Saeed Jalili Pushes Nuclear Talks Back to Square 1
Photo of Saeed Jalili courtesy of the New York Times
NEW YORK TIMES: PARIS, Dec. 1 — In a sign that Iran has hardened its position on its nuclear program, its new nuclear negotiator said in talks in London on Friday that all proposals made in past negotiations were irrelevant and that further discussion of a curb on Iran’s uranium enrichment was unnecessary, senior officials briefed on the meeting said.

The Iranian official, Saeed Jalili, also told Javier Solana, who represented the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany in the five-hour talks, that United Nations Security Council resolutions punishing Iran for not suspending its enriched uranium activities were illegal, the officials said.

Representatives of the six countries met in Paris on Saturday afternoon to discuss further punitive Security Council measures against Iran after the final talks in London failed to produce a breakthrough. Iranian Pushes Nuclear Talks Back to Square 1 >>> By Elaine Sciolino

Mark Alexander

’Who Is Sleeping With Whom?’ – The Real Story in Washington!
THE SUNDAY TIMES: IT SHOULD have been Condoleezza Rice’s finest hour as US secretary of state: at last President George W Bush was hosting a Middle East peace conference that she had been struggling to organise for months.

Yet when Rice’s photograph appeared on the front page of America’s bestselling weekly newspaper last week, it had nothing to do with her peacemaking efforts. She had been dragged into a National Enquirer article headlined “Who’s Gay and Who’s Not”.

The article revived long-standing Washington gossip about Rice’s sexuality and sparked off the usual flurry of internet chatter about her high-profile role in a Republican administration widely regarded as hostile to gays.

It also underlined the increasing friction in American politics between a high-minded media establishment disdainful of bedroom gossip and the no-holds-barred, consumer-driven world of instant internet scandal. A Google search of the words “Condoleezza” and “lesbian” last week yielded 146,000 hits. Gay rumours eclipse Condi’s glory moment >>> By Tony Allen-Mills

Mark Alexander

Watch Out! The American Government Might Be After YOU!
THE SUNDAY TIMES: AMERICA has told Britain that it can “kidnap” British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States.

A senior lawyer for the American government has told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it.

The admission will alarm the British business community after the case of the so-called NatWest Three, bankers who were extradited to America on fraud charges. More than a dozen other British executives, including senior managers at British Airways and BAE Systems, are under investigation by the US authorities and could face criminal charges in America.

Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the “extraordinary rendition” of terrorist suspects.

The American government has for the first time made it clear in a British court that the law applies to anyone, British or otherwise, suspected of a crime by Washington. US says it has right to kidnap British citizens >>> By David Leppard

Mark Alexander

Belgium’s Survival in Question
THE OBSERVER: Divisions deepen in nation at the heart of Europe

Belgium's chances of surviving as a single country suffered a significant blow last night when the man tipped to be the next Prime Minister abandoned almost six months of bad-tempered wrangling over a new government and threw in the towel.

Yves Leterme, the Flemish Christian Democrat leader who emerged strongest from general elections in June, went to the royal palace in Brussels to tell King Albert he had had enough.

The King accepted Leterme's resignation, but left open the key question of what happens next in the effort to secure a consensus between the country's bitterly divided Dutch-speaking Flemish and francophone Walloon communities. Belgium's survival in question as 'next PM' quits the battle >>> By Ian Traynor in Brussels

Mark Alexander

So the Politicians Have Let It Come to This: The Royal Navy Can No Longer Fight a Major War!
"We have come all the way from Lord Nelson to a part-time defence secretary, with the consequence that the Royal Navy now finds itself in the most degenerated state in which it has ever been. Labour has done what none of this countries' enemies have been able to do: bring the Navy to its knees." - Liam Fox, the shadow Tory defence secretary

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Royal Navy can no longer fight a major war because of years of under­funding and cutbacks, a leaked Whitehall report has revealed.

With an "under-resourced" fleet composed of "ageing and operationally defective ships", the Navy would struggle even to repeat its role in the Iraq war and is now "far more vulnerable to unexpected shocks", the top-level Ministry of Defence document says.

The report was ordered by Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, who had intended to use it to "counter criticism" on the state of the Navy in the media and from opposition parties.

But in a damning conclusion, the report states: "The current material state of the fleet is not good; the Royal Navy would be challenged to mount a medium-scale operation in accordance with current policy against a technologically capable adversary." A medium-scale operation is similar to the naval involvement in the Iraq War.

The document adds that the Navy is too "thinly stretched", its fighting capability is being "eroded" and the fleet's ability to influence events at the strategic level is "under threat". Navy would struggle to fight a war – report >>>

Mark Alexander

In Putins Rußland wird heute gewählt
NZZ: In Russland haben unter strengsten Sicherheitsvorkehrungen die Parlamentswahlen begonnen. Da sich das grösste Land der Erde über elf Zeitzonen erstreckt, öffneten die ersten Wahllokale im Fernen Osten am Samstagabend mitteleuropäischer Zeit (MEZ).

(sda/dpa) In Russland wird heute Sonntag ein neues Parlament gewählt. In dem flächenmässig grössten Land der Erde sind rund 107 Millionen Wahlberechtigte zur Stimmabgabe aufgerufen. Die ersten Ergebnisse werden in der Nacht auf Montag erwartet. Im Fernen Osten Russlands haben die ersten Wahllokale des Landes nach mitteleuropäischer Zeit (MEZ) bereits am Samstag um 21 Uhr geöffnet, da sich Russland über elf Zeitzonen erstreckt. Die Stimmabgabe endet am Sonntagabend in der Exklave Kaliningrad um 19 Uhr (MEZ). Ruhiger Auftakt zu den russischen Wahlen: Sieg von Putins Partei «Geeintes Russland» gilt als sicher >>>

NZZ:
Wahl mit vorgefertigtem Resultat: Wiktor Scheinis, einer der Schöpfer der russischen Verfassung, über Putins Herrschaft

NZZ:
Russisches Biedermeier: Statt Demokratisierung steht für die Mittelschicht der Konsum im Vordergrund

Mark Alexander

Muslim Peers Visit Gillian Gibbons
Photos of Baroness Warsi amd Lord Ahmed courtesy of the BBC
Whilst I appreciate the efforts made by these peers to bring about the release of Gillian Gibbons, I would like to ask the following question: What on earth could these two young peers have done to deserve the titles ‘baron’ and ‘baroness’? Mrs Thatcher had to work all her life to become ‘Baroness Thatcher’, and even spend years in No. 10, cleaning up Britain. How do these youngsters compare? Or is this political correctness talking again? I should lke to add that it seems infinitely easier these days to get a title if one is an immigrant than if one is a member of the indigenous population of centuries’ standing! Further, does being a ‘lord’, ‘lady’, ‘baron’ or ‘baroness’ mean anything anymore?

BBC: Two British Muslim peers have met the UK teacher jailed for 15 days in Sudan for insulting Islam by allowing her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Labour's Lord Ahmed and Tory Baroness Warsi reported that Gillian Gibbons, 54, of Liverpool, was comfortable and safe in a secret location in Khartoum.

Lord Ahmed said they had met Sudanese ministers and advisers and hope to meet the president in the next 24 hours.
Mrs Gibbons's defence team is confident she will be pardoned by the president. UK peers visit teddy row teacher >>>

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Peers attempt to free teacher

Mark Alexander

Christian Leaders Go A-Grovelling!
KHALEEJ TIMES ONLINE: ABU DHABI—Peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians stand as one of the central challenges of this century, according to leading Christian leaders.

Responding to an open letter in October signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars, clerics, and intellectuals from around the world, the Christian leaders also asked the Muslim world for forgiveness “We want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the “war on terror”) many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbours. Before we “shake your hand” in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world”, they said in the letter which was made available to the press here yesterday.

Following is the full text of the letter:

As members of the worldwide Christian community, we were deeply encouraged and challenged by the recent historic open letter signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars, clerics, and intellectuals from around the world. A Common Word Between Us and You identifies some core common ground between Christianity and Islam which lies at the heart of our respective faiths as well as at the heart of the most ancient Abrahamic faith, Judaism. Jesus Christ’s call to love God and neighbour was rooted in the divine revelation to the people of Israel embodied in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). We receive the open letter as a Muslim hand of conviviality and cooperation extended to Christians worldwide. In this response we extend our own Christian hand in return, so that together with all other human beings we may live in peace and justice as we seek to love God and our neighbours.

Muslims and Christians have not always shaken hands in friendship; their relations have sometimes been tense, even characterized by outright hostility. Since Jesus Christ says, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye” (Matthew 7:5), we want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the “war on terror”) many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbours. Before we “shake your hand” in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world.
Christian leaders ask for Muslim forgiveness >>>

Hat tip: Robert Spencer

Mark Alexander

Inmates Studying al-Qaeda Manual
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: ISLAMIC extremists are using an al-Qaeda training manual to give them instructions for taking over the state's toughest jails, prison authorities have alleged.

Up to 40 inmates had established an internal organisational structure to maintain morale, resist interrogation and recruit members to Islam.

The prisoners had set up leadership groups in several maximum-security jails, with their activities governed by the code outlined in the al-Qaeda manual for incarcerated followers.

A number of Corrective Services staff have been targeted, some with violent threats by inmate groups. Other staff have been singled out for conversion to Islam. >>> By Heath Gilmore

Mark Alexander

Rejection for Islamic School
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: A SYDNEY council is set to reject a proposed Islamic college as tension about religious educational facilities escalates across the city.

Bankstown City Council will determine the development application for the 1200-student Al Amanah Islamic College at Bass Hill on Tuesday night.

Nearly 2500 submissions were received from residents - 1829 against, 649 in support. >>> By Heath Gilmore

Mark Alexander

Mohammed the Bear
”Hello! My name’s Mohammed. I’m so pleased to meet you. I’m looking for a good home for Christmas. Please buy me. I’m soft and cuddly and ever so loving." - ©Mark
Order your cute, cuddly little teddy today! A steal @ $17.99! (Please note: There's nothing in it for me!)

Mark Alexander

Mohammed, der Teddybär
DIE ZEIT: Eine britische Lehrerin wurde in Sudan zu Haft verurteilt, weil Schüler ein Plüschtier nach dem Propheten benannt haben. Das Ganze erinnert fatal an den Karikaturenstreit.

Stein des Anstoßes ist ein kleiner Teddy mit Knopfaugen. Weil eine britische Lehrerin ihren Schülern erlaubt hatte, dem Stofftier den Namen "Mohammed" zu geben, wurde sie am Donnerstag von einem Gericht im Sudan zu 15 Tagen Haft verurteilt. Die britische Regierung hatte zuvor noch den sudanesischen Botschafter einbestellt und dazu aufgerufen, "gesunden Menschenverstand" walten zu lassen.

Die Auseinandersetzung birgt eine explosive Mischung und ruft Erinnerungen an den Karikaturenstreit wach, der in der islamischen Welt vor knapp zwei Jahren zu Protesten mit Todesfolge geführt hatte. >>>

Mark Alexander

Kunstfreiheit: Muslim-Proteste: Autorin gibt auf
DIE ZEIT: Die Schriftstellerin Taslima Nasreen wird seit Jahren wegen islamkritischer Textpassagen verfolgt. Nun lässt sie kontroverse Zeilen aus ihrem Buch "Dwikhandita" streichen.

Nach Protesten aufgebrachter Muslime in ihrem indischen Exil will die aus Bangladesch stammende Autorin Taslima Nasreen umstrittene Passagen aus einem ihrer Bücher herausnehmen. "Ich ziehe bestimmte kontroverse Zeilen aus "Dwikhandita" (Zweigeteilt) zurück", zitierte die indische Nachrichtenagentur PTI die Schriftstellerin. "Ich hatte nicht die Absicht, Gefühle zu verletzten." In der nächsten Auflage des 2002 erschienenen Buches würden die entsprechenden Passagen entfernt. Sie hoffe, dass sie danach friedlich in Indien leben könne.

Bei gewalttätigen Demonstrationen in der vergangenen Woche hatten Muslime in Nasreens Wahlheimat Kalkutta gefordert, Nasreens Indien-Visum für ungültig zu erklären. Seitdem steht die Autorin unter dem Schutz der indischen Bundesregierung, die sie an einem unbekannten Ort nahe der indischen Hauptstadt Neu Delhi untergebracht hat. Die 45-Jährige hat mehrfach erklärt, sie würde gerne dauerhaft in der Kulturmetropole Kalkutta - der Hauptstadt des Bundesstaats West-Bengalens - leben. Sie hat die indische Regierung um Bleiberecht gebeten und bemüht sich um die indische Staatsbürgerschaft. Regierung verbietet Buch >>>

Mark Alexander

’The Religion of Perpetual Outrage’, the Sudan, 'Muhammad the Teddy Bear' and All That *%#@


Mark Alexander

”No One Lives Who Insults the Prophet!” More than 1,000 Demonstrating Barbarians Called for Gillian Gibbons to Be Shot or Stabbed!
If anyone has been fooled in the past by the nonsense ‘Islam is a religion of peace’ slogan, then let him be fooled no longer. Islam is anything but a ‘religion of love’. Islam is a cruel religion, a religion of killing and violence and hatred and vengeance. So what’s ‘godly’ about that?

Islam is a religion intent on imposing its will, and taking over the world by means of the Jihad. Many people must be rueing the fact that so many people with such barbaric views have been allowed to come and live in Western countries. Having so many people ready to fight and demonstrate in the cause of their religion bodes ill for the future of peace and security at home. How long will it be before we see such violent demonstrations on the streets of the West? Fie on the weak and snivelling politicians for endangering our own peaceful existence! - ©Mark

· Militants besiege British diplomatic compound
· Foreign Office believed she would be acquitted

THE GUARDIAN: Carrying swords and machetes and waving green Islamic flags, protesters marched through the streets of Khartoum yesterday demanding the execution of British teacher Gillian Gibbons. "No one lives who insults the prophet," read one of the banners outside the British embassy.

More than 1,000 Muslim demonstrators in the Sudanese capital called for her to be shot or stabbed for insulting Islam after her pupils called a teddy bear Muhammad.

Gibbons, 54, of Liverpool, was sentenced on Thursday night to 15 days in jail followed by deportation in a case that has attracted international condemnation.

Last night she was moved from the women's prison where she was being held to a secret location across the Nile for her own safety. Sword-waving protesters call for death of teacher who named a bear Muhammad >>> By Xan Rice in Nairobi and Andrew Heavens in Khartoum

DAILY MAIL:
'I still cannot believe this is happening,' says teddy bear teacher as mob bays for her blood By David Williams and Christian Gysin

Mark Alexander

Justice Shari’ah-Style
DAILY MAIL: When a teenage girl was gang raped in Saudi Arabia,a court sentenced HER to 90 lashes. After she complained,it was increased to 200. Now, the victim speaks for the first time...

She was only 19 and a new bride when it happened.

Seven men held her at knifepoint and, for a number of hours, she was subjected to a horrific gang rape.

But when she later went to the authorities, they sentenced her to 90 lashes.

She complained in the media, so the punishment was increased to 200 lashes and imprisonment.

Her lawyer has been suspended for speaking out against it.

Too outlandish to be true? Well, these are the bare facts of the so- called "Qatif girl" case, which has become a cause celebre among Western liberals and in Saudi Arabia, the West's most important Middle Eastern ally.

Earlier this week, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, declared that what had happened was, indeed, an "outrage".

But he did not mean that the rape victim had suffered a gross injustice.

No, only that criticism of his country was a foreign conspiracy.

The plight of the anonymous victim has served to cast an embarrassing light on one of the world's most authoritarian and oppressive regimes.

Specifically, it has exposed the power of a judicial system based on the Sharia law of the extreme Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam and its appalling treatment of women and persecution of religious minorities.

International pressure to clear the young woman is growing.

Now, as one Saudi judge who might well hear her latest appeal declares that she should have been sentenced to death, the victim's voice has been heard in public for the first time.

The pressure group Human Rights Watch has just released a transcript of an interview which the Qatif girl gave to one of its workers.

Her account reveals the horrific details of the original ordeal and how, having gone to the police, she was abused and demonised by the Saudi judicial system. My harrowing story, by the teenage girl who was sentenced to 200 lashes after being gang raped in Saudi Arabia >>> By Richard Pendlebury

Mark Alexander

Scrap ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Gay Policy, Say Retired US Generals
Photo of General Peter Pace courtesy of Google Images
"I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way." - General Peter Pace

What’s the message here? Discrimination is strictly off-limits for race, colour, or creed, but discrimination against someone with a different sexual orientation is just dandy? Doesn't it also say that some people are born “immoral”, regardless of how they conduct themselves? Isn't there a presumption here that all homosexuals are promiscuous and that all heterosexuals are paragons of moral rectitude? How unenlightened General Pace is. - ©Mark

THE GUARDIAN: Twenty-eight former military chiefs have collectively called for a repeal of the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy whereby gay and lesbian Americans are allowed to serve in the armed forces but only if they keep their sexuality secret.

A letter from the retired generals and admirals, timed for the 14th anniversary of the legislation, calls on Congress to throw out the restriction.

"Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish," the letter says.

The provision was introduced by the Clinton administration as a compromise. Bill Clinton came to office in 1992 promising to open up fully the military to gay and lesbian personnel but backtracked in the face of vociferous opposition.

Since 1993 about 10,000 men and women have been sacked from the military under the policy. In recent years the numbers have declined, to 612 in 2006. >>> By Ed Pilkington in New York

WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEO:
Gay Arabic Linguist Discharged from the US military for Being Gay

Mark Alexander

Pope Agrees to Talks with Muslim Leaders
THE GUARDIAN: Pope Benedict has invited leading Islamic authorities to discuss a letter they sent to Christian leaders last month urging a search for common moral ground.

The pontiff's formal reaction was made public yesterday as the Vatican published his latest encyclical, in which he said atheism had "led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice".

Replying to Prince Ghazi of Jordan, who arranged for the letter to be sent to the Pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Benedict felt deep appreciation for the initiative, "for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace". >>> By John Hooper in Rome

Mark Alexander

Rudd Sets Date for Iraq Pull-Out
THE GUARDIAN: Australia's new leader, Kevin Rudd, has said he will pull his country's troops out of Iraq by mid-2008, fulfilling a promise he made during the election campaign.

Rudd said he would meet Robert McCallum, the US ambassador to Australia, soon to discuss the precise timing of the withdrawal.

The 50-year-old politician, who will be sworn in as prime minister on Monday, has said he believes the presence of troops in Iraq has made Australia more of a target for terrorism.

"The combat force in Iraq we would have home by around about the middle of next year," Rudd said in a radio interview in the southern city of Melbourne. >>> By Barbara McMahon

Mark Alexander

Why Doesn’t ‘New Labour’ Ban Breathing, and Have Done with It? Another Step Towards Total Control of the People, Another Step Towards a Police State
What they should ban is corruption in politics!

THE TELEGRAPH: Drivers could find themselves over the legal alcohol threshold after a single drink under plans being drawn up by the Government to lower the drink drive limit.

Police could also be given powers to stop and breathalyse drivers at random, even if their driving gives no cause for concern.

A Department for Transport consultation to be launched in the New Year is set to propose reducing the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving by almost half.

It is thought that the limit could be cut from 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood to 50mg. The 80mg limit allows a man of average height and weight to drink as many as four units of alcohol, or two pints of normal-strength beer, and still remain within the law. Women can drink three units, the equivalent of a large glass of average strength wine.

Cutting the limit to 50mg could put drivers over the limit after one strong pint of lager or a glass of wine.

A reduction would bring Britain into line with most other European countries. One drink may put you over the limit >>> By James Kirkup

Mark Alexander

Iran: Sanctions Won’t Stop Atomic Work
Photo of Jalili courtesy of YNET NEWS
YNET NEWS: EU envoy says meeting with Iranian negotiator Jalili on Iran's nuclear program was 'disappointing'; Jalili says demand that Iran halt works 'unacceptable'

The European Union said it was disappointed after talks with Iran Friday seen as a last chance to avert US pressure for tougher international sanctions over Tehran's disputed atomic program.

The absence of a breakthrough at the London talks means six world powers meeting in Paris on Saturday will try to agree on new penalties to propose to the United Nations, despite differences in their approach to halting Iran's nuclear program.

"I have to admit that after five hours of meetings I expected more. I am disappointed," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters, adding he would meet Iran's negotiator Saeed Jalili again before the end of December.

Jalili told reporters after the meeting it was "unacceptable" to demand Iran halt its uranium enrichment program and that any new UN sanctions would fail to prevent Tehran from pursuing its atomic work.

"If some countries want to use the UN Security Council and its resolutions to stop Iran's atomic work, surely they will not be successful," Jalili said. >>>

Mark Alexander

Sudan Jails 'Harsh and Crowded'
Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Briton Gillian Gibbons has been imprisoned for 15 days in Sudan - a country with some of the world's worst prisons, according to campaigners.

Justice Africa, a UK-based research group, said even a Sudanese person, used to the hardship of daily life, would find conditions hard.

A US State Department report described the jails as "harsh and overcrowded".

However, the Sudanese authorities have not confirmed where Mrs Gibbons will serve her sentence. >>>

Mark Alexander

We’ve Been Robbed of Our Englishness
TIMESONLINE: As the nation settled down on Wednesday night to watch England play Croatia, I sensed an air of optimism in the land. A feeling that all would be well. I mean hey, England were holding their own against Brazil when Croatia didn’t even exist as a nation state. So what chance would these swarthy-looking Yugo-ruffians have? They were minnows in a tank of sharks. They weren’t going to be beaten. They were going to be eaten.

Hmmm. I’m afraid I knew we were going to lose moments before the match began. I looked at our players mumbling their way through the national anthem and realised they didn’t really care about playing for England. Because they don’t really know what England is. And truth be told, neither do I.

When I was their age it was crystal clear. Newspapers would report: “Fog in the Channel: Europe cut off.” Peter Ustinov would arrive at JFK airport and, having studied the signs saying “US citizens” and “Aliens”, he’d ask a security guard where the British should go. We were separate, different, better.

We had hardback dark blue passports with a personal message from the Queen on the inside cover “requiring” that foreign border guards allow the bearer to do whatever he or she pleased without let or hindrance. Slap one of those down on a Frenchman’s desk and the crack of invitation grade cardboard would have the greasy little oik sitting up straight; that’s for sure.

We had saved the world from tyranny so often we’d lost count; we’d brought decency, truth and cricket to every continent and every coral pinprick. We’d sailed iron steamships into America when they were still using coracles. We were defined by our brilliance, our superiority, our technical know-how. >>> By Jeremy Clarkson

Mark Alexander

Papst kritisiert Atheismus und Privat-Christentum: Enzyklika zum Thema Hoffnung
Photo of Pope Benedict XVI courtesy of The Telegraph
NZZ: Papst Benedikt XVI. verurteilt den Atheismus macht ihn für einige der schlimmsten Verbrechen in der Geschichte verantwortlich. In seiner neuen Enzyklika «Spe salvi» (Gerettet durch Hoffnung) mahnte das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche die Christen, ihre Hoffnung in Gott und nicht in Technik, Reichtum oder in politischen Anschauungen zu suchen.

(ap/sda) Papst Benedikt XVI. hat die Hoffnung in den Mittelpunkt seiner zweiten Enzyklika gestellt. In dem 76-seitigen Dokument «Spe salvi» (Gerettet durch Hoffnung oder in der Hoffnung), das am Freitag veröffentlicht wurde, kritisierte der Papst den modernen Atheismus, der «zu den schlimmsten Formen der Grausamkeit und Verstössen gegen die Gerechtigkeit» geführt habe.

Die Christenheit wird von der Kritik nicht ausgenommen: Sie konzentriere sich zu sehr auf die individuelle Erlösung und ignoriere die Botschaft Christi, dass wahre christliche Hoffnung eine Erlösung für alle bedeute. >>>

ORIGINALTEXT:
Lateinisch
Deutsch
Englisch
Französisch
Spanisch
Italien

Mark Alexander

Iran Holocaust Drama Is a Big Hit
Photo and image courtesy of the BBC and Google Images
BBC: The scene is wartime Paris. Swastikas adorn the Champs Elysees.
Jackbooted Nazis are rounding up Jews for the concentration camps, while terrified Parisians look on.

It is a familiar plot for a television blockbuster. And this time the formula has been as popular as ever, drawing in massive audiences week after week.

The only difference is that this is a series made for Iranian state TV, and it has been piling up the ratings in the country whose president once questioned the very existence of the Holocaust.

The fact that Zero Degree Turn has been allowed on TV, shows the official sensitivity over the accusations of anti-Semitism that have followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's various comments about Israel and the Holocaust. >>> By Jon Leyne

Mark Alexander

Taslima Nasreen Removes Comment
BBC: Controversial Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen has said she will withdraw some "controversial" lines from one of her books.

The lines are from Dwikhondito (Split into two) which, some Muslim groups say, are derogatory to Islam.

The book was banned by the government in India's West Bengal state where a quarter of the population is Muslim. >>>

Mark Alexander

The Barbarians of Khartoum Call for Gillian, the Teddy Bear Teacher, to Be Killed by Firing Squad!
BBC: Thousands of people have marched in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to call for UK teacher Gillian Gibbons to be shot.

Mrs Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed by a court on Thursday after children in her class named a teddy bear Muhammad.

She was sentenced to 15 days for insulting religion, and she will then be deported.

The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the leniency of the sentence. Shoot UK teacher, say protesters >>>

THE GUARDIAN:
Protesters demand execution of 'blasphemy' teacher

TIMESONLINE:
Mob calls for execution of teddy teacher as peer launches rescue mission

DAILY MAIL:
Thousands of Islamic fanatics wielding knives demand jailed teddy bear teacher is executed

Mark Alexander

Bin Laden: Europe Must Quit Afghanistan
Photo of OBL courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: The al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden, called on European governments to end their military cooperation with the US in Afghanistan in a new audio message broadcast today.

With his fifth public message this year, bin Laden sought to exploit tensions between European capitals and Washington over the ongoing Nato military campaign in Afghanistan.

He reiterated that he was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the US, not the Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan at the time.

"The American tide is ebbing," he said in a message addressed directly to the European public. "It is better for you to restrain your politicians who are thronging the steps of the White House." >>>

Mark Alexander

Jail and Deportation for Gillian Gibbons
Britain humiliated yet again! Humiliating subjects of the Queen must surely STOP! Isn’t it time to bring back ‘gunboat diplomacy’?

Photo of Gillian Gibbons courtesy of the BBC
BBC: A British teacher has been found guilty in Sudan of insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and will then be deported.

She had been accused on three counts of insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs.

The Foreign Office said it was extremely disappointed by the verdict after a day-long hearing in Khartoum.

The Sudanese ambassador is being called back to the Foreign Office to explain the decision. Officials there say the mood has changed as a result of the verdict.

Staff complaint

Earlier, Foreign Secretary David Miliband had met the Sudanese ambassador to discuss the case, stressing it was an "innocent misunderstanding".

In September, Mrs Gibbons allowed her class of primary school pupils to name the teddy bear Muhammad.
The court heard that she was arrested on Sunday after another member of staff at Unity High School complained.

Sudan's top clerics had called for the full measure of the law to be used against Mrs Gibbons and labelled her actions part of a Western plot against Islam. UK teacher jailed over teddy row >>>

Mark Alexander

Avoid Munich Mistake – By Uzi Landau
YNET NEWS – OPINION: Ex-MK Landau advises Condoleezza Rice to steer clear of Chamberlain-style appeasement policy

Dear Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleezza Rice:

I don’t know what’s the weather like in Maryland these days, but in any case, kindly accept my suggestion: Even if it rains, do not use a black umbrella.

My name is Uzi Landau, I served as a minister in two Israeli governments, and have been a Knesset member for 22 years, but I write this letter to you as the son of Olga Perle, who escaped Nazi Germany with her family in 1937. Her parents realized that the Nazi monster’s evil government cannot be satisfied. To the Western world’s regret, then-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was not wise enough to understand this.

Chamberlain’s appeasement policy and attempt to curry favor with Hitler reached its peak in the 1938 Munich Conference. Even though Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles, armed the Wehrmacht in violation of agreements, and took over Austria through the famous Anschluss, ahead of Munich he did not hesitate to demand the dismantlement of Czechoslovakia and annexation of parts of it to Germany.

Chamberlain sacrificed his ally. Upon his return to Britain, with his black umbrella, he declared: “I believe it is peace for our time.” And the rest is history.

Today, Nazi Germany has been replaced by Iran and al-Qaeda; instead of Hitler, we have Ahmadinejad and Bin Laden. Ms. Rice, would you like to be remembered as the Chamberlain of the 21st Century?

Iran and al-Qaeda stimulate global terror. Palestinian terrorism is their ally. The ideology that motivates them is a desire to defeat and occupy the West in order to see Islam reign supreme. If you doubt this, apparently you have not listened to Ahmadinejad’s speeches at the United Nations and in Columbia University: Not merely a vision of a world without Israel, but rather, a world without democracy.

Just like Germany, which armed itself to the teeth, Iran too neglects the welfare of its poor citizens and invests in the planned production of dozens of nuclear bombs a year and the development of ballistic missiles that can reach the US. For Iran, Israel is merely Little Satan. America is Big Satan. The scent of Munich is in the air. Can’t you feel it? >>>

Mark Alexander

Speak for Yourself, Mr Miliband!
…Britain has a “real respect” for Sudan’s Islamic religion - David Miliband, Foreign Secretary
How can we have “real respect” for a religion whose adherents behave as Muslims do? And how can we have respect for Shari'ah law, with its barbaric practices?

Teddy row teacher 'made innocent mistake' By Aislinn Simpson and Blake Evans-Pritchard

Mark Alexander

Kidnap Fears for Teddy Bear Teacher as Islamic Fanatics Demand Execution
DAILY MAIL: A major security operation was under way today as a British teacher charged with inciting hatred and insulting religion was brought before a court in Sudan.

Trucks protected by armed police transported Gillian Gibbons from her cell at the CID headquarters in Khartoum where she had been kept in custody following her arrest on Sunday for allowing pupils to name a school teddy bear Mohammed.

Security was also tight at the city's court building as fears that extremists might stage a kidnap attempt ran high.

Mrs Gibbons, looking tired and distressed and wearing a dark blue jacket and blue dress, was not handcuffed.

Before the hearing began the public and press were cleared from the court room but only moments later the case was adjourned for two hours.

The prosecutor-general said Mrs Gibbons, whose case has drawn international condemnation, can expect a swift and fair trial under Sudanese law.

Mrs Gibbons faces 40 lashes and a year in jail after after being charged with insulting Islam.

She was charged after behind-the-scenes political moves to avoid a court case collapsed amid growing Islamic anger in the east African country.

A Sudanese official said it was "unlikely" that Mrs Gibbons would be convicted.

A powerful Sudanese newspaper urged authorities to call a hardline Islamist leader linked to Osama bin Laden to give evidence at her trial, to stress how offensive the case was to Muslims.

Extreme Islamic groups said Mrs Gibbons "must die" and urged Muslims to hold street protests after prayers tomorrow. >>> By Olinka Koster, Liz Hull and Rob Grilly

Mark Alexander

Annihilation of Infidels
Vijay Ayyagari writes: To paraphrase Karl Marx, a specter is haunting the world — the specter of universal jihad. From New Delhi to New York, Moscow to Madrid, Bali to Baghdad, cosmopolitan cities the world over have experienced terror, mass murders and destruction by universal jihadists.

Universal jihadists demand theological, racial, political and cultural supremacy — Islamic imperialism — over the rest of the world. This conflict is between the divine law of Islam and secular, man-made Western jurisprudence. In Islam, religion and politics are inseparable. The Quran is not only the holy book of Muslims; it is also a political doctrine that clearly spells out how Muslims must deal with non-believers.

Islam’s message is limited to its believers. Islam has no universal message. Literal Islam is the eternal aggressor that pretends to be the perennial victim. The only choice that non-believers have, according to Islamic doctrine, is to convert, or submit and become dhimmis — subjugated under Islamic restrictions — or be annihilated.

Our war is for intellectual freedom, and the alternative is unconditional surrender of the mind. Islamic civilization is an oxymoron. Islamic civilization is the conglomeration of the civilizations of conquered nations. For example, in mathematics, the so-called Arabic numeral system and algebra are of Hindu heritage. Most ostensible Arab scholars were Assyrian Christians, Sephardic Jews, Zoroastrian Persians, or Hindu and Buddhist Indians who had been forcibly converted and were usually only one or two generations away from their original traditions.

Demographic conquest is the most permanent form of conquest. The Indian state of Kashmir, for example, was a Hindu majority state for thousands of years. Through invasion, forcible evacuation and conversion lasting centuries, Kashmir became a Muslim majority state, leading to an armed insurgent conflict by separatist Muslims seeking to impose Sharia law. Pakistan, one of the modern-day sponsors of Islamic terrorism, threatens to use nuclear weapons against India to take Kashmir. The jihadi struggle in Kashmir is a grand theological rehearsal. The ultimate goal of Muslim Pakistan is the total conquest and Islamization of a divided and secular India. Why is the United States shocked that Pakistan has turned into a dictatorship? Annihilation of Infidels >>>

PLEASE NOTE: The fact that this article appeared on the website of a political party, in this case the BNP’s website, should in NO WAY be construed as an endorsement of that party. I, Mark Alexander, am not affiliated to ANY political party. I strive to be independent and fair. I bring you this article today for the simple reason that it is a truly excellent summary of the dangers that the free world faces. Bravo Vijay Ayyagari! Bravo!

Mark Alexander

No Mr Johnson, We Are Not Wrong, the Real Problem Is Islam Itself!
The was a time when the British government - the prime minister, his cabinet ministers, and the MP’s - had balls. Alas, those days are long gone! - ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Oh come off it, I thought yesterday afternoon, when I heard that the Sudanese authorities had actually gone ahead and charged her. Surely they are out of their minds.

When the news broke yesterday teatime that poor Gillian Gibbons was facing prosecution in Khartoum for inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, I am afraid my normal good humour momentarily deserted me.

How dare they! I spluttered, and for a brief undignified moment, I had fantasies of a return to the age of Palmerston.

Here is an innocent British citizen, a good and patently well-meaning 54-year-old British teacher. She has decided to make a new life for herself by giving instruction to children in one of the poorest countries on Earth. She has got herself into a muddle over the name of a teddy bear - and now she is facing 40 lashes or six months in jail.

There was a time when Britain would have sent a gunboat to rescue her. There was a time when MPs would have been holding furious debates on the matter, and bandying phrases such as "civis Britannicus sum".

In the old days there would have been démarche from Britain to Sudan, warning that His Majesty's government would not suffer a hair on her head to be disturbed. British Muslims should protest teddy lunacy >>> By Boris Johnson

MY COMMENT TO BORIS JOHNSON:

Boris, you obviously live in cloud cuckoo land! Islam is the problem, and it always will be, for it is a politico-religious system (90% politics, 10% spirituality) based on barbarity and Arab hegemony. Get with the story!

If they harm that poor teacher, then we should have a national 'name your dog Muhammad week' in retaliation. Better still, call for an 'international name your dog Muhammad week'!

I am sick of reading stories from the politically correct, stating that Islam is really a noble, loving and peaceful religion. Don't you naïve people realize that the Jihad is being waged against the West?

Wake up BEFORE it is too late! - ©Mark

Mark Alexander

If Britain Will Stand for This Nonsense, Then It Deserves All It Gets! Countries Used to Go to War for Less Than This! A Country Must Protect Its Citizens!
THE TELEGRAPH: The British schoolteacher who allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohammed has been charged in Sudan with insulting religion and inciting hatred.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, was also charged with showing contempt for religious beliefs.

"Khartoum north prosecution unit has completed its investigation and has charged the Briton Gillian (Gibbons) under Article 125 of the criminal code," the Sudanese news agency SUNA said, quoting a senior justice ministry official. 



The Foreign Office confirmed the charges in the case which is now set to go before the court on Thursday. Teddy bear row teacher charged in Sudan >>> By Katie Franklin, Caroline Gammell and Blake Evans-Pritchard

YAHOO NEWS (UK & IRELAND):
Teddy Row Teacher Charged in Sudan

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Teddy Row Teacher Charged

Mark Alexander

’R’ is for Repatriation
With the disturbing riots taking place in France at the moment, especially with the guerrilla tactics employed by the ‘rioters’, it is important that we start asking ourselves some serious questions. One of these questions is what are we going to do about people who don’t wish to integrate, what are we going to do to safeguard our way of life for our children, and for our children’s children. For this reason, I have decided to republish an earlier essay of mine, entitled ‘’R’ is for Repatriation’. The option of repatriating individuals determined to destroy our peaceful way of life is not an option only for people on the far-right, it is also an option for sensible people like you and me. We need to give this some serious consideration before it’s too late, before there’s a bloodbath!:

The West is on a dangerous course. It has embarked on a dichotomous journey. It is on the road to self-destruction.

There are two mutually exclusive forces at play here: On the one hand, there are the liberals who are trying to be more open to other cultures, and who are trying to destroy the very institutions upon which the West has thrived for so long; and on the other, we have a frightfully conservative force at work in the form of Islam, whose adherents are trying to take us back to mediæval times, take us back to a bygone age.

The one side, the liberal side, for example, is trying to give gays rights, and destroy the institution of marriage; the other, the conservative, Islamic side, a growing force in our society, will try and undo all the liberal policies ever passed. Normal conservatives in the Western sense of the world will look like the screaming liberals of today in years to come, for their brand of conservatism is as nothing in comparison with the ultra conservative, ‘orthodox’ Islamic values that will be foisted upon our unsuspecting people when Islam grows ever more in strength here in the West.

We are on a road that leads to no good place. This journey is one which will end in tears.

It should be increasingly obvious to all thinking people that we have allowed a people to immigrate to the West who, by and large, have no intention of integrating into Western societies, and who wish to change the nature of Western societies into their own, pre-conceived notion of how a society should be – a society which conforms to the extremely strict codes of behaviour as set out in the Shari’ah.

Ask yourself how these two forces can be reconciled! Of course, they cannot be. The one is modern and forward-thinking; the other is 1400 years old, and belongs to the Dark Ages. Nobody, however intelligent, however resourceful, is going to be able to bring about such a reconciliation of such competing forces. And the longer this problem is allowed to fester, the more difficult it will become to solve.

Already we have seen demonstrators out in the streets in their droves demanding that anyone who insults Islam be beheaded! Already we have seen calls for the introduction of Shari’ah law here in the UK and in Europe. Already we know that the ultimate goal of Muslims in the United States is to introduce it there, too; and to replace the Constitution with an Islamic one. Omar M Ahmad, the then Chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), stated the following as far back as 1988:

”Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur’an … should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.”

That says it all!

The French author, Michelle Houellebecq, in an interview given to the French literary magazine Lire, said the following: ”The dumbest religion, after all, is Islam. When you read the Koran, you’re shattered. The Bible at least is beautifully written because the Jews have a heck of a literary talent.”

Michelle Houellebecq might well have had it right about Islam; but aren’t we Westerners the dumbest people of all to allow these Muslim immigrants to come here to the West and live off the fat of the land and tell us that they are going to take us over, tell us that their religion is going to become dominant, tell us that Shari’ah law is going to be introduced at the earliest convenience?

I mean: How stupid and tolerant can we be?

Look, it’s really quite simple. Islam brooks no compromise: It is their way or no way. This is quite, quite clear now to all sensible, aware people. Clearly, these people have no appetite for assimilation, and they are not going to change.

What they want to do is to bring Islam to every corner of the world, and they are on a mission to achieve this. We have to decide whether we want to live their backward way, or whether we want to fight for our liberty and democracy, concepts anathema to Muslims all over the globe. We cannot have it all ways, we cannot, as they say, have our cake and eat it too.

Tough decisions are never easy to take. It takes a person of determination and resolve to take them. But when faced with this dilemma, it is only tough decisions that will do. Or are we going to slip and slide, through inaction, down the road to dhimmitude, or ultimate surrender to Islam. Are we going to submit to Allah, are we going to pay the jizyah, or the tax on infidels, or are we going to allow our fellow citizens to be killed. For those are so clearly the only three options once Islam takes hold.

Moreover, imagine what sort of society we shall be forced to live in. Adulteresses will be stoned to death, beheadings will take place in the public square, thieves will have their hands and feet cut off alternately, and homosexuals will be hanged in the street, or thrown off the local minaret! If you don’t believe me, take a trip to Saudi Arabia or Iran. In those countries, you will see just what happens to such people.

We have gone badly wrong. We have allowed into our societies people quite unwilling to assimilate. Interestingly, these backward people are convinced of their own superiority! Isn’t that an interesting phenomenon?

If we value our Judeo-Christian culture, if we value our freedoms, if we value our democracies, if we value our civilized way of life, if indeed we value our civilization, then we have but one option, for there truly is only one way to solve this intractable problem. We have to start thinking about the repatriation of these difficult people.

We start by repatriating the illegal, Muslim immigrants, and those who preach hatred and the destruction of our civilization. That will be a good start. We really do not have to put up with this nonsense any longer. Enough is enough!

The repatriation can take place in a humane manner; we don’t need to be cruel. We can even give these people money to resettle somewhere else. But believe me, repatriation is the only sensible option at this stage. We cannot afford to play fast and loose with our children’s future. We have a duty to our children to leave them our Western civilization as free and whole as we inherited it. To do anything else would be a dereliction of our duty.

Repatriation is not an option of the far right only. This is not a question of left and right politics anyway. This is a fight for the survival of the West. We must step up to the plate. We must behave with strength, resolve, and determination. Only when we do so will we silence these people. For make no mistake about it, Muslims understand one thing, and one thing only: Strength!

©Mark Alexander

All rights reserved

Sharia Law by 2040?
COMMON SENSE AGAINST ISLAM: With the latest population forecast by the Office for National Statistics it seems we could get sharia law in the next 30 - 40 years. The talk is of immigration and birthrate being the main reason for this. Well I cannot see the white indigenous population reverting to large families of 5 - 6 children but that’s what Asians are producing now. None of the reports mention any of that, they don’t want to frighten us. >>> By Ray Boyd

Mark Alexander

The Most Hated Family in America
BBC: They call themselves the most hated family in the US and they picket funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. So what did Louis Theroux make of the Phelpses after three weeks?

In any country, let alone one as patriotic as the US, few actions are as provocative as protesting at a soldier's funeral.

The Phelps family pickets mourners across the country, to mark what it describes as God's revenge on the US for tolerating homosexuality.

Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by "Gramps", preacher Fred Phelps. The church, which is based in Topeka, Kansas, mostly comprises his extended family.

Louis Theroux, himself no stranger to people with unconventional views, says the Phelpses are the most extreme people he has ever met. But in the following interview, he reveals how three weeks with them left him perplexed by their motivation. >>>

Mark Alexander

Police Say Paris Rioters Armed as Clashes Escalate
· Officials claim they face urban guerrilla tactics
· Violence is described as worse than in 2005

THE GUARDIAN: Officials in Paris last night warned that rioters in the suburb of Villiers-le-Bel were armed with hunting rifles and air rifles as clashes with police continued to escalate.

More than 70 police officers were injured on Monday night, three of them seriously, in clashes with rioters armed with molotov cocktails and firecrackers. One officer was shot in the shoulder with an air rifle.

"We're dealing with an urban guerrilla tactic, with the use of conventional arms and hunting rifles," said Bruno Beschizza, of the Synergie police union. >>> By Emilie Boyer King

THE GUARDIAN:
Paris Riots in Pictures

THE TELEGRAPH:
French police blame 'urban guerrillas' for riots By Henry Samuel

LE FIGARO:
Banlieues : retour de flames

Émeutes urbaines : Sarkozy monte en première ligne

NZZ:
Dritte Nacht der Gewalt in Pariser Vorstädten: Ausschreitungen und Brandstiftungen auch in Toulouse

Mark Alexander

Forecasters Say UK Population May Grow to 108m by 2081
· Most likely estimate is for 85 million within 75 years

· Official figures predict growth in immigration

THE GUARDIAN: Britain's population could almost double to 108 million within 75 years, according to government projections published yesterday.

The Office for National Statistics said that, based on high estimates of growth in immigration, fertility and longevity, the current population of 60.5 million could rise to 75 million by 2031 and 108.7 million by 2081.

But the projections drawn up by the Government Actuary's Department to help Whitehall plan pension and welfare provision also show that in a scenario of low fertility, low life expectancy and low migration, the population would increase to 66 million by 2056 and then dip to 63 million by 2081.

The ONS says its "principal projection", the one it thinks most likely, is that Britain's population will reach 71 million within 25 years, 78 million within 50 years and 85 million by 2081. Statisticians have tentatively estimated that 69% of Britain's future population growth is likely to come directly or indirectly from migration including a rising birth rate attributed to a growing number of young migrants. >>> By Alan Travis

DAILY MAIL:
Rising immigration could double population of Britain by 2081 By Steve Doughty

Mark Alexander