Ahmadinejad adresse des récriminations à Nicolas Sarkozy
LE FIGARO: Le président de la République a reçu lundi dernier une missive de son homologue iranien.

Dans son édition datée d’aujourd’hui, Le Monde fait état d’une lettre au ton «acrimonieux» adressée par le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad à son homologue français Nicolas Sarkozy. Dans cette missive, le président iranien qualifierait, selon le quotidien, le chef de l’État français de «jeune et inexpérimenté» et proférerait des «menaces voilées» à l’adresse de Paris. L’Élysée n’a pas réagi officiellement hier à ces informations. La France prône la mise en place d’autres mesures coercitives par l’Union européenne, outre un durcissement des sanctions contre l’Iran à l’étude à l’ONU. Mais ces deux options apparaissent, l’une comme l’autre, problématiques. Prévue lundi, la réunion des cinq membres permanents du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU et de l’Allemagne en vue de l’adoption d’un nouveau train de sanctions a été annulée en raison de la défection de la Chine qui a prétexté des problèmes de calendrier. Une décision qui traduit surtout les réticences persistantes de la Chine à alourdir les sanctions contre l’Iran. Ahmadinejad adresse des récriminations à Nicolas Sarkozy (suivant)

Mark Alexander

NHS Doctors Revolt Ant-White Bias
THE SUNDAY TIMES: ONE of Britain’s most eminent consultants has claimed white male doctors are being denied bonuses because of politically correct “reverse discrimination” by the National Health Service.

David Rosin, a former vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, says female and ethnic minority consultants are being given preferential treatment to meet artificial quotas.

Rosin, also a former president of the Association for Cancer Surgery, failed to get the top “platinum award” award 10 years in a row despite being backed in his application by the royal college and his NHS trust.

He said: “When I asked a previous president [of the Royal College of Surgeons] why I had been unsuccessful, the answer came back immediately: ‘What do you expect? You are not black, you are not female and you have all four limbs.’ ”

Rosin’s comments are likely to provoke a row about whether policies to promote equal opportunities in the NHS have led to positive discrimination. Figures show a dramatic increase in the number of women and ethnic minorities winning merit awards over the past five years. They can add up to £73,000 to a consultant’s annual salary of about £112,000.

Ministers and NHS chiefs have been encouraging more women and ethnic minorities to apply. Supporters say that in the past the vast majority of the extra payments went to an “old boys’ network” of sometimes “mediocre” white male consultants.

However, Rosin, who retired from his NHS post as a senior consultant surgeon at St Mary’s NHS Trust hospital, London, in June, believes it has now tipped into positive discrimination.

“It is time that someone spoke up concerning the reverse discrimination with respect to merit awards,” he wrote in a letter to the magazine Hospital Doctor. “In the politically correct environment in which we live, there is now definitely reverse discrimination.” Doctors’ revolt at anti-white bias (more) By Sarah-Kate Templeton

Mark Alexander

Mormon Smears Turn Republican Race Sour
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE only Mormon in the 2008 presidential race, Mitt Romney, is coming under attack for his religious beliefs as the battle for the Republican nomination becomes increasingly acrimonious.

Telephone calls to voters accusing the former governor of Massachusetts of subscribing to outlandish beliefs and “flip-flop-ping” on big issues have been made under the guise of polling in Iowa and New Hampshire, crucial early voting states that Romney must win.

These “push-polling” calls drew attention to Romney’s deferment of military service during the Vietnam war while serving as a missionary for the Mormons in France and pointed out that none of his five sons had enlisted in the military.

Callers also claimed the Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints did not consecrate blacks as bishops until the 1970s and believes the Book of Mormon supersedes the Bible. Romney called the attacks “unAmerican”.

Robert Redford, the film star, joined in the Mormon-bashing this month, claiming that church followers were “very adept at not being fazed and speaking fluently and gracefully” because they “learn how to deflect blows and stay on message” when they go on missions “when they are 19 or 20”.

He added: “So when you see Mitt Romney, he’s already been practising how to deflect blows and stay on message. But it’s plastic.”

The race is growing dirtier as the fight for the nomination intensifies between Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, and Romney. Mormon smears turn Republican race sour (more) By Sarah Baxter

Mark Alexander

Erziehungsratgeber für Terroristenmütter
Foto dank der Presse
DIE PRESSE: Die Terrororganisation hat ein Handbuch für Frauen ins Internet gestellt. Es erklärt ihnen, wie sie ihre Kinder zu Märtyrern erziehen können. Mehrere Extremistengruppen rekrutieren ihren Nachwuchs bereits über das Internet.

Das Terrornetzwerk al-Qaida hat ein Handbuch für Frauen ins Internet gestellt. Dem rosafarben gehaltenen Ratgeber ist zu entnehmen, "wie man sein Kind erzieht, damit es sich als 'Märtyrer' für den Jihad opfert", berichtete der Kommunikationswissenschaftler Gabriel Weimann. Die Frauen würden beraten, wie sie ihren Ehemann unterstützen könnten oder was sie tun müssten, um selbst einen Selbstmordanschlag zu verüben. Weimann stellte fest: "Die Mütter sind die neue Zielgruppe." al-Qaida: Erziehungsratgeber für Terroristenmütter (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Islamic Fashion: Fashion for the Sand People?
WELTONLINE: I bring you these images of Islamic fashion courtesy of WeltOnline:


Mark Alexander

A Warning from Chávez
Photo of Chávez and Ahmadinejad courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned oil prices could double if the US attacked Iran, as a key summit of oil exporters opened.

Mr Chavez told the summit of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) the price of crude could reach $150 or even $200 a barrel.

Oil has been hitting record peaks of well over $90 a barrel as markets believe Opec will not boost production.

The Opec summit in Saudi Arabia is only the organisation's third in 47 years.

Saudi moderation

Mr Chavez kicked off the summit with a blistering attack on the US.
"If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil could reach $150 or even $200," he said. Chavez warning opens Opec summit (more)

Mark Alexander

Prime Minister Brown’s First Christmas Card
Image courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Prime Minister Gordon Brown's first Christmas card to be sent from Number 10 will feature a drawing of a group of children moving a Christmas tree.

The charity card marks a shift from his predecessor Tony Blair who favoured cards featuring himself and his family. PM picks charity Christmas cards (more)

PM praises Brown's Christmas card

Mark Alexander

Dollars No Longer Acceptable as Payment for Entrance Fee to the Taj Mahal
Photo of the Taj Mahal courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Foreign tourists to many of India's most famous landmarks will no longer be able to pay the entrance fee in dollars, the government says.

The ruling is aimed at safeguarding tourism revenues following the recent falls in the dollar.

Until now, foreign tourists to sites such at the Taj Mahal have had the option of paying in dollars or rupees.

The ruling will affect nearly 120 sites of interest run by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Of these, at least 27 are World Heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal. Dollars no good for the Taj Mahal (more) By Jyotsna Singh

Mark Alexander

Yesterday’s Very Interesting Gathering Storm Radio Show
Listen to WC & Always On Watch’s Interview with Elisabeth of Austria and Fausta
The Gathering Storm Blogspot
Always On Watch

Mark Alexander

Himmelfahrt!
WELTONLINE: Der Islam schaltet in den fünften Gang. Stand die Religion des Friedens bisher vor allem für ungefragte Hochhausabrisse, gottgefälliges Beleidigt-sein und alternative Frauenrechte, setzt sie nun neue Prioritäten. Bald schon soll das erste islamische Auto fahrbereit sein.

Malaysia, der Iran und die Türkei wollen das islamische Auto gemeinsam bauen. Es wird Fächer für den Koran und für Kopftücher haben, außerdem, laut Ahmadinedschad, einen Atommotor, „daran haben wir die ganzen Jahre getüftelt, es sollte eine Überraschung werden.“ Die Türken lassen derweil prüfen, ob es mit der islamischen Verkehrsordnung in Einklang gebracht werden kann, dass das Überfahren von Kurden straffrei bleibt und Malaysia ist eigentlich alles egal, solange „nur mal wieder der Name unseres Landes in der Zeitung steht.“ Erstes islamisches Auto kommt auf den Markt (mehr) Von Gideon Böss

Saudi Lawyer Says Increased Punishment for Saudi Gang-Rape Victim Unjust
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A lawyer for a gang-rape victim in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 200 lashes and six-months in jail says the punishment contravenes Islamic law.

The woman was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.

When she appealed, judges doubled her sentence, saying she had been trying to use the media to influence them.

Her lawyer has been suspended from the case and faces a disciplinary session.

Abdel Rahman al-Lahem told the BBC Arabic Service that the sentence was in violation of Islamic law:

"My client is the victim of this abhorrent crime. I believe her sentence contravenes the Islamic Sharia law and violates the pertinent international conventions," he said.

"The judicial bodies should have dealt with this girl as the victim rather than the culprit."

The lawyer also said that his client his will appeal against the decision to increase her punishment. Saudi gang rape sentence 'unjust' (more)

Mark Alexander

Ahmadinejad schickt bösen Brief an Sarkozy, in dem es steht er sei “jung und unerfahren”
Foto of Ahmadinejad dank der Welt
WELTONLINE: Der iranische Präsident hat seinen französischen Kollegen davor gewarnt, die europäischen europäischen Länder zu gemeinsamen Sanktionen außerhalb der UN zu bewegen. In dem Brief nannte er Nicolas Sarkozy außerdem „jung und unerfahren".

Der iranische Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat dem französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy einen bösen Brief geschrieben, in dem er seinen Amtskollegen als „jung und unerfahren“ bezeichnet. Ahmadinedschad protestiere insbesondere gegen das französische Vorhaben, die europäischen Partner zu gemeinsamen Sanktionen außerhalb der UN zu bewegen,Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat dem französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy berichtet die Zeitung „Le Monde.

Der Brief, der bereits am Montag eingetroffen sei, enthalte Drohungen und sei in scharfem Ton geschrieben. Sarkozy hatte Ende August vor einer „katastrophalen Alternative“ gewarnt: “entweder die iranische Bombe oder die Bombardierung Irans“. Außenminister Bernard Kouchner hatte das Wort „Krieg“ benutzt, seine Position später aber wieder abgemildert. Ahmadinedschad schickt bösen Brief nach Paris (mehr)

LE MONDE:
Le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad écrit à Nicolas Sarkozy

Mark Alexander

Historischer Christbaumschmuck: Hakenkreuze und Granaten für Weihnachten
Photo dank der Welt
WELTONLINE: Auch die Nazis wollten es sich schön machen: Im niedersächsischen Cloppenburg ist eine Ausstellung mit skurrilem Weihnachtsschmuck zu sehen. Eiserne Kreuze und Handgranaten dienten ebenso als Verzierung. Zu verdanken sind die Fundstücke einer Sammlerin.

Echte Nationalsozialisten verschmähten Weihnachten natürlich. Offiziell musste das christliche Fest "Julfeier" heißen. Aber dennoch wollten stramme Parteigänger nicht auf ordentlichen Baumschmuck verzichten. Da hängte man sich also eine Kugel mit Hakenkreuz an den Tannenzweig.

Diesen und anderen Christbaumschmuck zeigt das Museumsdorf in Cloppenburg vom 18. November an. Dann wird dort unter dem Titel „Von wegen Heilige Nacht!“ eine Sonderausstellung eröffnet. Sie soll dokumentieren, wie politische Propaganda das christliche Fest für seine Zwecke entfremden kann. Hakenkreuze und Granaten für Weihnachten (mehr)

Mark Alexander

In der Türkei, muß Heidi den Shahada genommen haben!
Image dank Google Images
WELTONLINE: Eine türkische Version der Kinderlektüre "Heidi" erzürnt die laizistischen Gruppen im Land. Das Buch wird zwar vom Bildungsministerium ausdrücklich empfohlen. Doch eine Illustration zeigt ein Kopftuch und einen Mantel, der an eine Burka erinnert. Türkische Medien schlagen Alarm.

Für den leseunlustigen Nachwuchs in der Türkei hat das türkische Bildungsministerium, geleitet von Minister Hüseyin Celik von der gemäßigt islamischen Partei AKP, bereits vor zwei Jahren eine offizielle Liste der "100 grundlegenden Werke" veröffentlicht. Die vorgeschlagenen Werke sollen als Leitfaden für Pädagogen und Eltern dienen, die Wahl der richtigen Lektüre für den Nachwuchs zu erleichtern. Auf der Liste ist neben "Alice im Wunderland" und "Pinocchio" unter anderem auch das beliebte Werk "Heidi" der Schweizer Autorin Johanna Spyri in der türkischen Fassung zu finden. Das Werk wird ausdrücklich vom Ministerium empfohlen und ist bereits in den Schulen verteilt. Streit um ein Kopftuch im Kinderbuch "Heidi" (more) Von Suleyman Artiisik

Mark Alexander

Bottom Dollar
TIME: Even a month ago, the global economy seemed poised to weather the U.S. sub-prime crisis with relative aplomb. But, suddenly, something approaching panic has gripped the world's financial community. The headlines are grim. The U.S. housing slump is worsening. Banking giants such as Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are posting record losses. The U.S. dollar is getting pounded by the British pound — and virtually every other currency. Oil has run up as high as $98 per bbl., and gold — the traditional doomsday investment — has topped $800, its highest level since the early 1980s.

But despite the fear, the end is not, in fact, nigh. After an orgy of excesses in the credit and housing markets, a measure of sobriety and restraint may have a useful cleansing effect. That said, tremendous risks remain — not least a mounting threat of a U.S. recession. Surveying this treacherous landscape, Paul Donovan, a global economist at UBS, predicts: "It's going to be very unpleasant but it's not a disaster."

Of course, the "core problem" is the U.S. property market, says Han de Jong, chief economist for ABN Amro in Amsterdam. "In hindsight, the housing market in the U.S. was a bubble." The cause? Superlow interest rates that encouraged lenders to offer loans to virtually anyone, even those with bad credit. Those loans were then bundled together into exotic derivatives and sold off to financial institutions worldwide; when borrowers began to default on their mortgages, money managers from São Paulo to Seoul suffered huge losses. Bottom Dollar (more)

Mark Alexander

US Poll Shows Negative View of Islam Intensifies
WASHINGTON POST: As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The poll found that nearly half of Americans -- 46 percent -- have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than in the tense months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when Muslims were often targeted for violence. Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing: Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001 By Claudia Deane and Darryl Fears

Mark Alexander

Are the Internationalist Miliband’s Ideas on the Future of Europe Dangerous?
Photo of David Miliband courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Foreign Secretary David Miliband has suggested the European Union should work towards including Russia, Middle Eastern and North African countries.

He said enlargement was "our most powerful tool" for extending stability.

In his first major speech on the UK's relationship with Europe, he said the EU would not become a "superpower" but should be a "role model" for the world.

It could be a "model power of regional co-operation" dedicated to free trade, the environment and tackling extremism.

He said the EU must "keep our promises to Turkey", adding: "If we fail.... it will signal a deep and dangerous divide between east and west.

"Beyond that we must keep the door open, retaining the incentive for change and the prospect of membership provides."

Mr Miliband made his address at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, where Baroness Thatcher delivered her famous warning against "some sort of identikit European personality" almost exactly two decades ago in September 1988. EU 'should expand beyond Europe' (more)

Miliband EU speech in full

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
EU ‘must look beyond Europe’

By contrast:

Baroness Thatcher
First, may I thank you for giving me the opportunity to return to Bruges - and in very different circumstances from my last visit shortly after the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, when Belgian courage and the devotion of your doctors and nurses saved so many British lives.

Second, may I say what a pleasure it is to speak at the College of Europe under the distinguished leadership of its Rector, Professor Lukaszewski. The College plays a vital and increasingly important part in the life of the European Community.

Third, may I also thank you for inviting me to deliver my address in this magnificent hall. What better place to speak of Europe's future than in a building which so gloriously recalls the greatness that Europe had already achieved over 600 years ago?

Your city of Bruges has many other historical associations for us in Britain. Geoffrey Chaucer was a frequent visitor here. And the first book to be printed in the English language was produced here in Bruges by William Caxton.

Mr Chairman, you have invited me to speak on the subject of Britain and Europe. Perhaps I should congratulate you on your courage. If you believe some of the things said and written about my views on Europe, it must seem rather like inviting Genghis Khan to speak on the virtues of peaceful co­existence!

I want to start by disposing of some myths about my country, Britain, and its relationship with Europe. And to do that I must say something about the identity of Europe itself.

Europe is not the creation of the Treaty of Rome. Nor is the European idea the property of any group or institution. We British are as much heirs to the legacy of European culture as any other nation. Our links to the rest of Europe, the continent of Europe, have been the dominant factor in our history. For three hundred years we were part of the Roman Empire and our maps still trace the straight lines of the roads the Romans built. Our ancestors - Celts, Saxons and Danes - came from the continent.

Our nation was - in that favourite Community word ­ "restructured" under Norman and Angevin rule in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

This year we celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of the Glorious Revolution in which the British crown passed to Prince William of Orange and Queen Mary. Visit the great Churches and Cathedrals of Britain, read our literature and listen to our language: all bear witness to the cultural riches which we have drawn from Europe - and other Europeans from us.

We in Britain are rightly proud of the way in which, since Magna Carta in 1215, we have pioneered and developed representative institutions to stand as bastions of freedom. And proud too of the way in which for centuries Britain was a home for people from the rest of Europe who sought sanctuary from tyranny.

But we know that without the European legacy of political ideas we could not have achieved as much as we did. From classical and mediaeval thought we have borrowed that concept of the rule of law which marks out a civilised society from barbarism.

And on that idea of Christendom - for long synonymous with Europe - with its recognition of the unique and spiritual nature of the individual, we still base our belief in personal liberty and other human rights.

Too often the history of Europe is described as a series of interminable wars and quarrels. Yet from our perspective today surely what strikes us most is our common experience. For instance, the story of how Europeans explored and colonised and - yes, without apology -civilised much of the world is an extraordinary tale of talent, skill and courage.

We British have in a special way contributed to Europe. Over the centuries we have fought to prevent Europe from falling under the dominance of a single power. We have fought and we have died for her freedom. Only miles from here in Belgium lie the bodies of 120,000 British soldiers who died in the First World War. Had it not been for that willingness to fight and to die, Europe would have been united long before now-but not in liberty, not in justice. It was British support to resistance movements throughout the last War that helped to keep alive the flame of liberty in so many countries until the day of liberation.

Tomorrow, King Baudouin will attend a service in Brussels to commemorate the many brave Belgians who gave their lives in service with the Royal Air Force - a sacrifice which we shall never forget.

It was from our island fortress that the liberation of Europe itself was mounted. And still today we stand together. Nearly 70,000 British servicemen are stationed on the mainland of Europe.All these things alone are proof of our commitment to Europe's future.

The European Community is one manifestation of that European identity. But it is not the only one. We must never forget that East of the Iron Curtain peoples who once enjoyed a full share of European culture, freedom and identity have been cut off from their roots. We shall always look on Warsaw, Prague and Budapest as great European cities.

Nor should we forget that European values have helped to make the United States of America into the valiant defender of freedom which she has become. [Source: The Bruges Speech in full (more)]

The Bruges Group

Mark Alexander

Giving “Virginity Fixes” on the NHS Is Totally Indefensible
Photo of Muslimatoon courtesy of the Daily Mail
DAILY MAIL: Even by the standards of medical horror stories that have filled our papers of late, it's a tale that beggars belief. According to the latest figures, some 24 women have recently had their virginities "restored", not by some divine miracle or act of magic, but by a surgical procedure paid for by our already hard-pressed National Health Service.

How ridiculous, how dangerous and how indefensible. At a time when cancer and Alzheimer's patients are routinely deprived of drugs, the idea that a single penny of NHS funding is spent on repairing something as fragile, ephemeral and medically useless as a woman's hymen is absurd.

Only where a young woman has been raped or violently sexually assaulted can there even be the slightest justification for the NHS to pay for such a procedure. And yet in 2005-2006, the NHS clearly decided otherwise time and time again.

So who are these women who are seeking to have their virginities restored? According to the figures, they are "immigrants and British women of ethnic origin".

Well, speaking as a British woman of ethnic origin, let me make it clear. The British NHS should simply not be paying for a cosmetic procedure that is unnecessary, demeaning to women and totally at odds with modern British culture.

The report accompanying the figures is too politically correct to identify the religion of the women who have had the operation, but it's my informed guess that most of them - all of them, perhaps - will turn out to be Muslim.

As the daughter of parents who arrived in Britain from Pakistan in the mid-Sixties, I'm a Muslim myself but I'm appalled by the sort of cultural pressures these women must be under to seek such a procedure.

But I'm also angry that the NHS has agreed to carry them out. By paying for and performing such operations, the NHS isn't furthering the integration of the Muslim community into the British way of life; in fact, it's doing quite the opposite.

It's effectively condoning an increasingly fundamentalist Islamic culture that is patriarchal, regressive and increasingly demeaning to women. Surely that has no place in the Britain of today? As a British Muslim I find 'virginity repairs' on the NHS dangerous, demeaning ... and utterly indefensible (more) By Saira Khan

Mark Alexander

Illegal Immigrant Demands to Be Flown Home; British People Are “So Unfriendly and Rude”
DAILY MAIL: An illegal immigrant has demanded to be flown home after saying he was fed up with British people - because they are "rude and unfriendly".

Speaking today, Mokhtar Tabet, 30 - who has been given a home, food and free travel around London - claims his local council has breached his human rights by moving him to a place he does not like.

He was refused asylum in 2004 and is set to be deported.

He said: "The council evicted me from my home in September and moved me to Streatham, which I don't like.

"The new place is small, and the kitchen closes at 9pm, so I can't have anything to eat late at night. They have taken away my human rights."

Croydon Council says it has bent over backwards to help Tabet, who fled Algeria in 2002. Illegal immigrant demands to be flown home because Britons are 'rude and unfriendly' (more)

Mark Alexander

Photograph: Google Images
Adolf Hitler on Islam
“Hitler had been much impressed by a scrap of history he had learned from a delegation of distinguished Arabs. When the Mohammedans attempted to penetrate beyond France into Central Europe during the eighth century, his visitors had told him, they had been driven back at the Battle of Tour. Had the Arabs won the battle, the world would be Mohammedan today. For theirs was a religion that believed in spreading the faith by the sword and subjugating all nations to that faith. The Germanic peoples would have become heirs to that religion. Such a creed was perfectly suited to the Germanic temperament. Hitler said that the conquering Arabs, because of their racial inferiority, would in the long run have been unable to contend with the harsher climate and conditions of the country. They could not have kept down the more vigorous natives, so that ultimately not Arabs but Islamized Germans could have stood at the head of this Mohammedan empire.

Hitler usually concluded this historical speculation by remarking: ‘You see, it’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion. Why didn’t we have the religion of the Japanese, who regard sacrifice for the Fatherland as the highest good? The Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?’ It is remarkable that even before the war he sometimes went on: “Today the Siberians, the White Russians, and the people of the steppes live extremely healthy lives. For this reason they are better equipped for development and in the long run biologically superior to the Germans.’ This was an idea he was destined to repeat in far more drastic tones during the last months of the war." [ Source: Albert Speer: Inside the Third Reich]

Mark Alexander

David Miliband, Regardless of the Wishes of the People of Europe, Committed to Turkey in Europe!
BRITAINUSA: FCO, London, 9/5/2007—David Miliband spoke at Bahcesehir University in Instanbul during his first visit to Turkey as Foreign Secretary.

Read full speech:

This is one of my early visits outside the UK as foreign secretary and this, my first visit to Turkey, is intended to reflect my simple belief: that the relationship between Turkey and the EU represents one of the defining political tests of our time. Get it right, and we can prove wrong those who say we are destined for a clash of civilizations, that East and West, Muslims, Christians and Jews, can find no common ground; get it wrong and we give succour to those who would pull us apart.

So this speech is about building bridges at a time of change. There are new governments in Britain and in Turkey, new challenges facing our countries. But my starting point is our new and shared opportunity: the opportunity to bridge the gap between Europe and Asia.

The last phase of globalization in the 19th century polarized the world. At the beginning of the 19th century, the average citizen in India and China enjoyed around half the wealth of citizens in Western Europe. By the end of the century, they had just one-seventh.

Today, there are massive forces for inequality between people. But there are also very strong forces of 21st century globalization pulling countries closer together. For example, China and India’s economies together represent about a quarter of US GDP. By 2030, they are expected to command a similar share of the global economy as the US. Foreign Secretary David Miliband: Shared Values, Share Future - The Importance of Turkey to Our Common Future (more)

Mark Alexander

David Miliband on the Middle East
Foreign Secretary David Miliband on the Middle East
Mark Alexander

The Profligate Saudi Prince
Photo of Saudi ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: It is a remarkable shopping list by any standards. And it has landed the Saudi ambassador to Britain with a possible £3m debt, and the embarrassment of having allegations about the ostentatious spending habits of the royal family laid bare.

Bills he is claimed to have run up on an array of luxury amusements include two top-of-the-range Chevrolet 4x4s, a thermal night vision kit for his Hummer H2, dozens of designer watches and jewels, a selection of handguns and two Arab karaoke machines. One takeaway meal came to almost $800 (£391). And then there is the $2,500 item on a trip to a hotel in Casablanca that reads: "Girls: party night 5".

These, and scores of others, are detailed in documents filed to the high court in a claim against the ambassador, Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz, a nephew of King Abdullah. Hey big spender: the £3m spree that landed a Saudi prince in a London court (more) By David Leigh and Rob Evans

Court documents: the alleged debts in full (pdf)

More court documents (pdf)

Mark Alexander

Immigration Out of Control: Brits Getting Out in Their Droves
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is experiencing unprecedented levels of immigration with more than half a million foreigners arriving to live here in a single year, new figures show.

Last year, 510,000 foreign migrants came to the UK to stay for at least 12 months, according to the Office for National Statistics. At the same time 400,000 people, more than half of whom were British, emigrated.

An exodus on this scale - amounting to one British citizen leaving the country every three minutes - has not been seen in the UK for almost 50 years.

Overall in 2006, there were a record 591,000 new arrivals. Only 14 per cent of these were Britons coming home. Immigration out-paces British exodus (more) By Philip Johnston

National Statistics: Emigration from UK reaches 400,000 in 2006 (PDF)

Tegraph Speakers Corner: Why are so many Britons leaving?

Mark Alexander

China Runs “Aggressive and Large-Scale Industrial Espionage Campaign” Against US
THE TELEGRAPH: China is running an "aggressive and large-scale industrial espionage campaign" against American technology, a US congressional commission says, in a report that will exacerbate growing tensions between the two countries.

The hard-hitting report, by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, accused China of backsliding over free trade reforms and of using spies to enable its companies to get hold of technology without having to pay for the research.

"Chinese espionage activities in the United States are so extensive that they comprise the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies," it said, adding that scientists and engineers were enlisted to get hold of secrets "by whatever means possible - including theft". US accuses China of vast industrial spying (more) By Richard Spencer

Mark Alexander

Irael Braces Itself for Iran Bomb
YNET NEWS: State sources say Olmert orders top cabinet officials to draft proposals for dealing with potential nuclear Iran. Minister Ayalon: 'We must prepare for scenario where all alternatives fail'

Israel is quietly preparing for the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran despite public pledges to deny its arch-foe the means to pose an "existential threat", political and defense sources said on Thursday.

They said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed cabinet officials to draft proposals on how Israel, which according to foreign media reports retains the only atomic arsenal in the Middle East, might deal with losing that monopoly.

Israel predicts that Iran's nuclear program could produce warheads by 2009. Western intelligence services say it may take several more years. Israel braces for Iran bomb despite vow to prevent (more)

Mark Alexander

Saudi Gang-Rape Victim Jailed
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.

The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.

When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them. Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed (more) By Frances Harrison

Mark Alexander

Our World: Islam and the Nation State
JERUSALEM POST: Throughout the world, one of the most prevalent causes of war, terrorism and political instability is the ongoing weakening of the nation-state system. There are several reasons that the nation-state as a political unit of sovereignty is under threat. One of the most basic causes of this continuous erosion of national power throughout the world is the transformation of minority-dominated enclaves within nation-states into ungovernable areas where state power is either not applied or applied in a haphazard and generally unconstructive manner.

While domestic strife between majority and minority populations has been an enduring feature of democratic and indeed all societies throughout history, the current turbulence constitutes a unique challenge to the nation-state system. This is because much of the internal strife between minority and majority populations within states today is financed and often directed from outside the country.

Traditionally, minorities used various local means to engage the majority population in a bid to influence the political direction or cultural norms of the nation state. The classic examples of this traditional minority-majority engagement are the black civil rights movement in the US in the 1960s and the labor movements in the West throughout the 20th century. By and large, these movements were domestic protests informed by national sensibilities even when they enjoyed the support of foreign governments.

Today while similar movements continue to flourish, they are now being superseded by a new type of minority challenge to national majorities.

This challenge is not primarily the result of domestic injustice but the consequence of foreign agitation. The roots of these minority challenges are found outside the borders of the targeted states. And their goals are not limited to a call for the reform of national institutions and politics. Rather they set their sights on weakening national institutions and eroding national sovereignty. Our World: Islam and the nation-state (more) By Caroline Glick

Hat Tip: Jim Ball

Mark Alexander

Iran Has Not Suspended Unranium Enrichment, Says IAEA
BBC: The UN nuclear watchdog has said Iran has provided it with information about its past nuclear activities as agreed under a work plan made in August.

But a new IAEA report also said Iran had not suspended uranium enrichment work as demanded by the UN Security Council and had 3,000 centrifuges.

The US said it proved Tehran continued to defy UN calls to suspend enrichment and should face further sanctions. UN mixed on Iran nuclear report (more)

IAEA Report (PDF)

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FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG:
Interview Norman Podhoretz: Warum wir Iran bombardieren müssen

Mark Alexander

White House Loses Faith in Musharraf’s Leadership
THE TELEGRAPH: The United States has signalled for the first time that President Pervez Musharraf’s days in power may soon end.

American officials have said that the White House is reportedly losing faith in General Musharraf’s leadership.

Until now the general had been a pillar of Washington’s war against terrorism.

But almost two weeks after Gen Musharraf declared a state of emergency, the Bush government is said to be considering what to do in the event of an imminent end to his premiership. US signals Musharraf's days may be numbered (more) By Isambard Wilkinson

Mark Alexander

Russian Cult Threatens Mass Suicide in Cave
THE TELEGRAPH: Around 30 members of a Russian cult have shut themselves inside a remote cave to await the end of the world and are threatening to commit suicide if police intervene, officials and media said today.

"They have covered the entrance and refuse to come out and are threatening to blow themselves up," an official in the local prosecutor's office said by telephone.

"They threaten to detonate a gas tank and blow themselves up." Russian cult threatens mass suicide in cave (more)

Mark Alexander

Genuß gegen Gesundheit
Zum Video: Einschränkung der Freiheit?
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DIE ZEIT: Auf eine Zigarette mit Helmut Schmidt

Mark Alexander