Mark Alexander
Thursday, November 15, 2007
BBC: BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy has spent the last two months investigating Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's austere brand of Islam.
In the first of a two-part series, to be broadcast on the BBC World Service, he looks at the fierce debate over whether Wahhabism and Saudi petrodollars have fomented extremism.
"The essence of Wahhabism is purity," says Lawrence Wright, author of a Pulitzer-prize-winning book about al-Qaeda.
"They are only interested in purification - and that's what makes them so repressive."
Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence and former ambassador in London and Washington, dismisses the accusation out of hand.
"From our point of view in the kingdom, there is no such thing as Wahhabism. That's a canard."
Saudis have never cared for the "Wahhabi" label which historically was a term of abuse applied to them by their critics.
They are highly sensitive to the charge that they have used their vast oil wealth to turn an obscure desert sect into a global force. Jihad and the Saudi petrodollar (more) By Roger Hardy
Mark Alexander
BBC: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has accused Spain's King Juan Carlos of "arrogance" after he told Mr Chavez to shut up during a summit in Chile.
However, Mr Chavez said he did not want a political crisis with Spain following the clash - only that Venezuela's head of state be respected.
Later, however, he said political, diplomatic and economic ties with Spain were being closely reviewed. Spain king 'arrogant' says Chavez (more)
Mark Alexander
SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.
Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported. Santas warned 'ho ho ho' offensive to women (more)
Mark Alexander
THE GUARDIAN: A high court judge who made allegedly mocking remarks about a sheikh involved in a multi-million pound divorce was today ordered to step down from the case.
Giving reasons for the decision, the court of appeal said Mr Justice Singer, a family division judge, had said during the private hearing that the sheikh could choose "to depart on his flying carpet" to escape paying costs.
The judge also said the man should be available to attend hearings "at this, I think, relatively fast-free time of the year".
The court of appeal said the judge had said the sheikh should be in court so "every grain of sand is sifted", and called his evidence "a bit gelatinous ... a bit like Turkish Delight". Judge ordered of divorce case after ‘flying carpet’ jibe (more)
Mark Alexander
THE GUARDIAN: The governor of the Bank of England issued a stark warning yesterday of a looming economic slowdown as he signalled that the next year will be the toughest for Britain in a decade.
Putting investors on high alert for a sharp fall in share prices, Mervyn King said the period ahead would be marked by slower growth, rising inflation, a weakening housing market and a falling pound. He expressed surprise that global stock markets had so-far shrugged off evidence of the slowdown.
The governor stressed that even the two quarter-point cuts in interest rates pencilled in to the Bank's forecasts would not spare consumers from a painful period of belt-tightening next year - and that the risk was that the UK economy would be even weaker than Threadneedle Street currently expects. Bank's grim warning over UK economy: Rising inflation and weak house market over next year, says King
Mark Alexander
THE DAILY MAIL: Women are being given controversial "virginity repair" operations on the NHS, it emerged last night.
Taxpayers funded 24 hymen replacement operations between 2005 and 2006, official figures revealed.
And increasing numbers of women are paying up to £4,000 in private clinics for the procedure apparently under pressure from future spouses or in-laws who believe they should be virgins on their wedding night.
Doctors said most patients are immigrants or British of ethnic origin.
The trend has been condemned by critics as a sign of social regression driven by Islamic fundamentalists. Some countries have made hymen reconstruction operations illegal.
Dr Magdy Hend, consultant gynaecologist at the Regency Clinic, Harley Street, London, who started hymen reconstruction more than 18 years ago in the Middle East and the Gulf, said: "In some cultures they like to see that the women will bleed on the wedding night. If the wife or bride is not a virgin, it is a big shame on the family."
Dr Hend said he was surprised by the "very good response" to the service and said there is "big competition on the market".
Most of his clients, he told More4 News, are in their teens or early 20s.
"They might be British of ethnic background, they might be immigrants, or some people come from abroad, Asia, Middle East, the Gulf, and they don't want to have it done back home," he added.
Dr Hend said demand is increasing, particularly from UK residents.
The operation can involve suturing of a tear in the hymen, such as might be caused by sexual assault, to help healing.
But it can also be conducted as a purely cosmetic procedure. A membrane is constructed, sometimes including a capsule of an artificial blood-like substance.
This operation is intended to be performed within a few days before an intended marriage. Women get 'virginity fix' NHS operations in Muslim-driven trend (more) By James Chapman
Mark Alexander
THE TELEGRAPH: Imran Khan, the Pakistani opposition leader and former cricketer, was facing terrorism charges yesterday after being arrested in a crackdown on rivals by President Pervez Musharraf.
Mr Khan, who had been in hiding since escaping from house arrest a day after Gen Musharraf declared emergency rule, appeared at a student demonstration in Lahore. He was promptly detained by hardline students and handed over to police, the authorities said.
A senior police official said that Mr Khan, the leader of a small opposition party, would be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Jemima Khan, his former wife, said the arrest was one more sign that Gen Musharraf had "become one of Pakistan's most brutal and oppressive dictators ever".
The president, meanwhile, set himself on a collision course with the United States by defying demands to lift a state of emergency before holding a general election.
Gen Musharraf, increasingly isolated and reduced to taking a series of autocratic measures to maintain his grip on power, indicated that emergency rule might continue for months. Imran Khan faces terror charges after arrest (more) By Isambard Wilkinson
THE DAILY MAIL:
'I fear for my life', says jailed Imran Khan
Mark Alexander
THE TELEGRAPH: Train passengers face routine airline-style bag checks and body searches as part of a new counter-terror crackdown announced by Gordon Brown.
He conjured up visions of ''Fortress Britain" as he unveiled a succession of security measures at airports, railway stations, sports venues and other public places.
There is also to be a huge "hearts and minds" drive aimed at diverting young Muslims away from the influence of fanatics. Gordon Brown reveals 'Fortress Britain' plan (more) By Philip Johnston
THE TELEGRAPH:
Actions speak loudest to terrorists, Mr Brown By Michael Burleigh
TELEGRAPH COMMENT:
Balancing liberty with counter-terrorism
THE DAILY MAIL:
Terror crackdown: Passengers forced to answer 53 questions BEFORE they travel By James Slack
NZZ:
Brown will britische Terrorabwehr ausbauen: Konsequentere Überwachung islamistischer Scharfmacher
Mark Alexander
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Germany has shown the first signs it is willing to talk to Israel about extra pension payments for Holocaust survivors. The original 1952 agreement is no longer sufficient to cover the costs of caring for survivors, says Israel's minister of pensioners affairs.
Germany is showing the first signs of being willing to negotiate with Israel over the thorny issue of extra pension payments for Holocaust survivors.
German government spokesman Thomas Steg said Wednesday in Berlin that if Israel expressed a desire to talk about the issue, then Germany "will not refuse to hold such talks." However, Israel has not yet officially approached the German government over the pensions issue, he said. Germany 'Willing to Discuss' New Holocaust Reparations with Israel (more)
Mark Alexander
TIMESONLINE: More American military veterans have been committing suicide than US soldiers have been dying in Iraq, it was claimed yesterday.
At least 6,256 US veterans took their lives in 2005, at an average of 17 a day, according to figures broadcast last night. Former servicemen are more than twice as likely than the rest of the population to commit suicide.
Such statistics compare to the total of 3,863 American military deaths in Iraq since the invasion in 2003 - an average of 2.4 a day, according to the website ICasualties.org.
The rate of suicides among veterans prompted claims that the US was suffering from a “mental health epidemic” – often linked to post-traumatic stress. America suffers an epidemic of suicides among traumatised army veterans (more)
Mark Alexander
THE GUARDIAN: A judge ruled today that the jailed radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza can be extradited to the US, where he could face terror charges.
The senior district judge Timothy Workman gave his ruling at City of Westminster magistrates court in London today.
Hamza now faces being handed over to US authorities, where he could be tried for 11 charges including involvement in a hostage-taking conspiracy in Yemen in 1998.
Four of the hostages, three Britons and an Australian, were killed when Yemeni troops stormed the militants' hideout.
The American government alleges the cleric was involved in a global conspiracy to wage jihad against the US and other Western countries. Hamza can be tried in US, judge rules By Elizabeth Stewart and agencies
Mark Alexander
LE FIGARO: Craignant les représailles de Téhéran contre ses installations pétrolières, l’Arabie saoudite s’est rapprochée de Moscou, qui a l’oreille des Iraniens dans la crise du nucléaire.
Après avoir misé sur le dialogue, les responsables saoudiens semblent s’être résignés à une attaque américaine contre l’Iran. «Nous nous approchons de plus en plus près d’une confrontation», affirme au Figaro Abdel Mohsen Hakas, le ministre des Affaires sociales. «Le ton de George Bush nous donne à penser qu’il a décidé de ce qu’il allait faire», renchérit Rihab Massoud, bras droit du prince Bandar Ben Sultan, l’ancien ambassadeur saoudien aux États-Unis, très bien introduit outre-Atlantique. Sous-entendu : le président américain ne quittera pas la Maison-Blanche sans avoir «traité» la menace que représente le nucléaire iranien. Riyad craint une attaque américaine contre l’Iran (suivant)
Mark Alexander
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: In Pakistan haben sich die früher rivalisierenden Oppositionsführer Benazir Bhutto und Nawaz Sharif auf ein Bündnis gegen den amtierenden Präsident Musharraf geeinigt. Dieser bemühte sich unterdessen um die Bildung einer Übergangsregierung, die bis zur geplanten Parlamentswahl am 9. Januar im Amt bleiben soll.
(sda/afp) Die beiden ehemaligen Regierungschefs hätten in einem Telefonat am Mittwoch vereinbart, ihre Differenzen zu vergessen, um einen «gemeinsamen Kampf» für einen Rücktritt Musharrafs zu führen, sagte der Chef von Sharifs Muslim-Liga (Nawaz), Raja Zafar-ul Haq, am Donnerstag der Nachrichtenagentur AFP.
Bhutto habe zugesichert, den Kampf im Land fortzusetzen, bis Musharraf sowohl die Armeeführung als auch das Präsidentenamt aufgebe. Sharif lebt derzeit in Saudiarabien im Exil. Gemeinsam gegen Musharraf: Pakistanische Oppositionspolitiker Bhutto und Sharif schliessen Bündnis (mehr)
Mark Alexander
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Am Wochenende findet in Riad die dritte Gipfelkonferenz der Opec seit ihrer Gründung statt; erst am 5. Dezember treten in Abu Dhabi dann die Energieminister der Mitgliedländer zusammen.
Fdr. Vancouver, 14. November
Am nächsten Wochenende findet in Riad eine Gipfelkonferenz der 13 Staats- und Regierungschefs der Organisation der erdölproduzierenden Länder (Opec) statt. Dies ist erst die dritte derartige Konferenz seit der Gründung der Organisation im Jahre 1960. Die erste Konferenz fand 1975 in Algerien statt, die zweite erst 25 Jahre später in Venezuela. Während die beiden früheren Treffen weitgehend hinter geschlossenen Türen stattgefunden haben, ist der Gastgeber der diesjährigen Veranstaltung, der saudiarabische Erdölminister Ali Al Naimi, sichtlich darum bemüht, der Öffentlichkeit und einer seit Wochenbeginn über die Public-Relations-Firma Hill & Knowlton geladenen Schar ausländischer Journalisten ein anderes, offeneres Bild seines Landes und seiner Erdölinfrastruktur zu zeigen. Ob ihm dies gelingt, bleibt dahingestellt. Nach bisherigen Medienberichten ist die angestrebte Offenheit zwar willkommen, aber immer noch sehr selektiv. Charmeoffensive von Saudiarabien: Gipfeltreffen der Opec wirft seine Schatten voraus (mehr)
Mark Alexander
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Arrivé au pouvoir en promettant un durcissement sur l’asile, le premier ministre Anders Fogh Rasmussen se maintient grâce à une nouvelle campagne contre les étrangers.
Voilà un petit pays à l’économie saine… qui parvient pourtant à se déchirer sur le thème de l’immigration. Ça vous dit quelque chose? Non, il ne s’agit pas de la Suisse, mais bien du Danemark, où les électeurs étaient appelés hier à renouveler leur parlement. Avec seulement 5% d’étrangers au sein d’une population de 5,5 millions d’habitants, la campagne législative s’est plus que jamais focalisée sur cette question brûlante. Avec deux vedettes arabes ultramédiatisées: Naser Khader l’anti-islamiste et Asmaa Abdol-Hamid la gauchiste provocatrice.
De quoi ravir le premier ministre Anders Fogh Rasmussen, arrivé au pouvoir en 2001 sur un programme de durcissement à l’encontre des réfugiés, dont le nombre des nouveaux arrivants a baissé de 80% en six ans. Selon des résultats partiels donnés tard hier soir, sa coalition de centre droit a remporté le vote en obtenant la majorité absolue. Grâce à l’appui, bien sûr, du Parti du peuple danois (PPD), formation populiste d’extrême droite opposée notamment à l’immigration musulmane.
Et tant pis si paradoxalement la bonne santé économique du Danemark débouche sur une pénurie de bras dans divers secteurs. Ni le gouvernement Rasmussen ni même les sociaux-démocrates dans l’opposition ne sont prêts à ouvrir les frontières. Deux candidats arabes au cœur de la bataille politique danoise (suivant)
Rasmussen's Gamble Pays Off
Mark Alexander
BBC: Egypt's top Muslim scholar has defended himself against criticism for a series of controversial fatwas he has issued.
With tears in his eyes, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa told reporters his religious edicts were never influenced by pressure from the authorities.
Fierce criticism followed his recent ruling that speeding drivers cannot be condemned for killing people who deliberately stand in their way.
It became public days after just such a case involving a police car.
The mufti also offended many by saying that 26 Egyptian illegal migrants who drowned trying to reach Europe were the victims of their own greed rather than martyrs.
Sheikh Gomaa represents the Dar al-Ifta which is the official interpreter of Islamic law in Egypt based on the Koran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Egypt's mufti rejects criticism (more)
Mark Alexander
BBC: A pressure group is going to the High Court to challenge the legality of the decision to end investigations into BAE Systems' dealings with Saudi Arabia.
Corner House Research is due later to ask the High Court for permission to seek a judicial review.
It wants to challenge the Serious Fraud Office's decision last year to stop investigations into whether BAE gave money to Saudi officials in the 1980s. BAE inquiry decision challenged (more)
Mark Alexander
In the same way as the Guardian and Observer misjudged the dangers of the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so, too, are the MSM misjudging the rise of radical Islam. As I, and many others have said, this is the nineteen thirties all over again! "Blind optimism" is exactly what we are experiencing today with the rise of Islam!
THE GUARDIAN: As Hitler shouted his way up the political ranks in Germany, the Guardian and Observer misjudged the extent of his early influence, writes Sir Ian KershawMark Alexander
By the time the Nazi party came to prominence by winning 107 seats (18.3% of the votes) in the Reichstag election of September 14 1930, British newspapers could not ignore Hitler and his movement. But, as Brigitte Granzow showed long ago in her book, A mirror of Nazism, the reportage was replete with distortions and misinterpretation.
In an article on September 21 that year, the Observer echoed the widely held belief on the left that Hitler was the creature of big capital. It saw the real dangerman not as Hitler, but as the media tycoon and leader of the German National People's party, Alfred Hugenberg. The "Hugenberg manoeuvres", it stated, had aimed to promote both Communists and Nazis as a vehicle to weaken the organised working classes. "Hugenberg, and not Hitler, will ultimately call the Nazi tune."
A week later, the newspaper dismissed Hitler as "dramatic, violent and shallow", and "a lightweight", seeing him as "not a man, but a megaphone" of the prevailing discontent, fronting a militarist reaction, which would mean the destruction of peace. The newspaper went on to claim, remarkably, that Hitler was "definitely Christian in his ideals", and, even more strangely, that these matched the ideals of German Catholics.
The Guardian thought on September 25 1930 that the exclusion of the Nazi party from Reich government, given its electoral success, was not in the best interests of German democracy and that their involvement would "in the long run ... help to perpetuate this democracy". Blind optimism (more)
YNETNEWS.COM:
Germans don’t owe us a dime: Where’s our pride? Campaign for more German compensation money shameful By Yoram Kaniuk
YNETNEWS.COM:
Germany: No additional reparations for Holocaust survivors By Gil Yaron
THE TELEGRAPH: Up to 10,000 foreign nationals could be working illegally in the security industry, the Home Secretary indicated yesterday. The figure is double the previous estimate.
Jacqui Smith told MPs that officials were still trying to find out the scale of the fiasco but, despite accusations from the Conservatives of "blunder, panic and cover-up", she denied trying to conceal the problem.
The latest controversy to hit the Home Office centres on the disclosure that sensitive security installations were being guarded by illegal immigrants. They were licensed to work by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), a government agency that checks whether they have a criminal record. '10,000 illegal immigrants' work in security (more) By Philip Johnston
TELEGRAPH COMMENT:
Scandal rooted in failure of border controls By Philip Johnston
Mark Alexander
BBC: Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan has been arrested after making his first public appearance since emergency rule was declared, police have said.
The former cricketer was detained after going to the University of Punjab in Lahore to address a protest by students against President Pervez Musharraf.
Mr Khan was initially held for an hour by students from the Jamaat-e-Islami party after a standoff on the campus.
On Tuesday, Mr Khan said there should be no negotiations with Gen Musharraf.
Mr Khan joins scores of other more powerful opposition politicians already in custody.
The former cricketer is well known around the world from his sporting days, but his Tehrik-i-Insaf party has little support in Pakistan. Khan arrested at Pakistan protest (more)
WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Khan arrested in Pakistan
Mark Alexander
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
BBC: France's national rail workers have begun an open-ended strike called in protest at President Nicolas Sarkozy's planned pension reforms.
Rail employees stopped work at 2000 (1900 GMT) and thousands of commuters will be affected on Wednesday morning.
Utility workers are also set to strike. They may be joined by teachers and civil servants on 20 November.
Eurostar says the first train services from London's new St Pancras terminal will be unaffected by the action.
The next few days will be a real test of the French prime minister's nerve, reports the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby from Paris.
"Tomorrow is going to be a hellish day for travellers and perhaps for many days beyond that," Labour Minister Xavier Betrand warned on Tuesday.
That view was echoed by Prime Minister Francois Fillon who told parliament: "Millions of French people will be deprived of their fundamental freedom, the freedom of movement and even perhaps to work." French unions strike over reforms (more)
Mark Alexander
BBC: Pakistan's detained opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has called for President Pervez Musharraf to step down.
Ms Bhutto made the call after police mounted a massive security operation to prevent a protest march in Lahore, where she is under house arrest.
It is the first time Ms Bhutto has urged Gen Musharraf to quit altogether. Bhutto calls on Musharraf to quit (more)
WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Bhutto under house arrest
Mark Alexander
LE FIGARO: Le Conseil des ministres conjoint franco-allemand s’est réuni hier à Berlin autour du thème de l’immigration.
Pas de fâcheries cette fois, des compliments et des projets : entourés de leur gouvernement, «Nicolas» et «Angela » ont assuré que le premier Conseil des ministres conjoint qu’ils coprésidaient hier à Berlin ne resterait pas sans lendemains. Dans son souci «d’aller au-devant des gens», la chancelière allemande a annoncé que cette rencontre consacrée à l’intégration se prolongera par un séminaire gouvernemental commun sur les questions d’immigration, au printemps, en France. Dans cette perspective, elle a indiqué que les deux gouvernements joindraient leurs efforts pour «maîtriser les flux migratoires et la lutte contre l’immigration clandestine». «Nous allons avancer ensemble vers une politique d’immigration commune», a affirmé Nicolas Sarkozy. Ensemble contre l’immigration clandestine (suivant) D'Alain Barluet et Pierre Bocev
Mark Alexander
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The dollar crisis has politicians alarmed worldwide. The US currency has lost 24 percent of its value since the introduction of the euro, and now there is even a chance that China could abandon its policy of pegging its currency to the dollar -- a problem the United States should take very seriously.
What do Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen and the People's Republic of China have in common? The answer, as of last week, is that both distrust the dollar.
Patricia Bündchen, the twin sister and manager of the world's top model, announced that Gisele now prefers to be paid in euros rather than dollars. Almost simultaneously, the Chinese central bank predicted that the dollar is likely to lose its status as the world's leading currency.
One could easily overlook a supermodel's currency preferences, but China is a different story. It's the beast breathing down America's neck.
The most important country in the world for the United States isn't Great Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia or Iraq. China holds that dubious distinction, because it is also the country the US can least do without. Without its willingness to buy an almost unlimited supply of US treasury bonds, there would be no American spending miracle. Without a spending miracle there would be no economic growth. In other words, without China the US superpower would lose a significant share of its economic clout. A Pearl Harbor without War (more) By Gabor Steingart in Washington, D.C.
TIMESONLINE:
Beauty deals a beastly blow to the US dollar By Gerard Baker
Mark Alexander
With thanks to John Sobieski for this information (Prénoms des garcons / Boys’ first names). More details HERE. You can comment HERE.
Mark Alexander
THE DAILY MAIL: Tory leader David Cameron faced fresh embarrassment after rebel Tory activists snubbed calls to ditch a Parliamentary candidate who said Enoch Powell "was right" on immigration.
The Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency association refused to accept the resignation of would-be MP Nigel Hastilow and instead demanded crisis talks with the Conservative Party Board, the organisation's top decision-making body.
Senior Tories had hoped the local party would drop Hastilow, 51, who quit on November 4 after refusing to apologise for comments he made in a newspaper column in support of Powell's 1968 "rivers of blood" speech.
Officials have been lobbying the local association in a desperate bid to limit the bad publicity, asking them to move on and choose another candidate.
But local members remain furious at the way Hastilow was treated by the party HQ and refused to accept his resignation, saying his views on immigration have widespread support. Tory branch refuse to ditch Enoch 'was right' candidate in snub to Cameron (more)
Mark Alexander
THE DAILY MAIL: Millions of Britons are being condemned to poverty in old age by the worst state pension in the EU, a study shows.
The basic state pension of £87.30 a week is equivalent to just 17 per cent of the average wage, it found.
This figure rises to 30 per cent once pension payments related to earnings are taken into account.
But this is still only half the EU average of 60 per cent, the financial firm Aon Consulting said. Its study concluded: "The inadequacy of the state system is beyond question."
Charities including Help the Aged warn the problem has been made worse because the state pension has failed to keep pace with increases in the cost of essentials such as heating, water, and council tax.
A recent study found a quarter of pensioners are having to cut back on basics to survive. Until recently many British workers could rely on private pensions such as final salary schemes.
However, many of the most generous schemes have been replaced by deals requiring higher monthly payments in return for a smaller pension.
In addition, the study said a "spate" of banking scandals and crises had damaged confidence in the private pension system.
As a result, Britons are not investing in private pensions on the scale needed to make up for the state system's failings.
The average age of retirement in Britain - 62.6 - is also above the EU average of 61. Some 57 per cent of Britons aged between 55 and 64 are in paid employment. Britons have worst state pension in EU (more) By Sean Poulter
Mark Alexander
THE GUARDIAN: The government should consider making alcohol more expensive and reassess its 24-hour drinking laws to curb serious health problems related to excessive drinking, according to a group of experts.
In a review of public health policy, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics concluded that, left to themselves, people do not choose to live healthy lives, and the state must intervene to control behaviour. Lord Krebs, principal of Jesus College, Oxford, who chaired the council's review, said the government had a duty to help people make healthy choices. "We think it's too simplistic to say that it's all down to individual choice, because individuals often suffer ill health or adopt unhealthy behaviours for reasons beyond their control."
The council gathered doctors, philosophers, economists, lawyers and scientists to look at how far the state should intervene. "We know from medical evidence that many of the big killers in society - cancer, heart disease and stroke - are at least partially preventable by altering people's behaviours," said Krebs. "Our report asks whose job it is to ensure we all lead a healthy life."
The group considered obesity, infectious diseases, and smoking - but singled out alcohol as of most concern. Roger Brownsword, a law professor and member of the group, said: "Alcohol is, on any harm index, a very harmful product. It's estimated that £20bn a year is the cost of alcohol to the country, of which a third is accounted for by crime and public disorder." Tighten alcohol laws to protect nation's health, ethics panel says (more) By Alok Jha
Mark Alexander
FINANCIAL TIMES: The government will step up preparations this week for the launch of sharia-compliant bonds, known as sukuk, as it seeks to turn London into the world centre of Islamic finance.
Kitty Ussher, the Treasury minister, will tell City leaders she is launching a three-month consultation process and could use next spring’s Budget to put in place any legal changes that might be needed to launch the first western government sukuk.
Ms Ussher believes that the scheme will entrench London as “a global gateway to Islamic finance” and help Britain’s Muslims, who sometimes struggle to find sharia-compliant retail products such as mortgages.
The bonds could be used as vehicles to allow Muslims in Britain to invest in National Savings products through banks and post offices.
Islamic bonds are structured to pay profits or rent from an underlying asset or business, rather than interest, which is outlawed under sharia religious law.
Unlike conventional bonds, sukuk are akin to Islamic “investment certificates” representing ownership in the underlying asset. Returns are paid to investors in line with their proportional ownership.
The sukuk market has grown dramatically in the past five years. Nearly $40bn (£19.1bn) of these bonds have been issued this year, from virtually nothing in 2001. UK Treasury paves way for Islamic bonds (more) By George Parker, Lina Saigol and David Oakley
Mark Alexander
BBC: Immigration has become the central battleground in the Danish parliamentary election, which takes place on Tuesday.
Denmark's relations with the Muslim world reached crisis point in 2005 over a Danish newspaper's publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons.
The leader of the opposition Social Democrats, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, proposes to relax restrictions on asylum seekers.
The centre-right Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, warns that such a move could turn Denmark into "a magnet for refugees".
Strict immigration policies have been at the heart of his government's programme since 2001.
Mrs Thorning-Schmidt, daughter-in-law of former British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, wants to give a group of some 500 Iraqi failed asylum seekers permission to live and work outside their refugee camps until Iraq becomes safe enough for them to return. She says Denmark has a special responsibility to help the Iraqis because of Denmark's role in the Iraq conflict.
Although most Danes want to ease restrictions on asylum seekers, Mrs Thorning-Schmidt still looks unlikely to win.
Her party, like Mr Fogh Rasmussen's, would need the support of the centre-right New Alliance Party to form a government - but it is thought to be leaning towards the incumbent prime minister. Danes in poll tussle over migrants (more) By Thomas Buch-Andersen
Mark Alexander
Monday, November 12, 2007
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has stepped up the pressure on Iran by warning that sanctions would soon be placed on oil and gas companies and financiers wanting to invest there.
In his first major foreign policy speech, the Prime Minister warned Iran that it had to comply with non-proliferation rules on nuclear weapons or face further consequences. He once again refused to rule out military intervention.
He also urged Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to release political prisoners immediately and lift restrictions on the media, but stopped short of calling for Commonwealth action to be taken against the country.
In a speech to the Lord Mayor's Banquet in London, Mr Brown said: "Iran has a choice - confrontation with the international community leading to a tightening of sanctions or, if it changes its approach and ends support for terrorism, a transformed relationship with the world." Brown warns Iran of investment sanctions (more) By Andrew Porter
Mark Alexander
BBC: Commonwealth foreign ministers have given Pakistan 10 days to lift its emergency rule or face suspension.
After an extraordinary session in London, they also said President Pervez Musharraf had to step down as army chief and release political detainees. Pakistan faces suspension threat (more)
WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Commonwealth warns Pakistan
Mark Alexander
BNP*: While Her Majesty and Brown’s regime welcomes Kind Abdullah millions of pounds of Saudi oil money are being used to develop Islamic fundamentalism in Britain.
A report written this week by Dr Denis MacEoin, an Islamic studies expert at Newcastle who previously taught at the University of Fez. Leading a team of researchers over a two-year project, he uncovered a hoard of malignant literature inside as many as a quarter of Britain's mosques. All of it had been published and distributed by Saudi authorities.
Among the more choice recommendations in leaflets, DVDs and journals were statements that homosexuals should be burnt, stoned or thrown from mountains or tall buildings (and then stoned where they fell just to be on the safe side). Those who changed their religion or committed adultery should experience a similar fate.
Almost half of the literature was written in English, suggesting it is targeted at younger British Muslims who do not speak Arabic or Urdu. The material, which was openly available in many of the mosques, including the East London Mosque in Whitechapel, which has been visited by Prince Charles, also encourages British Muslims to segregate themselves from non-Muslims. Oil money lubricates Islamic fundamentalism in UK (more)
* Mark Alexander does NOT endorse ANY political party. Any article on this website that comes from any political party should NOT be construed as an endorsement of that party.
Mark Alexander
COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: If anyone in the Muslim world still believed in the Bush administration’s historic promise to support democracy over political expediency, those hopes are being shattered with the crisis unfolding in Pakistan.
If ever there was a clear-cut case for the administration to put action behind its rhetoric, this is it. And yet Washington is standing behind Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, even after he imposed emergency rule, suspended the country’s constitution, muzzled the media and continues to round up hundreds of political opponents.
In June 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the world that the United States would no longer tolerate repressive regimes in the name of keeping political stability. “For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East — and we achieved neither,” she said at the American University in Cairo. “Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people.” U.S. must cut ties to Pakistan dictator (more)
Mark Alexander
IRNA: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, "We should get ready to carry out our significant missions in the world." The president made the remark while addressing students, professors and officials of Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran.
"We should first resolve our geopolitical issues and then prepare ourselves for the next move," he said.
The enemies try to convince the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not capable of handling its own affairs, he said, adding that "In my belief the God Almighty will humiliate the big powers." The enemies try to create obstacles to deviate Iran from path of development and success, said the president.
On Iran's nuclear programs, he said some domestic agents who were at the service of enemies tried to force Iran to deviate from right path and give up its legitimate rights, Ahmadinejad said.
"Some try to indicate that there is a wide gap between leadership and president in taking strategic decisions in the country but they are mistaken and instead we scoffed at them in our meetings," underlined the president.
The country's officials are very coordinated and united in making decisions, said the president.
The main duty of Iran's diplomatic apparatus is to make political arrangement and coordination in order to maintain the country's national interests and cause, said the president.
On mutual talks between Iran and the US on Iraq's security, he said "We cannot remain indifference towards the crimes and massacres of people by occupation forces while the Iraqi nation seeks our assistance." [Source: Ahmadinejad: Iran should get ready for its global missions]
Mark Alexander
My God! Haven’t these stupid people got better things to do with their time? Isn’t it about time that ‘petticoat power’ showed what it is all about in that God-forsaken hole? By the way, Ahmadinejad, where in the Qur'an does it specifically say that a woman cannot wear a hat?
BBC: Iranian newspapers have printed a list of moral vices that the police are targeting, including wearing make-up and hats instead of headscarves.
The police say they will also suppress "decadent" films, drugs and alcohol.
This year has seen one of the most ferocious crackdowns on un-Islamic behaviour and improper Islamic dress by the authorities for at least a decade.
But it has now emerged the current campaign has the overt backing of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The police are warning they will deal seriously with any women who dare to wear short trousers, skimpy overcoats or skirts that are revealingly transparent or have slits in them.
Wearing boots instead of full length trousers will not be tolerated, nor will hats instead of headscarves.
Indeed, the police stipulate that small headscarves are out - the scarf must cover a woman's head and neck completely.
The police say they will also clamp down on "decadent" films, drugs, alcohol, extortion and general thuggish behaviour, but it is issues of dress that are given most prominence. Iran launches anti-vice crackdown (more) By Frances Harrison
BBC:
Anger at Iran dress restrictions By Frances Harrison
Mark Alexander
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denounced as "traitors" those in Iran who have criticised its nuclear programme, state media have reported.
Mr Ahmadinejad said the "internal elements" would be exposed if they did not stop pressurising his government, in a speech at a university in Tehran.
Reformists and several senior clerics have challenged Iran's nuclear policy.
Last week, Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted as claiming his government's critics were less intelligent "than a little goat". Iran president attacks 'traitors' (more)
Mark Alexander
For all you filthy infidels to know just where you are going wrong, please read the following advice from the prophet Muhammad. By the way, hat tip to Pedestrian Infidel for this:
ANWARY-ISLAM.COM: Allah's favorites are those who make constant efforts to remain pure and neat. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has observed: " Purity and neatness are half of faith". In other words, Faith partly consists in cleansing one's soul and partly in keeping physically clean and pure. The purity and neatness of soul implies cleansing the soul of all impurities such as infidelity, Polytheism, sin and vice and embellishing it with righteous beliefs and pure morals. The purity and neatness of the body denotes keeping it clear of all external filth and adorning it with neatness and good manners.
1. One [sic] waking up, clean your hand before putting it in a pot of water. You never can tell where your hands lay during sleep.
2. Do not discharge urine on the floor of the toilet, especially when it is made of soil.
3. When passing stools or urine, do not sit facing the direction of Qiblah, nor with your back to Qiblah. Having relieved yourself, use a clod or water to clean the private parts or purify yourself with water only. Do not use the dung, bone or charcoal for cleaning purposes. When the private parts have been cleaned, scrub your hands with soap or earth and wash them.
4. Do not sit down to eat when your bowels are under pressure. Relieve yourself of urine or stool, before eating.
5. Use your right hand in eating as well as in performing ablution. For cleaning the private parts of the body or for cleaning the nose, use your left hand only.
6. Discharge urine on soft ground, so that its drops do not splash around. Always pass the urine in a sitting posture. However, if the ground or some real hardship prevents from sitting down, you may urinate in a standing posture. Otherwise, in normal circumstances, it is a very dirty habit and should be strictly avoided.
7. Do not sit down to answer the call of nature on the riverside, the quay, no the thoroughfares or in shaded places. Such a practice causes inconvenience to others and is derogatory to rules of propriety and good manners.
8. Put on shoes and cover your head with a cap etc. before going the lavatory and read the following prayer on your way: Purity and Neatness (more)
Mark Alexander
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