Britons Face Losing Savings as Dubai Property Market Collapses
THE TELEGRAPH: Britons who invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in unbuilt property during Dubai's boom years face losing the money after a collapse in the market.

Falling property prices and the credit crunch have hit Dubai's financial model hard, with work stopped on hundreds of building sites. Photo credit: The Telegraph
An 800-strong group of investors, from individuals who put deposits on holiday flats to property brokers, says hundreds of millions of pounds is at risk.

Work has slowed or stopped on swathes of building sites, including on a second "Palm Island". The city was planning a series of artificial peninsulas in the shape of palm trees packed with seafront holiday villas, but only one is finished.

Of all the world's property crashes, Dubai's has been among the most spectacular. According to an estimate from Morgan Stanley, projects worth £165 billion have been delayed or cancelled across the United Arab Emirates. Prices in Dubai have fallen by more than 40 per cent since September.

As prices soared, many investors bought off-plan, either because it was cheaper, in the case of small-time buyers looking for a home in the sun, or because they could "flip" or sell on for a quick profit without ever having to pay the full value.

Investors on the end of a chain of "flippers" have been hit particularly hard as prices fell while building was put on hold. But even those who bought from developers now face the dilemma of whether to keep paying or cut their losses. >>> By Richard Spencer in Dubai | Saturday, May 23, 2009

Pakistan : les combats s'intensifient, la crise humanitaire s'aggrave
LE MONDE: L’armée pakistanaise est entrée, samedi 23 mai, dans Mingora, principale ville de la vallée de Swat, dans le nord-ouest du pays, où ils continuaient à affronter les talibans. Selon un porte-parole de l'armée, le général Athar Abbas, les insurgés ont été chassés de plusieurs quartiers, et 17 rebelles, dont un important commandant, ont été tués ces dernières 24 heures dans les combats, près d'un mois après le début de l'offensive.

L'assaut contre Mingora, une ville dont la population était estimée à environ 300 000 personnes avant que la plupart ne fuient les combats, est une étape cruciale pour l'armée et le gouvernement pakistanais. Vendredi, l'armée estimait que 10% seulement de la population se trouvait encore dans la ville.

La prise de Mingora, qui était contrôlée par les talibans depuis plusieurs semaines, est essentielle pour que l'armée pakistanaise puisse se targuer d'avoir remporté la victoire dans la région de Swat. L'armée a assuré avoir tué plus de 1 100 talibans en presque quatre semaines d'offensive et reconnu avoir perdu seulement 58 soldats. Mais ces informations sont impossible à vérifier, la zones des combats étant bouclée par les militaires.

De nombreux témoignages de personnes déplacées font cependant état de bombardements sans discernement de l'armée qui ont fait de nombreuses victimes civiles, les militaires n'ayant engagé les combats au sol que depuis quelques jours. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et Reuters | Samedi 23 Mai 2009

Facebook interdit en Iran
L’EXPRESS.fr: L'utilisation du réseau social Facebook à des fins politiques n'a pas plu aux autorités iraniennes. Le site a été bloqué à quelques semaines de l'élection présidentielle.

Le site Facebook a été interdit d'accès par les autorités iraniennes, à quelques jours de l'élection présidentielle en Iran, a annoncé samedi l'agence de presse Ilna, proche des réformateurs.

"Le site Facebook a été interdit d'accès à quelques jours de l'élection présidentielle (du 12 juin, ndlr). Selon certains internautes, le site a été interdit parce que les partisans du candidat Mir Hossein Moussavi, avaient réussi à utiliser Facebook pour mieux faire connaître les positions du candidat", affirme l'agence. >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr | Samedi 23 2009

Grossbritanniens Angst, normal zu werden: Ein Vereinigtes, aber unfertiges Königreich
NZZ Online: Grossbritannien befindet sich in der grössten Wirtschaftskrise seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Die Nation weiss nicht, ob sie unter der Debakel-Regierung von Labour weiterleben will oder mit den Tory-Konfirmanden. Phlegma half bisher weiter – aber wie lange noch?

Der Kommandant quittiert den Gruss eines königlichen Garderegiments bei der jährlichen Inspektion im Londoner Hyde Park. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
London, im Mai

Als der britische Premierminister von einer Auslandsreise zurückkehrte, antwortete er noch am Flughafen auf die naheliegende Frage der Journalisten: «Krise? Welche Krise?» Es könnte Gordon Brown sein, aber es war James Callaghan, auch von der Labour-Partei. Die Antwort blieb an Callaghan kleben und öffnete 1979 den Weg für die erste weibliche Regierungschefin Europas, die Konservative Margaret Thatcher. Die grosse Insel weiss mit Krisen umzugehen, was seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg und dem Verlust des Imperiums und der Suez-Krise erst recht ihren Stolz ausmacht, so sehr wie ihre Insularität zu Europa. Das Wort «Kontinent» hat hier immer einen Beigeschmack.

Kurioser Staat

Die offizielle Staatsbezeichnung «Vereinigtes Königreich» erinnert etwas an die Sowjetunion, die auch keine geografisch-nationale Identität angab. Zwischen England, Grossbritannien und United Kingdom wird, vorab im Ausland, oft nicht unterschieden. Man glaubt zu meinen, wovon man spricht. Weil das Land seit je keine geschriebene Verfassung kennt, ist jedoch vieles unklar, und alle umstrittenen Einzelfälle hängen von der ungefähren historischen Tradition, der Laune von Richtern oder Zufallsvoten im Parlament ab, das aber seinerseits zu sehr von der Regierung abhängig blieb.

Grossbritannien hat als Monarchie (und trotzdem «älteste Demokratie») nur eine Revolution – kurzlebig und tyrannisch unter Cromwell –, die nichts änderte, überstehen müssen. Trotz einer kontinuierlichen Modernisierung blieb vieles unfertig: die durchgreifende Reform des parlamentarischen Systems, namentlich des Oberhauses, und der Monarchie (Thronfolge, Staatskirche, Privilegien, Landbesitz) sowie die Regionalpolitik mit Schottland, Wales und Nordirland (seit der Lösung des Konflikts unter Blair) als ungleichen autonomen Regionen und mit England, dem Stammland, als Unikum ohne eigenes Regionalparlament. Der Druck zu überfälligen Anpassungen ist da, aber ebenso stark auch der unbewusste mentale Widerstand gegen zu viel Normalität. >>> Ulrich Meister, Korrespondent der NZZ | Samstag, 23. Mai 2009

Islamic Heroin Republic!

Veil Crackdown: Iran 2007

Undercover Fashion in Iran

Islamic Fashion Show

Women’s Fashions: 1795 – 1948

Hideous Islamic ‘Fashion’ – UK Style
Watch Guardian video: Muslim Fashion: 'Anyone Can Wear These Clothes': Riazat Butt meets the designer behind Elenany, a new fashion label for Muslim women that blends modesty and street cred >>>

Fitzgerald: Obama Is Not a Muslim. He's a Naif
JIHAD WATCH: Obama’s policies since he became President have revived suspicions that he is secretly a Muslim. He's not a Muslim. He's a naif. But so are a great many people in Washington. They are like high school kids who, when asked by an inquiring reporter what they intend to be, say with absolute conviction: "An astrophysicist." This despite not having any understanding of what kinds of study that would entail, and most of them are incapable of such study.

The previous Administration ended up squandering money on the sentimental messianism of what metamorphosed into a Light-Unto-the-Muslim-Nations Project, where "freedom" would be brought to "ordinary moms and dads," in Bush's unforgettably comic formulation. “Freedom” was defined as mere head-counting at election time, not as a resulting advanced Western democracy with guarantees for minorities and solicitude for individual rights, and with the Shari'a as the ultimate authority -- the Shari'a that in letter and spirit contradicts the most important principles of advanced Western democracy. >>> Hugh Fitzgerald | Friday, May 22, 2009

MPs' Expenses: Politicians Used to Be Better, Wiser - and Older
THE TELEGRAPH: Only those who have worked outside politics can truly represent the people, says David Young.

It was at my fifth Cabinet meeting that, sitting back and idly glancing around the table, a thought struck me. Of the 21 of us in attendance, 11 had at one time started their own business. In today's House, it is hard to find Members with much outside experience at all, let alone that of working for themselves.

When Gordon Brown introduced Members' outside earnings into his review of expenses, he was continuing the process of discouraging MPs from having other interests. Politics is increasingly described as a full-time occupation, even a profession. Today, the traditional route to the House has become school, university political society, think tank and then Member; this achieves an almost total insulation from the life of their constituents.

The hours of the Commons have changed so that, instead of starting after lunch and sitting into the night, they sit in the day, finishing most days at 7pm. Politics has gone from a vocation to just another occupation. How did this come about and why?

More than 100 years ago, Parliament was a part-time affair, sitting from February to mid- August. The vast majority of Members had outside interests, there were no women and they were unpaid. That seemingly amateurish arrangement sufficed for running the largest empire the world has known.

After the First World War, the widening of suffrage allowed the entry of women and Labour replaced the Liberals. At the time of the post-war Labour government of 1945, Parliament was still part-time. Senior silks who were MPs would finish in the courts at 4pm and go down to the House. Many others were leading lights in the City or industry, in management and the unions. The Commons commanded vast experience, much of it disinterested. >>> By David Young* | Friday, May 22, 2009

*Lord Young was a minister in Margaret Thatcher's government

MPs' Expenses Whistleblower: 'I Wanted to Expose the System to Its Rotten Core'
MAIL Online: The man behind the sale of MPs' expenses claims broke his silence last night to reveal he wanted to expose the system to its 'rotten core'.

John Wick, a former SAS officer, said he was proud of his role as a whistleblower.

He claimed that he acted because campaigners were being frustrated in their attempts to access full details of how taxpayers' money was being spent.

And so much of the information which Parliament was preparing to release this summer was redacted that many of the worse scams and claims would have gone undetected.

Mr Wick – who commanded a British anti-terrorism team during his ten-year military service – is now the head of a corporate intelligence company which specialises in negotiating the release of hostages in foreign war zones.

Suggesting he had been motivated by the growth of the surveillance society, he said: 'We’ve reached a stage where they want to know everything about us – I think we're entitled to know about them.' >>> By Michael Lea | Saturday, May 23, 2009

MPs Expenses: Labour's Khalid Mahmood Spent £2,575 Staying in 'Riot of Gold, Marble and Silk' Hotel with Girlfriend
Hotel living: Khalid Mahmood spent thousands staying in an upmarket hotel in Kensington rather than in a second home. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Labour MP Khalid Mahmood is the latest to be sucked into the expenses scandal.

He stayed at a five-star hotel in London with his girlfriend and charged hundreds of pounds to the taxpayer as his second home allowance.

Mahmood, who is the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, claimed a total of £1,350 for nine nights stay over a four-week period in 2004, when he stayed at The Bentley hotel in Kensington.

He also claimed £1,225 for five nights stay in 2008.

Mahmood used the hotel after separating from partner Nasim Akhtar, with whom he lived in Wembley, though this address was not given on his 2004 claims form.

He checked into the hotel with then girlfriend Elaina Cohen under the fake names Mr Khaled and Eleine Mahmood.

Mahmood denies any wrongdoing. He said of the hotel: 'It was close to the Tube station and it was easy to get to Parliament.' >>> | Saturday, May 23, 2009

Outrage on Curb on White Men Becoming PCs
DAILY EXPRESS: BRITAIN’S second largest police force has been accused of discriminating against white men by setting itself targets to recruit and promote more black and female officers.

West Midlands police chiefs have pledged to increase the proportion of new recruits from “black or minority ethnic” groups to 12 per cent and women to 42 per cent.

Under the new arrangements, agreed yesterday by the local police authority, the targets will grow by two per cent every year until 2012.

The force has been warned it is walking into a potentially illegal and costly minefield of political correctness.

Former West Midlands police superintendent and city councillor John Mellor described the move as a terrible mistake. >>> By Anil Dawar | Saturday, May 23, 2009

Czech Far-right Party Linked to BNP Runs Euro Election TV Ads Demanding 'Final Solution' to Gypsy Problem
Nick Griffin. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A far-right party in the Czech Republic, which has links with the BNP, has caused a storm by calling for a 'final solution to the gipsy [sic] issue'.

The Nazis used the term as a euphemism for the mass slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust.

The National Party in Prague made the call in a TV ad for the European Parliament elections next month.

The camera panned over dishevelled and dirty-looking Roma women and children, before a voice-over said 'we call for final solution to the gipsy issue'.

There were also slogans on screen such as 'Stop black racism', 'No favouring of gipsies' and 'We don't want black racists among us'.

Czech extremists routinely refer to Roma people as blacks. The Czech government has expressed outrage over the broadcast and pledged that it will not be repeated.

BNP leader Nick Griffin spoke last year at a rally of the National Party, which is also anti-immigration and anti-Muslim.

In his speech he railed against the accession of Turkey to the EU, saying that the introduction of millions of Muslims into the EU would 'drive down wages, living standards and increase taxes'. >>> By Allan Hall | Friday, May 22, 2009

A Right Menace: Nick Griffin
THE INDEPENDENT: Fears of a surge in support for the BNP at the European elections have put its leader in the spotlight. And now he's got Buckingham Palace squirming

Whichever way you look at it, the announcement that Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, might attend a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace is a milestone moment in British politics. For it marks another stage in the transformation of Britain's biggest far-right party from a past of street thuggery to the brink of electoral breakthrough. Griffin could next month become the party's first member of the European Parliament.

The real question is whether it has done that by shrugging off its neo-fascist antecedents and entering the extreme right of mainstream politics – or is it being done by the perpetration of long-running confidence trick upon the electorate? The answer to that lies in the one man whose personal writ runs authoritatively throughout the party. So has Nick Griffin really changed?

There can be no doubting the unsavoury background from which Griffin emerges. It is deep rooted in his family history. His parents met while heckling a Communist Party meeting in north London in 1948. Nicholas John Griffin, who was born a decade later, was as a boy reputedly given by his grandfather some of the more anti-Semitic literature of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. While at private school in Suffolk aged 13, he was reading Hitler's Mein Kampf and making notes in the margins. "Adolf went a bit too far," Griffin conceded in 2006.

When Griffin was 15, his father Edgar took his son to his first National Front meeting. When he went up to Cambridge in 1977 to read history and law at Downing College, he founded the university's Young National Front Students group and soon rose through the ranks of the neo-fascist party. Within a year he had become national organiser.

But the National Front fell apart a decade later. Griffin was a key figure in the foundation of one of its successor factions, the International Third Position (ITP), advocating a blood-and-soil alternative to communism and capitalism. In it he praised the black separatist Louis Farrakhan, met David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, travelled to Libya at the expense of Colonel Gaddafi and expressed support for Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini – who also had a strong dislike of Jews, women's rights, homosexuals, liberal democracy, international capitalism, Coca-Cola and McDonald's. >>> | Saturday, May 23, 2009

BNP Chief 'Barred from Royal Party'
PRESS ASSOCIATION: British National Party leader Nick Griffin has been effectively barred from attending a Buckingham Palace garden party.

The right wing politician had been invited to the social event by BNP colleague Richard Barnbrook who, as a London Assembly member, was nominated for two tickets by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

But Jeff Jacobs, the GLA's deputy chief executive, has written to Mr Barnbrook telling him to change his controversial guest and stop exploiting the situation for "publicity", or his nomination would be "reviewed".

In recent days London Mayor Boris Johnson and Darren Johnson, chairman of the London Assembly, have both spoken of their concern about Mr Barnbrook's chosen guest. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Press Association. All rights reserved | Friday, May 22, 2009

British and American Fighters Respond to Jihad Call in Somalia
TIMES ONLINE: Up to a thousand foreign fighters, including Britons, have answered the call to jihad in Somalia and are leading street-fighting Islamist extremists in the war-torn capital Mogadishu, The Times has learnt.

Early yesterday the Western-backed Government launched a counter-offensive after almost a fortnight of attacks by insurgents that have killed at least 200 civilians.

At least 45 people were killed yesterday in battles across the city, the highest daily death toll for months.

The insurgents’ attacks have threatened to topple the shaky Government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed only weeks after the international community pledged £135 million to support him.

Senior security officials in the region say that the foreign fighters are behind the recent success of the extremists. More than 290 fighters from Britain, the US, Canada, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia entered Mogadishu in the past two weeks. >>> Tristan McConnell in Nairobi | Saturday, May 23, 2009

Koran geschändet: Muslime gehen in Athen auf die Strasse
TAGES ANZEIGER: Weil ein Beamter das Gottesbuch missachtet haben soll, zogen heute aufgebrachte Muslime durch die Strassen. Dabei flogen auch Steine gegen die gross aufmarschierte Polizei.

Die Muslime schrieen den Polizisten laut ihre Wut über die Schändung des Gottesbuchs entgegen. Bild dank dem Tages Anzeiger
In Athen haben heute rund tausend Muslime «gegen Rassismus und Islamfeindlichkeit» demonstriert. Bei der Demonstration kam es zu Zusammenstössen. Die Muslime warfen Steine und Latten gegen die Polizisten. Zudem zerstörten sie mehrere Ampeln und Bushaltestellen. Die Polizei setzte Tränengas ein. Zum Protest hatten mehrere Organisationen, Menschenrechts- und Einwanderergruppen aufgerufen.

Am Donnerstag war es bereits zu gewaltsamen Zusammenstössen mit Polizisten gekommen, als rund 1500 Menschen laut Polizei durch das Arbeiterviertel Kypseli zogen und gegen eine angebliche Koranschändung durch einen Polizisten protestierten. >>> oku/sdan | Freitag, 22. Mai 2009

REUTERS: Muslims Protest Alleged Koran Destruction in Greece

ATHENS - Hundreds of Muslims marched through central Athens on Thursday, damaging shops and cars, to protest what they said was the destruction of a Koran by a Greek policeman.

The president of the Muslim Union of Greece, Naim Elghandour, said that during police checks at a Syrian-owned coffee shop on Wednesday, an officer took a customer's Koran, tore it up, threw it on the floor and stomped on it. >>> By Dina Kyriakidou, © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved | Friday, May 22, 2009

Aung San Suu Kyi erklärt sich für nicht schuldig: Auch US-Besucher verteidigt sich im Prozess gegen die Bürgerrechtlerin
Anhänger demonstrieren für Aung San Suu Kyi in Bangkok. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
NZZ Online: Burmas Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Aung San Suu Kyi hat in dem gegen sie laufenden Prozess für nicht schuldig erklärt.

Im Prozess gegen Burmas Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Aung San Suu Kyi hat sich die Angeklagte für nicht schuldig erklärt. «Ich bin nicht schuldig, weil ich keinerlei Straftat begangen habe», sagte sie gemäss ihrem Anwalt im nicht-öffentlichen Prozess.

Dieser wird im Foltergefängnis Insein in Rangun hinter verschlossenen Türen abgehalten. Burmas Militärjunta wirft Suu Kyi vor, während ihres Hausarrestes Besuch von einem US-Amerikaner erhalten zu haben und damit gegen die Arrest-Auflagen verstossen zu haben. >>> sda/dpa/afp | Freitag, 22. Mai 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude! Keep Frying Those Pork Sausages, Hasanali!
BBC: A Muslim chef who accused the Metropolitan Police of religious discrimination when told he must handle pork has lost his tribunal case.

Photo credit: BBC
Hasanali Khoja was told he would be expected to handle pork products at his new job at the Empress State Building in Earls Court, west London.

The 60-year-old from Edgware, north-west London, also said racist gestures were made to him when he complained.

The force was it was [sic] "pleased" at the tribunal's decision. Muslim Chef Loses Tribunal Case >>> | Friday, May 22, 2009

Benoît XVI souhaite que l'Europe «demeure fidèle à ses racines chrétiennes»
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: VATICAN | Le pape Benoît XVI a souhaité que l'Europe "demeure fidèle à ses racines chrétiennes", vendredi, en recevant au Vatican le président bulgare Georgui Parvanov.

Image du site ww.pope2you.net lancé le 21 mai 2009 par le Vatican. Crédits photo : Tribune de Genève
Le pape, qui s'exprimait en français, a souhaité que la Bulgarie "contribue efficacement à construire une Europe qui demeure fidèle à ses racines chrétiennes".

"Les valeurs de solidarité et de justice, de liberté et de paix, aujourd'hui constamment réaffirmées, trouvent en effet encore plus de force et de solidité dans l'enseignement éternel du Christ", a-t-il ajouté. >>> AFP | Vendredi 22 Mai 2009

Pope2You >>>

World Agenda: EU Prepares to Welcome President Tony Blair
Mr Blair has become the top candidate while diplomatically showing little interest in the post. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: One by one, the field of names to become the first president of the EU is slowly clearing, leaving a certain Middle East envoy as favourite for the job.

Should the Irish vote “yes” to the Lisbon treaty at the second time of asking, thus creating the new presidential role, Tony Blair is well placed to benefit. He still enjoys powerful support among the 27 EU leaders and is said by those around him to be interested in a return to European politics as their convener and global representative.

There would appear to be two obstacles: the Irish and Angela Merkel.

Mr Blair has become the top candidate while diplomatically showing little interest in the post. Behind the scenes, however, he has kept in touch with his main sponsors around the EU table: Nicolas Sarkozy, Silvio Berlusconi, Gordon Brown and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, with whom he dines regularly. >>> David Charter, Brussels | Friday, May 22, 2009

China's Accidental Empire Is a Growing Danger
TIMES ONLINE: As the world's newest superpower expands trade and flexes its military muscle, a perilous regional arms race looms

A Victorian historian said that Britain “conquered... half the world in a fit of absence of mind”.

Chinese Communist Party leaders are not normally associated with absentmindedness, but rather with cool, calculated, long-term strategic thinking. Yet China might well now be building a mixture of influence and obligation - the modern version of an empire- in quite a British way, and one that promises to cause increasing tension with its giant neighbour and regional rival, India.

Events in Sri Lanka, as that nation finally brings an end to a quarter-century-long civil war, are the latest example of China's growing overseas reach. The victory of the Sri Lankan Government was assisted by the supply of arms from China, especially fighter jets, as The Times revealed on May 2, while the Chinese are also building a spanking new port on the southern coast of the country, which the Chinese Navy will be able to use for refuelling and repairs.

This is part of a broad move by China into the Indian Ocean, which India has traditionally considered its sphere of influence. Chinese engineers are building another port at Gwadar in Pakistan; roads are being cut or improved through Burma to help trade routes between Yunnan province in China and the Indian Ocean; ties are being improved with island nations such as the Seychelles; surveillance stations are being sited or upgraded on Burmese islands.

During the 1990s, Chinese foreign policy followed a dictum laid down by Deng Xiaoping, the country's wise old leader, in line with an ancient Chinese saying that China should (to paraphrase) “keep its head down, build its strength and hide its claws”.

The old Maoist-era policy of trying to export revolution was dropped. Border disputes with most of China's Asian neighbours were resolved. Aid started to be handed out to poor countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Burma to buy friendship, promote trade and, others would argue, build dependency.

China's long-time policy of supporting Pakistan, as a means of keeping India preoccupied by the confrontation with its old enemy, was maintained, but in a more discreet way. Arms sales and other aid were also provided to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, but China was careful not to make the support too blatant and substantial, for fear of annoying India.

Just as in 19th-century Britain, however, commerce is now producing a new set of complications. Chinese industry's hunger for oil and other natural resources from the Arabian Gulf and from Africa has led to huge increases in trade across the Indian Ocean to China, as well as to big investments by Chinese state-owned companies in mines and oil wells in Africa. >>> By Bill Emmott* | Friday, May 22, 2009

*Bill Emmott is the author of Rivals - How the Power Struggle between China, India and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade, published this month in paperback by Penguin

Iraq War, the Crusades and the Damage to Britain, by David Miliband
David Miliband says the US-led invasion of Iraq has left a feeling of bitterness and resentment towards the West in the Muslim world. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: David Miliband last night offered the most senior Government denouncement so far of the Iraq war.

In a strikingly self-critical speech, the Foreign Secretary admitted the invasion had damaged Britain's standing by leaving a legacy of 'bitterness, distrust and resentment' across the Muslim world.

Although he did not apologise for supporting the invasion of Iraq, he said that for centuries relations between Europe and the Islamic world had been characterised by 'conquest, conflict, and colonialism'.

Speaking to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, he said: 'Decisions taken many years ago in King Charles Street [the Foreign Office] are still felt on the landscape of the Middle East and South Asia.

'Ruined crusader castles remain as poignant monuments to the religious violence of the Middle Ages. Lines drawn on maps by colonial powers were succeeded, amongst other things, by the failure -it has to be said not just ours - to establish two states in Palestine.

'More recently, the invasion of Iraq, and its aftermath, aroused a sense of bitterness, distrust and resentment. When people hear about Britain, too often they think of these things.'

Mr Miliband stressed the importance of the UK seeking out common ground with Islamic countries, and called for 'more political activism and more diplomatic engagement' to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. >>> By Ian Drury | Friday, May 22, 2009

Nadine Dorries: MPs 'at Suicide Risk over McCarthyite Witchhunt'
TIMESONLINE: The campaign to expose MPs' Commons expense claims has become so personal that it has started to resemble a McCarthy-style witchhunt, a Tory backbencher said today.

Nadine Dorries, the member for Mid-Bedfordshire, also warned that the relentless drip-drip of leaked claims was creating such an atmosphere of terror that there was a real risk of an MP committing suicide.

"People are seriously beginning to crack," Ms Dorries told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The last day in Parliament this week was, I would say, completely unbearable.

"I have never been in an atmosphere or environment like it, when people walk around with terror in their eyes and people are genuinely concerned, asking, 'Have you seen so and so? Are they in their office? They've not been seen for days.'

"There's a really serious concern that this has got to a point now which is almost unbearable for any human being to deal with." >>> Philippe Naughton | Friday, May 22, 2009

TIMES ONLINE:
For God’s Sake, Rowan, Stay Out of Politics! Go Back to Preaching the Gospel! There’s Supposed to Be a Strict Separation of Politics and Religion. Have You Forgotten? >>> | Friday, May 22, 2009

UK’s Foreign Baby Boom
Photo: Google Images
DAILY EXPRESS: A MIGRANT baby boom is sending Britain’s population soaring with one in four children now born to foreign mothers.

Of the 708,708 births last year, 170,089 or 24 per cent were to immigrant mothers. It is the highest number of migrant births in the UK since records began.


The increase will worry ministers because it threatens to put even more pressure on public services, with schools and hospitals already struggling to cope.

Sir Andrew Green, of the respected think tank Migrationwatch UK, said: “These ­figures illustrate the massive impact immigration is having, not only on our population but also on our society.


“It’s no wonder our polls show nearly 80 per cent of ­people are concerned about the high level of immigration to the UK and more than 70 per cent want to see a huge cut.


“The number of babies born to immigrant mothers is a clear-cut example of the pressure that massive numbers of immigrants place on our public services.”


Such is the rapid increase in the migrant birth rate that this year it is expected to be the biggest cause of population growth, outstripping immig­ration for the first time. >>> By Sarah O'Grady, Social Affairs Correspondent | Friday, May 22, 2009

BBC: Question Time
Watch BBC programmme >>> | Thursday, May 21, 2009

Tory, Labour and Lib-Dem Treason: All Three Back Turkey’s Entry into the EU
Image courtesy of the BNP
BNP: Conservative Shadow minister Michael Gove has been exposed as the influential guiding hand behind propaganda attempts to get Turkey admitted to the European Union - a move, which if successful, will see Europe utterly swamped by Muslims.

Mr Gove, who is Tory Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and MP for Surrey Heath, is one of a cross party group of patrons of a new magazine called Turkey In Europe launched last week at a reception at the Houses of Parliament.

According to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News, the magazine was “launched on behalf of the patrons of Turkey in Europe who are Michael Gove MP, Dr Denis MacShane MP and Graham Watson MEP.”

Mr Macshane is from the Labour Party and Mr Watson is leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament.

The editor of the new magazine, Osman Streater, said that it “was established to bring international business together and to promote Turkish membership of the European Union,” according to Hurriyet. >>> BNP News | Thursday, May 21, 2009

Arrogant Bastards Are How Arrogant Bastards Talk!
THE TELEGRAPH: Anthony Steen, the Tory MP forced to stand down over his expenses, has suggested people were "jealous" because he lived in a house that resembled Royal residence Balmoral.

Anthony Steen claimed claimed £87,729 over four years for his million-pound country home. Photos courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Steen became the second Tory grandee to announce his retirement at the next election after the disclosure he spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money on his million-pound country home.

The MP, who spent nearly £90,000 on his second home over four years from his MP's expenses claims, insisted his behaviour was "impeccable" and he had merely been "caught on the wrong foot".

"As far as I am concerned and as of this day I don't know what the fuss is about," he told the BBC Radio 4's The World at One.

"We have a wretched Government here which has completely mucked up the system and caused the resignation of me and many others, because it was this Government that introduced the Freedom of Information Act and it is this Government that insisted on the things which caught me on the wrong foot.

"What right does the public have to interfere with my private life? None." MPs' Expenses: Anthony Steen Claims People Just Jealous of His Large House >>> | Thursday, May 21, 2009

Prosecution of Wilders Will Go Ahead
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLWIDE: The Public Prosecutor's Office will now definitely go ahead with the prosecution of the populist MP Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination. The Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal from Mr Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz to get the case dropped. This was the last avenue of appeal.

Initially the Public Prosecutor had no intention of putting Mr Wilders on trial, until an Amsterdam court responded to complaints lodged by prominent lawyer Gerard Spong and others by ruling that Mr Wilders had exceeded his parliamentary privilege and committed punishable offences.

He will be charged with inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims, particularly by comparing the Qur'an with Hitler's Mein Kampf and Islam with fascism.

On the website of his Freedom Party, Mr Wilders said, "It is a political trial. I am being prosecuted for saying about Islam what millions of Dutch people think. Freedom of speech is in danger of being sacrificed on the altar of Islam." Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin commented, "We do not have political trials in the Netherlands." [Source: RNW] | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Cardinal Against FPÖ’s Use of Cross
WIENER ZEITUNG: Schönborn says cross is a ‘symbol of reconciliation’. / FPÖ unimpressed by all-round criticism.

Vienna. Viennese Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn has spoken out for the first time in the ongoing "hate debate” regarding the Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) controversial campaign for the European Parliament (EP) election.

Schönborn yesterday condemned the FPÖ’s use of the cross in their campaign, saying it was a "symbol of reconciliation,” after the right-wing party came under fire for using posters on which they said the Occi- dent needs to be preserved as a bastion of Christianity.

FPÖ leader Strache, who is warning of a growing "Islamisation” (meaning Muslims becoming more and more powerful) in Austria and Europe, refused to apologise for his statements and actions but accused other parties and the Catholic church of being "faint-hearted” and "cowardly”.

In his Ascension Day sermon at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Schönborn warned the cross may not be misused as a "symbol for the fight against other religions or people”.

Strache was criticised for wielding a cross when holding a speech at a demonstration against the extension at an Islamic cultural centre in Vienna last week. He said at the demonstration that someone "needs to protect our Austria from these left-radicals who do not take people’s problems seriously”. Three people were taken into custody and six were taken away injured as left-wing counter-protestors fought with special police forces at the event. >>> By Thomas Hochwarter | From hardcopy, Friday, May 22, 2009

New York Police: Suspects Aimed for 'Jihad' in Synagogue Bomb Plot
HAARETZ: Four men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near two synagogues and plotting to shoot down a military plane were bent on carrying out "jihad," a holy war, against America, authorities said Thursday.

The suspects were arrested Wednesday night, shortly after placing a 17-kilogram device they thought was an explosive in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple and two mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Riverdale Jewish Center, another synagogue a few blocks away, authorities said.

Police blocked their escape with an 18-wheel truck, smashing their tinted SUV windows and apprehending the unarmed suspects.

At a news conference outside the Riverdale Temple in the Bronx, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly quoted one of the men as saying, "If Jews were killed in this attack ... that would be all right." >>> By News Agencies | Thursday, May 21, 2009

USA: Die Guantánamo-Krise des Barack Obama
WELT ONLINE: Im Umgang mit dem Gefangenenlager Guantánamo hat der US-Präsident keine glückliche Hand. Eigentlich will er das Gefängnis schnell schließen. Doch dafür verweigert ihm der Senat das Geld. Zudem zeigt eine Studie des Verteidigungsministeriums, dass viele Guantánamo-Insassen nach ihrer Entlassung rückfällig werden.

Barack Obama will das Gefangenenlager Guantánamo schnell schließen - aber wie? Bild dank der Welt
Gute Nachrichten für Barack Obama sind rar in diesen Tagen. Ein großes Problem ist für den US-Präsidenten das Gefangenenlager Guantánamo auf Kuba. Schon vor Monaten verkündete er, Guantánamo werde bald geschlossen. Doch auf dem Weg zu diesem Ziel jagt ein Hindernis das andere.

Zum Beispiel ist da dieser Bericht aus dem US-Verteidigungsministerium. Es geht um die Rückfallquote der bislang 534 Personen, die aus dem Gefangenenlager entlassen worden sind. 74 von ihnen haben erneut dem Terror verschrieben oder sind militant aktiv – eine Quote von 14 Prozent. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt laut „New York Times“ der bislang unveröffentlichte Report des Verteidigungsministeriums.

Wie die Zeitung unter Berufung auf Regierungskreise berichtete, wird der Bericht mit Rücksicht auf die Pläne von US-Präsident Barack Obama, Guantánamo bis Januar nächsten Jahres zu schließen, zurückgehalten.

Die neuen Zahlen dürften Kritiker des Präsidenten stärken, die vor einer Freilassung weiterer Terrorverdächtiger warnen. Solche Bedenken hat auch der US-Senat: Die Kammer verweigerte Obama am Mittwoch die beantragten Mittel zur Schließung des Gefangenenlagers. >>> dpa/AFP/Reuters/cn | Donnerstag, 21 Mai 2009

Quand la Stasi voulait recruter Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel (3e en partant de la droite), à Prague en 1982, entourée de deux professeurs de physique, la matière qu'elle étudiait à l'université. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: La chancelière, qui a grandi dans l'ex-RDA, a dévoilé comment les services secrets avaient cherché à en faire une espionne lorsqu'elle était étudiante.

Rattrapée par le passé, Angela Merkel vient de lever, pour la première fois, un coin de voile sur sa jeunesse à l'époque de l'ex-RDA. Première femme à avoir été élue au poste de chancelier, mais aussi première chef de gouvernement issue de l'ancienne Allemagne de l'Est, Merkel a ainsi révélé que la Stasi, la police secrète du régime communiste, avait tenté de la recruter lorsqu'elle a sollicité un poste universitaire : elle a précisé avoir décliné l'offre d'emblée.

Interrogée dans le cadre d'une émission sur la chaîne publique ARD, Angela Merkel a raconté avoir été approchée après un entretien d'embauche pour un travail d'assistante de physique - sa spécialité - à l'université technique d'Ilmenau. Au terme de son entretien, on la conduit dans une pièce où elle est censée se faire rembourser ses frais de déplacement, mais un officier de la Stasi l'y attend et lui propose de «collaborer». Fille d'un pasteur protestant, la chancelière raconte avoir préparé une stratégie avec sa famille pour faire face à cette éventualité. «J'ai immédiatement répondu que ce n'était pas pour moi», se souvient Merkel. Elle ajoute qu'elle est incapable de tenir sa langue et qu'elle raconte toujours tout à ses amis. Sachant que le silence est une «condition de base», pour collaborer à la Stasi, elle était ainsi écartée d'emblée.

Mais elle n'obtint pas non plus le poste d'assistante à Ilmenau. Jusqu'en 1978, Merkel a étudié la physique à Leipzig, qui deviendra en 1989 l'un des fiefs de la contestation. Avant d'obtenir son doctorat à l'Académie des sciences de Berlin-Est en 1986. «J'ai choisi de devenir chercheuse dans un domaine où je n'aurais pas à faire trop de compromis, explique-t-elle. J'ai opté pour la physique parce que dans ce domaine la vérité n'est pas si simple à déformer.» >>> De correspondant du Figaro à Berlin, Patrick Saint-Paul | Mercredi 20 Mai 2009

Ägypten: Millionär soll wegen Mordes hingerichtet werden
Suzanne Tamim war in der arabischen Welt ein Star. Bild dank der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG (FAZ): Ein ägyptischer Millionär ist am Donnerstag für den Mord an der libanesischen Pop-Sängerin Suzan Tamim zum Tode verurteilt worden. Ein Gericht in Kairo hielt den einflussreichen Unternehmer und Politiker für schuldig, den Mord an seiner ehemaligen Geliebten in Auftrag gegeben zu haben. Die bildhübsche Sängerin Tamim war Ende Juli vergangenen Jahres, mit mehreren Messerstichen ermordet, in ihrer Wohnung in Dubai gefunden worden.

Der Großindustrielle Hisham Talaat Mustafa, der auch Mitglied des Schura-Rates, des Oberhauses des ägyptischen Parlaments, ist, war im September verhaftet worden. Er soll nun gehängt werden. Das Gericht sprach ihn schuldig, einen seiner Bodyguards mit dem Mord beauftragt zu haben. Auch dieser Mann, ein pensionierter Polizist, wurde zum Tode verurteilt. >>> dpa | Donnerstag, 21. Mai 2009

Spesenskandal und Finanzkrise: Der Niedergang der politischen Kultur Englands
WELT ONLINE: Beide großen Krisen der Gegenwart, die des wirtschaftlichen und des politischen Systems, berühren sich in Großbritannien auf geradezu unheimliche Weise, indem in beiden Fällen erschütternde Mängel an Führung und Urteilsvermögen zutage treten. Wer kann das Westminster-Modell aus dem Tiefpunkt seines Ansehens herausführen?

In Bedrängnis: Premierminister Gordon Brown. Bild dank der Welt
Es ist ein merkwürdiges Ding mit der Demokratie, von der Churchill sagte, sie sei die schlechteste Regierungsform – mit Ausnahme aller übrigen. Der britischen Öffentlichkeit freilich ist gegenwärtig nicht zu solchen Bonmots zumute. Sie durchlebt eine tief greifende Krise des Vertrauens in ihre Mandatsträger, und das Wort „Parlament“ ruft in ihnen nur noch Zynismus wach.

„Herrschaft des Volkes durch das Volk und für das Volk“ – so pflegen wir mit Abraham Lincolns Worten in Gettysburg die Demokratie zu definieren. Ihre britische Variante klingt heute eher nach Herrschaft der Ansprüche durch das Selbst und für das Selbst. Einschließlich von Erstattungsansprüchen für Garten, Wohnkomfort, Badewannenstöpsel und die Wertsteigerung des eigenen Hauses. Westminster-Demokratie, Mutter aller Parlamente – Mutter allen Niedergangs? >>> Von Thomas Kielinger | Donnerstag, 21. Mai 2009

Johnson Intervenes to Block BNP Leader from Attending Queen's Garden Party
The toff of toffs: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the Mayor of London. Photo: Google Images
THE GUARDIAN: Mayor urges London assembly to rescind invitation to far-right colleague of Nick Griffin to spare monarch embarrassment

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, today intervened to prevent the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, from attending a garden party hosted by the Queen.

Johnson wrote to the London assembly chair, Darren Johnson, urging him to rescind the BNP assembly member Richard Barnbrook's invitation to the Buckingham Palace event in June.

The mayor accused the far-right party of trying to turn the garden party in to a "political stunt".

Johnson's intervention came after it emerged that Barnbrook said he intended to take Griffin to the party as his guest.

Speaking at a routine assembly session with the mayor, the assembly chair said members were "extremely concerned" that the BNP was seeking to turn a social event into a political stunt.

He confirmed he would take the matter to the chief executive to request that Barnbrook's invitation be withdrawn unless he had a "more acceptable guest" to take along. >>> Hélène Mulholland, Matthew Taylor and Rachel Williams | Thursday, May 21, 2009

Muslim Mother Who Sent Her School Age Daughters to Pakistan to Marry Their Cousins Is Jailed for 3 Years
Judge Clement Goldstone QC told the mother, 'You have absolutely no idea of the enormity of what you have done'. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: A devout Muslim mother of five has become one of the first mums in Britain to be jailed after forcing her two teenage daughters to marry their cousins.

The woman, 39, flew her two girls aged 14 and 15 to Pakistan on the pretext of a family holiday only for them to discover a joint wedding had secretly been arranged for them with two suitors.

The grooms-to-be then tied the knot with the two terrified sisters in a joint ceremony as their mother looked on before the girls were forced to become their new husbands' sex slaves.

During the girls' ordeal their mother from Manchester told her eldest daughter that unless she consumated the marriage, she would 'tie her to the bed, blindfold her and strip her' and watch to make sure she had sex with her new husband.

Two weeks after arriving in Pakistan in June 2007, the mother finalised arrangements for a wedding for the younger of the two daughters to a first cousin.

Two weeks after, both daughters were married in a joint ceremony.

Manchester Crown Court heard the mother was arrested after their daughters told their teachers what happened in February 2008 following their return to the UK.

They were immediately taken into care. >>> By Daily Mail Reporter | Thursday, May 21, 2009

MPs' Expenses: We, the People, Are in Revolt
THE TELEGRAPH: Voters have been treated like peasants by our so-called betters for long enough, as the MPs' expenses scandal illustrates. Now it is time for a change, argues Robert Colvile.

Spirit of revolution: the fires are not yet burning, but the public is indeed angry. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
When Sir Peter Viggers next encounters the citizens of Gosport, there are bound to be a few colourful suggestions made about what precisely he can do with the 28 tons of manure included in his expense claims. But even if he tries to argue that the purchase of the fertiliser – or, indeed, of a £1,600 floating habitat for his ducks – was “wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred” in the performance of his Parliamentary duties, the electors will almost certainly be in no mood to listen.

Across the country, the public is out for blood. The opinion polls, the thousands of letters sent to this newspaper, the savaging of politicians on Question Time, a simple sampling of saloon-bar conversation: all reveal the strength of feeling. Macaulay might have claimed that there is “no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality” – but that was before the politicians’ fit of venality, before the reputation of Parliament collapsed under the weight of duck islands, patio heaters and tins of dog food.

Yet, outraged as the public are, it is still possible – if not, as MPs must be hoping, probable – that this passion will subside. Yes, there will be a “kick the bums out” movement at the next election, with a few bad apples forced out by their parties or constituency associations, and a few independent anti-sleaze campaigners entering the House of Commons.

There will be new rules for MPs’ behaviour, perhaps even those proposed this week by Gordon Brown; there will be an election for Speaker, in which the candidates compete to sell themselves as the toughest of the tough and cleanest of the clean. But in a few years’ time things will be back to normal: the public will lose interest in politicians’ behaviour, and it will be noses back into a (markedly smaller) trough.

There is, however, an alternative argument – that the disgust over MPs’ behaviour is part of a wider refusal to be taken for a ride any longer.

What enrages us about this scandal is not so much that Douglas Hogg had his moat cleaned, as that he used our money – that the MPs’ ginger biscuits and packets of Maltesers and mock-Tudor beams were bought at the taxpayer’s expense. Especially galling is that although the claims were mostly made in the boom years, they have been revealed in a recession, just as we are all being urged to tighten our own belts and prepare for higher taxes and lower public spending. >>> By Robert Colvile | Thursday, May 21, 2009

Very Honourable Indeed, M’Lords!
THE TELEGRAPH: Two Labour peers have been suspended from the House of Lords after they were found guilty of offering to change the law in return for money.

The Lords Committee for Privileges found the pair had broken rules . Photos courtesy of The Telegraph
Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor of Blackburn were unanimously found to have breached the Upper House's code of conduct which requires members to "always act on their personal honour". It is the first time in 350 years that peers have been banned in this way.

Four peers were caught speaking to undercover journalists posing as lobbyists and appeared willing to amend a Bill in return for cash.

The other peers implicated in the affair, Lord Moonie and Lord Snape, were cleared of wrongdoing but ordered to apologise to the Lords.

Lord Brabazon of Tara, Chairman of Committees, said: "This episode has done serious damage to the reputation of the House. We all have responsibility individually and collectively to uphold that reputation.

"That is why personal honour remains the cornerstone of the House's code of conduct. Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor of Blackburn Suspended from the House of Lords >>> By Andrew Porter Political Editor | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS:
MPs’ Expenses: 20 Most Bizarre Claims >>>

Canadian Facing Beheading Pleads with Harper
GLOBE AND MAIL: MONTREAL — A Canadian man facing beheading in Saudi Arabia wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper detailing that he was tortured into confessing to a murder he says he did not commit.

In the one-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press, Mohamed Kohail implores Harper to use “every way possible to get me out of this situation.”

The letter, handed over to Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai when the latter visited him in a Jidda prison last December, discusses his deteriorating health and his two-year plight in jail.

“Mr. Harper, I have been in jail for two years now,” Mr. Kohail wrote. “I am imprisoned with hundreds (of) high-profile criminals in Saudi Arabia for a crime that I did not commit.”

Mr. Kohail, 24, and a Jordanian friend were convicted of murder after Munzer Al-Hiraki was killed in a January 2007 after-school brawl in Jidda which apparently started when Mr. Kohail's younger brother, Sultan, was accused of insulting a girl.

The brothers have repeatedly said they were acting in self-defence and were not involved in inflicting the fatal wounds during the fight, which involved dozens of teen boys

Mohamed Kohail was convicted of murder last year and ordered beheaded while Sultan, 18, was initially sentenced as an accessory to a year in jail and 200 lashes. The victim's family then appealed, resulting in a probable new trial for Sultan.

Both brothers and their friend have claimed their innocence and say the Saudi judicial system has not afforded them a fair trial.

“I want to come back to Canada to finish my degree — me and the rest of the family — and continue my life as a good citizen.” a desperate Mr. Kohail writes.

“I've lost my hair, two years of my life and see death coming to me closer every day,” he adds.

Mr. Kohail said he was only informed that Mr. Hiraki had died after he had signed the confession. That same confession was then used against him in the court proceedings.

“I was tortured to sign a confession,” Mr. Kohail said. >>> Sidhartha Banerjee | Tuesday, May 19, 2009

US State Rejects Gay Marriage Law
Gay banner courtesy of Google Images.
BBC: Lawmakers in New Hampshire have rejected a bill that would have granted marriage rights to gay couples.

The state's Senate passed the bill, but the House of Representatives voted it down by 188 votes to 186.

The chamber had approved an earlier version of the bill, but blocked the new version, which included legal protections for religious groups.

The state's governor, John Lynch, threatened to veto the bill if it did not include religious exemptions. >>> | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Balkenende: Europe Should Adopt Dutch “Polder Model”: Consensus system "sorely needed"
Jan Peter Balkenende. Photo courtesy of Radio Netherlands Worldwide
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: In an exclusive interview with the English Department of Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced on Wednesday evening that he will suggest that other European countries adopt the Dutch "polder model" of government.

He will make the proposal during the European Union summit to be held in Brussels on 18 and 19 June.



Mr Balkenende believes that Europe sorely needs a system similar to the Dutch one, whereby employers, trade unions and governmental authorities meet and negotiate until they arrive at a consensus agreeable to all parties.



The Prime Minister says that this type of system is needed now more than ever since millions of workers in Europe risk losing their jobs and many companies are suffering record losses. 



It is extremely important that employers, workers and local and national governments are able to reach agreement on salaries, job protection, training schemes and taxation.



The Dutch Prime Minister and German Chancellor Angela Merkel support the introduction of a so-called "Rhine-Delta model" for Europe, which is extremely similar to the Dutch model. >>> By Herman Van Gelderen | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Battle Between Pro-Secular and Islamic Government Continues in Turkey
VOA: In Turkey the deep divisions between supporters of the secular state and the Islamic-rooted government have reopened again following the death of a well-known secular campaigner. The Tuesday funeral of Turkan Saylan, the founder of a pro-secular association committed to sending girls to school, turned into a rally against the government and in support of the secular state. Turkan Saylan, shortly before her death, became the target of an ongoing probe into an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government.

Saylan personified Turkish secular state

"Turkey will always be secular," tens of thousands of people chanted as they followed the coffin of professor Turkan Saylan who died of breast cancer on Monday. The 74-year-old human rights activist in many ways personified the Turkish secular state. 



Born in Istanbul, in the early years of the Turkish republic, she rose to become a world authority in leprosy and was in the forefront of eradicating the disease in Turkey. But it was her non-stop campaigning for the education of girls, many of them from very poor families, through her Contemporary Life Association, which secured her place in the hearts of thousands of people in Turkey.



"She touched some people lives, she made it so much more beautiful, she gave some many opportunities to children, to students with economic difficulties. She gave them a chance to choose," said a woman. "This is why I am here, this why so many tens of thousands of people are here, because we want to show Saylan we appreciated her, we love her and despite all the work she has done she was treated as a guilty person by the state, and we do not approve of that." >>> By Dorian Jones, Istanbul | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

BNP Leader Nick Griffin to Attend Queen's Garden Party
Nick Griffin will be the guest of Richard Barnbrook, a BNP London Assembly member. All Assembly members have been invited. Photo credit: TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: The leader of the far-right British National party is to attend a garden party hosted by the Queen, it was claimed today.

Nick Griffin will accompany Richard Barnbrook, a BNP member of the London Assembly, as his guest at the event on July 21, Mr Barnbrook said.

A BNP spokesman said: “Richard Barnbrook has got an official invite in his capacity as a member of the London Assembly and he is allowed to bring a guest, which will be Nick Griffin.

“For him to snub an invite from the Queen would be absurd.

“It is something people are going to have to get used to because if we get elected MEPs, this is the kind of thing we are going to be doing on a regular basis.

“It is the emergence of a party from beyond the pale to mainstream.” >>> Fiona Hamilton | Wednesday, May 20, 2009