Iran Confiscates Buddha Statues in Crackdown on 'Cultural Invasion'
THE GUARDIAN: Officials reportedly seizing statues from shops in Tehran to stop the promotion of Buddhism

Buddha statues have joined Barbie dolls and characters from The Simpsons as banned items in Iran.

Officials are confiscating the statues from shops in the capital, Tehran, to stop the promotion of Buddhism, according to a report in the independent Arman daily.

The Islamic republic has long fought against items such as Barbie toys to block western influence, but this appears to be the first time authorities have shown an opposition to symbols from the east.

The newspaper quoted Saeed Jaberi Ansari, an official for the protection of Iran's cultural heritage, as calling the Buddha statues symbols of "cultural invasion".

He reportedly said authorities would not permit a specific belief to be promoted through such items. Ansari did not say how many Buddhas had been seized, but said the "cleansing" would continue. » | Associated Press in Tehran | Sunday, February 17, 2013

HRH Princess Basmah Bint Saud - A Call for Responsibility
HRH is known to be quite the critic of the élite that runs Saudi Arabia and is a tireless advocate of peaceful but essential reform in the Kingdom and elsewhere.

Saudi Columnist Princess Basma bint Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Speaks Out against Islamic Extremism

Pope Calls on Catholics to Come Back to God
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Pope called on Catholics around the world to turn back to God, warning against the perils of "pride and egoism", after the Vatican indicated it may move quicker to appoint his successor.


More than 50,000 cheering well-wishers crammed into St Peter's Square for Benedict XVI's Sunday blessing, the first since his shock resignation – the first in 600 years – and penultimate before stepping down on February 28.

"The Church, which is mother and teacher, calls on all its members to renew their spirit, turn against firmly towards God and ignore pride and egoism to live in love," he told the crowd.

As the sun broke through the clouds over Rome, Benedict waved and thanked the larger than normal crowd "for the prayers and support you have shown me in these days." Speaking in Spanish, he then asked for prayers "for the next pope."

Benedict, 85, has cited failing health for his decision to step down and at the weekend it emerged he may now be blind in his left eye. Peter Seewald, a German journalist who interviewed the pope in December, made the claim.

"His hearing had deteriorated. He couldn't see with his left eye," he said. "His body had become so thin that the tailors had difficulty in keeping up with newly fitted clothes ... I'd never seen him so exhausted-looking, so worn down."

Vatican insiders have also claimed Benedict has been worn down by bitter rivalries within the Holy See which came to light when the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, leaked papal correspondence detailing alleged power struggles. Gabriele has been pardoned by the pope but sworn never to speak about his thefts. » | Tom Kington, Rome | Sunday, February 17, 2013

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Claim Jihad Seeker’s Allowance
Choudary urges fanatics to scrounge for holy war

THE SUN: SCROUNGING hate preacher Anjem Choudary has told fanatics to copy him by going on benefits — urging: “Claim your Jihad Seeker’s Allowance.”

He cruelly ridiculed non-Muslims who held down 9-to-5 jobs all their lives and said sponging off them made plotting holy war easier.

The Sun secretly filmed him over three meetings also saying leaders such as David Cameron and Barack Obama should be KILLED, grinning as he branded the Queen “ugly” and predicting a “tsunami” of Islamic immigrants would sweep Europe.

Father-of-four Choudary, who has praised terrorist outrages, pockets more than £25,000 a year in benefits — £8,000 more than the take-home pay of some soldiers fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

He laughed as he told supporters:

“You find people are busy working the whole of their life. They wake up at 7 o’clock. They go to work at 9 o’clock. They work for eight, nine hours a day. They come home at 7 o’clock, watch EastEnders, sleep, and they do that for 40 years of their life. That is called slavery.

"And at the end of their life they realise their pension isn’t going to pay out anything, the mortgage isn’t going to pay out anything.

"Basically they are going to lose everything, commit suicide. What kind of a life is that, honestly. That is the life of kuffar (non-believer).” (+ video) » | Stephen Moyes | Sunday, February 17, 2013


THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: 'Claim jobseeker's allowance and plan holy war': Hate preacher pocketing £25,000 a year in benefits calls on fanatics to live off the state: Anjem Choudary called benefits 'Jihadseeker's allowance' / The extremist told followers they must hate democracy and freedom / Also listed bizarre sharia laws, including 'not riding cats and sheep' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, February 17, 2013

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Muslim preacher urges followers to claim 'Jihad Seeker's Allowance': A Muslim preacher is secretly filmed urging followers to take benefits from the state to fund a holy war. » | Melanie Hall | Sunday, February 17, 2013

Le pape Benoît XVI appelle l'Église à se "réorienter"
LE POINT: Des dizaines de milliers de fidèles sont venus assister à l'avant-dernier angélus du pape dimanche, place Saint-Pierre.


Le pape Benoit XVI appelle l'Église à se "renouveler" et à se "réorienter" au moment où des dizaines de milliers de fidèles se dirigeaient dimanche vers la place Saint-Pierre pour assister à son avant-dernier angélus avant son départ le 28 février. Les forces de police ont fermé à la circulation la Via della Conciliazione, la large avenue qui mène au Vatican, alors que selon des estimations des autorités locales, l'affluence pourrait atteindre les 100 000 personnes au moment où le pape se montrera au balcon de la loge centrale de ses appartements, à 12 heures. » | Source AFP | dimanche 17 février 2013

TAGES ANZEIGER: «Wir werden dich vermissen» : Zehntausende haben Papst Benedikt XVI. auf dem Petersplatz zugejubelt. Dieser sprach zum vorletzten Mal den Sonntagssegen. Inzwischen sind die ersten Kardinäle aus dem Ausland im Vatikan eingetroffen. » | ses/mw/sda/AP | Sontag, 17. Februar 2013

'Fake Sheikh' in £300,000 Plot to Blackmail Saudi Princess after Video of Her 'Smoking with Her Head Uncovered' Is Stolen from Her Laptop

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Princess Basmah went public after the man demanded money / He posed as her friend and tried to trick her into saying 'sexual' things / The human rights campaigner says the video was stolen from her laptop / But she is defiant and claims there is a conspiracy to discredit her

A Saudi Arabian princess is the victim of a blackmail attempt involving a video of her that could anger and shock the establishment in the hardline Islamic state.

Princess Basmah bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud - more commonly known as Princess Basmah - is being held to ransom by a man who plans to embarrass her with a video - if she does not pay him £320,000.

The video shows her blowing a kiss and smoking with her head uncovered - taboos in strict Saudi Arabia[.]

But rather than bow to the demands of the man, London-based Princess Basmah, who campaigns for human rights in the kingdom, has exposed the extortion attempt on her website and through social media channels.

The plot began while Princess Basmah was on holiday at Christmas at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, according to The Daily Telegraph.

She received a message on Facebook from a man claiming to be a friend, who she refuses to name but described as a sheikh in his 30s from the United Arab Emirates.

She later discovered the account had been hacked by her blackmailer. Read on and comment » | Sam Webb | Sunday, February 17, 2013

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Saudi princess, the fake sheikh and a plot to silence her: She is the granddaughter of Saudi Arabia’s first king and the youngest daughter of its second ruler. » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter | Sunday, February 17, 2013

HRH Princess Basmah »

Violent Tide of Salafism Threatens the Arab Spring
THE OBSERVER: A series of repressive dictatorships have been brought down in north Africa, but the ensuing struggles for power have left a vacuum that has allowed the rise of an extremist movement that is gathering both force and supporters

Late last year, largely unnoticed in the west, Tunisia's president, Moncef Marzouki, gave an interview to Chatham House's The World Today. Commenting on a recent attack by Salafists – ultra-conservative Sunnis – on the US embassy in Tunis, he remarked in an unguarded moment: "We didn't realise how dangerous and violent these Salafists could be … They are a tiny minority within a tiny minority. They don't represent society or the state. They cannot be a real danger to society or government, but they can be very harmful to the image of the government."

It appears that Marzouki was wrong. Following the assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid last Wednesday – which plunged the country into its biggest crisis since the 2011 Jasmine Revolution – the destabilising threat of violent Islamist extremists has emerged as a pressing and dangerous issue.

Violent Salafists are one of two groups under suspicion for Belaid's murder. The other is the shadowy, so-called neighbourhood protection group known as the Leagues of the Protection of the Revolution, a small contingent that claims to be against remnants of the old regime, but which is accused of using thugs to stir clashes at opposition rallies and trade union gatherings. » | Peter Beaumont and Patrick Kingsley | Sunday, February 10, 2013

American Way: Barack Obama Ducked the Chance to Tackle America's Financial Death-spiral

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: When Barack Obama won a second term in office last November a tiny, guttering flame of hope was observed in the breasts of many hard-pressed Americans who wanted common sense to prevail in Washington.

That hope centred not on any naive expectation that Democrats and Republicans would suddenly learn to love each other, but that Mr Obama, freed from having to run for office again and in search of a personal legacy for his presidency, might start to show some leadership.

Last week, sad to report, those hopes flickered and died when Mr Obama delivered a State of the Union address that showed he has absolutely no intention of getting serious about arresting America's long-term financial death-spiral.

This was an infuriatingly dishonest speech. Mr Obama spelled out very clearly America's impending demographic crunch – too many baby-boomers, not enough money to pay for their benefits – but then falsely pretended the problem could be solved by tinkering around the edges.

"Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms," he allowed, warning that failure to fix America's unsustainable entitlement system would "crowd out the investments we need for our children, and jeopardise the promise of a secure retirement for future generations."

All true, except for that one word, "modest". There is nothing modest about the size of America's financial problems, as Doug Elmendorf, the director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, explained last week when he was up on Capitol Hill spelling out budgetary home truths. » | Peter Foster, Washington | Saturday, February 16, 2013

Doku: Islam: Sieben Staetten der muslimischen Welt
Scharia und Demokratie! Wohin treibt der Islam?

Spiegel TV Doku - Salafist Mohamed Mahmoud

Allahs deutsche Schwerter
Eine kleine Gruppe von radikalen Muslimen in Deutschland hat sehr eigene Vorstellungen davon, wie das Leben zwischen Himmel und Hölle auszusehen hat - und würde auch im Namen Allahs zum Schwert greifen, um ihre Ziele durchzusetzen.

Die 27-minütige Doku von Rainer Fromm und Sarah Müller-Fromm zeigt ein weites Spektrum an Islamisten in Deutschland: Von strenggläubigen Salafisten über die Sauerland-Gruppe, die konkrete Anschläge plante, bis zu Pierre Vogel, dem einflussreichsten deutschen Konvertiten und Hassprediger. Ein Aussteiger berichtet über Ziele und Methoden der salafistischen Szene. Auch die moderatere, vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtete Vereinigung "Milli Görüs" ist Thema.

Ein Film der Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Nordrhein-Westfalen, (c) 2012

Pope to Spend Retirement 'Hidden from World'
Vatican officials are dismissing suggestions that the outgoing head of the Roman Catholic Church will exert influence over his successor.

A Look Back at Pope Benedict XVI's Career
Pope Benedict XVI of the Roman Catholic Church has decided to resign from his post due to ill health, the Vatican has announced.

Inside Story: Horsemeat Scandal: Who Is to Be Blamed?
As the scandal involving horsemeat sold as beef widens across Europe, we ask how can consumer confidence be restored.

Schädliches Medikament im Pferdefleisch
Etikettenschwindel noch und noch: Erst das falsch deklarierte Rindfleisch, jetzt auch noch Spuren verbotener Arzneimittel in Pferdefleisch. In Grossbritannien wurden drei Personen festgenommen.

In Canada Lesbian Kathleen Wynne Reached Out To Islamofascists During Liberal Convention
Tarek Fatah and Ezra Levant discuss how progressive Liberals in Canada are naively reaching out to hardcore Islamic Islamofacists. The strict Canadian Islamists are targeting Liberal Muslims in Canada, like Tarek Fatah. Islamists in Canada are anti-gay and homophobic so why would a Lesbian woman like Kathleen Wynne reach out to conservative members of the Moslem community? The same Islamic groups who are against gay and lesbian human rights and gay marriage.

Related »

Gore, Current Silent as Cleric Affirms Death Penalty for Leaving Islam on Al-Jazeera
THE DAILY CALLER: Aides to former Democratic Vice President Al Gore have failed to respond to a recent Al-Jazeera TV broadcast, in which a top imam affirmed the Death Penalty [sic] for anyone who quits Islam.

Gore sold his Current TV Network to Al-Jazeera, which now plans to extend its broadcast into the United States this summer, according to Ashok Sinha, vice president of corporate communications at Current TV/Al-Jazeera America.

Gore reportedly sold Current TV for $500 million and endorsed Al-Jazeera’s news programs.

Western critics of Islam highlighted a recent broadcast of the network’s regular “Shariah and Life” show, which has an estimated audience of 60 million viewers worldwide.

The show’s host is Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent Sunni Islamic cleric.

He declared that Islam’s mandated death-penalty for apostasy has kept Islam alive since the 1400s. “If they had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment Islam wouldn’t exist today,” Qaradawi said on the show.

Qaradawi cited specific verses and narrations by Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, and the recorded testimony of his companions, that mandate the death penalty for anyone who tries to leave Islam. » | Nicole Lafond | Tuesday, February 12, 2013

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: After the Arab Spring: Al-Jazeera Losing Battle for Independence – For over a decade, the Arab television broadcaster Al-Jazeera was widely respected for providing an independent voice from the Middle East. Recently, however, several top journalists have left, saying the station has developed a clear political agenda. » | Alexander Kühn, Christoph Reuter and Gregor Peter Schmitz | Friday, February 15, 2013

Pat Robertson: Islam Is 'Demonic'; It's 'Not A Religion'. It's an Economic System

Robertson: God Will Punish Us for Supporting Gay Rights