„Jede Blase findet ihr Ende", so Jeremy Grantham. Der richtige Crash kommt noch
WELTONLINE: Jeremy Grantham verwaltet in den USA ein Milliardenvermögen. Zu seinen Kunden zählen Dick Cheney, John Kerry, Exxon Mobile und die Weltbank. Die derzeitigen Schwächeanfälle der Finanzmärkte hält er nur für das Vorgeplänkel für einen dramatischen Absturz.

Ein Mann sieht schwarz: Für den Vermögensverwalter Jeremy Grantham sind die aktuellen Abwärtsschwünge am Aktienmarkt erst der Anfang: „In den vergangenen zwölf Jahren war ich oft zu pessimistisch. Jetzt aber fühle ich mich, als beobachtete ich ein Zugunglück in extrem langsamer Zeitlupe“, sagt er. Grantham sieht einen dramatischen Crash voraus: „Eine bedeutende amerikanische Bank wird pleitegehen, die Hälfte aller Hedgefonds sowie ein bedeutender Anteil aller Private-Equity-Firmen Konkurs gehen. Der amerikanische Aktienindex S&P 500 wird um mindestens 40 Prozent fallen.“ Doch das alles, so glaubt Grantham, passiert erst nach 2008. Der richtige Crash kommt erst noch (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Arrested: Neo-Nazis in Israel!

Swastika courtesy of Google Images

BBC: Police in Israel say they have broken up a gang neo-Nazis who stand accused of carrying out a string of attacks on foreigners, gays and religious Jews.

The eight suspects, aged 16-21, are all Israeli citizens from the former Soviet Union. They were arrested a month ago, but the news only emerged on Saturday.

Police say searches of their homes yielded Nazi uniforms, portraits of Adolf Hitler, knives, guns and TNT.

Israel was founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust in which millions died.

The arrests follow a year-long inquiry which began after a synagogue in Petah Tikva, a city east of Tel Aviv, was desecrated with graffiti of Nazi swastikas and the name of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Israeli 'neo-Nazi gang' arrested (more)

THE TELEGRAPH:
Israeli neo-Nazi gang filmed attacking Jews By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem

Mark Alexander

Interview mit Ronald Pofalla: Kruzifixa in allen Schulen sollte es geben

Foto von Ronald Pofalla, der gläubiger Christ ist, dank der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: 09. September 2007
CDU-Generalsekretär Ronald Pofalla tritt dafür ein, Kruzifixe in allen Schulen anzubringen. „Als Partei, die das Christliche im Namen trägt, wollen wir, dass das Bekenntnis zum Christentum im öffentlichen Raum erhalten bleibt“, sagte Pofalla im Interview mit der F.A.S.

Herr Pofalla, CSU-Generalsekretär Söder und drei bekannte CDU-Politiker fordern in einem Papier, die CDU müsse wieder konservativer werden. Ist sie es nicht?

Sie ist es, seien Sie beruhigt. Die CDU hat drei Wurzeln: die liberale, die christlich-soziale und die konservative. Alle drei finden sich auch ausführlich im Entwurf des neuen Grundsatzprogramms. Zwei der Autoren, die das Papier verfasst haben, waren ja auch Mitglieder der Grundsatzprogrammkommission. Ich finde es aber richtig, dass wir die Zeit der großen Koalition nutzen, um unser Profil zu schärfen. Dazu liefert das Papier einen guten Impuls. Pofalla: Kruzifixe in allen Schulen (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Radikalisierte Konvertiten in Deutschland sind äußerst gefährlich
NZZ: Radikalisierte Konvertiten haben bei der Vorbereitung von Bombenanschlägen in Deutschland eine Schlüsselrolle gespielt. Die Extremisten verhalten sich möglichst unauffällig.

Stephanie Lahrtz, Ulm
Drei Buben holen sich Kaugummis am Automaten, junge Mütter beobachten ihre Sprösslinge beim Klettern auf dem von alten Bäumen und mehrstöckigen sauberen Wohnhäusern umgebenen Spielplatz, Omas führen Hunde spazieren, und über allem weht ein angenehmer Duft nach Kuchen. So stellt man sich ein gut deutsches Wohnviertel am Freitagnachmittag vor.

Doch das auf den ersten Blick so völlig normale Quartier in unmittelbarer Nähe des Ulmer Hauptbahnhofs sowie des berühmten Münsters beherbergt auch eine der Zentralen des Islamismus in Deutschland. Eine kleine Ladentür und ein Schaufenster, beide verhängt, ein Schild mit den grünen Buchstaben IIZ (Islamisches Informationszentrum), einige Zettel mit Informationen – mehr sieht man von aussen nicht. Der benachbarte Veloverkäufer oder die ein paar Häuser weiter weg wohnende Blumenhändlerin sind völlig erstaunt darüber, dass sich dort mindestens einer der am Mittwoch verhafteten Terrorverdächtigen über Jahre hinweg immer wieder mit gleichgesinnten Extremisten getroffen hat. «Ich habe dort nie grössere Menschengruppen oder Aktivitäten beobachtet», betont die Floristin im Gespräch. Aussen deutsch, innen radikal: Einheimische Terroristen sind gut getarnt und darum besonders gefährlich (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Playing Nanny to Pregnant Women
THE OBSERVER: · £120 grant to buy fruit and vegetables
· Brown rejects 'nanny state' criticism
All expectant mothers are to be given a one-off payment of around £120 that they will be encouraged to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables as a way of protecting their children from diseases and incurable conditions later in life.

The plan for a 'health in pregnancy' grant will be outlined by Health Secretary Alan Johnson this week in his first major speech outlining how the government plans to tackle the yawning health divide between the richest and poorest in England and Wales.

The payment - the first by a government that is allied to a specific health target - would be given to women when they are seven months pregnant. It would be linked to them receiving professional health advice on how to maintain a proper balanced diet, and give up drinking and smoking. The move comes as the government's record on improving public health will come under fresh scrutiny this week when Sir Derek Wanless, a former government adviser on the NHS, publishes a major report that will criticise lack of progress on tackling increasingly unhealthy lifestyles which have led to Britain's obesity epidemic. The report is expected to highlight poor eating habits, people's increasingly sedentary routines and the growing number of overweight people as areas where more determined action needs to be taken.

The pregnancy measure, to be introduced in 2009, is likely to prove highly controversial as women will be free to spend the money on drink or cigarettes. Sources told The Observer that the government accepts that some of the 630,000 women who become pregnant each year may choose not to spend the money on healthy food. There is also little published research to show that a financial incentive, combined with nutritional advice, is sufficient to persuade mothers from the most deprived areas to change their lifestyle. Pregnant women to get cash for good diet (more)

Mark Alexander

Crisis in the Money Markets
THE SUNDAY TIMES: LEADING bankers are warning of the worst crisis in the money markets for 20 years, which will come to a head this week when $113 billion (£57 billion) of commercial paper – market IOUs – comes up for refinancing.

This huge refinancing, mainly through London, exceeds the $100 billion that became due in mid-August, and which sparked the most serious phase in the money-market crisis, which has seen banks scrambling for funds and market interest rates rising sharply. “This is a serious pressure point,” said one leading banker.

Another senior executive of one of Britain’s top five retail banks said: “These are the worst conditions I have seen in money markets for 20 years”. Worst crisis for 20 years, say banks (more) By David Smith and John Waples

Mark Alexander

When the Essence of Britain is No More
Hat-tip to Jim Ball:

REAL CLEAR POLITICS: BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND -- Perhaps there will not always be an England. An exodus unprecedented in modern times, coupled with a record influx of foreigners, is threatening to erode the character of the land of William Shakespeare and overpowering monarchs, a land that served as the cradle for much of American thought, law and culture.

The figures, making headlines in London newspapers, tell only part of the story. Between June 2005 and June 2006 nearly 200,000 British citizens chose to leave the country for a new life elsewhere. During the same period, at least 574,000 immigrants came to Britain. This number does not include the people who broke the law to get there, or the thousands unknown to the government. Britain's Office of National Statistics reports that middle-class Britons are beginning to move out of towns in southern England that have become home to large numbers of immigrants, thereby altering the character of neighborhoods that have remained unchanged for generations.

Britons give many reasons for leaving, but their stories share one commonality: life in Britain has become unbearable for them. They fear lawlessness and the threat of more terrorism from a growing Muslim population and the loss of a sense of Britishness, exacerbated by the growing refusal of public schools to teach the history and culture of the nation to the next generation. What it means to be British has been watered down in a plague of political correctness that has swept the country faster than hoof-and-mouth disease. Officials say they do not wish to "offend" others. England is Vanishing (more)

Mark Alexander

Is Reinfeldt Playing ‘Dhimmi’?
BBC: Sweden's Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, has met ambassadors from 22 Muslim countries in an effort to defuse a row about a Prophet Muhammad cartoon.

The cartoon, published in a Swedish newspaper last month, showed Prophet Muhammad's head on a dog's body. Several Muslim countries protested.

Mr Reinfeldt said Friday's talks had gone well, but added it was too early to say if tensions had been defused. Sweden acts to cool cartoon row (more)

Mark Alexander

Il mondo saluta Pavarotti
LA REPUBBLICA: MODENA - Una bara di acero chiaro circondata da rose rosse, lilium e girasoli, i suoi preferiti, nel cuore dell'abside del Duomo di Modena. Sulla destra e sulla sinistra i familiari, la moglie Nicoletta che singhiozza, l'ex moglie Adua con le tre figlie, gli amici più stretti. Alle tre in punto l'Ave Maria intonata dalla soprano, e amica, Raina Kabaivanska, avvia l'ultimo saluto a Luciano Pavarotti. L'atto finale di un omaggio durato tre giorni, in cui almeno centomila persone hanno onorato la camera ardente e il mondo ha salutato, commosso, il tenore italiano come uno dei più grandi della storia della musica e della lirica.

Cinquantamila - secondo la stima del Comune di Modena - le persone che hanno assistito alle esequie dalle strade e dalle piazze del centro storico insieme alle telecamere delle tv di tutto il mondo. Nella cattedrale erano presenti, fra gli altri, Romano Prodi, Francesco Rutelli, Arturo Parisi, l'ex segretario delle Nazioni Unite Kofi Annan, il numero uno della Fao Jacques Diouf, ministri e autorità locali, dal presidente della Regione Vasco Errani al sindaco di Modena, Giorgio Pighi. Soprattutto c'erano gli amici di Big Luciano, Bono, Jovanotti, Zucchero, Gianni Morandi, Carla Fracci, Caterina Caselli, la soprano Mirella Freni, Franco Zeffirelli, i friends con cui Pavarotti è riuscito, esperimento unico e forse irrepetibile, a miscelare musica pop, lirica e opera.

Monsignor Cocchi, che ha officiato la messa, prima di ringraziare tutte le autorità presenti, ha letto il messaggio e la benedizione apostolica di Papa Benedetto XVI che ha scritto del "sentimento di cordoglio per la dipartita del grande artista che con grande talento interpretativo ha onorato il dono divino della musica". Un lungo applauso per un emozionato Andrea Bocelli che, al momento della comunione, ha eseguito l'Ave Verum Corpus di Mozart. Il mondo saluta Pavarotti (continuare a leggere)

CORRIERA DELLA SERA:
Prodi: «Omaggio al genio a nome dell'Italia»

BBC:
Thousands bid Pavarotti farewell

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Pavarotti’s funeral

BBC:
'Maestro of Modena' returns home By David Sillito, BBC News arts correspondent

LE FIGARO:
Le testament surprise de Luciano Pavarotti

Mark Alexander

Time to Put Pressure on Saudi Arabia
Hat-tip to Jim Ball for this. It was on his great website that I first saw this article by Daniel Pipes:

MIDDLE EAST FORUM: Saudi Arabian Airlines (known as Saudia) declares on its English-language website that the kingdom bans "Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David." Until the Saudi government changes this detestable policy, its airline should be disallowed from flying into Western airports.

Michael Freund brought this regulation to international attention in a recent Jerusalem Post article, "Saudis might take Bibles from tourists," in which he points out that a section on the Saudia Web site, "Customs Regulations," lists the forbidden articles above under the rubric "Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam."

Freund followed up by calling the Saudia office in New York, where an employee identified only as "Gladys" confirmed that this rule really is applied. "Yes, sir, that is what we have heard, that it is a problem to bring these things into Saudi Arabia, so you cannot do it." An unnamed official at the Saudi consulate in New York further confirmed the regulation. "You are not allowed to bring that stuff into the kingdom. If you do, they will take it away. If it is really important to you, then you can try to bring it and just see what happens, but I don't recommend that you do so."

Responding to the Saudi ban on churches and Bibles and Stars of David, some would ban mosques, Korans, and crescent moons in the West, but that is clearly untenable and unenforceable, given the freedoms of speech and worship. The Koran, for example, is not a Saudi artifact and cannot be held hostage to Saudi policies. However closely it identifies with Islam, the Saudi government does not own the religion.

Further, as Stephen Schwartz of the Center for Islamic Pluralism points out, signs in Saudi airports warn Muslim travelers that the airport's mutawwa'in, or religious police, confiscate Korans, other Islamic literature, and Muslim objects of non-Saudi origin. While discriminating specifically against Shiites and Ahmadis, this policy manifests a wider insistence on Wahhabi supremacism. More broadly, the Saudi leadership runs a country that the American government has condemned repeatedly as having "no religious freedom" and being among the most religiously repressive in the world. Uniting to Exclude Saudi Arabian Airlines (more)

Mark Alexander

Al Jazeera on the New Bin Laden Video


CORRIERE DELLA SERA:
«Bin Laden non è in Afghanistan»

Mark Alexander

The New Bin Laden Video

A BBC Clip

Mark Alexander

Has OBL Visited the Beautician?
BBC: After an unexplained absence of nearly three years, the al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, has appeared once more on a 30-minute video posted on an Islamist website.

The last time he was seen in a video was in October 2004, in an address to the American electorate just before the US presidential elections.

Since then he has delivered an audio message in January 2006, again posted on Islamist websites.

Now this latest video message, released just before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, will dispel the growing rumours that he has been dead for some time and remind both his followers and his enemies that the man with a $50m bounty on his head is still at large.

At first glance the 50-year old Osama Bin Laden, known to his fellow jihadists as Abu Abdullah, looks younger than he did in 2004.

Gone is the straggly, unkempt beard that was heavily flecked with grey.

Instead, his beard appears dark, thick and trimmed, although analysts have suggested that rather than being dyed, it may be actually false, and that to help avoid detection he is clean-shaven these days.

The al-Qaeda leader's face still looks tired and lined, as befits a fugitive who may well have to sleep in different locations almost every night, but it is not quite as gaunt or exhausted looking as it was three years ago.

His clean white turban or, 'imma, is the same and Bin Laden wears a traditional white Saudi thaub - a long-sleeved shirt that extends all the way down below the knees.

Over this he is seen wearing a cream-coloured bisht - a cloak worn by respected sheikhs, tribal elders and religious leaders in the Arab world. Trimmed Bin Laden in media-savvy war (more) By Frank Gardner

Mark Alexander

The West’s Multicultural Experiment is a Complete and Utter Failure! These Muslim Extremists are Just Waiting to Destroy Us from Within
TIMESONLINE: Yesterday The Times revealed the growing domination of Britain’s mosques by the ultra-conservative Deobandi movement. Today, our [The Times’] correspondent exposes extensive links between British Deobandis and the sect’s radical leadership in Pakistan

Here is a tale of two young British Muslims who travelled to Pakistan.

Yasir is 19, comes from Rotherham, supports Liverpool FC and is studying Islam in a Pakistani madrassa that will teach him to hate the West.

There are two reasons why he should not be in a Deobandi seminary in the teeming, dusty backstreets of Karachi. The first is that Pakistan banned all foreign students from its religious schools in 2005 after it emerged that two of the bombers responsible for the July 7 attacks on London that year had spent time in the country.

And the second? Yasir is miserable. He told The Times last month that he was desperate to “get home”, was struggling to cope with life in Karachi and uncomfortable with the seminary’s anti-Western agenda.

Yasir was seven months into an eight-year course of study when he met The Times and during the brief interview his eyes were continually darting from side to side as if in fear that his words might be overheard. He was at first hungry for news of home — what were Liverpool’s coming fixtures, how were England doing in the cricket? — but his strong Yorkshire accent often dropped to a barely audible whisper.

Why was he here? “I don’t know that myself.” What was wrong with Karachi? “It’s crap.” What did he miss about Britain?

“Everything. It’s too hard for me here. I don’t like to live here, man. You can’t do anything here. It’s not England. It’s Pakistan.”

The former engineering student gave no explanation as to why he was at Jamia Binoria, whose principal, Mufti Mohammad Naeem, challenged The Times to inspect the seminary to “see if you can find any terrorists”. There were no bomb factories, but for incendiary rhetoric there was Muhammed, a young man from Manchester who was visiting a friend in the seminary’s fatwa (religious edict) department.

Muhammed, who would not give his full name, teaches English to asylum-seekers and, in stark contrast to Yasir, exemplifies Deobandis’ deep hostility towards the West. He was eager to tell The Times that the public had been entirely misled about the real perpetrators of the July 7 attack on London. According to Muhammed, the Government, Mossad, assorted Jews, freemasons and Scotland Yard had conspired to commit mass murder to demonise Muslims. “These are not my opinions. These are facts. The aim was to create terror in the hearts of the British people in order to control them,” he said.

The media were also part of the cover-up. “Why don’t you tell the public that they are being brainwashed and that there is a conspiracy to destroy Islam, as the Prophet told us? Why don’t you tell them that the media is controlled by Jews, that the word ‘British’ is a Jewish word?

“If someone attacks your house, you have a right to defend what is rightfully yours. We follow the way of the Prophet. We will defend Islam. We will defend the Koran.” Two faces of British youth in thrall to sinister Muslim sect (more) By Andrew Norfolk

Mark Alexander

”I Invite You [Americans] to Embrace Islam,” Says OBL
"Despite America being the greatest economic power and possessing the most powerful and modern military arsenal, and despite it spending on this war and its army more than the entire world spends on its armies, and being the major state influencing the world's policies as if it has a monopoly on the unjust right of veto ... 19 young men were able ... to change the direction of its compass…" – Osama bin Laden [Source: Daily Telegraph: Osama bin Laden tells US to convert to Islam]

(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden delivered a new videotaped message which aired on the Arab language network Al-Jazeera Friday. This is a transcript of his remarks as translated by CNN senior editor for Arab affairs Octavia Nasr.

”You, the American people, I talk to you today about the best way to avoid another catastrophe and about war, its reasons and its consequences.

And in that regard, I say to you that security is an important pillar of human life, and that free people do not compromise their security.

Contrary to what [President George W.] Bush says and claims -- that we hate freedom --let him tell us then, "Why did we not attack Sweden?" It is known that those who hate freedom don't have souls with integrity, like the souls of those 19. May the mercy of God be upon them.

We fought with you because we are free, and we don't put up with transgressions. We want to reclaim our nation. As you spoil our security, we will do so to you.

I wonder about you. Although we are ushering the fourth year after 9/11, Bush is still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason. Therefore, the motivations are still there for what happened to be repeated.

And I will talk to you about the reason for those events, and I will be honest with you about the moments the decision was made so that you can ponder. And I tell you, God only knows, that we never had the intentions to destroy the towers.

But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet.

During those crucial moments, my mind was thinking about many things that are hard to describe. But they produced a feeling to refuse and reject injustice, and I had determination to punish the transgressors.

And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children.

We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them.

And those two kinds are full of arrogance and taking money illegally.

The resemblance started when [former President George H.W.] Bush, the father, visited the area, when some of our own were impressed by America and were hoping that the visits would affect and influence our countries.

Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country, and they called it the Patriot Act, under the disguise of fighting terrorism. And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders.

We agreed with the leader of the group, Mohammed Atta, to perform all attacks within 20 minutes before [President George W.] Bush and his administration were aware of what was going on. And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader.

He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events.

Your security is not in the hands of [Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked.”

So now take a peak at your new life as Muslims. (Hat-tip to Allahfanculo for alerting us to this video on JihadWatch):



Mark Alexander

Tribute to Pavarotti: Luciano and Celine - I Hate You Then I Love You

Mark Alexander

Osama bin Laden to Release New Video on the Anniversary of 9/11
Osama Bin Laden is said to be preparing to release a video message to the American people to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The announcement was made on an Islamist website, where al-Qaeda's media arm frequently posts messages.

US homeland security officials could not confirm the existence of a tape, and said there was "no credible information of an imminent threat".

Al-Qaeda has put out similar statements in the past but no video has followed.

Bin Laden has not been seen in a video since October 2004, when he threatened new attacks against the US on the eve of the presidential election.

An audio tape was released in January 2006.

Dyed beard?

A banner advertisement for the video, written in Arabic, read: "Soon, God willing, a video tape from the lion sheikh Osama Bin Laden, God preserve him." Bin Laden 'to issue 9/11 video' (more)

LE FIGARO:
Ben Laden pourrait réapparaître en video

NZZ:
Al-Kaida kündigt Video mit bin Ladin an: Kurz vor Jahrestag der Anschläge vom 11. September

Mark Alexander

The British ‘Taleban’ Who Control Almost Half of Britain’s Mosques
It’s high time for our leaders to act decisively to deal with this growing cancer in our once peaceful society. Time is running out. There is certainly no time for dilly-dorking around. These people don’t like the nest we have so kindly offered them, so the only sensible answer is to kick the bastards out! Remember this: Islam has never been, and never will be, a ‘religion of love or peace’! Islam distorts the mind! – ©Mark

TIMESONLINE: Almost half of Britain’s mosques are under the control of a hardline Islamic sect whose leading preacher loathes Western values and has called on Muslims to “shed blood” for Allah, an investigation by The Times has found.

Riyadh ul Haq, who supports armed jihad and preaches contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus, is in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain. The ultra-conservative movement, which gave birth to the Taleban in Afghanistan, now runs more than 600 of Britain’s 1,350 mosques, according to a police report seen by The Times.

The Times investigation casts serious doubts on government statements that foreign preachers are to blame for spreading the creed of radical Islam in Britain’s mosques and its policy of enouraging the recruitment of more “home-grown” preachers.

Mr ul Haq, 36, was educated and trained at an Islamic seminary in Britain and is part of a new generation of British imams who share a similar radical agenda. He heaps scorn on any Muslims who say they are “proud to be British” and argues that friendship with a Jew or a Christian makes “a mockery of Allah’s religion”. Hardline take-over of British mosques (more)

Mark Alexander

The “Sarko Show”

Photo of Sarkozy courtesy of Time

TIME: Since taking office on May 16, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's pace has wowed almost everyone. At home, he rammed through reform legislation aimed at encouraging work, cutting taxes, fighting crime and clamping down on immigration. Abroad, he helped break the logjam over the European Union's institutional setup, negotiated the freedom of six Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya and strengthened Franco-American relations over a vacation lunch with U.S. President George W. Bush.

But can he keep it up? As summer ends, the fast-moving "Sarko Show" has begun drawing criticism. Opponents complain that Sarkozy's sunny-day successes don't all bear up under scrutiny: was the Libyan triumph linked to troubling nuclear and military contracts? Does Sarkozy's penchant for economic interventionism, visible in Sept. 3's megamerger between utility giants Gaz de France and Suez, mock his free-market rhetoric? Time asked a group of French and international experts to evaluate the spectacular start to the Sarkozy era and how — or whether — he can meet that promise in the months and years to come. Nicolas Sarkozy: A Grand Entrance (more) By Bruce Crumley

Mark Alexander

Swiss Politicians Stir Things Up a Bit
BBC: A political row has broken out in Switzerland over a campaign poster from the right-wing Swiss People's Party, aimed at deporting foreigners - residents without Swiss citizenship - who commit crimes.

The poster, which shows three white sheep kicking a black sheep against a backdrop of the Swiss flag, can be seen all over the country ahead of general elections at the end of October.

Immigrant groups in Switzerland, left-wing parties and the United Nations complain that the poster is blatantly racist.

The Swiss People's Party, currently the largest in parliament and leading in the opinion polls, is pushing for a new law which would authorise the expulsion of foreign families, should any family member be found guilty of violent crime, drugs offences or benefit fraud.

Over 20% of Switzerland's population is foreign. Most have been in the country for many years, and around a third of them were born in Switzerland.

Swiss citizenship remains very difficult to come by, and being born in the country does not give the children or even grandchildren of immigrants the right to be Swiss. Swiss row over black sheep poster (more) By Imogen Foulkes

Mark Alexander

Leaders Without Testicles
On a day in which the world has come to learn that one of the greatest tenors of all time, Luciano Pavarotti, died, a man who encapsulated much that is great about the West, we are reminded of much that is great about our civilization, and, if we sit back and think about things, we should be reminded, too, that this great civilization is threatened both from without and from within: By Islam. Islam is gaining in strength even here in Europe, and there, across the Pond, in America. Yet nobody has the balls to deal with the problem. The problem is akin to a snowball rolling down a mountainside: It keeps growing in size even as it rolls!

Throughout its history, Islam has always, but always, won the day, and subsumed each and every culture* it has ever entered and into which it has been allowed enter and put down its roots. I assure you here and now, Europe will be no exception. The writing is already on the wall. Our future, if we do nothing about this development, is plain for all to see. It will be Islamic, and it will be neither free nor democratic.

Alas, we have no leaders with testicles, no leaders with balls, no leaders with spunk! Bush has proved himself to be a pussy – ineffectual in the extreme. As indeed was Blair. He was all hot air; all form and no substance. This current incumbent of Number 10, Gordon Brown, refuses to acknowledge still less deal with the problems we face with Islam in our midst. In fact, it was reported only recently that a Muslim group is the largest source of funding outside of the unions here in Great Britain. Ladies and gentlemen: It is high time we took stock!

Islam, if it is allowed to keep establishing itself here in the West, will destroy, nay annihilate, all that we have to come to hold dear. Make no bones about it, Islam is out to destroy all that is great about Western culture: great wines, great music, great literature, great art, and of course our great Judeo-Christian tradition. There will be no more Pavarottis, no more great music, no more great wines, no more great literature, no more great anything. The only thing that will be great is Allah, Allahu akbar! All will be destroyed if Islam is allowed to gain the upper hand. Islam is ruthless. It allows no-one and nothing to block its path to power.

Western politicians are ignorant of the force and power that is Islam. They are also weak, craven, and ineffectual. They faff around dealing with inconsequential matters when, in fact, they should be dealing with the one and only thing that matters today: The growth of Islam here in the West.

If they want to live under the yoke of Islam, then they are welcome to do so. But please move to the Islamic world to do so! I do not wish to live under Islam’s iron grip; and when I say this I believe I speak for many, nay for the majority.

These spineless leaders of ours want all the power, all the glory, and all the accoutrements of power; but one thing they do not want: They do not want to have to take the tough decisions which actually come with high office.

This, of course, is totally and utterly unacceptable. If they want the money, the big houses, the chauffer-driven cars, etc, then they should accept their responsibilities with equanimity. They need to tell Muslims that if they want to stay here in the West, then they have to start integrating and live like the rest of us. They have to stop thinking that they are superior, for superior they certainly are not. If anything, quite the reverse is true! What, I ask you, is superior about a 'culture' which condones public beheadings, the stonings to death of women, the cutting off of hands and feet for theft, and the suppression of women, homosexuals, and others who do not conform to their narrow ideals?

I think I speak for many, many people when I say that I am tired, sick to death, of politicians taking all the perks of high office, yet being totally unwilling to deal with the main danger that faces the people of the West today, totally unwilling to protect the people from darkness, protect the very people they are supposed to represent.

Many people, of course, are ignorant of the dangers that lie ahead of them; they are too busy earning a living to care. But they have a rude awakening awaiting them. This is 1938 all over again! In 1938, in their heart of hearts, people knew that Hitler would become a huge problem, but they refused to admit that such would be so. So it is in 2007! People, in their heart of hearts, know that Islam is a huge problem. But so many are afraid to admit it. I invite you to do so now. Go on! Be truthful with yourself! Admit to yourself what you already actually know!

Personally, I find it incredibly disconcerting that Islam has been allowed to grow here in the West, grow to the point that it is going to be extremely difficult to solve the problem. It is hard to believe that Western politicians are so ineffectual, so weak, so stupid, so without courage, so without testicles. But this is actually so.

But fight back we must if we are to rescue the West from the New Dark Age! Ask yourself one simple question: If the shoe were on the other foot, would they allow you, an infidel, the same freedoms to establish your religion (and political system) in their countries?

*It took centuries and much bloodshed to reverse Islam's influence on Spain.

©Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved

Cécilia Sarkozy lève le voile
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L’épouse du président assure n’avoir offert que des contreparties médicales en échange des infirmières.

Elle est finalement sortie de son silence. Dans une interview, hier à L’Est Républicain, Cécilia Sarkozy assure que la France n’a offert que des «contreparties d’ordre médical» pour obtenir, le 24 juillet dernier, la libération des six infirmières bulgares et du médecin palestinien détenus durant plus de huit ans en Libye sous l’accusation d’avoir inoculé le sida à plus de 400 enfants. «J’ai offert à l’hôpital de Benghazi des médecins chargés de former leurs homologues, des équipements, des traitements contre le sida et des visas pour que ces cas urgents puissent venir se faire traiter en France.»

L’épouse du président répète qu’elle ne souhaite pas se rendre devant la commission parlementaire sur la libération des infirmières bulgares. «Je crois que ce n’est pas ma place.» Cécilia Sarkozy lève le voile sur son tête-à-tête avec le colonel Kadhafi (suivant)

Mark Alexander

The Alarming Growth of Islam in Europe! Is This the Europe We Have All Come to Know and Love?
WATCH MSNBC VIDEOS:

TUSCANY:
Mosque plans bring controversy to Tuscan town: Mayor backs Islamic center's construction, but residents are 'very afraid'

PARIS:
Will Islam à la française take hold?: Paris' Grand Mosque is at center of effort to build a moderate French Islam

FLORENCE:
Muslim food makes inroads into Italian cuisine: Halal butchers supply famous Florentine steaks to some Tuscan restaurants

Mark Alexander

You Cannot Stage a Rally to Stop the Islamization of Europe, Say Officials in Brussels
RADIO FREE EUROPE, RADIO LIBERTY: September 5, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Officials in Brussels, the capital city of the European Union, have denied activists' request to stage a rally next week under the slogan “Stop the Islamisation of Europe.”

Organizers of the rally in Brussels had expected some 20,000 people to arrive from Germany, Britain, and Denmark to rally peacefully to demonstrate their concerns about the growing influence of Islam in Europe.

Participants intended to protest what they called the “creeping” influence of Islam and introduction “by stealth” of Shariah law in Europe. The march -- timed to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States -- was to conclude with a minute of silence for the victims of the attacks.

But last month, Brussels Mayor Freddy Thielemens banned the march. An administrative court last week upheld Thielemens’ ban, but the demonstrators have one last chance. Today, Belgium’s Supreme Court is due to hear their appeal and make a final ruling. Europe: Protesters Critical Of Islam Cry Foul Over Banned Rally (more) By Jeffrey Donovan

Read my own essay/editorial:
Stop the Islamization of Europe! Stop the Islamization of the West!

Mark Alexander

An Interview with Pullitzer Prize Winner Lawrence Wright
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Pulitzer Prize winning terror expert Lawrence Wright is concerned that al-Qaida remains as potent as ever. In an interview with SPIEGEL TV, Wright talked about what the group is still capable of, and what it might have in store for Germany.

Interview with Lawrence Wright
Mark Alexander

The Passing of a Legend: Luciano Pavarotti
THE TELEGRAPH: Luciano Pavarotti, the most celebrated opera singer of modern times, died this morning in his home near Modena.

Mr Pavarotti, 71, had been suffering from pancreatic cancer since July 2006. Although his family had said he was in remission, his manager said today that it was this illness that claimed his life.

Terri Robson, his manager, announced that the tenor died at 5:00am at his home in Modena, the city of his birth. At his side were his wife, Nicoletta, his daughters, Lorenza, Cristina, Giuliana and Alice; his sister, Gabriela; his nephews and close relatives and friends.

"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," she added.

Mr Pavarotti had recently assured his fans that he was in good health, and had even joked about his sickness.

Last month, he phoned a concert on the island of Ischia to assure the public that he was about to release a new album of choral work, and that he looked forward to teaching his pupils again.

"Up until a few weeks before his death, he committed several hours each day to teaching his pupils at his summer villa in Pesaro on Italy's Adriatic Coast," said Ms Robson.

"He remained optimistic and confident that he would overcome the disease and had been determined to return to the stage to complete his Worldwide Farewell Tour, which he was halfway through before being struck down by illness," she added. Opera great Luciano Pavarotti has died (more) By Malcolm Moore in Modena

Pavarotti: Opera great with a popular touch By Rupert Christiansen

WATCH & LISTEN:

Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma: Paris 1998

Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma: Torino 2006

Luciano Pavarotti – Ave Maria: - Schubert

James Brown & Luciano Pavarotti

Pavarotti & Barry White - My first, my last, my everything

THE THREE TENORS:

O sole mio

La donna e mobile

Or click here:

WATCH SOME OF LUCIANO PAVAROTTI’S GREATEST PERFORMANCES

BBC:
Opera legend Pavarotti dies at 71

BBC:
Timeline: Luciano Pavarotti

BBC:
Luciano Pavarotti’s Life in Pictures

LE FIGARO:
"Il y avait des ténors et il y avait Pavarotti"

CORRIERA DELLA SERA:
Lirica in lutto, è morto Luciano Pavarotti

LA REPUBBLICA:
Luciano Pavarotti è morto
"Ricordatemi come cantante d'opera"

NZZ:
Luciano Pavarotti gestorben: Lebenslust, Italianità und gewaltige Stimme

FAZ:
Schier unendlicher Atem

Mark Alexander

Want a Book on Islamic Terrorism? No Problem! Go to Your Local Public Library!
THE TELEGRAPH: Public libraries are stocking hundreds of Islamic books by advocates of "holy war", with many glorifying acts of terrorism, a new report claims.

Council taxpayers' money has been spent on the books, with one library stocking works by the convicted preachers Abu Hamza and Abdullah al-Faisal.

An investigation by a leading think-tank found extremist literature at six libraries, three in the London area, two in the Midlands and one in the North.

It raises fears that public libraries could inadvertently fuel the radicalisation of young Muslims. Report: Libraries stock Islamic terror books (more) By Duncan Gardham

Mark Alexander

Rumblings in the Kingdom
BBC: A senior Saudi prince has said he plans to form a political party and has criticised other senior royals for monopolising power and blocking reform.

Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, also criticised the jailing of well-known reformists.

Saudi officials made no immediate comment to Prince Talal's remarks.

The prince, who holds no official post, is seen as something of a maverick due to his past calls for reform, says BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy.

In the 1960s, he became known as the "Red Prince" when he broke with the ruling family and went into exile in Egypt, whose president, Gamal Abdul Nasser, was a severe critic of the Gulf kingdom. Senior Saudi royal demands reform (more)

Mark Alexander

Tough Times In Tehran

Photo of dour shoppers in Tehran courtesy of the New York Times

NEW YORK TIMES: TEHRAN, Sept. 4 — Rents are soaring, inflation hovers around 17 percent, and 10 million Iranians live below the poverty line. The police said they shut 20 barbershops for men in Tehran last week because they offered inappropriate hairstyles, and women have been banned from riding bicycles in many places, as a crackdown on social freedoms presses on.

For months now, average Iranians have endured economic hardships, political repression and international isolation as the nation’s top officials remained defiant over Iran’s nuclear program. But in a country whose leaders see national security, government stability and Islamic values as inextricably entwined, problems that usually would constitute threats to the leadership are instead viewed as an opportunity to secure its rule.

Paradoxically, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s economic missteps and the animosity generated in the West by his aggressive posture on the nuclear issue have helped Iran’s leaders hold back what they see as corrupting foreign influences, by increasing the country’s economic and political isolation, said economists, diplomats, political analysts, businessmen and clerics interviewed over the past two weeks.

Pressure from the West, including biting economic sanctions, over Iran’s nuclear program and its role in Iraq have also empowered those pushing the harder line.

“The leader is concerned that any effort to make the country more manageable will lead to reform and will undermine his authority,” said Saeed Leylaz, an economist and former government official of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The effort to keep Iran’s doors to the West sealed tight was on display on Sunday, when Mr. Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had developed 3,000 centrifuges and mocked the West for trying to press Iran to stop uranium enrichment and slow its nuclear program.

On Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei used Western pressure to rally public sentiment. “Iran will defeat these drunken and arrogant powers using its artful and wise ways,” he told a group of students, according to state-run television. Hard Times Help Leaders in Iran Tighten Grip (more) By Michael Slackman

Mark Alexander

Germany Foils Islamic Terror Attack
TIMESONLINE: German police have foiled a potentially huge terrorist attack in what they believe may be the first case of white, home-grown Islamist terrorists in Europe.

Three men - two Germans and a Turk who are believed to have received explosives training at a terrorist camp in Pakistan - were arraigned by the federal prosecutor today, capping a nine-month police operation.

During that time, undercover agents, supplied with intelligence from the United States, followed and eavesdropped on the young men as they collected 750 kilos of hydrogen peroxide and military detonators to be used in simultaneous suicide truck bomb attacks on American installations and meeting places.

Hydrogen peroxide was a key ingredient in the London Tube bombs, but experts said the explosives being prepared in a villa in the Black Forest would have wrought destrution [sic] on an even greater scale.

Conversations between the suspected terrorists, bugged by the police, mentioned the Ramstein air base, Frankfurt Airport and clubs used by American families as possible targets.

”They were motivated by hatred of America and this influenced their choice of targets,” said Juergen Ziercke, president of the Federal Criminal Investigation Agency (BKA), the German equivalent of Scotland Yard.

Several terrorist plots have been nipped in the bud in Germany since September 11, 2001, but this one has shocked Germans more than any other as it exposed the existence of jihadists as a home-grown terrorist potential. German police foil huge car bomb terror attack (more)

Mark Alexander

The Rise and Rise of the Sleazocrats in British Politics
DAILY MAIL: Five years ago I spent several weeks in Zimbabwe reporting on the way that President Mugabe was brutalising his people, in part thanks to the inertia and complicity of the Tony Blair government.

After I returned, Sir Patrick Cormack, a Conservative Party backbencher, invited me to his room. He wanted to ask what questions he should put to a government minister who would soon be giving evidence on Zimbabwe to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, of which he was a member.

So I told Cormack about a strange event that had occurred the previous month. President Mugabe had been invited to Paris by President Chirac for a summit meeting. This example of European approval of a barbarous dictator caused uproar.

When Downing Street was asked about the episode, it gave the impression to reporters that it had neither been consulted nor informed, while ministers spoke out angrily against the invitation.

In fact I was able to show Cormack evidence that the British government had known all along about the invitation, raised not the slightest objection, that its protestations of ignorance were false, and that the angry pronouncements by ministers were no better than a cynical device. I suggested to Cormack that he should expose this wretched business at the Foreign Affairs Committee, and offered to draft him a list of questions.

Sir Patrick gazed around his large and beautifully appointed Commons office. He looked appalled. "Oh, I could never do that," he stated. "It might embarrass the Government."

Since then I have often noted Sir Patrick nod with vigorous approval from the Conservative side as Tony Blair spoke from the dispatch box. I have seen him cross the floor of the House to offer sympathy and support to a government minister in trouble.

I have also been reliably told that he wrote a letter of rebuke to a younger Tory MP in a neighbouring constituency who attacked the Government. "That is not the sort of thing we do in Staffordshire," declared Cormack.

Cormack has his fans who believe that he represents a 'civilised' kind of politics. I cannot agree. Voters put their MPs into Parliament to represent their interests and articulate their concerns, and sometimes anger, not to form part of a comfortable club, or to collude with opposition parties.

Sir Patrick is one of hundreds of Members of Parliament who now belong to a Political Class that has become entrenched at the centre of British politics, government and society.

This new Political Class has emerged over the past three decades to become the dominant force in British public life - and increasingly pursues its own sectional interests oblivious to the public good.

It encompasses lobbyists, party functionaries, advisers and spindoctors, many journalists, and increasing numbers of onceindependent civil servants. All mainstream politicians of the three main parties belong to it. Gordon Brown is a member, so is the Tory leader David Cameron.

Indeed, as the case of Sir Patrick Cormack shows, MPs from different parties now have far more in common with each other, as members of the Political Class, than they have with voters. They seek to protect one another, help each other out, rather than engage in robust democratic debate.

As a result, the House of Commons is no longer really a cockpit where great conflicts of vision are fought out across the chamber. It has converted instead into a professional group, like the Bar Council or the British Medical Association.

This means that the most important division in Britain is no longer the Tory versus Labour dividing line that marked out the battle zone in politics for the bulk of the 20th century. The real division is between a narrow, self-serving and - as we will see - increasingly corrupt Political Class and the mass of ordinary voters. PETER OBORNE: The rise of the sleaze-ocrats in Britain's ruling class (more)

Mark Alexander

German Commentators Scathing About Both British and American Strategy in Iraq
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: British troops withdrew from Basra Monday just as US President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq. German commentators are scathing of both the British and American strategy.

Monday was a day of symbols in Iraq. Just as British forces were making their withdrawal from Basra in the south (more...), US President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Anbar province west of Baghdad.

Bush, who was accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, held talks at a US air base with Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The Pentagon described the meeting, which was Bush's third secret trip to Iraq in four years, as a "war council."

In an unusual move, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani also met with Bush at the air base. It was only the third time Maliki, who is Shiite, had visited the Sunni-dominated province, where violence has recently abated after Sunni tribal leaders and former insurgents joined forces with US troops to fight al-Qaida and other extremists.

Addressing troops at the base, Bush insisted any decision to withdraw troops would be "based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground, not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media. ... When we begin to draw down troops from Iraq, it will be from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure."

Bush said that Petraeus and Crocker had told him that "if the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces." He did not specify how many troops might be withdrawn or any possible timetable for withdrawal.

Monday's visit came just days before Petraeus and Crocker are due to deliver a much-anticipated report to Congress on the situation in Iraq and the success of Bush's "surge" strategy. It also coincided with the withdrawal of British troops (more...) from the southern city of Basra, which has caused tension between the UK and US.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted Monday that the pullout was not a defeat. He told the BBC that the withdrawal was "pre-planned and organized" and UK forces would take an "overwatch" role -- in other words, troops would not go out unless requested by Iraqi authorities, but they would still train and mentor Iraqi security forces. Brown said the number of British troops in Iraq would remain roughly the same, and that they could "re-intervene," if necessary. 'Tehran Will Be Delighted to Accept the Gift of Basra' (more)

Mark Alexander

Eight ‘Bomb’ Suspects with Alleged Ties to al-Qaeda Arrested in Denmark
BBC: Danish police have arrested eight people with alleged links to al-Qaeda on suspicion of planning a bomb attack.

The eight suspects arrested late on Monday in Copenhagen form part of a terror cell with links to a senior al-Qaeda figure, police said.

The suspects, aged between 19 and 29, were of Afghan, Pakistani, Somali and Turkish origin, police said.

Denmark's contribution to the US-led military campaign in Iraq has prompted fears that terrorists may target it.

The country also drew anger from Muslims worldwide after a Danish newspaper last year printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Denmark arrests ‘bomb’ suspects (more)

Mark Alexander

Excellent Radio Broadcast: Robert Spencer on BlogRadio with WC & AlwaysOnWatch
LISTEN HERE
Mark Alexander

Haleh Esfandiari Has Left Iran

Photo of Haleh Esfandiari courtesy of the BBC

BBC: A leading Iranian-American academic who was jailed for three months in Iran on spying charges has left the country.

Haleh Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, told the Fars news agency that she had flown to Austria, and would later return to the US.

Ms Esfandiari works for a research institute in Washington. Released US academic leaves Iran (more)

Mark Alexander

Wer in Ägypten zum Christentum übertreten will, hat es schwierig

Foto von Papst Shenouda III dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung

NZZ: Nur wenige ägyptische Muslime, die sich zum Christentum hingezogen fühlen, wagen den Schritt zum Übertritt. Er führt zu Spannungen mit der Familie und nicht selten zur Verfolgung durch Polizei und religiöse Autoritäten. Wer konvertiert, tut es fast immer heimlich.

ber. Kairo, im August

Mohammed Higazi, ein zum Christentum bekehrter Ägypter, hat kürzlich ein Asylangebot aus Rom erhalten. Seine Bekannten bezweifeln, dass er, wie er behauptet, in seiner Heimat bleiben will, ganz gleich, was auch immer geschieht. Der auf ihm lastende Druck sei zu gross, meinen sie. Erst vor kurzem hatte Higazi seine Bekehrung öffentlich gemacht; sie wurde in Zeitungen aufgegriffen. Zwar waren vor ihm schon etliche muslimische Ägypter zum Christentum übergetreten, doch ist Higazi der Erste, der offen darüber spricht. Anlass war die Schwangerschaft seiner ebenfalls konvertierten Frau. Das Paar will nach eigenem Bekunden sein Kind christlich erziehen. Zum Christentum konvertierte Ägypter – eine rare Spezies: Der Übertritt zum Islam wird leicht-, der Austritt dagegen schwergemacht (mehr)

Mark Alexander

After the White House, Bush Wants to Replenish the Ol’ Coffers and Relax
THE GUARDIAN: · President tells of regrets in office and retirement plans
· Dead Certain author given rare vision of private life

Jimmy Carter has dedicated his life after the White House to conflict resolution around the world. Presidents George Bush the elder and Bill Clinton have campaigned together on behalf of communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. So how does President George Bush junior imagine spending his retirement years?

"I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch," he says. He also has big plans for making money. "I'll give some speeches, to replenish the ol' coffers," says Mr Bush, who is already estimated to be worth $20m. "I don't know what my dad gets - it's more than 50-75 [thousand dollars a speech], and "Clinton's making a lot of money".

The insights into Mr Bush's ambitions once he steps down from the most powerful job on Earth in January 2009 are contained in a series of interviews he gave to a journalist from GQ magazine. It may be that the writer, Robert Draper, comes from Texas, like his subject, but whatever the reason, Mr Bush has chosen to be singularly open with the author and provide a rare glimpse into the inner life of a very private president.

During the course of six one-hour interviews, Mr Bush, feet up on his desk, munching on low-fat hotdogs, tells Draper of the loneliness of the US commander-in-chief. "Self-pity is the worst thing that can happen to a presidency. This is a job where you can have a lot of self-pity," Mr Bush says.

When it all gets too much for the president, his wife Laura storms to the rescue. "She reminds me that I decided to do this," he tells Draper. Bush’s great ambition: wealthy boredom (more) By Ed Pilkington in New York

THE TELEGRAPH:
Bush gives hint of life after the White House By Alex Spillius in Washington

Mark Alexander

Fall-Out Over the Depiction of Prophet Muhammad as a Dog

Cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body

THE LOCAL: Leading figures in Sweden's media industry have backed newspaper Nerikes Allehanda, which has been criticised by Iran for publishing a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog. The paper itself has meanwhile defended its decision to publish.

PeO Wärring, deputy chairman of the Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association (TU), said that regardless of what people thought of the cartoons it was important that they could be published and debated.

"The strength of freedom of expression lies in the fact that it tolerates - and protects - not only comfortable, harmless and uncontroversial opinions, but also those that are tasteless, controversial, upsetting and offensive," he said in a statement.

The cartoon in question, by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, depicted Muhammad's head on the body of a dog. Vilks had found it hard to find a gallery willing to display his work, and Nerikes Allehanda published the cartoon alongside an editorial on freedom of expression.

A Swedish diplomat was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday to receive a protest from the Iranian government about the cartoon. Paper defends Muhammad dog cartoon (more)

Mark Alexander

Still More Cartoon Protests from Muslims!
THE TELEGRAPH: Fears grew of a new confrontation over images deemed blasphemous by Muslims as Pakistan joined Iran in protest over a sketch by a Swedish artist portraying the prophet Mohammed as a dog.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires to condemn "in the strongest terms, the publication of an offensive and blasphemous sketch of the Holy Prophet".

The move adds to a chorus of criticism over the series of drawings, by artist Lars Vilks, one of which was published earlier this month by a regional Swedish newspaper.

The drawings show the head of a turbaned man attached to the body of a dog, in front of various settings including a football goal.

The publication, in the newspaper Nerikes Allehanda, came after several galleries had refused to display the drawings, apparently for fear of violent retaliation from offended Muslims.

Early last year, violent demonstrations erupted throughout the Muslim world after the publication in Denmark of 112 cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed which were also deemed blasphemous.

"Alongside the picture, we published a comment piece saying that it was serious that there is self-censorship among exhibition [galleries]," said the Nerikes Allehanda editor-in-chief, Ulf Johansson.

Last weekend, a small gathering of protestors gathered outside the newspaper's offices to demonstrate against the cartoon's publication. New Muslim cartoon protests grow (more)

Mark Alexander

Malaysia Considers Hardline Islamic Law
THE TELEGRAPH: Hardline Islamic law could be introduced across Malaysia under reforms proposed by the country's chief justice.

As the nation in south-east Asia celebrated 50 years of independence from Britain yesterday, its government was preparing to discuss a plan that would revolutionise the legal system put in place by its former colonial administrators.

As Kuala Lumpur witnessed celebrations that included parades, fireworks and a fighter-jet fly-by attended by the Duke of York, the proposal pointed to the deep differences which locals say are poisoning social relations beyond the glitter and skyscrapers of Malaysia's modern capital city.

Ahmad Fairuz, the chief justice, told an Islamic conference in Kuala Lumpur that 50 years of independence had failed to free Malaysia from the "clutches of colonialism". Sharia law should be "infused" into the gaps created by abolishing common law, he said.

Malaysia's non-Muslim Chinese and Indian communities, who form 40 per cent of the population, are alarmed at creeping Islamisation.

Abdul Badawi, the prime minister, this month joined other leaders for the first time in denying what the British-authored constitution has said for 50 years - that Malaysia is a secular state.

Sharia law already operates in some Malaysian states and is occasionally applied to non-Muslims, as in July when Islamic officials forcibly separated a Hindu-Muslim couple with six children after 21 years of marriage.

The majority ethnic Malays are defined as Muslim by law and forbidden from converting.

Racial tensions are already high due to official discrimination in favour of Malays, who enjoy better employment opportunities, preferential loans and lower house prices.

Dr Mohd Hatta, of the Islamic Party, welcomed the latest proposal in principle, but said: "The chief justice should be enforcing laws, not making them."

Meanwhile, dissent is increasingly harshly repressed. Journalists and bloggers say they are tailed by police and their phones are tapped. [Source: Malaysia considers switch to Islamic law By Thomas Bell in Kuala Lumpur]

Mark Alexander

Muslims Want Separation from the Buddhist North of Thailand
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Muslim separatists in the south of Thailand want to secede from the Buddhist north and have targeted monks and other representatives of the state. But they also claim to have been victims of government atrocities.

Udom Dhamakhani, 67, lifts himself laboriously from his wooden cot, on which he has just recited his Buddhist sutras. He straightens his saffron-colored robe and peers out through his oversized reading glasses.

Unusually for a monk's cell, the room contains a monitor showing images from four surveillance cameras: the veranda, the door of his cell, the main temple -- and a bunker. The shelter is occupied by soldiers who have turned Wat Lakmnang monastery on the outskirts of the southern Thai city of Pattani into a fortress. "It's all because of the trouble out there," the monk grumbles.

More than 2,400 have already died "out there," in Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces, in an insurgency started by Muslim rebels. They want the region in southern Thailand, which is home to 1.9 million Malay-speaking Muslims, to secede from the rest of the predominantly Buddhist country.

Dhamakhani is not just the abbot of Wat Lakmnang, but also the head of all Buddhist temples in Pattani province. Because his fellow monks have reported on the radio about the atrocities being committed by the rebels, Dhamakhani is also in danger. He has already survived three rebel attacks. He would have been dead long ago without the protection of the two dozen soldiers stationed at his monastery.

It is seven in the morning, and reports of night attacks are already crackling from the walkie-talkie on his night table. Twelve schools were burned to the ground, but this time there were no casualties. For the rebels, Buddhist temples, military barracks, public buildings and minor officials, such as local mayors and teachers, are all hated symbols of the government in Bangkok.

At 10:15 a.m., an informant reports an explosion on National Route 409 near the village of Yarang, a 15-minute drive from the monastery. Dhamakhani immediately dispatches one of his reporters.
The police have sealed off the road. An armored vehicle has arrived with a soldier wearing a bulletproof vest and steel helmet in the turret, his machine gun in position. He nervously surveys the area. The rebels often place explosives in the underbrush, designed to explode when the troops arrive. There is a gaping hole in the asphalt. The explosion hurled a Toyota van with seven soldiers inside into the ditch. One soldier was beheaded and the others were injured.

A Volatile History
Southern Thailand has always been a volatile region. In 1902 the king of Siam annexed the majority Muslim region, which had been ruled until then by the Sultan of Pattani. Drug barons, smugglers and clan leaders soon took control of the remote border region.
The government in faraway Bangkok has always neglected the south, where unemployment is higher than in the north. Until recently, all governors of the southern provinces were Buddhists from the north. Now local residents' aversion to the incomers has turned into hate. Muslims Battle Buddhists in Thailand's Troubled South (more) By Jürgen Kremb

Mark Alexander