French Minister Defends National Identity Debate
THE TELEGRAPH: The French government has claimed its attempts to define "national identity" have overwhelming public support despite accusations it has exploited xenophobic fears.

President Nicolas Sarkozy launched a "great debate" in November, calling it a "noble" meditation on what it means to be French.

But now he is facing increasingly vocal calls – including from within his own camp – to scrap what critics say has become a dangerous slanging match over immigration and a perilous attempt to woo back the hard Right vote three months ahead of regional elections.

on [sic] Monday, the man Mr Sarkozy tasked with leading the debate trumpeted it as an "immense popular success".

Eric Besson, the minister of immigration and national identity insisted that the debate had not "veered off course" into caricature nor was it solely "focused on immigration and Islam".

He announced the results of a TNS Sofres poll he ordered suggesting that 80 per cent of French felt national identity was "weakening".

"The vast majority of contributions are perfectly respectful of our republican values," he said in a press conference.

Mr Besson was responding to claims that a website set up to encourage discussion has turned into an immigrant-bashing forum. About a fifth of the 50,000 entries had to be erased. "They're not publishable," Mr Sarkozy was reported to have complained.

The president called for calm in a televised New Year's address. He said: "Let us be able to debate without tearing ourselves apart, with insulting each other, without losing unity."

Disquiet has grown at what many regard as a threatening presence of Islam in France – home to around six million Muslims. This was compounded by Switzerland's recent vote to ban the building of minarets on mosques.

Right-wing MPs are now promoting a ban on the burka, while another law put before parliament last month would outlaw the waving of foreign flags at weddings in town halls. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, January 04, 2010

Shariah Finance

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La Roumanie de Ceausescu ou l'espionnage généralisé
L’EXPRESS.fr: Après la chute de Ceausescu, il y a vingt ans, le pays a tardé à ouvrir les archives de la Securitate, l'ex-police politique. Aujourd'hui, chacun peut consulter son dossier. Et peut-être découvrir qu'il a été trahi par un voisin, un ami ou l'un des siens... >>> Par Delphine Saubaber, Marion Guyonvarch | Jeudi 17 Décembre 2009

L’EXPRESS.fr: Roumanie: Nicolae et Elena Ceausescu: un couple infernal et mégalomane >>> Par Marianne Rigaux (ESJ) | Lundi 28 Décembre 2009

L’EXPRESS.fr: Ceausescu: vie et mort d’un dictateur >>> | Vendredi 25 Décembre 2009

Unmarried Couples Caught in Malaysia Hotel Raids
BBC: Fifty-two unmarried couples could face charges of sexual misconduct and jail terms after being caught in hotel rooms by Malaysia's Islamic morality police.

Scores of officers conducted raids on budget hotels on New Year's Day in the western state of Selangor.

Those detained in the early hours of New Year's Day were mainly students and young factory workers.

The Muslim couples are expected to be charged with the offence of close proximity, or Khalwat. >>> Jennifer Pak, BBC News, Kuala Lumpur | Monday, January 04, 2010

The Lebanon: Fashion
BBC video: Peace brings 'rebirth' of Lebanese fashion design >>> | Monday, January 04, 2010

Johnson 'Will Back' Wootton Bassett Islamic March Ban
BBC: The home secretary has said he will back any request from police or local government to ban a radical Islamic group marching through Wootton Bassett.

Alan Johnson said he felt "revulsion" at the thought of Islam4UK's proposed march through the Wiltshire town.
Wootton Bassett has become famous for its repatriation ceremonies for fallen British service personnel.

Islam4UK says it wants to parade empty coffins through the town to draw attention to Afghan war casualties.

Mr Johnson said: "The idea that anyone would stage this kind of demonstration in Wootton Bassett fills me with revulsion.

"I find it particularly offensive that the town, which has acted in such a moving and dignified way in paying tribute to our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, should be targeted in this manner."

He added: "If the Wiltshire Police and local authority feel that a procession of this kind has the potential to cause public disorder and seek my consent to a banning order, then I would have no hesitation in supporting that request." >>> | Monday, January 04, 2010

New Councilman Hopes to Cultivate SLC Diversity
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: From small-town roots, Stan Penfold now pledges to be a progressive force.

All he really wanted to do was garden. Now, Stan Penfold is poised to sow the seeds of progressive policy in Salt Lake City.

It is quite a baptism for the city's newest councilman, a self-described unlikely politician, elected to lead the liberal Avenues and Capitol Hill areas.

But so too was growing up Mormon in Humboldt County, Calif., "the pot capital of the planet," Penfold smiles.

"I remember having to navigate that," he says, eating a fish platter at downtown's Oyster Bar. "I was this strait-laced kid around everybody that drank and smoked pot. The experience taught me it's sort of OK to be who you are."

That mantra has paid dividends throughout his life. It helped him comprehend the strange land of Utah when he moved here to practice landscape horticulture nearly 30 years ago.

And, as an openly gay man (thought to be the capital council's first), it helped him grow comfortable despite being immersed in the state's conservative culture.

"I discovered I kind of liked it here," says Penfold, the decade-long executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation who travels the world and always expected one day to return to California. "Nobody was more surprised than I was."

Now, after three decades of building a life, career and penchant for a growing community, the erstwhile gardener is ready to dig in to city politics. He replaces Eric Jergensen, a moderate who stepped down after eight years. Rather than being a lightning rod for gay rights -- "the city has done a remarkable job on the social-issue stuff," he says -- Penfold will focus on the grass-roots stuff -- improving quality of life where residents live.

"I want Salt Lake City government to see a city of neighborhoods," he says. "People function well when they are recognized." >>> Derek P. Jensen | Saturday, January 02, 2010

ADVOCATE.COM: Gay Man Joins Salt Lake City Council >>> Advocate.com Editors | Sunday, January 03, 2010

Obama Effigy Spotted in Jimmy Carter's Hometown

Pat Condell: Islamist Dickhead

Anjem Choudary on March for Shariah as a Solution for UK’s Problems

Justice on London's Streets, the Jewish Way
THE INDEPENDENT: With his dark-blue uniform, earpiece and walkie-talkie, Nochem Perlberger could pass for a police officer as he patrols the leafy streets of London’s Stamford Hill neighbourhood. Like an officer of the law, he responds to emergency calls, visits crime scenes and pursues suspects.

However, he is a member not of the constabulary but of the Stamford Hill Shomrim Rescue Patrol, a group of Orthodox Jewish men who, for the past two years, have been “policing” the streets of their community in Hackney.

Set up nearly two years ago, the group now has 22 patrolling members, a headquarters and even a 24-hour emergency number, staffed by six operators, which residents call to report crime. “Every house and child in the community knows this number off by heart,” said Mr Perlberger, one of the group’s committee members.

In the five months since the Stamford Hill Shomrim hotline was established, they have dealt with more than 2,000 calls including break-ins, thefts and muggings. On average, they identify three to five suspects a week and hand them over to the police. >>> Mark Hughes | Monday, January 04, 2010

Angst vor möglichem Terroranschlag in Sanaa: Botschaften der USA und Grossbritannien bleiben vorerst geschlossen
NZZ ONLINE: Die USA und Grossbritannien fürchten sich vor einem möglichen Terroranschlag in der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa. Mehrere Botschaften blieben am Montag geschlossen. Derweil kann Jemen einen Erfolg in der Terror-Bekämpfung vorweisen.

Die Gefahr eines Terroranschlags in Jemen ist dieser Tage besonders gross. Die Terrororganisation Kaida hat angekündigt, einen grösseren Anschlag auf die jemenitische Hauptstadt verüben zu wollen. Damit wollen die Extremisten die Bombardements der letzten Tage auf ihre Stellungen rächen. Kaida-Kämpfer getötet >>> hoh. | Montag, 04. Januar 2010

Wien: Paare schließen erste "Homo-Ehen"
Meine Herren! Bemühen Sie sich doch ein wenig bei der Auswahl Ihrer Hochzeitskleider! Hochzeitstag ist speziell! In Wien kann man gut einkaufen! – Mark. Bild: Die Presse
DIE PRESSE: Vier homosexuelle Paare haben zum frühestmöglichen Termin am Montag eine eingetragene Partnerschaft geschlossen. Frauen haben sich bisher noch keine angemeldet.

Am Montag haben in Österreich die ersten "Trauungen" von homosexuellen Paaren stattgefunden. Dank Feiertagen und Wochenende war es der erstmögliche Termin für die Schließung der neuen eingetragenen Partnerschaft.

Gleich vier Paare wagten in Wien den Schritt - wenn auch ohne mediale Öffentlichkeit. "Es war auch für mich ein sehr spannender und berührender Moment, weil ja österreichische Rechtsgeschichte geschrieben wurde", sagte die Chefin der für Standesämter zuständigen Magistratsabteilung 35, Beatrix Hornschall.

Alle vier Zeremonien im Margaretener Amtshaus liefen dabei eher sachlich ab: Keines der Paare wurde von Freunden oder Verwandten begleitet, und auch eine Zeremonie im Festsaal wurde nicht gewünscht, erklärte Hornschall. Alle Paare seien bereits sehr lange zusammen gewesen, eines bereits seit 50 Jahren. Alle kamen aus Inner-Gürtel-Bezirken. >>> APA | Montag, 04. Januar 2010

L'Iran lance un «ultimatum» aux Occidentaux
«La communauté internationale a juste un mois pour se décider» a déclaré, samedi, le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Manouchehr Mottaki (ici en décembre dernier). Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le pouvoir iranien menace « d'enrichir l'uranium à un niveau supérieur» d'ici à un mois. La France rejette ce qu'elle qualifie de «pirouette» de la part de Téhéran.

Menacé de nouvelles sanctions, l'Iran a donné, ce week-end, un «ultimatum» d'un mois aux grandes puissances pour qu'elles acceptent une contre-proposition à leur offre d'enrichir l'uranium à l'étranger, faute de quoi il poursuivra lui-même sa production. «La communauté internationale a juste un mois pour se décider» à accepter ou non les conditions de Téhéran, a déclaré, samedi, le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Manouchehr Mottaki, cité par la télévision d'État. Sinon, a-t-il prévenu, «Téhéran enrichira l'uranium à un niveau supérieur ». Dans une tentative de clarification, jugée ambiguë par les diplomates occidentaux, le porte-parole du ministère a indiqué dimanche que cette date limite résultait d'un «accord» passé il y a un mois avec l'Occident.

À l'origine de ce jeu de ping-pong compliqué, se trouve la fameuse offre présentée en octobre dernier par l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique (AIEA) pour tenter de régler l'imbroglio nucléaire qui oppose Téhéran à la communauté internationale. Cette proposition suggérait à l'Iran d'envoyer en Russie 70 % de ses stocks d'uranium faiblement enrichi (à 3,5 %) afin qu'ils y soient retraités à un peu moins de 20 %, pour être ensuite conditionnés en France et réexpédiés en Iran sous forme de combustible utilisable par le réacteur de recherche civil de Téhéran. Ne pas pénaliser l'opposition >>> Delphine Minoui - Correspondante du Figaro au Moyen-Orient | Lundi 04 Janvier 2010

États-Unis : Obama affaibli après l’attentat manqué
Barack Obama après sa première intervention à Hawaï au sujet de l’attentat manqué de Detroit. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Les républicains reviennent à la charge contre le président démocrate accusé d’avoir négligé la sécurité du pays. Par précaution, les Etats-Unis, aussitôt suivis par la Grande-Bretagne, ont annoncé dimanche la fermeture de leur ambassade au Yémen craignant l’imminence d’un attentat

Le jeune Nigérian de 23 ans Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab n’a peut-être pas réussi à activer les explosifs qu’il portait cousus dans ses sous-vêtements le jour de Noël. Mais sa charge explosive ne menaçait pas seulement les passagers du vol 253 entre Amsterdam et Detroit. La polémique sur la lutte contre le terrorisme ne cesse depuis lors d’enfler à Washington. Alors que les yeux sont déjà fixés sur l’échéance électorale de novembre, l’opposition républicaine entend tirer parti de cette rentrée politique pour prouver que la première année au pouvoir de Barack Obama n’a servi qu’à saper la sécurité des Etats-Unis.

De Hawaï, où il a passé ses vacances, Obama s’y est pris à trois reprises pour tenter de démontrer qu’il prenait la question au sérieux. Après avoir admis les «défaillances» du système de sécurité mis en place après le 11 septembre 2001, le président a fini par lier explicitement samedi la tentative d’attentat à Al-Qaida, et plus précisément à sa branche œuvrant dans la péninsule Arabique. Dimanche, les Etats-Unis, aussitôt suivis par la Grande-Bretagne, dévoilaient la fermeture de leur ambassade au Yémen craignant l’imminence d’un attentat. Peu auparavant, ils avaient annoncé qu’ils doubleraient le montant consacré à la lutte antiterroriste dans ce pays pour le porter à quelque 130 millions de dollars annuels. Graves lacunes >>> Luis Lema | Lundi 04 Janvier 2010

We Have Been Beaten in Jail, Say First Openly Gay Couple in Malawi
Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga performed a public engagement ceremony. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Since they became the first openly gay couple in Malawi to be engaged, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza have been arrested, put in prison and charged with offences that could lead to a 14-year jail sentence.

Between true love and gay martyrdom, however, is the brutal reality of life in a Malawi prison. Yesterday, in their first interview since being jailed, the pair claimed that they had been beaten in prison, and demanded to go to court to prove their innocence.

While Mr Chimbalanga, 20, who dresses as a woman, spoke defiantly of his love for the man he plans to marry, Mr Monjeza, 22, said that he was “drunk” when they met and was considering ending their engagement. The couple, who denied three charges of unnatural practices between males and gross indecency, performed a public engagement ceremony in front of 500 onlookers last weekend. They were arrested two days later.

With gay rights campaigners warning that the case marks a new wave of homophobia in Africa, the pair have been held since then at Chichiri prison in Blantyre, where the warders appear bemused by the level of hysteria surrounding their charges.

In an interview with The Times at the weekend, Mr Chimbalanga — visibly more at ease than Mr Monjeza, who appeared confused and disorientated — said: “I love my husband and laws should not prohibit love.” >>> Raphael Tenthani in Malawi and Valentine Low | Monday, January 04, 2010

More Balls from Ed Balls!
TIMES ONLINE: Labour will announce today that primary school children will be able to learn Mandarin and Arabic in a bid to keep up with other countries. Labour to offer Arabic and Mandarin lessons to primary pupils >>> Joanna Sugden | Monday, January 04, 2010

Barack Obama Is Vulnerable on Terror – And He Knows It
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama is playing politics over the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack and Republicans sense he is weak on the issue, writes Toby Harnden in Washington

Barack Obama said both human and systematic failures allowed the foiled Christmas Day attack on Northwest flight 253 to take place. Photograph: The Telegraph
In his weekly radio address yesterday, President Barack Obama patted himself on the back for having "refocused the fight - bringing to a responsible end the war in Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks".

He then told people to remember that "our adversaries are those who would attack our country, not our fellow Americans", before decrying "fear and cynicism" and "partisanship and division" - the code phrases for horrid Republicans used during his 2008 election campaign.

Complacency, faux moralising and partisan shots at Republicans. It was a neat summary of where Obama is going wrong after the Christmas Day debacle when the Nigerian knicker bomber managed to waltz onto a Detroit-bound flight.

For a man who campaigned denouncing the politicisation of national security under President George W Bush, it is worth noting how intensely political Obama's treatment of what might henceforth be known as Underpantsgate has been. >>> | Saturday, 02. January 2010