Les cercles de l'Autriche ultra
Les Burschenschaften pratiquent des rituels elitists. Photo: L’Express
L’EXPRESS.fr: A Vienne et dans les grandes villes, une soixantaine de corporations pangermanistes, discrètes mais influentes, réunissent les partisans d'une idéologie aux accents néonazis. Et forment les cadres de l'extrême droite.

Heinz-Christian Strache, la nouvelle star de la politique autrichienne, est un orateur souriant et talentueux, qui bat des records de popularité auprès des jeunes. Mais il participe aussi, en toute discrétion, à des rituels initiatiques conduits dans des clubs élitistes et racistes...

Tribun populiste et eurosceptique, il aime se montrer dans les discothèques et sur les plateaux de télévision. Mais il adhère aussi à une corporation opaque, Vandalia Wien, pour l'honneur de laquelle il s'est battu en duel il y a cinq ans. La devise de ce club un peu particulier constitue, en soi, une forme de programme: "Allemand, uni, fidèle et sans crainte".

Le poids des corporations

Se définir comme un Allemand et vouloir devenir chancelier autrichien? Le paradoxe était déjà assumé par Jörg Haider, l'ex-leader charismatique de l'extrême droite locale, mort en octobre 2008 dans un accident de voiture.

Dans ce pays alpin, quand on veut faire carrière "chez les bleus", c'est-à-dire au sein du FPÖ (Parti autrichien de la liberté), mieux vaut faire allégeance à l'une des quelque 60 corporations pangermanistes toujours en activité, les Burschenschaften (au sens littéral, des "congrégations de jeunes hommes").

Dans le monde germanique du début du xixe siècle, les membres des premières corporations estudiantines, qui furent à la base des révolutions nationalistes de 1848, étaient unis par la haine de la France napoléonienne et des juifs, alors émancipés par l'envahisseur. Près de deux cents ans plus tard, ces clubs très privés aux doux noms mythologiques - Brixia à Innsbruck, Olympia à Vienne - restent, de fait, interdits aux femmes et aux juifs. >>> Par Blaise Gauquelin | Jeudi 16 Avril 2009

Bibeltreue und Homosexualität: Evangelikale wollen Schwule jetzt "heilen"
WELT ONLINE: "Psychotherapie und Seelsorge" – der Titel einer Marburger Konferenz klingt harmlos. Dass Grüne, Junge Liberale und Schwulengruppen gegen das Treffen von Theologen und Psychologen Sturm laufen, liegt an zwei Referenten. Ihnen wird vorgeworfen, sie wollten Schwule therapieren.

Längst Normalität: Ein schwules Paar in Berlin. Bild dank der Welt
In Marburg haben sich 1529 schon Luther und Zwingli gezankt, und nun sorgt eine weitere christliche Tagung dort für Streit. Dieses Mal geht es um Homosexualität. Vom 20. bis zum 24. Mai soll in Räumen – nicht in der Trägerschaft – der Stadt Marburg und der Philipps-Universität der "6. Internationale Kongress für Psychotherapie und Seelsorge" stattfinden, dem ein Bündnis aus Grünen, Jungen Liberalen und Schwulengruppen "Sexismus, Homophobie und Fundamentalismus" vorwirft. Und der Fraktionsgeschäftsführer der Grünen im Bundestag, Volker Beck, fürchtet, in Marburg könnten "Lesben und Schwule als defizitär, krank, therapiebedürftig oder sündhaft" dargestellt werden.

Der Protest richtet sich nicht gegen den Kongress – auf dem Theologen und Psychologen über christliche Identität reden –, sondern gegen einzelne Referenten. Denen wird vorgeworfen, sie hielten Homosexualität für heilbar, wollten Schwule therapieren und zu bibelgemäßer Sexualität bewegen.

Einer ist Markus Hoffmann, Leiter der Gruppe „Wüstenstrom“, der seine Wandlung vom Schwulen zum Heterosexuellen als Reifung und Befreiung darstellt: „Meine Identität war gereift, genügend positive Selbst- und Objektrepräsentanzen waren entstanden und damit wurde für mich die Homosexualität als Ich-Stütze überflüssig, heterosexuelle Gefühle konnten hervortreten.“ Bei „Wüstenstrom“ berät er Männer, die an ihrer Neigung leiden. >>> Von Matthias Kamann | Donnerstag, 16. April 2009

World Agenda: Nicolas Sarkozy Puts Barack Obama in the Doghouse
TIMESONLINE: Why the master of America's new First Mutt is no longer in good odour with President Sarkozy

Nico and Hussein. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
France has been cooing along with everyone else over the arrival of Bo Obama at the White House, but the master of America's new First Dog is no longer in good odour with President Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy is pouring cold water on President Obama's efforts to recast American leadership on the world stage, depicting them as unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated. Behind leaks and briefings from the Elysée Palace lies Mr Sarkozy's irritation at the rock-star welcome that Europe gave Mr Obama on his Europan [sic] tour earlier this month.

The American President's call "to free the world of the menace of a nuclear nightmare" was hot air, Mr Sarkozy's diplomatic staff told him in a report. "It was rhetoric – not a speech on American security policy but an export model aimed at improving the image of the United States," they said. Most of Mr Obama's proposals had already been made by the Bush administration and Washington was dragging its feet on disarmament and treaties against nuclear proliferation, the leaked report said.

Personal pique and French politics are also behind the souring of Mr Sarkozy's self-promoted honeymoon with the United States. On the personal side, the French President is needled by the adulation for an unproven US leader whose stardom has eclipsed what he sees as his established record as a world troubleshooter. "The President is annoyed by what he sees as the naivety and the herd mentality of the media," said a journalist who is privy to Elysée thinking. >>> Charles Bremner | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

TIMESONLINE: Sarkozy Snipes at 'Dim' Spanish PM and 'Weak' Obama

The US President is weak, the Spanish leader is dim, the German Chancellor is clinging on to France’s coat-tails and the head of the European Commission is irrelevant.

That, at any rate, is the world according to President Sarkozy, who has spent the week airing his unvarnished opinions of Barack Obama and an array of international politicians — abruptly ending France’s honeymoon with the US and needling Washington on several strategic issues.

In the latest in a stream of accounts from the Élysée Palace, Mr Sarkozy was quoted yesterday as telling an all-party group of MPs that Mr Obama was inexperienced and indecisive. “Obama has a subtle mind, very clever and very charismatic,” the French President said. “But he was elected two months ago and had never run a ministry. There are a certain number of things on which he has no position. And he is not always up to standard on decision-making and efficiency.”

The US President had underperformed on climate change when they met, Mr Sarkozy said, according to an account of the MP’s session in the newspaper Libération. “I told him, ‘I don’t think that you have quite understood what we are doing on carbon dioxide’.”

Mr Sarkozy was apparently irked by media reports that Mr Obama had saved the day in London by persuading President Hu of China to reach a compromise with France over tax havens. Mr Sarkozy’s version is that he shamed Mr Obama into action, telling him: “You were elected to build a new world. Tax havens are the embodiment of the old world.” >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Friday, April 17, 2009

L’EXPRESS: Sarkozy ironise sur l"obamania"

Nicolas Sarkozy relativise l'état de grâce dont bénéficie Barack Obama :"Les journalistes n'ont pas de mémoire! En 2000, George W. Bush était si populaire que Jacques Chirac s'était arrangé pour dîner avec lui avant même qu'il ne soit investi." Le président français, qui accueillera son homologue américain sur les plages de Normandie le 6 juin, pour le 65e anniversaire du Débarquement, ironise sur l'"obamania" des médias : "Je vais lui demander de marcher sur la Manche, et il va le faire, vous verrez..." [Source: L’Express] Jeudi 16 Avril 2009

Dutch Lawmaker to Make Sequel to Anti-Islamic Film
EURONEWS 24: THE HAGUE, Netherlands - A Dutch lawmaker is planning to make a sequel to the anti-Islamic film that sparked protests among Muslims around the world.


Geert Wilders said in an interview published Thursday in a Dutch newspaper that the film will likely come out next year.


He said it will not be a copy of Fitna, the film he released on the Internet last year that coupled images of terror attacks with verses from the Quran.


This is the next phase, Wilders said in the interview printed in De Telegraaf. >>> Mark of EuroNews 24 | Thursday, April 16, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Niederlande: Rechtspopulist Wilders plant neuen Anti-Islam-Film

WELT ONLINE: Der umstrittene niederländische Parlamentarier Geert Wilders plant für das nächste Jahr ein weiteres islamkritisches Video. Darin wolle er auf die Folgen einer Masseneinwanderung aus islamischen Ländern hinweisen und Problemlösungen aufzeigen. Für die Verwirklichung des Projekts sucht er noch Geldgeber.

Geert Wilders. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Der holländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders hat mit der Ankündigung eines neuen Anti-Islam-Films Terrorismus-Bekämpfer alarmiert.

Politische Parteien und Muslim-Verbände in den Niederlanden reagierten hingegen zurückhaltend auf Wilders' Erklärung, er werde mit professioneller Hilfe aus den USA eine Fortsetzung seines vor einem Jahr heftig umstrittenen Internet-Films „Fitna“ produzieren. „Fitna 2“ werde die Folgen einer zunehmenden „Islamisierung“ des Westens deutlich machen.



Die Sicherheitsdienste prüften nun, welche Auswirkungen die Ankündigung möglicherweise für die Bedrohungssituation in den Niederlanden hat, erklärte ein Sprecher der Anti-Terrorismus-Behörde (NCTB). Dies sei die übliche Reaktion. Nach Einschätzung der Behörde war durch Wilders ersten Film die Gefahr von Anschlägen gewachsen.

Innenministerin Guusje ter Horst hatte Anfang April erklärt, die Bedrohungslage sei noch so ernst, dass die zweithöchste Alarmstufe „substanziell“ aufrechterhalten bleiben müsse.

Sie verwies dabei auch auf den Afghanistan-Einsatz der niederländischen Streitkräfte. Deshalb sowie wegen mutmaßlicher Beleidigungen des Islam, unter anderem durch „Fitna“, blieben die Niederlande in den Augen von muslimischen Extremisten ein „legitimes Angriffsziel“.

"Fitna 2" werde Anfang 2010 veröffentlicht, sagte Wilders der Zeitung „De Telegraaf“. „Ich habe dafür Hilfsangebote von Leuten aus New York und Hollywood, die schon Filme gemacht haben, die bei uns in den Kinos zu sehen waren“, fügte Wilders hinzu, ohne Namen zu nennen. >>> dpa/KNA/fsl | Donnerstag, 16. April 2009

Saudi Money Is Finite after All!
The history attached to Raffles Hotel may lure buyers at $450m. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: A byword for colonial grandeur, and a favourite watering hole of such literary luminaries as Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, Raffles Hotel, home to the Singapore Sling cocktail, has been put up for sale for up to $450 million (£300 million). Apparently, the hotel's owner, Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia, is feeling the pinch.

The Times understands that Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, in which the Prince's Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) has a controlling stake, is seeking buyers for its remaining hotel assets, despite the depressed state of the property market, and it is understood he may even be prepared to sell his stake in the company itself.

Hotel industry sources believe that the Prince, dubbed the Warren Buffett of the Gulf, is looking at a range of disposals in response to the sharp fall in value of some of his biggest investments. KHC has seen a big drop in the value of its investments in companies including Songbird Estates, the majority owner of Canary Wharf, Euro Disney and News Corporation, parent company of The Times. Kingdom Hotel Investments, a small London-listed vehicle in which he has a 55 per cent stake, has lost more than two thirds of its value in the past 12 months. Raffles Hotel Put On Market as Prince Alwaleed Attempts to Stop Wealth Draining Away >>> Dominic Walsh | Thursday, April 16, 2009

President Obama, Spain and the Radical Left
FOX NEWS – Talking Points: The president says he wants to improve the USA's image in the world. So he must stand up against Spain, which wants to damage America.

The Spanish government will soon decide whether or not to formally investigate former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and other members of the Bush administration for human rights crimes.

Of course, this is an outrage, a transparent attempt to put the USA on trial and make us the villain in the terror war. It also diverts attention away from the true evil: Muslim fascist killers.

The Spanish president, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, is a far-left guy who has been soft on Iran and is inclined to line up against America on many issues.

It is time for President Obama to state his objection to Spain's intrusion, just as he stated he does not want a witch hunt against the Bush administration here in the USA. Mr. Obama should be forceful with Spain. His job is to protect Americans, even those who worked in the Bush administration. Silence is not an option here, Mr. President. >>> By Bill O’Reilly | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

La Corée du Nord ferme la porte à toute négociation
L’EXPRESS.fr: Plus question de négocier avec le Conseil de sécurité pour Pyongyang qui a décidé de rouvrir ses installations nucléaires désactivées. L'annonce a un goût de représailles après la condamnation par l'ONU du tir de fusée nord-coréen effectué début avril.

La Corée du Nord a annoncé mardi son retrait des négociations sur sa dénucléarisation et la reprise de son programme d'armement atomique en réaction à la condamnation par l'ONU de son récent tir de fusée. La Corée du Nord "rejette fermement" la décision du Conseil de sécurité, qualifiée d'"insulte insupportable" envers son peuple, selon un communiqué du ministère nord-coréen des Affaires étrangères diffusé par l'agence officielle KCNA.

"Les discussions à six (sur la dénucléarisation) n'ont plus lieu d'être. Nous ne participerons plus jamais à de telles discussions et ne nous estimerons n'être liés par aucune décision prise dans le cadre de ces discussions", a ajouté le ministère.

Le régime communiste "va renforcer sa force de dissuasion nucléaire pour assurer sa défense par tous les moyens", a ajouté le texte.

"Nous allons prendre des mesures pour rouvrir nos installations nucléaires désactivées (...) et retraiter des tubes de combustible nucléaire usagés provenant des réacteurs expérimentaux", a encore promis le régime.

Cette réaction de Pyongyang intervient après la condamnation lundi par le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU du tir de fusée controversé auquel la la Corée du Nord a récemment procédé. >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr | Mardi 14 Avril 2009

Medwedew spricht sich für Wohlstand und Bürgerrechte aus: Russlands Präsident gibt kremlkritischer Zeitung ein Interview
NZZ Online: Der russische Präsident Dmitri Medwedew hat ein Plädoyer für die Demokratie abgegeben. In einem ungewöhnlichen Schritt würdigte er zudem die Arbeit von Bürgerrechtlern in Russland.

Russlands Präsident Medwedew. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
Der russische Präsident Dmitri Medwedew setzt in der Medienpolitik und im Umgang mit der Zivilgesellschaft andere Massstäbe als sein Vorgänger. So veröffentlichte eine kremlkritische Zeitung ein Interview mit ihm, zudem traf er sich im Kreml mit Menschenrechtlern.

In seinem ersten Interview mit der «Nowaja Gaseta» bekräftigte er den Willen zur weiteren Demokratisierung des Landes. Auf Dauer sei Wirtschaftswachstum kein Ersatz für das Mitspracherecht der Bürger. >>> sda/dpa/Reuters/afp | Mittwoch, 15. April 2009

The Hour – Irshad Manji: Osama Bin Laden's Worst Nightmare!

Blogger Convert to Christianity Released from Saudi Prison
ASIANEWS.it: Arrested for openly choosing Jesus, Saudi man is released after some months. He still cannot leave the country or appear in media, but many are surprised by the leniency. Under Sharia apostasy is punished by death.

Hamoud Saleh Al-Amri, Saudi convert to Christianity. Photo courtesy of AsiaNews
Riyadh – Hamoud Saleh Al-Amri, a 28 year-old Saudi national imprisoned in January for writing in his blog about his decision to convert to Christianity, was released by Saudi authorities at the end of March 2009 instead of being put death as an apostate as prescribed by Sharia. However, he has been banned from travelling outside Saudi Arabia or appearing in media, Middle East Concern, a Christian organisation specialising in Mideast affairs, reported.

According to Hamoud himself, who is back writing on his Christ for Saudi* blog, his release is due to pressure brought on Saudi authorities by the Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information, one of several rights groups that have campaigned for his release.

Hamoud was arrested on 13 January 2009 and detained at the Eleisha political prison in Riyadh. He had written in his blog of his decision to leave Islam to follow Jesus, and had also been critical of his country’s judicial system, highlighting widespread corruption and human rights abuses. >>> AsiaNews/MEC | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

*Hamoud's blogspot ( مسيحي سعودي ), Christ for Saudi, has been removed. Surprise! Surprise!

Scholar's Critique Spurs Ijara Islamic Bond
REUTERS: DUBAI - Since a revered Islamic scholar spoke out against some sukuk structures more than a year ago, issuers have refocused their attention on the ijara Islamic bond model, bankers said on Wednesday.

Some bankers have attributed last year's downturn in issuance of sukuk, the Islamic alternative to Islamic bonds, to comments by Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Usmani that musharaka and mudaraba sukuk should not promise guaranteed returns.

Most Islamic bonds should be treated as equity instruments, said Usmani, chairman of the board of scholars at the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

His February 2008 comments marked a shift for Muslims seeking fixed-income returns and, in the following months, coincided with a slowdown in the sukuk market as the global financial crisis deepened.

But bankers at the Reuters Islamic Finance Summit on Wednesday downplayed that link, saying the general slump in the global debt market was behind the drying up of sukuk, not a fear the structures failed to comply with the spirit of Islam.

"The sukuk market has shrunk as a direct result of the market conditions rather than an issue with the structures themselves," said Raphael de Ricaud, head of Islamic finance at Rothschild, an investment bank providing advisory services. >>> By Daliah Merzaban | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Analysis: Saudi Speeds Up Education Reform, Clerics Resist
REUTERS: RIYADH - Accused of promoting the religious radicalism that inspired the Sept. 11 attacks, Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to reform its school curriculum, but clerical opposition means change will be slow, analysts say.

King Abdullah appointed a new team to lead the education ministry this year in a surprise reshuffle in the conservative Islamic state, where reformers say promises of change when Abdullah took the throne in 2005 have amounted to little.

Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, a former intelligence official, took over as education minister with Faisal bin Muammar, who headed a body set up in 2003 to promote social and economic reforms, as his deputy.

"We have been calling for such changes for a long time," said Mohammed Youssef, a professor of education at King Abdulaziz University who wrote a book in 2004 on restructuring the Saudi education system.

The United States zeroed in on Saudi schools after it emerged that 15 of the 19 attackers who killed some 3,000 people there on Sept. 11, 2001 were Saudi. They acted in the name of an Islamist group, al Qaeda, headed by a Saudi, Osama bin Laden.

Foreign and Saudi critics said Saudi educational material permitted the killing of non-Muslims and promoted the idea of cleansing Muslim countries from Western cultural influences. >>> By Asmaa Alsharif | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Brazil's Author Paulo Coelho Talks About His Love for Islam
Photo: Google Images
BRAZZIL MAG: Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian writer who took the world stage with his thundering book The Alchemist, the source of inspiration for many around the world, told Syria's leading English-speaking magazine, Forward, his writings were influenced by the Sufi traditions of Islam.

Coelho made his debut in a Syrian media outlet last March, emphasizing his great admiration of Sufi figures, such as the famed Sufi dervish and love poet, Jelaluddin Rumi.

"Indeed, Sufism has inspired me a lot throughout my life and I refer to this tradition in some of my books such as The Alchemist and more recently The Zahir. Rumi is of course the first figure that springs to mind. His teachings and visions are incredibly subtle and clear," Coelho told Sami Moubayed, the Syrian political analyst and editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine.

Sufism, being the mystical order of Islam, is a natural part of Syrian life, with dervishes and Sufi Sheikhs from around the world considering Damascus as their spiritual center and homeland. >>> | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Obama: America Not Christian - But Islam Shaped It For The Better
RIGHT SIDE NEWS: The we-do-not-consider-ourselves-a-Christian-nation line in Obama's speech to the Turkish parliament reminds me of an old joke: The Lone Ranger and Tonto are surrounded by hostile Indians. The masked man turns to his faithful companion and asks: "What are we going to do now, Tonto?" His sidekick replies: "What you mean we, pale face?"

Like others on the left, Obama has an unfortunate habit of projecting his delusions onto the American people.

He was in Turkey as part of his recently concluded America-sucks tour, during which he pandered shamelessly to Euro Anti-Americanism. ("We've been arrogant and we promise not to torture terrorists ever again and to always listen to the ‘allies' who almost lost two World Wars the Cold War. And, have I said how sorry I am for Wounded Knee in the last 15 seconds?")

In the overwhelmingly Muslim country, Barack Hussein Obama, as he was introduced (now that the election's over, it's okay to use his middle name), declared the concept of "Christian America" a myth. >>> By Don Feder | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Pakistan Sharia Law Infringes Rights, Democracy: US
AFP: WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday that an accord signed by Pakistan's president putting part of the country under Islamic law in a bid to combat the Taliban went against human rights and democracy.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the Obama administration believed that "solutions involving security in Pakistan don't include less democracy and less human-rights.

"The signing of that denoting strict Islamic law in the Swat valley goes against both of those principles." >>> Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Geert Wilders' Wake-Up Call
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: At the same time President Obama was greeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Europe last week, Dutch MP Geert Wilders was receiving standing ovations in California for expressing exactly the opposite message: do not bow down to Islam.

Wilders is on tour in various Western countries to raise the consciousness of politicians and the public on the advancement of Islam in Western societies. During his lectures, he urgently calls for stopping this progress in order to preserve our human rights such as freedom of speech, the equality of women and gays and other precious liberties. He was invited by the David Horowitz Freedom Center to speak in California for the first time.

Surrounded by an army of security comparable to that of his fellow countrywoman Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wilders gave the following message to his audiences: Islam is not a religion but a totalitarian ideology aiming for world domination and for the total submission of everyone who is non-Muslim. There is no freedom or egalitarianism or human rights in Islam. Islam is not peace, but violence. To illustrate this point, Wilders showed his film Fitna. In Fitna, Mr. Wilders compiles various verses of the Koran that call for Muslim domination, hatred and violence, as well as media footage showing death threats, terror attacks, executions and hate speech that are in line with these Koranic imperatives. It also demonstrates the small steps by which Sharia law is introduced in Western societies, such as Halal banking, Jihad lessons in elementary school, Muslims hindering doctors taking care of women, and certain imams legalizing violence against gays.

The statement Mr. Wilders makes in his film is that it is not poverty or Western oppression which is the main driver of Muslim intolerance, aggression and violence but Islam itself. >>> By Evelyn Markus | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Muslim or European?

National Geographic: Saudi Women

Saudi Arabia to Regulate Young Girls' Marriages
GLOBEANDMAIL: RIYADH — Saudi Arabia plans to regulate the marriages of young girls, its justice minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday, after a court refused to nullify the marriage of an 8-year-old to a man 50 years her senior.

The Justice Ministry aims “to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls,” Justice Minister Mohamed al-Issa told al-Watan newspaper, partly owned by members of the royal family.

Saudi Arabia is a patriarchal society that applies an austere form of Sunni Islam that bans unrelated men and women from mixing and gives fathers the right to wed their sons and daughters to whoever they deem fit.

The minister's comments suggested the practice of marrying off young girls would not be abolished. The regulations will seek to “preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects of underage girls' marriage,” he said. >>> Reuters | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Neues Ehegesetz: Afghanische Frauen protestieren gegen Sexpflicht
WELT ONLINE: Rund 200 Frauen haben für Änderungen am afghanischen Ehegesetz für Schiiten demonstriert, das Frauen nur unter bestimmten Bedingungen erlaubt, Geschlechtsverkehr mit dem Ehemann abzulehnen. Sie wurden von 1000 Gegendemonstranten, darunter 300 Frauen, angegriffen. Die meisten sind Anhänger eines schiitischen Geistlichen.

In Afghanistan sind rund 200 Frauen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen das umstrittene neue Ehegesetz zu demonstrieren. Bild dank der Welt
Im Streit um das afghanische Ehegesetz für Schiiten ist es in Kabul zu Zusammenstößen zwischen Befürwortern und Gegnerinnen gekommen. Eine Gruppe von 200 Demonstrantinnen wurde am Mittwoch von mehr als 1000 Unterstützern des geplanten Gesetzes umstellt. Vereinzelt seien Steine auf die Frauen geworfen worden, berichtete ein dpa-Reporter. Die Demonstrantinnen seien als „Abtrünnige und Sklaven der Christen“ beschimpft worden. Kritiker werten das Gesetz als Freibrief für Vergewaltigung in der Ehe. Nach heftigen internationalen Protesten legte Präsident Hamid Karsai das von ihm bereits unterzeichnete Gesetz zunächst auf Eis. >>> dpa/tsch | Mittwoch, 15. April 2009

TIMESONLINE: Women Protesters against 'Marital Rape' Law Spat On and Stoned in Kabul

Women protesting in Kabul against a controversial new law were pelted with stones, jostled and spat on today as they held what is believed to be the first public demonstration calling for equal rights for women in recent Afghan history.

The protest by about 200 women called for amendment of the controversial Shia Family Law, passed last month by the Afghan Parliament, and enforcement of article 22 of the Afghan constitution, which gives equal rights to men and women.

It provoked a furious reaction from local men and a mob quickly surrounded the protesters amid violent scenes close to the Parliament building.

The new law, which applies to the 15 per cent of the population who are Shia Muslim, has drawn widespread international condemnation since it was passed in March. President Obama called it abhorrent after leaked drafts of the law showed it apparently legalised marital rape and child marriage and reintroduced restrictions on women that were notorious under the Taleban period of rule.

The Afghan Government has since announced a review of the legislation, which has yet to come into force. Political opponents of the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, have suggested that the law was passed by as a sop to powerful Shia religious parties ahead of the country's presidential elections in August.

Carrying banners that proclaimed “We want dignity in the law” and “Islam is justice”, the small all-woman march was initially matched by a peaceful counter-demonstration of 300 or so female religious students from the Khatam-ul-Nabieen Shiite University in Kabul. The university is attached to the Khatam Al-Nabi Mosque, a huge building constructed with Iranian backing and overseen by Mohammad Asif Mohseni, a leading Shia cleric who has strongly backed the new law. >>> Tom Coghlan in Kabul | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Some Sugar from Obama before Tea Parties
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: AS US taxpayers rush to meet the April 15 deadline to lodge their tax returns, and President Barack Obama talks up the economy, thousands of citizens will hold tea parties throughout the nation to protest the Administration's big-spending economic policies.

Organisers expect there will be at least 600 such events in towns and cities throughout the nation and are forecasting tens of thousands will attend some of the larger ones in major cities such as Chicago.

The tea party theme is a nod to the Boston Tea Party of 1773 when outraged colonists threw tea into the harbour to protest the tax on it imposed by their English overlords. It is regarded as the spark that ignited the American Revolutionary War. >>> Anne Davies Herald Correspondent in Washington | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Critiqué, Tariq Ramadan continue son travail à Rotterdam
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ISLAM | La mairie soutient l'intellectuel genevois, après que des médias néerlandais lui aient prêté des propos homophobes. «Sortis de leur contexte», précise l'intéressé.

Photo: Google Images
La ville de Rotterdam a annoncé mercredi qu'elle poursuivait sa collaboration avec l'intellectuel genevois controversé Tariq Ramadan, conseiller de la mairie depuis 2007. Son poste était remis en question après des propos homophobes qui lui avaient été attribués par les médias néerlandais.

M. Ramadan "a, au sujet de l'homosexualité, un point de vue relativement conservateur", a reconnu Rik Grasshof, conseiller municipal à la Culture, lors d'une conférence de presse à Rotterdam. "Mais il a toujours été dans la même logique", a-t-il ajouté en présence de M. Ramadan, à savoir que "l'homosexualité est difficile à accepter en islam, mais le respect pour la personne prime" sur la religion. 
Voulant étouffer dans l'oeuf toute controverse, le conseil municipal a demandé une traduction assermentée de certains discours de M. Ramadan, reproduits fin mars dans De Gay Krant, un magazine pour homosexuels. >>> ATS/AFP | Mercredi 15 Avril 2009

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Dutch City Rules 'Euro Islam' Proponent Is not Homophobic

Rotterdam has exonerated Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan in an investigation over alleged homophobic and misogynistic statements he made in tapes aimed at immigrants. Holland's second largest city says it will retain him as an adviser to build bridges between its immigrant communities.

Last month, the Gay Krant, a newspaper for the homosexual community in the Netherlands, accused Tariq Ramadan of making homophobic and mysogenistic statements on tapes in Arabic destined for immigrant communities in Europe.

Ramadan, 46, a Swiss philosopher and theologist of Egyptian descent, was hired by the city of Rotterdam two years ago to "help lift the multicultural dialogue to a higher level". He dismissed the Gay Krant's accusations as slander.

The city of Rotterdam has since carried out its own investigation, the results of which were presented on Wednesday. The city had 54 Arabic-language cassette tapes translated and examined. According to council executive Rik Grasshof of the Green party GroenLinks, the Gay Krant's reporting was incomplete en [sic] inaccurate.

As a result, Ramadan's contract with the city will be extended for another two years, during which time he will lead public debates in an effort to bring the various communities in Rotterdam closer together. >>> By Mark Hoogstad | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Geldpolitik: Der Welt droht ein Krieg der Währungen
WELT ONLINE: Die Finanzkrise macht die Zentralbanken erfinderisch. Immer mehr Staaten setzen im Kampf um Wettbewerbsvorteile auf die Abwertung ihres Geldes – auf Kosten der Nachbarn. Ein Blick in die Geschichte zeigt: Wer die billigste Währung hat, kommt besser durch eine Krise und als erster aus ihr heraus.

Am Devisenmarkt sind bereits erste drastische Folgen des Abwertungswettlaufs zu erkennen. Die Währungen jener Staaten, deren Notenbanken eine unkonventionell aggressive Geldpolitik verfolgen, haben sich in den vergangenen Wochen gegenüber dem Euro deutlich verbilligt. Bild dank der Welt
Goh Chok Tong hat die Zeichen der Zeit verstanden. Der Chef von Singapurs Notenbank setzt alles daran, seinen heimischen Dollar zu schwächen. Denn der Stadtstaat steht vor dem schwersten Wirtschaftseinbruch seit seiner Unabhängigkeit vor 44 Jahren und kann jede konjunkturelle Unterstützung gebrauchen.

Weltweit ist die Währungsschlacht eröffnet. Die Finanzkrise macht die Zentralbanken erfinderisch. Mit Devisenmarktinterventionen, billionenschweren Anleihekäufen oder ultrabilligem Geld starten Notenbanken einen Feldzug für die heimische Konjunktur. Immer mehr Staaten setzen im Kampf um Wettbewerbsvorteile auf die Abwertung ihres Geldes. Ein Blick in die Geschichte offenbart: Wer im internationalen Vergleich die billigste Währung hat, kommt besser durch eine Wirtschaftskrise und auch als erster aus ihr heraus. Der Abwertungswettlauf bietet auch Chancen für Anleger. Devisenfonds haben zuletzt prächtig an den Verschiebungen der Wechselkurse verdient. Das beste Produkt liegt in diesem Jahr zweistellig im Plus. >>> Von Holger Zschäpitz | Mittwoch, 15. April 2009

Cuba: Open for Business
THE GUARDIAN: For the last 50 years, Cuba has struggled under a crippling US trade embargo. But this week President Obama eased sanctions on the island. Rory Carroll reports from Havana on what this will mean for ordinary Cubans

Photo: Google Images
They file into terminal 2 of José Martí international airport like any other ­tourists, wheeling and hauling luggage, checking mobile phones for reception, fumb­ling with passports. Navy blue passports, stamped with the image of a bald eagle with outstretched wings. American passports. ­History has yet to call time on half a century of enmity between the United States and Cuba, but these arrivals in jeans and sneakers are not awaiting a formal truce. A once forbidden island, they sense, is on the verge of opening up, and they are here to see it.

The trickle started a few weeks ago. ­Gum-chewing backpackers, middle-aged ­professionals, retirees, all bold enough to defy the US ­prohibition on spending money in Cuba, a de facto travel ban. Cubans half- jokingly call their new American visitors "los valientes", the brave ones, for carving a beachhead. Lenin, in a wry mood, might have called them a ­revolutionary vanguard. A more poetic soul would compare them to the first swallows of spring, harbingers of thaw.

The glacier in which the cold war remnant that is Cuba has been trapped may soon melt. Barack Obama this week lifted a broad set of sanctions that were designed to isolate the island. Cuban Americans, currently restricted on the amount of money then can send home and to one visit every three years, will be allowed to go as often as they wish and to send more money to relatives. Obama has also lifted restrictions on US telecommunications com­panies applying for licences to operate there, and on scheduled commercial flights to the island. Air travel is currently limited to charter flights from Miami, New York and Los Angeles for Cuban Americans with relatives on the island, and those with a special reason to visit, such as journalists.

The changes soften US policy but leave in place the economic embargo that John Kennedy imposed in 1962 - a ban on trade and investment designed to choke Fidel Castro's nascent ­revolutionary government. Over the decades the embargo was tightened and loosened, but the objective remained the same: topple Castro. It failed to do so. Cuba's ­economy staggered on and ­Castro strengthened his grip, but the embargo was maintained. >>> Rory Carroll | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Guardian Audio: The Guardian's Latin America correspondent Rory Carroll explains why Barack Obama has been able to sidestep Florida's powerful Cuban exiles in breaking down barriers between the two nations >>>

Iran Offers New Package to Break Nuclear Weapons Deadlock
THE GUARDIAN: Ahmadinejad speech seen as sign that Tehran is softening its approach to the west

Tehran is preparing new proposals to break the deadlock over its nuclear programme, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said today in a sign of thawing relations with the west.

Avoiding his usual fiery rhetoric, Ahmadinejad said: "Today we are preparing a new package. Once it becomes ready, we will present that package. It is a package that constitutes peace and justice throughout the globe and also respects other nations' rights."

In an apparent reference to recent overtures from President Barack Obama, and a signal from Washington and Europe that they are prepared to make significant concessions to get Iran to restart nuclear negotiations, Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in Kerman, south-eastern Iran, that circumstances had changed.

But the Iranian leader could not resist boasting that Iran's resistance and progress in nuclear technology had forced Washington to back down.

"You know well that today you are suffering from weaknesses. You have no choice. You can't make any progress through bullying policies," he said. "I advise you to change and correct your tone and respect other nations' rights." >>> Mark Tran and agencies | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Iran to Unveil Proposals to Break Nuclear Impasse

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's president said Wednesday he is willing to forget the past and build a new relationship with the U.S., adding that he is preparing a new package of proposals aimed at breaking the impasse with the West over his country's nuclear program.

The remarks by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to thousands in the southeastern city of Kerman took a conciliatory tone not usually heard in his speeches.

"The Iranian nation is a generous nation. It may forget the past and start a new era, but any country speaking on the basis of selfishness will get the same response the Iranian nation gave to Mr. Bush," Mr. Ahmadinejad said.

He spoke a day after the Obama administration said its immediate goal is to get Iran back to the negotiating table. Though the U.S. government declined to publicly discuss possible new strategies for dealing with Tehran on the nuclear issue, one senior official said they could involve allowing Iran to continue enriching uranium at its current level for some time.

That concession was agreed two years ago by the U.S. and five other powers -- Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. But they still want to wrest a commitment from Iran not to increase enrichment while arranging formal negotiations on a permanent nuclear agreement.

Mr. Ahmadinejad said "circumstances have changed" -- an apparent reference to President Barack Obama's election and Iran's own progress in its nuclear program since talks with the world powers last year.

He said Iran welcomes dialogue with the world powers provided that it is based on justice and respect, suggesting the West shouldn't try to force it to halt its uranium enrichment program. >>> Copyright © 2009 Associated Press | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Internet Privacy: Britain in the Dock
THE INDEPENDENT: 'Big Brother' state comes under fire as European Commission launches inquiry into secret surveillance of web users

Image: Google Images
Britain's failure to protect its citizens from secret surveillance on the internet is to be investigated by the European Commission.

The move will fuel claims that Britain is sliding towards a Big Brother state and could end with the Government being forced to defend its policy on internet privacy in front of judges in Europe.

The legal action is being brought over the use of controversial behavioural advertising services which were tested on BT's internet customers without their consent.

Yesterday, the EU said it wanted "clear consent" from internet users that their private data was being used to gather commercial information about their web shopping habits.

Under the programme, the UK-listed company Phorm has developed technology that allows internet service providers (ISPs) to track what their users are doing online. ISPs can then sell that information to media companies and advertisers, who can use it to place more relevant advertisements on websites the user subsequently visits. The EU has accused Britain of turning a blind eye to the growth in this kind of internet marketing.

Yesterday, the EU telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, said: "I call on the UK authorities to change their national laws and ensure that national authorities are duly empowered and have proper sanctions at their disposal to enforce EU legislation." >>> By Nick Clark and Robert Verkaik | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

BBC Rebukes Its Middle East Correspondent Jeremy Bowen for Anti-Israel Comments
Ruling: Jeremy Bowen was today found by an editorial standards committee to have breached the BBC's guidelines on accuracy and impartiality. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
NAME: BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen breached the corporation's guidelines on accuracy and impartiality, an official report found today.

Complaints about two pieces by Bowen - one online and another on Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent - were ruled on by the BBC Trust's editorial standards committee.

Three references in the web article broke BBC rules on accuracy, the committee said.

They were the references to 'Zionism's innate instinct to push out the frontier'; Israel's 'defiance of everyone's interpretation of international law except its own'; and Israeli generals' sense they were dealing with 'unfinished business' left over from the 1948 war of independence.

The Radio 4 broadcast inaccurately claimed the US considered a particular Israeli settlement to be illegal, but had not breached impartiality rules, the report found.

Bowen used the online article, published on the BBC News website on June 4 2007, to put the present-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict in context by explaining the events of the 1967 Six Day War.

But the committee said the subject was very controversial and Bowen, the author of the 2003 book Six Days - How The 1967 War Shaped The Middle East, should have done more to make clear that there were other views on the matter.

Ruling that the article had breached the rules on impartiality, the committee said: 'Readers might come away from the article thinking that the interpretation offered was the only sensible view of the war.

'It was not necessary for equal space to be given to the other arguments, but... the existence of alternative theses should have been more clearly signposted.' >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Human Filth! Human Garbage!
MAIL Online: City bankers are set to pocket huge bonuses again, despite bringing the world economy to the brink of ruin.

Goldman Sachs yesterday promised thousands of staff - 5,500 of them in the UK - a 33 per cent pay boost after it returned to profit.

Other banks are expected to follow suit after benefiting from trillions of pounds in government bailouts.

Last night angry MPs condemned what they said was 'business as usual' for City fat cats. Goldman Sachs was accused of 'taking the mickey' out of taxpayers with such massive bonuses during a global recession.

The Wall Street bank, bailed-out with £6.7billion from the U.S. government only last October, has raised its bonus and pay pool for the first three months of this year by 17 per cent, to £3.1billion. Sachs of Gold: Six Months after Bailout Costing Billions, Greedy Bankers Reward Themselves with a NEW Round of Huge Bonuses >>> By Simon Duke and Olinka Koster | Wednesday, April 5, 2009

God’s Business: Islam in France
Part 1:


Part 2:


NB: There can never be a “European Islam”. To believe that there can be is to buy into a delusion. It is also dangerous to believe that a European Islam can be created. A Muslim’s belief system – Islam – is unifying; it cannot be fractionated. Indeed, Islam defies fractionation. Muslims – all Muslims – belong to the Ummah, or community of Muslims worldwide. The Ummah is ONE. – ©Mark

Survivors Remember Kristallnacht
Hedi (Politzer) Pope:


Johanna (Gerechter) Neumann:


Susan (Strauss) Taube:


Susan (Hilsenrath) Warsinger:


Inge (Berg) Katzenstein and Jill (Gisela Berg) Pauly:


United States Holocaust Memorial Museum >>>

Afghanistan: Taliban richten junges Liebespaar öffentlich hin
WELT ONLINE: Weil sie nicht miteinander verheiratet waren, haben Taliban im Südwesten Afghanistans eine 19-jährige Frau und ihren vier Jahre älteren Freund öffentlich hingerichtet. Ausgerechnet die Eltern des Mädchens lieferten das Paar an die Taliban aus. Erst vorgestern hatten diese eine Frauenrechtlerin ermordet.

Radikalislamische Taliban haben in der südwestafghanischen Provinz Nimros nach offiziellen Angaben ein unverheiratetes Liebespaar öffentlich hingerichtet. Provinzgouverneur Gholam Dastagir Asaad sagte am Dienstag, die 19-jährige Frau und der etwa 23 Jahre alte Mann seien von zu Hause weggelaufen, als ihre Eltern ihnen die Heirat verweigert hätten.

Die Familie der Frau habe die beiden im Distrikt Khosh Rud aufgespürt und an die Taliban ausgeliefert, um über sie zu richten. In ihrem Dorf im Bezirk Chasch Rod hätten drei Mullahs sie dann zur örtlichen Moschee gebracht und mit einer Fatwa, einem islamischen Rechtsgutachten, zum Tode verurteilt, sagte der Gouverneur.
Die Extremisten haben sowohl den Jungen als auch das Mädchen durch Schüsse vor einer Ansammlung von Dorfbewohnern sinnlos getötet“, sagte Asaad. Er bezeichnete die am Vortag vollzogene Hinrichtung als eine Beleidigung für den Islam“. Einige Berichte deuteten darauf hin, dass die Familien des jungen Paares Verbindungen zu den Taliban hätten. Khosh Rud grenzt an Helmand an, die unsicherste Provinz in Afghanistan. >>> dpa/AFP/ks | Dienstag, 14. April 2009

Dhimmitude Alert! Lloyd's of London Eyes Islamic Reinsurance
Educating Islamic Bankers: Dubai International Financial Center plans to set up a board to encourage education in Islamic finance, an industry that is likely to grow by 15 to 20 percent this year despite the financial crisis.

The Executive Director of Islamic finance at the DIFC Nik Thani, speaking at the 2009 Reuters Islamic Banking and Finance Summit in Dubai, says that with large conventional banks increasingly venturing into the Islamic arena, more educational and training resources are needed.

Thani says "this would be the minimum standard and from their we could build up to other things...including degrees in Islamic finance."

Speaker: Nik Thani, Islamic Finance Executive Director Dubai International Financial Center

Presenter: Ruben Ramirez, Dubai
REUTERS: LONDON - Lloyd's of London is setting up an Islamic re-insurance syndicate with a capacity of up to 200 million pounds to write Islamic compliant reinsurance globally, a PriceWaterhouseCoopers executive said on Tuesday.

Mohammad Khan, director for Islamic insurance, or takaful, at PwC, said the Lloyd's syndicate would include mainly financial institutions and to a lesser extent individual investors. It would become operational between the end of 2009 and the beginning of next year.

Financial consultant and accounting firm PwC is advising the financial group on the syndicate, he said at the Reuters Islamic Banking and Finance Summit in London.

Lloyd's of London was not immediately available to comment. >>> By Cecilia Valente | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

American Journalist Roxana Saberi Awaits Fate after Iran Spy Trial
Photo of Roxana Saberi courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: The jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was waiting to learn her fate today after her one-day trial on espionage charges at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.

She was tried on charges of “spying for foreigners... for America,“ Ali Reza Jamshidi, an Iranian government spokesman said, adding that a verdict was expected in two to three weeks. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Ms Saberi, 31, who was arrested in January after buying a bottle of wine and subsequently accused of working without press credentials, was charged last week with spying for the United States. An investigative judge involved in the case alleged that she had passed classified information to American intelligence services.

She “was carrying out spying activities under the guise of being a reporter”, Hassan Haddad, the chief deputy prosecutor said last week. “The evidence is mentioned in her case papers and she has accepted all the charges,” he added.

News of yesterday’s speedy trial came as a setback for American efforts to secure her release. They also dashed hope of rapprochement between the countries, raised by Tehran’s positive response to President Obama’s appeal for direct talks.

Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, expressed her “deep concern” for Ms Saberi’s safety and dismissed the charges against the reporter as baseless. She said it was unclear why the trial was moving at such fast pace, especially given the gravity of the charges.

Her parents visited her briefly today at the notorious Evin prison and said she appeared in reasonable health. “We met Roxana for a few minutes and she is doing well,” Reza Saberi, her father, said. “We are waiting for the judge to make a decision. It should come out in a week. There is always hope but we don’t know what will happen.” >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Zuma the Movie

Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam and Freedom

Tide Turning for Same-sex Marriage
Image by Google Images
BRISBANE TIMES: A CULTURAL shift appears to be under way in the US in favour of same-sex marriages, with two landmark legal decisions this month and eight states set to vote on bills later this year.

Gay campaigners are celebrating a vote in the Vermont legislature last week and an earlier Iowa Supreme Court ruling, bringing to four the number of states where same-sex marriages are legal.

The mood contrasts with the despondency in November when the public in California ended a brief period in which same-sex marriages were allowed and voted for a definition of marriage as being only between a man and woman.

Evan Wolfson, the founder and executive director of the New York-based Freedom to Marry organisation, described the recent events as wonderful and said the public were beginning to see gay people in a different way.

The presidency of George Bush had been marked by social conservatism, often based on the agenda of the Christian right, he said. But the victory of Barack Obama in November had coincided with an apparent rejection of much of that agenda in favour of greater liberalisation.

"Eight years after the most polarising politics of Bush-Rove and orchestrated attacks on gay people, I think what happened in 2008 was the American people said they have had enough of divisiveness," Mr Wolfson said. >>> Agencies | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Pakistani Peace Deal Gives New Clout to Taliban Rebels
Map courtesy of The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: MINGORA, Pakistan -- Thousands of Islamist militants are pouring into Pakistan's Swat Valley and setting up training camps here, quickly making it one of the main bases for Taliban fighters and raising their threat to the government in the wake of a controversial peace deal.

President Asif Ali Zardari effectively ratified the government's deal with the Taliban Monday by signing a bill that imposes Islamic law in Swat, a key plank of the accord, hours after legislators overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging it. Pakistani officials have touted the deal, reached in February, as a way to restore peaceful order in the bloodied region -- which lies just a few hours' drive from the capital -- and halt the Taliban's advance.

Yet a visit to the Taliban-controlled valley here found mounting evidence that the deal already is strengthening the militants as a base for war. U.S. officials contend the pact has given the Taliban and its allies in al Qaeda and other Islamist groups an advantage in their long-running battle against Pakistan's military.

The number of militants in the valley swelled in the months before the deal with the Taliban was struck, and they continue to move in, say Pakistani and U.S. officials. They now estimate there are between 6,000 and 8,000 fighters in Swat, nearly double the number at the end of last year.

Taliban leaders here make no secret of their ultimate aim. "Our objective is to drive out Americans and their lackeys" from Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the group, in an interview here. "They are not Muslims and we have to throw them out."

Militant training camps are springing up across the valley's thickly forested mountainsides. "Young men with no prospect of employment and lack of education facilities are joining the militants," said Abdur Rehman, a schoolteacher in Swat. >>> By Zahid Hussain and Matthew Rosenberg | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Blair Incorporated
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair is the most highly paid speaker on the planet, and his wife is not doing too badly, either.

Mr and Mrs Blair have banked close to £18 million since leaving 10 Downing Street. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
As Tony Blair soaked up the applause of an adoring Filipino audience at the end of his latest paid speaking engagement last month, a startling statistic must surely have popped into his head. In the space of just 30 minutes, Mr Blair had earned £183,000 – the same as his salary as prime minister.

Put another way, he earned £6,000 per minute for addressing a 2,000-strong audience in Manila, making him far and away the highest-paid public speaker on the planet.

And the lectures, where Mr Blair delivers such pearls of wisdom as "politics really matters, but a lot of what goes on is not great", are only a small part of his vast earnings, which could very well net him a staggering £80 million by the time he reaches retirement age in 10 years' time.

Welcome to Blair Incorporated, a money-making machine like no other in the history of former political leaders.

No other retired statesman, not even Mr Blair's old buddy Bill Clinton, has made so much cash so quickly after leaving office.

Between them, Mr Blair and his wife Cherie have banked close to £18 million in the two years since they moved out of Downing Street, with no sign of any let-up in their earning power.

Such is the demand for Mr Blair's services on the international speaking circuit that there is a two-year waiting list for bookings, and Max Markson, the colourful Australian PR man who has worked with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Mr Clinton, described him as "one of the biggest stars in the world".

Mr Blair, 55, is certainly acting the part. He has assembled a global empire with its headquarters in a smart four-storey office in Grosvenor Square and outlying offices in America, Africa and the Middle East. >>> By Gordon Rayner | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Islam and the West
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End to Travel and Money Ban as Barack Obama Opens Up to Cuba
Mr Obama indicated that he was willing to engage with the Communist regime. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: President Obama yesterday loosened the American embargo against Cuba by lifting curbs on family travel and money transfers, as well as allowing US telecommunications companies to operate on the island for the first time in almost half a century.

The announcement, made only days before Mr Obama travels to Trinidad for a Summit of the Americas, represents a significant crack in the hardline policy adopted by Washington since the Communist revolution in Cuba in 1959.

Although the US trade embargo has been left largely intact, the White House indicated that it would consider further measures including the introduction of direct commercial flights if Havana responded by expanding democratic rights.

“President Obama has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country’s future,” Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for the White House said. >>> Tom Baldwin in Washington | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

One Great American Guy: One Great American Hero
Captain Richard Phillips. Photo courtesy of the Daily Express
And the heroes known as The Navy Seals >>>

President Obama's Half-brother Denied Entry to Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: One of President Obama's half-brothers was denied entry to Britain because he had been accused of sexual assault on a previous visit.

Barack Obama with his half-brother Samson. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Samson Obama was travelling from Kenya to his half-brother's presidential inauguration ceremony in January when he tried to enter the country at East Midlands Airport for a short break but he was stopped by immigration officers.

Using biometric tests, they discovered that he was linked to a serious crime in Britain last November, according to the News of the World.

At the time Samson, who runs a mobile phone shop outside Nairobi, was arrested by Thames Valley Police in Berkshire for an alleged attempted sexual assault on a group of teenage girls. He was not charged.

However, his details were stored on the Home Office's new biometric database.

The White House was informed, according to the News of the World.

A Home Office source told the newspaper: "This was obviously an extremely sensitive issue when it was flashed up by the database.

"But the system is designed to flag up people who have come to the attention of the police in the UK and are then trying to return."

He was refused a visa and flew on to the United States on a connecting flight.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We consider all visa applications based on their merits.

"We will oppose the entry of individuals to the UK where we believe their presence is not conducive to the public good. >>> | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Right’s Rage at Overbearing Obama
TIMESONLINE: The torrent of ideas flowing out of the White House is raising hackles across the US

Photo of Barack Hussein Obama courtesy of The Telegraph
A CONSERVATIVE talk show host claims Barack Obama’s policies amount to dousing the American public with petrol and lighting a match. A top adviser to George W Bush calls the vice-president a liar. And a congressman says there are 17 “socialists” in the House of Representatives.

The political invective is turning ugly after the promise of hope and change. Some say it is Obama’s fault for his hyperactivist style of government. Others say it is time the Republicans realised they lost.

The meaning of “Obamaism” – yes, he already has his own “ism” – is being hotly debated. Is it style or substance? The hype about his cool has been overtaken by the realisation on both sides of the divide that Obama meant what he said on the campaign trail about being a transformational president.

In his first three months in office, his administration has put forward a $3.5 trillion budget, produced a rescue plan for banks and bailed out the car industry and is promising a green energy “revolution”, universal healthcare, school reform and an overhaul of immigration.

That’s not counting foreign policy after a week of European summits, dubbed the Obama “apology tour” after he called America “arrogant”, and topped off with a row over whether the president bowed ingratiatingly to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at the G20 meeting in London.

There have been diplomatic overtures to Iran, the announcement of a “surge” in Afghani-stan and a demand for $83 billion in supplementary funding for the two wars, including Iraq, which will no longer be known as the “war on terror” but still upsets the left.

On top of it all, Obama turned salesman last week, urging homeowners to refinance their mortgages at the favourable new low interest rates. >>> Sarah Baxter in Washington | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Vatican Blocks Caroline Kennedy Appointment as US Ambassador
THE TELEGRAPH: The Vatican has blocked the appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador, according to reports.

Caroline Kennedy blocked by the Vatican. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

Mr Obama was reportedly seeking to reward John F Kennedy's daughter, who publicly gave her support to his election bid. She had been poised to replace Hillary Clinton as New York senator, but dropped out amid criticism that she lacked enough experience for the job. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Saturday, April 11, 2009

Muslim to Run BBC’s Religion and Ethics Department
THE TELEGRAPH: I’m sure Mr Ahmed is a good and devout man - but he is not up to the job, argues George Pitcher.

Aaqil Ahmed is apparently telling friends that the BBC job is his for the taking. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
We’ll soon know whether the BBC takes religion seriously, when it appoints a new head of commissioning for its re-structured Religion & Ethics Department. Director-general Mark Thompson, a Roman Catholic, claims that religion is important to him and to the corporation, but it’s difficult to guess in what state of mind he left his meeting with Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth Palace last month. Evidently, Dr Williams had expressed concern that the BBC, our state broadcaster, should not downplay or marginalise Christianity, our state religion.

Mr Thompson is a thoughtful man, so one hopes he took the Archbishop’s admonitions to heart. Or he may have taken the view that no prelate was going to dictate the BBC’s religious policy to him and the silly old fool needed to be taught a lesson.

If his state of mind tended towards the latter, then what better way to achieve that objective than to make sure that a Muslim was appointed, in the name of “diversity”, to the new role? The post may not directly be within his gift, but the director-general could surely pull a few strings.

Aaqil Ahmed, a Muslim and commissioning editor for religion at Channel 4, is apparently telling friends that the BBC job is his for the taking. He is tipped as a favourite, though whether the tipping is coming from him or other people is unclear. The appointment should have been wrapped up by now, but the interviews have been delayed a couple of weeks, such perhaps are the sensitivities attached to this issue. Why Aaqil Ahmed Shouldn't Run the BBC's Religion & Ethics Department >>> George Pitcher | Sunday, April 12, 2009

Warning that Pakistan Is in Danger of Collapse within Months
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: PAKISTAN could collapse within months, one of the more influential counter-insurgency voices in Washington says.

The warning comes as the US scrambles to redeploy its military forces and diplomats in an attempt to stem rising violence and anarchy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We have to face the fact that if Pakistan collapses it will dwarf anything we have seen so far in whatever we're calling the war on terror now," said David Kilcullen, a former Australian Army officer who was a specialist adviser for the Bush administration and is now a consultant to the Obama White House.

"You just can't say that you're not going to worry about al-Qaeda taking control of Pakistan and its nukes," he said. >>> Paul McGeough | Monday, April 13, 2009

Iran Recognized as a Threat to Religious Freedom
MISSION NETWORK NEWS: Iran ― As of January, the U.S. State Department declared eight countries to be seriously violating religious freedoms. According to USA Today, the list includes Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and Sudan.

The list looks similar to the Open Doors World Watch List for 2009, which lists countries where Christianity is most threatened.

This list also includes North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran in its top three for Christian persecutors.

The situation for Iranians is growing particularly disconcerting. The country has strict laws about the fate of those who convert from Islam. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran "has said that he will eliminate Christianity from Iran," says Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs. "That's a promise that he has made, so he's doing everything in his power to act against the church."

Threats to religious freedom include a provisional law passed last year to make a mandatory death penalty law for any male who converts from Islam. Females found guilty of apostasy can look forward to a life sentence in prison.

This is the current fate of two women who were arrested in March for being "anti government activists;" but the highest criminal behavior these women have been engaged in is following after Jesus Christ. They are now being held in a prison known for its poor treatment of women, and they are both very ill. >>> MNN | Monday, April 13, 2009