Does the President Have an 'Image Problem'?

Apr. 21, 2014 - 3:10 - Amb. Bolton: Obama is a weak leader

Duchess of Cornwall's Brother Mark Shand Dies after Fall in New York

Mark Shand, the brother of the Duchess of Cornwall, died after
a fall outside a New York nightclub

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Mark Shand, the brother of the Duchess of Cornwall, died after suffering serious head injuries in fall during a night out in New York

Mark Shand, the brother of the Duchess of Cornwall, has died after suffering a serious injury to his head in a fall.

The 63-year-old is understood to have slipped in the street outside a bar following a charity event also attended by Princess Eugenie.

Police said he had stepped outside to have a cigarette when the accident happened. Other sources said he had been drinking and suffered from dizzy spells due to blood pressure medication.

He was taken to hospital in New York where he was being treated for serious head injuries. Clarence House later confirmed he died from his injuries. Mr Shand is survived by his daughter, Ayesha, 19, and his French wife, Clio.

In a statement, Clarence House said: "It is with deep sadness that we have to confirm that The Duchess of Cornwall's brother, Mark Shand, has today passed away in New York. » | Rosa Prince | Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Miriam Clegg: Men Who Look After Children Have 'More Cojones'

The Deputy Prime Minister's wife hijacks her husband's question and answer session to argue that 'taking responsibility' for your own children does not mean that you have less testosterone

Read and comment on the Telegraph article here | Georgia Graham, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, April 23, 2014
My comments:

Comment 1: A man changing nappies whilst wearing his pinnie is good experience for him, and will stand him in good stead when he has to go to war.

Warning: We emasculate our men at our peril! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Comment 2: Our civilisation was doing far better when women did what they were good at: looking after the family and children, and home-making. What is there about civilisation as it is today that makes you think that these feminists have improved anything? Take a look around you! People are badly-dressed, people behave badly, people have no manners, houses are no longer homes for the most part. People don't entertain. The divorce rate has gone throughout the roof, etc. Please show me evidence to the contrary. I'll be only too pleased to concede defeat if you are right. – G Mark

This comment also appears here

Tony Blair: We Don’t Need Backward-thinking Religions

Christopher Hitchens on Islam in Britain

Tony Blair: West Must Take Sides against Growing Threat of Radical Islam

"It is absurd to spend billions of dollars on security arrangements and on defence to protect ourselves against the consequences of an ideology that is being advocated in the formal and informal school systems and in civic institutions of the very countries with whom we have intimate security and defence relationships." – Tony Blair
THE GUARDIAN: In keynote speech on Middle East, former PM blames Islamic extremism for failures of western intervention in region

Western military intervention in the Middle East has so far failed due to the distorting impact of an Islamic extremism so opposed to modernity that it could yet engender global catastrophe, Tony Blair warned on Wednesday in a keynote speech on the state of politics in the Middle East.

With support for intervention ebbing fast, especially in Britain, Blair urges a wilfully blind west to realise it must take sides and if necessary make common cause with Russia and China in the G20 to counter the Islamic extremism that lies at the root of all failures of western intervention.

He admits there is now a desire across the west to steer clear at all costs following the bloody outcomes in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan, but says the extremism still represents the biggest threat to global security in the 21st century, saying it is holding back development across Africa and the Far East.

In a speech to Bloomberg in London on Wednesday, the former Labour prime minister claimed the west was reluctant to look unflinchingly at Islamic extremism because the world of politics is uncomfortable talking about religion.

He claims: "For the last 40 to 50 years, there has been a steady stream of funding, proselytising, organising and promulgating coming out of the Middle East, pushing views of religion that are narrow minded and dangerous. Unfortunately we seem blind to the enormous global impact such teaching has had and is having. Read on and comment » | Patrick Wintour, political editor | Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Lavrov: If We're Attacked, We'll Certainly Respond

Russia will retaliate if it is attacked and the interests of the Russian people are threatened, Sergey Lavrov told in an interview with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze. Watch the full interview later today.

Teenage Europeans Joining Jihad in War-torn Syria

Thousands of foreign fighters are joining jihadist rebels in Syria. The lion's share still comes from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia; however more hot-headed youngsters are coming from Europe. They are ready to take up arms against President Assad. RT's Peter Oliver has more. After we talked to one Belgian father whose son joined the Islamist rebels, Dimitry Bontinck.

Attorney General: Rise of Fundamentalism Is 'Damaging' Christianity

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The rise of religious fundamentalists with a 'deep intolerance' to other people's views has made Christians reluctant to express their beliefs, Dominic Grieve warns

Christians are increasingly reluctant to express their religious views because they are being “turned off” by the “disturbing” and “very damaging” rise of religious fundamentalism, the Attorney General has said.

Dominic Grieve said that atheists who claim that Britain is no longer a Christian nation are “deluding themselves” and must accept that faith has shaped this country’s laws and ethics.

He said that 1,500 years of Christian values are “not going to disappear overnight” and said that many people remain believers even if they choose not to go to Church.

However, he warned people are being discouraged from openly declaring their beliefs because of the “deep intolerance” of religious extremists of all faiths, including Islam and Christianity.

He told The Telegraph: “I do think that there has been a rise of an assertiveness of religious groups across the spectrum. That is why those with softer religious views find it disturbing and say they don’t want anything to do with it.” » | Steven Swinford, and John Bingham | Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Iranian Prison Guards Ordered to Beat Up Inmates, Letter Says

THE GUARDIAN: Political prisoner Emad Bahavar describes being forced to run gauntlet of guards armed with batons at notorious Evin jail

Political prisoners in Tehran's Evin prison have allegedly been subjected to humiliating physical abuse, including being forced to run a gauntlet of guards armed with batons, it has emerged.

Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has been silent despite chilling details being revealed by prisoners and their families about how Thursday's disturbances marked a dark episode in one of the country's most notorious prisons.

Dozens of inmates held in Evin's ward 350, including journalists, lawyers and opposition members, were injured, with some suffering skull fractures, broken ribs, wounds and swelling on their bodies after guards and intelligence officials created a tunnel and made prisoners run through it as they beat them with batons, according to opposition sources.

Emad Bahavar, who is serving a 10-year sentence because of his political activities, recounted some of the horrific moments in a letter sent out of jail and published on an opposition website, Kaleme, on Tuesday. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Salman Rushdie and The Satanic Verses Affair

An excellent historical documentary that highlights the trials and tribulations of Salman Rushdie as he struggled to lead a normal life under the constant threat of the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa. The part of the story that most people don't seem to hear about is Rushdie's attempt to convince the Iranian religious leaders to withdraw the fatwa on the basis that he was becoming a more devout muslim. Obviously, it didn't work, but it does show how much pressure Rushdie must have been under at the time.

Where Would You Rather Live – Great Britain or Little England?

THE GUARDIAN: If you agree that Britain is better off in the EU, make yourself heard now. The Lib Dems can't win this argument alone

This Easter we find ourselves in the middle of a European election campaign in which the question at the heart of the European debate is finally being addressed: should Britain remain a member of the EU, or is it time to leave?

The isolationists have been allowed to peddle their myths unchallenged for decades. Of all Nigel Farage's far-fetched claims – and there are many – the most outlandish is the idea that Ukip's call for an exit is the insurgents' battle cry. European withdrawal is presented as a great revolutionary promise, held in stark contrast to the status quo upheld by a homogeneous political elite.

What poppycock. For a start, Farage is every bit the professional politician he enthusiastically reviles. He and I were elected to the European parliament on the same day in 1999. I left after five years. The Ukip leader is still there. More important, there is nothing remotely new about his party's ambitions. Ukip is simply the fresh face of a long-standing Eurosceptic establishment, supported by many in the Tory party and significant parts of the press.

The sceptics' free run over this debate must now be challenged. On 22 May every gain they make will propel Britain closer to the door. We risk finding ourselves drifting further and further away from our biggest export market, jeopardising our still fragile economic recovery and threatening millions of jobs. At a time when the world's economic powerhouses are reaching beyond their own borders and working more closely with their neighbours, we will be turning away from ours.

If we end up stumbling out of the EU our police will be denied the cross-border co-operation they enjoy at present – in effect asking them to keep us safe with one hand tied behind their back. At every international summit and on each of the great dilemmas thrown up by globalisation, climate change, trade, global finance, terrorism and organised crime, Britain will be increasingly isolated, its influence diminished in the world. » | Nick Clegg | Monday, April 21, 2014

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: European elections: some things are bigger than Ukip: Europe is not going away so our European election campaigns should contain a debate about policy » | Monday, April 21, 2014

Muslims Must Accept Britain's Christian Values, Says Former Home Secretary

Former Labour home secretary Jack Straw

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jack Straw says Islamist 'plot' to take over Birmingham schools is product of power struggle within Muslim community as he tells parents to accept Christianity 'permeates our sense of citizenship'

Muslims must accept that Britain is built on Christian values, a former Home Secretary has said, in the wake of mounting evidence that a group of schools have been taken over in a ‘Trojan Horse’ plot by radical Islamists.

It is “inevitable” that many Muslim communities will not integrate with the rest of British society but it must be made clear that attempts to isolate Muslim pupils from the rest of society are unacceptable, Jack Straw said.

The alleged plot by Islamic radicals to take control of a series of schools in Birmingham is the product of a little-understood power struggle between Muslim denominations, Mr Straw, the MP for Blackburn said.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, is to take personal charge of the schools watchdog’s probe into allegations that radical Islamists had sought to infiltrate the governing bodies of secular schools.

It is claimed head teachers were pressurised into segregating pupils, abandoning “un-Islamic” sections of the GCSE biology syllabus and neglecting non-Muslim pupils. » | Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent | Monday, April 21, 2014

David Cameron Christianity Claim Backed by Religious Groups

Mr Cameron has spoken of the "peace" he has found in Christianity

BBC: Religious groups have backed Prime Minister David Cameron's assertion Britain is "a Christian country".

Hindu Council UK said it was "very comfortable" with the description. The Muslim Council of Britain said the UK was a largely Christian country.

He said the UK must be "more confident" about its Christianity, a view Downing Street says he has stated before.

It comes after a group of public figures warned the PM risked causing "alienation" with his comments. » | Monday, April 21, 2014

India's Elders Lift Ban on Inter-caste Marriages

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The decision to lift a ban on marriage between people from different castes has been hailed as a victory for love over tradition

One of India’s most influential tribal councils has lifted a ban on inter-caste marriages in a move hailed by campaigners as the start of a social revolution.

India’s more than 800 million Hindus are born into rigid castes which determine their opportunities in life and their social status.

Those who defy traditional barriers to marry someone from below their own caste are often shunned and occasionally murdered – there are more than 1,000 honour killings in India every year of those who cross caste and religious divides to marry for love.

Most of the killings have been in northern India where Hindus from the Jat tribe – traditionally regarded as peasant warrior – also forbid marriages between those from the same sub-caste or gotra, which they regard as incest. » | Dean Nelson, New Delhi | Monday, April 21, 2014

Iran : Rohani admet qu'il y a encore beaucoup à faire pour les droits des femmes

LE POINT: On ne peut pas "marginaliser la moitié de la société", a assuré le président iranien, qui prône une plus grande ouverture en Iran.

"Aujourd'hui, les femmes bénéficient de nombreux droits, mais il existe toujours des insuffisances dans les droits des femmes et l'égalité entre les sexes." Pour la journée nationale de la femme en Iran, le président Hassan Rohani a estimé que les femmes ne pouvaient être considérées comme des citoyens de seconde zone. Il s'exprimait devant des représentantes de "l'élite féminine" du pays selon les médias, qui ont chaudement applaudi son discours.

M. Rohani, élu en juin 2013 avec le soutien des réformateurs et des modérés, prône une plus grande ouverture politique, culturelle et sociale en Iran, régulièrement critiquée par les organisations internationales de défense des droits de l'homme pour les discriminations dont sont victimes les femmes. La Journée de la femme est célébrée en Iran le jour anniversaire de Fatima, la fille du prophète.

"L'injustice et la violence contre les femmes doivent cesser", a-t-il plaidé. "Selon les règles islamiques, l'homme n'est pas le premier sexe ni la femme le second sexe, [...] les femmes sont aux côtés des hommes et les deux sont égaux." (+ vidéo) » | Source AFP | dimanche 20 avril 2014

Assad besucht zurückeroberte Stadt Maalula

DIE WELT: Der syrische Präsident Assad hat die alte christliche Stadt Maalula besucht, die von den Regierungstruppen zurückerobert worden war. Der Besuch dürfte nicht zuletzt der Staatspropaganda dienen.

Der syrische Präsident Baschar al-Assad hat am Ostersonntag ein kürzlich von seinen Truppen zurückerobertes christliches Dorf besucht. Wie die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur Sana berichtete, besichtigte Assad in Maalula 60 Kilometer nordöstlich von Damaskus Schäden an Kirchen und Klöstern.

Rebellen, darunter Kämpfer der dem Terrornetzwerk al-Qaida nahestehenden Nusra-Front, hatten das Dorf im vergangenen Jahr mehrmals besetzt. Am Montag wurde es von Regierungstruppen eingenommen, die die Rebellen in die umliegenden Dörfer zurückdrängten.

Für die Regierung hatte die Rückeroberung auch einen wichtigen symbolischen Wert: Sie bemüht sich, als Beschützer religiöser Minderheiten, inklusive der Christen, wahrgenommen zu werden. Assad verfolgt mit seinem Besuch also durchaus propagandistische Ziele. In einem Konflikt, der bereits neun Millionen Menschen zur Flucht gezwungen und mittlerweile unzählige Opfer gefordert hat, versucht er sich gegenüber der Öffentlichkeit als Garant für den Schutz von Minderheiten zu inszenieren. » | AP/ds | Montag, 21. April 2014

Muslims in New York City Unite on Push to Add Holidays to School Calendar

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The meeting opened with a pledge from the podium to try to end, God willing, by the hour of the evening prayer. Clusters of colorfully veiled women kept watch over jittery young children. Rows of men conversed in a jangle of languages.

They were Muslims from Bosnia and Montenegro, Egypt and Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh — several hundred in all.

It was a gathering remarkable in its diversity from among New York City’s Muslims, a growing group whose members often find it difficult to work together politically because of differences in national origin, language, sect and class. But a single issue has managed to unify them: the push to close the city’s public schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the most sacred Muslim holidays.

The issue might seem of modest importance alongside deeper concerns among many Muslims in the city, including the Police Department’s monitoring of their community since the Sept. 11 attacks. But the rally, held recently in a public school auditorium in Queens and organized in barely a week’s time, was a testament to how the city’s Muslim community is gaining a measure of political confidence. » | Sharon Otterman | Thursday, April 17, 2014

Penny Pinching Prince? Britain's Charles Won't Share Riches with Public

Prince Charles is a member of one of the richest monarchies in the world but he faces questions for being penny-pinching. His private income from a swathe of inherited land and laws rakes in a tidy sum. Polly Boiko reports on calls to share the money with the public who pay for it.

Islam Fastest-growing Religion in UK as Churches Decline

While Christian Churches in the UK are struggling to draw people to worship, the Islamic community there is burgeoning. Some Muslim groups are doing all they can to counter fears the rapid growth is a challenge to British traditions.