Iran 'Bars Co-operation with Foreign Groups'
BBC: Iran has banned its citizens from co-operating with foreign organisations it says are trying to destabilise the government, state media has reported.

The 60 blacklisted groups include human rights groups, Iranian opposition websites and media groups such as the BBC and US broadcasters.

Iran's deputy intelligence minister told Press TV the groups were involved in a "soft war" against the state.

The official said the groups had helped incite post-election unrest.

The BBC, Voice of America, the US National Defense University, the Soros Foundation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the East European Democratic Centre (EEDC) were among the organisations named.

Tehran has issues similar bans in the past and the terms of the ban itself remain unclear.

But Press TV quoted the official as saying that co-operating with the groups, signing contracts with them or receiving assistance from them was illegal.

He said it was also illegal for foreign parties to receive funding from foreign countries and warned citizens to avoid "any unusual relations" with foreign embassies and nationals. >>> | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Henryk M. Broder – After Attack on Danish Cartoonist: The West Is Choked by Fear
A Somalian man broke into the home of Kurt Westergaard on Friday armed with an ax and a knife. He is accused of the attempted murder of the Danish cartoonist. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL – Editorial: The attack on illustrator Kurt Westergaard wasn't the first attempt to carry out a deadly fatwa. When Muslims tried to murder Salman Rushdie 20 years ago, the protests among intellectuals were loud. Today, though, Western writers and thinkers would rather take cover than defend basic rights.

In 1988, Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" was published in its English-language original edition. Its publication led the Iranian state and its revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to issue a "fatwa" against Rushdie and offer a hefty bounty for his murder. This triggered several attacks on the novel's translators and publishers, including the murder of Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi. Millions of Muslims around the world who had never read a single line of the book, and who had never even heard the name Salman Rushdie before, wanted to see the death sentence against the author carried out -- and the sooner the better, so that the stained honor of the prophet could be washed clean again with Rushdie's blood.

In that atmosphere, no German publisher had the courage to publish Rushdie's book. This led a handful of famous German authors, led by Günter Grass, to take the initiative to ensure that Rushdie's novel could appear in Germany by founding a publishing house exclusively for that purpose. It was called Artikel 19, named after the paragraph in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights that guarantees the freedom of opinion. Dozens of publishing houses, organizations, journalists, politicians and other prominent members of German society were involved in the joint venture, which was the broadest coalition that had ever been formed in postwar German history.

Sympathy for the Hurt Feelings of Muslims

Seventeen years later, after the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published a dozen Muhammad cartoons on a single page, there were similar reactions in the Islamic world to those that had followed the publication of "The Satanic Verses." Millions of Muslims from London to Jakarta who had never seen the caricatures or even heard the name of the newspaper, took to the streets in protests against an insult to the prophet and demanded the appropriate punishment for the offenders: death. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden even went so far as to demand the cartoonists' extradition so that they could be condemned by an Islamic court.

This time, however, in contrast to the Rushdie case, hardly anyone has showed any solidarity with the threatened Danish cartoonists -- to the contrary. Grass, who had initiated the Artikel 19 campaign, expressed his understanding for the hurt feelings of the Muslims and the violent reactions that resulted. Grass described them as a "fundamentalist response to a fundamentalist act," in the process drawing a moral equivalence between the 12 cartoons and the death threats against the cartoonists. Grass also stated that: "We have lost the right to seek protection under the umbrella of freedom of expression." >>> Henryk M. Broder | Monday, January 04, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: ’Islam Needs a Sexual Revolution’ >>>

Dark Age Alert! Malawi Gay Wedding Couple Denied Bail for 'Own Protection'
THE GUARDIAN: Two men arrested after symbolic ceremony last month could face up to 14 years in jail

A court in Malawi today denied bail to two men arrested after becoming the first gay couple to marry in the conservative African country.

Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa told a packed court that he could not grant the couple bail, saying the ruling was for their own protection. "The public out there is angry with them," Usiwausiwa said.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza committed to marriage in a symbolic ceremony in southern Malawi last month, attracting hundreds of onlookers. They were arrested at the home they share and charged with unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency.

Government prosecutors had asked the court to detain the couple for a longer period to allow for more investigations.

Police said the two men had been taken for medical tests to prove whether they had sexual intercourse. The men's lawyer has pledged to resist any such tests. "Unless they give their consent to the medical examination, we will protest," Noel Supedi said.

The case has generated huge interest in Malawi. Suzanne Worrica, a British spectator in court, said: "The crowd atmosphere was again hostile, taunting Tiwonge and Steven, although some gay rights campaigners were present, who gave them money." >>> (with video) David Smith, Africa correspondent | Monday, January 04, 2010

Quintessential Englishmen: Yesterday, Today
Yesterday: Elegant Englishmen in tweeds. Photo: Google Images
Today: An English Muslim in the style of the prophet Muhammad, with long, bushy beard and clipped moustache. No trace of elegance here! Photo: Mail Online

Court Hears Muslims Calling British Soldiers ‘Rapists’, 'Cowards’ and ‘Scum’
MAIL ONLINE: Shocking films of a group of Muslim protestors shouting 'rapists', 'scum' and 'burn in hell' at soldiers on a homecoming parade were played to a court today.

The mob of Muslim anti-war protesters screamed hostile chants including 'baby killers and murderers all of you' and 'British army murderers' at 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment - which had lost 12 soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Holding signs made from cardboard boxes denouncing soldiers as 'Butchers of Basra' and 'war criminals', the group of men jeered 'murderers' as they marched past.

What should have been a joyful homecoming spilled over into violence as angry members of the public there to give the soldiers a heroes' welcome shouted insults back at the protestors, Luton Magistrates Court heard. >>> Lucy Ballinger and Mark Duell | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

MAIL ONLINE: Top officer says Muslim hate preacher 'DOES have right to march' as 400,000 join Facebook group against Wootton Bassett protest >>> Ian Drury | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Tories Downgrade Their Promises on Tax Breaks for Married Couples
TIMES ONLINE: The Tories have downgraded their promise of tax breaks to married couples, saying that due to the dire state of the public finances it will only be possible to offer a limited scheme.

Previously the policy had been a headline pledge for the Tories, with David Cameron expressing strong support for the idea as something that the party "will definitely do".

The scheme that the Tories have favoured up till now was to allow spouses to transfer their income tax personal allowances to one another, likely to be of particular benefit to higher income couples where one partner does not work.

But with Treasury figures suggesting that such a scheme would cost £4.9 billion to implement, the shadow chief secretary to the treasury has said that the Conservatives were likely to opt initially for a more limited scheme. >>> Jenny Booth | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

General Wojciech Jaruzelski. Photo: Google Images
Punish Those Communist Bastards!
THE TELEGRAPH: Poland's last communist leader and thousands of former secret service agents have had their pensions cut as part of a campaign to punish those who imposed the authoritarian regime upon the country.

From the start of the year, General Wojciech Jaruzelski will see his pension slashed following widespread anger in Poland that he and others involved in the suppression of dissidents and the democratic movement enjoyed lavish pensions.

The general, along with colleagues from the National Salvation Council, the body that crushed the Solidarity movement in 1981 through the imposition of martial law, have until now enjoyed pensions worth £1,833 a month.

But from January they will receive only £900, although some have said this, too, is excessive, given that a retired doctor can take home as little as £434 a month. Poland punishes former communist leaders by cutting pensions >>> Matthew Day in Warsaw | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Freed Guantánamo Inmates Are Heading for Yemen to Join al-Qaeda Fight
Said Ali al-Shihri, Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish (ID not confirmed); Abdullah Saleh Ali al Ajmi; and Abdullah Mahsud. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: At least a dozen former Guantánamo Bay inmates have rejoined al-Qaeda to fight in Yemen, The Times has learnt, amid growing concern over the ability of the country’s Government to accept almost 100 more former inmates from the detention centre.

The Obama Administration promised to close the Guantánamo facility by January 22, a deadline that it will be unable to meet. The 91 Yemeni prisoners in Guantánamo make up the largest national contingent among the 198 being held.

Six prisoners were returned to Yemen last month. After the Christmas Day bomb plot in Detroit, US officials are increasingly concerned that the country is becoming a hot-bed of terrorism. Eleven of the former inmates known to have rejoined al-Qaeda in Yemen were born in Saudi Arabia. The organisation merged its Saudi and Yemeni offshoots last year.

The country’s mountainous terrain, poverty and lawless tribal society make it, in the opinion of many analysts, a close match for Afghanistan as a new terrorist haven. >>> Tom Coghlan | Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Québec: Be Aware of Islam

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

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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