David Cameron Heads to Gulf in Bid to Sell Typhoon Fighter Jets

THE GUARDIAN: Low-key mission will also attempt to patch up relations with leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

David Cameron will embark on a low-key arms trip to the Gulf on Monday in an attempt to persuade regional powers upset by Britain's response to the Arab spring to buy more than 100 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. The deals could be worth more than £6bn to Britain.

The prime minister will fly to a major UAE military airbase on a mission to patch up relations with leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where major British businesses such as BP and BAE have important interests.

Cameron will join forces with senior political and military figures from the UAE to inspect Typhoons at Al Minhad airbase, which is used as an air bridge for British forces flying between the UK and Afghanistan. Britain hopes to persuade Gulf leaders to buy 100 Typhoons on top of the 72 bought by Saudi Arabia.

The looming confrontation between Iran and its regional adversaries will also feature heavily in Cameron's talks with leaders in the Sunni-dominated Gulf countries. Britain could base Typhoons, built by a European consortium that includes BAE Systems, in the UAE if relations with Tehran deteriorate.

The prime minister, who is irritated by claims that he uses his overseas trips to sell defence equipment to countries with questionable human rights records, has made arrangements to minimise the media coverage of the trip. » | Nicholas Watt and Ian Black | Monday, November 05, 2012

Hollande rencontre en Arabie saoudite le roi Abdallah

LE POINT: Le président français doit notamment évoquer avec le souverain saoudien la crise syrienne et l'Iran.

Le président français François Hollande s'est entretenu dimanche à Jeddah, sur la mer Rouge, avec le roi Abdallah d'Arabie saoudite de la crise syrienne et de l'Iran, après avoir exprimé son soutien au Liban au cours d'une brève étape à Beyrouth. "Le président a discuté avec le roi Abdallah du processus de paix au Proche-Orient, de la question du nucléaire iranien et de la crise syrienne ainsi que de la coopération entre les deux pays", a déclaré un porte-parole de François Hollande après un entretien de deux heures.

Cette première visite en Arabie saoudite "est avant tout politique", a déclaré François Hollande aux journalistes, dans l'avion qui l'amenait de Beyrouth à Jeddah, sur la mer Rouge. "La France joue un rôle actif dans la région du Moyen-Orient. Nous sommes le pays le plus actif sur les dossiers de la Syrie, du Liban et du processus de paix" au Proche-Orient, a-t-il encore dit. "L'Arabie saoudite est extrêmement inquiète des agissements iraniens" pour se doter de l'arme nucléaire, avait en outre souligné l'Élysée, tandis que François Hollande a déclaré cette semaine être prêt à voter de "nouvelles sanctions" contre Téhéran. » | LePoint.fr | dimanche 04 novembre 2012

'Cold Snap Threatens Sandy Homeless' Warns NY Governor
BBC: The governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, has said that tens of thousands of people affected by the superstorm a week ago could soon need housing because of an expected cold snap.

Hundreds of thousands of people remain without electricity supplies and the authorities say fuel shortages will continue for a number of days.

Mr Cuomo made the comments at a news conference after meeting other officials involved in the relief effort. Watch BBC video » | Sunday, November 04, 2012

Hollande et Netanyahou en désaccord sur les "juifs de France"

leJDD.fr: A l'occasion d'une conférence de presse commune organisée mercredi à l'Elysée, François Hollande et Benjamin Netanyahou, le Premier ministre israélien, ont répondu de manière divergente à un journaliste qui demandait si les juifs de France devaient rester ou partir vivre en Israël. "Venez en Israël", a lancé le chef du gouvernement israélien. "La place des juifs de France, c'est d'être en France", a contredit le président français.

Où les juifs de France doivent-ils vivre? La question a été posée mercredi au président français et au Premier ministre israélien, qui tenaient une conférence de presse commune après un entretien à l'Elysée. En visite de deux jours à Paris, Benjamin Netanyahou était interrogé par un journaliste sur le climat d'antisémitisme en France. Après avoir souligné la "détermination" et la "tolérance zéro" des autorités françaises à l'égard des actes antisémites, le dirigeant a répondu en souriant : "En ma qualité de Premier ministre d'Israël, je le dis toujours aux juifs où qu'ils soient : venez en Israël et faites d'Israël votre chez vous." » | A.F. (avec AFP) - leJDD.fr | mercredi 31 octobre 2012

Germany: Swiss MP, Freysinger, Stands Up to Islam

WIKI: Oskar Freysinger »

”Islam is only as strong as we are weak.” – Oskar Freysinger [Source: Wikipedia] | "Der Islam ist nur so stark wie wir schwach sind. [Quelle: Die Freiheit]

Koran Handouts in Germany: Freedom of Religion vs. Fears of Muslim Extremism

Nazism to 'Salafism': Islamists Threaten Germany

President Barack Obama: Whatever Happened to Hope?

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: For many American voters Barack Obama has lost his air of can-do heroism

So Sandy arrived right in the last act, smashing and thrashing, killing and ripping. Has this latest tempestuous eruption, following the storms Beryl, Florence, Joyce and Nadine, been the deus ex machine — or the deus ex Atlantic — to settle one of America’s most extraordinary and bitterly fought presidential elections?

It won Obama a gold-plated endorsement from one of America’s most popular Republicans, the New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who fears that climate change is to blame; and an embrace from another admired Republican governor, Chris Christie of New Jersey.

But will the Sandy Effect really sway votes in swing states thousands of miles away? Obama has not had a good campaign. His hugs and his rousing words after the hurricane were one thing, but his low-energy, stumbling performance in the first presidential debate left supporters aghast and Mitt Romney’s team suddenly emboldened.

It has been a savage campaign, and for good reason. America’s culture wars have never been angrier. The country remains mired in debt — $16 trillion, up $6 trillion under Obama — of which $1.4 trillion is owned by America’s new existential rival, China. The US Treasury says that the legal debt ceiling will be hit by the end of the year.

Jobs have been exported in huge numbers. The middle classes have been getting poorer for years. Only the super-rich have experienced a rise in real incomes.

As a passionate admirer of the US, I have to admit that to visitors, America no longer feels quite like the future. There are the potholed roads, tired-looking airports and malls, and what seems from a British perspective a strange dearth of wi-fi. Natural disasters aside, this is beginning to feel like a nation needing a lick of paint. Read on and comment » | Andrew Marr | Sunday, November 04, 2012

Muslims Fleeing Sectarian Violence in Burma Drown as Crisis Deepens
THE OBSERVER: Many Rohingya people are attempting dangerous voyages to Bangladesh and Thailand, but most are sent back on arrival

First one body appeared, floating in the waters of the Bay of Bengal, then another, and another, until those on board the little fishing boat that had gone to their rescue began to lose count.

Those bobbing lifeless among the waves had set out the night before, so desperate to escape the growing sectarian violence in Burma that they were prepared to risk boarding the dangerously overcrowded boat.

At least 130 had clambered aboard, but the boat foundered – whether it capsized because of the weight of bodies or because it struck rocks remains unclear.

The sinking last week was the worst reported incident resulting from the outbreak of violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in western Burma. The death toll is continuing to rise amid reports of a deepening humanitarian crisis.

"The situation is dire. The UN is doing its best, but it is trying to find more funding to help them," said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an NGO working with the Rohingya. » | Gethin Chamberlain | Sunday, November 04, 2012

EU Tells Alex Salmond to Think Again in Scottish Independence Row
THE OBSERVER: President of European council pours scorn on Scottish vote and calls separatism a thing of the past

The president of the European council has intervened in the Scottish independence debate, claiming that nothing will be gained from breaking up the UK. Herman Van Rompuy, who would chair meetings to discuss if an independent Scotland could join the EU, said the move for separatism was a thing of the past.

Van Rompuy, who will still be president of the council in 2014, when the independence referendum is due to take place, was asked his views on Scottish independence during a recent Q&A session broadcast on YouTube. "Nobody has anything to gain from separatism in the world of today which, whether one likes it or not, is globalised," he said. "We have so many important challenges to take and we will only succeed if we can pool forces, join action, take common directions. The global financial crisis is hitting us hard. Climate change is threatening the planet. How can separatism help? The word of the future is union." » | Daniel Boffey, policy editor | Saturday, November 03, 2012

Cuba Accuses US of Helping Dissidents Access Internet

BBC: Cuba has accused the United States of helping Cuban dissidents access the internet as part of a campaign to undermine the communist government.

In a foreign ministry statement, Cuba said the US was "promoting... financing and supplying" opponents of the government using "diverse media".

It blamed staff at the US Interests Section at the Swiss embassy in Havana.

The US has said it simply allows Cubans access to computers and free courses on how to use the internet.

Access to the internet in Cuba is severely restricted, but some activists have used it to challenge the government.

Havana said that diplomats from the US Interests Section were "permanently inciting these people... to undertake provocative actions... and act against the Cuban constitutional order".

The statement was published in the official newspaper, Granma. » | Saturday, November 03, 2012

Three US States Poised to Legalise Cannabis and Defy 'War on Drugs'

THE OBSERVER: Washington, Oregon and Colorado set to allow recreational use

Three US states are set to legalise recreational cannabis use this week in votes that could have major implications for the country's war on drugs.

Alongside their choice for president, residents of Washington, Oregon and Colorado – a swing state – will be asked on Tuesday whether they want to decriminalise cannabis.

If the measures are passed, adults over 21 would be able to possess, distribute and use small amounts. Cannabis for authorised medical use is already permitted and regulated by each state, even though it is against federal law.

Support is particularly strong in Washington and Colorado, but a "yes" vote in any of the states would be interpreted by the Department of Justice as an act of defiance against the federal government's war on drugs – the national law enforcement programme that spends $44bn a year struggling to stem the tide of illegal drugs in the US.

In June 2011, however, the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared that the war on drugs had failed.

In a swing state such as Colorado, putting the liberal measure on the ballot could even help to keep the battleground state – narrowly won for Barack Obama in 2008 – on the president's side. Obama has taken a soft line on medical cannabis use. » | Joanna Walters | Saturday, November 03, 2012

My comment:

Absurd! For a country such as the USA which takes such a harsh line on smoking cigarettes, this is a ridiculous move. Cigarettes, whilst they may not be harmless, are certainly not in the same health-risk league as drugs, soft or hard. This is a retrograde step too far. The US will yet come to rue the day they legalised drugs. The Americans are going bonkers! – © Mark

The Paradox of Rebranding Islam in Europe

HAARETZ: A kinder, gentler Mohammed was created in Austria by the provocative Israeli Public Movement.

The documentary series “Allah Islam,” which was broadcast on Israel’s Channel 10 last month, drew high viewer ratings. Furthermore, the public discourse that followed in its wake was far more intense than is usually the case with TV series of this genre.

Still, this is no surprise, given the central theme of the series: that Islam is taking over Europe. For certain sectors of the Israeli public, there is no greater fear.

In four episodes, the series presented the emerging failure of the multicultural idea in Western Europe, as well as the phenomenon of Muslim isolationism and the motivation of some adherents of Islam to conquer the Continent and impose sharia law. Zvi Yehezkeli, one of the creators and the narrator of the series, is worried that by 2050 most countries of Europe will have a Muslim majority. He noted that there are 200,000 Iraqi migrants currently living in Sweden and that in the city of Malmo alone they constitute 20 percent of the population. In an interview he gave about the series, Yehezkeli added that already now the most common name for newborn boys in England is Mohammed. SOS! » | Shay Fogelman | Thursday, November 01, 2012

German Dentist Fined for Anti-Hijab Bias
RADIANCE VIEWSWEEKLY: A German court has ruled against a dentist who refused to employ a veiled Muslim woman because she had declined to remove her headscarf, blaming him for breaching the Equal Treatment Act. “The dentist broke the law because he refused the plaintiff the position only because she didn’t want to take off her headscarf,” the spokesman for the Berlin Industrial Tribunal said, reports said on October 20. Applying for an assistant job in his dental practices, the woman was asked by the dentist to remove the veil to get the job. Condemning the move as against non-discrimination laws, the woman took the issue to the court.

At the hearing, the dentist acknowledged the woman was qualified for the position but argued his refusal to employ her stemmed from the right to religious neutrality. The court ordered the dentist to pay 1,500 euros ($1,966) in damages to the young Muslim woman.

The Tagesspiegel newspaper said the decision was the first, and that the court insisted the headscarf was not optional but an expression of religious belief, which was unaffected by the fact some Muslims chose not to wear it. » | Saturday, November 03, 2012

US Election: Obama and Romney in Frantic Dash for Final Votes

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The two men who would be president presented their closing arguments to the American people on Saturday, as they embarked on a frantic three-day dash for the finishing line in what is poised to be one of the closest contests ever seen in the United States.

After months of speeches, dozens of diner visits, hundreds of thousands of commercials and, by one estimate, $6 billion spent by the campaigns and outside groups, the race is still too close to call.

Mitt Romney promised Americans that under his leadership the country would rediscover its greatness, after languishing under Barack Obama for four years.

Under a slogan of “Real Change from Day One” – a deliberate dig at the president’s winning mantra from 2008 - the Republican contender said that his rival’s “big government” policies had failed.

“If there is anybody who fears the American dream is fading away, I have a message for you: America is about to come roaring back,” he said at his first rally of the day in New Hampshire, one of the closest swing states.

“President Obama is offering excuses, I am offering a plan. He is asking Americans to settle [for what they have got]. But Americans don’t settle, we dream, we aspire and we achieve great things.”

Mr Romney is now the candidate offering a sense of hope, prosperity and unity, while the president is visibly on the defensive.

“I will not just represent one party, I will represent one nation,” Mr Romney said. » | Alex Spillius, Portsmouth, New Hampshire | Saturday, November 03, 2012

Israel alarmiert: Syrische Panzer auf den Golanhöhen
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Drei syrische Panzer sind nach israelischen Angaben in die demilitarisierte Zone auf den Golanhöhen eingedrungen. Israel hat daraufhin bei der UNO-Friedenstruppe in der Pufferzone Beschwerde eingelegt.

Die Panzer sowie zwei gepanzerte Transportfahrzeuge seien wenige Kilometer von israelischen Stützpunkten entfernt vorbeigefahren, berichtete die Nachrichtenwebsite Ynet. Eine Armee-Sprecherin bestätigte das Eindringen der syrischen Panzer. » | agenturen/fasc/schubeca | Samstag, 03. November 2012

Ecopop: Weniger Zuwanderung – für die Natur!
Die Gruppierung Ecopop hat die Unterschriften für ihre Initiative zur ökologischen Zuwanderungsbegrenzung heute eingereicht. «10vor10» hat den Initianten, die sich keinem politischen Lager eindeutig zuordnen lassen, auf den Zahn gefühlt.

Zum großen Teil in Schweizerdeutsch.

Besuch in Abuja: Westerwelle fordert Schutz für Christen in Nigeria

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Außenminister Westerwelle hat in einem Gespräch mit Nigerias Präsidenten Jonathan in Abuja seine Sorge über die Sekte Boko Haram geäußert. Nigerias Regierung zeigte sich offen für Verhandlungen mit den Islamisten.

Der deutsche Außenminister Guido Westerwelle hat die nigerianische Regierung aufgefordert, alles zu tun, um die eigene Bevölkerung, insbesondere die christlichen Gemeinden, vor terroristischer Gewalt zu schützen. „Der Terror der islamistischen Sekte Boko Haram erfüllt mich mit großer Sorge“, sagte er vor einem Gespräch mit dem nigerianischen Präsidenten Goodluck Jonathan am Freitag in der Hauptstadt Abuja. Die Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International hatte am Donnerstag kritisiert, dass es beim Einsatz der nigerianischen Sicherheitskräfte gegen die islamistischen Terroristen zu Menschenrechtsverletzungen komme. Es wurde erwartet, dass Westerwelle, der während seines Besuchs auch mit muslimischen und christlichen Vertretern über Glaubensfreiheit und Toleranz diskutieren wird, das Thema in seinen nicht-öffentlichen Gesprächen mit dem Staatsoberhaupt und Außenminister Olugbenga Ayodeji Ashiru anspricht. » | Von Majid Sattar, Abuja | Freitag, 02. November 2012

WARNING! – GRAPHIC IMAGES! Barbarians Doing What They Do Best – Killing: Syria – Saraqeb: Bodies of Dead Soldiers after Being Executed

Präsident Obama an seinen Grenzen: Heilsame Ernüchterung nach der grossen Euphorie

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die Euphorie über den ersten schwarzen Präsidenten ist in den vergangenen vier Jahren vielerorts in Enttäuschung umgeschlagen. Heilsamer wäre eine Ernüchterung. Ob Obama eine zweite Amtszeit anders gestalten könnte, ist ungewiss.

Alles, was Präsident Obama in den fast vier Jahren seit seiner Amtseinsetzung tat oder unterliess, muss sich an der Euphorie messen lassen, die der Senator aus Illinois 2008 in Amerika und auf der ganzen Welt entfachte. Es war diese Euphorie, die ihn als ersten schwarzen Präsidenten ins Weisse Haus schwemmte, die ihn zum Superstar der Politik machte – und zum Empfänger des Friedensnobelpreises ohne wirklichen Leistungsausweis. Der Enthusiasmus ist vielerorts in Enttäuschung umgeschlagen. » | Peter Winkler, Washington | Samstag, 03. November 2012