The Berlin Wall Falls: November 9, 2009
YouTube video Special Report: Peter Jennings delivers "astonishing news" out of Germany >>>
Berlin Wall 1961 - 1989


Quand le mur est tombé : Aujourd’hui, l’Allemagne se souvient
LE TEMPS: Berlin fêtait avec éclat lundi le vingtième anniversaire de la chute du Mur, une page d’histoire qui sonnait la fin de la guerre froide et annonçait la réunification de l’Allemagne et de l’Europe.

La chancelière Angela Merkel a ouvert ce matin les célébrations en participant à un service religieux dans l’église de Gethsemani à Berlin-est, un des hauts lieux de la contestation et des manifestations qui ont contraint la RDA communiste à ouvrir ses frontières, le 9 novembre 1989.

Toute l’Europe est attendue au rendez-vous, avec les représentants des quatre puissances qui ont occupé l’Allemagne depuis la défaite en 1945 à sa réunification en 1990, Etats-Unis, Russie, Grande-Bretagne et France.

Les chefs d’Etats et de gouvernement se retrouveront dans la soirée avec une foule attendue de quelque 100.000 personnes à la Porte de Brandebourg, symbole de Berlin par où passait le «mur de la Honte» construit en 1961 pour empêcher les citoyens de RDA de passer à l’Ouest.

Le président russe Dmitri Medvedev participera aux célébrations comme le dernier dirigeant de l’Union soviétique, Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, qui décida de ne pas réprimer les mouvements de réformes et permis aux satellites de l’URSS de retrouver leur liberté.

La secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton, qui représente les Etats-Unis, a appelé l’Europe et l’Amérique à de nouveaux efforts pour «renverser les murs» de l’intolérance religieuse.

«Le mur qui emprisonnait la moitié d’une ville, la moitié d’un pays, la moitié d’un continent a été emporté par la plus grande force qui soit – l’esprit indomptable d’hommes et de femmes», devait déclarer le Premier ministre britannique Gordon Brown dans un discours dont le texte a été diffusé à l’avance. >>> AFP | Lundi 09 Novembre 2009

Berlin fête ses vingt ans de liberté
Le mur de dominos, qui s'étend de la Potsdamer Platz à la rivère Spree, doit s'écrouler lundi soir, symbolisant l'ouverture démocratique et la liberté. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: La ville présente lundi soir un show médiatique planétaire.

Vingt ans après la chute du Mur, le centre de Berlin est de nouveau divisé. Dressée à l'endroit exact où s'élevait le mur de la honte, une barrière de dominos sépare la capitale allemande. Hautes de 2,50 mètres, les 1000 stèles multicolores, toutes décorées de motifs différents, sont alignées le long des édifices les plus symboliques de Berlin : la porte de Brandebourg, le Mémorial de l'Holocauste et le Reichstag, où siège le Parlement allemand.

Le mur de dominos, qui s'étire sur un 1,5 km de la Potsdamer Platz jusqu'à la rivière Spree, doit s'écrouler lundi soir, symbolisant ainsi l'effondrement de la dictature communiste, l'ouverture démocratique et la liberté. L'ancien président polonais Lech Walesa renversera le premier domino. «J'ai le mandat de le faire, la Pologne a ce mandat, car c'est en 1980, à Gdansk, que le premier mur était tombé, au cours des grèves des chantiers navals qui ont donné naissance à Solidarité, le premier syndicat indépendant du bloc communiste, a-t-il souligné. Nous avons vaincu le communisme, et les gens en Allemagne de l'Est ont commencé à fuir via les ambassades d'autres pays. Le mur de Berlin est tombé grâce aux fugitifs. Je m'inquiétais que le leader soviétique Mikhaïl Gorbatchev décide de stopper la fuite des masses et détruise ainsi notre victoire. Le jeu était dangereux. Il est bon que Gorbatchev ait été un homme politique faible et que tout se soit bien passé.»

Les dominos en polystyrène ont été peints par des écoliers à travers le monde, notamment là où des murs divisent toujours des peuples, comme en Israël et dans les Territoires palestiniens ou à Chypre. Mais aussi par des personnalités symbolisant le combat pour la liberté et la réconciliation, comme le Sud-Africain Nelson Mandela ou le chef d'orchestre israélo-argentin, Daniel Barenboïm.

Des dizaines de milliers de Berlinois et de touristes étrangers, venus assister à la «fête de la liberté», se photographient le long de ce mur symbolique et admirent les fresques.

Lundi soir, les organisateurs attendent des centaines de milliers de spectateurs le long du parcours. Daniel Barenboïm, qui avait donné un concert pour les Allemands de l'Est il y a vingt ans à la Philharmonie de Berlin, dirigera l'ouverture des festivités à la tête de la Staatskapelle. >>> Patrick Saint-Paul, correspondant du Figaro à Berlin | Lundi 09 Novembre 2009

Mauerfall Jubiläum: Die Welt schaut auf Berlin
ZEIT ONLINE: Ein wichtiger Tag für Deutschland: Zeitzeugen, Staatsgäste und Hunderttausende Menschen aus aller Welt feiern in Berlin den 20. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls.

Dort, wo einst die Mauer Berlin teilte, stehen am Montag farbenfrohe Dominosteine. Sie sollen am Abend fallen und so den Mauerfall vor 20 Jahren symbolisieren. Bild: Zeit Online

Deutschlandweit wird am Montag mit zahlreichen Veranstaltungen, Aktionen und Gedenkstunden der 20. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls gefeiert. Mittelpunkt der Feierlichkeiten ist Berlin, wo zahlreiche Gäste aus aller Welt erwartet werden. Doch auch im Ausland findet die Erinnerung an die friedliche Revolution in der DDR und den historischen Tag, der die Beendigung des Kalten Krieges und der Blockkonfrontation in der Welt einleitete, große Aufmerksamkeit.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU), Berlins Regierender Bürgermeister Klaus Wowereit (SPD) und Bundespräsident Horst Köhler treffen mit Staatsgästen und Zeitzeugen aus aller Welt zusammen – darunter US-Außenministerin Hillary Clinton, der britische Premier Gordon Brown, der französische Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy, der ehemalige sowjetische Staatspräsident Michail Gorbatschow und der frühere Solidarnosc-Vorsitzende und spätere polnische Staatspräsident Lech Walesa.

Am Nachmittag wird Merkel gemeinsam mit Zeitzeugen und Politikern dort entlanggehen, wo sich einst der Grenzübergang Bornholmer Straße befand, der unter dem Druck der dort versammelten DDR-Bürger als erster in der Nacht des 9. November 1989 geöffnet wurde. Höhepunkt der Feierlichkeiten ist am Abend das "Fest der Freiheit" am Brandenburger Tor. >>> Von Matthias Schlegel und Andrea Dernbach | Montag, 09. November 2009

NZZ ONLINE: «Berlin hat eine Bedeutung für die ganze Welt» : Angela Merkel empfängt Hillary Clinton im Bundeskanzleramt>>> ap | Montag, 09. November 2009

NZZ ONLINE: «Deutsche Einheit ist noch nicht vollendet» : Merkel ruft zu weiterer Angleichung der Lebensverhältnisse auf>>> ap | Montag, 09. November 2009

Achtung! Zürichs verborgene Moscheen: Am Tag der offenen Moschee treten die Zürcher Muslime an die Öffentlichkeit
NZZ ONLINE: Rund vierzig islamische Zentren gibt es im Kanton Zürich. Neunzehn haben am Samstag zum Moscheebesuch eingeladen. Das Interesse war allerdings gering.

Es sei erschreckend, wie wenig die jungen Menschen in der Schweiz über den Islam wüssten, sagt Khaldoun Dia-Eddine von der Albanisch-Islamischen Gemeinschaft in Zürich. Als Dozent an einer Fachhochschule bringt er das Thema im Unterricht regelmässig auf. Manchmal verteile er Fragebogen mit elementaren Fragen zum Islam und zu seiner Geschichte, erzählt er – und die Antworten, die er zu sehen bekomme, ernüchterten ihn. Pflegen die Nichtmuslime also lieber ihre Vorurteile, als sich darum zu bemühen, den Islam besser zu verstehen? Nein, sagt Dia-Eddine klar, das Interesse am Islam sei gross. Aber anscheinend bestünden in der Bevölkerung Hemmschwellen, auf Muslime zuzugehen und mit ihnen über ihre Religion und Lebensweise zu reden. >>> Thomas Ribi | Montag, 09. November 2009

Free Market Flawed, Says Survey
BBC: Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new BBC poll has found widespread dissatisfaction with free-market capitalism.

In the global poll for the BBC World Service, only 11% of those questioned across 27 countries said that it was working well.

Most thought regulation and reform of the capitalist system were necessary.

There were also sharp divisions around the world on whether the end of the Soviet Union was a good thing.

Economic regulation

In 1989, as the Berlin Wall fell, it was a victory for ordinary people across Eastern and Central Europe.

It also looked at the time like a crushing victory for free-market capitalism.

Twenty years on, this new global poll suggests confidence in free markets has taken heavy blows from the past 12 months of financial and economic crisis.

More than 29,000 people in 27 countries were questioned. In only two countries, the United States and Pakistan, did more than one in five people feel that capitalism works well as it stands.

Almost a quarter - 23% of those who responded - feel it is fatally flawed. That is the view of 43% in France, 38% in Mexico and 35% in Brazil.

And there is very strong support around the world for governments to distribute wealth more evenly. That is backed by majorities in 22 of the 27 countries.

If there is one issue where a global consensus seems to emerge from the survey it is this: there are majorities almost everywhere wanting government to be more active in regulating business. >>> James Robbins | Monday, November 09, 2009

20 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall: Weltweit große Unzufriedenheit mit Kapitalismus
WELT ONLINE: 20 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall und dem Niedergang des Kommunismus herrscht weltweit große Unzufriedenheit mit dem kapitalistischen Wirtschaftssystem. Jeder fünfte Befragte einer von der BBC in Auftrag gegebenen Studie spricht sich für eine vollkommen neue Wirtschaftsordnung aus.

Die Unzufriedenheit mit dem kapitalistischen Wirtschaftssystem ist 20 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall und dem Niedergang des Kommunismus sehr groß. Nach einer von der BBC in Auftrag gegebenen Studie waren nur elf Prozent der Befragten in 27 Ländern der Ansicht, dass der Kapitalismus in seiner derzeitigen Form gut funktioniert.

Lediglich in den USA (25 Prozent) und Pakistan (21 Prozent) war mehr als jeder Fünfte mit der aktuellen Wirtschaftsordnung zufrieden. Unter dem Eindruck der schlimmsten Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise seit den 30er-Jahren glaubten 51 Prozent der Befragten, dass die Märkte stärker reguliert werden müssen. Im Schnitt 23 Prozent meinten, dass eine vollkommen neue Wirtschaftsordnung geschaffen werden müsse.

„Es scheint, dass der Fall der Berliner Mauer nicht der überwältigende Sieg für die freie Marktwirtschaft gewesen ist, für den er damals gehalten wurde“, sagte Doug Miller, Chef der Umfrageinstituts GlobeScan, das gemeinsam mit der Universität von Maryland rund 29.000 Menschen befragte. „Einige Elemente des Sozialismus, etwa die gleiche Verteilung des Wohlstands durch die Regierung, sprechen viele Leute auf der Welt weiter an“, sagte Steven Kull von der Universität von Maryland. >>> AFP/dpa/fas | Montag, 09. November 2009

The Berlin Wall – Die Berliner Mauer – Le mur de Berlin


L'Allemagne a payé cher sa réunification
LE FIGARO: Berlin a investi des centaines de milliards pour redonner un nouveau souffle aux régions de l'ex-RDA qui se sont effondrées après la chute du Mur.

À l'occasion du vingtième anniversaire de la chute du Mur, l'amertume de beaucoup d'anciens citoyens est-allemands s'étale dans les journaux. Fini la sécurité de l'emploi et « le miracle économique » de la RDA décrit par la Banque mondiale dans les années 1970. Avec un taux de chômage de 11,8 % (contre 6,6 % pour l'Ouest), la situation écono­mique reste plus précaire dans les ­nouveaux Bundesländer, le nom officiel des régions issues de la RDA, que dans le reste du pays. Selon les dernières études, 250 000 jeunes femmes, plus diplômées et entreprenantes que les garçons, ont ­quitté leur région d'origine pour chercher du travail à l'Ouest, créant un déficit démographique qui s'ajoute au départ de 1,8 million de citoyens sur les 17 millions que comptait la RDA en 1989. Écoles et crèches ferment alors qu'on détruit des quartiers entiers des anciennes villes industrielles désertées.

En 1989, le chef de la RDA, Erich Honecker, s'enorgueillissait d'être à la tête d'une « des dix premières puissances industrielles du monde ». Mais la chute du Mur laissa ap­paraître la réalité de l'économie ­planifiée, et l'introduction du deutsche mark à parité de la monnaie de l'Est ­précipita en quelques mois son effondrement. Lorsque le Mur tombe sous les coups de boutoir de l'opposition réformatrice à l'automne 1989, la RDA est exsangue. >>> Caroline Bruneau | Lundi 09 Novembre 2009

Blair’s Last Throw of the Dice for Presidency
TIMES ONLINE: Tony Blair has made a belated effort to revive his attempt to be president of Europe with a flurry of personal telephone calls to continental leaders, The Times has learnt.

The former Prime Minister’s 11th-hour intervention comes after criticism from Left and Right that he has not done enough to earn their support. The flickering flame of Mr Blair’s candidacy could be extinguished tonight when European Union heads of government, including some of his rivals, gather in Germany for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Mr Blair, who has always insisted that he is not campaigning for the post, will be far away in the Middle East, where he is a peace envoy.

Attention has instead focused on an alternative line-up by which David Miliband secures the foreign affairs post of Europe’s High Representative.

Although Mr Miliband has repeatedly stated that he does want not the job, there are fears within the Government that he could be persuaded. Labour figures are said to be beseeching him to stay, with one saying that his departure now would be a “pre-election betrayal of the party”. >>> Tom Baldwin, David Charter and Philip Webster | Monday, November 09, 2009

Fort Hood Gunman Had Told US Military Colleagues that Infidels Should Have Their Throats Cut
THE TELEGRAPH: Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman who killed 13 at America's Fort Hood military base, once gave a lecture to other doctors in which he said non-believers should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army doctor named as a suspect in the shooting death of 13 people and the wounding of 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas. Photo: The Telegraph
He also told colleagues at America's top military hospital that non-Muslims were infidels condemned to hell who should be set on fire. The outburst came during an hour-long talk Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, gave on the Koran in front of dozens of other doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington DC, where he worked for six years before arriving at Fort Hood in July.

Colleagues had expected a discussion on a medical issue but were instead given an extremist interpretation of the Koran, which Hasan appeared to believe. >>> Nick Allen in Fort Hood | Sunday, November 08, 2009

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi in Exile: 'I Can't Sit and Say Nothing as Iran Suffers'
THE TELEGRAPH: Crown Prince of Iran tells Simon Heffer he is ready to help bring change to his country but says the West needs to increase pressure on the Tehran regime.

Reza Pahlavi, son of the ex-Shah of Iran. Photo: The Telegraph
Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran, and to his most devoted followers His Imperial Majesty the Shah, has been following the turbulent events of his country closer than perhaps any exile in the past five or six months.

I met him this week in a hotel room in Washington DC, near where he lives. While we talked over mineral water and fish and chips he pulled out his BlackBerry to see the latest news of the street protests in Tehran.

The repression of his fellow Iranians by the Ahmadinejad regime, still in place after the rigged elections of the summer, angers him profoundly.

"When I think that today we Iranians have to be represented by these people, warmongering, terrorist-sponsoring, Holocaust denying – can I possibly sit here and say nothing? I don't want anything in return. I do it because it is my duty," he says.

In exile since his father was deposed in 1979, the Prince, 49, remains the figurehead for the three or four million strong Iranian diaspora. Since the elections he has stepped up calls for civil disobedience by Iranians, and for external support for that. His many conduits of information from Iran tell him the regime is fragmenting, and he eagerly awaits a tipping point.

"The end of the apartheid regime in South Africa, of military juntas in South America, of the former Soviet Union – all of it came at the hands of the people of those nations themselves," he says. "None of this could have happened without foreign support – but that is not the same as an occupying army that comes in and changes a regime – I don't see how that can ever be legitimate."

The unhappy experience of foreign intervention in Iraq has further convinced him of the importance of avoiding it in Iran.

"Change must come to Iran by civil disobedience and non-violence. I stress that. We can't have change at any cost. It is ultimately a question of the sovereignty of that nation, and what happens must be the will of the people. But how do we determine that? There is an absence of public debate. There is an absence of the ballot box." >>> Simon Heffer | Saturday, November 07, 2009

Critique du livre : Iran : l’heure du choix – Entretiens avec Michel Taubmann >>> Mark Alexander | Thursday, September 03, 2009

Iran Dissidents Risk Lives to Escape Regime
THE TELEGRAPH: When she saw the browbeaten features of her younger sister confessing at a show trial on state television, Sepideh Pouraghaie knew she had to flee Iran.

With her passport confiscated by the authorities for political reasons, the quick route out of the country - a flight from Tehran's gleaming new international airport - was impossible.

Instead, she was forced to gamble on a perilous mountain escape to the comparative safety of northern Iraq, escorted by Kurdish guerrillas on horseback.

The rocky byways of the Kurdish mountains that straddle Iran and Iraq have long been used by smugglers, bandits and separatists to evade the watchful eyes of state authority. But over the past four months, the smuggling gangs' regular trade in Afghan opium and bootleg alcohol has expanded to include a steady trickle of Iranian dissidents and journalists desperate to escape a brutal crackdown.

Accompanied by Kurdish tribesmen in traditional baggy trousers and bright floral cummerbunds, would-be escapees are led along secret pathways at the dead of night, negotiating terrain that is as hazardous as it is beautiful.

Sometimes they are forced to skirt the concrete machine gun emplacements of Iranian border guards, at others they have to wade across freezing mountain streams or negotiate sheer precipices. In perhaps the most ingenious smugglers' trick, one fleeing Iranian recently crawled across the border hidden in a flock of sheep, mimicking the manner in which the Greek mythical figure Odysseus escaped from the Cyclops' cave.

Those who have made the hazardous journey include opposition activists, human rights campaigners and reporters, who have been fleeing Iran in such numbers that the press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders has described it as the biggest exodus of journalists since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Hundreds more are believed to have lost their jobs - some for holding the wrong opinions, some because their newspapers were shut down by authorities. >>> Angus McDowall | Sunday, November 08, 2009

Remembrance Sunday 2009
In deep gratitude: Remembering the fallen – the men who died for our liberty.
Poppy: Google Images
UK Soldiers Remember the Fallen
BBC: A Remembrance Sunday service has been held at Camp Bastion in the Afghan province of Helmand on the day another British soldier has been killed.

Later the Queen is to lead the Remembrance Sunday commemorations at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.

Representatives from the Commonwealth will join Prime Minister Gordon Brown, military leaders and religious heads for a service and military march-past.

The latest soldier to die was killed in a blast in Helmand, the MoD said.

He was the 94th British fatality in Afghanistan this year.

A two-minute silence will be held at 1100 GMT across the country to remember the UK's war dead. >>> | Sunday, November 08, 2009

In Flanders Fields
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
[Source: Arlington Cemetery]

The Man We Love to Hate: Mr Goldman Sachs
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Number 85 Broad Street, a dull, rust-coloured office block in lower Manhattan, doesn’t look like a place to stop and stare, and that’s just the way the people who work there like it. The men and women who arrive in the watery dawn sunshine, dressed in Wall Street black, clutching black briefcases and BlackBerrys, are very, very private. They walk quickly from their black Lincoln town cars to the lobby, past, well, nothing, really. There’s no name plate on the building, no sign on the front desk and the armed policeman stationed outside isn’t saying who works there. There’s a good reason for the secrecy. Number 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004, is where the money is. All of it.

It’s the site of the best cash-making machine that global capitalism has ever produced, and, some say, a political force more powerful than governments. The people who work behind the brass-trim glass doors make more money than some countries do. They are the rainmakers’ rainmakers, the biggest swinging dicks in the financial jungle. Their assets total $1 trillion, their annual revenues run into the tens of billions, and their profits are in the billions, which they distribute liberally among themselves. Average pay this recessionary year for the 30,000 staff is expected to be a record $700,000. Top earners will get tens of millions, several hundred thousand times more than a cleaner at the firm. When they have finished getting "filthy rich by 40", as the company saying goes, these alpha dogs don’t put their feet up. They parachute into some of the most senior political posts in the US and beyond, prompting accusations that they "rule the world". Number 85 Broad Street is the home of Goldman Sachs.

The world’s most successful investment bank likes to hide behind the tidal wave of money that it generates and sends crashing over Manhattan, the City of London and most of the world’s other financial capitals. But now the dark knights of banking are being forced, blinking, into the cold light of day. The public, politicians and the press blame bankers’ reckless trading for the credit crunch and, as the most successful bank still standing, Goldman is their prime target. Here, politicians and commentators compete to denounce Goldman in ever more robust terms — "robber barons", "economic vandals", "vulture capitalists". Vince Cable, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, contrasts the bank’s recent record results — profits of $3.2 billion in the last quarter alone — and its planned bumper bonus payments with what has happened to ordinary people’s jobs and incomes in 2009.

It’s even worse in the US. There, Rolling Stone magazine ran a story that described Goldman as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money". In his latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore drives up to 85 Broad Street in an armoured Brinks money van, leaps out carrying a sack with a giant dollar sign on it, looks up at the building and yells: "We’re here to get the money back for the American people!"

Goldman’s reputation is suddenly as toxic as the credit default swaps and other inexplicably exotic financial instruments it used to buy with glee. That’s bad for the one thing it values more than anything else: business. Being the prime target for popular and political outrage could put Goldman first in line for draconian new regulation. So it has, reluctantly, decided that the time has come to speak out, to fight its corner. That’s how, on one of those bright autumnal New York mornings when anything seems possible — even an invitation to break bread with the masters of the universe — I find myself walking past the security guard who held up Michael Moore and into the building with no name. I'm doing 'God's work'. Meet Mr Goldman Sachs >>> John Arlidge | Sunday, November 08, 2009

Michael Moore – Capitalism: A Love Story – Trailer

Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — Handing President Obama a hard-fought victory, the House narrowly approved a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system on Saturday night, advancing legislation that Democrats said could stand as their defining social policy achievement.

After a daylong clash with Republicans over what has been a Democratic goal for decades, lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to approve a plan that would cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Democrats said the legislation would provide overdue relief to Americans struggling to buy or hold on to health insurance.

“This is our moment to revolutionize health care in this country,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and one of the chief architects of the bill.

Democrats were forced to make major concessions on insurance coverage for abortions to attract the final votes to secure passage, a wrenching compromise for the numerous abortion-rights advocates in their ranks.

Many of them hope to make changes to the amendment during negotiations with the Senate, which will now become the main battleground in the health care fight as Democrats there ready their own bill for what is likely to be extensive floor debate.

Democrats say the House measure — paid for through new fees and taxes, along with cuts in Medicare — would extend coverage to 36 million people now without insurance while creating a government health insurance program. It would end insurance company practices like not covering pre-existing conditions or dropping people when they become ill.

Republicans condemned the vote and said they would oppose the measure as it proceeds on its legislative route. “This government takeover has got a long way to go before it gets to the president’s desk, and I’ll continue to fight it tooth and nail at every turn,” said Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas. “Health care is too important to get it wrong.” >>> Carl Hulse and Robert Pear | Saturday, November 07, 2009

Muslim Population in the Military Raises Difficult Issues
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The deadly rampage at Fort Hood is forcing Pentagon officials to confront difficult questions about the military's growing Muslim population.

The military has worked hard to recruit more Muslims since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the number of Muslim troops, while still small, has been increasing. There were 3,409 Muslims in the active-duty military as of April 2008, according to Pentagon statistics.

Military personnel don't have to disclose their religions, and many officials believe the actual number of Muslim soldiers may be at least 10,000 higher than the Pentagon statistics. For instance, the military "Officer Record Brief" of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings, said he had "no religious preference" and didn't identify him as a Muslim.

Even now, Muslim soldiers remain fairly rare in some parts of the military. At West Point, Army officials said there were just 24 Muslim cadets out of a total student body of 4,400. The Muslim cadets worship in an interfaith center on the bucolic New York campus, but don't have a dedicated mosque.

The push to boost Muslim representation has proven to be a double-edged sword for the military, which desperately needs the Muslim soldiers for their language skills and cultural knowledge, but also worries that a small percentage of those soldiers might harbor extremist ideologies or choose to turn their guns on their fellow soldiers. >>> Yochi J. Dreazen | Saturday, November 07, 2009

Achtung! Dhimmitude in Deutschland! Kölns erste Moschee – mit 55 Meter hohen Minaretten
TAGES ANZEIGER: In Köln ist am Samstag der Grundstein für die erste repräsentative Moschee der Stadt gelegt worden. Das Gebetshaus muss Auflagen erfüllen.

Eine Stadt feiert den Start zum Moschee-Bau: In Köln ragen bald Minarette in die Höhe. Bild: Tages Anzeiger
Die türkisch-islamische Organisation Ditib errichtet das Gebäude. Die Moschee soll 2011 fertiggestellt sein. Das Gebäude wird eine 35 Meter hohe Kuppel haben und zwei Minarette, die 55 Meter in die Höhe ragen. Ditib hat sich gegenüber Politikern dazu verpflichtet, dass von den Gebetstürmen keine öffentlichen Muezzin-Rufe erklingen werden.

Ausserdem sollen die Reden der Vorbeter in dem neuen Gebäude grundsätzlich auch in die deutsche Sprache übersetzt werden. Diese Zusagen sollen zu mehr Transparenz in der muslimischen Gemeindearbeit in Köln beitragen. [Quelle: Tages Anzeiger] cpm/sda | Samstag, 07. November 2009

World War I in Colour
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Robert Spencer discusses the Fort Hood Jihadist on the Savage Nation

For Secular and Catholic France, a Shock to the System: The Rise of the Evangelicals
THE GUARDIAN: Church insists it is not like the US right, but many fear growth of a political force

As the piano strikes up, the congregation sways, palms to the ceiling, fists in the air, murmurs of hallelujah punctuating the music. Pastor Franck Lefillatre, besuited and bathed in the spotlight on his podium, intones into a microphone.

"Let out the words that are in your heart," he urges. His whispers crescendo to booming rhetoric. Behind him, emblazoned in gold lettering, are the words: "Jesus Christ: the same yesterday, today, eternally."

As evangelical services go, this gathering on a rainy Sunday afternoon is nothing unusual. In countless churches around the United States and many other countries it would be a staple means of Christian worship.

But this is not the American Bible belt. It is the Church of Paris-Bastille, and this congregation is just one of a growing number of evangelical communities spreading through France and prospering in spite of its staunchly secular – and Catholic – traditions.

From a postwar population of around 50,000, French evangelicals are now estimated to number between 450,000 and 500,000. According to the Evangelical Federation of France (FEF), the number of churches has risen from 800 in 1970 to over 2,200 today.

This week the boom made headlines when thousands of evangelicals – who are estimated to make up two-thirds of the country's practising Protestants – descended on Strasbourg to turn the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth into a mass, media-covered event. It was not something even the most hopeful of believers could have prayed for. >>> Lizzy Davies in Paris | Friday, November 06, 2009

Nach dem Amoklauf von Fort Hood: Die Angst der amerikanischen Muslime vor Rache
WELT ONLINE: Amerikas 2,35 Millionen Muslime, zumal die rund 15.000 in den US-Streitkräften, leben seit den Terroranschlägen vom 11. September 2001 unter Generalverdacht. Vorfälle wie der Amoklauf von Fort Hood bringen die islamische Gemeinschaft weiter in Bedrängnis. Viele von ihnen fürchten Racheakte.

Der erste mit Vergeltung drohende Anruf ging beim „Arab-American Institute“ am späten Nachmittag ein, nur Minuten, nachdem der Name Nidal Malik Hasan zum ersten Mal über die Bildschirme gelaufen war. Im „Rat für amerikanisch-islamische Beziehungen" begann zur selben Zeit ein Krisenstab zu tagen.

In einer Pressekonferenz wurde noch am selben Abend der Amoklauf im texanischen Fort Hood verdammt und die Bitte, Ruhe zu bewahren, verbreitet: „Unglücklicherweise müssen wir aus Erfahrung amerikanische Muslime und jene, die für Muslime gehalten werden können, ersuchen, sich, ihre Familien und ihre religiösen Stätten vor Racheakten zu schützen.“ >>> Von Uwe Schmitt | Samstag, 07. November 2009

Bildergalerie: Asma al-Assad
Syriens schönstes Gesicht >>> | Dienstag, 27. Oktober 2009

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks: Islam Must Separate Religion from Power
TIMES ONLINE: The Chief Rabbi has called on Muslims to get used to living as a minority in Britain and to learn to separate religion from power.

Lord Sacks said that neither Muslims nor Christians had yet learnt the lessons inflicted on the Jewish people by the Babylonian exile.

“One of the great advantages of being Jewish is you know how to sing in the minor key,” he said. “We have had 26 centuries of experience ever since the Babylonian exile of living as a minority in the midst of a culture that does not share our views. Christianity and Islam have not had that experience.”

He said that Christianity had learnt toleration but only after 100 years of “knocking the hell out of each other all over Europe”.

He said: “So Christianity went through its experience, Judaism has been through it a long, long time ago and Islam has not yet had that experience.

“I have no doubt that Islam will work its way through to the essential situation that Judaism arrived at and Christianity, namely the substantive separation of religion from power. But there’s no quick way of getting there. It is quite a difficult and painful process within religion.

“Only Muslims can do it. Nobody can tell them from the outside. That would be taken as an affront and I would regard it as morally unacceptable. I do see some wonderful Muslims in this country and elsewhere, in Iraq and even in Iran, going through that process. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent | Friday, November 06, 2009

Iranian Becomes Hero After Criticising Ayatollah Khamenei to His Face
THE TELEGRAPH: A college mathematics student has become an unlikely hero to many Iranians after he insulted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to his face.

Mahmoud Vahidnia has received an outpouring of support from government opponents for the challenge – unprecedented in a country where criticising the supreme leader is a crime punishable by prison.

The confrontation happened at a question-and-answer session between Khamenei and students at Tehran's Sharif Technical University.

Some of those in attendance at the Oct 28 forum said the Ayatollah appeared taken aback by the questioning and left the meeting early.

The session began with a speech in which the supreme leader told the students the "biggest crime" was to question the results of the June 12 presidential election that returned hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. The Ayatollah declared Mr Ahmadinejad the victor despite opposition claims of widespread fraud.

After the speech, Mr Vahidnia raised his hand, then for 20 minutes he criticised the Iranian leader over the fierce crackdown on post-election protests, in which the opposition said 69 people were killed and thousands were arrested.

In brief excerpts broadcast on state TV, the thin, bespectacled Vahidnia was shown standing behind a podium, gesturing.

"I don't know why in this country it's not allowed to make any kind of criticism of you," said the student. >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, November 06, 2009

Photographie non datée d'Anne Frank, jeune fille juive morte du typhus au camp de Bergen-Belsen pendant l'hiver 1945. Crédits photo : Le Monde
Le Hezbollah fait censurer la publication d'extraits du Journal d'Anne Frank
LE MONDE: Des extraits du journal d'Anne Frank ont été coupés d'un manuel scolaire au Liban à la suite d'une campagne du Hezbollah, selon qui l'ouvrage fait la promotion du sionisme. La polémique a éclaté après que le Hezbollah eut appris qu'un manuel scolaire utilisé par un établissement privé de la capitale contenait des extraits du Journal d'Anne Frank.

Al-Manar, la chaîne de télévision du Hezbollah, a dénoncé l'ouvrage, estimant qu'il se concentre sur la persécution des Juifs. "Ce qui est plus dangereux encore est la manière dramatique et théâtrale dont le journal est relaté, il est chargé d'émotion", estime la chaîne dans un reportage diffusé la semaine dernière. Il se demande pour combien de temps encore le Liban "restera une arène ouverte pour l'invasion sioniste de l'éducation". >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP | Vendredi 06 Novembre 2009

Japan: Love Hotels
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here | Tuesday, April 08, 2008

«Wir behalten das Kruzifix» : Italiens Regierungschef Berlusconi ignoriert Gerichtsurteil
NZZ ONLINE: Der italienische Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi hat im Streit um das Kruzifix-Urteil des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte ein Machtwort gesprochen. «Wir behalten das Kruzifix», erklärte der Regierungschef am Freitag in Rom.

Das Urteil sei schliesslich kein «Zwangsurteil», sagte er. Daher würden die Kreuze in italienischen Klassenzimmern hängen bleiben - unabhängig vom Ausgang der Beschwerde seiner Regierung in Strassburg. >>> sda/dpa | Freitag, 06. November 2009

Marseille : la plus grande mosquée de France en 2011
Vue d'architecte du projet de mosquée dans les quartiers nord de Marseille. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le permis de construire délivré, reste à boucler le financement du plus grand édifice musulman de France.

Le projet de la grande mosquée de Marseille fait aujourd'hui un pas symbolique. Le sénateur-maire UMP, Jean-Claude Gaudin, a remis à la communauté musulmane le permis de construire de ce lieu de culte qui sera édifié dans les quartiers nord. L'élu, d'abord opposé au projet, a estimé, en 2001, qu'il ne pouvait priver d'un lieu de culte décent les 200 000 Marseillais musulmans, soit le quart de la population. Le sujet est sensible et l'extrême droite, en perte de vitesse, a fait de son opposition totale à «la mosquée cathédrale» son principal cheval de bataille.

Mais Jean-Claude Gaudin tient bon. «Il a été le premier à dire, je veux une mosquée pour les musulmans de Marseille», souligne le président de l'association La mosquée de Marseille, Nourredine Cheikh, un ancien chef d'entreprise halal.

Gaudin a favorisé le rassemblement d'une communauté diverse et divisée dans une association qui désormais gère le dossier. La ville lui a consenti un bail emphytéotique et lui délivre aujourd'hui un permis de construire.

«C'est un grand jour. C'est l'acte de naissance de notre mosquée. A nous désormais de l'élever», commente satisfait Nourredine Cheikh.

Les fidèles, qui disposent aujourd'hui de 63 lieux de cultes dans la ville, souvent bricolés dans des rez-de-chaussée d'HLM ou dans des petites salles de quartier, pourront être fiers d'un lieu vaste et beau. Les 8 600 m² du terrain des anciens abattoirs de Saint-Louis donnent la possibilité de construire une grande salle de prière mais également une école théologique, une bibliothèque, un restaurant, une librairie et un amphithéâtre. >>> Aliette de Broqua, Marseille | Vendredi 06 Novembre 2009

Obama: Après l'espoir, l'impatience
leJDD.fr: Un an après son élection, les Américains veulent toujours croire aux promesses de Barack Obama. Mais la désillusion gagne…

A 64 ans, Eileen Morrison est une débarquée du rêve américain."Je n’ai pas connaissance d’une époque aux Etats-Unis où l’on en arrive à gagner moins que ses parents", s’exclame la sexagénaire qui vit dans un trois-pièces d’un HLM de la banlieue sud de Daytona. L’appartement donne sur l’autoroute 95 qui longe la côte est de la Floride et relie Jacksonvil le à Miami. Abandonnée par son mari, Eileen a dû se remettre au travail. Elle est hôtesse à temps partiel dans une agence immobilière pour 1400 dollars par mois (946 euros). Pas vraiment la vieillesse dont elle avait rêvé. Pas vraiment non plus celle que lui avait promise Barack Obama, qu’elle a contribué à faire gagner la présidentielle il y a tout juste un an.

Pour autant, Eileen n’en veut pas à son président, qu’elle respecte pour sa « stature intellectuelle », son intégrité et sa volonté de réforme. Ce soir, en bonne militante, elle va même organiser dans son appartement une séance de "phoning" pour promouvoir par téléphone la réforme de l’assurance santé que la Maison-Blanche a tant de mal à imposer. Malgré plusieurs avancées notoires ces dernières semaines, le projet est toujours menacé par quelques élus démocrates "centristes". "Je me sens trahie par mon propre camp, soupire Eileen. Je n’arrive pas à comprendre que pour des intérêts politiques aussi minces, on puisse mettre en péril la seule réforme urgente dont a besoin ce pays." Est-ce aussi la faute d’Obama, de son sens trop poussé du compromis? Non, pas forcément. Même si elle le conjure de "cesser de jouer trop finement, de passer à l’action et d’être fort". >>> François Clemenceau, envoyé spécial du JDD à Daytona (Floride), Le Journal du Dimanche | Dimanche 01 Novembre 2009

No Respect, No Morals, No Trust - Welcome to Modern Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Our political leaders are falling short as we sink under a tide of vulgarity and sleaze, says Jeff Randall.

Earlier this year, the BBC broadcast a two-part documentary called The Death of Respect. It went out late and would have been missed by many. For those who did not see it, there was compelling evidence this week that the social decomposition chronicled in John Ware's programme is very real, when film of a Sheffield student relieving himself on a war memorial was shown in the same news bulletins that covered the murder of five British soldiers in Helmand.

It's hard to think of a more offensive image than booze-fuelled urine flowing over poppies, on a day when courageous servicemen are being slaughtered in order, the Government claims, to keep the rest of us safe. Hard, but not impossible. The front-page story from my local newspaper, the Brentwood Gazette, came close: thieves stole the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal collection box from St Thomas's church in the town centre. In the week of Remembrance Sunday, low-lifers had plumbed new depths.

Do not tell me that these are isolated incidents. Anxiety over the collapse of respect in modern Britain is not, as some liberal sociologists would have us believe, the creation of news-hungry tabloids and suburban reactionaries. Examples of guttersnipery are all around: from unpleasant vulgarity (spitting and swearing) to the contempt with which a sleazy political class treats its electorate. We are, one fears, in danger of becoming inured to disrespect.

On the way to the train station each day, I trudge past a trail of sweet wrappers, sandwich boxes and drink cans, discarded on the grass verge by children walking to school. Every morning they litter the streets, seemingly unaware of the mess piling up, while eating breakfast on the hoof. I once challenged a twerp who was poking an empty crisp bag into a neighbour's hedge. He seemed shocked that anyone would care.

Litter is annoying, but in the grand scheme of a society that has traded personal responsibility for blame transfer, it is little more than a pointer to a deeper malaise: the corrosion of deference in our schools, the abandonment of manners on our streets and, yes, the death of respect for civility and integrity. We are close to the point where ethical behaviour is regarded as an affliction to be pitied, a loser's burden. >>> Jeff Randall | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Fort Hood Shooting: 13 Killed and 30 Injured at US Army Base
THE TELEGRAPH: A US army officer called Major Malik Nidal Hasan has been named as the man responsible for killing 13 people and injuring 30 more in a mass shooting at a Texas military base.


Major Hasan, a military psychiatrist who had allegedly called for Muslims to attack Americans over the Iraq war, is critically ill and under guard in hospital.

The authorities initially believed he had been killed in the ensuing gun battle with police but it later emerged he was still alive despite being shot four times in the incident at Fort Hood base, the largest American military installation in the world.

The serviceman was about to be posted to either Iraq or Afghanistan and argued regularly against the wars, it has been claimed.
Hasan, armed with two handguns, walked into a training centre and opened fire on fellow soldiers who were having last-minute medical check-ups before being deployed to Afghanistan. Thirteen were killed and 30 injured.

However, there were suggestions that some of the dead might have been shot by the authorities in their attempt to stop the gunman.

Hasan is now under guard in hospital where he is unconscious and on a ventilator. >>> Nick Allen in Los Angeles and Andy Bloxham | Friday, November 06, 2009


Profile: Major Nidal Malik Hasan Was Trained to Treat Post-traumatic Stress
TIMES ONLINE: The man who turned guns on his fellow soldiers is an army psychiatrist trained to help his comrades come to terms with precisely the same scenes of terror that he himself brought to Fort Hood yesterday.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is a mental health professional assigned to a base that is home to the US Army's "warrior reset programme", set up to help soldiers returning from war zones cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He attracted the attention of police six months ago for internet postings analysing the motives of suicide bombers but was not formally investigated. Major Hasan had also complained to relatives of harassment by fellow-officers mocking him for "being Middle Eastern", according to a cousin who came forward last night.

Born and educated in Virginia, Major Hasan is a US citizen whose parents came from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem. >>> Giles Whittell | Friday, November 06, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Fort Hood shooting: gunman shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before opening fire: Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at Fort Hood military base in Texas have reported that gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" - God is great - before opening fire. >>> | Friday, November 06, 2009

Islamische Migranten: Wie man zum Moslem gemacht wird
ZEIT ONLINE: Fremd und bedrohlich wirken auf uns heute vor allem Muslime. Früher fürchtete man sich einfach vor dem Ausländer.

Stellen sie sich vor, Sie unterhalten sich auf einer Party mit einer ihnen bisher unbekannten Person. Nach einigen Minuten werden Sie gefragt, wie Sie als Christ zum Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil stehen und im weiteren Verlauf des Gespräches möchte ihr Gegenüber wissen, wie Sie es mit dem päpstlichen Verhütungsverbot halten.

Das käme ihnen bestimmt seltsam vor. Sie würden sich vielleicht fragen, warum sie als Christ und Katholik angesprochen werden. Sie definieren sich doch gar nicht über ihre religiöse Identität. Auch wenn sie an Gott glauben und noch die Gebete der Kindheit beherrschen.

Solche Situationen sind für Muslime in Deutschland gang und gäbe. Sie müssen sich permanent mit religiösen Identitätszuschreibungen auseinandersetzen.

Das Bild, das wir uns vom Fremden machen, unterliegt einem steten kulturellen Wandel. Seit dem 11. September ist es geprägt von der vermeintlichen religiösen Andersartigkeit. Muslim zu sein, ist die aktuelle Chiffre für das Fremde und Bedrohliche. Türkische oder arabische Migranten beispielsweise werden nicht mehr als Ausländer, sondern als Moslems angesprochen. Religion wird zu einem zentralen Beschreibungsmerkmal, zum zentralen Kriterium bei der Konstruktion des Fremden. >>> Von Deniz Baspinar | Dienstag, 03. November 2009

Five-year-olds Need to Play with Dinky Toys Not Learn about Sex! Children Need Their Innocence and Fantasy for Healthy Development
THE TELEGRAPH: Sex and drug lessons will be compulsory under plans announced by the Schools Secretary.

Under the new curriculum, pupils as young as seven will learn about puberty and the facts of life and five-year-olds will be taught about parts of the body, relationships and the effects of drugs on the body.

Once they reach secondary school, pupils will learn about contraception, HIV and Aids, pregnancy and different kinds of relationships - including same sex unions and civil partnerships.

So-called Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is to become compulsory in both primary and secondary schools from September 2011, and will be enshrined in new legislation.

Faith schools will not be able to opt out of any part of the new statutory curriculum, Ed Balls also confirmed today, although they will be able to teach topics within the ''tenets of their faith''.

Under current rules parents have the right to withdraw their child from sex education classes up until the age of 19. Sex and drug lessons from age 5 >>> | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Nicolas Sarkozy Tells Carla Bruni to Take Lower Profile
THE TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy has asked his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to lower her public profile after complaints about her political influence on the French president, it has been claimed.

Mr Sarkozy's approval ratings are at their lowest since his 2007 election - just 39 per cent according to one poll. Photo: The Telegraph
Last week France's leading society magazine described Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, 41, as the new Marie-Antoinette. Now it transpires the president has asked her to take a back seat amid a growing chorus of disapproval from his own Right-wing allies about her "luvvy" Left-wing influence.

One alleged in l'Express magazine on Thursday that she was responsible for "most of the head of state's woes in this turbulent autumn".

Mr Sarkozy's approval ratings are at their lowest since his 2007 election - just 39 per cent according to one poll - and he is desperately trying to woo back his core conservative electorate ahead of regional elections next March.

Many voters are appalled by a series of scandals, from nepotism allegations concerning Mr Sarkozy's 23-year-old son, Jean, to the furore over a book by Frédéric Mitterrand, the culture minister, about his past as a sexual tourist. Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, a friend of Mr Mitterrand, is attributed with advising her husband to nominate him to the post.

Colleagues also blame her for encouraging ministers to give outspoken support to Roman Polanksi, the film-maker detained in Switzerland and awaiting extradition to the US for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Mr Sarkozy this week sought to regain the upper hand by launching a nationwide debate on "national identity" and a plan to impose a curfew on delinquents.

A friend of Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy quoted by the 20minutes.fr website said: "Her husband has asked her not to intervene on [political] subjects. And this doesn't bother her." >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, November 05, 2009

20 MINUTES: Le mea culpa de Nicolas Sarkozy au sujet de la candidature de son fils à l'Epad >>> | Jeudi 05 Novembre 2009

David Cameron renonce au référendum promis
Le chef des conservateurs britanniques s'est engagé à s'exprimer en détail sur l'Europe avant la fin de la semaine. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: En 2007, l'actuel chef du parti conservateur s'était engagé à consulter les britanniques au sujet du traité de Lisbonne. Mais le texte entrera probalement en vigueur avant son accession au pouvoir.

La signature du traité de Lisbonne par le président tchèque, Vaclav Klaus, est un coup dur pour David Cameron, le leader des conservateurs britanniques, qui avait promis à ses fidèles d'organiser un référendum sur le texte. S'il ne l'a pas encore avoué clairement, il a laissé entendre mardi qu'il ne pourrait tenir sa promesse car le texte entrera en vigueur avant que son parti soit en mesure de gagner les législatives du printemps 2010, comme le prédisent tous les sondages.

Visiblement déçu, il s'est seulement engagé, mardi, à s'exprimer en détail sur le sujet avant la fin de la semaine. «Nous allons préciser de quelle manière nous allons protéger les intérêts britanniques», a-t-il expliqué lors d'une conférence de presse.
Le premier ministre, Gordon Brown, qui avait pesé de tout son poids pour que le Parlement britannique ratifie le traité le plus vite possible, ce qui a été fait en juillet 2008, a de son côté salué la signature du président tchèque, qu'il a qualifiée «d'étape importante et historique pour toute l'Europe».

En 2005, David Cameron avait pris la tête des conservateurs avec le soutien de la branche la plus antieuropéenne de son parti. Il a ensuite renforcé cette position en promettant à ses fidèles en 2007 un référendum sur le traité de Lisbonne, puis en quittant cette année le PPE, parti de coalition de centre droit au Parlement européen, au profit d'un nouveau groupe eurosceptique fondé avec des partis polonais et lituaniens. >>> Cyrille Vanlerberghe, correspondant à Londres | Mercredi 04 Novembre 2009

Lellouche: les Tories sont "pathétiques"
LE FIGARO: Les conservateurs britanniques sont "pathétiques" avec leur euroscepticisme, a accusé Pierre Lellouche, secrétaire d'Etat français chargé des Affaires européennes dans une interview publiée jeudi par The Guardian (gauche).



Réagissant à un discours sur l'Europe mercredi du chef du parti conservateur David Cameron, futur Premier ministre si les Tories reviennent au pouvoir aux prochaines élections, M. Lellouche a affirmé: "C'est pathétique. C'est juste très triste de voir la Grande-Bretagne, si importante en Europe, se couper du reste de l'UE et disparaître des écrans radar (...)".



"Ils font ce qu'ils ont fait au Parlement européen, ils ont amoindri l'influence du Royaume-Uni au sein du Parlement européen", a-t-il ajouté, en référence au départ des Tories de la coalition de centre droit (PPE) au Parlement européen, en faveur d'une alliance avec des partis lituaniens et polonais au sein d'un nouveau groupe eurosceptique. >>> AFP | Jeudi 05 Novembre 2009

Suisse : Nos ministres en burqa!
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MINARETS | Une nouvelle affiche va apparaître dans les rues de Suisse. Elle réutilise la photo officielle du Conseil fédéral dont elle voile intégralement les trois femmes. Derrière cette campagne provocante: un mystérieux comité.

Vous verrez peut-être ces prochains jours dans la rue cette photo trafiquée, qui détourne le cliché officiel du Conseil fédéral. Derrière le voile intégral: Micheline Calmy-Rey, Doris Leuthard et Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. Crédits photo : Tribune de Genève
Elle ressemble à la photo officielle du Conseil fédéral. Mais ce n’est pas la photo officielle. Certes, le fond rouge demeure, ainsi que des hommes en costume sombre. A y regarder de plus près, toutefois, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Doris Leuthard et Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf ne sont plus reconnaissables puisque vêtues d’un voile intégral. Quant à la nuée de croix suisses du cliché original, elle est désormais constellée de croissants islamiques.

Le photographe est fâché

Cette photo trafiquée, vous la verrez peut-être ces prochains jours dans la rue en format mondial sur une affiche en faveur de l’initiative contre la construction de minarets en Suisse. La Municipalité de Lausanne l’a autorisée sur le domaine public, comme le confirme l’élu radical Olivier Français. >>> Serge Gumy/Gérald Cordonier | Jeudi 05 Novembre 2009

Swiss Referendum Stirs a Debate About Islam: Business Is Worried as Rightist Party's Move to Ban the Construction of Minarets on Mosques Will Be Voted on Nov. 29
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ZURICH -- An emotional debate over the role of Islam in Switzerland is heating up as a referendum approaches that would ban the construction of minarets on mosques.

On Nov. 29, the Swiss will vote on a referendum to ban the construction of minarets, an initiative promoted by the right-wing Swiss People's Party, who argue that a minaret is a symbol of Islamic intolerance. Minarets are tower-like structures capped with crowns; while the structure has no special religious significance, it is often used for the call to prayer for Muslims.

The debate comes in a country that has prided itself on integrating its large immigrant population and that largely avoided the clashes over the rights of Muslim minorities seen elsewhere in Europe. Business and political interests are especially worried about a possible backlash from the Muslim world.

For example, Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group Ltd. is worried that its relations with Muslim countries -- an important destination for its goods -- will be imperiled if the initiative passes. "The brand 'Swiss' must continue to represent values such as openness, pluralism and freedom of religion," said Hanspeter Rentsch, member of the executive group management board at Swatch. "Under no circumstances must it be brought in connection with hatred, animosity towards foreigners and narrow-mindedness."

The Swiss People's Party gathered twice the required signatures needed to call a vote. Its campaign used posters depicting a woman in a burqa in front of a row of minarets shaped like missiles. Some cities, such as Basel, have banned the posters, while Zurich and others have allowed them in the name of free speech.

The party, the country's largest political group and a fierce critic of immigration, drew international criticism for a campaign poster two years ago showing a white sheep kicking a black sheep out of Switzerland.

A national poll by state-owned media group SRG shows that 53% of voters oppose the ban and 34% support it. Muslim leaders, who have taken a low-key approach to the controversy, are nonetheless worried.

"This initiative gives a message that Muslims are not welcome here," says Elham Manea, a lecturer in political science at the University of Zurich. "If it passes, it raises the possibility of radicalization of some young people. It would be a big disappointment."

Some say that even defeating the referendum won't dissolve the tension. "It won't end with this," says Hisham Maizer, head of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland. "The debate about Islam in Switzerland has just begun." >>> Deborah Ball and Anita Greil | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Gays in Pakistan: Jheel Saiful Malook, Naran Kaghan

Still Brewing in a Dry Land: Pakistan's Only Beer and Whisky Firm
THE INDEPENDENT: After 150 years, business is booming at Pakistan's only beer and whisky firm. Andrew Buncombe finds out why

An employee of the Murree brewery, which has ambitions to export its beer to Britain. Photo: The Independent
On the walls of the historic Murree brewery, Pakistan's sole producer of beer, hangs a slogan that its owners would wish upon the entire country. "Eat, drink and be Murree," puns the poster, seemingly produced in the 1970s.

Understandably, making beer and whiskey in a Muslim country, where 97 per cent of the population is officially banned from enjoying your products, has never been an easy business. Non-Muslims are exempt from the ban, but even for them obtaining a drink can be complicated: some five-star hotels require foreigners to affirm in writing that they are non-Muslims and will be responsible for anything that happens when they are under the influence before they can order a drink.

And amid the upsurge of militant violence of the last two years that has seen the Taliban attacking targets across the country, setting fire to girls' schools and even banning the sale of videos and DVDs, common sense might suggest that the fortunes of this establishment, which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, might be on the wane. Yet the opposite is happening: sales are booming – embarrassingly so.

"Sales are good," said Isphanyar Bhandara, the brewery's 36-year-old chief executive, "but we don't want to shout about it because that also brings negative publicity and criticism, because this is a Muslim country – and yet sales are growing." >>> Andrew Buncombe | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Murree Brewery of Pakistan


Watch another video on the Murree Brewery here

Pakistan Fashion Week Defies Taliban with Non-Islamic Dress
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's fashion week began on Wednesday in defiance of the Taliban's preference for strict adherence to modest Islamic veils.

As Pakistan's army battled religious extremists in South Waziristan, Karachi's top designers sent models down catwalks with bare shoulders and exposed navels in an unusual display of skin in a country where most women cover up.

Sonya Battla, the first designer to show, presented a collection that she said celebrated strong women. She dismissed the fact that in more conservative parts of the country, her designs might get women driven out of town or stoned to death.

A model presents a creation by Pakistani designer Aiesha Varsey during the Pakistan Fashion Week in Karachi on November 4, 2009. Pakistan's fashion week began on November 4 with an opulent opening ceremony, against a backdrop of militant violence and secu[rity]. Photo: The Telegraph
"I'm a very brave woman," said the 38-year-old designer. "I'm not going to be scared and no one's going to judge me." >>> Chris Allbritton in Karachi | Thursday, November 05, 2009

Maine Voters Reject Same-sex Marriage
THE TELEGRAPH: Voters in the US state of Maine have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry.

The defeat was seen as a major setback for homosexual rights advocates.

In a closely fought referendum in the north-eastern state, 53 per cent of voters defeated a law passed by the state legislature in May, while 47 per cent voted for the measure, with 87 per cent of precincts reporting by early Wednesday.

The outcome from Tuesday's vote made Maine the third US state where voters repealed their local government's move granting same-sex couples the right to marry, following California and Hawaii. Homosexual marriage has not yet won a popular vote in any US state. >>> | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Rama Yade Told to 'Shut Your Gob or Quit' French Government
THE TELEGRAPH: Rama Yade, the popular French cabinet minister, has been told to "shut your gob or resign" by colleagues after criticising Nicolas Sarkozy and government policy.

Rama Yade: Miss Yade now faces going the same way as Rachida Dati, the other star symbol of Mr Sarkozy's politically and ethnically diverse "rainbow" cabinet. Photo: The Telegraph
Cabinet ministers have branded Miss Yade, 32, a "spoiled child" and she now faces being ousted in a reshuffle.

The outspoken, Senegalese-born politician – once hailed by the president as France's Condoleezza Rice, the former black American secretary of state – has been frozen out of the cabinet for serial insubordination.

Miss Yade now faces going the same way as Rachida Dati, the other star symbol of Mr Sarkozy's politically and ethnically diverse "rainbow" cabinet.

She has barely spoken to the president in months, while François Fillon, the prime minister, fuelled speculation she is on the way out by coldly telling colleagues: "We will have to draw the consequences when the time comes."

Christine Lagarde, the finance minister, was slightly warmer. "You have to learn the rules of the game. When you're young it's sometimes a bit harder. Sometimes you need an older brother or an older sister to remind you of the rules," she said.

The junior sports minister has survived several run-ins with Mr Sarkozy. She first invoked his wrath in 2007 by condemning a Paris visit by Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader. France, she said, must never be a "doormat" on which dictators wipe the blood of their crimes.

Mr Sarkozy forgave her and she placated him after another skirmish by sending him heart-shaped chocolates.

But her most serious recent criticism may prove the last straw. Two weeks ago she broke ranks in a nepotism scandal in which Mr Sarkozy sought to have his son Jean, 23, a law student, run the body managing La Défense, the business district west of Paris.

"We must not give the impression that there is a gap between the protected elites and the little people," Miss Yade warned. Most of France agreed but Mr Sarkozy was furious, exclaiming: "This is too much!" He dispatched his chief of staff to severely reprimand her. Jean has since renounced the top La Défense job, but was elected to the board.

Mr Sarkozy – said to be as distressed by the scandal as when his second wife left him – immediately punished Miss Yade by ordering her to abandon her seat in the Hauts-de-Seine area west of Paris, where Jean is a councillor. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Fears of Hitler’s Childhood Home in Braunau-am-Inn Becoming Fascist Shrine
MAIL ONLINE: The owner of the house where Adolf Hitler was born wants to put it on the market with a likely asking price of over £2million.

But the local authority in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria, has vowed to try to find a way of blocking any sale because it fears it could land up in the hands of extreme right-wingers who would turn it into a grotesque shrine to his memory.

The mayor of Braunau, Gerhard Skiba, said ideally the town council would like to purchase it and so control its future fate.

But there is not enough money in the town coffers to buy the property, Salzburger Vorstadt 15.

He says he will appeal to the government in Vienna to help the town purchase the property if the owner goes ahead with the sale.

It was in a room on the first floor of the three-storey, 2,000 square foot house – the ground floor of which was a pub called Gasthof Zum Pommer – that Hitler’s mother Klara gave birth to her infamous son on April 20, 1889.

She and her husband Alois, a stern local customs official, rented a suite of rooms above the pub and continued to live in it until 1892 when they moved to Linz.

Alois, a drunkard, often availed himself of the beer on sale in the saloon downstairs before returning to the family home to abuse his timid wife 24 years his junior.

The house is still owned by the family after which the pub took its name. Owner Gelinde Pommer says she wants to sell because the tenants for the past two decades, handicapped people who worked and lived there under the care of a disabled organisation, are moving to more modern premises in January, and she no longer wants to have the responsibility for it.

She has not yet advertised it, but estate agents have suggested it will have an asking price of about £2million. She was not available to comment. >>> Allan Hall | Thursday, November 05, 2009

France: 'Autistic Tories Have Castrated UK in Europe'
It is indeed “very sad” to observe the Conservatives “castrate” the British in Europe. M. Lellouche has got that right! We need a good Conservative Party to turn to after the dreadful years of NuLabour. But what do we get? A weak and pathetic party singing the same old, old songs about how terrible Europeans are for taking away our sovereignty and the terrible people who drain the country by claiming welfare benefits.

First on the latter point… Yes, the welfare bill needs to be cut drastically. The Labour Party has made so, so many people dependent on welfare payments in order to get more votes at the polls. But when Cameron talks about having a crackdown on people on sickness benefit, for example, he is replaying the Thatcher tune, a tune which was right for its time, but which sounds rather hackneyed and old for today. Why? Because the fact is that bankers have been crippling government finances to a far greater extent in receiving taxpayers’ handouts as bailouts for ailing banks and then proceeding to pay wild, excessive bonuses to themselves with this taxpayers' money. Any money that someone on sickness benefit recieves looks incredibly small and paltry by comparison. It’s pin money!

With regard to Europe… Again, the Conservative Party is playing the same old, same old tune. Poor old Britain and its loss of sovereignty! Fact is, British politicians should have thought about that before taking us into the European Union in the first place, if indeed loss of sovereignty was such an issue for them. Now, we’re in Europe; and we are never going to get the best out of it by standing idly by, on the sidelines, complaining about each and every law Europe passes which guarantees further loss of sovereignty.

In many ways, the Conservative Party is rueing Britain’s loss of Empire and loss of world power and status. I’ve got news for them: those days are never coming back. This is an altogether different world. Europe is our future. We need to dive in, and with two feet. Not dangle one foot in and keep one foot out. We’ll get nowhere that way.

Moreover, what we need now is to accept the euro with open arms. The euro is the currency of the future. It’s a strong currency. It’s a good currency. The Bank of England and successive British governments have shown beyond a shadow of doubt that they have been unable to maintain a strong pound sterling. The value of the pound has declined and declined with each and every decade in the twentieth century. Its decline contunues apace. We therefore need to enter the eurozone. That way the people of Britain can be assured of continuing prosperity – prosperity they deserve.

For God’s sake lets stop contemplating our navels. Get with the story! We are in Europe. Get over it! Get on with it! – © Mark

THE GUARDIAN: French Europe minister says David Cameron's pledge to reclaim EU powers is 'pathetic' and will leave Britain isolated

Pierre Lellouche: 'It's very sad to see Britain just cutting itself out from the rest. It is the result of a long period in opposition.' Photo: The Guardian
The Conservatives are accused by the French government of "castrating" Britain's position within the EU by adopting an "autistic" approach that will take Britain off the radar.

Speaking to the Guardian, the French Europe minister, Pierre Lellouche, describes as "pathetic" the Tories' EU plans announced today, warning that they will not succeed "for a minute".

Giving vent to frustration across the EU, which has so far only been expressed in private, Lellouche – who says he is reflecting Nicolas Sarkozy's "sadness and regret" – accuses the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, of a "bizarre autism" in their discussions. He says: "They have one line and they just repeat one line. It is a very bizarre sense of autism."

Lellouche, one of the most Anglophile members of Nicolas Sarkozy's government, made his remarkable intervention after David Cameron outlined a new Tory approach to the EU in the wake of the full ratification of the Lisbon treaty. A future Conservative government would seek to strengthen British sovereignty and repatriate a series of powers over social and employment legislation, he said.

Cameron insisted that he was not seeking an immediate "bust-up" with the EU. But within hours of his speech, France's centre-right government condemned the Tory leader's plans, saying that they would marginalise Britain within the EU. >>> Nicholas Watt, Patrick Wintour and Allegra Stratton | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Sorry, Ma’am! It’s Time for Us to Accept the Euro >>> Mark Alexander | Thursday, September 24, 2009

Yemen Civil War Spills Over Border as Saudi Official Is Killed in Attack
Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Yemen’s civil war spilled into neighbouring Saudi Arabia for the first time yesterday when Shia gunmen shot dead a Saudi security officer in a cross-border attack.

The Shia rebels, known as Huthis, have been backed up against the Saudi border by a Yemeni army offensive launched this summer.

The rebels accuse the Saudis of allowing Yemeni troops to attack them from behind, using a military base in the Saudi town of Jebel al-Dukan.

The kingdom’s news agency said that rebels had entered Saudi territory and attacked patrols.

“The infiltrators used various weapons to fire at the border guard patrols, causing the martyrdom of one security officer and wounding 11 others,” it said. Some Shia rebel sources claimed to have taken complete control of the town after defeating Saudi forces there.

They accuse Saudi Arabia, a conservative Sunni Muslim country, of backing the Yemeni army, fearing the emergence of a strong Shia militia similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon. >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, November 05, 2009

L'opposition iranienne à nouveau dans la rue
Une manifestante «anti-Ahmadinejad» fuit mercredi la police à Téhéran, en marge du cérémonies anti-américaines commémorant le 30e anniversaire de la prise de l'ambassade américaine. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: En marge des cérémonies anti-américaines marquant l'anniversaire de la prise de l'ambassade des Etats-Unis, des affrontements ont opposé mercredi les adversaires du régime et les policiers à Téhéran.

Les rues de Téhéran ont à nouveau été mercredi le théâtre d'une démonstration de force entre la police et les partisans de l'opposition. Les forces de l'ordre, déployées en nombre à Téhéran, ont tiré des gaz lacrymogènes pour disperser les milliers de manifestants, venus dans le centre de la capitale, malgré l'interdiction des autorités. Une intervention rapidement bouclée par la police iranienne puisqu'après quelques heures de combats, les manifestations hostiles au gouvernement ont cessé. Selon des témoins, un nombre indéterminé d'opposants ont été blessés ou arrêtés lors de ces affrontements. Mais alors que le centre de la capitale reste quadrillé par les forces de sécurité, quelques petits groupes d'opposants sont toujours aux abords des avenues.

Les partisans de l'opposition ont multiplié ces derniers jours les appels sur Internet à descendre dans la rue, en marge de la manifestation officielle anti-américaine organisée mercredi pour célébrer le 30ème anniversaire de la prise de l'ambassade des Etats-Unis à Téhéran. Des milliers de tenants de l'opposition se sont ainsi dirigés mercredi en petits groupes vers la place Haft-e Tir, dans le centre de Téhéran, aux cris d'«Allah Akbar (Dieu est le plus grand)» et «Mort au dictateur» (voir heure par heure les vidéos des manifestants). Mais la police, ainsi que des membres des forces de sécurité habillés en civil et la milice islamique des Bassidj, mobilisés pour l'occasion, sont rapidement intervenus à coups de bâtons et de tirs de gaz lacrymogènes, selon des témoins de la scène. L'avenue menant à la place Haft-e Tir a quant à elle été le point de cristallisation de l'opposition entre les «pro-Ahmadinejad» et les «antis». Au «Mort à l'Amérique» des partisans du pouvoir, les seconds rétorquaient ainsi «Mort à la Russie». Jusqu'à ce que la police disperse une nouvelle fois ces derniers. «La prise d'otages de l'ambassade a été une erreur» >>> Marion Brunet (lefigaro.fr) | Mercredi 04 Novembre 2009

Mousavi Supporters March in Tehran


Nov 4 - Video footage posted on the internet appears to show supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi marching in a rally in the country's capital Tehran.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters coverage is subject to an Iranian ban on foreign media leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran[.]

Witnesses said that police had clashed with hundreds of protesters who were chanting 'Death to dictators'.

Reformist website, Mowjcamp, said police opened fire on supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi at Haft-e Tir square.

The clashes came during a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its allied Basij militia have warned the opposition to avoid using any anti-U.S. rally to revive protests against the clerical establishment after June's disputed presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a second term.