Islamist Preacher Warns France Against Banning the Burka
THE TELEGRAPH: An Islamist preacher barred from Britain for his radical views has warned France against passing a Muslim veil ban, or risk increasing support for al-Qaeda.

"Look what happened in Belgium and in France," Omar Bakri said, referring to Belgium's ban on the burka, or full Islamic veil, and the start of debates by the French parliament on a similar law that is all but certain to be adopted.

"They believe that prohibiting Muslim women to use the burka is going to make them safer. But they are wrong. This is going to make Muslims living in France give more support to al-Qaeda", Bakri told Spain's Cadena Ser radio. >>> | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Turkey Goes Cool on Joining the European Union as It Falls for the Lure of the East
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As Europe's top diplomat prepares to travel to Turkey, Colin Freeman finds a country not entirely convinced about their need to join the EU.

Turkish men make a nationalist gesture with their hands as they chant anti-EU slogans during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: The Telegraph
Sipping a lunchtime latte amid the gleaming skyscrapers of Istanbul's financial district, banker Mehmet Canayaz debated whether the European Union should admit Turkey. The prognosis, he admitted, was not good: a dynamic, forward-looking region would end up shackled to an economy with severe debt, financial instability, and an uncompetitive workforce. Best for Turkey, perhaps, to steer clear of the chaotic Brussels club altogether.

"If we don't join, it will be Europe's problem, not ours," said Mr Canayaz, 25, who was relieved to be watching the recent Euro-zone crash from the outside rather than the inside.

"If they do let us in one day, fine. But in coming years, it will be them that needs us, more than us needing them. Their economy isn't as competitive as it once was."

The issue of whether the EU should be allowed to join Turkey, rather than Turkey being allowed to join the EU, is not the way the Eurocrats of Brussels have often chosen to phrase it since the stalled membership talks formally began in 1987.

But when the EU's Foreign Affairs High Representative, Baroness Ashton, arrives in Ankara for fresh accession talks this week, she may well find no shortage of Turks asking the same question the same way round as Mr Canayaz.

Fed up with being rebuffed by France and Germany, proud of their successful economy, and increasingly keen to court their fellow Muslim neighbours to the East, a growing number of Turkey's 73 million citizens are now wondering whether EU membership is quite so important as it once seemed. While nearly three quarters of Turks supported the idea in 2004, some polls less than half doing so now.

Among those whom Baroness Ashton will meet on Tuesday is the man most closely associated with Turkey's re-assessment of its outside interests, foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu. A key figure in the AKP party, the moderate Islamist movement that has ruled Turkey for the last eight years, he is widely seen as the prime mover in his country's cooling off towards the West. >>> Colin Freeman in Istanbul | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Copying the NHS Is the Last Thing the US Should Do
THE TELEGRAPH: The future health care in both countries must involve a mix of state and private provision, says Janet Daley.

Bad idea: Barack Obama has appointed a man as head of the American public healthcare programmes who professes a passion for some of the most discredited features of our NHS. Photo: The Telegraph
This week, the Coalition will offer an example of how coping with an economic crisis may serve a reforming purpose. Having to cut back the power and the expenditure of the state will provide a rationale for dismantling the monolithic, bureaucratic monster that the NHS has become. In his health White Paper, Andrew Lansley will apparently propose sweeping away the command-and-control structure in which clinical decisions are taken and hospital procedures commissioned by Primary Care Trust administrators, rather than by general practitioners who actually come face-to-face with people in need of medical help.

Fine. But if GPs are to inherit all the authority in this system, then it should be possible for patients to choose – and change – their family doctors easily and without recrimination. For, alas, Mr Lansley has decided to pass on the powers that he is confiscating from the abolished PCT mandarins exclusively to doctors rather than to patients. This is a real missed opportunity, but never mind: he is at least facing the right way, devolving decision-making down to levels where it can be done with more responsiveness and sensitivity to individual needs, rather than with the impersonal, blanket uniformity of a target-driven central authority.

The US government, meanwhile, is galloping doggedly in the opposite direction, bizarrely determined to occupy precisely the ideological ground which Britain is abandoning. Barack Obama has, indeed, appointed a man as head of the American public health care programmes who professes a passion (no other word will do) for some of the most discredited features of our NHS. Dr Donald Berwick is to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which effectively means that he will be in charge of Obamacare – the new universal health care system on which the President has staked his political credibility.

The appointment has created an extraordinary kerfuffle, partly because it was made under highly contentious circumstances – as a “recess” appointment which allowed it to bypass Congressional approval – but primarily on account of Dr Berwick’s widely disseminated statements extolling the virtues of the most disliked aspects of state-funded medical care as we know it.

Dr Berwick professes a love (which he describes in ecstatic terms that will have a tragicomic ring to most British ears) of just those evils of a national health system with which we are exasperated: the calculated rationing of treatment, and the ruthless enforcement of uniform cost limits, which often puts the most advanced medication and procedures out of reach of patients whose lives might have been extended or transformed by them. Dr Berwick thinks that our own dear National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) – which is scarcely ever out of the headlines for denying some poor suffering victim a remedy that is available in other countries – is simply wonderful. Continue reading and comment >>> Janet Daley | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Americans will come to rue the day they ever elected B. Hussein Obama into office. He is nothing other than the iPresident. That ‘i’ stands for the Internet, through which he got elected; but it also stands for incompetence, inexperience, insincerity, incapability, irrationality, immaturity, oh and, of course, Islam! – © Mark

Reinstated, the Foster Parent Struck Off for Allowing Muslim Girl to Convert to Christianity
MAIL ONLINE: A foster parent struck off after a Muslim girl in her care converted to Christianity has won the right to be reinstated.

Gateshead Council’s decision to remove the carer from the register provoked a storm of controversy after it was highlighted by The Mail on Sunday last year.

The carer, who had looked after children for ten years and had a perfect record, was blamed for failing to ‘protect and preserve’ the girl’s Muslim faith when she was baptised, even though she was over 16 and had made up her own mind to change her religion.

Gateshead’s decision was quashed by a court in Leeds last week, prompting criticism of the former head of its children’s services, Maggie Atkinson, who is now Children’s Commissioner for England.

The foster carer, who cannot be named to preserve the anonymity of the girl, said last night that her loss of income had been ‘devastating’.

She added: ‘In addition to losing the Muslim teenager, another girl I was looking after was taken back into care. And I lost the farmhouse I rented to look after vulnerable teenagers.’

She said she was seeking damages from the council. >>> Jonathan Petre | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Split Looms for Church Over Women Bishops
THE TELEGRAPH: The embattled Archbishop of Canterbury has suffered a devastating blow to his hopes of averting a split in the Church of England over the introduction of women bishops.

Plans put forward by Dr Rowan Williams urging a compromise over the issue were rejected last night by members of the General Synod, including some of his most senior bishops.

The last-ditch proposal was designed to prevent an exodus of traditionalist priests, who are now likely to defect to the Roman Catholic Church.

It represented a significant gamble by Dr Williams, who was heavily criticised by liberals last week after Dr Jeffrey John, the homosexual cleric, was blocked from becoming Bishop of Southwark. Dr John's nomination to the post was revealed by The Sunday Telegraph last week.

The failure by the archbishop to gain sufficient support for his plan is likely to be viewed as a further dent to his authority.

Groups within the church have been campaigning for female clerics to be treated equally and to be allowed to become bishops, without any concessions that would undermine their ministry.

But their proposals have been opposed by traditionalists and evangelicals who do not believe making women bishops is in accordance with biblical teaching. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Affaire Bettencourt : En chute libre, Nicolas Sarkozy parlera aux Français lundi
Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Le président français tente de reprendre la main. L’avocat de Claire T. et l’opposition dénonce le manque d’indépendance de la justice

Alors que les Français partent à la plage et que l’affaire Bettencourt menace de se transformer en feuilleton de l’été, le président Nicolas Sarkozy s’adressera lundi à ses concitoyens durant une heure pour répondre à «toutes les questions d’actualité», a fait savoir la chaîne de télévision publique France 2 dans un communiqué. L’Elysée n’a toutefois pas confirmé. Plusieurs ténors politiques, que ce soit à droite, comme Jean-François Copé, ou à gauche, avec Jean-Marc Ayrault, ont appelé ces derniers jours le chef de l’Etat à informer les Français sur ce qui est considéré par les uns comme une «affaire d’Etat» et par les autres comme une cabale contre le gouvernement à l’heure où celui-ci doit défendre la plus importante de ses réformes, celle des retraites.

Menacé de perdre la main alors que les ramifications de l’affaire Bettencourt le mettent directement en cause pour le financement de sa campagne présidentielle au printemps 2007 (à travers le trésorier de l’UMP, Eric Woerth), Nicolas Sarkozy se doit de réagir s’il veut stopper sa chute libre au sein de l’opinion publique. Un sondage réalisé par l’institut CSA pour le journal Le Parisien publié vendredi indique que sa cote s’effondre. En un mois, il a perdu cinq points en intention de vote pour le premier tour de la prochaine présidentielle, passant de 36 à 31%, et il serait battu au second tour par la socialiste Martine Aubry. >>> Frédéric Koller | Samedi 10 Juillet 2010

En Inde, les femmes musulmanes montent au créneau contre les mollahs
LE FIGARO – BLOG – MARIE-FRANCE CALLE: A la fin mai, elles étaient déjà descendues dans la rue pour protester contre une fatwa des Déobandistes leur interdisant d'exercer des métiers où elles ne pourraient pas être "dûment couvertes". Le 29 juin, trois autres femmes musulmanes, des chiites cette fois, ont carrément battu trois mollahs, les accusant d'avoir consenti le talaq (le divorce) à leurs époux alors qu'elles n'avaient pas été consultées.

Tandis qu'en Europe certaines femmes musulmanes s'accrochent à leur droit de porter la burqa, en Inde, une poignée d'entre elles tentent de s'émanciper des règles dictées par les mollahs. Et le mouvement fait tache d'huile. Au printemps dernier, elles avaient été nombreuses à s'insurger contre une fatwa des Déobandistes (sunnites) visant à leur interdire d'exercer des professions où elles ne pouvaient être certaines de pouvoir travailler voilées. Si nombreuses qu'elles avaient attiré l'attention des médias, réussissant ainsi à provoquer un débat national. Continuez à lire et écrire un commentaire >>> Par Marie-France Calle | Samedi 10 Juillet 2010

Talibanism: Women Thrash Muslim Clerics, Husbands

Muslims Protest in Cardiff Against 'Anti-Islam Laws'
”This isn't just about Muslim women being asked to cover their faces, this is an ideological attack on Islam and Muslims” – Muhammad Abu Yaffir, organiser
BBC: Muslims have demonstrated in Cardiff to protest against laws across Europe which they say are anti-Islam.

Saturday's protest was to highlight what they believe is an "ideological attack" on Islam.

Organiser Muhammad Abu Yaffir said: "Muslims feel very strongly about these laws being introduced across Europe".

Last year Switzerland voted to ban the building of new minarets, while France is debating a ban on the Islamic veil.

Mr Yaffir said: "Wherever Muslims feel pain anywhere in the world it is our responsibility to respond to their needs.

"The laws being proposed are a form of oppression and we will respond to this oppression."

Muslims from communities across south Wales were expected at the "standing still" demonstration outside City Hall.

Last year, some 57.5% of Swiss voters voted in favour of a ban on building any new minarets in the country.

The French parliament is debating plans to ban the wearing of full Islamic veils in public. >>> | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Report: Saudi King Cancels Visit to France
YNET NEWS: Decision comes less than two weeks after Le Figaro quoted Abdullah as saying both Israel and Iran don't deserve to exist

Saudi Arabia's state news agency said King Abdullah has indefinitely postponed a trip to France planned for this week.

The Saudi monarch was to open an exhibition of Saudi antiquities at the Louvre museum in Paris during his visit.

The Saudi Press Agency on Saturday did not say why the trip was postponed. But the decision comes less than two weeks after the French daily Le Figaro quoted King Abdullah as saying both Israel and Iran don't deserve to exist. >>> Associate Press | Saturday, July 10, 2010

LE POINT: Diplomatie – Riyad confirme le "report" d'une visite du roi d'Arabie saoudite en France: L'Arabie saoudite a confirmé samedi le "report à une date qui reste à déterminer" d'une visite du roi Abdallah en France, prévue initialement pour ce lundi et au cours de laquelle il devait notamment rencontrer le président Nicolas Sarkozy. La visite "a été reportée à une date qui reste à déterminer, la plus proche possible pour les deux parties", a indiqué l'agence officielle SPA, citant un responsable gouvernemental anonyme. Le motif du report n'a pas été précisé. >>> AFP | Samedi 10 Juillet 2010

Telefonat mit Abbas: Obama will sich für Palästinenserstaat engagieren
KRONE.at: US-Präsident Barack Obama hat dem palästinensischen Präsidenten Mahmoud Abbas sein Engagement für die Schaffung eines unabhängigen Palästinenserstaates zugesichert. Im Gegenzug versprach Abbas in einem Telefonat mit dem US-Präsidenten sein Eintreten für einen "ernsthaften Friedensprozess" im Nahen Osten, wie ein Sprecher der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde in Ramallah am Freitag gegenüber der Nachrichtenagentur AFP berichtete. >>> | Samstag, 10. Juli 2010

Morano exclut un projet de loi sur l'adoption pour les couples homosexuels
Nadine Morano, secrétaire d'Etat à la famille. Photo : Le Monde
LE MONDE: Après la décision rendue jeudi par la Cour de cassation qui permet la reconnaissance en France d'un jugement d'adoption obtenu aux Etats-Unis par deux femmes, la secrétaire d'Etat à la famille a admis que la question de l'adoption par des couples de même sexe "mérite un débat politique". Mais elle a exclu de présenter un projet de loi sur la question.

Nicolas Sarkozy avait dit "pendant sa campagne électorale qu'il n'était pas favorable à l'adoption par des couples homosexuels, donc très clairement, si vous me posez la question de savoir s'il y aurait un projet de loi en ce sens, je vous réponds 'non'", a-t-elle assuré. >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP | Samedi 10 Juillet 2010

Zahlungsbefehl an Ghadhafi-Sohn: Offene Hotelrechnung in Italien über knapp 400'000 Euro
NZZ ONLINE: Ein italienisches Gericht hat Saadi al-Ghadhafi, Sohn des libyschen Diktators und Fussballer, zur Zahlung von 400'000 Euro verurteilt. Er hatte die Rechnung eines Luxushotels in Ligurien nicht beglichen.

Der drittälteste Sohn des libyschen Staatschefs war vom Besitzer des «Grand Hotel Excelsior» in der Badeortschaft Rapallo an der Riviera angezeigt worden, weil er die Rechnung für seinen einmonatigen Aufenthalt im Sommer 2007 nicht gezahlt hatte. Das berichtete die Mailänder Tageszeitung «Corriere della Sera» am Samstag.

Al-Saadi Gaddafi hatte im Sommer 2007 ein Monat lang in Ligurien verbracht, als er mit dem italienischen Fussballklub Sampdoria Genua über einen Vertrag als Spieler verhandelte, den er dann allerdings nicht unterschrieb.

Der 36-Jährige wohnte mit Bodyguards und einem Hund in einer kostspieligen Suite des Hotels und lud Dutzende von Gästen ein. Schliesslich reiste er nach einem Monat ab - allerdings ohne die Rechnung in Höhe von 395'000 Euro zu bezahlen. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> sda/apa | Samstag, 10. Juli 2010

Australiens Asylpolitik: Gillard verärgert die Nachbarn
FRANFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nach nur zwei Wochen im Amt hat es die neue Premierministerin Gillard schon mit mehreren Unannehmlichkeiten zu tun. Vor allem ihre Initiative für ein „regionales Auffanglager“ für Flüchtlinge in Osttimor wird kritisiert.

An der Asylpolitik hat sich schon manche Regierung Australiens die Finger verbrannt. Die nächste könnte die der neuen Premierministerin Julia Gillard werden, deren Plan für ein „Regionales Abwicklungs-zentrum“ für Flüchtlinge diplomatisch ins Stocken und innenpolitisch in die Kritik geraten ist. >>> Von Jochen Buchsteiner, Jakarta | Samstag, 10. Juli 2010

Barack Obama: A Socialist in Disguise?

Pastor Manning: 'Obama's Pure, Unadulterated Evil'

Obama’s Brother Lives in a Kenyan Shack
RUSSIA TODAY: U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama’s lost brother has been tracked down in Kenya. George Hussein Onyango Obama, aged 26, was found by journalists from the Italian edition of Vanity Fair. He reportedly lives in pov[erty.]

He has the same father as the U.S. senator, Barack Hussein Obama, but a different mother. Her name has been given as Jael.
The youngest of Obama’s half-brothers says he lives on less than a dollar per month in a 2m x 3m shack. Its walls are decorated with posters of famous footballers and a calendar featuring exotic beaches. The magazine also noted George has a newspaper picture of his brother.

He has only met his famous brother twice. Once when he was five and then in 2006 when Senator Obama visited Nairobi. George admits their meeting was very brief and cool. [Source: RT] | Published: Wednesday, August 20, 2008; Edited: Monday, April 05, 2010

Poster Displaying Nazi Swastika in Warsaw Deemed Legal
BALTIMORENEWS.NET: In Warsaw, the capital of Poland, a large billboard featuring a naked model clad only in a Mickey Mouse mask with a Nazi swastika behind her, has roused the anger of members of the public.

An Italian artist, Max Papeschi, created the piece which is called “NaziSexyMouse” and adorns the side of an entire building in order to advertise a newly opened art gallery.

A city councilor, Norbert Napieraj, is attempting to take legal action against the poster, referring to Poland’s laws banning the display of the swastika; the 2-storey high picture has also been torn by vandals, but was recently replaced. >>> Baltimore News.Net | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Coalitions Are Here to Stay, Says Nick Clegg
THE GUARDIAN: Deputy PM claims Lib-Con government marks end of tribal politics and shift to more complex relationships between parties

Nick Clegg: 'What we are entering into is a permanent move to greater pluralism, diversity and fluidity in politics.' Photograph: The Guardian
The Liberal-Conservative coalition government is not a one-off but marks "a permanent move that breaks the duopoly of the old parties for good", Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, says in a Guardian interview today that marks his first two extraordinary months in office alongside David Cameron.

The coalition, he says, "is not an aberration, but a natural consequence of what has been happening for years, which is a loosening of the old tribal ties between the old parties and their supporters. Something very, very big is happening in politics."

Clegg, who leads the coalition's plans for electoral reform – a crucial part of the deal that brought the Tories and Lib Dems together – predicted more coalitions in the future, claiming that the "more complex set of relationships between political parties in the future reflects a more complex society in which people do not vote in the old blocs.

"I think what we are entering into is a permanent move to greater pluralism, diversity, and fluidity in politics that does not settle down to one associated pattern between parties," said Clegg.

The Lib Dem leader, who says of himself "I am a revolutionary but I am also a pragmatist", added: "There is a Labour assumption that this coalition is an unnatural act, and all we have to do is put it back in a box, and carry on as before. I really think they are missing something much more profound. That is why people out there, as opposed to the Westminster village, are warming as much as they are to the coalition. That is a deep change in the way people regard politics psychologically."

His remarks suggest he could yet envisage different-shaped coalitions in the future. At the same time he says he has found very quickly an ideological overlap with Cameron on decentralisation, public service reform and civil liberties. "What we have learned about each other most of all is that if you are in a coalition you have just got to be constantly open, pragmatic and level-headed about how you make progress together."

By contrast, he says Labour leadership candidates have rushed to the comfort zone of collective bile and vitriol. >>> Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt | Friday, July 09, 2010

Europeans Back Burka Ban, Americans Oppose Outlawing Muslim Veil
THE TELEGRAPH: While most Americans oppose banning face-covering Islamic veils, most western Europeans are in favour of outlawing the burka, a new survey has found.

Several European countries have been considering bans on such veils.

France, home to western Europe's largest Muslim community, is expected to see its lower house approve a divisive bill on Tuesday that would make it illegal to wear full-face veils in public.

The government says such veils oppress women.

Only a very small minority of French Muslim women wear veils such as the niqab or burka, and many French Muslims fear a ban would stigmatise the whole Islamic community.

A survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found that an overwhelming 82 per cent of French respondents supported a ban. The poll found 71 per cent support in Germany, 62 per cent in Britain and 59 per cent in Spain.

In the United States, just 28 per cent of those questioned said they would approve a ban. >>> | Friday, July 09, 2010

Obama's Muslim Call to Prayer


Obama Recites The Islamic Call To Prayer In Perfect Arabic: The Adhan (أَذَان)

The Obama Picture They Don't Want You to See!

Fury as UK Envoy Hails Terror Chief: Hague Faces Calls to Sack Our Woman in Beiruit
Controversy: British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy, pictured with Ayatollah Fadlallah, has sparked anger after praising the Hezbollah cleric in her blog. Photograph: Mail Online
MAIL ONLINE: William Hague was under pressure to sack Britain's ambassador to the Lebanon last night after she heaped praise on the spiritual leader of the terrorist group Hezbollah.

In an extraordinary 'personal statement' on the Foreign Office website, Frances Guy paid tribute to Sheikh Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, who inspired a string of terrorist attacks against Israel and the West.

Fadlullah, who died last weekend at the age of 74, became infamous in 1983 amid claims he had personally authorised the truck bombing of two barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French paratroopers.

He was also behind the kidnapping of dozens of hostages, including Terry Waite, John McCarthy and Brian Keenan. He recently issued a fatwa legitimising suicide bombing.

But writing on the Foreign Office website this week Miss Guy, Britain's ambassador to the Lebanon since 2006, hailed Fadlallah as a 'true man of religion' and said he was the man she admired the most.

Under the headline 'The passing of a decent man', she wrote: 'If I was sad to hear the news (of his death), I know other people's lives will be truly blighted.

'The world needs more men like him, willing to reach out across faiths, acknowledging the reality of the modern world and daring to confront old constraints. May he rest in peace.' >>> Jason Groves and Matthew Kalman | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Related:

THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's Lebanese Ambassador Praises Hizbollah Founder >>> Damien McElroy and Adrian Bloomfield in Jerusalem | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Krauthammer Bashes Obama's Infantile NASA Muslim Outreach Program


NASA Chief Revealed Muslim Outreach Plan to Al Jazeera Before Congress
FOX NEWS: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden revealed his plans to improve relations between America's space exploration agency and the Muslim world to Al Jazeera before Congress, the Washington Examiner reported.

Bolden called a couple of lawmakers with the news on June 28, after his interview with the Middle East news organization but before it aired, the newspaper reported.

"He ran down some of the things from the president's new space policy, and mentioned outreach to Muslims," Rep. Pete Olson, the top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics recalled to the newspaper. "That stunned me. I didn't believe it."

Bolden's interview with Al Jazeera ignited a firestorm of controversy that has gone largely unreported by major news outlets. Michael Griffin, the NASA administrator during the latter half of the Bush administration told FoxNews.com that he believes the Muslim outreach plan is "deeply flawed."

"NASA ... represents the best of America. Its purpose is not to inspire Muslims or any other cultural entity," he said.

Bolden sat down with Al Jazeera's Imran Garda on June 17 during a Middle East trip to mark the one-year anniversary since Obama delivered an address to Muslim nations in Cairo, a NASA spokesman told the newspaper.

The interview aired June 30 after the Obama space plan was unveiled and members of Congress were briefed. >>> FoxNews.com | Friday, July 09, 2010

Gingrich: 'The Obama Administration Doesn't Understand America'

Muslim Charged with Plotting Genocide of Canadian Jews
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim immigrant who called for "the slaughter of Jews" in online postings has become the first person to be charged with promoting genocide in Canada, police said on Friday.

Salman Hossain, a 25-year-old from Bangladesh who apparently left Canada in May, was charged with five counts of promoting hatred and advocating or promoting genocide over postings on his website and blog, as well as on a third-party website, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.

He "wilfully promoted hatred and advocated genocide of the Jewish community," said a statement.

Until now, Canada has only prosecuted suspects accused of mass atrocities abroad, in countries such as Rwanda. The Canadian government has also deported war crimes suspects to be tried in foreign courts.

Mr Hossain, who immigrated to Canada as a child, openly called for "violent regime change in Western nations in order to remove the presence of Jews" and "the slaughter of Jews," according to reports.

He also advocated terrorist attacks in Canada, cheered the killing of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, and urged fellow Muslims to overthrow the "Jewish-run Canadian government". >>> | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Rauchverbot: Feuer, bitte!
ZEIT ONLINE: Zur Psychologie der Anti-Raucher-Lobby

Ein überzeugter Raucher protestiert gegen Rauchverbote. Bild: Zeit Online
Um gleich ein Missverständnis beiseitezuräumen. Es ging bei der Abstimmung über ein totales Rauchverbot in Bayern ganz offenkundig nicht darum, eine Belästigung, die durch Raucher und ihr Laster verursacht wird, zu beseitigen. Vom Rauchen wird kaum mehr jemand belästigt. Man muss schon die finstersten Kneipen aufsuchen, räudig in Rotlichtmilieus sich herumtreiben oder in Berlin wohnen, um noch auf einen Raucher in geschlossenen, öffentlichen Räumen zu stoßen. Es muss aber selbst in dieser verkommensten, wunderbarsten aller deutschen Städte jemand schon arg viel Fleiß an den Tag legen, um etwa noch ein Restaurant in Neukölln oder im Wedding zu finden, in dem geraucht wird. In den Zügen wird seit Jahren nicht geraucht, in den Büros nicht, zu Hause nur noch auf dem Balkon. Wer heute Rauch abkriegt, muss mit allergrößter Entschlossenheit die Belästigung gesucht haben, die er dann bebend beklagt. Verräterischerweise ging es bei der Abstimmung um das Rauchverbot in Bayern ja auch gerade darum, die letzten kleinen, zumeist eh unsichtbaren Ausnahmen, die man für das Laster notgedrungen erfand, auszumerzen. Kleine Nebenräume in Gaststätten etwa, die ein Nichtraucher mit guten Gründen zu betreten vermeidet. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Von Adam Soboczynski | Mittwoch, 07. Juli 2010

Spendenskandal in Frankreich: Durchsuchung bei Sarkozys mutmaßlicher Geldgeberin
ZEIT ONLINE: Die reichste Frau Frankreichs soll dem heutigen Präsidenten illegal gespendet haben. Nun wurde ihr Haus durchsucht. Die Ansehen des Präsidenten sinkt indessen rapide.

Fahnder der Finanzpolizei durchsuchten das Haus des Vermögensverwalters von L'Oréal-Milliardärin Liliane Bettencourt, die als Schlüsselfigur der französischen Spendenaffäre Affäre [sic] gilt. Sie bestritt bei einer Vernehmung in Paris die Vorwürfe, 150.000 Euro für Sarkozys Wahlkampf übergeben zu haben.

Bettencourts Vermögensverwalter Patrice de Maistre war am Donnerstag bei einer Gegenüberstellung mit der früheren Buchhalterin der reichsten Frau Frankreichs konfrontiert worden, Claire Thibout, die den Vorwurf der illegalen Wahlkampf- und Parteispenden erhoben hatte. Thibout gibt an, sie habe 50.000 Euro abheben müssen. De Maistre habe weitere 100.000 Euro besorgt, die dem Schatzmeister der regierenden UMP, Eric Woerth, für den Präsidentschaftswahlkampf von Sarkozy 2007 übergeben werden sollten. Laut einem Bericht der Onlineausgabe der Zeitung Le Monde wies de Maistre dies zurück und sagte: "Ich habe kein Geld an Herrn Woerth übergeben und hatte nie die Absicht." >>> AFP | Freitag, 09. Juli 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Office of financial advisor to L'Oreal heiress raided in Sarkozy funding investigation: Police raided the offices of the financial advisor to France's richest woman on Friday amid allegations that she made £400,000 in illegal cash payments to Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign. >>> Peter Allen in Paris | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Russland und USA tauschten Agenten am Flughafen Wien
Video von Krone.at hier abspielen.
KRONE.at: "Agententanz" auf dem Flughafen Wien: Nur etwas mehr als eine Stunde hat der Agententausch zwischen den USA und Russland auf dem Flughafen Wien-Schwechat gedauert. Das amerikanische Flugzeug mit den zehn enttarnten russischen Spionen, das in der Nacht auf Freitag in New York abgeflogen war, landete am späten Vormittag in Wien. Wenige Meter daneben parkte sich kurz darauf der russische Jet ein, in dem sich drei CIA-Doppelagenten befanden. Russland bestätigte am Nachmittag den "Erhalt" seiner zehn Staatsbürger und damit den Austausch. Von den österreichischen Behörden heißt es statt "Wir wissen nichts" nun "Kein Kommentar". >>> | Freitag, 09. Juli 2010

Fatwa Decrees Vuvuzela Haram Above 100 Decibels
A fan sounds the vuvuzela in Kimberley, South Africa. In the UAE, the instruments have sold steadily since the tournament began. Photograph: The National
THE NATIONAL: It’s a bit of a blow. The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments’ fatwa number 11625 has decreed that, above 100 decibel levels, the vuvuzela, clarion call of the World Cup, is haram. Will this spell the end for the loved – and loathed – trumpet?

ABU DHABI // Three weeks ago, most people had never heard of the vuvuzela. Now, many wish they never had.



For players and fans alike, the plastic trumpet, whose drone has been likened to a swarm of bees, has become the unmistakable background sound to South Africa’s World Cup.

Some – including no less a figure than Archbishop Desmond Tutu – have defended the instrument, but many have grumbled that its blare drowns out the crowd’s terrace chants, robbing matches of atmosphere. Players, meanwhile, say they cannot hear each other on the field. >>> Eugene Harnan | Friday, July 09, 2010

«L’ère Sarkozy, c’est l’ère de l’indécence»
LE TEMPS: En pleine affaire Woerth-Bettencourt, alors que 64% des Français jugent les dirigeants politiques plutôt corrompus, des Annéciens et des Annéciennes disent leur ras-le-bol des mœurs politiques. Indignation, écœurement, exaspération

Le contraste est saisissant. Sur le présentoir à journaux de ce petit tabac de la vieille ville d’Annecy, sous les arcades fraîches et ombragées, l’affaire Woerth-Bettencourt occupe la une de tous les grands quotidiens nationaux du mercredi 7 juillet. Juste à côté, au sommet d’une pile de journaux, François et Edouard, deux frères qui ont fréquenté le Lycée Saint-Michel d’Annecy, affichent leur fierté, tout sourire. Ils ont été reçus au bac avec une note supérieure à 20. Cela leur vaut la première page du Dauphiné Libéré, le quotidien régional.

545 kilomètres séparent Paris d’Annecy. Dans les troquets de la Venise des Alpes, écrasée de soleil, les vacances d’été ont commencé. Les touristes affluent pour visiter cette ville de carte postale. Les commerçants, les restaurateurs, les employés des compagnies de navigation ou les loueurs de pédalos des bords du lac déploient des trésors d’énergie pour attirer les clients. Les affaires dans lesquelles le ministre du Travail, Eric Woerth, la milliardaire Liliane Bettencourt, les secrétaires d’Etat démissionnaires, Alain Joyandet et Christian Blanc, sont empêtrés, semblent bien loin. >>> Catherine Dubouloz | Vendredi 09 Juillet 2010

Mißbrauchsskandal: Vatikan erlaubt Ettaler Abt Rückkehr ins Amt
WELT ONLINE: Abt Barnabas Bögle und Prior Maurus Kraß sollen bei der Aufklärung von Missbrauch in dem bayerischen Kloster richtig gehandelt haben.

Barnabas Bögle dürfte bald in sein Amt als Abt des Klosters Ettal zurückkehren. Foto: Welt Online
Die wegen des Missbrauchsskandals im Benediktinerkloster Ettal (Oberbayern) zum Rücktritt gedrängten Ordensoberen könnten bald in ihre Ämter zurückkehren. Laut dem Vatikan haben Abt Barnabas Bögle und Prior Maurus Kraß keine Fehler bei der Aufklärung der Fälle von sexuellem Missbrauch und gewalttätigen Misshandlungen begangen.

Das geht aus einem Brief von Kardinal Franc Rodé hervor, der im Vatikan für die Orden zuständig ist. Einer Neuwahl beider Patres an die Spitze der oberbayerischen Benediktinerabtei stehe „nichts entgegen“, heißt es in dem am Freitag vom Kloster veröffentlichten Schreiben.

Mehr noch: Die von Papst Benedikt XVI. angeordnete Untersuchung kommt zu dem Schluss, dass keiner der beiden Ordensoberen die Meldepflicht verletzte, die die Leitlinien der Bistümer bei Verdacht auf sexuellen Missbrauch vorschreiben. Man sei "vielmehr der Ansicht, dass Abt Barnabas alles getan hat, was von der Sache her geboten war“, so Rodé in seinem Brief. >>> dpa/jw | Freitag, 09. Juli 2010

L’Iran ne lapidera pas Sakineh l’adultère
20 MINUTES ONLINE: Sakineh, l'Iranienne condamnée à la lapidation pour adultère, dont le cas avait suscité un tollé international, ne sera finalement pas exécutée.

«Selon les informations transmises par les autorités judiciaires compétentes en Iran, (Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani) ne sera pas lapidée», a annoncé l'ambassade d'Iran à Londres dans un communiqué cité par le Times.

Le communiqué ne précise toutefois pas si la condamnée, âgée de 43 ans, sera épargnée ou finalement exécutée par pendaison, souligne le quotidien.

Selon l'association de défense des droits de l'Homme Amnesty International, elle avait été condamnée en 2006 ou 2007 et a déjà reçu 99 coups de fouet.

La lapidation prévue vendredi avait suscité de nombreuses condamnations de par le monde, Washington et Londres en tête. >>> afp | Vendredi 09 Juillet 2010

La lapidation pour adultère choque les USA
20 MINUTES ONLINE: Les Etats-Unis ont condamné jeudi la sentence de lapidation de Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, une Iranienne condamnée à mort dans son pays pour adultère.

Les Etats-Unis ont appelé jeudi l'Iran à ne pas mettre à exécution la condamnation à mort par lapidation d'une Iranienne pour adultère, qualifiant cette sentence de «barbare». «La lapidation comme moyen de mise à mort s'apparente à de la torture. C'est un acte barbare et odieux», a déclaré un porte-parole du département d'Etat, Mark Toner.

«Nous condamnons avec la plus grande fermeté l'utilisation de la pratique de la lapidation, où qu'elle se pratique, comme forme légale de condamnation à mort», a-t-il ajouté. >>> afp | Jeudi 08 Juillet 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Iran cancels plan to stone woman to death for adultery: Iran has announced that a woman will not be stoned to death after being convicted of adultery following an international outcry. >>> | Friday, July 09, 2010

Un Américain détenu en Corée du Nord tente de se suicider
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: DÉTRESSE | Un ressortissant américain détenu en Corée du Nord pour entrée illégale sur le territoire, a tenté de mettre fin à ses jours. Il avait été arrêté en janvier et condamné à une peine de huit ans de travaux forcés.

Aijalon Gomes a été admis dans un établissement hospitalier à la suite de sa tentative, a indiqué l'agence KCNA sans fournir de précision sur son état. KCNA, porte-voix de la propagande du régime, a attribué son geste présumé à un "fort sentiment de culpabilité" et à la "déception et au désespoir nourris à l'égard du gouvernement américain qui n'a pris aucune mesure pour sa libération".

L'ambassade de Suède, qui représente les intérêts américains en Corée du Nord, "s'est renseignée sur l'état de santé du patient à l'hôpital", selon KCNA. >>> ATS | Vendredi 09 Juillet 2010

Obama Delivers Calming Message to Israel
YNET NEWS: US president tells Channel 2 Israel currently receives more aid than during any previous term, adds he is reaching out to Muslims to 'reduce antagonism' towards state. 'My middle name is Hussein, which creates suspicion,' he says

Netanyahu, Obama in Washington. Photo: Ynet News
US President Barack Obama gave an interview to Channel 2 Wednesday night in which he said his administration had provided Israel with more aid than any other before it.

The president also told news anchor Yonit Levy that Iran and its nuclear program have been the US's first priority for the past 18 months. "I have said consistently that it is unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, (and) that we are going to do everything we can to prevent it from happening," Obama said.

In an interview aimed at assuring Israelis of the US's support, Obama ventured a guess as to why they were mistrustful of him. "Some of it may just be the fact that my middle name is Hussein, and that creates suspicion," he said.

"Ironically, I've got a Chief of Staff named Rahm Israel Emmanuel. My top political advisor is somebody who is a descendent of Holocaust survivors. My closeness to the Jewish American community was probably what propelled me to the US Senate."

Obama added that his direct appeals to the Muslim world may have also fostered some misgivings among the Israeli people. >>> Ynet | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Britain's Lebanese Ambassador Praises Hizbollah Founder
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's ambassador to Lebanon has been condemned by victims of Middle East terror groups for writing an appreciation of the spiritual leader of Hizbollah who masterminded the 1980s Lebanese hostage crisis.

1985: Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, centre, surrounded by his bodyguards walks to a mosque in Beirut's southern suburbs for the funeral ceremony of the victims of a car bomb explosion from which he escaped unharmed, which took place only a few yards away from his home in the Ghobeiri suburb of Beirut. Photo: The Telegraph
Frances Guy, who has been ambassador since 2008, wrote a blog marking the death of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah who died last week. She described the ayatollah as a "decent" man who ranked as the person she most admired out of all those she had encountered.

Hizbollah has been proscribed by the UK as a terrorist organisation since 2008.

Ayatollah Fadlallah was a hugely divisive figure in the Middle East. He help found the Hizbollah movement that fought the American intervention in Lebanon and then went on to take dozens of foreigners as hostages, including Terry Waite, John McCarthy and Brian Keenan.

Fatwas or religious instructions issued by Fadlallah authorised suicide bombers who attacked American troops or Israel. Hizbollah carried out the 1983 suicide bomb attacks that killed more 300 people at the US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983.

"If I was sad to hear the news I know other peoples' lives will be truly blighted," she wrote. "The world needs more men like him willing to reach out across faiths, acknowledging the reality of the modern world and daring to confront old constraints. May he rest in peace."

The Israeli government said it was astounded that an official representative of the British government had not remembered the devastation caused by fighters loyal to Fadlallah. >>> Damien McElroy and Adrian Bloomfield in Jerusalem | Thursday, July 08, 2010

UK Envoy's Praise for Lebanon Cleric Draws Israel Anger
BBC: Israel has criticised Britain's ambassador to Lebanon for eulogising a recently deceased Lebanese cleric said to have inspired Hezbollah.

Frances Guy wrote on her personal blog that Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah was a "decent man" who rated among the people she most admired.

An Israeli spokesman said Ayatollah Fadlallah was "unworthy of praise".

The UK foreign office says it has taken down the blog after "mature consideration".

It said the comments reflected Ms Guy's personal opinion, not official UK policy.

Ayatollah Fadlallah, Lebanon's top Shia Muslim cleric, died on Sunday at the age of 74. Thousands of people attended his funeral in Beirut and tributes poured in from all over the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Two days ago, CNN sacked a veteran Middle East editor who wrote on Twitter that she "respected" the late cleric, saying that her credibility had been compromised. >>> | Friday, July 09, 2010

British Diplomat Eulogizes Fadlallah
YNET NEWS: In personal blog, Britain's ambassador to Lebanon calls Hezbollah spiritual leader 'decent man'

Britain's ambassador to Lebanon surprised many people in London and Beirut Thursday by venerating Hezbollah's recently deceased spiritual leader.

In her personal blog, Frances Guy wrote that Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah was "a decent man". Israel's Foreign Ministry said in response later that Fadlallah is "unworthy of praise". >>> Roee Nahmias | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Frances Guy should be given her marching orders forthwith, as was Octavia Nasr by CNN for coming out with a similar stupid statement. Frances Guy should not be allowed to represent Her Majesty’s government. – © Mark

Mel Gibson Investigated in Domestic Violence Incident
THE TELEGRAPH: Mel Gibson is being investigated in a possible domestic violence incident involving his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva earlier this year.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department listed the actor as a potential suspect in the alleged attack on Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva at an undisclosed location in Malibu.

The two have been involved in a heated custody dispute over their infant daughter – the subject of a confidential court case. >>> | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Archbishop of Canterbury Accused of Second 'Betrayal' of Gay Cleric
THE TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury has been accused of “betraying” an openly homosexual cleric for the second time over his bid to become a bishop.

Dr Rowan Williams was said by some in the Anglican Communion of abandoning his former liberal credentials by failing to vote for Dr Jeffrey John as the next Bishop of Southwark.

It comes exactly seven years after the Archbishop forced Dr John, an old friend of his, to refuse his appointment as Bishop of Reading following an outcry from conservatives.

Liberals said that by not supporting the current Dean of St Albans at a secret meeting this week, Dr Williams has missed an importance chance to make the Church of England more progressive as well as humiliating his friend again. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Friday, July 09, 2010

Biggest Revolution in the NHS for 60 Years
THE TELEGRAPH: Doctors are to be given sole responsibility for overseeing front-line care to patients under Coalition plans described as the biggest revolution in the NHS since its foundation 60 years ago.

About £80billion will be distributed to family GPs in a move that will see strategic health authorities and primary care trusts scrapped.

The plan, contained in a white paper to be published next week, is designed to place key decisions about how patients are cared for in the hands of doctors who know them. Tens of thousands of administrative jobs in the health service will be lost as a result.

At present, funds are given by the Government to primary care trusts, which pay for patients from their area to be treated in hospital.

Under these plans, GPs — who are currently not responsible for paying for hospital referrals — would receive the money instead and pay the hospitals directly.

The change will be compulsory.

The Coalition hopes the new system will be less bureaucratic and give doctors and patients more control over treatment. GPs will also have to organise out-of-hours services, which may see family doctors offering 24-hour care once again. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Céline Dion: The Prayer (Duet with Josh Groban)


GALA.fr : Deux nouveau petits gars pour René et sa chanteuse >>> J.-F.T. | Jeudi 08 Juillet 2010

Céline Dion
Watch and listen: All By Myself >>>

Céline Dion: Think Twice


Céline Dion: Official Website >>>

Relatives Charged in India ‘Honor Killing’

The Stoning of Soraya M.


The Stoning of Soraya M. : Official Trailer

Britain: Ruling for Gay Asylum Seekers
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the right of gay asylum seekers not to be deported if they could show that they faced persecution in their home countries. The court ruled unanimously in favor of two men — a Cameroonian who fled his country after being attacked by an angry mob, and an Iranian who was attacked and expelled from school when his sexuality was discovered — who had lost appeals against deportation in a lower court. The lower court judges had ruled that the men could live “reasonably tolerable” lives in their home countries if they concealed their sexuality. The Supreme Court said that “to compel a homosexual person to pretend” that his sexuality does not exist amounted to denying “his fundamental right to be who he is.” The coalition Conservative-Liberal Democrat government embraced the ruling, which reversed the policy of the former Labour government. [Source: The New York Times] John F. Burns | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: UK: Decision on Gay Asylum Seekers is to be applauded and is long overdue >>> | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Russischer "Tausch-Spion" ist angeblich bereits in Wien
Foto: Krone.at
KRONE.at: Die Gerüchte über einen amerikanisch-russischen Agententausch in Wien scheinen sich zu bestätigen: Der wegen Hochverrats verurteilte Moskauer Nuklearexperte Igor Sutjagin soll bereits in Wien eingetroffen sein, sagte der russische Menschenrechtler Ernst Tschorny am Donnerstagnachmittag der Nachrichtenagentur Interfax. Eine offizielle Bestätigung dafür gab es zunächst aber nicht.

Tschorny sagte, man habe Sutjagins Vater per Telefon mitgeteilt, sein Sohn sei bei der Ankunft am Wiener Flughafen gesehen worden. Er sei von einem britischen Offizier empfangen worden, der ihn nach London weiterbringen soll. Laut "Krone"-Informationen wurde der Transport mit einem Privatjet mit unauffälliger Firmenaufschrift unternommen. Die Landung erfolgte am späteren Nachmittag. >>> | Donnerstag, 08. Juli 2010

La vie traquée du caricaturiste de Mahomet
Kurt Westergaard. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Depuis 2005, le dessinateur danois Kurt Westergaard est sous la menace d'une fatwa. Après avoir échappé à trois attentats, il change souvent de ville et de pays, ne sort jamais sans escorte armée et a transformé sa maison en forteresse. Rencontre avec un homme de 75 ans qui vit au jour le jour.

Ce ne sont que quelques traits à l'encre de Chine, mais ils ont déclenché une crise internationale et bouleversé à tout jamais la vie de leur auteur. Traqué, changeant souvent d'adresse après avoir échappé à trois attentats, le caricaturiste danois... [Source: Le Figaro] Par Stéphane Kovacs | Mercredi 07 Juillet 2010

Cet article est réservé aux membres Mon Figaro Select. >>>

Spendenskandal: Buchhalterin entlastet Nicolas Sarkozy
WELT ONLINE: Überraschende Wende: Die Frau, die Frankreichs Präsidenten beschuldigt hatte, zieht ihre Aussage teilweise wieder zurück.

Der Stern von Frankreichs Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy ist im Sinkflug. Eine Spendenaffäre um seine Präsidentschaftskampagne vor drei Jahren hat seinem Image Schaden zugefügt, auch wenn er inzwischen entlastet wurde. WELT ONLINE stellt Sarkozy vor. Bild: Welt Online
Die Bettencourt-Affäre um illegale Parteispenden, die Frankreich seit drei Wochen in Atem hält, hat eine neuerliche, überraschende Wendung erfahren: Claire Thibout, die ehemalige Buchhalterin der L’Oréal-Erbin Liliane Bettencourt, die am Montag Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy und Arbeitsminister Eric Woerth schwer belastet hatte, zog Teile ihrer Aussage wieder zurück. >>> von Sascha Lehnartz | Donnerstag, 08. Juli 2010

LE FIGARO: Bettencourt : l'ex-comptable se rétracte partiellement – Entendue de nouveau dans la nuit par la police, Claire Thibout dément formellement avoir dit que Nicolas Sarkozy a bénéficié des largesses de Liliane Bettencourt et affirmé qu'une partie de ses propos a été «romancée» par le site Mediapart.>>> Par Bastien Hugues, Cyrille Louis | Jeudi 08 Juillet 2010

Claire Thibout : " Il y a eu beaucoup de personnes politiques qui ont reçu de l'argent… "
Liliane Bettencourt. Photo : Le Monde
LE MONDE: Claire Thibout aime bien que les choses soient précises. Dans son audition, mercredi 7 juillet, réalisée dans le Gard, par les enquêteurs de la brigade financière, elle tient à remettre les choses en place et revient, partiellement, sur ses déclarations au site Mediapart.

D'abord, elle conteste la façon dont le site Mediapart a relaté les propos qu'elle lui a tenus. "L'article de Mediapart me fait dire que j'aurais déclaré quelque chose concernant la campagne électorale de M. Balladur. C'est totalement faux. C'est de la romance de Mediapart, assure-t-elle. De même que je n'ai jamais dit que des enveloppes étaient remises régulièrement à M. Sarkozy".

Mais si elle se rétracte pour partie, elle demeure très accusatrice. Ainsi, elle confirme que l'hôtel particulier de Neuilly-sur-Seine était un lieu prisé par les hommes politiques. Elle précise même que "ces messieurs venaient pour avoir de l'argent" mais indique n'avoir jamais assisté à la moindre remise d'enveloppes. "Il y avait des enveloppes d'espèces qui étaient remises par M. Bettencourt ou de temps en temps par Mme Bettencourt à des politiques", relate-t-elle.

M. Sarkozy était-il concerné ? C'est "possible", avance-t-elle, sans qu'elle puisse prouver quoi que ce soit. Elle raconte les invitations à l'hôtel particulier de Neuilly-sur-Seine. On y croisait, si l'on en croit Claire Thibout, Pierre Messmer, Mme Pompidou, François Léotard, Gérard Longuet, le couple Chirac, Edouard Balladur, Bernard Kouchner, Danielle Mitterrand ou encore Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, Nicolas Sarkozy et plus récemment Éric Woerth. >>> Le Monde pour Le Monde.fr | Jeudi 08 Juillet 2010

BBC: L'Oréal, the minister and the 'envelopes of cash': It started out as a dispute between the heiress to a cosmetics fortune and her family. But the row over Liliane Bettencourt's finances has now reached out to touch the president of France himself. It has become a tangled saga of names, connections, claims and rebuttals. The BBC News website profiles key players in the political drama gripping the French public. >>> | Wednesday, July 07, 2010