Wednesday, November 04, 2009
HAARETZ: President Barack Obama late Tuesday noted the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, while insisting he wants the U.S. and Iran to move beyond the "path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation" that followed the subsequent hostage crisis.
Islamic militants stormed the embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, seizing its occupants. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days.
The crisis "deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice," Obama said in a statement.
"This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation," Obama added. "I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. ... We have made clear that if Iran lives up to the obligations that every nation has, it will have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community."
The Iranian government backed events Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of the takeover, including an annual anti-American rally outside the brick walls of the former embassy compound. Thousands of people gathered outside the former embassy, waving anti-American banners and signs praising the Islamic Revolution. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: The answer lies in changing the culture of two institutions - schools and the police
The fight to win legal equality for gay people is almost won in Britain – yet the taste of champagne has been tainted by an unexpected dash of blood. In the past few years, gay people have finally begun to exercise the same rights as their straight siblings, yet there has been a sharp surge in violence against us.
In London, recorded homophobic attacks are up by 20 per cent. In Glasgow it's 32 per cent; in Liverpool it's 40 per cent; in Greater Manchester it's 63 per cent. James Parks is only the latest face to be kicked in by this trend: last week, the off-duty police officer left a club in Liverpool with his boyfriend and was lynched by a group of 20 teenagers who smashed his skull and left him close to death.
In a recession, violence always rises, and violence against minorities rises more. Attacks on Muslims, Jews, and black people are also spiking across Britain. But recorded violence against gay people has shown the most extreme rise. Last year, an 18 year-old hairdresser in Liverpool called Michael Causer was sleeping on a friend's sofa after a party when he was woken up. A witness testified that a group of teenagers yelled, "You little queer faggot!" They said they were going to cut out his body-piercings with a knife, and started burning his legs with a lighter. He was found bleeding to death later, dumped in the road outside, after having his head smashed in with a hardback book.
At the trial, one of the 19-year-olds tried for the murder said he was acting "in self-defence" – against a smaller, seven-and-a-half stone boy with no history of violent behaviour. A witness said that during the attack, he had yelled: "He's a little queer, he deserves it!" Yet the jury found him not guilty.
What can we do to stop this surge? The answer does not lie in new laws; these attacks are already highly illegal. It lies in changing the culture of two core British institutions that are still tolerating anti-gay bigotry – our schools, and our police service. >>> Johann Hari | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
ADVOCATE.COM: Republican Chris Christie unseated Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race, taking nearly 50% of the vote to Corzine’s 44%.
Corzine supports same-sex marriage while Christie backs amending the state’s constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
Despite Christie’s win, the New Jersey legislature is widely expected to vote on a same-sex marriage bill during the lame-duck session between Tuesday’s vote and January. If it passes, Corzine has pledged to sign the bill. [Source: Advocate.com] | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: A man who kidnapped and raped five children, one of whom was left in the desert to die, has been sentenced to be beheaded and his body publicly crucified.
Muhammed Basheer al-Ramaly, 22, from the northern city of Hail, in Saudi Arabia, will be executed at noon today.
He will be beheaded by sword then his body tied to a wooden cross and his head stuck on a pole as a deterrent.
Al-Ramaly was found guilty in February of abducting and raping five boys, the eldest of whom was 7 and the youngest just 3, who he left out in the desert to die.
His modus operandi was to pick up the boys in his car and take them off to a secret location and rape them. Most of them were found a day or two after they were abducted, and told police that they had been abused.
Saudi reports said that police used one of the survivors, a seven-year-old boy, to scour the area where he was molested, looking for the suspect's vehicle.
Al-Ramaly allegedly confessed to the crime and was sentenced to death by a court in Hail, but appealed to a higher court in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
That court yesterday upheld the sentence and ordered his immediate execution. While Saudi Arabia carries out numerous beheadings -- 102 last year, according to Amnesty International - crucifixions are relatively rare. The last one appears to have been in May, when the headless body of a sex murderer was displayed in the capital. >>> Source: The Belfast Telegraph | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH: Pervert to be beheaded and crucified in Saudi Arabia >>> | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
DIE PRESSE: Die Regierung und die Kirche protestieren gegen das Urteil des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte, das Kruzifixe in Schulklassen untersagt. Europaminister Ronchi warnt vor einem "gefährlichen Laizismus".
Die italienische Regierung reagiert mit Empörung auf das vom Europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte gefällte Urteil, wonach Kruzifixe nicht in Schulklassen hängen dürfen, weil damit das Recht der Schüler auf Religionsfreiheit verletzt wird. "In Italien wird niemand Kreuze aus den Schulklassen entfernen. Dieses Urteil ist ein besorgniserregendes Signal der antispirituellen Tendenzen in Europa und bezeugt, wie gefährlich der Laizismus in unserem Kontinent ist", warnte der italienische Europaminister Andrea Ronchi. Die Regierung Berlusconi hat gegen das Kruzifix-Urteil Berufung eingelegt, teilte Bildungsministerin Mariastella Gelmini mit.
Auch der Vatikan bekräftigte seine Sorge wegen des Urteils. Das Kruzifix sei ein elementares Zeichen für die Bedeutung der religiösen Werte in der italienischen Geschichte und Kultur, sagte Vatikan-Sprecher Pater Federico Lombardi. Er sprach dem Gerichtshof in Straßburg das Recht ab, sich in dieser Form in ureigenste italienische Angelegenheiten einzumischen. Anscheinend wolle das Gericht die Rolle, die das Christentum in der Identität Europas spiele, negieren.
Das Urteil des Gerichts sei "absurd", sagte Gabriella Carlucci, Vorsitzende der gemeinsamen Kommission von Abgeordnetenhaus und Senat für die Kinderrechte. Sowohl das zuständige Verwaltungsgericht (TAR) als auch der Staatsrat hätten darauf hingewiesen, dass das Kruzifix "Symbol der italienischen Geschichte und Kultur" sei und damit auch der Identität des Landes und der Garant der Prinzipien der Gleichheit, Freiheit und Toleranz. Klage von Mutter gegen Kreuze >>> APA | Mittwoch, 04. November 2009
LE TEMPS: Le célèbre économiste Jeffrey D. Sachs justifie sa «thérapie de choc» pour créer un marché qui a, selon lui, fait ses preuves en Pologne. A l’inverse, la dérive russe est la démonstration, non d’une faillite des préceptes économiques mais de l’incurie politique
Son nom est indissociable des réformes économiques de l’ère post-soviétique. En 1990, Jeffrey D. Sachs, alors professeur à Harvard, conseille les autorités polonaises, puis Moscou de 1991 à 1993, ainsi que d’autres Etats de l’Europe de l’Est. Avec une fortune diverse et un héritage qui fait toujours débat. Connues sous le nom de «thérapie de choc» ou «big bang», ses recettes prônaient une rupture radicale – par opposition à une transition graduelle – avec l’économie planifiée pour embrasser l’économie de marché et ainsi arrimer l’Europe de l’Est à l’Europe occidentale. Privatisation, retrait de l’Etat, maîtrise de l’inflation, négociation de la dette, le célèbre économiste assume aujourd’hui son approche tout en se distanciant d’un courant ultralibéral auquel il avait été associé par ses détracteurs.
Après avoir piloté le projet Objectifs du millénaire des Nations unies lorsqu’il était le conseiller spécial du secrétaire général de l’ONU, Kofi Annan, Jeffrey D. Sachs est aujourd’hui directeur de l’Institut de la terre (Earth Institute) à l’Université Columbia de New York. Interview exclusive.
Le Temps: Vous avez été, après la chute du communisme, un des économistes les plus influents pour prôner une transition radicale vers une économie de marché. Avec le recul, referiez-vous la même chose?
Jeffrey D. Sachs: Je pense que c’était tout à fait justifié. La question était de savoir à quelle vitesse ouvrir le commerce, rendre les monnaies convertibles, en d’autres termes à quelle vitesse rejoindre l’économie de l’Europe de l’Ouest. La décision d’aller vite et de façon décisive s’est avérée correcte. Bien sûr, la transition a connu un chemin tortueux car c’était l’une des plus importantes révolutions du XXe siècle. Après cinquante années d’un système misérable, il y avait beaucoup de dislocations, beaucoup de difficultés d’ajustement, beaucoup d’échecs, une industrie décrépite héritée de l’ère soviétique. Ces changements étaient inévitables et difficiles. Particulièrement pour les gens âgés de 40-50 ans, dont la vie a basculé entre deux époques très différentes. Il fallait avancer prudemment, cela a souvent été hasardeux. Dans certains pays ce fut efficace, dans d’autres il y a eu beaucoup de négligences. Les réformes menées en Pologne ont été considérées comme un relatif succès. Comment l’expliquer? >>> Frédéric Koller | Mercredi 04 Novembre 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: The US President's performance has dismayed even his biggest admirers, writes Simon Heffer.
A year ago, almost to the minute, I was here in New York, watching television reports of the aftermath of the election of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States of America. I recall the sight of a lachrymose woman from the Midwest, standing outside her run-down house as the sun rose, giving thanks for her deliverance: not from George W Bush, but from the threat of foreclosure. I have no idea whether this poor woman kept the roof over her head; all I know is, if she did, it would have been no thanks to Mr Obama.
On the anniversary of his election, he is busy with unpleasant confrontations with reality. As my colleague Toby Harnden reported so graphically last week, the honeymoon is over. Never in American politics has someone come to power on such a bubble of expectation; never, inevitably, has the pricking of that bubble caused such shock. America may just have come out of recession, but things remain bad. Ten per cent of the workforce is unemployed: here in New York, perhaps the most dynamic and prosperous city on the planet, the figure is even higher.
The rhetoric that bore Mr Obama to office proved equal to electoral success, but not to economic management. Moreover, Mr Obama's most coveted legislative aim, the creation of a sort of national health service, remains elusive. The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper here of serious money, has just savaged the Bill as perhaps the worst inflicted on the American people since the era of Roosevelt. Its projected cost – $1.055 trillion over 10 years – is regarded as madness when America has a level of debt so astronomical that it (just) exceeds, per capita, that of Britain; and few outside a hard core of Obama devotees see it delivering what is needed, where it is needed.
Internationally, the lustre has worn off, too. Mr Obama might have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but the less said about that the better. The award was apparently decided in February, days after he entered the Oval Office. He gave up his missile defence system in eastern Europe: we all imagined the Russians would give something in return, but we are still waiting. More recently, he went to Copenhagen to try to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago, and failed. While this did little more than provide amusement to many, it damaged him in America, and outraged his true believers: perhaps the emperor had a small wardrobe after all.
Now he is immersed in a deliberative exercise about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. As is the lot of politicians, he will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. What the dilemma illustrates is that governing is not so easy as it might once have seemed; that you cannot please all of the people all of the time, so there is little point trying; and that the expertise of the Obama campaign in managing image is useless when managing a country. Tony Blair, had they asked, could have told him that. For all the difficulties of America's imperial burden, it is the domestic, and particularly the economic, front that Mr Obama and his colleagues are finding hardest to defend. … >>> Simon Heffer, in New York | Tuesday, November 04, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: American voters have delivered a sharp rebuke to Barack Obama by rejecting his allies in Virginia, the swing state that helped deliver him the White House almost exactly a year ago, and the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey.
Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, trounced his Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds, for whom Mr Obama had campaigned, by 17 points to become Virginia governor. Republicans also won the races in Virginia for lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Governor Jon Corzine, the incumbent Democrat, was defeated by Chris Christie in New Jersey, where no Republican had won state-wide since 1997.
It was a sobering night for Mr Obama, who had campaigned ferociously for Mr Corzine, appearing at two of his rallies on Sunday. A sole consolation was an unexpectedly close race in upstate New York, where it seemed that the Democrat might overcome a Conservative party candidate after the Republican withdrew. >>> Toby Harnden in McLean, Virginia | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Updated: Republican wins in Virginia & New Jersey wins equal miserable night for Barack Obama >>> Toby Harnden | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Obama suffers poll blow a year after taking office >>> Giles Whittell in Washington | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Bloomberg has narrowly won a third term as Mayor of New York after spending a record $100 million (£60 million) on his campaign.
Mr Bloomberg, the owner of the Bloomberg news agency, spent 13 times as much as his Democrat rival Bill Thompson and won by 51 per cent to 46 per cent.
His victory was much narrower than predicted. A poll the day before the election had put him 12 points ahead.
Mr Bloomberg, 67, who has an estimated fortune of $16 billion (£9.7 billion) and is the richest man in New York, had succeeded in getting the city's mayoral term limits changed which allowed him to run for a third time.
He had originally supported a ban on three-term mayors. >>> Nick Allen | Wednesday, November 04, 2009
With thanks to H for sending me the following link:
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's power to govern itself is to be surrendered increasingly to Brussels after the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty was finally ratified.
The treaty, which will come into force within a few weeks, will create the first president of Europe, as well as a European foreign minister, and will end Britain’s right to veto new EU rules in more than 40 policy areas.
The treaty's supporters say it will allow the EU to operate more efficiently and give it greater influence in world affairs.
But critics say it will cede too much more of Britain's sovereignty to Brussels.
Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, yesterday signed the Lisbon Treaty, ending eight years of resistance to its attempt to give more power to the EU.
The Czechs are the last of the 27 EU states to sign the treaty, and their move forced the Conservatives to abandon their pledge to hold a British referendum on Lisbon.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said it was “a bad day for British democracy”.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, will today set out plans for an alternative Tory pledge to renegotiate several parts of Britain’s EU membership, trying to win back control over social and employment laws.
It is understood that one of Mr Cameron's options will be to guarantee a referendum for British voters under a Tory government if any more national powers were in danger of being ceded to Brussels.
Mr Cameron’s retreat on announcing a referendum on the newly ratified treaty has led to accusations of breaking his promise and betraying the British people.
The Lisbon Treaty is based on the European Constitution, which started at a summit in Brussels in December 2001.
Gordon Brown hailed the Czech signature as “a historic step,” and European leaders said it will create a more powerful EU.
Despite the scale of the changes the treaty makes, the British people have never been directly consulted on the document, which was ratified in a Commons vote and signed by Mr Brown in 2007.
Labour won the 2005 general election having promised a referendum on the European Constitution but then dropped the pledge, arguing that Lisbon was a different document.
The Conservatives gave a “cast-iron” guarantee of a vote on Lisbon.
But after Mr Klaus signed the text, the Tories admitted that they will not offer voters a say on Lisbon.
Mr Hague said that once ratified, the treaty will cease to exist as a distinct legal document, meaning no vote can be held on it.
He said: “Now that the treaty has become European law and is going to enter into force, that means that a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European council, the loss of British national vetoes, these things will already have happened, and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”
Daniel Hannan, a Tory MEP and leading Euro-sceptic said the signing was a step towards a European super-state. “The boot continues to stamp on the human face,” he said.
Mr Hague last night attempted to blame Labour for the treaty’s passage. He said: “People have never been consulted or voted in a general election for this.
"The British people have never even voted once, and we will not let people forget whose responsibility that is.”
Mr Brown insisted that the signing of the treaty was something to celebrate. >>> James Kirkup and Bruno Waterfield | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The Eurosceptic leader of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the Lisbon treaty, finally giving effect to a much-delayed accord designed to overhaul the institutions of the European Union and give the bloc a greater say in world affairs.
The move forced the Tory leadership to concede defeat tonight over their plans to hold a referendum on the treaty with David Cameron promising to clarify his party's policy on Europe tomorrow.
William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said it was “no longer possible” to put the treaty to a popular vote. “Now that the treaty is going to become European law and is going to enter into force, that means a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European Council, the loss of British national vetoes,” he said.
“These things will already have happened and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”
President Klaus confirmed that he had signed the pact only hours after the text was given the green light by a Czech court which had been asked to rule on its constitutionality.
"I signed the Lisbon Treaty today at 1500," he told reporters in Prague as an aircraft prepared to take the Czech articles of ratification to Rome, where the original treaty setting up the EU was signed.
Mr Klaus was the last EU leader to ratify the treaty, which began life as the EU Constitution, and his signature means the 27 EU member states can pick their first-ever full-time president as well as a new foreign affairs representative. >>> Philippe Naughton, Philip Webster and Roger Boyes | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
THE TIMES OF INDIA: WASHINGTON: It was supposed to be a charm offensive, but as the day wore on she put away her charm and went on the offensive. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton’s public dressing down of Pakistan during a three-day visit there, including virtually accusing the country of complicity with al-Qaida, has shaken Washington as much as it stunned her hosts.
"Her inner voice became her outer voice," Martha Raddatz, a veteran NBC correspondent said on the network, explaining that while many in the administration believed what she said to be true (that Pakistan is coddling terrorists), it was rare for America's top diplomat to say it publicly. Officials in Washington were trying to keep a straight face, but there were a few gasps, she added.
Clinton's blunt remarks came during a pow-wow with half-dozen combative senior Pakistani journalists who harried her about US policy in the region.
"Al-Qaida has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002," she finally asserted when challenged about Washington’s tough prescriptions for Islamabad. "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to."
After having publicly doubted the bona fides of her hosts, she added, as an afterthought: "Maybe that's the case; maybe they're not gettable...I don't know. As far as we know, they are in Pakistan." At one point during the exchanges, when a journalist spoke about all the services rendered by Pakistan for the US, Mrs Clinton snapped, "We have also given you billions."
The US Secretary of State also took a swipe at the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies, telling the senior journalists, "If we are going to have a mature partnership where we work together" then "there are issues that not just the United States but others have with your government and with your military security establishment." She said she was "more than willing to hear every complaint about the United States'' but the relationship had to be a "two-way street." >>> Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Friday, October 30, 2009
YNET NEWS: Western democracies should keep in mind that strong Israel deters Jihad
Jihad (Holy War) has been a cardinal feature of Islam since the 7th Century. It constitutes a clear and present danger to Western democracies, irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, independent of the Palestinian issue and regardless of Israel's policies and existence.
Hebrew University Prof. Moshe Sharon, a world renowned authority on Islam, sheds light on Jihad in Islam against Israel and the West (2007):
"Jihad is the strategy and, therefore, agreements are a (tactical) interlude in the war (against the infidel),” he writes.
Sharon also notes the following: "Islam came to being as a fighting religion. Mohammed imposed his authority by means of his military strength…Islam was born in order to rule, as is only fitting for the religion of Allah which is one and exclusive”
"Any territory that was ever Muslim becomes sacred to Islam,” Sharon further notes. “If the territory is conquered by enemies of Islam, like Spain, Palestine and parts of Europe, it is incumbent upon Islam to do everything to restore it to Islamic rule.”
Finally, Sharon explains that "The laws of Jihad…form the basis of the relations between the Muslim world and the West…The only possible relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are war or a limited ceasefire.”
“Any sign of weakness is a clear call to renew Jihad,” he says. “An agreement which contains anything beyond a limited armistice or ceasefire is null and void. The only agreement with non-believers that is permitted by Islamic law is one that enables Islam to strengthen itself, so that when the time comes it can resume Jihad in better conditions.”
Meanwhile, according to Prof. Bernard Lewis, the world's leading expert on Islamic history, "the Muslims believe that they had caused the fall of the Soviet Union (in Afghanistan)…Dealing with the soft, pampered and effeminate Americans would be easier…” >>> Yoram Ettinger | Monday, November 11, 2009
Full version here
ADVOCATE: The Ugandan embassies of France and the United States publicly condemned Uganda's proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Monday, but officials in the African nation plan to move forward with the discriminatory legislation.
The Ugandan embassies of France and the United States publicly condemned Uganda's proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Monday, but officials in the African nation plan to move forward with the discriminatory legislation.
"France expresses deep concern regarding the bill currently before the Ugandan parliament," the French foreign ministry said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse in Kampala. "France reiterates its commitment to the decriminalization of homosexuality and the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."
The bill would amplify the country's antigay laws, including criminalizing any public discussion of homosexuality and penalizing individuals who knowingly rented property to a homosexual. >>> Christopher Mangum | Monday, November 02, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: Two women City high-flyers who claim they were hounded out of their jobs by sexist Japanese bosses are both suing a leading investment bank for £1.5 million.
Maureen Murphy, 30, alleges that a woman trader at Nomura bank had to endure her breasts being referred to as 'honkers' during a meeting.
She says that a male colleague claimed that women 'belong at home cleaning the floors'.
And another allegedly said that the key to cheating on wives was 'not getting caught'.
Miss Murphy, a senior analyst earning £55,000 a year, and Anna Francis, 37, a director on £250,000 including bonus, had worked in Asian equities sales at Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf before the bank collapsed in September last year.
The two women moved to Nomura as part of a buyout by the Japanese bank and expected equally prominent roles.
But they claim sexist Japanese bosses withheld work and fired them because they were female and non-Japanese.
Their barrister Michael Duggan told Central London Employment Tribunal: 'This organisation is institutionally racist and sexist.' Two women City high-flyers 'hounded from bank for not being male or Japanese' sue for £3million >>> | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: DROITS DE L'HOMME | L'habitude des crucifix dans les classes est jugée contraire au droit des parents d'éduquer leurs enfants selon leurs convictions et au droit des enfants à la liberté de religion.
La Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme a condamné mardi l'Italie pour la présence de crucifix dans les salles de classe[.]
La requérante, Solie Lautsi, ressortissante italienne, réside à Abano Terme. Ses enfants, Dataico et Sami Albertin, âgés respectivement de onze et treize ans, fréquentèrent en 2001-2002 l'école publique à Abano Terme où toutes les salles de classe avaient un crucifix au mur.
La requérante estimait la présence de ces crucifix contraire au principe de laïcité et informa l'école de sa position, invoquant un arrêt de la cour de cassation qui avait jugé la présence de crucifix dans les bureaux de vote contraire au principe de laïcité de l'Etat.
En mai 2002, la direction de l'école décida de laisser les crucifix dans les salles de classe. Une directive recommandant de procéder ainsi fut ultérieurement adressée à tous les directeurs d'écoles par le ministère de l'Instruction publique. >>> ATS/AFP | Mardi 03 Novembre 2009
ZEIT ONLINE: Zu Hause zeigen Nasrin und Hana stolz ihre unnatürlichen Nasen. Schönheitsoperationen sind hip in Iran, Partys mit Alkohol auch. Denn sie versprechen Veränderung.
Hana sieht aus wie Mariah Carey, ihre Schwester Nasrin wie Demi Moore. Nichts deutet darauf hin, dass Hana und Nasrin, beide 32 Jahre alt, eineiige Zwillinge sind. Hana hat eine Stupsnase, herzförmig aufgespritzte Lippen und honigblonde Locken. Nasrin hat der Chirurg ein griechisches Profil verpasst. Hana und Nasrin sind stolz auf ihre Schönheitsoperationen. Die Verbände auf den Nasenrücken trugen die beiden Studentinnen der Sozialwissenschaft noch, da waren die Wunden längst verheilt.
Plastische Chirurgie verstößt eigentlich gegen die Ideale der Islamischen Republik. Seelische Schönheit gilt mehr als die äußere. Doch das Regime duldet kosmetische Operationen, sie sind hipp. Ungefähr 3000 plastische Chirurgen haben sich in Teheran niedergelassen. In keinem Land der Welt werden mehr Nasen verschönert als in der Islamischen Republik, jährlich zwischen 60.000 und 70.000. Der Hype ist so stark, dass sogar Schaufensterpuppen einen Verband im Gesicht tragen. Hana und Nasrin leben im reichen Norden von Teheran in einem Appartement, das wirkt wie eine Kulisse aus der US-Serie Reich und Schön: weiße Ledersofas, Kristalllüster, Clubsessel. Die Familie hat genug Geld für Schönheitsoperationen. Hana denkt jetzt noch über eine Brust-Vergrößerung nach. Im Bekanntenkreis der Zwillinge gibt es kaum eine Frau, die sich nicht unters Messer legt. >>> Carola Hoffmeister | Montag, 02. November 2009
LE TEMPS: La Cour constitutionnelle tchèque a jugé mardi le Traité de Lisbonne conforme à la Loi fondamentale du pays, condition nécessaire à la ratification complète du traité et au choix du futur président de l’Europe. Ne reste plus maintenant qu’une ultime étape: la signature du texte par le très eurosceptique chef de l’Etat tchèque, Vaclav Klaus, qui pourrait apposer son paraphe dès aujourd’hui comme il a promis de le faire. Contraint et forcé.
Matinée de souffrance pour Vaclav Klaus. Résolument opposé au Traité de Lisbonne, qu’il continue de considérer comme une menace contre la souveraineté des Etats-membres de l’Union européenne, le très eurosceptique président tchèque va devoir le signer, contraint et forcé après sa validation mardi matin par la Cour constitutionnelle. Une décision très attendue qu’il s’est d’ailleurs bien gardé de commenter. >>> Richard Werly | Mardi 03 Novembre 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Czech President Vaclav Klaus signs EU Lisbon Treaty into law: Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, has signed the EU Lisbon Treaty into law after a court cleared the final legal obstacle standing in its way. >>> Bruno Waterfield, Brussels Correspondent | Tuesday, November 30, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Tories on the spot as Czech leader signs Lisbon Treaty >>> Philippe Naughton and Philip Webster, Political Editor | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
ZEIT ONLINE: New York wählt: Michael Bloomberg will heute zum dritten Mal Bürgermeister werden. Aber die Krise hat auch die Stadt getroffen, und der Milliardär hat viele enttäuscht. >>> Sebastian Moll | Dienstag, 03. November 2009
ZEIT ONLINE: Ein Ruck ging durchs Land als Barack Obama vor einem Jahr gewählt wurde. Nun zeigt sich, dass die USA nicht so progressiv sind, wie es sein Sieg erscheinen ließ.
Dieser Tage wird Barack Obama ein weiterer Zacken aus der Krone fallen. Vor einem Jahr haben ihn die Amerikaner mit großer Mehrheit zum Präsidenten gewählt. Doch nun wird seine Partei, wenn nicht ein Wunder geschieht, bei mehreren Regional- und Kommunalwahlen verlieren. Die oppositionellen Republikaner finden Resonanz mit ihrer Behauptung, ihre Erfolge seien ein Beleg für die schwindende Popularität des Präsidenten.
Wahr ist auch: Vor einem Jahr hätte Obamas Auftreten genügt, um Demokraten in tendenziell konservativen Wahlkreisen siegen zu lassen. Das ist vorbei. Die breite Koalition, die ihm 2008 zum Triumph verholfen hatte, löst sich in Fraktionen auf, die seine Bilanz unterschiedlich beurteilen. Da sind die überzeugten Anhänger, die die Wahlversprechen für bare Münze nahmen und glaubten, mit dem "Yes, we can"-Schwung lasse sich Amerika revolutionieren: Krankenversicherung für alle, Rettung des Klimas durch verpflichtende Emissionsobergrenzen, Irak-Abzug, Schließung Guantanámos und vieles mehr. Nichts davon hat Obama bisher erreicht. Amerikas Linke ist enttäuscht. >>> Christoph von Marschall | Dienstag, 03. November 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES– Editorial: NATO's only Muslim member is undermining Western efforts to keep nuclear weapons from Iran by expanding its trade ties.
Even as Congress pushes legislation aimed at punishing foreign companies that sell petroleum to Iran, and the United Nations prepares to consider sanctions against that country if an ongoing round of nuclear talks fails, Iranian leaders this week were elated over plans to treble trade ties with a key Middle Eastern power.
So which rogue nation is undermining Western efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons? Syria, perhaps, or the unpredictable Saudis? Actually, it's Turkey, a member of NATO, prospective member of the European Union and the United States' most strategically important Muslim ally.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans Wednesday in Tehran to increase trade between the two countries from its current level of about $7 billion to $20 billion by 2011. Turkey and Iran have reportedly reached agreements on power plants, banks and natural gas development that would help make up for any economic pain the United Nations could inflict via tougher sanctions. The deals are fueling worries that Turkey, a model democratic Muslim state and a vital bridge between Europe and the Arab world, is turning its back on the West to embrace Islamist regimes to the east. >>> | Saturday, October 31, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: In Hollywood terms, it was the greatest story almost never told - until now.
With Middle Eastern money becoming an increasingly powerful cog in the global entertainment industry, it was perhaps inevitable that, sooner or later, someone would embark on a mega-budget epic about the life of the Prophet Mohammed.
That moment has arrived thanks to a wealthy Qatari media company which has put together a team featuring a crack Hollywood producer and a Muslim cleric who is banned from visiting Britain to bring the project to life.
Plans for the $150million English-language biopic were announced at the close of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar on Sunday. The narrative will run from the years before the Prophet’s birth through to his death but there will be one conspicuous break from conventional biopic methods: in accordance with Islamic tradition the film will not represent the Prophet himself or direct members of his family.
A source close to the project said that Mel Gibson’s hugely successful (and gruesome) crucifiction [sic] film The Passion of the Christ had proved that there was a demand for religious-themed entertainment.
Barrie Osborne, a producer on the Lord of the Rings films and The Matrix optimistically envisages the film as a device that can help “bridging cultures”. Banned Muslim cleric hired to help make film about Prophet Muhammad >>> Ben Hoyle, Arts Correspondent | Monday, November 02, 2009
BBC: Just as gay and lesbian people are starting to enjoy equal rights, the number of attacks against them seems to be rising. Why?
Ten years ago, a nail-bomb exploded in a gay bar in the heart of London, claiming three lives and maiming dozens more, the final act in a series of attacks on the capital's minority groups.
The intervening decade has seen significant steps in changing attitudes and legislation that give gay people - and their civil partners - equality enshrined in law.
But now another shadow has been cast over the UK's gay community. A series of homophobic attacks, at a time when crime figures suggest such incidents are on the rise, has mobilised people to voice their anger.
Over the weekend, candlelit vigils were held in London and Liverpool, at the scenes of two of the most recent acts of violence to make headlines, and also in Brighton and Norwich, while gay venues across the country held a two-minute silence on Friday evening in an act of solidarity.
Of the thousands who gathered in London's Trafalgar Square - at the spot where Ian Baynham was attacked in September, later dying from his injuries - some headed afterwards to the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho, the scene of the nail bombing 10 years ago.
Although it looked like business as usual, some punters were in reflective mood. Jeff, 32, said he sensed "more tension" in the last 12 to 18 months and some people had stopped coming into central London as a consequence. He said he had always been wary about showing public affection to his civil partner, for fear of inviting abuse, but even more so recently.
"I'm nervous when we're out and about in case we draw attention to ourselves and get a bad reaction from someone."
One 28-year-old, who asked not to be named, said he and his boyfriend had recently been threatened with a weapon and foul language.
The pair had been getting off a bus when a man with a knife began spouting insults, calling them "queers".
Such incidents have always happened, but are they happening with more regularity now?
There are no national figures for homophobic crime, but individual police forces have reported an annual rise in their latest figures - 40% in Merseyside, which covers Liverpool, and 34% in Strathclyde, which includes Glasgow. >>> Tom Geoghegan, BBC News Magazine | Monday, November 02, 2009
PINK NEWS: London Mayor Boris Johnson has sought assurances from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner that everything is being done to tackle the problem of homophobic attacks in the capital.
The Mayor raised the matter with the Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson at yesterday's meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
The Commissioner assured the Mayor that the Met is taking the issue of homophobic crime seriously and he outlined measures that include third party reporting and increased sanctioned detection rates, as well as raising staff and community awareness and efforts to encourage the community to report attacks.
The number of homophobic hate crimes in London has risen by 18 per cent since last year, Scotland Yard figures show. >>> Adam Lake | Friday, October 30, 2009
LE POINT: Vingt ans après la chute du Mur de Berlin, les différences demeurent entre Allemands de l'Est et de l'Ouest, mais elles sont plus culturelles et sociales que politiques. Et "l'Ostalgie", ou nostalgie pour l'ancienne Allemagne de l'Est, souvent décriée à l'Ouest, tient plus de la volonté de renouer les liens communautaires et de retrouver les "petits plaisirs" d'antan que du souhait d'un retour au système communiste, selon l'étude parue dans le magazine culte de l'Est Superillu . >>> Le Point avec AFP | Lundi 02 Novembre 2009
LE TEMPS: Le premier ministre israélien Benyamin Netanyahou a obtenu le soutien de la secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton pour une reprise des négociations de paix sans gel préalable de la colonisation, comme l’exige l’Autorité palestinienne
«Nous sommes déçus et inquiets pour l’avenir.» Porte-parole du président de l’Autorité palestinienne (AP) Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abou Rodeineh n’a pas caché sa mauvaise humeur après la volte-face de la secrétaire d’Etat américaine Hillary Clinton selon laquelle le gel des constructions dans les colonies de Cisjordanie «n’est pas une condition préalable» à la reprise des pourparlers de paix entre Israéliens et Palestiniens.
Pendant près de dix mois, l’administration américaine avait en effet exercé des pressions sur l’Etat hébreu afin qu’il interrompe les projets immobiliers en cours dans les implantations. Washington présentait d’ailleurs ce gel comme «un pas essentiel pour la reprise du processus de paix». Mais l’entourage de Barack Obama a subitement changé de ligne. Pour quelle raison? Mystère. En tout cas, au lendemain de sa rencontre avec Mahmoud Abbas, vendredi à Abu Dhabi, la secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton, qui faisait étape à Jérusalem pour une série d’entretiens avec les principaux dirigeants israéliens, a infligé un camouflet au président palestinien. Cela alors que celui-ci venait de lui confirmer qu’il «ne négociera pas avec Israël tant que le développement des colonies n’aura pas été interrompu». >>> Serge Dumont | Lundi 02 Novembre 2009
NZZ ONLINE: Die amerikanische Aussenministerin Hillary Clinton hat sich für eine möglichst schnelle Wiederaufnahme der Friedensverhandlungen im Nahen Osten ausgesprochen.
Forderungen der Palästinenser nach einem vollständigen Stop des israelischen Siedlungsbaus wies Clinton zurück.
«Ich will beide Seiten möglichst bald bei der Wiederaufnahme ihrer Verhandlungen sehen», sagte Clinton am Samstag in Jerusalem bei einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz mit Israels Ministerpräsidenten Benjamin Netanjahu. Von den Palästinensern forderte sie, ohne Vorbedingungen in die Friedensgespräche zu gehen.
Netanjahu versprach, keine neuen Siedlungen im Westjordanland bauen zu wollen. «Ich habe gesagt, dass wir keine neuen Ansiedlungen bauen werden und dass wir kein Land für bestehende oder weitere Siedlungen enteignen werden», sagte Netanjahu. Die israelische Siedlungspolitik werde den Bewohnern der Siedlungen aber ein «normales Leben» ermöglichen. >>> sda/afp | Sonntag, 01. November 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Expediency council approves plan for new capital – which could be a new or existing city – amid earthquake fears over Tehran
It has witnessed some of Iran's most tumultuous events: the fall of the shah, the return of Ayatollah Khomeini and the transformation from pro-western monarchy to revolutionary Islamic republic.
Now Tehran's days as the Iranian capital appear numbered after a powerful state body approved a plan for a new principal city. The idea was proposed by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and rubber-stamped by the expediency council.
Seismologists have warned that Tehran is liable to be struck by a catastrophic earthquake in the foreseeable future. It is not clear whether a new capital will be built from scratch or sited in an existing city.
Iran has had numerous capitals during its history, including Isfahan, Qazvin, Shiraz, Mashhad and Hamedan. Since the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan declared it capital in 1795, Tehran has become the country's political, social, economic and cultural centre.
Its infrastructure has been left creaking by rapid population growth that has seen it become home to 12 million people, up from 250,000 at the start of the 20th century.
A mass influx from the countryside under the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fed the social discontent unleashed by the 1979 Islamic revolution. The population has continued to spiral since then, with unregulated development creating a traffic-clogged and polluted urban sprawl. >>> Robert Tait and Noushin Hoseiny | Sunday, November 01, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Tony Blair has been in talks with Tesco about helping them open supermarkets in the Middle East - allegedly in return for up to £1million.
It is believed the discussions between the former Prime Minister, now a peace envoy to the region, and the supermarket chain, whose slogan is 'Every little helps', ended after the two sides failed to agree terms.
The disclosure could further damage Mr Blair's hopes of becoming the first President of Europe, as critics will seize on it as evidence that he is as interested in making money as he is in reviving his career as a statesman.
According to one source, Mr Blair's proposed role for Tesco would simply have been to act as a figurehead for their drive to break into the Middle East market.
The company, who have exported their hugely successful formula around the world, wanted Mr Blair to use his international political and diplomatic clout to 'open doors' for them. The Mail on Sunday understands Tesco were 'deeply disappointed' when they were unable to reach agreement with Mr Blair. Tony Blair in talks with Tesco over £1m deal as supermarket eyes Middle East >>> Simon Walters, Nathan Kay and Christopher Leake | Sunday, November 01, 2009
THE SUNDAY TIMES: TONY BLAIR is cashing in on his experience as Britain’s longest-serving Labour prime minister by setting up a “commercial partnership” that offers clients political and economic advice.
The business venture, Tony Blair Associates, has been disclosed by the official watchdog that scrutinises paid employment undertaken by former ministers.
The advisory committee on business appointments said in a statement on its website this weekend: “Tony Blair has established Tony Blair Associates which will allow him to provide, in partnership with others, strategic advice on a commercial and pro-bono [free] basis, on political and economic trends and governmental reform.”
The committee said it saw “no reason why he should not set up the firm forthwith”, and disclosed that this had been done this month. It is believed to be the first time a former prime minister has set up a commercial venture with the apparent intention of cashing in on time spent in office. >>> David Leppard and Solomon Hughes | Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: When Victoria Romero, 6, dressed up as a witch for a Hallowe’en party this week she could hardly have imagined that she was provoking the wrath of God by attending a celebration akin to a Black Mass — at least in the eyes of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church in Spain.
Wearing skeleton suits, dressing up as vampires, witches or goblins or slapping on fake blood is not far removed from communing with the Devil, according to the country’s bishops.
However, the bishops, with Vatican backing, have reserved their venom for the millions of parents who allowed their children to celebrate this “pagan” festival.
Father Joan María Canals, the director of the Spanish Bishops Conference Committee on Liturgy, condemned parents for permitting their children to go to “un-Christian” parties when they should be focusing on All Saints Day today and All Souls Day on Monday.
His views were endorsed yesterday by L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, which reported his views under the headline “Hallowe’en’s dangerous messages”.
It quoted him as saying: “Hallowe’en has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian.” Parents should “be aware of this and try to direct the meaning of the feast towards wholesomeness and beauty rather than terror, fear and death”, he said.
L’Osservatore Romano praised a church at Alcalá de Henares, east of Madrid, that has decided to hold a prayer vigil tonight and the Paris archdiocese’s idea of having children play a lucky dip dubbed “Holywins” instead.
“Children dress as witches, vampires, ghosts, masks, corpses, skeletons, and parents favour this type of festivity which plays with elements of death,” Father Canals said. “But when a relative dies they prevent them from seeing the dead relative.” >>> Graham Keeley in Madrid and Richard Owen in Rome | Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
NZZ ONLINE: Die Schweiz ist in der Auseinandersetzung mit Libyen offenbar doch nicht ganz auf sich alleine gestellt. Die Organisation der Islamischen Konferenz (OIC) hat ihre Dienste angeboten.
Die Organisation der Islamischen Konferenz (OIC) ist bereit, im Konflikt zwischen der Schweiz und Libyen zu vermitteln. Das sagte der OIC-Botschafter Babacar Ba gegenüber dem Schweizer Radio DRS.
Über die Affäre im Bild
Die OIC sei über die Krise zwischen Libyen und der Schweiz im Bild und hoffe auf eine baldige bilaterale Lösung, sagte der OIC-Botschafter bei der Uno in Genf weiter. >>> sda | Dienstag, 27. Oktober 2009
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: RAPPORT DE L'OMS | L'hypertension est la première cause de mortalité dans le monde, devant le tabagisme, l'hyperglycémie, l'inactivité physique et l'obésité.
Ces cinq facteurs de risque sont à l'origine de 40% des 60 millions de décès recensés chaque année, selon l'OMS.
Dans un rapport sur les facteurs de risques pour la santé dans le monde, publié mardi, l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) montre que la situation globale évolue. Le vieillissement de la population est la conséquence de progrès contre les maladies infectieuses, mais en même temps il augmente la charge des maladies chroniques dans la mortalité et la morbidité mondiale.
Les pays à bas et moyen revenu sont confrontés à un double fardeau, celui des maladies chroniques liées aux nouveaux modes de vie, comme le diabète, le cancer, les affections cardiovasculaires, en même temps qu'aux maladies transmissibles qui affectent traditionnellement les plus pauvres, affirme l'agence de l'ONU.
Baisse de sept ans de l'espérance de vie
Les dix facteurs de risque principaux provoquent une baisse de sept ans de l'espérance de vie moyenne dans le monde, de dix ans pour l'Afrique. L'hypertension artérielle est à l'origine de 7,5 millions de décès chaque année dans le monde, soit 12,8% du total, devant le tabagisme (5,1 millions de décès, 8,7% du total).
L'excès de sucre dans le sang (hyperglycémie) est la troisième cause de mortalité, à l'origine de 3,4 millions de décès (5,8%) du total, devant l'inactivité physique (3,2 millions de morts, 5,5%), le surpoids et l'obésité (2,8 millions de décès, 4,8%).
Comme sixième cause mondiale de mortalité, le rapport indique l'excès de cholestérol (2,6 millions de décès, 4,5% du total), devant les rapports sexuels à risque (2,4 millions, 4%), l'alcoolisme (2,3 millions, 3,8%), et la malnutrition enfantine (2,2 millions, 3,8%). Dans les pays riches >>> ATS | Mardi 27 Octobre 2009
LE TEMPS: Le nouveau vice-chancelier allemand a mis longtemps à être pris au sérieux. Portrait d’un libéral sans idéologie
Habituellement, lorsqu’il se présente devant les caméras, Guido Westerwelle, patron des libéraux allemands, a toujours une grimace un peu comique qui trahit son embarras et un peu de manque de confiance en lui. Mais au soir du 27 septembre, alors que son parti, le FDP, atteint le plus haut score de toute son histoire – 14,6% – le visage de Guido Westerwelle, bien que souriant, reflète la maîtrise de soi. Sa gestuelle est déjà celle d’un homme d’Etat.
Plutôt que de laisser éclater sa joie, il tient à contrôler son image: «Nous n’allons jamais lâcher prise», promet-il à ses fans. Cette fois, pourtant, ça y est, la troisième tentative aura été la bonne, les libéraux sortent de onze ans d’opposition.
Et lui, Guido Westerwelle, 48 ans en décembre, l’ancien mauvais élève de la Realschule, le «clown politique» raillé par les médias, le «petit matelot» snobé par les caciques conservateurs a pris sa revanche: demain il marchera sur les traces de l’illustre Hans-Dietrich Genscher, son prédécesseur libéral qui dirigea la diplomatie allemande durant dix-huit ans.
Quelle revanche pour ce Rhénan, né près de Bonn de parents juristes qui divorceront très vite. Elevé par son père, resté seul, avec un frère et deux demi-frères dans une maison chaotique qu’il appellera «la villa bariolée», il en viendra à détester l’esprit du temps, cette période soixante-huitarde libertaire et désécurisante. Une partie de son agressivité contre la gauche et les écologistes vient de cette frustration d’adolescent snobé par les fils de bourgeois de la gauche intellectuelle. C’est d’ailleurs l’ex-soixante-huitard Joschka Fischer, auquel il succédera à la tête de la diplomatie, qui aura été sa bête noire durant toute sa carrière politique.
Lui, l’homme à la cravate si ajustée qu’il semble né avec, aura toujours eu en horreur la mode déguenillée de sa génération et le «no future» de son entourage d’ado. Peu intéressé par la matière scolaire, relégué en Realschule sans grandes perspectives, il a trouvé sa voie comme rédacteur d’un journal d’élèves, Ventil. >>> Yves Petignat | Mardi 27 Octobre 2009
Le site de Guido Westerwelle >>>
VOICE OF AMERICA: The U.S. State Department's annual report on world-wide religious freedom, released Monday, was critical of what it says are international efforts to limit free speech in the name of combating defamation of religion. The Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, has been pushing such anti-defamation measures in U.N. bodies.
The State Department report says the United States deplores actions that show disrespect for religious traditions, including Islam.
But it says the broad anti-defamation measures being sought by the Islamic Conference would have the effect of curbing debate about religious issues and should be discarded in favor of outreach and government defense of religious freedom and free speech.
The comments were the most prominent to date by the United States on efforts led by the OIC to get anti-defamation resolutions approved in the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
In comments introducing the annual report, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States will always stand against religious-based discrimination and persecution, but that it strongly disagrees with those who would combat such problems by curbing free speech.
"The best antidote to intolerance is not the 'Defamation of Religions' approach of banning and punishing offensive speech, but rather a combination of robust legal protections against discrimination and hate crimes, proactive government outreach to minority religious groups, and a vigorous defense of both freedom of religion and expression," said Secretary Clinton. >>> David Gollust, State Department | Monday, October 26, 2009
LE FIGARO: Des documents judiciaires révélés lundi indiquent que Samantha Geimer, harcelée par les médias et victime de problèmes de santé, réclame officiellement l'abandon des poursuites devant la justice californienne.
Samantha Geimer veut en finir avec l'affaire Polanski. Harcelée par les journalistes depuis l'arrestation de Roman Polanski en Suisse, la jeune fille violée à 13 ans par le cinéaste souhaite que la justice californienne abandonne les charges contre lui. C'est ce que révèlent des documents judiciaires lundi.
Son avocat Lawrence Silver confie avoir reçu près de 500 appels téléphoniques pour obtenir une réaction à l'arrestation du cinéaste. Une surmédiatisation qui a entraîné des problèmes de santé chez Samantha Geimer, ainsi que des soucis dans son travail. «La procédure a entraîné (...) l'ennui compréhensible de son employeur, et rend véritablement possible que Samantha perde son emploi» écrit son avocat. >>> L.D. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Lundi 26 Octobre 2009
WELT ONLINE: Eine Sendung im saudi-arabischen Fernsehen über das sittenwidrige Thema Sex zieht nun drakonische Maßnahmen nach sich. Die Männer, die über ihre Bett-Abenteuer sprachen, werden mit bis zu 1000 Peitschenhieben bestraft. Lediglich die verantwortliche Journalistin bleibt durch den königlichen Gnadenakt verschont.
Der saudi-arabische König Abdullah hat einer Journalistin 60 Peitschenhiebe erlassen, zu denen sie am Wochenende wegen einer Fernsehsendung über Sex verurteilt worden war.
Das Informationsministerium teilte mit, die drakonische Maßnahme gegen die 22-jährige Rosanna al-Jami werde aufgrund des königlichen Gnadenakts nicht ausgeführt. Auch der Fall einer Kollegin, der schwangeren Iman Radschab, werde von einem Komitee des Informationsministeriums überprüft. >>> dpa/jm | Montag, 26. Oktober 2009
BBC: The Saudi king has waived a sentence of flogging on a female journalist working for a TV channel which aired graphic accounts of sex in the kingdom.
King Abdullah cancelled the sentence of 60 lashes against Rozanna al-Yami, after being briefed on the case.
The programme broadcast by Saudi-owned Lebanese channel LBC caused a huge scandal in the conservative kingdom.
Three men who bragged about their sexual adventures in the show, as well as the cameraman, have been jailed.
No reason has been given for the king's decision. It is the second time he has intervened in a high-profile flogging sentence in two years.
The original programme was part of a series called Red Lines, examining taboos in the Arab world, including extra-marital sex in Saudi Arabia. >>> | Tuesday, October 27, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: France is to launch a hard-hitting campaign aimed at 'reaffirming pride' in the country and combating Islamic fundamentalism.
As well as providing civic lessons for adults - including classes about the country's Christian history and liberal political institutions - the government will encourage school children to sing the national anthem at least once a year.
In words which are certain to infuriate ethnic minority groups, Immigration Minister Eric Besson even suggested that 'foreigners' should learn to speak better French.
His proposed measures contrast sharply with the situation in Britain where 'citizenship education' centres on multicultural diversity and the European Union, while 'God Save The Queen' is not even taught in schools.
In an interview broadcast on national TV, Mr Besson said : 'It's necessary to reaffirm the values of national identity and the pride of being French.
'I think, for example, that it would be good for all young French people to have the chance to sing The Marseillaise at least once a year.'
Mr Besson, who was himself born in the former French protectorate of Morocco, also suggested an immediate two-month long 'great debate on national identity' entitled 'What does it mean to be French?'
Making clear that radical Islam was a threat, Mr Besson said: 'In France, the nation and the republic remain the strongest ramparts against ... fundamentalist tendencies. France is diversity, and France is unity.' France to Launch National Pride Campaign in Battle Against Islamic Fundamentalism >>> Peter Allen | Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a Tenormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”
Direct emissions of methane from cows and pigs is a significant source of greenhouse gases. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.
Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases. Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet >>> Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor | Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Will Tony Blair become the first President of Europe? : Discussions over exactly what it is that the EU wants from its first President of Europe will begin in earnest in Brussels on Thursday. >>> Andrew Pierce and Bruno Waterfield | Monday, October 26, 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Blair … … is reluctant to campaign openly because he fears experiencing the same fate as Guy Verhofstadt, the former prime minister of Belgium, who was humiliated when Blair vetoed him for the post of president of the European commission in 2004. "Tony will not put himself into a position where he is humiliated like Guy Verhofstadt," one friend said. >>> Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Monday, October 26, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: EU backlash as David Miliband pushes President Boney Blair: A foreign backlash is growing against Tony Blair becoming Europe's first president.
Despite a brazen attempt by David Miliband to drum up support, leading political figures in France, Germany, Austria and Poland warned yesterday that the former prime minister was an unsuitable candidate. >>> Kirsty Walker | Tuesday, October 27, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: International domain names or addresses that can be written in non-English characters are expected to be approved this week.
This will spark one of the biggest changes to the internet in its four-decade history.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN - the non-profit group that oversees domain names - is holding a meeting this week in Seoul.
The ICANN board will decide if will allow entire internet addresses to be in scripts that are not based on Latin letters.
This could potentially open up the web to more people around the world as addresses could be in characters as diverse as Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Greek, Hindi and Cyrillic - in which Russian is written.
The change will address the fact more than half of the 1.6billion internet users worldwide use languages based on alphabets other than Latin.
'This is the biggest change technically to the internet since it was invented 40 years ago,' Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the ICANN board, said.
He expects the board to grant approval on Friday, the conference's final day. >>> | Monday, October 26, 2009
NZZ ONLINE: 1967 krönt Schah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi an seinem 48. Geburtstag sich und seine Frau Farah Diba zum Kaiser und zur Kaiserin von Persien. Nach einem Gebet in arabischer Sprache umgürtet sich Reza Pahlevi mit einem Smaragdgürtel und setzt sich die Krone aufs Haupt. Die NZZ beschreibt am 26. Oktober die feierliche Krönungszerermonie und zitiert die Ansprache des Schahs. >>> | Montag, 26. Oktober 2009
Kaiserkrönung in Tehran >>> ag (AFP) | Donnerstag, 26. Oktober 1967
The Coronation of Teheran: Farah Is Crowned >>>
Iran Chamber Society: Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi: Arya Mehr and Shahanshah (King of the Kings) >>>
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: As historical analysis goes, I’m not sure it’s quite up there with Carr or Elton. According to Pauline Howe, the “perverted sexual practises” of “sodomites” were responsible for “the downfall of every empire”. I always thought the British Empire fell because of the exhaustion caused by the First World War, or specifically the fall of Singapore in World War 2, or perhaps the rise of Third World nationalism and American pressure. Maybe I was wrong and it was all down to Greek “practises”.
Still, whether or not one agrees with Mrs Howe’s radical revisionist history, or her objecting to the Norwich Gay Pride march (a phrase that personally fills me with crushing ennui, rather than any moral objection), Norfolk Constabulary’s decision to treat is as a “hate incident” is deeply sinister.
This is by no means the first incident of its kind – several people, all Christians (generally Evangelicals) have been questioned by the police over objecting to homosexuality. It is a part of a wider trend of illiberalism across Europe that has taken place in the past decade, starting with Holocaust denial laws and in Britain reaching its nadir (so far) with the Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006, one of the most illiberal laws concerning religion since the days when men with buckles on their hats ruled the law.
This soft totalitarianism does not come with gulags or death camps, but rather the petty harassment of individuals by the authorities. Its victim include countryside campaigner Robin Page, arrested for saying he wanted the same rights as a “black vegetarian Muslim asylum-seeking one-legged lesbian lorry driver”. Or Codie Stott, a 14-year-old schoolgirl who was arrested because she did not want to sit at a table with three girls who were speaking Urdu. Or the taxpayers of Wales, who forked out the £3,800 that police spent investigating “anti-Welsh” remarks by Anne Robinson.
Mike Judge of the Christian Institute, the group helping Mrs Howe, says: “Whether people agree or disagree with Mrs Howe’s views, everyone who cares about freedom should be alarmed at the police action.” Read on and comment here >>> Ed West | Monday, October 26, 2009
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