Saudi Women Vie for Olympic Rights
Watch BBC video: Women on their hopes that the authorities will allow more women's sport >>>
BBC: Eight years after the Sydney Olympics Hadi Souan Somayli still finds it hard to talk about the 400 metres hurdles final.

He led for 399 metres but at the finishing line US sprinter Angelo Taylor surged forward to take gold.

When I suggest we watch the race together his face darkens. It is not until he shows me his Olympic medal that his mood lightens.

"This is special not just for me", he says. "It's special also for my country because this is the first medal that we won in the Olympics."

Somayli is going to Beijing as director of the Saudi sprint team and, like every Saudi Olympic official and athlete, he is a man.

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that does not allow women to take part in the Olympics, or any other major sporting event. Saudi Women Vie for Olympic Rights >>> By Crispin Thorold | June 13, 2008

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L'adhésion de la Turquie 
à l'UE en question à Bruxelles
LE FIGARO: Dans la perspective d'une invalidation de l'AKP, le parti au pouvoir, la Commission envisage une suspension des négociations.

La perspective de voir le principal parti islamiste turc, l'AKP, purement et simplement rayé de la vie politique nationale affole plusieurs dirigeants européens. À tel point que la Commission européenne envisage, en guise de me­sure de rétorsion, de suspendre les négociations d'adhésion avec An­kara. Selon un scénario imaginé à Bruxelles, cette riposte pourrait intervenir après que la Cour constitutionnelle turque juge illégale, le cas échéant en octobre prochain, la formation du premier ministre, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Interdire un parti politique, qui plus est proeuropéen et ultra-influent, équi­vaudrait pour les responsables communautaires à une sorte de coup d'État en douceur. Inacceptable aux yeux de Bruxelles. L'adhésion de la Turquie 
à l'UE en question à Bruxelles >>> De Pierre Avril | 12. 06. 2008

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Bush et la France: « je t’aime, moi non plus »
LE FIGARO: EN IMAGES - A l’occasion de la visite d’adieu de George W. Bush à Paris, retour sur huit ans de relations mouvementées entre la France et les Etats-Unis. À la Galerie >>> | 13. 06. 2008

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Quite Incredible! UN Interferes in UK’s Internal, Constitutional Affairs
Photo of Queen Elizabeth II courtesy of Google Images
YAHOO! NEWS: The United Nations has said that the UK must consider whether they should keep the Royal Family.

The UN's Human Rights Council said the Government should 'think' about holding a referendum on the issue, to see if people would prefer to live in a Republican state with a written constitution.

The monarchy costs each adult in Britain around 62p a year - but even groups representing taxpayers said there was no case for getting rid of it.

The council has 29 members including Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Sri Lanka.

It was the Sri Lankan envoy who raised concerns over the British monarchy.

But a Royal spokesman has said the public haven't haven't displayed any appetite for a referendum.

The UN report was also critical of the UK's treatment of immigrants from Sudan.

Syria accused the UK of discriminating against Muslims and Iran complained about the UK's record on tackling sexual discrimination. [Source: UN: Should Britain Scrap the Royals?]

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Irish Voters Reject EU Treaty
THE GUARDIAN: Irish voters have rejected the Lisbon treaty, the country's justice minister conceded today, in a move which throws the entire project of reshaping the EU into turmoil.

Monitors from the Fianna Fáil party at the main count in Dublin told the Guardian that so far the breakdown in votes showed a 52% to 48% majority for the no camp.

"It looks like this will be a no vote," the justice minister, Dermot Ahern, said. "At the end of the day, for a myriad of reasons, the people have spoken.

"We will have to wait and see what happens in the rest of the countries. Obviously if we are the only one to reject the treaty that will raise questions. We are in uncharted territories."

Unofficial early polls suggested voters in most constituencies voted against the Lisbon treaty, the state broadcaster RTE reported. Official results are expected later today.

The no vote was strong in many rural areas and in working-class urban areas, while middle-class areas appeared to be less supportive of the treaty than had been anticipated, RTE said.

Reuters reported that in Dublin, the no camp was ahead in five constituencies and behind in one, while three were evenly split. Irish Voters Reject EU Treaty >>> By Henry McDonald in Dublin, James Sturcke and agencies | June 13, 2008

REUTERS:
Ireland Rejects Treaty in Blow for EU >>> June 13, 2008

BBC:
Ireland Rejects EU Reform Treaty >>> | June 13, 2008

BBC:Arrogance Indeed! UK to Press Ahead with EU Treaty >>> | June 13, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
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The “Strangulation” of British Freedoms

THE TELEGRAPH: The Conservative Party has been plunged into turmoil after David Davis, one of the party’s most senior members, unexpectedly resigned as an MP.

In a surprise move that shocked David Cameron, the shadow home secretary announced he was quitting the front bench following Gordon Brown’s victory over the 42 day terrorism laws.

After enjoying eight months of positive publicity and a series of recent electoral successes, Mr Davis’s move marks a significant setback for Mr Cameron.

The Tory leader will now have to deal with the biggest upheaval and uncertainty of his leadership since fighting off a possible early election last autumn.

Publicly, Mr Cameron said the move was “brave and courageous”. But Conservative insiders now believe Mr Davis has “lost the plot”.

The move stunned Westminster and shocked Tory MPs. Mr Davis acknowledged that he could be risking his own political future.

By standing down as an MP, Mr Davis will spark a by-election in his Yorkshire seat, where he will stand again as a Tory candidate campaigning on the issue of civil liberties. David Davis Stuns Westminster with Resignation over 42-Day Terror Law >>> By Andrew Porter, Political Editor | June 13, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
David Davis’ statement in full >>>

THE TELEGRAPH:
I’m Fighting to Defend Our Basic Freedoms >>> | June 13, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
David Davis Has Set a Powerful Example >>> By Simon Heffer | June 13, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Pope Hails Irish Rôle in Europe
BBC: The pope has timed a speech about the role of Ireland in European history to coincide with the eve of the Lisbon Referendum.

Pope Benedict has used his weekly audience to praise the central role of Irish missionaries in European history, a day before voters go to the polls to decide the future of the Lisbon Treaty.

Speaking to tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square, the Pope gave a sermon about the life of St Columbanus, an Irish monk born in 543 who travelled to Europe to spread Christianity.

In his speech charting the saint's life, Pope Benedict said that Columbanus could be called a "European saint".

The Pope explained that Columbanus, who was born in Leinster, entered monastic life in Bangor aged 20, before leaving "with 12 companions to begin missionary work on the European continent, where the migration of peoples from the north and the east had caused entire Christian regions to lapse back into paganism".

He established three monasteries, including one built in Luxeuil which "became the centre for the expansion of monastic and missionary life of the Irish tradition on mainland Europe".

Columbanus and his Irish monks were expelled in 610 and "condemned to definitive exile" after a row with King Theodric over the monarch's "adulterous relationships," the Pope explained.

Unable to return to Ireland, they moved to Switzerland where they continued their work.

'Founding father of Europe'

The saint was an early advocate of European unity, at least in religious terms.

The church was split with schisms in northern Italy, prompting Columbanus to write "a letter to Pope Boniface IV to convince him to make certain decisive steps towards re-establishing unity".

Pope Benedict described Columbanus as one of the founding "Fathers of Europe". Pope Hails Irish Rôle in Europe >>> By Diarmaid Fleming | June 12, 2008

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Gaddafi Attacks Obama on Israel
Photo of Gaddafi courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Libya's leader has strongly criticised US presidential candidate Barack Obama for saying Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel.

Col Muammar Gaddafi said he was either ignorant of the Middle East conflict or lying to boost his campaign.

Mr Obama was speaking to pro-Israel lobbyists in the US last week.

Referring to him as "our Kenyan brother", Col Gaddafi also said Mr Obama might suffer from an inferiority complex because of his African origins.

The issue of race could make Mr Obama's behaviour "more white than white people", Col Gaddafi suggested, rather than acting in solidarity with African and Arab nations.

The comments came during a speech to mark the 38th anniversary since the US evacuated Wheelus Air Force base in Tripoli.

Israel claims Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided" capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern half - occupied by Israel in 1967 - as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Gaddafi Attacks Obama on Israel >>> June 12, 2008

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Saudi Arabia: Activist on Hunger Strike
LOS ANGELES TIMES: More than 30 human rights groups across the Middle East have condemned Saudi Arabia for imprisoning a leading political activist who has reportedly been on a hunger strike since mid-May. The organizations have appealed to King Abdullah for the release of Matrouk Faleh, a university professor who has pushed for democratic reform in the ultraconservative Islamic state.

Faleh was arrested on May 19 after posting complaints on a website about living conditions in the Breidah Prison, where two other leading dissidents, Abdullah Hamid and his brother, Issa, are serving sentences.

The Saudi government “decided to punish Dr. Matrouk for his public criticism of the conditions of detention and to subject him to even more arbitrary measures by confiscating his personal laptop and mobile phone upon his arrest, and, moreover, by inflicting further pressures and psychological torment,” according to a statement signed by human rights groups in Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and other countries.

The statement continued that Faleh’s wife reported that “prison officials deliberately woke him after midnight claiming that he would be subject to interrogation, tied his hands and feet and tried to force him to eat after he had announced a food strike in protest against . . .his being detained without any notification of the charges against him.”

A political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, Faleh, a diabetic, has spent much time in Saudi courts and jails. He was granted a royal pardon in 2005 after being sentenced for up to nine years for demanding constitutional reforms and political freedoms. The Saudi government has not commented on his most recent case. [Source: Saudi Arabia: Activist on Hunger Strike] Jeffrey Fleischman in Cairo | June 12, 2008

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Bush Says US Wants Partnership with Europe
Photo of President George W Bush courtesy of Yahoo! News
YAHOO! NEWS: ROME - President Bush is urging Europe to work with the United States on matters that extend beyond their trans-Atlantic ties, such as securing Mideast peace, curtailing the rise of radical Islamic terrorists and keeping regimes such as Iran in check.

"Instead of dwelling on our differences, we are increasingly united in our interests and ideals," Bush was to say in a speech Friday in Paris. "In leaders like Berlusconi and Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy, I see a commitment to a powerful and purposeful Europe that advances the values of liberty within its borders, and beyond."

The White House released a portion of Bush's remarks on Thursday, while the president was still in Rome. He is on a weeklong European trip, where he is meeting with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

On his visit here, Bush was getting a hearty welcome from the charismatic Berlusconi, his old friend, and Pope Benedict XVI, who will see Bush on Friday. Bush Says US Wants Partnership with Europe >>> By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer | June 12, 2008

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United Kingdom: Terrorist’s Wife Gets Fifteen Years
Photo of Yeshi Girma (unveiled), the wife of the July 21 bomber, courtesy of Yahoo! News (IK)
YAHOO! NEWS: The wife of July 21 bomber Hussain Osman has been jailed for 15 years at the Old Bailey.

Yeshi Girma, 32, knew all about her husband's plot to kill innocent people on July 21, 2005 and could have stopped it from going ahead.

But she failed to tell police about his plan to attack Shepherd's Bush Tube station.

Just over half an hour after his failed attack Osman was on the phone to his wife to set in motion an escape plan.

Girma, the mother of Osman's three children, helped him flee to Brighton. He later took a Eurostar train to Paris then travelled on to Rome, where he was arrested.

She knew her husband had fallen under the spell of radical Islamists and even allowed him to take their young son away to a training camp in Cumbria where he met four of the five other July 21 plotters.

Her fingerprints were discovered on tapes featuring "extremist Islamic preaching" by firebrands such as Abu Hamza.

Her brother Esayas Girma, 22, and sister Mulu Girma, 24, were jailed for ten years.

Yeshi and Esayas, both from Stockwell, south London, and Mulu, from Brighton, were all found guilty of assisting an offender and failing to disclose information about Osman's involvement in the July 21 attacks.

Mulu's boyfriend Mohamed Kabashi, 25, from Brighton, admitted assisting Osman and failing to disclose information before the trial began and was jailed for nine years.

Judge Paul Worsley said: "When Osman's suicide mission, aimed at mass slaughter, failed, each of you in different ways assisted him to escape justice so that he could flee to Italy to be able to strike again.

"I have no doubt that each of you were prepared to aid a ruthless fanatic and that in so doing each of you must have harboured the hope that the bombers would ultimately be successful in their mission to seek to damage our society." [Source: Terrorist’s Wife Gets 15 Years] | June 12, 2008

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Bush und EU warnen Iran vor Konsequenzen
FAZ: Außenpolitischer Schulterschluss, doch keine Annäherung in Detailfragen: Der amerikanische Präsident George W. Bush und die politische Spitze der Europäischen Union haben auf ihrem Gipfel in Slowenien bei der Einschätzung der meisten Krisenherde in der Welt übereingestimmt. Lösungen für Probleme zwischen Amerika und der EU wurden jedoch nicht erreicht.

Wie aus der Abschlusserklärung hervorging, machte Bush beim Klimaschutz nur Absichtserklärungen. Bei dem Versuch, endlich Visafreiheit bei Reisen in die Vereinigten Staaten für alle 500 Millionen EU-Bürger zu bekommen, kam der EU-Ratsvorsitzende, Sloweniens Ministerpräsident Janez Jansa, kaum weiter. Bush und die Europäer versicherten, das Vertrauen in die internationalen Finanzmärkten stärken zu wollen. Sogenannte Chlor-Hähnchen aus den Vereinigten Staaten werden weiter nicht in die EU eingeführt. Bush wurde am Abend in Deutschland von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) erwartet.

Gemeinsame Warnung an Iran

Eine deutliche Warnung sandten Bush und die EU an Iran. Sie wollen gemeinsam iranische Banken an der Finanzierung von Atomschmuggel und Terrorismus hindern. „Wir rufen die Regierung des Irans zur Zusammenarbeit im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus auf“, hieß es in der Erklärung. Sollte Teheran im Streit um die Urananreicherung nicht einlenken, könnten die Strafmaßnahmen der internationalen Gemeinschaft verschärft werden. EU-Chefdiplomat Javier Solana will demnächst nach Teheran reisen, um dort neue Verhandlungsmöglichkeiten auszuloten. Neben Jansa und Solana nahm auch EU-Kommissionspräsident José Manuel Barroso an den Beratungen teil. Bush und EU warnen Iran vor Konsequenzen >>> | 12. Juni 2008

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New Cities Rise from Saudi Desert
Good news for the Saudi economy, no doubt. Now, all the Saudis will have to do is modernize their mediæval mindset to go with these ultra-modern developments and cities! - ©Mark

Watch BBC video: Inside the desert city >>>
"…labourers [mostly from Asia] are cheap and are prepared to do jobs that Saudis refuse to do."

BBC: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has a vision which if successful could soon transform the Kingdom's economy and society.

Six major developments will be built across the Kingdom over the next 15 years, the centrepiece being King Abdullah Economic City, 100km (62 miles) north of Jeddah.

The new city is rising from the sands of the Arabian Desert and when complete it will stretch over 150 sq miles (388 sq km).

The developers say that by 2020 more than one million jobs will have been created, in a city that will be home to two million people.

"This is on a scale unheard of before in the world," said Fahd al-Rasheed the CEO of Emaar, The Economic City, which is developing the site.

"[The King Abdullah Economic City] includes one of the largest ports in the world, an education zone, a resort zone etc. It is the size of Washington DC and is being built in 15 years".

Diversification

With the price of oil showing no sign of weakening, the government of Saudi Arabia is planning for a future when the commodity will eventually run out.

The revenues that are being generated are enormous - every day more than 11 million barrels of oil are pumped. At current market prices that is worth well over $1bn (£510m) daily.

During the last oil boom, vast sums of money were spent by the government on projects that failed - Saudi Arabia famously tried to "make the desert bloom" with water-intensive agriculture schemes.
Now the Kingdom is trying to invest more sensibly in the future to solve several challenges:

• Diversification of the economy
• A booming population (40% of Saudis are under 15)
• Growing unemployment
• Improving skills and education amongst Saudis

New Cities Rise from Saudi Desert >>> By Crispin Thorold, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia | June 11, 2008

BBC:
Saudi Arabia’s Dual Identity >>> By Crispin Thorold | June 19, 2008

Cross-posted at The Shrewd Economist >>>

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Pat Condell: Why Debate Dogma?

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Pat Condell: A Word to Islamofascists

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Israël négocie en Egypte les termes d'une trêve avec le Hamas
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Israël négocie jeudi avec l'Egypte les termes d'un accord sur une trêve dans la bande de Gaza contrôlée par le Hamas, après avoir renoncé à lancer dans l'immédiat une opération militaire d'envergure.

Le général de réserve Amos Gilad, un haut responsable du ministère de la Défense, était attendu au Caire dans la journée pour des entretiens avec des responsables égyptiens, a précisé une porte-parole de ce ministère, sans donner plus de précisions. Selon la radio publique, M. Gilad devait rencontrer le chef des renseignements égyptiens Omar Souleimane, qui joue un rôle clé d'intermédiaire entre Israël et le Hamas pour mettre fin aux violences et procéder à un échange de prisonniers afin d'obtenir la libération d'un soldat israélien, Gilad Shalit, détenu par les islamistes depuis deux ans. Israël négocie en Egypte les termes d'une trêve avec le Hamas >>> | 12 Juin 2008

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Die EU zittert
ZEIT ONLINE: Rund drei Millionen Iren stimmen heute über den EU-Reformvertrag ab. Die EU-Kommission hat bisher alle Spekulationen darüber abgelehnt, was im Falle eines „Neins“ der Iren geschehen soll

Irland ist das einzige der 27 Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union, in dem aufgrund der Verfassung direkt vom Volk darüber entschieden wird, ob das neue Vertragswerk ratifiziert wird. In letzten Umfragen lagen Gegner und Befürworter des „Vertrags von Lissabon“ nahezu gleichauf. Etwa 20 Prozent waren noch unentschieden. Die Auszählung der Stimmen beginnt am Freitagmorgen; erste Hochrechnungen werden am Vormittag erwartet.

Der EU-Reformvertrag, der die Gemeinschaft auf eine neue Rechtsgrundlage stellen soll, ist bisher von den Parlamenten in 17 Mitgliedstaaten ratifiziert worden. Zuletzt hatte am Mittwoch das finnische Parlament mit großer Mehrheit den Vertag gebilligt. Er tritt in Kraft, wenn sämtliche 27 EU-Staaten zugestimmt haben. Die EU-Kommission hat bisher alle Spekulationen darüber abgelehnt, was im Falle eines „Neins“ der Iren geschehen soll. „Es gibt keinen Plan B“, hatte EU- Kommissionspräsident José Manuel Barroso erklärt.

In Irland unterstützen alle führenden Parteien ein „Ja“ zum Vertrag von Lissabon. Regierungschef Brian Cowen warnte, Europa würde in einen Zustand der Unsicherheit zurückfallen, falls der Reformvertrag abgelehnt würde. Die EU zittert >>> | 12. 6. 2008

DIE PRESSE:
Europa auf der Kippe: Schicksalsabstimmung in Irland >>> | 12. 6. 2008

TAGES ANZEIGER:
Irland entscheidet über Schicksal der EU >>> Von Peter Nonnenmacher | 11. 6. 2008

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The Principled Conservative, David Davis, Resigns Position as Shadow Home Secretary in Protest Over the Erosion of British Freedoms
Photo of David Davis courtesy of the Daily Express
DAILY EXPRESS: SHADOW home secretary David Davis has today resigned as an MP to take a stand against the relentless erosion of British freedom by the Government.

Mr Davis said he was forcing a by-election to protest against the “insidious” erosion of civil liberties in Britain.



The move comes in the wake of yesterday's victory for the Government over the 42-day terror detention plan.



The Tory frontbencher spearheaded the Conservatives’ failed bid to defeat the Government over extending detention without charge, which caused disquiet among some Tory MPs.



Speaking this lunchtime Mr Davis said he acting against "the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this Government". 



As the resignation drama unfolded in Westminster, a Lib Dem spokeswoman confirmed the party would not be fielding a candidate in the resulting Howden and Haltemprice by-election - giving Mr Davis a clear run against a Labour candidate. [Source: David Davis Quits in Stand Against the Erosion of British Freedom] By Julia White | June 12, 2008

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Unlike Others, the US Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech
NEW YORK TIMES: VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A couple of years ago, a Canadian magazine published an article arguing that the rise of Islam threatened Western values. The article’s tone was mocking and biting, but it said nothing that conservative magazines and blogs in the United States do not say every day without fear of legal reprisal.

Things are different here. The magazine is on trial.

Two members of the Canadian Islamic Congress say the magazine, Maclean’s, Canada’s leading newsweekly, violated a provincial hate speech law by stirring up hatred against Muslims. They say the magazine should be forbidden from saying similar things, forced to publish a rebuttal and made to compensate Muslims for injuring their “dignity, feelings and self-respect.”

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, which held five days of hearings on those questions here last week, will soon rule on whether Maclean’s violated the law. As spectators lined up for the afternoon session last week, an argument broke out.

“It’s hate speech!” yelled one man.

“It’s free speech!” yelled another.

In the United States, that debate has been settled. Under the First Amendment, newspapers and magazines can say what they like about minorities and religions — even false, provocative or hateful things — without legal consequence.

The Maclean’s article, “The Future Belongs to Islam,” was an excerpt from a book by Mark Steyn called “America Alone” (Regnery, 2006). The title was fitting: The United States, in its treatment of hate speech, as in so many other areas of the law, takes a distinctive legal path.

“In much of the developed world, one uses racial epithets at one’s legal peril, one displays Nazi regalia and the other trappings of ethnic hatred at significant legal risk, and one urges discrimination against religious minorities under threat of fine or imprisonment,” Frederick Schauer, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, wrote in a recent essay called “The Exceptional First Amendment.” American Exception: Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech >>> By Adam Liptak | June 12, 2008

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:
U.S. v. Canada When It Comes to Free Speech >>> Posted by Dan Slater | June 12, 2008

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The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Canada)

Twaddle from the Top
This is an excellent and informative article. It shows us, however, that there is no clear thinking at the top; further, it shows us that the powers-that-be are obfuscating the truth about Islam and our enemies. They are withholding information from the people. In so doing, we are endangering our civilization, and making it very difficult for us to win this war.

Moreover, this sort of nonsense will only make it even more difficult for the politicians to take the people along with them in their fight (as weak as that fight is at the moment) against the real enemy: Islam.

If you don’t believe me, check out what Magdi Cristiano Allam, the recent Muslim convert to Roman Catholicism, said about his old faith: Islam Is “Intrinsically Violent”, Warns Muslim Convert, Magdo Cristiano Allam

The simple questions we should be asking ourselves right now are these: Do we really want to win this war? Or are the feelings of Muslims more important to us than saving our civilization? - ©Mark

TOWNHALL.COM: have obtained a document prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, which is not posted on the DHS website. It is an internal handbook telling employees what they should and should not say when speaking about our enemies. The document does say that these guidelines are not mandatory but it is clear throughout the paper that failure to make use of these guidelines would be frowned upon. Some of the views in this document are right on target. I regard others as an effort to evade the truth.

For example, the guidebook says when Osama bin Laden or others try to draw the US Government into a debate we should offer only minimal, if any, response to their messages. When we respond loudly we raise their prestige in the Muslim world. And what al-Qaeda and its affiliates do is damning enough without ascribing to al-Qaeda and its affiliates motives or goals they have not articulated. Our audiences have more familiarity with the terrorist messages than we do and will immediately spot US Government embellishments.

Under the title "Don't Invoke Islam," the guidebook says, "although the al-Qaeda network exploits religious sentiments and tries to use religion to justify its actions, we should treat it as an illegitimate political organization, both terrorist and criminal."

Those are laudable goals. But when the guidebook says we must change the discussion from the West v. Islam or a clash of civilizations, we need to emphasize that terrorists misuse religion as a political tool to harm innocent civilians across the globe. True enough but the truth is we do have a clash of civilizations. Unless citizens understand the big picture they never will take the war against terrorists seriously. The Decline of Correct Terminology >>> By Paul Weyrich | June 11, 2008

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New Study Finds Belief in God Linked to IQ
Photo of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” from the Sistene Chapel, Vatican City, courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: People with higher IQs are less likely to believe in God, according to a new study.

Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average.

A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.

But the conclusions - in a paper for the academic journal Intelligence - have been branded "simplistic" by critics.

Professor Lynn, who has provoked controversy in the past with research linking intelligence to race and sex, said university academics were less likely to believe in God than almost anyone else. Intelligent People 'Less Likely to Believe in God' >>> By Graeme Paton, Education Editor | June 12, 2008

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The Saudis Alone Are Responsible for Their Own Bad Image
It’s good to see that someone in Saudi Arabia is willing to tell the truth about how badly foreign domestic staff are generally treated there. - ©Mark

SAUDI GAZETTE: WITH a shake in her hands she struggled to hide, she put down the tray of beautifully arranged cookies on the table, followed by a sparkling clean tea pot and cups.

“New maid,” the guests asked their hosts.

“Yes, she just arrived here a couple of days ago,” said the host.

“Thank you,” said the guest’s wife to the apparently terrified maid.

“Those are delicious-looking cookies. What’s your name?”

The maid, taken aback with a question she never saw coming, looked at the guest and turned her gaze down to the floor.

“It’s OK, tell her,” said her mistress.

“Fatima,” her barely perceptible voice finally came while she shivered.

“Is anything wrong?” the guest asked.

Both the hosts smiled. “Fatima, it’s OK. Those are our friends,” the mistress told her.

Obviously reassured, but without uttering a single syllable, Fatima made for the kitchen.

“Is she OK?” asked the female guest.

After a brief pause, the mistress told her guests Fatima was a runaway maid. The guests asked their hosts whether hiring a runaway made [sic] could invite trouble with the law.

“No amount of trouble can match what she’s been through,” said the mistress.

She went on to tell her guests about Fatima’s story. She had been brought into the Gulf country as a maid by a family in another city. For months, her former mistress beat her, overworked her, had her do the cooking and the laundry for her eight children, never gave her a day off, and, over and above all that, she never paid her a dime.

But her troubles didn’t end there. The mistress’s eldest son tried to rape her more than once, and her eldest daughter would abuse her and call her names on a whim. When she complained to her master and mistress, they threw her out of the household with nothing but the clothes on her back.

The story of Fatima is the same one as hundreds, if not thousands, of domestic workers who have to deal with similar abuses in the Kingdom and elsewhere in the GCC. They have nowhere to go to, and no law protects them with adequate forcefulness that can relieve their pain and suffering. Our [Saudi’s] Bad Image: We’re Responsible >>> By Shady N. Janzeir | June 11, 2008

SAUDI GAZETTE:
Housemaid with ‘Torture’ Wounds Dies in Hospital >>> | June 12, 2008

BBC:
Qatari Law ‘Will Protect’ Maids >>> | June 17, 2008

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Islam Spreads In The West, Christianity In The Mideast
RIGHT SIDE NEWS: There are well over a billion Muslims in the world today, and the numbers keep growing. Islam is not only prospering in Middle East countries, but in the West as well. Muslim neighborhoods have sprouted up across mainland Europe and the UK, as well as in the good old United States – parts of the world considered predominantly Christian.

Should Christians be concerned? Certainly. Christians should be more concerned, perhaps, that too many Christian churches are weak and worldly and full of mushy, lifeless messages. If the Western Church were full of the Spirit of God and gushing life, there would be little to draw people to Islam.

Both Christianity and Islam, however, are missionary religions. Christian missionaries and evangelists spread the Good News that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and Muslims spread Islam. Yet, if people decide they want to leave Christianity, they are free to go. Jesus never chased people down and forced them to follow him. Judgment might await unbelievers, but believers do not pick up stones to hasten the journey. In fact, many Christians pray desperately for their loved ones who walk away from Christ, waiting with hope for the prodigal's safe return.

Leaving Islam, however, is not such an easy thing. Even in the West, Muslim young people resist telling their families they have converted to Christianity out of honest fear. And while Muslims are free to spread their faith in the West, Christians are not necessarily free to preach the Gospel to Muslims. Islam Spreads In The West, Christianity In The Mideast >>> Koinonia House | June 5, 2008

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Islam Is “Intrinsically Violent”, Warns Muslim Convert, Magdi Cristiano Allam
Photo of the recently converted Muslim to Roman Catholicism, Magdi Cristiano Allam, courtesy of Catholic News Agency
CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY: Rome - Italian journalist and Muslim convert to Catholicism, Magdi Allam, warned this week that Islam is growing as a result of the ideology of relativism that pervades the West and claims that there are many truths instead of one unique Truth.

In an article published by the magazine Mundo Cristiano and quoted by Analisis Digital, Allam explained that relativism, which attributes “equal dignity to everything regardless of the content” has made it possible for extremism and Islamic terrorism “to be introduced and to take root” in Europe, to the point that there are Islamic extremists with European citizenship who “act upon and spread an ideology of hatred and violence.”

Likewise, Allam, who was recently baptized by Benedict XVI, said it was impossible to be a moderate Muslim, because the religion of Islam is “physiologically violent, as confirmed by certain verses from the Koran that defend an ideology of hatred, violence, death and condemnation of those who are not Muslims. This way of thinking comes from Mohammed,” Allam said, adding that Islam is an “intrinsically violent” religion.

Asked about his conversion to the faith, Allam said he was convinced by the preaching and testimony of Benedict XVI, whose “strong affirmation of the relationship between faith and reason as a foundation for understanding the authenticity of true religion” fascinated him. [Source: Islam’s Growth Result of Western Relativism, Warns Muslim Convert] May 28, 2008

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Nepal’s Ousted King Gyanendra Quits Palace
Watch BBC video: Nepal’s Ousted King Gyanendra Leaves Palace
BBC: The deposed king of Nepal, Gyanendra, has moved out of the palace in the capital Kathmandu where his family lived for more than a century.

Mr Shah, as he is now known, and his wife Komal swept out of the compound in the back of a black Mercedes as scores of riot police guarded the main gate.

Earlier, he said he had returned his crown but would not go into exile and would work for the republic's benefit.

Last month, Nepal's Maoist-led assembly voted to abolish the monarchy.

The palace in the centre of Kathmandu is to become a museum.

Gyanendra and his wife are moving to a new, temporary residence outside the city.

'The people's verdict'

A police and army escort followed the ex-monarch's car as he left for Nagarjun, in the north-western suburbs of Kathmandu.

The couple will live in a large, comfortable but ordinary-looking house there.

A few loyalist onlookers called for Gyanendra to stay on as his car left but many in the crowd near the palace seemed happy to see him go, correspondents say.

"This marks the beginning of a new Nepal and the end of a dynasty that has done nothing but harm this country," Devendra Maharjan, a farmer who had come to Kathmandu to see the king leave the palace, told The Associated Press.

"If it had not been for the kings, Nepal would probably not have remained a poor nation."

Giving an unprecedented news conference at the palace earlier, the former monarch said he had given his priceless crown to the Nepalese government for its protection.

"I have no intention or thoughts to leave the country," Gyanendra said.

"I have assisted in and respected the verdict of the people." Nepal's Ousted King Quits Palace >>> | June 11, 2008

WIKIPEDIA:
Nepal >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Hymenoplasty: The New and Growing Trend Among Muslim Women in Europe to 'Restore' Their Virginity
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: PARIS - The surgery in the private clinic off the Champs-Élysées involved one semicircular cut, 10 self-dissolving stitches and a discounted fee of $2,900.

But for the patient, a 23-year-old French student of Moroccan descent from Montpellier, the 30-minute procedure represented the key to a new life: the illusion of virginity.

Like an increasing number of other Muslim women in Europe, she had a "hymenoplasty," a restoration of her hymen, the thin vaginal membrane that normally breaks during the first act of intercourse.

"In my culture, not to be a virgin is to be dirt," said the student, perched on a hospital bed as she awaited surgery Thursday. "Right now, virginity is more important to me than life."

As Europe's Muslim population grows, many young Muslim women find themselves caught between the freedoms that European society affords and the deep-rooted traditions of their parents' and grandparents' generations.

Gynecologists report that in the past few years, more Muslim women are asking for certificates of virginity before marriage.

That trend in turn has created a demand among cosmetic surgeons for hymen replacements, which, if done properly, they say, will not be detected and will produce tell-tale vaginal bleeding on the wedding night. The service is widely advertised on the Internet; there are medical tourism packages to countries like Tunisia where the procedure is less expensive.

"If you're a Muslim woman growing up in more open societies in Europe, you can easily end up having sex before marriage," said Hicham Mouallem, a doctor in London who performs the surgery. "So if you're looking to marry a Muslim and don't want to have problems, you'll try to recapture your virginity." For Muslim Women in Europe, a Medical Road Back to Virginity >>> By Elaine Sciolino and Souad Mekhennet | June 10, 2008

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Bush Pushes for Solidarity Against Iran
Watch video
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
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Der Weg der Türkei in die EU ist weit
DIE PRESSE: Solange nicht einmal die Türken selbst wissen, welche Art von Staat die moderne Türkei ist, brauchen Beitrittsgegner nicht zu zittern.

Die europäischen Feinde eines türkischen EU-Beitritts dürfen sich freuen. Denn die Türkei nimmt ihnen derzeit die Arbeit ab: Argumente dafür zu liefern, warum das Land noch lange nicht reif für die Europäische Union ist.

Das zeigt der Streit zwischen der regierenden AKP von Premierminister Recep Erdogan und den Höchstgerichten. Dieser Streit tobt gleich an zwei Fronten: Als Aufwärmübung kippten die Höchstrichter vor kurzem die von der AKP beschlossene Lockerung des Kopftuchverbots, nun bereiten sie sich auf den „Super-Gau“ für die AKP vor – zu entscheiden, ob die Partei verboten werden sollte. Immerhin, so der Generalstaatsanwalt, sei die AKP aus der bereits aufgelösten „Wohlfahrtspartei“ hervorgegangen und stelle „ein Zentrum von Aktivitäten gegen den säkularen Staat“ dar. Der Weg der Türkei in die EU ist weit >>> Von Doris Kraus | 11.6.2008

DIE PRESSE:
Erweiterung: Französische Barrikade für Türkei >>> Von Rudolf Balmer | 04.06.2008

DIE PRESSE:
Türkei: Erdogan greift Richter an >>> Von Jan Keetman | 11.6.2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Die politische Korrektheit ist politisch nicht korrekt
DIE PRESSE: Wenn der vermeintlich rücksichtsvolle Sprachgebrauch auch auf „falsche“ und „richtige“ Inhalte ausgedehnt wird, wird die politische Korrektheit zu ihrer eigenen Bedrohung und zu einer Gefahr für die Meinungsfreiheit.

Nennt mich nicht Nigger“ hieß ein Titel, der in den Fünfzigerjahren in einer Taschenbuch-Reihe des katholischen Herder-Verlags erschienen ist. Der jugendliche Leser, der ich damals war, bekam eine erste Lektion davon, was später als „politische Korrektheit“ um die Welt gehen und zu einer wichtigen intellektuellen Bewegung werden sollte. PC, wie die unterdessen gängige Abkürzung dafür heißt, kommt aus den USA, wo in einer multiethnischen Gesellschaft verschiedene Gruppen um Anerkennung und Repräsentation kämpfen. Um den traditionell Benachteiligten unter ihnen zu helfen, wurden zunächst praktische Gleichstellungsmaßnahmen durch „affirmative action“ („positive Diskriminierung“) geschaffen, vor allem Quotensysteme im Erziehungssystem und bei der Postenvergabe.

Als diese nicht ausreichend erschienen, der Diskriminierung von Minderheiten durch die Mehrheitskultur wirksam zu begegnen, entwickelte sich vor allem in der akademischen Welt der Ost- und Westküste ein weit verzweigtes System der vermeintlichen Rücksicht auf Empfindlichkeiten von Minderheiten und Außenseitern durch sprachliche Wendungen. Es sollte nicht mehr der weiße, heterosexuelle, dem anglosächsischen Kulturkreis zugehörige Mann das Maß der Dinge sein. „Kaukasisch“ lautet die ebenfalls dem Geist der PC entsprungene Bezeichnung für diese Welt.

Diskriminierung in beide Richtungen

Verständlich, dass vor allem die Schwarzen in den USA als die Gruppe ausgemacht wurde, die am meisten der politischen Correctness bedarf. Das verächtlich gebrauchte Wort „Nigger“ und auch „Negro“, das ein Lehnwort aus dem Spanischen ist, wurden zunächst durch „black“ ersetzt. Aber auch dieser Hinweis auf die Hautfarbe schien diskriminierend, sodass sich heute im offiziösen Gebrauch das gestelzte „afro-american“ durchgesetzt hat. In der Umgangssprache oder in den Zeitungen kann man nach wie vor des „black man“ nicht entraten. Man stelle sich eine Reportage über Barack Obama vor, in der es immer heißt, er habe „einen afroamerikanischen Vater und eine kaukasische Mutter“. Dass die Diskriminierung auch umgekehrt wirken kann, beweist übrigens auch Obama, der als schwarzer Angehöriger der in Elite-Universitäten erzogenen Oberschicht sich verächtlich über die weiße Unterschicht äußerte. Die politische Korrektheit ist politisch nicht korrekt >>> | 11.6.2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Etats-Unis: des scanners d'aéroports qui voient sous les vêtements
eMARRAKECH: New York : Dix aéroports américains, dont JFK à New York et l'aéroport international de Los Angeles, ont commencé à installer des scanners qui permettent de voir sous les vêtements des passagers, a annoncé le Département américain des Transports.

Ces cabines transparentes se referment complètement sur le passager, et émettent des "ondes millimétriques" qui percent les tissus à la recherche de métaux, céramiques, plastiques, matériaux chimiques ou explosifs, précise l'autorité de sécurité aérienne sur le site internet du Département des transports.

L'image en trois dimensions, transmise à un agent dans une pièce séparée et fermée, brouille le visage, poursuit le texte. Etats-Unis: des scanners d'aéroports qui voient sous les vêtements >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)

Muslim Parents to Blame for Children Turning to Extremism!
Photo of Dr Farhan Nizami courtesy of The Telegraph
Tosh! Balderdash! Poppycock! Islam is the problem, because it's an extremist ideology comprising 90% politics and 10% religion. This man is talking through his hat; and I'm pretty sure he knows it. - ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: British Muslim parents are to blame for leaving their children open to the lure of Islamic extremism, according to an influential academic

Dr Farhan Nizami CBE, a key adviser on Islam to the Prince of Wales, accused British Muslims of failing to make sure their children learn to speak English or supporting them in their education.

He said this leaves them alienated from mainstream society and exposed to being groomed by radical Islamic groups.

It is the first time Dr Nizami, the director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, which has links with Oxford University, has spoken out about the failure of Muslims to integrate with British society.

The academic institution, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, carries considerable influence and aims to build bridges between Islam and the West.

His comments come just weeks after the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, warned that radical Islam is filling the "moral vacuum" created by the decline of Christian values in Britain.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Dr Nizami said Muslims would never play a full role in British society until they improved their education, language and aspirations. Muslim Parents to Blame for Children Turning to Extremism >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones in Kuala Lumpur, and Martin Beckford | June 11, 2008

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Do You Recognize This Guy?
Image courtesy of The Daily Squib
THE DAILY SQUIB:
Barack Hussein Obama Vows to Wage Jihad on Christian American Doubters >>> By Musa al-Khawarizmi | June 10, 2008

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George W. Bush macht der Türkei EU-Hoffnungen
Um Gottes Willen, Herr Bush, hören Sie 'mal auf mit dem Blödsinn, die Türkei in die EU hereinzubringen! Sie dürfen schon “zutiefst der Meinung” sein, “dass die Türkei EU-Mitglied werden sollte”, aber vergessen sollten Sie nicht, dass es andere Leute gibt, die auch zufiest der Meinung sind, dass so ein Schritt eine Katastrophe für Europa sein wird.

Wir können uns erinnern, dass Sie auch "zutiefst der Meinung" waren, einen Krieg mit Irak zu starten richtig gewesen wäre, und zudem waren Sie auch der Überzeugung, dass es möglich wäre, den Arabern im Golf Demokratie einführen zu können; und doch sind diese zwei Ideen als dumme Ideen bewiesen worden.

Die Türkei in die EU hereinzubringen ist auch so eine dumme Idee. Scheinbar, Herr Bush, haben Sie die Fähigkeit nicht, einen Unterschied zwischen guten und schlechten Ideen zu erkennen.

Irak haben Sie schon kaputt gemacht; nun möchten Sie auch Europa kaputt machen! Ich bitte Sie sich in diese Sache nicht mehr einzumischen. Gehen Sie lieber nach Crawford, Ihre Pensionierung zu geniessen! - ©Mark

WELT ONLINE: Es ist George Bushs letzter offizieller Europa-Besuch. Beim EU-US-Gipfel in Slowenien gab es einen außenpolitischen Schulterschluss, aber keine Annäherung in Detailfragen. Der amerikanische Präsident schlug gegen den Iran harte Töne an – und machte der Türkei EU-Hoffnungen. Inzwischen ist er in Deutschland eingetroffen.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) hat US-Präsident George W. Bush am Dienstag am Schloss Meseberg zu seinem voraussichtlich letzten Deutschlandbesuch seiner Amtszeit willkommen geheißen. Begrüßt wurden Bush und seine Ehefrau Laura von Merkel und ihrem Ehemann Joachim Sauer am Gästehaus der Bundesregierung rund 60 Kilometer nördlich von Berlin. Bush war zuvor in Berlin-Tegel gelandet und sofort per Hubschrauber weitergeflogen.

Der Abend war einem privaten Treffen der beiden Ehepaare vorbehalten. Geplant war eine Grillparty im Schlosspark. Merkel war gut eine halbe Stunde vor Bush in Meseberg eingetroffen. Sie unterhielt sich über den Gartenzaun mit Einwohnern des Ortes. Während des Bush-Besuches müssen die rund 160 Einwohner des Ortes wegen der höchster Sicherheitsauflagen mit einer Reihe von Einschränkungen leben.

Zuvor hatte sich Bush bei seinem letzten EU-USA-Gipfel überzeugt gegeben, dass die Türkei in die Europäische Union aufgenommen werden sollte. „Wir sind zutiefst der Meinung, dass die Türkei EU-Mitglied werden sollte“, sagte Bush im slowenischen Brdo. Die EU hat Aufnahmeverhandlungen mit Ankara aufgenommen, die Frage spaltet jedoch die Europäer. Vor allem Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy, aber auch Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) werben für eine privilegierte Partnerschaft anstelle einer Vollmitgliedschaft.

Eine deutliche Warnung sandten Bush und die EU an den Iran. Sie wollen gemeinsam iranische Banken an der Finanzierung von Atomschmuggel und Terrorismus hindern. „Wir rufen die Regierung des Irans zur Zusammenarbeit im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus auf“, hieß es in der Erklärung. Sollte Teheran im Streit um die Urananreicherung nicht einlenken, könnten die Strafmaßnahmen der internationalen Gemeinschaft verschärft werden. EU-Chefdiplomat Javier Solana will demnächst nach Teheran reisen, um dort neue Verhandlungsmöglichkeiten auszuloten. Neben Jansa und Solana nahm auch EU-Kommissionspräsident José Manuel Barroso an den Beratungen teil. George W. Bush macht der Türkei EU-Hoffnungen >>> | 10. Juni 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Pour Kadhafi, l'Union pour la Méditerranée est «humiliante»
«Nous ne sommes ni des affamés ni des chiens pour qu'ils nous jettent des os», a-t-il proclamé, vêtu d'une abaya traditionnelle et coiffé d'une chechia rouge. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le numéro un lybien a vivement dénoncé mardi ce projet de coopération entre les pays des deux rives de la Méditerranée initié par Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mouammar Kadhafi a rejeté avec virulence mardi le projet de l'Union pour la Méditerranée (UPM) inspiré par la France. Monopolisant la parole à l'ouverture du sommet arabe de Tripoli, le numéro un libyen s'est livré à une véritable diatribe contre l'UPM devant les présidents syrien, mauritanien, tunisien et algérien et le premier ministre marocain.

Selon Kadhafi, l'UPM pourrait mettre à mal l'unité africaine et arabe en concurrençant des organisations déjà existantes. «Nous sommes des pays membres de la Ligue arabe et aussi de l'Union africaine et nous ne prendrons en aucun cas le risque de disperser nos rangs. Il faut que nos partenaires (européens) comprennent bien cela», a prévenu le dirigeant libyen. Et de prévenir : «si l'Europe veut coopérer avec nous, qu'elle le fasse avec la Ligue arabe ou l'Union africaine (...) nous n'acceptons pas que l'Europe traite avec un seul groupe» de pays, c'est à dire uniquement avec ceux qui bordent la rive sud de la Méditerranée,comme le propose le projet de l'Union pour la Méditerranée.

«Nous ne sommes ni des affamés ni des chiens»

Le colonel Kadhafi a aussi qualifié l'UPM de «projet passager» voué à l'échec, affirmant : «l'UE veille sur son unité et refuse sa division et l'initiative de notre cher ami Sarkozy a été rejetée fermement par l'Europe». Au sommet européen de mars, la France avait dû accepter que son projet se contente essentiellement de redynamiser le processus de Barcelone, lancé en 1995 par l'UE avec les pays méditerranéens du sud. Renommé «Processus de Barcelone : Union pour la Méditerranée», cette version de l'UPM concerne les Vingt-Sept pays de l'UE et leurs dix-sept partenaires de la rive Sud. Alors que le concept initial de Nicolas Sarkozy faisait participer uniquement, côté européen, les pays riverains de la Méditerranée. Pour Kadhafi, l'Union pour la Méditerranée est «humiliante» >>> | 10. 06. 08

LE MONDE:
Union pour la Méditerranée : les hésitations arabes >>> | 11. 06. 08

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)

West Risks Obsession with Islam, Warns Vatican
What is particularly surprising in this newspaper article is the comment made by Cardinal Tauran that all religions are equal. Did you ever think you would hear a cardinal stating such a thing? If Christianity is no better than any other religion, then why should people convert to it? Shocking! Can’t the Vatican do better than that? Little wonder the churches are emptying! - ©Mark

TIMESONLINE: The Vatican has given warning that the West's efforts at inter-faith dialogue must not be “held hostage" by Islam and are in danger of becoming "obsessed" with it at the expense of other religions.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, said that the Church “has to have regard for all religions". He said that the council had this week discussed new guidelines for inter-faith dialogue.

“What was interesting about our discussions was that we did not concentrate on Islam because in a way we are being held hostage by Islam a little bit," he told the Catholic website Terrasanta.net. "Islam is very important, but there are also other great Asiatic religious traditions. Islam is one religion."

Pope Benedict XVI has convened an unprecedented Catholic-Muslim forum for October. He has also sought to make amends for his controversial speech at Regensburg University two years ago, when he appeared to suggest that Islam was irrational and inherently violent. He later visited Turkey and prayed at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul alongside the local imam. West Risks Obsession with Islam, Warns Vatican >>> By Richard Owen in Rome | June 10, 2008

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Getting Tough: Obama Sets Up Internet ‘War Room’ to Fight Slurs Against Him
Obama’s campaign said that the cyber team would respond immediately to any inaccurate information about him
TIMESONLINE: A crack team of cybernauts will form a rapid response internet “war room” to track and respond aggressively to online rumours that Barack Obama is unpatriotic and a Muslim.

As he gears up for his general election fight against John McCain, Mr Obama and his chief advisers are aware of the danger of such rumours, amid polling data showing that a significant number of Americans believe he is a Muslim or are suspicious about his background. Such doubts were a factor in his poor showing with white, blue-collar voters during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama Sets Up Internet 'War Room' to Fight Slurs: Internet ‘war room’ will rebuff false rumours >>> By Time Reid in Washington | June 9, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Muslims Will Rule America, Britain

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Al-Qaradhawi: Muslims Will Conquer Europe!

WATCH ANOTHER YOUTUBE VIDEO:
Only America Can Block Islamic Conquest

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Just for the Sheer Hell of It! Something to Make You Laugh

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Bar Owners in Germany Complain about Lost Income: Will Germany's Constitutional Court Overturn Smoking Ban?
’The Marlboro Man’ courtesy of Google Images
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Germany's Constitutional Court is due to consider this week three complaints put forward against the country's smoking ban by bar owners. The court may well rule that smoking should once again be allowed in small bars and discos.

The walls are covered with posters of Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Johnny Cash, the ads are for whisky, vodka and tequila, the music coming from the loudspeakers is by Cat Stevens, Jethro Tull and Blue Öyster Cult, and clouds of cigarette smoke float through the room.

Sylvia Thimm, 45, has been the owner of Doors, a bar in Berlin's fashionable Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, for the past six years. She is proud of her dimly lit haven. "I'm not just selling beer here," she says. "I'm selling an attitude to life."

But Thimm fears that all of that could soon end. Seventy percent of her patrons are smokers, and in Berlin, smoking is banned (more...) in all bars that have no separate room for smokers. Thimm is still allowing smokers to enjoy their habit in her 34-square-meter (366-square-foot) bar, and fines are not yet being handed out to violators in Berlin. But all of that will change on July 1, when the grace period for enforcement of the city's new anti-smoking law comes to an end.

Many of her patrons have indicated that if they aren't even allowed to smoke at Doors, they'll stay at home or go someplace else. Thimm still doesn't know what she'll do when that happens. "Then I'll have to come up with a Plan B," she says. "I'll probably have to look for a different job."

But because she likes her current occupation, Thimm has taken it upon herself to challenge Berlin's smoking ban before Germany's Federal Constitutional Court. The court's decision could prove to be the salvation of Thimm's pub. This Wednesday, the justices in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe will hear three out of roughly 30 pending constitutional complaints regarding smoking bans. Silvia Thimm's is one of them. Will Germany's Constitutional Court Overturn Smoking Ban? >>> By Dietmar Hipp | June 10, 2008

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
The Irony of Holland’s Smoking Ban >>> By Frederik Hartig | June 11, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Canada)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Canada)

Mahmoud: From Islam to Jesus Christ

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Jordan Group Wants Geert Wilders Tried for Fitna
Photo of Geert Wilders courtesy of Google Images
AFP: AMMAN — Some 30 Jordanian media outlets filed an official complaint on Tuesday seeking court action against far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders over a film judged anti-Islamic.

The organisations, who have set up a group called "Campaign for the Prophet", said in a statement they had lodged their complaint with the Amman prosecutor.

One of the group's lawyers, Tarek Hawamdeh told AFP that the action was "based on the (film's) violation of publishing laws which ban insults against religions and attacks against Islam and the prophets", punishable by a jail term of three years.

The lawyer said the prosecutor "will hear on Wednesday the arguments of those who have started the judicial process and of witnesses". He said he hoped this would lead to a court "order for Wilders to appear".

Wilders's 17-minute film "Fitna" ("discord" in Arabic), which links the holy Koran with terror attacks, has sparked uproar in Muslim countries.

Jordan immediately condemned the film on its release and some Jordanian MPs called for Amman to break diplomatic relations with The Hague.

The media group has also called for a boycott of Dutch products. [Source: Jordan Group Wants Dutch MP Tried Over 'Anti-Islam' Film]

EXPATICA:
Wilders Disregards Jordanian Law >>> | June 11, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)

Zamzam: From Islam to Jesus Christ

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers
The Dawning of a New Dark Age –Paperback, direct from the publishers

Dennis Prager: When I Was a Boy, America Was a Better Place
TOWNHALL.COM: The day the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced, I said to my then-teenage son, "David, please forgive me. I am handing over to you a worse America than my father handed over to me."

Unfortunately, I still feel this way.

With the important exception of racial discrimination -- which was already dying a natural death when I was young -- it is difficult to come up with an important area in which America is significantly better than when I was a boy. But I can think of many in which its quality of life has deteriorated.

When I was a boy, America was a freer society than it is today. If Americans had been told the extent and number of laws that would govern their speech and behavior within one generation, they would have been certain that they were being told about some dictatorship, not the Land of the Free. Today, people at work, to cite but one example, are far less free to speak naturally. Every word, gesture and look, even one's illustrated calendar, is now monitored lest a fellow employee feel offended and bring charges of sexual harassment or creating a "hostile work environment" or being racially, religiously or ethnically insensitive, or insensitive to another's sexual orientation.

Meanwhile, all employers in California are now prohibited by law from firing a man who has decided to cross-dress at work. And needless to say, no fellow worker can say to that man, "Hey, Jack, why not wear the dress at home and men's clothes to work?" An employer interviewing a prospective employee is not free to ask the most natural human questions: Are you married? Do you have a child? How old are you? Soon "How are you?" will be banned lest one discriminate on the basis of health.

When I was boy, what people did at home was not their employer's business. Today, companies and city governments refuse to hire, and may fire, workers no matter how competent or healthy, who smoke in their homes. Sarasota, Fla., the latest city to invade people's private lives, would not hire Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy if they applied for a job. When I Was a Boy, America Was a Better Place >>> By Dennis Prager | June 10, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)