The serviceman was about to be posted to either Iraq or Afghanistan and argued regularly against the wars, it has been claimed.
Hasan, armed with two handguns, walked into a training centre and opened fire on fellow soldiers who were having last-minute medical check-ups before being deployed to Afghanistan. Thirteen were killed and 30 injured.

However, there were suggestions that some of the dead might have been shot by the authorities in their attempt to stop the gunman.

Hasan is now under guard in hospital where he is unconscious and on a ventilator. >>> Nick Allen in Los Angeles and Andy Bloxham | Friday, November 06, 2009


Profile: Major Nidal Malik Hasan Was Trained to Treat Post-traumatic Stress
TIMES ONLINE: The man who turned guns on his fellow soldiers is an army psychiatrist trained to help his comrades come to terms with precisely the same scenes of terror that he himself brought to Fort Hood yesterday.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is a mental health professional assigned to a base that is home to the US Army's "warrior reset programme", set up to help soldiers returning from war zones cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He attracted the attention of police six months ago for internet postings analysing the motives of suicide bombers but was not formally investigated. Major Hasan had also complained to relatives of harassment by fellow-officers mocking him for "being Middle Eastern", according to a cousin who came forward last night.

Born and educated in Virginia, Major Hasan is a US citizen whose parents came from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem. >>> Giles Whittell | Friday, November 06, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Fort Hood shooting: gunman shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before opening fire: Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at Fort Hood military base in Texas have reported that gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" - God is great - before opening fire. >>> | Friday, November 06, 2009

Islamische Migranten: Wie man zum Moslem gemacht wird
ZEIT ONLINE: Fremd und bedrohlich wirken auf uns heute vor allem Muslime. Früher fürchtete man sich einfach vor dem Ausländer.

Stellen sie sich vor, Sie unterhalten sich auf einer Party mit einer ihnen bisher unbekannten Person. Nach einigen Minuten werden Sie gefragt, wie Sie als Christ zum Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil stehen und im weiteren Verlauf des Gespräches möchte ihr Gegenüber wissen, wie Sie es mit dem päpstlichen Verhütungsverbot halten.

Das käme ihnen bestimmt seltsam vor. Sie würden sich vielleicht fragen, warum sie als Christ und Katholik angesprochen werden. Sie definieren sich doch gar nicht über ihre religiöse Identität. Auch wenn sie an Gott glauben und noch die Gebete der Kindheit beherrschen.

Solche Situationen sind für Muslime in Deutschland gang und gäbe. Sie müssen sich permanent mit religiösen Identitätszuschreibungen auseinandersetzen.

Das Bild, das wir uns vom Fremden machen, unterliegt einem steten kulturellen Wandel. Seit dem 11. September ist es geprägt von der vermeintlichen religiösen Andersartigkeit. Muslim zu sein, ist die aktuelle Chiffre für das Fremde und Bedrohliche. Türkische oder arabische Migranten beispielsweise werden nicht mehr als Ausländer, sondern als Moslems angesprochen. Religion wird zu einem zentralen Beschreibungsmerkmal, zum zentralen Kriterium bei der Konstruktion des Fremden. >>> Von Deniz Baspinar | Dienstag, 03. November 2009

Five-year-olds Need to Play with Dinky Toys Not Learn about Sex! Children Need Their Innocence and Fantasy for Healthy Development
THE TELEGRAPH: Sex and drug lessons will be compulsory under plans announced by the Schools Secretary.

Under the new curriculum, pupils as young as seven will learn about puberty and the facts of life and five-year-olds will be taught about parts of the body, relationships and the effects of drugs on the body.

Once they reach secondary school, pupils will learn about contraception, HIV and Aids, pregnancy and different kinds of relationships - including same sex unions and civil partnerships.

So-called Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is to become compulsory in both primary and secondary schools from September 2011, and will be enshrined in new legislation.

Faith schools will not be able to opt out of any part of the new statutory curriculum, Ed Balls also confirmed today, although they will be able to teach topics within the ''tenets of their faith''.

Under current rules parents have the right to withdraw their child from sex education classes up until the age of 19. Sex and drug lessons from age 5 >>> | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Nicolas Sarkozy Tells Carla Bruni to Take Lower Profile
THE TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy has asked his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to lower her public profile after complaints about her political influence on the French president, it has been claimed.

Mr Sarkozy's approval ratings are at their lowest since his 2007 election - just 39 per cent according to one poll. Photo: The Telegraph
Last week France's leading society magazine described Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, 41, as the new Marie-Antoinette. Now it transpires the president has asked her to take a back seat amid a growing chorus of disapproval from his own Right-wing allies about her "luvvy" Left-wing influence.

One alleged in l'Express magazine on Thursday that she was responsible for "most of the head of state's woes in this turbulent autumn".

Mr Sarkozy's approval ratings are at their lowest since his 2007 election - just 39 per cent according to one poll - and he is desperately trying to woo back his core conservative electorate ahead of regional elections next March.

Many voters are appalled by a series of scandals, from nepotism allegations concerning Mr Sarkozy's 23-year-old son, Jean, to the furore over a book by Frédéric Mitterrand, the culture minister, about his past as a sexual tourist. Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, a friend of Mr Mitterrand, is attributed with advising her husband to nominate him to the post.

Colleagues also blame her for encouraging ministers to give outspoken support to Roman Polanksi, the film-maker detained in Switzerland and awaiting extradition to the US for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Mr Sarkozy this week sought to regain the upper hand by launching a nationwide debate on "national identity" and a plan to impose a curfew on delinquents.

A friend of Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy quoted by the 20minutes.fr website said: "Her husband has asked her not to intervene on [political] subjects. And this doesn't bother her." >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, November 05, 2009

20 MINUTES: Le mea culpa de Nicolas Sarkozy au sujet de la candidature de son fils à l'Epad >>> | Jeudi 05 Novembre 2009

David Cameron renonce au référendum promis
Le chef des conservateurs britanniques s'est engagé à s'exprimer en détail sur l'Europe avant la fin de la semaine. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: En 2007, l'actuel chef du parti conservateur s'était engagé à consulter les britanniques au sujet du traité de Lisbonne. Mais le texte entrera probalement en vigueur avant son accession au pouvoir.

La signature du traité de Lisbonne par le président tchèque, Vaclav Klaus, est un coup dur pour David Cameron, le leader des conservateurs britanniques, qui avait promis à ses fidèles d'organiser un référendum sur le texte. S'il ne l'a pas encore avoué clairement, il a laissé entendre mardi qu'il ne pourrait tenir sa promesse car le texte entrera en vigueur avant que son parti soit en mesure de gagner les législatives du printemps 2010, comme le prédisent tous les sondages.

Visiblement déçu, il s'est seulement engagé, mardi, à s'exprimer en détail sur le sujet avant la fin de la semaine. «Nous allons préciser de quelle manière nous allons protéger les intérêts britanniques», a-t-il expliqué lors d'une conférence de presse.
Le premier ministre, Gordon Brown, qui avait pesé de tout son poids pour que le Parlement britannique ratifie le traité le plus vite possible, ce qui a été fait en juillet 2008, a de son côté salué la signature du président tchèque, qu'il a qualifiée «d'étape importante et historique pour toute l'Europe».

En 2005, David Cameron avait pris la tête des conservateurs avec le soutien de la branche la plus antieuropéenne de son parti. Il a ensuite renforcé cette position en promettant à ses fidèles en 2007 un référendum sur le traité de Lisbonne, puis en quittant cette année le PPE, parti de coalition de centre droit au Parlement européen, au profit d'un nouveau groupe eurosceptique fondé avec des partis polonais et lituaniens. >>> Cyrille Vanlerberghe, correspondant à Londres | Mercredi 04 Novembre 2009

Lellouche: les Tories sont "pathétiques"
LE FIGARO: Les conservateurs britanniques sont "pathétiques" avec leur euroscepticisme, a accusé Pierre Lellouche, secrétaire d'Etat français chargé des Affaires européennes dans une interview publiée jeudi par The Guardian (gauche).



Réagissant à un discours sur l'Europe mercredi du chef du parti conservateur David Cameron, futur Premier ministre si les Tories reviennent au pouvoir aux prochaines élections, M. Lellouche a affirmé: "C'est pathétique. C'est juste très triste de voir la Grande-Bretagne, si importante en Europe, se couper du reste de l'UE et disparaître des écrans radar (...)".



"Ils font ce qu'ils ont fait au Parlement européen, ils ont amoindri l'influence du Royaume-Uni au sein du Parlement européen", a-t-il ajouté, en référence au départ des Tories de la coalition de centre droit (PPE) au Parlement européen, en faveur d'une alliance avec des partis lituaniens et polonais au sein d'un nouveau groupe eurosceptique. >>> AFP | Jeudi 05 Novembre 2009

Suisse : Nos ministres en burqa!
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MINARETS | Une nouvelle affiche va apparaître dans les rues de Suisse. Elle réutilise la photo officielle du Conseil fédéral dont elle voile intégralement les trois femmes. Derrière cette campagne provocante: un mystérieux comité.

Vous verrez peut-être ces prochains jours dans la rue cette photo trafiquée, qui détourne le cliché officiel du Conseil fédéral. Derrière le voile intégral: Micheline Calmy-Rey, Doris Leuthard et Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. Crédits photo : Tribune de Genève
Elle ressemble à la photo officielle du Conseil fédéral. Mais ce n’est pas la photo officielle. Certes, le fond rouge demeure, ainsi que des hommes en costume sombre. A y regarder de plus près, toutefois, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Doris Leuthard et Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf ne sont plus reconnaissables puisque vêtues d’un voile intégral. Quant à la nuée de croix suisses du cliché original, elle est désormais constellée de croissants islamiques.

Le photographe est fâché

Cette photo trafiquée, vous la verrez peut-être ces prochains jours dans la rue en format mondial sur une affiche en faveur de l’initiative contre la construction de minarets en Suisse. La Municipalité de Lausanne l’a autorisée sur le domaine public, comme le confirme l’élu radical Olivier Français. >>> Serge Gumy/Gérald Cordonier | Jeudi 05 Novembre 2009

Swiss Referendum Stirs a Debate About Islam: Business Is Worried as Rightist Party's Move to Ban the Construction of Minarets on Mosques Will Be Voted on Nov. 29
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ZURICH -- An emotional debate over the role of Islam in Switzerland is heating up as a referendum approaches that would ban the construction of minarets on mosques.

On Nov. 29, the Swiss will vote on a referendum to ban the construction of minarets, an initiative promoted by the right-wing Swiss People's Party, who argue that a minaret is a symbol of Islamic intolerance. Minarets are tower-like structures capped with crowns; while the structure has no special religious significance, it is often used for the call to prayer for Muslims.

The debate comes in a country that has prided itself on integrating its large immigrant population and that largely avoided the clashes over the rights of Muslim minorities seen elsewhere in Europe. Business and political interests are especially worried about a possible backlash from the Muslim world.

For example, Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group Ltd. is worried that its relations with Muslim countries -- an important destination for its goods -- will be imperiled if the initiative passes. "The brand 'Swiss' must continue to represent values such as openness, pluralism and freedom of religion," said Hanspeter Rentsch, member of the executive group management board at Swatch. "Under no circumstances must it be brought in connection with hatred, animosity towards foreigners and narrow-mindedness."

The Swiss People's Party gathered twice the required signatures needed to call a vote. Its campaign used posters depicting a woman in a burqa in front of a row of minarets shaped like missiles. Some cities, such as Basel, have banned the posters, while Zurich and others have allowed them in the name of free speech.

The party, the country's largest political group and a fierce critic of immigration, drew international criticism for a campaign poster two years ago showing a white sheep kicking a black sheep out of Switzerland.

A national poll by state-owned media group SRG shows that 53% of voters oppose the ban and 34% support it. Muslim leaders, who have taken a low-key approach to the controversy, are nonetheless worried.

"This initiative gives a message that Muslims are not welcome here," says Elham Manea, a lecturer in political science at the University of Zurich. "If it passes, it raises the possibility of radicalization of some young people. It would be a big disappointment."

Some say that even defeating the referendum won't dissolve the tension. "It won't end with this," says Hisham Maizer, head of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland. "The debate about Islam in Switzerland has just begun." >>> Deborah Ball and Anita Greil | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Gays in Pakistan: Jheel Saiful Malook, Naran Kaghan

Still Brewing in a Dry Land: Pakistan's Only Beer and Whisky Firm
THE INDEPENDENT: After 150 years, business is booming at Pakistan's only beer and whisky firm. Andrew Buncombe finds out why

An employee of the Murree brewery, which has ambitions to export its beer to Britain. Photo: The Independent
On the walls of the historic Murree brewery, Pakistan's sole producer of beer, hangs a slogan that its owners would wish upon the entire country. "Eat, drink and be Murree," puns the poster, seemingly produced in the 1970s.

Understandably, making beer and whiskey in a Muslim country, where 97 per cent of the population is officially banned from enjoying your products, has never been an easy business. Non-Muslims are exempt from the ban, but even for them obtaining a drink can be complicated: some five-star hotels require foreigners to affirm in writing that they are non-Muslims and will be responsible for anything that happens when they are under the influence before they can order a drink.

And amid the upsurge of militant violence of the last two years that has seen the Taliban attacking targets across the country, setting fire to girls' schools and even banning the sale of videos and DVDs, common sense might suggest that the fortunes of this establishment, which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, might be on the wane. Yet the opposite is happening: sales are booming – embarrassingly so.

"Sales are good," said Isphanyar Bhandara, the brewery's 36-year-old chief executive, "but we don't want to shout about it because that also brings negative publicity and criticism, because this is a Muslim country – and yet sales are growing." >>> Andrew Buncombe | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Murree Brewery of Pakistan


Watch another video on the Murree Brewery here

Pakistan Fashion Week Defies Taliban with Non-Islamic Dress
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's fashion week began on Wednesday in defiance of the Taliban's preference for strict adherence to modest Islamic veils.

As Pakistan's army battled religious extremists in South Waziristan, Karachi's top designers sent models down catwalks with bare shoulders and exposed navels in an unusual display of skin in a country where most women cover up.

Sonya Battla, the first designer to show, presented a collection that she said celebrated strong women. She dismissed the fact that in more conservative parts of the country, her designs might get women driven out of town or stoned to death.

A model presents a creation by Pakistani designer Aiesha Varsey during the Pakistan Fashion Week in Karachi on November 4, 2009. Pakistan's fashion week began on November 4 with an opulent opening ceremony, against a backdrop of militant violence and secu[rity]. Photo: The Telegraph
"I'm a very brave woman," said the 38-year-old designer. "I'm not going to be scared and no one's going to judge me." >>> Chris Allbritton in Karachi | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Maine Voters Reject Same-sex Marriage
THE TELEGRAPH: Voters in the US state of Maine have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry.

The defeat was seen as a major setback for homosexual rights advocates.

In a closely fought referendum in the north-eastern state, 53 per cent of voters defeated a law passed by the state legislature in May, while 47 per cent voted for the measure, with 87 per cent of precincts reporting by early Wednesday.

The outcome from Tuesday's vote made Maine the third US state where voters repealed their local government's move granting same-sex couples the right to marry, following California and Hawaii. Homosexual marriage has not yet won a popular vote in any US state. >>> | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Rama Yade Told to 'Shut Your Gob or Quit' French Government
THE TELEGRAPH: Rama Yade, the popular French cabinet minister, has been told to "shut your gob or resign" by colleagues after criticising Nicolas Sarkozy and government policy.

Rama Yade: Miss Yade now faces going the same way as Rachida Dati, the other star symbol of Mr Sarkozy's politically and ethnically diverse "rainbow" cabinet. Photo: The Telegraph
Cabinet ministers have branded Miss Yade, 32, a "spoiled child" and she now faces being ousted in a reshuffle.

The outspoken, Senegalese-born politician – once hailed by the president as France's Condoleezza Rice, the former black American secretary of state – has been frozen out of the cabinet for serial insubordination.

Miss Yade now faces going the same way as Rachida Dati, the other star symbol of Mr Sarkozy's politically and ethnically diverse "rainbow" cabinet.

She has barely spoken to the president in months, while François Fillon, the prime minister, fuelled speculation she is on the way out by coldly telling colleagues: "We will have to draw the consequences when the time comes."

Christine Lagarde, the finance minister, was slightly warmer. "You have to learn the rules of the game. When you're young it's sometimes a bit harder. Sometimes you need an older brother or an older sister to remind you of the rules," she said.

The junior sports minister has survived several run-ins with Mr Sarkozy. She first invoked his wrath in 2007 by condemning a Paris visit by Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader. France, she said, must never be a "doormat" on which dictators wipe the blood of their crimes.

Mr Sarkozy forgave her and she placated him after another skirmish by sending him heart-shaped chocolates.

But her most serious recent criticism may prove the last straw. Two weeks ago she broke ranks in a nepotism scandal in which Mr Sarkozy sought to have his son Jean, 23, a law student, run the body managing La Défense, the business district west of Paris.

"We must not give the impression that there is a gap between the protected elites and the little people," Miss Yade warned. Most of France agreed but Mr Sarkozy was furious, exclaiming: "This is too much!" He dispatched his chief of staff to severely reprimand her. Jean has since renounced the top La Défense job, but was elected to the board.

Mr Sarkozy – said to be as distressed by the scandal as when his second wife left him – immediately punished Miss Yade by ordering her to abandon her seat in the Hauts-de-Seine area west of Paris, where Jean is a councillor. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Fears of Hitler’s Childhood Home in Braunau-am-Inn Becoming Fascist Shrine
MAIL ONLINE: The owner of the house where Adolf Hitler was born wants to put it on the market with a likely asking price of over £2million.

But the local authority in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria, has vowed to try to find a way of blocking any sale because it fears it could land up in the hands of extreme right-wingers who would turn it into a grotesque shrine to his memory.

The mayor of Braunau, Gerhard Skiba, said ideally the town council would like to purchase it and so control its future fate.

But there is not enough money in the town coffers to buy the property, Salzburger Vorstadt 15.

He says he will appeal to the government in Vienna to help the town purchase the property if the owner goes ahead with the sale.

It was in a room on the first floor of the three-storey, 2,000 square foot house – the ground floor of which was a pub called Gasthof Zum Pommer – that Hitler’s mother Klara gave birth to her infamous son on April 20, 1889.

She and her husband Alois, a stern local customs official, rented a suite of rooms above the pub and continued to live in it until 1892 when they moved to Linz.

Alois, a drunkard, often availed himself of the beer on sale in the saloon downstairs before returning to the family home to abuse his timid wife 24 years his junior.

The house is still owned by the family after which the pub took its name. Owner Gelinde Pommer says she wants to sell because the tenants for the past two decades, handicapped people who worked and lived there under the care of a disabled organisation, are moving to more modern premises in January, and she no longer wants to have the responsibility for it.

She has not yet advertised it, but estate agents have suggested it will have an asking price of about £2million. She was not available to comment. >>> Allan Hall | Thursday, November 05, 2009

France: 'Autistic Tories Have Castrated UK in Europe'
It is indeed “very sad” to observe the Conservatives “castrate” the British in Europe. M. Lellouche has got that right! We need a good Conservative Party to turn to after the dreadful years of NuLabour. But what do we get? A weak and pathetic party singing the same old, old songs about how terrible Europeans are for taking away our sovereignty and the terrible people who drain the country by claiming welfare benefits.

First on the latter point… Yes, the welfare bill needs to be cut drastically. The Labour Party has made so, so many people dependent on welfare payments in order to get more votes at the polls. But when Cameron talks about having a crackdown on people on sickness benefit, for example, he is replaying the Thatcher tune, a tune which was right for its time, but which sounds rather hackneyed and old for today. Why? Because the fact is that bankers have been crippling government finances to a far greater extent in receiving taxpayers’ handouts as bailouts for ailing banks and then proceeding to pay wild, excessive bonuses to themselves with this taxpayers' money. Any money that someone on sickness benefit recieves looks incredibly small and paltry by comparison. It’s pin money!

With regard to Europe… Again, the Conservative Party is playing the same old, same old tune. Poor old Britain and its loss of sovereignty! Fact is, British politicians should have thought about that before taking us into the European Union in the first place, if indeed loss of sovereignty was such an issue for them. Now, we’re in Europe; and we are never going to get the best out of it by standing idly by, on the sidelines, complaining about each and every law Europe passes which guarantees further loss of sovereignty.

In many ways, the Conservative Party is rueing Britain’s loss of Empire and loss of world power and status. I’ve got news for them: those days are never coming back. This is an altogether different world. Europe is our future. We need to dive in, and with two feet. Not dangle one foot in and keep one foot out. We’ll get nowhere that way.

Moreover, what we need now is to accept the euro with open arms. The euro is the currency of the future. It’s a strong currency. It’s a good currency. The Bank of England and successive British governments have shown beyond a shadow of doubt that they have been unable to maintain a strong pound sterling. The value of the pound has declined and declined with each and every decade in the twentieth century. Its decline contunues apace. We therefore need to enter the eurozone. That way the people of Britain can be assured of continuing prosperity – prosperity they deserve.

For God’s sake lets stop contemplating our navels. Get with the story! We are in Europe. Get over it! Get on with it! – © Mark

THE GUARDIAN: French Europe minister says David Cameron's pledge to reclaim EU powers is 'pathetic' and will leave Britain isolated

Pierre Lellouche: 'It's very sad to see Britain just cutting itself out from the rest. It is the result of a long period in opposition.' Photo: The Guardian
The Conservatives are accused by the French government of "castrating" Britain's position within the EU by adopting an "autistic" approach that will take Britain off the radar.

Speaking to the Guardian, the French Europe minister, Pierre Lellouche, describes as "pathetic" the Tories' EU plans announced today, warning that they will not succeed "for a minute".

Giving vent to frustration across the EU, which has so far only been expressed in private, Lellouche – who says he is reflecting Nicolas Sarkozy's "sadness and regret" – accuses the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, of a "bizarre autism" in their discussions. He says: "They have one line and they just repeat one line. It is a very bizarre sense of autism."

Lellouche, one of the most Anglophile members of Nicolas Sarkozy's government, made his remarkable intervention after David Cameron outlined a new Tory approach to the EU in the wake of the full ratification of the Lisbon treaty. A future Conservative government would seek to strengthen British sovereignty and repatriate a series of powers over social and employment legislation, he said.

Cameron insisted that he was not seeking an immediate "bust-up" with the EU. But within hours of his speech, France's centre-right government condemned the Tory leader's plans, saying that they would marginalise Britain within the EU. >>> Nicholas Watt, Patrick Wintour and Allegra Stratton | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Sorry, Ma’am! It’s Time for Us to Accept the Euro >>> Mark Alexander | Thursday, September 24, 2009

Yemen Civil War Spills Over Border as Saudi Official Is Killed in Attack
Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Yemen’s civil war spilled into neighbouring Saudi Arabia for the first time yesterday when Shia gunmen shot dead a Saudi security officer in a cross-border attack.

The Shia rebels, known as Huthis, have been backed up against the Saudi border by a Yemeni army offensive launched this summer.

The rebels accuse the Saudis of allowing Yemeni troops to attack them from behind, using a military base in the Saudi town of Jebel al-Dukan.

The kingdom’s news agency said that rebels had entered Saudi territory and attacked patrols.

“The infiltrators used various weapons to fire at the border guard patrols, causing the martyrdom of one security officer and wounding 11 others,” it said. Some Shia rebel sources claimed to have taken complete control of the town after defeating Saudi forces there.

They accuse Saudi Arabia, a conservative Sunni Muslim country, of backing the Yemeni army, fearing the emergence of a strong Shia militia similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon. >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, November 05, 2009

L'opposition iranienne à nouveau dans la rue
Une manifestante «anti-Ahmadinejad» fuit mercredi la police à Téhéran, en marge du cérémonies anti-américaines commémorant le 30e anniversaire de la prise de l'ambassade américaine. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: En marge des cérémonies anti-américaines marquant l'anniversaire de la prise de l'ambassade des Etats-Unis, des affrontements ont opposé mercredi les adversaires du régime et les policiers à Téhéran.

Les rues de Téhéran ont à nouveau été mercredi le théâtre d'une démonstration de force entre la police et les partisans de l'opposition. Les forces de l'ordre, déployées en nombre à Téhéran, ont tiré des gaz lacrymogènes pour disperser les milliers de manifestants, venus dans le centre de la capitale, malgré l'interdiction des autorités. Une intervention rapidement bouclée par la police iranienne puisqu'après quelques heures de combats, les manifestations hostiles au gouvernement ont cessé. Selon des témoins, un nombre indéterminé d'opposants ont été blessés ou arrêtés lors de ces affrontements. Mais alors que le centre de la capitale reste quadrillé par les forces de sécurité, quelques petits groupes d'opposants sont toujours aux abords des avenues.

Les partisans de l'opposition ont multiplié ces derniers jours les appels sur Internet à descendre dans la rue, en marge de la manifestation officielle anti-américaine organisée mercredi pour célébrer le 30ème anniversaire de la prise de l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Téhéran. Des milliers de tenants de l'opposition se sont ainsi dirigés mercredi en petits groupes vers la place Haft-e Tir, dans le centre de Téhéran, aux cris d'«Allah Akbar (Dieu est le plus grand)» et «Mort au dictateur» (voir heure par heure les vidéos des manifestants). Mais la police, ainsi que des membres des forces de sécurité habillés en civil et la milice islamique des Bassidj, mobilisés pour l'occasion, sont rapidement intervenus à coups de bâtons et de tirs de gaz lacrymogènes, selon des témoins de la scène. L'avenue menant à la place Haft-e Tir a quant à elle été le point de cristallisation de l'opposition entre les «pro-Ahmadinejad» et les «antis». Au «Mort à l'Amérique» des partisans du pouvoir, les seconds rétorquaient ainsi «Mort à la Russie». Jusqu'à ce que la police disperse une nouvelle fois ces derniers. «La prise d'otages de l'ambassade a été une erreur» >>> Marion Brunet (lefigaro.fr) | Mercredi 04 Novembre 2009

Mousavi Supporters March in Tehran


Nov 4 - Video footage posted on the internet appears to show supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi marching in a rally in the country's capital Tehran.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters coverage is subject to an Iranian ban on foreign media leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran[.]

Witnesses said that police had clashed with hundreds of protesters who were chanting 'Death to dictators'.

Reformist website, Mowjcamp, said police opened fire on supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi at Haft-e Tir square.

The clashes came during a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its allied Basij militia have warned the opposition to avoid using any anti-U.S. rally to revive protests against the clerical establishment after June's disputed presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a second term.

Yair Lapid to Swedish Journalist, Bostrom: “You’re and Anti-Semite”
Watch JPost video: 'You are an anti-Semite' : 'Aftonbladet' reporter Bostrom given a cold greeting at Dimona event. >>>

Obama to Iran: Let's Move Beyond Path of Mistrust, Suspicion
HAARETZ: President Barack Obama late Tuesday noted the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, while insisting he wants the U.S. and Iran to move beyond the "path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation" that followed the subsequent hostage crisis.

Islamic militants stormed the embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, seizing its occupants. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days.

The crisis "deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice," Obama said in a statement.

"This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation," Obama added. "I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. ... We have made clear that if Iran lives up to the obligations that every nation has, it will have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community."

The Iranian government backed events Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of the takeover, including an annual anti-American rally outside the brick walls of the former embassy compound. Thousands of people gathered outside the former embassy, waving anti-American banners and signs praising the Islamic Revolution. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, November 04, 2009