Le Caire. Photo : Google Images
EGYPTE : "L'islam reste bien éloigné des problèmes quotidiens"
LE MONDE DES RELIGIONS.fr: Suite aux élections législatives, le parti au pouvoir, le PND, est assuré de régner sans partage sur l'Assemblée. A un an de la présidentielle, l'opposition, et au premier rang les Frères musulmans, a boycotté le scrutin en dénonçant des fraudes. Jean-Noël Ferrié, politologue et directeur de recherche au CNRS, analyse le positionnement de cette faction politique et religieuse. Quel est le rôle des Frères musulmans dans ces élections? >>> propos recueillis par Camille Dubruelh | Lundi 06 Décembre 2010

Wikileaks Cable: American TV Shows 'Agents of Influence' in Saudi Arabia
ABC NEWS: American television shows broadcast across the Middle East are proving to be effective "agents of influence" in the ongoing battle over hearts and minds of ordinary Muslims pondering jihad against the United States, a confidential government cable published by Wikileaks reveals.


ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "World News with Diane Sawyer," as well as CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" and NBC's sitcom "Friends," all carry more sway with viewers than a U.S. taxpayer-funded Middle East broadcast network, an unnamed Saudi source told U.S. embassy officials last year.

"It's still all about the War of Ideas here, and the American programming on [privately-owned] MBC and Rotana is winning over ordinary Saudis in a way that 'Al Hurra' and other U.S. propaganda never could," the source said.

"Saudis are now very interested in the outside world, and everybody wants to study in the U.S. if they can. They are fascinated by U.S. culture in a way they never were before." >>> Devin Dwyer | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Oprah Addresses Lesbian Rumors
Talk show host gets emotional in interview with Barbara Walters

Follow the Money
THE NEW YORK TIMES – EDITORIAL: Nine years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there is still a seemingly limitless stream of cash flowing to terrorist groups from private charities and contributors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. According to classified State Department cables recently released by WikiLeaks, governments in all three countries — all close American allies — are not doing enough to shut down that flow of money.

In a December 2009 cable to American diplomats in the region, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warns that “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide” and says that persuading Saudi leaders to treat this as a priority is “an ongoing challenge.”

The cable also said that while the Saudi government has taken important steps to criminalize terror financing and restrict the movement of money overseas, it still looks the other way when it comes to certain favored organizations. Fund-raising at pilgrimages to Mecca is believed to produce millions of dollars annually for extremists. The cable suggests an even more serious problem in Kuwait, where Islamic charities are largely unregulated. The three gulf states are also not doing enough to disrupt crimes, including drug trafficking and kidnappings for ransom, that produce revenue for terrorists. After Sept. 11, Saudi Arabia turned a blind eye to the terrorist threat even though Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi-born. >>> | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Harry Nilsson: Without You

Assange's 'Martyr Status' Further Damages US Reputation
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, has been deined bail in London. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested in London and denied bail on charges of rape and sexual molestation. German opinion makers are split on what the arrest really means. One thing they agree on: The reputation of the US continues to suffer.

The London arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made headlines in all of the major German newspapers Wednesday, with several noting how welcomed the arrest was in the United States, and editorialists discussing what freedom of information means in the world's last remaining superpower.

Assange, who turned himself over to Scotland Yard authorities on Tuesday morning, was denied bail by the British judge overseeing the case. He has been accused in Sweden of one count of rape, one count of unlawful coercion and two counts of sexual molestation, involving incidents which allegedly occured [sic] in August 2010. The Swedish public prosecutor's office had issued a European warrant to bring Assange in for questioning.

The arrest came as Assange, the 39-year-old WikiLeaks founder, faced increasing pressure from all corners of the world -- Sweden, the United States, and even his home nation, Australia -- following the stream of secret US diplomatic leaks that have been published by his website and several major news organizations, including SPIEGEL.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters in Afghanistan Tuesday that Assange's arrest: "Sounds like good news to me." Several prominent US politicians had been calling for his arrest, and former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin said he should be tracked down and hunted like Osama bin Laden. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that Assange's publication of the US diplomatic cables on his website was illegal.

In his response published Wednesday in the daily The Australian, Assange calls organization the "underdog" and writes: "Prime Minister Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not had a word of criticism for the other media organizations. That is because The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel are old and large, while WikiLeaks is as yet young and small."

He also writes that the Australian government is "trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings."

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said that Assange would get consular support in Britain, and told The Australian: "What we do with Australians in strife anywhere in the world is that we take the view that our responsibility is to ensure the consular rights and legal rights of all Australians abroad are protected. And that includes Mr. Assange."

WikiLeaks spokesman, Kristinn Hrafnsson, wrote on Twitter: "We will not be gagged, either by judicial action or corporate censorship." >>> Mary Beth Warner and Jill Petzinger | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Bergregionen setzen auf Schneekanonen
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der Schnee in den Bergen ist immer weniger echt und des Öfteren künstlich. Grund dafür ist, dass die Bergregionen immer mehr auf Schneekanonen setzen, um sich die Skigäste zu sichern. Die künstliche Beschneiung bedeutet jedoch einen riesigen Wasser- und Energieverbrauch.


Dieses Stück Nachrichten wurde zum Teil in Schweizerdeutsch (Schwyzertüütsch) ausgestrahlt.

WikiLeaks Cables: Saudi Princes Throw Parties Boasting Drink, Drugs and Sex *
THE GUARDIAN: Royals flout puritanical laws to throw parties for young elite while religious police are forced to turn a blind eye

These Saudi students at a prayer event in Riyadh conform to the puritanical image of the country, but worldly pleasures are available behind closed doors to the very rich, WikiLeaks cables show. Photograph: The Guardian
In what may prove a particularly incendiary cable, US diplomats describe a world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll behind the official pieties of Saudi Arabian royalty.

Jeddah consulate officials described an underground Halloween party, thrown last year by a member of the royal family, which broke all the country's Islamic taboos. Liquor and prostitutes were present in abundance, according to leaked dispatches, behind the heavily-guarded villa gates.

The party was thrown by a wealthy prince from the large Al-Thunayan family. The diplomats said his identity should be kept secret. A US energy drinks company also put up some of the finance.

"Alcohol, though strictly prohibited by Saudi law and custom, was plentiful at the party's well-stocked bar. The hired Filipino bartenders served a cocktail punch using sadiqi, a locally-made moonshine," the cable said. "It was also learned through word-of-mouth that a number of the guests were in fact 'working girls', not uncommon for such parties."

The dispatch from the US partygoers, signed off by the consul in Jeddah, Martin Quinn, added: "Though not witnessed directly at this event, cocaine and hashish use is common in these social circles."

The underground party scene is "thriving and throbbing" in Saudi Arabia thanks to the protection of Saudi royalty, the dispatch said. But it is only available behind closed doors and for the very rich. >>> Heather Brooke | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

*And, of course, we shouldn't forget about their fondness for pretty boys. – © Mark

The More We Learn About the Release of the Lockerbie Bomber, the More It Stinks
TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – CON COUGHLIN: What on earth was Sir Vincent Fean, Britain’s ambassador to Libya, thinking of when he warned that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi could “cut us off at the knees” if we refused to hand over Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person to be convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people?

Has Libya suddenly become one of the world’s leading superpowers? Does a half-baked revolutionary zealot like Gaddafi really have the ability to damage Britain? Admittedly Gaddafi caused us a great deal of discomfort during the 1980s when he thoughtfully provided the IRA with the Semtex they needed to carry out their campaign of terror against the British mainland.

But that hardly brought the country to its knees, and I very much doubt that any other hare-brained schemes the “mad dog” of Libya – as former American president Ronald Reagan once described him – might come up with would cause us serious harm. Read on and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Don't Shoot Messenger for Revealing Uncomfortable Truths
THE AUSTRALIAN: WIKILEAKS deserves protection, not threats and attacks.

IN 1958 a young Rupert Murdoch, then owner and editor of Adelaide's The News, wrote: "In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win."

His observation perhaps reflected his father Keith Murdoch's expose that Australian troops were being needlessly sacrificed by incompetent British commanders on the shores of Gallipoli. The British tried to shut him up but Keith Murdoch would not be silenced and his efforts led to the termination of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.

Nearly a century later, WikiLeaks is also fearlessly publishing facts that need to be made public.

I grew up in a Queensland country town where people spoke their minds bluntly. They distrusted big government as something that could be corrupted if not watched carefully. The dark days of corruption in the Queensland government before the Fitzgerald inquiry are testimony to what happens when the politicians gag the media from reporting the truth.

These things have stayed with me. WikiLeaks was created around these core values. The idea, conceived in Australia, was to use internet technologies in new ways to report the truth.

WikiLeaks coined a new type of journalism: scientific journalism. We work with other media outlets to bring people the news, but also to prove it is true. Scientific journalism allows you to read a news story, then to click online to see the original document it is based on. That way you can judge for yourself: Is the story true? Did the journalist report it accurately?

Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest. WikiLeaks has revealed some hard truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and broken stories about corporate corruption.

People have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. Sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. But there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. If a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it. Read on and comment >>> Julian Assange | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

BBC: Wikileaks: Australia FM says US to blame, not Assange – Australia's foreign minister has said the US is to blame for the release of thousands of diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, not its Australian founder, Julian Assange. >>> | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wikileaks: Kevin Rudd blames US for release of diplomatic cables: Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, has blamed America for the release of thousands of classified diplomatic cables by Wikileaks and called into question US security measures surrounding confidential information. >>> Bonnie Malkin, Sydney | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

WikiLeaks: The Man Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: As the disclosures continue, a number of questions about the way the world has changed are becoming more clearly framed

"Is this the end or beginning?" Betjeman put those words into the mouth of Oscar Wilde as he sat in the Cadogan hotel waiting to be arrested for sexual offences in 1895. Similar thoughts must have flitted through the mind of Julian Assange as he prepared to present himself at a London police station yesterday. He was duly arrested in relation to alleged sex offences in Sweden and remanded in custody for a week. Under technological, legal, financial, corporate and governmental attack from all sides, Assange has managed to keep his subversive website, WikiLeaks, staggering on, spilling classified secrets around the globe. Will WikiLeaks be floored by the arrest of its driving inspiration? Or will its actions, ethos and notoriety prove it to be indestructible and thereby demonstrate that there are new forces in the world which can effectively challenge established patterns of power and control of information? Is it the end or the beginning?

Of the charges themselves it is unwise to say anything. The internet is awash with conspiracies, smears and rebuttal, but for the moment it is best to let the Swedish judicial process take its course. It is, though, difficult to see what purpose is served by locking Assange away this week, given that a number of reputable people were prepared to stand surety for his bail. The best way of demonstrating that the charges have nothing to do with silencing WikiLeaks is to let it carry on leaking while Assange faces his accusers. >>> Editorial, The Guardian | Wednesday, December 08, 2010

WikiLeaks Cables: Barack Obama Is a Bigger Danger
THE GUARDIAN: WikiLeaks harms the US. But the president's refusal to acknowledge the threats we face is a bigger danger

'The president, unlike the long line of his predecessors since Franklin Roosevelt, simply does not put national security at the centre of his political priorities.' Photograph: The Guardian
WikiLeaks has yet again flooded the internet with thousands of classified American documents, this time state department cables. More troubling than WikiLeaks' latest revelation of US secrets, however, is the Obama administration's weak, wrong-headed and erratic response. Unfortunately, the administration has acted consistently with its demonstrated unwillingness to assert and defend US interests across a wide range of threats, such as Iran and North Korea, which, ironically, the leaked cables amply document.

On 29 November, secretary of state Hillary Clinton lamented that this third document dump was "not just an attack on United States foreign policy and interests, [but] an attack on the international community". By contrast, on 1 December, the presidential press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said the White House was "not scared of one guy with one keyboard and a laptop". Hours later, a Pentagon spokesman disdained the notion that the military should have prevented the WikiLeaks release: "The determination of those who are charged with such things, the decision was made not to proceed with any sort of aggressive action of that sort in this case."

Clinton is demonstrably incorrect in being preoccupied with defending the "international community", whatever that is. Her inability to understand WikiLeaks' obsession with causing harm to the US is a major reason why the Obama administration has done little or nothing in response – except talk, its usual foreign-policy default position. >>> John Bolton | Sunday, December 05, 2010

The Cable Guy: Julian Assange Becomes the US's Public Enemy No. 1
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: He may be on the short list for Time magazine's "person of the year," but many Americans consider Julian Assange to be a criminal and a terrorist. The WikiLeaks founder has been fighting a battle on several fronts since the publication of the diplomatic cables. He has now been arrested in London.

Wherever Julian Assange turned up in recent weeks, there was always a noticeably well-dressed young woman at his side. Jennifer Robinson, an attorney at a London law firm, has served as Assange's legal protection insurance for the last few weeks. She kept several sets of legal documents in her purse, for the event that Scotland Yard or some other law enforcement agency decided to arrest the Australian.

Assange now finds himself in need of such expert legal protection. He was arrested by British police in London on Tuesday on a European warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors. London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Assange had been arrested at around 9:30 a.m. local time, by appointment at a police station in the British capital. "He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010," the statement read. Assange was due to appear before a London court later on Tuesday.

Assange's lawyers had earlier said that he would meet with police to talk about the European arrest warrant. "We are in the process of making arrangements to meet with police by consent," lawyer Mark Stephens said on Monday.

As of last week, there was no longer any doubt that the Swedish authorities were determined to catch the 39-year-old at all costs. Interpol issued a "Red Notice" seeking Assange's arrest, and Scotland Yard's Serious Organized Crime Agency confirmed that it was familiar with the case.

But like everything else relating to the WikiLeaks founder, this private case has also become a political issue. The man who had sent a shockwave through global politics since the publication of the American embassy cables two weekends ago had become a hunted man.

He has also become the Americans' latest public enemy, after having challenged the world's most powerful nation and made its secrets public for all to see. >>> Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Showing the Spineless Side of “Great” Britain! WikiLeaks: Britain Feared Colonel Gaddafi Could 'Cut Us Off at the Knees' Unless Lockerbie Bomber Was Freed
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain feared that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could “cut us off at the knees, just like the Swiss”, unless the Lockerbie bomber was released, leaked WikiLeaks cables show.

Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Sir Vincent Fean, the UK's ambassador to Tripoli at the time, also warned that continuing to hold Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi in a prison in Scotland could have “disastrous implications for British interests in Libya”.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988. He was freed on compassionate grounds in August 2009.

The warnings were contained in secret communiqués sent from US embassy staff in Tripoli in August 2009, and produced in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

One cable said: “The British ambassador expressed relief that Megrahi likely would be returned to Libya under the compassionate release program.

“He noted that a refusal of Megrahi’s request could have had disastrous implications for British interests in Libya.”

Then the cable appeared to quote the ambassador saying: “They could have cut us off at the knees, just like the Swiss.” >>> Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

This just goes to show how spineless we Brits have become. Churchill must be turning in his grave! How disgusting! This story makes one feel ashamed to admit one is British. Get a grip! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

WikiLeaks Cables: Lockerbie Bomber Freed After Gaddafi's 'Thuggish' Threats
THE GUARDIAN: Megrahi case led to threats against UK's Libyan interests, while Scots who released him had turned down 'a parade of treats'

WikiLeaks cables say Muammar Gaddafi bullied and cajoled British politicians and bureaucrats to release convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (left), seen with the Libyan leader's son, Saif al-Islam, on his arrival in Tripoli. Photograph: The Guardian
The British government's deep fears that Libya would take "harsh and immediate" action against UK interests if the convicted Lockerbie bomber died in a Scottish prison are revealed in secret US embassy cables which show London's full support for the early release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, made explicit and "thuggish" threats to halt all trade deals with Britain and harass embassy staff if Megrahi remained in jail, the cables show. At the same time "a parade of treats" was offered by Libya to the Scottish devolved administration if it agreed to let him go, though the cable says they were turned down.

Britain at the time was "in an awkward position" and "between a rock and a hard place". The London charge d'affaires, Richard LeBaron, wrote in a cable to Washington in October 2008. "The Libyans have told HMG [Her Majesty's Government] flat out that there will be 'enormous repercussions' for the UK-Libya bilateral relationship if Megrahi's early release is not handled properly." >>> David Leigh | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: US Diplomats Struggle with an Eccentric Despot: For American diplomats, Libya is a notorious hardship post. With his quirky habits, hard bargaining, whiny sons and Ukrainian nurses, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is far from easy to deal with -- and a master of political extortion. >>> Juliane von Mittelstaedt | Saturday, December 04, 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ärger mit Libyen: Schweizer schlitterten hilflos in Geiselkrise – Die Affäre um die beiden Schweizer, die fast zwei Jahre lang in Libyen festgehalten wurden, war nach SPIEGEL-Informationen brisanter als bisher bekannt. US-Kabel zeigen, wie hilflos die Diplomaten der Alpenrepublik agierten. Demnach wäre die Krise beinahe EU-weit eskaliert. >>> | Sonntag, 05. Dezember 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Calmy-Rey bricht den Negativrekord: Mit nur 106 Stimmen zur neuen Bundespräsidentin gewählt >>> sda/bbu. | Mittwoch, 08. Dezember 2010

NZZ ONLINE: Haarsträubende Details zur Libyen-Affäre: Der GPK-Bericht enthält vor allem Neues zu den Exfiltrationsplänen und zu Merz' Reise nach Tripolis >>> Simon Gemperli, Bern | Samstag, 04. Dezember 2010

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Calmy-Rey, présidente de la Confédération la plus mal élue de l’Histoire >>> Xavier Alonso et Romain Clivaz | Mercredi 08 Décembre 2010

LE TEMPS: Election misérable de Micheline Calmy-Rey : La socialiste genevoise n’obtient que 106 voix sur 189 bulletins valables. Vingt-et-un députés fédéraux n’ont pas jugé bon de participer à l’élection >>> Bernard Wuthrich | Mercredi 08 Décembre 2010

LE TEMPS: Micheline Calmy-Rey la mal-aimée du parlement : La socialiste genevoise doit être élue à la présidence de la Confédération mercredi. A Berne, l’embarras règne. Pas uniquement à cause du dossier libyen, mais aussi parce qu’elle irrite de nombreux parlementaires>>> Bernard Wuthrich | Mardi 07 Décembre 2010

England Dan & John Ford Coley: I'd Really Love to See You Tonight (1976）

The Stylish 91’s YouTube Channel >>>

Echauffourées entre policiers et étudiants devant la Scala de Milan
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: OPÉRA PERTURBÉ | L'ouverture de la saison de la Scala à Milan a été marquée mardi par des échauffourées entre la police et des étudiants qui manifestaient contre les coupes budgétaires du gouvernement, et par une protestation du chef d'orchestre Daniel Barenboïm.

Avant l'hymne national et avant de diriger "La Walkyrie" de Wagner dans le célèbre théâtre milanais, le chef d'orchestre Daniel Barenboïm s'est adressé au président italien Giorgio Napolitano, invité d'honneur, en se disant "très préoccupé pour l'avenir de la culture en Italie et en Europe".

Il a dit s'exprimer "au nom de tous les collègues qui chantent, dansent, travaillent non seulement ici mais dans tous les théâtres italiens".

Le maestro israélo-argentin a ensuite lu solennellement l'article 9 de la Constitution italienne, selon lequel "la République promeut le développement de la culture et la recherche scientifique et technique, protège le paysage et le patrimoine historique et artistique de la nation". >>> AFP | Mardi 07 Décembre 2010

Nigeria klagt Dick Cheney an
Afrikanischer Staat wirft ehemaligem US-Vizepräsidenten Korruption vor
NZZ ONLINE: Der ehemalige amerikanische Vizepräsident Dick Cheney sieht sich in Nigeria mit einer Klage wegen Korruption konfrontiert. Das Vorgehen steht im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau einer Flüssiggasanlage durch den Energiekonzern Halliburton, dessen Chef Cheney war.

Der ehemalige amerikanische Vizepräsident Dick Cheney sieht sich in Nigeria mit einer Klage wegen Korruption konfrontiert. Das Vorgehen steht im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau einer Flüssiggasanlage durch den Energiekonzern Halliburton, dessen Chef Cheney war.

Die nigerianischen Staatsanwaltschaft hat gegen den früheren amerikanischen Vizepräsidenten Dick Cheney Anklage wegen Korruption erhoben. Die Vorwürfe stehen im Zusammenhang mit dem Bau einer Flüssiggasanlage durch den amerikanischen Energiekonzern Halliburton im Süden Nigerias. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> sda | Dienstag, 07. Dezember 2010

Piratenpartei: «Wikileaks.ch» existiert seit 6 Monaten
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Wikileaks hat offenbar vorausgeahnt, dass ihre Internet-Adresse «wikileaks.org» früher oder später gesperrt werden könnte. Denn die jetzt bekanntgegebene «Schweizer» Ausweichadresse «wikileaks.ch» wurde bereits vor 6 Monaten registriert. Registriert hatte die Adresse die Schweizer Piratenpartei.

Dozens of Israeli Rabbis Back Call to Forbid Sale of Property to Arabs
THE GUARDIAN: Publicly funded municipal chiefs accused of racial incitement after signing letter in support of ultra-orthodox Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu

Safed, northern Israel, where Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu ordered his followers not to offer accommodation to Arabs. Photograph: The Guardian
Dozens of Israeli rabbis today backed a call to forbid Jews to rent or sell property to Arabs in a move likely to further stoke tensions in some cities.

More than 40 municipal chief rabbis, whose salaries are paid from public funds, signed a letter in support of a ruling by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed in Upper Gallilee instructing his followers not to offer accommodation to non-Jews.

Anyone doing so, the letter said, "causes his neighbour a great loss, and his iniquity is greater than can be borne". It went on: "It is incumbent upon the seller's neighbours and acquaintances to warn and caution, first in private and then they are entitled to publish him in public, to distance themselves from him, to prevent trade from being done with him, not to have him read from the Torah and so forth until he reverses his decision that causes harm to so many people."

Following Eliyahu's earlier ruling, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor who rents out rooms to three Arab students in Safed was threatened with having his house burned down and was denounced as a traitor to Judaism. >>> Harriet Sherwood | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Barack Obama Gives Way to Republicans Over Bush Tax Cuts
THE GUARDIAN: Allies say president 'blackmailed' into extending tax cut for wealthier Americans which may cost $4tn in lost revenue

Barack Obama talks with the Republican whip Eric Cantor after a meeting with bipartisan congressional leadership. Photograph: The Guardian
Barack Obama is bowing to Republican demands to extend a deep tax cut for wealthier Americans, to the fury of some of the president's allies who say he has succumbed to "blackmail".

In a bruising political battle that appears to set the tone for Obama's dealings with the Republicans in Congress following their victories in last month's midterm elections, the president had sought to extend a tax cut for middle-class Americans introduced by the Bush administration seven years ago which expires at the end of this month. But he wanted to see a return to pre-cut rates for households with an income above $250,000 a year, on the grounds that wealthier Americans could afford to pay more. The move would generate trillions of dollars for the financially-strapped treasury over the next decade.

The Democratic leadership believed that provided the middle class was looked after, the Republicans would find it difficult to justify tax cuts for the wealthy. The House of Representatives, still controlled by Democrats until the new Congress is sworn in next month, passed Obama's plan by a clear majority last week. But Republicans blocked the legislation in the Senate at the weekend and said they would rather see everyone's taxes rise than agree to scrapping the cuts for the wealthy.

Some Democrats called on Obama to stand firm and let the Republicans carry the blame for the inevitable middle-class backlash. But leading Democrats say the president is backing down and has agreed to extend tax cuts for everyone. In return, the White House appears to have extracted an agreement to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Tuesday, December 07, 2010