Prosecuted for Stating Truths
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: Dutch MP Geert Wilders is being prosecuted in Holland for "inciting hatred and discrimination" and for insulting Muslims by comparing Islam to Nazism. But how can Muslims be offended with such a comparison when one of the most prominent 20th century Muslim scholars made a similar comparison?In his book Islamic Law and Constitution, Sheikh Abul Ala Maududi wrote: "It [Islamic State] seeks to mould every aspect of life and activity…In such a state no one can regard any field of his affairs as personal and private. Considered from this aspect, the Islamic State bears a kind of resemblance to the Fascist and Communist states."[1] Maududi’s characterization of the Muslim State was intended to be negative and was never challenged by any Muslim scholar or institution as inaccurate or unfair.

Many Muslims are offended by Wilders’ questioning -- and any questioning, criticism or exploration of Muslim scriptures -- because Muslims themselves are not allowed to do that. Under Islamic Law, a Muslim will be considered an apostate if he questions or denies any thing in the Quran, Hadith, or Islamic Shari'a law. Muslims who have been brought up never to question Islam are suddenly answering questions asked in the West by stifling freedom of speech. Of course, Islam denotes this territory as the Dar Al Harb, or house of war.

It does not matter if Muslim scriptures have thousands of references to hate, condemn to doom, curse, boycott, humiliate, subjugate and kill non-Muslims. Such scriptures are not just in an old book on a dusty shelf that is never read, but in one that is recited daily by Muslim preached in mosques throughout the world and that molds the outlook and lives of millions of Muslims. And despite protests to the contrary, this does not mean some introspective self-improvement struggle; the definition of jihad in mainstream Shari'a books is "to war against non-Muslims to establish the religion."[2] Moreover, jihad is the most compelling duty of a Muslim head of State: "A Muslim calipha is entrusted to take his people into war and command offensive and aggressive jihad. He must organize jihad against any non-Muslim government, which prevents Muslim da’wah (meaning preaching and spreading Islam) from entering its land."[3] >>> By Nonie Darwish, FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, January 26, 2009

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Wilders, Freedom of Speech or Discrimination?

NRC HANDELSBLAD: Geert Wilders, the controversial Dutch politician who has been very vocal in expressing his negative opinions about Islam, is to be prosecuted for alleged hate speech and discrimination, the appeals court in Amsterdam decided on Wednesday.

Calls to try Wilders for his statements that violence is inextricably linked to Islam and that the Quran and Hiltler’s Mein Kampf are similarly fascists books, had previously fallen on deaf ears. But the court’s ruling reverses a decision made last year by the public prosecutor’s office, which said Wilders’ comments had been made as a contribution to the debate on Islam in Dutch society. His remarks may have been painful for Muslims, but they could not be deemed criminal, the prosecutor decided in response to dozens of cases filed against Wilders after he launched his anti-Islam film Fitna.

The judges, however, said they had weighed Wilders’ anti-Islam rhetoric against his right to free speech, and ruled he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians. Prosecution of Wilders is in the public interest, the court decided, because in a democratic legal system a clear line about hate speech in the realm of public debate needs to be drawn.

The Netherlands long had a reputation for tolerance towards its - largely Moroccan and Turkish - immigrant population, but the tone of the debate has changed radically in the past decade. After right-wing populist politician Pim Fortuyn, filmmaker Theo van Gogh and Somali refugee and former member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Geert Wilders is the strongest voice against what he calls, “the islamisation of the Netherlands.” Join the debate! >>> NRC International | Thursday, January 22, 2009

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Balkenende Mentioned as European Commission President
NRC HANDELSBLAD: The name of the Dutch prime minister keeps coming up in speculation about who the next president of the European Commission will be. When asked, Jan Peter Balkenende says he needs to finish his job in The Hague.

A well-connected source in Brussels this week said that: "I hear from all corners that he is in a good position." The source added that Balkenende is himself interested in the prestigious post.

However, the Dutch prime minister called the appearance of his name "remarkable." He said, "I understand that his issue came up in an interview between Dutch journalists with my colleague [minister of finance and deputy prime minister] Wouter Bos."

Balkenende said that it would be good for Europe if the current president of the commission Jose Manuel Barroso could extend his tenure beyond the fall. >>> News staff | Friday, January 23, 2009

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Shame on The Netherlands

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Geert Wilders’ Film Fitna

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Wilders or Wilderness: A Letter from Holland

Hat tip: Atlas Shrugs >>>

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Rachida Dati Remains Loyal to Nicolas Sarkozy Despite Losing Cabinet Post
THE TELEGRAPH: Rachida Dati, France's justice minister, on Sunday remained loyal to President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying it was her job to "go out into the field" in her first public reaction since losing her cabinet post to run for the European parliament.

While the move for France's first top-level minister of North African origin from the cabinet to Strasbourg was widely seen as a humiliating step down, Miss Dati remained stoically upbeat.

"A female or male politician's career isn't about owning a mandate or being nominated to a post; it's about going out into the field convince [people] about our ideas," said the 43-year old single mother.

In a leadership gathering of Mr Sarkozy's ruling UMP – where he anointed the party's new leader, Xavier Bertrand - the president made it plain that his former protégée should be thankful that her departure was not more brutal.

"The life of a government is made of departures and returns. I myself have been through it in far less amicable conditions that [sic] those reserved for you," he said to a stony-faced Miss Dati. >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, January 26, 2009

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Sky News Joins BBC in Not Broadcasting DEC Emergency Gaza Aid Appeal
THE TELEGRAPH: Sky News has followed the BBC in announcing it will not broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for aid in Gaza.

It joins the Corporation in declining to air a two-minute video clip for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Gaza Crisis Appeal.

John Ryley, the head of Sky News, said: "Our commitment as journalists is to cover all sides of [the] story with uncompromising objectivity."

The decision came minutes after Mark Thompson, the Director General of the BBC, acknowledged the extent of suffering in Gaza but reaffirmed the corporation's refusal to broadcast the aid appeal.

Responding to widespread criticism of his decision, Mr Thompson said that while there is "great suffering going on", to broadcast the appeal would be "out of keeping with the absolutely strict obligations we have to be impartial."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "Many aspects of the human side of this are themselves contentious and are being debated - should there be a war crimes process, will international institutions in Gaza be ... under Hamas supervision ... why did it happen and what's going to happen.

"This story is best told in the context of journalistic programmes, where assertions can be challenged, where claims can be tested and where everything can be put into a balanced context.

"We worry that if someone's seen such a programme, a TV news programme, with these very emotive images, and then saw the same or similar pictures in an appeal asking for money, there is a danger that people might think we were endorsing one or other perspective on the conflict." >>> By Urmee Khan and Jon Swaine | Monday, January 26, 2009

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After Less Than a Week in Office, Barack Obama's Approval Rating Plunges 15 Points
MAIL Online: Barack Obama might have been in office for less than a week, but the euphoria is beginning to wane.

The new President's approval ratings have fallen from a stratospheric 83 per cent to a more modest - although still impressive - 68 per cent.

Washington analysts said the scale of the drop in the Gallup poll underlines the immense challenges Mr Obama faces in trying to turn round the U.S.'s battered fortunes.

He still remains vastly more popular than his predecessor George Bush - who left office with around 25 per cent approval.

But there were signs yesterday that reality has set in following the wave of optimism surrounding his inauguration last Tuesday. >>> By David Gardner | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Iraq: God is the Remedy for Ailing US Economy, Shiite Cleric Says
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Iraq has gotten more than its fair share of advice from U.S. officials on just how to transform the restive Two Rivers region into a functioning democracy.

But now, as America seeks to escape a home-grown economic crisis, some Iraqis are speaking up with their own advice.

Such was the case during Friday prayers in Najaf, when Shiite preacher Sadr al-Deen al-Kubanchi sermonized over the state of American finances.

"The USA is about to collapse economically," the cleric predicted in a televised speech. "There are great factories firing thousands of their employees and decreasing their productions."

The cause of this crisis was clear, Kubanchi told worshipers. "The problem is not just the economy, but the detachment from religion and God." >>> Monte Morin in Baghdad | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Egypt: Movie Star Facing Death Threats for Criticizing Hamas
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Egyptian movie star Adel Imam has sparked a fuss by criticizing Hamas and holding it partially responsible for the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. His criticism of the Palestinian militant group has spurred radical Islamist leaders to issue a fatwa calling for Imam's execution.

Earlier this month, Imam told the independent daily al-Masry al-Youm:

“The Egyptian leadership warned the Palestinian leaders against Israeli attacks; however, they did not pay attention and fought a disproportionate war. It is better that Hamas stops what it is doing because Israel will not respond with flowers.”

Imam also criticized pro-Hamas demonstrations that erupted around the Arab world blaming Egypt for the blockade suffered by Hamas.

His statements did not go unnoticed. On the contrary, they stirred a debate among his detractors, who accused him of being an apologist for the government of President Hosni Mubarak, which refused to open its border with Gaza to Palestinian refugees. Imam was reportedly condemned by radical websites in Algeria and Morocco as an unbeliever. >>> Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Heinz-Christian Strache über den Islam

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Iranian Parliament Speaker Slams Obama
THE JERUSALEM POST: Tehran, Iran – Iran's parliament speaker said his country has doubts that US President Barack Obama's Middle East policy will be different from the Bush administration, state television reported Sunday.

Speaker Ali Larijani said Obama's stance on the crisis in Gaza and the United States' support for Israel have "created many doubts about the 'change' theory."

He also cautioned that Obama's actions on Iran's disputed nuclear program would be "another test for the change word" used by the new president during his campaign.

The more critical comments came days after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki struck a moderate tone after Obama's inauguration. "We are ready for new approaches by the United States," he had said Wednesday.

But Larijani's more skeptical words come after Obama made his first comments on the recent Gaza conflict since taking office on Tuesday. Obama struck themes familiar with Bush over the Gaza crisis, including supporting Israel's right to defend itself, criticizing rocket attacks by Hamas, lamenting civilian deaths in Gaza and favoring an international effort to develop a durable cease-fire.

One Iranian hardline newspaper, Jomhuri Eslami, criticized Obama in its editorial on Sunday.

"Obama took a negative and disappointing stance on Palestine," the editorial said in response to Obama's comments on Gaza. >>> Associated Press | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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”That Accursed Book” – Willam Gladstone*
The 200th birthday of former Prime Minister William Gladstone, praised for his attitude to the Muslim world, will be marked with the opening of an Islamic reading room at the library he established near his home in North Wales. Gladstone's great grandson Christopher Parish and Professor Richard Aldous, head of history at University College Dublin, discuss the prime minister's view of Islam.

Listen to BBC audio: Gladstone’s thinking towards Islam >>>

*William Gladstone was one of the great Welsh prime ministers of the United Kingdom.

Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>

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VVD Leader [Mark Rutte] Wants Wider Freedom of Speech
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Mark Rutte, the leader of the conservative VVD, says Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende must take the initiative to safeguard full freedom of speech in the Netherlands. In an interview with De Telegraaf, Mr Rutte said everybody should be able to speak their minds, as long as they do not incite to violence against persons or their possessions.

The conservative leader said other possible limitations on freedom of speech, such as blasphemy, should be removed. Mr Rutte said he would himself [take] submit a bill to substantially widen freedom of speech should the prime minister fail to do so.

Mr Rutte's statements were prompted by a ruling of an Amsterdam court, which decided that Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders must be prosecuted for incitement to hatred and discrimination. The VVD leader said it was ridiculous that Mr Wilders should stand trial because of his ideas on Islam. [Source: RNW] | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Silencing the Voices of Reason
DAILY INTER LAKE (Montana): Polite society is a convention best preserved by the occasional use of brute force. Thus, the father's tap on the young ruffian's numbskull is a call to attention. There is no meanness in the gesture, but rather a loving discipline.

So too does society at large from time to time need to be called to attention by impolite truths. Writers like Voltaire and Henry David Thoreau play such a role, and if they are successful they spare us from needing to learn the harder lessons taught by the grindstone of history.

It's hard to believe now that society needed convincing of the inherent wrongness of slavery, but without such 'renegades' as Thoreau and John Brown demanding that we pay attention, the evil institution would have remained viable even longer.

Of course, more often than not, writers who go against the tide, who speak unpleasant truths, end up in prison —or worse. That's not been our experience too often in this country, although both Thoreau and Martin Luther King chose to go to jail for their ideals. But let's remember, the United States is exceptional in its guarantees of free speech. We must not take for granted that our freedoms have been extended everywhere.

Geert Wilders of the Netherlands considers himself to have a moral calling comparable to that of Voltaire or Thoreau or King — to speak the truth, however unpleasant it is to his audience, and however dangerous it is to himself. And now Wilders is facing jail time for the simple act of speaking his mind.

Some of you may recall his name. The Inter Lake ran a long guest column by Wilders in November about the Islamization of Europe, and he is noted as the creator of "Fitna," a 14-minute film about Islam that has received wide circulation on the Internet. Wilder's work is a blunt and pessimistic reminder of the decline of Western civilization in the face of Islam. He speaks straightforwardly about the changes in Europe and how it is almost inevitable that Europe will become a Muslim society sometime in the next century, not because of terrorism but rather as a result of sheer numbers and the willful refusal of most Muslims to assimilate to non-Islamic cultures. >>> Frank Miele, Managing Editor of the Daily Inter Lake | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Bahraini Women Fight for Fair Law
GULF DAILY NEWS (Bahrain): A new call for a Family Law has gone out following allegations that Bahraini husbands are allegedly extorting money from wives who file for divorce, who don't even have the money to feed their families.

The GDN has spoken to several women who claim to have been driven to poverty by the current justice system, which allows family disputes such as divorce and child custody cases to be settled by Sharia courts.

None of them can be named because their grounds for seeking a divorce are often driven by criminal actions of their husbands, who cannot be identified in print.

One Bahraini woman claimed she asked for a divorce last June after her husband raided her savings to pay dowry to a second wife.

However, she says he is demanding BD6,000 to agree to her request - even though she is struggling to make ends meet and has resorted to working as an illegal taxi driver to feed their six children.

She said the family didn't even have beds to sleep on or a washing machine, but received no support from her husband.

"I work on my own and pay for necessities by driving people in my car and charging up to BD2," the 35-year-old, from Hamad Town, told the GDN.

"My husband on the other hand does not care about me or the children - even though he sees the state we are living in." >>> By Rasha Al Qahtani | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Submission in the Netherlands
CITY JOURNAL: The trial of Geert Wilders represents another blow against Dutch freedom.

“The Freedom Party (PVV),” read yesterday’s press release, “is shocked by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal’s decision to prosecute Geert Wilders for his statements and opinions. Geert Wilders considers this ruling an all-out assault on freedom of speech.”

The appalling decision to try Wilders, the Freedom Party’s head and the Dutch Parliament’s only internationally famous member, for “incitement to hatred and discrimination” against Islam is indeed an assault on free speech. But no one who has followed events in the Netherlands over the last decade can have been terribly surprised by it. Far from coming out of the blue, this is the predictable next step in a long, shameful process of accommodating Islam—and of increasingly aggressive attempts to silence Islam’s critics—on the part of the Dutch establishment.

What a different road the Netherlands might have taken if Pim Fortuyn had lived! Back in the early spring of 2002, the sociologist-turned-politician—who didn’t mince words about the threat to democracy represented by his country’s rapidly expanding sharia enclaves—was riding high in the polls and appeared on the verge of becoming the next prime minister. For his supporters, Fortuyn represented a solitary voice of courage and an embodiment of hope for freedom’s preservation in the land of the dikes and windmills. But for the Dutch political class and its allies in the media and academia—variously blinded by multiculturalism, loath to be labeled racists, or terrified of offending Muslims—Fortuyn himself was the threat. They painted him as a dangerous racist, a new Mussolini out to tyrannize a defenseless minority. The result: on May 6, 2002, nine days before the election, Fortuyn was gunned down by a far-left activist taken in by the propaganda. The Dutch establishment remained in power. For many Dutchmen, hope died that day. >>> Bruce Bawer | Thursday, January 22, 2009

Hat tip: Pastorius >>>

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Ophir Falk* – Opinion: Thank You, President Bush
YNET NEWS: George W. Bush led war against terror and should be thanked for that

“Obama Mania” has swept the land of the free and quarters of the oppressed. For good reason. Barack Obama brings hope and ambition for a better day. But even during days of high hopes and clear clouds we should keep our sights on the key issues, give credit where credit is due and define the main mission ahead.

Recent polls depict President George W. Bush as one of the worst American presidents ever. Bush mismanaged the New Orleans hurricane relief efforts and the US economy, which led to grave consequences for millions of Americans and adversely affected global prosperity and livelihood. But at the end of the day, these effects will be no more than footnotes in the Bush legacy.

History will judge Bush on the war he led as leader of the world's only superpower against militant Islam, or in his words, "The War on Terror."

With the privilege of hindsight, it can clearly be determined that few global leaders or statesmen in the course of history were able to grasp the moment and truly address the issue of their time in the manner Winston Churchill did prior to and during Word War II. Yet while leading his people during the dark days of the Battle of Britain and on various other fronts, he earned little recognition from his constituencies, losing their vote after the war. But, once the dust had settled and after all was said and done, the Free World knew that Churchill had led his people through their "finest hour."

George W. Bush is no Winston Churchill; not even close. But he grasped the moment and boldly addressed the issue of our time - The War on Terror. Critics jabber Bush as a simple-minded man who sees things in terms of "true" or "false" - "black" or "white," rather than vetting through the gray.

Perhaps, but in the war on terror there is no room for ambiguities, or in the words of President Bush, "you're either with us or against us." President Bush led the confrontation against terror and should be thanked for that. >>> Ophir Falk, Israel Opinion | Sunday, January 25, 2009

* The author is a Partner at the Naveh, Kantor, Even-Har Law firm and a research fellow at the International Counter-Terrorism Center in Herzliya

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Versöhnung als Affront: Papst unter heftiger Kritik
DIE PRESSE: Benedikt XVI. hat vier traditionalistische Bischöfe wieder in die katholische Kirche zurückgeholt und erntet dafür Kritik von Progressiven und Juden. Einer der vier Bischöfe soll den Holocaust leugnen.

Es sollte eine Geste der Versöhnung sein, ausgelöst hat sie eine Welle des Protests: Am Samstag gab der Vatikan bekannt, dass vier Bischöfe, die vor 21 Jahren exkommuniziert werden, wieder in die Kirche zurückgeholt werden. Die Anhänger des Erzbischofs Marcel Lefebvre waren ohne Genehmigung des Vatikan zu Bischöfen geweiht worden und haben nach dem Tod Lefebvres die traditionalistische Bruderschaft St. Pius X. (FSSPX) am Leben gehalten. Sie haben unter anderem Messen nach dem alten lateinischen Ritus gefordert und eine Öffnung der Kirche abgelehnt. Die Entscheidung von Papst Benedikt XVI. fällt genau 50 Jahre nach dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils, bei dem das Ende des Tridentinischen (lateinischen) Ritus beschlossen wurde.

Die Versöhnung mit den Traditionalisten ist gelungen, aber die Reaktionen ließen nicht auf sich warten: Von jüdischer Seite wird scharf kritisiert, dass einer der vier Bischöfe, der Brite Richard Williamson, während eines Deutschland-Aufenthalts in einem Interview mit dem schwedischen Fernsehen geäußert hat: "Ich denke, dass 200.000 bis 300.000 Juden in den Konzentrationslagern gestorben sind, aber nicht ein einziger von ihnen in Gaskammern". Da Holocaust-Leugnung in Deutschland ein Offizialdelikt ist, hat die Staatsanwaltschaft Regensburg am Freitag ein Ermittlungsverfahren wegen Volksverhetzung eingeleitet.

Auch die katholische Basisbewegung "Wir sind Kirche" kritisierte die Aufhebung der Exkommunikation als Zeichen für "die rückwärtsgewandte Ausrichtung des Pontifikats von Benedikt XVI.".Der Papst solle sich auch den Progressiven öffnen: "Wäre es nicht gerade jetzt an der Zeit, mit der zweiten Hand auch all jene heimzuholen, die mit Lehrverboten und Exkommunikation bestraft wurden, weil sie die gute Nachricht Jesu auch politisch-strukturell für die Armen dieser Welt einsetzen oder Frauen zu Priesterinnen weihen oder für Kondome zum Schutz vor Aids eintreten", fragt die Organisation, die in den 1990er Jahren Unterschriften von hunderttausenden österreichischen Katholiken für die Priesterschaft von Frauen und die Aufhebung des Zölibats gesammelt hat. >>> DiePresse.com | Sonntag, 25. Januar 2009

SUEDEUTSCHE.DE: "Ein abscheulicher Lügner"

Papst Benedikt XVI. hat die Exkommunikation von Richard Williamson aufgehoben. Der Holocaust-Leugner hatte erst am Mittwoch beteuert: "Ich glaube, dass es keine Gaskammern gegeben hat." Nicht nur Juden protestieren.

Ungeachtet jüdischer Proteste hat Papst Benedikt XVI. einen ehemaligen Bischof rehabilitiert, der den Holocaust leugnet. Wie der Vatikan am Samstag mitteilte, hob der Papst mit einem Dekret die Exkommunizierung von vier katholischen Bischöfen aus dem Jahr 1988 auf, die ohne Zustimmung des Vatikans geweiht worden waren.

Unter ihnen ist auch der Brite Richard Williamson, der wiederholt das volle Ausmaß des Völkermords an den Juden während des Nationalsozialismus leugnete. So hatte er zuletzt am Mittwoch im schwedischen Fernsehen gesagt: „Ich glaube, dass es keine Gaskammern gegeben hat.“ Zudem behauptete er, in den deutschen Konzentrationslagern seien nicht sechs Millionen Juden getötet worden, sondern lediglich bis zu 300.000. >>> Reuters/Woja | Samstag, 24. Januar 2009

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Vatikan attackiert Obamas Abtreibungspolitik
TAGES ANZEIGER: US-Präsident Barack Obama hat der restriktiven Politik seines Vorgängers George W. Bush beim Thema Schwangerschaftsabbruch ein Ende gesetzt. Bischöfe des Vatikans sind empört.

Der Beschluss von Barack Obama, eine Verordnung der Bush-Regierung aufzuheben, die Finanzhilfen für internationale Organisationen, die Schwangerschaftsabbrüche unterstützen oder durchführen, untersagte, löste empörte Reaktionen des Vatikans aus. «Obama hat den schlimmsten Beschluss gefasst: Er wird nicht das Massaker an den Unschuldigen in der Welt stoppen», kommentierte der emeritierte Präsident der päpstlichen Akademie für das Leben, Bischof Elio Sgreccia, nach Angaben italienischer Medien. >>> vin/sda | Samstag, 24. Januar 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Vatican Hits Out at 'Arrogant' Barack Obama over Abortion

Despite initial "hopes for co-operation" the Vatican has fallen out with President Obama just days after his inauguration, accusing him of "arrogance" for overturning the "global gag rule" or ban on state funding for family-planning groups which facilitate abortions overseas.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said that with "the arrogance of someone who believes they are right", Mr Obama had signed a decree which would "open the door to abortion and thus to the destruction of human life".

He added: "What is important is to know how to listen, without locking oneself into ideological visions with the arrogance of a person who, having the power, thinks they can decide on life and death. If this is one of the first acts of President Obama, then with all due respect it seems to me that we are heading toward disappointment even more quickly than we thought". >>> Richard Owen in Rome | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Semaine historique 
pour les orthodoxes russes
LE FIGARO: Sept cent onze délégués se réunissent à Moscou pour élire un successeur au patriarche Alexis II, mort en décembre dernier.

Axios,axios, axios, « digne, il est digne ! » L'acclamation est trois fois répétée pour saluer le nouvel élu. Elle résonnera, la semaine prochaine, sous les voûtes de la cathédrale du Christ Sauveur, inaugurée en 2000 au cœur de Moscou, pour honorer celui qui sera choisi pour conduire la plus puissante Église orthodoxe du monde après la mort du patriarche Alexis II, le 5 décembre dernier.

Il sera élu au terme d'un « concile local », le premier depuis la chute du communisme, réunissant 711 délégués, dont un tiers des délégués laïques sont des femmes. Une formule originale dans le panorama des Églises chrétiennes. Ce concile s'ouvre mardi matin, à Moscou, pour trois jours. Mais, dès lundi soir, une liste de trois noms sera proposée par un « concile épiscopal », réunissant les seuls évêques - ils sont 203 -, qui commence ses travaux, ce dimanche, en vue de sélectionner trois candidats parmi eux.

C'est donc une grande semaine qui s'ouvre pour l'orthodoxie russe. Une semaine décisive puisque se joue également, à travers cette élection, le leadership de l'orthodoxie dans le monde. Si le premier patriarcat de l'orthodoxie, dans l'honneur et dans l'histoire, reste celui de Constantinople, le siège moscovite, avec une bonne moitié des orthodoxes du monde, pèse très lourd. >>> Jean-Marie Guénois | Samedi 23 Janvier 2009

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Karoutchi, les raisons de son coming out
leJDD.fr: C'est un ministre amoureux qui vient de faire son "coming out". Roger Karoutchi, 57 ans, secrétaire d'Etat UMP chargé des relations avec le Parlement, sera désormais "le premier" membre d'un gouvernement français -de droite, de surcroît- à avoir rendu public son homosexualité. "Ce n'est pas une démarche politique, nous confie-t-il.

"Cela correspond à un moment de mon existence où je suis bien dans ma tête. Je suis heureux dans ma vie personnelle et je n'ai plus envie de me cacher." Cette révélation intervient deux mois avant la primaire UMP pour l'investiture aux régionales d'Ile-de-France, qui l'opposera à sa collègue Valérie Pécresse. Quand la ministre de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche a annoncé sa candidature en août dernier, elle a mis en avant ses qualités de "mère de famille avec trois jeunes enfants", pour se "distinguer" de son rival. Ce qui a provoqué la fureur de Karoutchi, qui y a vu une "attaque personnelle".

Craignant d'autres coups de griffes sur sa vie privée, il s'est alors posé alors la question du coming out. Dès cette époque, il nous expliquait: "Nicolas Sarkozy m'a dit: 'Tu fais comme tu veux, ça ne me gêne pas.' D'ailleurs, il connaît mon compagnon depuis des années, et l'apprécie. Je suis toujours invité avec lui aux dîners privés ou officiels de l'Elysée." Encouragé par le chef de l'Etat et par son épouse Carla, il décide donc de rajouter trois pages sur son homosexualité à son autobiographie -qui en compte 300-, qu'il est alors en train de rédiger. Prudent, il fait relire sa confession à deux conseillers du Président. Le livre, Mes quatre vérités (Flammarion), sortira le 4 février. >>> Par Bertrand GRECO, Le Journal du Dimanche | Dimanche 25 Janvier 2009

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Radio Spreads Taliban’s Terror in Pakistani Region
THE NEW YORK TIMES: PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Every night around 8 o’clock, the terrified residents of Swat, a lush and picturesque valley a hundred miles from three of Pakistan’s most important cities, crowd around their radios. They know that failure to listen and learn might lead to a lashing — or a beheading.

Using a portable radio transmitter, a local Taliban leader, Shah Doran, on most nights outlines newly proscribed “un-Islamic” activities in Swat, like selling DVDs, watching cable television, singing and dancing, criticizing the Taliban, shaving beards and allowing girls to attend school. He also reveals names of people the Taliban have recently killed for violating their decrees — and those they plan to kill.

“They control everything through the radio,” said one Swat resident, who declined to give his name for fear the Taliban might kill him. “Everyone waits for the broadcast.” >>> By Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Pir Zubair Shah | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Pope Reinstates Four Excommunicated Bishops
THE NEW YORK TIMES: VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI, reaching out to the far-right of the Roman Catholic Church, revoked the excommunications of four schismatic bishops on Saturday, including one whose comments denying the Holocaust have provoked outrage.

The decision provided fresh fuel for critics who charge that Benedict’s four-year-old papacy has increasingly moved in line with traditionalists who are hostile to the sweeping reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s that sought to create a more modern and open church.

A theologian who has grappled with the church’s diminished status in a secular world, Benedict has sought to foster a more ardent, if smaller, church over one with looser faith.

But while the revocation may heal one internal rift, it may also open a broader wound, alienating the church’s more liberal adherents and jeoparding 50 years of Vatican efforts to ease tensions with Jewish groups.

Among the men reinstated Saturday was Richard Williamson, a British-born cleric who in an interview last week said he did not believe that six million Jews died in the Nazi gas chambers. He has also given interviews saying that the United States government staged the Sept. 11 attacks as a pretext to invade Afghanistan.

The four reinstated men are members of the Society of St. Pius X, which was founded by a French archbishop, Marcel Lefebvre, in 1970 as a protest against the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, also called Vatican II. Archbishop Lefebvre made the men bishops in unsanctioned consecrations in Switzerland in 1988, prompting the immediate excommunication of all five by Pope John Paul II.

Later that year, Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, sought to regularize the church’s relationship with the society. And as pope, he has made reinstating the Lefebvrists an important personal cause.

Indeed, even though the Society has given no public signs that it would reverse its rejection of Vatican II, one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity on Saturday because talks were continuing, said that the Vatican was willing to discuss making the group a personal prelature. Pope John Paul II did the same with another conservative group, Opus Dei.

In a public statement Saturday, the Vatican said that the pope would reconsider whether to formally affirm the four men as full bishops, but it referred to the men by that title. It said talks would seek to resolve the “open questions” in the church’s relationship with the society.

In recent years, Benedict has made other concessions to the followers of Archbishop Lefebvre, who died in 1991. The overtures including allowing the broader recitation of the Latin Mass, which was made optional in the 1960s and includes a Good Friday prayer calling for the conversion of Jews. >>> By Rachel Donadio | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Khalid Yasin: “Wilders Should Be Flogged”
GATES OF VIENNA: The PVV’s Geert Wilders wants clarification from the government over a speech that the Islamic hate preacher Khalid Yasin gave on Friday at the Islamic University of Rotterdam.

The controversial sheikh had said there that Geert Wilders should be punished with a flogging for his “systematic abuse” of Muslims and Islam. [Source: Gates of Vienna] By Baron Bodissey | Saturday, January 24, 2009

RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Sheikh Yasin Pleased Wilders to Be Prosecuted

The US Muslim leader Sheikh Yasin has said he is glad that Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders is to be prosecuted. During a lecture on Friday, which has since been released on YouTube, Sheikh Yasin said he hoped that Mr Wilders would be given a judicial "slap on the wrist". According to the PVV, Mr Yasin said that Mr Wilders should be flogged, but a study of the YouTube recording has revealed that this was not so.

Mr Yasin's comments followed the ruling of an Amsterdam court earlier this week. It declared that Mr Wilders must be prosecuted for incitement to hatred and discrimination.

Following the Friday lecture, PVV MP Sietse Fritsma called on the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, to ban a sermon by Sheikh Yasin on Sunday. Mr Aboutaleb rejected the request, saying that he saw no reason to ban the sermon. A representative of the Rotterdam council said that it did not censor in advance. [Source: RNW] UTC | Sunday, January 25, 2009

YOUTUBE: Khalid Yasin on Geert Wilders


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Saudi Prince Says U.S. Ties at Risk over Mideast
REUTERS: LONDON - A member of Saudi Arabia's royal family warned U.S. President Barack Obama Friday the Middle East peace process and U.S.-Saudi ties were at risk unless Washington changed tack on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel had come close to "killing the prospect of peace" with its offensive in Gaza, Prince Turki al-Faisal wrote in an article published on the Financial Times's website.

"Unless the new U.S. administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the U.S.-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk," said Turki, a former Saudi intelligence chief and former ambassador to the United States and Britain. >>> | Thursday, January 22, 2009

Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>

BBC: The Tail Starts Wagging the Dog! For the Love of Allah, Why Don’t We We Break Off Relations with Saudi Arabia?

A senior member of Saudi Arabia's ruling family has warned the US that it needs to change attitudes over the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and former ambassador to the US, said a failure to alter policies could threaten links.

The prince said ex-President George W Bush had left a "sickening legacy" in the Middle East.

He accused the US of contributing to the killing of Gazans. Saudi Warns US over Middle East >>> | Friday, January 23, 2009

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Cleric Abu Hamza Under Fire Again
HERALDSUN.COM.AU: EMBATTLED cleric Abu Hamza came under fire again yesterday for his radical views on rape, with his website claiming Muslim wives could "laugh off" unwanted sex and that rape could be confused with having a "pushy husband".

In response to the sex-on-demand and wife-smacking controversy sparked by Mr Hamza's lectures, his Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia website published an article saying the media had no right to question his marital teachings.

The article stated: "If a husband enters upon his wife in a manner she does not approve, she might go as far as to contact police and accuse him of rape, or accept it with laughter and embarrassment."

It added that spousal rape was hard to define and could just be a case of being married to a pushy husband. >>> Mark Dunn | Saturday, January 24, 2009

Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch >>>

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President Obama Shows His Naïveté If He Thinks He Can Take On Rush Limbaugh!
Photo of Rush Limbaugh courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama is on a collision course with his critics after picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, America's most influential conservative commentator.

Mr Obama has told Republicans in Washington to stop listening to the right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh, risking a new culture war with conservative voters.

His exhortation came as he enraged other Republicans by reversing George W Bush's ban on funding international aid to charities that perform or provide information about abortions.

After less than a week in office, Mr Obama's presidency is already encountering the very partisan bickering he had pledged to stamp out during his first 100 days.

He faces mounting criticism over his $825 billion economic stimulus plan, from Republican leaders who say the legislation has been drawn up without the input which Mr Obama had promised to allow them.

The president responded with a clear signal that he is prepared to ram the bill through without the bipartisan consensus he promised to construct, telling Republican leaders from the House of Representatives: "I won. I'm the president."

He then told them to break free of the confrontational mindset epitomised by Mr Limbaugh, the highest paid talk show host in America. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Mr Obama said.

His comments followed a blunt attack on him by Mr Limbaugh, who declared on air that he hoped Mr Obama would fail as president because otherwise it will usher in socialism. Barack Obama Picks a Fight with Rush Limbaugh as Bipartisan Spirit Crumbles >>> By Tim Shipman in Washington | Saturday, January 24, 2009

NEW YORK TIMES: Obama’s Partisan, Profane Confidant Reins It In

Photo of Rahm Emmanuel courtesy of The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Early this month, Barack Obama was meeting with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other lawmakers when Rahm Emanuel, his chief of staff, began nervously cracking a knuckle.

Mr. Obama then turned to complain to Mr. Emanuel about his noisy habit.

At which point, Mr. Emanuel held the offending knuckle up to Mr. Obama’s left ear and, like an annoying little brother, snapped off a few special cracks.

The episode, confirmed by Mr. Emanuel’s office, underscores some essential truths about Mr. Emanuel: He is brash, has a deep comfort level with his new boss, and has been ever-present at Mr. Obama’s side of late, in meetings, on podiums and in photographs.

There he was, standing at President Obama’s desk in one of the first Oval Office pictures; and again, playfully thumbing his nose at his former House colleagues during the inauguration; there he was, accompanying the president to a meeting with Congressional leaders on Friday.

Mr. Emanuel is arguably the second most powerful man in the country and, just a few days into his tenure, already one of the highest-profile chiefs of staff in recent memory. He starred in his own Mad magazine cartoon, won the “Your New Obama Hottie” contest on Gawker.com and has become something of a paparazzi icon around Washington.

In recent months, he has played a crucial role in the selection and courtship of nearly every cabinet member and key White House staff member.

Renowned as a fierce partisan, he has been an ardent ambassador to Republicans, including Mr. Obama’s defeated rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona. He has exerted influence on countless decisions; in meetings, administration officials say, Mr. Obama often allows him to speak first and last.

“You can see how he listens and reacts to Rahm,” said Ron Klain, the chief of staff to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. “You can see that his opinion is being shaped.”

A reason Mr. Emanuel, 49, has drawn so much attention is that he seems to be in a kind of recalibration mode.

How will the feisty, bombastic and at times impulsive former congressman blend with the cool, collegial and deliberate culture of Obama World? And one that is trying to foster bipartisanship? This is someone who once wrote in Campaign and Elections magazine that “the untainted Republican has not yet been invented” and who two years ago — according to a book about Mr. Emanuel (“The Thumpin’ ” by Naftali Bendavid) — announced to his staff that Republicans are “bad people who deserve a two-by-four upside their heads.” >>> By Mark Leibovich | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Fearless Blogger Award

I, Always On Watch, bestow ‘The Fearless Blogger Award’ on Mark Alexander “for sounding the warning cry about the dangers of Islam long before the rest of us had a clue and for continuing to sound the alarm in numerous languages at his web site. A UK citizen living across The Pond, he loves America, sadly, more than some of our own citizens do.”

The rules of acceptance are:

* first, to accept the award;

* second, to name the bloggers he/she is awarding it to;

* and third, to display the banner in a prominent place of his/her blog.

I accept this award from Always On Watch with humility. In turn, I am going to bestow the award on two fellow bloggers. There are many, many more bloggers who actually deserve the award, but my selection is as follows:

Jason Pappas for his hard work in fighting to maintain our freedoms, and in a most intellectual manner! His is probably one of the most intellectual blogs on the Blogosphere. It is always a delight to read.

The Anti-Jihadist for his fearless determination to tell the truth about the dangers of Islam. His posts are always interesting to read.

I should like to take this opportunity to thank Always On Watch for giving me this award. I shall display it in the sidebar with pride. I should also like to express my sincerest apologies to Always On Watch for taking so long to recognize this award. I received it in the build-up to Christmas, but because of Christmas preparations, I couldn’t find the time to give this matter the attention it deserved. After Christmas, as my regular and loyal visitors will be fully aware, I had the misfortune of having my blog locked by Blogger. It was only this week that Blogger actually unlocked it for me, thereby restoring my blogspot to full functionality. – Mark

Geert Wilders, European Islam and Fitna
AMERICAN THINKER: "The film equates Islam with violence. We reject that interpretation," - The Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende

When Geert Wilders released the film FITNA it terrified the government of the Netherlands who hoped to minimize any violent reaction by its restive Muslim immigrants and refugees by loudly condemning it. The film is a 15-minute indictment of Islamic radicalism intended as a warning of the unchecked radicalism infecting European Islam. Now Mr. Wilders is being prosecuted for "inciting hate" a charge unlikely to be leveled at the Imams that preach hatred and violence in that small country.

The many terror attacks the world has suffered in the years since 9-11 were not perpetrated by Lutherans, Catholics or members of the Dutch Reformed Church. The politically correct stubbornness found in western democracies insists it is not Islam, just a tiny minority of misguided radicals that perpetrate violence. However, saying something does not make it so, no matter how endlessly it is repeated. It is not a matter of "interpretation," of the Koran, it is a matter of evidence and truth; Islam too often brings violence.

Holland is a case in point. Decades of naïve multiculturalism, generous handouts and easy asylum for "Muslim refugees" has made Holland a land of two incompatible belief systems, Islam and 21st century socialist humanism. Islam has become the largest active religion in Holland, its churches draw a fraction of the attendance that its mosques do. Its timid government is held hostage by the threat of violence, implicit in its Muslim citizens' reaction to any criticism, however mild. Native Dutch birthrates are low compared to Muslim immigrants, who do not encourage abortion and do not start families late in life.

The Dutch Prime Minister and its judiciary reject free speech, which is not surprising; the Netherlands may be the first European country to allow Shari'a law to compete with national courts. They may not have a choice if all the voices of dissent are silenced. While the Dutch see themselves as eminently civilized and able to negotiate and appease conflict away, their country is stolen from under them, Muslim immigrant population's have skyrocketed and Imams increasing call for the beating of women and the killing of gays and all the 7th century brutality that is Islamic orthodoxy. >>> By Lance Fairchok | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Wilders Feels Persecuted in "Political Process"
NRC HANDELSBLAD: Geert Wilders was “completely surprised” when he heard on Wednesday that the appeals court of Amsterdam ruled he shall be prosecuted for hate speech and inciting discrimination. Last year the public prosecutor had decided not to try the controversial Dutch member of parliament for his remarks about Islam. In an interview with NRC Handelsblad Wilders says he is "shaken, but also very angry and ready to fight."

"The public prosecutor agreed with me, that I can say what I said. The attorney general at the appeals court has argued the same. I never thought that things would turn out this way," Wilders says. Because of the appeals court ruling, the public prosecutor is forced to prosecute Wilders for statements such as "ban the Koran" and "the core of the problem is fascist Islam", statements Wilders has made in the media and his own film Fitna. >>> By Herman Staal | Friday, January 23, 2009

NRC HANDELSBLAD – Editorial: Wilders' Never-ending Story

The appeals court in Amsterdam on Thursday issued a ruling which will echo for years and have major political implications. The court takes a hard line against the radical politician Geert Wilders and issued an extensively outlined order to charge Wilders with hate speech and inciting discrimination. That a lower court is now at liberty to give a dissenting verdict, after the appeals court has already ruled in such strong wording, is an illusion. The limits on freedom of speech for politicians have hereby been set.

So for years to come, the courtroom will be the most important arena of debate about Muslims in the Netherlands. The focus will be on the criminal nature of Wilders' statements first, and only second on their validity - or lack thereof. That is not anything to look forward to. Further escalation and polarisation are on the horizon.

NRC Handelsblad has stated before that the position of Muslims in the Netherlands is not so weak that the criminal justice system needs to protect them against Wilders. The open political debate offers enough space to put him in his place. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has approved curtailing offensive political statements in several European member states. But only if sanctions against such statements are proportional - usually very limited. If the Dutch penal code is to come into play here at any point, sanctions can therefor only be restricted. Otherwise they are deemed by Strasbourg to be illegal. >>> Editorial, NRC Handelsblad | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Dutch Courts Embark on a Slippery Slope
THE GAZETTE (Montreal): The plight of Dutch MP Geert Wilders is enough to give any champion of free speech cause to worry. If nothing else, it illustrates that it's not just a handful of Canadian human-rights commissioners who are tightening the screws on free expression. The chill appears, rather, to be a worldwide phenomenon, and in fact, the situation in much of Europe seems even worse than it is here.

Wilders is an extreme right winger. His tiny Dutch Freedom Party has just nine seats in the parliament in The Hague. But it's not Wilders's political activities that have got him into trouble; it's his filmmaking. His 17-minute documentary, Fitna, has landed him in criminal court charged with inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims by comparing their religion to Nazism.

It doesn't sound like a very nice piece of work, and we understand why Muslims would be offended. Not surprisingly perhaps, its release prompted protests in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Indonesia - hardly bastions of free expression.

The film apparently shows some of the Quran's 114 suras or chapters, interspersed with video of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Madrid bombings, a caricature of Mohammed with a bomb on his head and shots of a Muslim woman being strapped down for a female circumcision ceremony.

Unpleasant? Sure. But nowhere is there any suggestion that Wilders's film calls for the persecution of Muslims or their extirpation. Nothing in the court documents says that the film incites non-Muslim Dutch citizens to go out and beat up their Muslim neighbours or destroy their property. The film simply deplores Islamic beliefs, and while that might be offensive, we fail to see how it could be criminal.

In fact, the Dutch prosecutor's office didn't see anything criminal in it, either. In June, it ignored complaints from all over the country and declined to charge Wilders. But this week, the Dutch Court of Appeal overruled the prosecutors and ordered the case to proceed. This is a dangerously slippery slope.

What are the Dutch going to do next? Ban Bill Maher's film, Religulous, which savages all faith? Or will they follow the example of Turkish courts, instead, and prosecute Richard Dawkins for his scathingly negative portrayal of the Bible and the Quran in The God Delusion? The possibilities are endless, and all equally absurd. >>> © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette | Friday, January 23, 2009

THE GAZETTE (Montreal): Netherlands Caves on Free Speech

Re: "Dutch courts embark on slippery slope" (Editorial, Jan. 24 [sic]).
Geert Wilders's point of view is clear. He thinks radical Islam is a threat that propagates hate, calls for the destruction of the Western democratic, multicultural way of life, and he chooses to expose that cinematically. Article 7 of the Dutch constitution guarantees Wilders's freedom to publish or show anything without prior consent.

Here is a liberal Dutch society so steeped in the culture of fear and appeasement that its logic twists to try to be all things to all people. Impossible. >>> Alana Ronald, Montréal, © The Gazette (Montreal) 2009

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Letter to the President From the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, USA
Read the letter here >>> Written by Zinda M. Bajwa, National Secretary Public Affairs, Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, USA | Saturday, January 24, 2009
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Islamisten: Erneute Drohungen im Internet
STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG ONLINE: Berlin - In einer bislang unbekannten Video-Botschaft sind Terroranschläge in Berlin, Köln und Bremen angedroht worden, möglicherweise von Islamisten. Das Bundesinnenministerium bestätigte am Samstag die Existenz des auf der Internetplattform Youtube veröffentlichten Films. Er sei allerdings bereits am 12. Januar dort wieder entfernt worden. Experten der Sicherheitsbehörden analysieren das Material. >>> dpa | Samstag, 24. Januar 2009

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Rachida Dati: Eleganter Absprung
Foto von Rachida Dati dank Gala
ZEIT ONLINE: Frankreichs prominente Justizministerin verlässt das Kabinett Sarkozy und kandidiert nun für das Europaparlament. Ihre Probleme im Amt wurden am Ende einfach zu groß

Rachida Dati, eine der beliebtesten Politikerinnen in Frankreich, wird für das Europaparlament kandidieren und mit dieser Begründung im Frühjahr ihr Amt als Justizministerin abgeben. Das jedenfalls schreibt der Figaro, wegen seiner Regierungsnähe meistens (wenn auch nicht immer) bestens über Personalangelegenheiten der Politik informiert. Damit würde Dati etliche ihrer Probleme lösen.

Zunächst einmal dasjenige einer problematischen Amtsführung. Mit gleich mehreren Justizreformen auf einmal beauftragt, zu denen auch die Auflösung lokaler Gerichte gehörte, erschwerte sie sich ihre Aufgabe dadurch, dass sie als Methode nicht den Dialog, sondern das Durchstellen von oben nach unten wählte. Der so erzeugte Unmut sowie der Zorn jener, die Einfluss zu verlieren hatten, verbanden sich mit männlichem Hochmut ihrer Umgebung und der Verachtung hoher Beamter, für die Dati eine Dahergelaufene, ein Produkt des Sarkozyismus ist.

Aus einer maghrebinischen Familie mit elf Kindern stammend, hatte sie ihre wenig prestigeträchtigen Studien (die sie zu allem Überfluss später auch noch in ihrem Lebenslauf aufzuwerten versuchte) mit Studentenjobs finanziert. Nicht ein großartiges Diplom - Fetisch der französischen Aufstiegsideologie - hatte ihr den Eintritt in die obersten Sphären der Politik verschafft, sondern das enge Verhältnis zu Nicholas und Cécilia Sarkozy. Dati hatte 2007 den Präsidentschaftswahlkampf Sarkozys als Ausweis seiner Bereitschaft bereichert, die Politik des Landes mit einer Mannschaft aufzurollen, die - wie er selbst - nicht dem Establishment entstammt. >>> Von Gero Von Randow, Paris | Freitag, 23. Januar 2009

THE INDEPENDENT: Sealed with a Kiss, the Demise of Dati

Photo of Rachida Dati and Carla Bruni courtesy of The Independent
The French Justice Minister Rachida Dati, who returned to work five days after giving birth this month, has been banished by President Nicolas Sarkozy into the "internal exile" of the European Parliament.

Mme Dati, 43, will retain her job until May but has agreed to stand down to become deputy leader of the ruling party's campaign in the greater Paris area for the European elections in June.

Although officially presented as a new, democratic and European adventure for Mme Dati, the decision amounts to a serious demotion for a woman catapulted into high office 20 months ago as a symbol of President Sarkozy's drive to "open up" French public life to women and minorities.

Mme Dati, a daughter of poor Algerian and Moroccan immigrants, is said to have begged the President to remain in her senior ministerial job, or at least national politics. According to one version of events, she won only a vague promise that she would be brought back into government, in another post, some time in the future.

Although initially a confidante of M. Sarkozy and a close friend of his ex-wife, Cécilia, Mme Dati's standing in the presidential "court" has plummeted in the past 15 months. The abrupt departure of the second Mme Sarkozy in October 2007 weakened her link to the President. Her campaign to rationalise the French courts was resisted by judges and lawyers who accused her of being high-handed and insensitive.

Her glamorous lifestyle and emergence as a "celeb" in glossy magazines, irritated M. Sarkozy. Worse, Mme Dati has an awkward relationship with the President's influential third wife. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy once revealed she had teased Mme Dati by pointing to the presidential bed at the Elysée Palace and saying: "You would have liked to have climbed in there, wouldn't you?" >>> By John Lichfield in Paris | Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Athens Erupts in Violence after Acid Attack on Immigrant
THE TELEGRAPH: Police in Greece clashed with gangs of youths throwing petrol bombs and stones on Thursday night, a month on from the country's worst civil unrest in decades.

Police officers in central Athens fired tear gas to dispel the rioters, who peeled off from a protest which had been organised in solidarity with a Bulgarian migrant worker who was attacked with acid last month.

Kostadinka Kuneva, 44, a Bulgarian cleaning lady and a union official, is in hospital in a serious condition after the Dec 22 attack by two unidentified men who ambushed her outside her home and threw acid in her face.

The march to the Labour Ministry, which involved about 3,000 demonstrators, had started out peacefully.

Demonstrators carried banners reading "Kostandinka, you're not alone," and "Stop violence against immigrants".

But violence flared when a group of around 30 self-declared anarchists and left-wing activists set rubbish bins alight and smashed paving stones for ammunition to throw at police. >>> By Nick Squires | Friday, January 23, 2009

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Barack Obama Faces Republican Opposition to £600bn Stimulus Plan
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama's hopes of a new dawn of bipartisan co-operation in Washington have been shaken by fierce Republican opposition to his £600 billion economic stimulus plan.

Senior Republicans attacked the $825 billion package as too big and laden with pet projects that will do nothing to lift the US out of recession in the short term.

Hovering over their discontent is a growing feeling among conservatives that Mr Obama's inauguration speech, a strong disavowal of the outgoing President George W. Bush as he sat listening, was unnecessarily harsh on his predecessor.

Representative John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House, is understood to be one of those most upset about the tone of the speech.

Having previously vouched for Mr Obama's desire to reach across the aisle, the Republican has adopted a harsher tone since Tuesday's inauguration.

"We believe that spending nearly a trillion dollars is really more than what we ought to be putting on the backs of our kids and their kids, because at the end of the day, this is not our money to spend. We're borrowing this money from our kids," Mr Boehner said after a meeting with Mr Obama.

He added: "How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives. How does that stimulate the economy? You can go through a whole host of issues in this bill that have nothing to do with growing jobs in America and helping people keep their jobs." >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | Friday, January 23, 2009

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Britain on the Brink of an Economic Depression, Say Experts

THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is heading for economic depression for the first time since the 1930s, economists have warned.

Families must brace themselves for a slump of far greater severity and longevity than the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s, they warned. They said the current crisis will be of a scale to rival the biggest peace-time crisis in modern history — the Great Depression.

The warning was delivered by economists and politicians after the Office for National Statistics revealed that the economy shrank by 1.5 per cent in the final three months of 2008 alone.

The contraction follows a 0.6 per cent fall in gross domestic product (GDP) — the most comprehensive measure of Britain’s wealth generation — during the previous three months. This means Britain fulfils the criteria for a technical recession — two successive quarters of negative output.

The news sent the pound sliding to its lowest level since 1985. Sterling dropped more than three quarters of a cent to $1.3688 as investors speculated that the Bank of England may be forced to cut interest rates towards zero in response to the recession. >>> By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor | Friday, January 23, 2009

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First French Minister Comes Out as Gay
Photo of Roger Karoutchi, the first gay French minister, courtesy of Google Images
THE TIMES OF INDIA: PARIS: A veteran right-wing politician and ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy became France's first serving government minister to openly acknowledge his homosexuality on Friday.

Roger Karoutchi, 57-year-old junior minister for parliamentary relations, "came out" in an interview with AFP ahead of the publication of his memoirs.

"Yes, I have a life," he said. "I'm neither living a lie, nor flaunting anything. I discuss it naturally. I have a partner and I'm happy with him. As I'm happy, I see no reason why I should hide that."

France traditionally affords public figures more privacy in their personal lives than other Western democracies and -- despite growing public acceptance of homosexuality -- Karoutchi is the first minister to come out.

Paris's Socialist mayor, Betrand Delanoe [sic], is the country's best known gay politician, having revealed his homosexuality on television in 1998, before his election, and his career does not appear to have suffered.

Karoutchi, who was born in Morocco in 1951, said both Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon had been happy to invite his partner to social events attended by other ministers with their wives or husbands. >>> IST / AFP | Friday, January 23, 2009

LE FIGARO: Roger Karoutchi rend publique son homosexualité

Le secrétaire d'Etat chargé des Relations avec le parlement, candidat aux primaires UMP pour les régionales en Ile-de-France, fait son «coming out» dans un livre à paraître fin janvier.

Roger Karoutchi a choisi d'afficher son homosexualité. Le secrétaire d'Etat aux Relations avec le parlement, candidat aux primaires de l'UMP pour les élections régionales en Ile-de-France, va s'expliquer dans un livre à paraître fin janvier chez Flammarion, «Mes quatre vérités». C'est la première fois en France qu'un membre du gouvernement rend publique son homosexualité.

«Oui j'ai une vie. Je ne suis ni dans la dissimulation, ni dans l'ostentation. Je le dis de manière naturelle. J'ai un compagnon et je suis heureux avec lui. Comme je suis heureux, je ne vois pas pourquoi il faudrait que je cache», explique-t-il dans son ouvrage.

Dimanche, le secrétaire d'Etat, âgé de 57 ans, sera l'invité de l'émission «7 à 8» sur TF1 pour parler de ce «coming-out». Un choix qu'il assume pleinement, comme il l'explique dans une interview à paraître samedi dans le magazine L'Optimum, et dont Elise Karlin, journaliste à l'Express, rend compte sur son blog.

Roger Karoutchi raconte notamment que son homosexualité n'a jamais été un problème pour Nicolas Sarkozy. Le chef de l'Etat lui aurait proposé un jour de venir dans la maison qu'il avait loué pour les vacances «avec son ami». Depuis, son compagnon l'accompagne dans les dîners officiels.

Si je n'en avais pas dit un mot dans une autobiographie de 300 pages, on aurait dit “tiens, il n'a pas de sphère privée”. J'en ai une et je la vis bien», a confié Roger Karoutchi au Figaro. «Aujourd'hui, on a la chance d'avoir avec Nicolas Sarkozy et François Fillon des dirigeants modernes, ouverts et qui participent à l'évolution de la société.» >>> Samuel Laurent (lefigaro.fr) avec Philippe Goulliaud | Vendredi 23 Janvier 2009

leJDD.fr: Karoutchi fait son coming out

Roger Karoutchi, secrétaire d'Etat chargé des relations avec le Parlement, dévoile son homosexualité dans un entretien à paraître samedi dans L'Optimum. Cette révélation intervient avant la bataille des investitures de l'UMP pour les élections régionales. Karoutchi brigue la tête de liste en Ile-de-France. Bertrand Delanoë, avant la campagne municipale à Paris, avait agi de même en 1998.>>> Par M.P. | Vendredi 23 Janvier 2009

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Iran: Three Christians Arrested from Homes in Tehran
COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: ‘Continuously high’ wave of arrests increases; whereabouts, charges unknown.

LOS ANGELES – Three Christians from two different families were arrested from their homes Wednesday morning (Jan. 21) and are being held without charges, sources told Compass. Authorities took Jamal Ghalishorani, 49, and his wife Nadereh Jamali from their home in Tehran between 7 and 8 a.m., about a half hour after arresting Hamik Khachikian, an Armenian Christian also living in Tehran. Ghalishorani and his wife are Christian converts from Islam, considered “apostasy” in Iran and potentially punishable by death. The three arrested Christians belong to house churches, source said, and they hold jobs and are not supported as clergy. The arrests come as part of a tsunami of arrests in the past several months, sources said. Arrests and pressure on Christians from authorities have ramped up even further in the past few months, the source said, adding that the reasons were unclear. Another source, however, said the arrests are part of a concerted, nationwide government plan against non-Islamic faiths. “We are quite sure that these arrests are part of a bigger operation from the government,” the source said. “Maybe up to 50 people were arrested. In Tehran alone already some 10 people were arrested – all on the same day, January 21.” [Source: Compass Direct News] | Friday, January 23, 2009

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