Alan Duncan Faces Expenses Challenge from Terry Waite at Election
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, the Tory front bencher who complained that MPs were forced to live on “rations,” faces an election challenge from anti-sleaze campaigners Terry Waite and Martin Bell.

Alan Duncan. Photo: The Telegraph
The former Beirut hostage and “the man in the white suit” have formed a political movement aimed at bringing down a number of MPs whose questionable expenses claims were disclosed by The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Bell, an ex-BBC journalist who became known for his sartorial taste after successfully challenging the Neil Hamilton, the Conservative MP at the centre of the “cash for questions” scandal, at the 1997 election, confirmed that Mr Duncan was in their sights.

Last week, the millionaire MP was forced to apologise after secret footage emerged of him complaining that MPs were treated like “****” and had been reduced to living on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

It seems that the somewhat stricter regime introduced following the expenses furore has not inhibited Mr Duncan’s lifestyle too significantly, however. He is currently said to be mid-way through a two week holiday in a luxury resort on the Indonesian island of Bali with his civil partner, James Dunseath, a press officer in the City.

The couple are thought to have flown business class with Singapore Airlines at a cost of around £3,000 each.

Mr Duncan, the shadow leader of the House who has represented the Leicestershire constituency of Rutland and Melton since 1992, is the main target of the “honest politics” alliance forged by Mr Bell and Mr Waite.

The ex-journalist said that up to 30 anti-sleaze candidates would be standing at the general election, with a shared cause of bringing "honesty" to the House of Commons.

“The common platform would be a return to honest politics,” he said. “That’s the thing that would unite everybody. Rutland and Melton has become vulnerable.” >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Related:
Alan Duncan: MPs Are Treated Like '****' and Have to Survive on Rations >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

MPs' Expenses: Alan Duncan Claimed £63,000 in Mortgage 'Flip' >>> Holly Watt | Friday, July 04, 2009

My big fat gay Tory wedding >>> Isabel Oakeshott | Sunday, March 09. 2009

Why Angela Merkel Is a Winner with the Germans
THE TELEGRAPH: Despite the recession and claims that she is "boring", the German Chancellor is on her way to a second term, report David Wroe in Berlin and Colin Freeman.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is on her way to a second term. Photo: The Telegraph
The unfashionable bowl haircut has been shaped into an elegant bob, and the frumpy hausfrau dresses replaced with smart designer outfits. For someone who started out in office wearing less make-up than Tony Blair, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has certainly yielded to the image consultants over the years.

Yet in a political scene dominated by men, Germany’s first-ever woman leader has long made it clear that she prefers to be judged not on her looks or personality, but on her policies. So when a series of election posters appeared last week, showing her in a revealing low cut dress, the response from her office was as predictable as it was icy. The pictures, put up by a well-intended parliamentary candidate for Ms Merkel’s own party, were “not authorised”, said a spokesman - despite them enlivening a lacklustre campaign.

One item on the offending posters, however, might well have won Ms Merkel’s endorsement - the printed strapline across her bosom, declaring “We have more to offer”. After four years in office, the woman dubbed the Teutonic Margaret Thatcher is enjoying popularity ratings that are the envy of other European leaders - and is almost certain to secure a second term in next month’s elections.

The August break has not been the happiest of holidays for the rest of Europe’s largely male leadership. Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi is mired in sleaze allegations, France’s hyperactive Nicolas Sarkozy has suffered heart problems, and Gordon Brown barely has the confidence of his own party. Ms Merkel, 54, however, felt confident enough to take off on an extended mountain biking holiday in the middle of her election campaign, and when she returned from the Italian Tyrol last week, it was mainly to good news. >>> | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Related:
Deutschland: Dekolleté-Plakat sorgt für Ärger >>> Red. | Dienstag, 11. August 2009

Hausfrau Appeal >>> | Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Merkel Tops Forbes List of Powerful Women >>> Associated Press | Thursday, August 28, 2008

Angela Merkel as You’ve Never Seen Her Before! >>> | Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Why Must We Bow to the Intolerant Ways of Islam?
THE TELEGRAPH: Jim Fitzpatrick MP and his wife were quite right to leave a wedding because it was segregated by sex, says Alasdair Palmer.

When Jim Fitzpatrick MP and his wife decided to leave a Muslim wedding party after they discovered it was segregated by sex, he did not anticipate the controversy his decision would generate. "It reflects badly on him," said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the former head of the Muslim Council of Britain. "It shows a lack of interest… to engage with people of different backgrounds." Tim Archer, the Tory who is standing against the minister of state at the next election, commented that "Fitzpatrick is playing a certain race card to save his skin at the next election".

All this because Mr Fitzpatrick did not want to imply that he endorsed sexual segregation by remaining at the party. Yet what can possibly be wrong with an MP, or anyone else, withdrawing from a celebration whose organisation suggests that women are not equal to men?

Some people claim that segregating the sexes is a matter of personal choice, like choosing between flavours of ice-cream. It has no implications in terms of your view of the equality of the sexes, any more than wearing the niqab or the hijab – the Islamic garments that cover women from head to toe – implies that you think women are inferior.

The Muslims who feel most strongly about sexual segregation, or about the importance of ensuring that women dress "modestly", see those customs as ordered by God. They are profoundly offended by the idea that they reflect merely human choices. That is why there is a vocal strain of Islam in Britain that insists that Muslims should be governed, not by British law, but by sharia.

Islamic law does not, of course, accept that men and women have equal rights. Sharia courts in Britain have already judged that a man may have up to four wives at any one time; that a wife has no property rights in the event of divorce; that a woman may not leave her home without her husband's consent; and that a woman cannot marry without the presence and permission of a male guardian. >>> Alasdair Palmer | Saturday, August 15, 2009

Related:
Jim Fitzpatrick, Government Minister, Condemns Traditional Muslim Wedding >>> Martin Beckford and Stephen Adams | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Gaza: Mehr als 20 Tote bei Kämpfen unter Islamisten
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Bei Kämpfen zwischen Sicherheitskräften der Hamas und einer radikalen islamistischen Gruppe, die Al Qaida nahestehen soll, sind am Wochenende im Süden des Gazastreifens 24 Person ums Leben gekommen und mehr als hundert verletzt worden. Neben sechs Polizisten und einem kleinen Mädchen starb nach Angaben des Innenministeriums in Gaza auch Abdel-Latif Moussa, der Anführer der Gruppe „Dschund Ansar Allah“ (Armee der Helfer Gottes).

Er habe am Samstagmorgen Selbstmord begangen, indem er einen Sprengstoffgürtel zündete, hieß es. Dabei sei auch ein ranghoher Hamas-Funktionär umgekommen: Abu Dschibril Schimali, der angeblich die Entführung des israelischen Soldaten Gilad Schalit organisiert hatte, war als Vermittler zu dem Prediger geschickt worden. >>> Von Hans-Christian Rößler, Jerusalem | Sonntag, 16. August 2009

Israël: Meurtre sauvage et gratuit à Tel-Aviv
LE POINT: Israël était sous le choc dimanche au lendemain du meurtre barbare d'un père de famille qui voulait protéger son épouse et sa fille contre une bande de jeunes en état d'ébriété dans un quartier huppé de Tel-Aviv. L'affaire faisait la une de tous les médias israéliens, certains évoquant la violence gratuite d' Orange mécanique , le film culte de Stanley Kubrick. Ces deux dernières semaines, dix personnes ont été assassinées en Israël dans des conditions particulièrement horribles, les corps de plusieurs victimes ayant été mutilés ou jetés à la poubelle et incendiés. La police israélienne a recensé 204 meurtres au cours de l'année écoulée. >>> AFP | Dimanche 16 Août 2009

Ahmadinejad to Nominate Three Women for Cabinet Jobs
THE GUARDIAN: Iranian president's move could result in country's first female ministers for more than 30 years

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said today he would nominate three women to join his new cabinet.

The nominations could lead to the appointment of the first female ministers in Iran for more than 30 years.

They appear to be an attempt by Ahmadinejad to win the support of Iranian women as he fends off opposition claims that his re-election to the presidency in June was fraudulent.

However, the appointments seem unlikely to appease reformists because two of the three women are fellow hardliners.

Speaking on state television, Ahmadinejad said he would nominate Marzieh Vahid Dastgerdi, a 50-year-old gynaecologist, as health minister and Fatemeh Ajorlu, a 43-year-old MP, as minister of welfare and social security.

He did not name the third woman, but said he would nominate at least one more female minister to his cabinet. >>> Associated Press | Sunday, August 16, 2009

John Yettaw, American Jailed in Burma, Released to US Officials
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The American man jailed in Yangon for swimming to the house of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has flown out of Burma after being released to US officials earlier today.

Authorities in Burma handed over jailed American citizen John Yettaw to US embassy officials earlier today, ahead of his departure from the country with US senator Jim Webb.

The US embassy said Mr Yettaw is now headed to Bangkok, Thailand, on a military plane with Senator Webb.

The senator secured his release on Saturday with a plea to Myanmar's ruling junta.

Mr Webb thanked the government for the release of Mr Yettaw at a brief news conference just prior to their departure this morning. Mr Yettaw was sentenced last week to seven years at hard labour for breaking the terms of Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest in early May.

Senator Webb met Myanmar’s top military leader Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, and announced the release of the American who was jailed for visiting the Nobel peace laureate.

Mr Webb, a Democrat who is chairman of a Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, is the first member of Congress to travel in an official capacity to Myanmar in more than a decade and is also believed to be the first senior American official ever to meet Than Shwe. >>> | Sunday, August 16, 2009

One Mother's Heartbreaking 9/11 Story
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Elizabeth Turner was pregnant with her son when she lost her husband in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre

I woke up on my own on Tuesday September 11, 2001. It was a beautiful autumn day with a bright blue sky, sunshine and a riot of colours that cascaded over the road. I looked at my tummy. It felt huge and I gently rubbed it. I felt very peaceful and happy with my place in the world.

Seven months pregnant, I would have preferred to spend the day in bed, but I had to get to work at Channel 4 Television where I was the senior human resources manager. I had a month to go before maternity leave.

I rolled over and grabbed my mobile from the bedside table. My husband, Simon, was in New York on a business trip and I liked to know that his plane had landed safely. I listened to the message. Of course he was okay. He was always okay.

On my way to work I could smell the beginning of autumn in the air and the blue of the sky was spectacular. It hinted of wonderful things. I suddenly felt a “what a fabulous life this is” moment. I was pregnant, I loved my husband deeply and everything was perfect.

At midday, just as I was collecting my things to go for lunch, Simon rang. He had showered and was ready to leave for a conference. It was in the Windows on the World restaurant at the World Trade Center.

My mind was on other things: “I need to talk to you about the Mamas & Papas buggy we want. I phoned John Lewis and it’s not in stock and I’ve looked on the internet and I can’t find anywhere that sells it ...”

Even I could sense my irrational panic. Simon calmed me down. Simon always calmed me down. I trusted him to take care of me.

This was no mean feat for any man, as I had a scary independent streak that made me feel I had to face the world on my own all the time. We chatted some more. I loved the feeling I had when I connected with him.

At about 1.45pm I walked into my office after lunch and saw on Sky News that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I couldn’t take it in. I saw my TV screen, the image of the twin towers with smoke billowing out of one of them and the “breaking news” tag line. I tried to absorb what it was telling me.

Quickly my logical mind jumped in and told me all the statistics, facts, figures, numbers and calculations that prove bad things are rare. I knew Simon was in the twin towers, but I reminded myself that I lived a normal life, I was pregnant and everything would be fine. We were about to have our first child and fathers don’t die just before a baby is born.

Jane Jordan, a human resources colleague, walked in. “This is unbelievable!” >>> © Elizabeth Turner | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Extracted from The Blue Skies of Autumn by Elizabeth Turner to be published by Simon & Schuster on August 20 at £9.99. Copies can be ordered for £8.99, including postage, from The Sunday Times BooksFirst on 0845 271 2135

Fadela Amara: "La majorité des musulmans sont contre la burqa"
L’EXPRESS.fr: Dans un entretien au Financial Times, la secrétaire d'Etat à la Ville s'en prend au voile intégral, reflet de "la manipulation politique d'une religion".

La secrétaire d'Etat à la Ville Fadela Amara estime que l'interdiction de la burqa en France permettrait d'enrayer le cancer que constitue, à ses yeux, l'islam radical.

Dans le quotidien britannique Financial Times, daté de samedi, elle assure que "la vaste majorité des musulmans sont contre la burqa", vêtement couvrant l'ensemble du corps et le visage.

"La gangrène de l'islam radical"

"La burqa ne représente pas simplement un morceau de tissu mais la manipulation politique d'une religion qui réduit les femmes à l'esclavage et va à l'encontre du principe d'égalité entre les hommes et les femmes", déclare-t-elle.

La France, havre d'un islam progressiste, se doit de "combattre la gangrène, le cancer que représente l'islam radical qui déforme complètement le message de l'islam", ajoute Fadela Amara.

Le débat sur le voile intégral a repris récemment en France à l'initiative d'un député communiste, qui a obtenu la création d'une mission parlementaire sur le sujet.

En juin dernier, Nicolas Sarkozy avait déclaré que le voile intégral n'était "pas le bienvenu sur le territoire de la République".

Selon une estimation des services de renseignement récemment évoquée par le quotidien Le Monde, seules 367 femmes porteraient la burqa dans le pays, dont nombre de Françaises converties à l'islam, dans une "démarche provocatrice." [Source: L’Express.fr] Par LEXPRESS.fr avec Reuters | Samedi 15 Août 2009

Americans Fall Out of Love with Obama
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The uproar over healthcare reforms is a symptom of how Americans are falling out of love with the new president

Arriving in Montana to join battle with his critics on Friday, President Barack Obama stepped from Air Force One, stripped off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Little more than six months after he swept into office with some of the highest approval ratings recorded, he is fighting to save his historic presidency from turning into a one-term wonder.

Obama was ready for a vigorous defence of the healthcare reforms that have spawned verbal fisticuffs at public meetings across the country. In the event, the Montana meeting unfolded with a subdued politeness that left some White House aides wishing it had been a little more feisty, so their champion could have shown off his sparring skills.

Yet for all the heat that has recently been generated by the healthcare debate, amid wild accusations about euthanising granny and manipulating mobs, it became clear last week that medicine is far from the president’s only problem, and there may be no early cure for the economic ills that are crippling his promises of change and hope.

Speaking in an aircraft hangar moments after a hailstorm had passed over Bel-grade, Montana, the 48-year-old president attempted to calm the confrontational climate that has soured debate about his attempts to overhaul an expensive and inefficient US healthcare establishment.

Sticking to time-honoured presidential tradition, he blamed the media for getting his message wrong, and for focusing on a minority of angry protesters. “TV loves a ruckus,” he added. “What you haven’t seen on TV . . . are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country.”

Yet in one sense that ruckus has spared the White House closer scrutiny of a stuttering economy that may yet prove Obama’s ruin. Recent optimism that the worst of the recession may be over has failed to make an impact on key areas of American life, and Obama last week endured one of the toughest weeks of his presidency in terms of bad economic news.

“The rapid deterioration of the economy has slowed down,” said Alice Rivlin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. “But if you have lost your job, the worst may not be over for a long time. If you have a job, you may still lose it.”

The main problem for the president is that economic data suggesting improvements in growth and productivity are not yet translating into benefits for victims of recession. Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo bank, last week summed up future prospects as “a recovery only a statistician can love”.

Obama insisted earlier this month that “actions we’ve taken in the first six months have helped stop our economic freefall . . . we’re losing jobs at half the rate we were at the beginning of the year”.

That boast was promptly undermined when a barrage of negative reports was released last week, showing that personal bankruptcies surged 34% in June compared with last year; the number of homes subjected to foreclosure proceedings rose 32% as against a year ago; the number of people out of work for 27 weeks or longer reached a record 5m; and retail sales dipped in July despite a big boost from a popular secondhand car trade-in programme. Barack Obama catches cold as economic virus spreads >>> Tony Allen-Mills | Sunday, August 16, 2009

The Stupid, Weak, Cowardly, Fawning Brits! New Dark Age Alert! Swimmers Are Told to Wear Burkinis
THE TELEGRAPH: British swimming pools are imposing Muslim dress codes in a move described as divisive by Labour MPs.

UK councils running restricted swimming session for Muslims. Photo: The Telegraph
Under the rules, swimmers – including non-Muslims – are barred from entering the pool in normal swimming attire.

Instead they are told that they must comply with the "modest" code of dress required by Islamic custom, with women covered from the neck to the ankles and men, who swim separately, covered from the navel to the knees.

The phenomenon runs counter to developments in France, where last week a woman was evicted from a public pool for wearing a burkini – the headscarf, tunic and trouser outfit which allows Muslim women to preserve their modesty in the water.

The 35-year-old, named only as Carole, is threatening legal action after she was told by pool officials in Emerainville, east of Paris, that she could not wear the outfit on hygiene grounds.

But across the UK municipal pools are holding swimming sessions specifically aimed at Muslims, in some case imposing strict dress codes.

Croydon council in south London runs separate one-and-a half-hour swimming sessions for Muslim men and women every Saturday and Sunday at Thornton Heath Leisure Centre.

Swimmers were told last week on the centre's website that "during special Muslim sessions male costumes must cover the body from the navel to the knee and females must be covered from the neck to the ankles and wrists". >>> Patrick Sawer | Saturday, August 15, 2009

BBC HARDtalk: Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins: Apostasy in Islam Carries the Death Penalty

A Typical Muslim Argues with Dawkins

Richard Dawkins on Islam

Richard Dawkins with a Muslim

RDF TV - Vestigial Organs: The Wings of the Flightless Cormorant - Richard Dawkins

Fathima Rifqa Bary


Runaway Cites Fear of Father over Leaving Islam
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Police doubt city man a threat to teenage Christian convert

A Northeast Side 17-year-old who ran away, saying that her father would kill her for leaving Islam, is in state custody in Florida.

But Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the missing-persons unit of the Columbus police special-victims bureau, disputes Fathima Rifqa Bary's allegation. He said her father, Mohamed Bary, appears to be a loving parent who knew about her conversion to Christianity months ago.

The New Albany High School cheerleader, who goes by Rifqa, disappeared on July 19, prompting fears that she had been abducted, Cupp said.

Authorities soon found that she was staying with a married couple who pastor a church in Orlando.

"She was petrified that her dad would kill her," said the Rev. Beverly Lorenz, who leads Global Revolution Church in Orlando along with her husband, the Rev. Blake Lorenz.

Mrs. Lorenz met the girl through a Facebook prayer group. Lorenz barely knew the girl, she said, but took her in when she called from a borrowed cell phone in Florida. >>> Meredith Heagney | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Read the story at Pamela Geller’s website, Atlas Shrugs >>> | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Hat tip: Robert Spencer

Australia Plans Broadcasts to Burma
DAILY EXPRESS: Australia is planning to broadcast a Burmese language radio service into the south-east Asian nation to promote democracy and human rights.

The military junta which rules Burma heavily censors the nation's media and limits the population's communications with the outside world. 



But foreign radio remains popular among locals, including US Government-funded Radio Free Asia and Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norwegian-supported operation. 



Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Burma service would become the eighth language broadcast by state-owned Radio Australia, which focuses on Asia and the Pacific. 



Mr Smith said the service would "open up a new channel of international contact for the people of Burma". 



It would also show Australian solidarity with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, he said. 
>>> | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Un groupe salafiste
 défie le Hamas à Gaza
Photo: Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Au moins six personnes ont été tuées et cinquante blessées à Rafah dans des combats entre la police du Hamas et un groupe salafiste pro-al-Qaida qui voulait instaurer un «califat» dans la ville.

De violents affrontements interpalestiniens ont fait au moins six morts et cinquante blessés vendredi dans le sud de la bande de Gaza, sous le contrôle du Hamas.

La police du mouvement islamiste s'est opposée aux membres d'un groupuscule salafiste radical, Jund Anslar Allah («les guerriers de Dieu»), basé à Rafah, près de la frontière egyptienne.

Ce groupe, qui a fait part de son existence voilà deux mois en lancant une attaque ratée contre Israël, soutient al-Qaida et juge la politique menée par le Hamas trop modérée. Vendredi, il a tenté de décréter un «califat islamique» dans la ville. Plusieurs centaines d'hommes armés de fusils mitrailleurs et de lance roquette ont défilé dans Rafah[.] >>> S.L. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP, AP | Vendredi 14 Août 2009

US Healthcare Reforms Cause Outrage and Fears of a 'Socialist State'
TIMES ONLINE: The retired coal miner queuing in the midday sun has come to the town hall meeting with heavy political baggage. “I’ll keep my money and guns — you keep the change,” warns the badge pinned to Carl Anderson’s chest. In his hand is a banner that states simply: “Revolution is Brewing.”

He is here to protest against health reform. Mr Anderson, 70, has travelled 65 miles with seven of his friends and family to add his booming voice to the pensioners’ revolt that has shaken America in the past two weeks.

Convinced that President Obama wants to turn the country into a socialist state, starting with a nationalised health service, he hopes to hijack the political agenda.

Arlen Specter, the local Democratic Senator, is about to get an ear-bashing; his fourth in four days. Mr Anderson obliges: “I have no problem with my healthcare,” he says. “We have the best healthcare in the world. If there is anything I need, I get it.”

Mr Obama’s $1 trillion (£600 billion) health reform Bill would end that, he fears. There will be rationing of treatment, and the old will bear the brunt. “They are going to start evaluating people at the age of 55,” Mr Anderson says.

Most of the roughly 1,000 people outside the community hall of Kittanning, a mining town in the Appalachian hills 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, seem to share Mr Anderson’s views, to judge by their banners. “Nobama,” says one, adorned with the skull and crossbones. “Obama lies, grandma dies,” proclaims another. >>> Imre Karacs, Kittanning, Pennsylvania | Saturday, August 15, 2009

Afghanistan Passes 'Barbaric' Law Diminishing Women's Rights
THE GUARDIAN: Rehashed legislation allows husbands to deny wives food if they fail to obey sexual demands

Women wearing the burka in Baharak town, Afghanistan. Photo: The Guardian
Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation which President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work.

"It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her," the US charity Human Rights Watch said.

In early April, Barack Obama and Gordon Brown joined an international chorus of condemnation when the Guardian revealed that the earlier version of the law legalised rape within marriage, according to the UN.

Although Karzai appeared to back down, activists say the revised version of the law still contains repressive measures and contradicts the Afghan constitution and international treaties signed by the country.

Islamic law experts and human rights activists say that although the language of the original law has been changed, many of the provisions that alarmed women's rights groups remain, including this one: "Tamkeen is the readiness of the wife to submit to her husband's reasonable sexual enjoyment, and her prohibition from going out of the house, except in extreme circumstances, without her husband's permission. If any of the above provisions are not followed by the wife she is considered disobedient."

The law has been backed by the hardline Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohseni, who is thought to have influence over the voting intentions of some of the country's Shias, which make up around 20% of the population. Karzai has assiduously courted such minority leaders in the run up to next Thursday's election, which is likely to be a close run thing, according to a poll released yesterday.

Human Rights Watch, which has obtained a copy of the final law, called on all candidates to pledge to repeal the law, which it says contradicts Afghanistan's own constitution.

The group said that Karzai had "made an unthinkable deal to sell Afghan women out in the support of fundamentalists in the August 20 election". >>> Jon Boone in Kandahar | Friday, August 14, 2009

Protests Fail to Halt Passage of Chavez's [sic] 'Socialist Indoctrination Law'
Scuffles broke out outside the National Assembly. Photo: TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: Police in riot gear used tear gas yesterday against Venezuelan demonstrators angry about a law that they believe could lead to the "socialist indoctrination" of the nation's schools.

Officers fired tear gas into crowds who were protesting in Caracas against President Chávez's plans to broaden state control over the education system.

Scuffles broke out as clouds of caustic, white gas wafted through the air outside the predominantly pro-Chávez National Assembly.

Inside, legislators began debating a Bill which would order schools to base the curriculum on "the Bolivarian Doctrine" - a reference to the ideals of the 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar.

After a marathon ten-hour session, the assembly — where Mr Chávez's party commands a majority — approved the Bill in the early hours of today.

But close to a dozen members sided with the opposition and walked out of the assembly in protest against the ruling party’s refusal to compromise on the Bill’s most contentious articles. >>> | Friday, August 14, 2009

Iranian Opposition Plans New Wave of Resistance amid Claims of Torture
'Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans,' wrote Mr Karoubi. Photo: TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: Despite nine weeks of savage repression since Iran’s hotly disputed presidential election, opponents of the regime refuse to accept defeat. They accuse the Government of torturing political detainees. They spread samizdat DVDs, use paintball guns to obliterate government posters, and attack government websites.

Mehdi Karroubi, one of the defeated presidential candidates, kept up the public pressure this week by claiming that male and female detainees have been raped in the Evin and Kahrizak prisons in Tehran, and that political prisoners were being tortured to death.

“We observe that in an Islamic country some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans,” Mr Karoubi wrote on his website.

Other detainees “were forced to take off their clothes. Then they were made to go on their hands and knees and were ridden [by prison guards]. Or the prison authorities put them on top of each other while they were naked... Do such treatments conform with Islam, which is a religion of mercy?”

Mr Karoubi’s allegations, which are supported by Western human rights organisations, seemed designed to deepen rifts within the conservative establishment over the way detainees have been treated.

They certainly appeared to strike a nerve. The regime has denounced them as baseless, and demanded Mr Karoubi produce proof. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hardline cleric, used his sermon at Friday prayers to demand that Mr Karoubi be prosecuted. He said that the accusations were “full of libel, a total slander against the Islamic system” that helped Iran’s enemies.

With the security forces brutally suppressing any street demonstrations, grassroots activists are adopting subtler methods of resisting a regime that they consider illegitimate.

They still chant “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) from the rooftops every night, and write anti-regime slogans on banknotes, but they are also daubing graffiti (“Death to basiji”, “Death to the dictator”) on walls across the capital and using paintball guns to obliterate posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, with green paint. Sometimes they simply paint a black X across his portrait. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, August 14, 2009

Tony's Cavorting on a Yacht with a Personal Butler to Rub in His Suncream. Isn't Life after No 10 Grand?
MAIL ONLINE: The impressive sight of the super-yacht Rising Sun hoving into view around the glamour spots of Europe is always enough to provoke envious glances - even among holidaying oligarchs and international playboys.

Built over five decks, the £150million vessel - the world's second largest privately owned yacht - boasts 82 rooms and an indoor swimming pool, basketball court, dance floor, spa, wine cellar and, of course, helipad.

Little wonder then, that Tony Blair chose to begin his current month-long vacation in one of its lavishly appointed staterooms.

Mr Blair expects only the best. In the past, he has complained - perhaps somewhat churlishly - that those giving him free bed and board have not provided him with accommodation of the absolute highest standard.

Indeed, his friends were flabbergasted when he moaned about a gratis holiday he and his family took three years ago at the Miami mansion of Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb. There was, Blair grumbled, simply not enough to do.

Happily, the accommodation on the Rising Sun is more than up to scratch. And Mr Blair's host, the billionaire software magnate Larry Ellison, has gone to immense trouble to ensure his stay is a comfortable one.

The former Prime Minister, who stayed aboard the yacht without wife Cherie or any of his four children, was assigned a personal butler to attend to his every whim. This extended, Mr Blair has confided, to applying his factor 30 sun cream.

After Mr Blair joined the vessel in Sardinia, Mr Ellison, the 64-year-old CEO of computer firm Oracle Corporation and the world's fourth richest man with a fortune of £13.6billion, threw a glitzy cocktail party on the deck in his honour.

Such opulence is a step up even from the luxury of Sir Cliff Richard's Barbados home, where the Blairs - when they were in Downing Street - used to spend their summer holidays.

Nowadays, Mr Blair likes to move in even more rarefied circles. Principal among his new super-rich friends is David Geffen, the self-made Tinseltown mogul and business partner of Steven Spielberg. The gay billionaire has become a close confidant.

In fact, so close are they that Mr Blair has introduced 66-year-old Geffen to his friend Peter Mandelson, who was a dinner guest on the Rising Sun himself last week.

The camp, shaven-headed Geffen has, in return, introduced the ex-Prime Minister to Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Steve Martin, with whom the Blairs holidayed aboard a yacht in Greece last summer.

A story told by a source very close to Mr Blair illustrates the orbit of wealth and excess in which he has been moving of late. >>> Paul Scott | Friday, August 14, 2009

Daniel Hannan: Government-run Healthcare Would Be ’Deeply Un-American’

Iran Inmates 'Tortured to Death'
BBC: Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidate has said that some protesters held after last month's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison.

The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped. Officials deny the rape claims, but admit that abuses have taken place.

The BBC's Jon Leyne says the opposition uses the issue to maintain political pressure without directly questioning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's poll victory.

On Thursday, Mr Karroubi alleged that a number of detainees had been tortured to death.

"Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans in [post-election] protests," his website said.

Mr Karroubi also called for the formation of an independent committee to review his evidence in "a calm atmosphere".

On Sunday, the defeated presidential candidate claimed that some opposition protesters were raped in detention.

The claim was supported by a number of human rights groups but quickly dismissed as "totally baseless" by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani.

"Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," said. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Anti-dhimmitude: Jim Fitzpatrick, Government Minister, Condemns Traditional Muslim Wedding
THE TELEGRAPH: Jim Fitzpatrick, a Government minister, has publicly condemned the Muslim tradition of separating men and women at weddings.

The farming minister and his wife walked out of the marriage ceremony of a constituent after discovering they would have to sit in separate rooms.

He said the gender segregation was a sign of increasing radicalisation and was damaging to social cohesion.

However, Muslim leaders insist the custom is traditional at Islamic weddings as well as in mosques, and expressed surprise that Mr Fitzpatrick, a third of whose east London constituents are Muslims, was unaware of the fact.

It was suggested that the Labour MP was trying to appeal to white voters who may fear divided communities.

His comments echo the row triggered three years ago when Jack Straw, now the justice secretary, called Muslim face veils a “visible statement of separation and difference” and called for women to remove them during surgeries in his Blackburn constituency.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, a founding member of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “I think in the interest of cohesion it would be better if Mr Fitzpatrick established more contact with the Muslim community.

“It shows a lack of interest on the part of the MP to engage with people with different backgrounds and sadly it reflects badly on him.

“If he had a little bit of knowledge he would have found it was quite normal and nothing unusual for them to enjoy the celebration in this way.

“There are some who prefer segregated events and some where they are joined together. We live in a society where we need to respect all traditions.”

George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow who will contest the new Poplar and Limehouse constituency against Mr Fitzgerald at the election, said: “If he doesn’t wish to attend an Islamic wedding and observe the religious customs preferred by the bride and groom, he should not go rather than insult them for perceived political gain.

“I am absolutely amazed and astonished that a Government minister with a substantial Muslim minority in his constituency should have decided to give such a gratuitous insult to so many Muslims.” >>> Martin Beckford and Stephen Adams | Thursday, August 13, 2009

How Bush Went from Hero to Zero in the Eyes of Dick Cheney
THE INDEPENDENT: Memoirs to tell of Veep's change of heart in waning years of presidency

In office he was the eminence grise behind the George W Bush throne, a silent brooding figure who was the most powerful and probably the most unpopular vice president in modern United States history. Now however Dick Cheney is poised to go public, in a memoir charging that, in his second term at least, his old boss ignored his advice and, in a word, went "soft".

Mr Cheney's frame of mind as he prepares his memoirs, likely to be published in spring 2011, was described yesterday in a front page article in The Washington Post, drawing on discussions the former vice president has held with former officials, aides and policy experts. What emerges is a man convinced he is right, now as then, that the US faced extraordinary threats, above all that a renegade state might pass nuclear weapons to terrorists. These threats in turn demanded an absolutely uncompromising response.

At first Mr Bush agreed, "but in the second term he [Mr Cheney] felt Bush was drifting away from him," according to one anonymous participant in a recent conversation with Mr Cheney. "He said Bush was shackled by public reaction and the criticism he took. The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather that Bush had hardened against Cheney's advice." The Cheney doctrine was "cast iron strength at all times – never apologise, never explain" while Mr Bush moved towards a conciliatory approach. >>> Rupert Cornwell in Washington | Friday, August 14, 2009

Why Pretend the Past Was Cigarette-free?
THE TELEGRAPH: A council's plans to bar under-18s from films with smoking sets us on a dangerous path, says Gerald Warner.

Send for the Sanity Inspector – quickly. There is work for him among the denizens of Liverpool city council. The council is proposing to use its powers to upgrade to an 18-certificate the classification of films "if they depict images of tobacco smoking", in order to protect the vulnerable youth of Merseyside from exposure to such depravity.

Needless to say, the council is not embarking on this pioneering exercise without much conscientious preparation. A consultation exercise has been launched, with separate questionnaires for "stakeholder" organisations, community groups and businesses, members of the public aged 18 and above, and for under-age respondents. The clever money is on the nine-year-olds' being the most rational, coherent and jargon-free documents to have been seen in the council for many years.

Despite this elaborate exercise in democracy, which one can safely predict will be interpreted as endorsing the council's proposals, the question has to be asked: have the city fathers really thought through the implications of such a policy? As regards new releases, will Hollywood directors draw a blue pencil through every smoking scene out of dread it may be forbidden to under-18s in Liverpool? Is there not just a smidgin of megalomania about such a supposition?

As for existing films, if this policy caught on across the country, it would mean the demise of 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and Peter Pan, unless there is a larger adult audience for those classics than is generally supposed. There is no point in objecting that Cruella de Vil, with her signature cigarette in a long holder, is a baddie: villainy is "cool" and therefore appealing.

Liverpool schoolboys may have watched their last classic James Bond film in a public theatre: the producers of Licence to Kill allegedly took a $350,000 payment to ensure 007 smoked Lark cigarettes. (In Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan denounced smoking as "a filthy habit", but appeared in Lark commercials in Japan.) Farewell, Superman II, with Lois Lane chain-smoking Marlboros. As for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Muppet Movie – they, too, would go up in smoke.

Then there are the older classics. Bogart? Mostly glimpsed through a fog of cigarette smoke, so a candidate for airbrushing out of cinematic history. Bette Davis? Ditto. Audrey Hepburn's outsize cigarette-holder in Breakfast at Tiffany's? Tantamount to pornography.

It should not be supposed, however, that such a wise body as Liverpool city council is impervious to certain objections. For example, portrayals of historical characters who smoked would be exempted. Churchill could still be shown with his trademark cigar – although if The Eagle Has Landed features an anonymous private soldier with cigarette hanging from lower lip, things might get a bit dicey. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Signed Copy of Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Sells at Auction
THE TELEGRAPH: More than 80 years after it was first published -and later outlawed- in Germany, a signed copy of Adolf Hitler's infamous manifesto "Mein Kampf" was sold on Thursday for £21,000.

The semi-autobiographical work outlining Hitler's anti-Semitic ideology, was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder at an auction in Ludlow.

Written in 1924 while Hitler was serving a four-year prison term in the southern German region of Bavaria, the book was first published in 1926.

Although it has been republished abroad, it has been banned in Germany since the Second World War.

"I am absolutely pleased," said Richard Westwood-Brookes from Mullock's Auctioneers. He said he believed the second-edition book to be a prepublication copy given by Hitler to a fellow inmate in 1925, making it a "highly prized article".

"Only a couple-dozen copies are given to the author, so they are pretty rare," he said. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Proof of Muhammad's Prophethood


Hat tip: Avenging Apostate >>>

Religious Freedom [in] Saudi Arabia?

Mohammed Is Most Popular Boy's Name in Four Biggest Dutch Cities
THE TELEGRAPH: Mohammed, or other variations of the name of Islam's founding prophet, has become the most popular name choice for baby boys in the four biggest cities of the Netherlands.

Information collected by the country's social security agency has found that traditional Dutch names have been displaced in the urban centres of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht as the country's Muslim population grows.

In The Hague variations of the name Mohammed have taken first, second and fifth place in the Dutch capital's league table of most popular names for boys, replacing traditional favourites such as Jan, Luuk, Gijs or Daan.

At a national level the name Mohammed is now the 16th most popular name for boys.

The figures, obtained by the Dutch Elsevier magazine, from the Dutch Social Insurance Bank, or Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB), are different from the official statistics which have in the past counted various spellings of Mohammed, Muhamed, or Muhammad as different names.

Previous government name counts, separating the different versions, have avoided controversy by keeping the name of Islam's founder outside the Dutch top 20 of favourite names for baby boys.

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-Right, anti-Islam Freedom Party, which is currently leading the Dutch opinion polls, has demanded a government investigation following the Daily Telegraph's Aug 8 report that over a fifth of the European Union's population has been forecast to be Muslim by 2050. >>> Bruno Waterfield | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Fidel Castro, 83 ans, toujours là
leJDD.fr: Fidel Castro fête ce jeudi ses 83 ans. L'ancien dirigeant cubain, qui n'est pas apparu en public depuis trois ans, conserve une certaine influence sur la vie politique de l'île.

"La mémoire de la révolution." C'est en ces termes que Granma, le journal du Parti communiste cubain, évoque Fidel Castro. L'homme fête ses 83 ans ce jeudi et, à cette occasion, une exposition lui est consacrée à La Havane. "Ces photographies promeuvent nos souvenirs et nos sentiments, mais surtout, elles transcendent le temps, et demain, elles seront les témoins de moments historiques", poursuit le quotidien officiel, lyrique. A Cuba, toute l'île rend hommage ce jeudi à son "Lider Maximo" – titre qu'il avait lui-même inventé -, et ce, bien qu'il ne soit plus apparu en public depuis trois ans. Seules des photos et des vidéos – notamment à l'occasion des nombreuses visites du président vénézuélien Hugo Chavez – ont été diffusées.

Mais Fidel Castro continue à influer sur la vie politique de l'île, notamment au travers des nombreux éditoriaux publiés dans la presse officielle. Récemment encore, il dénonçait le coup d'Etat perpétré au Honduras contre le président Manuel Zelaya. Si de l'avis des observateurs, l'ancien président reste aux affaires, il est difficile de dire de quelle façon. Nombreux sont ceux qui s'interrogent notamment sur l'influence, réelle ou supposée, qu'il a sur son frère, Raul, qui a pris les rênes du pouvoir l'an dernier. "Je pense que c'est encore un partenariat, mais que Raul est maintenant le principal partenaire. Fidel n'est plus capable de s'impliquer dans les affaires quotidiennes", analyse pour Reuters Brian Latell, chercheur à l'Institut pour les études cubaines de l'université de Miami. >>> Marianne Enault, leJDD.fr | Jeudi 13 Août 2009

Fidel Castro offenbar wieder erstarkt: Neues Foto zeigt Máximo Líder in unerwartet guter Verfassung
NZZ ONLINE: Fidel Castro scheint bei besserer Gesundheit zu sein als vermutet. In einer Ausstellung in Havanna ist ein Foto gezeigt worden, das sein Sohn kürzlich von ihm gemacht hat. Mit gestutztem Bart und weisser Sportjacke sieht Castro erholt und vital aus.

In Kuba ist anlässlich des 83. Geburtstages von Fidel Castro an diesem Donnerstag ein Foto des Ex-Präsidenten veröffentlicht worden, das ihn in unerwartet guter Verfassung zeigt.

Die Aufnahme ist Teil einer Ausstellung in der kubanischen Hauptstadt und stammt von Fidels Sohn Alex Castro, einem professionellen Fotografen. Dieser hat seinen Vater mit gestutztem Bart und weisser Sportjacke im Gespräch mit anderen Personen nach eigenen Angaben erst vor kurzem fotografiert. >>> sda/dpa | Donnerstag, 13. August 2009

U.S. Re-embraces Relationship with U.N.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES: UNITED NATIONS | Declaring "the United States is back," the Obama administration pledged Wednesday to turn more frequently to the United Nations and work with the world body on the basis of decency and mutual respect, rather than condescension and contempt.

"Over the past six months, the United States has taken a fresh look at our positions across the board - including some policies that left many scratching their heads to understand what we objected to, policies that failed to advance our interests or our values," Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a speech at New York University's Center for Global Affairs.

Ms. Rice explicitly reversed two of the George W. Bush administration's main policies toward the United Nations by declaring the United States "would no longer oppose mentions of reproductive health or the International Criminal Court."

She did not mention by name Mr. Bush or senior officials of his administration, who sometimes subjected the world body to harsh criticism and ridicule.

"We will increase U.S. support to U.N. peacekeeping," Ms. Rice said, citing the possibility of expanded U.S. contributions of military staff officers, military observers, civilian police and civilian personnel to U.N. missions.

President Obama has frequently praised the United Nations in his public remarks, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been a longtime advocate of international cooperation on transnational issues.

"Engaging across the full U.N. membership is more than good manners. It's also smart diplomacy," Ms. Rice said. >>> Betsy Pisik | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Americans Are Better Off Without an NHS
THE TELEGRAPH: A propaganda war is masking the real problems over health care reform, says Toby Harnden.

If Stephen Hawking had been treated in Britain, he would not have survived to be awarded his Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama yesterday, because the NHS "would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless". That was the thundering verdict of the Investor's Business Daily on our National Health Service and Mr Obama's plans to introduce what Republicans term "socialised medicine".

It was, as scientists sometimes say, a beautiful hypothesis destroyed by a single ugly fact. Professor Hawking, who is completely paralysed by motor neurone disease, has been treated by the NHS throughout his 67 years, and points out indignantly that he would not have lived without its care.

Much of the conservative contribution to the health care debate raging in the United States, which is dominating a long, hot summer, has been as misguided as that newspaper editorial. With the battle lines drawn, and President Obama staking his credibility on achieving a comprehensive reform that delivers health insurance to the tens of millions without it, Democratic members of Congress are facing the wrath and anxiety of their constituents – who are being urged on by opponents of reform.

Sarah Palin, who recently resigned as Alaska's governor but remains the darling of rural conservatives, invoked the spectre of a "death panel" pronouncing on whether her baby Trig, who has Down's syndrome, should be allowed to live.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa suggested that this was what happened in Britain. "I've heard several senators say that Ted Kennedy with a brain tumour, being 77 years old … if he were in England, would not be treated… when you get to be 77, your life is considered less valuable under those systems," he said.

In a television ad from the Club for Growth pressure group, a narrator intones portentously as images of Big Ben and the Union flag appear on the screen: "$22,750. In England, government health officials decided that's how much six months of life is worth. Under their socialised system, if a medical treatment costs more, you're out of luck. That's wrong for America." Cue the Statue of Liberty and the Stars and Stripes.

The figure comes from Britain's National Institute for Clinical Evidence, which evaluates treatments in terms of the average increase in life expectancy. If the cost of prolonging someone's life for a year exceeds more than £30,000, then the NHS will not pay for that treatment. In other words, although there are no "death panels", the fundamental point is correct. The NHS does decide that some treatments are too expensive. And if that means you die? Our condolences, says the Government. >>> Toby Harnden | sday, August 12, 2009

Betsy McCaughey Exposes Obama Healthcare Lies


Gordon and Sarah Brown Join US Pro-NHS Twitter Campaign
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has joined in the Twitter campaign to defend the National Health Service following protests in the United States at Barack Obama's drive to reform the American healthcare system.

The Prime Minister's wife, Sarah, also leapt to the defence of the NHS, after US critics opposed to the President's reforms described the British system as "evil" and "Orwellian."

Many Republicans are opposed to what they term as "socialised" medicine. But Britons living in the US and in this country furious at the attacks have hit back by organising a campaign on the social networking site urging backers of the NHS to send messages of support.

Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, is among those who have taken part, along with thousands of ordinary members of the public.

Such is the popularity of the campaign - called #welovethenhs - that the site crashed yesterday.

Mr Brown used the Downing Street twitter page to add his support. His message said: "PM; NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there."

Mrs Brown added: "#we love the nhs - more than we can say." The Health Secretary twittered: "Andy Burnham: Over the moon about strong support for the NHS - an institution I will defend to my dying day." >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Greed! Sheer Greed!
TIMES ONLINE: The City watchdog was accused of giving banks a green light to continue paying multimillion-pound bonuses yesterday when it backed away from introducing tough rules to curb excess pay.

The Financial Services Authority’s proposals on City pay embarrassed Gordon Brown, who had promised to sweep aside the bonus culture in the financial sector. Opposition politicians branded the FSA’s new proposals a capitulation. The Treasury also indicated that they did not go far enough.

Some of the most onerous provisions in the FSA’s original proposals from March have been softened. Under the new guidelines the banks must link risk and reward. But they will have more freedom to structure bonus packages than was previously suggested and many bank executives and some smaller City firms are excluded from the plan altogether.

The row came as unemployment rose to a 14-year high and the Bank of England admitted that the recession was deeper than previously thought and that recovery would be slow, partly because banks were still not lending enough money.

It will be exacerbated by the disclosure that Royal Bank of Scotland, in which taxpayers have a 70 per cent interest, has hired two bankers on multimillion-pound packages. One of them, Antonio Polverino, who has been headhunted from Merrill Lynch, will earn £7 million in his first year. Watchdog 'gives green light' for huge City bonuses >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor, and Katherine Griffiths, Banking Editor | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Vive la belle France! Anti-dhimmitude: French Ban Muslim Woman from Pool for Wearing 'Burkini' Swimsuit
THE TELEGRAPH: A French woman who converted to Islam has been banned from wearing a "burkini" in a swimming pool outside Paris.

Muslim convert Carole understands she was banned on account of a 'political problem'. Photo: The Telegraph
The woman, named only as Carole, 35, was told that the garment, a swimsuit that covers most of the body, was "inappropriate" clothing for a public baths.

Pool staff said her three-piece Islamic swimsuit she bought in Dubai - consisting of a headscarf, tunic and trousers - was against pool regulations and unhygienic.

They had "reminded her of the rules that apply in all [public] swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed," said Daniel Guillaume, a manager at the pool in the suburb of Emerainville.

The ban was imposed as President Nicolas Sarkozy's government is considering an outright ban on all Islamic dress, such as the head-to-toe burka or niqab, that it considers a "sign of subservience" and "not welcome" in France.

"Burkini" is derived from the words bikini and burka. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Arrêtée pour port de pantalon, une Soudanaise est interdite de sortie de territoire
Loubna Ahmed al-Hussein, le 13 juin 2009. Photo: Le Monde
LE MONDE: Les autorités soudanaises ont empêché la journaliste Loubna Ahmed al-Hussein, passible de quarante coups de fouet pour avoir porté un pantalon, de se rendre à l'étranger, a indiqué, mardi 11 août, la jeune femme.

Loubna Ahmed al-Hussein devait passer quatre jours à Beyrouth afin de participer à une émission de la chaîne satellitaire arabe MBC, mais les autorités à l'aéroport de Khartoum lui ont interdit de prendre l'avion dans la nuit de lundi à mardi. "Ils m'ont dit qu'il y avait une décision datant du 7 août qui m'interdisait de voyager à l'extérieur du pays (...) Je leur ai demandé un document écrit concernant cette décision mais ils n'ont pu m'en fournir un", a-t-elle déclaré. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | Mercredi 12 Août 2009

Alan Duncan: MPs Are Treated Like '****' and Have to Survive on Rations
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, the accident-prone Tory frontbencher, has said that MPs are being treated like "****" and forced to live on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

Alan Duncan, the accident-prone Tory frontbencher, has said that MPs are being treated like **** and forced to live on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

The shadow leader of the House was caught on camera complaining about the public’s response to The Daily Telegraph’s disclosures about the widespread abuse of Parliamentary second home allowances.

He rejected criticism of his decision to claim thousands of pounds for gardening bills at his second home in his constituency of Rutland, saying that “the world has gone mad”.

Mr Duncan repaid £5,000 after The Daily Telegraph revealed that the Commons fees office questioned whether his claims “could be considered excessive.”

He was captured on video by campaigner Heydon Prowse, who previously filmed himself digging a pound sign into the MP’s lawn, during a visit to the House of Commons in June.

Asked why people no longer wanted to stand for Parliament, Mr Duncan said: "No-one who has done anything in the outside world, or is capable of doing such a thing, will ever come into this place ever again, the way we are going.

“Basically, it’s being nationalised, you have to live on rations and are treated like ****.

“I spend my money on my garden and claim a tiny fraction on what is proper. And I could claim the whole bloody lot, but I don’t.”

Questioned over how much he paid from his own pocket for his garden, he said: “About £2,000 a year and this was £1,000 a year on expenses, you know. It’s just, I’m afraid, the world has gone mad.”

Mr Duncan has gained a reputation for being gaffe-prone, particularly in his response to the expenses scandal. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Catholic Church Condemns Italy's Record Lottery
Euros. Millions of them! Photo: Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: Italy is in the grip of lottery fever, with a record £113 million (131.5 million euros) up for grabs in the country's national draw, now the world's richest.

Italy is deep in recession and unemployment is on the rise, but millions of Italians are buying up tickets for the lucky numbers game, despite the odds of winning estimated to be one in 622 million.

Although draws are held three times a week the prize has not been won since January, with people in neighbouring countries making special trips to Italy to try their luck in guessing the six winning numbers.

The size of the jackpot has surged past the previous record of 126 million euros, which was paid out by Euromillions in Spain in May.

But the Roman Catholic Church condemned lotto fever, saying it encouraged greed, false hope for society's poorest families and a worship of money that amounted to idolatry.

"Fever for SuperEnalotto has for many people become a form of idolatry and should be stopped as soon as possible," said the archbishop of Lecce, Cosmo Franceso Ruppi. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Riz Khan: Sharia in the UK

Endgame: Blueprint For Global Enslavement (HQ Full Video)


With thanks to a friend from Sweden for alerting me to this dramatic video.

Uighur Dilemma - China
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

The Forgotten Men - Iraq