Barack Obama Backs Ground Zero Mosque
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has offered strong support for plans to build a mosque and Muslim community centre near the Ground Zero site in New York where Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Centre.



Mr Obama made his first public remarks on the proposals on Friday night after weeks avoiding comment on a controversial issue that has dominated headlines.

At a dinner celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, he declared "as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country".

In remarks prepared for the annual White House sunset meal breaking the fast, he said: "I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground."

But, he continued, "this is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."

Robert Gibbs, his press secretary, said last week that the president did not want to "get involved in local decision-making" as controversy grew when New York city authorities removed the last planning hurdle to the project. >>> Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, August 14, 2010

NOTHING and NO-ONE will EVER convince me that this man isn't a MUSLIM. He got to the White House by deceiving the people, isn't qualified for the high, prestigious office he now holds, and he thereby endangers not only the existence of Judeo-Christian America, but also the existence of the West as well.

The sooner that Americans rid themselves of this loser, the better it will be for us all. He is a traitor to the cause. He should be upholding Western values, not Islamic ones. Shouldn't this be an impeachable offence? – © Mark [This comment can also be viewed on The DailyTelegraph’s website]

Barack Hussein Obama: Muslim's Right To Build A Manhattan Mosque


ATLAS SHRUGS: Pamela Geller >>>

I observe from afar, from across the Pond, how this Muslim president is unmaking America. My heart weeps. How Americans could have been gulled by this phoney upstart, I'll never know. I guess it is testimony to the good nature of Americans – their desire to think only the best of others.

Alas, they have been deceived. Their president has had a hidden agenda; but the truth is coming out with each passing day.
It is unimaginable to me that Americans will be fooled a second time. So, as you say, Pamela, B. Hussein Obama has sealed his fate.

The sooner that Americans rid themselves of this loser, the better it will be for all concerned, Europeans too. Western values need to be upheld. Islam doesn't need someone like this foolish president to fight its corner for it; they - and history - have shown pretty clearly that Muslims are quite capable of fighting their own. But the West does need someone to bat for it. It is, and has been since 9/11, under attack. This president is helping the process of the Islamization of your wonderful country. Surely this should be an impeachable offence. – © Mark

This comment also appears on Atlas Shrugs.

LE POINT: NEW YORK - Obama favorable à la mosquée de Ground Zero: Il a finalement tranché. Dans un plaidoyer passionné pour la liberté de culte, le président américain Barack Obama a défendu vendredi le droit d'installer une mosquée près du site des attentats du 11-Septembre à New York, intervenant pour la première fois dans ce dossier potentiellement explosif. >>> AFP | Samedi 14 Août 2010

Von Steinigung bedrohte Frau darf nicht ausreisen
WELT ONLINE: Brasiliens Präsident Lula da Silva hatte der wegen angeblichen Ehebruchs zur Steinigung verurteilten Iranerin Sakine Ashtiani Asyl angeboten.

Ein Demonstrant in London hält ein Flugblatt in der Hand, auf dem er die Rettung Sakine Ashtianis vor der Steinigung fordert. Foto: Welt Online
Der Iran will die zum Tod durch Steinigung verurteilte Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani nicht nach Brasilien ausreisen lassen. Der Iran habe keine offizielle schriftliche Anfrage aus Brasilien erhalten, sagte der iranische Botschafter in dem südamerikanischen Land, Moschen Schatersadeh, der Nachrichtenagentur Agencia Brasil. „Der Prozess betrifft Iraner, warum sollten andere Länder daran beteiligt sein?“

Das Steinigungsurteil wegen Ehebruchs gegen die 43-jährige Mohammadi Aschtiani hatte weltweit Proteste ausgelöst. Brasiliens Präsident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hatte Ende Juli angeboten, die Frau in seinem Land aufzunehmen. >>> AFP/ks | Freitag, 13. August 2010

Um Himmels willen, kann niemand diese arme Frau helfen? Sicherlich könnte etwas gemacht werden, um diese Frau aus der Gefahr zu bringen. Für die verurteilte Frau und ihre Kinder muß doch etwas gemacht werden. – © Mark

Statement by the President on the Occasion of Ramadan
THE WHITE HOUSE: On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I want to extend our best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world. Ramadan Kareem.

Ramadan is a time when Muslims around the world reflect upon the wisdom and guidance that comes with faith, and the responsibility that human beings have to one another, and to God. This is a time when families gather, friends host iftars, and meals are shared. But Ramadan is also a time of intense devotion and reflection – a time when Muslims fast during the day and pray during the night; when Muslims provide support to others to advance opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere. For all of us must remember that the world we want to build – and the changes that we want to make – must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities.

These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings. Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality. And here in the United States, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country. And today, I want to extend my best wishes to the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world – and your families and friends – as you welcome the beginning of Ramadan.

I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan here at the White House later this week, and wish you a blessed month.

May God’s peace be upon you. [Source: The White House] Wednesday, August 11, 2010

This Ramadan message from Barack Hussein Obama is enough to make any decent Westerner want to vomit! The sooner that Americans decide to rid themselves of this president, the better it will be for America and for the free world. This man is a danger to its very existence. – © Mark

Obama's Ramadan Message 2009


We shall await Obama’s message for 2010. I dread to think of the nonsense, the snivelling drivel, he will come out with! – © Mark

Le centre culturel islamique de Manhattan fait ressurgir certains sentiments islamophobes
"Ne glorifiez pas les meurtriers de 3 000 personnes – Non à la mosquée de la victoire du 11-Septembre" proteste une opposante au projet de construction. Photo : Le Monde
LE MONDE: “Ne glorifiez pas les meurtriers de 3 000 personnes. Non à la mosquée de la victoire du 11-Septembre." Sur la pancarte brandie devant la Commission de préservation du paysage, qui arbitrait sur le statut du terrain prévu pour accueillir un centre culturel islamique près du site des attentats de 2001, le message est révélateur de la violence du débat qui secoue les Etats-Unis. Manifestations publiques, batailles dans la presse par chroniqueurs interposés, engagement personnel du maire de New York : les tensions autour du projet de construction ont pris de l'ampleur.

L'implantation d'une mosquée tout près de Ground Zero a provoqué chez certains un malaise immédiat. Comme le montre cette infographie du New York Times, le centre se situerait dans une rue très proche de l'emplacement des tours détruites par les attentats. Certains parlent de "terre sacrée" pour ce carré désert du sud de Manhattan, qui a vu périr près de 3 000 personnes en quelques heures.

Dans une tribune intitulée "Sacrilège à Ground Zero" publiée par le Washington Post, le chroniqueur politique Charles Krauthammer explique ainsi : "[Par sacré], on entend ici que ce lieu appartient à ceux qui ont souffert et sont morts ici, et que cette appartenance nous oblige, nous les vivants, à préserver la dignité et la mémoire de ce lieu." "Personne n'a rien contre les centres culturels japonais, ajoute le chroniqueur, mais en construire un à Pearl Harbor serait une offense." En bref, "le lieu choisi a son importance". >>> Marion Solletty | Vendredi 13 Août 2010

Savings Accounts Will Become 'Obsolete'
THE TELEGRAPH: Savings accounts will become “totally obsolete” if inflation rises next week, experts have warned.

Latest figures suggested that not a single saver in Briton would make a real return on their cash if the cost of living continues to rise.

Historically low interest rates and the government’s preferred measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index, at 3.2 per cent means savers are already struggling to get an income.

There are currently no accounts available to higher rate taxpayers that provide a real rate of return after tax and inflation, and just a handful available to basic rate taxpayers. But even these could be nudged off the savings landscape, financial experts warned.

They suggested that if CPI rises to above 3.8 per cent, there will be no point any taxpayer using a savings account to produce an income.

In this situation, savers would actually end up losing money and could end up being more than £300 out of pocket in a year on a £10,000 investment.

Darren Cook, of personal finance website Moneyfacts, said: “If inflation rises to 3.8 per cent, all savings accounts will effectively be totally obsolete. >>> Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent | Friday, August 13, 2010

Cairo to Use Computerised Call to Prayer After Complaints Over Tuneless Muezzin
THE TELEGRAPH: Cairo is to synchronise the call to prayer across the city's 4,500 mosques using computers to put an end to out of tune and out of time muezzin.

Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo. Photo: The Telegraph
For more than a millennium, the competing calls to prayer intoned from Cairo's thousands of minarets have been one of the city's most distinctive features.

The government this weekend begins a long-heralded project to synchronise the five daily calls to prayer across the city.

Neighbourhood by neighbourhood, the ministry of religious endowments is linking all of the mosques in the city, the largest in the Arab world, to a central computerised feed.

"Egyptians have a problem with timing," said Sheikh Salem Abdel-Galil, the ministry official behind the proposal. >>> Richard Spencer | Friday, August 13, 2010

Emma Thompson Criticised for Gay-stoning Joke on Isle of Wight
THE TELEGRAPH: Emma Thompson has upset residents of the Isle of Wight by claiming that they stone and flog homosexuals.

The Oscar-winning actress also told US television viewers that Irish and Scottish visitors to the island are tortured and shot.

Appearing on The Late Late Show, Thompson engaged in a conversation about holiday destinations. Craig Ferguson, the presenter, said he was visiting Catalina, an island off the California coast.

"It's kind of like the Isle of Wight," Ferguson explained, to which Thompson replied: "Oh, so they stone homosexuals there? Nice."

To roars of laughter from the audience, she went on: "I think they are still allowed to flog them, which of course some of them enjoy. I think they are allowed to shoot Irish or Scottish people if they arrive on the island - it is still in the rules. They are allowed to torture people. It's lovely, you should go." >>> Anita Singh, Showbusiness editor | Friday, August 13, 2010

Andy Sullivan on Fox and Friends about the Ground Zero Mosque


HT: Always On Watch >>>

Andrew Sullivan's website is Blue Collar Corner >>>

Rauchmöglichkeit für Österreicher weiter wichtig
KLEINE ZEITUNG: Die Möglichkeit, in einem Lokal rauchen zu können, ist für die Österreicher nach wie vor ein Anziehungspunkt. Das ergab eine Umfrage des Meinungsforschungsinstitutes "market". Noch wichtiger waren den Befragten nur die Freundlichkeit der Bedienung, dass es sich um heimisches Servicepersonal handelt und die Speisen frisch gekocht sind.

Für die Umfrage wurden Online-Interviews mit 500 repräsentativ für die Gesamtbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren ausgewählten Personen geführt. Dabei nannten zwei Drittel - konkret: 67 Prozent - dass sie Wert auf die Möglichkeit legen, rauchen oder in einem Raucherbereich sitzen zu können. Allerdings ist auch für 44 Prozent wichtig, dass das besuchte Lokal rauchfrei beziehungsweise kein Zigarettenrauch zu bemerken ist. >>> APA | Freitag, 13. August 2010

Brigitte Bardot started the trend for topless sunbathing in the sixties. Photo: The Telegraph
There's Nothing Wrong with Topless Sunbathing
THE TELEGRAPH: What’s so wrong with being topless on the beach, asks Bryony Gordon.

Readers of a nervous disposition should look away now. Right. Have you turned the page, moved on to the obituaries, or perhaps the weather? Then I shall begin. When I go on holiday, I like to sunbathe topless. The beach towel goes down, the book comes out, and the bikini top flies off, often in the direction of a startled looking friend who has clearly never seen a pair of breasts before. Seeing as I won’t be using the top to cover my chest, I suggest that instead they use it cover their prudish eyes.

Topless sunbathing is a wonderful thing, a holiday in itself from underwired bras. But people are turning their backs on bare bosoms. In France, where the whole thing kicked off in the sixties thanks to Brigitte Bardot, a poll revealed that the majority of women would never go topless on the beach.

It gets worse: Riviera resident Joan Collins, cementing her position as feminist icon, announced that only Wags, chavs and hookers took their tops off on the beach. A group of Australian politicians tried to ban it in 2008, with one Labour MP, Paul Gibson posing the searching question: “if you’re on the beach, do you want somebody with big knockers next to you when you’re there with the kids?” Well I don’t know Paul - if you positioned yourself right, they might just keep the wind off.

And now - mamma mia! - we learn that they’ve gone all funny about it in Italy. It was reported this week that a 26-year-old topless sunbather was being investigated for “committing an obscene act”: applying suntan lotion in a manner that “troubled” two boys aged 12 and 14. Their mother complained, the lady refused to put her top back on, and police were called to the beach, just south of Rome. The sunbather’s lawyer argued that “my client... has an ample breast and is therefore naturally going to be sensuous when she applies cream to her chest.” >>> Bryony Gordon | Friday, August 13, 2010

German Economy Surges Ahead at Record Pace
THE GUARDIAN: Germany's 2.2% growth helps eurozone to outpace US / Every eurozone country except Greece now out of recession / Euro strengthens, with potential threat to Europe's competitiveness

Germany has seen strong demand for exports along with a recovery in construction drive growth higher than market expectations. Photograph: The Guardian
The German economy grew at its fastest pace in the second quarter since the country was reunified two decades ago, fuelling the strongest growth in the eurozone in more than two years.

Europe's largest economy powered ahead between April and June, growing by 2.2%, thanks to a recovery in construction and strong foreign demand for German goods, the federal statistical office, Destatis, reported today. This was well above market expectations of 1.4% growth. Growth in the first quarter was revised higher to 0.5% from 0.2%.

Germany's stellar performance helped the 16-member eurozone grow by 1% in the second quarter, the strongest growth rate since the first quarter of 2008 and a strong improvement on the 0.2% recorded for the first three months of this year. No detail is available yet, but exports, investments and a backlog of work in the construction sector after a harsh winter are expected to have been the main factors driving growth.

"After three difficult months of eurozone battering, today's numbers will help to heal the eurozone's wounds. For the first time since the second quarter of 2009, the eurozone outpaced the US economy," said Carsten Brzeski at ING.

America grew by around 0.6% in the second quarter of 2010, slower than earlier in the year.

Every eurozone country except Greece has now come out of recession. Only Greece experienced a sharp drop of 1.5%. The best performers were led by Germany, the Netherlands (0.9%), Austria (0.9%), Belgium (0.7%) and France (0.6%), while Spain (0.2%) and Portugal (0.2%) are still lagging behind. >>> Julia Kollewe | Friday, August 13, 2010

Eurozone GDP: What the Economists Say
THE GUARDIAN: Germany reported an impressive 2.2% growth in the second quarter today, the strongest since the country was reunified two decades ago. This helped fuel growth in the 16-member eurozone, which expanded by 1%, compared with just 0.2% in the first three months of the year. France expanded by 0.6% while Spain recorded lacklustre growth of 0.2%. Here is what economists made of today's figures. >>> | Friday, August 13, 2010

Ground Zero Mosque Plans 'Fuelling Anti-Muslim Protests Across US'
THE GUARDIAN: Religious leaders warn of Islamophobia surge with hate speech and opposition to new Islamic centres across America

A woman holds up a sign protesting plans to build a mosque close to the World Trade Centre site in New York. Photograph: The Guardian
The battle over plans to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York is fuelling a surge in anti-Muslim protests across the US, including opposition to new Islamic centres from California to Georgia.

Religious leaders and civil rights activists warn that a tide of Islamophobia that has swept the country since the destruction of the twin towers is being heightened by political exploitation of the New York dispute before nationwide elections and is increasingly bound up with hostility to immigrants and other forms of racism.

They say the outpouring of condemnation at the "outrage" of a mosque close to the "hallowed ground" of the World Trade Centre site also goes hand in hand with the increasing acceptability of what they describe as hate speech.

A Florida church, Dove World Outreach Centre, is planning a "burn the Qur'an" day on September 11 and has already outraged Muslims by planting a sign on its front lawn that reads: Islam is the Devil.

The church's senior pastor, Terry Jones, has said he is "exposing Islam for what it is".

"It is a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to masquerade itself as a religion of peace, seeking to deceive our society," the church said. "Islam is a lie based upon lies and deceptions and fear. In Muslim countries, if you preach the gospel or convert to Christianity – you will be killed. That is the type of religion it is."

A leading Muslim educational institution, al-Azhar's Supreme Council in Egypt, has accused the Florida church of "stirring up hate and discrimination" and called on other American churches to condemn it. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ashtiani Outrage Spurs Iran to Commute Stoning Sentences to Hanging
THE GUARDIAN: Tehran carries out series of judicial reviews but lawyer fears women who have not attracted media attention will be executed

Iran appears to be quietly changing the sentences of Iranians awaiting death by stoning to hanging after international outcry following the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two.

Mariam Ghorbanzadeh, 25, who was six months' pregnant and miscarried after being beaten up in Tabriz prison this week, was initially sentenced to death by stoning for adultery but her sentence has been commuted to hanging in a rapid judicial review. The decision is thought to have been driven by the Iranian authorities' desire to avoid further international condemnation over the barbaric punishment.

According to Iranian law, officials could not carry out her sentence while she was pregnant. Speaking to the Guardian, her lawyer, Houtan Kian, who represents Mohammadi Ashtiani and two other women kept in Tabriz prison convicted of adultery, said: "My fear is that Iran executes Mariam and those others whose cases have not attracted media attention."

Another of Kian's clients, Azar Bagheri, 19, was imprisoned at the age of 15 after her husband accused her of having an extramarital relationship. Bagheri was on death row for adultery but her sentence was commuted to 100 lashes after Mohammadi Ashtiani's story came to light. Although Bagheri's death penalty was handed down four years ago, the sentence could not be carried out until she was 18 years of old.

"All these women are convicted for adultery but Iran is trying to change their sentences after Sakineh's case has embarrassed them," Kian said. (+ video) >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Why Have Western Feminists Been So Muted in Their Criticisms of Iran?
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – TOBY YOUNG: The fate of the 43-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning took a sinister turn yesterday when she appeared on Iranian state television to confess to her “crimes”. Her lawyer fears she will now be executed imminently, probably hung by the neck until she is dead.

Many human rights groups have criticised the Iranian authorities for their brutal treatment of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, including Amnesty International and the International Committee Against Stoning. The mother of two has already received 99 lashes for committing adultery and according to her lawyer, who has fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest, she has been beaten and tortured in jail. Yet the response of feminists in the West has been strangely muted.

Hillary Clinton lost no opportunity to brandish her feminist credentials during her campaign to become the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee in 2008 and even went so far as to blame her failure to beat Barack Obama on the “glass ceiling”. Unfortunately, the concrete ceiling of Ashtiani’s jail cell hasn’t inspired any comparable rhetoric. All she has said is that she’s “troubled” by Ashtiani’s case.

At least Hillary Clinton was able to bring herself to mutter this mild rebuke. No other prominent feminist has spoken out about Ashtiani’s case, unless you include Yoko Ono who has signed the petition calling for her to be freed. We’ve heard nothing from Germaine Greer, nothing from Gloria Steinem, nothing from Jane Fonda, nothing from Naomi Wolf, nothing from Clare Short, nothing from Harriet Harmen.

We know why, of course. Almost no one on the left, with the honourable exception of Christopher Hitchens, dares to breath a word against any Islamic country for fear of being branded “Islamophobic”. Thus, a brutal dictatorship is able to torture and murder thousands of innocent women, safe in the knowledge that the self-styled keepers of the West’s conscience will remain silent. Continue reading and comment >>> Toby Young | Friday, August 13, 2010

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Same-sex Marriages Can Take Place in California by Next Week
THE TELEGRAPH: Same-sex marriages can go ahead in California from next week, a judge has ruled.

Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco said that gay and lesbian couples can wed in the state from 5pm on Aug 18, unless opponents can convince the Court of Appeal to intervene by then.

The move followed a landmark decision by the same judge last week that the state’s ban on gay matrimony violated the US Constitution.

After that ruling California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger filed a motion demanding same-sex marriages be allowed to take place immediately. >>> Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Thursday, August 12, 2010

Stop the Execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (Mirror)

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