Now EU Wants Stats on Women’s Sexual History!
DAILY MAIL: British MEPs have reacted with outrage to a planned Euro-census which would demand details about every woman's sexual partners.

UK Independence Party MEP Derek Clark urged women to protest by claiming they are virgins or have 1,000 sexual partners if the proposal is approved.

The proposed new European Commission power to collect facts and figures on population and housing across the EU would go further than any national census, Mr Clark warned.

The information the Commission wants to be allowed to gather includes information on the "consensual unions" of all women in the EU.

The contentious question, set out in a draft of what would go to each household every ten years, demands "Date(s) of the beginning of the consensual union(s) of women having ever been in consensual union: (i) first consensual union and (ii) current consensual union."

Mr Clark commented: "The Commission claims it needs to know all sorts of things about us in order to set policy properly, but does it really need to have such personal and intrusive detail? How can it possibly need to know how many sexual partners a woman has had, and when they were? Outrage as EU set to quiz women on their sexual history (more)

Mark Alexander

The Flip Side of Mass Immigration
TIMESONLINE: Soaring rates of infection by hepatitis B, fuelled by large-scale immigration, pose a serious health threat that is not being addressed properly, a report has said.

The Hepatitis B Foundation estimates that the numbers infected by the disease in Britain have almost doubled in the past five years, to 326,000. More than half of these people are immigrants from Africa, Asia, Russia and the new EU nations.

Hepatitis B has few symptoms. If untreated it can lead to serious liver disease including liver cancer, and death, decades after infection. World-wide, 500,000 to 700,000 people die every year as a result of infection by the virus. New wave of immigration blamed for doubling of hepatitis B cases (more) By Nigel Hawkes

Mark Alexander

Brussels Interferes Again: Now It Doesn’t Want Us to Know Where in the EU Our Goods Come From
DAILY MAIL: Ministers were last night under pressure to reject an attempt by Brussels to scrap 'Made in Britain' food labels.

Proposals to switch to a Europe-wide 'Made in the EU' labelling system will be discussed by the European Commission next month.

The scheme provoked outrage at Westminster, with the Tories pledging to save the traditional British labels on foods ranging from Stilton to Marmite.

If implemented it would leave British consumers unable to tell where the contents of their shopping basket come from in the EU. Brussels wants to scrap labels sayin ‘Made in Britain’ (more)

Mark Alexander

Flash Those Breasts, Mum! EU to Ban Advertising of Milk Formula to Encourage Breast-Feeding! Is There No End to Interference from Brussels?
DAILY MAIL: Advertising of infant formula to parents will be banned under new rules announced today.

Powdered milk for babies under six months - known as infant formula - will only be advertised in trade to trade magazines and scientific journals.

But the Department of Health said television and print adverts for follow-on formula aimed at infants over six months will be tightened up but not banned.

Infant formula advertising is already heavily restricted but is currently permitted in leaflets given out by the health service.

That loophole will be closed when an EU directive on infant formula comes into force in the UK in January. Baby milk adverts banned to encourage breast feeding (more)

Mark Alexander

Große Flut geschah 6300 Jahre vor Jesus Christus
WELTONLINE: Wissenschaftler sind sich sicher, Noahs Sintflut auf 50 Jahre genau bestimmen zu können. Muscheln und Schnecken haben zu dieser Erkenntnis beigetragen. Ganz viel Wasser war auch im Spiel. Die Biologen blicken zwar tief in die Vergangenheit zurück, denken aber auch an die Zukunft.

Im Zeitraum von nur einer Generation entstand am Ende der letzten Eiszeit das Schwarze Meer und nahm seine jetzige Form an. Ursache war ein gewaltiger Wassereinstrom aus dem Mittelmeer, der sich genau 6300 Jahre vor Christus plus/minus 50 Jahre ereignete. Zu dieser genauen Datierung gelangten Chris Turney von der University of Exeter (Großbritannien) und die Australierin Heidi Brown aufgrund neuer Messungen. Die große Flut vertrieb einige Zehntausend Menschen und führte vermutlich zur Verbreitung der Landwirtschaft über ganz Europa. "Die Flut lehrt uns auch, was wir zu erwarten haben, wenn der Meeresspiegel am Ende dieses Jahrhunderts wie erwartet ansteigt", sagt Turney.

Bislang konnten Wissenschaftler die Entstehung des Schwarzen Meeres nur auf den Zeitraum von 7700 bis 5600 v. Chr. festlegen. "Das ist keine besonders genaue Datierung", sagt Turney. "Uns gelang jetzt aber eine Einengung auf plus/minus 50 Jahre." Mit der sogenannten Radiokarbonmethode untersuchten Turney und Brown Schalen von Muscheln und Schnecken. Sie bestimmten, wann die an Süßwasser gebundenen Tiere ausstarben, die in einem kleineren Binnensee lebten, und durch Salzwasserbewohner ersetzt wurden, die mit dem Mittelmeerwasser einwanderten. Die große Flut kam 6300 vor Christus (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Ein Blick hinter den Tschador
WELTONLINE: Was wissen wir wirklich über den Iran? Der Iran ist eines der gastfreundlichsten Länder der islamischen Welt, stellte WELT ONLINE-Autorin Annette Riedel fest. Auf ihrer Reise durch das fremde, manchmal befremdliche Land erlebte sie viele Überraschungen, Widersprüche, aber auch Erbauliches.

Azam lacht gern. Dann strahlen die haselnussbraunen Augen der lebenslustigen Frau mit den fein gezupften, nachgezogenen Augenbrauen. Azam ist unsere Reiseleiterin. Und sie ist unsere Türöffnerin. Sie erzählt aus ihrem Leben. Stundenlang.

Auf langen Busfahrten durch das Land und bei den Abendessen in traditionellen Restaurants. Unermüdlich, offen, freundlich, persönlich, kenntnisreich beantwortet sie unsere nicht enden wollenden Fragen. Und sie dolmetscht und makelt Begegnungen – verabredete und spontane – mit Iranerinnen und Iranern. Auf den Straßen, in den Parks, in Museen, Büros, Restaurants, Teehäusern, in einer Nachrichtenagentur, in einem theologischen Seminar, in einer Universität, in einer Galerie, bei einer Hochzeitsgesellschaft. So werden uns Einblicke in das Leben im Iran gewährt, die weit über das hinausgehen, was eigentlich auf „normalen“ Reisen möglich ist.

Azam hat von 1980 bis 1995 in Hamburg gelebt und gearbeitet, mit ihrem damaligen iranischen Mann. Die 46-jährige Mutter zweier erwachsener Söhne ist geschieden. Sie verdient sich ihren Lebensunterhalt als Reiseleiterin. Das klingt wesentlich einfacher, als es ist. Ein Blick hinter den Tschador (mehr)

Mark Alexander

’Tis Refreshing Indeed to Be Able to Read an Article Such as This One in the Saudi Press!
ARAB NEWS: It is a tale that is more reminiscent of the cruel callous punishments meted out to women in medieval times. And yet sadly it is a case that is making headlines in the 21st century.

For those of you who are not aware of the story, an 18-year-old girl from Qatif went to meet a man she had had a prior relationship with to reclaim photos that he threatened to blackmail her with. While they were standing outside a shopping mall, they were abducted at knifepoint. She was gang raped 14 times by seven men. The man accompanying her was also raped. In an extraordinary ruling, she was sentenced by the courts to 90 lashes for having been with a man who was not her male relative. When she appealed this verdict, expecting leniency under the extenuating circumstances, the court increased her sentence to 200 lashes and six months imprisonment. This increased sentence was delivered under the spurious pretext that the judiciary would not be “aggravated and influenced” through the media. Her lawyer has been suspended from the case, has had his license confiscated and is now being threatened with disciplinary action.

I will never forget reading about this case when it was first documented several months ago. I blinked hard in disbelief at the ridiculous contents of the article and the trite absurdity of the allegations. It was enough to offend the sensibilities of any reasonable minded human being and yet, it seemed at the time, that those who are in charge of our judicial system were totally devoid of any sense of justice. It is this peculiar irony that has subsequently subverted and distorted the outcome of a trial that will no doubt characterize the level of injustice that we can expect to be afforded through the courts.

Here is a young woman who has had to suffer the unimaginable ordeal of being brutally raped by seven men 14 times but nonetheless decided to take the remarkably brave step and approach the authorities expecting at the very least a fair trial and perhaps, albeit unrealistically, a degree of compassion. A Slap in the Face of Justice (more) By Lubna Hussain

Mark Alexander

”A Whiff of Desperation”
THE TELEGRAPH: So the US State Department is seeking to wean impressionable young Muslims off terrorism by introducing pro-American blog posts. It's not the worst idea to come out of the current administration (it's up against some pretty stiff competition after all), but one can't help picking up the whiff of desperation.

The problem is that most young people in the Islamic world probably have a good idea that they'd be much better off if their governments did what the Americans want them to.

George W Bush is right about one thing: people everywhere long to be free, to be able to conduct their business without the clerics and secret police invigilating quite so closely. But his appeal to the aspiring spirit can only work if it's in keeping with America's actions. The source of much of the loathing of the US is that it speaks of liberty while propping up the likes of the Saudis, Musharraf and Mubarak. I didn't see the State Department complaining too much when a nineteen year old girl was given a prison sentence and 200 lashes for her role in her own gang-rape.

The Washington Post piece also mentions that the word 'Islamofascism' will not feature in these blog posts, as Muslims tend to interpret it to mean that their entire religion is fascist. That's not what the term means of course, but when almost every political and religious expression of Islam seems to exhibit sectarian and authoritarian tendencies it's an easy mistake to make. [Source: Blogging for Freedom]

Mark Alexander

For a Change, Something Wonderful, Something Uplifting!
Luciano and Celine: I Hate You Then I Love You
Mark Alexander

Berlin Faces Hurdles in Push to Get Business Out of Iran
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In an effort to forestall an American military strike against Iran, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for tougher economic sanctions against the mullah-controlled regime in Tehran. But critics say Merkel's plans are sketchy and difficult to implement, while experts disagree over their effectiveness.

The group of dignitaries from Tehran visiting Hamburg last Wednesday seemed noticeably pleased -- and it wasn't just the unseasonably warm weather. They had spent the morning attending a board meeting of the Iran-Europe Commercial Bank. The mood couldn't have been better.

The Iranian government bankers enjoyed the spectacular view from the bank's penthouse-level conference room as much as they did hearing its latest quarterly results. Indeed, before adjourning to the adjacent room for Persian delicacies, management reported the best results in the bank's history.

Even the representative from the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) seemed impressed. Now that all major German banks have given in to pressure from the United States government and stopped doing business in Iran, business is booming for the Hamburg-based Iranian bank. Its commercial loan portfolio, worth about €3 billion ($4.4 billion), is twice as large as it was last year.

Machinery exporters and trading companies have practically been lining up to move their business from their traditional German banks to the Iranian bank, despite the fact that the US Treasury Department has blacklisted Iran-Europe Commercial Bank, together with two other major Iranian banks, Bank Melli and Bank Saderat. Ironically, Iran's state-owned banks are among the few businesses that have actually benefited and managed to turn a profit from tighter international sanctions against Tehran. GERMANY INC. IN TEHRAN: Berlin Faces Hurdles in Push to Get Business Out of Iran (more)

Mark Alexander

Neues Drohvideo gegen Deutschland und Österreich ist ernstzunehmen
WELTONLINE: slamisten, die der Terrororganisation al-Qaida nahe stehen sollen, haben Deutschland und Österreich in einer Videobotschaft indirekt mit Anschlägen gedroht, falls sie ihre Soldaten nicht aus Afghanistan abziehen. Innenminister Wolfgang Schäuble rät, das Video ernstzunehmen.

Das dem Österreichischen Rundfunk (ORF) zugespielte Video richtet sich laut Angaben des Senders in erster Linie an die deutsche Bundesregierung. Nach Ansicht von Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) ist das Video ernstzunehmen. Es verändere aber nicht die Einschätzung der Sicherheitslage, sagte er am Dienstag am Rande der Herbsttagung des Bundeskriminalamts (BKA) in Wiesbaden. Neues Drohvideo gegen Deutschland aufgetaucht (mehr)

SPIEGELONLINE: Harsche Drohungen gegen Deutschland und Österreich: Die "Globale Islamische Medienfront" verkündet in einem neuen Video das Ende der "Schonzeit". Außerdem fordern die selbst ernannten Qaida-Sprecher die Freilassung ihrer verhafteten Anführer.

Berlin - Ein neues islamistisches Drohvideo ist dem Österreichischen Rundfunk (ORF) zugespielt worden. Darin werden Deutschland und Österreich dazu aufgefordert, ihre Soldaten aus Afghanistan abzuziehen. Außerdem wird die österreichische Regierung dazu aufgerufen, zwei in Wien inhaftierte Islamisten freizulassen - "sonst werdet ihr es bereuen". Neues Drohvideo gegen Deutschland und Österreich (mehr) Von Yassin Musharbash

Mark Alexander

Rumblings of Discontent in Spain
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A biting winter cold fills the Valley of the Fallen, a sprawling mausoleum to Spain's Civil War dead, carved out of granite rock.

Overhead, a towering 150-metre (492ft) cross casts a menacing shadow. But the chill is offset by an intense political heat.
"Viva Franco!" chants a large, mixed crowd. "One Spain, one flag! Immigrants out! Spain is Catholic, not Muslim!" Franco bill divides Spaniards (more) By Steve Kingstone

Mark Alexander

"We Will Not Surrender and We Will Not Retreat," Says M Sarkozy
Photo courtesy of Google Images
BBC: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to maintain his controversial economic reforms despite a second week of crippling industrial action.

He said the reforms were overdue and that they were necessary "to confront the challenges set by the world".

Hundreds of thousands of civil servants joined striking transport and energy workers on Tuesday over the proposals.

The 24-hour action is said to be the largest protest against Mr Sarkozy's reforms since he took power in May.

In his first comments since the stoppage began, Mr Sarkozy said: "These reforms have been put off for too long.

After so much hesitation, so much procrastination, so many U-turns, a complete break is now needed to stop the decline." Sarkozy undeterred amid strikes (more)

BBC:
Strike fever spreading in France By Alasdair Sandford

Mark Alexander

Islamofascist Threat: “We Don’t Want to Frighten the American People”
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Maintaining a high level of vigilance against a patient, stateless and often invisible enemy hiding behind a religion isn't easy, especially in politically correct Washington. One tireless watchdog is Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., who has founded the House Anti-Terrorism/Jihad Caucus to educate fellow lawmakers and Americans about militant Islam's long-term threat.

The diminutive yet feisty Myrick, a former Charlotte mayor and now deputy Republican whip, sat down with IBD to discuss the zeitgeist inside official Washington concerning the war on Islamic terror.

IBD: What persuaded you to start the Anti-Terrorism/Jihad Caucus, and what do you hope to accomplish?

Myrick: I decided to start the caucus out of a deep frustration, because President Bush does not talk to the American people about the long-term threat of radical Islamofascism infiltration in America. Since 9/11, I've tried to get the president and several members of his administration to talk to the American people about the dangerous enemy that we're facing. I took them all the materials I could find about what we did during World War II that were used to unite the American people. Everyone I spoke to said, "We do not want to frighten the American people."

I waited for someone else to start to educate the people, however, it did not seem to be happening. At that point, I sought to become educated on the matter. What I have learned is quite disturbing. I decided that if members of Congress were informed, they would have an opportunity to educate people in their districts. So I started the caucus and brought in three other co-chairs — Bud Cramer (D-Ala.), Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Jane Harman (D-Calif.).

We hope to start a dialogue with America. Until, and unless, we understand what we are fighting, we have no chance. We must inform the people, since it is evident they will have to protect their national sovereignty, because the government is not doing it. Congressional Paul Revere Warns Nation About Islamofascist Threat (more) By Paul Sperry

Mark Alexander

East of England Development Agency to Launch ‘Migrant Gateway’
THE GUARDIAN: People in Poland and Portugal thinking of coming to work in the east of England are being given the chance to find out more about the region and prepare for life there.

The Migrant Gateway website has been developed by the East of England Development Agency and will be launched next Monday at a TUC conference on ways to enable refugees and migrant workers to progress in the labour market.

The website has been developed to provide better information – one of the key recommendations in research carried out for the agency in 2005, which found that several companies in the east of England could not survive without the skills provided by migrant workers, yet many such workers have inadequate access to basic support, such as information on rights, childcare, finance and services.

Migrant workers in the east of England contribute £360m to the regional economy, according to EEDA. New website helps migrants prepare for life in England (more) By Jane Dudman

DAILY MAIL:
Number of failed asylum seekers deported from UK falls AGAIN

DAILY MAIL:
EU open-borders agreement threatens a 'wave of migration and crime' By Allan Hall

Mark Alexander

”Bush Would Be Truly Dangerous If He Could Do As He Wished. But He Can't”, Says Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Helmut Schmidt, the former German chancellor who initiated the US arms buildup against the Soviet during his term in office, considers the Russia of today less dangerous than the United States. This is as surprising as it is provocative.

Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt used to refer to journalists derisively as "highwaymen." There is a certain cruel irony in the fact that Schmidt himself is a journalist today, although members of the profession might be inclined to interpret this as a sign of its irresistibility. A man with his range of experience -- as a soldier, a cabinet minister and chancellor for almost eight years -- can expect that people will listen when he speaks. Of course, listening to Schmidt doesn't necessarily mean agreeing with him, at least not automatically. Even former chancellors can be wrong or guilty of exaggeration, especially when they address us as journalists. And being wrong or exaggerating isn't exactly unheard of in journalism.

"I do not believe that someone who disagrees with me should be criticized for that reason alone," Schmidt said at a ceremony to celebrate his 85th birthday in 2003. And he added: "But he must be criticized if he states an opinion that is not real." Let us subject the various opinions to a reality test. Schmidt says: "Russia poses far less of a threat to world peace today than, for example, the United States. You can go ahead and print that." These were the words Schmidt uttered in an interview with his own paper, the weekly Die Zeit. He also said that although he does not see Russian President Vladimir Putin as a flawless democrat, he does consider him an "enlightened potentate."

But why are the Americans more dangerous than the Russians? Why should we be more afraid of the cradle of democracy than of a potentate, no matter how "enlightened" Schmidt says he is. And is it even relevant whether the censor is educated, disadvantaged, harsh or amiable? What is important, however, is that the censor engages in censorship, while the potentate gives arbitrariness free rein. How Dangerous Is America? (more) By Gabor Steingart

Mark Alexander

Churchill’s Great-Grandson Brings Shame on Family Name
THE GUARDIAN: A great-grandson of the former British prime minister Winston Churchill pleaded guilty today to taking part in a multimillion-dollar ecstasy racket.

Australian police arrested Nicholas Jake Barton at his home in Sydney in June last year during a series of raids in which officers seized 250,000 ecstasy tablets worth around A$15m (£6.5m).

The 33-year-old, who is the son of James Barton and Arabella Spencer Churchill, pleaded guilty before a Sydney court to knowingly taking part in the supply of a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug. Churchill great-grandson admits drugs charge (more)

THE TELEGRAPH:
Churchill's relative facing jail on drug charge By Nick Squires

Mark Alexander

France Paralysed by Strikes
· Teachers and postal staff protest at job cuts and pay
· President firm over reform as transport chaos goes on

THE GUARDIAN: President Nicolas Sarkozy faces a crucial test of his nerve today as a transport strike continues into its seventh day of commuter chaos, and civil servants stage a walkout that could see up to half of France's schools closed and disrupt air traffic control, the postal service and even weather forecasts.

France's rail and bus strike is continuing despite trade union leaders agreeing to begin talks with the government and state employers tomorrow. They are protesting at plans to change special pensions deals which allow certain workers to retire as young as 50 on favourable terms.

But the strike has been prolonged to overlap with Sarkozy's latest industrial headache: an unrelated 24-hour stoppage by public sector workers, including teachers, hospital staff and postal workers. State employees from defence ministry secretaries to weather office staff will stop work in protest at low salaries and public sector job cuts. But the president is said to be standing firm on his modernising agenda, in the face of a "black November" of protests against his reforms.

Sarkozy's senior adviser on industrial relations, Raymond Soubie, insisted that this week's snowballing strikes were not the president's "Thatcher moment". He said the transport workers' pension deals would be reformed, but added: "Sarkozy has not wanted to force it through à la Thatcher, but through dialogue." Striking civil servants turn heat on Sarkozy (more) By Angelique Chrisafis

BBC:
Huge new strike paralyses France

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
French strike action spreads

FINANCIAL TIMES:
French strikes widen as civil servants walk out

Mark Alexander

Nervosität an der Schweizer Börse
NZZ: Die positiven Vorgaben aus Fernost haben der Schweizer Börse am Dienstag nur kurz Auftrieb gegeben. Im frühen Handel tendierten die Kurse zunächst etwas fester, die Gewinne schmolzen aber rasch wieder dahin. Kurz vor Mittag lag der Leitindex SMI leicht im Plus. Nervosität an der Schweizer Börse: Stimmung bleibt schlecht – Finanztitel erneut unter Druck

Mark Alexander

Christian Group Tries to Prosecute for Blasphemous Libel
THE GUARDIAN: A Christian group trying to prosecute the producer and broadcaster of Jerry Springer - The Opera under blasphemy laws will take its case to the high court in London today.

Christian Voice wants to bring a case against Mark Thompson, the director general of the BBC, and Jonathan Thoday, producer of the award-winning musical, for blasphemous libel, but was refused permission by City of Westminster magistrates court. The group is hoping to launch what would be only the third prosecution in more than 80 years for an offence which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The last successful prosecution was brought by Mary Whitehouse in 1977 against Gay News for publishing a poem, The Love that Dares to Speak its Name, about a Roman soldier's homosexual love for Christ. The human rights group Liberty, which has been allowed to intervene in the high court judicial review, says the law is outdated and argues that free speech rights must protect sacred, profane and secular language alike. Christians seek right to sue BBCf or blasphemy (more) By Clare Dyer

THE TELEGRAPH:
Jerry Springer opera puts blasphemy in dock By Jonathan Petre

Mark Alexander

Pope to Purge Modern Music
Photo of Pope Benedict XVI courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The Pope is considering a dramatic overhaul of the Vatican in order to force a return to traditional sacred music.

After reintroducing the Latin Tridentine Mass, the Pope wants to widen the use of Gregorian chant and baroque sacred music.

In an address to the bishops and priests of St Peter's Basilica, he said that there needed to be "continuity with tradition" in their prayers and music.

He referred pointedly to "the time of St Gregory the Great", the pope who gave his name to Gregorian chant.

Gregorian chant has been reinstituted as the primary form of singing by the new choir director of St Peter's, Father Pierre Paul. Pope to purge the Vatican of modern music (more) By Malcolm Moore

Why the Pope is right to purge modern music By Damian Thompson

Holy Smoke By Damian Thompson

Mark Alexander

Chávez berief sich zweimal auf Jesus Christus vom dem saudischen König Abdullah
In Saudi-Arabien sind christliche Bekundungen in der Öffentlichkeit verboten. Doch Venezuelas Präsident Hugo Chavez liebt Provokationen. Seine neueste: Bei seiner Eröffnungsrede auf dem OPEC-Gipfel am Wochenende bekreuzigte er sich vor dem saudischen König Abdullah.

In Saudi-Arabien, wo der Islam Staatsreligion ist, sind nichtislamische religiöse Bekundungen in der Öffentlichkeit verboten. Der saudische König trägt auch den Titel "Diener der zwei heiligen Moscheen", weil in seinem Land die heiligen Stätten von Mekka und Medina liegen. 
In seiner Rede berief sich Chavez dann auch noch zweimal auf Jesus Christus. Tabubruch: Chavez bekreuzigt sich vor König Abdullah

Mark Alexander

Hollywood Gives Jesus Christ a Multi-Culti Makeover
THE GUARDIAN: Film based on Aquarian Gospel to cover years left out of New Testament

Hollywood is to fill in the Bible's "missing years" with a story about Jesus as a wandering mystic who travelled across India, living in Buddhist monasteries and speaking out against the iniquities of the country's caste system.

Film producers have delved deep into revisionist scholarship to piece together what they say was Jesus's life between the ages of 13 and 30, a period untouched by the recognised gospels.

The result is the Aquarian Gospel, a $20m movie, which portrays Jesus as a holy man and teacher inspired by a myriad of eastern religions in India. The Aquarian Gospel takes its name from a century-old book that examined Christianity's eastern roots and is in its 53rd reprint. Hollywood takes action hero Jesus to India (more) By Randeep Ramesh

Mark Alexander

The Crash of 1987: Precisely Twenty Years Ago


Mark Alexander

Bushonomics!
Image courtesy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
BBC: The euro has hit a fresh high against the dollar, as negative views of the US economic outlook continue to take their toll on the US currency.

A steady sell-off of the dollar meant that one euro was worth $1.4571 at one point, while the pound hit $2.09 for the first time since the 1980s.

A steady stream of bad news coming from the US mortgage sector has sparked fears for the health of the economy.

These fears have prompted investors to sell dollars and buy euros or pounds. Euro climbs to fresh dollar peak (more)

Mark Alexander

Portugal - Oporto: Europe’s Tallest Christmas Tree
WATCH TELEGRAPH TV: Europe’s Tallest Christmas Tree is Lit
Mark Alexander

Shirin Ebadi Criticises Iran’s Nuclear Policy
Photo of Shirin Ebadi courtesy of Google Images
BBC: Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi has called on Iran to suspend its controversial nuclear work to avert what she says is a mounting threat of war with the US.

"Using nuclear energy is every nation's right, but we have obvious other rights including security, peace and welfare," she told a press conference.

Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Ms Ebadi won the Nobel peace prize in 2003.

Criticism of Iran's nuclear policy is rare in the Islamic Republic.

Correspondents say Ms Ebadi's comments represent an unusually explicit condemnation of the government's entrenched policy at a time of mounting tension with western powers.

"We can hear the evil sounds of war drums, however far away.
We don't like it but there is probability of war," she said.

"In the past 30 years there has been a revolution and eight years of war. People are tired and want peace and quiet to lead their lives." Iran nuclear work 'not worth war' (more)

Mark Alexander

West Midlands Police and Crown Prosecution Services Rebuffed by Ofcom over Dispatches Documentary
BBC: Media regulator Ofcom has rejected police claims that a Channel 4 programme was distorted.

The programme, Dispatches, tackled claims of Islamic extremism and featured preachers at various mosques.

West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service said the programme was heavily edited and distorted what the preachers were saying.

But Ofcom said it found no evidence the broadcast, Undercover Mosque, had misled its audience.

In a statement it said the one-hour documentary shown in January, was a legitimate investigation, uncovering matters of important public interest. Mosque programme claims rejected (more)

WATCH TELEGRAPH TV:
Video on ‘Undercover Mosque’

WATCH DOCUMENTARY HERE:
Dispatches: Undercover Mosque

Mark Alexander

Global Warming?
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Dozens of ski resorts across the Alps have begun running their lifts after unprecedented levels of snow this month.

Some parts have had the most snow in November since 1956.

Last winter was a bad season for the multi-million pound ski industry and there were real fears that some resorts might go out of business due to a lack of snow.

But the ski industry is now breathing a collective sigh of relief as bookings are picking up for the all-important Christmas period.

Many villages and towns in the Alps rely on skiing for up to 80% of their income.

Last December the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that some resorts could become unviable due to climate change.

It said resorts under 1,500m (4921ft) should focus on other activities.

Huge snow storm

Last week, though, a massive storm dumped over 1m (3ft 3in) on parts of the Eastern Alps and then it spread west. Early snows boost Alpine ski resorts (more) By James Cove

Mark Alexander

King Juan Carlos’ “Shut Up” Comment to Chávez Becomes Ring Tone Hit
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: The king of Spain's recent undiplomatic outburst at the Venezuelan president has become a ringtone hit across Spain.

An estimated 500,000 people have downloaded the insult featuring the words "Why don't you shut up?", generating a reported 1.5m euros ($2m).

King Juan Carlos asked Hugo Chavez to "shut up" at a summit in Chile last week after the president said Spain's ex-PM Jose Maria Aznar was a "fascist".

Branded mugs, t-shirts and websites featuring the row are also profitable.

In Venezuela, a group of students who oppose Mr Chavez's government have also been downloading the ringtone, a US newspaper reported.

"It's a form of protest," a 21-year-old student in Caracas told the Miami Herald. "It's something that a lot of people would like to tell the president."

Companies selling the ringtones have avoided legal problems concerning breach of the king's image rights by using an actor to voice the line. 'Shut up' Chavez is ringtone hit (more)

Mark Alexander

Ahmadinejad: The Dollar “Is a Worthless Piece of Paper”
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has suggested an end to the trading of oil in US dollars, calling the currency "a worthless piece of paper".

The call came at the end of a rare Opec summit, and was opposed by US ally Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian president had wanted to include the attack on the dollar in the summit's closing statement.

The communique made little mention of the dollar, however, focusing instead on energy security and the environment. Iran leader dismisses US currency (more)

BBC:
Dollar continues near record lows

Mark Alexander

Ahmadinedschad macht sich über den Dollar lustig
SPIEGELONLINE: Der Dollar schwächelt. Die Opec-Staaten Iran und Venezuela, nicht gerade Freunde der USA, würden Erdöl daher künftig lieber in anderen Währungen als dem Dollar abrechnen. Irans Präsident Ahmadinedschad sagte, man würde für wertvolles Öl nur noch "wertloses Papier" von den USA bekommen.

Hamburg - "Sie kriegen unser Öl und sie geben uns dafür ein wertloses Stück Papier", sagte Irans Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad am Rande der Opec-Konferenz im saudi-arabischen Riad, wie die "Financial Times" berichtet. Iran und Venezuela drängen die Opec-Staaten, die Abrechnung von Öl in der US-Währung zu beenden und eine andere Währung zu nutzen. Gastgeber Saudi-Arabien weist diese Forderung zurück und will die Währungsfrage nicht zum Thema der Konferenz machen. Ahmadinedschad macht sich über den Dollar lustig (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Pakistan: Imran Khan droht mit Hungerstreik bis zum Tod
WELTONLINE: Der ehemalige Kricket-Star sitzt im Gefängnis und fordert die Wiedereinsetzung der von Präsident Musharraf entlassenen Richter. Der General hatte mehrere hohe Juristen durch ihm loyale Personen ersetzt. Dagegen protestiert Khan – und setzt sein Leben aufs Spiel.

Fünf Tage nach seiner Festnahme im ostpakistanischen Lahore hat der frühere Kricket-Star und jetzige Oppositionspolitiker Imran Khan einen Hungerstreik begonnen. Khans Sprecher Hafizullah Niazi sagte dem Nachrichtensender Aaj nach einem Besuch im Gefängnis, der Oppositionspolitiker fordere die Wiedereinsetzung der von Präsident Pervez Musharraf entlassenen Verfassungsrichter. Andernfalls werde er „bis zum Tode“ keine Nahrung mehr zu sich nehmen. Imran Khan droht mit Hungerstreik bis zum Tod (mehr)

THE TELEGRAPH:
Imran Khan on hunger strike in prison By Richard Holt and Duncan Hooper

Mark Alexander

Saudi Arabia: Rape Victim’s Lawyer Refuses to Give in
Photo of Saudi Lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, courtesy of Arab News
ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH, 19 November 2007 — The lawyer representing a Saudi rape victim in Qatif has criticized the second ruling issued by the Kingdom’s Higher Court of Justice doubling the woman’s punishment to 200 lashes and six months in jail, saying that the ruling “sums up the major problems that the Saudi judiciary faces.”

Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, 36, also criticized the General Court in Qatif for confiscating his license to practice law. On Wednesday the Qatif General Court announced the Higher Court of Justice’s verdict. Al-Lahem had previously asked the Ministry of Justice and the Human Rights Commission to review the first ruling issued by the General Court in Qatif, which had ordered the rape victim be given 90 lashes.

“Basic Islamic law states that an appeal shall not harm the person appealing,” said Al-Lahem, adding that lodging an appeal is the right of anyone accused of a crime and something crucial for a just trial. “Once this rule is ignored, then people who appeal verdicts are only left terrorized. From now on people will be apprehensive to appeal fearing they might be punished or have their sentences doubled. That’s exactly what’s happened to the rape victim, who only wanted justice,” he said. Rape Victim’s Lawyer Refuses to Give In (more) By Ebtihal Mubarak

Mark Alexander

Muslims in Antwerp Want a Ban on Christmas Trees and Easter Eggs
Hat tip to Anti Dhimmi 321 for this:

EXPATICA: ANTWERP – "If headscarves are banned for employees who work at the desk at city services in order to guarantee neutrality of services, then we demand that no Christmas trees be set up in city buildings and that no Easter eggs be given out." Antwerp trade union representative Badia Miri said this on Wednesday [back in August] in the Gazet van Antwerpen.

Miri is one of the seven Muslim women who were forced to remove their headscarves if they wanted to continue working at the desk. Three of the seven staff members of the city of Antwerp who wore headscarves agreed to stop wearing one. Different positions - not involving contact with the public - were found for the others. No one was dismissed. There is still opposition to the dress code however, which came into effect in March. The seven Muslim women are now urging that "neutrality of service provision be actually enforced." Muslims want ban on Easter eggs

Mark Alexander

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
Photo of ‘Red Ken’ courtesy of the Daily Mail
Read the full story: Turban-charged Ken defends spending £740,000 of public money on trip to India

Mark Alexander

Arab States Talk of Revaluation
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: GULF states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, could revalue their currencies while maintaining their pegs to the US dollar.

Such a move would probably have the effect of further undermining faith in the flagging greenback and perhaps prompt Asian nations also to consider unhooking their currencies from the dollar.

The Arab states may revalue by an unspecified amount in as soon as a month, a well-placed source - who declined to be identified because the matter was confidential - said on Saturday. No decision had been made on whether to revalue, he said.

The comments came as heads of state of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries began a summit meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Gulf states are facing record inflation, caused partly by the weakening dollar which has made imports from Europe more expensive. Consumer prices rose a record 4.9 per cent in Saudi Arabia in August while inflation in the UAE increased to a record 9.3 per cent last year. Qatar has the highest inflation in the region, reaching 14.8 per cent.

"It makes sense for them to do it," said Jens Nordvig, senior global markets economist at Goldman Sachs in New York. "Given the emerging inflation pressures, there are very good reasons for them to allow currency appreciation." Arab states talk of revaluation (more) By Matthew Brown and Anchalee Worrachate

Mark Alexander

Our Demoralised Forces
THE TELEGRAPH: The head of the Army has warned that years of Government under-funding and overstretch have left troops feeling "devalued, angry and suffering from Iraq fatigue", The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff, reveals in a top-level report that the present level of operations is "unsustainable", the Army is "under-manned" and increasing numbers of troops are "disillusioned" with service life.

Gen Dannatt states that the "military covenant is clearly out of kilter", and the chain of command needs to improve standards of pay, accommodation and medical care. Our forces can't carry on like this, says General Sir Richard Dannatt (more) By Sean Rayment

Mark Alexander

Tutu Chides Church Over Stance on Homosexuality
Photo of Archbishop Desmond Tutu courtesy of the BBC
BBC: South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised the Anglican Church and its leadership for its attitudes towards homosexuality.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had failed to demonstrate that God is "welcoming".

He also repeated accusations that the Church was "obsessed" with the issue of gay priests.

He said it should rather be focusing on global problems such as Aids.

"Our world is facing problems - poverty, HIV and Aids - a devastating pandemic, and conflict," said Archbishop Tutu, 76.

"God must be weeping looking at some of the atrocities that we commit against one another.

"In the face of all of that, our Church, especially the Anglican Church, at this time is almost obsessed with questions of human sexuality."

Criticising Dr Williams, he said: "Why doesn't he demonstrate a particular attribute of God's which is that God is a welcoming God." Tutu chides Church for gay stance (more)

Mark Alexander

The War to Defend the Free World
THE SPECTATOR - MELANIE PHILLIPS: The government’s position on combating Islamist extremism now ranges from the farcical to the dangerously flawed. First we had the spectacle of the security minister, Admiral Lord West, saying he didn’t see the need for more than 28 days’ detention before charge for terrorism suspects and then, an hour later, being forced to say that he did. I’m sure that makes us all feel a lot more secure. Then there was Gordon Brown’s statement on beefing up security and dealing with Islamist extremism. In a withering commentary in yesterday’s Telegraph, Michael Burleigh pointed out that the sensible things the Prime Minister said were staggeringly overdue and anyway largely filched from the Tories, while there was still an alarming absence of substance and an even more alarming failure to distinguish between Islamist extremism and those trying to draw attention to its dangers:

Mr Brown also intimated that he will be seeking to persuade senior media figures to tone down reporting that allegedly gives rise to ‘Islamophobia’. This is sinister, especially since it will not be accompanied by attempts to inhibit the expressions of hatred or disgust that Muslims direct at Western society. Nor did Mr Brown have anything to say about organisations such as Hizb-ut Tahrir -- which function as sectarian totalitarian parties bent on dominating institutions they manage to infiltrate -- beyond the pathetic assurance that they would not receive grants from local authorities.

‘Hearts and minds’ cuts two ways. It is not just up to us to avoid giving egregious offence to Muslims. There was nothing in Brown's speech about the plans to build a 25,000-capacity mega-mosque near the 2012 Olympic stadium in West Ham, which is intended to serve as a Muslim quarter for athletes and spectators during the Games, in flagrant violation of everythin the Olympic Games represent. And no categorical rebuttal of insidious attempts by Islamists to introduce Sharia courts, thereby sanctioning what would amount to exclaves outside the law.

What seems to be happening is that the government is adopting some sensible policies on beefing up physical security but is going completely wrong over how to combat the ideas driving the terror. Its ‘hearts and minds’ policy – on which the fingerprints of the security service are clearly visible -- appears to be promoting a kind of twin track approach: tough measures against Islamic extremism while encouraging ‘moderate’ Islam. But the first part of this seems ineffectual, while the second seems to be merely another variation on the disastrous existing strategy of trying to buy off Muslim rage by adopting what is actually an Islamist agenda without the violence. It is beyond depressing that the Prime Minister actually praised the

recent remarkable letter by 138 Muslim scholars from a diversity of traditions within Islam, which paid tribute to the common roots of Islam, Christianity and Judaism and called for deeper dialogue. The War to Defend the Free World (more)

Mark Alexander