Le patriarche de Moscou et de toutes les Russies Kirill intronisé
Photo de Kirill, le patriarche de Moscou et de toutes les Russies, intronisé ce dimanche en la cathédrale du Christ Sauveur à Moscou. Photo grâce à la Tribune de Genève.
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: EGLISE ORTHODOXE | Le patriarche de Moscou et de toutes les Russies Kirill a été intronisé ce dimanche matin en la cathédrale du Christ Sauveur en présence de 4000 invités dont le président russe Dmitri Medvedev et le Premier ministre Vladimir Poutine, selon des images retransmises en direct à la télévision.

"Axios, axios, axios" ("il est digne" en grec), s’est exclamée l’assistance, constituée de dignitaires orthodoxes portant des robes dorées, de représentants d’autres confessions, de responsables politiques et de simples croyants, à l’intérieur de l’imposante bâtisse, en plein centre de Moscou.

A ce moment précis, Kirill, qui avait été élu mardi par un concile dans la même cathédrale, est officiellement devenu le chef de l’Eglise orthodoxe russe, en plein essor après la chute de l’URSS, en 1991.

Quelques minutes auparavant, il avait revêtu l’habit de patriarche et les métropolites de Kiev et de Minsk l’avaient fait asseoir trois fois sur le trône, conformément au rite en vigueur.

Le président et le Premier ministre russes étaient accompagnés de leurs épouses sous l’impressionnante voûte vers laquelle s’élevait la fumée de l’encens. >>> AFP | Dimanche 1 Février 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché et Relié) - Livraison gratuite dans toute la Suisse >>>

The 30th Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution
Watch BBC video: Iranians mark Islamic revolution >>>
Watch BBC video: Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran: Religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini makes a triumphant return to Iran after 14 years in exile. >>> (First broadcast on February 1, 1979)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Synagogue Desecrated in Venezuela
Watch silent video: Cameras capture the extent of the damage to the ransacked synagogue in Venezuela >>>
BBC: An armed gang has ransacked the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Venezuelan capital Caracas after occupying the building for several hours.

About 15 unidentified men broke into the building before daubing graffiti on the walls and desecrating scriptures.

They also called for Jewish people to be expelled from the country.

Jewish leaders say tensions have risen since Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Israel this month over its recent military offensive in Gaza.

Elias Farache, president of Venezuela's Jewish Association, said the gang had tied and gagged security guards before destroying offices and the place where holy books were kept.

Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli slogans were painted on the walls.

"Never in the history of Venezuela's Jewish community have we been the target of such an aggression," said Mr Farache.

"The climate is very tense. We feel threatened, intimidated, attacked." >>> | Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US) >>>

Iran wertet Dialogangebot der USA als Schwäche
WELT ONLINE: Das Gesprächsangebot von US-Präsident Barack Obama an den Iran ist nach Ansicht der iranischen Regierung ein Zeichen für "das Scheitern" des Kapitalismus und der USA. Der Iran will jetzt seine Beziehungen zu den Vereinigten Staaten neu bewerten, besonders im Hinblick auf Afghanistan.

Für die USA gebe es keine andere Möglichkeit, als sich zu ändern, sagte der iranische Regierungssprecher Gholam Hossein Elham laut einem Bericht der halbamtlichen Nachrichtenagentur Mehr.

Das Angebot Obamas zu direkten Gesprächen sei „ein Zeichen für das Scheitern des kapitalistischen Denkens und für das Scheitern des Hegemoniestrebens“, sagte Elham mit Blick auf die USA. >>> dpa/lk | Samstag, 31. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Barack Obama's Half-brother George Arrested in Kenya over Drugs
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's Kenyan half-brother, George, has been arrested by police in Nairobi on suspicion of possessing marijuana.

The 24-year-old, who denies the allegation, was told he would face a court hearing on Monday.

President Obama's young half-sibling was in the headlines last year after it was revealed that he was living in a corrugated iron shack in a sprawling slum as his brother ran for the most powerful job in the world.

George, who was the son of Mr Obama's father by his second wife, was one of the president's few close relatives who did not travel to Washington for the inauguration on Jan 20.

The two met previously when Mr Obama visited his ancestral homeland in an encounter that he described as a "painful affair" in his memoir Dreams from My Father.

Inspector Augustine Mutembei said the trainee mechanic would face charges of possession of cannabis and resisting arrest. >>> By Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, January 31, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

‘Jimmy Carter’ Tag Has Obama Wincing
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Republicans are fighting back by branding the president as naive abroad and wasteful at home, like one of his party’s predecessors

LESS than two weeks into his administration, President Barack Obama is being portrayed by opponents as a new Jimmy Carter - weak at home and naive abroad - in an attempt to dim his post-election glow and ensure that he serves only one term.

The charge has stung because it was made privately by Hillary Clinton supporters during a hard-fought primary campaign and plays to fears about Obama’s inexperience.

He is engaged in early trials of strength with Republicans in Washington and critics of the United States around the world – not least Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president. Obama faces battles to talk Wall Street into giving up its addiction to large bonuses and US banks to start lending again.

“Barack Obama thinks he can charm his adversaries into changing their ways but his personality can’t change the dynamics,” said Tom Edmonds, a Republican consultant. >>> Sarah Baxter, Washington | Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Italy Bans Kebabs and Foreign Food from Cities
TIMES ONLINE: The tomato comes from Peru and spaghetti was probably a gift from China.

It is, though, the “foreign” kebab that is being kicked out of Italian cities as it becomes the target of a campaign against ethnic food, backed by the centre-right Government of Silvio Berlusconi.

The drive to make Italians eat Italian, which was described by the Left and leading chefs as gastronomic racism, began in the town of Lucca this week, where the council banned any new ethnic food outlets from opening within the ancient city walls.

Yesterday it spread to Lombardy and its regional capital, Milan, which is also run by the centre Right. The antiimmigrant Northern League party brought in the restrictions “to protect local specialities from the growing popularity of ethnic cuisines”. >>> Richard Owen in Rome | Saturday, January 31, 2009

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

Wilders Prosecution is a Welcome Opportunity to Expose Islam
CANADA FREE PRESS: Prosecuting Geert Wilders, member of the Dutch Parliament, is a welcome opportunity to expose fascist Islam and radical Muslims. Wilders and his lawyers do not need to go far away to fetch crystal clear evidence that Islam, i.e. the Koran and Hadeeth incite to violence and hatred, and radical Muslims are behind numerous crimes against humanity.

A summary of quotations from the Koran which clearly incite to hatred and violence can be found in the following link: [sic]

There is an abundance of fatwas (religious edicts) by Muslim authorities inciting to genocide and suicide attacks against Christians and Jews. All these fatwas are based on the Koran and Hadeeth.

Ali Gom’a, the grand mufti of Egypt, the highest Muslim religious authority in the world, supports murdering non-Muslims. In the daily Al Ahram (April 7, 2008), he says, “Muslims must kill non-believers wherever they are unless they convert to Islam.”

He also compares non-Muslims to apes and pigs, not only the Jews.

Muhammad Sayyid Al Tantawi, president of Al Azhar University also approves of killing and maiming Christians, Jews, and other infidels. He added, “This is not my personal view. This what the Shari’a Law says, the law of Allah, the only valid law on the earth.”

Yousef Al Qaradhawi, the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist organization, the Muslim Brothers, urged on Al Jazeera TV (Jan. 9, 2009) Muslims to kill the Jews, not only in Israel but also worldwide. He added, “No peace can be made between us (Muslims) and the non-believers. This what our holy book says. This what Allah says.”

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed al Sheikh said on Iqra’ TV channel, “Killing producers who show women unveiled is legal.”

The Saudi Sheikh Saleh Al-Lehadan, head of the Supreme Judiciary Council, told Al Watan daily, (March 25, 2008) “After getting rid of the Jews in our Arab land, we must turn to the Christians. They have three options: either they convert to Islam, or leave, or pay Jizia (protection taxes). Further, there is not such a thing as Shiites, Sufis, etc. There are only Sunnis. All these sects must renounce their pagan beliefs and return to Sunna, the right path of Islam.” >>> By Dr Sami Alrabaa | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Canada) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Canada) >>>

Sudan Expels U.S. Aid Group over Bibles - State Media
REUTERS: KHARTOUM - A United States aid group has been thrown out of Sudan's Darfur region after officials found thousands of Arabic-language bibles stacked in its office, state media reported on Saturday.

Sudanese authorities told the state Suna news agency they found 3,400 copies of Christianity's sacred book in the office run by water charity Thirst No More in North Darfur, a region that is almost entirely Muslim.

Officials told Suna they had decided to expel the Texas-based group "for its violation to the Voluntary Work Act, the Country Agreement and the regulations on registration of organizations in Sudan." >>> By Andrew Heavens | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Joel Brinkley* – Viewpoint: How Democracy Loses Its Footing in Middle East
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: I found myself chatting some time ago with Theresa Loar, who ran the State Department's women's office, when she told me about how she had tricked other senior officials in the building.

This was during the Clinton administration, and she was trying to persuade them to attend a meeting on an issue they weren't likely to care about. "So I told them we were going to talk about democracy promotion - the department's evergreen issue."

As Loar noted, promoting democracy has been a foreign-policy priority for decades - since long before former President George W. Bush soiled the brand. President Obama has said he intends to increase funding to agencies involved in democracy promotion because, as he put it last year, "we benefit from the expansion of democracy. Democracies are our best trading partners, our most valuable allies and the nations with which we share our deepest values."

But then comes the thorny question: What about democracy promotion in the Middle East - easily the most repressive region in the world and, arguably, the most important? The recent history is not encouraging.

The Egyptians staged elections, and the Muslim brotherhood won 88 seats in parliament.

The Palestinians staged elections, and Hamas won. The Lebanese staged elections, and then Hezbollah managed to force the elected government to give it veto power over its decisions.

And there's more.

While working in Cairo last summer, I interviewed several leaders of Kefaya, a small citizens group calling for democratic change. The Egyptian government has arrested and harassed its members. These leaders decried the government's repressive policies and said all the right things to an American visitor. In fact, they sounded almost like Jeffersonian democrats. Then, when I headed out the door, they handed me a sheaf of papers.

I filed them away, but when I finally managed to read them, I was shocked. These people were well-educated, English-speaking, seemingly Western-oriented Egyptians.

And yet, their literature frothed with invective about the "Zionist lobby" and its "odious assault on Arab native soul." The United States and the world's Jews "are two sides of the same coin, each nourishing the other, and neither curable alone."

Even liberal democrats are besotted with angry, racist prejudice - and worse. Do we want these people governing Egypt? Does the Obama administration really want to promote democracy in the Middle East?

By most accounts, Obama is not going to make the same mistakes Bush made. To the Bush administration, promoting democracy meant encouraging, even forcing, nations to hold elections. That's what happened in Egypt and the Palestinian territories.

But democracy cannot flourish in nations that have no middle class - and no history of free political discussion**. >>> Joel Brinkley | Saturday, January 31, 2009

*Joel Brinkley is a professor of journalism at Stanford University and a former foreign policy correspondent for the New York Times. To comment to him, e-mail brinkley@foreign-matters.com. To comment, e-mail us at forum@sfchronicle.com.

**Professor Brinkley, democracy cannot flourish where Islam is the opium of the people! Please read my essay: Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Netanyahu Says Iran Will Not Get Hands on Nukes
YAHOO! NEWS, MALAYSIA: JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's leading candidate for prime minister, said Saturday that Iran "will not be armed with a nuclear weapon."

In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 TV, Netanyahu said if elected prime minister his first mission will be to thwart the Iranian nuclear threat. Netanyahu, the current opposition leader and head of the hardline Likud party, called Iran the greatest danger to Israel and to all humanity.

When asked if stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions included a military strike, he replied: "It includes everything that is necessary to make this statement come true." >>> Aron Heller, Associated Press Writer, AP | Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Muslim Population 'Rising 10 Times Faster than Rest of Society'
TIMES ONLINE: The Muslim population in Britain has grown by more than 500,000 to 2.4 million in just four years, according to official research collated for The Times. 



The population multiplied 10 times faster than the rest of society, the research by the Office for National Statistics reveals. In the same period the number of Christians in the country fell by more than 2 million. 



Experts said that the increase was attributable to immigration, a higher birthrate and conversions to Islam during the period of 2004-2008, when the data was gathered. They said that it also suggested a growing willingness among believers to describe themselves as Muslims because the western reaction to war and terrorism had strengthened their sense of identity. 



Muslim leaders have welcomed the growing population of their communities as academics highlighted the implications for British society, integration and government resources. 



David Coleman, Professor of Demography at Oxford University, said: “The implications are very substantial. Some of the Muslim population, by no means all of them, are the least socially and economically integrated of any in the United Kingdom ... and the one most associated with political dissatisfaction. You can't assume that just because the numbers are increasing that all will increase, but it will be one of several reasonable suppositions that might arise.”

Professor Coleman said that Muslims would naturally reap collective benefits from the increase in population. “In the growth of any population ... [its] voice is regarded as being stronger in terms of formulating policy, not least because we live in a democracy where most people in most religious groups and most racial groups have votes. That necessarily means their opinions have to be taken and attention to be paid to them.” >>> Richard Kerbaj | Friday, January 30, 2009

Table of statistics – Religion by age: View here >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Pakistan: Christian Activist’s Life in Danger after Arrest on Blasphemy Charges
ASIANEWS.it: Hector Aleem was arrested at night at his home after he was accused of sending a blasphemous text message. Since then he has been allowed to see his family only once. Muslim clerics want the court to hand him over to them so that they can execute him. The blasphemy law under which he was arrested also penalises members of other minorities. Five members of the Ahmadi community were in fact arrested on the same charges; four of them minors. >>> Qaiser Felix | Friday, January 30, 2009

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

Katholische Kirche: Papst erhebt Harry-Potter-Hasser zum Bischof
SUEDDEUTSCHE: Papst Benedikt XVI. macht Gerhard Wagner zum Linzer Weihbischof - der ultrakonservative Geistliche hält Katastrophen wie den Tsunami von 2004 für eine Strafe Gottes.

Neue Schlagzeilen zur Personalpolitik von Benedikt XVI.: Der deutsche Papst hat einen ultrakonservativen Geistlichen zum Weihbischof im österreichischen Linz berufen.

Eine Wahl, die viele überraschte: Gerhard Maria Wagner stand nämlich nicht auf der Vorschlagliste des Linzer Bistums, wie die Oberösterreichischen Nachrichten berichten.

Für Aufsehen hatte der 54-Jährige immer wieder mit kontroversen Thesen gesorgt. Als der Hurrikan "Katrina" im Jahre 2005 die amerikanische Großstadt New Orleans zerstörte, sah der als extrem Rom-treu beschriebene Wagner dort einen strafenden Gott am Werk. >>> sueddeutsche.de/AFP/odg | Samstag, 31. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

This Country Is Just a Load of ****! Get a ******* Grip!
This nurse should be helped! Please eMail the authorities on her behalf. SHOWER them with eMails! The supervisor who took this ridiculous, stupid, absurd decision should be SACKED, forthwith and WITHOUT ANY BENEFITS! I'm SAD to say that I am ASHAMED of my country! – ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: A nurse has been suspended from her job for offering to pray for an elderly patient's recovery from illness.

Caroline Petrie, a committed Christian, has been accused by her employers of failing to demonstrate a "personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity".

She faces disciplinary action and could lose her job over the incident.

Mrs Petrie, a married mother of two, says she has been left shocked and upset by the action taken against her.

She insists she has never forced her own religious beliefs on anyone but politely inquired if the elderly patient wanted her to pray for her – either in the woman's presence or after the nurse had left the patient's home.

"I simply couldn't believe that I have been suspended over this. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. All I am trying to do is help my patients, many of whom want me to pray for them," she said.

Mrs Petrie, 45, is a community nurse employed by North Somerset Primary Care Trust to carry out home visits to sick and elderly patients. Nurse Suspended for Offering to Pray for Elderly Patient's Recovery >>> By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter | Saturday, January 31, 2009

Please eMail these stupid people in protest. Please let us defend this poor lady and her rights: pals@nsomerset-pct.nhs.uk

Or, if you prefer to write to them, please use the following address:

Waverley House.
Old Church Road,
Clevedon
North Somerset
BS21 6NN

Or, if you prefer to telephone the stupid people:

Telephone : 01275 546770
Fax : 01275 546769

THE TELEGRAPH: God Bless the Nurse Who Offered Prayer

Nurse Petrie should not be censured for offering to pray for a patient, argues George Pitcher.

It used to be said by soldiers that there are no atheists in a foxhole.
Hospital chaplains may be tempted similarly to suggest that there are no atheists on an intensive-care ward.

That is patently untrue. But it is nonetheless the case that patients in the dark places of illness and their families and friends will find a capacity for prayer that they didn’t think they possessed elsewhere.

Medical staff and those who work in pastoral care know this and respond accordingly; while no doctor will invoke the spiritual overtly in his professional service, many doctors will concur with the value of patients being treated spiritually as well as physically. You don’t have to be a holistic crank to recognise that someone at peace spiritually enhances their chances of physical healing.

So it isn’t weird or inappropriate to respond to the suspension of Caroline Petrie, a Christian nurse in Weston-Super-Mare who offered to say a prayer for a 79-year-old patient after a home visit, with sadness or anger. One can’t imagine the godmother of the nursing profession, Florence Nightingale, responding with anything other than those emotions.

Much, of course, depends on the style and manner in which Nurse Petrie offered her prayer. If she told her elderly patient that she must offer her up because she would soon be dead and face the judgment of the Almighty, or that she must accept the Lord Jesus Christ as her saviour or rot in hell for all eternity, then we might reasonably assume that this was unhelpful pastoral support.

But it’s apparent from the testimony of May Phippen, her patient, that Nurse Petrie did nothing of the sort. The nurse’s Christianity may inform her caring ministry, but did not usurp it; Mrs Phippen reports that she did her work of dressing her legs efficiently and quietly and simply asked if Mrs Phippen would like her to pray for her and didn’t pursue the issue when the offer was declined.

For this, Nurse Petrie faces disciplinary action under “equality and diversity regulations” and could even lose her job. That seems an utter nonsense. There will be those who could be offended by the offer of Christian prayer by a nurse but, again, that must be an issue for the discretion of the professional, not a matter for employment law. >>> George Pitcher | Monday, February 2, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Islam-Studie: Ist fünfmal beten Fanatismus?
DIE PRESSE: Der Bildungsforscher Stefan Hopmann kritisiert die Methode. Die Politik will die Überwachung von Lehrern sowie eine Gesetzesänderung.

WIEN. Wie gut ist die Studie, nach der jeder fünfte islamische Religionslehrer die Demokratie ablehnt? „Wissenschaftlich unhaltbar“ nennt sie nun der Schul- und Bildungsforscher Stefan Hopmann von der Universität Wien. Er kritisiert, dass beschreibende und bewertende Fragen auf einer Skala und unter einer wertenden Überschrift fehlerhaft zusammengeführt werden. Auf diese Weise würden irreführende und fehlerhafte Skalen konstruiert.

Beispiel: Die Aussage „Meiner Ansicht nach ist jemand, der die fünf Pflichtgebete nicht einhält, kein Muslim“ wurde als eine von zwei Fragen zum Item „Fanatismus“ gerechnet. Was an dieser Aussage fanatisch sei, wisse er, Hopmann, nicht: „Dann müsste auch jeder Religionslehrer, der das Vater Unser für einen unverzichtbaren Bestandteil des christlichen Glaubens hält, als Fanatiker gelten“, so der Wissenschaftler.

Ein weiterer Schwachpunkt: Es gibt keinen Vergleich zu nichtmuslimischen Lehrkräften. „Damit wissen wir nicht, ob sie sich von ihren Kollegen anderer Glaubensrichtungen unterscheiden“, so Hopmann. An einer solchen Studie arbeite er gerade selbst: Erste Ergebnisse über die Haltungen heimischer und nichtheimischer Lehrer werden für den Sommer erwartet.

Warum die als Dissertation erschienene Studie am Institut für Soziologie der Uni Wien mit „Sehr gut“ benotet wurde, könne er nicht beurteilen. Fakt sei, dass „die Arbeit sehr gute Teile enthält“, nur bei der Datenauswertung zum Thema Einstellungen gebe es erhebliche inhaltsanalytische und technische Mängel. >>> Erich Kocina (Die Presse) | Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Warnung vor Terroranschlägen in Deutschland: Gefahr wird von Behörden als sehr gross erachtet
NZZ Online: Das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz hat wegen der Veröffentlichung mehrerer Terrordrohungen im Internet vor Anschlägen gewarnt. «Die Gefahr ist sehr gross, dass in Deutschland ein Terroranschlag durch Islamisten verübt wird», sagte Behördenpräsident Heinz Fromm dem «Hamburger Abendblatt». >>> ap | Samstag, 31. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>

Thousands of Russians March in Protest over Vladimir Putin and the Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: Thousands of Russians have marched in protests demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, for his handling of the country's flailing economy.

The biggest display of public disaffection with Russia's normally popular prime minister prompted a violent response in Moscow, the capital.

Pro Kremlin youths brutally beat some protestors, while others were detained, including Eduard Limonov, a prominent Kremlin critic and leader of the outlawed National Bolshevik Party.

But the largest turnout was in Vladivostok, the focal point of anti-government protests over the past six weeks.

A protest march led by Communist party officials and civil rights leaders was allowed to go ahead at the last minute in an apparent change of heart by the Kremlin. A rally last month was violently dispersed by riot police, and over 200 people were detained.

The march was sanctioned on the condition that demonstrators kept off the road, carried no banners and chanted no slogans.

The marchers blithely ignored the restrictions. Marching down the city's main street, they chanted "Putin resign!". Some banners compared even compared [sic] the prime minister to Hitler. >>> By Adrian Blomfield in Vladivostok | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Re: Shame on the Netherlands

Hat tip: Defend Geert Wilders >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Laina Farhat-Holzman*: Mosques in Europe -- Where's the Reciprocity?
SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL: President Barack Obama mentioned reciprocity: mutual respect between the Muslim world and America. Not much reciprocity in Europe, where some governments are already putting up white flags as clever Islamists attack their basic institutions. Diana West townhall.com worries that French schools no longer teach authors deemed offensive to Muslims Voltaire, Diderot, Darwin, and, of course, history of the Holocaust.

She notes that the British government "cravenly elevated five Sharia courts to the level of tribunal hearings, making their rulings legally binding." The first verdicts upheld male supremacy -- inheritance that gives girls half of the inheritance of boys -- and they dismissed several domestic violence charges. Sharia permits wife beating.

The French city of Tours was the historic capital of the French king Charles Martel, who in the 7th century turned back the Muslim invasion that had overrun Spain. Because of this, Europe did not become Muslim.

Now Tours is the recipient of money from the French government -- as well as Algeria and Saudi Arabia -- to construct one of the largest mosques in France. While this is very generous, and politically correct, of France, Algeria is shutting down Christian churches because they might try to convert Algerians, and in Saudi Arabia Christianity is illegal. In almost all Muslim countries, Judaism may not be practiced either.

The French Ministry of the Interior lists 1,500 places of worship, including 400 mosques. Here "mosques" mean any places of worship. Prisons are another locus for active Islamist conversion. According to Walid Phares, who has been talking with French counterterrorism people, a terrorist cell from Central Asia was picked up in France, where they were getting military training.

French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said 90 Islamic activists were arrested in France in 2007. She notes that French and American prisons are incubators for Islamist recruitment and conversions, as are French suburban ghettos. >>> Laina Farhat-Holzman | Saturday, January 31, 2009

*Laina Farhat-Holzman is a historian, lecturer, and author. Contact her at Lfarhat102@aol.com or www.globalthink.net.

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Türkei: Erdogans Wut belastet EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen
WELT ONLINE: Der Wutausbruch des türkischen Ministerpräsidenten Recep Tayyip Erdogan bei einem Gespräch in Davos mit dem israelischen Präsidenten Schimon Peres sorgt für Verstimmung bei deutschen Politikern. Der Bundestagsabgeordnete Philipp Mißfelder will den Abbruch der EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen prüfen.

Der CDU-Bundestagsabgeordnete Philipp Mißfelder sieht im Israel-kritischen Kurs des türkischen Ministerpräsidenten Recep Tayyip Erdogan eine Belastung für die EU-Beitrittverhandlungen mit der Türkei. „Solange Erdogan in der Türkei eine derart Israel-feindliche Linie verfolgt, müssen wir prüfen, ob die Verhandlungen über einen EU-Beitritt der Türkei ausgesetzt oder abgebrochen werden müssen“, sagte das CDU-Präsidiumsmitglied der „Bild“-Zeitung. >>> AFP/lk | Samstag, 31. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

USA: Republikaner wählen Schwarzen zum Parteichef
Foto von Michael Steele, der jetzt an der Spitze der Republikanischen Partei steht, dank der Welt
WELT ONLINE: Die Partei des ehemaligen US-Präsidenten George W. Bush setzt jetzt auch auf "Change": Zum ersten Mal steht ein Schwarzer an der Spitze der Republikanischen Partei. Der frühere stellvertretende Gouverneur von Maryland setzte sich in sechs Abstimmungsrunden durch. Dabei galt er eigentlich als Außenseiter.

Zum ersten Mal steht ein Schwarzer an der Spitze der Republikanischen Partei in den USA. Zehn Tage nach Amtsantritt des ersten schwarzen US-Präsidenten bestimmten die Mitglieder in Washington Michael Steele zu ihrem neuen Parteichef.

Er nehme die Wahl mit „Demut und Pflichtgefühl“ an, sagte Steele nach dem entscheidenden letzten Wahldurchgang. Der frühere stellvertretende Gouverneur von Maryland setzte sich in sechs Abstimmungsrunden gegen den bisherigen Amtsinhaber und drei weitere Konkurrenten durch. Steele galt dabei als Außenseiter, da er bislang nicht dem Parteikomitee angehörte. Eine der Hauptaufgaben des Parteivorsitzenden ist das Sammeln von Spenden für die Partei. >>> AFP/Reuters/AP/fas | Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Holocaust-Diskussion: Williamson ohne Reue – Bischöfe mit Papst-Kritik
WELT ONLINE: Der Papst erntet wegen der Aufhebung der Exkommunikation von vier Bischöfen weiter scharfe Kritik. Das Vorgehen schade dem Amt und erschwere die Ökumene. Die Entschuldigung Williamsons hat die Lage auch nicht entspannt. Denn der Holocaust-Leugner nahm inhaltlich nichts zurück.

Die umstrittene Aufhebung der Exkommunikation von vier Bischöfen der traditionalistischen Pius-Bruderschaft, darunter der Holocaust-Leugner Richard Williamson, droht die Ökumene zu belasten. „Schock und Befremden“ habe die römische Entscheidung ausgelöst, sagte der Bischof der evangelischen Landeskirche von Braunschweig, Friedrich Weber. Der „Wille zur Einheit“ sei offenbar so mächtig, dass Papst Benedikt XVI.bereit sei, „menschenverachtende und kriminelle Äußerungen“ eines Bischofs in Kauf zu nehmen. >>> Von Gernot Facius | Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Arlington's Islamic Center Is Building a Mosque, Making Sure It Adheres to Islamic Law and Tradition
STAR-TELEGRAM.COM: Mosque is being built in strict keeping with Islamic law and tradition

ARLINGTON — Mouffa Nahaas walked through a construction site he helps oversee and pledged that it would not be a typical construction project.

"From the outside it’s going to give you the impression it’s something different, it’s not just a building," Nahaas said. "It’s important for us to be not just a building. We want to add to the diversity of the city."

Nahaas is overseeing the construction of a mosque on Road to Six Flags near the intersection of Cooper Street in north Arlington.

Expected to be completed by June, this will be the new home of Dar El Salam. Muslims in north Arlington currently use rented space that was once a drugstore for their mosque.

"When you have rented property you think of getting your own," said Nahaas, vice president of Dar El Salam.

The new mosque will be an unmistakable break from the unassuming building they use now. Careful attention is being paid to building the house of worship in keeping with the laws and traditions of Islam. >>> By Patrick McGee | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

AIM* Congratulates First Muslim in Obama's Administration
INDIANMUSLIMS.INFO: New Delhi: Association of Indian Muslims in America (AIM) congratulated on January 29 Mr. Rashad Hussain whom the new US President Barrack Obama appointed on January 28 as Deputy Associate Counsel to President.

Washington DC based AIM represents a majority of Indian Muslims who live in US.

Kaleem Khwaja of AIM in his statement thanked Obama's brave step. AIM appreciated President Obama and said that he is trying to implement his campaign promise of bringing more diversity in the upper echelons of the US administration. It expressed its elite that the first high level Muslim appointed in Obama's administration is an Indian-Muslim.

Rashad Hussain, 30, is a lawyer born in US in 19789 [sic]. His parents migrated to US from India and live in Plano, Texas and now they are naturalized citizens. He earned his bachelor's degree in both philosophy and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Master's degree in Public Administration and in Arabic & Islamic Studies from Harward University. He holds a law degree from Yale University. He received highest honors for his philosophy thesis, "Assessing the Theistic Implications of Big Bang Cosmological Theory."

Rashad Hussain recently served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to that, he was as a Law Clerk to Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Rashad has worked extensively on Capitol Hill, the seat of the US Congress in Washington DC, both as an intern in the office of former US House of Representatives Democratic Party Leader Richard Gephardt in the summer of 2000, and as a legislative aide on the House Judiciary Committee, where he worked for a year and a half and reviewed legislation such as the USA Patriot Act. >>> Mudassir Rizwan | Friday, January 30, 2009

*Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

FBI Cuts Ties With CAIR Following Terror Financing Trial
FOX NEWS: The FBI severed its ties with all local branches of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country's largest Islamic advocacy group, an FBI official told FOX News.

The FBI is severing its once-close ties with the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, amid mounting evidence that it has links to a support network for Hamas.

All local chapters of CAIR have been shunned in the wake of a 15-year FBI investigation that culminated with the conviction in December of Hamas fundraisers at a trial where CAIR itself was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.

The U.S. government has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

An official at the FBI's headquarters in Washington confirmed to FOX News that his office directed FBI field offices across the country to cut ties with local branches of CAIR. >>> By Joseph Abrams | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Vicenda Gheddafi, mea culpa svizzero, Saif al-Islam Gheddafi
TICINONEWS.CH: Il figlio del leader libico Saif al-Islam Gheddafi spera che una soluzione sia vicina per ristabilire relazioni amichevoli tra la Svizzera e il Paese nordafricano. Il figlio del colonnello Gheddafi sottolinea tuttavia che sarà suo padre a prendere la decisione di risolvere la vertenza che avvelena le relazioni diplomatiche tra i due Paesi da mesi.

"Mio padre e il suo governo" analizzeranno "le nuove proposte svizzere", dichiara Saif al-Islam Gheddafi in un'intervista pubblicata oggi dal quotidiano romando "Le Matin". Il figlio del colonnello precisa che le discussioni avute con la consigliera federale Micheline Calmy-Rey a margine del Forum economico mondiale (WEF) di Davos (GR) si sono svolte in un'atmosfera "molto buona". >>> ATS | Sabato 31 gennaio 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback e Hardcover) - Spedizione gratuita in Svizzera >>>

Deadly Heatwave Causes Havoc across South-eastern Australia
Firefighters try to douse the raging bushfires in south-eastern Australia, where soaring temperatures are wreaking havoc with daily life. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: An intense heatwave that is gripping south-eastern Australia has caused at least 19 deaths, destroyed 11 homes and cut power to thousands of properties.

The states of South Australia and Victoria recorded temperatures above 109F (43C) on Friday. As the mercury rose, bushfires raged across eastern Victoria, fuelled by bone dry conditions and sweeping winds.

The "brutal" weather broke records in the city of Melbourne, which for the first time experienced three consecutive days above 109F (43C). At the hottest part of the day, the city suffered 113F (45.1C). And the temperatures failed to fall art night, with residents attempting to sleep through 100F (38C) 107F heat.

Sweltering temperatures also hit the usually-temperate island of Tasmania, which had its hottest day on record, reaching 107F (42.2C). >>> By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>

Irak: La démocratie à l'épreuve
leJDD.fr: Pour la première fois depuis 2005, les Irakiens retournent aux urnes samedi. Ces élections, visant à renouveler leurs Conseils provinciaux, font figure de test pour la stabilité du pays, alors que les Etats-Unis de Barack Obama préparent leur retrait d'Irak. Ce scrutin marque aussi le retour des sunnites dans le jeu électoral et l'espoir d'un relatif apaisement communautaire. >>> Par Marianne ENAULT, leJDD.fr | Vendredi 30 Janvier 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Relié) >>>

Eklat in Davos: Erdogans Wutausbruch verrät die neue Türkei
WELT ONLINE: Eigentlich präsentiert sich der türkische Regierungschef Erdogan der Welt gern als Brückenbauer zwischen Ost und West. Mit seinem Wutausbruch gegen Israel hat er dieses Bild jetzt nachhaltig zerstört. Sein Auftritt passt zur Stimmung in der Türkei: Die anti-westliche Grundhaltung hat sich unter Erdogan verstärkt.

Als Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan zu unwirtlich später Stunde in Ankara ankam, erwarteten ihn Tausende begeisterte Anhänger. Mit bengalischem Feuer und Fahnengeschwenke feierten sie "den Sieger von Davos".

Die Türkei hat einen neuen Helden. Sie bewundert ihn, weil er auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos laut rief, dass Israel "barbarische Akte" im Gazastreifen begangen habe, dass Israels Führung lüge; er ist auch ein Held, weil er vor wenigen Wochen sagte, Allahs Strafe werde über den Judenstaat kommen, Israel werde sich selbst zerstören.

Wie bekannt die Szene anmutet. Gab es das nicht schon einmal? Gewiss, als "Eroberer Erdogan" kehrte der Regierungschef im Dezember 2004 genauso umjubelt nach Ankara zurück. Da hatte er allerdings den Beginn der offiziellen EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen in Brüssel ausgehandelt. Die Türkei, so schien es damals, wird westlich.

Nicht der Held ist also neu – sondern es ist eine neue Türkei, und es ist Erdogan, der sie schuf. Das Ergebnis nach vier Jahren Westintegration ist mehr Östlichkeit. Nicht unbedingt in den Gesetzen, die wurden teilweise an EU-Normen angepasst; aber in der Stimmung der Gesellschaft und den Äußerungen ihrer Führer, da ist wenig geblieben, was sich mit Europa identifiziert. >>> Von Boris Kalnoky | Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

TODAY’S ZAMAN: US Mideast Envoy Mitchell Postpones Visit to Turkey

The new US envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, has postponed a trip to Turkey that was scheduled to take place on Sunday as part of a regional tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire and promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace, Turkish and US officials announced yesterday.

Mitchell, a former US senator and a mediator who helped to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict, was named by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week to lead US efforts to end the six-decade-long Arab-Israeli conflict.

Mitchell's tour, including visits to Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to run through Feb. 3 and is aimed at consolidating the cease-fire that ended Israel's 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip and to "reinvigorate the peace process."

Mitchell was expected to arrive in İstanbul on Sunday, where he was scheduled to have talks with both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan -- who were also originally supposed to return on Sunday from Davos, Switzerland, where they participated in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

US Embassy officials in Ankara cited technical reasons and scheduling conflicts as the reason behind the postponement of Mitchell's visit, with embassy spokesperson Kathryn Schalow being quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying, "The way the schedule was, [it was] very tight, we have tried very hard to make a trip to Turkey fit in, and it just could not for technical reasons." >>> Today’s Zaman with wires, Ankara | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Tony Blair in Favour of Appeasing Hamas
Photo of Tony Blair courtesy of The Times
TIMES ONLINE: Hamas must somehow be brought into the Middle East peace process because the policy of isolating Gaza in the quest for a settlement will not work, Tony Blair has told The Times.

The former prime minister implicitly criticises the strategy followed by the Bush Administration and Israel of focusing all peace and reconstruction efforts on the West Bank. “It was half of what we needed,” he said.

In an interview with Ginny Dougary in the Saturday Magazine, Mr Blair says that the strategy of “pushing Gaza aside” and trying to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank “was never going to work and will never work”. He hints in references to how peace was eventually achieved in Northern Ireland that the time may be approaching to talk to Hamas ... “My basic predisposition is that in a situation like this you talk to everybody.”

He suggests that the policy was behind last month's ferocious reopening of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that were believed to have left more than 1,000 people dead.

Mr Blair, speaking after talks with the new US envoy George Mitchell, says that Gaza will not be pushed aside because there are 1.25 million people there who want a Palestinian state.

Mr Blair, the Middle East envoy for the Quartet group of the US, UN, Russia and the European Union, clearly believes that the Obama Administration is committed to a fresh effort to secure peace and appears to have been waiting for the change of government to make his strongest criticism so far of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Hamas Must Be Brought into Peace Process, Says Tony Blair >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

”Delligs Woche”: Gesprochen wird über den Islam in Deutschland

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

David Attenborough on Charles Darwin's Legacy
THE GUARDIAN: "Evolution is not just a theory ... it is a historical fact," says Sir David in an interview filmed by the science journal Nature. He discusses how Darwin's work influenced his career

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, presented by Sir David, will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 1 February at 9pm GMT

Watch video: here
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Nicky Reilly, Muslim Convert, Jailed for 18 Years for Exeter Bomb Attack
TIMES ONLINE: A vulnerable Muslim convert who was persuaded online by shadowy Pakistan-based extremists into trying to carry out a suicide bomb attack on a busy restaurant was jailed for a minimum of 18-years today.

Nicky Reilly, 22, who has Asperger's syndrome and a mental age of 10, was described as the “least cunning” person ever to have been charged with terrorism.

He was directed how to build bombs filled with hundreds of nails, which he attempted to detonate at the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter in May.

But the devices went off prematurely and the only person injured was him. >>> Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Iceland: Maryam Namazie on Islam

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Islam Means Repression, Oppression and Misery

Maryam Namazie >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

United Kingdom: Maryam Namazie, Ex-Muslim

Council of Ex-Muslims (UK) >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Priest in Italy Defends Holocaust-denier
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ROME — A priest in an ultraconservative society recently rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI has defended a bishop in his group and joined him in expressing doubts about the Holocaust.

While making more cautious remarks than Bishop Richard Williamson, the Rev. Floriano Abrahamowicz echoed, in an interview published Thursday by an Italian daily, the prelate's doubts that Jews were gassed during World War II.

"I know gas chambers existed at least to disinfect, I can't say if anybody was killed in them or not," Abrahamowicz told La Tribuna di Treviso, a newspaper in northern Italy.

Contacted by phone in Treviso, Abrahamowicz said the report of his interview was accurate, but declined to elaborate.

Benedict lifted Williamson's excommunication and those of three other members of the Society of St. Pius X last week as part of his efforts to bring the group, which opposes many of the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, back into the church.

Williamson's superiors at the society have distanced themselves from his comments.

Asked for comment about Abrahamowicz' remarks, a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, noted that Benedict had warned Wednesday against any denial of the full horror of the Nazi genocide and had expressed his unquestioned solidarity with Jews.

The spokesman also reiterated the Holy See's position that rehabilitating Williamson by no means implies that the Vatican shares his views. >>> By Ariel David | Thursday, January 29, 2009

ZEIT ONLINE: Holocaust-Leugnung: Antisemitismus unterm Kreuz

Die Wiederaufnahme des Holocaust-Leugners Bischof Williamson in die katholische Kirche steht in unseliger biblischer Tradition, schreibt die Theologin Uta Ranke-Heinemann

Seit Benedikt XVI. den Holocaustleugner und britischen Bischof Williamson ex-exkommunizierte und wie einen Heimkehrer herzlich umarmte, reißt die Debatte über diesen Schritt des Papstes nicht ab. Die Juden fühlen sich zutiefst verletzt, viele Deutschen schämen sich, dass es ein deutscher Papst war, der diesen schweren Fehltritt beging.

Alle Verteidigungen des Papstes, der für sich in Anspruch nimmt, unfehlbar in Glaubens- und Moralfragen zu sein, überzeugen nicht: Moralisch gesehen bedeutete seine Entscheidung eine unerträgliche Bagatellisierung unendlichen menschlichen Leides, das den Juden unter Hitler angetan wurde.

Die Wurzeln des Antisemitismus reichen im Christentum aber viel weiter zurück. Sie sind schon im Neuen Testament angelegt, und zwar in der Darstellung der Passion Christi. >>> © Zeit Online | Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Labour Does 'Do God', Says Stephen Timms
THE TELEGRAPH: Labour does "do God" after all, according to a Treasury minister who claims some of the Government's key achievements have been inspired by faith.

Stephen Timms said that religious ideals are important in shaping policy despite the impression, summed up in Alastair Campbell's famous phrase, that private beliefs are irrelevant to the party.

He cited the New Deal for the long-term unemployed and the Gleneagles agreement on international debt relief as two examples of Labour projects that had their origins in reports and campaigns from church groups.

Mr Timms, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury who is also Labour's vice-chair for faith groups, also claimed that religious groups continue to provide the basis of a "broad coalition of hope" for the Government as well as practical help in carrying out charitable work.

He said it is wrong to believe that religious belief is dying out, and credited Britain's growing Muslim population with raising the public profile of all faiths because secular commentators are afraid to criticise them. >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Nasty Suprise for a Hamas Terrorist Firing Mortars at Israel

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Obama Calls Wall Street Bonuses ‘Shameful’
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Obama branded Wall Street bankers “shameful” on Thursday for giving themselves nearly $20 billion in bonuses as the economy was deteriorating and the government was spending billions to bail out some of the nation’s most prominent financial institutions.

“There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses,” Mr. Obama said during an appearance in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. “Now’s not that time. And that’s a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect Secretary Geithner to send to them.”

It was a pointed — if calculated — flash of anger from the president, who frequently railed against excesses in executive compensation on the campaign trail. He struck his populist tone as he confronted the possibility of having to ask Congress for additional large sums of money, beyond the $700 billion already authorized, to prop up the financial system, even as he pushes Congress to move quickly on a separate economic stimulus package that could cost taxpayers as much as $900 billion.

This week alone, American companies reported as many as 65,000 job cuts, and public anger is rising over reports of profligate spending by banks and investment firms that are receiving help from the $700 billion bailout fund. About half of that money is still available, but the new administration has yet to announce how it will use it, and many analysts think it will take far more to stabilize the banking system. >>> By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and STEPHEN LABATON | Thursday, January 29, 2009

leJDD.fr: Wall Street: Obama voit rouge

Rien ne va plus entre Wall Street et Barack Obama. Le 44e président des Etats-Unis a jugé tout simplement "honteux" les bonus versés par les groupes financiers à leurs salariés en 2008: 18,4 milliards de dollars. "C'est le comble de l'irresponsabilité", a-t-il insisté, appelant les "gens de Wall Street" à faire "preuve de retenue, de discipline et de davantage de sens des responsabilités".

18,4 milliards de dollars. C'est la somme de la discorde entre Barack Obama et Wall Street. Mercredi, les autorités de l'Etat de New York ont indiqué que les établissements de Wall Street avaient versé 18,4 milliards de dollars de primes à leurs salariés en 2008. Un chiffre certes en recul de 44% par rapport à 2007 - 32,9 milliards de dollars - mais qui reste le sixième record de l'histoire de Wall Street en valeur absolue. Le montant a de quoi surprendre en pleine crise économique et alors que l'administration Bush a lancé à l'automne un vaste plan de soutien au secteur financier d'une valeur totale de 700 milliards de dollars.

Selon le Wall Street Journal, l'équipe Obama envisage même de rajouter 1000 à 2000 milliards de dollars au plan Paulson. Dans ce contexte, on comprend bien pourquoi à la Maison blanche, ces primes ont dû mal à passer. Son nouveau pensionnaire a tout simplement jugé "honteux" le niveau des bonus en 2008. "Au moment où la plupart de ces institutions étaient près de s'effondrer et où elles demandent l'aide des contribuables pour les soutenir, et où les contribuables eux-mêmes sont dans une situation difficile parce que le système tout entier pourrait leur tomber sur la tête s'ils ne leur venaient pas en aide, c'est le comble de l'irresponsabilité, c'est honteux", a-t-il asséné. >>> Par Marianne ENAULT, leJDD.fr | Vendredi 30 Janvier 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

North Korea Cuts All Links with South Korea
THE TELEGRAPH: In a significant escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea has cancelled all agreements with the South, claiming that the two Koreas were on the "brink of a war".

The decision by Pyongyang to nullify all military and political accords, including declaring the maritime border between the countries "void", increases the prospect of an armed confrontation on the Peninsula, where over a million soldiers face each other along the Demilitarised Zone that divides the countries.

North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea blamed the South for Pyongyang's decision to sever all links, claiming that the agreements between the two countries were "dead documents".

The neighbours last clashed militarily in June 2002, when they fought a deadly gun battle along the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea.

Pyongyang remains angry over South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's decision last year to cut the amount of economic aid given to the North, until progress was made on disarmament. >>> By David Eimer in Beijing | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Oil Workers Protest Against Jobs for Foreigners
THE TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of factory workers protested outside one of the country's largest oil refineries against the use of foreign workers on a multi million pound construction project.

Humberside Police said around 800 people took part in the demonstration outside the giant Lindsey Oil Refinery at North Killingholme, Lincs.

The actions of the workers could spark more protests around the country as the jobless total rises towards two million during the economic downturn and anger mounts against the Government.

Some protesters carried placards repeating Gordon Brown's slogan 'British jobs for British workers'.

Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, called for urgent meetings with the Government and employers to discuss the "exclusion" of UK workers from some of Britain's major engineering and construction projects.

"We have a growing problem in the engineering and construction industry where UK workers are being excluded from important projects.

The Government must take urgent action to deal with this situation as tensions are reaching boiling point. >>> By Nick Britten | Friday, January, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Wildcat Strikes Over Foreign Workers Spread Across Britain

Wildcat strikes spread to oil refineries across Britain this morning as workers walked out in sympathy with industrial action taken against the arrival of hundreds of foreign contractors.

Around 700 staff walked out of the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland and 400 more staged an unofficial strike at a refinery in Wilton, Teesside as workers lent their support to a three-day strike at the Lindsey oil refinery in North Lincolnshire.

Staff at the refinery in North Killingholme began their wildcat strike on Wednesday in protest at the arrival of 200 Italian and Portuguese staff who were awarded a large construction contract.

There were also signs of the protest spreading to Wales this morning, police were called to Aberthaw power station near Barry after a protest was staged there.

Hundreds of angry protesters are calling on the government to intervene to guarantee jobs for British workers. One of the men on the picket line outside the Lindsey refinery told BBC television this morning that local families were struggling to feed their families while work was given to European workers. >>> Nico Hines and Christine Buckley, Industrial Editor | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

US Pours Cold Water Over Hopes of Iran Deal
TIMES ONLINE: The White House warned Iran last night that military action is still one of its options despite the "hand of friendship" offered by President Obama.

Officials moved to cool fevered expectations - and assuage lingering European concerns - about plans to thaw a 30 year freeze in US relations.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, reiterated that any talks held with the Iranian leadership would not necessarily be with President Ahmadinejad and would involve careful preparations beforehand.

Asked if the use of force was still possible, he replied: "The President hasn't changed his viewpoint that he should preserve all his options." Mr Gibbs added that the US needed to address Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and its threats against Israel, as well as an "illicit nuclear programme". >>> Tom Baldwin in Washington | Friday, January 30, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: US Overtures Divide Iran's Policymakers

Iran's foreign minister said yesterday that Tehran would be "co-operative" in response to changes in US policy, following the revelation that President Barack Obama's team is drafting a landmark letter to the Islamic Republic aimed at thawing a three-decade freeze in relations.

Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, hedged his response by saying that Obama would have to change Washington's policy in the Middle East, "not in saying but in practice". If that happened, he said, the new administration would definitely find "a cooperative approach and reaction" from the region, and from Iran in particular.

The remarks followed the Guardian's report on Thursday that Obama was formulating a conciliatory letter to Iran's leadership aimed at unfreezing relations between Washington and Tehran and clearing the way for direct talks for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution. >>> Julian Borger and Robert Tait | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Iceland to Be Fast-tracked into the EU
Plan for cash-strapped state to become member by 2011
Iceland will be put on a fast track to joining the European Union to rescue the small Arctic state from financial collapse amid rising expectations that it will apply for membership within months, senior policy-makers in Brussels and Reykjavik have told the Guardian.

The European commission is preparing itself for a membership bid, depending on the outcome of a snap general election expected in May. An application would be viewed very favourably in Brussels and the negotiations, which normally take many years, would be fast-forwarded to make Iceland the EU's 29th member in record time, probably in 2011.

Olli Rehn, the European commissioner in charge of enlargement, said: "The EU prefers two countries joining at the same time rather than individually. If Iceland applies shortly and the negotiations are rapid, Croatia and Iceland could join the EU in parallel. On Iceland, I hope I will be busier. It is one of the oldest democracies in the world and its strategic and economic positions would be an asset to the EU."

Rehn's support for swift Icelandic membership was echoed by senior European diplomats in Brussels. "We would like to see Iceland join the EU," said one. The current and next holders of the EU presidency, the Czechs and then the Swedes, are also strong supporters of EU enlargement and will deploy their agenda-setting powers to help Iceland. >>> Ian Traynor in Brussels, additional reporting by Valur Gunnarsson in Reykjavik | Friday, January 30, 2009

Listen to audio: Iceland into EU: 'A society that has hit the rails and the currency has been wrecked' – Ian Traynor on fast-tracking Iceland into the EU and the euro >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Streit um Islam-Unterricht: Lehrer sollen Schulbank drücken
DIE PRESSE: Die Islamische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft rückt bei der Lehrer-Fortbildung Demokratie und Menschenrechte in den Mittelpunkt und schickt mehr Kontrollore aus.

Nach der Kritik an islamischen Religionslehrern, von denen ein Fünftel ihren Glauben mit der Demokratie für nicht vereinbar halten, reagiert die Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich (IGGiÖ): Man befürchte, die Diskussion gebe Nahrung für negative Stereotypen von und Ängste vor Muslimen. Nicht nur die Lehrer fühle sich an den Pranger gestellt, in der ganzen Glaubensgemeinschaft sei die Betroffenheit groß. >>> APA/Red. | Freitag, 30. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

Europa-Frust: Warum die Türkei keine EU-Fahnen mehr will
WELT ONLINE: Vor ein paar Jahren wehte die EU-Flagge fast überall in der Türkei. Der EU-Beitritt war das große Ziel des Landes. Mittlerweile hat Ernüchterung Einzug gehalten. Die Türkei fühlt sich von der Europäischen Union auf den Arm genommen. Bemerkbar macht sich der Frust vor allem bei einer Berufsgruppe: den Flaggen-Herstellern.

Es gab Zeiten, da flatterten überall in der Türkei blaue Fahnen mit goldenen Sternen. Hotels, Restaurants, Privatleute liebten die EU-Fahne. Das war 2004, 2005, zur Zeit der großen Beitrittsbegeisterung, als die Verhandlungen mit Brüssel über eine türkische EU-Mitgliedschaft offiziell aufgenommen wurden. Fahnenhersteller hatten Mühe, die Aufträge zu bewältigen.

Das war einmal. Niemand will mehr europäische Fahnen. “Wir haben seit Monaten keinen einzigen Auftrag”, sagt Ayhan Karpuzlar von der Firma “Ulus Bayrak” (Nationalfahne). Vor sechs Monaten, so sagt er, sei die Nachfrage plötzlich eingebrochen. 

Von fünf Herstellern, die diese Zeitung in Istanbul und Ankara kontaktierte, berichteten vier genau dasselbe: Dass seit ungefähr sechs oder vier Monaten niemand mehr EU-Fahnen bestellt. Einzige Ausnahme war “Marti Bayrak” in Ankara. Doch dort sagte man, man habe ohnehin nie viel EU-Fahnen genäht, und so sei es auch jetzt.

Die Gründe sehen die Hersteller teilweise bei der Wirtschaftskrise, aber auch politische Ursachen werden genannt. Denn eigentlich begann der Auftragseinbruch schon vor zwei Jahren. “Vor 3 bis 4 Jahren noch hatten wir viele Aufträge von unterschiedlich großen Firmen, Restaurants und hauptsächlich Hotels”, sagt Isret Adar von “Aybayrak”. “Doch seit zwei Jahren ist das deutlich zurückgegangen.” Er meint auch zu wissen, warum: “Die Türken glauben nicht mehr an den EU-Beitritt, weshalb soll man da noch die EU-Fahne hoch halten?” >>> Von Boris Kalnoky | Donnerstag, 29. Januar 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>