Helmut Schmidt : "Oui, j'ai eu une maîtresse"

Helmut Schmidt et sa femme Loki (ici en 2006) formaient,
pour les Allemands, le couple idéal.

LE POINT: Si la confession de l'ex-chancelier laisserait froids les Français habitués aux doubles vies à l'Élysée, en Allemagne, elle a l'effet d'une bombe.

"Oui, confesse l'ancien chancelier Helmut Schmidt, j'ai eu une maîtresse à la fin des années 60." La nouvelle n'aurait fait sourciller personne en France, mais en Allemagne, elle a d'autant plus l'effet d'une bombe que Helmut et Loki Schmidt incarnaient le couple idéal. Deux êtres complices depuis leur plus tendre enfance pour le meilleur et pour le pire. Les Allemands ont encore en mémoire les larmes amères de leur ancien chancelier voûté sur son fauteuil roulant à l'enterrement, en 2010, de sa compagne de toujours. La mort de Hannelore Schmidt, baptisée affectueusement Loki, et très appréciée pour son franc-parler et son allure à la garçonne sans prétention, fut vécue comme un deuil national. En 2012, deux ans plus tard, le très vieux Helmut Schmidt présentait officiellement sa nouvelle amie. Son ancienne secrétaire, âgée de 81 ans, qui, après cette terrible épreuve, lui avait "sauvé la vie". » | De corresponante du Point à Berlin, Pascale Hugues | jeudi 05 mars 2015

Rückkehr zur Wehrpflicht: Litauen fühlt sich bedroht

Präsidentin Grybauskaite, hier in Brüssel, will in Litauen
die Wehrpflicht wieder einführen.

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Präsidentin Grybauskaite hat Erklärungen zur Absicht Litauens abgegeben, die allgemeine Wehrpflicht wieder einzuführen. Das Land sehe sich einer Bedrohung gegenüber und müsse sich selbst verteidigen können.

Die litauische Regierung hat einen Vorschlag des nationalen Verteidigungsrats gutgeheissen, die 2008 abgeschaffte allgemeine militärische Stellungspflicht vorübergehend wieder einzuführen. Mit der Sache wird sich deshalb in Kürze das Parlament auseinandersetzen. Vor Journalisten gab am Mittwoch die Präsidentin des Landes, Dalia Grybauskaite, Erklärungen zu dem Schritt ab. » | Rudolf Hermann, Stockholm | Freitag, 06. März 2015

After Calling Muslims 'Suspect,' Radio Host Is Gone

DELAWARE ONLINE: A prominent radio host on WGMD 92.7 FM, Jake Smith, said on air that "as far as I'm concerned, not every Muslim is guilty, but every Muslim is suspect" of sympathizing with Islamic extremists.

When a caller to his show said Smith was "a bigot." Smith replied, "you're a jackass."

He has not returned to WGMD's airwaves since.

Smith's 97 seconds of verbal sparring, which aired during the live "Mike and Jake in the Morning" show Feb. 20 on WGMD, led to his dismissal from the station that same day, Smith said in an interview, although word of that dismissal is just now leaking out.

During a segment of the morning show focusing on Islamic extremism, Smith said: "Muslims do not stand up for America – and they don't, they didn't stand up for America during 9/11, they didn't stand up for America during Ft. Hood, they've never stood out and said, 'This has to stop' – I haven't heard one Muslim in this country do that.

"As far as I'm concerned, not every Muslim is guilty, but every Muslim is suspect," he continued. » | James Fisher, The News Journal | Friday, March 06, 2015

Jake Smith's on-air conversation »

Iran Condemned for 'Unspeakably Cruel' Blinding of Prisoner

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran punishment of man for acid attack by gouging out his eye condemned as "unspeakably cruel" by Amnesty

Iran has been condemned for "unspeakable cruelty" after a man was forcibly blinded in his left eye this week on the grounds of legal retribution for an acid attack he had carried out in 2009.

International rights group Amnesty International today condemned the "grotesque" punishment overseen by Iranian authorities on Tuesday under the principle of "qisas" – an eye for an eye – at a prison in Karaj, west of Tehran.

The man had been convicted of throwing acid in another man's face in 2009, leading to a 10-year prison sentence, an order to pay blood money to the victim and the act of retribution.

Medics gouged out his left eye after he was rendered unconscious in Rajai-Shahr prison, the Guardian reported.

"Punishing someone by deliberately blinding them is an unspeakably cruel and shocking act," said Raha Bahreini, Amnesty's Iran researcher, in a statement.

"This punishment exposes the utter barbarity of Iran's justice system and underlines the Iranian authorities' shocking disregard for basic humanity." » | Andrew Marszal, and agencies | Friday, March 06, 2015

Related »

The Know-nothing Cardinal Dolan! Cardinal Compares Islamic State to IRA: 'They Are Not Real Muslims, Just as IRA Claimed to Be Catholic'

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York

BELFAST TELEGRAPH: A Cardinal in the US has compared Islamic State to the IRA - saying militants terrorising the Middle East are a distortion of “genuine” Islam, just as the Irish Republican Army was a “perversion” of Catholicism.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, drew the parallel in an interview with CNN.

"Remember 30, 35, 40 years ago with the IRA in Ireland? The IRA claimed to be Catholic. And they were baptized; they had a Catholic identity. What they were doing was a perversion of everything the church stood for," he said.

"And to their immense credit the bishops of Ireland, every time the IRA blew up a car or a house or a barracks to the British Army, the Irish bishops would say 'they are not Catholic'.

"The analogy I think is somewhat accurate. These are not pure, these are not real Muslims." » | Claire Cromie | Thursday, March 05, 2015

France To Counter Extremism By Doubling Islamic Varsity Courses

NEWS EVERYDAY: The number of Islamic university courses in France are going to double from 6 to 12, said Manuel Valls, the French Prime Minister, according to rt. The courses will be paid for by the French state, in order to blunt the impact of French Imams, who are receiving funds from abroad.

Valls pointed out that the measure to improve home-grown French Islamic education is important so that it can improve a situation in which "Islamist extremism and the far right feed off each other."

The speech was delivered in the eastern city of Strasbourg. The anxiety levels follow the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in January as well as a rise in right-wing support for the anti-immigration National Front Party, led by Marine Le Pen. » | Revathi Siva Kumar | Friday, March 06, 2015

HT: Always on Watch »

Cage Director Asim Qureshi Refuses to Condemn Stoning of Adulterous Women

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: This Week presenter Andrew Neil appears shocked at failure to refute Sharia law

The director of the Muslim rights group Cage has repeatedly refused to condemn the stoning of adulterous women by Islamic extremists.

Appearing on the BBC’s This Week programme, Asim Qureshi was asked about a series of positions advocated by a Muslim scholar he has described as a mentor, including female genital mutilation, domestic violence and the stoning to death of women found guilty of cheating on their husbands.

Last month, Mr Qureshi was criticised for describing Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State executioner known as Jihadi John, as a “beautiful young man”.

Pressed by Andrew Neil, the show’s presenter, to condemn a series of extreme positions, including claims

that Jews are descended from pigs and homosexuality is evil. He repeatedly refused to engage, saying: “I’m not a theologian.” (+ video) » | Rosa Prince, Online Political Editor, Video source: BBC / This Week | Friday, March 06, 2015

Nimrud: Outcry as IS Bulldozers Attack Ancient Iraq Site

BBC AMERICA: Archaeologists and officials have expressed outrage about the bulldozing of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud by Islamic State militants in Iraq.

IS began demolishing the site, which was founded in the 13th Century BC, on Thursday, according to Iraqi officials.

The head of the UN's cultural agency condemned the "systematic" destruction in Iraq as a "war crime".

IS, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, says shrines and statues are "false idols" that have to be smashed.

"They are erasing our history," said Iraqi archaeologist Lamia al-Gailani. (+ BBC video) » | Friday, March 06, 2015

Islamic State Extremists Bulldoze Ancient Nimrud Site Near Mosul

Nimrud is a 13th century BC Assyrian archaeological site close
to Mosul, which is controlled by ISIS militants.

THE GUARDIAN: Statement from Iraq’s ministry of tourism and antiquities says militants ‘defy will of world and feelings of humanity’ but does not state extent of damage

Islamic State (Isis) militants bulldozed the ancient Nimrud archaeological site near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday using heavy military vehicles, the government said.

A statement from Iraq’s ministry of tourism and antiquities did not elaborate on the extent of the damage, saying only that the group continued to “defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity” with this latest act.

Nimrud is a 13th century BC Assyrian archaeological site located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by Isis in June. The extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming that they promote apostasy. » | Associated Press in Baghdad | Thursday, March 05, 2015

Winston Churchill – Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain Speech)

Winston Churchill's address of 5 March 1946, at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri.

In one of the most famous orations of the Cold War period, former British Prime Minister condemns the Soviet Union's policies in Europe and declares,that "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "Iron Curtain" has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow."

Churchill, who had been defeated for re-election as prime minister in 1945, was invited to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri where he gave this speech. President Harry S. Truman joined Churchill on the platform and listened intently to his speech. Churchill spoke of expansionistic policies of the Soviet Union and warned against "communist fifth columns" that were operating throughout western and southern Europe. Drawing parallels with the disastrous appeasement of Hitler prior to World War II, Churchill advised that in dealing with the Soviets there was "nothing which they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for military weakness."

Eye for an Eye: Iran Blinds Acid Attacker

In 2011, Ameneh Bahrami, an Iranian woman who was blinded
in an acid attack, pardoned her assailant.

THE GUARDIAN: Medics gouge out man’s eye in first known case where retribution ruling has been carried out, amid condemnation from human rights groups

In a literal application of the sharia law of an eye for an eye, an Iranian man convicted of blinding another man in an acid attack has been blinded in one eye, marking the first time Iran has carried out such a punishment.

The convicted acid attacker, who has not been identified, was rendered unconscious in Rajai-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj on Tuesday as medics gouged out his left eye, according to the state-owned Hamshahri newspaper.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, from Iran Human Rights (IHR), an independent NGO based in Norway, condemned the blinding as barbaric. “Medical staff who cooperate with the Iranian authorities in this act have broken the Hippocratic oath and cannot call themselves doctors,” he said.

The man had been found guilty of throwing acid in the face of his unnamed victim five years ago in the city of Qom, blinding and disfiguring him for life. He was subsequently sentenced to be blinded in both eyes, paying a fine and 10 years imprisonment.

Although the convict was sentenced to lose sight in both eyes on Tuesday, the victim – who, under Iranian law, has the final say in the punishment – decided at the last minute to postpone the blinding of his right eye for six months. The attacker will be able to plead with the plaintiff to spare him from being blinded fully. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, March 05, 2015

MARGARET THATCHER - 50th Anniversary of Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech | 1996, Fulton, MO

Fifty years after Sir Winston Churchill heralded from the podium at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, the descent of an "Iron Curtain" across Europe, another former British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, paid tribute to his legacy on 9 March 1996.

Niall Ferguson: Europe a Mess, Thatcher Was Right

Margaret Thatcher about the Weakness of European Countries

Iran Is 'Taking Over Iraq' and Obama Must Put Boots on the Ground against Isil, Warns Saudi Arabia

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses reporters during
a news conference with Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister
Saud al-Faisal, in Riyadh

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Thousands flee Isil-held Tikrit ahead of Iraqi assault as Saudi foreign minister calls for US coalition presence 'on the ground' to prevent Iran overrunning country

Saudi Arabia became the second key American ally in the Middle East to demand President Barack Obama change tack towards Iran on Thursday, as it called for US-led coalition "boots on the ground" to fight Isil.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, told John Kerry, the US secretary of state, that he risked allowing Iran to "take over Iraq", echoing Israel's recent concerns over the White House's policy toward Tehran.

The United States and its coalition allies are attacking Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) positions from the air in both Syria and Iraq, but refusing to send troops. As a result, outside Kurdish areas the offensive in both countries is heavily influenced by Iran and its proxy Shia militias such as Hizbollah.

This has raised serious concerns in Saudi Arabia, Iran's Sunni rival for Middle East dominance.

The Iraqi government is currently attacking Isil positions in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown north of Baghdad. But most of its forces are under the command of government-aligned Shia militias, whose leaders are close to the Iranian regime, even though the population of Tikrit is largely Sunni.

Around 28,000 people have fled their homes in the face of the military operation, according to the UN.

"Tikrit is a prime example of what we are worried about," Prince Saud said. "Iran is taking over the country." » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor | Thursday, March 05, 2015

Un article lié à cette histoire »

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EI : l'Arabie saoudite appelle la coalition à mener des opérations au sol

LE POINT: Lors d'une conférence de presse tenue en présence de John Kerry, le prince Saoud Al-Fayçal a déploré l'implication en Irak de l'Iran.

Le ministre saoudien des Affaires étrangères a estimé jeudi que la coalition internationale contre les djihadistes du groupe État islamique (EI) devrait "relever le défi au sol", lors d'une conférence de presse commune avec le secrétaire d'État américain John Kerry. Évoquant les actions de cette coalition, conduite par les États-Unis, en Syrie et en Irak, le prince Saoud Al-Fayçal a déclaré : "Le royaume saoudien souligne l'importance de favoriser les moyens militaires nécessaires pour relever ce défi au sol." Le ministre saoudien, dont le pays participe aux opérations de la coalition en Syrie, a déploré l'implication en Irak de l'Iran, son rival régional aux ambitions hégémoniques, selon Riyad. » | Source AFP | jeudi 05 mars 2015

SUZANNE FIELDS: Netanyahu's Bible Lesson from Queen Esther

Benjamin Netanyahu leavened his powerful account of what's really at stake in the nuclear negotiations with Iran with a little history and a little wisdom from the Bible. And why not? The war against the terrorists in the Middle East is a war against evil men peddling a violent perversion of a religion. Everything about this…

MONICA CROWLEY: Obama World Order Favors Middle East Adversaries Over Allies

Of his many disgraceful blow-offs of our key allies - returning the bust of Winston Churchill to Great Britain, refusing to march in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, vetoing the Keystone XL pipeline coming from Canada - President Obama's epic dis of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week takes the cake. One of our…