UN Averts Climate Collapse by 'Noting' New Deal
THE INDEPENDENT: UN climate talks avoided a total collapse today by skirting bitter opposition from several nations to a deal championed by the US President Barack Obama and five emerging economies including China.

"Finally we sealed a deal," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "The 'Copenhagen Accord' may not be everything everyone had hoped for, but this decision...is an important beginning."

But a decision at marathon 193-nation talks merely took note of the new accord, a non-binding deal for combating global warming led by the United States, China, India, Brazil and South Africa. >>> David Fogarty and Alister Doyle, Reuters | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Gay Activists Praise Rugby Star Gareth Thomas's Decision to Come Out
THE OBSERVER: Speculation is growing that other gay sports stars may follow suit

Gareth Thomas. Photograph: The Observer
The shock decision by rugby union player Gareth Thomas to announce that he is gay has triggered speculation that other sports stars might come out. Thomas is Wales's most-capped player and a former British and Irish Lions captain. The fact that he has confirmed his sexuality while still playing the game has been praised by gay rights campaigners.

The shock decision by rugby union player Gareth Thomas to announce that he is gay has triggered speculation that other sports stars might come out. Thomas is Wales's most-capped player and a former British and Irish Lions captain. The fact that he has confirmed his sexuality while still playing the game has been praised by gay rights campaigners.

Yesterday the 6ft 3in, 16-stone rugby star said he hoped he could make a difference to others struggling with their sexuality. "I just want to thank everyone for the amazing response I have received, on behalf of me, my family and friends," Thomas said. "I hope that by saying this I can make a big difference to others in my situation."

But he said he did not want to be known as a "gay rugby player" and hoped people would treat his sexuality as "irrelevant" to his career. "What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby," he said. "I'd love for it, in 10 years' time, not to even be an issue in sport, and for people to say: 'So what?'"

Thomas, who came on as a substitute for his team Cardiff Blues as they lost 23-7 to Toulouse in the Heineken Cup quarter-final yesterday, said the secret of his sexuality was like a "ticking bomb" which he had tried to suppress. "I just couldn't ignore it any more," he told the Daily Mail.

"It is very positive Gareth has come out while he is still an active player," said gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. "Many of the sports people who have declared their homosexuality have tended to do so after their careers are over.

"Rugby is a very macho sport and has traditionally had a very robust he-man, heterosexual image so it is really great that he has had the guts to be honest with himself and his fans. Hopefully this will ease the way for other gay and bisexual players to also come out." >>> Jamie Doward | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Controversial Pope Moves Closer to Sainthood
TIMES ONLINE: The controversial wartime pope accused of failing to openly condemn the Holocaust has moved a step closer to sainthood, the Vatican has confirmed.

Pope Pius XII will be declared venerable after the current pontiff Pope Benedict XVI approved a "heroic virtues decree", the first of three stages before canonisation.

To be declared venerable, a church investigation has to conclude that the person in question lived a life of exemplary holiness and heroic virtue. There must be nothing in the dead person’s writings that enables these characteristics to be challenged. >>> Simon Alford | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Kopenhagen gescheitert: US-Präsident Obama stürzt vom Klima-Gipfel
WELT ONLINE: Das faktische Scheitern der Klimaverhandlungen in Kopenhagen ist eine schwere Niederlage für US-Präsident Barack Obama auf internationaler Ebene. Nicht nur, dass er und Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel vorzeitig abreisten, ohne ein sicheres Ergebnis erzielt zu haben. Er ließ sich zudem von den Chinesen vorführen.

Seiner Ankunft folgte sogleich ein markiger Auftritt. Kaum hatte US-Präsident Barack Obama das Konferenzzentrum betreten, ließ er die Anwesenden wissen: „Die Zeit für Reden ist vorbei.“ Ab jetzt wollte er die Verhandlungsführung übernehmen.

Zusammen mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, den „Chefs“ aus Russland, Brasilien, Japan, der Europäischen Union und anderer wichtiger Länder machte sich Obama an die Arbeit. Doch es lief nicht so, wie der Friedensnobelpreisträger es sich vorgestellt hatte. Nur Bundesumweltminister Norbert Röttgen blieb optimistisch. Trotz der zähen Verhandlungen könne es einen Kompromiss geben, meinte er. „Heute fallen die Würfel.“

Stattdessen bahnte sich ein Fiasko an. Es begann in der Nacht von Freitag auf Samstag. Ein enger Verhandlungskreis von 30 wichtigen und repräsentativ ausgewählten Staaten, darunter Deutschland, diskutierten noch immer die Grundzüge eines Zwölf-Punkte-Papiers. Es trug den Titel „Copenhagen Accord“ und bestand aus einer dreiseitigen Sammlung vager politischer Absichtserklärungen ohne fest definierte Ziele oder rechtliche Bindung. >>> Von D. Wetzel und G. Lachmann | Samstag, 19. Dezember 2009

New Dark Age Alert! MP Condemns Plan to Build Muslim Eton for Girls
Forerunner: Students at an all-girl Muslim school in Bradford. Photograph: Mail Online
MAIL ONLINE: A Labour MP has bitterly attacked plans for a Muslim ‘Eton’ for girls.

The college for 1,500 pupils would be both the largest Muslim faith school and the biggest boarding school in the country – larger than 1,330-pupil Eton.

Yesterday Gordon Prentice, MP for Pendle, near the school site in Burnley, warned that it could damage existing schools and colleges in the area and stoke community tensions.

‘The last thing we need is single-sex, single faith schools for girls,’ he told the Times Educational Supplement.

‘It pulls against community cohesion. It makes me weep to think so much time, energy and effort has gone into the community to get people to mix together. [This] goes against all public policy.’

The blueprint emerged after a proposal for a 5,000-place girls’ boarding school in Pendle was dropped amid public opposition.

The Islamic charity behind the Burnley project, the Mohiuddin Trust, insists its aim is to ‘strengthen inter-community relationships’.

It is in the process of setting up Mohiuddin International Girls’ College after purchasing the former Burnley College site for £2million.

The college would cater for girls of 16 and over and teach mainstream qualifications and faith studies.

The trust wants the school to cater initially for 500 students, expanding to 1,500. >>> Laura Clark | Friday, December 18, 2009

Amid the Carols and Decorations, Iraq Christians Fear Extinction
A policeman stands guard atop an armoured vehicle outside a Christian church in Mosul. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: It could be a scene from a Victorian Christmas card. The young people gather in the church, decorating a tree, while in the background the choir rehearses for Christmas Day — the tune of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen playing out. In the theatre next to the church two clowns are playing musical chairs with hundreds of children, while a bishop and an inflatable Father Christmas look on.

The words to the carol are in Iraqi-accented Arabic — Feltestereh qolubikum, ya ayuha al jumoor — “may your hearts take comfort, you who are gathered here”. The church is Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad, and outside is the more familiar Iraqi scene of barbed wire and armed guards. Behind the tinsel and carols lies a fear that Christians in Iraq are a community under threat of extinction. Proportionally more Christians are leaving Iraq than any other group.

Last week 100 Christian leaders and politicians of all religions held an emergency meeting just before fresh violence broke out in the northern city of Mosul, with attacks on churches and Christian schools. On Tuesday a baby was killed and 40 people, including schoolchildren, were injured in three simultaneous bombings. Two days ago a Christian man was shot dead as he travelled to work. >>> Alice Fordham, in Baghdad | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Eis und Schnee haben Europa im Griff: Eisenbahnzüge stecken im Eurotunnel fest
NZZ ONLINE: Eisige Temperaturen und starker Schneefall haben weite Teile Europas fest im Griff. Als Folge der starken Kälte blieben auch Züge im Tunnel unter dem Ärmelkanal stecken. Und in einigen Staaten Amerikas beginnt der Winter mit Scheestürmen.

In der Nacht zum Samstag sind im Eurotunnel unter dem Ärmelkanal vier Züge mit mehr als 2000 Fahrgästen liegen geblieben. Wie ein Sprecher von Eurostar erklärte, hatte der grosse Temperaturunterschied der Luft innerhalb und ausserhalb des Kanaltunnels zu einer technischen Panne geführt. Für die Fahrgäste habe keine Gefahr bestanden, aber es sei «sehr unbequem» gewesen.

Am frühen Morgen wurden die Fahrgäste zweier liegengebliebener Züge mit einem Notzug aus dem Tunnel gebracht. Eine Ersatzlokomotive sollte die beiden anderen Züge in Richtung Folkestone im Südosten Englands schieben.

In den Eurostar-Hochgeschwindigkeitszügen sassen jeweils zwischen 500 und 700 Menschen fest. Alle vier Züge waren auf dem Weg von Paris nach London, als sie in dem Tunnel steckenblieben. Zwei weitere Züge, die sich aus Brüssel und Paris auf dem Weg in Richtung London befanden, wurden rechtzeitig angehalten. >>> sda/dpa | Samstag, 19. Dezember 2009

Copenhagen Climate Summit: Confusion as 'Historic Deal' Descends into Chaos
THE TELEGRAPH: The “historic” climate change deal at the Copenhagen climate summit has descended into chaos after some developing nations rejected the plan for fighting global warming championed by US President Barack Obama.

(From Left) European Commission President Barroso, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, US President Barack Obama and British PM Gordon Brown. Photo: The Telegraph
An agreement to limit global warming to a 3.6F (2C) temperature rise, alongside a $100 billion (£62bn) a year in aid from 2020, were condemned as inadequate by some delegates and appeared to be in danger of unravelling.

Developing nations, including Venezuela, said they could not accept a text originally agreed by the United States, China, India, Brazil and South Africa as the blueprint of a wider United Nations plan to fight climate change.

Tempers flared during an all-night plenary session, held after most of 120 visiting world leaders had left.

Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, the Sudanese negotiator, said the draft text asked “Africa to sign a suicide pact”.

One Saudi delegate said it was without doubt “the worst plenary I have ever attended.” >>> David Barrett and Louise Gray, in Copenhagen | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Obama's Climate Accord Fails the Test
THE INDEPENDENT: Watered-down agreement follows day of bitter wrangling in Copenhagen

World leaders late last night agreed a hugely watered-down version of a new global pact on climate change, after an astonishing day of deadlock, disagreement, misunderstandings, walkouts and insults at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen.

The agreement, patched together after massive and rancorous divisions between the rich nations and the developing countries, especially America and China, was described as a "meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough" by the US President Barack Obama. However, a senior American official openly admitted it was not enough to combat the threat of a warming planet, saying merely: "It is a first step."

Known as the Copenhagen Accord, the new agreement falls massively short of the ambitions many people had centred on the two-week meeting in the Danish capital, in the hope of a major new effort to combat the global warming threat. Although in principle it commits – for the first time – all the countries of the world, including the developing countries, to cut their emissions of the greenhouse gases which are causing climate change, the accord is not legally binding, merely a political statement. >>> Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor, in Copenhagen | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Milton Friedman: Socialism vs. Capitalism

Neo-Nazis Suspected of Raid on Auschwitz ‘to Rewrite History’
TIMES ONLINE: The slickly organised theft of one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust sent a wave of outrage around the world yesterday.

The sign that hung over the gates of Auschwitz extermination camp, where more than a million people died during the Second World War, was stolen in minutes. Polish police suspect that the culprits were either neo-Nazis or acting on behalf of collectors or a group of individuals.

The slogan wrought in iron, Arbeit Macht Frei (“Work sets you free”), was the cynical welcome to those entering the camp in the 1940s. One million of the 1.1 million people who died at Auschwitz were Jewish.

The theft in the early hours of yesterday was seen as an attempt by right-wing extremists to muddy the narrative of the Holocaust.

“This act constitutes a true declaration of war,” said Avner Shalev, the head of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial institute in Jerusalem. “We don’t know the identity of the perpetrators but I assume they are neo-Nazis.”

Poland is treating the recovery of the sign from the site, near Cracow, as a matter of national honour. President Kaczynski said: “I appeal to all countrymen to help the police to track down the sign. A worldwide symbol of the cynicism of Hitler’s executioners and the martyrdom of their victims has been stolen. This act deserves the strongest possible condemnation.” >>> Roger Boyes | Saturday, December 19, 2009

Iran's Government 'Will Not Last', Says Mehdi Karoubi
BBC: The Iranian government is being kept in power by force and will not last its four-year term, one of the opposition presidential candidates has predicted.

Opposition member Mehdi Karoubi said the government faced pressure from members of parliament, the Iranian public and the rest of the world.

Speaking to the BBC in Tehran, he repeated allegations over the abuse of anti-government protesters in prison.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in disputed elections in June.

"From the first day the election result came out I was convinced that Mr Ahmadinejad would not survive the full four years of his term," Mr Karoubi said.

"Even within the last six months, the government has only been kept in power by force."

Widespread protests erupted in Iran after the election, with hundreds of anti-government demonstrators arrested.

In a rare interview with a foreign broadcaster, Mr Karoubi told the BBC that heavy-handed treatment by the authorities had been counter-productive.

"At the beginning of the movement, it was just a protest against the election, we didn't recognise it as a serious election.

"The government's response, the crackdown, has not calmed things down at all. In fact, it's just made the chanting louder. It's just increased the people's demands."

He stood by his allegations that opposition activists have been raped in detention - a charge vehemently denied by authorities.

He said he was not afraid of being prosecuted over the claims as threatened by several government officials. Read further (with BBC video) >>> | Friday, December 18, 2009

Bob Geldof accuse: "Merkel n'a pas de coeur"
Crédits photo :
LE FIGARO – BLOG: Le chanteur irlandais engagé contre la famine, Bob Geldof, a examiné de très près le budget 2010 adopté, mercredi, par le gouvernement allemand. Et il accuse Angela Merkel d’avoir trahi sa promesse de dépenser davantage pour aider les pays pauvres en 2010. «Avec ce budget, Angela Merkel brise sa promesse aux hommes les plus pauvres du monde », accuse Geldof. >>> Par Patrick Saint-Paul | Vendredi 18 Décembre 2009

Islamic Insurgents Hack into CIA State-of-the-Art Predator Drones
A US air force 'predator'. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Predator drones used by the CIA against Islamic militants have been hacked into by insurgents using nothing more sophisticated than a $25.95 (£16) off-the-shelf software, it was revealed last night.

Although the insurgents were not able to control the $20 million aircraft, typically armed with Hellfire missiles and flown over the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, they could watch live video feeds beamed back to US control stations through their electronic “eyeballs”.

The hackers’ success raises the disturbing possibility of the Predators being taken over and used to attack US or British forces, or perhaps even domestic targets. Although Predator aircraft are usually flown by remote control from thousands of miles away, some are kept for testing at US Airforce bases such as Creech, near Las Vegas.

Speaking off-the-record, senior American defence officials confirmed that the Predators had been compromised and admitted that the video feeds could give insurgents critical information about US targets overseas, including buildings, roads, and other facilities. >>> Chris Ayres | Friday, December 18, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Muslim Televangelist Takes His Message to Millions
Not your typical preacher: Amr Khaled is trying to modernise the face of Islam. Photograph: BBC
BBC: Amr Khaled's unique brand of Muslim preaching has made him one of the most popular preachers in the world.

Such is his appeal, he was recently named the 13th most influential person in the world by Time Magazine.

In Cairo, his DVDs stand on the top shelves reserved for best sellers in the Virgin record store, next to Bruce Willis and Charlie Chaplin.

His controversial style, comparable to the almost rock star approach of some of America's Christian evangelists, has drawn criticism from the religious establishment and he has moved away from his native Egypt.

Ironically, thanks to the proliferation of satellite channels, he is now able to reach far greater numbers than he could have ever done had his message remained within the confines of a mosque or a lecture hall.

'You're fired'

Now, following on from his hugely successful TV shows - which are watched by millions across the world - Mr Khaled plans to launch his own version of the reality television show The Apprentice.

"The aim of it is not to make money, but to make the youth ready to support the society," he told the BBC. >>> Magdi Abdelhadi, Arab Affairs Analyst, BBC World Service | Thursday, December 17, 2009

Amr Khaled’s English homepage >>>

Listen to Magdi Abdelhadi’s full documentary, Muslim Televangelists >>>

A Drop of Claret Never Hurt My Little Darlings
THE TELEGRAPH: The latest health fatwa is aimed at the wrong target, as usual, says James Delingpole.

Liam Donaldson's strictures are directed at the wrong target. Photograph: The Telegraph
This weekend I shall sit down to Sunday lunch with my children, splash their glasses with a drop of claret, and drink a hearty toast to the departure of the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. My children are nine and 11, so I know Sir Liam would disapprove – indeed, he told us as much in his latest fatwa. "Children under 15 should not drink alcohol at all," declared his new health guidelines on children's drinking. "Those between 15 and 17 should be supervised by their parents if they are drinking and should limit alcohol intake to one day a week."

The cheek of it! Was there ever a hectoring, busybodying government directive better guaranteed to have the opposite effect of the one intended? That was certainly its impact upon me. Normally at Sunday lunch, my children only have half a finger's worth of wine in their glasses – just to give the water a bit of colour, and make them feel grown-up. But after Sir Liam's nannying strictures, I'm tempted to treat the little darlings to a magnum each.

What's even more galling about strictures like this is that they're directed at the wrong target. We all know where Britain's most serious child-drinking problems lie: on sink estates and among broken homes where rudderless urchins are routinely downing alcopops and cans of super-strong lager before they've reached their teens. >>> James Delingpole | Friday, December 18, 2009

Sir Liam Donaldson: Parents 'Fuelling' Binge Drinking


THE TELEGRAPH: Liam Donaldson to retire after dealing with swine flu: Sir Liam Donaldson, the governments chief medical officer, will retire in May next year, it has been announced. >>> Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Tuesday, December 15, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Why I will let my children drink alcohol: Liam Donaldson's latest recommendations on teenage drinking will work in theory but not in practice, writes Cassandra Jardine. >>> Cassandra Jardine | Thursday, December 17, 2009

More Twaddle from an Effete Government Representative
As far as I am concerned, Liam Donaldson is talking bollocks! The worst thing you can do for a child is forbid something. Forbidden fruits always taste the sweetest; and that's a fact! Further, the only people I know that went off the rails came from homes which banned alcohol completely.

The best way is to allow children of a certain age to have very small amounts of alcohol to feel included in any family gatherings. By not offering them any, the mystery of the demon drink will only grow.

Liam Donaldson's judgment is questionable. This is the man who said he was happy when smoking was banned in pubs, for he said now he can take his children to pubs for Sunday lunch without them having to inhale second-hand smoke. Somebody should have told him that children do not belong in pubs. Indeed, when I was growing up one had to be sixteen even to enter such a public watering hole. Pubs were not conceived for children, but for adults. The proper place to take a child for Sunday lunch if one is not cooking at home is a restaurant. Not a pub!

It seems that he has no better judgment on children drinking a little alcohol.

The true reason for children getting sozzled is that so many of them come from broken homes. Children need stability at home, not prohibitions. –© Mark

New Dark Age Alert! Uganda’s Inhumane Bill
TIMES ONLINE – LEADING ARTICLE: Museveni appeals to anti-gay prejudice to mask growing political repression

To ask the public to voice their views on a question as crudely inflammatory as “Should homosexuals face execution?” is to invite bigotry to put on its boots. The BBC’s facile attempt to stimulate debate on its website has provoked justified outrage that old prejudices should be given a fresh hearing. Yet this same crude question is to be put to the Ugandan Parliament today. And there is a real fear that not only may MPs enthusiastically support the death penalty for active HIV-positive homosexuals; Uganda may soon pass legislation that would legitimise the hounding of gay people throughout Africa.

The proposed legislation is ostensibly meant to curb the spread of Aids, reinforce family values and reflect the widespread disgust many Africans express for what they regard as Western sexual decadence. It proposes a mandatory death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act faces life imprisonment. And the friends and families of gay Ugandans could face up to seven years in jail if they fail to report them to the authorities. Even landlords could be imprisoned for renting to homosexuals. The Bill is an open invitation to a witch-hunt.

The measure has prompted widespread revulsion in much of the world. Gordon Brown and his Canadian counterpart expressed their concern to President Museveni at the Commonwealth summit conference last month. The United Nations and the World Health Organisation have said that Uganda may lose the chance to host an important permanent Aids research organisation if it passes the Bill. And anti-Aids activists have pointed out that the Bill would have only marginal effect on the fight against the disease, as homosexuals were responsible for less than one per cent of new infections last year. >>> Friday, December 18, 2009

Picture of Slain French Jew Appears in Dating Website Ad
YNET NEWS: French site discovers picture of Ilan Halimi, who was brutally murdered several years ago in France, in advertisement for online Muslim dating service. Company claims picture taken from a user's profile page, issues apology

How did the picture of Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man who was brutally murdered several years ago in France, appear in an advertisement for an online Muslim Canadian dating service?

A French blogging site reported Wednesday that Halimi's picture was given to a Canadian dating website through Google's advertisement database, Google AdSense.

Halimi was kidnapped and tortured for three weeks before his body was found naked and bound with handcuffs near the train tracks in a suburb of Paris in February 2006.

One of the writers for a French blogging website was shocked when he accidentally came across a picture of the slain French Jew on an advertisement for the dating website Qiran.com, which caters to new Muslim immigrants to Canada. >>> Daniel Edelson | Thursday, December 17, 2009

Pour François Fillon, la burqa n'est pas la bienvenue en France
LE MONDE: Le premier ministre François Fillon a réaffirmé, jeudi 17 décembre, que la burqa n'avait pas sa place en France, tout en disant attendre les conclusions de la commission parlementaire sur le sujet pour prendre une décision.

La commission parlementaire sur le port du voile intégral – niqab ou burqa –, présidée par le communiste André Gérin, doit rendre ses conclusions en janvier sur une possible interdiction qui fait l'objet de prises de position diverses au gouvernement.
"Le président s'est exprimé de façon très claire. Il a dit, et je partage cette opinion, que la burqa n'est pas la bienvenue en France", a déclaré François Fillon en marge de la visite d'un centre de formation de la Défense, à Marseille. >>> LeMonde.fr avec Reuters | Jeudi 17 Décembre 2009

Frankreichs Konservative wollen Ganzkörper-Schleier verbieten
DIE PRESSE: Die Abgeordneten der französischen Regierungspartei wollen das Tragen von Ganzkörper-Schleiern komplett verbieten: "Nicht mit den Werten der Republik vereinbar."

Die Abgeordneten der französische Regierungspartei UMP wollen muslimischen Frauen das Tragen von Ganzkörperschleiern in der Öffentlichkeit komplett verbieten. "Realität ist, dass in Frankreich vernünftigerweise niemand will, dass sich diese Praxis in unserem Land ausbreitet", sagte UMP-Fraktionschef Jean-Francois Cope der Tageszeitung "Le Figaro". 



Die Mehrheit der Franzosen und auch die Vertreter der Muslime im Land seien der Ansicht, dass das Tragen eines Ganzkörperschleiers nicht mit dem Gemeinschaftsleben und den Werten der Republik vereinbar sei. Mögliches Verbot >>> Ag | Mittwoch, 16. Dezember 2009

CNN: Spreading Islam in Britain