Gauck: Integration der Flüchtlinge schwieriger als deutsche Einheit

Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck in Frankfurt

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck hält die Integration hunderttausender Flüchtlinge für eine größere Aufgabe als die deutsche Wiedervereinigung. Denn jetzt solle „zusammenwachsen, was bisher nicht zusammengehörte“.

Die Integration von Flüchtlingen wird Deutschland nach Ansicht von Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck vor eine größere Aufgabe stellen als die deutsche Einheit. Auch die Vereinigung von Ost- und Westdeutschland beschäftige Generationen, sagte Gauck am Samstag in seiner Rede beim Festakt zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit in Frankfurt. „Doch anders als damals soll nun zusammenwachsen, was bisher nicht zusammengehörte.“

Es müssten viel größere Distanzen überwunden werden als zwischen Ost- und Westdeutschen, die eine Sprache und eine gemeinsame Kultur und Geschichte gehabt hätten, sagte der Bundespräsident. Deswegen forderte Gauck Geduld und betonte, dass nur die in Deutschland geltenden Werte Basis für eine Integration sein könnten. „Es braucht Zeit, bis alte und neue Bürger Verantwortung in einem Staat übernehmen, den alle gemeinsam als ihren Staat empfinden.“ » | Quelle: Reuters | Samstag, 3. Oktober 2015

Obama Says Russian Strategy in Syria Is ‘Recipe for Disaster’

Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the White House:
'[Putin] doesn't distinguish between Isil and a moderate
Sunni opposition that wants to see Mr Assad go.'

THE GUARDIAN: US president’s comments follow coalition’s expression of deep concerns over targeting in Russian bombing campaign

Russia’s failure to distinguish between Islamic State fighters and moderate opposition forces battling against Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is a “recipe for disaster,” Barack Obama has said, as more evidence emerged that Moscow is targeting anti-regime rebels and not just Isis.

The US president said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “doesn’t distinguish between Isil [Isis] and a moderate Sunni opposition that wants to see Mr Assad go. From their perspective, they’re all terrorists. And that’s a recipe for disaster.”

A statement released earlier on Friday by the US-led coalition fighting Isis expressed deep concern about attacks by the Russian air force on Hama, Homs and Idlib. The attacks did not hit the jihadi group but caused civilian casualties.

“These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalisation,” said the statement by France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the US and Britain. “We call on the Russian federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting Isil.” » | Shaun Walker in Moscow Lauren Gambino in New York Ian Black in London and Kareem Shaheen in Beirut | Friday, October 2, 2015

Nine Médecins Sans Frontières Staff Killed in Suspected US Airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan

A hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz has been hit and partially destroyed in an overnight 'aerial attack' that killed at least nine Médecins Sans Frontières staff. NATO has admitted a US airstrike may have caused accidental 'collateral damage.'

Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins Denounce ‘Regressive Leftists’ for Granting ‘Free Pass’ to Islam

On Friday’s “Real Time” on HBO, host Bill Maher spoke with guest and atheist biologist Richard Dawkins on how many comedians were also atheist because religion, Maher said, is “easy to make fun of.”

Maher went on to say it is “ridiculous” that Muslims are a “protected species,” while Dawkins added that criticizing Muslims is “confused with racism.”

“So they think that if you you criticize Islam you’re being racist and you’re absolutely right that the regressive Muslims give a free pass to Islam,” he said. “They’re kind of right about everything else, I mean they’re right about misogyny and all of the other good things. But in the case of Islam, it just gets a free pass and I think it is because of the terror of being thought racist.”

Children of the ‘Caliphate’

WARNING! This Channel 4 video contains gruesome, disturbing, graphic images. ISIS is the embodiment of EVIL.

Syria Blame-game: Obama Slams Russian Air Strikes, Says They Strenghten ISIS

Barack Obama lashes out at the Russian anti-ISIS campaign in Syria, claiming its air strikes are strengthening Islamic State. Retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski believes Barack Obama is basing his judgements on Russia's actions in Syria on the results of the American-led campaign.

It Doesn’t Get Much More Stupid Than This!

Charlotte Church should stick to singing! Her understanding of ME politics is clearly very limited.

The New Saudi Borgias

THE SPECTATOR: Cruel sex crimes have surged since King Abdullah died, and we can do nothing about it

A young Saudi prince, Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud, has apparently fled to the Wahhabi kingdom on his private jet after a bleeding woman was found trying to escape from his Los Angeles mansion. She filed sexual assault charges against him, claiming her injuries were sustained when he tried to force her to give him a blow job. Other alleged female victims have since detailed a three-day orgy of violence. But what are the chances they will have their day in court? The prince will certainly not be compelled by the Saudi royal family to return; and we can be equally sure that Washington will not hold its Saudi masters to account for facilitating his escape. Two Nepalese women imprisoned as sex slaves by a sadistic Saudi diplomat in New Delhi are unlikely to see justice either. Locked in his luxury flat for months, they were starved, tortured, raped and sodomised. The police described it as an open-and-shut case. But a few weeks ago he, too, was flown back to the Land of the Two Holy Mosques.

Both these scumbags should be quite happy to be back in Saudi Arabia, where maids from impoverished countries, and western women who work in Saudi homes, have long complained of sexual harassment. During dinner at a Saudi friend’s house in Jeddah, my host — the gentle, pious son of a general in the Saudi army — told me his college friends were ‘giving him hell’ because he wouldn’t let them have their way with his adolescent Filipina maid. They simply could not fathom his refusal. That was a decade or so ago, and that generation of brats are now the sexually warped, slave-owning Saudi princes and diplomats as ubiquitous around the globe as the hate-preachers they fund. » | John R. Bradley | Saturday, October 3, 2015

Angela Merkel 'Firm Favourite' for Nobel Prize over Refugee Crisis - But Losing Favour in Germany

A migrant takes a selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
outside a refugee camp near the Federal Office for Migration and
Refugees after registration at Berlin's Spandau district in
September 2015

THE TELEGRAPH: German Chancellor Angela Merkel emerges as the firm favourite for the 2015 peace prize but faces growing opposition to her refugee policy at home

Speculation is mounting that Angela Merkel will win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her handling of the European refugee crisis and the war in Ukraine, just as public opinion in Germany is hardening on the migrant issue.

The German Chancellor has emerged as the firm favourite for the 2015 peace prize, the winner of which will be announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee next Friday.

But even as she is lauded on the international stage, Mrs Merkel is facing growing opposition to her refugee policy at home, where her personal approval rating with voters has plummeted nine percentage points in a single month, according to the findings of a new opinion poll. » | Justin Huggler in Berlin | Friday, October 2, 2015

Wieviel Islam gehört zu Deutschland? - Hamed Abdel-Samad bei Hart aber Fair

Merkel: Fluchtursachen bekämpfen, EU-Außengrenzen schützen und gemeinsame Lösung mit Russland finden

Saudi Arabia Insists UN Keeps LGBT Rights Out of Its Development Goals

THE INDEPENDENT: The Saudi Foreign Minister says LGBT rights are 'counter to Islamic law'

Saudi Arabia is insisting the UN removes gay rights from the organisation’s Global Goals, saying it is “counter to Islamic law”.

The protest comes from the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al-Jubeir, who told the UN General Assembly that “mentioning sex in the text, to us, means exactly male and female. Mentioning family means consisting of a married man and woman,” AP reported.

He stated Saudi Arabia has the right not to follow any agenda that runs “counter to Islamic law”.

The Sustainable Development Goals program sets a series of “ambitious targets” for the UN’s 193 member states, related to poverty, equality and ending climate change.

However, overt references to LGBT equality were removed from the final agreement, Pink News reports.

The goals pledge to ensure that “human rights and fundamental freedoms are enjoyed by all, without discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, colour, sex, age, language, religion, culture, migration status, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic situation, birth, disability or other status.”

Homosexuality is illegal under Sharia law in Saudi Arabia and punishments for those engaging in same-sex relationships include execution, chemical castration and imprisonment. » | Samuel Osborne | Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Asyldebatte: Seehofers Attacken gegen Merkel werden immer schärfer

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Der Bundestag debattiert über die neue Asylgesetzgebung. Der CSU-Vorsitzende Seehofer setzt indes seine Verbalattacken auf die Kanzlerin fort – und verschärft noch seine ohnehin harsche Wortwahl.

Der CSU-Vorsitzende Horst Seehofer hat seine Angriffe auf Bundeskanzlerin Merkel fortgesetzt. In einem Telefongespräch innerhalb der CSU-Führung habe Seehofer nach einem Bericht der „Bild“-Zeitung gesagt: „Die Kanzlerin hat sich meiner Überzeugung nach für eine Vision eines anderen Deutschland entschieden.“ Während einer Kabinettssitzung soll Seehofer zudem davon gesprochen haben, Flüchtlinge in Bussen nach Berlin vor den Reichstag zu fahren, schrieb „Spiegel Online". Ein Sprecher der Staatskanzlei habe den Bericht zunächst nicht kommentieren wollen. » | Quelle: AFP/KNA/dpa/Reuters/epd | Donnerstag, 1. Oktober 2015

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Angela Merkel, bientôt prix Nobel de la paix?

LE MATIN: CRISE MIGRATOIRE — La récompense sera attribuée vendredi prochain, et la chancelière allemande a des chances de le décrocher pour son rôle dans les crises migratoire et ukrainienne.

Le quotidien allemand Bild estime vendredi que la chancelière Angela Merkel est une prétendante sérieuse au prix Nobel de la Paix qui sera attribué vendredi prochain, pour son rôle dans les crises migratoire et ukrainienne.

«La chancelière Angela Merkel a de bonnes perspectives d'obtenir le prix Nobel de la paix», relève le quotidien populaire le plus lu d'Allemagne en Une dans un court article titré «Le prix Nobel de la paix pour Angela Merkel?». » | afp/nxp | vendredi 1 octobre 2015

Russia Destroys ISIS Targets in Air Strike Success as Ground War Erupts in Syria

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

EXPRESS: RUSSIAN bombers have struck a dozen Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria including a jihadi command centre and a communications hub.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed 12 strikes had hit ISIS and "other terrorist groups".

Russian aircraft began bombing sites in the war-torn country on Wednesday after Moscow approved air strikes aimed at degrading ISIS and propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the Kremlin's own analysis, its planes had only struck ISIS targets, with the command and communication centres completely destroyed.

Russian Su-25M and Su-25 jets made 20 sorties with more likely to follow in the coming days.

It comes as ground war escalated in the country, with Iran and Hezbollah revealing troops had entered in support of Assad.

There were also reports Vladimir Putin, who this week signed a decree drafting 150,000 troops to the military, was preparing for soldiers to enter on the ground but this has been denied by Moscow. » | Tom Batchelor | Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Netanyahu Addresses UN General Assembly (Full Speech)

Sweden's Liberal Reputation Tarnished as Race Attacks Rise

Kyle James, who was pepper-sprayed by bouncers at a
Swedish nightclub.

THE GUARDIAN: Perceived tolerant, amicable nature of Scandinavian nation fading as instances of discrimination and violence rise, according to UN study

Kyle James, a black New Yorker with a top job in banking, had been warned to expect problems in bars and nightclubs in Stockholm when he visited the city in July. But nothing prepared him for what happened when he entered a well-known bar with two black friends.

After he had bought a drink, bouncers told him to leave; when he asked why, they dragged him outside, pepper-sprayed his eyes and pinned him to the ground. Police then handcuffed him and his friends. James, 32, was made to strip naked and spent the night without clothes in a cell.

Laughing, police accused him of punching a bouncer, although there were many witnesses who said that he did not. “It was one of the most demeaning experiences of my life,” says James. “I always had the perception that people were forward-thinking and liberal in Scandinavia, but not even an animal should be treated in that way.”

He tried to seek justice through the courts but after police dropped the case against him Swedish lawyers advised him not to press charges. Read on and comment » | David Crouch in Gothenburg | Friday, October 2, 2015

Margaret Thatcher: From Grocer’s Daughter to Iron Lady

The Telegraph: Charles Moore: My 18 years getting to know Mrs Thatcher » | Elizabeth Grice | Thursday, October 1, 2015

Obama: Our Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough

Oct. 01, 2015 - 12:32 - President makes statement on Oregon shooting, calls for 'common sense' gun laws

Kampf um Syrien: Putin demütigt Obama

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Russlands Präsident Putin lässt Stellungen der Rebellen in Syrien bombardieren. Damit beschämt er den zögernden amerikanischen Präsidenten Obama – und er markiert seinen Anspruch auf eine dauerhafte Präsenz im Nahen Osten. Ein Kommentar.

Das ist ein Wendepunkt in den Kriegen des Nahen Ostens: Erst hat Russland in Syrien eine neue Militärbasis aufgebaut, und nun bombardieren russische Kampfflugzeuge im Auftrag des syrischen Regimes Stellungen der Rebellen. Damit demütigt der russische Präsident Putin den zögernden amerikanischen Präsidenten Obama, und er markiert seinen Anspruch auf eine dauerhafte Präsenz im Nahen Osten. Putin, gestärkt durch die Annexion der Krim, will nun das Regime von Machthaber Assad retten. Zwar hatte die russische Propaganda angekündigt, Krieg gegen den „Islamischen Staat“ zu führen. Die ersten Luftschläge dienten aber allein dazu, das von Assad kontrollierte Territorium zu arrondieren. Das beschleunigt den Zerfall Syriens in Kleinstaaten. Einer wird von Assad regiert und von Russland geschützt werden. So entsteht das Abchasien des Nahen Ostens. » | Von Rainer Hermann | Donnerstag, 1. Oktober 2015