Bin Laden's Son Seeks Asylum in Spain after Being Refused Visa to Live in UK with His British Wife
Omar bin Laden, OBL’s son, with his British wife, Zaina bin Laden in Rome in February. Photo courtesy of Mail Online
MAIL Online: Osama Bin Laden's son has claimed political asylum in Spain - after being refused entry to live in the UK with his British wife.

Omar Osama bin Laden, 27, is being held in Madrid's Barajas Airport after arriving in the Spanish capital on a Moroccan-bound flight from Egypt.

Omar, toyboy husband of a grandmother-of-five previously known as Jane Felix-Browne, is reported to be in the transit hall of the airport's newly-built terminal four.

He is expected to remain there while Interpol confirms his identity and officials consider his asylum claim.

Spanish newspaper El Pais said authorities had decided to process his case 'speedily.'

Omar's surprise asylum claim comes seven months after he was told his British visa application was being turned down at the British Embassy in Cairo because of suggestions he could still be loyal to his terrorist dad.

He is thought to have flown into Madrid without his British wife, now known as Zaina Alsabah-bin Laden.

The couple were planning to move to her £550,000 home in the village of Moulton, near Northwich in Cheshire, when he was refused a UK visa.

Mrs bin Laden, a member of the parish council in Moulton until recently, is severely visually impaired and said she needs access to medical treatment but refuses to be apart from her husband. >>> | November 4, 2008

TIMESONLINE: Bin Laden Son Claims Asylum in Spain

One of Osama bin Laden’s sons has claimed political asylum in Spain, insisting that he is a pacifist who does not share the beliefs of the world’s most wanted terrorist.

Omar Ossama bin Laden, 27, claimed asylum when his flight from Cairo to Casablanca stopped over in Madrid’s Barajas airport last night, reportedly accompanied by his British wife Jane Felix-Browne, 52, a grandmother from Cheshire.

Mr bin Laden, who was travelling on a Saudi Arabian passport, was on Tuesday being interviewed at the airport by Spanish immigration officials, who have 72 hours to make a decision. He can appeal if he is refused.

In April, he was banned from entering Britain to live with Mrs Felix-Browne, who goes by her Islamic name Zaina Mohamad, because of fears that his presence would cause “considerable public concern”. Officials told Mr bin Laden that there was evidence he was still loyal to his father. >>> Graham Keeley in Barcelona | November 5, 2008

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Barack Obama: ‘Marriage Is Between a Man and a Woman’
Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, has spelled out his views on gay marriage on the eve of the election.

The White House front-runner said in an interview with MTV he did not support same-sex weddings and believed "marriage is between a man and a woman".

But the Illinois senator reaffirmed his opposition to a proposition on the ballot in California that would change the state constitution to overturn a ruling that recently gave gay couples the right to marry.

"When you start playing around with constitutions just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America is about," the senator said.

"Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them," he added.

The Democratic presidential nominee voiced strong support for civil unions between same-sex couples "that provide legal rights to same-sex couples (so) that they can visit each other in the hospital if they get sick, (so) they can transfer property to each other. If they've got benefits, they can make sure those benefits apply to their partners."

He added: "I think that's the direction we need to go in. I think young people are ahead of the curve on this for the most part. Their attitude, generally, is that we should be respectful of all people, and that's the kind of politics I want to practice."

In the interview, Mr Obama described California's Proposition 8, which residents will vote on on Tuesday, as "unnecessary". Opponents of the measure hope Mr Obama's position will encourage voters in the Democratic state to defeat it.

The senator also opposes the federal Defence of Marriage Act that prevents states from having to recognise same-sex marriages performed in other states and voted against a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. >>> By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles | November 4, 2008

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Benoît XVI renoue le dialogue avec les musulmans
Le pape á Ratisbonne, le 12 septembre 2006. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: À Rome, une rencontre au sommet entre l'Église catholique et l'islam va tenter pendant trois jours de solder la crise ouverte, il y a deux ans, par le discours du Pape à Ratisbonne.

C'est sans doute la blessure la plus vive du pontificat de Benoît XVI. La crise ouverte avec le monde musulman à Ratisbonne, en Allemagne, le 12 septembre 2006, n'est toujours pas refermée. Le premier «forum catholique-musulman» de trois jours, qui s'ouvre demain au Vatican, pourrait toutefois adoucir le mal.

Il y a deux ans, le Pape prononçait un discours académique devant ses anciens confrères universitaires dans la faculté où il avait enseigné. Il traitait de son thème favori, les relations entre la foi et la raison. Dans son introduction, le Pape s'appuyait sur une citation de l'empereur byzantin, Manuel II Paléologue. Une phrase, datée de 1391, «étonnamment abrupte» précisait alors Benoît XVI : «Montre-moi donc ce que Mohammed a apporté de neuf, et alors tu ne trouveras sans doute rien que de mauvais et d'inhumain, par exemple le fait qu'il a prescrit que la foi qu'il prêchait, il fallait la répandre par le glaive.»

Noyée dans le contexte de la conférence et de ce voyage du Pape en Allemagne, cette citation passa tout d'abord inaperçue. Pendant 48 heures… avant de revenir en boomerang des États-Unis et enflammer, d'un jet, le monde musulman. Le dimanche 17 septembre, une religieuse catholique était tuée en Somalie, six églises étaient endommagées dans des pays arabes, la plupart des pays musulmans engageaient des protestations diplomatiques contre le Saint-Siège. >>> Jean-Marie Guénois à Rome | 03.11.2008

BBC: Pope Urged to Admit Common Ground

When 138 senior Muslim scholars and clergy tried to establish the common ground between Islam and Christianity last year, they said the very peace of the world hung on the outcome.

On Tuesday, a high-ranking delegation is beginning a rare visit to Rome in an effort to persuade the Pope to endorse what they say are the shared origins and values of the world's two biggest religions.

Their letter, A Common Word, cited passages from the Koran which the scholars said showed that Christianity and Islam worship the same God, and require their respective followers to show each other particular friendship.

The document examined fundamental doctrine and stressed what it said were key similarities - such as the belief in one God and the requirement for believers to "love their neighbours as themselves".

Significantly the letter acknowledged that the Prophet Muhammad was told only the same truths that had already been revealed to Jewish and Christian prophets, including Jesus himself.

After a year using the Islamic principle of seeking consensus, the letter has developed into a "manifesto" and is backed by almost 300 leaders from Sunni, Shi'ite, Sufi and other Muslim traditions.

'Out of hand'

The initiative was welcomed promptly by several Christian leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

The Vatican has, however, responded more cautiously to the prospect of identifying common beliefs. >>> By Robert Pigott, Religious Affairs Correspondent | November 4, 2008

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Westerners Warned over Travel to Indonesia ahead of Bali Executions
THE TELEGRAPH: British, Australian and US citizens have been warned about travelling to Indonesia as the country prepares to execute three men responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings.

Amid fears of revenge attacks, Australia has advised its citizens against all travel to the south-east Asian country.

In London, the Foreign Office said that British citizens should exercise caution and be villigent for political protests or any sign of violence.

The United States warned its citizens to "maintain a low profile".

The three men, Imam Samudra, 38, Mukhlas, 48, and Amrozi, 46, are to be executed by firing squad imminently. They were convicted and sentenced in 2003 for their role in planning the co-ordinated suicide car bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians and 28 British holidaymakers.

The three men were members of a regional Islamist terror group loosely allied to al-Qaeda. They have shown no remorse for their crime and regard themselves as martyrs.

They have exhausted all their appeals and all the signs are that the executions are imminent after the execution order was brought forward. >>> By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent | November 3, 2008

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British Bishop Calls for Action over Iranian Apostasy Law
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE: The Bishop of Rochester has called on the Government to take action about a new law in Iran that would make the death penalty mandatory for apostasy.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali said in the House of Lords that many asylum seekers arrive in the UK because of religious persecution.



He asked: “What diplomatic efforts are Her Majesty’s Government making regarding the passing of the law on apostasy by the Iranian majlis, which makes the death penalty mandatory for apostasy and which will undoubtedly cause many more people to flee that country?”



Home office minister Lord West of Spithead said he was not sure “what exactly is going on about approaching Iran on that point”.



But he added: “We are not particularly happy about a number of things in Iran.” [Source: Religious Intelligence] By Adrian Hall | November 3, 2008

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Politically Incorrect ‘Rednecks’
Listen to BBC audio: Why is a politician's personal history so important in American politics? Joe Bageant, author and self-confessed redneck from Virginia, Simon Schama, of Columbia University, and Bonnie Greer, US playwright, discuss whether a politician with a personal story is more likely to gain the trust of voters. >>>

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Here They’re at It Again! Bitching, Moaning, and Whining! Money Wanted! Muslim Chef Sues Met Police after Being Asked to Cook Sausages and Bacon for '999 Breakfasts'
Photo of Hasanali Khoja courtesy of Mail Online
MAIL Online: A Muslim chef employed by the Metropolitan Police is suing for religious discrimination after he was asked to cook sausages and bacon for '999 breakfasts'.

Hasanali Khoja accuses Scotland Yard of refusing to guarantee that he would not have to handle pork, which is forbidden in Islam.

He said it was suggested he wear gloves when cooking pork products.

The 60-year-old claims the problem began when he was asked to move from his position as senior catering manager at Hendon Police College in North London, where he had been excused from touching pork.

In his new role at the Empress State Building in West London, which is occupied by Metropolitan Police staff, he was expected to make '999 breakfasts' consisting of sausage, bacon and black pudding.

The meal got its nickname because it is traditional for officers to insist on hearty fry-ups before starting their shift.

Mr Khoja, who joined the Met in 2005, said he was placed on special unpaid leave for a year after refusing to work without the guarantee he would not have to handle pork.

He is now back at work at another Met building where he does not have to handle pork but has been downgraded to higher catering manager.

Mr Khoja, from Edgware, North London, said yesterday: 'I felt very unhappy about it. I was very upset and angry because it is not permissible in my religion. I was threatened that management would sack me if I did not follow instructions. But I never enrolled to cook pork. I refused to do it. I never did it and I never would.

'I had a letter from the human resources department saying that I would not be required to cook any pork. But this was not exactly what I wanted as a guarantee. The Met has shown no sensitivity towards my religion. Their response has been illthought and discriminatory.' >>> By Charlotte Gill and Caroline Gill | November 2, 2008

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Brown Seeks IMF Cash from Saudis
Gordon Brown at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Saudi officials. Photo courtesy of Reuters
REUTERS: RIYADH (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday he expected Saudi Arabia to pump money into the International Monetary Fund, part of moves to ensure the lender can bail out economies hit by a global financial crisis.

The worst financial crisis in 80 years, which started when a U.S. housing market boom turned sour, has raised fears of recession which one bank official said would spread across the globe hurting even fast-growing economies in Asia and South America.

China was the latest country to fear it might be hit by the downturn, saying it must maintain a fast pace of growth or risk heightening "factors damaging social stability."

Governments have cut interest rates, propped up banks and stepped up state spending to try to spur their economies, but some countries have been forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global lenders for help.

Brown urged countries with large financial resources, such as oil-producing Gulf states, to contribute to a new IMF facility and said he expected Saudi Arabia to contribute -- after some time.

"The Saudis, I think, will contribute so we can have a bigger fund worldwide," Brown told reporters in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on a tour of the Gulf to also seek investment and help on oil prices.

"The oil producing countries, who have generated over $1 trillion from higher oil prices in recent years, are in a position to contribute."

He next heads to the gas and oil-producing Gulf Arab state of Qatar. Earlier in Kuwait, the finance minister said the government would base any decision to support international markets on potential returns and investment opportunities. >>> By Matt Falloon | November 2, 2008

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Sarko’s Voodoo Doll Hissy Fit Tells You Everything
THE SPECTATOR: The French President’s strop is more eloquent than any policy or speech, says Celia Walden. He is a pint-sized de Gaulle regularly made to look a fool by his wife

The truth, invariably, is in the detail. Theresa May’s leopard-print shoes, Jon Snow’s refusal to wear a poppy, Prince Andrew’s bedful of teddy bears, Nick Clegg’s arithmetic (he counted up the women all right but got the weekly pension wrong by two thirds, at 30 — wait for it — ‘quid’), and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s decision to take OK! to court ‘because they made it look as though all I did on my wedding day was eat’. World events, often opaque till years later, can betray little about the motivations of those involved, though one piece of trivia can do it for you.

‘Sarkozy fights voodoo doll’. Now there’s a headline. Read the piece once and you’ll be amused: the French President, it transpired last week, demanded the withdrawal from French bookshops of a voodoo doll in his image (complete with set of pins) being sold alongside a manual on how to put the evil eye on the President. Read the piece a second time and two things dawn on you. For Sarkozy to muster the time to dispatch a legal letter about some daft prank in the midst of a global meltdown is the first. But the wording of the letter, agreed by him and published in Le Monde, is significant enough to paralyse the attentive reader with horror. ‘Nicolas Sarkozy,’ writes lawyer Thierry Herzog to K&B publishers, ‘has instructed me to remind you that, whatever his status and fame, he has exclusive and absolute rights over his own image.’ Status and fame? Fame is for celebrities, surely? Were de Gaulle and Pompidou famous celebrities too, or has something changed? Is Sarko’s global fame now separate from his position as the French President? The egomaniacal explosion of vanity in that single word is enough to make one wonder whether Sarkozy is indeed in need of a large pin-prick to the head. >>> Celia Walden | October 29, 2008

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Viewpoint: The Case Against Obama
BBC: If the polls hold, the American people will elect Barack Obama as their 44th president.

He is a man of prodigious political talents who exudes grace, equanimity and self-possession. He is unflappable, possesses a first-rate mind, and is capable of inspiring rhetoric.

And he would be a very bad choice for president.

On the most important issue he has confronted as a legislator, the surge of forces in Iraq, Senator Obama was a harsh critic.

His opposition to President Bush's new strategy was wrong.
Much worse is the fact that Obama continued to oppose the surge at every stage, even after it was obviously succeeding.

To this day, even as he finally concedes the surge has "succeeded beyond our wildest imagination," Obama insists his opposition to the surge was correct.

Senator Obama's view is that a defeat in Iraq would somehow help our efforts in Afghanistan.

Indeed, if Obama had had his way, all American combat troops would have been withdrawn from Iraq by March 2008, which would have led to civil war and genocide; an unprecedented victory for al-Qaeda and Islamic jihadists; and a boon to Iran.

This fact is, by itself, a shattering indictment to Obama's judgement, and in the area that is the most important responsibility of a president: his duties as commander-in-chief.

Extreme liberalism

I suspect, too, that Obama will, as his running mate has said, invite an international challenge early on.

Obama appears to be a man who dodges conflict and hard decisions; the result may be dangerous displays of indecision and weakness.

Beyond that is the fact that Senator Obama, while exuding a centrist style and employing soothing rhetoric, has amassed a record that places him on the extreme left end of our political spectrum, whether the subject is taxes, trade, healthcare, the size and role of the federal government, the federal courts, missile defence, or virtually any other policy area.

In fact, Senator Obama has been judged by the non-partisan National Journal as the most liberal member of the Senate.

His record as an Illinois state senator is, if anything, more troubling. He opposed legislation that would have prevented infanticide against children who had survived abortion attempts. >>> Peter Wehner*, Former deputy assistant to President Bush | October 31, 2008

*Peter Wehner is a former deputy assistant to President George W Bush, and currently a senior fellow at the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Watch BBC video: California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Barack Obama's TV ad spending could have been put to better use and helped US citizens, as the former actor spoke up for Republican candidate John McCain. >>>
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Saudis Build World's Biggest Women-only University
THE GUARDIAN: King endorses single-sex campus for 40,000 / Gender-based barrier to study and jobs challenged

The world's largest women-only university is being built in Saudi Arabia; with a campus that will cover 8m square metres and accommodate 40,000 students.

Due to open in 2010, the Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University, on the outskirts of Riyadh, will offer courses in subjects that Saudi women find difficult to study at universities where gender segregation is enforced.

It will have a library, conference centres, 15 academic faculties, laboratories and a 700-bed hospital. There will be facilities for research into nanotechnology, bio-sciences and information technology.

At the foundation-laying ceremony last week, which was attended by King Abdullah, the finance minister, Ibrahim Al-Assaf, told reporters the site would include housing for university staff, mosques, a school, a kindergarten and theme parks.

Assaf described the project as a "milestone" in the kingdom's history. The higher education minister, Khaled al-Anqari, added: "The king's presence shows his generous support for women's empowerment and his keen desire to promote higher education."

This year Human Rights Watch accused the Saudi government of stopping women from enjoying their basic rights because they must often obtain permission from a guardian - a father, husband or son - to work, travel, study, marry or even access healthcare.

In a 50-page report, Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia, researchers drew on more than 100 interviews with Saudi women to document the effects of discriminatory policies.

The findings showed that the need fort women-only spaces was a disincentive to hiring female employees and that female students were often relegated to unequal facilities. >>> Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | November 1, 2008

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Somalia: Rape Victim, 13, Stoned to Death
PRESS ASSOCIATION: A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped has been stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants.

Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death on October 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses.

The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.

Initial local media reports said Miss Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance.

"This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement on Friday.

Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some eight million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other. >>> PA | November 1, 2008

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Gaddafi’s Gamble: Libya
Watch YouTube video here: >>>
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Spain's Queen Sofia Objects to 'Gay Marriage,' and Parades
Photo of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The royal family in Spain enjoys a guarded popularity because it tries to keep out of politics. But a new biography of the queen reveals a regal hauteur -- and Catholic bias -- on matters from Hillary Clinton to the phrase "gay marriage."

A new book about Spain's Queen Sofia has caused an uproar among gays and lesbians because of the monarch's sniffy opinions regarding pride parades and gay marriage.

Leaks from her new biography, The Queen Up Close, appeared in the newspaper El País on Thursday, and the normally reticent queen surprised many people by opening her mouth about political matters.

"I can understand, accept and respect that there are people of other sexual tendencies, but should they be proud to be gay?" she says in the book by journalist Pilar Urbano, which is officially published on Sunday, her 70th birthday. "Should they ride on a parade float and come out in protests? If all of those who aren't gay came out to protest we would halt traffic."

She also objected to the term "gay marriage," although the Spanish parliament legalized same-sex marriages in 2005.

"If those people want to live together, dress up like bride and groom and marry, they could have a right to do so, or not, depending on the law of their country," she said, "but they should not call this matrimony, because it isn't. There are many possible names: social contract, social union." >>> msm – with wire reports | October 31, 2008

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Obama Has Aunt Living in US Illegally
ONE NEWS NOW: WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.


Zeituni Onyango, 56, referred to as "Aunti Zeituni" in Obama's memoir, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request, a person familiar with the matter told the AP late Friday. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to discuss Onyango's case.



Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.



Onyango's refusal to leave the country would represent an administrative, non-criminal violation of U.S. immigration law, meaning such cases are handled outside the criminal court system. Estimates vary, but many experts believe there are more than 10 million such immigrants in the United States. >>> Eileen Sullivan and Elliot Spagat - Associated Press Writers | November1, 2008

NZZ Online: «Auntie Zeituni» bleibt unauffindbar: Illegal anwesende Tante bringt Obama in Verlegenheit

Eine offenbar illegal in Boston lebende Tante bringt den amerikanischen Präsidentschaftsbewerber kurz vor dem Wahltag in Verlegenheit. Das Wahlkampfteam des Demokraten erklärte, Obama wisse nichts über ihren Aufenthaltsstatus.

Natürlich sei der Senator dafür, dass allen einschlägigen Gesetzen Folge geleistet werde, wurde weiter mitgeteilt.
Eine aus Kenia stammende Tante lebt nach Informationen der Nachrichtenagentur Associated Press seit Jahren illegal in den USA. Trotz eines 2004 abgelehnten Asylantrags sei Zeituni Onyango im Land geblieben, teilten Gewährsleute mit.

Die 56-Jährige, die Obama in seiner Autobiografie «Auntie Zeituni» nennt, soll in einer Sozialwohnung in Boston im US-Staat Massachusetts leben. Onyangos Weigerung, das Land zu verlassen, wäre ein Verstoss gegen das Einwanderungsgesetz. Derartige Vergehen werden aber für gewöhnlich nicht strafrechtlich verfolgt. Nach Schätzungen leben mehr als zehn Millionen solcher Immigranten ohne Erlaubnis in den Vereinigten Staaten. >>> ap | 1. November 2008

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Parliamentarians Take Leave of Their Senses!
THE INDEPENDENT: Plans to end the dominance of the Anglican faith at the daily opening of Parliament and have multi-faith prayers modelled on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day are to be considered by the House of Lords' procedure committee.

The change could lead to a rotational approach to daily prayers, where different faiths are represented on a particular day, in the way the Today programme gives a voice to different religions throughout the week. Multi-faith Prayers to Be Considered for Parliament >>> By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor | November 1, 2008

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Schwarzenegger Pummels Barack Obama
Photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger helping John McCain beef up his campaign in Columbus, Ohio courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Arnold Schwarzenegger brought some much-needed brawn to John McCain's presidential campaign with a muscular attack mocking Barack Obama's policies and physique.

The California governor was joined by Country and Western star Hank Williams Jr as they pumped up supporters at a boisterous rally in Columbus, Ohio. The state is a must-win battleground so crucial to Mr McCain that he devoted two of the last five days of the campaign to blitz the state by bus.

The Austrian-born former Mr Universe, a popular Republican moderate who played a key role in helping George W Bush win Ohio and thus the White House four years ago, reminded the audience that he hosted an annual bodybuilding contest in Columbus.

"I want to invite Senator Obama because he needs to do something about those skinny legs," he said to loud and amused roars. "I'm going to make him do some squats. And then we're going to make him do some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms."

He then turned to the political impact of his message. "If only we could do something about putting some meat on his ideas," he said, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. "Senator McCain on the other hand is built like a rock."

The star of the Terminator blockbusters added that while he played action heroes on screen, "John McCain is a real action hero" who "has served his country longer in a POW camp than his opponent has served in the United State Senate". >>> By Philip Sherwell in Columbus, Ohio | November 1, 2008

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A Warning from Fred Thompson
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A Video Portrait of Barack Hussein Obama
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Turkey Denies Christians Church
And this from a country which wants to join the EU!
BBC: The Turkish government says it is "out of the question" for it to hand over a revered medieval church where Catholics want to hold Christian services.

The church, currently run as a museum, stands in the south-eastern town of Tarsus, where St Paul was born.

The Turkish constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Christian groups in the country believe that in practice they face discrimination.

Next week the Vatican will hold a Catholic-Muslim forum to improve ties.

It was the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne in Germany who first challenged the Turkish government to hand over the church in Tarsus.

He has pointed out that Muslims of Turkish origin in Germany are free to worship and build new mosques, but that Christians in Turkey face substantial obstacles to their religious freedom.

The Turkish government's response to the BBC leaves no room for doubt about its intention to retain control of the church. [Source: BBC] By Christopher Landau, BBC religious affairs correspondent | October 31, 2008

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Qui est le père de votre bébé, madame?
Foto grâce aux Google Images
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Zwei müssen noch bleiben: Libyen lässt sieben Schweizer nach deren Antrag ausreisen
Foto von Ghadafi dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
NZZ Online: In der Auseinandersetzung zwischen der Schweiz und Libyen gibt es Fortschritte. Sieben Personen, die ihre Ausreise beantragt hatten, können das Land verlassen. Zwei Personen müssen jedoch weiterhin in Nordafrika bleiben.

Die libyschen Behörden haben sieben Schweizern die Ausreise aus dem nordafrikanischen Land erlaubt. Die zwei Schweizer, die seit Beginn der Affäre Ghadhafi in Libyen festsitzen, dürfen das Land aber weiterhin nicht verlassen.

Auch können Schweizer Firmen auf libyschem Territorium weiterhin nicht frei ihre Tätigkeit ausüben, wie das Eidgenössische Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (EDA) am Freitag mitteilte. Das EDA arbeite deshalb nach wie vor «mit Nachdruck» an einer Lösung der Probleme, die das bilaterale Verhältnis belasteten. >>> sda | 31. Oktober 2008

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Glamorous French Minister Rachida Dati Faces Sack
Photo of Rachida Dati courtesy of Gala.fr
THE TELEGRAPH: France's glamorous cabinet minister Rachida Dati could be ousted in a government reshuffle, amid complaints over her high-handed manner, authoritarianism and political inexperience.

France's judges and prison staff are no longer on speaking terms with Miss Dati, 42, the justice minister and France's first top cabinet member of North African origin.

Such is their fury against her methods that President Nicolas Sarkozy was obliged to step in personally to quell tensions, meeting the country's main magistrate's union at the Elysée palace.

The USM union said it was "satisfied" by Mr Sarkozy's reassurances but that it would not have to see whether there was any change in his protégé's "behaviour". "She is in systematic denial of all problems posed," said its president.

Elisabeth Guigou, a former Socialist justice minister, said that Mr Sarkozy's personal intervention was a "disavowal" of Miss Dati.
Mr Sarkozy has reportedly transferred much of her power to his own judicial adviser at the Elysée, Patrick Ouart.

Prison staff have threatened to block the country's jails after the Miss Dati suspended three guards following the murder of a prisoner by another inmate. She then failed to show up to an emergency meeting to discuss how to tackle exploding prison populations and record suicide rates among inmates – already 90 this year.

"The prison system is in its death throes and the Minister does not see it," they said. "If this goes on, there's going to be an explosion," they added. >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | October 28, 2008

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Oh, for God’s Sake Don’t Insult Islam! Morocco Bans French News Magazine for Doing So!
THE PENINSULA: RABAT - The French weekly news magazine L’Express International has been banned from sale in Morocco for “insulting Islam”, the country’s ministry of information said yesterday.

The Moroccan government alleges that the October 30 - November 5 issue had breached Article 29 of the country’s press code, the information ministry said in a statement, without giving precise details on the offending article.

Article 29 of Morocco’s press code gives the government the right to shut down or ban any publication “prejudicial to Islam, the monarchy, territorial integrity, or public order.”

Reporters Without Borders, a group which campaigns against press restrictions worldwide, said in its 2008 report on Morocco that since King Mohammed VI came to power in 1999, 34 media outlets have been censored and 20 journalists have been given prison sentences. [Source: The Peninsula] November 1, 2008

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Islamophobia Worse than Racial Prejudice
TODAY’S ZAMAN: The secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu, has told a Danish newspaper that Western institutions which deal with Islamophobia agree that hatred against Islam and Muslims is worse than racial discrimination.

"Incitement to religious hatred is a new form of racism, and Western institutions dealing with Islamophobia are unanimous in saying that the phenomenon of Islamophobia is worse than racial discrimination," he stated in a recent written interview with the Danish Jyllands-Posten daily. İhsanoğlu stressed that discrimination is discrimination whether on religious or racial grounds. İhsanoğlu also clearly expressed that the OIC is neither against criticism of religion nor is it calling for a ban on any criticism of religion. >>> | October 30, 2008

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Rush Limbaugh: The Man Who’s Always Right
Photo of Rush Limbaugh courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Global warming? A hoax. Barack Obama? A disaster. John McCain? A winner. So says Rush Limbaugh, America's most listened-to and influential – not to mention richest - radio personality. But will America prove him wrong in the US elections on Tuesday? Interview by Nigel Farndale.

Although Rush Limbaugh doesn't actually work from a bunker, he does have a bunker mentality. His studio is on the third floor of a (purposefully) anonymous building 100 yards off the white sands of Palm Beach, Florida, and about a mile from his gated mansion (the one next to Chuck Norris's). Along with the Gulfstream jet (cost: $54 million), fleet of sports cars and eight-year contract, worth $400 million, this mansion is his reward for being the most listened-to talk-radio host in America, a title he has held for 20 years.

But it is also his compensation. Professional Right-wing controversialists do tend to upset people, and Limbaugh has had his share of death threats. He has also had his quota of criticism from the media, or the liberal media, as he tends to call it. He hates interviews and has rarely given any, though he does have a soft spot for this newspaper, because it was once owned by his sometime friend and neighbour Conrad Black (currently serving a 6½-year jail sentence for fraud; Limbaugh wrote a letter to the judge attesting to Lord Black's good character).

The 'drive-by media', as Limbaugh also calls it, came down to Florida looking for him when he insulted Michael J.Fox a couple of years ago – by saying the actor was hamming up his Parkinson's disease for political gain after he appeared in an appeal for embryonic stem-cell research. They came back a few months later when Limbaugh was arrested for 'doctor shopping' painkiller prescriptions; that is, persuading several doctors to give him overlapping ones. He pleaded not guilty and cut a deal; the charges were dismissed after 18 months on condition that he continue rehabilitation and treatment with a therapist. The press staked out his mansion on both occasions, but never found his studio on this palm-fringed boulevard. You wouldn't know it was here.

He calls it his 'Southern Command', having spent most of his career broadcasting from New York, and describes it on air as 'heavily fortified', yet when you travel up in a lift and step into a glass and leather reception area, there isn't even a receptionist, let alone a security guard, just several white locked doors and a CCTV camera that follows you. One of the doors buzzes. I am expected.

On the walls of the corridor there is evidence of Limbaugh's considerable power and influence, and his friends in high places. Here a framed picture of him with George Bush. Here one of him with Donald Rumsfeld. Here he is with Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan.

There is a humidor – Limbaugh is a connoisseur of cigars – and a bust of Churchill. There is also a bust of Beethoven, which has a plaque reading: 'A genius who produced masterpieces without hearing.' >>> | October 31, 2008

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Andy Burnham: Churches Should Be Turned into Gyms
Comments like this from the so-called ‘Culture Secretary’ show the depths of moral depravity to which the ‘Great Britain’ has sunk! They also show that our leaders are totally and utterly clueless. Instead of going with the flow of moral decline, they should be looking for ways to lead us back to a way of life with a higher purpose. It used to be done through education and example.

It is disgraceful for this man to suggest to the nation that their religious cultural heritage is worthless, for this suggestion is tantamout to that. - ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, has suggested churches with low attendance could be turned into gyms, restaurants and multi-faith centres.

Mr Burnham said while it was important to preserve the architectural beauty of some of the churches, many of which have listed status, they may serve the community better by becoming secular.

His comments follow his suggestion earlier this month that libraries could benefit from being modernised with coffee bars and abolishing the silence rule.

Mr Burnham said if the UK could not preserve its churches: "We need to find new purposes with the support of the local community and we need to increase secular interest in our church heritage."

He used the example of the recent multi-million pound renovation of All Souls Church in Bolton, an Anglican church which has "found a new multi-faith, multi-racial community to serve." >>> By Chris Irvine | October 31, 2008

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All that Glisters Is Not Gold! Barack Obama Lays Plans to Deaden Expectation after Election Victory
TIMESONLINE: Barack Obama’s senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week’s election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters have unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.

The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of “hope” and “change” are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.

One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, “so there’s not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair”.

The aide said that Mr Obama himself was the first to realise that expectations risked being inflated.

In an interview with a Colorado radio station, Mr Obama appeared to be engaged already in expectation lowering. Asked about his goals for the first hundred days, he said he would need more time to tackle such big and costly issues as health care reform, global warming and Iraq. “The first hundred days is going to be important, but it’s probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference,” he said. He has also been reminding crowds in recent days how “hard” it will be to achieve his goals, and that it will take time. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | October 30, 2008

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Things Only Get Better on Blair’s Gravy Train
Photo of Tony Blair courtesy of the Daily Express
DAILY EXPRESS: Tony Blair was yesterday urged to give up his income of nearly £150,000-a-year – paid for by the taxpayer – after earning more than £12million since leaving Downing Street.

The former Prime Minister is said to have made in just over a year more than six times what he earned as an MP over 24 years.

That includes his 10 years at Number 10 when he was on an annual salary of £187,611.

Mr Blair’s lucrative money-making activities have reportedly triggered fears in diplomatic circles that he is neglecting his unpaid role as an international envoy in the Middle East.

Mr Blair receives £84,000 of public money towards the costs of running his private office, a perk given to all former Prime Ministers. On leaving Number 10 he also became eligible for an immediate ex-PM’s pension of £63,468 a year for life, which will rise in 2013 when he is 60 by up to £40,000 a year for his service as MP.

Mark Wallace of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Tony Blair is an extremely wealthy individual.

“The least he could do for hard-pressed British taxpayers would be to waive his publicly funded payments.”

Senior Lib-Dem Norman Baker commented: “It’s a very long way from the housing estates of Sedgefield where he was MP, where many people will be struggling with food and heating bills.”

Analysts calculate that Mr Blair has made at least £12.4million in the last 16 months since quitting as Prime Minister, including an estimated £5.3million from speeches and lectures. There is said to be a two-year waiting list to book him.

Mr Blair is also thought to have made £4.6million on his yet-to-be produced memoirs, an estimated £2million as adviser to investment bank JP Morgan Chase and £500,000 as a consultant to Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services. >>> By Alison Little | October 30, 2008-10-30

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Head of Italian Museum Displaying 'Blasphemous Frog' Sacked
Photo of Martin Kippenberger’s ‘crucified frog’ courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The head of an Italian museum who offended the Pope by exhibiting a wooden sculpture of a crucified frog has been sacked amid a debate over artistic freedom.

Corinne Diserens, the Swiss director of the museum in Bolzano, in the mountainous north-east of Italy, was dismissed after months of controversy over the bright green, bug-eyed amphibian, which is nailed to a cross and holds a frothing mug of beer and an egg.

She had refused to remove the work by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger despite protests from the Vatican that it was blasphemous.

She said the museum had a right to artistic freedom, and kept the frog on display as originally planned from May to September.

But a majority of the museum's board of directors disagreed and instead dismissed her this week.

The official reason given by the museum was that Ms Diserens had caused a "difficult financial situation" by overspending her budget, but supporters said she was being punished for the row over the frog.

Her sacking prompted a debate on contemporary art in the German-speaking region of Alto-Adige, where a far-right party with anti-immigration views tripled its support in local elections this week, becoming the province's second most powerful political force.

"The relationship between art and politics is never an easy one, but to be sacked because of one work of art is really incredible," said the head of a gallery in nearby Trento, Fabio Cavallucci.

Pope Benedict XVI condemned the four-foot-high frog, entitled Zuerst die Fuesse (Feet First), when he heard about it during his summer holiday in the nearby town of Bressanone.

He said it "injured the religious feeling of many people who see in the cross the symbol of the love of God and of our salvation which deserves recognition and religious devotion". >>> By Nick Squires in Rome | October 30, 2008

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The US Election
Watch BBC video: Dear Mr Obama: Iraq veteran's message to Democrat >>> | October 30, 2008
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Next President Must Understand Challenge of Radical Islam, Former Senator Says
CNS NEWS: To keep America free from terrorist attacks in the post 9/11 world, it is imperative that the next president have an acute understanding of radical Islam and the need for a forceful response that extends beyond mere criminal prosecution, said former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.
 


He made the comments at a debate focusing on the 2008 election.
 


The Pennsylvania Republican also credited the Bush administration for pursuing effective counter-terrorism measures, re-affirmed his vote in favor of the Iraq war and suggested that Iran could be on verge of inciting a major conflict. 
 


Santorum teamed up with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, on the campus of Regent University in Virginia Beach. The Republicans made a case for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other Republican candidates in this year’s election, addressing the question of “Which Party is Best Suited to Lead America?”
 


The Democratic side was represented by Geraldine Ferraro, a former congresswoman from New York, who was the party’s vice presidential nominee in 1984; Donna Brazile, the campaign manager for the Gore-Lieberman ticket in 2000; and Alan Colmes of Fox News, all of whom spoke in favor of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as the more desirable presidential nominee.
 


Although the war in Iraq has had its problems, the Republicans in power have demonstrated that they have a firm grip on the challenge presented by radical Islam and the will to pursue necessary albeit unpopular polices, Santorum argued. 


“The bottom line is that the United States has been safe since 9/11,” he observed in his opening statement. “Not one person on this panel, not one person in this audience, would have predicted on September 12, 2001 that we’d be sitting here today without another terrorist incident. That is not a mistake.” >>> By Kevin Mooney, Staff Writer | Thursday, October 30, 2008

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Stoned Woman ‘Screamed for Her Life’
IOL: Kismayu - Relatives of a Somali woman who was publicly stoned to death by Islamists have reacted with fury.



Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow, 23, was stoned to death after being accused of adultery, witnesses said. It was the first such public killing by the militants for about two years.



"The stoning was totally irreligious and illogical," said Dhuhulow's sister, who asked not to be named. 



"Islam does not execute a woman for adultery unless four witnesses and the man with whom she committed sex are brought forward publicly," she said.



Dhuhulow was placed in a hole up to her neck for the execution late on Monday in front of hundreds of people in a square of this southern port, which the Islamist insurgents captured in August. [Source: IOL.co.za] | October 29, 2008

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Investors Sought for $131mn Birth of Islam Movie
ARABIAN BUSINESS: Investors are being sought for a major new $131 million film being produced depicting the birth of Islam.

The producers of The Messenger of Peace have appointed Dubai-based Millennium Finance Corporation to attract a limited number of "high quality co-investors" for the project, it was announced on Thursday. 



Production of the film, which will reach a global audience of both Muslims and non-Muslims, is expected to start in early 2009. The producers will start an investment roadshow throughout the GCC region shortly.

The Messenger of Peace will be only the second movie of its kind on the subject of Islam, whereas more than 30 major films have been made about the early history of Christianity. 



Films based on religious subjects have been largely successful in the history of film. 



The Message is still much in demand today after more than 30 years since its release, while Mel Gibson’s 2004 film Passion of the Christ was a big box office hit. 



In addition to global distribution channels which cover the US, Europe, Asia, Africa and Middle East markets, the producers intend to reach out to people through merchandising channels to help alleviate many misgivings about Islam and to make the venture commercially very successful. 



The film’s investment vehicle will have full control over all revenues. >>> By Andy Sambidge | October 30, 2008

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Suppressing Free Speech in Finnish Local Government
GATES OF VIENNA: Stories about the suppression of political speech throughout the West have grown so numerous that I can no longer report them all. I could dedicate every moment of my day to chronicling the illiberal enforcement of PC Multiculturalism, but it would still be impossible to cover all the incidents.

In many countries — Sweden, the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the USA, just to name a few — a naked power play has emerged that persecutes any and all opposition. Its actions are covered by various legal fig leaves: hate speech, racism, discrimination, racial incitement, hets mot folkgrupp, etc. But underneath it is the desire of the ruling oligarchs to maintain their monopoly on power by enforcing the orthodoxy that undergirds it.

Recent elections in Europe indicate a nascent awareness of the coming discontinuity, and a resistance is awakening. Electoral results in Italy, Britain, Denmark, and Austria, among others, demonstrate that a healthy sense of national identity is alive and well and intends to express itself. In response we can expect an even tougher crackdown by the elites of the EU and its member states, who will attempt to suppress these rebellious trends using whatever means are necessary. >>> By Baron Bodissey | October 29, 2008

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Sharia Law 'Subservient' to English Courts, Says Jack Straw
THE TELEGRAPH: Sharia law is and must remain "subservient" to the English courts, Jack Straw has said.

The Justice Secretary told an Islamic conference that no court would ever endorse a sharia ruling that conflicted with English law and that the arguments against introducing a separate Islamic legal system were "overwhelming".

Mr Straw said: "There is nothing whatever in English law that prevents people abiding by Sharia principles if they wish to, provided they do not come into conflict with English law.

"There is no question about that. But English law will always remain supreme, and religious councils subservient to it."

His speech came days after Bridget Prentice, a junior minister in his department, suggested that rulings on divorce and custody of children made by sharia courts could simply be "rubber-stamped" by English courts. Miss Prentice's comments drew sharp criticism from the Conservatives and pressure groups.

Mr Straw said that while the courts could take sharia rulings into account, they must make their own decisions, which could not be disputed externally. >>> By Jon Swaine | October 30, 2008

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Two New Chapters to Be Opened in Turkey-EU Conference on Dec. 18
HÜRRIYET: Two new chapters in Turkey's EU accession talks would be opened to negotiation during the intergovernmental conference between Turkey and the bloc, which is expected to be held on Dec. 18, a French minister said on Wednesday.

The new chapters would be opened during the upcoming conference, French Secretary of State Jean-Pierre Jouyet, who attended a reception held on the occasion of the 85th foundation anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in Paris, was quoted as saying by the Anatolian Agency.

Jouyet said France, as EU's rotating president, desired to open more than two chapters to negotiation with Turkey, however, due to certain developments beyond his country's control, it might not be possible to open a third chapter.

According to diplomatic sources, the two chapters to be opened to negotiation are "free movement of capital" and "information society and media".

The opening of chapter on "energy", for which Turkey is technically ready, is suspended due to several objections within EU, sources also said.

The EU opened the negotiations on two chapters, "company law" and "intellectual property law", in June, bringing the number of policy areas Turkey has opened since it began accession talks in 2005 to eight.

Although the opening of two new chapters signals progress in membership negotiations, 15 of 35 chapters remain suspended. The EU had suspended eight chapters in December 2006 due to Turkey's refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels before the Union ends its isolation of Turkish Cypriots. [Source: Hürriyet] | October 30, 2008

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'Super-Immigrants' and Denmark's Welfare State
NEWSWEEK / WASHINGTON POST: "The Achilles' heel of the welfare state" read a recent headline in a Danish newspaper, alluding to the economic toll immigration is taking on the country.

"...Unrestricted immigration is a death threat against our welfare," echoed Pia Kjærsgaard, leader of the right wing party Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People's Party), defending her fight for a selective approach to immigration.

The comments come at a time when Denmark has had to accept new rulings by the EU that ease its own relatively strict immigration policies. The conclusion that non-EU citizens no longer need to be legal residents in an EU country to be allowed family reunification in another EU country is against Denmark's own law. But as Denmark has to follow common policy laws on immigration regardless of national laws, the government has had little choice but to concede to the ruling.

Pia Kjærsgaard calls the EU a "monster" while other angry voices in Parliament, although not as allegorical, have joined in on an intense debate about how best to cover up the loopholes now present in the country's immigration law.

Why are politicians so skeptical of letting anyone outside of the EU become a Danish citizen?

Calculations by the Danish National Bank may give an answer. Their predictions indicate that the government would have to save nearly $1.6 billion (or raise taxes equivalently) in order to balance the costs of immigrants from under-developed countries living in Denmark. These immigrants tend to have a hard time finding jobs, but are nevertheless automatically included in the welfare state. Benefiting from the generous public services without paying back in the form of taxes would therefore lead to a significant deficit of government spending. >>> By Annie Magnus | October 29, 2008

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Israel Complains to Turkey over Iranian President Ahmadinejad Visit
HÜRRIYET: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni complained on Thursday about a visit to Turkey by Iranian President Ahmadinejad in August and demanded that Ankara act to isolate Tehran.

At a meeting with Turkish Defense Minister Vacdi Gonul, Livni "expressed her discontent over the visit by the Iranian president to Turkey", her office said in a statement.

Ahmadinejad paid a working visit to Turkey in August, in which the international row over Iran's nuclear program topped the agenda.

"We must continue to strengthen international pressure against Iran and its president," Livni, who hopes to become prime minister after snap elections scheduled for February, was quoted as saying by AFP. >>> | October 30, 2008

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'Minister Handing Out Too Many Residency Permits'
DUTCHNEWS.nl: Immigration minister Nebahat Albayrak has been accused of handing out discretionary residency permits 'like Father Christmas' to immigrants whose applications had been turned down, various media report on Thursday.

The accusation was made in a letter from one or more employees of the immigration service IND.

The letter, which also contained several official documents, was sent to Geert Wilders' anti-immigration party PVV which has handed it over to the parliamentary justice committee. >>> | October 30, 2008

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Hirsi Ali, Critic of Islam, Honored for Courage
THE JEWISH JOURNAL: A tall African-born woman, raised a devout Muslim but now one of Islam's sharpest critics, last week calmly dismantled some of the favorite shibboleths of American liberalism.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was in town to accept an inaugural award for her remarkable personal and civic courage from Community Advocates, Inc., in front of some 600 Angelenos of various political stripes.

In an interview, and in parts of her remarks at the downtown Japan America Theatre, she questioned the virtues of multiculturalism, the West's understanding of Islam and its comprehension of the roots of terrorism.

Hirsi Ali, 38, was born in Somalia, was an ultra-devout Muslim during adolescence, but changed gradually, and then radically, when she found asylum in Holland in 1992.

She was elected to the lower house of the Dutch parliament in 2003 and became an international figure in 2004, after she wrote the screenplay for the short film "Submission," a barbed indictment of Islam's treatment of women.

That same year, the movie's director, Theo van Gogh, was assassinated on an Amsterdam street by a young Muslim, who pinned a death threat against Hirsi Ali to Van Gogh's chest.

She now lives under constant police protection in America and continues to write and speak out as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

In 2005, she made TIME's list of "100 of the World's Most Influential People."

Her categorical denunciations of Islam have been questioned, but never her personal mettle. It was for the latter characteristic that she was honored with the inaugural Ziegler Prize For Courage of Conviction by Community Advocates, Inc. (CAI) chairman and former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, together with CAI President David Lehrer and Vice President Joe Hicks.

The accompanying citation reads: "In recognition of your indomitable courage and spirit, which teaches, offers hope and provides inspiration to humanity."

In her acceptance response and during her interview with The Journal, Hirsi Ali also faulted the West for its choice of weapons in fighting threats from Iran and Islamic militants.

"The United States has the option of using military force against Iran, which it may still have to do, or diplomacy, which has not worked so far," she said.

But the West has failed by not promoting its ideology in the "clash of ideas and values," Hirsi Ali declared.

"When Saudi Arabia spends $2 billion abroad for hospitals, mosques and schools, it conditions the aid on the recipient's acceptance of Saudi Arabia's fundamentalist form of Islam," she said. "But Western private and public philanthropy comes with no message, it's value free."

What the West must do, she urged, is to attach a clear message to its aid inculcating the values of individual responsibility, the equality of men and women and a scientific approach to counter tribal superstitions.

The West also fails to understand that there's little basic difference between Islamic "moderates" and "extremists," Hirsi Ali argued. >>> By Tom Tugend | October 29, 2008

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Austrian Parliament Elects Extreme-Rightist as Its Vice-President
EUROPEAN JEWISH PRESS: VIENNA---The Austrian Jewish community has criticized the election Tuesday by the new Austrian Parliament of an extreme-rightist MP known to be a nostalgic of the Third Reich, as its vice-president, [sic]

Martin Graf, a 48-year-old lawyer, is a member of a student fraternity union called “Olympia” that has contacts with neo-nazis [sic] and Holocaust deniers. He is also an MP from the extreme-right Freedom Party (FPO) [FPÖ] which has made important gains in general elections last month.

70 percent of the members of the Austrian parliament supported Graf’s candidacy, including the mainstream conservative People’s Party (OVP) [ÖVP].

In the last two weeks, former concentration camp inmates, Vienna's Jewish community, artists and other members of the civil society had written several open letters to MPs, asking them not to vote for Graf.

Austrian MPs "made a symbolic decision which can lead to a further strengthening of the right-wing extremist camp and which shows little sensibility for Austrian history and the tragic results of German nationalism," the Vienna Jewish community said.

“The fact that he could be elected vice-president of the Austrian Parliament should light warning signals not only in Austria but all over Europe,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem said. >>> Joseph Rottenmeier | October 30, 2008

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New Dark Age Alert! Qatar’s UN Ambassador Urges Prosecution for Blasphemy
THE NATIONAL: NEW YORK - A Gulf diplomat has urged foreign governments to prosecute individuals who make offensive and defamatory statements against Islam and other faiths during a heated debate at United Nations headquarters.

 Speaking on behalf of members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nasser Abdulaziz al Nisr, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Nations, told delegates at a recent meeting that “freedom of expression” should not permit the abuse of religions.

The GCC speech marked the latest episode in a fractious debate that was raging even before Sept 2005, when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons satirising the Prophet Mohammed.

 Speaking in New York, Mr Nisr described blasphemy as unacceptable, while western governments allege leaders from the Islamic world are trying to stifle basic freedoms and infringe the rights of non-Muslims.

“Our countries categorically reject all forms of incitement, discrimination, hostility, violence, attempts to justify the distortion of religions and hostility-based incitement of religions in the name of freedom of expression,” Mr Nisr said this week. “The responsibility rests, therefore, with the governments to address such conduct by legal and executive possible means, including amending legislation that allows such practices in the name of freedom of expression and opinion.”

Mr Nisr was speaking in advance of a vote in the UN General Assembly’s committee on human rights on a draft resolution intended to “combat defamation of religions”.

The draft resolution is supported by the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference and has passed every year since 2005. Although not binding in international law, the resolution sets a global moral standard.

The most recent version of the resolution, which passed in December, emphasises that the freedom of expression “carries with it special duties and responsibilities” and may be “subject to limitations as are provided for by law”.

The cartoons in the Jyllands-Posten and their republication by a string of western newspapers provoked riots in parts of the Islamic world, boycotts on Danish goods and demands for prosecution of those responsible.

Denmark’s justice ministry this week rejected the third bid by seven Muslim lobby groups to take the newspaper to the Supreme Court for publishing the cartoons.

 Other cited examples of defamation of religion have included Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 address at the University of Regensburg and Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.

A coalition of countries that advocate free speech, including the United States, is trying to thwart the OIC resolution this year by persuading more moderate Muslim nations to vote against it.

In publishing its annual report on global religious freedom last month, the US state department criticised the Muslim bloc for using the United Nations to “export” anti-blasphemy laws found in some of its member countries to the international level. >>> James Reinl, United Nations Correspondent | October 29, 2008

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£9m Firewall to Protect Thai King from Online Detractors
King Bhumipol and Queen Sirikit of Thailand. Photo courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: Not content with lese-majeste laws to protect the revered monarchy that are among the world's most draconian, Thailand is to build a wall around the kingdom to keep out detractors.

But the barrier will be virtual, a national internet firewall to block websites deemed insulting to the throne of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who at 80 is the world's longest serving monarch.

For the princely sum of almost £9m the Thai information ministry will shield the king and his adoring subjects from the sleights – real or perceived – of those who mock online.

Thailand's government, locked in a bitter struggle with staunchly royalist demonstrators who have been on the streets for months, has been accused of harbouring republican tendencies and being hostile to the monarchy.

It refutes the charge, but the move to construct the firewall appears to be the result of pressure from the powerful military and its demand that criticism of the monarchy be stamped out.

The firewall will also give Thailand's bureaucrats the power to block other websites it labels inappropriate, like those run by perceived terrorist groups or showing pornography. But the first target will up to 1,000 websites suspected of carrying material regarded as offensive to the king. >>> Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | October 30, 2008

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New Polls Give John McCain Hope as Race Tightens
THE TELEGRAPH: New polls released suggest that the race for the White House is tightening, giving Republicans slender hope that Senator John McCain can overtake Senator Barack Obama in the final five days of the campaign.


A new poll by Rasmussen Reports showed Mr McCain closing to within three points of Mr Obama nationwide for the first time in more than month, trailing 47 per cent to 50 per cent.

A Quinnipiac University poll showed Mr Obama with a still sizeable, albeit slightly narrower lead in swing states Ohio and Pennsylvania but with Florida now too close to call.

On average, the Democrat's lead is down from the level of seven to 7.5 per cent seen for the past two weeks to six per cent.

Mr Obama and his campaign staff have persistently said the race will tighten late on, and those numbers are giving the McCain campaign encouragement that their relentless attempts to portray Mr Obama as an ultraliberal politician secretly plotting to raise taxes across the board are slowly starting to draw support.

Bill McInturff, Mr McCain's chief pollster, released a memo saying: "As other public polls begin to show Senator Obama dropping below 50% and the margin over McCain beginning to approach margin of error with a week left, all signs say we are headed to an election that may easily be too close to call by next Tuesday."

The campaign believes that the eight to ten per cent of undecided voters will tilt heavily in Mr McCain's favour. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | October30, 2008

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