As Islam Strengthens, the West Weakens… Or Maybe It’s Simply Losing It!
Allowing your pet dog to beg at table in future could put you in jail for “animal cruelty”! Photo courtesy of Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: Failing to notice your dog is getting fat, feeding it at the table and chocolate treats are all animal cruelty that could end up putting someone in jail under new government guidelines.

Chocolate, raisins or grapes are "poisonous" for pets, according to the code, while a dog should not be disturbed when eating as this can cause "food-related aggression".

It also recommends that dogs should not be fed at the table as this can lead to begging - and that "curious" animals such as cats should be kept away from windows or tumble dryers.

The new codes of practice for owners of dogs, cats and horses, just released for consultation, are part of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to prevent cruelty. The guidance says that breaching the three codes will not in itself be a crime, but it could prove to be the deciding factor in whether an individual is found guilty in court of a pet welfare offence – which carries a maximum jail sentence of six months or a fine of up to £20,000. Opposition policiticans criticised the "over the top" rules that "take people for fools".

However, Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, said the new laws afford animals "greater protection than ever before". Launching the eight-week consultation, Mr Benn said: "These three new codes of practice will outline the responsibilities of owners under the Act and give practical advice on how to fulfil them. This means no one will be able to claim ignorance as an excuse for mistreating any animal."

The guidelines cover the environment for animals, diet, the company they enjoy, ensuring they exhibit normal behaviour patterns, as well as health and welfare issues.

The code of practice for dogs advises against taking a dog for a walk during the hottest part of the day or feeding it less than an hour before vigorous exercise in order to avoid "bloating". Owners should groom dogs with long hair at least once a day and all dogs should have teeth cleaned with dog chews or canine toothpaste as part of routine care.

Training dogs should be done through "positive reinforcement" rather than punishment that can lead to behavioural problems in the future.

Owners can spot signs of stress such as barking excessively, urinating indoors or yawning when not tired.

The advice stresses cats are not vegetarians and adults do not need bowls of milk. However they do need somewhere to hide and to scratch claws.

The guidelines for horses are based on the same principles.

Bill Wiggin, the Tory spokesman on animal welfare, said the new codes are "absurd".

"Defra has missed the opportunity to produce a set of sensible proposals that would protect animals from abuse and mistreatment.

Here we have this ridiculous guide which tells people not to walk their dog in the heat of the day or feed it at the table. DEFRA are taking people for fools." ”Absurd” New Guidelines Advise Pet Owners against Allowing Dogs to Beg at Table >>> By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent | November 4, 2008

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Wilders' Fitna Put on a Par with Mein Kampf
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The Dutch right-wing Freedom Party is furious about a passage in a primary school textbook in which party leader Geert Wilders' film Fitna is put on a par with Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf. The two works are cited as examples of one-sided thinking. The textbook will be distributed to 2,000 primary schools.

The Freedom Party says it's a disgrace that the textbook was subsidised by the Dutch government. The party speaks of political indoctrination and demands that the authors, the Day of Respect foundation recall the textbooks.

The foundation says that even though it's not entirely happy about the phrasing of the passage in question, it has no intention of cancelling distribution. The Day of Respect will be marked next week on Thursday. [Source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide] | November 4, 2008

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Gaffney: Treasury Submits to Shariah
WASHINGTON POST / Commentary: The U.S. Treasury Department is submitting to Shariah - the seditious religio-political-legal code authoritative Islam seeks to impose worldwide under a global theocracy.

As reported in this space last week, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert Kimmitt set the stage with his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states. His stated purpose was to promote the recycling of petrodollars in the form of foreign investment here.

Evidently, the price demanded by his hosts is that the U.S. government get with the Islamist financial program. While in Riyadh, Mr. Kimmitt announced: "The U.S. government is currently studying the salient features of Islamic banking to ascertain how far it could be useful in fighting the ongoing world economic crisis."

"Islamic banking" is a euphemism for a practice better known as "Shariah-Compliant Finance (SFC)." And it turns out that this week the Treasury will be taking officials from various federal agencies literally to school on SFC.

The department is hosting a half-day course entitled "Islamic Finance 101" on Thursday at its headquarters building.

Treasury's self-described "seminar for the policy community" is co-sponsored with the leading academic promoters of Shariah and SCF in the United States: Harvard University Law School's Project on Islamic Finance. At the very least, the U.S. government evidently hopes to emulate Harvard's success in securing immense amounts of Wahhabi money in exchange for conforming to the Islamists' agenda. Like Harvard, Treasury seems utterly disinterested in what Shariah actually is, and portends.

Unfortunately, such submission - the literal meaning of "Islam" - is not likely to remain confined long to the Treasury or its sister agencies. Thanks to the extraordinary authority conferred on Treasury since September, backed by the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the department is now in a position to impose its embrace of Shariah on the U.S. financial sector. The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Treasury's purchase of - at last count - 17 banks and the ability to provide, or withhold, funds from its new slush-fund can translate into unprecedented coercive power.

Concerns in this regard are only heightened by the prominent role Assistant Treasury Secretary Neel Kashkari will be playing in "Islamic Finance 101." Mr. Kashkari, the official charged with administering the TARP fund, will provide welcoming remarks to participants. Presumably, in the process, he will convey the enthusiasm about Shariah-Compliant Finance that appears to be the current party line at Treasury. >>> Frank J Gaffney Jr | November 4, 2008

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EU Tells Turkey to Improve Media, Women's Rights
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: BRUSSELS, Belgium: In a new report card, the European Commission will tell Turkey on Wednesday that it must work harder to improve women's rights and press freedoms in order to join the European Union.

In a speech at an EU-Turkey conference at the European Parliament on Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the report will list several areas that "need to be addressed urgently."

"I am thinking, for instance, of the negative atmosphere against the press, or bans of Web sites which are becoming a source of serious concern, (and) efforts are needed to protect women's rights and gender equality," said Rehn.

The report card is an eagerly awaited annual event for both proponents and opponents of Turkey's membership in the EU.

In Ankara, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, declined to comment on the report until his government has seen it.

The report — which also praises Turkey, according to Rehn — is unlikely to significantly affect the negotiations regarding Turkey's EU membership, which began in 2005 and are expected to last about a decade.

For instance, Turkey's entry negotiations cover 35 negotiating areas, including issues from human rights to many economic issues. To date, only eight issues are under negotiation, and the EU has accused Turkey of being too slow on others.

The report's criticism also will not surprise Turkey's population. >>> AP | November 4, 2008

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Melanie Phillips: Join Up the Dots
THE SPECTATOR: I have written many times about concerns over Obama’s links to the Nation of Islam. Now here it is from the horse’s mouth. Ken Timmerman reports:

A former top deputy to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan [Dr Vibert White Jr] tells Newsmax that Barack Obama’s ties to the black nationalist movement in Chicago run deep, and that for many years the two men have had ‘an open line between them’ to discuss policy and strategy, either directly or through intermediaries.

... In addition to the ideological affinity Obama expressed for the black nationalist movement, White believes that Obama owes much of his success as a public orator to speaking techniques that Farrakhan developed over the years, and exploited for years to great success...As a former minister of the Nation of Islam, I know how they speak,’ White told Newsmax. ‘I don’t know who was training Obama. But that style is not a ministerial style like in the Christian church. It’s a Nation of Islam style.’

Daniel Pipes, who has written about Obama’s links to the Nation of Islam, expresses his amazement that a man who tomorrow may become President of the United States should have so many questionable links in the arena of Islam and the Middle East:

Other than Obama's lies about his childhood religion, which cast doubt about his character, all the other connections establish the radical circles he frequented during his Chicago years, associations he is trying hard – and with apparent success - to keep from the attention of just enough voters until after election day.

The response of the Obamanics is to dismiss every such piece of evidence as a ‘smear’. They should consider this. A smear is a lie, or a gross distortion of some kind. You cannot smear someone by telling the truth. None of Obama’s revealed radical connections, deeds or words has been refuted or disproved. Given the volume of them, their consistency throughout his life and political career, the way they chime with what he himself has said and written – including his Philadelphia race speech which, when read carefully, is far more troubling than his enthusiasts have recognised – and the demonstrable lies he has told and evasions he has made about these connections and his early life, it is eminently reasonable to conclude that such information tells us something very important and alarming indeed about his character and world-view.

To believe otherwise is to be irrational. To vote on that basis is to be reckless in the extreme. [Source: The Spectator] Melanie Phillips | November 3, 2008

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Melanie Phillips: Selling Us All to Saudi Arabia
THE SPECTATOR: The Islamisation of the west is proceeding according to plan, as the Times reports:

Gordon Brown claimed success yesterday in his attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to help stricken economies by pumping more money into the International Monetary Fund... Lord Mandelson, who was also at the dinner at the Royal Palace, said Mr Brown wanted to ensure that the Saudi King was ‘on the same page’ over the causes of the financial problems and the solutions. ‘We are seeking “buy-in” from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to the necessary response that we all need to make to the turmoil of the international financial system. If we don’t get that money we will fail,’ Lord Mandelson said...

Lord Mandelson said that the Saudis and other Gulf states would now expect a bigger role in global institutions in return for their investment.

You bet they will. Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson are delivering Britain and the west into dhimmitude.*

* Definition of ‘dhimmi’ from the Dhimmi Watch site:
Dhimmis, ‘protected people,’ are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur’an’s command that they ‘feel themselves subdued’ (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, is part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.

The dhimmi attitude of chastened subservience has entered into Western academic study of Islam, and from there into journalism, textbooks, and the popular discourse. One must not point out the depredations of jihad and dhimmitude; to do so would offend the multiculturalist ethos that prevails everywhere today. [Source: The Spectator] Melanie Philips | November 3, 2008

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Lord Bingham: 'No Reason' to Exclude Sharia
TIMESONLINE: Muslim communities should have the right to decide their own disputes provided they are subject to our laws, one of Britain's most senior legal figures has said.

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, who has recently stepped down as senior law lord, said he could see "no reason" why a devout Muslim, provided he or she was "acting voluntarily and without coercion", should not choose to submit a family dispute to a Muslim cleric.

That would be no different from a Jewish family submitting their dispute to be decided by a Rabbi or a Christian to a Church of England to an Anglican priest or marriage counsellor, he said.

But Lord Bingham, addressing the annual Bar Conference in London, made clear that there could be "no question" of any decision not being subject to the law of the country; nor of those involved forfeiting their rights to go to a court of law, he said.

He also emphasised that any such decision to have a dispute handled in this way as is already happening with Sharia councils in certain communities would have to be entirely voluntary. >>> Frances Gibb, Legal Editor | November 3, 2008

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Iran Minister Sacked over Forged Oxford Degree
THE TELEGRAPH: A forged degree certificate from Oxford University has toppled Iran's interior minister.

The Tehran parliament voted to impeach Ali Kordan over the issue, thereby dealing a severe blow to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Kordan had tried to prove his suitability for the post of interior minister by assuming the identity of an Oxonian. To support his claim of a British education, Mr Kordan flourished a certificate purporting to show that Oxford had awarded him an "honorary doctorate in Law".

This document, riddled with typing errors, garbled English and misspellings, supposedly carried the signatures of three Oxford professors. The certificate commended Mr Kordan for "preparing educational materials" and for "research in the domain of comparative law that has opened a new chapter not only in our university but, to our knowledge, this country".

Accordingly, the document announced that Mr Kordan was "intitled" to an honorary doctorate "in order to be benefitted from its scientific privileges".

But Oxford's administrative offices said the University had no record of giving Mr Kordan a semi-literate degree certificate. All three professors whose forged signatures appear on the document did indeed hold chairs at Oxford. But Mr Kordan had not troubled to check that they were lawyers. Oxford pointed out that none of them were.

Iran's parliament accordingly brought an impeachment motion against Mr Kordan, who was accused of other offences along with being a fake Oxonian. The impeachment was carried by 188 votes, with only 45 MPs backing Mr Kordan.

Mr Ahmadinejad had fought hard to keep his interior minister. The president, who faces re-election in June, has suffered a major blow to his authority. [Source: The Telegraph] By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor | November 4, 2008

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Obama the Messiah Is Going to Produce Profound Disillusion
Image courtesy of Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: There is a video clip running on YouTube at the moment which shows a black woman moved nearly to tears at an Obama rally, telling a television interviewer that all her problems will be at an end when he is elected president. She won't have to worry anymore about putting gas in her car or paying her mortgage because "he will help me". It would be easy to find this absurd - the blind faith of an unsophisticated voter who has clearly mistaken Barack Obama for Jesus - but in truth it is both sad and alarming. I can understand the sense of the miraculous that Obama's likely accession to the presidency must involve for African-Americans: I grew up in the US at a time when even the cities of the northeast were almost entirely segregated. (It was called "de facto segregation" as opposed to the legally enforced version that prevailed in the South, and was even more pernicious and intractable in its way.) But this woman's testimony is a reminder of something deeply disturbing in the Obama phenomenon: the fact that his campaign has shifted its tone from his original "post-racial" stance to one that is subliminally evocative of black evangelism. Far from his earlier intellectually nuanced and racially neutral delivery, his cadences and his frankly inspirational stump speeches now have the unmistakeable ring of the black pulpit. Little wonder that his candidacy is being mistaken for the Second Coming. >>> Janet Daley | November 4, 2008

Comment here

THE TELEGRAPH:
Barack Obama: he’s Been Sent by God: Even by the feverish standards of US politics, the messianic fervour of Obama's campaign is disquieting, writes Mick Brown from Colorado. >>> By Mick Brown in Colorado | Novermber 4, 2008

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Duchess of York Accused of Smearing Turkey's Image
Photo of Sarah Ferguson courtesy of Reuters
REUTERS: ANKARA - Turkish officials have accused Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, of smearing Turkey's image on a television program about state orphanages in Turkey ahead of a European Union membership report.

Ferguson went under cover with reporters for ITN to visit state-run orphanages in Ankara and Istanbul and expose conditions there. The documentary will be on ITV on November 6.

"It is obvious that Sarah Ferguson is ill-intentioned and is trying to launch a smearing campaign against Turkey by opposing Turkey's EU membership," Nimet Cubukcu, a minister in charge of women and family affairs, told Anatolian agency late Monday.

"It is saddening that Sarah Ferguson made video shots with an orientalist point of view which she is not permitted to make in her own country and tried to cause indignation in Turkey," Cubukcu said.

The European Commission will publish Wednesday a report on countries wanting to join the 27-member bloc. Turkey, a large Muslim country, began membership negotiations in October 2005. The EU has repeatedly criticised Turkey for its human rights record and has urged the government to speed up reforms.

"This is a valid area of public interest at a time when the UK government is endorsing the accession of Turkey into the EU, a process which is conditional in part on Turkey improving its human rights record with children," an ITV spokesperson said. >>> Editing by Louise Ireland | November4, 2008

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UN Condemns Stoning to Death of 13-Year-Old Somali Girl
THE EARTH TIMES: Nairobi - The United Nations children's agency UNICEF Tuesday condemned the recent stoning to death of a 13-year-old Somali girl for adultery in the port town of Kismayo, which was taken over by Islamist insurgents in August. The girl, Aisha Duhulow, was last week stoned to death for adultery under Islamic law, or sharia. Initial reports said that the girl was in her twenties.

UNICEF said that reports indicated the girl had not committed adultery, but been raped by three men while walking to visit her grandmother in the capital Mogadishu.

The Islamic authorities said that the girl had confessed to her crime and repeatedly asked for the full penalty under sharia.

However, witnesses told the BBC that she begged for her life before being buried up to her neck in the ground and stoned by around 50 men in front of over 1,000 spectators.

"This is a tragic and deplorable incident" said UNICEF Representative for Somalia, Christian Balslev-Olesen. "A child was victimized twice - first by the perpetrators of the rape and then by those responsible for administering justice."

Insurgents have been fighting Somalia's transitional federal government since Ethiopian troops helped oust the Union of Islamic Courts in early 2007.

However, main insurgent group al-Shabaab has rejected the deal and vowed to keep fighting until Ethiopian forces leave Somalia.

The Horn of Africa nation has been plagued by chaos and civil war since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. [Source: The Earth Times] DPA | November 4, 2008

BBC: Stoning Victim ‘Begged for Mercy’

A young woman recently stoned to death in Somalia first pleaded for her life, a witness has told the BBC.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me," she said, according to the man who wanted to remain anonymous. A few minutes later, more than 50 men threw stones. >>> | November 4, 2008

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Obama and His Connexions to Kenya

Hat tip: European Kafir

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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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