Präsident zu sein ist Nebenjob für Obama: Es bringt ihm einfach Trinkgeld ein. Der “Moonlighting” Präsident
WELT ONLINE: Finanziell gesehen, ist Barack Obama nur im Nebenjob US-Präsident. Denn das Präsidentengehalt von 374.460 Dollar macht nur einen Bruchteil seines Einkommens aus. Die nun vom Weißen Haus veröffentlichte Steuererklärung verrät, dass er mit seinen Bestseller-Büchern knapp 5,2 Millionen Dollar einnahm. Obamas verdienten 5,5 Millionen Dollar >>> dpa | Freitag, 16. April 2010

Verbunden / Related:

THE TELEGRAPH: Barack and Michelle Obama Double Income in 2009 to $5.5m >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Mordplan gegen Obama: Zehn Jahre Haft für Neonazi
DIE PRESSE: Ein 19-Jähriger US-Bürger ist zu zehn Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, weil er Barack Obama und Dutzende weitere Afro-Amerikaner ermorden wollte. Sein Mitangeklagter wartet noch auf sein Urteil. >>> Ag. | Freitag, 16. April 2010

Holocaust: British Bishop Fined 10,000 Euros for Partial Holocaust Denial
DEUTSCHE WELLE: Ultra-conservative bishop Richard Williamson has been fined 10,000 euros for denying aspects of the Holocaust in an interview for Swedish television. He made the comments while on German soil.

A court in the Bavarian city of Regensburg has fined a conservative British bishop 10,000 euros ($13,500) for partial Holocaust denial in a television interview.

Bishop Richard Williamson did not attend the hearing, and his lawyer said he was instructed not to by his ultra-conservative order, the Saint Pius X Society.

"Bishop Williamson would gladly have come," defense lawyer Matthias Lossmann told the court in Regensburg, "but the Saint Pius X Society suggested he did not. To be precise, they forbade him from coming."

While the maximum sentence for Holocaust denial - a criminal offence in Germany - is five years in prison, the court in Regensburg had said in the run-up to the trial that a fine would be the most likely outcome in the case of a guilty verdict.

The clergyman had already incurred a 12,000-euro fine for a 2008 Swedish television interview he gave from the Saint Pius X seminary near Regensburg. Because Williamson refused to pay this, the Regensburg court elected to open criminal proceedings against him.

In the interview he argued that only "200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps," and further argued that gas chambers had not been used as a method of mass-execution. The German issue >>> msh/dl/AP/AFP, Editor: Chuck Penfold | Friday, April 16, 2010

Likud: Our Path Has Won

Arabs Fighting for Israel

Obama Orders Hospital Visitation Rights
ADVOCATE.COM: President Barack Obama signed a memorandum Thursday requiring hospitals to allow gays and lesbians to have nonfamily visitors and allowing their partners medical power of attorney.

The memorandum orders the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation. The memo was posted on the White House website Thursday afternoon. Reads the memorandum: >>> Advocate.com Editors | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Morgan Stanley Fears German Exit from EMU
THE TELEGRAPH: Morgan Stanley has warned that the Greek debt crisis is setting off a chain of events that may prompt German withdrawal from the eurozone, with grim implications for investors caught off-guard.

"The backstop package for Greece and the ECB's climb-down on its collateral rules set a bad precedent for other euro area states and make it more likely that the euro area degenerates into a zone of fiscal profligacy, currency weakness, and higher inflationary pressures over time," said Joachim Fels, head of research, in a note to clients.

The US bank said a bail-out for Greece may be necessary to avoid a crisis for Europe's financial system, but warned that it also "sows the seeds for potentially even bigger problems further down the road".

Mr Fels said weak states cannot easily leave EMU because they would pay a stiff penalty in higher rates, would be stuck with euro debt contracts, and might need controls to stem capital flight. It is a different calculus for Germany, which would see lower rates and might view EMU exit as the only way to ensure monetary stability. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Thursday, April 15, 2010

General Election 2010: Liberal Democrats Surge After Nick Clegg's TV Debate Performance
THE TELEGRAPH: The Liberal Democrats have overtaken Labour in a new poll after enjoying a 14 per cent surge on the back of Nick Clegg's performance in last night's TV election debate.



A unweighted poll of 4,000 people's voting intentions has dramatically propelled the Liberal Democrats into second place in the election campaign.

The poll by ITV/ComRes put Liberal Democrat support at 35 per cent, up 14 per cent. However it has not been adjusted to ensure it is representative of the electorate as a whole.

The Conservatives were at 36 per cent, down 3 per cent compared to before the head-to-head studio debate.

Labour was at 24 per cent, down 3 per cent, and others were at 5 per cent, down 8 per cent.

The poll increases the likelihood of a hung Parliament. >>> | Friday, April 16, 2010

Tweedledee Tweedledum Debate Ignores All Important Issues
BNP: Last night’s Tweedledee Tweedledum TV debate between the leaders of the three old-gang parties ignored every single issue vital to Britain’s future, including the EU, multi-culturalism and the erosion of British identity through mass immigration, said British National Party leader Nick Griffin.

Reacting to the debate, which drew only slightly more TV viewers than the BNP’s appearance on Question Time, Mr Griffin said all three participants went out of their way to avoid discussing any of the real issues.

“Although the very first question was on immigration, all the public were given was more meaningless platitudes about points-based systems and yet more immigration,” Mr Griffin said.

“No-one discussed the figures, which show that given current immigration levels and birth rates, British people are destined to become a minority in Britain within the next 50 years, and most likely within 30,” he said. >>> | Friday, April 16, 2010

Turquie: 12 ans pour une Française
LE FIGARO: Une mère de famille française de 42 ans a été définitivement condamnée aujourd'hui en Turquie à 12 ans et 6 mois de prison pour trafic de drogue, la cour de cassation d'Ankara ayant rejeté son pourvoi, a indiqué Laurent Bruneau, son avocat agenais. >>> AFP | Vendredi 16 Avril 2010

Terroristes «Made in USA» aussi dangereux qu'Al-Qaïda, selon le FBI
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MENACES | Les terroristes agissant seuls ("loups solitaires") et ceux ayant grandi sur le sol américain font désormais peser sur les Etats-Unis une "menace aussi grande" qu'Al-Qaïda, affirme le patron du FBI Robert Mueller.

Le patron du FBI s'exprimait devant des parlementaires américains. "Al-Qaïda et ses branches cherchent toujours à nous frapper aux Etats-Unis", a déclaré M. Mueller, rappelant l'attentat manqué contre un avion américain le jour de Noël, revendiqué par le chef d'Al-Qaïda Oussama ben Laden, et des complots visant le métro de New York.

Mais les extrémistes ayant grandi aux Etats-Unis et "les loups solitaires sont une menace aussi grande", a ajouté le patron du FBI (police fédérale), qui s'exprimait devant la commission du Sénat chargée de la répartition des fonds fédéraux. >>> ATS/AFP | Vendredi 16 Avril 2010

Die Königskinder: Frederik & Mary

Dänemark: Königin Margrethe wird 70
Schon zehn Tage dauern die Festlichkeiten. Bild: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die dänische Königin, so heißt es, sei die am besten ausgebildete Königin der Welt. Und: Sie sei der Idealtyp eines Monarchen. Und: Sie sei die kunstsinnigste Königin. Zwei Superlative jedenfalls stehen fest: Margrethe II. von Dänemark ist die erste Frau seit sechs Jahrhunderten an der Spitze der ältesten Monarchie Europas. Und Umfragen bescheinigen ihr, das populärste Staatsoberhaupt der Welt zu sein. Über mehr als 30 Jahre hinweg erhielt sie Zustimmungsraten von mehr als 90 Prozent. Erst neuerdings mischen sich kritische Töne in die Begeisterung. Angeblich hoffen sogar schon die meisten Dänen, dass sie zugunsten ihres Sohnes auf den Thron verzichtet. Sie selbst gibt sich da nüchtern: Sie erfülle einen Beruf, eine Stellung für das ganze Leben.

So wird die dänische Nation an diesem Freitag zusammen mit ihr, dem Prinzgemahl Henrik und ihren beiden Söhnen Frederik und Joachim ihren siebzigsten Geburtstag feiern. Schon seit zehn Tagen läuft sich das Land dafür warm, mit Ausstellungseröffnungen, Galaabenden und Fernsehgesprächen. Die zierliche und dennoch robuste Königin wird sich nach einer Aufführung im Königlichen Theater am Vorabend mit ihrer Familie auf dem Balkon von Amalienborg und später des Rathauses zeigen, mit ihrer Kutsche durch Kopenhagen fahren und Schulkinder mit Pantomime und Chorgesang erfreuen. Bei den Auftritten wird sich die Zustimmung an der Lautstärke des neunfachen Geburtstags-“Hurra“ bemessen.

Wegen der umfassenden Flugverbote infolge der Vulkanasche konnte gestern allerdings weder das norwegische noch das schwedische Königspaar wie geplant in das „Hurra“ miteinstimmen. König Harald von Norwegen und das schwedische Königspaar Carl Gustav und Silvia stiegen auf den Zug um, damit sie wenigstens heute zur Geburtstagsfeier da sein können. Margarete war nicht zur Thronfolge bestimmt >>> Von Robert von Lucius | Freitag, 16. April 2010

Tragic Flaw: Graft Feeds Greek Crisis
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ATHENS—Behind the budget crisis roiling Greece lies a riddle: Why does the state spend so lavishly but collect taxes so poorly? Many Greeks say the answer needs only two words: fakelaki and rousfeti.

Fakelaki is the Greek for "little envelopes," the bribes that affect everyone from hospital patients to fishmongers. Rousfeti means expensive political favors, which pervade everything from hiring teachers to property deals with Greek Orthodox monks. Together, these traditions of corruption and cronyism have produced a state that is both bloated and malnourished, and a crisis of confidence that is shaking all of Europe.

A study to be published in coming weeks by the Washington-based Brookings Institution finds that bribery, patronage and other public corruption are major contributors to the country's ballooning debt, depriving the Greek state each year of the equivalent of at least 8% of its gross domestic product, or more than €20 billion (about $27 billion).

"Our basic problem is systemic corruption," Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou said after he took office late last year, vowing to change a mentality that views the republic as a resource to plunder. He later berated the chief of public prosecutions, saying Greeks believe "there is impunity in this country." The chief prosecutor said that wasn't so.

Greece moved closer to a bailout Thursday, requesting aid talks with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. Many investors and economists say aid would buy Greece time, but wouldn't solve its underlying problems. >>> Marcus Walker | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Highlights From U.K.'s Great Debate

Analyzing the UK Political Debate

Travel Plans Go Up in Smoke

Snuffing Out Smokers in Japan

Sarah Palin's Flexible Straw Demand Makes Her a Classic Diva
THE TELEGRAPH: The ex-governor of Alaska has joined the exalted ranks of famous people who makes ridiculous demands to look important, says David Quantick.

When Pink Floyd sang, in Money, "I'm in the hi-fidelity first class travelling set, and I think I need a Learjet," they were thinking of themselves and their fellow rock stars. They were certainly not thinking of future ex-governors of Alaska. Yet Sarah Palin's leaked demands (including three deluxe hotel rooms, a private aircraft that "must be a Lear 60 or larger", and a "bendable" straw) have made her not only the envy of our former expense-claiming MPs, for whom a simple moat is now an unattainable dream, but also the peer of many rock stars.

Palin is already the butt of much mockery (when it was learned that she receives £162,000 an episode for an eight-part show on The Learning Channel, some critics wondered if she was being paid to watch it). Now, with her absurd demands – she also, rather quaintly, requested "a wooden lectern" – the former Housewife Super Governor has crossed the velvet rope into the land of diva-ishness. >>> David Quantick | Thursday, April 15, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin’s speaking demands: ‘bendable’ straws, three hotle rooms and a private jet >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Robert Spencer: Separating Islam From Terrorism
Photo: FrontPage Magazine
FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE: Barack Obama has removed all mention of Islam from the National Security Strategy document, which during the Bush Administration said: “The struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century.” Obama apparently agrees with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said Monday: “Islam and terrorism cannot be mentioned together, because they are contradictory to each other.”

Erdogan, incidentally, also famously said this about “moderate Islam”: “These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.” And that statement itself demonstrates one of the key fallacies of the Obama Administration’s stance that Islam has nothing to do with, uh, Islamic terrorism.

Now that the idea that Islam and terrorism have anything to do with one another has been relegated to the dustbin of history, it’s worth asking why anyone got this idea in the first place. Was it sheer bigotry? Racism? Let’s see. Could it have been from Osama bin Laden, who once praised Allah for the Qur’an’s “Verse of the Sword” (9:5), which instructs Muslims to “slay the unbelievers wherever you find them”? Or maybe it was from Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, who once thundered: “Islam says: Kill in the service of Allah those who may want to kill you!…There are hundreds of other [Koranic] psalms and hadiths [sayings of the prophet] urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all that mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.”

Maybe it was from the British Muslim Omar Brooks, who said in 2005 that it was imperative for Muslims to “instill terror into the hearts of the kuffar” and added: “I am a terrorist. As a Muslim of course I am a terrorist.” Or maybe it was from the Qur’an itself, which tells Muslims to “strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah” (8:60). Maybe it was from the perpetrators of the 15,000-plus terror attacks committed in the name of Islam since 9/11. >>> Robert Spencer | Thursday, April 15, 2010

War Between Israel and Hizbollah 'Imminent', US Warned
THE TELEGRAPH: A war between Israel and Hizbollah that could spread across the Middle East is "imminent", King Abdullah of Jordan has warned the US.

Jordan's King Abdullah II in Washington. Photograph: The Telegraph
The king, in Washington for President Barack Obama's nuclear summit, gave his warning after Israel claimed that Syria had handed over Scud missiles in its armoury to the Lebanon-based Hizbollah.

His comments, which were made to private meeting of the US Congressional Friends of Jordan caucus were said to be "sobering".

Syria yesterday denied the allegation that it has provided Hizbollah with long-range Scud missiles, which would allowing [sic] them to target Israel's cities. The country's foreign ministry said the claims would be used as a pretext by Israel to raise tension prior to a possible attack on Hizbollah.

"For some time now, Israel has been running a campaign claiming that Syria has been supplying Hizbollah with Scud missiles in Lebanon ," a foreign ministry statement released yesterday said.

"Syria strongly denies these allegations which are an attempt by Israel to raise tensions in the region."

However, the statement did not appear to rule out an alternative possibility being raised by defence sources, that Damascus has allowed Hizbollah control of or access to Scud missiles still currently in Syria. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington, Richard Spencer and Adrian Blomfield | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Nazi Fairy Tales Paint Hitler as Little Red Riding Hood's Saviour
THE TELEGRAPH: Few children would identify Adolf Hitler as the saviour of Little Red Riding Hood - or recall that Snow White's father wanted to invade Poland.

A man with a knife arrives as the saviour of Little Red Riding Hood. Photograph: The Telegraph
But these were the allegorical twists injected into classic fairy tales re-fashioned by Nazi propaganda chiefs to recruit German children to support the Third Reich.

In the Nazi film version of "Little Red Riding Hood", the child wears a swastika-emblazoned cloak as she skips through the woods and is saved from the Big Bad Wolf by a man wearing an SS uniform in a style favoured by the Führer.

Snow White's father, a minor character in the Brothers Grimm tale, is portrayed in the Nazi film as the leader of a mighty army advancing on the "eastern" enemy. The film's premier, in October 1939, came one month after Germany launched its attack on Poland.

Josef Goebbels, the propaganda genius of the regime, was quick to seize on the potential to promote Hitler to a hero and plant the seeds of racial superiority in the minds of German children, according to a new study "Red Riding Hood in the Third Reich: German fairy tale movies between 1933 and 1945".

"Every fairy tale is politically alignable without raping the poetry within," Hubert Schonger, a Nazi film producer, said in an interview in the 1930s.

But his boss, Goebbels, warned Mr Schonger and his colleagues not be too heavy handed. "Children will see through propaganda quicker than their parents ever could," he said. >>> Allan Hall in Berlin | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Barack and Michelle Obama Double Income in 2009 to $5.5m
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle earned $5.5 million (£3.5 million) in 2009, more than twice their income in 2008, despite the economic recession.

According to the White House, the increase in earnings was due to the sales of Mr Obama's books. Photograph: The Telegraph
Mr Obama has managed to develop a political career far more lucrative than those of his predecessors.

After the first year of his first term, President George W. Bush earned $894,800 and in his last year $936,111.

In his final year in office, President Bill Clinton netted just $417,467.
The Obamas' tax return, released by the White House on Thursday - the day all Americans have to file their tax returns - showed that the Obamas earned $5.5 million last year and paid nearly $1.8 million (£1.16 million) in federal income tax.

In 2008, the Obamas made just under $2.5 million. The White House said that the increase was due to increased sales of Mr Obama's books. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Couch Wars Erupt in France Over Sigmund Freud Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: Couch wars have broken out among France's leading psychiatrists after a top philosopher branded Sigmund Freud a perverse, anti-Semitic fraud who failed to cure a single patient.

It is stepping on hallowed ground to criticise Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, in a country where top analysts and philosophers are still treated as stars.

But Michel Onfray has accused the champion of the unconscious mind of lying about the success of his treatment and being a misogynist homophobe obsessed with sexual abuse.

He goes on to attack the whole exercise of psychoanalysis as the last untouchable religion revered by "stars and footballers."

"Who else would still have the time to pay in cash to lie on a couch twice a week before some guy who's half-asleep?," Mr Onfray said as his controversial book Twilight of an Idol, the Freudian Fabrication was published.

French psychoanalysts' response was immediate and fierce.

Leading the charge was Elisabeth Roudinesco, who blasted his book as "a rag stuffed full of errors and shot through with rumours".

Mr Onfray claims that Freud claims to have cured 18 patients as proof that his theories could be successfully applied. On closer inspection, however, documents prove this to be a total fallacy, he contends. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Wende in Kirgistan nach Bakijews Abreise: Die Kollektiv-Führung steht vor weiteren Zerreissproben
NZZ ONLINE: Die Ausreise des entmachteten kirgisischen Präsidenten Bakijew nimmt der Übergangsregierung vorerst die grösste Sorge. Sie muss nun die Erwartungen des Volkes und der ausländischen Mächte sowie die Ambitionen ihrer Mitglieder ausbalancieren.

Das Vorspiel zum Abschied hatte Kurmanbek Bakijew, Kirgistans entmachteter Präsident, am Dienstag an der Demonstration in Dschalalabad gegeben. Ein weiterer Akt hätte am Donnerstag in Osch, der «Hauptstadt» Südkirgistans, stattfinden sollen. Doch gegnerische Demonstranten liessen ihn nicht auftreten; Schüsse in die Luft zur Abschreckung fielen, Bakijew kehrte an seinen Familiensitz zurück.

Am Abend Lokalzeit hat er den vorerst letzten Akt gespielt. In einem kasachischen Flugzeug verliess er das Land. Kurze Zeit später meldete die Organisation für Sicherheit und Zusammenarbeit in Europa (OSZE), die derzeit von Kasachstan präsidiert wird, dank den gemeinsamen Anstrengungen der Präsidenten Kasachstans, Russlands und Amerikas und unter Vermittlung der OSZE hätten sich die Übergangsregierung und Bakijew auf die Ausreise geeinigt. Weiterhin Gesetzlosigkeit >>> Markus Ackeret | Donnerstag, 15. April 2010

«Hinrichtungen» im Gazastreifen: Hamas beschuldigt zwei Männer als Informanten Israels
NZZ ONLINE: Die radikal-islamische Hamas hat zwei Palästinenser «hingerichtet», die als Informanten Israels galten. Sie wurden in undurchsichtigen Prozessen von Militärtribunalen «verurteilt». Menschenrechtsgruppen protestieren.

Die radikale palästinensische Organisation Hamas hat am Donnerstag erstmals seit ihrer Machtübernahme im Gazastreifen vor drei Jahre zwei Männer «hingerichtet», die als Informanten für Israel tätig gewesen sein sollen. Beide wurden 2008 und 2009 von Militärtribunalen für schuldig befunden und als Verräter zum Tode verurteilt. Die von Kugeln durchsiebten Leichen wurden am Donnerstagmorgen zum wichtigsten Spital von Gaza gebracht, wie ein Klinikmitarbeiter erklärte. >>> (ddp)/awy. | Donnerstag, 15. April 2010

Rights Groups Slam Hamas Executions
YNET NEWS: Hours after execution of two Gaza Strip residents convicted of collaborating with Israel, rights groups criticize Islamist organization in joint statement

Human rights organizations in the Palestinian Authority issued a condemnation of Hamas on Thursday following the execution of two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip convicted of collaborating with Israel.

The groups protested the fact that the two did not receive a fair legal process and noted that the act "was against Palestinian law which prohibits the execution of a death sentence without the authorization of the Palestinian president." >>> Ali Waked | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Heilige Stadt – auf Korruptionssumpf gebaut: Ex-Bürgermeister von Jerusalem verhaftet
NZZ ONLINE: Israel hat einen neuen Korruptionsskandal. Für die Genehmigung eines Bauprojekts in Jerusalem sollen Bestechungsgelder bis zu 15 Millionen Dollar an Entscheidungsträger in der Stadtverwaltung gezahlt worden sein.

Die israelische Nachrichtenseite «ynet» beschrieb den Fall am Donnerstag als «grössten Korruptionsskandal in der Geschichte des Landes». Der ehemalige Jerusalemer Bürgermeister Uri Lupolianski wurde am Mittwochabend unter dem Verdacht verhaftet, mehr als drei Millionen Schekel (umgerechnet etwa 850'000 Franken) angenommen zu haben.

Er beschuldigte dann laut israelischen Medienberichten vom Donnerstag seinen Amtsvorgänger, den ehemaligen Ministerpräsidenten Ehud Olmert, die Verantwortung zu tragen. Die Polizei will Olmert zu den Vorwürfen befragen. Er steht bereits wegen Korruptionsvorwürfen in anderen Fällen vor Gericht. >>> sda/dpa | Donnerstag, 15. April 2010

Verbunden mit diesem Artikel / Related:

LE FIGARO: Scandale immobilier: Olmert suspect n°1 >>> AFP | Jeudi 15 Avril 2010

YNET NEWS: Olmert denies involvement in Holyland scandal: Real estate project at center of corruption affair modified after his term as Jerusalem mayor, Olmert says; former PM slams 'character assassination' attempts against him, says he was never offered or took bribe >>> Aviad Glickman | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Jews Ruining Jerusalem
YNET NEWS: Eyal Megged wants to entrust Jerusalem in Arab hands in wake of Holyland scandal

A liquidator should be appointed for Jerusalem. The city is tainted by corruption, and this corruption creates a stench all over the capital.

As is the case in other areas, every phenomenon that becomes typical to our model state is taken to the extreme in the eternal city of Jerusalem. Only the people who live here and see how it’s being constantly sold to contractors who constantly change its face can grasp the extent of this phenomenon.

Anyone with eyes in their head realizes that without big money changing hands it wouldn’t have been possible to make the city so ugly in such manner. Only dirty money can do it.

In Rehavia, for example, the old and beautiful neighborhood is being eliminated. Every second home is being demolished, to make room for larger and more glittering homes. We should be stopping the bulldozers and cranes today, and find out whether the abysses created in place of the historic homes do not hide tomorrow’s scandals. I’m sure that’s the case. Nation of greedy contractors >>> Eyal Megged | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Les drapeaux grâce aux Google Images.
Rencontre Israël – Paris : Sarkozy et Peres créent une nouvelle maison de l'amitié Europe-Israël
LE POINT: Le président Nicolas Sarkozy et son homologue israélien Shimon Peres ont lancé jeudi à l'Élysée une "maison commune Europe-Israël" qui réunit des fondations et associations d'amitié de l'État hébreu et dix pays européens afin de "rapprocher leurs sociétés civiles". Lancée à l'initiative de la fondation France-Israël, cette "maison commune" a pour vocation de "rapprocher nos envies, nos moyens, nos ressources et de réaliser ensemble un certain nombre de projets", selon la présidente de la fondation, l'ex-ministre Nicole Guedj. >>> AFP | Jeudi 15 Avril 2010

YNET NEWS: Sarkozy to Peres: What's your secret? : Israeli president meets French counterpart; two leaders discuss Iran, peace process >>> Gilad Halpern | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Église : Scandales de pédophilie : Benoît XVI appelle les chrétiens à "faire pénitence"
Benoît XVI affiche une nouvelle fois sa fermeté contre la pédophilie des prêtres. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Le pape Benoît XVI a appelé jeudi les chrétiens à "faire pénitence" et "donc à reconnaître les erreurs commises dans (leur) vie" en faisant référence à la tourmente des scandales de pédophilie au sein du clergé. "Face aux attaques du monde qui nous parlent de nos péchés, nous voyons (...) qu'il est nécessaire de faire pénitence et donc de reconnaître les erreurs commises dans notre vie", a déclaré le pape lors d'une messe au Vatican. "La douleur de la pénitence, c'est-à-dire de la purification et de la transformation, cette douleur est une grâce parce que c'est un renouvellement", a poursuivi le pape. >>> AFP | Jeudi 15 Avril 2010

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Threatens US Over Mid East Peace Plans
THE TELEGRAPH: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has warned he could scupper American policy across the Middle East if the Washington continues to confront his government over its nuclear ambitions.

Mr Ahmadinejad used a television interview on Tuesday night to draw a direct link between pressure on Iran's nuclear programme and its support for "resistance" - a codeword for Islamic militant groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, and anti-American Shia forces in Iraq.

"They (the US) have security problems in the world and their influence in Iraq and Afghanistan is vanishing," he said. "They see that waves of hope, justice-seeking and resistance are rising all over the world inspired by Iran. They want to dominate the world, but Iran doesn't let them."

Mr Ahmadinejad's interview with state media was his first personal response to President Barack Obama's nuclear summit in Washington earlier this week. Iran has already issued a formal complaint to the United Nations over Mr Obama's assertion that his promise not to use nuclear weapons on non-nuclear states did not apply to Iran.

Mr Ahmadinejad said that Iran's nuclear programme was past the point of no return.

"We have progressed in nuclear technology so much that we are at an irreversible point," he said. "The US has two options. Either to continue this wrong policy, or to cooperate with Iran."

He added the real issue was not Iran's nuclear programme but its ability to stand in the way of American policy in the Middle East.

As well as being the main financial and military backer of Hamas and Hizbollah, Iran has strong links to anti-American Shia groups in Iraq, and has also been accused of supplying the Taliban in Afghanistan with weapons.

It has been attempting to put together a pro-Iran coalition in Iraq since elections last month which produced no clear winner. Even Ayad Allawi, the pro-American leader of the biggest single group in the election has sent a delegation to Tehran for talks.

"US policies in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan have come to a dead end," Mr Ahmadinejad said in the interview. "Obama has only one way to remain in power and be successful. This way is Iran." >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Video Of Cops Beating Student Shocks America
YAHOO! NEWS: Footage of police beating an innocent basketball fan unconscious as he was celebrating a win by his college team has sent shockwaves through America.

University of Maryland student John McKenna was attacked after their victory over arch rivals Duke.

CCTV pictures show him skipping down the street waving his arms in joy.

He is then approached by police on horseback who stand over him before other cops in riot gear swoop and start hitting him with their batons.

Police initially claimed Mr McKenna had attacked their officers and horses, causing them "minor injuries", as they responded to reports of trouble after the game.

But the footage clearly shows he never struck out - and even tried to back away when confronted.

The FBI is now investigating the incident which left the 21-year-old needing eight staples to repair a head wound.

He was also allegedly told by officers in Maryland not to make a fuss about his injuries because they would have to fill out more paperwork. Read on (with video) >>> Sky News | Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Right-Wing Revolutionaries: Tea Party Movement Mirrors a Deeply Divided America
Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: US President Barack Obama came to power promising to unite the nation. Now he has divided it even more than his predecessor George W. Bush. The burgeoning conservative Tea Party movement is calling for Obama to be removed from office.

The auditorium in Tulsa, Oklahoma is silent for a moment, as the Walkers, a happy couple in their mid-50s, walk onto the stage. They manage an electronics store in the area, and they say that after being married for decades, they still love each other just as much as they did on the first day. They are here to demonstrate that love to the audience -- with a passionate kiss.

It's meant to be an homage to the old, forgotten America, the land of high-school sweethearts and beauty queens, where honesty, decency and loyalty still meant something. A land where the promise of the American dream -- that anyone could make it to the top -- still reigned supreme. There are 5,000 people -- ordinary people -- in the audience, including Democrats, Republicans and independents.

The Walkers are seated on two folding chairs, placed a respectable distance apart -- the old America was a chaste place, after all. They kiss a few times to the sound of country music. Then, suddenly, it gets very loud in the room.

Radio and TV talk-show host Glenn Beck is standing on the stage. He has just arrived from the Doom Room, which is what he calls the studio where he records his broadcasts. From there, he spreads a message of fear and dread of a new America, a place that no longer has anything in common with the land that the Walkers know and love. It is a country of poverty, deprivation and an omnipotent government, a cross between the Soviet Union and Hitler's Nazi Germany.

'I'm a Guy Just Like You'

People believe what Beck says. Beck is their hero, savior and guru. He has made millions by capitalizing on people's fears of the future. "Tulsa," he shouts into the cheering, grateful crowd, "I'm a guy just like you."

He now has two shows, a weekly radio show that airs on more than 300 stations nationwide, and a television show on Fox News, "Glenn Beck," which has 3 million viewers. He weeps, raves and yells on these shows. Every day, he warns his listeners and viewers that America has moved yet another step along the road to becoming a socialist dictatorship. His enemies are the "progressives," or the American left, who see Europe as their role model, says Beck.

The Europe he means is currently celebrating the reinvigorated US president, who achieved two historic victories in the space of a few days. After the controversial healthcare reform bill, which President Barack Obama recently managed to push through Congress, he signed a treaty to reduce strategic nuclear weapons in Prague last Thursday, a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) signed in 1991. It was a step that its signatories pledged would make the world a safer place.

It is a double triumph for Obama, in both domestic and foreign policy, and yet he has met with more hostility in his own country than almost any other president in history. According to a Gallup poll conducted in late March, Obama's Democrats have dropped to their lowest approval rating in almost two decades. Some 60 percent of Americans believe that America is on the wrong path and is headed for decline. What unites the world is dividing the country. America's Choice >>> Marc Hujer and Thomas Schulz | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Merkel Goes to Hollywood
Video ’Frühstück mit Arnie’ anschauen | Donnerstag, 15 April 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Besuch in Hollywood – Doktor Merkel entdeckt den Glamour: Der zähe Atom-Gipfel bei Obama ist vorbei, jetzt will die Kanzlerin für den Rest ihrer USA-Reise vor allem: schöne Bilder. Beim Besuch in Los Angeles zeigt Merkel, dass sie auch die Glamour-Rolle beherrscht. Selbst wenn die Stars aus Hollywood nicht mitspielen wollen. >>> Aus Los Angeles berichtet Gregor Peter Schmitz | Donnerstag, 15. April 2010

L'ex-président réformateur Khatami interdit de quitter l'Iran
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: RÉPRESSION | L'ancien président réformateur Mohammad Khatami a été interdit jeudi de quitter l'Iran pour se rendre au Japon où il devait participer à une conférence internationale sur le désarmement nucléaire.

L'information émane le site parlementaire d'opposition Parlemannews.ir. "La police a averti M. Khatami qu'il ne pouvait pas quitter le pays", a pour sa part confirmé une source bien informée ayant requis l'anonymat. >>> AFP | Jeudi 15 Avril 2010

Lech Kaczynski reposera aux côtés des rois de Pologne
Des manifestants devant le Palais de la Culture et de la Science à Varsovie, mercredi. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: L'inhumation du chef de l'État dans la cathédrale de Wawel, à Cracovie, suscite la polémique.

D’envoyée spéciale du Figaro à Varsovie

À Varsovie, le temps de l'émotion vient de céder la place à celui de la polémique. L'annonce du lieu des funérailles du président Lech Kaczynski soulève une tempête de protestations. Ne lui fait-on pas trop d'honneurs en l'enterrant dans la cathédrale du château de Wawel, à Cracovie, où reposent une quinzaine de rois polonais et une pléiade de gloires républicaines comme le maréchal Kosciuszko, le poète Adam Mickiewicz, le maréchal Jozef Pilsudski ou encore le général Sikorski, chef du gouvernement polonais en exil à Londres pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale? Et l'on remarque, au pas­sage, un nouveau télescopage de l'histoire: Sikorski a trouvé la mort dans un accident d'avion. Le crash, qui se produisit en juillet 1943, aurait été dû à un sabotage commandité par Staline, qui détestait Sikorski. Rien à voir, bien sûr, avec ce qui est arrivé à Lech Kaczynski.

Le président défunt et son épouse reposeront donc aux côtés du maréchal Pilsudski. Lech Kaczynski révérait le père de l'indépendance polonaise, un démocrate mais à tendance autoritaire. Lui et son frère jumeau, Jaroslaw, en avaient fait l'icône de leur parti Droit et Justice (PIS).

C'est le cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archevêque de Cracovie, qui a annoncé mardi la nouvelle. Mgr Dziwisz était le secrétaire particulier de Jean-Paul II. À ce titre, il jouit en Pologne d'un prestige considérable. Dans la soirée, quelques centaines de Cracoviens ne s'en sont pas moins rassemblés devant l'archevêché pour dénoncer cette décision. Lech Kaczynski «est-il digne de nos rois?» demandaient les manifestants. Un nouveau rassemblement était prévu mercredi soir à Cracovie. Calcul politique >>> Par Arielle Thedrel | Jeudi 15 Avril 2010

WAWEL CASTLE HOMEPAGE: Wawel Royal Castle

WIKI: Wawel Castle

Scandale immobilier: Olmert suspect n°1
LE FIGARO: L'ex-premier ministre israélien Ehoud Olmert a été officiellement reconnu jeudi comme le principal suspect d'un énorme scandale immobilier à Jérusalem, après que la justice a levé un ordre de censure sur son nom. Un tribunal de Jérusalem a levé le black-out sur le nom d'Olmert et permis ainsi de révéler le nom du principal suspect de l'affaire, auparavant décrit comme "une haute personnalité publique" et dont les initiales correspondaient à celles d'Olmert.



Ehoud Olmert est accusé d'avoir reçu un pot-de-vin de 3,5 millions de shekels (700.000 euros) lorsqu'il était maire de la Ville sainte (1993-2003), ont précisé les médias, selon lesquels il doit être interrogé prochainement par la police. Olmert était revenu précipitamment de l'étranger dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi. La police s'est refusé dans l'immédiat à tout commentaire. >>> AFP | Jeudi 15 Avril 2010

Palestinians to Face Deportations

Chavez Rallies to Defend His Government

The Kettle Calls the Pot Black
DAILY EXPRESS: LORD Mandelson yesterday joined Labour’s personalised class war campaign against the Tories by branding David ­Cameron “toffee-nosed.”

he senior Cabinet minister spoke just minutes after saying he had advised Gordon Brown not to “compete with Mr Cameron’s personal insults’’ in tonight’s televised party leaders’ debate.

Attacking the Tory leader’s regional policies, the Business Secretary told a news conference: “He looks down his rather long toffee nose at the regions.”

Mr Cameron responded later: “I don’t think Labour have got anything positive to say. Peter Mandelson Calls David Cameron ‘Toffee-nosed’ >>> Daily Express Reporter | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Rescue Plan for Greek Economy Is Thrown Into Doubt Amid Claims It Breaches the Maastricht Treaty
MAIL ONLINE: The Greek rescue operation was thrown into doubt yesterday after a German academic said he was planning to launch a court challenge.

Joachim Starbatty, a leading economist and professor at Tuebingen University, said that Athens’s aid package breached the European Union’s Maastricht Treaty.

The move came amid renewed market jitters over whether Greece will actually receive the planned £40billion bailout.

A leading member of the European Central Bank added to nerves by warning that soaring government debt in the region could have ‘severe consequences’ for the stability of the euro. >>> Sam Fleming | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Chinese Economic Growth Surges Again
Shanghai, China. The country's economic growth is set to outstrip that of Japan. Photograph: The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: China's economic growth surged to 11.9% in the first quarter, possibly giving Beijing room to allow its currency to rise, but analysts warned it faces growing pressure to cut back on stimulus policies and keep the world's third-largest economy from overheating.

The strong performance might allow a loosening of politically volatile currency controls by offsetting possible losses in export industries. Analysts expect Beijing to allow the yuan to rise some time this year, though President Hu Jintao and others have rejected US and other foreign pressure for a change, saying China will move at its own pace.

Inflation stayed low at 2.2%, below the government's target of 3% for the year, easing pressure for immediate interest rate hikes or other steps to cool the boom. But analysts said Beijing needs to act soon to head off mounting pressure for prices to rise.

"The tightrope is between pulling away stimulus which is still supporting the economy and tightening quickly enough to keep prices from getting out of control," said Tom Orlick, an analyst in Beijing for Stone & McCarthy Research Associates.

The latest data showed China is on the verge of overtaking Japan as the second-largest economy behind the United States. China's gross domestic product last year was $4.9tn (£3.2tn), just behind Japan's $5.1tn. Tokyo has yet to report first-quarter figures. >>> Agencies | Thursday, April 15, 2010

China Sells Petrol to Iran While Talking at UN about Sanctions
THE GUARDIAN: China argues the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment is not as urgent as Washington claims, and that there is still time for diplomacy

China has deepened economic ties with Iran, boosting direct sales of petrol to the Islamic republic as the Chinese government negotiates new sanctions at the UN security council, it has emerged.

Iran announced today at the UN discussions in New York that it has produced five kilograms of 20% enriched uranium, defying security council demands to stop enrichment. Iran says it needs the enriched uranium to make medically useful isotopes, but western governments fear the achievement will enable Tehran to develop the capacity to make weapons-grade fuel.

General James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said yesterday that Iran could build a bomb in a year, although it would probably take three to five years.

China has argued that the issue is not as urgent as Washington claims, and that there is still time for diplomacy.

A Chinese state oil company has sent two recent shipments of petrol to Iran, according to Reuters news agency. The sale by Chinaoil was the first by a Chinese company since January 2009 of refined oil products to Iran directly, rather than through intermediaries. Another Chinese company, Sinopec, is about to sell petrol to Iran for the first time in six years, filling a gap left by European and Russian firms that left the Iranian market amid fears of punitive action by Washington.

Iran-China trade has more than doubled to about $30 billion (£19.38m) over the past decade, fuelling Chinese reluctance to agree to sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme. >>> Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Coca Colla: The New 'Real Thing' in Bolivia
THE GUARDIAN: Bolivian president approves Coca-based dark soft drink / Coca-Cola company yet to comment on red-labelled beverage

Coca Colla being distributed in La Paz this week. The drink is named after the Bolivian Colla people. Photograph: The Guardian
A certain US soft drinks giant may disagree, but Bolivia has come up with a fizzy beverage it says is the real thing: Coca Colla.

The drink, made from the coca leaf and named after the indigenous Colla people from Bolivia's highlands, went on sale this week across the South American country.

It is black, sweet and comes in a bottle with a red label – but similarities to Coca-Cola end there. One is a symbol of US-led globalisation and corporate might; the other could be considered a socialist-tinged affront to western imperialism.

The first batch of 12,000 bottles, priced about $1.50 (96p) for half a litre, were distributed in the capital, La Paz, as well as Santa Cruz and Cochabamba.

The familiar-sounding name and packaging may rile the Atlanta-based soft drinks manufacturer, but Coca Colla could also cause groans in Washington.

It is made from the coca leaf, a mild stimulant that wards off fatigue and hunger, and has been used in the Andes for thousands of years in cooking, medicine and religious rites.

Coca is also the raw ingredient of cocaine, the powerful narcotic that is the primary target of the US-led "war on drugs".

Bolivia tried to wipe out the leaf at Washington's behest. But that was before Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and coca grower, was elected president, championing coca as a crop with legitimate uses. >>> Rory Carroll | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Neil Armstrong Takes One Giant Swipe at Obama Over Nasa Cuts
TIMES ONLINE: When he spoke 41 years ago, the world listened — hanging on every word as he uttered one of the most inspiring phrases of the 20th century.

Neil Armstrong earned himself a lifetime of respect with his one giant leap for mankind, but he has for decades refrained from exploiting it, turning down opportunities in politics and avoiding controversy.

Now the space gloves are off. The first man on the Moon has teamed up with the last man, Gene Cernan, to confront President Obama over his “devastating” plans for Nasa’s $108 billion (£70 billion) Constellation programme. Mr Obama wants to scrap Constellation, which was meant to develop new space ships to replace the shuttle, take astronauts back to the Moon and ultimately to Mars.

The death of the project would set America’s space programme on a “long downhill slide to mediocrity”, Armstrong declared yesterday. “It appears that we will have wasted our current $10-plus billion investment in Constellation and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to re-create the equivalent of what we will have discarded,” he said in a statement. >>> Jacqui Goddard | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Row in Australia After 'God Save the Queen' Is Dumped from Anzac Services
THE TELEGRAPH: A decision by Australian war veterans to dump the British national anthem from the country’s biggest remembrance services has provoked a fierce row Down Under.

Every year on April 25 Australia and New Zealand commemorates veterans who fought in conflicts and wars since the 1915 Gallipoli landings. Photograph: The Telegraph
Outraged monarchists claimed the Returned Services League’s decision to drop God Save the Queen from Anzac Day services in Melbourne was “creeping republicanism”.

Officials at the RSL, the biggest organisation for former servicemen in the country, said the English national anthem was “no longer relevant” despite always being included in services.

The decision will be seen as a blow to the Queen and the Royal Family, after Prince William ended his recent tour Down Under, where he launched a staunch defence of the Monarchy in a speech on Australia Day in the city.

The British national anthem has always been one of three played during Australia’s biggest remembrance services together with the Australian and New Zealand national anthems.

God Save the Queen was [first it was] Australia's [first] [sic] national anthem, but it was later replaced by Advance Australia Fair in the mid 1980s and relegated to the royal hymn.

Every year on April 25 Australia and New Zealand commemorates veterans who fought in conflicts and wars since the 1915 Gallipoli landings. >>> Andrew Hough | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Five Million Should Flee Tehran Over Earthquake Fears: Ahmadinejad
THE TELEGRAPH: At least five million Tehran residents should flee Iran's capital because it sits on several fault lines and is threatened by earthquakes, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday.

A crowded market in Tehran. Photo: The Telegraph
"We cannot order people to evacuate the city... but provisions have to be made. At least five million should leave Tehran so it is less crowded and more manageable in case of an incident," Mehr news agency quoted him as saying.

Mr Ahmadinejad said the government could offer "land, loans at four per cent interest and substantial subsidies" in the provinces to encourage Tehran residents to leave the sprawling capital.

Tehran province has nearly 14 million inhabitants, eight million of whom live in the city, which straddles several fault lines. Experts have warned that a strong quake in Tehran could kill hundreds of thousands of people. >>> | Sunday, April 11, 2010

No, We Didn’t Misunderstand At All. We Got It Right the First Time: The Vatican Thinks That Homosexuality and Paedophilia Are Linked. The Meaning Was Pretty Clear
TIMES ONLINE: The Vatican moved to distance itself today from comments made by the Pope’s top aide linking paedophilia to homosexuality, as the Foreign Office dismissed suggestions that the pontiff could be arrested when he visits Britain in September.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said that the remarks by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, went outside the remit of Church authorities, adding that the comments had been misunderstood.

“General assertions of a specifically psychological or medical nature” were the responsibility of specialists and not Church officials, he said in a statement.

Father Lombardi said that Cardinal Bertone had been referring only to cases of paedophilia in the clergy and not to “the world population”.

He said that recent “statistical data” on the abuse of minors by priests showed that 10 per cent of the cases concerned paedophilia “in the strict sense”, while the other 90 per cent concerned sex between priests and adolescents.

Catholic bishops of England and Wales also distanced themselves from the comments.

Father Marcus Stock, general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, said in a statement: “To the best of my knowledge there is no empirical data which concludes that sexual orientation is connected to child sexual abuse.

“The consensus among researchers is that the sexual abuse of children is not a question of sexual orientation, whether heterosexual or homosexual, but of a disordered attraction or fixation.”

He added: “Many abusers of children have never developed the capacity for mature adult relationships. Instead, their sexual attractions focus on children — boys, girls, or both. In the sexual abuse of children the issue is the sexual fixation of the abusers and not their sexual orientation.”

France added its voice to the chorus of condemnation, saying that it was “unacceptable” to lump paedophilia with homosexuality. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “This is an unacceptable linkage and we condemn this. Vatican: paedophilia-homosexuality comments were ‘misunderstood’ >>> Ruth Gledhill and Richard Owen in Rome | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

THE GUARDIAN: Vatican climbdown over sex abuse remarks by senior cardinal: UK bishops have denounced Tarcisio Bertone after he said paedophilia was linked to homosexuality >>> Riazat Butt and John Hooper, Rome | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

It’s High Time for the Vatican to Come Into the Age of Enlightenment! British Catholics at Loggerheads with Vatican Over Gay Abuse Comments
THE TELEGRAPH: The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has issued a rare public rebuttal of the Vatican following suggestions made by its second-in-command that the sexual abuse of children was linked to homosexuality.

In a sign of tension between the hierarchies over how best to handle public outrage over child abuse, Father Marcus Stock, the general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference, said research showed that paedophilia was "not a question" of sexual orientation.

His comments followed remarks by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the most senior aide to Pope Benedict XVI, claiming that research had clearly linked homosexuality and paedophilia.

Cardinal Bertone, the Holy See's secretary of state, said that homosexuality was the "problem" that caused Catholic priests to molest children. Father Stock said: "To the best of my knowledge, there is no empirical data which concludes that sexual orientation is connected to child sexual abuse.

"The consensus among researchers is that the sexual abuse of children is not a question of sexual "orientation", whether heterosexual or homosexual, but of a disordered attraction or "fixation". Many abusers of children have never developed the capacity for mature adult relationships. Instead, their sexual attractions focus on children – boys, girls, or both." >>> Peter Hutchison and Nick Squires in Rome | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Poles Protest Against Plans to Bury Polish President in Wawel Castle
THE TELEGRAPH: The funeral of President Lech Kaczynski has sparked protests in Poland over whether he should be allowed to be buried at Wawel Castle in Krakow alongside the country's heroes and royalty.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski died in a plane crash in Russia. Photo: The Telegraph
It has been planned that Mr Kaczynski is to be buried in the cathedral crypt in the grounds of Wawel Castle, in Krakow, the equivalent of burying a British prime minister in Westminster Abbey.

The protests in Warsaw and Krakow show that the death of Mr Kaczynski has failed to erase his unpopularity among many Poles and were the first sign of cracks in the national unity following the air crash which killed Mr Kaczynski, his wife and 93 of Poland’s top political and military leaders.

A Facebook page dedicated to opposing the decision generated more than 31,000 supporters in a few hours.

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow has consented to a request from the Kaczynski family that the presidential couple be buried in Wawel Cathedral after Sunday’s funeral, which will be attended by the Prince of Wales, who will represent Britain, President Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president. >>> Matthew Day in Warsaw | Wednesday, April 14, 2010