Islamic Courts Cleared to Deal with Family and Divorce Disputes as Government Endorses Sharia
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MAIL Online: Islamic courts have been cleared to deal with family and divorce disputes.

Sharia tribunals will be able to decide how a Muslim couple divide their money and property and who gets the children.

The sole proviso from Jack Straw's Justice Ministry is that a formal law court must rubber-stamp the ruling.

This would be in the form of a two-page form sent to a judge sitting in a family court. The divorcing couple would not need to attend.

The decision follows nine months of controversy over the role of tribunals run according to Islamic strictures.

In February, Downing Street slapped down the Archbishop of Canterbury when he suggested the rise of sharia law seemed 'unavoidable'.

But in July, Lord Phillips, who has since retired as Lord Chief Justice, said sharia principles could be the basis for resolving family and business disputes.

Muslim ministers have warned that sharia should not have an official role because it accords unequal status to men and women.

Giving more weight to evidence from men could hand them a greater share of property and enhanced custody rights.

Lawyers said yesterday that using the secretive family courts to endorse sharia decisions would draw a veil over matters of wide public interest. >>> By Steve Doughty | October 24, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Sharia Rulings on Divorces and Disputes to Be Rubber-stamped by English Courts

Civil rights campaigners are angry that ministers have approved plans to allow Sharia councils in Britain the right to settle disputes regarding money, property and access to children.

They say such tribunals are institutions for male domination which treat women like second-class citizens.

Couples who choose to use the Sharia system must get the ruling rubber-stamped by a judge sitting in an ordinary family court.
But neither party has to attend this hearing and approval can be obtained by filling in a two-page application.

The endorsement of Sharia was announced to MPs by Bridget Prentice, a junior minister, in answer to a parliamentary question.

She said Sharia councils would still have no jurisdiction in England, and rulings by religious authorities would have no legal force.

But she added: "If, in a family dispute dealing with money or children, the parties to a judgement in Sharia council wish to have this recognised by English authorities, they are at liberty to draft a consent order embodying the terms of the agreement and submit it to an English court. This allows English judges to scrutinise it to ensure that it complies with English legal tenets."

Campaigners condemned the plans as unacceptable and said that the rulings were not compatible with English law, while the Conservatives insisted that should be safeguards for women.

Nick Herbert, the shadow justice secretary, said: "There can be no place for parallel legal systems in our country.

"It is vital that in matrimonial disputes where a Sharia council is involved, women's rights are protected and judgments are non-binding."

Another Conservative spokesman, Paul Goodman, the shadow minister for communities and local government, accused the Government of keeping the public in the dark and warned: "There must be one British law for everyone." >>> By Chris Hastings, Public Affairs Editor | October 25, 2008

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Haider Widow Halts Cremation amid Suspicions
THE INDEPENDENT: Jörg Haider's corpse was sent for a second post-mortem in Italy today after the Austrian far-right leader's widow voiced fears that that his death in a high speed car crash in early October might not have been an accident.

Senior members of his Alliance for the Future of Austria party said that Claudia Haider had serious doubts that her husband was killed as a result of drunk driving and suspected he may have been drugged.

Mr Haider died after his VW Phaeton limousine left the road and somersaulted several times in the early hours of 11 October.

He was driving at twice the speed limit, and an initial post mortem showed that he had four times the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream.

However his widow has refused to accept those findings and insisted that her husband's cremation, which had been due to take place earlier this week, be postponed indefinitely.

Mr Haider's former party colleagues said his body would be subjected to a second post-mortem in Italy and further tests by German pathologists to determine whether foul play may have played a role in his death.

Claudia Haider was said to be highly sceptical of Austrian pathologists' conclusions that the 58-year-old politician had consumed such a large amount of alcohol in such a short space of time. She was reported to have said that such behaviour was not in his character and that she feared that he may have been given drugs. Party officials have said there were no skid marks on the road at the accident site and he may have already been unconscious when he crashed. >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | October 24, 2008

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Sharia Incompatible with Human Rights: House of Lords
THE TIMES OF INDIA: LONDON: The House of Lords on Friday described the Islamic legal code Sharia as "wholly incompatible" with human rights legislation, a comment that could spark an outcry among Muslims in the United Kingdom.

The Upper House of the British Parliament has drawn sharp attention to the conflict between Sharia and UK law, calling the Islamic legal code "wholly incompatible" with human rights legislation.

The controversial remarks came amidst a debate in Britain over the appropriateness of incorporating Sharia courts into the UK's legal system, a move advocated by figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and Lords Phillips, the new senior law lord.

The comments in the House of Lords came today as it considered the case of a woman who, if she was sent back to Lebanon, would be obliged under Sharia law to hand over custody of her 12-year-old son to a man who beat her, threw her off a balcony and, on one occasion, attempted to strangle her. >>> | October 24, 2008

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"Stoppt die Großmoscheen in Deutschland!"
Foto von Merkez-Moschee Duisbergs dank der Welt
WELT ONLINE: Am Wochenende wird im Duisburg die größte Moschee Deutschlands eröffnet. Ralph Giordano deutet den Prachtbau als Anspruch einer Minderheit auf Macht und Einfluss, der für Unfrieden zwischen den Religionen sorgt. Der Schriftsteller fordert einen Baustopp für solch repräsentative Bauwerke.

Am 26. Oktober 2008 soll in Duisburg die bisher größte Moschee auf deutschem Boden eröffnet werden – ein Anspruch auf Macht und Einfluss, ein verräterischer Schritt zu weit nach vorn, ein Zeichen tief integrationsfeindlicher Identitätsbewahrung. Zwischen der viel beschworenen Hinterhofmoschee und zentralen Großmoschee hätte es viele Abstufungen ohne den Abschreckungseffekt des Duisburger Modells gegeben.

Das aber ist nur die Ouvertüre, sollen nach dem Willen der türkischen Religionsbehörde in Ankara, Dyanet, doch weitere 200 muslimische Sakralbauten in der Bundesrepublik mit ähnlichen Dimensionen folgen.

Gegen diese Pläne, die Deutschland in eine Plantage von Großmoscheen verwandeln würden, rufe ich zum öffentlichen Widerstand auf! Wie auch gegen die erschreckende Blindheit und den Opportunismus der politischen Klasse gegenüber den unübersehbaren Zeichen einer schleichenden Islamisierung.

Viele der bereits bestehenden über 2000 muslimischen Gebetshäuser sind sogenannte Fathi-Moscheen, das heißt benannt nach osmanischen Eroberern und Unterdrückern wie Mehmet oder Suleiman – und nicht nach muslimischen Künstlern, Wissenschaftlern oder Dichtern.

Solange der Islam den Beweis schuldig bleibt, dass er mit Demokratie, Meinungsvielfalt, Pluralismus und Gleichstellung der Frau vereinbar ist, so lange spiegeln Megamoscheen in Deutschland nicht die Wirklichkeit der Migrations- und Integrationsproblematik wider.

Meine Einmischung in diesen Konflikt richtet sich nicht, wie mir immer wieder unterschoben wird, gegen die Muslime in Deutschland – würde das doch eine Homogenität vortäuschen, die die Verbandsfunktionäre fälschlicherweise immer wieder reklamieren. Meine Einmischung richtet sich vielmehr gegen alle, die ein anderes als das demokratische Deutschland im Sinne haben. >>> Ralph Giordano | 24. Oktober 2008

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China: Hui Muslim Community

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21st Century Britain: Islam or Christianity?

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US Commission: Yemen May Execute Christian Prisoners; Baha'is Face Deportation
BOS NEWS LIFE: WASHINGTON, USA -- The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom fears Christian prisoners in Yemen, who have been jailed "for months without charge" will be executed while Baha'i detainees may be deported to Iran to face “imprisonment” and "torture."

"The Christians, who are converts from Islam, could face the death penalty if charged with apostasy," the Commission said in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife Tuesday, October 21. "Some of the Baha'i prisoners could be deported to Iran, where the Iranian government has imprisoned and tortured Baha'is in recent years."

The Commission quoted sources familiar with the cases as saying that the Baha'is and Christians "were detained for sharing" their faith. "Since May, at least nine Yemeni Christians, who are converts from Islam, have been arrested in [the areas of] Sana'a and Hodeida and remain in prison. According to the State Department, some of the Christians were arrested for "promoting Christianity and distributing the Bible," although no formal charges have been filed by Yemeni authorities," the Commission said.

The Yemeni government prohibits conversion from Islam and the proselytizing of Muslims. "Given that apostasy is a crime punishable by death in Yemen, there is credible fear about the well-being of those imprisoned," the Commission added. >>> | October 21, 2008

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Austria in Disbelief after Haider Outed as Gay
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: PRAGUE: Austria has been suspended between shock, indifference and denial since Jörg Haider's successor, Stefan Petzner, said in a radio interview that the controversial and charismatic far-right politician, who died in a car accident this month, had been "the man of my life."

Petzner, the 27-year-old who took over from Haider as head of his right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria, has made teary-eyed appearances on television since his death. Last Sunday, he told the Austrian radio Ö3 that he had felt a magnetic attraction for Haider, whom he met five years ago.

"We had a special relationship that went far beyond friendship," he said in the highly emotional interview. "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life."

Officials at Haider's party, which gained more than 10 percent of the votes in September elections, attempted to limit the political fallout from the confession by dismissing Petzner as party leader. But their requests that the radio interview not be rebroadcast were rebuffed by Austrian journalists.

Haider, 58, the governor of the province of Carinthia, was the son of a shoemaker; his parents were both active Nazis. He rose to national prominence in Austria over the last two decades, championing traditional family values, railing against the European Union and calling for an end to immigration. He had cultivated a macho, man-of-the-people persona, and was married with two daughters.

While his country has been clearly gripped by a somewhat un-Austrian outpouring of emotions, commentators there said the effective outing of Haider had been underplayed or largely ignored in the Austrian media, which tend to shy away from the private lives of politicians and other national figures.

While Vienna has an active, obvious gay community, homosexuality remains a taboo in some more conservative parts of the society, and Haider's supporters are intent on preserving his legacy as a traditional family man. >>> By Dan Bilefsky | October 23, 2008

WIENER ZEITUNG:
BZÖ Boss Named: Klagenfurt: Acting Carinthian Governor Gerhard Dörfler has been confirmed as new provincial governor by the provincial parliament. >>> | October 24, 2008

THE AUSTRALIAN:
Haider's Successor Axed for Loving Him: THE successor to Austrian far-right leader Jorg Haider has been forced to step down after he revealed he and the dead politician had a homosexual relationship… >>> | October 24, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Far-right Austrian Leader Sacked for Revealing Gay Affair with Jörg Haider >>> | October 23, 2008

FRANCE 24:
Haider’s Lover Steps Down as Far-right Party Leader: Stefan Petzner, a former beauty journalist, was forced to step down from the helm of his far right-wing Austrian party shortly after announcing on Austrian radio that he and the notorious Joerg Haider, who dies Oct. 11, had been lovers. >>> | October 23, 2008

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Claudia Haider dementiert Gerüchte
KURIER: Die Witwe erklärt Verschwörungstheorien für "Unsinn". Die Obduktion solle auch nicht im Ausland stattfinden, stellt sie richtig.

Wilde Spekulationen kursieren um die verschobene Einäscherung von Jörg Haider. Witwe Claudia Haider weist jedoch die Gerüchte zurück: "Alle diese Gerüchte, wonach es eine Obduktion im Ausland gegeben haben soll, sind völliger Unsinn". In die gleiche Kategorie würden diverse Verschwörungstheorien fallen.



Der Leichnam ihres Mannes werde mit Sicherheit nicht irgendwohin ins Ausland gebracht werden, erklärte sie. Eine zweite Obduktion könne sie aber nicht völlig ausschließen. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt sei es aber äußerst unwahrscheinlich, dass sie sich zu diesem Schritt entschließe. Darüber hinaus wolle sie zu all den Spekulationen und Gerüchten, die derzeit kursieren, keinerlei Stellungnahme abgeben. Den Medienhype um den Tod ihres Mannes bezeichnete sie als "widerwärtig".



Die Witwe betonte, dass sie nichts verschweigen wolle, sie zur Zeit aber weder zu Interviews noch zu öffentlichen Stellungnahmen bereit sei. Eine Freundin Claudia Haiders bat darum, "ihr die Zeit zu geben, mit der ganzen Sache fertig zu werden". Die Witwe werde irgendwann öffentlich Stellung nehmen, allerdings müssten bis dahin noch einige Dinge geklärt werden. >>> apa/ce | Freitag, 24. Oktober 2008

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Frankreichs Richter mobilisieren gegen Justizministerin: Hunderte demonstrieren in Paris
NZZ Online: Frankreichs Justizministerin Rachida Dati gerät wegen angeblich übertriebener Selbstdarstellung und mangelnder Kompetenz zunehmend unter Druck. Die Richtergewerkschaften riefen am Donnerstag zu einem landesweiten Aktionstag gegen die Ministerin auf.

In Paris demonstrierten mehrere Hundert Richter und Rechtsanwälte in ihren Roben vor dem Justizministerium. Auf Transparenten forderten sie «Respekt für die Justiz».

Ein ehemaliger Berater der Ministerin sagte der Zeitung «Libération» vom Donnerstag, Dati sei «mehr daran interessiert, auf Zeitschriftentiteln zu erscheinen, als daran, sich in ihre Themen einzuarbeiten». >>> sda/dpa | 24. Oktober 2008

LE POINT: La fronde des magistrats met Rachida Dati sous haute pression

"Les magistrats ont des états d'âme parce qu'ils veulent être reconnus, entendus." La phrase a été lâchée mercredi à Bordeaux par Rachida Dati. Justement pour être "reconnue" et "entendue", la profession, à l'appel de l'Union syndicale des magistrats (USM, syndicat majoritaire) et du Syndicat de la magistrature (SM) organisait jeudi une grande journée d'action nationale contre la politique de la garde des Sceaux.

Plusieurs milliers de magistrats, rejoints par des avocats, se sont ainsi rassemblés en milieu de journée sur les marches de plusieurs palais de justice. A Paris, robes noires et robes rouges, hermine et décorations en évidence, ils se sont pressés sous des banderoles et affichettes demandant "respect pour la justice" ou clamant "justice bafouée, démocratie en danger". "Je suis là pour montrer que le pouvoir judiciaire est bafoué par la Chancellerie. La démocratie est en danger", a expliqué Françoise Froment, présidente de chambre et membre du SM. "La justice spectacle n'est pas la justice de la société", protestait quant à lui l'avocat pénaliste Benoît Chabert. >>> Par Charlotte Chaffanjon (avec agence) | 23/24.10.2008

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Wie das Weltreich Byzanz vor die Hunde ging
Das Weltreich Byzanz. Landkarte dank der Welt
WELT ONLINE: "Star Wars" oder "Herr der Ringe" wären ohne den Schatten dieses Imperiums undenkbar: Das byzantinische Kaiserreich prägte über tausend Jahre maßgebend die Kultur des Abendlandes. London widmet der einstigen Weltmacht Byzanz jetzt eine riesige Ausstellung und zeigt: Auch Supermächte überleben nicht ewig.

Wie aktuell eine Ausstellung über ein vor 550 Jahren untergegangenes fernes Reich sein kann, zeigt ein Blick in die Gegenwart. Zum Beispiel in die Politik: Da ringt die letzte Supermacht der Erde darum, mühsam errungene Positionen im Irak oder Afghanistan bis zum letzten zu halten. Oder in der Popkultur: Was wären "Star Wars", "Der Herr der Ringe" oder Isaac Asimovs großartiger "Foundation-Zyklus" ohne den Schatten eines fernen, schrumpfenden Imperiums, das seine Macht aus der diffusen Vorstellung einstiger Größe bezieht? Nichts.

Und deswegen ist die Ausstellung, die vom 25. Oktober an in der Royal Academy in London zu sehen ist, ein rechtes Déjà-vu. Denn an keinem anderen Beispiel lässt sich Geschichte und Wirkung eines siechenden Imperiums besser studieren als an Byzanz.

Byzanz war Rom, bis zum 29. Mai 1453, als die osmanischen Türken Konstantinopel eroberten und es zu ihrer Hauptstadt machten. Bis zuletzt nannten sich die Byzantiner "Rhomaioi", Römer, stellten sich ihre Kaiser in die Linie, die mit Caesar und Augustus 1500 Jahre zuvor begonnen hatte. Konstantinopel war das "zweite Rom" und sein Patriarch das Oberhaupt der orthodoxen Christenheit.

Vor allem aber war Byzanz für die meiste Zeit seiner Geschichte nicht der belagerte Stadtstaat, als der er im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert erscheint, sondern das reichste und mächtigste Reich des Abendlandes, ja die Frage ist erlaubt, ob es ohne die schützende Hand dieser alt gewordenen Großmacht die Chance gehabt hätte, sich zu formieren. >>> Vonberthold Seewald | 23. Oktober 2008

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Opinion: Tanya Cariina Hsu* - Death of the American Empire: America Is Self-Destructing & Bringing the Rest of the World Down with It
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. - (Thomas Jefferson, US President; 1743 - 1826)

GLOBAL RESEARCH: America is dying. It is self-destructing and bringing the rest of the world down with it.

Often referred to as a sub-prime mortgage collapse, this obfuscates the real reason. By associating tangible useless failed mortgages, at least something 'real' can be blamed for the carnage. The problem is, this is myth. The magnitude of this fiscal collapse happened because it was all based on hot air.

The banking industry renamed insurance betting guarantees as 'credit default swaps' and risky gambling wagers were called 'derivatives'. Financial managers and banking executives were selling the ultimate con to the entire world, akin to the snake-oil salesmen from the 18th century but this time in suits and ties. And by October 2009 it was a quadrillion-dollar (that's $1,000 trillion) industry that few could understand.

Propped up by false hope, America is now falling like a house of cards.

It all began in the early part of the 20th century. In 1907 J.P. Morgan, a private New York banker, published a rumour that a competing unnamed large bank was about to fail. It was a false charge but customers nonetheless raced to their banks to withdraw their money, in case it was their bank. As they pulled out their funds the banks lost their cash deposits and were forced to call in their loans. People now therefore had to pay back their mortgages to fill the banks with income, going bankrupt in the process. The 1907 panic resulted in a crash that prompted the creation of the Federal Reserve, a private banking cartel with the veneer of an independent government organisation. Effectively, it was a coup by elite bankers in order to control the industry.

When signed into law in 1913, the Federal Reserve would loan and supply the nation's money, but with interest. The more money it was able to print, the more 'income' for itself it generated. By its very nature the Federal Reserve would forever keep producing debt to stay alive. It was able to print America's monetary supply at will, regulating its value. To control valuation however, inflation had to be kept in check.

The Federal Reserve then doubled America's money supply within five years, and in 1920 it called in a mass percentage of loans. Over five thousand banks collapsed overnight. One year later the Federal Reserve again increased the money supply by 62%, but in 1929 it again called the loans back in, en masse. This time, the crash of 1929 caused over sixteen thousand banks to fail and an 89% plunge on the stock market. The private and well-protected banks within the Federal Reserve system were able to snap up the failed banks at pennies on the dollar.

The nation fell into the Great Depression and in April 1933 President Roosevelt issued an executive order that confiscated all gold bullion from the public. Those who refused to turn in their gold would be imprisoned for ten years, and by the end of the year the gold standard was abolished. What had been redeemable for gold became paper 'legal tender', and gold could no longer be exchanged for cash as it had once been.

Later, in 1971, President Nixon removed the dollar from the gold standard altogether, therefore no longer trading at the internationally fixed price of $35. The US dollar was now worth whatever the US decided it was worth because it was 'as good as gold'. It had no standard of measure, and became the universal currency. Treasury bills (short-term notes) and bonds (long-term notes) replaced gold as value, promissory notes of the US government and paid for by the taxpayer. Additionally, because gold was exempt from currency reporting requirements it could not be traced, unlike the fiduciary (i.e. that based upon trust) monetary systems of the West. That was not in America's best interest.

After the Great Depression private banks remained afraid to make home loans, so Roosevelt created Fannie Mae. A state supported mortgage bank, it provided federal funding to finance home mortgages for affordable housing. In 1968 President Johnson privatised Fannie Mae, and in 1970, Freddie Mac was created to compete with Fannie Mae. Both of them bought mortgages from banks and other lenders, and sold them onto new investors.

The post World War II boom had created an America flush with cash and assets. As a military industrial complex, war exponentially profited the US and, unlike any empire in history, it shot to superpower status. But it failed to remember that, historically, whenever empires rose they fell in direct proportion. >>> Tanya Cariina Hsu | October 23, 2008

*Tanya Cariina Hsu is a political researcher and analyst focusing on Saudi Arabian and US relations. One of the contributors to recent written testimony on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the US Congressional Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of FOCA (Friends of Charities Association) in its Hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., her analysis has been published and critically acclaimed throughout the US, Europe and the Middle East.

The first to break the barrier against public discussion of the Israeli influence upon US foreign policy decision making, in Capitol Hill's "A Clean Break" Symposium in Washington D.C. in 2004, as the Institute for Research: Middle East Policy (IRmep) Director of Development and Senior Research Analyst, Ms. Hsu remains an International Fellow with the Institute.

Born in London, she re-located to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2005 and is currently completing a book on US policy towards Saudi Arabia.

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Malaysia Bans Women from Wearing Men's Clothes and Lesbian Sexual Relations
THE TELEGRAPH: Malaysian women have been banned from "tom-boyism" and lesbian sexual relations in a fatwa from one of the country's top religious authorities.

According to the chairman of the National Fatwa Council, Abdul Shukor Husin, many young women admire the was [sic] men dress and behave, which is a denial of their femininity and a violation of human nature.

"It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear," he complained, adding, "(Masculine behaviour) becomes clearer when they start to have sex with someone of the same gender, that is woman and woman."

"In view of this," Dr Abdul explained, "the National Fatwa Council which met today have decided and taken the stand that such acts are forbidden and banned."

Male homosexuality - specifically sodomy - is illegal in Malaysia and punishable with up to twenty years in jail. Accusations of sodomy have twice been levelled against the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in what he says are politically motivated attempts to destroy him. >>> By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent | October 24, 2008

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Credit Crunch: Its Punishment from God According to Ismail Haniyeh, the Leader of Hamas in Gaza
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Vote for Me, or Else! Police Fear Riots if Obama Loses US Election
THE TELEGRAPH: US police fear riots could break out if John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, wins the election next month.

Law enforcement officials say the intense public interest and historic nature of the vote could lead to violent outbreaks if people are unhappy with the results, encounter problems casting their ballots or suspect voting irregularities.

Police departments say they cannot rule out disorder and are mobilising extra forces and putting SWAT teams on standby.

In Oakland, near San Francisco, police will have tactical squads, SWAT teams and officers trained in riot control on standby.

"We always try to prepare for the worst," said Oakland police department spokesman Jeff Thomason.

"This election is going to mark in history a change in the presidency: you're going to have a woman in the presidency or an African American as president. I think everybody around here is voting for Obama, so if he gets in the White House everybody's going to be happy.

"But we'll have our SWAT teams on standby and traffic teams here, so if something goes off we'll organise and take care of the problem."

There have also been internet rumours about plans for protests or civil disobedience by supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama if he is beaten by Republican rival John McCain on November 4. >>> By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles | October 23, 2008

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"Schlechtester Präsident aller Zeiten"
DER STANDARD: Die Stationen George "Dabbelju" Bushs: Nach acht Jahren im Weißen Haus hinterlässt der scheidende US-Präsident den Amerikanern ein schweres Erbe[.]

Das Budget ist aus dem Ruder gelaufen, die Army steckt im Irak fest, und das US-Renommee in der Welt ist so schlecht wie nie.

George W. Bush steht daneben. Grau, zerfurcht, so als ob ihn das Ganze gar nichts mehr anginge. Nicolas Sarkozy dagegen sprüht vor Energie und Selbstvertrauen. Der französische Präsident übernimmt das Ruder in Camp David, gestikuliert, will die Finanzkrise quasi im Alleingang lösen. Sein amerikanischer Kollege erfüllt seine Pflicht.
Die Bilder der Pressekonferenz vor wenigen Tagen auf dem Landsitz des Präsidenten sind die optische Übersetzung für den Begriff „lahme Ente". Damit werden US-Präsidenten eigentlich zwischen einer Wahl im November und ihrem Ausscheiden aus dem Amt im Jänner [Januar] bedacht. Bush dagegen muss sich schon vor der Zeit so titulieren lassen, kaum einer seiner 42 Vorgänger hat so viel Autorität in seinem Amt eingebüßt. [Quelle: Der Standard} | 23. Oktober 2008

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Pilgerreise nach Florida
SUEDDEUTSCHE: Traditionell wählen die amerikanischen Juden eher den demokratischen Kandidaten - doch diesmal können die Republikaner von einem Rekordergebnis träumen.

Bei Umfragen im Frühjahr hatten sich zwischen 61 und 65 Prozent der jüdischen Wähler für den Kandidaten der Demokraten, Senator Barack Obama, ausgesprochen. Im Laufe des Sommers aber gerieten diese Zahlen ins Rutschen. Einer Gerstein/Agne-Umfrage zufolge lag die Zustimmungsrate für Obama unter jüdischen Wählern im Juli bei 58 Prozent, während eine vergangene Woche veröffentlichte Umfrage des American Jewish Committee 57 Prozent ergab.

Nun droht ein weiteres Abbröckeln der jüdischen Unterstützung: Zwei unlängst von Obama-Gefolgsleuten begangene grobe Schnitzer im Umgang mit der Jüdischen Gemeinde lösten heftige Gegenreaktionen aus.

Zum ersten Eklat kam es, als jüdische Gruppen am 22. September eine Protestkundgebung gegen den Auftritt des iranischen Präsidenten Mahmud Ahmadinedschad vor der UN-Vollversammlung organisierten. Die Organisatoren hatten die republikanische Vizepräsidentschaftskandidatin und Gouverneurin Sarah Palin sowie andere Politiker beider Kampagnen eingeladen, bei der Demonstration eine Rede zu halten. Sarah Palin wurde indes auf Betreiben von Senatorin Hillary Clinton wieder ausgeladen.

Nicht nur jüdische Republikaner waren verärgert über die Brüskierung von Sarah Palin. Auch jüdische Demokraten reagierten irritiert auf die Initiative des Clinton-Obama-Lagers, durch die ein Konsens-Thema zum Spielball der Politik zu werden schien. >>> Von Rafael Medoff | 23. Oktober 2008

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Iran ‘Would Prefer’ Barack Obama Presidency
Photo of Ali Larijani courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran would prefer Barack Obama to be elected as the next US president, Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's parliament, has said.

"We are leaning more in favour of Barack Obama because he is more flexible and rational [than rival John McCain], even though we know American policy will not change that much," he said.

Mr Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, has spoken about holding talks with the Iranian leadership "without precondition", a stance which has been ridiculed by his rival John McCain. >>> | October 23, 2008

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BAE Systems Executive 'Questioned over Alleged European Bribery'
THE TELEGRAPH: A senior BAE Systems executive has been arrested and questioned by the Serious Fraud Office over suspected bribery to win lucrative arms contracts, it has been reported.

Julian Scopes, the company's former head of government affairs, was interviewed by SFO officers at Guildford police station on Sunday, according to the Financial Times.

Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, a Viennese count who worked as a consultant for BAE, was arrested, questioned and bailed by investigators on the same day, having been intercepted en route from Vienna to his Scottish mansion. His lawyer told the FT he denies any wrongdoing.

Mr Scopes declined to comment, the FT reported, adding that the SFO said a 55-year-old man was arrested and interviewed on suspicion of corruption before being released on police bail to appear next year.

Mr Scopes, 55, who is also a former private secretary to the late defence minister Alan Clark, worked at the Ministry of Defence for more than 20 years before joining BAE Systems.

After taking up the role of head of government affairs, he was responsible for smoothing out dealings between the company and the MoD and other government bodies. He was made head of the company's Indian operation last month.

The interviews came as part of an international investigation into suspected bribes of high-level officials in countries including Austria and the Czech Republic. Officers raided a number of properties in Britain, Austria and Hungary last month. >>> By Jon Swaine | October 23, 2008

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Queen to Meet ‘Britain’s Schindler’ in Second Stage of Tour [of the Former Yugoslavia]
Photo of Nicholas Winton, "Britain’s Schindler", courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The Queen is to meet a man known as "Britain's Schindler" because of his work saving Jews from the Nazis as she continues her tour of the former Yugoslavia.

The monarch will meet Sir Nicholas Winton, 99, as she travels to the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

The Nobel Peace Prize nominee rescued around 670 Jewish Czech children in the run up to the Second World War.

In 1938, Winton, then a young stockbroker, cancelled a skiing holiday to Switzerland and went instead to Czechoslovakia on a friend's recommendation.

There he found camps full of Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi-occupied Sudetenland, and set about trying to help them.

He transported 669 youngsters to Britain before World War II broke out and, without his intervention they would almost certainly have died. >>> By Charlotte Bailey | October 23, 2008

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Haider’s Deputy Reveals Gay Affair
Photo of Jörg Haider with Stefan Petzner courtesy of The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: Conservative Austria was in a state of shock today after the male successor to Jörg Haider admitted to having a longstanding “special relationship” with the far right leader who died dramatically in a high speed car crash earlier this month.

Stefan Petzner – the 27-year-old who recently replaced Haider as leader of the right wing Alliance for the Future of Austria and has often appeared in tears on television since his death - effectively outed himself as the deceased’s gay lover while being interviewed on an Austrian radio breakfast show.

“I had to go to him. I had to go to him,” Mr Petzner said in his highly emotional interview as he recalled how he rushed to the hospital where the dead body of 52-year-old* [sic] Haider was lying after his fatal crash in early October.

Admitting that he felt a “magnetic attraction” for Haider, whom he met five years ago while working as a cosmetics reporter, Mr Petzner insisted: “We had a relationship that went far beyond friendship. Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life.”

He insisted that Mr Haider’s widow, Claudia did not object to his relationship: “She loved him as a woman. He loved her as a man. I loved him in a completely different and personal way. She understood that,” Mr Petzner said. However, the young man’s sister Christiane suggested in a newspaper interview that Mrs Haider had not always been so understanding. “Sometimes Claudia was jealous because Stefan would spend more time with her husband than she did.”

Clearly embarrassed by the revelations, party officials today attempted to limit the political damage and cancelled forthcoming interviews with Mr Petzner. Their attempts to prevent his radio interview being rebroadcast, however, were unsuccessful. >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | October 22, 2008

*Jörg Haider was actually born in 1950.

YouTube Video: Stefan Petzner: Jörg Haider ist tot


DIE PRESSE: Neuer BZÖ-Klubchef Bucher: Kampfansage an ÖVP

Foto von Josef Bucher , der neue BZÖ-Klubchef dank der Presse
Knalleffekt in der Obmannsuche: Der 43-jährige Kärntner Josef Bucher wird überraschend neuer BZÖ-Klubchef. Der designierte Parteichef Stefan Petzner hatte Bucher selbst vorgeschlagen.

Am Ende der längeren konstituierenden Sitzung im Parlament des BZÖ am Mittwoch stand eine faustdicke Überraschung: Josef Buchner, 43-jähriger Kärntner aus Friesach wurde einstimmig zum neuen Klubobmann gewählt. Bucher wird fünf Stellvertreter haben: Den designierten BZÖ-Obmann Stefan Petzner, Ursula Haubner, Herbert Scheibner, Ewald Stadler und Peter Westenthaler. Petzner, der als Favorit galt, sagte nach der Sitzung, er selbst habe Bucher als Klubobmann vorgeschlagen.



"Ich glaube, dass wir uns sehr gut ergänzen", so Bucher über Petzner. Der neue Klubchef sieht in der Trennung der beiden Führungspositionen "überhaupt nichts Ungewöhnliches". Petzner sei als Stratege unverzichtbar, vor allem, da es in den kommenden Jahren einige Wahlen zu schlagen gebe. Petzner wiederum würdigte Bucher als Wirtschaftsprofi, der gerade in Zeiten der Finanzkrise absolutes Know-how vorzuweisen habe. >>> | 23. Oktober 2008

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Streit um das Kopftuch in der Türkei neu entfacht: Richter sollen das Parlament hintergangen haben
Foto von Erdogan mit seiner Frau dank der NZZ
NZZ Online: In der Türkei flammt der Streit um das islamische Kopftuch wieder auf. Das Verfassungsgericht in Ankara begründete am Mittwoch, weshalb es die Freigabe des Kopftuches für Studentinnen an den Universitäten des Landes gestoppt hatte.

Mit einer Mehrheit von neun gegen zwei Stimmen hatten die Richter im Juni eine vom Parlament mit grosser Mehrheit verabschiedete Verfassungsänderung gekippt. Die Kopftuchfreiheit verstosse gegen das Prinzip des Laizismus, erklärten die Richter jetzt in ihrer 20-seitigen Begründung, wie Zeitungen und Fernsehsender meldeten.

Kritiker warfen den Richtern vor, das Parlament entmachtet zu haben. Dieses hatte im Februar mit den Stimmen der religiös- konservativen Regierungspartei AKP von Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan und der rechtsnationalen Oppositionspartei MHP beschlossen, Studentinnen das Tragen des Kopftuches auf dem Universitäts-Gelände zu erlauben. >>> sda/afp | 22. Oktober 2008

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Israël : la béatification de Pie XII complique la venue du Pape
LE FIGARO: Le Vatican estime «discutable» la légende du portrait de Pie XII au mémorial de Yad Vashem mettant en cause son rôle pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

L'invitation de Benoît XVI en Israël n'est pas remise en question par la polémique autour de la béatification du pape Pie XII. Le président israélien Shimon Pères a déclaré lundi que la visite du Pape ne devait pas être liée à cette controverse. «Nous avons des raisons de penser que Pie XII n'a pas fait suffisamment d'efforts pour sauver des vies juives, mais je ne veux pas porter de jugement», a cependant rappelé Shimon Pères.

Cette nouvelle polémique autour du rôle de Pie XII pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale avait commencé au début du mois avec la déclaration du grand rabbin de Haïfa, Shear-Yashuv Cohen au synode des évêques au Vatican. Le rabbin, premier religieux juif convié à un synode, avait contesté le bien-fondé de la béatification de Pie XII, coupable de ne pas avoir «élevé la voix face à la Shoah».

Quelques jours plus tard, le pape Benoît XVI affirmait dans une homélie à la mémoire de son prédécesseur que Pie XII avait œuvré «secrètement et en silence» pendant tout le conflit pour «éviter le pire et sauver le plus grand nombre possible de juifs», tout en déplorant un débat historique «pas toujours serein».

Une déclaration du père Peter Gumpel, l'avocat du procès en béatification de Pie XII, est venue depuis raviver la controverse. «Nous n'acceptons pas que certaines parties de la communauté juive attaquent Pie XII», a déclaré ce prélat. «Il a fait plus que quiconque pendant cette période pour sauver des juifs, non seulement en Allemagne et en Italie, mais dans d'autres pays.» Le père Gumpel a aussi laissé entendre que Benoît XVI ne pourrait pas se rendre en Israël tant que la légende sous la photo de Pie XII dans le Musée de la Shoah de Yad Vashem, à Jérusalem, «Une évidente falsification de l'histoire», ne serait pas enlevée. >>> Adrien Jaulmes | 21.10.2008

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We Have Lost People's Trust on Immigration, Minister Admits
THE GUARDIAN: Better border controls needed, but no annual cap / Woolas pledges to clear asylum case backlog

Phil Woolas, the new immigration minister, yesterday admitted the government had lost the trust of people over immigration because they did not know who was leaving and coming into the country.

He also suggested that some multi-cultural policies had the effect of "leaving communities isolated from one another to the mutual dissatisfaction of everyone".

Speaking at an event with the Dutch justice minister Nebahat Albayrak, he said his main political goal was to try to replicate the debate held in the Netherlands over the proper role of migration.

A matter of days into his new role, Woolas took personal responsibility for clearing the backlog of asylum cases.

He said: "Our failure to resource the asylum processes has caused untold human misery and division within our communities.

"My attitude to this issue is I am going to clear the backlog because it is the right thing to do morally for asylum seekers and the right thing to do for the country as a whole. >>> Patrick Wintour, Political Editor | October 21, 2008

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Iran: Alleged Christian Converts Deny Apostasy, Released
PAYVAND: Mahmoud Matin and Arash Basirat have been acquitted of the charge of apostasy by Branch 5 of the Fars Criminal Court in Shiraz, south west Iran, on 25 Sep 2008. They have since been released.

The Court ruled that they were not presented with any reason and evidence to confirm the offence of apostasy was committed by Mahmoud Matin and Arash Basirat. Both had denied that they had converted to Christianity, and said that they remain Muslim and accordingly the court found no further evidence to the contrary.

Mahmoud Matin and Arash Basirat were arrested on 15 May 2008 by Ministry of Intelligence officials in Shiraz, southwest Iran, where they were having a meeting with 13 other people, who were also interrogated but released. They were held in a detention centre in Shiraz which is controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence. They were in solitary confinement for two months before being placed in a cell together around 15 July. Their lawyer was initially informed of their charge of apostasy in early August, which if they had been convicted could have carried the death sentence. [Source: Payvand] | October 22, 2008

Ultimate source: Amnesty International >>>

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The Mormon Church Is Leading the Fight against Gay Marriage in California
ALTERNET: California's Prop. 8 has exploded into an expensive, extensive battle between religious conservatives and gay rights advocates.

REXBURG, IDAHO -- America's Family Community." That's the motto of this Mormon college town, displayed on street-side monuments and in tall letters on the movie-theater marquee. Apparently, it's a formula for success. Rexburg thrives on a burst of construction and population growth. More than 30,000 residents occupy a grid of wide, orderly streets, amid vast potato fields that unfurl toward the majestic Teton Peaks. Plenty of Rexburg parents, following the Mormon prescription for big families, have six or seven children. One guy tells me his next-door neighbors have 13 children, and a family on the other side has 16. The newly expanded hospital maternity unit is already crowded with new babies. If Rexburg is any indication, Mormons are taking over the world.

They certainly run this town. An estimated 97 percent of the locals belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- making Rexburg possibly the most Mormon of all towns. The brilliant white-stone 57,000-square-foot Mormon temple, opened eight months ago, looms on a hilltop, glowing day and night; intense floodlights make Mormon temples the brightest objects in the Western nights. The college that sprawls beside the temple -- Brigham Young University-Idaho -- now boasts an annual enrollment of 21,000 students, more than double what it had eight years ago.

Mormon mores -- some written into local laws -- permeate the community. Rexburg has no real saloon and no supply of hard liquor; only four restaurants are licensed to serve beer or wine. There is only one coffee shop, and it keeps up with the meager caffeine demand by brewing each cup individually. When I cruise town on a pleasant Saturday night in mid-September, the hottest action comes down in a bowling alley: Balls crash down all 16 lanes while the spinning pins and the bowlers' teeth glow even whiter under the ultraviolet lighting.

But something louder and bigger draws me to Rexburg: the religious culture wars, which heat up every election season. Prophets who run the Mormon Church -- the church president, his top counselors and a dozen top apostles, based in the headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah -- encourage all Mormons to be active in politics. The prophets are said to be relaying the word of God, and while they generally don't endorse candidates, they take stands on issues such as abortion and homosexuality. As a result, most Mormons vote very Republican. In the last presidential election, nearly 92 percent of the votes in Madison County (Rexburg is the county seat) went to George W. Bush -- securing Rexburg yet another title: the nation's most Republican town.

On the most critical issues, the Mormon prophets go all out, urging their followers to conduct targeted campaigns. That helps explain why, Thursday evenings in the downtown building of a health-products company owned by one of Idaho's richest Mormons, groups of Rexburg college students and townies get together. They're using the company's call center to make call after call to California voters, trying to persuade them to pass a ballot measure in the November election. It's titled Proposition 8 -- the California Marriage Protection Amendment -- and it aims to prevent gay and lesbian people from getting married in that state.

An eight-year battle led to Proposition 8. In 2000, with Mormon encouragement and campaign money, California voters passed a measure banning gay marriage. It blew up again last May, when the California Supreme Court justices narrowly ruled (four to three) that the ban violated the civil rights of gays and lesbians. The court likened it to the bans many states once had against interracial marriage, all of which were tossed out long ago. Now, Proposition 8 aims to overrule the California Supreme Court, by amending the state Constitution.

Many religious groups have jumped into the campaign; the Mormon Church takes the lead. In June, the church's top prophets commanded Mormons "to do all you can" to work for Proposition 8 and donate money to the campaign. Mormon leaders throughout California read the instructions to their congregations, which have more than 750,000 members. Word spread everywhere in the Mormon realm. In August, the prophets added pages of elaboration: "The Church has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a husband and a wife united in bonds of matrimony. ... Any dilution of the traditional definition of marriage will further erode the already weakened stability of marriages and family generally ... with harmful consequences for society." Mormon volunteers, additionally inspired by special TV broadcasts beamed from the headquarters into their churches, go door-to-door in California for Proposition 8. In other states, they run phone banks and do whatever they can. Their effort is strongest in the West, because there are more Mormons in this region than anywhere else. Chad Reiser, a leader of the BYU-Idaho College Republican Club, says the phone banks are not an official club activity, but "we do try to get as many people involved as possible. Proposition 8 is a moral issue" related to church doctrine -- "something we believe is important to all people." >>> By Ray Ring, High Country News | October 22, 2008

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Al Fayed Quizzed over Assault Claim
YAHOO! NEWS (UK & IRELAND): Mohamed al Fayed was interviewed under caution by police on Wednesday in connection with an allegation of sexual assault against a girl under 16, sources said.

The Harrods owner voluntarily went to a police station in west London on Wednesday morning to answer questions about the alleged incident in May.

Scotland Yard refused to confirm that Mr al Fayed had been questioned.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a man attended a west London police station by prior arrangement and was questioned under caution this morning.

"The man was questioned in relation to an allegation of sexual assault on a girl under 16 at a business premises in central London.

"The allegation was received in May 2008."

The Met's Operation Sapphire, which investigates sexual offences across London, is leading the inquiry.

There have been no arrests so far. >>> The Press Association | October 22, 2008

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Law Lords Say Sharia Is "Arbitrary and Discriminatory"
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's highest court allows a Lebanese woman to stay in Britain rather than lose her son.

The law lords ruled this morning ruled that it would be a “flagrant breach” of the European Convention on Human Rights for the government to remove a woman to Lebanon where she would automatically lose custody of her 12-year old son under Lebanon’s sharia family law.

The woman – referred to only as EM – came to the UK on false documents in 2004 with her son, AF, then aged eight. She has had sole custody of AF since birth but fled from her allegedly violent husband in Lebanon because of laws that automatically award fathers physical custody of their children from the age of seven.

Today’s decision reversed earlier rulings by the Court of Appeal, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and the Home Secretary that returning the woman and her son to Lebanon would not violate her right to family life despite the automatic separation of mother and child.

The leading judgment was delivered by Lord Hope. His comments on sharia are worth reading in full:

“The appellant came to this country as a fugitive from sharia law. Her son had reached the age of seven when, under the system that regulates the custody of a child of that age under sharia law in Lebanon, his physical custody would pass by force of law to his father or another male member of his family. Any attempt by her to retain custody of him there would be bound to fail. This is simply because the law dictates that a mother has no right to the custody of her child after that age. She may or may not be allowed what has been described as visitation. That would give her access to her son during supervised visits to a place where she could see him. But under no circumstances would his custody remain with her.

“The close relationship that exists between mother and child up to the age of custodial transfer cannot survive under that system of law where, as in this case, the parents of the child are longer living together when the child reaches that age. There is a real risk in all these cases that the very essence of the family life that mother and child have shared together up to that date will be destroyed or nullified. >>> By Joshua Rozenberg | October 22, 2008

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Ban Criticises Executions in Iran
BBC: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticised Iran for what he says is an upsurge in executions in the country.

Iranian authorities say the executions are needed to fight drug trafficking.

Mr Ban welcomed a call from the head of Iran's judiciary to suspend the execution of children, but noted that the practice was still continuing.

The secretary general also used a new UN report on human rights in Iran to highlight the treatment of women, religious minorities and homosexuals.

Iran's deputy prosecutor general, Hossein Zebhi, has suggested that judges should stop imposing the death penalty on young offenders.

However on Monday, Mr Zebhi said that under Sharia law only a victim's family could commute a death sentence for murder.

At least six youths aged under 18 have been executed in Iran this year alone. >>> | October 21, 2008

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UK Looks to Become a Global Provider of Islamic Finance
A government organisation is looking to educate financial institutions in a bid to help the UK become a global provider of Islamic finance. >>> By Natalie Holt | October 21, 2008
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Islam: Cardinal Warns against Alienating Immigrants
Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard puts forward a logical argument, but unfortunately it is a false one. Second and third generation Muslim immigrants do not need the heavy hand of the state to alienate them from Western society; they already have their religion, their holy book, and their prophet to do that for them. The heavy hand of the state is not the cause of the alienation; rather, it is the result of it. Therein lies a big difference. - ©Mark

Photo courtesy of AKI
AKI: Brussels - Second and third generation Muslim immigrants in Europe risk serious alienation from the societies in which they live, France's Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard told a conference in Brussels on Tuesday. The youngsters suffer "a lack of success at school, unemployment, the feeling of not truly belonging or having a stake in the future," said Ricard, whose diocese covers the southwestern French city of Bordeaux.

Ricard argued that Islam may appear to offer young Muslims an identity and pride that their societies do not. He said the anger and violence they feel towards what they perceive as an unjust 'police state' (photo) can drive them into the arms of extremists.

"They risk being attracted by most conservative and anti-Western strands (of Islam), and Muslim communities can be tempted to form an anti-society," he said.

This can lead to "a radical rejection" of the West by Muslims and the resulting rejection of Muslims by non-Muslims in Europe, Ricard warned. >>> AKI | October 21, 2008

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Afghan Journalism Student Sentenced to 20 years for Insulting Islam
TIMESONLINE: An Afghan journalism student sentenced to death for allegedly ’insulting Islam’ had his conviction upheld but his sentence reduced to 20 years in prison by an Afghan central appeal court today.

The prosecution alleged that Sayed Perwez Kambashkh, 24, downloaded from the internet and distributed an article by an Iranian writer questioning some of the tenets of Islam relating women’s rights. He has always denied the charges.

He is alleged to have added three paragraphs to the offending article himself, one of which read: “This is the real face of Islam... the prophet Mohammad wrote verses of the Holy Quran just for his own benefit.”

At his appeal court trial today five professors of Balkh University, where the defendant was a student, claimed that Kambakhsh disrupted classes by asking “anti-Islam and insulting questions.”

Kambakhsh was originally sentenced to death by a local court in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif following his arrest in October 2007.

Following today’s hearing defence lawyer, Mohammad Afzal Shormach Nuristani, said his client would appeal to Afghanistan’s Supreme Court. Mr Nuristani has faced repeated death threats, as has his client.

The case has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organisations and Western governments. Kambakhsh claimed he made a confession after being tortured by officials from the Afghan security services. He claims his accusers were motivated by personal enimities to bring the charges against him.

The proceedings of the original trial were criticised by the European Union amongst others, after it emerged that the trial was held in closed session with only three judges, a court clerk and prosecutor present. Kambakhsh was given only three minutes to defend himself before being sentenced to death.

International observers and human rights groups also attacked today’s appeal proceedings, held in open court. >>> Tom Coghlan in Kabul | October 21, 2008

Related stories here

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Saudis Indict 991 Terrorism Suspects
THE GUARDIAN: Saudi authorities have indicted 991 suspected militants for participating in terrorist attacks carried out over the past five years, the interior minister said yesterday.

The legal proceedings mark a big step in the country's fight against terrorism. Saudi Arabia has so far been reluctant to resort to trying suspects on terrorism charges that could result in death sentences until it can show the public that every effort has been made to give the defendants a chance to repent.

"The kingdom has been the target of an organised terrorist campaign linked to networks of strife and sedition overseas," said the interior minister, Prince Nayef, in a statement. "This campaign targeted the way of life, economy and principles of Saudi society and sought to create chaos.

"It has direct links to a deviant group that adopts the [mindset] of al-Qaida."

The 991 suspects, he said, have been responsible for more than 30 attacks in Saudi Arabia since May 2003, killing 164 people, including 74 security officials. A further 160 attacks have been foiled, he added. The statement did not specify the nationality of the suspects or whether all were in custody.

The Saudi government fears a public backlash against its crackdown if it takes overly harsh measures against those indicted, and wants to avoid accusations it was doing so to please the US.

There is a degree of public sympathy for Saudis who carry out jihad in occupied Muslim countries. Many of those who have returned from imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay or Iraq have been placed on rehabilitation programmes to encourage them to renounce terrorism.

Nayef said the militants' actions had damaged the reputation of Islam and charity work, "attaching the label of terrorism to Islam and Muslims". >>> Associated Press in Riyadh | October 22, 2008

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Geert Wilders Interviewed by Robert Spencer
To the videos >>>
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Switzerland, a Possible Target of Islamist Terrorism?
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: Once considered the safest country in Europe, if not the world, Switzerland is now a potential target of a terrorist attack. Why? In the past few months something has happened to this quiet and neutral country where outside of an occasional banking scandal nothing much went on; at least nothing that merited international focus.

Recently, a slew of events all linked to radical Islamists appears to have shattered the tranquility enjoyed by this Alpine country.

First, came a polemic over an incident akin to the Danish caricature saga; that was followed by new Wahhabi leadership at the Geneva mosque; and a then a prominent Wahhabi figure was denied entry, just to cite a few events. This, much to the chagrin of the Swiss, has placed Switzerland on the Islamists' radar.

Initially, holding on to its neutrality, the country kept its doors open to various Islamist groups. One person who took advantage of this freedom was Said Ramadan, founder of the World Islamic League and a major figure in the Muslim Brotherhood; he established the Geneva Islamic Center.

One of his children, a prominent figure in the radical world of politicized Islam is Tariq Ramadan, born and living in Switzerland, until Oxford and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered him a job. His brother Hani, who has been involved in multiple controversies over his extremist speeches, is currently head of the Geneva Islamic center.

Today, the stronghold of Islamists over the Geneva Muslim community continues unabated. At the end of March, four executives of the Geneva mosque were swiftly fired by the mosque's new director, an imam recently arrived from Jeddah.

Speculation has it that they were not radical enough. The new imam, Youssef Ibram, a Moroccan, trained first in his native country and then in Saudi Arabia, where he studied Islamic law for six years.

He is, interestingly, a member of The European Committee of the Fatwa, a Who's Who of Islamists very close to the Muslim Brotherhood and headed by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. (Qaradawi is a prominent Muslim Brother, who justifies suicide attacks against Israelis, civilians and children alike; and U.S. troops in Iraq. He also hosts one of the most popular talk shows on Al-Jazeera TV).

Three years ago, while based in Zurich, when asked about stoning, Ibram answered that this practice should not happen in Switzerland, but also that he could not contest it in principle, since it is mentioned in the hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed.) Ibram's response prompted so much protest that he had to leave Zurich and relocate in Geneva.

The Swiss government in Bern has recently adopted a stronger stand against Islamist extremists by denying entry to Salman al-Odeh. Though Odeh is typically labeled as a moderate, he is among the most extremist of Wahhabi agitators, intelligence sources say. >>> By Olivier Guitta | October 21, 2008

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Sarkozy will Schlüsselindustrien teilverstaatlichen: Schutz der europäischen Wirtschaft vor asiatischen Investoren
NZZ Online: Als Antwort auf die drohende Wirtschaftskrise hat der französische Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy eine Teilverstaatlichung von Schlüsselindustrien vorgeschlagen. «Wir sollten über eigene Staatsfonds nachdenken, um strategisch wichtige Unternehmensanteile, die abgewertet sind, aufzukaufen», sagte der amtierende EU-Ratspräsident am Dienstag auf einer Pressekonferenz im Europaparlament.

«Wenn die Krise dann vorbei ist, können wir die Aktien wieder auf den Markt bringen.»

Auf diese Weise könnten die EU-Staaten einen Ausverkauf wichtiger Unternehmen an nichteuropäische Investoren verhindern, erklärte Sarkozy. «Ich möchte nicht, dass die Bürger eines Tages aufwachen und feststellen, dass sich die grossen europäischen Unternehmen in den Händen nichteuropäischer Kapitaleigner befinden.» >>> AP | 21. Oktober 2008

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Britain Faces Threat from Radicalised Muslims for 30 years, Says Security Minister
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain will face a threat from radicalised young Muslims for another 30 years, the Security Minister Lord West has said.

Lord West warned that it will take decades to win the argument against terrorism and extremism in some sections of British society.

"To stop this radicalisation of extremists is going to take about 30 years," the minister told MPs on the Commons Defence Committee.

He added that no matter how much work the Government puts into improving Britain's ability to detect and thwart terrorist plots, the threat will only be overcome by persuading Muslims not to engage in violence.

"We cannot arrest and protect our way out of this problem," Lord West said. >>> By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | October 21, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Young Muslims ‘Are Turning to Extremism’

Extremists are winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Britain's young Muslims, a disturbing police report warns.

Increasing numbers have become so alienated from mainstream society that they could even lend their support to jihadi terrorism, the study claims.

While most reject violence, many distrust police and are reluctant to inform on extremists. >>> By Patrick Sawer | June 22, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Five Men Arrested under Terrorism Act

Five men have been arrested in Birmingham under the Terrorism Act after a "long and complex investigation".

The men, aged 29 to 36, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the "commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism", according to West Midlands Police.

Police officers raided five residential addresses in Birmingham shortly after 6am on Tuesday morning.

As part of the investigation, a further two business properties were also searched by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "The men in custody are aged between 29 and 36

"This action comes as a result of a long and complex investigation by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit. >>> By Chris Irvine | October 21, 2008

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Film-Trailer: Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin

TIMESONLINE: German War Film A Woman in Berlin Opens Old Wounds over Red Army Rapes

The gruff phrase “Komm Frau!” – Come, woman! – still sends shivers down the spines of elderly Germans. It was the command given by Russian soldiers as they prowled Berlin and other bombed-out postwar German cities, searching for women to rape.

The hidden horror of those months is about to be revealed in a new German film, A Woman in Berlin, that is likely to shock the nation, stir resentment against the Russians and provoke a debate about morality in war.

The film is based on a diary written by the German journalist Marta Hillers. She began to scribble it in a dusty cellar on Friday April 20, 1945 – Hitler’s birthday, the last before his suicide ten days later.

Within days of the occupation she had been raped several times by Red Army soldiers, one of many hundreds of thousands of German women abused in this way. It was the crime that no one talked about. >>> Roger Boyes in Berlin | October 21, 2008

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Pat Condell Thanks YouTube for Banning His Video

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Britain's Most Senior Muslim Police Officer Rejects Payout Because He Won't Deny Sir Ian Blair Is a Racist
DAILYMAIL: Britain's most senior Muslim officer has been offered a six-figure sum to settle his race discrimination case against the force, it was revealed.

Sources close to Tarique Ghaffur say the deal, tabled by the Metropolitian Police Authority (MPA), contained a contentious clause that would force the Muslim officer to declare that Met chief Sir Ian Blair was not racist.

But Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur, 50, is said to have rejected the offer as he still believed Sir Ian personally discriminated against him on the grounds of his race.

Mr Ghaffur was suspended this summer after accusing the Met's leadership - including the commissioner - of sidelining him from key duties in favour of white officers. The Met denies the claim.

Mediation talks have been ongoing between two sides, and both hope that an agreement can be reached ahead of Sir Ian's departure on 1 December.

A source close to Mr Ghaffur said: 'The MPA has put an offer on the table but Tarique has made it very clear that he will not accept Sir Ian's terms that he goes back on his accusation that he was unfairly treated by Sir Ian because of his race and religion. >>> | October 20, 2008

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