Saudi Prince Escapes Assassination Attempt
TIMES ONLINE: A senior Saudi prince who heads the country’s anti-terrorism campaign has survived a suicide attack on his office in Jeddah.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Interior Minister in charge of security, escaped with only minor injuries when a suicide bomber blew himself up as the prince was about to join a gathering of well-wishers for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

It was the first known assassination attempt against a member of the royal family since Saudi Arabia began its crackdown on al-Qaeda affiliated militants eight years ago after the September 11 terror attacks in the US.

According to a local news agency, the militant who attacked Prince Mohammed had previously expressed his intention to give himself up to the official. >>> Times Online | Friday, August 28, 2009

Prince Muhammad Escapes Assassination Attempt
ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH: Prince Muhammad bin Naif, assistant interior minister for security affairs, escaped an assassination attempt on Thursday night when a wanted terrorist blew himself up inside the prince's house here.

The minister escaped with minor injuries in the suicide bombing that was staged by the terrorist posing as a well-wisher. The body of the terrorist, the only death in the incident, was shattered into bits and pieces.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah visited Prince Muhammad at the hospital soon after the incident to inquire about his health and safety. The king thanked God for saving the minister's life, and commended his services to the country.

The king asked Prince Muhammad why was the terrorist allowed in without proper checks, to which the prince replied, “It was a mistake.”

According to a statement issued by the Royal Court, the suicide bombing took place at 11.30 p.m. while Prince Muhammad was receiving well-wishers who came to greet him on the occasion of Ramadan at his house in Jeddah.

"Among them there was a wanted terrorist, who had previously expressed his desire to surrender himself to the prince," the statement said.

Prince Muhammad said the criminal act would only strengthen his resolve to do more to reinforce the country's security and stability.

"The wanted criminal exploded himself during security inspection," the royal court said, adding that the prince escaped the assassination attempt with minor injuries. The bomb had been fixed to his body and that was triggered when the terrorist received a call from outside, according to Al-Arabiya news channel.

"Nobody else suffered any injuries," the royal court said. The prince later left the hospital after undergoing necessary tests and treatment. >>> Arab News | Friday, August 28, 2009

Times Poll: 61% Think al-Megrahi Release Was about Oil, Not Compassion
Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi leaving Scotland for Libya. He is suffering from advanced prostate cancer. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Gordon Brown’s Government faces widespread public suspicion that the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, had more to do with oil than his terminal cancer.

A special Populus poll for The Times, conducted on Wednesday, reveals widespread public criticism of the release and scepticism about the reasons, with much of the blame falling on the Prime Minister.

The poll followed the public defence of the release by Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, on Monday and Mr Brown’s comments the following day.

Questions were solely about this issue and did not include voting intentions.

Three fifths of those questioned (61 per cent) disagreed with the decision to return al-Megrahi to Libya on the ground of compassion, with 27 per cent agreeing.

The continuing controversy over the background to the decision, with reports of meetings between British ministers and members of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s family and the Libyan Government, have made people suspicious. Nearly half (45 per cent) thought it had more to do with oil than al-Megrahi’s terminal illness — 24 per cent disagreed.

Mr Brown’s attempt to distance himself from the move, saying that it was a decision for the Scottish government, has not gone down well, with 56 per cent saying that has handled the matter badly, and 23 per cent thinking that he had done well.

In the ranking of disapproval, Mr Brown was second only to Colonel Gaddafi. Some 63 per cent thought that the Libyans had handled the affair badly, while 15 per cent approved of their actions. >>> Peter Riddell | Friday, August 28, 2009

US Envoy 'In Angry Karzai Talks'
BBC: The US special envoy to Afghanistan has held an "explosive" meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the country's election, the BBC has learnt.

Richard Holbrooke raised concerns about ballot-stuffing and fraud, by a number of candidates' teams, sources say.

The US envoy also said a second-round run-off could make the election process more credible, the sources said.

Concerns have already been raised about Afghanistan's election, although final results are not due until September.

A number of senior sources have confirmed the details of a meeting between Mr Holbrooke and Mr Karzai held on 21 August, one day after the election.

The meeting was described as "explosive" and "a dramatic bust-up".

Mr Holbrooke is said to have twice raised the idea of holding a second round run-off because of concerns about the voting process.

He is believed to have complained about the use of fraud and ballot stuffing by some members of the president's campaign team, as well as other candidates.

Mr Karzai reacted very angrily and the meeting ended shortly afterwards, the sources said. >>> Ian Pannell, BBC News, Kabul | Thursday, August 27, 2009

BBC: Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai has been accused of failing to protect women's rights in the run-up to Thursday's presidential election.

A new law allowing a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex with him has angered human rights activists.

Jane Corbin reports from Herat. Watch BBC video here

BBC: Row over Afghan wife-starving law >>> Sarah Rainsford, BBC News | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Ghadhafi muss seine Gästeliste kürzen: Putin und Sarkozy lassen sich entschuldigen
NZZ ONLINE: Der libysche Revolutionsführer Ghadhafi muss auf einige schon angekündigte illustre Gäste verzichten. Das Jubiläum zum 40. Jahrestag seiner Machtergreifung wird ohne die Spitzenvertreter Russlands, Frankreichs und Spaniens stattfinden.

Der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy und der russische Präsident Dmitri Medwedew haben libysche Angaben dementieren lassen, wonach sie an der Jubelfeier zu Ehren Ghadhafis am kommenden Dienstag teilnehmen würden. Auch der russische Regierungschef Wladimir Putin werde dem Anlass am 1. September fernbleiben, hiess es in Moskau.

Ein Mitglied des Organisationskomitees, das anonym bleiben wollte, hatte der Nachrichtenagentur AFP zuvor gesagt, dass an den Feierlichkeiten am Dienstag neben Sarkozy, Medwedew und Putin auch der italienische Regierungschef Silvio Berlusconi und das spanische Königspaar teilnehmen wollten. Zudem stünden etwa 40 bis 50 afrikanische Staatschefs auf der Gästeliste.

Der Elysée-Palast in Paris wies die Angaben über die Teilnahme Sarkozys jedoch zurück. Frankreich werde bei dem Regierungsjubiläum in Tripolis durch einen Vertreter repräsentiert, dessen Rang bisher noch nicht geklärt sei. Terminkollision >>> sda/afp | Donnerstag, 27. August 2009

Merkel drängt zu Siedlungsbau-Stopp
Die Bundeskanzlerin forderte bei dem Besuch des israelischen Ministerpräsidenten Benjamin Netanjahu Israel auf, den Siedlungsprozess im Westjordanland zu beenden. Netanjahu betonte zwar seinen Willen zum Frieden, machte aber in der Frage des Siedlungsbaus keine Konzessionen.

Video hier anschauen

Islam in Italy

Turkey's Islamic Hotels (July 19, 2007)

Kadhafi, maître en manipulation
Le Colonel Kadhafi bien entouré au sommet du G8 à L’Aquila, 10 juillet 2009. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Le «Guide» libyen fête ses 40 ans de pouvoir en grande forme: incontesté en interne et revigoré à l’international par la zizanie qu’il sème en Suisse et ailleurs.

Sur son site internet personnel, florilège de déclarations hardies, il a repeint toute la planète en vert. De la même nuance que celle du «Livre vert», l’évangile selon Kadhafi publié dans les années 70, qui jette en trois chapitres les bases de la «troisième théorie universelle» et annonce l’avènement de la «démocratie directe», sa vision très personnelle d’un socialisme arabe. Mardi prochain, le 1er septembre, «le Guide de la révolution» libyenne commémorera le quarantième anniversaire de son arrivée au pouvoir. C’était en 1969. Jeune officier de 27 ans, avec une poignée de coreligionnaires, il balayait le règne d’Idriss Ier et se propulsait colonel. Sans effusion de sang. La suite est une autre histoire… Celle notamment, dénoncée par Human Rights Watch, d’une éradication sans relâche de l’opposition, en recourant systématiquement à l’emprisonnement, au meurtre si besoin.

A 67 ans, le doyen des chefs d’Etat africains a noyé de longue date sa beauté d’antan dans les boursouflures de son visage. Mais il aborde sa 41e année de pouvoir en grande forme: en interne, sans le moindre compte à rendre à son peuple et ragaillardi, sur la scène étrangère, par la zizanie politique qu’il est parvenu à semer en France ou en Italie, et tout récemment en Grande-Bretagne et en Suisse.

Cyclothymique, extravagant dans le verbe comme dans l’habit, mégalomane. Insaisissable. Qui est vraiment le colonel Kadhafi? «Toute son existence a été dominée par une préoccupation, explique François Burgat, auteur d’un Que sais-je? sur la Libye. Celle de laver l’affront de la présence coloniale en terre arabe. Admirateur fervent du leader égyptien Nasser, il a repris à son compte la portée nationaliste du nassérisme. Et il a bien sûr toujours jugé illégitime l’Etat hébreu, dans lequel il voit une réminiscence des occupations coloniales.» «Son obsession perpétuelle a été d’abord la réunification du monde arabe, fragmenté par la colonisation. Il y a renoncé à la suite de ses échecs successifs (ndlr: toutes les formes d’épousailles qu’il a proposées à l’Egypte, la Syrie ou la Tunisie ont été rejetées) pour embrasser, dans les années 1990, le concept encore plus ambitieux de l’Union africaine (UA) qu’il souhaite quasi fédérale. Ses échecs ne l’ont jamais freiné», ajoute Jean-François Daguzan, de la Fondation pour la recherche stratégique. Ni rogné ses rêves de grandeur: élu en février dernier par ses pairs pour un an à la tête de l’organisation panafricaine, il s’était aussitôt autoproclamé «Roi des rois traditionnels d’Afrique». >>> Angélique Mounier-Kuhn | Jeudi 27 Août 2009

New Row over 'Non-expert' Cancer Diagnosis of Lockerbie Bomber al-Megrahi
TIMES ONLINE: The furore over the release of the Lockerbie bomber intensified today over the medical advice given to the Scottish government on how long he has to live.

It emerged that the prognosis that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi had a life expectancy of only three months or less was supported by an unnamed doctor who had no expertise in terminal prostate cancer.

The final report on al-Megrahi’s condition which went to Kenny MacAskill was drawn up by Dr Andrew Fraser, director of health and care with the Scottish Prison Service.

The three-month time limit is important because Scottish Prison Service guidance says that compassionate release from prison “may be considered where a prisoner is suffering from a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon. There are no fixed time limits but life expectancy of less than three months may be considered an appropriate period.”

Dr Fraser’s report says: “Whether or not prognosis is more or less than three months, no specialist ‘would be willing to say’.”

Dr Fraser’s report, however, also contains a reference to the “opinion” of an unnamed doctor - thought to be a GP - who, says the report, “dealt with him (al-Megrahi) prior to, during and following the diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer”.

It adds: “Having seen him during each of these stages, his clinical condition has declined significantly over the last week (July 26-August 3).

“The clinical assessment, therefore,is that a three month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate for this patient.”

Political opponents at Holyrood were today claiming that the conclusion reached by Dr Fraser was based on what the unnamed GP had said and had not taken into sufficient account the more guarded views of the prostate cancer specialists.

Dr Richard Simpson, a Labour MSP and a former associate member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons and member of its prostate cancer working group, has raised doubts about the three-month prognosis.

He said: "The Scottish government has misrepresented the medical evidence. The Justice Secretary chose to disregard the advice of specialists and release al-Megrahi on the opinion of one doctor, who we now know was not a specialist.

"At the very least, Kenny MacAskill should have sought a second opinion confirming the patient's prognosis from a specialist in palliative care. That he did not do so showed a disregard for due process and the significance of the decision." >>> Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Editor | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Islam Dreaming – Australia
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Islam in Deutschland: Intro des Deutschsprachigen Islam - Seminars - April 2006

'Cruel and Neglectful' Care of One Million NHS Patients Exposed
THE TELEGRAPH: One million NHS patients have been the victims of appalling care in hospitals across Britain, according to a major report released today.

In the last six years, the Patients Association claims hundreds of thousands have suffered from poor standards of nursing, often with 'neglectful, demeaning, painful and sometimes downright cruel' treatment.

The charity has disclosed a horrifying catalogue of elderly people left in pain, in soiled bed clothes, denied adequate food and drink, and suffering from repeatedly cancelled operations, missed diagnoses and dismissive staff.

The Patients Association said the dossier proves that while the scale of the scandal at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust - where up to 1,200 people died through failings in urgent care - was a one off, there are repeated examples they have uncovered of the same appalling standards throughout the NHS.

While the criticisms cover all aspects of hospital care, the treatment and attitude of nurses stands out as a repeated theme across almost all of the cases.

They have called on Government and the Care Quality Commission to conduct an urgent review of standards of basic hospital care and to enforce stricter supervision and regulation.

Claire Rayner, President of the Patients Association and a former nurse, said:“For far too long now, the Patients Association has been receiving calls on our helpline from people wanting to talk about the dreadful, neglectful, demeaning, painful and sometimes downright cruel treatment their elderly relatives had experienced at the hands of NHS nurses.

“I am sickened by what has happened to some part of my profession of which I was so proud. >>> Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Worst Nurses 'Must Be Struck Off'
TIMES ONLINE: Nurses who neglect elderly patients should be struck off, the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer said today.

Christine Beasley said that a report into the poor care of more than a dozen elderly patients, published by the Patients Association, was distressing and should make “sombre reading for the nursing profession”.

A report from the charity released today includes stories of people left lying in their own faeces and urine, having call bells taken away from them and being left without food or drink.

The report was published as NHS nurses came under fire for their “cruel” and “demeaning” treatment of patients, in particularly the elderly.

The Conservatives said today that about 1,000 people a year were dying from pressure sores in England and Wales.

The condition, linked to poor hygiene and long periods in hospital or at home, has been cited regularly on death certificates over the last five years, a response to a parliamentary question disclosed.

Anne Milton, MP, the Conservative health spokeswoman, said: “This is yet more evidence that the strain that Labour’s tick-box target culture is putting on NHS staff is having a devastating effect on hundreds of patients and families in the UK.

“NHS frontline staff are being overburdened by red tape and paperwork and are consistently being spread too thin and too wide across the service. They must be released to do the job that they are there to do — to help people — or risk yet more unnecessary and needless deaths. >>> David Rose, Health Correspondent | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Looted Picasso The Naked Woman Is Seized by Iraqi Security Forces
TIMES ONLINE: Iraqi security forces today showed off a Picasso they seized from a former soldier in Saddam's military who had looted the painting in 1990 during the occupation of Kuwait.

The Naked Woman went missing from the al-Ahmedi Hall of the Kuwait Museum in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion that triggered the first Gulf war.

The soldier had been trying to sell it, allegedly asking for $450,000 (£278,000). The market value is estimated to be $10 million.

The masterpiece, which is signed by Picasso, was seized this week during a raid on the house belonging to the suspect near the mainly Shia city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. >>> Oliver August in Baghdad | Thursday, August 27, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Painting The Naked Woman is seized by Iraqi security forces - but is it a Picasso? >>> Oliver August in Baghdad | Friday, August 28, 2009

Tory Logo Goes Rainbow for Gay Conference Event
THE TELEGRAPH: The Tory blue tree logo has been turned rainbow for the party’s first gay pride disco at this year’s Conservative conference.

The logo was displayed on the Conservative Party website as part of events billed as Conference Pride at the annual political gathering in Manchester Photo: The Telegraph
Around 700 guests are expected at the event, which is being held in Canal Street, in the gay area of Manchester where the conference is being held, on October 6.

There will be a speech by Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the gay rights group Stonewall, and a performance from the singer Angie Brown.

Surprise guests will attend, including a mystery “senior shadow cabinet member,” who will deliver a speech.

A party spokesman said: “The logo is being rebranded in rainbow colours for this event, to reflect the nature of the night.

“We have all sorts of rebranding for all sorts of different events.”

Andrew Brierly, 29, a party activist from Clapham, south London, said the event is sign the party is modernising its image to appeal to new voters.

He said: "By hosting events like this it is hoped that voters will recognise that the Conservative party is at the forefront of agenda-setting politics. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Dubious Deals Come with the Territory
TIMES ONLINE: The real scandal is the lost opportunity to uncover the conspirators behind the Lockerbie plot

The accusations would hurt any government, let alone one untested abroad. Alex Salmond’s administration has been accused of a political fix, a squalid commercial deal and a plot to protect its legal system. President Obama called the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi “highly objectionable”. The FBI was more devastating: Scotland had made a “mockery” of the Lockerbie families’ grief and given “comfort to terrorists around the world”.

But there is an indictment still more damning. In his cack-handed handling of the case, Kenny MacAskill, Scotland’s Justice Secretary, has now made it impossible to find out what really happened. There will be no judicial appeal. No court will ask the vital questions left unanswered by the trial in The Hague eight years ago. Who masterminded the atrocity? Who financed the bombers? Who else plotted the deaths of innocent passengers on Pan Am 103?

Lockerbie will remain, for ever, an unexplained horror. The answers instead will be supplied by conspiracy theorists and cranks. Lockerbie will become another Kennedy assassination, open to ever more outlandish explanations — except that this atrocity, unlike the killing in Dallas, will never be investigated at the highest judicial level.

The vacuum will be filled not only by bogus historians and those with a political axe to grind; history’s verdict will also, by default, be swayed by the only man convicted of the bombing who now claims new evidence would exonerate him. He has promised to write his memoirs. Even if he lives long enough to complete them, al-Megrahi alone will be unable to relieve the anguish of the victims’ families. Would he dare jeopardise his family by revealing all he knows?

Had his appeal gone ahead, at least his protestations could have been tested. He might have been cleared. Or his supposed innocence — now taking on a public plausibility — might have been definitely disproved. Instead, he will for ever remain in an absurd limbo, not innocent but somehow not wholly guilty.

A scandal is now swirling over the “deal” said to have been made to set al-Megrahi free. Did Muammar Gaddafi promise Gordon Brown lucrative energy contracts for British companies? Did Lord Mandelson discuss Lockerbie in his meetings in Corfu with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son? Was there an understanding that the prisoner would be home in time for Ramadan and, more importantly, to join in the 40th anniversary celebrations of Gaddafi’s seizure of power? >>> Michael Binyon | Monday, August 24, 2009

Tragically Flawed Guardian of the Liberal Flame
TIMES ONLINE: Brilliant orator, radical champion . . . but Edward Kennedy’s weaknesses conspired to stop him reaching the White House

In many ways Teddy Kennedy was the most politically gifted of the three Kennedy brothers. The Benjamin of the family (born 15 years after his brother, the President), he was gregarious where his brother Bobby tended to be reclusive and on his day, as each would willingly testify, could outshine them both as an orator. Yet, despite his 47 years in the US Senate, he never rose any higher than holding the essentially backroom job of Majority Whip — and that only for two years between 1969 and 1971.

Why? The easy answer, of course, lies in the one Native American word, Chappaquiddick. Before the disastrous episode there in July 1969 — when the Democratic senator from Massachusetts drove his Oldsmobile off a bridge, drowning his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, in the process — little, it seemed, could stand between the sole surviving heir to the Kennedy legend and his destiny in the White House. But how he behaved on that occasion, not least his callous delay in reporting the accident and the cold-hearted way in which he went about defending his conduct on television, destroyed that dream for ever. When he eventually did stand for the presidency he was humiliated by Jimmy Carter who beat him in 24 out of 34 primaries and in 20 of the 25 caucuses.

Yet even that defeat, far worse than Ronald Reagan’s when he ran against Gerald Ford four years earlier, did nothing to destroy his status as the keeper of the liberal conscience of the Democratic Party. The possessor of a better voting record on issues such as healthcare, welfare provision and workers’ rights, he regularly topped the ratings awarded by such organisations as Americans for Democratic Action. Untainted by his brothers’ earlier records over Vietnam, he was also recognised as a liberal internationalist, though with some reservations in this country provoked by the green tinge of his views on Northern Ireland. >>> Anthony Howard* | Thursday, August 27, 2009

*Anthony Howard was Washington correspondent of The Observer in the 1960s

A Christian on the Run in Egypt
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Maher El Gohary is something his Muslim compatriots can't fathom: a convert to Christianity. He and his daughter live like fugitives, moving frequently to avoid those who'd like to see him dead.

Christians and Muslims clashed in 2005 at St. George's Church in Alexandria, Egypt, where Muslims demanded an apology for a play they said was offensive to Islam. Photo: LA Times
Reporting from Alexandria, Egypt - It is a clear day along the coast, but in a bungalow off the beach, Maher El Gohary sits behind a locked door with an open Bible and a crystal cross, suspicious of every voice and sandal scraping past outside.

He and his daughter, Dina, live like refugees, switching apartments every few months, not wanting to get close to neighbors. Gohary's life has been threatened, his dogs have been killed, and it's been suggested that he's insane or possessed by spirits.

He is a man this Muslim nation cannot fathom: a convert to Christianity.

"Islam is the only thing Egyptians are 150% sure of. If you reject Islam, you shake their belief and you are an apostate, an infidel," he says. "I can see in the eyes of Muslims how much my conversion has really hurt them."

Egypt's Coptic Christians, who represent about 10% of the population, have veered from coexistence to violence with the Muslim majority. Bloody clashes recently erupted between Copts and Muslims over land disputes and restrictions on churches.

But converts, such as Gohary, are even more unsettling. Islamists believe that Muslims who forsake their religion should be punished by death.

Gohary wants to be called Peter and refuses to yield. He has filed a lawsuit asking an Egyptian court to officially recognize him as a Copt by changing the denomination on his national ID card from Muslim to Christian. The court ruled against him in June, finding that Gohary's baptism documents from the Coptic Orthodox Church were "legally invalid." The verdict is on appeal.

The case highlights the religious and political complexities that drive modern Egypt. The nation often seems at battle with itself as it attempts to balance the ideals of a democracy with laws steeped in Islamic principles.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the constitution, but fatwas, or religious edicts, from clerics subject converts from Islam to persecution and threats. The government treads uneasily, not wanting to anger religious conservatives who stubbornly guard Islam's grip on society.

Converts such as Gohary "should be killed by authorities," says Abdul Aziz Zakareya, a cleric and former professor at Al Azhar University. "Public conversions can lead to very dangerous consequences. The spreading of a phenomenon like this in a Muslim society can cause many unwanted results and tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims." >>> Jeffrey Fleishman | Sunday, August 23, 2009

Art: Long Beach Artist's Illustrations of a New Take on Koran
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Sandow Birk's 'American Qur'an,' heading to San Francisco and Culver City galleries, breaks away from Islamic tradition to examine the faith through contemporary images.

TERROR: "Sura 44 (A--B)" shows the towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. (Sandow Birk / Catharine Clark Gallery / March 26) Photo: LA Times
There's a long tradition of illustrating scenes from the Bible -- even a version of Genesis by alternative comics master R. Crumb. But the Koran, which Muslims consider to be the holy word of God, has never incorporated images of people or animals, according to Linda Komaroff, curator of Islamic art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

"It simply wasn't the kind of thing that would come up," she said, "In Islam, like Judaism, there's one invisible god that's everywhere, that can't be seen and can't even be comprehended." As a result, there was no need to develop figurative imagery for religious purposes. The Koran, said Komaroff, is regularly decorated with geometric or vegetal patterns, but she has seen only one example that contains more representational imagery. It depicts the facade of a mosque.

Now, Long Beach artist Sandow Birk has challenged that centuries-old tradition. His series of works on paper, "American Qur'an," is an English-language version of the central text of Islam, illustrated with scenes from contemporary American life. Selections from the project, which is ongoing and will eventually include over 300 pages, will be on view at Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco starting Sept. 5 and at Koplin Del Rio gallery in Culver City as of Sept. 8.

Executed in ink and gouache in an understated, realist style, many of the 16-by-24-inch works depict everyday sights -- urban street life, office workers in their cubicles, a pregnant couple in their frontyard. Others represent more historic moments, such as the smoking towers of the World Trade Center or a funeral with a casket draped in a U.S. flag. In the center of each image are two neatly framed boxes containing the text, hand-lettered in a font reminiscent of graffiti writing.

Although the Koran does not prohibit the creation of images, it does contain an injunction against the making of idols, and the faith's second most important text, the hadith, includes additional restrictions on the use of figurative imagery, said Komaroff. Whether "American Qur'an" violates these decrees seems to be a matter of interpretation. >>> Sharon Mizota | Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sin City of the Middle East
Party town ... tourists are flocking to Beirut to enjoy its glamorous nightlife and glitzy shows. Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: From nudist beach parties and wild bashes hosted by the likes of Paris Hilton, to gay clubs, gambling and showgirls, Beirut is rapidly earning a reputation as the sin city of the Middle East.

Clubbers don't bat an eye in popping $1000 for a bottle of champagne to guarantee attention at a trendy nightspot, where less is more as far as women's wear is concerned, and fireworks displays regularly light up the skies.

Lebanon has seen it all: a bloody 1975-1990 civil war, military occupation, high-profile assassinations, and unending political instability.

Four years ago, Beirut's seaside Riviera Hotel saw an assassination attempt targeting a leading anti-Syrian minister. Today it is keeping the neighbourhood awake as partygoers drink and dance the night away.

"We have clubs in Cairo," said 26-year-old Wafiq, as he swayed to the beat on a hot August night holding a glass of whiskey and puffing on a Cuban cigar.

"But nothing beats this," said the Egyptian, a financial consultant. "I need to come here to unwind."

A record one million-plus tourists visited Lebanon last month alone, according to the tourism ministry, which is expecting more than two million tourists by the end of 2009, a figure roughly equivalent to half the country's population.

Many of those flocking to Beirut are Lebanese expatriates, but Arab nationals have also arrived en masse to take advantage of Lebanon's glamorous nightlife and glitzy shows like "Hot Legs" at the Casino du Liban, featuring "striptease-style dances", according to the casino's website.

While Lebanon often flirts with the borderline of civil war -- sectarian strife in May 2008 resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people -- any sign of a political detente is quickly followed by a boom in tourism. >>> AFP | Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Saudi Attacks Obama's Oil Goal
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia's former ambassador to the US, Prince Turki al-Faisal, has criticised the Obama Administration for promoting energy independence, calling the campaign to curb oil consumption an affront to the kingdom.

''This 'energy independence' motto is political posturing at its worst - a concept that is unrealistic, misguided, and ultimately harmful to energy producing and consuming countries alike,'' the prince wrote in an article published on Foreign Policy magazine's website.

Prince Turki, a member of the Saudi royal family and a former director of Saudi intelligence and ambassador to Britain, called energy independence ''little more than code for arguing that the United States has a dangerous reliance'' on Saudi Arabia. The kingdom, the largest oil exporter, ''gets blamed for everything from global terrorism to high gasoline prices'', he said.

The US President, Barack Obama, is pushing for an expansion of wind and solar energy and higher fuel efficiency for vehicles in an effort to reduce dependence on imported oil. >>> | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Iran: Les témoignages de viols en prison se multiplient
LE TEMPS: Plusieurs récits révèlent la violence de la répression, au moment où les «cerveaux» des manifestations post-électorales comparaissent devant le tribunal révolutionnaire

Il préfère taire son nom. Pourtant, il veut témoigner, malgré les risques de représailles. «En prison, ils m’ont ligoté les mains et les pieds, ils m’ont battu à mort, puis ils m’ont fait quelque chose qui est un péché même pour les apostats», confie le jeune homme, en allusion au viol subi lors de ses interrogatoires derrière les barreaux de la prison de Kahrizak, au sud de Téhéran. Publié en début de semaine par Etemad e Melli, le site internet de Mehdi Karoubi, candidat malchanceux à l’élection présidentielle, le récit détaillé de la descente aux enfers de ce manifestant vient confirmer la violence de la répression post-électorale. Il montre, aussi, la volonté des durs du régime d’étouffer ces diverses affaires de sévices. Pas plus tard qu’hier, un membre d’une commission d’enquête du parlement a même déclaré «infondé» ce genre de révélations. >>> Delphine Minoui | Mercredi26 Août 2009

La France menace de sanctionner plus fortement l'Iran
L’EXPRESS.fr: Le gouvernement français envisage de nouvelles représailles si l'Iran ne reprend pas les discussions sur son programme nucléaire. "Qui peut croire les dirigeants iraniens?", s'est demandé Nicolas Sarkozy face aux ambassadeurs français réunis à l'Elysée.

Revigoré après ses trois semaines de vacances, le président français Nicolas Sarkozy a menacé l'Iran d'un "renforcement très substantiel des sanctions" si Téhéran ne répondait pas favorablement aux propositions de reprise des négociations avec les Occidentaux sur son programme nucléaire.

"Nous n'avons reçu aucune proposition positive à nos propositions (...) soyons clairs, si l'Iran ne change pas de politique, la question du renforcement très substantiel des sanctions sera posée", a lancé M. Sarkozy, ce mercredi, lors du discours d'ouverture de la Conférence des ambassadeurs français à l'Elysée. >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr avec AFP | Mercredi 26 Août 2009

Nokia étoffe ses applications pour le Ramadan
L’EXPRESS.fr: Avec son éventail d'applications dédiées disponibles sur l'OVI Store, Nokia s'associe de façon fort opportune à un des plus grands rendez-vous de l'Islam.

Le mois du Ramadan, un des moments les plus importants pour la communauté musulmane, commence ce vendredi. Très normé, cet événement est organisé selon des critères très précis. Ce qui a donné des idées à Nokia.

Ainsi, depuis 2008, le numéro un mondial du mobile a développé une série d'applications mobiles gratuites destinées aux fidèles. Cette année, le finlandais annonce de nouveaux services directement accessibles depuis son OVI Store, sa boutique d'applications en ligne.

Gratuit

"L'année dernière plus de 2,4 millions d'applications pour le ramadan ont été téléchargées. Et sur la base des commentaires et remarques que nous avons reçus des utilisateurs de Nokia, nous avons encore amélioré l'offre de cette année pour inclure de nouvelles applications ainsi que des mises à jour de certaines fonctions existantes.", [sic] a déclaré Eddy Rizk, Dirécteur Général de Nokia pour l'Afrique du Nord.

Au programme de ces applications : le Saint Coran, les horaires des prières, les dires du prophète (hadith), une calculatrice de la Zakat (l'aumône, le 3e pilier de l'Islam, NDLR), Mouddakir, un guide mobile des lieux les plus célèbres que les gens peuvent visiter pendant Haj et Omra et Cartes. >>> Par ZDNet.fr | Jeudi 20 Août 2009

Moral-Kampagne: Hamas rüstet gegen die Lust
SPIEGEL: Der militärische Erfolg bleibt aus, so besinnt sich die Hamas auf ihre islamistische Agenda: Badehosenverbot für Männer, Massenhochzeiten für alle - und Propaganda gegen Verführungen. Wie angebliche Lust-Kaugummis aus Israel.

Wenn man wissen will, was man in der Hamas derzeit so denkt, ist Islam Schahwan ein guter Gesprächspartner. Schahwan ist Sprecher der Hamas-Polizei, und er kämpft nicht nur gegen das Verbrechen im Gaza-Streifen, sondern vor allem gegen den Verfall der Sitten. Und deshalb hält Islam Schahwan jetzt eine kartenspielgroße Pappschachtel mit Daumen und Zeigefinger, sein Beweisstück. Auf der Schachtel steht: "Lina Sex for Woman", daneben ist das verschwommene Foto einer Blondine in weißer Unterwäsche aufgedruckt und eine Telefonnummer mit der Vorwahl von Burma.

Der Hamas-Mann legt sie auf dem Tisch ab, mit dem Bild nach unten. In der Schachtel versammelt sich, wenn man Schahwan glaubt, alles Übel der Welt: 20 gelbliche Dragees, von denen der Hamas-Mann behauptet, sie enthielten stimulierende Substanzen. "Nach einer halben Stunde Kauen müssen Sie unbedingt Sex haben, sofort, mit allem, sogar mit dem Fernseher", sagt er, es ist ihm sichtlich peinlich.

"Diesen Kaugummi hat die israelische Regierung nach Gaza geschmuggelt, er sollte an Schüler und Schülerinnen verteilt werden, um unsere Gesellschaft zu zersetzen." Die Jugendlichen sollten mittels Sex gegen die Hamas aufgehetzt werden, so sieht er das, so lautet die offizielle Propaganda. Erst Bomben, dann Sex, für Schahwan ist das nur logisch.

"Aber wir konnten das Schlimmste gerade noch verhindern", sagt der Polizeisprecher und lehnt sich breitbeinig auf seinem Stuhl zurück. Die Ehre eines vom Kaugummi erregten Mädchens konnte gerettet werden, die vier angeblichen Kollaborateure sitzen jetzt im Gefängnis, ihnen drohen bis zu 25 Jahre Gefängnis. Insgesamt 40 Kilo Lust-Kaugummi hat Schahwan konfisziert und im Tresor des Polizeihauptquartiers weggeschlossen, sicher ist sicher.

Natürlich ist der Vorwurf absurd, Israel versuche, die Palästinenser zu einer Revolte der Lust anzustacheln. Aber so lächerlich die Geschichte ist: Sie zeigt, wie die Hamas sich, angesichts ausbleibender militärischer Erfolge, wieder auf die Umsetzung ihrer islamistischen Agenda besinnt. Es ist kein Zufall, dass die Hamas, ein Dreivierteljahr nach dem Luftkrieg der Israelis, nun wieder islamische Regeln strikter durchsetzt. >>> Von Juliane von Mittelstaedt, Jerusalem | Mittwoch, 26. August 2009

Schweizer Geiseln haben Ausreisevisa erhalten: Umstrittene Vereinbarung mit Libyen soll umgesetzt werden
NZZ ONLINE: Die beiden seit über einem Jahr in Libyen festgehaltenen Schweizer haben ein Ausreise-Visum erhalten. Wie das Eidgenössische Finanzdepartement am Mittwochabend mitteilte, brauchen sie jetzt nur noch die Zustimmung der Justizbehörde für die Ausreise. >>> uhg./tsf. | Mittwoch, 26. August 2009

Tariq Ramadan: Uni Rotterdam feuert islamischen Intellektuellen
WELT ONLINE: Tariq Ramadan ist einer der einflussreichsten und zugleich umstrittensten islamischen Intellektuellen in Europa. Die einen halten ihn für den Vordenker eines Euro-Islam, andere für einen Scharlatan. Die Universität Rotterdam entzog ihm nun die Gastprofessur, weil er eine Sendung im iranischen Fernsehen moderiert.

An Tariq Ramadan scheiden sich die Geister. Für die einen ist der 46 Jahre alte Schweizer Staatsbürger einer der wenigen islamischen Intellektuellen, die eine diskussionsfähige Vision eines modernen „Euro-Islams“ vertreten. Für die anderen ist er ein Scharlatan, der westlichen Medien erzählt, was sie hören wollen und vor Glaubensgenossen aufklärungsfeindliche Positionen vertritt.

n der vergangenen Woche hat die Erasmus-Universität Rotterdam Ramadan die Gastprofessur entzogen, die er dort seit Januar 2007 ausübte. Zugleich war Ramadan in der niederländischen Stadt, die einen Ausländeranteil von 49 Prozent hat und einen Bürgermeister, der aus Marokko stammt, Berater für Integrationsfragen. Auch diesen Posten ist er nun los. Der Grund: Ramadan moderiert auf dem englischsprachigen iranischen Nachrichtensender Press TV eine Sendung mit dem Titel „Islam and Life“. Der Sender wird von der iranischen Regierung finanziert. Eine solche indirekte Beziehung zwischen Ramadan und dem repressiven iranischen Regime sei „inakzeptabel“, ließ die Stadt Rotterdam mitteilen. >>> Von Sascha Lehartz | Dienstag, 25. August 2009

Looking Back: Barack Obama Raised as Muslim

Colonel Qadhafi: Barack Obama Is a Muslim!

Colonel Qadhafi: Islam Is Taking Over Europe – Victory Within a Few Decades

Gaddafi’s 40-year Celebrations ‘Will Be Libya’s Coming-out Party’
TIMES ONLINE: Philippe Skaff faced a formidable challenge even before Libya gave the Lockerbie bomber such a rapturous homecoming last week: to erase memories of that country’s terrorist-sponsoring, WMD-producing past with a shining new global image.

It is a long-term project, but the six days of spectacular celebrations that the communications executive and his team are organising to mark Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s 40 years in power next week will be the “launch pad”, he says. “It’s the great coming-out party. These celebrations will definitely be the turning point for Libya.”

Cost is no object to this oil-rich state. Some of the world’s leading event management companies have been roped in, Tripoli is being given the mother of all facelifts and the once-closed country is admitting foreigners in unprecedented numbers.

But there are problems that no amount of festivity can obscure. One is that the celebrations come just as world attention is focused on the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack. Another is that, for all its recent courtship of the West, Libya remains a repressive police state ruled by a ruthless egomaniac.

A third is that while the entire world is being offered free live television coverage, the climax — a three-hour extravaganza on what Mr Skaff says is the biggest stage ever built — starts at 11pm local time when most of the globe is sleeping.

Mr Skaff, 52, the Canadian chief executive of Grey Worldwide Middle East and North Africa Network communications group, whose clients include BP, Bacardi, Union Carbide and BAT, is candid about his brief. It is to rebrand a country that has renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and to banish its pariah past.

“That image is not one they want to linger,” he told The Times. “They feel they have opened up, but the world has not responded the way they expected. They feel disappointed. They have made the effort and given in on a lot of issues to rejoin the international community. They are really changing.”

He hopes that next week’s celebrations will change the outside world’s opinion of Libya, and erode Libya’s suspicion of the outside world. He says that they will emphasise all that is good about Libya — its history, culture, scenery and warm people. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tripoli | Wednesday, August 26, 2009

TIMES ONLINE:
Marching band to hit big time controversy at Gaddafi parade >>> Simon de Bruxelles | Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber: A Grievous Blow to the Special Relationship
THE TELEGRAPH: British security will be harmed by the Megrahi affair, argues Irwin Stelzer.

Eleven and a half days. That's how much prison time the American commentator Charles Krauthammer reckons Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi served for each of the 270 people he murdered when he planted the bomb that blew Pan Am Flight 103 out of the skies. Alex Salmond is wrong when he says that Scotland's relationship with the US will be unaffected by the decision, and will remain "strong and enduring". It won't, at least not just now.

Congress is more than a little annoyed. Senators Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) and Chuck Schumer (Democrat, New York) have asked Gordon Brown to mount an inquiry to determine the facts surrounding Megrahi's release. That won't happen.

More important, the American security services are re-examining their relationship with their counterparts in Scotland and England, since the decision to release Megrahi is only the latest thumb in their eye. The British Government has refused on human rights grounds to extradite six suspected terrorists wanted by American authorities, including a Saudi sought in connection with bomb attacks on US embassies. Remember: this is the same Government that raised no objection when British businessmen were extradited to face trial in the United States on various charges. Apparently, the Scottish desire to show compassion to a mass murderer is matched by a British desire to keep suspected terrorists from facing justice in US courts.

There is also a boycott of Scottish goods being promoted online. Last year, visitors from the US accounted for 340,000 trips to Scotland, and spent £260 million (21 per cent of all expenditure by those from outside the UK). The number of Americans cancelling trips is increasing, but whether this will make a significant dent in the Scottish economy is too early to say. All in all, America – Scotland's largest overseas export market – spends almost £3 billion annually on goods and services, much on whisky, financial services and products from BP. American bloggers believe BP has its fingerprints all over what they see as a terrorist-for-oil deal, and that Scottish whisky can be replaced with Canadian and Irish products. Given the shaky nature of the financial system, though, cutting ties with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has a substantial presence in the US, might be more trouble than it is worth. >>> Irwin Stelzer | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber's Prognosis under 'Significant Doubt'
THE TELEGRAPH: The Lockerbie bomber could live far longer than predicted by Scottish ministers when they decided to release him, a cancer expert has warned.

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidelines suggest that inmates are only freed if they have less than three months to live. Photo: The Telegraph
Dr Richard Simpson said that medical reports show there is “significant doubt” that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi will die within the next three months.

The Labour MSP accused Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, of failing to conduct sufficient checks before deciding to release the terminally-ill bomber last week.

This attack was echoed by the Tories, who said that the most recent medical consensus was Megrahi would live eight months, too long to be eligible for compassionate release.

The row broke out as Gordon Brown finally ended his silence on the controversy, but refused to say whether he agreed with Mr MacAskill's decision.

The Prime Minister stressed he had “no role” in the release and he was “angry and repulsed” at the hero's welcome that greeted Megrahi on his return to Libya.

A storm of international condemnation has met Mr MacAskill's ruling last week to release Megrahi, who is suffering from prostate cancer, on compassionate grounds.

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidelines suggest that inmates are only freed if they have less than three months to live.

However, Dr Simpson, who specialised in prostate disease research, said: “It is clear to me from the medical reports and the opinion of the specialists that Megrahi could live for many more months. >>> Simon Johnson and Andrew Porter | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

If Gordon Brown Really Wants to Fight Terrorism, He Should Have Blocked the Release of the Lockerbie Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS: Gordon Brown can’t have it both ways. On the one hand he claims that his determination to fight terrorism remains “absolute”. On the other he says he had “no role” in the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of carrying out the Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people.

Well, if Mr Brown really is determined to fight terror, then he should very much have made it his business to have a role in the decision to repatriate Megrahi to Libya. He should have called up the Scottish government and ordered it keep Megrahi firmly locked up in his Scottish prison cell, no matter how ill the terrorist claimed to be.

It was so clearly in Britain’s national interest not to release Megrahi that the prime minister of the United Kingdom - and that includes Scotland - should have used all the powers at his disposal to play a central role in deciding Megrahi’s fate. >>> Con Coughlin | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Don't Pitch Your Tent Here, Terror Victims' Town Tells Colonel Gaddafi
Libyan-owned mansion in Englewood, situated next door to a Jewish school. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: A New Jersey town with a bitter experience of terrorism is in uproar at the prospect of Muammar Gaddafi pitching his air-conditioned tent there during his first visit to the United States.

The Libyan leader is considering making his Bedouin camp in the garden of a Libyan-owned mansion in Englewood, next door to a Jewish school and a famous rabbi, when he travels to New York to address the UN General Assembly on September 23.

Officials in the wealthy commuter town, 23 miles north of Manhattan, have vowed to stop Mr Gaddafi from staying there, particularly after he welcomed the Libyan intelligence agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

Englewood has its own searing memories of terrorism. The town lost five residents in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and its fire brigade helped in the recovery effort at "Ground Zero."

Congressman Steve Rothman, who represents the area and once served as Englewood's mayor, said:"Gaddafi is a dangerous dictator whose hands are covered with the blood of Americans and our allies."

Michael Wildes, the current mayor, said: "People are infuriated that a financier of terrorism, who in recent days gave a hero's welcome to a convicted terrorist, would be welcomed to our shores, let alone reside in our city."

Mr Gaddafi's attention turned to Englewood after the US refused permission for him to pitch his tent in New York's Central Park.

Libya purchased the 25-room mansion known as "Thunder Rock", set on 4.7 acres on tree-lined Englewood Avenue, in 1982. It wanted to use the property as a diplomatic mission, but federal officials bridled at the idea.

Local officials worked out a deal with the US State Department at the time restricting Libya's use of the mansion as a weekend and summer retreat for Libya's UN ambassador and visiting dignataries [sic].

The next-door neighbour is orthodox Jewish rabbi, Smuley Boteach, the star of a TV series called Shalom in the Home. >>> James Bone in New York | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Hamas Is Leading Palestine Down the Road of Carnage
THE TELEGRAPH: Brutality is at the heart of Hamas's practice and ideology, characterising its actions against both Palestinians and Israelis, writes Ron Prosor.

Hamas has no interest in compromise or negotiation. Photo: The Telegraph
Earlier this month, Hamas launched a devastating bombardment of rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire against a mosque in Rafah. The attack killed at least 22 Palestinians, including an 11-year-old girl. Over 100 more were injured and the mosque, which belonged to a rival Islamist faction, the Jund Ansar Allah, was left riddled with bullets. The adjacent building was destroyed. Yet Hamas's disregard for the sanctity of a house of worship, and its contempt for the lives of neighbouring civilians, is unlikely to be the subject of any probing reports from Human Rights Watch.

It is no surprise to see Hamas brutalising the Palestinian population as it tightens its vice-like grip over Gaza. After all, it seized control of the territory in a bloody coup against the Palestinian Authority in June 2007, murdering rivals and hurling PA officials from the rooftops. Subsequently, it has ruthlessly and violently crushed any potential challenge to its power, whether from the Palestinian nationalists of Fatah, or from rival terrorist groups within the Islamist fold.

Meanwhile, it has imposed Gaza's rapid descent into fanatical freefall. As it hounded out the Palestinian Authority, Hamas opened Gaza's floodgates to a tsunami of extremism. Extremism breeds extremism, and the rise of rival Jihadist groups is a problem of Hamas's own making. Yet when it perceives such groups as a threat, or when ideological differences exist, it demonstrates its own barbaric methods of conflict resolution and law enforcement.

Brutality is at the heart of Hamas's practice and ideology, characterising its actions against both Palestinians and Israelis. Throughout its bloody history, the organisation has unleashed waves of indiscriminate terror against any attempt at progress. Yet alarmingly, sections of the media are determined to whitewash and legitimise it. They are joined by various politicians, commentators and activists, who argue that Israel and the West must talk to Hamas, so implying that it is on the verge of a switch to moderation.

Yet Hamas has no interest in compromise or negotiation. The most vicious, genocidal anti-Semitism is intrinsic to its goals. Its charter includes the ominous vision that, "The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. When the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." This year, a senior Hamas figure, Fathi Hammad, reminded us of its continued commitment to this goal when he stated: "We will not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity." >>> Ron Prosor* | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

*Ron Prosor is the Israeli ambassador to Britain

Analysis: Vast Reserves of Oil and Gas Are Colonel Gaddafi's Real Weapons
TIMES ONLINE: Libya may have renounced its weapons of mass destruction, but two weapons just as powerful remain in its arsenal: its vast and barely tapped reserves of oil and gas.

Tony Blair helped to secure a £900 million gas exploitation deal for BP when he visited Libya two years ago, but the deal remains hampered by bureaucratic obstacles.

At the same meeting Mr Blair and Colonel Gaddafi discussed Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi’s release, setting the path towards a possible prisoner transfer agreement. Will his walk to freedom on compassionate grounds now lead to BP’s hurdles magically dissolving?

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader’s debonair son and probable heir, implied so as he accompanied al-Megrahi back to Tripoli. “In all commercial contracts for oil and gas with Britain, al-Megrahi was always on the negotiating table,” he said. It is undiplomatic of Saif to say it, but that does not stop it from being true. Libya, once a reviled pariah state, has played a long, careful game to bring itself in from the cold — including the handover of al-Megrahi in the first place, part of its effort to re-establish trade relations with the West. Saif has publicly stated that al-Megrahi was Libya’s national fall guy, handed over in the hope of re-establishing trade relations with the West. >>> Catherine Philp | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

German Neo-Nazis Beat Up Black Briton in Front of Family
TIMES ONLINE: A black British man was assaulted in front of his family by three supporters of a German far-right party in Hamburg at the weekend.

Police said that the 46-year-old man was with his wife and four-year-old son at a bakery stall when the men approached him and handed him a flyer for the National Democratic Party.

When the man ripped the pamphlet up his attackers pushed him against a glass window and one man punched him while another sprayed pepper spray in his eyes.

Three suspects, who have not been named, have been arrested and are being investigated on suspicion of causing bodily harm.

The British man was treated in a hospital and released.

News of the attack came on the same day that German prosecutors brought charges against a man accused of hanging a blood-drenched pig’s head and a banner denying the Holocaust at a Jewish cemetery in the city of Erfurt.

The 47-year-old is believed to have hung the pig’s head from the Star of David on the entrance gate to the graveyard in Gotha near Erfurt and thrown two glasses filled with pig’s blood at the gate.

Police also found a cloth banner reading “six million lies” in a reference to the number of Jews killed by the Nazis. >>> Jenny Booth | Monday, August 24, 2009

Obama entre dans une zone de turbulences
LE FIGARO: Les sondages de popularité se sont mis à chuter de manière sensible et l'idée selon laquelle le président a surestimé le mandat qui lui était donné en voulant révolutionner le modèle américain fait progressivement son chemin.

Il aura donc fallu attendre le mois d'août pour que Barack Obama se retrouve dans les premières turbulences de sa présidence. Certains, peut-être un peu hâtivement, parlent même déjà d'un avis de tourmente politique pour la rentrée de septembre, avec la formidable bataille sur la réforme de la santé qui s'annonce.

Première cause d'inquiétude, les sondages de popularité présidentiels se sont mis à chuter de manière sensible. Caracolant avec 63 % d'opinions favorables lors de l'anniversaire de ses 100 jours, Barack Obama est tombé à 49 % de cote de confiance. La réforme de la santé suscite une levée de boucliers de plus en plus perceptible, puisque 54 % des sondés la jugent trop audacieuse, tandis que 41 % estiment qu'elle ne va pas assez loin. La majorité s'inquiète des visées jugées trop gauchistes d'Obama. Son électorat de gauche se pose des questions sur la force de son engagement en faveur du changement. Alors qu'en juin, plus de 50 % d'Américains étaient en faveur de la réforme de la santé, beaucoup se demandent s'il y a véritablement urgence à l'entreprendre, alors que la question du déficit budgétaire qui grève l'économie leur apparaît prioritaire. >>> Par correspondante du Figaro à Washington, Laure Mandeville | Mardi 25 Août 2009

Opposition à Obama : le réveil des républicains
Des manifestants républicains, opposés aux réformes sur la santé proposées par l'Administration Obama, patientent devant l'hôtel de ville de Bellefonte (Pennsylvanie) le 12 août dernier, avant être reçuspar le sénateur Arlen Specter, ancien conservateur passé dans le camp démocrate. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Avec le débat sur la réforme de la santé, l'opposition a flairé une occasion unique de détruire l'image d'Obama et de trouver un second souffle.

On disait les républicains «lessivés», voire «menacés d'extinction» à la manière de ce vieux parti Whig, qui disparut un jour des écrans radars de la politique américaine sans crier gare. Le triomphe de Barack Obama paraissait annoncer une longue et aride traversée du désert. Déstabilisé par le rejet épidermique de l'ère Bush qui parcourt la société, le Grand Old Party (GOP) en était réduit à remuer nostalgiquement ses souvenirs de la révolution conservatrice de l'époque Reagan, désormais vue comme un âge d'or.

Au mois de mai, la défection du sénateur républicain modéré Arlen Specter vers le camp démocrate, parce qu'«il ne trouvait plus sa place» dans un parti ayant viré à droite toute, accentua encore le sentiment de déroute. Ce départ «soulève de profondes questions sur la viabilité du Parti républicain», lança la sénatrice de droite centriste Olympia Snowe.

Mais soudain, cet été, avec la vague montante d'opposition à la réforme du système de santé lancée par l'Administration Obama, des vents plus cléments se sont mis à souffler sur le camp conservateur, qui se reprend à croire à un retour en grâce inespéré. >>> Par Laure Mandeville, correspondante à Washington | Mardi 25 Août 2009

USA: Dick Cheney verteidigt die Folter des CIA
WELT ONLINE: Der frühere US-Vizepräsident Dick Cheney kann die Kritik an den CIA-Verhörmethoden nicht nachvollziehen. Auch mit dem Vorwurf der Folter kann er nichts anfangen. Im Gegenteil: Cheney verteidigt sie sogar: „Diese Erkenntnisse haben Leben gerettet und Terroranschläge verhindert."

Der frühere US-Vizepräsident Dick Cheney hat die umstrittenen Terrorverhöre des Geheimdienstes CIA gegen Kritik verteidigt. Die Verhöre von Terroristen, die den "harten Verhörmethoden" ausgesetzt worden seien, hätten einen Großteil der Geheimdiensterkenntnisse über al Qaida geliefert, sagte Cheney in einer Stellungnahme. "Diese Erkenntnisse haben Leben gerettet und Terroranschläge verhindert", sagte Cheney. Die neue US-Regierung betrachtet die sogenannten harten Verhörmethoden als Folter.

Cheney kritisierte die Veröffentlichung eines internen CIA-Untersuchungsberichts, der unter anderem ans Licht brachte, dass Terrorverdächtige von Agenten mit dem Tod bedroht wurden, es zu Misshandlungen, Scheinhinrichtungen und zu massiven Drohungen gegen Angehörige der Verdächtigen kam. Der ehemalige Vize des damaligen Präsidenten George W. Bush sagte, die Veröffentlichung zeige, wieso so viele Amerikaner Zweifel hätten, ob die Regierung von Präsident Barack Obama der Verantwortung für die Sicherheit des Landes gewachsen sei. >>> AP/ak | Dienstag, 25. August 2009

Nicht mehr in Jeans zur Schule: Neue Kleidervorschriften der Hamas für Schülerinnen im Gazastreifen
NZZ ONLINE: Im Gazastreifen sind zu Beginn des neuen Schuljahres die Kleidervorschriften für Schülerinnen der Oberstufe verschärft worden. Danach dürfen junge Frauen weder Jeans noch Jeansröcke tragen, sondern nur noch langärmlige lange Umhänge und weisse Kopftücher.

Schülerinnen, die sich nicht an die neuen Vorschriften hielten, durften Schulgebäude nicht betreten. Ein Sprecher der Bildungsbehörde wies am Montag in Gaza Berichte zurück, wonach die im Gazastreifen herrschende Hamas-Organisation die neuen Vorschriften offiziell angeordnet hat.

Im Gazastreifen hat das neue Schuljahr am Sonntag begonnen. Rund 250'000 Schüler gehen in Schulen, die von der radikalislamischen Hamas kontrolliert werden. Weitere 200'000 Schüler - vor allem in den Flüchtlingslagern - besuchen Einrichtungen der Vereinten Nationen.

Am Eingang zu einer von der Hamas kontrollierten Mädchenschule war ein Hinweisschild angebracht: «Alle Mädchen sollten einen dunkelblauen Umhang tragen, ihren Kopf mit einem weissen Kopftuch verhüllen und schwarze oder weisse Schuhe anziehen. Wir rufen alle Schüler auf, sich an diese Vorschriften zu halten.» Protesten und Tränen >>> sda/dpa | Dienstag, 25. August 2009

Amok für Allah: Der heilige Krieg und seine Frauen – ein Beispiel aus dem Irak
NZZ ONLINE: In der römischen Antike war das Martyrium für den Glauben nicht vorgesehen. Vielgötterei herrschte mitsamt den schützenden Mächten für Haus und Herd, und wenn der Heldentod gefordert schien, so galt er dem Staat, der ihn ehrte – genauer: der res publica, solange sie noch ihren Namen verdiente. Deshalb konnten später die christlichen Bekenner, die ihrer Religion bis zum Äussersten nachlebten, nur mit dem Unverstand – und alsbald mit der Grausamkeit – ihrer Verfolger rechnen. Anderseits wussten sie sich mit einem Jenseits belohnt, das den Himmel über ihnen aufspannte. Viele unter ihnen erhob die Kirche später zu Heiligen ihrer beispielhaften Standfestigkeit.

Die Kämpfer für den heiligen Krieg, die heute den Islam radikalisieren, beseelt eine andere Mission. Auch sie glauben sich zwar geborgen in der Vertikale, die ihr Gott geöffnet hat. Doch tragen sie den Glauben bei Bedarf mit Gewalt in die Welt, was zugleich die Unterscheidung in Freund und Feind erzwingt. Die Folgen dieser politisierten Theologie sind uns längst bekannt – die Handschrift der Anschläge und Attentate läuft inzwischen über den ganzen Globus. Wer aber gemeint hätte, dass die Mobilmachung vorwiegend junge Schreckensmänner rekrutiere, sähe sich mittlerweile eines Besseren belehrt. Die Grenze zwischen den Geschlechtern ist durchlässig geworden, Frauen mit Bildung und Verstand stellen sich in den Dienst des Terrors. Eine Titelstory >>> Martin Meyer | Samstag, 22. August 2009

Swiss President Defends Apology in Libya Dispute
ASSOCIATED PRESS: BERN, Switzerland — Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz defended his apology to Libya for the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son, saying Friday it was the only way to secure the release of two Swiss citizens detained by Tripoli.

The apology was heavily criticized in the Swiss media, but welcomed by companies eager to do business in the oil-rich North African country.

"My mission was to ensure that we can work through what happened in Geneva, to get the two Swiss out of Libya — that was my primary aim," Merz told reporters in the capital Bern.

Tripoli cut business and diplomatic ties with the Alpine nation after Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife were arrested July 15, 2008, in a Geneva luxury hotel for allegedly beating up two of their servants. The servants later withdrew their complaint after receiving compensation from an undisclosed source.

Four days after the arrest Libya also detained two employees of engineering company ABB Ltd. — Max Goeldi and Rachid Hamdani — for alleged breaches of immigration rules. Swiss media have described them as "hostages" that Tripoli was using to force an apology from Switzerland. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press | Friday, August 21, 2009

NZZ ONLINE:
Flugzeug nach Libyen unterwegs: Landung in Tripolis vor 18 Uhr zu erwarten>>> sda | Dienstag, 25. August 2009

PM: We've Been Building in Jerusalem for 3,000 Years
YNET NEWS: Netanyahu, UK's Gordon Brown meet in London, as pro-Palestinian rally crowds entrance to Downing 10. British premier urges halt of settlement construction, PM stresses: 'Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is the sovereign capital of the State of Israel'

LONDON - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday afternoon with UK Premier Gordon Brown. Netanyahu had to be ushered into the official Downing Street residence via the back door, as the front entrance was the scene of a pro-Palestinians rally.

The rally, attended by hundreds of people, began about 30 minutes prior to Netanyahu's arrival at Number 10, causing both the British and Israeli security officers present to heighten alert, fearing the Israeli prime minister's convoy may be targeted.

Brown met Netanyahu and Israeli Ambassador to London Ron Prosor at the door, and all three were rushed in by their respective security details.

At some point, several demonstrators tried breaching the secured perimeter, but were stopped by British police. Demonstrators hollered slogans the likes of "Free Palestine" and "Netanyahu's a war criminal," and carried signs reading "Judea and Samaria are Palestinian territory," "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine," and "Let the Palestinians live."

The two held a joint press conference after their meeting, in which Brown said the UK was and is a loyal friend to Israel and that it supports the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Nevertheless, brown stressed that that the demand to halt settlement construction remains in place, as the settlements are what impedes the two-state solution.

Jerusalem, responded Netanyahu, "Is not a settlement. It is the sovereign capital of the State of Israel. We have been building in Jerusalem for 3,000 years." >>> Roni Sofer | Tuesday, 25, 2009

Obama’s Charm Wearing Off
YNET NEWS – OPINION: Recent ceremony reinforces sense that Obama no more than great orator

Last week, American President Barack Obama awarded 16 international figures with the Medal of Freedom. The list of recipients included Desmond Tutu from South Africa, Mary Robinson of the Durban Conference, black hole expert Steven Hawking and others.

The Fox Network offered a live broadcast of the ceremony, which is the equivalent of our Israel Prize, only much more compact: The audience in attendance was rather small, and there were no tiring speeches. The record of each award recipient was only reviewed in brief.

As opposed to what is customary around here, the recipients did not get money, but rather, only a medal. Obama did not even bother to shake their hand before he awarded the medal. He quickly kissed the women and slightly nodded at the men.

He was even stingy when it came to flashing his trademark smile, as if this was some kind of budgetary burden that the bankrupt Washington cannot afford at this difficult time.

Overall, the admired president was incredible cold and arrogant. He barely spoke to the medal recipients. His body language conveyed a sense of disinterest. Even Hawking obviously bored him. Cold and arrogant >>> Hagai Segal | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

It’s Not Independent to Cosy Up to the Colonel
TIMES ONLINE: Lockerbie was a plot against American lives. Of course the US has every right to be outraged by the bomber’s release

Yesterday the Bishop of Musselburgh somehow tricked his way into the Scottish Parliament in the guise of Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary. How else to account for the transcendent moral tone of the statement made concerning the release of the convicted bomber of Pan Am Flight 103?

Scotland was, the Right Rev MacAskill implied, a superior place where “we define ourselves by our humanity”, a humanity obliging the Justice Secretary to show compassion to Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, in the form of letting him fly home, the occasion being the supposed proximity of the prisoner’s death.

And nothing else, note. The utterly unrepentant al-Megrahi, according to Mr MacAskill, who had by now switched to high sanctimony, was facing a “sentence imposed by another power ... He is going to die.” The word “soon” was of course implied.

So these are the new “laws and values of Scotland” — if you’re going to snuff it within a reasonably short time (let’s say months, or a year or so) you are thought to have been transferred into the custody of God and you get let out. How could one not agree with that?

Easily. One wonders how widely Mr MacAskill would like to see this form of humanity applied. Let us imagine that Robert Black, the Scottish serial killer of young girls, or Ian Brady, the Scottish-born Moors Murderer, were discovered to be on their last knockings. Like al-Megrahi, they, too, have shown a resilience in their refusal to help the authorities to uncover the full extent of their crimes, and have thus made matters worse for the victims’ families.

But surely they will soon be beyond the capacity to inflict harm, their maker’s finger beckoning to them, so wouldn’t it be best to return them from England to Grangemouth and Glasgow respectively, to die in the bosom of whatever families they can discover there? >>> David Aaronovitch | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fate of Swiss Expatriates in Libya Was Ominous for al-Megrahi Case
TIMES ONLINE: British and other Western expatriates living in Libya were warned in April that they faced serious repercussions if the Lockerbie bomber died in his Scottish prison.

“Word went out that there could be reprisals . . . . We were told not to go into the centre of Tripoli,” said one of the thousands of Westerners who are helping to develop Libya’s oil and gas fields. “Everybody went ‘eek!’. It’s so unpredictable here. You don’t know what’s going to happen. It could be something or it could be nothing.”

The expats were not told what the reprisals might be were Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to die in Scotland, but the tale of a Swiss citizen called Max Goeldi may be instructive. Mr Goeldi has spent much of the past year holed up in Switzerland’s largely deserted embassy, unable to leave Libya and too frightened to set foot on the streets of Tripoli.

A visit yesterday by The Times to the high-walled embassy in a quiet residential street in the Libyan capital was interrupted at the door when two unsmiling men in a white car pulled up and asked our translator what we were doing. He fled. The men drove off when the embassy’s sole diplomat opened the gate, but the latter politely refused requests to see Mr Goeldi.

Mr Goeldi’s story — and that of the Swiss in Libya in general — demonstrates what the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi can do if angered by countries that covet its oil, gas and lucrative development contracts. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tripoli | Tuesday, August 25, 2009