Australian Politician Tells Public: 'Don't Believe What I Say'
THE TELEGRAPH: It is a risky strategy for a politician, but Tony Abbott, leader of the Australian opposition, has decided to come clean with the public, admitting on television that he doesn't always tell "the gospel truth".

Mr Abbott stunned political commentators when he made the full and frank admission, telling an interviewer that voters should not bet on his off-the-cuff comments being strictly true.

"Politicians are going to be judged on everything they say, but sometimes, in the heat of discussion, you go a little bit further than you would if it was an absolutely, uh, calm, considered, prepared, scripted remark," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 7.30 Report.

"Which is one of the reasons why, the statements that need to be taken absolutely, as, as gospel truth is those carefully prepared, scripted remarks."

The comments were seized on by the Labour government, which has been spooked recently by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's falling popularity and Mr Abbott's rise in the polls. Within hours of the gaffe, Labour ministers had labelled Mr Abbott "phoney Tony". >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Congress Blocks Indiscriminate IMF Aid for Europe
TELEGRAPH BLOG – AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD: Europe may have to clean up its own mess after all. The US Senate has voted 94:0 to block use of taxpayers’ money for IMF rescues that make no economic sense or bail-outs for countries like Greece that far are beyond the point of no return.

“This amendment will help prevent American taxpayer dollars from underwriting dysfunctional governments abroad,” said Texas Senator John Cornyn, the chief sponsor. “American taxpayers have seen more bailouts than they can stomach, and the last thing they should have to worry about are their hard-earned tax dollars being used to rescue a foreign government. Greece is not by any stretch of the imagination too big to fail.”

Co-sponsor David Vitter from Louisiana said America had run out of money. “Our country already owes trillions of dollars in debt. We simply can’t afford to take on other countries’ debt in addition to our own.” Read on and comment >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

L'Iranien Ali Vakili Rad devrait quitter la France dans la journée
LE PARISIEN: La justice française a accordé ce mardi matin la libération conditionnelle au prisonnier iranien Ali Vakili Rad, condamné en France pour l'assassinat en 1991 de Chapour Bakhtiar, ex-Premier ministre du Shah d'Iran. Deux jours après le retour de Clotilde Reiss, retenue dix mois et demi en Iran, le tribunal d'application des peines a donné son feu vert, a annoncé son avocat, Me Sorin Margulis.

Après dix-neuf ans de prison, Ali Vakili Rad, 50 ans, devrait prendre aujourd'hui le premier avion pour Téhéran. Lundi, Brice Hortefeux a en effet signé son arrêté d'expulsion, nécessaire pour ouvrir la voie à la libération conitionnelle du détenu. Simple hasard de calendrier ou nouvelle preuve du «marchandage» entre Paris et Téhéran pour libérer Clotilde Reiss ? «Ce ne doit pas être interprété comme un échange», a répondu ce matin Me Margulis aux journalistes qui l'interrogeaient. >>> Leparisien.fr | Lundi 17 Mai 2010

Liens en relation avec l'article ici

THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian assassin released from French prison amid 'deal' claims: An Iranian assassin has been released from a French prison and flown home amid claims a deal has been done with Tehran over Clotilde Reiss, the French academic released over the weekend. >>> | Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Frankreich: Streit über Freilassung von Clotilde Reiss
ZEIT ONLINE: Spekulationen über die Hintergründe der Freilassung der Französin Clotilde Reiss: Die französische Regierung soll Iran Gegenleistungen erbracht haben.

Der senegalesische Präsident Abdoulaye Wade wirft der französischen Regierung vor, seine Vermittlung gestört und das Ende der Affäre damit um ein halbes Jahr hinausgezögert zu haben. Irans Präsident Mahmud Ahmadineschad habe bereits im September vergangenen Jahres zugestimmt, die 24-Jährige ausreisen zu lassen, sagte Wade. Der Elysée habe ihn jedoch gebeten, die Angelegenheit zunächst ruhen zu lassen, da ein anderer Mittelsmann eingeschaltet sei. "Wir hätten sechs Monate gewinnen können", sagte Wade der Zeitung Le Parisien.

Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy hatte sich nach der Freilassung der jungen Universitätsdozentin sowohl bei Wade als auch bei den Präsidenten Brasiliens, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, und Syriens, Baschar al-Assad, bedankt. Sie hatten ebenfalls vermittelt. Die Freilassung von Reiss erfolgte kurz vor der Unterzeichnung eines iranischen Atomabkommens mit der Türkei und Brasilien. >>> Zeit Online, dpa, AFP | Montag, 17. Mai 2010

Verbunde Artikel hier

Greece Considering Legal Action Against U.S. Banks for Crisis
GREEK REPORTER USA: Greece is considering taking legal action against U.S. investment banks that might have contributed to the country’s debt crisis, Prime Minister George Papandreou (photo) said.


“I wouldn’t rule out that this may be a recourse,” Papandreou said, in response to questions about the role of U.S. banks in the crisis, in an interview on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”

US stocks fell and the euro slumped on concerns Europe would not be able to contain the debt crisis stemming from Greece. >>> Apostolos Papapostolou | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Greek Deputy Minister Resigns Over Singer Husband’s Millions in Tax Debts
GREEK REPORTER EUROPE: Greek Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Angela Gerekou (photo) submitted her resignation Monday over her spouse’s ongoing tax debts.


Her husband, a famous local singer, is said to owe about EUR5.5 million in back taxes, fines and accumulated interest.


“The Prime Minister George Papandreou accepted her resignation,” the government spokesman said.


Sources close to Gerekou say that these debts were accumulated before she met her husband, Tolis Voskopoulos, but she wanted to spare the government any embarrassment at a time when authorities are imposing austerity measures and cracking down on tax evasion.


The socialist government has recently said that tax cheats will be given no quarter and that it intends to eliminate any hint of corruption, favoritism or ‘clientism.’


“Gerekou also informed the prime minister that she had no involvement in her husband’s prior tax matters,” the government spokesman added. [Source: Greek Reporter Europe] Apostolos Papapostolou | Monday, May 17, 2010

Steuerskandal: Griechische Vizeministerin büßt für ihren Ehemann
WELT ONLINE: Ihr Land steht vor dem Ruin, der eigene Ehemann zahlt keine Steuern: Dieser von ihren Landsleuten als skandalös empfundene Zustand hat die griechische Vizeministerin für Tourismus, Angela Gerekou, jetzt ihren Job gekostet. Ihr Mann, ein bekannter Sänger, schuldet dem griechischen Staat Steuern in Millionenhöhe.

Weil ihr Ehemann keine Steuern zahlte, musste die griechische Vizeministerin für Tourismus, Angela Gerekou, zurückgetreten. Ministerpräsident Giorgos Papandreou nahm ihr Rücktrittsgesuch am Montagabend an. Der Steuerskandal um den Ehemann der Vize-ministerin, den bekannten griechischen Sänger Tolis Voskopoulos, hatte in dem von der Staatspleite bedrohten Land Empörung aus-gelöst, als bekanntwurde, dass der Musiker seit mehr als 15 Jahren die Zahlung einer Steuerschuld in Höhe von 5,5 Millionen Euro immer wieder mit juristischen Tricks hinauszögert. >>> dpa/lha | Montag, 17, Mai 2010

Video “Pikante Steuer-Affäre in Griechenland” hier anschauen

Magistrate Stands by 'Scum' Comment
YAHOO! NEWS: A magistrate who is facing disciplinary action after describing two teenage vandals as "absolute scum" has insisted he had used "appropriate" language.

The 16-year-old boys scribbled racist and sexually abusive graffiti on prayer books and bent a valuable cross out of shape in Blackburn Cathedral, Lancashire.

Sentencing the pair, who were caught after signing their names in the visitors' book, Austin Malloy, chairman of the bench, said: "Normal people would consider you absolute scum." >>> Press Association | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Nile Gardner: The Special Relationship Strikes Back
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – NILE GARDNER: Just two months ago, the Special Relationship was written off by its critics as an anachronism, supposedly dying a slow but painful death, hand in hand with British decline. The Labour-dominated House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee effectively declared it to be dead, and recommended the phrase be dropped altogether by the British government. At the same time, the relationship between the White House and Downing Street was strained, with Gordon Brown and Barack Obama barely on speaking terms following the humiliating snub of the PM at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York last year. To cap it all, Hillary Clinton had just sided with Argentina in its call for negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falklands, a huge slap in the face for Britain. Although the alliance remained strong in terms of defence and intelligence cooperation, it had reached its lowest point politically in decades as Brown stepped down. Read on and comment >>> Nile Gardner | Monday, May 17, 2010

Chomsky Barred from West Bank
THE BOSTON GLOBE: MIT professor turned away at Jordan border

Noam Chomsky, an outspoken voice on the political left and a fierce critic of Israeli foreign policy, was denied entry by Israeli officials into the West Bank yesterday, where he was scheduled to deliver a lecture at a Palestinian university.

Chomsky, a renowned linguistics professor at MIT, was seeking to cross the border between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but was turned away after being questioned for several hours. He said authorities did not provide an explanation, but told him they would send a written account to the American Embassy. >>> Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | Monday, May 17, 2010

Thailand's Red Shirts Bring Anarchy to Bangkok
THE TELEGRAPH: Thailand's anti-government protesters brought anarchy to a swath of Bangkok last night in defiance of a government deadline to disband mass demonstrations at the heart of the capital.

Mobs set fire to office towers and expensive blocks of flats across a three-mile zone of chaos in one of south-east Asia's richest cities.

Army reinforcements established road blocks and checkpoints but failed to deter the spread of the Red Shirt movement, which is loyal to exiled billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra.

An afternoon deadline for the clearance of Ratchaprasong, the main demonstration site, passed with a 5,000 strong crowd defying a warning that it was "no longer safe".

The deadline, set by Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand's Eton-educated prime minister, was dropped after encountering the opposition of the country's military high command. >>> Damien McElroy and Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | Monday, May 17, 2010

Thai Unrest Threatens to Spread
THE BOSTON GLOBE: Leadership rejects protesters’ call for UN mediation

BANGKOK — Antigovernment unrest boiling over in downtown Bangkok spread to other areas of the capital and Thailand as the military defended its use of force in a crackdown that has left 36 people dead in four days. Thai leaders flatly rejected protesters’ demands that the United Nations intercede to end the chaos.

Rapid gunfire and explosions echoed before dawn today outside the luxury hotels bordering the barricaded protest zone, where the military has attempted to seal in thousands of demonstrators camping in the downtown streets. Guests at the upscale Dusit Thani hotel were rushed to the basement for safety.

Yesterday, plumes of black smoke hung over city streets where protesters set fire to tires, fired homemade rockets, and threw gasoline bombs at soldiers who used rubber bullets and live ammunition to pick off rioters who approached their lines. Army sharpshooters crouched behind sandbags and fired to keep attackers at bay.

Leaders of the protesters, who have dubbed themselves Red Shirts, said they wanted talks mediated by the UN, provided the government agreed to an immediate cease-fire and pulled its troops back. >>> Chriss Blake | Monday, May 17, 2010

Obama’s Aunt Is Granted Asylum
THE BOSTON GLOBE: Critics contend politics played role in decision

President Obama’s aunt, Zeituni Polly Onyango, an enigmatic figure who exploded onto the national scene in 2008 while living illegally in Boston, has been granted permission to stay in the United States, the immigration court said yesterday.

Judge Leonard I. Shapiro granted her asylum Friday in Boston, three months after Onyango’s lawyers said she feared violence and health risks if she were forced to return to her native Kenya. The ruling clears the way for her to apply for legal permanent residency in a year, and US citizenship after five years.

Onyango, the half-sister of the president’s late father, declined to comment.

“I’m tired,’’ Onyango, who lives in public housing in South Boston, said by telephone. She referred questions to her lawyer. >>> Maria Sacchetti | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Related articles >>>

Elton John to Headline Morocco's Biggest Music Festival Despite Islamic Protest
THE TELEGRAPH: Elton John is to headline Morocco's biggest music festival despite calls from Islamist opposition that he should be turned away.

Religious conservatives argued that the gay singer would tarnish the image of the north African kingdom were he allowed to perform at the Mawazine World Rhythms festival in the capital Rabat.

Despite the opposition, the singer will head the festival, beginning on May 21, which brings together musicians from 50 countries and is backed by King Mohammed.

"Elton John is one of the best artists in the world. He is great and extraordinary when he appears on stage. That's why we invite him and welcome him to the Mawazine festival," festival director Aziz Daki said.

"The private life of a singer is not our business. We do not invite singers and artists after assessing their private lives." >>> | Monday, May 17, 2010

Morocco Resists Islamist Calls to Ban Elton John
abcNEWS: RABAT (Reuters) - Elton John will headline Morocco's biggest music festival this week despite calls by religious conservatives for the gay singer to be turned away, the event's organizer said.

Allowing the British singer and songwriter to perform at the Mawazine World Rhythms festival in the capital Rabat would tarnish the image of the north African kingdom, say powerful opposition Islamists.

The writer of "Candle in the Wind '97"', the best-selling single of all time, according to the Guinness Book of Records, has championed sexual freedom and campaigned against the spread of AIDS during a four-decade musical career.

"Elton John is one of the best artists in the world. He is great and extraordinary when he appears on stage. That's why we invite him and welcome him to the Mawazine festival," festival director Aziz Daki told Reuters.

"The private life of a singer is not our business. We do not invite singers and artists after assessing their private lives." >>> Lamine Ghanmi | Monday, May 17, 2010

Moroccan Islamist Party Calls for Elton John Ban
AFP: RABAT — Morocco's main Islamist opposition party has called for gay singer Elton John to be banned from performing at a festival in Rabat later this month, a party leader said Friday.

"We categorically reject the appearance of this singer because there is a risk of encouraging homosexuality in Morocco," the head of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) parliamentary group, Mustapha Ramid, told AFP.

"The problem is not with the singer himself but the image he has in society," another leading party member, Lahcen Daoudi, added.

"Moroccan society has a negative perception of this singer and we must take it into consideration." >>> | Friday, May 07, 2010

Éditorial
AUJOURD’HUI LE MAROC: Festival massif de Mawâzine, qu’un paranoïaque quelconque, travaillé au corps et à l’esprit par la campagne indigne de notre pays en cours d’exécution, se jette sur notre invité anglais à coup de slogans vengeurs et rédempteurs. >>> Khalil Hachimi Idrissi | Mercredi 24 Février 2010

Label marocanité : l’imposture de l’éthique
AUJOURD’HUI LE MAROC: Les festivals, on le sait, dérangent les islamistes. La musique, et ils le savent, est le seul domaine où ils perdent pied.

En dehors des chants religieux qui restent à audience limitée, tout ce qui est notes, rythmes, percussions ou vocalises prompts à s’emparer de l’âme et des cœurs, doit être, à leurs yeux, détesté et maudit. Ils n’ont donc jamais aimé «Mawâzine» pas plus qu’ils n’aiment «L’Boulevard» ou le Festival d’Essaouira. Et à la limite, c’est leur droit le plus strict et le plus absolu. Mais ce que, en revanche, on doit leur refuser, c’est de parler au nom de tout le peuple marocain. Nous aimons Elton John. Non pas pour son homosexualité, ses provocations ou pour ses accoutrements et lunettes excentriques. Nous l’aimons parce que c’est un grand, très grand artiste. … >>> Par Driss Ajbali | Vendredi 14 Mai 2010

Abu Dhabi, Setting of Sex and the City Sequel, Considers Film Ban
THE TELEGRAPH: The sequel to Sex and the City is facing embarrassment as Abu Dhabi, the Gulf city in which it is set, is considering banning the movie.

Less than two weeks before the release of Sex and the City 2, it is unclear whether the film will be shown in the oil-rich city, the scripted setting where Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, go on holiday.

Emirates' officials had already turned down a request to film on location, forcing the cast crew to head to Morocco to recreate the Abu Dhabi setting. In 2008, the original film was not shown in the United Arab Emirates, where censors routinely remove scenes such as kissing, nudity and expletives.

Shooting Stars, the UAE representatives for distributor Warner Bros, said Emirates officials have still not made a decision about bringing the film to cinemas in the Gulf state after its May 27 release date. >>> | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Italians Say
Priests Should Marry as Confidence in Pope Falls
TIMES ONLINE: A majority of Italians believe priests should be allowed to marry and under half have confidence in Pope Benedict XVI, according to an opinion poll today.

The survey, carried out by the polling organisation Demos and published in La Repubblica, came as Catholic bishops in Austria called on the Vatican to open up the issue of priestly celibacy for discussion.

On Sunday 200,000 Italians with banners and balloons filled St. Peter’s Square in a major show of support for Pope Benedict over the clerical sex abuse scandal.

At the rally, organised by Italian bishops and Catholic lay organisations, Pope Benedict said he was comforted by this “beautiful and spontaneous show of faith and solidarity”. “The true enemy to fear and to fight against is sin, the spiritual evil that unfortunately sometimes infects even members of the church,” he said to prolonged applause and shouts of encouragement.

However, today’s survey showed that in Italy as a whole confidence in the Pope had dropped from 53.7 per cent in 2007 to 46.6 per cent today, compared to 77.2 per cent for Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict’s predecessor, in 2003. >>> Richard Owen Rome | Montag, May 17, 2010

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Voile intégral : L'amende prévue pourra être remplacée par un stage de citoyenneté
LE POINT: Le gouvernement n'entend pas seulement sanctionner, il veut aussi éduquer. C'est en somme ce qu'on peut tirer du projet de loi visant à interdire le port du voile intégral, qui sera présenté mercredi en conseil des ministres et dont l'Agence France-Presse a obtenu copie. Le texte prévoit en effet "un stage de citoyenneté" pour les femmes concernées, qui s'ajoutera ou se substituera à l'amende de 150 euros encourue.

Le projet de loi "interdisant la dissimulation du visage dans l'espace public", préparé par la garde des Sceaux Michèle Alliot-Marie et qui peut encore évoluer à la marge d'ici à mercredi, comprend sept articles. Le premier article stipule que "nul ne peut, dans l'espace public, porter une tenue destinée à dissimuler son visage". L'espace public comprend la voie publique ainsi que "les lieux ouverts au public ou affectés à un service public". Le texte prévoit plusieurs exceptions à cette interdiction : quand "la tenue est prescrite par une loi ou règlement" (casque pour motocycliste...), si elle est "autorisée pour protéger l'anonymat de l'intéressé" (forces de sécurité...), si elle est "justifiée par des raisons médicales" ou si elle "s'inscrit dans le cadre de fêtes" (masque de carnaval...). >>> AFP | Lundi 17 Mai 2010

Race Under Fire: Is Being White Something You Can Learn?
THE INDEPENDENT: What does it mean to be white? An explosive new book by an American academic argues that whiteness isn't biological at all – in fact, it can be learned. Precious Williams* disagrees

It is tempting to tell ourselves that we're on the verge of an inclusive, multicultural new age.

An era where colour doesn't matter all that much, where race doesn't define us. After all, society is changing. Radically. The Conservative Party's first-ever black female MP, Helen Grant, has just been elected. And across the pond, there is a black man in the White House. Or is there?

A controversial new book, The History of White People, claims that Barack Obama is, to all intents and purposes, white. Not because he had a white mother but because of his educational background, his income, his power, his status. The book's author, the eminent black American historian Nell Irvin Painter, has written a fascinating, sprawling history of the concept of race, looking specifically at the idea of a white race and at why and how whites have dominated other, darker-skinned races throughout recent centuries. The conclusion of Painter's book – which has taken more than a decade to research and write – is explosive. Race, she argues, is a fluid social construct, entirely unsupported by scientific fact. Like beauty, it is merely skin-deep.

Technically, she has a point. The $3bn Human Genome Project revealed in 2003 that every human being has a unique DNA sequence which differs from that of any fellow human being by just 0.1 per cent, regardless of ethnic origin. Thus, all humans beings are 99.9 per cent the same and, from a scientific viewpoint, there is no such thing as racial difference. >>> | Monday, May 17, 2010

*Precious Williams's memoir, 'Precious', is published by Bloomsbury on 2 August. 'The History of White People' by Nell Irvin Painter is published in hardback by Norton (£19.99). To order a copy for the special price of £17.99 (free P&P), call Independent Books Direct on 08430 600 030, or visit www.independentbooksdirect.co.uk

French Teacher Accused of Spying Did Work for French MI6
THE TELEGRAPH: A young French teacher released on Sunday by Iran after being held on espionage charges was actually working with the French MI6, a former senior French spy claimed yesterday.

Clotilde Reiss, 24, who was held for ten months in Iran on spying charges, had worked "very well" for France, according to Pierre Siramy, a former high-ranking member of France's external intelligence service, the DGSE.

The claims sparked instant consternation and denials from the French intelligence community, as the official foreign ministry line has always been that she was an innocent academic with no links to spying.

Mr Siramy said she was not a spy "in the classic sense of the word", but worked "à l'anglaise"(in the English style). In other words she "bravely" handed over information on an "amicable" basis for the good of the country.

"She was our representative's contact," said Mr Siramy.

In this capacity she provided reports on domestic politics in the run up to last July's presidential elections and on a nuclear site under construction next to the central town of Isfahan where she was an assistant university teacher, said Mr Siramy.

"She deserves to be recognised as someone who worked very well (for France)," he said. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, May 17, 2010

Liens en relation avec l’article: Cliquez ici

Mauritania's 'Wife-fattening' Farm
BBC: Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening".

A generation ago, over a third of women in the country were force-fed as children - Mauritania is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys.

Now only around one in 10 girls are treated this way. The treatment has its roots in fat being seen as a sign of wealth - if a girl was thin she was considered poor, and would not be respected.

But in rural Mauritania you still see the rotund women that the country is famous for. They walk slowly, dainty hands on the end of dimpled arms, pinching multicoloured swathes of fabric together to keep the biting sand from their faces.

"I make them eat lots of dates, lots and lots of couscous and other fattening food," Fatematou, a voluminous woman in her sixties who runs a kind of "fat farm" in the northern desert town of Atar, told BBC World Service's The World Today programme. >>> Pascale Harter, BBC, Mauritania | Monday, January 26, 2010

BBC audio

Arab American Takes Miss USA Title
THE TELEGRAPH: A 24-year-old Arab American has won the Miss USA title, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown.

Miss Michigan Rima Fakih, reacts as she is crowned Miss USA 2010 by Kristen Dalton, Miss USA 2009. Photo: The Telegraph
Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Michigan, won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after strutting confidently in an orange and gold bikini, wearing a strapless white gown and saying health insurance should cover birth control pills.

While it is though Miss Fakih is the first Middle Eastern woman to take the title, pagent officials said historical records were not detailed enough to show whether Miss Fakih was the first Arab American, Muslim or immigrant to win the Miss USA title. The pageant started in 1952 as a local bathing suit competition in Long Beach, California.

When asked how she felt about winning the crown, she said, "Ask me after I've had a pizza."

Miss Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant, told pageant organisers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003.

Miss Fakih said sold her car after graduating from university in Michigan to help pay for her run in the Miss Michigan USA pageant.

She said she believed she had the title on Sunday after glancing at pageant owner Donald Trump as she awaited the results with the first runner-up, Miss Oklahoma USA Morgan Elizabeth Woolard.

"That's the same look that he gives them when he says, 'You're hired,"' on Trump's reality show "The Apprentice," she said. >>> | Monday, May 17, 2010

Miss USA 2010 FInale - Journey to the Crown


Rima Fakih

Muslimah Admits Support for Jewish Genocide


JIHAD WATCH: Muslim student who admitted support for Jewish genocide now says, "Death to Israel" >>> Robert Spencer | Sunday, May 16, 2010

David Horowitz Freedom Center >>>

Iran Signs Nuclear Fuel Swap Deal With Turkey And Brazil
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran has signed a nuclear fuel swap deal to ship 1,200 kilos of low enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for nuclear fuel for a Teheran reactor.

The agreement was signed in the Iranian capital between the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Brazil after three-way talks by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Under the agreement "Turkey will be the place to keep Iran's 3.5 per cent (low enriched) uranium," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters. "One thousand two hundred kilos (of LEU) will be exchanged."

He added that Iran will officially notify the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the agreement "within a week."

"The IAEA should inform the Vienna group (United States, France and Russia) of this proposal," he said of world powers which have wanted Iran since last October to accept a UN-backed deal to ship its enriched uranium abroad.

Israel, which along with many Western powers suspects Iran is using its nuclear enrichment programme to mask a drive for atomic weapons, immediately accused Teheran of "manipulating" Turkey and Brazil over the deal. >>> | Monday, May 17, 2010

Plan for Mosque Near World Trade Center Site Moves Ahead
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the Cordoba Initiative, talks about his proposal to convert the now-shuttered Burlington Coat Factory on Park Place, two blocks from Ground Zero, into a mosque. Photo: New York Daily News
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: A proposal to build a mosque steps from Ground Zero received the support of a downtown committee despite some loved ones of 9/11 victims finding it offensive.

The 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center was unanimously endorsed by the 12-member Community Board 1's financial district committee.

The $100 million project, called the Cordoba House, is proposed for the old Burlington Coat Factory building at Park Place and Broadway, just two blocks from the World Trade Center site.

"I think it will be a wonderful asset to the community," said committee Chairman Ro Sheffe.

Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, who helped found the Cordoba Initiative following the 9/11 attacks, said the project is intended to foster better relations between the West and Muslims.

He said the glass-and-steel building would include a 500-seat performing arts venue, a swimming pool and a basketball court. "There's nothing like it," said Rauf, adding that facilities will be open to all New Yorkers.

Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement and Cordoba Initiative board member, said the project has received little opposition.

"Whatever concerns anybody has, we have to make sure to educate them that we are an asset to the community," Khan said.
Khan said her group hopes construction on the project will begin by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Once built, 1,000 to 2,000 Muslims are expected to pray at the mosque every Friday, she said. >>> Joe Jackson and Bill Hutchinson | Published: Thursday May 06, 2010; Updated: Tuesday, May 11, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Ground Zero mosque plan angers New Yorkers: An ambitious plan to build a mosque next to New York's Ground Zero has angered residents of the city. >>> | Monday, May 17, 2010

The Ground Zero Mosque Must Be Stopped


Huckabee, Pamela Geller on Mosque at Ground Zero


Mosque at Ground Zero Riles 9/11 Families


No Mosques At Ground Zero >>>

Clotilde Reiss : «Je suis très heureuse d'être de retour»
LE FIGARO: Arrivée dimanche après-midi en France, la jeune femme a été reçue par Nicolas Sarkzoy puis a fait une déclaration sur le perron de l'Elysée, dans laquelle elle a remercié tous ceux qui l'ont soutenue.

Enfin le bout du tunnel pour Clotilde Reiss. La jeune Française, retenue en Iran depuis le 1er juillet 2009 pour avoir participé à des manifestations post-électorales, est rentrée dimanche en France.

La jeune femme avait embarqué dimanche matin dans un avion à Téhéran. Après une escale à Dubaï, elle a pris place à bord d'un avion du gouvernement français à destination de Paris. L'appareil, de type Falcon 900, s'est posé en début d'après-midi sur l'aéroport militaire de Villacoublay. Clotilde Reiss a dans la foulée été reçue durant une quinzaine de minutes, aux côtés de sa famille, par Nicolas Sarkozy à l'Elysée.

«Je suis très très heureuse d'être de retour dans mon pays», a-t-elle déclaré lors d'une courte allocution au sortir de cette rencontre. «Je tiens à remercier tous les gens qui m'ont soutenue dans cette épreuve», a-t-elle poursuivi, citant en premier lieu le chef de l'Etat «qui a défendu (son) innocence dès mon arrestation», en juillet 2009.

Elle a également exprimé ses remerciements aux Iraniens et à «tous les inconnus qui ont aussi manifesté leur solidarité à (son) égard, Français et des gens du monde entier». «C'était pour moi beaucoup beaucoup d'émotion et de la force pour surmonter cette épreuve, a-t-elle dit. Je suis très heureuse de retrouver ma famille, de pouvoir reprendre une vie libre, et c'est avec soulagement que je vous parle aujourd'hui.» >>> Par Thomas Vampouille | Lundi 17 Mai 2010

Well, Well, Well!
The Conservatives have asked the former boss of BP, Lord Browne, a business ambassador for Gordon Brown, to be a Whitehall watchdog. [Source: Mail Online]

This is the same Lord Browne who had to step down as head of BP for very personal reasons. Interesting times!

David Cameron Declares War On Public Sector Pay
THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has vowed to crack down on "crazy" bonuses paid to civil servants as the new Government seeks to reduce the costs of the bloated public sector.

Out of control hand-outs, which this year will be paid to three-quarters of senior civil servants, are to be restricted to high performers.

Under the terms of Whitehall contracts signed by Labour ministers at the height of the recession, bonus payments can not be cancelled by the incoming Government.

In future, however, windfalls across the public sector will be restricted to employees who have performed “exceptionally well,” with only the top 25 per cent eligible for the payments. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Clotilde Reiss a été libérée d'Iran et est arrivée en France
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La Française Clotilde Reiss a quitté l'Iran et est arrivée en France. La jeune femme de 24 ans a été condamnée à une amende puis libérée samedi par les autorités.

Clotilde Reiss était retenue en Iran depuis juillet 2009 pour avoir participé à des mani-festations anti-gouvernementales.

L'appareil transportant la Française s'est posé peu avant 13h25 sur la base aérienne de Villacoublay, près de Paris, où l'attendaient sa famille et des membres du protocole. >>> ats | Dimanche 16 Mai 2010

Laura Bush: George W Bush Was A 'Bore' When He Drank Too Much
THE TELEGRAPH: Laura Bush, the former First Lady, has spoken for the first time about her husband George W Bush's drinking, calling him a "bore" when he had too much.

In an interview about her life with Mr Bush, she said his love of alcohol left her "disappointed", although she denied ever giving him an ultimatum about his drinking.

Mr Bush has always denied he was an alcoholic, but he gave up alcohol when he turned 40 and did not drink during his presidency. He was arrested for drink driving in 1976.

"George drank the three B's, a bourbon before dinner, a beer with dinner and then B&B [a mixture of Brandy and Benedictine liquor], a sweet after dinner drink," she said.

"He didn't have three drink every night, many times all he had was a beer. But when he poured enough, he could be a bore.Maybe its funny when other people's husbands have too much too drink at a party, but I didn't think it was funny."

Mrs Bush told US magazine Ladies Home Journal that she did not threaten to end their marriage over her husband's drinking - but said she was "disappointed". >>> Paul Thompson | Sunday, May 16, 2010

«La burqa est un symbole de soumission»
20 MINUTES: Micheline Calmy-Rey est contre l'interdiction de la burqa, mais aussi contre la burqa.

La burqa, ce vêtement qui recouvre intégralement le corps, est un «symbole d'asservissement de la femme», affirme la ministre des affaires étrangères Micheline Calmy-Rey dans une interview à paraître lundi dans le «Blick».

Cela rend la conseillère fédérale «furieuse». La Suisse n'a pourtant pas de problème de burqa, car très peu de femmes en portent une. Les femmes vêtue d'une burqa se voient surtout dans les médias. >>> ats | Dimanche 16 Mai 2010

«Wir haben kein Burka Problem»
BLICK: BERN – Zum ersten Mal bezieht Aussenministerin Micheline Calmy-Rey im BLICK Stellung in der Burkadebatte.

BLICK: Was halten Sie vom Burkaverbot, das jetzt breit diskutiert wird?

Micheline Calmy-Rey: Ich bin gegen die Burka. Und ich bin gegen ein Burkaverbot.

Erklären Sie das bitte.

Ich bin gegen die Burka. Einmal sah ich bei einem Spaziergang in Genf einige Frauen mit Burka. Ich war wütend. Nicht auf die Frauen, sondern weil die Burka ein Symbol der Versklavung der Frau ist. >>> | Sonntag, 16. Mai 2010

Mohammed Cartoonist's Home Attacked With Firebomb
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The home of a Swedish cartoonist who sparked controversy by drawing the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog has been attacked with a petrol bomb.

The property belonging to Lars Vilks in the village of Nyhamnslaege was slightly damaged during the incident, the latest in a series of similar attacks in the country.

Police later arrested a 21-year-old Swedish national of Kosovar origin, from the southern city of Landskrona, at his home 25 miles away.

A spokesman said he was detained after personal items were found near Mr Vilks' house.

Police found glass bottles containing petrol inside the house which was empty at the time of the attack. >>> | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Swedish Mohammed Cartoonist Attacked During Free Speech Lecture
THE TELEGRAPH: A Swedish cartoonist whose sketch of the Prophet Mohammed enraged many Muslims, was attacked while giving a lecture about freedom of speech.

A spokesman for Uppsala police said about 20 people tried to attack Mr Vilks after interrupting his lecture. Photo: The Telegraph
Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Mohammad with the body of a dog in 2007, said he was headbutted by a man sitting on the front row as he spoke at the University of Uppsala, about 44 miles from Stockholm.

"He head-butted me and I fell into the wall and lost my glasses," Mr Vilks said. He added he was unharmed.

A spokesman for Uppsala police said about 20 people tried to attack Mr Vilks after interrupting his lecture, adding that the police had to intervene to stop them. Two people were detained.

Mr Vilks was not immediately available to comment further. He says he has received death threats since his Prophet sketch.

In March an American who called herself "JihadJane," was charged with plotting to kill the Swede and using the Internet to enlist co-conspirators. >>> | Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Related here and here

Nick Clegg's Decision to Set Up Coalition Backed 'Overwhelmingly' by Party Members
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg’s decision to agree to set up a coalition Government with David Cameron has been overwhelmingly backed by his party's members.

Nick Clegg arrives at Birmingham NEC for the Lib Dem conference. Photograph: The Telegraph
The news came despite former party leader Charles Kennedy revealing he had not signed up to the coalition deal and opinion polls showed voters switching from Liberal Democrats to Labour.

The Lib Dems convened a special conference to give its members a say on Mr Clegg’s decision to enter in coalition Government with the Tories.

The decision had already been backed by the party’s MPs and its executive, which meant that the leadership would not have been bound by the result of the conference.

However, in the event, members voted “over-whelmingly” in support of the deal with no more than a dozen of the 2,000 delegates opposing the deal in a show of hands at the gathering in Birmingham.

Speaking after the vote, Mr Clegg said: “It is a big step. There are lots of unknowns, there will be bumps and scrapes along the way”.

He said the party's special conference had taken a “very, very important decision” to approve the coalition “which is utterly new in modern British political history”.

He added: “It would simply be wrong for us to let this chance of real change pass us by. >>> Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sarah Palin: 'We're All Arizonans Now'
THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin has defended a new law cracking down on illegal immigration in Arizona claiming: "We're all Arizonans now".

She blamed Barack Obama for the moves, saying tough measures were needed because the federal government wasn't enforcing the law.

"It's time for Americans across this great country to stand up and say, 'We're all Arizonans now,"' Palin said. "And in clear unison we say, 'Mr. President: Do your job. Secure our border."' >>> | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Hassan Tourabi arrêté à Khartoum
ENNAHAR ONLINE: KHARTOUM - Les autorités de Khartoum ont arrêté l'opposant islamiste soudanais Hassan al-Tourabi à son domicile samedi, un mois après les élections législatives et présidentielle qui se sont tenues pour la première fois en 24 ans au Soudan, a indiqué à l'AFP le secrétaire de Tourabi, Awad Babakir.

"Vers minuit (21H00 GMT), un groupe d'officiers de la sécurité est arrivé dans trois voitures et a emmené Hassan al-Tourabi hors de chez lui", a précisé le secrétaire.

Mentor du général Omar Hassan el-Béchir lors du coup d'Etat militaire de 1989, qui avait porté ce dernier au pouvoir, M. Tourabi est devenu son pire ennemi après avoir été évincé en 1999.

Hassan al-Tourabi avait qualifié les dernières élections de "frauduleuses" et affirmé que son parti, le Parti du Congrès Populaire (PCP), ne participerait pas au prochain gouvernement, ni ne siègerait aux différents parlements.

Le Soudan a tenu du 11 au 15 avril ses premières élections législatives, régionales et présidentielle multipartites depuis 1986, un scrutin miné par des problèmes techniques, des accusations de fraude, et le boycott d'une partie de l'opposition. >>> Ennaharonline | Dimanche 16 Mai 2010

Saudi Editor Resigns After Controversial Article
AFP: RIYADH — Prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi resigned on Sunday from the helm of Al-Watan daily in a move believed linked to official displeasure with articles critical of the state's harsh Islamic rules.

Al-Watan announced that Khashoggi, 52, was stepping down as editor-in-chief "to focus on his personal projects," in a statement published on its website and in its Sunday edition.

The statement from Prince Bandar bin Khaled al-Faisal, chief executive of the company that owns Al-Watan, praised Khashoggi as "a loyal son ... who left a clear mark on its progress."

Prince Bandar named deputy editor Sulayman al-Aquili as interim editor-in-chief.

The resignation, which came hours after Khashoggi celebrated his third marriage on Saturday, was unexpected, and Saudi journalists said they believed it was the result of pressure from high levels of the government.

It followed a year of tensions with authorities and religious conservatives over numerous articles and columns viewed as critical of the ultra-conservative Wahhabi Islam which dominates Saudi life.

The move came three days after Al-Watan published a controversial column criticising Salafism. >>> Paul Handley, AFP | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Liberal Saudi Journalist Resigns From His Newspaper
ENNAHAR ONLINE: RIYADH - Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi liberal journalist familiar with Osama bin Laden before he created Al-Qaeda, said Sunday he was leaving the daily Al-Watan of which he has made a progressive forum.

Mr. Khashoggi, 52, said in a statement that he was resigning from his post as editor for "care of personal projects".

In 2003, he was forced to leave the newspaper after an editorial criticizing the 14th century Muslim theologian, Ibn Taymiyya, whose ideas inspired Wahhabism, a conservative interpretation of Islam followed in Saudi Arabia. >>> Ennahar | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Saudi Journalist Who Interviewed Bin Laden Resigns
AP: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A prominent Saudi journalist who conducted several interviews with Osama bin Laden and once tried to persuade him to reconcile with the Saudi royal family resigned Sunday as editor of the nation's leading newspaper.

Several Arab news websites said Jamal Khashoggi was fired because of articles in Al-Watan criticizing Saudi Arabia's conservative application of Islam and the religious police who enforce adherence to it. But the newspaper said Khashoggi resigned to pursue other personal plans.

The journalist could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Khashoggi interviewed and traveled with bin Laden at times between 1987 and 1995, including in Afghanistan where he wrote about the battle against the Soviets. >>> © AP | Sunday, May 16, 2010

الوطن

Sayeeda Warsi Slammed by Islamic Fundamentalists
DAILY STAR SUNDAY: NEW Tory chairman Sayeeda Warsi has been slammed by Islamic fundamentalists who warned she could be in physical danger if she visits Muslim communities.

The 39-year-old baroness is the first female Muslim to be given a full Cabinet position.

But controversial preacher Anjem Choudary accused her of “betraying” her religion.

He told the Daily Star Sunday: “Sayeeda Warsi is not a Muslim in my eyes.

“She may look like a Muslim and have a Muslim-sounding name but she does not ­represent Islam or anyone in this country who is a Muslim.

“She is a ‘coconut’, brown on the outside but white on the inside.

“In fact, she is whiter than most of the other white people in government.

“How can she be a Muslim and support the military involvement of the British Army in Islamic countries?

“She is somebody who ­pretends to be a practising Muslim but, from her views and statements, she is clearly against Sharia.

“She is a disgrace and many true Muslims are angry that she claims to stand for Islam despite betraying Allah.”

Choudary – whose group Islam4UK was banned by the last government – predicted that Baroness Warsi would become the focus of hate.

He said: “She will be attacked by eggs every time she goes near a Muslim community.

“Some more extreme protesters may take the attacks further. There is no doubt she is in danger.” >>> John Ward | Sunday, May 16, 2010

First Muslim Woman Brit Minister Accused of Betraying Her Religion
ONE INDIA: London – Baroness and Tory leader Sayeeda Warsi may be the first Muslim woman to hold a full Cabinet Post, but Muslim fundamentalists see her as an apostate who is hardly representative of the Muslim community.

She has also been warned of physical harm if she visits Muslim pockets. Last year she was pelted with eggs by Muslim protesters when she visited Luton, Bedfordshire.

Anjem Choudhary, a firebrand radical preacher whose group Islam4UK was banned by the last government accuses her of betraying her religion by supporting the British Army's involvement in Islamic countries. >>> ANI | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Saeeda Hussain Warsi

‘Mummy’ Merkel Battered as Germans Lose Faith in EU
THE SUNDAY TIMES: After bailing out Greece and now the euro, Germany is fed up with being Europe’s paymaster

Germans are proud of working for global brand names such as manufacturing firms such as Mercedes-Benz and are outraged that Angela Merkel is giving taxpayers’ money to a country with little industrial output. Photo: The Sunday Times
GISELA and Susi, thirtysomething civil service secretaries, were shivering over their sausages in what the tabloids labelled the “most miserable May of the millennium” and planning their summer holidays. “I know where I’m not going,” one of them said. “The hotels, service and food aren’t as good as Turkey but the prices are as high as Italy!”

As Berliners bravely sat on the banks of the River Spree in unseasonably cold weather for the Ascension Day holiday that traditionally marks the start of summer, they had no doubt that the cold wind was blowing from the sunny south: Greece in particular.

The multi-billion-euro payout for Greece, followed by an even more expensive rescue package for the threatened single currency, has created the greatest political climate change in a generation.

Suddenly Germans are asking questions about the European project that has been the bedrock of their politics for 60 years, leaving Angela Merkel, the chancellor, under fire from the electorate, the opposition and her own party.

It took a stand-up display of table-banging aggression from President Nicolas Sarkozy and an intervention on the telephone from President Barack Obama to get Merkel to agree to the euro package.

“We foot the bill for EU disaster,” screamed a headline in Bild, the tabloid newspaper. Christoph Schmidt, a government economist, responded by warning: “Germany cannot become Europe’s paymaster.”

The tension between Germany and France threatened to spill over at a Brussels summit last weekend when Merkel and Sarkozy had a furious row. According to observers, it ended with Sarkozy threatening to leave the euro.

“It was a stand-up argument,” an official told El Pais, the Spanish newspaper. Sarkozy, furious at Merkel’s reluctance to sign up to a safety net of €750 billion (£644 billion), was shouting and bawling at Merkel and smashed his fist on the table. “It was Sarkozy on steroids,” one witness said.

Dubbed “our Iron Lady” — or just “Mutti” (Mummy) within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that she dominates — Merkel returned to Germany accused of having given too much, too late.

Her timing was also poor. The euro talks, combined with the Greek bailout, led to a CDU defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia’s state election last weekend and with it the loss of her majority in the upper house. >>> Peter Millar in Berlin | Sunday, May 16, 2010

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Germans Turn Against the EU as Eurozone Meltdown Heaps Misery on Angela Merkel >>> Andrew Gilligan in Bielefeld, Westphalia | Sunday, May 16, 2010

A 'Quantum Leap' in Governance of the Euro Zone Is Needed
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In a SPIEGEL interview, Jean-Claude Trichet, the 67-year-old president of the European Central Bank, discusses the largest financial rescue package in the history of Europe, the role and importance of speculators in the euro crisis and the weakness shown by politicians in the euro zone member states. >>> | Saturday, May 15, 2010

Germans Turn Against the EU as Eurozone Meltdown Heaps Misery on Angela Merkel
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: German fury at paying for Greek extravagence is turning into anger against the European Union, the euro, and Angela Merkel, writes Andrew Gilligan in Westphalia.

Unlike the lily-livered British red-tops, the main German tabloid, Bild Zeitung, puts nipples on the front page. Day after day for the past week, it has been metaphorically stripping naked the same victim, then pouring cold baked beans over her head. Once-divorced mother-of-none Angela Merkel, 55, from Berlin, a chancellor of Germany, has had probably the worst seven days of her life.

To imagine the full scale of Mrs Merkel's disaster, think of it as a bit like that moment in 2008 when Britain suddenly had to find £46 billion of public money to bail out the banks, overnight storing up years of spending cuts, tax rises and general misery for everyone else. Then multiply the amount of money potentially required, and the amount of pain which could be inflicted, by three.

Mix in the fact that the people the German government has had to rescue aren't even Germans, but Greeks. Add that the deal was done only after the repeated prodding by Mrs Merkel's great European rival, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who reportedly threatened to pull out of the euro. Then there was the problem that as all this was unfolding, Mrs Merkel had to face a vital election.

And top off with the slowly-dawning, horrified realisation by the taxpayers of Germany that late last Sunday night, their Chancellor signed them up for potentially even bigger, indeed unlimited, bailouts of everyone else in the single currency, too.

"We are again the idiots of Europe!" shrieked Bild, which has the power of the Daily Mail, The Sun, and the Daily Mirror added together, and whose official slogan can be broadly translated as "We think up your opinions so you don't have to." Even before Sunday night, things had been going downhill for the world's most powerful woman. Last Saturday, Mrs Merkel held an open-air rally in the industrial city of Bielefeld. Intended to rouse her party supporters on the eve of the crucial poll, it turned into something of a rout. >>> Andrew Gilligan in Bielefeld, Westphalia | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Top Liberal Democrats Open Rift Over Coalition With Conservatives
THE OBSERVER: Why I refused to back deal - Charles Kennedy / Former leader fuels doubts over pact

Paddy Ashdown and Charles Kennedy congratulate Nick Clegg after he beat Chris Huhne to become Lib Dem leader in 2007. Photo: The Observer
The depth of division among Liberal Democrats over Nick Clegg's coalition deal with the Tories bursts into the open today as former party leader Charles Kennedy reveals that he refused to vote for the deal.

In a heartfelt article for today's Observer, Kennedy writes that he could not bring himself to back Clegg in the crucial, behind-closed-doors meeting of Lib Dem MPs last Tuesday night. He feared the move to a formal coalition with the Tories could wreck for ever plans for a progressive centre-left alliance in British politics.

Other party grandees, including former leaders Menzies Campbell, Paddy Ashdown and David Steel, also had profound doubts. But in the end Ashdown and Campbell voted in favour. Steel, who could not be present at the meeting, authorised Kennedy to express their shared views about the dangers of the deal. >>> Toby Helm and Anushka Asthana | Sunday, May 16, 2010

David Cameron Lines Up Labour's Frank Field As Poverty Tsar
THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has lined up Frank Field, the Labour MP and former minister, to be his "poverty tsar" as he puts the fight against deprivation at the heart of his agenda.

Mr Field, a long-time champion of welfare reform, has been asked to lead a major review into levels of poverty across Britain. He is also expected to study how poverty should be measured in the future.

The appointment, which could be officially confirmed in the next few days, comes as the Prime Minister seeks to boost his coalition between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats with a number of outside figures in key roles. >>> Patrick Hennessy and Melissa Kite | Saturday, May 15, 2010

Labour Hid ‘Scorched Earth’ Debts
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Labour ‘left poison pills’ for Cameron’s government

THE government last night accused Labour of pursuing a “scorched earth policy” before the general election, leaving behind billions of pounds of previously hidden spending commitments.

The newly discovered Whitehall “black holes” could force even more severe public spending cuts, or higher tax rises, ministers fear.

Vince Cable, the business secretary, said: “I fear that a lot of bad news about the public finances has been hidden and stored up for the new government. The skeletons are starting to fall out of the cupboard.”

The new cabinet has been discovering previously unknown contracts and uncosted spending commitments left by their spendthrift predecessors. >>> Marie Woolf and Jonathan Oliver | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Analysis: Liberal Democrats Switch Support to Labour After Tory Coalition Deal
THE TELEGRAPH: The Liberal Democrats have clearly taken an electoral hit as a result of their decision to enter into a coalition with the Conservatives, writes John Curtice.

At 21 per cent, their share of voting intentions is down three points on what they secured in the ballot box just ten days ago.

Only around three-quarters of those who voted for the party on May 6th say that they would vote for them now. In contrast nearly everyone who voted Conservative or Labour would do so again.

Moreover, most of those who have defected from the Lib Dems have switched to Labour. This has helped push Labour up three points to 33 per cent, though the Conservatives have edged up a point to 38 per cent too.

Yet this result may still be greeted with some relief at Lib Dem headquarters. The party might have feared the electoral fallout from last week would have been much greater. The Lib Dems' current rating is still above what the party polled during most of the last parliament.

The Lib Dems will also be encouraged by the finding that the public might vote in favour of a switch to the Alternative Vote system in the proposed referendum, the key concession Nick Clegg obtained from David Cameron. As many as 56 per cent say they would back a switch. >>> John Curtice | Saturday, May 15, 2010

Griechenland-Rettung: Politiker zürnen Ackermann
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nachdem Deutsche Bank-Chef Ackermann bezweifelt hat, dass Griechenland seine Schulden zurückzahlen wird, hagelt es Kritik aus allen Parteien. Wirtschaftsminister Brüderle nannte die Äußerungen „ungewöhnlich und ärgerlich“. EZB-Chefökonom Stark verteidigte im Gespräch mit der F.A.S. den Rettungsschirm. >>> | Samstag. 15. Mai 2010

Thailand: Bangkoks Innenstadt gleicht einem Schlachtfeld
DIE PRESSE: Bei den immer heftigeren Zusammenstößen zwischen Oppostion und Exekutive in Bangkok starben bisher mindestens 22 Menschen. Die Innenstadt wurde zur Sperrzone erklärt. Dort wird scharf geschossen.

Foto: Die Presse
In der von den Streitkräften deklarieren Sperrzone wurden Demonstranten und Anrainer auf Schildern in Thai und Englisch vor Schusswaffengebrauch gewarnt. In mehreren Teilen Bangkoks gab es auch am Samstag wieder Zusammenstöße zwischen Oppositions-anhängern und Sicherheitskräften, vereinzelt waren Explosionen zu hören. Demonstranten beschuldigten Scharfschützen des Heeres, drei Oppositionsanhänger mit Kopfschüssen gezielt getötet zu haben.

"Die Lage kommt minütlich einem Bürgerkrieg näher", sagte einer der Führer der Proteste, Jatuporn Prompan. Zugleich erklärte er, die Regierungsgegner seien entschlossen weiterzukämpfen. >>> APA | Samstag, 15. Mai 2010

Verbunden / Related: hier / here

Sadly, This Man Is Depriving Some Village of Its Idiot! West Immune to Natural Disasters 'So the People Can Sin and Be Condemned to Hell'
THE TELEGRAPH: A prominent hard-line Iranian cleric has said that God may be holding off on natural disasters in the West in order to let people sin more and doom themselves to hell.

The cleric, Kazem Sedighi, sparked widespread derision with his pronouncements in a prayer sermon last month that women who don't dress modesty spread adultery in society, in turn increasing earthquakes.

In Tehran's main weekly prayer sermon on Friday, he defended the claim but added some further explanation on why some places are hit more than others.

"Some ask why (more) earthquakes and storms don't occur in the Western world, which suffers from the slime of homosexuality, the slime of promiscuity and has plunged up to the neck" in immorality, he said.

"Who says they don't occur? Storms take place in the US and other parts of the world. We don't say committing sin is the entire reason but it's one of the reasons," he said. >>> | Friday, May 14, 2010