Carla Bruni-Sarkozy: "Il faut aider les élites à changer"
Photo grâce aux Google Images. Cliquez sur la photo pour écouter Carla Bruni chanter la chanson "L'Amour".
leJDD.fr: Exclusif. L'épouse du Président s'engage après l'"appel pour l'égalité réelle des chances" lancé par Yazid Sabeg dans Le JDD, et déjà rejoint par plusieurs personnalités politiques. Elle ne peut pas le signer, statut oblige. Mais Carla Bruni-Sarkozy explique pourquoi elle soutient ce texte. Néo-Française, la première dame rappelle que son époux est aussi un enfant d'immigré. Et elle invite la France à changer.

Si j'étais seulement Carla Bruni, la chanteuse, je signerais sans problème le manifeste pour l'égalité. Mais je m'appelle Bruni-Sarkozy, et mon nom m'appartient moins. Ce serait étrange de communiquer avec le pouvoir, donc mon mari, par pétition interposée! Ça ne m'empêche pas de m'engager. Et ça ne m'empêche pas non plus d'être d'accord avec le texte que vous publiez...

D'accord dans les grandes lignes, sur notre retard - mais j'ai peut-être plus d'indulgence pour la France, qui est prête à bouger. Et d'accord avec les objectifs. Evidemment, il faut du volontarisme, chercher les talents et les ambitions... Oui, il faut faire émerger l'immense potentiel de la nouvelle France. Pendant des années, j'ai été une marraine de SOS-Racisme, j'ai aimé cette société multiculturelle, cette mini-France des potes. Hier, j'étais avec Fadela Amara - encore une cousine de SOS - à la cérémonie des talents des cités. C'est un bain d'énergie... Et en même temps, la reconnaissance des cités par le pouvoir ne suffit pas. Les gens des cités doivent devenir le pouvoir, eux aussi, à leur tour! On en a parlé avec Fadela... Elle est ministre, c'est une avancée formidable. Mais elle n'a pas été élue, et c'est notre limite. >>> Propos recueillis par Claude ASKOLOVITCH, Le Journal du Dimanche | Samedi 08 Novembre 2008

leJDD.fr: Comment créer un Obama français?

Tout le pays s'est enthousiasmé pour l'élection d'un président noir aux Etats-Unis et les Français issus de l'immigration plus encore. Mais cette victoire met en lumière les blocages du système français. Comment changer enfin le visage de la France? Certains penchent pour la discrimination positive. D'autres pour des prises de parole plus radicales. >>> Propos recueillis par Anne-Laure BARRET et Antoine MALO, LeJDD.fr | Dimanche 09 Novembre 2008

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Etats-Unis: Les noirs au pouvoir
leJDD.fr: Si de nombreuses personnalités noires se sont imposées dans le sport, le cinéma et dans une moindre mesure la politique, le monde des affaires semble lui résister à l'ascension sociale des Afro-américains. À la galerie de photos >>> | 07 novembre 2008

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Remembrance Sunday 2008
In commemoration of those who sacrificed their lives for us and our freedoms.
Image courtesy of Google Images
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Queen to Lead Britain in Remembrance Sunday Ceremony

The Queen will lead the nation in commemorating the sacrifice made by Britain's war dead at today's Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

The monarch will be joined by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, opposition party leaders and the Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the wreath-laying event in central London.

Thousands of veterans will also gather to pay their respects to Britain's war dead at the ceremony staged at the Cenotaph memorial in Whitehall.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the armistice of the First World War.

The Queen will lays the first wreath, followed by the Prime Minister, leaders of the opposition and high commissioners from Commonwealth countries. >>> | November 9, 2008

Watch BBC video: Remembrance services in London, Iraq and Afghanistan >>>
Watch BBC video: The Queen attended the traditional festival of remembrance at London's Royal Albert Hall, marking the sacrifice of the servicemen and women who lost their lives in all past and current armed conflicts. >>>
In Flanders Fields

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
[Source: Arlington Cemetery]

In Flanders Fields Museum >>>

Report Identifies UK Terrorist Enclaves
THE TELEGRAPH: Secret enclaves of al-Qaeda extremists based in London, Birmingham and Luton are planning mass-casualty attacks in Britain, according to a leaked Government intelligence report.

The document, which was drawn up by the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence, MI5 and Special Branch, states that "some thousands" of extremists are active in the UK. They are predominantly UK-born and aged between 18 and 30, and many are believed to have been trained in overseas terrorist camps.

Under the heading "International Terrorism", the report, which is marked "restricted" states: "For the foreseeable future the UK will continue to be a high-priority target for international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda.

It will face a threat from British nationals, including Muslim converts, and UK-based foreign terrorists, as well as terrorists planning attacks from abroad."

The report states that the threat from the Islamist extremist community in the UK is "diverse and widely distributed" but adds that the numbers of terrorist in Britain is "difficult to judge".

The document does state, however, that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which is based in MI5's headquarters at Thames House in London, estimates that there are "some thousands of extremists in the UK committed to supporting Jihadi activities, either in the UK or abroad". >>> By Sean Rayment, Security Correspondent | November 8, 2008

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Get Ready to Lose Your Freedoms! The UN Is Getting Involved!
IPS: UNITED NATIONS - When more than a dozen world leaders meet in New York next week to discuss "the culture of peace", the primary focus will be the growing misperception of religion, specifically Islam, and the increase in racism, xenophobia and intolerance worldwide.

An overwhelming majority of heads of state who will participate in the high-level meeting are from Muslim countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Morocco, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. President George W. Bush is also expected to address the two-day meeting of the 192-member General Assembly, his second visit to the world body this year, after September.

"This is going to be a very important conference," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters early this week.

Ban said the United Nations is the centre of the world's efforts to advance mutual respect, understanding and dialogue.

The initiative for the meeting came from King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in that country.

With this, and with other initiatives, to promote understanding and appreciation between religions, as well as faiths and cultures, the whole international community will be able to promote more dialogue and harmony and reconciliation, Ban said.

"I am sure this will provide a very good momentum," he added.

The high-level meeting on culture of peace is scheduled to take place Nov. 12-13 and is a follow-up to a meeting held in Madrid last July.

The U.N. meeting will take place amidst rising Islamophobia, particularly in Europe, aggravated by the publication of blasphemous caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by a Danish newspaper, and the rise in suicide bombings in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Islam had nothing to do with suicide bombings -- either on the basis of religion or jurisprudence," says Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Why would a young man or woman commit suicide? What objective was more valuable than life itself? And what psychological, political and social reasons prompt such actions? he asked.

Until such questions were asked, answered and addressed, terrorism and suicide bombings would increase, Ihsanoglu told reporters at a recent U.N press conference.

Last March Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned "in the strongest terms" the airing of an "offensively anti-Islamic film" in the Netherlands.

"There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence," he said. "The right to free expression is not at stake here. Freedom must always be accompanied by social responsibility." World Leaders Seek Culture of Peace >>> By Thalif Deen | November 5, 2008

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Obama's Aunt to Fight to Stay in US
ASSOCIATED PRESS: BOSTON — President-elect Obama's aunt intends to fight a deportation order and hopes to remain in the United States, her immigration lawyer said Friday.

The Associated Press found that Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), 56, is staying with relatives in Cleveland after fleeing her public housing apartment in Boston. She had been living there five years.

Onyango, who is Obama's father's half-sister, was ordered to leave the country in 2004 by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya.

Cleveland attorney Margaret Wong told the AP on Friday she is exploring legal options and may file a motion to reopen Onyango's case or file an appeal for her to stay on humanitarian grounds. She would not discuss Onyango's reasons for seeking asylum in the United States.

"She will do whatever she can do to fight for the privilege to stay in America," she said.

Obama's campaign said previously he did not know about his aunt's status but believes she should obey the law. The campaign said it was returning $260 that Onyango had contributed in small increments to Obama's presidential bid over several months.

Wong, a prominent immigration attorney and frequent political contributor to candidates of both parties, said Onyango believes someone leaked information about her immigration status to try to hurt Obama's candidacy.

"She's upset that people could just hurt her like that ... use her to try to hurt Barack," Wong said.

"She had never asked Barack for help. She just doesn't want to hurt him," she said. >>> By Denise Lavoie | November 7, 2008

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The Multi-cultural, Islam-loving Charles, Prince of Wales, Heir to the Throne
TIMESONLINE: As he approaches his 60th birthday the Prince of Wales is knowledgeable and at ease in his self-proclaimed role as the ‘Defender of Faith’

He has, famously, declared that he wants to be “Defender of Faith”, rather than defender simply of the established Christian faith. His interest in other religions and denominations is unparalleled in a man born to be king, and his knowledge is extensive. No other heir to the throne has been awarded one of Islam’s highest accolades, spent nights in a Greek Orthodox monk’s cell or insisted that Roman Catholics, Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians and Sikhs are as important subjects of the sovereign as Protestants.

When the Prince of Wales celebrates his 60th birthday next week he can therefore expect warm tributes from religious leaders across the country as well as from those overseas. They know that when he is crowned king, he will insist — as he has on other state occasions — that all the faith groups now living in Britain are represented in the abbey to accord him the blessings of all his subjects in today’s multicultural Britain.

An interest in religion is almost a prerequisite for the job of king. The British sovereign is, after all, the head of the Church of England and for almost 500 years this has been a defining constitutional function. But no monarch since the Stuarts has taken an intellectual interest in religion, and none has devoted time and respect to other faiths. The Prince, however, counts bishops and moral philosophers, rabbis, priests and Islamic scholars among those whom he regularly meets and with whom he discusses the spiritual dimensions of life in Britain today.

For him, the concept of faith — any faith — is important in the crusade against the rising tide of secular materialism and scientific reductionism, both of which he detests. As Ian Bradley, reader in practical theology and church history at the University of St Andrews, has written: “Prince Charles harks back to a primal understanding of the monarch, as representing order and taking on the forces of chaos, and to the sacrifical dimension of royalty found in primal religion and the Bible. A major theme of speeches and conversation by this ‘heir of sorrows’ is the disintegration of the modern world and the need for it to be rebalanced and reordered”.

The religion that has probably engaged him most is Islam. He has long admired the art and architecture of the golden age of Islam; he has also been fascinated by the totality of Muslim belief — the way it permeates all aspects of life — and has contrasted this with what he sees as the regrettable materialism of Western life that compartmentalises faith and excludes it from the mainstream of daily life. As he said in 1996: “In my view a more holistic approach is needed now.”

As Islam has grown in Britain with the influx of Muslims from the subcontinent, so too has the Prince’s interest. He was an early supporter of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, a new centre that funds scholars to research into Islam. He has spoken of Islam’s respect for the natural order, insisting that: “We need to be taught by Islamic teachers how to learn with our hearts, as well as with our head.” And he has made a point, during tours of the Middle East, of meeting Muslims scholars and clerics. A God-fearing Man with a Taste for Tradition >>> Michael Binyon | November 7, 2008

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Wäre Obama in Österreich denkbar?
DIE PRESSE: Wer in Europa nach oben will, gehört besser nicht einer Minderheit an. Die politische Vertretung ethnischer Minderheiten steckt erst in den Kinderschuhen.

Die Begeisterung für Barack Obama kennt keine Grenzen. Bis zu drei Viertel der Europäer hätten ihn diversen Umfragen zufolge zum US-Präsidenten gewählt, dementsprechend groß ist die Freude über den Sieg des Charismatikers auch auf dem Alten Kontinent. Doch Europa jubelt Obama aus sicherer Entfernung zu. „Schon allein wegen seiner Hautfarbe hätte er in keinem europäischen Land eine Chance“, meinte der konservative US-Politologe Robert Kagan schon vor der Wahl spitz im „Spiegel“. Stimmt das? Könnten Menschen, die anders aussehen als die Mehrheitsbevölkerung und noch dazu einen seltsamen Namen haben, jemals Staats- oder Regierungschefs in Finnland, Spanien oder Österreich werden?

Der Vergleich mit Obama hinkt natürlich. Er gehört einer Minderheit an, die ungleich länger in den USA lebt als etwa Türken in Österreich. Und eigentlich gehört er nicht einmal dieser Minderheit richtig an: mit einer weißen Mutter und einem Vater aus Kenia. Es wäre absurd, von Österreichern oder Deutschen 40 Jahre nach Ankunft der ersten Gastarbeiter etwas zu verlangen, was den Amerikanern erst 143 Jahre nach Abschaffung der Sklaverei gelungen ist. >>> Christian Ultsch / Die Presse | 7. November 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Trevor Phillips: Racism Would Stop Barack Obama Being Prime Minister in the UK

Barack Obama would have found it impossible to become prime minister in Britain because of "institutional racism" within the British political system, according to Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

Although he believes the public would embrace a black leader, he also believes the system would prevent him from getting to the top.

Mr Phillips cited the fact that there are only 15 ethnic-minority MPs in Westminster, noting that "the problem is not the electorate, the problem is the machine."

He added: "If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold on power within the Labour Party.

"The parties and the unions and the think-tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business. It's institutional racism."

Mr Phillips claimed The Conservatives have done better than Labour at increasing the number of black and Asian candidates. >>> By Chris Irvine | November 8, 2008

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«Dieser Islam ist etwas Neues für uns»: Unbehagen angesichts einer zunehmenden Islamisierung in Kirgistan
NZZ Online: Kirgistan ist mit einer islamischen Wiedergeburt und dem Aufkommen islamistischer Gruppierungen konfrontiert. Die kirgisische Regierung tut sich schwer mit der Unterscheidung zwischen frommen Muslimen, Islamisten und extremistischen Islamisten. Auch im Gespräch mit Bürgern werden Ratlosigkeit und Unbehagen gegenüber dem Phänomen spürbar.

Das Alltagsbild in der kirgisischen Hauptstadt Bischkek verrät auf den ersten Blick wenig über die religiöse Befindlichkeit des Landes. Statt muslimischer Symbole dominieren vielmehr die Relikte der jüngeren Vergangenheit der ehemaligen Sowjetrepublik: Lenin-Statuen auf öffentlichen Plätzen, breite Boulevards im Zentrum und Plattenbauten nach sozialistischer Architektur in den Vorstädten. Der Kleidungsstil der jungen Frauen orientiert sich an westlicher Ästhetik; Schleier sind im Alltagsbild die Ausnahme. Auch der kürzlich zu Ende gegangene Ramadan hinterliess kaum Spuren im öffentlichen Leben. So fand man tagsüber mühelos ein geöffnetes Restaurant, und sogar in der Stadt Osch im Fergana-Tal, das als stärker muslimisch geprägt gilt, waren Bierstuben geöffnet. Nicht in dieses Bild passen einzig die zahlreichen neu erbauten, einander zum Verwechseln ähnlichen Moscheen, die bei der Fahrt über Land auffallen; schmucke Backsteingebäude mit glänzendem Blechdach, die sich von ihrer meist ärmlichen Umgebung abheben. Sie sind ein Hinweis auf eine zunehmende Islamisierung, die Beobachter in ganz Zentralasien festgestellt haben. Mit dem Ende der Sowjetunion hat eine islamische Wiedergeburt eingesetzt, nachdem die Religionsausübung zuvor unterdrückt worden war. >>> mvl. Bischkek, im Oktober | 8. November 2008

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Key Says NZ Election a ‘Vote for Change’
NZ HERALD: John Key has said the country has "voted for change" after his National Party won the election tonight.

He described the Labour term in government as "nine long years" and said: "New Zealand has so much more potential."

Key spoke at National Party headquarters after Helen Clark said she will stand down as Labour Party leader.

National won 45.5 per cent of the vote to Labour's 33.8 per cent, giving 
National 59 seats.

It will form a coalition of 65 MPs with Act's 5 seats and Peter Dunne from United Future.

Key said New Zealand had spoken. >>> November 9, 2008

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: New Zealand Changes Govt, Key New PM

New Zealand's incoming prime minister John Key says his party's decisive win over the ruling Labour Party shows his nation has voted for change.

Key's centre-right National Party defeated the Labour Party, winning more than 45 per cent of the primary vote, enough to govern with the support of minor parties.

"In their hundreds of thousands across the country they have voted for change," Key told supporters at a function in Auckland.
Key, 47, promised a government he led would herald a more ambitious future for the country, which is in a recession and has rising unemployment.

"We need everybody pulling in the same direction. If we do that. If we work hard and if we remain determined we will make New Zealand as prosperous as we all know it can be," Key said.

"It will be a government that values individual achievement. It will be a government that supports those that cannot support themselves. And it will be a government we can all be part of," he said.

Key's defeat of the Labour government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark ends her nine-year reign as New Zealand's leader. >>> © 2008 AAP | November 8, 2008

DIE PRESSE: Neuseeland: Millionär mit Wiener Wurzeln als neuer Premier

Konservative Nationalpartei löst Sozialdemokraten ab. Der künftige Premier John Key hat österreichische Wurzeln: Seine Mutter Ruth stammt aus Wien

Wellington: Neuseelands Labour-Regierung ist eine der ersten, die im Strudel der weltweiten Finanzkrise an der Wahlurne gestrauchelt ist. Nach neun Jahren sozialdemokratischer Herrschaft entschieden sich die Wähler am Samstag für die rechts-liberale Nationalpartei und ihren politisch unerfahrenen früheren Investmentbanker John Key an der Spitze.

Der künftige Premier Neuseelands hat übrigens österreichische Wurzeln: Seine Mutter Ruth stammt aus Wien, musste aber als Jüdin 1939 nach London fliehen. Später emigrierte sie mit ihrem Mann George nach Neuseeland, wo ihr Sohn zur Welt kam.

Key hatte sich im Wahlkampf ganz auf die Wirtschaftskrise konzentriert: Explodierende Energiekosten und ein Einbruch am Immobilienmarkt hatten Neuseeland nach zehn Wachstumsjahren erstmals in eine Rezession gestürzt. Die Regierung musste das erste Haushaltsdefizit seit 1994 einräumen. Der künftige Premierminister Key versprach ein konservatives Programm: Steuersenkungen, Senkung der Lohnnebenkosten, weniger Regierungsbürokratie, härtere Strafen für Kriminelle. >>> ag. | 9. November 2008

LE MONDE: Les Néo-Zélandais ont élu un ex-banquier d'affaires conservateur pour faire face à la crise

Photo de John Key, ex-banquier, grâce au Monde
L'opposition conservatrice néo-zélandaise, représentée par le Parti national, a remporté, samedi 8 novembre, les élections législatives mettant fin à neuf ans de pouvoir travailliste dans ce pays.

Helen Clark, premier ministre sortant, qui a échoué à décrocher un quatrième mandat, a admis sa défaite depuis Auckland. "Je félicite John Key et le Parti national", a-t-elle déclaré. "Nous n'avons pas bénéficié ce soir de la faveur des électeurs, mais je respecte ce choix et en accepte la responsabilité", a-t-elle ajouté, annonçant qu'elle quittait la direction du parti qu'elle dirigeait depuis quinze ans.

Le Parti national a remporté 45,5 % des voix et aura 59 sièges au sein de la nouvelle Assemblée qui en compte 122. Le parti conservateur peut compter sur le soutien du parti de droite Act (5 sièges) et du parti Avenir uni (1 siège) pour dégager une majorité parlementaire. >>> | 10.11.08

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Obama Talks Tough on Tehran
GLOBE AND MAIL: WASHINGTON -- Tehran's ruling mullahs must be denied nuclear weapons and their backing for Islamic terrorists must stop, president-elect Barack Obama warned yesterday, sounding every bit as tough as the man he will succeed in the Oval Office, U.S. President George W. Bush.

Looking presidential behind a massive podium, flanked by advisers and backed by a forest of flags, Mr. Obama made an important, symbolic appearance yesterday at a Chicago news conference. Although he won't be president until Jan. 20, 2009, and despite repeatedly making the point "that we only have one president at a time," the carefully orchestrated event was designed to make Mr. Obama look and sound presidential.

Mr. Obama said he hadn't yet read a letter from Iran's fiery, hard-line president, the first congratulatory missive to an American president from Iran since 1979, but seemed unmoved by the gesture.

"Iran's development of a nuclear weapon, I believe, is unacceptable," he said, echoing long-standing U.S. policy and his own often repeated campaign pledge. "We have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening," he added. "Iran's support of terrorist organizations is something that has to cease." >>> Paul Koring | November 8, 2008

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France Says Turkey Improves But Has More Things to Do on EU Bid
HÜRRIYET: French ambassador in Ankara said on Saturday that the European Commission's Turkey progress report gave the message that "Turkey was improving, but it could do more".

Meeting journalists at breakfast in the Aegean province of Izmir, French ambassador Bernard Emie said that Turkey and France had intense military, economic and cultural relations.

Noting that France was the second biggest investor in Turkey, Emie said the current trade volume between the two countries was nearly $20 billion.

Commenting on European Commission's latest progress report on Turkey, Emie said the report laid down various factors such as Turkey's improvement in terms of Copengahen criteria or implementation of new arrangements in the Turkish parliament.

The report should not be perceived negatively, Emie said, adding that it tried to say that Turkey could achieve more things.

Emie also said that the period between July 2009 and March 2010 would be "Turkey Season" in France. He said the French would gain a new approach towards Turkey thanks to the activities to be carried out in his country during those days. [Source: Hürriyet] November 8, 2008

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Russian Muslims Hope Obama Will Improve US-Russia Ties
RIA NOVOSTI: MOSCOW - Russian Muslims hope that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will be able to improve relations between Washington and Moscow, a deputy head of the Council of Muftis of Russia said on Saturday.

"First of all, we congratulate Obama with the victory. We hope that relations between our countries will improve," Damir Gizatullin said.

Relations between Russia and the U.S. have plunged to a post-Cold War low in recent years over a host of differences, including the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Central Europe and a brief conflict in August between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, a Georgian breakaway republic.

Gizatullin added that Russian Muslims have a positive opinion of the newly elected U.S. president and are happy with his election.

"It is probably because the new U.S. president has Islamic roots," he said.

Democrat Obama, who is the first African American to be elected U.S. president, had a Kenyan grandfather who was a Muslim and spent some of his early years in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation on Earth. U.S. public opinion surveys consistently showed a significant number of voters - 10% or more - believed he was or might be a Muslim. [Source: Ria Novosti] | November 8, 2008

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Al-Qaeda's 'Mild' Message to Obama
BBC: Al-Qaeda in Iraq have reacted to the US presidential election by issuing a statement on Friday directed at President-elect Barack Obama and his incoming administration.

The 22-minute audiotape was posted on several jihadist internet websites and includes an audio message from Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, the pseudonym adopted by the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq.

The US military said on Friday that al-Baghdadi was "an actor who provided a voice for al-Qaeda's propaganda".

The statement issued in his name calls on the incoming US administration and allied Western leaders to embrace Islam, withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and release Muslim prisoners from there and from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Compared to previous statements issued by the group this one is relatively mild, imploring America to return to what it calls "impartiality" and even offering not to disrupt Western oil supplies if its conditions are met.

"We promise that we will not stop the trading of oil or other commodities with you, provided that justice is achieved," the audio message said. >>> By Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent | November 8, 2008

FOX NEWS: Islamists Post Internet Video Urging Obama to Abandon War on Terror

BAGHDAD — Two Iraqi insurgent groups called on President-elect Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and abandon the war on terror, an Internet monitoring service reported Friday.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, self-styled head of the Al Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a speech posted on an extremist Web site that it would be better "for you and us" to "withdraw your forces," according to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors militant Web sites.

"You do not interfere in the affairs of our countries," he continued in an apparent reference to Muslim dominated nations. "We, in turn, will not prevent commerce with you, whether it is in oil or otherwise."

Al-Baghdadi blamed the global financial crisis on the wars "launched in Muslim countries" and said he was issuing the call on behalf of "my brothers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Chechnya," SITE said.

The U.S. military says al-Baghdadi is an actor who provides a voice for Al Qaeda in Iraq propaganda. >>> Associated Press | November 8, 2008

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New Anti-Sharia Law Petition for the UK

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Obama to Tackle Economy ‘Head-on’
Watch BBC video: ’America is a strong and resilient country’ >>>
BBC: US President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to confront the economic crisis "head-on" immediately after taking office in January.

In his first official appearance since his election win, he said a stimulus package to boost the economy was long overdue and would be his top priority.

He pledged to create jobs and help middle class families.

"It's not going to be quick and it's not going to be easy to dig ourselves out of the hole we are in," he said.

"But America is a strong and resilient country and I know that we will succeed if we put aside partisanship and politics to work together."

The news conference at a Chicago hotel was his first since he convincingly beat Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election to become America's first black president.

The 47-year-old Democrat, who takes office on 20 January, was careful not to step on the toes of the outgoing administration of President George W Bush, saying America only had one president at a time.

He promised to initiate a rescue plan to provide tax relief for those struggling to pay their bills. He said an economic stimulus package needed to be passed before or immediately after his inauguration.

The president-elect also said he would extend unemployment benefits and help local governments so they did not have to lay off staff.

It was a high priority, he said, to work on policies to help the stricken US car industry adjust to the economic crisis.

He made no new personnel announcements but noted calls for him to pick a treasury secretary quickly. >>> | November 7, 2008

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Editorial: Don’t Pin Much Hope on Obama
ARAB NEWS: Having welcomed the historic victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential election, let us begin by shedding too much expectations of him. They are likely to be dashed — generating a great deal of pain and resentment into the bargain.

There are some quite extraordinary notions circulating about what sort of president he will be, particularly in this part of the world — for example, that he is going to turn years of American Middle East policy on its head. This is a willful, and ultimately destructive, fantasy.

Despite attempts by his more extreme opponents during the campaign to paint him as un-American, President Obama is not going to run the White House in the interests of anyone other than the American people. Nor should his victory be seen as a defeat or comeuppance for the US, although that is how it is being presented in some corners of the world. That is to ignore that a majority of Americans, fed up with the past and seeing him as the personification of the American dream, voted enthusiastically for him. He is, by virtue of his election, everything that America stands for. He is Uncle Sam, the all-American kid, The Chief.

As president, Barack Obama is going to defend American interests first, not those of some other nation. There will be attempts at dialogue, even at finding peace in the Middle East, but no one should imagine that they would be radical or pursued with all his energy and determination. Iraq is one thing — and even then there can be no certainty that every last American troop will be pulled out from there in 16 months. But a president whose deputy is Joe Biden, a man who last year said that Israel is “the single greatest strength America has in the Middle East” and who is proud to call himself a Zionist, is not going to turn his back on the Israelis. His appointment of Rahm Emanual as his chief of staff makes that doubly certain. Emanual is an even more convinced Zionist (his father was a member of the Zionist terror organization Irgun), not to mention a prominent figure in the US Jewish lobby. Far from challenging Israel, the new team may turn out to be as pro-Israeli as the one it is replacing. >>> Editorial | November 7, 2008

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New Dark Age Alert! One in Three Teachers Says Teach Creationism Alongside Evolution
THE TELEGRAPH: One in three teachers believes schoolchildren should be taught that creationism is just as valid as evolution, according to a survey.

The poll also disclosed that pupils in almost a third of schools already learn about the controversial divine explanation of the universe, with even science teachers thinking it has a place in classrooms.

Almost all of those questioned by Teachers TV, a satellite television channel, agreed that children with strong religious beliefs would feel excluded from science lessons if their views were ignored.

The findings support the views of the Rev Professor Michael Reiss, who lost his job as director of education at the Royal Society, Britain's prestigious scientific academy, after calling for creationism to be included in school science lessons.

The ordained Church of England minister said the idea that the Earth was made by God 10,000 years ago should be discussed if pupils raise it, because "banging on" about natural selection would not lead evangelical Christians or Muslims to change their views.

But he was forced to step down after his views were denounced as "dangerous" and "outrageous" by two Nobel laureates and the Royal Society claimed he had damaged its reputation.

Commenting on the results of the survey of 1,200 viewers of Teachers TV, its chief executive, Andrew Bethell, said: "This poll data confirms that the debate on whether there is a place for the teaching of creationism in the classroom is still fierce."

The poll found that 31 per cent of teachers agree that creationism or intelligent design – the theory that the universe shows signs of having been designed rather than evolving – should be given the same status as evolution in the classroom, including 18 per cent of science teachers. >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | November 7, 2008

TELEGRAPH BLOGS / HOLY SMOKE: Islam Is the Reason British Teachers Are Suddenly Happy to Teach Creationism

One in three teachers believe that creationism should be taught in school science lessonsWhy? It's not because they've developed a sudden respect for fundamentalist Christian interpretations of the Bible. It's because devout Muslim pupils - and their parents - regard Darwin's teachings as blasphemous.

The science of evolution contradicts a literal reading of the Koran, just as it contradicts the seven-day creation narrative of Genesis. The difference is that most devout Muslims - more than 90 per cent worldwide - accept Islam's account of creation as the simple truth, whereas in Britain only a small minority of churchgoers are creationists.

In the last five years, Harun Yahya, a Turkish-based Islamic creationist propaganda machine, has been flooding the developed world with sophisticated material, including an incredibly glossy, huge and heavy 800-page Atlas of Creation which "proves" that all living species were created simultaneously. "Living beings have not undergone the slightest change for hundreds of millions of years," it asserts.

Multiple copies of this "atlas" have arrived at the two newspaper offices where I work, the Telegraph and the Catholic Herald. Schools all over the country are receiving unsolicited copies for their libraries. Is anyone even flicking through them before they go on the shelves? My guess is that the book is fast becoming an accepted resouce for state schools with Muslim pupils. Who is paying for this vast work of fantasy dressed up as science? I bet the funding doesn't all come from Turkey. Saudi, perhaps?

Meanwhile, as counterknowledge.com reports, the influence of Adnan Oktar, the fundamentalist who runs Harun Yahya, is growing enormously. Oktar has managed to block access in Turkey to numerous websites that challenge him, including at one stage Google groups. According to one report, 61 websites have been targeted by Oktar/Yahya, whose work has been translated into 57 languages.

This is a battle that the educational establishment just isn't prepared for. Guardian readers associate creationism with US Republicans, not ethnic minorities. Now they face a painful dilemma: should they fight to exclude the creationist viewpoint from science lessons, risking accusations of Islamophobia from angry parents, or should they embrace pseudoscience in the name of cultural diversity? It's a tough one. COMMENT HERE >>> Damian Thompson | November 7, 2008

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First State Visit to Turkey to Begin
SWISSINFO.CH: Swiss President, Pascal Couchepin, begins an official visit to Turkey today – the first ever visit to Turkey by a Swiss president.

It is the second visit in a week to Turkey by a Swiss government minister and represents an improvement of relations between the two countries.

Couchepin - Switzerland's interior minister who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year - will meet President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his four-day visit.

They will discuss political, cultural and economic relations including energy issues since Turkey is a transit country for oil and gas supplies to Europe, the Swiss interior ministry said in a statement. >>> | November 7, 2008

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Turkey Criticises British Film on Turkish Orphanages
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: Turkey said on Friday a British television documentary about its orphanages using Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in an undercover role could harm the welfare of the children involved.

"The way in which the disguised Duchess of York was used to shoot scenes with a hidden camera ... was done without taking into consideration the adverse effects of such unprepared visits on the intellectual and emotional development of these children," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said.

He made the comments about the ITV documentary, the first part of which aired this week, at a joint news conference with Foreign Secretary David Miliband, where Turkey's bid to join the European Union was relegated to a minor role.

Babacan said Turkey had launched an inquiry into the allegations made in the documentary and anyone responsible for misconduct would be charged.

But he said Turkey regretted the approach used by the makers of the programme, which he said focussed on a rehabilitation centre for mentally handicapped children.

The documentary follows Ferguson, the former wife of Queen Elizabeth's second son, as she visits state orphanages in Turkey and Romania. She poses as a potential charitable donor and secret cameras follow her.

On her visits, Ferguson saw evidence of children being tied to beds and disabled children generally neglected by overworked staff. >>> Reuters / By Adrian Croft | November 7, 2008

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Turkey Rejects EU Cyprus Proposals
More proof, if indeed more proof were needed, that Turkey DOES NOT BELONG IN THE EUROPEAN UNION!

HÜRRIYET: ANKARA – A long-lasting row between Turkey and the European Union over Cyprus’ participation in NATO-led operations is deepening, as Ankara refused Brussels’ fresh proposals to overcome the deadlock through informal methods.

“Turkey refused all proposed informal arrangements (to solve the problem). We are at a dead end,” Gérard Araud, the political director of the French Foreign Ministry presiding over the EU-term presidency, told a small group of journalists here yesterday.

The problem is stemming from efforts to develop cooperation between NATO and the EU, as the two organizations are composed of almost all the same countries.

Turkey, a NATO member who wants to join the EU, is not against cooperation in principle, but objects to the participation of its regional rival, Cyprus, in the process. As a matter of fact, Cyprus and Greece blocked Turkey’s participation in the European Defense Agency, or EDA, which makes the current situation more complex.

An agreement called Berlin Plus was reached in the early 2000s, but full membership of Cyprus to the EU before finalizing the comprehensive settlement left it futile. According to Araud, both the French presidency and the EU spent a good amount of energy to solve the problem. At the beginning, a step-by-step approach was proposed that did not produce a change to Turkey’s objections. >>> | November 7, 2008

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Free Speech: FPÖ Does the Splits
DIE JÜDISCHE.AT: Flushed with its success in September's elections, the right-wing extremist Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is urging moves to scrap the Austrian law that bans Nazi activity and attempts to revive Nazism. Norbert Hofer, an FPÖ MP has suggested a referendum to test public opinion on abolition of the law. He is supported by his party's leader Heinz-Christian Strache. 



At the same time as the far-right is trying to lift restrictions on the dissemination of hatred, threats from far-rightists have forced two satirical political revue performers, Dirk Stermann and Christoph Grissemann, to cancel a performance, planned for December, at Klagenfurt University.



The cause for the pressure on the duo is that they devoted their last show, titled Welcome to Austria, on ORF TV - the Austrian state channel - on 23 October to the death of Carinthian governor and right-wing extremist, Jörg Haider, and the consequences of his demise in a car crash. The Alliance for Austria's Future (BZÖ), the party formerly led by Haider, has branded the satirists' performance as "not acceptable for Carinthia" while the FPÖ has gone further by demanding that their presence on ORF is banned. 



The FPÖ does not deny that freedom is excellent except that it only seems to want it for Holocaust deniers while, hypocritically, claiming that satirical revue performers are unworthy of it. It now remains to be seen whether the left and liberal intellectuals who rushed to defend the British Holocaust denier David Irving* when he fell foul of Austrian law will display some support for and solidarity with Stermann and Grissemann. [Source: Die Jüdische] Karl Pfeifer | November 7, 2008

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With Obama's Victory, Europe's Minorities Sense New Possibilities
CS MONITOR: A new discourse is emerging in France and Europe that urges a focus on ability – rather than on race or skin.

PARIS AND FRANKFURT - The election of Barack Obama may have revolutionized the world's view of America. But for Africans and Arabs in Europe, he is much more – a liberator figure whose success and social mobility will help them one day crack open the closed doors of European politics.

In Paris's black neighborhoods, in the barber shops, the African boutiques, the crowded bus stops, the groceries, President-elect Obama's election is felt deeply and personally – creating a sense that it is time to push for more.

"Obama has restored belief in the American dream," says Pap Ndiaye, who is with the School for the Advanced Study of the Social Sciences in Paris. "But his election also has a direct social effect in France, because the black youth think it is possible there [in the US] but not here.

"Obama puts the political system in France on the hot seat," he adds. "Structures that are closed are being looked at, and it is time for that."

Few Europeans believe it possible anytime soon for a minority to be elected to high office in their countries. The Obama example highlights a sharp contrast between the ideals and the reality of what a young African or Arab in Europe can hope for as a participant in politics.

Obama's rise created a new discourse focused on ability here – rather than on race or skin as a rationale for change. >>> By Robert Marquand, Staff Writer | November 7, 2008

ISLAM ONLINE: US Muslims See Hope in Obama

WASHINGTON — The majority of American Muslims is believed to have voted for Barak Obama as the new president.

IslamOnline.net has interviewed several Muslims, including community leaders, on what issues should top the agenda of President Obama and the domestic and international implications of his election.

Ibrahim Ramey, Director of Muslims American Society, Virginia

Barack Obama was my first choice and the first choice of 90 percent of Muslims living in the US.

We supported him because he is an agent of change.

It is a major opportunity for American Muslims to advance themselves for equal opportunities under the law.

Muslim should capitalize on this opportunity and should now better organize themselves to get their voices heard and recognized.

Obama will help do away with the negative image of Muslims inside the US and in the whole world.

Obama will help resolve the lingering conflicts of Palestine and Afghanistan and will soon end the Iraq war.

He will create economic growth and stability in the US and will restore the country’s security and confidence. >>> By Mukhtar A. Khan, IOL Correspondent | November 6, 2008

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Iran, Hamas Welcome Obama Presidency
JTA: Leaders of Iran and Hamas expressed hope that Barack Obama would usher in a new era of relations between the United States and the Islamic world.

In Gaza, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar sounded a hopeful note. "We hope, we hope, that Obama opens a new page with the world, including the Muslim world," Zahar said, according to Ha’aretz.

Zahar added that Israeli influence on U.S. policy made it unlikely Obama would talk to Hamas, at least initially.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday the world was expecting major changes in U.S. policy. He also made comments reminiscent of the claim he made in his September speech to the United Nations that a Zionist minority controls the levers of global power.

"I hope that you prefer people’s interests and justice to the rapacious demands of a selfish minority, make the best use of the chance and leave a good name," he said in comments directed at the U.S. president-elect, according to the the Iranian news site ISNA.

According to The New York Times, Ahmadinejad also sent a leter to Obama, the first time since the Iranian revolution that a leader of the Islamic Republic has issued congratulations to an American president-elect.

“People in the world expect war-oriented policies, occupation, bullying, deception and intimidation of nations and imposing discriminatory policies on them and international affairs, which have evoked hatred toward American leaders, to be replaced by ones advocating justice, respect for human rights, friendship and noninterference in other countries’ affairs,” the letter said, according to the Times. [Source: JTA] | November 7, 2008

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Obama Has a Great Tan, Says Berlusconi
Photo of the gaffe-prone Silvio Berlusconi courtesy of the Daily Express
DAILY EXPRESS: Italy’s bungling prime minister caused embarrassment last night when he complimented US President-elect Barack Obama on his “suntan”.

Silvio Berlusconi praised America’s first black president for being “young, handsome and tanned”.



Last night Mr Berlusconi, 72 – no stranger himself to a year-round suntan – was condemned for his remarks. 



But he hit back at critics, saying: “What’s the problem? It was a compliment. If these people don’t have a sense of humour why don’t they just...” 



Italian opposition MP Dario Franceschini said Mr Berlusconi’s remarks were “loaded with dangerous ambiguity”, adding: “They will be seen as offensive by the whole world.”

Mr Berlusconi has made regular gaffes, including labelling one German MEP a “prisoner of war camp guard” and saying that the West was “superior to Islam”. >>> By Nick Pisa | November 7, 2008

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Austrian Journalist Slammed For Racist Obama Rant

Veteran Austrian television personality Klaus Emmerich has triggered a storm of criticism for his racist comments about Barack Obama, the US president-elect.

Klaus Emmerich has long been a figure in Austrian television news. His journalism career spans 61 years and includes a stint as a correspondent in Washington D.C. for ORF, Austria's public television station. He is something like the Wolf Blitzer of Austria.

Or, at least, he was. Now, the respected US expert has stained his own report card with a string of blatantly racist remarks regarding the election of Barack Obama in the US. Speaking on a talk show on the Austrian public channel ORF on Wednesday, he said: "I wouldn't want the Western world to be directed by a black man. When you say that is a racist remark: right, without a doubt."

Americans are "racists, now as before, and it must be going very badly for them that they so convincingly ... send a black man, and a black, very good-looking woman, into the White House," he said. >>> jas -- with wire reports | November 7, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama ‘Not Civilised’ Enough to Rule, Says Austrian Pundit

The Austrian state broadcaster is refusing to sack its top US political commentator despite him claiming blacks were 'not civilised' enough to rule.

Klaus Emmerich, who until he retired was editor in chief of the Austrian broadcaster ORF's news and current affairs service, is a specialist in American politics and is still the station's top political commentator for US affairs.

But in coverage of the election in which Barack Obama was elected president he said: "I do not want the western world being directed by a black man. And if you say this is a racist remark, I say you are damn right it is."

Emmerich also said Obama's election was "a highly disturbing development" because "blacks are not as far advanced in the civilization process nor in their political progress." >>> | November 7, 2008

MAIL Online: New Obama Race Row as Austrian TV Pundit Says Black People ‘Are Not Civilised’ Enough to Rule

Austria's official state broadcaster is refusing to sack a senior political commentator who said blacks were not civilised enough to rule.

Klaus Emmerich, the retired editor-in-chief of Austrian broadcaster ORF's news and current affairs service, is the station's top political commentator for U.S. affairs. Der Spiegel likened him to Wolf Blitzer, CNN's legendary political commentator.

But covering the election in which Barack Obama was elected American president, Emmerich said: 'I do not want the western world being directed by a black man. And if you say this is a racist remark, I say you are damn right it is.'

Emmerich also said Obama's election was "a highly disturbing development" because "blacks are not as far advanced in the civilisation process nor in their political progress."

Following his outburst, the moderator prevented Emmerich from speaking again.

But Emmerich took an even harder line in newspaper interviews later, calling Mr Obama's victory 'a highly disturbing development' because 'blacks are not as far advanced in the civilisation process nor in their political progress'.

He went on to tell Die Presse that Mr Obama has 'a devil-like talent to present his rhetoric so effectively'. >>> | November 7, 2008

BBC: Berlusconi Says Obama Is ‘Tanned’

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has provoked criticism for describing Barack Obama as "young, handsome, and tanned".

He made the remarks after a meeting with the Russian president in Moscow.

Opposition politicians in Italy said Mr Berlusconi's remarks about the US president-elect were at worst, racist and at best, undiplomatic.

Mr Berlusconi shrugged off the criticism, saying those who disagreed with him were humourless "imbeciles".

'Great compliment'

Mr Berlusconi made the quip at a news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

''Obama is young, handsome and also tanned, so he has all the qualities to agree with you,'' he told the Russian leader, speaking in Italian through a translator.

he Italian news agency Ansa said Mr Berlusconi later defended the remark, calling it "a great compliment".

Responding to a reporter's suggestion that the remark might be misunderstood, he accused his opponents of not having a sense of humour.

''God save us from imbeciles,'' he added. >>> | November 7, 2008

Watch BBC video: Berlusconi’s comments about Obama >>> | November 7, 2008
KURIER: Berlusconi und kein Ende

Er hat Obama als "gebräunt" bezeichnet – und will einfach nicht "Sorry" sagen. Viele Italiener schämen sich indes öffentlich für ihren Premier.

Schön, jung und sonnengebräunt" –Silvio Berlusconis Beschreibung von US-Wahlsieger Barack Obama sorgte in "Bella Italia" für Aufruhr. Nichts weiter als ein "witziges Kompliment" sei es gewesen, meinte Berlusconi, der immer noch so wirkt, als frage er sich, was all der Wirbel eigentlich soll. 



"Warum haben die USA Obama und wir Berlusconi?", fragten sich indes jene Italiener, die am Freitag durch Roms Straßen zogen. Mit schwarzer Schuhcreme im Gesicht verliehen sie ihrem Protest gegen den Premier Ausdruck. "Sorry" sagten viele zu "Mr. Obama", nicht nur auf Plakaten, sondern auch im Internet. Auf der Website der New York Times entschuldigten sich Scharen von Italienern für ihren Premier. Luigi zum Beispiel: "Wir sind nicht solche Narren wie er".

"Sorry" sagten auch Oppositionspolitiker und griffen den Premier an: "Berlusconi hat alle Grenzen des Anstands überschritten. Er hält sich für Napoleon.", sagte der Massimo Donadi von der Zentrumspartei "Italien der Werte". Und weiter: ''Ein erbärmlicher Satz, durchtränkt von schlechtem Geschmack, der ein hässliches und negatives Bild von Italien vermittelt, das dieses Land nicht verdient.'' >>> sk | 7. November 2008

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Melanie Phillips: Freedom Now Stands Alone
THE SPECTATOR: So the answer to my question turned out to be yes, America really was going to do this. A historic moment indeed. The hyperbole for once is not exaggerated: this is a watershed election which changes the fate of the world. The fear however is that the world now becomes very much less safe for all of us as a result. Those of us who have looked on appalled during this most frightening of presidential elections – at the suspension of reason and its replacement by thuggery -- can only hope that the way this man governs will be very different from the profile provided by his influences, associations and record to date. It’s a faint hope – the enemies of America, freedom and the west will certainly be rejoicing today.

America has voted for change, apparently. Change from what, precisely? From Bush? But in the second term, Bush stopped being Bush. His foreign policy lurched from paralysis to appeasement (redeemed only by the strategic genius of Gen Petraeus – and what price Petraeus now?) As Frank Gaffney wrote in the Washington Times yesterday, Bush’s Treasury is about to open the way for sharia law to be imposed upon America’s banking system. And it was a Democrat-controlled Congress that helped provoke the sub-prime lending crisis that triggered the current financial meltdown.

What this election tells us is that America voted for change because America is in the process of changing – not just demographically by becoming less white and more diverse, but as the result of a culture war in which western civilisation is losing out to a far-left agenda which has become mainstream, teaching American children to despise the founding values of their country and hijacking discourse by the minority power-grab of victim-culture.

The reaction of conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic to this undoubted change – not just in the US but in Britain too – shows the intellectual disarray caused by these profound developments. They say politicians must stop trying to hold the cultural line and go instead with the flow of change. In Britain, the Tory party has adopted this strategy. Now there are Republicans saying the same thing.

But John McCain is a Republican who does not fit the old template, who does subscribe to some of this ‘change’ agenda on a number of issues. As a result, he was incapable of attacking Obama on the most important grounds of all: that he stood for values inimical to America’s founding principles. When he did venture into this territory, it was half-cocked and far too late, appearing merely like the desperate throw of a loser. The reason he couldn’t do it earlier was that he had no coherent platform of his own. So why vote for a muddled and erratic quasi-'progressive' when the real thing is a rock star? It cannot be said too emphatically -- the Republicans lost this election. Obama ran a superbly disciplined campaign and he was an impressive candidate, particularly in his calm and stately demeanour throughout. The Republicans screwed up in government, they selected a hopelessly frail and erratic candidate, he ran a shambolic campaign. They deserved to lose. >>> Melanie Phillips | November 5, 2008

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Day One: Obama Faces Cold War Threat, a Warning from Israel... and an Armed Guard to Go to the Gym
MAIL Online: With barely time to savour his triumph, Barack Obama has been confronted with various international crises to test his mettle.

The U.S. President-elect faces threats from Russia, Israel and Afghanistan as it emerged his election team's computers were hacked by a 'foreign entity' during the election.

Officials at the FBI and the White House believe the hackers sought to gather information on the evolution of both his and Senator John McCain's policy positions with the idea of using that information in negotiations with the next administration.

Obama technical experts later speculated the hackers were Russian or Chinese, and security ended the intrusion, Newsweek reported.

The first of the challenges thrown at the President-elect, who received his first national security intelligence briefing yesterday, came from the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

He threatened to base warheads along the Polish border if Obama goes ahead with a Bush administration plan to create a missile shield in Eastern Europe.

Then Israel warned Obama last night that his claim that he was ready to open talks with Iran could be seen in the Middle East as a sign of weakness.

Furthermore, Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai demanded that Obama 'put an end to civilian casualties' by changing U.S. military tactics to avoid airstrikes in the war on the Taliban. He spoke out after seven wedding party guests were accidentally killed by an American airstrike.

It was as he was locked away in his Chicago home, that Obama received his first national intelligence briefing as he wrestled with appointments for his Cabinet.

During the day he ventured out twice, once to visit his local gym and then his downtown offices.

Each time he was escorted by a convoy of black vehicles carrying heavily armed secret service agents.

Aides said he planned no public appearances until later in the week.

It also emerged that both Obama and McCain's computers were hacked into by a 'foreign entity' during the campaign.

Newsweek magazine revealed the FBI and the Secret Service had been called in, with one agent warning the Obama campaign: 'You have a problem way bigger than what you understand... You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system.' >>> By David Gardner | November 7, 2008

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Khader: Quraishy Damaging Denmark
POLITIKEN.DK: Naser Khader accuses Bashy Quraishy of treason for urging a boycott of Denmark. Quraishy: Khader’s a nobody trying to get into the news.

The Syrian-born Leader of the Liberal Alliance Party Naser Khader is accusing a fellow Dane, Pakistani-born Bashy Quraishy of being a swindler with a questionable CV who travels around Europe on EU funds to spread negative stories about Denmark.

Khader says he is not surprised that Quraishy is urging Muslim countries to boycott Denmark in protest against the influence the Danish People’s Party exerts on Danish politics.

“This is treason of the worst type. I don’t understand why he’s so busy damaging the country that has given him a home. He’s not even a practicing Muslim and I certainly don’t understand his urge to involve totalitarian countries in Danish conditions,” Naser Khader says according to Ritzau. >>> Julian Isherwood | November 6, 2008

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The Rise of Apocalyptic Islam: Causes and Implications (PolicyWatch #1423: Special Forum Report)
WASHINGTON INSTITUTE: On October 29, 2008, Jean-Pierre Filiu and Mehdi Khalaji addressed a Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. Mr. Filiu, a former French diplomat and ministerial advisor, currently serves as a visiting professor at Georgetown University. Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.

Jean-Pierre Filiu

Washing across the Islamic world is a growing wave of grim and gory literature predicting the aher al-zaman, the Arabic concept for apocalypse that literally translates as the "end of time." This genre is both ancient and modern, as it revisits historic Islamic narratives and incorporates newer, non-Islamic elements. Three trends of apocalypticism have emerged from this literature, making it difficult to assess the implications for foreign policymaking.

Both Sunni and Shiite Islam contain traditional narratives about the end of days. In the Sunni narrative, Jesus returns to fight the anti-Christ in Damascus, defeats him in Lud, and leads the army of the faithful at the end of time. In the predominant Shiite narrative, the occulted twelfth imam, also referred to as the "Hidden Imam" or Mahdi, will appear in Mecca and lead the Mahdi's Army, defeating the unbelievers. In contrast to these old narratives, the current wave of apocalyptic literature draws heavily from non-Islamic sources. This heterogeneous genre follows the approach of its founder, a minor Egyptian journalist whose 1986 book The Anti-Christ incorporated Biblical revelations, Nostradamus's prophesies, anti-Semitic propaganda, and Protestant evangelicalism.

As the majority of its readership does not interpret apocalypticism literally, the genre's rise does not represent an immediate political threat. Instead, apocalyptic literature is a coping mechanism for day-to-day frustration. It helps "compensate" for the current economic and social crises by associating them with the foretold decline of Islam before the end of days. Without motivating the reader to any particular action, it promises retribution against the perceived evildoers and a post-apocalyptic recompense: the rise of Islam, justice, and peace. >>> Featuring Jean-Pierre Filiu and Mehdi Khalaji | November 6, 2008

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Pakistani Christian Accused of Blaspheming Islam
SPERO NEWS: A Christian and his daughter have been accused under the Pakistani penal code of blaspheming Islam. They now face severe sanctions. An enraged mob sought to kill them and managed to attack a Christian church.

A Christian man, Gulsher Masih, and his daughter, Sandal, 18, have been charged with blasphemy under Article 295 B of the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly tearing pages from the Koran on October 9, 2008 in the village of Tehsil Chak Jhumra, in Faisalabad district. 



Some Muslims who walked by the Gulsher home said they saw Sandal Gulsher and her father Gulsher Masih tear some pages from the Quran and throw them into the street. The story eventually made to the village mosques so an enraged mob, including people from neighboring villages, marched through the village calling for the death of the blasphemers, the news agency stated. 



Deputy Inspector Faryad told Asia News that once the mob was at the Gulsher home they began stoning the building, striking doors and windows with sticks. They also stoned a nearby Protestant church. Police took the entire Gulsher family into custody for their “own protection,” he added. “Vans full of Muslims were driving to the village but were stopped by police.” >>> | November 6, 2008

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Il Papa apre all'Islam: "Cristiani e musulmani sono la stessa famiglia"
RAI NEWS 24: "Cristiani e musulmani hanno approcci diversi su Dio", ma ugualmente debbono sentirsi "membri di una stessa famiglia". E' questo in sintesi il messaggio che il Papa ha affidato al Forum islamo-cattolico promosso dal Pontificio Consiglio per il dialogo interreligioso. "Possiamo e dobbiamo essere fedeli dell'unico Dio che ci ha creati e si cura di ogni persona in ogni angolo del mondo", "Insieme - insiste - dobbiamo mostrare, con il rispetto e la solidarietà reciproca, che ci consideriamo membri di una stessa famiglia.

Dovremmo lavorare insieme - chiede il Pontefice ai leader musulmani - nella promozione di un genuino rispetto per la dignità della persona umana e i diritti umani fondamentali, anche se le nostre visioni antropologiche e le nostre teologie lo giustificano in modi diversi. C'e' un campo grande e ampio nel quale possiamo agire insieme nel difendere e promuovere i valori morali parte di un'eredita' comune". [Fonte: Rai News 24] Roma | 6 novembre 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)

Iran's New Penal Code Unfair to Women: Nobel Laureate
AFP: TEHRAN — Nobel peace laureate Shrin Ebadi on Wednesday criticised Iran's new Islamic penal code, saying it remains unfair to women and uses an "incorrect" interpretation of Islam.

Iran's parliament in September adopted the outlines of the new Islamic penal code submitted by the judiciary, which is a modified version of the Sharia-based law implemented in Iran since 1982.

"After 25 years we are still repeating mistakes of the first day," Ebadi told a meeting and news conference staged by her rights group on the subject.

"The criminal laws adopted after the revolution unfortunately took away a woman's human identity and turned her into a second-class being who is incapable and mentally-deranged," she said. >>> | November 5, 2008

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U.S. Treasury Submits to Shariah
FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS: 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.

As this enthusiasm for SCF ramps up in Washington officialdom, it is worth recalling a lesson from "across the pond." Earlier this year, the head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, provoked a brief but intense firestorm of controversy with his declaration that it was "unavoidable" that Shariah would be practiced in Britain. Largely unremarked was the reason he gave for such an ominous forecast: The U.K. had already accommodated itself to Shariah-Compliant Finance. >>> By Frank Gaffney Jr

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American Muslims Quick to Congratulate Obama
REUTERS: WASHINGTON - The largest U.S. Islamic civil rights group was among the first to congratulate President-Elect Democrat Barack Obama, a man who some opponents tried to portray as a Muslim because of the childhood years he spent in Indonesia.

“President-elect Obama’s victory sends the unmistakable message that America is a nation that offers equal opportunity to people of all backgrounds,” the Council on American Islamic Relations said in a statement just minutes after Obama’s victory speech in Chicago.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the group, said they hoped to offer the Obama administration some support and advice.

“We look forward to having the opportunity to work with the Obama administration in protecting the civil rights of all Americans, projecting an accurate image of America in the Muslim world and playing a positive role in securing our nation,” Awad said. >>> Andrea Shalal-Esa | November 5, 2008

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Barack Obama Victory Shows Changing Make-up of US Electorate
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's historic election win has marked a new epoch in US politics by showing that white voters no longer hold the balance of power when it comes to choosing US presidents.

President-Elect Obama attracted 43 per cent of the white vote, with 55 per cent backing John McCain.

But because white voters make up an ever-decreasing percentage of the total, Mr Obama still achieved an overwhelming victory because he attracted 95 per cent of the black vote and two thirds of Hispanic and Asian voters.

Black and ethnic minority voters accounted for 26 per cent of all votes cast in the election. As recently as 2000, they made up just 19 per cent of voters.

At the current rate of change, white voters will be in the minority by 2042, and with black and ethnic minority voters traditionally voting Democrat, regardless of the candidate's skin colour, the Republicans are facing a long-term problem.

Richard Little, Professor of International Politics at Bristol University, said: "Clearly the Republicans are going to have to think about this very seriously. The long-term implications are very significant, which is part of the reason people are saying this is such a historic moment." >>> By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | November 5, 2008

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